Guild Wars 2

As it stands right now I can click to buy 9 gems 250 times and get 2250 gems, or I can click once and get 1865 gems. That is called Highway Robbery in most circles.
I have 800 gems left over from a gift card I got last Christmas, I wont be asking for them again, that is for sure. I will never buy gems. and I wont convert my gold to gems either. Thank you Anet.

Unable to track market fluctuations, unable to purchase the amount I want when I want in gems. This is designed to do nothing but make more money for the company.
I understand the need (I think), but this change needs to be rolled back.

The level that the communication is coming from is a big part of the perceived problem. Mike Obrien needs to make his presence felt in the Forums on a regular basis by using the Communications team as a mouthpiece, or personally with a red post.
Allowing developers that are honed in their particular area of the game to wax poetic on ideas and thoughts is one thing, having the person in charge make a comment with reasoning and showing the over arching thought process on a continual basis is the key to not creating problems within the forums.
Case in point: Guild Hall CDI. There have been some clear and concise discussions on the topic within that forum post. There have also been things that have been taken by posters as absolute necessary requirements for the game players to have. If one of those items is torpedoed by anyone higher than the participants from Anet involved in the CDI, it will torpedo any trust gained by the participant in the exchange of ideas if there is no return or feedback from the likes of O’Brien or the team assigned to handle communications.
The Communication team needs to have in depth knowledge of every facet of Anet’s thought process and Studio direction to be able to relate that in a concise and knowledgeable way within every forum thread that any member of the development team is involved in. There should be Communication team involvement in every thread that any developer is involved in, to monitor feedback, institute responses where needed, and to direct the conversation in a way that benefits the brand of GW2, the developers reputation, and the consumers perception of the communication on the whole, and on the individual postings.
This would most assuredly be the answer to the Bug forum being bombarded by angry consumers asking when the developers are going to acknowledge any given bug. It happens very rarely, and oft times it takes more than a month until follow is received, sometimes follow up never occurs. If there was one person to sort, log, and comment on all reported bugs and then follow up on a continual basis, this thorn in the side of the community would simply disappear.
I would implore the Communications team to play like I play, fierce and committed.

Gaile Gray.6029:

And a few are garbage.

yikes.

Astral Projections.7320:

DonQuack.9025:

Olvendred.3027:

If you do want your money back, then you should submit a support ticket.

Let me help a bit more.
https://help.guildwars2.com/entries/27697743-Refunds

As an additional comment, getting a refund for the game should not be done as a gesture of frustration but because you have truly decided not to play the game. A refund permanently deactivates not only that account with its email but also the card used to buy the game. If other family members are using that card then it will be deactivated for them also.

Getting a refund does not deactivate the email or card used to purchase the game. Anet is not a bank, nor an IP provider. Read the post before posting to avoid providing false information to others. Edit the post to provide the info you wanted to relate.

Gaile Gray.6029:

I think this post may be a valuable read: Mike O’Brien on Communication.

I’m sort of writing to think,

This is the crux of the lack of transparency and effective communication that is sensed by the community. If there was a cogent policy presenting a unified thought process across all lines of communication within the organization, there would be different community feedback in every line of communication.
I have always wished that there was a communications manager. I pray they let someone help them fix the problem. For the Brand of GW2, hire a communications expert to handle the Forums.

Communications, general corporate or forum hosting, is a fine art. It takes skill and forethought to communicate in a positive format while retaining knowledge base activities and maintaining intellectual property held by the communicating entity.
Allowing principal members to communicate without an appropriate buffer has caused the further erosion of the company brand’s image. I know a little about this type of atmosphere, and I can say that it is glaringly apparent they are below standard in many ways.
A trained professional would immediately increase the public image, while simultaneously improving internal communications within the company, utilizing established and time tested techniques.
I have related the obvious need for improvement in many posts before this one. I pray the company listens so that they do not continue to erode the clout they still possess.

In GW2 I have always been a member of a small Guild with 2-5 active members, up to about 20 inactive since inception. In GW1 we operated the same way. The glaring difference was the ability to ally with other likeminded and focused guilds to achieve more.
Guild Halls and Alliances are not intertwined, neither should they be.
Allowing Guilds to ally to complete guild missions, and to employ legions necessary for World event spawns is needed to avoid the simple monopoly enjoyed by large guilds over these types of events. Anet needs to enable the small 2man, 5 man, or 8 man guild the ability to compete and complete the larger events. These small units need to be able to enter Guild Merit market that they are currently blocked out of for any number of reasons (apathy, skill debt, coordination deficits, etc etc). If Guild Halls in any interpretation is to include Merits as a requirement, this inability to participate in the Merit market by the small 2 man guild will need to be addressed. GW1 had it right, as a 3-5 man guild, I was able to deploy more than half the upgrades to our guild hall 1 year after inception. As a 2-4 active member guild, we sit on over 200k Influence and most upgrades unlocked, however, we cannot enter the Merit market, and are now stagnate.
Alliances are just that, an alliance. Bedfellows does not an alliance make. Any Guild Hall should be for one guild only. instanced meeting halls or better yet, visitation rights, ala GW1, are right on point.

As for Guild Halls, remove merits from the equations unless Alliance participation can result in Merit rewards for Guilds at the 2-5 man level. Guilds of this size would be highly focused knowing that they are able to achieve just as the large or Mega Guild can, at the same time they know they will have a slower time of it, and making the rewards achievable within time limits should be considered. Scaling the rewards according to Guild Size should be given much thought.

Just my two cents.

Communication is the key to everyone’s success. If you cannot communicate effectively at all levels, all is lost. Please help us both and hire a communications expert to assist in your daily communications with the community.

Mitch.4781:

I would like a real time data log that shows me all the damage done, dps, total damage, amount of deaths etc in my speed clears.

It would be nice to have something like Recount so i can see who isn’t pulling their weight. Can’t stand leechers who get loot and gold off of others hard work and abilities.

It of course should be opional to toggle on or off, that way casuals won’t feel under pressure, but more determined palyers could use the data to improve their builds?

This is exactly why you will never see this in GW2, this game is for casual players, not the player that has to have the penultimate damage output in his party to feel like he is doing any good. I don’t put out the highest damage possible, but I am skilled enough to be the only person alive in a level 36 Fractal with no AR on the boss fight.
It is clear that I would not be “pulling my weight” in your eyes, however, I could probably play anybody under the table without a problem.
This game is about playing the game, not about fleecing the game with enough damage to mitigate the AI. That is a byproduct of console games like Nintendo and Sega.
Try doing a dungeon in a suboptimal build, and then see how much better you can make your times. That would require game skill.

Communications, Communications, Communications.
I was under the impression they hired a communications expert to handle avoiding this type of problem.
If not, please hire a communications expert Anet. Thank You.

in PVE people used to get fangs of Tequatl, Runes of the sunless, and bone fragments, as well as many other exotic weapons every dy. Our server group does it daily.
Since the introduction, exotics are dropping less, and most of them are spoons. I have 11 spoons to date. I use to get one of three listed above every day, sometimes a good one

OK, tried to isolate the real problem. Stood in LA looking at a wall. when a person runs into my vision, my FPS drops to 1-3 and stays there until I go to another map, at that time it reverts to normal for me 15-20. standing in the wilderness it is fine until another PC runs into view, when it drops to 1-3FPS until I change map. I reduced the model limit and quality to lowest, and everything is fine. I move up one step in quality and receive a drop in FPS of 5-10 perstep increase in quality.
Before patch I ran at 25-30FPS at medium quality on both settings. Now I run at lowest character model limit and model quality and and receive 15-20FPS.

I run with an old rig, 20-25 FPS, now down to 15 max, and just got even worse after tonights patch. It is like looking at a flip book now. Even zoning into an empty map, sounds are delayed after entry and take up to 30 seconds to catch up to what my character is doing.
Smoke and Fog are killers, FPS drops to 2-5 whenever present on screen.

ima kongkittenninja.3052:

Sligh.2789:

IMHO the best way to level the fastest is the best way to miss: all the stunning scenery and graphics all around you, deeply imbedded lore that can give true meaning to your characters growth, game interaction with NPC’s, knowledge of the world, connections with all the local areas that you can assist with all of the problems affecting them, interactive learning of how your skill mastery can enhance your game play at higher and highest levels, accumulation of wealth needed at higher levels, accumulation of skill needed at higher levels, accumulation of materials needed at higher levels, the required knowledge of combat interaction to boost a solo or group effort to victory, the ability to make rote the ability to use specific combos at the right time to complete an objective, the ability to enjoy the simple things in RL because you have to “grind Gold”, and so much more.
Why try to get to the end game content when you are in the end game. It does not get much better than where you are right now, enjoy the ride as there is no destination.

Thanks for taking the time to help me out Sligh.2789

I actually have a 100% map completion character, and around 5 (a total of 14 characters all level 80 except 2.) that are 40+%. I have seen all of the scenery in the game (Yes it is beautiful), and have done all the story missions an all the new and old LS missions. I’m pretty much trying to get my 2nd Guardian to level 80 as fast and easy as possible, after leveling 12 other character’s to level 80, It’s getting old XD!

Kudos to you. I missed a lot the first 8 times I leveled to 80, so maybe you will find or discover something different this time around. Otherwise, use a scroll to level 20, and then hire someone to Edge of the Mists to 80. Couple days continuous at most.

IMHO the best way to level the fastest is the best way to miss: all the stunning scenery and graphics all around you, deeply imbedded lore that can give true meaning to your characters growth, game interaction with NPC’s, knowledge of the world, connections with all the local areas that you can assist with all of the problems affecting them, interactive learning of how your skill mastery can enhance your game play at higher and highest levels, accumulation of wealth needed at higher levels, accumulation of skill needed at higher levels, accumulation of materials needed at higher levels, the required knowledge of combat interaction to boost a solo or group effort to victory, the ability to make rote the ability to use specific combos at the right time to complete an objective, the ability to enjoy the simple things in RL because you have to “grind Gold”, and so much more.
Why try to get to the end game content when you are in the end game. It does not get much better than where you are right now, enjoy the ride as there is no destination.

On average I make 1 bolt every 4-5 days, and I do not buy anything. Play the game, salvage blues and greens, and you will get what you need.
I shudder at how everyone buys their stuff, that is why it is so expensive.

Chris Whiteside.6102:

Stiofan.6720:

.

Hi Stiofan,

We are working on increased personnel to meet our goal of a better connection with the community. You should see some news soon.

Chris

Thank God there will now be a Communications manager experienced in public communications and interaction. I hope that this person is smart enough to insist all communications go through his terminal in all cases to avoid further feux pa’s.
All I can say is yay, they hired a communications manager.

I leveled all 8 of my characters simultaneously after launch. I harvested as I went. When all 8 were level 60, I started crafting and did not need to buy anything at all. I did have to delay the top tier until I had T6 materials, but that did not take long, and again, I did not buy anything.
I have crafted one Legendary, again no purchases needed, and I am almost ready to craft my second legendary with no need to buy anything.
If you play the game it gives you what you need. If you approach it like a gym membership it will bleed you dry.

My guild took me first time in a fractal, level 27 with no AR. I died 3 times total. We got the Fire Shaman and I was the last one standing, no lie.
When I got +5AR, they took me to level 36, 5 deaths total after completion.

Fractals are easy. Simple. Remember dungeons in GW1, easier than that.
5 days in a level 1 is as easy as world bosses.
Do not sweat going there.

TTS is not the only guild that does it on a regular basis. They are not the end all be all of guilds.

I took the route of not setting my sights on a precursor. I have in the past been a regular on the Boss train, and I decided to see if I could get some exotics for my 8 chars from it. I started saving the level 80 rares I got from play and the boss train and putting them into the forge in sets of 4 every week, usually 5-8 sets per week. Since the game launched I have received 3 precursors. I traded the first one in for the one I liked, and sold a low end one.
3 weeks ago I crafted Infinite Light, and the next week, the forge dropped a Zap in my lap. I had enough materials saved up to forge my first , Kudzu, in a bout a month after I received it, and I have enough materials saved to make Bolt.
Overall I think if you play all the parts of the game that you are comfortable with and do not succumb to the “got to have all the gold to buy” syndrome that some players live by, you will be rewarded by the game. That said, the forge may not be good to all because just like other parts of the game, it may be susceptible to over use.
My opinion, don’t make the parts unless you are prepared to buy the final piece, gambling to get that final piece will only induce remorse. In this scenario you have plotted your path down the syndrome referred to above.
I always implore people to just play, the game will reward you. I think a lot of people that complain about drops, the forge, and other rewards malaise, are all doing their thing in game under the cloud of DR, not knowing how to rid their account of that thing that affects every bit of their play.
Personally, I would do a little dungeon running, do a little Champ farming, do a little Boss train, do a little fractal, do a little PVP if you like it, do a little WVW. The rewards will come. Save a little, use the forge a little. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket, that only leads to disaster.

I have followed the last CDI, and the one before that, and I have critiqued the Anet/community communication gaffes since the forums opened at launch.
Just as game design and implementation is an art, so is communication in a public setting.
Hire a full time communication expert to be the voice of the company. A trained professional will allow you to pose ponder and discuss any thoughts on any subject without the fear of backing yourself into a corner that you “seem” to be afraid of.
Having a single person be the mouthpiece would allow you to put forth an idea without it being extrapolated in 20 different ways when it comes from 20 different sources. A single mouthpiece would bring continuity to your ideals, thoughts, wants and dreams.
I cannot stress enough that I have seen a few posts by people who are not members of the community that were just plain embarrassing, even for me the reader.
PLEASE!, hire a communications specialist to make your work easier.

toll booths every 5 platform, only 1 gold to proceed. I cant wait.

With the plethora of items being monetized lately, would it not be funny if they brought the Box back and charged admission? HAHAHAHAH, watch what happens.

kuittaa.7360:

mike.5476:

to me it feels cheap to buy a precursor. I dont think precursor’s or legendaries should be sold on the TP.

How is getting precursor from throwing random stuff to mystic forge more legendary (or less cheap), than working towards certain amount of gold, and buying one?

Both the forge and outright purchases are not legendary. Then again, the weapons are not legendary either. I got lucky and have had 2 off them. I have never heard of them before they were released, and have heard nothing about them since the were released. I have no idea why they are legendary, or who inferred the legendary status. They are nice skins and worth the effort to actually make the legendary weapon. IMHO, the effort to obtain and craft the legendary in no way makes the weapon legendary.
Now if there were quest chains and achievements to activate upgrades from the precursor weapon in a graduated fashion, that would be a process that is legendary and deserving the name.

I have been asking Anet to hire a Forum manager, or a communication specialist for a long time. I think it would do wonders for the community to have a clear and concise corporate response to many unanswered and ignored questions that repeatedly come up in the Forums. Using a single voice would enable Anet to put forth a concerted ideal to the community to look upon. It would avoid many , uh, unintentional problems.
I would also like to suggest that they hire a continuity manager for the game as well.

I’ll turn 50 on Saturday next. Look me up in game for some good laughs.

Just what we need is for Jormag to hear about this, imagine him laying in Heolbrak asking for donations…………

Something needs to be done with Acquisition, but I doubt they would remove the Forge acquisition that has made the legendary not so legendary. A weapon of renown (precursor) should be used in a large variety of particular battles, quests, or achievements before it starts to grow into the Legendary Weapon.
IE: come into possession of the renown weapon. infuse the Gift of Might for an added bonus, infuse the gift of battle for an added bonus. Make the weapon gift purchasable only with 4 quest chain items for an added bonus. Then continue the process until the weapon is truly legendary.
This would require thought into the depths of lore and gameplay to make the acquisition, advancement and final status of a legendary weapon just that, Legendary. A legendary is made by deeds, not farming.

I got one Teq horde from the big chest, and 2 from the Dragon chests.

Please be careful. If they really want to, they could fix it so that you need to keep the stacking sigil on every weapon, and then you will all have succeeded in having the game work properly.

SolidCypher.8214:

Sligh.2789:

A sigil attached to a weapon provides you a bonus (bloodlust, etc etc) while that weapon is equipped. If you go into the water and an underwater weapon is equipped with the …

Except that the weapon change when underwater is not a deliberate one most of the time – in that, certainly in WvW, you have to go underwater to get to certain places. Something which invalidates your logic as conscious decisions to change weapon sets is one thing but forced changes due to environment is another and should not interfere with this.

I find myself running around anything that looks deep enough to trigger this while in WvW now which must seem fairly comical.

A clear position on this from a game dev would greatly help matters – even if this is how stacking works now, at least tell us.

Also .. bump

No, it is logical, you decide to go into water, you decide to change to those underwater weapons, put a sigil on them and keep your stacks. In reality, they are still giving us more than they should, when you switch weapons you should lose the stack if the new weapon does not have the sigil. (sword to GS, Harpoon Gun to Spear)
As far as switching to underwater weapons not being deliberate, I can see water coming and I know when I go under, I need to use underwater weapons. How that can not be a deliberate act is inconceivable. make sure you stay on the surface and you will not switch weapon sets and lose your stacks, I know.

Um, I crafted to 500, and made one set of ascended armor and will soon make my second, also just crafted a Legendary weapon, and I never bought (except for a very small amount) any materials at all. Why would you go broke crafting, I just don’t get……..oooh wait.
You power leveled to 80 and now you are kittened that you have to do not have cash to buy all your materials
Go back and harvest your materials with a new set of Characters..

[/quote]
That’s where you’re wrong though. People play the game for different reasons. Some play it for the ultimate goal of getting a legendary. That’s their “win” feeling. If you want a legendary and is unwilling to grind for it, good luck playing for months on end without getting bored to death before you get it. There is really no sense of “living” in GW2 because the only two things it’s built around are 1) Combat 2) Jumping Puzzles. Beyond that, there is nothing that attributes to a sense of living (Housing, Farming, Fishing, Pets, ect.). [/quote]

I started gaming in the early 70’s with pencil and paper. Maybe my early experience is just manifesting itself. If a person’s reason for playing is a Legendary weapon, they have ignored the game from day one to get the big prize. They are entitled to play that way, but the game offers so much more that they are not even looking at because they are blinded by their goal.
Combat is part of the game, yes, but this is true for all of the RPG and MMO genre. I have done a few jumping puzzles, but not all, and I really do nt like them, partly due to my decreased reaction time and so-so connection and graphics card that make it even more difficult for me.
I heartily agree about the housing issue, I find it hard to defend the lack of Guild Halls for a game called Guild Wars 2.

I started the game at launch by leveling all 8 classes at the same time through the game simultaneously, crafting along the way, and doing everything it had to offer at my level, all of it. I still find places in wondering that I do not remember from my first time through. I just started doing dungeons after a short time in them as I was leveling. I have not even gone to Fractals yet. I spent about 3 weeks in WVW experimenting, but have not really gone back full bore yet.
After 2 years I still have a lot to find and learn because I did not rush through the game as a lot seem to do. I call these people completionists, they have no goal but to complete everything and then complain about having nothing to do. That attitude is a direct descendent of early computer games that was perpetuated by early RPG and MMO games. I am a casual player, 4 or more hours a day, and I still have a ton of fun. I enjoy the social aspect with the many people I have encountered. I enjoy helping new players learn the proper solutions for whatever problem they are having, that is probably the most fun I have in game.
In D&D you had to find your way, in this game the wiki finds it for you and I find that helpful and damaging at the same time. Yes, I use it, but I don’t cling to it.
I play the game, I enjoy it. I will posit my guess that those complaining about it did not take the time to really play the plethora of things to do before rushing to 80 and “end game” stuff, and now are not even willing to go back and enjoy what they missed the first time through. I took my time and I still find things I missed or glanced over.
I am not wrong for playing the game the way I have always played games. I just hope that another will gather some understanding from my perspective. If it helps them enjoy this, or any other game a little bit more, well, that is great.

Devata.6589:

Mosharn.8357:

There is plenty of end game content. I don’t know what you’re smoking.

After you hit 80 and got some gear these are the challenging end game things you got ahead of yah:
1. Afk auto range world bosses then come back and get your 2 greens 1 blue and omg rare.
2. Run repetitive dungeons for literally nothing.
3. Do world vs world and by that i mean every single day you run around in a circle playing ‘’whos got the most ppl wins’’
4. Stand in LA asking your self,‘’ what am i doing?’’
5. Stare at the tp for something.
6. run around maps killing things with no challenge to explore stuff you could have done at lvl 50.
7. Craft unneeded things for looks because you have nothing else to do.
8. Stand in the heart of the mists asking your self,‘’ what am i doing?’’
9. zerg down tequatl or the wurm for the 97th time.
10. Haven’t done a dungeon in an hour so that seems fresh.
11. afk some where and look for another game then not find anything because every game is doing pretty bad atm. After that tab back to gw2 and stare at the tp.
12. Do the channeling bug like infinite whirl!( this isnt in game anymore… apparently it was too game breaking and unbalanced and was fixed( that was sarcasm.. this thing was fixed before the major bugs we still have since release)
13. run around in circles thinking of something to do.
14. Make another character and lvl it to 80 for no reason at all.

See there are a lot of things to do. You just find them out within due time!

Edit: forgot to add but idk if this qualifies: Do living story stuff that you waited 2 weeks for in 10 minutes.

It’s scary how recognizable many of those examples are. Thing is, I still have many things I can do. I have no PS completed but that’s because I play an MMO for the MMO part, and the PS is to much SP. I haven’t maxed out any craft but that’s because crafting is all a gold-grind and it’s just boring. Anything you might want to make comes at level 400 and 500. No fun items along the way you would even want to work towards.

I don’t have all classes at lvl 80 but I don’t farm gold so playing on an alt even punishes me more with bad drops and since everything is based on gold you better don’t do that.

Doing dungeons for what multiple times? For gold? That is boring. For a cool drop I might be interested in doing it multiple times however they have no cool drops. All those items are in the cash-shop. There are no nice (little) goals to work towards or well there are but they almost all require grinding gold to buy your goal.

The personal story is the story of the game for your character, so not doing it is your loss of perspective for your character. Crafting is a cheap way to get better armor and weapons for all your chars as they progress through the game. I never bought materials with gold just to get my crafting higher, I actually used the stuff I crafted with materials I harvested. Thinking it is a gold grind to buy materials is a failure to understand the game.
Play all your characters to level 80 and then master all weapon types. Use non berserker builds and learn how to survive and progress in a different way. When you go into a dungeon, kill everything and never succumb to the stack and skip mentality that is for those that seek nothing but gold to buy their stuff as soon as possible.
This is not Nintendo, where the idea is to win at all costs as soon as possible. You cannot win GW2, you can only live in the world.
If the dungeons and fractals and WVW are not enough to keep you busy, try them with 4 people, or use a non zerker build, in other words challenge yourself, Anet has given you plenty of places to do it. You have to see the forest of possibilities through the trees.

A sigil attached to a weapon provides you a bonus (bloodlust, etc etc) while that weapon is equipped. If you go into the water and an underwater weapon is equipped with the same stacking sigil, the benefit will continue. If a weapon with a different stacking sigil is equipped, the new sigil will start counting up to 25. If you remove the weapon with the stacking sigil from the equipped weapon area on the hero tab, the benefit ends.
This is completely logical. Why should I keep my stacks if I unequip weapons with the sigil on them to a weapon without the sigil on them? When you go from land to water, or visa versa, you unequip the first weapon set, and equip the second weapon set, and you lose the sacks unless the new weapon set has the benefit as well.
Just because you used to keep the stacks does not mean that it was intended, proper, or logical. I think asking to keep a boon without having the sigil responsible equipped is against basic logic and reason.
This mechanic is working as intended now, and it is not overpowered like it was.
It just slays me that people are so quick to complain about this change when it makes absolute sense.

Penguin.5197:

Its the devs way of saying the chests are rigged against you as they try to protect your money from the economists working at anet!

Don’t buy keys cause half the loot will be mystery tonics!! Mystery!

“Economists”

Geared in greens is one thing, using a maxed stat Exotic is another. I find that a balanced gear set will cause the agro to move towards the heavily damage or defense oriented players. As I use a balanced set, I tend to do fine even after the zerkers or defensively set up chars have been dispatched.

cranked.3812:

Duke Darkwood.4237:

250 isn’t bulk enough for you? You can scrap it by the stack, and I don’t see why you’d ever have more than one stack taking up inventory space; even if you get thousands of dust a day, it should only ever take one

Not sure if serious…..

But, he was being sarcastic based on the fact that anet decided to hand out a disproportionately large amount of dust compared to the other ascended mats that are needed for crafting.

The “Economist” thinks it is just fine. cough cough.

not being able to get past level 30 is a sign.

Just type [food} into the wiki, it is split out by major and minor boosts, listed by level.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Food

You would need to have all the classes on an even keel in most categories, and that is not the case. Until you achieve that, there is no sense in the discussion. My Necro will never compete with a warrior because their main stat, condition, is utterly useless.

Northern Shiverpeaks Doldenvan Passage in Wayfarer Foothills
Forsaken Halls and Ulukk’s Hunger in Dredgehaunt Cliffs
Lair of the Coil in Timberline Falls
Maguuma Jungle Calx’s Hideout in Metrica Province

This page is extremely helpful: http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/User:Bluestone/Explorer

I took the players approach to this game from the first sneak peak. I leveled all 8 of my chars together, mastering each story step and associated areas with each class. I completed maps before moving on. I waited until level 60 to craft before going to level 80 and into Orr. I then started dungeons and played each one on each class. Then I started doing the Champ trains occasionally, along with a few fractals. and the World boss train for the dragonite. I crafted one set of Ascended for my main.
I never rushed through any portion of the game. I am now going back to Dungeons to do them again and look at the changes made. Once I have 500 deadly blooms I will craft the first legendary as the precursor is sitting in the bank waiting for them.
I play the game first, I do not see the quest for shinnies as my sole focus like so many others. By the time I finish my first Legendary, I will have the resources to make another, provided the RNG God’s provide me one. I will not seek one. I will not gamble real world dollars or farm Gold to use the MF. I will just play the game.
I am glad the OP finally realized what the game is about. Now if all the other completionists would figure it out, maybe the game would be a place of less and less hostility to others for differing opinions, play styles, opinions of viability, etc etc.
Living World is a great concept in the infancy stages. Anet has made some interesting turns on its path as of late, and it may turn out better than we imagine. I am not going to berate them every step of the way, I am too busy playing the game.
Now if you want to talk about their brand of Communication, I have a boatload of gripes, but I still enjoy the game.

I wish I could farm the bed of mushrooms under the Deathroot Shack in Queensdale. I think someone is up to no good with that cultivation.

under the old drop rules, I killed Teq 218 times, I received 3 Teq boxes within 2 weeks, right before the drop rate changes.
I still go for the community that I see there everyday. Why did I get 3 Hordes and others have none, even though they have been there with me every time, I cannot explain.

anabasis.7346:

Zerker parties also get their fair share of non-zerkers with crappy builds expecting to be carried, in addition to all this boring and repetitive posts in the forum.

Not all nonzerker builds are crappy, they are just not the extreme in efficiency. Not all nonzerkers need to be carried. I have carried 4 zerkers in a dungeon while running a non zerker build. As an arbiter, it was amusing to listen to the dead zerkers berate me because I was using non zerker gear. Utterly immature argument in my opinion. They were more efficient thasn me, but they were dead and I was not. I killed the Boss alone as they lay dead at his feet.

Try not to be so fixated on your build/playstyle being the end all of everything. There are other ways of doing things even if they are not as efficient as yours. There is nothing wrong with that. The attitude of both sides of the coin is a battle that will not end until both decide to relent that their style of play is not the best way to play for everybody, because; to each his own, we all play like we want.

450-475 is nothing but converting ascended materials, no cost involved except the reagents. 475-500 is at most 16 exotic pieces, not very expensive, not even close to 80G in material. Think before you believe everything you read. I have all currently available crafters at 500, and spent less than 50G across all of them.

Harvest Gold and Honey are good choices.

Lilith Ajit.6173:

Sligh.2789:

Lilith Ajit.6173:

Sligh.2789:

The problem is not Zerk haters hating Zerkers. The problem lies in the difference between the playstyles of the two factions.
1)Zerkers (for the large majority) view the game in a way where they are looking to beat it as fast as possible to get to the rewards. The loss of 1 or 2 minutes of time is less than the most efficient completion time of the stated goal to accept the rewards. This type of player is bent on domination of the game for maximum rewards as fast as possible.
2) Non zerker players are more interested in playing the game to play, experiment with different classes and builds that may not be as efficient or fast as zerkers, but result in a win just the same. I feel this is a more skilled and intelligent way to play, as there are more obstacles and harder gameplay, as you are not able to burn down the enemy before they are able to challenge you with their abilities.
When the zerkers stop discriminating against the non zerker for wanting to play differently, even if it does slow down the zerkers speed run design, there will be a head on collision in playstyle thinking.
Let the zerkers play their brand of gaming. I will play my style of gaming, one that takes in all the beautiful graphics, NPC interaction, enemy tactics mitigation through skilled build, skill, and combat maneuvers, and I will enjoy it.
No zerker can take the enjoyment I have in taking down a dungeon boss solo, while they lie dead on the ground telling me that my build/gear/armor is inferior. Ever.

No offense but what I read was “this is in my opinion the more intelligent way to play because it’s how I play.”

It’s also not 1 or 2 minutes different. It can mean the difference of 2 hours if you’re attempting the more difficult content (fractals, some arah paths I’ve encountered). For me… I can play at most 40 minutes per day. Do I run 2 TA paths or 1? That’s the choice. Berserker or not berserker. More or less dungeons. Hm.

It is my opinion, that I play the way I play, because I like it that way. If you are limited in your play time and need to zerk your way to rewards, that is fine with me. That is the intelligent choice in your situation. I have been gaming since pencil and paper games debuted in the early 70’s, and the immersion is key for my enjoyment.
Without trying to be condescending, I find that most younger gamers have a desire to speed beat every game they play, and this zerker bias/zerker bashing debate is a direct result of the two types of gameplay. I like the way I play and enjoy the challenge of using a seemingly worse class/weapon/build to beat an enemy. The challenge is the game to me.

You’re trying to out mature me. Cute.

I’m a role player for many years, pencil and paper. I also role play in game. I’m a wife and a home owner and an engineer. It’s the intelligent choice to play efficiently but it’s also the fun choice. I find it fun not wiping. I find it fun demolishing critters in dungeons. I find it challenging to properly time dodges and to use skills when they’re needed to support my group. The beauty of the game was that before I could do these things my soldier gear acted as my training wheels.

No berserker is going to tell you you can’t play how you want. The issue is when we ask for berserkers, we get people trying to impose their way of play on our runs. They also keep posting these threads to try and stop us from playing how we want. We don’t post similar threads. That’s a problem.

My train of thought is not an attack on your maturity.
I find it more challenging and enjoyable to try to kill an enemy with a hobble on myself, rather than demolish them instantly, although on a bad day I will zerk and demolish them to vent frustration, I do find that enjoyable too to be honest.
The back and forth between zerkers is like the current Dem vs Repub battle of two extreme points of view. Until, as in real life, the two sides learn to compromise, there will never be a common ground where all can live together and enjoy the game. That is the real immersion breaker for me.