firedragon.8953

> @"Yasai.3549" said:

> #Everytime I feel like, hey maybe we are making progress with Braham as a character, and that his growth arc is happening, he regresses back into a baby.

>

> Anet. Stop this. Braham doesn't have to express his opinions about everything by whining like a child. He's no longer one.

> Takes like 4 different parties to tell Braham to focus on the threat at hand for him to kitten about Jormag for 2 steps of the quest and HE BACK AT IT.

Don't worry. He'll probably be...fired. Hahaha!

> @"paShadoWn.5723" said:

> Replace daily gold reward with daily gold tax

Sadism.

> @"knite.1542" said:

> This is a pretty good idea

Masochism.

=

Friends for life.

> @"Jilora.9524" said:

> your suggestion would force anyone to have to buy certain episodes right away so that's even worse.

How? Please elaborate.

5% gathering speed boost is nothing like a Skyscale. I'm sure LWS4 is one of the most purchased seasons for various reasons, but a big one being the Skyscale. Small convenience account boosts for maxing out a few content specific mastery lines will hardly force someone to buy anything to any degree that you may believe, but at least masteries will not just be thrown into the ever growing bin of abandoned content. But, I honestly do not understand the argument you are attempting to formulate, so feel free to make yourself more clear if you so desire.

Also, I don't get it. If people are not willing to see a value in purchasing LW seasons in the first place, isn't that just a testament to them being "worthless"?

>If 8m is a grind then you don't play much and all those masterys you saw won't be today.

I am certainly not a "hardcore" player. However, my point is not the grind per say, it is the MEANINGLESS grind. I would prefer the game to be designed without such masteries and just have engaging gameplay rather than some superficial system. I am not even going to go into the debate on how bad the new "super buff" mastery line in this new chapter completely invalidates support builds and dynamic group strategy.

Oh well. I guess my assumption that peoples' dissatisfaction with the direction of the mastery system was widespread in the community was incorrect. From responses so far, people seem alright with it. My mistake. So...good...I guess?

Adding to what I said earlier in this thread. I think WvW and PvP centered content could be released as a **replacement** for a living world update and not **as** a living world update.

I am mainly a PvEer (probably most GW2 players) but I do think the WvW and PvP community needs some love and attention. I don't think this kind of content should be locked behind any sort of paywall (expansion or living world episode), but I think having a pause in living world releases to address and add new WvW and PvP content (for all players) would be most welcome. After the EoD expansion (which I am guessing will be a lot of PvE content), taking the next 6 months to focus on WvW/PvP and release them as normal patches and updates would be quite nice, especially if EoD brings interesting new elite specs, a focus on rebalancing would probably be a good idea anyway (and maybe why we haven't had much this past year).

The forums are loudest with voices of change. Makes sense. People care.

But I am always happy to see these types of positive posts.

I am also thankful for the devs who share their creativity and stories with us. I very much enjoy the world of Tyria, especially as this year the world of reality is less enjoyable for many of us.

> @"Danikat.8537" said:

>I suppose if it's something trivial like a tiny increase in gathering speed that avoids the problem of feeling like you need it to keep up with other players, but it's also pretty boring. I'd rather have things which are fun...

Oh, me too! Don't get me wrong. I really hope future masteries will be more innovative and thought out. My suggestion is only for existing mastery tracks that seem to fall flat, and which seem to be increasing in recent releases. My suggestion for some current tracks is just a bandage for a bigger problem. The bigger problem is designing a track that is less boring in the future.

>I don't mind masteries being very specific because it makes them largely optional.

I do also agree. I don't want to feel like I must max out all masteries, however, I would like to feel compelled a bit more to actually do it. Small boosts to gathering speed, crafting speed, karma gain, etc. is just a little extra nudge when there are very specific mastery lines (for content a player may not care about) and have no greater meaning within the Guild Wars 2 universe. By no means should a player think they must get that 5% gathering speed increase to experience the most that Guild Wars 2 has to offer, but it may make it at least a bit more tempting to players that do not plan to focus on content that is specific to the mastery.

>...players who aren't able to get the episode during the release period will feel pressured to pay for it to get access to the mastery.

I don't really see that as a bad thing. Content should have value that people are willing to pay for. If not...what is it? But, yes, I also think LW masteries should not be game changing like mount and gliding masteries in expansions.

Anyway, here's to a future of more exciting masteries (hopefully)!

> @"Steve The Cynic.3217" said:

> I think you're describing what amounts to the Dark Side of horizontal progression.

I see your point. Although the Dragon Response Mission masteries are basically just buffs to provide power creep in DRMs. If you max out the mastery line, you will be much more powerful than someone who has yet to begin the line. Considering the DRMs are considered group content, although they are soloable (maybe only with said maxed out masteries?), I hardly consider it true horizontal progression since it will indeed create an stat imbalance, although very isolated (thankfully). Maybe, I'm just not seeing this correctly or don't fully understand what horizontal progression is, but this seems like progression built with 300m of horizontal progression and 500km of vertical progression.

> @"Vavume.8065" said:

> Same, I have a lot of spare mastery points and would be nice to have a use for them, I would like to have a crafting mastery that speeds up refining and crafting, to the speed of crafting lucks, also I would love a racial armor mastery, where you can then wear other races cultural armor.

Firstly, racial armor mastery sounds great! Too bad with the "factions" introduced in this last chapter that isn't one of the masteries included in the new mastery line. That would have been a great long term goal that I am sure many would be excited to grind.

To clarify my idea, you wouldn't technically need more mastery points, but you would find it more worth while to grind the XP and get mastery points to complete every track. My idea was more like taking the HoT Itzel Lore track and once you max it out (acquire Adrenal mushrooms mastery) you get a account-wide bonus that increases gathering speed by 5%. This is anything but competitive and provides QoL throughout the game. It makes sense because Itzel Lore deals with plants/mushrooms, etc. Completing the Exhalted Track also gives another 5% gathering speed, because it also deals with gathering (auric silvers, etc.). Nunoch Lore? Oh, mastered that last mastery in the line (Nunoch Alchemy), sweet 3% increase to gold from monsters, etc. I have a lot of these masteries still uncompleted because I really couldn't care less about something like "Challenge the Nuhoch champion in combat to earn the Nuhoch's respect and unlock a powerful cache of rewards.". Sounds pretty insignificant in a HUGE open world game in my opinon.

I have few negatives about _PoF_ or LWS4 masteries (I think they are some of the best tracks outside of HoT gliding and the Core Tyria Pact Commander masteries) although I probably won't attempt to max out LWS4 masteries either because Bond of Faith seems pointless for what I assume is to only access some chests in Thunderhead Peaks? I dunno, but I am gonna save my points to unlock the underwater skimmer instead and probably won't bother farming achievements for more mastery points.

Basically I think mastering the last mastery in any line should offer a stackable bonus that provides quality of life and account wide increases that are already awarded in AP chests, or even through runes and gem store items. Some tracks were thought out well (gliding, mounts) where this isn't really necessary, but some tracks really need to be less underwhelming.

_Edit: "negatives about HoT or..." -> "negatives about PoF or"_

With the release of the new Dragon Response Mission masteries, I would like to make a suggestion to ArenaNet.

Please stop making map specific or even worse, content specific mastery lines. The new mastery line (based on descriptions) revolves 100% around Dragon Response Missions. In 6 months, will these missions be retired into oblivion as well? What is the point of grinding out 8,001,000 XP to finish the line, to then be pointless and contribute to no meaningful character development?

Others can chime in on their feelings about this, but I think most players would agree that masteries are getting more and more shallow as we progress farther and farther away from the core PoF mastery lines. Sure, it is "horizontal progression" that travels horizontally for 300 meters and drops off a cliff into the unending abyss of abandonment.

I'd even be happy for some brain dead "account wide bonus" such as 10% increase to gathering speed, 5% increase in gold, etc. etc. for each mastery line completed so there is some long-term reward for pushing through and completing a whole mastery line and not some "single-serving system" that will be thrown out for the next wave of single serving content. I do not want to see this current throw away "philosophy" carried over into EoD.

I love all my mounts equally, except for the beetle. One day I will turn him into a motorcycle so I can ignore it without the feeling of abandoning my virtual pet. Sorry Petey.

I posted this on reddit, but I have a little pet theory regarding elder dragons.

Elder dragons were purposefully corrupted by someone or something yet unknown (or maybe even the gods themselves in a failed experiment). Each dragon has a non-elemental trait, death, mind, fury, persuasion; with Primordus and the sea dragon somewhat different (or maybe not known, but on the other hand controlling elements that arguably cover or fill most of Tyria) unless "conflagration" is just another way to say "destruction" but with fire. Or maybe the last two dragons are more "pure" and not actually corrupted and imbued with sentient traits and just embody the natural characteristics of their element. Anyway, by imbuing these traits into the dragons they became mad. Just like us imbuing compassion into Aurean has insured her "goodness". The weakness of the elder dragons (or dragons in general probably) is that likely that they can be "programmed" in a sense. Maybe the Canthans know a little something about this. Would make sense since it was successfully attempted on Glint, semi-successfully on Vlast, and unsuccessfully on Kralk in Tyria.

If lies are believed they become truth.

So now you know the magnificence that is Joko! Praise him!

Awakened are basically "risen" that could keep their brain (personality, memories, etc.), with many having a certain autonomy (some more than others) but loyal to Joko. In a sense, Joko became their "father". Also due to some really good lies and brain wa...ermm... I mean absolute truths....many people believed (in life) that becoming awakened (in death) was one of the greatest honors that could be bestowed upon an individual.

> @"aleeks.6983" said:

> I literally have to do a RESEARCH like a college assignment

I don't recommend using wikis and reddit for college research.

But yeah, there are a lot of things to learn. Just take it as it comes. Thankfully we have wonderful community resources to guide us.

For me, it is the following.

1) Ascetically pleasing.

I remember the first time entering the jungle, or arriving in Bloodstone Fen. The Crystal Desert at night was so beautiful with a wonderful starry sky. I think every good map should have a memorable environmental element that speaks to the eyes but fills the soul with wonder. Personally this is the most important for me (in the short term). Why go somewhere new, if there is nothing new to see?

2) Terrain design and exploration

Good maps should utilize masteries such as gliding and mounts and even offer less popular options like Oakheart vines and jumping mushrooms. But beyond this, there should be a small hidden spot that takes some thinking to access. This can just be a PoI or something actually inserted into the game, or it can just be a real hidden gem with no meaning besides it being there. The second is actually one of the little charms about maps in GW2. There are so many interesting places that don't require you to go there. It really makes you feel like maybe you found something no one else ever has. It fills you with a sense of adventure. Personally I like the average living world size maps, bigger maps I usually get tired of and don't feel like I want to spend my time exploring every nook and cranny, although there are some notable exceptions when there is variation within the map (e.g. Lornar's Pass which feels like 2 maps in one, the north and south because of environmental variability). I think Dragonfall really made a good use of combining movement mechanics, although I can't say it is my favorite map ascetically.

3) Story, meta, NPCs

Lastly, but not least, a good map needs to populated. It needs to feel alive. Sure, popular maps have players, but honestly players are rarely interesting. A good map has interesting NPC chatter, a good story and reason to bring you there and tie it to Tyria lore, and a rewarding and fun meta. For me the meta is one of the least important things for a good map (but very important for a good game). It does keep players coming back and keeps maps active. It is also amazing when you are out exploring and then see a throng of players running or flying someplace and you just put down whatever it is you were doing and go join them to find out what's happening. The first meta experience in each map is really fun, since I usually just end up joining in a random way, and it makes the world seem alive where I can just jump into the fray as I pass by.

4) Performance

I decided to add one more aspect. Having recently played through LWS4 and experiencing crazy skill lag spikes in Sandswept Isles and Thunderhead Peaks, map performance (lag) may be the number one issue that separates a good map from a bad map. No matter how much of the above 3 points are included, if there are giant lag spikes that cause 2-3 second skill delays, the map becomes frustrating and makes me never want to play it. It fills the map chat with complaints, and makes it hard to complete achievements since...well the lag, and for notorious maps (like the 2 I mentioned) causes less people to play the map/meta. Let's just say it took a while to get the Ascended bag in Sandswept isles...

If this is purposeful marketing, the marketing team has to wake up. I find it hard to believe many GW2 players are going to be interested in Fuser (1 in 300 maybe?). It is a bit obnoxious as well since it only has news for that one game, and it isn't something that I received only once. I never get GW2 news though. Is there no more GW2 newsletters?

An MMO is much like a human.

The moment it is born, it is dying.

People are just trying to be cool by pointing out the obvious.

Some lives are more fulfilling than others, however.

And "dying" is not "dead". I think Guild Wars 2 has a wonderful and lively energy to it.

My male norn has white hair, so I am definitely not opposed to the design choice.

However, given the choice between your 2 examples, I like the right one better. I'd make the tattoo color a dark red (maroon) though to add some interesting contrast. I am not a fan of matching everything. It's like matching a necktie and a pocket square with the same fabric. Boring.

Expansion, no.

I would not be against the Living World Season after Cantha focusing on WvW (and I guess PvP, although I personally find arena PvP boring).

Instead of new PvE maps, new WvW maps (under water, etc.) and game modes (jumping puzzle keeps, player customization of terrain (using a decorations like system and WvW mastery points)) , etc. As of now WvW is just a few roamers, pip collectors, and mostly half-mindless blobs that know the maps and terrain exploits like the back of their hands. WvW needs some map designs that make the "blob" less viable that it is now.

I don't think balancing skills in PvP/WvW should need an expansion or DLC. ArenaNet should be constantly doing this, so that a certain "meta" doesn't last months, years, whatever. Not every class needs to be balanced all the time, but switching it up and pissing off the happy people and making happy the pissed off people every month or two would keep things fresh, and if it was consistent, people would be kinda ok with being drawn an unlucky hand for a patch since they know it won't be "forever".

But yeah, I think the majority of GW2 players are not PvPers or WvWers anymore, so there would have to be enough Cantha content to keep the majority of people happy during the next year while GW2 focuses on their PvP modes.

Lore of the Warrior (written by big norn the warrior)

Long ago, big norn the warrior learned. Stick 'em with the pointy end. Slice 'em with the sharp side. Smash 'em with the heavy end. Win.

This is the secret of the warrior that has been passed down through the generations.

An improved old map is better than a new poorly implemented map.

I don't think it is good or bad. We will have to see what it's real value is. I am not against it.

Yes, because the reason I choose open-world RPG style games is for lore and world exploration. I think world exploration is great in GW2. The lore is also interesting, and the story is decent, especially for the nature of MMOs. Basically I just like Tyria as a world.

The reason I play an MMO is because it is fun to have a community to share experiences, even if it is just lore theory-crafting, complaining about issues we hate, or things we think are cool. Personally I don't play MMOs because I feel the need to build an in-game team to make any meaningful progress, which I think GW2 is pretty good at since story progression can be completed based on my schedule alone. I would like to see some more small group open-world (or instanced) content. For example, I kinda wish the upcoming Dragon Response Missions were 2-5 player content rather than 1-5 player content. Although I have to hold my criticism until I actually see what they are. But overall, I do think that GW2 is the "game for me".

↑

Because fire and dragon is a trope that I am a sucker for.

In second place, I liked the epic nature of Kralkatorric with brand storms, mist rifts, and I liked his design in general.

Oh yeah, and if you have gliding unlocked (which most characters playing EoD probably would), then in tengu form you know...you just glide with your tengu wings.

Being able to ride mounts while transformed, that will probably depend on some balance things. I am sure Anet doesn't want people to run around as a tengu 100% of the time and replace their main character. So they will probably have to find certain ways to hamstring the system.

Since race doesn't add much to actual playability (all races have the same skills, attributes, etc.) of the game, it'd be interesting if they played with the concept of tonics a bit more.

How about a story mission that gets us a tengu tonic? Make a few tonics to choose the appearance/style of the tengu. Make the tonic a combat tonic, but rather than keeping your own skills, you get tengu skills, both weapon and utility on a fixed bar, so one build) (tied to the type of tonic you choose) but keep your character's stats. So basically a warrior would be better equipped as far as gear goes to choose the "warrior tengu" from the tonic list. You can eventually get all the tonics, so if you have the gear you can build for a "ranger tengu" for example even if your main is actually a asura elementalist for example.

From a lore perspective, acquiring the tonic is how we first get into the Dominion of the Winds, etc. Maybe this is how we solidify an alliance (although I assume the tengu would be pissed off by being tricked).

Anyway, this allows everyone to become a playable tengu. It also gives us new play mechanics (skills, transformation system beyond just novelty, etc.). It fits into the story, and basically allows us to have a "starter area" experience without having to haphazardly deal with weaving a new playable race into the game and spending time making existing weapons, armor, etc. fit. It has replayablity since people can go collect all the tonics to access all the different tengu looks and professions. It adds another level to the character build system. This system could be continually built upon so that the player character can basically have an alter-ego that changes the way they play. Why even stop at tengu, more races, skills, animations, could be slowly implemented over time. Anet could even monitize it by allowing cosmetic gem store tonics that keep the skills of the in-game tonics but change the design of the character (warrior tengu with other colors, armor, etc.).

For me, this would be more interesting from a gameplay standpoint and more seamless from a lore standpoint. If these tonics are able to be used in PvP, WvW and PvE, then a lot of thought is going to have to go into balancing them since it would be essentially making new professions without player customizable utlity builds (minus the ability for characters to switch back and forth outside of combat and find interesting ways to synergize their main build with a transformation build).

Maybe something like this will be the new game changing feature in the next expac. Who knows?!

> @"Gimli.9461" said:

> I am convinced that they are teasing us with these colourful Tengu as a preview for how customizable they'll be in character creator.

> All the Tengu in the core game were brown/greyish with not much color.

Weren't the [Quetzal](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Quetzal) from HoT pretty colorful like in the new trailer?

There does seem to be some kind of checkpoint saving in some instances, or at least there were in LWS4. I got disconnected more than half way through the siege on Gendara, when you fight the Beastmarshal. I remember a lot of the complaints about people getting kicked from instances and having to start over. This part of the story was pretty long and I thought I would have to start over. It turned out there was some kind of auto-save feature and I resumed the story from the Beastmarshal fight after entering the instance again. Maybe I just got lucky, dunno.