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Guild Wars 2 |OT3| Two Week Updates, One Box, Zero Subscriptions
- Thread starter Retro
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Always go zerker unless you're a condition Mesmer. What build do you plan on running?
Well unless you're running a condition build I'd go zerker all the way. The trinkets you can swap out for some extra toughness/vitality if you want it but the Mesmer has tons of active defense and a decent base HP pool.
Whatever bro, game has no raids. Talk about fail. Even blizzard puts out raids faster than arena net
Kos Luftar
Member
I love how you answered so seriously to Firetross like he was a new member or something.
Pumpkin King
Member
Probably. Those waypoint costs. Saved me a... couple silver at the end of it all.
Retro's completely fed up with Anet. This is undeniable proof that they are totally incompetent, GW2 sucked this whole time, and we should have been playing Tera.
So guys i have a question. Are all the dungeons ridiculously hard?
I did Asca Catacombs for the first time at lvlv 37 last night... and I was constantly getting Instakilled by mobs.
Its not like i was standing in red circles either. Simply the first enemy in the dungeon. one guy agro's the enemy i jump in with my hammer blast and die immediately. They proceed to take what seems like forever to kill this mob. And this continued for the entire dungeon.
Is that lvl 30 requirement just complete BS?
I did Asca Catacombs for the first time at lvlv 37 last night... and I was constantly getting Instakilled by mobs.
Its not like i was standing in red circles either. Simply the first enemy in the dungeon. one guy agro's the enemy i jump in with my hammer blast and die immediately. They proceed to take what seems like forever to kill this mob. And this continued for the entire dungeon.
Is that lvl 30 requirement just complete BS?
How up to date is your armor?
What class are you? Dungeons aren't that hard but they can be if you're not used to them. The problem is all the other PvE content is ridiculously easy so it doesn't really prepare you.
This is the burning question really. If your gear is not near your level, basically, you have reduced stats.
Yup.
Guys, I need some advice: I have a level 40 character on a server that seems really underpopulated, so I would like to transfer to another one. The price is kind of steep though. Is there a way to quickly amass the 90g needed (I currently have 5g lol) or would I be better off deleting the character and starting over on the new server? I would really love to avoid the latter, if there's a way (I'm too attached to my character)...
I'd really love to but I'm in Europe. Would it make sense or is it even possible to transfer from EU to NA?
I can't explain Caledon really, but my experience has been I get those crazy lag/disconnects during mass-waypointing sometimes. And Frostgorge is the location of one of the champ trains.
Kos Luftar
Member
We have many European players on SBI and they don't seem to have any lag issues and I think they prefer SBI because our guild always has people online for you to play with or ask questions.
Check this out, http://gafguild.com/index.php?threads/stormbluff-isle-immigration-fund.312/
if you are interested in moving over to SBI.
Couple of dumb questions... you were doing Story mode, and had 5 people, right?
As stated, most likely is you need to update your armor and weapons (along with the rest of your party if they had older stuff). While the open world is extremely forgiving, dungeons punish the crap out of you for not having gear at or near your level (tier/rarity isn't as important). In fact, it's legitimately better to have whites at your level than to have any tier that's 10 levels behind. A level 33 player with level 30 gear will be better off than a level 70 character with level 60 gear, because you're both being downleveled to 30.
AC Story (except for this Troll you might have run into or skipped) is actually one of the easiest dungeons in the game by far. The silvers in there die pretty darn quickly.
That's what the transfer fund is specifically for. Otherwise you'd just be able to guest without the need to buy a transfer. Soo are you interested in joining GAFGuild?
AFollowerNotALeader
Member
I have to admit that I'm totally unmoved by the SAB stuff. I like some of the skins though. Good thing I can get them without doing SAB!
Definitely! I usually play in the late evenings, which would mean mostly afternoon hours in the US, let's say between 1pm and 9pm depending on location. Do you think there are a good number of active players at these hours?
The Tequatl Rising update looks really, really good. Completely new meta event/fight for Tequatl, reworked/revamped/updated a lot of the other world bosses, the long awaited Looking For Group tool, redesigned WvW borderlands with new Ruins of Power mechanics and, of course, a big kitting middle finger to all the PvP players with this 5th update in a roll without a single change to this so stalled gamemode. And the big slap in the face was that hey delayed the long promised "big balance patch" with another month, so that will be almost 4 and a half months playing in the very same condi meta everyone is sick of long before PAX "petting zoo" crap (which, on a side note, made half the organized pvp teams to leave the scene/game).
I just don't get why Anet neglect PvP so much. It's fun, it's interesting to both play and watch, but believe it, it's also so frustrating to play only because of incompetence from the developers and the very long time they take to make ANY changes to it. Since the past few releases all they changed to PvP and balance was a broken ladder decay, few bugfixes and bringing down the spirit ranger a bit, oh and a lot of tooltip facts, in Balthazar's name they sure added A LOT of facts to the skill's tooltips.
Sorry for the rant, but I do feel better now...
I just don't get why Anet neglect PvP so much. It's fun, it's interesting to both play and watch, but believe it, it's also so frustrating to play only because of incompetence from the developers and the very long time they take to make ANY changes to it. Since the past few releases all they changed to PvP and balance was a broken ladder decay, few bugfixes and bringing down the spirit ranger a bit, oh and a lot of tooltip facts, in Balthazar's name they sure added A LOT of facts to the skill's tooltips.
Sorry for the rant, but I do feel better now...
I am a European player too. I typically play between 18:00 to 02:00 GMT during week days and there are plenty of players around. The guild also does missions at European friendly times on Wendesdays and Thursdays. Lag isn't really an issue.
A word of warning though, if you are big into WvW you will have to stay up until 02:00 GMT for resets. That' the only real downside for me.
Kos Luftar
Member
Listening to the Bombcast and hearing the guys talk about FFIV and how it is not much different from WoW and what they want out from an MMO, all I end up saying is to myself is "why aren't they playing Guild Wars 2, it has everything they want". Yet, Guild Wars 2 doesn't even come into the conversation...
I made the move about a month ago and haven't regretted it at all. There's no discernible lag, and you'll always (within reason) find someone in the guild to hang out with.
Shopping Troll??
Half? I strongly doubt that many organized PvP teams left.
The funny thing to me is, "leaving" doesn't have an ounce of the same 'threat' it had in older, subscription based MMO's. "Leaving" in those games meant you were cutting off your subscription, it was a major choice that generally signaled you weren't coming back. "Leaving", in GW2 just kind of means you're taking a break until something changes. It's the difference between moving out of the house or just going to your room to vent. It's hardly the earth shattering event people want it to be.
The funny thing to me is, "leaving" doesn't have an ounce of the same 'threat' it had in older, subscription based MMO's. "Leaving" in those games meant you were cutting off your subscription, it was a major choice that generally signaled you weren't coming back. "Leaving", in GW2 just kind of means you're taking a break until something changes. It's the difference between moving out of the house or just going to your room to vent. It's hardly the earth shattering event people want it to be.
Sounds perfect for me. Thanks!
Hawkian! My username is Hzoltan.5240. Is that enough information for an invite?
So, there's this site that uploads concept art from games, and today I noticed they updated with Guild Wars 2 stuff. But when I looked, it was all character art that honestly doesn't look a thing like Guild Wars 2 art in the slightest, so I dismissed it as an error where they uploaded the wrong art to the wrong page.
But on closer inspection, the clothes that they're wearing are all definitely armor from GW2.
Take a look: http://www.creativeuncut.com/art_guild-wars-2_g.html
I wonder, is this new art what they're going to use to promote the game in China? It seems more aimed at asian audiences, since it's closer to the styles used for MMO's over there. Also, this site does not upload fan art, only official art, so it's not that.
Man, some of that art is really awesome, not going to lie. SE armor has never looked so cool: http://www.creativeuncut.com/gallery-11/art/gw2-furnace-magician.jpg
But on closer inspection, the clothes that they're wearing are all definitely armor from GW2.
Take a look: http://www.creativeuncut.com/art_guild-wars-2_g.html
I wonder, is this new art what they're going to use to promote the game in China? It seems more aimed at asian audiences, since it's closer to the styles used for MMO's over there. Also, this site does not upload fan art, only official art, so it's not that.
Man, some of that art is really awesome, not going to lie. SE armor has never looked so cool: http://www.creativeuncut.com/gallery-11/art/gw2-furnace-magician.jpg
Vigilant Walrus
Member
Jeff Gertsmann thought the game seemed so uninteresting when he tried the beta, that they didn't want to even do a quick look for it.
I imagine they tend to shy away from QL for MMOs because they change so much.
Just because they didn't list balancing on the release page doesn't mean it's not happening. Many times there's really good stuff in the patch notes that are simply not listed on the release pages and come as a big surprise. For example. the entire Orr revamp earlier in the year wasn't on the release page. When world bosses got guaranteed rare loot it wasn't on there either and so on.
You know the real shame is while he was buying his freakin crocheted ski cap and claw polish, my DC meant I didn't even get to pick up the stuff I spawned him for!
Run was quite smooth indeed after that though. Wish I'd gotten to do another Story run last night... Grizz keeps getting inexplicably disconnected all time time, I dunno what's up.
If nobody has by the time I get home from work, sure I'll invite you.
Make sure you post in this thread on gafguild.com
Also this means a donation call for the fund! Guildies, please go to your local guild bank and toss a gold in to the Immigration Fund box (I can never remember which it is but they're labeled). We have almost enough in there I believe, but every little bit helps. Thank you for all that you do!
The fact that even Xeph, who is one of the most respected pvp players and did his best in every SotG and forum post to communicate with both the devs and the players, left the game, pretty much sums up how ignorant from Anet are regarding the overall state of the PvP. Add to that and the f*uck up regarding TP's (or Curse, if they are still under their tag) application to PAX and you see that the guy have solid reasons to leave. And leaving here doesn't have anything to do with payment model, be it subscription based, free-to-play or buy-to-play. PR about the Invitational Tournament was all about "building history", "be the best", "wining big prizes" etc, etc. What they ended up with was lead PvP designer Jonathan Sharp himself making fun of their own game mode, referring to it as the "pet zoo" on the live shoutcast.
Balance was never mentioned on release pages, that's true. It's also true that in every patch there are some balance changes - mostly bug fixes and very few corrected numbers, which makes little to none correction to the meta. The supposed "big balance" overhaul which was supposed to go live after PAX, then postponed for 17th and now again delayed to 1st of October:
Direct link to Jon Peters' post on the official forums: https://forum-en.guildwars2.com/forum/pvp/pvp/No-Balance-for-sept-17-oct-1-patches/first#post2781688
Welcome to the dungeons in GW2,they where awful at launch and it looks like that didnt change...lol.
Complistic
Member
uhh no. AC was changed dramatically. Its probably the hardest dungeon now after Arah. Cof, TA, CoE, SE, and HoTW are a more forgiving experience.
AC is tons of fun though once you know what you're doing. Usually a great experience.
Yeah, I thought I had read that skill balance patch was pushed to the first too. Sucks, and I'm sorry to hear that Xeph and others are leaving but I'm sure what Lunar meant is that they can rather simply return at each balance patch if they want to check it out, play more casually or be less involved if they want, and so on. "Leaving" isn't so permanent a thing in this game... and it will ebb and flow like anything else. It's understandable that pvp players feel neglected by the last 4 patches of course. On the other hand it's always going to be an ongoing process and there'll be a constant line of people reaching the point where it's not for them anymore while others are starting to get involved.
Weird in that I thought that line from Jonathan Sharp was funny and inoffensive. Two spirit rangers and a minion necro on screen and it does look like a petting zoo.
Weird in that I thought that line from Jonathan Sharp was funny and inoffensive. Two spirit rangers and a minion necro on screen and it does look like a petting zoo.
Big old plus-size "no" on that one. AC Story has been completely rebalanced since launch. It's been altered possibly to the point where it's probably the instance that has changed the most since the game's release, certainly in terms of difficulty. It's easy now to the point where I think they went a little too far, but for the first dungeon run in the game I guess it's an appropriate introduction to the instanced challenges (which are admittedly much tougher than most anything you'll find in the open world).
AC Explorable was made tougher (but not more time-consuming, and more fun IMO) but AC Story (which I hope is what methane47 meant because it was clearly his first experience) was made way, way easier.
shysaursoft
Member
So I tried FFXIV for a bit.
The next time I hear anyone complain about grind, or bad combat mechanics, or encounter design, in Guild Wars 2, I'm going to force-feed them FFXIV for a bit.
Going back to GW2 was like a return to sanity.
And I will never, ever, go back to the Holy Trinity every again. Ever. I'm *so* done with "LFG HEALER LFG TANKLFG HEALER LFG TANKLFG HEALER LFG TANK" and Duty Finders taking hours to pop a queue due to lack of healers or tanks.
/rant
To be fair to FFXIV though, it has a great engine. Lovely lighting system, runs amazing, good detail in the environment. But that combat... If it had the gambit system from FFXII, it'd be more engrossing.
In other news, I'm enjoying the hunt for Ascended crafting mats, since it's making me revisit a lot of the JPs I've not done in a while. While going through my screenshots (I seem to take them out of habit without even knowing) I came across this, and I have no idea what's going on there:
I've never seen an MMO in which the dungeons were so dramatically altered over a year, without it being a selling point of a huge expansion. AC especially.
The only trick with AC story, is if you're level 30, you'd better be in level 30 masterwork or higher gear, not your level 20 or less Story mode handmedowns.
The next time I hear anyone complain about grind, or bad combat mechanics, or encounter design, in Guild Wars 2, I'm going to force-feed them FFXIV for a bit.
Going back to GW2 was like a return to sanity.
And I will never, ever, go back to the Holy Trinity every again. Ever. I'm *so* done with "LFG HEALER LFG TANKLFG HEALER LFG TANKLFG HEALER LFG TANK" and Duty Finders taking hours to pop a queue due to lack of healers or tanks.
/rant
To be fair to FFXIV though, it has a great engine. Lovely lighting system, runs amazing, good detail in the environment. But that combat... If it had the gambit system from FFXII, it'd be more engrossing.
In other news, I'm enjoying the hunt for Ascended crafting mats, since it's making me revisit a lot of the JPs I've not done in a while. While going through my screenshots (I seem to take them out of habit without even knowing) I came across this, and I have no idea what's going on there:
I've never seen an MMO in which the dungeons were so dramatically altered over a year, without it being a selling point of a huge expansion. AC especially.
The only trick with AC story, is if you're level 30, you'd better be in level 30 masterwork or higher gear, not your level 20 or less Story mode handmedowns.
Kos Luftar
Member
http://www.creativeuncut.com/gallery-11/gw2-norn-medium-armor.html
Hope this one makes it into the game at some point.
Looks like at some point there was female Svanir! (http://www.creativeuncut.com/gallery-11/gw2-norn-svanir-female.html)
I think that one is in there, looks like either the norn light T3 cultural.
If regular dungeon mobs are periodically dropping you, then usually the team composition just isn't the greatest. Sometimes bosses themselves have one-shot mechanics than can just get you if you have a bad stroke of luck or mistime a dodge, or attempt a dodge when you have 49% endurance or something (Kholer pull, Tazza aoe, first Arah 3 hammer guy). It happens sometimes. But for 95% of the silver encounters, as long at the group can access a variety of cleanses, reflects, stun breaks, interrupts, and dps boosts (banners, shouts, spirits), most silvers are unremarkable. Sometimes a TA spider will stun too many people and if you pull a few extra, things can get dicey, or an early CoE wolf will pounce unexpectedly and you'll be downed, but you should not be dying often to trash dungeon mobs.
Some of the exceptions are CM silvers since they are often ranged (rifles and bombs) and sometimes you can't easily line of sight them (or sometimes they are fixed in place flanking a hallway and simply will and cannot move!) into a clump. Just remember to bring reflects for any excursions into the manor. Though sadly or happily, there are tricks to dealing with many of them such as attacking through the walls of the room next door >_>
Some of the exceptions are CM silvers since they are often ranged (rifles and bombs) and sometimes you can't easily line of sight them (or sometimes they are fixed in place flanking a hallway and simply will and cannot move!) into a clump. Just remember to bring reflects for any excursions into the manor. Though sadly or happily, there are tricks to dealing with many of them such as attacking through the walls of the room next door >_>
Warning: This is gonna be a long one. It's basically me going through SAB and pointing out all the issues with it, and then suggesting how it could have been done better.... so unless you care about SAB or game design, probably best to skip it entirely.
Eh, it's really noticeable to me because I get the general impression I'm one of the older members of the guild (at 31), or at least one of the few old enough to have nostalgia boners over SAB. To me, the first one was the right combination of Guild Wars 2 and a sort of "generic 8/16-bit" vibe. Apart from the Zelda "Mystery" chime and Pitfall's Alligators, SAB1 really doesn't make direct references, but instead just captures the sort of logic of that era. You could slap a hat on a snake and that'd be an enemy. You could have weird tools to check your progression, much weirder than anything SAB has had so far. To me, SAB1 was non-specific but captured the essence of the NES / SNES / Genesis-era perfectly.
It had jumping portions, but not excessively so, and large portions of the SAB (especially World 1-3) had a nice balance of risk vs. reward with the path through the trees (harder to stay up, but with more baubles) and one on the ground (with more predictable hazards). There were no traps beyond the flycatchers, which were only used in a few portions and then reappeared as annoyances you needed to spot later. The levels were designed well and had a nice flow, with lots of recognizable landmarks once you knew where to look (though I will say it was still a tad confusing than I would have liked). Lots of secrets to discover, but in places that felt like there should be something hiding there if you know how things work.
I completed all the Achievements for SAB1 without a guide and played a shitload of it. It never felt like I was farming even though I played it enough it probably should count. I liked trying to beat my previous time (something I wish the mode had built in) and finding the shortest route.
SAB 2 is almost the exact opposite of all that. The Rapids isn't the worst part, and I feel like it has the right notes, just in the worst order. It has the Pitfall alligators, water as a hazard, collapsing platforms, even an on-rails 'ride' section (seriously, every 8/16-bit game had a section where you rode something). References to Frogger, jumping on logs falling over a waterfall (Mario 2)... the right stuff is all there.
I feel like Rapids represents the point of disconnect because the part of it we played in April feels really solid (better now that some of the jumps are cleaner and there are checkpoints) but the part after the raft ride does not.
First, it is almost entirely jumping-based after the raft ride. Apart from torching the dry trees (which was great for comedic effect the first time it happened), it's almost all timed, precision jumping between disappearing geysers, moving platforms and using flowers to cross long gaps. There are turtles to flip, but the geysers become the only method of progress. There's no alternative route, just a straight, tedious shot.
I feel like the Rapids are just a hair too long, and part of that is the pacing. Whereas World 1 was content to spend a level on one thing (1-1 is just getting a feel for the mechanics, 1-2 is all about moving in the trees and 1-3 is mastering the trees), the Rapids after the raft section feels like it has a lot of padding between set pieces that do new things.
Before the raft, you have two new mechanics; moving water is bad, and the collapsing bridges. We've already gotten a taste of traversing alligators and turtles from parts of the last level, and here they are made the core mechanic; hit enemies to create platforms.
Immediately after the raft, you have spinning flowers. Then geysers. Then the Frogger logs. Then the falling logs. Between those big set pieces, there's nothing interesting; it feels like hallways connecting rooms in a first person shooter. It needs to be a tighter experience.
So, for the Rapids, I would have made it two levels and held the raft back for later. The first section, pre-raft, feels like you're constantly heading upriver, climbing ever upwards despite the flow pushing against you. The raft, on the other hand, is going downriver, with the flow. I would have cut the raft ride out and had that appear later, as a bonus round or as a shortcut similar to the worm.
In place of the long assassin-filled bridge, I'd have...erm... gone with the flow and moved the Frogger Logs section up. Start simple with just a small stream with a floating log (new mechanic), then two logs with a small rock in the middle (new mechanic gets harder). Then another two, with an alligator to smack (old mechanic joins new). You're still heading upriver, still climbing higher, with a new mechanic. In the midst of that, I would introduce the "Waterfall logs" mechanic in a very simple example to give you something new, but not too hard. A nice taste of something new, a hint of more to come. Then end the damn level, without bears, geysers or flowers appearing yet.
----
I'd scrap World 2-2 completely and continue the rapids theme, but with some thematic changes. See, World 1 has a nice sense of progression; Happy Grassy area > Forest > Spooky, Marshy Forest. World 2, on the other hand, starts in the rapids, then a bunch of ninja-filled mountains, then a snowy mountaintop. The changes are just too abrupt.
Instead, I'd start introducing elements of snow towards the end of World 2-1; snow starts to fall lightly, there's little patches of accumulation. You're constantly climbing higher and higher as you travel up river, so to give you a greater sense that "Hey, you're getting pretty damn high now", you'd start to see the weather change.
So right off the bat in 2-2, I'd start to wrap up the "Frogger Logs" mechanic, but with a thematic change; the logs are swapped out for chunks of ice moving down river instead. That mechanic would start to taper off after a section about as large as the existing "Frogger" section, with the 'waterfall logs' starting to build up, as chunks of ice rather than logs.
As far as enemies go, in place of hillbillies, I'd have Lumberjacks that, instead of shooting at you (as a rough guideline, 8 and 16-bit "Mascot platformers" of this type never had firearms) would chop logs that come flying at you (a direct homage to an enemy in Mega Man X). Owls could make an appearance here too, along with a few of the Polar Bears.
The level would begin to taper off the 'waterfall ice chunks' mechanic and start building in the geysers. The geyser sections are a classic 'disappearing platform' mechanic and I kind of hope for SAB 3 that they bring them back (obviously with the mechanic fixed). However, I would have made the geysers part of an alternative path; the 'high road' would have lots of geysers, with more baubles as a reward. The 'low road' would have been more ice-floe jumping bits, the 'more familiar' route with less rewards. There would still be sections with mandatory geysers, but they would be much more forgiving.
World 2-2 would wrap up with another 'preview' of a mechanic; the slippery ice. Introduce it slowly, like a frozen pond you have to cross at first without any peril (maybe an enemy at the other side as bait), then layer it on slowly by having geysers shooting up out of frozen river sections and then start adding a little to sections where you can fall off (not to your death, of course). That's where I'd end world 2-2, honestly; fighting the Cage boss with a few icy patches up on the platform (but still chunks of solid ground).
----
World 3-3 would be pretty similar in theme to the version that exists now, but with different mechanics. Icy sections continue, with icy collapsing bridges added to the mix. The bananas start to appear here, as I like the 'ice skating' theme, with polar bears continuing as well. The icy sections would build up to a few tense sections of small, icy jumping sections, and then begin to fall off as the next mechanic starts; wind.
Right now, 3-3 has mouths that open and push you around, but they missed a huge opportunity; see Ninja Gaiden II's Act 2-2. In this stage, the wind changes direction; sometimes pushing you left and sometimes right. In some places, it can make a simple jump lethal since you're fighting the wind, while in others, you must wait for the wind to be at your back to make a larger-than-average jump.
In SAB, I'd introduce this element slowly. The mouths would remain so you could always see the 'source' of the wind and know when it's going to be present, while the constant snowfall would also provide a visual indicator of where it's blowing. The 'sigh' sound wraps everything up nicely so you should never have a moment where you're unsure what's going to happen. The ice sections move away from platforms and more towards flat sections where you're sliding across with the wind blowing you to the side. That starts in non-lethal ways, then progresses towards making you repeat sections (nothing as bad as it exists now) until the timing is right, and then finally in a few places where you have to time your way past the wind blowing you into pits. Maybe include an alternative route at this point where you have small, icy platforms to jump across while timing the wind gusts.
The ice starts to taper off (but still shows up as an occasional hazard) as the wind mechanic changes from side-to-side to away-and-towards. Now you have sections where the wind blows against you, and you have to stand behind rocks until it dies down. Then sections where you have to make jumps before the wind makes it impossible (again, non lethal, then back-tracking, then lethal, to ease you into it). Finally, the mechanic would shift to have you waiting for the wind to blow you across gaps that would normally be too large. And that would basically be it.
I'd replace the Storm Wizard with an Eagle Wizard (continue the animal theme from King Frog and reference Ice Climber, where you always beat the level by hitching a ride on a condor), who flaps his wings to create wind gusts. The mechanic would be fairly simple; something like evading his attacks until he flaps his wings, allowing you to make a long jump to grab an item to make him vulnerable. After each phase, he'd drop an icicle or something into the snow, creating slick spots on the main platform you'd have to avoid.
After you beat him, his icy spell is broken and the snow starts to melt. That creates a huge rush of water, where the raft section is re-introduced as a bonus round; you'd ride the raft all the way back down the mountain, trying to grab as many baubles that hover over the river as possible. As you're heading down the other side of the mountain on your raft, you would start to see Asian-themed buildings, setting the stage for the next section with all the ninjas and assassins. Instead of it being a mountain, it would be a hidden valley (sort of playing on Shangri-la). That would be World 3 though, so you'd only get a preview.
So... erm... yeah. If you read this long, congratulations. I'll have to dig into replies for stuff later.
Eh, it's really noticeable to me because I get the general impression I'm one of the older members of the guild (at 31), or at least one of the few old enough to have nostalgia boners over SAB. To me, the first one was the right combination of Guild Wars 2 and a sort of "generic 8/16-bit" vibe. Apart from the Zelda "Mystery" chime and Pitfall's Alligators, SAB1 really doesn't make direct references, but instead just captures the sort of logic of that era. You could slap a hat on a snake and that'd be an enemy. You could have weird tools to check your progression, much weirder than anything SAB has had so far. To me, SAB1 was non-specific but captured the essence of the NES / SNES / Genesis-era perfectly.
It had jumping portions, but not excessively so, and large portions of the SAB (especially World 1-3) had a nice balance of risk vs. reward with the path through the trees (harder to stay up, but with more baubles) and one on the ground (with more predictable hazards). There were no traps beyond the flycatchers, which were only used in a few portions and then reappeared as annoyances you needed to spot later. The levels were designed well and had a nice flow, with lots of recognizable landmarks once you knew where to look (though I will say it was still a tad confusing than I would have liked). Lots of secrets to discover, but in places that felt like there should be something hiding there if you know how things work.
I completed all the Achievements for SAB1 without a guide and played a shitload of it. It never felt like I was farming even though I played it enough it probably should count. I liked trying to beat my previous time (something I wish the mode had built in) and finding the shortest route.
SAB 2 is almost the exact opposite of all that. The Rapids isn't the worst part, and I feel like it has the right notes, just in the worst order. It has the Pitfall alligators, water as a hazard, collapsing platforms, even an on-rails 'ride' section (seriously, every 8/16-bit game had a section where you rode something). References to Frogger, jumping on logs falling over a waterfall (Mario 2)... the right stuff is all there.
I feel like Rapids represents the point of disconnect because the part of it we played in April feels really solid (better now that some of the jumps are cleaner and there are checkpoints) but the part after the raft ride does not.
First, it is almost entirely jumping-based after the raft ride. Apart from torching the dry trees (which was great for comedic effect the first time it happened), it's almost all timed, precision jumping between disappearing geysers, moving platforms and using flowers to cross long gaps. There are turtles to flip, but the geysers become the only method of progress. There's no alternative route, just a straight, tedious shot.
I feel like the Rapids are just a hair too long, and part of that is the pacing. Whereas World 1 was content to spend a level on one thing (1-1 is just getting a feel for the mechanics, 1-2 is all about moving in the trees and 1-3 is mastering the trees), the Rapids after the raft section feels like it has a lot of padding between set pieces that do new things.
Before the raft, you have two new mechanics; moving water is bad, and the collapsing bridges. We've already gotten a taste of traversing alligators and turtles from parts of the last level, and here they are made the core mechanic; hit enemies to create platforms.
Immediately after the raft, you have spinning flowers. Then geysers. Then the Frogger logs. Then the falling logs. Between those big set pieces, there's nothing interesting; it feels like hallways connecting rooms in a first person shooter. It needs to be a tighter experience.
So, for the Rapids, I would have made it two levels and held the raft back for later. The first section, pre-raft, feels like you're constantly heading upriver, climbing ever upwards despite the flow pushing against you. The raft, on the other hand, is going downriver, with the flow. I would have cut the raft ride out and had that appear later, as a bonus round or as a shortcut similar to the worm.
In place of the long assassin-filled bridge, I'd have...erm... gone with the flow and moved the Frogger Logs section up. Start simple with just a small stream with a floating log (new mechanic), then two logs with a small rock in the middle (new mechanic gets harder). Then another two, with an alligator to smack (old mechanic joins new). You're still heading upriver, still climbing higher, with a new mechanic. In the midst of that, I would introduce the "Waterfall logs" mechanic in a very simple example to give you something new, but not too hard. A nice taste of something new, a hint of more to come. Then end the damn level, without bears, geysers or flowers appearing yet.
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I'd scrap World 2-2 completely and continue the rapids theme, but with some thematic changes. See, World 1 has a nice sense of progression; Happy Grassy area > Forest > Spooky, Marshy Forest. World 2, on the other hand, starts in the rapids, then a bunch of ninja-filled mountains, then a snowy mountaintop. The changes are just too abrupt.
Instead, I'd start introducing elements of snow towards the end of World 2-1; snow starts to fall lightly, there's little patches of accumulation. You're constantly climbing higher and higher as you travel up river, so to give you a greater sense that "Hey, you're getting pretty damn high now", you'd start to see the weather change.
So right off the bat in 2-2, I'd start to wrap up the "Frogger Logs" mechanic, but with a thematic change; the logs are swapped out for chunks of ice moving down river instead. That mechanic would start to taper off after a section about as large as the existing "Frogger" section, with the 'waterfall logs' starting to build up, as chunks of ice rather than logs.
As far as enemies go, in place of hillbillies, I'd have Lumberjacks that, instead of shooting at you (as a rough guideline, 8 and 16-bit "Mascot platformers" of this type never had firearms) would chop logs that come flying at you (a direct homage to an enemy in Mega Man X). Owls could make an appearance here too, along with a few of the Polar Bears.
The level would begin to taper off the 'waterfall ice chunks' mechanic and start building in the geysers. The geyser sections are a classic 'disappearing platform' mechanic and I kind of hope for SAB 3 that they bring them back (obviously with the mechanic fixed). However, I would have made the geysers part of an alternative path; the 'high road' would have lots of geysers, with more baubles as a reward. The 'low road' would have been more ice-floe jumping bits, the 'more familiar' route with less rewards. There would still be sections with mandatory geysers, but they would be much more forgiving.
World 2-2 would wrap up with another 'preview' of a mechanic; the slippery ice. Introduce it slowly, like a frozen pond you have to cross at first without any peril (maybe an enemy at the other side as bait), then layer it on slowly by having geysers shooting up out of frozen river sections and then start adding a little to sections where you can fall off (not to your death, of course). That's where I'd end world 2-2, honestly; fighting the Cage boss with a few icy patches up on the platform (but still chunks of solid ground).
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World 3-3 would be pretty similar in theme to the version that exists now, but with different mechanics. Icy sections continue, with icy collapsing bridges added to the mix. The bananas start to appear here, as I like the 'ice skating' theme, with polar bears continuing as well. The icy sections would build up to a few tense sections of small, icy jumping sections, and then begin to fall off as the next mechanic starts; wind.
Right now, 3-3 has mouths that open and push you around, but they missed a huge opportunity; see Ninja Gaiden II's Act 2-2. In this stage, the wind changes direction; sometimes pushing you left and sometimes right. In some places, it can make a simple jump lethal since you're fighting the wind, while in others, you must wait for the wind to be at your back to make a larger-than-average jump.
In SAB, I'd introduce this element slowly. The mouths would remain so you could always see the 'source' of the wind and know when it's going to be present, while the constant snowfall would also provide a visual indicator of where it's blowing. The 'sigh' sound wraps everything up nicely so you should never have a moment where you're unsure what's going to happen. The ice sections move away from platforms and more towards flat sections where you're sliding across with the wind blowing you to the side. That starts in non-lethal ways, then progresses towards making you repeat sections (nothing as bad as it exists now) until the timing is right, and then finally in a few places where you have to time your way past the wind blowing you into pits. Maybe include an alternative route at this point where you have small, icy platforms to jump across while timing the wind gusts.
The ice starts to taper off (but still shows up as an occasional hazard) as the wind mechanic changes from side-to-side to away-and-towards. Now you have sections where the wind blows against you, and you have to stand behind rocks until it dies down. Then sections where you have to make jumps before the wind makes it impossible (again, non lethal, then back-tracking, then lethal, to ease you into it). Finally, the mechanic would shift to have you waiting for the wind to blow you across gaps that would normally be too large. And that would basically be it.
I'd replace the Storm Wizard with an Eagle Wizard (continue the animal theme from King Frog and reference Ice Climber, where you always beat the level by hitching a ride on a condor), who flaps his wings to create wind gusts. The mechanic would be fairly simple; something like evading his attacks until he flaps his wings, allowing you to make a long jump to grab an item to make him vulnerable. After each phase, he'd drop an icicle or something into the snow, creating slick spots on the main platform you'd have to avoid.
After you beat him, his icy spell is broken and the snow starts to melt. That creates a huge rush of water, where the raft section is re-introduced as a bonus round; you'd ride the raft all the way back down the mountain, trying to grab as many baubles that hover over the river as possible. As you're heading down the other side of the mountain on your raft, you would start to see Asian-themed buildings, setting the stage for the next section with all the ninjas and assassins. Instead of it being a mountain, it would be a hidden valley (sort of playing on Shangri-la). That would be World 3 though, so you'd only get a preview.
So... erm... yeah. If you read this long, congratulations. I'll have to dig into replies for stuff later.
Bl4ckSunsh1n3
Member
As everyone said already, check your gear. You need to run them with guild mates as well. You'll be pretty certain by doing that that the group is not a bunch of fuzz nuts. Also, it's just more fun. The most fun I've had in dungeons is with full Gaf groups.
Okay, time to do some replies to posts...
I'd say Level 35 is better for AC, and as others have suggested, your armor might need some updating. Also, was it story or explorable mode? If someone in your party had already done AC, he might have queued you up for the much harder explorable mode, which isn't intended for anyone under 35 (I'd say closer to 40 though)
It's very unlikely you're on an underpopulated server (even the EU servers are all listed as High, I believe), you just may be playing in a level range that other people aren't engaged in at the moment. This happens even on Very High and Full servers, since the population tends to clump up at the extremely high or extremely low levels.
My advice; save your money and wait a week. The new Looking for Group tool will be going live on Tuesday, at which point you can use it to find some leveling buddies. However, if you do decide to transfer....
We usually have 30-50 people on at those times (the later the better, though), more on weekends or after a very good update (not so much this last one, but definitely after the Invasion / Champion changes update). That's prime time for NA.
Probably scared away by the hate. Also see "Gamers don't know what they want even when they say they do", etc.
1. Forming an opinion on a Beta, even for non-MMOs, is flatout idiotic.
2. RIP in Peace, Walrus. Hope it wasn't perma, but the lack of an avatar suggests it might be.
Not only have they changed dungeons a bit overall since launch (improving rewards, removing rez-rushing, tweaking damage/health values), but AC itself received a major revamp. I can assume since you haven't posted in a GW2 thread since March, you've missed out on a few things. I'd suggest checking out the releases page to see what you've missed; https://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/releases/
I'd say Level 35 is better for AC, and as others have suggested, your armor might need some updating. Also, was it story or explorable mode? If someone in your party had already done AC, he might have queued you up for the much harder explorable mode, which isn't intended for anyone under 35 (I'd say closer to 40 though)
It's very unlikely you're on an underpopulated server (even the EU servers are all listed as High, I believe), you just may be playing in a level range that other people aren't engaged in at the moment. This happens even on Very High and Full servers, since the population tends to clump up at the extremely high or extremely low levels.
My advice; save your money and wait a week. The new Looking for Group tool will be going live on Tuesday, at which point you can use it to find some leveling buddies. However, if you do decide to transfer....
We usually have 30-50 people on at those times (the later the better, though), more on weekends or after a very good update (not so much this last one, but definitely after the Invasion / Champion changes update). That's prime time for NA.
Probably scared away by the hate. Also see "Gamers don't know what they want even when they say they do", etc.
1. Forming an opinion on a Beta, even for non-MMOs, is flatout idiotic.
2. RIP in Peace, Walrus. Hope it wasn't perma, but the lack of an avatar suggests it might be.
Not only have they changed dungeons a bit overall since launch (improving rewards, removing rez-rushing, tweaking damage/health values), but AC itself received a major revamp. I can assume since you haven't posted in a GW2 thread since March, you've missed out on a few things. I'd suggest checking out the releases page to see what you've missed; https://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/releases/
To be fair to Giant Bomb:
1. Jeff tends to hate all MMO's that are not Phantasy Star
2. A quick look of a beta starting zone in an MMO would be impossibly boring.
3. The leveling content in this game isn't very good or exciting, at least the stuff they would explore. The game doesn't easily point out that you can do a variety of things to get exp, hence why people just do hearts and burn out.
1. Jeff tends to hate all MMO's that are not Phantasy Star
2. A quick look of a beta starting zone in an MMO would be impossibly boring.
3. The leveling content in this game isn't very good or exciting, at least the stuff they would explore. The game doesn't easily point out that you can do a variety of things to get exp, hence why people just do hearts and burn out.
How the fuck does that work? i would love this help. (since im saving for operation legendmaking and cultural, norn tier 3 is soo nornlike, i like it.)
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