I only do the PVE daily, and I prefer the new version to the old. I think when they add the ability for a player to choose which tasks to complete, the system will be as user friendly as it can get.
A tip for the OP – fight the large ice wurms in Frostgorge Sound with a ranged weapon. They rely on a single attack – a boulder throw – that is obviously telegraphed and therefore quite easy to dodge, even if you’re not especially proficient at it.
Daily and Monthly tasks. The daily tasks change each day; you can see what tasks you need to complete on a given day by clicking on the purple icon at the top right of your screen. You can view the monthly tasks in the associated tab in your Achievements panel, or alternatively they will appear on screen in place of the daily once you complete the daily. You get 1 x Laurel for completing the daily and 10 x Laurels for completing the Monthly.
I have found some of the daily combinations easier to get than before. I do the dodging against the large ice wurms in Frostgorge Sound. If you keep a good distance, their boulder throw is quite easy to avoid. As for crafting, as others have said you only need to refine raw materials, which can be done quickly, and at low crafting levels.
I generally play solo, but actually don’t mind grouping with random people for the holiday events. Parties form quickly and the GW2 community is mostly well-mannered and enjoyable to interact with. The only issue I have had is with the occasional player who continually hounds the group to hurry up because they want multiple speed runs, but these players don’t tend to appear in randomly assembled parties too often.
I thought the jumping puzzle was good. Assigning players to different paths alleviated the congestion that many people disliked about the Mad King’s Clocktower. It was a little easier than I expected – took me 3 attempts, as compared to 3 hours of attempts at the clocktower – but that should allow the majority of players to complete it, which I am fine with for a holiday event.
I’m in Australia, had to depart for work soon after the event started. I accept you are never going to find a time to suit everyone when you have a global player-base, but agree with Murkblood that making the event fall on the weekend across all time zones would have been preferable.
Has anyone heard anything about the duration of the final stage of the Lost Shores event? It goes live Monday morning Oceanic time, which means many players won’t be able to log in until several hours after it begins, once work, university or school commitments are complete.
The Lost Shores entry on the wiki includes a list of new features to be introduced. This includes “a new resource to harvest with 200 new crafting recipes”.
I agree with others that those ratings must be based on the number of characters on the server. For example, the first guild I joined consisted of 17 players, and I am the only one of those players still active in any meaningful way. I would be amazed if that guild were the exception to the rule.
I have not been back since GW2 launched, but you might find GW1 difficult to pick up if other players are scarce and unable to provide advice. There’s not much of a tutorial, and a lot of the modern MMO conventions are absent (e.g. no unique map icons for quest givers or merchants; they all appear as green dots, only when you get close enough).
Sea of Sorrows was one of the “unofficial” Oceanic servers at launch, and seems to have maintained a reasonable population of players, although last time I checked, it was rated “Full”, so you may not be able to transfer.
Wholeheartedly agree. This cost me an exotic in the Ascent to Madness dungeon. I looted the chest, but my inventory was full. The leader, who had gotten there first, departed before I could clear any room to collect my loot. Another player in the group didn’t even make it to the chest. Frustrating to say the least.
But, as always, the best solution is to group up with others.
I agree. But this is the main problem: there are very few other players in the zone. Not one of the group events that I encountered in 5-6 hours of playtime tonight were even being attempted. No amount of clever skill choice and use is going to enable me, for example, to solo the skill challenge in Cathedral of Zephyrs when the Defeat the Risen Priestess of Dwayna Group Event is spawned right on top of the landmark.
Another example: I tried to two-man the group event at Union Waypoint (the one where you need to destroy the barrier) with a random player who was after the same landmarks as me, but the surrounding enemies spawn so quickly, we were unable to create any openings to actually attack the barrier, and ended up having to retreat.
Just spent a frustrating evening trying to progress – with limited success – through the Malchor’s Leap map. The main problems I had: the excessively high density and rapid respawn rates of enemies, and the large number of uncontested events, primarily Group Events, that lie in close proximity to landmarks needed for map completion. As a warrior, I resorted on several occasions to just popping swiftness buffs and Endure Pain to collect points of interest and then run for my life. There were several landmarks that I simply could not reach on my own. I think with the post-launch attrition in player numbers, and the seeming unpopularity of this zone, A-Net should consider re-balancing the content, because at the moment, I honestly don’t see how people will be able to complete this map.
For the record, I was able to complete Straits of Devastation because on my server, there is a near constant zerg that cycles through the middle of the map to clear the way. It would have been difficult, otherwise. I am yet to enter Cursed Shore, but if my experience with Malchor’s Leap is anything to go by, I am not looking forward to it.
I hit level 80 during the Halloween event and picked up a bunch of level 75+ greens from the Ascent of Madness dungeon. A quick question: what level do green items need to be to produce yellows in the mystic forge? I am quite low on cash, so need to make the most of the items I have collected.
That happened twice to me, too. First time, I didn’t realize what had happened, and just spiralled off a platform trying to speed through. Second time, I realized I could complete the puzzle at my leisure, but misjudged a jump in a section that I had not previously reached. In the end, I completed it fair and square after about 3 hours of attempts.
I completed it after nearly 3 hours. I would encourage people to keep persisting. It does get easier as you learn the best sequence of jumps, and the wait becomes shorter the further you make it up the tower.
A couple of tips for anyone still trying to complete the puzzle:
1. Don’t worry about going super fast to begin with. Just try to learn the optimal sequence of jumps for the lower section. Once you are comfortable with that, it won’t matter too much if your view is occluded, because you’ll be doing it on autopilot. And most people tend to fall early on anyway, so you’ll likely have a clear view if you can clear the first ~10 platforms.
2. If you can make it to the drop down to the platform with the chest about 2/3rds of the way up and get moving again before the cloud catches you, you CAN finish the puzzle. Getting quickly up the stone step just before this drop was the key for me. Everything above this point is pretty straightforward.
Charr Warrior. No boosts. Took nearly three hours. It was a relief to finally complete it, but I found it oddly addictive (just one more try!), and the conversations that were going on among the players at the base of the clocktower were some of the best and funniest interactions I’ve had in the game.
