Guild Wars 2

Greetings Forum Dwellers,

Avid readers of the Orrator make have seen a link to an article I posted on the GW2 reddit thread of the Skritt King’s interest in joining the Lion Arch’s council.

The political machine is only moments away from running full steam, and no one knows tinkering better than the skritt. In order to disperse this foolhardy idea that the Skritt King should not be considered a realistic opponent, please allow me a moment of your time to draw on some points not already addressed in the outstanding articles linked above.

• The Skritt King is distinct. With a considerably diverse pallet of individuals already on the council, the Skritt King’s ability to bring new talents to the table would be a boon to the vast array of offensive, defensive and bartering capabilities.

• The Skritt King endures. The Skritt King is less of a person, and more of a skritt ideal. When one falls, another takes his place. In this, the worry of assassination becomes less of an issue. One skritt for another. This as well provides for a constant cycle of new perspectives and fresh ideas to come to the table.

• The Skritt King unites. There are already many skritt living in Lion’s Arch already. However, their loose morals and individual attitudes do not lend well to the spirit of interracial co-operation in Lion’s Arch. Under the intelligible wing of the Skritt King, their knowledge can be pooled to serve as a well-oiled machine. Churning out amazing ideas to run the city more efficiently, swiftly.

• The Skritt King is resourceful. Anyone who has seen a skritt burrow has come to ponder on the skritt’s ability to turn what was once considered “junk” into homes, machines and inventions that push forward the community. Lion’s Arch was built on a similar foundation, reusing their once ill-gotten gains and tools of the sea to create a new home.

Lastly, I’d like to point out that, like the skritt, the founder’s of Lion’s Arch were once considered rather disreputable themselves. Pillaging and stealing from merchants and travelers, they re-focused their ideals to much success. At the new heart of Tyria, the Skritt King can find a new path for the skritt with the association of the other races, propelling all to a brighter and shinier future.

Not to mention shinies. Also, shinies.
Lots of shinies.
Swimming in shinies.
All the shinies!

Remember, do your part and support the Skritt King for Lion’s Arch council. Make your own posters, buttons and other related campaign paraphernalia to show that you can be as inventive and creative as the skritt! Post them in this thread! Keep the spirit of the skritt alive! For shinies, Yes?

(Keep in mind this is for the fun, entertainment and enjoyment of any and all. It is appreciated to keep things classy in the thread. Speak your mind, but try not to overly sour the situation.)

Katran.9186:

What’s his FotM?

It seems the reddit link wasn’t functioning as intended. It has been fixed. However, I’ll go ahead and copy over his offical platform here as well!

Vote Skritt King! Vote for one who knows just how dangerous a position of leadership can be. Vote for one who has the miraculous experience of over two weeks of leadership. Vote for one who is of the people, rallying in mass for greater intelligence! The Skritt King is a champion at negotiations. The Skritt King promises skritt will stop taking kite baskets, and provide shiny trade with the air folk.

• The Skritt King promises less junk and more shinies for as long as Skritt King live, probably four weeks!
• The Skritt King will teach you better ways to salvage!
• The Skritt King will sponsor lucrative Fractals of the Mist research into the Depths of Tyria! Find lost shinies!
• The Skritt King will host a rotation of popular activities like Crab Toss and Southsun Survival.

Small in stature, big on dreams. Skritt King.

The purpose of any game is to have fun.

So find what you find fun.

Some people like leveling alts. Others like running dungeons. Some people like finishing the jumping puzzles or playing minigames. There’s WvW, of course, for people who like big tactical games, and then sPvP for people who like their PvP on a smaller scale. Some people even like playing the Trading Post.

As much as I love GW2, I lament some of its failings, too. Shortly prior to and ever since launch, it has seemed to me like it has suddenly tried to cast a net for an audience it was never intended for – the insatiable content-devouring ‘hardcore’ gamer, and on top of that, the dodgy RNG focus in-game and in the cash shop along with some pretty questionable pricing strategies has left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

I think the reason GW2 will never quite be at the top of its game is because it tries to be a jack of all trades, but is effectively a master of none because it can’t decide whakittens audience is. It feels like a constant tug of war between casual, time-friendly, skill-based content and grindy, hardcore treadmill content. I love the game, massively appreciate the team behind it and have supported Anet since the GW1 days, but at the same time, it’s just not as good as it could have been if they had really fully realised those manifesto promises.

Personal theory: ANet are testing to see if we accept a time-gated soulbound crafting process, with a view to implementing the same for Ascended gear.

Erasculio.2914:

Genavelle.9516:

The whole point of legendaries is that you spend a lot of time doing crap nobody wants to do so you can get a special unique weapon that only people willing to do that much work can get. If you don’t want to go through that process, then don’t worry about making one.

That just screams “Epic Content!”, doesn’t it?

perfect response the only trouble is that you cant win an argument with a grinder because unlike most players they have spent hours and hours just rationalizing the grind to themselves and have a pretty flawed but unarguable argument. its usually “if you dont want to grind dont get a legendary”

I’ve compiled a list of the conversations between NPC’s that are relevant to Bazaar of the Four Winds storyline. If I have missed anything, please let me know. Also, you can find my Secret of Southsun NPC Conversations here: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/archive/southsun/Possible-Spoilers-NPC-Conversations. Consider everything below as a spoiler.

Human Merchant: Looking for something to add a little oomph in your step?
Human Merchant: That’s your final offer? All right. It’s a deal.
Human Merchant: I only have one left. Some snot-nosed skritt ran off with the other one yesterday. I never got it back.

Human Merchant: Keep touching the goods, boy, and I’ll make you marry ‘em on the end of my dagger.
Human Merchant: Oy, you gonna buy that or just look it to death?

Charr Merchant: We made it in time. Maybe this year we’ll make enough to buy a cow.
Charr Merchant: Do not take your eyes off the merchandise, son. Not for a second. There are thieves everywhere.
Charr Merchant: There’s dark magic here. I sense it in my bones.

Unusual Merchant: Oh, hey there! Would you mind, um… putting that down, please?
Unusual Merchant: Oh, no. Woe is me. Look, messing around with unknown forces has unleashed deadly consequences. Because this has never happened before.
Unusual Merchant: (sigh) Why doesn’t anyone ever listen to me?
Unusual Merchant: My hero. Say, you wouldn’t want to buy that, would you?

Note: The following merchant dialogue are said by multiple unnamed characters throughout the Bazaar.
Merchant: Powdered beet root and other hard-to-find ingredients!
Merchant: Sold! You won’t regret it.
Merchant: Accepting all land-based trade!
Merchant: Best prices in all of Tyria. Special bazaar discounts.
Merchant: Roasted Meats! Cheese! Ale!
Merchant: Fresh from the Gendarren Fields!
Merchant: Don’t miss the best deal on the block!
Merchant: Finest craftsmanship here.
Merchant: My selection is unparalleled.
Merchant: take home a souvenir toothpick!
Merchant: Cinnamon, cardamom, and curry!
Merchant: Bangles for your sweetheart!
Merchant: What’s that you say? Ah. I don’t sell that kind of thing. Try someone else.
Merchant: This little beauty is worth more, but I need to sell it quick.

Asuran Stranger: I’m half afraid to try any of the food here and half thrilled to try something exotic.
Asuran Stranger: Keep one hand on your purse. I just saw someone get pickpocketed.

Hylek Stranger: (laugh) Did you see that? Never in my life have I seen such a thing!
Hylek Stranger: My kind of magic doesn’t use those kinds of foci. I’m a little sickened.

Norn Stranger: I’m surprised all of Lion’s Arch isn’t here.
Norn Stranger: Do you think we could visit the Zypher Sanctum?

Human Stranger: Some of these people are scary. Do you think they’re pirates?

Human Stranger: I hope my mother likes the powdered harpy wig I bought her.
Human Stranger: I simply had to buy it. It was so odd!

Human Stranger: C’mon can’t you try a bit harder? That look on your face is scaring folks away.
Human Stranger: Look alive. Here comes a sucker.

Human Stranger: Welcome to the bizarre bazaar! Shop, haggle and browse your way to a better you!
Human Stranger: Where’d you put my revolver? Oh, I see it. Good. Just in case.
Human Stranger: We’ve already paid for the trip. The rest is ours to keep.

Brat: I want one, Mom. I want it.
Human Stranger: Ok, Ok, sweetie. I’ll get you just one, Ok? Just this once.
Brat: I want two. Mom, I want two!
Human Stranger: Fine. Two. Just this once you can have two, Ok?
Urchin: Better get back. Pappy’s gonna be steaming at the snout.

Urchin: Watch out! I may be small but the parts I can reach are… ooh. Running now!
Urchin: Three booths down from the one-legged man. Three booths down form… oh spit.
Urchin: Oh yes, my lady. Oh no, my lady. Pfff! Witch.

Urchin: Get out of my way. ExCUSE me, you great oaf!
Urchin: (laugh)

Not to be a negative nancy, but I’d rather not have them add a new profession to the game this early when they have yet to balance the current 8 (and I mean as much as possible, since a perfect balance is near impossible). A new playable race would be refreshing.

Gear progression really adds nothing to a game for me. Everyone starts out at power X; a new tier drops and everyone hops on the treadmill. When they get off they are at power level Y. Meanwhile the environment assumes power level Y. At the end of the treadmill absolutely nothing has changed in terms of relative power player to player or player to environment.

I played WoW for years and my main started at what, 5-10k health or something? My one level 90 is pushing 400k hp now and nothing whatsoever has changed in terms of the gameplay. Sure, I can solo lower level dungeons, but in a max level zone nothing is different—I just spent a ton of time chasing stats that didn’t really matter. In fact, my favorite time in the cycle was when I had the gear and could just relax and do what I wanted in the game. And, that is pretty much what I do here now. I do miss the crafting (well, fishing too) but other than that it’s pretty much the same at max level.

I’m definitely in the number Vayne described above. More gear progression would add nothing but work for me and I’m more into play in my gaming.

would you prefer a totally silent city? if anything, id love to hear more diverse chatter like maybe someone buying apples from some one handed charr merchant in lions arch or people discussing living story events, that’d be cool

That wall of text critted me after 2 lines so I’m refusing to read further. Please put a little more effort into writing readable posts

It is absolutely amazing that the mechanism for obtaining the skins unlocked on an account is so hard for some to figure out.

It is revolting however that people who are unable to figure this simple system out vent vinegar on Anet before simply asking how it works in a reasonable tone.

Justine.6351:

I think it will be unlock like hom but the skins will come with a price tag whether its gold/laurels/or another currency.

How special is a reward when every lvl 2 has it by default?

Does it matter how special you think it is? If everyone wants to run it, they will. If they don’t, they don’t. Using, or not using, gear based on how many other people run it is pretty elitist.

Justine.6351:

Wallace MacBix.2089:

But my point was, why should they do a currency? Since the rewards are account based, why shouldn’t any new character get the rewards? If you earned them you should be able to put them on any character (however old) and make them fancy.

And my point was so that they don’t become starter gear and thus lose all prestige. I’m not suggesting they cost 100 laurels or 100g a piece or anything. Just something so that you can still get noticed for wearing them and not just another clone.

Why shouldn’t they be ‘starter gear’. If they’re skins, they’re skins and should have no level associated with them. One benefit of the ‘free’ nature of the HoM is you can freely transmute it onto your gear as you level instead of constantly being in ugly looking drops until you get to a level where it is worth buying your gear. If that were implemented for the achievements, then I’d have more options when I’m levelling alts. Adding a cost would just be an additional unnecessary money sink. I mean, it’s not like we don’t have enough of those, right? Right?

And if you’re worried of prestige, your worried of the wrong thing. Those that worry of prestige are those that want to act superior over others. And that’s just plain not nice. Be nice. Let others have their toys as well and don’t be mad at them for it. This is GW2, not WoW. We’re better than that.

I love gw2 and am here to stay. I enjoy playing games while conducting myself with honor; I wish to play the game as intended. I want to seek the challenges dungeons can provide and overcome them.

How dungeons are currently ran by the community conflicts with my beliefs. This is in reference to things like taking The Howling King in AC up the stairs to the gap and range killing him down while bypassing all of his fight mechanics among other encounters where you can be 100% safe from the boss while successfully killing them.

I have voiced my opinion that these tactics are exploitive, and I have heard all the arguments to counter it. “It’s just using the terrain.” “It’s easier this way.” “Anet has had time to change it and hasn’t.” I understand what these players are saying, but in my eyes that doesn’t mean that these excuses make it right.

Does Anet view these as exploitive as well? Is running through half the trash mobs imtended? Am I way off-base and these were intended tactics for the community to find? Are there other players who feel as I do on this subject?

I would love to have an official answer on this and will accept it whichever way it goes. Please gw2 community, feel free to express your opinion on the subject. Thank you.

With all my tactics and out-of-the-box thinking, the primary method I use to tackle dungeons is actually really straightforward: if it is in front of me, kill it.

And I prefer this method. Sure, it can take longer than if you just skip all of the mobs. But, it can also be shorter. I’ve seen it happen time and again when someone dies, and then they have to run back to the group, but they can’t run back to the group because there’s a hundred enemies that keep cutting them down between the two. And then someone runs back to help them, all the while an elitist is whining and writhing on the floor about the whole ordeal, and those two players can’t make it past either. Eventually after I’ve made myself a sandwhich and half eaten it, that guy manages to come back after dealing with all the repair costs, and then we eventually continue on. Only for the next enemy group we skip to snag someone, kill him, and repeat the process.

You see, I play the game to do one thing: Play the bloody game. Running past all of the content and waiting for people to catch up isn’t fun. It isn’t rewarding. It complicates things almost needlessly. You are skipping the game, and not playing it. If you just kill the enemies in front of you, then get their loot, when someone dies and has to run back they don’t get interrupted by a hundred enemies that everyone else has run past. You only get the full token reward once a day, so you might as well spend an extra few minutes getting additional loot from enemies, making everyone’s life easier.

Some of the funnest times I’ve had was figuring out how to kill an inordinate amount of bandits while inside of the den on Caudeceus Manor. So many people hate that section and skip that section, lacking both the creativity to come up with a solution and the will to come up with a solution. Instead, we have to go through some ineffective bypassing maneuver that takes over an hour and then everyone quits because no one can do it.

The fact that people insist on doing these bypasses when they just make things harder half the time baffles me.

Erasculio.2914:

dulfy.1493:

Skins

• Zenith weapon gallery (incomplete)

Dulfy, a question: is it me, or does the Zenith shortbow and staff’s animations change slightly when you use a skill? It looks like the green glow becomes somewhat orange.

Yup, most noticeable in the shortbow, staff is a bit hard to see but is there. Dagger/pistol didn’t see it so much.

I didn’t make this post so you guys could play the blame game. I was merely hoping to have a discussion about a mindset being developed within this community.

It’s clear as day that rewards are set as a major issue among the lot of you. I want to know why rewards have to be such a priority. Why not aim at reworking replay value so people can have fun taking on missions without ever having a second thought about how they’ll be rewarded? Wouldn’t that be a better improvement? Imagine, end-game, people signing in because they actually want to fight the flame legion and not worry too much about tokens, gold or w/e.

I’m not suggesting we take away rewards. I’m simply wondering how such a grand MMO has withered down to greed.

I would last about 10 seconds as a dev posting on these forums …. roflmao

Let’s see, right after the dev post comes the following:

The basement dweller that believes that the recent patch nerf to his class is a conspiracy aimed directly at him by Anet. The screaming teenager from World of Warcraft that plays 24-7 and may commit suicide if they don’t add a 10 man raid with better stat gear rewards. The WvW noob that just got ganked while picking daisies in the Eternal Battlegrounds and now demands a total rework of WvW. And last, but not least, the boot-lick fanboy that speaks with the voice of authority as if he had “inside information” as to what the devs intended or think, while also constantly spamming the report option on others since he’s a self-appointed forum moderator.

Heck, no …. in fact, to be honest, I’m stunned they bother to post as much as they currently do!

Casual players are the most profitable.

One of the core features of the Guild Wars franchise is its Buy-To-Pay model. The idea is that without a subscription fee, players are free to take ‘time off’ the game and shouldn’t feel obligated to play in order to ‘keep up’ or ‘get their money’s worth’. This is incredibly important when you consider the young professionals market, which consists of people working long hours and bringing home more disposable income than they may have had previously. Maintaining this market is incredibly important to the survival of the game for obvious reasons. Alienating them is exceptionally dangerous.

Playing casually does not mean playing lazily.

Players with limited time to spend gaming often still like a degree of challenge and commitment in their gameplay experiences. Content such as the Molten Facility and the Aetherblade Retreat pose interesting challenges not seen elsewhere in the game and their temporary nature means that there are always PUGs looking for an extra player or two. This makes them perfect for those who just want to log on for a couple of hours and find something fun to do. I do support the current plan of adding them to Fractals for those who wish to revisit them, but without the time-sensitive rewards like the jetpack and monocle.

The proportion of players who engage in large-scale group content is a small fraction of the playerbase.

Last time I checked, even WoW only had around 20% of its playerbase involved in raid content. Large-group content will not help the longevity of the game unless the content is accessible to the majority of the playerbase and not gated through gear or influence. This is not to say that those who enjoy large-group content should sit back and stew. I applaud Arenanet’s decision to continue to expand upon the Guild Missions system and to work on Fortune’s Vale – the first sentence in GW2’s answer to raids. I hope they deliver.

The rewards GW2 has in place are fine.

Skins are enough of a reward. Miniatures, new weapon and armour skins, new stat combinations and their ilk are enough to motivate players into ploughing through the content needed to acquire them. This is evident in the effort that players put into gaining these new skins. For many people, the issue is not that the reward isn’t good enough but that the reward is based on luck rather than effort. The Fused Weapon skins excited people but those same people were disheartened to know that unless they got very, very lucky with drops, they would never be able to acquire them.

The ‘sense’ of reward isn’t.

The people lucky enough to acquire Fused weapons didn’t feel as if they’d achieved something great, they simply felt lucky. Perhaps they also felt relieved that the money they’d spent hadn’t been wasted. This is an issue that carries over into Legendary precursors. There’s no sense of achievement. Supporting this is that some of Arenanet’s most successful and acclaimed content has been its most experimental, such as the Mad King’s Clocktower and the Super Adventure Box. Those who completed the challenges these set (especially the former) felt accomplished because they’d, well, actually accomplished something. The reward, in this instance, was utterly incidental.

Going forward.

The reason I want Fortune’s Vale to be a success, the reason I want more PvP modes (really, GW1 had a plethora) and the reason I want to go back to the old continents is simple: I want more content, with more challenges and more to experience. I support the Living Story plan, as I feel it is a good method of delivering frequent, new content to the masses. It also enables the developers to experiment more wildly than they might have done in the past and to see how the playerbase responds to specific challenges and areas. This can only help to inform their long-term projects, some of which we know are under development (Guild Halls, Player Housing, Fortune’s Vale, Further Fractals etc.) and will be released alongside the Living Story patches.

I admit, certain aspects of the Living Story have been disappointing but Arenanet is constantly refining the process and is delivering content which is genuinely fun to play. I can see the beginning of the overarching storyline they’ve been saying is hidden in these updates and I can see how the Living Story format could be used to great potential. Perhaps I’m too much an optimist, but I believe that the Living Story method and its associated would be better than rushing Fortune’s Vale out the door to early and praying for more people like you.

I think sylvari get both a better and a worse deal in the “personal story” than the other species. For a sylvari, Trahearne isn’t this random weirdo stranger who pops up out of nowhere and suddenly becomes #1 — instead you meet him earlier during the cultural story arc, and I liked him well enough then. And as a sylvari, you have a closer connection to the main plot because it’s literally the task you were born to do, not something you stumble into for no reason at all.

The abysmal downside is, of course, that NONE OF THAT MATTERS after the first few levels. Your Wyld Hunt? Utterly forgotten and never mentioned again. You being the Herald of the Pale Tree? Utterly forgotten and never mentioned again. The fact that it was you who reclaimed Caladbolg, avenged its original bearer and then wielded it in battle? Utterly forgotten and never mentioned again.

There just is ZERO continuity and coherence in the story with regard to our characters. In my opinion, that is the root of most of the problems. It’s not Trahearne or Destiny’s Edge or whatever — they’re only symptoms. The real issue is the fact that the character we pick is not allowed to be a character. It’s only logical that she or he has no actual place in the storyline, because a non-person who has neither a history nor a personality cannot carry a story.

Erasculio.2914:

The top character is wearing Seer armor (I think the staff is new). The second screenshot shows a guy with a CoF chest piece, but it looks like new shoulders, helmet and maybe gloves.

I hear ya, similar to the other (“radiant”?) armour – helmet, shoulders, gloves.
Chest and legs starting at 20k points – hehe, we’ll see.
Yes, I would love to see complete sets as well.

Edit: You know what else I would love to see? Profession sets – thinking of my guardian and the starter “ankh” themed shoulder and helm …

Does anyone have any current or recent news about whether new professions are going to be included in future expansions? I can’t remember reading anything directly from the devs either for or against new professions, but here and there in the forums, people claim to have heard something about it. I can’t find any one thread where the likelihood of new professions is discussed; it’s only discussed piecemeal when someone suggests a specific new profession. So I’m starting this thread.

I’ve personally changed my opinion on this; I hope that no new professions will be introduced, for the sake of combat balance and because all roles seem to be filled. So I’m looking for news on this because I’m selfishly hoping that the devs are NOT spending time working on new professions. :P

Surely the obvious solution to the SB issue is:

>Keep the SB range nerf
>Increase LB to 1500 always
>Replace the LB range trait with SB range to 1200
>???
>Profit

Odin of Ark.4860:

Is there a MMO where there’s DECENT endgame? I haven’t seen any.

try Gw2 … I hear that game has a pretty decent end-game for folks that approach games as a form of entertainment, and not work. They also say it’s a pretty good game for folks that love to compete with others on a level playing field without stat advantages.

But if you don’t like GW2, or it’s approach …

try, World of Warcraft. Despite the fashionable trend to bash WoW, ignore that, it’s a time tested oldie but goldie. WoW has plenty of classes and builds, does not require a high end comp, and has tons of endgame raiding based on the traditional vertical progression model.