Tabasco.1743

I was never a fan of goodbye posts, so I elected to say "The journey continues" when Mike exited the team. At the time it felt like my emotional attachment to the world had departed as well and I haven't looked back.

...Which makes it all the more impressive that your creativity and passion for the Mesmer class single-handedly led me to go from casually lurking the forum to hunting down my password, and logging into the account just to thumbs up this idea. That is how great this is. This deserves the official spotlight from the Arena-krewe. Genuine hype- I hope they consider it. Fantastic job OP. :+1:

> @"Curunen.8729" said:

> @"Tabasco.1743"

> :o Those roller beetle images are awesome! Especially with the zephyrite sun backpiece trail - beautiful!

Thanks! Petey is my right-hand beetle ;)

@"mortrialus.3062" It is confirmed. You have achieved peak purple.(purplation?) lol +1

@"whoeverxwins.1279" Nailed that Ubuntu flavor with those colors :wink: +1

^{Updated sets from an [older post](https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/comment/451141#Comment_451141 "Page 3").Minor changes for Zodiac Mesmer, complete overhaul of Concealed Mesmer.}


The [Noble Courtier Outfit](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Noble_Courtier_Outfit "Noble Courtier Outfit") adds a modicum of class to any engagement:^{Brick, Red, Tarnished Silver, Lemon}>! 7 years, and the journey continues>! :triumph: :heart:

tip-toeing around the spoilers here.There was a point in the story where I met an NPC whose journey I wanted to follow even more than my own. This woman, who was a teacher in life, was judged in death to inhabit the most unlikely place. Despite the rising tide of entropy and demons clawing their way in through the seams, she gains a fleeting opportunity to learn things lost to all but the gods. I spent more time than I care to admit pouring over each pixel, trying to translate those pages: (with the help of the language wiki)There's nothing more we can do for her in this chapter but pray that her spirit is guided to safety. Hers was the most impactful journey, and it occurs unannounced and off in the margins. I can only hope that we get to see more of it....

**edit:**I know most people are going to dig way back to regale us with stories from the early days, but can I tell you how rewarding it was _..after all that time.._ to **finally** earn a griffon saddle? There was _a legit celebration_ on that day. Hats off to the team in regard to mounts, which are easily the most fluidly, organically animated that I have seen....

**edit2:**I have shared this screenshot before, but I have never mentioned the context.A big draw in MMO games is exploration for me. I relish the idea of wading into the deep places, discovering and cataloging the things that I find. (Durmand Priory 4life baybee) That's why I felt a special kind of hype when I saw the reveal trailer for Heart of Thorns. It felt like they were reading my mind with Maguuma Jungle. I was daydreaming of becoming a pioneering botanist, recording the new species of flora and fauna as I went, and on launch day those dreams were playing out before my eyes:Many hours were spent in this jungle, filling the corners of the map-- its wild, twisting paths held secrets both above and far below.Triple-A content ArenaNet, I loved it start to finish. :+1: :heart: ...

**edit3:**People are out here talking about Zhaitan and Kralkatorrik like they were the real threat.Let me tell you, this infernal bouncing plasma-beachball has defeated more players _than the elder dragons ever have._ Talk about community though, when we realized that we had actually, FINALLY DEFEATED that frikin orb, the entire map rejoiced and congratulations rang throughout the chatlog for something like 10 minutes hah ha! I had planned to go elsewhere that day but I didn't want to lose the transformation lol. A few of the crafters even dropped what they were doing to experience the orb's reward. Was stuck in there floating for an hour basking in all that raw-victory. _10/10_ :triumph: :+1:

On topic, I think a bill like this will take time to mature before it gets enough traction. I also think ArenaNet already has an idea of how to change the Black Lion Chest mechanic if it did pass. They have doubtless already spent time rethinking the role of a Black Lion Chest without the incentive to spend money on keys. We would probably get more content direct in the gem store, perhaps an increase in the price of some items to offset the loss, or the introduction of new items to supplement it.

Edit: meh.

A [shrine guardian](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Shrine_Guardian_Outfit "Shrine Guardian Outfit") has appeared.Kind of a serene, green on green on green type of thing.^{Crushed Bone, Fog, Lemon Shade, Ceylon}

Also, they have done it..._Two years later_ ArenaNet has finally convinced me to purchase a mount skin for the Griffin.Zero regrets, Sand Souled is just freakin great.Oh yes,feeling appropriately epic right about now.

Pictured with the [Timekeeper Outfit](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Timekeeper_Outfit "Timekeeper Outfit"), for that suitable Chronomancer vibe.^{Crushed Bone, Fog, Lemon Shade, Bloodstone Dark Violet}

Hey dude. What makes a community great in your opinion? If we knew a bit about what highlights great community from your perspective I'm sure we could offer a more insightful response.

> @"Mortifera.6138" said:

> Yes, everyone is “nice.” But it’s the niceness that comes from being so distant from each other. You don’t act mean to people you don’t know that well. And no one on Guild Wars 2 really knows each other that well, it’s a solo effort done in groups you don’t have any real interaction with.

I would say that experience has proven to me that people you don't know are the most likely to abuse you. I have seen people conjure straight from the depths, some of the most horrible, insensitive, malevolent, violent, hurtful, wounding, destructive, twisted, caustic, ruinous sentiments and images toward others online. Totally bereft of empathy or patience, with the intent to render another person's self esteem as garbage, or harm them psychologically. The distance between people online is a major factor in nearly every case. After all, I don't know you, and likely never will, you don't know me, and likely never will.

Is the GuildWars community really that great? I think the answer lies in how people treat each other even at these distances. If I can value someone I don't even know, I feel that is a step in the right direction.

Necromancer Opeiyemi.

---Secretly has the most fun. :wink:








> @"Swagger.1459" said:

> PLEASE do something with the mount camera?

I read a few of those threads, and I find myself still asking: what precisely is the trigger with the mount camera for motion sickness?

I watched that video you embedded. Is the issue just camera movement not linked to user input?

> @"Okami Amaterasu.9237" said:

> Once again, I absolutely loved the story. The map is very, very pretty and I loved the verticality to parts of it, reminding me of Verdant Brink in parts and Frostgorge Sound in others. It felt Dwarven, which is something we've needed ever since Lornar's Pass and Dredgehaunt Cliffs. And with the episode's ending, I have no idea where we'll go next, but at least we got out of the desert this time!

This is why I still buy gems from time to time. There's a sense of maturity in the design philosophy here, lessons learned. That fugacious trial-and-error I sensed in the older maps is indiscernible now; this is just some great level design.

:+1:

> @"Rauderi.8706" said:

> > @"zealex.9410" said:

> > "laughable" is a strong word. This is still a great outfit even with not ideal shoulders.

>

> As with anything style related, *someone* is going to like it. I don't spite that.

>

> Won't stop me from making fun of the Kralky-poo shoulders or wishing these outfits would stop being over-designed. I'm still *really* torqued over the Champion of Babyface Shoulder and the plague of random crotch-faces.

>

I would agree, this outfit isn't for all characters. looks a bit wonky in certain places.

> @"NightDreamer.7423" said:

> It's just me that likes the big shoulder + tight fit?

No. It is not just you:


^{The outfit's Shatterer -ahem- _amendments_ are actually cleverly detailed upon closer inspection. 4000 x 3840.}


^{Glossy Black, Bloodstone Dark Violet, and Grapesicle for now.} :wink:

> @"Curunen.8729" said:

...

> Anyway I'll be dabbling in Snowball Mayhem a bit because that's always fun, but otherwise looking forward to playing Fortuna part 2, nyx rework and baruuk in warframe, if they get it out in the next week and a half or so.

Heck yeah and I think Titania is getting a quality-of-life update as well, but any reason to bust out the Grakatas is a good one. :grin:


FYI they updated Chauncey von Snuffles III to make him 4K ready, the fanciest cat in the game. I don't care what the tool tip says.**edit:**same gear set, in the evening:

**edit 2:**Festival of the Four Winds

:relieved: **Edit 3!: ~Path of Fluffy Chungus~ The Fancy Adventures**& Gem Aura Outfit ^{Glossy Black, Bloodstone Dark Violet, and Grapesicle.}**Edit 3.0.1**An alternative image that was posted in another [Gem Aura discussion](https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/63553/feedback-gem-aura-outfit/ "[Feedback] Gem Aura outfit") thread:>! 

> @"Tabasco.1743" said:

> Hey guys. Mighty stylish in here, figure i'll share some of my own! **This is my second ele James**...

Whoa hold on. If James was the second Elementalist which was the first?

Enter Nassauvia! Rolled this character shortly after my main, and have completed as much of the game with this one as I did with the Mesmer. She maintains four gear sets for the various role shenanigans. Favorite color: red.

## Hybrid Kit

**Primary Colors:**

_Cherry

Blood

Oxblood

Midnight Fire

Chocolate

Earthen_



^`

## Complete Glasserker

^{"FIGHT ME."}

**Primary Colors:**

_Blood

Midnight Fire

Earthen

Pottery_



^`

## Condi Tempest

^{"They don't make fire hot enough."}

**Primary Colors:**

_Blood

Oxblood

Gray

Peach Ice

Abyss_



^`

## Support Staff

^{"Blasting water fields since 2012."}

**Primary Colors:**

_Brick

Sea Green

Blood

OxBlood_



>! :joy: BEAR!

>! 

...

> @"Konig Des Todes.2086" said:

> > @"Tabasco.1743" said:

> > off topic: I was about to make a joke and say they taste like a Choristantha -the flowering plant I named my character after- and went to link a picture of the plant from a Bing image search. Much to my surprise the top hit for the species [Choristantha](https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=choristantha&FORM=HDRSC2 "Choristantha") are screenshots of my mesmer now lol.

>

> Only for you. :tongue: Bing, Google, and the like tends to cater search results to prior searches and browser history.

I hope that is the case. It was honestly embarrassing haha :sweat:

Getting to the very top of the Zephyr Sanctum crow's nest in 2013. I think we were the second group to pull it off. A warrior published an image like an hour before we did or something. Either way it was amazing: a quartet of mesmers, plus an ele, almost world first! I think I left my character parked there the rest of the day.



[WE MADE IT TO THE TOP!](https://imgur.com/a/rZhd1 "WE MADE IT TO THE TOP!") - imgur album posted by a group member.

I'm thinking that Sylvari likely taste a lot like an Agapanthus or an Agave. The flesh of those plants are flexible and resilient against tearing under duress, similar to the dermis of an animal. The stalks feature considerable tensile strength yet remain soft, not unlike our tendons which mount muscle to bone, or ligaments which bind bone to other bones.

off topic: I was about to make a joke and say they taste like a Choristantha -the flowering plant I named my character after- and went to link a picture of the plant from a Bing image search. Much to my surprise the top hit for the species [Choristantha](https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=choristantha&FORM=HDRSC2 "Choristantha") are screenshots of my mesmer now lol.

> @"Crackmonster.2790" said:

> So i decided to upgrade the looks a little. Silver --> gold.

> And i'm the baddest b in town, i dont give af. Manyfold more royal than the queen.

Wow yeah, dramatic improvement. What shoe is that?

+1.

Look up!

[4K wallpaper edition, unedited]



> @"chrispy.7182" said:

> Perhaps. But armours that look good even with the rights dyes are few and far between.

> Also, can you post some examples of the armour you are talking about?

You don't need to wait for him to post anything. There is a thread in each profession sub-forum dedicated to players sharing armor combinations with each other.

* loved the personal story. The branching paths were satisfying. 10/10

* Season one started slow but ended really strong. The Battle for Lion's Arch was the most fun I have had with the game. 8/10

* Season two was even better. Dry Top, "The World Summit" "The Machine" and the Silverwastes happened. Excellent. 10/10

* Heart of Thorns lost me. Once the Season two hype wore off, I just was not into the plot. Some of the advancements were too convenient in my opinion, my immersion dropped, and the skill-gating between the chapters did not feel organic. "meh"/10

* Season three... Let's just say they packed alot of things I wanted in places I didn't want to go. Lake Doric? No thanks. Draconis Mons? No thanks. Bloodstone Fen? Well, some interesting lore in that area. Ember Bay and Bitterfrost Frontier were the most enjoyable for me. "meh"/10

* Path of Fire's chapters feel like one giant valley with a few sudden peaks of fantastic development. 7/10

>! I'm looking at you, "Facing the Truth" and "The Departing". I didn't see it coming, enjoyed every second. **I do not like the difficulty nerfs they have applied since launch, you guys. AT. ALL.** The battle for your soul was A REAL BATTLE.

* Season four, is coming along. I wasn't wowed by the awakened-Inquest plot line or the locations in the first two chapters. 6/10

...Then Long Live the Lich happened.

10/10 Would let Canach whistle on all the jobs. 11/10 Joko tells it like it is.

@"Eekasqueak.7850"

I don't plan to get in the way, but I would like to clarify something:

> Leading an army while having only experience in scholarly pursuits, there an example of a skill that isn't explained. His flaws are all swept under the table and come off as insignificant, **single handedly purifying an entire continent**... Then there's stuff like again, the convenience of somehow having all the respect of the orders already before he just poofs in. Being some kind of "chosen one" is something I've always considered poor writing, and tacking it on to everything else is just further pushing him into Mary Sue territory. I don't care if you like him, he's still a Mary Sue and none of your unbased claims will change that duder.

Trahearne did not purify the continent of Orr. He used Caladbolg to purifiy a wellspring named "[The Source of Orr](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/The_Source_of_Orr "The Source of Orr")" ...AKA the Artesian Waters. We know [from the lore](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/The_Artesian_Waters "The Artesian Waters") that this is a place of power unlike any other in Tyria. Zhaitan empowered [The Soveriegn Eye](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Sovereign_Eye_of_Zhaitan "The Soveriegn Eye of Zhaitan") in that spring to maintain the magic that carried his necrotic energy to all areas in Orr. Even with Zhaitan's lieutenant slain, and the magic corrupting the waters nullified, Orr remains corrupt until the last of the undead dragon's energy is mitigated in the land. Though the areas we explored during the original personal story remain visually locked in the year 1325AE, the process is visible in season 3 where Siren's Landing is introduced. Even there in 1330AE we can still see how much of Zhaitan's influence still creeps through the soil.

While we have been off saving the world from other threats, the narrative of Orr (and Siren's Landing) has been about reclamation of the land from the lesser sources of the dragon's corruption, which is a feasible goal now that the Source of Orr has been cleansed.

Oh, and the reason @"Konig Des Todes.2086" version of events makes no sense to you is due to your working definition of "Mary Sue" being suitably and entirely dissimilar. You are correct about Trahearne, but the scope of your correctness ends at the boundary of your perspective. Until you find common understanding you'll have to agree to disagree with him. (and a number of others here)

> @"Korval.3751" said:

> The most disappointing was Guild Wars 2. Out of the group, this one had the worse performances from a prominent developer like ArenaNet. I saw extreme framerate shifts occurring in Lion's Arch whenever I opened and closed the inventory. The framerate would jump up to 42 from 33 and then down to 33 when closed.

> I'm on a high-speed Fiber Optic connection. On average, ping times are 3-5 ms; 95-97 Mbps upload and download speeds. Noting this to eliminate the Internet as the potential cause for framerate issues. Also, I installed GW2 on the primary SSD, so that eliminates drive read/write lag. The problem appears to stem from lousy net-code or poorly optimized graphics in the game itself. Maybe both.

Typically I'd say, "the Guild Wars engine requires significant single-thread performance..." and "the processor is bottle-necking the pipeline." ...While these things are usually true, they are also completely irrelevant since this thread is lodging a complaint, instead of asking a question. So I add them here only as a statement of my experience, instead of an attempt at answering a query.

The net-code is fine. "Graphics" optimization is too imprecise a descriptor to quantify here, imo. Video cards are utilized effectively ...when they are given information to process. What you (still) have is an engine that micro-manages too many of its processes from the primary thread. This isn't even news -they know about it- and they have had success improving multi-thread support, but R&D is expensive. It is what it is.

>! Also, every one of those games you listed -save for American Truck Simulator- renders those 4K resolutions with the benefit of DirectX11. We are still riding the DX9 wave. Now, the workload of drawing more pixels is the domain of the video card, and remains DirectX agnostic. Just the same, none of the current-gen process-efficient technology can be utilized by the GW2 client. No TXAA, no tesselation, no HBAO+, no PCSS, no crepuscular rays, no volumetric lighting. You have a 1080Ti but it doesn't matter, can't use NVDOF, frustum traced shadows, or HairWorks either.

...Really, it makes what they have achieved all the more impressive. ArenaNet has been iterating on this software for more than a decade, and in the process designed some damn creative effects and workarounds in the absence of DX11 libraries.

^{I get where you're coming from though. I wish some things worked better than they do, and better _is better_. (For lack of a better word.)}

You guys, it is going to be Ogden. Legendary Hammer stance.

But I would also be down for Rurik, or Jora.

@"derd.6413" and @"Zaraki.5784" mentioned GW1 hero. I think this could be amazing for the players who have been here since the original, especially if the hero you summon had the likeness of a character from a linked Guild Wars 1 account.

> @"JustTrogdor.7892" said:

> > @"Tabasco.1743" said:

> > @"JustTrogdor.7892"

> > They are set up close to one of the barriers, I should have taken a wide shot while I was out there. Big place though, next to the stadium along with all kinds of things.

>

> Ahh that makes more sense. Thanks for the extra info. It just looked like it was behind some random commercial building from the picture. A food truck, interesting marketing idea. Those carnival fries would have been tempting. Glad you enjoyed it. Did you add Tabasco to your tacos? ;)

Hah, I would have if they had it! Suffice to say, as soon as I read the words "Fiery Tornado Steak Taco" I said _SIGN ME UP_.

edit: It isn't super spicy, but still excellent taste, won tons seal the deal.

Basically it is a taco wearing berserker's gear. Such is the flavor.