Guild Wars 2

Also, if you want to talk about the communication between devs and players, then we also have to address the inconsistent and annoying bump in that very road: The Moderators.

Vayne.8563:

Other things have happened in WvW, including account bound WxP, but the thing is, I keep hearing WvW people saying nothing has been doing and listing stuff and ignoring EotM.

You mean they didn’t spend a year working on that?

Disclaimer: I don’t play PvP or WvW.

I think the problem with EotM is that it doesn’t matter what you do there. There’s an actual contest to WvW, and actions taken in EotM simply don’t count for it. It’s WvW based, though, so it leaves it in an odd grey area.

ShadowPuppet.3746:

If I recall correctly it also has a much larger radius of being able to be seen versus typing something in the /say box.

Oddly, if you’re teamed with someone, the range goes anywhere in the zone.

I really, REALLY can’t see the logic in that.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Easy way for extra free storage.

This is pretty much why they don’t allow it.

They sell extra storage. They sell remote bank access. They don’t want you effectively getting both for free.

[Edit] I guess I should mention that it also cuts down on the data storage needs when people don’t have huge piles of things sitting in their mail as storage. So, it’s better for the game that they don’t, as well.

Arikyali.5804:

Oh sweet, thank you. At least it won’t feel like a total waste of deleting them.

But let me clarify – that vine backpiece is alive?

Yep!

Chris Whiteside.6102:

So i was thinking maybe we could have a CDI next week about the logistics (Methods, format, etc etc) of better communication on both sides?

thoughts?

Chris

People seem to be of the opinion that CDIs never really did what they were supposed to do. If your solution to the communication problems (including CDIs) is to have a CDI on it, then you’re pretty much shooting yourself in the foot.

Forget the format for this one, and try just talking. Yes, you’ll get a lot of static and noise, but you get that in a CDI, too. And don’t talk about just the big game stuff. You’re human, talk like it. Act like it. You guys come across as faces and names without any souls or humor. Relax a little. You’ll get more understanding as a person than as a job title and a name.

BlueDragon.7054:

I don t want to sound rude but probably they will “think about it”, but nothing will be done, just like the fractal level reset. I think that the last answer about fractals was that someone was thinking about it. Just like what they are doing now, too much thinking but 0 actions. I hope I m wrong.

I very much doubt that you are wrong.

A Lizard Bolting Skin.7426:

More instances like Aetherpath with loot that makes World Bosses that aren’t Tequatl/Wurm worthless. Living world instances that require a party of 5 and are challenging. Challenging instances should give more progress towards ascended gear than can be gotten otherwise.

Sounds like what you want here is really just a way to get rewards/loot faster than most of the players.

I think this would be a Very Bad Idea. Not only does it create a growing imbalance between the skilled and not-so skilled as the more skilled also get better gear faster, it also makes other content easier faster. There’s also the fact that with bigger rewards on the line, people will feel more pressure to win no matter the cost. The instance/event/whatever itself needs to be the real reward, done for fun and not for prizes.

Otherwise, you’ll just have people work out the new “best way” to do it, and then that will become the required way, 24/7.

I don’t think that’s a fair question. If you want a game just like GW1, you play GW1.

A better question is: How can we apply the lessons learned from GW1 and GW2 to make GW2 better?

1. I’m not sure how to do this, given the gear problems in GW2. It’s just not easy to say “I want to try a new build, let me go get a entirely new set of gear for it right quick.” Especially when the build may not be what you want, and you don’t need that gear any more. Newer characters with locked traits have even worse problems.

2. Let’s NOT add huge challenges to Living Story, nor anything requiring a team. That’s a good way to lock people out of the story, and they want that as accessible as possible to as many players as possible. I have no problem with adding such things into side missions that the plot doesn’t require, though.

And to prevent speed clearing? You need a reason for people to slow down and do things differently, or a different way to get those rewards so there’s less desire to grind them endlessly and as quickly as possible.

3. “Challenging teamwork heavy content is fun, but the community won’t play it if there’s a mindless easy way that gives faster loot.” Then don’t build it for the community. Put more challenging things into instances where a small, well honed team can face it, and let them do it for fun. The rewards may not be that great, but if you keep the costs of failure from being too high, then it’s still something those looking for a challenge can do.

4. I can’t really speak on this one, as I don’t PvP. But, maybe take a page from Legend of Zelda? Make a map or two where manipulating something in one area changes things in another. Then, getting to control point A isn’t just getting you point A, it’s also allowing you to gain an advantage at point C.

Illysharia.7286:

However, Isaiah, you need to also know that a lot of damage has been done by the 5 months of silence since the April Patch. I’ve made a couple of lengthy posts in this thread regarding my thoughts on that, so I will not reiterate what I wrote. However, I will say that there is a lot of trust to be earned by your players. Seriously, you guys did a good job of burning bridges of communication.

A tactful understatement, to say the least.

Mike O Brien.4613:

I know some are concerned about whether ArenaNet is communicating with you and listening and responding to your feedback. As you saw with yesterday’s announcement, we do. All of us at ArenaNet play the game with you, chat with you and read your forum posts, and work on the things that we think will most delight and entertain you.

We’ve set a clear policy in the past year: we don’t talk speculatively about future development. We don’t want to string you along. Creating fun is an uncertain business: sometimes things work out and sometimes they don’t; sometimes we go back to the drawing board over and over before we get something right. If we make optimistic promises and then can’t deliver on them, everyone suffers. So when we attend a trade show or give an interview, we’re there to talk about what we’re getting ready to ship, not to speculate on what we might ship someday.

Don’t read that as meaning that we don’t want to talk with you about the longer-term roadmap. The intention of the CDI threads is to talk with you about the roadmap. We want to talk design philosophy with you and hear how you want to see the game evolve. When those discussions trigger development, we’ll work internally until we have something we’re proud of before we’ll announce it.

A lot of the questions I’ve seen posted this week are as simple as this: does ArenaNet have an agenda to never do something? That’s almost never the case, and if it is the case you deserve to know and we’ll make sure we get more clear. In general the simple truth is this: when we’re not currently working on something, it’s because we’re working on something else instead that we think is more important for the game and community.

Our developers post on these forums on a voluntary basis, and in addition to developers, we have a community team who can clarify and be the bridge between players and developers. They’re ready to engage you on these topics. And I know it’s hard for the community team to engage players across all the forums and sites where these questions are being discussed, so I’m going to support the team in consolidating and focusing as necessary, so that we can be clear to the community where you can go to get a response.

See you in-game,
Mike O’Brien

Mike: We’ve heard this before, you know. Other than actually admitting that the devs have been muzzled on upcoming works, this is pretty much all stuff we’ve heard before. And the communication has never gotten better.

Now, I’m not saying you’re lying. Maybe you’re serious. But it’s easy to see what happens. Crunch time approaches, and people get shifted from less critical endeavors to more time-sensitive ones, or ones they’re the most suited person for. Things roll on, shifting and adjusting continues, and you’re suddenly back to square one and nobody’s been talking or working on Project X for far too long. If you really want to talk with us, this has to stop. And that’s WITH us, not AT us. There’s a difference that you guys seem to miss far too often.

My Fellow Players: Do please remember that they have China to deal with now, as well. What they want and what we want may not mesh very well, and I don’t think we’ll be the winners in that conflict.

I’m sure there’s some devs at ANet that care about the same things we care about, and agree with us. Sadly, they’re not the ones in charge, and it must be downright painful for them to read the forums and be unable to do or say anything. For the sake of those silent devs, please try to be a little understanding.

Allaraina.8614:

Apples T_T

I’m bringing cider with me to the mists!

I still owe him that drink, and I intend to see that he gets it.

What I’m hoping for is:

20 +Level scrolls.
Birthday Booster.
Mini Smodur the Unflinching.
Choice of ONE weapon skin from a new set made for this.
Running shoes.
Pokedex.
10 Pokeballs.
Starter Poke…wait. Wrong game. Scratch everything starting with “Running Shoes”. We have to be 10 to get those.

PookieDaWombat.6209:

Level up scrolls mean nothing to me these days. Now, if they gave me an “Unlock any 10 traits” scroll I might be a bit happier with that, as that is useful for those of us with tons of level 80 alts and a handful of lowbie alts that might want some more traits without doing the same things overandoverandoverandover again.

If they give 20 +Level scrolls, at least that’s 20 skill points towards unlocking a trait. It’s still better than nothing.

Alga.6498:

80 level scrolls!!! please.

I’m not sure they should give out that many, but I could see them giving 20 +Level scrolls to each character as they reach their second birthday. It would be a fitting match to the Level 20 scrolls from the first Birthday, but more useful. Even level 80s can use the 20 skill points that would give them.

Seven Star Stalker.1740:

Behellagh.1468:

But to an MMO company, they want you to take time. Even in a game without a subscription, your continued presence in the game leveling is a feature they can sell by showing an active world. Plus the longer you play, the greater the chance you will plunk down hard cash for an item in the gem shop or a load of gold.

In the original GW you could buy the ability to go directly to max level, most likely for PvP. Here both PvP and WvW you are auto promoted to max level so no need for such a feature.

But here the issue isn’t taking time. The issue is levelling is just dull. And to some end that’s actually true. Even more so now due to the way the trait system works.

This is true, but I’m not sure we want to “reward” them with more gem sales for making the game worse.

godsagirl.6508:

ok, well since it’s getting a nerf, i guess i should ask what WILL be the highest in both burst and overall damage

We don’t know full details about the coming changes, so we can’t say.

Ravion Hawk.4736:

It is all part of “muscle memory.”

Anyone who is extremely proficient in playing games on the Playstation and XBox will be able to out perform someone using a keyboard and mouse while they are using a well mapped out controller. Especially someone proficient in playing RPGs with those controllers and are well adapted to pressing multiple buttons for an action.

As I also stated, I have experience with it and I am pointing out that there is a marked difference in response speed.

Until you get your head handed to you in PvP by someone using a controller, you won’t cry foul.

I’m at least being honest and pointing out that there is a distinct advantage that is over looked, Response Time.

If that’s reason enough to ban controllers, then it’s also reason enough to ban all gaming mice and advanced keyboards. Those too give you an advantage over those that don’t have them.

That sounds like a cool set-up, and it’s no more of an unfair advantage than a gaming mouse is.

I use a standard, cheap, corded mouse. Never did like all the extra buttons on a gaming mouse. Now I’m thinking I might consider a controller instead.

Malkavian.4516:

I am a sucker for flavor text, so yeah, a bestiary would be nice.

It would be nice, but how would you like it to work? Keeping track of what particular monsters you’ve killed would be bad, as that’s more information than they’re willing to add to each character (see: Ranger pet names being forgotten).

If it worked off of the Slayer achievements, then it would unlock for all of your characters at the same time. I’m not sure if that’s something you’d want though.

Is there a good way to make it work for each character, without adding a lot of data to each of them?

AnniMira.2506:

(1) Button to quickly scroll to the end, or the place would not reset when inventory is closed/opened.

Click on the bag slot (along the side) you want, and it scrolls to that bag. Clicking on the last one will do pretty much what you want, right?

Lord Kuru.3685:

Here’s a guess that fits with a lot of Anet’s behavior:

Someone at or near the top of Anet’s hierarchy has tunnel vision and judges success or failure using metrics from (only) the LS. Those who wish to keep their jobs have incentive to pump up LS metrics as high as possible, regardless of how it affects the game. One easy way to do this: do not work on or release content that are not LS related.

I was thinking something along the same lines. If there’s a distraction that might draw people away from the LS, then the LS numbers suffer and it makes them look bad. It doesn’t matter if more people are having fun, their numbers don’t show that.

Valky.2574:

Is there a Green one ? my toon is all green so if there is a green one i am so gonna buy it and have it on 24/7 and no i don’t command Ever and have chat box on combat so no one can bug me lol

Ohh, I have an all-white charr, if there’s a white one I may buy it!

Back to the subject of the thread, I think one of the problems with the current release format is that it’s too easy to grasp the additions when they hit.

Look at it like this: There’s a pile of 100 rocks, each weighing 10 pounds (4.5 kg). We’re told that we need to move them all to a different spot 50 meters away. We have a year to do it. So, every day on our way to work/school, we pick up one of the rocks and toss it into onto the new spot when we walk past it. It hardly seems like any effort at all, and we’re done with it well before the year is up without really trying. This is the LS/Feature approach.

Now, imagine that instead of 100 10 pound rocks, we have 1 1000 pound (450 kg) rock. Again, we’re told we need to move it 50 meters, and we have a year to do it. This time, we have a problem. With no tools or heavy equipment, we’re going to have a real problem moving this at all. So, we get ready, make a plan, set aside some time to work on it, and maybe even ask others to help. It’s a major undertaking. This is an expansion.

It’s the same amount of rock in both cases, but because one is served up in little bites it seems like no effort at all to deal with it. I think this is part of the problem with the LS/Feature releases as well, being broken up as they are makes it easy to not realize just how much was there.

Brother Grimm.5176:

nearlight.3064:

Let’s do it! Let’s all rush the support team with asks for a refund and see what they do!

You can’t hear roars of laughter via email…..(and they can automate a NO response rather easily).

Besides, unless the coin was NEVER used (I kind of doubt that), you already got you money out of it. Trying to throw a collective tantrum to get some content returned is not likely to change their plans.

We can’t make them return the content, nor should we try. The coin, however, was advertised as being usable on all future releases of the SAB. I can see why people would feel they should be refunded if there’s actually no plans to bring back the SAB.

Ayrilana.1396:

Evon will spend his gold on others? Ha! He sure was enthusiastic to provide those weapons during the LA Assault living story.

The point there is, he was ORDERED first, and asked never.

I’m sure he could have found a way to turn it to his advantage, given a chance, to do it. Just as I’m sure he can find a way to make a profit or gain off of helping to rebuild Lion’s Arch.

Ronin.7381:

RedStar.4218:

People are trying through all means to figure out the order of the orbs. None seems to make full sense without stretching everything.

Yeah, it is a lot like trying to force interpretation where there was no real purpose in the order – just cosmetic artistic value. That being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if Mordremoth was supposed to be awoken earlier but was delayed instead.

I’ve actually had a theory about that.

How did Orr sink? It was a spell, yes, but what did the spell actually DO? Islands don’t float, so it’s not that easy to “sink” one. What if the spell kind of pushed down and shortened Orr so it was below the water, much like a mesmer can make a huge enemy into a normal sized moa?

When Zhaitan started to draw magic in, before even awakening, it would have drained that spell. Eventually, the spell would have collapsed, sending a shock/surge through the local magic flows and shooting Orr back into place. That shock could have awakened Zhaitan early, much like Scarlet awakened Mordremoth. That awakening might have even changed the flows of magic, meaning less was going to the other dragons and keeping Mordremoth asleep past his time to awaken.

Vayne.8563:

Palador.2170:

ANet may say that GW2 is the most frequently updated MMO on the market, and perhaps that’s true. But when you compare the updates by the amount of content, it’s becoming increasingly clear that it’s not close to measuring up.

In other words, GW2 updates are quantity over quality. Not that LS2 isn’t an improvement over LS1, but it still may not be providing what people are looking for.

Some people like the LS format, others want expansions. But it’s ANet with their jobs on the line, so I figure they’re going to do what they think works best. We’ll see where that goes.

But you’re assuming they’re not working on an expansion too. I’m not making that assumption.

You’re right. Nor should I be.

Remember when they were working on precursor crafting/quest? And housing, which was on the list of things they were going to add back when the game launched? These are things they SAID they were working on, and look what we’ve gotten.

You want me to count on something they’ve not even said they’re working on? That’s unfair to the devs to expect that, and unfair to the players to think they should wait and hope for such a thing.

There is no expansion until the day they officially post details of it. Don’t count on one existing until that happens.

It was annoying to get the hang of them as a ranger using a shortbow, but once I did I enjoyed them. Other rangers and MM Necros may have problems with them.

I’d bet they tend to shrug off bouncing attacks, too.

Kalavier.1097:

Ventari’s tablet?

The hero? :P

I’d say it wants the tablet.

It may not have started as an artifact, but there’s an awful lot of faith focused on that thing. That may have empowered it.

I’m changing my guess to Phlunt.

He had the means to call down the attack (Taimi’s device), and if he knew it was coming he may have had some hidden trick to survive it. If everyone else in the meeting had died, then all other races and the Pact would have been leaderless. He, the sole survivor of that noble group, would have taken up the cause. He would have taken over command of the Pact, and through them the other races as they struggle to adapt to the loss of their leaders.

The only problem was that, unlike him, every other leader there could handle themselves in a fight. (Well, except for the tree.) Everyone survived, and now his plan is in ruins.

As for the Firstborn? Well, I expect Trahearne wanted to get back to the Pact to organize as big of an assault force as he can to protect the weakened Tree. I don’t know about the others.

Just a thought, but it’s heavily hinted that SOMEONE must be responsible for Mord’s minions knowing to attack just then. Right?

Well, Phlunt now has the object that can be used to trigger a Mord attack. And if he knew it was coming, he might have had some secret plan to survive it. If the attack killed all the others there, then not only would the asura be the only ones with their leadership intact, but he’d be in a prime position to take over the Pact and basically expect all the other races to fall into line under his command.

He wouldn’t expect the other leaders to be useful in a fight. Jenna was able to defend herself, Smodur and Knut were able to fight and possibly even go on the offensive, and Trahearne got out safely. Only the Pale Tree was badly hurt, and even she might recover.

Is it possible that he’s the bad guy for Season 2?

Lostwingman.5034:

Yea I would have loved to see the biconics meet up at the summit after that genius Palador’s childish fan fiction situation. Yea, let Taimi explain to Marjory that the Asura aren’t going to help prevent more deaths like Belinda’s because of some misplaced sense of selfish righteousness. Too many people in this thread are of the “feelz b4 realz” variety and don’t think things through. It’s one of those situations where “no, you were never going to get that option because it borders on the worst thing you could do”.

Oh, I’ll gleefully admit it was childish. Satisfying, but childish. And stupid. As stupid as assuming that we would stand there and do NOTHING, no matter which side we agreed with. Even if you agree with Phlunt’s actions, why would you just stand there while someone that calls you boss does something stupid? You don’t even get to call out to her and tell her to stop. (Or order Scruffy into Follow mode. I bet she forgot to disable that, because why would you abuse it?)

I feel the need to repeat something I said in another thread, though. Phlunt knows you need the Council’s help, and he’s the one there to represent them. He’s seen the risk first hand now, and you’ve told him EVERYONE needs to work together to deal with this. By changing the terms of his attending, he’s blackmailing you and putting the lives of all of Tyria on the line until you give in. YOU, the Commander of the Pact, and the leader of the group that’s on the cutting edge of dealing with this new Elder Dragon.

And what he’s after is one of the most dangerous weapons on Tyria at that time. By using it to un-attune a waypoint, he now knows he can call down a dragonvine attack at any waypoint. By pushing just a couple of buttons, he can lay waste to any major town, and quite a few minor ones as well.

Can you, the Commander of the Pact, really allow that to happen? Or should you do what you have to in order to get what YOU need, and get that device (and Taimi) under some serious Pact protection someplace safe?

ANet may say that GW2 is the most frequently updated MMO on the market, and perhaps that’s true. But when you compare the updates by the amount of content, it’s becoming increasingly clear that it’s not close to measuring up.

In other words, GW2 updates are quantity over quality. Not that LS2 isn’t an improvement over LS1, but it still may not be providing what people are looking for.

Some people like the LS format, others want expansions. But it’s ANet with their jobs on the line, so I figure they’re going to do what they think works best. We’ll see where that goes.

RedStar.4218:

Now, I don’t know. Like others have pointed out, the LS2 feels like a checklist. They read the thread, they read the complaints, which is extremely nice, but it is done in a way that feels like “so on the forum they say that we should mention that. Okay, so let’s mention it out of nowhere. Now that this is done, second complaint”.

I’m glad to know I’m not the only one getting that impression.

sazberryftw.3809:

Palador.2170:

I hope Season 2 ends with a rematch against that dragon, just the player alone against it. To the death, this time. I want to take it on alone, and come back dragging its severed head behind me to remind everyone of just who I am.

Yes I’d also like a recurring fight with this minion. Maybe not even just 1 more time, maybe twice (depending on how long this season is going to last).

We do need a good reoccurring villain, don’t we? Not Scarlet level of reoccurring, but … I guess I’d say Ridley (in Metroid Prime) level of reoccurring. Some big bad that we know we’re chasing after, and it’s going to be personal whenever we meet.

The Pact is possibly the largest (second largest, if not) military force in Tyria, armed with some of the best weapons. They’re everywhere, and answer to no country.

I really can’t blame her for wanting to have an agent there, and making it someone that, if ordered, will kill a target for her.

For those saying that Jenna didn’t put up much of a fight, I’d like to point out that she did basically the same in at least one version of the end fight of the human personal story. She’s known to be outstandingly powerful at range and over a large area, but it seems that the cost of that is being fairly weak up close and personal.

I’d rather have to save her from direct threats than to have her be some ultra-super Mesmer princess with no weaknesses.

Kiba.9701:

Honestly I find the dragon very similar to Tequatle, but the fight was indeed epic.

Something that I always felt that GW2 lacked was the feeling of being… powerful, most of the content is designed to do it with others. But this? Being able to draw back one of the most powerful minion a dragon can create by yourself feels really epic.

I have to agree. THIS was the fight that made me feel like a badkitten. It was tough, I had to think and learn on the fly, and it was still reasonably doable. I loved it!

I hope Season 2 ends with a rematch against that dragon, just the player alone against it. To the death, this time. I want to take it on alone, and come back dragging its severed head behind me to remind everyone of just who I am.

geekanerd.4123:

Oh Jesus. The biconics are scooby kittening doo. That’s both somewhat awesome and somewhat depressing. But let me flip this theory on it’s side for a moment. I posit that the player is not Scrappy Doo. Instead, I believe we’re Sonny and Cher from The New Scooby-Doo Movies. We’re A-List celebrities (Sonny and Cher, for those who might not know, were quite popular musicians and actors through the late 60s and early 70s) somehow stuck with a bunch of B-List teens trying to solve a mystery. Which would make the Pact the Harlem Globetrotters and Belinda Delaqua is Phyllis Diller.

Oh god, you’re right. We’re the guest stars. We’re the unimportant person there to be a big name and stumble over one obvious “hidden” switch while the Scooby gang does all the real work.

RedStar.4218:

A fake avatar doesn’t have wounds. Just as there is no point in having an avatar on the ground. If the Pale Tree can’t even talk, how can she still have the strength to summon an avatar only to have it face down on the ground ?

Actually, this is an easy one to answer.

It’s part of her, and it’s a part that doesn’t really take effort to sustain. For a human, it’s like the body systems that grow hair and fingernails. Even when you get badly hurt, those systems are usually still going. We don’t need to focus on making them work.

The reason she’s face down is because the Pale Tree is no longer in any shape to control her, she’s like a sock puppet on a comatose person’s hand.

uberkingkong.8041:

That’d be like the main character of a movie died halfway through the movie, how often do you see that… Never.

“Oh! Heavenly Dog” is the first example that comes to mind. And isn’t there some Tom Cruise movie out now where the whole plot is that he keeps dying? Oh, and Groundhog Day!

For a video game example, look no further than Chrono Trigger.

They could easily kill the Pale Tree, or render her unable to talk to people directly, and still have her appear in story instances for the PS and older LS.

I just started targeting wolves first, as I considered them to be the biggest threat to the NPCs. I was on my LB/SB Ranger (wolf pets), so I basically stayed in the middle and took out wolves. At some point I realized I had to save leaders as well, but I don’t remember who I saved first or last. (I’m sure I’d already saved at least one before I saw that they were all still up there.)

I DO appreciate the fact that the Queen couldn’t just portal herself out. It suggests that Kas’s distance portal trick is something not every Mesmer can do, even if they’re technically stronger than her. As I’m sure there’s things PCs can do that no NPC can, it helps to put us back onto somewhat more fair footing with them.

cheshirefox.7026:

why are there like 10 topics on this? z_z

You’re right. Let’s talk mounts.

RedStar.4218:

Palador.2170:

I see nothing wrong with them rushing to mend the Avatar. Think of it like a voodoo doll of the Pale Tree. What you do to it is reflected upon the tree itself. There’s a LOT of damage to repair, but for the quick and dirty work to stop the bleeding (sap loss?), you throw all the healing you can onto the Avatar and let it carry over through the link.

Because the Pale Tree itself has stated that this avatar is useless. She can do without it and only puts it up to not scare people.

It’s like a light bulb. She turns it on so others aren’t scared. But if something happens, you don’t go rubbing your light bulb (do you ?).

That’s the funny thing about magic.

It’s magic.

While I would love an option to kick Phlunt’s head off his shoulders, I honestly would have been happy with an option to say “One moment, Councilor.” and then talk to Taimi. Then we could have convinced her that, even if we can’t stand the jerk, we need Phlunt’s help, but we can make sure that Taimi gets put on record as the person behind the device. Yes, Phlunt would still get credit for “having the insight to realize the importance of Taimi’s device” and all that, but we could at least make sure it’s well known that it’s HER work.

I also think we should have REALLY called in some Pact help at that point. Phlunt’s guards were useless when the dragon’s minions attacked, and they’d be useless against the Inquest, too. Or anything else in the area, for that matter. For the love of whatever gods you may choose, let’s get some competent guards on that thing as it’s transported!

Stooperdale.3560:

I’m confused how this device was going to be used. Surely whoever was responsible for waypoints, like the arcane council, were always going to be the people who needed the technowhatsit? Tiami wasn’t planning to march round to every waypoint and fix them all herself was she?

According to her, it works through the network to attune actual waypoints. It needed to be aimed only at the fakes in the demonstration. No need to drag it around at all, really.

Let’s forget Taimi for a moment. There’s something else going on here that a lot of people seem to have overlooked.

Phlunt agreed to go to the council IF the device was demonstrated to his satisfaction. It was, but then we were attacked. Enemy monsters literally burst from the ground at our feet and attacked. Phlunt and his guards were all cowering off to the side while we saved them.

Phlunt had now seen the threat first hand, AND seen that we had a device to help save the world. His reaction? He backs out of our deal, and insists that HE be given the device or else he will not attend the council. That council is an attempt to save the world from the threat he just got a small taste of. If we don’t get his help, we’ll likely fail.

In other words, he is blackmailing the Commander of the Pact (that’s us), holding the lives of all of Tyria as hostages to get what he wants.

And we LET him.

By the end of the story he’s still not giving us solid support, even after the attack on the Grove. Worse, we’ve handed him what may be the most dangerous weapon in all of Tyria. Yes, WEAPON. All of the waypoints are now “attuned” so the dragon can’t sense them or feed from them. With that device and a few modifications, he can “de-tune” a waypoint, basically calling in a dragon vine attack where ever he wants. And he’s already shown the strength of his morals (none).

If you listen closely, you can hear Scarlet giving us a slow clap from beyond the grave.

I see nothing wrong with them rushing to mend the Avatar. Think of it like a voodoo doll of the Pale Tree. What you do to it is reflected upon the tree itself. There’s a LOT of damage to repair, but for the quick and dirty work to stop the bleeding (sap loss?), you throw all the healing you can onto the Avatar and let it carry over through the link.

Lalocat.6793:

I’m the only one who doesn’t trust the Pale Tree? Probably just applying human values to a non human character, but having so many children and really only caring about the oldest ones rubs me the wrong way.

Oh, I don’t trust her at all. She’s still hiding things from us. Notice how the attack leaves her in a state that keeps her from answering any more questions? And just who tipped off the dragon that this was when and where he needed to attack? And how do you even tell that to a dragon?

I’m wondering if those were even real dragon minions. Everything we saw is something she could have made, and the attack got the leaders to agree to her goals. She could be faking the extent of her injuries.

I don’t think she is, if for no other reason than because the ANet devs don’t seem to want to tie things that tightly to GW. Not all GW2 players played GW, so tying important plots back to that would just be confusing.

I can believe that Anise is older than she appears. And maybe it does tie back to GW, but not that tightly.