Would you like to see more Updrafts, Mushrooms, Beetle-walls, Vents, Leylines in new zones?

[Hesione.9412]

When HoT came out, we obviously didn't have mounts and most of those masteries are important. https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Counter_Magic is useful on core Tyria maps when it comes to fighting NPCs like the https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Legendary_Ley-Line_Anomaly and also https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Bloodstone_Sightings - which also appear in Dry Top and SW. I frequently use gliding in Tyria, although I get annoyed in the jumping puzzles that allow it. I also use gliding when fighting the patriarch in Verdant Brink, for obvious reasons.

I use leyline gliding in Drizzlewood Coast, at the camp just ahead of the final meta point.

The one I thought was a waste of time was https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Nuhoch_Alchemy.

I think Dragonfall is a great example of having multiple types of mastery abilities useful.

[Dreamy Lu.3865]

For me, that's not all of them. Matter of taste of course, but personally, I don't like beetle walls, ley-lines, wallows (tunnels) and throwers. I never use those unless it is made mandatory for whatever reason(s).

I like updrafts and mushrooms that I keep using regularly, for the shrooms, especially when they are in a row.

Skyscale is very far from being the solution for everything. It can't go into tight passages, tend to hang on whatever obstacles is on the way (tree branches, ...), doesn't have unlimited energy to regain elevation... All in all, I believe that as is now, things are quite balanced in game. I would just enjoy a bit more updrafts and mushrooms for the fun of them, like for example as part of a JP where mounts are not usable, or whatever that type. :)

[Blur.3465]

I'd hate to see those return.Mainly because they clutter the visuals of the map and give an eyesore, especially updrafts and leylines.

[lezbefriends.7516]

No, no vertical maps, please.

[Fueki.4753]

I don't mind seeing Updrafts, Vents and Jumpshrooms, as long as they don't lock progression behind them and the maps aren't as terribly vertical as HoT maps.

However, I do not want to see Ley Lines (I just dislike them visually) or Roller Beetle Walls (I simply dislike them).

[hugo.4705]

Not all, but when the map has lava why not vents, when it hapens in forest why not mushroom. If it's a zone on a ley line hub or if they are leaking, ley lines... on my side it is just about realism/coherence regarding the environment.

[itspomf.9523]

Honestly? The problem is the Mastery System.

Look at it like this: we were introduced to the concept with Heart of Thorns, which did a fairly poor job of directing the player as to what progression of masteries to follow outside of the need for a glider, when a fairly eclectic mix was necessary to unlock the upgraded versions of specialization weapons. By the time Path of Fire rolled around, masteries were more linear and tied exclusively to an overarching usage or purpose (namely their respective mount). By then you could accomplish this with just the third tier of each basic mount (whereafter the griffon was a bonus, and the beetle largely optional even in Living Story).

But when you look back on PoF, would it have been fair to introduce the old movement modes (shrooms, updrafts, etc.) when a number of new and returning players would never have played HoT, and thus wouldn't have access to, let alone use of, these?

Not really. In fact, it would give a reasonably unfair advantage to veteran players of HoT, who would be able to functionally bypass most of the content gating created by the Path of Fire masteries, unless these alternative movement modes were rendered ineffectual -- that is, one couldn't shroom bounce their way to the top of a cliff that normally required a springer with "High Vault" unlocked, at which point their inclusion would be entirely moot.

Just like the entirety of what's introduced in the Icebrood Saga.

What I'm trying to say is that masteries were a poorly conceived means of stretching game-time (and thus content) through collectibles not unlike what we saw in many action-adventure platformers and metroidvanias of yore, where the player could continually return to prior areas and progress just a little bit further with each new unlock. And that's precisely where we are now ... albeit within a single expansion.

And that begs a very important question: how will ANet deal with the existence of mounts in Cantha?

Like gliding, they're permitted in Core Tyria (outside of most jumping puzzles), but if a player who completed the Skyscale collection can breeze over the entirety of a map and bypass most limitations, well ... isn't that exactly the problem that 16% of respondents have noted (at the time of writing)?

Ultimately, it's a doomed system. It cannot be added to later content without creating an unfair advantage, nor can it be overly restricted without making the efforts of 11 million players all but moot.

So rather than more strange gimmicks and throw-away mechanics, I'd love to see ANet focusing more on story-driven progression and a coherent timeline for Tyria, alongside a story which both remains consistent and self-referencing. Too many aspects of past LS episodes (and expansions in general, apropos of the Personal Story) seem to simply be swept aside with each new release, when they could be better used in contributing toward the holistic present -- and future -- of Tyria.

[Tyncale.1629]

I think Mounts and the other movement mechanics can co-exist perfectly fine with each other. Especially issues with aggro (can not mount up) make shrooms and vents very useful, I use those constantly in HoT and LW zones. It is all about how you implement them in the landscape.

You can give players several pathways to a certain high up spot: you can do it with your Springer, but you have to make several jumps and find the correct ledges, while not getting aggroed/shot of your Mount, i.e. requires some effort to get there; or they can place one (or maybe) two shrooms that will get you there fast, aggro or not, however this requires the player to have unlocked this HoT mastery. The large stone pillars, invested with harpies near the High Jump Ranch Waypoint in Desert Highlands is a nice example of this. THings get easier when you have the mushrooms unlocked but players can decide for themselves if they want to unlock them or keep doing it with their Springer. Mushrooms, vents, leylines, Jackal portals, teleport-shrines(another way of travel that has been added with certain LW zones) can all be added in a way that gives more possibilities for players and can make certain things easier if you decide to unlock them all.

And I think they are on the right track with this, the latest zones seem to have nice mix in them.

[Cuks.8241]

I would also like to see gliding in fractals. They often add a specific gimmicks and those are great. So a small gliding part or a gliding puzzle would be great.

[Sobx.1758]

Lock literally every bit of content behind literally every single one of those mechanics stacked behind each other, so people get bored/annoyed of them after a week and subsequently they'll hopefully manage to stop making polls with biased answers, because apparently "you want what I do or you never leave the back of the skyscale".

[TheLadyOfTheRings.9148]

I was never a fan of leylines, so I don't really wish to see them in the future. Everything else is fine and makes map exploration more fun, in my opinion. :)

[Gryphon.2875]

I'm always in favor of updrafts. Gliding is my favorite mode of transportation.

[LSD.4673]

For the love of god though, make mushrooms less dumb. The spinning ball flip and the twizzle arms out spin jump are absurdly stupid. Can we just have a jumping animation?

[Zola.6197]

I own all the expansions, so this wouldn't be an issue for me. But if I was a new player entering EoDs and certain areas were off limits to me for content I paid for, that'd be an issue.

Now, if things like updrafts or bouncing mushrooms could provide long-time players earlier access or shortcuts to certain content, I could get on board with that. As long as everyone can eventually get everywhere with the masteries/whatever comes with EoDs.

[Cuks.8241]

@"Svennis.3852" said:I own all the expansions, so this wouldn't be an issue for me. But if I was a new player entering EoDs and certain areas were off limits to me for content I paid for, that'd be an issue.

Now, if things like updrafts or bouncing mushrooms could provide long-time players earlier access or shortcuts to certain content, I could get on board with that. As long as everyone can eventually get everywhere with the masteries/whatever comes with EoDs.

Well, they will have to do something about it anyway. I can't imagine they would go back to the pre-Hot and especially pre-mounts level design. I don't really see any other option but to bundle everything.

[Trise.2865]

Only if it makes sense for them to be there, and they serve a practical purpose other than simply existing.

[Opopanax.1803]

One major problem is that if you lock content behind them, it means people have to grind all of HoT and also LS seasons before they can ever do the current stuff where most players are.

I'd like to see more "no mount zones" where gliding can excel as a skill again.