Guild Wars 2

Are other players experiencing very long load times since the last patch? I admittedly am not playing on the most up to date system so I don’t expect the game to load maps instantly.

However since we have had ‘Head of the Snake’ added to the game I have been having a terrible time getting from point A to point B due to the extremely long times.

Is there anything on my end that I can do to help get loading speeds back to what they were before?

If it’s working properly great. It could be something I am doing wrong but if it is, it is not clear what I messed up on or not being done on my end to fix it. I did submit a bug report in-game as well but I haven’t heard anything and I am not finding anything on google to fix it other than it has worked for some and for others not at all.

I understand that the character in question has to have completed the story arc to be able to interact with the brazier but I am not getting anything even after restarting the episode or restarting the instance with a character that has completed the episode.

Is this happening for anyone else or is there something that I am doing wrong?

There are a number of story instances in the game in both HoT as well as LW seasons. Some of the achievements require pinpoint precision and anything can happen. While these sort of challenges have their place in the game I do not see any reason to not include a quick restart function to retry.

Expecially when some LW season episodes have it while others do not. Can we please get restart motes in the instance so we can try again?

Hopefully they do something with it for LW Season 3? The story could really use a lot more follow-up with what has happened to the Grove and their inhabitants.

ProtoGunner.4953:

There are no dungeons which alone is rather questionnable but they dare to say that Fractals is their ‘new 5-man content’ for HOT and then they don’t even add any single new fractal?

Can definitely agree that its a huge shame that Arenanet shifted the playerbase away from dungeons and into fractals without any new fractals.

It should be noted that they are working on new fractals now and they have made a fair amount of QoL changes to fractals to allow for more accessibility to them.

I feel that the builds will vary wildly depending on the game mode. For example in WvW, many players like to lean towards builds and gear set ups that offer more toughness and vitality as fights have as many 2 or 200 opponents so players prefer a more defensive approach.

Think about what game mode you want to spend most of your time and that might help you save time and gold when gearing up.

To answer your question, I personally enjoy dagger/dagger Celestial Elementalist. It is no longer in use in sPvP but I find the build offers enough damage, defense and healing to support and take down mobs in PvE. It isn’t optimal for dungeons or fractals but it works as a sort of Jack of all trades.

Run Arcana, Fire and Water for a more defensive and support set up, or Arcana, Fire and Air for pure offense. I can’t say much on Tempest as I haven’t really played one and have yet to get all the masteries for my Elementalist. Look at some gameplay footage and some example builds for it and see if you like it as much as I do.

It’s definitely a huge change of pace with the way maps in HoT having a fair amount of areas and content that can most likely not be done by one player alone. I agree with Vayne that it might be best to try and find a group of friends or a guild to do that sort of content with. At least one of the nice things that has been in GW2 since the beginning is that groups can be picked up on the fly and form naturally out of all players having the same goal.

I can relate in the way that it feels like maps and their meta on “on rails” and that the players have a limited amount of agency in terms of when a map starts and stops the final meta event.

For example Auric Basin will begin the final battle with the Mordrem whether all pylons or none are active. Dragon Stand while fun and epic, it is a map that starts and stops based solely on the timer alone and not player actions or activity.

Maps similar in this way are of course Dry Top and Silverwastes. Dry Top does have an internal timer, but Silverwastes is unique in the way that it has a map wide meta but the start and stoppage of the final event is determined by players alone. I have entered low population maps at different levels of completion and players taxi in, work together and get the meta done.

If maps in HoT could allow for more player agency as to when a meta event starts I think it could be a step in the right direction.

GW1 did allow players to skip cutscenes as I recall, but only if all players voted to skip it just in case there may have been a new player seeing what was going on for the first time.

I was thinking how some LW instances offer challenge motes that you could interact with to restart the boss in the event that the attempt was failed or something went wrong.

I feel if that is possible, then couldn’t that be applied to other parts of the game instead of having the solution be restart the entire instance and start at square 1 again?

I want to be realistic and constructive about fixing this issue. Perhaps for some players it could easily be a non-issue and no one cares. This could be something that only applies to AP hunters or people wanting to complete as many things in game as they can.

I do not know what would be needed to go into making a fix for something like this on a technical stand point or how much time, resources and manpower would be necessary.

Would it be worth it to devote time to changing it? I think and hope so and would love to see the changes applied to future LW seasons and expansions. If people think not, by all means call me out on it and share why.

I would love to see something done about this. Is this something that Arenanet knows about or even has a way to change this. I of course do no know if there are any technical limitations to this, but this sort of issue would be perfect for the April HoT update.

Can we also get an idea of what the HoT update includes? As far as I have seen and read it just includes bringing the HoT maps more in line with the core game. What does that mean? What does that change? In what way does it change the maps and the way they play?

There was an issue with LW Season 2 and the Shadow of the Dragon Pt. 2 in that for players to attempt to do the mission and try to complete all of the achievements players had to sit though a long scene that could not be skipped.

Any person attempting to get any achieves naturally can and would make mistakes, thus forcing the player to try again. However that player would have to sit through the entire scene again.

The same issue comes up with many story missions in HoT. Particularly “Prized Possessions”. If a player makes a single mistake they have to go through the mobs, through the scenes and the NPC dialogue just to make another attempt.

Look at games like Super Meat Boy. The game requires a great deal of precision and dexterity. For many it takes a lot of muscle memory and practice to get through some of the most challenging of levels. However much of the frustration is taken out of playing as the moment a player makes a mistake they can go right back to it and try again.

Why is that not the case here? For a game asking for very specific things why is there no way for the player to simply try again? Why is there a continued lack of ease of use and play after all this time?

Look at Adventures. Each one while very different from the other and each one have a varying degree of difficulty they were all designed with the idea that they could be restarted easily in mind. They’re perfect in that way and allow players to make the most of their time to play.

If this is one of the core tenants to Heart of Thorns, then why is this not the case for story missions? Why do we offer it here but not there?

It was an issue back during LW Season 2 and continues to be one now.

Please Arenanet, offer players a way to just try again.

Really looking forward to a good fractal update with new fractals and some better incentives to do the really high end fractals beyond 77. The amount of time commitment to rewards given just doesn’t make enough sense.

I get sick of doing Swamp fractals too, but sometimes it’s nice having the short and simple option as well on days that one might have less free time available.

Is S3 really set to try and bridge the story from HoT to whatever the next expansion is? There are so many holes and unexplained points to the story with the scope and the way the story was told for HoT.

I would realy like to see S3 answer a lot of what was skimmed over in HoT and something like S3 part 2 or S4 to be the tie in to the next expansion.

I will buy the next expansion for sure, but I am less keen on the idea of pre-ordering. I really have to disagree with the notion that Arenanet “lied” about things that were coming with the game.

However at the same time I cannot deny that the game was released in a state where things that were suppose to be in the game simply were not there yet. There is the issue with legendary weapons not coming out in a timely manner, raids not quite being there.

HoT requiring a number of changes and adjustments like elite spec skill point requirements or the game not fitting with core Guild Wars 2 design philosophies as we still are waiting on the details for what they are changing for HoT in April.

I overall like HoT, I love the game and I am still confident Arenanet can and will do a great job with the game and whatever else comes afterwards. I am disappointed that things felt like and still feel like some things were rushed out the door before it was all there.

Sort of feels like Street Fighter V honestly. Solid foundation but there is a lot of gutted or incomplete things for a full priced title.

You unfortunately need a good chunk of free time and need the good luck to find a well dedicated map. One of the major issues with HoT maps is that they require a great deal of time to push from start to finish, and they need many like minded players on at the same time which sometimes leads to “dead” maps where there are few meta events done due to low player population and the event starts anyway because its on a timer.

Next months HoT update just cannot come soon enough it seems.

While doing some of the HoT Act 1 story achievements, the NPCs, more specifically Rytlock locked (Haha) up and did not open the next segment of the personal story.

I had done things in an odd order and wonder if the order in which I did some of the achievements had something to do with the NPCs acting the way they did.

1.Clear 1st room
2. Clear Mordrem Camp
3. Backtrack and ‘Peer Review’ achievement was done.
4. Vines section and climb to the top of the cliff to have Rytlock clear the wall.
5. Backtrack again to complete ‘My Friends, The Smiths’
6. Return to vine area and down to the boss room with the Mordrem Overseer.

It was at this point that I noticed I was not being followed by the NPCs and did the fight with the Overseer alone. My player character continues to speak to characters that were not there and after that Rytlock is suppose to open the way to the final section of the story instance.

I managed to find the NPCs hanging out in another section of the map and got them to follow me to the Overseer room but they would not do anything and I was left stuck in the room with an unbreakable wall.

I am only trying to recall the order in which things were done that may have led to NPCs not following the scripted events and things they are suppose to do. It would be great if there was a way to allow players to sort of “kick” NPCs or perhaps respawn them rather that have to restart an instance all over again because a script breaks.

I do enjoy the new maps, and find the meta events to be fun. Though they do push the limits of what I feel might be a reasonable amount of time to sit down and play.

It’s sort of been an issue for GW2 for the entire time it has existed. You sort of have to make your own fun and goals at times.

I agree that the time commitment needed for a full meta event on the HoT maps is long and Arenanet might want to consider lowering the time to around what Dry Top and Silver Wastes are at.

Having a map goal for people to do is far more interesting than some of the core maps that have been around since the beginning. Remember Snowden Drifts? I almost forgot about it because it lacks meta events and world bosses. I had to look it up just to be sure.

I don’t mean to takeaway from the time, energy and resources that Arenanet put into that map because it is a visually appealing map and I would prefer it exists than not at all.

I guess having long meta events going beyond say 40mins. is not the best approach but it is better than having nothing at all for a map to be left and forgotten. Whether or not you want to stay for an entire meta event chain and what you want to get out of that map is up to the individual player and just how much time they have or are willing to put in.

No Silver huh? Guess it is true.

“If you ain’t first, you’re last.”

Well I don’t know if moving the portal to LA only is that great either. Of course I would like there to be an area for setting up for raid groups, but I would also like for the locations in the game world to make sense as well.

The raid maps and the areas put aside for them are filling in the world map and they need to take place in reasonably lore friendly spaces. Perhaps a space that feeds into the Vale sort of how Twilight Arbor has a space that lets players enter either the Aetherpath or Twilight Arbor explorable.

It isn’t like fractals where they just take place in some arbitrary location floating in the Mists. Spirit Vale involves the bandit group that likely occupied Fort Vandal and the Silver Wastes. There might even be a Bloodstone in that area as well.

If they can, Arenanet needs to make a lobby area that is between Verdant Brink and the Vale.

I am no programmer or designer and I am not saying that there is an easy button for this issue, but I feel that the solution is somewhere in that realm.

How about a slider function so players can adjust accordingly based on their machines or the activities they are trying to enjoy?

I haven’t logged in yet today. So you guys mean this wasn’t already done? A tab wasn’t made or put aside for raid content in LFG? I feel like that should be integral to the design of raid content sine it is one of the core features of the expansion.

Heck an overhaul to the LFG tool would be nice. There is too much going on in the “Open World” category these days. Each map having its own LFG tab would be great.

As for Spirit Vale, can we please get a map for people to go into while they set up for raids that is not Verdant Brink please?

Has anyone experienced any difficulty trying to find a map working towards completing the meta event?

I seem to play during times where there are too few maps or people do not want to attempt the meta due to time constraint from the map timer.

Please make another map between Verdant Brink and the Vale for people trying to set up for the raid. Verdant Brink will become a massive lobby for raid entry if nothing is done.

I was doing TD just last evening and was just following the normal event chain in Rata Novus. I start getting hit with DR about 3 – 4 events in. What I want to know is why aren’t people complaining about that?

I do the spider farm, which has no negatives other than being somewhat boring and pulling a handful of people away from the map meta.

Though people standing around being afk is the same thing and I am not seeing complaining about that.

People are missing the biggest issue of all. Why is playing the game as intended give less and less rewards as you play?

Right. That was the only instance where I believe we heard of any in-game characters mentioning the Deep Sea Dragon. I am wondering just how familiar the world is now with the remaining dragons and specifically the deep sea dragon. Is it perhaps the Priory only? How common is this knowledge suppose to be?

There are also a ton of questions everyone both in-game and here on the forums must have for Rytlock as well.

Nice tip. Didn’t know the instrument slider affected the facet sound.

It is too bad though if people really are split about liking or disliking the sounds. Then again I am glad that Arenanet allows us to change it to suit our needs.

I sometimes cannot even get a DS map started because of the timer dictating whether or not players commit to the meta.

By the end of HoT, Rytlock makes a comment how well everyone has done and that there are only 4 elder dragons left?

While we the players know this, has it been established for the characters that there are 4 more? When was that exactly?

The map Dragon’s Stand is a unique play experience that I do not believe we have seen before until now. I appreciate the idea of having a time limit on a map so close to the Dragon’s lair as no elder dragon should be okay with having an army build up right at the front door and do nothing about it. However the timer creates an interesting map dynamic that we have never seen before where players are either “Starting” or “Standing”.

From my own experience, the time limit seems to create one of two kinds of maps. The “Starting” maps are the kind where there is enough time where players feel comfortable to organize and complete the map-wide meta. The second is the “Standing” maps where the map is in a weird limbo where the map will not die out due to players migrating in and out, but there is not enough time left to complete it. The appropriate amount of time needed to complete a map is debatable and will depend on player experience, numbers, organization skills and more. Depending again on how comfortable players are, they may or may not salvage a map.

It is the second kind of maps that I feel are an issue. Naturally players come to the game and the map to play, but depending on the map you end up on or taxi in to, you may be forced to do something else in-game or you need to stand around and wait to have fun. There has to be a way that the map can maintain the time limit and timer mechanic without creating these “Starting” or “Standing” maps.

Couldn’t we keep the timers, but the timers start when the meta is initiated by players rather than having the timer start as soon as the map instance is created? At least in this way a maps success or failure is dictated by player initiative alone and not a clock on the screen counting down from the moment it is created.

This unfortunately won’t fix all the issues with Dragon’s Stand, e.g.: Players losing morale and abandoning maps due to one or more groups struggling through the Blighted Towers or taking down dragon champions, etc.. I do however think this helps take care of issues with maps being either a “Starting” type or “Standing” map though.

I admittedly play during non-peak times during the day so my play experience might not match others, but I would like to hear what other players have experienced and what they think can be done about making the map more about playing and less about sitting and waiting to have fun.

tl;dr : Can timers start when players begin the map meta instead of when the map is first created so there is more playing and less sitting around waiting for the map to die.

Or Arenanet could take a look at this thread and take note of how difficult the event actually is, and that is assuming it doesn’t get bugged at one of the invading teams and their several steps. Then actually do something to adjust the event to be similar in nature to the rest of the god temples.

Good luck on SoR. TC has been having a hard time when it is not peak hours.