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Finished the story today and my response was "meh". Breaking a story up into dribs and drabs over a space of months then breaking up it further by having bits of story interspersed with map activities is not immersive for me. By the time I got to the last fight, I just wanted to get it done so I didn't have to listen to Rytlock and Crecia bickering anymore.

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One more feedback, although I know that only a minority is concerned: I very much regret that Anet did not resist to put again luring-in-circle effects, that can be quite bad to players suffering motion sickness.For me personally, the circling effect at Eagle Watch Rise was terrible. I could not stay at it and needed a friend to do it for me, since there is no way around to be able to do the story. Now knowing that I myself suffers only mildly from this problem, that I can usually keep more or less under control, I really wonder if it is playable at all for persons suffering true motion sickness...

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I found the animal events a little annoying tbh.

Eagles constant pushing became very tedious very quickly but I was running a character with a bow so it wasn't all bad.. that said I can only imagine how insufferable this even will be for a pure melee character, specially since stability doesn't work on the wind pushes.

Ox event was probably the best of them due to it's ease, easy to swap in an out of Ox form and deal with mobs and use the charge on enemies far away to get some nice distance to the middle.

Wolverine.. I really like this event in concept, however when I did this event I did the bulk of it solo as everyone else was off doing other events.This made the event drag on for too long unfortunately as I had to run through this maze over and over again to complete the event to continue the story..

Another problem was when other people showed up about half way through they kept triggering the Boneskinners by trying to rush through the maze.. some of them were not even carrying the item for the shrine they were just running through the maze.When this happened the Boneskinners became hostile to me as well even though I never entered their area of detection, they attack the first player then automatically came after me for no reason forcing me to restart multiple time, they also scaled the event up making my contributions worth even less draggin the event out longer.There were also a few times I was right near the shrine and got kicked out of the maze by the darkness as well.

Because of these reasons I just didn't enjoy the event experience and got pretty frustrated by it after a while and do not look forward to doing it again.

They're not bad events though.. but they do have some annoying elements to them, the main problem is that they're tied to the story and you're forced to complete them which can make them annoying and tedious if you're forced to do them alone, which I expect will be a common thing at some point in future when the map dies down a bit.

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Felt this chapter was a bit of a let-down. Not as huge as for example the LWS4 maps. (I started playing when S4 started) with the exception of the prologue. It just felt really bland. Rytlock and Crecia were incredible annoying and Ryland still feels really boring and bland. (I was actually "hoping" Braham would kill him. More drama and tension.) Granted Braham is slowly growing on me although his talk with the spirits felt a little OOC. Aurene's lair is pretty cool. Hope to see it expanded on later.

Only tried Drakkar once but it was just a button mash event that went on for a bit too long. For now I don't see a reason to play as much as I used to with the other chapters.

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@"Zexanima.7851" said:It was okay. Not great, not terrible, but okay. Exactly what I hypothesized from the trailer. Still waiting for that "expansions level" content though.

I honestly do not think that Anet currently have the devs with sufficient competency to produce an expansion.

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@"Josiah.2967" said:Stop putting mastery points behind "optional" content. If you do make sure there is enough mastery points to avoid all the "optional content". This is frustrating.

I agree.

Just as a side note: I recently found out, that two new mastery-points/insights were added to Grothmar Valley: "Shimmering Spire" and "Branching Out". Both are easy to reach and both mastery points can be used for Bjora-masteries. Maybe this helps a little.

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@Dreamy Lu.3865 said:One more feedback, although I know that only a minority is concerned: I very much regret that Anet did not resist to put again luring-in-circle effects, that can be quite bad to players suffering motion sickness.For me personally, the circling effect at Eagle Watch Rise was terrible. I could not stay at it and needed a friend to do it for me, since there is no way around to be able to do the story. Now knowing that I myself suffers only mildly from this problem, that I can usually keep more or less under control, I really wonder if it is playable at all for persons suffering true motion sickness...

Thanks for making this point as motion sickness is only one of the things Anet ignores. I have a friend who's never played an mmo but she liked what I told her about GW2 and really liked the idea that we could play together. Turns out that she can't play it though. She has seizures which can be triggered by flashing lights. All the visual effects of the game would have been physically dangerous for her.

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@Randulf.7614 said:

@Randulf.7614 said:1) Sort the Drakkar fight out and make it great. Give it some mechanics. Ditch the visual noise pollution and try and design something we have to learn and overcome. This is an iconic boss after all.

I think you're putting too much credit on Drakkar, which is no different than the mouth of Zhaitan. But I agree, just like the mouth of Zhaitan fight, there should have been some fight mechanics.

Mileage will vary on the Drakkar notoriety issue. For me, Drakkar's name resonates quite powerfully in Norn lore and links into EOTN strongly. I agree with your sentiment that is effectively serves the same purpose as a Mouth of Zhaitan, but they didn't really have the legacy behind them and I think there were multiple of them as well. Drakkar is a unique, named, mob tied up around a very important point of Norn lore and I did expect it to be given the treatment that such deserved.

There is clearly mixed feedback about it, but they hit massively wide of the mark on this for me in terms of gameplay at least (the shadow was cool though and the animations - what was visible amongst the heavy visual noise - was as good as I have come to expect though).

I think the days of great open world boss fights are just gone now. Something I'll just have to accept.

That's why I think it's too much credit on Drakkar. Just like mistaken a mouse for a large, dangerous beast based on its shadow. Drakkar didn't even do anything in EOTN, it was always been Jormag. Drakkar is nothing but a cell tower, not the service provider.

Jormag's other champion died in a single punch (see Frostfang, deemed to the the "strongest"). Jormag has many other champions and most are flimsy. The real champion of Jormag is the Claw.

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As things currently stand, rewards are too miserly for this map to remain a priority destination after players have finished the episodes and whatever achievement hunting appeals to them. This goes for events, in general, but is particularly glaring with the World Boss! Even with one level of Karmic Enhancement, I only picked up the equivalent of 500 Karma for taking a second run at Drakkar in a day! I get not rolling out the chests a second time, but, seriously, that's just 500 Karma for a 20-30min fight! Compare that to the amount of Karma we get for Dailies.

This map will have much more longevity if it's balanced.

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release day at my place: true story for 3 years

  1. Warn wife and kids that Tuesday is mine. (Wife is awesome about my one guilty pleasure)
  2. Load some gems for sales
  3. Have my main character cleaned out and ready for the patch
  4. let patch run while i feed my animals and other chores
  5. brew coffee and immerse myself for the entire day (or at least until evening chores)
  6. Finish story, complete map, visit dulfy to see what I missed.
  7. Go to bed and start cheevo's on day 2

This release I got to #4 and it all brokeDrakkar was bugged and when I saw the T3 weapons I logged, now I can't even get the willpower to login and finish 3 days later, you ruined my release ritual and the episode, what i did get thru, was such a massive letdown.I fear for the future of the game after this. Add to that the continued delays on WvW promises after so long, I have almost no confidence left in spending real money as I have up to this point.You have a very loyal base, don't let us down please

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@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:As for Wolverine, I think being a Thief has trained me how to effectively sneak, so it wasn't too hard.

I caught on to the gimmicks of the other two shrines pretty quickly but with all of the floor clutter from the boneskinners and mushroom spam taking my attention I never noticed the lamps. (Too much crap on the ground is a very old problem with the game tho) I thought the lamp circles were just more stuff on the floor to avoid so I was at a loss for how to get through it. Thankfully I know that player base is helpful to a fault so I just asked what I was doing wrong and friendly folks in map chat hipped me to the the lamps being safe havens.

I think all beneficial circles need to be green TBH.

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I thought the whispers were supposed to be more forceful in the western half of the map... I didn't hear a peep, or is it just forceful to Crecia and Rytlock? Like, I heard nothing before completing the story and afterward, well NPCs still hear the voice. The story felt short, was getting really into it but then it ended. Getting a fishing rod as a skin felt like a joke as if to say "We can't add new content like fishing, so here's a skin instead." Loved Aurene, but missed opportunity to update the Hall of Monuments if we're going back there for Visions of the Past (which I believe will replace Fractals). T3 Boreal weapons requiring the T2 forms that everyone already salvaged wasn't great, and I don't see how ANet didn't think that would be a problem when they didn't announce a T3 version sooner... Good music as always, but I'm still not seeing the expansion level content we were promised.

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@thepenmonster.3621 said:

@Sir Vincent III.1286 said:As for Wolverine, I think being a Thief has trained me how to effectively sneak, so it wasn't too hard.

I caught on to the gimmicks of the other two shrines pretty quickly but with all of the floor clutter from the boneskinners and mushroom spam taking my attention I never noticed the lamps. (Too much kitten on the ground is a very old problem with the game tho) I thought the lamp circles were just more stuff on the floor to avoid so I was at a loss for how to get through it. Thankfully I know that player base is helpful to a fault so I just asked what I was doing wrong and friendly folks in map chat hipped me to the the lamps being safe havens.

I think all beneficial circles need to be green TBH.

I didn't notice the lamps at the beginning, but once the first offering was offered and some path were blocked, the lamp becomes usable. So it's easy to miss it if it wasn't there to begin with.

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@Fueki.4753 said:What's the deal with said lamps? I didn't notice a single one.I just brute forced my way through, hoping to have no Boneskinner to bite me.

On the side of the path are torches with a white circle for you to stand in at the bottom to gain a stealth buff so you can walk past a Boneskinner as he passes and not get spotted. They aren't entirely noticeable (which I kinda liked, because it forces you to look at the surroundings for the solution or a different option like you found)

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Long time fan, disappointed with episode 1, happy with 2. I’ve ended the episode with stuff to do. About the second day I wondered if there was anything else to do though. Not mad about mastery experience required being high.Always happy to see Aurene and GW1 locations.Others’ points of Drakkar one shot by Braham and Bangar to us are valid to address.I thought Braham killed Ryland for a bit. Now that would have been a twist.The tornado trials of Koda get so crazy and wild; I love em. Sucking in dead bodies.I thinking I’m missing something about the ghost Kodan. Missed story beat?Long time fan, but wondering about if there’s enough to keep me coming back until the next update. Looking forward to the pvp update. Haven’t played that in 2 years.

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Pros:

  • Zone is amazing, I love the colors and vibes from GW1. I recognized some of the essential places I used to visit...particularly place where Drakkar slept.
  • Music. Just spot on. Bjora Marches music is TOO GOOD!!!
  • Creepiness. I love it. Loved it during the fight with Drakkar (the transition part), the Wolverine event, beautiful.
  • Puzzles. I LOVE THEM! Thank you for adding puzzles like these to the game, when I want a break from fights I just do them and enjoy.
  • Twist at the end of the story and meeting someone in EOTN! Beautiful!
  • Sound, environment...all amazing!

Cons:

  • Story was short, as expected, but...Braham. Why Braham? I just can't stand him anymore..I am not interested in seeing him being built up as a character at all, he's just annoying. We need more serious characters in the game. Rytlock turned super annoying too. I prefer Crecia and Bangar over him so much now...Crecia has more personality and is just less annoying even if she doubts the Commander.
  • Drakkar's model was a MASSIVE let-down for me! I kept visiting the lake in GW1 so many times just to gaze at that slumbering frozen monster with those huge scythe-like arms and creepy head and creepy body. In GW2 Drakkar is nowhere near what we had in GW1...I expected he'd have those scythe-like arms or fins, considering he's swimming and IS an underwater creature.
  • Drakkar fight was also not what I expected. Way too cluttered, hard to see the boss, too long and well...just not what I expected. I thought we'd have those creepy moments where he'd just smash the ice beneath us and attack us underwater where we'd see him fully and fight him in a large and open area. Why not have an underwater boss for once, right? He could've had a transition zone where he'd disappear in the waters and then charge at us, grab one player and toss them out of the water or something...I don't know, the fight could've been far more than what it is now.
  • Drakkar story fight was even worse...short, no proper fighting, same 'fight' as World Boss...and those who haven't done the meta even will be awfully disappointed at how easily he went down.
  • Visual noise...as always, massive problem.

Overall, my biggest disappointment is with Drakkar; and Braham being shoved into the story so much. We need some better Norn characters here, not a whiny baby Braham who doesn't even look like a norn to begin with...I am super sad that Drakkar didn't live up to expectations of many of us who were creeped out by him in GW1 and who looked forward to see him here...he was a huge thing to some of us... :/

I had a dream a couple of months before the Patch came out...that we'd fight Drakkar on a frozen lake, where ice would crack and he'd hunt the players from the water. We'd all fall into the lake after it cracked and fight him, then climb on the floating ice to avoid some mechanics from him, where at some point he'd come and destroy them (Mordremoth style, like when he eats isles), then dive back inside. If you fall into the water, you'd slowly start freezing, so you had to climb back up on the floating ice isles again.

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@"Blur.3465" said:Pros:

  • Zone is amazing, I love the colors and vibes from GW1. I recognized some of the essential places I used to visit...particularly place where Drakkar slept.
  • Music. Just spot on. Bjora Marches music is TOO GOOD!!!
  • Creepiness. I love it. Loved it during the fight with Drakkar (the transition part), the Wolverine event, beautiful.
  • Puzzles. I LOVE THEM! Thank you for adding puzzles like these to the game, when I want a break from fights I just do them and enjoy.
  • Twist at the end of the story and meeting someone in EOTN! Beautiful!
  • Sound, environment...all amazing!

Cons:

  • Story was short, as expected, but...Braham. Why Braham? I just can't stand him anymore..I am not interested in seeing him being built up as a character at all, he's just annoying. We need more serious characters in the game. Rytlock turned super annoying too. I prefer Crecia and Bangar over him so much now...Crecia has more personality and is just less annoying even if she doubts the Commander.
  • Drakkar's model was a MASSIVE let-down for me! I kept visiting the lake in GW1 so many times just to gaze at that slumbering frozen monster with those huge scythe-like arms and creepy head and creepy body. In GW2 Drakkar is nowhere near what we had in GW1...I expected he'd have those scythe-like arms or fins, considering he's swimming and IS an underwater creature.
  • Drakkar fight was also not what I expected. Way too cluttered, hard to see the boss, too long and well...just not what I expected. I thought we'd have those creepy moments where he'd just smash the ice beneath us and attack us underwater where we'd see him fully and fight him in a large and open area. Why not have an underwater boss for once, right? He could've had a transition zone where he'd disappear in the waters and then charge at us, grab one player and toss them out of the water or something...I don't know, the fight could've been far more than what it is now.
  • Drakkar story fight was even worse...short, no proper fighting, same 'fight' as World Boss...and those who haven't done the meta even will be awfully disappointed at how easily he went down.
  • Visual noise...as always, massive problem.

Overall, my biggest disappointment is with Drakkar; and Braham being shoved into the story so much. We need some better Norn characters here, not a whiny baby Braham who doesn't even look like a norn to begin with...I am super sad that Drakkar didn't live up to expectations of many of us who were creeped out by him in GW1 and who looked forward to see him here...he was a huge thing to some of us... :/

I had a dream a couple of months before the Patch came out...that we'd fight Drakkar on a frozen lake, where ice would crack and he'd hunt the players from the water. We'd all fall into the lake after it cracked and fight him, then climb on the floating ice to avoid some mechanics from him, where at some point he'd come and destroy them (Mordremoth style, like when he eats isles), then dive back inside. If you fall into the water, you'd slowly start freezing, so you had to climb back up on the floating ice isles again.

Unfortunately, this map I find completely disconnected from what it was in Guild Wars.Worse still, it even has no logic: the ruins that should have been were transformed by ease or reduced to silence (non-existent) : erased from history for some reason.And the map also has serious problems compared to the 1st map of the first episode: no more voices, the snowstorm is not really existing, nor extended to the lake (the vent I’m talking about), the dark atmosphere has disappeared.And on top of that I find that the map of Guild Wars 1st was finally more beautiful, more interesting than what it became : even if it remains very pretty.It is a pity, they will have once again spoiled the magic of Guild Wars (as with Gandara for example). :'(So I can only agree with what you’re saying.

I hope that this drop in quality is due to the release of an extension.. otherwise we are finished !

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@Blur.3465 said:I had a dream a couple of months before the Patch came out...that we'd fight Drakkar on a frozen lake, where ice would crack and he'd hunt the players from the water. We'd all fall into the lake after it cracked and fight him, then climb on the floating ice to avoid some mechanics from him, where at some point he'd come and destroy them (Mordremoth style, like when he eats isles), then dive back inside. If you fall into the water, you'd slowly start freezing, so you had to climb back up on the floating ice isles again.

I like the ideas. I had hoped an ice lake fight too, but you propose/dreamt some interesting sounding mechanics.

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