FIX SERPENT'S IRE

[Danikat.8537]

I haven't been there for a few months but when I was visiting Vabbi frequently I often saw groups doing Serpent's Ire (on EU) and it seems unlikely the situation would have changed in that time. I'm not sure if any of them advertise it online though, I just saw them organising it through map chat and LFG when the event was about to start. If I wanted to find a group for it I'd do the same thing I always do: use the Wiki to check when the event is due to start, then go to Vabbi and check both in the map I'm in and in LFG for people doing the event, and if I don't see anyone try to get a squad together myself.

Another option of course is to ask your guild/s to help. Maybe they could make it a guild event?

The tricky part with trying to organise it yourself (at least for me) is then there's no guarantee anyone else will know how to find the Forgotten Zealots, so finding them all within the time limit could be difficult. (I don't actually know if there's a trick to it or not, I just know it's gone much more smoothly when someone else is leading and it always seems to be the commander who finds them.) After that, now the CC requirement has been drastically reduced, it's pretty much just a matter of having enough people to kill everything within the time limit.

I could help you find a group, but it won't be until the weekend because I won't be able to play for more than a few minutes each day until then, so it's probably faster to get someone else to help.

[Khisanth.2948]

@Danikat.8537 said:I haven't been there for a few months but when I was visiting Vabbi frequently I often saw groups doing Serpent's Ire (on EU) and it seems unlikely the situation would have changed in that time. I'm not sure if any of them advertise it online though, I just saw them organising it through map chat and LFG when the event was about to start. If I wanted to find a group for it I'd do the same thing I always do: use the Wiki to check when the event is due to start, then go to Vabbi and check both in the map I'm in and in LFG for people doing the event, and if I don't see anyone try to get a squad together myself.

People might have given up doing SI in favor of doing Forged with Fire since it's the same reward.

[Danikat.8537]

@Khisanth.2948 said:

@Danikat.8537 said:I haven't been there for a few months but when I was visiting Vabbi frequently I often saw groups doing Serpent's Ire (on EU) and it seems unlikely the situation would have changed in that time. I'm not sure if any of them advertise it online though, I just saw them organising it through map chat and LFG when the event was about to start. If I wanted to find a group for it I'd do the same thing I always do: use the Wiki to check when the event is due to start, then go to Vabbi and check both in the map I'm in and in LFG for people doing the event, and if I don't see anyone try to get a squad together myself.

People might have given up doing SI in favor of doing Forged with Fire since it's the same reward.

When I was on the map frequently I saw them both being done, sometimes by the same group. Forged with Fire probably succeeds more often because it can be completed by fewer people (my personal record is starting it solo and going up to 5 or 6 by the end) and with less coordination, but it seemed to be that people were doing whichever was up when they were there.

[Dante.1763]

@Danikat.8537 said:

@Khisanth.2948 said:

@Danikat.8537 said:I haven't been there for a few months but when I was visiting Vabbi frequently I often saw groups doing Serpent's Ire (on EU) and it seems unlikely the situation would have changed in that time. I'm not sure if any of them advertise it online though, I just saw them organising it through map chat and LFG when the event was about to start. If I wanted to find a group for it I'd do the same thing I always do: use the Wiki to check when the event is due to start, then go to Vabbi and check both in the map I'm in and in LFG for people doing the event, and if I don't see anyone try to get a squad together myself.

People might have given up doing SI in favor of doing Forged with Fire since it's the same reward.

When I was on the map frequently I saw them both being done, sometimes by the same group. Forged with Fire probably succeeds more often because it can be completed by fewer people (my personal record is starting it solo and going up to 5 or 6 by the end) and with less coordination, but it seemed to be that people were doing whichever was up when they were there.

really depends on which server you are on. NA vs EU, the differences in the events and groups that do them, and when they get done is pretty massive. I dont even bother trying anymore to find groups for Serpents Ire despite needing it. Groups try to form and fail fairly quickly, and its unfortunate. The difference between servers is also why i dont appreciate content tied to group events that dont get done much if at all outside of the first week of launch.

[magnusthorek.8027]

If at least players' had a tutorial about how to break a Defiance Bar, class by class (i.e. with an NPC telling Reapers that pressing Elite Skill after summoning the Flesh Golem with make it charge through the enemy), but nooooooooo, teaching how to dodge is way more important than CC ¯\(ツ)/¯

[Zalani.9827]

More people would do it if the rewards weren’t dog poo and the cc phase was fairer. As it stands not worth the effort unless you need the collection piece.

[Shadowmoon.7986]

To bad there is not a meta rush bonus event that can be turned on at anytime that will breath life into these events. Anet just being consistantly inconsistent.

[misterman.1530]

So...been checking hourly for the past few days - between 6:00 AM and 9:00 PM EST. Nothing in the LFG and no one organizing anything to do with Serpent's Ire. I am sure that some mega EU group does it daily or something, as people will claim, but I've not seen evidence of it at all. What I have seen is a bunch of poor people trying to get a group together to fight Champs related to Skyscale acquisition. Have helped a couple while I had my toon in Vabbi hoping someone, at sometime, would do the meta.

When Anet puts a backpiece behind a meta event that few, if any people, still do...that's an issue.

[kharmin.7683]

Maybe everyone else was waiting for someone to set something up in LFG? Did you set something up and advertise it?

[misterman.1530]

@kharmin.7683 said:Maybe everyone else was waiting for someone to set something up in LFG? Did you set something up and advertise it?

I have a couple of times. And there was one LFG from someone else. The LFGs never got more than 2/50 joined. Even with a tag up, nothing happened. So, I erred when I said no one was organizing a group. I should have said, no groups got organized.

[Domino.1359]

I'm not sure what exactly needs to be fixed, but it certainly needs to be toned down to allow less people to complete it successfully. As it stands, I've tried for weeks, during prime time, only to find about 2-3 attempting it (with tags). This happens when we have so many maps, naturally, with a meta event that has little to no reward to it besides collection achievements (which is my case).

[Domino.1359]

@"kharmin.7683" said:Maybe everyone else was waiting for someone to set something up in LFG? Did you set something up and advertise it?

Yes; I certainly have with a tag. Also posted in the GW2 "Player's Helping Players" forum. Also nothing. The event just doesn't attract much attention and rightfully so. Should clarify this is on NA servers.

[misterman.1530]

@Domino.1359 said:

@"kharmin.7683" said:Maybe everyone else was waiting for someone to set something up in LFG? Did you set something up and advertise it?

Yes; I certainly have with a tag. Also posted in the GW2 "Player's Helping Players" forum. Also nothing. The event just doesn't attract much attention and rightfully so. Should clarify this is on NA servers.

Exactly. I tagged at 6:30 AM , 7:30AM, then again at 9:30AM and nothing. Gave up for the day, I think. I will check periodically, but not holding my breath. And, like you wrote earlier, it isn't so much "broken" as undoable with few people. I mean, just finding the 5 zealots requires dozens of people riding around looking for them.

[misterman.1530]

Oh. Well, last night I did see 5/50 attempting to LFG for Serpent's Ire. Progress...I guess?

[Qaju.2058]

Let me remind you that now we have access to Portable Waystations for open world PvE maps. This is a QoL game changer. Everybody can buy EMP blast module. Allowing much smaller groups to succeed any cc check.

[misterman.1530]

@aleron.1438 said:Let me remind you that now we have access to Portable Waystations for open world PvE maps. This is a QoL game changer. Everybody can buy EMP blast module. Allowing much smaller groups to succeed any cc check.

So, 1-5 people can do Serpent's Ire with a Portable Waystation?

[Skotlex.7580]

Serpent's ire. The meta that still gets complained about even after such a massive rework and nerf of mechanics.

The issue, as was probably alluded to before, is that there's no reason for experienced players to do it (other content is much faster and gives equal/superior rewards), so, not only that it's somewhat hard to get players, the ones one gets may not be as experienced. Remember that a significant number of ow metas are "carried" by a core of veterans, and many of members of the zerg are comfortably thinking they are contributing with their builds. And it may be these "lazy" players who end up being the bulk of these failed attempts.

My experience with this meta is to casually attempt it when it's "daily vabbi events" time, as those are the days when there's no lack of players to do the content. Well, it still fails because few players seem interested in navigating the brandstorm looking for zealots, instead of doing events elsewhere (even without other tags).

What I'd change? Foremost, this meta is so slow and unrewarding it needs a rare infusion drop to make veterans interested in running it. Secondly, I'd make it a bit easier to spot the zealots. Something like "every 5 minutes, ping the location of at least one of them". Many of my failed attempts didn't even get past the first phase, and the rest failed on the second. :/

[SoftFootpaws.9134]

I find this event fun to do and I'd like to run it every day but unfortunately its not worth it. I can go to Auric Basin, do a 5min meta and come out with five times the loot you get for doing Serpent's Ire for nearly half an hour.

All PoF metas need QoL adjustments, but ArenaNet doesn't seem to care about old content. Even after all these years and the immense long-term success that HoT was (despite being perceived as a huge failure in the beginning), they still can't seem to understand how it ended up that way, or how to replicate that success. Its like a mystery to the developers.

Here's the answer: Its because they went back and polished it to fix the problems it had.

[misterman.1530]

Well, we tried to pug it at 10:30 EST today. Got through Phase 1 and blown up in Phase 2. We had about 15-20 people.

So, Anet, seriously: you have to do something about this. Make it have better rewards. Nerf phase 2. Something.

[Domino.1359]

I think even pumping up the rewards rather than reworking the meta would bring more folks to complete the event. At the very least, it would be a solid start to attract a meta train. A few examples: add some more rare unidentified bags; maybe chance at an exotic; expand map rewards.

[misterman.1530]

Well, this has been going on for weeks. Still no luck. I would pay GEMS to get a contract that says I completed the meta. I really would.

[Domino.1359]

I wouldn't scoff at the idea. Last night I joined a POF meta train - 34/50 folks. Someone asked if they'd be doing the ire meta. He answered "no, it's too difficult with a PUG." Maybe he was wrong, maybe right, either way it seems like it's problem if the event is never on a meta train.

[Blood Red Arachnid.2493]

Have you guys tried using temp bundles? You can make the CC portion trivial if you buy a bunch of Spiky Fruit or Rocks and spam them relentlessly during the CC phase. If you're running a condi build with full Viper, buy one Grawl Ritual Totem for a 5 second long fear. I recommend the Spiky Fruit, because it is the cheapest. It would take some organizing to get a bunch of people together to do it, but if you all have the bundles on you, then the second phase becomes much easier.

A lot of information I have here is out of date. For one, the builds I listed don't work anymore. Second, the three-prong strat is much easier and more effective. Basically, you split into three parts. At center north is a CC squad of 5 people who just stun the serpent, while the zerg splits evenly between south-west and south-east serpents. I've even managed to succeed this with just the south-west and south-east serpents if you can't spare the people. With this strat, you only need to mark 3 spots. Third, ascended food makes this event easier. Just bring along a plate of Coq Au Vin with Salsa. Fourth, since the CC phase is much easier now, any group composition using either power or condi builds can do this event. No more isolating people based on professions. Fifth, I wrote this before I realized that bundles exist. That makes things a whole lot easier, because now every class has access to limitless CC. I haven't tested how good the CCPS is, but it is definitely better than waiting for cooldowns.

There's a standard set of questions to ask when doing this event:

(1): Are you all in a full DPS build? Phase 2 is still a DPS race against targets that don't fight back. Something I've seen with a lot of success-challenged runners is that their build is bad. Yes, people will stubbornly adhere to pure healing builds for phase 2. There's only one exception to this, and that is if you have a quickness buffer.(2): Are you at least in full exotics? It seems like a silly question, but a surprisingly large number of players play the game wearing whatever they happen to find, and nothing else. You've got to be fully geared for this event. Ascended is even better, and focus on getting ascended weapons first, because they boost direct damage by 5%(3): Did you spread out? Again, a surprisingly large number of players will just follow the dorito no matter how much you bark orders at them. Be sure to tell people to put their squad in grid view, so they can see which group they are in and where to go.(4): Do you know how to do good DPS? A lot of players will either only mash 1 and do no CC, or mash every skill on their bar at random and do less than the former.(5): If you do not have bundles, did you set your build to do as much CC as possible?
(6): Did you group have a dedicated quickness buffer? Having one chronomancer or quickbrand for every 5 players increases group performance by roughly 33%, or 50% for 1-spammers. It is the best single boon you can give to a group to aid in DPS.(7): Did you advertise far and wide that you were doing Serpent's Ire? Have you tried setting up a date on the forums to do it?

I have to ask all of this, because we're not getting much feed forward. All we hear is "we failed, please nerf."

[Treacy.4067]

@misterman.1530 said:Well, this has been going on for weeks. Still no luck. I would pay GEMS to get a contract that says I completed the meta. I really would.

I whispered and mailed you a few times over the last week telling you when I was commanding Serpent's Ire. We even agreed on a later date and time that suited you (ran it specifically for you) but then you couldn't come when we started. irl happens I get it, but I did try lol.

[misterman.1530]

@Treacy.4067 said:

@misterman.1530 said:Well, this has been going on for weeks. Still no luck. I would pay GEMS to get a contract that says I completed the meta. I really would.

I whispered and mailed you a few times over the last week telling you when I was commanding Serpent's Ire. We even agreed on a later date and time that suited you (ran it specifically for you) but then you couldn't come when we started. irl happens I get it, but I did try lol.

Oh. Definitely my fault. Terrible at having a set time to play.