Avenrise.3592

The lag has been getting steadily worse over the past few months and weeks. At first it was S4 maps but it now seems to be 'spreading' to PoF and core Tyria maps. I've been around a LONG time (beta with a 5ish year break) and I've never seen spikes so bad. There is clearly a problem that needs addressing here and I worry that if GW2 releases on Steam in this condition it will put a lot of potential players off. I really do think that this needs talking about more.

Personally I'm waiting...trying to forget the update has even dropped! However its probably easier for me as I have one character who is the Commander and no other, and I don't really pay attention to achievements unless they're fun/can be solo'd anyway. I'm also not playing much these days so its not so in my face that I'm missing out.

One word- Wildstar. Add housing equal to the housing system of Wildstar and you peak my interest as that was amazing. That being said... I put 'I don't know' as I'm not sure it's a good idea taking more people out of hub maps and guild halls. Maybe the option of a 'guild map' with dedicated, claimable plots for each player to build on and a meeting Hub in the middle? Again not ideal as larger guilds would struggle for space maybe but....hmm.... my mind is racing for ideas!

Usually I'd see a thread like this and move on without saying anything but this is so self-absorbed and selfish, not to mention borderline offensive to the hard working staff at ANET, that I feel the need to post something. The size of the issue ...how quickly it was sorted ...the fact that this is a complete one off (two maybe, if I remember correctly) in 8 years of flawless delivery ...we should be thanking the staff, not demanding items. ANET owe us nothing and yet they still say they wish to make up for the error and give us something. Yet many see this as an opportunity to demand more free stuff and I personally find this unacceptable and you should be ashamed.

Since this post I've opened 48 chests, have got just 2 skins. Its obviously RNG but my 10% estimate is falling like a rock in the ocean :#

My earlier comment just isn't sitting right a couple of days after the fact and I feel the need to say something. I meant my opinion on the decision at the time but as is natural I let my emotion lead the way. I am so wrapped up in the lore/story it hurt to be told that the next installment wouldn't have a huge chunk of the emotion that comes with the animation and writing at launch. I am here mainly for the story, although jump in whenever I just want to have a little fun and I adore this game for it. However after thinking about it, however saddening it is for me, this is probably the correct decision for the game. It's also a pretty bold move from ANET which should really be applauded as they are thinking outside the box and innovation, however small, should be lauded. From a personal point of view I just have to find a way to stay away from the new map for the duration of the voiceless episode! (Yes, I'm one of those that sees new maps as full of spoilers of the story)

I personally feel this is actually the wrong decision to make and will not be playing this content at launch and that hurts a load because the story is the main reason I came back to GW2 after such a long time away. I look forward to it. I understand the need to protect everyone (I work in the NHS in the UK) and have no issue with the team not being able to get back together but why then still release a half-finished product? I can only speculate of course but it feels as though this is a purely business decision and their metrics say that any delay to the episode will decrease player numbers in the short term. Have alternatives been looked into? Some kind of stop-gap? I will still play this when it is fully voice acted. I'm not staying away out of spite, I love GW2 but just feel that this is a terrible decision and I'd rather have the episode postponed.

By far the best glider/backpack I've seen designed to date, I honestly said wow when I saw it and yet...doesn't fit any of my characters. May just have to pick it up before it leaves the gem store though...

Obviously a small sample size but I'm averaging 1 per 10 boxes roughly (can't remember total # but missed maybe 10-15 boxes and have 7 skins so far)

Personally I'd like to see BL chests introduce the same mechanic you have with the Gift of Aurene in the Mistborn chests. Every x keys gives you a choice of item per BL reward rotation. If that number is 50...100 keys so be it, at least you know you'll get what you want within that amount of keys. Or, as has been previously mentioned, put all the decent rewards in the Statuette vendor at some point as opening 50/100 chests you'll have the statuettes free anyway. I don't personally gamble in games with real world currency but have a store of earned keys waiting for that special prize. I did get lucky not long ago with a premium mount box on my 2nd of 5 spent keys but for every one of me there's one unlucky soul at least.

1) Asking for harder content is a good thing but unless you're talking about more raids or high tier Fractals I think you need to cool your jets. I'd love new form of harder Champ to be introduced with small scale group mechanics where the spawn is announced and a bunch of players rush over to defeat it but the general PvE experience isn't broken just because it doesn't fit with your ideals. 2) The idea of prioritising solo play in an MMO is ludicrous. I play solo and would love some kind of solo/story mode for some of the instanced content but to actively encourage it OVER teaming up is crazy. This isn't a single player game. 3) Increasing MF increases the drop rate, which decreases drop prices, which means they're no longer as desirable unless you can use the resource in which case you're shortening the game for yourself. Why would ANET ever do this? Also when you say you want MF to matter more you're asking for RNG as a mechanism to matter more and while I like a little RNG sprinkled here and there (more super rare, specifically placed drops please!) GW2 should actively stay away from the model a lot of other MMOs follow in this regard. 4) Your Champ drop rate testing, if in the hundreds, is not large enough to be significant. Tens of thousands and we could start having a proper conversation about whether this is a thing. 5) A Legendary that you can get in a month. So ignoring the fact you're willing to risk the wrath of everyone who's already got Legendaries and spent all that time and effort... it sounds like you just want to again save yourself some time. What sense would this make as a game mechanism for the entire community? How special would they be if everyone can get the full set in a few months? How would the economy handle the fact that there is now a much smaller market for other weapons/armor/sigils, or the mats used to create them? 6) The trading guilds, if they had a huge affect on the economy, would have been banned long ago. They are public knowledge and while I personally have had no dealing with them so far (may sell my GoM at some point) you cannot stop people trading in game, just make it a little harder for them (hense the cap). Please be aware that just because a mode doesn't have what you want from it it doesn't make it broken or lacking. When suggesting whether to add anything to the game you have to look at the wider implications of your suggestions and if someone points out why it wouldn't work for the wider community don't double down. Either accept or come up with a different suggestion that might work. Also... GW2 has been around a long time and the devs, for the most part, know how best to spend their resources to ensure financial stability. It's still going relatively strong after 8 years with another expansion in the works which is a rarity nowadays so they must be doing something right!

I main a Sylvari and, in my honest opinion, the bioluminescence should be left alone. Its an effect that is unique to the Sylvari and makes sense from a thematic POV. Using the argument of 'we have magic, its fine' is wrong. If I suddenly thought hey, my Charr would look cool with an extra arm on one side should that mean a toggle for that? I might be a little biased because I hate the idea and look of infusions that have made the game look like if a cat ate glitter and puked it up on the rug. But they're here now and those like me have to put up with them. You're effectively asking for a Sylvari infusion.

With everything that is happening in the world, with the hard couple of weeks I've had at work (UK NHS) THIS is exactly what I personally needed this evening. It's just cats....but it's all it ever needed to be so thanks devs for this.

Some amazing answers from all of you, thanks a lot. Its helping to put my mind at ease a bit. I wish I could turn off the anxiety as its just a damn game but it doesn't really work like that, worst luck. With regards to the offers to join thanks, I may take you up on that when things calm down a bit. I'm a UK NHS worker so things are mad at the moment. Get home and I'm pretty much falling asleep by 8!

Hi! So I've been back playing the game for about 6ish months now after a 5 year hiatus, enjoying most of what the game has to offer in terms of PvE and WvW. I've loved getting immersed in the game again but I have a problem- I'm reluctant to experience group content. I suffer from anxiety and while I feel I'd like to start the experience of raiding (and fractals, which I still haven't stepped foot in since I've been back) my brain steps in and throws all sorts of roadblocks in front of me. Question 1) I recognise Discord is a must for raiding but the thought of speaking is.... urgh. Is listening to instructions enough? I'm very experienced playing my Berserker and by the looks of the build guides they seem like an optimal DPS class for raids. My main alt also happens to be a SB Soulbeast which I read is pretty good also. Both have full ascended so gear isn't an issue. What I cannot seem to get into my head is rotations- I know it's the most simple rotation you can do (berserker) and against dummys I have no issue. Introduce a proper enemy and it's as if my brain freezes up. I've tried so hard so many times but I can't seem to be able to pay attention to rotation as well as damage mitigation, movement, my HP and the other friendlies all at once. The damage is there (I'm not useless as I've been playing my main for a long time) but I'm probably nowhere near optimal. Trust me when I say it's not a case of practicing more... my brain just doesn't seem to work that way as I've been trying for weeks now. Question 2) How relaxed are raid groups (non-pug) with rotations? Do a lot of groups not accept you if you cannot master rotations? Are DPS and competency checks common (which I'm not necessarily against BTW, I understand the need to to waste everyone's time)? I know there are raid training guilds but again my damn anxiety shows its ugly face once more. I've played the game solo since coming back with only a private guild for the bank space. My thoughts are racing about what is expected of me in one of these more hardcore guilds. Question 3) Would it be considered rude to just join a raid training guild for just that reason? By that I mean I really don't wish to offend anyone by being the quiet one and just turning up for training and that's it. I'm a pretty shy guy and may wish to go back to 'solo-guilding' when not raiding if that's at all possible. Question 4) How strict are training guilds? What is the typical requirement to join and what is typically expected of you in terms of participation and activity? I wrote down a couple more questions but answered them myself so deleted them :) Thanks in advance for some answers!

I do understand that having no access to the personal story and to past wardrobe items would be a massive negative. But I think Anet could do something different than just adding new regular classes and it would still be enjoyable and bring something to the GW2 experience. I personally feel that you can mitigate the loss of the personal story by having a mini personal story for the new race to compensate. Get to know the origins, how they came to this part of the world, how your main/alt character earns the trust of the new race and how they fit into the story of Tyria going forward. New lore, a new home map and new achievements/collections to earn race specific rewards like outfits and armour plus of course weapon skins which can be used on any character. One thing to note though is I think this should be for specific, already semi-established GW2 races only. I wouldn't personally want to see something like the WoW way of doing things. Hylek, Tengu and Largos for the time being.

There are many threads on here discussing the feasibility of adding a new race to GW2. Many, like me, would love to see the Tengu make an appearance. There are many stumbling blocks to adding new races but two seem pretty obvious- armour models and voice acting for previous story parts of the game. So it got me thinking... how can you overcome these two specific issues? What if a new race was introduced in the same way that Skyscales became part of the game? Added later on in the story, Skyscales had their own quest line to acquire and flat out didn't exist before the events at Dragonfall. What if you had a quest line that your main/alt could follow that would gain the favour of the Tengu/other and enable you to play as one? Why is there a need for new races to even touch the Personal Story when you could make a new 'mini-story' that could incorporate both your main/alt and the new race and ultimately unlock the ability to play as one? Leave the base races for the starting screen... the new race(s) would be available only to those that have reached that part of the game with other characters. The issue of armour is easy- I'd be willing to bet the majority of people interested in playing another race would be okay with a reduced wardrobe. It's not ideal but lets face it, new models for all the previous armours will never happen as there are so many. Fashion Wars is definitely a huge part of the game but what about...and I realise this is controversial... no wardrobe at all? If there was enough story/lore added to my playing experience I honestly would play a Tengu/other if all there was were outfits/skins for it. Then if GW3 ever releases (we can hope!) you've got a great platform for an added playable race at launch with all the bells and whistles afforded to the other races. What other issues can you think of and how would you personally overcome them?

Returning Items: I'd love the full set of glider skins from years back making a re-appearance. I'm personally after the Branded Relic Glider as a buyable item (as opposed to earning the box through BLCs) but just knowing the full set were to be released would give more a lot more customisation choice.

Welp that's an end to that mystery then! Thanks for the heads up.

My vote = not at the moment (my personal feeling) but... This whole Saga =/= Expansion talk that a lot of players are talking about cannot be valid until after the Saga has ended. Sure at the moment it does not seem like we are receiving expansion worthy content but who knows what will come in future episodes? That_Shaman data-mined the fact that the Scroll book has 8 slots so potentially we're looking at 6 more full maps bringing at least 6 more episodes (maybe more if they're split) so who knows what they can add to the game in the next 6x2 months!

By unique I mean very rare and exclusive. Something to brag about. I'm not sure I can ever remember anyone bragging about of a full set of CoF armour. If I want the Queen Bee where do I go? Are Invisible slippers available game wide? Do I get Tequatl's Hoard from level 15 mobs in Kessex? Sorry for sounding like an ass but the game is full of items only available in certain areas of the game. The key is having these unique drops in as many places as possible, to spread people around. Dungeons currently do not have these except for maybe the recipes you mentioned but again do you take pride in getting one of these or are they just dumped on the TP immediately? I'm on EU and I won't pretend like there aren't parties for dungeons as there are. However certain dungeons are not frequented as much (the times I've been on and looking this week there have been no HotW parties at all in LFP) and of the parties I have been in only a couple were casual runs for the fun of it. I don't know exact numbers of course but I'd be willing less of the playerbase plays dungeons compared to Fractals. I'd personally like to see this evened out a little, that's all.

I love the idea of the Primal Spirit Jackal mount but there are two things that have stopped me getting one- the antlers are ridiculous and IMO look a little...glued on if I can say that? The other is that surely this should have been a Raptor skin? A leap forward rather than blinking forward. So to that end I'd just love anything else that is of a naturey, forest/jungle theme that makes thematic sense really.

So we all know that dungeons will never get an overhaul and while this is a shame it's been known for a long time. However I'd like to see more people in dungeons for reasons other than just gold so without further adieu my master plan... ...a treasure mushroom in each dungeon. You heard me correctly! A unique mob that can be looted once per day at the end of each of the longest paths (or maybe all paths but that might mean too many players in dungeons instead of other content) that very rarely drops a unique item. Maybe a dungeon-themed infusion? A single unique weapon skin? Different 'Invisible' armour items? Pick your poison. It's not an overhaul but it gives people another reason to enter dungeons for very little ANET time invested in development. Either that or remove explorable dungeons and move them into Fractals.... but that's a whole other can of worms! Thoughts? Feelings? Am I grasping at straws here??

Quoting myself!....I didn't get time to check last night but has anyone got a clue? No mention of this achievement in game or Googling.

I'm sorry to have derailed the Kickstarter thread, this is off topic and I promise to get back on topic after this reply! I've just re-read what I posted and you are correct, my ideas make very little sense! Second times the charm so.... The idea that I meant to put across was that, for a monthly fee = that of buying x amount of gems on a monthly basis with real money, you could get extra content and get to keep that amount of gems. This means a regular monthly income from the playerbase- if you buy x amount of gems anyway per month with £ you get free content for nothing but this would also encourage those who hardly ever buys gems and people who only gold>gems to spend some £ on a regular basis. Okay so the thorny issue of extra content and £ gating maps leading to fragmentation.... I understand what you're saying but you could argue that those without the expansions are already fragmented from the rest of the playerbase. These new maps could be smaller in scope...maybe just a single boss or a boss+a farm....somewhere to chill and soak in the sights like a beach (think a new type of lounge)... hell, they don't have to even be in Tyria. Give us mini Mist maps or mini fractals. So long as the rewards are not better than core Tyria and the content is different then I personally see this as many mini expansions that you pay for in monthly installments to get access to. No one likes paying extra- I'm not too well off at the moment myself so I'd have to consider my own suggestion more before taking it on. But we cannot lie to ourselves that GW2 will be around for many years to come when so many have left the company in recent years and the restructuring. ANET needs to be able to show decent profit (or at least the promise of it) to be allowed to carry on running GW2 and any ideas we can suggest to increase the length of time this amazing game is still around should be noted down. This is one of a few ideas I have and is of course just an opinion, feel free to disagree.