Etria.3642

> @"Bridget Morrigan.1752" said:

> I don't agree with all you've said about what should be changed about the disparity between the game modes, but I would agree that there's an issue with the original 2012 levelling combat design compared to where the game has evolved in high-end PvE. For example, as a fractal trainer one of my biggest hurdles to overcome is to get people off of their ranged weapons and piling up near each other so they can actually be booned and healed (and revived, if necessary). It's exactly opposite of everything the game had been teaching them to do up till that point. HoT is not forgiving enough to teach people otherwise and PoF probably isn't either (though I'd have to give that more thought). But I don't know how it could be fixed besides redesigning the original game, which is probably not feasible.

As someone who mains ranged in every other game it irks me every single time I obediently cluster with the boonbots to dutifully receive the buffs I must have to maintain a reasonable output. This is so....like. Why even MAKE classes ranged. There are perhaps 2 fights in the entire game that benefit from ranged and even THEN you don't have to. Bounties come to mind with the in and out circles.

Boons should hit everyone in your party within like 5000 range. Same for heals. But this is a discussion for another time and place and I doubt it is the OP's issue anyway. Sounds like they really wish their friends would play, but don't really care for the games their friends play. There I can sympathize. I don't play Borderlands or Diablo 3 or the first person shooters or Animal Crossing or League of Legends. I am in voice with them while THEY play, and I just go about my solo stuff in GW2 or SWtoR. Every so often I try to get them here(I have succeeded for some, but not all, our Discord is about 40 folks now, off and on) but some LIKE grinding. One lovingly described Runescape and how they had achieved so much and how many hours doing this and that and I was horror-filled. Boils down to not everyone likes the same things. Just how it is.

I saw this and thought it would be a suggestion for a VIP pass "tome" where you could put all your vip passes and then pick which one to go to. Darn.

I just went and bought the ones I was missing, and picked the most expensive one I was missing from the chest. Still need a staff and lonbow but eh. Eventually either I will get them or get enough others to sell and then buy them.

Does look interesting.

> @"Humor.5763" said:

> > @"ShadowCatz.8437" said:

> > > @"Tommo Chocolate.5870" said:

> > > > @"Linken.6345" said:

> > > > > @"Inculpatus cedo.9234" said:

> > > > > > @"Linken.6345" said:

> > > > > > You never got hero points from leveling up you got spirit shards. ( you still get this when you maxed out and trained all masteries in a region)

> > > > > >

> > > > > > They even made it easier so now you get enough skillpoints to max out all core traitlines+utility skills just by getting to 80

> > > > >

> > > > > Yes, characters used to get Skill Points when leveling up. Skill Points eventually turned into Hero Points and Spirit Shards after the time (a few months) when you got neither.

> > > > > Characters didn't get Spirit Shards until the change to Hero Points.

> > > >

> > > > Yea I forgot to put after 80 in there so correct.

> > >

> > > I think what Inculpatus is referring to is that when the game was released, once you reached level 80 you got an extra skill point every time you levelled up, similar to GW1. This meant you could get arbitrarily many skill points, but excess ones could be spent on things that nowadays cost spirit shards. When the old traitlines got reworked into specialisations, they converted the pre-level-80 skill points into hero points, and the post-level-80 those ones into spirit shards, presumably so that players who had accumulated tons of skill points couldn't use them to unlock elite specs.

> >

> > @"Tommo Chocolate.5870" is right that when the system where changed that accumulated HP points after full skill bar and traits turned into [Tome of Knowledge](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Tome_of_Knowledge), these in turns could be used to get Spirit Shard (which work as a token to purchase things at vendors) and now there is also crafting recipes that make use of ToK. People complained that they had no use for the massive amount after lvl 80 of ToK that you gained over time. ToK can be used to fast level up another character to level 80, if you wish to use it for that.

> >

> > **ToK could not be turned into anything from start (outside of levelling up to level 80), it came later that ANet changed into Spirit Shards and you got Spirit Shard as an compensation when that system changed. There have been several changes over the years so I will not claim to remember exact which happens first and it is not important here. What is important is that Spirit Shards are still useful as a vendor token (will be put into your Wallet) and ToK is used in recipes nowadays, so all in all it less of collecting dust in your inventory.

> >

> > Anyway @"Humor.5763" you aren't new to this game and already got access to a mount (Raptor from your picture), so why do you complain? You can not be so confused that you don't know how this system work today when you already have a mount. It would be something else if you didn't know even how to get a mount or how to do things.

> >

> > From my own PoV this system work well enough to make it easier from ingame achievement system to understand what option there is to gain Mastery and these aren't something you have to repeat for each character after you have gained it on one character, then next character will have a much easier time to explore or do things. Your progression is in that way accumulating on your account level and not on your character level (it is here where elite specialisation come in the picture).

> >

> > It is meant that you can do jumping puzzle if that is your thing to get Mastery points or if you hate JP, you can focus on story or something else and get the same amount your need to unlock things. Changes where made after HoT introduced Mastery for the first time and made Mastery less depending on a very limited number of Mastery Points (meaning you had to do things very linear as there where not enough ways to get enough of MP to level up your rank in that line for Mastery).

> > Most people also today get booster from different sources which make character level jump up to level 80 very fast, so Mastery is a way to expand on progression in way that it is shared among your characters. XP gain is something that you get while doing things in game independent of what type of PvE you are doing more or less as long your have activated that Mastery rank.

> >

> > The only thing that matters is that you are in the right map for the right group of Mastery you want to gain XP in. Doing mounts you will need to be on one of those maps that is PoF or Living World that belongs to that expansion to gain progression for that mount you want to level up in rank. Game have been designed so that most part of your achievement will also keep you in those places (there are some exceptions where you need to go to core Tyria). And as you already now those achievement are built to guide you step by step what to do next (even if that is not always so helpful, it is still part of how it is built). On map you will also see symbol where your mount is based (where you first unlock it [training NPC] and where you need to go for next step). All in all Mastery ranks is connected to gaining experience where you also collect from map those MP (where you some is part of lore and some other is part of using your mount) is a better system then the old HP where some people could have hard time to get other player to help them with getting there or even fight something to gain HP.

> >

> > If you do WvW or sPvP there is the same system, but here you have to pick which reward track you will want to have active. You can gain same kind of map token if you pick PoF reward tracks as you would be getting from playing in those maps in PvE. This is another option if you need a specific map token (you can see map token if you change view in Inventory - small symbol in lower left and filter it to only show map token). Just a warning: don't turn these map token into volatile magic as you want to move them into your Material Storage and not into your wallet. You can also check how many you already have stored in MS from your inventory if you hover with your mouse on that token before you use "Deposit from inventory" in the upper right corner of Inventory.

> >

> > Progression for Skyscale as an example is not only based on level up your rank in Mastery by accumulating MP and XP to unlock next rank for Skyscale (and the general Crystal Champion mastery track), but also to play in those maps to gain token that you can not get by playing in other map then where this token exist. There is a vendor in Dragonfall where you can exchange VM (this token you get from several maps and can also buy gathering tools that will over time give you a small amount of VM as you farm mats) to one of five maps token for PoF. This can only be done on daily basis and for 5 pc of that token (so this is not an option to get 250 token in one go from conversation of VM, but helps). Doing repeatable Hearts also give access to purchase a small amount map token, so this is way to get ppl to do events (which rewards with small amount of token) and do Hearts (daily reset- limited number of Hearts for each map) on regular basis.

> >

> > Map token is the real limit for your progression in combination of access to Gold to purchase certain object that you need for progressing in our achievement to get unlocked Skyscale for your own use. When you have triggered start of collecting for the mount achievement, you will also be able to borrow mount on certain places on map (look for new symbol on map where you can get those).

> >

> > The basic Skyscale that you can borrow will feel very different when you don't have Gliding (HoT) unlocked. With Gliding (Skyscale Master and Crystal Desert) you can summon your Skyscale if you fall from high place and want to be able to move in the air where you lack updraft (Skyscale have another way to move in air then basic Gliding). What I try to explain it is not as simple as just get a mount, but how can use your mount when you add those other Mastery ranks into the sum. With my Skyscale I can now go up a tiny bit more when my Energy bar is empty to reach VM in the sky (which refills Energy bar) or use a close walls or anything that I can not land on to full charge my flight bar and exchange energy bar into flight bar (green). I can boost forward two time with this bar, so I can "dodge" projectiles from ground and when I can not completely reach some thing I can use Bond of Faith which work as an extra launch before you descend again (need to activate Gliding). This means that I can jump from cliffs with gliding, summon Skyscale and use Bond of Faith to jump of my mount or I can use an AoE fire field which start when I close enough of ground. There is also food that can be crafted that will give quickness from unmounting.

> >

> > Combing all this and you have very different set of tools to get around in game. Looking down on the game world from the above the sky on my Skyscale is really something! ;)

> >

> >

>

> The raptor mount wasn't very hard to get. Week one of Path of Fire, I literally spent 10 minutes doing the raptor quest, and left the expansion far, FAR behind. Same with Revenant and HoT, never touched that expansion yet.

>

> As for the Skyscale progression, I've looked up how to get it, and seen a bunch of people on Reddit and such saying "Nope, not even going to bother", because of how much effort you actually have to put into getting it.

>

> As someone who put a mere 836 hours/67,344 hours total. I assume I'd fall into that group as well.

>

> That kind of "Progression" is simply not fun. I see a lot of people mention "Wooden Potato" when it comes to the game and such, and even one of his most recent video's pretty much states the boredom, and lack of stuff to do in Guild Wars 2 now, to the "Casual" player.

>

> Anyways, I suppose I just need to attempt these masteries, as the screenshot also shows, I am not afraid to put in huge time sinks all at once. I just have to have fun doing so, and, creating new classes, and seeing the experience bar just "Stop", kind of ruins that fun.

>

> Alas, I have to finish the core story again, before i attempt to touch the Living World on my Necro, and Expansions. Could always skip right to Drytop, seeing how my Renegade is there already, and beat the story a while ago, but... That's just out of order, and wrong.

So you have stopped playing your renegade not because you don't like playing the renegade but because the exp bar wouldn't fill up but then refuse to play the expansions... Where your bar would be filling up again to get all those masteries.

The core Tyria game is so little of what is on offer. I don't understand why you don't keep on playing the story in the expansions and living world.. If you were free to play WITHOUT the expansions I could get it but you aren't. It's like going to an amusement park that has different sections and only visiting the same one each time you go.

> @"TheJmandude.1548" said:

> > @"Etria.3642" said:

> > A friend convinced me to try final fantasy lately. Character creation there is amazing. And then the actual...Bleh. Your character doesn't speak. Why on Earth can you PICK your characters voice and then they don't use it.

> >

> > Very jarring after the awesomeness that is gw2. But the actual character creation is very nice.

> >

> > Tldr: more hairstyles yes please.

>

> I personally prefer having a silent character. In every game, my character NEVER sounds the way I want him to sound or says what I'd imagine him saying in certain scenarios, so being able to imagine that makes me more invested in him. As for voice packs for audible emotes, I'm fine with it just so long as the game gives me the option to not sound like the Rock, such as in FFXIV.

You do have a point about them never sounding the way you like, but even the npc's have no voice in FF. Bleh.

Also re the hairstyles it's weird. I really admire/love some of the braided hairstyles I see IRL but they don't seem to fit my character. I prefer loose curly styles.

> @"thehipone.6812" said:

> Aside from the above mentioned infusions- more Interesting loot is out there, pof added heaps of rare minis, music boxes, heck even forged weapons, the named sun spear weapons, named warbeast armor and warbeast recipes were rare and valuable at pof launch. Hot had it in things like dandy bluster, the Mordrem weapons (sword was 300+ gold until added to other sources and a neat skin). To my knowledge, all of the ls4 episodes have rare drops - eye of argon, sunscythe, the dwarves weapons, some of the Icebrood saga armor pieces etc.

>

> But here’s the thing- much of the rare loot comes from stuff more likely to be completed by “explorer” types. Bounties, the highlands treasure hunt, opening random chests you find, different events around the maps. The “optimized” meta farm trains never do these things and thus just get champ bags and unids. They’re often designed to maximize bags and anything in them can’t stay valuable or rare for long due to the sheer amount of bags that will be opened. Or the things have to be either infusion-rare or account bound ( like teq or aurene weapon chest).

>

> What i do wish was better communicated for the general players sake is how/where to get the rarer stuff. I guess scouring the wiki and tp together works, but would be nicer in game somehow. Maybe a recurring rare treasure hunter npc who pops up in maps and says “hey, I’m here because I’ve gotten reports of X, keep your eyes open for it”. At least you would know what is out there.

Since this helpful post got bypassed I think this isn't a request for rare loot but only a request to make one specific rare drop less so.

A friend convinced me to try final fantasy lately. Character creation there is amazing. And then the actual...Bleh. Your character doesn't speak. Why on Earth can you PICK your characters voice and then they don't use it.

Very jarring after the awesomeness that is gw2. But the actual character creation is very nice.

Tldr: more hairstyles yes please.

These groups don't rely on consumables, though they help. They micromanage each class. The squad is not one huge party but carefully and precisely divided into groups of 5, or sometimes 10, to maximize boon sharing, condi cleanse, and healing, among other buffs and tactics, including stealth. They practice, in moving together, following directions, and functioning as a unit. They use commands and voice and certain specific builds. They are MEANT to tackle another group as large or larger than they are. Should a hapless player without a group happen to encounter them, it should be no surprise that that player will lose.

Your class is, in fact, one of those desired by said group, but they only want 1 or 2. Those 1 or 1 are typically placed in a group with a full minstrel firebrand, and a heal scrapper, so that protection, aegis, boons, healing, and might are all carefully spoonfed. They expect in return that the elementalist tops the charts in dps--if you think wvw groups of this caliber do not use arcdps just like pve raiders you would be mistaken.

However, should you be solo, and encounter one of them running back to meet up with their zerg, because their builds and skills are so precisely picked to complement the group, it often leaves them open to being killed that way.

That said, if you plan on running solo, check out some of the recommended builds. I have seen determined tempests manage to be thorns in the sides of many groups.

If you do like wvw though, I heartily recommend joining a guild, checking out their builds, joining their Discord, and entering in the fun that way. And while it is work to get yourself setup, it IS fun.

Monk runes are account bound, so if you ever want those then the dungeon track for that is a good choice.

Many gen 1 legendaries require a dungeon currency, so if you are thinking of making one, then that choice may help.

> @"Treacy.4067" said:

> Yeah I stopped making Aurora and Vision because I realized I'd be stuck with auras I do not want. You can't sell them either so what's the point in spending time, money, and materials making them when you can just use ascended? I also think the two new ones look ridiculous so I'm not going to bother with those either. It's nice for those that like that sort of thing I guess.

You do realize that the two new ones can be made without the effects? In fact you craft the slumbering version and then that is used to add effects. Just stop at slumbering.

Do not ever use the bulk recipe. 1 at a time works far better.

Edit: Wait, you said three years? You should be SWIMMING in clovers from the monthly chests.

Definitely unlock raptor and gliding. I did that on a guardian, then parked them at Matriarch for about a year to earn hot xp easily on my alt account.

I realize you'll never really experience core maps the "hard" way if you do this, but you can always make an alt account.

Gliding and mounts just make the game so much more unique and enjoyable compared to every other fantasy setting. If you skip scenes it won't even really spoil things.

As to which class, the only one I had trouble grasping was revenant but ymmv.

It also sounds rather like when you stopped at Core Tyria, or when hitting 80, you swapped to another character....which indeed meant doing everything all over again until 80.

Why did you not go on to HoT and PoF and the living seasons you have access to? All of those will give you mastery points and progress a different mastery bar, AND HoT and PoF give hero points, only 10 at a time instead of 1.

I don't have it bookmarked, wish I did, but someone had a really awesome post with the "easy" Core Tyria mastery points. all four places for masteries will give you more mastery points than you actually need. Also if you do not wish to get hero points from the expansion areas, you can wvw and simply buy them.

I second the person who said this will make playing through an alt more enjoyable.

Good decision, stay safe.

They do have a waypoint thing in the gemstore...so I doubt this would ever be a thing.

> @"sorudo.9054" said:

> since this update i found out something nasty, we now need to use a transmutation charge to use capes.

> they used to be free to apply, i just checked 1 minute ago that it does cost a trans. charge right now.

>

> i don't know if this is a mistake and they are fixing it in a future patch but if it's intentional, it's IMO quite a backstab.

Actually they were supposed to be using one all along. Consider previous uses without to have been freebies.

> @"frareanselm.1925" said:

> > @"Dawdler.8521" said:

> > Yeah meanwhile there are those of us sitting on 10,000+ hours over 8 years.

> >

> > People coming into GW2 seeking "endgame progression" are missing the point. GW2 is the MMO eqvivalent of like... the "endgame progression" in the Battlefield series. There is just no such thing as "progression" once you get to a loadout you like. There is a learning curve for sure at 1-80 but it's like a tutorial, little more.

> >

> > Endgame in GW2 is simply... playing the game. Play WvW if you want continous warfare. Play sPvP if you want quick matches. Play PvE if you just want to explore, get new fashion, achievements, instances etc.

> >

> > Many of us are literally growing old with the game and are using it as a social hub while having fun. I mean what else are you going to do? Go on Twitter or Facebook? I'd rather dunk my head in a vat of acid.

>

> What they mean by engame progression is "rewards for hard work". If they spend hundreds of hours to craft a legendary, or hundred raids to obtain a specific armor, the logic to expect is to have a little "advantage" over players who touch their balls all day. Just that.

> And by advantage I mean a little more stats, or damage or whataver. I'm not saying something crazy.

> That is the reason why 60% of players leave this game.

I guarantee you that someone who has raided that much does indeed have a skill advantage over someone who has not honed their skills. Crafting a legendary however only requires gold and time.

You do not have to run behind a Zerg to get your warclaw or gift of battle.

Simply kill a guard for each objective you need for warclaw. Then run around solo killing sentries, claiming ruins, taking or helping take camps. Repair a wall there or there. Keep your participation up.

When the Zerg runs through and takes the keep tower etc, so long as you have not left the map you get credit.

I recommend picking the red map for this and tagging whichever keep has not tiered up but on the safe side you can tag all three. Or better yet get in one of the map on reset. If you dislike red, go for blue or green but stay away from the map with Stonemist Castle as keeps there do not change hands as often.

Make sure you use boosts to get you more reward track progression. There is an infusion for the amulet, a guild Hall boost, etc.

Not being in the squad means you are missing on speed buffs, healing, protection, aegis, condi clears, and vocal instruction on movement. Unless you intend to actually PLAY wvw I would just stick to being solo.

Also don't get annoyed if a roamer kills you. Think of it as progressing their progress in achievements. Just respawn and try for a different objective.

I cannot believe you stated that final fantasy was easier to get into raids than gw2. Clearly you haven't compared them in actually.

In addition in gw2 it is incredibly easy to change builds. Exotics are cheap, or if you have ascended just use the mystic forge to change them. It's even easy to gear for raids to begin with because you do not need ascended. You certainly don't need legendaries.

Compared to ff14 which takes forever... You can keep it.

> @"HotDelirium.7984" said:

>

> >

> > There are many changes the dev team could make that would make raiding easier, without changing the boss difficulty, and also benefit every other player in any other kind of combat.

>

> It would never happen but if I had unlimited resources and was a dev I'd implement the lfg queue (when we reach 10 we are prompted to teleport and begin). Each player then is given a specific role and has visuals queue's about where to stand, attack etc per boss or encounter. Consider it "hold your hand during regular mode" instead of just an easy mode. ^_^ lol

>

>

Each player then is given a specific role--does that then mean the queue won't "pop" if a support class isn't there, and/or would someone be forced to play support/tank/heal/kite? I have fought, for instance, Deimos many times, both ranged and melee, but have never tanked it, never kited oil, and let's just say I'm not the first choice for hands, either. GW2 isn't the normal trinity, where an auto pop is rather easier to define(tank,heals,dps) and if you queue as one of the three that is where you'll be slotted. But a player who is specced as, say, a nice and simple shortbow condi soulbeast(perfect for ranged strat Deimos) might be expected to respec and play heal druid kiting oil. I cannot see how that would work out so well in most cases.

and has visuals queue's about where to stand--this kind of exists already, or at least, it's when to move out of bad(yellow flashy screen edges) and when to move into good (green circles) and honestly, the floor is usually covered with stuff so adding even more individualized circles might go into information overload. Plus, how to do something like that for Sloth, where the floor practically IS the fight, or...eh, I can't think of a fight where this would work, to be honest. Too much can be changed by the players, too many visuals already.

The games I've experienced that used a "story mode" for raids, usually ended up dumbing down even those. They either eliminate, or lessen, all mechanics. So for instance, Deimos oils would drop, but not spread. Hands would appear but do no damage. You wouldn't actually get knocked off the platform. Saul wouldn't ever die.

-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`

To a couple other points above the quoted post, regarding rewards. Raids are not all THAT rewarding one boss at a time, it's only nice when you do a few bosses in clumps. As in. a couple or more entire WINGS. So if the easy modes still gave rewards, they would be so trivial as so be insulting. The suggestion was exotics. Well, that's what the regular raids give. An exotic, a couple gold, some green and blue gear, magnetic shards. A CHANCE at a mini or ascended. You can go weeks without getting one of those drops. Yes, raid enough and you will get them, or can buy them with the shards, but what would you reduce that to for an easy version? 30 silver, a rare and a chance at an exotic, plus a couple shards? At that point Strikes are a better time investment, and require much less in terms of group composition.

In order for easy mode raids to be useful for progression, they should at least INCLUDE the visuals of the mechanics. So someone could learn oil kiting in Deimos, orb-pushing in KC, greens in Dhuum, but without incentive to do them, there won't be enough folks filling them up. In the raid area, someone suggested just little training areas for these mechanics, which I agree with.

I do think that raids currently have a huge disparity in difficulty. You can't put Twin Largos on the same scale as Cairn. I DO wish they had some consistency. If they were to level raids to make 2 levels that would be reasonable, in my opinion. For instance, leave Wing 4 as is for "easy mode" with perhaps making Deimos slightly more forgiving. Bump them all up for a regular mode. Challenge motes for truly difficult(and put in rewards for completing it more than once). For wing 5, make it easier for a regular mode. Maybe bump up a couple things for regular, but it's somewhat difficult as is, and again, make the challenge motes truly difficult AND truly rewarding. Not impossible. Difficult.

Basically level them out. Otherwise, as it currently is, someone could try Mursaat Overseet and think, hey, yeah, I can do this. They glance at LFG, and try Quadim and nope right out of any other raids.

They can also be used to craft decorations for the guild hall.

Play the thief awhile. When or if you get bored, go back to the engi and give Holosmith a chance.

Power Holo either rifle or sword shield is really fun.

Someone said above that if you have completed all the achievements from SAB yet are still spending time there that it shows you enjoy the content.

Or you could be farming this limited time opportunity. Glitched weapon prices are bound to go back up after the festival. You also have chances to get orange and blue weapon crates to sell. And there are the weekly rewards. And guild decorations from the fancy furniture coins.

I personally enjoy spending time in SAB but I am outnumbered in guild by those doing it for mercenary reasons.

That said, analytics probably form the foundation for polls, to confirm choices.

> @"Captain Kuro.8937" said:

> Based on analytics , a person who does : 1x raid per week , 4x daily Fractals ,3x fast daily achievements (5 min job - 2 gold)

> and then moves any other mode he loves (or farm spots) , In my eyes is a ''balanced player'' .

>

> Now the question is :

> Why people , can't/won't do 1x Raid per week , so we can justify the faster releases of the Raids ?

> Only once per week , is needed . And preferably 8.000-10.000 people .

> Its the company job to split the gold rewards in half and put a 3 day reset , rather than a weekly , increasing participation

Part of it is the misinformation out there about raids. Folks believe they have to do them all in one go, that they have to parse to snowcrows numbers, that they can't play a class they are comfortable on, that raiders are going to make them feel inferior, or....or that raids just aren't a big enough reward in the time management thing, and they would just simply rather do something else that to them is more reward for their time and enjoyment. Perhaps a mix of both.