Content Should Never Be Gated Behind Jumping Puzzles

[Bronze Centipede.5230]

One of the great things about Guild Wars 2 is the degree to which it lets you do your own thing rather than forcing you into activities you don't enjoy.

One of the worst things about Guild Wars 2 is content gated behind jumping puzzles. It can often be impossible to pass the story or access an area without doing them.

As a casual player to HATES jumping puzzles, my free time is limited and valuable and the last thing I want to do is spend long periods of my leisure time having a bad time.

[Linken.6345]

28 minutes ago, Bronze Centipede.5230 said:

One of the great things about Guild Wars 2 is the degree to which it lets you do your own thing rather than forcing you into activities you don't enjoy.

One of the worst things about Guild Wars 2 is content gated behind jumping puzzles. It can often be impossible to pass the story or access an area without doing them.

As a casual player to HATES jumping puzzles, my free time is limited and valuable and the last thing I want to do is spend long periods of my leisure time having a bad time.

Then pay people to do it for you, mesmer and thiefs can portal all the jump puzzles for a fee.

[Ashen.2907]

I dislike jumping puzzles. They feel out of place in an epic fantasy adventure RPG. If I want to play a platformer there are plenty of old Nintendo games.

[Sirius.4510]

Anything specific in mind? Most of the material I can think of offhand has ways to skip it once one person completes it, e.g. jumping puzzles in raids and strike missions.

[Labjax.2465]

I think there's a solid argument to be made that they don't belong in story instances at the very least, unless they change story instances so you retain progress on objectives inside them even if you DC. Anything that makes story instances longer than is needed is increasing problems for people with connection issues.

[Caitmonster.9036]

I don't know of any jumping puzzles in story instances that aren't bonus "off the beaten path" achieves.

This is the same argument people are bringing up about legendary armor being gated behind pvp/wvw/raids. Lucky for you, just like paying for raids, you can hire mesmer portal slaves to do the legwork for you. It's really not that hard.

[Labjax.2465]

4 minutes ago, Caitmonster.9036 said:

I don't know of any jumping puzzles in story instances that aren't bonus "off the beaten path" achieves.

This is the same argument people are bringing up about legendary armor being gated behind pvp/wvw/raids. Lucky for you, just like paying for raids, you can hire mesmer portal slaves to do the legwork for you. It's really not that hard.

There is one in Path of Fire.

Spoiler

The thing with the fragments you have to put in the slots

Kind of a mild one as jump puzzles go, but it is platforming.

[Caitmonster.9036]

That... isn't even really a jumping puzzle. And you know you can use mounts at that section, yes? Springer trivalizes it. It's even more trivial once you have griffon or skyscale. Failing that, try to find a friendly mesmer with aforementioned mounts, ask them to do the instance with you, and have them port you up to that puzzle piece. Or have them collect it for you. Fairly sure party members can interact with the fragments.

Edited April 28, 2022 by Caitmonster.9036
didn't check the spoiler lol

[Redfeather.6401]

I have poor vision and shaky hands and there is some puzzles I definitely can't do. I get very frustrated sometimes that there is no other way with some things. I don't mind fighting my way up to a spot to bypass areas that I need to have the hand-eye co-ordination to travel.

[Quench.7091]

Some of the more memorable moments in the story involve jumping and other movement. Fighting scenes are a little more forgettable, unless they're large scale. Striking a balance is nice.

[Doggie.3184]

Do you have a son/daughter or a nibling who can do it for you? They're very rare in story and usually pretty short. I recall the PoF one climbing the mountain and the Priory one with Sieran cheating her way through. Not sure what else.

[Vayne.8563]

If you're on a US server I can help you with your jumping needs. Send me a message and we can arrange a time. Because I don't think Anet is going to change the game to make jumping puzzles less prevalent.  A lot of people really like them.

[AgentMoore.9453]

1 hour ago, Labjax.2465 said:

There is one in Path of Fire.

There's another one in LS4 during Storm Tracking where you have to jump platforms with adjusted gravity and make it to the exit before a storm overtakes you. I like JPs generally, but I find that one tedious.

As for the more general point about not wanting story/major content stuck behind JPs, I can understand and agree with that stance. Most of the game is pretty good about giving you alternatives or ways for other players to assist you in getting past frustrating elements, but when there's a jumping puzzle in a story step that a friend can't help you with, I imagine that's pretty irritating for someone who's not very good at coordinated jumping. For a notorious example of how widespread the dislike of timed JPs is, you need look no further than the community reaction to the Halloween Clocktower jumping puzzle.

So, you know, valid complaint. I hope they bear workarounds in mind when designing future JPs or including them as part of the main storyline even though I personally don't have issues with them. It's not JumpWars2, after all.

[Ledi.9742]

i hate most jumping puzzles, and they are extremely difficult for me due to my disability that causes fine motor control issues which get much much worse if i am agitated by repeatedly messing up in jumping puzzle... but usually simply asking some nice mesmer to help out does the trick (though often i am too stubborn to ask for help). if you just politely ask in map chat if someone could help you out, chances are that you will find someone.

my point is that while jumping puzzles definitely can be an obstacle, there is a very easy workaround.

[Zebadiah.8360]

The thing with JP's is also achievements in stories to get your mastery point

You always have to get all the achievements to unlock the mastery point

trying to do some more Seasons of Dragons achievements and you are back in amber bay 

and Grothmar Valley and they have JP'd i can't manage to complete

 

 

[DragonMoon.6098]

I am horrid at jumping puzzles. Imagine my reaction when I got pretty far on into my journey for Chucka and Champawat and I learned that you have to do...like...all of them...to complete it. *cries* I was actually able to do all but one on my own...and that one locked me out of getting Chuka and Champawat for well over a year. That was Skipping Stones. That puzzle is just plain stupid. I wasn't about to spam chat looking to pay someone to do it so I just gave up...until one day I noticed that puzzle came up in a daily achievement and lo and behold there was a tag porting people to the end! Yay! I was able to finish Chuka and Champawat. 

Then there are the two super painful puzzles needed to get the Legendary necklace as well as Aurora. Holy hell. Thankfully there is always a tag sitting in Draconis Mons (just leave a tip) and there is usually a tag willing to help with Chalice of Tears. (It truly is tearful). I had to do that one several times because there are multiple achievements calling for it and I'm the moron who unlocked those achievements at different times. Each time I was escorted by a really odd duck named Jack Napier...who is dressed up like the Joker (surprise). For a tip and a show (he likes to tell jokes) I got through Chalice as needed. (And he gave me a mini snowball pet and an unlimited giant snowball transform thingy.) There is a third puzzle...the one in Siren's Landing...but I was actually able to do that one on my own. (But there's also always a tag there if needed.) End of story...I got the leggy necklace and Aurora. 

There are some jumping puzzles that unfortunately you can't really get help with when you're looking to do a related achievement. There's the one in Grothmar Valley that is timed and you have to have lit fires throughout...haven't been able to get that one yet short of just finishing it (over the time limit). 

Long story short...I hate jumping puzzles with a passion. I don't have the coordination for it. But...thank the sock monkey gods there are people willing to help with them. 

Edited April 28, 2022 by DragonMoon.6098

[Xelqypla.6817]

I hate Jumping Puzzles too. However, I am glad they are in the game because I enjoy the fact that GW2 has content diversity, even if it's content I hate.

 

There are actually many things I don't enjoy. However, I would never ask Anet to remove or reduce them for MY benefit because I view that as quite selfish; as if what I enjoy is more important than what other people enjoy.

[Ashen.2907]

59 minutes ago, Islyn.8019 said:

I honestly think everyone who is reacting LOL and CONFUSED, or offering responses that include paying for a jump, are jerks.

Not everyone is a jumping puzzle boss, or a jumping puzzle boss and a Mesmer.

Let people express themselves. You don’t have to act like a ‘kitten’ because you don’t agree.

kittenheads.

No one has done anything to stop people from expressing themselves. Deriding others for expressinv their opinions on the matter while asking that people be allowed to express their opinions on the matter is the most clear cut example of hypocrisy Ive seen in some time. 

[charrboiledeggs.8164]

18 hours ago, Bronze Centipede.5230 said:

One of the great things about Guild Wars 2 is the degree to which it lets you do your own thing rather than forcing you into activities you don't enjoy.

One of the worst things about Guild Wars 2 is content gated behind jumping puzzles. It can often be impossible to pass the story or access an area without doing them.

As a casual player to HATES jumping puzzles, my free time is limited and valuable and the last thing I want to do is spend long periods of my leisure time having a bad time.

I feel you on that, i actually have visual issues where it is almost impossible for me to judge distance or anything in 3d games. For some reason my brain has a really hard time with spatial awareness in games. So jumping puzzles are an impossibility for me. I usually just pay a mesmo some gold to port me to the end.

3d Visual impairments affect 32% of the population that was tested. These individuals either cannot or have a really hard time judging distances, spatial awareness etc in 3d games. Oh by spatial awareness I mean depth perception.

Edited April 28, 2022 by charrboiledeggs.8164

[Sirius.4510]

7 hours ago, DragonMoon.6098 said:

That was Skipping Stones. That puzzle is just plain stupid. I wasn't about to spam chat looking to pay someone to do it so I just gave up...until one day I noticed that puzzle came up in a daily achievement and lo and behold there was a tag porting people to the end! Yay!

For anyone else who runs into this, there are multiple ways to "cheat" Skipping Stones now, typically involving landing on the island after the chest and working your way backwards. The lowest-requirements one would be jumping off the wrecked ship skeleton to the west with a Springer, although the timing of this is kind of tricky and resembles a small jumping puzzle in its own right. The easiest would be flying over from somewhere else on the map using skyscale or griffon and using the Bond of Faith skill from just outside the no-mount zone, aimed to land on the island.

I have finished that puzzle legitimately, but lately I'd rather just save time. 🙂

[Boh.4568]

Content Should Never Be Gated Behind [Jumping Puzzles/Map Completion/Collections/Adventures/Story Missions/Map Metas/Fractals/Raids/Strikes/PvP/WvW/Crafting/Gold Sinks/Timegates/Gemstore]

Pick your least favorite.

[The Boz.2038]

You forgot gemstore.

[Sindust.7059]

JPs in fractals are the reason my friend doesn't want to do fractals with me. I wouldn't go as far as saying that there should be no content hidden behind JPs at all, they are part of this game after all (even if I avoid them like a plague unless I absolutely have to do them), but they definitely have no place in group content. This gets particularly annoying and frustrating when combined with knockbacks from mobs and the Socially Awkward instability which for some reason interferes with people who are multiple levels above or below you, way out of the radius that this instability should have. Nothing like being knocked off on your last jump before everyone can /gg by someone just stepping on the first platform at the bottom.

[Xerxez.7361]

20 minutes ago, Sindust.7059 said:

JPs in fractals are the reason my friend doesn't want to do fractals with me. I wouldn't go as far as saying that there should be no content hidden behind JPs at all, they are part of this game after all (even if I avoid them like a plague unless I absolutely have to do them), but they definitely have no place in group content. This gets particularly annoying and frustrating when combined with knockbacks from mobs and the Socially Awkward instability which for some reason interferes with people who are multiple levels above or below you, way out of the radius that this instability should have. Nothing like being knocked off on your last jump before everyone can /gg by someone just stepping on the first platform at the bottom.

 

The only Jumping Puzzles in Fractals are Uncategorized, Chaos, Sunqua Peak, & the main hub.

 

Uncategorized only forces players to do the very first section which can be bypassed if someone in the party has a Portal.

 

Chaos & Sunqua Peaks players can /gg as long as a single player has made it to the platform.

 

All your friend is missing out on by not playing Fractals is a potential 20g a day, which can easily be trivialized by certain Open World Metas.

Edited April 29, 2022 by Xerxez.7361
Forgot Sunqua

[Sindust.7059]

5 minutes ago, Xerxez.7361 said:

 

The only Jumping Puzzles in Fractals are Uncategorized, Chaos, Sunqua Peak, & the main hub.

 

Uncategorized only forces players to do the very first section which can be bypassed if someone in the party has a Portal.

 

Chaos & Sunqua Peaks players can /gg as long as a single player has made it to the platform.

 

All your friend is missing out on by not playing Fractals is a potential 20g a day, which can easily be trivialized by certain Open World Metas.

The goal is not farming gold but playing together. And neither of us is particularly into metas, because there is 0 skill involved. Just follow the tag and do auto attacks, and you win. Fractals are way more engaging. And so is WvW (which is what she does instead, because JPs ruin fracs for her). And now we barely ever play together.