Guild Wars 2

I haven’t tested this at all recently, but I used to use flame turret all the time while leveling. If it still behaves the same way, then the smoke field will only activate if there are enemies in close proximity. I think our thumper turret works this way as well.

If that doesn’t explain it, I have no idea what might be wrong. :/

Flamethrower
I did have one idea for flamethrower, and that would be to make air blast a 2s channeled skill with a narrower width. This would accomplish two things:

• It could still be swept in an arc for an aoe knockback
• It could be directed at a ranged attacker for channeled projectile reflection

A trait might then allow air-blast to combo with fire fields (e.g. FT #4) like a blowtorch, burning foes it hits.

Elixir Gun
Just one suggestion here—to make acid bomb an actual leap finisher, like a mesmer’s phase retreat. This shouldn’t even need a trait.

Grenades
In a way, the grenadier trait is already what you’re looking for. I could see a trait to improve explosion radius or travel time, to make grenades more reliable. A trait for freeze grenade to leave behind a frost field would also be very interesting.

Bombs
The auto-defense bomb dispenser trait (GM explosives) could probably be improved to allow smoke bomb to be dropped manually while stunned, or, even better, for it to break stuns altogether. A similar idea could be applied to other kits as well.

I’ve run into this issue a LOT on my engineer, but rarely on my other characters. I suspect that the reason for this is that we use projectile weapons (pistol / rifle) that require us to go into melee range to be most effective. If we used melee weapons, our attacks would have a wider arc. If we used projectile weapons at long range, firing angles would not change so drastically so quickly.

I think this “bug” is actually designed to help us by putting our skills on a lower cooldown when the game determines that they would’ve been wasted. Many times though, I’ve been rooted and I’ve tried to use overcharged shot to break free, only to have it fizzle and go on cooldown. I would prefer to risk a skill going on full cooldown if it meant I could save my life with an overcharged shot.

I used to bring elixir R all the time, but just recently have switched to elixir S. If it’s a situation in which a teammate is taking sustained damage, it’s often not possible to rush to their side without protection, and the heal from elixir R may just delay their death. With elixir S, I can—

• throw it for a chance make everyone near the downed player invisible, which often makes reviving much safer
• throw it for a chance to give everyone stability, so that I won’t be interrupted while reviving
• consume it and reach people in dangerous areas

Reviving someone is one of the most dangerous things you can do, and I think elixir S offers the most protection. Many times when someone goes down they’ll shout, “don’t rez me, it’s too dangerous,” and I’ll be able to help them anyway. This is all for an elixir build though.

As was stated earlier, these aren’t our only options. Before I switched to elixirs, I had a ton of blinds and knockbacks from my rifle, mine, flamethrower, and accelerant-packed turrets, and these also helped me revive allies in near-impossible situations.

By level 15, you won’t have access to many of the traits that significantly increase our dps (e.g. grenadier, juggernaut, and HGH). You might have some luck pairing static discharge with a rifle turret, which would only require 10 in tools. Combining bombs and/or a flame turret with a rifle’s blunderbuss and jumpshot would also give a decent burst and should be accessible at a low level. For all of the above, I’d go for power/precision/toughness.

At 80, I’ve only just recently managed to pull off what I feel to be good dps using a might-stacking elixirs/flamethrower build, but I’ve had to invest in very expensive gear and chug elixirs like a madwoman to do it.

Wintersday has barely begun and I’m already dreading the disappearance of the bell choir. As one of the most fun minigames I’ve encountered in an mmo, I would love to see this become a permanent activity, perhaps as an alternative to the more competitive ones we currently have.

Of course it wouldn’t be as special if it came more than once a year, so perhaps a seasonal rotation of songs, special holiday-only rewards, etc. would be called for.

While I agree that explorable mode ought to carry the better reward given its higher difficulty, the lack of incentive to help others through story mode is a problem. Just today my guild was unable to put together a group to help a friend finish her story, and she’s been asking for help for a very long time.

Perhaps rewarding an exotic helm or 60 tokens is too great, but there ought to be greater incentive than there currently is.

I’ve yet to finish this puzzle, but I made it near to the end where you have to scramble up presents after dodging giant snowballs. Artistically I thought it was very well done, and mechanically I can see how it improves upon the clock tower, especially with how people were split to minimize crowding.

My only complaint is how long the wait is between attempts, especially if you make a mistake early on. Whereas I kept at the clock tower puzzle for hours until I finally got it, I gave up here after only a handful of attempts because I was so tired of waiting. The snowballs set out for a distraction were a nice touch, as was the ability to observe people still doing the puzzle, but not enough when all I really wanted to do was try again.

I don’t know what the best solution for this is, but one that comes to mind is to use the same mechanic you already do in splitting people up—only this time, split them up based on the time they failed, and have separate instances or starting points with staggered start times. This way, people who make a silly mistake on the first few jumps (i.e. me) won’t have to wait a few minutes before trying again.

Overall though, I’d like to reiterate that this puzzle was very well done, and I’m looking forward to attempting it again.

Progression is something that’s come up quite a bit since the Lost Shores update, with most of the discussion focused on stat progression and ascended items. It was the idea of cosmetic progression however that first drew me to this game, and it’s an idea I’d like to see further developed. I firmly believe that cosmetic progression is a viable alternative to stat progression—just not in its current implementation.

Currently, cosmetic progression takes the form of obtaining new items with unique looks, either to keep or transmute. There are problems with this system—

• Harder-to-get items are not always as desirable as readily-available ones, depending on personal taste.
• New looks will entirely replace old ones, rather than improving upon them.
• Once obtained, there is little room for improving cosmetics beyond dyeing them.

My suggestion is that items of all tiers and appearance have some sort of inherent cosmetic progression to them. I think this is best illustrated with examples—

As a weapon example, take the sylvari t2 focus, which is a blue flower. There are one or two similar skins in the game, but for the most part there is no progression once you obtain this focus and decide you like the look. My idea is that the appearance of this focus is something that could constantly be improved upon. Perhaps with a bit of work its appearance could be upgraded or taken along different paths. Maybe you’d like it to be a rose instead? Or a nightblooming flower? Or have it glow in the dark? A static skin that you like would then become something that could grow along with your character.

As an armor example, take the “country” light armor. It’s an early model of armor that I think many people pass over. Now suppose there are several cosmetic upgrades you could get for it. A flower on the lapel? A different style of leggings? Extra dye slots for more customization freedom? Cufflinks, a scarf, or simply different patterns on the fabric?

I think a system like this would add new life to the game, with characters able to obtain more unique and satisfying appearances by exploring content.

I’d like to suggest that certain achievements, which currently require participation in both WvW and PvE, be separated or at least be given optional components. For example, I’d suggest that—

• Future monthly achievements be along the lines of “50 WvW invader kills -OR- five dungeon paths.” Or separate achievements for each.
• World and Mists exploration be two separate achievements, perhaps rewarding one gift of exploration each instead of two.
• Jumping puzzles found in WvW be placed in the WvW achievements tab.

The reason I make these suggestions is that I’m a strict PvEr, or try to be. I try to avoid competition whenever possible, and my time in WvW tends to leave me upset, even when it goes well. By the same token, I’m sure some dedicated WvWers don’t want to be bothered with running dungeons or having someone like me take up space in the Eternal Battlegrounds when I’m just out to get my monthly.

I understand that these achievements were likely combined to serve as some incentive for players to explore different aspects of the game they might not otherwise, but all this does in my experience is make my time in GW2 a little less fun.

Thanks for reading!
~ Leo

I would say yes, they ought to be able to, at least if they’re in the same group.

In dungeons my warrior friend will drop one or two banners, and I’ll help manage them while he’s busy swinging his greatsword at anything that moves. I’ll pick them up and move them along with the fight, use the heal from the tactics banner, use the whirl from the defense banner, and use them as a blast combo finisher when I’m done. I think it’s a good thing that everyone can help out in this way.

I absolutely love this game so far, but there are a few things that I think would make it a lot better—

• Ability to change character appearance later in the game. This is very important to me, as I love my sylvari, and have already made it to 80 and done a lot of the content, but I’m not happy with the way I originally designed her. I know this was an option in GW1 and I would love to see it in GW2.

• Lower respawn rate, and more sensible placement of enemies. Another very important one, especially having just completed exploration of the Cursed Shore (and nearly Malchor’s Leap, except for one bugged skillpoint). When I’m fighting on my engineer, it takes me a long time to bring down enemies, particularly if there’s more than a couple. Between the room needed to kite and the respawn rate, I find myself fighting groups of four, five, or more undead at a time, and by the time I’ve killed one another has respawned.

Those are my two main suggestions—the ones I’ll have a hard time waiting for. Beyond that, here are a few things I’d suggest—

• Allow us to preview items on the trading post.

• Allow us to speak to more than one guild at a time.

• Don’t make waypoint cost scale with level, or at least not so much. There have been times I’ve been tempted to not do things with friends because the cost of travel was so high. I also find myself going through the Mists a lot, and then Lion’s Arch, instead of directly to my destination, which is an unnecessary hassle.

• Increased drop rate for fine crafting materials. Every step of the way to 400 in crafting feels like a grind. My engineer is a hunstman and leatherworker, and I find myself constantly short of the fine materials I need to advance to the next crafting tier when I finish a zone. Instead, I have to return to areas I’ve already completed and grind for hours. It’s not fun, and it feels out of place in GW2.