Guild Wars 2

For me it’s not so much “slow leveling” as it is “group gated leveling.” In the last MMO I played leveling was a chore because most of the population was at level cap and there was no one to do dungeons with to level up.

EDIT: It was LOTRO, in case anyone is wondering.

Substance E.4852:

lol some kitten who thought he could single handily control the price of an entire material like we all don’t have tons of them just sitting around to re-balance the market with.

More likely someone needed 250 for a legendary and didn’t know any better.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Gift_of_Might

ozmaniandevil.6805:

Anything would be better than having to do the same boring stuff over and over again. I can’t bring myself to make another character for this reason.

Craft your way to level 50, then level the last 30 levels.

Just pointing out: technically you bought gems, not a skin. Your intention when buying those gems was to spend them on a skin, but from a legal standpoint your transaction was buying 800 gems with $10 —not buying a skin with $10.

Sorry for your loss. ArenaNet has said they will refund anyone who doesn’t want to keep the reskinned light armor.

Vayne.8563:

I think players would be pretty annoyed if they weren’t the ones who got to kill Scarlet themselves, actually. If they killed each other, then people would complain about Trahearne stealing the show again.

In which case… we would kill Trahearne, the pack would disintegrate, and the Elder Draogons would win.

GASP

You discovered Scarlett’s secret plot.

I agree. It’d give me something to do with my 500+ skill points since I’m not going for a Legendary any time soon.

You wouldn’t need to level alts. Any alt I created would already be level 80 +

That said, someone did suggest the idea of buying levels for your alts with skill points.

10 skill points = 1 level

I liked the idea.

My advice: Use a Greatsword for your main weapon, and use sword/focus on swap.

For utilities use shouts. You will need stability and regeneration because you’re in the fray a lot with Greatsword.

Devata.6589:

This game is not about out-DPSing you. It’s about out-flashing you.

You’ve been flashing other players in GW2?! REPORTED for inappropriate conduct.

In all seriousness though, P2W means spending money gives you a gameplay advantage over other players. Looking cool doesn’t offer you any advantage so it’s not P2W.

If other players looking cooler than you bothers you so much than you need to rethink your priorities. Or maybe you’re just a butt-sore individual who flashes PUGS.

PUG FLASHER!!!

Dark Catalyst.1028:

At this point, WoW follows the GW2 “manifesto” more closely than GW2 itself with WoW’s current and upcoming changes.

That’s because Blizzard takes game designs from other companies and simply does it better than everyone else.

angelpaladin.7921:

I have noticed over the past few month’s they have been adding more and more cosmetic item’s to the GEM store. Which is fine except they are not balancing these cosmetic updates on the gem store with in game updates of equal quality.

Putting items on the gem store is an gold-sink. It takes gold out of the economy and decreases inflation. In that sense, it’s actually a positive thing.

Plus it’s not P2W since cosmetics don’t give you a gameplay advantage over other players.

Vayne.8563:

Like I said, people said this about the GW 2 beta too. Believe me, a couple of months in, when the shine is off, the cracks start to show. If not, it’ll be the first MMO that hasn’t happened to.

The point is, regardless of whether other MMO’s are “better” than GW2, they will still lose players because of personal preference. For example, I’d like to get into Diablo 3 when the expansion comes out because I like loot-centered RPG’s.

Ashadow.6874:

Look at how the people there are responding to this:

http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/loadNews/29245

Here are some of the funnier ones, for the sake of entertainment:

vbathery writes:
What kind of commie, socialist bullkitten is this?

TribeofOne writes:
GW2 guide us. GW2 teach us. GW2 protect us. In your light we thrive. In your mercy we are sheltered. In your wisdom we are humbled. We live only to serve. Our lives are yours.

Pyatra writes:
You obviously haven’t played….. with HIM!

TRAHEARNE!

YOU GLORY STEALING &$^#!, YOU HEAR ME!?

Shakes fist at sky

I’m supposed to be the protaganist… sobs

Thobek.1730:

This fractal has been in the works for months now, the countless ‘I hate scarlet’ threads have been around since her arrival and are picking up in frequency. Plenty of time to simply remove a small part of the fractal.

In a video game it’s not as easy as it is in a movie because you have multiple people working on projects simultaneously. There are multiple teams working on code, 3D models, textures, concept art, and voice acting. By making a small change you’re potentially screwing over a team.

They can’t change things “last minute” and they’ve already said they plan things out 4 months in advance. At this point the end of Scarlett’s arc is planned out, and we have maybe 3-4 months more.

Thobek.1730:

You would be wrong to assume this. I explain why. A couple of months ago two popular tv series had their finale. Breaking Bad and Dexter. The writers from both those shows had two different approaches.

But writing in a TV series is completely different than video game writing. In a video game they have create the models and skins months in advance and they have to record the voice actors months before the patch comes out.

Jack of Tears.9458:

I thought it was cute and I hope it draws some positive attention to the game. For the people what can’t handle being seen playing a game that treats itself like a game … well, glad to see you go.

It’s not that… it’s that they’re hosting contests to get players to advertise for their game. Ideally, you’d advertise for your game by creating great content that players want to tell their friends about.

Telis.4189:

Finnway.2183:

At this point they really need an expansion because the living story has not been good enough to draw people to the game based on word of mouth.

Goodbye GW2 come spring 2014.
They really should have released an expansion and fired the monetization manager, the boring LS and the lazy/greedy person who slapped flames on a T3 skin to sell for $10 says it all.

Game had promise but NCsoft got too involved and Anet just rolled over.

I think the Living Story had potential. I think the biggest problem is that it didn’t live up to expectations, and hence it didn’t sell the game by word-of-mouth.

Bonefield.9813:

Darmikau.9413:

BobbyStein.2315:

Hey, Dott. I get that you’re passionate about the game and that you’re not a fan of Scarlet but you’re not living up to the collaborative spirit of the forums. I’d take your feedback a lot more seriously if you weren’t so hostile and personal with your comments. Let’s keep things civil here.

[rage]

[snip]

+1 for that well written response to that comment.

Spawne.3128:

So in other words, good by GW2 come Q1 2014. Oh well, had a good run and some potential.

I dunno. I played Lord of The Rings Online and that microtransactioned the hell out of you because it started with a subscription based model. As long as GW2 doesn’t microtransaction the hell out of you, people will always be able to come back because it has no sub fee.

Spawne.3128:

Lol The next great MMO migration is going to be everyone leaving GW2 for the next new MMO that hits the market.

• Elder Scrolls Online — Spring 2014

• Wildstar — Spring 2014

• Diablo 3 Expansion — Spring 2014

• WoW Expansion — Winter 2014

• EverQuest Next — release date unannounced

At this point they really need an expansion because the living story has not been good enough to draw people to the game based on word of mouth.

Star Ace.5207:

Wouldn’t you say that he/she is being the provocative one? I will edit, though I do not revoke any of my words, for I stand for what I stated, and forever will.

I didn’t mean to offend, but responding to trolls just encourages them. It’s better just to report and ignore them. Hence why I asked you to edit your post.

Substance E.4852:

If they are promoting because we aren’t convincing enough of our friends to play then that’s a very bad thing. You hardly ever see big promos for mmos unless they are putting out a big expansion or just came out.

If they put out better content I’d invite both my brothers to play. But as it is right now I’m not sure I’m even going to stick around.

I started a thread about this, so I’ll copy and paste my OP. (You know what they say, smart minds think alike)

These “upload a video of GW2 to youtube and win free XYZ” contests feel cheap, and I don’t take it as a healthy sign for the game. This is the 2nd one we have had in two months.

My brother (who doesn’t play GW2) was involved with a lot of these kind of things in highschool (he even won a free copy of the The Lord of The Rings: Extended Editions movie trilogy, haha), but these were always for B-quality games that were trying to make money by exploiting a popular license. It just seems below Guild Wars 2 and I don’t take it as a healthy sign for the game.

JustTrogdor.7892:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/The-Great-MMO-Migration/

You’re a gentleman and a scholar, thank you.

http://migration.guildwars2.com/en/

These “upload a video of GW2 to youtube and win free XYZ” contests feel cheap, and I don’t take it as a healthy sign for the game. This is the 2nd one we have had in two months.

My brother (who doesn’t play GW2) was involved with a lot of these kind of things in highschool (he even won a free copy of the The Lord of The Rings: Extended Editions movie trilogy, haha), but these were always for B-quality games that were trying to make money by exploiting a popular license. It just seems below Guild Wars 2 and I don’t take it as a healthy sign for the game.

Agree or disagree? Please share your opinion politely.

I like the Q&A format of this so I’m writing a reply (note: I just replied with the first thing that popped into my head).

Q. What does it mean when a writer consistently breaks his own lore

They are being disengenuous to the fans.

Q. Does it matter if a writer consistently goes against what is taken as fact?

Fans need consitency to help them follow a story.

Q. Is it possible for a story to recover from when this happens?

Kind of… They could reconcile lose ends. Or they could just pretend it never happened and avoid breaking any more lore in the future.

Q. Does anyone care if those in charge ignore complaints about lore?

I don’t know how this question is relevant. (EDIT: perhaps you should reword this question to “Do you care if an author ignores complaints about lore?”)

Q. Do you think retconning Scarlet would be a good idea, or a bad one?

Scarlett hasn’t done anything bad enough to deserve a retcon yet. Once her story arc completes then we can decide.

The build is interesting, but the infographic is BONKERS!!! (in a good way). I like the amount of thinking you put into your build, and how you go over all of it.

SHM.7628:

[snip]

You might want to reread my posts. You’re confusing where I use to word “end-game” and where I use the term “progression.” I use them for different things. i.e. crafting is not end-game, but it is a form of progression which could be end-game in the form of achieving personal goals.

Finnway.2183:

Endgame is when one has reached maxed level and begins pursuing longer term goals. These goals include things like: maxing a crafting discipline; getting the cosmetics one wants; upgrading your gear (in GW2 that means getting ascended gear).

End-game also usually has challenging content that requires you to make use of all game mechanics introduced to you while leveling. In an MMO it is usually multiplayer oriented content.

Does anyone else want to add anything to that?

A couple more thoughts:

• Crafting — Crafting materials are worth more than the items they create. It is cheaper to buy an item off the TP then to craft it yourself. The only reason to level crafting is for food/buffs, ascended gear, and/or role-playing.

• Challenging Content —PvE content is not hard. There are a couple reasons for this. Part of it is because when they designed the game they envisioned the majority of the players wearing rare-level gear. Someone above me also said that Anet probably intended WvW to be end-game for PvE players. This is probably accurate.

• Cosmetics —Once you get the cosmetics you want there is no more progression in this area.

• Fractals —Fractals are end-game content by design. They are more challenging then dungeons, they drop exclusive skins, and you’re working toward ascended gear. The problem with them is they don’t have a sense of progression outside of fractals because the only reason you need ascended equipment is for agony resistance (which is only useful in fractals).

SHM.7628:

-Fractals We can agree to disagree on this one. They’re nothing more than elite dungeons to raid. Doesn’t qualify IMO.

[snip]

I think of endgame of more being about new maps and content that you do at max level that is [b]significant to your progression.

I think Fractals include everything you listed you want from end-game, except they’re not open-world maps.

• They are new maps, albeit they are dungeons not open world.

• They are max-level only content.

• They provide progression in the form of ascended gear, difficulty scaling, and personal-reward levels.

A couple more thoughts:

• Crafting — Crafting materials are worth more than the items they create. It is cheaper to buy an item off the TP then to craft it yourself. The only reason to level crafting is for food/buffs, ascended gear, and/or role-playing.

• Challenging Content —PvE content is not hard. There are a couple reasons for this. Part of it is because when they designed the game they envisioned the majority of the players wearing rare-level gear. Someone above me also said that Anet probably intended WvW to be end-game for PvE players. This is probably accurate.

• Cosmetics —Once you get the cosmetics you want there is no more progression in this area.

• Fractals —Fractals are end-game content by design. They are more challenging then dungeons, they drop exclusive skins, and you’re working toward ascended gear. The problem with them is they don’t have a sense of progression outside of fractals because the only reason you need ascended equipment is for agony resistence (which is only useful in fractals).

Endgame is when one has reached maxed level and begins pursuing longer term goals. These goals include things like: maxing a crafting discipline; getting the cosmetics one wants; upgrading your gear (in GW2 that means getting ascended gear).

End-game also usually has challenging content that requires you to make use of all game mechanics introduced to you while leveling. In an MMO it is usually multiplayer oriented content.

Does anyone else want to add anything to that?

MrRuin.9740:

There’s lots to do….for fun.

I never said there wasn’t. What I said was:

Finnway.2183:

no matter what I am doing I always feel like I should be earning money. Anything that is not earning money feels like a waste of time. Every post level-80 reward in the game is tied to money.

Because in an RPG earning rewards and growing your character slowly over time is a hallmark of the genre.

MrRuin.9740:

Why? Who cares about money? [snip]
I work all week for money at my job. I’d rather play the game and enjoy myself rather than have a 2nd job.

I agree. But every post level-80 reward in the game is tied to money. Skins are tied to money. You can buy things in the shop with money (transmutation crystals, for example). Reaching level 500 crafting costs absurd money. You can level alts faster with money.

btw, no need to be a snarky.

Hello, Chris

Here is my imput about the CDI:
I think asking a question helps keep it on topic. I thought the CDI was at its best when a dev asked “What is your favorite/least favorites living world release, and why?”

Asking specific questions like this allows you/a dev to engage us in a discussion about our answers. Then you can ask another question following up that discussion.

I think, for me, one frustrating thing about end-game in GW2 is no matter what I am doing I always feel like I should be earning money. Anything that is not earning money feels like a waste of time.

Ideally, I would like to do content because it is fun and earning money while doing it is just a bonus (like how it is when you’re leveling). Sadly, farming champions in Queensdale or killing world bosses is not fun because playing in a zerg does not require skill, and farming dungeons gets repetitive because “Stack here to kill the boss” isn’t interesting gameplay.

Tarsius.3170:

Can I suggest a title change in line with the other forum stickies?

[Guide/PVE] Guardian DPS

or something similar.

This. Perhaps [Guide/PVE] Endgame Guardian or [Guide] Dungeon/Fractal Guardian would be appropriate.

btw, gz on sticky and thanks for the guide.

I checked with the smith, Beigarth, but he has no new dialogue about Scarlet. He just talks about the Tooth of Jormag hanging next him in Hoelbrak.

Someone should check the gladium Asagai from the Iron Legion. I would, but I don’t know where the NPC is.

My current understanding of this is that Magic is sort of like the lifeforce of the planet and it permeates all life on Tyria. The Mists are a place you can go to between worlds and it is made of Magic. The Elder Dragons awaken every 10,000 years or so to consume Magic and restore balance, or else we will use that Magic to destroy one another like the Mursaat did to the Seers.

Is this accurate?

The Mists are described as the building blocks of reality, and Magic is described as being intertwined with the world and everything in it. What is the difference? Are they the same thing/substance? The wiki was kind of confusing about this.

edited to update question

My current understanding of this is that Magic is sort of like the lifeforce of the planet and it permeates all life on Tyria. The Mists are a place you can go to between worlds and it is made of Magic. The Elder Dragons awaken every 10,000 years or so to consume Magic and restore balance, or else we will use that Magic to destroy one another like the Mursaat did to the Seers.

Try this build. You’ll notice the only change is 10 trait points, your runes, and a couple utility skills.

I changed your runes because effects that activate “when using a heal skill” only activate when you use your 6th skill slot. They do not activate every time you heal (like during the mace auto-attack). The runes I switched to give you +65 healing and +40% boon duration (for a total of 66% boon duration).

I also changed your heal skill. It doesn’t make sense to build for healing and not equip Healing Breeze.

To be honest though, “PvE Bunker” and “PvE Healer” are misconceptions. The healing stat scales poorly because ArenaNet does not want dedicated healers. However, you can still play that way as long as your trait/weapon/utility choices makes sense. You just wont be as effective as other builds.

Is there a possible link between the Nightmare species and the Realm Of Torment? The Realm Of Torment is also called The Nightmare Realm and it is where Abbadon was imprisoned by 5 other gods, hence the potential connection.

Abbadon’s followers were imprisoned with him and corrupted and turned into demons, just like how Chaos Magic mutates creatures who are exposed to it.

Imprisoned with him are his worshipers including the Margonites, former humans turned into demons by Abaddon, and demons of torment.

This would also make sense in terms of continuing the themes of GW1. Abaddon was responsible for a lot of antagonists in GW1. If Scarlett is bringing us an alternative version of his magic she is continuing those themes.

During his imprisonment, Abaddon sought a way to return to the world, sending out demonic servants to subvert the mortal realm. It was a servant of Abaddon who persuaded Shiro Tagachi to murder Emperor Angsiyan, causing the Jade Wind, and Abaddon sent titans, who acted as gods for the charr and gave them the capability to perform the ritual of the Searing. When the charr assaulted Orr, Razakel convinced Vizier Khilbron, who was also a follower of Abaddon, to read the Lost Scrolls and sink the land in the Cataclysm.

In 1075 AE, worshipers of Abaddon, General Kahyet and Warmarshal Varesh Ossa attempted to enact Nightfall, thereby returning Abaddon to the mortal plane with the Great Margonite Temple as the center of his rule.

NOTE: I’m not suggesting she is a servant of Abbadon. I’m merely suggesting her character continues certain themes.

It’s not logical for the Elder Dragons be the main villains because they’re not evil. They are more like a part of Tyria’s “magic eco-system” consuming magic when they awake and bleeding it when they sleep.

The natural role of the Elder Dragons is to keep magic balanced by consuming it and drawing it into themselves. Every few thousand years, the Dragons awaken and consume everything around them, thereby reducing the world to a low level of magic, before going back to sleep. From then, the magic they have consumed bleeds out into the world, only for the Dragons to awaken once more and the cycle to begin again.

I’ve never played GW1 either. But your video made think and I got reading the wiki.

Another thing, someone on your video commented about how Abbadon’s minion has 6 eyes or something like that. I wonder what the lore connection between the Thaumanova reactor fractal, the Abbadon’s Fall fractal, and Scarlett’s story is. It makes sense, since the Fractal patch is next week, that they both would give us some lore to help set up the climax of Scarlett’s arc. The Thaumanova Reactor makes sense, but what could Abbadon’s Fall have to do with Scarlett?

Great video! I just watched it and made a thread about it! Then I found this thread…

…good bye old thread.

Well, Altruistic Healing isn’t the Meta anymore —DPS builds are, and that’s not just for Guardians. Berserker builds with Ruby Orbs or Scholar Runes are the meta in PvE for just about every profession.

If your going to play dungeons or fractals you can’t get away from taking (XI) Master of Consecrations in Virtues for Wall of Reflection and Purging Flames, or from putting 15 in Radiance for a spamable, AoE blind that stacks Might on the party.

After that it depends on what weapon you’re using. Most people put 30 in Radiance for a Sword/Focus build or 20 in Honor and 15 in Zeal for a Hammer build.

Here is an up to date video guide for more information.

I stumbled across this video just the other day. Thanks for the great guide, Obal!!

It would be nice to have a written general PvE guide stickied to the forum though. Hmm… I guess if I had your permission I could write up a transcript of your video and ask to have it stickied. {Guide} Obal’s Dungeons & Fractal Handbook

Finn Felagund
Guardian
Berserker Gear. Usual Dungeon build with Sword/Focus or Hammer.
Experience: AC and CM.
Time: Between 1:00 and 11:00PM EST.
Other: Never done Arah, but I learn by listening.

Brutaly.6257:

[Snip]

This is the part of the post you missed, Brutaly.

Anyone know of a half decent build for playing Guardian casually in Open PvE/Zerg WvW?

Brutaly’s WvW/PvP advice is better than mine though. I only know about PvE. Anywho,

Brutaly.6257:

2. Absolute resolution = Useless with out battle presence.

Absolute Resolution and Battle Presence do not stack.

Brutaly.6257:

9. 2h mastery is a must on hammer. Not having 2h mastery both lowers your dps and your support thru less blast finishers.

Mighty Blow is good for combo finishers, but Two-Handed Mastery only decreases the cooldown by 1s (5s down to 4s). He can switch to it for WvW.

Brutaly.6257:

8. Skip empowering might.

He needs empowering might to proc heals from Altruistic Healing.

This easy-to-read guide is a great starting place for new or returning players. Eventually you’ll want to come back to these forums to get more in depth advice though.

NuttyLord.6329:

Thanks, i think ill just play a warrior until I know more about what i want from the game.

I respect this. But don’t fall into the mentality of “I’ll play whatever class is OP, and switch back when they nerf that or buff my favorite class.” If you do that you will never learn to play any class well and you will never be a good player.

Guardians and Warriors are two of the best classes in PvE right now. Warriors because of they buff the entire party’s DPS. Guardians because they have the best support of all classes. Both can do high DPS.
I have no clue what is good in WvW, but Warriors are good in every game mode right now.

I don’t do WvW, but my understanding is that you need a balance of survivability and damage. So yes, I’d say Soldier’s armor is more advisable then Knight’s since everything else is Berserker.

Shouts are great for a casual build and Greatsword w/ Hammer is a good weapon combo. Whatever you do, don’t fall into the trap of thinking you need Honor IX — Two-handed weapon skills recharge faster. You don’t need it on Greatsword or Hammer.

For your 3rd utility Bane Signet or Signet of Judgment are a good choice. Retreat is good too for moving around the world

I would start with this build for your base. The condition removal from Pure of Voice isn’t that great.
That leaves 20 unspent points.

• II Zeal — increase damage by 10% against burning foes. World bosses are always burning wherever there is a zerg, so this is a flat 10% DPS increase.

• 15 Zeal + VII Zeal — Greatsword attacks deal +5% damage and heal you. This would make the Hammer’s auto-attack inflict Vulnerability, since it drops a symbol. GS bonus is self explanatory.

• 15 Radiance + 5 Virtues — This combo is notoriously overpowered in PvE. VoJ give might to the entire party and it recharges when you kill a foe.

• Honor VII + Honor III — Symbols Last longer and Symbols Are Larger. This combo is good with the Hammer. It’s 3rd auto-attack drops a Symbol of Protection, and these traits actually increases Hammer DPS since Symbols deal damage. Get one of these instead of Pure of Voice if you go 30 in Honor. Honor X — Symbols Heal Allies isn’t bad either.

EDIT: If you don’t go 5 in Virtues remember to switch your elite to something besides Renewed Focus

Shinzan.2908:

Thought of an analogy that shows what went wrong with Living story in my opinion: We started with GW2 – Rise of the Elder dragons – the movie. What we got now is the GW2 TV series – the Saturday morning cartoon adaptation.

This is a good comparison of the Personal and Living stories. The PS we had at launch was like a movie and the LS feels like a bad TV show created to make cheap-money from the success of the movie.