Guild Wars 2

Isn’t that next year sometime? We have Path of Fire to get through first and we haven’t had full info on that yet

The entire point of elites is to be able to choose just 1 as they are all designed to bring a unique identity or flavour to the core class. Combining them would mak that redundant and balancing a nightmare.

Many people are looking to drop Glint for Renegade. I personally know a few people including my Guild Leader looking to do just that, because they aim towards differing playstyles.

Vyriis.6258:

So you’re telling me it’s ok for PvP and WvW to remain in PvP and WvW, their comfort zone, and receive rewards from dungeons and the season 3 maps, but it’s not ok for an open world player to receive dungeon rewards or dungeon runners to receive season 3 materials because they should step out of their comfort zones? Does that really seem fair?

Absolutely 100% yes.

PvE players have dungeons as an option. if they exlcude a particular area of PvE, but still want those rewards, then they will lose out and it is absolutely right that they should.

WvW and sPvP players should be allowed access to these rewards without playing dungeons because they fall completely outside of their game modes. They still have to work for them, but they get rewarded for the game mode they love, whilst keeping that game mode alive.

PvE players already have the option of doing dungeons and fractals – it is part their game mode. And vice versa – instanced players have the full roam of open world which also a part of their game mode. There isn’t the same divide between 2 different PvE modes as there is between PvP/PvE and WvW/PvE.

As it stands, it is fair and has the added benefit of working.

I really liked some of the weapon skins – some have some really solid designs for non-sparklies. I don’t like the outfit, but others do, so it’s all subjective.

I don’t think it’s really fair to say 0 effort went into them regardless as to whether they are liked or not

There are only 3 officially recognised game modes though – PvE, WvW and sPvP. I understand what you are asking, but it’s asking a lot for Anet to cater for every niche player. The subset of players who never run anything other than raids/fractals is probably so low, that it wouldn’t be worth the time/resources to invest in producing tracks.

The reason WvW/PvP got the tracks was because the rewards they were getting was extremely poor – considerably below what raids, fractals or most other niches of PvE are able to get. And of course the numbers of players exclusive to those game modes is likely pretty high.

At the end of the day, if you only restrict yourself to a tiny niche of 1 mode of a massive game, then to get the rewards you desire, it will mean venturing outside of the comfort zone.

I’m an open world/story player and I can’t get Legendary armour or dungeon tokens or fractal skins etc without venturing into those appropriate modes. Is it fair I can’t get those without doing something different? Yes, yes it is.

I believe Steam take enough of a chunk out of sales and also possibly in game sales, for it to put a lot of companies like Anet off. Ultimately I suspect their marketing dept will have a better idea if the % they’d give to Steam would be recuperated in the additional visibility.

I bought a glider skin. The rest will be saved for PoF skins or conversion to gold

Given the wider dislike of them, i suspect we wont see them again or at least a change to them to make them more accessible

The story wasn’t great in gw1 either altho it picked up a lot with nightfall and eye of the north. The difference was, the campaign style meant plotting was a bit tighter and stayed on track. Here it is all over the place.

PoF will be the chance to rectify that with a long, strong and involving story. There is plenty of story material to work with in CD and Elona – probably the most since the core campaign

Not confirmed either way but it is unlikely. Box copies are expensive and can mean a raise in price to compensate. The industry for boxed retail is shrinking as digital is becoming more popular, cheaper to supply and more environmentally friendly. Companies similar to Anet are unlikely to lose enough sales to justify the cost as well.

zealex.9410:

Warcry.1596:

Maybe we’ll revisit the Tomb of the Primeval Kings :O

The what of who??

https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Tomb_of_the_Primeval_Kings

TopBadge.3569:

Game of Bones.8975:

In order to bring in a new race, programmers have to go through and enter voices for each and every contact that character makes in the entire world.
.

not really, NPC babble is already non race specific.

Not the NPC’s themselves, but the dialogue from the character. That is costly and also requires a lot of scheduling for Anet dev, the multiple VA (male/female and possibly per langauge?) and the studio availability. Is that really a good business decision for what is essentially, a different character skin?

Then of course, where does the line get drawn? Once one is added, there will still be calls for more and the problems pile up further.

Maybe one day they will add a new race, it isn’t totally inconceivable, but resources aren’t infinite and many things they prob want to add have to be cut due to resource/time restrictions.

The reason it doesn’t have a name is likely;

1) because it’s more fun to have the playerbase speculate

2) the DSD’s has a msytique about it which is more Eldritch than the others and as such, having a Nameless Elder Dragon helps retain that aura. It’s perfectly in keeping with some of the Mythos stuff that span from Lovecraft’s contemporaries and beyond. There is something more menacing and evil in having something so powerful and destructive not be named and that seeps into quite a lot of literature from fantasy, to horror to RPG’s.

All makes sense. Do we know when said patch is or that TBC at the moment?

chris.9142:

really? 24H? and your complaining they havnt annoyed any of the skins yet?

It’s an ironic post

jheryn.8390:

Randulf.7614:

The outfit is not norn friendly. Havent tried it in a human yet.

Loved the weapon skins though.

I actually have the outfit on my male norn. His look is really, really close to my paragon in GW. I guess it depends on the physical look you create for the norn whether it is good or not.

That being said, I love the new outfit. It looks just like Paragon armor out of GW1.

The weapon skins are OK, for me. Loved the torch however.

Ah didn’t look at the torch. Will have another look later. I always assume torch skins are underwhelming. I’m very tempted by the shield as my “one” choice tho..

Endless Soul.5178:

Vayne.8563:

I find this mount aversion perplexing. A mount, at least in this case, is like a tool. If I didn’t like keys, I wouldn’t avoid locked doors. I’d pick up the key, open the lock put the key away and not think about it.

This just feels like taking a stand to just to take a stand to me.

I don’t like mounts because immersion. How is a mount less immersive than walking everywhere? There are animals in the game. Races domesticate animals (including devourers used by charr in the game), seems to me that nothing could be more natural than riding a mount…for immersion.

In truth walking everywhere doesn’t make as much sense as riding a mount.

I think a lot of it has to do with mount trolling in other games. Standing on top of NPCs, blocking views, clutter everywhere, etc.

I myself, was rather anti-mountish, but that’s because I was a a Guild Wars 1 traditionalist.

Now, after seeing them in the announcement video, I’m reservedly excited. I’m just hoping they’re disabled in cities.

Partly yes, but I think a lot of it is because of the perception of GW2 being sold almost as a different type of MMO, so when certain players see things like mounts or raids, they automatically kick back because these are more traditional MMO features and they are protective of their game against such things.

It is a bit misguided though, largely because what is overlooked is that MMO’s generally still need these features to attract a wider audience, but more significantly that Anet tends to adapt these features in a non-traditional way. Mounts are not being introduced as a pure speed/skin feature – they have additional design purpose taken into account during the design of the maps and environment.

The outfit is not norn friendly. Havent tried it in a human yet.

Loved the weapon skins though.

You will have missed season 1 as that was temporary content. There is an in game video to catch you up which is actually fairly poor in achieving this.

Season 2 is available for purchase for gold- gems or bought with money. I enjoyed S2 a lot.

Heart of thorns is available to be bought separately or with the upcoming expansion. I enjoyed HoT gameplay, but not the story as much and am excited fir the expac.

Season 3 is available for purchase for gold- gems or bought with money. It had a map per episode and better production values, but was a bit all over the place for story. Some bits were excellent though.

So, you will need to let go some money to catch up, but there is a great deal to play through so you will likely find value in purchase if you enjoy it. I still think it is worth playing should that count for anything.

Shortage.5427:

Randulf.7614:

This has nothing to do with sales figures, it is just the general direction of the industry moving towards an ever greater level of digitalisation. The amount of sales likely lost from a lack of box sales is probably very few. Having worked in games retail, boxed expansions rarely sell well and retailers usually get fed up of leftover stock anyway.

As to the other comments, some of you guys want new mechanics and new progressions and many people want the company steer away from that very concept. Anet can’t please both camps, they have to make the decision based on the feedback and metrics we don’t see. I don’t like a lot of things that have been added or missed over the last few years, but it is way to early to criticise an expakittenil at least we get to play it.

First of all retail sales doesn’t work like that. World of Warcraft sells mostly only retail because fans want to keep the boxes of their favorite mmo franchise. For example i will not buy digital because it doesn’t feel right..

Comparing much larger companies like Blizzard and SquareEnix who make many games and rely on grouping their games together in retail outlets for advertising purposes is a little different though. Anet make 1 game and do not have the budget to pay for the prominent space required to make it worth their while (this is something that happens in the UK and some areas of Europe). If they were to sell it exclusively on their site, that’s mostly crossing into the market who would just download anyway and there is additional expense of postage which is a non-trivial cost which would be factored in.

There will always be fans who want physical copies, but to be cost effective, Anet would have to have a large enough budget to mass produce, otherwise it’s an additional and unnecessary cost.

If a company does not make a box version, it is largely because they do not believe they will lose enough sales from not having them and in this day and age, such economic (and environmental from the extra plastic) concerns are pretty sensible for a business to make.

I am not unsympathetic to the rest of your concerns, I just don’t happen to agree with some of the conclusions. We’ll leave that to a mutual difference of opinion

This has nothing to do with sales figures, it is just the general direction of the industry moving towards an ever greater level of digitalisation. The amount of sales likely lost from a lack of box sales is probably very few. Having worked in games retail, boxed expansions rarely sell well and retailers usually get fed up of leftover stock anyway.

As to the other comments, some of you guys want new mechanics and new progressions and many people want the company steer away from that very concept. Anet can’t please both camps, they have to make the decision based on the feedback and metrics we don’t see. I don’t like a lot of things that have been added or missed over the last few years, but it is way to early to criticise an expansion until at least we get to play it.

Slowpokeking.8720:

Konig Des Todes.2086:

No real indication if any sea dragon concept art we’ve seen is tied to the DSD or not, truthfully, either as the DSD itself or as a champion.

As for it if is a threat, basically what Aaron and Randulf said – it’s not an immediate threat but it is a threat, and it can become an immediate threat at a moment’s notice.

No, what I’m asking is if it never bother the surface world much like the current situation.

Well, even if it never decides to directly affect the surface world, it could easily have an indirect affect.

- it could be affecting Cantha or other lands. We only ever see continental Tyria

- we know it has affected races such as largos, quaggan and krait, which in turn are affecting the eco and bio systems of the mainland.

- we know the DSD can twist the water into things and it likely has control over or at least affect the weather systems. That could be the most significant issue.

There are enough unknowns to give the devs a lot of leeway about what the Dragon can do or affect. At the moment we arent trying to kill dragons, so it is well contained from the point of view of continental Tyria and unless any of the above come true, the Dragon is prob well supplied with magic out there and both sides will be at a natural truce.

jheryn.8390:

How can you claim it is underwhelming before you even play it?

100% agree

Im terrified of spiders, but id def have a spider mount. Whilst like any phobia it is inconsistent, mine can distinguish between a real spider and a video game one. I think part of that is because the look and movement is near impossible to accurately recreate and the knowledge it isnt going to break the fourth wall and come near me…

With Dragons absorbing all this unbound magic, the DSD could easily turn towards these new sources of sustenance. Given that absorbing different dragonic magics can evolve minions to different states, there is opportunity for them to be able to adapt to a coastal or land environment.

After the letdown of LS3, I’ve felt a bit disheartened over the direction of the game. The videos and launch info have really grabbed me though

I think this is one of the things I’ve missed – info on forthcoming content and teasers gives me something to look forward to. I do like having something to get excited about.

LS4 will follow approximately 3 months after PoF according to previous statements. Likely Jan/Feb unless we hear otherwise.

Just to feedback, thanks for making it easy to pre-purchase. My bank declining it first time aside, the pop up in game meant it was quick and easy to sort out without doing it externally and waiting for serial code emails and then logging back in to apply the code.

I also thought your pricing was much better this time and although I didn’t really object with HoT, it is good to see the company addressing the feedback from last time.

Well I’m hyped. From the video, there is a decent enough vibe about the story and I thought the summary at the beginning brought clarity to the mess that S3 told.

Really though, it’s those huge, gorgeous maps I’m looking forward to. They look absolutely stunning.

I’m surprised it is so soon and with LOTRO: Mordor this week, I don’t think I’m going to bored through the last half of the year!!!

Season 3 started strongly, but a weak narrative meant it lost its way as it tried to throw way too much in. Content wise, we got a lot of nice new maps, which is always a great thing, but Season 2 kept a more varied story structure and more interesting instance play. Maps were not simply a case of complete hearts for the story, they used instanced sections to tell a stronger and crucially more relevant story.

If they can somehow take the tighter, focussed storytelling of Season 2 and keep to the one map an episode philosophy, then they will nail the formula.

Overall, I enjoyed aseason 2 a lot more. Season 3 was formulaic in structure and just didnt have the focus it needed to tell a good story.

Ill likely pass over any vid due to a busy day, but can i assume a summary blog post to catch up on the homepage post stream?

It is the least useful mastery in the game. Feels more like a mastery for the sake of having one, rather than a well designed game mechanic that you need to use for anything.

I didn’t like the Oakheart one either, but that at least is very well incorporated/complimentary to the map design.

Start from scratch and the game will teach you what you need as you go along. Dont use the boost, itll will only confuse you more until you settle back in.

Season 1 is go e for good im afraid, but seasons 2 and seasons 3 are buyable from the store when u get to that point.

There is way too much to really list for 4 years, but id perhaps use wiki to peruse the following subjects

- heart of thorns
- masteries
- elite specialisations
- fractals
- ascended equipment

Most apply to level 80 but will give you an idea of where you are headed should you wish to know

Donari.5237:

Randulf.7614:

Donari.5237:

Durnik Dk.6301:

Aaaaand this is?

Per the patch notes they restored some scenery to Gilded Hollow that vanished some time after HoT launch. To wit, the skellie in that shot.

I thought that was the skele from the Goonies-esque JP in Bloodtide? I was sure I read he had vanished

Well, it’s rather similar. But if you check the minimap in the OP’s screenshot, you can see it is in Gilded Hollow.

Oh yes. Dunno how i missed that

Khisanth.2948:

Randulf.7614:

There is no Abaddon to come back. He wasnt defeated but destroyed utterly, with his power absorbed by Kormir. A power long thought to belong to so ething older he usurped.

I know the story is squiffy, but fitting Abaddon or Shiro in is beyond stretching it now.

He was the god of secrets, it wouldn’t be very surprising if he has more than a few.

He was, but all that knowledge and power passed to Kormir as she absorbed what essentially made him, as presumably he did with his predecessor (info unknown though). I suspect if there was a way he could somehow return, then she would have been aware of it.

As I understand it, Abaddon cannot be returned, because there is no Abaddon to be brought back.

There is no Abaddon to come back. He wasnt defeated but destroyed utterly, with his power absorbed by Kormir. A power long thought to belong to so ething older he usurped.

I know the story is squiffy, but fitting Abaddon or Shiro in is beyond stretching it now.

I cant answer pvp stuff, but as for the rest, this is a highly populated game. The server you choose is only related to your WvW team, the pve side uses megaserver layered technology to group people together based on a multitude of factors. You will always find players as a result.

As for laggy servers, that is subjective and i personally find gw2 the least laggy of the mmos i play, altho because you can have huge numbers of people on screen, you will get perforamnce issuez in places.

Oneiece of advice, do not boost straight to 80. You will not need it for pvp and for pve, it is better to learn the game the traditional way. This game is also a very different style and design philosophy from WoW, so try to approach it as a new gam as it is, not by what you are used to in WoW.

I think it is meant to be conceptual rather than actual size, so it could represent Kralk or Primordus without being accurate in representation. Artistic cutscenes, loading art etc are often misrepresentative of accuracy.

Its a tiny map and u can unlock an additonal 4 waypoints for a total of 5. Thats more than enough, although why they didnt just use the normal system which works just fi e, is beyond me

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Hmm, that’s odd. I don’t have issue with the forums at patch time. I almost always read the patch notes while the client is updating.

You might consider speaking to your ISP, in case they are throttling your service.

Good luck.

The forums/patch notes loading during a major patch has been an acknowledged issue by the devs and the wider community for a long time. It’s just a traffic thing as players surge to read up whilst patching.
Anecdotally, it didn’t happen to me this last episode, but has done every episode since S3 began.

Episode 6 and the HoT story has given me concerns that I wouldn’t normally have. Generally I am very happy and positive about the game, it has steered off course enough times recently for me to be less excited than perhaps I could be.

I’m confident of a decent and fun open world experience, of some cool mechanics, masteries and elite specs, but the story is my real concern. It’s utterly lost its way since the start of HoT. I really hope we get a thorough, huge and immersive story which doesn’t rush to the end.

It’s not related or confined to pet classes. My Warrior was getting 3-4 every time and obliterating the NPC

Ah good, thought it was my internet being annoying again

I believe the AMA said they would continue with LS4

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Sartharina.3542:

Konig Des Todes.2086:

She died only once on me. Just keep the aggro of the sparks and you’d be fine. The initial wave of sparks is the worst.

“Just keep the aggro of the sparks” – except there are no mechanics to do such. Even my Berzerker’s taunt didn’t get them to attack her more than the “Taunt” time before they went back to smacking Livia. I tried everything I could to get their attention – Bladetrail to try rounding them up on me before they made it to Livia, lots of melee cleaving the sparks with all my skills, Wild Blow and Stomp to force them off Livia – she still went down like a wet noodle.

I never had a problem. I was on my necro, just one attack on them and they focused on me. They do have their wide AoE attack but it’s a non-targeting one so it can’t do much harm against Livia (or you).

It sounds like perhaps there is a bug or certainly some inconsistency in the instance somewhere as this is precisely the opposite of what I saw in there. The sparks did huge damage to her and refused to budge on aggro no matter what. I rezzed her with a banner and within 5 seconds the sparks obliterated her again. This went on for about 30mins until I got a cycle of rez + spark repsawn + fast dps which worked. But at no point could I get the sparks off her and I tried standing at various points in attempt to mitigate splash damage, but to no avail.

Reading through the various reports I am seeing a trend which seems to support that both what you experienced and what I experienced are happening for different people, so it would suggest a bug/glitch/issue somewhere.

I recall no connection between tengu and crystal desert ever being made

BuddhaKeks.4857:

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I wouldn’t say outright denial, she deflected it. I think the way she reacted to the Commander’s questions and considering they look very similar and have almost the same personality, the hints at them being related by blood are a little too strong. Sure she told Lazarus she doesn’t have children, but considering the guy would go after Anise in an instant, should Livia lose the battle, it’s wise not to tell him. And the way Livia asked the Commander not to talk about the matter for her sake (or something along those lines) is pretty much as close as confirming as she can get without confirming it.

She asks the PC not to tell anyone she is Livia. There is very little indication if any of a blood relation. It is fine to speculate it as a theory, but it remains currently unsupported by the game at this time

I got it done through luck, but it was a good half hr of swearing prior to finally getting to point i could get a spawn/kill cycle favourable enough to keep her up and even then she had less than 1% hp before she finally cast.

I have linked u a thread where others are having the same issue. It seems to be flawed game design. Until they make adjustements, bringing heavy heals or lots of dps seems to be the answer.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/lwd/The-Last-Chance/first#post6655295