Duglaive.5236

In my first mmo, Dark Age of Camelot, if you were playing a pet class, and that pet(s) did all the work with no action taken by the player ... Zip, nada, nuthin'. No XP, no loot, zero. Seems like such could be implemented in GW2; and I'd hazard a guess that would severely limit or outright squash the activity.

Alternatively, if you observe the length of time the area to be dodged is active, and the area's size, you'll likely realize that dodging isn't even necessary. Just run in a circle around the npc.

From my observation that only works for the Explosives line if you've chosen the Jade Dynamo (top) grandmaster trait. Edit: to clarify, I believe that's the only way such functionality exists in the spec.

I'm one of those players who keeps ending up on empty EoD maps, so I have no idea what classes people are taking through the new content. As for me, I've been alternating between a mechanist and vindicator; I've found both to work just fine in EoD. But again, that's solo due to the whole empty map situation. Typically I hang out in HoT maps, and oddly enough I'm seeing a lot of players on those maps; in addition, it seems like a majority of those players are running the new specs.

Man, if this doesn't sum things up ...

If I'm looking for efficiency and an involved playstyle, I go Celestial Weaver; if I want something (a lot) more relaxing. I switch to Balthazar rune burn Tempest. Higher dps on the Weaver for sure, but the burn Tempest holds its own in solo overworld PvE easily.

I never jelled with the Alliance legend during the betas; if anything seemed weird and suboptimal, it was Alliance 😛. The power dps build I plan to start out with will be using Shiro/Jalis.

I feel exactly the same. The folks who do the work of world-building, and its art, are exceptionally talented. I've always been a bit surprised that that fact isn't talked about outside the GW2 community; or at least I don't believe I've ever read much if anything concerning it.

Currently unenthused about Untamed, but who knows what changes EoD's launch may bring - and changes down the road? And, frankly, I really can't imagine spirits becoming worthwhile 😒 Otherwise, always happy to see new pets and what they may bring to the table.

Well said. They'll never see a place on my bar until they are.

That makes me think of fly tying (something I immensely enjoy irl) ... Man, I'd probably get all giddy - even about simulated fishing - if that were included! Well, one can hope, anyway 😀

Man, I hear that. Truth be told, with my Daredevil's 3 dodges, various skill-based evades & blocks, etc., there isn't much of a comparison. I finally changed up my zerker's build to condi, which made it easy to include some toughness via a few Trailblazer pieces, and now run 3 stun breaks with Tempest runes slotted. Not quite as fun as the power build I used to use, but I don't feel like a wet paper bag while in zerk mode, either.

When I need/want a break from my typical power Soulbeast build, I have a condi ranger build emphasizing bleeds that I've had great success with in all kinds of OW gameplay. I actually have a druid version of the same build I have more fun with, but roll up to anything going on with other players and a fair percentage of those players will ask why you're not healing. However, if you like a melee based playstyle, Daddy's suggestion above is excellent. It's also worth keeping in mind that just about any build can be modified to your preferences. I know I went through a lot of experimentation before settling on the 3 I use (I think it's good to have 2 or more builds for different situations, and to avoid burnout).

Well, yeah, that's pretty obvious. I just think it'll have to happen fairly quickly or the uproar could get pretty loud - we all know how that goes 😒 And in the case of the mechanist I suppose it will be explained that our engineers "just figure it out" and the Canthans are cool with it. I suppose I'm letting it bug me unnecessarily; it just seems like a throw-away and unnecessary plot device.

I still find it odd that in the latest trailer we hear the commander saying something along the lines of Cantha being the most powerful nation on Tyria (due to Jade tech), and they don't trust us ... But they are willing to let us have siege turtles with Jade cannons, our engineers to run around with Jade mechs, and now Jade bots as personal assistants. Would you give all that to people you don't trust and let them run around with it?

Oh, I totally agree about the current numbers have ended up where they are due to CmC's philosophy. And yes to bad design choices: it's my take he was far more involved in the "foundational" design of all the new elites as it were. Far more than usual. And I don't particularly like what this double whammy effect is producing so far 🤢

I think he did a lot more than balance this go-round ... /sigh

Yeah, some quick napkin math during that final beta confirmed a lot of what you two are saying here; nice to know I wasn't off base. That said, I frankly can't see Anet doing anything about the spec - at least in the near term - based on the changes made between betas.

So, so very much this. Though I washed the stench of Bladesworn off my hands after the last beta; at this point I couldn't care less about the e-spec 😒

My experience as well. In the first beta I ran a power rifle build, and the mech always had aggro, except for those rare mobs that ignore pets. Second beta rolls around with its stat changes to the mech, and it wasn't long before I dropped the rifle - and power - for a mace/pistol condi build. Still fun, but very different than the first beta. I had expected a stats nerf after the first beta, but naively hadn't expected such a heavy handed approach. My guess (and fear) is that was just the first gutting our jade pal is going to receive, making the the investment of time and gold a waste; at least in the short term.

I had no qualms about pre-ordering; nor did my wife or daughter who both also play. We all expect(ed) to get our money's worth from EoD. The only regret now is mine as I had a stroke 2 weeks ago (older gamer here), and it has heavily impacted my left side, and left hand in particular. I have a couple of characters with builds I can play "ok'ish" one-handed with an mmo mouse, but maneuverability is really impacted without the ability to strafe. At least for me, that lack of control lessens my enjoyment and play time. Still, it's early yet and I could see improvement; I just have to set my expectations lower, though certainly not due to anything about EoD.

Lol, wow! I never even stated I wanted this feature. No, the only reason I even posted the first time was due to your, *ahem*, screaming at another poster. With, I'll add, no proof of your own. Oh, and be sure to tell all those pesky kids to stay off your lawn 😠

I agree that the mount skin is very well done indeed. That said, I feel it should have been a warclaw skin, but hey, more sold as a PvE skin I'd imagine. Lucky that the djinns are willing to shape the sands into creatures other than canines, eh? The weapons, however ... I'm glad there are those who are appreciative of them and will make purchases in support of the game, but yikes do I find them ugly. Upon hearing the name I (yes, unrealistically) hoped to see more realistic Chinese weapons of ages past with tiger engravings, or small figurines worked into the designs. I knew better; maybe someday 🙂

Oh, I've seen those both through searches and having read through them as the threads hit the forum. And, sadly, I see them as excuses rather than evidence of anything. You do know that most - if not all - mmo (and other game genres) devs claim at some point that "spaghetti" code is at fault, or the people who wrote the code are long gone, or it "Will break the game!!!!" ... And then comes along an update saying something like "In this update we're implementing a long asked-for feature ...". Oh, and feel free to use google search; I'm sure you can find some reading material. I get Anet doesn't want to do it, but BREAK THE GAME? Give me a break.

First, just to applaud your herculean effort in having to have to repeat yourself. Truly inspiring. Second, I would love to see ironclad evidence that such a change would BREAK THE kittenING GAME as you have so eloquently stated.