Ascended Gear was a Mistake

[Blockhead Magee.3092]

Ascended armor, trinkets and weapons were a welcome addition to the game. The time gating was the only annoyance that it brought.

 

Most of the complaints I see are not a result of the gear, but are people upset that someone else doesn't let them play with their group because of their gear. Freedom of association goes for everyone regardless of their reasoning. LFG LEFT HANDED PEOPLE ONLY! and watch the outraged right handers complain about the toxic left handed ones. The whole time, they could have been building their own group.

[blambidy.3216]

> @"Jumpin Lumpix.6108" said:

> My friends feel that ascended gear was a mistake in game design. It serves as an artificial barrier for entry into content, over something as trivial as a 5-10% stat gain. In pve it serves as psychological barrier for players to constantly question and exclude others from fractals and raids. It also results in endless inquiries into whether or not you have ascended gear, and to show said ascended gear to everyone. I don't know why they didn't just stick with the GW1 philosophy of how gear was done, in that max level gear was easy to obtain, and thus end game content is easily accessible.

>

> In wvw it gives a noticeable advantage in what should be a somewhat fair pvp setting. 5-10% more damage on a full zerker or condi build especially on multiple targets is a lot of damage over time, enough to be noticeable, and enough to get you excluded from raiding guilds/commander squads and parties if you don't have it. wouldn't it be nice if it was all exotics, which are easy to get and nobody would really have to think about it or question whether or not your playing with max stats?

>

> Ascended also isn't usable in spvp, but creates endless confusion in that most new players to spvp constantly ask if their ascended gear is needed to participate in spvp or if ascended alters their stats there in some way.

>

> All i know is most games are gravitating towards leveling the playing field and gw2 straddles that line with ascended gear as a way of catering to people who want gear grind. Imagine playing PUBG, but some guy has 10% more health, damage and defense, simply because, he played more hours and grinded for those stats. Makes for silly game play that I'm not sure many would tolerate.

>

 

In all honesty, I just think you were ether listening to the wrong person. Or in the wrong guild. I actually started raiding when I had zero ascended pieces. I was using Druid exotics..... and I barely had full level 80 exotics because I didn’t have money. So to say u can’t Is bs.

 

Fractals in joining, the only thing I would say people actually care about, is your elite spec rather then ascended. You can step right in t1s with zero infusions. Actually I brought in my elementalist couple days ago without infusions and I did fine. It’s not about what you need, it’s about how you play.

 

A beginner joining into fractals will get squashed because it’s fast paced. And then will feel discouraged. But if people just played and gave encouragement, we wouldn’t be in this discussion.

 

Take your time, or let your friends take time. Go with them into t1s. And kill it. It takes time to learn the mechanics of bosses. But once you get them you can actually do the first 25 fractals without any ar. It’s just recommended that you have a certain amount.

 

 

[Mandragorin.5978]

> @"Jason.5983" said:

> > @"Pridedemon.3041" said:

> > Gosh some people will always complain. There are so many ways to obtain ascended gear from just playing that i am salvaging them quite frequently (not talking about rings). You have pvp dropping ascended boxes, i expect 1 ascended box per week from fractals, so many achievement giving away ascended gear, tons of collections for ascended weapons but people still complain.

> > If all else fails you can buy 2000 gems for $25, trade gems for gold and make a full set for a character. Combine this with a fact that once you make ascended gear its never going to get obsolete. The ascended sets that i made for my ele/ranger/warrior (one for every armor class) 3 years ago is still meta.

> >

> > Now compare this with wow, where with every new content patch you get a new armor/weapon tier and the old armor/weapon which you spend hundreds of hours acquiring from raids gets absolute. (This happens almost every 6-9 months when a new Raid is released).

>

> The meta has changed in that time, so you are pretty much lying or are averting to important information. Druid came about (zerk or healing gear), Ele become condition damage for a period. Warrior changed completely from power after HoT.

>

> After having made a new account. I can see perfectly why people are unhappy with the ascended armour system. One week for one box is pretty... brutal? I've farmed out fractals, dungeons and open world strenuously for a week on this new account, and my gold number has only just gone over 100, with only few materials saved for the potential of crafting an ascended backpiece etc. The amount of relics you obtain with lower-tier fractal dailies is fairly pitiful. I have seen the fractal ascended accessories etc that were added, but they seem a year off...

>

> OR as you said, you could pay $25 to unlock one character's worth of armour, which is more than most people pay nowadays for a Heart of Thorns key (and in that, far over 50% of the game). You either pay real money, or grind.

>

>

 

Meta has changed? No problem. Change stats in the forge to change your ascended armor at a paltry fraction of the cost.

[Laila Lightness.8742]

> @"Nuka Cola.8520" said:

> If they were removing it tomorrow i'd be more than happy. I don't care about the fact that it cost me money to craft. Balance is more important for the game.

 

Can they remove exotic and green too we would better with only one rarity in gear and one stat

[Galaa.8475]

yall still on this? this horse is dead. get back to the balancing thing. more fun to read.

[Pato.9320]

> @"Jumpin Lumpix.6108" said:

> Imagine playing PUBG, but some guy has 10% more health, damage and defense, simply because, he played more hours and grinded for those stats. Makes for silly game play that I'm not sure many would tolerate.

>

 

Imagine being paid more for working harder. Damn! I don't want to live on that world, nah ah.

[Obtena.7952]

Hey, I lost my time machine ... anyone can lend the OP one?

[zealex.9410]

You dont need ascented its just there to make u fill better about yourself if you first go into raids.

 

In fractals its needed but even if it dudnt exist exotics would have agony slots instead.

[sokeenoppa.5384]

Ascended Gear is ok, but agony resistance should Be account bound

[usnedward.9023]

Your "friends" do not understand that GW2 has no level cap increase (thank God) and Ascended gear is sort of the end game gear. Ascended is easy to get in some modes and harder in others but really I disagree at OP that it is a mistake. Play WoW where you gear up and go ALRIGHT! only to have to level 5 or 10 levels and re-gear again and again....One ofe the best points is once geared you may have to change stats and that's about it.

[Sarrs.4831]

Strongly disagree. Ascended crafting is the backbone of the economy. T1 through T4 mats would be vendored if not for Ascended gear.

[sorudo.9054]

if at least the armor stat was done like GW1 then we would not have that problem, they can keep the infusion slots in ascended gear but all armors should have the same armor stat to level the plain field.

[MachineManXX.9746]

> @"sorudo.9054" said:

> if at least the armor stat was done like GW1 then we would not have that problem, they can keep the infusion slots in ascended gear but all armors should have the same armor stat to level the plain field.

 

Good news then! Everyone can make ascended. The playing field is level.

[IndigoSundown.5419]

The reason that Ascended was added to the game was to provide busywork. It promotes logins, a reason to play more and also to create demand for the crafting mats needed to make the armor/weapons. That latter is also why Grandmaster Marks were introduced to access means which require game-mode tokens (e.g. Skirmish Tickets).

 

Pre-launch, ANet may have thought people would repeat content "because it's fun." However, they came to realize that MMO revenue is dependent on keeping people around whether that revenue comes via sub or store -- and that they were not immune to the need to provide busywork. MMO's have always been monetized around being like a second job. Perhaps the difference is that in GW2 you can avoid that job-like experience and still have plenty to do, but not if you want the busywork rewards, like Ascended Gear, high AP, etc.

[Nuka Cola.8520]

> @"Laila Lightness.8742" said:

> > @"Nuka Cola.8520" said:

> > If they were removing it tomorrow i'd be more than happy. I don't care about the fact that it cost me money to craft. Balance is more important for the game.

>

> Can they remove exotic and green too we would better with only one rarity in gear and one stat

 

they can't remove the useless trash because that's the "reward" loot table in this game. getting blues and greens everywhere you go is how Anet rewards their players.

[VAHNeunzehnsechundsiebzig.]

in my experience:

raid: the raid people I talked to all said: exotic gear is fine, as long as it has the right stat set and runes

wvw: asc is nice to have, but in zerg v zerg, it doesn't make that much of a difference if you are running rare, exotic or asc. Support, positioning and pressing the right button at the right time is much more important.

fractals: as long as you do not need AR, exotic is fine, after that... well...

 

and acquisition: so damn easy. LW, crafting, profession masteries, random drops... if you played a character for a couple of month you usually have more than a bank tab full of ascended stuff for the next character you make.

 

so... I don't see ascended gear as a mistake.

 

btw: I also don't think that legendaries should get better stats. You have to put an end at some point. Ascended gear is a good point to stop.

[polarbear.2497]

> @"Jumpin Lumpix.6108" said:

> My friends feel that ascended gear was a mistake in game design.

>

 

OK, we know how your friends feel, but how do YOU feel?

 

[sorudo.9054]

> @"MachineManXX.9746" said:

> > @"sorudo.9054" said:

> > if at least the armor stat was done like GW1 then we would not have that problem, they can keep the infusion slots in ascended gear but all armors should have the same armor stat to level the plain field.

>

> Good news then! Everyone can make ascended. The playing field is level.

 

no, not everyone has the time and/or dedication to make one.

also, it needs 400 crafting and that is not something easily done, if anyone can just buy it from a vendor with only gold then you can talk about a leveled playing field.

[Purple Miku.7032]

Those of you that are complaining about difficulty/effort required to obtain ascended gear really don't know how crazy you sound from someone that has played many different MMOs.

 

Look, there needs to be *some* form of time sinks involved in MMOs. Currently GW2 doesn't really have a lot of intrinsic goals set for players in terms of gear progression aside from legendary weapons (and armor now too I guess?) and some players like to have things to work towards. Nowadays ascended gear is really easy to obtain compared to years ago and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to whine about it being too inaccessible because the fact of the matter is that it has more avenues of acquisition than it used to and it doesn't even cost as much either.

 

Also there needs to be at least *some* ways to improve your gear multiple years along the road comparatively to when you first hit level 80. Having the exact same stuff forever and ever is inevitably going to become tiresome for the majority of players and their interest will waver from a lack of things to do. Obviously I'm not saying that they'd quit the game only because of no ascended gear, but my point is that change is necessary for player retention because people need to feel like the game is giving them more things to do. People like to see improvements with their gear over time, so having an extra tier that requires a bit more effort to obtain than a few hours is a pretty solid implementation if you ask me.

[sorudo.9054]

> @"Purple Miku.7032" said:

> Those of you that are complaining about difficulty/effort required to obtain ascended gear really don't know how crazy you sound from someone that has played many different MMOs.

>

> Look, there needs to be *some* form of time sinks involved in MMOs. Currently GW2 doesn't really have a lot of intrinsic goals set for players in terms of gear progression aside from legendary weapons (and armor now too I guess?) and some players like to have things to work towards. Nowadays ascended gear is really easy to obtain compared to years ago and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to whine about it being too inaccessible because the fact of the matter is that it has more avenues of acquisition than it used to and it doesn't even cost as much either.

>

> Also there needs to be at least *some* ways to improve your gear multiple years along the road comparatively to when you first hit level 80. Having the exact same stuff forever and ever is inevitably going to become tiresome for the majority of players and their interest will waver from a lack of things to do. Obviously I'm not saying that they'd quit the game only because of no ascended gear, but my point is that change is necessary for player retention because people need to feel like the game is giving them more things to do. People like to see improvements with their gear over time, so having an extra tier that requires a bit more effort to obtain than a few hours is a pretty solid implementation if you ask me.

 

and they can do this by adding ways to improve the stats and bonuses, armor stat always need to be equal just like GW1.

[Phoenix the One.4071]

Love it, can easily be obtain, but still req. More effort than exotic, and serve as a great middleground between exotic and legendary (looks > stats, as they are the same).

But I like they gear hunt idea after hitting lvl 80, but also ok with not having anything above Ascended, beside legendary with changable stats on the fly, and actually takes time, effort or luck/money.

[Voltekka.2375]

> @"sorudo.9054" said:

> > @"MachineManXX.9746" said:

> > > @"sorudo.9054" said:

> > > if at least the armor stat was done like GW1 then we would not have that problem, they can keep the infusion slots in ascended gear but all armors should have the same armor stat to level the plain field.

> >

> > Good news then! Everyone can make ascended. The playing field is level.

>

> no, not everyone has the time and/or dedication to make one.

> also, it needs 400 crafting and that is not something easily done, if anyone can just buy it from a vendor with only gold then you can talk about a leveled playing field.

 

Getting a crafting discipline to 400costs from 17g to 30g. It most certainly is cheap, even by doing dailies you are able to do it within a few days. Most materials are purchaseable from tp. How is that hard?

[Jumpin Lumpix.6108]

There is no point to Ascended gear other then to serve as something pointless to work towards thats not very fun to obtain, and it serves as a tool for others to exclude you from content. Wow fun, great idea. I think they had it right with gw1, were you just got the stats you needed and played the game.

 

Just think if they hadn't gone to all the trouble of implementing ascended gear we might have dyeable weapons or back pieces, or maybe build templates, like we had in GW1.

[TheOrlyFactor.8341]

> @"Jumpin Lumpix.6108" said:

> There is no point to Ascended gear other then to serve as something pointless to work towards thats not very fun to obtain, and it serves as a tool for others to exclude you from content. Wow fun, great idea. I think they had it right with gw1, were you just got the stats you needed and played the game.

 

Then don't use it?

 

You can play through most of the content in the game with just Exotic gear, including Raids. The only place I can think of where Ascended is a must is high-level Fractals because of Agony Resistance.

 

You can't control what other people do. If they exclude you for whatever dumb reason, make your own group or join a guild.

[sorudo.9054]

> @"Voltekka.2375" said:

> > @"sorudo.9054" said:

> > > @"MachineManXX.9746" said:

> > > > @"sorudo.9054" said:

> > > > if at least the armor stat was done like GW1 then we would not have that problem, they can keep the infusion slots in ascended gear but all armors should have the same armor stat to level the plain field.

> > >

> > > Good news then! Everyone can make ascended. The playing field is level.

> >

> > no, not everyone has the time and/or dedication to make one.

> > also, it needs 400 crafting and that is not something easily done, if anyone can just buy it from a vendor with only gold then you can talk about a leveled playing field.

>

> Getting a crafting discipline to 400costs from 17g to 30g. It most certainly is cheap, even by doing dailies you are able to do it within a few days. Most materials are purchaseable from tp. How is that hard?

 

so you measure cost with hardship?

what about time, what about effort, what about even caring about crafting in the first place?

also, like i said it, should be like GW1.

all armor equal regardless of rank, then rank them by slot types and amount.