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Guild Wars 2 |OT2| Funding An MMO Entirely On Quaggan Backpacks
- Thread starter Teknopathetic
- Start date
- Status
Thank you to the group who weathered Ghost Eater with me. I swear, I'll get that thing down to a science one day, but in the meantime it's kind of a drag in some ways.
I feel like they could make it more enjoyable by giving you more time to attack, less times you have to pull to traps. Then again, traps should go fast if you're extremely well coordinated. It's just difficult on a first try. Either way, there's just something about the fight that doesn't feel "good". Like, using the hammer in the cliffside fractal feels "good". I don't quite know what the difference is. Perhaps the cooldown on the guns or something.
I can tell you one thing: You're going to see a lot less PUG's ask to run AC Path 2, that's for sure.
PS: Guild Missions are awesome, but I sure would like more indication on the UI.
I feel like they could make it more enjoyable by giving you more time to attack, less times you have to pull to traps. Then again, traps should go fast if you're extremely well coordinated. It's just difficult on a first try. Either way, there's just something about the fight that doesn't feel "good". Like, using the hammer in the cliffside fractal feels "good". I don't quite know what the difference is. Perhaps the cooldown on the guns or something.
I can tell you one thing: You're going to see a lot less PUG's ask to run AC Path 2, that's for sure.
PS: Guild Missions are awesome, but I sure would like more indication on the UI.
Colossus (AC path 3) was changed substantially with the 3/1 patch as well.
Grast is still very important, and all NPCs have more to them now than before (more on this later), but he won't save you every time either.
Colossus Rumblus is meant to teach teams the Defiant/Unshakable mechanic. If you understand how it works it can make or break fights, and trivialize bosses that seem incredibly tough.
Before you fight him, you need to load your team up with interrupts. Using any CC skill (pull, knockdown, daze, stun, etc.) strip off his stacks of the Defiant buff down to the silver, Unshakable buff. Then, when he begins his rumbling, rock falling attack- it has a HUGE, obvious windup- hit him with one more and interrupt him.
If you can regularly interrupt this attack, he is squishy as hell. He will go down HARD.
If you can't, you will wipe.
Good stuff.
Grast is still very important, and all NPCs have more to them now than before (more on this later), but he won't save you every time either.
Colossus Rumblus is meant to teach teams the Defiant/Unshakable mechanic. If you understand how it works it can make or break fights, and trivialize bosses that seem incredibly tough.
Before you fight him, you need to load your team up with interrupts. Using any CC skill (pull, knockdown, daze, stun, etc.) strip off his stacks of the Defiant buff down to the silver, Unshakable buff. Then, when he begins his rumbling, rock falling attack- it has a HUGE, obvious windup- hit him with one more and interrupt him.
If you can regularly interrupt this attack, he is squishy as hell. He will go down HARD.
If you can't, you will wipe.
Good stuff.
D
Deleted member 10571
Unconfirmed Member
1800 gems to transfer to SBI, meaning I would have to buy the 35 pack, since the 20 pack is JUST not enough.
Why am I not surprised.
Why am I not surprised.
It's not that you can reroll characters on any server, it's that you can temporarily move your characters to any server via Guesting. Either way, someone took care of the invite last night, so check your guild tab.
You may want to check your tin foil hat for any tears.
Transfer cost is determined by the population level of the server, in an effort to keep people from jumping to what may be perceived as a 'better' server. I doubt they set those prices based on the denomination of gem cards available. It's just unfortunate for you that, despite the Chicken Littles' and their doomsday predictions, SBI's population has remained firmly in "Very High".
I'd like to think of that run as an anomaly. The first time I did ghost eater with another group, it went much, much, smoother.
Ash and I did it again after (with Asteria!) and it took less than 1/4th as long. I take a lot of responsibility, when I realized we had multiple first timers I should've grabbed an 80.
GE is so satisfying when you get the fight down though. Working on a big post about the dungeon overhauls now :]
GE is so satisfying when you get the fight down though. Working on a big post about the dungeon overhauls now :]
It was also like, 3 in the morning last night, so that MIGHT have had something to do with it.
irfaanator
Banned
assuming thats for the guild mission that went on today
irfaanator
Banned
damn sucks I had to miss it, good thing it's not hard to start up a new one.
Quoted for Truth. 5 years of WoW (about 1.5 spent in a hardcore raid guild) and many more playing MMOs (LotRO, Aion, Rift, etc.) couldn't touch the thrill of hearing GAF spread out across the world, the excitement when a target was spotted, and the insane rush of bringing them down with the clock ticking.
What makes it even more thrilling is that we left frickin' Speedy Gonzales until the last, so we're all tearing ass over the zone looking for her... and she runs right in front of me as I waypoint in. And then the chase was on, everyone trying to figure out where she is, I'm seeing GAFers spawning at points ahead of me as I call them out, then somebody gets ahead of her and BAM; we mow her down.
After a lifetime of gaming, it's weird to have a completely awesome and new experience. This is the shit MMOs were made for, but never delivered on until just this moment.
I stand by my statement in the podcast; this is Raiding done Right. ANet delivers.
Jest Chillin
Member
So.. the new stuff on Laurel and Guild Commendation vendors.. is it one currency OR the other or is it both currencies? I.E. 5g OR 2 Comms vs. 5g AND 2 Comms?
Think it's both, but not sure.
Wait, of course it's both. You can't buy anything from him without commendations.
Kos Luftar
Member
Here is 3 pictures I took from the Guild Mission Event tonight!
Thanks to all who attended. It really was something. GAFGuild gets it done first try.
If you have the chance, I have a simple question on the gafguild forums: http://gafguild.com/index.php?threads/didja-buy-gems.284/
If you have the chance, I have a simple question on the gafguild forums: http://gafguild.com/index.php?threads/didja-buy-gems.284/
Way to get a shot of me turned around facing the wrong damn way in one of those. I r good at posing, derp!
Before this new stuff, there really wasn't much going for guilds besides "chat room and guild bank access." Unless guilds came up with their own ideas for events and things to do (like some of the excellent stuff GAFguild has done!), there wasn't enough incentive for guilds to get together as one big group and play.
Sure, you could group up and do map completion and dynamic events together, but that's really just wandering around in the end. WvW is a little more goal oriented. You can do all of those things alone as well. Dungeons and fractals get people together, but segmented into 5-man teams.
Now with guild missions, there's a good reason for guilds to get together and play, with a reward system and set goals.
It's an excellent start and they're fun. I say "start" because they can just come up with more types of missions in the future and just throw them up for guilds to activate.
It will be even better I think when they eventually add the "war" back in "Guild Wars" and release Guild Halls + GvG battles. Although, I'd assume the the new WvsPvP features will include stuff that encourages guilds to group together in that portion of the game.
irfaanator
Banned
oh yea, since I have seen this come up the past couple weeks, and not sure if everybody knew.
gw2crafts.net is a dynamic crafting guide that will get the lowest possible amount of gold you need to spend to level up crafting. It's really good, only thing you gotta watch out for is if you buy all the items and wait, the guide will update if you refresh.
gw2crafts.net is a dynamic crafting guide that will get the lowest possible amount of gold you need to spend to level up crafting. It's really good, only thing you gotta watch out for is if you buy all the items and wait, the guide will update if you refresh.
Most of the big monster events are just loot pinatas, especially now.
My vote is:
-All events in 1-15 zones stay the same laughably easy way
-All other events get new, challenging mechanics and take coordination to complete, and scale harshly with zergs
-Fire Elemental is made even harder than the original
My vote is:
-All events in 1-15 zones stay the same laughably easy way
-All other events get new, challenging mechanics and take coordination to complete, and scale harshly with zergs
-Fire Elemental is made even harder than the original
Most of the big monster events are just loot pinatas, especially now.
My vote is:
-All events in 1-15 zones stay the same laughably easy way
-All other events get new, challenging mechanics and take coordination to complete, and scale harshly with zergs
-Fire Elemental is made even harder than the original
Nooo shhh
I've gotten 150 ectos from these events in 4 days.
Don't give them ideas!
Would've saved me a couple gold leveling up my cooking to 400 today.. it cost me about 4g and that would have got it done in 2g50s. Oh well.
Vigilant Walrus
Member
It would be excellent if would to more locations other than the chest based bosses. Maybe champions and such shouldnt reward rares, but many maps have all sorts of bosses that are powerful and hidden away, that does not get enough exposition.
I think things like t6 mats, lodestones, cores, crystals, mystic coins, black lion items and such could be valuable things that could drop from other places. it shouldnt just be about rares but also about getting people to do events everywhere. my laptop cant handle the boss fights, so its all slideshows for me. on the other hand its difficult to find world events outside of cursed shore with 20-ish people.
I think things like t6 mats, lodestones, cores, crystals, mystic coins, black lion items and such could be valuable things that could drop from other places. it shouldnt just be about rares but also about getting people to do events everywhere. my laptop cant handle the boss fights, so its all slideshows for me. on the other hand its difficult to find world events outside of cursed shore with 20-ish people.
The aspects of the patch on Feb. 26 that ArenaNet promoted in its marketing were Living Story, Guild Missions, Choose Your Own Dailies, the new PvP map, and previewing from the TP.
But none of these (with a partial exception for Guild Missions) represent the most important aspects of the patch.
Yes, all of them are good stuff. Some are more prominent than others- previewing from the TP and Spirit Watch had an immediate impact, while Living Story and Guild Missions are slower burns as things unfold/unlock. The new dailies also obvious offer more "freedom" ingame.
The things that matter most, however, are more subtle.
I could expound at length on what's good about the new things that were added in this patch (and I am working on a post about the new AC and what it means for dungeon design going forward). But I wanted to take a moment and address the things that ArenaNet didn't spell out for you in the patch notes.
And believe it or not, everything in here is a result of carefully and judiciously listening to community feedback.
Very quietly, on a Tuesday afternoon, the feel of Guild Wars 2 was completely changed.
Getting People Back into the World
One of the most common complaints after each patch release was that few people were populating the various open world zones of Tyria.
"I didn't see anyone in the entire zone"
"Everyone is just sitting in LA doing Fractals"
"My server is dead"
So conventional wisdom was that ArenaNet should encourage more participation in the various zones throughout Tyria.
Guess what?
More Stuff for Guilds to Do Together
The new content that brings new stuff for guilds to do is the star of the show here. But there's more to it.
Two subtle changes that are big steps in the right direction. I can't wait for what's coming on the 26th.
Dungeons
I'm working on a post about Ascalonian Catacombs specifically- how it works, why it does the new things it does and what it means for the future of the dungeon overhaul. But for now, let's look at the new paradigm established for Story versus Explorable Mode:
But the biggest impact from this patch is harder to quantify. It's the synergy between all of the above. There's a new energy in the game that seems to have made everything from dungeons to WvW to playing in the open world better than ever.
There's still plenty to be disappointed about. There's still plenty of work that needs to be done; there always will be.
But anyone who claims this patch is a step in the wrong direction is a lunatic.
But none of these (with a partial exception for Guild Missions) represent the most important aspects of the patch.
Yes, all of them are good stuff. Some are more prominent than others- previewing from the TP and Spirit Watch had an immediate impact, while Living Story and Guild Missions are slower burns as things unfold/unlock. The new dailies also obvious offer more "freedom" ingame.
The things that matter most, however, are more subtle.
I could expound at length on what's good about the new things that were added in this patch (and I am working on a post about the new AC and what it means for dungeon design going forward). But I wanted to take a moment and address the things that ArenaNet didn't spell out for you in the patch notes.
And believe it or not, everything in here is a result of carefully and judiciously listening to community feedback.
Very quietly, on a Tuesday afternoon, the feel of Guild Wars 2 was completely changed.
Getting People Back into the World
One of the most common complaints after each patch release was that few people were populating the various open world zones of Tyria.
"I didn't see anyone in the entire zone"
"Everyone is just sitting in LA doing Fractals"
"My server is dead"
So conventional wisdom was that ArenaNet should encourage more participation in the various zones throughout Tyria.
Guess what?
- Dramatically increased rewards for every Meta Event. Instead of there being no worthwhile reward for any of the world events, there is now a substantial reward for every world event. Once per day, per character. Truth be told, there are already so many in the game- and by the way, even some of the lesser-known, more obscure group events have the updated rewards- that you could spend an entire day-long play session just chasing the next event. Even keeping your eyes on the most efficient timers out there, you wouldn't run out of things to do.
With the flick of a switch, this instantly populates a dozen or more zones with people looking for that next rare. It's addictive. Because it's per character, there is never a time when it isn't worthwhile to go to an event. Friendly players abound, from Metrica Province to Blazeridge Steppes to Wayfarer Foothills. People stick around after the chest rewards to knock off a little of their daily or follow a nearby dynamic chain. And none of that is even including the long-term benefits of encouraging alts- more players at more times in more zones. A masterstroke.
- Guild Bounties. The unleashing of Guild Missions onto the world of Tyria will have a lot of effects, but the most immediate one is that of the presence of Guild Bounties across 15 zones in the game. Here's how this goes: these NPCs are always, always somewhere in the open world. They can be happened upon by anyone. Scouting and tracking them, with guild members scattered throughout Tyria, is crucial to success in completing the mission.
Now stick with me here. A majority of the Guild Bounties spawn in zones of the game that do not have any popular Meta Events. Why does this matter? Because guildies that are scouting or hunting a bounty in one of the zones... are populating those zones. Newbies running around don't care that the guildies are there to complete a mission, and... wait for it... Guild Bounty NPCs are on large looping paths that take them through groups of hostile mobs, populous villages, and even Dynamic Events that happen to be in progress along their paths.
So seasoned guildies hunting Bounties throughout the world are suddenly playing alongside the people who just happen to be leveling in that zone.
- New and more new dailies every day. Hint: the fact that you can choose from a master list means they can add ridiculously specific, ridiculously varied options. "Maguuman Event Completer," "Krytan Veteran Slayer," "Ascalonian Healer" and so on. It's subtle things like this that make it rewarding to just play no matter where you are in the world.
More Stuff for Guilds to Do Together
The new content that brings new stuff for guilds to do is the star of the show here. But there's more to it.
- Influence had long become a sort of basic, "low-level buff spigot" for guilds of our size. No one really ever cared about it past the point of making sure guild buffs were up as often as possible. Now, influence is more important than ever. And how do you primarily earn it? By playing with your guild. In order to unlock new content your guild can participate in together, you are rewarded most by doing other stuff together.
- Server Community and Reputation. This is more subtle, but I'd argue it's what the developers are hoping for most out of this addition to the game. Random players are beginning to notice groups of guild-tagged players tracking bounties across a zone and tag along. Over time, people will recognize the Guilds who do this often and who make it fun for people other than their own members.
While we were trying out our first Tier 3 bounty, a small guild saw us tracking one of the targets and asked if, since they couldn't unlock the first tier yet, they could temporarily join us for this one hunt to get their commendations for the week. All of the officers (myself included) initially balked at this suggestion. But as we discussed it more and started considering the stress filled 15-minute window to get 6 targets down, where every warm body counts-- we turned it around. There's no legitimate downside other than having to remove them afterward. We quickly drafted them into the guild, dispatched these "mercenaries" to Fireheart Rise where they helped find the shaman. We even hastily created a rank in the guild for this scenario. When we completed the mission, we got our merits, they got their commendations, we all thanked each other, and then sent them on their way.
My hope is that besides the commendations and the fun of helping with the bounty, they got a positive impression of GAF out of the experience. I love the idea of one of them seeing a guildie out in the world over the next few weeks and remembering us from the mission where we teamed up.
(Thanks to Varix for taking the initiative to contact me about them.)
Two subtle changes that are big steps in the right direction. I can't wait for what's coming on the 26th.
- Battles involving groups under 25 do not display an icon on the map. Other than encouraging havoc squads, this tweak allows careful keep-ready groups of 20 to move silently up until the point where they actually start hitting the keep wall.
- Increased drop rate for Badges of Honor. Badge drops used to be so poor in WvW that I almost entirely neglected them. Now, after less than a week of non-dedicated play, I have a legit pile of them for the first time. I hope that a substantial number of new rewards are introduced to be purchased with them.
- More loot, better loot = lessened inflation. This is immediate. Ectos and high-level rares are dropping in price. This is good for everyone. Remember that rares aren't just fodder to salvage. They're gear. I would even contend that Rare is the tier endgame content is balanced around in this game. There's nothing in the game that a good team wearing all rares can't complete- except high-level fractals, but that's because of the Agony Resistance and not because of the stat difference.
Plus, the chance for exotics, uniques, and even precursors from World Chests, Guild Mission rewards, etc. will have a longer-term effect of making everything more affordable for everyone- from Exotic crafted jewelry to Legendaries.
- Previewing from the Trading Post. As it always should have, aesthetic appeal can now dictate subjective value from right within the game. You won't have to wonder if something's worth the money, you can look.
- A new fixed ecto sink. Everybody wants the new shinies. While ectos and rares are in a slow freefall on the TP, they will stabilize because a fixed 50 ecto cost is associated with something that everyone "needs"
which is to say, does not need, at all, but everyone will go for anyway.
Dungeons
I'm working on a post about Ascalonian Catacombs specifically- how it works, why it does the new things it does and what it means for the future of the dungeon overhaul. But for now, let's look at the new paradigm established for Story versus Explorable Mode:
- Story Mode is meant to be completable by a team of 5 people who have never done the dungeon before. I won't go as far as to use the word "easy," but... yes I will. AC Story mode is easy now, and sets a new baseline for what Story Mode should/will ask of a PUG.
- Explorable Mode is meant to teach you, force you to apply, and master the advanced combat and teamplay mechanics of the game. It also requires coordination from a group. If you think that a PUG that never speaks up in party chat should be able to complete an Explorable Mode dungeon- ArenaNet disagrees. And not for nothing, but so do I. This is content that is challenging- not because it takes a long time, not because you need the best gear, not because you need to be level 80- but because you need to communicate and know what you're doing.
But the biggest impact from this patch is harder to quantify. It's the synergy between all of the above. There's a new energy in the game that seems to have made everything from dungeons to WvW to playing in the open world better than ever.
There's still plenty to be disappointed about. There's still plenty of work that needs to be done; there always will be.
But anyone who claims this patch is a step in the wrong direction is a lunatic.
hockeypuck
Member
I haven't been in an LA overflow since the February patch. Which also means I haven't seen that annoying overflow "priority-above-all-else-including-God" text box in almost a week. Good times.
That's interesting, as I noticed the same thing when we all met up in LA for the Bounty Hunt.
I thought it was a little odd at first, but you probably just summed up what was going on.
Nemesis121
Member
Completed monthly, fastest I have ever done it...it's amazing how many events you can get done just running around doing meta events on multiple characters, i see people grinding CS for events, lol...
I think the monthly is easier now but the daily is harder. The extra categories make it harder to get 5 that you can do quickly.
Speaking of romping around...
Jira pointed out quite correctly that, with the new once-a-day goodies, it had become tough to keep track of what you had and hadn't done that day, especially if you had multiple characters. He showed me a spreadsheet he was using, and I turned it into a template anyone can use to keep track of their rewards.
Go to File -> Make a Copy to get your own.
Feel free to put in your actual character names!
When you click on a field to mark it, you'll see a little blue arrow in the top right. Click that, then click the check to mark it done. When the reset happens, you can just click and drag to select all of the checkmark fields and press delete to clear it.
Also, if you haven't yet, please respond to my question/poll on GAFGuild for science!
Jira pointed out quite correctly that, with the new once-a-day goodies, it had become tough to keep track of what you had and hadn't done that day, especially if you had multiple characters. He showed me a spreadsheet he was using, and I turned it into a template anyone can use to keep track of their rewards.
Go to File -> Make a Copy to get your own.
Feel free to put in your actual character names!
When you click on a field to mark it, you'll see a little blue arrow in the top right. Click that, then click the check to mark it done. When the reset happens, you can just click and drag to select all of the checkmark fields and press delete to clear it.
Also, if you haven't yet, please respond to my question/poll on GAFGuild for science!
JetBlackPanda
Member
I'm having so much fun! My Human Necro is level 14!
Any tips you guys can share? I've been doing all the heart events and world events as I see them! Also I went to lions arch and used the portal to do some of the starting areas and grab the easy skill point events.
I've seen a few GAF guild people running around too!
Oh and the human area has like 10x more people then the others it feels like.
Any tips you guys can share? I've been doing all the heart events and world events as I see them! Also I went to lions arch and used the portal to do some of the starting areas and grab the easy skill point events.
I've seen a few GAF guild people running around too!
Oh and the human area has like 10x more people then the others it feels like.
AFollowerNotALeader
Member
This change alone has made it the best patch ever for me. It's not just badges but other loot people/NPCs drop which makes it feel like I'm earning more in line with what I do in PvE (although still less, but only if fun has no value!).
i've been playing a few nights here and there. last night i logged on at like almost 5am and went to kessex. there was actually a decent size group for that time of night. was like 10 of us doing the event chains for our dailies. was quite surprised at that.
add in a dungeon finder or something anet and i'll be back almost full time again. or maybe the wvw changes later will do it too. the more badges is a nice start.
ba-bam.
It really is striking how much it changes the feel of the risk vs. reward with a simple tweak. Especially for me, since in my case there isn't anything even available I want to use badges for yet- I guess if nothing else, I'm saving up for a Gift of Battle!
The 26th patch has such extreme potential....
By the way, last night before I went to bed, two other players and I killed the Infinity Coil Commander alone. Took some real coordination and luck, that dude is annoying.
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