Guild Wars 2

Thanks for the input guys. I’ll discuss this and see if we can make any headway. I’ll be sure to report back too

I’m having serious problems completing AC Exp since the patch. I searched the forums here, but didn’t really find anything relating.

First, before the patch, I ran AC just about every day. Didn’t have too much issue really. After learning the fights and what was required, it was truly pretty easy. I farmed out all the tears needed for a full exotic set.

After the patch, though, I’m having serious problems, whether in PuGs or guild runs, with a couple of specific areas. First is p1 with the graveling burrows. We can never seem to get past this area. Now, the only way I’ve ever seen it run is to have one tanking at the NPC while the other 4 are taking down the burrows as fast as possible. This doesn’t seem to work anymore though, the tank ALWAYS seems to die where before the patch, it was rare that that happened. I didn’t see any changes to this event in the patch notes, did something change? Is anyone else having issues specifically with this spot?

The second spot is in p2 with the ghosts in the final room. They seem SO much tougher than before! They hit like trucks! Normally, we focus down in this order: Necro > Ele > Monk > Ranger > Warrior. I’m built as a toughness/trap Ranger, so I’ve got a little bit of survivability, but I still melt to these guys way faster than I did before the patch.

Anyone else having issues at these spots? These are the only two spots I can think of at the moment that I’ve been having serious problems with. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: Also of note, I’ve completed all the other dungeons without hardly any issues at all. They seem to pale in difficulty comparison to AC.

Chopps.5047:

Is there any way to find out if ANET has plans to add weapons before an expansion? Or is that the kind of thing that is expansion only?

It was asked in a Live Devblog (iirc) whether Elementalists would ever get to use GS. I can’t remember what the actual response was, but it was an “in-general about weapons” kind of reponse. I seem to remember thinking, “I doubt it.”

I like the idea of the Beastmaster-type weapon, but not that execution really. Sounds more like a dancing monkey :/ I mean, I suppose you could give them a, irish tin whistle, but…

I don’t know. I don’t have any solid ideas on a weapon specifically for that. I actually really like how they designed the short command whistles you do when you tell your pet to do something.

I was hoping I could ask someone who’s experienced a few basic questions. See, me and a few friends are interested in getting into tPvP. We know we’re not ready for it yet, that we have a lot to learn before doing anything serious. Nonetheless, we decided to join a free tournament just to see how things would play out.

THAT was a bad idea. We got so roflstomped, my butt still hurts. What we expected going in was other groups like us, people who were experimenting and wanting to start in with the basics. After all, it’s free, right? The more serious teams would be doing paids, right? Obviously, we were wrong when we came up against highly-experienced and coordinated teams.

So the question is, where can we start? I mean, we can’t really do this in the randoms because we consistently get split up, so there’s no way for us to really try and coordinate and build team tactics. Are there any specific websites anyone would recommend we visit to look at strategies/comps/etc? I tried watching some of the streams on twitch.tv, but being a noob, I’m not seeing so much of the strategy and comp as much as the “driver” playing the game.

Any help?

I have considered using SoR, but I was concerned that since I’ve only got 10 in BM that it would end up hurting my pet too much. I’ll experiment with it and see how I like it. And I’ll definitely try the Torch out, thanks for the input.

So I decided to start running some sPvP on my Ranger. I’ve been running it on and off for a few days now, and wanted to share my experiences and ask for some advice/feedback to see how I’m holding up thus far and what I can improve.

Notes — I’ve had the game for a little less than a month, so I’m certain there’s still much to learn. All of my sPvP matches thus far have been in pugs, but I have a few IRL friends who are interested in setting up a tourney team as we all learn the game more.

I’m currently running a traps build, 0/30/30/0/10, using Runes of Undead for condition dmg + toughness. Pets are Wolf for fear and… one of the cats, can’t remember which one, does a pounce with bleed. Utilities are Spike Trap, mainly for cripple, but helps with bleeds, Fire Trap for on-demand damage (pretty much my only source), and Lightning Reflexes for stun-breaking and general evasion. Weapons are Shortbow and either Sword+Warhorn or Greatsword, depending on current flavor.

Here’s my experience so far when coming up against certain classes (win percentage me/them)—

Thieves: They eat me for breakfast, in general. Especially if they get off an immobilize, I stand there like a putz. (almost 0/100)

Mesmer: I’m slowly learning to fight them, but they can certainly kitten my world up. If I mark the target, though, I find that it’s much easier to deal with them. (50/50)

Warriors: I eat them for breakfast. (almost 100/0)

Guardians: I’ve only run into one or two of these guys in the pug sPvPs thus far, so I can’t say much about them to be honest.

Elementalists: I had initial trouble with these D/D bunker builds, but after a bit of training with a guildie, I’ve learned what to watch for and they are actually easily counterable with steady shortbow damage and timed poison/interrupts. Keep your distance, essentially. (70/30)

Engineers: I’m not familiar with the Engineer profession at all, as I haven’t rolled one. I guess it depends on their build, but some of these guys can drop my healthbar to half in literally less than two seconds. Some can be very, very tough, while others are cake. (50/50)

Necromancers: Tough cookies to crack, as both of us are generally condition build with our own survival tricks. Pretty much the same as bunker Eles, consistent damage and timed interrupts/poisons. Still harder for me to beat than Eles though, probably because I have less experience with them in general. These fights generally last a long while. (30/70)

Rangers: I did come up against a Spirit Ranger who whooped. My. kitten But in general, it’s (50/50)

The General Feel: I’m finding that I obviously have a lack of condition removal with the build, other than Empathic Bond, which can seriously hinder me. Another thing is Immobilize. It hurts quite a bit, having to stand there and take whatever beating comes at me. Essentially, if I can kite the class, I can do very well. If I’m unable to kite due to immobilize or consistent chill/cripple, I have a harder time. Thieves, however, again, eat me for breakfast, and I haven’t found the right way to counter them yet using this build.

So I ask for your advice on how I can improve my gameplay. How do you deal with my specific weaknesses I listed above (including versus those specific professions?) Should I adjust the build/gear? What is your general approach when entering a random sPvP (as in run with the pack, focus on point defense, etc?)

Thanks in advance!

Exactly as the title says. My roommate in the same house as me plays with me, and I have sent him whispers, which he does not receive. I managed to take screenshots on his PC of it, but failed at the time to take a screenshot on mine at the same time, so the evidence isn’t there as of yet, but I assure you this has happened multiple times. If you need screenshots, or any other data, I’d be happy to provide.

I support the titles, but not the skills. The whole point of Guild Wars is that when you reach max level and get your exotic gear (which isn’t too difficult), all the stats are the same. All the skills are the same. All the race elite skills are actually less powerful than the profession skills. It’s about putting players as close to the same level as possible, so that in the end it comes down to skill, not extra abilities gained from doing well.

Titles is obviously a very cool idea, and perhaps a unique commander tag and armor appearance would be cool. But only things that affect appearance, nothing that actually affects skills and the outcome of battles.

In order to turn this post into some form of criticism, your next post should say something along the lines of, “For PvE, there should be more end-game content and rewards for hardcore players.” This doesn’t have anything to do with “skill.”

At this rate, though, I hate to break it to you — Guild Wars 1 and Guild Wars 2 are PvP-centric games. Yes, there IS PvE, and it’s actually pretty good compared to most yawn-through MMOs. But the focus is obviously on PvP — both WvW and sPvP/tPvP. Considering the dev’s earnest to turn this into an e-sport should be an indication of the direction they wish to take the game.

When I lay down a combo field that others can take advantage of, it’s great! I’m glad that they do! But I find that the “hearts” that pop up after they take advantage of that field can get in the way. Especially when most of them are melee in dungeons. Playing as a ranger, if my 4 party members are meleeing, and I also have a melee pet, that puts a lot of hearts right on top of them, and can prevent me from seeing the animations I need to see on the boss to dodge at the right times. Reducing the size of the hearts would be fantastic, so I can see what’s happening. Honestly, an option to reduce the size of the hearts, the text that appears next to it, or to entirely remove said heart/text/both would be fantastic.

I hit 80 on my ranger about 2 weeks ago, so by no means am I master at the class. I can say, however, that I can hold my own pretty well. I’ve been playing games for a long time, and I have played either minion master/hunter (read: pets) type classes in other games pretty consistently.

I WANT to be a jack of all trades. I ENJOY having utility and the ability to be able to do just about everything. I don’t argue about who is at the top of the DPS charts, who’s not pulling their weight, etc etc. I want to see the team succeed, and as a ranger I feel I can help with this, no matter the situation.

However, the point of pets does come up (as usual). My pets are… very flimsy. I want to be able to send them into the situation and have them do damage or tank for me. It’s the point of having a pet, right? Granted, pets shouldn’t be a new Guardian or Thief, but I think ANet forgets that pets don’t dodge. Pets don’t use self-preservation abilities (most of them, anyway). I HAVE seen pets go down in a single blow, or even porcine pets go down in two hits.

I know ANet wants us to control our pets, as a truly skilled ranger will control his pet to provide the maximum benefit. And I don’t want a pet like WoW’s pet, which in dungeons felt much like… well, nothing. After he goes in, well, he’s in there doing his attack while I’m in the back focusing on my gun shots. Pets SHOULDN’T be mindless like that. But pets need a better way to survive.

With the current AI, when I’m doing PvE dungeons, when I tell my pet to come back to me to try and avoid an AoE attack, the pet simply either doesn’t come back to me until it’s done doing… whatever it is it’s doing, or there’s not enough time to avoid the AoE. Well, how do the players avoid the AoE? By DODGING. Maybe eat it with Aegis or Protection. But pets (in general) can’t survive through it. Ranged pets are also at a disadvantage with this, but I’ll admit not as bad, because the ranged AoEs in dungeons are generally weaker than the melee AoEs.

I don’t really want a class overhaul at all. I love my Ranger the way he is. The way he was INTENDED. I have utility, I have fields, I have mobility. All I’d like to see is a bit of tweaking to the pet AI. Perhaps when I tell my pet to return, they get a speed buff for one second (maybe even half a second), maybe it makes them invulnerable for that amount of time, just as a player dodging, to increase the survivability of the pet. Also, when telling my pet to return to me, it should halt any action they are taking, as the return action always takes precedence. This means that we still have to be cognizant of our pets and their actions, while adding a lot of potential survivability to the pets in the hands of a skilled Ranger.

That’s what you wanted ANet, isn’t it?

Valandil Dragonhart.2371:

coglin.1496:

Personally I dislike all of this demand and expectation for information on every thing they add to the game. What ever happened to the good ole days in MMOs when the community played the game to learn for themselves?

I remember that, but back then they didn’t have any company employees/representatives, etc. leading us on with extremely vague info, and as it turns out… mis-info. Things are supposed to start at a certain time, and at a certain place(s). I can understand the community getting downright filthy with Anet for NOT COMMUNICATING WITH US.

If you let out a teaser of info, be sure that the info is correct and that the event happens on time, and not the Anet philosophy of “when it’s ready”. That stance doesn’t wash well with MMO’ers.

Anet if you’re going to tell us bits and pieces, make sure they have enough detail to get us started and nothing that can be construed as confusing. You’ll have a lot happier customer base if you tell us either a lot about something (we want detail), or even nothing about it at all. But telling us a little about a little in your standard PR doublespeak is most annoying.

You guys really need to have a lot more open communication with your players.

Umm… Apparently you’ve never heard of a company named Blizzard… who currently has the largest subscription count of any p2p MMO, ever… whose mantra has always been, “We’ll release it WHEN IT’S READY.” And then still proceed to release things with bugs. Because it happens.

There’s another company that follows the doctrine of releasing things whether it’s ready or not. It’s called CCP. Try googling “EVE Online Walking in stations,” and see the debacle that happened.

Granted, communication could be better concerning other things, but as far as future content goes, there’s a reason they share SOME information, over time, but NOT everything.

A lot of people on this thread are assuming that this MMO is programmed just like any other MMO.

News Flash: It’s not.

The fact that this game does not have a subscription model forces the devs to program the entire game in a radically different light. After the box is sold, they may never see another dime out of that particular player. This changes much about how they develop server technology to handle the playerbase.

Another note on internal testing:

You develop a game for the 360. You see a bug/a bug is reported, and you hash out the fix. The update is pushed within 48 hours of release, and problem is solved. Because you CAN. You work on ONE platform, both hardware and software — Xbox.

You develop a game for PC. You intentionally try to make the game consume as few resources as possible to reach the widest PC audience as possible. This means thousands upon thousands of combinations of hardware and software. You see a bug/a bug is reported. You now have to be able to reproduce said bug that may only show up on a few different setups of those thousands of possibilities. Even if you had over a thousand different computers to test this on, you’ve only reached a fraction of the possibilities of setups out there. You have to find a way to solve this problem without having the hard, concrete evidence that you require to be 100% sure.

I don’t blame ANet for not releasing patch notes up front, or testing without end up to patch release. There are some bugs I do think should have been solved a long time ago, but that’s a different matter all together.

A lot of events have been broken in this manner, actually. I just broke AC p2 yesterday when the NPC died from Gravelings entering the final chamber with the 3 traps she has to repair. After rezzing her, she just stood there. I can’t think of any others off the top of my head, but I know I’ve seen more than one event break when an NPC dies at the wrong time.

Character Story Mission: Further into Orr

It’s one of the tents held up by sticks that seems to be scripted to fall down? It falls down every time I’ve played it anyway (twice). When it falls down, a group of enemies/allies is usually on top of it, and they seem to float after that… Once I was also floating there, and stayed like that until I moved, then I fell back down to ground level.

Not sure if this is supposed to go in this thread or not, but it seemed like the best place.

I was thinking about making the Necromancer my second “main”. This thread has changed that idea.

Welcome to WvW, haha.

Really though, it’s pretty common for this to happen. Even super-high-end computer setups will drop in performance in WvW. I can share, however, that the two biggest culprits are shadows and reflections. Turn these all the way to off upon entering WvW, and hopefully you’ll see an increase in performance.

I’m assuming that these issues happen primarily during zerg battles? You can try to turn Animations, Shaders, and Blurr effects down/off to see if this helps. Essentially it gives your computer a little less to think about. But when it’s having to think about these things for 50 different players at a time, it adds up quick.

I’ve also noticed that at least on ATI cards, distance is usually a problem (the further you can see across the field, the lower your FPS will generally be). You can try lowering your LOD as well, but I doubt this is where your issue is coming from.

In case you didn’t know, you can find all of these options in The Options menu, Graphics tab

Edit: What resolution are you running in? It might help to decrease the resolution as well (as much as it hurts to do)

You resurrected this thread? I thought, “Awe, sweet! Ranger updates!” And then was all like, “Aww….”

Pro. Love it. So few take combo fields into consideration in WvW. Good to see someone using it to it’s fullest extent.

This was the ticker for a few minutes. I think we actually took points at 520.

There is already very good incentive to foot-travel across an entire map – map completion, to get very worthwhile rewards. I don’t see a problem here. I already travel nearly an entire map, and have my screenshot folder already bursting with pictures of cool things I stumble upon (much less vistas). I can see an argument made that higher level players are less inclined to travel to distant locations due to coin, but just like everything else in life, you pay for convenience. You can either warp directly, or do HotM/LA to cheapen the expenditures at the cost of a few loading screens.

I don’t really see an issue here, personally.

Unless I’ve missed it in the options somewhere (which I searched for), I don’t see a way to make keybinds different per character. While some of my keybinds I don’t mind being universal, such as my self-heal, I’d like others to be character specific. The frequency with which I use some of my utility skills makes me want to keybind them to certain keys (such as A or D), while the utilities I use less frequently to other keys. Or perhaps I’d like to keybind my escape mechanic to a specific key that may be a different number slot per character. Same with profession skills. I think you see where I’m going with this.

So, the suggestion is simple – allow the changing of keybindings to be character-specific. I wouldn’t mind this being stored locally. However, if you have it in your ability to do so, making this stored server-side would be a bonus.