Guild Wars 2

Point confirmed.

OP-person… You know, if you just calm down & watch things unfold, you may find this isn’t as terrifying as you imagined. You might have to get used to something other than what you’re accustomed to, but your life would probably be happier & your relations with others more positive if you just sat back & listened. Maybe read a few articles about these couples, what this means to them. It’s no lack of respect for marriage, it’s an outpouring of respect. Just give it a chance.

I went & said hi to her. She looks happy

(btw, she’s in the Mist Portal area)

SunFireDemon.5014:

stobie.2134:

SunFireDemon.5014:

I’m sorry for any issues. But if I read that right, if we don’t agree we can’t voice out thoughts on it, even if it was in polite, non offensive manner where no one person was called out. We should just shut up and keep to ourselves? our thoughts don’t matter if they are not for it? As for this NPC being easily avoidable is not the issue. The fact that it is in the game is troubling. Not everyone is going to agree with it should be here and will only breed conflict, weather or not it is easily avoidable is irrelevant.

It depicts your character in a quick conversation with a person who has made a major life change. You ask why, they tell you, & you’re polite and kind in response. It’s an NPC whose ‘political’ message amounts to, ‘Be nice, and respect other people’s choices.’ I just don’t see that as ‘troubling.’

Most importantly – far more importantly – if a transgendered person hears about or comes across this NPC, it may be a ‘good feeling’ moment for them, a moment that says they’re included. That might mean a great deal to someone. That seems worth it, imo.

Yes you get to interact with the npc, but the only convo choice you get is to accept and praise. What if you don’t agree? Do just walk away? What if you are a perfectionist and can’t walk away from something unless it is completed? There for you have the conversation, and force to to praise despit what you may think. The convo is just one sided. Even if they just added at “oh. I see.” response that will still let you finish the convo if that is your personality quirk. And yes. I do know people like this. If we are to aim for equality and fairness to all, it should extend to everyones thoughts including those that don’t agree with it. As humans we are all different, with different morals, beliefs, religions, and ways of life. Respect one means respect for all, weather you agree or not.

That part, I agree with, in a way. It’s what drove me away from GW2 in the first place, the way my characters just faded into nothing, clicking green arrows to get on to the next part, while NPCs babbled (sometimes, in the most irritating ways.) But this is just one NPC, and not a developed story. You ask, they answer, and your character is nice about it. Since GW2 isn’t a ‘dark side/light side’ game, that’s nothing new. Your character is nice, & really, debating with a total stranger about their personal life choices can’t be considered ‘nice.’ It would always be ‘completely rude.’

But again, I don’t think this NPC is meant for people’s debate. I think it’s meant to welcome people who don’t necessarily feel very welcomed. I don’t think it’s meant to tell me what I should think about the issue. I think it’s a quiet little voice saying, “You’re welcome here, too,” to people who might really appreciate that. If you view it that way, rather than as an affront to whatever you personally believe (and beliefs change with time) then it might be easier to understand.

eta: Oh, God, if gamergate has entered this topic, it really has died! /runs away screaming

SunFireDemon.5014:

I’m sorry for any issues. But if I read that right, if we don’t agree we can’t voice out thoughts on it, even if it was in polite, non offensive manner where no one person was called out. We should just shut up and keep to ourselves? our thoughts don’t matter if they are not for it? As for this NPC being easily avoidable is not the issue. The fact that it is in the game is troubling. Not everyone is going to agree with it should be here and will only breed conflict, weather or not it is easily avoidable is irrelevant.

It depicts your character in a quick conversation with a person who has made a major life change. You ask why, they tell you, & you’re polite and kind in response. It’s an NPC whose ‘political’ message amounts to, ‘Be nice, and respect other people’s choices.’ I just don’t see that as ‘troubling.’

Most importantly – far more importantly – if a transgendered person hears about or comes across this NPC, it may be a ‘good feeling’ moment for them, a moment that says they’re included. That might mean a great deal to someone. That seems worth it, imo.

I don’t get the uproar about whether to use he or she. If that’s what the person wants, what’s the problem? You’re not putting forth your own beliefs, or the definitive word on science or religion. Just respecting what another person wants, what makes them comfortable, what makes them feel accepted. It’s not up to some gamer to ‘fix’ another person, about an issue that may well not require your assistance, anyway. Just – this nice little in game touch may make someone happy, feel more accepted, included – I see NO problem with that. Basically, what does it matter what you think about the issue? It’s not there for you, it’s there to make someone else more comfortable.

This NPC is nicely done, a good ’you’re welcome here’ move, nothing huge, but a good message nonetheless. The Kas/Jory romance was like very bad fan fiction. They were really obnoxious. They’d be obnoxious in any gender pairing. I hope they’ll do something better along those lines. The very brief (and in one storyline only) Sylvari male romance was better, as I remember.

Are people still wearing berserker gear, pretty much exclusively?

I love this idea!

Welcome, Leah! I’m looking forward to your input – it sounds fun, & I envy you the ability to potentially play with characters you actually make.

I hope all the writers remember that our character/s are our link to the GW world, & for that reason, it’s so important to feel part of the world. This game started out incredibly well. (especially for the Asura) By the last updates, though it was an interesting story, I was beginning to feel like I was just tagging along, listening to other people’s problems whether I wanted to or not. So it would be nice to feel more involved, personally, again, though I understand getting voice actors for all that would be tricky. Personally, I’m fine with it being written rather than spoken, as long as my characters feel real again.

I hope you have a great time weaving the world!

I guess people just come here to vent. But it’s also ‘internet habit.’ We’re usually communicating in short formats (hi, Twitter!) and that lends itself to extreme, b&w views. You don’t see a lot of long, (or even full paragraph-length) thoughtful posts, that aren’t greeted with TL;DR. The formats & habits themselves tend to be adversarial.

Just in general, I’ve learned to avoid most comments sections – scary people hang out there & give me an unbalanced perspective of who ‘lurks below.’ As for gaming forums, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a very positive one – even a ‘sometimes, occasionally’ positive one. (maybe lotro, once upon a time?)

I do honestly think it hurts the games, though. I can be having a great time in game, come to a forum for some question, then leave discouraged. It also serves to set the ‘meta game’ mindset, because it’s so easy to find out what we all should do. I’ve known people who quit MMOs for that reason alone, the ‘should’ factor. Those were the more serious, skilled gamers, too. I tend to hang on because I love the world or my characters, but I’m less likely to involve myself with a community as represented by its forum. (not fair, but as happiness is infectious, so is negativity)

Not just dps, but melee-dps. If we’re supposed to play with the same gear (and so far, in pve, I don’t see that any class really goes with anything but berserker – with the same few rune/sigil sets) – then why not go back to ‘the original dream’ of no gear/stats, & make us all basic dps? It might as well be just a trait-based choice & drop gear differences altogether. Why shove more ‘gear based progression’ at us at all?

Personally, when I play more than one class (and I usually do), I like them to play differently. I like a straight dps, a tactical dps, classes that can take more hits & do less damage in exchange, & characters that focus more on supporting others. That doesn’t have to be tank/healer/dps, & originally, I thought GW2 was set up nicely to do that. It doesn’t seem impossible – or didn’t, until I saw how this game evolved.

Maybe there are some classes that have more than one ‘advised build.’ But from the stickies on this & other forums, I haven’t seen them.

But who will warn us about ‘pooiiiiison?’

I started out thinking he was fine, on my first character. By Orr, I had heard enough of him. By the end, I was praying he’d turn out to be the real villain. All subsequent characters zapped every conversation in which he appeared.

I’d like them to change the dodge mechanic, because now it’s essentially a spell. I don’t fully accept that you can’t have a limitless dodge capacity, anyway. I’d like a slider to reduce spell particles, because in a zerg fight, I see no tells whatsoever. And I’d like more nuance in dungeon fights, so it’s not about slamming a boss into a corner & melee to the finish. (I’d like a use for non-berserker gear & the more interesting traits) And I’d like my character to have a voice again. I don’t care if it’s a new actor (for the Norn, I’d be rather pleased with a new actor, & the female human – eh.)

None of this seems likely, but you asked!

What’s the point of telling someone they shouldn’t want what they want? (and being so mean about it doesn’t help) What’s so bad about reminding ANet that some people wish the game had mounts? You’d think the OP cursed someone’s family by the suggestion!

If they had mounts, I’d be happy about it. I’d think ANet would be happy, too, since it’s an obvious source of more, mostly cosmetic $$$.

If they don’t add them – and I expect they will not – I wouldn’t be upset, since there was never any indication they intended to add mounts. But wow – hostility!

Nerelith.7360:

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

I think you are missing the point of core cooperation rather than competitiveness. It is more ‘social’ to cooperate or, at least, not have to compete to get mats from nodes, or XP and drops from mobs. It fosters a friendlier environment, where you may make a friend, rather than an enemy because no one is irritated that you ‘stole’ his/her kill or material or whatever.

That’s all. Geez!

OT – I enjoy what this game offers, and I don’t feel the need for any of the OP’s proposed ‘endgame’. There are, of course, things I would like added to the game, but I’m sure most would not consider them their definition of ‘endgame’.

I have to agree. I find that this game is more social, because In other games I have played (cough) WoW ( cough)…if someone is fighting something and dieing, and I jump in to help, there have been times I got yelled at.

Here, I can Jump in and help, and people actually thank me.

Oh, dark memories! I stopped to heal a guy (in ‘that game’) who was at about 1% health once, & got yelled at AND harassed. I was on a male paladin & I think he felt I’d made him look bad in front of his girlfriend. (he said as much – I told him that I’m female irl, and not after his woman… It was the weirdest, most depressing thing!) Helping people in GW2 is the best thing about the game. It’s so nice not to see other players, always, as potential adversaries.

It took me awhile to accept it was the same person. (I’ve done this a lot.) I thought they’d broken a writing ‘rule’ by using the same name too often. She’s the one that gets the dog. I assume you get extra dialogue if she’s your sister?

No, I got 2 different models in 2 different scenes, on characters that didn’t do that storyline (and weren’t human themselves)

If you do that sister storyline, I assume the model is consistent. I’m speaking about meeting her on characters that didn’t do it.

I want player housing – that I can decorate.

I’d like mounts – because I’m sick of running.

And honestly, I’d like a reason to have something besides berserker/speed dps gear in PVE.

I’d like to have several viable specs rather than one ‘approved’ build. (for pve)

I’d also like scaling instances.

Capes would also be pleasant.

I’d like the personal story to be personal again, & a bit more variety & choice in quests. Every Charr, human and Norn should still have a different path to follow, apart from my Asura. And by this, I mean, I want a reason to play all my alts.

Just so long as they don’t add a snarky vendor who insults me whenever she coughs up lousy gear!

That would be great. I have a bunch of alts, too, & since the story isn’t at all personal, at this point, why not?

Kalavier.1097:

Hell, I found myself going “YAY” when playing PS on my Sylvari (who did the order of whispers joining missions) and Asura (who had the golem invention storyline). Why? Because they encountered the one Asura announcer with the holograms, who I FIRST encountered (as a player) in Orr during the naval storyline.

Some characters appeared often, others I think got shoved in places to have a named person with backstory. Like the first person human characters talk to (with the Coyote pet), never ONCE appears in the world or early PS, but appears in an Orr set of missions. The lost sister? Never appears in home instance or anything (Much dislike at that, given how many other PS npcs hang out in your home instance, WHY NOT THE SISTER!), but she appears in an Orr PS mission.

I noticed that the sister’s model changes a few times. Maybe you just don’t recognize her!

I love that various characters showed up in my personal home (incidentally, I only recently realized I HAD a personal home-area.) Not so impressed that so few of them speak. I had no clue that one specific Sylvari related to my original choices – but that would be nice, if they spoke…

goldenwing.8473:

It’s been researched and noted that generally speaking, 10% of a gaming population at anytime will be comprised of “griefers”. Blame the innate discrepancies of human development.

.

That’s a very interesting statistic! I believe that’s about the same percentage of sociopaths in a population, too, and it shows in many other areas. If you look at any YouTube video, there will always be that percentage of dislikes (meaning, minimum.) If it’s a cute cat video, how to mow your lawn, best mascara… It will invariably have about that percentage of mean comments & dislikes.

However, I think we in video games make it too easy for them, & too many people think it’s acceptable behavior.

Labjax.2465:

Plot twist: Trahearne is Mordremoth. Dun dun dun..

Well, that would explain why his ‘cleansing’ didn’t seem to do anything!

I’m finding a different problem, which led me to drift away from GW2, and that’s – alts. I don’t want to admit how many I’ve leveled to max & geared & worked on. I did it because I really enjoyed the starting levels. I liked the choices – I liked seeing my bulky norn guy (he’s pretty, though, which happens when a woman designs a male, I guess!) – go through the story, as opposed to my various Asura. Progressively, there were fewer & fewer choices, but hearing an Asura deal with Trahearne & company is very different from hearing my monosyllabic Norn. I felt most of the personal story lines (up to The Advent of Trahearne) were quite good. (some more than others, the Asura being my favorites) Even after, there were some side choice-stories that I found moving or exciting.

But now – I went through on my first character, my human Mesmer, & I could find absolutely no reason to do it on the others. It felt like labor, & I ended up doing other things (meaning, other games, work, just – not GW2) I lost interest. (I’m also not entirely wild about the combat changes, but if the story had been great, I’d have stuck with it.) I don’t honestly care that much about the game story if I’m just a red shirt. I found very few, if any, choices that required my character’s presence at all. At one point during the first part of this season, I thought I’d found a choice – something about a door, but it amounted to me waiting around, then smacking the door, then watching the biconics take over, again.

I could make myself go through on one character, just to see what’s new. But on the alts? I don’t see a reason, nor do I feel any call to do so. I did like Taimi, but I don’t feel I know her, because there’s no relationship with my character. I learn what she feels about her ‘sisters,’ and the other 2 (the fact I keep forgetting their names isn’t a great sign) – but with my characters? Nothing.

I don’t play a game to read someone else’s story, even if it’s a great story. Games are interactive, not sitting back & watching tv, not reading a novel. GW2 was appealing because it was supposedly interactive. (Ya. I remember the launch trailer.) Right now, it isn’t.

I appreciate that it’s possibly an interesting story, and that it seems quite positive. Arguably, it’s a little more woman-friendly than most games. (though I can’t help noticing that the women look like barbies, so they ring a bit closer to ‘male fantasy’ than ‘brave heroines,’ but ok…) I’d just like to feel a little more personally involved, as I did at the starting levels.

I’d definitely go with GW over WoW, because kids at her age are suggestible, and they’re learning behavior, how to treat others, from those around them. GW isn’t perfect, but there’s so much meanness in WoW that I wouldn’t want my children playing it. I’m assuming you’d be playing with her? I’ve heard things in GW chat that would require discussion, but far less than WoW. For instance, I wouldn’t want a kid deciding that – certain typical gamer words – are ok. (Pretty sure those get x-ed out here) The GW story is probably more positive, too.

I think for that age, you’d probably want to think about how the game & community affect her, as well as how fun they’d be for her. Kids get enough negative reinforcement in school & online & on tv – so it makes sense to monitor it at least in games.

I love the ambient chatter, actually. Games that lack it feel sterile. I park myself in Rata Sum to hear the best of it. I don’t want the story to be ‘all about me.’ Even with Trahearne, the Unloved, I was fine making someone else commander. Just not him. It seems like some people think of their character as a vehicle to run through someone else’s story, which is ultimately true. But I’m drawn in more by choices, by developing a character through choice. That worked well in the early stages – great in the racial beginnings, fine through the Orders. But I’d rather be more than a place-holder, & that’s not clear to me now.

Obviously, we’re in someone else’s world, & it will never be exactly ours. But I preferred, say, Dragon Age Origins over 2 (ignoring combat) because I felt too much that I was playing someone else’s character in 2 (and I preferred the companions in 2, just not MY character) But others may prefer that the story be about this new guild. I just felt we had more connection with Destiny’s Edge, & I found them more interesting (except for Taimi, who I do like)

BobbyStein.2315:

Zin.1673:

The character is indeed voiced. Did you ever played your personal story ?

Warning: nerdy devspeak ahead!

The player character (PC) hasn’t had new voice recorded since the game launched, so you’ll only hear your character speak in the following circumstances: conditional chatter, in cinematic conversations in the Personal Story, and in painterly “full” cinematics. We retired cinematic conversations with the Living World, so right now the PC can only “talk” through unvoiced dialog trees.

We’re exploring some technical improvements that may allow the PC to speak under new circumstances, but it’s actually a bigger undertaking than one would imagine due to the complexity of player voice implementation (10 possible voices, currently shared lines of dialog that we want to split out, scene timing per language, etc.). That’s about all I can say at the moment.

In short, we’re looking to make the PC speak again, but it’s going to take a bit of time to redo the code and content pipelines to make it work, not to mention updating our tools to allow us to generate PC lines that deviate based on race & gender, prior accomplishments, etc. We’re not ready to announce what those changes will actually be or when they might be deployed, but we’re seriously looking into it.

As always, thanks for playing.

Thank you for clarifying that! I guess I’d assumed you’d recorded voice to a much later point, but this makes sense. I hope you’ll be able to work it out, because it really does make me, at least, feel more connected. I don’t want to be a red shirt. I get the grim sense that I might be now.

eta: But unlike the ‘poll’ mentioned above, I do want to feel immersed, & I do prefer to have some choices. I’m not as happy to feel I’m just following someone else’s characters around. I like some of them a lot – I love Taimi, but unlike with Destiny’s Edge, I don’t really feel a connection with my character. (she prattles on about the 2 humans as ‘sisters,’ but I seem to be there as a dialogue dump.) Maybe because I did this part first on a human, & they’re a bit boring, I didn’t get as much, but she was my first character, so she gets to do new things first. A run through on the Asura might be more interesting, & have the better companion.

No, I meant if they want to add a same sex element into their story, they could use it to add something to Trahearne. As it is, he is entirely unemotional & robotic, & yet, somehow still whiny. If they added a lost pet, it would be something. As for Logan, I think I’d prefer that Jennah just turn him down outright & have him deal with it. She doesn’t seem all that interested as they’ve written it. I think they actually did a pretty good job in small ways, in side relationships along the way. There are at least 3 Asuran couples that worked, I thought – very touching, seemed more real, & didn’t seem to be intent upon making a statement. There’s something about this Marjory/Kasmeer relationship that seems gratuitous, more so than did Caithe’s (though in one dialogue, they used ‘my love’ several times, to the point where I was pretty much ready to say, “I think we all get it…”)

I’d like less of both, & a return of my own characters, really. It’s weird to be just tagging along behind these people, after the pretty great beginning. I thought the story & options up to the Pact were great – meaning, the dark day when we, inexplicably, put Trahearne in command, making it The Trahearne Show. Now, whether I’m on my Asura or human, I’m standing around waiting for some pretty juvenile banter between those 2. (I like Taimi, however – the other 2 are thus far forgettable, & the couple is just irritating) I like a ‘real world’ field, & when that includes same sex couples, that’s good. (I can’t help noticing that ‘same sex’ seems to mean ‘hot women making innuendos,’ and not much for a male couple, which somewhat undercuts the theoretical PC message) As for Trahearne, I almost feel his story might have been enriched by a same sex relationship, perhaps as some motivation for his time in Orr. That wonderful, heroic Sylvari you meet (who had the sword first) would have been a poignant choice. But they don’t seem willing to ‘go there,’ other than a brief mention in one sylvari start, & I think, one NPC making a veiled comment if you happen to walk by him in the city.

But mostly, I’d just like my character to have a story of her own to follow, not tagging along behind any group. I’m completely incidental, & that gets boring. Taking my mesmer through is no different from my thief, & that’s not entirely ok.

Melari.4192:

how about those who have a slight visual imparement, like not being able to see depth? I kind of like the idea of puzzles but i gave up on some because i just can’t do it without falling to my death all the time, which gets too frustrating and i play for fun.

I don’t have depth perception, either. I, for some reason, didn’t think this mattered in a game – I can’t catch a ball (that made school events fun!) but I figured out how to do things by sound. Though this makes me feel better – maybe I’m doing heroically well at JPs!

digiowl.9620:

stobie.2134:

I just wish they’d get rid of the crystal timer. It’s incredibly annoying – the stacks were better.

For some reason the stacks are still there, but you really need to spam the aspects if you are to run out before the timer grabs them.

Oh and nice of them to hide the timer behind a small blue icon next to the aspect stacks…

I can’t believe I read this after doing it. They stack? ARGH! That might have made things a little easier!

I didn’t know they stacked. /facepalm me

Living Story, without ‘10 levels/gear’ expansions, first. I’d like new features, because I love housing. Don’t care about pvp, especially not one based on zerging, & I’ve seen much worse in balance (I tried eso…) But I’d add – more diversity in builds/gear, because I’m sick of ‘dps/speed run/zerker only’ – very, very sick of that. I’d put that at #1 right now, actually.

I’d like the aspects to return to stacks, with charges that last, if nothing else. I really hate how fast they run out, because it means you have to use them in one way, without options. It’s not the easiest jumping puzzle, true – but it’s really an ‘aspect puzzle,’ because you don’t really ‘jump’ at all. In some ways, that certainly makes it easier, but it’s a bit annoying that you have to stop to get the chest, then hop down (die 4 times…) and go up again to get the goggles. And I haven’t done the hay jump one yet, but so far, these jumps have more more unforgiving than most in the past. (except one at the festival, near the top, where you had to worm your way to some tiny spike of bamboo on the cliff side. That took me hours, & I ripped out a lot of hair before I got it. (and face planted more times than I can remember)

Nabrok.9023:

stobie.2134:

Nabrok.9023:

Getting up to the diving goggles, that’s a jumping puzzle. Anything else just moving around the zone, that’s just jumping. There’s no puzzle. They are not difficult jumps, all you need to do is press 1 and move forward at the same time. The aspects are right next to the part you use it at.

Ok, I got to the chest, & meandered around – I assumed you couldn’t get to the goggles without the aspect. CAN you jump to it? Everything I’ve seen says you need the air aspect.

You do need an air aspect, pick up the one just before the top, jump up onto the big beam at the top, then into the middle of the sail, from there you can get to the top of one of the upright beams and from there onto the platform.

Thanks!

Nabrok.9023:

Getting up to the diving goggles, that’s a jumping puzzle. Anything else just moving around the zone, that’s just jumping. There’s no puzzle. They are not difficult jumps, all you need to do is press 1 and move forward at the same time. The aspects are right next to the part you use it at.

Ok, I got to the chest, & meandered around – I assumed you couldn’t get to the goggles without the aspect. CAN you jump to it? Everything I’ve seen says you need the air aspect.

I’m getting fond of Taimi, though I’m fairly indifferent to the others. Waiting for the couple to finish yapping about their worries got tiresome, and they give me less chance for comedy than Logan’s ‘True Love.’ I have screamed out, “Jennah!” more times than I can count. With these 2, I just think, “get a room,” and that’s about it. (though doing one of the jump/crystals at the festival, I kept face planting on my asura, presumably interrupting their ‘mid day beach tryst,’ which pleased me. “Splat! Dead Asura again!”

What puts me off with the story is that my character is less than a Star Trek red shirt. I get called ‘commander,’ & mercifully, I did do it on the one character with which I’d finished the entire story, but she feels entirely pointless other than as their thug. I feel like I’ve completely lost my character along the way. (this happened at about the time you decide inexplicably to put Trahearne in control of everything. None of my characters would have done that. They’d have picked an Asura – pretty much any Asura, or one of the Sylvari with a great accent. NOT him. Ever.)

I was hoping maybe the ‘personal’ aspect of the story would reappear, but mostly, I seem to be following a less interesting version of Destiny’s Edge, though Taimi may surpass them in charm so far.

As for choices, at one point, it says I have to choose something – I think it was how to get through a door. I waited around for options to appear, then finally smacked the door. That was my choice, apparently. So I’d like to get back to actual choices, even if they’re not hugely meaningful.

I have to say, when I saw him in the ship during the festival, I promptly assumed he’d be a villain, so I recognized him right away. However, I don’t get how he’s Silent/Wordless/Soundless, or whatever – what I remember is that he chattered constantly. I wondered if there’s some other menacingly quiet Sylvari out there.

I just wish they’d get rid of the crystal timer. It’s incredibly annoying – the stacks were better.

I don’t really mind earning the traits, but some of the requirements to do so are weird. (Ogres? But I didn’t have a Norn or Charr…) It might be better if they made more sense, but I did prefer the old way. If we must earn them, make it appropriate for the level (you should be able to access all traits from 1-6 by level 30, & with whatever story you choose) Are unlocks account wide? I’m assuming not…

Fortunately for me, I leveled the ones I really wanted before all this, but I’ve been fiddling away on some lower ones. It’s definitely a deterrent to new alts, for sure.

It also makes for less interesting game play on the way up, & being upleveled is more painful now. (meaning, I just don’t do it, in say, the festival) I’m not entirely sure what they were trying to do with this revamp. I’m grateful that it didn’t go the way of WoW’s horrible skill tree vanish, & I don’t want it simplified (even lotro took a weird step there) but I do feel like the old system was better as far as getting them earlier.

I’m mostly hoping for a big new area. (Crystal Desert would be my top pick, but anything big, with different mobs, different look, would be great.) But a new race is always interesting (except I don’t care for the bird/polar bear people look personally, so my enthusiasm isn’t that high for those. But my choice of ‘Quaggan in hats’ is probably way down on the list.)

petyr baelish.9675:

stobie.2134:

A game that requires you be in one set of gear, filling one role only, has some issues. I’m sure some are fine with that, but given all the classes & theoretical variety they provide, I think I’d be very sad to see everyone in the same gear, let alone with the same 3 classes. And I hope ANet will get beyond that mentality, even if some players do not.

Completing the content requires none of the things you mentioned, everything is viable but not everything is optimal and it’s about time people got over it.

Can an engineer be ‘optimal?’ Can a necromancer, or a ranger? What gear besides berserker is ‘optimal?’ If all classes can do this magical optimal build, why are so many groups & guilds requesting zerk warriors, guardians, & elementalists?

That’s not good for any game, though it probably works well for those who play those classes & who obediently follow a meta build.

I don’t think ‘everyone does it this way’ necessarily means ‘everyone wants it this way,’ when I see guild recruitment pitches that demand not only your main, but all your alts, too, be in berserker gear, & melee.

I’d say it’s more likely that those who want to race through in dps mode are fine with it, & the rest of us stopped doing them a long time ago.

A game that requires you be in one set of gear, filling one role only, has some issues. I’m sure some are fine with that, but given all the classes & theoretical variety they provide, I think I’d be very sad to see everyone in the same gear, let alone with the same 3 classes. And I hope ANet will get beyond that mentality, even if some players do not.

The trinity seems well on its way to becoming obsolete, but ‘all dps, all the time’ isn’t much of an alternative. Now, I haven’t done many pugs. In those few, I followed people around wondering why they were climbing on the walls rather than fighting, and found them both boring and irritating. In one, I was somehow deemed leader (I was on my male guardian – I don’t think they realized who was ‘behind’ him.) – and I finally stopped & told them I had no clue how a speed run went, so they’d have to tell me. Weirdly, they were vastly relieved and said they’d always wanted to do it ‘right,’ but assumed ‘everyone else’ did it this speed way. So we went through nicely, had a good time, but I’ve stuck to groups with people I know since.

There’s a rather discouraging ‘follow’ mentality in mmos – it’s a shame it’s taken such root here.

Azhure.1857:

stobie.2134:

I’m still getting options based on my character’s personality, so it must be there somewhere.

Yes, its somewhere…. but it has very little meaning/impact.

No, I agree. I expected something more, though not to the ‘single player aspect’ of SWTOR (I did love that part of the game, though not the ‘wow in space’ aspect otherwise) I hope as they go forward in GW, our characters will come back into the story more forcefully. (as an aside, should Trahearne decide to go Dark Side, I’m fine with that… I thought he was lying about his undead never having been alive, so it would work for me.) I’d like to have more meaningful character choices, definitely. You get 3 standard types which should be fairly easy to do (the forceful/charming/diplomatic types that you see in single player games)

I’d hate to lose my character & story choice and just be watching the living story go by with their characters, that I’m to help and/or defeat.

I’m still getting options based on my character’s personality, so it must be there somewhere.

About gold selling, I don’t think any company has removed them fully, because they’re not based in the U.S. (but I’m sick of them, too, & if people are buying/selling as you say, they’re pond scum.)

About balance, the problem I have with your post is that it’s dps focused. (and I believe elementalists are the highest, & since their particles/noise drives me nuts, that’s not enough reason to stick with mine.)

About more/better gear – I so much hope not! This game is already far more gear-based than I imagined when I started. I’d rather see the continuing story, & more areas. I don’t think they need new classes, & I don’t really care about a new race, either. They have some great, underused classes now, like engineer/ranger/necromancer, which could use some buffing.

I’m not sure buffing dps more & more is the best plan – and nerfing never seems like a great strategy. I think the flaw in removing the trinity is that we’re left with just dps, if the support factors aren’t more significant, if the fights (I don’t do much pvp, so I’m not referring to that) are just – jam them in a corner & go for speed runs. That mentality is seriously dull & not compelling to me. The fact too many builds revolve around auto attack is a problem for me, too. If, say, the warrior’s best GS build involves camping, that’s flawed. And if there’s something duller than the Guardian’s hammer, I don’t want to know about it. Worse for me, the thief’s 2 & 3 dagger abilities, even situationally, aren’t as good as AA – and – WHY? (I use them because my Asura is cute doing them – I don’t think that counts as situational, however.)

But I’d hate to see them go for more dps, more of the time. That’s already a problem which has led to one set of gear (and it’s not cleric’s) and a limited ideal dungeon group. I also blame the meta builds drummed up by big guilds, and followed to the letter – people should be able to play the class that interests them, not have to go ‘warrior, and basically, warrior.’ (also, mage/warrior aren’t the most imaginative classes in this game, yet they seem to be the 2 strongest)

I would hope expansions involve more areas – very diverse areas. Maybe a new race (I haven’t heard of any I’d be eager to play, but people seem to want them.) But please, no level cap/gear increase. That grind & gear dependence killed other mmos for me, & I’d hate to see it here.

I’m pretty sure people don’t want the trinity again. But right now, there is ‘zerk meta,’ & that’s it. There are a lot of interesting abilities, but they’re not entirely viable. The supposed best guides I’ve seen/read here & at guru, & on guild sites all suggest one thing, basically: Be a warrior. Get a guardian, & an elementalist, & you’re set. Put them all in zerker gear, shove the boss against the wall. (I can’t help noticing how many times mobs pushed against a wall stop fighting, so I guess that’s good strategy…) It seems to me that it all comes down to ‘just dps & keep everyone’s might up, & dodge if you must.’ (also, despite this not being a gear based game, get Ascended gear…)

There are a lot of interesting classes in this game, that can be played in a variety of ways. When I play my new necromancer, there’s quite a bit to do. When I play my warrior (who is dutifully geared as suggested), it’s – limited. (and I love my warrior, because he’s Asura, & I want to hear him speak as much as possible.) I’d love my engineer, but it’s not too hard to see that the warrior is faster & easier. So when people suggest some improvements, I think it’s asking that more builds & classes be viable, not a request to go to WoW-style tank/healer/dps.

When a person first starts this game, they have to be impressed with the variety. When they read one of those guides, they have to be disappointed with, ‘Oh, I should have made a warrior, & played it in the dullest way imaginable.’ (when I read the last bit of sage wisdom about GS warriors, which is, ’don’t switch because your numbers will be 0.025 higher,’ I thought, ‘Forget it. I’ll struggle by with my others…‘) If there’s something duller than the Guardian’s hammer, I’d – well, I don’t want to know about it. Worse, the strongest ability for too many classes is auto attack. I love the thief’s various leaps – but they’re not as strong as just ‘5-back to 1’ rotation. WHY? At that point, I wonder how this is more nuanced than the old trinity. I don’t want to be pigeonholed into those roles, either. But I would hope there’s something better than that.

Now, I get that there are gamers who just care about speed runs, who don’t care what class they play, as long as it’s the strongest, & who play for the numbers. Fine – have a great time with that. But it seems to me, reading/watching as I’ve done since restarting GW, that mentality is strangely dominant. Rangers are a good example – If a person loves a ranger type class – the current meta is sword/gs. I’m glad that’s an option – when I briefly played EQ, that was a great class (beastlord, I think) – really fun. But generally, if I pick a ranger, it’s because I want to be an archer, not a warrior. That option seems – gone for now. (because, as opposed to when I last played GW, everyone is supposed to be melee now, presumably so they can pin bosses against a wall.) I don’t like pet classes personally, but I tend to make them because I like the idea of a pet running along with me. Just not the mechanics. The current meta pet, I think, is a drake-thing. Well – if you love lizards, I guess that’s nice. If you pick your class for what appeals to you, however, I’d prefer the cuddly bear or ‘the first game wolf that I actually like, but oops, he’s dead!’ I understand that for a group, you want to go with what’s strongest, but I’m beginning to feel that GW is more limited than the trinity in this regard.

As for tanks, I like the trade off of ‘surviving more, damaging less,’ but not the ‘one guy stands there holding threat while another heals, & the others just shoot arrows/fireballs.’ I love the concept of GW, where people are expected to do more than shoot fireballs. (I’m not wild about dodge mechanics, what with it being a stamina-based spell, in essence. I think they should remove that entirely, & make it an ability apart from spells – and I’m not sure why it has to be limited at all. If I want to dodge everywhere, that might be annoying, true – but so is casting spells in front of the bank…)

I’ve heard that ANet is trying to move us away from the berserker mindset. I hope that’s true, and I hope they do it carefully, because I have all berserker gear, & I’d be pulling out my hair if I had to change it at once. (this is my formal request to change it, and to give us the option of resetting our item stats once you do!)

I’ve thought about that, too (cast bars) I was in a vast fight in Orr yesterday, & the idea of ‘watching for the tells’ is just laughable. I saw white streaks mixed with occasional purple & I don’t think I ever spotted the actual boss. Just – are my numbers showing up? Good! I must be hitting something! I really didn’t like the ‘idiot lights’ that show up saying stuff like ‘Oooh, he’s going to cast something really mean! Interrupt it!" But without something along those lines, I do not notice that he’s shifting his weight slightly to the left, because I can’t see him at all. (this was on my guardian, so I was close, which meant moving, dodging at the right time would be nice. On my thief, I try to get behind the boss, but in places like that – sure…)

DiazKincade.2891:

stobie.2134:

I grasped the concept of combo fields, but I had – and still have – a hard time seeing if they worked, what happened, etc. The particle issue is big for me. In the early levels, it was hard to know if you’d been successful & what happened because of it. If that information had been more clear, I think combo fields themselves would be more accessible. It’s not so much reading about them, what they do, what they’re supposed to do – it’s not seeing it happen. I hear my character say something about it, but generally, I don’t have the slightest idea what she did. (and this is true for the interrupt daily – which I seem to get all the time, without thinking about it at all. That doesn’t help.)

The interrupt thing is simply just interrupting an enemy attack, which so many are long and easy to stop, made even easier by a mesmer (which based on your sig I’m guessing you play). Mesmers have it so easy to get interrupt its almost a joke. As for the combo fields, they are a bit tricky. Its the little phrase pop ups you see. Most often its easy to tell what they do “Area [effect]” gives that effect in an area, “[Effect] Bolt/Whirl” shoots particles of that effect (In the case of cleanses it cleanses allies the bolts pass through. Odd bit but it is what it is) and most leaps tend to apply shield buffs, like fire shield (Or in your case retaliation if you use sword #3 to leap through focus #4? I think?). Looking close at your skills you can see the different combo finishers and fields in the tool tip. All it takes is a bit of playing around with em to figure them out. But ’When in doubt /wiki it out" is what I always say. =3

All things considered I think they’ve been tweaking with them as my ele seems to get intermittent amounts of might stacks despite the same combo string I use when I use it in a zerg. Could be player prioritization at work there or something. not sure.

I finally did figure out combo fields, but I can certainly understand how someone might miss it entirely. I think I said, “What are combo fields?” to my son well after I’d reached 80, too. I guess it would be too much particle nightmare to have something pop up & tell me, “You did it! Yay!” But I see how a person can miss them, anyway.

I assume I got my interrupts on the mesmer – actually, I was playing my thief mostly, but just so long as I got it!