Guild Wars 2

I agree with what others have mentioned-seeing the library, and being able to explore more of the rich world history; the sly touches of poking fun at some of past instances (crafting recipes for all the bloodstone dust drops that can’t really be used that readily!); the greater development of so many of the characters, as well as a sense of real struggle and danger in the world. The first half of second season started well, but this second half? It really made the world feel real, and storied.

I’ve had serious issues with Trahearne from the beginning; he goes from indecisive “He just sort of hangs out in Orr and studies things, without actually fixing or changing anything”, to essentially taking all the glory/credit that the Personal Story shows as being done by the player. “Well done on killing that dragon, but it pales in comparison to myself being back here and thinking about the battle being waged.”
I’d be up for Trahearne dying, though it may lend him more gravitas in death than he deserved in life; perhaps if his death came as part of the big reveal that the Pale Tree itself is corrupted?

I’m aware, I promise! The game as a whole has a very large stressing of the importance of all the races, with humanity seemingly being rather on the decline, as the others grow strong; Lion’s Arch is more about being mercenaries and pirates, then any one particular race (though, you could always make an argument for the entirety of the game being one long Asuran simulation; or that anyone who has died, and been brought back to life by a waypoint, is no longer actually a person, but a piece of Asura-tech).
When Jennah throws a celebration, the whole world is aware of it; when Jennah is attacked by (insert enemies), it’s an issue for all of Tyria, not just Kryta. It’s Jennah’s heralds that spread word of what is occurring in the land.

As I hit my one year anniversary playing the game, I was thinking more about the ways I enjoy playing it, and the maps I enjoy playing it on. That in turn led me to think about how odd it is that humanity is being pressed from the north (of the current map) by the centaurs, from the south (of the current map) by Risen, and from all the other races of Tyria, and yet Queen Jennah hides safe in the walls of Divinty’s Reach, seemingly not doing much of anything, yet somehow wielding power and commanding respect. I also wonder why there is only one acknowledged ruler in all of Tyria.
Could Jennah either lose Queensdale, Kessex Hills, and have an even weaker influence in Gendarran Fields, causing humanity to have to retreat substantially to Ebonhawke (and making the beginning Human racial storyline that much more impacting); or could she be made to enter into an alliance with a ruler from a previously undiscovered portion of the map? I hate to use the term “marriage of convenience”, but definitely more like a politically and militarily advantageous alliance. We all love Logan, but… he is just a guard, after all.
And while I’m making bizarre suggestions: make centaurs and krait even more a political and social force to be reckoned with.

I finally was brave enough to try a pick-up group for a dungeon, with the new design in place.
Last night, I ran Ascalonian Catacombs, story mode; we were a pretty good group, actually, with 1 guardian, 1 mesmer (myself), 1 necromancer, 1 warrior, and 1 thief. A couple of the group had never done a dungeon before, and so this was their first experience doing one (I think it was my plaintive, “Oh won’t someone join us before we try and 4-man this dungeon?” that made them try it. They could smell the desperation).
We did have a disconnect, and one afk for a bit; we also had the Troll appear on top of a ghost mob, which was interesting (it ignored the ghosts, and targeted players exclusively). All told, however, even with all that? We were done in less than an hour.
The lack of being able to rez at a waypoint, when downed, killed us. Literally. We did ok, but the slow nature of having to rez someone when downed, with aggro not dissipating, was brutal. We were even fairly good with rezzing people quickly, but if you’re in a group where you’re being 2-shotted, there is no time for a “let me rez you before you go all the way down”. It’s not possible.
We had 2 total party wipes, once with the Lovers, and then once with Adelbarn. The Lovers I could understand, as it’s brutal (though the changes to the health bars of both of them were very appreciated); in both instances, the extremely slow process to resurrect a fellow player when downed was what did us in. With Adelbarn, when we saw how difficult the fight was, the last 2 party members backed off in an attempt to disengage the enemy, but Adelbarn did not reset. He didn’t reset until he’d killed off all the party members.
I am VERY hesitant to run additional dungeons, especially with pick-up groups, and without a clear sense of agreement and understanding of what needs to be accomplished when going in to a dungeon. Dungeons have lost all “Hey friends who are gaming after a long day of work and other obligations, let’s get on voicechat, and run a dungeon while we all catch up with each other!” appeal, as well as “Hm, I wouldn’t mind helping out this group of strangers who might be great to game with, or might be total tools. Either way, I’ll be helping someone!” appeal.
If the “rezzing a downed ally while in combat” speed could be increased? I do appreciate what the team was trying to do, by eliminating waypoint usage while in combat (and it makes sense from a story perspective, as if Asura technology prohibits people actively engaged in violence from using the gates, then it would make sense the waypoints follow the same thinking), but please-make it easier to rez someone you’re actively trying to help back up.