Guild Wars 2

Just a flesh wound.3589:

Yah. I wasn’t saying the one you saw was wearing zodiac.

Hehe, I know. I wuz just pointing out that it’s possible outside zodiac in case anyone wuz wonderin’.

Plus, I wanted to show off these glorious Kodak moments.

~EW

Charr #1 I think is the one I regularly see.
Charr #2 is new to me.

Both don’t appear to be wearing zodiac. Both appeared in MP tonight… I’d like to think it was for these vanity shots.

Yup… Radioactive Legion.

~EW

PyrateSilly.4710:

This has been happening with software and software companies from the first day there was software for the masses. Years and years and years of this happening. Every software company has this happen. Are you going to stop having anything to do with computers and software?

Lol, don’t be silly PyrateSilly. You don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater; it wastes perfectly good bathwater.

I think you just missed the point where I said “until the code is done.” I’m happy to be a part of the demographic that buys the software/game/expansion/whatever after launch (assuming I like the product of course).

~EW

What if in your guild hall you got a personalized instance to a room similar to your home instance, that could be decorated…? When you approach the instance gate you get a pop-up menu that lets you choose who’s room you’re visiting from a list of the guild members (who’ve toggled an option on granting access to visitors).

Heck, I’d pay for decoration packs to my home instance even though I’m the only person who ever goes there.

~EW

Just a flesh wound.3589:

The reason software companies can do this sort of thing and not be legally liable is because not only are they given a free pass by some of their customers, who for some obscure reason don’t hold them to the same business practices that they hold other people or businesses to, and because the laws haven’t yet been written to cover breach of promises in games that have a world wide player base. However if this happens often enough, then these companies may find themselves unpleasantly surprised one day with laws that restrict what they can say and do, just like the laws that are what a brick and mortar store has to follow.

Then join me brutha in cynicism and wallet-voting. Let pre-order bonuses, unwritten code, early access, and all other such things collect digital dust!

~EW

penelopehannibal.8947:

I can’t see them surviving too well a second time of this ‘whoops’ – even with addicts like me still buying the game.

Perhaps, but some companies had/have. Lionhead Studios (over-promised features in the Fable series – hence ‘Molyneux Syndrome’), and Blizzard (grossly missed production deadlines) come to mind as examples.

~EW

Just a flesh wound.3589:

If companies know that hitches or walls can unexpectedly block progress then they should either not take money on promises or they should have a refund policy already in place if they do take money and then can’t deliver. Both of these are only common sense and it seems to be what ANet has also failed to have.

All game companies, not just ANet. Many companies outside of games/software also fall into this category. I agree with all your ‘shoulds,’ and I’d love for those ‘shoulds’ to happen, but currently they don’t and I make my decision to buy software based on the reality I see sitting before me. The company says what it wants, the programmers tell the company what it thinks it can do, the company makes its advertising and budgeting decisions based in-part on what their told… and any company worth their salt budgets for some level of development problem. They just can’t predict everything.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

Actually though, from what Mo said, it sounded not like there was a hitch or wall in production, but an over promise in how much they could do in X amount of time. I’m actually more sympathetic to an unexpected design wall than I am to a promise followed by “Whoops. I guess we don’t know how to allocate resources after all. We’ve got to pull those Devs and put them on something else. My bad. Sux to be you if you paid for it and not you’re now getting it. Oh, well. Someone else will be happy with this other content paid for with your money.”

I think they’re synonymous. I think the speed of production is just one possible wall/hitch of many that can occur; it’s a “less severe” version of being unable to write a functioning code.

~EW

Just a flesh wound.3589:

There a slight difference between a ride being closed because it’s a public hazard and a product not being delivered because they over promised when they charged you for it.

One is a closure required by law. The other is making promises and taking money for those promises and then unilaterally not delivering on the promise and not offering a refund either.

In software development, and especially in game software development, there are always hitches and complications that the programmers can’t predict which drastically change/halt their development from their original intentions. It doesn’t matter how awesome, trusted, or competent the company is, it still happens. This is why I adopted my policy of not buying games/software until the code is done… it’s a lesson I’ve had to learn multiple times until it stuck.

Yeah companies shouldn’t promise what they don’t 100% know for sure they can deliver. Yeah the customer shouldn’t have to pay for these occurrences. But, it’s the current reality that the programmers can’t predict the walls they run into.

I think I want to coin the phrase, “Molyneux Syndrome” as something all game companies seem to suffer to some varying degree.

~EW

edit: this is also why I’m in full support of ANet’s new(ish) policy of, “we’re not telling you what’s coming until it ships”… I take it as an admission of the Molyneux Syndrome.

LadyHawk.5319:

Yes, I’ve literally just now started playing around in pvp with my condi warrior. Not pvp’d a whole bunch in GWs (despite my over 6k hrs in the game lol). Have a hard time getting into it compared to others I have but I am just now on my condi. Thanks all for the heads up! However, to answer someone else’s question, condi warrior has not made a comeback in pve. They have made it more survivable in pvp and, lets face it, pvp is all about condi’s atm. How much you can dump on another, how fast, and how much/fast can you cleanse it. That’s the current state of the art in pvp – condi. So, at least in pvp I can play on my condi warrior if I get into pvp more. PvE – not yet but perhaps soon.

My warrior is currently spec’d to condi… I use a lot of the traits that are popular… but I definitely don’t use the common/suggested gear. I think quite the opposite. I mostly PvE, and I’m having a blast in the HoT maps…. I stumbled on my gear load-out somewhat accidentally when I was trying to gear for tanking/survival in dungeons and fractals.

I’m not sure specifically what you’re looking to get out of your condi-warrior in PvE, but perhaps a thread in the sub-forums might yield you a couple suggestions to help make it happen?

I wanna see more warriors out there warrioring the mordrem to death!

~EW

LadyHawk.5319:

I loved playing my condi warrior in pve. But thanks to the nerfs in the name of balancing pvp that effects all realms of the game, my pve condi warrior is shelved. Now, I just float between my others (and I have all classes, etc) and have no true favorite currently. Everytime I do, another “balance” comes along (in the name of pvp) that shelves my then-fav pve class. I give up.

Good news. Condi and Condi-hybrid warriors are really strong right now. There’s been many posts in the warrior sub-forums lately of ways to make ‘em shine. I don’t know what your previous build was, so yeah you might have to change some things. But, Condi-warrior rocks… even the PvP/WvW suggestions just need a slight tweaking to make ’em work well in PvE.

~EW

I like many wings and I can not lie
You butterflies can’t deny
That when a Charr walks in with itty bitty wings
AND large wings in your face
You get pwned!

~EW

bLind.6278:

Human is the only way to go. Armor looks pretty terrible on the other races most of the time.

Tier 3 cultural, Aetherblade, Winter Scarf are all glorious on human female, though. Human male can be pretty good so long as you don’t choose the more… feminine body shapes. Just makes everything look awkwardly proportioned in heavy armor.

Blech. Humans are bland and boring. If for some reason playable humans were removed from the game, I wouldn’t shed a single tear.

~EW

Waaaaaaariooooooooor!

Come out and plaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

~EW

Saphykun.3206:

Electro.4173:

Also, do you really want to see neon pink and bright green Charr running around?

You know this isn’t a question. Of course I want to see violently bright Charr running around in equally clashing armor colors

There already is. I’ve seen him a couple times at Teq…. Neon green glowing from head to dew-claw… I don’t know how he did it… but I just hope the secret doesn’t get out, or else the next Khan-Ur will need to create the Radioactive Legion.

~EW

Khisanth.2948:

EphemeralWallaby.7643:

Khisanth.2948:

Ah that one. Hmm just ran it about 10 times. Always had time left on the crystal including the time I got trolled by lag. Gliding doesn’t really change much. Having a speed boost might and every single class has the ability to get some sort of speed boost at least as long as the duration of the crystal. Also it is 4 jumps since you start with 10 charges and I end with 6 remaining.

Every single class except the Guardian.

But, yes, in my experience a speed boost helps this immensely. I’ve done it w/o one, but only by a hair’s breadth from the crystal timing out.

~EW

Retreat, Save Yourselves, Staff #3

I suppose I wuz just thinking traited speed buffs… ah well, thx for the correction.

~EW

Ven Zehn.6573:

ekarat.1085:

Ven Zehn.6573:

The very first weap your character gets, the one that’s already equipped, is sellable, it’s pretty much the only thing that is, and there are almost always buy orders for em.

Can they be thrown into the mystic forge?

Maybe, but lvl 0 white weapons wont yield much even if upgraded to blue in a forge, I’m wondering if people just buy it at 3 copper or so, and repost em for like 10 copper.

If you can put ’em into the MF, 4 of ’em are currently cheaper than one copper ore on the TP .. so buying ’em off the TP seems a cheap way of getting/salvaging t1 resources.

~EW

Khisanth.2948:

Ah that one. Hmm just ran it about 10 times. Always had time left on the crystal including the time I got trolled by lag. Gliding doesn’t really change much. Having a speed boost might and every single class has the ability to get some sort of speed boost at least as long as the duration of the crystal. Also it is 4 jumps since you start with 10 charges and I end with 6 remaining.

Every single class except the Guardian.

But, yes, in my experience a speed boost helps this immensely. I’ve done it w/o one, but only by a hair’s breadth from the crystal timing out.

~EW

Danikat.8537:

Ok, I’ve managed to find and do the leyline events, and the first bandit bounty.

Now I can’t figure out how to start the daily ones. Do I have to wait for the dailies to reset after unlocking the achievement, or is there another way to start it?

The Dulfy guide says you can only get 1 Encoded Orders per day, including the one that started you on these bandit-slaying hijinks.

http://dulfy.net/2016/05/17/gw2-bandit-bounties-event-guide/

So, you probably need to wait until tomorrow before you can start the “daily”…

~EW

Skorpse.5978:

I too find this weird. There are so many items I’d want to buy but all of them are limited time offers, and they only appear in the gem store once or twice every who knows how long.
It seriously bothers me. I don’t understand why their shop works like that, it makes no sense to me.
Their loss I guess.

As others have already said, by creating a false sense of scarcity, they’re increasing the likelihood you’ll buy one when it becomes available.

If something is available all the time, then you might or might not buy it on your whim… but if it’s something you can only get during brief periods, you’re more likely to buy it when it becomes available and go outside of any budget you have to do so. Your sense of its value/worth is increased because it’s made ‘scarce.’

It MAKES them money to do it this way, because they are guaranteeing more sales than they would get otherwise.

~EW

StinVec.3621:

I do not afk-farm, but I am interested in the end result of this discussion and how it might indirectly affect me. This statement is one that seems might affect me and alter my play.

If using auto-cast while AFK is unattended gameplay and not permitted, does this mean that, if I have to hit the bathroom and I am not sure if I’m in a safe spot, that I can no longer switch my heal skill to auto (to attempt to negate any damage I’d receive from random enemies attacking me while afk) and head off to the bathroom?

Technically, even though I’d only be gone a couple of minutes at most, I would have a heal skill on auto-cast and I’d be afk…which would fit your statement as being unattended gameplay.

I guess I’ll just choose to log to character select from now on and lose my accumulated bloodlust stacks instead of risking being sanctioned simply because I stayed logged in and flipped heal to auto while I used the facilities. Better safe than sorry.

Thank you, Michael and Chris, for your responses and clarification on this topic.

If there’s a nearby waypoint that doesn’t spawn mobs/events around it, port there and you should be fine… that way you can keep your stacks.

~EW

If you’re planning on using the Arms trait line, then the Charr racial skill Shrapnel Mine can help you keep Bloodlust up and going… obviously not very helpful in PvP/WvW due to condi cleanse… but can be useful in PvE.

It’s little niche stuff within certain builds like that which might influence what race you pick for your Warrior. Otherwise there’s really no mechanical reason… I don’t believe anything like the Asura Guardian’s symbol size discrepancy (which was fixed) exists for the Warrior.

Oh, and one reason I chose my warrior to be a Charr over other races is that it’s harder to loose sight of him in a zerg. That’s a huge problem I had when I mained an asura guard.

~EW

TheGrimm.5624:

Ellieanna.5027:

We really are in an entitled era it seems.

Its not about entitlement, its about still having a feeling of progression even if its a false one. You never want players to reach “The End”. GW2 is one of the few games where the game keeps going even after reaching max level. The looping level 80 created part of that never ending feeling.

^^This.

Character progression is a foundational feature of RPGs. MMORPGs are no exception. The feeling that your character is innately growing, evolving, and getting stronger is a huge draw to play a game. That can easily come in the form of level rewards – because these are benchmarks of character growth. And they are pre-determined benchmarks, not self-created, which can be important factor for many people to recognize/feel that growth.

The “rewards” don’t necessarily need to be items, but that system is what’s essentially being requested… it just happens to loop at 80.

I hope my suggestion above didn’t come off as entitled… I was hoping it would be read as a suggestion for personalizing that system/loop just a little bit.

~EW

sirsquishy.2619:

X T D.6458:

Solocup.3069:

X T D.6458:

Solocup.3069:

how about the auto loot mastery is ONLY active in dungeons,fractals,WvW,raids and disabled in open world. problem solved

Autoloot is not the problem, the issue is that player activity is not needed to farm events/mobs

apparently it is. just disable autoloot mastery like i said in open world. and this problem will be resolved. or make it so if your pet kills things without you hitting it your self u wont get credit

Disabling autoloot in open world would just anger the majority of people who dont engage in this behavior. Changing game mechanics to where actual player involvement is necessary to gain loot and exp would be a better alternative to discouraging and preventing this kind of behavior. Allowing people to tag an enemy and sit out the rest of an event and still get full credit is ridiculous. Equally ridiculous is allowing people to gain loot and exp from their pets/minions while they do nothing at all.

I have always felt this way. But the issue is, damage = participation. And some things die so fast that forcing everyone to do 1% damage as a min (could be 40,000 damage) can be hard for a lot of players.

But, there has to be a better way to fix that issue. Too bad its unrelated to the AFK macro issue we are focusing on right now.

I think the ‘tagging an enemy and sitting out the rest of the event’ issue has started being addressed…. with the recent changes of incremental rewards for some events instead of a lump-sum at the end of the event. I’d like to see this change become even more wide-spread… it may not be the perfect solution for some, but it does mean a player has to keep paying attention to what’s going on if they want a reward… they can’t tag and go afk…. or tag and run off.

~EW

sirsquishy.2619:

EphemeralWallaby.7643:

It’s a standard mmo practice that if you’re going AFK, you go to a safe-spot… especially if you know you’ll be afk longer than a bio. It doesn’t matter how you choose to do it: going to a waypoint where mobs don’t spawn, porting to your home instance, or even logging out to character select.

Yeah, there’s going to be exceptions, but they are just that: exceptions… it’s not the norm nor the expected norm.

If your minions are killing stuff while you’re afk then it IS your fault. You chose to stay where mobs spawn and you chose to have minions out (you can always toggle Flesh of the Master to kill all your minions) FULLY KNOWING how your minions behave.

~EW

I think that is a problem with GW2 as a whole, we do not ‘need’ safe spots as there are no real death taxes in the game. Any other class (non-pet) can AFK and die, and when you come back you just WP and run back.

That is where this mentality comes form really.

No corpse runs
no XP Loss
no Item’s becoming permanently damaged, resulting in item loss

I agree that GW2 is kinda a rare duck in these features… but I intended my response to be focused towards his shifting culpability of his choices to the AI. Such attitudes kitten me off. Even if one does not care about character safety, it’s still a choice to go to a safe spot (heck, I’ll call it an inactive spot from now on)… and the waypoints mean he doesn’t have to leave the map to do so.

~EW

Dinks.2478:

lol no… if I need to run afk I am not going to just leave the map I am in. And if my minions decide to kill kitten while I am off doing whatever I had to do that isn’t my fault.

It’s a standard mmo practice that if you’re going AFK, you go to a safe-spot… especially if you know you’ll be afk longer than a bio. It doesn’t matter how you choose to do it: going to a waypoint where mobs don’t spawn, porting to your home instance, or even logging out to character select.

Yeah, there’s going to be exceptions, but they are just that: exceptions… it’s not the norm nor the expected norm.

If your minions are killing stuff while you’re afk then it IS your fault. You chose to stay where mobs spawn and you chose to have minions out (you can always toggle Flesh of the Master to kill all your minions) FULLY KNOWING how your minions behave.

~EW

The removal of looping-leveling when HoT Masteries were added was probably the biggest reason I delayed getting HoT even after I decided I would buy it. I love HoT, but I do miss the level-looping.

If I’m gunna dream, I might as well dream big: if a similar looping-style system were added back in on the mastery tracks, I’ll love to see that reward be themed to a specific track selected. Maybe something like Pact Scout’s Mapping Materials for Pact Commander Mastery, or Mystic Coins for Legendary Crafting Mastery, or Encryption Keys or Fractal Relics for Fractal Attunement Mastery…

~EW

They’re a fun diversion that pulls me away from my routines. Such things are always an awesome thing to have in a game.

I don’t think there needs to be more info in the patch notes… there’s enough there to figure it out for yourself (which will add to the fun for some people), and plenty of guides or other info that pops up shortly after release for those who don’t find figuring such stuff out fun.

Atm, no improvements that I can think of. I do like the addition in this new bandit event of the repeatable AP, and I’d like to see it done in all of them from here on.

~EW

sirsquishy.2619:

I have an offical response on this subject finally, after many hours and emails to get a senior level GM to respond. That GM gave me permission to Copy/Paste his response in this thread as my own so that I can try and clear this up for everyone (My only goal in all of this, btw)

They may push an offical notice on this per my request, I really hope they do.

Your accounts were temporarily suspended for AFK Macroing. This means that the actions of your character were being automated while you were not actively interacting with the game. This does not have to include the usage of third-party programs, but it most certainly can. Attempts by our GMs were made to contact you in-game to see if you were actively playing but there was no response. With that, we must assume that the actions were being automated while away from the computer.

The quote that our Game Support Lead confirmed in that thread states that using Pets and Autoloot to gain gold and experience is fine, but those game mechanics working in conjunction with each other does not give the OK to AFK Farm.

Essentially, if you are able to monitor your game, take actions yourself, and respond to inquiries that may arise, you are more than welcome too use the game functions to kill and loot for you. However, if you are not at your computer or actively monitoring the game, you may be subject to action for AFK Macroing.

So there we have it, once and for all.

Now we can all put this to bed.

Thank you, I appreciate this.

~EW

Charrbeque.8729:

The problem it seems is some people don’t realize that the “=/=” symbol EphemeralWallaby used stands for “does not equal”. You take that symbol out of the equation, and it looks like the dev said it was OK to AFK farm, in response to Emphemeral.

If that’s the case, I’m sorry ’bout it. I figured that on the internet it was a pretty widely understood symbol.

Just goes to show when one tries to be succinct, they can accidentally be even more ambiguous.

=/= definitely means “does not equal”

~EW

….but…but…but….they’ve got BUILT-IN hankies! After a long day of slaughtering centaurs and mordrem, you can take a break to blow your nose on your preferred guild!

~EW

khani.4786:

Trust me…I know. I’ve made both shoulders (Wintersday & Halloween) plus 12 legendaries and have plans to make others. I’ve also done all of the specialization weapon collections which means I made all the mystic weapons I was missing. I’m out of mystic coins and need more before I can make the other things I want. I don’t want to pay current TP prices and as such I’m stalled or forced to pay more than I think I should for them. I can’t force people to lower the price so I either pay the price or don’t buy them…so right now I don’t buy them.

Wow… that admission of how many mystic-coin required items you’ve crafted just astounds me.

I guess I’ve always perceived Mystic Coins from another perspective… that there’s a ton of high-end luxury items that use ‘em to craft, sure.. but the coins I’ve accumulated over my time playing will only net me a few, once I decide from the plethora of recipes what I want to create. That they’re for the special small handful of items that mean a lot more to me because I picked ’em out from all my options.

If crafting all that and more is your thing, more power to ya’. But, I can’t fathom how you and others don’t expect/accept to pay a premium to do so.

~EW

Tumult.2578:

I’m confused why you would think we would post here when we know it’s not seen because it’s not on Reddit? There are threads with hundreds of posts without so much as a response. Why would we assume it would be seen now?
Want is not a question here. The possibility of actually being seen is. There have been thousands of ignored posts asking for the separation during balancing. If they were seen, there would have been a response by now.
That is why it won’t happen.

That’s just it, “hundreds of posts without so much as a response.” Everyone with an opinion about what should be balanced, and all of ‘em different in some way… imo that makes them not worth paying any serious attention to… but I’m not ANet.

I’m suggesting instead of putting forth your own opinion into the nauseating cacophony, or complaining because your perspective on balance isn’t being paid attention to, instead ask what their opinion/vision/perspective is… try and get get an understanding of balance that doesn’t originate from your own bias.

For my own part I don’t predicate my enjoyment of a game on a concept of balance… I’m interested in what the Balance Team might have to say, but I’ve no real pony in that race. It’s just a suggestion to constructively address an issue that so many get kitten-hurt over every time something is adjusted.

Knee-jerk crying whenever there’s a balance change, or putting forth yet another suggestion for balance in the hundreds that already exist doesn’t seem to be working. Try something new if it means so much to y’all.

~EW

Makai.3429:

EphemeralWallaby.7643:

Then start a thread/petition requesting the elusive Balance Team appear on an AMA.

If they do, you can get their perspective on how they see and approach balance, so you’re not approaching the idea solely from your own view, assumptions, and expectations.

~EW

It shouldn’t be the responsibility of the player base to make such a request seeing as how this has been a hot topic since launch. In Guild Wars 1 we received highly detailed reports of the reasons behind changes to skills and why they were split or merged. There’s no reason why today’s Anet can’t do the same.

It is the responsibility of the player base to inform the company of what it wants. Heck, that’s the majority of the threads in these forums. If enough people want something, and it’s feasible for them to do so, the company will provide.

Stop expecting the company to read your mind, or to pay attention to sparse comments. Consolidate the request to make your voices louder. Other than myself I’ve not seen ANYONE suggest the balance team be on an AMA (hence why I don’t expect it to happen… more people need to want it).

~EW

I find most maps to be well-populated.

Reinstall and log in to find out for yourself. The great thing about GW2 is there’s no subscription fee… so set it to download while you’re off to work, and when you get home give it a go.

The only thing you have to lose is a bit of time.

~EW

Then start a thread/petition requesting the elusive Balance Team appear on an AMA.

If they do, you can get their perspective on how they see and approach balance, so you’re not approaching the idea solely from your own view, assumptions, and expectations.

~EW

Either they heard about afk farmers, and are starting their search for some easy pickings….

…or someone told them that there’s punch and pie.

~EW

Syllvir.4176:

I appreciate your response especially your edit. Even though I still have the Auto-cast on I am interacting with the game. It might not be at a speed or level that others are doing but I am at my keyboard. I don’t feel I should have to talk/type to anyone to “prove” I’m there. I can not on a whim type or call someone over to my screen to type for me. I should not have to raise the level of my play to anyones standard.

You say I should move around, again why? If I can kill a set of mobs to earn my exp, why do I have to move somewhere else. If that is all I can muster at the time of play then I should be left to it.

Not to my standard, no… not to some random person’s standard. But, yes to ANet’s standard because it is their game. If you’re currently playing on a level that you can be considered AFK farming, then it is your responsibility to ensure that you are interacting with the game to an extent that you aren’t afk farming. I gave you some suggestions for interaction that mean you’re not afk w/o requiring you to be a super-player… specifically moving around and chatting… you know yourself better than a stranger on the web, so if those don’t work for you it’s up to you to brainstorm how you can interact with the game more. ANet says they judge these things on a case-by-case basis, but I personally am skeptical they’ll consider very heavily your real-life issues; but instead look at the results of what you’re doing. Namely, did you automate your play so that you can ignore the game while it still functions as though you’re at the keyboard? And, are you doing just that on an super-extended, regular basis?

Zoltar MacRoth.7146:

EphemeralWallaby.7643:

Another thing you can do is say a few things in map or guild chat every now and then… anything at all… then there’s a LOG of you being at your computer interacting with the game, even if someone does try and report you.

Incidentally, chatting doesn’t count as activity. I was sitting around on Broken Wall with a friend once, chatting away while we watched the sun go down and the stars come out, and I kept getting the inactivity warnings. I don’t know if chatting should reset the timer, as I can see ways of faking chat to get around the timer, but it highlights that activity in the game requires movement or skill use.

It might not count as activity as far as afk timer is concerned, but it does count as activity at your keyboard as far as being afk is concerned. I don’t think chatting should reset the timer… but I do think it should count as a solid defense against being considered afk farming…. ya’ know, ‘cause you’re not afk.

Zoltar MacRoth.7146:

EphemeralWallaby.7643:

I report the people I see standing in the exact same spot for long periods of time. If I see someone hanging out, fine… but if I come back semi-frequently and they haven’t moved at all, that’s when I report them. If I see them move even a little, then I know they’re at their keyboard.

That.. sounds a bit intrusive, to be honest. Like the nosy neighbour who’s always watching you and checking that you’ve put your bin out at the right time and it’s exactly the right distance from the kerb. I know it’s not a good metaphor since we’re all out in a public space in the game, but that’s the feeling your statement gives me.

Lol, it’s not as intentionally prod-nosing as all that. People who are in the midst of combat and not reacting to it shine out like a huge beacon to me. This is not because I’m on a mission against AFK farmers. This is because for most of my MMO experience, when someone is non-reactive they’ve gone LD, and I want to go protect them until they have a chance to get back in the game. So, I instinctively go over and help with combat when I see this happening…. And I watch over them for a couple minutes to see if their character disappears because in RL they made it back to the login screen. Waiting around causes you to notice the person… their outfit, etc. If they don’t move or disappear in a min or two, I move on. And, when inevitably the map activities, or my resource farming, bring me back to the same spot, I remember that person if they’re still standing there… an hour or more later…. and again after that… and again…etc

Zoltar MacRoth.7146:

How do you know if they’re ‘hanging out’? How do you know they’re not having a conversation with somebody? How do you know that they didn’t use a skill while you weren’t watching them? Do you take screenshots? See, it gets creepy really fast.

I’m not arguing for or against reporting supposed afk farmers. Just saying that this attitude of players watching each other to check if we’re afk makes me uncomfortable.

I can only approach this entire situation from my own personal experience… and from that experience people who are having in depth typed conversations to the point where they can’t interact with the environment for long periods of time ALWAYS eventually move to a spot where the environment doesn’t aggressively interact with them. This is so they’re not distracted from conversation and wind up typing ww3ww5wfw2ffwa3aa in the middle of their sentence.

Did they use a skill? Maybe, but I didn’t see it. I’m never going to have absolute evidence someone is afk farming… but if the circumstances lead me to that as a solid possibility, then yes I report them and move on. It’s ANet’s job to make the call, they get paid for it. My reporting only puts the player on their radar, it doesn’t determine the outcome.

Seera.5916:

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

I agree with a lot of what you wrote above, but not this. Sure, people have the option of [f12] or using the HoM portal stone or going to PvP. But if your kid is screaming, would you want her to take the time to adjust her character? Or find out what was up? People have all sorts of non-life-threatening stuff in RL that can pull them away from the game. I have no issue with folks going suddenly AFK to deal with it, even on a necro or ranger.

The issue only arises when others use this as an excuse for attempting to gather rewards without playing the game in the first place.

This. Life threatening situations don’t tend to announce themselves in advance. Or potentially life threatening. You don’t stop to think if a kid’s bloody murder scream is because they hurt themselves badly or if their sibling just destroyed their favorite toy so that you can judge if you have time to get your character to a safe spot. You get up and go check it out immediately.

An important qualifier I tried to make sure I used was the term frequent. I also ought to have added patterned. Obviously if something important comes up you sometimes must AFK to deal with it. Going out and adventuring then all of a sudden being AFK is not going to ping on anyone’s radar that someone is afk farming or otherwise exploiting the game. From my personal experience, I haven’t had an emergency come up that I couldn’t log out, or get to a safe-spot, before dealing with… and this includes just 2 months ago when my cat came up to me meowing, and when I looked down his face was covered in blood. Esc->Exit to desktop (all while standing up) -> grab cat and rush to vet.

Children screaming? Most parents I’ve witness react to a child crying/screaming don’t bolt from their computers… they head to the child, yes… or call to that child first… or call to a nearby sibling to get their input… or husband… or wife… I’ve never known a parent to immediately bolt to the child every single time it cried; they’ve most of the time while getting up and/or initially responding would also have the time to quit game (or port to a safe spot) if they were playing it… at least in a MMO, ‘cause quick log-outs seem to be a design requirement just for when such RL situations occur.

I recognize that we have different perspectives on it. I guess my long-winded point was that given opportunities to log out, and the infrequency/unpatterned way such RL things cause us to go AFK w/o logging out, there’s no way a person is going to get tagged/punished as an AFK farmer from such activity. It’s a non-worry as far as I see it.

~EW

I’ve completed the story mode of Ascalonian Catacombs solo. It’s difficult, yeah, but definitely soloable.

~EW

For those of you who claim that the “playing while intended” is a grey area w/o definition, here’s the full original quote:

“Anything that automates game play to the point where you are able to not actually play the game as-intended (example: you can walk away from it) is considered a breach of the User Agreement.”

Automating your game play to the point you can walk away from it is the EXACT example given of what is not allowed. Are you intentionally walking away from the game with the expectation it’ll still act like you’re there to give you loot and/or experience? Then you are breaching the User Agreement. There is no grey area on this point, even if the rest of what “play(ing) the game as intended” is grey.

~EW

For those of you who claim to have urgent things that’ll pull you away from your computer semi-frequently…

option 1) Esc key -> log out to character select. This takes 3 seconds.
option 2)M key (map) -> click on ANY waypoint -> click yes. This takes 4 seconds.
option 3) I key (inventory) -> double-click on a home portal stone or similar if you own one. Takes 3 seconds.

In a non life-threatening situation, there is no reason whatsoever one of these options can’t be done. The likelihood of you being reported as afk farming is infinitesimal if you are standing under a waypoint where no mobs spawn … If you put yourself in a location where you can’t afk farm when you go afk, then you can’t be punished for afk farming.

However, if those frequent urgent things that pull you away from the game are life-threatening, then maybe consider not playing GW2 while in that environment.

~EW

Syllvir.4176:

Question for all those that are against the “afk farming” and using the phrase “not playing as intended”.

I have real life issues that prevent me from playing the most optimal way. I sometimes sit in one area of the game and let my necro pets do all the killing as I don’t have the energy or dexterity for anything else.

I am sitting in front of my screen (usually with a movie on another screen) and glancing at the game screen every 10 seconds or so. I set my auto cast button on my summon bone minions and explode them as they are summoned. The exploded minions create poison rings that will kill most anything veteran or below. I will have to occasionly heal but sometimes can go 30 min or so without hitting a button.

Would I be a target of random people coming up and reporting me?

If so why do I have to be harrassed in this way just playing a game to my best ability?

I don’t know what your “real life issues” are, but when you’re glancing at the screen ‘every 10 seconds or so,’ why not just move a little? Hit that W key for a few seconds during those ‘every 10 seconds or so.’ You’ll slowly and intentionally be scooting your way across the map; in effect playing.

If you can, maybe take it one step further and that every 30 minutes you’re focusing more on the game, port to a new map… You’ve got to be intentionally moving around and interacting with the game at least a little.

Another thing you can do is say a few things in map or guild chat every now and then… anything at all… then there’s a LOG of you being at your computer interacting with the game, even if someone does try and report you.

I report the people I see standing in the exact same spot for long periods of time. If I see someone hanging out, fine… but if I come back semi-frequently and they haven’t moved at all, that’s when I report them. If I see them move even a little, then I know they’re at their keyboard.

You may see yourself as harassed… I see you as a possible unfortunate extreme exception to the norm. Again, I don’t know what your “real life issues” are, but there’s got to be a few things you can do to help ensure you’re not punished by misunderstanding.

~EW

Edit: Actively interact with the game, however you choose to do so, and you are clearly not AFK farming. Auto-cast is not actively interacting with anything, it’s a setting and nothing more.

Ellie.5913:

People in gw2 are in LA because they are bored with playing the game >.<

Not true. When I’m in LA it’s to play with the Mystic Toilet, to try and find some semblance of organization in my bank, and most of all to enjoy the kids playing Investigator!

~EW

Etienne.3049:

The entire thread was about AFK, I don’t have to insert anything.

And the dev was addressing a sub-issue within that thread about whether or not it was okay to combine pet kills with auto loot in general… not afk specifically. Afk was not mentioned in his post. Are you honestly trying to claim that an official statement on the policy of afk farming would not include the words “afk farming” or similar? Seriously? Only mechanics are being addressed, and the validity of those mechanics.

Etienne.3049:

In a thread about AFK farming the support lead posted the following:

This is allowed behavior; as it was designed to function that way.

Yes, they did.

That’s the statement addressing mechanics only. Not players going afk exploiting those mechanics… as talked about ad nausium.

Etienne.3049:

You also seems to be ignoring

This does not mean design can’t/won’t/should/shouldn’t update the system as it works today.

Which does support the preceeding bit being about AFK farming; unless you’re also goning to claim this is about the combination of auto-loot and pet kills.

No, it’s about changing things so the mechanics cannot be exploited. It does not support afk farming, or support the toleration of it. It’s an acknowledgement that the exploit exists and that things can be changed to remove it in the future.

~EW

Just a flesh wound.3589:

The performance of HoT was not as expected. We learnt the lesson.

This part is what I found most intriguing. What lesson did they learn?

“More people will come if they think we have punch and pie.”
– Eric Cartman South Park

So, obviously the next expansion will include punch and pie.

~EW

penelopehannibal.8947:

This is going to get at least 400 replies..

And I wonder how many of those 400 will be trying to spin it that GW2 is dying, LOL.

~EW

Build experimentation.

Hello, I’m a build-aholic. It’s been 2 days since my build idea. If I’m not trying a new build, I’m thinking about a new build, or earning the gold to try a new build.

~EW

sirsquishy.8531:

If this is not allowed behavior then they need to post about it to negate the posts that say its allowed. And they are not doing that.

They did. I was the one quoted as part of that clarification.

sirsquishy.8531:

I know your world is small and you can only focus on what you are doing, but for a min think about what this is really about and stop making acquisitions that do not matter in the slightest.

Stop making claims that are fallacious, and we can talk about how narrow my focus on life is. We can meet at a pub, buy each other a drink, and try to see one another as people.

Etienne.3049:

Is somewhat unfortunately written as there seems to be an internal inconsistency but “If your pets are doing the killing and your mastery is doing the looting; you’re okay as far as GMs are concerned.” seems very clearly to mean: “yes you can” as the only way to interpret it as not being allowed is to add “but being AFK while doing so isn’t” which would be unlikely given the topic.

No. You (and others) are inserting the “while afk” qualifier into that statement. “If your pets are doing the killing and your mastery is doing the looting; you’re okay as far as GMs are concerned” does not say anything about being afk… it’s talking about mechanics specifically and only.

Etienne.3049:

“intentional mechanics that allow pet kills to give experience and loot =/= permission to afk farm.” can be interpreted in different ways:
1: The situation does not allow it, but the post(s) from the support lead do(es).
2: It’s not permitted but you won’t get in trouble for doing it.
3: He means you may at some point in the future no longer be able to do this.

Again, No. None of those interpretations are accurate. What it means is mechanics are not the same as policy. Just because you are able to do something, doesn’t mean it’s okay to do it. That is the functional definition of an exploit.

Etienne.3049:

The only reasonable conclusion seems that yes, it is allowed (or at least tolerated).

At no point is it said, “it is okay to afk farm.” So, the only reasonable conclusion is that you can use the mechanics of pet kills and auto loot while you’re actively playing the game.

sirsquishy.8531:

Ayrilana.1396:

And yet you circumvented the idle timer and stayed on 2-3 times longer than intended, while AFK, and using your pets/minions to gain a benefit on top of that.

Yup, using an ingame Anet provided mechanic.

I will point you to Ayrilana’s earlier quote of the ANet statement: “Anything that automates game play to the point where you are able to not actually play the game as-intended (example: you can walk away from it) is considered a breach of the User Agreement.”

The statement says anything. It does not say only 3rd party software. Anything includes exploitive use of in-game mechanics in a way outside their intended purpose.

~EW

sirsquishy.8531:

show me input that says its not allowed. I can show you GM posts that say its permitted and ‘as designed’.

The post you’d point to only says it’s okay and designed to combine auto-loot with pet kills… it DOES NOT SAY it’s okay to step away from your keyboard for long periods of time while doing it.

You have NOTHING you can point to that says otherwise. Nothing you’ve quoted says what you claim it does.

sirsquishy.8531:

I was in a bandit camp in a mountain not bothering anyone, stopping anyone from doing quests. just like a bunch of other players. GM’s posted saying thats ok, its intended.

that IS the bottom line.

You broke the rules, you got punished. That IS the bottom line.

~EW

You’ll also find a plethora of suggestions if you dig for a bit in each specific profession’s sub-forum.

~EW

Ayrilana.1396:

Using mechanics as designed is definitely not exploiting. However, using them in a way that is unintended is exploiting. Using auto-cast on abilities is fine. Using it to circumvent the auto-disconnect isn’t. Using minions/pets to kill mobs is fine. Using that in conjunction with auto-casting to stay logged on well beyond when you should have been disconnected in order to obtain a benefit is not.

If y’all read nothing else in this thread, read the above statement. Copy/paste it into your brains and dream about it, because it is the answer to whatever dilemma/question about afk-farming that’s keeping you awake at night.

~EW