Guild Wars 2

slamfunction.7462:

You can rationalize against it all you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that its absolutely wrong, and unfair.

Lets say i have 100 apples. Current TP price is 1 copper. I go ahead and put them up, and get my 1 silver. A week down the road now, people start putting up the applies for 1 gold a piece…just “out of the blue”, well ok, i shoulda waited (i think to myself). Next, a patch drops where apples are now the #1 commodity to sell. Think about that. Seriously. That right to you?

Sure, i sold my apples. I got what they were worth at the time, but had i known that they were now going to to go for 1g a piece in a week, don’t ya think i would have held on to them?

You say: “This doesn’t hurt the every day user”. No, no it doesn’t, but it screws us out of a profit, because we didn’t have the farsight that the insiders had in the first place.

Now, lets say because i’m bestest chums with Gaile Grey, she gives me a secret buff in WvW or PvP with her developer magic, and i go own everything in sight, because we’re best buddies. Does that sound ok to you? It doesn’t really hurt the majority of players, because i’m not doing it in PvE, so who cares? Cheaters running speed hacks are clearly more dangerous. Right?

The logic you are placing here is that if ANet is ok with it, then its ok to exploit. As long as it doesn’t directly affect you, then its ok.

Wrong is wrong, and this is something thats been going on for quite some time. Granted, its not enough to kill my enjoyment of the game, but it sure speaks volumes to those involved, which may hold sway against ANet later down the road.

I 100% agree with this.

There are issues which need addressing that have made customers unhappy with the favoritism being displayed within this game. These issues affect the customers, many who have paid at some point, to play and take part of this game. Ignoring it and toeing it under the rug with a tongue-in-cheek .jpg or reference to “looking into it”, with zero word to those who voiced concern in the first place about what may have been discovered (or not discovered) just feels like a placation tactic to delay giving an actual response on the issue.

Customers don’t like that. Some customers stop supporting companies who employ tactics like that… over and over again. Patience wears thin once you realize you’ll either be merged and ignored for months or even a few years…. or your concerns will be treated with such an air of disdain, you’ll simply stop spending your money.. then your time on the game, only checking in on occasion to see what may have changed. Eh, gw2 financials plummeted, someone finally paid attention to the many months of warnings of social engineering “vulnerabilities” within CS… and a few hours of LS3…maybe I’ll “tag” my account for it in a few months or something so it’s eligible (lol, even though I paid for the expansion) to be there for free later, but I’m in no rush.

So much for ’Send me a ticket number as proof or I 100% stand by “This is not happening.”

Arlee.7038:

Ashen.2907:

Can’t say I really approve of the idea of gating access to paid for content with a log in window, but at least its a larger window than in the past.

It’s not paid for content. The content you paid for was everything you got when HoT launched plus raids. They never said you’d automatically get access to LS3 if you bought HoT only that you would need HoT to play LS3. If you misunderstood it’s on you. This announcement should have been the least surprising thing they have ever done.

LIVING WORLD

Of course, the story of Tyria will continue beyond the launch of Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns.

If you own the expansion, you’ll be able to simply log in to the game to gain free access to upcoming Living World releases!

Donari.5237:

As long as you have room on the laptop it should be doable given that your only purpose is to log into game (assuming you don’t get horrible crashes just from doing that, I don’t know how old your device is). You don’t even have to move a step or turn your camera to get the unlock, just fully load one alt into game.

It’s about 4 years old.. but it’s definitely no gaming laptop. Even loading the camera software from my home security system on it gets it running hot. I use it mainly to browse online/email from, but at one point, waaaay back when, I did have the game on it, and it loaded, but in herky-jerky movements that would be unworkable if I’d actually tried to play seriously on it. Room isn’t an issue though… crashing might be at this point, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility!

RoseofGilead.8907:

Siobhan.5273:

This. Me and my whole family purchased HoT. The communication issues, content drought, unfinished expansion content.. we have now moved on to a subscribe to play game where we have a ton of catching up to do before their next expansion drops (we said forget it, if we’re gonna be gated into raids again no matter which game we go to, might as well do it in the game that’s known for it and we’re familiar with!)

However, we paid for this content and if we ever chose to come back, it should be available. I don’t want to have to keep up on what’s going on with a game I won’t be playing currently so I don’t get ripped out of stuff I paid for, because I’m busy with something else.

New info was released today:

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/guild-wars-2s-living-world-returns-on-july-26/

All you have to do is log in once every 2-3 months to unlock it, even if you don’t currently have HoT.

Thanks, Rose. We will likely be uninstalling on all the main systems though. That’s the issue. I’ll have to see if I can load it on the laptop, otherwise, it’s not really feasible.

Aidan Savage.2078:

There’s nothing to keep up with. If you want it, you simply have to log into the game. That’s it. Outside of downloading updates, it takes maybe 30 seconds to do, 45 if your logging into LA. Also, you didnt pay for much besides access to content. The fact they added a window of opportunity to get that content for free…. well, no one’s fault but your own if you cant take even 5 minutes out of 2 weeks, 3 weeks, however long it is, to log in and get it. But I get it, you dont want to have to keep up with a game you no longer play despite seemingly being a consistent visitor to it’s forums. You know, where a lot of information is being given?

Yup, we re-subbed on Sunday. I don’t want to be here, but given I did purchase both versions of the game, I can be here all I want, if I chose to be, thanks.

I simply asked for some info. You didn’t even have to give it. However, I understand you just couldn’t wait to be snide, it is, after all, how you roll. Got any other remarks, perhaps about cranial density or ignorance you wanna toss at people?

Point is, if I’m not actively playing, I don’t want to download or log into the game. Was a valid question. No need to be rude. Again. Thanks for the response. The non-rude one, that is.

Aidan Savage.2078:

Siobhan.5273:

Sariel V.7024:

By logging in after July 26, whether you own the expansion or not, you can ‘bank’ the episode, letting you access it if you decide to spring for the expansion at a later date.

It’s not necessarily official, but it is an answer.

So, we still have to keep track of, and log in during the episodes, even if we already own the expansion, to “unlock” them for later play? If we don’t, do we lose access to them or are we forced to pay to play them?

Yes. It is absolutely no different to how it was for LS2. Didnt log in during those two weeks? You’re forking out money for that episode.

Thanks for the response, Aidan.

If that’s the policy on this, that’s silly, but not surprising.

Iason Evan.3806:

A really easy and great way to do it is that if you own HoT, you get it for free at any point. Even if you buy HoT 3 years from now, you get it. That would definitely be a nice bit of good will. This is one of the first things that has made me want to purchase HoT. I went from not wanting it to wanting it less after the Legendary Weapon debacle. I really want to play this season though. I am really busy at the moment and can’t play anything for another few months. There’s no way I’d buy HoT then and also have to pay for the LS on top of that though. I’m also not going ot buy something now that I can’t play right now, especially if it requires me logging in in a 2 week period like previous LS. I am on the road too much atm.

This. Me and my whole family purchased HoT. The communication issues, content drought, unfinished expansion content.. we have now moved on to a subscribe to play game where we have a ton of catching up to do before their next expansion drops (we said forget it, if we’re gonna be gated into raids again no matter which game we go to, might as well do it in the game that’s known for it and we’re familiar with!)

However, we paid for this content and if we ever chose to come back, it should be available. I don’t want to have to keep up on what’s going on with a game I won’t be playing currently so I don’t get ripped out of stuff I paid for, because I’m busy with something else.

Sariel V.7024:

By logging in after July 26, whether you own the expansion or not, you can ‘bank’ the episode, letting you access it if you decide to spring for the expansion at a later date.

It’s not necessarily official, but it is an answer.

So, we still have to keep track of, and log in during the episodes, even if we already own the expansion, to “unlock” them for later play? If we don’t, do we lose access to them or are we forced to pay to play them?

Vayne.8563:

Acknowledgement might be seen as tacit agreement. I don’t actually believe Anet does anything in a vacuum. I think they have meetings and get teams together and discuss things. So a forum post goes up, who should respond? Which team member? When? After they bring it up at a meeting they schedule?

That’s for them to hash out, not us., though they have “communication” people. This is a business after all. Customers should be able to rely on communication.

Vayne.8563:

Many people are telling us we’re in the middle of a content drought. Hey, I have a great idea. Let’s let the devs sit and read all the forums too.

It’s a full time job, and it’s not in their contract.

Yes, we are in the middle of a content drought, so if they can’t be bothered to post here, why is Reddit all aflutter with activity?

We get merged threads on hot topic issues once staff sees enough posts they think the topic merits it. A few pages ( 5, 6, whatever) isn’t too crazy to hope for someone to poke their head in and wave.

Gaile Gray.6029:

I’ve merged the threads into the original post on this subject. We ask all forum members to please take a moment to see if there’s an existing thread on a specific subject, rather than creating a new one. (At least glance through the first couple of pages.) Having a merged or cumulative thread helps the devs, in that they can read your accumulated feedback in one thread, and not scattered in a half-dozen over multiple pages.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

We’ve been told there are weekly reports to the devs and that merges actually help devs hear our concerns. I’m sure no one expects someone to run back and forth on every issue individually posted in scattered threads, but when stuff gets up to say 460, or 1k posts in these huge merged threads with nothing, then yeah. It’s probably past that whole “timely” timeline in most people’s minds.

Aidan Savage.2078:

It’s a sad day when people assume that because nothing is said, it’s being “ignored.”

Remarks of cranial density and ignorance aside…

Allow me to point this out as an example then.

The original comment was made by Colin on Feb. 22, 2016.

Someone was kind enough to bring that info over here to the Visual Nerfs Merged thread that day. Just a flesh wound posted about it in his Dev quotes from Reddit thread.It was posted here. It was posted here. It was posted here, and those few are just from me. I can’t tell you how many times other people asked. We even asked during the 2nd AMA and got ignored in the squall that was Colin dank meme and of course, those burning questions people had about the care of sponges were addressed. Phew.

I’ve commented on this issue many times, in too many threads to count. Lots of people have. That visual thread was there almost 6 months and was at almost 1k posts before it got a nod, and I think that was only because some of us really started questioning the lack of communication on important issues, yet staves vs staffs sees interaction? I posted asking about that, too. Some people get responded to on a regular basis and I’m sure that’s awesome, but some don’t, no matter how we try to approach the issue at hand. I won’t apologize for not smiling and nodding, but I do try to at least outline my concerns reasonably.

Further allow me to point you to my sig. That kind of thing is another reason people get upset. Both of the links. Please keep in mind that as much as they’d appreciate patience and respect from their customers, at the end of the day, so long as we’re being reasonable (and I feel for the most part, people are) in our requests for information, it can at least be acknowledged that we’re being heard in a timely manner, because no matter what you think people assumed, it’s a fact things have been missed, no matter how much, or how many people posted about it.

Tekoneiric.6817:

Is making suggestions on the forums a wasted effort? I’ve seen other people make suggestions and I’ve made a few but I rarely if ever see any response from someone at ANet to them.

Given that this is the official GW2 forum I’m surprised ANet folks don’t post here more. Oh wait, I forgot… they are posting on Reddit instead. Does that make Reddit the true GW2 forum?

“Official” forums Dev Tracker

Reddit Dev Tracker

Quite the difference in activity. However, this is the “stance” on this being the official forums:

Gaile Gray.6029:

I think I’ve already addressed this, but to repeat: This is the official Guild Wars 2 Forum, and we communicate often and with the highest priority here.

Looking at a personal history of 9,000+ posts and 3,200+ PMs, it seems clear we don’t engage that heavily elsewhere.

And now, we return you to your regularly scheduled forum by closing this thread as the subject has been fully addressed.

It’s also been asked why they don’t link to Reddit like they do Facebook and Twitter, and this is what the answer was:

Gaile Gray.6029:

Please keep in mind: reddit is a third-party platform. We do not own the channel, nor do we moderate the conversations. Any employee who posts there is doing so using time that they choose to use on that site, for their own reasons. We’re not going to link off the official forums to an UNofficial forums, just as we don’t link to the dozens of fine fansite forums that also are offered to players.

Oldirtbeard.9834:

I know 9 out of every 10 threads is some one complaining about some aspect of GW2 including at least 9 out of 10 of my own.

We need to appreciate that we play a game that has been developed by a company that not only produces half way decent content but also knows how to keep the lights on.

The same can’t be said for Turbine that laid off all of it’s MMO staff to pivot toward Mobile Games exclusively, that’s right LotRO, DDO, AC 1 & 2 are all going on maintenance mode.

The same can’t be said for Daybreak that mismanaged their properties so bad they cancelled the sequel to EQ2.

The same can’t be said for Funcom either since that company has been embroiled in legal fraud cases in their country of origin, and blew all of their future investments on some MOBA that blew up in their face before it even made it to beta.

Lets just be thankful that MMO companies like ANet, Trion, and CCP still manage to truck along with out the benefit of a big nanny like Activision/EA to hold their hand.

Who is NCSoft then? More.

There are actually a few “top” threads over on Reddit right now about this very issue. Yes, they are getting ANet response.

What’s the point of doing content when everything I want is in the gem store?

And

Why are items that should be raid rewards in the gemstone?

There was another thread that got an answer to the raid reward question and why Xera’s Mask was put on the gem store vs being a reward: here is the link to what was said:

Anet_AndrewM wrote 05 Jul 2016:

We didn’t have the artist time to make a Xera’s Mask helm on the raid team for the last release in addition to the other raid rewards, but thought that it would be an awesome thing to have in the game, so we recommended this as a possible gemstore purchase.

This isn’t a case of the gemstore stealing raid rewards, but rather, the gemstore team came through and added a cool item that was beyond the scope of what we had time to create for the raid.

Ashandar.2570:

I expect LS3 will contain 25 min story, 12 glider skins, 4 BL weapon sets and 6 outfits, and possibly, very possibly, a gem store sale on instant repair canisters, in incremental releases over 9 months.
My wishlist for the next expansion is.. oh, let’s see.. no, nothing.
I fully expect the next expansion to contain 1 completely new fractal, a promise to reinstate the legendary team (don’t worry, they’ll never keep it), a complete remake of the trait system and scrapping of the mastery system (after all they did state that they intended to add to it, ie a clear death sentence). Oh right, and more glider skins!

lol.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

I have no idea when LS Season 3 will drop, or when the Summer Update will be released, but doesn’t ‘by the end of Summer’ mean any time before the end of summer, not necessarily at or after the end of summer.

And, even though it’s not technically correct, don’t most consider summer (in the Northern Hemisphere) to be June, July, August, so it would release by the end of August? If so, probably would not be 3 months, but less than 2 months.

Regardless, features/content/updates will come when they come.

Who knows, I personally think they’ll hold onto to it to compete with the release of Legion, which will be August 30th and what I take to mean the end of summer (kids heading back to school and all in my area). October to August with no LS is a long time.

Some people will wait for that content, and that’s fine if they’re okay with that. Others won’t.

Xyonon.3987:

Siobhan.5273:

Xyonon.3987:

Isn’t this patch supposed to arrive next week?

Not according to this article ([E3 2016] Guild Wars 2 Season 3: which interestingly, is back up). There was a thread where this was discussed, and someone (Ayrilana.1396) translated that page.

The game, as you probably already know who follows development post-launch, is divided into seasons. The Season 3, scheduled for the coming months, probably by the end of the summer, provides a lot of irons in the fire and the introduction of new content both in PvE you in PvP.

I tought the next patch would be mid july? :| Owww man

It might be, but that article and the silence on the part of ArenaNet doesn’t look encouraging.

Xyonon.3987:

Isn’t this patch supposed to arrive next week?

Not according to this article ([E3 2016] Guild Wars 2 Season 3: which interestingly, is back up). There was a thread where this was discussed, and someone (Ayrilana.1396) translated that page.

The game, as you probably already know who follows development post-launch, is divided into seasons. The Season 3, scheduled for the coming months, probably by the end of the summer, provides a lot of irons in the fire and the introduction of new content both in PvE you in PvP.

Ayrilana.1396:

BrotherBelial.3094:

Ayrilana.1396:

BrotherBelial.3094:

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

New events in the HoT maps. A new area is a new area…didn’t say a map. It’s new, it wasn’t there before, it has a function; it’s a new area, whether it is appreciated or not…still content. Something new added to the game.

I don’t do structured PvP, but I don’t deny the Devs have added new features/content for that mode of the game. I’m sure it pleases some players.

Everyone doesn’t have to agree, but it doesn’t make it any less factual.

Noting new added to PvP, unless you call a rebalance of classes as new content. But if you think that is worth shouting about and saying it was great, go for it.

Stronghold says hi.

Stronghold came out with HoT last October. Try again.

I know. I mixed this thread up with the others of people complaining.

………………..

Taken April 1, 2016. Nvidia cards on 2 systems this happened at the same time (mine and my husbands) Windows 10.

Akkeros.1675:

Siobhan.5273:

Ragion.2831:

Mike O didnt want to be the head so i would probably give him a break. From what i could tell from his posts he is always open to suggestions and advice so even if he is to blame for any troubles at the studio, i would put equal blame on the staff.

Running a company isnt about one person taking charge over everything. From the stuff ive seen so far, i dont think Mike O has much to do with any Anet struggles.

Mike O’Brien is one of the co-founders and President of Anet. He is exactly where he wanted and intended to be.

I spoke of this topic when management switched over and the white knights were busy defending Collin while attacking Mike.
When you own a business or begin a company it is not always your goal to work until you die. You get it going out of passion, make it the way you want it, back it with success…then let someone else run the show. Unfortunately, if someone runs all you created into the ground, you have to step back in to right the ship. Hopefully, and it seems there is a lot of effort being put forth, the ship is moving toward the open sea now, not the rocky shores.

I’ve never defended Colin, because FWIW, I think the fact that his ego was stroked as hard as it was, was part of the issues we ended up facing. Everything became about the hype. However, I also think that Colin ended up being fodder for a failed product (HoT), even though Mike O’Brien knew exactly what was on that hype train, and was selling it just as hard as Colin was (I’ve posted about this time and time again) and he echoed Colin’s enthusiasm for the planned road the game was on… that he was fully aware of. That he has always been aware of.

Ragion.2831:

In the post where he introduced himself as the new president, he specifically said he wasnt interested in taking over from Collin because it was a lot of responsibility. Unfortunately i can’t find the post. He also said his position was temporary. He might have changed his mind by now who knows.

Mike O’Brien has always been President. He is the “temporary” Game Director, as he announced in this AMA from 04 Mar 2016, until he hires someone else to do it. He seems to have been quite into his product from the start.

• Edit- Found a few interesting links. PAX Interview w/ Colin and then here is an interesting link to something Colin wrote on Reddit in reference to Mike O’Brien:

ArenaColin wrote on 03 Sep 2013:

Since you asked: You interviewed Mike O’Brien last Thursday, not me or the team. =)

Mike is the studio head in charge of the operation of the entire company, his focus is on the strategy and goals for ArenaNet as a company, operating the insanity that is a 300 person ship, and the vision for Gw2 as a product. Questions about very specific features or their release windows are always better saved for the specific developers working in those areas of the game.

I’m sure it feels weird to see different answers, but you’re also asking different people. If you had asked me the same questions Matt did at PAX, you would have received the same answers he did.

So the vision was, and always has been Mike O’Brien’s. Very “specific” features and dates lay at the feet of the devs working on that area of specialty. How specific is the question here.

Ragion.2831:

Mike O didnt want to be the head so i would probably give him a break. From what i could tell from his posts he is always open to suggestions and advice so even if he is to blame for any troubles at the studio, i would put equal blame on the staff.

Running a company isnt about one person taking charge over everything. From the stuff ive seen so far, i dont think Mike O has much to do with any Anet struggles.

Mike O’Brien is one of the co-founders and President of Anet. He is exactly where he wanted and intended to be.

Vayne.8563:

Sister Swiftspell.1869:

Vayne.8563:

I don’t even understand why people ask questions like this.

It’s totally meaningless.

Why this great need to try to make something out of it?

Interesting enough… You hold the answer to your question in your own actions… Why bother responding to the meaningless?

There’s value in pointing out publicly that a question has an obvious answer, no? I’m not sure why you’d think otherwise.

Right. What was it the OP gleaned from you?

Vayne.8563:

You want soloable content? I know for a fact people solo some fractals and dungeons? How many have you soloed? How many have you tried to solo?

You don’t need heroes to solo instances in this game. You just have to play well.

Ah yes. It was essentially, “learn to play”. Got it.

Honey Nut Charrio

Charrvin Gaye

Disco Destructo

and this guy that I whispered to compliment I loved him so much:

ZudetGambeous.9573:

They’ve literally been saying that with every release since launch.

Fractals… “We’re laying a groundwork so we can expand fractals and add them in quickly in the future”…. 3 years later….

Precursor crafting…“They are taking so long because we want a to lay a good foundation for future legendary’s that’s why we’ve delayed them so many times”… 3 years later…

Living World… “Season 1 was slow paced because we wanted to lay the groundwork for future living world updates where we can give higher quality content at a better pace”… 3 years later…

PvP… “we’re revamping PvP so we can lay a good foundation to build upon in the future where we can quickly add in new PvP content”… 3 years later…

HoT… “our first expansion didn’t have as much content as we’d like because we are laying the foundation for future content where we can quickly expand it in the future”… 9 months later…

I honestly can’t believe anyone is still falling for that load of crap.

True that! Link- look 8:09 into video

Mike O’Brien: “I have a feeling, the first day of revealing all these features, people are going to interpret these as separate features and say, ’oh I like this feature and I like this feature” and " I hope, that as people start thinking about this, they start thinking about how our purpose of building this expansion pack was really about laying the groundwork."

Sindex.9520:

Palador.2170:

Just a flesh wound.3589:

This drought may be unwanted, exceptionally long and also unexpected by ANet. If you recall with the announcement about suspending Legendary weapons they said that they spread themselves too thin and let the content pipeline empty out. Obviously they have problems pacing themselves and setting up reasonable goals and had to retrench. Hopefully they’ve learned a lesson with all this and in the future the content droughts will be shorter.

Mike O Brien.4613:

Thanks for all the comments. I know there’s nothing I’m going to say that will make you feel better, but I’ll share some final thoughts for the night.

I said three weeks ago I’d focus on sustainability and quality. I want to reiterate the part about sustainability. Be angry about legendary weapons, sure, but how about the recent drought of content? That kind of thing happens when we spread ourselves too thin, and when we let the content development pipeline empty out so we can fight fires. What I think we actually owe you is sustainable, predictable, high-quality content. I’m making a decision that’s painful in the short-term so we can position ourselves to deliver that.

(Snip)
Mo

You may have a point. Okay, I’m worried, but I’ll wait and see what we get.

You know they will probably say: that they will continue to drip feed us intermission living world content, through the Current Event system. Saying they know it’s not a full replacement for living world but it’s better then nothing. Which to them is a big deal.

Right. That they have learned the lesson.

DeanBB.4268:

Anet is also working on the next expansion pack at the same time. Correct?

Yup, and and when that happens, we shouldn’t hold it against them that they’re busy so we might not see content.

How about that towards the end of the summer line for LS3 release?

Boring.

Boring.

Content drought drags on and on.. and on..

The cached version is also still viewable.

Omne.4603:

Crovax.7854:

SarahWitter.2317:

Reading this thread, we understand your questions and want to share a little information: This set is designed to be a special, exclusive set and therefore it’s a little different than most. There are a couple of other interesting factors that you’ll want to know: The set is available for one ticket. It will remain priced at one ticket into the future, so someone who wants it now doesn’t need to be concerned about it becoming unavailable or about it rising in price in the future. Other sets currently available are not account bound, such as the Cavalier Weapon Set which was recently released at a price of 1 Black Lion Claim Ticket and remains at that price now. In addition, we do intend to continue to offer tradeable sets in the future. If you’d like a preview of the new set, go to your bank wardrobe and filter for “Privateer.” We hope this answers your questions, and thanks for sharing your thoughts.

-Sarah

Why is the set special? Why would we think it’s anything but you testing the waters on how much you can screw over customer before there’s backlash?

Valid question is valid.

We know this, but obviously they’re hoping we cry it out and then let it slide, because contrary to what has been said about asking questions straight up and getting answers, that ain’t happening, and it’s not just in regards to this issue. Hope those profits are just rolling in and it’s all worth it for them in the end!

Smooth Penguin.5294:

Autumnmane.3574:

Six or none!

A more sleek version tailored for Charr and Asura females would allow for some femininity without looking like they’d just been stuffed into the ported over male chestplate.

But either would be an improvement over boobplate on races that don’t even have boobs.

It really makess the ridiculousness of sexualising only one genders armour more obvious when you see it outside the accepted humanoid female context eh?

MO’s thread touches on another topic: Should there be 2 plates or 6 on female charr. It seems we should call for a Reddit Q & A with lore Devs on what asura and charr anatomy should be.

As I stated before, I personally think that if you have a human-like creature (charr, asura, skritt, centaur, etc), they should all have human-like features.

Mike O Brien.4613:

You’ve rightly pointed out that it looks incongruent with Charr and Asura female anatomy

I think all they need is to have an internal Q & A..

Just a flesh wound.3589:

Pictures, for those who haven’t seen this armor on female Asura and Charr.

imo it should be changed to male armor, at least on the chest plate.

Wow, those look horrid..

These people have been constructive and patient. They have been asking the question straight up and letting you get them an answer! Can someone, anyone, please take the the time to perhaps get them an answer or an update on an issue that is now close to reaching the 2 year mark as of September since they were removed?
This was the last update they got on the situation (October 28, 2014):

Gaile Gray.6029:

Soooo sorry! I asked about this and forgot to post!

Some time ago, it was noticed and reported as a “bug” that during cinematics, the “fidget” animations continued. So you’re seeing this exciting story bit about a dragon attack and, behind the scenes, your character is yawning and toeing the sand. It just didn’t fit.

So the animations were temporarily removed to be worked on and reincorporated in a way that allowed them to perform normally in the game but to stop (or maybe change) during cinematics. But getting to a place where the animations could be configured on a more fine-grained basis took more time than anticipated.

From what I understand, the team has the tools to reconfigure and re-enable the animations, but the team lead told me that naturally they’ll need to figure out when someone (or maybe more than one person) can be assigned the task. As it turns out, each animation bit needs to be reconfigured individually.

TL;dr: This change is coming, as soon as it can be scheduled and prioritized. Naturally, some matters that are higher on the priority list but this project will be scheduled as appropriate.

Many thanks. I have a few human female too and would like to see this addressed.

• edit- it’s been 600 days as of June 18, 2016 since the last response on this issue on Oct. 28th of 2014.

I sent in a ticket in March about some pretty nasty names after seeing the in-game tool did zero to resolve the issue for a long time, and was told the ‘Security Team’ reviews players names. That was in March.

I still see some of these names pop up.. in June.

AlsoAdelas.4901:

>Why is the set special? Why would we think it’s anything but you testing the waters on how much you can screw over customer before there’s backlash?

I can’t say anything better than that.

I mean, you guys KNOW how much we hate rewards being tied to RNG. THAT IS WHY WE HAVE A PRECURSOR HUNT NOW! Did you forget already? I don’t care how awesome it is, if it’s tied to RNG, that just makes it worse!

The thing is, I have been happily spending real life money to convert to gold to buy weapon skins on the TP so I won’t have to worry about RNG.

I stopped buying black lion keys about six months into having the wardrobe system. I use the ones that I get from playing the game, and I am always so frustrated at the results, it really reinforces my decision to not ever spend real money on keys.

Now you have taken away my ability to buy the skins on the TP, which means I don’t get the skins (which are actually pretty awesome, good job, artists), and you don’t get my money.

Whoever is making these decisions, you need to remember your audience. Think about precursors. Think about how passionate we have been about it, and why you made the decision to create the precursor hunts. Listen to the backlash and realize what that means to this “testing of the waters”, and get a clue. And then make the privateer skins non account bound, please. They really are cool, and I’m bummed to be missing out entirely like this.

The thing is, they have “indefinitely suspended” the creation of legendary weapons. I know, some people think this means it’s not off the table for good, but when you read that same phrase used, ‘indefinitely suspended’, again recently for something else that is no longer being worked on (fractal leaderboards) and is seemingly abandoned, it begins to feel as if perhaps they don’t remember what customers have asked/paid for, or hope that we’ll forget about it at any rate.

Supporting the game is one thing if people wish to, but the rng thing should really be removed from this equation.

Dashingsteel.3410:

I totally agree with you, Gaile, on the namecalling. That is uncalled for. However, given the track record of some of yourcompany’s decisions. I can understand people jumping to conclusions.

You tell us that the legendary journey has been put on indefinite hold because you are “stretched too thin” while 70 employees are working on the NEXT expansion(yes, we haven’t forgot) gutted core content and put it behind HoT(guild boons, fractal rewards, guild influence was made virtually worthless) Just some examples….

Please, let’s not be to sanctimonious about the forums. You criticized the posters who made a mistake in their “tinfoil” hat theories. The theories came about because of the mistakes of your programmers. Everyone is entitled to mistakes though right?

There is no room for calling names. There should be room for customers stating their opinions whether they are mistaken or not. After all it is a forum.

nods Well said. I’ve posted essentially the same thing a few times myself.

Seabreeze.8437:

Gaile Gray.6029:

if you just ask the question straight up and let us get you an answer!

I appreciate the clarification, so thank you for that.

Also—and I mean no offense—given how long it’s taken in the past to get responses from things like visual nerfs, balance issues (i.e. threads asking about thief ricochet trait went on for over a thousand posts without any response), and other important topics, it’s left many people with a cynical view toward how Anet communicates with its players/customers. So naturally, when something like this happens, it’s not unreasonable to think that this was intentional with no explanation.

Exactly.

Neural.1824:

SarahWitter.2317:

Reading this thread, we understand your questions and want to share a little information: This set is designed to be a special, exclusive set and therefore it’s a little different than most. -Sarah

This sounds like a hastily made up “reason” designed only to quell the growing base of angry customers.

Why is it so special? Do please elaborate.

Crovax.7854:

Why is the set special? Why would we think it’s anything but you testing the waters on how much you can screw over customer before there’s backlash?

Many people are upset about this. There is a growing Reddit thread on the issue as well. It reeks of grabby hand’ing to me, too.

Izithel.6853:

The complaints about lore, accessibility and other new pve content being lacking is just a distraction from what they really want: loot..

Please stop. You don’t know me. I don’t know you. Please don’t presume to know what’ll make me happy. If I simply want pixel gratification (aka: loot) in this game, I know how to get it. I whip out my credit card and use it in the gem store. It’s been a good while since I’ve done that. I want the story, I want the experience. I want the immersion and the emotions and the ride of the lore!

For me, loot is not what this is about. I won’t argue and stomp and trade insults. I won’t beg and plead and “whine” either, I don’t feel I’ve done that at all. I will do what I’ve done for days though and simply not log in until there is content that interests me. I’m happy to wait until things change and if they do, great. If not, that’s okay as well. It’s really not worth slinging mud with people about made up numbers (no one has the numbers but Arena Net and they have not, and likely will not release them) and who is entitled to what content and on what terms. After all, if I’m essentially whittled down to go to the wiki or watch a video for the story, what was the point of buying the expansion? A huge part of this game is the story. If I just wait, WoodenPotatoes will release a slew of videos encompassing everything I’ll ever want to see in the game and it’ll never cost me a dime.

I was just reading a thread on Reddit about this issue, and this post summed things up quite nicely on why people would like to have the story and lore within the raid available to them through more than just videos, wiki’s and cleared content. I’ll quote it here:

Reddit user Happy_Wave wrote:

They want the experience of being the hero, of engaging with the content and participating in the encounter. All the things you typically do in a computer game.

People are right that the majority of the lore is gleaned from scraps of paper, and truthfully that’s almost the same as reading it on the wiki. You’re taking an interacting story telling medium like a computer game and reducing the experience to reading text.

I think that was very well put.

BobbyStein.2315:

We wanted to experiment with the narrative design on this raid and also give folks an easy way to catch up on the story. I’m hopeful that this is a good first step.

Trust me, I know what it’s like to get destroyed repeatedly by a raid boss. I’m still learning the ropes and am looking to join a casual raiding guild. I just need to make the time!

First, I cannot begin to express how much I appreciate your response and the communication, Bobby. It’s refreshing and honestly, as player that has been exceedingly frustrated as of late with that end of things, you’ve shown me some hope that just maybe, there are people listening and more important sometimes, willing to speak with us about issues we might be having with the game. Thank you for taking the time, on the weekend even, to respond to our concerns.

I have a few thoughts on this issue, but it’s super late (I was baking 8 dozen cookies and making bread pudding for hours..) and I have some catching up to do in this thread, but I did want to pop in and say I’m open minded on the issue. I’m listening to you and both sides. Ultimately, I just want to experience the story without the time requirements/gear grinds raiding has always required of me previously.

BobbyStein.2315:

Please keep the discussions civil and on topic. This thread isn’t for debating “Raids vs. Living World” or “easy mode” but for answering high level questions regarding how raid lore fits into the rest of the game.

Here’s a tidbit for lorehounds and non-raiders, in case you’re curious about Stronghold of the Faithful but are nervous about raiding. You can enter wing 3 and get some lore and story bits right at the beginning. Anyone in a raid squad can do it.

Would love to hear from from raiders and non-raiders after the release is live and people have had a chance to check it out. We value your constructive feedback.

Sorry if I went OT, Bobby, I did try to bring it back to the central topic.

I did step into the raid with my husband when it first came out and swiftly got my behind handed to me (surprise, surprise!) so this is actually good news to hear.

Dominik.5162:

More raids to come, more lore and story for you to lose, i’m not dissappointed

It’s this kind of thing that helps validate the way people feel about raids in this game.

Thanks for helping in proving the point.

Ohoni.6057:

The other night I realized that I was one Tyrian master point away from what I’d need to buy the last available skill, so I completed the spoons collection.

Oh, the bane that has been the spoon collection for me.

I simply hate them.

Hate them. I’ll never get them all. I’ll get those last 2 fractal points first, I bet, not that I need anymore thank goodness!

Nokaru.7831:

I wonder how many times people (like yourself) re-played Season 2 of Living World compared to how many times people re-play Spirit Vale and Salvation Pass? After just the second week (maybe even the first) I played Spirit Vale way more than what I did in all of Season 2.

Lots of people go through it for the rewards and mastery points. Especially those not able or wanting to do every fractal achievement for a mastery point. There are 2 fractals achievements I’ve yet been able to get (we 3, or at most, 4 man them, but mainly, 3 man them) yet so I did the LS2 over and over till I got what I needed. What can I say, I’m not always so coordinated!

Absurdo.8309:

Reddit is a lot friendlier than the forums. And frivolous/insane arguments can be down voted.

I don’t want to take this thread totally OT, but that rationale isn’t an excuse for the official forums not to be utilized by the staff as often as they use Reddit. It may be an excuse for players to use to have discussions with each other, but honestly, the official forums is what Anet makes of them. If they want a different environment or posting layout, that is really something that is within their reach to make happen. We’re told these are the official forums. We’re told they’re “not going to link off the official forums to an UNofficial forums”, so we, as customers shouldn’t have to play chase the dev comments either.

To bring that on topic, someone stated that we’re not getting new fractals. Did anyone know that it was stated, yesterday on Reddit that we will be getting a new fractal in 2016? :

Anet_Ben Wrote:

Yes you can expect a new fractal in 2016, as well as new revamps and other changes! IMO the team is doing great now as far as productivity goes, even for how small it is. Once all of the core systems are fixed we will also be able to devote even more time to content.

It is happening, the communication, that is. There is more info out there. Just a flesh wound is really working to compile info for us here, but he is just one person and can’t get everything. I’m sure this community would be grateful for more info straight from the horses mouth, so to speak, as well.

Bobby Stein has posted a thread here addressing some concerns on issues regarding raids.

I was pleased to see he’d done so. Here is what he had to say:

BobbyStein.2315:

Hey there. I’ve been seeing some comments regarding the story and lore in the Forsaken Thicket raid, and how that fits into Guild Wars 2. We appreciate your enthusiasm! Just wanted to clarify a few things:

• It will not be necessary to play Forsaken Thicket—or any future raid—in order to complete Living World or expansion stories. Raids do not gate main story progress.
• Raid stories can—and should—be thematically tied to Tyrian lore and enhance the game.
• If any lore information from the raids is relevant to storylines in other content, we’ll make sure that information is also available in that other content.
• Raids present story in a different manner than elsewhere in the game. They are not a replacement for Living World, expansion, or Personal Story.
• Output from the raids team isn’t coming at the expense of other projects in development. Raids are made independently of Living World. We do communicate regularly with that team (and we share some resources and assets in both directions) but neither team prevents the other from doing its job.
• The Forsaken Thicket story will conclude with the release of Stronghold of the Faithful on June 14.
• Raids are not part of our Living World episodes; they are separate game elements.
• More information regarding Living World Season 3 will be announced in the future. As always, content will be released when it is ready to ensure the optimal quality for our fans. Hang tight.

I hope this helps people understand things a bit better. Thanks!

We’ll probably be advised to take concerns over to that thread soon, so I thought I’d come give you guys the link and whatnot.

hardy.7469:

So when there’s another massive content drought and raids are the only thing being released in terms of content and story, will you still say the same thing to gloss over how inaccessible the only major content updates are to the majority of the players?

Do you NOT want to follow the trend of making raids easy to get into for all players? Was it your intent to have an outdated view of them?

Just because you said the raid lore is “side” and not “main” lore doesn’t ignore that for almost 8sh months, it’s really been the ONLY lore (and content) to come out.
Unless you would rather us NOT play the game and instead just read the Wikipedia for the game?

Also if the raid lore is relevant to other stories that you’ll make it available in other places? Why not just make it accessible in the first place!?

This sums it up for me! Thanks, hardy!

Also, a huge thanks to Bobby Stein for posting here and not continuing the trend of Reddit posting that is going on with alot of the GW2 staff. It’s nice to be able to come to the games actual official forums and find relevant information without looking for the pertinent links to it on a 3rd party site.

Josa.5067:

Hopefully in the next patch we get a few more of the old effects back.
Oh, and auras, obviously.

Auras will likely never be back.

Gaile Gray.6029:

Now, I think what you’re most curious about is how things will go moving forward. And it turns out, we do want to restore some of the skills that were reduced in the past. However, some effects, such as Auras, probably will remain as they are now, because the previous versions were considered to be too “loud,” and given the fact that their effect is supportive it needs to have a consistent visual effect across allies/enemies.

The team will continue to review and analyze effects that had previously received straight-up reductions (prior to the Effect LOD initiative) and they will restore some of the effects, when appropriate and over time.

I hope this info is helpful and I want to thank you for your patience while I rounded up these details to share.

However you can buy an aura for 250 gems and also get a great wormhole for 1000 gems. Why try to tone things down, when you can bring all the “visual noise” everywhere you go!

Everyone should go have a gander at this Reddit thread about raiding.