Guild Wars 2

Maybe that just means you’re not that as good either…

Wow, today I had the same with the Colliseum map at the central node. It was awful.

So I have just start to collect the new Druid backpiece as it is the first I’m really interested in showing on my character. However, ever since trying out the packpieces I have noticed that whenever I use Ancestral Grace (staff – 3) the backpieces don’t turn transparant. Is this a general bug of the skill or is something wrong with my settings?

As mentioned before, if you’d do it now you will only miss episode 1 which you can still get to through friends or the gemstore (if it works the same as season 2 that is). Also it’s a weird way reasoning to start with…. asking money for developed content? How dare they…

The story was really good! But because everything was too easy combat was too stale. I know it is a design choose to not make it too hard, but making it this easy makes combat too boring and just a time bump to progress in the story. Only the last encouter felt really fun to do even though it was still easy enough to not make me replay it 100 times. ArenaNet this content is level 80+ and two steps after HoT, your audience can handle the challenges at this point!

I think the map itself has almost no atmosphere.. The reuse of assets is way too obivious here. Everything feels very mashed together and the lightning is bland. Also the artifacts feel like a snow-bally mechanic and the way to them and the temple are strange.

The crowdcheering is a way too hidden mechanic that feels very badly implemented. Indeed it only serves to strenghten the snowballing. It should be removed.

When it comes to design the arena needs to feel much less stale and clean. Add gore, cages, flags… whatever… but some sort of clutter/details. Too much details has gone to everything outside the arena (like the Divinity’s Reach clone) and it simply doesn’t work. In PvP people are more busy with their close environment than the distant vistas.

The problem is that at this point we have 4 specific things going on at the same time with pvp: ranks, reward tracks, league pips and MMR. They are too much and too overlapping for them to still have any serious meaning. Especially ranks and pips seem to be a lesser version of what they’re supposed to be (and what rewards and MMR are already doing on their own): giving rewards and indicating a player’s skills.

Looking at the system Age of Empires has always maintained, a game I played competitive for such a long time that it’s only rival is Guild Wars 2, was centered around one’s elo-rating with each rank having a specific title that made it easy recognizable. That is what league’s and divisions should be about; reflecting your stance in the overall GW2 scheme. Ditch the idea that gaining pips are tied to rewards; move that back to where it belongs: reward tracks.

Since you probably still want Seasons for promotion reasons you could re purpose them for some sort of competition with each division (just like soccer; where each league has its own winner). No idea what exactly… Maybe do something with different teams or servants competing for points either WvW or Pokemon Go-like? Or, more simple, make it so that with each season every division earns a certain reward but MMR is affected by a more severe decaying system during these seasons that might prohibit players from earning the reward that is natural to their place in the worldwide competition; thus swaying them to come back every season. And ofc, since you still want people grinding pvp throughout the entire season: introduce season exclusive reward tracks. With gems or black lion keys at the end for example…

Anyways, that’s just thinking out-loud. Central point is still that I honoustly believe that league’s should just be a visual represenation of MMR, not another reward track that happens to be limited to certain periods of the year.

The Treb is a nice mechanic; it gives flavor, but any decent pvp’er knows how to deal with it when the other team seems to be misusing it.

The repair tool is by far the most useless feature though. I’d agree with the conditions comments others made and would add that the repair kit should be removed and give the treb a simply rebirth time, not unlike the trebs from Stronghold.

True true true,

If only the story journal entries reflected the same greatness!

Sooo, I’ve been playing with my own Druid spec that’s focused around Staff and Longbow, including Beastmastery and Nature Magic. I have both the shout healing and elite skills now with all the other skills reserved for the glyphs (power bonus, waves and daze), yet I’ve been constantly doubting and dabbling with either the Celestial Shadow trait vs the Verdant Etching one. What would be your advice?

Celestial Shadow seems to be great for getaways when I’m surrounded by too many players and refocusing myself in solo battles, also to just get into the group fights, land some AoE and get out again. The ancient seeds on the other hand make my glyphs recharge faster and help my allies more in bigger team fights. Also extra condition cleaning (something that seems to be really needed atm) also seems to help ofc.

The first episode of the Living World was really awesome! Ever since Season 2, followed by Heart of Thorns and now Season 3, Arenanet finally seems to have found a comfortable way of telling its story while improving it day by day.

Frankly, looking at the Story Journal itself, which should be, and usually functions, as our main portal, I turned out quite dissapointed. Many reports on the missions we had are missing many, many details of the story. There is basically no mention of the character’s motivations or crucial plotlines like why we went to the bloodstone in the first place, what’s happening at the Fen, Canach, the revelation that Lazarus consumed the magic, and most importantly: Primordus!

Of the 6 entries we have, the last 4 especially are, sorry for the words, of an abysmal quality, which is an utter shame comparing to the quality of the journal entries of Season 2 and the amount of details the developers put into the details throughout the actual episode (for which many compliments.)

I would plead for a rewriting of many of these journal entries to a standard to that of most of the entries of Season 2 where both the start, middle and end of each mission is explained well and helps to recap the story of the character we are experiencing the world of Tyria through.

The variating quality of the Journal entries have been an eyesore for a long time starting with the Personal Story, where, for some reason some mission were only recapped with one single line, that, looking back at it, doesn’t help at all with conjuring up what actually happened and how it fits in the overarching story. I sincerely hope that Season 3, which in all other areas outshines the other content, isn’t about to meet the same fate.

P.S.
Just as a small, personal sidemark, I’d love to see the Seasons get their own names in the Story Journal like Season 1 got with “Scarlet’s War”. It brings about so much more story immersion!!

I’m a big PvP fan and I often like to play some matches (mostly for my dailies), but I’ve lost interest in the leagues a while ago… partly because they had the tendency to start whenever I was occupied by other stuff (hinting also at the fact that they’re not doing their job in trying to lure me in)… partly because the rewards are highly unsatisfactory.. If you get 2 gold for your dailies, what would I care playing so much for only a slightly bigger reward (I don’t care at all about the backpiece, so there is almost all the incentive gone).

I like the changes in general! Spirit Watch is a huge improvement this way and the map is so much more enjoyable, once the next season kicks in this one certainly can be part of the ranked pool.

Skyhammer… I actually like the way it was a lot but I understand that it needs change especially if you want to move it to the ranked pool (which should happen for the sake of diversity), and while the map changes itself are already fine, the Skyhammer system is awful; no idea how it works, what it benefits are and the maptool gives a very bad explanation. This needs rework!

In general pvp can use more maps, and please! Deathmatch!

HipposWild.7185:

EgyptRaider.3946:

Shirlias.8104:

EgyptRaider.3946:

The last thing Anet needs to do is apologize to ego’s who demand that the game is designed around their own wishes and fears to be confronted with the fact that maybe competitive games aren’t about progress all the time.

I’ve been pvp’ing for a very long, I consider myself casually good and have not been able to get out of emerald.
Big deal. You win some, you lose some. Maybe you should try to concentrate your frustrations on things that actually matter in life… It’s a game for god’s sake. Why people can take this so high is beyond me.

Not running a ptr, nor asking players for balance tips.
Also, releasing a game without testing pvp and started the first season without checking both matchmaking and balance… i know it’s a game man, but still they should read and watch what they gave.

And what about s2?
I am kinda worried about, cause they are not asking for help.

Certainly I would agree with you here.
I’m mostly voicing against the OP and his hard, way too ridiculous, post demanding an apology… That sort of attitude is just plainly rude, egocentric and not necessary at all.

If I sold you a table and it showed up with three legs you’d have a right to be angry with me right? Especially if I spent months telling you how awesome your table is going to be right? They sold a product not as described and genuinely incomplete so yes people have a right to be angry. I think it’s more arrogant to show no remorse or responsibility for your actions.

Cept for the fact that the whole league system was part of a later patch; not the main content of HoT; Stronghold was. The comparison between a random defect table and a mmo game that is constantly updated and changed through the internet is wrong in so many places that it’s useless to make it in the first place.

Shirlias.8104:

EgyptRaider.3946:

The last thing Anet needs to do is apologize to ego’s who demand that the game is designed around their own wishes and fears to be confronted with the fact that maybe competitive games aren’t about progress all the time.

I’ve been pvp’ing for a very long, I consider myself casually good and have not been able to get out of emerald.
Big deal. You win some, you lose some. Maybe you should try to concentrate your frustrations on things that actually matter in life… It’s a game for god’s sake. Why people can take this so high is beyond me.

Not running a ptr, nor asking players for balance tips.
Also, releasing a game without testing pvp and started the first season without checking both matchmaking and balance… i know it’s a game man, but still they should read and watch what they gave.

And what about s2?
I am kinda worried about, cause they are not asking for help.

Certainly I would agree with you here.
I’m mostly voicing against the OP and his hard, way too ridiculous, post demanding an apology… That sort of attitude is just plainly rude, egocentric and not necessary at all.

The last thing Anet needs to do is apologize to ego’s who demand that the game is designed around their own wishes and fears to be confronted with the fact that maybe competitive games aren’t about progress all the time.

I’ve been pvp’ing for a very long, I consider myself casually good and have not been able to get out of emerald.
Big deal. You win some, you lose some. Maybe you should try to concentrate your frustrations on things that actually matter in life… It’s a game for god’s sake. Why people can take this so high is beyond me.

idd, there’s no incentive for holding down the space bar. Try changing that habit..

Okeey, first of all thanks for being so kind and discrete, I appreciate the effort ^^ Turning subjects into personal assaults from post 1 is certainly the right way to go.

Second of all, multiplayer games have always had some form of rating and pooling. Look at the elo ratings of chess or age of empires; I’ve played years with those kind of ratings and at one point people get stuck at a certain rank or tier. Why? Because that’s how far their talent can take them. If you want to improve your tier or rating you should learn to improve your gameplay; not go after the devs who should come up with some magical rythm in which the natural balance of 50-50 wins can be overcome.

I’m honestly wondering why people expect that they should be constantly progressing through the tiers. Tiers aren’t meant for that; reward tracks and rankpoints are. If you have a 50-50 win lose rate at a certain point, you’re at the right spot. If you want to improve, either get better at soloq or find buddies.

Yes, it can seem unfair if you’re in a unfair matchup, but then again it happens the other way around as well.

So with HoT came a lot of criticism that the expansion is too much focussed on big groups, with the big metamaps, raids and guild halls as lead example. Many argue that solo’ers have a hard time with the new content (I personally have no opinion on it since I didn’t even have the time to start it yet) and some even regret the fact that all the amazing features of guild halls seem to be blocked out for small guilds and solo’ers..

Now, the Guild Halls introduced an amazing feature: decoration. And all I’m wondering is; how hard could it be to introduce this feature to the home instances. It seems (to me at least; I’m no expert) simpler than ever to accomplish (the instances are there; the decorating mechanics are there) and I think it would really become a meaningful sink for solo’ers to devote their time to (at least it would be for me).

So what’s your opinion on this?

Dailies for PvP should really be adapted more, PvP capture is aweful, as are the class restricted dailies. Stronghold dailies at least stimulate to play all the parts of the game. dailies shouldn’t promote switching characters in my opinion.

The map itself is really nice but there’s too much focus on the orb. I’d say creating a longer interval of spawning would help so much, say three minutes or something,

or an even larger interval which would be compensated by a higher reward for capturing it. That would make for interesting gameplay while still holding true to the Conquest formula

Tricare.2946:

It doesn’t break anything, stop saying that.

The only reason for the change is because, new content is released and people with potion stacks get it almost instantly.

Notice how I didn’t even need to specify which potion I was talking about? Because, they both work the same and the change should be made to both.

Here’s where you are simply wrong.. Look at the dev’s post: they argue that the potions break the system BECAUSE of the influence on hero points, the fact that they let people earn the new rewards in a faster pace is not even mentioned. Your argument is completely invalid.

PvP potions are not changed because they don’t influence the progression system; they just give you rewards earlier (rewards that don’t influence playstyle or progression whatsoever; unlike the WvW potions).

Pretending that the two are functioning 100% alike completely ignores this fundamental difference that is actually the cause of the WvW change (as stated by the devs)…

Before insulting others of not being able to comprehend logical thinking, first try it out on yourself.

Tricare.2946:

Because, WvW rewards will be instantly consumed.

So should sPvP’s reward potions.

If a new track comes out, can’t have people instantly getting the rewards.

That’s a ridiculous argument. Those potions were saved on purpose to be used later, thus slowing progress on the current reward track. It’s a zero-sum move. If those potions were meant to be consumed on the spot then there is no reason what soever for Anet to introduce them…

I love Skyhammer… and seeing my 1v9 vote on Skyhammer win makes me giggle ^^ #haterzgonnahate

Yes I’m also really annoyed by this… Really hope it get’s fixed…. not having to wait a year..

The problem that I mostly have with the mode is that it is very complex.. It’s fun because of that for sure, and while most of it can be dealt with by good team communication, I believe that there is a big in-game lack of information of all the mechanisms.

Although I actually have only had one match that ended from the timer, I am really annoyed by the fact that summoning heroes is worth so many points. Those should really really be reduced.

Also other feedback has mentioned this and I concur. The comeback system of giving supply is good (although it seems they dissapear very fast?!) It’s a burden to have to carry that supply all the way back to the barracks while the player has taken up the role of defending its own lane. (Either get a system of supply sharing, with penalty times for players who want to summon more than two units, or make the supplies dropped by enemies last longer or appear near the baracks of the defending team).

As a side note…. why was the ship of the Red Team moved to the back That’s just sad!

Heey, your guild sounds really cool with the nice original events and the fact that its both PvP and PvE makes it fit my playstyle. If possible I’d like to join. I mostly play PvP casually but also enjoy PvE from time to time (especially planning on starting a new revenant character once HoT is released to do alot of PvE stuff I haven’t done so far).

I consider myself a casual player and while lately I’m playing more regularly, it can certainly happen that for a month or two I become less active if my studies and other stuff interfere. Even though I am dedicated to the game (and have been for the last two years since I bought it) and would love to finally expand my horizon and truly have a more social experience in the game.

If I could join I’d certainly contact you ingame

cheers!

Or at least a beautiful new version of the mists with stuff to do!! The Heart of the Mists are soooo boring and so not matching its title. You’d expect something grand from the Heart of this mystical realm…

What’s number three haha?

So what do most people think of the Heart of the Mists?

Because more and more I find that the map is a very boring and stale hub that doesn’t at all feel like the place the title suggests it should be. Even the loading screen is just… meh…. For me the hub of the Fractals or the Edge of the Mists are much closer to my image of what the mists should feel like.

Also, it has become very clear that the entire map and it’s structure is very outdated. Places where once the glory vendors and the water and cannon practice area were, are now of course completely useless.

I’m honoustly hoping for a revamp for HoT with new practice areas for Stronghold and stuff like that. and also I honoustly keep hoping for a feature where people could free roam in a private instance through the different maps to fully explore them and get familiar with them (and also just to look around: the maps are so beautiful when you take the time to look around and see all the little details, yet a person barely has that time since they’re in a fight)

So what’s you’re idea on this? Would you also like to see a nice revamp for the hub?

FeelsAlright.5860:

Poliator.7021:

I think they tried with the last Conquest maps to implement meaningful side objectives, not only capture points. Temple is the only one that passes, that people like, Spirit’s Watch is… meh, nobody likes it, nobody certainly hates it, nobody hates it as much as Skyhammer (who doesn’t hate it? It’s a map that feels unfair for many classes and builds).

So I think they tried to separate from Conquest, try something new, but they just didn’t find a good different game mode. Some may consider all these “possible” unused sPvP maps a waste of resources, but I don’t. They tested it and it didn’t work, they could improve on their mistakes on those maps, giving them experience, so in my opinion, although literaly a waste, it’s not terrible but good.

P.S.: The Courtyard-like map looked sick! Or the possible “Deathmatch” -like maps too!

I think the problem with Spirit Watch is the rate at which the orb spawns. I think if it spawned less frequently like tranquility or stillness (at specific times on the clock) on Temple the community would like it a lot better because it would be easier for unorganized teams to play.

Woah… I never thought of that… that’s actually a really good suggestion! Hope the devs notice this haha

I think it’s really sad to see these. Some of them were amazing!! They should really do something with them. I would love to see some more deathmatch maps as well! It’s quite a fun game mode with its own dynamics and having some deathmatch maps with secondary objectives would probably be really cool.

I was just about to make a topic about this when I suddenly saw this post. I’m really worried about it as well. I’ve been playing GW2 for 1.5 years now almost, and always played a scepter/shield guardian.. I would love to switch to a similar build for Rev.
Hammer is the only ranged option now and the skills it have don’t really fit my preffered playstyle, nor do I like it’s overall style.
I’m praying for a non-elite (since probably/hopefully that will be shield) main-hand (mid-)ranged weapon like the scepter (or pistol, but that’s unlikely considering the Revenants background).

To be honoust, I think it’s still pretty selective and leaves out a very large group of players Guild Wars likes to identify with: casual players.

I’ve owned the game for over one and a half year, yet I only have two filled character slots. I mostly enjoy the game for sPvP and Stronghold was for me the only incentive to buy the expansion. And as a very casual player that often doesn’t play the game for months and only really played the PvP parts, paying 50 bucks just for that upgrade and the specializations. It’s much. 20, 30 euros would be fine. Those are reasonable prices.

What would you think of a bunch of gems the same value of a character slot. People would have a choice. and casual players who only focus on part of the game, be it PvE, WvW or PvP and don’t have that many characters, can at least get something that is of value for them.

I loved all the content announced for HoT and I can’t wait to do the game again with a new Revenant character. And while I can afford the 50 euros, I can’t help but feel it’s a rip-off and a scam considering they give the base game for free.
People who adressed the FAQ quote have a sincere point and I support them, even though I don’t belong to the ones who bought the game in that period.

Since a week or two I have problems with all audio suddenly shutting down.. Strange thing is.. if I have something like iTunes on the background (isn’t always the case, I often play with no background stuff) that sound dissapears along with the audio of GW2. I can fix it by resetting something in the audio option (like the speed option or the default/stereo setting) and then it’s back for a while only to be gone again later.
How can I fix this?

Okeey, I believe I’ve never posted before on these forums but I take this change to let the devs know that I -love- these changes. I’ve only been playing Guild Wars 2 for a couple of months and I was always watching the PvP section even though I never really played PvP (only like three-four matches). I’ve been doing PvE ever since hoping that I would be lured someday into playing PvP and this is exactly what I’ve been waiting for!
Not only will it encourage me to PvP more often but for the meantime will certainly encourage me to keep leveling my character in PvE going for the ultimate armor, knowing that I will be able to use that armor in PvP (yes I’m talking about the looks, not the stats… I could care less about that)..

For me this update finally ensures me that I’ll be playing GW2 for a long time to come!