Guild Wars 2

I think you’ll want to read today’s blog post for updates about the iteration on the expansion pack.

Enjoy!

Dear Heavenly Dwayna,

I laughed so loudly my co-workers told me to muzzle myself.

Well done, Neil, well done!

These are great! I wish I had those carving skillz.

Yes, spooky indeed.

Wow — Shiny! That is a great design!

I like this, and the back story is great!

This is really nice! Thanks.

This thread required a considerable amount of time to clean it up. Please do not fill it with attempted jokes, or with commentary that is irrelevant to the topic of not posting spoilers. There are many thread in which you can post your thoughts, but this is not one.

Unless you have a comment, question, or concern about the process of dealing with spoilers, please do not post in this thread.

Cross posting to be sure you have this information:

We have temporarily disabled the Heroic Notary and Notarized Scrolls while the team works on closing an exploit. We’ll re-enable the scrolls as quickly as possible, after the issue has been resolved.

We have temporarily disabled the Heroic Notary and Notarized Scrolls while the team works on closing an exploit. We’ll re-enable the scrolls as quickly as possible, after the issue has been resolved.

CandyHearts.6025:

Gaile, can we please get a mod looking at titles of some of the threads too? I came in today to post about something and got tons of spoilers as thread titles. I wont be back now until I finish the story I guess. -_-

If the topic has “Spoilers” I recommend that you don’t even open the thread, because you don’t have a way of knowing what is told, or when it will appear in the thread.

Bug Fixes:

General

• Fixed a server crash.
• Fixed client crash.
• Fixed a bug that caused the guild trader to not properly track purchase limits across multiple tiers.

Verdant Brink

• Fixed an issue in which the Save Sylvari event in the Pact Encampment would not progress, preventing the event from properly restarting on subsequent day cycles.
• Fixed an issue in which sylvari NPCs incorrectly excused during the Pact Encampment loyalties event could sometimes become hostile and unkillable, stalling subsequent events.

Auric Basin

• Fixed a situation in the Skritt Rescue event that prevented Overseer Greal from spawning.
• Fixed a bug in which players who disconnected from the Southwatch challenge were not removed from the event area.
• Requirements to unlock the final room beneath Tarir have been changed and will unlock when the Battle in Tarir has succeeded.
• Fixed a bug in which the Save the Pact NPC event chain stalled.
• Fixed a bug in which the griffon in Griffonfall would become stuck as unattackable.
• Fixed an issue preventing the Enchanted Armor transform from being removed when moved away from Battle in Tarir.
• Fixed an issue in which Pact survivors would fail to respawn in “Rescue the Pact survivors trapped in debris.”
• Fix an issue in which Adanich would fail to power Southwatch in "Clear Mordrem near Exalted mirrors while Adanich powers-up Southwatch.”

Heart of Thorns Story

• Fixed an issue in which the Sign Cutting quest would not properly bypass the Mastery requirement for certain players. Additionally, fixed an issue with Rox’s markings not properly completing the quest step on interaction.

Guardian

• Test of Faith: Receiving damage while crossing the threshold of this trap now has a 0.75 second internal cooldown.
• Hunter’s Determination: Fixed an issue that caused this trait to apply aegis without respecting its cooldown.

Oh, I want to also address the “We’re not going to talk about this any more.” I talked to the team lead and he agreed that was not the message we should be sending. The message itself is not the one we want used. So while the outcome will be fine regardless of the way it was communicated, the way to get there was a bit less informative and friendly than it could be.

Apologies for any inconvenience or upset that this matter caused you. I “get” that we need to prevent RMT from making inroads, and I believe the CS Team will be making changes to handle this in a more straightforward manner.

Wyvern.2430:

Gaile Gray.6029:

Wyvern.2430:

The retailer you bought from was simply not authorized and probably got the key in an illegal way.

The above is the kernel that everyone needs to know. A large number of the codes that are resold by unauthorized resellers are fraudulent. Naturally, ArenaNet cannot give you a refund — they did not receive the money. They cannot give you a free game — that’s just bad business.

The buyer must beware. Authorized partners do have sales, so watch for those. Or, if you decide to take a chance, please please have a realistic view of the situation, and do not blame ArenaNet for the shady actions of an unrelated business.

Thanks Gaile, you are the first to respond on this problem.

While we were unaware that we bought keys from an unauthorized retailer, I think most of us accepts that the key is rejected and most of us got or will get a refund from these retailers.
Our original core game however had a good key. We spends lots of time building it up and now it is also suspended. This should be given back. I am sure most of us are willing to buy HOT in game once we can go back to playing.

And in 99.9% of cases, access to the core game will be given back, once you contact CS and discuss the matter with them. No worries — it’s not a “ban” but a suspension pending the outcome of the review that you request.

…or if you must, then flag an initial thread as SPOILER in the topic, and use the spoiler function (just above the text box, in hints ).

Look at this as if you were going to “quote” it (the arrow below) and you’ll see the functionality:

Be considerate of other players.

…or if you must, then flag an initial thread as SPOILER in the topic, and use the spoiler function (just above the text box, in hints ).

Look at this in quote and you’ll see the functionality:

Be considerate of other players.

Hey, Karasu,

The accounts are blocked and then cleared through the appeal process. Any bogus (fraudulent) code would be revoked, of course. The account then would be reopened and the player would be good to go.

We’re going to take a look at the process and if there’s any way to avoid blocking the account — even though the suspension is temporary and ends when we do the review requested through an appeal — the truth of the matter is that a lot of the fraudulent code applications come from RMT. What this means is that the CS Team really needs to suspend the accounts and review upon appeal, to avoid all of us legitimate players getting spammed with gold ad whispers and other bad RMT activities.

Does that make sense to you?

I’m sorry that happened, Ranlares. I’m focusing on other threads and not the merged bug thread, but it seems to me that your adding a note there would be every helpful. If it’s a bug, that’s a way to get it noted, so please consider posting in that thread.

Thanks! (And congrats. )

Wyvern.2430:

The retailer you bought from was simply not authorized and probably got the key in an illegal way.

The above is the kernel that everyone needs to know. A large number of the codes that are resold by unauthorized resellers are fraudulent. Naturally, ArenaNet cannot give you a refund — they did not receive the money. They cannot give you a free game — that’s just bad business.

The buyer must beware. Authorized partners do have sales, so watch for those. Or, if you decide to take a chance, please please have a realistic view of the situation, and do not blame ArenaNet for the shady actions of an unrelated business.

Sorry that the build interrupted your progress. The team is working hard to resolve various issues, to make the experience better for individual players and players as a whole. But I do get what you’re saying, and those “A new build is available” can come up at unfortunate times.

All is well now, I assume?

Just a note — the Guild Wars 2 wiki has been slammed today, as everyone looks to it for answers to questions related to Heart of Thorns. Our technical team is working on improving the latency and difficulty accessing the wiki, but wiki editors are also having trouble getting in, so it’s going to take a bit of time to post the information that you are seeking.

Thanks for your patience. As a daily wiki user, I’m eager to get in there, too!

I hadn’t seen that feedback before. Thanks for sharing the suggestion.

Keiko — if you’re not sure if it’s a bug — and I don’t know myself — you might post that in the Bugs Thread. The QA Team is actively monitoring that thread (in the Bugs sub-forum) and I’m sure they’d like to hear if there’s an issue.

Thanks.

Every time I see Galen’s name, I stop for a split-second. I’ve been concerned that someone might raise the spectre of “impersonation” and suggest we take action on the name or the account. But it’s not impersonation. It’s clear from the posting history that impersonation is not the intention and the similarity of names is merely a coincidence. If I’m not mistaken, Galen and I are not even on the same continent.

When I’ve seen the name, it never occurred to me that someone would suggest I would use a smurf account and would also be so unintelligent as to use a name nearly mirroring my own. I have been in the industry for 20 years; I have been a gamer much longer than that. I have never used a smurf account. I would never use a smurf account. It would be disrespectful of the very community I serve and it would be dishonest, as well. Since honesty is one of the guiding principles of my life — personal and professional — the very idea is abhorrent to me.

For someone to state — not ask, not even suggest, but flat out state — that I have sunk to such depths is incredibly offensive to me. This sort of attack on any forum member, player or staff, is unacceptable.

Since the OP has said he will be taking this to reddit, I’m going to leave this thread in its entirety so that redditers can get the full picture. Thanks to those who pointed out the absurdity of the accusation; I appreciate your support.

I’m going to lock the thread only because I don’t think this needs to be a continuing drama. If anyone has questions, you can PM me. Thanks for understanding.

NayNay.7680:

You should be able to continue playing the core game normally. You only need to buy HoT if you want access to the new areas and content.

This is correct. Thanks, NayNay.

Also sharing this, from one of the programmers:

We are pretty confident these patching crashes have to do with 3rd party software (such as malware, antivirus, and proxies) hooking into the Winsock API.

This Microsoft KB article explains how to reset TCP/IP:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/299357

Please let us know if this does not solve the problem.

Also, Stefan made a post that may help (although I recognize it’s about patching and not chests — just sharing in case it’s of value):

We are pretty confident these patching crashes have to do with 3rd party software (such as malware, antivirus, and proxies) hooking into the Winsock API.

This Microsoft KB article explains how to reset TCP/IP:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/299357

Please let us know if this does not solve the problem.

Matwabkit.1603:

Gaile Gray.6029:

I have a suggestion you might try: When on the character selection screen, adjust your performance settings. To do that go this route: Gear in upper left, then Options, then the Mountain, then Advanced Performance -> Settings Preset then choose the dropdown that sets “best performance.” That might help, and it’s an experiment that would just take a moment to try.

Good luck!

I cannot open the game. It goes to “Initializing” on the client, then immediately crashes.

Oh, I’m so sorry! I suggest that you submit a ticket to CS so they can have a technical person help you. You might also post in the combined bugs thread, in case there are answers there. Also, the team is working on specific crash bugs, so the issue may be corrected in an upcoming build.

I hope it’s solved soon.

Note: You could also try “auto detect” on your visual settings, too.

I have a suggestion you might try: When on the character selection screen, adjust your performance settings. To do that go this route: Gear in upper left, then Options, then the Mountain, then Advanced Performance → Settings Preset then choose the dropdown that sets “best performance.” That might help, and it’s an experiment that would just take a moment to try.

Good luck!

Sorry, Panthrax, I don’t know the answer, either. I’d suggest it would be worthwhile to get a ticket in to CS, so they can look at your account and help get this sorted for you.

Sorry to hear that some of you are having this issue. Let me see if I can get any more information.

Edit: I heard something recently and wanted to share this, just in case it will help any of you: When on the loading screen, open your options setting and select the one that allows the game and system to choose the right settings. IOW, don’t have everything on high, but choose auto-select to try to improve your performance. That could help, and it’s an experiment that couldn’t hurt to try.

Good luck!

Ranatoa.4869:

Gaile Gray.6029:

I might be misunderstanding the issue, and if so, I apologize. But I wonder if this update note may apply:

• Fixed a bug that prevented Adept and Master Elite Specialization achievements from completing in the Heart of the Mists. For characters who had their elite spec achievements broken, a “Specialization Achievement Repair” NPC has been added to the heart of the mists you can speak to who will repair the achievement.

Again, sorry if that’s completely irrelevant, but the discussion reminded me of the note so I wanted to share it in this thread. (IOW, the Repair NPC might be helpful.)

Thanks Gaile, that indeed seems to be what the issue was. We also found that training the next trait/skill also activates the achievement (though this would undoubtedly be helpful is someone unlocked everything completely and didn’t have anything else to train.

Oh great! I’m glad I was able to help, then. I woke up wondering if you folks had found a solution. And remember, for individual issues, Customer Support can help you.

Coulter.2315:

Had a great time with the expansion! The maps are massive, varied and brilliant (Auric Basin is beautiful), the masteries let you feel progression, the cutscene in City of Hope is awesome, Taimi’s holomarkers were really funny.

Super fun, had a really good day – just wanted to say thanks ^^

Thanks back. I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.

I might be misunderstanding the issue, and if so, I apologize. But I wonder if this update note may apply:

• Fixed a bug that prevented Adept and Master Elite Specialization achievements from completing in the Heart of the Mists. For characters who had their elite spec achievements broken, a “Specialization Achievement Repair” NPC has been added to the heart of the mists you can speak to who will repair the achievement.

Again, sorry if that’s completely irrelevant, but the discussion reminded me of the note so I wanted to share it in this thread. (IOW, the Repair NPC might be helpful.)

I am so sorry to hear this. Have you tried submitting an in-game bug report? Or have you posted in this thread? The team is actively monitoring that thread to identify issues.

Kitta.3657:

Can we add to acknowledge feedback on how this is affecting WvW players in a very negative way, please Gaile?

WvW is a competitive game mode, this impacts it greatly.
I do not know a single WvW player that has gotten their elite specialization through WvW only and through an healthy way rather than by training captures. This makes me very worried that it will be forgotten or ignored as currently it seems you (the only voice we can rely on at the moment) are only acknowledging people that have gotten it through doing the PvE content which to me doesn’t speak of it being at an appropriate state currently if only people in PvE are getting it hm? When we consider that the option of giving access to the content to WvW players without having to play PvE was added and announced through a blogpost (so judged something important to note), I feel it is appropriate to push on making it fair at the earliest and make sure it is acknowledged.

Thank you Gaile

Thank you for sharing this perspective, Kitta. WvW is important, you’re absolutely right. The insights being shared are good because they do cross the spectrum, from those who play only PvE to those who focus exclusively on WvW.

Altapir.2571:

So our opinion now wont change in the future, cause it’s not a matter of “how hard it is” but “how annoying it is to be forced to play the same thing on every alt”

Got it. I’m seeing a variety of points of feedback, but that seems to sum up one area of concern well. Thanks for the succinct synopsis.

Eponet.4829:

The difficulty isn’t too high. The fact that by the time you get it, you’ve already gone through more than half the maps is the issue. If they were all put in the first area, there would at least be three maps to experience at our own pace and explore for the sake of exploring instead of because we’re forced to in order to get the class mechanics (Which were designed to fill holes in the base classes) to function fully.

I feel that’s very valuable feedback. Thanks for that insight.

No one — especially me — is diminishing the thoughts, concerns, and input on this subject being shared by our forum members. But I believe that it is premature to make a comment about “forever” in the context of a game that has been playable for less than 24 hours.

I stand by that, for it is what I believe. I believe that time will give everyone a better view of this situation. The outcome may be that it’s seen that yes, the difficulty is too high. The outcome may be that eventually, the number is seen as reasonable and properly attainable.

I think that all of us — players and developers alike — do not have sufficient information yet to know what the “sweet spot” is. I suggest we allow us — as players and devs — to attain the necessary info to analyze this situation through gameplay and the passage of time. I want to assure you that I don’t mean months and months, either, but some amount of time on which to base an informed opinion.

I say this especially when I see this post:

Nike.2631:

It been just over 18 hours and I’ve unlocked everything I wanted for my main including the GM I intend to use. Needed one mastery level of gliding and one mastery level of mushroom bounce. Still trying to pick some ‘low-hanging fruit’ Hero Challenges, but basically I’m good to go anywhere.

Day one Dragonhunter. I can live with it. Still need another 90 points for the armor/runes, but I don’t plan to use either so that’s just showing off .

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed a bug causing Shards of Glory and Memories of Battles to be Account Bound on Acquire.
• Fixed a bug with the Halloween achievement “A Royal Tradition” not being awarded to event participants.
• Fixed an issue where players were losing storyline UI if they crashed or were logged out during the first chapter Prologue: Rally to Magma.
• Fixed a bug that prevented Adept and Master Elite Specialization achievements from completing in the Heart of the Mists. For characters who had their elite spec achievements broken, a “Specialization Achievement Repair” NPC has been added to the heart of the mists you can speak to who will repair the achievement.
• Fixed an issue in Auric Basin where using a waypoint out of the Southwatch Jumping Puzzle Trial by Fire challenge area would not remove transform.
• Removed errant guild vendors from the VIP airship.
• Ensured the passage to Dragon’s Stand will re-open on consecutive Chak Gerent successes.
• Fixed an issue with the guild hall basic decorations vendor and fixed an issue with the scribe trainer.
• Fixed a bug that could cause players to miss out on event coordinator rewards at very specific participation percentages.
• Superior Rune of Durability: Updated the text to reflect the functionality of granting 1 second of resistance.
• Renamed the new minor, major, and superior Sigils of Speed, crafted by scribes, to Sigils of Agility.
• Fixed a crash.

Zoltreez.6435:

that feel when you create your revenant and start spamming tomes like a mad man just to found out that you forgot to use the lvl20 scroll and get stuck at lvl60…….. run out of tomes………….

Oh doh! I’m sure I’ve done the same. Have fun, though. I’m sure you’ll get there quickly.

DarcShriek.5829:

The mastery system as only been available for 15 hours. Your complaining about it being forever is just pure over dramatization. Congratulations on being awarded the William Shatner award for dramatic excellence.

First, thank you for saying, in your first sentence, my very thoughts: “It’s been less than 16 hours, and that’s ’forever?” Secondly, thanks for a smile. I’d love to see the statue that goes with that award.

Edit to add: I do not dismiss anyone’s feelings, thoughts, or input about the subject at hand. I was merely smiling at the thought of a William Shatner award for acting. My comments about player concerns and feedback on the subject of Hero Points can be found elsewhere in the thread — this is by no means my only comment in this thread.

Any questions about getting a refund can be addressed to Customer Support, who will be happy to discuss the matter with you individually.

I think you should submit a ticket to Customer Support. They will look into each case and do their best to help you.

Redenaz.8631:

While that’s a bummer, and will be affecting how much I play the Halloween content, I’m glad to hear that it’s a bug, rather than what’s intended.

Thanks for the clarification! It means a lot just to know that devs get sources of player frustration like this, even if it isn’t going to be fixed while the festival is live.

In return, thank you for understanding. Seriously, it’s not something we’re happy about, but given the chance of possible damage in ways that could even impact future Halloween festivals, I think the right decision was made.

Kysin.6349:

Huge bummer, guess its time to grind other content. Halloween events would have been perfect for gaining Masteries whilst enjoying the festivities.

Yes, we truly wish you had been able to do that. Very sorry!

Hey all,

We discovered an issue with the Halloween Festival that we wanted to share with you: The festival activities are not giving Mastery experience for characters that are level 80.

This was not an intended mechanic, but with the festival underway it would be extremely risky to attempt to correct this right now. Weighing the options, it’s best not to take a risk that could impact everyone’s ability to play Halloween content this year and in future Halloween festivals, as well. We will be taking a look at the festival code after the Halloween event ends and we hope to have this situation corrected for next year’s fall extravaganza.

Thanks for your understanding.

Teofa Tsavo.9863:

Thanks for that Clarification, Gail. So the Anet position is “We don’t Care”? I suspected that.

I had intended to continue playing without purchasing. I still will not be purchasing, and it looks doubtful, now, that I will follow through on still playing.

Because “reasons”.

Why would you assume that we don’t care? It’s not even remotely logical.

There are many comments in this thread, both positive and negative, that, when on topic, remain in place. Our point here is that the OP asked a specific question, and the thread is being use to state (and in most cases restate) opinions that are off topic to the thread.

The topic — which is quite interesting — is not “Will you buy the expansion?” Look for those threads elsewhere. There are many of them and we have no issue with whatever you wish to say, if presented in a reasonable manner.

This question is something different, and the OP’s intentions should be respected, as we expect of any thread, on any topic.

Please note: your comments, because they address the subject, remain in place. The discussion continues with the on-topic posts.

Guys,

Please read the topic of this thread. The subject is: “If you did not purchase HoT, are you still playing (or will you continue to play) GW2?” Not, “Why I didn’t buy” or “What I think about the pricing,” or other off-topic comments. That’s not what the OP asked, and let’s respect this thread for the actual question that he or she posed.

We have a lot of threads in which you may share your opinions on those other subjects. This thread is asking a simple question: _If you didn’t purchase HoT, will you continue to play the core game. It’s an interesting question, and it deserves “breathing space” without tangential commentary and oft-repeated input.

Please stay on topic.

Thank you.

Because this is an individual case, I’d suggest you click Support above and then use “Submit a request” to get personal assistance with this.

I’m sorry you’re having difficulties. The team will help you as soon as possible!