Recommendation: Hide the Skyscale Mastery Until Acquired

[Genesis.8572]

There are enough threads regarding the Time-Gating of the Skyscale. This is about a separate, albeit related, issue: XP and the Skyscale Mastery. As it stands now, the moment that you find out about the Skyscale, it reveals the mastery track which means that you stop acquiring XP and spirit shards in PoF maps (assuming other masteries are maxed). And you do not resume gaining XP for your mastery levels and spirit shards until after you fully acquire your Skyscale, which should be an optional mount. This is kind of ridiculous. This is similar to the problems that people had with HoT and the raid masteries, which ArenaNet wisely decided to hide, meaning they would not be unlocked until you raided.

I recommend to ArenaNet that they should hide the Skyscale mastery line until the completion of the Skyscale Collection so that people can still acquire XP/spirit shards while doing PoF content.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

People can still acquire spirit shards. Notably, they drop randomly for all L80 characters, from just about anything that drops random loot: champ bags, loot-bearing foes, etc.

I agree that there's no value to exposing the mastery track until the mount is actually acquired; it seems like no one thought that through. I just think it's misleading to claim as a reason that spirit-shard acquisition is disabled in PoF content. Reduced? Yes. Disabled? No.

(This goes for the counter-claim that people have made in the past about 'everyone' having too many. That's inaccurate also. Most veterans will have an oversupply; most recent purchasers can run short if they are interested in specific things, such as the new legendary GS.)

tl;dr unopposed to ANet adjusting how that mastery gets exposed; disagree that it's urgent or even necessarily that important.

[Genesis.8572]

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:People can still acquire spirit shards. Notably, they drop randomly for all L80 characters, from just about anything that drops random loot: champ bags, loot-bearing foes, etc.

I agree that there's no value to exposing the mastery track until the mount is actually acquired; it seems like no one thought that through. I just think it's misleading to claim as a reason that spirit-shard acquisition is disabled in PoF content. Reduced? Yes. Disabled? No.

(This goes for the counter-claim that people have made in the past about 'everyone' having too many. That's inaccurate also. Most veterans will have an oversupply; most recent purchasers can run short if they are interested in specific things, such as the new legendary GS.)

tl;dr unopposed to ANet adjusting how that mastery gets exposed; disagree that it's urgent or even necessarily that important.True enough, but I would say that this is a contributing factor in the frustration that people are already feeling, but hiding the mastery track is a fairly easy fix that can lessen the severity of the frustrations that people are feeling with the Skyscale. The same, for example, could be said about the raid masteries with HoT, but ArenaNet decided to hide them due to how non-raiding players were frustrated by how that mastery line disadvantaged their sense of character progression and spirit shard acquisition.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

@Genesis.8572 said:

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:People can still acquire spirit shards. Notably, they drop randomly for all L80 characters, from just about anything that drops random loot: champ bags, loot-bearing foes, etc.

I agree that there's no value to exposing the mastery track until the mount is actually acquired; it seems like no one thought that through. I just think it's misleading to claim as a reason that spirit-shard acquisition is disabled in PoF content. Reduced? Yes. Disabled? No.

(This goes for the counter-claim that people have made in the past about 'everyone' having too many. That's inaccurate also. Most veterans will have an oversupply; most recent purchasers can run short if they are interested in specific things, such as the new legendary GS.)

tl;dr unopposed to ANet adjusting how that mastery gets exposed; disagree that it's urgent or even necessarily that important.True enough, but I would say that this is a contributing factor in the frustration that people are already feeling, but hiding the mastery track is a fairly easy fix that can lessen the severity of the frustrations that people are feeling with the Skyscale. The same, for example, could be said about the raid masteries with HoT, but ArenaNet decided to hide them due to how non-raiding players were frustrated by how that mastery line disadvantaged their sense of character progression and spirit shard acquisition.

It's conceptually simple; that doesn't mean the coding is simple. ANet had to create an entirely new mastery category so that raid masteries weren't considered in HoT maps (until unlocked).

By the time ANet got around to creating an extra section of masteries, a lot of people had already acquired the spirit shards they needed.

Again, I'm not against this. It just doesn't address much other than perception, while it feeds the misunderstanding that XP is the primary source of spirit shards for everyone.

[Elvarazsollak.5193]

It's not about the spirit shards. If I do not wish to acquire the new mount like never, then I'll never get any XP rewards on any PoF map anymore. Well: HELL NO! I agree with OP, xp progression shouldn't be blocked for still locked masteries.

[Ayrilana.1396]

Unless the player needs the spirit shards for something, I don’t see what the issue is.

[Witch of Doom.5739]

@Ayrilana.1396 said:Unless the player needs the spirit shards for something, I don’t see what the issue is.

We want our spirit shards. Who knows if they'll be a requirement for some new thing in the future, maybe by the thousands? I agree that the Skyscale mastery block issue is something that should be fixed.

[Ayrilana.1396]

@Witch of Doom.5739 said:

@Ayrilana.1396 said:Unless the player needs the spirit shards for something, I don’t see what the issue is.

We want our spirit shards. Who knows if they'll be a requirement for some new thing in the future, maybe by the thousands? I agree that the Skyscale mastery block issue is something that should be fixed.

Then you fall under the “Unless the player needs the spirit shards for something” which I had stated.

[Ashantara.8731]

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:I agree that there's no value to exposing the mastery track until the mount is actually acquired; it seems like no one thought that through.

Exactly. The OP's point is a valid one - I wish they hadn't done it like this, having one's XP bar locked, because the collection is time-gated. :/

[Lauren.3061]

100% agree with the OP - I was enjoying the introductory part of the Skyscale acquisition collections - the scale hunt, and egg hunt, and finally today when I did the magic infusion bit... but come to find out we needed dozens of charged quartz and lord knows what else, I'm seriously "meh" on even continuing, since I'm pretty underwhelmed by the mount in general. I tend to avoid the PoF maps in general as I prefer HoT - but if my spirit shards are locked (I'm working on a legendary, and also use spirit shards to make and sell weapons on TP) then I'll not spend as much time there.

[Terminal.5093]

Simply hide it like griffon is hidden. And considering this is longer and harder and possibly even equally expensive, it definitely should be.

Anet knew full well there were a bunch of timegates that would lock out every single player for days, weeks, months or forever from earning spirit shards in pof maps until they do skyscale. It's either deliberate or incompetent.

Why put players in a position where they either feel forced to engage with the content, or abandon the content entirely or just accept they get less value for their play time in pof compared to hot or central tyria.

This has a huge effect on metas and farmers.

Why bother doing a pof meta now, when you can do a hot meta and get the same amount of stuff plus spirit shards for your xp?

*edit: common sense has won and the mastery track is now hidden, allowing spirit shards to be earned.

[Ayrilana.1396]

@Terminal.5093 said:Simply hide it like griffon is hidden. And considering this is longer and harder and possibly even equally expensive, it definitely should be.

Anet knew full well there were a bunch of timegates that would lock out every single player for days, weeks, months or forever from earning spirit shards in pof maps until they do skyscale. It's either deliberate or incompetent.

Why put players in a position where they either feel forced to engage with the content, or abandon the content entirely or just accept they get less value for their play time in pof compared to hot or central tyria.

This has a huge effect on metas and farmers.

Why bother doing a pof meta now, when you can do a hot meta and get the same amount of stuff plus spirit shards for your xp?

edit common sense has won and the mastery track is now hidden, allowing spirit shards to be earned.

Read the patch notes that hit about 5 min ago

[Ashantara.8731]

There you go. Has been fixed. :+1:

[Donari.5237]

Patch notes for patch that just hit include "The skyscale Mastery line will now be hidden for players who have not acquired the skyscale so that they will continue to gain Mastery experience toward acquiring Spirit Shards."

[PseudoNewb.5468]

You'd think they'd fix black-holing exp in any situation as a general fix rather than having to rely on remembering to implement the hiding 'fix' for any and all locked masteries they introduce in the future.

[Rasimir.6239]

@Ashantara.8731 said:

@"Illconceived Was Na.9781" said:I agree that there's no value to exposing the mastery track until the mount is actually acquired; it seems like no one thought that through.

Exactly. The OP's point is a valid one - I wish they hadn't done it like this, having one's XP bar locked, because the collection is time-gated. :/I seem to recall that the griffon worked that way (mastery track only appearing/blocking once the mount was unlocked). The roller beetle however had the same "problem" the skyscale has: if you don't rush the aquisition and have finished all other pof mastery lines you are stuck with no experience gain.

Personally I've always wondered why they did it that way with the beetle already, but due to the fact that that mount is much easier/faster to rush, I guess there weren't just enough people who cared to ask ANet to rethink that aproach. I can live with not getting shards from PoF content for a couple of weeks (I have way more than I need anyway), but I wouldn't mind ANet changing this either, if possible (for both mounts). It would at least relieve me of the (irrational) feeling of "wasting" experience.

edit: looks like I should've checked the patch notes before the general forum ;) but I still think the roller beetle deserves the same treatment

[Ashantara.8731]

@Rasimir.6239 said:

@Ashantara.8731 said:

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:I agree that there's no value to exposing the mastery track until the mount is actually acquired; it seems like no one thought that through.

Exactly. The OP's point is a valid one - I wish they hadn't done it like this, having one's XP bar locked, because the collection is time-gated. :/I seem to recall that the griffon worked that way (mastery track only appearing/blocking once the mount was unlocked).

I don't recall that, but even if so, the big difference is that the Griffon wasn't time-gated. But it's okay now, they've unlocked the XP bar for the Skyscale, so all is good. :)

[Turkeyspit.3965]

Very glad ANET implemented this very sensible fix. For myself, I'll probably complete the collection eventually, but just like the Beetle mount, I have no real desire for the Skyscale; difference of course being completing the Beetle collection only took me a weekend.

Funny thing, Monday is a national holiday in Canada, and I remember telling my wife this past Tuesday that I would start the story chapter during the week, probably finish it off for Saturday, but on Monday I'd focus on the mount collection. Lawl to that I guess.

[Witch of Doom.5739]

@Ayrilana.1396 said:

@Witch of Doom.5739 said:

@Ayrilana.1396 said:Unless the player needs the spirit shards for something, I don’t see what the issue is.

We want our spirit shards. Who knows if they'll be a requirement for some new thing in the future, maybe by the thousands? I agree that the Skyscale mastery block issue is something that should be fixed.

Then you fall under the “Unless the player needs the spirit shards for something” which I had stated.

But that's just it -- I don't need them. I would like them to accumulate per usual in case I need them in the future... like right now I wish I had a bunch of charged quartz crystals! :p

I don't mean to nitpick, honest. Was obviously a bug that has now been patched. Thank goodness!

[Tommo Chocolate.5870]

Weirdly, when something like this happens, the thing that annoys me isn't the fact that I'm not gaining experience - it's the fact that I still see experience numbers when I would have gained experience.

Anyway, it's good to see that apparently it was a bug, and it's fixed now.