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Commander Tag

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Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

Reference a well-known political leader with a fabulous comb-over.

Buying a position of leadership does not a leader make.

In my experience, poor leaders soon find themselves leading no-one.

I don’t think things need changing here; 300g isn’t prohibitive, but it’s enough to encourage someone to think twice about whether they want to take tagging up seriously enough.

~TG

Frozen out, cant use shortcut

in Living World

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

I had the same problem, this is what I did…

- I made sure that I had not only fully completed A Crack in the Ice story but had also moved on to the next LS3 story (in fact, I also fully completed that before trying the Frozen Out achievements again).

- Then I abandoned my current story.

- Then I went back to Bitterfrost.

- Then I reactivated A Crack in the Ice.

- Then I entered the Frozen Out episode.

- Then I saw that the brazier was still not working. Gah!

- But I decided to just log out to the character select screen and log straight back in.

- When I re-entered the episode again, lo and behold, the brazier was WORKING! :-)

I managed the <5min achievement solo, but the avoid getting frozen one is still doing my head in. I tried it a couple of times, and have decided to give it a rest for a while. The extra times I tried, I discovered that the ‘brazier-not-working’ bug is intermittent but that simply logging out and logging back in (no other changes) would eventually get it working again.

So, tldr:
just keep re-logging… log out from the instance (that’s what I did), and eventually (like once in every 2-3 tries) I would log back in to discover the brazier was working.

~TG

Just Finished HoT and...

in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

Op never mentioned HoT as being too difficult

He rather pointed out that it was more a chore than fun to play. He expressed dismay at HoT turning the game into a movement skill based game filled with powerups(mushrooms, updrafts, wallows, etc.) which are just extra hoops you have to go though to traverse the map as compared to vanilla gw2. He didn’t seem to enjoy the rat in a maze experience that HoT delivers.

This is not a “git gud” problem. This has to do with gaming style not difficulty.

That’s a good point.

But, again, I don’t agree with the assessment of HoT as ‘rat in a maze.’ Yes, the movement mechanics are fundamental to the HoT experience (and completely different to core Tyria maps), but the gliding (and updraft) mechanics were declared as defining feature of HoT – for me, making that a progressive and challenging feature was actually a fun aspect to the gameplay. It has also completely changed the way in which I play in core maps also (for the better), and the recent implementation of gliding into WvW is also a great experiment (some people don’t like it, but I think it’s great).

Anyway, you’re right, for this OP it’s not a ‘git gud’ issue.

But, for a lot of players, the change in difficulty of the HoT experience also seems to be an issue. For me, it certainly paid a large part in my reassessment of the game and my place in it; could I rise to the challenge? I suppose I ‘got gud’, and as a result have come to love the Hot (and LS3) maps.

Again, my main point was that, legitimately, people have very different opinions about HoT; that it’s perfectly OK to express an oposing point of view to an OP (and perhaps, thereby, present a more balanced ‘review’ of the game and encourage prospective players to give a go).

~TG

Just Finished HoT and...

in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

I agree with you bladezero. I see many familiar faces posting the usual fanboy smackdown on anyone that did not enjoy the supermario jumparound. Just wait till you try out the LS maps with a new mobility mastery over and over and over. I really miss the old game. I guess the platformer crowd needed an mmo space and GW2 became that. Hang in there.

Don’t confuse alternative views and different opinions with ‘fanboy smackdown’.

Some people don’t enjoy HoT (and LS3 I guess).

Some people on the other hand enjoy, or have come to enjoy, both.

Compared to my experience of the core game, HoT was a bewildering and terrifying place to me for quite some time (‘annoying’ and ‘too difficult’ some people might say). But gradually I improved my gameplay – how to gear, set up and play my characters better (coming to understand the game properly for the first time) – and then I mastered the maps.

By the time I came to the LS3 maps (which I’ve enjoyed just as much as the HoT maps) I was immediately able to dive right in and solo most of the content, thoroughly enjoying myself as I explored the new areas. Great fun!

Some people in these threads (I think Vayne among them) have pointed out that they often reply to negative threads in the hope that an alternate, more positive viewpoint might help potential new players decide whether they’d like to try the game. I think this is a good thing; more players is good for a company that produces a game that I enjoy playing.

You’re not going to convince me that I don’t like HoT/LS3, and I’m not going to convince you that you do. That doesn’t make me a ‘white knight / fanboy’ and it doesn’t make you a ‘hater’.

It’s not a problem, it’s just a difference of opinion.

~TG

PS – I’m not a ‘platformer’ (and I’m terrible a JPs), and I’ve never played Super Mario or anything like it in my life.

Just Finished HoT and...

in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

I have come to love the HoT maps.

Tangled Depths is awesome – the sense of exploration and jeopardy when I first started exploring that map have been unmatched anywhere.

HoT was a major step-change for me, and it took me a little while to get to grips with it.

But it proved to be game-changing for me and rekindled my love for this game. I’m also loving the new LS3 maps.

While I have a great fondness and nostalgia for the core Tyria maps, they’re just too 2D for me now to enjoy spending much time in; not engaging or challenging enough.

People’s experience of HoT seems to be very polarised, and unfortunately people rarely make a thread to to say “Yay, this is great and superfun!” Also, as someone else pointed out, I guess some people can visit these forums to get a feel for whether it would be fun for them to try out GW2, and maybe get put off as a result of some of the negative threads.

That’s a shame.

I think Hot (and LS3) has been great content for this game, and I’ve enjoyed (and am still enjoying) playing my way through it.

I feel like this game lacks something...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

I don’t see the problem with duelling, as distinct from the already existing pvp, wvw, and GH offers already in the game.

> set option to auto-decline by default.
> any two people agreeing to duel are immediately ported to a small private arena instance.
> they duel.
> no one’s bothered.
> simples.

If you want to spectate, you have to be in a party/raid group, and only those members who have the duelling option enabled receive the option to visit/decline the instance.

Who needs ‘open-world’ pvp?
Unless you’re interested in the attention duellers sometimes crave.

~TG

Character Selection Screen Background

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Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

Can’t do anything as far as the background image goes, but you can change the music that plays. You can make a playlist (like in iTunes or something) and export it into the GW2 music folder with the appropriate name per playlist. Whether you use something completely different or locate older GW2 music you preferred.

Instructions are here.For the log in screen, it would be the MainMenu name.

Thanks Maethor! I didn’t know that was possible.
~TG

Mobs in PoF beta undertuned for demo?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

Might be an unpopular opinion but I actually like HoT and the oevrall difficulty. I just hope they can equally satisfy both sides in the new expansion.

I feel the same way.
I hope they can get it right, but it’s hard to satisfy everyone, I get that. One person’s challenging is another person’s boring. It’s tricky.

Character Selection Screen Background

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Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

I don’t need a million little options clutter the menu for every little aspect of the game.

Fixed that for you.
I’d love the option to choose between backgrounds.
I’d also love the option to choose which opening music we hear on the selection screen.
~TG

[Feedback]Path of Fire Preview - August 11 - 13

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Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

I didn’t have much time to try the Demo. I’m also assuming, since it was a ‘demo’ and not a ‘beta’, that not only were we experiencing just a very small area but that mobs were probably dialled back and any meta content was disabled. At least, I hope that’s all true – if not, it was disappointing overall.

I did enjoy the raptor.
- the animations were really entertaining, especially the idle ones (I loved the one that nearly pitched my Asura from her saddle – very funny).
- generally, the controls and motion felt pretty good, but it needs traverse like dismounted movement.
- it would also be much better to interact with things (gathering, npcs, etc) without forcing the dismount; that gets frustrating.

Unidentified objects… No. Really didn’t like that. Honestly, if you’re looking for another gold sink, I’d rather have to pay for repairs again than this ID mechanic.

Also, mini-games…

The production design is to a high standard, as usual (I find the music and art in this game consistently very good).

I wish I could say the same for the story design (and especially the script writing), but it is what it is and my expectations in that area are now always pretty low anyway.

I am one of those players who became gradually converted to the HoT maps (though it did take me a while), to the point now where I think that TD is one of my favourite maps of all time because of its challenge. HoT also helped me to become a better player, in all kinds of ways, and to understand the game properly for the first time (gear, mechanics, skills and traits). In the end I came to really appreciate that. In light of this, I feel that what seems to be a shift back to largely flat-map, relatively unchallenging content in PoF might be a bit underwhelming (and note: I consider myself to be a casual player, and still not a particularly skilled one).

Overall I found the demo pretty bland. It didn’t excite me much. I didn’t even really know why I was there. What was the point? If it’s just meant to be another game area to explore, ok, fine. But compared to the HoT maps (where I really felt like I was genuinely exploring), the demo area felt pretty boring; alongside the fact that any sense of ‘epic’ was absent, again compared to HoT.

Once again, I did like the raptor though – I mean, laugh-out-loud liked it

~TG

Furious about Vault!!!!!

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Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

So, errr, they spent time developing a balance patch, but didn’t realise that one of their changes completely didn’t work?
Makes you wonder.
~TG

New Player, Sad Player. Expansion ruined it.

in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

Please don’t give up on HoT and its maps.

  • I too found them incredibly frustrating to begin with; hard, dangerous and confusing. My girlfriend found them even more so, and abandoned them in angry frustration for months.
  • However, we both persevered at our own individual pace. I still think my girlfriend finds them frustrating, but she has now managed to finish the HoT story and I think has even come to enjoy elements of the HoT maps; I know for a fact that she really likes the AB map.
  • I can also tell you for a fact, for us both, that HoT has made us better players.
  • For myself, I can tell you that HoT was a big, big wakeup call that I had a lot to learn as a player; that my journey through the core maps had become a lazy-mode, easy-mode faceroll that had actually begun to hurt my progress as a player. Perhaps I was looking for a new challenge.
  • I took stock, took a breath, and determined to rise to that challenge. At the same time I also embarked on WvW as a new gamemode to try. The requirements for meaningful participation and enjoyment of both HoT and WvW meant that I had to acknowledge the fact that I really didn’t understand my classes well enough. There were skills and traits that I had never used, and even some I had equipped that I rarely used and didn’t really know what they did, never mind how they synergised.
  • It was like finding a whole new gear to the game, and once I embraced the challenge the whole game opened up to me all over again. It was actually a really enjoyable process, and quite thrilling at times. I embraced failure and dying became routine for a while (my WP expenses in HoT maps rose appreciably). But once I accepted that I would die often (in both HoT and WvW), dying became less of an issue in itself, and not particularly demoralising (more of a learning opportunity).
  • And I got better. And I stopped dying so much. And I began to really enjoy myself. I’ve spent most of my time so far opening up all the HoT maps on my thief, and it became really fun and satisfying to pick apart groups of mobs that, once upon a time, would have steamrolled me; dancing in and out of them, picking my moments and wrecking them. I’m not good enough to solo most champs/HPs yet on my thief, but I can I’ll have a crack at it; and on some of my other classes now I’ll search out champs to try soloing as I get better (mixed results there). I really feel like HoT has made me pay much more attention to things overall, and that’s satisfying.
  • I also get that many people find the maps themselves incredibly annoying. I shared some of that sentiment for a while but, once I set my mind to it, that too changed and the HoT maps completely rekindled my sense of genuine exploration in the game. Yes, I know that the mini-map isn’t the most helpful tool in such vertical environments, but you know what? To me that just began to create a genuine sense of being lost in wild terrain with only an imperfect map in my belongings to help. And the ever-present danger in these maps really lends exploration a sense of jeopardy. I’ve found enjoyment in that feeling. I know others haven’t, but I’d implore them not to give up on these maps; to play them (perhaps as Anet intended, I don’t know) as if they were a wild frontier – dangerous, confusing… challenging.
  • I also recommend checking out the Dulfy guide to the HoT maps. While the meta-gaming aspect of this is perhaps a little at odds with what I’ve just said, those guides really did give me a ‘direction’ at times when I needed it; literally, sometimes, in terms of where to find things, but also in terms of what to ‘pursue’ (masteries, HPs, etc.). In that way, I gradually chipped away at the maps, the content and the story, and I felt a genuine sense of progression doing so. Especially as I could see myself becoming a better player as a result.
  • It didn’t really seem to take me that long before I’d completed the story, finished all but the ley-line gliding mastery and got the other really useful masteries, completed VB & AB maps and participated in a ton of events. I managed most of that solo, but people proved really willing to help with most of the HPs which were too hard for me by myself. All in all, good fun stuff (with a modicum of ‘worth it’ frustration).

Anyway, tl:dr…

Please don’t give up on HoT.

I love the new maps (including TD); I’ve loved the challenge and the jeopardy they present; I’ve loved the genuine exploration (getting completely lost in the bargain); I love the gliding mechanic and the verticality of these maps; and I’m becoming a better player as a result of rising to the challenge of HoT.

Maybe you can find enjoyment in the same things if you can approach the journey of HoT in a new way, with an open mind?

Good luck!
~TG

"Hearts and Minds" Hates Me

in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

1)
Updraft Phases: how to / how not to

Some of this has already been mentioned here, but to reiterate:

  • DO NOT attempt to jump and then deploy your glider to catch an updraft; Anet spent four maps and several story chapters training players in how to use the new mechanic of gliding only then to confuse them at this final story step.
  • You only need to walk into an updraft to catch it.
  • Then, as you’re rising, hold down your space bar and wait. This is to catch the auto-glide mechanic at the maximum possible height once you begin to fall (if you’re pressing your space bar at any point when your character is classed as falling then your glider will deploy if it is able to do so – this is the default, unchangeable auto-glide mechanic that so annoys puzzle-jumpers).
  • From there just glide around as normal, changing direction often to avoid the stones (which attempt to predict where you will be).
  • As some have mentioned, it is possible to land on the tree branch if you can manage it.

The most important thing to remember is not to jump around at any time, either in panic or in an attempt to ‘catch an updraft’. That is not how the updrafts work best here; you don’t need to be already airborne to trigger them, you have to simply walk into one for it to trigger; if you already happen to be in the middle of any jump frames when you intersect with an updraft then it won’t trigger. That is why jumping around at any point in this phase can hurt your chances

Of course, if you are jumping around and have been lucky enough to catch a glide, and then subsequently lucky enough to also manage to hit an updraft within that short glide, then you will catch the lift… but that’s why this approach seems so hitty-missy (or, as some perhaps feel, bugged). You don’t need to be gliding already to catch your first updraft; it’s much easier not to be.

2)
Final Phase: ’broken’ Defiance bar / no Rift spawning

From the Wiki:
“In the final phase, sometimes Mordremoth’s defiance bar won’t be broken after activating the rift and a new rift will not appear. If that happens he is immune to all attacks, but the bar can now be broken using crowd control skills such as Knockback or Chill.”

From what I have read elsewhere, and from my own experience (see below), there seems to be a high chance that if you are experiencing this problem you are in a party and one or more of you is defeated and is in the ‘penalty box’.

My experience and a potential solution:

  • I was helping my girlfriend to complete the story. I had already soloed it myself on my thief, but she was becoming increasingly frustrated with it and just wanted it done. Ironically, during the final glide phase I was the one who got knocked out of the air and couldn’t get airborne again in time. So I was defeated and was ‘spectating’ from the penalty box, just trying to talk her through the final phase.
  • She was doing ok, but then just simply couldn’t get any further, and I could see the problem since I had Mordremoth targeted. There was no Rift respawning and, while she was able to drop his defiance most of the way, she just couldn’t manage to break it all the way by herself before it shot back up again. Over and over again this went on. That’s when I checked the Wiki and realised it was a known issue.
  • Not quite sure what to do I just decided to exit her instance; we had nothing really to lose by me just leaving at this point.
  • Moments later she squealed in glee that the Rift had respawned.
  • Soon thereafter: mission completed.

And so, for what it’s worth…
If you are experiencing this issue, and if one or more of your party is defeated and in the penalty box, have them leave the instance and see if that helps.

Obviously, that’s not an ideal solution if anyone in the penalty box is the instance-owner or also needs to complete the mission, but it might be better than nothing.

Hope some of this is useful.
Good luck!
~TG

It's ok to be casual

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

It’s ok to post positive threads on the forums.
It’s ok to enjoy reading positive threads on the forums.
It’s ok to contribute to positive threads on the forums.
It’s ok to be a bit rubbish at any game mode that you try.
It’s ok to make having fun your top priority when playing.
It’s ok to play the game however the heck you like.
It’s ok to take the mini-jump pads from the bank to the TP in LA and then run back to the bank just to do it again.
~TG

returning Player

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

WvW and casual pve are the game modes I play.
I have no regrets about buying HoT when I returned to the game a few months ago.
There are still lots of things that are annoying and could do with with improvement across the game, but none of them are really that big a deal.
I think, overall, that I’m enjoying my time in Tyria more now than ever before, and a lot of the many changes to the game (with HoT and since) have been for the better.
Welcome back, and have fun!
~TG

Server DC /Crashing 11/15/2016 -11/17/2016

in Account & Technical Support

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

Yup – I’d advise not trying to do anything difficult or important for a while.

The Amulet!

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

For the love of god, please create an exchange function at the vendor (maybe a bit like the SAB currency exchange) that allows for refunds to Laurels so that we can at least acquire the new Enrichment items to replace the Infusions we were ‘refunded’ from our amulets.

~TG

The Amulet!

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

More to the point…

Why didn’t you give me back the actual VALUE (in Laurels) of the infusions you took out of my amulets across all characters!?

Now I have a bunch of infusions that I bought for Laurels that I no longer need, and I have to spend more Laurels to fill the new Enrichment slots.

gg

~TG

Suggestion- Name Purge

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Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

Lolwut? Ridiculous. Ain’t ever gonna happen.

Who the hell would want a second hand name anyway? That’d be like wearing someone else’s used pants.

And besides…. put bluntly: ‘You like my character name? You want it for yourself? Tough kitten, I was here earlier or I thought of it before you. Get your own.’

~TG

Please, a clear statement re: AFK farming.

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

Tbh I don’t really see what the big deal is about.
Personally, I prefer to play the game I paid for by actually playing the game.
If other people prefer to play their game by being afk, so what?
It impacts me not at all.
It provides them no meaningful advantage; progression in the PvE environment of GW2 is almost entirely non-competitive.
shrugs
Bit of a non-issue really; more important things out there.
~TG

I can make 20G/hr most likely with 7 accounts AFK farming. Are you telling me that I wouldn’t have an advantage over other players?

Not meaningfully. No, not really.
Certainly not one that would bother me.
So, you have, what? More gold than me? Lots of people have more gold than me. And that gets you ahead, how?
You can afford the skin you want, that I can’t yet? So what?
You can afford to fully craft your ascended armour for all your characters before me? So what? That’s only gonna be an issue (and not a very big one) if we run up against one another in WvW and you win as a direct result of the marginal stat gain you have (and not because I suck at PvP, which I do).
But no, by and large you having more gold than me makes no difference – certainly it makes absolutely no difference to my own enjoyment of playing the game.
Dude, if you wanna invest in 7 separate accounts for the purposes of 24/7 afk farming on your necros… fill your pants man. Got no issues with that.
~TG

So if someone were to bot to teleport across the map to various nodes and such, you’d have no issue since they’re just making more gold than you but you don’t really care as it doesn’t affect you? Imagine what would happen if it became common for people to AFK farm and what impact it would have.

That’s a good question, because I have two, conflicting gut reactions to that.

The first is that, no, it doesn’t really bother me because, as hard as I try, I just can’t see their activity as having any meaningful impact on the way I play the game or my enjoyment of it.

The second is specifically in response to your mention of bots.

While it seems there might be some disagreement as to the whether AFK-farming is ‘illegal’ or not (for those who are bothered), I’m pretty sure that botting is definitely ‘illegal’.

I’ve seen them myself a couple of times, dropping under nodes and such. The conflicting gut reaction I have here is that, no, despite what I said about afk-farming I don’t like the idea or the practice of botting. I’m not certain why I feel differently about the two. Perhaps it’s the notion that, though seemingly afk (and maybe – but not defintely – farming) that player is still apparently existing in the same gaming environment as me (and therefore it’s not jarring; it feels acceptable). Whereas the node-bot, or even an actively playing individual who is manifestly exploiting some crack in the game in the same way, therefore seems to be playing in a completely different environment to me – and I find that ugly and jarring.

It’s far more about how it makes me feel, and far less about any x-gold/hr ‘advantage’ it may confer to someone (I still can’t be bothered about it in those terms).

I dunno. One feels ugly and demeans the game (and, to some degree, my pleasure in it). The other just feels a bit like ‘meh, whatever does it for you, I’m off to play’.

~TG

Please, a clear statement re: AFK farming.

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

Tbh I don’t really see what the big deal is about.
Personally, I prefer to play the game I paid for by actually playing the game.
If other people prefer to play their game by being afk, so what?
It impacts me not at all.
It provides them no meaningful advantage; progression in the PvE environment of GW2 is almost entirely non-competitive.
shrugs
Bit of a non-issue really; more important things out there.
~TG

I can make 20G/hr most likely with 7 accounts AFK farming. Are you telling me that I wouldn’t have an advantage over other players?

Not meaningfully. No, not really.
Certainly not one that would bother me.
So, you have, what? More gold than me? Lots of people have more gold than me. And that gets you ahead, how?
You can afford the skin you want, that I can’t yet? So what?
You can afford to fully craft your ascended armour for all your characters before me? So what? That’s only gonna be an issue (and not a very big one) if we run up against one another in WvW and you win as a direct result of the marginal stat gain you have (and not because I suck at PvP, which I do).
But no, by and large you having more gold than me makes no difference – certainly it makes absolutely no difference to my own enjoyment of playing the game.
Dude, if you wanna invest in 7 separate accounts for the purposes of 24/7 afk farming on your necros… fill your pants man. Got no issues with that.
~TG

Please, a clear statement re: AFK farming.

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

Tbh I don’t really see what the big deal is about.
Personally, I prefer to play the game I paid for by actually playing the game.
If other people prefer to play their game by being afk, so what?
It impacts me not at all.
It provides them no meaningful advantage; progression in the PvE environment of GW2 is almost entirely non-competitive.
shrugs
Bit of a non-issue really; more important things out there.
~TG

Help me get into WvW, why should I bother?

in WvW

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

Much like you I’ve been playing GW2 for quite a while now (on and off) but only recently decided to properly try WvW for the first time (like a month or so ago).

I’m on Piken Square which, as others have said, I’ve found to be a good community to play with.

Some things I did, which I’d recommend trying since they worked well for me in terms of getting to grips with things:

1) Join a guild called [PS] Stomp for Piken
https://piken.eu/index.php?/gc/4-stomp-for-piken/

I was invited by Dogg one night after joining open raids for a while – he’s a nice guy, and there’s a whole bunch of good-natured folk playing there.

There are so many people on Piken who are in PS as well as their dedicated WvW guilds that it’s a good place to stay in touch with what’s happening.

There’s no rep requirement and the guild chat is pretty much used a place for the general WvW community to hang out and for telegraphing server-wide updates about map status for those who’re interested.

2) Just find a map with a blue tag on and join the squad (blue tags are generally open raids, yellow being guild raids – sometimes open, often closed). You can now simply do this on your map screen from anywhere by left clicking on the commander tag and selecting join squad.

3) Get on the Piken TS server – ts.piken.eu – (this is pretty essential if you want to get the most from your time in WvW). Find the channel for your selected map, and you should be able to see the commander you’ve joined tagged up in the channel and all the other squad members in there.

FYI, you can also see a whole bunch of Piken guild channels on the TS server, which will give you some idea of the many guilds who you might consider approaching if you want to join a WvW guild. You can also find a list of Piken Guilds on the Piken Square website, headed by [PS], here: https://piken.eu/index.php?/gc/

4) Then, just roll with your commander and begin soaking up the rhythms, geography and language of the WvW environment; it takes a bit of getting used to, for sure, and was bewildering for me to begin with, but after a while things start becoming familiar and even second-nature (even for a noob like me).

After a while of playing like this you will no doubt have experienced a range of blue-tag commanders and met a bunch of friendly, helpful people. Just as a pointer for commanders to look out for, off the top of my head and in no particular order, I have enjoyed playing with blue-tag commanders like: ljd (Evilxzephyr), Crobena, Dogg (Guard Dog) and Dudu among many others, all of whom have been welcoming open-raid commanders.

You might also have encountered some of the smaller, WvW-focussed guilds and you can perhaps begin to approach individual yellow-tag commanders to ask if their raid is open and if you could hang out with them a bit. Some will say no, some might say yes.

You should definitely let them know your level of experience and ability. I’ve come across several commanders (both blue and yellow), and many other players, who have been very patient, friendly and supportive when they knew I’d only been playing WvW for a short time. You can expect, probably, a high amount of personal fail to begin with (certainly if you’re anything like me), and people will tolerate this (even laugh with you about it) and offer plenty of guidance when they understand your inexperience; or so I’ve found.

As for class?

Again, like you, I tried my guardian to begin with, and I completely sucked… I mean, completely. It was disheartening.

For some reason I then decided to take my thief into WvW. You should also understand that I had completely neglected my thief for months, really since the major trait changes (whenever that was, ages ago now). Quite why I made this reckless decision I don’t know, but I did some research and decided to try and get to know my thief again, in the context of WvW.

There are probably many other routes into WvW with other classes that people would recommend, or which you might prefer, but I can tell you that I have had a blast getting to grips with WvW on my thief, and I’ve fallen in love with him all over again.

However, I say that with the following caveat: I know that as a thief in WvW I am not really bringing any great utility to my squad compared with most other classes.

But, the flip side of this is that nobody really expects much of me, which has really taken the pressure off big-time as I learn how WvW works.

People tend to expect a lot from certain other classes, be they melee or ranged, particularly things like guardian, warrior, ele, necro, mesmer, revenant, etc. In fact, I think thief probably sits there almost as an oddball class to choose for zerg-based WvW, some people might say a wasted slot, or a selfish slot or whatever (not that anyone has ever given me any grief for choosing to play as a thief). But, as an inexperienced WvW-er playing thief you’re unlikely to ‘let anybody down’ with failing to deliver a vital utility at a critical moment. So the pressure is largely off.

Also, since you don’t really sit squarely in either the melee or ranged parts of the squad, you’re kind of left free to move how you like. It’s a pretty liberating way to learn the rhythms, ebbs and flows of a zerg fight. Since I’m still a pretty rubbish player, I play my own mini-game which is all about staying alive – you have really great mobility with your shortbow and closing/evading skills, so it’s great fun trying to whizz around the battle, doing your best contribute and trying just to stay alive.

The short version of my own setup is: vanilla thief (I haven’t had HoT for very long); traited at the moment Trickery (2-3-1), Acro (3-2-3), Crit Strikes (1-2-1); pretty much full marauder, shortbow + D/P.

Bearing in mind that I am actually pretty terrible at PvP, I spend the majority of my time on shortbow, skirmishing between the back and front lines, just surfing along the edge of the action.

SB #2 (cluster bomb) you can pretty much spam to blast everyone’s fields and use as a deterrent along your zerg’s flanks, 1-1-1-ing to keep pressure, #4 (poison) helps prevent enemy resses, and #5 obviously gets you out of (and sometimes inadvertently into) trouble. If the enemy start downing, you can switch to D/P and take a more direct role cleaning up; but beware target-fixation… this gets me in trouble time and again – when will I learn?

Like I said, I know I’m not bringing a lot to my team as a thief, but when I get in a rhythm with things I feel that I do contribute enough to justify my spot, and most importantly I have fun.

Other than that, my second job is rallybot – but, in all seriousness, nobody has ever given me a hard time about that since I started playing WvW; I don’t know if I’ve just been very lucky, or whether Piken simply has a good community (I think the latter).

Anyway, hope that’s been of some use to you.

Best,

~TG

Taimi in the context of tyria

in Lore

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

She has the best voice acting of all the companions I think, especially given the woeful dialogue they all have to work with most of the time.

She makes me laugh. It’s her against the world. She makes bad decisions, goes off on adventures, pursues her aspirations, sulks, is a genius. She’s a sympathetic character.

I like her.

My gf thinks she’s adorable and is delighted every time she makes an appearance, and will rush up to her to talk at every available opportunity.

Given that it’s almost impossible for me to take most of the plotting and dialogue particularly seriously (apart from a few exceptions), I find her contribution energetic and entertaining. Go Taimi! And she has robot to drive around in! What’s not to like?

~TG

72 hours ... absurd

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

Yeah, I’ll have to wait it out, I know.
And as I said, I saw the 72 hour notice before purchase.
I just find it odd (and frustrating) that I’m waiting for this part of a single purchase.
Anyway.
At least it’s a bank holiday Monday tomorrow.
Who knows, maybe I can still spend some gems on my holiday, within 3 days of purchase.
Pfft.
~TG

72 hours ... absurd

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

That’s what payment verification is for.
I’ve been using everything else I paid for for the last 36 hours.
The money has left my account.
Transaction complete.
One (partially) satisfied customer.
~TG

72 hours ... absurd

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

So, 36 hours into what is advertised as a potential 72 hour wait I can’t help wondering why the F it might take that long for gems to actually arrive in my wallet.

I mean, it’s not like there’s much of a logistic, supply chain or distribution barrier… unless they are mining and cutting each gem individually.

It’s not an unexpected situation that people might invest in some gems on a Saturday morning with the intention (nay hope) of indulging in some Gem Store retail therapy on the same friggin weekend.

Soon it will be Monday.

Seriously Anet, this is disappointing.

~TG

PS – enjoying HoT so far.

[BUG] Meeting the Asura [Merged]

in Bugs: Game, Forum, Website

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

My girlfriend and I are also stuck with this problem.
We submitted a bug report about a week ago.
We submitted another bug report just now.
Any possibility we could all get some kind of update on a fix for this?
Cheers
~TG

teq defense -- why do people ignore it?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

Turret defence is perhaps my favourite part of the event. I always do it :-)

Whether or not turret defence is going well is usually a really good indicator as to how well the whole event is going to go. If it’s one where we’ve got the defence locked down and under good control, chances are the event is gonna go smooth.

~TG

Magic Find, Gold Find... Any kind of "Find"

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

300x vanishingly small number = vanishingly small number

MF is a bit like collecting for me. So far I’ve collected 101/300. I like it when I get the ding.

And if I ever find a precursor I will of course congratulate myself for collecting all the MF points required to do so :-)

~TG

Please Don't Invalidate My Class (Again)

in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

Lots of people seem to be saying he’s ‘all gong no dinner’ at the moment in terms of dps, so your warrior might survive.

On failing events purposely

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

Yeah, really it’s ‘Relating to People 101’.

It’s the difference between asking and telling.

And invariably that has very different outcomes.

Even if you don’t care about me at all, know that, from a purely selfish standpoint, by far the best way to get the outcome you desire is to ask me to do something. Telling me to do something is most likely to result in the outcome you least desire.

Of course, that makes me less than perfect, because sometimes I’ll avoid doing what you tell me to do even when I understand that it’s probably for the best, simply because it’s irritating to be told instead of asked. That’s just being awkward, of course, but understanding that people are likely to behave that way (it’s not an unusual state of mind) might encourage you to ask politely in future. You might get what you want.

~TG

On failing events purposely

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

Just ignore them (and block them if their attitude stinks), and play the way you wanna play; do what you wanna do; you’ve every right. That’s the MO of this MMO.

If they wanna fail, they can fail next time, maybe… unless another hero should happen along and spoil their little fail-train. Perhaps, if they ask nicely, people might go along with their request. If not, so what.

Have fun, and don’t let others spoil it.

~TG

I see Revenants

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

Ahhh. Roger that.
Thank you.
As you were.

I see Revenants

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

Um, I expect to be nailed to the cross of noob for this, but…

How come I’m seeing Revenants in game? I just did the Fire Ele, and I was standing right next to someone playing a Revenant. How is this possible at the moment? I thought they weren’t available till HoT.

Get to da Choppah! - Shouts we need in HoT

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

“These aren’t the droids you’re looking for”

Breaks lock, causes confusion in nearby enemies and grants stealth to nearby allies; restricts allied movement to walk for the duration of stealth.

Commanders of Tyria

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

First I would like to thank everyone for posting their opinions and awesome replies, awesome suggestions and good critizism. and I understand that there is alot of griefing and abuse in online games which are impossible to get rid of entirely. And yes I shouldn’t take too much emotion from someone yelling in a game being chat warriors, and the reason I made this topic was because I simply ’’cared’’ too much for new players and myself after seeing commanders yell .. uh.. well not going to post here what they were saying to everyone (and me) but you all know. 99% of the community is awesome and thats what matters

Thanks for a good thread, Fyur. Some interesting and constructive comments.

Apologies for my rather abrupt initial response, but sadly I don’t really see how they could make something like your original suggestion work.

Some good points made by others here though and, who knows, maybe they can find a way to improve the current system.

~TG

unhappy with new hero symbol

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

Commanders of Tyria

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

I get what you intend with this suggestion: that Commander status is conferred by peers; that it’s earned, not bought; that it’s a meritocracy. On the face of it, that sounds great.

Unfortunately, as nathan’ mentioned above, it would be a system so open to abuse and griefing that I don’t think anything like it would ever be implemented.

Inventory Deposit & Compact

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

+1

I’d like to see the compact button gone or toggleable.

The new Training and no 'reset' ability

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

ANet considered their options and made a decision with the best of intentions.

Unfortunately it was a poor decision.

Yes, it doesn’t affect you if you’re 80.
Yes, the problem will diminish the more you level.
Yes, levelling is easy in this game.
Ergo, it’s not a big problem.

But it did create a problem for some players, and really it’s more about the principle of the thing.

They spent a non-refundable in-game currency, that had been accrued by the player through time invested, without permission. Added to which, the automated decision-making process turned up some absurd and utterly unwelcome results.

And anyway, the process of deciding how to spend a currency on unlocking things is one of the fun areas of the game. In what universe did it seem like a great idea to deny players the opportunity to enjoy spending their own points in pursuit of desirable stuff?

Bizarre choice by ANet and one I hope they don’t repeat.
At best it was absurdly condescending to players. It might have been a bit easier to forgive if it had been well executed. But it wasn’t.

Shame.

I just don’t like people touching my shinies without my permission.

In game. Out of game. Same thing.

It’s not an unusual state of mind.

~TG

(edited by TwoGhosts.6790)

The future of underwater combat

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

I like underwater combat.

It provides a different challenge and some variety to the game.

The underwater environments are often quite beautiful.

Much like other areas of the game, however, there are some idiosyncrasies / bugs that could use some love, but nothing major.

Underwater combat with my Guardian and my Mesmer is really great fun, even a bit OP really.

I’d be disappointed if they phased out underwater combat entirely.

Ahh, barracudas, how I would miss thee.

~TG

Has the super-downscaling been fixed yet?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

Nothing really to fix imho.
Shame it’s keeping you away.
~TG

Lag in primetime worse and worse.

in Account & Technical Support

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

+1

I made a post myself, but in the wrong place:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Getting-a-bit-fed-up-of/first#post5249744

Someone is definitely reading these posts though, because my post was moved to here from the Discussion Forum… hopefully they can identify and fix the problem.

Cheers
~TG

High latency and skill delay

in Account & Technical Support

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

+1

I made a post myself, but in the wrong place:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Getting-a-bit-fed-up-of/first#post5249744

Someone is definitely reading these posts though, because my post was moved to here from the Discussion Forum… hopefully they can identify and fix the problem.

Cheers
~TG

Getting a bit fed up of...

in Account & Technical Support

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

I am only noticing it on world boss maps and yeah it gets awful. Does anyone know if it gets just as bad with zerg vs zerg fights in WvW?

It is a crappy price to pay to make Condi builds viable, but worth it in the end imo

Yes,it’s way worse in wvw..I’m barely logging cus of it.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/wuv/Lag-in-primetime-worse-and-worse/first#post5239267

I hadn’t seen that thread; well, definitely not just me then.

It must be unbearable for PvPers. I mean, not getting a skill off seven times in a row in a world boss fight is nothing really more than annoying. The same thing happening in a PvP situation must be maddening; almost pointless playing when you can’t reliably fire off your skills; it just become a game of chance as to whether you’re lucky and the skill you intended to use fires.

Nevermind the crazy amount of movement desync and rubberbanding that must occur in a PvP context.

I really hope these issues are acknowledged and that someone at ANet is looking into them; it doesn’t matter how well- (or badly-) balanced things currently are if it’s hard to reliably use your skills at all.

:-/

Getting a bit fed up of...

in Account & Technical Support

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

It is a crappy price to pay to make Condi builds viable, but worth it in the end imo

Maybe, I guess.
I sure would rather have one without the other though.

Getting a bit fed up of...

in Account & Technical Support

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

… desync/lag/disconnects, call it what you will.

I’m finding Golem MkII is a major culprit here (but it’s not alone), with some very strange behaviours. I was dced from Golem MkII again just now. The other night I was on a MkII map where everyone was experiencing wild desync; it was almost funny (when it became clear that it was being experienced by almost everyone) right up until the point when it became a full dc and a reconnect into a bizarrely hung map with the electric aoe permanently all over the platform, really wacko things happening, and an apparently wasted 10 mins, with no chance to continue or complete the fight.

Also (and maybe linked to this, but regardless):

I’m sick of my skills resetting and not completing. I had the same skill fail to trigger seven times on one occasion (during the Karka Queen fight) today; by that I mean I pressed my skill key once, watched it apparently trigger, but then reset after the cast timer without casting, tried it again, and again, and again, and again… net result is, it took me 7-8 times as long to cast. This happens regularly now; it happened with several other skills during that very same fight. Selecting a skill is now a bit like Russian roulette… will it trigger, or will it not? Drum roll, please.

I had none of these issues pre-pratch. Well, I would experience the very occasional dc, but I stress ‘very occasional’. Never the issue with skills regularly failing to trigger, though; that’s completely new to me post-patch.

I know it’s not just me; I’ve read similar comments from other people.

I wonder if they know there is a problem and, if so, I wonder if they’ll be able to remedy it.

Sad face.

~TG

(edited by TwoGhosts.6790)

Hero points *need* a refund option.

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

I just don’t like people touching my shinies without my permission.

In game. Out of game. Same thing.

It’s not an unusual state of mind.

Request: Refund Hero Points for non-80's

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

Yep, though this hasn’t really affected me at all I think this decision and approach by ANet was a very poor one.

It’s affected my gf quite a bit and though she’s not devasted or anything it’s pretty frustrating.

As a principle it’s pretty shoddy; it’s like a total stranger dipping into your personal savings account without permission to spend your hard earned money on things they think you might want.

Not cool.