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[BattleMonkey]

The word Ranger has nothing to do with ranged weaponry. False assumption that WoW and other games have helped create.

Well WoW did have melee rangers too.

No? Then why is it an issue here? Seriously, at what point did we let game publishers convince us that a game must keep us hooked for the rest of eternity for it to be any good? At what point have games become supposed to continue after they are over? For me, if I get a great experience out of a game for enough time (certainly more than any other game of its price point), what more could I want?

OK, I think this is, yet again, linked to the same issue of "I'm not enjoying Guild Wars 2; I just want to get to level 80 so the game can start". If you're not enjoying GW2 as much or more than any other (even single player) game, then frankly, you should not be playing it! I don't mean there's anything wrong with you, at all; I'm just stating the obvious that you should not play a game you don't enjoy. No, really. At some point MMOs managed to mess up the most basic, obvious laws of gaming.

What's more, GW2 won't change (it's STATED not to change) at level cap, so if you're not enjoying yourself on the way to level 80, you will not suddenly find an amazing game waiting for you at that level.

Sorry if it seems like I'm ranting, it's just that I don't understand what's wrong with a game that's good in itself, and then ends (even if it's not necessarily the case here). You just treasure the memories, play whenever you want (for any of the content mentioned at the top that you enjoy) and wait for the next expansion. And you're not a dime poorer in the meantime.

Nice rant.

Well yes but people keep asking about "endgame" and what they will do in the long run or once they hit max. And unlike some opinions here, there are many who do find Raids fun and enjoy them. Most people who are into them are not mindless masochists. No magical laws were broken, as people are playing and enjoying their games, it's just not for everyone. But people are asking what to do at that point of the "end", so people are answering.

As I said too before, eventually game will have to end for a person, no game is going to last forever or should chain you to it.

 

[Kem0sabe]

I think theres a trait that gives you more range, don´t quote me on that tho, can´t be bothered to check the build calculator

Also, apart from feeling that i should be playing ranged as a ranger, i think some of the most fun i had with the class was playing a hatchet + warhorn combo

 

[Jack_AG]

Well, I guess that's not as misleading in that case. That's a bonus... but like for your average user you'd think you'd gain increase range overall.

Ranger has a longer range with the weapon at 1200 with one skill (Point Blank) being 600.
Warrior, for example has shorter range with the same weapon at 900 with only their burst being a 1200 range AOE.

Edit:
Rangers can shoot the farthest - giving them the best advantage for distance with a ranged weapon compared to other classes using that same weapon. That's not counting the effectiveness of the weapon in specific situations, but that is a clear advantage to the ranger over other classes using ranged weapons.

 

[Jira]

I think theres a trait that gives you more range, don´t quote me on that tho, can´t be bothered to check the build calculator

Also, apart from feeling that i should be playing ranged as a ranger, i think some of the most fun i had with the class was playing a hatchet + warhorn combo

Master Eagle Eye Increases longbow and harpoon gun range. Increases longbow and harpoon gun damage by 5%.

 

[Jira]

Greetings Heroes of Tyria,

We wanted to give you all an update on the Difficulty of BWE3, as it has been the topic of many conversations recently.

First of all, it is important to understand that the game is still in Beta and that we continue to balance on a daily basis. This said, and as usual, your feedback has proven invaluable. Following the event we drilled into our Event metrics, and discovered that the difficulty had indeed changed between BWE3 vs. BWE2. We moved ahead with a check on our core systems to find out if any global change/bug had incurred a generic adjustment to the balance of the game. Quickly we found this to be the case, and the issue has now been corrected.

We also wanted to take the time to mention, that we feel the overall pacing of the game is exactly where we want it. Specifically that we do not want the player to be in a constant state of overly challenging gameplay, and therefore we feel the difficulty is now reflective of the balance found in BWE2, without a change in overall pacing.

Finally, we continue to balance both our creatures and our professions. Your feedback, once again has proven invaluable to us, and we ask that you continue to let us know what you think about the game, and keep posting your suggestions as we get ever close to the release of Guild Wars 2.

See you in Tyria!

ChrisW

Yay.

 

[thetrin]

So is it easier or harder now? I didn't play BWE2.

The word Ranger has nothing to do with ranged weaponry. False assumption that WoW and other games have helped create.

I'm not stupid, Ferrio. Do you actually think I walk around thinking that a park ranger is called one because of his skill with ranged weaponry?

I'm talking about the fact that rangers in fantasy literature usually have skill with ranged weaponry.

 

[Weltall Zero]

A class called a "ranger" has the least range options?

It comes from this:

Not this:

Or this:

Perhaps it's easier for me because there's no Spanish equivalent.

Fun fact; they used the term "guardabosques" (forest ranger) in early Dungeons and Dragons translations; became "slightly" inappropriate when Dark Sun came around. Since then, they use "montaraz", a very seldomly used term which would be somewhat like "mountain ranger" (does that sound redundant in English?); it seems to be the term Tolkien preferred too for his LotR rangers (he apparently had a hand in the Spanish translation of several terms).

 

[Shanlei91]

Well, the longbow is kinda false advertising lol. The distance is the EXACT same as the shortbow. Kinda misleading... one would think you'd gain a distance advantage with a longbow or something.

Pretty sure you can obtain 1500 range on the Long Bow with a Ranger via traits, giving it the longest range of any weapon available to anyone in the game.

 

[Jira]

So is it easier or harder now? I didn't play BWE2.

Harder, I liked the challenge of BWE2, BWE3 was noticeably easier for the first 9 levels or so where as things did start to ramp up at 10+.

 

[Kem0sabe]

Harder, I liked the challenge of BWE2, BWE3 was noticeably easier for the first 9 levels or so where as things did start to ramp up at 10+.

I think the biggest problem i had with balance in BWE3 was the silly respawn rates in certain areas, made it nigh impossible to fight through mobs leading me to resort to the always reliable tactic or running through them and hoping i didn´t die in the process.

 

[thetrin]

It comes from this:

Fun fact; they used the term "guardabosques" (forest ranger) in early Dungeons and Dragons translations; became "slightly" inappropriate when Dark Sun came around. Since then, they use "montaraz", a very seldomly used term which would be somewhat like "mountain ranger" (does that sound redundant in English?); it seems to be the term Tolkien preferred too for his LotR rangers (he apparently had a hand in the Spanish translation of several terms).

Again, i know the etymology of the word ranger, guys. You guys do realize there are rangers in real life, right?

 

[Ferrio]

Pretty sure you can obtain 1500 range on the Long Bow with a Ranger via traits, giving it the longest range of any weapon available to anyone in the game.

Which to me means squat. Ya you might git a tiny bit of range, but you won't keep them in that deadzone for long.

 

[Jira]

I think the biggest problem i had with balance in BWE3 was the silly respawn rates in certain areas, made it nigh impossible to fight through mobs leading me to resort to the always reliable tactic or running through them and hoping i didn´t die in the process.

Yeah, in some areas the respawn is too fast. I wonder if they have any form of dynamic system there to detect the amount of people in an area when not tied to DEs?

 

[BattleMonkey]

I think the biggest problem i had with balance in BWE3 was the silly respawn rates in certain areas, made it nigh impossible to fight through mobs leading me to resort to the always reliable tactic or running through them and hoping i didn´t die in the process.

Some areas did respawn fast, but as many are connected to events with lot of players that kind of requires the mobs to spawn fast.

 

[Jira]

YAY Headstart is at midnight PDT confirmed.

https://twitter.com/GuildWars2/status/230717628174446592

 

[Vinci]

YAY Headstart is at midnight PDT confirmed.

https://twitter.com/GuildWars2/status/230717628174446592

So yeah, 3am.

 

[Weltall Zero]

Nice rant.

Thanks.

Well yes but people keep asking about "endgame" and what they will do in the long run or once they hit max. And unlike some opinions here, there are many who do find Raids fun and enjoy them. Most people who are into them are not mindless masochists. No magical laws were broken, as people are playing and enjoying their games, it's just not for everyone. But people are asking what to do at that point of the "end", so people are answering.

And in what way is my post not an answer? I'm simply answering that the question is loaded. It has no possible "correct" answer; you don't do anything differently than before you were level 80. Expecting otherwise is indeed being set up for disappointment.

In general, it would be cool of people that wanted to ask why raids are not in the game, asked why raids are not in the game, rather than asking what there is to do in the game, then dismiss anything that is not "raids". It just seems to me that many people have been conditioned by WoW into thinking:
1) That raids are the only possible viable post-game content, and
2) That a game must have endless post-game content to be worthy (i.e. that leveling content is somehow intrinsically worthless).
Frankly, if both sound about right to you, I don't see you enjoying GW2. It's just that simple; GW2 is not the game you're looking for. You might as well ask what you do at endgame in DOTA or Street Fighter.

As I said too before, eventually game will have to end for a person, no game is going to last forever or should chain you to it.

Well, there we agree.

 

[Vinci]

Could someone please explain to me what is fun about a raid?

EDIT: I mean, I guess I could see enjoying it the first couple of times, but dozens of times? Hundreds of hours? I don't get it.

 

[BrettWeir]

So yeah, 3am.

Awesome! Means I can at least sleep from 10 pm - 2 am! /Excited!

 

[Weltall Zero]

Again, i know the etymology of the word ranger, guys. You guys do realize there are rangers in real life, right?

Sorry about that, didn't see your post since I posted like a minute after you. For the record, the etymology wasn't as obvious to me at first since, well... Spanish, and stuff. In fact, all this ranger stuff is a bit confusing to me in general, as there's no conceptual equivalent in Spanish for "ranger" (only for forest ranger, etc). Funny how words can shape one's way of thinking, isn't it? I don't really have a concept of a generic "ranger" other than it's some sort of watcher for outdoors spaces.

Also, my image list isn't meant to be ironic, I just thought it would the best way to narrow it down to concepts quickly, since, well, I can't use the Spanish terms for each.

Which to me means squat. Ya you might git a tiny bit of range, but you won't keep them in that deadzone for long.

Well, I don't think a class with twice the range of all others would be too balanced...

 

[Deitus]

Again, i know the etymology of the word ranger, guys. You guys do realize there are rangers in real life, right?

To answer your original question, Rangers do not have the least range options. In addition to longbow and shortbow, they also have axes for mid-range AOE, and off-hand dagger, torch, and warhorn all have ranged attacks.

It's just that the Ranger's longest ranged weapons, the shortbow and longbow, are the least interesting weapons that the class gets. I just don't feel the class is any fun to play at long range compared to other classes. They can still do great damage, and the longbow AOE cripple is great in WvW, but other than that there isn't a lot of variety to the bow skills. That's my take anyway.

 

[Kos Luftar]

So yeah, 3am.

Looks like I am not sleeping that Friday night!

 

[Moondrop]

Which to me means squat. Ya you might git a tiny bit of range, but you won't keep them in that deadzone for long.

I reached level 20 with my ranger before the traits were tiered, and the extended longbow was useful in WvW. For example, you could harass battlement defenders to protect your siege team while they couldn't punish you in return. But I acknowledge it's a small advantage.

Also, the longest ranged weapon is the warrior's rifle. Kill shot has a range of 5000 units.

 

[flyinpiranha]

Well WoW did have melee rangers too.



Nice rant.

Well yes but people keep asking about "endgame" and what they will do in the long run or once they hit max. And unlike some opinions here, there are many who do find Raids fun and enjoy them. Most people who are into them are not mindless masochists. No magical laws were broken, as people are playing and enjoying their games, it's just not for everyone. But people are asking what to do at that point of the "end", so people are answering.

As I said too before, eventually game will have to end for a person, no game is going to last forever or should chain you to it.

Pretty much, I was just commenting on the "endgame" conversation and throwing out what I think is the point of it. There is plenty of PVE in the game and I plan on getting a Legendary Something of Somewhere eventually which I know will take me forever.


But I also enjoyed raiding in WoW when I was a hardcore raider and guild leader. Being in the first group ever on our server to see Saph form was awesome! I just think people should be more educated about the view of "what to do after 80" if they are mainly a PVE player.

Even with the BWE's I've already gotten my $60 worth in comparison to other games I've purchased in the past couple years haha.

Could someone please explain to me what is fun about a raid?

EDIT: I mean, I guess I could see enjoying it the first couple of times, but dozens of times? Hundreds of hours? I don't get it.

For me, and I can only speak for me, it was hanging out with the people I raided with. We had a lot of fun in vent and screwing around with other people. Bringing friends of friends to see content they'd never be able to see and hearing them say "Whoa!" with stuff. Grinding is something a lot of MMO players did in RPG's anyway so doing it with a group of cool people and finally that jackpot of loot.

I mean really it's the same reason I could play Mario Kart for years with friends, or Tetris, or Tekken, or any other game that I played over and over ... it's not always just the game, but the enjoyment you get playing it even if it is something you've done "a million times".

If you play with shitty people, it will take forever to get a raid going, forever to beat an encounter, forever to do anything really. But in a good running guild none of this is a problem. Everybody has their shit together and it just clicks. But that is pretty rare to come by honestly.

 

[Jack_AG]

Could someone please explain to me what is fun about a raid?

EDIT: I mean, I guess I could see enjoying it the first couple of times, but dozens of times? Hundreds of hours? I don't get it.

Misdirecting the Mage. That's about it.

 

[Jira]

Could someone please explain to me what is fun about a raid?

EDIT: I mean, I guess I could see enjoying it the first couple of times, but dozens of times? Hundreds of hours? I don't get it.

The ONLY fun aspect of raiding is overcoming the encounter. Sadly, overcoming the encounter at times is more like hoping your team doesn't suck while you do everything correctly and they bumble around like idiots and there's nothing you can do to change it. Every other part of it is bullshit. The drama, the politics, the time it takes to get one going, the hopes of anything even dropping you want and then the RNG roll in hopes you win...all bullshit. Tack on the fact that you're paying a monthly fee and you have to ask yourself why in the hell are you even doing this? But of course all of this is based on your traditional MMO model with the trinity and everything that comes with it.

 

[Deleted member 10571]

Just in case anyone missed it: Star Wars has been confirmed to be Free 2 Play soon. Neogaf Thread

Yup, I might just have won a bet here.

YAY Headstart is at midnight PDT confirmed.

https://twitter.com/GuildWars2/status/230717628174446592

Is this the exact same time the timer on their new home page shows?

 

[Jira]

Just in case anyone missed it: Star Wars has been confirmed to be Free 2 Play soon. Neogaf Thread

Yup, I might just have won a bet here.




Is this the exact same time the timer on their new home page shows?

No, the timer shows 12 Noon based on your local system clock.

 

[Shanlei91]

Which to me means squat. Ya you might git a tiny bit of range, but you won't keep them in that deadzone for long.

Scepter for guardian had 900 range - they boosted it to 1200 and everyone stopped whining.

That extra 300 range means you can stay at 1500 range and as long as you maintain it, a melee player would need two gap closers or a speed boost to get to you. (assuming the gap closers like leap, teleport, etc. are 1200 range)

 

[Deleted member 10571]

No, the timer shows 12 Noon based on your local system clock.

Alright, so if the Internet's right, it should be 9:00am CET. Wooo.

 

[LumpOfCole]

If the last BWEs are anything to go by, the headstart might actually start around 90 minutes earlier than midnight Pacific Time. This helps spread out the initial rush of logins instead of everything reloading their clients all at the exact same moment.

 

[Deleted member 10571]

If the last BWEs are anything to go by, the headstart might actually start around 90 minutes earlier than midnight Pacific Time. This helps spread out the initial rush of logins instead of everything reloading their clients all at the exact same moment.

Double Wooo then!

 

[Vinci]

If the last BWEs are anything to go by, the headstart might actually start around 90 minutes earlier than midnight Pacific Time. This helps spread out the initial rush of logins instead of everything reloading their clients all at the exact same moment.

Yeah. They were about an hour and forty minutes early for BWE 3.

 

[Iadien]

Could someone please explain to me what is fun about a raid?

EDIT: I mean, I guess I could see enjoying it the first couple of times, but dozens of times? Hundreds of hours? I don't get it.

I love the challenge that is involved with raiding (which isn't offered from soloing or group dungeons), but once that challenge is no longer there it is still more fun to me than running group dungeons or solo PVE content. It does get old though, like anything else in a game.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Could someone please explain to me what is fun about a raid?

EDIT: I mean, I guess I could see enjoying it the first couple of times, but dozens of times? Hundreds of hours? I don't get it.

Increased challenge, as well as interacting with many people. Raids have always been a very social thing for our guild so they yes are fun.

After we get tired with the running of the content, well we stop because it stopped being fun usually and that's when you hopefully get all new raid content to keep things fresh.

It's just another way of presenting content to the players that many do enjoy and like anything, it eventually ends. For people who stick with a game it's something they always have to look forward too till it becomes no longer interesting. GW2 content will be no different, it will eventually grow on a person and they will want to stop unless new content comes.

But the whole notion that Raids are not fun is highly subjective, as many obviously do enjoy them. same as with many who like GW2's approach which seems more enticing to non raiders.

I think alot of it also comes from players dealing with shitty guilds that often treat something like a raid as serious business and in turn, not fun.

 

[LkPr]

I'm new to the Guild Wars franchise but I am really looking forward to this!! I don't remember which thread it was in but someone posted a link to a different forum where there was an amazing write-up for Guild Wars 2 'Beginners'. Does anyone have this/know what I am talking about? I know there is the GW2 wiki (which I have been viewing a lot) but I am looking for this specific forum.

Any help appreciated!

 

[Giard]

3 am is pretty early. I guess I'll wake up at that hour to try and get the character names I want, then I'll go back to sleep.

 

[Vinci]

Would you characterize raiding's appeal as being heavily social in nature or are the mechanics and methods involved fun in and of themselves?

 

[Smiley90]

You guys are cute thinking you'll actually be able to login at midnight...

 

[Jira]

I'm new to the Guild Wars franchise but I am really looking forward to this!! I don't remember which thread it was in but someone posted a link to a different forum where there was an amazing write-up for Guild Wars 2 'Beginners'. Does anyone have this/know what I am talking about? I know there is the GW2 wiki (which I have been viewing a lot) but I am looking for this specific forum.

Any help appreciated!

http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/1058358-Guild-Wars-2-Mass-info-for-the-uninitiated-READ-ME!

 

[Vinci]

You guys are cute thinking you'll actually be able to login at midnight...

True. Probably get in earlier.

 

[Deleted member 10571]

I'm new to the Guild Wars franchise but I am really looking forward to this!! I don't remember which thread it was in but someone posted a link to a different forum where there was an amazing write-up for Guild Wars 2 'Beginners'. Does anyone have this/know what I am talking about? I know there is the GW2 wiki (which I have been viewing a lot) but I am looking for this specific forum.

Any help appreciated!

You might think of (edit godammit²) whatever Jira linked before!

edit goddammit.

 

[Iadien]

Would you characterize raiding's appeal as being heavily social in nature or are the mechanics and methods involved fun in and of themselves?

Both. A person's experiences with raiding will differ depending on the people they raid with. I have been raiding with essentially the same people off and on for 8 years.

 

[Jira]

You might think of this GW2Guru post our own Jira made: http://www.guildwars2guru.com/topic/22266-guild-wars-2-mass-info-for-the-uninitiated/

edit goddammit.

Don't link to the guru one, it's outdated, the MMO champ one is up to date.

 

[Klyka]

You guys are cute thinking you'll actually be able to login at midnight...

Yeah will probably be in about an hour earlier.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Would you characterize raiding's appeal as being heavily social in nature or are the mechanics and methods involved fun in and of themselves?

Should be both, it's also about phat lootz!

But raids generally provide much more complex and unique mechanics which increase importance of team work and communication, hence many are not possible without the social aspect.

But if you play with people who are too serious about it and are going to be jerks pulling out damage meters and telling you that your not good enough and need to l2p or get better gear, then that's when the raid becomes unfun. Who you play with is a big part of it of course.

 

[Weltall Zero]

If the last BWEs are anything to go by, the headstart might actually start around 90 minutes earlier than midnight Pacific Time. This helps spread out the initial rush of logins instead of everything reloading their clients all at the exact same moment.

Only problem I see with that is people logging in at the official hour, seeing that all the names they wanted had been taken 90 minutes earlier, and setting ArenaNet's offices on fire.

 

[Smiley90]

Yeah will probably be in about an hour earlier.

I hope so

 

[BearPawB]

I honestly wish there was game that was nothing but raids. Non stop raid encounters. No questing, no bullshit. Just a bunch of huge ass raids.

Raids are fun because they require a lot of skill. They require people to pay attention, and work as a team. They are fun because bosses have special abilities that make them unique to fight. Raids are fun because they are usually massive and beautiful. I am not, and never was a hardcore raider, i never beat the lich king, i never played WoW for more than 3-4 months at a time. But each time I did a raid, it was an amazing experience that made up for all the bullshit guild politicking and waiting around.

That being said, I think it is fine that GW2 doesn't have raids. As long as the exploration modes are as varied and challenging as people have suggested, i will be satiated. Bosses are fun. Complex mechanics are fun. If GW2 has those it will be fine.

So far we know that there are some certainly big bosses in GW2, but i am not totally sure they will be much more than zerg->die->respawn->zerg. A hundred people zerging a huge dragon is cool in its own right, i think the difficulty is going to be hard to tune correctly.

 

[flyinpiranha]

Would you characterize raiding's appeal as being heavily social in nature or are the mechanics and methods involved fun in and of themselves?

Definitely both. There were times I was so set on what I was doing I didn't even notice others talking and other times I was having so much fun with the people it didn't matter if we were getting rolled and lost multiple times.

It's like any type of enjoyment derived from a game, it's hard to really pinpoint one thing because it's a cohesive experience.

Now, am I remembering with a little bit of nostalgia? Of course, it's been a year or two since I even played an MMO seriously and it's not like I forgot the waiting for people, the grinding for gear, or other time sinks but the overall package of everything has left me with a rather positive memory of the whole experience.