Guild Wars 2

As someone who saved bloody hard to purchase my Lead of Kudzu (300g) I don’t want to see them cheaper. 600+ for a Dusk is outrageous and I find 300g a good price point.

Pure Heart.1456:

Well in that case, I want to know how many gems are available as supply.
Without this knowledge, and knowledge of how the gems come into existence the whole shebang is a farce. And what about when you buy gems with real money?—is the number of gems purchased subtracted from the supply pool on this occasion as well?

It’s like governments printing money whenever they like. I smell a big, dirty rat.

This is something I’ve always wanted to challenge as well. Without us seeing the Gem supply – it’s impossible to predict market value, quantity or if ArenaNet aren’t just rigging it.

Having come from Eve Online, I wanted to see Gems similar to their PLEX system; i.e physical items on the market to allow you to see just how many there are.

I think some of the ranger complaints are a case of square peg, round hole.

Some people want to love a profession – or have a perception of what they want that profession to be – and if it isn’t just so, they often shout incredibly loudly.

Personally, I love the ranger. It isn’t perfect, but it is incredibly powerful in the right hands.

First and foremost: Pets.

Pets are actually really good, if the player actually manages them by telling them when to attack, when to return and when to stay by your side. This micromanagement is intensive and more difficult than it needs to be, but does yield amazing results.

I use Q, E, R, T for my pet skills, making it incredibly easy to move and command (around WSAD setup). I also invest in the pet traitline (20 points) which gives them a good boost.

In terms of build (I play a lot of PvE and WvW) I use the following http://bit.ly/WdGm4E It gives me great survivability and great damage. You can always mix up the traits so you have less in vitality and more in the power line.

I think what you really need to do is simply make one and decide whether it does or doesn’t work for you. If you read these forums, you would think the profession is on its knees, when the reality is it’s in pretty good shape where certain builds are concerned.

I’m not suggesting all that the ranger has is good (christ some of the pet problems do need fixing) and some of the skills are garbage, but it’s still the profession I love to play the most.

I say this having played GW2 since closed Beta, now with 5 level 80s all in Tier 3 cultural, with Exotic and Ascended armour/items (Mesmer, Ranger, Engineer, Necromancer, Ele)

Lewis B – Ten Ton Hammer

Bambula.3649:

wtf where you deal high dmg? Oo
59% crit dmg and 1900 power is not much dmg..even for a ranger and sorry for the mistake with the hp

I tend to sit around 2250 Power with 70% crit chance when Bloodlusted. Considering my pets deal high damage (a minimum of 1000+ autoattacks) it is unquestionably a good damage build when combing trap + weapon + pet. Is it paralell to a warrior? No. Is it good for a ranger? Yes – especially considering the fact I’m not squishy.

What does my “team” get?

1. Almost constant regeneration from healing spring + fern mastiff, that heals for a significant amount.
2. Group AOE condition removal from healing spring.
3. Two or three traps (I do sometimes use Muddy Terrain instead of Signet of the Hunt when in dungeons) as a combo field and form of control (whether Frost, Snake or Fire).
4. High single target and area of effect damage. Even without condition damage fire by default still deals a significant amount (330/s).
5. Long periods of fury when I use Warhorn + Moa rotations.
6. High control when I swap in Entagle.

Please note this build doesn’t have 23,000 HP – it has 17,000 HP. It’s “effective” health is 23,000 when factoring in the heals.

The only change I feel I could make, to work better in FOTM is piercing arrows – that’s inevitably an individuals choice.

I run a trapper build, with 0/30/0/20/20. In terms of items, it’s a mix of Cleric and Knights with various foods to improve power. You can find the full build here: http://bit.ly/WdGm4E

It might be seen as a little unconventional, but it works exceptionally well. I have amazing survivability, heal for lots when buffed with regeneration and still deal tons of damage. There isn’t a single player in WvW or monster in PvE I can’t demolish.

I use healing spring, signet of the hunt, two traps (fire and spike) with rampage as one. In terms of pets, I use a wolf and raven which are both fantastic especially when you go out your way to actually manage them properly.

As far as the longbow is concerned, people really give it a hard time when it’s actually really good. It could be better (and fire faster) but its really wonderful with pet swapping and if you’re good at positioning.

My rotation tends to be:

Hunters Call > Change Weapons > Hunters Shot > Flame Trap > Spike Trap > Change Pet > Rapid Fire > Point Blank Shot

It deals massive damage.

I remember during beta the only thing rangers used was the greatsword. Its damage was outrageous.

The longbow can be excellent if used correctly. In World versus World, it really is exceptional, especially if you angle yourself correctly so that avoiding the arrows flight isn’t really a possibility.

I made some Guild Wars 2 Trading Cards I hope you like them!

http://www.guildwars2hub.com/media/gallery/guild-wars-2-trading-cards

The greatest solution at this stage would be to remove pets. Yes it’s admitting defeat, but who cares?

1. They don’t work as they should.
2. They’ve never improved since closed beta.

The likelyhood of them improving is slim to none. As a result, remove them and buff the rangers damage accordingly.

Exarthious.5792:

Would be nice if they brought the Ranger, and Necromancer up to speed so they’re more competitive in WvW.

What? A Well and Staff Necromancer is unbelievable in WvW. With 4 ground targettable skills from the staff, two from the Scepter and Dagger, and 3 more offensive AOE Wells as utility skills they absolutely destroy people in WvW.

Holland.9351:

Nurse.1085:

Holland.9351:

nerva.7940:

- long range sniping – done way better by GS mesmers and rifle warriors

This is what I do. Although I wouldn’t call it sniping. You’d need the 1500+ range trait for the longbow as well as piercing arrows and berserker gear + accessories.

No other class has as much range as the ranger.

Uhh, Engineer’s do.

Please explain.

Grenades

Sera.9750:

I can agree with Lewis all around really.

I’ve played since launch and have waited for changes to minions in some form of fashion but the changes have been small at best and hasn’t fixed well…any of the glaring issues.
The idea of outsourcing help to fix the problem in the form of the community is not a bad idea honestly. I recall games like Dead Island…which was…beyond bug ridden at launch and the community fixed it into a working game in no time…even made the Steam forum thread hit top search results on yahoo for people looking for solutions to the issues.

So I don’t think the idea is as far fetched as it sounds…not including games that become mod heavy such as Skyrim for a modern example. I do lament in frustration over the idea of this maybe never getting fixed….to have a quality game such as this and have a class where skills can hardly be used due to not being able to function properly.

Even if you don’t involve the community itself (revealing GW2 code could potentially be disasterous for the games security) you could outsource it to independant firms/personel who would strive to fix it. Yes this would come at a premium cost, but when you’ve two of eight professions absolutely rediculed because their minions or pets are nothing short of idiotic, it really undermines the games polish.

Do you think for WvW then, it’s much more viable to simply go for Precision/Condition Damage/Toughness?

Not wishing to be negative here (though it will inevitably come across that way) but having played GW2 since September 2011, the Necromancer minion AI has seen little or no improvements.

The best solution at this stage, based on the fact I don’t believe it’s a priority for ArenaNet and this will sound ridiculous, but instead to open up the code to the GW2 community in some way. I gaurentee they’d be able to fix it in a matter of days.

There are some clever people on the internet. You only have to look at the salvage job done on Dark Souls to realise this.

I would pray that ArenaNet be bold enough for such a gesture (in some contained sort of way) to really stamp this problem out.

If we really must keep it in house, please just throw money at it.

Is 16 months acceptable for still failing fix pet and minion A.I? I’m not so sure.

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if anyone would be able to answer some beginner Necromancer questions for me.

1. How viable is axe? I’ve played the game across Mesmer and Engineer for over 1200 hours, but have only ever encountered 1 Necromancer who uses it. What I found impressive was the fact that he was absolutely brilliant. Is it even viable in sPvP and WvW?

2. What is the main attribute that increases the damage of Wells? Is it Power?

3. Are Power/Precision builds (based on the above) also viable?

4. Do Necromancer players commonly take a stun break? I see a lot of people using all Wells, or Epidemic but ignoring something I see as key to survival. As an Engineer I use Elixir S, H and have an automated Elixir S/Condition Immunity, so am used to surviving long periods of time.

That’s it, thank you!

Yeah it does seem like that actually, definitely another skin underneath. Any word on this fix ANet? It’s a shame to have such a good looking and expensive shield not quite finished…

Having recently made a Wall of the Mists for my Engineer, it’s got a weird texture in the upper middle. It looks a little like rock or earth and clearly appears out of place.

Can anyone confirm if this is or isn’t intended? It’s a bit annoying to look at really :’-(

http://bit.ly/107CWlS

http://bit.ly/WmHg8b

http://bit.ly/ZfeHMq

http://i.imgur.com/aYkxu.jpg

Rump Buffalo.2594:

that would be way way way too powerful

Depends on the damage of said conjured weapons.
Depends on their health and how quickly they can be killed.
Depends on the base skill cooldown.
Depends on many things.

Such a change could be easily balanced with all the above.

DIUS are doing well for Gandara

Just have conjured weapons follow you like a Guardian the difference however should be that they only attack the target that you attack. Have them mirror you.

I PvE with a P/P & Toolkit build (10/30/0/20/10) which works exceptionally well. I regularly gather up tons of mobs and burn them down. In WvW I stick to the exact same unless defending, at which point I use Grenades instead of TK.

blutstein.2468:

1. Create Engineer with Backpack
2. Put it into your Bank
3. Delete Charakter from 1.
4. Enjoy ‘clean’ backpack

This doesn’t work any longer. I tried it only a few days ago and ended up with a Soulbound backpack, even though the original character was deleted.

I also tried to transmute it to a white item (which worked) but it still kept it Soulbound.

Seras.5702:

I’m just afraid that since I’m not running Fractals yet, by the time I do nobody will want to run lvl 1 since they’re all at 10 or 20…

I spent 3 hours yesterday looking for level 1 fractal groups in Lion’s Arch on my Engineer, never got a single one.

Tolmos.8395:

Allow me to hide the kit backpacks and I’ll run them all day long.

PLEAAAAAAAAAAAAASE!!!! This x10000!

Vatlaaw’s armour is available in PvP as I’ve seen it in the locker. Does anyone know how you make it in the Mystic Forge, or what rank you need to be?

Thank you

My Engineer, Taro Koa

http://i45.tinypic.com/jja1sj.png
http://i50.tinypic.com/ru2std.png
http://i48.tinypic.com/1ymx5z.png

Most people ally with other guilds externally, on websites or verbally in game. There is no alliance structure in game however, which is rubbish

You can’t, it’s a huge oversight

I’d have to agree with Maska. A Grenadier is awful out in the field, but fine behind a keep wall. I’d rather take my dual pistols and melt faces

Haha, no I really have no interest in Quip it’s awful

I do however want good looking pistols. I could pair the Chaos Gun nicely with Wall of the Mist’s. Seem’s there is a glow to Destroyer pistols too… Can’t decide :S

Why do people use any other skill calculators besides http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/ the rest are just garbage, or the links don’t work!

Thanks Nels

The thing is, I can buy a Chaos Gun for 50g on the Trading Post, an Ilya or Lyss will cost me double that just for one if no one fullfils my Buy order. And if they look almost identicle, it’s probably more sensible to go with Chaos Gun in the event I do ever want Quip. I suppose I could always make the Ilya or Lyss myself and use up my skill points but the price of Ectoplasm’s (total cost is 81g for the Ilya) means its cheaper to just buy the Chaos Gun (50g).

As for matching my Engineer’s aesthetic… it has crossed my mind (which is why I included Destroyer pistols) but as I’m using Vatlaaw’s dyed Abyss black, I think the purple might go rather well considering I only use Pistols+Elixirs.

Decisions

EndlessDreamer.6780:

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Sigil

- Sigils that trigger on critical hits can trigger on any critical hits; the critical does not need to be scored with the associated weapon’s skills. For example, a character with an off hand weapon imbued with a Sigil of Rage can still gain quickness with a critical hit with their first three skills.
- Sigils that have a chance to trigger on critical hits stack their chance percentages multiplicatively, not additively. For example, two major Sigils of Fire, which each have a 20% chance to trigger on critical hit, will have a 36% chance to trigger, not 40%.

Hope this helps.

So what would be the % chance of to Superior Sigils of Earth on two weapons? (default 60% chance to cause bleed on crit)…

I’m wanting two awesome pistols on my Engineer as I’m sick of seeing everyone with AC equipment. The only good ones I’ve found having looked through every one in the game are:

Chaos Gun http://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/f/fe/Chaos_Gun.jpg
Ilya http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/File:Ilya_(weapon).jpg
Destroyer http://imgur.com/a/HEg0S

In terms of pricing…

Chaos Gun is around 40-50g and leads to a legendary.

Ilya is at a Buy Price of 50g or Buy Now for 124g and appears to have a very similar model to Chaos Gun.

Destroyer Pistols are around 20g and can be made.

My only concern is that Destroyer Pistols might not have a cool animation (Do they even have one? Does the lava move?) while I can’t tell what the difference is between the Chaos Gun or Ilya besides a massive price difference…

Thoughts?

Compared to an Engineer or Mesmer however, the Ranger traits and skills for condition removals are absolutely horrendous. I’m getting absolutely demolished in PvP by condition based players as I don’t feel I can do anything about them.

What do you fellow Rangers do again Condition heavy opponents?

The options just feel so limited…

Ditton.3149:

Aveneo.2068:

So effectively (and please say if I’m wrong here), a lot of concerns could be mediated when the entry portal no longer checks for the lowest character in terms of setting the level of the Fractal, but the highest (or even select the difficulty manually)?

I’d be all for a mechanic where a group can decide which difficulty they want to run the Fractals on, but I fear they were not designed with this in mind.

From what I’ve seen so far (and I’ve only done these Fractals up to level 4 on a casual basis with 3 guildies) allowing people to set the difficulty level themselves could cause an imbalance and have a lot of people running around with 2 Ascended rings within a day. And then you’re right that nobody would want to do level 1-9 as it would be a ‘waste of time’ considering the difficulty-vs-reward.

Doesnt it uplevel you? so you could make an alt..have a good group walk you through 10 and farm rings on low level alts every day…

Your group is entered based on the lowest leveled player, not the highest. If you’re dungeon difficulty 1 and your party level 15, you have to play at level 1.

Ditton.3149:

That kind of programming takes alot of money and time..Id rather they focus it on bugs, balances and SPvP than you getting better AI routines..

Unfortunately it does and would never happen. Wider access to more random skill sets from mobs would be an easy option- a touch of the unpredictable.

1. I don’t believe this an issue of a main carrying an alt or visa/versa. As I’m the player, this is me earning a pass, not my character. Regardless of what profession I’ve played, I’ve earned my stripes by reaching difficulty X and thus my alts should receive the same pass to higher difficulties. Making players re-play the same lower difficulties serves no purpose other than the drag out the inevitable.

2. No, absolutely not. I completely agree. I play the game for the fun and have no real need for anything in the Fractals (I have plenty of gold, full Exotics and end game weapons of my choice) but that isn’t to say others aren’t. I do however want to be able to play with guildies, while still allowing them to progress.

3. It isn’t a waste, but I’m conscious that me taking up peoples time, because I’m lower level, isn’t exactly optimal, is it? Players should be able to play to the highest difficulty level in the party and level up progressively that way rather than forcing higher level players to come down a level. It desperately needs flipping on its head.

In relation to loot acquired during a Fractal, I have no real complaints about that. Like I said, I don’t need the loot really and would rather see other things addressed and have the opportunity to play at a difficulty of my choosing. Rather than choosing a difficulty after grinding.

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 are all tragically easy to the point where I would say they are below Exporable standard. How is it not a big deal?

1. I can’t play on an alt at a difficulty I’ve earned, because his level is reset to 1.
2. Players who have surprassed X difficulty aren’t coming down levels because the rewards and progression are worse.
3. Time is precious for everyone and while many players and guildies will lend a hand, they aren’t going to waste their entire play time trying to get you up to speed when there’s nothing for them in it.

Hand Holding

What I’m struggling to understand in Fractals is why we’re forced to play through Fractal after Fractal to climb up the difficulty ladder. As someone heavily experienced in explorable dungeons, it’s actually quite insulting and laborious to play through content that is so easy, level after level. I appreciate that the purpose of the difficulty system is to steadily expose players to each Fractal and its intricacies, whiling providing a steady stream of Fractal Relics and yet it all feels so forced. Would it surely not be a bolder move of ArenaNet to say: “Hey, there are 50 difficulty levels in the Fractal’s. You can choose whatever difficulty you want, right from day one.” Obviously this poses its own set of problems, such as players completing the content quickly, dying lots and obtaining high level gear early into the Fractals lifespan. But is that not a player’s choice? Why must I be forced to play through Fractals repeatedly just to reach a difficulty akin to mine or my guilds ability? As it currently stands I’ve had more challenge from Blossoms in Twilight Arbor than anything a Fractal has thrown at me and yet I’ve potentially dozens and dozens of levels to go until I reach something comparable.

Explorable Ghost Towns

Part of this issue is easily attributed to the newness of Fractals, but trying to get a standard dungeon run now is like finding a needle in a haystack. Waypointing to several dungeons this week saw me encounter 1 person outside Caudecus Manor. I suspect more players will eventually return back to existing dungeons but I don’t envisage the number of players who will to be half of what they used to be, for several reasons:

1. Ascended items are only available in Fractal’s.
2. Fractals are quick and painless.
3. Fractals do not require any risk of speed running to complete relatively quickly.
4. Fractal rewards vs. time investment are far superior to dungeons (I usually make 2-4g per run).
5. Fractal rewards will only get better.

There will always be people looking to complete the old dungeons, but when good groups were already hard to find, the chances of groups willing to do runs the moment you log in (I see me wasting countless hours looking for more Twilight Arbor groups) is incredibly slim, without a looking for group tool to soften the blow.

Don’t Get Left Behind

The difficulty progression of Fractals has already, in a matter of days, split the player base. If people already in the game are struggling to find people to take part in level 1 runs, what chance does a newcomer have if they decide to purchase Guild Wars 2 in several months time? Having only taken a single day’s break from Fractals on Monday, I’m already seven levels behind some of my Guild mates. For me to then ask them to come down to my difficulty level (when they see little or no progression from doing so) is no incentive and is a waste of their time.

Although those entering Fractals may choose any difficulty level from 1 up to the highest common difficulty level in the group, this doesn’t address the fact that those at level 1 cannot play with those at 15, who want to join a level 15 difficulty dungeon. This is a huge design flaw and coming back to my earlier point (Hand Holding) serves to do little but segregate a player base in an infuriating way. All I keep thinking when I encounter this issue is: “how dare you assume I can’t complete a dungeon at X difficulty!”.

Character Bound Difficulty

I’m actually stunned that this made it into the live game I cannot for the life of me think of a single, logical reason as to why it even exists; it surely has to be a mistake by ArenaNet. So not only do we have to plough through superficial difficulty levels, but once we have done so, we cannot actually take alternative characters into dungeons at the difficulty level we’ve earned. I suspect ArenaNet’s argument might be that they don’t want people quickly gearing-up alts and for fear of repeating myself, it all feels so forced. Why must I re-run Fractals from level 1 just because I switched from my mesmer to my engineer when I’ve not only earned my stripes already, but have to play through the face-roll difficulty that the beginning stages offer. It’s absolutely baffling.

I’ll freely admit I love Fractals. What I love the most about them is the acknowledgement and willingness from ArenaNet to strip back dungeons to their bare bones. If players are already speed running dungeons, bypassing enemies and content, then why have those obstacles to begin with? Not only do Fractals make dungeon running quick, painless and fun, but they have singlehandedly removed speed running (there’s nothing to speed run through!). It must also reap rewards for ArenaNet in their ability to develop the dungeon content quickly now that little or no narrative is involved (I’ve been informed the content was made in as little as 5 weeks).

In spite of all this, I do have some long term concerns about Fractals. While some of the flaws can be attributed to “newness” and the fact players are flocking to them in their droves, others require serious attention to ensure that long term damage isn’t done.

Dungeon Difficulty

On paper the prospect of a dungeon scaling in difficulty, the more you progress, is great. However, this tends to mean three things when the difficulty in Fractals increases: enemies have slightly more health and deal more damage per increment, gain access to more skills and harsher environmental effects become present. A harpy on lower difficulties might attack you with standard arrows but at higher levels those arrows might knock you back. Things like this are great for creating a challenge to the player, while keeping the dungeon fresh.

What is frustrating however is the initial dungeon difficulty is frighteningly easy, with enemies and environmental factors reaching a very early ceiling, leaving only monster health and damage as the difficulty curve. My biggest issue here (and I’ll expand on this further below) is that it all becomes very predictable, very quickly. Once enemies and environmental factors have reached their peak, adding more health or having enemies deal more damage for the most part isn’t pleasurable. It’s also a relatively lazy way of creating longevity. Yes it will make an encounter more difficult on a numerical basis but not one on a tactical or strategic one. I would much rather see improved AI routines and a greater focus on environmental/enemy changes than the simple approach currently on display.

Difficulty Increments

I honestly couldn’t tell you what the changes are to Fractals between difficulty level 1 and 7. I don’t think there has been a single moment where I’ve said to myself: “Wow, that’s much harder” when climbing the difficulty ladder. Which begs the question: why have so many inconsequential difficulty levels? If the only difference between initial and later levels is fractional differences in enemy health pools and damage, what is the purpose? Surely it would be better to have Fractal difficulty levels increase on a scale of 1-3-6-9-12 instead of 1-2-3-4-5 so that difficulty jumps are apparent.

As seen on GW2 Reddit!

Fractal of the Mists: The Flaws

The wider issue is the fact that all professions should have the same downed skills.

I run condition damage so Vatlaaw’s is amazing and incredibly cheap!

What are your thoughts on ArenaNet implementing a series of “skins” for weapon kits?

The skins, similar to those available in the Lost Shores or Halloween events, would be applied to the skill rather than a physical weapon. Skins would also extend to the backpack as well as the physical weapon. Skins can then reset t back to the skills default appearance by right clicking on the skill and selecting the appropriate option.

The skins could be available in all dungeons as well as on the Black Lion store.

Would you be interested? I know I’d love a new skin for the wrench and flamethrower…

The Fractals are great, it’s just killed every other dungeon in the game. This isn’t a good thing.

Is it true that Fractal difficulty is character bound? What is the reasoning behind this? Surely it should just be account bound?

• All ranger pets have been removed. To compensate, ranger damage across all skills has been increased by 40%.

venusiano.8246:

Lewis Burnell.2493:

Take a Scepter + Focus + Staff for WvW. Works wonders.

Which means I have to spend another 20-30g in getting new armour, weapons, jewellery and traits and changing my gamepay for doing less damage than before…

Er no you don’t. Just run a dungeon a couple of times to get the weapons. AC takes as little as 20 minutes per run. It really doesn’t matter about your personal stats in WvW either; I can’t remember the last small group fight I had. It’s all one big blur of zerging.