Guild Wars 2

Lexandro.1456:

Hunters shot in PVE is a godsend most times , I dont know why you dont use it. Being able to drop agro near instantly is an excellent additon. It adds extra survivability to our class. Plus the stealth means we can reposition or take a shot from complete safety.

With a range of 1200 (1500 if traited), a pet that can (if you so desire) have aggro the duration of a fight, a knockback, an aoe cripple, access to several crowd control utility skills, and whatever you have on your weapon swap, how much more survivability could a longbow ranger possibly need? Like I said, I never use the skill anymore. I mean that literally.

Lexandro.1456:

The only downsides to it are;

1. 3 seconds it rather short, and you have to be fast to make use of it properly.
2. If reflected the TARGET gets the stealth, which is frankly idiotic.

3. It’s completely unnecessary for PvE.
4. Its existence was made possible by the destruction of a universally useful skill.

SynfulChaot.3169:

By itself that stealth seems useless. When combined with the Remorseless trait, however, it goes from meh to great, even in PvE. 10 stacks of vuln and a guaranteed crit every 10 seconds isn’t bad.

Between Spotter, Piercing Arrows, Eagle Eye, Steady Focus, and the signet traits, I can’t imagine too many Rangers actually run Remorseless. But even if they do, if a weapon skill’s (one of only five static weapon skills) is wholy dependent upon (in PvE, at least) a trait then the skill needs to be reworked, in my opinion.

RyuDragnier.9476:

darkace.8925:

My thoughts…

Ranger
Look at the longbow. For PvE players, Hunter’s Shot is all but useless. Stealth, when we’ve got the ability to fight from range while our pets tank, is worthless in PvE. Rapid Fire applying 10 stacks of vulnerability over time (one per shot) means it cannot benefit from the full stack of vulnerability. The old Hunter’s Shot applying all 10 stacks meant each shot from Rapid Fire could benefit from the extra damage. I’d recommend changing it back and giving Rangers stealth via a utility skill (if/when new skills are added to the game).

Easier change would be the following. Give #4 the 10 stack of vulnerability in addition to the knockback range the closer the enemy is. Means you have to choose whether to waste the possible knockback early from #4 for more damage or save it for when you actually need to get something away from you. Adds a bit of a tactical element to the skill.

Change Rapid Fire (#2), getting rid of the vulnerability on it and instead giving it the full damage one would expect from remaining at far range from the enemy. This increased damage to Rapid Fire makes it more useful overall. There, we’ve buffed the Longbow in a manner to where it’s more useful. /bows

The way it was designed (or at least the way I used it) was Long Ranged Shot for long range, Rapid Fire for close range, Point Blank Shot for single-target crowd control, Barrage for group crowd control, and Hunter’s Shot for opening fights with 20+ stacks of Vulnerability. Now I’m forced to choose between using Rapid Fire as a poor man’s Hunter’s Shot or saving it to offset the damage drop off Long Ranged Shot suffers when enemies close the gap, all the while Hunter’s Shot literally – literally – goes unused 100% of the time.

I get that PvP players find the stealth provided by the new Hunter’s Shot useful, but for PvE players it’s about as worthless as a weapon skill can be. Frankly, I’m tired of my PvE experience being less that it can and should be because of PvP considerations.

My thoughts…

Ranger
Look at the longbow. For PvE players, Hunter’s Shot is all but useless. Stealth, when we’ve got the ability to fight from range while our pets tank, is worthless in PvE. Rapid Fire applying 10 stacks of vulnerability over time (one per shot) means it cannot benefit from the full stack of vulnerability. The old Hunter’s Shot applying all 10 stacks meant each shot from Rapid Fire could benefit from the extra damage. I’d recommend changing it back and giving Rangers stealth via a utility skill (if/when new skills are added to the game).

Elementalist
As a PvE player I spend a lot of time running alone or in small groups. Giving staff a bit more potency in the support department if fine, but don’t do so at the expense of what little damage the staff is capable of doing. Don’t pigeonhole staff users into group support and don’t force PvE elementalists into running daggers, scepters, and foci.

Also, Air Attunement for staff needs some work. As is stands, Air Attunement is the attunement you never spend time in unless your using it for Swiftness when getting from Point A to Point B. Chain Lightning is next to worthless against single mobs, and the casting time for Lightning Surge is way too long.

Vayne.8563:

I sincerely believe they intended to have grind for cosmetic gear only. I also believe that they expected people to take longer to get exotic gear.

Why would you believe that when Collin Johnson himself said “everyone, including casual gamers, by level 80 should have the best statistical loot in the game. We want everyone on an equal power base.” I believe the length of time and amount of effort required to obtain exotic gear is exactly what they expected it to be. It’s the rate at which players left after getting exotic gear they didn’t expect.

Vayne.8563:

I still say people are taking what was said too far. They stated an intention in interviews a couple of times, a year before the game launched. People burned these words into their brains. I’m not even convinced people remember what they said.

Where you see an intention I (and I’m sure others) see a fundamental principle. When fundamental principles are changed for the sake of money, the accusations of selling out are bound to follow.

Vayne.8563:

Have you ever been to a convention (which is where many of these interviews occurred). I have. I’ve sat on panels and numerous conventions.

If you asked me what I said even a couple of months later, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. It’s all a blur.

That wasn’t just one comment made in passing at a convention; that was a fundamental principle (and a selling point) driven home time and time again in videos, blogs, interviews, and at conventions.

Vayne.8563:

In the end, you can say he’s lying if you want, but I think he probably had many conversations with many people over what should and shouldn’t happen and at the end of the day, he doesn’t remember the change, because there was other conversations going on at the time in house that we’re not privy to.

What else is it if someone says, “Everyone, including casual gamers, by level 80 should have the best statistical loot in the game. We want everyone on an equal power base.” and says a year half a year later, “we always intended to add ascended gear” (paraphrased) if not a lie? Like I’ve said before, I can live with the shifting direction of the game (even if that shift leads me to quit the game); it’s the lack of “straight-talk” that’s burning my goodwill at fast pace.

Vayne.8563:

Oh it’s a strong argument. It’s like publishing. Many books published that did will in the 70s and 80s would never have been bought today. That’s not just my opinion…it’s a widely held opinion. The industry changed. It’s become more “commercial” (celebrity cookbook anyone?). No one wants to take the risk on new and different because the amount of the investment dollars required to compete today is much higher.

Is that not exactly what ArenaNet set out to do with Guild Wars 2? Was not this entire game built around the idea of making something “new and different”? “…and if you hate MMOs, you’ll really want to check out Guild Wars 2.” I refuse the developers were being disingenuous when they made claims like that; one of the reasons I ever invested in this game was because I believed the developers were passionate about what they were making. And this isn’t what they were making.

Vayne.8563:

Are you really trying to tell me a staff of 300 doesn’t need to appeal to a wider audience than a staff of 50? Because that’s the difference in the staff as it stood around launch time. The staff was 6 times the size. Long before this game lauched, I knew it would have to appeal to a wider audience that Guild Wars 1 did. That it would need more support from the cash shop as well.

I’m not going to pretend the revenue generated from Guild Wars would be sufficient to operate Guild Wars 2. There’s a chance it could, but I’m not privy to the operating costs of GW2 or the revenues generated by GW’s cash shop. But it’s perfectly reasonable to assume this game’s operating costs are significantly higher than those of its predecessor.

One of the weaknesses in your argument, though, is the assumption that they wouldn’t or couldn’t have made more than enough money from their player base if they’d never added ascended gear (which is symbolic of a shifting philosophy about what they want this game to be). You’re supposing the people who wanted ascended gear would have left without it. You’re supposing the people who didn’t want ascended gear will stick around with it. You’re supposing the revenue generated wouldn’t have been sufficient to turn a healthy profit either way. You’re basing [part of] your argument on an awful lot of suppositions.

Vayne.8563:

One, I don’t see compromise as selling out. If this was a full on gear grind (and I don’t see it that way), you’d be right. But it’s a compromise. Anet tried to please everyone and probably didn’t end up pleasing anyone..but I see why they did it.

The compromise was already built into the game. Exotics where BiS and they were easy to obtain (by design, hence “everyone, including casual gamers, by level 80 should have the best statistical loot in the game…”). Legendaries were rare and desirable items that were included in the game to give those who wanted “something to do” something to work towards. The compromise was that Legendaries like exotics, were BiS. The addition of ascended gear renders this compromise obsolete; and I fail to see how it establishes a new compromise between those who don’t want a grindy game with gear treadmills and those who.

Vayne.8563:

Secondly, Guild War 1 can’t be compared. It was 8 years ago. The amount of competition today, the free to play games, it’s just not a congruent situation. Guild Wars 1 had a programming team of 50 programmer.s Guild Wars 2 has to support 300, in larger headquarters.

Saying something was done 8 years ago in this market means nothing to what can be achieved today. With the amount of competition out there now, Guild Wars 1 would have had like six guys playing.

I’d probably have been one of them, but it would have never stood the test of time. It was too cerebral for the masses.

As someone who has been both with and against you on various discussions over the last year I’ve come to expect a stronger argument from you than that. The market may have changed over the last eight years, but the fact is Guild Wars thrived, and it didn’t do so in a vacuum.

Vayne.8563:

MikaHR.1978:

“Vegan meal” with “a bit of meat” in it is not vegan meal any more.

Your spin aint working.

Ascended gear probably did more damage than good, and in the long run it will deal even more damage.

When you’re done with your crystal ball, you must lend it to me. Because I think you’re wrong. I think ascended gear will be a storm in a tea cup.

A year ago people on these forums said the game is dying. That’s less true now than it is then. Maybe Anet knows something you don’t. Maybe what they’re doing is actually working for them.

It may not be working for you, which is another issue altogether.

In the meantime, I think this game is gaining popularity, not losing it.

We don’t need a crystal ball, we have reason and logic. At some point the people who demanded “something to do” grew bored after attaining what was then the BiS gear (exotics). ArenaNet, fearing these players would stop playing the game, added a new tier of BiS gear (ascended) for these players to work towards.

They’re now saying this is the final tier of gear they wish to add. But what happens when that same group of people has attained the new BiS gear for all of their characters? Are they going to be content upon reaching that plateau where before they screamed they were bored? Or are they again going to demand “something to do”? And if they demand more “somethings to do”, is ArenaNet going to stand firm and say “this far, no further”? Or will they cave as they did last time?

Forget crystal balls…what does your gut tell you will happen?

Vayne.8563:

MikaHR.1978:

Vayne.8563:

MikaHR.1978:

jayb.1329:

so….you want the strongest gear possible and you want it to be easy to get.

sounds like the typical complainer on these forums

Read my signature.

If I’d had time, I’d make a signature that says all MMOs evolve and change and Guild Wars 2 is no exception.

I could go to ANY MMO, no exceptions, and find a dev quote that isn’t true a few months after it’s made.

Your signature is meaningless.

So, everyone bullkittens so its ok for ANet to bullkitten too.

rofl

And yes, read my signature.

And gear treadmill is not evolution its devolution.

No, everyone doesn’t bullkitten. Every business reacts to the needs/desires of the largest share of their customer base…of they’re out of business before you know it.

If I opened up a vegetarian restaurant and I had 10 good customers and on one else, I’d go out of buiness. If I started serving meat, I’d lose those 10 good customers. They’d get mad at me, they’d curse me, they’d say I betrayed them, they say I lied.

Of course, those ten good customers weren’t about to volunteer to pay all my bills. So the can say anything they like and from their perspective it would be true, if ungenerous. From my perspective, I’d have a viable business, that was there for other people who might enjoy my style of cooking.

You say this as if it’s “sell out of bust”. The fact that Guild Wars did well enough to warrant a sequel is proof selling out isn’t the only way to stave off financial ruin. And you make it sound as if maximum profitability should always dictate game development. That’s the exact kind of thinking that lead to a half decade (or more) of soulless World of Warcraft clones.

I’m not going to crucify ArenaNet for selling out – and let’s be clear here, that’s exactly what they did – but that doesn’t mean I’m not extremely disappointed they sold their vision for this game down the river for the sake of appeasing a crowd of gamers that very well could end up jumping to the next flashy AAA MMO the moment one’s released.

Vayne.8563:

Still, I think the problem is everyone wants everything now. If you take these as long term goals, they’re really not that bad.

I’d agree with you if these weapons were just visual, not statistical, upgrades. But they’re not. Their vary existence flies contrary to what many of us were sold way back when.

Eurogamer: How are you handling endgame loot – will we be farming bosses?

Colin Johanson: Everyone, including casual gamers, by level 80 should have the best statistical loot in the game. We want everyone on an equal power base. The rare stuff becomes the really awesome looking armours. It’s all about collecting the unique looking stuff…

“Everyone, including casual gamers, by level 80 should have the best statistical loot in the game.” How many players, casual or not, are going to have ascended weapons by the time they hit level 80? I’ll go out on a limb and guess it’s significantly less than “everyone”.

Avalon.4809:

What is this topic? A joke?

Living story is the thing keeping me and many people play this game. I don’t want Anet to make less living story or lengthen the gap between the events.

I even want more living story. xD

Is the Living Story keeping you playing the game? Or is the constant addition of loot and achievement point rewards keeping you playing the game? It might not seem like it, but there’s a difference.

IndigoSundown.5419:

He won’t comment. Any attempt to address the accusations that they’ve changed their philosophy is irrelevant to what they’re trying to attain — whatever it is. The best we can expect is dribbles of PR. The recent Pax interview was a masterful piece of PR. He almost had me with the statement that went something like, “We intended exotic to be a lot harder to get.” Then I reread the Eurogamer interview from 2011. The two just don’t mesh.

That quote (if he said that), and the quote “Everyone, including casual gamers, by level 80 should have the best statistical loot in the game.” simply can’t coexist. One or the other can be true, which means one or the other is a lie. Doing a philosophical 180 when it comes to game design is what it is (not cool, but understandable). Not being genuine, upfront, and honest about it is much worse, in my opinion.

Buttercup.5871:

darkace.8925:

If true, the idea that someone at Arenanet is allowing (intentionally or not) a select few to make massive profits they otherwise shouldn’t be able to make is a disturbing one.

“Allowing” is not the right word. They need testers. Everyone benefits from good testers. Just not corrupt ones. They need to clean their house.

“Allowing” works well enough. If inside trading is happening, it’s falls to Arenanet to find a way to stop it. They have an NDA for a reason. If a tester is violating the NDA, find out who and get rid of them.

If true, the idea that someone at Arenanet is allowing (intentionally or not) a select few to make massive profits they otherwise shouldn’t be able to make is a disturbing one.

Crimsonified.6418:

tl;dr (and I guess bottom line): while I would like to see an improved Living Story (which I am hoping for), players shouldn’t neglect the awesome base game we have, and should focus more on doing what they enjoy rather than grabbing achievements for things they don’t like.

That’s just a symptom of the actual problem. The actual problem is that the developers decided, post-release, that they’d rather make the game for Demographic B instead of Demographic A.

The type of game each Demographic enjoys are at opposite ends of the spectrum; one group wants an enjoyable journey (story, exploration, etc) and the other only wants to race to a series of destinations (achievements, gear, etc). This game was conceived and launched as a “journey” game. But somewhere after release ArenaNet realized just how much money there was to make from the “destination” crowd.

Now all of this could be acceptable – not ideal, but acceptable – for the “journey” crowd if the developers weren’t pouring every ounce of energy into a never-ending series of new destinations. Having no new journeys being added to the game is bad. Watching the “destination” crowd trample one another in an effort to reach the current destination before it’s removed and another added in its place is worse. Realized that the developers don’t care about the journey anymore is worst of all.

I think those of us who loathe time gating are just going to have to accept that the developers are no longer making this game for us. They’ve shifted their target demographic from one group of players to the extreme opposite. It’s unfortunate, too, because I really don’t think the game can appeal to the two groups at same time…the difference in what each wants are just too vast.

oZii.2864:

Yea Opals only have 2 stats on them kind of uhh I think oversight here.

It looks that way. Surely they’d just remove it from the game if it was just going to have two stats when all other gems of its tier have three?

The reasonable person in me says “because they wanted to see how the community reacted to the new system; the weapon crafting disciplines are being used as a trial balloon and will adjust jewel crafting and the armor crafting disciplines based on player feedback.”

The cynic in my says “because they’re pumping out Living Story content so fast they didn’t have enough time to finish jewel crafting or the three armor crafting disciplines. And rather than holding off until everything was ready, they shipped the weapon crafting disciplines just to give the carrot-chasers a reason to keep logging in.”

One look at the achievement panel on the character select screen tells us with no uncertainty that yes, they are changing (or already have changed) their target audience.

Wukunlin.8461:

What was the problem with people getting top tier stats quickly?

Carrot-chasers got bored.

Hrithmus.2583:

353 replies and 7373 Views on this post and not one Dev Reply yet. Man they must be scared?

They’re not going to reply. They’re not going tell us they’re all in with the grind, and the time-gating, and the carrots, and the treadmills, and the rng cash shop items. They’re not going to tell us this, but it’s very clear that’s exactly what this game has degenerated into. All telling us would do is stir the hornets’ nest. And the hornets are already angry, so they’re keeping their distance.

I really hope this isn’t a trial balloon…them seeing what they can get away with as far as pricing for future (actually desirable) items goes.

I, too, am wondering if opals were somehow overlooked or if they’re intentionally being left nerfed (hard).

As they are now, precursors are essentially just a second Gift of Fortune. You either need good fortune (luck) to get one as a drop or amassed fortune (gold) to buy one off the Trading Post.

Crafting a precursor is a step in the right direction (though I’m sure it will be time-gated to hell), but I’d rather them somehow be linked to the Personal Story. Currently, Personal Story is the only aspect of the game involved in creating your own Legendary weapon.

Red Falcon.8257:

Seriously guys they’ve been saying there would be a gear treadmill since October 2012.
If you wanted to quit over gear treamills policy you shouldn’t be here to begin with.

They said, explicitly, the only grinding in this game would be for cosmetic items.

“Here’s what we believe: If someone wants to play for a thousand hours to get an item that is so rare that other players can’t realistically acquire it, that rare item should be differentiated by its visual appearance and rarity alone, not by being more powerful than everything else in the game. Otherwise, your MMO becomes all about grinding to get the best gear. We don’t make grindy games — we leave the grind to other MMOs.”

- Mike O’Brien, President of Arenanet

Does the addition of ascended weapons fall in line with what was said by Mike O’Brien?

Kyrel.8942:

Farming is a-ok as long as it doesn’t break any rules.

He keeps teasing about this big project being worked on in the background.

Cantha? Elona?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy7CcwnfUdU

The only “projects” I see are two-week installments of temporary-and-shallow content used as a vehicle to deliver “New Items in the Gem Shop!” They can tease “big projects” all day long, but actions speak louder than words. And right now the only actions I see are Carrots on top of Skinner Boxes on top of treadmills.

Elbegast.6970:

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/a-message-from-queen-jennah/

Here’s the link in case anyone missed it.

It sure would be nice if the Living Story was actually presented…you know, in-game and not on a website. But hey, I guess there’s only so much you can do with such a short development time. And the costs of the voice actors for temporarily-available content…I get it. Quantity over quality is killing this game for me.

Calae.1738:

I suppose getting rich in GW2 is super cool and all; especially with all the awesome stuff you can buy… oh wait…

If your gold holds so little value to you I’ll gladly take it off your hands.

Amun Ra.6435:

Anet has had zero idea on which direction it wants to go this past year.

I wouldn’t go that far, but I will say I’ve had the impression they’re flailing about, trying desperately to be too many things to too many people. And I’ve got to say, the result has been…underwhelming.

Fortus.6175:

“….but, what about craftable precursors?”

And there she stood, like a loving and caring mother whose 5 years old had just asked “Mom, whats the meaning of life?” There, perplexed as if it was a new topic, as an adult who still hasnt found their own meaning she answered;

“Earlier this year we mentioned craftable precursors, I dont know much bout it but it is not coming anytime soon”

It certainly gives the impression they’re willing to string us along with nothing but lip service for as long as they can get away with it.

Markadis.9012:

Name ONE MMO that doesn’t have grinding?

We don’t make grindy games — we leave the grind to other MMOs."

- Mike Obrien, President of Arenanet

Are you sure?

Happyfool.8951:

I posted this in another thread but the premise is the same:

Have you seen the upcoming changes to Teq? It promotes teamwork and coordination. I am guessing that they going for that in the “difficulty” department, instead of just bumping up numbers. And in the off chance that they do bump up numbers. I imagine the experience would to be the same as wearing rares in an exotic world. Bit of a challenge, but still doable.

If I’m not mistaken, Colin said in response to concerns about gathering 80 players to do the event that fewer skilled and very well-equipped players could manage. What he considers “very-well equipped” remains to be seen, though.

Healix.5819:

Looks like it should have 14 power on it, judging by the exquisite opal jewel and a ruby orb. It could be just a tooltip error if you can test it.

I have no desire to overwrite my runes with opals just to check the tooltip accuracy.

Soja.5918:

It’s all these people that “must has nao” that are complaining.

So all the “you said no vertical progression” people are really just “must has nao” people in disguise?

Unless I’m mistaken, there appears to be a “Monthly Salvage Kit Usages” in the monthly achievement panel where there used to be a “Masterwork Crafter”.

phiplayer.2865:

That moment, when Colin only said that there won’t be any COMBAT grind…

You are not very observant, aren’t you ?

Sorry, but if you think that’s the extent of what was said regarding grind then it’s you that hasn’t been paying attention.

Now multiple that out for one to six weapons per character. Then multiple that by however many characters you have. And note that they said they wouldn’t add a new tier of gear this year.

“We don’t make grindy games” indeed.

Is it not a “festive material” crafting ingredient akin to snowflakes and candy corn? Why doesn’t this have it’s own slot yet?

So, opals now have two stats when all other gems of their tier have three. I’m assuming this was an oversight, though I have no idea how it could have slipped through the cracks.

Okay, I found the culprit. It was the pair of Mad King’s Slippers that’s been sitting in my bank since last Halloween.

As I said, all of my gear on this character is fine. Is this message an account message, meaning something is wrong with another of my characters’ gear?

Altie.4571:

Why would anyone purchaes gems with money when gold is free?

Gold isn’t free. Like money, gold requires time and effort to acquire. Some people earn money at a far greater pace than they earn gold. Or some might simply wish to support ArenaNet through the purchase of gems. Different strokes for different folks.

not have stats selected. Double-click to select stats."

This keeps popping up, but I’m seeing no problem with the neither the gear I have equipped nor the gear in my inventory. Anyone else getting this problem?

The Transmutation Splitter is now available in the Consumable category for 300 gems each, 5 for 1350 gems, or 25 for 6000 gems.

Is my math off, or are they really charging $75 for a stack of 25 consumables?

Vayne.8563:

Got a date on that quote? lol

Interview with Eric Flannum on Kill Ten Rats is here

http://www.killtenrats.com/2011/11/29/gw2-interview-with-arenanets-eric-flannum/

I suggest you all read it.

The company is built around the idea of iteration. They change stuff up when they see things aren’t working. They kill entire ideas. Devs are told not to be too attached to their ideas because they might well change. Anet has been up front about iteration long before launch. They try things they see if they work, they change them. Even major stuff like having energy in the game.

So how does this interview and everything they said about iteration stack up against a single or even a couple of old quotes.

MMOs have changed. They’ve moved the goal post. It was always a possibility because they iterate. They saw something wasn’t working and they changed it.

If they hadn’t changed it when they saw it wasn’t working, they’d have been lying about iteration.

Iteration? Doing a 180 regarding vertical progression…completely changing the fundamental basis upon which you’ve built your game is just “iteration”? So they’re just trying things to see if they work, then? If horizontal progression didn’t work, then how did ArenaNet ever move forward with that notion after it not working for seven years in the original Guild Wars?

Vorch.2985:

Honestly, if WvW didn’t have PvE gear, there would be no issue, imo.

Except for the whole “we don’t make grindy games” part.

Thorn.7963:

I wish I could understand what happened at ANet. It feels like a different team today than the one who made GW1 and the Manifesto.

There are two possibilities. The first possibility is corporate meddling. The folks at NCSoft (or possibly Nexon) pulled rank and told the developers what they would and would not do with their game. The second possibility is the developers sold out. They realized somewhere along the way that the game they wanted to make wouldn’t be as profitable as the game the game they’re making.

Lambent.6375:

“If someone wants to play for a thousand hours to get an item that is so rare that other players can’t realistically acquire it”

I think most people have a realistic chance of obtaining ascended weapons, it will take much longer for some, but I still think it’s realistic. Unless they decide not to do world bosses, not kill any champions, ot gather materials, etc.

You’re getting caught up in the minutiae. What matters is the spirit – not the semantics – of what he said and the reason he said it.