Guild Wars 2

They are past due to give us some specifics and a release date. It feels like they threw some chum in the water to get reactions and information from us….to tell them what was a good idea and what was a bad idea regarding the few tidbits they did give us. That is what really makes me hesitant about HoT. Its like they are trying to tweak whatever they do have coming based on forum balancing….which is always a bad idea. Its hard not to view HoT like a paid living story + feature pack when they won’t tell us anything to make it clear that it is more than that.

Jaxom.7310:

segman.3560:

account bound is the best thing happened to this game, not only masteries; this is why me and probably many other ppl chosen gw2 – because they want to play the game, not to grind each and every character

short, simple, perfect. +1

This^, I actually despise the leveling process in all these types of games. I get no joy from running around, on low level characters, having to grind the same maps and levels and mobs for each character. I also have a full roster of characters in spite of this. I can deal with the leveling process as a necessary evil for making players learn to play their characters…but there is absolutely no need to have masteries be character bound. If you want to grind something that bad…be my guest and repeat quests and such over and over and over again to your heart’s content…..just stop trying to make the rest of us join your grind fest.

This has been explained so clearly, so many times, so I’m going to assume that it is not that you don’t get this…but that you don’t want to get this. I’ll repeat one last time and I’m done. The reason necros are not wanted in higher end PvE instanced content is because of their lack of party support via boons and utilities, weak cleave options, and the ineffectiveness of condis vs direct damage. Higher end PvE instanced content is about each player providing things that keep the other players alive and help kill the mobs faster. If you aren’t bringing that more than the next class…then you aren’t wanted versus that next class. The encounter design can change, but that basic set up isn’t going away.

ANET already came out and told us that the specializations are not going to inherit all of the mechanics, utilities, abilities, or traits of the base class. They will be a sub/branch class. Which means they are not bound by the same restrictions the base class is bound by. This makes any assumptions of what they aren’t going to get invalid. We just have to wait and see.

At this point, I’m definitely not saying anything that has not been said already, so I’m just going to let this go.

The content will never be at the point where they actually allow effective CC..soft or otherwise on bosses. You can get some extremely brief cc to be partially effective, but ANET has shown they are not going to let you control bosses like that.

This is a casual based game, so they are always going to provide visible telegraphs for boss moves. They have to make it easy enough for extreme casuals to clear the content with ease.

Kiting is not non existent…it is just the last resort because it is slower than melee. Partially due to the inherent downtime of running away instead of constantly attacking, the projectile travel times, and projectile misses.

Necros are seen as selfish because they use conditions instead of boons to accomplish support. Conditions are weaker than boons (weakness vs protection is a prime example). Conditions show up on the enemy…not on your teammates buff bars (psychological factor). Those two reasons are going to make necros seem more selfish than they actually are. It has nothing to do with encounter design and AI.

Condi removal is an important factor, its just that multiple classes do that well…the others that do it well bring valuable party support tools like boons and reflects where the necro does not.

You keep going back to the propaganda that zerk teams have little to no risk. That will be true if the team is actually all zerk AND skilled AND brings the proper utilities. That’s the same for a mixed or non zerk team. The trade off is, again, survivability vs speed. I have seen many unskilled zerk teams fail miserably..constantly downed and having to repeat encounters. Players rage quitting due to these constant fails. Warriors who will not use warbanner. Guards who will not use reflect or their virtues or condi cleanse. Zerk mesmers who will only use a GS. At the same time, I’ve seen PVT groups faceroll through high level fractals in decent time despite constant mistakes. So yeah…this no risk you are talking about is propaganda. I spend the majority of my fractal time in random LFG pugs. I’ve had to quit many a group that was majority zerk because they couldn’t get past content. I have been in flawless zerk pugs and terrible ones….so yes…I am ready to wipe utterly…as that already happens. What I am not ready for is for the content to be made intentionally difficult for one gear set/build to appease another gear set/build that is jealous of speed of completion. Again, what you are talking about has nothing to do with making PvE more diverse…you are trying to pressure players to adopt a different play style. I’m pretty sure ANET has the stats on how it is not just zerk players clearing content.

The way a necromancer becomes useful in PvE is for ANET to give up on their flavor concepts of the necromancer of being a unique snowflake in PvE. It needs access to the basic utility boons that every other PvE class has and the basic weapon utilities that every other PvE class has. I’m not talking about might stacking either. I’m talking about stability and blocks mostly. They could even rework DS to make it not allow you to get downed through DS again..to provide the block functionality. The no healing while in DS without fully traiting death magic doesn’t help either.

Lastly your comment about Range Wars 2…

I thought the whole issue with PvE for most people and not just a minority has been that unlike WvW and PvP, PvE content so far has been rather one dimensional, unchallenging, boring and repetitive in nature, due to the one stack fits all reality once the simplistic mob encounters are figured out. Don’t you think it would be more exciting to have Range Wars 2 that actually involves a lot more kiting, player positioning/repositioning, a wider variety of skills/builds, debuffs etc. than Stack Wars 2 which always involves the same 2-3 classes, wait, pull, stack 25 stacks of might spam the same 3 skills/auto attacks?

I know I would enjoy PvE content a lot more if this was the case.

As far as ranged weapons go, I always keep a ranged weapon on my characters…although I really hate some of the ranged options or lack thereof. What I mean by ranged wars 2 is when players absolutely refuse to enter melee range on any encounter and cause additional problems for the team as a result. Dying half way across the map instead of being close enough to get picked up. Playing out of range so the team gets no benefit from their combo fields. Causing mobs to run erratically back and forth between them and other players. Pulling extra groups onto the team unexpectedly by backing into them…from trying to be at max range. I fully acknowledge there are some encounters and parts of encounters that are more effective at range…and I play them appropriately. The problem is when others do not play them appropriately for either RP reasons or “safety/lazy” reasons.

PvE is not one-dimensional like some of these players want you to believe. Yes, the AI could use some work in older encounters, but that is apparently being improved upon just like you are saying. Encounters like Mai Trin, Mordrem thrashers, etc….are adding more dimensions to PvE combat. I actually look forward to content like those encounters/mobs. What those encounters do not do is invalidate any specific gear set. They do not make it suicide to build as zerker or even make a different gear set/stat better artifically. A skilled player in zerk/assassins gear will still kill those mobs faster than the alternative in a diff gear set…which matches the risk versus reward paradigm in these types of games. There is no one stack fits all reality in this game…there are just players who latch onto one specific thing and can’t see outside of it. Some of those think they have to stack for every encounter…some of those think they have to range for every encounter. Some of those think they are still playing a different game and need to only tank or only heal to support their team…they think they should do that instead of helping kill the mobs.

Currently, it is not the same 2-3 classes in groups…the only class that really doesn’t fit right now is the necro. Even rangers have an acceptable build in dungeons/fractals…its just that the majority of them make a bad name for the rest. The same can be said for staff guardians. This acceptable build is about bringing utility to the group..versus an alternative. There only real limit to the range of skills used is the players not making use of things in their kitten nal. Yes…there are skills that are garbage…but there are a lot of under utilized utilities and weapon abilities. Again, what you seem to be wanting is not diversity or improvment, but exclusion. You seem to want zerk/assassins to be rendered nigh unplayable….that’s not positive for anyone.

This quote from your post exemplifies what I am referring to. The entire vein of this quote is not pro-necro…its anti-zerk. Its not about improving necros or hopes for the new specialization…its all about finding ways to take fun away from anyone not playing vitality/toughness/healing power. Its filled with the same worn out and completely incorrect propaganda about how zerk has no risk, content should be made harder for zerk in order to make your safe builds more attractive, and that safe builds should have comparable completion speeds as zerk builds. You even go on to mention providing advantages to non zerk builds. What you seem to either not realize is that these safe builds do have an inherent advantage….its survivability. Its exactly what you guys are building for when you choose toughness/vitality/healing power. None of those stats equal speed of killing. Why are you so unhappy with getting exactly what you built for? It really is hypocrisy to expect to buy a mini van and expect to drive at race car speeds. Its hypocrisy to expect to have the freedom to build/gear how you want, and expect ANET to force other players to build your way instead of how they want.

This idea of shifting to auto attack damage instead of one-shot mechanics is not necessarily a bad thing for zerk…not necessarily something zerk players haven’t asked for. It actually fits into the zerk play style better than this current one-shot model encounters are built around. It would force the use of support utilities and abilities (blinds, protection, weakness, regeneration, etc). Zerk builds have ample access to these things. I’m specifically mentioning zerk because of the trend of your post…mentioning non-zerk builds and the general fact that zerk is the build that primarily benefits from stacking. I’m getting the impression your posts are coming from more of an anti-zerk origin than a “necros are getting fixed” origin?

Yes, there are mechanics in the game even now, that are more harmful to zerk players/stackers than the alternative. That actually is a good thing. It does open up diversity in playstyle, but it does not and should not force a change of build/stats. What it does do is add strategy and depth, to a degree, to encounters. It makes it important to also carry a ranged weapon. It makes important to change traits from time to time to match an encounter. What it should not do is alienate a large section of the player base by forcing them into a completely different play style.

The things you mention as breaking stacking are the holy grails of the non zerk community. Fast auto attackers that make low hp builds (zerk) unplayable, persistent/spammy aoe/pervasive unblockable attacks. They seem to be constantly looking to force the zerk community to adapt to their play style…the same thing they vehemently reject from the zerk community when the same is expected from them. I think ANET has enough of a grasp on the game to know that it is not in anyone’s best interest to start forcing one specific play style. Once you start loading up the majority of content with unblockable attacks. Encounters that can only be ranged. Encounters with constant unavoidable aoe. Encounters that force you to build/gear for vitality/toughness/healing power to be able to survive/complete…then it ceases to be fun and removes the diversity you seem to want. Currently the pve content can be cleared by any build…that is diversity. Like Spoj said, some builds are supposed to be slower. Those slower builds have higher individual survivability as a result. That’s the trade off. You aren’t supposed to have the cake after you eat it.

Again it’s all in the implementation. Speed of completion is basically what they need to tackle with new mob AI, mechanics and player build possibilities. To even out the speed it takes to complete content they need to make it harder for glass cannon stack and kill enemies with no real risk. All while making it easier for non-DPS centric builds or condi builds have a role and advantage to play which ends up making the content go almost/just as fast, but a fair bit easier thus rewarding build and tactical diversity.

What you are suggesting about the newer content is that it will invalidate any ability that you cannot use while not standing still, but that would require a rework of the majority of all previous abilities….I’m fairly positive ANET will not do that to themselves. Immobilizes, cripples, chills, pulls, etc are not going away either. Every class has these. Line of sight is also not going away, which is THE key component to stacking. The fact that the necro specialization is getting a GS, which will almost undoubtedly be a melee weapon that cleaves, leads me to believe that there will be a substantial amount of content with multiple mobs standing in close proximity to each other…that is optimal cleave content…which is optimal stacking content.

Open world content has never been any issue for necros, only dungeon/fractal content. No one would even care what build you are running around in the open world solo. Even pick up groups to do an event won’t care about your build. Dungeons, fractals, and possibly any new group based instanced content will be where the difference will be. They haven’t given much by way of specifics about the duration or difficulty of the new “adventures” or any new dungeons/fractals yet. Its all going to be about whether they are long enough for speed of completion to be a concern, whether they are solo or group based, etc. If they are the same as existing dungeons/fractals…then the existing necro will be just as undesired as always (assuming no fixes for existing woes).

Balekai.6083:

I’m thinking Necro is going to be more useful come this expansion. Already in the new content (especially the Silverwastes) I’m definitely seeing some major changes that are anti-stacking, anti-power, pro-condi and/or pro- soft cc. The harder it is to stack as players on mobs and DPS them down, the less pure DPS matters and rather skirmish ability in PvE becomes more important. Power and Condi Necros are very good at being able to use their skills at mid to long ranges.

While playing VW it’s a total 180 degree difference between what feels useful compared to older content. My apothecary sustain Necro out controls, out damages (due to husks and loads of epidemic) and outplays (by never dieing and being able to support allies) my zerker Necro Life Blast build.

Playing as a Zerker Necro taking daggers seems sub-optimal in say VW/Silverwastes due to the massive mobility of the mobs. Chasing around spinning/charging mobs all over the place isn’t my idea of good DPS. You get a lot more mileage on LS2 content blasting away with penetrating/Might stacking life blasts and positioning within 600 range of targets, from an angle where you hit multiple enemies at once. Then you just spam LB for 5.5Kish-9K damage on 100% crits until everything is down.

This newer content is going to be an issue for any high DPS weapons/skills/classes that depend on stationary mobs. That’s assuming what we see in Silverwastes combined with Anet saying expansion content will be harder than ever is true. We could end up in a situation where just stacking and killing enemies faster is still most optimal. But again in the most recent content I have seen my Zerker necro outperform GS warriors in instance/open world LS2 content due to the nature of the fights. My Apothecary support Necro survives stuff that everyone else goes down on and I’m easily able to res those around me while being spiked like crazy. Even Zerker Necro seems to survive better than other zerker builds as there seems to be a lot more area and sudden damage in Mordrem fights that are easier to absorb with DS than time blocks/evades for.

I’m not sure I agree with you on this…and especially not for the reasons you are citing. One of the man reasons for specialization is to provide options that are not currently availble to the class. This specialization is creating a new class…somewhat of a branch/sub class. This sub class is what is getting the GS, which in all likelihood…is going to be a melee weapon…which actually promotes stacking. One would also logically assume that getting a GS option on the sub class means also getting the supporting options to use a GS…such as stability and some method to block…maybe even some in-combat mobility on GS abilities. There has been no mention of any specifics though…so it is entirely unclear if the base class (necromancer) is actually getting any of the things fixed about it that makes it undesirable in pve. Hopefully, ANET does rework some of the failed experiments/adjustments to the base class while they have this opportunity.

I’m reasonably sure that ANET isn’t going to go out of their way to make players completely adjust their play style, by implementing some mechanic to make stacking impossible…as that is a common sense strategy that is completely optional for those who do not want to do it. I can see them including some mechanics that actually do make players disperse from a stack..versus staying stacked during an entire encounter though…they already have this in place in multiple encounters in game. What I take from ANET saying they are going to make encounters more challenging is to introduce mechanics that require the new mastery based abilities to complete. That idea has more synergy with what they have told us so far, than to assume ANET is going to cater to a whining minority in the game who wants to play range wars 2 instead of grouping up for max benefit.

BillFreist.1527:

For example, who doesn’t like a sweet fanny-pack?

Me! I’m sorry, but I’d also love an option to hide butt-capes. The gear design in this game seems semi-obsessed with butt-capes. The majority of gear…male and female…seems to have the “sweater tied around the waist” effect.

I do agree 100% with the desire to hide the “hobo sacks” too. I’ve recently rolled my first engi, in anticipation of the hammer+flying robots upgrade in HoT. Hopefully this specialization will not have hobo sacks at all, but if it does…I’d go out of my way to slot utilities that did not include hobo sacks.

Dravyn.4671:

ODB.6891:

Dravyn.4671:

My biggest wish for Greatsword is that necros don’t get yet another stupid ‘spinning top’ attack, like….well, like every single other class that melees with a greatsword.

You do realize the reason Greatswords are good for melee is their ability to hit multiple targets in melee range? That being said, there is guaranteed to be at least one 360 degree strike…to hit enemies all around you. I’m pretty sure that most proponents of Necromancer Greatsword are looking for some serious melee cleaving. It would be a huge disappointment if that was not included. As well as an evade/leap mobility move.

Plenty of ways to do a 360 degree attack without that ridiculous “spin in place” animation.

Read subsequent comments. I would be happy for them to come up with something original to the game…but that is not very likely.

Focus oh also is our only reliable source of swiftness, plus it has our only pull ability. There’s also the iwarden on focus 5, which is our best melee aoe phantasm + plus it can block projectiles untraited or reflect projectiles when traited. Combine this with all of the benefits listed above for oh sword…that’s why these are popular weapon combinations for phantasm mesmers.

Dadnir.5038:

In fact, looking at the fact that necromancer starve for any kind of combo finisher, a spin would be more then welcome… Especially because whirlwind finshers are the one that synergize the best with our kitten dark field…

also this ^, but by all means…give us a decent blast finisher too.

RashanDale.3609:

ODB.6891:

RashanDale.3609:

ODB.6891:

You do realize the reason Greatswords are good for melee is their ability to hit multiple targets in melee range? That being said, there is guaranteed to be at least one 360 degree strike…to hit enemies all around you. I’m pretty sure that most proponents of Necromancer Greatsword are looking for some serious melee cleaving. It would be a huge disappointment if that was not included. As well as an evade/leap mobility move.

cleave is nice and but i dotn want one of those spinning attacks either. why is that, in your opinion, required for a cleaving weapon? i dont get it.

Not for a cleaving weapon…but for a greatsword. If not…what’s the point of not just using a 1h sword like mesmer blurred frenzy? We all see what they do with warrior 100 blades…leaves you exposed to getting gibbed in melee..no defenses while that is in progress. They seem much more forgiving of that type of move with a 1h sword than a GS. I’m not saying they need to clone guard GS #2, but there needs to be a burst aoe cleave move on a melee GS.

i dont really understand what youre trying to say or why those are reasons a spin-around-360-move is required. there are plenty of ways to make you less exposed without making you spin around.

burst aoe cleave is fine by me. just dont want to see another stupid looking spin-around-move, and thats what this was all about. at least thats how i understood it. my apologies if im missing something here.

No apologies needed. I’m just saying…there are a limited number of sword/GS burst aoe, melee, mechanics they have in the game so far. There’s the cone area like 100 blades and blurrred frenzy, warrior GS #3 (whirlwind attack), there’s Guard GS #2 (whirling Wrath), there’s guard GS #5 (symbol of wrath), there’s Guard GS #2 (leap of faith). I may have missed some from classes I don’t play. Of the ones I mentioned here, the ones that are truly melee range burst are either cones or spinning. I’m either not giving ANET enough credit for coming up with a new mechanic this time around…or just expecting them to recycle an existing mechanic to accomplish this aoe melee burst with a GS. I’m all for them coming up with a new mechanic…I’d love to see something unique in the game. Something like a giant GS strike like Gajeel in the anime fairy tail, or Komamura’s bankai in bleach….that would be pretty hot. I’m just saying…going by their pattern…I’m just wanting functionality (significant aoe melee cleave) and not expecting too much by way of thinking out of the box implementation.

RashanDale.3609:

ODB.6891:

You do realize the reason Greatswords are good for melee is their ability to hit multiple targets in melee range? That being said, there is guaranteed to be at least one 360 degree strike…to hit enemies all around you. I’m pretty sure that most proponents of Necromancer Greatsword are looking for some serious melee cleaving. It would be a huge disappointment if that was not included. As well as an evade/leap mobility move.

cleave is nice and but i dotn want one of those spinning attacks either. why is that, in your opinion, required for a cleaving weapon? i dont get it.

Not for a cleaving weapon…but for a greatsword. If not…what’s the point of not just using a 1h sword like mesmer blurred frenzy? We all see what they do with warrior 100 blades…leaves you exposed to getting gibbed in melee..no defenses while that is in progress. They seem much more forgiving of that type of move with a 1h sword than a GS. I’m not saying they need to clone guard GS #2, but there needs to be a burst aoe cleave move on a melee GS.

I’d be terrible at coming up with abilities for our new specialization, but the things I would be looking/hoping for would be an alternative/modification for Deathshroud, alternative/modification for life force, party support by way of something other than conditions, in-combat mobility, and some furious melee cleaving…with a nice survival mechanic.

I’m a fan of the aura approach…like the light aura they added to leap finishers when jumping into a light field. I could see something like that working nicely with our life force. Instead of it being a finisher, maybe have it be activated by our class mechanic for specific party wide effects…just like Dadnir suggested above. One effect could be like aegis, one effect could be a medium heal + life leach, another could be an increased damage dealt %, etc. The effect would be like a dark guardian…similar to virtues…but mechanically different enough to be unique. We would get that much neeeded “block” ability…in place of neutered Deathshroud…and some decent versatility/party support. They could technically avoid loading us up with boons by going this aura route….win win. Without Deathshroud kitten blocking us, we could actually benefit from party/self heals and other benefits. There would also be no need to have us stranded without in-combat mobility without Deathshroud hanging around our necks like an anchor. I’m loving the options specialization are presenting us with…I just hope ANET takes full advantage of it.

Dravyn.4671:

My biggest wish for Greatsword is that necros don’t get yet another stupid ‘spinning top’ attack, like….well, like every single other class that melees with a greatsword.

You do realize the reason Greatswords are good for melee is their ability to hit multiple targets in melee range? That being said, there is guaranteed to be at least one 360 degree strike…to hit enemies all around you. I’m pretty sure that most proponents of Necromancer Greatsword are looking for some serious melee cleaving. It would be a huge disappointment if that was not included. As well as an evade/leap mobility move.

skullmount.1758:

Except if we speculate now, we may bring something up the devs (who apprently read the forums) may find something they haven’t thought of or make a change to something to better align with what us players want.
Also, we speculate how bad things might be because, from past experiences, we have been justified in our pessimistic outlook. Just look at NPE and traits to name two.

Just from your two examples…NPE and traits….how much feedback did they get about this…versus what they actually implemented? The answer is that they got tons of negative feedback about their prospective changes…but went ahead anyway with the changes. That’s the same thing they are going to do every time. No matter how much we complain or speculate. This the same thing with any decent sized company. Once they have their plans anywhere near cemented…there is nothing short of a natural disaster that will stop that plan from coming to market. To roll back plans that they have put this much into…for reasons of customer or even other employees feedback…is to admit that someone knows better than they do. That sets a bad precedent…makes every decision they make after that subject to being second guessed by others. Makes them look bad to their peers, customers, and superiors….so you can imagine they are going to steam roll ahead and hope for the best. Maybe after 6 months or more…they will announce they have decided to make the same or similar changes that you were asking for to begin with though….so may as well wait until you actually see the finished work before complaining.

So far, there have been no confirmed details of anything that isn’t good. No real point in people working themselves into a frenzy over things they cannot possibly know in advance. Once they announce specifics, that is a whole different story.

I was initially of the opinion that specializing should have some cost associated with it, but upon reflection…there is not any actual valid reason for there to be a cost.
1. The flexibility to adapt to content is a plus…with no downside.
2. Freedom for players is a plus…no real downside.
3. Those who like the druid more than the ranger…will play the druid more than the ranger…even without a cost. The same with any other specialization.
4. Restricting specialization with a cost or a cool down would only serve to frustrate players.

Windsagio.1340:

I’d assume anything is locked unless you specifically hear otherwise.

This ^. Why would the rest of us pay for content…only for others to get it for free? What ANET does provide for free is the ability to play the existing product that you have already purchased, and everything that came with that existing game. I can’t see any of this expansion content being included in the original game, as it invalidates the purchase price of the expansion for those that do purchase. If they do give expansion content to those that do not purchase, there had better be some serious exclusive perks for those that do purchase.

Its not anymore divisive than any other expansion, to any other game. Every expansion that I can remember had new zones, that were not accessible without the expansions. The presence of a new zone does not stop anyone from continuing to enjoy the previous zones. A guild hall, that you cannot enter, does not stop you from being in a guild or communicating with your guild in the same way you already do. I can see guild halls as probably being instanced content…which I can’t imagine them allowing players who have not purchased the expansion to enter…just like a new zone.

They will never implement this, and with good reason. The minute phiw, in full nomad, sees that they can’t be number 1 on this leader board…the forums will explode with endless nerf zerk cries. This would also make a public record of poor performers, likely resulting in a lot of block list adds to keep bads out of speed runs. This would be almost like adding a damage meter to the game. Never forget that ANET was willing to and followed through with a placebo reduction to critical damage….just to appease the phiw crowd…at the expense of our enjoyment of the same game. Don’t think they wouldn’t stoop to doing it again if they all cry in unison. I suspect this is the real reason we never got the fractal leader boards they promised.

That was sexy. I would love to play with those rangers. That was perfect team work, coordination, and selfless play. There was none of the phiw nonsense, seen in this thread, in that video.

I admit to being the the first one to groan or bail out when I see a ranger join a 30-50 fractal run, but it is entirely due to the combination of attitudes of rangers like the ones posting in this thread defending phiw…and actual play experience with these same minded rangers in high level fractals.

Good team work is what drives an enjoyable experience in games like this. I can’t even understand how this is even a topic for debate…bring the right tools for the job…just like everyone else in the group! If you have a reflect/anti-projectile ability…for an encounter that extremely benefits from it…then bring it!? I"m sorry your personal style/aesthetics objects to anything other than camping longbow…but the second you start impacting the enjoyment/success of others (joining a group)…your personal stuff just lost all importance. It has then become a communal experience and a communal decision for you to stay in the group. If you choose not to bring your best, then expect to be kicked. I’m not just talking about rangers either. Warriors with no war banner, guards with no reflects, thieves with no reflect or shadow refuge, etc.

There is no reason that the up time on protection from chaos armor should have been an issue…when compared with the protection up time a hammer guardian can establish for a group. The up time component can’t really be the issue.

slurpey.6014:

Shanna.4762:

Well, since so many are extremely angry about the armor skin fiasco with the most recent update where they’ve cheapened and removed the exclusivity of T3 human cultural light armor, one might get the impression that ArenaNet is running low on ideas & creativity or direction for new armor skins to add to the game & gem shop.

I’m creating this thread here for now, because the most people will see it and I want to include as many people as possible in the discussion. The purpose of this thread is to share ideas using art (concept or otherwise), or other pictures to share what you want with the community, and ArenaNet developers alike so that they may potentially draw inspiration from our ideas & also get a good sense of where their player-base stands on the type of looks we want for our characters.

PLEASE keep the discussion civil, and open minded as many of us are bound to have different tastes and opinions so please be respectful

My first contribution is an idea for a mesmer-friendly set using concept art from AION’s bard class.

I am sorry to say this but you accusing Anet of not being creative and I do agree with that to a point, but then you’re posting armor from other games. That has nothing to do with being creative or getting fresh idea’s for upcoming patches. I think that our community can come up with something very nice and stunning that’s not copied and pasted from other games.

The wheel does not have to be reinvented. They are giving example art from other games that visually describes what they are looking for in this game…that’s not a bad thing. I’m sure they are not asking for a copy/paste from the other games…just something along those same themes. I would actually prefer that too….something similar from other games.

I do like some of ANET’s art, but I’m pretty tired of the “butt capes”. Some of their art is very nice, but they keep adding clutter to it…making it look worse than it should. Extra straps and harnesses on some of the more streamlined chest pieces and butt capes on the leggings. Too many trench coats for medium armor. It would even be nice to have an option to turn off or hide more things like you can with helmets.

I’d like to see more gear styles from different cultures as well. Maybe some more asian themed armor sets and styles. Maybe some Celtic themed armor. More armor that shows skin and reveals norn tattoos. The tattoos and size are the main reason’s I chose norn for my characters…it would be nice to actually see more of those tattoos during game play.

Yeah, they’ll kitten their customers off if we buy an expansion that does not even include at least one new character slot. They keyword is “buy” the expansion…it should come with at least that minimum value of another character slot.

I assume this is what all the nomads and clerics have been begging for? Some extreme gimmick boss that negates all of your profession’s attack abilities in favor of some convoluted/bugged gimmick mechanic? The in-game description of this only makes it worse…as it does not even try to describe what needs to be done to damage this thing. Sad that you have to tab out and search the internet for something that actually does damage to this boss. This is not “fun” ANET…in fact…its extremely frustrating and annoying to have to deal with this. If you are going to put stuff like this in the game…put it somewhere where it does not block what little progression there is in this game so far….some open world champion maybe…not blocking living story completion. I know I would have ignored this after the first attempt if I didn’t have to get past it to complete the living story content.

Every time I see this same tired and self serving argument, I just let out an involuntary groan. Why is it so important to some people to try and force others to play with/carry them? Why is it so hard to group with like minded people? Why do you want to take enjoyment away from others? Why can’t you just enjoy the game in your own way? If you don’t want to wear zerk gear or build with zerk traits/stats, then don’t. No one is forcing you to do that…so how about stop trying to invent ways to force zerk players to play/build your way. Whether it is by crying for content to one-shot anyone not wearing full nomads/clerics. Whether it is by a combination of having a manadatory healer/tank + wanting content to one-shot anyone not wearing toughness gear. Just stop it already. The only time it is even relevant to have this conversation is when either grouping with randoms/groups requesting a specific build type, or when you are in a guild that values that build type. Either way, that is clearly not the guild/group for you if you don’t share that preference….move on to a different group?

Does it actually bother you that there are people who are skilled enough to survive and thrive without the safety net of toughness/vitality/healing power? If the issue is members of random groups that die constantly due to low skill and wearing zerk…the opposite is equally true…low dps members making content take an inordinate amount of time. Both extremes cause the same issues…group frustration and delays in content completion. You don’t see the counter argument all over the forums every 2 seconds…asking for content to negate toughness/vitality/healing power…so why is it so important to take away zerk fun?

One of the biggest selling points of this game is its casual nature. You don’t have to exclude anyone to complete content. You don’t have to reserve groups slots for a specific build/profession. You don’t have to wait hours to get the right person to fill your group. One player in a group can ultimately solo an encounter if they have the skill to do so…while the rest of the group is face planted. Why would you want to ruin that? Just so you can kill someone else’s enjoyment?

IndigoSundown.5419:

Jon Peters, ArenaNet, MMO Champion Interview

Diversity

Being able to adapt to situations is something that we feel makes combat more exciting. In Guild Wars 2, the combination of weapon swapping and skill versatility give each profession the ability to adapt to combat situations and change their role. Taking too much damage as a warrior? Swap to mace and shield. A bunch of adds as an elementalist? Attune to fire. Even within single skills we try and maintain versatility. A guardian that brings Wall of Deflection or an elementalist with Swirling Aura can use them to defend allies when retreating. They can also use it to push into enemy lines, or they can cast it in a timely manner to counter a particularly dangerous enemy projectile and send the effects of that projectile back to the attacker. Being able to rotate roles and cover for other players is another piece in the puzzle to removing dependencies.

Mobility

Another important part of Guild Wars 2 combat is mobility. We felt that in order to get the dynamic and visceral feel that we wanted combat to have, players needed to be more mobile. A lot of work went into this from animation systems to animations themselves allowing skills while moving. It takes a lot of pressure off of the skill system and puts in back into movement, tactical play, and ground control—the areas where we wanted the game to be focused. Couple that with dodging arrows and double tap dodge rolling and you create a combat system that is more like a first person shooter where finding real cover, flanking and other more realistic fighting techniques find a lot more use. This again de-emphasizes the importance of roles and focuses players on what we intend, which is how their profession plays.

We’ve said this a few times in a few places but I can’t reiterate it enough:

We built this game so that they professions act as play styles, not as roles. Each profession can support, control, and do damage. We believe that this creates more dynamic combat and more distinct professions because there are more play styles than roles.

One of the best ways to explain this is with an analogy. In a first person shooter there can be a variety of weapons, from sniper rifles to rocket launchers to machine guns and shotguns. No one looks at these weapons and says, “They’re all the same, they all just do DPS.” Why should an MMO be any different?

The problem, if there is one, is that after 2.33 years the dungeon runners know every encounter by heart and can dodge in their sleep. The dungeons were hard for most people. If they aren’t now, it’s due to the practice effect. They’re still hard for someone doing them for the first time unless they’re already skilled in the combat style.

Thank you for reposting this.

Sarabande.8260:

DPS players are a dime-a-dozen and absolutely flood every MMO with a trinity. This is because DPS is the easiest role with the least amount of responsibility. GW2 is a game that caters to those DPS players and the last thing they want to see is a trinity where since they are as common as sand on a beach they’ll have to wait in some queue.

It’s much easier for them to say “ZOMG Zerg everything, oh wow my numb3rsz massive killed mobs ultra fast. pwned”

Maybe stop to consider that players like being responsible for themselves…instead of having to depend on someone else to keep them alive. Maybe consider that players feel they are capable of following their own orders…instead of being forced to bow down to a “tank” or “healer” due to constant threat of that “tank” or “healer” rage quitting because someone didn’t bow down fast enough….then being stuck unable to complete the content because that scarce commodity is required to complete the content? Maybe it has nothing to do with being “common as sand on a beach”. Maybe it is more about actually having the same freedom to play as the wanna be healer/tank crowd. You don’t see the opposite argument on these forums…begging for anyone in clerics, nomad, soldiers, etc to be forced to bring along berserkers or assassins. Extend the same courtesy please.

Wetpaw.3487:

xarallei.4279:

No. Not sure why you want that back. It’s awful. Especially as dps sitting in a queue waiting and waiting for a tank or healer. It’s miserable. I mean part of me really misses being a healer. But in the end, it’s probably for the best to do away with that.

Not speaking for dungeons, but LS, open world events, Raids?, I would Like to see more of an emphasis on healing. Not in the trinity form as a player sits in the back healbotting w/a tank holding threat, but in the GW2 fashion. Fights and situations where dodge, cleanse, area avoidance, and block are just not enough, and bringing a few healing/support builds is actually beneficial.

Certain satisfaction helping out friends and players in that role.

So what you are saying is that you want your healing to be required (mandatory)? That’s what it means for “dodge, cleanse, area avoidance, and block are just not enough, and bringing a few healing/support builds is actually beneficial”. That means healing is required if professions cannot survive without it “not enough”. No thank you on your back door trinity inroads. Why is it so hard to either play the game as it was designed or play a game that is designed that way instead? Is it really so important to ruin this game and make it a clone of every other game on the market….just so you don’t have to adapt to this one?

Have you ever heard someone say something so not intelligent that you don’t really want to respond to it…due to feeling like it brings you down to their level to even acknowledge it?

Logic fails:
1. Wanting the option that requires less effort and less skill to be the most rewarding.
2. Wanting to diminish the enjoyment of everyone else so you can be lazy.
3. Asserting that other people, who want nothing to do with you, are stopping you from obtaining rewards…instead of forming your own group.
4. Thinking a valid solution is to force others to play your way/with you.
5. Failing to read the game description before purchase to notice there is no trinity.

You do realize there is no inspect feature or damage meter in this game? This means either you are trying to join zerk groups or your dps/game play is so terrible that it is drawing attention to you in a negative way.

The result of buffing passive defense and/or healing power to any different extent would be to create roles in PvE, which means creating the trinity, which is not what this game is about. Once the trinity exists, then the party composition then gains a mandatory structure, which is again…not what this game is about. The only gear equalizing solution would be to have there only be one gear set allowed in pve (everyone with the same stats)…they have pretty much shown they are not going to do that. I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t want that anyway as it would take away the security blanket so many players enjoy (high vit, high toughness).

Those other gear sets do have value though. Just not so much in PvE.

Papish.5806:

So in the video they talked about how specialization will change several things for your class. Examples given were things like the added weapon and option of a new heal. They even mentioned how it will change rangers interaction with their pet or whatever(their class mechanic).

So what do you think the chances are it will also alter our Deathshroud skills?

I’m 100% in favor of them altering Deathshroud and its skills. I’m a huge proponent of them making DS have a melee animation when using a melee weapon. It just feels and looks weird to be spamming ranged attacks at point blank range…with a melee weapon equipped. If they do the melee animation…I’d still like it to have a decent range though….like a giant scythe cleave. I think the other abilities are cool, but I wouldn’t be against a completely new set of DS abilities for the new specialization.

Just gonna throw this idea out there…spectral shroud! Maybe they’ll group the spectral traits better and make a DS theme from spectral aesthetics/functionality.

Stubie.5834:

I have my zerk mesmer engi ranger and thief but more and more I’m enjoying running my condi necro in fractals. I have great survivability good sustained dps and heals good group condition clears and seem to really shine on a lot of boss fights. With DS you can get off heavy dmg revives of group members as well. Now if there is another condi spec in group I will swap out to a different character as my effectiveness goes way down.
So my question I guess is how do you feel about having one strong condi class in your fractal groups? Or do you still prefer the ultra squishy zerk class that is perma downed on many bosses.

That’s funny how you tried to load this question to your favor. “Or do you still prefer the ultra squishy zerk class that is perma downed on many bosses”. Even a bear bow ranger or a condi necro shines in comparison to bad players right?

Seriously though, what the second poster said…even non condi specs/classes will use up the majority of the available condi slots on bosses…just using their standard zerk builds. This makes a condi build useless in fractals. This is ignoring the trash mob issues as well. Trash will often down players faster than a boss will…this is one of the main reasons zerk builds shine….burning through trash in seconds…versus waiting on condi ticks to eventually down them (if your party is still alive long enough for condi to down them).

fracture.9754:

Guys, GS won’t save necro in PvE. What necro lacks are party buffs, not DPS. We need utilities, not weapon skills.

You have absolutely no way of knowing that. A viable melee power weapon…one that actually cleaves, will be a huge step toward PvE viability. What we don’t know are the details as to what specializing the necro will bring besides just the GS. That’s what will make the difference. Party buffs aren’t the only thing that will matter…but admittedly they are a major factor. For all we know…they may actually incorporate some boons in the specialization as a trade off. I’d even take necros in PvE if they made withering precision better…reduce the CD between applications. They did specifically say that abilities, utilities, and elites were things that will change when you specialize. What I got out of their information on specialization is that they are actually allowing the building of almost a new class out of existing classes. The only way to get that GS on a necro will be to do this specialization. They are giving themselves a way to fix all the existing issues…its up to them if they take advantage of this opportunity…they even found a way for us to pay for the fixes…expansion pack…no excuses left for them.

ronpierce.2760:

ODB.6891:

Here’s also hoping they make DS actually have a melee attack when a melee weapon is equipped. I’m probably in the minority on this one…but I can dream!

I just wish it didn’t suck if you weren’t super traited into life blast traits.

I actually don’t mind investing heavily in DS…including the life blast traits. I just want it to work well/be effective. I kinda like the concept of DS turning my melee weapon into a dark spell blade with the same effects as life blast.

Here’s also hoping they make DS actually have a melee attack when a melee weapon is equipped. I’m probably in the minority on this one…but I can dream!

SpellOfIniquity.1780:

I think of two handed weapons as more damaging than one handed weapons, since they are in almost every case, except for maybe Ele scepter, Warrior axe and Ranger sword. Which makes me think it will be very sub-par because Necro dagger is already insanely damaging.. If it were stronger than our dagger AA it’d be pretty OP so it’s either going to be the same or less damaging than our dagger. Which means we still won’t be ideal for PvE and greatsword will not be an ideal weapon for power build in PvP/WvW. This doesn’t mean I think it will be a terrible weapon and I’m sure it will have it’s utility, I’m just saying dagger AA is already very good, I can’t see how greatsword could replace it.

Even if it is the same damage output as the dagger…the terrible cleave of necro dagger will be the reason a GS will replace it. Plus possible better/different effects from the new GS attacks. By default a GS will likely cleave much better than the dagger…that by itself makes it a better pve weapon. Anything extra they attach to the new GS will be cherries on top. Almost anything is better than dagger 2 and 3 currently. Add some actual mobility onto GS like every other GS except mesmer…and necros just got fixed in pve. I’m assuming this will be a power weapon and not another condi hot mess though…I’d combine this with spectral armor and spectral walk for some serious sexiness.

CruleD.7380:

ODB.6891:

I’m completely fine with using phantasms on my mes, and i’m not a shatter spec. I actually like phantasms. What I’m hoping for is to be able to max out damage without having to resort to slotting all mantras or having to shatter my phantasms.

I’m hoping the specialization involves having a more viable melee set up than we currently do. The 1h sword has seen too much neutering…maybe some traits to buff it back. I do also like the chronomancer ideas being thrown around…aoe slow + aoe damage would be nice. Maybe even more quickness. I just wouln’t want this new oh shield aoe to be another light field.

Also I hope this is a target centered aoe and not a ground cast one.

You know that percentile modifiers do not affect phantasms?
You know that you only get up to 16% damage increase with Empowering Mantras (that means you only get up to 4×4% damage from each readied mantra, read: every activated slot, not per charge of mantra.)

Why are you telling me all these things that I already know? I’m a bit confused by your response. Traits boost phantasm damage…we have two of them. 16% is a lot of damage increase..that is very straight forward…and it is directly related to empowering mantras. There is no equivalent trait related to any other utility type. Not sure what you were getting at with this reply. I hope this is not a result of thinking that I somehow disagreed with your post about phantasm master or bug fixes, because I like phantasms already and everyone wants bug fixes.

Sebbl.2806:

Curunen.8729:

Please could there also be a mainhand option?

We have too many off hands and not enough mainhands. I would love to go shield/focus.

Well, Rangers get staffs, Necromancers get greatswords and Engineers probably get hammers. So if Mesmers get shields, it would be quite unfair to not give them two more weapon skills, don’t you think?

Not really, considering those other classes don’t suffer from the lack of viable mh weapons like mesmers do. This is an opportunity to fix a problem…not so much focused on equity.

I’m completely fine with using phantasms on my mes, and i’m not a shatter spec. I actually like phantasms. What I’m hoping for is to be able to max out damage without having to resort to slotting all mantras or having to shatter my phantasms.

I’m hoping the specialization involves having a more viable melee set up than we currently do. The 1h sword has seen too much neutering…maybe some traits to buff it back. I do also like the chronomancer ideas being thrown around…aoe slow + aoe damage would be nice. Maybe even more quickness. I just wouln’t want this new oh shield aoe to be another light field.

Also I hope this is a target centered aoe and not a ground cast one.

Sebbl.2806:

…Or iDefender gets moved to the shield and we get a new utility skill instead.

Swiftness not tied to a weapon!

buff 1h sword
add mh pistol
this new oh shield instantly becomes attractive

oh yeah..please don’t let this be a light combo field!

oxtred.7658:

I’m not raging at all. I’m just explaining to you why your opinion has absolutely no value. Again, your logic is flawed. You’re accusing me off ad hominems, and then do exactly the exact same thing. You’re the one getting mad because you asked for a proof of my in game knowledge, and I gave you one. Now that you got it, you’re saying it’s worth nothing. I assumed you were a jealous casual. You’re looking down on in game achievements, you’re then a casual. You’re also looking down on me, you’re jealous.

1. Never accused you of any ad hominems.
2. The insults started with you…so yes…you are raging.
3. I have only responded to obvious jabs you have directed back at me with remarks regarding factual things (things you typed yourself).
4. Yes, I would be considered a casual, and I have no problem with that. I actually have a life…in fact, I’ll be leaving home in a few minutes to go live it now that my people have just come back home with my property.
5. Yes, I am looking down on you, but that has nothing to do with me being jealous…in fact I feel sorry for you that this issue is so important to you and you felt the need to lash out at me for expressing an opinion without even referencing you specifically in the beginning. I feel sorry for you that your entire life and self esteem apparently revolves around this mediocre game.
6. I never asked you for your in game knowledge…I just assumed you were a noob…so yes…apparently I was wrong about that. You are in fact much worse than a noob…you are obsessed with pixels instead.
7. I was also wrong about no one caring about your in game achievements…i’m sure there are others equally obsessed as you are with that…so I guess someone does care.
8. What I said had no value was your completely assumed information about my experience in dungeons etc. I guess it escapes your mental grasp, that at some point, I did play this game in more than a true casual sense, and have since lost the majority of my interest. This should make logical sense as this game has been out for a while and the dungeon/fractal content is pretty stale at this point.

Oh well, rage on, I’m personally about to go interact with some non-pixels.

oxtred.7658:

I’ve 14 80 characters, and I’m sometimes tired of leveling. I can solo the dungeon, or I can help a guy who solo’d it himself, make him happy, get xp, for a low price. People who despise dungeon sellings are mostly jealous casuals who can’t even 5 man it and want to leech parties without drawback. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were one of them. If you could do it yourself then there’s no reason to have a problem with selling, as it doesn’t affect you in any way. If you can’t, then you’re a bad player.

You seriously are kitten about your precious sold runs aren’t you. I’d also venture to say you need to actually get a life….14 80 characters? I wasn’t too far off the mark about the getting laid comment I see. I think you need to also learn to read for comprehension and see that at no point did I say that I “despised” dungeon selling. The only sentiment I relayed is that I think its a shady practice and don’t shed any tears if they get negative repercussions for putting themselves in that position to begin with. Sounds like you have some serious personal issues with the way you think calling people “jealous casuals” has any type of value or meaning…especially in this game with no real rewards or status in pve. This game is all about skins and appearances….nobody really cares about your 14 80s or anything else. I think its funny and pretty pathetic that the most you can do is to make up things to assume about me…and then try to assert those things as justification for something? You just seem to have really got your undies in a bunch over an opinion that I am entitled to have if I feel like it about the practice of selling runs. Just a word of advice…you probably want to take a deep breath before your nerd rage gives you a heart attack or something.

oxtred.7658:

I buy paths to level alts. However, i’m more experienced than you and better than you in dungeons. Your logic is flawed.

I’m assuming that is directed at me lol. kitten much? That’s all I can assume from what looks like a personal jab at me with your unsubstantiated claims of somehow knowing you are better at dungeons than me…and your self asserted (no evidence) claim that my logic is flawed. One, you have no idea what dungeons I do or how well/often I do them. You have no idea if I do regular dungeons at all. You can’t even tell the last time I logged into the game lol. Your assertions of someone’s skill or logic have no value unless you have some type of logic or proof of your own to back those assertions up.

At the end of the day, how does doing it for alts make a difference in noob status? If you have max level characters, then it would make sense normally for you to be experienced enough to not have to pay someone to do the run for you? Where are your friends from your leveling experience on your other characters? Where is your guild? Its like someone that can’t get a girl without paying…who claims pimp status.

Wollowitz.9174:

I also have little sympathy for a run seller getting kicked…as I think that selling runs is a shady tactic in games like this anyway. I do agree that kicking anyone unjustly is bad though…which is why I am 100% in favor of a reputation system to deal with unjust kicks in general.

Please explain it just for me how legit run selling is shady? Do sellers exploit any bugs or use any third party programms? Do they force you to buy a run? Do they exploit any other player? Srsly, I just don`t get it why some people are against something they don`t like.
Serious sellers don`t scam the customers. It`s also up to you, as a customer, wheter to pay and get your product or not to.
Why shouldn`t it be allowed to take advantage of your skill/spent time?
Instead you say: “little sympathy for a run seller getting kicked”, ahahaha, so you wouldn`t care if you wrote a song but another guy came across and did steal it in order to get all the credit? It take you talent/skill and time to achieve the result, but noone cares about it….True, after tons of runs it becomes really easy for you to solo anyhting, but still skill is needed, since 90%(?) of the players can`t solo anything.

So don`t tell me that everyone needs to be protected in this game except the kitten sellers, who “ruin” the game. Just because you like to run yourself, it doesn`t mean that everyone has fun/time to run certain dungeons in order to get the tokens for their skins/legendaries! Or after having lvl`ed up 5+ chars and having explored the map at least once people might also want to lvl up faster this time by buying ac/cm.

I know that my post is pretty irrelevant, but as seller who gets harassed
( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Qy36RHgelw ) and kicked regularly – and knowing that these people won`t get any punish at all – I can`t stay calm when sellers are being represented as the bad guys without rights.

Ciao.

Re-read the above. I specifically said that I don’t support anyone being kicked unjustly. I’m not going to cry a river over a seller getting kicked, as I think they are putting themselves in a questionable situation by trying to impose this run selling structure into a system that has no frame work to enforce it. I think run selling is just exploiting noobs. Of course some noobs are going to go the easiest path…especially if they have been failing in attempts at learning to play on their own. There is no rule against it, and I could really care less about it…as it does not impact me at all, but I still think its kind of predatory to squeeze the noobs for gold…to complete content that is actually free. I personally could never see myself paying someone else to either teach me how to play or to play the game for me…that just seems pretty pathetic to me…invalidates the whole challenge of playing the game. I don’t think your example about being a song writer is a one to one comparison either. The song writer has an original product to sell. A product that is not available for free anywhere…unless the artist chooses to make it available for free. Dungeons are free to begin with and are not created by the run seller. A more valid example would be one of those cart puller guys in a third world country….selling rides to lazy rich kittens that think they are too good to walk on their own around a city.

Again, I think its its bad form to kick anyone unjustly (not being rude, dragging down the party, not meeting requirements, etc.). To be clear, I am not saying that I support kicking run sellers. The agreement to join the sold run, invalidates any right they have to gripe about the selling process. I do reserve the right to have my opinion on the act of run selling though. I again, don’t care if it continues or not…I just think its a shady practice.

The only thing in this entire thread that I thought was worthwhile was the concept of a reputation system. I agree with this wholeheartedly. This would be the perfect thing in this game venue to solve unnecessary kicks. I think this should be implemented to actually show an icon or some type of indicator on players in both parties and the lfg tool, who reach either a positive or a negative threshold regarding kicks and secondary votes to kicks. Obviously the indicators would be visibly different for positive versus negative thresholds. This would accomplish several worthwhile things:

1. Provide a warning about kick happy groups/individuals to avoid wasting your time.
2. Provide a penalty for excessive kicks by way of a negative stigma in groups.
3. Provide a reward for positive grouping behavior.
4. Provide an incentive for negative players to change their behavior.

I would limit the display of this indicator to only show up visible to others in the lfg and instance/fractal grouped venues. Essentially only in places where kicking has a negative impact on progress.

I actually love the fact that anyone can be kicked now, so don’t take my input the wrong way. The only thing I hate more than an unjust kick, is being held hostage by a baddie in a fractal/dungeon…just to avoid losing progress. I also have little sympathy for a run seller getting kicked…as I think that selling runs is a shady tactic in games like this anyway. I do agree that kicking anyone unjustly is bad though…which is why I am 100% in favor of a reputation system to deal with unjust kicks in general.

I think the fact that this game hides relative group contribution from individuals makes it hard to kick the right person sometimes though. No real way to ferret out those nomads in the group causing you to hit boss enrage timers or get overwhelmed by mobs dying too slowly…without having to resort to gear pings. An indicator for overall stat trends would be extremely helpful in this regards.

So many people want there to be an actual party leader system or structure in groups…this makes no sense in gw2. There is no need or purpose for assigning any tasks or roles in 5 man groups in this game…at least not in pve. Everyone in the groups should already know what they are doing and how to play. If there is instruction needed, having a party leader does not fix that…typing in chat or speaking in whatever your preferred voice application takes care of that. Anyone in the group can assign a group target…you don’t need a party leader for that either. I fail to see the point in any type of party leader system in instances in gw2.

I’m reading between the lines here and getting that the reason some are complaining about the removal of instance leaders, is that they were the ones abusing being an instance leader….they miss relying on not being able to be kicked (afk with no penalty, abusive language towards other players, ridiculous demands on other party members, completely not meeting group requirements, etc).

The short of this is, there was nothing worthwhile that was lost from instancing by removing instance owners. There were huge gains in removing instance owners. If you needed to be kicked, now you can be. You can no longer hold your entire instance group hostage. Groups that would have kicked you before…will still kick you. Now there is just less hassle. You don’t have to stay in a bad group just out of pity to keep them from losing progress anymore. If you are having issues with getting kicked, examine the real reason why you are getting kicked…don’t look to hide behind a flawed system to ride on your group’s back.

Yelloweyedemon.2860:

HHR LostProphet.4801:

Yelloweyedemon.2860:

HHR LostProphet.4801:

sminkiottone.6972:

Try to remove all the crap like auto target and auto attack (ctrl + right mouse) and it will not lock you, sword is a very interesting weapon, with some practice it can be really enjoyable.

interesting = broken

Broken = L2p

L2P calling = stupidity. Do you know how or how good I play? Do you know anything about me? So who are you to judge my skills? I can handle sword, I still say it’s broken.
It’s broken because it offers few advantages at the expense of many disadvantages.

I know that when I started playing, I saw all the QQ about the Ranger best and most “hated” weapon. I could start QQ’ing as well straight away. I didn’t. Instead I listened to all the veteran ranger players that said with practice you can learn to melee every boss at the game with ranger sword.

Well guess what? I can now do it as well. After a few wipes in every boss, I know how they work, therefore I can pre-act even in those bosses where millisecs have a difference like in Archdiviner etc…

So no, the sword is not broken, it’s just different, and it’s what makes the game with a ranger more fun.

Again, “those that can, do. Those that can’t, complain.”

This kitten competition is all well and good, but at the end of the day…no matter what tips and tricks can be used to overcome issues with ranger 1h sword…it still is a poor mechanic to be unable to dodge due to an animation. Yes, there have been multiple mentions of turning off the auto attack feature on 1h sword…to prevent the auto lock, but that still is a work around to bypass an unappealing mechanic. Kudos for finding solutions to compensate/bypass the issue, but at the end of the day…the issue is still there.

Shrapnel.7249:

I will first start by saying this: any elitism in a game is generally met with “I’ll do what I want.” With that said, Frost spirit is a pretty excellent skill to bring in dungeons and should generally see some action. Again, your skills are entirely up to you and you cannot expect somebody else to bend to your will simply because you want them to play your way (in PUGs of course). If it was a guild matter I would say it is a different story. Spotter is a decent skill and if it fits your build you should absolutely utilize it! That said, Ranger DPS is absolutely crushing in kitten kitten stack dungeons and should not be minimized because the ranger chose not to bring a skill YOU deem necessary.
Example: Warriors should bring banners in kitten kitten dungeons because of the obvious benefits to the entire team, but it is not absolutely necessary. If the Warrior chooses not to he is not an auto noob who should be shunned, his DPS should shine through with whatever other skills they brought to the fray.

So if everyone thought like this, then you would end up with a group with nearly zero synergy, as everyone would only be running selfish setups and not contributing to the party. The game and dungeons/fractals in general are designed with the expectation of group contributions. This is a major reason why ANET just recently opened up the ability to change your trait set up on the fly…to better facilitate adaptive group contribution. I can understand getting chapped about being criticized for poor setup choices and performance…but at some point, people need to accept responsibility for joining a group that has a goal in mind (which is generally not to carry someone looking to leach their way to loot bags in the safety of their full nomad bear bow set up).

Just because someone is pugging….doesn’t mean there is no expectation of competency and contribution.