Showing Posts For Eli Stormstrike.8637:

What is the game for the casual player?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

Well, my daily routine looks something like this, working my way down the list as time and real life permits.

1. Dailies (PvE/PvP/WvW)
2. World Bosses
3. Rich Node Farming
4. Dungeons (CoF 1+2, AC 1+3, CoE 1-3, HotW 1+2, TA 1+2, SE 1-3)
5. Dry Top/SW Farming

My long-term goals would be the following for now;
Dynamic → Synergetic → Static Spinal Blades
Luminescent Collection
Ambrite Collection
Fractals 29 → 50
Ascended Armor/Weapons
Infused Ascended Gear
Crafting 500 all professions
PvP Rank 80
WvW Rank 100
Legendary Crafting
JP/Explorer achievements
Map completion on alts
Glorious armor finished
Full cultural T3
All classes to 80
All dungeon collections finished.

Endgame ?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

End game in this game could be:

Living Story (Lvl 80)
Explorer Dungeons (Lvl 80)
fractals (Lvl 80)
WvW (Lvl 80)
Achievement points
Collections (Lvl 80)
Cosmetics
World bosses (most Lvl 80)
and more…

Sadly there hasn’t been and updates to Dungeons, fractals and WvW for a while and the so called End Game content has been old and booring and thats it.
Call it Stuff, content or End game content it is still stuff to do once you hit level 80. I do not call it End Game content becouse it is not the end of the game. GW2 is evergrowing and it never ends, I see no end in this tunnel.

So the endgame is a endless repetition of Dungeon/Fractals/World Bosses and more.. while collecting collections in order to unlock some Cosmetics that grant Achievement points upon finishing the Living Story for the sake of distracting you from the endless Gold Grind to buy some more Cosmetics.

Sounds like you’re burned out, played too much for too long, have too much spare time spent gaming GW2, and have become jaded with the game. You don’t leave however because you like GW2 and MMORPG’s, so you post on the forums hoping the devs will take notice and improve the game.

Alas, no one will care.

I suggest you take a break and when you return after a few months or a year, the game will be much more fun, as it has been for me.

Latency/Lag for EU Players? [merged]

in Account & Technical Support

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

I have had random lag spikes and terrible rubber banding issues for the past 2-3 days, both in PvP and PvE, and I can’t seem to solve the issue regardless of what I do.

0/ 25 = 0 % |
1 2 ms 0/ 25 = 0 % 0/ 25 = 0 % 192.168.1.254
4/ 25 = 16 % |
2 95 ms 4/ 25 = 16 % 0/ 25 = 0 % ua-85-227-200-1.cust.bredbandsbolaget.se [85.227.200.1]
0/ 25 = 0 % |
3 —- 25/ 25 =100 % 21/ 25 = 84 % ti3001d400-xe6-1-0.ti.telenor.net [146.172.107.5]
0/ 25 = 0 % |
4 —- 25/ 25 =100 % 21/ 25 = 84 % ti3001c400-ae1-0.ti.telenor.net [146.172.99.69]
0/ 25 = 0 % |
5 —- 25/ 25 =100 % 21/ 25 = 84 % ti3001b400-ae4-0.ti.telenor.net [146.172.105.58]
0/ 25 = 0 % |
6 97 ms 4/ 25 = 16 % 0/ 25 = 0 % verizon-1.ti.telenor.net [148.122.8.182]
0/ 25 = 0 % |
7 —- 25/ 25 =100 % 21/ 25 = 84 % ae1.XT2.FFT1.ALTER.NET [140.222.232.69]
0/ 25 = 0 % |
8 111 ms 4/ 25 = 16 % 0/ 25 = 0 % ae1.GW8.FFT4.ALTER.NET [149.227.16.54]
2/ 25 = 8 % |
9 104 ms 6/ 25 = 24 % 0/ 25 = 0 % 213.71.135.138
0/ 25 = 0 % |
10 —- 25/ 25 =100 % 19/ 25 = 76 % 206-127-157-86.ncsoft.com [206.127.157.86]
0/ 25 = 0 % |
11 106 ms 6/ 25 = 24 % 0/ 25 = 0 % 206-127-158-1.ncsoft.com [206.127.158.1]

Manifesto: Make Boss spawns truly RANDOM

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

Because there will be no one around to do them then, rewards suck enough as it is, running around forever to check on spawns to get a few rares would mean no one would bother.

How old will you be when you stop playing GW2

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

When GW3 is launched.

GW2 is basically everything I want from an MMO, and has only gotten better since launch, and is the only game where I feel I have an impact upon development.

I’m impressed with how they have implemented pretty much everything asked for in the CDI’s, or have plans to implement them.

Living World Trinkets - Un-Delete?

in Living World

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

Hello,

I was wondering if it was possible for the support team to give me back these trinkets? I deleted them because of space issues, but I would like to have them for my Necromancer.

Was just wondering if they restore items, or if I have to buy them all again (ugh)…

Thanks!

finally got a pre

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

I just checked my old posts about precursor crafting, and kitten was I right (December 29th, 2012)

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/archive/crafting/Precursor-Scavenger-Hunt-1/page/2#post1104476

Heart of Thorns Wish List:

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

Wish List
Precursor Crafting – A combination of scavenger hunting and traditional crafting, requiring 500 skill minimum in an appropriate profession.

Legendary Armor – Using our Ascended armor sets as precursors, by allowing us to infuse our armor pieces, we can then use them in the MF in combination with 3 other Gifts so as to create a legendary armor, one for each weight class to begin with. This would have the added benefit of allowing us further progression into the Fractals aswell, with infusions into our Ascended/Legendary armor sets.

Legendary Trinkets & Ascended Jewels – Requiring Jeweller 500, of course, and the traditional combination of scavenger hunting and crafting to acquire.

Legendary Dyes & Ascended Food – The dyes would allow us to apply different auras to our armor, but would require a Legendary Armor piece to function properly. The food speaks for itself, and we could perhaps also have Legendary Food aswell.

Ascended Salvaging – Allowing us to finally salvage Ascended pieces for +1 Agony Infusions and/or Globs of Dark Matter and other Ascended mats (primarily Dragonite, Empyreals and Bloodstone, so as to not unbalance the economy).

Guild Halls and Hall of Monuments (Player Housing) – Implementation of Guild Halls as the ultimate reward for Guilds, with options to expand its various functions, though a balancing act would be required so as to not drain the main cities of the population. Expansion and acquisition of Guild-specific unlocks and monuments should be based around Guild Achievements, for accomplishing various difficult goals regarding Guilds with other members, in a sort of scavenger hunt-ish manner.

In these Guild Halls, or in our Home Instance, we should also be able to create a replica of GW1 HoM, a place to show off our armor, weapons, legendaries, titles, accolades, achievements, trophies, accomplishments, pets, miniatures, WvW and PvP ranks and awards, finishers and various other goals we’ve achieved, with a new system introduced for Prestige, essentially something you accumulate as you fill your HoM, with a leaderboard introduced for this and the option to allow public instancing, so other people can visit your HoM and gain inspiration or stare in awe.

GvG, Alliance Battles and Factions – Expanded PvP-modes for sPvP with GvG-format, allowing Guilds to form Alliances, as in GW1, and fight eachother in instanced formats of larger battlegrounds, and to gain control of PvE zones for different resources required to expand Guild Halls and other functionalities.

E.g., a Guild can control 1 zone, say Snowden Drifts, for resources, whilst an Alliance can control regions, e.g. Kryta, battling eachother for control of these zones through instanced Alliance Battles and GvG. Once a zone is won, the Alliance/Guild can invest merits and influence to expand various facilities in these zones to gain more resources, e.g. lumber mills, quarries, farms and so on. To prevent domination, a decay system is in place, requiring constant activity, and with the merit cap in place, overreaching would result in collapse.

Alternate Advancement – A PvE Rank system, similar to that for PvP and WvW, which grants you various rewards for gaining ranks in PvE (essentially levelling after 80), similar to Paragon in Diablo 3, Champion in ESO, AA in EQ and Planar Attunement in Rift. You gain purely cosmetic rewards, such as unlockable auras, dyes, titles, portrait frames and points to spend for horizontal progression, such as movement speed, swimming speed, karma gain, experience gain and so on.

Raids/Guild Dungeons – The obvious ones are the GW1 ones, such as Underworld, Fissure of Woe, Domain of Anguish, The Deep, Urgoz’s Warren and Sorrow’s Furnace. Long semi-dungeons requiring higher coordination and an organized base of players, with rewards such as Ascended mats, chests, Ectoplasm, ingredients for scavenger hunts for legendaries, exclusive skins and dyes, aswell as monuments, trophies and achievements for Player Housing and required for unlocking functions in the Guild Halls.

Boss Week: 2.0

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

I think they did state when Tequatl was revamped that they had plans to revamp all the world bosses in a similar fashion, to make them all challenging.

Not sure if you remember, as Teq is easy now, but when it was released it took a long time before random pugs could complete it 4 times a day. Took a while before some servers could even kill him once, let alone once a day.

Not sure what happened to those plans though, probably still in the works somewhere, but my guess is that they decided LW Season 1 was too unfocused and put their efforts in S2 on focusing the narrative, rather than have random released scheduled in like Boss Week, Triple Trouble and Tequatl Rising.

So that's why they had all these CDI's

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

I looked through my old posts in those CDI Threads from a year or so ago, and to be honest they’ve pretty much done much of what was suggested already.

1) Skill Capturing – Implemented with the trait revamp and requiring unlocks.

2) Zone Meta-Events – Implemented with Silverwastes and Dry Top, requiring the whole server to put in efforts on a micro-level to advance the map at a macro-level.

3) Skin Wardrobe – Implemented in the April Feature Pack

4) Account Wardrobe – Originally wanted PvP Locker for PvE, implemented with Skin Wardrobe and gear unification.

5) Scavenger Hunts – Implemented with Mawdrey II, Star of Gratitude, Collections and the new Carapace/Luminescent armor sets

6) Personal Resources – Idea was to expand Home Instance with nodes and gifts. Has been done on a consistent basis throughout seasonal events, LW rewards and Gem Store nodes aswell as Black Lion Nodes.

7) Sigil/Rune Rebalancing- Was done in April Feature Pack for all types.

8) Commander System Revamp – Implemented in September Feature Pack, with new tag colors for example.

9) PvP Ranks and Reward Tracks – Ranks were kept despite original plans to scrap them, and reward tracks were implemented.

10) Ascended Drops – Implemented with the various chests you can get for doing just about anything.

11) Stat-Changing – Implemented with Legendary revamp and throughout the game on various pieces of gear, such as level-up rewards and Carapace armor.

12) Account-Bound Ascended Gear – Implemented.

13) Ranger Re-balancing – In part accomplished with the Balance Update this Autumn.

Things that they, so far, haven’t delivered on, but have been mentioned as in the works or as being on the table:
Player Housing
Guild Halls
Raids/Guild Dungeons
Sub-Classes
PvP Game Modes
Accelerated Ascended Gearing for Alts

(See this response for a reference to Chris Whiteside, Studio Design Director)
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/cdi/CDI-Character-Progression-Horizontal/page/67#post3505171

And the rest of the responses in the CDI sub-section of the forum.

All in All I’d say I’m impressed with how they’ve actually worked with the community on alot of ideas and then implemented them in various forms and formats. Execution could have been better, and alternative paths (such as trait unlocking being account-based, rather than character-based) should have been chosen at times, though.

(edited by Eli Stormstrike.8637)

Expansion on the way! Any predictions?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

Wish List
Precursor Crafting – A combination of scavenger hunting and traditional crafting, requiring 500 skill minimum in an appropriate profession.

Legendary Armor – Using our Ascended armor sets as precursors, by allowing us to infuse our armor pieces, we can then use them in the MF in combination with 3 other Gifts so as to create a legendary armor, one for each weight class to begin with. This would have the added benefit of allowing us further progression into the Fractals aswell, with infusions into our Ascended/Legendary armor sets.

Legendary Trinkets & Ascended Jewels – Requiring Jeweller 500, of course, and the traditional combination of scavenger hunting and crafting to acquire.

Legendary Dyes & Ascended Food – The dyes would allow us to apply different auras to our armor, but would require a Legendary Armor piece to function properly. The food speaks for itself, and we could perhaps also have Legendary Food aswell.

Ascended Salvaging – Allowing us to finally salvage Ascended pieces for +1 Agony Infusions and/or Globs of Dark Matter and other Ascended mats (primarily Dragonite, Empyreals and Bloodstone, so as to not unbalance the economy).

Guild Halls and Hall of Monuments (Player Housing) – Implementation of Guild Halls as the ultimate reward for Guilds, with options to expand its various functions, though a balancing act would be required so as to not drain the main cities of the population. Expansion and acquisition of Guild-specific unlocks and monuments should be based around Guild Achievements, for accomplishing various difficult goals regarding Guilds with other members, in a sort of scavenger hunt-ish manner.

In these Guild Halls, or in our Home Instance, we should also be able to create a replica of GW1 HoM, a place to show off our armor, weapons, legendaries, titles, accolades, achievements, trophies, accomplishments, pets, miniatures, WvW and PvP ranks and awards, finishers and various other goals we’ve achieved, with a new system introduced for Prestige, essentially something you accumulate as you fill your HoM, with a leaderboard introduced for this and the option to allow public instancing, so other people can visit your HoM and gain inspiration or stare in awe.

GvG, Alliance Battles and Factions – Expanded PvP-modes for sPvP with GvG-format, allowing Guilds to form Alliances, as in GW1, and fight eachother in instanced formats of larger battlegrounds, and to gain control of PvE zones for different resources required to expand Guild Halls and other functionalities.

E.g., a Guild can control 1 zone, say Snowden Drifts, for resources, whilst an Alliance can control regions, e.g. Kryta, battling eachother for control of these zones through instanced Alliance Battles and GvG. Once a zone is won, the Alliance/Guild can invest merits and influence to expand various facilities in these zones to gain more resources, e.g. lumber mills, quarries, farms and so on. To prevent domination, a decay system is in place, requiring constant activity, and with the merit cap in place, overreaching would result in collapse.

Alternate Advancement – A PvE Rank system, similar to that for PvP and WvW, which grants you various rewards for gaining ranks in PvE (essentially levelling after 80), similar to Paragon in Diablo 3, Champion in ESO, AA in EQ and Planar Attunement in Rift. You gain purely cosmetic rewards, such as unlockable auras, dyes, titles, portrait frames and points to spend for horizontal progression, such as movement speed, swimming speed, karma gain, experience gain and so on.

Raids/Guild Dungeons – The obvious ones are the GW1 ones, such as Underworld, Fissure of Woe, Domain of Anguish, The Deep, Urgoz’s Warren and Sorrow’s Furnace. Long semi-dungeons requiring higher coordination and an organized base of players, with rewards such as Ascended mats, chests, Ectoplasm, ingredients for scavenger hunts for legendaries, exclusive skins and dyes, aswell as monuments, trophies and achievements for Player Housing and required for unlocking functions in the Guild Halls.

Cannot Leave PvP Matches

in Bugs: Game, Forum, Website

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

If you leave a pvp match, you are screwing over everyone else on your team.

The game forces you to finish playing your match, and rightfully so.

Quitting a match early essentially screws over 4 other players.

I would compare it to forcing a child to sit in a corner and think about what they have done.

If you aren’t going to play in a pvp match, don’t queue up for one.

Working as intended.

Excuse me, but this thread isn’t ment for boilerplate self-righteousness.

It’s actually ruining the game for my team whenever I have to go afk for whatever reason, that I won’t get booted even if I log out of the game until the game is over. I’m making this thread because everyone else is still leaving and joining as if it’s hot join, so obviously it works for everyone else and is not working as intended.

This has been a problem for me since forever now. I might aswell have exploited this if I wanted to, since I can’t be booted for AFK’ing either I’ve noticed, so I could basically join, alt-tab and farm if I wanted to, but I don’t so I’m reporting this.

The fact that I would like this to be looked at and resolved if possible doesn’t equal to me wanting to leave every game I’m ever in from now on.

1) Your empty place on the roster can’t be filled if you decide you don’t want to play in a match even if you did leave or were booted.
2) Going AFK =/= logging out and trying to play the game elsewhere. You are clearly not afk if you are complaining about not being able to escape a pvp match.
3) Griefing other players, intentional or not, in the form of AFKing pvp matches, joining then leaving, or simply not showing up is not tolerated.

I play unranked, where people join and leave all the time.

Tolerated by whom? Leave thread please, this is not a debate thread.

Are you serious?

In case you missed it , there is no longer “hotjoin” in any pvp except custom arenas.

I’ve seen countless times though how people leave and others join, in unranked. What’s up with that?

Cannot Leave PvP Matches

in Bugs: Game, Forum, Website

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

If you leave a pvp match, you are screwing over everyone else on your team.

The game forces you to finish playing your match, and rightfully so.

Quitting a match early essentially screws over 4 other players.

I would compare it to forcing a child to sit in a corner and think about what they have done.

If you aren’t going to play in a pvp match, don’t queue up for one.

Working as intended.

Excuse me, but this thread isn’t ment for boilerplate self-righteousness.

It’s actually ruining the game for my team whenever I have to go afk for whatever reason, that I won’t get booted even if I log out of the game until the game is over. I’m making this thread because everyone else is still leaving and joining as if it’s hot join, so obviously it works for everyone else and is not working as intended.

This has been a problem for me since forever now. I might aswell have exploited this if I wanted to, since I can’t be booted for AFK’ing either I’ve noticed, so I could basically join, alt-tab and farm if I wanted to, but I don’t so I’m reporting this.

The fact that I would like this to be looked at and resolved if possible doesn’t equal to me wanting to leave every game I’m ever in from now on.

1) Your empty place on the roster can’t be filled if you decide you don’t want to play in a match even if you did leave or were booted.
2) Going AFK =/= logging out and trying to play the game elsewhere. You are clearly not afk if you are complaining about not being able to escape a pvp match.
3) Griefing other players, intentional or not, in the form of AFKing pvp matches, joining then leaving, or simply not showing up is not tolerated.

I play unranked, where people join and leave all the time.

Tolerated by whom? Leave thread please, this is not a debate thread.

Cannot Leave PvP Matches

in Bugs: Game, Forum, Website

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

If you leave a pvp match, you are screwing over everyone else on your team.

The game forces you to finish playing your match, and rightfully so.

Quitting a match early essentially screws over 4 other players.

I would compare it to forcing a child to sit in a corner and think about what they have done.

If you aren’t going to play in a pvp match, don’t queue up for one.

Working as intended.

Excuse me, but this thread isn’t ment for boilerplate self-righteousness.

It’s actually ruining the game for my team whenever I have to go afk for whatever reason, that I won’t get booted even if I log out of the game until the game is over. I’m making this thread because everyone else is still leaving and joining as if it’s hot join, so obviously it works for everyone else and is not working as intended.

This has been a problem for me since forever now. I might aswell have exploited this if I wanted to, since I can’t be booted for AFK’ing either I’ve noticed, so I could basically join, alt-tab and farm if I wanted to, but I don’t so I’m reporting this.

The fact that I would like this to be looked at and resolved if possible doesn’t equal to me wanting to leave every game I’m ever in from now on.

Cannot Leave PvP Matches

in Bugs: Game, Forum, Website

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

Hello,

I have had a problem for a long time now, even though it’s unranked matches, I can never leave them, and if I relog to disconnect from game, if I log back in my character is still in the match even if 3-5 minutes passes…

The “exit door” button above minimap is just greyed out.

This is extremely annoying whenever I have to leave and end up having to go afk instead, ruining the game for my teammates.

EDIT: I also get randomly booted from queue despite accepting match and choosing map sometimes, and don’t know if this is intended or not, but sometimes I can’t swap weapons inside a match if I forget to change before.

Leveling professions worth it?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

Speculation:

They’re working on making sure Ascended becomes integral in crafting a Legendary, rather than an obstacle to it (as in wasted gold and mats for same stats without stat-picking). Eventually, we’ll be able to infuse our Ascended armor → use as precursors for crafting Legendary Armor, with the added benefit of allowing us to progress further into Fractals. Same goes for Legendary trinkets/back.

They delayed precursor crafting because, even if they wanted to allow us to use Ascended weapons in the same manner, it wouldn’t make sense, would crash the economy and would ensure non-stop QQ on forums. So therefore, everything regarding this, i.e. Fractal progression, new legendaries, new legendary pieces, precursor crafting, jeweller 500, is put on hold until they can figure out a comprehensible solution to roll it out according to a deadline, so we won’t have to wait for 2 years again for them to patch things up.

Also salvaging of Ascended pieces (rings anyone?) for +1 Agony infusions and/or Globs of Dark Matter.

/End of dreaming.

Mounts [merged]

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

I don’t mean to sound rude or anything, but I see a few topics like this, wanting things that other MMOs have in this game. This game is meant to be different to other MMOs, such as not having a subscription fee, not having player housing, not having PvE duelling, and of course, not having mounts.

If people want all the things that other MMOs have, why don’t they just ask that other MMO to remove the Monthly Subscription Fee?

Player Housing exists in GW1 FYI.

We had Guild Halls and we had the Hall of Monuments.

As a side note, it is beyond me why we don’t have either of those in this game, since particularly the latter proved to be a huge success in revitalizing the game and provided purely cosmetic rewards and a carrot on a stick, and promoting diversification of gameplay across PvP and PvE.

What would you add to the HoM?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

[Suggestion] Hall of Monuments

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

Background
For those who do not recall, one of the great things the Hall of Monuments provided in GW1 was an overarching goal to work towards, a place to look towards when you were bored or confused as to where you should put your effort next, whilst at the same time providing a much-needed influx of new players and revitalization of the community.

In hindsight, I can’t say the rewards matter to me much in GW2, but the journey itself was the reward. I would never have been as active as I was in GW1 without it providing a sense of direction.

Similar to how legendaries provided the overarching goal in the early game, with karma farming in Orr, and the ascended tier revitalized GW2, with mining runs, temple runs, world tours starting to appear as it was introduced, I believe the HoM would function in a similar way to boost activity and provide a fresh goal for players to gradually work towards.

I know legendaries and ascended are controversial subjects in the community, but personally I don’t believe the game would be nearly as fun or active as it is now without these carrots to motivate people to get involved in the game. There would be no incentive to partake in the activities GW2 provides without these rewards at the end, so even if the journey is the reward, people would never embark on that journey because there would be no point.

It’s against this background that I make the following suggestion:

Hall of Monuments
This could be tied into the Living World, with us having a World Event with a progression tick box, similar to the Tower of Nightmares, where we reclaim the Eye of the North and establish a foothold against Jormag.

Once this has been accomplished, we would unlock our rebuilt, account-wide Hall of Monuments, where we could store the following:

*Statues
*Miniatures
*Weapons/Armor
*Ascended Gear
*Unique Skins
*Legendaries
*Tapestries
*Pets

This could be tied into the achievement system, similar to how the number of titles you had in GW1 granted a greater glowing effect to the Knight statue in your HoM, the amount of achievement points you have could do the same here.

Statues
Awarded for finishing all dungeon paths, rare drops from world bosses, crafting legendaries, earning titles, completing achievements, map completion, living world rewards etc.

Could also be awarded for completing collections. Also add as a reward for reaching rank intervals in WvW and PvP, or completing reward tracks, or top score in a league or season and so on. Along with this, add a sort of PvE alternate advancement system as exists in Rift and ESO, with similar rewards from this.

Tapestries
Similar to those in GW1, we could have these awarded to us for completing all living world story achievements in an episode, with a tapestry detailing the climax of that episode.

Weapons/Armors
I’m thinking full sets on mannequins, e.g. Glorious, Luminescent, Legendary weapons and, eventually, Legendary armor. Also unique skins such as Foefire’s Essence.

Miniatures
Speaks for itself. Would provide a boost in gem shop purchases of miniatures aswell.

Pets
This would tie into another proposal for Rangers, to provide some more depth to their class. I’ve always been bothered by the fact that all pets are named Juvenile, and never seem to grow. Pets should be have their own levels, where they attain new ranks (juvenile, veteran, elite, champion), with each new rank earned granting you a pet that has a more unique skin. The fully evolved pet can then be displayed.

I believe these proposals would truly be beneficial to all and detrimental to none.

It would benefit players who have unlocked the skins that they want and have the look they desire, and are looking for a motivation to keep playing, as there would be a point in them crafting, say, Mjölnir or Volcanus, since they can display it, or acquiring the dungeon sets, since they can display them aswell.

It would benefit the players who rarely leave their respective spheres of PvP, WvW and PvE, encouraging them to get involved in other modes to attain new rewards and unlocks.

It would benefit the GW2 gameworld in a new way, since players would have an added incentive to acquire rare and unique skins, other than as a a tickbox in their collections tab, since they can show them off in their HoM, boosting economic demand and supply. Also would encourage players to make gem shop purchases.

I would, lastly, also suggest that the HoM be made available for public viewing. Similar to SWTOR, where you garner prestige based on unlocks, we could have a similar system with a leaderboard, and a tick box to make your HoM available for public instancing, so people can visit, get inspiration or stare in awe at your full collection of legendaries!

Is precursor crafting going to happen or not?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

I remember the Scavenger Hunt thread…

Attachments:

TA gear account-bound, other gear soulbound?

in Fractals, Dungeons & Raids

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

Confirmed.

Wish all dungeons were like TA gear

CDI- Character Progression-Horizontal

in CDI

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

Hi Eli,

I will be meeting with Izzy to discuss this proposal in detail. He will respond once we have had a chance to do so.

Chris

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the response, I await your reply.

Also, thanks for the feedback from other posters, I haven’t had a chance to respond, but keep up the discussion!

(edited by Eli Stormstrike.8637)

The Guild Wars 2 Charter

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

CONTINUED…

ACCOUNT-BIND/SOULBOUND
To encourage alt’ing even further, I suggest that soulbound be removed whereever possible and be converted to account-bound; considering currencies are account-bound, there is no reason for us not to be able to use the same armor sets for our other characters, instead of having them purchase it again with the tokens grinded for on our mains.

DOUBLE SPECIALIZATION/TEMPLATE SYSTEM
The Template System that existed in GW1 saved alot of time, encouraged trying out different builds and easily allowed players who were inactive and returned to be able to become re-connected to the gameplay more easily through remembering and reading through the titles and compositions.

I see no reason for us not to implement such a system for our Traits and Skills, allowing us to re-specialize on the fly depending on the demands of the encounters before us.

WEAPON TYPE ACCESSIBILITY
I don’t see the reason for weapon types being restricted based on class and profession, and removing those restrictions might attract more people to different classes and give players an even broader sense of customization and progression.

I would, for example, love to see a Ranger able to use Rifles.

LEGENDARY DYES AND ACCOUNT-BINDING
This suggestion has been brought up before, I don’t recall where, but it’s yet another method of customization and cosmetic progression which is only positive.

First of all, Dyes should become account-bound on acquire, which would further ease and encourage alt’ing and be a simple quality-of-life update.

As for Legendary Dyes, the suggestion that was put forth was to add effects to the armor similar to those gotten from Legendary Weapons, with fogs and glowing effects added to the character and its armor.

GUILD HALLS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Another method of adding Player Housing would be through Guild Halls; these could be divided in 2 parts, one for the Guild as a whole to display its collective trophies, accolades, achievements and rewards, whilst an instanced portal within the Guild Hall allows players to gain access to their individual instance, functioning similarly to the HoM mentioned above.

For example, the Eye of the North could be re-designed entirely into a Guild Zone, with the portal to the Hall of Monuments giving one access to the individual instance, combining both the HoM and Guild Halls into one single area and implementing both at the same time.

A new category of achievements could be added which reflect the new importance granted to guilds according to the above suggestions. Ranging from Guild Missions and GvG to WvW and Zone Control.

Further engraving Guilds as an important part of Guild Wars 2.

DONE

(edited by Eli Stormstrike.8637)

The Guild Wars 2 Charter

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

CONTINUED…

DAILIES, MONTHLIES + WEEKLIES
We already have dailies and monthlies, I suggest a simple expansion with adding weeklies, just a simple expansion of the achievement system already in-place and yet another added incentive to consume content.

SEMI-RAID DUNGEONS
Another topic which has been debated in the community is the addition of raids and longer dungeons, similar to Underworld, Fissure of Woe, The Deep, Urgoz’ Warren and Domain of Anguish in GW1.

These longer and more complex dungeons could become what the initial intent was for explorable mode to become, now designed with legendaries and ascended in mind and using the experiences gathered since launch.

These dungeons could be scalable from between, say, 8-20 players, would not grant superior equipment other than what is already available in the game, but would instead grant rewards in the sense of tokens for a new set of cosmetic gear, have a higher chance of dropping rare and Ascended materials and so forth.

These would be on a weekly lockdown, resetting at the same time as the Weekly Achievement mentioned above.

If ANet would prefer these to be cordoned off from PUGs in order to further promote the importance of Guilds and encourage active involvement within Guilds, it would be possible to add these as some form of Guild Dungeon, similar to the current Guild Rush, Challenges and Missions, allowing Guilds to partake in these dungeons once a week for Guild achievements, trophies, merits, influence, rewards for the Guild Halls, individual commendations and statues for the HoM and so on.

Regardless of if these are intertwined with Guilds or made available to the general public, I believe these would be an interesting addition to the game and could be designed with endgame challenge in mind, with exclusive cosmetic rewards at the end, similar to how Arah was functioning at the launch of this game, and with time a raise in the average gear and skill level in the community to Ascended would allow casual players to complete these dungeons.

They could also be designed with the Weekly lock in mind throughout the process, e.g. allowing Guilds to finish off a section each night instead of having to finish it all at once, as the dungeon wouldn’t reset until the lock was removed.

These are all different suggestions on how it could be implemented, of course, but I believe the addition of these semi-raids would be a positive addition to dungeoneering.

The Guild Wars 2 Charter

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

CONTINUED…

HALL OF MONUMENTS, ACHIEVEMENT SYSTEM AND PLAYER HOUSING
One of the great things about the Hall of Monuments in GW1 was that it gave you an overarching goal so to speak; it inspired people to go out and enjoy gameplay and different parts of the game that one might never have tried out without the HoM. GW1 became re-vitalised through the implementation of the Hall of Monuments, because it gave people a goal to work towards, it implemented a new reward system that incorporated all areas of the game, and it encouraged both new and older players to once again become active members of the community, through dungeon running, mission running, vanquishing, zaishen dailies, farming and all manner of different areas of gameplay.

Looking back at it in hindsight, the rewards don’t matter much to me anymore, but the experiences I received from pursuing those rewards were invaluable; I became a part of the community, the game felt more alive, I enjoyed the experiences and was motivated to continue doing them because there was always 1 more point to get in the HoM, and in the end I was filling out the HoM because I wanted to gain as many achievements as possible. I still login at times just to look upon my HoM and can almost re-experience the images in my head when looking at the statues and armors, minipets and weapons and so on.

I think GW2 would benefit greatly from adding a Hall of Monuments to its core game, to give players a place to show off their achievements, trophies, accolades, titles, rewards, armors, weapons, miniatures and legendaries.

It would work similar to how legendaries and ascended have worked so far; it would provide players with an overarching goal and nudge them into engaging with the community and the gameplay, it would function as a path for people who have reached max level and are curious as to what to do next; “Oh, I could finish all dungeon paths and gain some statues, then finish all dungeon armors and show them off on mannequins in my HoM!”.

There are only benefits and no detriments, and it could be a part of a new Living World Update to retake and rebuild the Hall of Monuments in the game, as part of a Dynamic World Event with a progression tick box, similar to Tower of Nightmares.

This would also address the issue of player housing in a simple stroke.

One could also combine it with the Achievement System, similar to how maxed reputations in GW1 gave more glow to the Knight’s Statue in the HoM, the amount of achievement points one has could give the same effect to such a background statue in our HoM.

LORE CODEX
One thing certain other games have, such as SWTOR and Diablo III, which would be very useful in GW2, is a Codex where the lore and story of the game world is stored.

We already have a similar log for our personal stories, except this expanded log might give us background information on the zones we visit, as a reward for map completion and exploration, could expand the achievement system with a new category, as a guideline on where to find these tidbits of lore.

The end goal is to provide an in-game library of lore, story and continuity that would allow both new and old players to find information on, for example, the time between GW1 and GW2 and compile the history of Guild Wars, which might also get more people interested in the zones and quests which they are doing.

Getting players immersed in the gameworld and interested in the content they’re consuming can only be a positive, and it would allow the Living World Story, which many find confusing, to be compiled in a simple, in-game log, for people to follow and read through, and could be another reward for completing the LW meta-achievement.

The Guild Wars 2 Charter

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

CONTINUED…

STRUCTURED PVP
sPvP, as it currently stands, is in an in-between. The roadmap that has been set out promises new additions and major changes, though it remains to be seen what the exact details of these changes are, but what PvP needs on a macro level to be able to be successful and expand and incorporate new elements is the following:

  • New Game Modes
    Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Battlegrounds and so on, the current seize-and-defend system isn’t bad, but it becomes tiresome, and the potential exists for sPvP to become much more engaging and fun than it currently is, and would allow for new game formats to be added…
  • Rank System
    Ranks are being preserved, as has been stated, and it’s a positive thing too, as it encourages people to partake in PvP; without Glory and Ranks, sPvP would be even less active than it currently is, for the simple reason that there is no motivator for people to engage in active PvP, similar to how PvE would be dead without Legendary and Ascended grinding to encourage people to organize mining runs, world tours, temple runs and so on.

I would suggest expanding the Rank system to incorporate more rewards and new elements, preserving glory as a currency, or, at the least, replacing it with some similar system, which was mentioned though the details were vague.

Rewards aren’t the reason for PvP’ing, but they encourage the mass of the playerbase to become interested in, and engage with, the Mists. The exceptions are those groups of people who have a social circle within the game; e.g. IRL friends playing together, networks within guilds and so on, who have an established position and are competing in a different league compared to those who casually sPvP.

  • Arenas and PvP
    Now, this would be an interesting component to add to sPvP. It would allow for GW2 to become a serious e-sport, if that is what it aspires to become, and could exist in formats of 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 4v4 and 5v5.

Inspiration can be taken from WoW and GW1, who both have Arena Systems and where competitive playing is, and was, on a much higher level than it currently is in GW2. Despite the fact that GW2 states that it is based on skill alone with regards to PvP, there are too many different factors that influence the outcome of a match for the devs to claim that skill is the decisive factor in gameplay.

Skill can be defined in different ways, but playing skillfully, defending points, seizing others and using skills carefully is punished relative to zerging through the match, double-capping and clogging into groups to cap points or mindlessly killing enemies.

This is fine for the casual hot-join environment that sPvP at the moment is, similar to battlegrounds in WoW, and more engaging PvP can be found on the Solo and Team Arenas, but an Arena System a lá WoW would allow for much more skilled gameplay.

The Arena could be implemented in two different modes, one with organized gameplay, and one with hot-join gameplay, similar to Random Arena in GW1. A solution that could be used to address skill balancing without affecting PvE and WvW would be the PvP Effect that was used in GW1 to alter skills while active in Arenas.

This would, at the least, encourage more players to partake in PvP, allow for pure skill to play a bigger role in the outcome of matches and give factors such as LoS, CC and kiting a greater importance in Arena-style maps similar to GW1 and WoW.

SKIN WARDROBE, GEM STORE SKINS AND PERMANENT UNLOCKS
One thing that would encourage me to spend more on the Gem Store would be if the skins we purchase there became permanent unlocks, that could then be used, similar to achievement skins, an unlimited amount of times on that account.

These could be added to the Skin Wardrobe that has been suggested alot of times to be implemented for PvE, where we unlock skins rather than individual gear pieces. We have a Collections Tab already, and such a wardrobe in sPvP; adding it to PvE would greatly increase the sense of customization and allow for more cosmetic progression.

Transmutation Stones would still have to be used, of course, except for Gem Store Skins, which would be applied the same manner in which achievement skins are applied, as an added bonus to, and for, purchasing them.

See Attachment for Details
Courtesy of Shriketalon.1937 (https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/CDI-Character-Progression-Vertical/page/5#post3369475)

Attachments:

The Guild Wars 2 Charter

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

CONTINUED…

FACTIONAL REPUTATION AND WARFARE – CULTURAL ARMOR AND WEAPONS
Factional Reputation would be a great method for allowing for greater customization, as it would unlock paths for different races to gain access to the benefits of the others.

For example, a Norn who maximized their reputation with the Humans would gain access to that faction’s racial/cultural armor and weaponry. This might require a re-design to ensure these different armors and weapons match all races, but it’s an added incentive for exploring the world.

This could, of course, also become an interesting mechanism in the Living World, in GvG (see above) and in player politics and the Alliance System. Different factions could commit warfare against one another for control of different zones, with Guilds and Alliances being a part of this whole mechanism, allowing minor guilds, small groups and casuals/soloers to partake in the battle for zone control with factions to gain minor benefits.

We also have the Orders that seem to have been forgotten. Maximizing reputation with the different orders would grant access to their items and objects in a similar fashion, and these Orders could perhaps comprise an Alliance of their own against the major racial factions, adding another interesting story element to the Factional Warfare system and disturbing the balance of power in Tyria if the devs would like to see the LW go in that direction.

Factional Reputation, in any case, opens up for a wide variety of gameplay systems and new methods of cosmetic advancement, customization and character progression, which is only positive in my opinion.

PVE RANKS/PARAGON SYSTEM
We gain skill points, but we’re still locked down in levels in PvE. Some other games, such as Tibia and RuneScape, have no such lock on levels, but the whole game is based instead on gaining as many levels as possible.

What I suggest is adding a sort of PvE Rank System, similar to the one in PvP. Allow us to level to 80, and then expand into ranks beyond that, similar to the Paragon System in Diablo 3.

This rank system would be separate from levels, as we wouldn’t be gaining power. It would function as follows; a character that reaches level 80 would, in a party for example, have his level color changed to, e.g., blue, which would show his rank level, in a range of 1-80, to begin with. This rank could then be expanded in future updates, but 80 seems like a good number to start with, since that’s where PvP rank cap and Level cap are both at.

At each 5 and 10 level interval we would gain purely cosmetic rewards, for example, new titles and ranks, new portrait frames and so on.

See attachment at bottom for example

This PvE Rank System could be tied to the existing Achievement System, so that we might gain, for example, boosts to Karma Gain, Experience Gain, Magic Find and Gold Find at different intervals.

If ArenaNet desires, they could add different kinds of boosts to this system, for example passive movement speed boosts, loot pickup radius and so on, boosts that would be disabled in competitive environments such as sPvP and WvW, but be active in PvE, to reflect the fact that this is a PvE System.

PvE Leaderboards could then be added, showing the players with the highest PvE Ranks in the game.

This Rank System should be a blend between the WXP and sPvP Rank Systems in difficulty and time, since it’s ment to display personal dedication, experience and active time in the game, the design would be similar in its mindset to that of Ascended and Legendaries; it’s a nice goal to work towards, encourages one to take an active part in community activities, since all PvE activities would add rank points, and is ment to be maxed in an organic manner through normal gameplay.

Attachments:

The Guild Wars 2 Charter

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

CONTINUED…

ALLIANCES, GUILDS AND SOVEREIGNTY – GUILD VS. GUILD/ALLIANCE VS. ALLIANCE
GvG would be another method of expanding the importance of guilds within the community, and could be used as a PvP, WvW and PvE mechanism.

It could be composed in different formats;

  • Structured PvP
    Two Guilds fight eachother in the Mists throughout a rotation of all current maps, with the end score determining the rewards. This would not have a lasting impact upon the world, and would essentially be a form of PvP without outside factors such as gear affecting the outcome.
  • WvW
    Guilds can claim castles, keeps and other objects within WvW, I say we give guilds a greater role to play in WvW and the outcome of battles. Allow them to challenge eachother for control of different objects, either in the current maps, which might be difficult because of how zerg capturing makes this function redundant, and because of the impact it might have on the rest of the world and other guilds.

The Edge of the Mists, however, might be a good place to test GvG out, allow guilds to fight for control of different areas and components of the map to grant boosts to themselves and their respective servers.

  • PvE
    Now, this is where it becomes more interesting. Those who have played EVE Online know that Alliances and Guilds are able to control different zones and areas within the game in order to gain bonuses, boosts, buffs and rewards, with uneasy truces and eternal combat, drama and a truly living world ensuring that player politics is a highly decisive factor in the game’s direction.

A similar system could be implemented in GW2 with GvG and Alliance vs. Alliance in PvE being a system where these groups fight eachother for control of different zones or areas in the game. For example, gaining control of Frostgorge Sound might grant a Guild passive boosts and incomes to the Guild Bank, which can be utilized for different purposes, all to ensure Guilds become a more essential part of the game.

Rival Guilds and Alliances can then challenge eachother for control of these zones. Alliances could, for example, control entire areas, such as Shiverpeak Mountains, Ring of Fire and Maguuma Jungle, whilst Guilds control individual zones within these areas, such as Fireheart Rise and Snowden Drifts.

This control would not affect the playerbase as a whole from interacting with the zone, this system is instead placed in a different sphere than general PvE; the average player will not notice major changes in his gameplay, other than, for example, an extra text bar under the map name in World Map saying “Thiz zone is currently controlled by X, Y or Z from Alliance X, Y or Z”.

There are great details that need to be added to this system to make it work, but the benefits are that the world becomes more dynamic, Guilds become an integral part of the gameplay, rewards are increased for successful guilds, a competitive element is added to general PvE and player politics becomes a more active subject within the community.

To prevent stalemates after the initial rush for control, different systems could be put in place; for example, sitting on a single zone forever can be discouraged through passive debuffs that deplete the resources the Guild gains from control, and would require it to gain control of a new zone.

Guilds and Alliances can be given the option to maximize their benefits from control through the upgrades panel; e.g. constructing Mines, Lumber Mills and other items in the map to gain resources, which would be a requirement to gain any benefits at all, ensuring only active guilds are able to compete and control zones, and with overextending and prioritization becoming important factors, as, depending on the merits, influence and guild commendations the Guild and its members have and are able to acquire, one has to choose where to put one’s efforts.

(edited by Eli Stormstrike.8637)

The Guild Wars 2 Charter

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

CONTINUED…

Account-wide Crafting
One measure that I’m surprised hasn’t been implemented is Account-wide Crafting disciplines. Since one character is able to max all crafting disciplines, and since the Achievement System is account-wide, there is truly no incentive for a player to go through the grind once more on a different character.

I suggest merging crafts across all characters to the highest one in each discpline currently on the account, and once unlocked at the highest level once it will be available to all characters on that account.

  • ASCENDED PRECURSORS AND LEGENDARY GEAR
    I believe the opportunity exists to enshrine Ascended as milestone towards gaining a Legendary, rather than feeling as if one is wasting their time, spending resources and money to gain items that are on the same level as Legendaries, but sub-par in the sense that they lack stat-switching. I’ve seen much jaded talk about holding back on crafting Ascended in order to wait for the Legendary tier to be added to other slots.

Legendary Weapons are a great addition to the game, similar to how Ascended currently functions they encourage players to partake in activities across a broad spectrum, to enjoy the game to the fullest and work towards this long-term goal organically through normal gameplay.

The end goal should be to have Legendary Items available for all equipment slots currently in-game, and with the path to acquiring them, with perhaps the exception of Legendary Weapons because of the already-existing precursors, going straight through Ascended.

As was mentioned earlier, I proposed expanding the Infusion mechanism to incorporate Ascended weapons and armor, as this would allow us to progress further into Fractals, give the brackets more meaning and disperse the rewards across a broader range of levels, whilst also expanding the progression of the Ascended tier, another goal to work towards to infuse all of one’s gear.

This Infusion mechanism could then be used in the crafting of Precursors; the precursors for Legendary Weapons are already in-game as exotics, and changing this might be difficult at this stage, as I would propose using Ascended weapons as precursors instead.

However, for Legendary Armor and Trinkets, Ascended could be used as the precursors. Once a piece of Ascended armor has been infused, one is able to use it as a precursor component to crafting a corresponding Legendary piece; this will ensure Ascended is not perceived as a waste of time, won’t place it in competition to legendaries but will instead become an integral component to it, and will also connect these different kinds of progression to one another, so that those who have Ascended gear at the moment, and those who are working towards it, won’t feel as if their efforts were reset on a treadmill once other legendaries are gradually released.

One proposal given by Shriketalon.1937 was to craft Legendary Trinkets through the following method:

Uisng different orbs to craft exquisite jewels, these can then be combined in sets of 4 in order to create a “Chimeric Prism” and an “Iridescent Prism”. Combining these 2 with a “Chaos Diamond”, from salvaging Ascended items, and Thermocatalytic Reagents would then yield an “Inscribed Secret”.

This “Inscribed Secret” is then combined together with an Augur’s Stone and 2 items made from recipes containing the yet-to-be-added Ascended materials, Xunlai Electrum Ingots and Crystalline Ingots, which would then yield a Legendary Trinket.

See attachment at bottom for detailed description
Image is courtesy of Shriketalon.1937 (https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/CDI-Character-Progression-Vertical/page/5#post3369475)

To conclude: One should be able to acquire Ascended items through a wide range of activities, ranging from Fractals and Crafting to general PvE. These Ascended items should then be expanded, allowing players to infuse them to gain Account-wide Agony Resistance. The Infused versions of these Ascended Weapons, Armors and Trinkets should then become the precursors for crafting their legendary counterparts, creating a chain of progression for players to go through until the end goal of full Legendary is achieved, through normal and organic gameplay.

Attachments:

(edited by Eli Stormstrike.8637)

The Guild Wars 2 Charter

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

This is a compilation of suggestions both from me and some with inspiration from others.

The design for things such as Ascended and Legendary, AP and PvP Ranks have been based on the Manifesto that was released; you are ment to advance and acquire these things through normal gameplay, over time, rather than through hardcore grinding and session playing, which leads to burnout.

THE ASCENDED TIER
The Ascended tier is a divisive subject within the GW2 community, but in the long run I believe it was positive for the game as a whole to add this tier.

In part because it re-vitalised the game and encouraged the creation of community; world tours, mining runs, temple runs, all of these activities and then some started appearing and re-appearing with the addition of Ascended Weapons and then Armors. It gives players a long-term goal to work towards, whilst at the same time ensuring the community remains alive and active. It fulfilled the same function as the HoM did in GW1, to an extent.

In part because Ascended opens up for some interesting mechanics to be used in crafting and the progression towards Legendaries, more of which will be mentioned below.

In part because Ascended allows for an expansion and depth to be added to current gameplay systems, such as Fractals, which will be brought up below.

With this being said, I believe there should be other paths towards gaining the Ascended Gear, as this would encourage people to get involved in more gameplay systems, consume more content and be able to mix-and-match different methods to acquire their sets, choosing what they enjoy the most.

  • Fractals of the Mists
    The Fractal System is a one with great potential and could be an excellent alternative path to gaining Ascended gear and materials. First of all, however, I believe some additions and modifications need to be made to the Fractals.

The brackets and their reward system could be something along the lines of the following, with the rewards of previous brackets being included in the next brackets, and with the chances of gaining those rewards, and the amount one receives, increasing with each level and bracket increase.

I also believe that boxes should be replaced with a choice of stats, so that one can choose directly whether to receive e.g. Ring with Berserker stats, rather than have the current double RNG of actually getting a box, and then hoping that box contains the desired stats.

  • Level 1-10
    Ascended Materials
  • Level 11-20
    Ascended Ring (Non-infused)
  • Level 21-30
    Ascended Ring (Infused)
  • Level 31-40
    Ascended Weapon (Non-infused)
  • Level 41-50
    Ascended Weapon (Infused)
  • Level 51-60
    Ascended Armor (Non-infused)
  • Level 61-70
    Ascended Armor (Infused)

You might notice that Infusions have been added to weapons and armors, which is another mechanic that could be used to make Ascended more desirable, intertwine it more with the Fractals and further increase the progression within this tier.

Infusing these Ascended pieces would allow us to progress higher through the Fractal levels, give us a long-term goal to work towards in Infusing our sets and would solve the issue of insufficient AR as one progresses throughout the Fractals, ensuring that it might actually become an “endless” dungeon.

Account-wide Agony Resistance
Considering how Fractal Level is now account-wide, it’s logical for Agony Resistance to become account-wide aswell, to allow our characters to consume content at the current account level they’re at.

For example, Agony Infusions could be removed from gear and added to the character panel, so that infusing gear would add 5 Agony Resistance to the account.

The new +1 Agony Resistance Infusions that drop from Fractals could, once merged into a +5 minimum, then be used to add that much AR to the account.

It’s a quality-of-life measure that would encourage using alts, since one wouldn’t have to grind for so many +1 AR’s to be able to progress past 30 on alts, and would still retain the Infusion System, except adding it to the account, which would also encourage spec experimenting, since one wouldn’t have to switch gear setups and infuse all over again.

  • Ascended Salvaging
    Allow us to salvage Ascended items in return for Ascended materials, with the added chance of Globs of Dark Matter, perhaps Globs of Ectoplasm and +1 Agony Resistance Infusions.
  • Ascended Crafting
    Most crafting disciplines at the moment have the ability to craft Ascended Weapons and Armors. I suggest expanding this path even further, allowing Jewellers to craft Ascended backpieces and trinkets.

Randomize world event timers

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

I don’t see a reason for doing this. The world has become dynamic and more alive, community has been created and activity has spread as a result of the implementation of the Ascended tier.

Making life difficult for players will achieve nothing, these bosses would never have been killed on a regular basis if it weren’t for the rewards, materials and organization that has been setup on servers to put them on farm.

What some people fail to understand is that things such as mining runs, temple runs, world tours, boss events and champion farming, even dynamic event farming as was common at launch, would never occur if it weren’t for the long-term goals ANet has implemented in the shape of Ascended and Legendaries.

The game would be dead except for a handful of jaded RPG’ers who shoot themselves in the foot by focusing on the grinding aspect instead of enjoying the journey. You wouldn’t do these bosses if it weren’t for the rewards, but you wouldn’t do the bosses if you got the rewards prior to the boss either.

In other words, enjoy the fact that grinding has re-vitalised the game and its community, as the Hall of Monuments did with GW1, and be grateful for the fact that the game has been designed so as to promote normal and organic gameplay as a method of acquiring these superior rewards, rather than hardcore grinding until you get burned out from the tunnel-vision of getting that end-reward, ignoring the journey itself.

VIP Status

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

Next time use search
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/VIP-Membership
And we will not get this system no one want it here.

Doesn’t matter what we or the developers want, the payment and subscription model isn’t decided democratically. Business is business, and if it proves profitable, attempts will be made to force it on the game from above.

What matters then is how organized, vocal and broad the opposition is, otherwise it will be implemented, people will adapat and subscribe and it will be impossible to remove once implemented.

So, if it proves successful in the East, expect it in the West, for better and worse .

CDI- Character Progression-Horizontal

in CDI

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

CONTINUED…

ACCOUNT-BIND/SOULBOUND
To encourage alt’ing even further, I suggest that soulbound be removed whereever possible and be converted to account-bound; considering currencies are account-bound, there is no reason for us not to be able to use the same armor sets for our other characters, instead of having them purchase it again with the tokens grinded for on our mains.

DOUBLE SPECIALIZATION/TEMPLATE SYSTEM
The Template System that existed in GW1 saved alot of time, encouraged trying out different builds and easily allowed players who were inactive and returned to be able to become re-connected to the gameplay more easily through remembering and reading through the titles and compositions.

I see no reason for us not to implement such a system for our Traits and Skills, allowing us to re-specialize on the fly depending on the demands of the encounters before us.

WEAPON TYPE ACCESSIBILITY
I don’t see the reason for weapon types being restricted based on class and profession, and removing those restrictions might attract more people to different classes and give players an even broader sense of customization and progression.

I would, for example, love to see a Ranger able to use Rifles.

LEGENDARY DYES AND ACCOUNT-BINDING
This suggestion has been brought up before, I don’t recall where, but it’s yet another method of customization and cosmetic progression which is only positive.

First of all, Dyes should become account-bound on acquire, which would further ease and encourage alt’ing and be a simple quality-of-life update.

As for Legendary Dyes, the suggestion that was put forth was to add effects to the armor similar to those gotten from Legendary Weapons, with fogs and glowing effects added to the character and its armor.

DONE

CDI- Character Progression-Horizontal

in CDI

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

CONTINUED…

DAILIES, MONTHLIES + WEEKLIES
We already have dailies and monthlies, I suggest a simple expansion with adding weeklies, just a simple expansion of the achievement system already in-place and yet another added incentive to consume content.

SEMI-RAID DUNGEONS
Another topic which has been debated in the community is the addition of raids and longer dungeons, similar to Underworld, Fissure of Woe, The Deep, Urgoz’ Warren and Domain of Anguish in GW1.

These longer and more complex dungeons could become what the initial intent was for explorable mode to become, now designed with legendaries and ascended in mind and using the experiences gathered since launch.

These dungeons could be scalable from between, say, 8-20 players, would not grant superior equipment other than what is already available in the game, but would instead grant rewards in the sense of tokens for a new set of cosmetic gear, have a higher chance of dropping rare and Ascended materials and so forth.

These would be on a weekly lockdown, resetting at the same time as the Weekly Achievement mentioned above.

If ANet would prefer these to be cordoned off from PUGs in order to further promote the importance of Guilds and encourage active involvement within Guilds, it would be possible to add these as some form of Guild Dungeon, similar to the current Guild Rush, Challenges and Missions, allowing Guilds to partake in these dungeons once a week for Guild achievements, trophies, merits, influence, rewards for the Guild Halls, individual commendations and statues for the HoM and so on.

Regardless of if these are intertwined with Guilds or made available to the general public, I believe these would be an interesting addition to the game and could be designed with endgame challenge in mind, with exclusive cosmetic rewards at the end, similar to how Arah was functioning at the launch of this game, and with time a raise in the average gear and skill level in the community to Ascended would allow casual players to complete these dungeons.

They could also be designed with the Weekly lock in mind throughout the process, e.g. allowing Guilds to finish off a section each night instead of having to finish it all at once, as the dungeon wouldn’t reset until the lock was removed.

These are all different suggestions on how it could be implemented, of course, but I believe the addition of these semi-raids would be a positive addition to dungeoneering.

CDI- Character Progression-Horizontal

in CDI

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

CONTINUED…

HALL OF MONUMENTS, ACHIEVEMENT SYSTEM AND PLAYER HOUSING
One of the great things about the Hall of Monuments in GW1 was that it gave you an overarching goal so to speak; it inspired people to go out and enjoy gameplay and different parts of the game that one might never have tried out without the HoM. GW1 became re-vitalised through the implementation of the Hall of Monuments, because it gave people a goal to work towards, it implemented a new reward system that incorporated all areas of the game, and it encouraged both new and older players to once again become active members of the community, through dungeon running, mission running, vanquishing, zaishen dailies, farming and all manner of different areas of gameplay.

Looking back at it in hindsight, the rewards don’t matter much to me anymore, but the experiences I received from pursuing those rewards were invaluable; I became a part of the community, the game felt more alive, I enjoyed the experiences and was motivated to continue doing them because there was always 1 more point to get in the HoM, and in the end I was filling out the HoM because I wanted to gain as many achievements as possible. I still login at times just to look upon my HoM and can almost re-experience the images in my head when looking at the statues and armors, minipets and weapons and so on.

I think GW2 would benefit greatly from adding a Hall of Monuments to its core game, to give players a place to show off their achievements, trophies, accolades, titles, rewards, armors, weapons, miniatures and legendaries.

It would work similar to how legendaries and ascended have worked so far; it would provide players with an overarching goal and nudge them into engaging with the community and the gameplay, it would function as a path for people who have reached max level and are curious as to what to do next; “Oh, I could finish all dungeon paths and gain some statues, then finish all dungeon armors and show them off on mannequins in my HoM!”.

There are only benefits and no detriments, and it could be a part of a new Living World Update to retake and rebuild the Hall of Monuments in the game, as part of a Dynamic World Event with a progression tick box, similar to Tower of Nightmares.

This would also address the issue of player housing in a simple stroke.

One could also combine it with the Achievement System, similar to how maxed reputations in GW1 gave more glow to the Knight’s Statue in the HoM, the amount of achievement points one has could give the same effect to such a background statue in our HoM.

LORE CODEX
One thing certain other games have, such as SWTOR and Diablo III, which would be very useful in GW2, is a Codex where the lore and story of the game world is stored.

We already have a similar log for our personal stories, except this expanded log might give us background information on the zones we visit, as a reward for map completion and exploration, could expand the achievement system with a new category, as a guideline on where to find these tidbits of lore.

The end goal is to provide an in-game library of lore, story and continuity that would allow both new and old players to find information on, for example, the time between GW1 and GW2 and compile the history of Guild Wars, which might also get more people interested in the zones and quests which they are doing.

Getting players immersed in the gameworld and interested in the content they’re consuming can only be a positive, and it would allow the Living World Story, which many find confusing, to be compiled in a simple, in-game log, for people to follow and read through, and could be another reward for completing the LW meta-achievement.

CDI- Character Progression-Horizontal

in CDI

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

CONTINUED…

STRUCTURED PVP
sPvP, as it currently stands, is in an in-between. The roadmap that has been set out promises new additions and major changes, though it remains to be seen what the exact details of these changes are, but what PvP needs on a macro level to be able to be successful and expand and incorporate new elements is the following:

  • New Game Modes
    Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Battlegrounds and so on, the current seize-and-defend system isn’t bad, but it becomes tiresome, and the potential exists for sPvP to become much more engaging and fun than it currently is, and would allow for new game formats to be added…
  • Rank System
    Ranks are being preserved, as has been stated, and it’s a positive thing too, as it encourages people to partake in PvP; without Glory and Ranks, sPvP would be even less active than it currently is, for the simple reason that there is no motivator for people to engage in active PvP, similar to how PvE would be dead without Legendary and Ascended grinding to encourage people to organize mining runs, world tours, temple runs and so on.

I would suggest expanding the Rank system to incorporate more rewards and new elements, preserving glory as a currency, or, at the least, replacing it with some similar system, which was mentioned though the details were vague.

Rewards aren’t the reason for PvP’ing, but they encourage the mass of the playerbase to become interested in, and engage with, the Mists. The exceptions are those groups of people who have a social circle within the game; e.g. IRL friends playing together, networks within guilds and so on, who have an established position and are competing in a different league compared to those who casually sPvP.

  • Arenas and PvP
    Now, this would be an interesting component to add to sPvP. It would allow for GW2 to become a serious e-sport, if that is what it aspires to become, and could exist in formats of 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 4v4 and 5v5.

Inspiration can be taken from WoW and GW1, who both have Arena Systems and where competitive playing is, and was, on a much higher level than it currently is in GW2. Despite the fact that GW2 states that it is based on skill alone with regards to PvP, there are too many different factors that influence the outcome of a match for the devs to claim that skill is the decisive factor in gameplay.

Skill can be defined in different ways, but playing skillfully, defending points, seizing others and using skills carefully is punished relative to zerging through the match, double-capping and clogging into groups to cap points or mindlessly killing enemies.

This is fine for the casual hot-join environment that sPvP at the moment is, similar to battlegrounds in WoW, and more engaging PvP can be found on the Solo and Team Arenas, but an Arena System a lá WoW would allow for much more skilled gameplay.

The Arena could be implemented in two different modes, one with organized gameplay, and one with hot-join gameplay, similar to Random Arena in GW1. A solution that could be used to address skill balancing without affecting PvE and WvW would be the PvP Effect that was used in GW1 to alter skills while active in Arenas.

This would, at the least, encourage more players to partake in PvP, allow for pure skill to play a bigger role in the outcome of matches and give factors such as LoS, CC and kiting a greater importance in Arena-style maps similar to GW1 and WoW.

SKIN WARDROBE, GEM STORE SKINS AND PERMANENT UNLOCKS
One thing that would encourage me to spend more on the Gem Store would be if the skins we purchase there became permanent unlocks, that could then be used, similar to achievement skins, an unlimited amount of times on that account.

These could be added to the Skin Wardrobe that has been suggested alot of times to be implemented for PvE, where we unlock skins rather than individual gear pieces. We have a Collections Tab already, and such a wardrobe in sPvP; adding it to PvE would greatly increase the sense of customization and allow for more cosmetic progression.

Transmutation Stones would still have to be used, of course, except for Gem Store Skins, which would be applied the same manner in which achievement skins are applied, as an added bonus to, and for, purchasing them.

See Attachment for Details
Curtesy of Shriketalon.1937 (https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/CDI-Character-Progression-Vertical/page/5#post3369475)

Attachments:

CDI- Character Progression-Horizontal

in CDI

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

CONTINUED…

FACTIONAL REPUTATION AND WARFARE – CULTURAL ARMOR AND WEAPONS
Factional Reputation would be a great method for allowing for greater customization, as it would unlock paths for different races to gain access to the benefits of the others.

For example, a Norn who maximized their reputation with the Humans would gain access to that faction’s racial/cultural armor and weaponry. This might require a re-design to ensure these different armors and weapons match all races, but it’s an added incentive for exploring the world.

This could, of course, also become an interesting mechanism in the Living World, in GvG (see above) and in player politics and the Alliance System. Different factions could commit warfare against one another for control of different zones, with Guilds and Alliances being a part of this whole mechanism, allowing minor guilds, small groups and casuals/soloers to partake in the battle for zone control with factions to gain minor benefits.

We also have the Orders that seem to have been forgotten. Maximizing reputation with the different orders would grant access to their items and objects in a similar fashion, and these Orders could perhaps comprise an Alliance of their own against the major racial factions, adding another interesting story element to the Factional Warfare system and disturbing the balance of power in Tyria if the devs would like to see the LW go in that direction.

Factional Reputation, in any case, opens up for a wide variety of gameplay systems and new methods of cosmetic advancement, customization and character progression, which is only positive in my opinion.

PVE RANKS/PARAGON SYSTEM
We gain skill points, but we’re still locked down in levels in PvE. Some other games, such as Tibia and RuneScape, have no such lock on levels, but the whole game is based instead on gaining as many levels as possible.

What I suggest is adding a sort of PvE Rank System, similar to the one in PvP. Allow us to level to 80, and then expand into ranks beyond that, similar to the Paragon System in Diablo 3.

This rank system would be separate from levels, as we wouldn’t be gaining power. It would function as follows; a character that reaches level 80 would, in a party for example, have his level color changed to, e.g., blue, which would show his rank level, in a range of 1-80, to begin with. This rank could then be expanded in future updates, but 80 seems like a good number to start with, since that’s where PvP rank cap and Level cap are both at.

At each 5 and 10 level interval we would gain purely cosmetic rewards, for example, new titles and ranks, new portrait frames and so on.

See attachment at bottom for example

This PvE Rank System could be tied to the existing Achievement System, so that we might gain, for example, boosts to Karma Gain, Experience Gain, Magic Find and Gold Find at different intervals.

If ArenaNet desires, they could add different kinds of boosts to this system, for example passive movement speed boosts, loot pickup radius and so on, boosts that would be disabled in competitive environments such as sPvP and WvW, but be active in PvE, to reflect the fact that this is a PvE System.

PvE Leaderboards could then be added, showing the players with the highest PvE Ranks in the game.

This Rank System should be a blend between the WXP and sPvP Rank Systems in difficulty and time, since it’s ment to display personal dedication, experience and active time in the game, the design would be similar in its mindset to that of Ascended and Legendaries; it’s a nice goal to work towards, encourages one to take an active part in community activities, since all PvE activities would add rank points, and is ment to be maxed in an organic manner through normal gameplay.

Attachments:

CDI- Character Progression-Horizontal

in CDI

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

CONTINUED…

ALLIANCES, GUILDS AND SOVEREIGNTY – GUILD VS. GUILD/ALLIANCE VS. ALLIANCE
GvG would be another method of expanding the importance of guilds within the community, and could be used as a PvP, WvW and PvE mechanism.

It could be composed in different formats;

  • Structured PvP
    Two Guilds fight eachother in the Mists throughout a rotation of all current maps, with the end score determining the rewards. This would not have a lasting impact upon the world, and would essentially be a form of PvP without outside factors such as gear affecting the outcome.
  • WvW
    Guilds can claim castles, keeps and other objects within WvW, I say we give guilds a greater role to play in WvW and the outcome of battles. Allow them to challenge eachother for control of different objects, either in the current maps, which might be difficult because of how zerg capturing makes this function redundant, and because of the impact it might have on the rest of the world and other guilds.

The Edge of the Mists, however, might be a good place to test GvG out, allow guilds to fight for control of different areas and components of the map to grant boosts to themselves and their respective servers.

  • PvE
    Now, this is where it becomes more interesting. Those who have played EVE Online know that Alliances and Guilds are able to control different zones and areas within the game in order to gain bonuses, boosts, buffs and rewards, with uneasy truces and eternal combat, drama and a truly living world ensuring that player politics is a highly decisive factor in the game’s direction.

A similar system could be implemented in GW2 with GvG and Alliance vs. Alliance in PvE being a system where these groups fight eachother for control of different zones or areas in the game. For example, gaining control of Frostgorge Sound might grant a Guild passive boosts and incomes to the Guild Bank, which can be utilized for different purposes, all to ensure Guilds become a more essential part of the game.

Rival Guilds and Alliances can then challenge eachother for control of these zones. Alliances could, for example, control entire areas, such as Shiverpeak Mountains, Ring of Fire and Maguuma Jungle, whilst Guilds control individual zones within these areas, such as Fireheart Rise and Snowden Drifts.

This control would not affect the playerbase as a whole from interacting with the zone, this system is instead placed in a different sphere than general PvE; the average player will not notice major changes in his gameplay, other than, for example, an extra text bar under the map name in World Map saying “Thiz zone is currently controll by X, Y or Z from Alliance X, Y or Z”.

There are great details that need to be added to this system to make it work, but the benefits are that the world becomes more dynamic, Guilds become an integral part of the gameplay, rewards are increased for successful guilds, a competitive element is added to general PvE and player politics becomes a more active subject within the community.

To prevent stalemates after the initial rush for control, different systems could be put in place; for example, sitting on a single zone forever can be discouraged through passive debuffs that deplete the resources the Guild gains from control, and would require it to gain control of a new zone.

Guilds and Alliances can be given the option to maximize their benefits from control through the upgrades panel; e.g. constructing Mines, Lumber Mills and other items in the map to gain resources, which would be a requirement to gain any benefits at all, ensuring only active guilds are able to compete and control zones, and with overextending and prioritization becoming important factors, as, depending on the merits, influence and guild commendations the Guild and its members have and are able to acquire, one has to choose where to put one’s efforts.

CDI- Character Progression-Horizontal

in CDI

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

CONTINUED…

Account-wide Crafting
One measure that I’m surprised hasn’t been implemented is Account-wide Crafting disciplines. Since one character is able to max all crafting disciplines, and since the Achievement System is account-wide, there is truly no incentive for a player to go through the grind once more on a different character.

I suggest merging crafts across all characters to the highest one in each discpline currently on the account, and once unlocked at the highest level once it will be available to all characters on that account.

  • ASCENDED PRECURSORS AND LEGENDARY GEAR
    I believe the opportunity exists to enshrine Ascended as milestone towards gaining a Legendary, rather than feeling as if one is wasting their time, spending resources and money to gain items that are on the same level as Legendaries, but sub-par in the sense that they lack stat-switching. I’ve seen much jaded talk about holding back on crafting Ascended in order to wait for the Legendary tier to be added to other slots.

Legendary Weapons are a great addition to the game, similar to how Ascended currently functions they encourage players to partake in activities across a broad spectrum, to enjoy the game to the fullest and work towards this long-term goal organically through normal gameplay.

The end goal should be to have Legendary Items available for all equipment slots currently in-game, and with the path to acquiring them, with perhaps the exception of Legendary Weapons because of the already-existing precursors, going straight through Ascended.

As was mentioned earlier, I proposed expanding the Infusion mechanism to incorporate Ascended weapons and armor, as this would allow us to progress further into Fractals, give the brackets more meaning and disperse the rewards across a broader range of levels, whilst also expanding the progression of the Ascended tier, another goal to work towards to infuse all of one’s gear.

This Infusion mechanism could then be used in the crafting of Precursors; the precursors for Legendary Weapons are already in-game as exotics, and changing this might be difficult at this stage, as I would propose using Ascended weapons as precursors instead.

However, for Legendary Armor and Trinkets, Ascended could be used as the precursors. Once a piece of Ascended armor has been infused, one is able to use it as a precursor component to crafting a corresponding Legendary piece; this will ensure Ascended is not perceived as a waste of time, won’t place it in competition to legendaries but will instead become an integral component to it, and will also connect these different kinds of progression to one another, so that those who have Ascended gear at the moment, and those who are working towards it, won’t feel as if their efforts were reset on a treadmill once other legendaries are gradually released.

One proposal given by Shriketalon.1937 was to craft Legendary Trinkets through the following method:

Uisng different orbs to craft exquisite jewels, these can then be combined in sets of 4 in order to create a “Chimeric Prism” and an “Iridescent Prism”. Combining these 2 with a “Chaos Diamond”, from salvaging Ascended items, and Thermocatalytic Reagents would then yield an “Inscribed Secret”.

This “Inscribed Secret” is then combined together with an Augur’s Stone and 2 items made from recipes containing the yet-to-be-added Ascended materials, Xunlai Electrum Ingots and Crystalline Ingots, which would then yield a Legendary Trinket.

See attachment at bottom for detailed description
Image is curtesy of Shriketalon.1937 (https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/CDI-Character-Progression-Vertical/page/5#post3369475)

To conclude: One should be able to acquire Ascended items through a wide range of activities, ranging from Fractals and Crafting to general PvE. These Ascended items should then be expanded, allowing players to infuse them to gain Account-wide Agony Resistance. The Infused versions of these Ascended Weapons, Armors and Trinkets should then become the precursors for crafting their legendary counterparts, creating a chain of progression for players to go through until the end goal of full Legendary is achieved, through normal and organic gameplay.

Attachments:

CDI- Character Progression-Horizontal

in CDI

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

The design for things such as Ascended and Legendary, AP and PvP Ranks have been based on the Manifesto that was released; you are ment to advance and acquire these things through normal gameplay, over time, rather than through hardcore grinding and session playing, which leads to burnout.

THE ASCENDED TIER
The Ascended tier is a divisive subject within the GW2 community, but in the long run I believe it was positive for the game as a whole to add this tier.

In part because it re-vitalised the game and encouraged the creation of community; world tours, mining runs, temple runs, all of these activities and then some started appearing and re-appearing with the addition of Ascended Weapons and then Armors. It gives players a long-term goal to work towards, whilst at the same time ensuring the community remains alive and active. It fulfilled the same function as the HoM did in GW1, to an extent.

In part because Ascended opens up for some interesting mechanics to be used in crafting and the progression towards Legendaries, more of which will be mentioned below.

In part because Ascended allows for an expansion and depth to be added to current gameplay systems, such as Fractals, which will be brought up below.

With this being said, I believe there should be other paths towards gaining the Ascended Gear, as this would encourage people to get involved in more gameplay systems, consume more content and be able to mix-and-match different methods to acquire their sets, choosing what they enjoy the most.

  • Fractals of the Mists
    The Fractal System is a one with great potential and could be an excellent alternative path to gaining Ascended gear and materials. First of all, however, I believe some additions and modifications need to be made to the Fractals.

The brackets and their reward system could be something along the lines of the following, with the rewards of previous brackets being included in the next brackets, and with the chances of gaining those rewards, and the amount one receives, increasing with each level and bracket increase.

I also believe that boxes should be replaced with a choice of stats, so that one can choose directly whether to receive e.g. Ring with Berserker stats, rather than have the current double RNG of actually getting a box, and then hoping that box contains the desired stats.

  • Level 1-10
    Ascended Materials
  • Level 11-20
    Ascended Ring (Non-infused)
  • Level 21-30
    Ascended Ring (Infused)
  • Level 31-40
    Ascended Weapon (Non-infused)
  • Level 41-50
    Ascended Weapon (Infused)
  • Level 51-60
    Ascended Armor (Non-infused)
  • Level 61-70
    Ascended Armor (Infused)

You might notice that Infusions have been added to weapons and armors, which is another mechanic that could be used to make Ascended more desirable, intertwine it more with the Fractals and further increase the progression within this tier.

Infusing these Ascended pieces would allow us to progress higher through the Fractal levels, give us a long-term goal to work towards in Infusing our sets and would solve the issue of insufficient AR as one progresses throughout the Fractals, ensuring that it might actually become an “endless” dungeon.

Account-wide Agony Resistance
Considering how Fractal Level is now account-wide, it’s logical for Agony Resistance to become account-wide aswell, to allow our characters to consume content at the current account level they’re at.

For example, Agony Infusions could be removed from gear and added to the character panel, so that infusing gear would add 5 Agony Resistance to the account.

The new +1 Agony Resistance Infusions that drop from Fractals could, once merged into a +5 minimum, then be used to add that much AR to the account.

It’s a quality-of-life measure that would encourage using alts, since one wouldn’t have to grind for so many +1 AR’s to be able to progress past 30 on alts, and would still retain the Infusion System, except adding it to the account, which would also encourage spec experimenting, since one wouldn’t have to switch gear setups and infuse all over again.

  • Ascended Salvaging
    Allow us to salvage Ascended items in return for Ascended materials, with the added chance of Globs of Dark Matter, perhaps Globs of Ectoplasm and +1 Agony Resistance Infusions.
  • Ascended Crafting
    Most crafting disciplines at the moment have the ability to craft Ascended Weapons and Armors. I suggest expanding this path even further, allowing Jewellers to craft Ascended backpieces and trinkets.

Update Cycle

in Living World

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

Hey, so since next patch is on January 21st, should we expect all updates following that to follow the same 4 week schedule, or is this an abherration considering the Holidays?

Thanks.

So how many characters do you have?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

1. Norn Warrior (Main)
2. Charr Ranger
3. Norn Guardian
4. Charr Warrior
5. Human Thief
6. Norn Necromancer
7. Norn Ranger
8. Sylvari Warrior
9. Norn Elementalist
10. Asuran Mesmer

Rank System Progression

in PvP

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

Hey, it’s all fine then

Mind giving me a link to a confirmation? Can’t seem to find it despite googling.

Rank System Progression

in PvP

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

Hey.

One thing I’m curious as to the reasons behind, and opposed to as a whole, is the idea that ArenaNet put forth with regards to the removal of the rank system.

I can honestly see no reasons behind it’s complete removal, and as far as I can tell none has been provided. Considering the obsession with any-and-all kinds of progression being added in all parts of the game, the removal of such a system is an enigma.

There is not a single, recent multiplayer game out on the market without some form of overarching progression system in the shape of e.g. Prestige and XP (shooters), levels (RTS) and ranks (MMO’s). The reason is simple, it’s an inexpensive means of providing players with an incentive to continue playing; older games without these progression systems, such as Counter-Strike 1.6, original RTS games and so on, relied more often on a revolving door community, with groups of friends competing against other groups until boredom and adulthood set in and they stopped altogether.

I’m a Jack of all Trades-kind of player, I enjoy the sense of progression in PvE through Ascended crafting and Legendary hunting, the cosmetic aspects of the game, achievement hunting, gathering materials, dungeoneering and progressing in fractals and so on. What initially made me interested in trying out sPvP wasn’t the fact that I wanted to kill people, since that I can do in any other game, but the rank, glory and reward system, as an alternative for when burnout set in PvE-wise.

I enjoy advancing in ranks at my own pace and seeing the bar fill out, I don’t see any harm whatsoever in retaining the rank system and am yet to see a valid reason for its removal.

A suggestion, as an alternative to removing ranks, if ANet feels compelled to somehow reward veteran sPvP’ers, which I’m all for, is to lock down the finishers associated with different rank intervals and remove those from the game, whilst retaining the rank system itself as a purely cosmetic, personal and individualized progression system, something to work towards at your own pace and something to motivate people to try out and keep playing sPvP, aside from “fun”, which is all well and good, but is at times put forth by people who are organized PvP’ers or play with IRL friends, and so are unable to relate to solo’ers, casuals and hot joiners.

How to not join as Spectator?

in PvP

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

Hi.

Just returned after a long hiatus. Looks like old Hot Join is gone and whatever I do I end up joining a match as a spectator.

What happened to jump in and play not spam refresh and hope to get in before someone else?

No matter what the amount of players are I end up as spectator. I have to wait until the current match ends to join as a participant? In that case wtf? Who has time and is willing to watch mindless hordes in hot join random chaos for 14 minutes…

What Eternity Should Look Like

in Suggestions

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

So signed, do this please pretty please.

Only complaint would be that I like the look for both Twilight and Sunrise, so would have to craft 2 Twilights and 2 Sunrises, 1 of each for Eternity and 1 of each for the separate looks.

In other words, I’d drop dead.

Removing our hard earned ranks!

in PvP

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

I just don’t see the reason for removing the rank system when it will become purely cosmetic once the new changes are introduced.

I predict they’ll do a Blizzard; remove ranks and then re-add them once again when people complain about a lack of personal progression in PvP.

Black Lion gathering tools

in Black Lion Trading Co

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

If they make the T6 Black Lion Tools useless with the introduction of T7 nodes for ascended crafting, and then sell T7 Black Lion Tools in the Gem Store with the next patch, telling everyone who bought the tools during the current sale that “hey, that’s why there was a sale!”.

Dem tears dem fits dat rage.

Anet!! You have outdone yourselves!!!

in Clockwork Chaos

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

Could be the worst patch to date on the technical side of things.
Culling removed in combination with an LS patch where the whole server bunches up in one area of one map, with overflows in overflows where events don’t happen and people are stuck.

All-in-all, good idea, poorly executed, terrible design, lag.

Official Response: Drop Rate of Legendary Precursors

in Crafting

Posted by: Eli Stormstrike.8637

Eli Stormstrike.8637

I remember when I first heard about the Scavenger Hunt…

Attachments: