WorldofBay.8160

> @"mindcircus.1506" said:

> > @"WorldofBay.8160" said:

> > > @"mindcircus.1506" said:

> > > Dailies keep me occupied for 10 minutes.....tops.

> >

> > so in 10 minutes you complete each and every JP, find every special chest in the world, get gold in every adventure, finish the daily activity, loot tarir, beat the chak gerent, slay mordremoth and kralkatorrik, beat every world boss (including triple trouble!), gather a full home instance, harvest maximum guild synthesizers, visit every farm (including every rich metal node!), et cetera et cetera?

> You've backpeddaled from The Daily System to "things I can do every day".

> Strange way to make your point.

so a daily for you is only stuff with the word "daily" in its name? i'm sorry but that is not what daily stands for.

a daily is a task that gives a special reward limited on a daily basis (or is only possible a limited number of times on a daily basis). all things i listed give their special reward once a day (unless i am misinformed about some). so all of them are dailies. it might not be the most obvious thing but all the core tyria world boss trains, the pact supply agent trains, the PoF bounty trains, all those things are daily trains.

there is a daily iron farm, there are several (at least 3) daily flax farms, there are loads of daily hearts. there is huge load of dailies in this game.

even if you only count the things actually named daily there still is a LS3 map, a LS4 map, LS5 maps, fractals, current events (krait) and more each day which certainly does take over 10 minutes.

which dailies you do and which you don't is entirely your choice but you can't say that all dailies are done in 10 minutes, because at the very least world bosses are time-gated and need you to play for more than 1 hour to get each of them in a train.

> @"mindcircus.1506" said:

> Dailies keep me occupied for 10 minutes.....tops.

so in 10 minutes you complete each and every JP, find every special chest in the world, get gold in every adventure, finish the daily activity, loot tarir, beat the chak gerent, slay mordremoth and kralkatorrik, beat every world boss (including triple trouble!), gather a full home instance, harvest maximum guild synthesizers, visit every farm (including every rich metal node!), et cetera et cetera?

this game has hundreds if not thousands of dailies, more than anyone could complete in a day, that is good.

however, i do not like the daily system aside the part in the achievements tab. i am missing dedicated daily quest NPCs, a daily journal and - especially - dedicated daily limiters. the only real dedicated daily limiters i know of are the 4 daily crafts and what is their effect? they are worth it. daily limiters are good and i want a lot more daily limiters, especially in crafting, but they can also be applied to opening specific containers, doing specific tasks like salvaging gear or mystic forge recipes.

before you say that there are daily limited purchases, i don't see those as daily limiters, more like actual dailies. a limiter limits a task without any reward, making an action worth doing it because it will be hard to satisfy the natural demand and you can't rush it when you need it, raising the actual demand.

daily limiters make useless things useful.

> @"Pii.8574" said:

> Some Hearts are fun to do but most are just boring and tiresome, even annoying.

some hearts need a change, like there is [this heart in plains of ashford](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Defend_the_Iron_Legion_fort_from_Flame_Legion) that doesn't have enough static objectives in sight and a very very low dynamic objective density. well there would be enough statics if all the energy source where placed in the heart area but one is outside and doesn't count for the heart ...

also [this heart](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Help_Latera_Painstorm_fight_the_Flame_Legion) has heart objectives outside the heart area and there are several more.

enit: [this heart](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Help_the_cornered_spies_at_Seraph_Observers) is also stupid as collecting berries gives 3% and actually delivering them only another 3%, meaning that you collect them and throw them away will make aidem like you although it is the exact opposite of what he wants. if you start the heart at the hidden lake you easily find 15-20 berries (45-60%) and 10 bandits (50%) before you think about getting back. then the heart is completed and you can't even deliver the berries any more. nice. what a cool guy the commander is eh?

> @"maddoctor.2738" said:

> 4) Go to Kessex Hills and other areas in Kryta that contain Toxic Alliance mobs. Unfortunately the events are group events, but you can fight the beefed up Krait and Nightmare Court mobs. There are also many unique bosses around Kessex Hills to fight, although they are Champions

the event "Defend the Vigil siege engineers as they attack the toxic offshoot" is listed as a group event but it solely depends on the time left when you find it. one vigil siege engineer takes the tower down in a lot less than the 10 minutes the event lasts (3-5 min i guess), so you only need to guard one of the three and the tower will fall if there is enough event time left. guarding one engineer means you have to fight at max 2 base and 1 veteran krait and 1 sylvari, not even at the same time but they respawn about 3-4 times until the tower is done. it's actually very easy.

> @"Dante.1508" said:

> > @"battledrone.8315" said:

> > > @"Dante.1508" said:

> > > > @"ASP.8093" said:

> > > > > @"Dante.1508" said:

> > > > > > @"ASP.8093" said:

> > > > > > > @"battledrone.8315" said:

> > > > > > > > @"ASP.8093" said:

> > > > > > > > What I find so confusing about this "HoT dropped difficulty out of nowhere" narrative is that stuff like Toxic Alliance or Season 2 Mordrem did kinda prepare you for HoT monsters pretty well, imo.

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > > never touched those, and i doubt the average player even know of their existance. neither did i BTW

> > > > > > > the names alone are enough to put them at the bottom of my to do list, sound like hardcore stuff IMO

> > > > > >

> > > > > > You're joking, right? This is a bit?

> > > > >

> > > > > Nope i'm the same didn't know those existed and don't really care that they do..

> > > >

> > > > Toxic Alliance events spawn in starter-adjacent zones like Kessex Hills and Gendarran Fields. It's the big scary flower that gives you hallucinations, defended by Krait, Hulks, and Nightmare Court Knights that you have to stomp to death. These are actually baddies from Season 1 story but they're just part of the normal maps now.

> > > >

> > > > If you play the Season 2 story or even just the maps (Dry Top and Silverwastes), you will run into Mordrem like Terragriffs (the griffon-looking things that hit really hard) and Trashers (the spinny boys). The new enemies for HoT are the Mordrem Guard, the Chakk, and the various dinos. Other types of Mordrem are introduced slowly before you get there.

> > >

> > > Oh those yeah i tried those and got wiped never went back i thought they were some team event gone wrong.

> >

> > so, they are nerfing content with one hand, but they are using the other to do THIS?

> > thats like revving the engine to full power and still having the BREAKS ON

> > killing players in core with this kitten doesnt make them "better", it just makes them want to quit the game

> > i cant believe the bad leadership in this company

>

> Technically doesn't make them quit so much as it makes most avoid said content completely.. Go to any Tyria map and check these Hot events and let me know how many people successfully complete them.. its very few.. most see them and avoid like a plague, usually after their first solo death, i've ressed countless poor souls who attempted those towers..

> And even i forgot this content existed, if anet remove these tomorrow no one would care.

people rush past those events because they offer zero reward. the spore sample isn't worth anything any more and it has been the only reason to complete it. on top of that those zones have a huge dead time between events, so even though there is that big green bubble and all those shiny green event mobs there is nothing to do, so why should people be there?

bandit bosses in the same maps are pretty popular even though some of them are really hard to survive. maybe it's really just the orange circle and side text missing for most players? or the towers are just too easy to bother as they are effortless compared to bandit bosses ...

> @"Yggranya.5201" said:

> And if it's even more frustrating, everyone will remember it. The strange thing is how some people claim they enjoy being frustrated with their source of enjoyment. Weird how that works, eh? I guess it helps when you want others to suffer as you have suffered, so you don't want any changes. you know, the good ol' "casuals ruining muh game".

>

> I wonder if this started when dark souls became popular, or if it was like that before? Well, who knows.

first of all common games 20+ years ago have been a lot harder than current games. the people that played back then where more invested in gaming, less casual, the casual scene is neither the standard nor a really old thing.

second, if we'd suffer from games we wouldn't play them. i played many games that ultimately went dull once i reached a specific skill threshold that put me noticeably above my average foe. that is specifically the point where i go in a fight with the expectation to win if i just don't play artificially bad, the point where i can only lose. i never understood people that enjoy that. it's the possibility to get an unexpected win that is the real fun.

i had it in this game, i triggered the legendary bandit executioner with one other player on accident and it locked us inside before we could run away. the other player died rather fast because he was a thief. i rezzed him about 5 times, even after he fully died, not because i needed him but because it was quite fun to kite around to lure the legend away from his body and try to run in without dying. i eventually died with the executioner at about 20% HP to some misstep i don't remember but it was the most fun i had for months in this game.

on some other occassion in early HoT i happened to be at the central pact camp in verdant brink when the mordrem wolfs attempted to clean it. i fought at least 5 elites and a couple veterans for several minutes all alone trying to hold the point. even though it was clear from the start that i wouldn't survive it was great fun trying to delay the inevitable as long as possible.

moments like these are the only moments in this game i actually play my class. i play herald and it frustrates me a lot that i never need half of my class. i only wear a second weapon for staff 5 on breakbars, i barely ever switch in a fight without. i have glint/whatever as legends because i never need to switch that one either. i use my heal skill maybe once a day, passive regen and battle scars keep me up. this game is so mind numbingly easy at times, at any point in core all you can do with skill is maximize your dps and i'm not here for that. PoF offers some threat from some mobs but PoF signature mechanic is being annoying. certainly over half the hostile roster has stuff to annoy you while only a small fraction mean actual threat. permablinding lions, uncleansable leeching condition from a dead sand eel keeping you in combat, sand sharks hiding, exploding choya just to keep you in fight when the fight is done, etc etc (don't get me started on jacarandas). HoT is far better in that aspect, most of the annoying stuff is an actual threat, has an actual meaning. spawn groups mix their strengths so that tendrils and trolls offer artillery support while melee trashs try to keep you busy, teragriffs switch between frontline and artillery, itzel and mushrooms put out the big hits.

if you think that HoT cc spam is bad then fight djinn who offer a cc that is harder to avoid combined with a bigger health and far less damage just to make the fight take longer for no reason at all.

> @"Gibson.4036" said:

> > @"WorldofBay.8160" said:

>

> > it took a wiki search for you but you might've just looked at the corresponding effect on the bounty and read the solution ingame:

> > [Find ley-energy orbs to discharge damaging buildup.](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ley-Energy_Buildup)

> > or you could've looked at that new effect on your end:

> > [Find an active ley-energy orb to discharge.](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ley-Energy_Buildup_(condition))

>

> I take it you mean by doing mouseovers for the effect icons?

>

> I've tried to do a little of that in some places, but it's quite the challenge to find the right icon in a sea of effect icons while also dancing around the markings on the groung in the middle of a cloud of fireworks. If someone is having trouble with an event, "mouse over the icons and read the tooltips" is about the most awkward communication the game could provide.

you can post those effects in any chat. if you know you have trouble reading these kinds of effects in a battle try the following: open a whisper with yourself. ctrl + left click any icon you don't recognize immediately to post them all in your superprivate whisper. now you have those effects all in your chat, easily visible and readable (mouseover ofc still needed) and can read them mid-battle.

i do that quite often, though i use guild chat as i have a rather empty guild where it doesn't bother others.

> @"Poormany.4507" said:

> Locking them behind heavy (and largely unnecessary - looking at skyscale map currency step) grind excludes players who either do not have the time for it, or just aren't interested in spending days/hours repeating the same content.

oh that huge grind of buying 5 of each currency each day in dragonfall that takes days repeating the same content.

it's not the achievement that is a grind, it is you who makes it a grind. i simply didn't and still had my skyscale pretty fast, just as all the other mounts.

even if you really only do the dragonfall purchases that is 50 days, less than 2 months. for the bare minimum and starting at literal zero (which i bet you don't as you had to at least do story and surely got some currencies) you need less than 2 months. anything more and you drastically reduce that, one heart? down to 1 month. maybe an event or two, just the little ones, those that are done fast. farm a node additionally and oh it is only a couple of days.

the only stupid grindy things are map-skipping achievements (skyscale flight) or search achievements with no hint (skyscale eggs) - those are just a wiki fiesta and no fun at all.

> @"Gibson.4036" said:

> As to lacking information, there are definitely portions of the game where all you can do is go google things after you die. Not HoT, but an example for me was Ley-Energy Buildup. It took me several bounties to figure out that if I got glowing orbs around my character I needed to, very counterintuitively, go find a glowing orb to stand next to in order to not quickly die. It took a wiki search to figure out what this mechanic atually is and how it works. By the number of people I see dropping in bountie events, this still mistifies people. Some things the game explains well, others, not so much.

it took a wiki search for you but you might've just looked at the corresponding effect on the bounty and read the solution ingame:

[Find ley-energy orbs to discharge damaging buildup.](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ley-Energy_Buildup)

or you could've looked at that new effect on your end:

[Find an active ley-energy orb to discharge.](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ley-Energy_Buildup_(condition))

> @"robertthebard.8150" said:

> > @"Ototo.3214" said:

> > > @"kharmin.7683" said:

> > > > @"Ototo.3214" said:

> > > > Could also make it so pet damage doesn't count for kill credit. If just the pet is attacking, they don't get anything. Wont stop people from making some sort of macro to skill spam automatically but still, would help.

> > >

> > > As a ranger main, I completely disagree with this idea.

> >

> > And as a ranger main, I still make the suggestion. Make it so if you also contribute, then fine, it counts. But if you're just sitting there afk with your pet as the only thing attacking, then no.

>

> As a ranger player that may put my pet on one mob, while I kill another, what's going to happen? It's hilarious to me, as I have yet to find a zone where a "bot" is interfering with my gaming, unlike Aion, for example, where they were literally taking over quest zones.

**you** commanding your pet is **you using a skill to attack that enemy**, how that skill works out, how it is displayed, that doesn't matter. **you** used a skill to attack. that is different from you standing still, getting attacked and **your pet helping out**, then you should not get credit.

> @"casualkenny.9817" said:

> > @"WorldofBay.8160" said:

> > > @"casualkenny.9817" said:

> > > > > @"casualkenny.9817" said:

> > > > > The base raptor, with the short jump, no mob grab, and no boosted dmg, or an equivalent or slightly weaker mount ....

> > > > >

> > > > > You feel that that's giving too much? The whole point of ftp accs is try-b4-u-buy advertising.

> > > >

> > > > can only talk for myself but i think i would have dropped gw2 if mounts were a thing back then. so that "advertising" would have backfired on me.

> > >

> > > i don't even know if you mean that you dislikes mounts, or that you would have disliked having base raptor in core map as a ftp player because abc, or something else.

> > >

> > > i'm assuming its #2, because #1 is redundant, though it matches your phrasing better.

> >

> > with access to a raptor i would have missed 99% of the game, seeing a pretty dull and narrow image and left before even trying to get immersed. core tyria is a lore place and meant to be visited slowly to show its beauty. there is no real challenge in these maps except stuff that is made for lvl 80s like dungeons or world bosses and this content isn't done a lot before lvl 80 anyways. but NPCs talking, special places and stuff is all gone when you woosh across the map and never knew it existed, because it isn't that usual for a MMORPG to have a vivid map, i for example started with metin2 where NPCs had exactly zero lore or use outside of your personal progression.

> > you need to consider the expectations to the game, it might be "i want good fights" and nothing more because the last game had nothing more. then there is a raptor and you pass at light speed by everything interesting and find a map with pretty low mob density compared to your last game with a lot of 1v1 focus, say "meh" and quit.

> > without the raptor you see the other aspects and it might just keep you long enough to get how this game works and like it, at least enough to play on.

>

> Thanks for your full reply. I'll reply later (in this post) when I'm home from work

you should really think about moving closer to your work, that is a pretty long way home you got :-)

> @"Atomos.7593" said:

> I found there are only 4 mounts needed for the PoF onward maps. Raptor (to unlock the springer), springer (for vertical exploration), skimmer (to get through brandstorms and quicksand), and jackal (for sand portals/bridges). All of these are easy and quick to unlock imo.

well those are actually all of the normal mounts.

griffon is pretty much the final prize for being a hero in PoF and will make things easier (there are also 2 griffon mastery points but you get them via bond of faith and a combination of the basic mounts).

roller beetle is made for the open desert of kourna but never necessary as it only extends speed but gives no new option as it is the only mount without any self-induced air time and thus cannot jump/fly anywhere. beetle doors usually only contain chests not worth it and other players can open them for you.

the skyscale is the jack-of-all-trades, nowhere best (well, afk'ing in a hostile area ...) but no weakness either (well maybe the big ocean parts in orr where it'll eventually fall into the see)

> @"Morvran.8265" said:

> > @"WorldofBay.8160" said:

> > > @"Morvran.8265" said:

> > > > @"Vincible.1065" said:

> > > > Cheers for additional thoughts everyone, i'll be sure to keep an eye out for the tax, and will look at episodes and bank slots etc. as additional possible gem purchases.

> > >

> > > If you're interested, here's a recommendation for [the best store items](https://catchupguides.com/gw2-recommended-gem-store-purchases/). Should help you get the most out of your gems.

> >

> > solely from the fact that VIP passes are mentioned as "must have" i question the usefulness of this "guide". wvw starting location, pvp lobby or guild hall provide the necessary VIP functions (anvil, general vendor, bank access) in a better way: you can get back to your previous position and they are free.

> > the things listed under lower tiers are way better, especially bag slots and bank tabs.

>

> Bag slots and bank tabs don't do anything unless you have already reached the limits of your storage options. For new players that may be **months** away, possibly a year if they use their character slots well. VIP passes can be huge timesavers from day 1 especially if you are crafting a lot, but I agree, that one is questionable. I've been considering knocking that down a tier, might just go for it now. I tend to rate items higher if they get more value out of a shared slot, and passes certainly do.

don't get me wrong, VIP passes would be a good idea ... if and only if they would not cause additional time spent getting back where you were. they are practically useless for emptying your inventory, guild hall is just faster in any aspect - loading times, finding the right NPC/object, getting back - while costing nothing more than finding a guild with anvil and scribe station (bank access + general vendor) which basically every guild with a hall has. and let's be honest: emptying your inventory or repairing equip are the major reasons to interrupt whatever you do. you don't interrupt your adventure for a fractal - instead you cancel it and then there is no difference to porting to LA where you got all you need as well (except that everything is spread further).

it is a convenience item that imo provides a time benefit in situations i don't care about time (crafting, safe spot, lobby waiting for a start, etc) while not being able to straight out beat free versions in situations where time is important (inventory full in tarir loot, desired event about to start but armor is broken, etc)

> @"Randulf.7614" said:

> I don't think it can. The plague existed purely due to Shiro's presence corrupting living organisms. No Shiro means the plague eventually dissipated as the remaining afflicted would have been hunted down.

i am surprised nobody mentioned it yet but lots of commanders will bring shiro back!

imagine the revenant commander suddenly corrupting cantha civilians because he has shiro equipped

> @"Skiravor.1257" said:

> > @"Ayrilana.1396" said:

>

> >

> > > This game has lost MANY paying customers due to lack of mounts.

> >

> > Source?

> Takes 8 hours?...................................................................

>

> How much gold? Does that 8hrs take that into account as well? Of course not. You being disingenuous only supports the viewpoints of the small percentage of veterans who enjoy their elite status.

>

8 hours sounds quite a lot for those actually and is probably due to the raptor T3 requirement on springer/skimmer

gold? needed currency for all 4 basic mounts is 25 gold + 300 trade contracts. if you skip the jackal it is just 5 gold + 100 trade contracts. it's not a lot. most players will have spare 5 gold, maybe after selling some mats from their storage maybe already in their pockets. at lvl 80 you should almost always have 5 gold available.

> @"Mr Hinky.2159" said:

> It's too bad that there are players like that in this game. Where does this portal take you by the way? To Neverland?

in sw for example it puts you on a golden rock outside the map where only a wp brings you back. now sw only has one wp and that portal is around the farthest point the chest farm reaches, so before mounts you lost quite a couple chests, maybe even the chest you dug yourself.

> @"Morvran.8265" said:

> > @"Vincible.1065" said:

> > Cheers for additional thoughts everyone, i'll be sure to keep an eye out for the tax, and will look at episodes and bank slots etc. as additional possible gem purchases.

>

> If you're interested, here's a recommendation for [the best store items](https://catchupguides.com/gw2-recommended-gem-store-purchases/). Should help you get the most out of your gems.

solely from the fact that VIP passes are mentioned as "must have" i question the usefulness of this "guide". wvw starting location, pvp lobby or guild hall provide the necessary VIP functions (anvil, general vendor, bank access) in a better way: you can get back to your previous position and they are free.

the things listed under lower tiers are way better, especially bag slots and bank tabs.

> @"Gibson.4036" said:

> Pocket raptors. I tend to play AoE or cleave type builds, which makes these not such a big deal. But they seem to really take out people who don't play AoE builds. Is the answer that you have to pick AoE to survive HoT?

any damage output while blocking melts those raptors, also taking the initiative helps a lot: if you kill off 2-3 before they hit you, the pack is a lot easier.

pocket raptors are a natural counter to single-target dps builds, so in that you just came to the wrong neighborhood and have to run. running however works fairly well, pocket raptors always walk straight away from you after biting, no matter if it hit or not and they only apply bleeding, no cripple, so they help you run away by running themselves and don't obstruct you.

i have to say i never had problems against them but i played a rather defensive build on my mesmer (sword 2 in the old long evade ... need i say more how to deal with them back then?) when i started HoT and later came the chrono with shield double block + wells and the rev with shield + glint aoe (which quite literally burns through pocket raptors), so i haven't really experienced the squishy side. i can imagine ranged weapons being clearly inferior as they lack the AoE in auto-attacks. auto-attacks might not be the most damaging thing but they never lock you in active frames and against pocket raptors mobility helps a lot.

no AoE and ranged? you can only hope being a ranger that can send his pet first but ... a ranged ranger does have AoE, so there isn't that problem in the first place ...

> @"Demonspike.7539" said:

> I don't mean to be rude, but the way you are explaining things doesn't help, and confuses me too easily, can you try to break down into steps what I need to do to get my settings back please?

no prob

even if you've already managed to fix it, i'll give it another try.

1. open your file explorer, usually an icon in your taskbar but also available in your start menu or desktop as any folder you open opens in the file explorer, so a click on documents or any folder on your desktop does the same

2. in the file explorer in the address bar type in **%appdata%**. that is a built-in shortcut to the generic user settings folder in windows. as guild wars like any good game uses the native tools it saves your user profile in that folder.

3. so in that folder you'll find a folder named **Guild Wars 2**. open it

4. there in this folder is every local setting you have on guild wars 2 (i guess). this includes graphics settings. usually deleting a setting file causes the corresponding program to recreate it with default values, i.e. setting your settings to default. locate the file you're looking for, in this case it is **GFXSettings.Gw2-64.exe.xml** (**GFXSettings.Gw2-64.exe** if extensions aren't shown) or the version with the **-64** if you're using the old launcher

5. you should never delete or edit any file of any program without a backup (unless you know the outcome), so instead of deleting it, move it anywhere else, for the game it then looks like it is deleted but you can move it back if the game can't deal with that

6. start guild wars, if everything worked you're on default graphics settings now and nothing more to do.

7. in case it didn't work, move the file back (reverse step 5) and ask the support (or the forum) for further solutions

now you already got it so you don't have to do anything. in case you screw up again, remember this.

> @"Demonspike.7539" said:

> Sadly, I'm no wiz when it comes to understanding or finding files to adjust, w/e... so I will just try a fresh installation, and hoping that will set my Guildwars2 game client back to factory fresh log in settings.

in your file explorer (if windows) simply type in %appdata% , then open the guild wars 2 folder, it's that easy. move the gfxsettings xml out of that folder, start gw and see if that already did the trick. reinstallation will likely just be a huge waste of time as it does completely unnecessary thing (recreate game files while they aren't the problem) and probably doesn'T do the necessary things (recreate user files which are the problem). most reinstallations keep user files untouched and therefore your problem will persist.

your graphics settings are located under

%AppData%\Guild Wars 2

and saved as xml (GFXSettings.Gw2[-64].exe.xml, the [] mark the difference between x64 and x86 client), so readably with any text editor. idk if you can just delete the file and it resets but you might try just moving it temporary elsewehere (always keep the old file somewhere, desktop is a good place for short temporary solutions) then starting the game and looking if it works

or you edit the file, fps is the first options entry, edit the "value" attribute to a better value.

edit refresh rate is just above and the default value is 0, so set yours to 0 and it should be ok (0 is usually the default value because it makes no sense as actual value)

> @"casualkenny.9817" said:

> > > @"casualkenny.9817" said:

> > > The base raptor, with the short jump, no mob grab, and no boosted dmg, or an equivalent or slightly weaker mount ....

> > >

> > > You feel that that's giving too much? The whole point of ftp accs is try-b4-u-buy advertising.

> >

> > can only talk for myself but i think i would have dropped gw2 if mounts were a thing back then. so that "advertising" would have backfired on me.

>

> i don't even know if you mean that you dislikes mounts, or that you would have disliked having base raptor in core map as a ftp player because abc, or something else.

>

> i'm assuming its #2, because #1 is redundant, though it matches your phrasing better.

with access to a raptor i would have missed 99% of the game, seeing a pretty dull and narrow image and left before even trying to get immersed. core tyria is a lore place and meant to be visited slowly to show its beauty. there is no real challenge in these maps except stuff that is made for lvl 80s like dungeons or world bosses and this content isn't done a lot before lvl 80 anyways. but NPCs talking, special places and stuff is all gone when you woosh across the map and never knew it existed, because it isn't that usual for a MMORPG to have a vivid map, i for example started with metin2 where NPCs had exactly zero lore or use outside of your personal progression.

you need to consider the expectations to the game, it might be "i want good fights" and nothing more because the last game had nothing more. then there is a raptor and you pass at light speed by everything interesting and find a map with pretty low mob density compared to your last game with a lot of 1v1 focus, say "meh" and quit.

without the raptor you see the other aspects and it might just keep you long enough to get how this game works and like it, at least enough to play on.

unlike popular opinion imo the skyscale really isn't a big grind. every LS4 map has some easy task that can be made half-afk in 5 or less minutes and provides you with enouth map currency to get the skyscale fast enough. the worst part about it is gathering eggs as there is no description provided so it is a boring wiki run instead of a cool exploration and search. also the last rift closer thing is just utter bs, whoever thought porting across the entire map for 1 rift per map that is done in a mimute so that achievement lookups, wp decision and loading screens take more time than the actual collection is fun has a strange opinion of fun.

apart from that, skyscale isn't that great and certainly not necessary. roller beetle is faster horizontally, springer is faster vertically and griffon is the aerial master unless you have to actually rise (as griffon can only glide).

i don't know why you say "rather necessary content" end then talk about stuff that is your end goal and not the content to get there. we crafted legendaries before even touching t2 fractals, nothing necessary there. a big goal nevertheless and a big goal in an MMORPG shouldn't be reached in a few days, otherwise the game is boring really fast.

play whatever you like, anything provides you with money, random fractal groups for fractal dailies will work most times to move your personal tier up and gain some agony infusions. ascended gear is not really expensive in the long run, it will just come by, though pushing the crafting skill to 500 might be a grind.

> @"Rauderi.8706" said:

> Breakbars get plenty of use, but either the timers on them are too short or the required Defiance is too high for a solo player.

i'm experiencing the exact opposite: i break the bar in one go at ease but all my cooldowns are done way before it replenishes, so i want to stun it again but can't because the timer is too long.

> @"maddoctor.2738" said:

> The biggest change they did was remove the "pull" from the Risen Putrifier, which were the highest offenders in Orr, making moving around a pain. They are the Risen with the anchor, they have a skill similar to Guardian GS 4, they create a symbol under them, in the old days they would then throw the anchor at a player and it would attach on them. Then they'd pull the anchor back, pulling the player with it, on top of the symbol, to damage them. You could get away from the chill spam, but getting pulled back a long distance, into a long forgotten group of mobs that you've already avoided, was not fun.

interesting that they nevertheless added earth olmakhan in kourna that pull with virtually zero cooldown. as i run a perma-swiftness build i am used to outrun any mob, most times not getting hit at all. that one olmakhan however managed to pull me thrice before i could run out of his aggro zone and it would've been 5 times at least if i hadn't blocked the fourth

seems they don't learn from their mistakes at all.

i do remember the wolf damage and i never thought it was overtuned. the champiopn wolf in sw regularly downed one player per attack but he attacked so rarely and had no defenses whatsoever plus a rather big group of players against him that he desparately needed that damage to be any threat at all. nowadays 5 people with mounts clear him like a veteran mob.

> @"AliamRationem.5172" said:

> > @"Croc.1978" said:

> > > @"AliamRationem.5172" said:

> > > > @"Croc.1978" said:

> > > > > @"maddoctor.2738" said:

> > > > > > @"Croc.1978" said:

> > > > > > On the other hand, one adapts to circumstances.

> > > > >

> > > > > Orr mobs were actually buffed later on. They added the Risen Nobles that deal high amounts of damage (probably the highest damage potential of all mobs in Orr) with their shadow teleport skill that creates a symbol, and then they also changed how Risen Drakes work, leaving pools of poison behind them when they charge. Both abilities weren't available on release. Anyway, everyone remembers the "nerf of Orr" but maybe forgot the "buff of Orr".

> > > >

> > > > Interesting. From my memory the numbers of the Risen in Orr maps were much higher at release though. But my memory could be mistaken.

> > > >

> > > > BTW, do you happen to know what's the deal with Champion Risen Knights? Their ground AoE does rather ordinary damage for a while and then suddenly it spikes you for 20k - 30k. I can't remember that obvious bug being there when the game released.

> > >

> > > I spend very little time in the core game, but if those are the flying undead guys I think they move toward their target dropping multiple circles. If the circles stack on where you're standing you can be hit by multiple at once.

> >

> > OK, but that doesn't really explain the extreme spike (yes, those are the flying guys). I've fought them with 25k health, 3k armour and 12% damage reduction and got insta-downed by a single pulse from almost full health. Happened to me twice.

> >

> > I guess I will try to reproduce it to check the combat log afterwards.

>

> If enough of those circles pile up and strike at the same time it could appear to happen instantly or in 1 hit.

>

> This is a problem on bandit champions that throw those little torches, too. They throw more of them if there are more targets, but if those targets are stacked...look out!

in the core tyria story instance "Ossuary of Unquiet Dead" there is a risen abomination that does around 20k dmg per hit, onehitting every squishy player. getting hit by it is rather easy because it has hitboxes like the huge abominations while being rather small, so visually you're far away but you still get hit. also the slam on the ground has a huge radius that has no size hint whatsoever. the champion risen knight that guards an HP in malchor's leap also has attacks that strong iirc, at least my memory says "avoid this creature at any cost if you're solo".

overall HoT has a few offenders, like the veteran bristleback that isn't bursted down that fast and has a multihit that outlasts 2 dodges and a block as auto-attack or young wyverns that still show no red circle/other hint where they set their deadly fire circle (not talking about the legendary ones with their lanes of puke, those are totally fine to have no hint) but nothing in HoT is "super hard". the concept of HoT HPs was that they are not soloable at all which is also the reason why they provide 10 HP instead of 1 as in core tyria. however the ground level HP in verdant brink got nerfed so hard that it is easily soloable and the whole world of PoF made 10p HPs laughably easy, much easier than 1p HPs in core tyria even, which makes HoT look ridiculously overtuned in reminiscence.

i don't get people that want HoT to be soloable at all, that area is fully optional, HoT masteries are leveled best in LS3 and are not very important anywhere outside HoT. if you don't like group content in the open world, play core tyria or PoF. but the meaning of an MMORPG is open/random group content and we can only really enjoy that in HoT, so don't take it away.

> @"ArielRebel.3426" said:

> that [...] should fall under exploit [...] and should be bannable.

but how can you report if you have no idea who set the portal? the abuser won't likely use the portal and thus is far away, you can't focus people outside your sight (which is a big problem on all those teleport hacks) and we have no report function that says "protocoll my last interaction, that wasn't right".

> @"Shiyo.3578" said:

> No, and the game shouldn't be F2P to begin with.

without F2P i would never have played this game and payed money for it. F2P is a good thing for the player and the company.

> @"casualkenny.9817" said:

> The base raptor, with the short jump, no mob grab, and no boosted dmg, or an equivalent or slightly weaker mount ....

>

> You feel that that's giving too much? The whole point of ftp accs is try-b4-u-buy advertising.

can only talk for myself but i think i would have dropped gw2 if mounts were a thing back then. so that "advertising" would have backfired on me.

if it is only one thing then:

things i want: lore achievements, lots of them.

things i don't want: mounts.

if i can name more things, then additionally:

things i want:

- a story that is not about the destruction of the world or a big enough place

- old style JPs

- new guild content (and not only for big guilds)

- high waypoint density

things i don't want:

- big maps

- hostile maps with enemies even in the most unfitting places (stupid istan, crystal oasis and beasically any of those far too crowded deserts)

- maps designed around mounts, they're so ugly

- hard content gated in some special mode, i want it freely accessible in pve