Guild Wars 2

I’ve been told your nameplate still appears. I’d love to see that change to more effectively hide you in WvW. It may be hell on the endemic population of critters, but it would add an interesting espionage element to things.

Jade Quarry welcomes all with open arms. RawNoodles, time to work your magic!

GekoHayate.2451:

profitsports.5789:

we all know those guilds from sos will transfer out soon, again…

What powerball numbers should I get? Are there supermodel twins in my future? What is the meaning of life, the universe and everything?

Quickpicks.
No.
42.

We need to start a “Bring Back Dhuum” campaign. But… the ANet Commando’s would be perfect as well. Drone strike FTW!

The eyes look like they’re photo-shopped on errors. Maybe a Charr-Asura hybrid? Asurarr? Charsura? Just… not right, you know?

Only the deaf will eat salads after this.

Only a WvW player still doesn’t have Orr waypoints unlocked, nor do they know where “Southsun” is.

Zerg. The other white meat.

Any latest score updates before the work day ends?

Shootsfoot.9276:

Add mounts, and get rid of these stupid waypoints.

Why ruin GW lore like that? Map travelling goes all the way back to the original Guild Wars, as does the lack of mounted travel.

LowestTruth.2635:

The broom was only the beginning. I would wager on cosmetic mounts that do not change speed.

That’s the one type of mount I wouldn’t mind at all. Saddle up a quaggan and I’ll give it a second look indeed!

Who is this “we” of which you speak?

Hush and go ride your broom.

EasymodeX.4062:

VOLKON.1290:

Sardonia.8196:

All i can say is “WHAT?”

I think he’s trying to communicate with us, but can’t be sure…

I’ve summarized it a bit for the laymen:

jq convertingto muchless men of leader events have you passing out chastise to their fights the people thatthnk dynamic in itself finds gems thru fear of guilds have tower for engaging the manuals

… does that make more sense?

You may have just caused me some neural damage. The only cure is a Score Update!

Celtic Lady.3729:

I do think of Mesmers as a feminine-style profession, I guess. The butterflies and all the purple feels girly to me. I know guys that won’t touch the profession because it feels too “girly” to them. Personally, I enjoy it, but then I’m a girl. lol

Oh please. What could possibly be more manly than not only destroying your enemy, but destroying them with butterflies while you’re at it? I mean, “Dude. I killed you. With butterflies. Yeah, purple butterflies. Deal with it.”

Sardonia.8196:

Asglarek.8976:

Rome is burning…Rome is burning!

On JQ nowadays you have commanders that run from fights, hide in towers chastise people for engaging the enemy for fear of retaliation you have guilds passing out commander manuals to their officers that have business leading dynamic events muchless against real people then throw in those commanders thatthink buying gems thru gemstore and convertingto gold makes you a leader of men well thats the mess jq finds itself in.

All i can say is “WHAT?”

I think he’s trying to communicate with us, but can’t be sure…

It would be a nice treat to be able to “safely” get a few Asura from each server together for one of these score update pics.

Phoenix.7069:

VOLKON.1290:

So much for subtle…

When I imagine your example I imagine a mesmer flinging a tiny Asura all the way across the map. I like to think big.

My mesmer is a tiny Asura. Now picture the Norn on the receiving end…

So much for subtle…

buki.3108:

Would like to see one week where SoR’s NA got to play the weekdays…. JQ would get wrecked by atleast a 40k lead.

Well, no one doubts this. I mean, look at the lead SoR has going into the weekdays. It’s obvious. Wait… I’m getting something… oh… never mind.

How about a little thought-fun with this thread. A test of subtlety, a flair for nuance. Present what you see as the biggest “problem” with your favorite profession and subtly tweak it to have a potentially profound effect. For example… stealth should not break when you do damage… that’s not subtle. Don’t go there. But…think (obviously) of WvW.

For example: The greatest problem I see with mesmers is Great Sword 5. If you knock foes back with this they’ll stop if they hit a beetle. It needs some lift, a little added elevation on the knockback.

No one has seen it.

/discussion.

daimasei.4091:

By the way, the manifesto is not filled with lies. Daniel Dociu speak the true.
This is the most beautiful virtual world EVER. I have tried several new MMO’s (and re-tried several old MMO’s) since I bought GW2 (due the disappointment on all changes) and after walk a few steps (literally) I quit immediately. Why? Because I can’t longer stand the graphics or the animation, so yes, at least someone stay true to his words (all my respects to the man).

Also don’t forget that there’s no required grind to progress in this game and have access to all content. Another truth that was distorted by some into the “no grind EVAH” fallacy.

This is SPQR guild in Sunny. You’ll notice the gate is still up.

OK, work with me here a moment… we know the dragons consume magic, correct? I also recall the dragons feed until satiated, then go to sleep. Seems to be, thinking about it, that there needs to be a constant source of new magic trickling into Tyria to replenish what the dragons have consumed. Once the quantity of magic in Tyria reaches a certain level the dragons stir, awaken and feed again. Which begs the questions… what happens if the dragons don’t drain the magic periodically? Can there be too much? Are we doing more harm than good as a whole by killing the dragons? (Not that they can be lived with regardless…)

Are the dragons a necessary component in maintaining a magic equilibrium in Tyria, and what are the long term consequences for disturbing that equilibrium?

crewthief.8649:

VOLKON.1290:

BakaOniiChan.9564:

Pmetheus.5397:

BakaOniiChan.9564:

SFShinigami.2015:

I like the part where you completely ignore the moral of the story and continue on with your kitten

Just because something isn’t in the rules, doesn’t mean it is the right thing to do.

RIGHT THING TO DO? YOU ARE IN WvW correct? WHAT DO U DO? YOU FIGHT THE OTHER SERVERS. There is a reason why names are red… BECAUSE THEY ARE YOUR ENEMY!… If ANet intended for you not to kill them then they wouldn’t make your oppositions name red. I don’t get what you guys are getting at here. You guys set up a place to fight an unofficial place an “unwritten rule” and expect people not to go there to kill you guys. No place is off limits. Players can be anywhere at any time. If you saw 40 red names in front of you, you aren’t going to go see what they are doing… you are going go there and prepare to fight.

Calm the kitten down kiddo. You’re embarrassing your server. That being said, if you are that adamant about not following a general code of conduct that we in the guild wars community abide by, maybe this game isn’t for you. I hear there are certain games in the genre of FPS that caters to your demographic.

Edited for spelling

Maybe it isn’t but I’m here anyways playing the game the way it is intended. I’m not embarrassing anyone. No code of conduct anywhere states no one can interrupt a GvG going on. So when you are done trying to play mommy, how about actually playing WvW the way it is intended and give us more loot bags?

To be fair, the degree of self-righteous indignation you’re displaying over being called for what many consider an act of bad sportsmanship could easily be seen my many associated with you by server as embarrassing indeed. You forget the example set in World War II in Germany. On Christmas day, troops from both sides laid down arms, came together and celebrated Christmas together on the field of battle. There were no “written rules”, they just did what was the right thing to do.

Um…Not sure about this. I’m aware that on Christmas Day, 82nd and 101st Soldiers could hear the Germans singing Christmas Carols in their foxholes. But actually coming together and having egg nog and celebrating…lol, not sure that’s historically accurate. The event i’m speaking of was during the Battle of the Bulge, in the Ardennes Forest. Of course, there was a ceasefire that day…so that much is accurate. But they didn’t join together in any kind of harmonious celebration.

Not eggnog, but a spontaneous game of football. My error… it was WWI, not WWII.

Zappix.7928:

Has it been confirmed or dismissed that the new Flame and Frost story will open up new areas of Tyria? It would be nice to explore the Blood Legion homelands and some more parts of the Shiverpeaks

I thought there was mention that there wouldn’t be any new zones with this content, but you gave me an idea… imagine if they opened up those areas (which make sense… Shiverpeaks overrun with Dredge, Flame Legion homelands) and made them level 85 zones?

By level 85, I mean the mobs are level 85 and have new tricks and abilities up their sleeves, we’re still our humble level 80 selves.

Could we handle it?

PocketMafia.9314:

I haven’t touched Guardian or Warrior or Ele.

Tried Engineer, Mesmer, Thief, Necro, Ranger to around level 5-15.

I really need a fun and good pve class, that’s why I am using Asura (fun class)

Tried mesmer? What weapons did you try? Greatsword is a lot of fun (for me) as well as sword/pistol. With different weapons even the same profession plays differently. Just remember to not simply use your skills. Slow down, take a look at them. They’ll often have secondary and even tertiary effects, or conditions when you want to use them or not. Great Sword 5 (GS5), for example, only use that if the enemy is close. GS4 phantasm is a great opener due to the cripple and nice damage. If you’re fairly close and use GS2 you’ll get the bounces to hit you and buff yourself. The profession gets even more fun once you start playing with traits. For example, one simple trait creates a clone when you dodge. Wait… did I say simple? It’ll change how you mesmer. I often dodge as an offensive means now and not only defensively.

Main hand sword can turn you into a melee mesmer. I’ve only recently started trying that, and it’s… well, flat out fun.

Also, don’t forget to shatter! Shatters are a great mesmer tool to do a variety of things, from inflict damage to spread AoE conditions, interrupt, make yourself invulnerable, then you can enhance them further with traits…

I recommend giving the mesmer another look. They’re really great fun. Just remember to look under the hood and take her out on the highway… a test drive around the block doesn’t come close to showing you what she’s capable of.

Oh, and don’t get me started on the fun you can have in WvW with a Focus offhand…

BakaOniiChan.9564:

Pmetheus.5397:

BakaOniiChan.9564:

SFShinigami.2015:

I like the part where you completely ignore the moral of the story and continue on with your kitten

Just because something isn’t in the rules, doesn’t mean it is the right thing to do.

RIGHT THING TO DO? YOU ARE IN WvW correct? WHAT DO U DO? YOU FIGHT THE OTHER SERVERS. There is a reason why names are red… BECAUSE THEY ARE YOUR ENEMY!… If ANet intended for you not to kill them then they wouldn’t make your oppositions name red. I don’t get what you guys are getting at here. You guys set up a place to fight an unofficial place an “unwritten rule” and expect people not to go there to kill you guys. No place is off limits. Players can be anywhere at any time. If you saw 40 red names in front of you, you aren’t going to go see what they are doing… you are going go there and prepare to fight.

Calm the kitten down kiddo. You’re embarrassing your server. That being said, if you are that adamant about not following a general code of conduct that we in the guild wars community abide by, maybe this game isn’t for you. I hear there are certain games in the genre of FPS that caters to your demographic.

Edited for spelling

Maybe it isn’t but I’m here anyways playing the game the way it is intended. I’m not embarrassing anyone. No code of conduct anywhere states no one can interrupt a GvG going on. So when you are done trying to play mommy, how about actually playing WvW the way it is intended and give us more loot bags?

To be fair, the degree of self-righteous indignation you’re displaying over being called for what many consider an act of bad sportsmanship could easily be seen my many associated with you by server as embarrassing indeed. You forget the example set in World War II in Germany. On Christmas day, troops from both sides laid down arms, came together and celebrated Christmas together on the field of battle. There were no “written rules”, they just did what was the right thing to do.

I keep seeing his hair changing, he’s doing something to keep from despawning. Please look into this exploit. (Currently happening in BlackGate Borderlands, T1 NA.)

FractalChaos.6539:

At 3:35 PM, we (SoR) have about maybe 20 people in our own BL, and far as I can tell we’re outmanned on all maps. Map chat is dead, team chat is dead, TeamSpeak has maybe 10 -15 people spread across all channels.

I know we don’t have 24h coverage on this server, but I’ve rarely seen it this bad across all maps…

Note to self… log in quick, hit SoR.

Salacious.7358:

Martin Kerstein.3071:

This isn’t actual news, it is something we have mentioned multiple times before. As the original interview says, and I quote:
“Expansions are definitely something that we’ll potentially look at in the future,” he explained. “We don’t have a timetable on it. We’re open to it, but I think our major focus as a studio is making the living world concept as strong as possibly can for the players that we’ve got.”

No one said we will never do an expansion, all Colin says (again) is that we are currently focusing on Living Story and other ongoing to the live game.

this sounds more like "no expansion for a couple years, so every one take a break while we push out tiny tiny amounts of content you can do in under an hour. Your living story is an example of this, I fished it under an hour…..an hour people….You should release something bigger, more ambitious……

Because what… everything should be packed into the prelude?

This is simply the prelude, introducing us to the concepts of the new content on the way. This isn’t “the content” we’re getting. So far we know little… the dredge and Flame Legion are in cohorts with each other (seems a rather odd coupling, to be honest), and they seem irked with the northern “good guys”. Of course, considering how we’ve been kicking their butts who can blame them. The real question is, what happens when the shoe drops?

I don’t know… the blue and gold macaw one needs to have that lower beak fit into the upper, not jut out past it. They could never evolve with that type of non-functional beak.

Last skill shown: Predator Air Strike. Have it available to Commanders if more than 20 foes are within a certain radius of each other.

Ooo Rah.

Kincaidia.3192:

I will say something odd was happening last night. I was at the tower to the west of our keep in FA borderland, and standing on the stairs where they go up to the wall – not even on the wall section – just on the stairs. Multiple times I got pulled up the stairs, across the top of the wall, and over the side.

Something about this appears to be factually exaggerated. You’re trying to make the claim, and let me get this right, that you were pulled up stairs, across a wall, over the lip and down to the ground on the other side? Am I reading that correctly?

If that’s true, this old dog needs to learn a new trick.

Exterminans.9723:

Depends, Ele gets boring after a while too. Your rotation is just longer than on every other class, but it’s still just a rotation. You end up with only spamming skills 2-5 of each element and cycling to the next attunement once all your skills are on cooldown. Oh, and don’t forget to dodge every 10 seconds to activate an additional blast finisher.

And thats only if you play an D/D Ele, staff Ele is actually worse. Biggest difficulty is to aim with the AoE skills, but apart from this is just rotation again. Or maybe even just autoattack, because on staff some atunements don’t make any sense in some situations.

Heh… someone that still thinks rotations work best. No wonder you think the professions are boring.

walkinassasin.4275:

400 is a small tick. now them jq boys have a big ol tick [bag of massive necros]

Isn’t that a shot from last week?

sostronk.8167:

I can pull over the lip with one pull in some locations.

The only way to do that is to have the field angled so the line actually crosses over the lip, exceedingly tough to do from below. If you can, for example, have the field form an “X” with the edge so that some of the field goes over the edge and down the side it’ll work. If the field is purely below the lip they’ll stop, such as a keep wall from below.

sostronk.8167:

jportell.2197:

Mesmer phantasms suffer the “Obstructed!” message more than any other skill in the game.

Sounds like you don’t roll a Necro with spectral grasp.

I’ve a necro and a mesmer. Spectral grasp will suffer the obstructed if something is directly in the way, but it will pull people over a lip if it hits them. Not only that, it pulls them all the way to the necro and is worthy of many giggles when done well. The mesmer skill will pull AoE up to the lip (even out of LoS) and often to the top of the lip but not over. It takes a second mesmer to finish the job, and even then the enemy simply falls straight down instead of being pulled to the mesmer. They each have advantages and disadvantages, and counters.

Now, on areas with no lips the mesmer skill is a thing of beauty because you can pull people away from you as well as towards you. Toss focus four so it overlaps a cliff edge and watch it rain foes! Ah, good times, good times. That is, of course, unless there’s a particularly tall blade of grass in the way.

The biggest weakness is the fact that the mesmer skill drags you across the ground where others pick you up some. That’s why the lips will stop the mesmer one but not spectral grasp for example. Of course… people that jump up on the edge of the wall, they make me giddy.

What are the opinions now regarding the changes to the “X” factor (i.e. 25 people for orange swords).

From my limited perspective I’ve seen no effect on zerging at all. I have seen more instances of “ninja-ing” attempts and with larger than prior groups (15 people, three or four cats on the wall…), but the zergs remain the same. Scouting is more important and more people are needed to run around to do so. It’s not as fun on the surface, but when you find the ninja group things liven up greatly.

Thoughts: Mixed opinions. I don’t notice any great change in how things are playing out. I’m used to the “more information” the old method gave us (5 players for orange), but don’t think there will be a problem adapting.

clay.7849:

Blacklight.2871:

bpphantom.8243:

darkace.8925:

Dante.1508:

thisolderhead.5127:

It is the road, not the destination…
;-)

The road blocks in the road, make the destination unreachable..

Bull[expletive]! There is not one single aspect of this game in which you cannot participate without a full set of Ascended gear. Not. One. Single. Aspect.

Please help me infuse my exotic gear so I can run level 30-50 fractals with my guild and not get obliterated by Agony.

Are there any 30-50 fractals that are different than the ones you see between levels 1 and 10?

Yes, they have agony. So they are all different.

I’d like to say “Nice try”, but I’m trying to be more truthful these days. Fractals have agony starting at level 10. Someone may wish to confirm, but I’m pretty sure there are those that do fine up to near 30 without agony resist. You can dodge most of the agony applicators at these levels if you’re paying attention.

Hocofaisan.2593:

I don’t understand the hoopla.

I deleted a pair of 30ish alts so I could focus on gearing my most developed toon.
I generally have just enough play time per day to complete my daily, and make some progress towards my monthly.

Joining an uber guild isnt really fair to the other members, so the kitten laurel path is my only option to finishing my ascended set.

Yes, BiS is important to my fun, as I fully expect (and demand honestly, after all this effort) that agony spreads out to more portions of the game.

I still have interest in a tengu alt if that ever happens, so I will probably end up, retiring my current toon in favor of gearing that new one when the time comes.

I’d be curious to see a screenshot of your character select screen. But, assuming you actually did delete your characters… why? It makes no sense at all. You can be fully decked out in ascended jewelry, be sporting an approx. 7% damage increase (full berserker) and still provide me plenty of loot bags in WvW. The increase is so nominal that skill will still trump meager stats.

Revolution.6301:

VOLKON.1290:

Babayum.9204:

VOLKON.1290:

So… it’s ok for there to be skins that are long grinds to work towards so long as they’re not the skins you want? That’s how this appears to be coming across. Legendary weapon skins – OK to have a long grind. You want Fractal skin – therefore not OK to have a long grind. You’re making the choice to go after something you know flat out is meant to be rare to get. The odds are small, meaning it’s possible you never get one (and of course possible you get one today). Now, you can kick up your odds, if I recall this correctly, by doing multiple dailies in Fractals (each ten levels is a different daily), but it is what it is… a rare drop meant to be a rare drop.

So you think it is reasonable to let someone do the SAME content DAILY for over a year?

• snip *

Yes. If they want to, yes I do think it’s reasonable to let someone do the same content daily for over a year if they wish.

Are you saying it’s not reasonable to let someone do the same content daily if they choose to?

Look clearly you enjoy grinding which is fine But GuildWars 2 isn’t set up like WoW. A reward for a skin should require grind but not a grind that will seem like it will take lightyears to complete.

Lightyears is a measure of distance, btw. The grind for rare items is optional. How could that possibly be an issue or even remotely resemble a WoW-style treadmill game?

hex.3218:

VOLKON.1290:

I thought it was “OMFG! RUN! I’M IN FIRE!!!!”

Well… I am.

First Guild Pun Ever!

I’m slowly coming out of my shell. Everyone knows how bashful I am.

Mesmer – Time Dilation Field: Creates an energy field of stopped time (5 to 10 secs) around the mesmer catching all projectiles. When the field ends (or is shattered by the mesmer) all trapped projectiles fire out in all directions causing damage, blindness and confusion.

Probably OP, but my main is a mesmer so I’m OK with that.

Babayum.9204:

I’m at 40 and i know that you can do dailys several times a day, but that doesnt mean it feels any less progressive.

See the point is, i dont mind a long grind… i really dont. I have crafted a legendary which is a very long grind. The problem i have with fractal weapons is that you have no feeling of progression towards it, it’s not like “today i’m gonna do a bit of it and tomorrow i will be a bit closer to my goal”. It’s more like either get it or dont. Repeat untill you are lucky.

How does that motivate to continue grind it out?

To be fair here, it’s a drop, not a crafted item. Drops drop when they drop. Crafted items are crafted when you have the materials to craft them with. The motivation is/ should be “how bad do you want it”. If you want it, you go for it (and make a lot of money along the way from loot).

There’s pretty much something for everyone here. Some things you can get through dailies. Some things are rare drops, a shot in the dark. Some are long, time consuming crafts requiring multiple things to be completed to achieve.

hex.3218:

JQ has politics too.

One guys says “I’m gonna do this.” he goes and does it and then everybody tells him how bad he screwed up! It’s a great system, but you have to have thick skin, so we’ve been stapling elephant hides to each other and doing that shin kick thing from the Kumatae vids we watch (daily).

Most of us are Samurai and don’t get involved in politics. We roam the countryside in search of danger. Some of us have shutguns.

JQ politics doesn’t have any red tape either. Can we borrow some?

Here on JQ our motto is “OMFG! RUN! I’M ON FIRE!!!!” and it’s served us well in the past, present and future (for those that time commute to WvW).

You’ll be seeing a lot more of JQ in the comming weeks because our invisibility is about to wear off.

Just thought you’d know…

I thought it was “OMFG! RUN! I’M IN FIRE!!!!”

Well… I am.

shimmerless.4560:

Saying “No shatter/use mantras (which mantras?)” is fine, but I like to use Distortion against Rangers. It helps to counter kiting without putting BF on cooldown. Plus you’ve went 30 into Dueling, anyone with half a head on their shoulders’ll roll DE with that many Major slots.

I think he said you can’t use a shatter build, but you can skill shatter. Taking away shatter would be like taking away the ranger’s pet.

Babayum.9204:

Jski.6180:

Babayum.9204:

Jski.6180:

Babayum.9204:

Ever wondered how big the chance is to get the desired Skin out of ur daily chest? Well here are some numbers

1. Chance to get a Skin out of daily chest is 5% (not verified but general community Assumption is that the chance is at around 5% so we will work with this figure)

2. Assuming i want to get a specific Skin out of the daily chest, in my example ill use the Dagger Skin.

3. We have 19 available Skins so once ure lucky enough to get a random Skin you have a 5,2% chance to get the Skin you want.

0,05 (5% chance to get a skin) x 0,052 (5,2% chance to get desired skin if you get a Skin drop) = 0,0026

0,0026 = 0,26% Chance to get the desired Skin once u open ur daily chest.

Now let’s see how many dailys you have to do on average to get the Skin you want:

100 / 0,26 = 384

Yes, 384 Daily runs to get the skin you want on average.

Seriously A Net? This is the most riddicolous grind ever made. You want me to repeat the same content 384 times?? Considering it takes about 1h to finish a Maw run this is absurd.

Atleast give us a real chance.

Here’s a suggestion:

Mystic Forge Recipe:

1x Random Fractal Skin
30x Pristine Fractal Relics
1x Gift of Ascension
250x Orichalcum XXX (Insert “Swordblade” for example to get the Fractal Sword Skin)

I like your suggestion its a pain to get a weapon you cant use and its a true achievement to get a fractal weapon.

How exactly is it an achievement?

Someone doing daily 20 the first time could be getting the skin he wants while u do dailiys for months if not 1+ year to get ur skin.

How exactly is it an achievement?

You still need high level fractal to get a “good” drop rate for them. High level fractals get very hard and take a lot of skill to make it to maw. The skin become an respective of an achievement.

You missed my point, they drop on lvl 20 which is very easy to complete. Which is in my opinion, not an achievement.

You missed his. Get to level 40, do the daily three times a day if you wish. There, three chances a day.

Babayum.9204:

VOLKON.1290:

So… it’s ok for there to be skins that are long grinds to work towards so long as they’re not the skins you want? That’s how this appears to be coming across. Legendary weapon skins – OK to have a long grind. You want Fractal skin – therefore not OK to have a long grind. You’re making the choice to go after something you know flat out is meant to be rare to get. The odds are small, meaning it’s possible you never get one (and of course possible you get one today). Now, you can kick up your odds, if I recall this correctly, by doing multiple dailies in Fractals (each ten levels is a different daily), but it is what it is… a rare drop meant to be a rare drop.

So you think it is reasonable to let someone do the SAME content DAILY for over a year?

• snip *

Yes. If they want to, yes I do think it’s reasonable to let someone do the same content daily for over a year if they wish.

Are you saying it’s not reasonable to let someone do the same content daily if they choose to?

bighaben.5890:

I also have a goal, I want to enjoy the game (which is doable) and have a bad kitten looking character. Unfortunately, I’ve exhausted all PvE content, and my character wants some awesome weapon skins that I’ll never be obtain without moving into a huge grind. So? Should I quit? Well, I don’t want, and I’m pretty sure ANET doesn’t want me to. But ANET does force people into this awkward position I’m in by having a lot of endgame skins locked behind very long and difficult grinds. PvP isn’t for anyone, and as a result I’m left with very little to do but to look at long grinds as being required.

Now, long grinds don’t have to be absent, Legendaries are fine, but I like to have goals set in front of me that I can see noticeable progress being made on. This isn’t present in a grind like the fractal weapons where it’s all random, or with precursors as another example.

So… it’s ok for there to be skins that are long grinds to work towards so long as they’re not the skins you want? That’s how this appears to be coming across. Legendary weapon skins – OK to have a long grind. You want Fractal skin – therefore not OK to have a long grind. You’re making the choice to go after something you know flat out is meant to be rare to get. The odds are small, meaning it’s possible you never get one (and of course possible you get one today). Now, you can kick up your odds, if I recall this correctly, by doing multiple dailies in Fractals (each ten levels is a different daily), but it is what it is… a rare drop meant to be a rare drop.

Florgknight.1589:

kidbs.8920:

Torres.2890:

The ranger will have to use the 1500 range longbow trait to his advantage, and quickly use “2” + QZ and pet swap quickness.
But if the mesmer manages to get 3 Izekers up , you’re dead.

Mesmer pops Feedback or Mimic on the ranger and the ranger quickly ends up killing himself.

If I use rapid fire, I only take confusion damage once for 10 shots.

A wonderful time for a quick heal using Mirror, is it not?