Guild Wars 2

I expect slight improvements to happen. But it might end up like the last scepter “Buff”.

Keeps and towers might auto upgrade, but please only with suplys. So per dolly count. If there are less camp´s or more dolly´s killed keeps upgrade slower or never if there are no suplys. Also no one needs the laser.
Map size feels to large but time will tell that.

Exos.3472:

Wolfric.9380:

Druid ?. Very solid roming class. I play ele and pair with a druid trapper and its great.

Mind elaborating ? So far the druids I have been against were solid condi specs with massive heals that would tear me down very slowly.

I don’t recall the ranger to have many escape mechanics, as its prime defence consists of 1.5k range. NSFT.

(NotSorryForTrolling)

Druid has ancestral grace and natural stride which makes solid roaming speed. He can half the recharge of ancestral grace with quick draw whichs allows a 6s recharge. My friend runs that and is fast in roaming and catches his targets.

jdallen.5179:

Once there, the consensus was, we liked the layouts and the mechanical changes which make defense easier and force attackers to think, but dislike the increase in size and gratuitous complexity of some of the structures. Our thought is they could have been designed with much of the same creativity and artfulness, and but far simpler to find our way around in.

This is the conclusion of the new maps. It should be more compact and there is no need of the siege laser. The general design is pretty nice and refreshing.
I would still prefer three diffrent maps including one being the old alpine map.

Had nice camp fights with my friend yesterday dueling a three man romain group. First two we won, then they got there revenge twice ^^.
The thing was we did just use a small corner of the map.

An the maps don´t look to be desigend for open field battles. I like the positional layout ist just feels to long to run around an find soemone … also the build in traps are a bit nusiance. Don´t know if this is a good thing.

hope so. At least i hat nice 2:3 fights today. But be barly used 10% of the map.

Agree wit OP.
the map itself is fine and i like many aspects, but for WvW it seems bad.
Remove laser, remove free upgrade, give diffrent WvW maps for each relam.

In a short sentence:
So we have a nice map that feels to large…

stacks gone is good..

Sich.7103 made a good post.

WvW is all about strategy and tactics. And fast fun. Taking camps for supplyies, towers to support keep battles, or have more suplies, watch points on routes and Keeps for siege. A mix of diffrent scale gametypes. Romaing, Tower battles, siege weapons, Zerg fights and Keep battles. All this flowing and well reachable (not running minutes up/down stairs).
A map that does not support this is a WvW fail. The new map feels like this.

I left HOT PvE fast. Did some hero challenges an a bit story to get my elite.
Back to WvW. Yesterday 1h playtime. I encountered a 6 man group and later 3 (don´t know if it was the same but smaller). Did only see one from my own side at the starting point. I also can´t do dailies in WvW annymore. Pre HOT i had 15-30 mins time, jumped in WvW did dailies and had 1-3 small scale fights often 1:1.
This was fun and enjoyable. Can´t do it on the new map and this was the reason for me to even play GW2 :-/. Nice WvW roming fights with low playtime in a row.
And don´t tell me use sPvP or PvE …

I use earth instead of air. Works well with S/F and Staff for me and i am condi focused. Staff is rampager, S/F rabid+giver, rest rabid + celestial earrings.
Its my vaforite build i want to learn to handle best and i don´t care if its optimal in PvE. It works solo and in teamfights quite good.

Yes. But i would do it partially. Fast solution 2 alpine 1 desert.

Best would be three diffrent maps.
Alpine
Desert (no oasis and underground layer)
Oasis/Jungle with underground.
So two smaller maps and three totally diffrent.

Better would be a condi rune.

+25 Condition damage
+5% Condition duration
+50 Condition damage
+10% Condition duration
+100 Condition damage
Remove a condition on aura aplication.

ele condi builds are not in the best spot and this rune has the potential to change that.

I am also a WvW player. Its 90% of the game for me. the new maps seem desigend for PvE. To large.
Keeps and towers should be connected and support each other in siege to some extent, roaming needs to be very important and camps reachable in a considerable time not running 1001 stairs.
No one needs the laser …
It´ss bloated. A WvW map must be simple to handle and fast to play (beside keep siege)
Whoever designed it.. Its not a WvW player and even less a WvW roamer. Good design but failed purpose and this can kill a huge part of the community. Especially now at chrismas time. They get something else under the tree and are gone …
So act now or you loose Anet.

Of course you can go ful zerker but the valk armor feels more efficient.
I would even use celestial earrings and go for a blood or leech sigil but its personal preference.

The map is to bloated….

Split it and give three diffrent maps. One for each side.
1.) the old arctic map with ruins.
2.) A desert map but without the underground layer and oasis. So a bit smaller and only air shrines.
3.) Jungle/Oasis map with the underground layer. Earth/Fire shrines

I guess all would be happy and it is map diversity.

Druid ?. Very solid roming class. I play ele and pair with a druid trapper and its great.

Staff is top zerg. don´t know if you want to do some “Meta” build and also how much defence/offence stats. I would do something like that:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vFAQFAWn0XC9XidOAWYCcYiFBAzN1+aztBBgCQRUYDECSBA-TFCFwALVeA4CAcVJISlYCeAAF3fItOAVq/EAABYn7MAYn78o78o7sMA6jB-w

This is a balaced aproach not too sqishy but still strong damage. The type i prefer.
And lookin on the verocity this build is evil ^^.

I always said instead of the swiftness give a tait like cronomancer baseline speed…. Would make tempest at least more comftable when running around …
Also i don´t use water overload due to the 5s delay.
And yes scepter calls for better auto attacks for eons ^^. Not much but ….

I would go an enormous step. But guess after release tis would be to far.
I would give tempest a weapon swap within one element (the first traited). This triggers the elements swap. But loose ele swap completeley. For overcharges only 20s wait remains and it does not hinder wp swap. You are always in the same element Swap time maybe 5-6 s.
But this would be very diffeent. I would love it. ;-).
Like you take fire, put staff and d/d in. F1 is your overlaod and you can swap Staff / d/d all 6s always staying in fire.

WH + Imbued Melodies + Invigorating torrents

Or

Focus/Dagger + Elemental Bastion + tempestious aria (if you take remov condi on regen then invigoration torrets!). And i would considder the recharg reduction in water + the aditional frost aura. For tempestios aria use at least 3 shouts.

For healing the rune is fine. I would prefer soldiers with your build.

and shouts instant including rebound …

Dagger is more offensive. Focus compensates the weaker defence of the amulet and gains a huge boost with geomancers training. Yo go to air often incuding overload. If you have trouble overloading take stability on overload instead of regen + vigor. Its a fresh air build! Auras add to your heal and defence.

I paly fire instead of air but it looks like that:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vFAQJAodncMA9XiVYCeOAcYilHAz9xeZ/sDngMwLUIAcA2gA-TJBFABiXGoo9HW4BAAwJAAA

Often unstable conduit is used.

WvW got a bloated map and ruins were a good addition. the new map does not help WvW :-(.

just did see Masori´s answer. Making these maps would be great. I suggestet this too. The new desert map is too bloated.

The WvW maps are to bloated ….

Towers should be at support routes and running ways. From towers you shoud have a good sight and range for sige weapons supporting keeps in defence or even offence.
Running in layers and endless ways to get somwere kills the game.
First impression. Playability is abyssal compared to the old maps.
And that laser thing is unitresting/not fitting.
On one side I like the stairs and the subterran grounds, but its a pain running around.

Suggestion:
Remove the laser.

The map is so large, you can split it in two with a bit layout design.

Then you do the following:
There are three sides. So give each a diffrent map by spliting the desert/oasis map.

1) Jungle(oasis) /underground mix with earth/fire shrines.
2.) Desert setup with air shrines but no underground layer.
3.) The old alpine map with ruins.

Now you have diversity and very diffrent and more playable maps. I would say players would be pleased.

Fount it .. thanx for the answer.

Hello

I never tried it out. Can i use the same ascended trinket (rings/earings) twice using the same infusion?
I don´t want to use laurel just to recognize oops …

Thanx

Greetings

Wolf

It does feel good but the only overload i can do quite save is earth and this is more a control and group prot one then offensive. If i overload non earth i get interupted about 50% and always have to worry about the damage i take. Its quite common that i eat more damage then i dish out …. Its doable but i do the following.
Air overload: Its a fight opener. I cover it with blind + missile def, if interrupted i swap elemement.
Fire overload: I cover it with a shout for protection and my blinding ashes is a bit of help. Most used against non players especially when packed. Only in teamfights when unatended.
Earth: My most used overload. Very nice to harden myself. 40% prot + stability and cripling/imobilize oponents. I run stone heart and this synergises very well. Funny that its often the fight finisher. It perfectly fits my build.
Water: No use of it. I never camp water (also air but air is a good opener). The 5s wait kills the overload for me.
The timing when to overload is important. If used as aditional utilities overloads are a great addition.

I tried S/WH instead of my S/F … Unless you want extra healing in water focus is much better … Eh and fire aura on focus is good with tempest … Well the CD is way to long but ….
I also enjoy tempest. I feel a bit damage loss but playability is better then with arcane. It´s a bit diffrent so a relearning but for me an easy one. I am finetuning my equipement now.

well there are two things.

1.) Stablity on overloads is a trait to pick. This is a major nuisance.
2.) Water overload is near unusable. Especially you can´t use it on demand is a problem here.

Thats all for me and i even think stability as pick is OK. (Of course i would love it baseline)

Possible sollution.
When you conjure a weapon, you get a weapon swap to the conjure (no more ground target secons conjure). So now you can swap your current element and the conjure till its discarded. The swap triggers effects like a normal weapon/ele swap or fire aura from conjurer trait).

45seconds CD and instant cast. Then it would be useful. The 75s CD on its current effect feels lik and aura on 75s cooldown …

I tried WH twice and went back to focus. Sand sqall is the only WH skill i liked … But even this can´t compete with magnetic wave ….

Hmm i play condi ele with sceper and focus. The guardians are not so dangerous. Only bunker guards are endless. My ele uses cleansing flame and focus (magnetic wave) + gen sigil. So i can clear condi burst. I have more problems with constant condi aplication if these are also covered.
I have good success with my condi tempest. I usually loose when outnumbered or i fight a condi mesmer. Of course any good player can take me down but its at least a good fight. Last fight was a D/D tempest and he was no problem at all for me :-).

My build has low regeneration and medium condi defence but it works for me.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vFEQJArdn0XC9XiVYCOOA8RgFBAzN1+aztBBgQZRcIIsDSiA-TFCNABPo+zT7P00JAAA9A2oEDGlH6oEU1HAQAAEAO6OP6OP6OLEQ5JA-w

In 1:1 fighting a condi class eather renewal is a good option. I also sometimes change fire trait to one with fire. I like the build because i help my team (partner) but still fokus on taking out my target. I also have good AE damage. So its a nice all round build. I just want ascended armor and weapons and mix a bit sinister in, but it feels unreachable with average 1h playtime per day…

Tempest suits my playsyle better then the arcane version i used. Yes arcane ist strong, but i never liked water/cantrip much and am happy with the shouts. The shouts having 600 radius for friends and foes makes it very comftable and the cooldown 20/25s is OK. I always grumbled about the low radius of the arcane swap boons … I dish out less base damage, but i can overload as extra and contribute better in teamfights. I like tempest just wish flash freeze instant cast.

Hot challenge was fine. Just a bit tuning with mastery gating. Its good to have a good part, also the masteries, as teamwork. Making it easier is a boomerang.
250 HP is OK. Better would have been a per account HP gift like 200 HP coins distributable over all characters. This would allow a fast elite but not superspeed multi elites for the veterans.

Fresh air gets a revival with tempest. Basically you start in air (+can overload) and overload air when waiting on other elements cooldown.

Sylent.3165:

63 pages……this needs fixed prettt badly.

Again anet, simply adding the option to a vendor to trade spirit shards for HP would work

This sounds like a good idea. But its a bit slow for new players.

I expect me playing over a month to get the elite fully playable. I will do hero challenges i can. To hard or locked ones will be skipped i get them with WvW coins. Done … And its no issue for me to get i a bit later then hoped, unless i feel its well doable. And i prefer WvW. Don´t like jumping puzzles and to repeat content often (grind). Playtime 5-10h a week (more the lower end but there are 1/2days i play more in a month).

It seems quite good… Just Anet put a shocking 400 points for elite in. Even if its easier and more fun than it looks it ruined the first impression. People want the elite specs and now can´t get them fast unless being hardcore players (which already did it within the first days) and now get frustrated.
On the first map verdant brink i did two hero challenges with a partner (one was a fight) and i think three solo. Most are commune and fly there with the glider. So a bit exploration.

Good Post. I am in the third group mixing WvW 80% PvE 20% solo and grouping as the timeframe allows.

I have seen games that focused on group 1. They droped 50% player base within a year.
This games have no long term survival but it might be valid if you know there is an end anyway soon.
Focusing on 1 also impacts/overstrains new players. And games die if they don´t please/integrate new players.
HOT is not so bad. Anet should just take a look to group 2. If they see elite is doable with their playsyle (one elite is the key, they usually focus on 1-2 chars) they become more relaxed instead of frustrated and start to enjoy the content. The hard content is for legendaries and grind for multiple elite. But good equipement(Ascendend) and the first elite should be for group 2 as well.

Zerker + Trooper for a bit defence sounds good and might be one of the most used and solid options. It depends on weapons and playstyle.
Brilliance for aura builds might be nice. I might try nightmare for the condi duration.
Also traveler might be nice for some builds having 10% condi dur and 15% boon dur.

Till now i solo´d most content. Completing the first story part and 4 hero challenges. I expect its not to hard to get the elite with a mix of WvW + PvE. All is new and i felt a bit lost at the start but it´s much more intresting to play HOT then doing map completion …

I would say give a bunch of Hero points [100-200] (or the WvW coins) on first Story completion, so it´s much easier to get the first elite.

I play a lot solo. And thats what i do.
Story! I think its important to do the story first. You get masteries doing it and learn a bit.
I did some events. Often there are more players around and its easy.
The map shows you the content. Use it. I explore with the glider and get the hero challenges i can.

I died a lot now getting better. Often falling or going wrong with the glider the first hours. I can take out a veteran and thats fine.

So i do the story of a map and explore the hero points doing a bit events on the way.
The i do WvW collecting coins but not spending them immidiately not to finish easy challenges.

Currently i did explore another challenge. Will get a friend today. Can´t solo it but it looks doable 2-3 players.

What will get anoying would be if i have to do it for more characters. Evrything beyond the second looks like grim grind. Foutunately i focusing on one and will get the second in time. But masteries are account wide and when the maps are well known i expect it much faster.

I first feared 400 is to huge for me as WvW focused player.
But i am not shure annymore. 10 Points per WvW hour, about 100 were left from about 50% map completion and you can get a bit from PvE. I just don´t want to be forced into jumping puzzles and to often repeatet PvE content but playing the story once + some exploration wit hthe glider is nice and OK. Taking all together its not instant Elite, but i guess not to long too.
I will see how it works out. Its to early for the full picture. Its basically good not to hand off elites like halloween candies. Its important that the players feel its not to far for their main character. There Anet shocked the community .. but as said i am not shure if its realy so huge. At least for the first elite.

I am not so shure anymore if its so hard to get the hero points. Shure not fast but i ran an hour WvW roamin learning the new maps a bit. I got about 10 coins for buying random hero quests. This will lead to something about 40h playtime for an elite spec.
If that pace keeps up, then its OK. I don´t know for shure now but will see. If not is stays ridicolous.

Its to much. 200 is already a lot. Casual players, new players, WvW, PvP, and PvE all shall acieve their first elite quite easy. Something like 200 point chest for the first story completion.
I dislike jumping puzzles and all that needs similar playsyle … And i don´t like to repeat the same content over and over. I play 80% WvW. Currently it feels frustrating and hopless to get the elite in a reasonable time. I did see a lot of games building for the hardcore players. The result was always the same. New players got overstrained. Casuals frustrated not catching up. 50% Player loss in a year. Without new players starting no long term survivability.

Whalekisses.1345:

Knighthonor.4061:

So anybody have any solutions to this problem?

A simple quest line that allows players to unlock the new elite spec, or simply unlocking the spec by playing the HoT storyline?

This for the first time completed. Evryone, casual, new, PvP, WvW player should be able to unlock one character´s elite by playing as they want.

Agree with hurrado. I am a WvW player no map completion and don´t find any kind of jumping puzzles enjoyable… I often play only 30 minutes a day with some exeptions. I group with freinds or go out solo for quick dailes in WvW. HoT feels frustrating. Don´t know how to reach 400 hero points in a resonable timeframe.

regen on aura is one of the worst things to put in. It again nails water as best specline and forces all tempest to be water :-(.