Guild Wars 2

I seriously doubt these are actually the ramblings of a noob.

Unholy Unity

As long as combat is “dodge or die”, DPS will continue to be the meta, as it has for the past three years.

I’m hoping Colin and the gang have learned from that, because if the new, challenging combat being touted for HoT continues in the “one-shot, insta-down” tradition we’ve seen so far, it won’t change anything at all.

When no gear or build can handle a single hit, the only logical tactic is to deal as much damage as possible to eliminate incoming attacks and avoid getting hit.

“DPS Uber Alles” is about as far from a “trinity” as it gets.

Shinji.2063:

You bring any of those phrases in GW2 and you get chewed out. “Go play wow”, “GW2 was never ment to have them GTFO”

So what do all those naysayers have to say now that the devs has said that was never their intention. Now maybe when some players talk about the way they want portions of future content with maybe more emphasis on fights with roles they wont just be swept under the rug on the guise of “that does not belong in GW”

I don’t know if I’m a “naysayer”, but I do know that when you base a thread on a straw man argument, what usually results is a thread full of straw man arguments.

Sure enough, that’s what happened.

Bearer of Burden.4621:

Obvious:

Q: Why cant you have a bald female avatar
A: Because it would cause clipping errors…..

Not Obvious:

How the absence of hair would cause clipping errors.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Someone said* Zommoros now has twice as much health as before, like the world bosses, and now hits twice as hard, so yeah, I’d call that a buff.

…

* Which, per Internet tradition, means it has to be true.

Sandpit.3467:

Can someone explain, what is the problem we are trying to solve here?

Players have too much freedom to bid the way they want to.

Horrible, horrible freedom.

Because in a game which prominently features homoeroticism, transexuality and inter-species romance, women without hair is a bridge too far.

New Possibilities for Everyone

Vayne.8563:

My advice is to get every single skill point you can while leveling, because the more you get, the faster you can unlock everything.

This is very good advice, and what I’m doing now with my new Norn Mesmer (my fifth Mesmer; I have four of each of the other professions), who I ginned up with one of my new HoT slots, since I already had four empty slots set aside for Revenants for quite a while.

Having already taken 27 characters to level 80 under the original system from launch (and loved leveling every single one of them), I found last year’s combination of trait revamp and NPE able to take all the fun completely out of the process for me.

Despite my distaste for last year’s changes, I still did my best to give that system a fair go, and still have three characters I started last year sitting in their 30s. That was where they tended to peter out under that interim system, and where I just couldn’t push myself to continue.

They are still on hiatus, this time because the recent transition assigned all of them utilities and traits I didn’t want, left me no unspent points to compensate, and fixing that is going to take a lot of extra effort.

I eventually will take all of them to 80, because I do like the characters, but wanted a fresh start to evaluate the current state of affairs, hence the new Mesmer.

NPE: The Good

My new Norn Mesmer is now level 27, and on the way up, I’ve gotten a good look at the NPE process for new players. While my previous criticism still stands, I do think it’s important to acknowledge what’s good about the NPE, which happens to be a lot.

The NPE gives level-appropriate advice and rewards every step of the way, and lets players know what to expect from future levels. By combining the rewards and tutorial messages, the NPE makes it less likely new players will skip important information, and mixes the sugar with the medicine, so to speak.

To the extent the NPE does that smoothly and without causing confusion, which it does most of the time, I think it’s excellent.

NPE: The Bad

My only remaining complaint about the NPE is that the order in which some key elements of the interface, such as map icons, and other game mechanics are unlocked, doesn’t always occur in a manner consistent with when players will need or encounter them. Information new players need is, in some cases, held back in such a way that it ends up causing more confusion than clarity.

I understand and agree with the idea of spreading things out so new players can encounter them gradually and without being overwhelmed. I also agree with the idea of pacing new abilities and skills to add to the sense of progression and accomplishment as new characters level up. I think the NPE does a good job of that.

I do think the NPE could use another pass, however, to ensure that the order in which things — especially interface elements — are unlocked better matches the order in which players will need or encounter them.

Do that, and the NPE will finally earn my official thumbs-up.

I like it better now. Sorry you don’t, Jzaku, with respect.

But it seems fine to me, and I have a lot of charr characters.

The NPE strikes again.

Static Dynamics

Wow. The straw-man bashing is thick in this thread. How dare players actually want to play content when they can, rather than be locked out of it forever!

It is precisely that sort of unimaginative thinking which led to the demise of the Season One model in the first place. And blaming players for bad game design is just plain asinine.

The reality is that it is quite possible to design a dynamic, living world that doesn’t exclude the majority of players from enjoying it. But if people want to believe it’s not possible, they are welcome to believe whatever they want.

As long as ArenaNet doesn’t believe it, GW2 will be fine.

Now that the new trait system is in place, the NPE could definitely use some cleanup before HoT launches.

Hopefully that will happen, and hopefully in the process the NPE will become more coherent, less insipid, and better acquaint new players with how to actually play the game, rather than how not to play it.

“Does this dress make me look fat?”

Yes. Yes it does.

Staff and Trident clones still do plenty of damage and have bouncing attacks which stack conditions on enemies and buffs on allies. If you have three of either kind out, they will be causing all sorts of trouble.

I actually prefer them over phantasms for most PVE situations, not because phantasms are bad, but because clones are so much fun.

What’s particularly frustrating is that they fixed minions a couple of years ago so that they rarely got stuck anymore, then regressed them back to their former dysfunctionality in a later patch.

Why?

Red Queen.7915:

Science-fantasy, urban fantasy, historical fantasy… if it’s just labelled as “fantasy”, people expect Lord of the Rings and are disappointed when they get Dishonored.

Hard to imagine being disappointed with Dishonored, even if elves and unicorns were expected.

That game is amazing.

Whatever one’s opinion may be, if ArenaNet offered them, people would buy them.

Especially anime fans.

Ricky.4706:

i propose for people that want an easier game, there’s a “gawd” mode on installing the game, that gives them everything in the game in one big bundle that’s account bound. “The Big loot Bag” that way they can be happy, and the rest of the world can play normally and gain meaningful loot. just paint their loot green.

I’m sure the imaginary straw men you made up for this post would love something like that!

Don’t forget to give them something nice for Wintersday.

Sampling Bias

SkullProX.7083:

Does anet read forum posts? Because i cant believe a company would make such a huge mistake that even tho 90%of the players in the forums ask a harder gameplay, and more challenging content, and they still make the game easier…

90% of players in the forums aren’t 90% of players. It’s likely less than half of all players have ever even logged in to the forums, let alone posted in them.

What matters most to the developers is what happens in the game itself, and for that, they have various forms of monitoring and data mining tools available to them. They gather statistics about practically everything: from the economy to login rates to trait usage to what monsters kill players the most.

So it’s not a mistake. Although they do keep an eye on the forums, they also use actual data from the game to inform their design decisions, and hard data carries more weight than soft opinions.

ArenaNet Sees All™

I’m okay with this.

What? You want me to remove my outfits?

Are you coming on to me?!?

But seriously, I like outfits. It would be nice if they could be a little more customizable, but being able to change the appearances of my characters quickly without having to use transmutation charges is way too handy to give up.

Add to that the fact that I have 32 characters, and that outfits can be used by sub-80 characters while leveling up (so I don’t have to stare at their bland, look-alike leveling armor all the way to 80), and I consider outfits some of the best values in the gem store.

I think what’s really going on here is you want more armor skins, so you’re lashing out at outfits.

Why not just ask for more armor skins?

According to Isaiah Cartwright, Magic Find only affects creature kills and doesn’t affect boss chests.

It’s possible that has changed in the past two years, but it’s unlikely (though also possible) ArenaNet wouldn’t have told us if that’s the case.

If you’re up for some science (“Science!”), you could try sampling enough world bosses with and without magic find bonuses to see if a clear trend emerges.

Not sure how many that would be, but I’m guessing it would be a lot more than two.

Orr has its own weird kind of beauty, and I would hate for that to be lost.

While a QA pass to fix remaining bugs and maybe the addition of some new events would be great, I would still prefer they put more effort into brand new areas than reworking old ones.

bhagwad.4281:

I won’t use MoA under a normal 1v1 – it kind of takes the fun out of things. But use your elite transformation and face my wrath via my transformation :P

When it comes to revenge, there’s nothing like flipping them the bird.

SpookyPoo.8135:

This is actually gonna be a thing!
Am so excite!!

That there’s a pretty cool thing.

I am also excite. Very excite!

Why do I get the feeling he’s the guy who goes around gluing quarters to the sidewalk, then smirks quietly in the shadows when passersby attempt fruitlessly to pick them up?

Not sure how any of this explains how Backpack Regenerator is useless (I think it can be very handy with short-range kits like the Flamethrower, Bomb Kit and Tool Kit), but if you’re happier without it, then rock on.

Mirror Images

I know you’ve asked for the thread to be closed, but I do feel compelled to add a few things for the sake of clarity.

First off, even though I tend to be PvE-mostly in GW2, it hasn’t always been that way. I’ve been playing MMOs for a very long time, and other kinds of games (like RTS’s and the venerable FPS genre) for far longer. Over the years I’ve gone through extended periods where all I did was PvP, and I wouldn’t even want to begin to estimate how much of my life has been consumed by Counter-Strike, or LOTRO monster play, or factions in the ill-fated SWG, or the Dawn of War series as a whole.

Suffice it to say, “more than is healthy”. So I’m definitely not anti-PvP in any way, shape or form, hold utmost regard for my PvP brethren and sistren, and hope my current GW2 playstyle preferences haven’t given anyone the wrong impression.

Secondly, in GW2, as with most other games, I consider PvP to be the ultimate proving ground. It is in the crucible of PvP that the slightest advantages or disadvantages tend to be greatly magnified, and when combined with the ingenuity of competitive players, gives game designers the finest laboratory possible for testing their designs.

So when it comes to refining and balancing professions in GW2, I think it makes complete sense for designers to focus on how they perform in PvP, and firmly believe the lessons learned there can be just as relevant in PvE.

Thirdly, I know my preferred styles of play for Mesmer and other professions in GW2 often tend toward “edge cases” or “cheese”, and don’t deny it. I loved using the scepter for clone-bombing with self-exploding clones and that’s about as cheesy as it gets. I do think, however, that a little cheese (okay, that was a lot) isn’t a bad thing to allow for in any game, because it leaves room for innovation and divergence in what can otherwise tend to become an ever-narrowing regime of rigid orthodoxy.

Orthodoxy is boring, and even cheese has its place in a balanced diet.

And last, but not least, when it comes to stubbornness, I have to believe it’s eminently clear by now that I’m not exactly free of it myself (cough), so if anything, I see a kindred spirit when it comes to that, and I hope you will receive my words accordingly.

Respect.

“It’s a TRAP!”

— Admiral Ackbar

(Sorry, the spirit of Vader compelled me.)

Clone… clone… clone… SHATTER!
Clone… clone… clone… SHATTER!
Clone… clone… clone… SHATTER!
Clone… clone… clone… SHATTER!

What’s not to love?

Approaching Limits

Curunen.8729:

I honestly don’t understand limiting balance decisions based on both of your playstyle preference in open world pve.

I don’t understand limiting balance decisions based on your playstyle preference in PVP. See how easy it is to be dismissive when we choose to consider our own interests and not the game as a whole?

When we do consider the game as a whole, foisting narrower options on players for any reason erodes build diversity and ultimately pushes everyone into the same “meta” trap the new Specializations system is supposed to prevent.

As I said before, if you don’t care for my preferred Mesmer playstyle (“mindless”, is it?), I’m really not offended, but if you expect me to concur with such presumptions, I promise to consistently disappoint.

I still don’t agree with either the premise or substance of your proposals, and think they are ill-considered due to the limitations you have placed upon your own insular assessment of the profession. I take some comfort in the belief that the designers tend to be more considerate of all players in their decisions and more temperate in their application, but that is something only the passage of time can confirm.

That said, I hope you won’t take offense to my emphatic dissent, because it is quite possible to differ strenuously yet cordially on just about anything — certainly a game.

And for whatever it may be worth, I do hope your concerns about the Maim the Disillusioned nerf will be addressed to your satisfaction soon, though hopefully in a less radical fashion than you recommend.

Silverkey.2078:

When I did compute the DPS of staff, chaos storm hits hard, but the AA is very weak.

Winds of Chaos does a lot more damage when you have three clones casting it along with you.

With condition caps lifted and Illusionary Elasticity standard on all models, the Staff can be used like a “land trident” (i.e., spam clones for their autoattacks) with all the uber craziness that comes with it.

It’s also a good idea not to ignore the power of all those buffs bouncing around, because they really pump up the volume in just about any kind of encounter.

And, as ever, the Staff gets better the closer you are to the target. At melee range it can be positively sublime.

Nerf incoming in 5… 4… 3… 2…

The kitten filter keeps kittens from kittening up the forum with kittens.

As for HB, I’m not a fan of the self-root, but that’s the tradeoff for one of the craziest damage bursts in the game.

Some of the other aspects of the greatsword (animations, timing, “feel”) make it feel clumsy to me so I rarely use it, but I still don’t think HB should be allowed while moving.

I’ll definitely toss in my agreement here.

While I’m a clone-spammer (have been for years) who’s not a fan of the shattering mechanic, probably never will be (don’t like the way it clears my clones off the field, messes up my pacing and limits multi-target aggro management) and do miss my auto-exploding clones, I think the overall changes to Mesmer are overwhelmingly positive.

There’s more to work out, and I’m somewhat concerned that non-shattering clone tactics may be pushed even farther into the corner (to the detriment of playstyle diversity), but aside from that, it’s definitely a lot of movement in the right direction.

Thank you so much for the hard work Robert, Roy, Karl and everyone who worked on the new Mesmer, and please keep up the excellent work!

Zantmar.5406:

Also not sure what kind of warrior u been playing, I can leap block dodge shout but I have never seen my warrior “duck”

A grammatical ambiguity, I suppose. “Ducking” can refer not just to lowering one’s head, but to moving quickly, as in “ducking in and out of cover” (see duck cases 2 and 6).

Of course, in most GW2 scenarios, cover isn’t a thing (except for LOS-ing ranged attackers with walls and the like), but when using the sword, I never, ever stand still. In this case, I’m referring to lunging into a group of enemies and quickly retreating before they can hit me.

If you see me fighting, you’ll see me circle-strafing, sidestepping and ducking in and out of crowds of mobs both to avoid their blows and position my cleave for maximum effect. I try not to dodge unless I absolutely have to, but with proper positioning, it’s rarely needed.

The sword’s cleave is, in my opinion, one of the best and most natural of any weapon in the game, and along with the bleed stacking lends itself perfectly to a “fencing” approach.

As for gear, I tend to use Assassin’s or Berserker’s for versatility, and they seem to work quite well with sword in open world PvE. I note that Sinister is a thing now, but I haven’t looked into that yet — I’m just coming back after a long hiatus and have 32 characters to work through, so stuff like that isn’t a top priority.

Running around with swords, however, still seems strong as ever, and maybe stronger.

I wouldn’t try to gainsay the other recommendations, but I’ve been running all Assassin’s with Sword/Sword for quite a while and found it’s definitely better than, say, Rampager’s.

Depends on what you want, but in terms of overall performance, I’ve found that lots of crits and upfront damage works quite well, with the bleed stacks finishing things off and ensuring there are no survivors.

Berserker’s works fine, too, and is quite flexible build-wise, but I prefer the slightly extra crit rate from Assassin’s, which is nice for spiky direct damage and proccing the Sigil of Strength.

Haven’t missed the condition damage stat at all. It’s open world PvE, after all, not sPvP.

I’m sure my in-the-field perceptions aren’t a match for in-depth theorycrafting, but that’s been my experience.

YMMV.

The most likely reason Rifle isn’t viable in sPvP is that it isn’t viable in any game mode.

Even just running around the open world shooting at random mobs with a glass cannon build, Warrior Rifle is quite possibly the most depressing weapon in the game.

I’ve been a fan of Sword/Sword in open world PvE for years, long before the latest patch, because between cleaving and bleed-stacking, swords make it possible cut through huge swaths of mobs, stack lots of bleeds on them, sidestep, duck, dodge in and out and generally not have to worry about finishing them off.

Whenever I run with the greatsword or hammer (which I enjoy mainly for the CC and stress-relief purposes), I constantly find myself chasing down stragglers that have that last little bit of health left. Not so with the sword. Once they get a stack of bleeds on them, they’re doomed..

I like the ranged torment on offhand sword, and if someone throws down a combo field, the leap is nice, too, but for most open world PvE scenarios it’s all direct damage and bleeds, and so far in my initial post-patch testing, things seem to be fine.

YMMV.

Pardon their dust.

“Best” in that context is an adjective.

“Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no.”

— Betteridge’s law of headlines

You really can’t go wrong with the classes, though some are easier to get the hang of than others. Warrior is always a solid choice, but if you ever get bored, there’s seven (and soon to be eight) other ways to rock the world.

And hey, welcome to GW2!

If you enjoy it half as much as I do, then I enjoy it twice as much as you do.

DevilLordLaser.8619:

There’s nothing wrong with PvP or Wuv-centric guild missions, but the general notion seems to be that three-beer-buddies guilds like the Three Wuvmigos should be able to get the same access to the game’s new guild functions without having to do guild missions at all, of any sort. That while other folks are trekking across the Maguuma to stake their claim against the enemy’s armies and then pitting themselves against the new missions system to earn their upgrades, the penny-packet Wuv or PvP guilds shouldn’t even have to change their behavior or go out of their way to earn the same rewards the rest of us are busting our humps over.

Who wants that?

Why would it have to be like that, anyway? Why can’t there be some sort of path of progress that anyone can follow, but is easier or takes less time if you have more members?

Why does GW2 have to be a zero-sum game?

When did we get the idea that ArenaNet is no longer able to come up with fun and exciting ways to appeal to all players?

And what the hell is going on in this thread?

None of this makes a lick of sense.

“You have to dream before your dreams can come true.”

— Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam

Syviren.7086:

Celtic Lady.3729:

Majic.4801:

Suggested reading: How to Give Good Feedback

This thread is a good example of how not to.

I agree. Not being condescending to your audience would be a good place to start, but then maybe that is the OP’s purpose.

No, I agree that its very important to give feedback to A-Net. Just CONSTRUCTIVE feedback

So why aren’t you doing that?

Haranguing and collectively insulting your fellow players is about the most nonconstructive thing possible, and doesn’t benefit anyone — including ArenaNet. Do you honestly think starting derogatory flamebait threads like this one helps?

If you hate whining so much, then stop whining.

This whole imbroglio seems like an awful lot of effort to exclude people from content.

If would be nice to see more effort spent making the game enjoyable for all players instead.

We all paid to be here. Why not design the game for all of us?

I’m going to guess we’ll see the other half after things calm down a bit.

Who knows? Maybe the delay is due to the designers wanting to make it possible for kits to use custom skins.

I’m a clone-bomber who’s not a big fan of shattering, and I’m going to miss my auto-exploding clones, but overall I do like where things are going.

The frenetic buff/nerf cycle we’re in is pretty typical for the immediate aftermath of a big balance path — and this one’s pretty big — but I think Robert has made some strong statements about Mesmer by way of its new design, and “wimpy” isn’t one of them.