Tails.9372

I like fast paced power based mid ranged gameplay which is based on more of a mana like system instead of the CD system most classes are using. Unfortunately there's only one class / weapon combo in this game that fits these criteria and thats P/P thief. Problem is this weapon set suffers heavily from fundamental design issues mostly caused by how the dual wielding system "creates" new weapon sets.

Summons are also quite usless for the most part even if you just want them as meat shild. They do no damage, are easily killed by AoE spam (something PoF metas seem to specialize in) and have unreasonably long cooldowns. It's obvious that they were designed to fight trash mobs in core tyria. Problem is: enemy desin has evolved since they lauched the game back in 2012 and most of the summons are simply "out of date". At least they should make them "always active" like the neco or the rune summons.

- In the preview stream it was stated that unlike with the other mounts movement was not the primary focus of its design. **Why did you decide to take this route when functionality always seems to be the main concern players have when it comes to new mounts?**

.

- **Why did you decide to limit its ability to fly by introducing this flight meter system?** Even with unrestricted flight it would still have more than enough disadvantages when compared to the other mounts to not render them obsolete and every content it (at least in theory) could break either prohibits mount usage or has already been "broken" by the other mounts (the springer and the griffon in combination with the teleport device in particular). I understand making it slow in order to not make it the griffon 2.0 but it feels like this flight meter system is just holding back its potential for no apparent reason.

> @"LucianDK.8615" said:

> I managed to get so high up in Divinitys Reach that I could see the blue abyss behind the facade of the buildings. **Neiter Springer or Griffon couldve gotten all the way up there.**

[You sure about that?](

Like I said, springer + griffon + the teleport device already completely "breaks" OW PvE maps and I've yet to see anyone complain about it (quite the contrary, most people seem to like it (what a surprise...)) / any of the negative consequences you guys are prophesying. Removing the unnecessary flight meter system and giving the skyscale unrestricted flight wouldn't change anything in this regard.

> @"Turkeyspit.3965" said:

> You said there is no proof to the claim that unrestricted flying can have a negative impact on game play.

Citation needed, I said:

> Phrases like "It would break the game" and "it's bad" mean nothing if you can't elaborate "how".

Saying "but WoW" is not an elaboration on how a skyscale with unrestricted flight would "break" / "be bad for" OW PvE maps in GW2.

> @"Turkeyspit.3965" said:

> I say there is ample evidence of this in WoW

> Your reply is that GW2 isn't WoW.

>

> lol, ok then. Enjoy your bliss.

>

> Btw, not understanding my point doesn't make it not valid, it just means you don't understand it.

Oh I understand it but you not realizing why it doesn't apply doesn't mean that it's valid either.

> @"Turkeyspit.3965" said:

> All you have to do is look at WoW who

Not really, if WoW made flying mounts the be-all and end-all of movement in OW areas then that's their problem but several aspects the game design here are not even remotely comparable cause: WoW ≠ GW2.

> @"Turkeyspit.3965" said:

> As you say, you are entitled to your opinion, but don't pretend that flying mounts aren't controversial

Except I never said (or even implied) anything like that. People can make up controversies for a plethora of reasons. I merely stated that people who are against unrestricted flying have no objectivity to their points which is a fact, not an opinion. There's also no objective reason why we should have unrestricted flying either but those who are advocating for it at least don't act as if unrestricted flying would solve the games problems or anything.

> @"Turkeyspit.3965" said:

> nor have ever had a negative impact on an MMO, because the evidence on that subject is pretty conclusive

I also never said "unrestricted flying can't have an negative impact", it obviously would have if it would actually break the content in question e.g. the FotM. But the way you phrase things: "on an MMO" shows that your argument is completely deprived from the context of the subject matter meaning you have no valid point here.

> @"zealex.9410" said:

> > @"Tails.9372" said:

> > > @"zealex.9410" said:

> > > > @"Tails.9372" said:

> > > > > @"Kidel.2057" said:

> > > > > I think that would break everything, not only old maps.

> > > >

> > > > Define "break everything". Sure "it sounds bad" to those who are concerned about balance but if you actually think about it you would realise that it wouldn't break anything that isn't already "broken" because of the other mounts. For starters you can only use it in OW PvE maps so it wouldn't break WvW and instanced content. JPs are already engulfed in "no mount zones" so the only thing left to break is map completion, problem is griffon + springer already completely "breaks" this part of the game. Even with unrestricted flight there's nothing left to break here.

> > > >

> > >

> > > Flying mounts are bad, i havent seen an example where an mmo added flying mounts and it didnt take away from the world.

> >

> > And another empty statement with no real argument behind it. Phrases like "It would break the game" and "it's bad" mean nothing if you can't elaborate "how". But let's be honest, the problem wouldn't be unrestricted flight as none of the content is forcing you to use it. It's that you guys just don't like the idea of other players using it. And you can have this opinion, everyone is entitled to their own. But I wish people would least be honest about it and don't act as if there's some sort of objective legitimacy to it cause there really isn't.

>

> If you can just fly above the maps the whats the point of traversal, waypoints and enemy mobs? It reduces tye world to just a straight invisible line up the clouds, wow introduced it and without designing zones it mind fir it they've been trying to take it out of the game.

What's the point of the other stuff? You do realise that waypoints and the other mounts for that matter are still significantly faster like 99% of the time, right? Also, you can already speed past trash mobs with the roller beetle no problem, the random scarab is not supposed to be a significant hurdle and it's not like as if you could use it to skip parts of a meta event as they require you to deal with the mobs in order to progress.

> @"zealex.9410" said:

> > @"Tails.9372" said:

> > > @"Kidel.2057" said:

> > > I think that would break everything, not only old maps.

> >

> > Define "break everything". Sure "it sounds bad" to those who are concerned about balance but if you actually think about it you would realise that it wouldn't break anything that isn't already "broken" because of the other mounts. For starters you can only use it in OW PvE maps so it wouldn't break WvW and instanced content. JPs are already engulfed in "no mount zones" so the only thing left to break is map completion, problem is griffon + springer already completely "breaks" this part of the game. Even with unrestricted flight there's nothing left to break here.

> >

>

> Flying mounts are bad, i havent seen an example where an mmo added flying mounts and it didnt take away from the world.

And another empty statement with no real argument behind it. Phrases like "It would break the game" and "it's bad" mean nothing if you can't elaborate "how". But let's be honest, the problem wouldn't be unrestricted flight as none of the content is forcing you to use it. It's that you guys just don't like the idea of other players using it. And you can have this opinion, everyone is entitled to their own. But I wish people would least be honest about it and don't act as if there's some sort of objective legitimacy to it cause there really isn't.

> @"Zaklex.6308" said:

> > @"Tails.9372" said:

> > > @"Astralporing.1957" said:

> > > the meta _is_ liked

> >

> > I wonder how much of it comes from the fact that this meta is overly rewarding. Gameplay wise it's really nothing special and at times it's just a collection of everything wrong with PoF metadesign.

> >

>

> Actually this meta is a combination of Auric Basin, Tangled Depths and Dragon Stand all in one...with maybe some PoF elements thrown in as well.

Roughly but but not really, "having elements" doesn't make them comparable. It lacks the "atmosphere" the fight vs. the Mouth of Mordremoth has (even tho the fight itself was more or less just a collection of minigames). The PoF enemy design leads to some cheap deaths which isn't nearly as much of a problem in the HoT metas which I take any day of the week over this mess (except for DS, the "all or nothing" meta design really kills it for me).

Also this meta really makes me question some of their previous "balance changes" / design choices in regards to meta rewards. How come Great Hall can only be looted once a day while being just as time consuming as AB (which can be looted once every 2 hours) while being significantly less rewarding on top of it (12 small chests + one big one for GH vs. 8 small chests + 14 medium sized ones and 5 big ones for AB)? And then look at how rewarding the made the new map for no reason, not that I'm saying that it should be nerfed or anything but can we make the metas on maps like the Sandswept Isles or Draconis Mons just as rewarding or is this depending on how much the current head of development likes the map in question? I'd love to see some consistency here.

> The two advantages that Skyscale has over all mounts is:

>

> * Long distance climbing- With the mastery that lets you recharge flight bar and the ability to grab onto walls, you can fly upward farther than a Springer can jump. Springers are very limited on how far they can jump, but a skilled player with Skyscale could reach far enough that it can find a flat floor to recharge flight bar completely.

> * Precision flying- Griffon is very bad at this as it is always gliding. If you use a springer, you may not land on a ledge which will cause you to fall towards your death. Skyscale can move up, down, left, right, forward, backwards while Springers and Griffon cannot.

Which are pretty much useless if you think about it. Every place that would require "Long distance climbing" can either A: easily be accessed through other means, B: is part of a JP (meaning no mounts allowed) and C: is a place of no significance (e.g. reaching the top of the Dostoev Sky Peak). "Precision flying" on the other hand is only really useful for sightseeing but unrestricted flight would be much better in this regard.

At least the the griffon and the roller beetle actually offer some generally useful utility without anything holding back their potential (the only problem with the roller beetle was the slow start but bound of vigor took care of that problem) but that's what you get when the devs (by their own admission) put "making something cool looking" over functionality.

How they can keep me playing? Easy, make the content I like more rewarding.

The Great Hall event in Istan was an almost perfect example of a well designed meta. It was relatively short (usually ~10 min), rewarding and Warden Amala actually felt like a boss fight unlike the Mouth of Mordremoth and whatever this Kralkatorrik fight is supposed to be. The only complaint I had was that the champs were kind of a pace breaker but that's about it. Then they nerfed the loot into oblivion while also putting a "once per day" lock on it for no reason.

The game is full of interesting metas but aside from the initial experience I'm not going to waste my time on something that that's not rewarding and I'm not going to play rewarding content if it's boring as hell (like for example running around in circles in SW or the new Dragonfall meta).

I guess it's TD meta -> AB meta -> playing something else for like an hour and ten minutes -> TD meta -> ... until A-Net decides to either nuke the HoT metas too or releases another meta that's both rewarding and fun to play.

And yes, more world bosses / metas should have their own unique ascended gear / cosmetic infusion drops. Also, the infusions should be as rare as the ascended gear boxes (e.g. Tequatl's Hoard) and not this 1 to "you're not going to drop it anyways" nonsense we have rn.

> @"Astralporing.1957" said:

> the meta _is_ liked

I wonder how much of it comes from the fact that this meta is overly rewarding. Gameplay wise it's really nothing special and at times it's just a collection of everything wrong with PoF metadesign.

> @"GWMO.4785" said:

> There for i believe that filtering it out, to say "top (x) players" will be more effective.

Sounds like a terrible idea, just because someone has a high PvP rank doesn't mean that he is capable of giving objective and unbiased feedback.

The way they designed dual wielding, rn it's either hit or miss. Dual wielding should have changed the weapon sets depending on what they need and not the stupid "3 is a dual skill and everything else is weapon dependent" formula. P/P for example is completely dysfunctional because of it. Unload should have been the cost free baseline skill at 1 but nope, thanks to how dual wielding works you can either attack which means you don't have enough initiative for your utility skills or you can use your utility skills which means you don't have enough initiative to attack. Mix that with the fact that these skills also suffer heavily from synergy issues and it shouldn't be hard to see what the problems with the dual wielding system are.

There of course are more problems I have with the profession but this is by far my main issue, some weapon sets depending on the synergy of the skills like with the aforementioned P/P should be completely redesigned if necessary.

I finished crafting the The Predator. If the game forces me to use a rifle I at least want to have a decent skin for it. Sadly A-Nets design team is incredibly lazy in this regard and decided that every rarity type except for legendary don't get even the most basic sfx so my coices here were rather limited.

Other than that? The usual I guess: Some WvW dailies, HoT metas (they're so much better than PoF metas it's not even funny) and Tequatl once a day.

> @"cptaylor.2670" said:

> 1. Prophetic - but natural to Crystal Dragons anyway.

> 2. Mind/telepathy - attributed to Mordremoth.

> 3. Death from Zhaitan.

> 4. Immortal unless consumed/unbound - Joko. Which honestly seems like it could be applied to any of the elder dragons given their specific weaknesses/connection to the all or whatever as we see with Kralk.

She can also tear down the fabric of reality and travel through other dimensions which seems to be an ability she got from absorbing Balthazar's magic.

> @"Daniel Handler.4816" said:

> > @"Tails.9372" said:

> > Well the most recent guild chat answered this question, "it" was the magic that corrupted him.

>

> Wait what? Link? He doesn't have an alternate personality he has a sentient magical overlord?

"we're hearing the argument that's going between him and the part of him that is tormenting him which is really sort of the manifestation of all those magics"

[source](

> @"cptaylor.2670" said:

> Well, sort of. It was, but they posed the question essentially asking, "But is there something else exacerbating this?" Which implies that even though it was the magic, there may be another force that was at work.

Well we don't even know what magic actually is, whenever there's a magic leak elementals start to form. This is very reminiscent of an immune system assuming that the magic in this world in itself is some kind of "entity".

> @"cptaylor.2670" said:

> I wonder if, while we're focused on elder dragons, their origin, and attributing all of this potential manipulation and chaos to elder dragons, if there should be more thought put into the idea of beings that preceeded the elder dragons or may have aided in their creation.

We know though some NPC dialogue that all of the elder dragons used to be normal dragons who made it to "the top of the food chain" by consuming vasts amounts on magic. Over the course of time most people forgot about their origin and just assumed that they've always been there. So basically elder dragons are essentially just dragon's mutated by consuming to much magic. There are no beings that "created" them (aside from their parents) but there are definitely beings more ancient than them.

> @"LucianDK.8615" said:

> The world is simply not designed with unrestricted flight in mind. Remember how they had to redo the old world in wow to be able to have flight there.

The world is not designed with mounts in mind in general, unrestricted flight wouldn't make a difference here. There's no point in changing up the maps because of it unless they also want to account for the other mounts + the teleport device.

> @"Kidel.2057" said:

> Regardless of opinions they clearly said that unrestricted flight is bad, so it won't happen.

Without objective reasons that in itself is nothing more than an unfounded opinion. Also, citation needed.

> @"Kidel.2057" said:

> I think it would be legendary but I don't know if I'd like that direction. What's fun in that?

What fun is what? The ability to fly without being forced to stop every X seconds? Sounds like a lot more fun than what we have rn. Also, it's not required for anything and it would still be quite situational so you wouldn't really use it if it's not needed unless you actually want to.

> @"Kidel.2057" said:

> I think that would break everything, not only old maps.

Define "break everything". Sure "it sounds bad" to those who are concerned about balance but if you actually think about it you would realise that it wouldn't break anything that isn't already "broken" because of the other mounts. For starters you can only use it in OW PvE maps so it wouldn't break WvW and instanced content. JPs are already engulfed in "no mount zones" so the only thing left to break is map completion, problem is griffon + springer already completely "breaks" this part of the game. Even with unrestricted flight there's nothing left to break here.

Well the most recent guild chat answered this question, "it" was the magic that corrupted him.

The removal of the flight meter system would pretty much fix everything, it would still be slow enough / not as maneuverable as some of the other mounts while still being able to deliver what people are looking for in an uncompromised way.

> @"StayM.9162" said:

> i see a LOT of complain in pvp being the most hated class (is this even remotely true?)

It's true but it means nothing as people complain about anything they don't like regardless of whether or not there's a valid reason for it.

> @"Zaklex.6308" said:

> Since when does any industry have to explain their design decision? No industry has to do that, so why do you think game developers need to answer that question.

He never said they "need" to address them but like he said avoiding these questions makes them appear unprofessional.

> @"Zaklex.6308" said:

> Most design decisions, no matter what industry, are not for the consumer, but based on what the company wants and their plans, and this applies more so to the game industry than any other...it's what ever vision the developers had that go into the design of in-game items.

Then what is the "vision" of e.g. energy crystals shooting regular bullets with gunpowder effects? No matter how you want to spin it the vast amount of "missing" sfx when it comes to ranged weapons in particular is increadibly immersion breaking and there is no excuse for that. Sure, they are not "forced" to address it but like it or not there is still some valid ground for criticism here (and in many other parts of the game).

1. Given that Kralkatorriks actions were heavily influenced by the the magic that corrupted him and the fact that whenever there's a magic leak elementals start to from (which kinda reminds me of an immune system): **Is the magic in this world an entity with its own will?**

2. **Can you (at least in theory) purify an elder dragon?** Aside from some scoping issues there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the method the forgotten ones used.

> @"LucianDK.8615" said:

> We would never get free, unlimited flight like wow. Which is a good thing.

Not really, there is objectively no reason why the skyscale shouldn't have unrestricted flight given all the other limitations.

- Rework how dual wielding on weapon combos with low synergy works, e.g. dual pistol on thief should get up to four new weapon skills with unload as the baseline on 1.

- Bringing back the ricochet trait.

- Changing Thieves Guild to work like the rune summons.

- Adding an Elite skill for signets.