rrusse.7058

Thankfully this is something they discussed in the last Guild Chat and said they are and will continue to include Mastery Points as rewards for various activities. Some people want to explore, there will be your exploration Mastery Points, others like playing the map meta, and there will be points for that too.

If you want more evidence that is what they will do, just look at the HoT and PoF masteries. Players can easily find themselves sitting with 20+ points with nothing to spend them on by the time the season/saga is done.

If you're a completionist, go for it and if not then don't worry there will be activities for you.

As many have already said, stationary combat is not good for the game unless it is sPvP and we saw that world where turrets are way overtuned and players just bunker down on side nodes with their turrets.

Turrets shouldn't even function like turrets anymore. Make them function more like minions for Necromancers. Instead they are just mobile robots that provide damage or support the player/allies. Traits can be reworked to allow for buffing options at the cost of personal DPS and so on.

Rather then think about this in a thematic or mechanical point as just about anything would be fine by me. I'll just say that I would like a support based spec. Something that has value in 5 man or 10 man content besides just condi cleansing. It heals as well as provides helpful boons like alacrity and quickness but having all of those might be asking for a lot.

I want a support spec simply because it feels like that is what is missing for engineers. Core in general works fine as a condition based spec, Holosmith is great for DPS, Scrapper is a strong Tank role so all that is left is the support/healer. Once we have that, then the engineer can run every possible option.

If you’re feeling something then the writers are doing a good job. That feeling can be positive or negative.

It’s war and a civil war at that. People grow, change, have their own world view. Bangar is wrong but is every single Charr that joins the Dominion wrong?

We see in Forging Steel how the Steel warband thinks and feels. Some have their doubts, others see no issue. If they are acting and thinking like real people we will have an emotional response because we can relate and connect. It doesn’t matter they are giant bipedal felines. They act and feel like we do.

Of all the Elder Dragons, Jormag seems to be the one that allows their minions the most autonomy. Jormag claims to grant power and protection to those who would listen. Bangar is paranoid enough to go to the dragon willingly. From Jormag's perspective Bangar and his forces are more useful with their minds intact rather than slaves like the other dragons create.

The unique Charr headpieces that we saw some NPCs wearing in Grothmar. As well as more armor pieces that have a Norn and Charr feel to them.

So Andrew Gray recently came out with an update on what they have planned for Episodes 3 and 4. Saying that they will be akin to WvW map meets PvE. What that means exactly, I'm not sure but I will admit I am interested.

* It's new and it could provide the playerbase with a new way to appreciate PvE.

* It's an opportunity to get people into WvW. "Hey this map is fun, why don't I check out real WvW?"

* Chance take out two birds with one stone for Arenanet. Apply some of the work done for this episode for real WvW.

Maybe I am getting too excited over nothing as we have yet to actually see anything yet, what do other people think about this? Are you intrigued or is this just more PR talk to silence the naysayers?

Losing stability is a big 'Oof', I know as Holosmith is getting the same treatment in that respect as well. Was Celestial core Ele only good until 2014 though? It was dominating for a good amount of time past 2014.

> @"Inculpatus cedo.9234" said:

> But, they've already done that. Bouncing Mushroom, Ley-lines for Gliding, Adrenal Mushrooms, Roller Beetle walls, Updrafts, etc. All found in maps other than the original(s).

They have been doing a better job with this. I am always pleasantly surprised when I find a new bouncing mushroom or updraft. Even though so many players already have access to mounts they continue to consider those that do not yet have them.

There are still so many masteries that do not see use or purpose outside of the maps that they are found on though. Arenanet is stuck between a rock and a hard place on this. What if we want to include something like essence manipulation for episodes 3 and 4? What about the players that start after these episodes are out and do not have access to 1 and 2?

What about essence manipulation after the Icebrood Saga is finished? Will we have a function or purpose for it? What about those that don't have Icebrood Saga and we ask players to use such skills in expansion 3?

A lot of time, energy and effort is put into systems that are used for a few months and never touched again and it's a shame.

> @"Fueki.4753" said:

> As a _veteran_ player, how did you not know what a Spirit of the WIld is?

> I highly doubt the entire lore of one of the five playable races would slip by a _veteran_.

Of all the points I brought up, this is the single one that you feel requires discussion and elaboration?

Say it is clear to a veteran player what a Spirit of the Wild is. Great. Why exactly am I supposed to be excited about playing? Because it is a Spirit of the Wild? What does it even mean to bond with raven? The idea is unclear regardless if a player knows or does not know who or what Raven is.

What is inherently exciting about this as a pitch to play the game? What about everything else that Arenanet presents as an advertising point? Opening gates and locks? Shield myself? Use essence?

Does any of that make sense? Does any of it entice a player whether new or a veteran player to log in and start right away? I'd argue that a lot of it is too vague and/or requires a clear understanding of the game already to be interesting. They're all nice things, but this is not what draws people in. Not like gliding. Not like mounts.

Gliding is very clear, interesting and exciting. I know what I am getting whether I am new or not. I can enjoy it regardless of how much I know about the game world.

Mounts are offer a new, clear and interesting way of moving through the world. This too does not affect my experience whether I am new or an old player. It is fun no matter how involved I am in the game.

This isn't so simple as yes / no. It provides a level of expansion like content in the current iteration, however it is still missing some major components that would put it on "expansion" or paid box level of depth. There are two major things that the saga is going to need to really start putting it on the radar of those that are currently not playing the game. Not to say that what we have had is not good or not high quality enough, but that it does not bring in nearly as many new players which are the lifeblood of any online game. The two things this saga needs to really turn it into an "expansion" is a new starting point and another gameplay layer.

**Starting Points**

In MMOs this often comes in the form of new races, new professions and new starting regions for new players to begin their adventure. In the case of Guild Wars 2, this is likely going to have to come in the form of Elite Specializations. We might not have to add new starting zones or races for this game as much as others and the only reason I mention the need of a starting point is because this is a 7 year old game. It's intimidating getting started in a title like this if you are a true new player that knows nothing about the game and the world it inhabits.

"How do I play?" "What kind of profession should I play?" " Are there roles I need or should fulfill?" "What is the endgame like?"

Giving new players and veterans alike something new to start from and work towards functions as both new content as well as a welcome mat for new players.

**Gameplay Layer**

We found this in Heart of Thorns in the form of gliding, exploration and the Mastery System. Path of Fire we found this in mounts and a further expansion of the Mastery System. We need that same idea in the Icebrood Saga, something that adds another layer of depth or a brand new way for players to interact with the content we have. Arenanet continues to expand on the Mastery System as it usually does through Living World episodes, which is good and provides content and goals to work towards however, it is not another layer of depth nor is it a new way to play the game.

Without a new hook for current, former and new players these new masteries are unlikely to draw anyone in that isn't already logging in regularly and playing.

**Bond with swift and clever Raven, a Spirit of the Wild, and use his blessing to open locks, pass through gates, and shield yourself with his light.**

**Learn to collect the essences of resilience, valor, and vigilance, then target enemies’ weaknesses and hit them where it hurts.**

Even as a veteran player, there were several words, phrases and things presented here that I did not understand until I actually logged in and played. What is a Spirit of the Wild? Open locks and gates? To what? Shield myself from what? What is an essence exactly and why are they called resilience, valor and vigilance? Are these new stats, new gear? How am I targeting the enemies' weakness? What does any of this mean?

When you actually start playing the content it's not so bad or confusing, but it is not exactly a hook for former or new players that are on the fence about dedicating time and money to this game of ours.

So we need a new starting point for players that feeds into the current saga as well as a new gameplay layer that is either more depth to what we already know and love, or is a brand new thing we haven't seen before.

> @"kharmin.7683" said:

>I didn't want to grind masteries just so that I would be able to open chests for loot. That's pretty much why I left those maps in the first place. Changing the scope to smaller rewards with the incentive to greater ones is a good idea

I figured this would happen to some players. It's a shame because the dev team obviously wants people to engage in this content, yet the way the masteries and content is presented is doing just the opposite for a portion of the playerbase.

You are right in that adding more blues, greens and a few more yellows might not be what people want to see as bonus rewards. There is a decent amount of crafting materials coming from Essence Chests which I like, but I don't know what others think of it. I too want to know what other kinds of rewards players would like.

> @"Fueki.4753" said:

> Emotes should be a staple of functions offered to players from the very beginning.

> They are basically hiding a way for players to express themselves behind some horrible, **horrible** grind.

> Simply giving a title like _Master Grinder of the Eastern Bjora Marches_ would have been better.

>

> Also, if you look closely, it says you get other stuff if you already obtained it, yet there is no other way to obtain it.

>

Fair points. It's something Arenanet could work on. Is there anything else that is equivalent to a title or better that would suffice as a reward for doing nearly everything a map has to offer?

I will note that I didn't mention in my previous post that in Episode 1, while the final reward is a backpiece, the total rewards possible for the start of Bjora Marches is not bad and they all come from multiple achievements or tiers of the same achievement. Which I think is a great way to proceed instead of rewards being a binary thing. Like "Did you do the thing yet? Yes/No?"

Yes = reward

No = no reward

It's a shame that we have to leave it to head canon to explain why and how revenants exist. In the case of Rytlock, it was due to his time in the Mists and the nature of how death is not necessarily the end in this world. We see this in the form of Ritualists from Guild Wars 1 and how they would temporarily channel the spirit of a fallen hero from long ago.

Glint was slain by Kralkatorrik. Before this Glint had met Rytlock and knew what he fought for. Sensing him in the Mists and knowing she was building towards the defeat of her former master, she needed a way to get back to Tyria. She could not do so without a conduit to channel her. So she found that in Rytlock and made him her first Herald.

For PC Revenants I see them as heros that may have been different professions previously, died in battle, got lost in the Mists or by some twist of fate found themselves there and were given a second chance to return to Tyria . This second chance comes at the cost that the PC act as a conduit or vessel for the spirits they call upon. The PC gets their second chance, and the spirit gets to return to Tyria and influence it a new way through their host.

In my case I see my Revenant as a human Warrior character I once had, and rerolled.

~~~~~~

War is life. Life is brief. Death comes.

The warrior died fighting for what they believed in. Believing that stopping the bandits of Kryta was a worthy cause. That cause was cut short when they died taking on the impossible odds before them.

Wrought with grief and regret in their failure to save their friends and stop the bandits the warrior cried out to the void that is the Mists. "Curse the rogues that would mock and indulge off of the honest!"

A deep and cold voice called back to the warrior. "I cannot strike them down for you, but I can help you see to that they meet their end."

"Grenth?"

"No, but I am no stranger to death." the voice returned.

"Please! I'll do anything you ask! Let me have my revenge and save my friends!" The warrior now lifting to their feet looking skyward. An eerie green light enveloped the warrior as they stood.

"Very well, then you and I shall be as one. Where your blade strikes, so too shall mine. Call upon my power and it will be yours."

The warrior now enveloped completely by the green light as if beginning to breath its very essence in. "Whose power is it that I shall be calling upon?"

The voice now ringing in the warrior's head as though coming from within.

"My power. The power of Shiro...Tagachi."

the warrior woke not to the strange green light nor the seemingly endless smog that hung over the Mists, but to blue skies. The cool touch of grass tickling their neck and the sound of a running stream nearby. It was Kryta, and the warrior had returned. They got their second chance.

Guild Halls sound great, but I would like more things for guilds to do together before making more of what we already have, just with a new coat of paint.

> @"Trise.2865" said:

> You people wanted "harder content", and "longer goals". This is what that looks like.

Great, I'm on board. However, does it have to include "You can't be rewarded for this yet because you need more masteries."

I'm not sure this idea works for motivating a playerbase to engage in content.

Instead of saying, "Soon you will be able to get loot! Isn't that exciting?"

We should be saying, "Nice job, here is some loot. Would you like even more next time? Get this mastery and it's yours"

They're fundamentally the same thing in that we are working to motivate play and interaction with content. One has players walking away with less until later in hopes that the player continues to play, another wants to motivate players by building anticipation of getting more if they put more time in.

It's not so much an issue of _hard_ content or _longer goals_, but just how playing feels.

Do people not want new emotes or something? Or is it that they don't want new emotes as rewards for clearing a map/episode?

Would a new armor piece be preferred? Title or something new entirely?

Honestly I like the idea of new emotes being given this way, though I would like a reward track for those that PvP or WvW exclusively. The emote is thematic and fits the last two episodes as a whole. Perhaps the emote, plus an armor piece or a unique weapon to go with it would make the reward more compelling for other players?

I started playing around when Factions had come out and we had Nightfall not too far from release. I loved Factions then and I still do, but I don't know if I agree with this idea that the setting alone is what makes that part of the game for me and I believe that this applies for Guild Wars 2 as well.

Let's say they make an expansion set in Cantha. Great. Why is that great though? Think about what I just said.

An _expansion_ set in Cantha. Well why do we need an expansion? Perhaps players feel that while the Ice-Brood Saga is fun and interesting, it is not on the level of being an expansion. So what is it missing? Elite Specializations would be nice, but what else is are we missing? More armor sets? New collections? Weapons? Rewards in general? More compelling masteries? Perhaps a new mechanic to really sell the expansion as we had with gliding in HoT and mounts in PoF.

What else, _"set in Cantha"_ Well I have experienced this region of the game universe, but why do we care about going here in the first place now over 250 years later? The story and the conflict with the dragons is in Tyria.

So are we sick of cycling through dragons and slaying them one by one? Personally I would like a break from them but the development team has different plans it seems and the game has fighting dragons at the core of it. So we fight Jormag or the Deep-Sea dragon near Cantha, thus forcing the story in just such a setting. Are we in any better of a position than we were before? It's still dragons just in an East Asian setting. Is that what we want? Is that what would make the game more enjoyable?

I'm not convinced it would be better for the game simply because of the setting. So we need a story that is not so focused on dragons, but instead about fighting a xenophobic regime. Well why would the Pact and the free people of Tyria do that? Aren't we experiencing that right this second in the Ice-Brood Saga with Bangar?

So why do we need to go to Cantha? Simply because it's Chinajapankorea? No thanks.

I'd love to go back too one day, but I don't see any reason for us to do so. Not when we can accomplish the same thing using new settings and characters while getting the kind of content the game needs in other ways with different races that need more expanding.

_"Thank you. Thanks to you, Jora's Keep sees another sunrise."_

As a hero and defender of the Marches it's only natural you receive a hero's reward.

**You must train your Essence Manipulation to open this chest.**

All right, the reason I wanted to bring this up was to actually applaud Arenanet for making the changes to this mastery and allowing players to open 'Large' chests with the correct mastery at rank 2. You get a reduced reward from the chest for not having the higher rank 3, but you are not excluded from a reward at all which is a big difference from Episode 1.

The scenario I described earlier was the reality for myself and many other players at least once. You took part in the meta event and beat the boss, so it feels like a little bit of a slap to the face and be told that you can't get rewarded because you didn't grind hard enough while watching other players get theirs.

Mind you this is not a whine-fest that mastery ranks are too hard or are too much grind in the Ice-Brood Saga, quite the opposite actually.

A number of players have expressed that the current pace is somewhere in between and that it gives the mastery system a feeling of importance and like an actual goal to work towards as oppose to just unlocking it quickly by the end of the story. If players are so inclined to finishing a mastery the moment it comes out, there are ways of doing that, and the rest are free to take things at their pace.

No the reason this is an issue is because for anyone joining the fight in the Bjora Marches will be excluded from getting rewards initially.

Instead the mastery should be a motivating players to get the highest rank because it means **more** loot! Not _please use your mastery points to gain the opportunity to be rewarded for your time and effort in this event._

I sincerely hope Arenanet keep up the good work, but tune the mastery system for Episodes 3 and 4 in a way that players **want** the masteries because it will offer more fun, convenience or at the very least more loot. More inclusion, not the opposite, that feeling of ...

"Can't collect your loot? Hm, guess you better try a little harder."

Anyway, what are your thoughts on the current pacing of the mastery system for the Ice-Brood Saga? Are these good masteries? Do you feel rewarded for your time? What do you want for Episodes 3 and 4 in terms of mastery skills and abilities?

Yeah this is not okay Arenanet. Change the recipe or restore the weapons to for everyone if they are unlocked.

There is no way any player could have known this.

> @"Kiza.5630" said:

> I've done this event with very different group sizes. Down to only a few players at a drill. The hydra is only a problem, because ppl tend to lead it to the drill where it wreaks havoc. If you make the hydra face away from the drill, it will not breath at it constantly nor charge into it. It can be drawn away if players mind their surroundings a bit. They don't even need to die super fast.

I've heard some players say that there is a way to get the Hydra to focus fire on you. Is there any truth to that?

> @"Ayrilana.1396" said:

> > @"rrusse.7058" said:

> > > @"Ayrilana.1396" said:

> > > The hydras are the only real threat in that meta.

> >

> > I'm all for teaching players mechanics and taking down enemies efficiently. I just have issues with the fact that Champ Hydras show up regardless of how many people are present. There is no CCing a Hydra with 1 or 2 people.

> >

> >

>

> It’s a group event though so you most definitely should not have one player. Depending on the classes present, you should be able to CC it with 1-3 players.

>

I agree, it most certainly is a group event. It's just sometimes there is no group to be had whatsoever. Sure some instances its an issue that players simply don't understand the mechanics and too many crowd around 1 drill or another.

The main point I am trying to make is that while it is indeed a group event, it should be possible for even smaller groups and that mobs scale to the number of players in the immediate area. Not spawning champs and elites even if no one is there.

> @"Leablo.2651" said:

> I completely disagree. Your implied premise is false; key prices are on a decreasing trend and are currently at a historic low. Buying your way out of doing the event is not only more accessible than ever, it's an option that most metas do not even have in the first place. IMO that puts this event very low on the list of metas that would need adjustment. Even if key prices were going up, that would only mean more people would start doing the event just to sell them, and that would make it easier to find groups. So if you really wanted to earn your way and not buy the keys (as you claim) then you should want prices to go sky high, but it seems like your only real objection to skipping this content is that it's not cheap enough to do so, which makes the whole argument seem pretty disingenuous to me. If new keys are appearing on the TP at all that means someone is doing the event, and you should find out who that is and when they are doing it to see if you can join them. Otherwise, are you using LFG?

You've made several assumptions about the content of my character which you would know nothing at all about and are not accurate at all.

You might have a point in that an increase in price may increase the number of people that take part in the South meta, it would not address the issue of the fact that a single piece is given to a single character per account. Depending on the time of day that can mean either a large number of players are going to be doing or significantly less as they cannot get anything out of it.

2G is not terribly expensive but there is little pleasure in having to take that route as I already mentioned. The major issue is the event itself is horribly unbalanced when it comes to just how many adds come out during the event.

For your last point yes I have used LFG and I highly recommend any player try using it whenever possible, but it can be hit or miss.

Please try to remember what people say about making assumptions about others. It only makes you and me look like an ass.

> @"Ayrilana.1396" said:

> The hydras are the only real threat in that meta.

I'm all for teaching players mechanics and taking down enemies efficiently. I just have issues with the fact that Champ Hydras show up regardless of how many people are present. There is no CCing a Hydra with 1 or 2 people.

Thunderhead Peaks is overall a great map with stunning vistas, suitable story, interesting lore, amazing soundtrack and the list could go on like this. Though one thing that was fairly interesting about this particular patch was the way in which one had to get Serpentine Jewels. One had to complete the meta events in both the north and south to get the necessary parts to do the mini-dungeon or buy the parts.

Having options is always nice. Personally I prefer playing the content to get where I want but to each their own. That said. North meta is set in a way that it is possible with a relatively small amount of players. South on the other hand needs a large amount of people to be taking part for it to not fail. (Looking at you Southwest Drill.) Regardless of numbers a large number of Veterans, Elites and Champions always spawn whether there are 2 or 200 players present.

This has to change. The prices on the TP speak for themselves. It's not as though one event is more rewarding than another. Please adjust the spawn rates and types of enemies that spawn to suit the number of players. This is the case with the rest of the game so why not here? It is incredibly disheartening to have to wait 2 hours for an event only for it to fail time and time again. With so many maps and more on the way with the coming Saga the player base is going to be split further and further.

If left unchecked then players will simply be forced to play TP baron games, and I don't think that's the direction the game needs to go.

At any rate, thanks for reading.

Other thoughts and opinions?