Guild Wars 2

Glint is probably going to get a cc/ healing/ mesmery hybrid theme. Shiro might gain shadowstepping skills, multi-hit attacks and life-stealing.

GW2’s leap skills are quite strong and easily available. Removing counterplay from them is not a good idea, unless anet also gets to nerf their CD/ functionality/ range individually.

I think the “supply” mechanic would be more interesting if players had to take it to the opponent’s base instead of simply going back to their base. Of course, that would no longer fit thematically, and it would have to be redesigned into something else, but it would enhance the playing experience.

There are two problems I have with the way this mechanic/ objective currently works:
1. It is too safe.
2. Too much unnecessary backtracking in a map that is meant to be offensive and feel epic.

Once you get supply, you can easily run back to your base with the right build. The distance is short, and that’s where NPCs and allies spawn for your safety. It’s not worth chasing a player to their base for the sake of a few NPCs that you can always kill once they get closer to your own base. Any mobile bunker build can easily gather supply and spawn NPCs with no effort as it is.

If that mechanic could motivate the player to go into their opponent’s base instead, then it would create far more opportunities for interesting plays and high risk scenarios.

Perhaps changing the supply mechanic to something else might be too late for this map, but for future new maps, I hope Anet considers this suggestion. Instead of supply, just have it be some kind of gate-destroying bombs that players can carry, and once they get close to their opponent’s gates, it is automatically dropped. Because this would be a different system, there would be no NPC choosing, and NPC spawing would simply be automatic. Also, in this scenario, every third NPC wave spawn or something could feature a stronger-than-normal NPC for the sake of diversity and higher tension.

Outside of that, I agree that there are too many mechanics in the map. Certainly, it does add depth to the game mode, but I feel that it will also make it harder for PUGs to enjoy it. The great thing about MOBAs, it’s that although their main map is deep, players usually know where to go and which role to take. Perhaps this can be improved in stronghold if anet makes it so that staying in both lanes is a necessity. Currently, a 5-man assault into their base seems to be quite successful, but it’s hard for me to know if this is a design problem or simply if it is the players that don’t know any better yet. Another solution is to have a few less secondary mechanics, but make the remaining ones deeper. This is the case for my suggstion above to make supply a more high-risk mechanic.

Finally, any victory and defeat on timer has been anti-climatic. It just doesn’t works in this mode. I agree that matches shouldn’t be much longer than what they are, though. So far, I love the idea that someone else suggested, that the game should not end while a lord is under attack. In other words, when time’s out and a lord is under attack, the timer should freeze until both lords are safe from harm. This would give a last opportunity and a high pressure/ high tension climax that both players and spectators would absolutely love, and stronghold would be a much more exciting mode if something like this were to be added in.

Glint could also be the sword/ shield set with shiro being the elite spec with off-hand sword. This would make glint focused on some sort of dps/ defense hybrid role (melee tank?) while shiro would be tied to off-hand sword. But that seems less likely to me.

Alternatively, revenant’s elite spec details may have not been leaked yet. Maybe glint, shiro, s/s and shield are all baseline.

They won’t use GS, unfortunately. S/S will probably go for the shiro spec, shield will probably go for glint’s elite spec, and that may be it.

Apparently, there have been a lot of changes to the arcana trait line. Let’s wait and see.

Revenant has plenty of healing traits, even outside of ventari’s line, access to two #6 heal skills, two heals on staff, and possibly heals on shield as well (based on datamined info). I’d say ventari’s line has plenty of synergy with the class as a whole, even though ventari legend will be one that gets most of it, of course.

You can’t be jack-of-all-trades if you can’t equip all legendaries at the same time.

You can specialize into two of them, but true jack-of-all-trade roles will remain excluve to professions like elementalist or engineer.

Zenith.7301:

I hope you realize by saying that you’ve condemened it to disuse in any serious PvE content.

I think we’ve been through this for the past 2.5 years, but you guys don’t seem to understand why nobody stacks healing power in PvE and even with those traits they still won’t.

They are revamping their entire enemy AI (for HoT), encounter design (as seen in the new maps), several combat mechanics (defiance bar, conditions), while they intend to make new profession builds a lot more focused and specialized on certain thematic roles and produce more challenging game content.

The current dungeon meta is meaningless to help us predict what will be the new content’s meta.

The ventari tablet is not meant to be a minion mechanic, so comparing it to spirits, turrets or the like makes no sense and is off-topic.

The tablet is just a vehicle that marks where your utility spells will trigger. It’s not very different than the simple concept of ground-targetted skills, except it is more elaborated and unique in order to offer a more unique playstyle. Just because it has a physical appearance, it does not automatically makes it a minion mechanic.

Elementalists elite spec is Tempest, and their datamined weapon is sword, which fits perfectly with the legendary Bolt (tempest, bolt, all thunder elements…).

Rangers elite spec is Druid, which uses a staff, and the only new legendary leaked so far has been a staff with a very nature-spirit-druid-ish theme.

Be ready for revenant’s glint legend to have its main affinity with shield, just so it can be coupled with the legendary shield The Flameseeker Chronicles.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Am I the only one who thinks this legendary won’t ever be used except by people who don’t care for DPS?

Support in GW is non-existent, particularly on the healing side. The only support people care about is might and fury.

So unless HoT makes the current meta 100% inop, something tells me this legendary just won’t see the light of day very often.

It’ll be useful in Silverwastes, and SW is the is possibly a prototype of what we can expect in HoT.

TheDaiBish.9735:

Staff doesn’t have lifesteal on it though.

The leaked third AA chain description states that it is a whirl finisher, but the weapon doesn’t seems to have any dark field so far, so you may be right. Even ventari’s field will probably not be a dark field.

Revenant’s legends are very similar to elite specs. Announcing a new legend and a new weapon for the revenant is not very different than announcing a new elite spec for a class.

To me, as I’m hyped for the revenant, today’s blog post is more exciting than any blog post for any elite spec from a profession that I do not care for.

EDIT: the topic creator deleted their original post. I wasn’t the one who “just lost all excitement”. :P

Jalis can cleanse conditions on heal, and one of the staff’s leaked skills is a condition cleanser. Investing on invocation as your third line further gives you more cleansing. It’s also quite easy to invest on the corruption trait line to get support or control traits instead of condition damage traits. You’ll simply gain a few minors that are less needed, but that has never stopped other professions’ meta builds before.

Mallyx can transfer conditions from allies. That’s what Pain Absorption does, a skill which also offers baseline resistance.

In the end, I can perfectly see a staff revenant with jalis using mallyx as a secondary legend to deal with conditions. The healing you’ll get from staff will off-set the self-torment from mallyx elite, so you won’t need to trait for incoming healing per condition. When you get to be pressured by conditions, you’ll simply switch to mallyx, use its elite, spread as many conditions as you can while gaining resistance, before swapping back to Jalis for a 3-4 cleanse from the heal and the legend swapping, plus the cleanse from staff.

MiniEquine.6014:

If it helps you feel any better, this is a pretty good sign that they will probably start going into the next 3 elite specs either next week or the week after. They have 2 more Legends to reveal properly (Shiro and Glint), and spacing them out seems reasonable.

Do you think they’ll reveal revenant’s eltie spec before showing us everything about its base class? If one of those legends are part of an elite spec, then it’s safe to assume that we’ll get the reveal of the other legend after the next three elite spec blogs and before the last three. If not…

skowcia.8257:

Running condition legend without without condition gear looks silly to me. Its like running a condition gear on warrior with greatsword and axe. That doesnt make any sense. Thats apply here too, if you running staff with mallyx your condition application is next to 0, completely depending on enemy you face to copy them via embrance the darkness.

Mace is a must with mallyx, theres no other way around. I can imagine mace/shield tho for mentioned sustain. Jalis/Ventari combo with staff should be fine for some bunker builds assuming ventari provides condition removal. 2 condi cleans on 15cd from staff along with 3 on Jalis heal with 30cd doesnt seems enough to me to be a effective bunker. It may be unkillable in 1v1 by a power build but condi will walk over them.

Tell me, is Mallyx focused on condition damage, or on condition tanking? It can go both ways.

Condition damage:
- Confusion
- Two sources of torment

Condition resistance, and general control and utility:
- Resistance
- Heal on conditions
- Boon removal
- Vulnerability, cripple, weak and blind spreading with elite; condition spreading in general
- Displacement
- Condition transfer from allies

You can easily go staff + mallyx/ jalis for a tank/ bunker build in pvp.

A melee staff with high DPS will probably be reserved for another profession’s elite spec (warrior?).

Revenant’s martial staff is support.

Invictus.1503:

Belenwyn.8674:

I assume one of the not yet introduced Legends is the elite specialisation. I bet for Glint.

I concur and have said as much in the dozen or so other threads just like this one. 1 legend each for the first 4 traitlines. 1 traitline that is more associated with the mechanics and not tied to a legend exactly. Then 1 legend plus some sort of core mechanic change for each elite specialization.

I also guess that Glint will be the specialization legend and since Rytlock seems to use her, he is likely using the elite specialization himself.

If revenants only get 4 base specs, that’s 4*3=12 utility skills. In contrast, other professions have 5 sets of 4 utility skills each, for a total of 20. That seems incredibly unfair.

But if revenant gets 5 base legends, and if anet decides to add a forth utility skill to each one of them, then revenants will be comparable to the remaining professions.

Even more so, if you consider that each new elite spec brings 4 utilities to a base profession, so it would be only fair if the that was the same case for revenant’s elite specs.

Finally, their “traitline that is more associated with the mechanics and not tied to a legend exactly” happens to have plenty of synergy with the ventari. But you may be right on this one.

penelopehannibal.8947:

It says part way through “and the revenant will be the first profession to use the staff as a melee weapon in Guild Wars 2.”

Please. Please. Please tell me there will be another profession that uses Melee staff!

Of course, it’ll be the warrior’s elite spec.

Dastion.3106:

(I.e. Does Jalis ALWAYS have the road, the taunt, and the spinning hammers or are there other Jalis themed utilities that be swapped in?)

I think, in the end, all legends will have, at least, a forth utility skill.

First, one anet dev already mentioned a jalis skill in an old interview that wasn’t shown in-game yet: a falling rune that damages, knockbacks and weakens foes in order to protect allies from them.

Second, that’s what would be the fairest option for elite spec expansion. If every elite spec gets 4 utilities, and assuming that every revenant’s elite spec will get a new legend, then the utility skill ratio between revs and other professions would be unbalanced.

Finally, there’s still racial skills and other non-profession skills to take into account. Anet will have to make them available some way or another, or else it’ll cause them (legal) problems when people get to complain that they can’t use the mistfire wolf elite they paid for because it is not supported by the profession they picked.

Invictus.1503:

In regards to the staff, it seems like a great secondary weapon if we could weapon swap, but I just can’t see myself taking it into battle over other weapon sets except in very specific ways. The more I see the weapons, the more I see they basically lock you in to a specific style and don’t lend well to blending. At first I was completely on board with not having a weapon swap with Revenant, but the more they reveal the more I think that is extremely limiting.

I know where you’re coming from, but staff actually seems to fit very well all legend so far. Its healing sustain is great to counter mallyx’s self damage and to make jalis tankyness even more tanky.

Outside of that, the whole revenant design is similar to elite specs. You have one legend, one trait line and one weapon that are thematically tied to each other, with plenty of synergy inbetween. And then you complement them with your other tools. Assuming that staff is going to be pidgeonholed to ventari’s legend, and assuming that the same will be the case for other weapon sets/ legends, you’ll still have to choose your second legend and your second and third trait lines. So it’s a lot like an elite spec in this regard. You chose a theme, and then add into it something more from other themes available.

Ralanost.8913:

It’s a bit sad to be honest. Without hearts, zones feel a bit soulless. Sure, there are events happening, but you get a better idea of the story through hearts than you do most events.

HoT is going to have adventures, which will be, hopefully, a better version of hearts.

spoj.9672:

DiogoSilva.7089:

If gear is meant to be nothing more than training wheels for players who aren’t still very good, then Anet should embrace that idea and present it as such.

That would be a very controversial move because not everyone considers gear as such. Some people choose certain gear for roleplay reasons. Or because they really enjoy those unusual playstyles that are considered useless.

But would that be more controversial than the current situation, where players are misguided into thinking that stat diversity is meant to exist in the pve meta, when it does not? There would be no need to remove other stat sets, just present them as weaker for practical pve purposes instead of giving them the illusion that they’re meant to be equally good. I’m sure that roleplayers or anti-meta folk would still pick alternative stats and play with them. It’s just that, for the remaining of the community, expectations would be in check if anet presented stats differently in their game.

It’s all about giving a clear idea of how their game works to their community.

If gear is meant to be nothing more than training wheels for players who aren’t still very good, then Anet should embrace that idea and present it as such.

spoj.9672:

But thats just increasing the number of stat combos for no real benefit. It also over complicates things including balance. I also struggle to see how you would do that with a stat. Active defence isnt limited to something as simple as endurance regen. There are many different types.

I can understand that, but then, what should Anet do to fix the stat system? Or should they just neglect it and leave it as it is?

Because that system is currently misguiding the majority of players and giving a bad vibe to the game. Even if encounters get fixed and this game becomes increasingly more interesting, if zerker gear continues to dominate, the community will continue to complain. And the only thing to blame for that, is GW2 itself, due to the way it promotes stat diversity. Stats are one of the most visible and simpler-to-understand components, and they’re everywhere in this game: in runes, in gear, in food, in crafting, etc. They’re highly self-promoting. The basic idea that any player that plays GW2 will get, is that stat diversity is meant to be important.

How can you convince the GW2’s community that the game is better off with zerker-gear, that real diversity lies somewhere else but not in stat building, and that the massive attention that the game itself gives to stats is nothing but an illusion?

My point is, if the stat system isn’t improved in some way by anet, it will continue to build a negative impression of GW2’s meta to its players, because the way the game presents it creates fake expectations of what diversity is or isn’t in this game.

What I meant is to have stats specialized on active defenses only. I’m not talking about vitality and toughness here, which already reward you with passive defense, but about buffs to healing power, condi/ boon duration, and perhaps even make those stats broader. For example, transforming healing power into a broader “support power” that affects the damage of reflects and retaliation, as well as the effectiveness of boons effect-wise (beyond regeneration). And then create an entirely new stat to improve non-damaging conditions and CC effects as well.

This would mean that while some players would specialize on full-damage zerker gear and, perhaps, condition damage, too, if it ever gets to be useful; other players would specialize on, say, support power and boon duration, and others on condition duration and control power. And Anet could simply design encounters to make sure that all three roles are important.

This is not the holy trinity, because there would be no tanking involved, and healing wouldn’t be the only means to support. Instead, it would be quite close to Anet’s own trinity, damage/ support/ control. It would also preserve the active nature of GW2’s combat.

@Spoj,

Thats forced diversity and leads into the problem of certain gear and builds being required to complete difficult content.

You just need to accept there is always one single optimal way.

I’d rather have dev-enforced diversity that is specifically designed for very distinct playstyles to be optimal, than player-enforced diversity where entire existing mechanics are negleted. In the end, the “enforcement” is there, one way or another.

What’s the alternative solution? Simply remove stats from this game? It would have been quite an elegant idea, if GW2 hadn’t launched yet. But as you have said, it is too late for that now, and Anet will have to do something about its stat system, or else it will always be highly misguiding and give the game a bad image to most of its community.

spoj.9672:

You wont “fix” the meta no matter what you do. The only way to stop people trying to maximising damage is by creating encounters where you heal mobs to death or you remove active defence and go back to a classic trinity. Both of those solutions are rather absurd.

What if active defenses relied more on stats? Have condition and boon duration more prevalent in gear stats, and buff them alongside healing power. Have some active defenses, like reflect, rely on support stats as well.

I know the stat system in GW2 is extremely restricting to do much more than that, thus why I suggested that hard content should have scenarios that demand more defensive plays from some players of the party. “Survive in 3 minutes”, “run from enemies”, “walk through a zone without killing anything”, etc. I believe some creativity in GW2’s content design can still save its stat system.

GW1 did it best with stat diversity. All attributes in that game improved the effectiveness of your skills, including active defenses. Meanwhile, GW2 uses a holy trinity stat system in a non-trinity combat system. Because there are no tanks and dedicated healers, like in traditional MMOs, and because there are no stats that affect most of the active defenses, like in GW1, the best gear is whichever the one that most increases your DPS.

If challenging content was designed with several scenarios where a few tanky players were a necessity, where enemies would be completely deadly or durable without CC, where the AI would be able to kite and, thus, also contribute positively to the usefulness of CC and condition damage, while delivering as many short bursts of damage as long activation time attacks, in order to make healing and sustain more precious, then, suddenly, GW2’s meta would be a lot more interesting, even if at the cost of the “play how you want” philosophy.

NikeEU.7690:

Stat diversity won’t actually make anything more interesting. If all guardians are required to play Nomads in the new meta, why would that be more interesting than required to play Berserker? It wouldn’t be any different, there will be a single required gear set for acceptance. What you really want is a system where anything goes and all reasonable options are more or less equal.

Guess what: that’s the system we already have. You could play with 5 experienced players in Knights or Soldiers gear and your dungeon clear times would only be 10-15% slower than those same players in berserker gear, and the chance of wiping due to a mistake would be a lot lower.

I’m thinking more along the lines of scenarios that rely more on defense than offense to win or to clear a given objective, kind of like how bunkers work in pvp.

But what you stated about stat/ build diversity is more of a flaw with the way stats work in this game. There aren’t many active stats that can change your playstyle. Condition damage and healing power could, if they were more useful. Toughness and vitality, not.

NikeEU.7690:

5 Clerics Scepter Necros with no offhand can clear every dungeon content very easily too. It isn’t the most effective strategy but it works. I can’t tell what you’re arguing for actually?

I’m sure there’s a difference in clear speed between a pug team that stacks and dps down a boss with zerker gear, and five cleric scepter necros with no off-hand doing it instead.

Pug stacking is relatively fast, easy to understand and it works well enough. If it fulfills all the needs for your average pugger, why should they bother for anything else? Keep in mind that I’m not defending their behaviour here, just illustrating what might be their line of thinking.

I understand that more challenging content might and probably will restrict the meta, but as long as that challenging content is designed around – and thus demanding of more stat diversity and skill diversity (more CC, more heal skills, condition damage), then the meta will only get more interesting.

Wuselknusel.4082:

“We” are not the ones coming to this forum, crying about things you don’t understand.
“We” are the ones who correct you. “You” are the ones calling “us” “elitists”.

The problem is not with the information, but with the tone of the posts.

GW2’s dungeons are not exactly well-implemented. The encounter design does not take full advantage of GW2’s combat depth, and Anet itself has been admitting that for several times lately. For a combat system that is designed around mobility, the fact that you can stack in corners and DPS a boss to death demonstrates very clearly that there is a problem here. And there’s not much to “understand” in this regard. It’s a widely accepted point of view that even anet’s devs share.

That stacking is or is not the best strategy is not very relevant. The fact that it works – and by that, I mean the fact that you can very easily beat dungeon content while stacking, regardless if it’s the most effective strategy or not – is itself a problem.

Wuselknusel.4082:

There is no “election” in the “Dungeon Community”, you become “a part of it” when you understand how dungeons are cleared most efficiently and why it works that way. You obviously lack that understanding, as your last paragraph shows.

“O ignorant child, how I pity thee, for you have not studied the subject of advanced dungeon theorycrafting! Small one, you are not privileged to be part of our Dungeon Community! Go, go away! The Reason is with us. We are the Efficient Ones.”

Rin.1046:

I do not think it will be about Druid or Revenant, because so far all the reveals have been a picture clearly dipicting a playable race as that profession/elite spec.

Because of that I think it is something different, and judging by the quote I think we will be getting some information about Anet’s plans for adding challenging content in HoT.

The artwork depicting playable races has been a trend for elite specs only, and I don’t think they will reveal revenant’s elite spec before revealing more detais about its base skills. Besides, Ventari was datamined to be one of revenant’s legends, anet’s revenant designer has been hyping up this news in his twitter as well, and ultimately, I don’t think Anet would introduce epic, challenging content with a teaser of a pacifist like Ventari.

The quote hints as much to trials as it does to supportive gameplay. It can go both ways.

NikeEU.7690:

Ofcourse they have. The stats on your gear either help you sustain or they help you do damage. Besides boon duration, which can be offensive or defensive, they are all one or the other. What else is there? Offense or defense. A simpleton could see that the only role for gear is offense or defense. You want there to be more, fine, but your wants are not the current reality.

Healing Power is support. Boon and condition duration are support, as well, although they come mostly from traits/ food and not gear. Toughness is meant to sustain against direct damage, vitality against sudden bursts and condition damage. All of those effects can be build-defining in a pvp environment.

It is true that current PvE’s reality is a failure in that regard, but Anet is still focusing on making different stats more meaningful. The changes to condition damage, new foes with tougher armor, new traits that give a massive amount of precision, boon duration on gear (although that one is currently useless) or the more varied foe attacks are all attempts to tone down the “zerker” gear meta.

I don’t think they would want to tease challenging group content with Ventari, guys. Besides, Roy Cronacher, revenant’s main designer, twitted the following: “I wonder what that teaser pic is of… xD”

I’m sure it’s going to be about the Revenant.

Dante.1763:

I think the cooldown bit extends to almost every skill that isnt viable, regardless of class..

Cooldown reduction didn’t save guardian’s shield.

NikeEU.7690:

Gear doesn’t determine your playstyle. It’s a linear spectrum of defense -> offense. If you want it to be more than that you’re creating the illusion, not Anet.

If Anet intended for gear stats to have a natural progression from defense to offense, they would have presented it as such. But they haven’t, and they are still trying to make other gear viable in PvE, as seen with the upcoming condition changes.

VergilDeZaniah.3295:

HOWEVER

• Monday teaser, which is for specializations
• Ventari was of a druidic nature, centaurs are close to nature
• So far, the specializations are released in this specific order

Monday teasers have been there for most of the HoT news.

I won’t be surprised if revenant’s ventari and ranger’s druid share similar themes, much like how revenant’s mallyx is close to necro and jalis to guardian.

Larynx.2453:

DiogoSilva.7089:

Larynx.2453:

DiogoSilva.7089:

Larynx.2453:

All previous specialization announcements have had an image showing the profession being teased. Unless Revenants or Druids shapeshift into centaurs, I don’t think ArenaNet would break the trend.

That might be true for elite specializations, but they’ll probably show revenant’s remaining base class details before they reveal its elite spec, so it might very well be that.

This is like showcasing the Strength trait line for warrior. Do you really think that deserves its own week?

If revenant’s part 1 reveal deserved its own week, I’m sure part 2 will as well. Besides, showing what will likely be 3-4 weapons sets, 2-3 legends and 2 trait lines is a lot more than what an elite spec usually offers.

Announcing an entire profession is on a completely different level to showcasing a single normal trait line.

Announcing several weapon skill sets, several legends and several trait lines is on a completely different level to showcasing a single normal trait line.

EDIT Especially when each legend for Revenant is usually as unique as each elite spec for a normal profession.

For those that are interested in the Revenant, a part 2 reveal is as exciting as an elite spec reveal. It’s definitely worth its own week.

Dante.1763:

DiogoSilva.7089:

DresdenAllblack.1249:

It will also provide the Rev with much-needed mobility in combat.

How do you know that? :O

Well, its a centuar for one thing, and everything related to Centuars in game is about speed…so if they keep up that theme…

I’m thinking more about a supportive legend, considering Ventari’s peaceful ideals. However, that does not excludes swiftness at all.

Larynx.2453:

DiogoSilva.7089:

Larynx.2453:

All previous specialization announcements have had an image showing the profession being teased. Unless Revenants or Druids shapeshift into centaurs, I don’t think ArenaNet would break the trend.

That might be true for elite specializations, but they’ll probably show revenant’s remaining base class details before they reveal its elite spec, so it might very well be that.

This is like showcasing the Strength trait line for warrior. Do you really think that deserves its own week?

If revenant’s part 1 reveal deserved its own week, I’m sure part 2 will as well. Besides, showing what will likely be 3-4 weapons sets, 2-3 legends and 2 trait lines is a lot more than what an elite spec usually offers.

DresdenAllblack.1249:

It will also provide the Rev with much-needed mobility in combat.

How do you know that? :O

Larynx.2453:

All previous specialization announcements have had an image showing the profession being teased. Unless Revenants or Druids shapeshift into centaurs, I don’t think ArenaNet would break the trend.

That might be true for elite specializations, but they’ll probably show revenant’s remaining base class details before they reveal its elite spec, so it might very well be that.

MattyP.6954:

I’m kind of disappointed that Revenant will have a shield. I didn’t want a “it wears heavy armor therefore must use a shield” line of thinking to go with the new class.

However, it’s far from a dealbreaker and I’m still going to make one :-)

I’m not disappointed, and I actually like it, but I admit I wasn’t expecting it. Meanwhile, no greatsword. :O

ColinJohanson.2394:

Simply put: we haven’t announced it yet – when we’re ready to show everything about our plans for challenging content for HoT, we’ll announce it.

Though it isn’t the “challenging content” feature discussed in our announcement – I will add we want our open world content experience to be more challenging as well just in general. Though the AI was better in our CBT experience – we think we still have a lot of work to do to get our creatures and encounters even at the start of Verdant Brink up to where we want them to be. Our game has great combat, our creatures and encounters should challenge and require you to use that combat system.

More info “when it’s ready”.

Can we expect the AI changes to be placed on currently-existing open-world, or is that not feasible?

Thanks.

One of the most enigmatic things about customisation is how non-prof skills will fit into the profession. Surely, Anet can’t simply lock them, or else the people who bought the heroic/ deluxe (?) edition for Mistfire Wolf will be mad, amongst other eventual problems. Anet won’t probably create a legend for each racial skill, neither, because not all skills are racial (mistfire worlf and the poison heal skill), and it would probably be too much work for not enough value.

So what will happen? Will Revenants be able to switch their legend skills for racials? Will racial skills replace the slot for one legend, or for both? Will there be some sort of cap of equippable racial skills, in order to preserve each legend’s identity? And if you can swap racial skills with legend skills, will you also be able to have a higher pool of legend utilities to choose from, instead of a pre-set of 3?

Season 2 is the best GW2 story so far. The gameplay scenarios are interesting, with some being quite epic and cinematic (even while in battle). The pace between instances is perfect, and resembles that of a single player, story-driven RPG, where the story “unfolds” as you explore the new maps, talk to the npcs and “trigger” new instances. The rewards are a neat bonus, but not worthwhile by themselves, relative to the cost of gems – unless you play with different alts. The achievements add replay value and range between annoying to interesting.

In other words, it blows the personal story experience out of the water.

TaggSilar.6475:

Are there any rewards that make it worth the purchase?

Episode 6, I think that’s the one, rewards you with a black lion key for each alt character you complete with (plus any other rewards gotten in the way). For 200 gems, that’s definitely worthier than buying a single black lion key individually.

Outside of that, the rewards are nice, but not nice enough to justify the 1280 (bundle) gem price. Still, if you’re going in for the story and the gameplay experience, they makes up for it. It’s the best story content this game has to offer.

Considering that this week is beta’s week, and we haven’t gotten a spec tease in facebook/ twitter today, then probably next week at the earliest.

I hope to know more about the Revenant first, though.