Guild Wars 2

Personally, I didn’t have any issues with being able to hit skritt with snowballs in the festival the first week or so, although it usually took 2 dolyak runs. I haven’t bothered since then because the dolyaks don’t run as often and then everyone is trying to hit the skritt with the snowballs and the event fails midway, so it takes too long to complete it.

One thing I did notice with the skritt, is that after the last kick, they can still be hit with a snowball. It always gives the “invulnerable” message, but it counts every time I did it. And when you have a lot of players kicking skritt, it was the best time for me to get a hit.

I wouldn’t bother trying outside the arena for it, but I might try to do the snowball packs in the infinirarium to complete it, as that isn’t too far out of the way. Just wish I had seen that suggestion earlier in the season.

In my opinion, 10 skritt hits is too high. I would think 5 is more reasonable, since the snowball slinger at players is only 3 hits.

Brief overall first impressions:
To me, the story was interesting, but oddly paced. The training with Aurene was so long. Going through all the steps of the elixir was so long. And then the story with Braham felt rushed in between long pauses to kill endless mobs. Way too many elite mobs for solo play throughout.

The map is really large and interesting. I enjoyed exploring and mapping it, except for the vista at the hot springs. The mob density and difficulty seems okay. I like the meta, although after my first entrance to the map, the braziers stay lit, so there really isn’t much to it.

I got the free key and used 5 I had saved, for 6 tries. I ended up with 3 slots on 5 and a 4th slot on one that had the new glider in it. Outside of the normal common stuff, I ended up with 3 scraps and 2 of the account unlocks. The account unlocks gave me the mini undead chicken and a soaring skin. So, I found RNG to be on my side today.

Danikat.8537:

Ceridwen.6703:

My charr keeps seeing them. Odd thing is, she’s never been to Bloodstone Fen. She did nick Levvi’s Device off my twig main, however.

This is another part of why I think it’s related to collecting Unbound Magic, which is an account bound currency.

I didn’t see it at all until my main character had been to Bloodstone Fen and I’d trained the mastery track and got my first bits of Unbound Magic. (But before I spent any of it, or got the Bloodstone backpack or mask, which I still don’t have.)

After that I started seeing it on all my characters, even low level ones who haven’t been to Bloodstone Fen.

I’m temped to spend an evening only playing on my free account to see if it appears then. But trying to prove a negative is extremely difficult – if I don’t see it I don’t know if it’s because I’ll never see it on that account or if it’s because I wasn’t in the right place at the right time.

I was on my second account that doesn’t have HoT, and I saw one in Diessa Plateau and then another one in Dredgehaunt. So it doesn’t look like seeing them is related to any of the new LS3 stuff.

Michael Fejervary.8576:

I don’t see it as being tied to the unbound magic as my two kids have been to bloodstone fen and collected plenty of that currency and have yet to see them.

However, they have not yet done any of the current events that were released with the Ley-Line Anomalies that run around the three maps, and one of the two has finished the blood stone crazed beasts as well. Neither have seen them yet.

It could very well be the actual Ley-line Anomaly “sighting” achievement that unlocks that allows this to happen. I have that on my alt account, but I have also done most of the current events except some of the newest ones, so it could be a different one.

Wisdom.6028:

One thing is I don’t like however is lazy players looking for an easy out by only asking for ports and not making any effort at all.

Please don’t assume that because someone needs help with something in the game it makes them lazy. When I first started, it would take me hours to get through a JP even with a friend there helping me find the way. Demongrub pits was awful for me jumping from a lower pillar to a higher pillar. The Weydant’s Revenge dark part of the puzzle literally took me almost two hours. I was so bad at them, I had friends that would watch me fall over and over and laugh about it, which was very unfriendly. Now, I can do almost any JP in under 10 minutes, which for me is a huge deal and something I feel very proud about, but I’ve also been playing for almost 4 years now. I’m happy to be able to go to those JPs that I literally cried over and finding that my fingers work better and I know how to make those jumps.

So yes, if a Mesmer drops a portal to a JP, I will probably take it. Does it mean I’m lazy? That I can’t do the puzzle? That I’ve never done the puzzle? That tomorrow I won’t go back and do it without a Mesmer portal?

This is a lovely game and helping someone in a positive way shouldn’t be disallowed, even if someone thinks that it is just about being lazy.

1. How do you feel overall about reward tracks?
I enjoy reward tracks. It is a great way to earn exclusive items without worrying about RNG.

2. What are your thoughts on the rate at which you gain participation?
I think it is at a good rate.

Although, I think that the way that you gain participation and levels of points per ticks is a little odd. I would think that it would be simpler to just get a percentage of a total amount of points based on participation going to 100%. Like you get a total of 550 pts per tick at 100% and 275 at 50%, etc.

3. How do you feel about the rate you earn reward track points?
I like that EoTM is less than normal WvW, but when comparing normal WvW gain to PvP, it is way too slow.

On average players are about a 50% ratio W/L, then every two games results in over 2 reward tiers being completed. This could take at most 20 minutes and there isn’t a required participation level requirement to max out those rewards, it just starts there. Assuming max match lengths and playing 6 games with a 50/50 W/L, then an average PvP player results in over 3000 pts towards a reward track. If a player has faster matches, which is most likely, and played 8 games per hour, it would be closer to 4000 pts. For WvW, the same amount of time in normal WvW at 100% participation results in 2200 pts.

I wouldn’t mind seeing EoTM work like custom reward tracks and be at about half the normal WvW and then capped as well.

4. Overall, what are your impressions about the types of reward tracks we have?
I like that they have the same PvE ones you get with PvP and that a specific WvW armor track was added. I’m currently working on that one.

I think some of the rewards should be more WvW oriented for the WvW specific tracks.

5. Are there any other reward tracks you would really like to see?
I would love to see more WvW specific ones.
PvP has the Blathazar backpack, so I think there should be a WvW backpack.
I think the ideas for WvW finisher tracks and a Mist Weapon track are both perfect for new tracks.

Overall, I think there should be a track in both pvp and wvw that allows the ability to get ascended crafting mats now that fractals have had them added in to reward chests to balance it between the three game modes more.

Einlanzer.1627:

Not only are they perhaps the funnest collection item in a lot of MMOs, but they also enrich the setting and make it feel more immersive. There’s no reason not to have both waypoints and collectible mounts.

The only possible drawback they could have would be being resource-intensive, but all they really need to do to make that a non-issue make them not usable in combat or in certain areas.

Are there reasons why Anet and GW2 players are opposed to them that I’m missing? Wanting to be different isn’t really a good enough one.

It is all about personal feelings. It can be difficult to put yourself in another person’s perspective on any topic. This one just seems to be more pro-con than a lot of other topics.

For any person wanting mounts, my suggestion is to go to the thread about gem store suggestions and suggest a new toy that would provide the visual representation that you want in the game. The devs seems to like reskinning things that have already been done to provide an easy and cost effective way to introduce something new. Review the three toys that function as mounts and retrofit the best one to your design.

As an example, the broom could be used as the basis for a Charr motorcycle. Not being a dev though, I couldn’t say whether this suggestion would be workable due to the interaction with terrain that the broom avoids by floating. Now, it might be more feasible if it was a motorcycle-turned-hovercraft design.

Just saying you want mounts, asking why others don’t want mounts, etc, really doesn’t provide any input that can be useful to the devs to determine if it is something that can be done.

I may be in some minority group saying this, but I enjoy having the precursor crafting. I really disliked trying to get a pre from the mystic forge and I’ve never been lucky enough to receive one as a drop. Being able to take time and work towards one or all without relying on things I can’t control is a great option to have. Removing that is about as reasonable as the current situation of not getting new legendary weapons.

In my view, I would think a more reasonable approach is brainstorming alternate methods of setting up more realistic methods of creating the journey rather than scrapping the whole idea. When the CDIs were a thing, people seemed to suggest ways of implementing armor and weapons into the actual living world and making it about finding something along the way. Including a new legendary weapon along with the LS would be an interesting way of adding the weapons without having to create events, NPCs, etc, that are all standalone specific to one journey. Incorporate pieces of the journey throughout the setup of the LS and it becomes more manageable for development and testing.

It sounds like, conceptually, a lot of the idea work for some of the missing legendary weapons was done, all that work shouldn’t be lost because the implementation was separated into its own little group that has been disbanded. I do not need a journey to be 100% standalone or some quest line that has nothing to do with anything. I do want to see more legendary weapons added in the future. For example, (I am sure this has been suggested by someone somewhere), I would like a gilded gold/energy weapon that is modeled after the Exalted with gold footsteps dissolving into an energy pattern before it disappears.

Sanguinar.3517:

I want to buy the chaos rifle skin which costs like 200g, but I also want to craft the legendary, and I thought it owuldnt be worth to get the chaos rifle skin a month before the legendaries (if they do) get announced. Even then we don’t know which set of three legendaries will be announced. Should I spend the 200g now and pray the rifle doesn’t come out next round? Does anyone know the rough time intervals between legendaries introduction in the past?

The next quarterly update won’t happen until the end of April, so even if they do announce a new legendary rifle, you won’t be able to start it for three months. I would buy the skin you want now and then work on the tier two mats for the precursor of the rifle. Looking at the tier two mats for The Predator, you can start now and have what you need saved up for when they announce the legendary rifle without worrying about the cost if you were to buy them on the TP.

Gilburt.9146:

Random Wax Orc.7695:

IThis lead to players quitting, and the actually participating players volunteering for the undermanned team for a free win credit.

Volunteering doesn’t give free win credit in my experience.

I was playing my two daily games yesterday and on my second game, I volunteered from the winning side when two left on the losing side. A minute or so later my team is now winning and two people drop off the losing side. I volunteered again. It was unfortunately too close at that point to win, but I didn’t get credit for a win, even though I was on both teams at the points when they were winning. The volunteer only works in “real” pvp to keep the win. It worked this way in the snowball fight during Wintersday as well.

I don’t understand the mindset of bailing on what appears to be a losing team, I have been on many teams that rallied to a win. But I’m not farming the wins to get the envelopes like others either.

I might be in the minority, but I am happy that they introduced these. Of course I would have preferred a bag slot so I could get 20, but I can live with what they have provided. And since I converted gold to gems to buy items on sale in March, I just used some of those to buy these since I don’t have to buy another set of unlimited tools. While I have bought a few duplicates of unlimited use items, the number that I don’t have to buy in the future just went to zero, while also saving me time I used to spend hoping in to WvW to switch out items.

Harper.4173:

Look at the LS – that annoyed a LOT of people. I don’t think anybody remembers the days of LS season 1 fondly – with the rushed releases that had massive bugs that people exploited and content that left after 2 weeks never to return again.

I actually look back at them fondly. It was a great time. I don’t remember a lot of exploits, although I do remember all the bug patches. At the time, it was so annoying, but part of that was because they built up anticipation a week before with details, screenshots, and sometimes videos of what was coming. So when it was released, I jumped in and wanted to do everything. They usually tried to address bugs relatively quickly, so not much of my play time was affected overall.

I don’t think so many people would want it to return if they didn’t remember enjoying it in some way. It is also unlikely that people would want it to stay if it wasn’t fun.

Wanze.8410:

ZudetGambeous.9573:

Wanze.8410:

Bovan.9481:

That only thing that drives me up the wall is not knowing if we need the current Gift of Exploration or not. Right now I’m forcing myself through map completion (for the 6th time mind you) despite hating it just in case we need the gifts for the new legendaries. I’m not having fun, and logging in already feels tedious because of it. But I’m going to need the gifts if they are required for the new legendaries.

I find the entire Gift of Exploration thing flawed anyway. It’s preposterous if I want to make a 3rd or higher legendary for my main character I’m forced to play a different character for hours and hours despite not wanting to play that character, and through content I’ve already experienced. I know legendaries aren’t required but you need to have goals to pursue. But that’s something for a different topic.

My guess would be that you will have to do map completion for the maguuma jungle, in order to craft one of the new legendaries.

I also think most of the other Gifts will be altered, the old t6 mats will be switched out with new mats that only drop in the jungle, so nobody can stock up beforehand. The same will probably go for most of the account bound currencies. Originally, you had to complete some content in every aspect of the game (dungeons, pve, wvw, crafting etc.) in order to craft your legendary and it will probably be the same for the new Leggies.
But since launch, alot new permanent content was added, fractals, southsun cove, SW, DT, Guild Missions, ascended crafting and LS season 2.
All of that content has unique materials (Karka shells, passion flowers, prickly pears, quartz), currencies ( Commandations, geodes, crests, relics), timegates (charged quartz, ascended refining, laurels), rewards and reward structures (Luminous Armor, Collections, LS).

We will also see alot new unique materials, currencies, timegates, rewards and reward structures with HoT, so I think its quite plausible to believe that at least the new Legendaries will probably require alot of those in the forging process.

Some additional info for OP:
I think I read or heard somewhere (either in the blogpost or on a stream) that only 3 new legendary weapons will be released with HoT launch, the others will follow later on.

I dunno, as of the last beta you had to complete content in the old tyria maps in order to unlock the new legendary weapons. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they won’t take new materials, but you will need to unlock a lot of old world mastery points in order to even work on them.

I personally will be staying in the current zones to level up the mastery I need to get the legendaries unlocked so that I don’t have to go back and repeat HoT content later, plus i’ll know what I need.

Yeah, I guess you will need to unlock alot of masteries before being able to even forge your own pre. However, i dont think Anet will put too much materials and currencies into the recipes that are already available and people can stock up on.

I wouldnt be surprised, if they even changed the recipes for the old legendaries, so you have to complete content that was released after launch or with HoT in order to forge them.

I would be surprised if they changed the old recipes. I can imagine the forum outrage that would ensue. Besides that, there would be a lot of work involved in the changes that would be better served in creating the new ones.

Bovan.9481:

That only thing that drives me up the wall is not knowing if we need the current Gift of Exploration or not. Right now I’m forcing myself through map completion (for the 6th time mind you) despite hating it just in case we need the gifts for the new legendaries. I’m not having fun, and logging in already feels tedious because of it. But I’m going to need the gifts if they are required for the new legendaries.

I find the entire Gift of Exploration thing flawed anyway. It’s preposterous if I want to make a 3rd or higher legendary for my main character I’m forced to play a different character for hours and hours despite not wanting to play that character, and through content I’ve already experienced. I know legendaries aren’t required but you need to have goals to pursue. But that’s something for a different topic.

I’m waiting to do map completions for two reasons.
1) the changes to the map bonus rewards. I don’t want to spend all that time running through a map now, only to be going back after hot to get specific rewards.
2) they might not be needed for new legendaries. Because they said in the article that precursors and the legendaries are not only account bound, but account-based one per account and they also said the legendary process will change to be more like the precursor process, it is entirely possible that it won’t be required to have it done more than once. Or only within the maguuma jungle as Wanyze suggested.
I also think that your reasoning regarding the gift of exploration is another reason they might avoid it being a requirement for the new legendaries.

I just received a mail with two heroic chests and another with the letter for the guild influence. I would like to know what to do with the items in the mails. I was in the stress test as well, if that is the cause.

Thank you Anet for letting me participate in the stress test. I really enjoyed the opportunity. It was clear from entering the map that it was just the demo version that was being used, so I played with that in mind, not really looking for bugs or anything, although I did find an odd floating rock in the terrain. I sent that to support as a terrain issue.

Even though this was only a stress test, I haven’t watched any of the demos, so I was happy to get in to it and play around.

I played through the story the first time I entered and thought it was done well, although there were a few places I wasn’t sure the dialogue matched what was shown in the chat box for the npcs. It was fairly fast paced and some of it wasn’t clear until I read the chat too. Not sure if that was intentional since it is a character and not everyone speaks perfectly. Overall, it was a nice glimpse into what may come.

The events seemed well timed for what was available. I don’t think that they were too long or too short. I agree with others that it was enjoyable not having a timed Wyvern fight.

Playing the revenant was enjoyable. I’m looking forward to hearing about other features that will be available to it. And I agree with others that the armor is really well done.

The adventures, gliding, bouncing mushrooms, and new mordrem creatures are great and it is exciting to think of all the things that we don’t even know about yet.

The only downside, in my mind, was the mastery system. Although it seems some found it easy, I thought it was difficult to understand. My first thought was that it was in the hero panel. It took me awhile to figure out how to access it to get the gliding to get to the Wyvern fight. I’m guessing that there will be more information when it is actually released to guide people through accessing them, adding to them, and actually using them, but my first impression was confusion. And I know that the version we had in the test was very basic, so I’m not complaining about how it was done, just wanted to give my feedback on how I experienced it.

Samson.1345:

Yeah you should be able to trade on margin on the TP, that would it a lot more interesting and fun and would give players more flexibility and options. Speaking of options, I would also like to see covered calls implemented.

Here are a few reasons why I think it is not feasible:

1. Items in the game are not fixed in numbers. Items are created and destroyed every second. If the item doesn’t exist, how can it be sold now? how can it be purchased later?

2. There isn’t a guarantee that the money to purchase the item later is in the player’s wallet, especially if the item’s price increases.

3. The TP is a gold sink. By allowing a loan of gold to buy an item or items, it would change it into, potentially, another gold faucet to be regulated.

4. The programming, testing, maintenance, and updates would most likely require specialized resources, the cost of which would benefit a larger number of players if used in other areas.

5. The fact that UI was adjusted to show the listing and selling fees separate and clearly as well as a tooltip for estimated profit shows how much information is required for a simple buying and selling interface.

6. The limited amount of space for the TP UI already makes buying and selling with listing and selling fees a bit cramped.

I don’t think that they would add them outside the hairstyle/makeover kits because some of the latest hairstyles actually blend the accessory color with the hair color. Having this outside one of those kits without making a separate category for the secondary hair color within those kits would probably create a bit of controversy.

Either way, I am really ready for expanded accessory colors!

I thought that I had accidentally deleted mine the first time it happened because I did some bank reorganizing on a separate character and when I went to add new ones to my bank they went into my first available slot. I put in a support ticket to see if they could check on what happened.

Unfortunately, I went to check on my count this morning, and nothing! I am now out 15 potions. I was saving them to complete a track all at once.

I put all the details in the support ticket on which characters I seemed to be on in case it is related.

My thought was that Anet should create an MF recipe for them to convert to tomes of knowledge. Something like 1 scroll + 50 mystic coins + 1 pile of crystalline dust + 1 crystal = 10 tomes of knowledge.

misterman.1530:

“Ooo…I want that pink, fluffy spider mount, he looks so cuuutte!”

I didn’t see the need in having a mount until you suggested this. My asura in her pink gear would like to request this as the next gem store mount please.

As a chef, you might not use it for cooking, but you could use it in new ascended dyes.

As an aside, I will need a sink for dragonite ore soon. So maybe that could be used in ascended dyes and potions too.

laokoko.7403:

What’s the best level to use though? 50 or 55 or it dont’ make much difference.

find it quite annoying to level a character to 50 just to open chest.

I level in EotM. It isn’t always mindless zerging, sometimes it is painful and sometimes it is hilarious. The best part are all the champ bags I have once I hit my level. Those are beautiful.

Wanze.8410:

brittitude.1983:

Wanze.8410:

brittitude.1983:

Until then, crafting and using the balm every day will net approximately 17s per day at current prices. Over the next 320 days, that is about 54g. Anyone paying less than that for the recipe is guaranteeing a profit from using the recipe. Add to that, since most prices of items are at or around vendor price, even opening the bags from the balm will mean that over time the loss will never be greater than around 2c per day or 6.4s plus the cost of the recipe. And that is a guaranteed 2880 chances at the rare items for 6.4s plus the cost of the recipe. And while the rares might not drop, there is value in the luck and ascended mats that drop.

Nice post.
However, at this point i wouldnt craft maize balm, as it is cheaper to buy on the tp.

I was replying to those that think that crafting using the recipe is unprofitable. I didn’t say it was the most profitable method.

Yeah, but at 100 candy corn a pop, you can expect the crafting price go up considerably.

Since the value of the ToT bags is linked directly to the value of candy corn, which is used to create the balm, which is used to create the ToT bags, the circular price effect will be interesting to watch.

My expectations may be different than yours though.

Wanze.8410:

brittitude.1983:

Until then, crafting and using the balm every day will net approximately 17s per day at current prices. Over the next 320 days, that is about 54g. Anyone paying less than that for the recipe is guaranteeing a profit from using the recipe. Add to that, since most prices of items are at or around vendor price, even opening the bags from the balm will mean that over time the loss will never be greater than around 2c per day or 6.4s plus the cost of the recipe. And that is a guaranteed 2880 chances at the rare items for 6.4s plus the cost of the recipe. And while the rares might not drop, there is value in the luck and ascended mats that drop.

Nice post.
However, at this point i wouldnt craft maize balm, as it is cheaper to buy on the tp.

I was replying to those that think that crafting using the recipe is unprofitable. I didn’t say it was the most profitable method.

LanfearShadowflame.3189:

eithinan.9841:

LanfearShadowflame.3189:

Mystic.5934:

another effect is that fine and masterwork item prices are dropping it’s more profitable to salvage for luck.
oh.
what happens if you open coin purses and bag of gear on a level 40 or so alt? I’m guessing you get level-appropriate armor. no rares or exotics, but the mass of cotton and linen might make up for that.

I guess I might have to try that out. I’m in dire need of linen…and I have a lvl 41 alt just sitting around atm.

50 is best.

Makes sense, but the cotton won’t go astray. (Guess who’s hording cloth for her ascended? haha)

Easier to get too much linen and buy the cotton you need. I use a level 55 for linen.

Just remember what happened and how the economy reacted in the six months prior to the addition of ascended armor and then weapons. We are still supposed to get ascended jewel crafting and ascended chef recipes. This could just be a necessary prelude to long term stability.

Currently, the approximate sell value of the tradeable items in the ToT bags is around 3.1s (using wiki percentages and excluding rare drops as they are too inconsistent). Using the current TP buy values, a vial of maize balm costs 24.4s to craft. With a 9 ToT bag return, the approximate value is 24.3s. This is if you open and sell the stuff inside. The bags sell for more now on the TP then the value of what is returned, unless the value of the non-tradeable items is considered.

Since most of the demand for the bags is to open them, the supply will dwindle from the TP. Once players use their stock of balm, the only way to resupply it will be with the recipes and some from the ToT bags, which doesn’t seem to be a high return. Since they can’t be purchased anymore, the only supply of recipes is in speculators pockets or on the TP. And based on the relative supply, my guess is that there aren’t many in speculators pockets since they were about 1.5 gold and the 700 nougats were worth at least 3 gold.

Considering Zulu, Gwynefyrrd, and the Oontz amulets, the demand for the ToT bags should not ease up until a new method of acquiring the poly luminescent refractors is introduced. It is possible that the current three colors will only be acquireable through the necklaces in the ToT bags, even if others are added through other means, like blue and white with winter’s day, though.

It should take 4-6 months for the balm supply to be reduced to the point of the recipe being profitable to use and sell the balm. It may happen faster considering with the LS and winters day, the ToT supply might not be replenished fast enough to meet demand and the balm value will increase (as well as ToT prices).

Until then, crafting and using the balm every day will net approximately 17s per day at current prices. Over the next 320 days, that is about 54g. Anyone paying less than that for the recipe is guaranteeing a profit from using the recipe. Add to that, since most prices of items are at or around vendor price, even opening the bags from the balm will mean that over time the loss will never be greater than around 2c per day or 6.4s plus the cost of the recipe. And that is a guaranteed 2880 chances at the rare items for 6.4s plus the cost of the recipe. And while the rares might not drop, there is value in the luck and ascended mats that drop.

I like the additional 10 min buff. I do not have this happen frequently, but I do notice it usually happens right after a world boss dies.

Also, if you click “later” it turns into an icon over the minimap that can be ignored easier. You have 1 hr before it forcibly removes you from the map, so you don’t actually have to change over, especially if you just did it.

I had the message come up a few times in malchor after a temple event ended, but I just kept farming. It was nice not having people around; however, a few times the icon went away after about ten minutes. My guess is that because it was still an open map people entered and enough were there to no longer require it to close.

I had the same situation as the OP. In a screen shot I took, the vortex spawned high in the crystal wall. I ran around it with the fragile buff hoping to get to it, but it didn’t leave me and attach to the vortex, so I just ran around shooting the boss thinking I could eventually kill it. However, even though it was showing red hits, the health wasn’t moving.

I really don’t feel like repeating this instance to continue the story because it is so long. I’m also not looking forward to any achievements associated with it.

I enjoy the new map. From my perspective, the single waypoint is purposeful in that if there were others, they would always be contested or have you spawn on mobs. Considering the vines in the Silverwastes blocking the paths to the west, my guess is that more areas are coming and those areas will have additional waypoints. Dry Top started with two, but the next two parts only had a single waypoint on each of them.

And no to mounts. I enjoy the waypoint system.

Sirendor.1394:

What arenanet should learn is that something like this (high endgame cosmetics) should not be put behind a paywall. Everyone who played for example 1000 hours of this game should be able to get a legendary, because if not a legendary is worse than a full time job and nobody wants that whilst they’re playing a game.

Make alternative ways to get a precursor: e.g. buy them with dungeon tokens, buy them with badges of glory, buy them with laurels, buy them with karma etc etc etc

If you disagree… well too bad for you.

If you have played for 1000 hours and made 1.5 gold per hour you would have 1,500 gold. Currently, all precursors can be purchased for less than 1,500 gold at sell offers.

And I would argue that gold is a token since all tokens are just another form of currency.

Congratulations on your precursor.

Just a small correction: only 4 bags are being used in the calculation of the new character + 3 bag expansions rather than 7 bags. The numbers are only slightly off, so overall it doesn’t change much in terms of comparison values.

Cuddy.6247:

That’s a recent innovation off of the consistency of other’s mispronunciations of often. The stem of the word often is “oft” with a suffix attached.

There are several examples in the English language where the stem ended with t and adding -en or -le to the end silenced it. While some have been lost with time, here are just a few examples:

list -> listen
fast [as in ‘held fast/secure’] -> fasten
haste -> hasten
moist > moisten
chaste -> chasten
nest -> nestle
wrest -> wrestle

Along with: trestle, gristle, thistle, glisten, castle, mistletoe and whistle.

Many of these other words aren’t mispronounced and the dictionary doesn’t see a need to change a grammatical rule outside of one kitten word.

With those particular words, did you consider it is the “st” part of the word that when adding a suffix silences the “t”?

If not consider these words:

Rotten
Eaten
Frighten
Straighten
Shorten
Forgotten

I may be biased since I pronounce the t in “often”.

Edit:
Sorry for not addressing the thread topic also.

I enjoy playing gw2. I have been playing since early start and have yet to find myself without something to do in the game. I haven’t taken time off and it isn’t because I feel like I have to log in everyday. I really enjoy the game and it is a nice release from the real world.

Rather than change the current system, I would like to see a new tab on each of the vendors where you can buy the skin to unlock at 1/3 the price of the actual armor or weapon piece. I already have exotic armor or ascended armor sets for my characters and while I realize I can forge the dungeon items to get a chance at a precursor or exotic with an expensive rune/sigil, I really just want the skin and don’t care about that part.

This would make it so that there wasn’t any unnecessary or unintended economical changes with increased tokens.

It would increase the rate at which the collection is earned, while still being a long term goal. At 1/3 the rate it would require about 57 runs for 8 dungeons. This would still take about 7-8 months running two paths per day, starting at zero.

For those that have forged the skins prior to the wardrobe, it would make it simpler and less frustrating to go through the unlock process again.

I also think that if the goal became more achievable, more players would try for it. If the player awareness and participation in dungeons were increased, it might make it an area where resources could be spent justifiably because it would impact a larger group.

Also, this wouldn’t preclude other changes to dungeons or tokens, just specifically address wardrobe skins.

John Smith.4610:

Konig Des Todes.2086:

John, can you say whether or not you’ll do this again for any other undiscovered Mystic Forge recipes?

I can’t say for sure, this wasn’t really planned
We try to pay a lot of attention to our community here and elsewhere, so if you’d like to see more show your support for it. We’re always reading.

I think it worked out well for something that was unplanned. I would like to see more like this done in the future. It would be especially interesting for any of those recipes that have been in game since day 1 that haven’t been discovered.

I know people like to see things in game, but this is also a good way to interact with the community outside the game in a fun way. And, if it sparks ideas or ways to create scavenger hunts in-game or other type systems, then it could be a useful developer tool too.

The story seemed to be received well, so there is opportunity for the story-team to get new ideas (or try new modes) outside the game before trying changes in-game that may not work the way they intended.

This was fun! Good job everyone.

And a special thanks to John for creating this thread. I would love to participate in more of these in the future.

Kailynn.5817:

Cessellia in SE Bloodtide at the heart is a Sylvari scientist developing potions for curing the animals. You have to mix the potions precisely to get certain effects. Also the Great Jungle Wurm event spawns a head nearby and they shriek.

I was thinking potions when I read “more precise, more…scientific.”. Reminds me of chemistry class. Originally, thought it meant Potion of Azantil, but now that it is with a Sylvari, it probably isn’t correct.

Also thought this was interesting:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Lamarck

Considering he was noted for applying ideas of evolution, maybe the item is supposed to create a recipe for something like the tempered spinal blades back piece.
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Tempered_Spinal_Blades

My current running summary:

Item #1
- sinister, ghostly
- fit into a cylindrical case
- something you would not want to get wet
- “lies” seems to imply something that can be communicated, not necessarily a thing
- something that can be purchased, expensive
? is haggle important?

Item #2
- an everyday item
- trivial by itself, but many had power
- area he is stealing from has people with a heritage they might feel sensitive about
- lots of merchants and guards around
- water nearby you can get to from a long alleyway
- reflective
- favorite of Zommoros

Item #3
- rocky area with geysers
- combat to get item
- creature is “alien, cur”, makes rumbling noise, charges, shelled

? uses a blade to get the item?
? bloodshed important?
? clinking noises related to third item or one of the first two?
? possibly the Brand & not Southsun?

Notes:
Superior Sigil of the Night doesn’t combine with karka shells (TheBlackLeech)
Weaponsmith blades do not work with eldritch scroll/mystic coins/vials of powerful blood (Serophous)
Junk items do not work in MF

“Instead he saw the smug face of Zomorros.
He had almost forgotten his hate for the being. It was exactly what he needed – a reminder of why he was here. "

I am more curious what we are making now than what it requires.

I thought the clinking might be from all the stolen mystic coins.

My guess for item 3

Also, it sounds like the first item needs to fit in a "sealed, cylindrical case. "

brittitude.1983:

These are my current guesses:

Show Spoiler

hide spoiler

1. Eldritch scroll
– eldritch means eerie or weird
– rolled up it would fit nicely into a cylindrical canister
– a scroll would not be something you would want to get wet
– “lies” seems to imply something that can be communicated, not necessarily a thing
2. Mystic coins
– can’t be bought from a merchant, i.e. need to steal
– Elonian’s have a heritage they might feel sensitive about
– coins seem to be a common type item
– lots of merchants and guards around Myani
– water nearby
– reflective, many are more powerful than one, favorite of Zommoros
– used with Eldritch scroll in recipes and vice versa

I’m (still) patiently waiting for more of the story to see what three and four might be.

Update to guess.

These are my current guesses:

I’m patiently waiting for more of the story to see what three and four might be.

pdavis.8031:

As far as the item in question being sold by a merchant, then why would it need to be stolen?

He spent all his money on the first item.

It looks like LA might be getting flooded not repaired.

rhapsody.3615:

John Smith.4610:

double-checking the sealed, cylindrical case he carried.

The only item I’m aware of that is cylindrical in shape is a dowel. We also had mention of this “thread” existing. My guess so far: Spool of silk weaving thread or Gossamer thread plus Deldrimor Steel Plated Dowel or Orichalcum Plated Dowel. These items could easily turn into a necklace or earrings.

I don’t believe that the “Edit 2” you are referring to is actually a hint. I think the first “hint” was very explicit in that the item has nothing to do with minis. The real hints are the clues in the story.

Of course, I could be wrong and I’m sure I will be corrected if it is a hint.

Why not just make everything available through laurels? Laurels already exist as a token, it is related to length of play, but isn’t detrimental to casual versus hardcore, they can’t really be farmed, and purchases can be account-bound on acquire.

Adding new methods of obtaining laurels wouldn’t be necessary as the “cost” of the item would be related to the current valuation and method of obtaining them.

Examples:
Precursor: 400 laurels
Named Exotics: 75 laurels
Fractal weapon skin: 50 laurels