Thorough Investigator achievement - hay bale bundle doesn't pick up [Merged]

[XenoSpyro.1780]

 

 

[Eishin.7239]

Hello,

 

Was doing the "On the Case" new story, but once I interact with the "turtle food" near the witness that asks us to feed them it seems to not compute that we picked up the item. Every other witness works.

I redid the mission twice and got the same behaviour (and lost 6 gold doing so).

 

Please help. This bug makes the achievement impossible to be compleated.

 

Thanks 🙂

Edited March 15, 2023 by Eishin.7239
Wording

[TallGuyInRI.8537]

Same problem here

[Mahzul.1036]

Same issue here. When I try to pick up the straw if doesn't pick anything up after the animation. Waited for it to respawn a few times and never worked.

[Todd.6573]

Having the same issue. Tried multiple characters, multiple times. "Thorough Investigator" is impossible to complete at the moment.

[FeaiShadow.3096]

Thank goodness. Sadly game crashed out on the only time the turtle ate and loved me for it. Repeated, multiple characters, and not worked since (nor on original character). Thought it was me being dense. Fingers crossed for a fix, lost far more than 3 gold 😞

 

Edited March 15, 2023 by FeaiShadow.3096

[WillowFae.9528]

This bug is still an issue. I even have an open ticket requesting I get 3 gold back from an NPC that you allegedly have to speak to as part of a 'specific order' you have to speak to the witnesses in and have spoken with a "GM Zody" on this matter, and their response to this was as follows:

Quote

"I reviewed your report and found that for the achievement to progress, you need to finish all witness in order. Please re-attempt the quest and follow the steps provided in this video.
 
As for the 3 Gold, we are unable to refund this gold used to donate in the On the Case Story mission since it is intended that you need to donate 3 Gold to progress with the Story.
 
If the issue still persist after you replicate the video, please let us know."

I would like to point out that the 3 Gold NPC that, allegedly, you have to speak to BEFORE you can speak to the Stablemaster and get the hay to 'function properly' is not mandatory to progress to the second scream and assist Chul-Moo. I even followed Ayin's video (that's the hyperlink the GM gave, not an official Guild Wars ANET review but rather a player's stream-clip) to the letter and that's how I lost the 3 gold in the first place (Yes, it's only 3 gold, but gold is an important currency that can be exchanged with gems, which is ANETs main source of siphoning money into the F2P game, and that's an exponential amount you're losing through trial and error and 'developer intent'). Hopefully they fix the actual bug and the actual issue, because if this was, as an official GM has said, 'by design', then it feels rather dirty and sloppy.

[Linken.6345]

45 minutes ago, WillowFae.9528 said:

This bug is still an issue. I even have an open ticket requesting I get 3 gold back from an NPC that you allegedly have to speak to as part of a 'specific order' you have to speak to the witnesses in and have spoken with a "GM Zody" on this matter, and their response to this was as follows:

I would like to point out that the 3 Gold NPC that, allegedly, you have to speak to BEFORE you can speak to the Stablemaster and get the hay to 'function properly' is not mandatory to progress to the second scream and assist Chul-Moo. I even followed Ayin's video (that's the hyperlink the GM gave, not an official Guild Wars ANET review but rather a player's stream-clip) to the letter and that's how I lost the 3 gold in the first place (Yes, it's only 3 gold, but gold is an important currency that can be exchanged with gems, which is ANETs main source of siphoning money into the F2P game, and that's an exponential amount you're losing through trial and error and 'developer intent'). Hopefully they fix the actual bug and the actual issue, because if this was, as an official GM has said, 'by design', then it feels rather dirty and sloppy.

I did not do that I spoke to the 3 gold npc last.

And I got credit for it tho that was the day after release

Edited March 15, 2023 by Linken.6345

[FeaiShadow.3096]

Specific order?! Honestly that is NOT clear when doing the quest. I've attempted it ~7 times, cos I'm stubborn, and absolutely doesn't work. 

Sorry this needs a proper fix, not a whimsical it might work on days the sky is pink and grass is purple. 

[WillowFae.9528]

18 minutes ago, FeaiShadow.3096 said:

Specific order?! Honestly that is NOT clear when doing the quest. I've attempted it ~7 times, cos I'm stubborn, and absolutely doesn't work. 

Sorry this needs a proper fix, not a whimsical it might work on days the sky is pink and grass is purple. 

Agreed; it's clear the "GM Zody" I spoke to went and looked up the video, watched it, and then regurgitated what was seen and has no actual idea on why the haystack is bugged to begin with. I'd even have taken "We're not sure what the issue is but we're working to fix it; please take your gold back as compensation for our error" as adequate damage control, but instead it's a double-down. I'd even wager the next argument rendered in my ticket will next be "it's an achievement and that too is optional so we are not compelled to return gold you spent on an optional achievement", even if that wasn't the initial reason they claimed that gold cannot be returned in "On The Case" involving the haystack.

Edited March 15, 2023 by WillowFae.9528
input

[Linken.6345]

11 minutes ago, WillowFae.9528 said:

Agreed; it's clear the "GM Zody" I spoke to went and looked up the video, watched it, and then regurgitated what was seen and has no actual idea on why the haystack is bugged to begin with. I'd even have taken "We're not sure what the issue is but we're working to fix it; please take your gold back as compensation for our error" as adequate damage control, but instead it's a double-down. I'd even wager the next argument rendered in my ticket will next be "it's an achievement and that too is optional so we are not compelled to return gold you spent on an optional achievement", even if that wasn't the initial reason they claimed that gold cannot be returned in "On The Case" involving the haystack.

Well 1 think maybe is that they have no way of knowing how many times you have tried to do said story step and talking with th gold guy before trying to feed turtle.

Allowing people to claim gold back were do they draw the line, 3gold?

What about people who tried 2,3 , 4 , 10 times.

Yea that might be one reason they are not giving gold back.

And for the people trying it multiple times even tho they have not stated they fixed it

Where do this notion come from that you have to talk to them in a specific order?

[WillowFae.9528]

31 minutes ago, Linken.6345 said:

Well 1 think maybe is that they have no way of knowing how many times you have tried to do said story step and talking with th gold guy before trying to feed turtle.

Allowing people to claim gold back were do they draw the line, 3gold?

What about people who tried 2,3 , 4 , 10 times.

Yea that might be one reason they are not giving gold back.

And for the people trying it multiple times even tho they have not stated they fixed it

Where do this notion come from that you have to talk to them in a specific order?

 

The GM that I quoted is the one who suggested and stated that you have to talk to the witnesses 'in order', otherwise the haystack will not work. My initial statement on this post has the quote, if you need to review, and because the haystack works for some and not for others doesn't give the impression that people are pouring gold into the NPC just for fun; they're doing everything they're called to do in order to get the achievement, and even the GM is flying that flag by statement alone when there is evidence to support that following the video listed is not a sure-fire way to get the achievement for everyone; it's still bugged and doing them 'in order' isn't the solution. And, evidently, it is still not fixed. It's why this post was made, to keep awareness up that the haystack has not, in fact, been fixed completely or given a feasible solution (or compensation for some) to avoid more of these mistakes. 

As for gold compensation, placing a gold-standard (pardon my pun and alternative use of the phrase) on an NPC to 'progress a chapter', when all evidence points to them being optional except in the circumstance of the achievement, is ridiculous in the nicest sense. Me stumbling onto this bug in the first place and simply asking for 3g, as proven as a receipt, is proof of authenticity. ANET's decision to make that statute of limitation for a chapter is their own risk, so I don't see it as unreasonable for players to respond in kind when they lose their money trying to follow instruction and guidelines of a GM (or many others with repeating dialogue) that simply cannot confirm that the solution they've provided is efficient. There's enough proof from other players that it doesn't matter the order of the NPCs you talk to, the haystack remains bugged. It's faulty; that's why players losing gold when a GM is saying "there is no problem, just do it this way" and are still having problems is a major flaw in damage-control.

I'm confident that when a solution is made it will likely be posted here to avoid duplicate threads, but so far the solutions even displayed in tickets (as shown above, if you would review) are lackluster or without credibility. This is the nicest and most thorough way I can explain it.

Edited March 15, 2023 by WillowFae.9528

[RainOverPebbles.5276]

Just had this issue while doing the mission for the first time and found this thread looking for a solution. I adore Anet, but I want my gold back, this wasn't my fault and there was 0 indication that anyone needed to be talked to in a specific order. Either way, the hay issue is a clear bug.

[Linken.6345]

1 hour ago, WillowFae.9528 said:

 

The GM that I quoted is the one who suggested and stated that you have to talk to the witnesses 'in order', otherwise the haystack will not work. My initial statement on this post has the quote, if you need to review, and because the haystack works for some and not for others doesn't give the impression that people are pouring gold into the NPC just for fun; they're doing everything they're called to do in order to get the achievement, and even the GM is flying that flag by statement alone when there is evidence to support that following the video listed is not a sure-fire way to get the achievement for everyone; it's still bugged and doing them 'in order' isn't the solution. And, evidently, it is still not fixed. It's why this post was made, to keep awareness up that the haystack has not, in fact, been fixed completely or given a feasible solution (or compensation for some) to avoid more of these mistakes. 

As for gold compensation, placing a gold-standard (pardon my pun and alternative use of the phrase) on an NPC to 'progress a chapter', when all evidence points to them being optional except in the circumstance of the achievement, is ridiculous in the nicest sense. Me stumbling onto this bug in the first place and simply asking for 3g, as proven as a receipt, is proof of authenticity. ANET's decision to make that statute of limitation for a chapter is their own risk, so I don't see it as unreasonable for players to respond in kind when they lose their money trying to follow instruction and guidelines of a GM (or many others with repeating dialogue) that simply cannot confirm that the solution they've provided is efficient. There's enough proof from other players that it doesn't matter the order of the NPCs you talk to, the haystack remains bugged. It's faulty; that's why players losing gold when a GM is saying "there is no problem, just do it this way" and are still having problems is a major flaw in damage-control.

I'm confident that when a solution is made it will likely be posted here to avoid duplicate threads, but so far the solutions even displayed in tickets (as shown above, if you would review) are lackluster or without credibility. This is the nicest and most thorough way I can explain it.

Yes that video is made by a player and ofcourse a player will talk to it in some order they fancy.

That dont mean that is the one and only correct order, you could go talk to turtle first until it works for you if you like and lose zero gold.

Even the gm point to that video it is not them saying that is the only order you can talk to them.

If that was the case they would have had to tell the player in game by a drop down list with 1-10 to say the order for anyone to know about it

Edit

Pretty sure she did it at release and patches after might have broken the thing.

But I dont think support peronel can see how much gold you spent on that npc and therefore cant reimburst you.

Edit

Going by her order I did

1-2-3-10-9-8-7-6-5-4 try and see if that order work for you.

Edited March 16, 2023 by Linken.6345

[meocondainhan.5938]

I don't know if this is help but I just got the achievement completed. The turtle food was bug for me at the time, but when give water and jade block to the miner in Tailings Pond, the achievement counted for me( also I skipped the 3 gold NPC).

[Linken.6345]

37 minutes ago, meocondainhan.5938 said:

I don't know if this is help but I just got the achievement completed. The turtle food was bug for me at the time, but when give water and jade block to the miner in Tailings Pond, the achievement counted for me( also I skipped the 3 gold NPC).

You do know that the achievement need all the npcs right?

[WillowFae.9528]

39 minutes ago, meocondainhan.5938 said:

I don't know if this is help but I just got the achievement completed. The turtle food was bug for me at the time, but when give water and jade block to the miner in Tailings Pond, the achievement counted for me( also I skipped the 3 gold NPC).

I did what you suggested and went in reverse; the turtles are still bugged, but I got my achievement while skipping the 3-gold NPC. I think what they mean by "optional", since there's no clear indicator for MANDATORY witnesses other than their testimonies (by all accounts means none of these witness reports matter, you just need to chat up as many as possible), are the ones with the green stars after you hear Chul-Moo scream from down under. Only once you've questioned enough witnesses to that point, any left over are potentially considered "optional" and you can repeat the chapter until you recount repeated-witnesses. That's the only gesture or hint they've given us thus far, and certainly doesn't follow the instructions set by the GMs officially in their ticket responses. 

I encourage anyone without the achievement to try skipping both the turtles and the 3-gold NPC; I know for certain I aided the Wounded Witness in previous plays, and have no explanation as to why after this fourth attempt and repeat-witness that that was the one that gave me the achievement. Repeat the chapter for achievements after you've gotten as far as the patch will take us and give us your accounts below.

Edited March 16, 2023 by WillowFae.9528

[Felix.2768]

Yep, having the same issue.

[Fistriel.4276]

Same, guess the 3 g for the other chick (when trying to talk with all for the achievement) are wasted now 😕

[Melok.2173]

I just ran the story mission "On The Case" for a second character and feeding the turtle was still bugged for me.  I went ahead and interacted with one of the other three remaining and I got the achievement completed upon my first interaction.

[Rubi Bayer.8493]

I'm sorry about this, all! I have shared the info with our team so they can start working on it. 

[WillowFae.9528]

Following up; got a response back on my ticket from a "GM Nayz", not the "GM Zody" that gave the initial response, and this is what was said:

Quote

Hello there,
 
As a fellow player, I do understand your frustration. First of all, donating 3 Gold for the Story instance is required so that you would be able to proceed further. Unfortunately, we would not be able to refund the 3 Gold for this attempt on the Story Instance as we've confirmed that you've already completed the story mission and achievement. I hope you understand.
 
Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Regards,

GM Nayz
Guild Wars 2 Support Team
http://help.guildwars2.com/

As before, this is the same response they've given and stated that the "3 gold" is a mandatory donation despite the 3-Gold NPC being proven to be optional. Ergo: Many others, like myself, will not be getting any gold back for wasting it during a bugged achievement encounter. The same goes for any players who stumble upon this, so to avoid any headaches caused by the ANET Staff, do not interact with an NPC that demands 3 gold coins in exchange for witness reports. You do not need it to progress or clear the achievement, regardless of what the ANET staff are saying, and you will not be refunded if you fall into this trap. You can talk to any of the other witnesses on repeat, through different Chapter attempts, to get the achievement. There is "no order" to complete them in, there are no "mandatory witnesses" designed, this is a recount from unlucky but achievable experience.

Edited March 17, 2023 by WillowFae.9528

[WillowFae.9528]

Got a further update after attempting to make an appeal, this time from a "Senior GM Sai". This is what was said:

 

Quote

Hi there,
 
We do understand your point and frustration on this matter. Yes, it's not necessarily to speak with the NPC and donate 3 gold, however, if you do this, the NPC would credit as a witness and would progress with the Achievement.
 
Due to this, we would not be able to refund back the 3 gold that you've spent on this matter.
 
Do note that any further appeals for a refund of the 3 gold may not receive a response.
 
Of course, please let us know if you have any other concerns or questions.

Regards,

Senior GM SAI

 

So there you have it: ample proof that the 3-Gold NPC is not mandatory towards the Chapter completion or the achievement; you can skip the NPC and keep your gold. If you decide to pay this NPC, know that it will not aid the Turtle Bug in any way, doing the witnesses "in order" is not a guaranteed fix to the Turtle bug, and if you pay the 3-Gold NPC then you will not be refunded or compensated.

 

There may be a fix to the Turtle Haystack, there may not. It is highly advised that for anyone looking here for a solution, simply skip both the Stablemaster NPC and the 3-Gold NPC for now. If you're going to approach one for a fix, try the Stablemaster until the bug doesn't exist or try it on another character and repeat. Do not, under any circumstances, interact with the 3-Gold NPC. There is no point and it's an intentional loss of your gold by the design of the developers. Good game.

[MsRipper.4713]

I wish I had read the forum earlier so I didn't lose gold. But I didn't want to auto spoiler me the story and wanted to enjoy the experience from scratch, but now I'm going to have to review each chapter first in the forums and on the wiki because things like this can happen and we could lose money. Awful experience. 

I've been playing since 2012, I also work on systems, so I understand that this type of bug is possible, but taking into account that in this case the user can lose money, I would have had a higher priority in terms of verifying this flow.

[skydelirious.4185]

• If anyone is still facing with the turtle feeding issue for the achievement,  I did try the SKIP ' gold to npc and the feeding the  turtles '  and I completed the talk with other npcs part and I got the achievement albeit I am not sure if this works for people who hasn't interacted with the turtle part and 3 gold part once before. 

Edited March 18, 2023 by skydelirious.4185