Touchme.1097

@"Danikat.8537" allow me to break down your argument in order to show you where I disagree with you. > That's my thinking too. If I started a new game and a friend offered to help me get started but then I found out anything they completed also showed up as completed for me I'd want to stop playing with them and do it solo. I don't play games to get them over with as quickly as possible, I play them to, well, play. I don't want someone to complete content for me or let me skip it because that just means I have less to do. That would be your choice, we are already free to choose if we wanted to complete the game content on our own or by asking players to play with us. I would be ok if the devs changed just how karma hearts worked with an amount of progress needed equivalent to the number of people partying up to complete it. > Early on it also adds the problem that you never learn how to play. If I see a vista at the top of a cliff and I'm not sure how to get up there having someone else do it for me (especially via a method that won't be available to me for a long time, like using the skyscale) teaches me nothing, except maybe giving me the false impression that it's impossible to complete base game maps without late-game mounts. I never find the cave around the corner that leads to a path up the cliff to the vista, I don't know that's a possibility. Later on I'm playing on my own doing my story or whatever and it's directing me to a place I can't obviously reach. Based on what I've learned so far this is content I cannot complete until I get to level 80 and get the skyscale. So now I have to give up on my story and find another way to gain XP because most of the game is unplayable until the maximum level. You made a reasonable point here, however I am going to disagree with you because the changes to the leveling system are not going to add a negative impact and the reason is if someone asked 4 more players to help complete a story chapter, for example "hearts and minds" and the player who needs help was defeated at the start of the story that same person wouldn't have a chance to learn how to do it on his/her own anyway. If someone wants to learn to solo all the game content they can already do that. How different is it for you to take a mesmer portal at the end of a jumping puzzle and having a friend helping you with it? You can already use the teleport to friend to reach places you couldn't reach on your own, how different is it if someone else helps you with it? Again, inconsistent logic...Sadly. All the negativity you are throwing at my suggestion suddendly doesn't make sense and loses all validity > Thankfully that didn't happen to me, but I do know similar things have happened to people in my guild. Their early experience is anything moderately difficult to reach is achieved by a level 80 player doing it on a mount then creating a portal for other people to get up. As far as they know that's how the game works, so they assume anything which isn't obviously accessible is impossible solo at low levels. You can currently ask a mesmer to open a portal for you allowing you to cross places where a certain mount is needed, like the access to the springer ranch in Desert Highlands requiring canyon jumping on the raptor mastery. It would still be entirely your choice to party up with a friend, to ask a mesmer friend to make a portal for you or to do it on your own unlocking the mastery. Again, all the negativity just don't make sense and I am curious to know what is really driving you to be so strongly against my suggestion to make leveling a better social experience. @"maddoctor.2738" > Right now you are being "slowed" by your friends who don't know how to get hearts and POIs, with such a change you will be slowed as your friends will be far behind in level. False, nobody would feel slowed because the experience would be shared. The current system however has the flaw you so strongly pointed out, and now I wonder how can you be ok with the current system and strongly against the new one I am suggesting here. Math is not something you can interpret, numbers are what they are. If you don't believe me experience it yourself leveling up with a friend

> @"Westenev.5289" said: > I have to admit, this game makes playing around people easy, but playing with someone? Now that's hard, outside of instanced content. > > People learn and explore at different rates, and hold different interests, so hurrying up or slowing down is tedius, moreso when you add mounts into the equasion. You could play mesmer or thief to speed up travel time through portals, but now you're making your friend feel like a burden... Playing with friends who don't have mounts and are much slower than you in completing hearts shouldn't feel like a burden, this is one of the major thing I am pointing out in my original post. I would be ok if ArenaNet introduced mounts that allowed players to carry their friends on them, an example of this is the mammoth mount in WoW which allows to accomodate passengers. Who knows? We might see these kind of mounts in GW2 as well more sooner than later.

It's sad to see WvW reduced to a blob meta, I don't even like to play EB maps for this same reason. I am currently enjoying sPvP better than WvW, that is the right place for people who want to improve their skills. I will reconsider WvW when the devs will do something to deal with the current meta.

Goat beastman or scheletal redeemed undead. A lot of players would like to play undead, I have seen GW2 streamers trying another game just to play this race.

As I do understand the point made by those who don't like flashy infusions (I don't either :D ), I suggest ArenaNet to add a feature in the setting menu to turn off infusion visualization. I admit sometime these infusions are so bright that they hurt my eyes and too bright is too much.

> @"Darketh.2304" said: > Nothing is worse than WoW when it comes to flashy crazy armor. 80+% of the high level players are like neon signs walking around and then you have the weapons that look like you have a Lightsaber. Yep, Holosmith's sword is totally canon and I love that one in particular as it fits my Star Wars cosplay characters, also glyphic and Inquest skins are awesome

If you care about immersion in GW2 then you have to accept the fact that every piece of equipment, skin and infusion is canon, including fractal, Inquest and super adventure box skins. They are all part of the lore, feel free to use them

Any thief who builds into Trickery and Deadeye at the moment are in such a bad state that the nerfs almost made them non viable in any PvP/WvW game mode. A thief who is not able to steal boons is not a thief and I agree that the "bountiful" adjective should reflect the amount of boons stolen back to 3 with full stacks and durations. Revert the nerfs to Deadeye and buff Trickery, they were unnecessary. Those who hate this elite spec are the same ones who get dismounted by my thief but the profession itself is squishy, it has less survivability than other thief specs and it is definitely not worth the expansion price. There are builds that are way more lethal than Deadeye and with less counters like stability and projectile reflect

> @"Hypnowulf.7403" said: > The narrative surrounding Jormag continues to upset me for a number of reasons. > > I mean, not least of which being _the liar sees liars everywhere_. This is a commonly understood truth in psychology and why sometimes I still feel like Guild Wars 2 is a bit of a social experiment. The way one sees the Elder Dragons is telling—because for all we know they could all be innocent. Even Primordus—being Jormag's abusive partner, to the point where Jormag can only see an escape from the abusive cycle by ending him—may be taken by the Torment. > > Jormag however, in particular, is as fascinating as they depressing in how they're viewed by the community. I've explained at length that often people are groomed to see very neurodiverse traits as dark triad ones. This is something that many an expert in the field of psychology has tried to undo but it's difficult because there's so much misleading misinformation out there. 9 out of ten listicles will actually couple neurodiverse traits with titles like "How to spot a sociopath." > > I mean, even stimming. > > I've said already that I see Jormag as an incredibly traumatised person—they show all the hallmarks of it, being defensive, having difficulty talking about trauma, deflecting—because yes, traumatised people can do this without being manipulative, it's not the same as _projecting_, which is something else entirely. They're also as jaded as heck as they believe that Tyria's actual manipulators will always succeessfully paint them as utterly evil, despite their powers of persuasion. > > On top of this, the desire to paint Jormag in a negative light has lead to a case of "I know better than the developers do." Narrative lead Tom Abernathy has not only said that Jormag doesn't lie—as was mentioned—but also that Jormag cannot manipulate. They've mentioned as well that Jormag truly does love Tyria. > > None of this tracks with the perspective of a destructive manipulator. As someone who's had to deal with dark triad persons before—narcissists and sociopaths—I'm all too familiar with their tactics and I can tell you that Jormag doesn't match them at all. You can find any number of articles on the behaviours of dark triad bad actors on sites like Psychology Today to better understand what they're like. The simple fact of the matter is is that the reason that neurodiverse people are often painted as dark triad is grooming, it's because it makes life easier for actual dark triad personalities if they can "educate" their followers into seeing evil elsewhere. It's grooming. Furthermore, dark triad personalities are masterful chameleons, you wouldn't see them. > > You have to be trained to be able to spot dark triad bad actors—you actually have to have psychology training to be able to do this, it's something that you have to really devote time and energy to learning. It's not easy to see through their act. In fact, most dark triad bad actors seem like good friends, nice, and helpful right up until you find yourself in their sights—or until they snap. Look into Ted Bundy as one example. > > The media perception of the lone wolf killer isn't very scientific—in the vast majority of cases, those with ill intent can mask perfectly as an ordinary, everyday extrovert. And unless you've been trained to spot them, you wouldn't know any better. > > Jormag's obviously strange behaviour is that of a neurodiverse (plural), traumatised, jaded as heck person who's just very tired. They're just a little bit sarcastic because they are just that tired of people being played—they see it happening all the time. They watch as dark triad bad actors like Bangar Ruinbringer the racial supremacist or the Spirits of the Wild who—I will state this until I'm blue in the face—eat children. > > That's what you're seeing. If Jormag was really a fantastic manipulator? You wouldn't see it coming. They'd be as nice, friendly, and personable as Aurene. If you can perceive them as being strange? You haven't "cleverly found a sociopath." I'm sorry. > > Now, I can just hear some saying that it might be bad writing—that Jormag is a vile manipulator, just the usual media portrayal thereof. I don't think so. I don't think so at all. Thus far, the writing team have been pretty on point with depicting neurodiverse states, including the pathos that some people can endure. There are some in the community who've picked up on this, with certain characters representing autism and the like. Gorrik, for one, very clearly. Another example is Kralkatorrik, whose Torment was almost certainly a depiction of invasive thoughts. As a person who's struggled through most of their life with those, it was a poignant experience. > > I do find it upsetting because by painting Jormag as a manipulator? It's no different than those listicles. It's as if that tainted "knowledge" has sunk so far into the consensus that any form of neurodiversity is going to be seen as dark triad and there's next to nothing we can even do about it anymore. It's tiring! I'll tell you that. Allow me a moment of bitter hyperbole where I wonder if Gorrik were to ever stim, there'd be tens of threads about how he's a sociopath? It's all too likely. > > What's most depressing is that no one is willing to consider that what they see in Jormag might not be what they've been trained to think it is—the lack of introspection is really disheartening. As I said, if Jormag's just an evil, sociopathic manpulator then what hope do any of us have? Yes, Jormag is persuasive, but it isn't in a manipulative way. It's in more of a begging, pleading, "Please listen to me" kind of way. It's always been that way. > > I've brought up other factors as well that are contrary to dark triad personalities. First of all is that they have no patience—Jormag has shown plenty. Secondly, they're incredibly greedy and they rarely turn to any form of generosity to try to convince people of their good intent, they use their charisma for that instead much as Bangar did. Thirdly, they have no chill, if they can't get their way then they try to break you down—Jormag has continued to do the opposite in building up Aurene's self-esteem. I mean, with that latter point, I could still be wrong and we're about to see Jormag beat Aurene into the ground but given all the other evidence? I doubt it. It doesn't fit their psychological profile. > > Jormag is as much of a "manipulator" as any abused and highly traumatised person I've seen. The really frustrating, vexing thing that gets me so passionate is guess what I've also seen? Due to the strange behaviours of traumatised people—and please research this, look into anxiety attacks, panic attacks, protection mechanisms, and the like—I've seen more normative minds throw that claim at them. I don't think it's the case. > > I stand by my initial assertion of dragons of pathos. Kralkatorrik had invasive thoughts and anxiety, Aurene inherited his anxiety and crippling fear, Jormag is heavily traumatised and distrustful due to abuse and being separated from those who could help them, Primordus has anger management problems which have lead to him being abusive. It's how I think they are. I think all of these dragons are tormented even if they aren't all specifically struck by the Torment. > > I suspect this will fall on deaf ears—and I may even get in trouble for talking about it—but this is a topic that _really matters to me_. All too often I've seen neurodiverse people fall prey to this. No, I'm sorry, if you think you can spot a dark triad person without the prerequisite training? You're being excessively egotistical. And yes, I do think that ArenaNet has the writing chops and psychology knowhow to pull off dragons who've got non-normative minds to illustrate the difference between that and dark triad persons. > > This kind of thinking is exactly why neurodiverse persons get targeted in the real world for abuse, whereas actual manipulators and abusers get away scot free. > > I will point out one last time that Tom Abernathy himself claimed that they aren't a manipulator. I would just ask why you think he'd say that? He isn't going to lie about it either. There's a reason for it. There's something ArenaNet is up to here and if I'm right—which I hope I am—then I deeply appreciate it. Don't worry, I loved your analysis and I actually want to see more of these posts because they are interesting, certainly more interesting than the opinion of someone who makes gut choices. I think Jormag is not all that innocent and certainly not the victim, he feeds on the spirits of the wild corrupting them and he brands his minions driving them against other mortals, all this just for the sake of this insatiable hunger for magic that characterizes the Elder Dragons corrupted by torment. Aurene is free from torment, at the moment, but this doesn't imply she couldn't be in the future. Jormag is like a drug addict who is willling to do everything to feed on its drug, it doesn't care about the life of mortals, he cares only about feeding on magic. This trait makes Jormag dangerous for every mortal and for Jormag itself and the only ways to deal with a rabid dog is to put an end to its miserable life unless there is a way to purify Elder Dragons from torment.

> @"Westenev.5289" said: > People complain about characters like Braham or Ryland without realising this story has given them a chance for genuine growth. If Anet could pull that off, I think that'd be much better than killing them off. Sometime scrapping off a character entirely is the wiser thing to do, especially if that character was badly designed since the start.

Transmutation charges are easy to get, I never run out of them. You can buy them with a certain currency from the festive merchants, you get them from black lion chests, map completion. You can just make a new character and map completion with it to farm keys and T charges. The only thing I consider worthy of review is the expensive cost of the total makeover kit and name change contracts which should be half the price to be reasonable for what they do.

I think you are too late to feed ideas for new elite specs, they are probably already written in stone for EoD at this time and only someone who has a very solid knowledge of Guild Wars 1 can predict the new Cantha specs. There have been quite a lot of these prediction thread, please don't make more of them.

> @"Inculpatus cedo.9234" said: > Just curious, @OP...did you have a Display Name change? > > Happy to hear you found a Bounty train that took requests, as suggested. Yes, I recently used an identity repair kit on my guardian, but my account ID is still the same. Anyway I am over and done with bounties already.

> @"Randulf.7614" said: > Uh I can't reply to you as it doesn't recognise your account name in the mail > > Anyway - I'm usually on/off at no particular times. If needed and I'm online and it's EU, just pm me. If you get sorted before, that's great Don't worry, I have done all the bounties already, I had to advertise a payment in gold to convince a commander to run bounty train, he was nice and didn't take the gold but I reached a stress point where I would have gladly given away my gold in order to get the bounties done because they are not rewarding enough gold and some of them require more people than legendary bounties like Ignis or Muckstalker and I still believe this thread should reach ArenaNet because the current state of Bounty rewards and balance is something that needs to be addressed before even considering the release of EoD and the reason is if the company doesn't make the old content competitive in terms of rewards the new content will just make things worse and PoF maps will just sunk into oblivion.

> @"Randulf.7614" said: > Do you still need help? I’ve had a very stressful day, but I did promise so will login later tonight if I can help at all. If I am not online, reply to me here and It'll notify me > > edit: I did look for you, but it didn't recognise your account name when i tried to search for you. If I can't back on tonight, I am around most of the week at more flexible hours (UK time) Sorry, Randulf, I have had a bad day as well. I am sending you an ingame mail now so we can keep in touch. EDIT: I have just sent it to you