Starseer.1047

I've been looking for posts regarding the writing of SotO. Keep in mind that all this is coming from a rose-tinted glasses-wearing player who has been eating GW2 content up and typically enjoying the meal. It SUCKS to be saying the things I'll be saying, but lying is pointless. The writing of SotO is much weaker than not only previous expansions, but also living world seasons. And living world seasons were free, as long as you logged in while the episodes were running! I can appreciate Anet trying something new with their expansion release schedule. More content sounded exciting! And I was fully willing to chuck my money at them bc I was so happy. But, gosh, ik this is their first time around trying this, but oof! At least lws chapters all felt complete. The first section of SotO is blatantly hacked off with an axe from the rest of the story, as is the second--There's a very important demon invasion we gotta stop, we swear! But let's chill for a few entire months. Even though big baddies were faced in lws, such as Joko or Kralk, or Bangar and Ryland, and those episodes were often separated from one another by time, it didn't FEEL that way nearly as much as SotO does. If the price of more consistent content is the content's quality, then my enthusiasm for future expansions (and willingness to dump out money) will be pretty dampened. When EoD came out, the experience was MAGICAL. I felt like I was flying I was so happy and excited exploring Cantha. When SotO was announced, I felt the promise of that same magic! I was hyped! I couldn't wait to be swept up by the story and chuck my poor Commander into a meat grinder! But alas... Even this far into the expansion, there hasn't been a meat grinder!! I think the best signifier of the expansions's quality was its prologue, the stuff tacked onto the end of EoD. "What Lies Beneath" was AWESOME. I LOVED IT. Demons, trauma, and mental health already played a big part in the canon of my characters, and hot diggity, here were all of the Commander's traumas being raked to the surface. I was STOKED to see what would happen next, how the problem would be solved, especially since the Commander was to be used as bait! And then "What Lies Within" was released. All of that superb buildup fell flat onto its face. You don't even punch the manifestations of your bad memories or anything, you just punch the scary demon until it dies. No confronting your feelings, nothing. I think it could've been a proper signifier/harbinger of imminent demon invasion, but that just never came to be. In a way that felt like it mattered, anyway. I think SotO started off pretty strong with Cerus getting the Commander dumped on him and figuring out they're delicious and saying he wanted to hunt and eat them, but then Cerus died, and the expansion is still going. It's not like the Midnight King has explicitly said to your face that he wants to eat you. And there's not only a pacing issue--Major story beats are totally missing the mark for me. Take Trahearne's death in HoT. I was legit devastated for weeks and so sad I had to go look for fan content that was happier. Mabon is rather similar to Trahearne, yes? Wise and very, very, very nice. And strong. But my reaction of Mabon's death was thus: "Oh, he's dead. That's a shame." You just don't see enough of Mabon being a great guy before he kicks it. Then other things, such as some of the Ward members'/Dagda's reservations (or outright hostility) towards the Commander for their actions. That was interesting! But the first half of the first part of the expansion wasn't even over before Dagda was hopping on the 'The Wayfinder is awesome!!' train. And, when Convergences were released, turns out Mabon taught Zojja a resurrection spell!! .......Then.... why didn't that spell come up i resurrecting, you know, MABON??? And then Zojja, your friend who you haven't seen in years (in game and out), just up and says 'yes' to yeeting all of her memories of you and the rest of your friends.... off-screen. What!? And now you're getting into the thick of demon politics, creatures who are known for being deceitful, bc this one hot demon lady said their king was a big meanie. Even I, who headcanons their Wayfinder to be a more trusting trusting person in general, find the Wayfinder waaaay too trusting thus far about accepting the evilness of this guy whose atrocities we've never personally seen. We're just taking everyone up on their word. For big bads like Balthazar or Joko, you saw with your own eyeballs that they were causing considerable damage and suffering; for ones like Bangar and Ryland, you could see the imminent catastrophe and calamity they would bring if they were left unchecked, but currently, my view on the Midnight King is that his people generally live in fear for some reason (we don't see Eparch's grunts haranguing plain old civilians like with Joko and the Awakened--The Loyalists are disrupting resistance fighters, but then there are a bunch of Kryptis in Nayos just chilling outside of their houses. And also the king really loved his queen. He just seems really, and UNDERSTANDABLY, upset that his queen killed herself because of Peitha and her pals! Overall, it really feels like 'Wayfinder, do this!' 'Wayfinder, do that!' 'Wayfinder, we need your help!' and you're nodding along and running around doing what everyone is asking of you, instead of feeling like you're actively racing towards stopping an apocalyptic threat. The next expansion is due to release this year. I really, really hope that the writing team (and whoever is responsible for the amount of time they're given to work) learn from this first experience, since it... left something to be desired. I really want to see them do better! I really want Anet to succeed in general! I love, love, love Guild Wars 2. It's given me so much! But I can't rightfully say that SotO has felt like it's given me my money's worth. I just can't. Thank you for reading!

Oh, this is a good idea!

I'm reeeeally stuck on buying the supply drop this year. I LOVED previous supply drops, particularly the 2021 anniversary one (first one I bought). I'm assuming there won't be an anniversary one due to this one, but man... It sure doesn't seem as shiny as previous years, does it? The EoD ones didn't have the super cool mount selects like previous ones, but in comparison to this one, it at least had weapon selects. I like shiny new things. I like Anet and want to support them. But, gosh, even though this calculation of gem value is the highest out of all of them, why does it feel like it's not?

For those who are unable to attend real life parades for any reason like me, I highly recommend attending in GW2! I've been attending every year since 2018, And as an introvert, it's been tiring, but also so much fun.

I loved last year's supply drop requisition so much (first time getting a supply drop), so I was saving up to buy this year's eagerly. But then... there wasn't one. I was very much looking forward to it! I even ignored the preceding sales on things I wanted like bank tabs and shared inventory slots so I would have the funds for the supply drop. 😢 I will keep hoping there's something in the works for the next month...

I agree, compared with everything else, this is very low priority. I wouldn't say it's hindering my gameplay; it's more just something that I noticed. I can try out the mount tactic.

Post-midday 3/4 CST patch, I got my first win! It was also my first time doing greens--and becoming a wisp--and I and the other wisps were able to complete our task without much issue. Now, this was with a group of mostly guildmates led by an experienced and competent commander (and lts); most people already knew how the encounter worked well enough, and the commander provided ample instructions and map markers. And even so, after reset with the same group, same commander, same everything, we failed the next meta thanks to RNG, I think? Successful meta, the defiance bar popped up at least thrice and we broke it each time, allowing for beautiful bursts, whereas in the failed one the defiance bar only popped up once, and that was when HP was closer to 20%--The platform was loaded with adds, so everyone was getting downed on the waystation, preventing EMPs from being picked up and used (defiance break failed). Successful meta also had the boss dashing an agreeable amount (my fails are well into the double-digits, and in one of them the boss dashed and dashed, back to back, over and over; it was terrible!). TL;DR: I was in a successful meta thanks to both an experienced group and chance. The odd amount of defiance bar break opportunities really makes or breaks the run.

My thoughts on the zip lines are that while the end destination is indicated both with a ping on the map and a green light travelling in the direction the zip line will take, sometimes the green light is difficult to see against bright and/or matching green backgrounds. I think it would also be nice to somehow change the direction you're going in and even disengage from the zip line if desired (or if you find out you're going towards the wrong place).

Learning this fight is very much like learning PvE raid fights. I've never been in a group that's actually won yet--The closest I've gotten maybe thrice is 20% (this is pre-midday patch 3/4 CST)--but as I am someone who actively enjoys learning raid fights, I am enjoying myself and actively feel like I--and my team--am improving and believe that victory is within our grasp. The only time I actually felt angry with this meta was when I waited hours for it to start again, only for an escort NPC to bug and instantly ruin the entire meta. However, there are people who avoid PvE raiding for a reason, and that added to how the siege turtle is locked behind this meta causes a bit of a problem, I feel. I'm mostly having a good time, but every time a map fails a LOT of people are VERY angry in map chat.

So, I logged in to Mistlock Sanctuary. All was normal until I opened lfg to look for fractal groups, then closed it. Then all of the particle effects turned into huge, blue and green squares that floated off of my person. I would attach pictures if I knew how! It was bad thanks to my armor (requiem), but my ghostly infusion in one of my weapon sets made it worse. Other players who had particle effects about them had the blue-green squares, too, and I seemed to be the only one affected (no one else was expressing alarm). Everything returned to normal once I entered fractals with teammates. Since it went away, it's not game-breaking, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to let others know about it.

I'll keep this in mind next time I try that particular jp (though I probably won't get to it anytime soon, since it made me so mad XD)! And in general, whenever it's impeding my progress somehow. Thank you!

Good news folks, there has been a resolution. I am apparently blind and didn't notice that the item available for purchase is no longer required for the Vision collection, but is still sold by the merchant (however, crafting the exotic banner is still needed. it should appear in the collection as the banner's own icon, rather than the icon of item you purchase from the vendor). It was both a red herring and a wild goose! I'm just very glad that my progress isn't irreparably blocked.

Oh my goodness, that's my biggest beef with this as well--jp problems. There is an achievement in PoF's birthplace of Vlast that wants you to do a jp. Said jp requires you to balance very carefully on ropes (way less sturdy than beams). My character (male sylvari necromancer) was wobbling SO MUCH, quickly wobbling back and forth between hanging off the left then the right, that it was impossible to tell where his center of gravity was, making it where I couldn't accurately correct his balance, causing me to never complete the puzzle. There were points where he was completely horizontal or even hanging off under the rope somehow!? This happened in August 2021, but has been going on long before this (there was a point where, probably last year or farther, I was sitting down... on the vertical surface of a wall!). This also isn't limited to my sylvari necro (though he probably has the most examples, since he's my main); this has happened a lot with my male human mirage.

I am dealing with this as well, and I have been for a while (the original Oct. 15 date doesn't sound too far out of the picture). It isn't as frustrating as other bugs I'm dealing with, but it certainly is a little strange. As above, [1] seems to have been fixed, but [2] still remains.

Oh, I dealt with this too, though I originally chalked it up to my recent troubles with bad connection and lag. Sometime this past week I played the first chapter of Long Live the Lich (spoilers just in case), and

Woohoo, now I get to join this thread! Made the exotic banner and yet I am still unable to obtain the item. Somewhat distressing that there is no resolution in here yet.