How possible would it be to add a "skip boss combat sequence" button to story instances?

[Tatwi.3562]

I'm developing arthritis in my hands. I'm only 40. Getting old sucks, though I suppose it beats being dead, without anyone around to "awaken" you, eh?

Anyway, it sucks to have pain when playing the game. This is a new development for me over the past few months, but even before then the long and boring boss fights in the story instances weren't my idea of fun. Neither was having to do the Balthazar fight twice because our power went out literally as he was about to die, but I digress... So, I figure if you're able offer a "skip dialog" option, perhaps you'd also be able to offer a "skip combat sequence" option for those who want the story, but not the combat.

I don't care about the item rewards or meta achievements. My reward is being able to see the story play out. If you need to remove the item rewards for skipping the combat, so be it.

Take care.

 

Ps. Love the story, world, and PoF in general. Looking forward to Faren's further development. :) Thanks for all your hard work!

[Joe Kimmes.1357]

Any kind of skip option is time-consuming and tough to implement, since it branches the playthrough for testing - what if I hit skip during this line, or this skill, and so on. We don't let you skip much in story missions as-is for that reason, unfortunately.

 

That said, it's really useful to hear this feedback, so thanks for posting it. I don't think we can do a universal skip option, but I'll keep your thoughts in mind when I give feedback internally on lengthy bosses.

 

If you happen to have examples of bosses or encounters that felt manageable for you, let me know so that I can reference those for comparison.

[Tracey West.6235]

Have you tried doing the story content with a group? For most combat encounters, you should be able to allow your teammates to take on some of the work when it comes to defeating the bosses and save you some of the strain. In most cases, it will also make the encounter go faster helping reduce the number of quick repetitive motions caused by combat.

 

I would just specify in the lfg that you would like a casual run and you are more interested in the story and lore, so that people don’t pressure you to skip through the cutscenes.

[Gaile Gray.6029]

I noticed that Joe mentioned letting him know if you had examples, which is a great idea. With the Dev Celebration forum now closed to new posts, I'd like to suggest that you post your ideas in the main Guild Wars 2 Discussion sub-forum, and entitle it something like "Dev Celebration Follow-up: 'Skip Boss' Request" or something like that. Then Joe will be able to read your thoughts. You can tag Joe, if you wish, by using this protocol:

* Type the @ sign

* Add the first few letters of the person to whom you want to direct your comments.

* Choose the exact name from the drop-down menu

* A tag for me, for example, will appear as @ " Gaile Gray.6029 " (without the spaces around the quotation marks)

* A tag for Joe will look like this: @ "Joe Kimmes.1357 " (also without the spaces around the quotations marks)