Vilin.8056

Golemancer and Lich runes were once part of raid meta, and still remain very viable runes until today. My guess is that developers deemed the summonings to be over powered once they are no longer tied to any specific rune set.

I have same concerns about waist armors. I mean, my male Norn has bigger butt...

Isn't it obvious? Keeping your account up to date.

Explained here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUK05ug0Aog

Perhaps that might come true one day - you might just have to buy the next next mini expansion to access an open map Gift of Battle.

Let's hope this expansion would sell hundreds of thousands of copies like how OP suggests it would.

One main usage of that site is to track account value growth per run cycle, especially to check efficiency of bots during multibox farming. Hence the site name. Don't take it as an index for players who play normally on a single account.

Right... does the title "Secrets of the Obscure" even sounds serious in the first place?

Exactly, you don't know which issue is it, therefore this point you brought is hardly a proof on either side of the debate. You assumed wrong.

You mean this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA8D1rzrXkg&t=151 If Anet is directly involved of this game, then be assured the best years of GW2 are truly behind us.

If it hasn't been obvious enough to you, the game's new player experience leans heavily towards the vertical, which included core Tyria leveling, followed by the hero points to grow elite spec and mastery level system with each expansion. Horizontal progression only becomes available when the base vertical were fulfilled, and players quit right at this point is just a proof of that they are rather avoiding horizontal progression. Nor did I claim that the majority of casual players run ascended, but it's even more absurd that you claim that most don't. These elements contributes the majority of the game's economy, which centers what casual players who do log in frequently do as a long term goal. If anything, I'm not the one misleading the game's design philosophy and the playerbase as an excuse out of convenience just to accuse developers here, you are.

If 33% is a minority to you, then the majority are those who possess an account but no longer active. Take note that in GW2, even without a subscription fee requirement, only less than 25% of the total playerbase ever reached 2500 AP for the past 11 years, you can bet less than half of that still log in least 1 day per week. In that sense, a 33% means it almost covers the whole playerbase that's active. Also keep in mind that this game do let us gradually over-spec older content with each updates, we may not over gear challenging contents yet, but it has becoming a trend for developers to add in extra gears to overpower our characters than originally intended.

The casual playerbase consists a very diversed veriaty of preferences, I'm not saying that everyone will like the grinding, but in either side of the coin, they prefer this approach over the skill requirement the current horizontal progression system introduces. Then moving onto the playerbase who do like the grind, if it isn't obvious enough, grinding gold to acquire a legendary remain the most popular activity among casual players who log in on a daily basis. The mild magnitude of pushbacks over Jade Bot's vertical approach comparing to 2013 is a proof over the shift of tones in the community. Both types of players are considered casual in this game as neither are investing in its horizontal progression. Wrong, by locking himself in geargrinding with one build, the said player are prioritizing vertical progression before horizontal progression. Legendaries are QoL, but never a necessity. Furthermore, this is a game that reward free( or at a fractional cost) ascended gears for players who participates instanced contents at moderate difficulty, the options are already widely available for those who would step above the skill requirement, but remain avoided by the casual playerbase.

Let me correct you here: casual players prefer vertical progression. And before you mistook me for an vertical progression advocate, I have a long history of speaking against changes in this direction. But we no longer live in 2013, the playerbase has moved on (and severely aging), given the braindrain going on across all game modes, it's not realistic to expect the current horizontal model to sustain. If you have read the threads, the reaction so far only centers about compensating legendary owners, some of whom I find ironic for they've also been speaking against horizontal progression for the past several years. If adding vertical progression element is really that much of an issue, our playerbase would have already revolt at Jadebot, in which we didn't.

It depends on which MMO you're referring to: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EQhnJYXXUAgm23T?format=png&name=4096x4096 In terms FF14 it hangs around 1/3 of the player base, which we can safely assume it almost account all of its sustained playerbase (those who kept playing after story). In general casual players are less detered by level/gearscore requirement in instanced contents compared to player skill.

You have completely missed the point here. An easy vertical progression element is still a vertical one. The game clearly designed an easy vertical as a draw, but that does not necessarily meant the horizontal progression elements are getting to them. And let's not forget the obvious fact that grinding legendary gear remain the most popular "long term goal" of the casual community. So far the fiascos are veteran players who grinded their legendary runes asking for compensation, they're obviously frequent grinders, and hardly represent the community at large.

You mistook lazy for fear.

I have a news for you, in these MMOs, raid do succeed on their casual playerbase because they have a vertical progression system. Again, you need to understand what exactly is a horizontal progression before throwing these accusations around, your claims continues to contradict your points. It seems to me your issue isn't about vertical or horizontal progression, but instead just want everything easy for yourself.

You still don't get vertical progression do you? All Diablo games have complementary builds, it's irrelevant because minimal skill gap is involved as everyone overpowers the boss after sufficient grinding at end game. Again, you'll never have GW2's raid or DE issue in a Diablo game.

The process of pursuing them purely by gold and resource grinding alone, omitting contents with no development in understanding the game's buildcrafting and skillcrafting, is exactly playing the game solely in its vertical progression element, while skipping horizontal ones. I guess you don't frequent instanced contents much, gear inspection were introduced as a proof that the contender knows the buildcraft of his own role. Challenge grade contents were never meant for casual players, if there is a lack of hardcore players, it only means players are no longer heavily invested with this game. Furthermore, you're clearly out of touch with the playerbase for claiming what's not close to the majority, either ask around any daily players in any casual guild on whether if they are currently working on a legendary, or simply check out some of the biggest MMO today (including ones from NC Soft) ‐ they are all running on a vertical progression system.

Having the know-how to build a character is part of a player skill.

Which is exactly what a vertical system does: Where the powers of a player isn't determined by skill rotation or built craft, but gearscore and character level - a hard system which eliminate skill factors, which is then filtered by the system as a requirement of entry where everyone will grind for as a long term goal. You won't have DE issue in a Diablo game.

So far the only additional complexity it brings is the extra gear slot. Where in the current rune system, we need to calculate around trade offs between stats and effect bonus, with the price of making a mistake is swapping off the entire rune set. Neither system is more or less new player friendly. Funny coming from someone who claim the majority of the casual playerbase wants legendary armor. A great significant portion of casual players who still playing after story do possess ascended gears, and grinding for legendary equipment remain the most common long term goal for them today.

You're talking skill gap, a natural trait of a horizontal progression system. Which is exactly why anet increasingly alternating the course onto a vertical progression system where the attention gradually shift onto gearscoring. The new relic system will inevitably introduce a new grind, but the combination is still a universal stat boost despite of skill level and will inevitably overpower existing challenge contents. You weren't advocating a rune system, but the elements you were advocating for the past several years were all part of a vertical progression system.

Not true, ever since the legendary armoury most of those who made legendary runes have gotten around 60%-80%+ of their gold back by selling their old runes. Before that, additional cost inflicted by each balance patch for account wide build swap isn't something new. The new system actually address this that players still sticking to ascended armor with exotic runes will no longer need to swap entire runesets for each change. Furthermore, It's not like players who has made their 6th or 7th legendary rune are going to be significantly hindered by the additional cost of resources. These are all end-game accounts filled with legendaries. I have 7 legendary runes, and despite my distaste of the new direction, relics are rather minor annoyance at best. Casual players wants vertical progression because they could no longer afford the player skill requirement for horizontal ones. Therefore by popular demand, elements of gear grinding will gradually be added to provide a long term goal so they can powercreep without needing to learn skillcrafting. You have long been the advocate of easy modes such as this, be careful what you wish for.