Guild Wars 2

Pawstruck.9708:

I think I speak for every human being on this planet and any possibly-existing space aliens when I say that there is no need to add new utility skills before they fix the ones we already have. While many of my Thief utilities have some use (several are still useless), I would venture that 50% of my Elementalist’s utilities are completely worthless.

I agree, but that’s not what this thread is about.

No Walking.6349:

Does anyone seriously prefer having costume brawls over duels? Duels are a huge part of MMOs….

I don’t care for costume brawls, but I’d take them over duels any day of the week.

draxynnic.3719:

Third: I’d ask you to clarify whether you mean the Iron Legion or human Ascalon there…

Iron Legion.

Would you rather them add entirely new classifications of utility skills or expand upon what we currently have? Classifications are groupings of similarly functions utility skills (signets, traps, glyphs, shouts, etc). Bear in mind the former would require new traits to be added to the game in some form or another, and thus would be more difficult to implement and balance.

Thanks for all the feedback. I re-spec’d my traits and played around with the sword (albeit a masterwork). In the end, though, I decided to keep my mace. I’m going to trade my Soldier’s armor for some Knight’s and my sapphire trinkets for beryl to see how of an offensives boost I can squeeze out of that.

I think the worst part about abandoning swords is there were some kitten nice looking sword skins while I find most mace skins are thoroughly unappealing. And the dream of running Bolt with the Flameseeker Prophecies…

So the charr have three sovereign territories? I know there’s a Blood Legion Homeland on the map, but I always assumed that was the place from whence they came, not their current base of political/military power. That’s interesting, and brings to mind three thoughts.

First, if Ascalon was once Flame Legion territory and was wrested away by Iron Legion, where (if anywhere) was Iron’s original territory?

Second, the charr have three “nations” and the humans – who once had four – now have one. Depending on how things shake out in Elona (Palawa Joko’s desire to rule…is he successful; and if so, does he care if his subjects are living or undead?) and whether or not the ArenaNet guild can overcome the Nexxon world boss and unlock Cantha for the rest of us, humans might still have three. But for now they appear to have less collective power than their one-time enemy.

Third, I already consider the charr to be the power of the future. They have industry; they have technology; they have a well-oiled military machine around which their entire culture is based; and they’re taught from a very early age to fight with and for one another. If Ascalon alone is the equal of each of the other nations (I think they’d crush the norn and sylvari if they so desired), then no single nation could hope to match their combined might should they ever desire total domination.

Okay, I’m sitting on 81 laurels. They’re not burning a hole in my pocket, but neither are they doing me any good collecting dust. I’d like to spend them on something, but I’d hate to blow them now only to learn in a week that something I’d rather have bought is being planned. I’m not entirely sure what I should do with them.

I don’t need BiS gear and I don’t run Fractals; I’m perfectly happy with self-crafted exotic trinkets. There’s the possibility ascended gear might be scaled to always be BiS, so in the event of a new tier of gear being layered between ascended and exotic gear a fistful of laurels might be handy. On the other hand, I have five “mains” (six the moment a new race is made playable), so gearing up each of them with ascended gear using only laurels isn’t very practical.

Bifrost is cool, but it’s way down my list of “Legendary weapons I’d like to one day own” so saving them for unidentified dyes isn’t really an issue. I could use the dyes for myself, but I’ve always viewed dyes as something to be collected during the natural course of play, not something to be actively pursued as an actual goal.

I’m stuck somewhere between “having everything I need for my casual-play needs” and “I don’t have anywhere near enough money to get the things I want”. So picking up unidentified dyes or gear boxes with the intent to sell won’t get me very far in my day to one day own a Legendary or six.

There’s the mini-pet, but I’m the kind of guy who would rather have “normal” mini-pets (as they appear in that other MMO) than “silly” ones (cats with monocles, miniature versions of in-game characters, etc).

Any advice on what, if anything, I should do with my laurels.

I’ve been saying the same thing for a while, now. Why build a balanced party with damage, control, support, and possibly even a little damage over time when the dungeons don’t force you to do so? Why build a party consisting of five different professions spec’d to perform five different roles when we can get four ’zerker warriors and a mesmer and blow through the dungeon at a faster clip?

Vayne.8563:

darkace.8925:

“They lied to us about vertical progression” is exactly the reason why we no longer get posts from developers telling us what’s coming down the pike.

There were two quotes in two interviews that talked about vertical progression. At the time of those interviews, there was no vertical progression in the game, and very likely no real plan to put vertical progression in the game.

The game launched, it did well at first, but people burned through the content much faster than Anet expected them too. Content takes time. If you were around on the forums them, all you saw were posts about nothing to do at 80. There are still posts like this, but far less by my reckoning.

So Anet did what they had to do for the viability of the game. There’s a major difference between a lie and a changed circumstance.

If I told my kids I’d take them to the movies, and suddenly I got a call from work saying I had to go in…I didn’t lie to them. When I told them that I was going to take them to the movies, I didn’t have to work. Something came up. That’s what happened in this game. Something came up.

Anet really believed that most people would be fine going for exotic gear…but they found out otherwise. Too big a portion of the game will walk away if there’s no gear progression. I actually blame the profusion of WoW clones for this.

So if you were a business, and you saw a huge problem, and that problem had to be corrected fast, what would you do? Let the game fade away? Stay with your principles even if it meant down scaling your company and possibly laying people off.

Anet spoke about no vertical progression in a couple of interviews, that’s it. And the vertical progression offered as a compromise. It’s a fairly minimal bit of vertical progression.

So you can either say you were lied to, or you can believe, as I do, that Anet never intended to put vertical progression in, but in the end had to.

Choose to believe what you want, but there’s no evidence in my mind that Anet lied, even if they did make changes to what they’d planned.

Did you notice in the beginning they said there’d be energy and energy potions and they later took them out? They’ve said all along they’re a iterative company. They work on iteration. They try things until they find what works. What they had before wasn’t working for enough people, so Anet iterated.

Not quite the same thing as a lie.

I think you misunderstood the point of my post. I’m not saying “they lied”. I’m saying that they don’t tell us what they’re working on because things often change for a variety of reasons (as you pointed out, or as the account-wide dyes change aptly illustrates). If they’re going to be accused of lying every time something in the development stages is changed for whatever reason it’s better for them just to keep quiet.

I have mixed feelings on Elites. I like that they’re (in theory) more powerful skills and have an appropriately long cooldown (again, in theory). But I’m also primarily an open-world PvEer and am rarely challenged to the point where I need to use my Elite skill, meaning it rarely gets used. I like having a “oh crap!” skill ready to use, but I don’t like using just 90% of my skill bar 99% of the time.

But either way, I HATE that so many elite skills don’t work underwater. Thieves and elementalists can use just one of their three elites while underwater, and in the case of thieves it’s an Elite skill that looks to me to be worthless outside of PvP.

“They lied to us about vertical progression” is exactly the reason why we no longer get posts from developers telling us what’s coming down the pike.

If this is indeed their approach to build diversity (no link to a source was provided), then it’s a bit disheartening.

First, traits (as they’re currently implemented) pigeonhole us down specific trait lines (i.e. greatsword warrior is almost always going to put points into the Arms trait line).

Second, the diversity they offer is marginal (a greatsword warrior is going to play pretty much exactly like every other greatsword warrior).

Third, the fact that there are still bugged traits – traits that don’t work as intended or don’t work at all – almost eight months after release tells me the process of actually adjusting traits (changing them to make more builds viable) is going to take a very long time.

clay.7849:

Even getting into PvP wasn’t hard. There were some easy to run builds like iWay that provided a low barrier of entry to get into HA but weren’t OP enough to cause any real problems for higher skilled players.

I got into Guild Wars after Eye of the North was released. In my first – and not coincidentally, last – attempt to PvP I joined match in the Random Arena with a hammer toting warrior/ranger (being new, the skills I had unlocked were limited).

In an attempt to prepare myself and minimize the “dead weight” effect I might have on my teammates I had read all I could. But reading about something and doing it during an actual (especially your first) match are two different things. I struggled, as any reasonable person would expect.

How did my teammates, veterans I’m sure, respond? Not with words of encouragement. Not with tips for improvement. But with a demand I quit. And when I didn’t, explaining to them I’ve got to learn somehow, they reported me for leaching.

I’m sure there were some very nice people who played the game, but the “it was easy to get into” notion with which you remember Guild Wars isn’t quite the walk in the park you remember it to be.

I’ve got my fingers crossed that one day Huntsmen will actually be able to craft more rare and exotic versions.

I doubt it will happen, as it would step on the toes of the Legendary weapons, but I’d really like it if sigils added particle effects to the weapons to which they’re applied. A sword with a Sigil of Fire would burn, a dagger with a Sigil of Blood would drip blood, etc. It would add another layer with which we could customize our characters’ appearances, and in my book that’s never a bad thing.

There are only two groups of people who can use the gold → gems conversion in a practical manner: people with a lot of gold and people who do it once in a while. Anyone who ever thought they’d be able to make frequent Gem Shop purchases using only gold either overestimated their own ability to make gold or wasn’t being realistic.

mekkanic.4759:

Its not really a matter of cost…its just unnecessary.

Gold sinks are absolutely, positively necessary.

For the record, I personally did not buy one. It’s not that I’m against them, but there are two hangups for me. One, I have five mains (as opposed to a main and four alts), so getting one for each of my characters is too expensive to justify. And I’m not going to favor any one of my characters over the others. Two, and perhaps more importantly, I don’t like the animation. I appreciate it, but it’s not for me.

Cameirus.8407:

Necromancer: ? – none really, human possibly, charr maybe.

I’m of the same mind. While several of the races make acceptable necromancers, none of the really stand out as one. I’m hoping an expansion race fits the bill down the line, because I’m really wanting to roll one.

I don’t know if it’s technically feasible, and I personally wouldn’t use it (except perhaps on a mesmer), but I’ve had an idea for a Legendary dye that slowly shifts through all your unlocked dyes.

Iridiana.9078:

Bad.
Gem Store was meant to offer items which do not advantage players who can pay.
Now welcome to the pay to win!

How is an ever-lasting mining pick “pay to win”? How does the “advantage” it affords a player make him any better than another? The Gem Shop was never intended to strictly sell cosmetics, as you later state. Convenience items, of which this pick is one, have been available since day one.

I didn’t create this topic because the pick strikes me as pay2win; because, frankly, that’s such an absurd notion it never crossed my mind. I created this topic because I was worried – not to any great deal, mind you – that it might have a negative impact on the economy (or might pave the way for items that do).

Shiren.9532:

They’ve received the negative feedback and they also have the sales figures to show that no matter how much they exploit people’s addiction, the RNG and overpriced business model is still more profitable than fair pricing with happier consumers.

I don’t want to go off topic, but I do want to make a brief comment on this. I’m not privy to their numbers, so this is speculative, but I’d wager a hell of a lot more people would pay $5 to $10 for a bundled dye pack containing each of the six new colors than are willing to risk RNG at ~$1.5 for a ~1/6 chance to get one of them.

Vayne.8563:

Minion of Vey.4398:

With the nature of gw2 I don’t really see what raising the level cap would do other than make you regear.

Unless they add new, higher level traits which you’d be able to unlock by leveling. I know I wouldn’t mind more trait points.

FFXI had a merit system. If SE can devise a system wherein players can progress at level cap without having to grind new levels or reset their gear, then I’m more than certain ArenaNet can do the same.

I’ve got a followup question for those of you who answered TC’s question. Do your characters follow the pairings in your lists?

A simple “we’ve managed to fix all bugged skills and traits without breaking anything else” would suit me just fine.

Undean.9704:

Some fun math on the Molten Alliance Pick.

Currently costs 21.6 gold (this has probably changed).
That’s 540 regular 4 silver picks.
That would require you to mine 54,000 nodes to make up for how much you spent on it.
That ends up being 162,000 pieces of ore.
Good luck ever mining that much, but I bought one anyways :p.

I hear you, but do realize not everyone is going to convert gold to gems for the sake of obtaining this item. Again, I don’t think this one item will have much of an impact on the economy, but (at the risk of going slippery-slope) the pick could easily herald more items of a similar nature (particularly if it sells well).

Elementalist: – Asura/Norn
Engineer: – Asura/Charr
Guardian: – Human/Norn
Mesmer: – Asura/Human
Necromancer: – Human/Sylvari
Ranger: – Norn/Sylvari
Thief: – Human/Sylvari
Warrior: – Charr/Norn

PS – Sorry, but I couldn’t choose just one.

Jemmi.6058:

Adding more levels in a new area will allow for you to progress through it

I see no reason whatsoever why progression through a new area has to be tied to level progression.

Jemmi.6058:

and enjoy new story content.

I don’t see any correlation between an increased level cap and my ability to enjoy new story content.

I’m asking this question in the context of the game’s economy. Things like pickaxes serve as necessary gold sinks. While a never-ending pickaxe is great for the players who obtain one, and I’m sure ArenaNet appreciates every dollar we (the community) spend in the Gem Shop, I’m not sure this was a good idea. This one item probably won’t affect the economy too much, but allowing players to drop cash to circumvent gold sinks seems like a bad idea if it becomes a widespread practice.

What are your thoughts on the subject?

3. Health vs. Damage
Why over complicate things and go into the 1000’s? Higher numbers = more impact?
Again, Why stray so far from the GW1 formula???
Also, every profession in GW1 had the exact same amount of base max health (with the exception of runes altering them slightly but to no great degree). I don’t understand why max health per profession in GW2 vary so significantly. One would simply say “balance purposes” to justify this decision but if that was the case… all I have to say is “just look at GW1”.

Part of it is the higher level cap. And part of it is that many gamers are easily impressed by superfluously by big numbers. I call it Big Number Syndrome. Attacking an enemy for 10 points of damage and dropping it from 100 health to 90 is cool and all, but attacking an enemy for 1000 points and dropping its health from 10000 health to 9000 is AWESOME!

Watching Trahearne get handed a Legendary weapon during my personal story.

I wonder what the total health per tick for stacking Superior Runes of the Dolyak with Virtue of Resolve, Absolute Resolve, Regeneration, Writ of the Merciful, and Mango Pies with full +Healing gear and traits would work out to be.

Vayne.8563:

One star for the most original thread on the forums. You might have just posted the opinion on the Battles should be epic thread, or one of the other threads complaining about the same thing, since we’ll have to have the same conversation, including the same suggestions for fixing it, or the same people who’ll tell you to do something else besides world bosses, there’s plenty of epic in this game.

If you don’t care for the topic at hand, you’re well within your rights to not partake in the discussion. If you do feel the need to chime in, please try to do so in a manner that actually adds to the conversation. Thank you.

pahldus.1678:

Been there and done that. We even had similar names with only one letter of difference. Man you should have read the chat that day. It would have made (insert your favorite foul mouthed comic) blush.

lol, wish I could have seen it.

I don’t know if it would be effective, but I’ve always thought five players rolling identical looking clone-spamming mesmers in PvP would be funny.

I was under the impression that Primordus was the first to rise and will be the last to fall.

dinominator.9862:

So the idea behind a pigeon is that it flew some distance to get to you. What’s a penguin gonna do? Waddle its way across Tyria?

I imagine there’s an exchange an a nearby “bird’s station” (think Flying J for birds).

Ombr.9465:

So, I would love to hear some news about that. I’m getting tired of the silence treatment we have concerning the legendaries situation.

Can you blame them? Whatever they say, people are going to lose their minds.

ArenaNet, “The scavenger hunt won’t be implemented any time this year.”
Forums, “What’s taking so long!? We want our precursors!!! You’re just trying to force us to buy gems to convert to gold!!!!!”

ArenaNet, “The scavenger hunt will be implemented tomorrow.”
Forums, “That’s bullcrap!!! I just paid 750 gold for a precursor!!! I think I should get a refund!!!!!”

ArenaNet, “We’re not going to get the scavenger hunt up and running as soon as we promised.”
Forums, “You lied!!! You don’t care about your customers!!!!!”

The way the people on these forums go nuts over the tiniest things, I wouldn’t say a word about the scavenger hunt until the 59th minute of the 11th hour.

RebelYell.7132:

I’m with you, as long as there are also options faster than “Normal” as well, for us altoholics. Yes, there are XP boosters, food, and potions, but they affect kill XP, not your lump sums like events, exploration, renown hearts, end of dungeon, and personal story completion.

I personally found leveling to be very quick on each of my five mains (no alts here). Clearing Renown Hearts, on the other hand…

I’ve never thought about it, but I’m going to imagine they taste like a cross between a cherry and a cranberry.

Maybe I’m reading it wrong, but is TC really implying there are no gold sinks in PvE?

Run events or harvest resources in low-level zones. There are many events, including Renown Hearts, in all zones that can be contributed to/completed by performing non-combat functions. Reviving, repairing, fetching, and feeding livestock are all examples of things you can do to earn coin without fighting.

You also might be able to purchase armor from karma vendors that can get you by until you can purchase the gear you desire. In the future, don’t sell your equipment until you’re sure you can afford to buy, find, or craft a replacement.

Five slots? I’d settle for one, located just off the left-hand side of our skill bar.

I love the small details, including the carrier pigeons who deliver to and receive from us our mail, that give breath to the world. Regarding the carrier pigeons, I’d rather penguins handle underwater delivers.

From my experiences, the three best “tanks” in the game are warriors, guardians and thieves. Each “tanks” with a different style.

A mace/shield warrior has both high defense and a large pool of health. The downside is limited condition removal.

A mace/scepter guardian can have great defense piled on top of five passive heals-over-time. The downside is things can take a while to kill.

A dagger/dagger thief can dodge and evade attacks almost without limit. The downside is being stunned without a stun-breaker can ruin your day.

I haven’t played a mesmer yet, but I’ve been theory-crafting a clone-spamming tank build with increased defense for each clone and increased defense while wielding a staff. I don’t know how viable such a build will be, but I’ll find out the moment a suitable race for the mesmer is released.

TC joins Thelma, Louise, and a whole bunch of Xerxes’ Persians in wanting the removal of falling damage.

Khisanth.2948:

We haven’t gotten him yet so I am not sure what the strategy should be. I have seen another guild do it with around 20-30 people. It didn’t work out very well for the either. It might have been the scaling but he was applying 25 stacks of confusion every time while spamming chaos storm all over the place. Depending on how many people you had fighting him it is possible that you might actually need to cut back on the number of people in the fight.

We didn’t have many, so it sounds like he’s just a tough fight. Thanks for the clarification on BTMs, though; my misconception on what they were is the answer to my original question.

tolunart.2095:

Never tell anyone it’s your first time. If you screw up you can apologize and most of the time they’ll just continue through the dungeon. But if you tell them up front they won’t give you a chance to screw up.

That’s not at all true. My first time in an explorable dungeon I made it very clear I was new and didn’t know what to expected/was expected of me. A friendly mesmer took the time to explain the plan of attack at each stage of the dungeon. If upon telling them it’s your first time they have a problem, that’s probably not the kind of person you’d generally want to spend your leisure time with anyway.

Whatever your views on real-world views on religion are, faith (or lack thereof) can add depth to fictional characters.

Beorn Saxon.4762:

I’ve always been annoyed that they are forced to roll with kits.

Engineers are forced to roll with kits? That’s news to me and my level 80 engineer.

ajm.2931:

Maybe I’ve missed something, I thought Legendary weapons just had a different skin/effects, but the stats weren’t superior? They’re just cosmetic right? Are you complaining that you can’t show off a pretty skin as much as you want to?

That’s exactly what they’re saying. It’s a “special snowflake” problem (i.e. not really a problem, just a personal hangup).