Do you guys remember?

[Pinkunicorn of Dethecus.32]

How before the huge nuke balance patch, they said they were now more streamlined to push updates faster where they were needed, and that they were constantly evaluating things to address them quickly?

OH man, I actually fell for it. My fault I guess for not learning from the past 7.5 years of dealing with Anet speak.

[Stand The Wall.6987]

they said 4-6 weeks. now go look up when the big patch hit.

[UNOwen.7132]

@Stand The Wall.6987 said:they said 4-6 weeks. now go look up when the big patch hit.

... 9 weeks ago?

[Sanity Obscure.6054]

@UNOwen.7132 said:

@Stand The Wall.6987 said:they said 4-6 weeks. now go look up when the big patch hit.

... 9 weeks ago?

They had an update halfway through the first 2v2 season, it nerfed Firebrands, Core Necros and Revenants a tad.

If anything deserves to be called out, it's over in WvW with their restructuring. It's been well over 2 years.

[Sigmoid.7082]

So we just going to gloss over the pandemic then ?

[Khalisto.5780]

that was before the corona, now most of them are working from home and theres prolly some extra lay offs

i was expecting a "hotfix" like the CI cutting all overperforming pets, but it's ok

[Sanity Obscure.6054]

@Sigmoid.7082 said:So we just going to gloss over the pandemic then ?

This too.

[UNOwen.7132]

@"Sigmoid.7082" said:So we just going to gloss over the pandemic then ?

They couldve said "its taking longer to get out balance patches because of the pandemic" then. But they just went entirely silent. It doesnt feel like this is caused by the pandemic, but caused by the fact that they didnt really plan to have faster balance patches.

[Multicolorhipster.9751]

It's a little behind, but there's also a global pandemic going on so they get a pass.

Contrary to popular belief, nerfing teef does actually come second to staying alive and healthy.

[Eddbopkins.2630]

2 updates back in February. One big one and one to do changes, that all we got from there promise of more frequent balance updates. I don't care that this corvid may have slowed down progress of everything. I really wanted 3, 4, and maybe even 5 updates to the balance during the 2v2 season 1. What they did for PvP in February was the bare very bottom of the barrel minimum updates/work since they promised more frequent updates. 2 back in February is not more frequent and every day that goes by is more of a broken promise. And I don't expect them change.Reality is harsh and this is what it is for gw2

[Leonidrex.5649]

@Multicolorhipster.9751 said:It's a little behind, but there's also a global pandemic going on so they get a pass.

Contrary to popular belief, nerfing teef does actually come second to staying alive and healthy.

blasphemy

[Swagger.1459]

@"Pinkunicorn of Dethecus.3217"

Wasn't sure if you were aware that we have a global pandemic going on now and that things may be a lil inconvenient for a while...

https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/101122/a-message-to-our-community-about-covid-19

“Since March 6, the ArenaNet office in Bellevue, Washington has been closed, and our studio staff are working from home to help minimize the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). We’re prioritizing the health and safety of our teammates and making it easy for everyone to practice responsible social distancing.

We’ll continue to monitor efforts against the pandemic and follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and other experts. In the meantime, ArenaNet and NCSOFT employees are working together to ensure everyone has what they need to continue development and manage releases while the team works remotely. We’re making steady progress on all our planned Guild Wars 2 releases, and we’ll keep everyone up to date if that changes.

None of us can be sure what the future holds, but we know that incredible friendships can be forged across great distances, and comfort and support can flow from online connections. We are always so proud of Guild Wars 2 players for your kindness and community spirit. Please take care and stay safe.

—The Guild Wars 2 Team”

[Pinkunicorn of Dethecus.32]

@Swagger.1459 said:@"Pinkunicorn of Dethecus.3217"

Wasn't sure if you were aware that we have a global pandemic going on now and that things may be a lil inconvenient for a while...

https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/101122/a-message-to-our-community-about-covid-19

“Since March 6, the ArenaNet office in Bellevue, Washington has been closed, and our studio staff are working from home to help minimize the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). We’re prioritizing the health and safety of our teammates and making it easy for everyone to practice responsible social distancing.

We’ll continue to monitor efforts against the pandemic and follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and other experts. In the meantime, ArenaNet and NCSOFT employees are working together to ensure everyone has what they need to continue development and manage releases while the team works remotely. We’re making steady progress on all our planned Guild Wars 2 releases, and we’ll keep everyone up to date if that changes.

None of us can be sure what the future holds, but we know that incredible friendships can be forged across great distances, and comfort and support can flow from online connections. We are always so proud of Guild Wars 2 players for your kindness and community spirit. Please take care and stay safe.

—The Guild Wars 2 Team”

did you miss the 8 times in that press release that they are still working, and that things are progressing as expected? And if they weren't, they'd inform the playerbase? And that since balance is them having meetings about how to address outliers more than anything, which, surprise, you can in fact do over the internet? Can I fit another question in here? Dare I push two?

I shouldn't have dared. Bad things happen when you start to ask too many questions.

[ILoveMonotony.1479]

Occasionally watching the news instead of YouTube is a good idea. As has been said there is a worldwide pandemic going on.

If you are working yourself during this time you know that, even if you are lucky enough to be working from home, setting things up, getting everyone on board, organising Teams meetings, talking or chatting to people via various other means, etc., all those things take vastly more time than walking into a colleague's office. That is without taking into account that every other company - among them your potential suppliers - is also working much slower. Right now everything takes more time. If the entire planet is turning slower, so is certainly an average gaming studio.

[Burnfall.9573]

+1

Unbelievable!!

ex: DOES PARENTING END IN BAD TIMES?

Does Responsibility End In Bad Times?

There are excruciating problems in Pvp and Wvw at the moment that need to seriously addressed and to be finally resolved

Responsibility is Responsibility!!

[apharma.3741]

@Burnfall.9573 said:+1

Unbelievable!!

ex: DOES PARENTING END IN BAD TIMES?

Does Responsibility End In Bad Times?

There are excruciating problems in Pvp and Wvw at the moment that need to seriously addressed and to be finally resolved

Responsibility is Responsibility!!

This is the belief system of an adolescent and that's me being kind. The pandemic is akin to a war in it's potential to wipe out a sizeable chunk of the worlds population and it's effects are always going to be far reaching. Even working from home almost every company is working at reduced effectiveness either directly due to less access to resources they once had as at home equipment may not be the same spec as at work or as a knock on effect from another company working at reduced effectiveness to potentially pausing production itself.

That's without mentioning how taxing staying at home and social distancing is to many people's mental health and physical well being.

ANet are being very responsible, they sent their employees home early in the pandemic, is trying to keep them safe financially, mentally and physically and doing their best to keep the game ticking over in some fashion remotely so when a new normal manifests the company can spin up with less problems.

For someone who uses inspirational quotes I expect more, otherwise please stop using them, you do a disservice to the people you quote by lacking the critical thinking that was required to derive their supposition in the first place.

[Sigmoid.7082]

@Burnfall.9573 said:+1

Unbelievable!!

ex: DOES PARENTING END IN BAD TIMES?

Does Responsibility End In Bad Times?

There are excruciating problems in Pvp and Wvw at the moment that need to seriously addressed and to be finally resolved

Responsibility is Responsibility!!

You do realise people have other priorities, dependencies, and responsibilities besides work? Especially when certain facilities are closed / limited.

Ex: parenting doesn't end in bad times...it also doesn't end when you need to work from home and it's INCREDIBLY difficult to do.

Very audacious use of this example and just comes across as very inconsiderate and selfish.

[GeneralFailure.3402]

@Multicolorhipster.9751 said:It's a little behind, but there's also a global pandemic going on so they get a pass.

Contrary to popular belief, nerfing teef does actually come second to staying alive and healthy.

I play teef and I lold xD

[Swagger.1459]

@"Pinkunicorn of Dethecus.3217"

And for the billionth time, we are experiencing a global pandemic with 3,000,000 confirmed cases and 200,000 deaths... Life and day to day functions are a little different now, and being cruddy to the devs here isn’t going to change those facts or make patches go faster. And working from home doesn’t provide the same efficiency as being in the actual workplace.

The world doesn’t revolve around you. Learn some patience.

[BlaqueFyre.5678]

@Swagger.1459 said:@"Pinkunicorn of Dethecus.3217"

And for the billionth time, we are experiencing a global pandemic with 3,000,000 confirmed cases and 200,000 deaths... Life and day to day functions are a little different now, and being cruddy to the devs here isn’t going to change those facts or make patches go faster. And working from home doesn’t provide the same efficiency as being in the actual workplace.

The world doesn’t revolve around you. Learn some patience.

I don’t normally agree wholeheartedly with Swagger but they are spot on with this post.

[LucianTheAngelic.7054]

Insane that balance is literally the best AND MOST DIVERSE it’s been in years in GW2 and y’all still crying for more/faster balance updates (during a pandemic) smdh ??

[Burnfall.9573]

@LucianTheAngelic.7054 said:Insane that balance is literally the best AND MOST DIVERSE it’s been in years in GW2 and y’all still crying for more/faster balance updates (during a pandemic) smdh ??

Square Enix, 04/23/2020 Final Fantasy 14

'Real money trading (RMT) and other illicit activities upset the balance of the game and, as such, are prohibited under the Terms of Service. Players who discover any confirmed cheats should, under no circumstances, exploit or disseminate such information. Because we have confirmed the existence of players who are engaging in these illicit activities, we have taken the actions listed below.'

• Accounts terminated: 835

[Vrath.1754]

@"Pinkunicorn of Dethecus.3217" said:

@Swagger.1459 said:@"Pinkunicorn of Dethecus.3217"

Wasn't sure if you were aware that we have a global pandemic going on now and that things may be a lil inconvenient for a while...

https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/101122/a-message-to-our-community-about-covid-19

“Since March 6, the ArenaNet office in Bellevue, Washington has been closed, and our studio staff are working from home to help minimize the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). We’re prioritizing the health and safety of our teammates and making it easy for everyone to practice responsible social distancing.

We’ll continue to monitor efforts against the pandemic and follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and other experts. In the meantime, ArenaNet and NCSOFT employees are working together to ensure everyone has what they need to continue development and manage releases while the team works remotely. We’re making steady progress on all our planned Guild Wars 2 releases, and we’ll keep everyone up to date if that changes.

None of us can be sure what the future holds, but we know that incredible friendships can be forged across great distances, and comfort and support can flow from online connections. We are always so proud of Guild Wars 2 players for your kindness and community spirit. Please take care and stay safe.

—The Guild Wars 2 Team”

did you miss the 8 times in that press release that they are still working, and that things are progressing as expected? And if they weren't, they'd inform the playerbase? And that since balance is them having meetings about how to address outliers more than anything, which, surprise, you can in fact do over the internet? Can I fit another question in here? Dare I push two?

I shouldn't have dared. Bad things happen when you start to ask too many questions.

Have a little empathy.

It's worth noting a lot of dev studios have delayed or slowed down patches and work. I listened to the Outward Devs talk about this on Friday and the issues with QA. Yes work is occurring but not at the same pace. Which should be obvious.

Yes they could communicate better and should.

That's said for remote employees, families are home including kids, every try working around young kids? People are sick and we don't know if Anet had employees go into quarantine or spouses or kids. I'm sure some had traveled and came back in contact with office mates and family.

Not to mention the shift working from home is not like everyone has great work setups or PCs compared to the office with larger desks 2 - 4 monitors, no connection issues with VPN or RDP or whatever other issues. Meetings in person are quicker then teams meetings ect.

Bottomline is cut then some slack there will be plenty of time to gather your pitch fork and torches.

[Leonidrex.5649]

@Vrath.1754 said:

@"Pinkunicorn of Dethecus.3217" said:

@Swagger.1459 said:@"Pinkunicorn of Dethecus.3217"

Wasn't sure if you were aware that we have a global pandemic going on now and that things may be a lil inconvenient for a while...

https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/101122/a-message-to-our-community-about-covid-19

“Since March 6, the ArenaNet office in Bellevue, Washington has been closed, and our studio staff are working from home to help minimize the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). We’re prioritizing the health and safety of our teammates and making it easy for everyone to practice responsible social distancing.

We’ll continue to monitor efforts against the pandemic and follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and other experts. In the meantime, ArenaNet and NCSOFT employees are working together to ensure everyone has what they need to continue development and manage releases while the team works remotely. We’re making steady progress on all our planned Guild Wars 2 releases, and we’ll keep everyone up to date if that changes.

None of us can be sure what the future holds, but we know that incredible friendships can be forged across great distances, and comfort and support can flow from online connections. We are always so proud of Guild Wars 2 players for your kindness and community spirit. Please take care and stay safe.

—The Guild Wars 2 Team”

did you miss the 8 times in that press release that they are still working, and that things are progressing as expected? And if they weren't, they'd inform the playerbase? And that since balance is them having meetings about how to address outliers more than anything, which, surprise, you can in fact do over the internet? Can I fit another question in here? Dare I push two?

I shouldn't have dared. Bad things happen when you start to ask too many questions.

Have a little empathy.

It's worth noting a lot of dev studios have delayed or slowed down patches and work. I listened to the Outward Devs talk about this on Friday and the issues with QA. Yes work is occurring but not at the same pace. Which should be obvious.

Yes they could communicate better and should.

That's said for remote employees, families are home including kids, every try working around young kids? People are sick and we don't know if Anet had employees go into quarantine or spouses or kids. I'm sure some had traveled and came back in contact with office mates and family.

Not to mention the shift working from home is not like everyone has great work setups or PCs compared to the office with larger desks 2 - 4 monitors, no connection issues with VPN or RDP or whatever other issues. Meetings in person are quicker then teams meetings ect.

Bottomline is cut then some slack there will be plenty of time to gather your pitch fork and torches.

I cant even eat in peace next to my niece let alone work lol

[Pinkunicorn of Dethecus.32]

@Vrath.1754 said:Have a little empathy....Yes work is occurring but not at the same pace. Which should be obvious.

@"Swagger.1459" said:Life and day to day functions are a little different now, and being cruddy to the devs here isn’t going to change those facts or make patches go faster.

I would like to also note that there hasn't even been a preview yet for what they plan to do, so unless they surprise-drop it on us (something they haven't been doing lately, hooray for things getting better in this regard), that means that we're at least another 3+ weeks out from fixes. How long, exactly, are you comfortable with things being broken after the giant nuke patch? Because they assured us that they would do their best to get things back to normal asap and normalize things with their new vision of balance. Well, save for addressing 2v2 outliers, they haven't done that, and they haven't even begun the communication for fixes, so how long exactly are you comfortable waiting? Not trying to be abstract, legit question: How long would you, personally, wait before you were forced to conclude that their prior talk of 'streamlined process' and 'iterative balance' were just buzzwords that they have no interest in following up on? Not that Anet would ever "build the foundations for x" and not follow through. Absolutely no history of that whatsoever.

@Elmo Benchwarmer.3025 said:even if you are lucky enough to be working from home, setting things up, getting everyone on board, organising Teams meetings, talking or chatting to people via various other means, etc., all those things take vastly more time than walking into a colleague's office.

That is without taking into account that every other company - among them your potential suppliers - is also working much slower. Right now everything takes more time. If the entire planet is turning slower, so is certainly an average gaming studio.

Would be a great argument if team members (Lindsey Murdock's Mat Storage rework was the first one that came to mind, also I believe Josh Foreman worked from home a bunch) said that there have been times they've worked from home a bunch--therefore, it must be a relatively streamlined process for them to be set up at home. I will grant you, not everyone has 4 monitors up, and a slowdown is possible. In spite of them, yet again, not communicating.