The Official Guild Wars 2 thread

$10 sounds about right last time I looked. They have deals for the game all the time because that is just extra money for them. They make their money like a f2p game. Selling gold and selling 90% of new skins in the gem store.

Supposedly they are going to update the horrible piece of trash trait system when they launch the new expansion. Leveling sucks at the moment as they have really bad level gating of skills and traits. Plus the "new" trait system makes it so its a pain in the ass to make a decent build. So I would hold off on this game until the expansion drops. It still won't fix horrid RNG for loot drops but hopefully you can skip the current trait system for something better.

It is cheap though, so I guess for 10-20 bucks its not to bad.
 
Vlad is mostly right about this game and until people start voting with their wallets nothing is going to get better. I am going to post some info about the game for those that don't know.

The last year of the game they have been changing many key systems of the game mostly for the worse.

The new trait system. Traits are passive abilities that do different things like increase damage of a weapon type, reduce cool downs or add specific effects like removing conditions when using a certain skill. Previously the trait system was very simple, when you hit the levels to use a tier of traits(3 tiers -adept, master, and grandmaster) you go buy a trait manual from an npc and it unlocks all the traits of that level for you. The cost was very cheap(10s for adept, 1g for master, 2g for grand master). You has access to first manual at level 11, second at level 40, and third at level 60. This allowed you to play with and experiment with many traits as you leveled.
Current Trait system you get access to traits at level 30 and then 50 and then grand master traits unlock at 70. You now pay individually for each trait or you do the "trait hunt". The total cost for unlocking all traits is 48g and 360 skill points, a pretty significant increase in cost. For the trait hunt unlocking you have to do different tasks spread out through WvW and open world PVE and the personal story. If you do not like playing one or more of these modes then you can pay the cost and buy the trait. The tasks are spread out amongst many activities, 100% map completion, jumping puzzles, completion of certain event chains, doing certain personal story chapters, and killing certain rare champions. Many of these are dependent on large groups of players, set timers to only spawn at certain times of the day, that a failure to an event chain must happened so that a new event chain will happen, and some are even bugged and completely broken so that it is impossible to complete. Many of these issues might not be that bad to do on one character( like you first one) but when you start making alts it is very lame to be forced to do what is essentially 100% map completion of the entire world on every character. Plus many of these issues could have been fixed in the 8 months since the update and arenanet has done extremely little to fix. Which makes it all seem very half assed.
This trait system is supposedly getting replaced with something new when the expansion gets released. Hopefully it gets replaced with something better but many people aren't holding their breaths for that as shown on the most recent pages of this forum thread -
https://forum-en.guildwars2.com/forum/game/gw2/Game-Updates-Traits/page/81#post4758345

The "New Player Experience". This is an update to all the starter zones which arenanet said were to complicated for new players. My daughter started playing when she was 10 and asked if they thought by new players they meant toddlers. They changed the way you acquire skills and level gated many things. Previously you got xp for a weapon while you used it, now you get skills unlocked as you level. they also pushed backed some things that were already level gated to even higher levels because its too confusing to have all these unlocks so early in the game and they need to be more spread out. They level gated things like skill challenges because players are to dumb to realize they are under leveled for the tasks they are trying to do. They also changed the personal story from being done at levels that progressed at a nice pace and could be tried even if you were under leveled. Now the PS only comes every 10 levels in blocks and they removed some of them and rearranged others. so now there are parts of the story that do not make sense, enemy boss talks to you about your last encounter with them when you meet them for the first time. Then in the next part you do the stuff the guy was talking about. And just like the trait update it all seems very half assed and a waste of time since it part of the game people didn't complain about.

The Megaserver. The megaserver is basically a server merger. But instead of merging a couple server into each other they take them all and merge them into one. The way they do this is by putting players into the same map and only creating new copies of that map when the population of a map gets full. This makes it so maps are full of players and it looks like there is a healthy population. The problem is that they did this to all maps including cities so now there is no place to go to for server communities except WvW. It forces role-players to be around anti role-players. It makes so if you try to round up players for WvW you are notifying all other servers and basically telling enemy players to join in also and it has ruined the server community since you are just as likely to get placed with players of your server as any other server. It is supposed to match you with friends and guildies but rarely works that way. Making it a headache to get into the same map as them sometimes. A few of these issues could easily be fixed by making cities go back to server only but I think they don't do this because people will see how empty some servers are and realize the player base is shrinking.

Those are the three biggest issues not including the horrid loot drop rates(https://forum-en.guildwars2.com/forum/game/gw2/I-just-opened-13985-bags/page/2#post4758243). Many of the problems could easily be made less shitty but as of this day Arenanet has done nothing to support or make better these new changes since 1 month after each one happened. The lack of communication and the lack of any sign they are supporting these changes is dumbfounding. Its like they get an idea and do it with out thinking it through and then forget about it and move on to the next thing. I personally do not like the way they treat their customers and the direction the game is heading so I have stopped giving them my money.

for $10-$20 I guess its not a bad deal though and it does have some pretty nice graphics. There is an expansion in the works and from reading the forums many are expecting that to be around $10-$20 also. The expansion is going to change the trait system hopefully to something better but we'll have to wait and see.
 
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I only play occasionally and recently hit 80 on a character. I bought the game at launch. ;) Anyways this last come back attempt by me has been pretty successful so far as I actually went from level 50 to 80 in a few days. I was enjoying myself right to the point where I realized that they are charging for the Living World seasonal content. I guess I will be SOL as I don't like questing enough to spend money on them. I think it is like 200 gems per episode or something. I have 2 gold so... It won't be happening. I haven't even finished my personal story yet. ;)

Might level a Mage or a Mesmer next. My character above is a Necromancer. Game seems fun enough though. Sick of buying gathering tools and the cash shop ones cost too much. Wish dyes dropped more. Other than that I'm having fun with the game. Oh and the large scale PvP still kinda sucks. I could do without the zerg fest.

One thing that I do need to do is figure out how to get to the level 70 - 80 zones. I have barely scratched the zones in the game and the highest thing I have seen so far is level 65 or so.
 
I only play occasionally and recently hit 80 on a character. I bought the game at launch. ;) Anyways this last come back attempt by me has been pretty successful so far as I actually went from level 50 to 80 in a few days. I was enjoying myself right to the point where I realized that they are charging for the Living World seasonal content. I guess I will be SOL as I don't like questing enough to spend money on them. I think it is like 200 gems per episode or something. I have 2 gold so... It won't be happening. I haven't even finished my personal story yet. ;)

Might level a Mage or a Mesmer next. My character above is a Necromancer. Game seems fun enough though. Sick of buying gathering tools and the cash shop ones cost too much. Wish dyes dropped more. Other than that I'm having fun with the game. Oh and the large scale PvP still kinda sucks. I could do without the zerg fest.

One thing that I do need to do is figure out how to get to the level 70 - 80 zones. I have barely scratched the zones in the game and the highest thing I have seen so far is level 65 or so.

The cost on the LS is horrible for new players but at least they allow you to do the missed content. The first season of living story is gone forever if you missed it but yeah charging for something that was free at one time in game is like opposite of how most things work.

Yeah the gathering tools are annoying, the cash shop ones make a big difference in QoL but the gem cost will take years of playing to make them cheaper than just buying new ones constantly. When they added the wardrobe they nerfed the drop rate on dyes which really sucked but at least now you unlock them for your entire account and not per character.

There is only 4 maps for level 70-80. The 3 Orr maps and Forstgorge. Forstgorge has the claw of jormag which is worth doing.

QUOTE=cageymaru;1041404924]http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/02/03/how-guild-wars-2s-mastery-system-could-change-mmos-forever

Interesting article on the game. Gliding is a mastery it seems. :)[/QUOTE]

I have mixed feelings about it. I'll just wait and see.

One question for you. How many traits did you have when you hit level 80? And how many do you currently have?
 
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One question for you. How many traits did you have when you hit level 80? And how many do you currently have?

If he bought it at launch, then he was grandfathered in and has them all.

I still really like the game.

I recently read through the expansion notes and I have mixed feelings. They said they are never going to raise the level cap and never introduce new armor. I like the sounds of this a lot.

Traditional way: Put in new gear (which i hate) to make you strong enough to fight new, stronger monsters (new content).
GW2 way: Put in new masteries that you must level in order to get to new areas on the map.
IMO, this sounds pretty much like the same system. You still have to level in order to get to the new content. The one BIG difference is that your old gear wont become obsolete.

It will also be interesting about the new "Mastery Level" that will replace your actual level. So while you will technically never be higher than level 80, you will have a different level system based off of your mastery level. I'm really iffy on this one.

Like I said, Really mixed bag of feelings. I am very glad they did not go the traditional way. I am a casual player who plays in spurts. I love being able to pick up where I left off without having to retrain to get new gear every time I come back.
 
I really don't like the fact that they make you pay for Season 2 if you didn't login. One side of the camp argues that all you had to do was take 15 seconds to login (well, probably more from downloading updates etc.) and get it for free when it was available; but most people honestly had no idea that this was a thing. Myself included. I think I got 4 of the 8 episodes for free when I logged in randomly - but bought the other 4.

It's the hardest seller when talking friends into coming back... paying for the episodes. The catch is that you can technically play the story if you join someone else who's doing them. But, you can't get achievements etc.

That said, I got a few friends to play again this past weekend and we did a bunch of things that we missed over the years like fractals etc. There were only 4 of us so we 4 manned fractals a few times and the aetherblade path. Was pretty enjoyable. Seeing some old heads pop up on my friends list too.

Currently gathering enough tomes of knowledge so that my Revenant is going to hit 80 pretty much the instant he's made... then I'll have nine level 80s...

The mastery stuff sounds like Paragon levels to me honestly. I'll reserve judgement until I see how it works exactly.
 
I really don't like the fact that they make you pay for Season 2 if you didn't login. One side of the camp argues that all you had to do was take 15 seconds to login (well, probably more from downloading updates etc.) and get it for free when it was available; but most people honestly had no idea that this was a thing. Myself included. I think I got 4 of the 8 episodes for free when I logged in randomly - but bought the other 4.

It's the hardest seller when talking friends into coming back... paying for the episodes. The catch is that you can technically play the story if you join someone else who's doing them. But, you can't get achievements etc.

That said, I got a few friends to play again this past weekend and we did a bunch of things that we missed over the years like fractals etc. There were only 4 of us so we 4 manned fractals a few times and the aetherblade path. Was pretty enjoyable. Seeing some old heads pop up on my friends list too.

Currently gathering enough tomes of knowledge so that my Revenant is going to hit 80 pretty much the instant he's made... then I'll have nine level 80s...

The mastery stuff sounds like Paragon levels to me honestly. I'll reserve judgement until I see how it works exactly.

Yeah, I think it is all in how you view it.

If you take the approach that the living story was only a timed event, then the ability to buy the stuff you missed is a great feature.
If you take the approach that once it came out you should be able to play it forever, then of course you will feel different.

I missed the whole season one. I would love the opportunity to just buy that season and play it.
I received at least two emails for every episode. One saying it was out and one saying it was my last chance to login.

Stuff like this comes with the business model. I much rather have stuff like this than pay the subscription a month.

Side note, those tomes of knowledge are great! Definitely fits in with the anti-grind mechanic of the game. I think I have enough to get me to about ~50 right now. Hopefully i'll have enough to get to me 80 by the time the expansion drops. Also have a full set of carapace armor for him also.
 
I missed the whole season one. I would love the opportunity to just buy that season and play it.
I received at least two emails for every episode. One saying it was out and one saying it was my last chance to login.

I did a few of the Season 1 events, but never really even finished the world bosses like the marionette and fall of lion's arch (failed a couple of times). Looking back, I should have been more involved but once I missed out on one or two things, I felt like I was just out of the loop so I didn't really bother from then on. I watched a few videos and read up on Scarlet in addition to playing Season 2... and it made me wish I experienced more Season 1 stuff. Scarlet is way more interesting than the original personal story.

I started ignoring those emails - kind of like an ex saying "hey, what's up?" You get those ... feelings and then you push through and ignore them. Unfortunately, that meant I wasn't even aware of the season 2 mechanic and I assumed it was like season 1. Still got 1/2 the episodes though from randomly logging in, oh well.
 
I felt like I was just out of the loop so I didn't really bother from then on. I watched a few videos and read up on Scarlet in addition to playing Season 2... and it made me wish I experienced more Season 1 stuff. Scarlet is way more interesting than the original personal story.

Yeah I got the same feeling from season one. I got out of it at first and then sporadically caught a few things, but never really got a sense of what was going on.
 
Yeah, I think it is all in how you view it.

If you take the approach that the living story was only a timed event, then the ability to buy the stuff you missed is a great feature.
If you take the approach that once it came out you should be able to play it forever, then of course you will feel different.

I missed the whole season one. I would love the opportunity to just buy that season and play it.
I received at least two emails for every episode. One saying it was out and one saying it was my last chance to login.

Stuff like this comes with the business model. I much rather have stuff like this than pay the subscription a month.

Side note, those tomes of knowledge are great! Definitely fits in with the anti-grind mechanic of the game. I think I have enough to get me to about ~50 right now. Hopefully i'll have enough to get to me 80 by the time the expansion drops. Also have a full set of carapace armor for him also.

I personally can't stand the living story. To me an MMO is the absolute worst place for instanced story telling, the required story in Final Fantasy was one reason I didnt hesitate to not renew after the free month.

I love the buy to play buisness model but with allowing people to buy gold they have made drops incredably rare, rng gambling everywhere, and everything an incredible grind if you're trying to do it without opening your wallet.

I can't believe they tout this game as not grindy when you've got ascended as expensive as it is to craft. Also for a long time before they announced precursor crafting people were grinding gold to buy them and the price was raising faster then you could make gold. I think you'll have this effect in any game where gold is purchasable which makes some things not realistic for someone who only pays for the initial game.
 
Holy crap you were right about everything ever, what a visionary.

destiny definitely needs a good lore writer. However of course this makes me nervous for GW2..


Anybody WvW?

I just made the jump from anvil rock to black gate to try and get on a more active server; however, it's a mess over there. I can't understand the commanders on teams peak and they don't ping waypoints before they switch. This sucks b/c by the time I jump, the BL is already full.
 
If he bought it at launch, then he was grandfathered in and has them all.

Actually if he created the character before the Aprils patch then he is grandfathered in, just being a veteran only allows you to not have to deal with that BS if you never make any new characters. After rereading his post it sounds like the character was created before the patch so yeah you are right he probably does have all the traits.
 
I can't believe they tout this game as not grindy when you've got ascended as expensive as it is to craft. Also for a long time before they announced precursor crafting people were grinding gold to buy them and the price was raising faster then you could make gold. I think you'll have this effect in any game where gold is purchasable which makes some things not realistic for someone who only pays for the initial game.

I think ascended + legendary gear is a happy compromise. The benefits of both or really not that great. Besides Fractals, you really don't need either. I have 6 lvl 80s. All have exotic gear except one, my main, which is full ascended gear + 2 legendary weapons. I feel just as powerful and sometimes even more powerful on my non ascended/legendary characters. The benefit of ascended/legendary gear is relatively small.

The purpose of this is important. It allows you to have something to work for if that is your style. If not, you can roll exotic gear, which is extremely easy to get, and still be able to play everything. High level fractals is really the only place you need ascended gear as you will need the infusion slots.

I'm not sure how else you could have implemented a system that please everyone. It aims to please casual players (exotic only) and hardcore players (ascended/legendary) all while maintaining a B2P model with no monthly subs.
 
due to the camera changes coming next week (my biggest problem with the game btw and a major reason I quit over 2 years ago) I reinstalled the game

omfg, did they do a remarkable job on the massive amount of updates..this guy put a series of vids together to explain it all

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y312p68sK4k&index=6&list=PLMgOinWh2Y7FbZyBhlqgHoPI2w8_76_1w


quite frankly, I never thought I'd play this game again but I just spent 3 hours in WVWVW and forgot how fun it was

now lets hope those camera changes seal the deal !!
 
camera changes went in today

too bad they weren't here at release ...perhaps a few people would still be playing it

anyway, just wanted to update the thread

eso goes b2p tomorrow
 
The new FoV and first person view are a good addition. Its lame they let people with multiple monitors have such an advantage for so much of the games life. Many don't like that everyone is able to cheese with arrow carts now but it was a needed change since anyone with multiple monitors was able to do since day one. It is kind of lame but its better to have everyone able to do something than just a few.
 
I guess im going to start doing fractals... I need that sword skin... Medi guardian GS/sword+focus is alot of fun right now.
 
i'm having a blast doing the silverwastes zone meta event...gobs of drops in that event/zone...make sure to have skeleton keys...i think they did a really good job there

i regret not having stayed with this thing casually for the last 2 years..its really a good game to take a very casual approach too being b2p and all..heck, I was there at the midnight launch of this thing..LOL

the world still doesn't grab me tho but some of the design decisions are fantastic and the camera changes help alot
 
I think it's a fantastic game. You can play it pretty casually and get a lot out of it. No monthly fee means you don't have to feel obligated to play it. The trait system that they changed is a pain in the ass, but I guess they are going to change it back with the new expansion.
 
I just started playing again after not playing since launch week. I'm only level 9, so I don't really have any impressions yet other than I like that it guides me from quest to quest now. Hopefully I make it out of the starter map soon, since I have been in the same forest since launch.
 
I just started playing again after not playing since launch week. I'm only level 9, so I don't really have any impressions yet other than I like that it guides me from quest to quest now. Hopefully I make it out of the starter map soon, since I have been in the same forest since launch.

Take your time in each map and do the quest line as you reach the level recommended. Its an enjoyable game.
 
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