Guild Wars 2

Kidel.2057:

This game is skill based and I like it this way.

For what i know, Masteries level in gliding will be required in raid to jump platforms.

And also before HoT, Agony cannot be ignored by skills.

Astralporing.1957:

PopeUrban.2578:

If I remeber correctly, the fact that shortly after launch that you and all of us had several top tier sets for every conceivable situation was why they added ascended in the first place though, right?

Wrong. They added it, because people were asking for more content, and Anet at that time was unable to deliver. Gear grind (yes, they fully intended going hamster wheel with gear then, which is clear if you look at their posts from that time) was just a cheap substitute for introducing new zones, events, boss fights and dungeons. It was also a kneejerk panic reaction to the content locust leaving the game, that was most likely done without much of a forethought (because at the time they made it game was still fresh, and they didn’t have any meaningful data they could base it on yet).

Totally agree.
They had a lot of choices to implement a wholly horizontal progression, as the game was brand new.
They just opted for easy timesink (instead of working more elaborated content like maps or other) as any other mmorpg…and also tried to lure in the wow-derived “locusts” who woudn’t play without a new BiS to grind.
Betraying their original audience.

I want my money back too, but for another reason: because at launch there were no ascended and fractals and AR.
Yours sincerely, The casual

PS:
Everything we can do is continue to play if like it…and don’t buy next exp or any other thing if it doesn’t fit our expectations
My advice is to wait for launch and reviews newxt time…
my personal rule is: never buy early access or beta’s

Olba.5376:

Unless the raids have Agony or an actual gearcheck, Ascended won’t be required.

It would be pretty much impossible for them to make an encounter where the miniscule difference between Ascended and Exotic gear was the deciding factor, even if we’re talking about the whole party and not the individual members of it.

Being able to change the stats at a small fee and being account bound is already a pretty good incentive for most people to go for Ascended.

And what about…glider mastery in raid?
I’m sure that it is a “deciding factor”.
Just as Agony Resistance that we already have.

Zelkovan.2630:

Yeah and Arah was centered around 5 man groups in full exotics, yet people have solo’d it naked.

Look, with all due respect I understand Anet’s statement about Ascended. But “should” does not mean “required”. Just because the devs say that you “should use ascended” does not mean it is required. The only way it will be required is if there is a system in place that FORCES you to have ascended before attempting the raid. Currently there is none.

There’s also the fact that ascended is literally a total of 12.5% dmg increase in total. Meaning, if you were going to hit 1k with an auto attack normally in full exotic, you’d be hitting 1125 dmg instead. Just means that in the long run you may need to autoattack a boss one more time.

Even disregarding that 12.5% damage increase if you equip trinkets, which are easy to get from laurels, and just get an ascended weapon (easier to get than full armor) then your damage difference comes out to a measly 7.5%. That’s nothing. That will literally not make or break the raid.

Ashen had already answered you before you posted it lol.

Devs cannot first create it, make it useful (and necessary to do fractals – and make them count also outside fractals, in wvw especially, where they have some sense) and then expect that who cannot acquire it, same those who they sold the game to “no grind no biS” motto, just ignore it saying “no problem, you don’t need it”
….and then tweet about it too, talking about raids.
so plz, it’s enough with this thing that we don’t need it.
Ascended do exist, the problem is the same existence of a better tier than exo, much more difficult to acquire.

To me, there’s only one solution: make exo’s same stats and slots with ascended/legendary, and leave them just a skin.
The quarrel would instantly come to an end, and all the pro’s who feel much better than pugs would still close the raids naked and still would have their legendary skins and titles to feel “elite” (and i feel that this would be perfectly fair: skill should be rewarded..but not with power: with cosmetics)

EDIT:
And I nearly forgot the big news: as ascended were not enough and AR was not so evident, let’s put another “gate” for raids and map completion/storyline : masteries"
Let’s see how it goes, but it has the potential to get even worse than ascended increase in stats…such as Agony in fractals.

GuzziHero.2467:

GuzziHero.2467:

Anet flat out lied to us.

I would like to apologise for this remark I made earlier. It is incorrect and unfair. I know, of course, that at the time of launch and the comment about Exotics being the final tier of gear being made, it is wholly possible that Ascended gear was not in Anet’s design plan.

So yes, I’m sorry for making this comment and I would like to retract it.

Well, so it was not a lie. but still they changed their mind, the manifesto is not valid anymore and with it the reason many of us bought the game years ago.
It’s a different kind of game now

Kevan.8912:

Kormeg.2469:

Kevan.8912:

Q:“Why havnt you bought HoT yet?”

A: Because I won’t buy it at all. edit

You have been very active on the forums for someone uninterested in playing the game.

Lets assume you’re genuinely interested in others’ opinions and not just trolling with quotes:
nobody said that there is not “gates” in other games.
In fact, an eternal carrot-on-a-stick is the most common behavior that mmorpg show….the caplevel-new BiS/stats-raiding cycle, in the order we prefer.
but that new gates in here are not welcome.
Ok, it’s not a new tier gear or cap level, they say. meh?
Still it’s not what many mean for horizontal progression.

Ascended/FOTM/grind to BiS had already caused a lot of troubles..so just to cool down the flames. and keep the kitten manifesto alive and healthy..
they could just make ascended easier to obtain and make raids a mere matter of skills, not farming another parameter…and they would have avoided all this mess.

Nope. Instead, they add fuel to the fire with raids and gating through BOTH ascended and masteries. bullseye!
So anet’s position about gw2 and future becomes evident: they’ve irreversibly taken a path that a part (don’t know if a major or a “vocal” small population of whining casuals like me, but definitely I’m not the only to think this) of the original players don’t like.

Everything has its price.
I understand that it’s a matter of money and audience and devs will do what they think it’s convenient, but at this point it’s hard to continue to cater so different kinds of users with opposite expectations.
However, I don’t care so much about market trends, I’m a customer and feel “betrayed” once more…it’s obvious that I’m here to make them all know it. It’s..umh..was MY game, too.

autoquote in a similar thread
Yeah, I know your pain bro.
It’s same here…that joke about unnecessary gear and there is no gated content.
The original sin is… we trusted this few lines of txt:

“But if you hate traditional MMORPGs, then you should really check out Guild Wars 2. Because, like Guild Wars before it, GW2 doesn’t fall into the traps of traditional MMORPGs. It doesn’t suck your life away and force you onto a grinding treadmill; it doesn’t make you spend hours preparing to have fun rather than just having fun”

Kormeg.2469:

Kevan.8912:

Q:“Why havnt you bought HoT yet?”

A: Because I won’t buy it at all. edit

You have been very active on the forums for someone uninterested in playing the game.

Lets assume you’re genuinely interested in others’ opinions and not just trolling with quotes:
nobody said that there is not “gates” in other games.
In fact, an eternal carrot-on-a-stick is the most common behavior that mmorpg show….the caplevel-new BiS/stats-raiding cycle, in the order we prefer.
but that new gates in here are not welcome.
Ok, it’s not a new tier gear or cap level, they say. meh?
Still it’s not what many mean for horizontal progression.

Ascended/FOTM/grind to BiS had already caused a lot of troubles..so just to cool down the flames. and keep the kitten manifesto alive and healthy..
they could just make ascended easier to obtain and make raids a mere matter of skills, not farming another parameter…and they would have avoided all this mess.

Nope. Instead, they add fuel to the fire with raids and gating through BOTH ascended and masteries. bullseye!
So anet’s position about gw2 and future becomes evident: they’ve irreversibly taken a path that a part (don’t know if a major or a “vocal” small population of whining casuals like me, but definitely I’m not the only to think this) of the original players don’t like.

Everything has its price.
I understand that it’s a matter of money and audience and devs will do what they think it’s convenient, but at this point it’s hard to continue to cater so different kinds of users with opposite expectations.
However, I don’t care so much about market trends, I’m a customer and feel “betrayed” once more…it’s obvious that I’m here to make them all know it. It’s..umh..was MY game, too.

Kormeg.2469:

You have been very active on the forums for someone uninterested in playing the game.

Probably because the forum is much, much more fun than the game itself
It’s my right as a possessor of the game.
In fact, I logged a pair of times in the last.. 9,10months?
And I never said I’m not interested in the game: I’m not interested in playing THIS game, because of what it has become and is going to

If you just talk about apperance and skins…I think that players’ time and effort invested should be rewarded, as much as skills.

What is not good, and it has been told since the launch, is that ascended give AR and increased stats…same thing about legendaries.
If it was just a QoL or aesthetic “elitism”, nobody would whine.

Q:“Why havnt you bought HoT yet?”

A: Because I won’t buy it at all.
Raids…cough cough. Masteries levels…specializations…what is more, the trailer mention of new infusions.
Everything sounds like timesink, not content.

In all honesty, after that thing happened with manifesto…there were very few chances I’d throw other money in gw2.
And this chance has been used in the wrongest way.
I’ll still give a look at the news and follow what happens for some months after launch, but except for the impossibile case that: full set ascended become easily available (days) for anyone with any kind of gameplay (not just crafting), masteries can be maxed out in hours and there is no grindy requirements for completing raids, in addition to my skill, a whole afternoon/evening at home and my party’s…my ssd won’t see gw2 again.

Azumi.9572:

Kevan.8912:

nope. I don’t want to “work” towards anything, because it’s not the reason i bought the game years ago at launch.

2%. tantrum. college and fastfood? a lot of OT.
It’s not punishing anybody, it’s what i like or dislike.
a part of the players don’t like “working” on crafting the best gear, because it’s not fun.

I already quitted a year ago or so, but when i read again the misleading advertisement about “horizontal progression” “we don’t do new tiers” and so on..here I am.

but don’t be afraid, vocal minority or not anet will follow raiders desires…but just like did with ascended, will say “there is it and it’s BiS, but if you close your eyes and think of ponies and unicorns,you may not need it”
there is no way they can cater opposite audiences.

You don’t need Legendary Armor to kill Tequalt for the 1 billionth time, Kevan.

And anyway, Legendary Armor is the same as Ascended Armor statswise.

and again: you need ascended for fotm.
you need masteries and maybe full ascended to end the raid…and some other contents in jungle, some say.
It’s not whether vertical progression is slow, or easier if you grind the right way, or that you can skip ascended if you convince yourself that don t need it.

there is it, and it’s enough for me to go and play elsewhere.
it’s a matter of coherence with the reason they sold me the game.
and coherence with what anet say: first talk about difference gw2/other games,no tiers and no treadmill and no progression , then turns to: unlocking masteries and map zones, and raids (even the same name in wow and other games… a bit of effort to create a different name? nope.)AGAIN?
good luck, I’m done with that.

nope. I don’t want to “work” towards anything, because it’s not the reason i bought the game years ago at launch.
I’d prefer fair challenge..with a bit of open world events and zergs in wvw.
not endgame fractals or raid with a gear/mastery requirement.

2%. tantrum. college and fastfood? a lot of OT.
It’s not “punishing” anybody, it’s what i like or dislike.
a part of the players don’t like “working” on crafting the best gear, because it’s not fun.

I already quitted a year ago or so, but when i read again the misleading advertisement about “horizontal progression” “we don’t do new tiers” and so on..here I am.

but don’t be afraid, vocal minority or not anet will follow raiders desires…but just like did with ascended, will say “there is it and it’s BiS, but if you close your eyes and think of ponies and unicorns,you may not need it”
there is no way they can cater opposite audiences.
I’m quite sure that a decent part of gw2vanilla owners won’t buy HoT, and another part of pre-sell is already mad at it after latest news…in the same time, a lot of “typical mmo” players will come in…and eventually gw2 will become another brick..another raiding wow-ish game.
good game!

another question before: what is really stopping me from doing fractals? a huge, steamy heap of money and crafting ingredients to stack AR.
what will stop me from raids? with pretty good probability, still not having ascendeds + capped masteries.

OP, in what part of your argument Agony Resistance or Masteries level is doable only by “pro/hardcore” players?
It seems more like of a grind, that anyone in this game is able to do…if he likes to or has the necessary amount of spare time to waste on it.
I’m sure that there are lots of good players who can’t afford to gather materials for crafting/gold 4-5hrs/day for months, or that don’t find it fun.
Grind is grind. period.
skilled vs non-skilled is another question, and there is no mmorpg that values skill.
Play counterstrike or dota, if you want to find “skill”.
And again, define casual. casual because cannot play 24/7? or because doesn’t know how to use a class/skill?

Here, the real issue is that anet goes on with talking about horizontal preogression and other stuff while giving tons of grind.
The have just to choose what kind of audience want to satisfy, as they cannot put agony resistance/grindsceded and raids and still talk about " it doesn’t make you spend hours preparing to have fun rather than just having fun"

If it was just about that 1.x%, i wouldn t complain this much..and so other decractors (although it would still be unfair competion, “grind not skill”).
but 10%dps or more can heavily affect a fight.
let’s assume that raid is, as devs said, designed around BiS gear, to be challenging for the best gear available: without that 10% dps, it’s quite possible that closing the raid may become much more difficult, or even impossible.
And if we talk about masteries locking raid wings (and it definitely can be a huge timesink)…or, once again, that kitten AR.

We’re talking about the common issue of any other mmo available.
Well done, the nogrind game, the enjoy-game-from-first-login game, the no-treadmill game.

They have to choose one path: a skill based game (that does nt mean casual: it just means that you can access any part of the game even at the first login…but complete it only if you’re skilled enogh, without differences in gear stats and any other unfair help) or the typical timegated/bestgear/unlockendgamebygrind game.
there is no half way between.

@torolan
If ascended is not mandatory and there’s not any elitism ingame…just make ascended and legendaries SKINS…with the same slots and stats Exotic have.

@pope
and again..we don’t know if raid will be doable with exotics or greens or naked, but still 5 o10% increase is there and it’s a help.
and don’t forget that probabily Raids will need a mastery level to unlock..and that is another kind of locking content behind timesinks.

PopeUrban.2578:

The only way to be sure that a given piece of content excludes no one is to simply not make them play content in the first place. There are varying levels of exclusion in video games, commonly based on a simply risk/reward metric. Raids are a small part of HoT intended for a portion of the player base that wanted higher risks for higher rewards.

This makes no sense to me.
The best way not to exclude anyone from a content…is just remove any gear requirement. (and any top tier/ hard to acquire gear, so that anyone has the same gear)
Let anyone try a content, then make it difficult to master so that only if someone is exceptionally skilled reaches the best result.

then, for the love of rewards and so on, let the best players have cosmetic rewards so to show that they’re “the best”: skins, titles, pets, etc.
but JUST COSMETIC upgrades

Sadly, I fear that cosmetic accessories might not be enough to this pro-grinders.

Anet must choose which population should follow: those who want a fair competition and easy gearing or those who desire to grind the best gear to have better stats than the others

LanfearShadowflame.3189:

Once upon a time, sure mmo ‘casuals’ where bad. However, that has changed as the years have progressed. Casual no longer immediately equates to bad/unskilled/whatever, just like Hardcore doesn’t necessarily equate to good either.

We seriously need to move beyond the stereotypes, they aren’t healthy. Its like holding to the stereotype that because someone is black, they are guaranteed to rob you, they are thug, etc. Sure, it might still be true in some cases, but not the majority.

They told us that casuals couldn’t complete UW back in the day either. Back when GW1 was still ‘young.’ Guess what, we still did.

I have no stereotypes, I’m just describing what is the modern market like.
MMO are oriented to a audience which values TIME and effort much more than player’s skill. (maybe MOBAs or FPS are a bit different in that, bt mmo’s it’s all the same thing, everywhere)
I hope that in the future things will turn another direction…but atm MMO = time, grind, vertical progression.

The time you spend ingame will not increase your player’s skill, but just your character’s stats (gear, and so on.)
If you don’t play enough hours/month to earn your access to the endgame, you won’t have the right skills-builds-stats-gear-mastery-attunement-paragon etc to be competitive with the other players…
So, if you’re not bad, everything makes you BAD, meaning that your char will always be worse than any other char with same skilled player (and in most cases, you will be much much worse than players with high stats but no playing skills. because gear makes a huge difference. see: agony resistance)
and then, whether you’re skilled or not, it doesn’t matter.

What I love to underline here is that…gw2 is not so different than other games.
maybe a bit different, but not so innovative.
Vertical progression/ content which must be unlocked/ gear to be obtained.
A typical mmorpg.

PS: once again…if masteries represented just a wider choice of skills on which you can create a build, THAT is horizontal progression.
If masteries are REQUIRED to access something, such as raids (which are the endgame, so supposed to be “better” as droprates, reward and so on) or parts of the map, THAT is vertical progression.

Ascended gear and raids: the question is not whether it’s possibile or not to close a raid with/without ascendeds.
skill or gear, there is not any common point. It’s an evident dicotomy- everybody should wear the same gear, if we want to talk about skill.

@lanfear: i know your pain…
but in mmos casual IS noob/unskilled.
there s no mmo which values skill over grind/gear/numbers..and gw2 is the same.
mmorpg (especially pve part) are about time and grind…no fair challenge.

I hoped gw2 might be different, but I waa wrong…
what irritates me is anet/some players continuing to affirmate that gw2 is casual friendly, everything for everyonre..and stuff like that.

the fact there is LESS gated content THAN other mmos doesn t mean there is not progression/treadmill AT ALL.

Killface.1896:

Its a Raid it mean it will be be hard and require best gear/food/build/ to have any change at all to beat it AKA not for casuals.

yes…it’s exactly what happens in any mmo in the market..and what is gonna happen in gw2. and what s like in fractals: grind to have best gear, build, etc to have a chance to access endgame.

the possible solution?
there’s only one: make ascended much much easier/quick to acquire..and in the future stop gating content behind timesinks/grind/gear/exp.
let people play…and show skill in combat.
if it’s my first login or 1500hrs, should be the same.
make something HARDER and make it require timing/coordination/etc…

THIS would make gw2 really different than other titles.
this would reflect the reason many of us bought gw2 instead of any other mmo.

but obviously it won’t happen.

Cyninja.2954:

phys.7689:

And the main thing is you shouldnt have to grind for a month or more after hitting 80 to try a you re first raid. No raid mmo i have ever seen did that.

Except for the biggest raid MMO out there, WoW. Or do you truly want to tell me, people got into motlen core straight off the bat after hitting 60? Or Black Temple straight once they hit 70? There were even attunement quests which took hours to just be allowed to enter. (I could go on, but I guess you get my point)

Also, no one says you can’t give raids a shot in exotics, just that you won’t get that far. No one forces you to wait a month too. You can craft full ascended equipment within minutes.

minutes? are we playing the same game?

agree about wow..and any other mmo. you need some grind before unlocking/being ready to play endgame.
the matter is gw2 was supposed to be no grind/ no gear check/ no treadmill, not grind before start to play and have fun. Another clue it’s vertical progression

vertical progression doesn’t mean new tier of gear.
Means that your char become in some way more powerful than in the past.
And if a player who has played XXhrs has access to something that another with Xhrs can’t access, imho is a vertical progression.

Masteries are definitely a grind AND vert.progression, as they prevent me from entering certain parts of maps.
You just wouldn’t call masteries a vertical progression because there’s not a number such as stats or dps? It’s the same.
There’s an improvement in something can be a parameter, a simple number like agony resistance..or a full set of new armor with better stats…or a set of skills o something similar like masteries.

Bandit.8279:

If you haven’t been doing end game PvE content on a consistent basis then why do you think you should be given a free pass for the harder end game content? Self-entitled gamers!

We all have plenty of time to prepare people. Stop with the excuses and whining and get to work!

exactly this.
I don’t want to get to “work”.
And yes, i want that harder game content is given to me, without any effort.

But yes you’re right.
that’s just like any other mmo, with grind2win, vertical progression and so on.
I just want people to admit that, that it’s just different name and aspect to something that is common with ANY other mmo.
Grind to keep at the right pace with other players and content.

grind to have gold, grind to craft stuff, grind to raid and other “endgame content”.
And if i not grind, i’m left behind: just a perfect definition of vertical progression + treadmill.

Both masteries and raids are in fact a new (different than competition, i grant it) step of vertical progression.

Ok, there is no new tier of gear. there’s not an evident increase in stats.
But if increasing masteries gives an advantage to those players who grind it, or if there’s a content you can unlock only after leveling…it’s not horizontal.
Anet keeps just playing with semantics, but here is another step upwards.
Dejavu… just like that manifesto/no grind/ no vertical progression situation.

umm. Quite new to this expansion so:

At the moment, elite spec doesn’t even appear in the training menu. (just the 5 core)
Elite will be in that menu..after HoT is live?
And it will cost…hero points to unlock?

Completely different discussions, merged in one single 3d…and also posts put in the wrong order, so that the meaning is totally screwed up.
Well done. Last post on this forum

plz, it’s enough about gear check…it’s a bit OT.
Lie or not about your gear, my post is about something else.

#SkiTz: maybe legendaries are not much more than a QoL improvement…but ascended-s are…AR.
Masteries too are not QoL.

Someone in this 3d stated that a mmo(rpg) is about vertical progression…and yes, it is true…for now. – I still think that a game with pure horizontal progression is possible, time will tell. -
But I bought the game exactly because i thought that gw2 could be different (because Anet stated it. did i misinterpret it? did they “lie” or changed idea after a while? who knows)
…and it is, different in some way, but not enough.
And so, as I realised it, I dropped it.
Of course you’re right wher say Devs won’t change the game for me alone, as many players enjoy it as it is now…and I’m sure that the game will continue in the direction it has already taken.

But it doesn’t mean I’m the only player who thinks that vertical progression/grind is not the only way to play mmo’s.

The issue is not if there is a check or not.

It’s about:
-a vertical progression (and with masteries, sure it is a progression. Still don’t know how much “work” it requires but: no matter if easily gained as exotics, but ascendeds is a dramatic, mandatory stat for FOTM.. and a hard grind. I expect them to be sufficiently long process to keep players busy for a while.),
-grind (as seemingly you need exp, and although it can be done with non repetitive tasks, there always a more efficient way. I can gather gold, dragonite ore and silk to afford a full ascended set or a legendary weapon, also playing casually…but in a unreasonable amount of time.)
and treadmill (not a gear treadmill. but a exp treadmill? a specialisation/mastery treadmill? still here it is: because if a player logs in after a while, if he was once on a par with other players, but they kept playing…he is no more even with them – ).

These are my personal reasons not lo log in anymore to gw2.
I won’t argue if manifesto was a realistic one, if they lied or not…
but nothing changed about the things I listed above. So no reasons to come back to play with the exp.

PopeUrban.2578:

If you want a grind to complain about, I’d say to warm up for complaining about an Xp grind, but not a gear grind.

Yes! good suggestion. you’ve got a point here.
However, grind is grind, and progression is progression. – no matter XP, gear, masteries.
And i see clearly both of them, grind AND vertical progression

Healix.5819:

Kevan.8912:

I feel that just “skill, strategy and coordination” is something rarely seen in MMOs.

Basic skill, strategy and coordination is required in all raids. Skill is to not stand in fire, strategy is planning to not stand in fire and coordination is to get everyone to move out of the fire at the same time.

But in most (or all, maybe) MMO’s, a certain good gear is required for endgame content.
And that gears requires hours of farm, grind, craft, etc.

And just to make a refer. to the old-but-still-good argument about manifesto, gear_treadmill and so on…if there is the introduction of any new infusion, it IS a treadmill.
And “mandatory” grind

“a variety of difficult challenges that will require your raiding team to bring a high level of skill, strategy, and coordination in order to succeed.”

There is no mention to GEAR.
In FOTM, AR is required in order to go up with fractal difficulty.
What about raids?
New tiers of gear?
Need of legendaries/ascended for AR or stats boost?

I feel that just “skill, strategy and coordination” is something rarely seen in MMOrpg-s…or so important..

+1 to Alastor.

Gw2 is about BiS gear grinding/ masteries grinding.
Exactly what is supposed to be a vertical progression.
Don’t like to, but I’ll talk again about manifesto, grind, BiS, etcetera…
oh wait no…it’s too boring.
Still, gw2 has become a different game from what many of us bought the game for.
Just give it the right name: a typical mmo.
It can be alright for someone or a huge mess for someone else.
The good-stats-but-not-enough-to-be-worth-the-grind ascended is just a trick
to keep logging in both fans and haters.

Hi Colin.
I’d like to ask you this from when I bought GW2…that’s the right moment, as i think i won’t continue to play this game after the launch of the expansion.

As you don’t think that ascended is the main progression system in endgame…why did anet lock high fractals behind a stat that can be acquired only through a BiS tier?

If the ascended matter was just a 5% on every stat..ok. maybe I could tolerate also that kitten 10% increase someone spoke of.
But…as I’m primarily a pve player and like to get coop-exploration achievements and i don’t do any pvp/crafting at all…WHY did you do it?

Make that ascended just a small bonus (even on AR: that should be stacked through different ways on gear, also on lower quality gear) against exotics , or a special appearance just like legendaries…or make people get ascended also only by playing fractals…
but WHY do you force us to craft ascended with gold, mats and crafting skills in order to do fractals?

It’s the biggest issue that prevents me from enjoying this game.
thank you for listening

horizontal progression…no grind philosophy…game for who doesn’t like mmo’s…ahahahahah!
no more lies, gw2 has shown its true nature…a typical grindy mmo, just like any other.

Banono.4597:

I honestly do not care if Anet decides to make a gear treadmill and adds a new tier with each living story update, but for the love of all six gods, make them obtainable without having to torture yourself crafting or praying to RNGesus. I refuse to craft especially in this game. The second I am forced to; I move on from this game.

you are already forced to craft.
the stats increase is decent (so in wvw it is a little but significant advantage)…AND you already need ascended to get to pve endgame: high fractals.
the “high fractals are not rewarding” excuse is not working here.
the anet’s decision of getting emphasis in difference between exotic and ascended is clear; but they have to choose what kind of people they want to keep logging: -carrot on a stick/wow clones fans or -BiS for everyone.

Hi,
I recently bought with laurels a pair of ascended rings and an amulet.

I am interested in playing fractals, as it is the pve endgame and i don’t like pvp/wvw…
but it’s difficult for me to understand AR.
I read about health loss in wiki, but…in the end, what can/should i put in my items?

and how much gold is required to buy-craft infusions? (and there are ordinary infusions…agony infusions…)

help T.T

that droprate is, for ex., “sufficient” to equip decently after hundreds of hours of play?
or it’s still a joke?

it’s not a question about meaning or ascended itself (though i don’t like them too and will never craft one)…

i just need to know if anything changed or is about to change.
it’s still needed crafting or i can get full ascended through karma, drop or similar?
or if anet plans to change it in the near future

i left the game for a while…waiting for news about vertical\horizontal progression (no whine here
is there any real news about ascended acquisition?
has anything changed\ any changes soon?

it’s still only via crafting?
or at least there are incoming changes about it?

if it’s still the same, no problem…i’ll check it again in a few months and in the while play other mmos…ty

MotherKitten.6795:

My honest opinion is that GW2 set itself up for negativity with that stupid Manifesto and overhyping the game before the launch. Its one of the best games in the world but the Manifesto made it look like it was going to be more than that and disappointment is inevitable. I really enjoy this game and the negativity around it reduces my enjoyment. I wish the company had been smart enough to manage expectations better but instead they went loco on us and released that stupid Manifesto.

a good angry review
not a bad game. a classic mmo. no innovation. but technically well done.
and it’s nothing similar to what advertised at manifesto.

HykCraft.4610:

I love Diablo II, I really enjoy Diablo III (console versions are supreme), and I am still in love with Guild Wars 2. Way too many haters out there. If you can’t enjoy the game, please go enjoy another game elsewhere. Simple as that.

no comment.

about “vocal minority”…
i’m not sure anet is doing the right thing. or, at least, it’s not so easy to infer.
don’t forget the non vocal ragequitters.

obviously anet should know well what is better for gemst…uhm for the game.
but actual numbers is not a sufficient parameter.
there are lots of upcoming games…and nothing to make gw2 different and better if compared to many mmos.

tornadokicks.3845:

laokoko.7403:

I think you should take a game for what it is and not for what it’s not.

And another thing, there’d be no point to suggestions, ideas, updates, or expansions if everyone just “took the game for what it is.”

+1
it’s our right to give a feedback!

but if the game is not fun, the best thing to do is…uninstall.
i think that anet cares more about players ’numbers (and consequent microtransactions) than forum posts.

i think that they had enough quits in the first months, because of no endgame….many haters after the first ascended, and many many others after armor.
still, the only thing they said: the game is very healthy.

not a word. only CDIs whose results are unknown.
the path they’ll follow is a secret.

what i know for sure is my path… a path of exile (literally- away from gw…and ironically- poe)

as happened to ffxiv, sometimes miracles happen…

though, i think in d3 ros and gw2 spring patch we won’t see any :o

if that skills give a statistical advantage, and are acquired with a great time\money\effort …it’s vertical progression IMHO.

if it’s more a part of a “customisation”, for example part of a specific skill path that is not directly “better” than standard skills, I’d name it horizontal

Straegen.2938:

A trinity in this game would make it just like every other mainstream fantasy MMO for better or worse. I personally dislike the trinity system but I also think auto-target is the devil.

it’s interesting how people want to keep gw2 different….but at the same time ask for making it a clone of other mmos for other features.

and again:
yes new tiers, but no trinity because it “needs” gear check (i m still searching a relation between them)
hilarious

i like zergs too.
nobody asks you about your gear-dps-etc.
it’s “democratic”

Harper.4173:

And your opinion is just that – an opinion.
Why would they make their game exactly like all the trinity games out there?!

well, ATM trinity is one of the very few things that make gw2 different than the other mmo on the market.

but i’m not so sure that the “everybody’s dps YEE HAW” is a remarkably positive feature.
i’d prefer no grind and no treadmill

godofcows.2451:

ElexOrieN.2130:

DPS = Warrior
Tank = Warrior/Guardian
Support = Guardian/Mesmer

We do have the trinity in this game it’s just that some people fail to realize it.

I agree with this. the game does have them. people only believed they were out because the paper said so.

that’s not a trinity.
that’s just different professions.
where is the dungeon finder with definite roles? a resser? aggro management? switchable specs/builds and skills?

no. dungeons/events/wvw is just: "do the more damage you can, and watch out trying not to die (too often, at least). "

Alukah.2063:

Raine.1394:

Alukah.2063:

Because this is pretty much a “dress up game” when it comes to end-game content, stats don’t really matter, only the skin of all those weapons matter.

And where have you been since lost shores? Just check out a laurels vendor. What are they selling? Right, more powerful gear. You can now advance your crafting. Why? Again, more powerful gear. This game is not a “dress up game”. It’s simply about grinding for ever more powerful gear.

The game is not about “grinding for ever more powerful gear”, there is a reason why the power gain from exotic -> ascended is so pathetically low, the game was built around exotics and that did not and will not change even after having Ascended out.

power gain is so pathetically low just because it’s just the beginning.
it’s just the first step…