[unhappy mac player - [Merged]]

I won't pretend I'm not disappointed, even if the signs were all pointing in this direction (i.e. the lack of a clear GW2 Mac direction for the past two years). It is also understandable from a cost vs benefit perspective.

As a Mac user who happens to be a casual gamer, GW2's casual-friendly approach has always been appealing and enjoyable. That being said, no one game is important enough to me to change the rest of my setup. (Yes, I'm deep in an ecosystem that works great for me, each to their own, YMMV.) I will give Nvidia another go, but the bandwidth requirements effectively limit it to home broadband - not great as a traveller. I acknowledge the suggestion about buying a second laptop, but that's not what casual gaming has been about for me. Being able to play a game on the kit you already carry, wherever you are, without lugging around a dedicated device... that's about as far as my interest goes. And that's undoubtedly why mobile phone/tablet gaming became so popular.

While I'm nervous about starting afresh in other established games, I've dipped my toe into WoW and EO recently with heartening results. WoW already supports Metal and the new processors, while EO has announced a native client with Metal support for early this year. (Rather than comparing GW2 to WoW, EO is possibly a more helpful benchmark given it is also ran in a Wine wrapper and a smaller community.) I don't know which of these two I will stick with in the long run, but I'm glad they both have a roadmap.

Changing circumstances lead to choices for developers and customers. ANet made a choice based on understandable financial and technical reasons. My choice is to offer my custom to businesses which provide and support products on platforms convenient to me. I hold no ill will and I am thankful for the many years of fun I have had with GW2. Perhaps in time, should my priorities change, I will play again.

[Celestial Ministry Cape]

The Celestial Ministry Cape main dye channel, which by default should be red, does not display anything other than black. I have tried switching between graphics settings and repairing my game client to narrow down the issue, but to no avail. FWIW it is the Mac client...

[Out of the minis you have, what is your favourite mini, and why?]

Mini Molten Firestorm, because its animation is cool and it's about the same size as my Asura Engi. :3

[Jumping Puzzle Difficulty - Ember Bay]

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:

@Kaida.1478 said:

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:If it's for a Legendary (Trinket), that's why it's included. Legendary items require 'legendary' feats.

It's for the token collector achievement which gives you an item that eats dust. I'm not interested in making a legendary.

Ahh, well, there are other eaters that are easier to acquire. Unless you want the Gleam of Sentience.

You might consider acquiring this item, if you want to keep using your Revenant:

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Prototype_Position_Rewinder

Good luck.

I fully endorse this recommendation. The Prototype Position Rewinder is a useful tool to help us mere mortals complete JPs.

[What mount set-up do you use the most?]

While I use Skyscale more than I do Griffon, I absolutely advocate setting up a hotkey for each mount other than Warclaw. Switching between mounts is the quickest way to get around.

[Elite Spec with Mace]

@Headcase.4618 said:I do have this idea for an engi elite spec whose theme is channeling aether magic through scientific means called an Aethermage (name subject to change). I considered giving them a torch since they haven't gotten a new off-hand weapon but I think the mace could work tooAnd would push me over the edge to craft Eureka. :lol:

[Animation loops , do they still exist?]

Swoop (Ranger GS #3) occasionally decides to hang around.

[Survival problems with power Soulbeast]

I know it's verging on blasphemy to the min-maxers, but for difficult encounters try slotting "Protect Me!" and/or Dolyak Stance instead of Frost Trap or (if playing solo) Frost Spirit. You will drop a bit of DPS but it should help when you're not fighting grouped mobs. Turn GS4 into your new best friend.

For grouped content there should be plenty of Protection, Aegis and blinds thrown around that you shouldn't need damage mitigation; go wild with stacking Frost Spirit and other damage modifiers.

[What is the top reason for your char’s deaths?]

Lag in PvE, leading to many mistimed dodges (or complete inaction).

[[Poll] Weapon for the next Engineer Elite Specialization]

Torn between a staff-wielding golemancer or a condi/support spec (alchemy variant?).

[Lag since the rollback]

Significant lag spikes for me on EU... had a painful experience this morning trying (and failing!!) to dodge the Ogre HP's large knockbacks in Desert Highlands. I guess I'm going full passive boon juggernaut for the foreseeable then.

That's including direct through the client, with or without VPN, and also through the Nvidia GeForce NOW service. (The Nvidia service flags up if there are any connection issues or delays from my computer to Nvidia servers, and there aren't any which coincide with the lag, so I'm pretty confident it's an issue beyond user control.) I'd also flag up I was experiencing this lag a day or two before the server keeled over at the weekend, and I've played from two different locations and ISPs.

[Just started Engineer]

Look at it like a spare inventory slot or two. ;)

[What race do you like for your engineer, and why?]

My oldest Engi is human because weapons and armour look best on humans.

I’ve just levelled another Engi though, this time asura and really enjoying it! I could do with an extra 10-15% in height and the weapons clipping through the ground are annoying, but there’s a quirky agility about asura which is great fun and complements grenade-tossing and pistol-slinging.

[Are titles worth it?]

@Zexanima.7851 said:They are just another aspect of Fashion Wars. They are only worth what you think they are.

This. Emphasis on personal satisfaction. Most other people (I count myself in this group!) don't have a clue what half of the titles are for, so if the goal is for bragging rights then disappointment might well be in store...

[For Skyacale owners, did you get it just for the collection or for to use it as your main mount?]

It's my default mount of choice. A high-utility, solid all-round mount that makes exploration easy.

[Which GW2 foe do you dislike most?]

PoF harpies for sure. Unless they're spiked one by one, the combination of their traps, boon strip and rapid fire just melts everything... :'(

[Did you buy the cape?]

Got it, very happy. Some armour sets (looking at you, medium Requiem) now look complete with the cape.

[One]

GW2 is flexible and forgiving enough to fit into my life, not the other way around. I've dipped in and out of WoW, but it's not compatible with the other demands and interests in my life.

Ergo, on the basis that the better game is the one you can play and enjoy, it's GW2 for me.

[Buy Skyscale Mount Skin Shimmerwing / Locked Skyscale]

I did it at quite a slow pace and enjoyed it. The only part which came close to frustrating was the map currencies, but that was probably because it flagged up how little I’d done on some of the earlier S4 maps!

[What do you buy with Black Lion Statuettes?]

Items I've not been able to get through RNG (i.e. Storm Dagger skin, Exalted Shoulders skin). Oh and a couple of Total Makeover Kits.

[Not having Level Grind with each expansion is one of the best things about GW2]

@"Psycoprophet.8107" said:Feels pointless lol just so little in terms of meaningful content or reward with little feeling of progress or accomplishment to keep players playing. Pvp for the challenge of fighting other players is all there is left.A "more powerful staff or a more powerful gear piece" is not what I consider "meaningful content or reward". Each to their own, but I am very happy with the way GW2 handles it. There are many other games out there for those who enjoy gear grind, but let's please leave this USP of GW2 alone...

[Is power chrono still good for pve?]

@Xion.5694 said:For general purpose open world dungeons and fractals its not. It feels extremally clunky and slow in comparison to other professions/specializations.I'd said that power mirage is the only option that can muster decent dps and surability in general pve.

Even Mirage (though I don’t quite understand why) feels far more vulnerable in open world than it used to. I was about to switch back to Chrono to freshen things up... but I’m minded to just bench my Mesmer for a little while. :/

[(Open World) Guardian utility skills "feel" very underwhelming]

I often change utility skills depending on the map or mobs. Sword of Justice will often get swapped out for hammer (kd) or reflect skills, particularly because of low cooldown and the annoying harpies in PoF.

I’m probably much happier with Guardian’s utility skills than most other professions. There is more freedom to swap them out as required, while other professions will often require you to keep a particular set. IMHO only Mesmer comes close.

[Dragonhunter Longbow Builds?]

Nope. You could get away with it in T1 (anything goes), but it hits like a wet noodle and doesn’t offer anywhere near enough damage or utility to be taken over Sc/F.

I occasionally run around core Tyria maps with my DH’s LB, just for the sake of variety, then move to any other map or form of gameplay and realise how poor the weapon is, even after recent tweaks.

[Game publishers will start disclosing loot box odds]

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:Doesn't it only apply to new games or games that add 'loot boxes'?

The disclosure will apply to all new games and updates to games that add such in-game purchases...

Guild Wars 2 isn't new, nor are Black Lion Chests.No, but it would certainly be jarring if there is widespread adoption of the policy in 2020 and some games (read: GW2) deliberately choose to be outliers. It also says it applies in the case of 'new loot box features' which, depending on how widely you construe it, could include any additions or changes to BLCs. The details have yet to be decided so I'd still take the statement with a large pinch of salt, at least for the time being..

@Josiah.2967 said:On a side note. Epics games made an update to all of there games. Any game that has loot box rewards will show you what you would get before you use the item (in our case key). If you did not like what you would get. It will reset once a day without spending a dime.

Way to go Epic. One huge step forward.

This is good. Even if the refresh was a week, this is good. I'm not sure it'll catch on though.