Guild Wars 2

Kite Fortunes will probably (although I can’t be certain) return when the Zephyr Sanctum returns.

The Molten Pick, along with other gathering tools, will be available for sale again during the 10 day special sale during the GW2 Birthday Celebration. I wouldn’t be surprised if they came back again at regular intervals in the future.

Elbegast.6970:

Bambu.4270:

I bet those bears will be pure evil.

“Only YOU can prevent forest fires!”

“Which I have just lit. Bwaahahahahaahaaa!”

WOOOOOOOOO HOO HOO HOO! Time to continue our quest to rescue Princess Miya!

Maybe now the farmers will stop whining at me to go to another dome to challenge Liadri because it’s “messing up their farm”. Guess what, fellas, ALL the domes have farmers! :P

The Branded Devourer isn’t too difficult to kill, actually. All you need to do is kite it in a circle with a ranged weapon, since it likes staying at a distance and hurling rocks at you, which you can easily outrun with a 25% speed boost, or just dodge out of the way. The most annoying thing is when nearby monsters spawn and attack you (although the Devourer usually one-shots them with its AoE attack soon after).

The Champion Bandit Foreman in Kessex Hills used to be unpopular, but nowadays if he’s up, the zerg will take him down too because of the new Champ loot. They still stay away from the Blood Witch though. XD

Indeed, she does not. The fact that Ebonhawke AND Kryta both have delegations at the peace talks in Fields of Ruin indicates that they are independant sovereign states. That said, Wade Samuelsson is the “Duke of Ebonhawke”, which suggests that the Ascalonians still don’t have an official ruler. If the peace treaty takes hold, they may give more serious consideration to crowning an official ruler and having a King/Queen of Ascalon once more.

The Greatswords can be killed with Retaliation. Have a bunch of players talk to the Ebonhawke Emissary to get the buff, then just stand in a group and let the Greatsword whirl through them a couple of times. (Or just get a Warrior/Guardian with good sustain and do the same.) The Greatsword will merrily kill itself within a few attacks.

Heh, I’ve got 1 Crystal Lodestone, 1 Corrupted Lodestone, 4 Destroyer Lodestones (guess why?), and about 1 – 3 Cores of each type. However, I haven’t been doing that much hardcore Pavilion or Champ farming, which actually speaks volumes for the increased supply of Cores/Lodestones being pumped into the economy.

So that ANet can ban the scammer before they prey on more people. Just because people may be dumb enough to fall for Nigerian scams doesn’t mean that the scammers should get off unpunished. ANet will investigate and ban the scammer, but the victim still isn’t getting their money back.

Couldn’t Primordus perhaps grow and change shape as he consumed more magic? The statue form we saw in GW1 might have been a shrunken, “mummified” version of himself during his hibernating phase. The same might also apply to the other Elder Dragons.

While I agree that having a challenging encounter like Liadri in the game is a good thing, I do agree with the OP that it could be tweaked to reduce overly aggravating factors:

1. Fix Orbs being obstructed when shot at with ranged weapons. Unless this was something done deliberately to discourage people from using ranged weapons against Liadri, this is just an extremely frustrating bug.

2. Change the floor textures to a solid material. Most of the times when I die to Shadowfall, it’s because I couldn’t clearly distinguish which was the part of the arena with safe spots. I’m well aware of the pattern in which the Shadowfall strikes, but it’s annoying to stop moving in a place I believed was out of the circles when in fact I was just within the edge of the last circle, something I missed due to the grated flooring.

On a related note, I’m not sure it was really necessary to have the circles expand in Phase 2. Having one half of the arena being covered by Shadowfall probably would have been challenging enough. I’ll live with it though, as this looks to have been part of the intended challenge.

3. The camera in the arena is more unfriendly to larger characters than smaller ones, but this isn’t a new issue to the game. In general you can compensate by picking an arena where the light pools don’t spawn right at the edge, but it’s still annoying. Having an “open top” arena probably would have helped a lot.

4. The Blinding effect could just be removed altogether. As it is, most players just disable post-processing to bypass it, rendering the “challenge” moot.

5. One last issue that’s been plaguing me (which isn’t ANet’s fault, but I just want to mention it) is that the Visions aren’t always consistent with the distance at which they detonate. I know they’re supposed to explode when they touch you, but I’ve seen them detonate even when they were still a character’s width away from me. I suspect this is due to latency, which is out of ANet’s control, but one way they can compensate for this for future Gauntlet encounters is to give the Visions a 1/2 second casting time before they detonate. This gives players who are on the move that extra bit of leeway in case lag is hindering them from spotting the precise locations of the Visions.

The Blood Witch in Kessex Hills (although occasionally the zerg there can be cajoled into taking her down)

The Krait Witch in Caledon Forest

Champion Ketsurak in Gendarran Fields (this guy just builds up to 25 stacks of Frenzy and then one-shots anyone in his path!)

Champion Branded Fish in Fields of Ruin (maybe people really hate underwater combat?)

And of course, the Champion Karka in the karka nest in Southsun Cove. Since the Rich Vein there was nerfed, nobody bothers taking him on anymore. XD

I totally support this idea. The bag quality that drops could also be linked to the quality of the chest at the end, so Magnificent chests drop Exotic bags, while Splendid chests drop bags that are appropriate to the map level. Since chests can only be opened once a day per character, this should lead to a natural gating mechanism where people can’t exploit it too badly. At least, no more than just camping Champions in the open world or joining the Pavilion/CS/Queensdale zerg does.

EDIT: Just saw Colin’s post above. Awesome news! I’ve always loved doing the JPs whenever I happened to pass by them in the world, and now there’s even more reason to do so!

Haven’t given up on Liadri yet, although I’ve spent about 30 tickets on her so far. I can consistently get her to Phase 2 (barring the occasional stupid mistake or laggy death), but I’m still getting down the whole “run around in circles while avoiding the Visions/Shadowfall” part. I’ve still got 40 or so tickets left, so fingers crossed that I’ll make it!

^ The problem with that suggestion is that not all of the domes are created equal. Some of the domes place the light wells in really inconvenient spots, or the timing of the Cosmic Orbs just doesn’t sync up well with the light wells. This means it is much harder fighting Liadri at some domes than it is at others. (From personal experience, Liadri is easiest at the Charr and Asura domes. The Norn one is undoubtedly the hardest. The others seem to be somewhere in between.)

On the other hand, you can farm Deadeye/Tyre in any dome you wish with no real ill effect. Therefore, the fairest solution would be for the farmers to head to those other domes.

Yeah, I miss the Mantra phrases too. :/ I mean, if Warriors can shout “For Great Justice!” 24/7, why can’t we do the same?

While it would be nice to have the World Bosses drop more loot, I think that would just put us back to square one again, where hordes of players show up to farm the World Boss, then disappear again as soon as he’s dead. I’m also not convinced that all this extra gold being injected into the world is good for the economy as a whole. (More mats? Great! But the Champ farms also give a lot of silver and greens that people are just merching.)

I think the only thing to do would be to implement some form of DR on Champions, where they drop their special loot bags the first time you kill them that day, but subsequent kills only give reduced tier bags, and eventually they stop dropping altogether.

Shame you can’t pull it into the Gauntlet and get it to attack Liadri. XD

Anthony did also confirm that the Queen’s Gauntlet will be returning in the future, much like the Super Adventure Box, and that he’s “very, very sure” that the achievements would still be completable when it does. (However, he didn’t say whether the rewards like the Liadri mini would be, which is a bit concerning for those who are ardent mini collectors.)

I’ll have to try out Healix’s build and strategy sometime. My Warrior build is quite similar to his, although I don’t have zerk equipment.

Another profession I’ve seen have an easy time with Liadri is Thief. Stealth gives you a window of opportunity to escape from Visions and throw Crystals without being attacked. They can spec to remove both Weakness and Cripple on a dodge, as well as leaving Caltrops behind that cripple and bleed Liadri, allowing you to run around just shooting her to death while she struggles to catch you.

This is why I always go to a dome with about 2 or 3 people. Odds are that at least one of them will res you (and why not? Free XP while you’re waiting!).

IMO the biggest issue is the Orbs being “obstructed” when you try to shoot them with a ranged weapon. I mean, seriously? >.<

While I believe that the open world content should have disappeared (no Periscopes, Balloons, Zephyrite Baskets cluttering up the world, for instance), anything that took place in instances or new maps could have stayed, perhaps through a “Flashback” NPC that sits in your Home District.

For example, after defeating the Molten Alliance, you can go back to your Home District and speak to your Herald (yes, that guy!), who offers to let you hear the story he’s been writing of your adventures. You can choose a specific “chapter”, and doing so takes you and your party into an instance where you can repeat the content, allowing you to continue to get rewards if desired.

While the Zephyr Sanctum itself may have departed, the Labyrithine Cliffs itself could have remained as an explorable map. Due to the trade agreement, a few Zephyrites have chosen to remain in the cliffs, allowing access to the Sanctum Sprint and other mini-games, as well as a few Quartz nodes. (Unlike the Home Instance node, these ones have no chance to drop Charged Quartz.)

I would be THRILLED if Tengu became playable as a result of this announcement, but I find it doubtful. If anything, the Tengu are more likely to announce this to Lion’s Arch or the Grove first, given their much closest proximity to those two states.

Guys, guys… Clearly the recipe is going to be Mini Jennah, Mini Logan, Mini Rytlock and 3 Bottles of Elonian Wine. What will emerge? Who knows?!

Not as amusing as the time the Whirling Edge Champion killed ALL the Charr in Butcher’s Block. XD Luckily it seems neither Queen Jennah nor Smodur heard of it because I’m pretty sure that would have resulted in the treaty being torn up immediately.

Hmmm… Does this mean that a skill like Shield Stance, which just blocks all attacks for 3 seconds, would actually protect you from Shadowfall?

Anthony did confirm a few weeks back that the Watchwork Sprockets are a “permanent” addition to the game. However, he wasn’t very specific about what that meant. For all we know, it could be permanent the same way that Candy Corn and Zhaitaffy are permanent; there’s a humongous supply of it and anyone with the recipes can continue to craft the sigils/runes, but the recipes are no longer for sale.

I did it with a Minion Master necro supported by minion lifestealing. Pretty much steamrolled them. XD “You have allies? I have MORE allies.” I went with Stitches, the Captain, Gunner then First Mate. The regen Stitches gives them wasn’t a problem for me since my Necro uses Scepter and the conditions I applied more than negated the regen, allowing my minions to just smack them down.

I got it using a MM build too (the minions were more for keeping my health up via lifestealing than actual damage). Weapon choice was Scepter/Warhorn. Between Grasping Dead and your Flesh Golem, Chomper should be more or less permanently crippled, so the only thing you need to watch out for is Strugar pulling you back and stopping you from getting to the meat first. Keep your Golem’s Charge in reserve for this. If Chomper is getting to the meat first, use Wail of Doom to daze him and buy some time, or hit Death Shroud and fear him away.

That said, this achievement does depend a fair bit on luck. If Strugar throws the meat right at Chomper’s feet, there’s not a lot you can do to stop him eating it. Strugar also sometimes throws multiple meats onto the battlefield at once, and it can be tricky to keep track of them all.

Luckily I already bought up all the recipes before the Sanctum flew away. If you still have spares in your bank, now would be a good time to sell them, but I wouldn’t bank on them continuing to go up and up. I have a suspicion that when the Sanctum returns, the recipes will become available again.

MithranArkanere.8957:

Each champion and event that produces champions should have a node flag.

So you can only get boxes from each different one once a day.

People should be exploring the World! Traveling to exotic, distant lands. Meeting exciting, unusual people, and killing them!

Not sticking to 5 enemies in the same spot.

I have to agree with this suggestion. Either that, or Champions are also affected by DR, so while the first time might net you an Exotic bag, subsequent kills will only give you bags appropriate to their level.

I really wonder how ANet is going to cope with the massive influx of gold that this event has brought. (On a semi-related note, I wonder if the Southsun farming pit during Secret of Southsun produced a similar injection of money into the economy?) Introducing new, super-expensive skins might work, but I think that runs the risk of alienating newer players and people who weren’t interested in joining the farm (or just couldn’t manage to farm Deadeye).

Or perhaps it’s part of the upcoming introduction to T7 crafting, where ANet is increasing the supply of T6 mats, both Fine and Rare, but with the knowledge that T7 mats are going to be needed in large quantities, thus resulting in players having to buy the mats on the TP and thus suck out lots of gold that way.

Or there’s the very, very remote possibility that ANet announces that everybody who farmed Deadeye repeatedly was exploiting and bans them. Poof, lots of gold gone in an instant.

They shouldn’t be there, but eh, I’m not complaining about the free silver.

Personally speaking, I do prefer a pure high-fantasy world (“Keep your science out of my fantasy!”), but I’m still enjoying GW2 for what it is.

The story of one golem’s quest for gainful employment:

Job-o-Tron, in happier times

New designation: Hobo-Tron

Now condemned to serve us forever as a second-rate salvage machine

Dang. I was wondering if you could combine 4 Mystic kits for 1 BLSK. XD

What do you mean by “lobbing”? Is that when you get one guy who picks up kegs and lobs them back towards his goalkeeper, where a second player is waiting to just pick up kegs and hand them in? If so, I thought that was a legitimate strategy. (You counter it by either denying the lobber the kegs in the middle, or have one guy be intercepter at the enemy’s goalposts.)

I think the biggest oversight was not allowing us to use the Representative buttons for SOMETHING. Either let us sell it for the same amount as the Support Tokens, trade it in for Kite Fortunes, or make it grant a buff (this last method might be the safest method).

Wait, they took out Keg Brawl outside from the daily rotation? So the only way you can play it is if KB is having its turn?

If so, that’s really dumb. I see no reason why we can’t have all of the activities available all of the time.

You could compensate for that by lowering HP thresholds across the board though. Of course, when you get to this point you’re looking at a major re-design, not something that could be easily implemented.

That’s what I meant. Cap stats around 1800 – 2000, for the reasons you mentioned. There’d be no point in going full zerk because anything above that low limit is just wasted, and likewise there’s no point in going full tank or full healer either. Everybody runs a “Generalist” stat build and it’s up to their specific choice of skills/utilities that determine how effective a player they are.

Anyone tried putting 4 Mystic Salvage Kits in to see what you get?

Maybe they should just implement stat caps and be done with it. :P

While I haven’t made new friends from the Gauntlet, I know what thispoetdies is talking about. When I was trying to complete the Candle in the Wind achievement with my Ranger, I got lots of sympathy and advice from the 2 or 3 players sharing the queue with me whenever I activated RaO too early/too late. They laughed along with me when my pet managed to kill Kieldia on my very last sliver of health after already reviving myself twice. Likewise, we also cheered each other on or offered sympathies whenever we failed or succeeded in our respective efforts. One Necromancer tried at least 6 times to beat Salzar before finally succeeding, and rolled the Ravenous crew on her first attempt. Another Asura died multiple times against Liadri, but we were there to pick him up after each failure.

Xiao Haishou.3691:

I would be fine with challenging content if it wasn’t temporary. That way, it is possible to get the achievement whenever, rather than limited to a living story update that will disappear in a couple of weeks. This way allows people to learn the fight and get more experienced, as well as give completionists a sense of “peace” that they can complete the achievement whenever, rather than having to try to finish it in the short time period (Many of which will not be able to and they will be very unhappy that they cannot complete the game 100% anymore)

You’ll be pleased to know that the Queen’s Gauntlet will be returning again in the future, and the achievements can still be completed at that point. So if Liadri and Co. is kicking your kitten, take a break. Do something else. Come back a day, or even a week later and try again. If you can’t get the achievements done this time, there’s always next time the Gauntlet comes to town. If your character is just too low-levelled or undergeared, put the Gauntlet on the back-burner and try again when the Gauntlet returns.

Speaking of the announcer, I’m certain that what the announcer says as you enter the ring varies depending on what foe you’ve beaten in the Gauntlet so far. Does anyone know for certain which lines correspond to which point?

“We have a new challenger!” – Only said when the player has yet to defeat Halmi Hammerfell.
“Here’s an up-and-coming challenger, back for more!” – Said when player has beaten Halmi, but is still in Tier 1?
“This challenger continues to impress, but can they keep it up?” – Said when player has reached Tier 2?
“Always a pleasure to welcome this veteran contender back to the Arena!” – Said when player has reached Tier 3.
“You all know this superstar by now!” – Said when player has beaten Liadri?

Personal Story.
Jumping Puzzles.
Map completion.
Various achievements.

If loot (and thus gold) wasn’t an issue, I’d probably also make a lot more alts just to experiment with different playstyles.

Doesn’t the pass only last for 2 weeks anyway? Similar to the Banker Golem? I see no point in buying an access item that is on a self-destruct clock after I use it the first time.

What Smooth Penguin says is correct. However, the towers CAN be bugged in that if you open the chest while another player is already opening it, you won’t get credit for that tower (or the loot either). As such, make sure you’re only opening the chest when no one else is currently opening it.

There are 44 Balloon Towers across the world, so that gives you a fair amount of leeway with regards to bugged towers. It can be rough if you’re a low levelled player who doesn’t have a lot of maps unlocked, however.