I’d like to respond to concerns players have raised about ascended items. Please keep in mind that we’re releasing this as one portion of a massive November update that introduces and improves many aspects of challenge, progression, and rewards. With this and upcoming updates, we view ourselves as introducing large amounts of content with supporting systems and features, akin to an expansion pack, building on Guild Wars 2 through a series of live releases. So it’s important for us to be able to add an expansion pack’s worth of progression and rewards to support that content.
Our goal is not to create a gear treadmill. Our goal is to ensure we have a proper progression for players from exotic up to legendary without a massive jump in reward between the two. We will slowly add the remaining ascended gear items and legendary items in future updates to allow people time to acquire them as we add exciting new content that deserves exciting rewards. We will not be adding a new tier of gear every 3 months that we expect everyone to chase after and then get the next set and so on.
Ascended and infusion rewards will be available in both PvE and WvW over time, and be made available through all sorts of content around the world including existing content. PvP will remain unaffected to ensure our intended PvP balance going forward. We are also working on other reward and progression systems for the game that tie into current and new content and features. As you know we care very much about your support and opinion and are listening intently to what you say.
Finally we look forward to hearing your thoughts on the upcoming content, and we will ensure we share our thoughts with you on the experiences we share in the Lost Shores.
Chris Whiteside – Studio Design Director
There is no gap stat wise between exotic and legendary… so this is confusing… you are creating a gear treadmill.
And if you plan to have ascended gear available in these other places. Why not delay this part of the update and actually introduce it all at once, so that we are not treadmilling through to get the pieces one at a time, and can acquire them through regular playing without being forced to dungeon.
I have done 4 dungeons… I don’t like them. Its just not how I play, I never liked raiding in other games either. Guild Wars 2 is relaxing, less stressful, enjoyable. I have fun everytime I log in… now what I decide to do when I log in is going to be decided for me, because if I don’t do X I can’t do Y…
The scares me… upsets me… So much so I can’t even login today
I… just feel heart torn.
If your up-set about these so called “Hardcore” players not coming into GW2 because they are bored, because there is no progression. There are other ways to create progression without a treadmill and even without cosmetic reward.
Just create a progressive dungeon for those that like to dungeon, complete level A and unlock the waypoint at level B, complete level B and unlock the waypoint at level C. Make it a few levels long, with its own story… give it monsters… that are not just hard to fight but require solving a puzzle and thinking to do it right and some figuring out.
Introduce housing or a Hall much like Guild Wars 1 hall of monuments… and reward every player who completes levels A and B and C and other hard monsters in the game with a Trophy. When I complete Level A then in my hall I can add the Head of the Dragon, and I can bring my friends to my hall and say, Look what I killed today… Look what my character has accomplished.
Trophies and memories from your adventures are much more progressive than any gear.
Why is Anet not thinking outside the box… Instead we see what has been done, failed, trialed and messed with in other games since Neverwinter Nights AOL. Is Anet changing the structure and shaping the future? Or are they following the path that is all to familiar?
if I am in GW2 I am most likely not really there but have it minimized, I log in to check my mail there and then minimize it and forget about it. It puts me to character screen and makes it look like I am online but really I am not