AgentMoore.9453

It isn't explicitly stated in the lore, but if you really wanted to headcanon why Skyscales suck at staying in the air long-term, you could always point to their origin: Creatures inexplicably pooped out of the Mists after the passage of Kralkatorrik through the realms. When we first discover this mount, it's being born, rapidly aging, and dying and it's only because of the intervention of Gorrik and the commander that the species is saved at all. In essence, they're made of (and eat) destabilized Mists woobles, so just about anything goes with their lore. From a game design standpoint though, balance and design are the reasons they (and the Griffon) have that handicap. They could have given us a true flying mount, but that's not what they wanted. Griffon was meant to be a swift and sharp glider (and can go a long while if you get enough height and make use of the dive/rise) and the Skyscale was intended as a quickly ascending helicopter capable of effectively maneuvering across irregular terrain. These were the gameplay goals, not persistent flight.

Yeah, sure, why not? And honestly, the idea of the disembodied chin of Primordus thudding after players is amazing. I support your idea, even the silly half.

This is exactly it. Cooperative, low-stress design. The resource sharing in particular has completely spoiled me, and now I want all games to have it. Being able to pick up your friends when they're near death or break out the spatula at full death is also a great feeling (I like this feature in Borderlands as well). The other part of the equation is the way in which gear is designed. People aren't constantly shedding their proverbial skin with rapidfire new tiers - there's a relatively low ceiling to hit in terms of armor, weapons, and even bags, which means you regularly get people passing on those lower tier things to people who are still working their way up at no cost to the people doing the donating. Pretty much everything you do in this game grants experience, and helping other players is often of direct benefit to you with regard to event completion, loot, XP, and even achievements. ArenaNet should never lose sight of this kind of design, because it's exactly why I fell in love with the game.

From a game design standpoint, I'd assume it was to get people logging in on multiple days during the festival (additional theory: to get more eyes on the winter sales in the shop). For a while, this had the additional benefit of extending the lifespan of the Wintersday festivities for people who'd already completed or grown tired of the other things available at the time, so it was kind of like a daily advent calendar you could check in and make progress on during the holiday season when all your other options for festival doings had been exhausted. Now that more things to do have been added to Wintersday, it seems less necessary to timegate this quest. It's fine to leave it as is, but I'd also shrug if they removed the gate from this. It's kind of like how they put the previous year's meta reward in the vendor for the next year. Content ages, rewards get adjusted to match; no big deal. It's unlikely that they will remove the timegate from this since dated festival content very seldom gets tweaks, but it's not impossible either.

Nothing in my post is misleading though? If you buy GW1 through Steam and GW2 through Steam, you (currently) can't link the two and access the related rewards. I think that's a shame, and it would be a good thing to fix if possible. I keep meeting new players who joined through Steam who weren't aware of this when they got the game and so decided to switch over to the ArenaNet version as a result. Better to get that out of the way 2 months into playing instead of 2 years and countless dollars in. If they make linking possible for Steam users at some point in the future, that'd be great. Yes, my post does state that HoM rewards require playing/linking GW1, something that you can do at any time even if you play GW2 first. In fact, that's the way I discovered and ultimately purchased GW1, by enjoying the second game and seeing a section of rewards dedicated to owning and playing the first game. Most of the people I know who own GW1 also did it in this order (the others being OG players who had GW1 when it was new and migrated here after). You already get a nice selection of armor skins just from account linking, so to me that already makes it worth the effort. This thread is about the dragon mini and 2FA, but it also brought to mind other the limitations on Steam accounts, hence my bringing up the HoM to begin with. It's just another one of those things I'd appreciate knowing about as a newer player instead of finding out years down the line and being unable to do anything about it.

Yes, I agree about the dragon. Steam users have such weird limitations, and it'd be great if ArenaNet kept tinkering to fix them. Also, and I don't know how much code they'd have to dig through to make this possible, but they should work on giving Steam users access to the Hall of Monuments from owning/playing GW1 and linking it to your GW2 account. Bonkers that the Steam release happened and that wasn't part of it, as there is a not-insignificant amount of skins, pets, titles, and achievement points locked behind it. I imagine I'd be very disappointed if I bought a complete game and didn't have access to all of its content just because of my launch platform.

I didn't say the problem was difficulty though? (I actually like the Halloween puzzle too; masochist, I guess) I said people were upset because those who couldn't/didn't want to finish the puzzle couldn't get the rewards locked behind it, and they added the chest as an alternative way to get those rewards. If OP's idea got implemented, it's one of the three workarounds I suggested to ensure access for people. I like the idea, and I also agree that accessibility should be kept in mind if it's implemented.

This would be fun and not too different from the mini-games we have year-round like Crab Toss. They actually ran into this with the Halloween Clocktower puzzle, and their solution was simply to place a chest at the bottom powered by relevant currency for those who couldn't/didn't want to do the puzzle itself. A similar solution could be offered with OP's idea, using regional materials or something related to the content where this grindable JP concept gets implemented. That way, you could choose to either spend time/effort or materials to hit the same goal. Alternatively, if the proposed activity is in an openworld location, they could simply allow people to do their thing with Mesmer portals and prototype position rewinders, same as is currently done for other puzzles. Finally, they could sidestep this issue entirely by making the loot at the end of the puzzle no different than loot that drops elsewhere in the region, meaning the activity would be an alternative source of stuff instead of the only source, much like how the Wintersday puzzle is merely another source of gifts instead of being exclusive. This may actually be the best way to approach OP's idea, because the key difference between it and regular JPs is that you could conceivably sit there doing it over and over and so you wouldn't really want the loot to be too impactful. I like the Wintersday puzzle a lot, and as OP mentioned, the choice to include different paths is a great way to appeal to a wide range of people. If repeatable/grindable JP activities available all year became a thing, I think they'd fit right in. Please give. I want have.

As OP has noted, they have made improvements to the friends list recently, but it can still be improved further to put it more in line with the industry standard of other games/social media. I hope they do so as time presents itself. Wouldn't mind if they reverted the off-line change while they're in there either. 👀

If you downloaded directly from ArenaNet: > Open Control Panel >Programs > Uninstall A Program (It should be on this list) This is the official page on it, and the correct way to uninstall. If GW2 isn't showing up on your uninstall list, that page I linked also has further resources available from Windows on the subject. Since you're a 6-year vet, I doubt you'd be playing through Steam, but the instructions may differ slightly for that.

Disconnects appear to trigger the dishonor system, which is meant to encourage people not to abandon matches by logging out or AFKing during them. The game can't tell if you disconnected by mistake or on purpose, so that's probably why you have the penalty. Dishonor works on a sliding scale, so if you disconnect a lot, in theory your penalty would bump up too - but if it's a one-off hiccup, then you shouldn't have any issues after this.

I'd like this, maybe with a quest to go pet dogs around Tyria now that there are so many in-game models. I'd also be fond of a fish or Squidmander tag for all the nice people who lead Fishing Party buff squads. I remember last time we talked about this, there were also players weighing in that the different tag shapes can be very useful for people unable to discern color easily; accessibility seems like a nice side effect.

This thread came back from June; threw me for a loop to get quoted here - hi. But nah, I don't think that's a rock solid theory. It relies too much on the idea that ArenaNet is flawless in some way and incapable of making a decision that isn't wise/profitable. Doing something repeatedly or for a long time doesn't mean it's a good or logical thing to do, even when it's a company doing it. ArenaNet's long tried to reinvent the wheel over and over and over with various types of content and systems that have failed in the past, and they often re-make mistakes that were solved years prior either because of a lack of oversight or turnover with staff. I don't believe the company is infallible, and therefore I think it's entirely possible for this to happen with their sales and marketing tactics too. It doesn't mean your theory of repetition can't be true, I just don't think it is based on how much money they're currently not making from me and others while they play FOMO roulette with the gem shop rotation. Watch lists, more predictable gem shop offerings, or a stationary catalog would all be good ways to address the issue; it works well for other retailers, so I'm not sure why it wouldn't work here. I dunno man. If I ran a restaurant and once a month my customers left feedback complaining about the random rotation of my menu, my first thought would probably be 'maybe we should look into that' instead of 'it must be working'. If I changed nothing, I'd undoubtedly still be making money, and people would still be eating the food, but they'd probably be more confident giving me their business if I considered making changes. At minimum, I'd try it out for a while and see how it went instead of just assuming I was right.

Same. Should have been one of the Jade Bot salvage modules so you could at least passively earn them while playing content instead of sitting at a crafting station destroying things. It's disappointing that they nerfed festival loot boxes instead of just re-evaluating how their contents interacted with their new system.

Logged in just to see how bad this is - it's bad. Truly the 'off-line' of unnecessary visual changes. Please either completely revert this change or add back the 'no thanks' option in settings.

Polish. All of the expansions so far have been unfinished to some degree (even HoT, which is my favorite). Half-realized maps, dropped storylines, leftovers from discarded content/event chains, and unfinished concepts (Hello guild halls and fishing), and broken meta events and quest chains keep killing my buzz. It's especially bad in EoD with all those peddlers and merchants who don't peddle (or merch) and pathing NPCs you can't [greet]. I feel like if they let their expansions bake longer or if they reined in some of their sprawling ideas so that they could bring them to full completion by release time, expansions would hit different in a good way. It isn't that ArenaNet doesn't have good ideas, they just don't let them percolate enough, and sometimes you can really tell. This would definitely help. It's true that core does have some discarded and unfinished bits, but enough of it is populated and polished that it's still enjoyable to return to these maps even after a decade. There's always something to see or do while you're there, and that's what expansion maps should have as well. One reason that HoT is my favorite expansion is that its maps are well-populated with unique events, adventures, easter eggs, pleasing vistas, and interesting dialogue. I sometimes visit HoT maps purely because of that whereas I tend to only revisit PoF and EoD if I need a specific crafting material. I also apply this kind of thinking to living world content. For instance The Silverwastes, Drizzlewood Coast, Bitterfrost Frontier, and Dragonfall have all remained quite popular because of the way they are built and the reward structure on offer. These maps are fun places to run around and well worth returning to for the scenery, functionality, and overall vibe. More like this, please.

First, my condolences. Dusk/Dawn is basically the bane of the fishing feature (right up there with fishing stacks vanishing during a map change after you've spent an hour preparing for dusk/dawn). I'll try to help from the perspective of someone who has maxed all the fishing and boat things (It definitely helps to finish out your masteries). My usual go-to is 1.) Make sure I have the bait/lure I need, 2.) Check the in-world time to anticipate when the things I need will start spawning, 3.) Get on boat, 4.) Eat sushi, 5.) Use the Skiff's turbo boost to get quickly to different fishing holes within the dusk/dawn window. I'm probably not the most efficient angler, but I feel like I can get where I need pretty quickly in that 5-minute window. Some Tips: - You're right that the stinky pollution water is the best bet for world class fish. If you're dead set on the Striker, it's a solid tactic to keep fishing there until the RNG gods smile on you, so if you can manage the stress long enough, you will eventually catch one. - Complete collections in other, more profitable maps that bring you more joy, since the Twilight Striker can appear in many different fishing nodes (Boreal, Coastal, Deep, Desert, Lake, Offshore, River, Saltwater, Shore). This way, you still have a chance at nabbing one while also pulling in Ambergris from rare fish and from repeatable fishing collections. To increase the chances of reeling in a Striker, switch to baits that won't hook the dusk/dawn fish that spawn in those other maps if possible. This is less efficient than just hanging out in Kessex, but if your head is ready to pop off, it's an option. - Pop your Fishing Power numbers up so you don't have to wait as long to start getting nicer catches. Get on the boat (Fishing party buff), Eat sushi (Fishing on a full tank buff & sushi buff), and use +100 lures. You don't necessarily need this to catch exotic-level fish, but it doesn't hurt. As for the garbage: - Consider picking up the Jade Bot from EoD. It can be equipped with a recycler upgrade that turns trash into other things when it enters your inventory (There are a few different options for this). It's very satisfying to fish up trash and watch it turn into treasure, and it also cuts down on the inventory spam. Best of luck out there, and try not to hook the Krait Witch (But please send pics if you do).

I didn't realize I wanted this and now I want this. 🥓✨

Three times. Alienware offered it and then re-upped the supply of item codes after the first batch ran out. After this, the Prime promotion. So, three total (four if you count the original release with the statue). I did say 'almost immediately', as in 'quite soon after its first appearance'. The statue (and code card) didn't get to people until January, and the first promo hit 8 months later (So, not one or two months as I mentioned, I will concede). 8 months seems early to re-release a promo/exclusive item. You're free to disagree with me about that, but it's all I was pointing out with regard to why OP might be feeling the way they do. All cosmetics in GW2 lose (and should lose) their exclusivity at some point, this particular thing just lost it quickly and therefore it's not surprising that some people might feel disappointed about that.

I'd love to have some kind of 'travel guide' that contains all these things for easy access.

OP's right, actually, and part of the problem lies in the fact that there are two shop pages on the official site, one of which does not list the complete collection. When you go to the official site and click shop, you see three things front and center: PoF/HoT, EoD, and then something called Collection. People can twist that however they want, but for someone new to GW2 who has no idea about living world, those options easily look like 1st & 2nd part of game, 3rd part of game, complete game. Further, this is the blurb that's still being used to sell the expansion collection: > Get everything you need to experience Tyria, a vast living world. I shouldn't have to point this out, but I will: This sounds like you're getting everything, and if you've heard the term 'living world' but don't know much about it as a new player, it sounds like it'll be included along with the expansions. It is not. It is exactly this kind of confusing language that prompted ArenaNet to release the full package on Steam, but as of right now, it's still not listed prominently when you click 'shop' on the official website. The easiest fix would be to add the complete collection (expansions+LW) right next to those other options on the shop landing page. In fact, this is what they've done on the secondary shop page through their website. Why are there two shop pages? No idea, but it really should be tidied up to prevent situations like OP experienced.

I kinda see where the OP is coming from, but only because the cape was released through promos almost immediately after people dropped Big Money on getting it with the statue. With all the 'exclusive' 'limited edition' 'get it before it's gone' hype that surrounded the statue, it was a reasonable assumption that the cape that came with it was a similarly-limited deal. And then a month or two later it started showing up across various freebie promotions. Iirc, it's been offered this way three times since EoD dropped (Alienware x2, Prime x1). That said, I don't mind at all that it's available in other ways, it's just that the timeline for it happening was much faster with the cape than other, similar offerings.

A good price point too, I should mention. The Forest Archer Pack was a cape and quiver (and quiver/cape separately) for 600. This pack is Hood, Hood (illuminated), and cape for 600. This trend of giving us bundled looks as well as separate/variant pieces is very nice, and I hope they keep doing it. I can't tell you how many times something has shown up in the store and I've been like 'oh man that looks great, but if only it didn't have the spikes/tiara/particles...' Giving us options like this just increases the chance I'll buy something when before I might have passed for a minor reason.

Collecting stuff and hitting hero points and other objectives without having to deal with mobs or bypassing difficult terrain/locked doors/gates. It was a big problem in Dragon's Stand for a while where people were using this under-the-map teleporting method to farm out black lion keys by fast-tracking map completion on alternate characters without actually having to explore the map. Regular people do occasionally fall under maps and go exploring (because it's fun/harmless and gives no benefit except rad screenshots I guess), but the ones that you see teleporting from place to place directly under nodes and chests are very unlikely to be rule-abiding players. Report the ones that look sus when you're able and go about your life otherwise.

Yes, these are usually bots programmed to teleport around under the map collecting resources and tapping objectives. If you can catch the names, report them, but be sure not to confuse them with people who are logging in/appearing within the normal playable area and harvesting at popular node locations, since that's fair play and quite common with flax farming and at certain chests.