Guild Wars 2

The game is now free-to-play (don’t have to purchase the “core game” and it has no value). So the price tag is solely for the expansion.

Healix.5819:

If they actually split the expansion from the core game, it would still be $49.99 because the core game by itself has no value. What they were selling a prior to HoT wasn’t just the core game, it was the core game + $20 worth of bonuses. Since they were selling it for only $10, that means that the core game by itself legitimately has no value. It’s too cheap to sell, so they repackage it instead.

That is the sad thing. The company is treating the core game as if it has NO value whatsoever – which it must if there is now a pending expansion. There will always be people who don’t really care about guild halls, and much/most of the “expansion” is actually skill re-working that goes into the core game.

What Anet has done is thrown a bare bone to the community wrapped in pretty paper with a bow and expect everyone to believe they really do listen and care about anything except $.

On the Facebook announcement of this ludicrous “compromise”, the positive comments received an official GW2 reply (usually along the line of “see, we care, we listen”).

Dissenting or critical comments received silence from GW2 – and then the fanboys descending on the person commenting.

Very telling of the level of customer service.

The “gift” of the character slot to veteran players is ONLY if they pre-purchase the expansion at full price.

If they do not or cannot pre-purchase the expansion, they are treated just as a new player except for the whole having the core game already and -only- receiving the content-light expansion.

And before any of the fanboys land on my head, I say content-light because the devs said that many of the changes being implemented with HoT are to the original game, i.e. not the actual expansion content itself. The rest of it constitutes a game update. Yes, guild halls are an update, folks.

I was a beta-tester of this game and a pre-purchaser of the original game. Currently I am not able to pre-purchase HoT. It doesn’t matter to the company how many other people I have brought to the game, the decade I supported and played GW1, or any other tidbit of circumstance. To Anet, I (and all the other veteran players) am just another dollar sign in a sea of statistics.

All this has been all along is a marketing ploy by Anet to cause as much media uproar – and thus attention – as possible. There is no other explanation (except maybe little green men kidnapping all the actually customer-caring people at Anet).

There are plenty other people out there who do not understand nuances of customer service, economics or even marketing. What’s the old saying? “A fool and his money are soon parted.”

I pre-ordered GW2 after beta-testing it. My guild formed up immediately (I’m not the gm). Most of the guild left, slowly, because the game was soooooooo buggy and nothing seemed to be getting fixed in lieu of the now-infamous karka invasion (which was a farcical lag fest, at the least) and continued content being rushed out.

Now, I check back occasionally because there are still guild members who play, and they tell me that (~3 years later) many of the bugs have been sorted out and gameplay has improved dramatically.

For those of you who insist that the Living Story was “free” content, you forget it was only free IF you logged in during that particular chapter. If, for some reason, you were unable to log in within the two week period (or however long), you must now pay for it. I have about half of it unlocked from logging in, but there is no real interest in unlocking the rest so I can play —- and that sentiment is from reading all the reviews, positive as well as negative. That makes me sad since I’ve played GW for a decade.

GW’s only expansion, Eye of the North, was reliant on your having one of the chapters of the game. You were not required to purchase it bundled with a “free” copy of the base game (Prophecies). There are bundled specials, of course, but it is not mandatory that it be bought with something else. And ALL chapters/expansion of GW brought massive influx of new content plus character slots to try out said new content afresh.

IndigoSundown.5419:

However, it would be inaccurate to say that GW2’s “veteran core group” feels this way. GW2’s veteran core group is not a united demographic and not all of them feel that way.

Wording matters in debates. The wording you used is a standard tactic in game forums to make one’s position seem more important by appearing to speak for more people than yourself. You may not have intended that, but that’s how it comes across.

and @Vayne

I have not – nor would I ever – claimed to speak for the entire veteran core group. I do not claim to speak for my guildmates in this matter although many do feel similarly. As a military veteran, I would not claim to speak for that group, either.

What I said was that it was my belief that disregard for the group existed. That does not equate to my saying the group believes that. The fact that you, Vayne, state you do not feel the same way demonstrates that two veteran players do not necessarily have the same experience or outlook. You do not feel there is a disregard, and your view is just as valid as mine, regardless of agreement or not, and should be respected.

Yes, wording is important. This is why I was careful to say that it was how I felt, not how others may/may not and gave examples of my reasoning. To try and twist my words in any way beyond what they said, IndigoSundown, is also a standard forum tactic to invalidate someone’s viewpoint with whom you disagree. You may not have meant it that way, but that is how it comes across.

This is the game I waited for for years. This is the game I beta-tested.

It is not the game we have now.

@Vayne

Ok, I get it. You disagree and believe me to not even have a right to make any comments about the Living Story since I gave up on it after the first few episodes when it was a buggy hot mess. You believe I am mistaken in nearly everything I have given as my own experience and observations. That’s ok. We can agree to disagree if you feel this need to dismiss me.

Do I prefer GW1 over 2? While it really is comparing apples and oranges, and GW1 had/has its own challenges and bugs, yes. There are several reasons for this preference, not the least of which is that it is a playable game.

I hold fast in my belief that Anet is demonstrating a disregard, perhaps even a distaste, for its veteran core group with its insistence in continuing the path it’s on with little emphasis to actually fixing long-standing bugs or introducing meaningful content. That is my belief, and I am entitled to it just as, sir/madam, you are yours.

My apologies to the OP. I seem to have become distracted and gotten somewhat off topic.

Vayne.8563:

You seem to think all content should be free forever. But that’s not really how the world works at all. Even in Guild Wars 1, though there was a bit of free content from time to time, you paid for expansions.

If you want to play the content, be happy to pay for it. And keep in mind had you actually just logged in, even if you didn’t play, it would have unlocked for free, which most of us did.

You made a few erroneous assumptions there, but that’s ok since you don’t know me.

I paid for every new campaign and the one expansion of GW1. Gladly. I enjoyed the free new content they put in every now and then, as well. In fact, there were three of us in the household who all had our own copies of everything. We still go back for the holiday events, and I play content on occasion even though I’ve completed it all several times.

The campaigns were new content, stand-alone if that’s what you wanted. The expansion was not, obviously, and required you to own one of two given campaigns (from a story line, it had to be so to make sense). There was a progression of story. There was an achievements system added in which was engaging and, at times, challenging though it was optional. There was a multitude of skills that, while it was a bear for the devs to balance in any sense of the word, gave you a smorgasbord of possibilities for your character’s progression.

“Living Story”, however, is not an expansion. It is temporary content, mostly. The bulk of it is instanced (which is why you can purchase it later if you missed it first time around), but it also has effects on the main game (ruins of LA). It straddles a very uncomfortable line.

But you are correct – if I’d logged in, it might have unlocked the content for future use. If I’d been aware of the possibility of it being a pay-to-play otherwise, I might have done that. But hindsight is always 20/20.

What I was trying to get at and apparently failing miserably is that there is little to keep a veteran player. For example, there was an escort quest that I could not complete for over a year because it was bugged – reported repeatedly by many, many, many players (and acknowledged as being bugged). There were personal story quests that were bugged in a similar fashion. Instead of immediately – or even quickly – addressing the problem, we were pretty much told to shut up, they were working on stuff.

Then The Lost Shores happened. I was there. My guild was there. What a clusterbomb. And the next “living story” bit (Flame and Frost). And the holiday stuff – which was really fun! And then the next bit of “living story” which was a slightly less clusterbomb than its predecessors. somewhere in there was the “Adventure Box” thing which made no sense unless you were really into Mario Brothers as a kid. And it kept going. Frankly, I gave up trying to follow it. My gaming time is precious – and tremendous lag, sub-optimalized storyline implementation, the seeming unwillingness to make meaningful repairs to what was reported as ‘broken’, and the “what the kitten” factor drove me away.

Of course a company should seek to attract new players. That is a no-brainer. But they should also seek to retain the core base that launched their game and enabled it to be around to attract the new, as well. Not by giving away stuff every day. By fixing what is broken in a timely fashion. By communicating intent (not details). By listening to and acknowledging what players are saying (not necessarily acquiescing) when they say that XYZ seems sub-par and craptastic, what about this other idea.

Conaywea.5062

Mmmm yeah the player base was reduced but only was mindless players that only know to press 1 all the day in the same boring map , so was a good thing

That, sir/madam, was just disrespectful and untrue.

Gaile Gray.6029:

Alerno — Taking what you have (and everyone else has) put on the table I do wonder something. I want to ask, and hope nobody will bite my head off here.

You mention wanting to know there will be more to the game. The new and continuing episodes of the Living World count towards that, right? The fact that players know there’s a team working on new content and features, and that there are releases on a regular basis? I fully understand that may not fulfill every desire, but it does show a continuing commitment to “new stuff” for us players, wouldn’t you agree?

Speaking only for myself – no. Continuing episodes – which are locked behind the cash shop if you’re not able to play them as they come out – do NOT count as “new content and features”. Not in the same way as most (I think) have been expressing.

The market Anet is aiming for is the ones who have not only expendable cash but the desire to spend that cash to obtain ‘stuff’. Anet has shown they really are not targeting their original, steady player base. They are courting the MMO hoppers who go from game to game. And it seems to be working for them.

I have not played, seriously played, this game in over a year. Why? Because Anet seems to have lost whatever plan they had to actually improve the game.

But that’s a whole different conversation.

Many players – not me – have clamored since release for better PvP and WvW. And the mechanics, as I understand, are available to activate. Why doesn’t Anet improve their PvP/WvW gameplay to allow that core of players to enjoy the game more?

Many players – definitely me – have clamored since release for better PvE. Not dumbed down. No huge piles of loot at the end of every quest. But interesting, working quests that allow us to enjoy the beautiful world the artists have drawn us while we ‘save’ the various NPCs from terrible troubles or work through our personal stories.

Instead we get more and more ‘living’ content – which I understand, really I do, as a way to breath life into the game – that may/may not be bug-ridden and may/may not be available to players without ponying up real life funds.

So, while I am a veteran-since-release of GW1 and a beta-tester and original purchaser of GW2, I am still expected to buy into a game in order to play it. Not for pretty new skins or for cool mounts or any other non-essential material. But to actually play the game.

How is that, in itself, not deliberately trying to reduce its player base?

So……

BEFORE the little veering off by the two individuals duking it out, I was interested in knowing the answer to the OP’s question(s), as well.

I was a beta tester for GW2 (and a veteran of GW1 since right after its release) and gleefully purchased the game. My guild formed up immediately, and we were really excited to play. Until the rampant bugs started showing up in the personal story – game-breaking bugs that prevented progression. Then the first of the living story episodes hit —- and were actually game-breaking in their own ways.

I return every now and then to see what progress there is in the game. Being a persistent world, I’ve seen Lion’s Arch destroyed again, what, 3 times now? But, I thought, I shall start playing again because I’m reading reports that many of the bugs have been squashed (finally!). I don’t generally PvP or WvW, so that leaves PvE and the content Anet has added.

Only to have most of the episodes locked behind the cash shop counter.

So, how is the game now? Is it worth paying to play?

Dungeons – something to do with dungeons.

Right now, you have to go into a dungeon what, 4-5 times, to complete it? Three or four story lines then the final. Boring. With few exceptions, you take the same basic paths, simply face different foe maybe in a different room (w00t) and then – assuming the NPC you’re escorting/protecting hasn’t suicided or died – hop over to the last room/chamber to kill the Big Bad Enemy. Timer to make sure you don’t overstay your welcome.

Urgoz, The Deep, FoW and The Underworld were interesting places where you could, if you survived long enough, explore and find new corners which might make you ooh and aah.

Why not have an exploration mode for each dungeon area? They are instanced already, so it wouldn’t take a boatload of new coding.

The Lost Witch.7601:

Would I need to unlock hardmode for every single character for the feeling of progression? Or do I only need it for one? Or will it count the progress over all my characters?
……..

Did completing campaigns to unlock hardmode feel worthwhile and characterbuilding in GW1? Or was it more frustrating that your friends couldn’t join your challenges because they didn’t have it unlocked?

…….

I have been playing GW1 since right after release of Prophecies and have all chapters and EotN. While I don’t have every single achievement, it’s more because of a lack of time (you know, real life stuff) than boredom or frustration.

Hard mode was unlocked in each of the games long ago for my characters. Has it ever been frustrating because I could HM but my friends could not yet? NO. In fact, it allowed me to share parts of the game and tips on missions to make their experience perhaps more enjoyable so we could then adventure on together later.

That’s what community is all about – and GW2 at this point does not offer much of it. (Personal opinion)

There is very little replayability, very little horizontal progression. Emphasis is more on gear for dungeons more than your individual character.

The “personal story” is just like everyone else’s – i.e. not personal at all – and actions do not change your game at all. The NPCs do not change toward you if you’re a Charr in The Grove or a human in Old Ascalon.

There is nothing else, really. Except for dungeons wherein you are forced to party up, there is no incentive to group.

The POI and Vista system does not encourage world-wide exploration. Perhaps the GW1 style of kissing every rock and scraping every sand dune might not be the answer, but it is a darned sight more complete of an idea. This is a beautifully rendered world, it goes to waste under the present farce of ‘exploration’ and ludicrous respawn rate.

While discussing guild halls (why don’t we have these already? Srsly!) and personal housing (ditto), I would direct your attention to the EQ2 system. You can purchase and maintain several different levels/sizes of home/hall according to your choice and in-game funding abilities with the uppermost being a choice of prestige model(s) purchased in the cash shop. Some furnishings are event specific (events such as Frostfell which offer special crafting and rewards), some are regular quest rewards, some must be purchased through the cash shop but an incredible amount of furnishings can be crafted by the player!

VOLKON.1290:

Subclasses will inevitably lead to pigeon-holing, and that’s never a good thing. If elementalists ever had a subclass that enhanced healing would there ever be any other elementalists welcome in dungeons? WvW would require them as well.

Subclasses terrify me as to how detrimental they can actually be for the overall health of the game. Sir William of Ockham probably twitched uncomfortably in his grave at the thought, poor fellow.

This is why I (mistakenly) thought people were using ‘sub-class’ and ‘secondary profession’ interchangeably.

There could very well be pigeon-holing. But no more than there is already with the Burst-this and Condition-that. Elementalists already have healing capabilities in the Water line. It was part of the destruction of the holy trinity. Why would anyone welcome a non-water ele into a dungeon group now? It’s been a problem in probably every game known – if you’re a (GW1) monk, you heal. Period. Prefer smite? Nope, you’re on your own. If you’re a warrior, you’re expected to tank. Necros are expected to be minion masters, cursers are not particularly welcome. Yet if you tend to play those sub-classifications instead of the cookie-cutter builds and your team is willing to recognize possibilities, the entire game (and instance) opens up in crazy good new ways.

In some ways this type of sub-class is already present. A death-focused necromancer specializing in minions, for instance. What this idea would do (if I understand the suggestions correctly) would be to formalize and refine those specialties.

‘Sub-classes’ would need to be a specialization, similar to but not a secondary profession. A secondary (in the GW1 sense) could be changed for a particular dungeon or instance. A sub-class, however, would be a more permanent change. A Guardian Templar would be a certain type of guardian which – yes, might be pigeon-holed by short-sighted people – would provide another level of character depth. It would not need to be something so simple as ‘go to the trainer and give him X gold, be hit on the head with the Sub-class Wand’. It would require questing, story, whatever just as the Orders do (or at least should). It would need to be a decision, not an automatically granted anything.

(The broken mechanics of this game have largely driven me away for a while now. If I have missed any significant change in the elementalist’s abilities, I apologize for speaking out of turn. Threads like this give me renewed hope for returning.)

I’ve been thinking about this ‘sub-class’ system (and I apologize for my mis-classifying it in a former post). An example was given as Guardian with sub-class Templar. While there wouldn’t necessarily need to be tons of new skills involved with the sub-class, it would introduce a very nice customization feel to the character that is currently lacking, I believe.

For example, my rangers (in every game I play which has rangers!) tend to be ranged/bow nearly exclusively and not beast-master types. Yes, they have those abilities and do use such on occasion, but the basic character builds include neither. This would obviously lean towards a hunter type sub-class which could then include a few more specialized skills such as tracking or trapping (brainstorming, and I know that traps are already in-game). A beast-master sub-class would have a subset of skills to include specifically beast-related options.

I could definitely envision this in all classes – and would not be all that difficult to enable since such was already done so in GW1 and other games. Armor skins/sets could reflect the idea, as well.

All in all, such an idea would/could add an incredible amount of horizontal progression and realization for a character.

draxynnic.3719:

So, horizontal progression is up! Let’s get cracking…

One of the biggest barriers to this, I think, is the charge for respeccing. Testing something out in the Mists is most definitely NOT the same feeling, and while the fee may be relatively small for most players, including myself, it does take a bit of the fun out of it when you know that every time you switch you’re having to fork out at least once, and possibly twice or more if the experiment proves a failure or needs additional trait tweaking. I’ve heard the argument that it’s a gold sink – I disagree for a number of philosophical reasons that probably need their own thread, but if a gold sink associated with respeccing is truly needed, how about having the option to buy a “permanent retraining contract” that allows you to respec at a trainer as many times as you like for free from then on. Make it cost something exhorbitant like five gold so that for most players, it’s not a cost-effective option – but for people who do like to try something different on a daily or weekly basis, this will be a welcome option for removing one of the fun-suckers from the game.

GW1 had something like this for ‘sub-classes’. For an in-game fee at a special trainer (in each campaign), you could change your secondary profession and ever-after you could switch to that secondary. The skills you gained were only the beginner ones you’d have had if you’d chosen that profession in the beginning, but you could train (buy at the skill trainer) or capture (elites) whatever skills you wanted. It opened up a whole new world of possibilities!

Which brings me to this point —- Anet, do you see how many times references have been made to the original GW? Granted, it is not a perfect game, but if something is ‘broken’ (several things in GW2), why reinvent an already existent fix? Please listen to us veteran players when we suggest some mechanic similar to the ancestral game.

A REAL cartography achievement, not this go to X point then bounce to Y point, etc. GW1’s cartography demanded you visit maps and corners of maps that otherwise were ignored because there wasn’t really anything (quests) in them. A player had to become very familiar with the entire region, and it took a bit of time. Trust me, some of those spots are every bit as gorgeous as anything in GW2, and it was a joy to discover and explore. It enabled a player to even connect a few lore dots with the discovery of statues or other ‘oddities’ in outlying areas previously populated perhaps but abandoned, similar to how some of the POIs work now. The current POI and Vista system cheats the player, in my opinion, of having this sort of experience.

(Connected to that is the incessant spawn which makes simple enjoyment of an area possible. I understand this is now a persistent world rather than the instanced one of the original game, but still. I shouldn’t have to kill foe every 10 seconds just to have a good look at a particular piece of map!)

Our group did get some pretty nice random drops, as well, though.

The plushie was the first thing I have made in the Forge. Love it!

In some gifts, the toy Ventari are very difficult (constant Retaliation and/or constant AoE) but in others they are “normal” difficulty.

Makes no sense. I was clearing Caledon Forest with a guardian yesterday and ran into both groups – one present held vicious little Ventari and the next held the more normal. And one present held BOTH toy Ventari and skritt (there was a wrapped present inside of a wrapped present) who proceeded to fight each other which was really funny.

I use maces, as well, but I’m experimenting with other weapons at the moment so perhaps I’m just not noticing the lack-of-love as much.

Yesterday was the launch for Wintersday in GW1. There was a set time just as there has been since 2005.

For the first I can remember, they launched late.

Chuo.4238:

You clearly haven’t played GW1. The build versatility in GW1 far, far outclasses GW2. Literally hundreds of skills to choose from.
……

Gw2 build variety is non-existent compared to Guild Wars.

Agree.

Some people don’t like having the hundreds of skills to condense down to eight on a skillbar. It’s apparently a play style difference.

But when GW2 reduced the number of skills per profession so drastically, they essentially dumbed the game down considerably. I am not calling the players dumb, but the number of skills available reduce the number of builds to … how many?

I think the Kohler thing is a bug, although the very first time I went into AC with guild mates (shortly after release), we had the problem of his aggro (without completion) totally breaking progression.

If the quest did not update, then one of two things has happened: either a step was not completed prior or there is a new bug. If it is a new bug, then it came with this patch as I ran that mode with guild mates on Friday night and had no trouble whatsoever.

Forgive me if this sounds in the least bit condescending, but do not leave a map until and unless it says it’s 100% done. That way, there’s not this horrid circumstance later.

My experience is that if you find that last heart, you’ll likely find the last POI, Normar Ramon.

Sal, I’m going to guess you’ve found that last bit a while ago.

In the first screenshot, you haven’t completed the quest in that you haven’t dispatched the Patriarch. He is/was to be killed before the end boss. http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ascalonian_Catacombs_

In the second, you also have not completed the quest as you did not finish the Patriarch arch. Once Kohler is aggro’d, he must be taken down or the quest does not complete. Not sure if this is a bug, but that’s how it’s been for some while now – and is, indeed, listed as part of the quest-line as seen in the link above.

Was warned of this by guildmates this morning. Apparently it’s all bandits everywhere – and a few other hostiles – who now have knock down/back skills from somewhere-really-warm and perma-blind which seems to follow you long after you leave an area.

As I have always had those weapons clipping issues on all my girls, I never noticed a “fix”. I have noticed, however, the little line in the middle at times.

(Someone beat me to it. )

……was just announced. https://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/releases/december-2012/

And the “one time only event” wasn’t actually one time only, was it. It started here ~2pm. At just after 10pm when I was logging off the computer after talking to guildmates, the event was still going on because players were taking advantage of an exploit – loading in on alts to keep overflow servers opening up to trigger more event. Heck, there is a lengthy thread here in forum on the topic that just kept going and going.

Would have been different if only those who had DCed were doing it, but it wasn’t. The “one time event” ended up being exploited to “three time” or more for those who loaded in alts. And while I have no problem with people playing alts, in this instance, it mocks those who attended the real one time event.

One time only event does not work. Not story-wise, not logistically.

“One time event”.

An invasion by a truly awful ‘alien’ life form bent on eradicating all non-karka.

This presumably sentient culture sent shock troops in for a one time event to overtake Lion’s Arch (and, I hear, Morgan’s Spiral and somewhere else). ONE batch, albeit big bad batch, of shock troops. ONCE. Not waves of them over a sustained time.

The next day, we “retook” Lion’s Arch – except that we didn’t really. Lion’s Arch had not changed except the lighthouse had lost its top. What we did was take the battle to this new island that seems to be home to this nasty foe. And again, we did this ONCE. Not a sustained fight because apparently the ones we had not killed the day before had retreated and since this invasion force was rather limited, there were only just so many.

The final day, we determined to destroy the Ancient Karka whom I can only guess is the matriarch and head honcho. So, now we have ONE wave of hostile forces, ONE leader and a bunch of tribble-like headcrabs who hatched nearly simultaneously to being laid and attached themselves to whatever human/asura/charr/sylvari/norn anatomy they could reach. And even funnier, they died very easily and very quickly (i.e. did not survive long enough to grow up to become battle karka). The Ancient was treated to an eventual horrid fiery death – but there are still hostiles on this new island.

So. We have an invasion that wasn’t really, a city that was ‘taken’ that really wasn’t, and a hostile species that was ‘taught a lesson’ which really wasn’t. I’m guessing there isn’t a lot of either military or historical expertise on the Anet staff.

I’m still waiting for the story. Levvi hinted that the Consortium had thought there might be something bad coming but why these creatures? Where’d they come from, why did they try to invade? How do they fit into the overall scheme of things?

At least with the Mad King there was a story line. This had precious little story and made no military sense whatsoever.

Oh, and just where did all the donations go? Anyone being held accountable?

baalblade.8465:

……

They KNOW this is ONE TIME event, meaning what? there will be at LEAST 50 people in one spot => heavy lag.
……

Anet – My experience:

We had big crowds of players in our overflow for all three phases. Oddly enough, there was very little lag until the karka were in the map. Not just when they were laying down the endless overlapping circles-of-instadeath, but merely when they were in the immediate map. I dodged and evaded like a madwoman but could not get out of the crazy number of overlaps most of the time.

This tells me it may have been something having to do with the monster, not necessarily the number of players (lag-wise).

Phase 1)
Crippling lag. Unmovable lag. Un-targetable enemies. One shot death (for us). Endless torment due to lag and one-shot death. No sense of achievement since the tracker said that the next day we needed to retake Lion’s Arch …….. except we had just driven the nasty karka away and things were going on as normal – well, except for the gal at the fountain hollering for donations. No real indication that donations were being used or doing any good, though.

I received no drops at all although I hear some folks did.

Found Levvi easily and the beach hunt but ended up going to wiki for instructions after that. Didn’t matter since Noll was bugged and unworkable until this morning. Miyani’s quest, oddly enough, was not bugged for me. Odd note of interest: Levvi gave me a drop of liquid karma and a copy of the first version of Mad Memories as reward before sending me Noll’s way.

Two guildmates and two PuGgers and I went into our first fractal. It was challenging, a nice change from the same old crypts and such. We didn’t finish due to DCs and a real life emergency of one person, but I count it as a positive experience I hope to repeat.

Phase 2)
Event was supposed to start at the catapult/trebuchet that was built at Ft Mariner. We adventurers all arrived to find the catapult nearing completion. We waited … and waited … and waited … and waited. The text in the event box changed to tell us good job! now go to the ship and chase the karka down! No cutscene, no karka, no fight. We board said ship and as soon as we dock, it was a zerg fest following a Lionguard.

Crippling lag. Unmovable lag. Un-targetable enemies. One shot death (for us). Endless torment due to lag and one-shot death.

I received no drops at all although I hear some folks did.

Stayed around afterward but the game crashed as I tried to waypoint out of a nasty death caused by a couple veterans and a bajillion headcrabs arriving from the sky and proceeding to eat my face.

Pre-phase 3)
I loaded to the same place I had crashed – and only the original waypoints remained of the ones I’d activated the day before. I was upset. After playing on other characters a bit to cool off, I loaded back on my main and went to where I thought the event would start.

Phase 3)
Jumping through several overflows, finally was able to meet up with two guildmates for the event. Crippling lag. Unmovable lag. Un-targetable enemies. One shot death (for us). Endless torment due to lag and one-shot death.

Halfway through, I noticed we had an Anet person running with us. I have no idea if he experienced the same incredible badness that some (most?) of us did. Game crashed during a waypoint travel but was able to reconnect and continue. More Crippling lag. Unmovable lag. Un-targetable enemies. One shot death (for us). Endless torment due to lag and one-shot death.

Finally got the Ancient Karka down, cheered its fiery death loudly. Noticed a humongous chest which was un-targetable and at first wouldn’t open. Finally opened it to receive the nice box, a sweet accessory, a rare speargun and three exotics armor pieces, only one of which I can use on my main.

Side note: husband, another 7+ year veteran of GW1, used a friend key. He wanted to try the game before we sprang for another copy (I’ve played since Beta and son has since release.) With all the various bugs and such – and he wasn’t even trying to participate in the event! – he says he will not likely purchase a copy and play. This makes me incredibly sad as Guild Wars has been a wonderful family gaming experience for us for so long.

I went ahead and deleted the map fragments and soggy bag – was able to finish the quest today and get the reward but apparently the goods were not needed as they weren’t claimed by the NPCs.

Massively huge chest with NICE loot in the end.

Yes, I finished the event; apparently our server was the first to do so. The loot was superb – but it took nigh on two hours and a substantial repair bill.

We had a great group, though, and I really enjoyed the crowd. The karka, not so much.

There’s quite a few mats that don’t go into the collection ‘packs’ – destroyer fragments/slivers, several gold (rare) mats.

I was able to complete the Miyani quest earlier today. Didn’t realize it would be disabled/removed so others couldn’t, as well, since the other quest line is still undo-able.

Only been in one fractal so far and didn’t finish (one guildie dc’d, another was called away with a real life emergency).

BUT I really liked it! Different, challenging without being crazystupid hard. We’re looking forward to playing in the fractals as a possible future guild activity.

The event in LA never triggered on the overflow I was in with guild mates though another mate (not in overflow) said it had where he was.

Also, apparently there was an event earlier in which karka were repelled at Morgan’s Spiral in Caledon Forest. I had been in that map just prior and after, but there was no sign of an event having taken place or about to take place.

Grunim.9034:

I was fortunate that I did not encounter a jumping puzzle in my first run yesterday, so I didn’t let my group down. But knowing there are jumping puzzles I will no longer try this content because I don’t want to slow down others

I am incredibly fortunate that my guildmates support me and don’t rage at me when they have to slow down for my jumping difficulties. Eventually I get them done, but it’s pretty awful sometimes.

Yes, there are MANY who literally cannot do these jumping puzzles due to disability (mine is arthritis limiting fast reflexes and mobility) – and finally Anet listened to us and separated out the achievements so no one suffered the loss. If only some of their players were a bit more understanding and less judgmental……..

SarahWitter.2317:

What waypoint were you traveling to? Please supply any additional information if possible.

Thanks!

I was going from near Captain’s Retreat to the one the main event stops at (Kiel’s? middle of the map). I had been defeated by a veteran with a bajillion babies that had literally come out of nowhere.

CC Dalmarus.8397:

Thanks for the feedback and patience everyone. The team is investigating these issues as we speak. Please continue to let us know if the event has not kicked off on your server (overflow servers too). Also, let us know if you are in an overflow server and the event did kick off. Thanks!

I bug reported it in-game.

The baby karka are little bloodsuckers! Right after I took this screenshot, I had one on my face, one on the back and one on the leg but couldn’t get zoomed in fast enough for another ’shot.

Agreed. He has no personality. None. Even the other members of the Pact have their doubts about him and his leadership potential – he sends you out to talk to them on the very topic!

I must admit I was indignant when he named himself Marshall and informed me I could call myself Commander. Awfully big of one whose bacon I’d pulled out of how many fires?!

Tried this again yesterday to no avail. The waypoint seems to be stuck in the “contested” state because of the event (that doesn’t trigger). The “mobs” for the heart quest do not spawn; only the veteran spiders show up to the party, and they don’t count.

Guildmates report that they had grave difficulty with the event about five days ago – only between a quarter and a third of the crates would accept the weapons being replaced and no golems to repair. They also say they had difficulty with the unceasing veteran spider spawn making the skill point nearly impossible (wasn’t possible for me running solo, I know that!) for the pair of them.

Bugged right now. Skill point in the cave also spawns veteran spider after veteran spider so that you can’t even get to the cursed skill point glowy. Not sure if it’s all related, but I’m giving the whole thing a pass right now.

Question for devs

How much of what you base “do-able” on is actually the fact that you already know each quest/dungeon and what to expect? That boss X spawns right there and patrols between y and z points, a group spawns in area q, etc.

Once I know what to expect, it generally tends to be a little easier, too. But the first time (or three), it can be very challenging and sometimes, to be honest, I eventually skip it altogether as too annoying or frustrating (i.e. not enjoyable or important enough to bother).