Ygdrasill.9135

I started this year having not played any MMORPG since getting tired of the crap story and grind in WoW. My girlfriend actually talked me into giving it a try and I've mostly really enjoyed it. Being able to mostly decide the activities I want to do and when while still going through the storyline has made it a lot of fun since I can do something then go back and pick up some previous content. I actually did some things a new player probably shouldn't do. I picked up Path of Fire and level boosted a character in order to go after the mounts and picked one of the worst classes to do that with (Elementalist). I've sence learned to play him, but it was a lot of frustration. Had I done it with a Warrior, I'd likely have been fine. I've since gone back and completed most of the basic Central Tyria story and part of Heart of Thorns. For some keeping the timeline straight doing that might be difficult. I haven't had an issue with it. The story has proven very engaging. With WW, there were a few aspects I kind of got into, but so much of the history was based on previoius games that I never really felt all that immersed. With GW2, I feel like I know who I'm dealing with and a lot of their story because most of it is actually part of the game as you progress. I appreciate that I can be competative with gear that's readily available. At some point I may craft a set of ascended gear, but not doing so doesn't mean I couldn't enjoy any aspect of the game. I really wish there was a way other than crafting to get Ascended gear. Crafting as part of games in general isn't something I enjoy very much as a rule, but at least it's there as a reward for doing it even if that's all I'd ever use it for. I mostly play solo or with one or two other people. I've done a few fractals and will be starting on dungeons soon. I may even try a raid eventually since it's a lot easier to get into a group doing one from what I've seen than it was in WoW. I have zero interest in PVP or WvW. I really like the fact that there isn't just one min/max build for each class that everyone uses. There are certainly some that are more effective than others, but I've tried some strange ones that actually work well for me insofar as mobs die and I don't. A few observations on things that maybe could stand improvement. If mounts are going to be allowed on the older maps and be part of the game, they really should have been made available as part of the leveling process to cut down on the feeling that one almost has to jump into PoF content to at least get a Raptor and Springer. Second, if a major event in the game is going to hit a given outcome regardless of your actions, there should be a way to skip it after the first run through just like with cinematics which is basically what they are. A few more race choices would be nice. There are certainly some in game races that we get to hear a fair amount about and interact with regularly. Why not let us play as Skritt or Hylek, or even Ogres? Racial bonuses don't mean much and there are already areas in the game that could serve well as home areas without a huge issue. Yes I know that would mean a lot of work adding more cinematics and such. Finally, I'm going to be curious what the next expansion will entail. We've killed 3 dragons and a god. I'm sort of hoping for something going in a little different direction.

A mount for use underwater would be cool. It would also open up a lot of possible new content area since most players avoid going underwater unless absolutely necessary.

There is a cap on volatile magic, but I don't belive the ones generated by rifts you fly into with the skycale are counted in that.

I don't really know where this belongs so I put it here. After explaining the thing with 'kitten' being the replacement for profanity here, I now have a number of friends in non-GW2 forums using 'kitten' by choice rather than swearing. Those who don't know are just confused. 'Kitten' rocks!

Recognising that you may have been a kitten, apologizing for being a kitten, and taking steps not to be a kitten in the future is how people learn and become more mature. Way to go OP!

The skin is cool. I don't love it enough to spend $20. Just remember that shadow is a bit distracting. I will keep my current version that is pretty obviously the result of an indiscresion by Aurene and a Wyvern. Teenagers will do what they do.

That depends on what you want to do with it. For general travel the griffon is far faster and with practice can be kept in the air indefinitely. For precision vertical travel, the ability to pause in a safe place midair, and certain gathering tasks, the skyscale rules. The griffon is sort of the dragster of the air, the skyscale is more the Jeep. Either will likely cost you a similar amount of gold by the time you're done. The series of collections for the griffon is FAR easier and less time intensive. If you want to go for the skyscale, start collecting the mats for the saddle at the start. Having both at this point...much as I love the griffon, the skyscale edges it out just barely. And seriously Aurene, a Wyvern?!?!

Warrior when I want to just swing sword, throw axe, rince repeat. Necro when mobs need to be a minor annoyance when I'm trying to get something done. Elementalist when I want a challenge and know that mistiming something will mean I go back to waypoint, but also knowing that if I get it right, no enemy mob can beat me.

First of all, I hope OP and anyone else who looked at the Skyscale Saddle requirements and gave up, reconsiders. Just do some hearts in the various areas when you can. The pain of the kitten grind faded fast after getting the mount. Secondly, if you have the mount, be a little courteous. I have it and I've been startled multiple times by the shadow of one hovering down overhead. Don't do that if you can avoid it. I know those who have it are happy about it, especially if they just got it. Be nice, encourage those who are still working at it. If you're a mesmer and want to make some friends, offer to help with a few of the worst of the collections (Acrophobia comes to mind, all good thoughts to the mesmer who helped me with that one.) I came to GW2 from WoW and am amazed by the community I've found here. I know there are the occasional kittens, but mostly it's been "Oh you want to join in with this event? Sure, here's how it works."

Tempted, but there are utility items I want more and I have limited funds to spend on gems so this will have to wait.

I think being able to name mounts would be a fun thing to add. You can already name your ranger pets so why not?

We very definitely need a Mothra skin! The skyscale already flies and clings like a moth. As long as they didn't call it that, I don't think there'd be any copyright/trademark issues.

I’ll also add that the mount doesn’t truly shine until you have all of the masteries for it. Definitely, the last mastery skill turns it into the Jeep of vertical travel. You might not get there fast, but you will definitely get there.

Many kittens were uttered in the pursuit of the Skyscale, buit those were quicly forgotten after actually getting the Skyscale. I like exploring the map and sometimes I need to check the map to figure out where I'm going. there isn't a better mount for that. There are some things it makes trivial that maybe weren't initially meant to be. Need to cap out your volatile magic orb gathering? It's trivial and fast on the skyscale. I know the griffon is faster, but I like the feel of soaring (as long as I stay within the altitude range). It's actually messed me up with the control of the griffon a bit. I keep wanting to fly that the same way and it just doesn't.

The Springer is far faster to ascend places that have ledges within reach so use that mount for those situations. The griffon is the fastest travel mount, use it if you need to cover a lot of ground without a pause IF you can get to a high launch point. On the ground I guess technically the roller beetle is the fastest, but I usually use the Jackal so I can just warp past mobs I don't feel like dealing with. The Skyscale is for precision landing and flying and obviously for collecting volatile magic orbs. I also use it while harvesting since it lets me just drop straight down on nodes and spend less time aggroing mobs. It's dismount attack is a pain and I generally don't even bother with it. As for diving, If I gotta get down fast, I just use the aerial dismount, go into glide and out and back in before hitting the ground or air mount the griffon if that's more convenient. You can recharge your flight bar clinging to a wall with mastery skill 3. It works fine.

It's a really nice looking skin.....that I likely won't buy. First off I really like the standard skyscale since she's got a face shape similar to Aurene. Secondly, the wings, while lovely, also cover more of the screen and I mostly use the skyscale when I need to precisely fly or land so having as much game space showing is sort of important. Had they stuck with traditional bat style wings I'd have bought one already. I may change my mind at some point and I imagine this will be available for a while since there are many still working on gaining the mount.

It wasn't actually that bad. I hadn't done any of them before and had some fun with most. I did end up using 3 pungent treats to skip the leyline anomaly and the two really long puzzles. A mesmer helped on one but I could have done it myself on the next try. I really hope you've already started on the saddle mats though or your head will explode when you see what's required.

Having gotten mine a couple days ago (totally worth it), I gave it some thought. Now I had three level 80's to grind with and saved about half of that until the end. Thinking about it, it took me about 14 days with an hour or more of time to get it. Had I started farming the mats right at the start, one set hearts in each area a day, I'd have had enough by the time I needed them. I think maybe incorporating collecting those into the other collections would have made it less of a shock seeing the large number needed at the end. It wouldn't be any faster to do, but it wouldn't look so daunting.

I think we'll see Aurene again. Maybe she went to create her own home and let her power settle. As Elder Dragon she has to be a lot more careful with her power and she likely knows it. Before she could use her breath to take out groups of enemies, now she could probably burn a swath through reality. There are certainly still things that need setting right in tyria after the last three bosses. Caith will likely get to be Aurene's voice for a while. Remember, had it not been dictated by the story, Aurene would not have spoken directly until after she ascended.

Getting the saddle parts is straight forward, just walk up to the vendors and buy them. They don't even go into your inventory so you can'd lose them by mistake. Then you have to hunt down Gorrik in yet a new location because he's a complete kitten. After that you get to go to 28 different locations to 'learn' to fly your skyscale. Don't worry, they are all like 10 seconds and done. I kept waiting for them to get more difficult. They don't.

Minion Master Necro is pretty much a faceroll. You do have to pay attention to what can cause one or more to de-spawn. I'm not all that good at MMO's and even I can solo champions without much problem. I need to get away from playing him so much though because there's no real incentive to move out of the way of incoming attacks when I generally heal faster than things can damage me.

I played WoW for several years and there were times certain dungeons and raids would require a fairly long wait to get added to a group. Usually it worked out ok, but there were occasions where a real kitten would turn up and they'd be booted out pretty fast. I never voted to boot somebody over their DPS being low as long as they were at least trying,

I got a helpful port twice doing the Skyscale stuff and thanked the Messmer in question profusely both times. Acrophobia would have been a major excercise in frustration.

I really haven't found anywhere I can't get to that actually allows mounts and I don't even have the skyscale yet. Keep in mind that mounts were part of WoW from the initial game design so the game space was designed with them in mind. Even so, they've more and more put in artifical limits to using the flying mounts with each new expansion. We should be glad mounts even work in the earlier maps at all. I will flat out admit that the first thing I did when I started playing earlier this year was get Path of Fire, use my level 80 boost (if you do this, don't do it on an Elementalist, trust me) and went for the mounts. I've since run two other characters through the base story, but it was FAR easier than it was probably designed to be because I could move much faster and get to areas much more easily. The Springer is bad enough for breaking what should be difficult to do. The Griffon just turns a lot of things into a face roll. The Skyscale promises to do the same for certain things. Need Volatile magic? Forget Dragonfall, just go to Thunderhead Peak and get it all there. No more having to use the springer and griffon with at least a little finesse.