Guild Wars 2

Zero Day.2594:

psizone.8437:

Well I’m sure there’ll be some free feature packs eventually and the living story should continue, too.
…

Actually kind of curious how the living story will continue without touching the expansion for the expansion-less people.

It will take place in the old maps, and start by dealing with the fallout of the fight against Mordy.

Eventually, some new threat will rise up, and the story will start to focus on that. This will then become the intro for expansion #2.

Beast Sos.1457:

Well the problem I’m seeing is that combat will be gated. That is a huge turn off for me. Like I said I could be 100% wrong but from the looks of it its seems like I would have to grind out a Mastery to be able to fight a certain boss/mob.

They’ve compared the new zone(s?) to a Metroid game. Let’s keep that in mind and look at how a Metroid game works.

Most of what you get in the game is used to increase your ability to move around. Weapon upgrades are, by and large, not needed to face a boss, but to get to them. Bombs to open tunnels, missiles to get through red doors, and so on. The first few upgrades are generally gotten without too much trouble, but soon you’re fighting bosses to get the upgrade behind them. That upgrade increases the areas you have access to, and in one of the new areas you find the next boss.

If ANet follows this pattern, then it’s not so much that you need the Masteries to fight the boss as it is that you need them to REACH the boss. You should never be in a hopeless fight because you’re facing a boss you can’t take down due to a lack of a Mastery. Ungodly difficult, yes, but never impossible.

Side note for the people at ANet: If you could have one of the artifacts we find in the new zone be held in the hands of a large Tengu statue (sitting or standing), I would be very grateful.

Reanne.5462:

I just wanna know, if the masteries require map completion, will that be retroactive, or only apply to map completion of the new map.

Any old maps used in the Mastery System will likely require you to log in with the character that’s completed that map. So, don’t go deleting any well traveled old characters before logging them in under HoT.

lordkrall.7241:

I am not quite sure that is what they actually said.
It was more along the lines that they will remove the current trait system with HoT release and replace it with something that works along the lines of Mastery.

Don’t really see how that implies it being lvl 80 only or require HoT. Only that it will work a bit like the same (such as getting points by doing certain things and then unlock what you want I suppose).

Oh, I’m (almost) sure there’s information to come along to make it not sound as bad as I think it does. I just think the time for them to add in that extra information is right now. We’ve got the Mastery System post, but what’s said doesn’t apply very well to replacing the trait system. So, the time to sell us on it is now. It’s been … 9 months, right? 10? The wait needs to be over.

And if there is no good news, and what it sounds like is just what it is? Well, better to just get it over with. Rip off that Band-Aid.

Well folks, the blog about Masteries is up.

The ability to train Masteries is unlocked at level 80 for all players that own Heart of Thorns.

And that line does not sound promising. Lets hope that there’s more to come that runs counter to that line.

The blog: https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/reimagining-progression-the-mastery-system/

First question I have is: Is this actually accurate?

The ability to train Masteries is unlocked at level 80 for all players that own Heart of Thorns.

They’ve stated that the upcoming trait system revamp will be linked to the Mastery system. This suggests that the new system is A) Only for those with HoT, and Only works once you’re level 80, meaning no trait unlocking before then. That can’t be right, though. Right?

Second question: Will the Tomes and Scripts of EXP still work for a level 80 once this system is in place? As far as that goes, will EXP boosters? Food?

Witch’s Broom glider skin? Magic Carpet glider skin? Those both seem a natural choice, considering they’re already in the game…

Jordo.5913:

and you just have to win a match to get a point towards the track?

No.

You just have to PLAY to advance the reward track. Now, playing well and winning will advance it faster, but even if you don’t do well at all and never win, you’ll still advance the track and get rewards. It’ll just take longer.

[Edit] Just throw together a build in the SPvP area, select the reward track you want, then jump into a “practice” game. You’ll get a feel for it from there soon enough, and anyone taking Practice games seriously has far more problems than team mates that are new to the game. So don’t worry about being in over your head. (Oh, and if it asks if you’ll volunteer to change teams to balance things out, always say “YES”! If it does change you, then you get the points for winning no matter which team wins.)

Sadly, I know of no real way to get them in PvE, save the daily login rewards.

If you do go after them in SPvP, I suggest you go after the daily achievements. Each one you do will give you one or two bottles of SPvP “EXP” or whatever it’s called there. Ten of those will move you to one box on a track, so it should be 80 for a full track. It sounds like a lot, but you’ll also be advancing by playing, so they just help it to go faster.

I also suggest you do the PvE dailies. They tend to give one or two “Writs of Experience”. 20 of these add up to one level.

I could see an Elementalist having their elemental attunements changed to more abstract “elements” such as Aether and Void. Or, they could replace the weapon skills with more normal ones (or more generic “arcane” ones), and the four elements instead become four “stances” that each give different bonuses in combat. (Fire: +Power/Ferocity, Air: +Control Effects/Precision, Water: +Vitality/Healing Effects, Earth: +Toughness/Condition Damage.) If the bonuses are big enough, it would almost be like switching out a large part of your gear at the push of a button.

What a horrible night to have a curse.

There are some weapons/armor that are wanted simply for looks. When new stuff hits in HoT, I expect there to be some new shinies to chase after beyond the legendaries. So, at least the “wanted for looks” stuff should drop in price a bit.

BrunoBRS.5178:

A Massive Headache.1879:

Again i want to mention, if the thief specialization does get rifle, they might wholly remove stealth outside of smoke field+ leap or blast finisher, and might not use initiative.

so they’d remove dagger offhand, and all traps and deceptions, on top of shadow arts as a trait line.

and then they’d remove initiative, which not only implies redesigning like, half the thief traits on every line, but every single weapon skill the thief has, around the idea of no initiative.

yeah, no, that’s not happening.

Actually, why not?

Removing initiative means that the skills now have a cooldown timer, like all other classes. That’s not really too complex.

I fully expect them to remove/replace an entire trait line for each Specialization, so that line being Shadow Arts isn’t too big of a leap.

Ditto with removing an entire type of skills, such at Traps or Tricks, to replace with new skills for the Specialization.

Finally, remove the special attacks on Weapon Skill 1 for when you’re in stealth. That might be replaced with the new class mechanic, or it might just go away, but that’s very much the current Thief class mechanic. They’d still have plenty of access to stealth, but they wouldn’t be the only ones and it wouldn’t do nearly as much for them as it does now.

A Massive Headache.1879:

Again i want to mention, if the thief specialization does get rifle, they might wholly remove stealth outside of smoke field+ leap or blast finisher, and might not use initiative.

This is what I’m expecting. I’m thinking “Gunner” or “Gunslinger” more than “Sniper”. Maybe lose access to Sword and/or Shortbow as well.

I’ll likely remake my human male warrior into a Rev, if I get the expansion. (Still not enough information to make it a sure buy.)

It actually fits the backstory I had for him in an interesting way and I’d tried to make his armored look a bit … disconcerting. It should work well for a Rev.

Neva Eilhart.5347:

Unlike in Orr, when you don’t get that much rewards when you’re not spamming huge aoes (if you have the time to do so before every foe is dead…), in SW you can actually play the way you want, and focus on the events rather than trash-tagging. You can run the build you want, wield the weapon you want without worrying about its aoe/dps capability. Players can take some time to revive friends, cast healing spells or run specific objectives instead of dpsing to get loot.

And yet, for “Adventures” there’s this quote:

Your performance in adventures will be scored, and you’ll be able to see—and test yourself against—the scores of your friends and guildmates.

That’s going to be real fun the first time an Adventure fails, because everyone’s going to see scores and there’s going to be a temptation to blame. ((Now, if it’s really only friends (not followers) and guildmates that can see the score, that may be okay.))

There’s a real risk of these scores becoming a new kind of DPS meter, causing people to just avoid Adventures. Which is bad for map events, because if doing an event unlocks an Adventure, and half the people there don’t want that Adventure unlocked and half do, then we may run into problems.

Iason Evan.3806:

zaw.6741:

its great and all but…makes magicfind kinda useless ?
whats the purpose of my 200account mf, if all rewards are unaffected by it? there need to be some balance done.
and pleaseee
pleasee
pleasee
no more currencies. or if we must get some, at least add them to wallet. geodes/badges are really poor design, just wasting inv slots (and yes, i do have maxed bank and inventory..but hate it when unnecessary items are taking slots)

I agree with a lot of this. I am tired of chests not being affected by my MF. I want the stat to mean something. Otherwise, do away with MF completely so I don’t ahve to think about how ArenaNet is subtly circumventing it all the time.

Subtly? No, there’s nothing subtle about it.

Rasimir.6239:

Palador.2170:

To me this sounds a lot like the current trait unlock system. The improvement is that it will be account wide. The dis-improvement is that it will now affect even more than just traits.

What would be your method of choice for character progression in HoT? Personally, I prefer the “complete specific encounters/achievements/collections for progression” way to the generic “gain x amount of generic points for each action you do”, the later being the leveling/experience system we have for lvl 1-80, and in a slightly different variation for WvW and PvP ranks, too .

I’ve been trying to avoid thinking up ways to do this, because I didn’t know what was coming and I wanted to judge the end results based on its own merits, instead of being upset because they didn’t match some idea I’d thought up.

With that said, on the surface it’s a good plan. Do things, get related skills or abilities. The problem is that they’ve done it before, done it badly, and left it as a huge mess for far too long. It’s the idea that they’re going to expand the system, without showing that they’ve learned from their mistakes, that worries me.

As a side note, I’m a huge fan of the Metroid gameplay concept. Hearing them talk about using that for the Masteries in the new zone, however, worries me. To be more specific, it worries me that they’ll have to give us a nice case of Mega Man Syndrome for any later “progressive” zones or expansions.

((But I’ll forgive a lot of sins if my warrior can learn the Space Jump and Screw Attack.))

To me this sounds a lot like the current trait unlock system. The improvement is that it will be account wide. The dis-improvement is that it will now affect even more than just traits.

Anime style blood effects!

Harper.4173:

1)The human bandits aren’t corrupted by any dragon minions.
2)Zaithan did indeed need to kill in order to corrupt. He raised the undead as his minions – he corrupted the dead not the living.

Actually, possession of artifacts carrying Zaithan’s power could and did corrupt the living. There are recorded cases of it corrupting living humans and norn. Yes, they eventually died of the corruption, but it corrupted them while they were still alive. We’ve also seen how easily the ice and crystal dragons can corrupt the living.

It’s also worth pointing out that humans are born, only to grow old and die. It may have taken longer, but humans were as destined to be Zaithan’s minions as much as any sylvari is to be Mordremoth’s.

Naus the Gobbo.5172:

They don’t like pants in general.

At ArenaNet they all walk around without pants, they just show up in t-shirts and undies.

I was beginning to think they all showed up to work in schoolgirl outfits.

Xyphien.7238:

Sleepwalker.1398:

Hi, since you are new and would be low on gold/silver. Not sure if you already know this. Make use of the WvW options such as going to Obsidian Sanctum to get to Lions Arch. You’ll save a fair bit of silver that way.

Also keep an eye on this link just incase you happen to be on a map that’s having a world boss. http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/World_boss

Most of all, have fun

I would be I heard it takes a few hours just to join a WvW event, and I’m in AIT for the army, so I don’t have hours of free time. I’m lucky if I get an hour a day for free time :/

You can call up the WvW menu and use it to teleport to the Obsidian Sanctum from anywhere. When you arrive, you’ll be right next to a gate that takes you to Lion’s Arch. Obsidian Sanctum is a PvP jumping puzzle, there’s rarely many people there so there’s hardly ever a wait to get into that zone. You can do pretty much the same by entering the SPvP area, the Heart of the Mists.

I actually suggest using the Heart of the Mists, instead. There’s a vendor and bank access right there, and if you call up the PvP menu again, you’ll see that the option to enter the zone has become an exit option. If you use this instead of the Lion’s Arch portal, it will take you back to where you just were. Very handy if you just need to empty your inventory.

[edit] And there’s no need to PvP to do either of these.

I’m going to guess that you played for a while, then stopped or at least quit playing that character for a long time.

What you have is a skill slot that you don’t really have unlocked any more. They changed the level of that skill slot unlocking from level 5 to level 13. So, you have a skill in it already, but because that slot’s not supposed to be open yet, you can’t change it.

Just level a bit more, and you’ll be able to change it as normal.

The problem with those two missions is that they’re supposed to be “no win” situations. In the first, you can’t win and are forced to do desperation measures, then retreat. In the second, you can only win if you can get the enemy to give you an opening.

Yes, they’re bad. The mechanics of this game don’t really support a “no win” fight being fun. This is a trick that’s used VERY rarely in the Personal Story, however, and it’s best to just push through them and get it over with.

If you’re stuck trying the second one again, I’d suggest using any food and potions (Undead Slaying) you can get for a bonus. Boosters, too.

[Edit] And… Ditto what Sandpit said. NONE of my characters have done that last part yet.

Don’t try to trade directly with other players, use the Trading Post. Yes, it has fees to it, but it’s the only safe way to trade in this game. If you get scammed and report it, the scammer may be punished, but you will NOT get your money/items back. EVER.

Any emails you get in-game that say they’re from another player are just that. No matter what the text of the message may say, it’s not from ANet and don’t follow any links they may give.

Get in the habit of using food/consumable buffs. Even the cheap ones can give bonus EXP, and that adds up.

The inclusion of a gift to make sure it grabs their attention isn’t a bad idea, actually.

Invictus.1503:

The Sylvari we know that will likely lead that army (and you may be right from where) is Faolain. She will keep her personality and intelligence, but gain more power and become a champion of Mordromoth’s sylvari army.

I’m not so sure of this. Yes, Mordromoth might have an easier time corrupting her, but I can see her wanting to fight it. Like Scarlet, she doesn’t seem to want to take orders from anybody. In fact, I’d rank her as one of the few Nightmare Court Sylvari that might resist the corruption and fight at our side. Mind you, that doesn’t make her an actual ally…

I think all the art for spears and the one in Rytlock’s office just show that ANet is aware of the concept of a sharp thing on a stick. Likely they were considered as a weapon type at some point, but scrapped (just as the Tengu were), so there’s plenty of stuff that seems to support the idea but no carry through.

Given how often we see posts in here about how people have gotten scammed, or gotten a phishing email in the game, I think there needs to be a small change to the email system.

The first time it’s opened (or the next time, if you’re already playing), there needs to be a One-Time message that appears that spells out in big red letters that sending things through email is at your own risk, and that ANet will not contact you through the in-game email about account problems.

New players will see the message, and if they ignore it then it’s on their heads. Either way, it should cut down on the amount of time spent dealing with such issues.

mXz.4512:

What I’m wondering is when was he ever made/promoted to ‘Captain’?

He was running for the Captain’s Council, so he has to be a Captain. Mind you, that just means you own and technically command a ship, it doesn’t even have to be much of one. As the head of the Black Lion, I’m sure he owns several ships.

While I do not believe we will be getting land spears in this game, I do recall seeing something while poking around in Rytlock’s office. Mind you, I think it’s always been there, but still…

In short, no.

Let’s say they remove celestial from the game. Those that say it was OP now find things better, right? Well… no.

Even in SPvP, you can still get bonuses to most of the stats by mixing the right gear. Getting to semi-celestial will take more work and actually knowing just what you need, but I’m sure that the better players will quickly work it out and not worry about the one or two stats they can’t boost, because those turn out to be the one or two they really don’t need. Word of these builds will spread, and soon they’ll be all over the place.

What Celestial is right now is a balanced “neutral” that boosts everything a little. It’s actually a good starting point when making and testing a build. It works for some builds, but with others you find yourself thinking “I need to hit harder, but I’m not really using conditions. I need to drop +Condition Damage, and up +Power.” You then move to a different mix, based on what you learned playing Celestial.

DeceiverX.8361:

To put things into perspective:

League of Legends got bought out by a Chinese equivalent some years ago (actually, a much, much bigger company that’s so big it makes NCSoft look paltry). But the franchise is still in Riot’s name and developed/operated internally.

NCSoft likely plays the same role in ArenaNet’s operations.

I’d have more faith in that if you could say that while your character’s standing in the Cantha section of DR.

It seems like something that belongs more on a rune than a sigil. Other than that, I do like the base idea.

Having it boost Engineer turrets too would be for the best, though.

I did kind of expect them to give us a list of dates for the “Deep Dives” this week, as a way to keep the hype going a bit better. Yes, PAX was a big “wow” moment, but they’re letting that moment linger a bit too long, even with the interviews they’ve done (given that they don’t really add anything there, just clarify a few minor points).

You’ll be happy to know that some of the restrictions go away once you’ve earned them once on an account. Skill Points, for example, will be usable from the start (save for the home instance one, locked until level 10 for everyone), as will Vistas.

But yes, many hate these changes and want a way to at least hide their intrusion into our gaming.

There were two things that killed CoH.

The first was that it just didn’t do well in Asian markets. Western style Super Heroes are not a big thing over there (or were not, at least), and the game did poorly. The highly casual-friendly style didn’t help. This caused NCSoft to lose some faith in the idea.

The second is that while it was turning a profit, it wasn’t making as much per dollar of investment as more “classical” themed games. If investing $1 in game A gets you $2 back, but investing that $1 in game B gets you $3 back, it’s pretty easy to guess where your money is going to go.

Paragon had actually wanted to make a CoH2, but NCSoft shot down the idea. While Paragon was in talks to buy itself out and break free, NCSoft came in and shut them down one Friday, fairly abruptly too.

The lesson for GW2? It’s not enough to make a profit, you have to make a LARGE profit, and NCSoft needs to think you’ll continue to make good money for them in the future. If they decide that you do not meet these requirements (even if they turn out to be wrong), then they’ll shut you down. Yes, I’ve heard that ANet has something set up where they can buy themselves out if need be, but I have the feeling that NCSoft would destroy it before it lets that happen.

So, there you go. Happy paranoia, one and all.

Having Rytock’s class set in stone now might actually be a step down in power for him.

DarkWasp.7291:

Hmmm. Make story dungeons soloable?

That’s genius!

That would actually fix every problem related to story dungeons.

I’m not sure about every, but it would fix a fair portion of them.

And I don’t mean “Soloable in a few hours, with really good gear, lots of skill, and patience backed by a masochistic streak” like I used.

Darkness.9732:

yes guys I know you play warrior and you defend your class i can understand it.

My main is a ranger, actually.

I’ve managed to solo AC and the CoF with my Celestial SB/LB Wolf Ranger.

First of all, being 80 and having Exotic gear does help.
Second, you’re going to die. A lot.
Finally, have a remote bank access with you. If I’d had one in CoF, I could have pulled my revive orbs out of the bank (you want those for the final fight), and made my life MUCH easier. Repair canisters, food, boosters… anything like that might be a good idea as well, but if they’re in the bank then changing your mind about needing them mid-run is possible if you can access your bank.

It’s also worth mentioning that Warriors can’t just fire off a burst skill right away, they have to build up Adrenaline to use it. And out of combat, Adrenaline wears off pretty quickly.

Pet F2 skills are pretty much usable on demand when a fight starts. Or before, if you have one that does a buff. No need to charge it to use it.

I wonder what would happen if higher Vitality gave more Endurance?

I’m going to agree with Ranger with one or two bows, but let’s talk pets for a minute.

If you’re doing a dungeon run, they may not want your pet running around. So, you have to put it on passive to keep it from causing problems. That doesn’t mean it’s useless, though.

There are a few pets where the F2 skill causes it to do an AoE buff. Fern Hounds give Regen, Jungle Stalkers give 5 stacks of Might, and Brown Bears have a cleanse.

If you’re going into a dungeon, I’d strongly suggest having these three pets to choose from. None of them are very hard to get, thankfully.

Pifil.5193:

Well, given that Colin mentioned Traits, Masteries, Skills, Specialisations and the release of HoT in his post I think it’s fair to say that this change (whatever that change is) will be coming either with HoT or the major patch that precedes it.

Like you both, I’m cautiously optimistic but I won’t be cracking open the champagne until it’s revealed what will replace the current system.

From the mention of masteries being involved I’m guessing that this’ll mean an account wide unlock of traits in some form, hopefully.

Yeah, pretty sure it’s going to use the “Mastery” system, whatever that turns out to be. They’ve said that will be account wide, so I’m hoping the new trait unlocks are as well. However…

From what they’ve said so far, most of the “Mastery” stuff is for use in the new area(s) only. Specializations are (hopefully) not, and the trait change is tied to them as well. So, what I expect is that Specialization and traits will be ways to use the Mastery system outside of the new content. Which also keeps it right there and in your face, even if you don’t buy HoT. It will in some ways serve the same purpose as the Black Lion Treasure Chests, a constant reminder that you might get something good if you pay up for the extra (the key) that goes with it.

So, will the new trait system be easier? “You buy them with Mastery points!” is easier than what we have, on the surface. But then, what if the Mastery system is bad? What if it’s actually a worse version of our current trait system? Given ANet’s track record, I’d say that this is a very real concern.

My approach to sylvari would mostly be “capture and contain”. When the dragon dies, they might regain control.

…or it might shatter their minds, but if it leaves them vegetables, then no harm done?

I have a new question:

Will Specialization be for level 80 characters only, or will this be something that can affect the character and how they play as they level up?

Deleven.7508:

The amount of info they give us will depend on how extensive the demo is in 6 weeks. It wouldn’t make sense to pace all the information out only to have the demo come in and spoil all of their reveals.

True, but the demo may not have some features turn on. Guild Halls, for example, will likely be turned off, so there’s no rush to talk about them.

KryTiKaL.3125:

http://www.shacknews.com/article/87848/guild-wars-2-director-discusses-heart-of-thorns-revenants-guild-halls-and-more

Johanson: Rytlock Brimstone is the first Revenant. He is the famous hero of the Charr and during the Living World’s second season, he disappeared into the mists, chasing after an incredibly powerful magical sword. Through his journeys in the mists, he has mastered the power of the mists and he is returning to teach everyone how to be a Revenant.

I hadn’t seen that quote yet, thanks.

And I stand corrected on that point.

Are you sure he’s the first?

It’s always possible that there are others out there right now, just not drawing attention to themselves. Rytlock would then be the first well known one, but not the first.

As for how they’ll deal with the class taking down Zhaitan and the like? Imagine if, for some strange reason, nobody ever rolled an engineer. The game goes a couple of years, and nobody makes one. Now, suddenly, someone rolls one and goes through the living story. As far as the story’s concerned, it’s nothing important. They can do the same here. There were always revenants, as far as the story is concerned.