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Feedback: Official Path of Fire Feedback Thread


Gaile Gray.6029

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After playing the full story, exploration and more PoF open world with my elementalist, all using the new spec weavers, I have a few comments about it.

1) The sustain skills are clearly tuned for PvP, but nearly useless in PvE. They need some boost (and by that I mean at 500-1000% boost ...). Invigorating Strikes and Stone resonance give barriers. It's nice to have personal access to this new mechanic while leaving team support to necro. But the numbers are so low, they don't do anything in PvE. 650 barrier, pulsing or not, will not protect me from anything, not even from a hit in the last second of casting a meteor shower. This is a purely defensive skill and will never have a place in meta dps builds anyway, so I dont't think it will break the game if it gets a big buff that makes it usable in PvE (without having to rely on healing power gear, something nobody will get for solo play purpose). Both the trait and the utility should be buffed to 2-3000 barrier instead of 6-700.Same goes for the heal. I had to replace it after a while with an old heal skill, because I couldn't survive with it. Aquatic Stance is a nice concept, but it's too weak with the 1s ICD. IMHO it could use a much lower icd (or even 0, why not, after all the worst thing that could happen would be a full heal, something that is already achieved by berserker's and herald's heals. And in teams ... well the risk is to see people run content relying on this rather than a druid : I wouldn't be against having more than 1 heal option in the game)

2) The whole weaver concept with the dual attunements and the dual attacks is very cool. Weaving through all elements all the time and create the dual skills or get combos is nice. However, the result is, without a surprise, that meta will still completely rely on those old conjures, weaver only being a small change in the weapon skills rotation. You tried to change the use of conjures recently but the only change in their usage was to make it more difficult for non-top-skill players because the 2nd copy on the ground disappears a lot faster. IMHO it would be cool if weaver could dps by ... weaving, not conjuring. For this, I guess that more work would be needed on conjures (but it would get them out of meta including for core ele, so I don't know what to do), and also buffing the dual attacks including those with Water (current rotation uses 3 elements out of 4, so the weaving is limited : it's a simple circle with 3 elements that grants access to 3 dual attacks ... We'd need all 4 to start the fun because it creates more duals than elements ... that's what I've been doing in story/openworld but will not happen in fractals/raids). I guess the elite could use a buff too in order to be viable in pve over using the conjure for additional dps skills. for example, change the fire buff to affect all damage.

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I am in a happy mood and PoF has helped me immensely, so here is a biast feedback for those who are looking for one.

1) On a wider view, PoF brought back a lot of old players into the game as it became more like a common MMO with the addition of mounts whilst retaining the Guild Wars image that I'm sure the developers wanted to convey to us2) Mounts are bloody brilliant3) Normally in MMO's I have to say I am very reluctant to explore. Especially in this I had 1/2 areas 100% at mastery 50 (very bad I know) and having the fattest and biggest character doesn't help in jumping puzzles! Yet know, these mounts with he addition of these AWESOME expansion maps have pushed that number from 1/2 to 6 in just 1 weekend of actually enjoying myself when exploring! This is the first time in ANY game I have genuinely loved and postponed main quests to go explore stuff.

Love it! Keep up the amazing work <3

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100 words? Will try.Overall: Very good expansion.Liked:

  • Mounts are awsome
  • Story is engaging and of good quality
  • A lot to do and explore (Achievement hunting :smiley: )Have beef with:
  • Mobs excessive aggro range -> dismounts while just passing by (+ Lots of mobs with stunning ability), can't even take time to chat or look at the map.
  • Mobs with projectile reflection. For an axe + axe/longbow ranger this is agony
  • A lot of collecting items cluttering your inventory
  • Desolation region is terrible to navigate (see first point), don't want to go there.Also:
  • Hoping for mount-based combat/dungeons

Nailed it.

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I really enjoy it. Looks great, plays well, accessible solo but good group content. Mounts are well executed.

While it is true that masteries still gate some content, tying it to mount abilities is so much better than just having to do a mastery so someone will talk to you, which was very weak.

Anyway enjoying it. Would like to see more bounty groups. Maybe that will come with time. Pvp will take some tuning but no complaints.

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Great xpac. Mounts are better than any other game I've played. Maps are big, bold, and beautiful. Story isn't perfect but is the best GW2 has had so far. Still wish there was more story/lore/buildup to elite specs though. A little let down by no race-specific dialog. Boss fights were spectacularly flashy, loved it. Glad to see the world expanding and am excited for the future. Overall a very strong xpac that carries good momentum for the game in the future. You can tell a lot of hard work was put into this. Good job guys!

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Just my two cents:

  • Mounts exceptional with the exception of having to dismount just to swap mounts when terrain changed. Problematic if you get aggro on a single mob as you run through only to end up "in combat" so its impossible to remount if you get dismounted. Becomes a problem when only one individual tends to expand into a group.
  • Getting an army for the story seems an interesting concept except that I was supposed to take on an entire main base of mobs with only two NPCs to help?
  • Last instance problems:

    1. Mob hit boxes the size of the entire instance plus their power was over whelming.
    2. Being chain stunned and pulled around the mobs like a ping pong ball only to get nailed down and unable to recover even blowing all my cool downs.
    3. Respawns almost instantaneous which begged the question of solo viability to complete the instance.
    4. "Helper" NPCs not powerful enough to be of much help as mobs kept ignoring them and dog piling on me.
    5. Practically impossible to peel off only one or two mobs away without 4+ others immediately joining in the fight.
    6. Bombs around the instance were practically useless and did very little damage to sub-bosses or groups. Seemed better suited to only a single enemy ignoring his partner altogether?
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Path of fire expansion is too safe, new zone doesn't do anything other then just story and once your done with that there's no reasons to stay in the crystal desert, most of my friends have returned back into HoT due to it actually being fun and getting things of use out of it. The new elites are fine that's about it but the overall release of content for the expansion is quite frankly boring my friend zach hasn't even finished the pof expansion he got upto springer and said already this is boring as fuck ima go back to hot or do some fotm or raids.

Crystal Oasis is way more boring then Verdint Brink objectively just based on content secrets and events Crsytal oasis is basically harathi highlands.Desert Highlands vs Auric basin sure the map is bigger then AB but AB still had better meta, better fights. better events, hell even better hero points and MP locations.As for elonian river lands and the last two it would be a highly subjective opinion given that i am a huge fan of tangled depth because my belief is that the did a phenomenal job of portraying how confusing and hard to navigate a jungle is love the fact that its one of those places you know you can handle alone but you'd rather have a friend to be sure.

Dragon stand IMO is prolly the best map in the game to date thats my opinion and im sticking with it.

I'm done with my dear dairy stuff hopefully anet will look at this and not try to be super safe again.BTW how do you guys feel i know i can't be alone here.

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Figured out the main season why I find the combat so dull in story missions and why I hate replaying them: because there's no loot drops, and I don't need xp. Taking down all those veterans and elites takes a long time, and it doesn't feel rewarding at all. It's just a roadblock, to make the missions unnecessarily long.

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Thoughts and Suggestions about play-ability in the new PoF zones:

  1. Replaying hearts is a nice touch, BUT it would be much better to have the hearts themselves offer up random scenarios to complete, rather than the exact same one all the time. (think rotating heart dailies)
  2. Bounties seem to be more geared toward group play than solo. I have not succeeded with any solo ones that I inadvertently encountered, but group setup is nice.
  3. No zone-wide events? I miss the massive zone-wide events we had in HoT. I would love to see similar ones enabled in PoF zones.
  4. Notification in zones is sketchy when random events start. The only two I've seen are for the coins & races in Amnoon.
  5. If a solo player encounters a large mob event, have NPCs show up to help. Not all players can solo these group-type of events.
  6. When helping a group of refugees across the map to safety it would be nice if the mobs scaled according to the player(s) actually involved.
  7. Loot seems mediocre compared to the HoT zone drops. Increase the value of loot drops and cut out all the silly gray drops that just take up bag space (most are only worth 2-3p anyway).
  8. Single point Mastery/Hero Points are a big letdown. Have some difficult ones provide more points. Similar to the HP's in the HoT zone that offer up more points based upon difficulty.
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I'm at a bit of a loss about what the impact of our decision to side with one of the 3 factions early on in the story actually means for us. I sided with the Sunspears, but they have not made all that much of an appearance. I would like to see more Sunspears, and generally more of an impact based on the choice that was made, despite which it was. Because as of right now it almost feels like it was arbitrary, which is disappointing to me as I was hoping for a lot more interaction with the Sunspears in general.

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I sincerely hate the Firebrand's mechanics, for the following reasons:

  1. The basic mechanics are a copy of the Engineer's. However, the implementation is bad, because you still make the most damage with your weapons and have to switch far more often between F-skills and weapons. It's just a chaotic mess to me.
  2. The F1, F2 and F3 skill icons are indistinguishable. The images tell you nothing about the skill and they often look too similar. They don't even have different colors for the three different F-slots. That means you can't memorize them visually, you need to remember them by position (which takes a lot more time and is not very intuitive to use in general).
  3. The activation time for mantras is annoyingly high.

I think I'll go back to Dragonhunter...

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I like the repeatable hearts, I find it fun to redo them.Mounts were implemented well, it's good that they aren't just move speed but movement abilities, although they do make core Tyria feel small.I love the races around the zones, and the casino blitz in Amnoon, it's something easy and fun for people to participate in.The new expac is gorgeous, the world is amazing to stop and look at.

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HATE IT, so far. I did not purchase the expansion to be beat within an inch of my life by every damned mob within a half mile radius. Turn down the aggro distance and enemy spawn-in numbers; they're twice what they were in HoT, and worse still than Orr used to be. Ridiculous.

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Pro's:

  • The story is amazing and an absolute improvement to anything done beforehand.
  • Large, beautiful maps with lack of waypoints truly bring out a feeling of exploration.
  • bounties are a fun new addition that can be done with small or large groups.
  • the new specs are great and most of them feel truly unique and class changing.
  • mounts revolutionize the game's experience (not just in PoF, but in the entire game).
  • plenty to collect/achieve after you're done with the main story.

Cons:

  • Still a ton of bugs.
  • No new WvW or PvP experience (which HoT did bring)
  • The scale of the maps makes them feel empty and desolate.
  • Many events in maps are overlooked due to lack of rewards, and are shrouded by bounty hunts.
  • Unless a dedicated achievement hunter or collector, there's no real reason to go back to the PoF maps after completion (except bounties, which can get stale after a while).
  • Bad meta events. the fact that they are small is not the problem: bad rewards & uninteresting, recycled, upscaled mobs make it boring and not fun, feels like a genuine downgrade since HoT's unique bosses at the end of events.
  • Empty areas that look amazing could have included far more interesting content, yet are completely unused.
  • Balancing Issues, especially in PvP

To summarize:Yes: Good story, great elite specs, mounts rock, beautiful mapsNo: No new pvp/wvw content, bugs, bad use of map space, lackluster events, feeling of emptiness.

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I liked it but the difference between loving it and liking it comes down to the renegade. The renegade makes a great PVE elite spec but where it was really needed to work was in wvw and pvp but the design of it just simply does not work there to the point where it is unplayable. Roughly the only way I can put it is mesmer clones and scourge shades they work like that for how they are designed so either something like that or possibly something close to how tomes or engineer kits work.

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I don't know if this was intentional, but roaming monsters make some events way too brutal in Elon Riverlands, and maybe some other zones, particularly escort events, and events where you have to protect people. As they often go right into the path of these monsters.

Tag along mobs getting caught up in events is nothing new in Gw2, but when it happened in core Tyria, it was usually "trash" mobs that ere easily dealt with, in POF, it s Veteran Hydras, entire groups of roaming forged, Elite twisters, etc. This isn't a big deal if you happen to be with others, but if you're solo, which isn't uncommon in POF

Couple scrennies

Vet Hydra always jumps in on this defend caravan event

https://imgur.com/SaPhxRU

A group of Forged just had to get in on the action in this one.

https://imgur.com/Cdefywc

Sorry, you can't see him in the shot, but an Elite Twister(?) jumped in on this one

https://imgur.com/9ST1ry0

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-Linear nature of mounts and gamespace is offputting.

-Mounts shouldn't have damage abilities. If you want them let players stay mounted after executing them. Otherwise they do nothing for the player in combat other than offer an awkward entrance into a potentially fatal predicament.

-Mounts aren't unique. Lotro's mounts allowed mounted fighting, dyeable armour with more than one dye channel and multiple skins per mount. This was over four years ago.

-Mount masteries weren't needed. Given how you gated them and locked off even the hearts from advancement you could have made mounts and their respective abilities unlocked via basic story/heart progression. Masteries should be unlocked just as hero points are. You either have the points to spend or you don't. Tying them to experience bars ruins the PoF experience. Why?->

<-Having a respective line for each mount which consists of filler makes advancing through the world a chore/bore. Rather than simply exploring and enjoying content organically, players end up doing so with an eye to unlocking the next mount or ability. If this was intended to be an incentive to further explore the content it isn't. It simply pushes us to grind whatever will get the 'carrot' in the quickest fashion. The zones aren't fun enough to make any but the most obsessive players wish to stay in them long enough to see their rewards. By the time they're achieved it's with a feeling of having gotten a monkey off of one's back- not of having experienced a thrilling ride or adventure. It's a loss on so many levels for whomever slaved to create the geography/locations.

-Please quit offering elite lines for professions and instead save money for more dungeon, open world, WvW, and raid content(the content which sells true expansions) and the necessary Q&A. If you have to add something, listen to players and add a single new profession per expansion. As well as a race. Many older players have one of each profession. A new race/prof might sell another character slot. Elites won't.

-In that vein, balance. Nobody wants to play in WvW or PvP knowing you couldn't balance the base nine professions only to contend with another seventeen or more new professions(elites) you still won't be able to balance. You aren't doing yourself any favours by making the mountain of work even higher- unless you never intend to revisit these professions. Depending on the game mode, playing the same worn content with newly-minted, broken characters isn't fun.

-If you haven't done so yet, invest some of your money into purchasing the infrastructure for test servers. Expecting your player community to pay expansion price for what's essentially a living world update('GW2:The Mount Update') and then test it for you after release is unconscionable. There's no amount of in-game inducements, whether it's gems, skins, minis or other tchotchkes to make up for wasted time and lost nights with friends due to avoidable, game-breaking exploits or bugs. If you're going to continue charging professional prices then act professional. Please?

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I enjoy the gameplay, but am having issues with performance. A 1080 TI build with 40% utilization while sitting at 40ish fps doesn't feel very good. Would really appreciate DX11 and DX12 support. Please don't ignore your users who invest a lot in their hardware. Thanks.

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PoF is commendable for a number of reasons such as beautiful visuals, the polished integration of collections, achievements, the elite specs and lore into a package that works together. The clever implementation of mounts and the joy of movement they bring cannot be understated. And even the story, which is not a part of the game I generally enjoy, had me rooting for various characters and moved me at certain moments.

I want to specifically focus on a few things that were particularly memorable to me, and give anet my gratitude:

  1. The Awakened are interesting as characters - whereas the risen were really just zombies with dopey catch-phrases, the awakened are not just villains. Some are, but others are ....humanised. There's no better word for it. We get to meet them as people, because they are people. And even though they've gone through this life-altering change, aspects of their old lives do carry through, bringing unexpected depth. And above the personal details, they're also an underclass, treated as servants or workers in places like Vabbi's mines. There's a whole level of social commentary there that needs to be recognised.

  2. Flowers for Jingo - continuing from point 1, this small achievement got to me. It starts out simple enough: a mother concerned for her son. But where it ends really moved me. I won't say any more.

  3. The races and supply runs are really fun - they're really the same thing: a race with check-points, the difference being 'races' lead you whereas supply runs challenge you to find your own path. The choice is gratifying. Strangely, after only a few weeks the mounts already seem slow and I yearn to tear around those tracks even faster. XDThese adventures work well because the interface, and goal, is simple. Instead of fighting the controls, you're immersed in the adventure. Well done. I take part in these whenever I pass them.

  4. In Desert Highlands, on a snowy cliff north of the big temple that overlooks Brightwater, there are these two giants who like to fight each other. Even when there's a player nearby, they prefer to fight each other. They stomp their feet, face off and duke it out. It may be a bug, but whatever it is it's a satisfying piece of realism. Instead of feeling like everything in the map is out to get the player, these two don't care about you. They have beef. You're just the bystander.

  5. Collection items/trophies can now be double-clicked to give karma - such a simple but effective QoL. Those items no longer have to clutter up our banks. By allowing us to consume them, you're telling us that they are no longer required for anything (at least I hope you are). And the karma is appreciated.

However, as with all things, there is some bad with the good: badly placed invisible walls.

This has been an issue in Core, in HOT and now in PoF where it pops up unexpectadly to mar an otherwise smooth experience. And it's an issue that doesn't make sense. It suggests some kind of miscommunication between the steps of visual design and collision mesh design, at best. At worst, it suggests laziness.Time and again, I'd find a cliff that seems (visually) designed to be climbed with a springer, only to run into an invisible walls where there should be empty space. Unlike Core and HOT, it can't be claimed that these maps weren't designed for mounts. If a cliff or a ledge or even a small rise in the ground is meant to be impassable, it should look impassable. The collision mesh should match the visuals, otherwise it detracts from the immersion that the expac works so hard to bring.

That's my two coppers.

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Maps are extremely well done and really big, exploring such huge zones leaves me with the feeling of playing an open world mmo. People working on the maps did an outstanding job.

The way mounts are done really fits GW2. They add another layer to the exploration system; mount masteries feel very meaningful and rewarding.

Elite specs are very good and they have a lot more connection with the region we're visiting in the xpac. Really enjoyed the story as well.

Overall I'm very pleased with the expansion. The two things that stand out to me are the extremely detailed and big maps and the mounts, which really change the way I explore the world in a good and refreshing way. So - thank you for your work guys, appreciate it!

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