AgentMoore.9453

Echoing the others saying it's been abandoned. In the upcoming expansion, underwater weapons have been excluded completely from the Aurene legendary set which further cements the idea that no significant UW content is coming with EoD. I'm a bit bummed by this given that GW2's handling of water exploration is the best I've experienced in an MMO (others have been disorienting with syrupy motion and limited player skills). I enjoy underwater combat, and would really love a rework update where they fix, finish, and balance the various things that are broken or missing in the current iteration. With fishing, boats, a water dragon(?), and a journey across the sea impending, this kind of update feels like it would have been perfectly positioned. That said, very unlikely right now - we can only hope for the future.

Comments like these just tell me that parts of the community can't discuss disagreements without taking jabs. This puts our community in line with every other game community out there, so at least there's that. People not liking things or not being excited by them isn't an invalidation or attack on your joy and hype - it just means you have differing opinions, and that's okay. Let people feel how they feel. Love the things you love and accept that there will always be someone who disagrees. As for the OP, I'm getting the same impression of the expansion. I'm trying not to deliver any final judgments on EoD (since of course, it's not out yet), but for me there really isn't any hype being generated by the streams and teasers: I don't like the specs very much, the maps are pretty hard on my eyes, and the lore has a lot to answer for if it's going to try to resolve the Canthan genocides and a massive uptick in tech development. I'm interested in fishing, but apart from AP and general exploration, this feels like the weakest of the three expansions just based on the things we've been shown. The streams feel empty because, even though they're showing 'a lot', I don't feel like I'm actually seeing anything to warrant how long some of these sessions are. With HoT we had the LS lead-up and then a journey to a deep jungle full of creatures and cultures we hadn't seen before. With PoF we had a steady story lead-up and journey to a desert that's been sealed away from Central Tyria for over a hundred years, again filled with sights unseen. With EoD we do a bunch of things up north with Aurene and then.. somehow go to Cantha. It's still a far-off land with new things, but the journey (so far) doesn't feel the same. We don't have that 'to be continued' anticipation, just a vague 'Huhaa! A bunch of magic went somewhere maybe!' at the end of IBS (which, for a lot of people, felt very unsatisfying for a finale). If this were the end of a book and an author were trying to sell another in the series, I probably wouldn't as enthused to run out and buy it right away. Putting aside completely the visuals, mechanics, and concerns about EoD being 'rushed', Cantha hasn't managed to excite me in the same way Elona and Maguuma did. Does it mean I won't enjoy EoD? No idea, haven't played it yet. Does it mean the marketing for it isn't resonating with me? Yeah.

I think I'd be in support of something like this only if I could shut it off. Talking to dragons may sound like a cool idea, but the Job-o-Tron Backpack taught me very quickly how annoying repeated voice lines can be.

And you're right, that's weird. Players have wanted NPC hairs and outfits for years, so it only follows that we'd want their other customization options too. In fact, there's a trick that allows you to have the Olmakhan Charr horns requiring some heckery with makeover kits - that's how far people are willing to go to Get That Look™. The pink you're describing is a fairly natural strawberry tone, not the neon some people are assuming, and so I think that's in line with the dull greys, browns, and rusts we already have access to. Honestly, if they added some type of mossy grey-green for Charr fur, I think that'd look fine too. Paired with the fact that we already have wild color infusions and fluorescent hair options, I think having access to NPC (or other muted tones) is a reasonable ask.

If I stand in my backyard grilling a hamburger and you roll up with McDonalds, my burger's still going to be delicious, so I actually don't mind this decision. Gen 1's have been on the market for ages, and I'm glad they're there as a option for those who want them - I've never been able to afford one nor have I had the inclination to save up, but I can appreciate the time and effort that goes into crafting a legendary and then putting together the gold to list it for sale. More power to the people that enjoy doing this and happy trails to those who buy from them.

I'm down with the idea of a Hall of Monuments-style display being added to the game, but sticking it out in Cantha feels like a bad move. For one thing, it means you don't get to display all the stuff you achieved elsewhere in the game unless you pony up for the expansion, and that just feels arbitrary (or arbor-trary; eh? EH?) If you ask me, the best thing to do would be to finally give people the housing system they want and have achievement/milestone displays be part of that, either as an extension of the home instance or as a new instance entirely that allows you to place and customize decorations within a number of thematic housing presets (Cabin, Divinity's Reach Flat, Black Citadel quarters, etc.) If you decided to go with the first option, you could enter your home instance, walk up to a specific door, and it'd teleport you under the map where the new space would be waiting. If you decided to craft completely new instances, you could give players a book to collect all of the teleport items together or, more efficiently, follow the guild hall groundwork and simply let players select one preset at a time and change it later for an in-game fee as desired. Monetization? Sell access to these presets as accountwide unlocks, offering the first one for free as a plain, Human-style house. Allow the decorations themselves and other housing spiffs to be in-game goals. Each of these housing options would ideally have a trophy room for account milestones, and perhaps also a library where one can go to read the books collected/unlocked by an account. Other players have suggested things like aquariums (to pair with fishing), Ranger pet menageries, and other comforts, but even just having a basic customizable space would be a huge step toward happy for people like me.

I'm not a huge fan of it in GW2, and I say this with the understanding that tech has always existed in some capacity in Tyria. Charr have their crude-powered war machines, Humans have their clockwork constructs, Asura have their golems and magitech. Asura have always been the neon lights and holograms race in the franchise, and while there's nothing inherently wrong with that, it has led to a lot of deus ex machina moments in the story or Asura happening to show up ahead of us in new areas in order to explain the tech advancements in a region. How they implement jade tech and explain its existence/development in Cantha is going to determine a big part of how much I like (or don't like) it. It isn't that tech isn't allowed to exist in the world, it's just that the sources of said tech and the leaps in design are often jarring or outright handwaved when they're introduced (like the jade tech microwave shown in one of the streams). What's ironic about all of this is that while I'm not thrilled about hyperfuturistic content in GW2, I love it in other franchises. Just a question of vibe, I guess. The setting of GW2 hit different when I started playing compared to now.

I'm in favor of more settings that let people adjust and/or reduce visual noise (their own and that of other players) on their screens. It would be nice for people that have serious visual impairments and disabilities, but it would also be nice for me, a person who would like to be able to see enemy boss models once in a while. I've had the good fortune of finding some indi games and in-development MMOs that are taking this kind of thing into account from the start, so I hope that existing live-service games like GW2 consider ways they can make their product a bit more user-friendly as part of their ongoing maintenance.

Big changes after launch I can think of - The new player experience was adjusted which will impact the rate at which you access skills/story steps/ability to enter cities/etc. - Two expansions were added (a third is on the way) - Elite specializations (secondary trait lines for existing professions) have started mixing class identities - Mesmer is no longer the only one with a portal ability - We have guild halls now - We have raids now (and strike missions and more fractals and something called DRMs you'll learn about when you're older) - Weapon and armor skins can now be added to a 'wardrobe' which allows you to apply them across all of your characters as often as you want (provided you have transmutation charges with which to apply them) - Legendary items are now accessible by all of your characters once you bind them to your account; like the wardrobe, only these are the actual weapon and gear pieces, not just skins - There is now a mastery system that allows you to keep gaining new skills after level 80 - The second expansion added mounts (and at least one more is coming with the third expansion) - You can now purchase build and equipment loadouts that remember a certain set of skills, traits, and gear pieces/skins and allow you to switch between them as needed (They're expensive, per character, and a bit glitchy, YMMV) - Accountwide inventory slots are a thing now - There is a new mechanic called the break bar that appears under a boss' health as a blue line - these bars are typically weak to crowd control (cc) skills and will daze or temporarily weaken an enemy once broken - The people of LFG have invented a lot of lingo and shorthand for various classes, builds, and party requirements - You finally get to see more elder dragons in person, but you may not like the circumstances - So much visual noise has been added since 2012, SO MUCH And lastly, - One day, after listening to Canach's smooth jazz DiMaggio voice for a long time, you'll realize he suddenly sounds an awful lot like Matt Mercer

Rest easy, pal. He's a beta character and will be purged from existence within the week, hopefully for good. He'll live rent-free in your thoughts forever though.

AP are supposed to be a personal measure of progress that means as much (or as little) as you want it to. They aren't supposed to be a measure of other players in any way, so bragging about AP or assuming you know anything about another player because of their AP count is beyond silly and I'm sorry you were treated this way by someone empowered by a big number. I chase AP for fun as part of my endgame and would happily help another player who wanted to work on theirs, but it's 10/10 an opt-in, do it if you feel like it part of GW2 that doesn't determine your value.

They're hideously ugly, and I'm fine with that. I was able to put a Charr through a grinder and come out with Splash Meatface yesterday. On a more serious note, I think the snarlier looks can be quite good for someone looking to make a rugged warbeast or emulate some of the models from GW1. The faces with the feathered fur are also quite interesting, and then of course there's the female housecat faces with the tiny teeth - those aren't my thing really, but I'm sure someone's happy with them. All in all not bad for Charr compared to the other options we had before. I will say, however, that the texture quality does seem low/unfinished. That's an issue I'm noticing across most if not all of the new faces and hairs we got.

+1 to this. I have a woobly Skyscale skin that I really enjoy, but all of its animations and idle sounds are incredibly loud and disruptive, so I always feel a bit bad about using it around other people. If they could shut that off in their settings, I'd feel a lot better and they'd be a lot happier too.

Whole host of issues with the Sylvari hairs and faces this go around. From my tinker I discovered they: - Largely can't be dyed - Have incorrect textures (one of the faces uses a glow pattern very clearly meant for another one) - Barely respond to sliders and in some cases do not respond to sliders at all - Clip horribly (the long hair I kind of expected that, but the Naruto headband for males clips into all but one of the ear options) - Are using low-rez textures and a seemingly different artistic style from the rest of the game (smooth and featureless with a few overtextured pieces slapped on, mostly on the female faces - Almost feels like The Sims, if I had to put a finger on it) Just a bunch of weird. I'm genuinely sad about this, because I'm a salad main. I keep hoping we'll hear that these are just preliminary looks that are still being refined.

This is disappointing to hear. Flash forward to even just a single year from now; some player finishes IBS and then.. Cantha is just there? We get an in-game mail upon completion that says 'wawee, commander, you need to come see this' and you get summoned to an airship? I really hope there's something like an introductory story step that bridges the gap, because you can't rely on time-limited ambient chatter at a festival (which may not be going on at the time someone does IBS) or even the buried 'go talk to Taimi & Gorrik' achievement to convey a major plot point like 'yo we're going to another nation'. I'll stay tuned.

Well, considering the MKI looks like a naked woman and the MKII looks like an armored woman prepared for battle, maybe they decided the second look worked better for machines meant to be activated in times of war to defend Kryta's interests. MKI has a lot of artistic embellishments in her design that aren't particularly sturdy or functional which to me makes a worse machine if its purpose is combat-oriented. I find the MKII more aesthetically pleasing because of her well-fitted practical parts and sleek, aerodynamic design, and (at least in my case) that preference has nothing to do with sexuality. Don't worry though, if you miss the old curves we'll always have tonics and MAMA. You can even take her with you using this mini that was updated as recently as 2018!

Gotta have high high hopes for the swimmin', shooting for the skins so that I can put my legs in.

Okay but listen, Greyhawk, my guy. This is the company that sold the Cozy Wintersday Mounts Pack in August. Just imagine, pal. Swimsuits. Swimsuits, everywhere.

Ah, I see. If it's referencing a specific cultural aesthetic (not just a generic headband as you've pointed out) yet not adhering to the manner in which that aesthetic was used, I understand your position a bit more. I doubt it was done for inclusivity or trend, but I can see why it would be annoying for them to get everything right except allowing it to be worn by the gender that typically wears it in real life. Sure, Cantha's not real, but the custom they're emulating is. An easy fix for this would simply be to allow both genders to wear it (since the work for female is already done). There are already calls for gender-free hairstyle selection besides just cultural reasons, so I can't imagine that solution would generate any problems. What do you think?

Honestly, my first thought was 'oh, that's the 3am jogging in yoga pants hairstyle'. I understand it was added with looks that are obviously meant to be Asian-inspired, but after EoD, they're just going to be default character creation options and won't be limited to just Asian-inspired characters. So, if the goal was cultural authenticity? Womp. The fact that it exists isn't terrible though; it's going to get mileage outside of Cantha.

Overall, the Siege Turtle felt very clunky, inefficient, and high maintenance compared to its usefulness, both with a second player and without. Without seeing what masteries this mount will get, I can't make a full assessment, but here's my breakdown from fiddling with what we had access to today. Pros: - The turtle of another player becomes transparent once it gets close to/on top of my player model. Not sure if this was done intentionally to address the issue of huge mounts blocking objectives, but it seemed like something that might help - I'd still like a show/hide player mounts setting, but you tried. - It looks like a turtle/tortoise. I know this is a pretty low bar, but at least you didn't stick horns, wings, or human lips on it so I consider that a win. - The tech is clamped to the shell, not drilled into it. I know it's a digital animal, but it's always more satisfying for me when a mount doesn't look like its situation is miserable, so gold star here. Cons: - Mobility was hell: Relying on a second player to temporarily increase my ability to make basic turns felt awkward and neither I nor my gunner enjoyed that level of maintenance while simply trying to walk up a twisty path. This was also reflected in the near-total lack of directional control while using the jump jets. - Sucks to swim: Sinking like a rock could be made more bearable if you could then maneuver easier/faster along the floor of watery areas, but you can't. It has all the drawbacks of land travel and none of the benefits of water. - Too much co-op: If we're seriously going to be raising this mount from an egg, I'd like to know why our bond is so weak that we need a second person on board to get the turtle to make basic turns. Additionally, not being able to use the cannons just feels ridiculous. Nobody was dreaming of having a sentient siege weapon just to drive it - they wanted the boomsticks. A siege mode should be added so that a solo driver can plunk their turtle down and switch seats to become their own gunner, switching back as needed (having two people would still be more efficient, but at least this way you'd have full functionality available to you). - Animations are goofed: More often than not, characters are pressing buttons in places on the control panel where there aren't buttons. Additionally, there only seems to be one idle animation (the reclining); it might be nice to at least have one more - maybe the turtle does an excited little stomping/bouncing dance or withdraws into its shell from time to time? - Goofy physics: In addition to the ice-skating nature of the turtle's mobility on land (???), I also noticed that the jet animations don't lend a sense of weight to the turtle at all. It has these big booming footsteps but it just slowly, daintily floats back to earth when the jets let it down. The jets should probably cut a short distance above the ground with a satisfying thunk and maybe a subtle puff of debris under the mount. - Ugly Jade Tech: This is most likely just personal preference, but I don't like the style of the control panel and seating. Looks very Asuran and boxy compared to the very natural-looking animal it's attached to. I doubt this is going to change at all, but hopefully future skins opt for more flowing shapes. - Slam attack shoots what looks like jade particles: Why? Does the turt have jade breath or something? Will future skins change the color of this effect?

What struck me (because whenever we get new options, I like to go in and play monster factory for characters of all races and genders) wasn't even the aesthetics of the new features so much as the base quality of them. The shading and overall texture quality of the new faces and hairs was shockingly unfinished and/or low rez. Color mapping and sliders also seemed to be severely limited (or straight up broken?) and in some cases sliders didn't move a single pixel on a number of faces. If we got a dev message today saying 'yeah, we're still working on these' I could at least hold tight and wait for February, but if this is how they're going to stay, they are a very clear drop in quality not just from PoF standards, but from 2012 core release options too.

Shifting art direction aside, I believe the change made today is actually just using the Watchknight MK II, which is a model that was added to the game several years ago because of feedback that the old one had her bits hanging out. The Watchknights aren't hyperfuturistic in design - think more clockwork/steampunk if anything - so if your concern is that DR is about to turn into a digital nightmare, you can rest easy. For now, anyway.

First, this is your 6969th post - (Nice) Second, yes, absolutely this. And while we seem to be surviving that gap in skill (more or less) across other areas of the game, it shouldn't act as a barrier to personal story progress. It's all well and good to be of the view that the rest of the dungeon paths should be left alone since you only encounter them after your story is done, but the baseline introductory experience with dungeons (story mode) should absolutely be something a majority of players can experience alone and on their own terms in addition to being able to bring friends. Whether that's achieved through scaling or some other method isn't nearly as important as the end goal, which is ensuring that the primary elements of the core story can always be experienced by the average player whether you have backup available to you or not. The story (especially these early stories being played by new users) is supposed to introduce you to the game. The lore, the world, the mechanics, the skills and such. It should be as accessible as possible for as many players as possible, not just those choosing to play an RPGGG (Roleplaying Git Gud Game).

Could be! Hard to say for sure, but with so many broken things in a game this age, it's always nice to find something broken in a way that adds to the experience. Wholesome content - for the whole family! That's just the tip of the iceberg (broomberg?), there's so much more heartwarming disorder - most of which can be resolved with a quick re-log, map change, or use of a transformation tonic. You can dance (if you want to). You can fail to sit on the your mount. Your mount can fail to obey physics. You can seriously mishandle your weapons. You can immediately fail, even on easy mode. Cosmetics can be combined in new and horrifying ways. Sometimes your enemies are just as lazy about being farmed as you are about farming them. And sometimes, just sometimes, you can worry a little about the NPCs and hope they're okay. Happy little accidents aren't the reason I play GuildWars2, but they may well be the reason I keep playing it.