Guild Wars 2

The pickaxe may remove a gold sink, but people have worked out the maths and you’d basically need to be playing GW2 regularly for YEARS in order for the Molten Alliance pick to pay off for itself. Besides, that’s not taking into account the people who converted gold to gems to buy the picks, taking the tax hit along the way. A mass surge of people converting gold to gems sucks a fair bit of money out of the economy.

As for me, I bought 5 pickaxes for my characters, as the sheer convenience of never having to worry about mining picks again trumped everything else. I was even considering buying a 6th pick in reserve for potential future characters, but I think the odds of the pick (or something similar) returning in the future are probably pretty good if it turns out to be a hot item (and if the current spike in gold-gem prices is anything to go by, it most likely is).

Kudos and approbations to all of you who worked on the SAB. It’s been a most fantastic experience, and I look forward to the next installment of our journey to rescue Princess Miya!

It’s faster, but you miss out on a fair number of Baubles if you’re trying to max out your 500 bauble limit at the same time for 2 extra Bubbles per run.

Kal Spiro.9745:

If not, then you need to let those other designers know they’re just silly and should rework how they set things up.

This. SO MUCH THIS. CC skills would be so much more useful (and fun!) if we could hurl/fear enemies off ledges to their deaths. Or even just to give us some more breathing space.

I bought one for each of my 5 characters. I don’t really care about the special effects one gets when mining with it (in fact, I think it’s kind of annoying), but the convenience of never, ever having to worry about buying mining picks again or having to swap between Mithril/Ori picks is worth it.

That said, I strongly urge people to read Shiren’s post above. Cost-wise, the Molten Alliance picks are NOT worth it unless you plan on staying with the game for a long time and playing regularly. I played GW1 for 7 years (technically 8 now), and if GW2 turns out to have even half that longevity, I’ll probably get incredible value out of the MA picks. If, however, you’re the type of gamer who moves on after 6 months to a year, the picks are not a worthwhile purchase.

These things aren’t actually bugs, so this thread should really be in the Suggestions forum.

Some merchants in zones sell tools based off your real character level, not your scaled down level. If you’re level 65+, those merchants will sell you Darksteel/Mithril tools. It’s a bit of a gamble to know which merchants sell which tools, so what I do is I buy extras of each tool (I carry around 3 Iron Harvesting Sickles/Axes/Picks, for example) so I never run the risk of running out before I can find another merchant.

As a rule of thumb, the merchant next to the bank will sell everything. Master Crafter NPCs will also sell every single type of kit or tool available in one of their tabs.

I don’t know if TESO will be a success. I’ve always felt that the Elder Scrolls had a system that would translate very well into a MMO setting, but at the same time… Most of the enjoyment I and my friends got from the ES games was from being able to fully immerse ourselves in a massive fantasy world. That sort of immersion just won’t be possible in an MMO; you’ll have players jumping around everywhere, having stupid names like “Capn Jack Sparrow” or “N00bSl@y3r69” or “Xx Legolass xX” (who yes, is also a female elf), or running around town chucking fireballs at shopkeepers for a laugh (and if you CAN’T do that, that kinda ruins part of the fun of the ES games).

Long story short, I enjoy MMOs, but I buy games like Dragon Age or Oblivion for a different kind of experience, and that experience isn’t found in MMOs. If there are many more players like me, TESO isn’t likely to be a game that will keep our interest.

Yeah, Sea of Sorrows is the unofficial Oceanic server. That’s why you mostly see Oceanic players there.

If you can get in, Tarnished Coast (the unofficial RP server) seems to have a fairly active population across all timezones. It’s busier during US daytime, but even during nights there’s a decent population scattered across all maps. As an Australian player on TC, there’s usually still about 10 – 20 players on any particular map even during my night (which is 12am – 6am West Coast time).

A sword/axe or sword/dagger Ranger with traps could be what you’re looking for. Sword skills offer quite a lot of mobility, while off-hand axe provides the Reflect skill (Whirling Defense) you’re looking for. Greatsword also provides some nice damage (and animations) while still retaining mobility. Put down traps before entering combat and lure enemies into them, and your choice of pet can make for some varied tactics too. (Use a Bear or Drake pet as a linebacker, a Wolf for snares/fear, or a Spider/Devourer for ranged support.)

Why not just keep and play both alts? I have 5 characters (Mesmer, Ranger, Elementalist, Warrior and Necromancer) that I play more or less equally. If/when a 6th race is added, like the Tengu, I’ll be rolling up a Tengu Thief to add to the roster.

I’d laugh if a Canthan expansion came out, there are Yetis everywhere and each Yeti counts towards the Giant Slayer achievement. XD

I support this proposal purely for the fact that it would be awesome to see a flower field “bloom” when you use Barrage with Kudzu.

Well, maybe an exception could be made for SAB. Josh?

That jump with the 3 baubles can be cleared without dodge-jumping by simply jumping at the very last second (right before you’re about to fall off the edge). Still, I’m sure we all got caught by it the very first time we tried jumping the gap. My first time in SAB, I was just following the lead player. He jumped to get the baubles and fell into the pit, and me and another player who were following him dutifully jumped to our doom by jumping in the exact same spot he did. XD

Although I’ve got Moto’s Breath myself, I haven’t used it very much. It might be helpful in World 2 with the ninjas if it can blow enemies off the bridge or the raft. Mainly I was under the impression that Moto’s Breath isn’t very helpful in World 1, but it may be crucial to surviving some battles in World 2 and onwards. (Although I hope that Moto’s Breath becomes essential to defeating a boss, for example, that there’s an easier way to find it in later Worlds. Perhaps players who obtain it this way must pay a lot of Baubles to get it, as opposed to players who earn it for free by completing the difficult jumping route.)

I don’t know if my female Sylvari Necromancer is the sexiest of my characters, but she’s certainly the most beautiful. <3

dinominator.9862:

I don’t agree they look the same. Human females get more of an hourglass shape and softer curves with a triangular midsection, whereas Norn ladies have a more stocky build. They have much more powerful legs, arms, chests, shoulders, neck. Also the midsection is not triangular.

That picture is a bit misleading though. The human model shown in that picture has the absolute slimmest build. The stockier human models have a physique closer to that of the Norn (although it’s still definitely hourglass shaped.)

Rakuren Kenshou.7689:

I actually did that too, but as a Norn. My Norn has the same name as my character from GW1 and is the great grandson of my old character and Jora. I liked Jora. So I made him the smallest Norn possible.

Humans and Norn can’t interbreed (despite Olaf’s assertions to the contrary in GW1), so unfortunately having a half-human, half-Norn character is not possible. That said, I’m not going to be too fussed if you want to stick with that story for your character. People can roleplay whatever they want to!

I wonder… Do Charr ever have twins (or triplets)? If they do, it might be one reason why the twins might share the same surname.

I thought they were meant to be the equivalent of the tragus in human ears. I can see why one would think they were a bug or sloppy graphics work though. They DO look awfully pointy.

In my current guild, there’s about 40% female to 60% male gamers. In my previous guild (that I’m still a part of, but don’t really rep anymore), it was 60% female to 40% male. So yes, I’m sure that the ratio of female to male gamers in GW2 is about a 40 – 50% of the playerbase. It’s just that most female players don’t advertise their gender in the game (and why should they?)

For convenience, I tend to assume that the player’s gender is the same as their character’s, but I know it’s not a hard and fast rule. I’m a male player myself, but 3/5 of my characters are female. (I tend to create male – female characters in a 50:50 ratio in my fantasy RPGs.)

I was also hit on once by a male player while playing as my female human Mesmer. At least he didn’t freak out when I told him I was a guy. XD

Although I am an unabashed elf lover, I also love the Sylvari and don’t want them to change. Their concept is fairly unique in fantasy MMO’s, and it makes them stand out among the crowd.

I support the idea of in-game marriages, but I also agree that it’s “too much work for too little gain” for ANet to really put a game mechanic in place for it. At best, we’ll probably get wedding town clothes similar to what we got for GW1, and maybe some Wedding Ring trinkets. It’s a simple enough matter for roleplayers to roleplay everything else that goes into the marriage.

Drat, and I sold a stack of Copper Ore a few days ago because I’d hit the 250 cap again. :P Ah well.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Well we already have the krait as a deep shade of gray through the blog lore for them – they’re effectively brain washed Little Red Book style from a young age by their highly corrupted priesthood theocracy. Their evil is purely a case of nurture rather than nature – change the nurture, and you’ll get good guy kraits.

(holds up his “Krait for playable race!” sign)

Well, mangosteens aren’t a “berry”, as their external rind is inedible. I had some as a kid long ago, but all I remember of it was a sweetish taste with an odd aftertaste that I wasn’t too fond of. They do look remarkably like Omnomberries though.

All my characters have lore-appropriate names, and I certainly act and respond appropriately in roleplays, but I don’t get bothered if I see another player with a ridiculous or inappropriate name. It’s part and parcel of being in an MMO; you can’t expect 100% compliance with the lore. Pure immersion can only be found in a single-player game; you take what you can get in a multiplayer setting.

That said, players who deliberately harass roleplayers by repeatedly casting spells on where roleplayers are sitting, jumping up and down around them, or engaging in similar disruptive behaviour are immature idiots who don’t show others the respect that they are given in turn. I first tell them to go away and stop bothering us, or report them if they refuse to stop.

I would personally ascribe to that theory too, Ladybug, although the fact that underground Asuran architecture (as seen in the Central Transfer Chamber in GW1) looks almost identical to the ruins of Rata Sum (also during GW1) suggests that the ancestors of the Asura did indeed live upon the surface before moving underground.

Of course, it may be that the Central Transfer Chamber existed even before the Asura found it, and they just appropriated it the same way they did Rata Sum.

Speak for yourself. Personally I love the appearance of the Feathered (light) and Draconic (heavy) armors much more than most other armors available in the game.

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

We get the princess of course. And she gives us a nice smooch on the cheek as the curtains close and the credits roll.

And then we get the message to do the second quest.

insert “The Cake is a Lie” meme

Huh, didn’t know that… I had 7 on my run through when I got the achievement, but I wasn’t going to leave anything to chance and so constantly looked back to double-check that I’d gotten all the baubles.

Azure Prower.8701:

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

Wait, don’t tell me that hard mode means the whole floor gets covered in lava, and you can only move around by jumping from platform to platform?

That is evil and awesome.

Orrrrrrr… You have a limited time to get to the end and lava rises.

That’s fiendish… >.< But I agree that it would make perfect sense for Hard Mode; include a timer.

Whenever I hear the Monkey sounds in the “real world”, I instinctively start looking around for it so I can kill it. >.> Been conditioned too much by SAB…

I haven’t seen the Periscope spawn on that path, but I imagine it would actually be EASIER with the caravan NPCs drawing fire from the Periscope, since the Periscopes can only attack one target at a time. The trouble would arise if a Molten Alliance event spawned while you were attacking it (seems to happen about 25 – 30% of the time, when you get the Periscope’s health down to 50%), since I agree that the Molten Vets are unusually tough for their level.

I agree that it’s a bit much for a lowbie to handle on their own, but if it’s proving a problem, why not put a call out in Map chat for help? I see people do it all the time for help with Jumping Puzzles, Group Event Champions or particularly tricky skill points, and if I’m in the area, I will certainly swing by to lend a hand.

That’s a shame. I would really like Rox’s quiver for my Ranger.

This happened to me two weeks ago. I’m not sure if it was lag or an actual bug, but it was extremely annoying and cost me about 5 silver in waypoint respawn costs. I did eventually manage to get through the JP, but it was nerve-wracking as I knew I couldn’t screw up in the slightest.

Ahh, didn’t know that. Do they only drop from the Mystic Forge then? (That’s the only location I can think of that would spit out the exact same version of a level 80 weapon with a specific Sigil each time.)

ThePainTrain.8601

I like the idea of unique rewards per world as this guy put it in another thread ->

Zaxares.5419:

I think this would be the perfect compromise:

1. Each time the SAB returns, the skins available for purchase with Baubles are different. (You have a whole month to farm Bauble Bubbles to get the skin you want, so I think this is fair.) This helps keep the flavour “fresh”, as Josh said.

2. Zone chests in World 2 drop the new skins, but zone chests in World 1 still drop the original Super skins. This allows players to choose which world they’d like to farm for a chance to get the skins they want, if they missed the original Super skins the first time around. This also provides the market with a renewed supply of skins so it doesn’t run out completely.

Likewise, when World 3 is released, along with a new set of reward skins, zone chests in World 3 drop the new skins, World 2 continues to drop the 2nd set, and World 1 drops the original Super skins.

Thanks for the plug. I really do hope that ANet sees the above suggestion and implements some form of it.

I’m definitely in the group that doesn’t believe in one-time exclusivity. By all means, have an item to allow a player to show that “they were there”, but that doesn’t mean the item has to be permanently locked out from players who didn’t (or couldn’t) make it the first time. It’s like pre-order bonuses for a game being released to everybody down the line. It always gets some hollers from players who feel ripped off that they paid extra for these bonuses, and now everybody gets them for free. What these players fail to realise is that they still got to feel unique and show off for 6 months to a year. They paid for the privilege of having a headstart on everybody else.

As someone else mentioned earlier, GW1 has started releasing the festival hats for all previous years, and as far as I know, the game hasn’t suddenly filled up with people all wearing the original 2005 Halloween mask. I support player choice and the ability for players to outfit themselves in an appearance that makes them happy, because ultimately that’s what we’re all here for, to have fun.

As a final note, I’d just like to remind people that Josh is NOT the person in charge of rewards or how they’re made available. However, I do hope that he takes note of the feedback here and relays it to the people who are in charge of it.

Another Australian here. King Toad is a cakewalk once you understand his pattern. If I don’t screw up, I can get past him solo without taking any damage.

Dodge-jumping is also unnecessary, at least with SAB the way it is now. Any jumps that require dodge jumps can also be made with a normal jump made at the very last second.

I’m pretty sure the periscopes, the Molten Alliance related events, and the dirt/snow-covered objects will all disappear. The instances for Rox and Braham will remain and may continue to be replayable. Personally I’m hoping that it will get repopulated with NPCs that we can talk to and who recognise our role in stopping Flame & Frost.

Aye. However, Josh later updated that thread with the caveat that he’s not the one in charge of the rewards or how they’re released. His answer was based off a recollection of a conversation during a “hectic week”. So, he’s answering to the best of his ability, but we shouldn’t take it as gospel.

In any event, there’s nothing saying that their plans couldn’t change between now and whenever the SAB next returns. Still, if you do have a Rare Super skin sitting in your inventory, I would now suggest it’s a good idea to hold onto it for now.

^ Now that you’ve mentioned it, I’m sure Josh will include a raft section where we have to do just that. :P

Yeah, I’ve never needed to do a dodge jump either. All of the tricky jump spots in SAB can also be accomplished by just normal jumping at the very last moment, right when your character is just starting to fall off the edge. I’ve never managed to get the hang of dodge jumping, and since this method works just as well, I’m happy with continuing to use it.

CETheLucid.3964:

Drezzz.5019:

You guys know the metrica province renown heart area where you are supposed to help with the broken golems? It’s right outside Rata Sum. Did you know that if you are Asura you get options like “Cross the poly-ellipsoid aggression relay” but if you are another race your options are like “Wiggle the thingy” That’s why they cant join.

Hey. I got results. More over, results no better then what the asuran natives accomplished with the… the button that I pressed and the thingy that I jiggled!

Yeah! So much for Asura intellectual superiority; even knowing what they’re doing, they STILL screwed it up and caused the golem to attack them.

Leo Paul.1659:

I already have trouble finding ways to spend my 1k gold atm.

Send me 100 gold please.

We’ve unleashed a monster, guys…

I think this would be the perfect compromise:

1. Each time the SAB returns, the skins available for purchase with Baubles are different. (You have a whole month to farm Bauble Bubbles to get the skin you want, so I think this is fair.) This helps keep the flavour “fresh”, as Josh said.

2. Zone chests in World 2 drop the new skins, but zone chests in World 1 still drop the original Super skins. This allows players to choose which world they’d like to farm for a chance to get the skins they want, if they missed the original Super skins the first time around. This also provides the market with a renewed supply of skins so it doesn’t run out completely.

Likewise, when World 3 is released, along with a new set of reward skins, zone chests in World 3 drop the new skins, World 2 continues to drop the 2nd set, and World 1 drops the original Super skins.

That is a fair enough point. Tyria’s a magical world after all, and who’s to say that there aren’t magical forms of plant life that do not need sunlight to photosynthesis? Maybe they feed off thermal energy or magical “radiations”.

As for predatory fungus:

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Fungal_Bloom

Hard to imagine Asura eating these, but I guess anything looks appetising when you’re hungry. XD

I agree that it’s disappointing, but as I mentioned in the BLTC thread about Super Skin prices, we don’t know that that means we’ll NEVER see the existing Super skins again. It could mean that next time the Super skins will be back with skins for the Pistol/Dagger/Hammer/Rifle included, or it might mean that each time the available skins are totally random.

Heck, Josh was simply talking about the rewards being different. He didn’t say WHICH rewards. He might have meant that the Rare skins dropped from chests change each time the SAB returns, but the ones purchased with Bubbles remain the same. Or vice versa; the Rare skins dropped from chests are the same, but the ones purchased with Bubbles are different. In either case, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the current skins will be forever unattainable.

Still, if you do happen to have a Rare Super skin with you, it’s probably a good idea to hang onto it for now and see what happens.

“Pants? Where we’re going, we won’t need pants! No, wait! Don’t call the Seraph!”