Guild Wars 2

#forum bug fix – 15 characters

Sojourner.4621:

No… in testing conditions admittedly, ranged does about 15k less DPS than melee on the BEST ranged attacks… melee’s damage is so much higher that even if you spend a lot of time on active defense you will still take stuff down twice as fast, minimum, if you actually learn how to stay in melee range without dying. Maybe that tradeoff is not worth it to you, and that is your right. But please be informed about your choices… they are not “better” even with 100% damage uptime.

It doesn’t matter how much damage you do in testing conditions because the average player will not perform the same when facing controlled enemies in a sterile environment while having access to all buffs of their choice as when facing uncontrolled enemies in an environment where you can get stuck on a rock while strafing, dodge off a cliff, pull other mobs in the vicinity, have something respawn right under you, have another player come along and mess up your strategy (pulling and knocking mobs at the wrong time, overlaying on your field or blasting it before you wanted, etc.) and juggle all these while only having access to your own buffs and crowd control abilities.

I have a weathered looking Charr lady among my characters. A warrior with that half-blind face. Wanted her to be this grizzled murder machine of the Blood Legion. Leveled her using only melee weapons. Still running double axe and double mace. Frankly, it’s too draining and frustrating to use her.

Always being in melee range means I take the brunt of the damage. Always being in melee range means I’m often crowd controlled because I can only dodge so often and have stability up only for so long before I’m inevitably knocked down, knocked back, stunned, feared and dazed in quick succession. Always being in melee range means I play hopscotch for the entirety of the fight as I’m trying to avoid both AoEs and big direct hits while also trying to stay in or run back into range for my weapons to work.

I played her with berserker stats for a while but with how much harder it is to stay alive in melee range I had to realize that my superior melee damage isn’t of much use if I die after 15 seconds. However, I wanted to keep her melee-only, still. I love playing melee characters in other games and was determined to make this work. So I got her full exotic soldier equipment with runes, signets and skills that further increased her defenses and self-healing ability.

Now I have a full melee warrior that finally survives all the cheap crowd control and AoE spamming that mobs use. In return I deal about as much damage as an AFK ranger auto-shooting from the distance and my melee gameplay consists of keeping a constant boring rotation of use up all the mace abilities to crowd control -> use all the axe abilities to do damage -> mace is off cooldown again -> repeat for agonizingly long till the mobs die.

As a player of low or average gaming skills, melee gameplay is either going to be about taking very frequent dirt naps or about whacking away at mobs for so long that you fall asleep mid-event.

In this game close range combat is way too hard with far too little pay-off . In theory you deal more damage as melee weapons have a higher output but in reality you are only doing damage about half the time while the other half is spent dodging, strafing in circles, running in and out of attack range, healing, actively blocking, and crowd controlling.

The ranged folk plop down somewhere comfortable and have a nearly 100% damage uptime, only dodging or leisurely taking two steps to the side if the enemy throws an AoE right under them. They don’t need to bother with crowd control either if they don’t feel like it because both AI and other players tend to have tunnel vision and exlusively hone in on the target right in front of them instead of the one standing off to the side.

I like to imagine that my medium armour wearing characters have never moved past their edgy neckbeard phase. Hence the trenchcoats. Now Arenanet just has to release a fedora to match those coats. It would be euphoric.

“Later, M’lady.”

jheryn.8390:

Sarie.1630:

Meanma.5623:

tekfan.3179:

Like Logan suddenly hopping out from the back and doing a flipflop into the energies.

It will be Rytlock doing that.

“Later, cub.”

Please let it be so.

I’ve been telling my guildmates since Balthazar returned that I wondered if Rytlock would be the one to take his place.

I could see this turning the gods from just being the “human” gods.

Rely on Iron Rytlock, not false gods.

tekfan.3179:

Like Logan suddenly hopping out from the back and doing a flipflop into the energies.

It will be Rytlock doing that.

“Later, cub.”

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

Ravenflame.5890:

Phoebe Ascension.8437:

However tyria and ESPECIALLY TOWNS, Mounts are (for some ppl) massively immersion breaking.

How is it breaking your immersion?

I don’t get how it is either. To me it is far more immersion breaking to imagine that Tyrian civilisation has existed for thousands of years and nobody thought of using animals for transport. Nah, the Charr have made tanks and there are airships and helecopters, the Asura came up with a frikken teleportation system but other than that, let’s just walk everywhere.

“So, Jaren, I have been thinking… what if we made, like, REALLY big rakes and tied them to one of those dolyaks over there?”

“What for?”

“They could pull them around the field and make our job easier! It would be like if there were, uh, three… no, FOUR of you, each with a rake. But instead of four Jarens with four rakes it would just be one dolyak and one rake. We could call it ploughing.”

“By Melandru’s sweet bosom, that’s the stupidest thing I ever heard. Next thing you’ll be suggesting that we hop on the smelly beasts and RIDE them. Good grief!”

“But that would make it faste-”

“Shut up, Vance. You’re drunk again, aren’t you? Get some shut-eye and don’t let me hear you babbling about any of this ploughing and animal riding nonsense again.”

Thus it came to be that the denizens of Tyria continued to plow their fields by hand and walk everywhere. You, dear reader, might think that the denizens of Tyria must be utterly stupid but they just really care about immersion. Bless their overworked hearts.

Zaoda.1653:

Adonis Belt (the name of the V shaped curve below the abs)

Well, I learned something new today. Thank you!

The outfit looks great and I’d like to bring up that the developers thought of the two cosmetically-challenged races! For charr the coat part is split in the back for the tail, the boots have an open heel to accomodate the dewclaw and the horns don’t clip with the helmet. For asura all three toes are properly accounted for and the ears don’t clip with the helmet out of combat when they droop nor in combat when they perk up.

That’s a lot of salt about mounts. An awful lot.

Mate, if you want to brag about your specs then just do it. No need to disguise it as concern about the expansion’s performance. Why optimize for beast computers when they run the game on 100+ FPS anyway? Sure, you could get 120 FPS with optimization but does it really matter?

I’m in love with the new faces and styles, especially the Tina Turner hair.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

You might contact the CS Team, explain the situation, and ask if they can replace your Gems.

Good luck.

Thank you for the advice! Submitted a ticket just now and linked back to this thread. Hopefully they’ll have someone test the other kit faces as well (to make sure they aren’t affected) and then fix whatever is causing the issue.

Ayrilana.1396:

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

Meanma.5623:

I’m actually disappointed with the removal of tomes from the chests and stopped purchasing keys as a result.

I loved using tomes to crank out those last 10 to 20 levels and get to fully customizing a character but outside of black lion chests I’ve barely ever got any. My server does very poorly in WvWvW (despite its population shifting between high and very high) so there’s no progress to be had on the reward track and whenever I tried to play Edge of the Mists in the past months it has been empty so nothing to be gained there either.

This leaves me with the daily login rewards and, well, that’s it.

Let me get this straight. Because you cannot get ToK from chests anymore, you stopped buying keys? Implying they are the main reason you buy keys. You think it was good to pay 35g and get two level ups at best? So, for your 20 levels, it cost you 350g at least to do it with ToK? You can level from 60-80 in a couple of hours.

Edit: Out of interest I checked how many ToK are on accounts; The mean is 193 per account, the median is 59, the maximum is 9144.

They stopped buying keys because the common rewards they would often get was no longer worth it. Same reason that you were complaining about not wanting to pay for the keys because they contained the tomes.

Exactly this. On average I got a tome on every third chest opening and that increased the value of keys for me immensely. Sure, it wasn’t cost-effective but keys in general are not cost-effective. If I cared about getting the most virtual bang for my buck then I’d just convert those gems to gold.

I’m actually disappointed with the removal of tomes from the chests and stopped purchasing keys as a result.

I loved using tomes to crank out those last 10 to 20 levels and get to fully customizing a character but outside of black lion chests I’ve barely ever got any. My server does very poorly in WvWvW (despite its population shifting between high and very high) so there’s no progress to be had on the reward track and whenever I tried to play Edge of the Mists in the past months it has been empty so nothing to be gained there either.

This leaves me with the daily login rewards and, well, that’s it.

Discovering this bug has unfortunately cost me 750 gems as I had to use 3 hairstyle kits before confirming that the bug is with the face and not specific hairstyles.

The face itself is one that was released during festival of four winds and it detaches from the rest of the skull during most animations, including the idle one. It is possible that other kit-exclusive faces do this too (the basic ones don’t seem to) but I didn’t have the gems to buy several makeover kits and test each one.

The bug is visible with any hairstyle that doesn’t fully cover the top of the head and some of the forehead. The most obvious ones are the bald, mohawk and backswept braids with a headband. (Haven’t tested the male-exclusive hairs.)

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/File:Gw2-new-faces-festival-of-four-winds-asura-female-1.jpg

I took screenshots during /dance, /crossarms, and idle.

Same. My ping suddenly jumped to above 4000 and now it won’t go lower at all. When I press a skill it doesn’t activate for a good 15-20 seconds. I’m watching things happen half a minute late. My usual ping is between 30 and 40.

To be honest with you, I don’t think roleplay works all that well in modern MMOs because they are not made with that activity in mind and so don’t attract the right crowd.

Some friends and I roleplayed in GW2, in ESO, in Warcraft, in Wildstar and a few other less known multiplayer games but the writing quality usually ranged from “my character is so quirky and loveable, practically the next Amélie Poulain” to “my character is so kitten with a backstory so tragic that friends just call me George R. R. Martin” which then all culminated in such exciting scenarios as standing around in taverns and standing around in towns.

If you want something more modern than a MUD or more visual than a tabletop RPG then try player hosted servers of Neverwinter Nights. People play those for the roleplay first and foremost and there are active game masters monitoring them.

As for the character biography: Warcraft has that as an add-on. Half of the biographies there are steamy descriptions of the character and a list of kinks the player has. The other half of them are long walls of text detailing every single tattoo, scar, dead relative, special weapon and pointless title that the character has. So few people use that add-on properly that it’s kind of a relief GW2 doesn’t have anything like it.

Shwyx.8190:

I recently leveled Leatherworking to 500 while still making a profit.

Shwyx.8190:

Obviously won’t go into detail what items I chose.

So the point of your post was what exactly? Bragging?

HauntedCR.8350:

What’s the problem with people working hard for some objective, expecting to be fairly rewarded, benefiting from the upgrade and being substantially more powerful than casual players?

HauntedCR.8350:

being substantially more powerful than casual players

The problem is that this game wasn’t made for those people. Luckily, almost every other MMO is like that! May I recommend World of Raid-Or-Quit? It allows you to become much more powerful than the average player and because everyone likes a good grind, the game makes your hard earned gear obsolete every three months. That way you can work hard every year, all year round to avoid becoming a filthy casual scrub.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

Meanma.5623:

Hamfast.8719:

Would “Kaldottir” be acceptable? If so, give that a try. It eliminates the “LSD” problem (assuming that is the game’s problem).

The only way to eliminate an LSD problem is cocaine.

I propose the name Aela Snowsnorter.

How about Aela Crackintheice?

Direct. Just like a norn. I like it.

Hamfast.8719:

Would “Kaldottir” be acceptable? If so, give that a try. It eliminates the “LSD” problem (assuming that is the game’s problem).

The only way to eliminate an LSD problem is cocaine.

I propose the name Aela Snowsnorter.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

But I think that if you’re aiming for quality, the Legendary skin should always be better.

1. Estimate the number of players who own a legendary backpack.
2. Estimate the number of players who buy skins from the gem store.
3. Realize that the latter is a far bigger and more lucrative demographic.

Don’t care for inspecting other players’ stats or build but would love an option to see what armour skin or outfit they are wearing. As a new player I see so many interesting looking characters but have no idea what exactly is it that they wear and often can’t ask them as they’re either busy with something or AFK.

I suggest that when a player makes a purchase from this cash-only shop they are awarded a “Please validate me!” title which can’t be changed or turned off.

iHeartbound.3074:

I’ve played many MMO’s and never seen one of them do that.

In WoW you can’t access half the event content as they are locked to higher level instances and areas, often requiring the maximum level.

Brewfest dungeon needs maximum level, Feast of Winterveil reindeer quest needs you to be able to get Hillsbrad Foothills and you also can’t open presents on characters under level 20, Love is in the Air dungeon needs maximum level, Hallow’s End dungeon needs maximum level, Children’s Week needs around level 80 due to the Northrend orphans and access to flying, Lunar Festival needs you to be able to get to areas all around the world which of course includes maximum level and expansion exclusive areas, Midsummer needs maximum level to put out the enemy faction’s bonfires because guards will one hit kill you otherwise, Pilgrim’s Bounty requires a certain level of cooking skill which is tied a certain character level threshold and also requires you to be able to travel to all racial towns. Even Darkmoon Faire has level requirements for doing profession quests, turning in artifacts and doing the racing game.

Most of them are guilty of this. I think Noblegarden and Pirate’s Day are the only exceptions. So if your friend comes from WoW he really shouldn’t be so suprised.

Amaimon.7823:

lately, all I see is discoballs surrounded by fireworks

Next world boss: John Travolta

This is an issue I have as well but from the other side. Joined the game recently and have been looking for a guild to really get involved in but just haven’t found any. Everyone advertises how many members they have, how high level their guild hall is and how welcoming they are but when I join everything is dead silent like the hills of Wales under King Edward’s reign.

Some guilds do guild events once a week or so but even then the flurry of activity begins and ends with linking waypoints and instructions in guild chat. No casual talk among the members, no teamwork (hey, let’s do [insert content here] together!) unless someone’s pick-up-group is missing a druid healer or condition necromancer or whatever else niche roles fractals and raids need. In that case they half-heartedly ask around in the guild then pick up someone from Lion’s Arch if there is no answer within two minutes.

I think this a problem that a lot of people face. Nothing ties them to a guild socially so they kind of drift away or stay but never speak. In my experience (having played quite a few MMOs in my life) this problem often stems from guilds going for quantity over quality. I would take a low level guild hall or even no guild hall and small number but involved guildies over a mammoth sized guild hall with a mile long roster but barely anyone speaking in the chat. I would represent the former 100% and would probably not even bother with filling the other four guild slots.

So I have leveled to 40 to familiarize myself with the class then used the boost to have some decent equipment to start with. This meant that at first I sported a full Soldier’s kit with longbow and greatsword. Eventually made enough gold to start experimenting and got brave enough to switch that defensive gear for something more damage oriented. Unlocked the first few druid abilities and played around with the staff but overall found the whole thing to be lacklustre without a big group to run around with. Usually it’s just my friend and me putzing around together.

Here is my current set-up. I’m only doing open world PvE. Enjoy running around discovering all the little nooks and crannies of each map, doing events, doing jumping puzzles and listening to all the NPC dialogues. No dungeons, no fractals and definitely no raids. Would like to do dungeons and maybe give fractals a go sometimes but only with fellow casuals. I know that with my disabilities I’m not up to snuff to play with the big dogs which is alright.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQNAT3XnUqAtqgtCC2CCctghCh67ioNA8WPG+BeAa3HIlYNinZB-TRCBwABuIAp09MRJI09HSY+DwTKwyBUwoyPcq/AA-e

What do you all think? I was thinking of having Trooper runes instead of Ranger ones but I found that I have access to so much regeneration that I can usually outheal conditions. The ones I encounter the most often, cripple and poison, I can cleanse with dodging every 10 seconds anyway.

Right now I’m trying to make enough gold to create a gear set around condition damage. Would keep the axes but switch the longbow for a short one and trade in Skirmishing for Wilderness Survival. Unsure about the utility skills yet.

I do wish the interface could be scaled smaller than the current smallest. It’s still very in-your-face on bigger monitors.

Sartharina.3542:

But then nobody would wear medium armor at all!

I like them! This is the first game that lets me wear trench coats so I’m going all out on committing a crime against fashion.

I never ran into a lack of population and I play at random times throughout the day. In fact, every few days I get the message that minis have been hidden due to rising population which I always notice because I use my little forest grub companion to illuminate dark places.

Dear Tragic Positive,

Thank you very much for the long reply. You have answered all that I have been wondering about. Seems I have picked the right class, considering my situation.

What a lovely community! I have added you lot as friends but I suspect all of you are playing on the US side? I’m on EU.

Oh dear. This thread blew up.

First of all, thank you everyone for taking the time to reply! I was indeed wondering about whether axes and pets works for open world content but it’s good to know that if I would like to do instances then this build won’t go through very well. I looked at metabattle.com but most of the options were for druids.

One thing that would be great to know is the difficulty of all these playstyles. I got a letter to enter the Ascalon dungeon but I’m afraid to do so as I don’t want to be that person pulling the whole group back.

I had a stroke some years ago and a number of TIA since then which effected my dexterity. I’m not the fastest peach in the patch and I click my skills so I’m not sure if there is any build that could be played well enough so that I wouldn’t be a hindrance to my team? Or should I stick to open world only?

Is it bad? I’m getting mixed feedback.

I joined the game 5 days ago. Picked a ranger and surprisingly enough double axes became my weapon of choice despite me initially wanting nothing to do with melee. Axes just turned out to be so much fun that I fell in love. Paired them with Beastmastery as a primary specialization. Resounding Timbre, Natural Healing and Honed Axes. We Heal As One, Protect Me, Sic ’Em, Search and Rescue (swapped for Signet of the Hunt depending on the situation) and Strength of the Pack.

I don’t like the other one-handed weapons or the short bow. Greatsword and longbow are fun but since I already have the close range AoE niche nailed down with the axes, I’m leaning towards the bow. Interested in staff whenever I can start training as a druid.

So far I had no issues with survivability with this set-up. I’m only wearing white vendor gear but have soloed both veterans and champions. The shouts give access to constant regeneration and swiftness.

Am I playing the class wrong?