Guild Wars 2

I’m going to just re-post this here: This is not an opinion piece. Here is perhaps the biggest and most subtle problem with the NPE that’s technically “working as intended” – The “stat burst” and the “stat slump" effect.

• Stat Burst: With the original leveling system, players would receive a small amount of stats each time they leveled, which made their character slowly get stronger each level. With the NPE changes, after level 4 the player will received a large chunk (or “burst”) of stats every 6 levels. This was likely to make certain thresholds feel more rewarding and fun. (“Stat burst” levels: 4, 10, 16, 22, 28, 34, 40, 46, 52, 58, 64, 70, 76, 80)

• Stat Slump: The problem is that the “stat burst” power did not come out of no where. The power is redistributed from prior levels. The result is that players feel weaker than they did before during certain windows of leveling. This is being remarked as the “stat slump”, which is typically 2 to 4 levels prior to each threshold.

• The problem? If a player tries to fight a creature 1 or 2 levels higher than themselves, the “stat slump” complicates things. A level 9 creature is more powerful than a level 8; but a level 9 player is not inherently more powerful than a level 8. This is because the stats come in bursts for players, but gradually for monsters. This is not intuitive at all, and it makes it difficult for a player to judge how difficult a fight will be.
  
  Prior to the NPE, a level 8 player would size up a level 9 monster and conclude that it is only slightly stronger than themselves. With the new change however, this creature is actually 5 levels higher than him since the player is effectively level 4 stat wise. This problem continues all the throughout leveling during every “stat slump”
  
  It comes as no surprise to me that players are noticing that certain Personal Story missions are feeling much harder than they used to, even with all of their skills unlocked. This is a result of the “stat slump”, which is making players feel lower level than they actually are. (Because they effectively are a lower level)

More information is on this subject on these reddit threads:

• Stat Slump Stuff
• Downscaling & Stat Slump

In Conclusion (TLDR):

• Since you gain stats every 6 levels instead of every level, if you could not kill a creature at level 40, you will not be able to kill it at 44. A level 44 player is exactly as strong as a level 40, sans any gear changes. This phenomena happens frequently, and it has greatly changed the pacing and feel of leveling in GW2. Most offensively about this system is how subtle and non-intuitive for players to not stronger every level, yet creatures do. This change, more than any other, is the most dysfunctional one in the NPE, in their effort to create a “rewarding feeling” but instead it difficult to size up challenges now for players leveling.
  
  The ideal fix would be to un-do this redistribution and give the stats to the players gradually as it did in the past.

That’s nice to hear devs answering and wanting more feedback (although I always knew they wanted it somehow). About feedbacks I had even made a poll to rate some aspects of the new system and maybe it could give some insight too. Not much votes in it so far but here they are:

Changes to Personal Story: http://strawpoll.me/2568479
Objective Compass/Content direction or whatever is it called: http://strawpoll.me/2569588
About locking features from low level players: http://strawpoll.me/2569645

Please, and I’m saying this for real.

Bring back the Personal Story progression back to what it was like before. With the Greatest Fear arc as the 7th chapter, and the cleansing of orr as part of the 8th chapter.

I don’t know why you did that change, but it’s a kick in the lore, which isn’t in a very good state to begin with anyway.

Please, just respect the original canon by putting the original missions back where they always belonged to.

Yeah, simplification of so many early hearts and events made the starter zones really bland…

Could you let Elementalists keep element unlocks that they had before the patch? It’s a small thing, but I shouldn’t lose what I’ve already gained.

I’d like to see some of the better features of the lower level maps return (golem chess, karma items such as wolf potions, etc etc) In “simplifying” the lowbie maps, you’ve removed a lot of the fun and unique aspects of them

Ok, some other stuff missing from that list:

• Replacing the missing profession mechanics UI for the Elementalist, Engineer, and Guardian professions

• Offhand weapon not unlocking until level 7

• Weapon Swapping not unlocking until level 15

• Utilities 7, 8, 9, and 0 not unlocking until levels 13, 24, 35, and 40 respectively

• Underwater combat not unlocking until level 8, underwater skill 5 not unlocking until level 23

• Most juvenile pets missing from starting zones

• Mechanics of many early heart quests reduced to make them more boring.

• Apples missing from apple orchard

I may still be missing a few, but fixing those need to be a priority as well.

So the entire year of 2014 has been full of more rehashed content and breaks than actual content. After the departure of living story season 1, we waited something liek 4-5 months for the next living story, when it only ended up lasting around 6 weeks? 4 updates only. After this, we’ve had a smaller sized feature pack and another 3 months break.

Holidays like the upcoming halloween which is roughly 2 months after the midseason break or other events(WvW tournament) are not valid reasons to stop putting out new content. If this is true, then for the rest of gw2’s history, the majority of the year will be obstructed by breaks, holidays, and wvw tournaments. How was this not foreseen when scheduling the living story?

Speaking of holidays, if im right, we can expect the 2nd(most likely 2nd half) of the living story to only last 4 releases as well. Because 6 weeks after we return, there is another holiday(wintersday).

If thats the case, I don’t and hope there won’t be a season 3 and if there is, it desperately needs to be restructured because of the lack of content we get in seasons.

I’m sorry to hear ArenaNet holds you at gunpoint forcing you to fill all collections. I wish there was something I could do to help you, hold your hand or something. #staystrong

“Nerf” isn’t really the right word to use here. Usually that means a balance adjustment, and that’s just not…It doesn’t really make any sense here.

Hopefully they’ll add some options to deal with it. Personally, I’d like to see a drop-down in the options menu, with options like:

-Show All Commanders
-Show Squad Commander
-Show Guild Commanders
-Hide All Commanders

It’s a little bit tricky to solve, because if you restrict it to just the commander you’re following, it’s not very useful, but if you turn on all commanders, you see the ones who are actively commanding…swimming in a sea of commander tags. An option to show commanders in your guild is the best middle solution I’ve come up with, although I’d really like to hear some other ideas for it.

Blog Post

Moving forward, we’ll be evaluating future possibilities for recognizing experienced and prestigious commanders.

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/big-changes-are-coming-to-the-commander-system/

This one’s also a puzzle, even if you figure out a way to identify useful commanders. They could do something visual to mark good commanders, like a special shape or effect, but that doesn’t solve the visual noise. I suppose they could implement some kind of commander ranking system, and then we could have an option to “hide commanders below [rank],” but that still has problems.

It’s interesting to think about.

In summary, the constant focus on the Biconics is not doing the world any favors. The authors’ favorite band of underdogs is not enough to carry the Guild Wars franchise, and the constant insistence that they claim the spotlight in every story is simply not a good narrative foundation.

This is not to say they are bad characters. Far from it, they are well developed side characters who breathe life into a different niche of Tyria than the traditional frontline hero. But they are still side characters. They are not the fulcrum upon which the entire Guild Wars franchise pivots, and we need to grow beyond their perspective in order to move forward.

If the authors want to write a novel for the Biconics, go for it. It will probably be excellent.

But a massively multiplayer video game is not a novel, and the world of Tyria does not revolve around this small band of insignificant adventurers. It’s a far grander and magnificent realm, full of vibrant stories and fascinating characters. But as long as the authors believe that they have to have a “core cast” in order to tell a good story, we will never go beyond their diminutive role in the world and see what is beyond the next narrative horizon.

A rotating cast can give us that freedom. It can mean stories of intrigue and deception as we accompany Doern Velazquez and Halvora Snapdagger on direct orders from a certain Master of Whispers. Travel with Dougal Keane, Ember Doomforge, and Gullik Oddsson on daring adventures of discovery! Fight side by side with Laranthir of the Wild and Warmaster Efut. From Galina Edgecrusher and Snarl Backdraft to Demmi Beetlestone and Lord Faren, the Havrouns Weibe and Gretchen to Gorr and Occam, Ogden Stonehealer to Sayeh al’Rajihd, Followed By Night to Izu Steelshrike, the world is filled with hundreds of fascinating characters and compelling storylines (many of which I can’t mention due to the word count limit on posts). All it requires is the will to reach out and grasp it.

We cannot be the main protagonist, because the player character must be enough of a blank slate to let people project their own motivations and personality onto our actions. But that does not mean the world needs a core cast, especially ones that are so obviously side characters in the living story of the realm. The cast for a particular story should depend on the setting: Ascalonian stories require Ascalonian characters, Priory stories require Priory characters, political stories require nobles and statesman, and so forth.

And so I conclude this simple piece of advice. Let the Biconics step out of the spotlight, and use a rotating cast to explore the fascinating facets of this world. Because at the end of the day, there is only one core protagonist for the Guild Wars Franchise…

…and her name is Tyria.

Greetings and Salutations!

As the second season of the Living Story progresses, there are numerous advancements in the mechanics to celebrate, but also some troubles and tribulations. One particular burr in the sandal of the storyline shows no sign of ceasing, and thus it seems fitting to talk about a lingering problem with the narrative. The Biconics.

My thesis is simple. The story should stop treating these side characters like protagonists.

The Biconics are not bad characters. Far from it, they are fairly witty and amusing most of the time, and their interactions can be quite enjoyable. But the Living Story has decided that they are the focal point of the entire game, shackling our main characters to these five strangers and declaring them to be the protagonists of the franchise. This is flawed. It does not make sense from a narrative perspective, and it won’t do the series any favors in presenting interesting and compelling stories in the days to come.

In keeping with my oddball format, I’d like to present six reasons why the Biconics are a problem, and offer an example from the Living Story Season 1 of magnificent storytelling as a model for future tales. Rather than interject any of my own speculation or fanfiction into the mixture, I’d like you to solely consider the characters from the game itself who could be at the forefront of the narrative between these two posts.

Ready? Here we go!

Maybe not where he specifically woke up at, but I think I know where he’s going to lair. And we have Mawdrey to thank for this insight.

The recipes needed to nourish our growing seedling seem to involve a lot of Bloodstone Dust. And just today, someone pinged an item whose flavor text referenced combining it with Bloodstone Bricks. (So help me, if it asks for a Bloodstone Shard next, there will be trouble. That said, it would also probably be awesome.)

Clearly, bloodstone is nourishment to the seedling. And why not? It’s possessed of potent magic.

Now….. Mordremoth woke up beneath the Maguuma Waste, once a lush jungle. Anyone who hasn’t already figured out where this theory is going has never played Guild Wars Prophecies.

“I am the scythe, the bringer of salvation….”

Who can forget our dear old ‘friend’, Justiciar Hablion? Or where we last saw him?

Over 1300 years ago, King Doric petitioned the gods to restrain the destructive forces of magic they (well, one of them) had unleashed. They used his blood in a mighty ritual that placed limits on magic, and thus formed the Bloodstone Pact. The Bloodstone, itself, was sundered into five pieces, and thrown to the far corners of Tyria. Their power is such that they can actually inhibit the workings of ressurective magic, and they are a place of power perfect for carrying out sacrifices, rituals, or sealing away dimensional rifts.

The tiniest pieces of a Bloodstone, in the form of dust or bricks, can nourish a seedling born from Mordremoth. What can he do with the power of one of the five Bloodstones to feast upon?

P.S. It gets better. His tendrils are searching the ley lines of Tyria, disrupting their power. His reach is far. Could he be looking for the other Stones?

SO they killed the champ trains , the bosses and the dailies. Will you be playing less now ?

I’m a little concerned that I can’t find where they moved it or if there is just no longer any indicator of your character’s personality anywhere… I really liked being able to quickly view what personality type I had gotten, I’m sad to see it missing.

I’m not sure if someone already pointed this out – I’ve noticed that after the latest patch the icon representing personality of a character on the hero panel. I know it didn’t have any impact on the game itself, but I really enjoyed observing how my status is changing based on charm/dignity/ferocity options I could choose in certain dialogues and in the character creation.

I’m perfectly aware it’s not a game-breaking change, but it didn’t hurt to have this icon on the panel. If it’s not broken, why change it?