Guild Wars 2

Our guild ‘No Nerds Allowed’ is currently seeking new members. We are a very small guild (for now) who are very friendly, fun, and happy to help. NNA is Family Friendly, and never places requirements or restrictions on it’s members. We have cleared many of the dungeons, both Story and Exploration mode. We are active in all forms, PvE, WvW, and PvP.

Our goal is steady growth, taking our time and developing each new member as they join. Long term we plan on maintaining a solid presence in WvW, while still enjoying PvE and sPvP. New members can earn rewards and promotions within the guild. We have our own Ventrilo server; web site with forums are on the horizon.

Our current members are located across multiple time zones, including North American mid-west and east coast, as well as the UK. This means there is generally someone online at any given time.

If you like to have fun and enjoy a close-knit guild with quality, skilled members who are friendly, mature, laid back, and helpful, NNA could be the guild for you! Get in on the ground floor, and become a valued part of our online family.

No Nerds Allowed {NNA}
Desolation Server
Semi-Casual weekly, Not-Quite-Hardcore on the weekends

Send in-game mails to ‘Professor Whom’ or ‘Godi’ for more information. Thank you all for your time, and Good Gaming!

BobF.3509

You’re missing the point. Story Mode should be STORY MODE. I know, your delicate sensibilities are offended that humans want to be entertained by video games, that we should instead, during our leisure activity, be forced to work for our fun, like in real life. We should put “time and effort” into something that should be effortless i.e. relaxation. We should bleed and sweat for pixels, because that’s what the hardcore do, so, therefore the rest of the casual masses should behave the same.

What a load of elitist nonsense. You can have Exploration for your great video game accomplishments, but for the rest and vast majority of the playerbase that log into this game to yes, just mash buttons and gasp have a good time, there should be an ez mode dungeon option. Yes, I know, we’re all bads because we don’t care that deeply about pixels and super accurate gameplay, and just want to rollface through some content. No doubt, as posted by others before across every MMO forum, we’re all uniformly children that want something for nothing, and someone here will post some meaningless, non-related example on how VIDEO GAMES are an example of the deplorable state of humanity. Oh wait, that happened already.

Pull your head out. It’s a game. There’s an option for your superultrahardmode where raiders can peen about how awesome they are for doing nothing but speccing survivability and pressing buttons in a better order than others, that option should be the explorable modes. I wanted story out of Story mode and all I got was frustration (yes, I managed to actually finish AC with a pug, when the party bugs didn’t turn up).

Consider that most people play video games for fun. Digital leisure activity should NOT be something someone has to “put in time and effort” for, generally. I’m not advocating removing content, or nerfing your superhardmode, but Story Mode should be far more simple than it is currently.

I’m not missing any points, but perhaps making a point different than yours. Also, my post stayed away from being offensive or confrontational, but I suppose its a bit unrealistic to expect everyone to maintain the same standard…

Nobody is saying you HAVE to do ANYTHING. I don’t like to bleed and sweat for anything, I play on my couch with my keyboard in my lap, game on the 40". Hardly what I would call a hardcore gaming situation going on there. I also have a full time job, and am way too tired when I get home to do anything requiring a lot of mental focus. So, I don’t do dungeons until the weekend, or my day off. That is how I do it, and it works for me. Nowhere do I tell anyone to do anything other than what they want to do.

What I do is offer solutions to people’s issues, specific to completing GW2 dungeon content. This thread is full of positive feedback, tips, and suggestions. What you are doing is listing your OPINIONS. Its your OPINION that Story Mode should be “easy mode” and its your OPINION that anyone who puts time and effort into a game is an Elitist.

You’re of course welcome to discuss your OPINION that Story mode should be easier, but I see no reason to be so derogatory. Those of us on this thread who have completed these dungeons are on here to help those who as yet have not, for the most part. If you don’t see that, and can take nothing away from this thread other than to use it as a sounding board for your own opinions and negative ranting, then you in fact are the one missing the point my friend. Either way, good luck to you in your endeavors.

Just a side note, anyone is free to send me a tell or a mail in-game for help with any of the dungeons, or any content I am familiar with. Good gaming!

Eloquence.5207:

Am I missing something, or are there not a lot of places where you can access your stash (i.e. bank tab). The only places I know are the personal bank (duh), and crafting stations. I play a human character, and I have made it to the ice maps (Lornar’s pass). Say I found a new armor, and I have an upgrade component (in my collection) that I want to use. Do I have to travel, or spend gold TPing all the way to Queensdale?

You have a few options here:

• Yes, you can go to a Bank or Crafting Station (via Waypoint)

• You could use one of those Bank Golem dudes if you have the Delux or whatever it is

• I believe the Black Lion chests could contain an item that allows you to access your bank for a limited amount of time, but I’m at work an cannot verify this at the moment (if so, this item can most likely also be purchases for Gems at the Gem Store)

• Lastly, you could always get a free port to any Main City (via Lion’s Arch) by opening your character panel (default H), going to PvP tab, clicking Go To Heart of the Mists, then walking through the purple Azura gate to Lion’s Arch

You know, I’ve been actively following and adding to this thread for days. I’ve read every post, and I have noticed something interesting: All the people on here who like the dungeons as they are have admitted they are difficult for the most part, but have gone on to explain why they like it, and what others could do to make it through. Post strats, builds, etc. and they rarely just shut down the ‘complainers’ for lack of a better word.

However, the ‘complainers’ simply cry NERF IT, without any consideration for the players who are having no issues completing the content and enjoying it as is. At first I looked at this very objectively; I had a rough time the first time in AC Story (PUG), and I sympathize with those who become frustrated by this. That being said, I kept at it, changed what wasn’t working, found what DID work, and now I can mostly stroll through dungeon content. I’ve also said ANYONE can do this, they just need to put some time and effort into it. To sit here and cry about how its impossible (I’ve seen this word many times in this thread) is absolutely an exercize in futility. It is simply NOT IMPOSSIBLE. People are completing this all over the world, all classes and races, every day, and as we speak. How then is it impossible? Nobody likes to say “its possible, but I can’t do it,” so they cry and winge instead.

Oh, man, and this thing about Glass Cannons (another example of a phrase overused in this thread). Why does everyone think they can roll all DPS and not deserve to be one shot? Its in the name, for goodness’ sake! GLASS cannon, I mean, come on. Why people think they should be able to DO tons of damage, and TAKE tons of damage at the same time, is beyond me. Lets just give you guys ALL the DPS, and ALL the HP and damage mitigation. This way you guys can just stroll through the dungeon with your thumbs up your ‘butts’ and get all the loot, without a repair bill. Then you can get ALL the tokens, and ALL the Legendary items, and then you WIN GW2! This sounds like a really fun game, where do I sign up? Then I can go on the forums and cry about how EVERYONE has the ‘Legendary’ items, and the content is a breeze and a joke to clear, and end-game is unchallenging and pointless. Then you guys can post, telling me to go play GW2 if I want a fun, challenging game…

Backing off the sarcasm a bit…many people, myself included, have posted helpful tips in here. Few of us are saying L2P and ending the post. We’re TRYING to help you guys figure this stuff out, but we can’t play for you (as much as we may like to!). Instead of spending your time thinking up new ways to say “It’s too hard! SADFACE” you guys should be paying attention to what we’re saying. I will close with a sampling of some of the good advice currently being wasted here:

• LEARN YOUR CLASS – ALL the skills, NOT just the ones that you’re used to using in a TOTALLY DIFFERENT SETTING, ie. open world PvE

• CLEAR COMMUNICATION – I’m not sure why this even needs to be said, but trying to 5-man-zerg a dungeon is simply not in this game’s design. You need to discuss strategy with your team, and offer CONSTRUCTIVE advice

• USE GAME MECHANICS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE – Mobs do not normally respawn when killed. Call your targets, focus fire, and burn them down. There is no tank holding aggro here, everyone needs to ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE

• AVOID TUNNEL VISION – Pay attention to everything going on, not just what directly effects you. This is a team environment, and everyone needs to have good combat awareness, and be ready to help where its needed, WHEN its needed

• USE LINE OF SIGHT – See that attack coming, but no energy to dodge? Get behind a pillar, a staircase, whatever. Pull mobs to where YOU want them, don’t go to them if you can help it. Use CHOKE POINTS where you can, kite mobs up stairs then drop off, etc.

• SKILL COMBOS!! – I personally am not awesome with these as yet, but I still clear the dungeons. WITH combos, it could only get better. I agree, combos are kind of an advanced mechanic, but it gets easier with time and practice.

• FIND THE STRAT / WORLD ITEMS – Every encounter has a strategy that can or has to be used to defeat the enemy. Study, think, find it. Google it if you have to. If you see an item laying around, like a BOULDER, its there for a reason.

• HAVE FUN – Nobody is forcing you to complete this content. If its not fun for you, do something you DO enjoy. Dungeons are there for a challenge, and designed for a SOLID group of 5 to enjoy at END GAME. There are few if any ACTUAL upgrades there for you; the loot is mostly geared towards GRAPHIC ENHANCEMENTS. If you have a sword that works, and you don’t care what it looks like, there’s no reason to go do a dungeon.

Cromx.3941:

No its not. And that is the problem. Every time I die there is absolutely nothing I could have done to prevent it. That is what makes this game really really bad. I die and its plain unavoidable. Getting double or tripled targeted. Getting condition spammed, or one shotted. It makes me want to rage quit everytime in a dungeon.

Oh, man, where do I start? I’ll take it one statement at a time I suppose:

Every time I die there is absolutely nothing I could have done to prevent it. That is what makes this game really really bad. I die and its plain unavoidable. Getting double or tripled targeted. Getting condition spammed, or one shotted. It makes me want to rage quit everytime in a dungeon.

You know there is a dodge for every class, right? There is nothing in this game that I have come accross that is unavoidable. And conditions can be removed, easily.

There really is no challenge in that. Why not make the dungeons difficult without killing us ten thousand times and making us return to spawn over and over? its like the MMO gene is moving backwards with every new iteration…more dumbed down, more solo play, less player intergation. GW2 has moved so far in this direction its quite bad. Support classes and skills are next to useless….all skills on huge cooldowns with minimal effects when used.

Nobody is making you spawn over and over, you should be learning from your mistakes each attempt, and adjust accordingly. Performing the same task over and over and expecting different results is one of the definitions of insanity. Then to say its dumbed down, with more solo play and less player integration?? I mean, have you played this game? Nearly every ability has multiple uses for different situations, hardly dumbed down. As for the player integration, this game is BUILT around people naturally grouping together to achieve a goal. I’m not going to waste more time going into this, its simply a thoughtless argument you’ve made here. Oh, and support classes? Didn’t know we had those…

The PVE side of this game is in bad bad shape, and the leveling curve painfully long….I imagine at 80 there is absolutely nothing to do buy /quit. Ny gut feelign told me when they removed the defined roles that it would break the coop PVE side of things….but it was arena net so I assumed they had done something to make it work.

This game is crazy easy to level in, and please, don’t ‘imagine’ what we do at 80, we have plenty to do and are just fine, thanks. Then you speak of how they removed defined rolls in the same post you complain about support classes…no comment, again.

…no tank role means mobs everywhere roaming and murdering people with impunity. No healer class means when you are low on life you are just gonna die. And without healers and tank the DPS classes are going to be fodder over and over. The thing is everyone has roles….in war we have ground to air aircraft. forward recons elements, heavy armor, fast attack copters…..in basketball you have point guards, power forwards, centers……why remove it from a game? What were they expecting?

There are no rolls, and this is clearly something you’re having trouble with. If someone in your group, or you yourself wish to FILL a roll, you’re welcome to do so, but the game does not force you to label yourself a ‘healer’ or ‘support’ class. Staying alive and benefiting your team is EVERYONE’S SOLE RESPONSIBILITY. And it was removed from the game because its lame to sit around for hours waiting for a tank or healer to log on, or roll one yourself. This way everyone can play however they want without HAVING to do ANYTHING they don’t WANT to do.

I think you, like most others, would benefit from taking a step back, doing a little google’ing, and learning a bit more about how this game really works. Negative rants like this isn’t helping anything, serves little or no purpose, and to be honest is time better spent actually PLAYING the game.

Nutcracker.7615:

If you see someone get downed during an even DO NOT help them because the time you spent on getting them up might be the difference between silver or gold rewards!

That’s what I learned so far from playing

Haha, I’ll be sure to leave you on the floor if I see you ; )

Just kidding, but I see the time spent helping a DOWNED player insignificant, especially considering there’s usually others attempting to raise as well, plus its the nice/smart thing to do. Now, attempting to reise a permanently downed player is another thing entirely…this I do not recommend.

Shy Of Day.7259:

I REALLY think healing XP rewards should be implemented into the system . I run a Guardian minor DPS support/heal build myslef to run with my guildies and WvWvW. IMO if there are skills that help the HP of allies and expecialy for example the Tomb Of Courage skill 5 – “Fully heal up to five nearby allies”. why whould you get no cradit for saving allies HP in a the Holy smokes moments o reven just to sustain there HP. Yes, there is no absolute Healer class in the game but there are HP support calsses that are effective for group survival.

In open world events, I would stay away from the tome, and using skills to heal 5 allies. Leave those 5 allies to heal themselves, or get downed and raised up if they don’t know any better. Alternatively, use your staff and buff the DPS of EVERYONE in proximity, toss out a decent heal at the end. Toss out some stability, some protection and regen, all while keeping your auto attack going. Try it out, and I know you will see better results.

Scrag.8765:

Less class roles, people being told to only play dps = people getting bored easy and leaving the game. I personally like to dps, get bored, switch to healer, get bored, switch back again, maybe tank for a bit.

Less options = less fun in any game. GW2 is an awesome game but the combat/classes feels a bit one dimensional. no gear, no class roles, makes it a big dps/pew pew mosh pit.

I understand wanting to change the old mmo system, but you need to repalce it WITH something, not just scrap it and leave a gaping hole.

I could not disagree more with this statement. I find that in GW2, you need to learn what your class can do moreso than in any other game. You need to be able to use the skill you need, sometimes within a very small window of time. In a normal open-world situation, you may be able to get away with one dimentional thinking like that, but in a dungeon or wvw, you’re going to have to think and play on you’re toes. It is most definitely NOT a dps/pew pew mosh pit, to say the least. Any people you see doing stuff like that has not yet learned how to play their class properly, or at least not to its full, complete potential. I have never played a game where I need to be so constantly engaged, always ready to roll or dodge or toss a boon or clear a condition. To say there are less options here is saying you need to become MUCH more familiar with your class and GW2 combat in general.

Sentinel VX.1392:

My whole point is have you ever done explorable dungeon mode without dying or only die few times? it seems no one can do that without zergfest… or at least give me a proof that people can do it without zergfest like youtube video otherwise my point is clear that most of explorable dungeons are just ridiculously too hard.

I have done explore mode only dying a few times, and by that I mean 5 or less. No, I have not done it without dying at all…yet. I have never made a video, and have no interest in doing so. I’m not trying to make anyone feel bad, or make out like I am more skilled than anyone else. My point is that with a little patience, objectivity, and communication, a good team can tackle the challenges presented by explorable mode. This has been accomplished quite enough to be proof in itself, without another YouTube video being necessary to ‘prove’ what I am saying.

I will also say I have done parts of explorable mode only 4-man, as we had a friend go afk right before we started and he ended up being off for hours. Not wanting to kick him out, we went for it with 4, and succeeded. Yes, it was much harder with 4, but at the same time, it forced us to be extremely careful with pulls, plan each one out ahead of time, and UTILIZE CHOKE POINTS and LINE OF SIGHT. When all was said and done, we were very proud of ourselves for being able to 4-man one of the AC Explorable modes (forget which, first or second, not third).

I am confident they are tuned properly, and anyone can learn to clear them with a proper group and skill/stat setup. Use the environment around you, tweak your strats, LEARN from your defeats. Mobs do not normally respawn in a dungeon when you kill them. Victory by attrition is still a victory.

I have played Guardian as my main to 80, and I can say they have the ability to be very tanky if built for it, but as stated above, they really shine defending others. They have many ways to rebound from taking damage, tossing out heals and boons and removing conditions.

My warrior alt, however, has many more skills and abilities to mitigate damage dealt directly to them. I feel like I have less mobility than my guardian, but I can definitely take more of a beating. I also agree that the guardian would better be able to stand up to a prolonged assault than the warrior, but the warrior should be able to burn the target down faster than a guardian I would think. I have not played the warrior nearly as much as my guardian however, so take this for what it is…mostly speculation, lol.

EDIT I feel like its easier to down a Guardian than a Warrior, but the Guardian has better abilities to get themselves back up over and over (the warrior has that one instant-rez thing, but if you’re downed again after that you’re out for the count, so it has at best situational usefulness).

Zz KCAllen zZ.1280:

If you want to make a legendary weapon, you need to craft the specific “ingredient” (gift of something which the recipes can be brought from a NPC). You need two specific crafting skills to craft those gift of something. All of the gift of something require 400 level crafting skills

This is the best reason to level crafting skills. Yes, it can help to supplement gear as you level…if you cannot make gear at your level, you’re either spending too much time in areas designed for levels lower than you, or you’re not maximizing your XP from discovery. To level right, ideally you would never craft the same thing twice, which dramatically reduces the materials you need to use (discovery gives double XP, whereas crafting that item a second time probably will not give any bonus XP, unless you craft a bunch in a row…wasting materials).

Be very careful going solely by what you find on the wiki, as many people are finding that this is not all that is required to craft the legendary items. Also keep in mind you can only craft legendary items based on what crafting skills you have maxed out. WC and AC will let you make a greatsword, but not a staff, for example.

Obviously, as time goes on more information will become available as to what is needed for each item. Until then, I recommend focusing on another aspect of the game and collecting whatever you happen to collect. Most of the stuff can be shared between your characters, so even if something you collected isn’t useful for one character, it may be just what you need for another. Legendary items are really just for the skin anyway, so it shouldn’t impact how effective you are in game (unless you gain super powers from fancy glowy sparkles IRL, lol).

I find that the toughness is beneficial in all aspects, dungeons included. Even if you don’t feel the benefit from the stat itself, the trait skills you unlock may be the edge you need to complete an encounter.

I’ve explained in another, similar thread that each encounter has a strategy, and it takes time, patience, and awareness to learn the strats that work, and utilize them skillfully. Everyone expecting to roll through these dungeons this early into the game is in for a learning experience, to put it mildly. I am a 80 guardian with all yellow 80 gear, but that does not remove the challenges of the dungeons. Spec for the skills you need, work on synergy within your group, and learn from each death and failure to adapt your strategies and overcome the challenges. Once again, this is intended to be the hardest thing for a GOOD GROUP to accomplish, and EXTREMELY challenging for a PUG. If it was easier, it would be facerolled, and then we would all be complaining that we burned through the content too quickly. Also, if they were that easy, everyone would have all the same loot skins, making them all but pointless to have in the first place.

OP, I have noticed the same thing, especially on the bigger events, like the big dragon events. I spend the whole time buffing like crazy, removing conditions, rezing, etc. Basically being a huge asset through support, only to recieve NO credit or loot from the boss.

I agree with the general theme of responses, that a dedicated support player is not IDEALLY necessary for taking out event bosses for example, but it can be useful and enjoyable all the same. Now, what I have done is alter my playstyle to adapt to this fact; I spend about the same amount of time providing support, but I make sure to keep my ranged auto attack going on the boss, so as to get credit for the event. This has worked for me well so far, and I have not had the issue of not getting credit since, that I can think of.

As for the challenge for melee to get credit…every class in this game has the option for ranged abilities. If you’re getting crushed in melee range…stay out of it. If you don’t like your ranged options, pop in with your melee, blow your cooldowns, and pop back out again. Dodge is your friend.

Personally, I feel the Staff is one of the most underutilized weapon for Guardians. The support abilities there are great for open world pve, dungeons, and wvw. I rock staff and greatsword, 30 in Power for the Greatsword Heals, +damage on burning foes, and + Greatsword damage. I think I have 20 toughness and 20 health (I know these are not the names of the catagories, but I am at work and can’t remember what they’re called). I have the larger symbols, and 20% reduced cooldown on 2h abilities. I don’t remember the other 2 trait skills I use.

Basically, this allows me to drop the burning symbol (2 on greatsword) and follow with the whirlwind thing (3 on greatsword) very frequently, which does tons of damage and heals me a little, always nice. You also have the greatsword 4, which allows you to close the distance to your target, as well as act as a free dodge if needed. The 5 skill is just awesome, allowing you to group up a bunch of mobs for a nice 2-3 combo, and interrupt as well, pretty useful stuff.

Staff offers a nice wave attack, great for tagging multiple mobs, which helps to bring in the gold on events, and fill hearts super quick. 2 is a nice damage attack, which can be detonated to heal allies, low cooldown, very useful. 3 is a speed symbol, which also damages enemies and removes conditions from allies, need I say more about this? 4 is a great DPS buff that hits all nearby allies, this is awesome, and it heals those same allies at the end of the channelling…another low cooldown. And 5, (mostly) unpassable wall, great for exploiting choke points.

I use the utility skills which provide stability, to prevent those nasty knockdowns, and some retalliation. I also use the one that gives protection and regen…these are on fairly short cooldowns, and I use them at the beginning of most encounters, to prevent that early knockdown that interrupts my whirlwind thing. 9 is my projectile reflection wall that removes conditions, and last, I have renewed focus to refresh my buffs and provide some invuln time. Basically a very well rounded build with lots of survivability, mobility, and its group friendly as well as a viable solo build. Works for me at least!

I think its a bit unrealistic to expect to complete explore mode within the first few weeks without dying a few times. It takes time and effort to learn the strats needed to complete each dungeon. Explore mode is tuned to be the most difficult thing you can do in PvE, and if everyone who tried just strolled right through, it would drastically lower the appeal to spend time on it, if not make it entirely pointless.

I am looking forward to unlocking a title or two, and now that you mention it, I am sure I’ve never noticed a title on another player before. Now that I know where to look though, I’m sure I will start seeing more and more. I imagine as the game gets older and older, more people will become aware of titles and where to see them, and they will be noticed more often.

Krypto.3569:

i agree with you to a point, i dont want the dungeons to be easier, but the mobs are literally facerolling us. im not really sure if this is because we sucked, or because the mobs are way to strong.

the way the fight feels right now, we are getting downed too fast, i dont have time to think about whats going on, im starting the think that there isnt just one puller in this game anymore. it’s more of a “charge!”

Something I haven’t seen mentioned yet, but is very significant: when you kill a mob in a group, it typically stays dead. Meaning, even if you’re in a group that is having a hard time with the dungeon in general, or just a specific encounter, focusing down one mob at a time cannot be stressed enough. That group of three that killed you guys could be easily dealt with if there were only two when you guys regroup to attempt the encounter a second time. This is seriously huge, and many people are probably not used to this, as in WoW and similar games, the mobs will respawn if you fail to kill them all, or respawn over a period of time.

I would also like to expand a bit on skill choices. In PvE when I am off clearing a zone solo, I use skills which boost my own DPS and survivability (obviously). When I decide to go do a dungeon, I change my skills, my active traits, etc. I focus my skills on Boons that affect my whole party, I make sure I have my defensive skills ready, and I typically fight much further back than I normally might. For example, in the open world, I rarely use my staff for anything other than the speed buff, and mostly use my greatsword. In dungeons, I am almost always using my staff, to buff, heal, CC, etc. Drop down a wall in a choke point, now you have 5 or 6 seconds for your whole (buffed up) group to unload on a single target or drop some AoE and burn down those mobs. Getting wrecked by ranged? Utilize line of sight, stand behind a pillar in between attacks. They will come to you and end up right in melee, or move to another target. If you have some reflection, like my Guardian’s wall that reflects projectiles (I forget what its called), you can drop that between the ranged and yourself or your group…they will continue to fire, and the reflected projectiles will wittle them down without any effort from you, while giving your group the chance to DPS them without worry of taking damage. Also, most skills have a lovely dual nature, so while my wall is reflecting projectiles, its also removing conditions from my team, for example.

Learn your skills in and out, know when to use them. Be aware of how long most cooldowns are compared to a relatively short duration (normally just a few seconds of utility, versus 20 or 30 seconds cooldown on average). Getting the most use out of your cooldowns, being ‘party specced’ versus ‘solo specced’, and field awareness will make all the difference.

Having read all the posts in this thread, I have observed quite a lot of comments about how the dungeons are too hard, and the loot is not good enough. I doubt I have much to say that will differ greatly from that of previous posts, but I simply cannot restrain myself from chiming in.

As to the difficulty of the dungeons, and the fact that most players are not prepared for this level of challenge: I agree, the dungeons are in fact difficult, and open world PvE does very little to teach you the skills required to complete them. That is why I feel AC is level 30 and not less…you need those initial levels to simply learn the basics of any profession. THEN AC teaches you the ADVANCED tactics you will need to successfully complete dungeons and high end content in this game. I agree with the statement that this is completely unlike WoW, where you basically just had to show up in the right gear, and you could faceroll any instance. Dungeons in GW2 require TEAMWORK, using skills you may not normally use in basic world exploration and casual questing. I play my Guardian one way out in the world, and completely differently in dungeons. In dungeons, characters need to utilize skills that benefit the entire group, not themselves. Kiting, CC, TARGET ASSISTING, etc. are NOT optional. You cannot simply enter a dungeon in GW2 and expect to play the same way you always do. The strategy for each encounter is not always obvious (in fact, it rarely is) but there is one to be found if you’re determined. Bust out your boons, keep an eye on your team, combat awareness is key. Its pointless to claim something needs tuning down because it is too difficult when there are many people completing these dungeons with proper groups and tactics (I have completed dungeons both in PUGs and with guildies, and of course its vastly more difficult with a PUG…is that really a surprise though?).

As to the loot quality, its common knowledge (or should be) that dungeon drops are mostly there for aesthetic purposes…finding the cool skins for your EXISTING gear. I believe the tokens are also used for crafting legendary items in the Mystic Forge, but I’m not 100% sure about that as I have not personally used the forge as yet. If cool skins and legendary items don’t appeal to people, and neither does gaining a feeling of satisfaction by completing a difficult task requiring skill, patience, and preparation, then I agree, there is no reason for them to be subjecting themselves to the apparent stress running these dungeons is causing them. If, however, people are interested in developing their skills and learning the FULL POTENTIAL of their professions in an intense, demanding group setting, the dungeons are great. I can only speak for myself of course, but I greatly enjoy the challenge the dungeons present, and each time I do one, I learn a bit more about the profession I play.

I would personally be greatly disappointed if they tune down the dungeons. They’re great the way they are, and if they were to be made easier, it would diminish both the feeling of satisfaction gained through a successful completion, and the value and purpose of acquiring less common skins for your gear. What’s the point if everyone can simply show up and get them? As end game gear stats are pretty standard, the main thing to strive for a unique look for your character.

Just my two cents worth, of course. At the end of the day, do what brings you the most enjoyment…it is a game, after all.