Bast.7253

Thief sometimes. If they’re a good thief you just don’t stand a chance. If you get them down even a little they just disengage and then hunt you the rest of the match.

> @"Hyper Cutter.9376" said:

> The only thing revenant really needs is for Anet to stop making them double-dip on resources by having all their skills use energy _and_ cooldowns. Maybe make weapon skills use energy while utility skills have cooldowns, or vice versa like a reverse thief, or do it on a per skill basis, whatever. Just pick one.

>

> > @"cptaylor.2670" said:

> > Scourge would be impossible to rework at this point. I think that one just wasn’t quite thought out for pvp and wvw. They wanted it to be support but instead they made it necro on steroids. Lol

> It was designed with PVP/WvW in mind, because its whole thing is countering boon spam (which is rampant in PVP/WvW but largely negligible in PVE). Spellbreaker's the same way.

>

> > @"Svennis.3852" said:

> > Rev is in most dire need. Like...especially moving into underwater zones. It’s really bad.

> Revenant is good underwater, it gets the only legends you really need for underwater combat and has one of the better-designed underwater weapons.

True, but necro has always had a lot of boon corruption hasn't it? I remember playing a boon-corruption reaper build in HoT but never played base necro. Kind of just a necro-specific thing regardless of which elite you choose.

> @"Edelweiss.4261" said:

> > @"cptaylor.2670" said:

> > It would probably be a game-breaking mess but I'm still a little disappointed the spider mount was cut. Just imagine if it had the Oakheart's reach ability and someway of walking up walls! (Again, probably too game-breaking to implement but sounds fun.)

>

> If they do this, I hope they have a not-spider skin. Even a devourer would be better. Fighting spiders in-game makes my skin crawl. I can only imagine that riding one will do the same.

Idk. I find the necro minions far more disgusting and creepy than any of the spiders. Except maybe the one in the pipes of sirens landing above grenths. That thing is a beast. ...that I kind of want as a mount.

Devourers could be interesting though. Could do some scorpion style skins for it. Not sure what their mastery would be other than an evading burrowing dash ability like the dredge travel tool. But wouldn’t be different than jackal unless they programmed it to be able to automatically tunnel down or up cliffs or something when the terrain changes.

If it’s an acro thief and it procs evasion at 20% or whatever health could that be it? If its sword dagger it’s most likely traited for the invuln evasion skill that triggers at low health.

They sort of did a rework to sword for rev but I kind of miss the old skills. New ones are hard to land. They need to fix spirits though. If they’re going to be stationary wells they need to be like scourge shades or a lot more powerful with less energy cost or a lot longer durations.

Scourge would be impossible to rework at this point. I think that one just wasn’t quite thought out for pvp and wvw. They wanted it to be support but instead they made it necro on steroids. Lol

If you're going to add stairs to the pvp lobby at some point could you finish out that wall in the arena. It's a nice view but people jumping off to disengage or running into the corner gets kind of old.

Holo's seem to have a lot more sustain this season. And I don't see any mines. What build is good for holo that everyone's running with all this sustain and insane damage?

Not to mention the constant knockbacks, interrupts, and gap closers. They seem like they're in a pretty good place right now.

Haven't seen that many spellbreakers this season though. And druid is just annoying like always. lol The hardest thing about druids is when they build for a lot of stealth and regen their entire health bar in one stealth.

There’s also a couple nice break out points in guilded hollow that give beautiful views of rocky areas and ocean. (Which doesn’t exactly line up with the maps location but is still pretty.)

I try to find a way in all maps. Tangled Depths is actually really cool outside of map too. Especially above the line convergence. I miss void jumping onto the top of the big hylek tree though. Auric Basin is pointless now that there is no void jumping because the map is milessss above the water!

There’s an easy spot in Sandswept too but there isn’t much to see aside from all the hidden trees being used as bushes inside terrain. Lol

I’d love to break out of Istan though, or at least get into the undeveloped area with the big snake statues and jumping puzzle tunnel thing that looked like it might have originally been planned for the Farahnur story entry step.

It is amazing to see the map design from an out of the box perspective so to speak. And like Dragon Stand you can sometimes find neat little hidden things that are either empty story instances or beautiful areas that weren’t quite finished and adds a bit of mystery.

It could have been an interesting current events collection at some point but might be a bit late now.

I just want an Abaddon statue decoration for my guild hall. :(

> @"Zedek.8932" said:

> > @"coglin.1496" said:

> > If you take offense, report it. So what?

>

> Here kicks my personal problem in. Some of my infractions were with no reason, and I also had an eMail conversation with Gaile about that in 2016 I think, and just with the aforementioned Shakespeare quote, things can be reverted. So if Shakespeare and saying "If you don't like the game, you can go elsewhere, Jesus Christ" [that was one of my my infraction....] is both worth an infraction, fine in that moment, I see where the limits are.

>

> However, when I see a post containing 500x kitten and I report that and nothing happens, because, as far as I recall the official response was something along the lines: "The kitten filter is there to soften swearwords and thus it's a fine [clean] post after the filter applied", a normal person can get angry at that kind of forum moderation. The sheer fact it triggers the filter should automatically consider it for moderation. Not a Shakespeare one-liner.

>

> Look, I know the forums are a privilige. But I've been infracted for mentioning my support requests are not answered, and thus the company is not as good as it claims when it comes to response times of requests and forum problems. (The thread was the "Is the support working" or something wich boiled down to "Does the support understand English", maybe you remember that). So the whole thread talks about the support, I do, too, but get infracted, because... I don'tknow. It also contained the part that I deserved some of the infractions, but eh, "talking about moderation" was worth 3 points I remember. With a thread full of the same stuff.

>

> I had several workshops in labour law during my time as shop chairman. Literally weeks of training about the German law to fight the stupid ideas of a multi-billion Euro company. But the forum rules and its infraction system - I just can't get them, a 27-year old like me can't make it out clearly when I can post something and be safe. Sometimes an infraction took several days after my post, despite the thread has been busy. So what was that all about? Not because of malicious thoughts, but just for constantly changing thresholds of the moderation, I feel that's my personal problem here.

>

> Right now, getting infracted or even banned does not necessarily mean that you are actually a "Bad Boy".

>

> Excelsior..

I actually love the kitten filter. Who doesn’t want to see 500 kittens?

It’s a nice feature for someone like me who doesn’t really watch what language they use, anywhere.

And sometimes trying to decipher posts with every other word being kitten is hilarious.

But this is kind of off topic. Lol

> @"Overlord RainyDay.2084" 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.

>

> If we're going to the Charr homelands they could always do drivable vehicles, if they aren't done giving us transportation-based masteries. You can already drive Charr cars around WvW, so it is possible.

I don’t know how that would be any different than mounts.

The only really big impactful feature they could have would be player housing.

Other things they could do would be some kind of harder dungeon style pve content that increases in difficulty further out but meh.

They could do open world pvp but I personally hope not.

The only thing I could see them adding really at this point outside of a new profession and new playable race is just player housing and I don’t think it would be tied to a mastery system.

Well, underwater content could become a big mastery overhaul at some point but I don’t really see that either.

They could do somekind if reputation system in place for masteries with unique cosmetic items locked behind them but I never really cared for that in WoW and wouldn’t really consider it a game-changing feature.

May something st the earliest. I think they’re trying to keep all the episodes at the end of the 3 month period. If the pvp season upcoming ends in July, I could see there being s patch in May and then the next a couple weeks or so after this pvp season ends. Who knows though. Are they even still separate teams?

> @"Konig Des Todes.2086" said:

> > @"cptaylor.2670" said:

> > They’ve used all the other elder dragons as “stepping stones” though. Zhaitan basically was a stepping stone into the base game, Mordremoth into Heart of Thorns. The idea of Balth killing Kralk ad a stepping stone into Elona. Before that Balth going after Primordus as a stepping stone to the stepping stone of Balth going after Kralk in Elona.

> >

> > Pretty sure you’ve insisted Kralk would be the focus in the next expansion meaning he’s a stepping stone to the next expansion.

>

> I do not think the phrase "stepping stones" means what you thin kit means.

>

> In general, stepping stones are the path one takes to reach a destination. In terms of narrative, the stepping stones would be the conflicts faced before the climax. Zhaitan and Mordremoth were not stepping stones because they were the climax - in other words, they are what any stepping stones (Blightghast and the formation of the Pact leading to Zhaitan, the Egg and the World Summit leading to Mordremoth, etc.) led to.

>

> And if Kralkatorrik were to be the focus and climax of the next expansion, then Kralkatorrik couldn't be a stepping stone either.

The focus shifts constantly throughout the story. We killed Mordremoth with Heart of Thorns, then with living world the event of his death gave way to everything we have now. How are you determining what the climax or the focus is with a story that's living and always changing? Dividing it up between Expansion. Living World. Expansion. Living world. etc? Because that's the only way I see your point.

How do you determine the climax with a living season like 3 when several different episodes resolve several different plots and could each be considered a climax?

And Kralk was a stepping stone into Path of Fire via Balthazar's pursuit. Balthazar was, if I'm following the same logic, the focus of Path of Fire, putting Kralk as just a device to draw Balthazar and us to Elona.

All I'm getting at is that it wouldn't be the first time elder dragons have been used as "stepping stones" or bridges, or whatever loosely defined term you want to use to acknowledge that their presence was a catalyst for something later in the story.

But thank you for clarifying the semantics, as usual.

> @"Sanus.3502" said:

> How about 'tails'? Maybe try it out as tonics similar to halo and horns. Something like Bunny-Butt and Cat-Tail tonics.

Some real horns would be nice instead of the stubby Party city Halloween ones we already had. Horns that look like the newish Springer skin.

Also, as my final suggestion, I know we’re kind of past the wing phase in the gemstore now, but I would love some Smite Thanatos style quadruple wings and matching glider. Similar to the Zephyrite glider but with wings that remain instead of fold up or disappear into little gold ribbons.

As many people love role playing as demonic themed characters with black wings I’m really surprised we haven’t had any big horns yet. At least the data mined winged headpiece looks like something I will want!

Please no more individual purchase incomplete armor sets like the Ascalon candle ones or the Jackal rune ones though. They’re really cool looking and I would love to use them but sometimes wind up not bothering because it’s too challenging finding suitable off pieces. And I take Fashion Wars very seriously!

Outfits:

Exalted armor themed outfit, which would go nicely with my new Griffon! (The celestial armor skins are nice but the blue part isn’t dyeable and some of the textures like heavy armor are a bit flat.)

Margonite outfit.

Abaddon outfit.

Melandru and Kormir also don’t have outfits yet but Melandru might be a bit trickier.

The grenth high priest armor I noticed in Arah explorable was really neat and would love for it to be obtainable.

More awakened outfits and a Palawa outfit.

Combat tonics:

I love that these are obtainable in game but would love a larger variety. I would even consider getting a special combat tonic pack of things such as:

Largos tonic

Tengu tonic

Margonite which might be difficult as they don’t actually have a gw2 model.

Mursaat tonic but we already have an outfit so other than floating wouldn’t be that different.

Exalted would be neat but would be a bit awkward on dodge rolls but probably not much more than Kodan.

Orrian tonics like the wraith one you get from Arah but would probably not work with weapons.

The alchemical weapon set was really nice so I hope future black lion weapon sets have a similar amount of detail and particle effects.

A non-raid or 9999999999 gold scythe staff skin would be nice but here’s to hoping we get dervish at some point so I can be as annoying as Amalia leaping around like a daredevil and casting spells everywhere!

Decoration packages are nice but I would hate to see them become gem store obtainable when they’re so rarely added in general. Unless they are extremely unique with special interactable options like the fractal console which I would have bought rather than spent the next 10 Years collecting fractal relics for.

And as I mentioned in another thread about mounts, a butterfly skimmer mount skin would be really great for us Mesmer fans. And yes, of course a dragon skin for griffin. Oh, and a tiger for Jackal and MAYBE a golem with a jet pack for a Springer skin.

Would love to see more mount skins in general that really deviate from the original, similar to how the lion griffin skin is still obviously a griffin but different enough to feel new.

The mount packages are nice but some of the skins are just way too similar to other skins aside from very subtle texture or pattern differences. When you randomize the really unique skins like primevil or stardust in with other skins like Springer’s or Skimmers with different fur or scale patterns and the same base model I think it deters some potential buyers that might have been more willing if they weren’t risking gambling for ones that aren’t as unique or would have rather just bought one mount pack with the same theme. (Like a primevil or star theme that probably would have done better as a mount pack of their own.)

> @"SSE.8150" said:

>

> "> Underwater Combat: While I don't have any personal qualms about underwater combat, many people do. To help, I have a couple ideas.

> > One complaint I see often is movement. The additional dimension of the Z axis is fun but can be troublesome to some people. I think the simple idea would be to add a button that allows travel along the Z axis. While space lets you ascend, there is no button, that I know of, that lets you descend. "

>

> The movement problem can be fixed in settings by assigning a button (I like to use U) for going down and leaving space for up. You can assign buttons by looking at the different bars on right when in your character/account settings in-game.

>

> "> Additionally, many people have problems with profession balance while underwater, and it's pretty noticeable that some professions excel in underwater combat, and others don't. The solution would be to rework underwater combat for specific professions. Adding new weapons and skills would greatly help. And adding a new underwater mount would help with travel."

>

> There are different professions that excel on land (like how the engineer is arguably one of the weakest professions) so it would be fair for some to excel below water (like mesmer or engineer). About underwater mounts I believe that there is a mount that can be used underwater (Skimmer) which is sort of its "special thing" other than just hovering.

The biggest problem I have with underwater combat is the fact that you lose half of your available skills and something like a revenant that’s locked out of entire legends. As it is now you would have to change your entire build and gear to be somewhat good at fighting underwater mobs. Some of the skills they lock you out of don’t even make sense and the ones they don’t that are area of effect placeable skills have unpredictable outcomes.

They would pretty much have to redesign each professions and all of their elites, weapons, and utility skills to make it more than a slow clunky combat that usually just results in kiting.

But if they have the “deep sea dragon” at some point I fully expect it to have surfaced somewhere like Cantha where it is actually posing a threat to something other than Karka, Krait, Largos, or Quaggans. It could also wind up being in a giant underground area beneath the ocean somewhere.

I’m not set on a bunch of underwater zones but it would be amazing to see some underground Atlantis-themed Largos city or the ruins of. (Though Orr is kind of already their interpretation of Atlantis.) They could do some really beautiful things with full water zones but I’m not sure they would ever want to undergo that drastic of a combat revamp. Only reasonable solution I could see is having underground zones with multi-layer exploration but the chunk of events being in the underground portion or some kind of bubbled normal gravity dry zones which might be somewhat hard to explain in large quantities.

> @"Konig Des Todes.2086" said:

> > @"Sajuuk Khar.1509" said:

> > Stopping Joko himself would mean stopping his armies and the plague, since that is what he is using to attack Tyira. Joko himself is seemingly unkillable, so trying to stop him personally would be a waste of time. You also wouldn't just take the plague itself somewhere with you, that would be dumb on Joko's part. You would keep it in a secure location, and then use something like gates to move it to other places. Joko isn't going to just be walking around with the whatever he plans to use to spread it, and thus, we would be better off going to wherever he is keeping it, and destroying it there, then trying to play whack-a-mole in places he releases it.

>

> Stopping the armies alone isn't going to stop Joko. So obviously we'll have to go after Joko directly.

>

> That's like saying in Star Wars the Rebels intended to stop the Death Star without trying to blow up the Death Star but go after the ground soldiers.

>

> > @"Sajuuk Khar.1509" said:

> > Its still their main base, and nothing has stated they have moved from there. Getting your airship fleet destroyed doesn't mean you just leave the base you have been established in for years. Especially not when its as secure as Fort Trinity is.

>

> In Season 2, Trahearne stated that the bulk of the Pact army moved to prepare for fighting Kralkatorrik, and we see them move to Camp Resolve later. They would divert the majority of their forces to the biggest threat, not just 1/3rd or whatever of them.

>

> That's why throughout Heart of Thorns we were presented with the notion that the Pact has been decimated. Not just the Pact Fleet, but the Pact itself.

>

> > @"Sajuuk Khar.1509" said:

> > Except they got themselves involved with the Inquest, Flame Legion, and Krait, back in vanilla, and even The Pact themselves admitted not dealing with Scarlet was a mistake on their part, and got tons of flack from everyone for not getting involved, and were afterwards like "we wont make that mistake again"

>

> They stopped Inquest studying the Elder Dragons. They assaulted Flame Legion and krait in hopes of obtaining troops and weapons that could help against the Elder Dragons (Gaheron's rumored weapon which turned out to be his "godform" and the blue orb respectively). They actively *avoided* interacting with Scarlet's various armies because they gained nothing out of it to help fight the Elder Dragons. I don't recall any dialogue where they got flack for not fighting Scarlet, or where they admitted it was a mistake - the moment a dragon got involved, so did they.

>

> > @"Sajuuk Khar.1509" said:

> > No it doesn't. The Forsaken Thicket raid wings are totally separate from the games other map, and don't touch anything around them. They are perfectly boxed off just like everything else.

>

> Go into Salvation Pass in to the area between Slothasor and Bandit Trio. You end up walking over Spirit Vale's maps before you hit the map boundaries. The world map doesn't line up with the game itself, with Salvation Pass going further west than the world map.

>

> > @"Sajuuk Khar.1509" said:

> > Yes, and I am referencing the map changes made in this update

> >

> > And you can see from the included map that shows the changed pixels that none of the areas you mention were part of that update.

>

> Again these images:

>

> https://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/archive/4/46/20171202191644%21Tyria_map_%28clean%29.jpg

> https://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/4/46/Tyria_map_%28clean%29.jpg

>

> Both of which came from that_shaman. You can very easily tell where pixels got updated.

>

> > @"Sajuuk Khar.1509" said:

> > HoT gave us air travel via gliders, PoF was all about land travel via mounts, so it makes sense that expansion 3 would be underwater travel.

>

> That's simply delusional at this point in time.

>

> > @"Sajuuk Khar.1509" said:

> > I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that the Elder Dragons aren't really great villains because they aren't really "evil", or really have much personality. They are intimidating as forces of nature, like a hurricane is, but that isn't the same kind of story people enjoy in game stories.

>

> This was the original presentation from the game created on the basis that Tyrians don't know much about Elder Dragons. In other words, an unreliable narrator.

>

> We could see even in Orr that this wasn't the case, that the Elder Dragons did have personalities, were definitely evil, and were more than mere forces of nature.

>

> As we get more involved in the dragon plot, I feel like we're to see the dragon personalities get displayed more and more. And that would evolve the plot in a different manner than Zhaitan or even Mordremoth.

>

> I don't think ArenaNet intends to use the remaining Elder Dragons as mere stepping stones for other plots. That too greatly diminishes the nature of the Elder Dragons themselves.

They’ve used all the other elder dragons as “stepping stones” though. Zhaitan basically was a stepping stone into the base game, Mordremoth into Heart of Thorns. The idea of Balth killing Kralk ad a stepping stone into Elona. Before that Balth going after Primordus as a stepping stone to the stepping stone of Balth going after Kralk in Elona.

Pretty sure you’ve insisted Kralk would be the focus in the next expansion meaning he’s a stepping stone to the next expansion.

I just don’t see how they’re going to stretch kralk out to yet another expansion. Or perhaps I just don’t want them to. I am interested in the Charr lands but even if we go back north the only thing pertaining to kralk up there is his sleeping point. Are we going to have another expansion and living world release just to go to one map to maybe find something useful to fight against kralk? Will that be a suitable enough time for the players to not be upset with the idea of young Aurene taking up the mantle? What benefit does it have putting it off until another living world release when they could just write in a way of dealing with it in this expansion that (although currently Joko is the focus of) we could just deal with at the end of this season?

Do you really see us spending this entire living season on Joko when we have already rekindled the sun Spears and halted his invasion? We know even less about how to kill Joko than we do Kralk, but we also know his reach is limited now that we’ve destroyed his teleportation hub. The only imminent threat Joko poses right now is the scarab plague.

We don’t know how many episodes this season will have, but I highly doubt we’re going to be spending every episode for the rest of the season slowly working our way up to resolving the threat of Joko.

As far as patterns go with elder dragons, the base game ended with us defeating Zhaitan. Then living world and Mordremoth at the start of PoF.

So if anything, if this expansion and living world season doesn’t resolve the kralk situation, patterns insist that Kralk will die at the release of the next expansion with a new living world focusing on a different threat.

Certain arguments insist that we follow patterns but then counter their own arguments by declaring that the same thing wouldn’t be done twice. So which is it?

Personally, given that Taimi had a machine that along with Balthazar influence was able to put two elder dragons back to sleep at one time. This was in the course of what, three episodes or less? Insisting that we won’t be able to find time or a way to deal with one elder dragon in this living season is kind of laughable now that we have THREE asura AND the sire of an elder dragon champion that was raised specifically for the task of taking the position of an elder dragon.

It would probably be a game-breaking mess but I'm still a little disappointed the spider mount was cut. Just imagine if it had the Oakheart's reach ability and someway of walking up walls! (Again, probably too game-breaking to implement but sounds fun.)

And the mount skins they could make for it would probably be pretty amazing.

Still holding out hope for more kinds of mounts but they may just be sticking to improving the ones we have.

If they keep the ones we currently have and don't add anymore I hope we get some really crazy skins in the future, or just things that really branch out from the existing model. I.e. Dragon for griffon, tiger for jackal, golem with jetpack for springer, butterfly for skimmer. Things that make you forget what they were originally. I would say that might be too immersion breaking but seeing as we have mounts made of stars that may not be much of an issue. :-P

As for specific abilities, definitely dismount midair on griffon or at least the ability to use updrafts. (Maybe even the ability to create an updraft or a mastery that boosts flap height gain?) If they added a dragon skin or even a dragon mount at some point it would be interesting to have a combat ability that just breathes fire on everything but that may be coming eventually as a living story episode boss battle with Aurene or something.

Skimmer - definitely swim underwater. (Which would kind of ruin my dream of a butterfly skimmer skin for my Mesmer but we have wind riders which look like oceanic creatures so its whatev.) As far as abilities the heal ability on dismount is interesting but kind of useless in its current implementation outside of potentially quickly saving players they ride by assuming the heal actually lands which can be somewhat tricky and relies on positioning. Having somekind of channeled aoe heal ability could be interesting or just more healing abilities in general. (But unless implemented very carefully could lead to potential abuse.)

Springer - can't really think of a unique ability for them outside of even more height gain but kind of unnecessary. Maybe somekind of revenant style bouncing ability that selects 5 enemies and bounces on them knocking them down or stunning them before dismounting? (But the animation creation for this sounds like it could be a potential nightmare.)

Raptor - A dash in addition to the leap would be pretty nice. Something that just gives a large burst of speed without having to use your leap to gain large distances over already flat terrain. Another idea for raptor would be a roar that fears foes and could be a shared ability among all mounts.

Jackal - maybe the ability to create sand portals similar to Mesmer? Or some ability like the rewind device that can teleport them back to their previous location. Actually I think my main desire for them would be a second blink that actually works like Mesmer blinks or thief shadowsteps. Something that works at a longer range that you can actually place instead of relying solely on guess work for distance. I think it would really add a lot to Jackal in general as the current blink works great for crossing distances and going through sand portals, but then if you want to get up a ramp you either have to run up the ramp on the jackal or switch to springer. Having the ability to shadowstep would give it a nice convenience without really diminishing the value of the springer.

So other than the aforementioned mount-specific abilities, the list of shared abilities I could see being implemented without being solely combat abilities would be:

A dash that increases general movement speed for a certain period of time.

A fear ability that causes enemies to scramble in case you're being overwhelmed my mobs close by.

Increased values or effectiveness of current special abilities, such as longer leaps, higher jumps, longer or higher floating, greater flap altitudes or increased endurance for more flaps, and (hopefully because I'm really set on this now that I took the time to think about it) additional abilities similar to already existing abilities such as a jackal getting a targetable blink. Am I alone in thinking this would be amazing and not at all impactful of the way its currently designed?

I'm not really sure what combat abilities they could add to mounts that would make them worthwhile. Having a multiseater mount with another person able to use abilities would be interesting, but wouldn't be very effective for a melee profession that has to stay within range. (Perhaps a more siege style mount with cannons that the second player can use but that would be highly niche for all of the work that would go into implementing it.)

I suppose if they had a higher health pool they could eventually become more like a siege golem but they would need other attack abilities that don't cause dismount, and the heal mastery we got with this release would be kind of obsolete if this were to happen so I can't see the health pool changing. (Not sure they want players running around killing mobs on mounts anyway.)

I just hope our next mastery is a new kind of mount, or at least something a little more exciting than a heal I rarely use that will potentially down me. :(

Also hoping, and this is probably unlikely due to how expensive the griffon is to a large portion of the community, that we get some crazy griffon-focused map at some point. Something lush and green with lots of waterfalls and high cliffs, and old ruins. Something kind of like the Heart of the Mists lobby. (Only clarifying my vision because although it's a very neat map I'm not sure I could handle another bloodstone fen with probably-harpies one-shotting me out of the sky and dazing me. >_<)

The chest is more like a music box and isn't hollow on the inside which is my only gripe. I tried fitting an angry cloud in mine but the collision placed it above the chest. :(

It's still cute though.

Wouldn't have minded a few more structural things added this year or even functional items like the teleporters from World 3 Zone 3 but I imagine that would be pretty hard to code in the guild hall system.

Some infantile mode cloud rainbow bridges could be pretty cute too!

Some trampolines might be kind of cool too but they might be another coding hassle and aren't entirely necessary now that we have mounts.

All in all a little less than I was expecting on the decoration addition front which seems to be the trend as of late, but the ones they did add aside from the super large rock are all nice additions.

If only I didn't have to individually click my 240 clouds every reset. :'(

> @"Gaile Gray.6029" said:

> Ok, so another thread about "excessive moderation." I invite everyone to read the comments and wonder why this is **not** a worthwhile topic for the forums.

>

> But in the interests of disclosure, and because I'd like to try to answer some of the concerns (or refute the fallacies), I'll respond:

>

> First let me start by saying that if anyone has questions about moderation, they need to write us at Forums@Arena.Net. Forum posts are pointless, as they very seldom tell the whole story, and they are (naturally) biased. If you have written to ask about any recent infractions, we will get back to you within at least a few days, if not the same day. We will respond with a personal (not form letter) reply. Every single appeal is read, reviewed, and either upheld or reversed.

>

> Let's look at this more closely:

>

> > @"cptaylor.2670" said:

> > The censoring on these forums are absolutely ridiculous. Even if it isn’t something to another poster there’s a pretty high chance either nobody will comment and it will be a dead thread or you will get an infraction and the post removed.

> >

> >

> > The reddit threads see more dev posts than these forums and the moderation doesn’t seem to censor every non-praising thread or the slightest even remotely negative comment towards someone else.

>

> Why should they remain? Why should anyone make a negative comment towards someone else? Explain to me what name-calling and insulting adds *to the point of the forum, which is talking about **the game.***

> >

> > I see far worse posts on these forums than the things I have been warned about so it must just be me which is a shame because I’m a very loyal customer that just happens to have a multitude of opinions.

> >

> Forum members come from all ages, genders, cultures, and language groups. They look to an official forum as a place to converse about the game, and not a place where they need to be cautious of stating their thoughts because they might be flamed, insulted, name-called, or attacked by another member.

>

> In your case, you insulted a member, calling them condescending. You did not say their comments were condescending, you said **they** were condescending. That's insulting, contributes nothing of value, etc., etc.

>

> It may take a little more sensitivity to post here than on a fansite or other forum. But we hope that the level of conversation here makes using common sense worthwhile.

>

> > @"Just a flesh wound.3589" said:

> > >negative comment towards someone else

> > Then don’t make negative comments towards someone else. Restrict your comments towards the argument.

> >

> > There are many non praising threads that don’t get censored. However threads about forum moderation will get censored, just like they will on any game’s forum.

>

> This. Exactly this.

>

> > @"Zedek.8932" said:

> >

> > EDIT: I rather get banned for saying the truth and post this, just to know that this wildcard rule hit me and that's just not right: I have been infracted for saying "Jesus Christ" or for sarcasm. And for **NOTHING:** Usually only who has to hide things are the ones that censor. Communist regimes still do it to this day.

>

> Yes, it's part of setting a decent expectation. Using swearing terms isn't good -- it offends other people, as I explained in our correspondence in February. I get that you don't feel the term is offensive, but it's really not acceptable for a global community. Oh and essentially calling the mod team "commies" is even worse. :dizzy: But you've gone there before, and although I've explained in detail before how offensive it is -- and provided you with a lengthy e-mail to provide a full recounting of your forum history as of Feb 1, 2018 and to offer you my personal apology for an error I made in a former review -- you've trotted it out again. Note: Calling people communists is rude, crude, and socially unacceptable. Unless they are communists and don't mind being called that. Second Note: I am not, and I do.

>

> There is nothing whatsoever in the queue from you now. Resend if you have something to discuss and I'll give you the same careful and respectful attention I gave you last time. You have to admit, that was a detailed and honest response! :)

>

> > @"Fallesafe.5932" said:

> >

> > Frick and Frack (4372, and 5907) seem to get a real surge of self-importance out of harrassing people with endless and meaningless infractions.

>

> The moderator accounts are used by multiple members of the moderation team. There **is** no Frick nor Frack. They are people doing their jobs, and your comments are rude and insupportable. Got a problem with an infraction? Write Forums@Arena.Net. But don't expect that this is a "Get out of jail free" card, because if you breached the reasonable forum rules, the infraction will be upheld. But... you've never submitted a single appeal, from what I can see, so I don't expect you to understand the process. I **do** however, encourage you to use it. :)

>

> > @"Strider Pj.2193" said:

> > What I have observers: it appears as the comments do not get moderator attention unless reported.

> >

> > Given this, I believe they err on the conservative side. In two cases (out of 5 for me) when I sent an email as a 'protest', the infractions were overturned. The other three weren't really something I cared to argue over.

>

> Good, then the process is working!

> >

> > If you feel it's overkill, appeal them. If you don't want to take the time to appeal, then it doesn't bother you enough.

> >

> Exactly!

>

> > Lastly, I do not believe the moderators are developers. That being said, in the two that were appealed, @"McKenna Berdrow.2759" was involved in the review and overturned them.

>

> You're mistaken there, for McKenna does not have moderator privileges, and neither reviews appeals or overturns them.

>

> > @"cptaylor.2670" said:

> >

> > [EDIT: other name] forums were a cesspool and even they didn’t have the kind of moderation seen on these forums. And got more responses too.

> >

> Maybe that other forum is a cesspool *because* they don't have the kind of moderation we have.

>

> > @"Blockhead Magee.3092" said:

> > My impression of the mods here are they are little better than a call center person who reads from a script but has no deductive ability. Doesn't make them a bad person, but being a good person doesn't mean you're good at your job.

>

> You've had two infractions: For being off-topic (specifically, talking about eating dog meat) and for insulting someone by calling them a "liar." You appealed neither, and that's ok because both were appropriate post removals. Now, what exactly is your concern, and what entitles you to insult moderators... or call center workers?

>

> > @"Just a flesh wound.3589" said:

> > >Posts that are rude towards or attack another member, single out another player for ridicule or that accuse someone of inappropriate behavior will be removed.

> >

> > It’s clear enough there. All posts and comments should be directed towards the logic of the argument. Sarcastic remarks towards the other person, commenting about him, repeating his words in a way that shows you’re mocking him. None of these things are about the logic of his argument and the moderator will infract.

> >

> > I’ve gotten plenty of infractions and each time I did it was for being sarcastic or rude (or for being off topic). If you post in irritation then you’re likely to say what you shouldn’t. Write it down, save the draft then go away for a while and reread your post. Is it sarcastic? Did you say something about the other person. If you did, then rewrite it. There’s no reason to post in haste when you know your emotions are engaged. You can wait a few minutes until you’ve had time to reconsider.

> >

> Even sarcasm is usually ok, unless it "steps on the toes" of another user by insulting them directly.

>

> But thanks for posting your insights, and offering some sensible suggestions.

Sorry, I don't know how to pick apart the ones specifically responding to me. To my original post you mentioned specifically insulting someone. Technically, "I’m sure this sounds petty and you clearly know your lore, but sometimes it seems you’re more bent on proving others wrong in a pseudo-condescending way than actually adding to the discussion." were my exact words. So it wasn't directly calling them condescending. I don't find that unreasonable but I guess I should have phrased as something like, "but sometimes the tone of your response comes across as condescending." Or is that too far? I'll just refrain from expressing anything from now on in regards to someone's behavior and ignore the entire thread, even if every other response is some unnecessary devil's advocate argument about how the sky isn't blue, it's a combination of "this this this this this and this" because I just NEED with every bone in my body to be the absolute end-all be-all encyclopedia of life.

As to the posts about the other forums not having the same kind of moderation and being worse for it, I can agree that a higher level of moderation keeps the conversation far more intelligible than on those forums. It just strikes me from time to time putting effort into a post that seems to follow the guide lines and then getting a notification that I'm received an infraction and my post that (on some occasions) could have led to a reasonable discussion.

I'm glad this has led to a discussion, even if some people are being a bit harsh. I wasn't trying to belittle the moderators and working in retail I know how dealing with the public can be at times and having to watch everything I say, which might be fueling my disdain for particular behaviors and leading to being more liberal with what I say on a public forum.

In any case, I'll just know to avoid any threads with said individual so I won't have to refrain from potentially pointing out any behavior that may be perceived as less than favorable or off-putting. As I posted it I realized that if my assumption about their personality was correct, they would not have realized their tone to begin with or cared that they may have been turning people away from a discussion they otherwise would have been more passionate about and continued. Personally, I already usually try to avoid them because having a discussion with someone who has already decided that everything you say is ill-informed and spends response after response picking apart nearly every sentence starts to feel like you're on trial.

For future reference, anyone who reads this, if I'm being rude, condescending, or generally unpleasant, I don't try to be unless provoked and feel free to very subtly so-as-to-avoid-moderation reference said behavior to me and I will attempt to resolve it. Aside from the pvp crew and more elite pve game modes, which I'll admit I can get carried away in at times, we generally have a great community in this game and one far better than any other online game I've played. As to my posts regarding my opinions about certain parts of the game on these forums, although not always praise, I still wouldn't choose any other game over this one and have had great experiences with customer service. It's evident that a lot of work goes into this game and is appreciated.

Now if one of the moderators could just follow me to work every now and then and put a giant blur over any number of the customers threatening to slash my tires, throw cinder blocks through the windows, or intimidating me with their car in the parking lot, it would be a huge help! (I'll pay you in guild hall decorations and cheap minis that you probably already have!)

*Edited because this was and still is kind of a hot mess of a response.

Once I got one for creating a post during the path of fire threads asking devs how they get about the classes. It wasn’t even a negative complaint thread about the classes as much it was asking what they learned from the demo period to get a feel for possible changes. I wasn’t really expecting a response but I sure as hell wasnt expecting a random infraction for “distracting” by addressing very broadly devs about their own game on their own forum.

I’m generally pretty reserved with my remarks on here even if there is a hint of sarcasm in what I say. But I guess favoritism goes a long way on these forums.

World of Warcraft forums were a cesspool and even they didn’t have the kind of moderation seen on these forums. And got more responses too.

I imagine this thread will be closed and deleted soon as well as my posting privellages but it’s nice to see that I’m not the only one who has this sentiment.

The censoring on these forums are absolutely ridiculous. Even if it isn’t something to another poster there’s a pretty high chance either nobody will comment and it will be a dead thread or you will get an infraction and the post removed.

The reddit threads see more dev posts than these forums and the moderation doesn’t seem to censor every non-praising thread or the slightest even remotely negative comment towards someone else.

I see far worse posts on these forums than the things I have been warned about so it must just be me which is a shame because I’m a very loyal customer that just happens to have a multitude of opinions.

The chest thing has been mentioned multiple times and is a good idea. I’d also love a spa golem and some guild missions inside of the guild hall like a summonable boss or invasion or something.

I’d also love some of the aesthetics of Windswept to be readjusted and boundaries expanded but I think even if they did want to invest the resources in this they’re afraid of clearing peoples decorations. Which I honestly wouldn’t care because I enjoy the process almost more than the result, but I’m sure there are some who want to kee their decorations as is.

The SaB chest decoration is supposedly interactable but i don’t think you can actually place things in it.