Guild Wars 2

Sylv,

Thank you for being so vulnerable and open about your personal life. Stories like yours are not only inspirational to others but are especially helpful to fellow cancer patients like me. The road is long and tough, and while things in your life have to take a back seat, I encourage you to keep fighting and stay strong.

I’ve learned a lot through this trial, and it’s amazing how much this kind of difficulty puts life into perspective. Regardless of what life throws at you, I’ve found it’s best to look at it as an opportunity to develop character and to not become bitter. I realize that is easier said than done, but it has truly made a difference in my outlook on life, and while it doesn’t fix the problem, it equips you to handle it. If you haven’t already, seriously consider finding a support group, friends, religious institution, etc to walk with you through this. It has been especially helpful to me and I hope it is beneficial to you also.

You are in my thoughts and prayers and I wish you the best as you go through this!

Toroxus.9256:

I think a lot of people need to play other MMOs to really appreciate how Anet did the Ascended and Exotic gear systems.
Best in slot gear? In any other MMO system, it would come from a level 50 Fractal and drop at random from the end boss, and usually not drop at all. Then, you’d have to roll over it with your other party members. And then, you’d go back and do it all over again for the rest of your equipment. Meanwhile, if you didn’t get that Ascended Armor, the next best things, exotics, would have such terrible stats that you wouldn’t be able to play most of the game. Without grinding for those Ascended, your stats would be so poor in WvW, PvP, and you wouldn’t even be able to set foot in Orr without a fully-ascended party.

Exactly this, and if I may elaborate…

ANet even told us the update was coming months in advance, giving us the opportunity to prepare for it. In other MMOs the update would be abruptly implemented and we would go many months hoping to get a lucky drop or amass the wealth required to purchase the gear from another lucky player. The only waiting I’m experiencing is from time-gated crafting components, and that’s easy waiting because armor will not fail during the crafting process.

Sure, there are areas in which people could complain. Not everyone likes the armor’s visuals, for example, and the difference in time-gating for light, medium and heavy sets is a bit odd, but overall this is a pretty accessible update that is not at all necessary for successful game play.

Shadow of Grenth:
50 Icy Runestones
10 Glacial Lodestones
15 Bolts of Damask
1 Vision Crystal

Light of Dwayna:
Same as Grenth Recipe but replace Glacial Lodestones with Charged ones.

Hope this helps!