Guild Wars 2

Fay.2357:

Sethren.8472:

Fay.2357:

The only difference was autoattack on scepter, but it really doesn’t matter how many stacks you maintained. You could keep 10 permanent stacks on a mob and still outdamage it by afking in a zerker build.

True. Very true. And they broke it even more when they removed the confusion application that the scepter had on AA. At least it was reliable.

I’m not sure you’re understanding what I’m saying. You can’t break something ‘even more’ if it’s already completely worthless. Nothing they ever did to confusion changed how it functioned in PvE. It has always been worthless due to how mobs attack.

No, I understand you. We’re just each focusing on the opposite sides of the same coin. I’m referring to applying the debuff reliably, and you’re talking about its damage mechanic. They are the two sides of the same issue which is that confusion needs a massive rework to even make it worth being in-game.

I really like Nikku’s suggestion of giving Mesmers a fixed confusion, torment, and chill rather than bleed and burning. I like it a lot. The reason I like it is forcing your opponent (NPC or Player) to make a choice lines up with the very core of what a Mesmer is (or is supposed to be). We are supposed to be masters of deception and confusion. What better way to do that then force your enemy into positions where they have to “pick their poison” as it were?

Fay.2357:

The only difference was autoattack on scepter, but it really doesn’t matter how many stacks you maintained. You could keep 10 permanent stacks on a mob and still outdamage it by afking in a zerker build.

True. Very true. And they broke it even more when they removed the confusion application that the scepter had on AA. At least it was reliable.

@Nikku: You are friggin kidding me. That is literally an insult to the Mesmer. That is a Mesmer skill, not a Warrior skill. That is infuriating.

Dusty Moon.4382:

Mesmers was one of the least played professions as it is. Please understand that.

I think many Mesmers think they are still playing GW1 and they are not and this profession doesn’t work that way any more. I think A.Net looks at which professions are being played the most and those are the ones that get the most work, since the developers can see most data on those.

That confirms what a lot of us have felt all along. We’re the unwanted kids in the attic (from Flowers in the Attic book). That’s at least how it has felt. You see Warriors and Thieves get their stuff fixed almost overnight, and we still have issues unresolved since launch. It’s kinda depressing.

Fay.2357:

No it wasn’t. I played in beta. It was horrid. As a matter of fact, it was twice as bad in betas, because it did what is now pvp/wvw damage in pve as well. It was doubled to the current values on release.

In terms of applying the debuff, it was sort of okay (and I emphasize “sort of”). Yeah, the damage was horrid though.

Fay.2357:

Uh yeah. Nothing that anet has ever done to confusion ever made it more or less viable in PvE. Confusion has always been absolutely worthless in PvE, and that’s never changed.

In beta, it was sort of okay, but it was broken by the time launch came around. It still needed work in beta, certainly, but it was destroyed before launch due to the ramifications of the debuff in PvP (at least that was ANet’s justification at the time).

Spanny.9256:

anyway yeah honestly i liked where you were headed with the confusion idea but when you detoured into the pve aspect i got a little lost

The reason for linking the two (confusion and PvE) was because the initial breaking of how the debuff worked in PvE was due to it being “overpowered” in PvP. Instead of giving other classes a counter (which cleanse is), they opted for the easy route and broke the mechanic.

Spanny.9256:

confusion isnt an EFFECTIVE pve condition, but thats just my opinion

Oh, I definitely agree that it needs serious work/rethinking. That is in addition to them giving it back to the Mesmer, so a Mesmer doesn’t have to work three times as hard as an Engineer to apply their own class mechanic. That still baffles me.

p.s. mesmers are not as glamorous in pvp as you lead readers to believe but that’s a whole nother can of worms i’m not gonna get into; long story short i get asked to play other classes like ele/hambow warr when i show up with shatter mesmer (which i’ve played for months)

I had no intention of misleading. I brought up Mesmers in PvP only to illustrate the failure of the current balancing system. I apologize if that was unclear.

I vote a new rule be instituted and enforced on the Devs. That rule is this: before you can even touch the class, or even think about tweaking it, you have to actually play it as your main class. No more of this “I play a warrior/thief mainly, but I’m the one who tweaks the mesmer” malarky. Who’s with me?

Coulter.2315:

Do you think that Mesmers are OP in PvP? Guardians can apply Burning better than Eles, also Confusion in PvE is rubbish not because of application problems but because of mob attack rates.

That wasn’t my point. The point was the separation of skills. However, the reason Mesmers are nerfed is from PvP, not PvE. It’s always PvP balancing that ruins a class in PvE because game developers refuse to acknowledge that they can’t balance both using the same set of skills. Instead, they keep trying to muscle that square peg into a round hole.

If a Guardian can apply Burning better than an Ele: (1) it doesn’t justify the Engineer/Mesmer issue with Confusion, and (2) I’d have to see it to believe it (having played both).

The application of Confusion is certainly the issue in PvE. Even a mob’s auto attack triggers it. They don’t have to use a skill. The debuff needs work, and it should be given back to the Mesmer without all the PvP-strings attached.

Coulter.2315:

I do however agree with the principle of having different PvE and PvP versions of skills – which they did a lot of in GW1 AND promised they’d do here. (They say they don’t because of more things to learn for transfering from 1 mode to another but GW1 had many more skills and was much more complicated so I don’t see how that argument stands up)

We’re in complete agreement on this one.

Taken directly from the Guild Wars 2 wiki: “Mesmers are masters of mirage. They weave deception magic that seeks to confound, disorient and dumbfound their enemies.” Therefore, the reader can conclude that a Mesmer is a class designed on confusing, disorienting, and manipulating their opponent using the art of deception. The main area where ArenaNet has actively gone counterproductive to this is with the debuff of Confusion.

Based on the description that ArenaNet gave the Mesmer class (thereby defining the class’s role), Confusion should be the Mesmer’s domain. That means the Mesmer should be the only class who can reliably apply stacks of Confusion and maintain those stacks easily, and the Mesmer should actively benefit from applying Confusion.

Instead, the Mesmer is the one class who has the hardest time applying Confusion reliably. If a group needs stacks of Confusion reliably maintained, the group will rely on an Engineer to apply the debuff through Pry Bar, Static Shot, Confusing Speech, and Concussion Bomb. The fact that an Engineer can apply Confusion more reliably than a Mesmer is a grievously fundamental flaw. It slaps the core concept of the Mesmer in the face.

Allow me to use an example of another class to highlight the problem. A Fire Elementalist relies heavily on the Burning debuff. They can do more damage to a target who is burning, and many of its skills apply Burning. Therefore, it becomes an on-going cycle that ultimately benefits the Elementalist, and it is detrimental to their foe. It happens naturally in the course of the fight. This is how Confusion should work with the Mesmer.

Now, let’s imagine that ArenaNet did the same thing to the Elementalist that was done to the Mesmer. The Fire Elementalist would no longer be able to consistently and reliably keep up Burning. Therefore, the player would have to work extra hard to try to maintain that debuff in order to receive the increased damage benefit. Now, to add insult to injury, let’s say that a Guardian could actually keep the burning debuff up longer and more reliably. See the flaw?

As Burning is to the Fire Elementalist, so too should Confusion be to the Mesmer. Confusion should be applied easily and effortlessly for the Mesmer, and the Mesmer should be able to easily and reliably maintain Confusion on a mob. The Engineer should be the one who has a harder time keeping confusion on a mob, not the Mesmer.

As a result, the Confusion mechanic needs to be completely reworked so that the Mesmer actually gets to perform the role that ArenaNet designed the class to fulfill. Where I feel ArenaNet went wrong is that instead of giving the other classes a reliable counter to Confusion in PvP, they instead nerfed the Mesmer’s ability to use it – thereby crippling the Mesmer in PvE as a result. That brings me to a solution.

The reality is that it is impossible to balance the classes for PvP and PvE using the same batch of code. PvP and PvE should have separate balancing mechanics and coding. The tweaks made to skills in PvP should not effect the skills in PvE, and vice versa. The “one-size-fits-all” mentality for balancing skills does not work when PvP and PvE are both effected. The two styles of play have two completely different balancing rule sets.

As a result of the tweaks made for Mesmers in PvP, the Mesmer in PvE has been crippled and essentially turned into a second-class profession. That is a shame because the Mesmer is an extremely fun class to play, and it has so much potential that is being withheld. However, with the current single batch of coding, ArenaNet can’t undo the damage caused in PvE without unbalancing PvP. Yes, it will mean more work on the programming side, but it’s the only viable option to make both groups of players happy. Otherwise, one is happy at the expense of the other. Why should the players who only PvE be punished because the Mesmer in PvP is overpowered? In bringing the Mesmer in PvP back in line with the other classes, the Mesmer in PvE is relegated to portal/veil duty in a group because what the Mesmer can do, other classes can do better.

Carighan.6758:

Curunen.8729:

But I’d rather they go the whole way with scepter and make it a full condition weapon rather than some mediocre hybrid clone generating thing.

Hrm, true, I’d rather have it be a good clone-generating weapon.
The hybrid-nature of its damage would then be rather useful, since it’d be a specialized weapon but independent of spec damage output. Need more clones, Scepter. Just need to actually make the scepter output useful, granted. :P

The problem with that idea is the Scepter was intended to be a conditions weapon. What you’re saying would make it a shatter build weapon.

ArenaNet needs to stop dangling the conditions ball (mainly confusion) in front of mesmers only to snatch it away. I have a hard time seeing how the Devs see no fundamental flaw with what they’ve done to the mesmer. They have basically adulterated the class’s primary function. Confusion was OUR debuff. It is the JOB of the mesmer to cause confusion and manipulate its enemies by messing with their minds. ArenaNet builds the class to do that, then they cripple the class to make it harder to do what the class is intended to do. They give confusion to us, then they turn around and make it 10x harder for a mesmer to utilize it, but give it easily to other classes. The two issues are related.

Crossplay.2067:

I also yell, “FUS RO DAH,” when using GS skill #5.

Best. Line. Ever.

I will yell, “YOU. SHALL NOT. PASS!!!!” when using GS 5.

I spam auto attack staff even though it does nothing. It just makes me feel like I’m doing something while waiting on cool downs.

I channel my inner Frankenfurter every time I cast Time Warp.

I actually got all into the fight against censored in Arah story mode. I went Whispers, and I had to avenge censored. I yelled, “This one’s for censored!!!!” at the boss.

I pulled up the scene from LOTR where the beacons are lit, so I could listen to the music during the story clip in Lion’s Arch for Whispers.

I love the butterflies.

Sublimatio.6981:

Anet should finally separate skill versions for pve, pvp and wvw…

Amen. A thousand times Amen. I’m tired of getting shafted due to PvP/WvW balance issues. I don’t like PvP, so I only PvE unless I have to engage in PvP (world completion). Why should I, and players like me, be punished for the PvP issues?

25. #1 ability is your auto-attack, so you don’t need to keep spamming it like I did…

shifty eyes I knew that…

LOL! Hilarious part is I STILL do it even though I know better. Don’t laugh. I’m sure there’s a lot of you who do it too. At least that’s what I’m going to tell myself.

I would add:

- If you see a mesmer (player) near you in PvE, and he/she puts down Chaos Storm on top of you (it’s the purplish lightning storm). Do NOT run out of it. It adds conditions to the mob, but it gives you buffs (Aegis, Swiftness, Retaliation), and it refreshes them each time it pulses. I can’t tell you the number of times I have tried to help a person out, and they run out of it.

@Inculpatus cedo: Thanks for the information you gave to halcyonzephyr. That actually answered my question as well. I was about to post that I was having a problem with the authenticator request not happening (like nothing had changed), but your post answered my question. My IP was saved from when it email authenticated prior to me switching over to mobile authentication.

+10

1. Mesmer – of course. Best class of them all in terms of fun.
2. Necro – Prior to GW2, I was a necro at heart (still am a bit). Well-bombing is especially nice. I don’t care for the pets. I always play mine without them.
3. Guardian – I love melee that uses magic.

…every other class seems dull, but the worst is Ele. Total yawnfest of a class (for me).

Because I am an eternal optimist who still hopes that ANet will get their heads out of their rears, and stop treating this class like it’s the kid in the attic.

Also, the class just fuels my imagination. It is the embodiment of creativity in a class. It isn’t the standard spam-to-win that other classes reek of.

It’s a beautifully designed class, artistically. And it’s just FUN. I have more fun (and frustration) on a class that ANet treats like a second-class profession than I do on any of the others.

I am definitely angry with ANet over what they’ve turned the Mesmer into, but the eternal optimist in me holds on in hope.

I would really like to understand ArenaNet’s logic on how they instituted the confusion stacking mechanic for Mesmers. Confusion is the Mesmer’s area of expertise, yet stacking confusion does not feel “natural” while in play. You can only get 3 stacks here, 5 stacks there, 1 stack here, etc. It is left feeling extremely clunky and counter-intuitive.

For example, they nerfed the Scepter 1 ability in beta because it used to stack confusion with every hit. The original skill was more Mesmer-like. The original Scepter was an awesome weapon for a condition Mesmer. Now it’s just a bland weapon that is taken for Confusing Images, and occasionally the #2 ability. The number 1 ability is worthless. Three clones can be made almost instantly with Mirror Images and Phase Retreat (staff #2).

What is ArenaNet’s justification for this? They put in a debuff that was solely the Mesmer’s domain in GW1, but then they make it difficult for a Mesmer to actually get any decent number of stacks for that debuff. If it’s still like it used to be before I took a break, the Engineer was actually more reliable to stack confusion than a Mesmer. Anyone else wondering what the beep was ArenaNet thinking?

Maybe someone can explain the logic that was used to me, so I can understand the reason why the confusion mechanic for Mesmers is so lackluster/confusing (pun intended).

The firewall that is on my modem/router (Arris). However, all necessary ports are opened (both inbound and outbound) on the modem/router, so the firewall should not be an issue. Windows Firewall is disabled.

To remove the possibility of my modem/router firewall being the culprit, I placed my computer in the DMZ. I still crashed every five minutes with an Error 7, so it cannot be the firewall.

Before the 3/18 Update (Reclaiming Lion’s Arch), one could temporarily fix the Error 7 disconnection issue by resetting Winsock and flushing one’s DNS cache. Granted, one had to do this each time before trying to play GW2. It was not an ideal solution, but it at least allowed the game to be playable significantly longer before getting an Error 7 disconnect.

After today’s patch, resetting Winsock and flushing DNS no longer work. I have tried several times. After rebooting my machine (like a Winsock reset requires), I will try to launch the game. I am unable to talk in chat, and I will be disconnected with an Error 7 within 5 minutes of logging into the game. I have reset Winsock and flushed DNS three times now, and nothing has changed. I still get disconnected quite quickly (within 5 minutes), and I am prevented from using any chat channels.

Obviously, this is not a player-side problem. I do not know what happened between launch and this past year, but I never got disconnected with Error 7s during beta, and the year following launch. Now, all of a sudden, after an extended break from the game, the game has become a hassle to play. After today’s patch, it is completely unplayable.

With all due respect, ArenaNet, this is your issue.

I also went to look for an “Ask a Question” tab, and I did not find one, so answering here.

Error 7 Problems: Responding to Forum Info Request

If you have a game account for the original Guild Wars, can you play it?
-Yes, but I am not using the account anymore. GW1 is not installed currently.

Where are you playing Guild Wars 2 from?
-Southern Texas, USA

At what time and in which time zone do you play Guild Wars 2?
-Throughout the day between 8AM-8PM Central (GMT -5)

I have tried everything that Tech Support suggests. Ports 80, 443, 6112, & 6600 are open inbound and outbound both in Windows and on my modem. Modem has been reset (before opening the ports). Antivirus Software was disabled to rule it out (still DC’d). Placed an exclusion up for GW2 in my Antivirus just to be sure (I use Avast, btw). My security settings in Windows have been lowered. I even tried lowering my graphic settings in game. Reset Winsock. All to no avail.

Interestingly, I am also on a WiFi connection (Netgear WNDA3100v2 N600 Wireless Dual Band), and my firmware is up-to-date. The error still persists although I do get a little more time to play before it crashes on me with an Error 7. I’ve gone from being kicked within 5 minutes to getting between 20 minutes to an hour of gameplay before it kicks me with an Error 7.

Been having this issue for the past two days after a long break from the game. Never had this issue before. I have followed all the suggestions in the various threads about this issue.

I’ve opened all necessary ports (inbound & outbound) in both Windows and on my modem.
I’ve disabled my antivirus software.
I’ve created exclusions in my antivirus software specifically for GW2.
I even tried resetting my modem and release/renewing my IP.
I’ve lowered my security settings.
I’ve lowered my graphic settings.
I’m now waiting on a response to a tech support ticket.

Nothing has worked. I still will get disconnected with this particular error, and the game will lag before it kicks me to the character select screen.

It doesn’t bode well that a mod said that this issue was being looked into 6 months ago, and this is still happening. It has made the game almost completely unplayable. I did have one long session before it kicked me that lasted about an hour. The rest of the time, it happens upon login or within 5 minutes of logging in.

GW2 is the only game giving me issues. All other online games work fine.

Server: Sea of Sorrows
User Location: Texas, USA

I’ve been having the same issue. It didn’t used to be a problem, but I am getting DC’d within 5 minutes of logging on in Caledon’s Forest. It happens constantly.

UPDATE: The only thing that worked for me was to delete my character and move servers. Since I did that, I have not DC’d once. I was on Devona’s Rest, and now I’m on Sea of Sorrows. I realize that this is not desirable for most players. My character was only level 12, so I could justify the deletion. For a level 80, I know deletion is definitely NOT an option.

• Lack of consolidation/streamlining on Traits
  For example, if I want to run a power build necro, I have to juggle between three (or four) trait lines because the traits appear to have been “thrown together.”

Specifics:
Close to Death – an awesome trait for a power necro, but it requires 30 points in Spite.
– arguably, one could pick up Spiteful Marks and Reaper’s Might, but these traits feel situational at best. However, the 20 extra points could be best used elsewhere.
20 points required for Curses in order to pick up Reaper’s Precision/Hemophilia and Focused Rituals (for range-friendly fights)
10-20 points in Death Magic in order to get Greater Marks and Ritual of Protection/Staff Mastery (again, for range-friendly fights)
30 points in Blood for Dagger Mastery/Bloodthirst, Vampiric Precision, Ritual Mastery, and Vampiric Rituals

In total, in order to get a well-rounded power necro, one would require 80-100 trait points because the power necro traits are scattered throughout in four trait lines. More consolidation/streamlining is required/needed/mandatory/etc.

Suggestion:
Close to Death should be moved to the 10 point category in the Spite trait line.
Consolidate some of the like traits such as Spiteful Marks/Greater Marks and Ritual of Protection/Focused Rituals.

• Death Shroud
  The only useful ability in DS is the ⁴ ability. While ¹ can become useful with Reaper’s Might (if taken; see previous issue), the other two are rarely useful – emphasis on rarely.

Those are my main two.

I know my post is purely subjective. However, if ANet uses whether or not something is “fun” as its benchmark, then the swamp fractal (imo) did not meet that standard. It seems to be more of a lesson in sadism. The other fractals are fun and enjoyable, but the swamp is aggravation, at best. There are too many factors involved. It seems that someone went overboard with the mechanics of this particular fractal. There are:

(1) Traps: there are far too many, and the trigger boxes are too large. Additionally, some are impossible to see. That may only effect those of us who are colorblind though.

(2) Mobs: there are far too many who spawn when a person grabs the wisp (spiders, mosquitos, etc.)

(3) Timer: if there weren’t so many other things in the way, the timer might not be an issue, but with the current setup, the timer is far, far too short.

(4) Spontaneous walls: while they may be able to be jumped over, when taken with everything else, these are just annoying. They serve no purpose other than as a final, “HAHA! Gotcha!” mechanic.

(5) Bosses: bosses that cannot be permanently killed, and the Mossman who randomly spawns to one-shot a person is nuts.

While any two or three of these mechanics taken together are not bad, the combination of all five leave me thinking, “why bother?” on this particular fractal. Scale back the number of threats, or increase the timer significantly on the wisps.

If it could be skipped without hurting progress, then I would not have an issue with it. However, who’s to say a group gets the first two fractals done, then the swamp is the third. The group cannot get the swamp fractal after trying many different strategies, etc. How is that fun for that group?

Again, I know the above is my personal opinion, and what is “fun” for one person is not going to be “fun” for another. To me, the swamp is definitely not fun.

Hi All,

I would like to thank all of you for your responses. I checked out all of your information, and I chose a guild. Thank you all for considering me. If your guild was not the one picked, please don’t take it personally.

Again, thank you.

Hi All Prospective Guildies,

I am looking for a guild full of fun, helpful people who like having a good time whether it’s running a dungeon, helping a guildie with a personal story step, or busting some heads in WvW. A guild that likes running dungeons would be awesome. I am a level 80 Mesmer on Sea of Sorrows. I would prefer to stay on SoS, but I am not opposed to transferring for the right guild.

I had some friends who joined with me, but they’ve all stopped playing for various reasons, so I’m basically logging in and playing by myself. I play regularly although sometimes my hours vary.

Thanks!

You’re completely missing the point if you have to ask if it is worth it. The point is that it was put in the game to be something cool (i.e., shiny carrot on a stick) for the people that want it. It has nothing to do with need or being “worth” it in terms of stat increases. If you’re thinking in terms of “worth” or “need” then you need to go skipping elsewhere in game because legendary weapons aren’t for you.

I will have Eternity. It might take me years, and I am perfectly fine with that. I may also go for Rodgort and Meteorlogicus while I’m at it.

Sea of Sorrows has been very enjoyable so far. I’m in the US, and my friends and I went to the unofficial oceanic server because there would always be people on. I have had such a pleasant experience with my fellow gamers from across the pond. Everyone is always helpful, polite, and genuinely interested in enjoying the game together. Now, there are a few oddballs that made it to my block list, but they were trying to goad a reaction out of people. However, they have been few and far between.

I had always heard that oceanic players were rude more so than US players, (hold off on those torches and pitchforks) but I would be hard pressed to find any evidence supporting that claim. Like most rumors, it was proven false.

splatomat.9370:

You should really lower your expectations. Like…right now. LOL 100% map completion gives you 2 Gifts. That’s 2 more than you will probably ever use.

Never. I will have that legendary greatsword (at the very least).

I remember a bunch of people requesting this in Beta. One of the devs had said they were looking into it because they didn’t want to exclude their colorblind players. I tried to find the post, but they probably wiped the posts from beta. I believe it was Mike Ferguson who said it.

I am also colorblind, and I have had to learn which circles are bad ones, and which ones are good ones through trial and error. It would be great for a different color option because a red circle on a green/brown forest floor is infuriating because I know its there (due to damage) but I can’t see the kitten thing.

Thankfully, ANet added description words on gear otherwise I wouldn’t have the first clue which one was “Rare” and which one was “Masterwork” level.

Don’t forget about us, please ANet! /signed

This normally isn’t an issue until I am in a situation where I am fighting for my life against 3+ mobs. Since I use the right mouse button to turn, I have inadvertently clicked the minimap, and I can’t move until it disengages from the minimap. I have considered getting a gamepad to remedy this. Trying to move with the mouse, while playing Keyboard Twister with my other hand, and the minimap getting in the way is frustrating.

In order to remedy this situation, an option to “click through” the minimap or making the minimap automatically click-through while one is in combat would be ideal.

Just a thought.

Still extremely interested. Finally, there is a game that I cannot simply go on “auto-pilot,” and I am challenged almost constantly. I know there are those that have lost interest, so I wish them well on their gaming pursuits. I am happy with GW2.

Looking at the wiki page on legendary weapons, I noticed that 100% world completion is required for the Gift of Exploration component. This is a required material for the overall Gift of Mastery that’s required to make a Legendary Weapon. I’m fine with that, but what alarmed me was this statement in regard to said component:

You receive two Gift of Exploration as a reward for world completion.

Source: http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Gift_of_Exploration

My question is this: what if I want all of my weapons to be legendary weapons? For example, I play a Mesmer, and I use a greatsword, torch, and scepter. I would love to eventually obtain Eternity (the combined greatsword that reflects both the day and night skies). That makes for a total of four legendary weapons (Scepter, Torch, and 2 Greatswords). However, if I only receive two Gifts of Exploration for world completion, where am I going to get the other two I will need? Will I have to level up another toon, get 100% world completion on him too, and then transfer those rewards to my main? Will there be a method of purchasing extra Gifts of Exploration if needed?

I do not have a level 80 yet, so I don’t know the answers to these questions.

Sadly, I would have to agree that the old “sexual attraction” is to blame. People are people, and they are stuck in that old rut of “women get the good looking clothes; men get the practical, plain clothes.” I, personally, would love armor that accentuated a male’s physique because I find males much, much more attractive than females. Personal taste, of course. I just find it sad how females always get the “sexy” armor, and males always get the bulky armor. The option to do either would be ideal.

There are threads about how female toons should have more conservative armor choices. Well, males should have more suggestive armor choices. Not every player is a heterosexual male, ANet. Yes, they may be the statistically larger portion of the player base, but come on! Show the rest of us some love! Please? With a cherry on top?

I am a player who definitely likes to know what something looks like before buying it. I hate purchasing an upgrade only to discover that the skin, in my opinion, looks hideous. It would be awesome if ANet would add the ability to right-click preview an item on the Trading Post. Please?

Also, as a side note, if light armor classes would get a skin of the hat with the feathers, I would probably squeal with glee. Yes, I said squeal. Wut.

After 10/1 Patch:

Loch Jezt – Metrica Province, Tela Range – Plains of Ashford, and Butcher – Diessa Plateau (base of vista catapult tower) on Sea of Sorrows have been fixed.

Sea of Sorrows
Queensdale
Beetlerun skill challenge is still bugged. The NPC has gone from laying dead on the ground to being missing completely again.

That makes better sense. Thanks! After re-reading the line a few times, I saw my error in understanding.

I was just curious why this particular change was made:

“Armor that is currently equipped can no longer be transmuted.”

Source: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/info/news/Update-Notes-October-1st-2012

If we find a particular skin that we really like, now it seems like we cannot keep it (and apply it to new items). If I am understanding the change correctly, that means we would have to constantly find pieces that have the skin we like if we wish to keep it on upgrades because the armor that we have will no longer be usable for transmutation. That would take away from our ability to customize our character as we see fit.

If I am understanding this change incorrectly, please let me know. As it stands now, I am definitely not thrilled with that particular change.

I don’t run a Linux machine (toyed around with it once), but I’m in full support of my Linux brothers and sisters being able to enjoy some GW2 goodness.

/signed

Sea of Sorrows
Diessa Plateau
Combat skill challenge – at the bottom of the "cow"tapult vista tower. NPC is completely missing.

I would have to disagree with allowing Eles to change weapons in combat. Any other class has a total of 10 abilities to use in combat (excluding the right side skills for this discussion). An ele has 20 to use (5 skills per attunement). Giving the ele an in-combat weapon swap would increase that to 40 which would greatly overpower the ele in comparison to the other classes.

In order to balance this, eles would have to be restricted to only one swap of attunement per combat. For example, if you started in Fire, you would then switch to Air (for example), and that would be all the attunement-swapping you’d be allowed to do for the remainder of the fight (not even being able to switch back to Fire). The Ele would still have more useable skills than any other class on the left side (a total of 20, but it would balance since they’d only have 10 at a time).

Dervish was my favourite class in GW1. I remember when they didn’t announce the 8th class, I crossed my fingers for Dervish. Nope, stupid Mesmers.
Nobody liked Mesmers. I still don’t think people really do.
Makes sense though since Gwen was a Mesmer.
Paragon would be epic too. Nobody likes Paragon either, but it was just too awesome.
Though spears are now being used for Underwater…
Ooo, maybe Ritualists too, those guys ruled.

Stupid mesmer? Speak for yourself! I hated the mesmer in GW1, but I love the GW2 version. (main is a mesmer)

While I definitely enjoyed the Dervish, it would be a delicate balance of making the Dervish feel like its own class without trampling on Guardians’ toes.

The Paragon would be an idea. Since the spear is an underwater weapon, they could institute the polearm for a Paragon. However, the Paragon would also possibly run aground with the Guardian.

I don’t understand the reason for all the scepter hate. I use it in my setup, and I love it. I run with a Scepter/Torch + Greatsword combo. Since I play a ranged style, it’s great. I also focus on confusion/phantasms in my traits, and my utility skills are Decoy, Feedback, and Mirror Images. For my elite, I use Time Warp.

My typical approach is: am I pulling a group or single target? If group, Greatsword. If single, Scepter. I stack confusion, then I use Decoy/Mirror Images to quickly produce three clones, and I shatter them (F2) for three more stacks of confusion. That’s 8 stacks, right there. Then, I summon the scepter’s phantasm, and if the mob is coming at me, I use Counterspell (love this skill). After that, I switch to greatsword to push the mob back, summon the greatsword’s phantasm, and focus on using the first and third abilities while waiting to switch. Depending on the fight, I will wait to summon a second greatsword phantasm, or I will switch to the scepter to summon its phantasm. Rinse/Repeat, always stacking confusion whenever possible. Occasionally, I run into a group, and use the Torch’s AoE ability if I’m feeling froggy.

That playstyle works very well for me. For someone else, they might not enjoy it. I’ve sometimes wondered if the scepter issues are because people are trying to force the weapon to conform to their playstyle instead of using their playstyle to pick the weapon.

I would love to see a “free Elona” expansion. I don’t know if it would be a good idea to have it be the very next expansion because we would be trading one undead boss (Zhaitan) for another (Palawa Joko). However, after an expansion or two, it would be really neat to be able to introduce Elona by it being freed by the players.

If anyone else has an expansion storyline suggestion, feel free to post it in this thread.

I would have to disagree with this suggestion. If taken to its full conclusion, if ANet adds a healer class, then someone will suggest that there be a full tank class, and then you’re back to the trinity system.

I love not having a healer because it makes me pay attention to what I’m doing. I can’t rely on someone else to save me. That is awesome; it forces people to be accountable for their own actions.

I thought I’d make a post for all of us to list the skill challenges that are still bugged after the 9/25 patch. For ANet’s benefit, use this format:

Server
Zone
Skill Challenge in Question

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sea of Sorrows
Plains of Ashford
Tela Range Combat Skill Challenge – NPC completely missing

Sea of Sorrows
Metrica Province
Loch Jezt Combat Skill Challenge – NPC laying dead on the ground

Sea of Sorrows
Queensdale
Beetlerun Combat Skill Challenge – NPC laying dead on the ground

I remade my mesmer, so he’s not high level, but here he is, rocking the sparkles (and yes, he IS fabulous).

I love the mesmer. I have always played a necro, or necro-ish, class, but I have to say the mesmer has stolen me away in this game.

Without further adieu, here is Korvaseth Chimeras – confusion/phantasm extraordinaire.

“Quit hitting yourself!” – Korvaseth

On Sea of Sorrows, two skill challenges are bugged in Queensdale as well. The skritt at the top of the building in the middle of the map, and the guy over in Beetlerun.

Also, the first combat challenge in Plains of Ashford, and the hylek combat challenge in Metrica Province.

All of these NPCs are missing.

I use it all the time. My weapon swap is between a Greatsword and a Scepter/Torch. I am a condition-phantasm mesmer, so I really like the confusion stacking quality of the scepter (and the torch’s phantasm). I get my AoE fix from the Greatsword.

The Scepter’s block ability is also very helpful when a person has run out of energy to evade, and it counterattacks for a nice chunk of damage.

Personally, I think it’s one of the best weapons a mesmer has. It’s just misunderstood. I do wish they’d add the confusion back to the Ether Bolt though.

Different strokes for different folks, I guess. I personally HATE the MH sword (and OH).

The whip animation is already in game, so the animation/rendering is not an issue. The Nightmare Court attacks with a whip sometimes.

I would love this weapon to be added, and I definitely would want it on my mesmer.

/signed