Guild Wars 2

My worst was a seemingly never-ending gauntlet against a cave of what started off as six Grawl (or were they Centaurs…? I don’t remember). In any case, I was in there as my Ranger, and between me and an Elementalist, we probably killed some two dozen Grawl/Centaurs before deciding to kitten it and just run past them… which made them vanish and/or stop respawning. o_O

Agreed on the sword being one of our best weapons… and also one of our flashiest. Every other weapon basically works as one might expect (maybe excepting axes, but it’s the first weapon you get so you get the hang of it quick), but the first time I saw my Ranger go Yoda on some pitiful bandit, I was like :O. I just need to get a better hang of the seemingly random HI-YAing off cliffs before I feel safe using one in FoTM (you can probably imagine how the Uncategorized Fractal would be a nightmare). The GS in the meantime, however, is KITTENING AWESOME.

I ran a near-glass cannon LB/SB build before, 30/30/10/0/0 with Berserker-everything except the runes (I used Superior Runes of Divinity to offset some of my squishiness), and I felt like I did decent damage while sometimes being sturdy enough to survive one bad hit should I find myself out of endurance or just careless. A melee weapon in that instance was not very favorable at least for dungeons because, well, some dungeon bosses hit very hard close up, and sometimes you will get hit, but I have read of others having success even in such instances, so ymmv.

I’m currently running a BM bunker build, and though the loss in pure dps is very noticeable, being able to shrug off things that used to be able to one-shot (or nearly one-shot) my previous build kind of balances it out for me. I find myself mostly agreeing with the philosophy that while a non-dps Ranger might not do as much damage as a dps Ranger, a dead Ranger does none, but I can see how that can be perceived as inefficient or even extreme if you’ve played classes (Warriors, for instance) that can hit hard and still tank.

A more balanced approach might be to take a 30/30/10/0/0 or similar build and beef it up with Toughness runes, sigils, accessories, etc. Just realize that you will not hit or tank as hard as a Warrior, but you will have more mobility. As for weapons, I’d probably stick with LB/SB, the LB for control and AoE, and the SB for dps. While a SB probably benefits a lot from a Conditions build, it’s in no way gimped with a dps build, especially if you factor in its natural fire rate and if you trait Piercing Arrows.

The sword takes getting used to much more than possibly any of the other weapons Rangers can use. In my experience, the key to surviving with it is learning to time the built-in evades. If you need to have more control, turn off auto-attack as previously stated and manually time your attacks.

The problem I have with it is its tendency to “HI-YA!” me off ledges. I would blame that on auto-targeting, but I have launched off cliffs towards nothing before, so -shrug-. As such, I dare not bring the sword on Fractal runs, what with some of the fights happening near ledges.

Zhaitan wasn’t always this easy to kill. I mean, what it takes to kill him (“PRESS 2 TO ZHAITAN!!!”) has never changed, but prior to the WP rezzing patch, taking him down took a LOT more time, and the mobs that spawn on the ship were much, much more numerous. Even if you didn’t have any problems with the mobs, it was a very long and tedious fight. I remember it taking us several minutes to kill Zhaitan several months ago, whereas last week it took us less than 30 seconds.

I played it again last week with a PUG. I got downed once out of pure carelessness (I thought I could take more than one burst from one of those eyeball things), and towards the end I almost got downed because I got rushed by half a dozen Risen, but compared to before the nerf… wow. Yeah, I know “pressing 2 to Zhaitan” for several minutes wasn’t exactly a fun activity, but now that he goes down in less than 30 seconds… he’s an Elder Dragon, man! Yeah, we starved him and then bushwhacked him with a giant laser, but he’s still an Elder Dragon!

That said, over half the group I was in hadn’t run the dungeon before, and they were repeatedly getting downed and sometimes even killed, so maybe nerfing certain parts of it isn’t all bad. (Shrug)

Tbh, I couldn’t really find anything to have against Trahearne during my Personal Story, and I didn’t even play as a Sylvari. I can see how some of the things he says can be taken as glory-hogging or self-centered, but at the time… I don’t know, I just didn’t get any of that. Yeah, his voice isn’t the most inspiring, and he doesn’t really seem the leader type, but eh, his knowledge helped get the job done. Whatevs.

That said, I don’t feel attached to him or anything, and his purpose in life/area of expertise (cleansing Orr) is complete, so a new Pact Marshal or even Pact Marshals for future Pact campaigns is, imo, totally feasible. Future Marshals can be chosen based on their particular knowledge or skill set as they pertain to the particular flavor of Elder Dragon the Pact is combating that week. I mean, what does Trahearne know about Kralkatorrik? Primordius? Jormag? It would make no sense for him to be leading forces against enemies he hasn’t spent the last couple of decades or so studying. It would make far more sense for a Pact campaign against Kralkatorrik to be led by a Charr, or one against Jormag by a Norn. Just my two coppers.

Well, I guess this article is now outdated:

http://orrator.com/post/41708318538/try-before-you-buy

I have nothing concrete to back this up, but the interactions between Logan and Jennah in Edge of Destiny gave me the impression that though Logan’s infatuation with/love at first sight involving Jennah is real, her casting that spell that makes her and Logan “linked” is suspicious. Before reading the book, I was on pretty much on the “Logan Thackeray running away” joke wagon, but after the events of EoD, especially after Jennah essentially single-handedly ends the siege of Ebon Hawke with her apparently godlike Mesmer powers, her summoning of Logan made less practical sense to me and I stopped making fun of him because it seemed like he wasn’t completely at fault. Yeah, okay, his choice to free the Charr prisoners both aided the defense and would later help the peace treaty between the two races, but was that just a side effect of Logan’s arrival, or was that something she possibly planned (or at least banked on) knowing Logan’s affiliation with a Charr/Rytlock?

I don’t know, she just gives me the weirds.

Hey, us Humans haven’t exactly had the most pleasant last couple or so centuries. Our population just ain’t what it used to be what with the Charr cooking us with cauldrons and our kings blowing us up (or worse). We can use all the bow chicka wow wow the people not on the front lines can manage so there’s still a Human race in Guild Wars 3. :P

I had a very fun duel in my first sPvP match. My Axe/Warhorn + Shortbow-wielding Ranger was spec’d for Precision, Toughness, and Condition Damage at the time, and at one point I found myself going against another Ranger running what I think was a trap build.

I fully expected to get my kitten handed to me instantly since I’d never fought another live player before, but surprisingly found myself fairly evenly matched against him, to the point where after a one or two minute fight we downed each other at the same time and spent the remainder of the fight some ten feet apart, throwing rocks at each other while our respective pets were desperately trying to revive us. Eventually I managed to kill him, but only by a very narrow margin (I was down to maybe low, double-digit health), to which he said, “So close!” and I, “:P”

Subsequent fights were much more in his favor (for every one time I killed him, he killed me twice), especially when he could stack traps on top of me, but the exchanges afterwards were always cordial, sportsmanlike… memorable. Good times.

I’m going for a Syzygy because since my Ranger’s already a “jack of all trades” of sorts, his trinkets might as well be the same.

Infusion… eh, either MF or Karma. I can always use a bit more of either.

RoyHarmon.5398:

Wait, why do we need mounts, again?

Because some individuals harbor a desperate, undying (you can even call it “risen”) need to mount things, perhaps because it’s something they can’t do outside of video games.

I kid! I kid! XP

Seriously, though, if statted/combat mounts are ever added, and they’re allowed in WvW, I’m going to make a character that has no other purpose than to dismount people (if that’s possible). And if there’s a tinfoil hat helmet skin I can buy by then, that character will be wearing one. That character will be an Asura. Yes… an Asura with a tinfoil hat. Oh, the warm tears that will drench the Mists as a little Hershey’s Kiss is running around knocking people off their high horses will be GLORIOUS.

Calcifire.1864:

most likely, her thought process was “I’ll lie to the player to let me go, act as a distraction, then portal or fly away, perfect plan!” she just didn’t anticipate the amount of risen she’d be distracting and it led to her death

That… makes her death even more tragic. Ugh, these mentor deaths and my feels…

This exchange:

Tybalt: “Yarr and rarr and blimey, matey! How’s about you let us fellow pirates through? Avast, and bosun the prow-cap, sailor!”

Jackdaw Jailer: “Who did you say you were again, fella?”

Tybalt: “I’m Two-Tibs Awhisker, and this is Bloodcovered Backstabbin’ Blackjack the Blade. Yarr. Raise the crow’s foot and rope down the jib-jabber-gabber…thingy…”

Jackdaw Jailer: “You’re kidding. Mates! We’ve got trespassers! Shank ’em!”

Dude, Killeen… that hit me in the feels, too, and she wasn’t even in the game.

I don’t know… even with the whole dynamic leveling thing, I still feel like I can dominate virtually any place with my L80 Ranger (of all classes). Well, any place except Southsun Cove. I mean, I can probably take a Veteran Karka alone, but not it and everything else that typically gets involved. My last encounter there involved a Vet Karka and half a dozen Reef Riders, and the focused fire from the Reef Riders was what killed me.

Dude, I’m totally for this. I want in! I want in! (As long as I don’t have to rep all of the time, as my current guild leader is related to my real-life boss and… yeah… awkward.)

I think some Engineers have been banding together and possibly doing the same. I was in Queensdale recently when it was announced that the Queen Wasp was up. All of a sudden, a whole CITY of turrets sprang up underneath the Queen Wasp, and a mob of Engineers came in shooting and flaming. I was totally blown away by that. :O If Rangers can do the same, oh kitten yes!

Shanna.4762:

The Asian themes are one of the biggest parts of Cantha, and the culture of the region though and a major part of why people love it so much. I don’t think anyone would receive it’s total destruction very positively on either side of the situation lol. While it would be nice to see a return of the Tengu to Cantha, it wouldn’t make sense for them to have dominated the region since they were quite literally shut out along with everyone else and they weren’t all that populous a species to begin with. The Asian theme in itself wasn’t the problem, either when it comes to the politics of the whole thing. It sounds more like it was the mixing of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean in the architecture in the Canthan district of Divinity’s Reach that was received negatively, we don’t know the rest, if there even was a ‘rest’ to the whole thing or if it would even be a problem now as that decision was made a very long time ago, and things have changed since.

I would love to see the Tengu return to Cantha, but only along with everyone else…Can you imagine how lame it would be to finally get there and most of what you loved about it that was part of the lore and everything was almost completely wiped out and now it’s almost unrecognizable and run by tribal bird people? Bleh…Would be a big waste of everything at that point imho.

Not that I don’t like parts of your idea, it would be neat to see a Tengu area/city but it would be much better if it was only in a smaller section to the side of the rest of Cantha or something. It could even be an event where we are helping bring the Tengu home and set up a place for them to concentrate and reunite with their families while they also reintegrate themselves into Cantha. There would undoubtedly be tension between the Tengu and Canthan’s for a while, and would be good for them to have a secure more concentrated area for themselves. But I want Cantha to remain Cantha, and that includes the Asian themes, Human Canthan towns and cities being a major focus and such.

Believe me, I have no problems with the Asian themes, and I liked the overall culture and atmosphere of Cantha as they were presented in Factions. However, it seemed like the people that have a say in this matter do have a problem with apparently anything Canthan, and so my idea was largely meant to be a way to circumvent the issue, albeit in a drastic/extreme way (that doesn’t necessarily have to be so). I mean, if even some architectural designs would cause them to outright remove an entire district from Divinity’s Reach and replace it with an abyss, a Cantha as we last knew it would seem to be impossible.

Additionally, as far as the lore goes, if Cantha is still as xenophobic as we last heard, Factions 2 would be virtually unplayable by 4 of the 5 currently playable races. There would be no as of yet conceivable way for any new non-Human characters to be created there, and any non-Human Tyrian characters wouldn’t be allowed in.

As for the whole Tengu Domination thing, I don’t mean I would want Cantha to be infested with them, just that they’d be a significant part of a new multi-racial Canthan nation, since they seemed to be the most organized of the non-Human races in Factions. It would make more sense to me than the Naga doing the same.

And no, I don’t mean wipe out all of the Asian themes from Cantha, I mean allowing it to reboot in such a way that the Asian censors would allow it to exist.

One way that I think Cantha can make a comeback in GW2 given the cultural barriers that has thus far prevented it: COMPLETE TENGU DOMINATION. Hear me out:

The Elder Dragons have thus far been wreaking havoc across Tyria, so what’s to say that Cantha hasn’t been experiencing the same or similar? Let’s say while the Tyrians were getting branded, icebrooded, and zombified, the Canthans have been dealing with an Elder Dragon of their own. I think “Bubbles” would make a good candidate due to proximity and because we know as much about him/her/it as we do about modern Cantha.

So let’s say since we last heard from Cantha, Bubbles has essentially tidal-waved Kaineng City off the map. All the urban areas, the slums, the places where the mixed Asian influences are concentrated in, basically everything that the real-life Asians apparently took offense to: GONE. All that would remain are the Echovald Forest and the Jade Sea, the two places that a good many people in this thread have expressed a desire to return to anyway, versus the cramped maze that was Kaineng City that a good many hated.

So what of the Tengu Domination? Well, since Bubbles’ devastation of Cantha and most of its Human population (whom would’ve undoubtedly been concentrated in Kaineng City), and in the absense of any form of opposition that would’ve existed previously in them, the Tengu would’ve found the opportunity to make a comeback, establishing a multi-racial nation consisting of all the non-Human races that the Canthans disenfranchised and the Humans who survived Bubbles’ underwater fart. This new nation, then, would at once be rid of all of the previous too-close-to-real-life Asian themes, establish a Canthan equivalent of the Tyrian Pact, and include an obvious opposing force of those who benefitted from Bubbles’ destruction of Cantha and its xenophobic Human empire, and whom wouldn’t want Bubbles to be destroyed.

(Shrug) Hey, I like it. :T

I LOVED Tybalt. The mission where we went to rescue Demmi Beetlestone from the pirates was probably the best one I’ve played yet, for both the lawls and the realization that there was more to my mentor than my initial impression gave him credit for. I also liked how he came across not so much as a mentor, but as a good buddy and resourceful partner in crime, and I wish I could’ve been on more missions with him.

Another memorable moment, same character (but at a much higher level), this time in Field of Ruins. I was out running around a forest completing a Renown Heart when I noticed a Champion Giant Branded Devourer approaching. I was the only one in the area at the time (it was late), so I did what any sane Ranger would do when encountering a group-event monster alone: “Challenge accepted!”

I kept a distance and stalked it for about a couple of minutes, watching its movements and studying its attacks against the local wildlife unlucky enough to get in its path. After getting a bead on its characteristics (forms of attack, estimated attack power, movement speed, etc.), I determined that while this fight was probably going to take a while (especially since I was spec’d for condition damage), it was almost certainly winnable. And so I walked out from behind a tree, readied my shortbow, and yelled, “Hey, you overgrown, branded kitten! Yeah, you! You’re going down! Yeah, I’m serious! Hey, come back! Your mother’s a kittening kitten! Yeah, that’s right! Yeah, come get some!”

For the next five or six minutes, it was ON. It was battle of the ages, and the only way I declared it was going to end was with me teabagging its excessively bleeding and poisoned(?), CHEATING, crystalline carcass. Yeah, that’s right, the kitten was CHEATING the whole way through! It apparently made deals with all of the wildlife in that forest, because for the entire fight it was me versus it and EVERY SINGLE deer, stag, and whatever else that was around! Yeah, okay, so maybe an arrow or two might’ve accidentally and unintentionally found its way into something that wasn’t the champ, but seriously guys, can’t we deal with that kind of stuff later? Can’t you see I’m just a tad busy at the moment??

After five or six minutes of that forest getting totally wrecked with arrows and poisonous explosions, a Charr Engineer that was apparently nearby ran over, misunderstood my screams for him to go away (that I totally didn’t type because I was actually very glad to see him), and tried to set the giant devourer on fire, which resulted in him repeatedly getting his furry kitten made into parts of the landscape. Still, for every pelt he gave up he gave me time to recover from the poison clouds that were totally not good for my health and that I was barely holding an edge over.

A couple more people showed up at the 8 or 9 minute mark, and at the 10 or 11 minute mark the champ finally bit the dust. I got my teabag in, some white or blue item for my troubles, and a chuckle at the huge, dense circles I made on my map while I was running circles around the champ.

One of my most memorable moments also involved that well, except I knew about it and was trying to find it. While I wiki’d enough to know where it was, I didn’t pay any attention to what was down there aside from the SP. So there I was, a young/low-leveled Ranger, running through the ruins, avoiding ghosts and dodging explosions, barely making it to and jumping down the well and thinking the worst was over when… GAAHHH!!! MORE GHOSTS!!!

I ran, jumped, and rolled around like a kitten down there, trying my best to stay alive and not aggro more than I already did since I was already pretty hurt from the initial run and drop down the well. A few minutes and something like a dozen forcibly dissipated ghosts later, I got my SP and WP the kitten out of there. :P

Might be funny to give ’em 5 coppers. Good enough for a nearby WP. :P

I’m saving them for the blings.

I had this happen once. I answered someone that was asking for help in Queensdale, and as soon as I did, he/she started PMing me asking for gold for a few minutes.

As for Kingfisher’s RP response: WIN.

The Ranger is the Green Arrow of the Justice League universe. Let that sink in.

FlamingFoxx.1305:

BuddhaKeks.4857:

We’ll see, but in my book, it would be best if Trahearne is never seen or mentioned again. I don’t want another Gwen fiasko, were an already unlikeable character get’s pushed into the spotlight and ends up getting called greastest hero of humanity (in Gwen’s case) or Tyria (in Trahearne’s case).
They can kill him off (off-screen please) or let him live, I don’t care, as long as he never ever shows up in the storyline again.
More Tybalts and Forgals please, less Trahearnes and Sierans.

Who on earth hates Gwen. Gwen is possibly one of my beloved NPC’s from GW.

Did you not play Prophecies and have her follow you around with her flute and be all annoying like.

I was okay with her in Prophecies, and I was glad to see her alive in EoTN… until she opened her mouth. Granted, I didn’t get very far into that game, but every time she’s around she’s just perpetually ticked off, and that got annoying real quick. And it’s not like I couldn’t sympathize with her or understand why she was ticked off, but after several missions… yeah, I couldn’t stand her.

If there are ever going to be mounts, and we still have the same sort of community then as we do now, they wouldn’t be able to offer any bonuses of any kind whatsoever. The moment they offer even a 1% bonus to ANYTHING at ANYTIME, ANYWHERE:

The people screaming about vertical progression and Ascended items would go, “It’s 1% now, what if it becomes 9000% tomorrow?!?? It’s useful only in one Fractal now, but what if it becomes useful everywhere next week???! BETRAYAL!!!” and freak the kitten out.

If they cost Laurels, the people screaming about being “forced” to “grind” for those would go, “I want to play the way I want to play! ANet is making me do things against my will to get mounts! BETRAYAL!!!” and freak the kitten out.

If they cost Gems, the people conspiracy-theorizing about GW2 being pay-to-win would have a field day and go, “See? SEE?? You have to pay to get that 1%! That 1% is the difference between life and death, and we have to pay to get it!! BETRAYAL!!!” and freak the kitten out.

If they can fly… well, they just can’t. They can’t because the people who do Jumping Puzzles would go, “Well isn’t that just swell now? What’s the point of doing these now that anyone can just FLY to the end?? Jumping Puzzles BROKEN! BETRAYAL!!!” and freak the kitten out.

All mounts would do would freak a lot of kittens out, and that’s just not cool. The only way mounts can be implemented into GW2 as we know it is as a completely useless aesthetic like the Broomstick, at which point… well, I guess Steven would be happy.

Steven.9803:

Also please re-frase what you said, as it sounds like you cant speak English XP(no offence)

I… wouldn’t make fun of his English if I were you. You’re kind of standing in a glass house, if you know what I mean.

As for mounts, it totally didn’t even occur to me that a concept art of some guy on a horse = player-usable mounts. Just curious, why do you seem to want mounts so badly, anyway?

TsukasaHiiragi.9730:

There are a million problems with the game, if anything the major problem is the bulk of players confusing anet/ncsoft with what ‘they’ want from the game. The remaining playerbase want a game more like WoW, some want something akin to Everquest and others hail from games like EvE.

I still think, personally abandoning the original Manifesto was a terrible idea, and thats what lead to the mass-exodus and all the player rebellions in the first place, which lead to the reddit panel. My beef is that what mentioned on the reddit panel, none of it has materialized.

Just curious: what mass exodus? Rebellions? I’m asking this as someone who doesn’t really follow the “politics”, if you will, of this game, and haven’t really noticed anything of this nature in-game. Are there actually fewer players now, and if so, where can I find the stats? Just concerned for this game is all.

I just wonder how there are still centaurs left after my daily centaur camp raids/barbecues. Mmmm… centaur burgers…

Oh, and the hostility against Kryta is (basically) over territory: http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Centaur

Zaxares.5419:

Was it the “IT’S CANDY DAY!” cub from Halloween?

I probably would’ve died if I came across that one. (Looks it up on YouTube.) Oh. My. God.

They’re easy to get if you’re a hardcore GW2 player, I guess (or just have money to burn). At the rate I’m going at, I don’t expect to see a Legendary in my hands until maybe after GW3 is released.

On a 17" 1920×1200 resolution display, I hardly notice it’s there. I actually kind of like it there since I do actively do the dailies and try to finish the monthlies, and I didn’t like to have to hit H → Achievements → Dailies/Monthlies whenever I wanted to check on my progress. I can see how people heavy on customization or purism wouldn’t be too pleased, however.

Is this because they took out WP rezzing, and so reduced the difficulty so that the party wouldn’t get wiped as easily?

I haven’t encountered the OP’s scenario, but I did encounter some people who were not that amused that I prevented some refugees from getting killed (because they wanted to rez them). They were nice about it and all, but I can see how I might inadvertently interrupt people trying to get an achievement or do their dailies that would be less nice about it.

My main’s a Human (don’t eat me), but coming from GW1, I was fully expecting to not like the Charr at all due to what their ancestors did to Ascalon, as well as how “evil” and monstrous they came across then. Even Pyre Fierceshot gave me an “I’m not going to shoot you in the face… for now” vibe, though I vaguely remember him actually saying something along those lines at some point. After I started playing GW2, I kept a wide berth between my character and any Charr I came across, and was a bit offset by the sight of Charr being in Divinity’s Reach. I held this discomfort until at some point a Charr cub ran up to my character (I don’t remember where) and said something cute/innocent/childlike.

AWWWWWWWWW!!! Heart melted! Warm and fuzzies everywhere! All is forgiven! :P

Nike.2631:

Its very friendly, but you do need to learn to read (virtual) body language. A lot of the fighting bits are a little too action-packed to stop and type.

Seriously. Sometimes I would like to respond to things, but if I’m in the middle of or ten minutes into soloing a champion, I would very much like to not have my last words being “wwwwwwadwdw1211111112223sssssssssssssasdssss”

I’ve had a far, FAR more social gaming experience in GW2 than, say, GW1. In GW1, I felt I was answered by the gods when I managed to find a group that wasn’t doing a B/P Tombs run (I played a Ranger). Virtually every mission was a GW2 equivalent of a dungeon run where Rangers weren’t particularly welcomed. The Heroes were a godsend because they allowed me to complete missions that were either impossible (unless you can micro-manage like a boss) or very difficult with Henchmen. In GW2, aside from certain dungeons and Fractals, I’ve had much, much more interaction with others, either as help or being helped.

Shrug

Sometimes there’s silence, sometimes there are paragraphs of jokes about stuff in-game and out. Sometimes questions are ignored, sometimes a dozen people chime in. Sometimes a person asking for help is ignored, sometimes he/she gets half a dozen “Where?” responses immediately. It really varies (by server, zone, time of day, etc), and I’ve seen both and everything in between. Maybe you’re just lucking out.

Apart from the Humans’ remarkable ability to turtle for long stretches of time behind walls or in fortresses, making sieges against them extremely time-consuming and costly, there is also the aforementioned history of Humans self-destructing Predator-style if defeated/on the verge of defeat (e.g. the Cataclysm, the Foefire, the Jade Wind). So yeah, the Charr probably will eventually break the Human’s turtling strategy, either by a huge expenditure of force and/or as the result of a GW equivalent of a nuclear holocaust, but any intelligent Charr would be wary of the possibly extreme, apocalyptic outcome of such a victory. “Yargh! We got them pesky Humans! Half the continent has been glassed, and everyone in our invading army has been turned into rabbits, but yargh! We got them! We sure did! Yargh…”

After going back to GW1 (to balk at what it’d take to get 25 HoM points), I noticed I had to try very hard to remember that the currency used there is VERY different from the one in GW2. I was kind of scared that I’d accidentally forget I was playing GW1 and in a moment of carelessness I’d sell something expensive for only gold, thinking I was getting GW2’s version of it.

My question is, is there a lore-related reason for the huge discrepancy in currency used between the two games? Did all of the gold get washed away with the old Lion’s Arch? Did an Asuran experiment accidentally turn all of the platinum in Tyria into gold, and gold into copper? What happened?

Tbh, I haven’t really noticed it that much on my L80 Ranger (Rangers have hardly ever had stellar dps on our side anyway, badum-tish), but a couple of my friends are none too happy about this change, including a L80 Elementalist running a D/D + staff build. Apparently for her, map completion in lower level areas like Blazeridge Steppes is excruciating now, with some events dropping groups of players like flies. Her own damage there has supposedly gone down from 600-800 to around 200-400 (I think with only rare weapons).

More content would certainly be nice, but I really think ANet should fix what’s broken first before going down the new content road. Besides, an expansion along the lines of the ones GW1 got (Factions, Nightfall, etc) would itself offer new L30-80 content, which I assume is down the line as there are 4-5 more EDs to stomp on.

As for new gear, we already have Ascended items to reach for. I really hope ANet stops at Ascended, but if they do go even higher, I hope it doesn’t happen for a long, long, LONG time.

Just my two coppers.

0/0/30/10/30 condition/toughness (BM Bunker, basically) has been working well for me. Like Anat, I’ve also concluded that since in all likelihood I won’t be able to out-damage anyone else, I might as well make it so that both my pet and I are as hardy as possible. There’s a certain satisfaction to shrugging off getting stepped on by things that used to one-shot my power/precision build.

I encountered this bug with my pet, too, just not in a PvP situation (thankfully). I was in Frostgorge Sound toppling Icebrood Colossi at the time, and at one point my pet just stopped taking commands. F1, F2, it didn’t matter; my Ranger was whistling his lips off to no avail. Not even directly attacking the Colossi with a ranged weapon made my pet stop stretching and wagging his tail. It took marching myself up to the Colossi and essentially forcing my pet into aggro range did it cause him to do something other than follow me.

Not really sure where the “dumb and brutish” keep coming from in regards to Warriors, since lack of interest in firearms doesn’t necessarily mean individuals in said profession are dumb and/or brutish, especially in the magical/technological melting pot of the GW2 universe. Warriors might just be content or have to deal with using whatever they are issued by their military order, or because they personally find firearms effective/useful regardless of how gadgety they are (especially if their enemies are using them).

Whatever the case, though, this appears very much to be an arbitrary gameplay mechanic limitation that doesn’t seem to have an explicit explanation in lore. I mean, ignoring rifles for a moment, some of the other weapons and/or weapon combinations some professions have access to while others don’t are themselves odd. Rangers with greatswords? Casters dual-wielding swords (while Rangers can’t)? Casters with greatswords (even if they’re not being used as swords)? And by no means am I opposed to any of this, since GW1 allowed any profession to use anything with viability limited to the creativity/skill of the player. However, since the professions in GW2 are limited to specific weapons, why exactly these limitations?

After all, as far as we can tell, all characters regardless of profession demonstrate the ability, if not proficiency to use (for instance) firearms or firearm-like devices when completing some Renown Heart objectives (my favorite being the sniper rifles), and the Ranger profession itself has access to spear guns, which are, well, guns. And if you include the novels into this subject, the characters in those didn’t necessarily limit themselves to only what their GW2 professions allowed.

So yeah, unless otherwise stated by Anet, I’m going for arbitrary.

Awesome idea. And I also hope there will eventually be a way to get the four HoM pets without having to go back to GW1 to grind. I played quite a bit of GW1, but unfortunately just not in the ways that resulted in many HoM points; what points I do have are largely from the mini-pets from those birthday gifts and due to the M.O.X. Hero inherently wearing upgraded armor. Seeing the four grayed out icons in my Pets menu just gnaws at my OCD. :P

nerva.7940:

achensherd.2735:

We’re the jacks of all trades and the masters of none.

this is actually another misconception that i’ll use as an example if you dont mind. rangers arent actually the jacks of support. rangers cant really support the team in any significant manner, likely because spirits HAVE BEEN BROKEN SINCE RELEASE.

secondly, no one defined the ranger as a jack of all trades. people just say that to make themselves feel a little better. every prof should be able to do everything well, and specialize in something that others cant do as well (stealth, mobility, burst, etc). ranger lacks this, utterly. there is absolutely nothing the ranger can do as good or better compared to another prof. nada.

I’ll assume you just took that line out of the context of my post to make a point about that phrase when used in positive regard for the Ranger, because if you read the rest of my post, i.e. from the line immediately after the one you quoted onwards… it wasn’t really meant to serve as a form of flattery or complement towards our class as you seem to have made it out to be to refute. :P