Shark phobia in Sandswept Isles

There is that thing in Sandswept Isles, when you're on water with your Skimmer, it often occurs that a shark jumps out of water towards the camera. I actually think this is a really fun idea!However I must also confess the kind of phobia I have of these things, and the freaking heart attack I get every time this happens...

I don't think it should be removed from the game at all, it's a really original idea. But given that the sharks don't appear to deal any sort of damage or control, and don't dismount you either, would it be possible to have a NPC or something that we could talk to and would give us some kind of "shark repellant" passive if we want to, that would simply remove these?

I really haven't spent enough time in Sandswept Isles, I didn't know that happened. I can definitely see how it would be stressful, especially if it's something you're already scared of.

I agree that since it's purely a cosmetic effect, and it's something which scares some people, a way to turn it off would be good. I don't know how easy that would be to do, I guess it depends on how they're built into the map. But if they can then I think it would be a nice thing to do for players.

They do occasionally dismount you. I personally thought it we a wicked cool thing but it is irritating when trying to zoom to the next place.

I think though that they are part of race obstacles? Since the race says it's a skimmer race. I personally use raptor for the northern one though.

Now just apply ot to all the maps. Sharks everywhere!maybe to all the mas where sharks are first....

@"ROMANG.1903" said:There is that thing in Sandswept Isles, when you're on water with your Skimmer, it often occurs that a shark jumps out of water towards the camera. I actually think this is a really fun idea!However I must also confess the kind of phobia I have of these things, and the freaking heart attack I get every time this happens...

I don't think it should be removed from the game at all, it's a really original idea. But given that the sharks don't appear to deal any sort of damage or control, and don't dismount you either, would it be possible to have a NPC or something that we could talk to and would give us some kind of "shark repellant" passive if we want to, that would simply remove these?

Their threat is real..... See below.

@Etria.3642 said:They do occasionally dismount you. I personally thought it we a wicked cool thing but it is irritating when trying to zoom to the next place.

I think though that they are part of race obstacles? Since the race says it's a skimmer race. I personally use raptor for the northern one though.

Key strategy... serpentine

Use it to tame your phobia. Nothing better than to expose yourself to your fears, and allow your mind to process them to remove those phobias.

@"Danikat.8537" said:I really haven't spent enough time in Sandswept Isles, I didn't know that happened. I can definitely see how it would be stressful, especially if it's something you're already scared of.

I agree that since it's purely a cosmetic effect, and it's something which scares some people, a way to turn it off would be good. I don't know how easy that would be to do, I guess it depends on how they're built into the map. But if they can then I think it would be a nice thing to do for players.

I would disagree on the fact that they exist for a reason, and pose a real threat to the player (they're a skimmer race obstacle).

But on a grander scale, we need to stop going to the "turn it off/optional" route any time anyone is remotely upset or even mildly irritated at something in the game. I'm not talking about the Shark phobia thing.... that turns into a whole other set of discussion (one that I would argue ARE productive compared to the following). No, I'm talking about "I don't want to see something, ergo it must be made to not exist on my screen".

This has lead us down a dark path where nothing visual is allowed to matter, on the off chance someone has it disabled for either "personal preference" or competitive edge. Yet having something optional, but with tangible game play weight, is considered blasphemy against players, punishable by crucifixion. Its become so accepted, that I don't think people even realize how much its holding games back at this point. And frankly, much of it stems from too much fixation on countering a symptom, while ignoring the underlying problem. Players are just as guilty of this as some Devs, so no one has the high ground when these issues pop up. As much as I understand and accept that Dev resources are both finite, and with practical limits..... the environment the players have fostered feeds back into the Dev space (even when they're not directly engaged), because someone is doing analysis of feedback and market trends to reach various decisions in the first place.

The cycle can be broken, but it requires players to get out of their ever more fortified comfort zones..... and thats something that, ironically, only happens when they're pissed off enough about being pushed out of a comfort zone, and want it restored. And maybe... just maybe.... they might see something shiny and get distracted instead. Modern gamers in a nut shell.

They need to make them bigger and do increased damage on "shark week."

In fact, lets throw in some 'Sharknado' effects and pump them into the starter zones.

I think sharks are neat, but I'm terrified of spiders. If they ever implemented something like this but with spiders, I'd probably be a mess. Just remembering Deep Nest from Hollow Knight sends a chill down my spine. In that light, I'd be in favor of OP's suggestion.

On the other side of the leaping shark attack, when skimming in Sandswept Isles, you also have a chance for a pod (?) of dolphins to jumping in the air next to you. It's really fun.

@"FrizzFreston.5290" said:Now just apply ot to all the maps. Sharks everywhere!maybe to all the mas where sharks are first....

No, "all maps" sounds right. Imagine being knocked off your skimmer by a shark in ...

! Divinity's Reach.

@Etria.3642 said:They do occasionally dismount you. I personally thought it we a wicked cool thing but it is irritating when trying to zoom to the next place.

I think though that they are part of race obstacles? Since the race says it's a skimmer race. I personally use raptor for the northern one though.Then why not enable them only during that race? I don't know if I would do the race then, but at least I would be prepared to see sharks randomly jumping on my screen. Right now I don't even dare touching the water anymore...

@"Edelweiss.4261" said:I think sharks are neat, but I'm terrified of spiders. If they ever implemented something like this but with spiders, I'd probably be a mess. Just remembering Deep Nest from Hollow Knight sends a chill down my spine. In that light, I'd be in favor of OP's suggestion.

It's funny you say that because if I recall correctly, the devs planned on a spider mount, but given its very realistic movements they thought it might scare some people and it was never released. Here's a preview of the thing if you dare to clic (not animated, very early-devlopment model):

While i dont have a phobia, i do agree the sharks shoudl be controlled based on the fact...it's a bug! (-makes that a pun in respect to above conversation-)

They're race obstacles (why they dismount you if they hit), and they didn't do this in the first few weeks of sandswept's release either. They should ONLY trigger in the race- you may notice too, that sharks only appear on the race track and water that isn't race track is shark free.

@ROMANG.1903 said:

@"Rogue.4756" said:Really? Cartoon sharks are scary? I'm afraid of spiders, but I know the difference between a real spider and a cartoon one. Maybe we should ask Anet to get rid of all pretend scary things. SMHOf course I do too. I'm not scared when I go underwater and see a shark swiming around. But when that thing flies towards my screen in a split second without any warning, I don't exactly have the time to process "don't worry, this is just a game". It's like scarejumps in horror games. You know it's just a game, but it doesn't change the surprise.

So, the issue is jump scares rather than sharks, it seems. That's something I can definitely understand. But I haven't really ever felt like the surprise sharks are really on Jump Scare level for me, but that could be a case of me playing with my camera zoomed really far out (thus, making it difficult for things in GW2 to surprise me, most of the time).

@RoseofGilead.8907 said:

@ROMANG.1903 said:

@"Rogue.4756" said:Really? Cartoon sharks are scary? I'm afraid of spiders, but I know the difference between a real spider and a cartoon one. Maybe we should ask Anet to get rid of all pretend scary things. SMHOf course I do too. I'm not scared when I go underwater and see a shark swiming around. But when that thing flies towards my screen in a split second without any warning, I don't exactly have the time to process "don't worry, this is just a game". It's like scarejumps in horror games. You know it's just a game, but it doesn't change the surprise.

I was going to make this same point. With the camera zoomed out, I see the sharks long before they hit. I don't always have the reflexes to steer around them, but they're only using a few inches at most of monitor space so it's not like my screen is suddenly full of teeth. I like the zoom for many reasons, primarily motion sickness control, secondarily situational awareness assist, tertiarily not getting terrible things in my view. The downside is I miss out on a lot of character and monster detail.

@ROMANG.1903 said:It's funny you say that because if I recall correctly, the devs planned on a spider mount, but given its very realistic movements they thought it might scare some people and it was never released. Here's a preview of the thing if you dar

The realistic movement would probably have ruined it for me. I'm going to have nightmares for weeks. :'( I'd be fine with a mecha-spider, though.

@RoseofGilead.8907 said:

@ROMANG.1903 said:

@"Rogue.4756" said:Really? Cartoon sharks are scary? I'm afraid of spiders, but I know the difference between a real spider and a cartoon one. Maybe we should ask Anet to get rid of all pretend scary things. SMHOf course I do too. I'm not scared when I go underwater and see a shark swiming around. But when that thing flies towards my screen in a split second without any warning, I don't exactly have the time to process "don't worry, this is just a game". It's like scarejumps in horror games. You know it's just a game, but it doesn't change the surprise.

The issue is both. If it was anything else than a shark, I wouldn't exactly like it, but I wouldn't make it that big of a deal. You haven't really ever felt like the surprise sharks are really on Jump Scare level, because you don't have that phobia in the first place. I don't know if you have a phobia of anything, but if so, imagine that thing jumping towards your camera at high speed at random times.

The weird thing is that, besides the mount race, this mechanic doesn't serve any purpose, at all. So why is it permanently enabled? Even puting away the jumpscare side of things, is it fun to risk being dismounted when we go on water?

@"ROMANG.1903" said:The issue is both. If it was anything else than a shark, I wouldn't exactly like it, but I wouldn't make it that big of a deal. You haven't really ever felt like the surprise sharks are really on Jump Scare level, because you don't have that phobia in the first place. I don't know if you have a phobia of anything, but if so, imagine that thing jumping towards your camera at high speed at random times.

The weird thing is that, besides the mount race, this mechanic doesn't serve any purpose, at all. So why is it permanently enabled? Even puting away the jumpscare side of things, is it fun to risk being dismounted when we go on water?

My bad. Since you said " I'm not scared when I go underwater and see a shark swiming around," I figured the shark fear wasn't as big an issue as the surprise of something jumping at you out of nowhere. But yeah, I did say " But I haven't really ever felt like the surprise sharks are really on Jump Scare level for me;" I wasn't saying you aren't experiencing that level of being startled.

How do you have your camera set up in-game? Is it up close all the time? If it is, it might be worth making a point to zoom out a fair bit when you know you're in those shark jumping areas. The shark will obviously still be there, but it will be easier to see it coming without having to see close up details of the shark.

@Lexi.1398 said:While i dont have a phobia, i do agree the sharks shoudl be controlled based on the fact...it's a bug! (-makes that a pun in respect to above conversation-)

They're race obstacles (why they dismount you if they hit), and they didn't do this in the first few weeks of sandswept's release either. They should ONLY trigger in the race- you may notice too, that sharks only appear on the race track and water that isn't race track is shark free.

You're wrong about them not appearing outside of the race track...I have been dismounted twice in the open water...so they might not be as frequent as around the race track area, but they are out in the open water as well(oh, and they can do some pretty good damage too if you're hit right, not just dismount you).

@Etria.3642 said:They do occasionally dismount you. I personally thought it we a wicked cool thing but it is irritating when trying to zoom to the next place.

I think though that they are part of race obstacles? Since the race says it's a skimmer race. I personally use raptor for the northern one though.

They are very rude. If they're going to dismount us, they could at least have the decency to try and eat us.

Currently, we can simply re-mount, slightly more annoyed, and continue with our journey.

Shame about that spider mount; it looks awesome. The sharks are quite funny too :)

there is a phobia for almost everything. So the game must not have any content.

Fun fact: phobia of sharks is called Galeophobia.https://www.fearof.net/fear-of-sharks-phobia-galeophobia-or-selachophobia/

@"Strider Pj.2193" said:They need to make them bigger and do increased damage on "shark week."

In fact, lets throw in some 'Sharknado' effects and pump them into the starter zones.

@"Strider Pj.2193" said:They need to make them bigger and do increased damage on "shark week."

In fact, lets throw in some 'Sharknado' effects and pump them into the starter zones.

That would be funny. Zohaquan takes his revenge on the inquest and sends his tornados (with flying sharks in them) to all inquest areas across all maps.

Hi I have Galeophobia.

This freaked me the hell out but don't remove it. ty~