HotDelirium.7984

> @"Shadowmoon.7986" said: > These are tactic to try to keep the players busy long enough to buy them enough time to get enough of the expac presentable. They seem to be trying to hedge theirs bets with the slow release schedule and massive weapon grinds. I'm afraid it looks like its not working because thats assuming us, the players, WANT to grind weapon skins in the first place. Going through all this trouble for a glacial or fire-infused weapon is a bit lost on me.

We are going on several months of the allies still dying quickly in the DRMs (the allies that are supposed to help you and the entire point of this marshaling event) and nobody is doing anything about it which really tells you everything you need to know.

Once again its like people are just left to their own devices and there's no management calling the shots. Advertising is all about "selling it" and they just aren't doing it justice. You can "sell" a grind of weapon skins or even Dragon response missions if you really wanted to and I don't know why they don't want to. Create more content videos about each DRM, a lore story written up, maybe even an announcement that DEVS will be joining DRMS to help out!....literally something and/or anything. WHY do we need these new weapons? Somebody tell us WHY. Make us care...

Worldbuilding would be pretty dang cool in the form of ANET making guilds per faction- that'd be phenomenal but ALAS you should know by now these factions are probably only here for participation points for the story and a few rando special action key abilities ._.

> Then, obviously, at some point someone decided to push out a Cantha expansion and the entire plan for the Icebrood release changed/got scrapped and they went with these Dragon Response Missions as filler to push out whatever they could while shifting the entire live team over to the expansion. I thought they still had 150+ people at the studio and figured that would be enough to keep the live game going plus your average story content for living world, but apparently not whether that's due to how last minute it was all decided or because they've yet again silently shifted a large portion of the studio to some unannounced project that will get canned at some point who knows. > > Definitely hoping after this expansion is released they're able to find their bearings again, because it feels like it's just been chaos for the past few years. I can't imagine what it must feel like as a lower level developer at the studio right now Let's be honest, they probably told us about Cantha this early on because projections of this season were fairly low and would be even worse if nothing short of amazing ( the most requested area) was announcedto instill massive amounts of hope and excitment.

If you look at the website glassdoor and the reviews of the company you can see that those issues are what led to this end product. Disorganisation of the vision is what will lead to a fractured release. That plus the lay offs plus the pandemic and they are just playing catch up and doing there best right now. They really need a confident and inteligent game director.

> > But i agree, they are dropping a lot of hints towards the spirits of the wild. They will have an important role for sure. > Let's see what the next episode-parts will bring, but im sceptical if there is enough room for epic story telling within 2/4 of an episode. > Hopefully they don't kill an elder dragon in a DRM or offscreen . > Just like the Pale Tree to Mord -should we assume the Spirits of the Wild are "good" dragon champs?!

> > Once IBS ends, the only systemic issues left in Tyria/Elona are the ghost problem in Ascalon, and the Inquest being up to no good. There really just isn't much left for us to do in Tyria right now. Even if there is no big story hook into it, there is no reason for us to not immediately go "lets go to Cantha and kill Bubbles to end this" to ride the momentum and finish the job we started back in core. > > I think needing a big story reason, like Jormag manipulating everyone into forcing us out, is over thinking a simple issue. I think once the "dragons" are dealt with the God will want to come back or actually come back and then maybe that creates other hosts of problems from demons/the mists/ and other world- remember Shattered Observatory? We could def face extradimensional creepers from the mists...or the worlds the Gods left to?

I'm sad Owl got...extinguished. After her own exile and then we did the Owl collection and then Ryland goes and messes it all up. So unfortunate ;(

> > > @"EdwinLi.1284" said: > > As for Jormag, the Benevolent Dictator personality of Jormag has been her personality for a long time as the Icebroods have presented her that way since the beginning of GW2 as a Elder Dragon that will always give those who serve her what they want in return they give her what she wants. Also Jormags needs to do is whisper and talk to these people into believing what she provides is what they want. While it was not presented properly due to how the Champion Episode is split into such small pieces and does appear rushed in certain areas, Jormag is all about appearing benevolent and having people willingly join her instead of forcing them to join her. They have not changed anything about Jormag's method of trying to corrupt people being to always attempt to have people willingly accept becoming her minion through promises of getting what they want and desire. > Except they HAVE presented this properly since the saga began, with Jormag's manipulation of Bangar, and Bangar's self admittance that he never felt like he was being mind controlled. Not to mention all the Whisper stuff in Bjora where this concept was further talked about. Champions didn't just introduce this idea, nor doesit particularly need to present it. Its been established for months now via numerous dialog. She's the icedragon of mental abuse and gaslighting and we played right into it.

> @"Svennis.3852" said: > An accelerated story is to be expected, but I did not anticipate Jormag becoming hostile toward us this soon. I figured the ruse of a 'truce' would be drawn out till chapter 3 or 4, but I suppose we don't have that kind of time. I think you and others misinterpret what Jormag is still doing. Jormag still hasn't lied nor become "hostile." Its basically white lies. I'm here to protect you and this world! (which is true but now we know this means covering people and the world in ice forever.) Ryland has told us that they havn't actually killed anyone just preserving them. Sure, icrbrood are attacking TO preserve us in ice and when you are attacked you defend yourself (even mobs). Its basically a calculated step on their part to undermine our efforts to stop Jormag and now we really are caught between the two.

> > But again, i wouldn't want that if it means further imbalance to the mesmer and further future nerfs that might eventually happen because of this. Because then anet nerfs one thing that affects all others that never needed nerfs in the first place due to how closely everything on mesmer is tied to the shatters and illusion generation. I guess internal software could make it generate other things in their stead like instead of clones and phantasms gain 10 stacks of might/gain 1,000 health etc. but that does lead to balancing issues for other traits.

For MESMER- _the Veilborn:_ "Maybe I was the illusion all along!" Maybe it was a reckless use of mesmer focus on a clone or an accidental blast of arcane energy on your phantasm but one of your illusions becomes PERMANENT holding a kernal of your power. YOU are that clone. New Weapon: dagger main and/or off. Professional Mechanic: _Etherealness_: being not entirely real the Veilborn loses one dodge and the ability to shatter. The tradeoff is built into traits and utility skills: the consumption of boons for enhanced effects (lose a boon gain 1,000 health) unique effects from conditions (cripple causes you to heal, fire causes you to inflict chill) enhanced boon durations and permanent boons (similar to aegis for Guardian) Elite- _I'm real, you know_: for the XYZ duration you have your normal two dodges, your health goes back to maximum (and back to original health after the duration ends), and the Veilborn can neither gain nor lose boons for the duration.

> That said, it's not that we got _nothing._ > The lore we got still is more than Norn ever got since release (which also shows the poor handling of Norn). > And I think it's also more lore than WoW's Nightelves ever got in one expansion. > Its mind-bogling to me that (during the games timeframe) there is no direct Norn involvment with Jormag. Sure we had Jhavi, Braham and a few random shaman but what about everybody else? Is Jormag not THE enemy to the Norn and they should have some sort of enclave or send more support beyond a few shaman? They sure as heck wouldn't keep things in the hands of the Vowbreaker again. I chalk this up to constraints in time, story, focus and resources which is unfortunate. This game is accruing so much lore debt.

> >! > >! I was really hoping for new dominant Norn characters to interact with. See how they interact with Braham and with your character whose legend is pretty big and may not be a Norn. Maybe some more information on why your legend matters if they never seem to interact with one another outside of moots. Maybe go into explanation on the upbringing of a Norn child. Like Braham growing up without his real mother. > > To clarify, Norn culture to ANET in IBS was a nice amount of lore for one Great Spirit and its mastery, 3 corrupted spirits and their shenanigans, one talk with Wolf, some bear and raven skins, 3 corrupted spirits adventures, random Otter fun, and some Owl lore crumbs <---I don't crap on effort because this IS a nice "amount" of content its just not what we were probably expecting. I would have scrapped all the otter, owl and corrupted spirits content for greater focus on literally the other Great Spirits that have been with us since the beginning of the game with maybe a JUICY lore twist like Jormag is actually Koda (or Koda are actually ancient Norn) or something...