Mungo Zen.9364

I get a real kick out of people complaining about Morale Breaker.....like, did it break your morale trying to do it? Mission accomplished, I think Anet got you this time.

I kid, I kid, for real tho:

I personally look at something like Morale Breaker as a 'lifetime achievement'. The game should reward players for playing the game a lot, and this is a way. I don't like that it is potentially a reason I won't ever finish that AP Category, but, w/e there is lots of content I won't ever complete, lots of AP I won't get (like crafting a Legendary).

> @"Fueki.4753" said:

> > @"WorldofBay.8160" said:

> > are icebrood points that grindy?

>

> Some of them, indeed are very grindy.

>

I have full Icebrood Mastery now and I don't have full HoT mastery. Why? HoT requires a lot more per Mastery Level (combined Mastery Points and XP required) than any content since then. As a comparison, Glider Mechanics in HoT requires 31 Mastery Points and 13.4 Million XP to complete, while United Legions Waystation Synchronization for Icebrood requires 16 Mastery Points and 6.6 Million XP to complete.

While I can agree that _some_ of the Mastery points across the game are grindy or challenging to get, there are enough to get you the things you need relatively easily. I don't have Masteries Points earned from Strikes or Crafting yet, still got the Icebrood stuff sorted easier than HoT.

This is something I’d like to see some UI customization around. Potentially options to show/hide/limit pop ups and other ‘system’ messages.

I personally don’t mind the way it is implemented now, for the most part. As a visually impaired player I’d like more UI options in general (color, size, location on screen) but I’d like that for pretty much all aspects of the game.

More Sylvari everything. Armor, weapons, mounts.

I respect that remastering content is as much or sometimes more work than making new content. I have replayed the personal story many times on different race/prof combos and it does stand the test of time better than some MMO beginner areas and stories. .

An idea I have had would be to have each expansion include new starter areas and personal stories that are tied directly to the expansion and provide an alternate personal story. This would give the devs a clean slate to build on, highlight the theme of the expac and give new and returning players new immersive content from level 1.

Can you imagine creating a new character in EoD that is specifically Canthan in flavor and tells the story of how you came to the area?

No this doesn’t remaster old content but it does provide an updated experience in new content. Something we typically get with GW2 already.

As a separate thought, unless Anet directly addresses the negotiation for trading of items outside of the game, people will continue to use this avenue. People with vast wealth tend to make smart money choices like not paying for things they don't have to. If there is a way to avoid paying the 15% TP fees, people will use them.

> @"Sobx.1758" said:

> > @"Mungo Zen.9364" said:

> > In my original post I mentioned that this is not an 'everyone problem' as it affects a small subset of the player base. Who is served by raising the TP price above 10k?

> >

> > Some questions in identifying if this issue are:

> > How many players are operating at or above 10k gold at this point in time?

> > How easily can a player reach or exceed 10k gold currently?

> >

> > Assuming gw2efficiency is somewhat accurate for those who registered there, over 87% of the 290,000 registered accounts have less than 800 gold currently, and have liquid gold less than 2000. It suggests that a large portion of the playerbase do not operate at 10k gold. I personally cannot fathom a world where I have maximized my playtime to reach the 10k plateau, but some do, some are lucky, some are hard workers, but I really feel those players are in the minority.

> >

> > Now, I wouldn't stand behind those numbers unless I was sure that they are clean (and I am not sure) but, Anet would have clean numbers and know exactly how much of the active playerbase is over 10k, and that I believe is one of the major factors in why this cap is okay where it is now.

> >

> > Theoretical Example:

> > Let's just say that the TP cap was always at 100g instead of 10,000g. Most players can accrue 100g pretty quickly, and it would mean that a large portion of the player base would be negatively affected by the TP cap. If, in this theoretical situation Anet were deciding how much to raise the cap, they would likely base it upon the ability for players to attain gold and the average amount of gold players sit at.

> >

> > I would contend that the TP limit does not _need_ to be raised as the majority of the playerbase does not accrue enough gold to buy or sell items above 10k. That said, gold creep is real in many games, and an average player will likely have more gold today than last year. If Anet gives players ways to earn not 10's of gold an hour but 100's of gold an hour then items on the TP will be affected as well, and the need to raise the TP cap will be a concern for more of the playerbase than it already is.

>

> How is the "number of people operating on that level" relevant to anything here? How is this an argument against raising the tp limit? If anything, the current limit makes "rich richer" by serving the first person that made the capped 10k buy-bets on the items that later can be sold for higher amounts off the tp. Platyers that don't check the resources outside of the game, get insanely lucky by getting the drop would luckily sell it on tp for 10k to the highest bid possible without knowing how much they actually could get instead. So that's at least one argument for raising the cap -making the bets actually correspond the "actual" (perceived) value of the most expensive items and reducing the possiblity of unaware players getting, well, scammed by the game's limitation that players **already go around if they're aware of it**.

>

> What exactly stands against raising that cap, even moreso based on your "limited player number operating with that amount of gold"? Because the claim that "raising the cap will raise the price up to the cap anyways" (made by someone else in this thread, not you) is just false.

> If your whole point here is that "not a lot of people care/are able to pay out anyways" then that's some weak-kitten point.

I guess I would ask why you think "the claim that "raising the cap will raise the price up to the cap anyways" (made by someone else in this thread, not you) is just false"

Why do you think this is false? I also think this is false, because players will spend within their ability to earn. I also believe that currently most players are not in a position to be buying or selling items at or above 10k, as the game does not provide an easy way for players to earn that type of gold. Is it possible, absolutely. Are there players who this affects, again, absolutely. Does this affect all players, no.

> @"kharmin.7683" said:

> > @"Mungo Zen.9364" said:

> > > @"kharmin.7683" said:

> > > > @"Mungo Zen.9364" said:

> > >

> > > > Assuming gw2efficiency is somewhat accurate for those who registered there, over 87% of the 290,000 registered accounts have less than 800 gold currently, and have liquid gold less than 2000. It suggests that a large portion of the playerbase do not operate at 10k gold.

> > > IMO this is a stretch to make this assumption as GW2efficiency isn't enough of a sample size.

> > > >I personally cannot fathom a world where I have maximized my playtime to reach the 10k plateau, but some do, some are lucky, some are hard workers, but I really feel those players are in the minority.

> > > Don't have to maximize play time. Buy gems and convert to gold.

> >

> > I agree gw2efficiency may not have clean numbers.

> >

> > If there are other resources that provide more accurate stats for player accounts then we should look at them as well. Can you provide any other resources that have this information?

>

> Sorry, no, because Anet hasn't released them to my knowledge. IMO that is the problem with the entire premise of this topic. We players simply cannot know if this cap is a problem for Anet or not. I still believe that if it were a problem, then Anet would have done something about it by now.

Agreed! I believe that Anet would make changes when it benefits them most, and this discussion is challenged since we haven't got good info to go from, and the info we have doesn't necessarily support the argument.

> @"kharmin.7683" said:

> > @"Mungo Zen.9364" said:

>

> > Assuming gw2efficiency is somewhat accurate for those who registered there, over 87% of the 290,000 registered accounts have less than 800 gold currently, and have liquid gold less than 2000. It suggests that a large portion of the playerbase do not operate at 10k gold.

> IMO this is a stretch to make this assumption as GW2efficiency isn't enough of a sample size.

> >I personally cannot fathom a world where I have maximized my playtime to reach the 10k plateau, but some do, some are lucky, some are hard workers, but I really feel those players are in the minority.

> Don't have to maximize play time. Buy gems and convert to gold.

I agree gw2efficiency may not have clean numbers.

If there are other resources that provide more accurate stats for player accounts then we should look at them as well. Can you provide any other resources that have this information?

In my original post I mentioned that this is not an 'everyone problem' as it affects a small subset of the player base. Who is served by raising the TP price above 10k?

Some questions in identifying if this issue are:

How many players are operating at or above 10k gold at this point in time?

How easily can a player reach or exceed 10k gold currently?

Assuming gw2efficiency is somewhat accurate for those who registered there, over 87% of the 290,000 registered accounts have less than 800 gold currently, and have liquid gold less than 2000. It suggests that a large portion of the playerbase do not operate at 10k gold. I personally cannot fathom a world where I have maximized my playtime to reach the 10k plateau, but some do, some are lucky, some are hard workers, but I really feel those players are in the minority.

Now, I wouldn't stand behind those numbers unless I was sure that they are clean (and I am not sure) but, Anet would have clean numbers and know exactly how much of the active playerbase is over 10k, and that I believe is one of the major factors in why this cap is okay where it is now.

Theoretical Example:

Let's just say that the TP cap was always at 100g instead of 10,000g. Most players can accrue 100g pretty quickly, and it would mean that a large portion of the player base would be negatively affected by the TP cap. If, in this theoretical situation Anet were deciding how much to raise the cap, they would likely base it upon the ability for players to attain gold and the average amount of gold players sit at.

I would contend that the TP limit does not _need_ to be raised as the majority of the playerbase does not accrue enough gold to buy or sell items above 10k. That said, gold creep is real in many games, and an average player will likely have more gold today than last year. If Anet gives players ways to earn not 10's of gold an hour but 100's of gold an hour then items on the TP will be affected as well, and the need to raise the TP cap will be a concern for more of the playerbase than it already is.

In general I like the tweaks to Inventory but, can we have an option to remove the Compact Button? Previously there was an option to move the Compact button down the list so it was out of the way, wondering, now that it is gone, could it be replaced with a 'Show/Hide Compact button'?

So, a question for those that would like weapons unlocked from eSpecs. Would you like all weapons available to all professions? Do you think limiting weapons has any merit or should it be a free for all for everyone?

This thread goes into some thoughts on your suggestion.

https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/115860/there-a-reason-that-es-weapons-are-still-restricted-to-es/p1

Overall I like that weapons are tied to eSpecs and wouldn’t want to change that.

As there are people who have more than 10k gold to spend on whatever they like I agree with this suggestion, raise the max limit on TP.

However this really affects a smaller subset of players who A: have the gold to outbid other players on luxury items and B: know that there is a way to buy/sell these luxury items outside the TP. This is not an Everyone problem, yet.

As more and more players amass wealth in excess of 10k there will be more people looking to outbid each other on luxury items outside the TP. Anet loses here on the listing fee/tax, but players also lose by not having an in game place to properly list items.

43.45% discount?

/Rechecks math

Yup....

I am guessing some individual items within the pack are discounted differently. But that is a decent reduction in price overall (if these are things you want).

A new expansion leaning on racing would also need new ways for players to get their mounts as someone buying Cantha may not have purchased and played PoF or LW4.

I can’t see them rehashing or devaluing the grind for mounts in the next expac. Which would leave raving on new mounts as a potential but, we already have so many mounts do we need that many more??

> @"Fractured.3928" said:

> To me it seems silly that Elite Spec weapons are still tied to Elite Specs. Sure, the weapons obviously benefit from those specs, but there are weapons that I far prefer to continue using with other specs.

>

> My two big examples is, I LOVE the Necro's two handed sword, and I don't want to lose it just because I want to try the new ES.

>

> And if Mesmer actually manages to get a main hand pistol, I DEFINITELY want that, but I love Chronomancer so much.

>

> I just want to play with the weapons I want, while using the ES that I enjoy the most. And I don't particularly see a reason for it to be forced like it continues to be. My damage might get hit a bit, but I'm a super casual, so don't really care.

You love Necro GS so much that you don't want to try a completely different eSpec/playstyle because it doesn't have the GS. It's like saying you gotta have chocolate on your pasta because you like chocolate on your cake. Saying you won't even try the pasta and experience it for what it is unless it has chocolate on it sounds limiting.

But let's say you have tried the 'other' eSpec, mastered it's functions and understood it's nuances, it's highlights and you STILL felt that you need that chocolate. Maybe you should just be sticking with the spec you already like!

Personally I have had less fun playing Scourge, Weaver, Mirage (although I have tried!) but I don't disrespect the intent of these builds. Scourge specifically, having a GS wouldn't make it play much differently, it would still be what it is as an eSpec and I would suggest that if you tried and didn't like Scourge without GS that you likely wouldn't like it with GS.

You say you love Chrono (so do I!), and while it would be fun to have Chrono specifically updated with a new weapon, I am really looking forward to Cantha for a chance to try a different build that pushes a different aspect of Mesmer. Maybe I will fall in love with that eSpec, or maybe not, but being able to use a Shield (Chrono) or Axe (Mirage) with it won't define weather or not the eSpec is enjoyable.

tl;dr

Chocolate doesn't go on everything, and that is okay. Experience the game for what it is and if it isn't what you want, that is okay.

I don't get it, I mean I do but, I really don't.

I came to GW2 with years in many other MMO's, RPG's etc etc, and the reason I stay/keep coming back to GW2 are the things which are being debated as negative on this thread.

This game is not like other games, the quality of life for the player is way higher in this game than other games IMO. One of the primary QoL moments was finding out that in order to get into a group I didn't need to roll a Tank or Healer. In fact there wasn't much of an option to do either and I was totally okay with this. Having been a Tank and Healer in various raiding and dungeon crawling games I did have enjoyable times but, suffered terminal burn out like many other primary Tank/Healers have. WoW has/had a mantra "Bring the player, not the class" in their development team, GW2 makes that a reality by taking the paradigm and shifting it.

I think where people get lost is the jump from new player to meta build. Understanding the Meta is not easy, and it is different in various game types. Someone mentioned Magic: The Gathering as a comparable, and I think it is apt:

In M:tG the 'Standard' Meta shifts every 3 months after a new release (or faster if they are banning cards like the past few years). As the Meta shifts players refine the tools/cards they build their decks with until you have some 'Top Tier' decks that have higher probability of winning over most other deck builds. This is basic Min/Maxing to provide the player with the best odds of winning.

M:tG has several different formats which change the foundation of how you play (providing different Meta), these include Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Commander and so on. What separates each of these is the card base, deck and play restrictions you have to work with, and as such each has it's own meta that shifts slowly over time. What is great in Standard might be terrible in Modern (or other contrasting formats) simply due to what is available in the Meta to play with.

Playing within the Meta in M:tG means you will likely go online, find a top tier deck, build it and compete. However there are lots of non-meta ways to play, that are just fun for the player. I personally appreciate but generally do not gravitate towards meta decks, preferring to find the cards I like and seeing how I can make them work. In doing so I acknowledge that my odds of winning any given game will be lower than if I played a Meta deck, but that my personal enjoyment of playing the game my way goes up.

Now, parallel this to GW2:

Different game types have different meta as they have different requirements. When we look at a profession, we see many traits and skills that allow a variety of playstyles (but not all prof can do all things well). The conversation about Mesmer tanks being the tankiest of tanks is interesting, but it also requires understanding the meta. Do you need a Mesmer tank in raiding? No, but some people refined the Meta raiding composition (and associated prof builds) to a point that Mesmer stands out as a great if not best option for raiding *if the rest of the raid comp supports it*. Those builds and comps are predicated on fast and efficient clearing with players who understand the concepts of the raid and group very well and likely have a lot of experience figuring it out. That same Mesmer tank build could be complete garbage in PvP or Open World, as the meta/requirements for play are different, something that some people don't understand.

I have had several friends join and play GW2 over the years, some stuck, some didn't, but all of them talked about finding MetaBattle and how it confused them to jump into a very refined spec meant for a specific Meta. All of them preferred to play around with their own specs based upon their own experience in different play types and most played non-meta or inefficient builds, but enjoyed the game for what it is, not what it wasn't.

Look at any profession on MetaBattle, and you will see some E-Specs have very little in the way of visible builds (and almost no Core builds). Mesmer's Mirage E-Spec show only Condi builds for example, but does that mean that Mirage Power is not viable? Does that mean I should not play Mirage unless I use one of these 'Meta' builds?

Personally I think, to the OP point, that we don't need to change what the class does because of the way it is named (the old don't judge a book by it's cover). Nor do I think we need an agro/threat system or tank focused specs having a broad space to play in, it feels like it would be a restrictive change based upon the experience I have had in other games. To another comment, yes, it would be nice if some completely dead traits or skills were reworked to be more meaningful in at least 1 gametype if not more.

I do think though, that we need something between Noob and Meta that guides new players into basic but solid leveling, PvE and PvP/WvW builds. Stuff that focus on the strengths of various weapons, skills and traits to get people into the game and playing. This isn't necessarily something for Anet to provide either, as the community has invested millions of hours more playing the game than Anet and might know what works best.

So after all those words, I can summarize by saying "It is what it is (and a lot of us think it is pretty great), and what we can do about it as part of the GW2 community is make it easier for new and returning players by providing a helping hand rather than asking Anet to fix a perceived problem".

Been able to complete this with Skimmer and Swimming but it is very close. Tips include finding the tightest lines and using Barrel Roll before diving to get a little boost forward. Finished it within 1 second of time elapsing on Silver.

Overall though, it is bugged and it sucks cause not everyone has the time like I did to mess around for an hour with this one piece.

I came here looking for more information on this Special Mission and am disappointed at how hard this one Special Mission is to accomplish. I have not been able to diffuse a single bomb in the 20 or so North Meta runs I have been on. Today this event completed in 15 seconds or less 3 times so far, which is typical the past week for it.

If I am able to get there, and am able to get the Mine Disposal kit, the closest I have gotten is having the event complete while I am diffusing the first bomb I come to. I have tried camping this event but zerg > me every time. I will likely not complete or attempt to complete this Special Event if it continues to be such a pain, considering I have completed all the other Special Missions (except for No Charr left Behind and Bullets and Beans).

I would suggest that players in the immediate vicinity, or who have picked up a diffusing kit, get a single tick on this achievement when the event completes.

> @"dandamanno.4136" said:

>

> I like the idea of having MC tied to shatters, ripped from dodge completely. Mind Wrack would become the Ambush trigger, while the others can have utility. It allows for unique shatters for mirage, with the ability to tweak CD's, strengths and effects on a per shatter basis. I assume in your example shatters would no longer use up clones? Or how do you envision MW working, clones ambush, then shatter? What do you think about 1/4 s MC per clone, Mesmer included from IP?

>

> I think mirrors would need to go, as having 4 MC's (1 per shatter), 2 dodges and mirrors all available would be too much. But I don't think anyone would miss those. I would take on demand MC from a shatter over chasing down a mirror any day. Also, shatters may have to share a 3 second CD to avoid having 4 seconds of MC all at once (unless clones are used up by shatter, then no CD needed).

>

Reflecting on this yesterday, thinking of what values I would tweak, a few ideas kept coming up:

1 - Limit Mirage to 1 Dodge, but it costs 75-100 Energy, making it available less often. Mirage Cloak does give a defensive advantage which should be leaned into, but having the native mobility of Dodge still available would be a good thing.

2 - Giving MC to Illusions in any capacity could be done for purely defensive purposes. This enters the discussion of 'how much DPS/Utility should Mesmer/Mirage gain from Illusions?'. Keeping Illusions alive longer would be a good thing for the Mesmer, but not at the cost of overall DPS/Utility/Survivability.

A tangent though, when I look at the Mirage and think 'how does Mirage use Illusions differently than other Mesmers?', I see there are skills that redirect the Clones to a new target that the rest of the prof doesn't have. So perhaps maintaining the focus of 'redirecting clones' is enough, but adding a trait to give them added defense/uptime (perhaps via MC) to keep them around long enough to retarget to multiple targets might be of interest.

3 - Mirrors.... I like them in general, and think they should stay. Where I get confused is why Distortion (not the Shatter but the effect) and MC both exist. Delink Distortion from Mirrors and create a new Mirage exclusive association. For example, rework F4 to "New Not Distortion Shatter" Shatter your Illusions to create a Mirage Mirror at your target.

4 - To pop clones or not..... I think Mirage should continue down the clone popping path but at some point, the space should be explored for a new eSpec in a future expansion (Hello Cantha).

But to the idea of Ambush and Shatter skills, let's make a simple Shatter to get it going:

Mirage Mind Wrack

You gain Mirage Cloak, you and your Clones Ambush with current weapon, then destroy all your clones, damaging nearby foes. The shatter effect also occurs at your location.

The variables to tweak are; timing between Ambush and Pop, Damage of Ambush and Pop, Damage per Clone, CD, number of foes damaged by Pop

The shorter the CD, the more often you get to use it, the less powerful it should be (and stronger on a longer CD), but hopefully the idea presents itself well enough.

> >However, with the recent patch it made my Chrono build a little clunky with the changes to shatters,

>

> You find it clunky after the IP change? O.o

Flow of Time (~10-12% Nerf) and Rewinder (5 second Nerf) are where I feel it the most. The Flow of Time thing is a very subtle slow down in Chrono button mashing overall really, and my rotation has now changed in different situations as some skills are not coming up as fast as they were before. The Rewinder change means I am less able to dump my clones on demand. Previously my play pattern included popping Signet of Ether to get more Phantasms going out, but that has changed to popping Signet of Illusions to reset the Shatters and keep the Clones rolling.

So yeah, clunky given what I know of playing this class, which pushed me to investigate Mirage, and well, here we are....

I am looking for an answer to this same question as I have really enjoyed that build the past few months.

Currently I am running the following Traits:

Domination -> Bountiful Blades -> Egotism -> Mental Anguish

Illusions -> Persistence of Memory -> Phantasmal Haste -> Phantasmal Force

Chrono -> Time Catches Up -> Illusionary Reversion -> Chronophantasma

I also traded out 1 Utility, removing Well of Recall and replacing it with Signet of Illusions. Other then that it is the same as what he outlined in the video.

I am looking at other options now though, keeping with Chronophantasma as the core theme.

Hello Mesmers

In short, I returned to GW2 after a 4 year break recently and decided to give Mesmer a try. As the Mirage eSpec mechanics were a bit confusing for me, I opted for a Chrono build and have been super happy with it over the past 3 months. However, with the recent patch it made my Chrono build a little clunky with the changes to shatters, so I came to these forums looking for some community help since I couldn't find any updated builds on the common sites.

1 - I generally avoid forums due to the toxic nature of hearing people complain about the class you like. However, after seeing what I expected, I went to other forums and, wow, okay so a lot of people peg Mesmer as not awesome to play. I don't really care about how good or bad the class is, more so, is it enjoyable to play the rotation, and does the rotation keep you engaged in the game.

2 - I appreciate that someone, anyone, is doing what this thread is, by trying to create a conduit from player to dev about the concerns of this class. I will say it seems odd to me that such a thing exists, most games I have played (and the game dev teams I have worked with) don't generally have such public conduit, instead having closed groups of players in game (such as a guild or clan) to bounce feedback off of.

3 - I am going to ignore numbers for my thoughts below. When you develop a good playstyle you can tweak the numbers to balance after the fact.

Reviewing the Mirage package, it seems that the intent was for Mirage Cloak to replace Dodge while giving access to Ambush abilities, and Deception was included to increase mobility to make up for the lost Dodge.

Looking only at the concerns around the Dodge portion of Mirage Cloak:

If MC did not affect Dodge in any way, what could be used to trigger it? Weapon Skills, Shatters, Utility/Heal/Elite Skills, Runes and Sigils

Weapon Skills: Currently there are Clone and Phantasm skills baked into each weapon for the Mesmer. Would it make sense to have a unique Mirage skill that causes MC on each weapon? I don't feel this is likely, but there is a lot of room to develop MC into Weapon Skills via Mirage Traits

Shatters: Having MC pop off Shatters may seem counterintuitive given Ambush but, let's leave Ambush and IH alone for the moment. There is a lot of design space with Shatters (similar to most F1-F5 skills). For example, what if Shatter with Mirage gave you MC + Utility?

Examples:

"Gain Mirage Cloak, extend MC per clone, all clones use Ambush with current weapon"

"Gain Mirage Cloak, extend MC per clone, all clones swap to your current target"

"Gain Mirage Cloak and Daze your target, extend MC and Daze per clone"

I really like this design space as it is available regardless of the Weapon or Utility choices you make.

Utility Skills:

Looking at Deception, one could take away the mobility Skills and replace them with MC based skills with slightly different flavors. Really similar to the Shatters honestly, it ends up being a button you push, but Utilities are optional and Shatters are there.

Runes and Sigils

I include this here but, having a Rune or Sigil requirement seems way off base for a class defining ability.

Ambush, Clones and Infinite Horizon

I get the idea of Ambush skills, the concept has been used with other classes (perform an ability, gain access to a different weapon skill), but should this extend to our clones? You may have noticed I used an example Shatter with Ambush as part of it, and I think this is a possible direction for the Ambush question. Removing IH and having a Skill or Shatter pop Ambush for Clones would allow a better opportunity for balance.

Yay we made it to the almost end? I guess the TL;DR

1 - I don't know much, but I like to have fun and don't care about the numbers, just the playability

2 - Delinking MC from Dodge and adding them to Shatters or Deception Skills (but removing the Deception mobility traits to balance) would be the direction I would start down

3 - Ambush for Clones should be a Shatter or Deception Skill, not linked to a trait, get rid of Infinite Horizon

I do really like the design space for Shatters for MC and Ambush since it is always there for the Mirage, but there is way more space in Deception Skills to do some really fun things for both. You could even go a step further and have 1 Axe skill, 1 Shatter and 1-2 Deception skills offer MC to spread it around a bit

And for giggles a tangential thought:

While reviewing the Mirage I kept thinking "Why does Mirage Shatter and pop Clones?" At some point, and it is likely to far along for Mirage, but I want to see a clones matter eSpec where shatters don't pop the clones.

Still happening May 13 2020

Question, what is the shortest instance where this can be confirmed happening so I could test various 'fixes'?

I have previously tried running GW2 in admin/elevated, adjusted how Windows Game Mode settings and the GFX tool work with GW2. ANet doesn't care to acknowledge this is an ongoing bug, and it stinks of HoT all over again where the final boss caused multiple crashes (yes, I Reaper), and destroying my enjoyment of playing this game. I literally stopped playing in HoT due to the BS with that end fight, and now 4 years later I am back and wondering what has changed, new fight, same inability to complete the story.....

Since I posted this this morning, I was trying a bunch of things with no luck, leading to me having wiped my PC and done a fresh install of Windows 10 on to a traditional HDD.

At this time I am sitting in game and this is running beautifully, I am in Lion's Arch at the Mystic Forge with ~52 FPS, all settings on high.

What is of interest to me though, is the drive the OS is installed to.

My old PC had the OS on SSD via SATA (2 different 120-200 gig Intel units over it's life). The new PC had Win 10 installed on the SSD via M2. As I mentioned above, I have now installed my OS to a regular Hard Drive and I am wondering if moving the OS off the SSD has rectified my issues.

All I have done today is installed the OS to the HDD, installed GW2 to the aforementioned M2 SSD and posted to this thread. No driver updates or other nonsense.

Previously I have had to reinstall the SSD Driver after every major windows update, as well as the GFX and sometimes sound/mobo. Windows was trying to provide the drivers and they never worked for any games. I really did not expect the native Win 10 drivers to let me install and run GW2.

Since it is hard for me to qualify that the drive the OS was installed to was the issue I will leave this open ended, any thoughts would be appreciated. If over the next week I manage to break GW2 again, I will post what I did and how I fixed it (assuming I can).

Hello GW2 Friends,

I have been having low FPS with GW2 for....ever? I have been reading these forums and others since 2016 looking for solutions to low FPS. Sometime in 2016 my FPS in GW2 went from very beautiful and playable at above average settings, to barely playable with low settings and features turned off. Since then I have built a completely new computer, and continued to run into low FPS in GW2, until yesterday....

What a glorious day it was, my FPS was over 20, it was over 60....it was....over 120!!!! (according to my Radeon app, my lifetime average FPS on my new PC in GW2 is 5 FPS, yesterday it was 65 FPS)

I recognized that, for the first time in a year with this new setup my video card decided to be engaged and fans were spinning the GPU and CPU were showing load and activity in my monitoring software comparable to most other games I run. I restarted the PC, restarted the game several times, logged different characters and still my FPS soared, I set the settings to best appearance, went to Lion's Arch, set the character limits to High and spun in circles of smooth free flowing frames all beautifully rendered....

....Until this morning..... It has gone back to running like absolute trash....

So I have no idea what is happening and looking for some assistance. Reviewing the existing threads and posts here and on other sites, most issues are automagically resolved with no clear steps to resolution. I am wondering if, given the symptoms I have listed, if anyone can point me in the right direction.

My belief is that this is something that can be resolved, I just have no idea where to start with this. Alongside building a totally new system, I have reinstalled the game multiple times to different drives and locations, formatted and reinstalled the OS, gone through my drivers and updates multiple times. I have tweaked the Radeon settings and Mobo settings, gone through every setting I can find info on for the OS as well.

For all of that, there were no updates in the past 48 hours, no changes to the system etc, I didn't try tweaking anything etc, just left it as is.

Why did it work yesterday? What am I missing here?