Balthazzarr.1349

After reading the original announcement over a couple times, and going over the FAQ's here, I frankly can barely wait for this new system to be implemented. ANY system is going to have its pitfalls, but this one is one that obviously has borne the weight of a large amount of planning sessions and so on. imo.. Good job ANet. Looking forward to pounding WvW (and yes ROAMING and HAVOC all the way)!

> @"ThunderPanda.1872" said:

> I am not at all against the concept of world restructuring, but I still can't see how it will resolve one of the most crucial long standing issue of WvW - Care enough about winning to defend. While I'm sure there'll be great fights and rivalries between alliances, I really don't want to see the rest of WvW devolve into eotm karma train.

>

> **In fact, I can see the lack of care become even worse with the new system:**

> 1. Many smaller, individual players that scout and maintain objectives will no longer feel as much integrated within a community.

> 2. Guilds & alliance will have a stronger self-centric agenda, especially since they'll no longer feel affiliated to anyone else in the world community outside of their own alliance.

> 3. Alliance leaderboard will not make this any better, it will only make it worse at the current state. Every alliance will farm their KDR at the expense of playing for points, and why would anyone risk death trying to hold an objective. Furthermore, any achievements on the 'point' category in the leaderboard will only be ridiculed by others in the general community.

>

> I admit I don't have any magic solution, but unless we find some ways for people to care about winning, I really do not want to see this world restructuring, I don't want to see an interesting concept fail and becomes karma train.

>

> Anyone who has a solution, please share.

I have to say that with the world linking those of us that are not on Host servers have been dealing with the above issues since linking started. We have no home world, we technically speaking have no reason to fight and defend... or do we? At least we worked with the Host for the period and felt like we were doing something.

Frankly I don't really see a difference in the new guild/alliance setup. Instead of stacking servers people will now stack alliances. Huge alliances (bunches of large guilds all aligned with each other), will steamroll smaller ones, (just like the big servers do now). The difference in the new method is that it doesn't seem to me that there would be tiers or a need for them. Just alliance worlds fighting other alliance worlds basically. You will be able to switch alliances simply by changing which of your 5 guilds is your 'main' wvw guild and be moved to the new alliance when the new 'season' starts etc. Unless ANet has some way of controlling how and whether or not very large guilds can become allies then this is a very real possibility.

The more I think about all of this the more I can see the possibility of people simply not playing anymore if the above scenario comes about.

> @"Turk.5460" said:

> > @"shagwell.1349" said:

> > Engineer complaining over a full zerker build ele? I've seen much but this is special. I got hit from a holosmith for around 18k from stealth today. So, I find it a bit weird, when you complain to be hit from a most likely full zerker elementalist (which dies in two autohits from almost everything) which casted a skill that enforces him to stand still for 2 seconds.

>

> Whoa, chill out. Give the guy a break he's only rank 83, he probably hasn't seen a lot of the absurd numbers people can get in WvW yet.

hehe, ya and just wait until he comes across my Marauder Soulbeast... oooo ... I've recorded 19k hits on this baby... and it's NOT what you would consider full zerk.. more like full zerk plus lots of health... if you stumble you die... then again, I'm not young so I usually stumble and die but when the combo is right.. BAM! anyway, I digress... bottom line is as has been said above... the person is new, give him a break ... then send him to me. ;)

> @"ScribeTheMad.7614" said:

> > @"Shiren.9532" said:

> > I they give titles to people based on what server they are on when the current system closes, I hope all servers open up and transfer costs are eliminated a week or two before the new system is implemented allowing a migration back to people's home servers. Lots of people consider a server they are no longer on as their "home server" despite having transferred off to play with friends or a guild that left. Many people are on lower tier servers because of their pairings rather than having any relationship with that server itself. If there is a title to recognize the server we are on at the time of the retirement of the current server, it would be nice if they remove the restrictions (and costs) allowing people to return to their home servers for the final days. Just because a Canadian might be living and working in the UK it doesn't mean they don't consider themselves Canadian.

>

> This is the boat I find myself in, I'm on Isle of Janthir and have been for some time, since I transferred here to play with guildies (back before mega-servers when guilds were server specific) who all then left. But I have always considered my original server, Sanctum of Rall to be my home server and if I were getting a title to reflect my home I'd want it to be that one.

>

> Which leaves me with a quandary, I and a bunch of current guildies have been working on coordinating a server transfer to group up for WvW.

> Doing so would leave me on Crystal Desert, but it sounds like I'll need to transfer to SoR to be on my "home" server when Ragnarok happens and titles (whatever they end up being) are handed out. (I would really hate to get the title for the wrong server, honestly)

>

> Could we be given good advance warning beforehand, so we can make sure if we are among those who really care that we're on the right server?

> Would be really nice to be able to transfer home for free (would make it easier to justify paying to transfer for WvW now actually, don't want to pay twice).

> Or heck just be given a dialogue where we can designate "Home" without having to transfer, that would be even better.

>

> Overall I like the concept, and a lot of guildies are suddenly interested in WvW because they'd be able to play with guildmates without having to transfer (lots more beyond the small group considering transferring now)

Servers as we know it will not exist anymore. They will be generating names for the groupings at they go. Basically every WvW guild/alliance will be up for "re-linking" each cycle. Your IOJ, BP, BG, SoS, etc... won't exist anymore. Transferring to any server won't make any difference when/if they implement these new changes since those servers will simply disappear.

Simply put, from what I can see... this will really become Guild Wars. Guilds and Alliances working together to fight other Guilds and Alliances. No more server stacking, just what looks like a more granular way for ANet to "rebalance" things each cycle while allowing friends and guilds an easier way to stay together.

I still see a possible exposure where a bunch of large guilds will be able to form alliances with each other and simply rule WvW by over-running the smaller alliances. Don't think that won't happen because if I can think of it (and my guild has 3 active wvw people in it) then I'm sure people like BG and other servers that have huge wvw guilds are already making their alliance plans. :P

> @"Jayne.9251" said:

> I just uninstalled the game.

>

> I wanted to leave a short note to my fellow players on Piken (and even those on the "other" forum):

>

> Thank you.

>

> Thank you for being there when my mom was diagnosed with lung cancer, and later brain cancer.

>

> The community was the reason I played (even though I haven't been on in a while because of the above). You guys were the reason why I was so invested. You helped me more than you could possibly know.

>

> I know this is just a video game, but you all gave me support when I had none.

>

> And this decision to kill that community has completely gutted me.

>

> xox

> J.

They haven't decided to do this yet. If you read the announcement carefully they are pretty clear that this is an idea that's still in the design stages even... and if they get enough negative feedback they simply will just keep the current linking. They are also looking for feedback and suggestions etc etc so that if they actually DO go ahead with this then it would be with lots of input from the folks here.

> @"Gaile Gray.6029" said:

> **A message from McKenna Berdrow:**

>

.... lots cut out to save space ....

> # Feedback

>

> That was a lot of information and I am sure there are many questions. The team will do its best to answer them. We appreciate any feedback on this system. Your opinions of this system, as well as the community's response, will be an important part of how we tackle this project.

>

> If the reception is not great for this system, then the other alternative is most likely to continue World Linking. Even though making a choice between the two systems might seem like too drastic a change for some people, we have been exploring other designs to deal with WvW populations for years and we believe that World Restructuring or World Linking are the only solutions that meet our requirements. Simply "blowing up" worlds or removing people from the worlds on which they currently play is high risk (which is why we have avoided it for so long), and the only reason we are considering World Restructuring now is because it allows players to maintain and continue to build some of the communities they've created through the years.

I have to say I'm pretty happy with this design. Sure there will likely be issues and so on but what it really will do is put EVERYONE on an even playing field. We won't have hosts and linked servers getting used to each other over and over again and all that goes with that. But we WILL have not just guilds that can mark themselves as WvW but also Alliance guilds that we can group with and so on.

For someone like me that has a very small guild and loves havoc it means I can form an alliance with the guild(s) of my choice and, if it works as it looks like it should, be able to play with most, if not all, of my friends when timing permits.

One interesting wrinkle I see in this potentially is... what if a bunch of big guilds decide to become allies and fight together? For example maybe something like 4 or 5 guilds that already have regularly 30-50 people in wvw. Imagine the blob that would create. I don't think there are a huge amount of real large guilds in wvw (I could be wrong), but for those large ones that are there... if they decided to become alliances then I can see big problems trying to balance the new worlds out since ANet has said that guilds and their allied partners would be on the same world. THIS is the biggest potential problem and it could actually be the show stopper.. in my opinion.

> @"Orpheal.8263" said:

> > @"Balthazzarr.1349" said:

> > > @"Cuon Alpinus.7645" said:

> > > If I was rich, I'd hunt down the dude who has "Balthacharr" taken and buy him out.

> >

> > What about: Bälthacharr? Thanks for the idea! Goes perfectly with my login name and I had a spare slot and enough boosts to make another 10 level 80 characters.. bahaaa.. how cool is that.. Bälthacharr.. my new Charr warrior! rawwwrrrrr

>

> I would have rather gone with something visually better looking like:

>

> - Baalthacharr

> - Baelthacharr

> - Ballthacharr

> - Baltacharr

> - Balthácharr

> - Balthâcharr

> - Balthachârr

> - Balthachárr

> - Bhalthacharr

> - Balthacharrs (in case of a surname/fun name)

> - Bal Thacharr

> - Baltha Charr

> - and so on..

>

> but never anything with Ä,Ö,Ü ..looks always soooo ugly ...and unfitting

Apparently I'm not allowed to say anything negative about the above negative comment on my name choice (grrr)... so I would just like to say, Hey I like the name the way I made it and gonna keep it and thanks for your input :)

SoS does not have solid 24/7 coverage. They have some pretty decent coverage but not what I would call solid 24x7.

> @"X T D.6458" said:

> Yea Mesmer burst damage is ridiculous, and has been for some time. Anet continues to buff their damage while stealth is still unbalanced and broken, power creep is still unbalanced and broken. Balance department doesn't know what they are doing and doesn't care about wvw.

>

> Mesmer power burst and mirage condi application is way over the top.

> Firebrand healing and sustain is way too powerful.

> Thief still broken because of stealth spam.

> Holosmith damage is way over the top.

> Warriors are still broken in small scale.

> Rev is a poorly constructed class, and power damage is over the top.

> Necro is mostly forced into one poorly designed spec.

> Ele still garbage.

>

> Stealth is broken as always.

> CC spammed like crazy, like always.

>

> GG balance department, keep up the fabulous job.

Whut nothing about Soulbeast? *sob*

My poor lowly (not condi) Soulbeast is hanging his nasty head low. Ya I hit that thief who ganked me from behind today. Shame on him.. Yep one of the hits was a solid 13k smash, after hitting him with a combo that took his health half down... the merged pet smash dropped him to the ground and it was all over in about 3 seconds. And I bet he was giggling because he got me to half health before I hit back... poor guy. Same goes for the gold DH that obviously finger fumbled as he lept at me and dropped his traps... oh wait I dodged? hehe...

Darn spellbreakers/warriors and mesmer/holo's (when played by good players) are still my worst success rate. But this new Soulbeast setup has me hunting thiefs now instead of ducking. But my most favorite class to hunt is all flavors of Ranger/Druid/Soulbeast. Something very satisfying about pealing their skin off super quick without a touch of condi.... so much for condi clear! BAM

I'm old so although I don't win near as much 1v1 as I should because my reaction sucks it's still damn fun. Everything is broken... so just go have fun! That's all that counts.

ANet won't get rid of the 'guest' servers because by keeping them ANet is able to flip them around here and there to provide something that they believe is some sort of balance. It's very poorly done obviously because it seems that we still have servers with massive groups all on BL's and other servers (even with links) struggling to cover 2 BL's a lot of the time.

imo it's super crappy linking methodology they're using... I don't say it because I know what they're using... I say this because I see what the results are... crappy, and continued unhappy people still trying to get in there and find the fun.

I could start going back on about how it was and how it could be but anyone that's been here long enough knows that's a waste of breath and typing.. so I won't. Suffice to say... they won't remove linking because it makes them feel like they're managing something, however poorly.

hell, you can duel in obsidian sanctum... even got an arena for it... full wvw in there... duel in wvw bl's and you really do risk being steamrolled if you're not smart enough to duel in an out of the way place.

> @"DemonSeed.3528" said:

> 1. EWP should automatically be linked in chat with a waypoint, less time lost is better in general instead of having to fumble over keys under pressure or while fighting (but also people should learn not to pull when inner is down or when enemies are standing on it lol).

> 2. People who click on EWP wp should be flagged as such, and should qualify to be ported regardless.

> 3. People who port in should be ported in around lords location, if #2 is a problem about porting in during the ending of duration, then those being ported should be sequentially ported further away, with the starting point being somewhere maybe outside of inner, then outside of outer walls, closest camp, etc. Just don't send them to spawn.

>

> Overall I think this will still provide something more interesting for both sides involved.

>

> I understand that some people may not like this idea, but let's not stay with something broken and try to get something that can actually function. EWP is like a death knell for objectives most of the time.

I like these ideas. ... and I would like to add that the EWP should be enabled ONLY when the Keep or Tower is actually under attack. It should be disabled otherwise, in my opinion. Of course enemy could still coordinate to have their spy and friend on the other side contest the Keep then have the EWP pulled but at least it would require even more effort and bring attention to what's happening quicker etc...

Just my thoughts...

> @"Reverence.6915" said:

> > @"Raymond Lukes.6305" said:

> > Hey guys,. A little late to the thread. My gut is telling me that this isn't feasible but I can ask around a bit tomorrow.

>

> Technically, it should work the same way team chat works in WvW - cross map communication for those on the same team. PvE has more or less done away with this sort of thing already, but if it could be brought back, the server vs server first competitions might come back too (think Teq [bG] and Triple Headed Worm [Deso])

So you want this so that you can organize competitions that exclude the linked servers??? At least that's how it sounds.

> @"Cuon Alpinus.7645" said:

> If I was rich, I'd hunt down the dude who has "Balthacharr" taken and buy him out.

What about: Bälthacharr? Thanks for the idea! Goes perfectly with my login name and I had a spare slot and enough boosts to make another 10 level 80 characters.. bahaaa.. how cool is that.. Bälthacharr.. my new Charr warrior! rawwwrrrrr

ha... pretty much anything is available for the right price. If someone wanted one of my character names and wanted to pay me a large amount of gold for it... I'm talking 1000g minimum... then sure I'd sell it. I don't need to know why the person wants it... just gimme the gold and any of my names are yours... The backstory is on my main character names which all have Tim in them. If a variation tweaks someone enough to want to pay for it exactly as it is then bam sold! lol..

I can always make another one almost just like the other one using special language characters... oh wait did I give something away? yes I did... you can copy pretty much any name in gw2 you want if you know how with a minor character tweak here or there. I actually have 3 characters that all look like the have the same name: Just In Tim

But if you look closely each of them has a little french or other foreign symbol above one or more of the letters.

So...someone could pay me a ton of gold... or simply copy what they see almost seamlessly.. :)

> @"Haematic.4913" said:

>

> > @"zinkz.7045" said:

> > > @"Haematic.4913" said:

> > > There will always be class imbalance, but they do actively balance classes and specializations.

> >

> > Not for WvW they don't, the first three years of the game balance was virtually entirely around PvP, then when they added PvE raids they also started balancing around that, wvw has never received anything but the odd crumb when it comes to class balance.

> >

> > Which is why if you look at large scale for instance, for the entire game you've had a class like guardian required in vast numbers, whilst half the classes have been surplus to requirements or you might want a couple in some niche role like veilbots.

> >

>

> They've balanced quite a few classes and skills due to balance issues in WvW.

>

> In response to surplus classes - every class has a role in WvW, some guilds or commanders just choose not to integrate them into comp. I maintain a build sheet and comp sheet for our server to use and update and include changes that work and even ones that don't (yet).

>

> 

> 

>

> The issue is still population balance.

There is no group stealth with Ranger/Soulbeast. Smokescale gives short stealth to the player only, not his peeps.

They don't give back points. If you don't have a specific HP in HoT for example then using the heroic will flag a random HP as complete for that character. However, if you have actually obtained all the HP's you can in HoT, Tyria, or PoF and go to use the Herioc to convert to HP's then all that will happen is they will be put back into your wallet as Heroics.

> @"Balthazzarr.1349" said:

> > @"Lahmia.2193" said:

> > So anyone else notice they removed the trading hut thing at north camp, and it looks real odd. I thought it was just not rendering in game at first but turns out they got rid of it. Anyone know why?

>

> Looks like all the huts are there to me... :P

lol, it comes and goes.. last night it was there for me.. today it's not... and so on...

> @"gashen.3874" said:

> myself and about 20 others have just spent 10 minutes chasing a Mesmer around in the eternal battlegrounds,a complete joke. nobody could get anywhere near him or her.

> this really needs looking at and a bit of balancing is in order. I,m afraid wvw is a bit of a joke and needs a complete overhaul or scapping altogether.

a zerg chased ONE around for 20mins and you call a joke on the mes? ahaaa

> @"Lahmia.2193" said:

> So anyone else notice they removed the trading hut thing at north camp, and it looks real odd. I thought it was just not rendering in game at first but turns out they got rid of it. Anyone know why?

Looks like all the huts are there to me... :P

> @"SloRules.3560" said:

> Ascended is tier of armor. Minstrel is type. But you have to know that auramancer is currently inferior to firebrand in pretty much every way(like every other support). A lot of eles are running weaver dps currently and with this amount of pirateshiping it's not bad.

Yep I know ascended/exotic... I was just wondering which stats would be good.. but maybe I'll just keep my ele as the power build it has instead of building a support build. I may or may not fix up my other guard to be a firebrand. Thanks.

So it seems that celestial isn't really the way I want to go.... so if I'm building an auramancer... metabattle shows the ascended armor... if I don't have ascended armor, which is the next best stat grouping? power,toughness,healing? toughness,vitality,healing? and so on...

Thanks for the responses so far. :)

> @"Mysteriax.6049" said:

> It has been a long long time since there was just one tier of siege, but in the spirit of events like Golem Rush, Siege Repair Hammers and portable cannons, I'd like to try a week of just the regular tier of siege, temporarily locking out superior siege and guild siege.

>

> I see the following potential effects:

> - More siege will be placed. A zerg will need more rams or catapults to take down a gate.

> - Supply will become more of a factor. Currently a zerg has more than enough supply in most cases. Having to build more siege will require more supply, thus making resupplying, camp control and supply lines more important.

> - Siege will be easier to destroy by players.

> - Siege versus players will be less effective. Oil and Cannons will retain their effectiveness, but throwing down arrowcarts and ballistae for player fighting purposes will not be as effective.

> - Players will be motivated to battle each other directly rather than use siege.

>

> Please let me know what you think below! Thanks everyone.

Sorry but imo that won't motivate anyone to do anything but leave. Superior and Guild siege is already all but useless against a huge zerg unless you have a LOT of it flying at once. Regular siege is already a total waste of time and yet people still seem to want to use it, either because they don't understand or don't care, not sure which.

A zerg can already put down a big amount of siege along with shields and negate almost all incoming counter siege fire. Making defensive siege even weaker would just destroy what little defense there is against the blobs. When you're one of a very few people trying to save a Keep or Tower from a zerg/blob then doing what you are suggesting is just telling us to go out and die to the blob or leave the structure and let them have it. Nope that's truly not a good idea imo.

> @"Zero.3871" said:

> > @"DemonSeed.3528" said:

> > What class and build are you playing at the moment? Maybe some of us here might be able to help you in dealing with thieves & mesmers. Worth a shot. Show us your current build it might help give some insight.

>

> my problem is not fighting mesmers or thiefs. if i fight them for example in guildhall i can kill them because the space in guildarena is very limited.

>

> but in wvw its not important which of the other classes you are playing. you simply cannot kill this classes (mesm and thief). there are just 2 options:

> 1.) they win with one shoot

> 2.) you dodge, they escape and try again

> 2.1) they win with one shoot

> 2.2.) you dodge, they escape and try again

> 2.2.1) they win with one shoot

> 2.2.2) you dodge, they escape and try again

> .....

> .....

> .....

> no chance for you...

> e.g. one shot weaver is dangerous but you can handle it because you see it, AND weaver isnt so fast so you can kill him after failed one shoot...against deadeyes and mesmers you cannot win.

I almost hate to say this but.... as much as I agree that these are nasty hard to kill, I've killed lots of thiefs with my Ranger/Druid/Soulbeast... even my Guardian/DH. More have killed me than I've killed but it's still possible. It's a matter of hitting the right combo at the right time and it's not easy, for me anyway. These old fingers don't respond near as quickly as they should... if they did then a lot more thiefs and mesmers would be dead. My head knows what to do but my actions don't follow my thoughts. Younger people really shouldn't have much problem killing these guys if they know their class. (in my opinion)

I get told from time to time from different people that Celestial is a good way to go. I can never really get a good reason for this... and the people that say it typically do NOT run celestial gear. I'm trying to build an ele that will be good in WvW for support, but also be usable for smaller scale havoc and roaming. I don't have the Maklain's armor set and it looks like I would have to grind in HoT opening Airshop Cargo until that hot place below freezes over to get 6 of those ascended goodies.

If Celestial isn't that great (and I don't really see how a balance of stats across all things can be), then can someone tell me what the best stats to use for something like an auramancer that can also be used for decent roaming?

Cheers.