Guild Wars 2

Hi All!

Like the topic says, I am a returning player who is playing catch-up on Heart of Thorns. Due to some real life drama, I stopped playing shortly before it released. [I know, horrible timing to stop playing a game.] Sadly, in my absence, my old guild lost its way, and I no longer feel that it is the place for me. Additionally, most of the people I enjoyed playing with there moved on to another game. Therefore, I’m here seeing what other amazing guilds are out there!

About Me

Main: 80 Mesmer/Chronomancer (Non-tank, power/condi hybrid – Sw/P & Staff, Dom/Illusions/Chrono with Berserker stats). I use Chronomancy for the wells and alacrity. That build has been working quite nicely for me so far. My chestpiece and accessories are ascended, and everything else is exotic. One of these days, I’ll get a legendary…
Alts: 80 Necromancer (I haven’t dusted him off yet, but he’s there. He was a power build once upon a time, but we’ll see how it goes when I check out Reaver), and I have a placeholder Revenant for when I get around to trying that class out.
Age: 33
Time Available: I’m usually on during the day and evenings/night (US Central Time)
Playstyle: I fluctuate between casual and semi-hardcore.
VOIP Preference: Once I feel comfortable with the guild, I am frequently on. Name the program (TeamSpeak, Mumble, RaidCall, Ventrilo, Discord, etc.), and I will download it if I don’t already have it installed.
Game Mode Preference: PvE. I’m not a fan of PvP or WvW although I have joined guildmates in the private PvP rooms in the past.
Game Play: I like all PvE – jumping puzzles, map completion, fractals, dungeons, and I’m willing to even give raiding a try. I would require the guild to be patient with me as I know I’m rusty on group content beyond dynamic events.
Server: Sea of Sorrows
Server Preference: I’d prefer to stay on Sea of Sorrows if at all possible.

What I Want In A Guild

I am looking for a small, close-knit guild that is casual, but capable. What I mean by that is that there aren’t strict attendance rules or representation rules, but the guild is more than capable of handling content. Active is a must. Helpful is a must. Social is a must. I did have a positive experience once with a larger guild that had managed to maintain a small guild feel, so size is not automatically a disqualifier. My reason for preferring smaller guilds is I want to know my guildmates, and I want them to know me. I don’t want to be “just a number” to the guild. I’d also prefer an adults-only guild.

I am 33, so I would rather not be part of a guild that thinks phrases such as “that’s gay” or “gay” can be used to denote something they think is ridiculous/stupid/etc. I also can do without guilds that think calling one another the f-word is cool. If your guild does that, then I’m not for you.

I also would like a guild that is LGBT-friendly. The guild doesn’t have to be a LGBT guild, mind you. It just means that if I tell a story about my fiance and I, I don’t want to have to get the smelling salts because some poor, fragile soul fainted. I also don’t want to feel like I have to walk on eggshells, or go back in a closet, because the guild is full of “gays shouldn’t exist” people. I came out of the closet a long time ago, and I’m not going back in one. If someone tells a funny story about them and their significant other, and I have a similar story, I’d like to feel free to share it.

I have a twisted sense of humor, and I do enjoy joking around. A lot of times, I have to scale back my humor because some might find it off-putting or a bit crass. I am a joker, and I like to have fun with my guild. Yes, I do even enjoy a good gay joke – especially if it’s one I haven’t heard before. My philosophy on jokes is this: as long as it’s not done out of malice, anything goes – even if the joke is at my expense.

I am a returning player, so a guild that would be open to helping me catch up on content would be awesome as well. For example, help getting map completion would be amazing. I currently have completed Verdant Brink, and I’m working on my gliding mastery (currently 4/6), so I can finish Auric Basin. I’m sitting at 91% map completion, but I need ley gliding, and it’s driving me bonkers. [I’m a completionist, so I physically cannot move on to another zone until I’ve completed finding everything on the map. Lol.] I also offer that information to show proof that I’m actually playing the game – not just thinking about returning.

That’s me, and what’d I like in a guild, in a nutshell. If you think I’d be a good fit for your guild, I’d love to hear from you. I’m a helpful player, and I’m more than willing to help others, and pay it forward. I know I’ll have to ask for help, and I’ll probably have newbie questions (I did miss an entire expansion, after all). Therefore, if I can help someone else, or answer their questions, I will.

Thank you for your time!

Page still bugged for me. I have tried in Chrome, Opera, and Firefox. All show the same error message as Ignavia’s screenshot.

Here’s the latest incarnation of my Mes.

First, I want to say that I do realize what ANet was aiming for with this new system. It is a way to gradually introduce the mechanics of the game to the brand new player. The game gets progressively harder as the person’s levels increase. I get that.

It would seem, however, that in ANet’s desire to complete this objective, they overdid it. Leveling does not seem more rewarding now, and it certainly isn’t feeling any more “fun.” It feels even more tedious than it did before. Some of the lockgates are ridiculous. For example, did you guys know that combo fields do not unlock until level 52?

To be fair, here’s my feedback on the good, the bad, and the ugly of the new system.

Good:
- Leveling takes less time in the lower levels.
- Irritating hearts have been removed or changed.
- Tedious unlocking of weapon abilities is gone (ignoring the level locks for a moment).
- Personal Story isn’t the jumbled mess that it used to be. (I don’t agree with it not starting until level 10 though).

Bad:
- The lock-gates are spread out too far. If ANet is set on keeping this lock system, then they need to rework it.
[Suggested Solution] By level 20, a person should have all abilities unlocked. To still be unlocking mechanics at 52 is just ludicrous.
- Map completion items are locked.
[Suggested Solution] No map completion item should be locked – AT ALL. Having these items locked serves no educational purpose to a new player. It is simply content that is arbitrarily withheld from them.
- Some hearts have been “dumbed down” to the point of being insulting.
[Suggested Solution] New players enjoy a challenge. If you remove the challenge, you’re not going to keep their attention. Put the challenge back in the beginning hearts (some challenge, at least).

Ugly:
- There is no option for a veteran player to turn the new leveling system off. I distinctly remember the introductory blog post stating that veteran players would be able to disable the new system if they wished. Where is that option? Most of the griping and complaining about the new system would cease if ANet would give veteran players the ability to disable the new system like the blog post stated. This option is a must.

Feel free to add your own “Good, Bad, and Ugly” lists.

Regina Buenaobra.6193:

Just a question here because I am curious. The idea of the Living World is that there is a storyline that you take part in, that you are involved in events that shape Tyria in permanent ways—how would you all convey the sense of progression and change without also making changes to the landscape? I see a couple of comments regarding creating things, not simply destroying. Do you all have any other ideas?

Building can be part of a changing world, too. For example, if what happened to Lions Arch happened in real life, the people would pool their resources to rebuild the city to its former (or better) splendor. I realize the Elder Dragons destroy only (consuming the magic of Tyria), but the races should work against that destruction. This desire can go deeper than simply finding the dragon, and introducing it to the sharp end of a sword. Life grows and flourishes. That aspect should also be part of the Living World.

Some Ideas:

- Trahearne healed the Source of Orr, yet Orr looks unchanged. With Zhaitan destroyed, and Orr’s heart cleansed, Orr should begin to show signs of Life returning where Death once reigned. This could be a Living World story.

- Lions Arch is the symbol of Tyria without the racial divisions – a unified Tyria. That would imply a united effort to rebuild Lions Arch until Scarlet’s destruction is only a memory. This would be an excellent “building” Living Story step, and permanent change would still be involved because it would obviously not be identical to the original Lions Arch (GW2 version).

- The newest twist involving the Foefire (not giving it away) could open the door for building changes (once a certain act has the desired result). The Charr have been blasting at the Ascalonian Wall, but no dents have been made. Part of that wall could be cleared.

- A continuation of the Orr rebirth would be signs that the human gods have returned or are returning. Finding a way to incorporate the non-human races would be a hurdle, but I’m sure the writers could find a way. Maybe have them begin to help against the Elder Dragons. This could also open the door for the Underworld to be accessible (nudge nudge wink wink).

- Have a Living Story where the Norns begin to see signs of the other Spirits of the Wild (including Owl).

- Go deeper into the eradication (or redemption) of the Nightmare Court. We’ve only been told that once a sylvari turns to Nightmare, they can’t return to the Dream. Why? What did Faolain and Caithe encounter that warped Faolain? Why is it permanent? What about it makes it so enticing/tempting? You can see that there is a huge hole in the story concerning the Nightmare/Dream. That is a huge opening for Living Story seasons.

- Beginning the expedition into Elona (nudge nudge wink wink).

There are so many avenues that can be explored in addition to Elder Dragon madness and mayhem (though this is fun too).

It would be counter to the Living World concept to have anything remain one way forever. The one constant in a Living World is change. That applies equally to destruction and creation.

Chaos Archangel.5071:

Sethren.8472:

Hrm…

- I hate when Mesmers approach class changes through a singular, “tunnel-visioned” lens (usually PvP or WvW), and they forget there is a third mode of play (PvE). cough Scepter cough

- I hate when certain Mesmers achieve the rank of arrogance that some display on these forums daily. You may call them “experts.” The real word is “arrogant” or “pompous.”

- I hate when Mesmers act like know-it-alls.

- I hate when Mesmers contradict themselves.

- I hate how much animosity there is between PvP/WvW Mesmers and PvE Mesmers.

- I hate when Mesmers cry for Mesmer nerfs because they want to preempt the other classes crying for Mesmer nerfs.

- I hate when Mesmers are scared of being damage dealers. Any buff that increases damage, they immediately call OP, and say ArenaNet needs to nerf it.

- I hate how PvP/WvW Mesmers look condescendingly on PvE Mesmers. Just because you enjoy one game mode over the other does not make you better than those who enjoy the opposite mode.

- I hate arrogant Mesmers.

Jeez, Pyro. Can you feel all the love?

By the way, Sethren, that’s a presumptuous list filled to the brim with hyperbole.

Also, its possible to be a “pompous, arrogant” expert.

Not presumptuous, just observant. I look at it this way, if what I said doesn’t apply to you, then you should have no reason to take it personally. If it does… well then, there’s the rub. You asked for us to list the actions of other Mesmers that we hate, so I did. Just because my list was conceptual rather than tangible doesn’t negate its validity.

It is true. There can be humble, knowledgeable players who have learned tricks of the trade, and they wish to help out their fellow gamers by passing along that knowledge. Those, I have no problem with. It’s the ones who get the snarky attitude, and they begin to talk to others as if they are On High. They approach any conversation with an attitude that reeks of, “Other players should feel privileged that they would descend from on high to speak with them.” (cue bright light). Those are the ones I have serious issues with.

Hrm…

- I hate when Mesmers approach class changes through a singular, “tunnel-visioned” lens (usually PvP or WvW), and they forget there is a third mode of play (PvE). cough Scepter cough

- I hate when certain Mesmers achieve the rank of arrogance that some display on these forums daily. You may call them “experts.” The real word is “arrogant” or “pompous.”

- I hate when Mesmers act like know-it-alls.

- I hate when Mesmers contradict themselves.

- I hate how much animosity there is between PvP/WvW Mesmers and PvE Mesmers.

- I hate when Mesmers cry for Mesmer nerfs because they want to preempt the other classes crying for Mesmer nerfs.

- I hate when Mesmers are scared of being damage dealers. Any buff that increases damage, they immediately call OP, and say ArenaNet needs to nerf it.

- I hate how PvP/WvW Mesmers look condescendingly on PvE Mesmers. Just because you enjoy one game mode over the other does not make you better than those who enjoy the opposite mode.

- I hate arrogant Mesmers.

I have to echo what others have said. This in no way constitutes as an exploit. It simply uses the legitimate game process to achieve a desired outcome (like leveling, buying gems, etc.). No bug is being exploited. No coding is being changed. No third party software is being used. Ergo, no exploit. Have you ever heard the expression, “use the test to take the test”? That’s what key farmers are doing. They are using the game to play the game. Every action taken by the key farmer is completely “legal” within the rules of the game, EULA, and ToS.

ArenaNet built GW2 on the concept that you had two options to obtain anything in the gem store. You could either use real money, or you could use time. That was the selling feature when they introduced the business model for GW2. The key farmer is simply picking the latter to obtain the keys while others may pick the former. Neither option is wrong.

As to the prices of skins being driven down, that is the nature of economics. That does not mean anything wrong is happening. It simply means you’ll have to find a new cash cow.

As supply increases and demand decreases, prices fall. Economics 101.

Hey All Fellow GW2ers,

I was having this discussion with my guild the other day, and I wanted to see if the general player base agrees or disagrees. I realize that the forums does not constitute the whole player base in its entirety, but it is a sample group.

When it comes to GW2’s “trinity” (support, control, and damage), Elementalists, Guardians, and Warriors feel finished. What I mean is that those classes can fulfill each of those roles effectively and fluidly. Notice that these three classes are the favored in the meta as well.

When it comes to the other 5 classes, they feel incomplete in that they are not able to fulfill those three roles as well or as fluidly as the previous three classes. They might be okay in one or two areas, but not the third. The result is that the other five classes aren’t as powerful as the GWE classes. They are also listed after GWEs in the meta. They are also the classes whose forums are filled with areas that need drastic improvements.

I wonder if the other 5 classes were meant to be more specialized whereas the initial three are more generalized? What are the thoughts of others? Am I off base with this, or is there something to it? If there is something to it, do you feel the September changes will help fix this issue, or is it merely a step in the right direction?

This isn’t meant to be an ANet-flame thread. It’s meant to be a measurement in seeing if there is a real difference between GWEs and TERMNs in terms of design to address the three GW2 roles.

I had an awesome experience with this today. There was a massive group who were farming this event on Sea of Sorrows. While the majority wanted to fail the event, there were 3 of us who needed it for the Living Story. The entire group helped us complete the event without so much as a snarky comment.

I hope ANet doesn’t ruin it for groups like this just because of a few bad apples. Ban the bad apples rather than ruining the legit farm.

I am extremely hesitant with this because it smacks of a reputation grind. In that regard, I would have to adamantly disagree. Now, if ANet was able to implement it without using a faction grind, then this could be good. I don’t want to have to grind faction in order to experience content.

The original post was hypersensitive, insecure, and a stunt just to get attention. I couldn’t disagree more (and I’m disabled too).

You took the negative view of Taimi’s condition rather than seeing her as a person who is able to rise above her ailment. YOU defined her by her disability. A bit ironic, seeing as defining a person by his/her disability alone is extremely offensive and insensitive IRL. She excels in spite of her disability. Many disabled persons do this on a daily basis, and it is something to be applauded. With all due respect, your post tells more about your personal issues (and a lack of coping with your situation) rather than anything that was supposedly wrong with the game.

Kasmeer and Marjory are only offensive to one group of people – those that have an issue against anyone who doesn’t fit their view of the world.

Braham is a Norn, and he’s young. He isn’t sure due to his age. Don’t misread teenage awkwardness as a lack of intelligence. Stereotyping much?

Rox was fine.

I seriously scratch my head at your whole post. I would say what I really think about it, but I don’t want to be mean.

From most important to least (IMO):

1) Split the skills for PvE and PvP. I know that you’ve dug your heels in on this one, ANet, but there comes a time when one has to face the ugly truth. Trying to balance the entire game using only one batch of code is flawed. PvP and PvE function on two different balance rules. Also, by keeping them together, you are inadvertently breeding PvE vs PvP toxicity between players. PvE’ers hate PvP’ers, and vice versa. If you need an example, just look at the Scepter change for Mesmer reaction. PvE’ers welcomed the long overdue buff. PvP’ers, on the other hand, immediately cried foul. Split the code. There is a deeply ingrained bitterness between the two types of players, and ANet is only perpetuating that bitterness by balancing the two together.

2) Whips added as a weapon. The Nightmare Court get them. Eles kinda do with Air Dagger 1. I want a whip. Why does the Nightmare Court get to have them, and we don’t?

3) Profession Hybridization. It would increase the uniqueness of characters, and it would make the game more fun.

Bonuses:
- make the permanent harvesting tools craftable or otherwise obtainable in-game (TP does not count)
- make the Nightmare Court a playable faction (though this one would fall more in the “content” side of wishes)

Yes.

1) The Scepter needed to be brought back to its beta goodness as a viable weapon. (For the newcomers, the Scepter stacked confusion on AA in beta.)

2) It’s time ANet stopped catering to the PvP crowd, and forced them to learn counter strategy rather than just nerfing a class that others complain about. Not meaning any disrespect, but that is the general impression on how PvP’ers appear to approach difficulty (from 2 years of reading pvp-related posts that constantly accuse each other of being OP).

3) PvE condition build needed a major buff to make it viable. This is certainly a step in the right direction.

Lifestealer.4910:

Mesmer needs help, i get it but buffing this cancerous condi build that they have? You are basically promoting no skill gameplay and if this build ever rolls into the meta, that is last nail in the coffin for your so called competitive play. WvW roaming will be deemed dead as well as all you will see is PU mesmers and P/D thieves ( you already see endless of this brain dead OP spec).

What cracks me up is how you PvP’ers think the game revolves around you. Mesmer has one spec that you can’t face roll, and you all start crying. Ever hear of a cleanse? Know how to use that skill? No, instead of thinking up a strategy to counter, you all start whining. The mesmer finally gets a buff, and the sky is falling.

Did you ever think that Condition Mesmer in PvE might need a buff, and this scepter change was much needed, so they can actually kill something? Sure, it’s doable now, but it takes forever. Did you ever think that your incessant whining about mesmer a is the reason Mesmers are nothing more than a support portal-bot in PvE? No, you don’t because all you care about is yourself.

Same issue. After second platform, Trahearne doesn’t move, and quest stops. Tried going to other platforms to force the issue, but to no avail. Also, the quest bugged out on me after the first central platform fight/ghost scene. I had to walk down the ramp before the quest would update.

Sandrox.9524:

- Illusionary Elasticity: Works with Winds of Chaos on staff clones- Very big deal for us Staff users/Condi Mezzes
- Maim the Disillusioned: increased the amount of torment to 4 seconds to 6 seconds-I dont think that all the torment changes are neccessary,condi mesmer builds were already powerful,the scepter change is nice and welcome,but to me, it should have stop there. Disagreed. PU Mesmers might have been powerful in PvP, but regular PvE condi mesmers were not. We needed that bit of love. If you play a power mes (Sw/Sw, or whatever combination of Sword), then you wouldn’t realize how nice/needed this is.
- Scepter AA applies torment
Ether bolt – 2 seconds of torment, Ether blast – 4 seconds of torment,
Ether clones apply – 2 seconds of torment Friggin’ AWESOME

Everything you said you didn’t think was “needed” or “went too far,” just remember what you said about the Winds of Chaos clone change. ALL of these (above) are MAJOR awesomeness for us Condi Mezzes. For you power/mantra/lockdown mezzes, they aren’t anything special, but that’s how I feel about the buffs they got. My point is: calling something unnecessary if you don’t use it is… you see where I’m going with that?

Wyrden.4713:

tbh i never rly thought scepter needed a buff, sword iLeap is great

It did. It was a lackluster weapon ever since the removed the AA confusion in beta. The torment AA makes it much better now. As a NON-PU condi mes, I use Sc/T+Staff. The weakest weapon was Scepter, but it was pretty much the only option for a condi.

I just hope the PvP whine doesn’t ruin it (again).

nearlight.3064:

Torment on autoattack for clones sounds ridiculously strong. And it will make PU builds even worse.. so I won’t be surprised if we hear the cries of nerf condi mesmer like we heard the cries of nerf dhuumteror necro last year.

Is it every hit of the auto chain or just the last one? And do we know how long?

Looked like every hit. The first two are 2-sec duration, and the last one is 4-sec (I think).

Oh, I know they will. I was tempted to post something in Prof. balance thread saying, “Don’t any of you dare say a thing about Mesmer changes. We’ve been crapped on long enough because of all of you.”

Kirito.9207:

Interesting that they’re focusing on torment and not confusion for Mesmer with scepter.

True. I like torment better, personally. A mesmer causing mental torment/anguish. It fits.

Torment on Scepter AA AND the clones it spawns. Maim the Disillusioned’s torment increased to 6 second duration from 4 seconds. Super excited! (Condi Mes)

There may have been questionable squeals of delight… I deny everything >.>

Mike & Chris, your posts are very much appreciated. Though there have been some responses that have been quite hostile, there are others of us that welcome this interaction, and we aren’t vying for the lynch rope.

Communication is definitely an area that needs improvement (CDI topic?). We are passionate about GW2 (which I know you are too), and we want to be able to collaborate with you in order to help make GW2 the best it can be. While the ultimate decision on the development belongs to you, we would welcome the opportunity to have an open discussion with you, and maybe give you some ideas that spark action.

This post is extremely welcomed and appreciated. Don’t go quiet again! We missed you guys/gals.

I would have to heartily agree with those saying that recycled content would just add more ammunition in your kitten nal.

For example, Blizzard Entertainment is notorious for “recycling old content” (ie, how many times did the players have to kill Onyxia? Three?). Players complain that there’s nothing new. Now ANet is keeping things fresh in the game room, and there are complaints for wanting old content. It’s one of those “kittened if you do, and kittened if you don’t” situations.

On Scarlet: in other MMOs, players would complain that their actions had no real meaning because the big baddie just respawned. Well, ANet actually made that kill matter, and you’re complaining. See the issue? Gripe if they do, and gripe if they don’t. Why not save yourself a great deal of frustration, and relax. Enjoy the ride, and be content with what you have. Then, when new stuff does come, you’ll have that same excitement that you had when the “old” content was new.

Level another toon, and join a different order. See the story from a different point of view. There’s a bunch of stuff to do. Or take a break. Relax

Behellagh.1468:

Nothing. However if they are willing to act upon input from their customers, shouldn’t they at least get it close to what was being asked for rather than a crazy gold sink they first created?

“Hi, we at ArenaNet has listen to you WvW players and are providing you this QoL feature your requested, at only 300g per color! Isn’t that great! Ah … what’s with all the torches and pitchforks?”

LoL! Valid point. That does seem a bit off. I’d definitely agree with you on that one. ANet does have the right to tweak the suggestion, but I still don’t understand the 300g per color. That seems a bit… excessive.

Behellagh.1468:

To be that tone deaf to your community

<snip>

it’s important enough to make sure you are delivery what was being asked.

Going to play devil’s advocate for a moment, and I know I’m probably going to regret the ragestorm that might ensue.

What happened to the fact that developers reserve the right to make the game they want, and how they see fit? I know that’s not a popular statement, but customer/player requests are just that… requests. ArenaNet has the right to either grant the request or ignore it. Just because a request is made, that does not automatically obligate ArenaNet to fulfill said request. It is their game, after all. We’ve just paid to be able to play it. The sole ownership of the game still belongs to ArenaNet and NCsoft.

I understand bugs and such; that’s an entirely different issue. I’m referring to changes that are requested by the playerbase. If ArenaNet agrees with the suggestion, great. However, if they don’t, that is not a violation. Players do not get to dictate how the game is run/developed/etc. That isn’t a right granted to players when they purchase a game.

moiraine.2753:

Ayrilana.1396:

GW2 doesn’t have to do what every other MMO does.

You are absolutely right.Lets change what is working for 10 years and make something new that is not working.’’Great’’ thinking.Just like what Anet did with the removal of the holy trinity…Yes it is working but is it better?In my opinion it’s not.(PvE wise)

This is obviously a personal preference issue. You don’t like it. That’s perfectly fine, but that doesn’t make it bad or lazy programming. It just makes it not for you. While you may not like it, there are many other players (obviously) who love it. I personally love not having to heal 5 people while never being thanked, always being blamed for the tank’s/dps mistakes because it was obviously my fault for their mistakes, and on and on it goes.

Just because something worked for 10 years does not make it the only good way to build a game. Same with the defiance mechanic. You could give it a chance and try to learn a new way of playing, or not. What it boils down to is you have your opinion, and others have theirs. Neither side is going to change the others’ minds. No use trying.

I’m severely apprehensive, borderline terrified. I want to hope for better changes, but I’m scared to get my hopes up. So I have that, “the principal just called you out of class to see him/her, and you’re sitting in the office waiting in abject terror” feeling.

Taken from the GW2 Wiki:

“Defiance is an effect that grants immunity to most control effects. It is caused by Unshakable, an ability possessed by most champion and legendary rank enemies.
When a creature with the Unshakable effect is successfully affected by a control effect, the creature will gain a minimum of 3 stacks of defiance, but potentially many more depending on how many players are nearby, based on event scaling. Stacks of defiance can be removed with additional control effects, and once all stacks are removed, the creature is vulnerable to control effects once again, and the cycle repeats. When no stacks of defiance are present, a control skill can apply control to the creature, but it will also apply defiance, preventing further crowd control from being applied until removed. For example, interrupting will have no effect unless no defiance is present; if no defiance is present, the creature can be interrupted but this will immediately apply more defiance.”

So you can CC a boss, but you have to actually plan for it. In other words, you can’t easy-mode a boss by keeping it locked down. Ergo, more of a challenge and an interesting fight. It’s not sloppy programming. It just isn’t the easy mode you’re used to.

Forgive my ignorance, but what exactly is this “meta” you’re referring to (in other words, explain it please)? I played from beta, but I took a break about a year ago, and I don’t remember this “meta” stuff being around then.

chemiclord.3978:

Sethren.8472:

I was guilty of being swayed by the toxicity. I guess Sony just kind of spoiled me in terms of how much they communicated on their forums. Would it be nice if ANet came back to the forums to talk about issues, concerns, ideas, etc? Absolutely. The mob mentality would need to dissipate first though. A person is not really open to communication when he/she is upset. Add in a bunch of people, and no one’s really listening. That’s why people generally cool off before talking through an issue.

At issue here though, is that the mob mentality ISN’T going to dissipate. The trolls have been allowed to set the tone for FAR too long for it to dispel on its own. This pool is already poisoned, and it will NEVER be clean unless Arena.net really imposes their will on these forums.

There are one of two ways they can do this.

1) Accept that the Internet is the Wild West, and let the posters rough each other up a little. You can certainly set a line (racial slurs, excessive vulgarities, physical and emotional threats), but that interaction such as “You’re stupid, your idea is stupid. Shut your stupid mouth before you look even more stupid” would require far too much effort to police effectively.

(Personally, I think this is the most viable option, because…)

2) Get the manpower to be able to police the thin line Arena.net’s policies have already drawn evenly AND fairly. You CANNOT rely on forum goers to police themselves with the report button, because what happens is you get trolls (on both sides of an argument) who post solely to incite, then hide behind the report button knowing there is no way the limited moderation on the forums can hope to follow the context of every dispute.

You can see how it doesn’t work on these forums… with long hateful back and forth screeds going on for pages, while one snarky comment in an otherwise genial thread will get infracted. The moderators have to pick their battles because they simply can’t keep up with all the mud being slung back and forth.

(There’s simply no way Arena.net or NCSoft would be willing to invest the resources to clean up their forums in this fashion. It would take far too much manpower and thus money.)

There is a possible silver lining to how it currently is. You give the trolls enough rope, and they’ll eventually hang themselves (figuratively speaking). They will get flustered/incited to the point of rage quitting, and viola! Problem solved. Granted, that is a long, drawn out process, but it works – just very, very slowly. Or they cool off. That may be a heavy dose of wishful thinking on my part, but something will eventually focus their attention elsewhere. That just leaves the matter of how much damage is caused in the interim.

Yeah, it’s a sticky situation. Solution #1 won’t work either because the trolled would just become the trolls (trolling the trolls). It would incite more mud wars, not stop them. Solution #2 would require substantial manpower, OR a more heavy-handed approach by the current mods.

After a day or two of cooling off, I realized that ANet is communicating with the players, it just isn’t in the manner that we’d like. As others have pointed out, there are other avenues they are using. However, people are getting angry because they stopped using the forums for that communication.

I was guilty of being swayed by the toxicity. For that, I apologize. I guess Sony just kind of spoiled me in terms of how much they communicated on their forums. Would it be nice if ANet came back to the forums to talk about issues, concerns, ideas, etc? Absolutely. The mob mentality would need to dissipate first though. A person is not really open to communication when he/she is upset. Add in a bunch of people, and no one’s really listening. That’s why people generally cool off before talking through an issue.

MSFone.3026:

Sethren.8472:

In perusing the Profession Balance forums, I have seen the Mesmer suggestions. Usually someone will immediately say the suggestion would be OP (I’ve been guilty of this as well). A thought occurred to me: have we become so conditioned over the last 2 years to expect inferior gameplay that we now consider anything that would bring us up to the level of the other classes automatically OP? It’s like we’re scared to be good. We want to be, but we’ve become hesitant about it due to being hit with the nerf hammer so many times. What do you all think?

On a side note: I’m waiting for the Mesmer Skillbar, but I’m considering joining the “reroll” crowd – as heartbreaking as it is to do so. I was playing an alt guardian last night, and I could murder stuff quickly. I didn’t have that feeling of being weak and impotent as a class. It was a painful moment of clarity. I don’t know if I will yet, but the consideration is on the table. How many of you are considering (or have done) the same?

Sadly I have considered going ele on and off recently. Haven’t actually done it yet, instead just taking a mild break and doing achievements, finishing personal story and stuff. But ya I think once I finish that and if Mesmer is still nerfed I’ll probably just quit rather than reroll.

Really we all know what is going to happen: We aren’t going to get any real buffs that we need, we are going to get some changes that don’t really change much, and some things will be “toned down.” It will be more of the same of the last two years. We all hope we are wrong, but we all know this is the case. Unless Anet hired some new people, why expect anything different from the geniuses who have done everything else?

You’re probably right (as much as the optimist in me hates to admit it). We’ll be sitting here on pins and needles hoping for the best, and then ANet will hand out more of the same.

If that turns out to be the case, that will be the final blow on playing a Mesmer as my main. I will have reached the point where enough is enough. He would be parked in a city for crafting purposes, and that’d be that. My Guardian/Necro would take his place as main.

Professional Skills
Mesmer

- We stopped caring 2 years ago. F the Mesmer. Moving on.

That’s the message. Funny and sad at the same time.

neptunechild.4831:

I haven’t touched my mesmer since my necro hit 80… i feel like i can kill anyone with my necro (i suck at fighting condo-thieves tho) easily spamming my terror chain which makes condition mesmers look like a joke. Then I rolled warrior. OMG! the mobility, the damage, the 30k armor, it’s so easy to play and face roll anyone getting in my way. honestly speaking after playing necro and warrior, i feel like my mesmer (PU Hybrid) is useless as crap as I have to depend on buggy illusions (can be easily killed) to deliver very limited damage.

Nailed it right there in the bold section. Mesmer has been reduced to an impotent class which is sad because it has the greatest amount of potential to be unique of all the classes. ANet has goofed big time with the Mesmer in GW2.

To answer the original question: I am hopeful, but I don’t know anymore. I’ve been considering rerolling because there’s only so much disappointment I can take.

In perusing the Profession Balance forums, I have seen the Mesmer suggestions. Usually someone will immediately say the suggestion would be OP (I’ve been guilty of this as well). A thought occurred to me: have we become so conditioned over the last 2 years to expect inferior gameplay that we now consider anything that would bring us up to the level of the other classes automatically OP? It’s like we’re scared to be good. We want to be, but we’ve become hesitant about it due to being hit with the nerf hammer so many times. What do you all think?

On a side note: I’m waiting for the Mesmer Skillbar, but I’m considering joining the “reroll” crowd – as heartbreaking as it is to do so. I was playing an alt guardian last night, and I could murder stuff quickly. I didn’t have that feeling of being weak and impotent as a class. It was a painful moment of clarity. I don’t know if I will yet, but the consideration is on the table. How many of you are considering (or have done) the same?

Mesmers have been forced into a support role by ANet’s nerfs. We have been forced to bend over backwards to find a spec that can actually survive + kill, and when we do, someone cries OP, and we get nerfed. Then, it’s back to square one again. Being forced into one particular play style (support) is absolutely counter to the principle ANet built GW2 on. It’s the same principle that was used to throw out the trinity class system, and yet ANet sees no problem with forcing the mesmer into a singular role. Baffling how the Devs don’t see that. Maybe looking at actual play (re: playing one) rather than a spreadsheet might help? I dunno.

It’s to the point that they might as well give Veil to Thieves, give Portal to Eles, and just scrap the profession all together. I’m sorry to be so heavily negative about it, but it’s true. Maybe get their stuff together, figure out what the heck they’re doing, and rerelease the class later.

Waiting to see how the Mesmer Skillbar goes. I’m highly skeptical/cynical about it doing any good though.

Kaiyanwan.8521:

Step 1: Give Veil to thiefs, give Portal to eles.
Step 2: Delete mesmer profession.

Result: Noone, in not a single game mode would miss the mesmer profession in GW2.

There’s the rub. Then we wouldn’t have players complaining about how OP we are when they simply refuse to look in the mirror for their flaws. Nope, it’s easier to kick the already limping mesmer class.

The condition of the mesmer is ANet’s fault. They broke the class. Unless they acknowledge that fault and fix it, they might as well do what you just described. We’ll just be the vanity butterfly class, and maybe everyone else will finally be happy.

@OP: You have no idea what you’re talking about. Mesmer is the most dumped on class in the game – by the Devs, the other classes, and lovely players like yourself.

Dahkeus.8243:

Pretty sure the devs are just sick of getting trash talked:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/pvp/pvp/Bank-of-the-mists/first#post4278199

It happens. Is it how it should be? No. Tempers get flustered, and people say things they shouldn’t. The problem is: going silent only makes the problem worse. With silence, the players have ammunition now rather than just flaring tempers.

You reminded me of something else that Sony Devs did on Landmark’s forums. When a player crossed the line, the Devs were by no means afraid to set the record straight on where the door was, and some were shown that door. That sort of behavior didn’t last long (players crossing the line into nonconstructive insults). Players learned to keep it civil and constructive. Players were still allowed to vent frustrations, but personal attacks were not tolerated, and the Devs were not afraid to bare fangs when necessary.

Rouven.7409:

I would not compare this with Sony in regards to Landmark. Landmark is a totally different animal, if then compare it to EQN – there it will remain to be seen how many of those round tables make it to the game at all, at start, a year after or where the idea has changed again because of this and that.

In the sense that it’s a game that was developed and has a player base, they are open for comparison, but I get what you’re saying. I still think ANet could incorporate the open dialogue component in GW2.

@Vayne: wishful thinking, I know, but if more companies went against that trend, then the new trend would be open dialogue with players. Companies think they know what players want, but do they ever stop and ask the players? Nope. Mind readers, all of them (ha).

And just because every other company does it, does that make it better? ANet has a history of bucking trends. They should make the silence trend one of them.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

I think the players felt engaged during development of Guild Wars 2. There seems to be lots of posts mentioned how ‘the Devs used to be more communicative’.

The difference between Sony and ANet is that Sony didn’t suddenly stop the dialogue after Landmark launched. In fact, they became more active and responsive. ANet did the opposite. They clammed up.

@Yargash Not every game. Sony deliberately set out to go against that trend with Landmark, and they succeeded. The response from the players was overwhelmingly positive. People didn’t feel like posting an idea/suggestion/feedback was a lost cause.

Me Games Ma.8426:

PvP
We Mesmers definetly are able to stack confusion quite high. The problem is that these stacks won’t last long enough to kill people (that’s because of -50% dmg nerf) it WAS possible for mesmers to oneshot people with confusion dealing almost 5k damage per hit.
If anet wants to make a confusion mesmer viable we should get a buff in damage OR duration. Both would be good good too but maybe over powered.

PvE
Not worth taking! I totally agree to what Fey said. This condition needs a complete rework. But… did you see any condition class being more viable for PvE than a zerker? o.O Why trying to buff something that won’t be worth taking anyways?

Fay and I were/are in complete agreement. You see that in our discussion. We were simply discussing the two sides of the same problem. Both changes need to happen. (1) Confusion needs to be completely reworked, AND (2) Confusion (after being reworked) needs to be given back to the Mesmer to use easily and reliably, and be stripped from the other classes (they can still use it, but they should have the harder time, not us).

That warrior skill is just a blatant insult to Mesmers, plain and simple. Maybe not intentionally, but the same nonetheless.

Esplen.3940:

EverythingEnds.4261:

• pretty nice concept … which turns out to be a lie and gets “fixed” before release

Fixed that for you.

Sorry about my pessimism, I’m very excited about the Mesmer Ready Up which is actually making me very sad because I know I’m going to get disappointed. I just can’t help getting my hopes up, even though I know they’ll be F1’ed before the update patch.

Get it… my hopes will get shattered before the update? Okay, I’ll go back to work now…

You aren’t the only one.

This actually worked very well with Sony during development and launch of EQN Landmark, and during the on-going development of EQ Next.

With Landmark, the players/fans felt engaged, and the Devs were actively talking to the players. Yes, there were times when the players disagreed, but the Devs took the time to explain the rationale behind the decision. And they still had plenty of time to get their work done.

You didn’t have that feeling of “are the Devs even listening?” You knew they were. They might not agree with you, but you knew exactly where they stood.

Having ANet throw out the “wall of silence” is an excellent suggestion. The players wouldn’t have the feelings of resentment that they do now when they feel they aren’t being heard. A quick “we’re listening” every so often doesn’t cut it.

That was probably the best part of Landmark (for me): really feeling like you had input in the development of the game.

Don’t knock it based on armchair theories until you’ve actually experienced it. It would do ANet a world of good.

Edit: Oh, and Landmark is also a free to play game, and it doesn’t have an in-game shop (or it didn’t at the time), so the “they can’t without a subscription” excuse won’t fly either.

It could be useful, depending on what the illusion did. However, that would also require ANet to rework all of the skills that are directly influenced by how many illusions are up (Ether Feast, the shatters, etc.).

What if the illusion looked like the Phantasm Rogue from our downed state, but instead of stealing life, it stole an ability from the mob/class, and used it against them? Wait, that’d be like the Thief’s steal mechanic. Grr, nevermind. Hrm… what would the additional illusion do?

The first suggestion flirts too close to the line of “all classes have the same skills, we just skinned them differently.” This would be exactly like the Blood pet, just skinned to look Mesmery. I don’t think you want to open that can of worms.

The second one would be nice, but it would instantly be rendered OP, and we’d be back at square one. I know that’s pessimistic, but it wouldn’t be the first time.

Esplen.3940:

Keep in mind, with the way Confusion works… it’s not meant to be applied in high uptime with tons of stacks, it’s supposed to be a burst of Confusion that lasts for a decent amount of time, followed by little to no Confusion and then another burst.

Of course, Mesmer doesn’t have that, either, because when we were able to do that, Anet deemed us OP and put us in the corner for being able to play the game.

Yep, we dared to play the class as intended. Now, we’ve been sent to the attic (Flowers in the Attic reference).

What you first described would be awesome. I would be thrilled with just that. Yet, like you said, we can’t even do that. Sometimes I wonder if ANet has really thought about what they’ve done to the Mesmer. Can they not see how badly they’ve broken the class? Do our pleas fall on deaf ears? Do they even care?

Yet, we die-hard Mesmers persevere. Hoping.

Esplen.3940:

Kaiyanwan.8521:

In a perfect world, ANet would just use a standard top down approach on QA on identifying problems.

How much active time played has each profession?
In what type is the respective profession played how frequently?
What are the most commonly used traits, utility and weapons in the different game modes?
What are the least frequently used traits, utility and weapons in all game modes?

And than they should take the last question for the least played profession in its least played game mode and start fixing this. After that they can balance the more frequently used stuff.

Rinse repeat, welcome to the never ending cycle of balancing in an MMO.

This isn’t actually that standard, although it is very logical and ideal. This keeps everything fresh and “in the meta” because if it falls off, it gets put onto the priority fix-list.

Also, it feels like a lot of their… lack of making changes is due to them, Anet, not wanting to admit to making a mistake. This trait is underused? It’s the players fault, it’s fine number-wise! This utility is underused? It has it’s niche use, even if we (both Anet and playerbase) can’t find it, right?!

And that’s why we’ve gotten to the point where we get 6 month patches that “fix” these problems. The only problem I have with that is that with each fix, at least 2 more problems arise, meaning you’d have to wait even longer to get things fixed.

And then there are the problems that they just blatantly ignore. You know, the ones that have existed since launch? cough deathshroud, confusion, mesmer, downed state, ranger (to name a few).

Sometimes I wonder if ANet takes the stance of: the more the players complain about something and call for it to be fixed, the harder ANet digs in its heels and refuses that it could possibly actually be broken. We players have absolutely no idea what’s going on in the game (heavy sarcasm/eyeroll).

Yet another case of someone who doesn’t want to expend the effort to think up a counter strategy, so they instead call for the nerf bat. Classic case, right here.

Why don’t we do you one better, Hitman? Let’s remove all of the Mesmer’s abilities, and just leave it as a pretty vanity class to spread purple butterflies around. Would you and every other person who claims that Mesmers are OP (which is laughable, borderline insulting with how UNDERpowered the Mesmer is) finally be happy?

Yes, we Mesmers are keeping our uberness on the downlow. That 6/6/6/6/6 build with four weapon swaps is our Sekwet Wepon!!! We just pretend to complain about how ANet has completely broken our class. That’s just our cover. But shhhhh! Don’t tell anyone.

Coulter.2315:

Applying Confusion reliably and maintaining high stacks would break PvP and still be useless in PvE. It would break one game mode and not have any real effect on the other. Its not a good plan. I do agree it sounds the most Mesmeric condition however it just doesn’t fit well into the game’s design – thats an error the devs made at conception but you pushing for its improvement won’t help anyone.

You are right. That’s why I would also advocate for the mechanic of the debuff to be changed (i.e., Confusion needs a full rework). I think someone suggested that it be changed to “do X damage per hit” instead of “X damage per action taken.” However, what if we tweaked the “X damage per action taken” to be whenever the Mesmer performs an action rather than the mob/opposing player? What do you all think of that?

My main point with Confusion being more reliable was that it should be the main debuff of the Mesmer instead of other classes being able to apply it with greater ease and reliability than us. Sure, they can apply it, but make them have to work harder at it, not us. That is in addition to the debuff being reworked.

@loseridoit: Point taken. I still really like Nikku’s suggestion though. I think those debuffs would be more in line with a Mesmer style rather than bleeding or burning.

- Fixed a bug that gave Mesmers Phantasms.
- Increased Phantasm damage by 25%. “In keeping with class diversity, Engineers have been given the ability to summon Phantasms, called Mesmer’s Lament.”
- Fixed the issue with the debuff Confusion. Mesmers will no longer be able to cast it.
- Fixed a bug that allowed players to exploit the parameters of the class through creating shatter builds, phantasm builds, or any other build other than portal/veil lackey.
- Clones removed from game.
- Fixed a bug where Mesmers could dps. “In keeping with class diversity, we feel the Mesmer should be a support role only.”
- All previous nerfs on Mesmers have been removed.
- Removed Mesmer from game. “In retrospect, since anything a Mesmer can do can be accomplished better in other classes, we have decided to remove the Mesmer class, and give Elementalists the abilities of Portal and Veil.”