Guild Wars 2

Arikyali.5804:

Zerging back for the toxic event was fun, but this one is a bit too chaotic. Even with commanders, everyone seems to run around pretty lost.

I left the zerg and went solo to revive dead NPCs in the forgotten corners of LA. It was a lot more fun, but less loot. Sadly, I couldn’t save all of the NPCs before the miasma came along.

I take back what I said. I left the zerg again and went solo – ended up with more loot than before.

It’s much, much more fun going alone, than following the zerg. I feel like a WvW scouter in PvE.

Zerging back for the toxic event was fun, but this one is a bit too chaotic. Even with commanders, everyone seems to run around pretty lost.

I left the zerg and went solo to revive dead NPCs in the forgotten corners of LA. It was a lot more fun, but less loot. Sadly, I couldn’t save all of the NPCs before the miasma came along.

It is the entire fractal, from start to finish – but it is only for that one fractal instance. Other fractal instances do not have an issue.

I can’t check what my FPS is inside that instance, but ingame, it’s ~20 FPS.

…Maybe it’s time I just buy a new laptop.

I would say thief or engineer – although engineers can be quite ‘switch-happy’ in gameplay.

Most thief builds focus on burst damage instead of DoT, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t DoT available.

Kaddy.4706:

HI’d prefer physical damage but if Mesmer or Ele are good and fun I wouldn’t rule them out.

On a note, there’s no ‘physical’ or ‘magical’ damage in GW2. It’s either direct damage or condition damage. The wiki explains it in more detail: http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Damage

If you really like the thief class, don’t give up on it so quickly. I remember when I started my thief, I had a hard time getting the mechanics down.

I heard people were looking for Sylvari Mesmers…

It took her hundreds of years to master such skills of illusion. Yes, hundreds…she’s so good at the Mesmer Arts, you could never guess her true age behind all that mesmery magic.

It might be simple, but it was taken in a glitched part of the map. No photoshop at all. All it had was a slight enhancement on color.

My turn!

First is my dungeon farming/WvW set. Second is my roaming/soloing set. It took me a very long time to get the colors right on the first set, since so many colors would just clash. (Even if they all look like the same dye, it’s not. I only reused a few colors. The dyes would usually come up in a more gray shade with the first set. It looked ugly). Took the inspiration from a setting sun.

I generally have little to no lag, even during events where others will get hit with it. But there is one fractal, Solid Ocean (the one with the Jade Maw boss) where my FPS will drop. It’s practically a slide show, where I can barely do anything to assist my party.

It’s only for that one instance, and the moment it’s over, everything’s fine again. I’m assuming it has something to do with my graphics card, but I want to hear if anyone else has this issue, or if there’s any ‘quick fix’ for it. Changing the graphics to ‘best performance’ doesn’t help the lag at all.

My computer might be a bit old, but I’m not keen on buying a replacement just yet.

I have a Sylvari Mesmer, and during solo PvE, I use the racial elites. It’s usually Take Root, but I pick the hound if I want fast-spawning single target ally.

So, it’s useful in that aspect.

Dalris Thane.6314:

Can anyone explain, using easy words (English second language), what is the downside to you folks about level increases. Because, I’m sorry to say, for me, it just means something else fun to do, something that stopped once you hit the cap. (Sidebar = I feel the same feeling of “darn!” when I hit “best in slot” as there’s nothing left to do for that slot…)

I don’t think this game’s really designed to extend levels beyond 80. Most complaints would come from people who would have to re-gear their character all over again. Some players don’t like seeing their efforts of getting the ‘best slot’ go down the drain, when it gets replaced with a better slot item. Take legendaries – no matter when you start working on them, they’ll always guaranteed to be best slot items. But if the cap is raised to 90, then what happens to them?

I don’t see a reason to have cap increase, if we can equally have downleveling for new maps. If the new map released was level 50-60, no one would really care. More people would probably like it, because then they can take their alts and newbie friends over, instead of limiting all good content to high level.

Even if they open new maps, why make them 80+? Adding more low level maps works just as well.

Most people dislike rangers because there are few that can actually play the class well. Arguably one of the easiest classes to pick up, but not so easy to master.

(I’m betting a lot of it is just bad rep, since the ease of learning = attracting people who probably aren’t good at gameplay anyway. Micro-managing the pet can get tricky, but when I started my ranger, I really can’t see what all the fuss is with them…)

That aside, if you really like PvE, I’d also suggest looking at guardian next. They’re more of a tanky class, and are loved in dungeons. I just find them annoying solo PvE, because they’re slow.

Maybe the Tengu gate will open up. That could be the next hub.

CHIPS.6018:

Arikyali.5804:

I believe the ‘lack of skill choice’ was an intentional design. The devs didn’t want to have a myriad of skills clogging up the screen. They just wanted skills that were easy to pick up and understand, but still required experience to master.

“Require experience to master” isn’t something unique to GW2 though. GW1 skills takes just as much, if not more, experience to master. Take Grenth’s Balance, for example.

What I see in GW2 is everyone running the exact same few builds. And it gets boring and dull very quickly.

I don’t remember the last time I see someone (pve or WvW) running a totally new build that shocked me.

I mean yeah of course it is easier to balance for the devs. But it isn’t fun for the players.

(Not to mention the game, desperate everyone running the same builds, isn’t even that well balanced. There are plenty of underpowered and overpowered skills and traits everywhere. So what’s the point?)

Now I am not asking for 1000s of skills. But I think 15 skills per weapon set (instead of just 5) and 60 utility skills (instead of just 20) is fair to ask for. And this includes 3 different auto attack skill 1s for the players to choose from, in each weapon set.

Meta builds are born because people like winning. Most don’t want the trouble of researching and tweaking to get the best build. Some builds counter others, but it just comes out to what’s the most popular right now. It’s more human nature then game design.

Remember when condition damage wasn’t the meta? Then one day someone tried it, realized how useful it was, and used it. Then everyone else tried it and loved it. I’m sure if someone else found a new ‘ultimate win’ build, everyone else will jump on the bandwagon.

Even so, there isn’t a “tank/support/damage/range/melee” -only viable build, where one only works. I’ve never played GW1, but I’ve played other games that had a more rigid class systems, with little diversity. But those were games where you stood in one place and face rolled to win. Builds here do not make a heavy impact, as gameplay and technique. You can give a thief the backstab build, but if they can’t actually ‘back-stab’ then it’s useless.

I’m guessing you might have already seen my old build thread: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/The-Mesmerizing-Army-Soloist-s-PvE-build/first#post3364413

But this build was designed with a bit of tanking in mind. If you just want to run through with the fastest map completion, and avoid most major fights, then the meta zerker build would work just as well.

Traiting for weapons does not give a noticeable boost in PvE, so I’d suggest ignoring such traits altogether. I haven’t experimented very much with the focus in open world PvE – I just preferred other choices. but if you like the focus, go for it.

Of the 3, I’d pick the 3rd build. The second build has utility that would probably benefit more with a staff user.

For gears, zerker should be fine. Mesmers have plenty of lockdown and ‘panic’ skills to avoid damage. If you do want more survivability, then Valkyrie is a good choice.

I believe the ‘lack of skill choice’ was an intentional design. The devs didn’t want to have a myriad of skills clogging up the screen. They just wanted skills that were easy to pick up and understand, but still required experience to master.

…Not to worry…

…There are still those that will not abandon LA in its time of need…

-throws more kindling to the conspiracy claim- https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/livingworld/lwd/Consortium-Conspiracy/first#post1733664 (very, very old theory thread, before Scarlet was even revealed)

New theory. Consortium brainwashed Scarlet.

Since Glory is going to be phased out, and I still have 37 of these glory boosters sitting in my bank, what’s going to become of them? I’m not keen on spending them all before glory is removed, if they’ll be replaced with the new updates with something else.

Anyone know? I didn’t see anything in the announcements.

I’ll agree, it was a lot of fun. The warden fights are also diverse – they’re not all ‘stack to win’. Stacking can be a good strategy, but overusing it just makes it boring and grindy.

What I really commend, is having a fight that is complex in design, yet easy to pick up. You don’t need to read a guide on how to fight the marionette – just use common sense and listen to other players. But it’s also not ‘target and spam skills to chip away HP.’

I’m just gonna throw this out there…but is there any possibility of Scarlet being connected to the White Mantle? I don’t know much on GW1 lore.

The more I read into the theories, the less I’m convinced she’s related to the Dragons. My original theory for Scarlet, was that she wanted to become something close to a god (or goddess). Her ego, her love for creating and tinkering, and her stubborness to accept the Dream and its linked Destiny, all seem to point toward it. Problem with that theory, is that her journal seems to suggest that she was already ‘being affected’ by something else on the inside, before she even met Omadd. (And yet, the pages spell out his name…something guided her to him, or just forged evidence to lead us astray?)

I’m just going to bring up an old question I posted a long time ago, that still seems to hold merit:

Arikyali.5804:

Whether Scarlet actually got a glimpse of the Eternal Alchemy or just went completely insane, after she emerged from Omadd’s machine, she was completely changed. She’s disconnected from the dream, much like the Soundless. The Soundless want to separate themselves from the Dream, so that their thoughts could be uninfluenced, and their own.

Scarlet doesn’t want to be limited by the destiny defined in the dream. She wants to make her own. But here’s a thought: Did Scarlet cut herself off, or maybe the dream itself…?

The Soundless invested a lot of time with meditation to separate themselves from the dream. Scarlet was part of the Dream before she went in the machine, and (supposedly) severed when she got out. It can’t be the Pale Tree, since she has no control over the dream, and is only its caretaker. Scarlet’s memories and knowledge could have influenced the Dream, and thus be considered a threat to the rest of the Sylvari.

No one exactly knows what the Dream is. It might be something related to the Mists or Eternal Alchemy, or something completely separate.

How did Scarlet get severed from the dream so quickly? Was she forced, or was it by her own free will?

Wait a darn tootin ’minute.

Did Anet really use the spot of the Warning Bouy, and drop one of Scarlet’s evil energy probes? Did the community’s collaborative work really inspire someone on the dev team?

:3

Time to get Anakysha back in action…

Wow, didn’t expect this thread to turn into a full on debate.

Soooo in a nutshell, there’s no real need to get some new gear/jewels to boost the staff, as a zerker mesmer. And if I happen to want both weapon sets to be ranged, maybe…instead go for scepter/appropriate offhand?

I’ve recently started playing ranger, and I’d have to pick the sword/axe and greatsword as my favorite weapon choices. They have so much utility, and the skills look very nice. With the bows, It just feels like I’m spamming auto attack, and using 1-2 other skills when needed. I don’t think I even use LB 3. The range weapons are slowly becoming a second choice weapon, and not a main pick.

How come I don’t see many rangers with melee weapons? I didn’t even know rangers used the GS because I never saw one carry it. If I decide to focus my ranger on melee, what would be a strong pick for gameplay? PvP?

Before, I have never lagged in this game. The only lag issues I’ve come across are due to high quality graphics, but that’s because of my computer. Lag itself has never been an issue. Not even in WvW zergfests do I have lag.

A few days ago everyone on my server hit painful lag during a temple run. It was akin to a slideshow, and I wasn’t the only one. And now I’m experiencing small lag when moving items from my bag to the bank, where it takes 1-2 seconds for the item to drop into the slot.

I hope it was just a temporary hiccup on Anet’s side. But has anyone else gotten lag recently?

Eeh, I kinda took the meta and adjusted it to my own builds and play style, so I guess it’s a modified meta? Let’s just say it’s close enough to the zerker phantasm, and it works.

All I really need is an idea to make the staff worthwhile for a zerker mesmer, on the instances that I need the staff’s utilities. Its support boon is really very low as I’ve noticed, and if I’m actually pulling it out for support, I’m probably not farming dungeons at that moment. But I’d still need an idea to build it for range and defense. If I want damage, I’m using my other weapon sets.

Nabuko Darayon.9645:

Yup exactly, don’t blame the TP manipulators. You’re the one to blame for getting all stressed out and buying highly increased-in-price materials.

If you didn’t stress out right now and bought in quantity, the prices wouldn’t increase. Since demand now is much higher (after few reddit pots that scared crafters out) there’s no sense in buying any Scraps right now. Trust me they’ll go down in price.

Call me your Angel that will save you gold. Craft what you can, craft those time-based parts and leave the finishing touches (turning them to Damask) for later

Don’t fall for the manipulation
REMEMBER: Ascended armor isn’t a must right now. You can still do everything in GW2 without it.

P.S. Merry Christmas

I think it’s already starting. The profit margin is already diminishing last I checked. Lately I’ve just been assisting guildies with damask production (I’m not making mine today, and it’d be a shame to let it go to waste).

Merry Christmas!

Wethospu.6437:

Downscaling already works quite efficiently. If you are perfectly geared (level 35 with rare gear) then you will have about the same stats and actually bit more armor than level 80 with berserker exotics (critical damage is worthless). Only real difference is the traits.

Damage wise there is no major difference. But why would people run with people who are potentially very inexperienced and lack lots of gear? And even if lower and higher levels were exactly same people would still blame lower levels. Only way to make lower levels wanted is to buff them absurdly which would make leveling actually harmful.

Low level rares equal the stats of adjusted exotics? I…did not know that. Well, if that’s the case, then I guess there’s no real issue.

Ashen.2907:

It was an honest question, and one not answered in your explanation. Your, “wall of text,” does not address the question.

Sorry, I was tired so I sorta snapped at you. Since you asked an honest question, I’ll give a proper answer.

Crafting isn’t ‘elite’ at all.What is elite is having the time and money to invest in a full set of ascended gear. I haven’t checked the values lately, but I think it takes over a hundred gold to get there in one go, especially for tailoring now. And if you don’t even have crafting capped at 400, it’ll cost more. Not everyone is sitting at a couple hundred – thousand gold between their bank and investments, with nothing to spend it on. It’s not going to be something you’ll commit to if you don’t want to. It’s elite in the sense of achievement. If you actually want it, you’ll make the effort to get it, since ascended doesn’t give a major advantage.

This is a good thing. Ascended won’t create a strict borderline on gold farming activities, like dungeon runs, where only ascended gear would end up being the only ones wanted. It won’t create a large gap between the casual and the hardcore gamers. The real reason people get ascended is not because it gives them a significant advantage now, but because it’s nice to have. It’s gonna be a slow steady progression to work up to.

The reason I think they picked crafting, is because of the market balance. Yeah, now it’s pricey because people want it, but that’s how the market works. Before the update, crafting material was practically ignored. Supply and demand, so now there is a demand to even out the supply. It’s created a chain reaction on drops, and it’ll circulate wealth from the level 80s to to the lower levels.

If crafting is such a boring and tedious task, I’ll take the lesser of the two evils. I’d rather have ascended gear from crafting, than an imbalanced market in the long run.

Ashen.2907:

Arikyali.5804:

They’re for the elites

In what way does being willing to spend time at a crafting station make one elite ?

….Sure. Just quote one phrase – not even the full sentence – from my post, and ignore my (evidently unsuccessful) attempt of a quick, concise explanation on why the effort invested for ascended gear is fine just the way it is.

I’m not writing another wall of text. I guess it’s my own fault assuming everyone knew the general concepts on balance, economics, time investment, and psychology, and thus my post didn’t need any further explanation. Somehow I could magically squeeze all that in one tiny post where everyone could glean the meaning off in one quick glance.

Maybe I should just delete my post.

I play a zerker phantasmal mesmer, but there are times I need to pick up the staff for its utility. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great weapon – but it just doesn’t seem powerful enough. I know it’s more of a condi weapon, and a zerker build won’t do it proper justice.

The only times I use it are for certain dungeons and fractals, usually if I want more range, defense, or support. But in all honesty, the times I do switch to staff, I feel like I’m doing even less contribution to my team, and probably better off sticking with sword/random offhand and GS.

I can’t change my traits in the middle of a run, but I could change jewels and gear that can make the staff more powerful. It’s really only pulled out for support and range, or if I need more aoe-oriented attacks. I’m asking staff users for their input, on how a zerker mesmer can get the most benefit from the staff.

NornBearPig.9814:

I understand what you are saying, but GW2 classes are not like this. There is no “PvP class” or “PvE flash farming class”. Every class is jack of all trades by design. The game isn’t perfectly balanced so sure some classes are better at some things, but the difference is minuscule compared to other games.

Pretty much sums it up. The ‘best’ class to use for farming will end up being what you’re already comfortable with. High damage glass cannon – elementalist or mesmer. Strong survivability? Guardian perhaps. Soloing – ranger or necromancer?

What’s your play style?

Hats off to you. Lots of people are going to love this.

daimasei.4091:

She actually explain why she said that.

Hmph! Just because we are a young, inquisitive race, doesn’t mean we lack intelligence! Why do all the other races-

Wait…what is that? -distracted- Oooooh~ Is that a firefly? It’s so tiny! How do they light up? Do they only come out at night? Or during the day too? Do they light up at day? If I stood still, would it land on my head? What does it eat? Where do they live? Can they live outside the jungle? How about in the cold? Is it a type of insect? I wonder if….

Smooth Penguin.5294:

You should try to level up first, so that you can be effective in the dungeon runs. It’s actually quite normal to kick players who are ineffective. Most players want to do runs as quickly as possible. If someone keep dying, or isn’t able to contribute to the team effort, we usually kick them and find someone else.

If they’re leechers and obviously not trying, then by all means – get rid of them. But for someone ‘new’ and doesn’t even have a level 80 yet, they simply can’t match up to other dungeon runners. It’s probably just as difficult for them to find a group of likened low levels for their dungeon.

Needing to level to 80 just to run dungeons, kills the point of having dungeons open below 80. The idea was to have everyone able to join, regardless of level, and for lower levels to learn from the higher ups. Low levels won’t get to learn the dungeon if they can’t run it with experienced players. They’ll just be ignored and left out.

This is of course, completely different from dungeon farming. If you’re farming, then you expect everyone to know what’s going on, and to bring along a level 80.

Edit: Aah, I see your response. Ninja post.

As a character, I like Scarlet now….after her devious, egotistical, bent-on-achieving-greatness, side came out. When she was just a shallow, perfect, flawless, crazy nut with a maniac’s laugh, I wanted a different villian. She was, as you’d call it, a Mary Sue.

It’s one thing to be an calculating villian who strives for greatness at the cost of others, and believes themselves to be above all. It’s another when they actually are.

Assuming Sylvari can’t be smart? The nerve.

How about this? Asuran are good at dodging, because their lab equipment and experiments have a tendency to….achieve explosive results.

Rolling on the floor would be a bad choice if it was covered in a volatile liquid. Better to do a somersault over the work table and land on top of the golem.

I’ve heard of the Storyline glitching from time to time, but I thought they fixed it. What story are you on now?

If you see me, it’ll be for only a split second. Then you’ll have a dagger buried into your backside.

Just your typical, hated, backstabby thief here.

I’d really like to see low levels more on par with 80s during dungeon runs. They’re not leeching, and they’re trying their darn hardest to keep up. It’s technically their dungeon to begin with.

I ran AC with a group of low levels from my guild. I was patient and did my best to hide my annoyance, but it does slow things down. I was secretly happy we finally finished it. I’m used to running dungeons with level 80s.

Best choice right now is to find a guild of friendly people who are willing to be patient with you during the dungeons.

Windu The Forbidden One.6045:

I don’t understand why Ascended Gear isn’t tradable. Even legendaries can be traded.

My guess, is that once the hype dies down, it’ll be opened to trade, perhaps?

Let’s see some more pics! -bump-

Uvatha.5476:

I feel the recipes are fine and will settle down to match something near the leather and steel; this includes the mats needed to refine the Bolts of Damask. You just have to be patient and realize that this is how things go in a free market economy. In time it will be affordable. Until then, just make something with Elonian Leather Squares.

Quoted for truth. Just let the market work itself out. (and take advantage of it until it does)

I don’t see why there is so much hate in crafting. Yes, okay, it’s simple and straightforward, and probably expensive and tedious if you do it all in one go, but…it’s just another piece of the game.

I somehow got the achievement by never even doing anything. I teleported in during the middle of a song, was waiting for it to finish, and boom. Achievement get.

…Easiest achievement I ever had.

Whether Scarlet actually got a glimpse of the Eternal Alchemy or just went completely insane, after she emerged from Omadd’s machine, she was completely changed. She’s disconnected from the dream, much like the Soundless. The Soundless want to separate themselves from the Dream, so that their thoughts could be uninfluenced, and their own.

Scarlet doesn’t want to be limited by the destiny defined in the dream. She wants to make her own. But here’s a thought: Did Scarlet cut herself off, or maybe the dream itself…?

The Soundless invested a lot of time with meditation to separate themselves from the dream. Scarlet was part of the Dream before she went in the machine, and (supposedly) severed when she got out. It can’t be the Pale Tree, since she has no control over the dream, and is only its caretaker. Scarlet’s memories and knowledge could have influenced the Dream, and thus be considered a threat to the rest of the Sylvari.

No one exactly knows what the Dream is. It might be something related to the Mists or Eternal Alchemy, or something completely separate.