Guild Wars 2

Hi, folks.

In honor of our journey into the Far Shiverpeaks, I’d like to share a writing system I’ve been working on. It’s based on the Jotun stellae and culture in-game, and I tried to take that aesthetic and worldview into account when designing this system.

The full project can be found at imgur, here.

Smokescales: Wait, what hit me?
So here’s what’s up with Smokescales.

After many, many people talking about them in map chat, it seems that it is not a well known fact about them that they evade all attacks while in their mist field, and for a short while after leaving that field.

This means that, if you don’t know those things, Smokescales are very, very strong. You can’t hit them, and they will teleport around and hit you very hard.

However, if you do know their mechanics you know that in order to kill them you must kite, pull, stun, interrupt, and immobilize. Pull and kite them out of their mist fields, and stun and interrupt them before they can lay another one.

Terragriffs, Smokescales, and Adorable Tiny Raptors
Smokescales, then, are an excellent example of a mob that is impossible to fight if you don’t know the mechanics, and difficult to fight if you do. This seems to be the mob design that we see more in Heart of Thorns. Pocket Raptors are another example of this – they jump around, are tiny, and very hard to hit, and they hit like tiny 16 wheelers. But if you make good use of aoe, immobilize, stuns, conditions, blocks, and cleave, then they become much, much easier.

A pre-BWE example of this is Terragriffs. Widely regarded when they first were encountered as punishingly difficult, Terragriffs are an excellent example of an enemy that is very difficult to fight if you don’t know the mechanics, but fairly simple if you do. They charge and demolish anything in their path, unless their movement is impeded in some way in which case they’ll collapse to the ground helplessly. Fighting Terragriffs as a Thief with Shortbow 3, for example, is trivial.

Understanding and Discovery as Mob Challenge
The point we’re getting at should be fairly clear at this point. Smokescales, and other similarly ‘difficult’ mobs in Heart of Thorns will be punishing in the first BWEs and when Heart of Thorns comes out. They will continue to be difficult whenever someone new encounters them. They should be – they are designed in such a way that they are very challenging. For the rest of us, we’ll get used to their patterns in the first couple months, get used to their skill timings, get used to their AI and movements. We’ll be able to time our skills and move easily to keep them out of their circles and nuke and stun them to oblivion. It’s only a matter of time. What matters is that ideally smokescales will still stay engaging fights – when Colin says that he wants us to use our full skillbar and our skills and traits intelligently for simple mob fights, I believe smokescales are an excellent example of this philosophy. In the future, you will find them not ‘impossible’ or ‘OP’ – but you will still have to correctly execute your skill combinations to kill them effectively that ideally will be slightly more complex than your standard spamming your most damaging move.

In Conclusion
Arenanet and fellow players, please take any early encounter with mob difficulty and encounter difficulty in Heart of Thorns with a grain of salt. If you remember how difficult dungeons seemed at launch, you’ll know that all it takes is figuring out the mob and encounters, and it will be done by the community at large fairly quickly. Hopefully smokescales, pocket raptors, and their like are kept engagingly difficult even after this ‘learning’ phase is over – because everyday fights that actually engage with GW2’s amazing combat system are what so many of us have always wanted.

Thank you for your time. TL;DR – Smokescales are difficult right now, but they won’t be in three months after HoT releases, same as anything else. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Not sure this is in the right subforum, since apparently the official forum has no roleplaying subforum? That seems a little strange to me, but is beside the main point:

How about some more ‘How to roleplay as ____" blogposts? I found the “How to roleplay as a Revenant” blog entry really useful, although a little on the short side, and would love some more of the same for the elite specializations. How does one roleplay as a mesmer who controls time, for example? What exactly is a ’Reaper’ for your character in-world, and how do they differ from normal necromancers?

What do you think? Could we use more blogposts like this outlining tips for these sorts of things?

Kalavier.1097:

Minor detail…

I doubt any necromancer minion can be described as “rotting”… necromancer magic and all.

And that’s part of how GW is different. in DR you can find people randomly talking about being a necromancer. I think it’s just there is a difference between casual and adventuring/combat use. A random civilian may be an elementalist, but uses his water magic to help keep the fields watered.

See, that’s the kind of thing I want to see! The professions having a role in the society, in everyday life. And right now they mostly don’t. Season 2 made strides in this by incorporating professions into certain dialogue choices and backstories. But still, this kind of thing where you just see how the professions and types of abilities and magic fit into the world, it’s few and far between.

First, just a bit of background:

Profession Lore in GW1
In Guild Wars 1, the professions were integral parts of the visible lore of the game. In Prophecies you worked with a profession mentor and did quests that were unique to your profession, while discovering more about what that meant and what that represented. This continued later in the game, and in the later campaigns as well. The idea of what a ritualist was, or what role the monk profession had in Canthan society, was made clear in the game through quests and dialogue. In Elona the position of mesmers in the court of the princes of Vabbi was clear, and the role of mesmers in that society that worshipped Lyssa above all the other gods.

In Guild Wars 2
In Guild Wars 2, there’s no real equivalent to this. You never really learn about what you are and what role the professions have in the world. What is a mesmer in society? We learned recently that there may be some sort of organization that Kasmeer is a part of, but there’s no head or tail of it in the game. Where do Guardians come from? Why, in the lore of the game, is one person an elementalist or a necromancer? It’s questions like these that go unanswered in the game, and the problem is multiplied by the fact that the roles of the professions in the society go even more unanswered in the races other than human.

Why do we care?
Well, maybe we don’t. It’s just been something that bugs me, that doesn’t quite gel in the way the world is put together. The existence of the professions should have an enormous impact on the way that Tyrian society is organized and the identity that NPCs have. In Guild Wars 1, it did. Now… it doesn’t, though in Season 2 of the Living World there’s definitely been progress made in this direction.

At any rate, what are your thoughts? Have you ever wondered about the lore of professions in Tyria? Do you think there should be more in-game?

TL;DR – Professions don’t really have a role in the everyday lore of Tyria in-game, and they should.

This just confirmed – the Musician’s Guild of Tyria will also be there to play us some songs in honor of the city and the event! Make sure to stop on by for the music, games, prizes, and more!

Hi, folks!
My name’s Jonah Marriner and I’m here to invite you to the biggest in-game bash of the year: the “New Berth Lion’s Arch Celebration!” Some of you might know me from other celebrations in the past: the ‘Down With the Ship!’ Farewell Party for LA more than a year ago (!), or other fun community events.

Lion’s Arch is back and stronger than ever, and that deserves a party both in honor of the perseverance of the city, the players who fought to save it and waited for it to rise again, and the Arenanet developers who worked to create this rebirth.

So, in cooperation with Apocalyptic Armageddon [AARM], we’re throwing the biggest community birthday party for Lion’s Arch that Guild Wars 2’s ever seen! Join us (that means you too, Anet folks reading along) this Saturday at 6pm (PST) on US servers for a wide variety of games, events, and prizes! Prizes will include valuable and rare items!

Events include:

• Crow’s Nest Fashion Contest! Pick out your best armor and dyes, and win prizes from our panel of fashionista judges!
• Round the Rigging Jumping Tournament! See who can complete a leg of the new LA Jumping Puzzle the fastest!
• LA Marks the Spot Scavenger Hunt! Take part in teams to track down our staff and solve riddles!

In addition, the party will involve classic events and games such as undie runs, group suicide jumping (because there’s nothing better than jumping from high places as a mob), trivia, fireworks, and plenty of food and buffs.

The main events will be taking place in the following order:

• ’Round the Rigging JP Tournament first, close to 6.
• Crow’s Nest Fashion Contest to follow.
• LA Marks the Spot Scavenger Hunt to round out our main events.

So bring your booty and come party with us in the new Lion’s Arch! Bring your friends, bring your guildies, bring your outfits and instruments and bar tables and costumes – it’s going to be a blast.

We will send out a reminder post this Friday for those that forget info, but we will also be posting on the official forums and linking to the Guild Wars 2 facebook and twitter if you forget. Rewards, support, and taxi services will be provided throughout the evening by Apocalyptic Armageddon [AARM].

Thank you all for your attention, and we’ll see you in the Piazza!

Hello, all! This is your friendly neighborhood Jonah Marriner. Some of you may know me as the host of the Destruction of Lion’s Arch party several months ago, or the occasional Jumping Puzzle Tournament.

Today, I come to you with another cataclysmic event on our horizon: the destruction of the zephyrite airships in Labyrinthine Cliffs. As before, this will bring much sadness for many of us – the Labyrinthine Cliffs is easily one of the most beautiful zones in the game, and just plain fun to be in. Soon, it will be brought to ruin by unknown forces and it may never be the same.

As before, our only possible response… is to party.

• WHAT: “BYE BYE BAZAAR” FESTIVAL is an enormous party celebrating Labyrinthine Cliffs, the Zephyrites, and the the BEGINNING of Living Story Season 2! This party will feature races, games, trivia, snacks, drinks, fireworks, and prizes and events planned by yours truly. Those of you who were at the Lion’s Arch party, you know how much fun it can be.
• WHERE: Labyrinthine Cliffs, starting at the upper air docks waypoint.
• WHEN: This Saturday starting at 7pm PST
• OTHER WHERE: Guesting to Tarnished Coast should help you be slotted into our megaflow. If you need a pull in, be sure to contact me or one of my staff members (that I will update this post with the names of and also post in the reminder post on this Friday evening).

All in all, Lion’s Arch has been destroyed or abandoned upwards of three times now. Lion’s Arch from Guild Wars 1 is in no way equal to Guild Wars 2’s Lion’s Arch. The city was absolutely demolished during the Rise of Zhaitan – and essentially all the Krytan-ness I assumed followed the throne to Divinity’s Reach or scattered to the countryside. As far as I’m aware, the city was only rebuilt by the Zaishen and Pirates. I also assume that these pirates were mostly Krytan… but according to Sea of Sorrows (the book) the city wasn’t REALLY founded again properly until a conglomerate of multi-racial pirate groups came and did it. So, no, I wouldn’t say Guild Wars 2’s Lion’s Arch seems like ‘The Krytans’ to me. But I’m mostly curious about the humans… it has always seemed that the humans living in Lion’s Arch in Guild Wars 2 were from far flung areas, and not at all respectable Krytans.

Hello! There are several lore questions that I’ve been thinking about/debating over the past couple weeks, and I thought I’d take it to you all (and possibly a lore guru at the Anet offices, if they see this). Mainly, I was considering the state of the human kingdoms and the concept of ‘national identity’, and how it all relates to Lion’s Arch.

1. How do humans view themselves in the context of race/queen/country? At this point, the only functional truly human nation in mainland Tyria is Kryta, regardless of what the holdouts in Ebonhawke might think (especially considering that they would not survive without agricultural support through the asura gates). So aside from the ultra-nationalist Ascalonians, how do humans view themselves? Do they view themselves as Krytans first? Or is it by village? Or even just by race? If there were ever a fantasy world where I could see humanity seeing itself as one unit, regardless of race or regionality, it is in Tyria.

In addition to this, is there a distinct Krytan national and cultural identity we can identify? What are the cultural touchstones of Krytan identity? What are the idealized ‘traits’ of a Krytan man or woman? How does that compare to an Ascalonian? Are there stereotypes about Krytans/Orrians/Ascalonians/Istani refugees/ Canthan refugees/ Vabbian refugees/ Kournan refugees?

How does the greater Tyrian regionalism work with this? If there is a distinct Krytan identity, is there an Elonian Krytan identity that has developed since many Elonians fled to Kryta? Or are all the previous refugees counted as Krytans now – especially with the rise of the Elder Dragons?

2. Where does Lion’s Arch fit into all this (before the destruction)? Do the human ‘Archers’ have a distinct culture of their own, or do they count themselves as vaguely Krytan? If they do count themselves as Archers first, what does that mean? What is the Lion’s Arch national identity – what are its fundamental moral values, cultural heroes, etc? I would guess that they would revolve around openness, urbanized ‘street smarts’, multiculturalism, and general individualistic attitude – but how is that different from the main Krytan culture? Are Ascalonians, Elonians, or Canthans viewed differently in Lion’s Arch versus Divinity’s Reach, and if so how?

Perhaps most importantly – before the Fall of Lion’s Arch, was there a distinct ‘national’ versus ‘cultural’ identity in Lion’s Arch? Or was it more city-economy based identity? Basically, is there the concept of Lion’s Arch as a state/nation with associated sovereignty? Or do the populace of the city still simply view themselves as a city looking out for its trade opportunities in the world?

Post-Fall, how does this all play out? My leading theory is that based on the lack of assistance from other groups and national bodies during the invasion, the national identity of Lion’s Arch will cohere and crystallize – if it hadn’t already. This event would be the equivalent of 9/11… IF that event destroyed all of New York. Will Archers become a more cohesive body/culture through this shared cultural experience?

3. Is there any remnant of Orrian identity? If there are examples of Orrian characters in-game currently, other than ghosts, I believe I’ve missed them. The Orrians were a religious and magically-inclined people – does that mean that any remains of them are focused around certain professions or regions? Do other human groups blame the Orrians for much of the ill that has befallen on humanity?

Those were the main questions/topics that I had. This is all stuff that is hinted at in the game in some form or another, I feel – but much of it is not explicit or left entirely up to guesswork. What do you guys and gals think? What is the state of national identity and cultural cohesion in what’s left of humanity and Lion’s Arch?

Hi! I’m afraid I’ve had a bit of a problem, and was wondering if there was any fix to it. I ran CoF story mode today – a group which is fairly difficult to find these days, for those of us that haven’t done all the story modes yet – and right after defeating Baelfire and entering the final cutscene, I was disconnected from the game.

When I rejoined, my party had left the dungeon already, and when I entered again, it had reset. So I didn’t receive completion for it at all.

I’m sure this can’t be how it was intended to work. Does the game really not keep track of whether I’ve completed a dungeon or not? Especially after I’ve spent an hour or more on it? It seems rather odd.

Is there any fix to this?

I really enjoyed the event. I thought it was incredibly difficult and satisfying. It was worth the effort, and I felt it made our overflow bond. That being said, I was kicked at the last phase, and couldn’t find my overflow again.

I’m afraid I’m a bit bummed out. Again, I really enjoyed the event. But no reward at all seems a bit harsh, since it was due to a disconnect.

I loved the event. It was kitten hard, and that was really satisfying to beat. It really made all of us on the overflow bond, I felt.

That being said, I was kicked out when we got to the final phase. Disconnected. And then I couldn’t find the overflow. So I received no reward. It might be good if there was some way we could find our original overflow again. Or at least receive the reward by mail or something.

It happened to me too. I mean, I enjoyed the event. I really did. But then to get booted when we got to the final phase, and unable to find my original overflow in time?

So I get no reward. Again, I really enjoyed the fight, but I’m going to miss that 20 slot bag.

I just wanted to express to Anet my complete and unwavering support. I will continue playing new content as long as you keep making it.

Yes, I am a fanboy. I love the work that’s been done in Guild Wars 2. I’ll continue to call it my favorite video game, and even if we have minor disagreements on some things (like RNGs) you always seem to work things out (the new methods of getting Precursors).

Thanks, Anet.

Keep up the good work!