Guild Wars 2

I’d like to know how observant you people are of other peoples looks?

I would say very observant. I notice most aesthetic changes in my guildmates’ characters (at least I think I do) and, if I’ve pug’ed with you a few times I’ll have lock on your look, sometimes down to specific dyes and skin colors depending on how many different lighting environments I’ve seen that character in. Aesthetics is a primary reason I play GW2.

It helps to have a deep interest in costume design and my memory keys on what people were wearing/looked like in the event I’m trying to recall.

What does impress you?

Strong thematic concepts, rarely used (but common) weapons, good use of face/body sliders, adventurous color palettes. When someone designs a surprising flow between mismatched sets I’ll try to compliment them.

What turns you off?

White hair on humans, unless they’re going for an elderly look.

That flower-in-the-hair female human hairstyle.

Sherbet colored toddler asura.

All white ‘Sparkle Princesses’.

All black, with more black on top.

Male norns dressed all in pink. It was funny three years ago.

Blaxploitation characters, even if the look is done well.

I don’t agree that traps are “obviously” not viable in pvp. My main for the last season was an effective axe/torch – shortbow condi trapper. I was two pips shy of Diamond, all solo queue.

It’s an unusual, high condi pressure set-up that’s tons of fun and surprisingly tanky. I’ll compile a build and link later, but I just wanted to let the naysayers know a trapper build CAN be effective in pvp.

I dig named ranger pets, but it’s rare to see them. Some of my favorites:

A pig named Ben, and a boar named Jerry

A pig named Your Mom

A raven named Tippi Hedren

A black widow named Twice Divorced

I’ll add mine to the list, because they’re kitten cute:

My norn has two drakes named Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

My asura names all his pets after fonts. His usuals are Helvetica the pink moa and Garamond the siamoth.

Arbitrary but a good morning distraction:

Elementalist 12 (Fun 3, PvE 4, PvP 5)
Daredevil 11 (Fun 5, PvE 4, PvP 2)
Ranger 11 (Fun 4, PvE 3, PvP 4)
Tempest 11 (Fun 2, PvE 4, PvP 5)
Reaper 10 (Fun 3, PvE 4, PvP 3)
Mesmer 10 (Fun 3, PvE 3, PvP 4)
Chronomancer 10 (Fun 2, PvE 3, PvP 5)
Druid 9 (Fun 3, PvE 3, PvP 3)
Engineer 9 (Fun 3, PvE 3, PvP 3)
Revenant 9 (Fun 2, PvE 3, PvP 4)
Herald 9 (Fun 2, PvE 3, PvP 4)
Scrapper 8 (Fun 2, PvE 3, PvP 3)
Dragonhunter 8 (Fun 2, PvE 3, PvP 3)
Necromancer 8 (Fun 2, PvE 3, PvP 3)
Thief 8 (Fun 4, PvE 2, PvP 2)
Berserker 8 (Fun 3, PvE 3, PvP 2)
Guardian 7 (Fun 2, PvE 3, PvP 2)
Warrior 5 (Fun 2, PvE 2, PvP 1)

I’m ambivalent. On one hand it would be cute and make some players happy. On the other, I’m sad to see so many players treat the asura like toddlers. The cutie-pie crap is getting old.

One does not simply buy the Canachpack. One must earn it on the thorny path to Countess Anise’s heart.

I’m fond of my charr witch mesmer. She’s really a princess in disguise, or a remorseless cannibal. I depends on the time of day.

It’s been discussed a few times (that I’ve seen) on the forums already, but I do agree that it’s a shame and a missed opportunity not to have a more atmospheric day/night cycle.

Somewhere between what we currently have (Tyria as an outdoor shopping center) and the rich gloom of the fractal forests would be amazing. This game could use a bit more menace and mystery.

The asura have an imbalanced outlook on risk vs. reward that acts as cultural self sabotage. They’re techno-magical geniuses, but they have a child’s appreciation for danger. If they hatched a plan to enslave the other races they’d just botch it and likely create some new sort of ‘slavemaster golem’ that the other races would have to clean up.

OP, I don’t agree. Makeover kits are one of the best ways Anet has to make money and control gold inflation, all without having to worry about it affecting power creep. This is what the micro-transaction MMO market looks like, and your strong desire to unlock those options in basic character creation reinforces the good choice to keep the current system.

I’d be inclined to agree with you if the current hair and face options weren’t adequate. The variation on style and color with the basic options – especially with creative use of sliders – is enough to make a distinct character. Hell, some of the basic options would actually make your character stand out because so few people use them.

Sylvari experience heat and cold, but not with the same intensity that humans do. They have a higher threshold, but they’re not immune.

Lotus, your mesmer is really well done. The hair, the face, the color combination – I like it a lot.

Gormadh is my newest character and my last lvl 80. He’s a necro, designed as an autumnal sylvari, all browns and golds. When the amberite skins came out I knew they’d work well for him.

Omg, I know right?

It’s like this one time this lady in line next to me bought 2 packages of Oreos, but one had bugs in it, so they replaced it with a bag of Nutter Butters. I had 8 packages of Oreos in my cart and you know what they gave me? Nothing. No extra Nutter Butters! Sure, all my Oreos were fine, no bugs at all, but everyone could clearly tell that they were indeed Oreos, which is close enough to being bad Oreos, right?

Where’s the manager?

I don’t understand what you want then. There already exists a hard, reliable way to get a legendary in this game, via the TC. Do you want a system that’s more rewarding than RNG and less expensive than TC prices?

Should precursors drop twice as much? Five times? Say every player on GW2 actively participated all gainful content, 40 hours a week, for six months. What percentage of those players should see a precursor drop by the end of that time for it to be deemed ‘fun’?

Krytans don’t have many gender divisions or role expectations. They also have frequent contact with other sentient species and and a religion based around fallible and amorous gods. It’s not a stretch to imagine sexuality doesn’t factor much into their legal code. I don’t think Krytans are fazed by open displays of homosexual affection or the concept of homosexual marriage.

However, I’m going to turn this on its head a little bit: I think Krytans may be so comfortable with the idea that they see sexuality as fluid within a single person, and at different stages of that person’s life. In a Krytan’s eyes, it may be perfectly normal for Kasmeer and Marjory to part ways later in life and marry men, or for Logan to later turn from Jennah and favor Lord Faren. The only thing that is hoped for – deeply – from any of these partnerships is that somewhere along the way they manage to have children. I think increasing their numbers is the primary concern Krytans have when it comes to sex.

Yes, it’s fun. I like RNG. Getting something truly rare is a real treat. I don’t ever want precursors to become some sort of ’Everyone’s a Winner Just for Participating’ trophy. Nope nope.

I agree zerk warriors are usually the most effective, but the other classes aren’t ineffective, they’re just less effective. The gap isn’t wide enough where it’s an issue for me.

If a speed zerk warrior team finishes a dungeon in 7 minutes, and a less optimized team finishes it in 14 minutes, they’re both within acceptable parameters, so I don’t care who’s better or faster. A lot of players probably feel the same.

Cute, but a little too on the nose. I say 5/10, but higher if you like joke names.

Mine:

Kroobit – Asura ranger, journeyman ornithologist and researcher in the College of Synergetics. Bascially, he thinks birds can track ley lines.

How about this:

- Queen Jennah does have a Machiavellian mind and set Anise against Minister Caudecus some time ago. He’s dead and buried, and in his place is a carefully trained exemplar mesmer, a protege of Anise’s who has been instructed to maintain enough animosity between the Ministry and the Crown that the bolder allies of the Ministry are more inclined towards overt treason. It makes them easier to catch. All these ‘near misses’ are just the dragnet Jennah has created to thin the rebellion.

- Jennah needs the the Ministry to remain a functioning institution, for the maintenance of the kingdom, and for her peoples’ peace of mind. She just needs to outlive the threat that (the much older) “Caudecus” poses. He’s more useful to her as as puppet opposition – a debate she can control – than whoever his successor might be, for now. His vitriolic attacks actually help her look more innocent and kind hearted, which makes her seem incapable of the acts she’s secretly undertaking.

- Demmi’s defection was orchestrated by Anise and The Order of Whispers, to provide the necessary distance between father and daughter. There was true fondness between them at one point, and Demmi was the person Caudecus trusted most – and trained to possibly succeed him. She stood the best chance of discovering the doppleganger, so a wedge had to be driven between them. Those unspeakable secrets are largely lies she was made to believe, to hasten the betrayal.

The Minstrel should just really have the new harp instrument skills included.

You need to become comfortable with the idea that it may never, ever…ever happen. Some people could play for 20 years and not get a precursor. That’s probability. You ‘could’ get a precursor. The moment you start thinking you ‘should’ is where you fail to understand the current maths. It sucks.

Here’s Hodge Keysmith, grouchy circus mechanic and inventor of Kryta’s first ambulatory spittoon. Gemstore boots, (apparently rare) commando coat and shoulders, and some other bits and bolts.

This is “Mad” Magnus Redmane, third son of the Cragstone Redmanes. I set out to make the rare male norn elementalist as a side character, one I’d occasionally level, but he kicks kitten (after getting over the lvl 45 hump) and I play him often.

Someone called the look ‘Hamlet as a biker’.

7/10 for Peculiar Branch. I like the wackiness of it, but it takes me out of the character a bit. It’s cute.

My male sylvari warrior is Corcoran (pronounced CORE-ker-in). It’s a Gaelic surname that I thought sounded rough and brough-y. No screenshot, but, he’s as big as possible, with a cactus man look.