Thanks for waiting everybody. We have gathered questions from this thread, other threads on the forum and from our other language forums and passed them along to the teams for answers. Below you can read the great responses we have received from the developers. Namely, Associate Game Director John Corpening, Gameplay Programmer Bill Freist, Server Programmer Samuel Loretan and Game Designers Curtis Johnson and Matt Wuerffel.
Trait Changes
Q: What about PvP-only players who have low-level characters for PvP? Does the new trait system mean we won’t be able to experiment with builds any more unless we start playing PvE?
John Corpening: In PvP players have access to all skills, runes, sigils and traits from the “core” set. The core set is everything the game launched with. New traits and other items that are added to the game will require players to unlock it. So there should be plenty for players to play with. And with all the gold, loot, tomes of knowledge and skill points that players are earning from playing Reward Tracks unlocking the new stuff will be fairly easy.
Q: With the way getting trait points is changing and having to be level 30, does this mean that we can only get 50 trait points?
John Corpening: Trait points will be condensed from a total of 70 points into 14 points. Each one of these new points is essentially worth 5 of the ‘old’ points. This way each time you spend a point you will unlock a minor or major trait slot and 50 points of each stat in the line which will feel much more rewarding as well as prevent build errors when setting up your character. These points will begin to be awarded at level 30 and continue to be obtained every 6 levels. Once you reach level 66 it will continue at a pace of 2 points every 6 levels until 80.
Social Play and LFG Changes
Q: Last login for guilds, does that mean last represented login?
Bill Freist: Last logout time for the account – regardless of what guild they were representing.
Q: So is it only guild leaders who have access to seeing when members last logged on, or can the entire guild roster see it?
Bill Freist: The entire guild can view this information.
Q: Is last login retroactive? Will we see actual last login dates on April 15th or do we start our clocks from April 15th?
Bill Freist: This feature was deployed at midnight PST on Mar 12th. Players that log out after that time will start recording their last online time. So the maximum last online time will be just over a month when this feature ships. Player that haven’t logged in between then and the build will display as “Unknown” for when they were last online.
Megaserver
Q: Will language grouping only work for officially supported languages (EN, FR, DE, ES)? If not, how will players who speak unsupported languages (Polish, Russian, etc.) be grouped?
Samuel Loretan: To determine a player language, MegaServer uses the language of that player’s home world (or the world currently guested to, if any). That means that only official languages are being supported. All servers marked with a specific language are using this language, while servers without an explicit language are using English by default. Players who speak unsupported languages will be grouped using those criteria.
Q: How will this affect the people I’ve blocked? Will they be shuffled to another map unless someone in my guild has them unblocked?
Samuel Loretan: The MegaServer system currently doesn’t use the friends list nor the blocked list information. This might be something that will change in the future: as we’ve stated, the MegaServer system is just the beginning, and we are exploring all sorts of approaches in creating meaningful and solid social units for the system to use.
Q: What is happening with guesting?
Samuel Loretan: On April 15th, the guesting feature will still exist. If you guest to a specific world, this world will be used to sort you, instead of your home world. That doesn’t mean that you will necessarily end up in a different map copy, but you will be counted as a member of your guested world by the MegaServer system.
Universal Timers and Guild Events
Q: Will existing Influence, Merits, Consumables, and Unlocks across all Worlds be merged into the new unified chapter?
Samuel Loretan: We are still working on the details of the guild merging, but the general goal is to avoid losing anything in the process, when feasible, and without going over the currently defined maximal capacities for each of those elements (the 250 Merits limit, for example). Keep in mind that this will evolve, and that we will let you know the specifics of the guild merging as soon as practically feasible.
Q: How will Guild Banks from different Worlds be resolved and merged together? In order to avoid items/gold being destroyed, will guilds have to empty their guild banks in preparation for a merge?
Samuel Loretan: As previously said, the specifics of the merging are still being worked on. Guild banks are a difficult problem to solve, but we’re currently targeting a solution that wouldn’t require any preparation from the players. That being said, nothing is set for sure here, and you will be informed of the details as soon as they’re defined for certain.
Q: Since the megaserver changes will initially affect a few areas, will the World Boss schedule table be true just for the light yellow bosses or are the rest of the World Bosses also going into the new schedule even if their areas are still not part of the megaserver?
Samuel Loretan: No, the World Bosses schedule will be released globally on April 15th. Note that the order of rollout of the MegaServer system may still change, as we’re still conducting tests, and as we will be adjusting the parameters depending on our monitoring. While I know that it isn’t what was in the blog post, we’re adjusting this to ensure the best experience for everyone, and the smoother possible rollout of this feature, which has a very large scope and requires careful operation.
Wardrobe and Dye Changes
Q: Will all the gems armors we have bought or earned be unlocked even if we salvaged some of them?
Curtis Johnson: Only skins you currently have equipped or in inventory will be unlocked automatically. Any piece from a complete gem store armor set will unlock the whole set for your account. So if you salvaged everything but still have the primeval glove skin you will unlock the whole armor set.
Q: Speaking of the gas mask — what about it, or Mask of the Queen, or other items that currently can be applied to any weight of armor but then get locked to that weight? Will they remain free-for-all in terms of armor weight once in the Wardrobe?
Matt Wuerffel: Items that could be applied to any weight of armor (the gas mask, Mask of the Queen, Radiant and Hellfire armor) will unlock their skin for all armor types.
Q: Do racial and weight restrictions still apply to the wardrobe system?
Matt Wuerffel: When you are transmuting looks to a character, racial and armor type restrictions still apply. Any character can unlock those skins to the account (e.g. your Mesmer can acquire heavy armor and unlock the skins to your account, which you could then apply to your Guardian’s appearance).
Q: Does the number of transmutation charges required depend on anything?
Matt Wuerffel: All transmutations cost one charge per item, with the exception of skins from the Hall of Monuments and the achievements system, which are free to apply.
Q: Once I unlock a skin in the wardrobe, am I free to delete the actual item while still using the appearance from the wardrobe in the future?
Matt Wuerffel: Yes. In fact, deleting the item will actually unlock the skin in the wardrobe as a safeguard.
Q: Are we going to be able to use town clothes as armor from now on?
Matt Wuerffel: All outfits will be usable in combat.
Q: Why not simply convert town clothes into armor skins and keep the costume pieces separate?
Curtis Johnson: Some town-clothes are not compatible in tech and art style to mix with all the existing armors and thus were not eligible for conversion.
Q: ‘Outfits’ are all or nothing. What about items that were sold as individual items?
Curtis Johnson: Town clothes sold individually were either converted to individual armor skins available to any weight class or endless tonics.
Q: What happens to the extra items that came with the costumes, like the broom you fly on or the black cat?
Curtis Johnson: All toys will still function from inventory and can be used with armor or outfits. Toys will still un-equip automatically in combat.
Q: Will this be enabled in WvW? What about the various toys that got costumes and such banned from WvW?
Curtis Johnson: WvW equipment and wardrobe will all be usable the same as PvE. Toys that are not allowed in WvW will be individually disabled.
Q: Will a transmutation charge “unlock” the skin already in our locker for unlimited use?
Matt Wuerffel: Skin unlocks are permanent, free, and account wide by account binding the item or salvaging it. Each time you transmute a skin from the wardrobe onto an item, it will cost one transmutation charge with the exception of skins from the Hall of Monuments and the achievements system will remain free to apply to as many items as you like. Once transmuted the item can be equipped and unequipped as often as you like and will keep the skin.
Q: Unidentified dyes are required for the Gift of Color. How are we going to get them now?
Matt Wuerffel: Unidentified dyes will be obtainable from the Mystic Forge, from select in-game rewards, and from the trading post. Also, the number of unidentified dyes required for the Gift of Color will be reduced.
Q: When unlocking a Legendary appearance, will I also unlock the visual effect that comes with it (footsteps and aura). If so, would it take 1 transmutation charge to apply those to the account or will I need to pay gold?
Matt Wuerffel: All visual effects that are associated with a Legendary weapon will apply to any weapon transmuted to an unlocked Legendary skin. The cost of transmutation is always one charge per item, with the exception of skins from the Hall of Monuments and the achievements system, which are free to apply.
Q: If I’ve already reskinned my legendary with something else would I still be getting the legendary skin when we get the wardrobes? Also, what will happen to transmutation splitters?
Matt Wuerffel: Items that have been transmuted will unlock the skin of the base item used for stats and the most recent item applied for appearance. Transmutation splitters will still be available to use on transmuted items to separate the base item used for stats and the most recent item applied for appearance.
Q: What about backpieces (be it the Jetpack, Dwayna, Ascended, etc.): will these be converted into skins too?
Matt Wuerffel: Backpiece skins can be added to your account wardrobe, and backpiece items can be transmuted through the wardrobe in the hero panel, just like other pieces of equipment.
Q: Will there be an opportunity to earn transmutation charges as in game rewards for events, or will access be strictly gem purchases?
Curtis Johnson: Transmutation charges can be earned as part of map completes and will occasionally be included in other rewards. Gold can also be exchanged for gems to purchase anything in the store.
