Holgarf.6581

Perfect. I was a little thrown off by the "permanently" wording in their post and prior typical releases (though I guess this is the new typical). Thanks for all the information. I'll probably get it sometime around November / December / Jan. I've still got the two post EoD episodes to conquer.

So just buy it now, and I get all of it anyway? The next part of the story is supposedly November 7th.

Since SotO is the only expansion I haven't bought, or pre-ordered... (based on mixed-principles, lack of free time, several hundred other games, etc) I just saw the notification on the launcher/link (Studio Update) and I realised, having forgot prior, I'm going to have to buy SotO aren't I, unless I want to get locked out of those episodes and have to grind or buy them outright? I have such little free time... "...anyone who owns Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure will have full and permanent access" eh? So, is it like with prior content where if you buy the main expansion and log-in, you get those post-episodes if you're on during those times the episode is active? Just want to confirm for sure. Cheers.

But it doesn't really. It gives opportunity for more eye-candy, which will further tank any weak efforts Anet typically employ to help boost any sort of performance.

That's not making things up, that's entirely subjective and subjective truths are usually based on experiences, and "dead" as you should know, is relative.

This is interesting. Where's the made-up stuff?

You want bug fixes? LOL, good luck with that. Anet are basically Bethesda at this point.

I did say this content drop was a winding down of GW2, no matter how much it is dressed up. I think a lot of people feared that and clued into it, but, nothing good... good lol, lasts forever. Just think with GW3, we can have fewer of the same voice actors (still pissed about Rox and Canach btw), more microtransactions than ever before, more inventory clutter (still waiting for a FREE tackle box, Anet...) and more checklists to work through. It'll be a hoot 🤣

Nail on the head right there. I remember years ago ummin' and ahing over whether or not I should play GW2 or WoW. The reason I opted for GW2 was because I'd played a bit of GW1 (not a particularly positive experience at the time but revisiting years later I enjoyed some of it) was mostly because I didn't know a great deal of the lore of WoW, there were like a billion expansions already all with a heavy price tag and a subscription fee on top and me being late to the game of course. Compared to the limited experience I had with GW1 and fact GW2 had only been out perhaps less than I year, no subs, etc I went in. Oh dear. That didn't work out very well and is probably why I've loved GW2 and hated it in equal measure since it's release. What is disgusting though is that WoW has a subscription AND has a cosmetics store. That's so unbelievably wrong and I'd never support that. Had I played WoW first I'd have been furious. I'm tired of the excuse "optional" - that's just psychological manipulation right there. If Anet ever added a subscription it'd be the time I drop the game immediately simply because I've already put so much money into the game already and I don't feel I get much out of it - recycled content, repeat metas, crap loot, unfinished or dead areas, and also compared to whales and those who play nothing but one game. And the excuse that in GW2 you don't have to worry about builds... you can come back later and pick up right where you left off. Well yes, technically, but no because Anet keeps pissing around with builds that facilitates rebuilding yours and if you're strapped for time and money like I am, that gets annoying real fast. If I'd started WoW from the beginning, I think gameplay wise and quest wise, I'd have been happier... until those so-called optional money-grabbing cosmetics came by. I miss traditional MMOs but there is fun to be had in GW2 sometimes. The thing that irritated me the most over the years is the blatant disregard towards bug fixing, QoL, UI improvements and polish and the community which isn't as gleamingly beautiful and welcoming as everyone makes them out to be. Negative thing to say about GW2? DIE! Point out a problem? DIE! - So much kitten in GW2 is broken and if you mention it the community attacks you, meanwhile Anet are still busy churching out skins that look better than 99% of all in-game rewards despite the fact you've spent a ton of money on in-game upgrades, utilities, trinkets, and the expansions themselves (which have now become mini expansions that cost more and give you less). Forgot to mention Anet's total disregard to express a real stance on third party tools and the PLAGUE OF BOTS/IDLE farmers EVERRRRYYYWHERE that Anet routinely ignores (I'm still aware of a well-known botter who has multiple accounts in the same area who has been there since PoF released). Maybe they're keeping them around to prop up numbers? Go take a look at Modri Caverns btw... over the years it's gotten 100x worse. Almost every ledge has idle farmers and botters and it's sort of embarrassing - but NOPE, DIEEEE NAYSAYER! GW2 PERFECT! MAN BAD! I'll buy SotO one day, when it's half price... three or four years from now. (P.S, a company doesn't get a pat on the back for adding QoL a decade after the game is released and the existence of third party grey area tools doesn't excuse that).

People will be mad about news of upcoming changes because whether you are told about it or not still results in changes people may not like/want. People will be mad and complain because it gives a false sense of a possibility that it may divert Anet's future endeavours into treating the game in ways they don't feel fits. As for the rest of your post, it's all about *I like it so shut up - your opinions aren't valid* so the entirety of your post is actually meaningless stirring. You seem very amped up in your post, caught up in the excitement of an expansion - an expansion that costs more and gives less, off of the back of EoD's limited number of post living world episodes. I'm sure upcoming subscriptions would be welcomed with open arms by you. A word of advice for those talking in game who don't echo your opinions, you can actually just ignore them or continue to block them. Don't engage. Discussions rarely sway opinions and arguments do so even less. I'm glad you enjoy it though, while I continue to avoid the expansion and focus on other games, occasionally catching up here and there with GW2's abundant, albeit fragmented (and sometimes barren), content.

This is the kind of point I often make. I think some people are so caught up with newness and excitement, they excuse the fact that widespread recycled components (which is a common trope employed by Arena Net) is acceptable - or goes completely unnoticed. And if @HilmZ.4316 had followed what has been going on there's plenty of reason to be "mad". The new daily system, while somewhat welcomed, is another perma-ad for those who haven't bought SotO.

Regardless of how it has played out, with business model changes, getting less for your money, even getting less in post-expansion Living World Episodes for EoD prior to SotO... it is pretty obvious that money is being channelled elsewhere in ArenaNet to other projects. We'll get these mini updates at extortionate fees every so often and people will lap them up because of a steadfast sense of duty to remain with something they've "supported" for a long time (or because they genuinely enjoy it and don't care about the cost), but before too long the game will be in maintenance mode. This is a winding-down period. As I've said before this is the first expansion I've avoided. All the others, I pre-ordered (something I don't enjoy doing, generally), the deluxe edition. This one? I probably won't even get Standard. And given enough time, if that time passes and Standard Edition is reduced in price... if I have to buy episodes with gems? I still won't buy it. The existing content will have to suffice, and given that I am struggling to complete a lot because so much content is barren now, I won't need SotO - unless they start taking away from those who don't own it. There are plenty of non-circle... erm... people (starts with j ends in k), pointing out what the expansion really is and why it isn't so great. There's PLENTY of yes-men everywhere Anet has had a hand in media, affiliation, partnerships, etc, which can and has ramped up hype and driven more sales, but remember, if you want honest opinions, go to places where the people aren't paid to sing the same tune. And do be careful now, this place is usually a pit of vipers, where any negative word, no matter how justifiable or slight against Guild Wars or Arena Net will result in mockery and ridicule and lots of confused and laughing reactions to imply you're stupid or incorrect. Nobody can effectively debate online... or anywhere for that matter, regardless of topic, - regardless of GW2. Sure people can sing the same tune and pat each other on the back and nod, but disagreements and conflicts of interest will always get someone's back up. You can't change people's opinions if they're enjoying something you're not and this applies to everything in the world. HOWEVER... one thing I have noticed with SotO is due to the change in business model, the obvious drop in quality, etc, is the increasing number of ❤️'s in topics that discuss SotO negatively (or realistically) and it shows that some people are starting to wake up to the fact that the wool is being pulled over their eyes. Guild Wars 2 players remind me of the hard right in the movie Don't Look Up - "They lied to us!" - finally realising they've been screwing you over the whole time. And as always... businesses are not your friends. Peace o/ - your friendly neighbourhood BS detector.

So few times a GPU driver update actually fixes anything. In Bug Wars 2, a lot of it comes down to the game. I've been waiting years for a DX11 UBER bloom bug fix which myself and others have reported and Arena Net has acknowledged, The foot-dragging for a thick tome of thousands upon thousands of lacking bug fixes is something I refuse to no longer support. DX9 post-processing worked flawlessly. When DX11 beta came out, many places with bright surfaces became extremely bright because of excessive bloom - as if it had somehow been doubled. Ideally I'd be able to turn bloom off separately from other post-processing effects, but since this game was made in 1807, based on a game engine created in the year 1481 (presumably by amateur coders with poor organisational skills and little foresight), I imagine that ol "spaghetti code" is one of the lame reasons it won't ever get fixed. Although in actuality, it's probably a case of: "0.001% of the players get this issue... therefore the problem does not exist". This DX11 bloom bug has been with me across 2 GPUs (two different computers actually) from two different GPU vendors, a ridiculous number of GPU updates, two different OSes with countless updates, different monitors, different connectivity (HDMI / DVI / DP), reinstalling Windows, using DDU, blah blah blah, reinstalling the game, repairing the game client... etc. It's a game problem. Now maybe more people have it than they realise, but I have two eyes in my face holes and I am quite perceptive, so when I see that ridiculously blinding, almost AoE circle-obscuring bloom (Dragon's End and Lion's Arch bank/octo are great examples of how it looks) to me it is obvious. If I can't see properly during combat so I am forced to turn of post-processing entirely because Anet can't be bothered to fix it, I'll turn it off - losing other effects - but I won't go buy their expansions. There's plenty of other content within the game already to allow me to slowly catch up - that and I don't agree with the new business model. Back to OP (sorry for hijacking your post a little), these look like grid lines for where things are placed, or it could just be for the map coordinates.

This. I don't recall seeing a shop in GW1. Bearing in mind I didn't play a huge amount of it. There's monetisation in games, then there's too much at the expense of good design.

Some useful info in there. I like the text file idea. I have 220 inventory (maybe a touch more?), so I could make that work on my main. Sadly account-wide upgrades, outside of shared slots, seems like a big no from a business standpoint. I remember when people weren't too happy at one time with perma-tools, at that time at least, carrying a hefty price but only being character specific. Of course you could swap them to some other character, but that involved either using the bank or shared inventory slots. I have no faith that more frequent account-wide upgrades will come our way because it effectively cuts that part of the revenue stream out from Anet. Would be nice if Anet allowed us to name bank tabs (separate concern) and search highlighted the square the item was in as opposed to hiding everything else first (this is more about sorting efficiency than anything else tbh). 😉

Yes, it seems that way. It's not a one-size-fits-all approach, unfortunately.

Thanks sunshine. If Anet refund half of the money I've invested in GW2, adjusted for inflation, I'll delete my account tomorrow. 🙂 Same goes for GW1. I'm not a yes-man you see, I won't sing to Anet's tune when the entirety of their game design comes at the cost of whether or not you're willing to open your wallet or to be hammered with excessive, heavy inconveniences every step of the way. Now at first, in the early years it was understandable, but as time has gone on it has become more excessive, and some features seem to have been delayed or unthought of (build slots, available in GW1), including capes, until very very late into the game's life. Considering one of my biggest complaints over the decade has been the sheer neglect of everything technical, and the bare minimum has been done to improve it, I feel that, despite being in a viper's pit owned by Anet (aka the snake charmer), that my opinions are valid and can be shared, even if people can't differentiate themselves from their own bias in a discussion. See here, I enjoy the game, but not all of it. Does that mean I'm a diehard fan of Anet and I'll fight anyone over the interwebs because they're not agreeing with me? Nope. I'll criticise anything I invest in, financially or otherwise, if it has been A) manipulated in a way to cash-grab beyond what is reasonable and B) the product is not getting the technical improvements it has had a huge number of years to have received in the face of its profit. It doesn't hurt my ego or plant any sort of fear in my mind that people won't like me if I share perfectly reasonable and valid opinions. I'm not here to sway anybody to my way of thinking, discourage sales or create further discord. I'm just trying to see if there were any others out there who thought along the same lines as I, but... being where we are, it's not surprising that if you're not playing the game you'll be here defending it. That said, this isn't supposed to be about arguments, so one-linners used to bait aren't welcome. Opinions are one thing, baiting is another. To make it obvious to you why I am here in the first place is because I have enjoyed the game, despite the rides and neglect. Still doesn't mean I'm happy with that neglect and as a result you will from time to time see me in other posts, not singing other people's tune, not for the sake of being different or disagreeable, but because often times I can pick out what isn't quite right without emotions being attached to it. Still though @Hashberry.4510, I'm glad you're able to fully enjoy the game and agree with any decision ANet throws your way. Power to you.

One collective exaggeration, not two, and blindingly obvious exaggerations are never meant to be taken seriously, but still illustrates my point. It also conveys excessiveness beyond what is acceptable. I think, since GW2/Anet (along with almost every other business) is all about monetising as much as possible while being careful not to cross a line where too many folks start getting irritated, that monetising the slots so that you get one for each game mode for 800 gems would have been a better idea? Or individualised ones? Maybe in future we'll see WvW build slots being separate? Who knows?

Good for you, then this post is irrelevant and you needn't be here. Glad to see you're satisfied with the same paint-drying limited rotations on a select few specs / classes. If I only I had the same multi-year patience, I wouldn't be posting now.

Oh god, yeah there's that too. I really must get back into WvW and continue my slow trudge towards Legendary armour (I'll never have the trinkets), but sadly that won't alleviate equipment/buid slot issues. HotFuzzShame.gif.

I'm glad it sounds that way to you. Most of us however aren't so easily mislead. Less content, less quality, actually more expensive for the user and Anet's diverted resources to other projects, doesn't really scream confidence to the future of the franchise. Edit: forgot to mention Living World used to be free and post EoD LW expansions lacked severely... so again you're going to be paying for stuff that would otherwise have been free. "...sounds like a good deal to me".

That'd be because Lion's Arch is water. All the kitten you're walking on is just a layer above it. In that photo, the top layer has glitched out in classic Bug Wars 2 *We-Spent-Your-Support-Money-Elsewhere* style.

I'm not one who likes to have an infinite number of characters (at great cost) to combat a design issue that is centred around encouraging more sales. The fact that there is so many modes each of which require their own build, aside from wanting to play different specs of a particular class is kinda annoying and it is obvious why it was done this way. I know you can restrict yourself by omitting playing certain game modes entirely or skipping entire specs or playing entirely different classes, but that just ruins the experience. Most people are going say "aww... I'm limited. Oh no. What do I do? Here you go Anet" *sprinkles money* and the problem is gone, but to me that just seems like a kitten take given how much time and money I've spent on the game over the years (and I'm far from being a W word). Also, playing another new character wouldn't feel right to me, just to get 2 slots? In my mind that's a wasted character slot for just keeping things fresh, only to be discarded later, so overall it's a waste of time. I'd then not be playing my main, which is weird I know but in my mind the spec I'd be playing should be playable under my own current class if slots weren't designed to gouge you. I have about 5 characters I think, all of them different races and classes. They need to have purpose and relevance in order to exist, not be used merely as utility to circumvent excessive nickel n' dimin'. We have these lovely equipment/build slots... and sometimes it's just nice to right click and swap from Firebrand to LB DH and just pew pew kitten, then later, or on a different map, swap back to FB or even give the ol' core Guardian a spin. Only, now you can't go to Guardian or WB because some of those slots are reserved for Raids/Fractals/WvW. Shame. Out of principle I've already stopped supporting Anet outside of major expansions or significant expansion discounts, so I'll guess I'll have to omit playing certain modes to save on equipment slot space. I really ought to go to GW1. The golden era. Thanks for your replies.

I have quite a number of build slots for my main but because of the number of specs, game modes, builds, equipment, etc, it seems I am constantly having to pick and choose what to swap out with my paid slots or what to throw in the bank (along with a stack of equipment). I can't go back to Core classes or if I want to play DH without first having to buy even more slots, I always have to obliterate one of my PVE/Raid/WvW builds just to keep things fresh, instead of having to make a new class entirely or having to stick with Fireband and WB when playing Guardian. I really wish each dedicated game mode had it's own equipment slots, like PvP has, so that PvP setups were free of other mode clutter. Anyone else feel the same, or do you just like buying 8 slots per character?

Really if folks are paying for expansions, those should be free anyway, not dependant on being logged in at the appropriate time. Seeing as you could unlock them for free if you were on at the right time, to access them you'd need the expansion anyway, in which case being on the game during the correct time to receive it for free shouldn't need be relevant because as I said, it should be free if you paid for an expansion anyway. Money's gotta money.