Moving the Goal Posts!, Nerfs, Buffs, Time Gates, and Costly advancements

[Zero.6082]

@"TPMN.1483" said:WvW legendary armor timeTo calculate the WvW time required to get legendary armor or pips: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Special:RunQuery/WvW_skirmish_pip_query?Its about 22 hrs / week (at wvw rank 0) - to earn the maximum 365 tickets - 22 weeks @ 365 tickets per week..22x22= 484 hrs = Bingo a legendary armor set.But you have a time gate so its 22 weeks! there are 52 weeks in a year? That is almost a half a year.... for the required tickets.... not to mention you still have to get the materials.... I only get 22 hours to do it.. there are 168 hours in a week drop 80 for sleep and work.. (40) hours each.. that is 128 hours... so math 484/128 is 3.78 weeks.... so that isn't a time gate? The game is forcing me to do it in 22 weeks.... (guessing your not counting the cost of the armor) so add that number to your factor.... i could do it sooner but it won't let me.... that is a definition of a time gate sir!

@Zero.6082 - this is about you, if you want legendary - you have to dedicated time into it. It only takes 1,310 tickets for a ascended armor set from WvW = 4 weeks (22 hrs/week). You can have an ascended armor set in about 24 days - and can always start your WvW journey in Exotic armor (which is cheap as chips) !

24 days only if you play 22 a week of WVW... which again... not a problem if the problem didn't exist which is... the time gate... 88 hours is easily accomplished faster than 24 days...

4 weeks for max armor.... gw1 you could get max armor in an hour.... I played that game just as much as gw2.... i guess the game really isn't tied to your armor....

RaidingThis is organised content 10 man, which requires dedicated builds - and effort for you to setup in advance and understand how your role works. This will require you and 9 others to be available, if you can find 9 people to meet at a predetermined time which good builds - hire a trainer for your group !

Wait so i have to pay for someone to train my group for Raids! But you can't pay for a subscription... thats pot calling the kettle black... there... I didn't even say pay.... i said set it up so everyone gets the same rewards....

Learning WvW/PvP (or other game items: Fractals, PvE Openworld etc)There are plenty of 'guilds' to join which go in these game modes - find one on your server and join. As its a "team" game this is likely to require you joining in on the "arranged" schedule - which may not be 150% when you can play. The alternative is to form your own guild for these team formats with people who can play when you do - and learn together how to improve and get better. You don't dive into the hardest game mode and expect to succeed ? This is why these game modes are tiered as you learn to become better at the game (PvP = MMR, Fractals - Tier 1->4 and Challenge Modes … etc) as it becomes harder to complete.

WVW has tier modes? Raids have Tier modes? You mean i can play the first raid at a different level? Fractals 1-25 are the same as 75-100? What!?!?! I am not saying... you won't dive into the hardest mode... what i am saying is why is the hardest mode..... circumvented by the easiest thing Berry Farming.....

Build discussionsEvery player will have their own opinion on other peoples builds, some will find "pew-pew" ranger is good - e.g. in PvP; however you will find there are many players in PvP who just find "pew-pew" ranger are sub-par and actually not very good when compared to "good" players". Often it is a "learn to play" issue from a person on how to counter that build, once that person has figured it out - its easy to counter. The reason people dont like "pew-pew" ranger in WvW to hazard a guess - is that several can target a single person and "kill-snipe" them down, which if its the commander can leave the rest of the zerg clueless what to do next - but thats the point right? (its enemy vs enemy and sniping the commander dead is part of the game mode: Kill the head of the snake ! ).

The pew pew is soo good why doesn't everyone go pew pew? So all you rangers out there according to this paragraph this is the only build that is good for you he has tested everything and the only thing you are good at is this one thing! From the man himself..... don't buy anything else, don't play anything else....

Barriers to playThere are no "30" day barriers to play for fractals, wvw, pve or pvp - yes: there are barriers for the highest tiers of competition (you will want good stuff or unlocked items); new-players will not be ready for this and each game mode allows you to earn whats necessary whilst learning how to play and get better. Fractals Tier 4 : "90-100" (max level) and challenge modes have a barrier with agony infusions which you will gain from lower level tiers which might also award ascended items as drops as you progress up the difficulty.I have never gotten an ascended drop and i have played up to 78 fractals... soo may the RNG gods be ever in your favor my friend.... so for the rest of us back to the berry farm...

@Zero.6082 - I would suggest you consolidate your concerns into a single coherent individual topic rather than rambling across multiple topics and just complaining about this takes too long, its too much effort, I cant be asked.

It seems like no one is open to game discussion or change... I am sorry i threw up an idea... i didn't ask you, you responded if you don't want to respond please don't, i didn't force you.... Here is my signle coherent individual topic.... the game needs a shake up and the best part in my opinion is its build diversity.... Play how you want style like pvp... but you know what if your favorite part was collecting petrified wood and winter berries i am sorry for your loss. I think the game wouldn't have to nerf as much if it wasn't for the style of play Anet forces upon people which is High risk, low reward build crafting.

[Zero.6082]

@Dante.1763 said:

@Zero.6082 said:

@Etria.3642 said:I cannot believe you stated that final fantasy was easier to get into raids than gw2. Clearly you haven't compared them in actually.

In addition in gw2 it is incredibly easy to change builds. Exotics are cheap, or if you have ascended just use the mystic forge to change them. It's even easy to gear for raids to begin with because you do not need ascended. You certainly don't need legendaries.

Compared to ff14 which takes forever... You can keep it.

The game is geared towards raids, it is designed towards raids... you practice dungeons and mechanics to understand and build up your gear.... your prep for raids in GW2 by ..... collecting berries... i don't understand how that makes sense... That is why it easier.... The game teaches you to play.... it even shows you a rotation... granted i played dragoon.... which i have been told is easier..... but take it as you will.... I am comparing apples to oranges in this case i only picked it because its the only other raiding system i have tried.....

Raids in GW2 take alot of practice to get good at. You have to know your build, your rotation, the mechancis of the fight etc. you can do them in exotic if you know the fight well.

Dungeons, and fractals exist in this game too, Dungeons are much easier nowadays but Fractals are a good starting point for learning your build. and Fractal CMs are difficult and even harder than some raid bosses, not sure what the complaint is about here.

I am not arguing that logic... but will you take me in your group if i only have exotic armor? The complaint... wasn't a true complaint... i was offering up the idea of allowing for people to have more out of their really expensive gear.... I though ascend armor and trinkets would be great if you could just change the stats on them when you want... that way when stuff gets nerfed... i don't have to spend my time swapping builds and focus on completing content.

[Zero.6082]

@Zero.6082 said:

@"TPMN.1483" said:

WvW legendary armor time

To calculate the WvW time required to get legendary armor or pips:

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Special:RunQuery/WvW_skirmish_pip_query

?Its about 22 hrs / week (at wvw rank 0) - to earn the maximum 365 tickets - 22 weeks @ 365 tickets per week..22x22= 484 hrs = Bingo a legendary armor set.But you have a time gate so its 22 weeks! there are 52 weeks in a year? That is almost a half a year.... for the required tickets.... not to mention you still have to get the materials.... I only get 22 hours to do it.. there are 168 hours in a week drop 80 for sleep and work.. (40) hours each.. that is 128 hours... so math 484/128 is 3.78 weeks.... so that isn't a time gate? The game is forcing me to do it in 22 weeks.... (guessing your not counting the cost of the armor) so add that number to your factor.... i could do it sooner but it won't let me.... that is a definition of a time gate sir!Also i forgot to add.. Can you also add in the time for legendary trinkets, backpacks and one of every weapon in the game... Please and thank you..... Also please factor in the time to get the materials to make them all as well as the gold need... You can't do it! its impossible! The amount of time mind bending. Where as my simple fix literally will allow for hundred of builds to be discovered with millions of combinations with a 4 week barrier to entry..... per armor class .... Also add up the extra armor per every armor class.... again! you are adding so much time It would years.... just so i can up my builds.... its mind boggling simple!

I think you know as well as i do the only reason why people are so mad at this idea.... is because they did put the time in and now they don't anyone else to succeed. They only want people to do everything and you know that it benefits annet to keep us this way... I didn't say give everyone legendary.... i didn't say give everyone all the titles, honors and completion achievements... i just asked for less repercussions to nerfs and experimentation... The funny part is i think that is what you all are thinking i am implying... or what your saying is that legendary weapons, armor, and trinkets are not worth anything? I have two legendary weapons.... and the only reason i picked them was not the looks, but because they were used by the classes that i use the most.... that is sad..... I mean for this argument to fail you would basically point out that a legendary weapon could look like a stick.... the achievement and work to get it means nothing... its all about the ability to change its stats.... That is the point i am trying to get to everyone... this is the only argument i can finalize.... they are meaningless pieces of junk..... unless i am right.... that the look does matter.... the bragging rights, the achievements and status does matter. Which is why i am trying offer my solution which is allow for us to have our ugly armor that we can enjoy the game with and then we can work to make ourselves look cooler and have cooler stuff.... But the stats and the stat changing is crap.... It didn't matter to us in GW1 why does it matter now? You got one armor and you changed the runes... that's it.. if you wanted cooler armor then you payed more... it was simple effective and it worked! Why did they change it in this game.... build diversity? No because it forces people to stick to one build... The ability to nerf shadow form... basically yes.... and then i almost see it as a punishment to those who found out a good way to play the game....

Everyone here has reinforced my argument that legendary gear is only good because of its ability to change stats... and that there is no point in getting them... thus the mechanic is a very useful one... which would be a nice one to give to everyone, so we can all have a level playing field.... you know equal opportunity not outcome... because i wanted equal outcome everyone gets a legendary set for free....I have two legendary weapons... i wouldn't mind if they did this it doesn't bother me. Its ok if i lose out i don't want that! I want to change my build to match my playstyles and have fun.... with out have to sink in hundreds of hours into busy work. But instead hundreds of hours into fun content.

[Cyninja.2954]

@Zero.6082 said:

@Dante.1763 said:

@Zero.6082 said:

@Etria.3642 said:I cannot believe you stated that final fantasy was easier to get into raids than gw2. Clearly you haven't compared them in actually.

In addition in gw2 it is incredibly easy to change builds. Exotics are cheap, or if you have ascended just use the mystic forge to change them. It's even easy to gear for raids to begin with because you do not need ascended. You certainly don't need legendaries.

Compared to ff14 which takes forever... You can keep it.

The game is geared towards raids, it is designed towards raids... you practice dungeons and mechanics to understand and build up your gear.... your prep for raids in GW2 by ..... collecting berries... i don't understand how that makes sense... That is why it easier.... The game teaches you to play.... it even shows you a rotation... granted i played dragoon.... which i have been told is easier..... but take it as you will.... I am comparing apples to oranges in this case i only picked it because its the only other raiding system i have tried.....

Raids in GW2 take alot of practice to get good at. You have to know your build, your rotation, the mechancis of the fight etc. you can do them in exotic if you know the fight well.

Dungeons, and fractals exist in this game too, Dungeons are much easier nowadays but Fractals are a good starting point for learning your build. and Fractal CMs are difficult and even harder than some raid bosses, not sure what the complaint is about here.

I am not arguing that logic... but will you take me in your group if i only have exotic armor? The complaint... wasn't a true complaint... i was offering up the idea of allowing for people to have more out of their really expensive gear.... I though ascend armor and trinkets would be great if you could just change the stats on them when you want... that way when stuff gets nerfed... i don't have to spend my time swapping builds and focus on completing content.

Ascended armor is only needed for fractals and only due to the agony mechanic. Raids in exotic gear are more than fine, there are also tons of budget builds for classes which don't go pure berserker (and using named berserker armor like Devona, Zhed's and Nika's will recue the cost for a full set to around 10-12 gold) which usually aim for 50-100 gold.

The biggest barrier for players to get into raids is not gear related in this game. Almost nothing is except for fractal T4 (and again, not due to stats).

I get where you are coming from as far as balance changes go. Yet in reality:

• GW2 is the only game where you eventually have all the gear you will ever need (unlike it's competitors who reduce new gear tiers constantly and devalue old gear)
• the first ascended armor set is the hardest/most expensive. Running T4 fractals will lead to an abundance of ascended gear and gold over time
• most balance changes do not affect power damage dealers significantly, it's been berserker for 7.5 years by now. Viper for condi classes mostly
• ascended items are account bound. Even if your class should get re-balanced down (and it's seldom that one falls so far that is totally useless), chances are high that 1 of the 2 other same armor type classes will take it's place or be play-able

TL;DR:If gear is of primary concern due to class viability: make your first set a berserker set for a power damage setup.

[Zero.6082]

@Cyninja.2954 said:

@Zero.6082 said:

@Dante.1763 said:

@Zero.6082 said:

@Etria.3642 said:I cannot believe you stated that final fantasy was easier to get into raids than gw2. Clearly you haven't compared them in actually.

In addition in gw2 it is incredibly easy to change builds. Exotics are cheap, or if you have ascended just use the mystic forge to change them. It's even easy to gear for raids to begin with because you do not need ascended. You certainly don't need legendaries.

Compared to ff14 which takes forever... You can keep it.

The game is geared towards raids, it is designed towards raids... you practice dungeons and mechanics to understand and build up your gear.... your prep for raids in GW2 by ..... collecting berries... i don't understand how that makes sense... That is why it easier.... The game teaches you to play.... it even shows you a rotation... granted i played dragoon.... which i have been told is easier..... but take it as you will.... I am comparing apples to oranges in this case i only picked it because its the only other raiding system i have tried.....

Raids in GW2 take alot of practice to get good at. You have to know your build, your rotation, the mechancis of the fight etc. you can do them in exotic if you know the fight well.

Dungeons, and fractals exist in this game too, Dungeons are much easier nowadays but Fractals are a good starting point for learning your build. and Fractal CMs are difficult and even harder than some raid bosses, not sure what the complaint is about here.

I am not arguing that logic... but will you take me in your group if i only have exotic armor? The complaint... wasn't a true complaint... i was offering up the idea of allowing for people to have more out of their really expensive gear.... I though ascend armor and trinkets would be great if you could just change the stats on them when you want... that way when stuff gets nerfed... i don't have to spend my time swapping builds and focus on completing content.

Ascended armor is only needed for fractals and only due to the agony mechanic. Raids in exotic gear are more than fine, there are also tons of budget builds for classes which don't go pure berserker (and using named berserker armor like Devona, Zhed's and Nika's will recue the cost for a full set to around 10-12 gold) which usually aim for 50-100 gold.

The

biggest barrier for players to get into raids is not gear related in this game

. Almost nothing is except for fractal T4 (and again, not due to stats).

I get where you are coming from as far as balance changes go. Yet in reality:

• GW2 is the only game where you eventually have all the gear you will ever need (unlike it's competitors who reduce new gear tiers constantly and devalue old gear)
• the first ascended armor set is the hardest/most expensive. Running T4 fractals will lead to an abundance of ascended gear and gold over time
• most balance changes do not affect power damage dealers significantly, it's been berserker for 7.5 years by now. Viper for condi classes mostly
• ascended items are account bound. Even if your class should get re-balanced down (and it's seldom that one falls so far that is totally useless), chances are high that 1 of the 2 other same armor type classes will take it's place or be play-able

TL;DR

:If gear is of primary concern due to class viability: make your first set a berserker set for a power damage setup.

Right but then when you get to WVW everyone has berserker set so honestly the game promotes 1 type of play berserker.... also these fractal drops.... what level do you have to be to get this stuff? How many hours do i have to sink to get the next set... nobody knows.... but if you take the leap and get your first set and what do you know its changeable... then you don't have to wait... you can jump into other things... also the market price goes down for the items because you don't have to have the demand for all the extra materials to make more sets with more stats.... So now you lower that barrier for other people....

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

Here you go, no berry-picking (which has nothing to do with Armor) or time-gates required: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ascended_equipment#Changing_attribute_prefix

You are most welcome.

[Toanstation.8042]

@Zero.6082 said:

@Dante.1763 said:

@Zero.6082 said:

@Etria.3642 said:I cannot believe you stated that final fantasy was easier to get into raids than gw2. Clearly you haven't compared them in actually.

In addition in gw2 it is incredibly easy to change builds. Exotics are cheap, or if you have ascended just use the mystic forge to change them. It's even easy to gear for raids to begin with because you do not need ascended. You certainly don't need legendaries.

Compared to ff14 which takes forever... You can keep it.

The game is geared towards raids, it is designed towards raids... you practice dungeons and mechanics to understand and build up your gear.... your prep for raids in GW2 by ..... collecting berries... i don't understand how that makes sense... That is why it easier.... The game teaches you to play.... it even shows you a rotation... granted i played dragoon.... which i have been told is easier..... but take it as you will.... I am comparing apples to oranges in this case i only picked it because its the only other raiding system i have tried.....

Raids in GW2 take alot of practice to get good at. You have to know your build, your rotation, the mechancis of the fight etc. you can do them in exotic if you know the fight well.

Dungeons, and fractals exist in this game too, Dungeons are much easier nowadays but Fractals are a good starting point for learning your build. and Fractal CMs are difficult and even harder than some raid bosses, not sure what the complaint is about here.

I am not arguing that logic... but will you take me in your group if i only have exotic armor? The complaint... wasn't a true complaint... i was offering up the idea of allowing for people to have more out of their really expensive gear.... I though ascend armor and trinkets would be great if you could just change the stats on them when you want... that way when stuff gets nerfed... i don't have to spend my time swapping builds and focus on completing content.

My guild runs 3 raiding groups, all of them are a mixture of ability levels and consider themselves teach groups. Exotics her fine. Ascendeds are better, but Exotics are just fine. I've played 2 different characters in or groups, only one of them is in full Ascended gear, and that's a recent accomplishment. I'm adding a third to the mixed, and that one only has SOME Ascended gear because it was just easier that way. One of our most experienced raiders maintains that you can do all raids with just Exotic gear, including CMs; it all comes down to proper team composition and execution.And berry farming (or any other gathering farming) is far from the only means of getting into Ascendeds. My warrior, who is full Ascended gear, does not have a single gathering farmed piece of gear. It's all from Fractals, Raid currency and other story-related means.

[Cyninja.2954]

@Zero.6082 said:

@Cyninja.2954 said:

@Zero.6082 said:

@Dante.1763 said:

@Zero.6082 said:

@Etria.3642 said:I cannot believe you stated that final fantasy was easier to get into raids than gw2. Clearly you haven't compared them in actually.

In addition in gw2 it is incredibly easy to change builds. Exotics are cheap, or if you have ascended just use the mystic forge to change them. It's even easy to gear for raids to begin with because you do not need ascended. You certainly don't need legendaries.

Compared to ff14 which takes forever... You can keep it.

The game is geared towards raids, it is designed towards raids... you practice dungeons and mechanics to understand and build up your gear.... your prep for raids in GW2 by ..... collecting berries... i don't understand how that makes sense... That is why it easier.... The game teaches you to play.... it even shows you a rotation... granted i played dragoon.... which i have been told is easier..... but take it as you will.... I am comparing apples to oranges in this case i only picked it because its the only other raiding system i have tried.....

Raids in GW2 take alot of practice to get good at. You have to know your build, your rotation, the mechancis of the fight etc. you can do them in exotic if you know the fight well.

Dungeons, and fractals exist in this game too, Dungeons are much easier nowadays but Fractals are a good starting point for learning your build. and Fractal CMs are difficult and even harder than some raid bosses, not sure what the complaint is about here.

I am not arguing that logic... but will you take me in your group if i only have exotic armor? The complaint... wasn't a true complaint... i was offering up the idea of allowing for people to have more out of their really expensive gear.... I though ascend armor and trinkets would be great if you could just change the stats on them when you want... that way when stuff gets nerfed... i don't have to spend my time swapping builds and focus on completing content.

Ascended armor is only needed for fractals and only due to the agony mechanic. Raids in exotic gear are more than fine, there are also tons of budget builds for classes which don't go pure berserker (and using named berserker armor like Devona, Zhed's and Nika's will recue the cost for a full set to around 10-12 gold) which usually aim for 50-100 gold.

The

biggest barrier for players to get into raids is not gear related in this game

. Almost nothing is except for fractal T4 (and again, not due to stats).

I get where you are coming from as far as balance changes go. Yet in reality:

• GW2 is the only game where you eventually have all the gear you will ever need (unlike it's competitors who reduce new gear tiers constantly and devalue old gear)
• the first ascended armor set is the hardest/most expensive. Running T4 fractals will lead to an abundance of ascended gear and gold over time
• most balance changes do not affect power damage dealers significantly, it's been berserker for 7.5 years by now. Viper for condi classes mostly
• ascended items are account bound. Even if your class should get re-balanced down (and it's seldom that one falls so far that is totally useless), chances are high that 1 of the 2 other same armor type classes will take it's place or be play-able

TL;DR

:If gear is of primary concern due to class viability: make your first set a berserker set for a power damage setup.

Right but then when you get to WVW everyone has berserker set so honestly the game promotes 1 type of play berserker.... also these fractal drops.... what level do you have to be to get this stuff? How many hours do i have to sink to get the next set... nobody knows.... but if you take the leap and get your first set and what do you know its changeable... then you don't have to wait... you can jump into other things... also the market price goes down for the items because you don't have to have the demand for all the extra materials to make more sets with more stats.... So now you lower that barrier for other people....

As mentioned by Inculpatus cedo.9234 , reforging of ascended armor/weapons is a thing.

As far as fractal reward chests, they can drop from any fractal daily chest, but the chance is obviously highest from T4 chests (far higher than T1 to 3). The cumulative chance to get an ascended chest is around 10-12% if you open all the chests gained from the daily. The remaining issue is that you don't get to chose when or what drops, meaning you might not get the specific armor piece you want for a while.

Concerning market prices going down, that's a mixed bag. Great for players who want to buy things, not so great for players who want to sell things. Low TP prices are not universally beneficial to the player base. There are tons of players who farm and then sell things on the TP to make gold.

[Trise.2865]

@Zero.6082 said:

@"Trise.2865" said:tl;dr: "I don't like metagame shifts or balance changes and I don't have real friends to play with."

That sucks, dude, but subscriptions won't solve that.

I want to put this to bed now.... stop reading subscriptions and think that is all there is to my argument .....

I don't want subscriptions

Also very kind of you to belittle my attempt to give players the ability to shift with the meta... heaven forbid i want the player count to go up! But ill ignore your "tl'dr" argument because it a strawman.... I don't care about that stuff..... but at a certain point... i would rather just put that money into a new game.... rather than play gw2... They are a company they have to make money! Most of the bad practices that GW2 does is attributed to money.. Time gates, Meta changes... its so they can make people have to repay again to change their gear.... if it wasn't why nerf a minstrel mesmer? If anything leave it status quo why change the meta? I am totally fine if the best build for raid is 10 warriors.... that is fine... but the reason why it will be 10 warriors is, min maxing people and arena net nerfs..... You shift your build to what ever Anet tells you to.... However, the fact its hard to shift your build..... zerker is always at the top and stays there, because that is what everyone has.... I played GW1.... shadow form was the best and stayed the best.... they nerfed it 5 times and it still is the best build for Raiding... the reason why.... people will find the easiest, laziest and cheapest way! If you give people more opportunity ..... then you get more interesting things..... and people will keep playing if you shift the meta because they can have an easy transition..... i haven't change my engineers armor in over 4 years..... Yay Zerker! Because there is no point... its either in meta or out of meta, but its not worth changing it.... because its not the best and it cost so much to change it to a character who is the best....

Albert Einstein once said "If you can't express something simply, you don't understand it well enough."I don't think you understand what you're saying, and this babble is more than enough evidence of that.

If you don't want to re-spec your gear then don't do it. Real friends will work with you.The people you've been playing with refused to do so, ergo, you have no real friends.

[TPMN.1483]

@Zero.3871 - Please do not misquote me on build discussions - I was giving you an opinion on why “Pew Pew” ranger might be disliked. Please re-read it. There are many more optimal builds in WvW that people run and ‘Pew Pew ranger’ generally isn’t one of them. If you want a discussion on why everyone does not run ‘Pew Pew’ ranger - prehaps the question should be “What builds work in WvW best and Why?”

I am happy to discuss your concerns about the game in-game as there are many things you don’t know about how this game works.

This game currently has one of the lowest barriers to doing high end content, good game model and one of the better MMO communities around.

A number of individuals here are trying to help you out.

[Zaklex.6308]

@Zero.6082 said:~snip~

The game doesn't dictate the meta, the players dictate the meta only because other players let them...if people actually just played the way they want with the gear they want and stopped listening to everyone else your whole complaint would go out the window. Also see the post from Inculpatus cedo.9234 above about how to change the stats on your Ascended gear without ever berry farming again...and I personally have never berry farmed for my Ascended set(s), I just crafted the armor and weapons that I know my characters needed for my play style. I play how I want with what ever build I want, if the other players don't like it...too bad, they can go play with someone else then.

[Virdo.1540]

They just need to lift the endgame-content.

For example make Legendary items be 5% better than ascended etc....

Why are other mmorpgs making so much money? Because their equip-system doesnt have an limit that is reached within a week, unlike gw2

[LucianTheAngelic.7054]

You know what two gear sets never go out of vogue? Berserker and Viper. Get a set of each for whatever profession you want and bam, easy, you’re set. And cherry on top you can swap those sets over to the other two professions with the same armor weight if for some reason you need to adjust.

Also it’s incredibly easy to get Ascended armor at this point. It drops like candy from Raids and is purchasable through them as well. And Strikes, Fractals, and WVW/PvP all have easy access as well. There’s really no excuse for not being able to get ascended at this point unless you’re not doing any of the “end game” content (at which point you don’t even need ascended for open world anyway).

And just for emphasis Berserker and Viper never go out of vogue so if you have a set of both you will be set regardless of class choice

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

Here's another easy way to get Ascended Armor: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ascended_armor#Vendor
Strike Missions are fast and easy, (sans Steel and Fire; it's easy but not as fast as the others).

[The Greyhawk.9107]

There is no way that a game that's coming up on eight years is going to be able to go from free-to-play to a subscription.

[Asum.4960]

This all seems a bit dramatic, no? Really the only ascended Set that's hard to get is the first one, although by now not even that might be true anymore with all the new avenues to get them they added over the years.

Then stat sets like Berserker for Power DPS, Viper for condi DPS and Harrier for most supports pretty much have been meta since each of them was ever a thing (that being years). They are certainly not constantly changing.If something changes though, guess what, with a small fee you can actually Stat change Ascended Armor and Weapons too with a Mystic Forge recipe.

Then, just to give you an idea of how easy ascended gear is to get just by playing over time once you have your first set to play endgame content with, I have about 5 Bank tabs completely full with stacks and stacks of ascended Armor and Weapon boxes, Raid Drops and Trinkets, totaling up literally hundreds - and that's with regularly having salvaged them down or simply throwing them away bc I ran out of space, that's how much this game floods you with endgame gear in endgame to gear alts, it's incredibly generous (plus mountains of currency, like Magnetite Shards, Fractal Relics etc., to buy even more).You really only have to work for the first set or two, and even that is only needed for Fractals because of Agony.Most Raid Training Groups most likely will accept people in mostly Exotics, maybe asking you to just quickly get some Trinkets or the Weapons. Armor is pretty optional.

LW currency for Trinkets are so plentiful these days too, with new content essentially flooding you with for example Eternal Ice, for which a few Trinkets can be bought directly (after the option is unlocked with corresponding achievements), while the rest can be exchanged for other currencies to buy the rest.While I still remember grinding out Blood Rubies and such for weeks back in the day, nowdays it shouldn't take more than a few hours to fully equip a character with trinkets either.Additionally, all trinkets from all sources serve all Stats now. Gearing never has been this easy.

Lastly, I find it telling that you on the one hand argue Legendary Armor and such takes too long and is too expensive for you to get for what it does, and on the other hand argue Ascended gear should just be freely swapable, and that those who already went through the effort of getting Legendaries should be happy with just the skin, as that's already worth it alone (it really isn't).And yes, nobody has 6000 T6 Mats just laying around, it's a (optional) longterm endgame goal you have to work for..Sure, it might seem impossible at first when looking at it, but if you take it step by step and just play the content because you enjoy it, sooner or later you are sitting on multiple Legendary Armors, not even because you needed them, but just because there was nothing else to spend all the currencies on.

Say about GW2 what you want, but I've never seen an MMO give out endgame gear this easily, on top of that it's gear that never get's irrelevant/replaced by bigger numbers/higher levels.The same set of ascended Berserker gear with Scholar Runes that was Meta 5 years ago is still Meta now, and as mentioned above, even if something changes, both Stats and Runes are easily swapped.

[kharmin.7683]

@Virdo.1540 said:They just need to lift the endgame-content.

For example make Legendary items be 5% better than ascended etc....No, thank you. There was enough shouting when ascended was first introduced. I don't feel that the game needs this extra grind.

Why are other mmorpgs making so much money? Because their equip-system doesnt have an limit that is reached within a week, unlike gw2This, to me, is a limited point of view. There are more than one reason why other games make money. Also, having this limit is one of the reasons why so many enjoy GW2.

[IndigoSundown.5419]

@Zero.6082 said:

@IndigoSundown.5419 said:Why are these mechanics in the game? To keep people playing the game, so they might drop some RL money on gems or buy them with gold, which makes the exchange rate look good to those buying gold with gems.

Say ANet gave out stat change freely to non-Legendary owners. Two things would happen. (1) Legendary owners would complain that the main non-cosmetic benefit to getting legendary gear has been negated. (2) ANet would still have to put busy work into the game to keep people logging in

so they would think there is a reason to keep paying the fee

.

You don't think so? Look at how WoW works. There is a constant gear progression to give people incentive to keep playing, and the developer keeps putting busy work into the game. Maybe ActiBlizz does it better for you, maybe not for me. But busy work is the nature of the MMO genre.

Legendary gear used to not change stats... it changed with time... we can change the game to make it better as we learn new things... Or it evolves.... I was OK with the ascend weapons for a time because they gave out 9 for free with every expansion with really rewarding and cool game play..... but that is not the case.... Also it works one time! Once you have it all and you have to change it.... you then do three options.....

1. Dump money
2. Dump time
3. Dump characters..

I am just trying to throw out some ideas to see what we get.... but from you argument it sounds like a lost cause i should just move on to a new game.... That's not what i want to do... I want to help them make a game i like better... because there is plenty of story and potential left.... but they could just give up now i guess?

The question one has to ask is whether, when ANet makes a change to the game, why did they do it? The answer to this question is almost always going to be because they believe it will pay off for them because players wanted the change. They added Ascended to the game over the protests of many players. Why? Because it gave those who wanted a shorter-term goal than Legendary but longer than exotic something to do. Before Ascended, the market for crafting mats was very low. Ascended made those mats, which are the game's primary reward, worth something. Why did they add stat change to Legendary gear? Because disaffected players complained that all the effort and in-game expense to make those items ought to be worth something in addition to a look.

If you look at the reasons why the status quo is as it is, then the question becomes how many players would be happy with your suggestions and how many would be unhappy. Those are the numbers ANet will look at. The GW2 gear horse is moving in the direction it's going for reasons. Unless you can present compelling reasons for change, don't expect the horse to change directions. If you don't want to ride the horse in the direction it's going, that's up to you. I'm not advising you to get off the horse. I am offering a perspective on why your suggestion might not work.

[Funky.4861]

You need a maximum of 5 sets of gear (in pve/raids/fracs etc) depending on what role/s you'd like to do:Power damageCondition damageHealingTankingBoonspread/hybrid.

You probably don't need all of those for each armour weight and that's only if you want the ability to fill any role in a raid. If all you want is dps or healing, you don't need to make a tanking build.

Stat-swapping ascended gear is quite easy, and if you're concerned about trinkets, use blood rubies for half of them and the next easiest material for you to gather for the rest. I rate Sirens' Landing for easily accessible backpacks and fire orchids are plentiful if you do the druids' henge backpack collection (because you get to plant them in Tyria and don't have to camp Draconis Mons).

Snowcrows and Metabattle have raid-ready builds for most professions and all it takes is some practice in the Golem room to get your dps rotation down and ideally a training guild/ training static to run through the mechanics of the encounters.

[Brandon Uzumaki.1524]

1200g for a set of ascended armor lol, each piece is around 60g (mostly because of the insignia), that's why you craft the cheapest one (Magi i believe), and stat swap it to the one you want, without weapon and trinkets that would be roughly 360g for an entire set, not that expensive.

And about trinkets, Icebrood is giving Ascended trinkets like candy, you already have an amulet and acessory for only 50k Karma and 375 Ice (witch is easy as hell to farm, i have 5k and nothing to do with them lol), and the next episodes will probably have the other trinkets.

[White Kitsunee.4620]

Theres alot more ways of getting ascended trinkets then just berry farming my dude.

FractlesPvPWvWLaurelsLws3Lws4RaidsEctEct

Also ascendeds are required for T2+ fractles and nothing else, you'll do fine with just exotics.If your looking to experiment more I would highly recommend crafting an exotic set before you craft an ascended set.

[Sty Kel.3164]

In my opinion, the fact that we can easily reroll armor / weapon stats and, in some extent, some trinkets makes experimenting quite easy compared to have to craft new sets every time. Plus, ascended gear gives maximum stats and we don't have to farm new gear every 2 months for a few additional stats points. Plus, ascended gear is available in every game modes and probably in all the new PvE maps. Plus, you can have filler exotics if it's really to experiment.

But of course if the overall cost for experimenting a new build is very high, one should ask other people if it's worth testing or not or see if this information is available somewhere. It's common sense.

So I don't really follow you on the experimentation argument.

And I don't think anyone would get the legendary armor for anything else than the skin. Stats-swapping is interesting on paper, but not when your bank gets overloaded with ascended gear, which happens quite fast when you start raiding consistently. It makes the experimentation for future builds even easier.

Also I really don't see what direction Anet took "that lost the best part of their game in favor of making money". Releasing new skins in gem store to gain cash? I agree that some QoL upgrades in the store are nice, but that's just QoL, not mandatory to do anything.

[keenedge.9675]

AFAIK, the goalposts are the same. They are legendary items which demand LEGENDARY amounts of time.

What value would they have if all could get them in a month? PLUS, they don't offer ANY combat advantage. They are just prestige bling items.

Purple items in this game are equal to pink items. Pink items are relatively easy to get/make.