Guild Wars 2

4. Sceptre/focus condition/toughness gives a lot of survivability. Also ALWAYS eat utility and food enchants, costs copper, makes a big difference.

5. Any build goes so go for what seems fun, but specialize between condy/power depending on weapon, i.e scepter is condy, staff gets more mileage out of power. protection/toughness helps a lot especially when you are starting out.

yep its already been confirmed, they have admitted it was more more costly than expected, therefore I would expect that they wont go down the legendary armor route beyond these sets, there is far better content that gives great bang for the buck, it would be annoying if they did.

‘Currently it is reasonable to say that 10-15% difference in worse case scenarios (pure exotic vs ascended) is not enough to really affect performance for your player of average skill, especially not in anything that’s not raids or high fractal’

Bear in mind this goes 2 ways, even a 5% differential is absolutely massive because skilled players get this bonus too. for e.g 5% in a tightly tuned raid, or pvp makes that % essential, where players are equally skilled, the player with 5% will win most of the time.

im out, the word games being played here is a waste of time.

‘platformer’ is just another way of categorizing a thing that someone doesnt like to make it seem incongruous for argument sake. its the same argument over and over and over ‘i dont like a thing so therefore most people don’t like a thing or its a failure’. Platformer is a game genre not a map style.

Again, people like HOT, people don’t, thats it, theres nothing beyond this, except people cant get this and think HOT is a failure because they don’t like it – they cant see beyond their own viewpoint.

riiight then, maybe you want to actually read up a bit on the context of the survey and who completed the survey and why, its not a conspiracy theory to win an argument on a gaming forum for example. Alternatively, it doesn’t take a huge leap in imagination to correlate this against the gaming population in the 70s, 80,s 90’s, or even the player range – say 12-90. my original point is gamers have experience, they didnt come into GW2 cold, they know how to work things out.

ps there are other averages than median.

For you, not for me, not for others. there are 37 maps in GW2.

lol you should try playing jet set willy.

Labjax.2465:

vesica tempestas.1563:

i think people are forgetting what the average game player looks like, i.e over 35 with 10 years + gaming experience. Dark souls is considered difficult, or perhaps civ 4 god mode, or super meat boy, but HOT?

Where exactly are you getting the statistic that the average game player is over 35 with 10+ years of gaming experience? That doesn’t sound right at all.

A lot of people weren’t even introduced to gaming as a thing until the past 10 years or so.

?
There was a couple national studies done a few years ago and it was 35/10 years then. Bear in mind gaming started in the 70’s, those generations are still here.

edit, found one for north america

https://www.polygon.com/2016/4/29/11539102/gaming-stats-2016-esa-essential-facts

63 percent of U.S. households surveyed include at least one frequent gamer.
65 percent of homes own a video game-playing device, while 48 percent own “a dedicated game console.”
47 percent of gamers are between 18 and 49 years old.
The average guy who plays games is 35; the average woman is 44.
59 percent of those who play games on a regular basis are men; 41 percent are women.
The average gamer has been playing video games for 13 years.

Ignoring even age, The average gamer has been playing video games for 13 years. The average players is going to know how to jump on to a mushroom and control a glider.

its not really a trial signet, just wander and explore as normal and play events and you will get mastery points that enables jumping mushrooms and gliding etc that makes travelling easier still.

ok drop word ‘balance’ and call it something else, the point is the ability to quantify and measure.

Ashen.2907:

vesica tempestas.1563:

i think people are forgetting what the average game player looks like, i.e over 35 with 10 years + gaming experience. Dark souls is considered difficult, or perhaps civ 4 god mode, or super meat boy, but HOT?

There is a lot of confusion where people are trying to pass ofg subjective opinion as objective fact, i.e:

I find Hot maps frustrating is subjective.
I think hot maps are like a platform game because you jomp on mushrooms – subjective.

versus

only 5% of the game population has killed the last boss in Hot, but 90% have tried – there is a problem with the boss fight design. Objective.
The mobs in HOT can one shot you regardless of your defensive abilities therefore it is poorly balanced. Objective.

If players are not provided objective statistics, such as you mention, they cannot comment on them.

An opinion that one shot mechanics indicate poor balance is subjective, not objective.

Exactly so, so there is 0 value in trying to pass off subjective opinion as objective fact, and because its subjective debate goes nowhere.

No, if the average health pool is X, and a mob can exceed that with 1 hit despite the defensive actions of the player than that is in fact objective fact.

i think people are forgetting what the average game player looks like, i.e over 35 with 10 years + gaming experience. Dark souls is considered difficult, or perhaps civ 4 god mode, or super meat boy, but HOT?

There is a lot of confusion where people are trying to pass ofg subjective opinion as objective fact, i.e:

I find Hot maps frustrating is subjective.
I think hot maps are like a platform game because you jomp on mushrooms – subjective.

versus

only 5% of the game population has killed the last boss in Hot, but 90% have tried – there is a problem with the boss fight design. Objective.
The mobs in HOT can one shot you regardless of your defensive abilities therefore it is poorly balanced. Objective.

GW2 has not fundamentally changed, it is fundamentally a fantasy mmorpg with pvp pve and wvw.

People like HOT, thats a fact. The game will change over time, that is a fact. The game evolves and the devs try to predict what players want next.

Some people play the parts they like and avoid those that don’t. Others see demons in the walls and complain.

Labjax.2465:

vesica tempestas.1563:

The issue is that you will always find fault if you pick things out in isolation. There are 37 zones in GW2, 3 have verticality that is complained about. 90 % of the maps are flat, the the latest maps in HOT are flat. some people enjoy having 8% of the maps that are not flat. GW2 did not become a bad product because someone doesn’t like 8% of the maps.

Now add on that, one of the posters also doesn’t like changes in LOTR, RIFT, TSW as well and you have a pattern there and 1 common factor.

To give an analogy, I love Pink Floyd, I didn’t like their last album so much. That doesn’t mean Pink floyd has to change or are suddenly neglecting me, it just means i didn’t like their last creation. Pink Floyd making Dark side of the moon 2 is not going to happen.

No, the issue is that GW2 chose to do something different and for some people it missed the mark. I enjoyed every episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and can’t find any significant fault in the series. That is my assessment of it. I also would make a pretty confident argument that it stayed true to what it was from start to finish.

It’s not impossible to do that. Just because some creators choose to switch things up mid-stream doesn’t mean people are screwed up to ask them not to.

Also, your album analogy doesn’t make sense because GW2 is all the same album. A different album would be more like if we were comparing GW1 and GW2. But even then, using an album as an analogy doesn’t work very well. An album is something you make and then release, and that’s it. An MMO is a living, breathing virtual world and community that evolves over time. Expansions are chunks of content all at once, but they are still part of that same evolving process as part of the same game.

And because it’s an evolving process, there is usually more tolerance for change than, say, a TV series. But people usually still get attached to whatever the fundamentals are to them.

’An MMO is a living, breathing virtual world and community that evolves over time. Expansions are chunks of content all at once, but they are still part of that same evolving process as part of the same game. ’

EXACTLY correct, and GW2 has 37 zones.

‘I or we don’t like a thing’ does not mean everyone does not like a thing. You will never satisfy all the people all of the time. This will always be the case in mmorpg – case in point the guy that didn’t like change in LOTR, RIFT, GW2, TSW.

Dashingsteel.3410:

The idea of an expansion is change(new lands, new stories, new encounters, new armors and weapons, new races, etc…….. These things keep the game from stagnating

I am just not in favor of reworking the game into something else(majority flat map game turned into majority vertical map game in expansion, influence based guild turned into mat and gold sink based guild system, etc.)

I was looking for a more content oriented expansion than a game rework expansion

what your really saying is, you want change, but you want change to be exactly how you would envisage that change to look, which is fine, you will either be disappointed or pleased with a given expansion depending on what you are looking for. What Anet cannot do is please all of the people all of the time with change. Having 3 maps out of 37 with some verticality is not a fundamental change, it is still a horizontal mmorpg with pvp and pve and wvw.

Skittish.4539:

Nereikia.3507:

vesica tempestas.1563:

$120 a year to simply be allowed to logon and play your characters is greedy and dated.

Actually, without a discount now you would spend ~$120 for HoT and the locked story chapters.

$30 for HoT +$30 for all Living Story chapters = $120?

1. wow expansions cost money as well.
2, you get story chapters for free by simply playing, discussed to death.

Wow $120 + expansion to simply be allowed to logon.
GW2, Expansion to play anytime you want.

Dashingsteel.3410:

To expand on the analogy let’s say that after dark side of the moon Pink Floyd decided to make a hip-hop album

well then i wouldn’t buy their next album, it doesn’t appeal to me anymore, unless i like the creative direction they took.

GW is a product with many different types of player, all with evolving tastes, you will NEVER be able to keep everyone happy. I would say that stagnation and no change is not the answer to keeping a gaming audiences happy.

Skor.4652:

vesica tempestas.1563:

The issue is that you will always find fault if you pick things out in isolation. There are 37 zones in GW2, 3 have verticality that is complained about. 90 % of the maps are flat, the the latest maps in HOT are flat. some people enjoy having 8% of the maps that are not flat. GW2 did not become a bad product because someone doesn’t like 8% of the maps.

Now add on that, one of the posters also doesn’t like changes in LOTR, RIFT, TSW as well and you have a pattern there and 1 common factor.

Stop trying to be a shrink. That is condescending and rude.

That doesn’t make sense.

The issue is that you will always find fault if you pick things out in isolation. There are 37 zones in GW2, 3 have verticality that is complained about. 90 % of the maps are flat, the the latest maps in HOT are flat. some people enjoy having 8% of the maps that are not flat. GW2 did not become a bad product because someone doesn’t like 8% of the maps.

Now add on that, one of the posters also doesn’t like changes in LOTR, RIFT, TSW as well and you have a pattern there and 1 common factor.

To give an analogy, I love Pink Floyd, I didn’t like their last album so much. That doesn’t mean Pink floyd has to change or are suddenly neglecting me, it just means i didn’t like their last creation. Pink Floyd making Dark side of the moon 2 is not going to happen.

Nereikia.3507:

Amaimon.7823:

did you forget to open it? it doesn’t show any parties until you actually select a tab

Oh, hun! Really? We can keep kidding each other, like ‘did you forget to log in to your WoW client… ?’, but that makes no sense. WoW, which has something ten times more active players than GW2, felt dead and empty to you. Ok, maybe. Let us just stop this funny off-topic chat right now.

Wow doesn’t give value for money, its legendary for slow releases, and basically has its players grinding numbers, today its +1 to dmg to hit a boss with 1 more hp – tomorrow, you grind for another +1……… $120 a year to simply be allowed to logon and play your characters is greedy and dated.

it comes down to state of mind, self awareness and what you get out of games, for e.g for me:

GW2, gorgeous, like the style of horizontal progression, not intertested in raids, good pvp for me.
ESO : gorgeous, great PVE, Good housing, Server performance kills pvp, so i ignore it and pve only.
LOTR, great atmosphere.

WOW : foul atmosphere for me, I bough WOD, my bad i should have known better. I get some people like that style of game.

etc etc.

No game is perfect, especially mmorpg with different customers to satisfy.

Pick any facet of a product in isolation and you will find things you like and dislike.

As for Skor, LOTR, Rift, GW2, TSW… ‘I’m sick and tired of finding an MMO I enjoy’.

At some point you need to work out for yourself why you are not happy.

HOT came out a hear and a half ago, some like it some don’t. However, there’s been a year and a half of discussions and posts and videos and reviews. There comes a time when you are responsible for your own choices in life. If you bought a game you don’t like that doesn’t make the game bad, that meas you made a poor choice. If you don’t like a wide range of products in a genre then maybe just maybe your tastes have changed and that genre aint for you anymore.

Feanor.2358:

vesica tempestas.1563:

Feanor.2358:

No, I totally get the point of legendary items. I don’t get the point of introducing new tier of gear once you have covered all slots in legendary. Heck, even without the trinkets I still see no point. The very people that new tier is supposed to keep busy will already effectively have it. It’s pointless.

the point is that people who see the point get new content. People who don’t get that are not going to understand the point of new legendary items.

They aren’t talking about new legendaries. These have a place in the game, as they add more fashion endgame. They are talking about adding a new tier of more powerful gear and updating legendaries – existing and future ones – to match that new power level.

It’s not that I get the point, it’s that the point is missing altogether. Gear treadmills are created to keep players busy. The active players, those who spend hundreds and thousands of hours in the game. These are the same players who participate in the “fashion endgame” in GW2. It simply makes no sense to introduce new tier of gear when you would be giving it immediately to all the players who are supposed to be kept busy by it. It concept of upgrading the power of the legendaries defeats the only purpose of introducing said tier.

ah thats a different kettle of fish, i didnt realise that Ye agree about adding it to older legendaries, that does feel like a design contradiction.

If the new tier added say 1 power point or something so trivial that it would not impact anything then I could live with that, and it would actually motivate myself to go for the gear over time. It has to literally be 1 stat point at most so that even with a full set it does not give any significant advantage over other older gear.

jihm.2315:

i mean for example maybe some tyrian masteries through pvp?
why do i have to go and do jumping puzzles and gather spoons and what else random thing when im not interested in doing so to boost my account?

one daily today and i finished my pvp oblications, also if i go gather spoons and jump obstacles it means im absent from pvp.

the rewards in pvp just arent good enough and people want good rewards to do stuff.

rewards are not going to make PVP fun ultimately , what makes PVP fun is great gameplay where you feel as if you are really playing your class to its potential and are making a difference in a fight, anything else is just pixels and gold.

Feanor.2358:

No, I totally get the point of legendary items. I don’t get the point of introducing new tier of gear once you have covered all slots in legendary. Heck, even without the trinkets I still see no point. The very people that new tier is supposed to keep busy will already effectively have it. It’s pointless.

the point is that people who see the point get new content. People who don’t get that are not going to understand the point of new legendary items.

I like British football, i don’t like American football as much, I don’t expect American football games to change so players kick the ball. This is the same discussion that happened half a decade ago : horizontal v vertical progression.

balancing 1 class v another or 2v2 does 1 thing, it stunts choice as you have to simplify the skill options to a number that allows this balancing/quantification – see wow for where that goes. On the other hand there is the paper-stone-scissor approach where you dont balance but you offer counter balance. See Eve for how this model works (massive choice and diverse gameplay)

AliamRationem.5172:

Hey, look at that! Agreement reached on an internet forum between several people with different outlooks? I guess there’s a first time for everything. I’m with you guys. I have my preferences, but I don’t need to have it all my way.

I think they’ve done a pretty good job of correcting with the map design in LS3. We now have 2:3 ratio in favor of flat maps. That’s probably (correct me if I’m wrong?) more palatable to players who prefer flat maps than the original HoT offerings.

As a player who prefers maps like Tangled Depths and Verdant Brink, I still consider the flat maps in LS3 better than any of the core Tyria offerings. But the vertical maps, while good, feel like map-lite. BF is a tiny map and DM feels full of unused space. Probably due to the time crunch. I hope to see something more like a TD in the next expansion.

The other problem I have with LS3 the reward pool feels too shallow. I want to spend time on these maps, but I don’t have a goal to work toward. The shared currency between maps (unbound magic) has potential, but I feel it’s being underutilized. This may relate to the time crunch, but perhaps it can be addressed after the storyline is completed.

that’s it in a nutshell, having a ratio of maps where the majority is flat but there is complex maps in the mix is reasonable and fair and gives everyone what they want. This is why someone arguing about a zone in isolation and asserting the whole game is ruined is not getting what a mmorpg is about. The virtual world as a cohesive whole, not just the latest extension that you happen to like/dislike. Part of this viewpoint is a learned behavior from older mmorpg where latest expansion = rest of world is killed off i suspect, but that’s not the case in GW2.

thats also true ^^. its the big puzzle that all mmorpg will try to solve by offering different solutions – what content do you offer to the player that has hundreds/thousands of hours under the belt. No easy task.

Astralporing.1957:

vesica tempestas.1563:

If a skin is easy to get it does not feel epic and rewarding.

If a skin is hard to get, it doesn’t feel any more epic. It’s just harder to get. I guess that there are some people that dress not according to aestethic reasons, but to showcase their more rare gear, but in the end, instead of prestigious, they just usually look bad.

Yup that’s exactly right, finally getting that item you have been working for for ages because you really want it and its rare can give a burst of pleasure/prestige, its core to rpg and always has been. Everyone running about with the exact same hammer of godly powerlessness +500 is the other side of the coin. As for player looking bad, that’s the problem of the observer.

@ phys.7689 class/avatar/character.

agree with this ^^ personally i think the issue with the GW2 class progression is that its just to easy and quick to get any gear set you target bar legendary gear. If a skin is easy to get it does not feel epic and rewarding. On a positive, we are in a much healthier place than games stuck in a loop feeding players constant gear upgrades, orange is the new purple in that world.

welcome as well, GW2 is a huge game for a new player, and entering and leveling up a first character in an AAA game is a rare thing so enjoy it

My tips are :

-Buy infinite gathering tools – huge quality of life change.

-Wander anywhere you fancy deep into zones that are way above you level, its fun and exciting and you get xp from gathering and exploration.

Look for named npc’s and speak to them, may trigger events or event chains.

-Dont use map, explore freely

- There is a power/stat cap at end game so there is no power level to fall behind so you can relax and not feel pressured to get to max level asap.

- Enter WVW and look at map for players with diamonds icon (commander) or cross swords for fights and go to them and follow the group for fun pvp

- if you want taste of big boss fights have a look at the GW2 boss timer website.

Aeolus.3615:

Ashen.2907:

Aeolus.3615:

Ashen.2907:

The best progression, in my opinion, is the player getting better at the game, not adding yet more powerful gear as a crutch to make the game easier.

better @game can be tranlated as buy expansions “to get good” lol…..

Power creep in expansions can be a problem IMO.

that is how this game evolve… and that is what the class progressions system is, to make players feel necessity to buys the expansion, its not mechanics of the game and game improvements that makes people busy the expansion.

game with 4 years and feels like it doesnt have nothing new….

GW games unique selling point is that it has a power ceiling in a AAA quality mmorpg with no sub, if you want power creep, play any one of the many many many other mmorpg out there that hooks players in with the power tread mill. People that are trying to fight this are trying to change a round hole into a square so they can fit through..

ESO managed it ^^

phys.7689:

slashlizardy.9167:

phys.7689:

Labjax.2465:

Dashingsteel.3410:

I agree partially that HoT is designed to be more challenging but I feel that is in regards to the enemies you face and some of the semi-platforming elements. I do not believe that Anet intended navigation to be more difficult.

The great majority of maps in core gw2 have navigation that is clear cut. The only maps in gw2 that aren’t are the grove, rata sum, and the black citadel. The reason they aren’t is that they are mutli-tiered just like the HoT maps.

This IS a problem of the minimap not being compatible with multitiered maps.

Why even offer a revealed map and minimap if you intend for your players to memorize and learn the map?? I don’t think Anet intended to change the game in this kind of direction.

I am not talking about an undiscovered map. I am talking about a map that has been fully explored and revealed already.

I think I see what you’re saying and I’m inclined to believe it. That they did not anticipate the issues of a multi-layered map in their mini-map design.

i think that yall have a point, but yall missed the real meaning.
some maps are not designed to be easy to navigate via map, theyvare designed to be consistent with themselves.

rata sum, is in fact designed to be extremely convient, IF you know rata sum well. its very poorly designed if you dont.

black citadelnis supposed to be designed by a race who places powerful and agressive designs over ease of use. char dont particularly feel things should be easy.

verdant brink is not supposed to be a designed area, its a natural jungle thrown asunder by a crazy dragon tree natural disaster.

and yes exploration has way more depth in hot than in other areas. there is way more hidden things, and its easy to get lost. part of the difficulty in hot is that knowing the map is a huuge advantage. i dont think thatbis unintentional.

but a side effect of making these complex areas, is that the map is not the best tool for navigating it.

but that is a lesser consideration than the map itself achieving its goals.

really you guys dont like the concept of verdant brink and tangled depths, verdant brink is supposed to be a wild lands, and tangled depths is labrynth like.

which is fine, while having a few maps like this is a good variety.
because its all packaged in one expansion, people feel like the expansion was a waste for them, if they have this opinion.

good news is i dont think the next expansion is about a similar thing. it most likely will focus on having a lot of stuff spread out, and the travel is about doing it faster and getting new places, over unlocking the secrets of a small complicated area.

That is good news. Where have you heard that the expac 2 maps are going to be more pleasurable for exploration?

its just an educated guess based on some leaks.

do note, it may be less pleasurable for exploration, thats subjective. in terms of exploration, id say HoT maps are the most pleasurable, they most reward knowledge and have tremendous replayability for those who explore.
there many ways to get too the same place, many secrets, etc.
compared to say arah, or queensdale, where after the first time ive basically figured the map out.

also glider interactions enhance it

i concede thats me though, some people prefer long walks on the beach to a lost city in jungle when it comes to what they d like to explore

the best attribute of vanilla maps to me, is that its easy to get to large events, but thats sorta the opposite of exploration. i just teleport, or follow mini map markers

this is the thing, its nice to have long walks, and complex map and large open areas – they all offer different gameplay styles. Hot is not an isolated thing, it is an extension to a virtual world that offers something different in comparison to other zones.

Dashingsteel.3410:

So let me get this straight….. In core gw2 the only maps the developers wanted their players to truly learn were Rata Sum, Black Citadel, and the Grove.

All the other maps were accurately depicted by the revealed map and mini-map.

I’m just going by the claim made earlier that HoT was specifically designed to be navigationally vague and that developers designed it so players had to memorize and learn the maps.

‘navigationally vague’ isnt a thing. Hot has a more complicated design, ergo there is more to learn, that’s it, you either choose to play and learn or you don’t. Players choice.

the original point is that HOT is more complicated, it was designed to be more complicated, if you are not willing to learn a more complicated map the answer is not going to be a better minimap because that is NOT the root problem. The root problem is an unwillingness to accept that you need to invest in the game to learn the maps. That’s a personal problem, not a problem of the game – proven by the fact many players do in fact know how to navigate HOT.

You can argue all you like about difficulty levels, but if the average game player is 35 in gaming in general and the average player has gamed for over 10 years, then the assumption made by Anet that those players and GW Vets can cope with vertical movement seems reasonable.

Dashingsteel.3410:

@vesica tempestas……. A map is for directions. A revealed map means your character has already traversed all the areas. The fact is that Anet’s minimap just can’t handle multi tiered maps. There should not be map tools giving you misleading information.

I am not interested in playing navigation or maze games. I want maps that show me where to go.

I find that most people who take on a condescending tone are trying to compensate for something.

lol ok, well compensation aside, maybe its a generation thing, older games didn’t have maps, so you learned to learn.

Dashingsteel.3410:

What’s the point of having the map revealed if you still have to memorize it?

Are you being serious?

Human beings have a brain and cant help learning so eventually…you…can….focus….on…..what….you…are…doing…..without….looking … down….at….the….mini…map.

The map is there to help, not take away your capacity to think.

33% on crit chance where you have a crit chance of say 50% makes it perfectly predictable, 1 in every 6 hits or so. If you have too much on demand spells then all you get is huge damage spikes everywhere and people getting killed in seconds, that’s why its on chance – it helps normalizes the damage.

god this gets old…and yet people easily navigate HOT, people do solo zerg events (i do it myself with an ele) Orr was the exact same to start, then people learned, and got better gear etc etc. People need to start taking responsibility for their own game play and avoid parts of the map that doesn’t suit them if they are unwilling to adapt rather than expecting the world to adapt to them. That’s the difference between a single player game and a mmorpg.

Well ive spent about 3k hours with staff so i’m reasonably familiar with it and it has it has place in wvw siege, mid zerg and raid aoe spam but thats it, your playing with a massive disadvantage in any other scenario. As with every other mmo that has pvp, single attack > aoe otherwise aoe would be op. play against an equal skilled player and you will melt – theres a reason why its not meta just now.

Exactly this ^^ kids these days are very game savvy, for example my 9 year old daughter builds working engines in mine craft and can quite happily produce a fully animated presentation on power point etc. Then there is the average game player today: in their mid 30s and have been playing games for over a decade. The average player that’s been playing for over a decade knows how to play games.

This is why it is wrong for someone to say everyone hates HOT because its too difficult, in reality it is a small minority of players that struggle to learn maps, and certainly not the average game player.

Ashen.2907:

vesica tempestas.1563:

Ashen.2907:

Feanor.2358:

Yes, and pleasing every customer is impossible.

Exactly. Which is why I said, “if,” regarding Anet’s desire to sell to customers who do not like aspects of the product. The customer expressing disatisfaction with an aspect of the product gives ANet the opportunity to make an informed decision about those aspects.

well that would depend on the customer profile, read my sig.

Any company will, by necessity, have to decide to not please everyone. Only with relevant information can they pick and choose who to try pleasing and who to ignore.

Without that information the company is just swinging wildly in the dark. There are many aspects, facets, to HoT. If people who disliked aspects sufficiently to sour the entire expansion for them, as certain specific aspects did for me as an example, merely quit or at least stopped visiting HoT maps, without voicing their complaints, ANet would have no information upon which to make future development decisions. If those who quit or stopped visiting HoT were an insignificant minority and the expansion sales exceeded expectations, and player retention were all rosy, then the company could safely choose to ignore the silent disappearance of a few players.

If, however, things arent as rosy. If, perhaps, HoT sales did not exceed expectations, and so on, giving ANet reason to think that they might want to revise aspects of the new zones, or revisit aspects of design decisions in the future, it might be nice if they had some information to go on.

Again, the core of my point, the whole point really, is that knowing what customers dont like about your product is important for a company if they want to sell to those customers. The company may very well decide that they do not want to sell to those customers, which is fine. Their product after all. But at least they can have the information to make an informed decision about who they want to not sell to.

Which is exactly what they would have done with their market research, lensing, profiling, segmentation etc. I know loads of players that love HOT, equally i can see people that are unhappy in this thread, it is not a black and white HOT failed/succeeded for all, which is what is implied by others in this thread.

to solo hot you don’t want to just go pure damage, you want condition removal and toughness and have a bit of heal or invuln so you can control when you engage/disengage. After that you can destroy stuff and phase in/out more damage depending on your comfort factor.

Also always use a utility buff and food, its cheap as chips and gives you a bigger comfort margin. For example there is food that can reduce all dmg taken etc, increase boon time etc etc.

Ashen.2907:

Feanor.2358:

Yes, and pleasing every customer is impossible.

Exactly. Which is why I said, “if,” regarding Anet’s desire to sell to customers who do not like aspects of the product. The customer expressing disatisfaction with an aspect of the product gives ANet the opportunity to make an informed decision about those aspects.

well that would depend on the customer profile, read my sig.

wvw players dont get legendary armor
spvp players dont get legendary armor
pve players in all parts of the game apart from a small segment of the game do not get legendary armor.

Anet is going down a very strange route or something or someone with prior history in another game perhaps is influencing their design decisions in a bad way. There is no way a feature that has used up this much resource and yet targets such a small portion of the player base should be prioritized.

@ gimli, that’s a really good point actually, all those sources of housing items and blueprints doesn’t affect power scaling or is pay to win, got to be a good money maker for Anet.