Zero.6082

April 27, 2020

@Cyninja.2954 said:
@Zero.6082 said:
@Dante.1763 said:
@Zero.6082 said:
@Etria.3642 said:I cannot believe you stated that final fantasy was easier to get into raids than gw2. Clearly you haven't compared them in actually.
In addition in gw2 it is incredibly easy to change builds. Exotics are cheap, or if you have ascended just use the mystic forge to change them. It's even easy to gear for raids to begin with because you do not need ascended. You certainly don't need legendaries.
Compared to ff14 which takes forever... You can keep it.

The game is geared towards raids, it is designed towards raids... you practice dungeons and mechanics to understand and build up your gear.... your prep for raids in GW2 by ..... collecting berries... i don't understand how that makes sense... That is why it easier.... The game teaches you to play.... it even shows you a rotation... granted i played dragoon.... which i have been told is easier..... but take it as you will.... I am comparing apples to oranges in this case i only picked it because its the only other raiding system i have tried.....

Raids in GW2 take alot of practice to get good at. You have to know your build, your rotation, the mechancis of the fight etc. you can do them in exotic if you know the fight well.

Dungeons, and fractals exist in this game too, Dungeons are much easier nowadays but Fractals are a good starting point for learning your build. and Fractal CMs are difficult and even harder than some raid bosses, not sure what the complaint is about here.

I am not arguing that logic... but will you take me in your group if i only have exotic armor? The complaint... wasn't a true complaint... i was offering up the idea of allowing for people to have more out of their really expensive gear.... I though ascend armor and trinkets would be great if you could just change the stats on them when you want... that way when stuff gets nerfed... i don't have to spend my time swapping builds and focus on completing content.

Ascended armor is only needed for fractals and only due to the agony mechanic. Raids in exotic gear are more than fine, there are also tons of budget builds for classes which don't go pure berserker (and using named berserker armor like Devona, Zhed's and Nika's will recue the cost for a full set to around 10-12 gold) which usually aim for 50-100 gold.

The

biggest barrier for players to get into raids is not gear related in this game

. Almost nothing is except for fractal T4 (and again, not due to stats).

I get where you are coming from as far as balance changes go. Yet in reality:

GW2 is the only game where you eventually have all the gear you will ever need (unlike it's competitors who reduce new gear tiers constantly and devalue old gear)
the first ascended armor set is the hardest/most expensive. Running T4 fractals will lead to an abundance of ascended gear and gold over time
most balance changes do not affect power damage dealers significantly, it's been berserker for 7.5 years by now. Viper for condi classes mostly
ascended items are account bound. Even if your class should get re-balanced down (and it's seldom that one falls so far that is totally useless), chances are high that 1 of the 2 other same armor type classes will take it's place or be play-able

TL;DR

:If gear is of primary concern due to class viability: make your first set a berserker set for a power damage setup.

Right but then when you get to WVW everyone has berserker set so honestly the game promotes 1 type of play berserker.... also these fractal drops.... what level do you have to be to get this stuff? How many hours do i have to sink to get the next set... nobody knows.... but if you take the leap and get your first set and what do you know its changeable... then you don't have to wait... you can jump into other things... also the market price goes down for the items because you don't have to have the demand for all the extra materials to make more sets with more stats.... So now you lower that barrier for other people....

April 27, 2020

@Zero.6082 said:
@"TPMN.1483" said:
WvW legendary armor time
To calculate the WvW time required to get legendary armor or pips:
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Special:RunQuery/WvW_skirmish_pip_query
?Its about 22 hrs / week (at wvw rank 0) - to earn the maximum 365 tickets - 22 weeks @ 365 tickets per week..22x22= 484 hrs = Bingo a legendary armor set.But you have a time gate so its 22 weeks! there are 52 weeks in a year? That is almost a half a year.... for the required tickets.... not to mention you still have to get the materials.... I only get 22 hours to do it.. there are 168 hours in a week drop 80 for sleep and work.. (40) hours each.. that is 128 hours... so math 484/128 is 3.78 weeks.... so that isn't a time gate? The game is forcing me to do it in 22 weeks.... (guessing your not counting the cost of the armor) so add that number to your factor.... i could do it sooner but it won't let me.... that is a definition of a time gate sir!Also i forgot to add.. Can you also add in the time for legendary trinkets, backpacks and one of every weapon in the game... Please and thank you..... Also please factor in the time to get the materials to make them all as well as the gold need... You can't do it! its impossible! The amount of time mind bending. Where as my simple fix literally will allow for hundred of builds to be discovered with millions of combinations with a 4 week barrier to entry..... per armor class .... Also add up the extra armor per every armor class.... again! you are adding so much time It would years.... just so i can up my builds.... its mind boggling simple!

I think you know as well as i do the only reason why people are so mad at this idea.... is because they did put the time in and now they don't anyone else to succeed. They only want people to do everything and you know that it benefits annet to keep us this way... I didn't say give everyone legendary.... i didn't say give everyone all the titles, honors and completion achievements... i just asked for less repercussions to nerfs and experimentation... The funny part is i think that is what you all are thinking i am implying... or what your saying is that legendary weapons, armor, and trinkets are not worth anything? I have two legendary weapons.... and the only reason i picked them was not the looks, but because they were used by the classes that i use the most.... that is sad..... I mean for this argument to fail you would basically point out that a legendary weapon could look like a stick.... the achievement and work to get it means nothing... its all about the ability to change its stats.... That is the point i am trying to get to everyone... this is the only argument i can finalize.... they are meaningless pieces of junk..... unless i am right.... that the look does matter.... the bragging rights, the achievements and status does matter. Which is why i am trying offer my solution which is allow for us to have our ugly armor that we can enjoy the game with and then we can work to make ourselves look cooler and have cooler stuff.... But the stats and the stat changing is crap.... It didn't matter to us in GW1 why does it matter now? You got one armor and you changed the runes... that's it.. if you wanted cooler armor then you payed more... it was simple effective and it worked! Why did they change it in this game.... build diversity? No because it forces people to stick to one build... The ability to nerf shadow form... basically yes.... and then i almost see it as a punishment to those who found out a good way to play the game....

Everyone here has reinforced my argument that legendary gear is only good because of its ability to change stats... and that there is no point in getting them... thus the mechanic is a very useful one... which would be a nice one to give to everyone, so we can all have a level playing field.... you know equal opportunity not outcome... because i wanted equal outcome everyone gets a legendary set for free....I have two legendary weapons... i wouldn't mind if they did this it doesn't bother me. Its ok if i lose out i don't want that! I want to change my build to match my playstyles and have fun.... with out have to sink in hundreds of hours into busy work. But instead hundreds of hours into fun content.

April 27, 2020

@Dante.1763 said:
@Zero.6082 said:
@Etria.3642 said:I cannot believe you stated that final fantasy was easier to get into raids than gw2. Clearly you haven't compared them in actually.
In addition in gw2 it is incredibly easy to change builds. Exotics are cheap, or if you have ascended just use the mystic forge to change them. It's even easy to gear for raids to begin with because you do not need ascended. You certainly don't need legendaries.
Compared to ff14 which takes forever... You can keep it.

The game is geared towards raids, it is designed towards raids... you practice dungeons and mechanics to understand and build up your gear.... your prep for raids in GW2 by ..... collecting berries... i don't understand how that makes sense... That is why it easier.... The game teaches you to play.... it even shows you a rotation... granted i played dragoon.... which i have been told is easier..... but take it as you will.... I am comparing apples to oranges in this case i only picked it because its the only other raiding system i have tried.....

Raids in GW2 take alot of practice to get good at. You have to know your build, your rotation, the mechancis of the fight etc. you can do them in exotic if you know the fight well.

Dungeons, and fractals exist in this game too, Dungeons are much easier nowadays but Fractals are a good starting point for learning your build. and Fractal CMs are difficult and even harder than some raid bosses, not sure what the complaint is about here.

I am not arguing that logic... but will you take me in your group if i only have exotic armor? The complaint... wasn't a true complaint... i was offering up the idea of allowing for people to have more out of their really expensive gear.... I though ascend armor and trinkets would be great if you could just change the stats on them when you want... that way when stuff gets nerfed... i don't have to spend my time swapping builds and focus on completing content.

April 27, 2020

@"TPMN.1483" said:WvW legendary armor timeTo calculate the WvW time required to get legendary armor or pips: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Special:RunQuery/WvW_skirmish_pip_query?Its about 22 hrs / week (at wvw rank 0) - to earn the maximum 365 tickets - 22 weeks @ 365 tickets per week..22x22= 484 hrs = Bingo a legendary armor set.But you have a time gate so its 22 weeks! there are 52 weeks in a year? That is almost a half a year.... for the required tickets.... not to mention you still have to get the materials.... I only get 22 hours to do it.. there are 168 hours in a week drop 80 for sleep and work.. (40) hours each.. that is 128 hours... so math 484/128 is 3.78 weeks.... so that isn't a time gate? The game is forcing me to do it in 22 weeks.... (guessing your not counting the cost of the armor) so add that number to your factor.... i could do it sooner but it won't let me.... that is a definition of a time gate sir!
@Zero.6082 - this is about you, if you want legendary - you have to dedicated time into it. It only takes 1,310 tickets for a ascended armor set from WvW = 4 weeks (22 hrs/week). You can have an ascended armor set in about 24 days - and can always start your WvW journey in Exotic armor (which is cheap as chips) !

24 days only if you play 22 a week of WVW... which again... not a problem if the problem didn't exist which is... the time gate... 88 hours is easily accomplished faster than 24 days...

4 weeks for max armor.... gw1 you could get max armor in an hour.... I played that game just as much as gw2.... i guess the game really isn't tied to your armor....

RaidingThis is organised content 10 man, which requires dedicated builds - and effort for you to setup in advance and understand how your role works. This will require you and 9 others to be available, if you can find 9 people to meet at a predetermined time which good builds - hire a trainer for your group !

Wait so i have to pay for someone to train my group for Raids! But you can't pay for a subscription... thats pot calling the kettle black... there... I didn't even say pay.... i said set it up so everyone gets the same rewards....

Learning WvW/PvP (or other game items: Fractals, PvE Openworld etc)There are plenty of 'guilds' to join which go in these game modes - find one on your server and join. As its a "team" game this is likely to require you joining in on the "arranged" schedule - which may not be 150% when you can play. The alternative is to form your own guild for these team formats with people who can play when you do - and learn together how to improve and get better. You don't dive into the hardest game mode and expect to succeed ? This is why these game modes are tiered as you learn to become better at the game (PvP = MMR, Fractals - Tier 1->4 and Challenge Modes … etc) as it becomes harder to complete.

WVW has tier modes? Raids have Tier modes? You mean i can play the first raid at a different level? Fractals 1-25 are the same as 75-100? What!?!?! I am not saying... you won't dive into the hardest mode... what i am saying is why is the hardest mode..... circumvented by the easiest thing Berry Farming.....

Build discussionsEvery player will have their own opinion on other peoples builds, some will find "pew-pew" ranger is good - e.g. in PvP; however you will find there are many players in PvP who just find "pew-pew" ranger are sub-par and actually not very good when compared to "good" players". Often it is a "learn to play" issue from a person on how to counter that build, once that person has figured it out - its easy to counter. The reason people dont like "pew-pew" ranger in WvW to hazard a guess - is that several can target a single person and "kill-snipe" them down, which if its the commander can leave the rest of the zerg clueless what to do next - but thats the point right? (its enemy vs enemy and sniping the commander dead is part of the game mode: Kill the head of the snake ! ).

The pew pew is soo good why doesn't everyone go pew pew? So all you rangers out there according to this paragraph this is the only build that is good for you he has tested everything and the only thing you are good at is this one thing! From the man himself..... don't buy anything else, don't play anything else....

Barriers to playThere are no "30" day barriers to play for fractals, wvw, pve or pvp - yes: there are barriers for the highest tiers of competition (you will want good stuff or unlocked items); new-players will not be ready for this and each game mode allows you to earn whats necessary whilst learning how to play and get better. Fractals Tier 4 : "90-100" (max level) and challenge modes have a barrier with agony infusions which you will gain from lower level tiers which might also award ascended items as drops as you progress up the difficulty.I have never gotten an ascended drop and i have played up to 78 fractals... soo may the RNG gods be ever in your favor my friend.... so for the rest of us back to the berry farm...
@Zero.6082 - I would suggest you consolidate your concerns into a single coherent individual topic rather than rambling across multiple topics and just complaining about this takes too long, its too much effort, I cant be asked.

It seems like no one is open to game discussion or change... I am sorry i threw up an idea... i didn't ask you, you responded if you don't want to respond please don't, i didn't force you.... Here is my signle coherent individual topic.... the game needs a shake up and the best part in my opinion is its build diversity.... Play how you want style like pvp... but you know what if your favorite part was collecting petrified wood and winter berries i am sorry for your loss. I think the game wouldn't have to nerf as much if it wasn't for the style of play Anet forces upon people which is High risk, low reward build crafting.

April 27, 2020

@Etria.3642 said:I cannot believe you stated that final fantasy was easier to get into raids than gw2. Clearly you haven't compared them in actually.
In addition in gw2 it is incredibly easy to change builds. Exotics are cheap, or if you have ascended just use the mystic forge to change them. It's even easy to gear for raids to begin with because you do not need ascended. You certainly don't need legendaries.
Compared to ff14 which takes forever... You can keep it.

The game is geared towards raids, it is designed towards raids... you practice dungeons and mechanics to understand and build up your gear.... your prep for raids in GW2 by ..... collecting berries... i don't understand how that makes sense... That is why it easier.... The game teaches you to play.... it even shows you a rotation... granted i played dragoon.... which i have been told is easier..... but take it as you will.... I am comparing apples to oranges in this case i only picked it because its the only other raiding system i have tried.....

April 27, 2020

@Wisty.4135 said:
@Zero.6082 said:

.Unfortunately, open world experimentation requires some heavy math to parse unless you're fine with spending the gold to swap ascended stats and experiment that way.

Which is what i am trying to eliminate... so you would rather keep the status quo and never test? Wow that would a boring game if everyone ran the same build because.... i understand your calling out 1 thing which is Spvp.... But then apply it to everything.... it works there which is why you have multiple builds... it works there because you can experiment.... It doesn't work in open world because you right you have parse out the money.... why i can't just try something? I am finally for the first time seeing plague doctors on firebrands as a viable build its amazing how long RND has pushed this long.... its been out for at least a year if not longer.... Its teaching you to be small scale and safe.... The game doesn't expand if you only have 1 character with one thing. They need to bank on the openness and allow people to be open... People forget Spvp doesn't match your raid build, or your WVW zerg build... or your fractal build.... look at all the builds you need for one character for one game... can you fork over that much gold and time for that many classes... so again you have to do 1 of 3 things.

spend moneyspend timeor cut characters...

The build diversity is there..... but its not worth it..... Its alot faster for me to get through the game and get stuff done when you focus on one character... then i guess i don't have to care.... but again... will you take my minstrel firebrand into raids? That is the armor i have cause of WVW.... or do i need to shell out another 600+ gold for that? That is the problem! Ultra specific requirements and ultra specific stuff... I haven't changed my engineer armor in 4 years.... That has to say something about guild wars 2.... I would like to try the wvw healing build.... but that would be 600 gold please... its like sorry guys i guess you get second best ... who gets to take the fall?

April 27, 2020

@"Algreg.3629" said:I think a bit of sincerity would gain you considerably more sympathy. This is about you, stop pretending to worry about "the players" or "the game".

That is a straw man and its silly.... But since you can read minds what should i say?Ok fine just for you i will make this all about me... i say i get everything and you guys get nothing?

See it doesn't work.... because if i make it all about me then no one would play.... games basketball, baseball, and fortnite live on the idea of three things.

Fair structure and rules
rewards
fun

If I make the structure and rules all about me then no one would play... if i am the only one with rewards then no one would play... I am being sincere.... because i am trying to make it fair across the board... Which is why i am not nerfing anything only enhancing what is in your pocket.... if i would just ask for these changes for just me it would be a waste.... ill tell you what Algreg..... Lets get anet to give everyone free sets of legendary armor? Then i guess we can all be satisfied..... oh wait it doesn't work that way.... I don't want the game to work that way... because you are right it would be pointless.... If i wanted about me i would say i want legendary armor for free.... i am not asking for that... I am offering out ideas... changes in mechanics to allow for players to enjoy the game... I don't want them to hand out items..... I literally don't want anything from them.... That's what makes your argument so debunked... read my solution... it doesn't say anything about hand outs or free bees.... just making stuff already in the game valuable.... also if i was being selfish... then i would just play a different game and get others to play it with me taking away player count.... but that would be silly because i want to play this game and i want others to as well... WVW, Raids, PVP, and all the other content are really boring if you are just one person....

I thought that was obvious.... but if it was as easy as click a button... i don't think we would care... A bit of sincerity from you and more sympathy would be gained for you... if you actually did offer up solutions.... instead of preaching how much better you are as the all knowing person... you don't know anything about me... I share alot of the same concerns as a bunch of people. What is your solution? Why is FF14 IGNs best MMO and guild wars 2 a "good" PVP mmo? Why do most of the reviews say play pvp! its fun? PVP is fun because i have more tools to play way.... why is the other content fun or not fun .... i don't know but if i can take what i see is fun from pvp and original gw1 style and apply it to PVE.... maybe i would be better? Idk what's your idea? Clearly you care all about the players right?

April 27, 2020

@"TPMN.1483" said:Okay- on your first point about legendary armor being hard to obtain and costly :-
Legendary armor was implemented with Living World Season 3 Episode 5 "Flashpoint" on May 2nd, 2017, with the Perfected Envoy armor sets made available for acquisition through raiding.
Legendary armor was introduced to PvP and WvW with the August 8th, 2017 balance patch.
The WvW Set takes approx : 22 weeks to earn a set of legendary armor. Raids and time required to PvP (which can be done even if you are the worst PvP Player in the world is possible as you still earn progress). This has been out for 3 years - which should be sufficient for most people to earn the pre-requisite materials for the armor.So from this your solution is get legendary gear... please explain how long that takes? Not in time you think.... but real hours spent... Saying its been out for 3 years isn't enough... do i need to play 3 hours a day? 2 hours a day? What do i have to do for those hours a day.... I think this need further explanation... I want to know to know.
Tier 6 materials - can be obtained quickly and easily from various living story maps, converting the currency -> boxs -> materials (especially from magic into boxs: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Magic-Warped_Bundle ) for the items you need.Same argument from before...how long does it take to get these items? Saying you can get them is great! But then if you say it takes a day to get a box..... that helps no one.
Having to pay attention and engage in the gameThe next point about "What makes it bad... is you have to pay attention... you have to be involved, but it's not interesting to be involved in chores. If you are gathering materials in rune scape... its cut the tree till your bag fills, or mine the rock till your bag fills.... i can watch netflix and farm so its like half playing"-- So you want a game where you can AFK and still get stuff ? I am so sorry, then this game may not be the one for you - there are certainly areas where you can semi-afk and still get rewards, but doing stuff is meant to be "fun" and requires you to be "engaged". This is not a mobile phone game such as "Idle Heros" where you just earn stuff for afk.

No i want to play the game.... but just as some else pointed out in an earlier comment.... the thread point shows they give you basic busy work.... I would like to play the game.... but if your going to give me busy work... make it work i don't have to pay attention to..... I explained that in the thread..... Getting the Ascended weapons was fun..... collecting berrys for the 100th time.... is not.... no matter how you try it won't be engaging....

Cost of ascended armor?A full set of this currently costs <50 Gold - with the strike missions ! This can also be obtained through WvW or PvP - at a lower cost than fully crafting.I have know new players get their first set of ascended armor within 30 days. You can even earn ascended armor box's from achievements for crafting other weapons.I don't know anything about strike missions.... i said so in the comments for that i am sorry.... but there you go... 30 days.... but for them... how many hours? what did they do? 8 hours a day? You can level up in a few minutes if you have 80 tomes.... everything is relative. So your example is relative....New player to raids?Solution: Find a training group ! There are many that are available to you, I would recommend you look here: https://www.snowcrows.com/raids/training/ - find a discord (yes, its a voice communication system - which will be required) and group that will take you. There are dedicated groups for new raiders - don't expect to be in a fully experienced group until you've got some experience ! (catch 22 solved)Again raid is the only solution... i know a raider when i see one... .because the first thing they do is say.... something along the lines like raid with a training group.... what if i want to wvw and fractal... what if i don't want to raid? Why must i do what you want... why won't you do what i want.... I can't make you quit raiding... thus i won't make you... Also who wants to join the training groups that literally are designed to fail... it really doesn't help.... I have tried training groups and i found basically its a lost cause... you have to fit in their time schedule.... which everyone is different.... then you have to pray they take you.... also you have to be the specific thing.... and then finally you play for hours to lose... i don't want to do raid so i can have the armor i need for WVW or fractal... Its another avenue i was taking.... Maybe strike missions will fix it... I didn't know at the time of writing this.... but again.... barrier to entry is 30 days... that is along time .... you have to wait 1 month before your allowed to play... Most would say... yeah but that is an MMO... if so what does Anet offer an auto level 80?
BuildsSolution: Don't just rely on Metabattle for your builds, it depends where you are going and what you are going to do - seek out more specialist content builds for PvP, PvE, WvW depending what content you are doing (OpenWorld = MetaBattle, Raids = Snowcrows, Fractals = discretize, PvP = GodsofPvP). GW2 has one of the largest, diverse set of builds that are "viable" for many different content types (which may not be min/max) and sufficient for different content types. It is possible to change "stats" from an ascended armor set to another set via the mystic forge (if you have to !). The fact ANET changes skills, what works well and nerfs/buffs stuff periodically - shakes up the meta (optimal comps) from time to time which helps keep the game a little fresher is a good thing.I have been to many build sites.... i was using meta battle for my example... because its the most traffic site... I am good with Anet shaking up the meta... but go through the forums especially the wvw.... if they were so worried why do i see so many people complaining about pew pew ranger that didn't get nerfed?

April 27, 2020

@IndigoSundown.5419 said:Why are these mechanics in the game? To keep people playing the game, so they might drop some RL money on gems or buy them with gold, which makes the exchange rate look good to those buying gold with gems.
Say ANet gave out stat change freely to non-Legendary owners. Two things would happen. (1) Legendary owners would complain that the main non-cosmetic benefit to getting legendary gear has been negated. (2) ANet would still have to put busy work into the game to keep people logging in so they would think there is a reason to keep paying the fee.
You don't think so? Look at how WoW works. There is a constant gear progression to give people incentive to keep playing, and the developer keeps putting busy work into the game. Maybe ActiBlizz does it better for you, maybe not for me. But busy work is the nature of the MMO genre.

Legendary gear used to not change stats... it changed with time... we can change the game to make it better as we learn new things... Or it evolves.... I was OK with the ascend weapons for a time because they gave out 9 for free with every expansion with really rewarding and cool game play..... but that is not the case.... Also it works one time! Once you have it all and you have to change it.... you then do three options.....

Dump money
Dump time
Dump characters..

I am just trying to throw out some ideas to see what we get.... but from you argument it sounds like a lost cause i should just move on to a new game.... That's not what i want to do... I want to help them make a game i like better... because there is plenty of story and potential left.... but they could just give up now i guess?

April 27, 2020

@"Trise.2865" said:tl;dr: "I don't like metagame shifts or balance changes and I don't have real friends to play with."
That sucks, dude, but subscriptions won't solve that.

I want to put this to bed now.... stop reading subscriptions and think that is all there is to my argument ..... I don't want subscriptions Also very kind of you to belittle my attempt to give players the ability to shift with the meta... heaven forbid i want the player count to go up! But ill ignore your "tl'dr" argument because it a strawman.... I don't care about that stuff..... but at a certain point... i would rather just put that money into a new game.... rather than play gw2... They are a company they have to make money! Most of the bad practices that GW2 does is attributed to money.. Time gates, Meta changes... its so they can make people have to repay again to change their gear.... if it wasn't why nerf a minstrel mesmer? If anything leave it status quo why change the meta? I am totally fine if the best build for raid is 10 warriors.... that is fine... but the reason why it will be 10 warriors is, min maxing people and arena net nerfs..... You shift your build to what ever Anet tells you to.... However, the fact its hard to shift your build..... zerker is always at the top and stays there, because that is what everyone has.... I played GW1.... shadow form was the best and stayed the best.... they nerfed it 5 times and it still is the best build for Raiding... the reason why.... people will find the easiest, laziest and cheapest way! If you give people more opportunity ..... then you get more interesting things..... and people will keep playing if you shift the meta because they can have an easy transition..... i haven't change my engineers armor in over 4 years..... Yay Zerker! Because there is no point... its either in meta or out of meta, but its not worth changing it.... because its not the best and it cost so much to change it to a character who is the best....

April 27, 2020

@"Josiah.2967" said:I am personally fine with all ascended gear having easily switchable stats like a legendary. The new Legendary templates will be more than enough to differentiate the two. It would really help newer player experiment with different builds.
On the flip side. I believe we are dealing with a critical balancing issue at the moment for end game content. I also believe that meta shakeups help prevent things from getting stale. The same specs being in the top 5 for years is not what I would call fun or engaging. Then again, if endgame content was better balanced, maybe it wouldn't matter.

I agree with nerfs and meta changes... but then allow me to shift with meta. I am glad you agree with my idea :) Most of the time i walk away from the game for a long period of time is because the "meta" changes and i go nope i will not go back to frost gorge again screw that!

April 27, 2020

@Wisty.4135 said:
@"Zero.6082" said:If you could solve it by paying 5 dollars a month would you do it?

Probably not. Not for most people. Part of the accessibility has been the "F2P, buy if you like!" Model. Charging a sub fee would only alienate the community, even if that sub fee was for stuff like ESO's infinite crafting mat storage. With the uptick in new blood, we wouldn't want to sour it with an apparent "bait and switch."

You are paying... your paying in time... time is worth more than money in some cases. How long does it take for you to make 100 gold? If you make 10 dollars an hour that gets you 100 gold and hour if you put it towards gems. The reason why i say it is because they are making you pay... just in ways you didn't see before.... unlimited harvesting, bank slots. They take away features to sell it to you... Alot of F2P is like that you get less if you don't pay..... Also there are some features where the game uses "surprise mechanics" now you don't have to do it... but if you want some of the coolest weapons skins... you either pay gold or buy keys.... maybe you can key farm, but it doesn't work.... I am not saying i want it to be a subscription... But they are a company.... so how would you suggest they make money? if they don't do subscriptions... then they are going to put best stuff behind paywalls.... That's the point.... People forget servers cost money, IT, Websites, Lawyers,.... its not just development... It takes a village!

Regarding the rest of the post... I am unsure how to unpack all of this. The biggest thig I disagree with is the build variation restrictions - build variation is what I love most about this game, and I think it'd be a disservice to restrict it. The trinkets, raiding, etc are all valid criticisms to have, but there are many work-arounds for these issues. Mist capacitors for trinkets, forming your own raid group/training raids, etc.

I don't the build variation is diverse.... i think you missed some of my paragraphs.... review the part about ranger using the same longbow build in Wvw... that is lack of tools. Maybe able to say its the "best" but i have seen other people use condi versions of that build, that might be better..... to bad you can't get plague doctor as easily as berserk.... and you don't want to overwrite your armor just in case it fails.... The game doesn't want you to experiment... it really pushes you towards a direction... Experimentation is what makes games fun...Honestly the only thing you have for the work around is Raiding! What if i don't want to raid? What if WVW is the best? I think people forget there are other people in the game.... its not fair to section them into do this! We should get benefits from all forms of game play? Or anet should remove them. I am trying open up the game... not force them into something.... Which is what Raid, Berry Farm, and Crafting does in this game.

Overall, there's some good ideas in here, but at this time I don't think any of it is necessary.

Nothing is necessary.... honestly your right... raiding not necessary.. we should just take it out of the game.... ascended armor is not necessary we should just take it out of the game.... Legendary's are not necessary..... we should take it out of the game..... Anet is what makes things necessary... you can get legendary armor through wvw you don't have to raid.... so form your own group isn't necessary.... but I am really glad that you can easily get 10 people together to play a game with you..... Even during this covid virus its hard for me to get my main friends together 6 of us to play Jack Box games... that was a week of planning and we have been friends for 5 years.... What is not necessary is the game at all.... which is why i am trying to provide feedback to hopefully make it more fun not necessary..... otherwise we will find games that make fun necessary.... where loot boxes/time gates are not necessary.... I mean FF 14 won mmo of the year.... gw2 has better combat and more potential.... but it doesn't matter.... because necessary!

April 27, 2020

@Blude.6812 said:Was agreeing with some of your statements, but if you put the I would rather pay for a subscription in you very 1st sentence, I wouldn't have bothered reading. Now that I have read it, I'll just forget about it.

I am trying to give GW2 a chance to make money... If that is the best way other companies do it... i don't think that should take away from my argument... Trust me i would rather not pay a subscription either.... but sometimes you have to throw a bone to the other side......Its a business i don't know the best model. What i do know is FF14, WoW and StWOR have done it with lots of success.... However the question begs is the reason why they do what they do because they need to make money? If you could solve it by paying 5 dollars a month would you do it?

April 27, 2020

Hey Everyone, sorry for the long man..... but I am one!

I was having a conversation on discord with a bunch of my guild friends last night and disgruntled with the same conclusion. The Goal Posts constantly moving are rough on players! I know most people who have legendary armor don't see this as often but i want to run people through an example of other players have to adjust their characters when ever guild wars try to "change things up"

Legendary armor and Trinkets: I don't think i need to explain the cost and time that goes into getting these. I would love to have these but yes this would be the cheat code to avoid nerfs.... but the value of this endeavor is 22 plus weeks of raiding, monthly wvw, or hundreds of hours on pvp. All of which have to be successful. Then you have to fork over the cost of every item..... so double time sync...... who has 6000 vials of blood hanging around their bank when they are ready to craft their legendary armor? Its a shopping list for chain of restaurant, you almost have to be a corporation to get this stuff.

The joys of ascended trinket gameplay: Ascended trinkets are easy to get and honestly i am grateful that a person can get them on their own time.... but the content is well.... rather i guess not the most enjoyable gameplay.... heck you don't need a build, armor, weapons.... You need 2 expansions, living world story done, and a set of harvesting tools. Yep every time guild wars 2 wants to nerf its back to frost gorge, to run around in circles with multiple characters clicking the F key. Now why is farming bad.... its not really.... I have played lots of MMOs from eve, to runescape, to final fantasy 14. What makes it bad... is you have to pay attention... you have to be involved, but it's not interesting to be involved in chores. If you are gathering materials in rune scape... its cut the tree till your bag fills, or mine the rock till your bag fills.... i can watch netflix and farm so its like half playing.... Its not as terrible.... gulid wars 2 you get 2 berries per bush... then you have to run to the next one.... then you might have to push enemies off the bush just you can press the F key.... I wouldn't say this is terrible design... But when you are trying to sell you friends the game ... its really hard to say... oh yeah you will want the best gear for raid and fractals.... and you do that by gathering berries from a bush... logs from a stump .... and jade from ore..... UHHHHHHHHH...... My friend is one of the top tier raiders in Final 14 1% tile .... he won't touch this game because of this gate to entry... But more importantly the re spawn for nodes is once a day... (Anet did you guys really like farmville growing up?) Why do i have to wait a day..... i have the time now.... the next day i work.... But the final nail in the coffin is when you get a set of trinkets.... then they nerf it.... and now your can't use them anymore and you have to go get a whole new set.... I don't want to harvest berries hundreds of cycles every time i need a new bulid XD.

Why does it Cost so much for 5-10%: Exotic set of armor costs mostly anywhere between 20-120 gold , depending on materials...Ascended costs 600-1200 gold. Plus most exotics can be obtained through playing the game and you don't have a gate like you do with raids.... But why does it cost soooo much more for a 10% stat increase... i know someone would say... 10% doesn't matter, skill is all you need... I agree... but that's like a trained martial artist saying yeah i could beat you up.... but a weapon... is probably going to increase you win rate.... especially if your opponent brings one too. I don't understand the cost ratio for this. Why can't dungeons give out ascended armor now... why only exotic? Which brings me to my next point.

Perpetual first job hell (also known as a beginner trying to join a raid group) : Fractals are fun, and dungeons are fun... why? Because you can jump in the content and start playing..... raids its like a job interview.... I know they are doing strike missions.... but hear me out.... the problem is not the difficulty ceiling... its accessibility. If i can spend my time learning rotations and watching raid bosses on youtube i would.... but i am to busy just trying to get the "proper" build for raiding. I raided in FF 14 i did just fine.... the gear is easy to grab...... However, if you saw the top of the post its not fast getting 1200 gold for ascended armor and berry farm for trinkets. By the time i have finally got everything i need, now i run into the 2 final problems.....

Finding a group that will take the new guy.....
The raid group doesn't want my build anymore because its nerfed or not good enough.

The second one is soul crushing.... nothing is worse then working hundreds of hours saving up tons of gold... to find out your build isn't worth it anymore..... I have had this happen twice to me and my friend has had it happen once to her. WE WON'T raid because of this..... its not fun! It's border line terrible. The difference is fractals and dungeons even if your build isn't perfect... they will take you because the content isn't soul crushing.... Raid.... I was doing 23000 instead of 27000 on the tic o meter and i get a whisper... get your dps up or your kicked.... Strike missions or not.... I can raid in ff 14 because i get the gear from the market board... and i am ready to go.... if i want to raid in GW2 it have to take out a loan... get second job.... and kick my girlfriend out to keep up with the gear alone.... Then when that is done.... because its once a week rewards i have to find a group who wants to do the content... then make sure i can pencil them into my schedule... Final note to save the argument yes you personally might not kick me for 23000 instead of 27000.... but you are one person in a sea of thousands.... Which probably doesn't play with first timers because your already great and have a regular group..... the rest of us weren't super fortunate....

I guess you will just have to settle for second best: The real reason i am writing this post... is because of build syndrome. When this game is great... (WVW, PVP, the 2 raids i could do before they nerfed, fractals and dungeons) The game is alot of fun.... i mean it i have come back to this game because of the action oriented game play and the pvp is stellar.... but why then does the rest of my game feel like its stale. Its because of inflexibility of builds.... now i know you say but nerfing is a good thing with the builds, which promotes more game play instead of same overpowered builds... Well good person you are right and wrong.... because if nerfing promotes better play.... why am i excited to find out i can still use my minstrel gear in WVW for my guardian? Its because that is what i have and i don't want to take the enormous amount of time to change it. Best part about GW1 was diversity of builds and PVP is the best example of it.... why? availability of tools. If i don't have the tools i don't want the nerf.... if i do have the tools then i do want the nerf.... Its really hard to play wvw with friends who bring what ever they have to group... because they don't have the tools to bring the best... it doesn't promote game play it hinders it. Most don't want to play because, they lose to the best groups who do have the gear..... My theory, the reason why everyone has alot of the same bulids is because they can't min and max using extra tools... That is why metabattle still thinks power scourge is the best for 9 months..... A ranger maybe has a great wvw zerg build if you combine other gear and skills never used before... The reason why everyone plays long bow is because its been untouched for a year..... and it does the job... it may not even be the best....It may not even need a nerf.... but the fact that its untouched is why people play it.... because they don't have to change. It..... We would have a lot crazier and more dynamic builds in all formats if everyone had access to the tools... sadly the only people who can with legendary gear.... are probably burned out on the game from the immense grind.

My Suggestion: I hate to just call things out with out helping with a solution so these are my ideas.

Make the top tear rewards more about skins and titles rather than stats and barriers. The problem with GW2 is that top tier stuff like legendary and ascended takes a long time to get.... this doesn't lift the skill ceiling.... but actually just moves the goal post...... way farther than it has to be.... Getting ascended armor isn't really a hard thing to do or even rewarding.... it is just plain time consuming or a real life money sink.... I think Anet thinks the way to prolong the game life is by making players suffer through the time gates.....This could be remedied if instead of getting "stats" the players got, bragging rights, skins, shinnies, it would be better.... The problem is black lion chest and gem stores hold all the best stuff.... because they need to make money.... if those items were moved off the gem store and given as raid rewards you would see alot more players in raids... also they would get much more revenue... because instead of the few people playing the surprise mechanics, they would be buying useful things because they are playing more ( infinite harvesting tools, bank space, level boosters, character slots and others). Plus you would take the moral high ground of being one of the only games that doesn't promote RNG style purchases. They are losing out on the best part the game offers which diversity of play... Right now the game promotes 1 class type play... honestly if you want my advice pick a armor class you like.... then only play that... By the time you have sank 1200 gold into 9 characters worth of ascended gear.... you could have 9 different heavy sets that would work just like legendary armor and move among the 3 classes.... my suggestion is go with heavy or light.... because those classes get the most requests for content.... i swear..... i gave up on characters entirely... i don't care what they look like... what they do... or anything... because i realized the cost isn't worth it... i basically focus on my heavy class only now... It's the cut i had to make not the one i wanted to make... I only use the other classes in pvp arena or the famous berry farm..... speaking of which.
Make the ascended trinkets that you get from berry farming have changeable stats at all times. This will get everyone out of the berry farm and into the good content.... I know then what is the point of the legendary armor right? Well honestly i think all ascended armor should also be changeable stats.... You spent 1200 gold on this armor you should get something better than a 5% stat increase.... Doesn't that make legendary armor not as amazing ascended you would ask?.... No you can still have legendary armor change stats too!!! However.... what your paying for is the skin... honestly the skin alone and the goal of getting one should be enough for people to want them.... Your paying for some of the coolest looking weapons i have seen in mmo history... that should be enough...

I think these two adjustments with the gem store focusing on services rather than surprise mechanics and skins.... will help guild wars 2 tremendously. The best part of guild wars 2 in my opinion is the class diversity. You play FF 14 its a dragoon.... it does one thing use one weapon and is only dps. A guardian... can be healer, DPS, tank, Condi, Crit, meme.... so many choices with one class..... I think Anet in favor of making money lost the best part of their game which was the ability to play your class your way.... I don't despise them for making money... i mean its a company it has to make money... and that is great.... if you need subscriptions to make the money rather than gouge us hundreds to get legendary weapons i would rather pay that fee. Treat the game like you treat you PVP. With great updates, fun game play, and endless opportunity!

July 19, 2019

I am also having fun with this I am learning a lot about raids and stuff. Might get meter.... and I don’t hold any bad feelings towards anyone... I just have a lot of questions. And it fills the void when I am waiting on friends to decide what they want for dinner.... I said in a previous post that I get maybe get 6 hours a week of gw2 if lucky (shout out busy engineer life) ... I just know that I was in two guilds 1 hard core (like most of the pros in the thread) and the other chill.... it’s fascinating the evolution.... the hard core one disband but the chilled one is still going strong. Maybe that is now my style. I just would like my chill game to stay chill... maybe that’s selfish ... but I pugged a t 4 fractal and now I have a new thing to worry about. But I guess even now when I pug a group.., I gotta watch my back >.>

July 19, 2019

@rabenpriester.7129 said:
@maddoctor.2738 said:
@"Zero.6082" said:I am sorry we can’t all be pros....

Then don't join the groups that ask for those, why is that so hard to understand? Why are you trying to force your ideology that players should play with you, or others like you? And those that don't want to you call them toxic? Who is name calling and blaming? Look at the mirror. If you aren't a "pro", go join others who aren't "pro", you can join the "pro" when you are also a "pro". It's not very hard to understand isn't it?

But then he can never complete the extremely difficult encounters in gw2 raiding :D :D :D

Every boss is challenge mode if you're the one that is challenged. Just look at his posts. Easy to get the picture.

Who taught pros? How do you become a pro? Can a pro play with me if they want? Can pros teach? I guess I am lost on the teacher aspect of this statement but he took me out of context. How do I know when I am a pro. What is your measure of pro. When can I join the pros? If I only join those who aren’t pros, how do we learn and become pros? How does any of this have to do with my point of meters being used as ways of toxic? Those are all subjective questions....Maybe you can answer the question since he can’t how can you determine the toxicity of a player using a dps meter. If it is impossible to prove that, isn’t it an ideology? Does that mean he is using his ideology to weed out great people who are just trying because, his ideology claims it’s toxic and he is allowed to remove toxic people? How is that not a toxic ideology?

July 19, 2019

@maddoctor.2738 said:
@"Zero.6082" said:I am sorry we can’t all be pros....

Then don't join the groups that ask for those, why is that so hard to understand? Why are you trying to force your ideology that players should play with you, or others like you? And those that don't want to you call them toxic? Who is name calling and blaming? Look at the mirror. If you aren't a "pro", go join others who aren't "pro", you can join the "pro" when you are also a "pro". It's not very hard to understand isn't it?

Dodging the question again and taking me out of context..... it’s really getting aggravating.... I am trying to be nice..... but I’ll try again. You took the leap and said you can deduce toxic players using a dps meter. A dps meter can detect dps.... but it has no direct connection to toxicity.... thus, we can only conclude that the only way you can come to that conclusion is through an ideology.... that the meter has extra damaging context.... now I don’t understand how being a pro is a negative term.... but ok... I apologize your not a pro... but if not a pro.... what would you like? Cause I can use an antonym if you like? Which may make sense cause I can guess a pro knows how the meter works...and they would admit it is impossible to determine player intent. If you don’t make your dps number does that make you toxic.... so I say this again for all to see. This is the example why I don’t like the meter.... he has claimed people are automatically toxic by using the meter as weapon to measure people. There could be many factors why people may not make their number.... and they could be great people who are trying their best..... maybe at the most misguided....but you sir have said no they are toxic automatically and used your meter as your authority to ridicule... that I don’t stand for. And I promise the only name calling I have used is pro I guarantee if I ever respond again ... I won’t make that mistake again, since it seemed to upset you.

July 19, 2019

@Cyninja.2954 said:
@Zero.6082 said:In contrast though it still seems I have to download an outside program to have data to keep people honest.

If a majority of players spent just a little time on the damage golem and practiced their rotations (or even made sure they understood their class) this would not be an issue.

That said, no you are not forced to use a damage meter. Some practice on the golem is fine. A damage meter would obviously help you personally to identify and see your performance.

Since a vast majority of players don't practice and are clueless as to their class combined with the insane difference in performance between bad and good players, there is a huge rift. It is not uncommon for player who go to the damage golem without any outside help or resources to not break 3-4k damage per second. Given almost every class can break 30k dps, that should put this disparity in perspective.

@Zero.6082 said:Which is problematic because in the long run even if I have the meter and I am in the right. Would that stop anyone from still accusing.

People who want to be toxic, will be toxic. No tool is going to protect you from that. It's also not what the tool is there for. If you are forced into arguing with other people about performance, you might as well leave the group since it's rarely an individuals fault. Most often it's a combination of factors usually stemming from multiple players not being as experienced as they'd like to believe they are and since it's always easier to blame others... you get my drift.

@Zero.6082 said:I mean how much time is wasted grabbing that data and then sending it to everyone in the group to defend your play? Also if it was as import as the group claims, I don’t understand why it isn’t part of the game. It seems like we’re asking everyone, hey I know you bought this complicated game, but before you play...... please download this outside program not supplied by the makers.... and oh by the way it still doesn’t guarantee that people still can’t lie or set you up.

Because it's not that important to the game. For 90% of this games content, it's not needed. The only place where a damage meter is useful (again, not needed but useful) is challenging endgame pve content. The amount of that content present and the fraction of the player base playing this content is way smaller than the total games population.

As far as this games challenging content versus regular say open world content: it's easiest to think of both as 2 separate games which look alike, because they are.

That seems like a fair trade off if you think of it as two separate games....and I can agree.... it’s just disappointing when it shows up once in a blue moon and I go oh yeah I am not playing a game.... I am working a profession.... cause I got to please this guy or girl.... so much fun...jumping into pug groups there is no written contract so it just makes it tough.... we fighting the mobs ... we running past the mobs... it changes with every group... I thought it is more dynamic to work together and get to know some one.... now it’s show up do your role, meet the number .... ok now go away....

July 19, 2019

@Zero.6082 said:
@Tiviana.2650 said:
@Edge.8724 said:
@knite.1542 said:
@Edge.8724 said:Seeing informations of others shouldn't be allowed. But meh, who am I to say it anyway. Apparently it's 100% allowed so...

Very selfish mentality in my opinion. This isn't personal information we are talking here, it is your contribution to the group. DPS does matter a lot and it is not unreasonable to expect others to pull their weight in a group. There's is a difference between being 'toxic' and expecting someone in a certain setting (such as a T4 fractal or a raid advertised as EXP) to be able to pull something even close to the benchmark of the class they are playing.

Benchmarks are created by the community, not ArenaNet. I'm not sure why I should abide to those "maximum performance numbers".

Also, this seems to only be made for max speed clear up. You should judge someone by their knowledge and skills of their class instead of said numbers.

The goal of a raid and fractal is to clear it, right? Why are the community so focused on monitoring people to see if they are pulling the maximum number an "elite" guild has determined an individual must do?

Sorry, I still disagree with the mentality of of seeing DPS of others especially since raids and fractals are mechanics-dependant.

Well it kinda is created by anet, bosses have a percentage you need to get to phase them or kill them before an enrage. It is a numbers game, they arent infinite pinatas you can wail on for an hour and whittle them down. The numbers are set by the game. In order to win you either have to help beat those numbers or have a group willing to carry you. I training raid ,my dps is trash most of the time but because my guild isnt hard kittens about it im allowed to raid with them. My advice is find a good guild and network with them. When i started my dps on carin was abysmal like 2300, i can now hit a lot better but still not top dps for my class, but im learning the mechanics and not dying like i used to. A lot of our group is missing for summer, but when we have our group we can clear out wings 4 and 1 in 2 hours. A guild team makes all the difference for people that arent top raiders, they can help you.

I think meters are a good tool, but like anything its how they are used. People that are toxic are going to be toxic meter or not. And you have to also be willing to use the tool to improve yourself.

It’s a well stated thought and I have no arguments with it. I like your concise point with it’s not the meter but the people. It is a good thing to remember. I am disappointed that the game is reduced to specific rotations and no creativity to win.... but I can’t decide if it is the meters that did it or th players who used them to write the websites....I just think it would be nice to think my open world mmo was a little more open. But I get you perfection is key for clearing content and repetition is boring. But I guess I don’t know the aim.... because it doesn’t feel like I did it.... it feels like a website instruction manual did it.i get using build or referencing for help...only so many combinations.... it’s the press these buttons in specific order gets you this meter result that just maybe rubs me the wrong way.... and that last part is definitely an opinion.

That last statement is my opinion... the rotation is not... I need to clarify before someone jumps on that and says no it’s calculated... I get that part.

July 19, 2019

@Tiviana.2650 said:
@Edge.8724 said:
@knite.1542 said:
@Edge.8724 said:Seeing informations of others shouldn't be allowed. But meh, who am I to say it anyway. Apparently it's 100% allowed so...