Guild Wars 2

Just a bit of feedback from my experiences thus far in Heart of Thorns.

I’m finding that the sheer density of the mobs in the new maps combined with their extreme lethality (I used to engage mobs for kicks in the core game, now every single encounter even with a basic mob could mean my death) and fast respawn timers makes exploration far less enjoyable.

I love the new maps; I love their vertical nature, the fact that you have to really think about how to get around, and using the glider to figure out funky ways of getting about. Unfortunately I feel constantly pressured to keep moving, don’t stop, don’t even try to look around and get my bearings because there are deadly enemies everywhere, and if there aren’t it probably means they will be respawning in about six seconds.

This has made exploration far less enjoyable in the new maps. I don’t like to be pressured, I don’t like to be rushed, I like to take my time and poke into all the nooks and crannies, but it has become too frustrating to do that in Maguuma. Now I just find a commander tag and follow the zerg like everyone else, which gets real old real quick. It’s not fun. Overall I like the expansion, but this is just one of many disappointing things that makes it a worse experience than the core game was at launch.

If they legitimately can’t make it work, then the skill needs to be re-designed. Maybe just reverse it so the mesmer leaps at the enemy (ala iSwordsman) and leaves a clone behind, leaving the short window to activate the teleport swap.

Some people do use both but it means you’re ‘doubling up’ on functionality rather than diversifying. Not necessarily a bad thing depending on what you’re trying to accomplish with a build but it also means you’re giving up something else that could be of more use.

Nope.

’Nades have better range, better potential impact damage, hit more targets per cast, and have amazing support passives (Shrapnel, Short Fuse, Steel-Packed Powder, Grenadier). All of this for just 30 points in Explosives and that is per grenade so you get three procs for every cast. Since most of the passives work with bombs as well, you can run both kits and have oodles of utility and damage.

FT just can’t compete with that, especially considering one of its stronger supporting traits (Deadly Mixture) requires 20 points in Alchemy and so comes at a significant opportunity cost. Speaking of opportunity costs, you give up useful skills like Hair Trigger or Rifled Barrels in order to maximize your potential FT damage output, something ‘nade or bomb users don’t worry about because they don’t depend heavily on Firearms traits for their main damage source.

Agree with the OP, a more flexible wardrobe system like Rift or LotRO has would be nice. I’d even say that WoW’s transmogrification system is better than GW2s because the model-swapping process doesn’t destroy the gear.

If monetization is an issue, either require Transmutation Stones to activate the swap or have a limited wardrobe size (say enough to hold one full set of gear) and sell expansions via the gem store. This will have the added benefit of making gem store-bought armor skins actually worth the price since they’ll be re-usable.

I’m going to go out on a limb and assume (dangerous, I know) that I’m not the only person who would really like to be able to change the appearance of my characters gear (beyond just coloring it differently) without destroying the previous appearance. That way we can swap between multiple outfits without having to craft/acquire multiple sets of the same exotic gear that have been transmuted to look differently.

To that end, how about a Wardrobe tab in the Hero UI? Something similar to Rift or LotRO where you can throw the gear you want in their respective slots in the Wardrobe page and when activated those models overwrite the models of what you are wearing. You can even monetize it by selling additional wardrobe expansions in the gem store.

I’ve wanted this hat since the beta weekend events. ANet, if you are reading this, please implement the model; it should be the hat sold by the karma vendors at Orr/Fireheart Rise but it isn’t.

There is a tricorn hat model, you can see it on a lot of Lionguard NPCs and you can preview it in the PvP locker (I think it’s called PvP Conquest Helm or something like that), but to my knowledge nobody has ever found a way to acquire it for PvE.

First I wanted to compliment you all on making an absolutely wonderful and visually magnificent game. That said, I think you really need to chill out the timer on mob respawns when there’s not many people about in an area, especially where mob density is high.

I was in the Plains of Ashford today, marveling at the architecture of the Ascalonian ruins and reading the various bits of lore you have lovingly crafted and placed into the area… or at least I would have been if I didn’t have to constantly kill re-spawning mobs ever 30 seconds or so. I understand jacking up the respawn rate when an Event is going on or if the area is flooded with people, but otherwise it denies you the opportunity to take in the sights and actively detracts from the enjoyment of discovery and exploration. It also has the tendency of getting you killed when you have multiple mobs re-spawning on top of you as you are fighting other mobs; a phenomenon that is not exclusive to Orr.

Thanks!