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[Complistic]

fractal race was tons of fun. Our group was craaazy fast.

 

[Varna]

What's everyone's preference on AA? I'm still using the default FXAA but some of those shots from the screenshot thread look a lot better then what I am seeing.

 

[Hawkian]

fractal race was tons of fun. Our group was craaazy fast.

I sent you your prizes!

Great runs everybody You guys were too damn fast for words

 

[usea]

fractal race was tons of fun. Our group was craaazy fast.

Yeah, we were on level 2, first fractal when you guys finished. Insane. We had a level 60 player, but we also got relatively easy fractals.

This is what the first half of the ice fractal looks like for me.

 

[Trey]

The Borderlands being a part of map completion is very annoying.

 

[Complistic]

I sent you your prizes!

Great runs everybody You guys were too damn fast for words

Thanks for the prizes. We really should do that more often.

 

[Ferny]

Niceeeee. Looked like an awesome time.

 

[Hawkian]

Looks like an awesome time guys! Congrats again, Nic

Sorry again I had to bail out on the fractals last night... had to get up early and now I'm at this damn local election all day long...

 

[Ashodin]

Grats Nic and an-i-mal-boo-gy is a good guy for showing up with his bro Butz

 

[Vigilant Walrus]

Haven't checked in for a while. Is there anything new about the gear treadmill? Are they still gonna go for vertical WoW?

A part of me wouldn't care if it's not crazy, but man. At this rate how is sPvP ever going to be big? few people seem to care. All dreams and hopes about a SC2 / LoL quality eSport game seems dead.

sigh. We told them not to launch with a spectator mode? its so disjointed i dont feel like its my own character in the mists. its not a fun place to hang out either. Though I really like how everyone has equal power in sPvP.

 

[Retro]

Haven't checked in for a while. Is there anything new about the gear treadmill? Are they still gonna go for vertical WoW?

A part of me wouldn't care if it's not crazy, but man. At this rate how is sPvP ever going to be big? few people seem to care. All dreams and hopes about a SC2 / LoL quality eSport game seems dead.

sigh. We told them not to launch with a spectator mode? its so disjointed i dont feel like its my own character in the mists. its not a fun place to hang out either. Though I really like how everyone has equal power in sPvP.

There was a big AMA with Producer Chris Whiteside where every other damn question was about Ascended Gear. To summarize; no gear treadmill.

If you want to read it for yourself; http://dulfy.net/2012/11/26/gw2-chris-whiteside-ama-on-reddit/

 

[Complistic]

Haven't checked in for a while. Is there anything new about the gear treadmill? Are they still gonna go for vertical WoW?

A part of me wouldn't care if it's not crazy, but man. At this rate how is sPvP ever going to be big? few people seem to care. All dreams and hopes about a SC2 / LoL quality eSport game seems dead.

sigh. We told them not to launch with a spectator mode? its so disjointed i dont feel like its my own character in the mists. its not a fun place to hang out either. Though I really like how everyone has equal power in sPvP.

The pvp is completely deserted. I took a look and there's only about 20 servers with people actually playing. I imagine it'll remain that way until anet actually focus on it.

Then I imagine it'll pick back up.

 

[br0ken_shad0w]

Haven't checked in for a while. Is there anything new about the gear treadmill? Are they still gonna go for vertical WoW?

A part of me wouldn't care if it's not crazy, but man. At this rate how is sPvP ever going to be big? few people seem to care. All dreams and hopes about a SC2 / LoL quality eSport game seems dead.

sigh. We told them not to launch with a spectator mode? its so disjointed i dont feel like its my own character in the mists. its not a fun place to hang out either. Though I really like how everyone has equal power in sPvP.

Regarding the gear treadmill (from the Reddit AMA):

Hi! I'll respond to the top part since it's a quote from me.

Obviously the key phrase I'm going to point you to in that quote is, "if someone wants to play for a thousand hours to get an item that is so rare that other players can't realistically acquire it". That really is the litmus test we've used. That's why, at ship, we gave better stats to exotic gear and didn't give better stats to legendary gear.

More generally, I hope we've been clear that GW2 is not a game with virtually no stat progression in it like GW1 was. That's why GW2 shipped with a higher level cap, and with a hard separation between PvE and PvP. In GW1 we never advanced the level cap through four campaigns/expansions. The game design didn't allow for it. But GW2 was designed without those restrictions, and we've always expected that we will someday raise the level cap in GW2.

That's why we've always said that GW2 rewards players through both progression and collection, whereas GW1 primarily rewarded through collection. Presumably players aren't shocked that GW2 rewards through progression, since it has a level 80 cap.

I wonder if the core sentiment is more this: It's only been two-and-a-half months! We don't even all have exotics yet, and already you're introducing another tier. Is this the start of a power progression curve that I'll never be able to keep up with?

I certainly appreciate that worry. I myself don't want a constant struggle, as exists in some other games, to keep my equipment viable.

Then we're left with a balancing act. Some progression is ok, but pushing players onto gear treadmill isn't ok and isn't what the game is about.

So I would ask you to judge us by details, and not by making slippery-slope arguments. We introduced a ton of new content in November, and the sum total of new progression rewards we added to go with it provided a 5-10% stat increase in 2 of 12 slots. I hope you'll agree that that kind of very shallow and gradual progression does not force people onto a gear treadmill.

I think it's important for GW2 to be able to have this kind of gradual progression. Of course we made some mistakes with the way we introduced ascended gear. (See ChrisW's answers for details.) But those are addressable issues. I don't think they invalidate the fundamental concept that GW2 can have gradual stat progression without being a gear treadmill game.

~ MO
----
Hi Landeyda,

Thanks for taking the time to post your questions. Mike O will respond to the top question and I will respond to the bottom section.

Ascended Gear is designed to fill the 'Time' gap in regard to the distance between exotic and Legendary in terms of progression and in retrospect would have been better to have been rolled out pre launch.

I would also like add that we have never said there would be no vertical progression. We do intent to focus on horizontal but we will have vertical progression moving forward with the focus on zero grind and a very low power curve.

Please understand that we see the community as a 'whole' and therefore are not intending to design again for one specific type of player over another. This is a misconception and one that is not promoted by the team. We will continue to develop the game for the community as a whole offering game play that caters to lots of different types of players in a unified approach that will evolve over time based on feedback and the direction the team as a whole wants to take.

Take from that as you will. As for sPVP, yes it's a huge issue and they lost most of the potential PVP audience by neglecting it. Lucky for them they still have GW1 to get ideas from.

Spoiler

like GvG

 

[etiolate]

No matter their explanation, they haven't said anything that convinces me the stat increase on Ascended gear is anything but entirely pointless. They could have released the gear without increased stats and pleased people. A lot of their explanations don't hold up either. I think they just gave up trying to explain the "time gap" argument since there were time investment difference between different exotics and all Ascended did was increase the gap to Legendaries.

PVP was the fallout from it since that community felt ignored by the patch.

Taugrim's write-up on it reflects some of my views: http://taugrim.com/2012/12/01/my-take-on-ascended-gear-in-guild-wars-2/

 

[Vigilant Walrus]

There was a big AMA with Producer Chris Whiteside where every other damn question was about Ascended Gear. To summarize; no gear treadmill.

If you want to read it for yourself; http://dulfy.net/2012/11/26/gw2-chris-whiteside-ama-on-reddit/

Fuck. That was cynical-in-pure-form. Jesus christ. What passive aggression and hostility. phew.
You get the sense from the wording that many of the guys writing this are about to pop a blood vessel.

 

[Ashodin]

Next weekend is Wintersday, and I think it's going to be epic.

I've been seeing messages from Jon Peters about ranger and engineer buffs, two of Wallach's favorite classes, haha.

 

[Trey]

The fortunate thing about PvP is it can be revitalized at any time. Competitive modes only need to be good and have good supporting features in order to work. If you build it, people will come.

 

[Hawkian]

At this rate how is sPvP ever going to be big?

Certainly possible I'm misinterpreting you but you know ascended gear/gear treadmill/level cap/etc discussion is completely unrelated and irrelevant to PvP, right?

 

[Wallach]

Next weekend is Wintersday, and I think it's going to be epic.

I've been seeing messages from Jon Peters about ranger and engineer buffs, two of Wallach's favorite classes, haha.

Where at? On the official forums? I saw the Engineer stuff earlier in the thread... are there more Ranger details?

 

[Ashodin]

Where at? On the official forums? I saw the Engineer stuff earlier in the thread... are there more Ranger details?

Yeah, I caught glimpses of increased ranger speed, increased longbow arrow speed, stuff like that. On the dev tracker!

edit: compiled

You guys must be channeling some psychic powers this weekend. We agree arrows need to be a bit faster to make DPS against moving targets a bit more reliable. 12/14 can’t come soon enough.

Agreed. Signet of the hunt needs to and will go to 25%.

buffz

 

[Wallach]

Both of those things sound fuck awesome! I use Hunt all the time when not in dungeons, even though it's so shit compared to the Thief one. Faster is faster. Now it's fasterer.

Edit - I hope they also tweak the Longbow 1 skill. It really needs a shorter activation time.

 

[Divvy]

Game is so freaking laggy right now. Can't tell if it's my issue or a gw2 issue.

 

[Noisy Ninj4]

What I'd REALLY like to see, gear-wise, from anet is a more full array of stat blocks. This would probably necessitate more T6 materials or recipes for crafting. The alternative could be something that I've had percolating in my head for a little while. You could have armor/weapon stats that can be changed out of combat. (eg: a pow/tough/vit piece can become pow/precision/vit or the like) You could limit the stat changes to a certain set, like the primary stat being unchangeable so as to differentiate between armor names. (berserker's would always provide power, ravager's would always provide precision, etc)

I'd also like to see new stats that replace standard bonuses. Boon and Condition duration buffs come to mind. In lieu of 80 power from a greatsword, for example, you could have +8% boon duration or even +4% boon duration and +40 power.

 

[Levyne]

Haven't been able to play much recently. Well, I've had time but dumped it into Sleeping Dogs and P4 Golden.

Finals next week too

 

[Baron Aloha]

So I still haven't been able to move to Stormbluff after like 2 weeks.

Been trying out different classes. Settled on the ranger. Level 25 now. Is there someplace that lays out what I should be doing once I hit 80?

So this Ascend gear is the best now? I haven't really been paying attention to what's going on in the game as I just got it. Is it possible to obtain solo? I don't have anyone to play with on my shitty server. I kind of regret ever getting the game even though I like it because I waited so long and now I'm behind and I don't think I will ever catch up if they keep releasing crap and I can't find a group because of the population and the fact that no one will want to play with me b/c my gear sucks.

 

[Noisy Ninj4]

So I still haven't been able to move to Stormbluff after like 2 weeks.

Been trying out different classes. Settled on the ranger. Level 25 now. Is there someplace that lays out what I should be doing once I hit 80?

So this Ascend gear is the best now? I haven't really been paying attention to what's going on in the game as I just got it. Is it possible to obtain solo? I don't have anyone to play with on my shitty server. I kind of regret ever getting the game even though I like it because I waited so long and now I'm behind and I don't think I will ever catch up if they keep releasing crap and I can't find a group because of the population and the fact that no one will want to play with me b/c my gear sucks.

1. Chill. Just enjoy the game.
2. Gear isn't a huge deal prior to 80 unless the difference in level is more than about 5. Wearing level 40 armor as a level 60 character will make you feel anemic, but you don't need more than masterwork to play most of the game. After 80, it's still ok to wear masterwork/rare armor rather than exotic 9 times out of 10, especially outside of dungeons.
3. Ascended gear is the best statted gear in the game, yes. HOWEVER, you can only get ascended gear in 3 accessory slots (backpiece and both ears). That means that it's almost irrelevant to anyone outside of the FOTM dungeon. For now, you can only get ascended gear by going into the fractals, but that is slated to change in near future. Again, you have absolutely no need for any ascended gear for any content outside fractals BELOW level 10.
4. Again, by and large, exotic armor is the best stuff in the game. Even when ascended gear comes out for every slot, it will only represent a stat increase of about 5% above exotic gear. That's not much. The biggest deal will be infusions and that only (currently) applies to the FOTM dungeon.
5. Don't rush to 80. Really, don't. You don't need to. The content will wait. Dungeons have gotten quiet of late but there's always guild groups.

 

[Hawkian]

Dude just needs to get on our server o.o Poor thing

 

[Noisy Ninj4]

Dude just needs to get on our server o.o Poor thing

Not to mention that he can still join us for dungeon groups.

 

[Zyrusticae]

A part of me wouldn't care if it's not crazy, but man. At this rate how is sPvP ever going to be big? few people seem to care. All dreams and hopes about a SC2 / LoL quality eSport game seems dead.

sigh. We told them not to launch with a spectator mode? its so disjointed i dont feel like its my own character in the mists. its not a fun place to hang out either. Though I really like how everyone has equal power in sPvP.

The pvp is completely deserted. I took a look and there's only about 20 servers with people actually playing. I imagine it'll remain that way until anet actually focus on it.

Then I imagine it'll pick back up.

Take from that as you will. As for sPVP, yes it's a huge issue and they lost most of the potential PVP audience by neglecting it. Lucky for them they still have GW1 to get ideas from.

Spoiler

like GvG

Yeah, it's pretty damn sad how it's turned out so far. They really don't seem to have any idea what they're doing, they're just flying by the seat of their pants.

Their "e-sport" idea is just a running joke at this point. Granted, League of Legends also took a long time to get a spectator mode up and running, but it didn't take them this long just to get a few balance patches out (LoL does biweekly patches and they've been doing it consistently from the time they launched, alongside new champion releases).

They need to improve build diversity by craptons if they really want to see things take off. Nobody's going to want to watch a game where every class is running one of two or three builds, every single match, without fail. What is even the point of the utility/traits system if only a third of the whole thing is being used?

Plus the game mode they chose, in particular, just doesn't seem conducive as a spectator sport. They really need to make more than just the three points on every map...

The fortunate thing about PvP is it can be revitalized at any time. Competitive modes only need to be good and have good supporting features in order to work. If you build it, people will come.

I don't think so. It's very hard to bounce back when your peak player concurrency fails down to the triple-digit level.

 

[etiolate]

I have a handful of people still trying to get onto SBI. Maybe they'll do a free trial weekend again. Though if they get guesting down it won't be such a big deal.

 

[Trey]

I don't think so. It's very hard to bounce back when your peak player concurrency fails down to the triple-digit level.

PvP is something you can launch any time. It's just structure. Unlike PvE and WvW which needs bodies at all times, and significant feedback from the game. A slow start means nothing in PvP if they introduce more maps, modes, and features because the appeal of PvP is the meta.

I will say PvP is a long way from being viable enough for eSport consideration. It's missing key features. A significant update to the mode needs to drop in the next six months, when GW2's playerbase should be at its strongest, and GW2 itself is still in the public eye.

Dude just needs to get on our server o.o Poor thing

The impossibility of getting on to SBI is the sole reason I haven't jumped to another server in order to finish off these borderlands for map completion.

 

[Hawkian]

So, here's a thing I did.

 

[Wallach]

Are you using SMAA? Text looks funny.

 

[Hawkian]

Yep.

 

[Ashodin]

BOO

 

[Lyng]

The impossibility of getting on to SBI is the sole reason I haven't jumped to another server in order to finish off these borderlands for map completion.

Yeah I am in the same boat. I feel stuck on Gandara and not beeing able to be in a active guild has really ruined the game for me. No matter what time I try to get online Stormbluff is allways full.

I havent given up yet though....

Are there still open spots in the NA gaf guild?

 

[Noisy Ninj4]

Yeah I am in the same boat. I feel stuck on Gandara and not beeing able to be in a active guild has really ruined the game for me. No matter what time I try to get online Stormbluff is allways full.

I havent given up yet though....

Are there still open spots in the NA gaf guild?

Plenty. Remember that you can talk cross-server and even get into dungeons across servers. You can also join overflows of other party members.

 

[AFollowerNotALeader]

I was feeling a bit knackered this weekend so did more PvE than usual. Completed Bloodtide coast and found the Quaggan's "most precious treasure".

I... I have a new happy place XD

 

[Lyng]

Plenty. Remember that you can talk cross-server and even get into dungeons across servers. You can also join overflows of other party members.

Sounds great!

Was planning on using most of my christmas vacation on GW2.

 

[Retro]

I was feeling a bit knackered this weekend so did more PvE than usual. Completed Bloodtide coast and found the Quaggan's "most precious treasure".

I... I have a new happy place XD

There's a Quaggan Hatchery in Timberline Falls with a jumping puzzle that's not terribly difficult, and the best part is

Spoiler

if you fall, little baby quaggans come over and revive you.

. There's also a quaggan who sings both the notorious swimming song and a particularly cute one about crab cakes for breakfast.

Really, anywhere Quaggans gather qualifies as a Happy Place. ArenaNet is losing money every day they don't have a Quaggan Plush for sale. Preferably one that sings. Or a bunch of little ones in a set.

Sounds great!

Was planning on using most of my christmas vacation on GW2.

Whisper any of the officers for an invite.

Remember; you don't need to be on SBI to be part of GAFGuild, as guilds are cross-server. We just prefer everyone play in the same place so nobody feels left out of server-specific events (which really only means PVE / Jumping puzzle events / WvW since you can already cross-server dungeons).

 

[Kos Luftar]

Yes, just 1 more week of work and then 2 weeks off for holidays, time to bring that /age from 550h to 1000h and finally get that silly Legendary pistol.

 

[Hawkian]

I was feeling a bit knackered this weekend so did more PvE than usual. Completed Bloodtide coast and found the Quaggan's "most precious treasure".

I... I have a new happy place XD

Bloodtide Coast is my second-favorite zone. So many hidden gems there <3

But yeah, just to piggyback on Retro and LoudAssass1n, there's no reason not to join the guild if you're active, even if you're on another server. For one thing, Guesting (which is in the "soon" pipe according to Kristen ) should theoretically eliminate any remaining issues (maybe just guarantee the party an overflow together?). For now, all dungeons can be done cross-server.

 

[nicoga3000]

Traveling home from St. Lucia today. Honeymoon is over (sad), but coming bak to reality tomorrow. Looking forward to jumping in and chatting with everyone again!

 

[AFollowerNotALeader]

There's a Quaggan Hatchery in Timberline Falls with a jumping puzzle that's not terribly difficult, and the best part is

Spoiler

if you fall, little baby quaggans come over and revive you.

. There's also a quaggan who sings both the notorious swimming song and a particularly cute one about crab cakes for breakfast.

Really, anywhere Quaggans gather qualifies as a Happy Place. ArenaNet is losing money every day they don't have a Quaggan Plush for sale. Preferably one that sings. Or a bunch of little ones in a set.

NEED PLUSH QUAGGANS NOW. I guess I'll be exploring Timberline falls this week...

But yeah, just to piggyback on Retro and LoudAssass1n, there's no reason not to join the guild if you're active, even if you're on another server. For one thing, Guesting (which is in the "soon" pipe according to Kristen ) should theoretically eliminate any remaining issues (maybe just guarantee the party an overflow together?). For now, all dungeons can be done cross-server.

I'm happy to join actually - for guesting PvE stuff when it's available (the joy of being able to join multiple guilds). I'd just like to stay on the server where I am for WvWvW.

I just picked up a new laptop (at lunch) so that I can play while I'm in the frozen North (or Edinburgh as it's known to the rest of the world) with my family this Christmas. Windows 8 is a bit... interesting...

 

[Retro]

NEED PLUSH QUAGGANS NOW. I guess I'll be exploring Timberline falls this week...

Considering how much cute Quaggan fan art is out there, I'm surprised it hasn't happened in time for Christmas. If they pack each one with a code for a Quaggan mini-pet (not the corrupted one that exists now, a cute one) they would FLY off the shelves.

I have a sneaking suspicion that my wife is getting me a Charr Plush for Christmas since they just became available again and I'll have some room for him on my new desk (when I get that too). He will need company.

I'm happy to join actually - for guesting PvE stuff when it's available (the joy of being able to join multiple guilds). I'd just like to stay on the server where I am for WvWvW.

I'm pretty sure I fired you a guild invite when I was checking to see if you were online to send you your sword. Check the guild tab.

 

[Mr. Luchador]

Quaggans for every body!

 

[AFollowerNotALeader]

I'm pretty sure I fired you a guild invite when I was checking to see if you were online to send you your sword. Check the guild tab.

I'll take a look when I log in tonight.

 

[Ashodin]

Traveling home from St. Lucia today. Honeymoon is over (sad), but coming bak to reality tomorrow. Looking forward to jumping in and chatting with everyone again!

Nice! coming back to reality to escape from reality

 

[Vossler]

Finally was able to afford my tier 3 assassin coat.....now need to work up the monies for the mask. Although, thinking ima save some moeny for Wintersday and all that it entails.

Leveling my alts is taking forever....keep getting dristracted by fractal and easy dungeon runs...

 

[hythloday]

Considering how much cute Quaggan fan art is out there, I'm surprised it hasn't happened in time for Christmas. If they pack each one with a code for a Quaggan mini-pet (not the corrupted one that exists now, a cute one) they would FLY off the shelves.

I have a sneaking suspicion that my wife is getting me a Charr Plush for Christmas since they just became available again and I'll have some room for him on my new desk (when I get that too).

You sound awfully confident!

If they sold plush quaggans I would buy like ten and sew tiny outfits for them, and throw a tea party.

I had the funnest time completing Blazeridge yesterday. I was in the separatist cave, and I went in a dark tunnel, climbed a bit, and found myself in a sunny little glade. It was neat. I didn't have time to see if it was a bigger jumping puzzle, I will probably go back soon. It's the little things in this game I like.