Trise.2865

Pretty sure this already exists in the Party and Guild chat channels. You want to BS and kitten-talk people with your friends, that's probably the "safest" place for it; there's no reason to further sanction it. Be aware though... as the story goes: "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law...".

Unlike many people, I found TotalBiscuit through GW2, and not the other way around. His channel had far and away the most complete coverage of GW2 beta shows, and he seemed really enthusiastic about the game before he got tired of MMOs entirely. I've been a fan of his ever since. I followed his various crusades in the name of consumers' and creators' rights and his harsh but fair criticisms of the gaming medium. I respected the hell out of the man as an entertainer, as an advocate, as a critic, and just in general. He was someone you could count on for honest, well-thought-out opinions and hard facts. That's super rare these days, especially among journalists and games journalists in particular. TB will be missed.

He no doubt had a big influence on this game's initial popularity, to the point where I'm a little surprised it took as long as it did for a thread like this to pop up. That said, I don't expect ANet to memorialize him the way they did with folks like Ravious or Oldroar. TB was never really part of our community post-beta after meeting, according to him, a "less than warm" welcome initially (which made no kitten sense to me, but the internet is the internet) and getting burned out on MMO's as a whole (which makes perfect sense). I would, however, be interested in any thoughts or comments folks at ANet might have... especially Ruby, as a fellow journalist.

(I would also point out that the Tophat skin was added after he requested one in an interview, and his suggestion of "an attack that punts a gnome at the opponent" may have partially inspired certain Story steps and Activities. As far as I know, these are unconfirmed references, so... grains of salt all around.)

Craft is an oft-overlooked skill set in any RPG, but there are ways to make it more interesting without resorting to Skinner Box gambling mechanics.

1. Make gear upgradeable. If I can make an armor piece, why not make a better/different version of that armor set out of it? Use the gear piece as a material itself, along with additional mats, to raise or change its level/rarity/stats. Or, in some cases, unlock new "fixed" or "renewed" versions of gear that has a tattered or makeshift look to them (similar to the Reclaimed/Plated/Machined weapon sets). The benefit for this is twofold: first, it gives players an option for equipment other than salvaging it for scraps, and second, it adds value to common and uncommon drops as crafting materials.

2. Make crafting quicker. While the fractal reduction on crafting bulk mats is nice, the cap feels a little low; I assume this is for technical reasons. There are ways around this for crafting in bulk, such as: up the recipe-per-tick once the cap is reached; set a maximum timer that, when reached, instantly completes the entire order; set up vendors/artisans who will trade raw mats for refined ones and money (but not give any XP)... something like that.

3. Make crafting social. As it is, there's very little reason not to do everything yourself. You could have your friend make a lining while you make an armor plate, but why would you? it takes longer for them to give it to you than it would to make it yourself, and they get nothing out of it once you have your item. If crafters could work together on a project via shared UI, it would both reduce crafting times and invite players to socialize. They could also receive a greater, mutual benefit. This could be as simple as a Karma/XP rewards (especially if your partner have higher Craft skill than you), duplicate items, or unlocking "inspired" recipes/skins for "fancier" versions of craftables.

4. Give crafted items additional purpose. There's always a little "feel bad" to early- and mid-tier crafting. It takes a lot to gather the materials, you're going to outgrow these items almost instantly, and because anyone can make them, there's no point in Trading or selling them. You might not even want to craft anymore after that, and crafting becomes a grind. Perhaps there should be a way to trade or sell crafted items to certain NPCs for a profit, or set them up on display, or improve them as per #1... anything other than salvaging them for a huge loss and feeling like time and resources were wasted on it. For example, I know a few Priory members would love the idea of Potions of Dredgeslaying at any strength, and there are tons of remote Skritt who might want super-shiny metal pieces in trade for non-shiny wood or herbs... make it a secondary game, and have fun with it!

5. Make crafted items special/distinct. This one is trickier, because they can't have unique stats or powers, but crafted-only skins aren't enough of a draw, apparently. However, we've seen things done with effects and auras (such as the Rime-rimmed Rebreather), why not let us create them for gear? or craft Tonics/Food that generate them? This adds value and distinctiveness to the crafted item, but doesn't unlock as a skin, so not everyone might have them. ("It's not just any Winged Helmet, it's MY Winged Helmet!", or "its a [designer] Winged Helmet!"). As an example, perhaps there could be a special "Designer" skin that can only be crafted, with certain, invisible "nodes" on it that can only be crafted on to it, like a glowing aura or ribbon, etc.. Such a skin would technically be the same for everyone, but still distinct.

The funniest thing about threads like this is how few people know who James Dean or Arthur Fonzareli are.

It's not the series' fault for continuing on from where the last book left off. It's your fault for skipping it.

Short answer: Yes.

> @"Yannir.4132" said:

> > @"dragonkain.3984" said:

> > > @"Yannir.4132" said:

> > > Honestly a new playable race is pretty much mandatory for the next expansion. I don't see them selling copies of it any other way. There's no other big features available to be the next BIG feature, and every expansion needs atleast 1.

> >

> > Next big feature would be player housing with tonns of useless furniture to shove down players throats via gemstore.

>

> Player housing is a side feature, not a main feature, because it's kinda niche. For example, I would have 0 interest in it myself.

So are Mounts and Guild Halls, and yet...

Yeah... I've also played The Secret World. It was a wonderful experiment, but simply doesn't work the way you'd think it does. Guild Wars 2's systems, warts and all, has proven itself superior.

Both the Humans and the Sylvari already fit the "Elf" trope - beautiful-magical, wise beyond years, etc.. Adding another would be redundant.

I, for one, appreciate Guild Wars' universe for bucking tired fantasy trends, and showing some non-Tolkien creativity. Getting rid of the dwarves was a stroke of genius, however disappointing we didn't get to play a living-rock race (Oread/Shaitan).

In the words of one Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw: "Why do fantasy games always need Elves and Dwarves? Elves and Dwarves, Elves and Dwarves, Elves and motherkittening Dwarves... also Wizards..."

I can't afford any of them right now. I also very much love Okami...

None of those are my favorite, though. My favorite mount skin resonates between the ExoSuit skins, the Storm Ridge Raptor, and the Cozy Wintersday Jackal, depending on who I'm playing.

It is possible for nothing to be wrong on either end and still generate lag. The fault lies with the ISP's, not either client. But, as you can see, the ISP customers would rather blame each other. If Internet were classified properly as a utility, this should be correct... but it isn't.

Surely any Scrabble is "GW2 Scrabble" if you house-rule your acceptable terms.

On the other hand, partnering with Mattel could bring so much more than one board game: branded Monopoly, Life, etc., action figures, comic books, trading cards... A company like Mattel has a lot to offer in terms of [merchandising](

I, for one, am holding out for the Guild Wars themed LEGO sets... and flamethrowers.

As an act of bovine mercy, could we Holstein these jokes? It's causing me Angus. It's just so rare that they're well done; I'd leather chuck it away.

> @"TheNecrosanct.4028" said:

> > @"Trise.2865" said:

> > > @"TheNecrosanct.4028" said:

> > > What Naturo mount? I only see the Japanese mythical kitsune mount. ;)

> >

> > Looks more like a [sun goddess](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaterasu_(%C5%8Ckami) "sun goddess") to me...

>

> That probably because of the game Okami, where there's a character called Amaterasu who takes the shape of a white wolf. As far as I know, the actual Japanese sun goddess, Amaterasu, is not specifically associated with either wolves of foxes/kitsune and she's mostly depicted as a woman.

Are you seriously explaining the link I posted back to me?

> @"TheNecrosanct.4028" said:

> What Naturo mount? I only see the Japanese mythical kitsune mount. ;)

Looks more like a [sun goddess](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaterasu_(%C5%8Ckami) "sun goddess") to me...

Each of my characters has their "bae". I don't need the story to tell me I love someone else.

Nobody will ever come between us, Mini Glowing Skeleton...

"Dear ArenaNet: I can't finish my long-term goal in an afternoon. Plz fix."

An Elementalist doesn't actually summon meteoroids from space with Meteor Shower, she creates them and they strike with magical force. Similarly, the Druids' powers aren't pulling magic directly from the sun or moon, but creating light beams, as a Guardian/Dragonhunter or a Holosmith would, and imbuing them with solar or lunar properties, such as heat and cold.

The stars of Tyria, however, do hold a special magic. A magic which Canthans have studied and used for centuries. The Stars seem to represent a border between our reality and the (appropriately-named) Astral Plane, a section of The Mists closely parallel to our world, where specific mortal beings can rise to near-godhood. This power can only be bestowed by and to beings who become Ascended "[Weh no Su](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Weh_no_Su "Weh no Su")", or "Closer to the Stars". [Astral power](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Celestial_skill "Astral power") has been used to great effect in the past, such as: creating powerful constructs, enhancing one's martial prowess, healing impossible wounds, and [manifesting draconic powers](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Togo_(disguise) "manifesting draconic powers"). It is this power that Druids touch upon.

As a Mists-based power, Druid magic bends space-time, but without rending it as a Revenant does. Based on the Revenants' powers, we can conclude the "fabric" of space-time is incredibly resilient (not only resists being bent, but repairs itself near-instantaneously when torn by Revenant magic), which limits the scope of what the Druid can do with it. We also know that it is permeable to great magical power, which means though Druid may not be able to do as many things, but what it can do should be incredibly powerful. So, for example, a Druid couldn't force planets to collide or warp the veil to create pocket spaces, but could create a giant, celestial kaiju or restore someone who had died to life.

> @"ovinnik.9216" said:

> Question, for those actually knowledgeable about these things: As I understand it, underwater mechanics are tied to land levels. Meaning, once a character moves below a certain point on the y-axis, they start "swimming" and so on. Do correct me if this is nonsense. But if it's not, wouldn't new and expansive underwater content be severely limited from a programming standpoint? There could be no domed cities to walk around in, no sea floor to move about on. I've seen many such suggestions, and they sound interesting but, perhaps, impossible. Which might in turn make the whole potential expansion less attractive, at least for some current proponents.

Partially, but not exactly. From my understanding, they designate certain areas as "water" (just like the no-fly and no-mount zones), and while in those zones, the character transitions into swimming mode (with special "surface" conditions on the maximum Y coordinate of that zone). There are instances of underwater caves (and sunken boats) with air pockets below sea level and underwater passages with different "surface" heights at each end, most obviously in the (https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Font_of_Rhand "Font of Rhand") mini-dungeon and Personal Story step, [Temple of the Forgotten](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Temple_of_the_Forgotten_God "Temple of the Forgotten"). We can safely assume the "shape of water" is as malleable as anything else in-game.

To explain the "sea level" illusion: I would theorize that designating "water" areas is much simpler in large, rectangular blocks rather than carefully sculpted zones, which would make the water zones' "surface" levels the same everywhere within those maps.

I like the idea, but I fear full-custom heterochromia might be a bit too much for the code, considering how difficult it was to implement originally.

Specific, preset dichromatic pairings as "colors" should make it much simpler. ANet could make them unique to the Makeover Kit if they're worried about "realism". (HA!)

> @"Endless Soul.5178" said:

> I never considered this, but now that it's been brought up, that would be a neat feature to have.

> Then I can have my characters doing things.

> Under the moonlight.

> The serious moonlight.

You could...

Put on your red shoes and dance the blues.

So Glint is like Urza? She's constructed/collected a series of seemingly-random artifacts and machines that, when combined in some way (that makes no bloody sense other than "magic!") with a powerful airship and a robot Jesus/time-gate probe (Magic is complicated), have the power to destroy the Phyrexian... Scarab plague, once and for all. Then the robot messed it all up; decided to make his own, metal universe ("with Blackjack... and hookers..."), but accidentally carried the plague to his new world inside his own body then could do nothing but watch as the infection absorbed, mutated, and destroyed his home made home.

The similar stories between Magic (WotC in general) and Guild Wars 2 shouldn't surprise anyone...

You're wearing an Outfit, which is covering your regular armor. If you go to Outfits and click the tickbox, that should remove it.

> @"Zedek.8932" said:

> Now you can mix up all the terms and you will have a huge overlap, but one thing is for sure - even though it's not neccesarilly the case: A sniper does usually not have pets. They are supposed to be sneaky and stealthy, and that's not possible the more animals you gather around you. So it belongs to the thief profession far better. What is this supposed to be like? "I have a bunch of pets, so better not move and wait until I aim my rifle at you?"

I feel like you're getting hung up on military assassins and not their huntmaster originators... which, admittedly, was the point of using a ubiquitous title and then subverting it so... mission accomplished? go team! :sweat_smile:

In answer to the question: It's supposed to be like "all of you! go over there and fall into my/our trap or I'll make you do it!". Truth be told, the first idea was to use the Pet mechanic as a sort-of "dog-shaped ballistic missile", where every attack by the Ranger is also an attack by the Pet... hence, the teleporting/attacking tech within these Rifle skill concepts. The play loop evolved over the VERY limited development into a zone denial/area control setup with coordinated pressure over singular spike damage. The Pack mechanic came about as a way to toggle between self-sustain and amplifying damage pressure, while also allowing complex/coordinated maneuvers as attack skills, similar to Heart of Thorns' Mini Raptor AI.

...and to try giving Rangers a stronger place in PvP and WvW.

> Why would it need a great health pool? You get camouflage, and a mediocre health pool and not just some overly protected AI zerg.

Consider: the Pack as described in the original post is a single unit with multiple bodies, as opposed to a swarm of independent minions. A group of animals would need more health than a single animal simply because it is a group of animals; they should take more damage collectively than individually, and their combined health must reflect that, else it becomes a detriment. Conceptually, the shared health pool between Pack animals was to highlight its cohesion without complicated modifications in coding, though splitting it up using something akin to the Mesmer's Illusion counters or the Ammo mechanics wouldn't go amiss.

> @"derd.6413" said:

> that's not a sniper you've described, that's a (bird) hunter.

>

> the 3 pets thing sounds like a development disaster waiting to happen (also isn't the hyena pets whole stick that you can summon a second one)

>

> rifle skills have too much going on (especially 3)

>

> also wards aren't a skill type like you are describing here (and double blind isn't even a ward) and would be extremely difficult to make a full set of skills out of.

Yes, that's what a "sniper" is: A snipe hunter. One who hunts snipe. A snipe is a game bird similar to a quail.

Think of it more like a pet that can trade Might for a DoT and back again. Hyena summons an independant Hyena.

Do they? I was sure "damage and conditional condition, also Pet does something" was straightforward enough. /shrug

Difficult to say, there are only two in the game currently. "Creative licence" and what-not... or they can call it something else.

> @"Oglaf.1074" said:

> So... Deadeye basically.

Not quite. The Deadeye is what everyone thinks of when they think of a"sniper", focused primarily on single targets or building Malice to set up a kill zone. The idea here is hard denial at short-to-mid range, like a Guardian or Mesmer, with much more front-loaded damage, encouraging a more... "social" combat style.