Guild Wars 2

I don’t think they should do this kind of three-hour one-time event again.

I’d consider Halloween 2012, as a whole, also a one-time event, and I loved that. I didn’t do some things that did give good loot (like the jumping puzzle), but it was a one-time event that gave everyone a chance to try their luck and get corresponding rewards. I mean, I missed out on an exotic from completing the puzzle, but I’m cool with that, because I got the chance to try and I decided not to after it got too frustrating for me.

I think that kind of one-time event is awesome and I’d love to see it again. Or if one-time meant your character could only do it once, like doing it in an instance and claiming the reward just once – but anyone could access that content at a time convenient to them. Spread it out over a few days so everyone can access it.

But the way this particular one-time event was handled… I just can’t see it being a good decision since people were upset by it the moment the schedules were announced, and the loot on top of that was just insult to injury.

Electro.4173

Its not favoritism, its a simple issue of catering to a majority, the largest player count they can get at any one time. Its just that said timing favors a certain group of players who make up that majority.

It also means the same people get shafted, over and over and over again – which doesn’t particularly engender goodwill towards a company. Yes, one-time events are going to be catered to the time period in which most people can make it, but that doesn’t address the issue that is having a one-time event in the first place.

Some people are angry that they didn’t get precursors from the chest, yes, but a good many are unhappy that they couldn’t get the chest or participate in the event at all.

PopeUrban.2578

The fact that everything was scheduled so meticulously and people that were unable to attend are often just seething at their inability to do so baffles me.

Well, yes. They did announce the kick-off time, and everything, to give them credit. I knew from the moment the announcement was made that I wasn’t going to be able to make the finale event thanks to my timezone, and it was pretty disappointing for me.

I think a lot of people are seething because not only was it a one-time event that wasn’t accessible to a great number of people, it was a one-time event that awarded supremely good loot in comparison to what they would normally get. I’m hearing tales of people pulling two precursors from the chest, and people generally getting three exotic pieces from the chest – which is far better loot than most dungeon chests will ever offer you.

Obviously the most harped upon will be the precursors, but even without that, it’s still a pretty big blow to people who couldn’t make it, many of whom were already upset about not getting to attend it in the first place.

And that’s not including people who did manage to make the event but were d/ced out, or people who made the effort to get up early for the event but had to leave due to IRL commitments… in other words, people who made the effort to be part of the event, who contributed to others being able to get the loot, but were themselves unable to get the loot.

PopeUrban.2578

People will miss events. I will miss events. You will miss events. I wasn’t able to do Miyani’s quest chain in this one. I wish I was but I had other things to be doing. That’s no reason for me to come to the forums and demand it be extended, repeated, or made accessible in a way that makes me, and my personal schedule compatible with it.

I agree that making one-time events repeat for 24h would not expunge all the complaining because nothing ever does.

But when you’re talking about missing events: it’s one thing to opt to miss an event that you could make, and another to be completely unable to attend a once-off event because of your timezone. 12 noon PST is pretty much a horrible timing if you’re in Asia or Oceania.

Nobody should expect to be able to attend all events, because other things crop up and take precedence – but nobody should be expecting to automatically miss out on all the events due to timezone, either. (Which is what will happen if one-time events keep getting released at 12 noon PST Sunday.)

1) I understand that due to present limitations, the event could only be once-off, and I don’t expect to make all the events.

However: Noon PST may be the ‘highest concurrent time’ for you, and I would not have complained if it had been something like the Mad King cutscene in Halloween – but to be shafted out of an entire chain with its rewards leaves a bad taste in my mouth – especially after hearing that precursors were given out (and noting that the TP prices on precursors have dropped by 50%.). Obviously the event was one which warranted the chest, but if you’re going to do that, then there has to be a way for people to play it if they can’t make the timeslot.

I might not have got a precursor – actually, my drop luck is pretty bad, so I doubt I would have gotten a precursor – but the fact that I and several other people I know didn’t even get the opportunity to try is really galling. In fact, I’m happy that the prices have gone down, because they really were too high in the TP.

Missing Mad King Thorn bursting into Lion’s Arch: fine, it was a cutscene. Choosing not to do the Clock Tower and not getting the rewards: also fine, because that was my own choice and it was available for several days. Missing an event-chain with a reward because it was once-off and at a time that is not convenient for several timezones (despite people in this forum repeatedly telling you that several timezones will get the short end of the stick should the finale be 12 pm PST) – I am not so happy about.

2) …what was with the plug-pulling? I’m guessing it was the free trial thing ending? =\ It interrupted a lot of people mid event/dungeon/fractal etc.

3) Oh, the bugs. Seriously. Also a lack of information: for example, the final event was touted to us as an event chain that would span ‘multiple hours’. I’m not asking for exact end dates, but it would have been nice to get a rough idea of how long it would have taken. I think the new events are more complex and interesting than the old, but the upshot of that is that you really need better communication: from map chats and forums it sure seemed like a lot of people were confused.

The good stuff:

I really love some of the new things that the Lost Shores update brought: I’m having fun in Fractals despite initial misgivings, and I like having new crafting materials to play around with. I like that it’s more challenging running around Southsun Cove. So I think the additions that the event was meant to herald are actually pretty fun, and I’d like to emphasise that part of my disappointment at not getting the event isn’t just about the loot; it’s about the fact that I liked what I actually got to play and was effectively shut out of the event due to my timezone. (I’m in SEA.)

tl;dr: I love the additions, but the event management was absolutely abysmal.

MatthewMedina

The reason we chose the times that we did, when concurrency is at its peak, is precisely because it offers us the highest chance for the largest number of people to attend. By definition though, because concurrency rises and falls, that means it’s impossible for us to choose a time that offers us a chance for everyone to attend.

I understand that nobody is going to be able to make all the events all of the time; it would be pretty unreasonable to expect otherwise. It’s just that if highest concurrency is always going to be ~12 noon PST, then it’s likely the same people are always going to feel like we’re missing out. There’s a pretty big difference between “I don’t expect to make all the events” and “I expect to not be able to make any of them.” The former is okay, the latter is what engenders hurt feelings.

Thank you for the reply, and it’s unfortunate that it was only feasible for it to be held as a once-off event. I just hope this changes soon.

Tinni.4351

I don’t think Ascended gear “drops”. I think you get tokens like every other dungeons. So if you get to X tier, you will have enough tokens for Ascended gear

I’m completely fine with that option. Actually, I’m happy as long as I don’t get stuck in that Catch-22.

Tinni.4351

I don’t think you will ever be able to have a “easy run” with Fractals

Ill-phrased on my part, perhaps. The dungeon was meant to scale in difficulty as you progressed further. I love this mechanic; I like the idea of a continuous challenge; I don’t want to go in and simply faceroll content. What I mean is this: it would be nice to be able to go back to an earlier difficulty level just for the fun of it, without having to seek out people who haven’t reached the same difficulty level you have (especially if the only PUGs turn out to be people looking to delve deeper and deeper into the Fractals dungeon.)

So I guess it’s a question of whether the difficulty scaling is permanent, or whether it resets when you log out / leave the dungeon etc. and whether you can choose to down-level yourself if you don’t feel like playing the hardest content you’ve currently accessed.

Whatever the answer to that is, though; I’m looking forward to the new dungeon. It should be fun.

Mainly – I’d like to know how long the difficulty scaling lasts and if there’s the option to down-level yourself without having to find people who haven’t run Fractals to the same level you have. I’d rather not be stuck in a predicament where I need Ascended gear to complete the level, but can’t complete the level because I’ve had no luck with Ascended gear. And of course, sometimes you just want a quick and easy run.

Ah, okay! Thanks for letting us know.

Yeah, I kind of want to know if it’s a bug too, considering it’s the first door you run into after leaving LA – wasn’t until some time later that I saw one that actually closed. And then I found another one that I couldn’t open or close, so… confused here.