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[Retro]

Posting for the new page;

So, in light of the news that Titan's Alliance is rolling on Gate of Madness, both GMs and all of the officers that could be reached (Maxrpg and I) got together and decided to talk things through.

We have decided that we're going to roll on Gate of Madness for the next Beta Weekend event.

Our reasoning for this last-minute change is simple;

1. We want to test how bad it gets when a huge alliance of 8 guilds rolls onto a server. There has been a lot of discussion in this thread about wanting to roll on a higher population server, and we want to prove once and for all that it is a very bad thing to be stuck queuing up for WvW. This means that during BWE3, we'll be testing those queues. Titan Alliance's goal is to dominate WvW, and fielding 8 guilds at once means the WvW maps are going to be filled to capacity very quickly.

2. We also want to see just how dominant they are. Some may disagree, but being on a server that always wins is actually a boring prospect, especially if we're never able to take part in it.

So, once again, for BWE3, anyone planning to roll on Henge of Denravi should be on GATE OF MADNESS now. We'll see just how bad things can get and make our decision then. I would like to add that Titan Alliance is only rolling on Gate during the BWE and may not actually play there during the actual launch. Our launch plan is still tentatively to stay on Gate until we see how things go.

Information about this whole Titan Alliance thing can be found here; http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/vvzs5/introducing_the_titan_alliance/–

You're RAMEN all over with these NOODLES of information regarding the words you are using.

Those are quite a stretch, even for me.

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

Part of me wants to be happy that I'm off at noon on Fridays, the other part of me is fairly accustomed to shit happening and not being able to play until the middle of the second day of any high-pop beta, so I'm trying not to get too excited about the weekend.

It's getting tough though.

 

[Iadien]

You just had to choose one of the coolest sounding server names.

 

[Jira]

The whole thing about less servers scares me.....Mainly because of WvW queue times.

Due to their ability to now increase overall server capacities more, there's the possibility that they've also increased the amount of people that can be in any given zone.

 

[Ashodin]

Due to their ability to now increase overall server capacities more, there's the possibility that they've also increased the amount of people that can be in any given zone.

I hope they are working on performance with this - incredible amounts of players in an area could fuck things up lag wise.

I remember some of the horrible parts of the BWEs where there were insane amounts of players just... slideshowing the WHOLE thing.

 

[Retro]

Part of me wants to be happy that I'm off at noon on Fridays, the other part of me is fairly accustomed to shit happening and not being able to play until the middle of the second day of any high-pop beta, so I'm trying not to get too excited about the weekend.

It's getting tough though.

Actually in the first BWE they went up about an hour early, and the most downtime we've had across 2 BWEs and two stress tests (I think, was it one or two?) has been a half hour when they were fixing some lag. After that, it ran smoothly without so much as a disconnect.

Don't worry. Be Happy.

You just had to choose one of the coolest sounding server names.

Well, people were so up in arms about rolling on Hedgehog Denravi, we decided we needed to move to a proper G-named server. It's not our fault we're being driven off our land by a horde of pasty white dudes.

I wonder if there will be a "Trail of Tears" server, and if we need to act quickly to get a reservation.

 

[Hawkian]

I wonder if there will be a "Trail of Tears" server, and if we need to act quickly to get a reservation.

Is there any chance that's a Retro Original?

 

[Iadien]

Is there any chance that's a Retro Original?

no.

 

[Kos Luftar]

Another ANET blog post: http://www.arena.net/blog/the-opening-cinematic-sequences-your-introduction-to-tyria

 

[Retro]

I remember some of the horrible parts of the BWEs where there were insane amounts of players just... slideshowing the WHOLE thing.

That's your fault for spending all of your money on licensing the likeness of Shia LaBeouf for your Guardian.

You should have been upgrading your PC.

Is there any chance that's a Retro Original?

I'm sure I've done Native American puns before, but not on GAF. So it's new to you.

 

[Ashodin]

Kos Luftar looks just like him too!

 

[Trey]

Y'all really know how to milk a pun for all it's worth.

 

[Ashodin]

Y'all really know how to milk a pun for all it's worth.

If you can't chew the fat, get out of the pasture.

 

[Retro]

Kos Luftar looks just like him too!

My god. You're right!

Who looks like Shia LaBeouf?

You do.

Both of you do!

Y'all really know how to milk a pun for all it's worth.

I skipped over that one. Seemed too obvious. Glad it's getting infectious though, the guild that annoys the shit out of each other with puns together, stays together.

 

[Vinci]

Another ANET blog post: http://www.arena.net/blog/the-opening-cinematic-sequences-your-introduction-to-tyria

Man, they're getting chatty. This post feels a bit insignificant though, especially compared to the server kick to the groin we got earlier.

 

[BrettWeir]

Due to their ability to now increase overall server capacities more, there's the possibility that they've also increased the amount of people that can be in any given zone.

I really hope so....as it was, servers were experiencing queue times for WvW. This is something I don't want to contend with.

I had no fears whatsoever about GW2 and its release until this news. ANet has gone against the grain and proven everyone wrong, let's hope this is the case with my worry.

 

[Vinci]

I really hope so....as it was, servers were experiencing queue times for WvW. This is something I don't want to contend with.

I had no fears whatsoever about GW2 and its release until this news. ANet has gone against the grain and proven everyone wrong, let's hope this is the case with my worry.

Yeah. Most MMO companies? "Let's put out TONS of servers at launch and then act like total prigs and not do merges until everyone has rage-quit."

ANET? "We're about to be slammed with the largest amount of traffic we've ever seen. How about we cut the number of servers to a third of their original number? That should be interesting."

 

[Kos Luftar]

My god. You're right!

...

I skipped over that one. Seemed too obvious. Glad it's getting infectious though, the guild that annoys the shit out of each other with puns together, stays together.

I can't believe you are putting me and Max in the same level with Shia, we are clearly way better looking!

Also to retaliate I am going to make a Norn that looks like Retro, I hope they have a double point emote!

 

[01DragonFly]

Another ANET blog post: http://www.arena.net/blog/the-opening-cinematic-sequences-your-introduction-to-tyria

the race intro are so awesome love the human and norn ones

 

[Ashodin]

I can't believe you are putting me and Max in the same level with Shia, we are clearly way better looking!

Also to retaliate I am going to make a Norn that looks like Retro, I hope they have a double point emote!

the fuck are you talking about, Retro looks like TF2's Heavy with a beard and more hair.

 

[Jira]

the fuck are you talking about, Retro looks like TF2's Heavy with a beard and more hair.

I lol'd.

 

[Kos Luftar]

the fuck are you talking about, Retro looks like TF2's Heavy with a beard and more hair.

Maybe but that doesn't exclude the possibility of creating a Retro lookalike as a Norm.

 

[BrettWeir]

Maybe but that doesn't exclude the possibility of creating a Retro lookalike as a Norn.

Corrected.

 

[Kos Luftar]

Corrected.

I should not GAF and drive because I make spelling mistakes.

 

[zulfate]

I should not GAF and drive because I make spelling mistakes.

How about dont text and drive...

 

[Retro]

Also to retaliate I am going to make a Norn that looks like Retro, I hope they have a double point emote!

Not shaggy enough, try a Charr instead.

the fuck are you talking about, Retro looks like TF2's Heavy with a beard and more hair.

I will have to work on my accent.

 

[Weltall Zero]

Oh, I like that one. Very much so.

It sounds quite a bit better in Spanish, of course, on account on it rhyming . It's one of those select Spanish popular sayings that I agree wholeheartedly with; not just here but, for example, at work. I'd rather be part of a smaller company that a huge, faceless multinational, unless it's something like Google.

Okay, to be fair, I was just the one who posted it, since after we all agreed to go to Gate of Madness, everyone had stuff to do or had to leave. Everyone read over the post though and approved. I support the idea, of course, but the choice came about because GAFGuild leadership thought it was the best option after discussing it.

Ah, I stand corrected; I probably missed the discussion, since I have a hard time keeping up with the thread at times.

It's also not entirely about proving anything either. We want to see how the game handles that many people. For all we know, ArenaNet managed to up the number of players per map substantially. I still don't like the idea of rolling on a server with a major alliance, but if it goes well enough we might consider a higher population server.
The plan is basically to get through the weekend, see how it goes, and see what people plan to do for launch (remember, Titan Alliance said this is just for the BWE, they may not stay).

Yep, I understand. If it's provably unpleasant, we now know the right choice; if it's manageable, we know we have both options. Testing what seems the worst choice first is the kind of thing I would have done too, though.

If the latency is alright, why u no roll NA server?

Indeed, I'm torn between both options. I'm actually currently leaning towards doing just that, actually. Thing is, if any of my friends do jump ship to GW2, I'm going to have a hard time explaining why I'm in a US server. There's also the thing about being able to make new, possibly real-life friends within an EU server. I'm still thinking it over, and knowing me, will be until August 25th...

Still, not just for me but for all those other EU players facing this very same conundrum, I'm going to have my GF make her BWE3 account on an EU server, and try to measure ping on both. This should provide me with some hard facts to back up either decision.

 

[BrettWeir]

I should not GAF and drive because I make spelling mistakes.

LOL!

Now to go watch those intros!

 

[Mr. Luchador]

Hopefully new PC arrives in time.

 

[Kos Luftar]

Home safe and sound. I know some of you were concerned!

LOL!

Now to go watch those intros!

Booo...I hoped they were awesome pre-rendered cinematic but alas they are just the usual artys ones.

 

[Weltall Zero]

I'm not 100% sure but I think each part of a zone has a level setting based on the enemies in that area and players are brought down to that particular level. It doesn't seem to be a zone-wide level.

Indeed, each small (often not even labelled) subzone within a larger zone has its own level that it downlevels you to (assuming you are past it, of course). This is so subtle that you don't realize it most of the time, if ever. If you're suddenly getting pounded by enemies, check your level and theirs: if your level is NOT downgraded (only a number instead of two, one in parenthesis), and enemies are quite higher level than you, there's a good chance you stepped into a subzone designed for higher levels.

You do get loot penalties tho. I ran around last BWE with my lvl 29ish Guardian through lower lvl areas and got that lvl items, not my own. I tested this through several areas, but it is a common misconception that has been going around this thread that you get your own lvl items.

That seems like a bug, since it's been regularly stated to work like Retro mentioned. I admit I never went to a level so far below my level to notice it, though.

They went from 96 overall to 42, but now I realize you're just counting NA.

There's also something that people seem to be overlooking, and that is that SERVERS is not the same as REALMS. Servers are the physical machines supporting the realms, and oftentimes a realm is supported by several servers: GW2 makes this easier by having distinct zones. You could simply put more servers for each realm (by putting less zone into each server), and multiply the amount of players that can play on that realm. You could also keep the same number of servers, but redistribute them so that there's less realms, each with more servers (and again, more player capacity). I believe the latter is exactly what is being done here.

 

[Keasar]

Another ANET blog post: http://www.arena.net/blog/the-opening-cinematic-sequences-your-introduction-to-tyria

"Victory at any cost!"
Charr for the win.

 

[chiablo]

Yeah. Most MMO companies? "Let's put out TONS of servers at launch and then act like total prigs and not do merges until everyone has rage-quit."

ANET? "We're about to be slammed with the largest amount of traffic we've ever seen. How about we cut the number of servers to a third of their original number? That should be interesting."

Oddly enough, Guild Wars 2 is the least affected by server mergers compared to everyone else. Character names are account-bound, and PvE is somewhat cross-server already. Merging servers only adds more people to the player pool. They could even stealthily do it by having the two servers appear separate in the server list, but they both connect to the same server when chosen.

 

[Snapshot King]

Man these server shenanigans are bizarre. Hope they know what they're doing. But considering the weird overflow and WvWvW shenanigans they had going on already, I'm sure they know what they're doing. Or this beta weekend will crash and burn and they'll fix all that shit before release.

 

[Retro]

Man these server shenanigans are bizarre. Hope they know what they're doing. But considering the weird overflow and WvWvW shenanigans they had going on already, I'm sure they know what they're doing. Or this beta weekend will crash and burn and they'll fix all that shit before release.

I think a large part of it is that it runs counter to everything we've seen in MMOs before. Usually they're adding servers, there's always hour-long queues at launch, etc. But based on the BWEs... ArenaNet's getting it done in their own crazy way and it all works amazingly well. The biggest problems I saw were some terrible lag at the start of BWE1 (fixed in a half hour) and one of the Borderlands was apparently full but nobody was actually in it and the queue lasted indefinitely (bugged, fixed when the WvW matches switched).

I'll take another big gulp of the Kool-Aid; in ArenaNet we trust.

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

"Victory at any cost!"
Charr for the win.

So the Charr are Klingons? I know what I'm rolling first.

 

[ScrabbleBanshee]

I have no idea about what anybody is saying in this thread. WvWvWBwWEeEWwwhhhat?

 

[Anoregon]

I have no idea about what anybody is saying in this thread. WvWvWBwWEeEWwwhhhat?

BWE= Beta Weekend Event

WvWvW is the 3-way pvp thing.

 

[Kos Luftar]

I have no idea about what anybody is saying in this thread. WvWvWBwWEeEWwwhhhat?

It's as though you have never posted on any GW2 thread before. Weird!

 

[Retro]

So the Charr are Klingons? I know what I'm rolling first.

That's actually how I described them to my brother. "Klingon Panther-men."

 

[Sethos]

In the past, it has been Noon Pacific / 3PM Eastern / 7PM GMT / 9PM CET

I think. I always have to look up the time zone conversions.

Oh nice and early, appreciate the answer.

 

[Retro]

Oh nice and early, appreciate the answer.

No problem. Like I said, maybe double check the times because I've been known to forget which way this planet of ours rotates occasionally.

 

[Deleted member 10571]

Ladies and Gentlemen, we now reached a point where Arenanet just could come up with the strangest, weirdest and most counter-productive shit we've ever seen, and people will just say "oh well, it's Anet, they're crazy but they surely know what they're doing and I love them for doing it!"

Spoiler

I am totally one of those people

 

[Sethos]

No problem. Like I said, maybe double check the times because I've been known to forget which way this planet of ours rotates occasionally.

I'll just check this thread Friday and I'd probably get an idea when it opens up

 

[BrettWeir]

Holy hell this thread is going to fly over the next month (after BWE3 obviously).

Don't fail me this weekend, shitty laptop!!!

 

[chiablo]

So in order to work on HoM rewards, you have to have Eye in the North, correct? And are titles the only things you get in GW2 through the HOM?

I'm surprised they haven't any Guild Wars 1 stuff for sale during the Summer Steam Sale.

 

[Retro]

Ladies and Gentlemen, we now reached a point where Arenanet just could come up with the strangest, weirdest and most counter-productive shit we've ever seen, and people will just say "oh well, it's Anet, they're crazy but they surely know what they're doing and I love them for doing it!"

Spoiler

I am totally one of those people

I've played the game. I know what we're getting. I also know that all the crazy claims they made over the years ("No Trinity" most notably) actually work. So yeah, if they said tomorrow they were going to do something crazy, I'd have a wait-and-see approach.

I'll just check this thread Friday and I'd probably get an idea when it opens up

Just watch for my posts to suddenly stop. When the BWEs open, I disappear.

 

[putarorex]

It scales to a specific level based on the zone and subarea of the zone you're in. So if you're fighting mobs that are say level 3 you might be 5 and if you're fighting mobs that are 8 you might be 10 or 11. The most important thing is you obviously do lose some of your overall power, however you still feel more powerful than you did at that level, but they take your HP down to about what it actually is at your downscaled level so you can never just walk into somewhere and herp derp faceroll without any worries. Those mobs will kill you without hesitation.

The subareas within each zone can downlevel you without you realizing if you're not careful. I was in a lower level zone at level 26 and conned a level 18 mob. I was downleveled to level 15, but when I moved closer to the mob I bumped up to level 17. I am not sure if you can get downleveled in the middle of a fight, but it might be something to be cautious about, especially since kiting and dodging are pretty effective in this game.

 

[chiablo]

Mispost... wrong thread...

 

[Songbird]

I've got my client downloaded and I can't wait for Friday! Pumped.