[Feedback] Disappointed with Halloween 2018

[Ashantara.8731]

1. The drop rate of all the valuable items (Tattered Bat Wings, unique exotic weapons, recipes, and so on) has been significantly reduced compared to previous years.

2. There is no new PvE content. Last year we had enjoyable quests for the back items that took us all acroos Tyria, this year none of the like (the scavenger hunt we got this year does not count, it was completely boring and way too short).

3. Historical story content was not re-introduced (the Bloody Prince storyline etc.), though previous announcements had me get my hopes up for that.

4. Reaper's Rumble is as unrewarding as Lunatic Inquisition, so - shame on ANet - no one really plays them unless they are a suggested daily. They could be so much fun to play if tons of people frequented this content, but due to the lack of decent rewards people prefer to farm the Labyrinth. (This was also an issue with the Festival of the Four Winds arena, which not only felt unrewarding as well, but - most importantly - was hidden behind an NPC that most people just walked by because of his unfortunate location, covered by tent textures.)

5. The Raceway is mildly entertaining and somewhat unnerving, and the fact that one race type interferes with the other doesn't help the matter.

 

So, again, apart from Ascent to Madness (which I love, despite the mediocre rewards this year) and the Clocktower JP (which also has mediocre rewards for the time invested, but is so much fun to play), there is nothing to do but the most tedious, repetitive task of Labyrinth farming. :s I am truly _not_ enjoying myself during this year's GW2 Halloween and have started to look for other content to play instead. :/

[Sanity Obscure.6054]

"Drop rate nerfed"

 

...what? Is there proof of this I haven't heard anyone complain. A guildie of mine got 2 infusions already. I got a tattered bat wing and all 3 of the new weapons in the first couple days.

 

What is your base magic find? And are you using boosters?

 

I agree about the raceway. It has a difficult learning curve and is not much of an actual raceway, but thankfully the achievement is actually doable now that they nerfed it by 30 seconds.

[Ashantara.8731]

> @"Sanity Obscure.6054" said:

> "Drop rate nerfed"

>

> ...what? Is there proof of this I haven't heard anyone complain.

 

I can only talk about my own experience, of course, as I am getting almost none of the rare items that I got in abundance last year or the year before. But that is not my main nor only complaint. ;)

 

> @"Sanity Obscure.6054" said:

> What is your base magic find? And are you using boosters?

 

+252, and yes. However, according to Wiki, ToT bags are not affected by MF.

 

> @"Sanity Obscure.6054" said:

> I agree about the raceway. It has a difficult learning curve and is not much of an actual raceway, but thankfully the achievement is actually doable now that they nerfed it by 30 seconds.

 

I am talking about replayability here (i.e., the desire to replay the content).

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

I'm not sure saying something doesn't count as new content, just because one doesn't care for it.

 

RNG is RNG. You may have been luckier in previous years, and now it's balancing out. /shrug

[Ashantara.8731]

> @"Inculpatus cedo.9234" said:

> I'm not sure saying something doesn't count as new content, just because one doesn't care for it.

 

I didn't say I didn't care. It just wasn't anything of substance, so it hardly counts as "new content". You didn't have to think much, the items you had to collect were barely hidden, and your only reward was the book in the center of the Labyrinth that will provide you with some mildly amusing information, once you have completed the achievements, and that you can't even pick up as a souvenir but have to make screenshots of its contents instead.

[Sanity Obscure.6054]

> @"Ashantara.8731" said:

> > @"Sanity Obscure.6054" said:

> > What is your base magic find? And are you using boosters?

>

> +252, and yes. However, according to Wiki, ToT bags are not affected by MF.

 

Right... But your drop rate from enemies is influenced by magic find.

[Gop.8713]

I agree with a lot of what the op says. I'm def getting fewer bat wings from atm this year, and the race is the new content that offers the best replayability, or did before it got nerfed :/

 

I don't see that as a real problem though, I think it just means Halloween isn't my thing. I like Wintersday bc the jp is both my favorite activity and the most profitable, but I know lots of ppl in game that are very excited Halloween bc they feel the same way about lab farming as I do about the Wintersday jp . . .

 

I think it's a case of different festivals catering to different groups. And while it would be great if every festival had something for every type of player, ppl would then complain that they were all the same since everyone would only be doing the parts that they most enjoy each time . . .

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

A lot of the disappointment seems to come from expecting the game to deliver what the OP wants from games generally rather than what this game's devs have historically provided. There's nothing wrong with wanting more nor asking for more. I find, for myself, that I enjoy the game more when I can separate that from what the game actually is, rather than what I wish it to be.

 

Instead of interpreting ANet's tea leaves before releases, I wait for the actual release and try to try everything a bit, see what I like. And if there's new stuff that's fun, great. If not, the old stuff is still there; my old longer term goals remain.

****

 

> @"Ashantara.8731" said:

> 1. The drop rate of all the valuable items (Tattered Bat Wings, unique exotic weapons, recipes, and so on) has been significantly reduced compared to previous years.

What evidence do you have for this? I'm not seeing any substantive differences in the little data I've seen to date.

 

> 2. There is no new PvE content.

Most years, you should expect no new content at all for festivals. That's historically true and there simply won't always be time to add new bits to every aspect of the festival. These are largely designed to offer a change of pace with some nostalgia feels; they aren't like Living World updates, with new maps plus new story and more. Last year was unusual because we got a lot of new stuff. Consequently, I was very surprised to see anything new this year.

 

> 3. Historical story content was not re-introduced (the Bloody Prince storyline etc.), though previous announcements had me get my hopes up for that.

This is really the same as #2.

 

> 4. Reaper's Rumble is as unrewarding as Lunatic Inquisition, so - shame on ANet - no one really plays them unless they are a suggested daily. They could be so much fun to play if tons of people frequented this content, but due to the lack of decent rewards people prefer to farm the Labyrinth. (This was also an issue with the Festival of the Four Winds arena, which not only felt unrewarding as well, but - most importantly - was hidden behind an NPC that most people just walked by because of his unfortunate location, covered by tent textures.)

Again, you seem to be missing the goal: these aren't meant to attract farmers; they are meant to be fun diversions.

 

> 5. The Raceway is mildly entertaining and somewhat unnerving, and the fact that one race type interferes with the other doesn't help the matter.

It's two different mechanics; the only way to prevent interference between the timed trial and the regular race is if they were in different maps, which I think would be less fun. It's a mild wait. I've rarely needed more than 2 minutes.

 

 

> there is nothing to do but the most tedious, repetitive task of Labyrinth farming. :s

There are all sorts of things _to do_. Unfortunately, you simply don't like them much (or only want to do them for the rewards).

 

> I am truly _not_ enjoying myself during this year's GW2 Halloween and have started to look for other content to play instead. :/

I'm sorry you aren't liking the festival. It's not going to be great for everyone.

 

 

[hugo.4705]

Dunno about bags.... last year I used to drop a super rare from ToT bag, fire hands. That year, for around 750 ToT bags I got 1x The Cure, 1x Grim pact, 1x Jaws of death, 1x BLC key. With 315 magic find. No super rare, but some have still looted infusions, so not impossible. Can't affirm the drop rate changed, but I dropped more candies.

[Vayne.8563]

Mad King's Clock Tower is my favorite of all time. That alone makes Halloween my favorite holiday. I had lousy luck last year and about the same this year. RNG is RNG. I don't think any one player has enough data points to draw a real conclusion.

 

Festivals were not meant to have new content every year. And adding great rewards to competitive games only means a lot of PvE'ers would be in there, ruining the time for PvPers (re reward tracks and pips in WvW if you haven't seen the complaints).

 

Halloween remains my favorite festival of the year.

[Gop.8713]

> @"Vayne.8563" said:

> Mad King's Clock Tower is my favorite of all time. That alone makes Halloween my favorite holiday. I had lousy luck last year and about the same this year. RNG is RNG. I don't think any one player has enough data points to draw a real conclusion.

>

This is ofc true, but my experience is defined by my perception, and my perception is colored by my results ;)

[Rasimir.6239]

> @"Gop.8713" said:

> I'm def getting fewer bat wings from atm this year

I have played atm all the years it was available, but only got my first tattered bat wing this year. Should I now conclude that drop rate has dramatically gone up? ;)

[Gop.8713]

> @"Rasimir.6239" said:

> > @"Gop.8713" said:

> > I'm def getting fewer bat wings from atm this year

> I have played atm all the years it was available, but only got my first tattered bat wing this year. Should I now conclude that drop rate has dramatically gone up? ;)

 

I didn't say anything about the drop rate though . . .

[Rasimir.6239]

> @"Gop.8713" said:

> > @"Rasimir.6239" said:

> > > @"Gop.8713" said:

> > > I'm def getting fewer bat wings from atm this year

> > I have played atm all the years it was available, but only got my first tattered bat wing this year. Should I now conclude that drop rate has dramatically gone up? ;)

>

> I didn't say anything about the drop rate though . . .

Sorry, I misinterpreted your post then. I thought your mention of bat wings was in relation to the OP claiming the drop rates have been nerfed:

> @"Ashantara.8731" said:

> 1. The drop rate of all the valuable items (**Tattered Bat Wings,** unique exotic weapons, recipes, and so on) has been significantly reduced compared to previous years.

 

[Gop.8713]

> @"Rasimir.6239" said:

> > @"Gop.8713" said:

> > > @"Rasimir.6239" said:

> > > > @"Gop.8713" said:

> > > > I'm def getting fewer bat wings from atm this year

> > > I have played atm all the years it was available, but only got my first tattered bat wing this year. Should I now conclude that drop rate has dramatically gone up? ;)

> >

> > I didn't say anything about the drop rate though . . .

> Sorry, I misinterpreted your post then. I thought your mention of bat wings was in relation to the OP claiming the drop rates have been nerfed:

> > @"Ashantara.8731" said:

> > 1. The drop rate of all the valuable items (**Tattered Bat Wings,** unique exotic weapons, recipes, and so on) has been significantly reduced compared to previous years.

>

 

No, I was just saying I shared his disappointment but arrived at a different conclusion . . .

[Danikat.8537]

I really enjoyed the scavenger hunt this year. No it wasn't as long or as difficult as the Mad Memoires one (which technically wasn't new last year, it was just brought back having previously been removed) but I still had fun doing it. I also liked that the final reward was hidden from you while you were doing the collection. I sometimes feel like most MMO players do things strictly for the reward (and I know I'm guilty of that too) so it was fun and reassuring for me to see myself and many others launch into doing it and only realise when someone else asked that we had no idea what we'd get out of it, we were just doing it because it was there to do.

 

Other than that I agree with the people who said festivals in MMOs are generally the same each year and it's best to expect that and any chances the developers actually announce. Imagining what you'd like from a festival and then expecting that is only going to lead to disappointment.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

> @"Ashantara.8731" said:

> > @"Inculpatus cedo.9234" said:

> > I'm not sure saying something doesn't count as new content, just because one doesn't care for it.

>

> I didn't say I didn't care. It just wasn't anything of substance, so it hardly counts as "new content". You didn't have to think much, the items you had to collect were barely hidden, and your only reward was the book in the center of the Labyrinth that will provide you with some mildly amusing information, once you have completed the achievements, and that you can't even pick up as a souvenir but have to make screenshots of its contents instead.

 

You may be confusing "does not care" with "does not care for". Two different things.

And again, how one feels about content will not determine whether it is new...or not.

 

Good luck (on your Tots).

[Mewcifer.5198]

I also seem to be not getting the tattered bat wings, I didn't think they changed the drop rate. I would be interested to know if they did or not. If someone has stats on it that would be welcome.

 

I did get a touch of madness within like my first 30 bags though.

[Manasa Devi.7958]

I've had exactly one tattered bat wing drop for me ever, over 7 festivals, so the drop rate seems similar to me this year. Interesting drops from ToT bags are non-existing for me so far though.

 

As for the festival content: It'll be mostly the same every year. I have no expectations, yet I'm sometimes pleasantly surprised when there's something new. The things I like about it are mainstays, and having them for a few weeks is great.

[Chay.7852]

> @"Sanity Obscure.6054" said:

> > @"Ashantara.8731" said:

> > > @"Sanity Obscure.6054" said:

> > > What is your base magic find? And are you using boosters?

> >

> > +252, and yes. However, according to Wiki, ToT bags are not affected by MF.

>

> Right... But your drop rate from enemies is influenced by magic find.

 

As well as i know, mf influences the quality of drops you get, so basically higher mf is not really good in the lab, causing you to get more greens (and better) than ToT-bags (which are white). The higher the mf the lower the number of ToT bags you get. I thought about this yesterday evening while farming in the lab. Almost everyone (including myself) stack mf as high as possible - actually we shouldnt do that.. :# only if you want more greens/rares etc (unless i have missed some new info and i am totally wrong about this)

[Randulf.7614]

Of all the halloween mmo festivals im playing, gw2 is the worst for receiving unique festivals rewards. Excessive grind or insane luck is the order of the day. That is gw2 though and the nature of their system. They want players to work for it perhaps too much.

 

As for content, gw2 smashes everyone else though. We have a strong amount of content for a 3 week festival every year and caters for a wide range of players. I do think its overdue the original year 1 story was re added tho.

 

Still enjoying it though, I just wish it didn't take all Halloween to get rewards, often meaning they become a bit redundant to show off until next year

[Ashantara.8731]

> @"Randulf.7614" said:

> Of all the halloween mmo festivals im playing, gw2 is the worst for receiving unique festivals rewards.

 

The book collections from last year were so much fun, and it is a shame we didn't get equally fresh new content to do this year (or to relive the old one that some of us missed).

 

I assume my disappointment is even bigger because of the interview that was given about two weeks ago. It sounded so promising and thus my expectations were high. (It was the same with Sun's Refuge and "upgradeable armor" - even though the episode was fantastic, the pre-release advertising for those two things was getting people super excited; then they turned out to be a huge disappointment because of what was advertized in the video.)

 

> Excessive grind or insane luck is the order of the day. That is gw2 though and the nature of their system. They want players to work for it perhaps too much.

 

I wouldn't mind, if it was interesting content, not some boring, repetitive grind. That is why I think they should enhance the reward system for the other Halloween game modes so that players have a wider variety of farming options and those other game modes get played just as vividly as the Lab.

 

> @"Chay.7852" said:

> As well as i know, mf influences the quality of drops you get, so basically higher mf is not really good in the lab, causing you to get more greens (and better) than ToT-bags (which are white).

 

I am pretty certain that the drop rate for ToT bags is handled separately from any additional drops you might receive thanks to your MF.

 

> @"Mewcifer.5198" said:

> I also seem to be not getting the tattered bat wings, I didn't think they changed the drop rate. I would be interested to know if they did or not. If someone has stats on it that would be welcome.

>

> I did get a touch of madness within like my first 30 bags though.

 

You see, I was getting the Touch of Madness and other unique exotics, as well as Tattered Bat Wings and anything else you can consider "unique", a lot more frequently during my AtM and Lab runs before than I am this year - this year, those drops happen as rarely as the rare drops from BLCs.

 

Used to get quite a few of those unique Halloween weapons out of a couple of hundred bags - this year, so far, it has been 1 or 2 in a week (not counting the handful of common exotics I got). Also, I used to get a couple of Tattered Bat Wings from doing AtM for 1-2 hours, now it is 1 at best.

 

I am quite certain that something was nerfed, but of course I can only speak for myself and therefore this opinion is subjective. (Not that the drop rate changes much about the lack of fun I am having this year doing Halloween content.)

[Vayne.8563]

> @"Gop.8713" said:

> > @"Vayne.8563" said:

> > Mad King's Clock Tower is my favorite of all time. That alone makes Halloween my favorite holiday. I had lousy luck last year and about the same this year. RNG is RNG. I don't think any one player has enough data points to draw a real conclusion.

> >

> This is ofc true, but my experience is defined by my perception, and my perception is colored by my results ;)

 

Maybe so, > @"Gop.8713" said:

> > @"Vayne.8563" said:

> > Mad King's Clock Tower is my favorite of all time. That alone makes Halloween my favorite holiday. I had lousy luck last year and about the same this year. RNG is RNG. I don't think any one player has enough data points to draw a real conclusion.

> >

> This is ofc true, but my experience is defined by my perception, and my perception is colored by my results ;)

 

Well sure, but I'm not sure how that's relevant. The OP said (and I quote)

 

"The drop rate of all the valuable items (Tattered Bat Wings, unique exotic weapons, recipes, and so on) has been significantly reduced compared to previous years."

 

He's not saying he feels the drop rate is less, he's saying it is. But without a very very big sampling size that's impossible to say. It doesn't seem substantially different to me, since I got one bat wing all of last year. The point is when someone makes a statement that something is the case, they need to defend it. Me pointing out that there's no real evidence of this is part of what open forum discussion is about.

 

Anyone can believe anything they want...but when they make definitive statements on public forums they should expect to be challenged if they have no evidence.

[Kalendraf.9521]

Are we talking about this tattered bat wing? https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Tattered_Bat_Wing According to the wiki, it only drops at end of Ascent to Madness, or from the Mad King's Chest, not from ToT bags. If it previously dropped from ToT bags, then that's a change.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

> @"Ashantara.8731" said:

> I assume my disappointment is even bigger because of the interview that was given about two weeks ago. It sounded so promising and thus my expectations were high. (It was the same with Sun's Refuge and "upgradeable armor" - even though the episode was fantastic, the pre-release advertising for those two things was getting people super excited; then they turned out to be a huge disappointment because of what was advertized in the video.)

 

I see a pattern here. I realize that repeating the quote that "insanity is repeating actions, expecting different results" only rarely changes anyone's mind, but perhaps you might want to reconsider putting any stock in future marketing hype (or player hype).

 

I saw the same adverts and videos and I didn't experience "a huge disappointment," because I didn't expect much. Last year, I was very pleasantly surprised; this year I was mildly surprised (pleasantly), because I expect that festivals will be largely the same ever year.

 

Give it a try for Wintersday: expect nothing and don't watch the pre-release vids/interviews/reddit posts. See if that works better for you.