Guild Wars 2

I’ll do full Ascended gear on my main first.

After that, I’ll probably do a few cosmetic pieces for alts (there are a few good looking pieces in the ascended armor sets).

If I do any more after that depends on what the ascended crafting process was like. If it feels horribly grindy, then probably none. If it wasn’t so bad, then I’ll gradually kit out my alts whenever I accumulate enough mats through my normal gameplay habits.

They probably will at some point. I think that Jeweler 500 got pushed back as a low priority item because ascended accessories were already in the game. Implementation of weapons and armor were prioritized because they added something that was previously unavailable.

I think the best thing ANet can do at this point is to start up the “regular addition of new skills and traits” that was mentioned in the Looking Forward post a few months back.

Unfortunately, the preoccupation with profession balance means we’re unlikely to see anything like a “regular addition of new skills and traits”.

More likely, we’ll get 1 new addition, followed by months of balance passes before the next one is implemented.

I really wish they’d just dump a bunch of new traits and skills into the game and take careful notes on the ensuing chaos, popping in to make the occasional course correction when blatant imbalances arise. We would have months of fun experimenting with new builds and new ways to play while the balance team works in it’s fixes to steer the chaos back toward balance.

To me, that sounds like the most fun I could have in GW2 right now.

Nope. PvE is PvE. No PvP of any kind ever, forever.

If you want duels, go to sPvP. That’s what it’s for. If sPvP does not offer you a dueling option that you like, then suggest one in a thread in the sPvP forum.

These are account bound ascended items in the collections tab, along with the bloodstone dust, empyreal fragments, and dragonite ores. Although it’s possible these will be used to craft ascended accessories at some point in the future, I’m assuming they will be needed to craft ascended armors.

So the question is, where do we get the crystalline ore?

Bloodstone dust comes from champs/boxes.
Empyreal Fragments come from dungeons/puzzles.
Dragonite ore comes from world bosses.

So where is ANet going to put the Crystalline Ore?

Fractals?
Dynamic Events?
Elite mobs?
WvW?
sPvP?
Salvaged?

When ascended weapons were introduced, certain recipes were reset so that crafters could benefit from discovery again. I haven’t heard, but I assume they will do the same with armor crafts. We’ll likely have to wait until the patch notes to be sure, though.

I think she’s trying to build a watchwork dragon.

I hope she’s building a watchwork dragon.

I really want to fight a watchwork dragon.

Tain.1342:

I’m rather proud of my necro. For those interested:

Priory shoulders (abyss / ivory / abyss)
HotW chest (mithril / abyss / sage)
Vigil gloves (abyss / ivory / sage)
Human T3 legs (abyss / mithril / sage)
Shadow shoes (abyss / abyss / ivory)

Very nice. One of the better looking Necros I’ve seen.

Khadras.1583:

My new necro with some skins to make him look better at early levels :P

Nice use of Sylvari templates on that one. Well done.

Mr White.1673:

how do u like my necro ?

never really cared for that shoulder piece, but the rest of it looks pretty cool

The new Grenth Hood item prompted me to give my Necro main a make-over for the first time in 6 months. Here are the before and after pics. What do you think?

I never cared about PvP gear. I don’t do PvP in general, but when I was new I tried it out for a while. I didn’t care that my character wore a boring smock and carried a generic weapon because those things don’t matter in PvP. In fact, wearing noob gear into PvP can be an advantage if people assume you are new and underestimate your skill level.

So I salvaged all of my PvP rewards and turned them into dyes. My PvP wardrobe is empty. I started throwing away PvP rewards I got from AP chests because they’re useless to me.

And I also don’t care if someone gets skins in PvP to wear in PvE. It’s not going to interfere with how I play, so do what you like. Why shouldn’t you get rewarded for playing the way you like to play?

There is a setting in the graphics settings that you can adjust. This change was made when they modified how culling works a while back.

You mean like this:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/events/Tequatl-Fix/first#post3297987 ?

Prior to the Fractured update, my client rarely crashed. Since Fractured update, I get crashed pretty much every day I play, at least once.

I don’t even play FoTM. It happens most frequently during world bosses, but also sometimes when I’m just running around harvesting nodes, or any random thing. Seems to be related to pop concentration around me, but not exclusively.

I literally just posted on this over here:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/events/Tequatl-Fix/first#post3297987

Not sure if this is the best forum for a JP issue, but it didn’t see a better one.

I don’t have much trouble with rubber-banding overall, but I ALWAYS have issues with rubber-banding in Sharkmaw JP in LA.

In the hallways section with all the spears, I always experience rubber-banding, and frequently get downed as a result. I can usually recover, but not always.

After that series of hallways, there is a jump and then a cliffside ramp up to the Dark Room. Frequently, my character will just fall over dead on the way up the ramp to the Dark Room. I assume because the game thinks I fell at the jump.

I think Sharkmaw is one of the more enjoyable JPs in the game, but these two issues make it extremely frustrating, because there is really very little I can do to mitigate them on my end. My hardware is good, my drivers are up to date, my connection is stable most of the time in all other areas of the game.

So…

What gives, Sharkmaw?

I’m on Jade Quarry server, and we do Tequatl every reset, with a very high success rate. I had assumed it was the same on other servers as well. Lately, though, I’ve seen forum comments suggesting that there are really only a couple of servers that do regular Tequatl events, and that the dragon is ignored on almost every other server.

So, I’m wondering if ANet has plans to address this issue, or if the new Tequatl is here to stay.

There are lots of threads already about the Tequatl event in general. I’m more interested in a discussion about how to revitalize the event and bring it back into the mainstream event rotation for most servers.

It seems to me that the issue is not “difficulty” but “complexity”. The obstacle here is that the event requires a very high degree of knowledge, coordination, and pre-planning, all of which makes casual event groups unrealistic. If that is the case, then the best fix would be to simplify the event without reducing the difficulty.

Tequatl fight can be broken down into Offense Phases and Defense Phases. I like this feature a lot, because it gives a back-and-forth play to the battle that makes it feel more epic. We zerg Tequatl, Tequatl zergs us, until one of us prevails. I’d like to preserve that element of the event.

Here are a few suggestions to simplify the event so that it is more accessible to casual groups:

1. Fewer turrets. Increase the efficacy of turrets, but reduce the number to one set of three. This preserves the turret mechanic, but reduces the number of players dedicated to turret operation/defense.

2. Fewer Fingers of Tequatl. Another ancillary mechanic that draws players away from the main action is having to deal with all the finger spawns. Reduce the number of finger spawns, or weaken the fingers so that they require fewer dedicated players to manage.

3. Improve Battery/Laser survivability. On Defense phases, there are 4 points of defense, and they all are very fragile if not attended to quickly and effectively. Make them tougher to allow more room for error, and give player groups more time to respond when one is in danger.

4. Increase event timer. Increasing the amount of time we have to defeat Tequatl allows groups to better recover from mistakes and failures in previous phases. Right now, failure at a defense event can mean the whole event fails because we just don’t have much time to rally.

Talon, you’re not the only one with concerns about these things. Take a tour of the forums and you will find a great many threads that start with posts like yours (though few as polite or as useful as yours).

Here’s the thing: ANet is aware of the concerns of the player base. The issues you bring up in your thread are the same issues brought up in the other few hundred threads just like it. Here is what ANet is doing to address these concerns:

1. They started the Collaborative Development initiative. It’s still pretty new, but it opened up new channels of back-and-forth communication between players and developers. ANet has been very responsive to the posts players make in CD threads. And not just company PR people, but several different department heads and key developers of the game.

2. ANet has acknowledge that the players have legitimate concerns and are very interested in what players think needs to be improved. They have acknowledged that some of the things they have done haven’t worked out as well as they’d hoped, and they are working to improve things going forward.

3. GW2 isn’t about Scarlet. Scarlet is just the story du jour. At some point her story will end, and we will move on to the next thing. Based on forum activity, I expect the “next thing” will involve Dragons. We’ll see. For now, though, ANet dev resources are committed to the Scarlet arc, and we’ll need to see it through to the end. Who knows — maybe they’ve got a cool reveal in store that will change our minds about the whole Scarlet thing.

In short, ANet hears you, and they’re working towards a fix. Myself, I share your concerns but have stopped getting all worked up over it. Mostly I’m just curious to see what ANet does about it. I still have great hope in GW2, but I know that it can take months before some of the fixes start to show up in game.

So I’m patiently, curiously, watching the skies…

…

And… ya know… these forums.

too long. didn’t read.

The gathering tools are Account Bound. What you do with that is up to you. They are working as intended and don’t need a fix.

They used to be soul bound, but were made account bound with the introduction of new gathering tools. They did this so that players could move the tools around on alts if they liked a new tool better.

This change was suggested by players in forums, and ANet was kind enough to implement the change.

Bevillian.1260:

I thought this was a thread about dueling. After reading your post twice, I have no idea what you are talking about.

Dual, not duel.

I think ANet is going in a different direction with GW2. I wouldn’t expect to see Dual Profession builds in GW2.

I’m not a fan of reskins, myself. I don’t really see the point.

The other issue is why all the flame gear? We’ve got a dungeon flame set, 3 pieces of fire gear from AP, and now 3 new sets of flame themed gear in the gem store?

The steampunk stuff was at least unique and looked pretty cool. But these new flame-skins add literally nothing new to the game.

Here are some other theme ideas to get the ANet fashion staff started on a brainstorming session:

*Darkness
*Light
*Gemstones
*Precious Metals
*Jade
*Ice
*Water
*Mist/Fog
*Animal Skins
*Terracotta
*Porcelain
*Lacquered Woods
*Unfinished Woods
*Rock/Dust
*Crystal
*Glass
*Bone/Ivory
*Lace
*Veils
*Clockwork

That’s just the first 20 ideas that popped into my head that aren’t fire.

Please, ANet. The fire stuff is cool, but we’ve got enough of it already. Something else next time, maybe?

I think ANet is aware of the phenomenon you described. It is well known in every customer service industry.

You’re right, though, that we should make a point of posting positive feedback when ANet does something that we like. They are paying attention to the forums, and positive feedback as at least as effective as negative feedback.

I’ve had the same thought. The speculation on the boards seems to run in one of two directions:

1. She’s just the agent of a much more powerful being, like a dragon.
2. She actually is a much more powerful being, like a dragon, in disguise.
3. Scarlet is Mary Sue in disguise.

In any case, I’m ready for the big reveal and final confrontation so we can move on.

No, I never played the first game. I wish that I had, because it sounds pretty amazing.

I have posted my criticisms of the Scarlet arc in other threads, I’m not going to go into all of that here. I’m just going to say that I’m not impressed with the current Living Story, either, and it needs to improve going forward.

But just because I don’t like this particular story doesn’t mean that Living World is a bad idea. Living World and Living Story are two different things. Living Story is just a part of Living World, and Scarlet is not going to be around forever. She has definitely overstayed her welcome in my opinion, and I’ll be glad when they wrap up her arc and move on to other things.

Can dragons be a part of those other things? Sure.

Should dragons be the focus of all Living Story content going forward? God I hope not.

Valentine, I doubt very much that Kessex Hills will revert to the same old zone it was before the Tower went up. Much like previous Living Story content updates, significant parts of the story stay in the world. Like the Aetherblade JP, the new TA path, Tequatl, and the Queen’s Pavilion.

As for storytelling, I talked a lot about storytelling and the current Living Story in my post here:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Collaborative-Development-Topic-Living-World/page/45#post3251688

Antara, thank you for your comments.

LS isn’t the only source of updates. Every two weeks we get an update. Usually, the content update is a chunk of Living Story and other features like Wallet, Account Magic Find, Ascended Weapons, etc. Living Story has never been the only source of content. Occasionally, we get updates without any Living Story content, like the upcoming Fractured content update next week.

I do think that there is room for improvement in the Living Story. I’ve actually been kind of a harsh critic of the current Scarlet LS in other threads (and a slightly less harsh critic in others). But the concept of the Living World is absolutely unique amongst all MMOs on the market today, and it is one of the most exciting — and daring — things a gaming company has attempted in years. So I want it to have a chance to achieve it’s full potential.

Not everyone is going to like or appreciate the idea of LW, and that’s okay. But I hope that ANet will stick to their guns on this issue and continue to fine-tune LW until it becomes what it was intended to be.

I understand the appeal of Expansions. I do. I’ve been playing MMOs for almost 15 years now. But ANet is experimenting with doing things in a different way. Some people don’t care for the experiment so far, and that’s disappointing, but it doesn’t mean we should just give up on it. It’s a really cool idea, and I fully support it.

And I absolutely agree that the scope of the current Living Story is too large for consumption. I can’t keep track of what’s going on, and it’s just not making sense the way it’s being presented. But, as I say, they are exploring a new feature that hasn’t been tried before, and I think that it will improve in the coming months.

And if it doesn’t improve over the course of the next year or so, then yes… Yes, at that point, it probably would be time to move to a more traditional expansion schedule.

Markadis.9012:

I don’t think you grasped what the OP was saying…. He wasn’t saying to get rid of the LS, he was recommending a change to the PERSONAL STORY so that the developers did not have to worry about conflicts between the PS and the LS.

After which he recommended a format on how the LS will roll out from this point forward. A five or six month campaign dedicated to slaying a dragon and exploring a new zone. Then the remainder of the year is festivals, minor/major lore and new game mechanics.

Almost all of what he proposed is in line with what you were saying, except for the dragon slaying part. And as cliche as killing dragons may sound, these dragons are the biggest threat to Tyria. Once we get rid of them then we maybe can see a more unique threat and experience then what we have seen or read in other RPGs.

The Timecapsule idea as presented here shows the Living World content getting tucked into the Personal Story. Which does remove Living World as a game element because it’s no longer living at that point. It turns a dyamic world that changes over time into a static world that just sits there until you get around to poking at it.

Sirendor.1394:

Hire this man I read the whole thing, commented on his thread and I love it.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/livingworld/lwd/To-Merge-the-Personal-and-Living-Stories/first#post3084588

I want to say again that I respect Shriketalon for taking the time to develop his idea so thoroughly. But the idea absolutely destroys Living World as a game element and I hope it doesn’t happen. If we need to fix the conflict between PS and LW, I hope we fix Personal Story instead. Let ANet continue to develop Living World to it’s full potential.

Dark FQ.1038:

I hate the sellers, I really do.

Why? Hate is a strong word. Are they interfering with you in some way?

scerevisiae.1972:

Well they haven’t delivered on the new skills/traits one at all…

Oh, I know. I’m still hoping it will come out by the end of the year, but it just doesn’t look like it’s going to make it. One more reason I want the 2014 teasers.

Man, I respect the time you took to put this together, but I disagree with pretty much every suggestion you make.

I’m glad the current Living World content is not about dragons. I can’t think of a more boring MMO cliche than dragon-slaying. It’s done. I’m glad the setting has enough diversity of life and lore that we can engage other, more interesting, conflicts.

Yeah, there is some meta conflict between Personal Story and Living World, but the problem is the PS, not the LW. Living World is a great concept that deserves to stay and become the focus of the game moving forward. Personal Story was a neat idea that was poorly implemented and needs to accept the back seat for the duration of the ride. Personal story should never have been about slaying Zhaitan. That was short-sighted.

PS should have limited it’s scope to the area where the character starts their journey, with perhaps some brief forays out into the wider world. The Human PS should have been about Queen Jenna’s tenuous grasp of power in Divinity’s Reach. The Sylvari PS should have been about dealing with the Nightmare Court and Caithe’s ties to their leadership. The Norn PS should have been about… Norn stuff… ale or something… That way PS could have developed the NPCs and lore of the respective races and left Zhaitan for the first “dragon campaign” to kick off the start of the Living World content. That’s the fix it needs. That’s the fix that works.

What we do not need is any scheme that tries to cram the Living World into the Personal Story so that you can play all the content whenever you get around to it. That is not a Living World.

If you are terribly worried about the conflict between Personal Story and Living World, then focus on fixing Personal Story so that Living World can continue to be the amazing and unique experience that it is.

This is the info I am most interested in right now. They’ve done a really great job on delivering what they laid out in this post:

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/looking-ahead-guild-wars-2-in-2013/

Sure, they haven’t done all of it yet, and some of it might not get done before 2014, but they got most of it. And now as 2013 draws ever nearer to a close, I find my interest in GW2 waning.

I could really use a teaser of what’s to come next year to help whet my appetite for more GW2.

“New Skills and Traits” was mentioned in the “Looking Ahead” post last summer. I do think they intend to add new weapon options, Skills, and Traits to the game over time. I guess there is still some time for them to squeeze it in before 2014, but it seems less likely every day. I think we’ll get them eventually, though.

bravoart.5308:

Considering that GW2 has been the most cruel and disparately unrewarding game I have ever played, looking at that list only makes me think one thing.

“Any port in a storm.”

Really curious why you say " the most cruel and disparately unrewarding game I have ever played."

Please tell us more.

Part 2

1. Story bridges. I think you guys may have bitten off a little more than you can chew with the current LW story arc. It’s super huge and that makes it a poor trial run for a new game element like LW. I can’t identify a common story thread that connects the LW content we’ve had since August. In retrospect, I can see the Scarlet thread, but that doesn’t account for everything that’s happened (or at least doesn’t seem to). It’s very important that players be able to identify how current story developments come from previous story elements, and lead to future elements to establish continuity. When we think about the story, we need to be able to sense the shape of it, even if we don’t know what all of the pieces are, or what’s going to happen next. When the next “episode” of the show comes out, make sure it follows what has come before it in a recognizable way. And, when possible, make sure the resolution of the current “episode” sets up the next piece, so we can experience a sense of expectation and have fun speculating about what might happen next. (That’s how you build tension into a story.)

1. Give us 3 Acts in each episode. So far, you’ve been pretty good at exposition and really good at the complications in Act 2 (where all the action is!). But it seems like we’re missing out on Act 3 every time. We are confronted with a new development that needs our attention, we engage the conflict in battle, and… then… we are confronted with a new development that needs our attention. No Act 3. To reprise what I’ve said above: Act 2 is great! Act 1 and 3 need some attention. From a storytelling point of view, I really think that developing the third act of each episode is going to net you the best return for your efforts at this time.

1. Previously, on Guild Wars 2… Episodic storytelling needs the occasional recap. Especially when the subsequent episodes can be over a month apart in some cases. We need some record of the current story arc’s progression. I think the Priory is the best place for this to happen. It is their job, after all, and they already have the facilities to make it happen. That Place of Power in the heart of the Priory? That can be the nexus where the “story so far” is accessible for review. Whatever form the recap takes, the Priory is the most appropriate agent for such a thing.

1. I very much enjoyed the roll out of the current “Tower of The Nightmares Within” episode. The foreshadowing prior to the roll out was really cool. The initial instance and the subsequent cut-scene were perfect exposition of the current episode. Honestly, guys, you nailed it there! Act 3 was better, too, because we understood that there was a Tower of Nightmares over there, and that we were working towards getting inside to put an end to the conflict. I would have liked to have seen the action of Act 2 lead to a firmer resolution, though. Nightmares Within begins with a team inside the base of the Tower. Would it have been possible to end The Tower of Nightmares with an instance where the player helps breach the Tower? Even a small instance that would have bridged the action of Tower of Nightmares to the exposition of The Nightmares Within?

Overall, I think the ANet team is doing a fantastic job working towards some very ambitious goals. Although my interest has been waning lately, I have great confidence that GW2 is headed in the right direction with a great team of people working really hard to create a truly unique MMO experience. I may step back from the game some in the coming weeks and months, but I won’t stray far if I do, and I will definitely be keeping an eye on how the game develops.

Thanks again, for all that you do!

Part 1

I’ve been struggling to maintain interest in GW2 lately, but threads like this one give me hope that GW2 is a game I will continue to enjoy for a long while yet. Thank you for starting this thread and having this discussion with us.

I’m going to focus my comments on story, with a couple of detours.

1. Love the Living World concept. I really like that the setting is a living thing that will continue to develop constantly with or without me. I know that that means I might miss stuff sometimes, and I’m totally okay with that. I don’t feel the need to do all the things.

1. My favorite LW update was Bazaar of the Four Winds. Zephyr Sanctum was a cool new area to enjoy, with lots of neat mini-games and “easter eggs” to find and… well… kill. Also loved that I got a “souvenir cut-scene item” that I can take out and share with others to relive that time. It seemed like the perfect mix of exploration and play, with the Election Campaign storyline running “quietly” in the background.

1. My least favorite LW update was Tequatl Rising. You honestly broke Tequatl in that update and it’s never been the same. It’s gotten better as people have adapted to it, but it’s currently a major world event that gets ignored more often than not because it just isn’t possible to casually show up and participate with any hope of success. Are you guys okay with Tequatl being ignored roughly 10 out of 12 spawns a day? Though, honestly, I’m not sure what the fix is.

1. I feel like you guys have a pretty good handle on the mechanics of the Living World story development, but there is room for improvement in the presentation. It’s a storytelling issue. The story part is good, the telling part needs some work. Think of it like this: Plot and Story are two different things. Plot is things happening. Story is why we care about the things that are happening. You guys are nailing the plot! Story… needs some TLC. Plot can come from literally anywhere, but story only ever comes from characters. The cut-scenes we’ve enjoyed are awesome, and very enjoyable, but they aren’t enough to carry Story by themselves. We need more interaction with NPCs is what it really comes down to. We need to see consequences (good and bad) reflected in the people of the world if we are to care about the story.

Loading.4503:

Is anyone else annoyed that he used the word “throwed” besides me?

Bugs me too, but I was going to let it slide.

I was excited about ESO until I learned more about it. I think it will fail to meet expectations and die off quickly.

I’ve head good things about EQ Next, but I’m unfamiliar with the franchise. I’m curious about it.

Don’t know anything about the other games.

I’m kind of surprised at how many people don’t seem to realize:

You are constantly getting the expansion. You are always getting the expansion. Every two weeks you get another chunk of the expansion.

Last week? Chunk of expansion.

Next week? Chunk of expansion.

You are asking for something that you are already getting. The difference is that ANet is giving you the pieces as soon as they are ready, rather than making you wait until the whole thing is ready.

Einlanzer.1627:

It doesn’t matter whether or not it’s the point of their design, it matters whether or not it’s a good design. That point is somewhat debatable, but it’s very easy to point out problems with their LW approach (the forum is boiling over with them), and many, many players are seriously questioning it as a concept at this point.

Also, just because you aren’t analytical enough to notice them doesn’t mean there aren’t compatibility issues between the PS and LW. They are very obviously and very objectively incompatible and this fact has even been discussed by the developers. Sorry, but you don’t know what you’re talking about.

Don’t make it personal, bro.

What do you see as the compatibility issues between LW and PS?

If the only purpose was to reward you for playing, then you would just get it automatically when you log in.

New professions and new races will most likely never happen. Certainly not in the foreseeable future. Opening up more weapon options for all professions is something that ANet has said they would like to do. A lot of players want it too, so that is likely to happen at some point.

The challenge with adding new weapons (besides profession balance) is what it does to the Trait Lines. They can add new weapons without modifying Traits, but that’s unlikely. Most weapons have 1-3 Traits that support the weapon in one or more lines. So each weapon added would require a rework of the Trait Lines to make room for new Traits. Or possibly a new trait line, but that seems unlikely to me, and anyway would require just as much time and effort.

It’s not something that will prevent implementation of new weapons options, but it does mean that the process requires lots of work and testing, so it probably won’t happen often, and I really doubt any profession will get access to all weapons, much less all weapons for all professions.

I don’t think there’s much of a conflict, to be honest. The only thing that changes with Personal Story is that Zhaitan is “dead”. Everything else in the world remains unchanged, except that the leadership is in different hands. Destiny’s Edge and The Pact are similarly compartmentalized in PS cut-scenes and instances. It’s not perfect, but it works just fine.

So as long as Living World doesn’t touch Zhaitan, there really is no conflict at all. No matter where you are in PS, the Scarlet content fits right in as something that happens before, during, or after the Zhaitan PS content. Which, I believe, was the intention.

Personal Story and Living World should remain separate. No need to merge them in any way. The point of Living World is that it is persistent and dynamic. It happens with or without you, because it is alive. It doesn’t wait for the player to do something in order to be able to respond. The Time Capsule idea is incompatible with a Living World.

I think you are placing too much importance on Personal Story, when the real focus of the game is on the Living World. What you are suggesting is like trying to stuff a kraken in a juice box. It’s not gonna fit, bro.

I like that you took the time to put together such a well thought out suggestion, but I think you went a bit outside the realm of possible solutions.

While I agree that Living World needs more Dragon content in the future, I like that it is not all about dragons. The “dragon of the year” thing would get really boring really fast. I’m glad we have more diverse threats to confront, and I’m okay with the current LS not being about dragons.

PVE Daily is already “doable while playing.” Your suggestion would turn it into a mindless automatic achievement, which misses the point altogether. No need to change it.

Account.9832:

There’s a difference between selling your services as a guide and simply selling the last chest (so players can get the tokens without participating in the run).

If Arena Net considers that the latter is not an exploit, they should simply allow players to sell the tokens directly (because that’s effectively what’s going on, in a convoluted way, through the LFG system).

The “convolution” is what makes it okay. The two things are very different in important ways. It is not a small difference, like you seem to be suggesting. The current token system is fine. Selling party slots is no big deal.

Never gonna happen.

Kind of a complicated fix, and unlikely to be implemented. I posted my idea here:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/suggestions/Empty-Zone-Dynamic-Event-Fix/first#post3248040

+1 this.

The shoulders are disproportionately large, even with most Heavy Armor sets. They are just down right ridiculous with medium or light sets.

I have no problem with the current system. The token system makes sense, and people selling party slots is not a big deal.

Yeah, those skins are like souvenir items. Reminders of participating in the content, and the story of that content. It’s a hook to encourage players to participate in the current Living World stuff. Making them available later on through some other means would defeat the purpose of prestige items.

I know it can be annoying, but don’t let it bug you. It’s just a skin. There will be lots more coming in the future.

Yeah, I’m not sure what you’re after, either. People are farming already. People farm all the time. The problem with things like “The Eternal Frostgorge Champ Farm” is that all those boxes drop new money into the game, and that drives inflation. Champ Farming is like a tap that is always running, dumping new money into the game.

We all farm because we all need money, but all that money drives inflation and the price of everything goes up, so we need more farming for more money.

It’s a vicious cycle, bro. Vicious.