Guild Wars 2

Danikat.8537:

DeadTreeJig.6714:

Danikat.8537:

But I also collect mini pets which takes a lot of time because some come from specific achievements and others need specific currencies, or are just very expensive.

I do this too, I have a long way to go. I’ll never have enough gold for the karka mini.

Have you noticed the karka has dropped in price a lot recently?

It dropped way down, finally got one. It’ll be interesting to see how long before the price goes back up.

Faaris.8013:

The older you get, the more likely you play a character of opposite gender. My interpretation of that is that the older you get, the less kittens you have left to give. When you are young, you are more concerned about what other people think about you, and the other sex is strange. Boys do not do girly things, right? When you are a man, you can do what you want. This is purely my interpretation of it, feel free to have a different one.

What he/she/other said… at least for me.

Let me interrupt the bickering for a moment with a reply to the OP. I’m an average player (guessing here since they haven’t released the chart yet), and a mostly solo player.

I can understand where the OP is coming from to a degree. Some of the instanced boss fights were difficult for me. Not impossible, though at times it felt that way, but difficult. Maybe challenging would be the right word. What I think makes some of them really difficult is how the solution to beating the boss is not obvious, not remotely obvious. Unless you read the walkthrough first or someone tells you, the struggle is staying alive long enough to figure out what the trick/gimick is to beat the boss. I’m all for having to learn the boss in order to defeat it, but some of the tricks just too obscure.

It’s interesting to see everyone’s take on playing the opposite gender. Since I play both, according to some of the posts I am either out of touch with my inner self, not secure with my masculinity, misogynistic, effeminate, insecure, overly confident or some combination of them.

I tend to play male characters because I’m a guy, I naturally gravitate towards male characters. I do play female characters but it’s usually because something prompts me like the ridiculous looking male Norn physique, the butt ugly male Asura faces, or things like gender locked classes in other games.

Some folks mentioned that you need to have a connection with your characters, I suppose if you RP then it might be important, but otherwise I disagree. I do give my characters a bit of a personality, mostly to dictate what skins/outfits they use, but aside from that I can’t say I have a connection with them.

I’m not a fan of the HoT maps. After finishing the story and MPs I find the only reason I go back is if I am depressed and feel like being even more unhappy.

Actually, I don’t mind the Auric Basin. I avoid VB and only go to TD and DS for the meta events.

Danikat.8537:

But I also collect mini pets which takes a lot of time because some come from specific achievements and others need specific currencies, or are just very expensive.

I do this too, I have a long way to go. I’ll never have enough gold for the karka mini.

I am an open PvE player, no raiding, dungeons or WvW. I do the occasional PvP or Fractal but not enough to matter. I also don’t craft, I salvage and sell everything.

For open PvE the story lines, dynamic events and boss’ are the thing to do, plus masteries if you have HoT and general exploring. I fully enjoy the game at level 80 and I’m really looking forward to open PvE in the expansion.

The personal story is has different paths depending on the race and chosen order up to the battle at claw island. I’ve made several characters to play each path, once I get to claw island I tend to delete them unless I really liked playing the character.

Living world season 2 is very good. If you are a new player you’d have to buy it at the gem store but it is well worth it.

The HoT story and living world season 3 are okay, the stories are a mess but it’s still a fun challenge playing through them. I did like the story in the last two episodes of season 3.

The boss events are fun, especially the harder ones. Once you’ve done them a few times you can start on the side achievements for each one.

The game has a lot of neat out of the way locations that I enjoy finding. Many of them serve no purpose in the game, but they show the care and attention that the devs gave to the maps. This mostly applies to the core maps.

Then there are all of the collections. I’m still trying to get all of those cats.

Hope that helps.

ProtoGunner.4953:

I disliked the fact they put down the mursaat thread so easily. They finally made a reappearance in episode 1 and 5 episodes later they’re dead and gone for good.

I didn’t play the original Guild Wars enough to have any attachment (good or bad) to the mursaat, but I can see how it would be different for someone who played it all the way through.

Rognik.2579:

…it feels like we were lead down one story back just to swing back around when they change their mind.

It’s like there as a complete disconnect between the expansion team and the living world team. They created multiple stories for season 3 hoping one would link to the expansion. When the expansion team finally told them who we were going to fight they dropped everything else.

I finished up season 3 last night and I have to say that I enjoyed the story, well the last the last episode and a half of the story. It almost seems as if the folks writing season 3 had no idea what the expansion was about until that last few episodes.

Braham who? Oh yeah, that guy… shh… don’t tell him we are going to the crystal desert.

With the ending of season 3 I am a bit hopeful that PoF and season 4 will have a more focused storyline.

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

DeadTreeJig.6714:

The PoF demo was the first time I played my ranger after the patch and I really noticed the lost of condi removal from the SoR. A few have mentioned that it was useless, but as a solo player it was my main source of condi removal.

In PoF the first time I am was ablaze I ignored it as I usually do, then I notice I am loosing health quickly, then I notice I am STILL ON FIRE! “Oh yeah, they took my condi removal away”, I remind myself as I bravely run away.

I tried a few of the other removal methods, but they feel really cumbersome to me.

Also, the health regeneration that they moved to the SoR seems less effective, at least to me, but that could be because I am STILL ON FIRE!

For the rest of the weekend I played the demo with my reaper. I think my main character has just changed.

Power LB is better than ever and should make light work of anything in open world.

I use LB/GS, weapons aren’t the issue. It’s the lack of decent condi removal.

I use a condi build. I mainly play open PVE, occasionally PvP but not enough to care.

Howdy, I just wanted to introduce myself. After anet took condi removal away from the ranger, my statuesque Norn Reaper has become my main.

My build is a mix of minions and signets, it seems to work well though I may experiment a little more now.

If you happen see Miseria Athel running around with her minion posse, give a shout.

The PoF demo was the first time I played my ranger after the patch and I really noticed the lost of condi removal from the SoR. A few have mentioned that it was useless, but as a solo player it was my main source of condi removal.

In PoF the first time I am was ablaze I ignored it as I usually do, then I notice I am loosing health quickly, then I notice I am STILL ON FIRE! “Oh yeah, they took my condi removal away”, I remind myself as I bravely run away.

I tried a few of the other removal methods, but they feel really cumbersome to me.

Also, the health regeneration that they moved to the SoR seems less effective, at least to me, but that could be because I am STILL ON FIRE!

For the rest of the weekend I played the demo with my reaper. I think my main character has just changed.

What I liked.
Mounts: I was firmly in the anti-mount camp, not any more. I really like how they implemented the mounts, at least the raptor. It feels weighty, a little ungainly, and not all that fast. I think it serves it’s purpose well.

Map: I really like the map, it reminds me more of the core maps. It’s not all crammed together, you find little towns and other spots along the way. Amnoon is great, it’s so visually different from the other maps. I really enjoyed the attention to detail that I haven’t seen since the core maps.

Bounties: Call up a champion at your leisure. As someone mentioned, you can’t solo them but you can defeat them with two average players.

Water: Except for an event, I wasn’t constantly attacked by everything under water (I didn’t see a single thundershrimp). I really don’t enjoy underwater combat.

Events: Again, something more like the core maps. The demo was a bit lite on events, but I suspect that’s because it was a demo. I don’t think you can run a meta, or continuing dynamic events when you can’t go that far from the city.

Doylaks: I liked how they have a completely different look, something you’d expect when on a different continent. I didn’t play GW1 enough to know if they looked the same.

No gliding? Sacrifice your mount: Gliding is nice, it’s more than nice, it’s awesome. But if you skip HoT you don’t have to climb back down that hill. Your mount will break your fall, it may even give up it’s life for you. I tried to jump across a huge canyon (I really didn’t think I would make it) and fell into a valley of hydras. My raptor didn’t make it, but came through unscathed and ready to take on some hydras. My daughter wasn’t so sure so she kind of slid down the side of the cliff.

What I didn’t care for, or have concerns over.
Unidentified Gear: Yeah, that.

Ease: I found the mobs to be somewhat easy. It could be that it was toned down since anet knew there would be boosted people playing. I played with my twin 10 y/o daughters, their max levels are 37 and 26. They both made it through the initial episode with only a little guidance, and only one of them got downed. Out in the desert they had little trouble taking on mobs with me. Even when battling two hydras, a land shark (I know it’s a sand shark, go back and watch early SNL), and those annoying sand eels (man, they sneak up on you) all at once. I’m not saying it was easy for them, it was a challenge, but not frustrating (I’m looking at you HoT).

Unidentified Gear: It deserves to be listed twice.

Overall I was really happy with the demo. That being said, I am not happy with what anet did to the ranger in the last patch. But that’s for another thread.

Happy ranger is happy.

Tharne.3298:

I started the game from scratch yesterday , I’m at lvl 8 at the moment but I don’t have any issues like the one in the vids, I’ll report back at lvl 11 after testing F2, but maybe it’s tied to changes they did to some traits ?

It happens on my level 80. I have a level 20(ish) ranger, I’ll have check tonight to see if it happens with him as well.

borya.2964:

DeadTreeJig.6714:

I would think if it were happening to everyone this forum would be filled with nothing but posts about the issue, but that’s not the case.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/Possible-massive-pet-bug-Unresponsive

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/Detailed-Ranger-Bugs-and-some-Odd-Design

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/no-fix-to-the-pet-in-the-latest-update

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/Fix-our-pets-ASAP

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/FIX-PET-DELAY-and-Staff

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/Ranger-bugs-list-post-8-8-patch/first#post6681922

I know there are a lot of posts, my point was if it’s happening to everyone there would be little to no post in the ranger forum that weren’t about the bug.

I am experiencing the same issue with pets not responding for several seconds after swaps. From the forums it seems to be wide spread, but I have to wonder if it is happening to everyone. I would think if it were happening to everyone this forum would be filled with nothing but posts about the issue, but that’s not the case. Is anyone not having this specific issue since the 8/8 patch?

If it is this wide spread I also wonder how it could have slipped into the patch since anet says they play the game, especially since some anet employees have admitted they play rangers.

atheria.2837:

I have had the same problem for months, even before the last ‘updates’.

Pet either is completely static or it jerks around but doesn’t attack – and it’s not every time or every fight – intermittent as heck – never know when it’s going to happen, that’ the worst.

This latest pet issue (since the 8/8 patch) is consistent, if anet actually plays the game I don’t see how this could have slipped through into the path

I main a ranger and had planned to use him during the PoF preview, but it looks like I’ll be taking my guardian or perhaps my reaper.

Why hasn’t anet at least acknowledge this?

What server/timezone?

I also like the fact that it’s mostly unstructured, but I don’t think it leaves a new player hanging without direction. The info in the upper right corner gives hints, guidance, whatever you want to call it. It doesn’t lead you around, but it gives you an idea of what you can do. My twin 10 y/o daughters have been playing free accounts with me (I provide escort duty) and they have had little trouble figuring out what to do or where to go. Sometimes I even get scolded if I try to suggest a direction. Once you hit 10 the personal story also helps move you along as well, though I know not everyone is interested in that aspect.

I was watching a test play of PoF today, gliding is enabled (provided you have HoT)

DeShadowWolf.6854:

ZeftheWicked.3076:

But i am worried that HoT masteries will have no place in this xpac. No glider sucks:/

There is gliding in PoF.

Since HoT is not required to play PoF I doubt the HoT masteries will add much aside from the convenience of gliding.

Hannelore.8153:

They have massively improved the engine over the years, at launch the game could barely handle world bosses with 10-20 players, much less the kind of content that was introduced with HoT and LS3 and now PoF.

The OP was referring to graphics boost, not performance boost.

Nyx.6532:

mounts are just another kind of mastery movement system mate.
it is not like “mounts” you know from other games ^^

Aside from being a mastery how are they not like mounts in other games?

Will Lucky.8703:

Doesn’t matter if its the same DX, engines can be radically upgraded over time.

Look at what was possible on DX9 with The Witcher 2 for example.

Partially true. The code can be optimized, the cpu can be used to shuffle textures, but DirectX 9 has resource limitations that can only be overcome by moving to a newer version.

Hannelore.8153:

Even if they completely rewrote the game the graphics would not just magically look better, this is a myth that is used to sell bad games.

All you’d really gain is better CPU usage from thread-safe GPU model.

The game would be able to load more and larger textures, it wouldn’t “magically” look better but at least it would allow it to look better.

Is the minimum Nvideo card requirement for the expansion really the GTS model of the 8800? That seems an extreme jump from the current video requirements, it’s more than triple based on benchmarks. It’s especially odd given the Radeon HD 2900XT is a more modest increase (though still more than double) and the expansion likely uses the same DirectX engine. Could it be that it should list the 8800GS?

They provide a continuous speed increase and can be used virtually anywhere. Those were my concerns when I heard about mounts. I don’t understand why they didn’t include some sort of stamina pool for the mounts, that would help the immersion. I might as well play ESO, BDO or… dare I say it, Revelation Online. Can we get actual flying with the expansion too, I mean gliding is just so HoT.

Well, it probably won’t matter to me anyway since the new video card requirement (if correct) will keep me from playing the expansion on my laptop.

I am starting to think the change in video card requirements may be wrong, or perhaps due to rendering more distant objects which should be adjustable.

The following is just me thinking out loud…

The new minimum video card requirement is the Nvideo 8800GTS. The card was released in 2012 and has a maximum of 640MB of video memory, this limits the size of textures that can be loaded. Also, the game uses DirectX which also limits textures. Developers can work around this by shuffling textures but that increases CPU demand and the CPU requirements have not changed (they are actually rather low). The previous required video memory was 256MB and the 8800GTS was available with 320MB and since the new requirements don’t specify required video memory it’s not likely that the number of textures being loaded have changed much. In addition, the other limitations of DirectX 9 should eliminate any requirement for more advanced shaders.

That leaves us with video card performance (power) and memory (non video) requirements. The previous video card requirements had very minimal performance requirements and the jump to the 8800GTS is more than triple the previous requirements. Since textures and shader requirement shouldn’t have changed, it appears to come down to the number of objects rendered. The memory requirements also doubled which could be due to more map data being preloaded.

The increase in objects could be due to the new maps being more complex (having more objects), but the maps in the announcement video didn’t seem to have an excess of objects.

So that would leave rendering objects in the distance, and that should be adjustable.

I am not an expert on game programming, my experience is limited to working on a graphic adventure game in the mid 90’s for Epic that was dropped before it was finished. That was back in the early days of DirectX.

The video card requirements concern me, I play from a laptop with an Nvidia 810M. With the current game I get good frame rates and video quality. If PoF really does require an 8800GTS as a minimum I will not be heading into the crystal desert.

I wonder if the mounts will have some type of stamina pool? With gliding, even with the advanced gliding mastery, you eventually come back down.

Lokki.1092:

DeadTreeJig.6714:

Lokki.1092:

The mounts are not speed increases, they are movement skills just like the HOT mastery skills.

From the video it looks to me like a speed increase, of course those could be animation renders rather than actual game play.

He actually flat out said they are no speed increases. did I hear that wrong?.

I had to watch while at work so I had the volume really, really low and I missed some of the narration. Thanks for the clarification.

After rewatching the mount video it looks as if you get an initial attack from your mount, then it disappears. That looks promising.

Lokki.1092:

The mounts are not speed increases, they are movement skills just like the HOT mastery skills.

From the video it looks to me like a speed increase, of course those could be animation renders rather than actual game play.

I am mostly excited about the expansion.

I like that the new maps lend themselves to exploration, I hope that they really do.

I also think the story has the possibility of being epic. For me HoT was not epic, not even close and so far I am finding season 3 to be a hot mess of incoherent babble.

The new specialization for the ranger looks sweet, especially after handing us the druid. The necro specialization didn’t grab me that much, probably because I really like my reaper. The others, I didn’t pay attention.

The only thing I have concerns about are the mounts. I hope there are limitations, like there are with gliding. The video showed a nice, small group with mounts in a vast world. But how will it really look when all you see around you are jackalopes and floating manta rays.

Has anyone come across more detailed information on mounts? I’m exited about the expansion, but having been in the “mounts will destroy the game” camp I am really curious about how they will be implemented, what the limitations are. I’d rather not have LA be a sea of Jackalopes or have to clamber around a boss fight to see beyond a bunch of raptors. Crowding around a vendor as it is breaks the immersion, imagine how it will be with everyone on mounts. When they introduced gliding they did it in a way where it didn’t overtake the game, I hope they took the same care with mounts.

That being said, mount or no mount I will be heading into the Crystal Desert.

P.S. I doubt mounts will be allowed in LA (or any racial city), but the visual image was too much to pass up.

I’m a 99% solo player looking for one or two Open World PvE partners or a small, casual guild that focuses in part on partnering (if there is such a thing, which there should be).

My friends dropped off 6 or 8 months ago and I’ve been solo since. I’m an introvert and prefer dialogue with one or two others at most. I’ve tried a few guilds but group socializing isn’t my thing, not that there’s anything wrong with that.

I’m NA/CST and on every evening for about 1-1.5 hours. Occasionally I play on the weekends with my twin 10 y/o daughters, basically it’s escort duty. I am a mature, casual but competent player, I’m currently playing through season 3 episode 2. I play a ranger, reaper and guardian, I use my ranger when things get tough. I do the usual Open World PvE stuff; meta events, world bosses, dynamic events (I don’t mind repeating them), map completion (not a priority), etc. I do sPvP in spurts, I used to do dungeons and fractals when my friends were still on. I don’t chase meta builds and I despise JPs and crafting, but I do farm and sell. I also like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain. No, no I don’t. Lastly, I don’t curse… so there’s that.

Anyone else is the same boat, well in another but similar boat, let me know here or in game @ DeadTreeJig.6714.

I know what I am doing tonight!

Most recently, when Bercilak is expecting a kiss from Gairwen and instead she drops him with a kick to the chest.

Danikat.8537:

1) 4) Do you move during combat? Not just avoiding red circles but to avoid attacks and kite enemies. That also makes a huge difference. It is possible for some characters to survive in some situations while just standing in 1 spot, but it’s relatively rare compared to other games. (Don’t forget you can move while attacking too, so it’s not like you have to stop what you’re doing to avoid enemies.)

I think this is a really important one. Hitting from the back or sides is supposed to do more damage (not sure if it does), but it keeps you out of the way of most of their attacks. When kiting make sure you pay attention to skills that plant you. In melee this is even more important. There’s an option called “Melee Attack Assist”, when it’s enabled it prevents you from walking through your enemy. I have this disabled so I can dodge through them right before an attack and immediately hit them from behind.

My twin daughters (10) both have 15-20 level characters, the only play for an hour on the weekend. I party up with them to help them out, more as a guide so I will use a matching level character and hold back just a bit so they can level a little faster than me (applies to open world and story).

One of my daughters likes to visit slightly higher levels on occasion so I will use an 80 and hold back completely unless they get into trouble. Someone suggested using low level weapons, I think that’s a good idea and I might try that when I use an 80 with them.

It took them until about level 10 to get accustom to combat and tagging, once they learned to tag multiple mobs they got more exp, more enjoyment and I was able to participate more in the combat. When we do bosses (low level) I have to remind them to tag the boss at least once, then they can take out the minions chasing them around.

Rauderi.8706:

I have a mesmer (human female) named Scarlet the Tease. This was before Ceara/Scarlet became a thing, so I had it first! I refuse to change it, no matter how much the usurper is reviled.

I’d rather be associated with Scarlet than Caithe. You knew Scarlet was up to no good. Caithe on the other hand… As the former pack commander I still don’t trust her.

Alga.6498:

And I have 70 characters, so I’ve used quite alot of gemstones

70… I can barely give all 6 of mine screen time.

Rauderi.8706:

DeadTreeJig.6714:

Why Japanese? Too much anime, that’s why.

At least you admit it. XD

I’m too old to worry what people think.

Sorry for resurrecting this thread but I didn’t want to duplicate.

I tend to use Japanese words for the given (first) name and Athel for the family (last) name. Athel is Middle English for Noble or Hero. Why Japanese? Too much anime, that’s why.

Kyudo Athel, Human Ranger. Kyudo means “The Way of the Bow” in Japanese
Miseria Athel, Norn Reaper. Miseria is Spanish for misery.
Kawaii Athel, Asura Guardian. Kawaii is Japanese for cute.
Kage Athel, Sylvari Mesmer. Kage is Japanese for shadow or shade.
Asa Taiyo, Sylvari Ranger – Japanese, roughly translates to Morning Sun. Asa awakened during the cycle of dawn.
Yukanna Neko, Charr Guardian – Japanese, roughly translates to Valiant Cat

Side Note: Kyudo was originally name Caith which is an Irish name that means battlefield or “from the battlefield” . I have used Caith for characters since my D&D days in the 80’s. When I created the character in gw2 I wasn’t aware of the Sylvari Caithe. I hung onto the name for almost two years, I’d used it first after all! But after he became my main I knew it was time to change it.

I understand how the OP feels, I also have limited play time and find tyria to be vast. I tend plan what I am going to do before I log on, based on how much time I have and how tired I am.

If I have a fair bit of time and I am not too tired I will play a story episode or do a world boss (there are some level 15 bosses you could try with your level 20). If I’m tired I will focus non-killing tasks like Vistas, POI or a collection. One day I’ll get all of those cats.

If I don’t have much time I will pick an area to roam around in. If I am tired I stick with the core areas, if I have a bit of engergy I will go into HoT or season 3 areas. Then I just roam around killing things, looking for random events and getting a little xp, but no real goal.

Over time things will start coming together and you’ll find it easier to plan your time in game.

-DedTreeJig

Ider.1276:

DeadTreeJig.6714:

As I start season 3, I hope it brings back that sense of an epic tale.

Oh boy. Prepair yourself for great disappointment there. Ep5 story is awefull and ruins all the season 3.

Well, maybe the upcoming expansion, or season 4. I can still hope.

I’m going to agree with those that mentioned improving your play skills. The first time I went into VB I was running around like a little kid trying to not get spanked. I hated going there.

Now I roam solo around VB, AB even TD with exotics and no real attention paid to my build. I make stupid mistakes and get myself into trouble occasionally, but now it’s fun.

What I did, and it may work for you, was to go back to the core area and practice taking down mobs as quickly and efficiently as possible while taking little or no damage. I didn’t skip mobs, even the easy ones. It didn’t take long for me to go from spamming keys to planning my attacks, paying attention to skill cool down and dodging only when needed. I’d even (and still do) take pot shots at group champions to see how long I could survive.

For me, reading class guides didn’t seem to help. I think I learned more from trying to figure out why I died than what I needed to do to survive. Repeatedly dying is not a bad thing as long as you learn why you are dying.

I didn’t do all of this specifically to be able to survive in HoT, it was just something to do. While I’m no veteran, I am now very confident in my play skill. I still consider myself a casual player, I don’t spend much time on my build, I rarely change my runes and sigils. But I enjoy the harder content now.

I main a ranger, but it doesn’t matter the class as long as you are confident playing it.

Hope that helps.

-DedTreeJig

Quick Addendum: Not that it matters, but I also don’t craft at all. I think I made a backpack and a bag once.