Showing Posts For Sungak Alkandenes.1369:

Charr Story - Shaman line bugged out (again)

in Bugs: Game, Forum, Website

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Friendly FYI: Filed report on this already, and is an exact repeat of below issue thread. Annoying for the new cub, but she is waiting on PoF and Renegade before I do anything serious, so no hurry from me.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/bugs/Unable-to-continue-Charr-personal-story/5952786

Step says ‘Lighting the Beacons,’ same as before. My guess is that a reverted change elsewhere reverted this too. This was a Boost character if that matters, though I doubt it. Oh, and that PoF pre-order outfit works surprisingly well on her. ;-)

Shorah and /salute

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Should zerk gear be used by casual players?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

As partially mentioned in the thread, there are some who like to play this game but cannot play optimally for various RL physical reasons. In my case, its a combination of being unable to judge quickly enough in a busy environment (the ability to remove some of the affects on characters would go a long way in fixing that), as well as not being able to physically react perfectly (at least for prolonged periods of time, such as in some of these longer meta runs).

One possibility for solving this problem can be choosing a class you like the most, and building up its strengths to counter RL weaknesses and still apply decent DPS.

In my case, I decided anything ‘serious’ would be done in my Guardian, which is traited for fast Aegis refresh, and a few other Aegis enhancing traits dropped in (can be switched to other things as needed). Add in Trooper runes (his base is in the old Shout builds) to give the old PoV abilities (plus allowing the new one in case I need a different GM trait). DH has traits that allow for both melee and ranged options as needed too, which is why I normally sit on that now, but at times I’ll switch it out for Zeal or Virtues depending on the situation.

With gear, I’ve taken a generally balanced Zerk/Soldier approach, as I don’t play the game often enough anymore to invest into the deep grind needed for the new stat combinations (tbh, all I really want atm are Commander accessories for those slots). The four main ‘trinket’ slots are quire useful in that effect – I use these to fine-tune if I need more defense, more health or more damage. But the Amulet is always Zerk and the Back (Mawdrey Infused) is Soldier.

This has worked well in most game modes, including the few times I’ve been able to be brought into Raids (under the ‘getting a taste of it’ idea). I personally do not like the idea of being locked into combat for the entire Raid run though, as my best ‘build’ is constantly flowing throughout an encounter – both on the weapon side and Trait side – so I’m unlikely to run those regularly. But taking DS an an example (as it was mentioned here), I switch from my DPS ‘base’ to Group Support and back to DPS (along with weapon swaps) through its run. It works really well for me, because I know the class and most of its weapons.

From the various alts I have, I suspect I can probably do the same on my Ranger, Mesmer and Necro with relatively little tweaking as well; After Guard I know these three the most, but still need some time in learning the various traits. Really, it would not surprise me if its possible to do on all classes; I just don’t have the time anymore to work at it. So I leave it as an exercise to the readers…

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Episode 4 release time?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Shorah Gaile,

Please send my regards to the rollout team (referencing my sig), and delaying until tomorrow would certainly be understandable to me.

Heck, I’m supposed to have been on vacation (normally take two weeks off around this time), and so far I spent one half-night last week on an emergency, and another ‘just before start’ call this morning. And now that my body has finally begun to decompress from various stresses, I’m coming down with a cold. Bah.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

It's ok to be casual

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Its fine to take the slow route in character and account progression. Especially when that’s what the game was designed around.

Its fine to step away from the game from time to time for other games. In my case, modded Minecraft; ironically, the current pack I’m playing was designed with an MMO feel added to it (TolkienCraft 2). Spent nearly two years on one Regrowth world save too…

Its fine to use a casual MMO as a ‘retirement’ from something a LOT more hardcore (i.e. Eve Online as your first combat MMO – a short stint on Travian doesn’t count).

Edit – Its fine to spend far too much time outfitting five Charr characters to be unique. [I also have most of a backstory for each of them.]
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-zDeN8o6SKOWWdYczBsUXBjNTQ

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

(edited by Sungak Alkandenes.1369)

Quick note on Ep4 bundled updates

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Some reason I have a feeling since “Challenging group-farming” was mentioned.. it might be raid based

There are plenty of other ways to make it challenging.

Off the top of my head: Defeat one Legendary event in Dry Top at T4 or better for a Chest of Leather. Quality improves with more events and higher tiers. Similar idea could be applied to Verdant Brink, possibly also Tangled Depths (based on number of Lane metas completed) and AB (for number of pre-events completed before Octo). For the HoT maps, instead of a chest, just add leather of the expected tier(s) in the meta chests (increased rate for higher tiers as above).

The Silverwaste Legendaries are somewhat RNG based, so it would be harder to make that one work.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

(edited by Sungak Alkandenes.1369)

When will we have our 3rd borderland map?

in WvW

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Technically, we do have a third BL map available: The Original ABL (with the water area in the center, and deeper rivers connecting much of the map). Needs a little cleanup probably to make it work again, but not much I think.

I certainly preferred that to the current ABL, though I’m also fond of the underwater combat system. Its one of the few areas I get to implement EvE style tactics (3D orbiting etc) against another player, and usually won every 1v1 down there. Also had great fun being chased halfway across the map while escaping down a river – and surviving.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Would you pay a sub for a realm v realm game?

in WvW

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Subscription based models slowly dieing out. Even EVE online opens up now a (limited) ftp option:
https://community.eveonline.com/news/dev-blogs/introducing-clone-states-and-the-future-of-access-to-eve-online/

That would be so neat. I have been glancing at EVE for years thinking about giving it a go, but the subscription and the fact I can always fall back on GW2 has kept me from looking further.

I’ve always wondered why they didnt have f2p for “trash” ships you want to populate the world (fighters, bombers, small freighters/miners, etc) while requiring subscription for the larger and more advanced ships. It would have been an entirely logical division of player “class” within the game world while still keeping it playable for everyone.

I made a comment on their video about this, noting the naming system left them open for 2-3 paid tiers down the line. And their refocus to ship roles (and making sure almost all roles are available in all ship sizes) had brought this idea to my attention months ago.

Still, it takes a special dedication at times to play EvE – I left there for GW2, and don’t see myself returning (especially since I view EvE’s 0.0 politics as a giant Diplomacy campaign on steroids). Just the difference in how the death systems work is enough for me.

Note I was primarily an Industry player, aka a miner. There is nothing in the Alpha account level that works for me long-term, as most of the time I would sit in various ORE ships of some form (not allowed in Alpha). At best its an unlimited Trial, which is a decent balance for a game that’s incredibly complex.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Post a Screenshot of your Guardian

in Guardian

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sargeon Leapur, Ash Legion Guardian. A true runt of the litter – even smaller than Dinky ever was – this minimum height Charr counters that with a big heart and resilient body. If there was one character I would need to select as ‘Pact Commander,’ Sarge is it for me, full stop.

I’ve always been of the mind that getting the look of a character begins at creation – and for Charr that’s even more prominent. I have five now, and all of them are unique. Even more amazing is that I was able to do that without resorting to anything spikey, poofey, etc. Nearly all of the time they’re sleek and svelte – even the two males. ;-)

Apparently the IMG shorthand does not work with Google Drive links. Sorry all…

1) Hanging out with his old sparring partner, Reeva (which also gives an idea of the scale for a minimum-height Charr).
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-zDeN8o6SKOaExnNWdWdjkxUTQ/view?usp=sharing

2) Reminiscing about his Pact beginnings, how far they got, and how far they’ve fallen.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-zDeN8o6SKOYmRTNDVYeXZKT1E/view?usp=sharing

3) Mourning; Not only for Lion’s Arch, but for the Pact as well…
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-zDeN8o6SKOU2xGbHBUbDQ0VTA/view?usp=sharing

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Lore Q&A

in Lore

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

@Sungak: A note on waypoints and being killed: they don’t resurrect – resurrection isn’t really a thing in GW2 (it was in GW1 but is now something like a lost art). Mechanically, our characters never die – that’s why it’s called “defeated” state instead of dead – lorewise, our character is just unconscious. Whether or not there’s any lore on how unconscious individuals can end up at waypoints is another matter entirely, since all NPCs that use waypoints have to go right underneath them.

Use of waypoints in lore is actually a very good question for a dev to answer. (Bolding for Scott when/if he returns)

I do understand the game’s mechanic, and am OK with it. The problem starts when you introduce a non-Tyrian character into the world, which is where I’ve had to get creative.

- Do the waypoint stones accept them on sight? I decided they don’t, for various reasons (that are outside the scope of this thread). A character can still go up to one and ‘Attune’ to the stone, and link themselves to it, but that action requires touching it. That means an arriving outsider has no stone or other point to fall back on upon ‘death,’ which is impossible in the game normally.

- What is the reaction of said outsider(s) when faced with such a drastic change in combat tactics? For RoleMaster in particular, there are key spells and other mechanics that just won’t work here. Again, my eventual decisions are outside the scope of this thread, but its why I chose Lay Healers – they at least have ‘traditional’ medic skills, as well as Herbalism, to fall back on while figuring out what in Anu’s name just happened to their spells. But initial reactions in general will be anything from concern to outright panic, depending on what key spells no longer work.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Lore Q&A

in Lore

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

So, I had intended to just lurk the thread, but doing research for fan fic (on another forum) got me curious:

Is it just fanfic or is there any forum rp? Looking for forum rp, myself but the ones I join tend to die off after a couple weeks.

Actual Fanfic. Two RoleMaster (2nd Ed) Lay Healers are ISOT to Tyria, by way of the Edge of the Mists. Starts approx between LS2 parts 1 and 2.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Lore Q&A

in Lore

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

So, I had intended to just lurk the thread, but doing research for fan fic (on another forum) got me curious:

1) How long is the (expected) Charr lifespan? And how old (approximarely) is Almorra Soulkeeper, and the other Charr considered to be in the ‘grandparent’ generation? From my own calculations, I’m estimating a minimum of 65, and closer to 70. Which is quite old actually…

[This came from my wanting to accurately state (by one of my older Lay Healer characters) that he was older than any two – perhaps three – of the young charr warband that he encountered. Saying that with Almorra present, however, will have him get corrected real fast. And for the record, one of the characters is in his 60s, and the other is in his 70s(!). Makes sense too, given how Lay Healer magic in RoleMaster works…]

2) How mad is a Charr Guardian going to get if he/she is referenced as a Paladin? Again, the translation of a RoleMaster (+ Primal Order) character to Tyria is proving to be quite interesting. They are both Lay Healers (technically), but due to how I developed skills etc one will end up a Guardian, and the other more likely a Thief (due to the 105 Agility stat, and growing up in a magic-poor area).

I’ll also second the discussion regarding Norn Spirits, Shamans etc. That will also be useful for what I’m working on.

I used to have concerns about how the Waypoint system worked (from an ‘outsider’ perspective), but I’ve already determined a set of RoleMaster type rules for them, and how its expected to tie into the death systems of both (for translation/conversion purposes). Unfortunately I’ve had to leave in a loophole of sorts, whereby an arriving planar traveler to Tyria (probably through the Mists), is very likely to be permanently killed if they’re not careful during the first few hours on arrival.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

(edited by Sungak Alkandenes.1369)

[PvE] Wrist-Friendly Thief/DD - Possible?

in Thief

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Jana, I did indeed see a doctor – when the original injury (a bus accident) occurred 25 years ago. It was determined then that the cartilage sheaths were damaged, but as long as I did not overstress myself, I would be fine. And that’s borne out fine over many hours in many games: about a year’s gametime within multiple Bethesda games, about 500 hours Minecraft, 6 years Myst Online, 3 years Eve Online (where your mind and soul will likely break before the body does), and almost 4 years here.

But so far, this game (and only this game) caused problems under two cases:

1) Thief class mechanics. This was actually the less worrisome of the two, as it seems the class requires what I call ‘twitch reflexes’ gameplay. I’ve not liked that style as I do not have the reflexes for it. But with the most recent attempt, I figured there is now the possibility of making it work.

2) LS1’s pacing, while delivering content that was engaging, also required a bit too much constant grind for my tastes. I eventually pulled back and just went for the story bits (which is what I like most), and tossed everything else aside. LS2 and the expansion has been a better direction for me, where I can pace things as I see fit and keep me interested for longer.

While the other comments have been helpful, I will continue this over on the Operation: Union forum instead. Thank you for your time.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

[PvE] Wrist-Friendly Thief/DD - Possible?

in Thief

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Yes, I have a powerball exerciser (which is quite fun actually), but what I have is not normal RSI. When I meant ‘arms slit open’ I should have mentioned that it was along the entire forearm, not just across the wrist. On occasion I also have numbness on the ‘resting’ side of the hand (pinky side), so it may well just be pinched nerves in the arms.

So far, staying away from computers (or anything requiring a desk) as much as possible for a couple days will counteract it just fine. But as a programmer/sysadmin I find it frustrating, and there are several other classes (Guardian and Ranger in particular) where you can easily build in the ability to take a hit or two, so you can pace yourself slower and not have this problem in the first place.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

(edited by Sungak Alkandenes.1369)

[PvE] Wrist-Friendly Thief/DD - Possible?

in Thief

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

I’ve spent my Nth time this week trying to get thief to not kill my wrists (an earlier attempt quickly ended up with me offline for several days, with my arms feeling slit open). But, I am getting bored overall with the game and want to make the classes I’ve never played work for me.

This past week has somehow worked out OK, though I’m still in some minor pain (better than that last attempt though). But if I really plan on taking this to a ‘full-on’ PvE / Guild Mission / etc alt, with L80, Exotics, DareDevil unlocked, and full Story runs completed, I will need some assistance in getting a more defensive build mapped out. One that can be forgiving if I make a slip, which DD seems tailor-made for.

All suggestions welcome, and thanks in advance. Note I already have plans for what race to commit too (yet another member of my Leapur ‘warband’), but if you can give good utilitarian arguments for another race’s synergy with Thief, I’m willing to hear it. I know Norn would work out well (and admittedly can look just as cool), but I absolutely, positively despise trenchcoats. So its usually Sylvari or Charr for Medium classes. :p

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Crab Scuttle

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

The route in its current form was a decent challenge when it came out – on par with the Dredge/Spider one, and both guilds I’ve worked with have that one down reasonably well now.

What’s really ramped this particular race/rush’s difficulty was the addition of the ‘settlement invasion’ mechanic (tied to Karka Queen), which was part of LS1. That final settlement near the end tends to be invaded most of the time.

A possible quick fix would be to make an alternate route possible – maybe add a ledge around the settlement that you can scuttle on, or another (optional) hole to dive into? The latter would probably be easier.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

PvE tanky gear choice

in Guardian

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

As you’re discussing tanky Guard/DH setups, I will post my current ‘wrist friendly’ build that has evolved from concepts in WvW (old T1 havoc group play), and Obal’s build, and found a working point between them.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vVIQJATRnsABddilCBuCBEEhlKiKb8Ov0DbACgIQ+2z9fH-TxBBwABeEAV3fIlugcq/oV5HalgAuCANGCAIIA-e

I find this extremely flexible and damaging, while still being a safe build to run on long metas like DS (and without resorting to painkillers, gah!). I keep a complete set of Zerk trinkets on me, and swap various bits back and forth as needed; My second common weapon pairing is hammer/staff. And ‘hold the line’ can be swapped for other things (lately its been Bane Signet, for the knockdown). Big drawback of this build is that it works best with a group around you; Solo will probably work in PvE for someone more physically skilled than I am.

I’m hoping to find Captain’s stats for the two Assessory slots; hints on where to find that is appreciated. I’ve also been told to consider a Marauder and Nomad mix, but tbh I don’t play often enough anymore to justify the amount of gathering needed. I’m also not involved with Raids, and never will be. I cannot always dodge at the right time (and sometimes a finger will spasm and cause a dodge to kick off at the wrong time).

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Partial hand disability...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

If you are using a mouse with a ‘side scroll’ wheel, see if you can re-map either the left or right scrolling taps to dodge (v). Was one of the best things I did for my own hand cramping issues (other than getting a ‘hand gyro’ exerciser aka PowerBall), and was much more intuitive IMO. Tapping the wheel itself (aka middle mouse button) I also mapped to swap/drop (backquote, `).

I prefer a guardian myself, as I can set them up as tanky enough to take a hit or two while still dealing reasonable damage (basically using a home-grown variant of a WvW build in PvE). And all without major grind – weapons and armor are still Exotic. I’ve done something similar on Ranger, and in that character’s case it worked out well in partial Rare gear (though not recommended for later story content).

Good luck sorting out a good layout, and above all have fun doing it.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Guardian Difficulty?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

There’s another form of ‘sustain’ that isn’t talked about here: What classes are ‘wrist friendly?’ So far, Guardian wins hands down, but need to run a Passive Support build to make that work.

I run a shout-based DH, using one build for both modes (mostly tweaking traits and trinkets), which has seen me through all of HoT story solo. Earlier iterations (based on a combination of ‘core’ concepts from both Obal’s builds and the old Healway) got me through LS1 and most of LS2 (I’m finishing LS2 now). I can easily do 4-6 hours casually running about in PvE, or 3-4 hours in WvW. Whereas even 20 minutes trying to deal with a Thief build has me logging out with pains in my arms. :p

I hope to be able to expand that ability to other classes; currently playing a bit with Revenant (Herald) and Ranger to see if I can make them work now.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

What makes a playstyle / build fun to you?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Enjoyable participation and damage at my pace (usually half that of others), lest my hands and arms feel sliced open…

That means defensive builds (primarily on the Guard), and fairly impossible on some classes like Thief (which I find disappointing, but understandable). I’m always on the lookout for builds on non-Guard classes that can fit this bill (slow steady sustain that can take a hit or two).

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Scribing Costs

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

I’ll also second adding a BLTP merchant to the guild hall (perhaps as a low level unlock). Throw in crafting terminals for the other professions and that side of the Halls would feel closer to complete.

Regarding slivers – one change that could be made is the supply. Currently the only source is from guild missions, which themselves have not changed much since launch. Combined with the new missions system, this becomes old even faster than before.

Why not add additional sources – if needed, with a twist?

— Award slivers from completing HoT story steps on any character (1 each). Perhaps also the LS2 steps. Use these to replace something else in the rewards, if needed.

— Add other things to Mission Opportunities, like dungeons, or the various world bosses (both have a range of difficulties for all opportunity levels). Have them grant 1 sliver and double the tokens (instead of two rares) as part of character participation. Very Hard opportunities in these new groups should have a higher base Favor (i.e. ‘Arah P4 under 2 hours’ would grant 800 Favor) and 2+ slivers. Something will need to be done with PvP and WvW missions in order to balance this; or just add dedicated ‘tracks’ for these. This adds more variety to missions (artificially, but its still more to do), as well as give smaller guilds other ways to gain the Favor cap each week.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Unable to continue Charr personal story

in Bugs: Game, Forum, Website

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Most of us do take weekends off, so please don’t be alarmed if we don’t post over the weekend.

We think we’ve found a fix for this issue and it’s currently in the testing phase. If all goes well, it should be out in next Tuesday’s patch.

Thanks to all of you who have been patient with us on this one.

Good to hear; Would be a nice little birthday present then. I don’t suppose you can divulge if I was close in my guess?

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Rough time surviving heart of thrones solo

in Players Helping Players

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

As someone who finished the HoT story for the first time recently (on Guard/DH), I certainly can understand your concern. But yes, its possible.

Most important thing is to have a coherent build that you’re comfortable with. It does not need to be ‘meta’ (though taking inspiration from them is useful), just coherent and works well for you.

In my case it was a more defensive, group setup (a variant of what I used to run in WvW). Things may take a little longer, sure, but they still die at a decent pace. My take on it was to partially focus on keeping the NPC party alive and buffed too, just like I would in a WvW situation. Surprised that it worked so well, really, but at the final two steps (due to lack of NPCs) I had to re-jigger things several times to get past some rough spots.

Have every weapon handy, and sigil’d in a way they’ll work in combos you’re happy with. I got away with having the ‘lesser’ ones as rare (my four main ones are exotic), and did fine. My only Ascended items are Mawdrey (set to Soldier stats) and the other 5 ‘trinket’ slots; I switch those out among 2-3 main stat sets as needed.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Healers armor please

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Discussions like this are why I used to advocate changing Cleric’s to (HP)/Pow/Feroc (replace Toughness with Ferocity, aka a ‘reversed Zealot’). It would have created more interesting armor/weapon mixes, back when they were just introducing new stat sets.

Now, I’m not so sure. As mentioned, Nomad and Minstrel can potentially have a better role to play here (just more annoying to acquire). Perhaps even to the point where ArenaNet may gradually replace 3-stat sets with 4-stat? I’m watching that closely.

I personally take the ‘balanced’ route with most of my characters, as I’m physically unable to dodge at the right time now and then (wrist/hand reaction time issues – not quite RSI, but probably related). If I push it, I can do that for a short time – but usually at the cost of having my arms (and sometimes the back of my hands) feel like they’re sliced open for the next couple days…

So, I build in the ability to take a hit or two. With the classes I can play the most – Guard/DH, Ranger (base only), Necro (maybe reaper, testing) – there are ‘stock stat’ builds that work pretty well in that respect.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Unable to continue Charr personal story

in Bugs: Game, Forum, Website

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Ran across the problem this morning, same case as the others. Bug report filed.

The loading screen being different is an interesting clue – it implies the instancing system is seeing the wrong story ‘ID’ when entering. This is possible due to that part of the map being used for multiple story steps (both in this branch and the ‘Gladium’ one). Depending on what this segment of the map is used for, there’s some LS2 content (in the upper levels) that may qualify too.

I’m not finding a step by that name in the normal stories, so there’s also a possibility we’re seeing some early framework for LS3. If that’s the case, I’m honored to have hit it early.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

I need some sexy armor for Charrs

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Get the Cook’s Outfit. It’s an apron with metal claws on your feet. You’ll get to see your fur then.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/8/8a/Cook's_Outfit_charr_male_front.jpg

I’ve considered that in the past, but I like to challenge myself to ‘dress’ with release (non-Gem) items only.

I truly feel for the OP; For me, the look of a new Charr character begins at character creation, and the selections there. All four (soon five) of them have fully unique looks and caused some rather creative challenges for me – so far overcome to one extent or another.

A good example of this is my Necromancer, Crimson Leapur. The name is based on the Crimson Cult from the Thaumcraft mod, and with that concept alone I began to craft the look from start. I was lucky in some respects – you actually can make a ‘grizzled vet’ look, to the point that it ended up through the other side into ‘curb-stomped by a bear.’ ;-) With the character now at L80 (and the last one to complete the original Story), I found inspiration in Whispers gear for finding a top that would work. I have the pants staked out to complete the set, but still need about 10 tokens in CM…

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

I need some sexy armor for Charrs

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

For Light, you can check Cultural Tier 3 and Vigil; the latter is much cheaper, and both are sleeveless.

Medium is a problem; I’ve settled on the Drover Coat (Cultural Tier 1), if only for the fact that it does not have the (obvious) look of a trenchcoat. Its also sleeveless, and does have some exposure at the back and front.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Veteran MMO Players: A Few Questions

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Its interesting to see the list of MMOs mentioned in posts here; I’ve never done any of those. Just Myst Online (2004-2009) and Eve Online (2009-2012) to any major degree, though its been a coin toss about my experience during Second Life’s early years (2004 – circa 2008) too. ;-)

In both of those games, camping (as y’all know it) does not exist. In fact, in Eve, ‘camping’ tended to be a hunt for other players, especially at borders in NullSec. Farming in Eve was just missions or pirate hunting, and again certain types of large-scale (i.e. Destroyer Wolfpack) PvP roaming for fun. In fact, if Eve did not have a subscription I’d probably be back doing the casual-level stuff I liked to do there.

This is why I’ve always felt that nothing in any MMO feels hardcore anymore. Because, for me, Eve’s high-end Meta (the stuff that wandered into RL social engineering levels) was the ultimate in Hardcore. That’s also why I loved WvW here, its a vacation in comparison, and with the right group is amazingly fun too.

Myst Online is the exact opposite – Effectively a multiplayer puzzler/adventure with a heavy social aspect. Its fun in its own way too, because you had to challenge yourself to help make the content sometimes. And I loved to help others there, and just chat with folks. Made a lot of good friends, many of whom have passed on sadly. What I brought over from that game is the reminder to be helpful, and remembering that I play online games for fun – with others, preferably over a voice chat.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

We need 25% run speed on Dragonhunter.

in Guardian

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

+1 for OP, at least about the speed thing.

I find it telling that the default armor you’re given as a DragonHunter (in Beta) had Traveler runes on them. :p Granted, its a Celestial set, but still…

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Demo Story as a Rev - feels a bit off

in Revenant

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

So, since this was the last chance I’d get (so far) to help with any pre-testing, I went ahead and pre-ordered on Friday.

First thing I did was roll a Charr Revenant and tackle the new Story instance, because Story is what I love most about a game nowadays (other than helping others – but you didn’t enable that Mastery track in the Beta). And OMG, that was a great experience. Was very nice to hear the PC actually be a talking actor within the story, helped a lot more with the immersion. I even survived the whole thing (despite fumbling around for the first time on a Rev) without even being Downed – though got close once or twice.

But it all crashed, hard, at the end sequence. I won’t spoil much, but I wanted to box Bram’s ears and shout “you just witnessed all that from me – why are you surprised??!?”

And this is the big disconnect I was concerned about. How is a starting, L1 Rev going to fit in the existing Personal/Living Story, before the HoT content? It’s going to be at least reasonable on the other races, but as a Charr? Its going to feel somewhat off, even a bit paradoxical for most of his/her startup.

Unfortunately, I’m having a hard time coming up with a solution here that’s still easy. Input is appreciated.

Roy, can you add some insight to the design here? I know for Story’s Sake, you had to choose one of the racial mentors as Revenant’s ‘face,’ and after experiencing its mechanics firsthand, I think Rytlock was the right choice. But was any thought given as to what would happen with future Revenants in the old story, particularly for the Charr ones? I can certainly understand most of the possible reasoning behind this, but would prefer a definitive answer anyway.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Preview on precursor crafting feedback

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

So even if the precursor collections would cost twice as much as currently, it would be awesome and still be the best change we get with HoT!

. never read such thing here. i guess on this topic your are a lonley special snowflake

On the contrary, I’m considering collecting most of the Pact weapon skins the non-TP way (which will also be the only way, as of now – you’re given an account-bound weapon box instead of a Pact Token). So, that means running personal story completely through on a new character, for each skin I’m still interested in. Which is probably another four or five at this point.

Why would I do that? They are one of the rarer weapon sets to acquire now. It gives me motivation for continued playing (through experimenting with different races and classes). And its a qualified sink for all those XP tomes the game practically throws at you. :p

How each character plays through PS has also helped in ‘fleshing out’ their backgrounds, for the sake of the fiction I’m trying to work on. You start to see subtle hints on my character’s appearances (weapon/armor skins), which harken to that history.

(And yes, I’m a story nut. Its why I still love Eve after I left it, and the same for Uru actually.)

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

What race will you be? Struggling to decide

in Revenant

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Charr, full stop; and this would be the 6th. In order of creation so far:
- Guard (coming up on 3 yrs for him – my ‘main’ for all intents now),
- Mesmer & Ranger (these two were made for first NPE testing on PS),
- Necromancer (current NPE testing, & race change from Human Necro),
- And now Elementalist as of yesterday (testing to see how far my wrists can take this class).

I do have an Engi (I never delete first characters, no matter what), who is Sylvari.

All of them have very unique looks and styles. I’m particularly happy with the Necro (Crimson) – her final look was based on a Crimson Cultist from Thaumcraft. I’ve done surprisingly well under the circumstances, though I still need some CM tokens for the preferred leggings.

Medium armor on a charr is tricky, yes, but I’d recommend thumbing through the racial lists first. All characters are now given the T1 racial chest as part of personal story, which is the Drover Coat for medium. Its now made Charr my secondary race to avoid the ‘trenchcoat’ problem, after Sylvari (they need T2/3 racial to avoid it, and only partially).

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Input Device (KB, mouse, others) for PvP

in Players Helping Players

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Mouse – G700. Nothing special there really.

Keyboard – Avant Stellar (you’d need to look this one up). Clone of the original Northgate Omnikey Ultra (which you’ll probably have a better time looking up). I have the 114 key version (two sets of Function keys), but I’m also a programmer/typist before anything else. 100% rock solid keys and keyboard (I’ve had mine for over 10 years now), so long as you can endure the clicks.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Waypoint Rules & Limitations

in Lore

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

I’ve had to look into this for dealing with a fiction story I’m working on; Two Lay Healers from an old ‘RoleMaster based’ setting got dropped in the middle of EotM. So of course they would have no base knowledge of the waypoint system, or how to operate it.

For the purposes of this story, I’ve decided that they will have to ‘attune’ to each stone (preferably touching them) in order to gain access to them. And once within range of one, they’ll be able to ‘see’ the other unlocked stones nearby (inspired from how Ender IO Travel Anchors work – http://wiki.enderio.com/Travel_Anchor).

While not 100% in-line with known info, it still explains short-distance travel fine. Maybe concentrating harder/longer will allow you to target stones at larger distances; I’ll probably flesh that out as they stumble about. After all, they are not Tyrians, and will likely have their own ways of doing and seeing things…

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Can't finish last file of Nov 5th patch. [Merged]

in Account & Technical Support

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

I had this problem a little while ago. Was running with -assetsrv for quite a long time until now, but this time didn’t work.

Oddly enough, removing that and restarting seems to have worked. I’ve no idea what it could be now; Normally my first thought would be an unhappy DNS (it’s happened before with Uru, of all games), but ArenaNet uses IP addresses directly (good move IMO).

So my next thought is oddball routing, or one of the primary ‘backbone’ providers is having a problem. I’m not finding much on that front yet.

Oh well. At least I decided to do a quick login check before our missions meetup. After the complete refresh the game did last week (apparently the big lag from that Mordrem Invasion thing corrupted my install), I’m being extra cautious now.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Patch Today: Key Farming Impacted

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Anet is about to learn the same lesson other game devs/pubs, the film industry, and the music industry have learned (or failed to learn in many cases). Someone getting a product for free, does not equal a lost sale. A lot of pirates would have never actually bought a game/song/movie, just like a lot of key farmers will never buy a BL key.

Anet can try to strong-arm us into buying keys all the want, but they’re going to find out that they’re the ones being strong-armed when the players simply refuse to bother with their RNG box weapon skins. Unfortunately, for us and them, Anet doesn’t like to back down from their dumb decisions, so we all get to suffer the consequences. They still won’t get any money out of keys, and we’ll never have BL weapon skins obtainable after the existing supply dries up.

They won’t dry up completely. But they’ll become more expensive.

Actually, its possible that they can dry up – just start making all future BL skins account-bound. As I mentioned above, this has already happened to all current Pact Weapons from Personal Story (Arah).

The possibility is there now. I fully expect it to continue.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Patch Today: Key Farming Impacted

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

This recent patch is obviously an attempt to cull key farming, but it kind of screws over the new players. How about instead of punishing the legitimate players, you punish the actual key farmers. I propose an alternative: remove the periodic BL key rewards from personal story until the very end. Then, when you give the player their Pact Token to get those weapons in Caer Aval, you also give them 5 BL keys for completing the story. Alternatively you can have the weapon NPC at Caer Aval offer 5 BL keys for the Pact Token. This way key farmers would have to level a character to 80 and complete the story before they even have a chance to get their keys. This would provide more incentive for new players to finish the story. This is how you get your player base to play: provide incentives to finish something they started. I know, 5 BL keys is probably going to eat a lot into your profits, but it’s just an idea.

I don’t know, maybe I’ve gone soft, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to give the new players the shaft like this. Don’t let the actions of a few key farming drones be punitive to the rest of the players.

Pact Tokens are no longer given out at the end of Personal Story. Instead you’re given a chest for an account-bound Pact Weapon of your choice.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

to logitech and naga users

in Players Helping Players

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

I own a G700 as well, but I found a slightly different layout to work in my case. Basically, to bind anything well away from the left hand’s normal reach to the mouse – using the mouse’s software only.

Skill 6 – G5 (set as ‘6’)
Skill 10 – G7 (set as ‘0’)
Skill 7-9 – Top Buttons G8-G10 (set as 7-9)
Weapon swap/drop – Click Wheel (set as `)
Dodge – Right Scroll/Tap of Wheel (set as V). This one was pleasantly intuitive btw.

And the two thumb buttons close to me are reserved as ‘PTT1’ and ‘PTT2’ (as there was a time when I had two voice chats up – Guild and Server).

I keep the above key bindings as my default as well; Comes in handy when playing other games that use 1-0 like MineCraft – I leave ‘quick hit’ items (usually torches and food) on the 7-9 positions. I had a similar re-bind setup for Secret World (dodge in particular was very important to re-bind), and will probably continue this when trying out other games.

As one aside, I don’t use the F1-4/5 on professions very often, as I don’t play hardcore/professional (my wrists/hands won’t allow that anyway). But just consolidating the normal ‘right hand’ keys over to the mouse has been a great help.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Beta - Create L1 Rev for Story/NPE Testing?

in Revenant

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Are there any plans to allow Beta testers to create a L1 Revenant prior to HoT launch? I’m one of those rare nuts who like to go through Personal Story (just did another run recently as part of an alt’s race change), so if there’s plans to allow L1 Revs before launch I’ll actually consider a preorder and test the ‘new character’ scenario on all five races for ya.

For those who have not done PS or new characters recently – L1 starting setup now (as part of original NPE changes) is normally access to skill 1 on whatever weapon the game chose to start you with (mace on Guard, sword on Warrior, etc). This can be restricting for some classes, depending on a starting player’s skill level. Probably moreso if you’re allowed to create your first character as Revenant (which is another side question I suppose – will they be allowed as first character, or do you need to ‘beat’ PS on one character first).

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

World Population Changes Are Coming

in WvW

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Stage One: Change population to reflect active WvW players.

Stage Two: Wait for people to self-move and spread out.

If Stage Two fails: Reduce map cap on all maps to 60 per server permanently — or until the population regulates itself and spreads out.

There are other ways to do that of course, without touching the map cap. Removing all Karma rewards in Gold League, for example.

Changing Bronze matchups so they constantly rotate (ignoring the actual level they’re at), but still have Glicko rating effects, is another.

Perhaps peel off a number of servers to a ‘Copper’ League outside of Glicko? Move all the ‘inactives’ there, and all new players start there (basically a Training League). First Transfer on the account requires earning 10 WXP levels (get their feet wet first). Transfers between these would always be cheap (say 400 gems), and can be done weekly (attract the GvG crowd for easier matchups, but also a constant flow of gems).

Lots of ideas before going near the map cap…

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

[Wolf] Fractal Guild (NA)

in Looking for...

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

I’m interested in a trial run. My guard is my normal go-to character for stuff like dungeons, so I have the AR (or can get it easily enough) and nearly at the required level. Also, your support build not only works similarly to what I used to fit anyway, but appears to be a little wrist-friendly (will see on the trail). I still have a couple pieces to track down though.

Usually available on Friday night, hanging out with the Operation: Union folks (their mission time works very well for someone working 3rd shift). Otherwise sporadically on weekday afternoons, but potentially all night Fri/Sat (since I try to stay in schedule with work).

Shorah and /salute

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

What are you rifle engineers doing now?

in Engineer

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

I mentioned what I’m playing with in the ‘found your build’ thread (Firearms, Tools, Inventions). Have not decided yet if I’ll go through the effort of switching to Dire or Celestial armor/Rifle from Zerk.

My own setup was not centered around static discharge or grenades (they were too stressful on the wrists), so it made transitioning easier. I also did not intend (at the time) to visit WvW with the build. Working just fine in PvE though, perhaps dungeons as well. Will see.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Anyone found their build yet?

in Engineer

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

My core has not changed – mostly Zerk with a couple Soldier armor thrown in. It’s one of the VERY few cases you’ll find me in nearly all Zerk; I’ll take suggestions for easily/casually obtained alternatives. Dire perhaps? I mostly PvE with this character, never PvP, some WvW on rare occasions. Also, be aware I have bad wrists, so must have some component of Toughness or similar thrown in.

Rifle (power build) base.
Firearms: High Caliber, Skilled Marksman, Modified Ammo
Tools: Power Wrench, Takedown Round, Adrenal Implant
Inventions: Automated Med Response, Mecha Legs, Med Disperse Field
Healing Kit (first time on this one), rocket boots, Elixir Gun, Tool Kit, Mortar (currently, may change that).
Runes of Altruism (this will change), Fire/Air on the Rifle.

Trying to go for a balance of decent damage while still having enough personal support to survive the occasional hit, i.e. when one of my wrists spaz out and I hit the wrong key. :p

Just sitting on rifle skills is pretty impressive now; Combining with Elixir Gun and Tool Kit are just plain fun – I’m not condition based, but they’re applying like crazy anyway. I’m flipping between kits fairly easily, but need to pace that or I end up fumbling a key press. That’s why I ended up in Inventions and Tools, they’re on traits that mostly help in personal support, or general mobility (Mecha Legs in particular).

The big thing that saddens me is dumping FT for TK. I’ll grab it again for WvW, but in a PvE situation the wrench is just plain nuts now. Also, I’m on the fence for the new Mortar – its very cool, but I realized its got the same problem as Grenades – no autoattack. That won’t work with my wrists long-term. As he’s Sylvari, I have access to Take Root as a nice situational tertiary (after supply Drop), but of course there’s no F5 for that…

[Now updated for what I’m running currently. May consider Dire after all.]

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

(edited by Sungak Alkandenes.1369)

June 23 Specialization Changes

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Warrior: buff buff buff buff
Guardian: buff buff buff buff buff buff buff buff
Mesmer: buff buff buff
Necro: nerf nerf nerf buff nerf.

Sounds like anet “balance” to me

Guardian’s got buffed?

Sort of.

While a lot of the core changes are around adding more group Support (like increased outgoing heal), those of us who already like to run in Support configs (like x/x/x/6/6) got buffed just for having access to a ‘third 6’ (probably Zeal in my case – depends on what Dragonhunter’s line will do).

On the other hand, all or most of our passive effects (Virtues, SiN, etc) had their range halved to 600. I’m still curious for the reasoning here; thinking about it more made me believe that was a balance pass against world bosses and WvW. I suppose one can hope…

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

June 23 Specialization Changes

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

As of now, my main Guardian build (a defense/support loadout called Vanguard) jut got severely buffed. In particular by adding one (or maybe two) additional shouts, and full access to a damage-based third trait line (there’s still quite a bit of Zerk in this format, just not fully). Plus the elite changes makes it possible to not sit on ‘Warband Support’ in most PvE; in fact that signet will probably end up mandatory in certain Fractal situations.

The only big step back (to me) is the change to virtues distance. Why half? While I can see a reason for dialing it back a little, changing it to 900 would have sufficed. Making it 600 now encourages this to be used more in ‘stacking’ setups, which is counter to what you’ve been aiming for; A ‘more active play’ is much harder when you have to consider your distance to the others (when running a Support role).

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Tome Change ideas

in Guardian

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

I’m leaning toward Courage not being a passive signet. As others have mentioned, it seems that it will either step on Battle Presence, or make a combo with it very powerful.

A shout would be better (and works with the rest of the shout line), but it would mean Wrath needs to be something else. A consecration is a reasonable alternative.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Food for thought for ArenaNet

in PvP

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Adding my support, even though I don’t play this format.

I don’t even WvW anymore really, since I’ve found much more overall fun with cross-server guilds. And that’s caused most of my time to divert to other (single player) games.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

[NA][BG] [LAW] Love&War PvP/WvW social guild!

in Looking for...

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Nice to hear you guys are alive and kicking. Probably short on gum again too. ;-)

For anyone on the fence about this guild, give them a shot. Fairly relaxed (yet serious) group, even when in the middle of utter chaos. The kind of folks I really wished I had found in an Eve corp – probably would have liked their form of PvP better.

Shorah and good luck everyone. o7

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Beta: Streaming Client -- Feedback Thread

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

I enabled the feature today, since I wanted to wait until most of the major bugs from this past release were cleared away (sorry Gaile, but its a safety measure to prevent reporting many false positives to y’all). Will certainly update here after the next couple of releases.

From a feedback POV though, the game really does need some form of indicator to tell if the download finished. If there’s nothing to tell the player that there is a background download occuring, they may think the connection to your server is bad that evening. That usually means one or more attempts to re-login, and I’ve not heard much about how well the downloader recovers from that.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

And in a couple of days...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Honestly, just about what I expected to happen.

Oh, the three games I played which had PTRs? Didn’t really help alleviate game-breaking bugs or broken things slipping in every – single – patch.

I think worst was UO where the test server basically became its own other game after a couple years.

Actually Eve’s test server (mini-cluster?) would be a rather unique case, especially when the devs are working out new resource distributions. They have to release ‘false’ ones on the test cluster (if possible), otherwise large alliances will begin mobilizing to take over the new ‘prime’ space before the patch hits.

Due to that, there’s no good match between the two, if they need to check larger scale Meta Interactions (aka their Emergent Gameplay). Sure, they’ll organize tests (with rewards handed out to the test cluster characters). But from my own experience on those tests, they don’t always scale to the needed levels.

(And yes, I’m still following their updates. Liking what I see, but the sub cost still keeps me here for the most part.)

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)

Guild Wars 2 models being stolen

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sungak Alkandenes.1369

Sungak Alkandenes.1369

I was active inSL during its early years (2004-2008), so I can confirm that this is a common occurrence with just about any and every IP out there. As I’m unsure how to file this as a case either, I’d suggest sending a note along to Gaile asking for clarification (or someone poke her about this thread).

If ArenaNet wishes to respond, they just need to send the normal DMCA request to Linden Lab. Of course, if the quality of the product is good (the picture linked is actually well done IMO), they could instead reach out to the various creators to negotiate a license agreement; That’s actually happened in a few cases, with varying degrees of success.

“The Meta Game does not stop at the game. Ever.” — Me
I like to view MMOs through the lazy eye of a Systems Admin, and the critical eye of a
Project Manager. You’ve been warned. ;-)