TheAgedGnome.7520

Agreed. It's not as though limiting shared slots is going to help them sell more per-character bag slots.

> @"Rokeb.3815" said: > One big 'quality of life' difference is important to note: > > Jallis's whirling hammer is like a weed whacker for Pocket Raptors while running the power version - it's like they run into a blender. Triple pack? No problem. They just turn into a red mist. > > The condi build will kill them, but much more slowly, a quick glance indicates only about a third of the damage of my power setup. Mallyx [Embrace the Darkness](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Embrace_the_Darkness) is the condi weed whacker. :) Especially with critters like pocket raptors that are moving constantly, they just kill themselves faster. [Call to Anguish](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Call_to_Anguish) AoE pull is nice for grouping, then EtD, then move around just a step or two to make the mobs move, and EtD just melts stuff.

> @"Ajji.6031" said: > I literally just realized I don’t NEED to craft Pahua armor to get Trailblazers stats... /facepalm. I’ll just craft exotic Trailblazers exotic armor so I don’t even need to worry about ascended armor for now. Either craft the Harrier's Warbeast exotics (buy the recipes from TP), which are actually not Harrier's but are stat-selectable (!), or go to Verdant Brink and do a T4 meta to get a [bladed Armor Box](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Bladed_Armor_Box) for a stat-selectable exotic chest armor, and buy the other pieces with airship parts from the [VB vendor](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Itzel_Mastery_Vendor#vendor4). > I guess I’m mostly wondering what time-gated activities, crafting I should keep in mind, so I can do those on the side. Daily gated: * [Charged Quartz Crystal](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Charged_Quartz_Crystal) * [Ectoplasm Refinements](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Refinement#Ectoplasm_refinements)

> @"Cyninja.2954" said: > > @"TheAgedGnome.7520" said: > > > @"Cyninja.2954" said: > > > > @"TheAgedGnome.7520" said: > > > > The sale of the [black Lion Instant Level 80 Tickets](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Black_Lion_Instant_Level_80_Ticket) and [Waypoint Unlock Boxes](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Waypoint_Unlock_Box) completely nullify and make laughable any argument that sale of mastery points would somehow be a new and unique undermining of "progression". > > > > > > No they don't, except that many who oppose the sale of mastery points would gladly remove those 2 items as well (okay let me speak for myself here: "I would gladly remove those 2 as well as some of the other "let's skip parts of this game for cash" gem store items). > > > > These two items have been around for a long time and have not been contentious - there has been no significant protest to remove them. > > > > > > One of both items is basically a scam of new players (the level 80 boost) and the other was discussed shortly after getting added but dismissed because the most annoying part is actually doing the heart quests. > > Both of those items got their forum threads on release, as did the permanent harvesting tools and other new items. You merely forgot about them. > > Both of those items do prove my point though: there is demand for more and more implementation of "skip content for cash". Wait until something gets added which you object to, then remember this day now. "One of both items is basically a scam of new players..." LOLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No, I won't object to mastery points or similar items - that's not an argument.

I've never liked the Power options, so for me its Trailblazer condi all the way. It's so powerful and sturdy. This is what I use. http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PmwAUlfltQIsMKipRSsNCiNSgMDSgj8V/TH-zRJYkKmacZ0bKESFo30kinNA-e

> @"Cyninja.2954" said: > > @"TheAgedGnome.7520" said: > > The sale of the [black Lion Instant Level 80 Tickets](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Black_Lion_Instant_Level_80_Ticket) and [Waypoint Unlock Boxes](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Waypoint_Unlock_Box) completely nullify and make laughable any argument that sale of mastery points would somehow be a new and unique undermining of "progression". > > No they don't, except that many who oppose the sale of mastery points would gladly remove those 2 items as well (okay let me speak for myself here: "I would gladly remove those 2 as well as some of the other "let's skip parts of this game for cash" gem store items). These two items have been around for a long time and have not been contentious - there has been no significant protest to remove them.

If it was me, I'd use map metas and bounty trains as a way to get used to a group spec like that. If you mess up, no one is going to yell at you, and you can experiment without much repercussion.

The sale of the [black Lion Instant Level 80 Tickets](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Black_Lion_Instant_Level_80_Ticket) and [Waypoint Unlock Boxes](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Waypoint_Unlock_Box) completely nullify and make laughable any argument that sale of mastery points would somehow be a new and unique undermining of "progression".

> @"Cobalt Flame.8056" said: > ...If you haven't received your rewards from the Crystal Bloom yet, **be sure to collect them from their representative in Eye of the North before December 1**.... How is this going to work for new people that don't play this chapter until _after_ Dec 1??

> @"lare.5129" said: > that the point to have 80%-90% boon duration if necro not provide meta boons?? no quickness, no alac, no fury ... only for some might that we already have from another boon classes? > that not good builds It would primarily be for the healing from regen on staff3 and Mark of Evasion.

I only use Facet of Strength to immediately use Burst of Strength. But both of those skills seem weak.

> @"AceSoar.8230" said: > I'm NA, I have the raptor i just got it yesterday, but I need to get experience and Im supposed to get mastery points just so I can get the long jump so I can get to the area that has the 2nd mount? Or is that wrong? The best way to get XP is doing the [heart quests](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Renown_Heart) on the map, or to join a group on the map doing events or bounties ("bounty train"). > Server doesnt matter? thats cool if thats the case. Doesn't matter. > I was in the desert town and a bunch of people were defending a town and I was leveling up a little that way, but after they killed that boss, they would disappear and after a while I would get a message saying switch to another channels, then they would be fighting the boss on that channel, I didnt know how to follow them or switch channels so I could start the fight from the beginning lol I think you mean 'switch map instances' instead of 'switch channels'? If so, then you would right-click on the squad icon for the group leader and choose "Join in Desert Highlands" (or whatever map name it is). This the [Megaserver](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/April_2014_Feature_Pack#Megaserver_system) system, which dynamically creates multiple copies of the same map, as needed, based on player count. So you sometimes need to use "Join in X" to get into the same copy of the map that your party or squad is in.

> @"Veprovina.4876" said: > > Yeah, that's what i thought. I'll scour the TP for a few cheap ones. Maybe unlock some skins in the process, they unlock by salvaging so that's a bonus. :tongue: > Though, mostly all i could find before was lvl 80 expensive stuff. I never saw an exotic below lvl 80, is that even possible? On the TP, highlight **Armor** category, set filter to **Any Profession** and **Exotic**. Then, using the headers, sort by the **Price** column. Cheapest exotics should be 25-30 silver.

* Story was ok. Looking forward to what comes next. * Dialogue was mediocre. The overwrought Jhavi vs. Marjory bitch-fest was tiresome. Braham...well, anything with Braham inevitably pegs the emo scale. I don't know why the writer's hate him so much that they have mutilated his personality. Also, too many words. Tension and drama aren't created with words; they are created in the spaces in-between. * Confusing non-ending (hiatus?) that left most of us scratching our heads, even thinking that maybe the next quest step was bugged. Response missions: * A nice change of pace from strike missions. Kudos. * Feel much more accessible to the general population. * A tad tedious in length, and repetitive in mob types. * In the first playthrough I was annoyed that much of the NPC dialogue occurred while moving and during combat, often making it difficult to hear or follow the conversation. But, repeating the missions, I am grateful that the NPCs aren't stopping to chit-chat before moving on - that would have quickly become tedious if one is repeating these daily. * Yes, it is a reuse of existing assets, but since the story occurs in the existing world, it seems inevitable that such reuse occurs. Also, this keeps the content from feeling like yet another siloed, disconnected, pointless strike mission which is irrelevant to the story events. Issues like LFG party vs. squad need to be ironed out, but since it is likely that more response missions are coming, I'm sure that is being looked at now.

In case anyone is wondering what the OP is talking about, here is the thread in the bugs forum regarding fps drop with Vermillion wings: https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/111465/vermilion-wings-are-causing-performance-issues-for-everyone-who-plays-the-game

> @"thehipone.6812" said: > There's the home instance node too. Which (as if they couldn't figure out enough ways to aggravate players) only drops 1 crystal per gather over the entire node. i.e., got the prismatic crystal on first strike, butsecond and third strikes gave junk items - one gravel, one stone. Similar for me: 1 crystal and 2 gravel.

> @"Wisely.4819" said: > > @"TheAgedGnome.7520" said: > > > @"Wisely.4819" said: > > > > > > I don't know if I understand it fully with the shatters, you shatter 3 with F1 and then the next 3 with F2? > > > > I do, but you could also F1, and then keep the next 3 alive until F1 is off CD again, then use F1, and repeat. I honestly don't know the 'ideal' method. > > oki thank you :D i can do that Watching the video again at 50% speed, he hits F1 & F2 at 11 sec on Staff3 CD timer. But F2 has a 25 sec CD whereas F1 is 12sec and Staff3 is 14.5sec, so either you need to wait to use Staff3 off of CD until F2 is ready again, or you use Staff3 but just don't shatter until F2 is ready. It looks like he is often doing the latter, but not always. I think because I'm generally not soloing champs, things tend to die fairly quickly, so I'm not seeing all the benefits of boon stacking from leaving clones alive; instead, its better to just shatter and finish the kill; but in his examples of soloing the time to kill is longer so he does see that boon stacking benefit.

> @"Wisely.4819" said: > > @"TheAgedGnome.7520" said: > > > @"Wisely.4819" said: > > > > @"TheAgedGnome.7520" said: > > > > > @"Wisely.4819" said: > > > > > I have settled on Mesmer for now too, my current issue is just that whenever I see a necromancer running around I wish I was playing one too :( > > > > > > > > For OW mesmer, might want to look at staff condi Mirage. It's fun and easy, and strong for soloing. Doesn't provide much support, though, unlike chrono: > > > > > > > > -- > > > > > > Oh wow I had no idea staff was viable!!! Can you explain the gist of the build to me? The video is very fast and I have trouble catching the rotation or which F skills he uses there. > > > > Hizen responded to that kind of question in the Youtube comments with this: > > > 1 tip to make sure you have vigor and to keep having 3 clones > > > shattering gives you vigors but it will destroy your clones so here is the trick to shatter and still have clones > > > when you use 3 on staff 2 phantasm will attack the target before the CD of skill 3 reach 11 shatter F1 and F2 the moment the CD reach 10 the clones you shatter them will be replaced with the other 2 clones and when u dodge you create 1 thats the most important thing you need to practice with :) > > > > So, the idea is to keep a constant supply of clones in the pipeline ready for shattering. You can create clones directly with Staff2 and with dodges (Deceptive Evasion trait), and then shatter them (preferably when you have 3 clones). But you can also create two phantasms w/Staff3, which after several seconds (i.e., when Staff3 CD timer reaches 10) then those two phantasms become clones, and if you then dodge to create a 3rd clone, you can now shatter those 3. Swap staffs as needed to get back energy for dodging (Energy sigils) and repeat. What you want to avoid is wasting the conversion of the two phantasms to clones by having shattered prior to the 10 sec CD timer point, or having at most one clone at that point. > > > > In my variant, I swapped out the mantra utilities for Phantasmal Defender and Signet of Illusions. The former gives me another phantasm which also draws aggro (but also now another phantasm CD timer to monitor), and the latter another source of clone generation (one every 10 sec.). > > > > It seems like a lot to manage, and if you are hoping for ideal timing and max clone shatters/min. then it would be; but realistically, if you shatter occasionally with 2 instead of 3, or you waste a clone here or there, its no big deal in most cases. Think of clones as ammo or weapon strikes, and just as we often don't perform an ideal weapon skill rotation or use ammo skills perfectly they still work good enough to get the job done. It's actually pretty fluid once you get the hang of it. > > > > So, the main things are to not seek absolute perfection in your clone generation and shattering, and to fight the urge to be the damage dealer - instead, you should be evasive and let your clones/phantasms get the aggro and do the damage. > > > > Oh, and to be clear - when I say 'dodge', it's really more of an evade, thanks to Mirage Cloak trait. > > I don't know if I understand it fully with the shatters, you shatter 3 with F1 and then the next 3 with F2? I do, but you could also F1, and then keep the next 3 alive until F1 is off CD again, then use F1, and repeat. I honestly don't know the 'ideal' method.

> @"Wisely.4819" said: > > @"TheAgedGnome.7520" said: > > > @"Wisely.4819" said: > > > I have settled on Mesmer for now too, my current issue is just that whenever I see a necromancer running around I wish I was playing one too :( > > > > For OW mesmer, might want to look at staff condi Mirage. It's fun and easy, and strong for soloing. Doesn't provide much support, though, unlike chrono: > > > > -- > > Oh wow I had no idea staff was viable!!! Can you explain the gist of the build to me? The video is very fast and I have trouble catching the rotation or which F skills he uses there. Hizen responded to that kind of question in the Youtube comments with this: > 1 tip to make sure you have vigor and to keep having 3 clones > shattering gives you vigors but it will destroy your clones so here is the trick to shatter and still have clones > when you use 3 on staff 2 phantasm will attack the target before the CD of skill 3 reach 11 shatter F1 and F2 the moment the CD reach 10 the clones you shatter them will be replaced with the other 2 clones and when u dodge you create 1 thats the most important thing you need to practice with :) So, the idea is to keep a constant supply of clones in the pipeline ready for shattering. You can create clones directly with Staff2 and with dodges (Deceptive Evasion trait), and then shatter them (preferably when you have 3 clones). But you can also create two phantasms w/Staff3, which after several seconds (i.e., when Staff3 CD timer reaches 10) then those two phantasms become clones, and if you then dodge to create a 3rd clone, you can now shatter those 3. Swap staffs as needed to get back energy for dodging (Energy sigils) and repeat. What you want to avoid is wasting the conversion of the two phantasms to clones by having shattered prior to the 10 sec CD timer point, or having at most one clone at that point. In my variant, I swapped out the mantra utilities for Phantasmal Defender and Signet of Illusions. The former gives me another phantasm which also draws aggro (but also now another phantasm CD timer to monitor), and the latter another source of clone generation (one every 10 sec.). It seems like a lot to manage, and if you are hoping for ideal timing and max clone shatters/min. then it would be; but realistically, if you shatter occasionally with 2 instead of 3, or you waste a clone here or there, its no big deal in most cases. Think of clones as ammo or weapon strikes, and just as we often don't perform an ideal weapon skill rotation or use ammo skills perfectly they still work good enough to get the job done. It's actually pretty fluid once you get the hang of it. So, the main things are to not seek absolute perfection in your clone generation and shattering, and to fight the urge to be the damage dealer - instead, you should be evasive and let your clones/phantasms get the aggro and do the damage. Oh, and to be clear - when I say 'dodge', it's really more of an evade, thanks to Mirage Cloak trait. Edit: As Hizen says in another comment: > when u dodge u shot number 1 special attack the purple orb every orb that goes through u yourself and the clones orbs each 1 gives u 3 might and fury That is, since clones use the staff1 autoattack skill, if you leave them up and DON'T shatter them, then the orbs from that skill also bounce back you building up might and fury. So, shatter vs. don't shatter is another choice you have.

> @"Wisely.4819" said: > > @"Mungo Zen.9364" said: > > > @"Wisely.4819" said: > > > > > I do not care about PvP, WvW, Fractals, Raids or the meta. I just want to nyooom around > > > > > > Mesmer - VERY shiny. Does it have good AoE damage? > > > > Power Chrono with Greatsword/Phantasm. Downside is the dragon part might be lacking... > > > > But if all you wanna do is OW PvE Chrono is a lot of fun, is good ranged or melee, can be specced to hit hard or have sustain/support, and has some good aoe abilities, has built in speed boost even. Works well in zergs or solo, small groups too, can be setup to do some champs and bounties solo, story stuff is easy as well. > > > > Join team butterfly, it’s the shiniest... bonus points for going Sylvari > > > > > > I have settled on Mesmer for now too, my current issue is just that whenever I see a necromancer running around I wish I was playing one too :( For OW mesmer, might want to look at staff condi Mirage. It's fun and easy, and strong for soloing. Doesn't provide much support, though, unlike chrono:

I like the overall concept. I wonder about using Pack runes and Toxic oil since you really don't utilize Power in the build. Also, the 30k health is great, but is it overkill? I wonder too if the 10% condi duration is worth it. This swaps out trinkets and weapons for Seraph to give you 42% crit, Water runes & Water sigils for more HP and healing on crit, and oil to a cheaper option but boon duration goes up to 90%. http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PSwAYt/lNwkYgMN2Im6X+vKA-zRRYoRN+NsyIxKI9UQ3ZBwhN-e Of course, there's a zillion possible permutations, so this is just my musing.

> @"Wisely.4819" said: > > @"TheAgedGnome.7520" said: > > > @"Wisely.4819" said: > > > > @"TheAgedGnome.7520" said: > > > > Condi Herald Revenant. > > > > It's a tankasaurus , full Trailblazer build. > > > > You have Glint as one of the legends, so you get your dragon theme. :) > > > > Moderate on the shinies spectrum, but still its really potent. > > > > (Build link is in the description) > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Can you play it with ranged weapons? > > > > I was concerned about that when I first started using Herald, but the reality is that Mace2 is 480 range, Mace3 is 1200, Axe4&5 are 900 , Elemental Blast is 600 and Chaotic Release is 450. So, although Mace/Axe looks like a melee-only setup, it has a lot of range ability too. Plus its so tanky that being in melee range is quite fine. > > > > Renegade does give you the shortbow (900) and the summons (600), but you lose Glint and instead get Kalla. I sometimes run Herald, sometimes Renegade, using the same armor/trinkets, depending on the situation. Both specs have their benefits, so I don't consider it an either/or decision. > > I tried the Herald out in the Mists against one of the class training dummy NPCs and it killed me, which was embarrassing and also maybe proof that the way energy consumption works on Herald might be too galaxy brain for me I think Revenant is the most difficult class to learn. It's so unintuitive at first how to manage energy, dps, legend skills, and tactics at the same time. When I first tried Rev I hated it because it seemed so weird and I constantly ran out of energy and died. It's worth investing time in, though, and getting used to holding off on using utilities due to energy, getting used to using the secondary capabilities of Glint utilities, and swapping legends as needed.

> @"PacketJ.2901" said: > I think one good solution is to implement "favorites". This. For god sake, let me choose (e.g., with checkbox) those specific maps, etc. I want as favorites so that when I open LFG it enumerates my favorites list EXPANDED as the top entries, with all the current lists below it.

> @"Wisely.4819" said: > > @"TheAgedGnome.7520" said: > > Condi Herald Revenant. > > It's a tankasaurus , full Trailblazer build. > > You have Glint as one of the legends, so you get your dragon theme. :) > > Moderate on the shinies spectrum, but still its really potent. > > (Build link is in the description) > > > > > > Can you play it with ranged weapons? I was concerned about that when I first started using Herald, but the reality is that Mace2 is 480 range, Mace3 is 1200, Axe4&5 are 900 , Elemental Blast is 600 and Chaotic Release is 450. So, although Mace/Axe looks like a melee-only setup, it has a lot of range ability too. Plus its so tanky that being in melee range is quite fine. Renegade does give you the shortbow (900) and the summons (600), but you lose Glint and instead get Kalla. I sometimes run Herald, sometimes Renegade, using the same armor/trinkets, depending on the situation. Both specs have their benefits, so I don't consider it an either/or decision.

Condi Herald Revenant. It's a tankasaurus , full Trailblazer build. You have Glint as one of the legends, so you get your dragon theme. :) Moderate on the shinies spectrum, but still its really potent. (Build link is in the description)