Guild Wars 2

My personal high Score : 1

Not going to waste my time on a jumping puzzle with buggy mechanics, they need to fix the exploding presents section. I loved the puzzle last year, not sure what they did to mess it up but it is more frustrating than enjoyable now. Feels like SAB Back to school all over again.

Evon, a true Charr of the people.

Emissary Vex.5690:

Still waiting for a dev to answer. It would be rude and ridiculous for them not to.

Do not hold your breath.

I like Arena Net and they made a great game but they have a fairly poor track record in regards to communication, perhaps the worst of any MMO developer I know.

I assume this is all sarcasm as the alternative seems ludicrous.

I do not know what possesses Arena Net some times, especially when they make achievements. It is like they come up with them on a whim and never truly think about what they are doing.

Presents should have been the requirement, not silver or gold. Some times it feels like Arena Net truly lack an understanding about their game and the players that enjoy it.

I have to agree the rewards in presents are essentially junk, you have a better chance of winning the lottery than gaining anything of worth from a present.

Merry Wintersday everybody! You were all bad, have an ugly sock and a quartz crystal. Stop giving me rubbish crafting materials, my bank is stuffed with them already!

Arena Net really needs to sort out its rewards system for next year. Fact is people play to earn rewards, without good rewards people do not play, SAB back to school was an exceptionally good example of this. You would have though they learned their lesson by now.

I too, like the OP, am a casual player and I like about half of the living story content we have had so far, it is very hit and miss. Regardless everything I love about the game when I first played is still present so why would I ever leave?

The mentality of the OP “I do not get to enjoy all the new content so I would rather experience none at all!”. Am I the only one that thinks this is a very odd stance of have?

Really I think people would say anything for a bit of attention, the living story is not great but hardly worth quitting over.

Thanks for the advert, care to sell me double glazed windows next?

I disagree with the original poster entirely, sure wish I could un-like posts.

The fact that the jumping puzzle is -evil- shows that it is completely flawed. As it stands the buggy exploding presents just make the whole puzzle frustrating and tedious. Only an idiot that delights in others discomfort would find it entertaining at all, it shows what kind of people certain posters are.

We need a fix.

I am fine with almost the entire jumping puzzle, except those atrociously implemented exploding presents!

They are a complete troll, it was obviously not play tested very well before release. I loved it from last year and never had a problem then, this year it is severe frustration which completely mitigates any fun it was meant to generate.

They absolutely have to tone down the exploding presents.

Shanks.2907:

If Jormag does get an update, all champs on the map should go on pause while it’s up. That way they’ll either come help or go do something else.

I think you are getting confused with the Claw of Jormag, Shanks. The topic refers to the Elder Dragon Jormag, not his lieutenants.

Well done Elbegast.

I would not mind seeing some kind of Asuran snow generating machine that we can interact with once a day to get our choice of snow flakes.

Home instance rewards have been the best meta achievement rewards added to the game so far, my bank was starting to fill up with ugly backpacks.

I would be fine with Jormag, but we are more likely to get the jungle dragon before any others. First reason is Scarlet, second is because the Arena Net writers seem to be obsessed with Sylvari, for some bizarre reason.

lordkrall.7241:

They made it quite clear last year that the holiday events will largely be the same each year.

Citation needed, if you are going to make a statement like that then you are going to have to back it up.

lordkrall.7241:

Also keep in mind all the rage about them having a new story for Halloween this year compared to last.

No one raged about new story, they raged about content being removed from last year, which is perfectly reasonable.

It should not be needed for reasons stated by Ayrilana, but even then if it was changed it would not remove any fun from the game.

The clock tower needed it, characters were grouped together on one set path and a lot of players had trouble seeing past max size Charr and Norn. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few trolls that liked to block peoples view.

The rewards given was definitely not worth the effort, very bad call from Arena Net. Especially disappointing as they touted the rewards as being -very- worth while.

I doubt I will take part in season two if this is what the rewards will be like. At least I can better spend the excessive amount of time required to get the key doing better things.

I can understand Arena Net not working over Christmas, hope they enjoy the holidays.

My only concern is that the next update seems to lack much in the way of actual fresh content. I doubt we have enough to keep us in game for two weeks let alone a whole month.

On the bright side, at least it will be a month without suffering a Scarlet story again.

Not it does not feel like a full expansion, a full expansion the content stays forever.

The Living Story is just not meaty enough to be fairly compared nor does it add enough new regions or story based content. A fair comparison would be mediocre DLC, but it is free of charge so I am happy to get it.

Nothing new then, that was unexpectedly disappointing.

We all want old content to come back, that surely is not a problem at all for them to provide, but adding nothing new is quite strange. Every MMO I know adds stuff to their festivals, not just recycles last years content only.

The first few years of Guild Wars Wintersday had more new content than this, very disappointing Arena Net.

Gnat.9405:

Wintersday content was finished 4 months ago

What? You mean it was started four months ago, right?

I just went to the website a few minutes ago to check what is in the new release. I was quite surprised that it has not been updated yet.

Fingers crossed this is not a sign that some Wintersday content is not complete and perhaps parts may need to be removed from release notes. Do not disappoint me like you did with Haloween!

Kaon.7192:

So Kiel supporters…
How does it feel to have supported the Scarlet fractal?

That was quite amusing, so glad I supported Evon.

Oh the memories, I loved my Glacial Blade.

If Arena Net implemented re-imagined versions of some of the old armour and weapons it truly would make my day. I probably would not even mind buying some of them from the store.

The store armour sets have been fairly ugly lately a design an armour contest would not be a bad idea.

Yes, they desperately need more time.

Unfortunately they have already stated that the two week schedule is not something they have any intention on changing. I think the reasoning is that player activity falls off after two weeks of play, this content cycle keeps them in game and thus provides regular income through the store.

I see no reason for anyone to quit over Scarlet, only a few drama queens have actually claimed to do so. I would not take anyone’s claim of quitting seriously, to do so seems preposterous to me.

I am not sure how to convince you about the issues people have with Scarlet Delvoire, especially as opinions and issues have already been made fairly clear. I do not think either of us will be able to sway one anothers opinions in the slightest, we will just have to agree to disagree.

The sooner Arena Net move lore and stories into the game itself, the better for all concerned. Unfortunately I do no see that happening till well after the Scarlet arc has ended, far too late to save her character.

On topic;

Wintersday is one of my favorite holiday events, if Scarlet so much as shows her face during Wintersday or makes the Super Cuddly Alliance (Moto & Tixx) I probably will completely freak out!

Delvoire.8930:

I’m not expecting anyone to do anything.

First, it’s a video game. Let’s not be too serious, ok.

Second, it is her back story. If people don’t want to take the time to educate themselves on that story, no matter how it is implemented, then that is their own fault. The simple fact is, the story is there to paint the picture and connect the dots. It doesn’t vindicate her as a character, it fleshes her out.

Funny, I don’t see people complaining about Rox and how her back story was on this website. I don’t see anyone upset that her entire War Band was killed “off camera”. I don’t see anyone mad that Braham lost his father or that Elen Kiel was rescued at sea after her family was killed.

There’s been quiet a few back stories that have helped to flesh out characters in the Living Story. The only complaint is about Scarlet and it just seems like a pretty lame complaint IMO.

At the end of the day, this is all just my opinion though. I play this game and enjoy it. I hope all others do as well. If you’re wasting your time and playing a game you don’t enjoy, it’s time for some self evaluation then.

You do not, but Arena Net apparently does, which is why the text is on the website and not in game.

We all know it is a video game, telling me not to be serious before you make your own `serious´ and passionate reply hardly gives you a morale high ground, but fine continue.

The people are to blame for not reading content outside of a game? Believe it or not but most people play the game and rarely come to the forums or read up on the website. it is not the player base failing but Arena Net failing to inform its players, if they truly want people to read any story then they should add a tab in the hero panel containing these texts.

Rox was a good character, her back story can be put together without having to read a story outside the game through interactions, cut scenes and okay-ish in game story telling. Scarlet on the other hand requires it, without that story you essentially have nothing. Constant “HAHAHAHAHA! Later taters! -teleport-” is not clever, detailed or deep and meaningful writing.

Saying something is lame is fine, but it hardly is a convincing argument, please point out why other players displeasure with Scarlet is wrong and why you are right. I have read countless posts explaining why the whole Scarlet fiasco is bad yet the people that defend her rarely ever give reasons as to why she is good beyond saying read the website story. Saying `you are wrong.. because!´ simply does not cut it.

Now you imply I do not enjoy Guild Wars 2, I am a bit offended by that as I love the game. I am a veteran player I have played since Guild Wars 1 beta played the Guild Wars 2 beta. I own every addon bought Guild Wars 1 store items Guild Wars 2 store items, clocked up thousands of hours between games and have no intention of stopping now even with Scarlet ruining the living story. I dislike Scarlet and her story as evident with my posts, unless you are trying to tell me she is the entirety of Guild Wars 2 and without her their is nothing then I am hardly going to stop playing, am I?

Self evaluation you say. I am a die hard Guild Wars fan (I even own a mouse pad and the books) distraught over yet another badly written character pushed into every bit of content regardless of logic. People posting on forums about things they dislike is how developers learn if the content they made went down well. I would say I am behaving perfectly normally for someone that loves the franchise. Now I ask you, evaluate yourself, ask why you care about another persons hatred with Scarlet and why do you feel so compelled to argue with him yet do nothing to try and convince or sway him to your view point.

JohnLShannonhouse.1820:

Some of the Living Story developers gave an interview where they clarified that Scarlet never completed any course of study anywhere.

It really seems like the writers trying a hastily patch up holes in a very poorly written story. So now we have to take her background story not only from a website story but developer chat from various social medias to boot.

A good story does not need clarified, it is impervious to criticism and has no plot holes, effectively it is a testament unto itself. The constant changing, clarifying and comments by writers outside of the game is proof enough that the whole Scarlet fiasco was poorly conceived to begin with.

Boggles the mind how anyone can defend such trashy writing.

Delvoire.8930:

If you read Scarlet’s back story…

Expecting players to read a website story that takes place outside of the game is unacceptable, even the developers admitted that it was not a good way to convey the story behind her.

I know I am not alone in the “If it did not happen ingame, it did not happen at all” crowd.

Funny how the handful of Scarlet fans always fall back to that one story as if it vindicates the character in some way.

I suggest you take your head out of that hole and look around Carighan.

Carighan.6758:

Aedelric.1287:

Each to their own, but be warned you are in a severe minority.

And you know this because….

Complaints.

Specifically the sheer quantity of them and the fact that every living story she is involved in, the more people hate her. The quantity of I hate Scarlet topics has risen exceptionally since the introduction of her character.

In game players consistently complain about her, I am not sure about you but I have literally never heard a kind thing said in relation to her name. Even when I did the Fractal with a random group the strangers they freaked out with her presence asking “FFS! Why is she here?” and saying “Scarlet should just go die”.

This forum does not have a single “I love Scarlet” topic, we used to get one or two but now even people who used to be fans are seeing the error of their ways and are starting to turn against her. Read this topic thoroughly and you will see several have changed their stance to disliking her.

People have less desire to defend her character, this topic alone is proof of that. The vast majority of posts in the I hate Scarlet topics are complaints and only one or two saying “I like her” or “I do not understand the hate” Usually just the same few people over and over again.

All this indicates an extreme minority that like Scarlet and a majority that dislikes her. Only a fool would even question this as it is blatantly obvious that she is nearly universally disliked. If you are not capable of coming to the same conclusion due to the overwhelming evidence then I doubt anything would convince you.

thetoetag.5183:

I love Scarlet! I don’t understand why everyone hates her so much.

Easy, try reading the countless topics that explain why she is hated.

Heta.8629:

I like scarlet and know others do too

Each to their own, but be warned you are in a severe minority.

Agreed.

We do not like Scarlet Briar!

perilisk.1874:

2) have your Order mentor wake you up and tell you that you got a terrible concussion in the middle of the first battle at Claw Island and hallucinated the rest of the Personal Story and Living Story.

As big a leap that would be I would take such a story in a heartbeat.

Even if all this were to happen Scarlet would still be stuffed in somewhere and completely ruin another great fractal idea.

Yea, do not waste your time speculating.

Scarlet did it.

I am utterly disgusted with Arena Net’s writers at the moment.

I voted for Evon, but I was able to see the great idea behind Thaumanova so I was fine to have it as a fractal. Unfortunately instead of great lore and clever writing, we get Scarlet. I completely detest Scarlet, not because she is a great villain but because she is utter trash ruining a game I enjoy, Arena Net seriously needs to rethink including her, every person I talk to in game has had enough of her.

Her inclusion in the Thaumanova story felt like Arena Nets writers took offence to everyone’s general dislike to her and her, so they included her in hateful spite.

I love Guild Wars and have no intention of quitting but as punishment for including her I shall not buy anything from the Black Lion Trading Company for this month. Or any other months that she makes an appearance in the Living Story. This may not mean much being only one person but at least I am making a stand that affects you as a company.

Trixie.7614:

You support Evon Gnarshblade, you support countless zergs of people standing in straits of devastation, purchasing quaggan tonics.

That is complete slander!

See what Ms Kiel supporters resort to? Blackening Mr Gnashblades good name with false accusations that his supporters are tonic drinking mindless hordes. What has the political situation in Lions Arch come to?

You vote for Evon and you vote for honest election campaigns.

I still have over a hundred Evon buttons, I use them when I run around in WvW.

He should have won, he was clearly robbed during the election, I say it was fixed!

I heard that Ellen Kiel likes to shoot Quaggans from an airship, something about them being a dangers and needed culling.

You support Ellen Kiel, you support Quaggan blood sports.

Vote Evon 1327!

I support this message.

I also hear that Ms Kiel may have bought off her supporters and may have an all too cozy relationship with Captain Magnus, who may have used his own leverage to put her on the council.

These, truly malicious rumors alone should revoke her right to be on the council.

This post is in no way affiliated with Evon Gnashblade, upstanding citizen of Lions Arch, shrewd entrepreneur and true Charr of the people.

The trailer was very well done, anything that uses the concept art is usually very good.

They should do it more often.

At a glance red, green, blue. Reminds me of the three colour theme we have for this update with the Tri-key and molten alliance/Aetherblades/Toxic Alliance.

What I am hopeful for is Tixx, the update after could just as well be Wintersday though. But honestly I am tired of Scarlet and would rather have an event I enjoy than suffer her in the living story again.

What I think it is likely to be is the Thaumanova Reactor Fractal, the shattered glass could be reality tearing and the bottom part could easily be the reactor. So that is my guess… oh, and Scarlet.

Frosty and Frosty Law Firm.4981:

You(The players) asked for harder content.

You(The players) will now deal with what you get.

I am fairly sure I never asked for harder content, judging by the forums most people are fine with the difficulty of regular Guild Wars 2 content, a good portion even wanted it toned down.

Case in point;

Arena Net release SAB world 2, the whole forum erupts into complaints about it being too difficult, the developers admit the issues and even tone it down slightly. (A handful complain that it was too easy)

Liadri, a lot of people liked it but more did not. I remember many many posts about that fight being unfair and forcing players to run specific builds.

Tequatil, many cheers about the great new mechanics and countless topics complaining about the difficulty, specifically the quantity of players needed and the arbitrary time limit.

A handful of forum posters asking for harder content does not equal the entire player base. `You´ are a player and part of the very same community Frosty, blaming the community for Arena Nets ill informed decisions is not constructive or helpful.

Moto and Tixx, Moto’s super holographic technology and Tixx’s plush toys.

The Super Cuddly Alliance

She went to Tixx’s Infinarium to broker an alliance between the plush toys and Moto’s super holo technology. Be ready for her plans will come to fruition this Wintersday.

The Super Cuddly Alliance.

Soulstar.7812:

Youtube already has solo videos… LOL

And I am sure not a single one of them is of you defeating a champion solo.

LOL?

Soulstar.7812:

I can. Period.

Accept it. Don’t. Stay quiet.

Sorry to disappoint you, it is not up to anyone to believe you but for you to prove yourself right.

Edit – Looks like your post vanished, interesting.

I highly doubt any of you have soloed any of the champions. I can claim I have been to the moon but that does not make it so.

Feel free to post videos to back up your claims, till then I will look at your posts as desperate cries for attention.

You did not even try to keep it short ProxyDamage, do not lie.

Points you made that I agree with.

The Orr effect, being tossed around by enemy skills, this one is especially fear heavy, such tactics is not fun. Yes it is counter-able, but it forces player to play a handful of builds rather than what they want.

I do like enemies with a bit of brains and the ai seems to be a step in the right direction, only issue I have is the finisher move, it was a novelty at first, now it is a plain nuisance.

Instances are great solo content, but pointless if you can not get to said content without a group to clear the way. I agree 100%, especially with it being a big issue off peak or when people complete achievements and go play other content. (I spent twenty minutes earlier waiting for players to come help me clear a blocked path, I ended up just logging out.)

The rewards, I did not mind aether keys, you just had to collect one type, now it is three different types, it is just such a pain in the rear. I agree rewards are an issue and seldom do we get rewards proportional to the effort put in.

The Story, it is a Scarlet arc and as expected it is a tiresome waste of time. A handful of people do care about Scarlet, but judging by complaints in-game and on the forums, people have had enough of her. I agree with you, I just could not care less about this character and just want it to finally be over with.

What I disagree with;

It is an uninspired farm zone, it spawns champions often along the path, just wait till the zergs come and operate regularly. No mechanics can stop a champion train just zerging around and this zone seems well built to accommodate such gameplay.

Story progression, I do not entirely disagree with you but I must say that every two weeks is perfectly adequate time scale for the story progression The real issue is the quality and depth of the story, the quantity itself is not nearly enough to make it fully engaging.

I was relieved to get out of Orr, much in the same way I will be relieved to get out of the tower. It is a bad sign when someone just wants to get the achievements over with so they can move onto some place more aesthetically pleasing, more rewarding and with less trolling gameplay mechanics.

In all, a fairly disappointing release, optimistic for Wintersday though.

Megis.9264:

I’m guessing you didn’t run into any blocked passages, guarded by champions.

This is exactly what makes it not soloable.

I have been waiting for twenty minutes for other players to come along and help clear the path. Guess it can only ever be completed during peak times or as a group.

The instances are fine as a solo player, getting to them is essentially impossible as a solo player though.