Guild Wars 2

Treadmill? That’s a laugh. Ffxiv is a gear treadmill…this is a a sunday morning walk in the park. The game isn’t difficult, you can accomplish everything you want to do without ascended. Don’t even need the armor or weapons for fractals up to 40.

The only thing that worries me, is the conversion rate. Will it be 1:1 with no change in the pricing? Will it be 1:1 but the price of items will increase effectively decreasing the value of our current points? Will it be like transmutation stones and be 3:1 leaving me with 2 skill points sitting there staring at me awkwardly wondering why they exist and what cruel god abandoned them?

Yes, I still have 2 transmutation stones that give me that look every time I log in, “Please, kill us.”

Yes, please! I also tried to suggest this a long time ago.
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/archive/suggestions/Customizable-zone-music/first#post196224

Giving each area a unique identifier like this really serves to make the experience more memorable. Although I can definitely appreciate Geneaux’s point about wanting a specific piece to continue, not being cut off by a zone change. It would be nice to have a simple toggle in audio for “Zone Music”. That would allow those who prefer the current system to simply leave it unchecked. And also allow anyone to still take advantage of the customizable music. https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Customized_soundtrack

SAB at one point was the sole reason I logged in to play GW2. Reinvigorated my enjoyment of the game. Once again while we wait for HoT, GW2 is in a trough. I can’t even bring myself to log in to get daily rewards anymore. I have tried quite a few guilds in hopes a good group of people would help keep things interesting, and that kind of works, but the trend seems to be just grinding dungeons/fractals/world bosses day in day out. I even resorted to WvW to try and spice things up. I dislike PvP as a general rule, my competitive nature makes me try too hard, and it is too stressful for me. It wasn’t too bad getting lost in a zerg though, with so much chaos it was easier to not take things so seriously. There were some fun times when we had decent commanders able to weave in and out of fights when we were outnumbered, but generally it was a lot of circling taking/retaking structures. It would be really nice to have SAB back while we wait on HoT. The upcoming trait changes might serve as a decent distraction.

Jumping puzzles are one of my favorite parts of the game as well. There are only a few JP where the camera is difficult to work with for me, but since there are so few, it almost seems intended. Usually it is standard to just move the camera to the most open part. If you have to jump with the camera in a specific orientation, yeah you’ll have some trouble, but I think that is an operator issue imo. I have also done every JP in first person now so, you might try that. I can’t say much for laggy folks, my condolences I guess.
I have used every race on all the JP, my original and primary choice being Charr. From my perspective, Asura have the weirdest jumping style. It doesn’t seem possible for them to make the jumps they do, you just kind of have to trust that you’ll make it. Plus they do that animation where they kind of fall forward but catch themselves and sway back, throws me off sometimes xD.
My favorite puzzle would have to be Hidden Garden in Mount Maelstrom, feels like a Tomb Raider level. I think I’d have to give Griffonrook Run the award for difficulty.

Sujuro Brimsulyok
Dragonbrand
PvE

Came across one in Mount Maelstrom, the song was stuck in my head for the rest of the night. There is an event where you sabotage some inquest holding cells, you replace an equation on one of the consoles with “I’m the best around”. The message box says, “While your intrusion will likely be detected, you feel good about letting them know you’re the best around.”

Singer.8740:

Sujuro.4096:

Put aside the lore and think about what this election means in the long run! Honestly, it is a good possibility we will see the losing fractal sometime in the future anyway!
Voting for Gnashblade is best thing we can do to support Guild Wars 2. Even if you don’t buy keys yourself, others will happily pay the reduced price. Think about steam sales. This increases profit for Anet/NCsoft which translates to an increased budget that will provide a solid foundation for future content! Save a miniscule amount of copper on reduced WP prices for a few weeks, or get better more frequent content for years to come? Vote for Gnashblade says you care about the future of Guild Wars 2.

exept the confirmed you wont ever see the other fractal so id much rather have the far more current thaumanova than the outdated fall of abbadon (first time), thank you very much.

A few years ago, I’d be inclined to take their word for it, but I found out that once ideas get thrown around, they don’t get thrown away. It may not be exactly as proposed this time, but the odds are quite good we’ll see the content in some form in the future.

draxynnic.3719:

Because Sujoro is clearly inclined to copy-paste that message in multiple places, here is my response and following discussion. Probably not the ideal location, I know, but it’s where I first saw it and it’s better to keep it in one place.

EDIT: Actually, you know what? Here is actually probably a more appropriate place. Thus:

draxynnic.3719:

Unfortunately, it’s promoting sales of an RNG mechanic, which I think is bad for Guild Wars 2 in the long run. If it was instead a sale on direct purchases from the gem store, then I could see the argument – and Evon’s position would probably be that much stronger.

Sujuro.4096:

It won’t make a difference at all voting for Kiel though. Even if you dislike RNG, there are tons who love it. Kiel winning won’t suddenly make Anet stop selling RNG. So even if you don’t like the RNG system, it is here to stay and we may as well take advantage of the situation to support the game.

draxynnic.3719:

Not really. There’s been a lot of outcry about the RNG, and there have been signs that ArenaNet has been moving in response to that (at a glacial pace, but moving nonetheless). If we see a situation like you propose, it’s quite possible that the NCSoft marketers that are pushing it will seize on that as evidence that the outcry is a verbal minority and most people actually LIKE the RNG, and we’re going to get it shoved down our throats more intensely than before, and you can kiss goodbye to the compromises such as having boxes available through means apart from the gem store.

Now, I’m voting based on in-game thinking rather than out-of-game thinking, but if you’re going to vote based on out-of-game thinking such as ‘support ArenaNet’, then you also need to consider the RNG message that voting for a discount on keys, and then having lots of people take advantage of that discount, would send. From my viewpoint, such a message would lead to the game becoming worse in the long run, not better.

I don’t see the sense in that possibility Draxinic. Those who denounce RNG will continue to do so. They certainly have some merits in the argument and Anet will continue to try and find a solution regardless of a ‘sale’ bringing in more money. RNG will be around forever, it is part of the foundation of games, but the way it is being delivered and monetized needs reworking, and that will come, but it takes money and time to do so hint hint nudge nudge. They won’t suddenly start ignoring it or even making it worse. Taking advantage of a discount does not translate to a message of support for RNG. Evon winning could not be used as evidence for overwhelming support of RNG, because their were other reasons to vote for him. If their was a poll asking why people voted Evon and a majority said ‘Reduced key price’, then marketing could use it. If you went for the roleplay ‘in-game’ vote, more power to you, I love immersion as much as the next bloke. While I had my own in-game motivations, as some other posts hint at, I decided to vote on out-of-game motivations for a chance to improve the in-game.

It won’t make a difference at all voting for Kiel though. Even if you dislike RNG, there are tons who love it. Kiel winning won’t suddenly make Anet stop selling RNG. So even if you don’t like the RNG system, it is here to stay and we may as well take advantage of the situation to support the game.

Yeah, most will vote human just for that reason, makes me sad when such an opportunity to help GW2 arises.
Voting for Gnashblade is best thing we can do to support Guild Wars 2. Even if you don’t buy keys yourself, others will happily pay the reduced price. Think about steam sales. This increases profit for Anet/NCsoft which translates to an increased budget that will provide a solid foundation for future content! Save a miniscule amount of copper on reduced WP prices for a few weeks, or get better more frequent content for years to come? Vote for Gnashblade says you care about the future of Guild Wars 2.

Put aside the lore and think about what this election means in the long run! Honestly, it is a good possibility we will see the losing fractal sometime in the future anyway!
Voting for Gnashblade is best thing we can do to support Guild Wars 2. Even if you don’t buy keys yourself, others will happily pay the reduced price. Think about steam sales. This increases profit for Anet/NCsoft which translates to an increased budget that will provide a solid foundation for future content! Save a miniscule amount of copper on reduced WP prices for a few weeks, or get better more frequent content for years to come? Vote for Gnashblade says you care about the future of Guild Wars 2.

Kiel’s story was a pity-fest, she is being put on this pedestal of the good guy perfect self sacrificing hero, and she is really just an enchantress! Don’t vote because you ‘like’ a candidate, vote because of how it will impact the game in the long run.
Voting for Gnashblade is best thing we can do to support Guild Wars 2. Even if you don’t buy keys yourself, others will happily pay the reduced price. Think about steam sales. This increases profit for Anet/NCsoft which translates to an increased budget that will provide a solid foundation for future content! Save a miniscule amount of copper on reduced WP prices for a few weeks, or get better more frequent content for years to come? Vote for Gnashblade says you care about the future of Guild Wars 2.

I do find it awfully suspicious being so close… weird.
Voting for Gnashblade is best thing we can do to support Guild Wars 2. Even if you don’t buy keys yourself, others will happily pay the reduced price. Think about steam sales. This increases profit for Anet/NCsoft which translates to an increased budget that will provide a solid foundation for future content! Save a miniscule amount of copper on reduced WP prices for a few weeks, or get better more frequent content for years to come? Vote for Gnashblade says you care about the future of Guild Wars 2.

Evon is the only option that makes any sense! Please read and consider what this means for GW2!
Voting for Gnashblade is best thing we can do to support Guild Wars 2. Even if you don’t buy keys yourself, others will happily pay the reduced price. Think about steam sales. This increases profit for Anet/NCsoft which translates to an increased budget that will provide a solid foundation for future content! Save a miniscule amount of copper on reduced WP prices for a few weeks, or get better more frequent content for years to come? Vote for Gnashblade says you care about the future of Guild Wars 2.

I really dislike how they have set up the two as good/evil, it is really misleading. The stories released helped ease it a little bit, but many already decided how to vote before then. We should put aside our ‘feelings’ and vote for what makes sense.
Voting for Gnashblade is best thing we can do to support Guild Wars 2. Even if you don’t buy keys yourself, others will happily pay the reduced price. Think about steam sales. This increases profit for Anet/NCsoft which translates to a stable budget that will provide a solid foundation for future content! Save a miniscule amount of copper on reduced WP prices for a few weeks, or get better more frequent content for years to come? Vote for Gnashblade says you care about the future of Guild Wars 2.

I’m sure many have noticed that the Frog Boss has two separate health bars. One is for the boss himself, and the other is for the Crystal around his neck. Has anyone tried depleting the crystals health all the way? I started to whittle it down, but got impatient and gave up. I think if no one else has the patience to try this, I’ll do it before the month is up.

I tried to find a similar thread but could not so here it is. Post any references you have stumbled upon throughout the vast lands of Tyria!

Attached image is a Karate kid/song reference I found and couldn’t help but laugh.
http://bestaround.ytmnd.com/

I agree, the effect of titles is underwhelming. Maybe they should each add a small stat increase, either by equipping it or being permanent. Nothing game breaking, maybe just +5 at most. Not a perfect solution, but it’s something.

I loved The Hidden Garden. It felt a lot like playing an adventure puzzle game like Tomb Raider. The depth and feeling of the area was amazing.

Another I really enjoyed was Goemm’s lab. The variety and mechanics of the puzzle were great.

Griffonrook Run was a lot of fun, frustrating sometimes, but the challenge was welcome.

I loved the Clock Tower as well. Everything flowed very nicely.

Level scaling is an excellent feature. First place I remember seeing the concept was the Level Sync added to Final Fantasy XI Online. Basically you could sync your entire party to the level of the chosen member. However, everyone is restricted to the abilities of that level. Stats/Armor/Weapons are all downscaled as well, but are generally slightly better or equal to the best gear possible for that level.

Well articulated and thought provoking post. I recommend anyone who enjoyed this post to check out the online show, Extra Credits on pennyarcade. A particularly relevant episode to this thread is called “The Skinner Box.”
Those who mentioned the actual math are my heroes. It is something that took me awhile to realize when I started playing FFXI back in 2004. The traditional MMO has what most refer to as ‘Endgame’. I think this boils down to simply achieving level cap. You’ve hit level XX and now can equip level XX gear and do level XX content. Ideally there is nothing in the game you are restricted from. Whether you can succeed or not is another story and apart from what I’m suggesting. Typically after experiencing what this endgame has to offer, you’ve pretty much attained what I call a ‘Natural stat cap". The point where even if you don’t have the best equipment in existence, when you step back and really compare, the difference is laughably negligible. The perceived disparity in the power of players is not because of the numbers on their Underwear of the Godly Wolf Hunter, but because they understand a fundamental strategy of the game mechanics.
So the real issue, and the reason it is such a difficult task for a developer to please the community, is not the game itself, but how we perceive it. The way we are seeing the game, and what is actually going on are at odds. Once again I’ll refer to an Extra Credits episode called, “The aesthetics of play.” This episode basically explains the core aesthetics that are the foundation for why we enjoy a particular game, and how we distinguish different games.
Steering a little closer to the main topic, I think GW2 delivers in both camps for this issue. When you equip that level 80 armor, you’ve pretty much hit that ‘Natural stat cap’. Doing the math, is Exotic gear going to allow you to steam roll something you can’t beat now? Nope. However, the experience you gain obtaining that Exotic gear is what will give you the power required to beat that content. As you can probably guess, because it was a gradual process, this creates a false association in our minds that the gear is why we succeeded. In fact it was because of the greater knowledge-base and understanding of the game itself. So the horizontals should be satisfied that they don’t need to get better gear and run the treadmill. I think the vertical camp should satisfied as well. There are exotics, legendary, and now ascended to go for. Anet will only add more content. This will please the verticals more than horizontals, but that won’t change the fact that it will still be simple to hit that ‘Natural stat cap’ with minimal effort. Anet has made it clear that they are trying to avoid introducing gear ‘better’ than what already exists, but rather new mechanics that require a different approach to how we equip ourselves.
I’d like to mention that these are just my own opinions on the analysis of observations and past experiences in games, I only wish to provide different avenues of thought to explore. Check out Extra Credits. It really is an eye opening show on the game industry and important issues revolving around games as a whole. If you made it this far, thanks for reading!

whenever you or a friend are sad you yell “Shake it off!”

I don’t know why, but this jumping puzzle and I get along very well. Norns and Charr can be pesky distractions, but the jumps are not very far so there is some room for error, providing you don’t stop to take in the scenery xD.

I imagine the dev team put a lot of time into planning the trait system, and this subject was most likely part of the discussion. I think being able to swap out trait sets might be a little too much. That said, I certainly wouldn’t complain if it were to become reality. However I do really like the idea of being able to switch out gear/skill sets without going through and getting each individual piece. That would be enough for me at least.

Just to add some more for the discussion. I feel as though being able to switch traits too easily would reduce your chance to overcome obstacles with your own ingenuity, in favor of equipping the “best” traits for the job. Players who can switch traits so simply will have an advantage over players without. A good business model for Anet to make money, but I think the game would suffer a bit for it.

I would also really like to see more story driven content outside of the main storyline. Please nothing like go and get us 10 tiny fangs. Maybe if it were interesting enough and not just fetch, but more engaging with some special mechanics involved.

It would be great to be interacting with some NPCs in town, and one mentions a comrade imprisoned somewhere, so you accept the responsibility to go to that zone and save the NPC. This would accomplish 2 things. 1.) Give players a reason to visit a particular zone other than to 100% it or farm. Or extra motivation to 100% a zone while you are there on a certain quest. 2.)Give players a reason to speak with NPCs around town!

Another idea is to link NPCs in town with actual events happening in the world. Some events in the world require you to trigger them, so some people miss them entirely. This would also help make quests much more engaging, rather than a random “Oh look an event! Kill stuff wooooooo! I got gold, sweet!” Maybe get some additional mail from the town NPC afterward, or go back to town to talk with them. It would also be cool if there were some NPC who gave quests that involve the jumping puzzles.

Something should really be done about making events more engaging. A reason to go and seek out a certain event, not just stumble upon them blindly.

You know you play Guild Wars 2 too much when…

You pause for several seconds while helping someone up.
You see a young tree in the park and think to yourself, “No gathering tools equipped”
You open up your backpack and expect to find some butter.

The 3D viewer certainly doesn’t show the weapons how they will be in game. As for this sword, that black rectangle will pretty much be the awesome ice flame/aura of deathtasticness. It would be really awesome if it were possible to ‘Preview’ weapons/armor on the trading post though!

I second your concerns and I’m quite confused by the endgame right now. The requirements for legendary seem to be opposite of both the philosophy of the game, and the implementation xD.

I think this skill needs a lot of adjusting. To start the animation for this skill is like tossing a bunch of bang snaps. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bang_snaps

It would be great to have more substantial explosion for each shell, or more of an impact.
On another note, I don’t think anyone actually uses this skill for anything other than testing it once after unlocking it, giving a disappointed scowl, and changing to something else xD. I would be grateful if anyone could provide a regular application for this skill. At least with a better animation players would use it for the ‘awesome explosion’ factor.

Yeah, incredibly disappointing. It would also be cool if you could name them yourself.

I’ve never liked the typical fantasy races. This is mostly because of humans. I am human, I know humans, they exist and they are boring. Seeing them just reminds me of real people. Elves, tall humans with pointy ears. Dwarves, short humans with beards. These are the stereotypes. They all tend to have similar themes as well. Elves theme is nature, Dwarves are metal(mining, engineering, etc..) , Humans are the jack of all trades. They vary slightly yeah, but generally give the same vibe in most fantasy. Guild wars 2 actually does a pretty good job of covering it up, which is why I can play it! Of course they have the standard Human, and Sylvari are pretty much elves. I actually dislike Sylvari more because I’d feel like a stalk of broccoli <.<; Asura and Charr are really the only races that break the mold. Asura can still be associated with dwarves, but it’s definitely not that obvious. Asura appear as delicate, science oriented, intelligent, and a certain cynical attitude. A fun personality that identifies them. A contrast to the typical dwarf’s crude, stout, rough, tough, dirty, and drunk type. Charr doesn’t really need an explanation. Their appearance, lore, and personalities all seem to be fairly unique to my experience. I am so glad I chose Charr. If you take the time to listen to some of the conversations of Charr, you will laugh your kitten off. Go the the devourer pits in plains of Ashford and listen the conversation with the cubs for an example xD. Oops I almost forgot Norn… well they are pretty similar to human, but I don’t feel as strongly about them for some reason. Mostly because their lore seems to be pretty interesting and unique. Just not interesting enough for me to roll one xD.

The in-game music is designed around a categorized system. Music is dynamically selected from playlists within 7 categories which you can actually customize as well. These are self explanatory, Battle, Boss, City, Ambient, mainmenu, nighttime, and underwater. http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Customized_soundtrack

The system you speak of is much better in my opinion, and awhile ago I posted a suggestion topic asking for per zone soundtracks! Keeping the current dynamic system mostly intact.

Each zone is incredibly beautiful and unique. They really deserve a more memorable identity. I suggest customizable music per zone. That is, I would love to be able to have a specific track or playlist for a specific zone. I do not mean getting rid of the current system, having battle/boss music is excellent. I suggest augmenting it with the option to designate tracks or playlists for specific zones.

FFXI online had this style(not openly customizable but the soundtrack was superb already), and you really fall in love with each area, and go back sometimes just to hang out and listen to the track and soak in the level design. Of course there was also specialized music for battle, fishing, bosses, etc but they really went that extra step to provide a full experience to each area.

It would be awesome if the zone music and specialized music flowed seamlessly. When battle music is going to begin, have the zone music fade out while the battle music fades in. After the action subsides, fade in the zone music where it left off.

Just a couple suggestions I think would make this zone a bit more engaging, and less annoying.
-Modify the risen abilities outside of instances so that they are not lock on. Given the huge number of enemies, this enables players to conserve endurance and dodge the moves freestyle.
or
- Group the risen in larger squads, let’s say 6, and increase the roaming range. This will help provide better gaps players can weave through to avoid detection. We’ll also get a riskier battle. Throw a veteran giant into some squads and have them roam an even larger area.
or
-Sell an item at vendors, lets call it “Stench of Death”, that decreases chance of being detected by undead.

As for aesthetics, well, I think the area achieves what it’s meant to visually, but I will forever ask Anet to have customizable music per zone, not simply battle/town/boss type categorization. FFXI online had this style, and you really fall in love with each area, and go back sometimes just to hang out and listen to the track and soak in the design. Of course there was also specialized music for battle, fishing, bosses, etc but they really went that extra step to provide a full experience to each area.