An easy and fair solution to the "easier Skyscaler drama". [Merged]

[Aodlop.1907]

- Make it easier to get, as promised 

- Give those who earned it prior to the next expansion's launch a unique skin for it, that only them will ever have

There. The skyscale can now be acquired by most people, and those who put in the effort to get it back when it was a grind are rewarded with a unique appearance, and a display of their efforts. 

Everyone is happy. 

[DanAlcedo.3281]

I still find it crazy that people actually believe that the skyscale is a grind or an accomplishment. 

The drama is overblown. 

 

[patton the great.7126]

I have the skyscale, I don't need a fancy skin. I played swg unlocked jedi before nge hit got a fancy elder robe/kenobi's legacy lightsaber crystal, I can tell you now exclusive kitten does nothing good for the community.

 

I'm happy others will be happy, let your gameplay do the talking!

[Jay.5128]

isn't there 2 mastery lines one from doing the old collection and one for doing new collection in next expect so if you want best skyscale still need the old collection any way.

**ehh It don't bother me I did not find it much of a grind to even do the sky scale collections.  I know people who have done the whole collection 2 weeks pre (return to achievements), 
My self I did it over a year back when Skyscale first it dropped. I do have one friend that still don't have it, as she can barley focus on same thing for more than like 20 mins or if something looks like a pain to get she wont even start it. so I know this collection not for everyone.** 
but yeah I don't get whole skyscale status thing I love my skimmer more XD

Edit - just seen a typo + added some more context. (**)

Edited July 9, 2023 by Jay.5128

[AgentMoore.9453]

The easy and fair solution is the one they implemented: Two ways to get a Skyscale, additional mastery benefits for training up both. Incentive to visit multiple parts of the game instead of just Elona or just SotO. Your reward for having already obtained Skyscale is the ability to upgrade immediately in SotO whereas everyone else will have to backtrack (plus all the time you've spent enjoying your skychonk until now). Source: Did it the old way before nerfs, and am fine with the way they are doing this.

If anyone deserves 'compensation' it's the people whose runes are about to get hecked up by relics taking the bonus out of them. They're actually losing functionality whereas current Skyscale owners are only gaining.

[Chyro.1462]

What's the point of having a 'unique' skin that almost everyone gets when most people probably already have their favorite skin they use?

I do hope they keep the mastery tracks locked behind each expansion's collection - else nobody will have any reason to do the old skyscale collection anymore.

[Gop.8713]

This is a good change that requires no compensation, though I am excited for the compensation offered as some of the new skyscale features sound pretty cool, esp being able to mount while in combat . . .

This is the way old things should work, they should get easier over time so I don't have to wait ten years for new players to catch up to where I am now and we can all play together . . .

[GODh.3892]

2 hours ago, Aodlop.1907 said:

- Give those who earned it prior to the next expansion's launch a unique skin for it, that only them will ever have

I am not against your idea, but i am also pretty sure that Anet keep their best skins for the gemstore. Many people already have the skyscale. And i think a big amount of those players already  bought a gemstore skin for their skyscale (a skin that they like best). So some of those players will keep complaining...

Edited July 6, 2023 by GODh.3892
typo

[kharmin.7683]

25 minutes ago, Chyro.1462 said:

What's the point of having a 'unique' skin that almost everyone gets when most people probably already have their favorite skin they use?

 

Exactly.  So, give a title instead.  "Classic Skyscale Lover"

 

Wait.  Maybe that's not such a grand idea.

[Danikat.8537]

There's already bonus abilities for people who do both collections, which you'll be able to use any time you're on the skyscale, unlike a skin which might never get used.

[Batalix.2873]

2 hours ago, DanAlcedo.3281 said:

I still find it crazy that people actually believe that the skyscale is a grind or an accomplishment. 

The drama is overblown. 

 

It's enough of a barrier that it puts off most casual players from getting it, so it's not nothing.

And the barrier is justified, imo. Skyscale is such a good all-rounder mount that making it too easy to obtain pretty much obviates one of PoF's best and most acclaimed features. If anything I think they should have made it even harder to obtain.

This is just going to artificially create a problem with all the other mount designs being ignored, which in turn will likely just make obvious design space for them to sell us a "here's some cool unique new mount superpowers" expac to try to keep them relevant.

Making Skyscale accessible is fine in a vacuum as contextualized by MMOs generally making movement easier. It's not that different than when gliding or mounts were added to the game. But given all the design that game before SotO I think it is naive to say that it isn't coming without substantial complications and problems of its own that need solving.

Edited July 6, 2023 by Batalix.2873

[SlayerXX.7138]

Who cares? Why would I need compensation?
We get new skyscale features. 

[kharmin.7683]

12 minutes ago, Batalix.2873 said:

It's enough of a barrier that it puts off most casual players from getting it, so it's not nothing.

 

Most casual players?  I'd like to see the proof of that statement.

[Fearless.3569]

21 minutes ago, kharmin.7683 said:

Most casual players?  I'd like to see the proof of that statement.

That is easy to prove. Just monitor how many people don't have a Skyscales in the game, and ask them why? I still notice that a lot of players don't have a Skyscale yet. 

[Akisohida.8963]

What drama? You mean people screaming 'I had to work for this, so EVERYONE should have to work for it and no one should have an easier time than me!'?

Those people can be safely ignored.

[idpersona.3810]

34 minutes ago, kharmin.7683 said:

Most casual players?  I'd like to see the proof of that statement.

anecdotal, but of my rl friend group, I know 4 of 4 casual players that do not have the skyscale specifically because "it's too much work". So they just play without it.

[pocky.7468]

Next time they'll probably give us a legendary of choice for completing the story or something. And this will just continue until the whole game is watered down in a desperate attempt to lure players back.

And if you're against this but not the easy Skyscale, then why? You already have your stuff, so why get mad at people getting some old legendaries more easily? This is the kinda slippery slope they're allowing with this.

[Erich.1783]

I keep seeing people saying there are already benefits to people who do both collections. but I am not seeing that info.  The info I am seeing is that if you own both LS4 and the new expac you can do 2 mastery lines, but I did not see anything saying that someone who buys the game for the first time in 2 months, does the Skyscale collection from the new expac, and then goes back to PoF/LS4 for the mastery points will not be able to do the original mastery line, or that those who have done the original will need to do the new one to unlock that mastery line.  Did I miss that? 

As to an extra reward for those who did the original collection I am fine with some perk, but mothing that impacts game play or takes much dev time, there are more important things to work on.  There are a great many collections in this game, and its predecessor that were much more difficult/time consuming.

[Squee.7829]

The real solution would be to grow up and be happy for other people. I literally just finished grinding out that skyscale the very day before they announced it getting easier and all I could think was "thank God".

 

It wasn't hard, but good lord it was tedious. I'm happy people will no longer have to visit 15 different spots of dragonfall 80 times and traverse the world of Tyria at least twice. It was awful.

 

You can still make people "work for it". Just don't make it such a slog.

Edited July 7, 2023 by Squee.7829

[Dante.1508]

Your compensation was you got to play with it since Arenanet added it..

[Dibit.6259]

11 hours ago, Akisohida.8963 said:

What drama? You mean people screaming 'I had to work for this, so EVERYONE should have to work for it and no one should have an easier time than me!'?

Those people can be safely ignored.

Sounds very much like all those people who complained about skyscale being too hard to obtain in the forums. When anet cater towards one sort of group then there will always be another group that complains. 🤷‍♂️

[Danikat.8537]

7 hours ago, Erich.1783 said:

I keep seeing people saying there are already benefits to people who do both collections. but I am not seeing that info.  The info I am seeing is that if you own both LS4 and the new expac you can do 2 mastery lines, but I did not see anything saying that someone who buys the game for the first time in 2 months, does the Skyscale collection from the new expac, and then goes back to PoF/LS4 for the mastery points will not be able to do the original mastery line, or that those who have done the original will need to do the new one to unlock that mastery line.  Did I miss that? 

As to an extra reward for those who did the original collection I am fine with some perk, but mothing that impacts game play or takes much dev time, there are more important things to work on.  There are a great many collections in this game, and its predecessor that were much more difficult/time consuming.

It's the 'Skyscale Mastery Updates' section of this article: https://www.guildwars2.com/en-gb/news/a-new-chapter-begins-in-guild-wars-2-secrets-of-the-obscure/

Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure skyscale Mastery line includes new abilities, like the Fireball aerial attack you’ll unlock at tier two. Some of the new Mastery tiers grant Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire Masteries; in those cases, players who have trained skyscale Masteries from both expansions will get a bonus functionality unlock. For example, the first tier of the Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure skyscale Mastery grants Air Rescue—the ability to mount in midair. If you’ve already trained Air Rescue with the Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire Mastery line, you’ll now get Bond of Vigor every time you use Air Rescue.

Tier	Effect	Bonus from Both Mastery Tracks
1–Air Rescue 2.0	Grants Air Rescue	Air Rescue grants Bond of Vigor
2–Fireball	Grants an aerial flame attack while mounted on the skyscale
3–Wall Spring 2.0	Grants Wall Launch	Upgrades Wall Launch to charge faster and launch farther
4–Wind Beneath Your Wings	Flying mounts can use updrafts
5–Combat Launch	Gain the ability to mount your skyscale in combat
6–Ley-Line	Acclimation	Flying mounts can use ley lines
7–Rising Spirits	Updrafts regenerate the skyscale’s flight meter

*Names are subject to change.

• If you only own PoF (and Season 4) the skyscale will work exactly as it does now. You'll have to unlock it using the current method and will get the existing mastery track.
• If you only own SotO you'll have to unlock it using the new method and will get the new mastery track with the abilities in the 'Effect' column of that table.
• If you own both and do both collections you'll get the abilities from both masteries and the extra abilities in the 'Bonus' column.

So people who already have the skyscale don't need to do anything else to be able to use it after SotO launches, only if they want the bonus abilities, and likewise people who don the new method don't have to do the old one as well, but if they do they'll get the same bonus abilities.

Edited July 7, 2023 by Danikat.8537

[Linken.6345]

16 minutes ago, Danikat.8537 said:

It's the 'Skyscale Mastery Updates' section of this article: https://www.guildwars2.com/en-gb/news/a-new-chapter-begins-in-guild-wars-2-secrets-of-the-obscure/

Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure skyscale Mastery line includes new abilities, like the Fireball aerial attack you’ll unlock at tier two. Some of the new Mastery tiers grant Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire Masteries; in those cases, players who have trained skyscale Masteries from both expansions will get a bonus functionality unlock. For example, the first tier of the Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure skyscale Mastery grants Air Rescue—the ability to mount in midair. If you’ve already trained Air Rescue with the Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire Mastery line, you’ll now get Bond of Vigor every time you use Air Rescue.

Tier	Effect	Bonus from Both Mastery Tracks
1–Air Rescue 2.0	Grants Air Rescue	Air Rescue grants Bond of Vigor
2–Fireball	Grants an aerial flame attack while mounted on the skyscale
3–Wall Spring 2.0	Grants Wall Launch	Upgrades Wall Launch to charge faster and launch farther
4–Wind Beneath Your Wings	Flying mounts can use updrafts
5–Combat Launch	Gain the ability to mount your skyscale in combat
6–Ley-Line	Acclimation	Flying mounts can use ley lines
7–Rising Spirits	Updrafts regenerate the skyscale’s flight meter

*Names are subject to change.

• If you only own PoF (and Season 4) the skyscale will work exactly as it does now. You'll have to unlock it using the current method and will get the existing mastery track.
• If you only own SotO you'll have to unlock it using the new method and will get the new mastery track with the abilities in the 'Effect' column of that table.
• If you own both and do both collections you'll get the abilities from both masteries and the extra abilities in the 'Bonus' column.

So people who already have the skyscale don't need to do anything else to be able to use it after SotO launches, only if they want the bonus abilities, and likewise people who don the new method don't have to do the old one as well, but if they do they'll get the same bonus abilities.

So exactly like the poster you quoted said.

You dont need to do both collections just train both mastery tracks after you got your skyscale unlocked dont matter if its old or new way.

[leila.7962]

It really shouldn't be a drama.. I'm sure a lot of the people complaining have at least one, if not all, of the following:

• Ascended armor/weapons that were not crafted by yourself
• Ascended trinkets that didn't come from guild missions or fractals
•  Legendary precursor that was crafted
• Legendary amulet that is earned by PvE content instead of PvP

For those that don't know:

• The ONLY way to get ascended armor and weapon was through crafting (and boy those mats were pricy.. Elonian leathers were at least 15g each..)
• The ONLY way to get ascended trinkets were through doing a lottttttt of guild missions successfully (cause they were hard for the players back then and guilds had to level up before being able to access missions that people could earn more guild commendations to trade for trinkets) 
• The ONLY ways to have a precursor back then were either dropping or buying from the TP, so you had to actually save a lottttt of gold to have it instead of slowly work your way to get it 
• The ONLY way to have a legendary amulet for a long time, was through PvP.. but a lot of people wouldn't do it 

Just really, get over it.. people who started recently in the game will always get things easier than you if you played back when X or Y content was released. Being sour over other people having it easier than you did is just silly... Anet has to plan new content in a way that newer players can actually participate too, or else it would just take them way too long to get to where you are now to actually buy, and therefore, support the game you are eagerly waiting for.

Edited July 7, 2023 by leila.7962

[Astralporing.1957]

2 hours ago, Linken.6345 said:

So exactly like the poster you quoted said.

You dont need to do both collections just train both mastery tracks after you got your skyscale unlocked dont matter if its old or new way.

You won't get access to old mastery track without doing old collection though.