Tazer.2157

This is expected in an MMO which has been out as long as GW2. The game keeps adding new content and if they don't make the old stuff more accessible to new players, they will always be playing catch up. I also strongly disagree with your take on using the turtle mounts to get to new maps. The objective of any MMO should be to increase social interaction and in this case the turtle mount had that effect. While achievements can be motivating, we play games for fun and enjoyment. Also lets be honest, achievements in games mean nothin once the game shuts down. When that happens, no one is going to remember grinding the skyscale, the griffon or legendary weapons. The only thing we will take with us are the interactions we've had with other players.

The new daily system is a step in the right direction, but the daily quests needs some tuning to prevent them becoming mundane. I hope Anet is just not trying to increase playtime with the new quests but rather enjoyment. Second the relics are a definite step up from the runes. The older system literally forced us to into a build. With relics, now we can mix and match. It now changes how classes that have the same rune set plays. For instance considering healing builds, you now have a choice to either improve healing output or give other supportive bonuses. There will be a meta relic builds later on, but still I like the flavor it adds to the class.

Daily rewards was lazy, mobile-phone-like-gameplay and I am glad they got rid of it. Relics offer more build diversity than the earlier system that forces us to have matching runes. With relics, they can really change how certain builds play out and I hope they come up with interesting effects. And while it is $25 for the expac, it is still does not have a subscription and there will be more content added in the coming months. I wish the skyscale combat could be more dynamic, but I am looking forward to playing the expansion.

Turtle slam is nerfed because the people in charge wants its user base to play the game a certain way. "Are you using the turtle instead of your weapon?" Nope, that's not allowed. NERF! And this is funny, because they have no problems giving us other ways to CC and heal (The portable waystation). This is the same reason why the turtle is still not playable in WvW, even a year after the EoD release. We have a few thinking GW2 is some ultra high level DOTA2 like E-sports game for MMOs and because of that balance is prioritized over enjoyment. The sad truth is that the game needs more features, but nooo we can't have a new mount in WvW or a new map in PvP, cause those additions might "ruin" the game.

The question becomes, do you weapon swap for the weapon skills or for the quickness ? I feel that by tying quickness into the unleashed mechanic and by tying the unleashed mechanic to a weapon swap swings the intention of the weapon swap towards the latter. I really do not enjoy this forced rotation gameplay and it is not good for the game.

Good point. So normally when we play untamed, we would go in and out of the unleashed state whenever the unleashed power was up. It kind of locks you in to pushing certain buttons in a pattern. I never liked this mechanic in the first place. But this is the topic for another day. But the quickness application forces us into doing a weapon swap and entering the unleashed state, and I do not see a positive in this. Basically I am asking this question: what is there to be gained in making the player do a weapon swap and go in and out of the unleashed state just to apply quickness. Isn't this an unnecessary complication, and doesn't it take away player choice in combat?

So ever since alacrity and quickness became required boons to do instanced content, the devs made a choice to give these boons to every class. A welcome change, one that made the game better. But somewhere along the way, these boons took preference over the core mechanic of the class and began to change the way we play them. My observation is based on how quickness and alacrity are given out by the untamed and the druid class only, and even though other classes might have more straightforward boon application, my point still holds. Now as a druid, to give out alacrity we need to use our celestial avatar skills, and as an untamed, we share quickness when we use the unleashed ambush skill which refreshes when we swap weapons. In both these cases the boon application is unnecessarily tied to other actions and forces a rotation on the class. So, now if I were to play quickness untamed I would need to constantly jump in and out of the unleashed state, swap weapons and repeat. While for alac druid, using the celestial avatar becomes mandatory. Because of this mindless rotation, I cannot enjoy the instance, or even pay attention to it. Rather I am forced to look at my celestial avatar meter . Its even worse with the untamed with all the button presses involved to apply quickness! I feel that this is BAD gameplay and not enjoyable. I picked druid to heal the group and not spam my celestial avatar skills just to give out alacrity. With untamed, I do not have the flexibility to choose which unleashed skills or weapons I want to use at a particular instant. I feel that people pick certain class to explore the playstyle that class offers, and not to give out alacrity or quickness. I think making the quickness and alacrity straightforward to apply and not tying it to other actions - especially those that compel a certain rotation or playstyle - makes the game better. I know this is a polarizing topic and I want to hear the community's take on this, because in the end, class design will only be based on popular choice. Are we 500 IQ button smashers or do we just like to take it easy? Or are there other classes where this boon application is done better?

I agree. At the center node of the PvP colosseum map, you could literally fight at the edge and then use serpent strike to fake a dodge into the platform below. The enemy would fall for it and jump down, but the serpent strike animation, being like a U would keep you on the platform. It was tough to pull off, but when it worked it felt so good.

The only scenario I see to use the second leap is when the enemy uses a blink skill to disengage. But then again, the second leap has a much shorter range and would most likely not be able to catch up. But I think I know the reasoning for the change: Its to give a finisher to the sword. The devs are hoping that you leap and deal enough damage to finish a player off. But guess what, people will complain and the damage will be nerfed, you can quote me on this later. Then we will have come full circle and and this time, since the utility from the weapon has been removed, we will have two leaps that does nothing.

Again, you didn't explain how you would play the class. I want to know how you would use the sword instance by instance. Start with 1. Leap into enemy. Please continue from here, and tell me when you think the second leap will come in handy. Also, did you try to turn the cam when you are engaged in combat? It is tedious to do, and for you to say "just rotate camera" is not good reason to agree to this change. But I am not surprised by this. This change is from the same team that thought spamming spirits is a good way to keep alacrity up on druid, or that having a class that requires you to have 5 buttons (3 skills, 2 for attack and disengage) just to control the pet (the untamed) is good for the game.

Yes please explain . Stop using buzzwords like "adds to counterpressure" without explaining how the new changes add to the so called "counterpressure". The old sword did have counterpressure, it was a forward leap after having the ability to disengage from a losing battle which I'd argue fits the definition of counterpressure. With two forward leaps, all you can do is go all in.

There you have said so yourself. What used to take 1 button, now takes 3. Very nice.

How would you disengage with two forward leaps. Please explain the key strokes you would use to achieve a disengage compared to the older sword where all you had to do was press the 3rd skill.

Like what? Tell me how you would use the new sword with two leaps. I am all ears.

You have never used a sword if you think the backward leap was just a dodge. It was so much more than that. Also why are we celebrating the loss of functionality in a weapon for more DPS when it will never be used as a DPS weapon? The longbow and the greatsword are better weapons for that role.

Stocks with left-tail risk (LT) are those that have experienced “extreme losses" in the past This is how I know you have never ever used the sword as a weapon. This is a false statement, because the backward leap was very useful both in PVE and PVP. In PVP, you can use it to avoid circles that particularly originate from the boss. In PVP, you could leap back, have the smokescale put up a smoke field, leap into it, go invi, bring out the bow, knock the player back and press 2 for the quick attack. This combo just felt so good to play. Now its all gone, but hey atleast we have more DPS, so yes good change LOL! I think the main problem here is that the sword will never be able to compete against the longbow and the greatsword for DPS. It is not a DPS weapon, but a secondary one we used to roam, evade and set encounters up. This functionality is lost with the change. And when you say "use the rest of the skills" what exactly do you mean by that? Am I supposed to leap into a player I am already engaged with? What exactly is the purpose of the second forward leap here? It cannot be used to chase, because the cooldown on the 1st leap is not really long, and if you are using a bow or an axe or a GS as a secondary weapon, you already have that covered, because they all have tools to help with the chase. Investors tend to hold on to these stocks expecting them return to normal stock price levels in a future period However, LT stocks tend to continue to decline leading to the Left-tail Momentum (LTM) phenomenon

Is DPS the singular quality to judge the capability of a weapon? If that is the direction this game is taking, then I am sorry, it is only a matter of time before this game dies. I can bet many people who think the changes to the sword are good have never played either a PVE or a PVP game with the sword, because if you think that having 2 forward leaps is better than a backward leap and a dodge, then bruh... I do not even know what to say. So lets play it out. We leap to engage, then autoattack, and then what....? Where is the disengage when things go wrong? Are we just hoping that the leap takes down the opposing player now? Is that intentions of the "improvement"? All the talking points for the change are: more DPS and better dodge... I mean if that was the case? Why couldn't they just FIX THE DODGE or increase the DPS instead of butchering the weapon? I want to see stats now that the change has been made. Please Anet, show us the impact of the changes. Show us that this change did indeed put the sword right up there with the longbow and the greatsword.

Righhhtt, so in the middle of a boss fight, I now need to press the escape button to stop targeting the boss, then press the about-face button and then leap out. Is this what you are honestly suggesting? Also earlier, you could leap back and leap forward. So in a boss fight, you could escape the circle and then reengage. That is just not possible with the new sword. This change is just horrible. I have no idea why it was done or what has been gained from it. It just makes the sword worse to play with and it removes the versatility from the weapon.

So after many iterations, they have finally succeeded their quest to make the ranger sword unfun, irrelevant and pointless. While the earlier one had a forward leap as close up, a backward leap that also functioned as a disengage and a dodge, the new and IMPROVED sword gives us two forward leaps so we can mindlessly engage and get ourselves killed. Well done, well thought out and changes like this only gives me hope for the future. What's next, point-blank shot giving superspeed instead of a knockback? I cannot wait for the future! Please stop meddling with the sword, it was a very fun weapon to play with and now it takes it place along with the dagger. Slow clap.

For the same reason Cantha feels like a West Coast city. Embrace modernity.

Very important topic that kills the enjoyment of new players. Anet should take this very seriously and go back to the drawing board to counter the growing power creep in the game. They should also consider the use of mounts in low-level zones. In most of these zones, new players do not have all their skills unlocked which puts them at a significant disadvantage, so even simple gear-and level- scaling will not help even things out. I think the only solution is to lock out certain skills in these zones which are meant for new players. The zones were made for their experience and not for a level 80 character to farm.

Go to graphic options and set the frame limiter to 60.

Just focus on the power of positive thinking and you can forgive all the Brim and Scarab in the patch.

I strongly disagree with your take on this. I hate every character in the so called friends group or whatever that was set up in Cantha. There are no complex characters or plots in Cantha. Every character is one dimensional. We have genius Joon, genius Taimi, genius Gorrik. I have no idea what Rama or the other character (whose name I cannot even remember) is doing in our group. The commander is not us, its the writer's vision for us and lately they way they have written the character has made me feel very disconnected with the character. I identify more with my new level 1 character than my main who has done the story, and I am sure I am not alone in feeling this way. Besides, telling the story from another character's perspective opens up new plotlines. It frees us from the plot where Tyria is constantly in danger and needs saving.

Not every story needs to have a happy ending. For instance, what if despite the commanders best efforts, the people of Cantha make a pact with the demon for its power? Perhaps they were scared to lose out to Tyria, or Joon and the empress would stop at nothing to make sure Cantha stays prosperous. Or what if they reject the demon and plunge Cantha into a period of depression? The story could end there and picked up later on. This high stakes storytelling is interesting as it adds nuance to the world, it shows the good, the bad, the desperation and the compromised decisions characters are faced with. It makes the world feel real. On the other hand, "the power of friendship saves us all", and "everything is back to normal again" conclusions in GW2 has a very wide-eyed, immature feel to it to a point where I have lost interest in even playing the game. I don't understand why the story is centered around the commander and the team. The world of GW2 must take center stage and I think that the stories can be told from the perspective of different playable characters, each with their own place and role in the world, which should not be a problem as GW2 has a horizontal progression where equipment is character swappable.