Guild Wars 2

The game’s stability has been declining rapidly with the past few updates and I am starting to lose patience; that stability was what attracted me in the first place.

Not only are turrets underpowered, they can’t even target big bosses (like dragons)! I just found this out after spending 8 gold and 50 laurels kitting out my engineer for magic find. What the hell, ArenaNet? There is absolutely no excuse for that, especially when Necro pets target bosses just fine! Fix it!

I tried a few races today on a relatively new laptop on a less than ideal connection, and the results were surprising. Lag was occasionally an issue – I had a couple instances where I’d be racing and then all the sudden I’d be in midair somewhere else, or just suddenly appear back at a prior checkpoint with no explanation.

More interesting, I noticed a few bugs in the course itself: places that, on my desktop, were clearly labeled as lightning tether zones were not labeled on my laptop, which I have running at lower settings (not that it can’t run at higher settings, I just choose the lower settings to keep it cooler). It was not unplayable for me but I was only a half-hour’s drive away from the high-speed internet I normally have, and I can easily see the lag issues being multiplied over a connection even farther away. Even stranger, some lightning zones WERE properly labeled at those settings, but most were not. It didn’t affect me much, as I knew they were lightning tether zones even if they weren’t labeled, but a first-timer in a similar situation could easily be endlessly frustrated by it.

Is there anyone or address in particular I would send screenshots of the affected areas too?

Genavelle.9516:

I did the sprint something around 15-20 (don’t remember the exact number) times before I came in first. And I came in first by myself, without anyone stopping for me. And to be honest? I had fun and enjoyed every race up til that. I never really cared about getting first place just for an achievement or a title..And when I got first, I was happy that my practice and 15-20 previous races had paid off. It felt kinda like mariokart to me, y’know? And I love mario kart. So winning was fun (in a competitive, gaming way). And it was exciting to get the title cause I love things like jump puzzles, and again this race was really fun and it was nice to now have a title to show that I had done it (and in something I cared about, rather than my “combat healer” or whatever that’s just kinda bleh).

I agree on everything but jump puzzles. I figure that if I hadn’t got first when I did I nonetheless eventually would have. As my subsequent races have shown, I do have the skill to get it.

But the fact is that some people are in this for the achievement, specifically to knock out bits of the meta achievement, and as long as Sanctum Sprint has this poisonous relationship with the BotFW that’s how it’s going to be. It doesn’t make much sense to me that Sanctum Sprint is shoehorned in there the way it is, but most of the Belcher’s Bluff achievements aren’t, and are sequestered in the Activities category instead.

It would make a whole lot more sense to me to lower the BotFW meta to 12 and put all the Sanctum Sprint achievements into their own category in Activities, alongside Belcher’s Bluff. That way people aren’t feeling pressured to get it taken care of before BotFW concludes, nor do they feel they need to do it to avoid doing the kites or Sky Crystals.

Genavelle.9516:

I understand that some people have serious latency problems with this mini-game..But in all honesty? Get over it. We’re not all going to win everything. We’re not all going to get the titles and rewards in every little piece of this game. It’s a race, it’s supposed to be competitive. The reason they gave a title and achievement for first place was to make it competitive and to reward players for mastering the aspects and whatnot. And being a good community is one thing, but this isn’t really a big deal in the overall scheme of guild wars 2. Are you going to be at a huge disadvantage or lose the game of guild wars 2 because you did not come in first at the sanctum sprint? No. It’s a mini-game. If you can’t just enjoy it, then there are plenty of other things for you to do.

That’s my point – the way it’s structured now isn’t ideal. It doesn’t have to be a no-score soccer game for millenials but the way it’s structured now makes the race an all-or-nothing proposition: you either get first, with all the added loot, achievements and titles that gets, or a pittance. There needs to be a better way to structure the achievements and rewards so that someone who, say, consistently gets 2nd or 3rd place but can’t get 1st for whatever reason isn’t left frustrated, and the rewards from first don’t need to be that much grander than the rest for that matter either.

Genavelle.9516:

I just don’t understand why some people are so obsessed with doing things in this game they don’t enjoy. All for a few achievement points? A title? Because it’s new, limited content and you feel obligated to do it? Why did you buy guild wars 2 if not to enjoy it? Do the content that makes you smile. If you hate jump puzzles, if your latency is so terrible that you can’t enjoy this mini game, why do them? They are optional little pieces to a big game.

You just answered your own question. For me, especially the Sky Crystals, I figured that even if I didn’t enjoy it this was my own good chance to do it and be done with it. I’m glad I found something new to enjoy in Sanctum Sprint, but my point is that getting the achievement itself might spur someone to excel even more at the game than they otherwise would. They now have nothing left to prove but their own skill, and don’t feel stressed by having an unfulfilled achievement hanging over their heads.

I really don’t care, myself. I get to the line first and wait – if somebody wants to try and pop up the cliffside to snatch first it’s no skin off my nose, but I’ve seen it backfire more often than not. In the time it takes them to finally nail the jump just right a second placer or Light Stepper might make it around the bend.

Here’s my story.

When I started Sanctum Sprint, I was coming off getting the achievements for the Sky Crystals. Needless to say I was already in a low mood, because I hate jumping puzzles with a fiery passion and that was basically a night of jumping puzzles. So I was hoping Sanctum Sprint would lift my spirits a bit.

Starting out I wasn’t sure what all the powers did exactly or how to use them, and wasn’t familiar with the course. The first few races I placed 9-12, the next few hovering right around the middle between 5th and 6th. I was definitely learning and progressing, but the goal, that first place finish that would save me having to do two more stupid jump puzzles to get at kites, remained elusive. As the night wore on and I got closer to ticking away the 25-race achievement, first place seemed elusive as ever. I started to get a little frustrated and down.

Then, during one race, as I came up to the finish line I saw two people just standing there – I couldn’t comprehend why. So I bolted through and got first! It was like Christmas morning. I couldn’t believe it – the clouds had parted, I finally had both 1st and 3rd place achievements, I’d have my BotFW meta that very night – I was elated! At the same time, a little sheepish, because I did sense that I had been given the first, rather than earned it.

So, after hitting 25, I kept at it. I became an expert at the abilities, I learned each bit of the course, knew exactly what to fire and when. I perfected a playstyle which focused almost exclusively on using defensive abilities for maximum effect, and in a very short amount of time soared up the ranks, getting to the finish first every time. There is no doubt, at this point, that in a straight up race against an entire group with the Sanctum Sprinter title I could not only hold my own but beat them.

Nonetheless I’ve also remembered the circumstances from when I started. So when I get to the line, if I’m in first place I willingly stand off to let 3 people through. If I can save anyone the intense frustration I feel doing a jump puzzle I will do so gladly, even if it means I get less loot in the equation.

I hope ArenaNet keeps balancing it so these sorts of measures aren’t necessary anymore. I also very much hope that the Sanctum Sprint lives on past BotFW – racing is maybe the most fun I’ve had since starting in the game, and I’d love to see more courses and features (like, say, team racing) added.

Good points, Crazylegs. I personally do frown on people who outright ask for first place – it’s crass, and not to mention that forging any such agreement amongst a group as you might find in an SS race will be difficult in the first place, to say nothing of the whining and hissy fits that inevitably follow when someone breaks the trust. That said, having gotten my 1st place achievement wrapped up, if I’m leading the race I will stop short of the finish line, grabbing 4th once 3 people go through. Some people are only in it right now to get their achievements and move on – if the races continue once the event is over, then I’ll certainly give it my all and give no quarter.

I also really agree that this aspect of the game needs to be expanded further – I would really like to see racing become a permanent fixture in the game. More courses, and the ability to form racing teams would be at the top of my list for features to add.