Guild Wars 2

This is why as fun as GW2 is, it will never replace single player RPGs as my most cherished video game genre.

I think that waypoint costs are the main hindrance to that. To save on money (and time), people basically cluster around Lion’s Arch as the hub city and try to avoid going to other cities unless they really have to. If waypoints were completely free, you’d see a lot more people traveling to whatever location caught their fancy.

I can’t speak for anyone but myself, but I play FOR myself, and not the approval or adoration of other players. I couldn’t care less what anyone else thinks of the weapons or armor I’m using; as long as I like what I’m wearing, that’s all that matters to me. Sometimes I will see someone with a particularly humorous or bizarre armor/weapon combination, and in those cases I’ll take a screenshot, but I have never messaged anybody wielding a Legendary/Infused backpiece/some rare title/whatever and thought, “Wow, that player is so pro!” I honestly do not care what other people are using or displaying.

On the plus side, it would be really nice if we could enter a Keg Brawl match from LA without having to travel to Hoelbrak each time.

I would love to have an “Armor Wardrobe” too. It could work in a similar fashion to the PvP armor wardrobe, except that to unlock skins in the PvE wardrobe, you need to “show” it a complete set of the armor. After a skin is unlocked, you can apply any combination of appearances to your existing armor by using Transmutation Stones (1 stone per piece, same way it works now). This would have minimal impact on the Transmutation Stone economy, but give players a lot more freedom and save them have to create an additional armor set for every style they like.

You still can’t wear armor types that you couldn’t normally wear, and you can’t wear armors specific to certain races/orders. While I’d love for it to be account wide, for balance purposes, the Armor Locker would probably be character-specific.

I’m certain the Watchknights are going to go haywire and we’ll have to take them down. How else are we going to acquire Watchwork Sprockets?

You too? Haha. I had to create a new mule character to hold all of those Celestial recipes since I haven’t decided yet which characters will be my final level 400 crafters. XD

You’re right. It could go either way. However, I wouldn’t be upset at being able to craft previously farmed-only Runes and Sigils too. Craft Superior Runes of Divinity with Charged Quartz? YES PLEASE!

Part of me is wondering if this is a “solution” for players who complain about JP’s or tricky jumps in dungeons/Fractals. No need to wait for Mesmers anymore; any player capable of doing a JP can just use one of these devices and get his party through a tough spot.

This is an absolutely fantastic update, ANet. To learn that there’s no limits on the amount of tokens that can be stored too? Well, that’s just above and beyond my expectations! I am puzzled as to why Pristine Fractal Relics are not included though. Hopefully we can get an answer to that soon.

I do sympathise with people like zenleto who have a “thing” though. I have my own “things” that restrict the way I play GW2. Hopefully you’ll get used to it in time, since I very much doubt this system will become opt-in.

Erasculio.2914:

Furesy.6935:

New bodyguard Golems go haywire and attack the Queen, Logan runs off which leaves you to do the protecting. In the end it all turned out to be an elaborate plan of Scarlet (who is plotting together with the ministry) to assassinate the Queen.

That’s what I’m expecting too. I doubt the Shining Blade will be happy with those mechanical bodyguards, and they look a bit like the kind of steam technology we saw in the Artherblades.

Same. I expect Scarlet either provides or sabotages these new clockwork bodyguards, they attempt to kill the Queen, and we have to fight them off.

And perhaps the Asura will take heed and start inspecting their golems for possible sabotage too.

^ I saw that thread, but I honestly don’t know whether it’s true. After all, Colin did promise that the Crab Toss achievements would still be completable when it returned for the rotation, and I would be baffled if the Survival achievements couldn’t be completed when its turn comes up.

Lutinz.6915:

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Oh and Kasmeer and Marjory are lementing currently having no work.

This I did not know! Time to pay another visit to the Dead End tavern.

I’m personally hoping for more Runes/Sigils with Boon Duration. Currently all we’ve got is the Giver’s Insignia and associated Wintersday gear.

I’m pretty sure it’s the former, a one-use item that creates a portal and destroys the item in the process.

Hehe, nice to see somebody thought the same thing. Random Arenas was where I always got my PvP fix back in GW1. XD (And in fact, I think the devs actually posted stats showing that RA was by far and away the most popular PvP mode in GW1.)

AnthonyOrdon.3926:

There is a new trophy called the Watchwork Sprocket and yes it is permanent.

Thanks for the clarification, Anthony. It’s always nice when something is a permanent addition.

So it’s a one-use item that functions just like the Mesmer’s Portal skill? It’s not like a “hearthstone” that teleports you back to your Home Instance or back again?

Meh, that just put it way down on my list of things to get now. I’ll still get the recipe just to learn it on the appropriate character (I’m guessing Artificer, or maybe Jeweler), but I won’t bother actually crafting any to use. Not when we have free transport back to Lion’s Arch and capital cities are just a waypoint or two away.

They are called “Exquisite Charged Quartz Ring/Amulet/Earring”, I believe. Do a search for “Quartz” and they should show up.

Tsk, and here I was thinking the centaurs invade DR en masse, Anthony.

Good to hear, Anthony. What about the new content that comes with the Pavillion? Will things like the Queen’s Gauntlet be available to players (including the ability to complete any associated achievements) even after QJ is over? Perhaps more importantly, will Watchwork parts still be available after QJ?

^ Very true. On the other hand, however, demand for T6 mats may also greatly increase depending on how many of them will be required to craft the T7 mats needed for crafting Ascended gear.

I’ve been playing GW2 ever since launch, and in that time I’ve only seen 2 Black Lion Key drops.

Perhaps the technology they used was still in an experimental stage at the time, and she tried to teleport them back, but failed. She’s tormented by the knowledge of her failure, which is why she can’t stick around to watch (although likely her krewe was still manning the equipment and observing our progress).

I wrote a guide on scoring points in Southsun Survival here:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/livingworld/cutthroat/Tips-for-high-scoring-in-Southsun-Survival/first#post2508383

But yeah, even with an average of 30 – 70 points per match, it’ll still take you a while. Still, remember that Southsun Survival will be among the regular mini-game rotation regardless of which candidate wins, so I imagine you can still build progress towards the High Scorer achievement even after Cutthroat Politics is over.

Congrats to the OP and thanks for sharing this guide.

All the same, I agree with the others that if the vast majority of people are resorting to this tactic to complete T4 and not “playing the game the way it was intended”, then something is wrong with the design.

Personally I think the main error was in scaling up the mob HP in reaction to the number of players in the map. They should have kept them the same as if there was one player, and then increase the amount of rewards handed out according to the number of Aetherblades killed. This would have encouraged people to defend near the treasure piles as was clearly intended, killing as many Aetherblades as possible, but always keeping an eye out for Plunderers to make sure they didn’t escape.

“Lovely apples” trump a lot of things.

I would like to point out that Evon Gnashblade is also running a sadistic death-camp on Southsun Cove where he starves visitors (possibly kidnapped victims?) for an indeterminate amount of time, before stranding them on the island with extremely limited food and supplies and actively encouraging them to kill each other to obtain said supplies. Not only that, but he also releases giant Karka periodically just to watch them digest victims alive with acid. This is monstrous and inhumane treatment perpetuated on sentient races, unworthy of one who seeks to become a Councilor!

Clearly, Evon Gnashblade has become mad with power, thinking himself so wealthy and influential that he is above any law. Stand up for sanity! Vote Ellen Kiel!

Kiel saved me from death a few times during the Aetherblade dungeon, so I owe her one. Sure, I make use of Evon’s company for trading, but he’s getting a cut of each sale, so it’s just business.

It’s standard diplomatic practice for government representatives to be invited to official events. As Kryta and the Charr Legions are actively seeking to seal a peace treaty between themselves, it would be extremely disrespectful for Queen Jennah not to extend an invitation to the Charr, and it would be extremely rude for the Charr not to send a representative to attend.

As someone who has had extensive contact with humans, the Charr High Legions may have picked Rytlock Brimstone to be their representative, but he’s unable (or unwilling) to attend, so he sends Rox in his stead.

Morrigan.2809:

Guild Wars 2
943,509 likes · 9,278 talking about this

Still rising.

It was already 930k or so near the start of the month though, Morrigan. An increase of 13k over an entire month is not a good sign if you’re still hoping for us to hit the target.

And what do they do after that? Just pass kegs to each other repeatedly?

I converted mine into 5 Gifts of Battle, just in case I want to make more Legendaries some day. XD

Hmm… I wonder…

If you could transform 10 Mystic Clovers (plus maybe some other stuff) into a potion that, when drunk, gives you a permanent +1% MF bonus to your account, do you think that would be worthwhile?

As Gasoline said, trading Fractal relics for 20-slot boxes is the cheapest way to get them. The Uncommon 20-slot boxes cost 150 relics, while the Rare and Exotic 20-slot boxes cost 200 and 250 respectively.

One thing I will agree on is that ANet should remove the HP scaling for more party members. They should be encouraging more players to do this as a team, NOT for people to just solo it using CC and ‘zerker gear. Have more enemies spawn during higher tiers, sure, but don’t make it harder and harder to kill the Plunderers just because there are more players around. If just one person on a team can be assigned to kill Plunderers, the rest are free to hang around the First Mate and fight the Aetherblades as was originally intended. More kills will equal more loot (plus possibly higher chances at Aetherized skins), and that alone will encourage people to play the Trials as it was intended, and not through cheesy exploitation of AI mechanics.

Focus on running crystals. If you pick Sun or Wind, it’s very hard for enemies to stop you getting back to your base. Lots of players just end up duking it out in the center of the map, which means they’re not running crystals. If your team can keep them occupied, it’s almost a sure win.

That said, melodyca did raise one possible issue. Has anyone seen a notable leecher presence in Aspect Arena yet? They were a real scourge in Dragon Ball, but I haven’t seen any in AA so far.

The Grove is the most beautiful city in my opinion, especially at night. Having lots of non-Sylvari running around it would only ruin the atmosphere, in my opinion.

“Fleshbags out! Keep the Grove pure!”

^ That is a BRILLIANT idea! ANet, get your artists on it, STAT!

Serelisk.6573:

This has actually completely broken Keg Brawl. You now have more than half the players of any full match of Keg Brawl leaving the arena to farm achievement points. It’s disgusting.

Uhh, I haven’t been in Keg Brawl for months now, but what exactly are you talking about? How does one “leave the arena”?

And that sort of tactic invariably fails. It’s like people getting their relatives to try and like their page, or companies to get their employees to like their page. People just won’t do it, not unless they have some kind of financial incentive or an emotional investment in the page.

If anything, I think the margin would have increased for Kiel. My expectation is that most casual players would vote for Kiel (character familiarity, waypoint discount, “I’m voting for the hot chick!”), and weekends are when most casual players tend to be on.

I don’t mind having more trait points added in PvE if there’s a level increase. For PvP/WvW, trait points can remain capped at 70 in order to preserve balance.

I’m not surprised we didn’t hit 1 million. We were already at 900k+ at the start of the month, and I imagine most of the fans of GW2 had already liked it in the first place. ANet was trying to dip into a pool that was already exhausted. Ah well.

It is just a chance at a Rare dye. It is entirely possible to get an Uncommon or Common dye from it.

Yes, it is TOTALLY not worth it, given how expensive some of the ingredients are. :P

Regarding Gandarel’s post, maybe it was separate and it got merged into this thread?

That story, while enlightening, also seems to have taken place many years ago, as the BLTC is already pretty much an established institution by the time our characters are on the scene. Therefore, Sareb’s comments may still be true in that Evon may have had another falling out with his warband or the Legions down the line.

I’ve mentioned before in other threads about how the BLTC may have originally been a front for the Ash Legion to operate in Lion’s Arch. Perhaps Evon disagreed with this and wanted to make the BLTC a truly independent and neutral entity, which would have forced him to leave his warband and become a gladium.

Evon could also be funneling a portion of his profits towards the Ash Legion (and possibly the entirety of the three High Legions). So anytime you buy from BLTC, you are helping fund the Charr war machine!

Is there any location where you can farm level 80 Svanir? I’ve noticed that Icy Bags sometimes drop lower-level Corrupted slivers etc., so presumably Heavy Icy Bags would have a chance to drop them too.

I don’t have a link, but a dev on the forums here confirmed that Labyrinthine Cliffs would no longer be accessible after the BotFW event is over.

Not to say I wouldn’t be happier if I was wrong. Personally I’d love the area to stay.

General Scoring Tips

During the Grace Period

- When just starting out, try and grab the Pistol from the bonfire if you can. You get two shots with it, and each shot does enough damage to immediately kill a Survivor. This means you can get a 12 point headstart immediately at the beginning.
- If you get traps, place them at the entrances to Camp Kiel, where lots of players are likely to run into it. Alarm traps are great for this since they deal a large amount of damage, possibly scoring you several more kills.
- If you get Pipes or Planks, keep an eye out for any Survivors with less than 50% health. A single hit from your weapon will probably kill them instantly. (Pipes deal 399 damage, while Planks deal 499 damage.)
- If you get arrows and don’t mind being ruthless, a single arrow shot (249 damage) will kill a player at 25% health or lower.
- Using a Camouflage Kit followed by a Head Shot is a good way to keep yourself safe while charging up the Head Shot. It also tends to confuse players because it’s harder to get a feel for when you’re about to fire when they can’t see you.
- Go for height! Players don’t usually look up, so finding a high location as a sniping platform if you have multiple arrows can let you rain death on other Survivors with Head Shots without giving away your location.

As a Survivor

- Once the grace period expires, try and get away from the crowd as fast as possible. Scavenge supplies from camps if there’s no one around to gain more points, but be aware that this spawns Revenge Motes for any ghosts who might be following you, so use it sparingly.
- In the early phases (14:00 – 12:00), try and keep your health above 250, as any lower means that a single arrow shot will kill you. All those rations won’t help you if you get killed.
- If you see other Survivors, quickly click on them to inspect their gear. If they have multiple arrows, chances are they’ll be out to kill you so be ready to defend yourself. In the reverse situation, go ahead and try and murder them if you’re feeling ruthless and have the arrows. In an archery fight, don’t bother with the Head Shot since it takes too long to charge up. Instead, use the Disarming Shot to make sure they can’t fight back (especially handy if they have arrows, but no rations), then you can take them down with normal shots or a Head Shot.

As a Ghost

- As mentioned during the “First into the Mists” strategy, you generally don’t want to use Pickpocket/Alarm traps if you’re purely after points. Just keep running ahead of Survivors and dropping Teleport traps in their path. 15 Revenge Motes spent in this fashion is 30 points!
- The Call of Karka skill, while cool to use, is not really a good point scorer in most situations. As a general rule, only use it if there are 2 or more Survivors in a camp, and only if there are lots more Revenge Motes around for you to collect.
- If you have a grudge against a particular player and want to ensure their death, dropping a Pickpocket Trap followed by immediately spawning a Karka on top of them forces them to either abandon their items or die.
- Likewise, using an Alarm Trap on a Survivor if they have no Rations left is almost certainly a death sentence.