[merged] About the Skyscale Timegate...

[voxana.6312]

I'm a very casual player, playing a couple of hours at a time maybe 2-3x a week. I have really enjoyed the skyscale quest and visiting all these other zones (I have long wanted ANet to start using the whole map vs. just new zones for quests). That said, I wasn't that keen on having to grind out the skyscale of blood and I'm super super frustrated having to wait till the next day to feed this beast. I'm looking at the time that I have to play this week and I won't be able to play thoroughly until the weekend, but now I'm trying to figure out when I can log in at night (maybe before I sleep?) just to feed it so when I can play again I will be able to enjoy the game like I want. I get that the goal is to keep people from snapping their fingers and finishing a map but this is just punishing the player vs. slowing them down.

[Evil.1580]

@eldrin.6471 said:its to much because its on top of a collection that was already to much.and i have no intentions of spending another second on this game or this collection .ye i could spend the next 3-4 months doing stuff i dont like that gives no pleasure and finish the collection just in time for them to add more of the same.as i said i was addicted to guild wars 2,now after a few days break im not.and the game as it is now is one i will not play.

I really like this collection (the skyscale and the trinket) but I am extremely sad and negatively affected by your decision.Because I still enjoy the game, can I have your stuff to cheer me up a little?

[eldrin.6471]

@"bOTEB.1573" said:

@eldrin.6471 said:its to much because its on top of a collection that was already to much.and i have no intentions of spending another second on this game or this collection .ye i could spend the next 3-4 months doing stuff i dont like that gives no pleasure and finish the collection just in time for them to add more of the same.as i said i was addicted to guild wars 2,now after a few days break im not.and the game as it is now is one i will not play.

I really like this collection (the skyscale and the trinket) but I am extremely sad and negatively affected by your decision.Because I still enjoy the game, can I have your stuff to cheer me up a little?

check your mail. hope it helps cheer you up.people do not need to agree to be nice.and it was not players that added this collection to the game

[Dreams.3128]

Or you people can do what I decided. Don't go for the Skyscale and just collect the armor skins and roll in the free loot they throw at you? You guys are too emotionally invested in a digital dragon that give you no benefits anywhere in this game lol.

Honestly, it's a waste of a mount slot tbh. No reason for me to have it since I already parkour everywhere with a tricked out Springer and Griffon. Even the preview of the Skyscale didn't impress me. It's just an afk chair just like the warclaw.

I don't know why people just act like adults and simply take a break if it's THAT awful instead of parroting the same thing over and over and over and over again. You're not doing yourself any favors.

[davisdogg.9387]

One of the things I loved about going for the Griffon was that I completed the tasks in about five hours and felt excited and accomplished when I earned the mount. In trying to complete the tasks for the Skyscale, I find it incredibly frustrating when I think I am almost there and then there is another set of collections I need to complete. I can understand not earning your mount in a quick manner, however, this is ridiculous! On top of that, I am learning that there will be more challenges after completing the "Raising Skyscales" tasks. I have to wait, daily, to feed my Skyscale as I only had three spirit shards to begin with and then, correct me if I'm wrong, I have to complete a series of jumping puzzles, fighting bosses, AND collect currencies from different areas? That takes all the fun out of earning the Skyscale and really only creates more frustration than anything!

[Evil.1580]

@eldrin.6471 said:

@"bOTEB.1573" said:

@eldrin.6471 said:its to much because its on top of a collection that was already to much.and i have no intentions of spending another second on this game or this collection .ye i could spend the next 3-4 months doing stuff i dont like that gives no pleasure and finish the collection just in time for them to add more of the same.as i said i was addicted to guild wars 2,now after a few days break im not.and the game as it is now is one i will not play.

I really like this collection (the skyscale and the trinket) but I am extremely sad and negatively affected by your decision.Because I still enjoy the game, can I have your stuff to cheer me up a little?

check your mail. hope it helps cheer you up.people do not need to agree to be nice.and it was not players that added this collection to the game

Thanks! Hope you find the joy of playing gw2 again :)

[eldrin.6471]

@"davisdogg.9387" said:One of the things I loved about going for the Griffon was that I completed the tasks in about five hours and felt excited and accomplished when I earned the mount. In trying to complete the tasks for the Skyscale, I find it incredibly frustrating when I think I am almost there and then there is another set of collections I need to complete. I can understand not earning your mount in a quick manner, however, this is ridiculous! On top of that, I am learning that there will be more challenges after completing the "Raising Skyscales" tasks. I have to wait, daily, to feed my Skyscale as I only had three spirit shards to begin with and then, correct me if I'm wrong, I have to complete a series of jumping puzzles, fighting bosses, AND collect currencies from different areas? That takes all the fun out of earning the Skyscale and really only creates more frustration than anything!

collections and grind is were the games at now.you can buy your way through some of it.i gave up at sky scale saddle and will no longer be playing the game.but may i offer to help make it a bit less painful for you? i got gold i will no longer have use for,may i send you 500 g

[Loki.4871]

I'll throw in my thoughts, assuming anyone from ANET is (still) reading these.

The first few collections are just tedium. I've never cared for scavenger hunts like this, so I didn't like finding scales. Timegated? Well... okay, sure. I guess?It didn't help the next few timegates were "Do it again."It was especially galling when sometimes the next collection had items that were a dodgeroll away from the scales I'd been grabbing earlier. The entire first few steps are a blur of boredom I have no regret of forgetting, there was no sense of accomplishment. Just frustration trying to find the hidden bits in the large, verticle map until the inevitable guide appeared and I could read that, alt tab into the game and grab it, repeat. I think that summarises it best actually; after an hour or two of looking for scales I stopped caring and waited for the guide. For the next few collections.

The bit I felt worked best was when the egg had hatched; it needed feeding and it could only be fed a certain number of times a day. That's perfectly sensible, sure, fine.To keep you amused when those ticked down however you had a Rather Large List of events and activities and 'play the game' style things you had to do as well. This meant you could feed the little tyke and then go play the game a bit.

Then the fourth, collection, the jumping puzzles. I have never enjoyed these due to the controls-too skittish and too many puzzles feel like they need leaps of faith, and that's just getting around when some need you to activate things as well.I appreciate you could let me skip it. Then the saddle/flying.

I unlocked all the grieving skins, and I felt dead inside for doing it. Grinding that map resource made me die a little inside and I had made a promise to myself that if I visited jahai bluffs never again, it would be too soon. When I saw there was something similar on dragonsfall with the crystal bloom armour, my though was-and still is-"f**k that, I'm not bothering with it." I suspect you learned your lessen if the resource node/event reward ratio is anything to go bay for dragonfall's currency is anything to go by, however I still have no interest in trying to get those skins.So of course the mount needs me to get 250 mistonium. And everything else. To quote a certain meme: "Internal screaming intensifies". At least the kralkatorrric ore was fast to get with a generous 25 payout per heart.

So tired, fed up and glad that's over and I can get my mount at last I go to gorrick in jahai bluffs and start the first mist instability. I then learn I have... far too many of these to do.Guide time again, and reading a website instead of playing the game.

Ultimately the mount is good. It's more useful than I expected, and ignoring the 'dragons r kewl' thing, it seems to have the height to make it worth using instead of the gryphon beyond needing to dive+flyfast. It's become my go-to mount outside traversing distances quickly.I'm enjoying the mount, but I don't feel any accomplishment and I don't feel happy. That was subsumed by:

-the disappointment of having to grind map currency on jahai bluffs again-the frustration of scavenger hunting scales-the disbelief of then having to do it again. Twice.-the annoyance of having to do a barrage of jumping puzzles-the resentment of having to hover by far too many rifts when 4 or 5 would have been enough.-the blatant timesink that the 250 map currency was. If it had been mithril and elder wood, ect, to bleed resources out of the market I'd understand. This was a pure "stealth" timegate.

I think, having typed this out, my opinion can be summarised as: there was 'too much' in acquiring the skyscale.-Too much of a reliance of daily timegates where it felt there wasn't perhaps a reason. Gorrick needing to analyse scales taking time would make sense if similar things were not instantly done in dynamic events elsewhere on other maps. The timegate when the baby is growing makes sense.-Too much of a reliance on repetition; ignoring the repeating collections at the start, there were far too many jumping puzzles to be done on day four for my liking. There too many rift tears to fly up to on day 5.-Too much of a reliance on map currency in an upfront cost. If there'd been a steady drain of 20 a day form the start perhaps, it wouldn't have been nearly as much of an issue. 250 in one go from 5 different maps was very annoying.

I keep coming back to the third stage because I feel that was the best implementation; you had hard gates you couldn't get past (3 or 4 days at least) however you had quite a few things to do as well while they ticked down. The timegating also made sense. Coming out of nowhere perhaps, another good example of a large collection is something like when you're assembling the precurser for Nevermore; you have to go do events, explore certain areas, get certain items from those places, ect. It encouraged you to go out and play the game. This encouraged you to stare at a screen mindlessly repeating the same thing you'd already been doing however many days before, a however many minutes/hour daily chore you couldn't put off since doing so would shove your progress back another day.

[Witch of Doom.5739]

@eldrin.6471 said:

@"davisdogg.9387" said:One of the things I loved about going for the Griffon was that I completed the tasks in about five hours and felt excited and accomplished when I earned the mount. In trying to complete the tasks for the Skyscale, I find it incredibly frustrating when I think I am almost there and then there is another set of collections I need to complete. I can understand not earning your mount in a quick manner, however, this is ridiculous! On top of that, I am learning that there will be more challenges after completing the "Raising Skyscales" tasks. I have to wait, daily, to feed my Skyscale as I only had three spirit shards to begin with and then, correct me if I'm wrong, I have to complete a series of jumping puzzles, fighting bosses, AND collect currencies from different areas? That takes all the fun out of earning the Skyscale and really only creates more frustration than anything!

collections and grind is were the games at now.you can buy your way through some of it.i gave up at sky scale saddle and will no longer be playing the game.but may i offer to help make it a bit less painful for you? i got gold i will no longer have use for,may i send you 500 g

"Eldrin," I would beg you -- as another frustrated GW2 player -- to not quit the game outright. Perhaps step back and take a break. That's what I'm going to do, stop the grinding and get back to real low-key stuff in the game that I used to enjoy before I got on the grind train, like manually leveling up a new character, playing with dyes and crafting, and so forth. Maybe even get a new-to-me game like ESO and spend time in that world for a while. Take care.

[eldrin.6471]

@Witch of Doom.5739 said:

@eldrin.6471 said:

@"davisdogg.9387" said:One of the things I loved about going for the Griffon was that I completed the tasks in about five hours and felt excited and accomplished when I earned the mount. In trying to complete the tasks for the Skyscale, I find it incredibly frustrating when I think I am almost there and then there is another set of collections I need to complete. I can understand not earning your mount in a quick manner, however, this is ridiculous! On top of that, I am learning that there will be more challenges after completing the "Raising Skyscales" tasks. I have to wait, daily, to feed my Skyscale as I only had three spirit shards to begin with and then, correct me if I'm wrong, I have to complete a series of jumping puzzles, fighting bosses, AND collect currencies from different areas? That takes all the fun out of earning the Skyscale and really only creates more frustration than anything!

collections and grind is were the games at now.you can buy your way through some of it.i gave up at sky scale saddle and will no longer be playing the game.but may i offer to help make it a bit less painful for you? i got gold i will no longer have use for,may i send you 500 g

"Eldrin," I would beg you -- as another frustrated GW2 player -- to not quit the game outright. Perhaps step back and take a break. That's what I'm going to do, stop the grinding and get back to real low-key stuff in the game that I used to enjoy before I got on the grind train, like manually leveling up a new character, playing with dyes and crafting, and so forth. Maybe even get a new-to-me game like ESO and spend time in that world for a while. Take care.

im doing what is best for me both mentally and physically.this collection is were this game is going.collections and grind.i started playing this game 7 years ago because it was not like other mmorpg s. and was not about grind.ts not a game i want to be part of no more.that offer still stands.il remember the good old days.and move on.is it not a tradition that you give away your stuff when you leave the game?il spread it out and help as many players as i can.happy ending

[Witch of Doom.5739]

@eldrin.6471 said:

@Witch of Doom.5739 said:

@eldrin.6471 said:

@"davisdogg.9387" said:One of the things I loved about going for the Griffon was that I completed the tasks in about five hours and felt excited and accomplished when I earned the mount. In trying to complete the tasks for the Skyscale, I find it incredibly frustrating when I think I am almost there and then there is another set of collections I need to complete. I can understand not earning your mount in a quick manner, however, this is ridiculous! On top of that, I am learning that there will be more challenges after completing the "Raising Skyscales" tasks. I have to wait, daily, to feed my Skyscale as I only had three spirit shards to begin with and then, correct me if I'm wrong, I have to complete a series of jumping puzzles, fighting bosses, AND collect currencies from different areas? That takes all the fun out of earning the Skyscale and really only creates more frustration than anything!

collections and grind is were the games at now.you can buy your way through some of it.i gave up at sky scale saddle and will no longer be playing the game.but may i offer to help make it a bit less painful for you? i got gold i will no longer have use for,may i send you 500 g

"Eldrin," I would beg you -- as another frustrated GW2 player -- to not quit the game outright. Perhaps step back and take a break. That's what I'm going to do, stop the grinding and get back to real low-key stuff in the game that I used to enjoy before I got on the grind train, like manually leveling up a new character, playing with dyes and crafting, and so forth. Maybe even get a new-to-me game like ESO and spend time in that world for a while. Take care.

im doing what is best for me both mentally and physically.this collection is were this game is going.collections and grind.i started playing this game 7 years ago because it was not like other mmorpg s. and was not about grind.not a game i want to be part of no more.that offer still stands.il remember the good old days.and move on.is it not a tradition that you give away your stuff when you leave the game?il spread it out and help as many players as i can.happy ending

I hear you. The grind has gotten to me as well. Do you like RPGs? I play those a lot and find they're a good change from MMOs. Happy gaming, and happy ending to you too.

[eldrin.6471]

ye dont think i would ever play an other mmorpg. they always end up pulling stunts like what we got here.probably back to rpg s that come to an end and dont suck your life away.

[LucianDK.8615]

I am honestly suprised how fast people cracks. Ive 6 characters. I managed to get 250 from 0, in all of ls4-1-5 in one day. Bar 6 which I did the day after.

[JustTrogdor.7892]

@"eldrin.6471" said:

im doing what is best for me both mentally and physically.this collection is were this game is going.collections and grind.i started playing this game 7 years ago because it was not like other mmorpg s. and was not about grind.ts not a game i want to be part of no more.that offer still stands.il remember the good old days.and move on.is it not a tradition that you give away your stuff when you leave the game?il spread it out and help as many players as i can.happy ending

If you are giving stuff away you might check this thread to see if there is anyone you can help out. There has not been a new post there in a while but you might find a few that could benefit from your generosity.

https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/5065/id-really-like-this-new-gifting-strangers

[Witch of Doom.5739]

@"LucianDK.8615" said:I am honestly suprised how fast people cracks. Ive 6 characters. I managed to get 250 from 0, in all of ls4-1-5 in one day. Bar 6 which I did the day after.

I'm not "cracking." I just came to a realization that I wasn't having fun lately. I'm not quitting the game but am going to cut way back on my playing time, not buy gems for a while , and play other games more. Shrug. If you're still having a great time -- and many are -- then I truly think that's great because I want everyone to be happy when they game!

[eldrin.6471]

@JustTrogdor.7892 said:

@"eldrin.6471" said:

im doing what is best for me both mentally and physically.this collection is were this game is going.collections and grind.i started playing this game 7 years ago because it was not like other mmorpg s. and was not about grind.ts not a game i want to be part of no more.that offer still stands.il remember the good old days.and move on.is it not a tradition that you give away your stuff when you leave the game?il spread it out and help as many players as i can.happy ending

If you are giving stuff away you might check this thread to see if there is anyone you can help out. There has not been a new post there in a while but you might find a few that could benefit from your generosity.

https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/5065/id-really-like-this-new-gifting-strangers

thank you. helps a lot.

[Gambino.2109]

Exactly, FUN, we didn't have fun waiting all those days.. (which we could have been using to do the 250 mats while we we're waiting) and then on the last day we find out we needed those mats.

[robzmom.8137]

Skyscale Care - just an aside here, if baby birds or most young animals were fed once a day because the parent was restricted from gathering food, it would DIE! The "logic" of it wouldn't realistically grow up in day is a bit thin. I understand pacing an achievement a bit but this feels as if someone really doesn't like us. :-(

[Curse.7368]

@LucianDK.8615 said:I am honestly suprised how fast people cracks. Ive 6 characters. I managed to get 250 from 0, in all of ls4-1-5 in one day. Bar 6 which I did the day after.

It's not that people crack, if you made that in 1 day think of people who have only 2 to 4 hours a week. The amount of time equals 6 weeks based on 4 hours week wich could even be longer when there is less time on hands then those 4 hours. I won't be grinding on a mount 4 hours a week, fun will just deplete like a fart.

[tekhiun.8653]

D> @Curse.7368 said:

@LucianDK.8615 said:I am honestly suprised how fast people cracks. Ive 6 characters. I managed to get 250 from 0, in all of ls4-1-5 in one day. Bar 6 which I did the day after.

It's not that people crack, if you made that in 1 day think of people who have only 2 to 4 hours a week. The amount of time equals 6 weeks based on 4 hours week wich could even be longer when there is less time on hands then those 4 hours. I won't be grinding on a mount 4 hours a week, fun will just deplete like a fart.

Don't even bother with that guy , all he did was defend this stupid broken system and pretend that there are no valid reason to be upset about it.

[Aethgar.1784]

I'm an irregular player these days (got the game on pre-release and I'm a dedicated fan of the gameworld and lore). I'm not about to quit over this - I'm a professor and gods know I literally teach classes for Game Studies where Guild Wars as a franchise stands out significantly in a variety of superb ways. I just don't have a lot of time to spare anymore.

That noted.

I also have a five year old son. A five year old son who is OBSESSED with dragons. Now, he and I got through the first days of collections. I dealt with the "Will I be able to ride the dragon TODAY mummy?" (he has a character on my account and mostly just loves to run around on mounts and change my dye schemes). He's beyond thrilled about the Skyscale. I don't really care.I sighed and set to, grinding away at each collection, day after day. But I will add my strong affirmation to the majority here: 250 per map is simply too much. I ground these places for other sets and armour and accessories. I'm TIRED of them. I have 33 or so characters, and sure, that means I could just do the farm path over and over.. and over... and OVER.. again.Or hearts.Already did map complete on most for previous grinds.Istan was a perfect balance of bringing people back, a bit of grind, but not so much that I wanted to gouge my eyes out. I only have Sandswept Isles and the Deldrimor Front left and I frankly don't know if I want to play much at all again. I've not really played all term with marking, research trips and teaching and writing. I was HOPING to take a few weeks to relax and escape into a very nice imaginary landscape.Instead I'm bloody grinding things I'm tired of.

... please adjust currencies to reflect the Istan map numbers, guys.

[Criz.8193]

There is no way I will even attempt to obtain this mount. I neither have the time or patience for this ridiculous collection and currency grind. I thought the griffon requirements were fine, but this is a no go. Thanks for adding a mount for everyone else, but for me, I will never own one.

[eldrin.6471]

Anet took the lazy road with this overblown grindy collection.One guy put this nonsense together.so its nice and cheep to make content like this as apposed to proper content.

[Witch of Doom.5739]

@YoukiNeko.6047 said:How is 250 map currency a grind given that you can take your time and do in the next 3-4 months?Just do a heart or two and you get 10 map currency, if you find any node in between you get more. And if you are there when the meta is going, you will get even more.

A grind spread out over months instead of days is still a grind.

[Nilson.9865]

Just bad design of this colletion. This was different from griffon and beetle. Collection required more time and currency and i didn't get any rewards in the middle.
Very similar to silverwastes map where you have to find coins among rubbles. 21 items in one quest, 21 in another. There was no obstacles on the way, it was simple: i came and talked and went to another spot. Compare this experience to spec collections which have 14 items in it. Mount is reward. Yeah that's what i was doing this collection for. But i feel exhausted and didn't rewarded fairly, because all my focus i spent on collection inside collection. I was felt like i was on my way to legendary weapon. But i wasn't. Don't kitten this up with next big collection.

! As a player i have to understand where am i on progress. Why do i have to progress further with empty hands? Give me reward.! Don't put more than 15 collection items into one quest. Bigger amount will take away action time and will replace it with riding from point A to point B.! There is a difference between picking up item and fighting for it. I'd rather fufill some quest condition to get item, than just come and get it.! Time gaps between parts. They have to be reasonable. Why are we waiting? Put some value in it: unique dialouge, skip time gap if you have special achievement(NPC: "oh i did not know you have this ancient relic, i'll crack it and my job will be ready in no time"), skill on special key(you can generate bubbles underwater) etc.I hope you have a member in team, that read all these feedbacks and then make summary of "players like to do, players don't like to do". Thanks.