Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons Discussion Thread: Skiffs and Fishing [Merged]

[Gibson.4036]

I still don't get it.

But I did remember that there have been periodic "Please add fishing" threads on these forums for years, so surely someone is really geeked right now. Right?

I'd like to suggest one of the first skins available be a big viking ship made of pink candy.

There's no earthly way of knowing
Which direction we are going
There's no knowing where we're rowing
Or which way the river's flowing

Yes! The danger must be growing
For the rowers keep on rowing
And they're certainly not showing
Any signs that they are slowing

[Gibson.4036]

10 hours ago, Dami.5046 said:

I can't believe they are making this such a thing though. As a lovely 'extra' in an expansion then sure, it's cute and all. But treat as it 's the MAIN feature *shakes head* and do a guild chat on it? I'd rather see about the new mount or *shock* one more thing we haven't seen?

So here's my hope. It's not a very substantial one.

When you show off work you often start with something big and exciting, but you make sure to save the things that are really wow right to the end so people leave really geeked out. That means the minor things go in the middle.

People have been asking for Cantha for years. It's dear to many GW1 players' hearts. So I'm thinking the EoD stuff so far is "Wow, we're going to Cantha!", oh and here's some fun boats and fishing a few of you have been asking for, and there are a few really juicy things in ArenaNet's back pocket that they are saving for... maybe December reveals.

 

[Esorono.1039]

7 minutes ago, Tyncale.1629 said:

Just saw the Guild chat about Fishing And Skiffs and there was nothing that surprised me and/or enthused me.  Some racing with your skiff, groupfishing that gives a buff so you catch more, silly emoting by your group to boost your Skiff and using the skiffs to form platforms/flotilla's in open water.  Mostly seems an RP feature tbh.   

 

I do think we will see many new Skiff skins released over time and they seem to be nicely dyable so I do see a revival for using your dyes and coming up with nice colorschemes. 

I thought that too, but it's also too engaging to actually talk. But not engaging enough to actually be interesting for over a few minutes. It would have been fine if it went one of the two ways where it's mostly idle and you can just talk to people while doing something and go hunting if you want to find a rare fish like trying to find Feebas in Pokemon. Or went the opposite route and made fishing more complex and flashy, but it seems to have taken a middle ground and I am rather meh about it. I mean I had really low hopes to begin with, but I thought there would be at least something a bit more exciting to it than just doing a simple mini-game for cooking recipes. 

[wolfyrik.2017]

Meh. Didn't care about fishing or boats. Still don't care. It's basically chairs 2.0. I'll just skip any masteries for them and use them on something better. Hopefully there will be something better.

[Tyncale.1629]

I was really expecting more from the Fishing minigame too. That is so minimalist.  I have seen a lot of minigames in RPG's and MMO's for Crafting, Dialogue with NPC's, picking Locks and such, and this Fishing minigame is very, very simplistic compared to many of them. 

[Quench.7091]

Woo! We can walk upon the skiff while it is parked!

[Esorono.1039]

6 minutes ago, Gibson.4036 said:

I still don't get it.

But I did remember that there have been periodic "Please add fishing" threads on these forums for years, so surely someone is really geeked right now. Right?

I'd like to suggest one of the first skins available be a big viking ship made of pink candy.

There's no earthly way of knowing
Which direction we are going
There's no knowing where we're rowing
Or which way the river's flowing

Yes! The danger must be growing
For the rowers keep on rowing
And they're certainly not showing
Any signs that they are slowing

Fishing is okay, but it's like sitting in chairs feature. It's neat, but not really a selling feature, it's like mining or logging basically. It would be as if A-Net decided that instead of gliders or mounts, the exalted chests were the main focus of the new expansion. It's just underwhelming really.

[Gibson.4036]

5 minutes ago, wolfyrik.2017 said:

Meh. Didn't care about fishing or boats. Still don't care. It's basically chairs 2.0. I'll just skip any masteries for them and use them on something better. Hopefully there will be something better.

I'm very, very confident that there will be a "Level up your fishing to continue the story" moment.

I expect this will be the only time I actually fish. Perhaps with the exception of fishing behind Tequatl, if that request is granted.

Edited September 10, 2021 by Gibson.4036

[Blur.3465]

I was kinda hoping fishing would be like something from Sea of Thieves. I love fishing there!
I don't like the overly 'hard' mini games around fishing. If I go fishing, I wanna relax. x)

[Flaming.4250]

I hope that we don't have to level up fishing to progress the story as the fishing mini game did nothing for me.

[Infusion.7149]

From the looks of it I think skiffs will be more interesting of a feature with the emotes and nitro boost on the boat than fishing. Skiffs' attraction are akin to Roller beetle racing I think. Fishing only appears to be attractive for openworld PVE players that like mining ores or chopping wood (gatherer types / semi-afk players). Skiffs are a way for people to interact with each other along with the turtles especially since people have to be in party.

----

Chairs and fishing are made for afk-type players (RPers?). Skiffs seem more for racing bettle and mount race type players (explorer/"competitive" PVE players).

33 minutes ago, wolfyrik.2017 said:

Meh. Didn't care about fishing or boats. Still don't care. It's basically chairs 2.0. I'll just skip any masteries for them and use them on something better. Hopefully there will be something better.

Edited September 10, 2021 by Infusion.7149

[Eddy.7051]

Recommendations:

• The skiff travel animation seems too twitchy. I would prefer if the skiff had the fluid, sliding movement of the Skimmer and maybe the slower turning movement of the Raptor.
• Using skills 2 and 3 while fishing does not seem intuitive to me. It is also a bit awkward to go back and forth between holding down those two keys on my MMO mouse (which is better for taps rather than constant holds). I would prefer if casting the fishing line rooted the player, preventing their movement, and then the player used A and D to move the fishing slider. Or the fishing meter could be vertical rather than horizontal, and both Z-axis mount movement keys (in my case the dodge key and the R key) could control the fishing slider.
• I'm not sure if I missed this detail, but I don't think the mechanical differences between lures and baits were explained. Do they both simply add fishing power? Is there any other mechanic that can be customized rather than simply increasing fishing power? If both of these consumables only add fishing power, then I recommend merging them into one consumable type rather than having us carry two consumable types. I also hope there is an unlimited bait/lure of max quality that will be sold on the gem store.

 

Celebrations:

• Party-specific collision for skiffs is genius! I was concerned if skiffs could bump into players outside the party or if strangers could hop on your skiff without being in your party. Bumper skiffs and skiff-crashes between party members is also a fun idea.
• Fixing players in seats while moving is a clever way of preventing awkward visuals when players de-sync from moving platforms and they appear glitchy on those platforms (like fighting on the air ships in the final story instance with Zhaitan). I also like the convenience of auto-seating players as soon as the anchor is pulled. There would be too much wasted time if you had to wait for everyone to manually sit down or if a ready menu appeared that all players had to agree to. If they are in your party, you should be able to have more control over their autonomy. If they don't like your control, they are welcome to leave the party or hop off the skiff (splash!).
• The fishing mechanic seems inspired by Stardew Valley's fishing mechanic. I'm glad you all didn't reinvent the wheel and stuck with a solid, simple, and intuitive mechanic for fishing with plenty of room for depth and challenge.
• Good news to hear that fishing rods will not break like other gathering tools. It would be annoyingly disruptive to be on a boat party and have your fishing rod break in the middle of a large body of water nowhere near a fishing merchant. Disruptions and punishments for not being prepared are generally good rpg designs in combat, exploration, and independent play. But I prefer to minimize disruptions in socially-driven content (like group fishing).

Edited September 10, 2021 by Eddy.7051

[Dami.5046]

30 minutes ago, Gibson.4036 said:

So here's my hope. It's not a very substantial one.

When you show off work you often start with something big and exciting, but you make sure to save the things that are really wow right to the end so people leave really geeked out. That means the minor things go in the middle.

People have been asking for Cantha for years. It's dear to many GW1 players' hearts. So I'm thinking the EoD stuff so far is "Wow, we're going to Cantha!", oh and here's some fun boats and fishing a few of you have been asking for, and there are a few really juicy things in ArenaNet's back pocket that they are saving for... maybe December reveals.

 

At the end of day, Cantha was my favourite area of GW and we are now going there. IF people are hyped for fishing cool. After watching the stream, i'm not totally against it, it certainly more fun than pressing F, and i don't mind collections or doing masteries. *shrug* i'm happy the people who asked for it got their wish

For the record i was one of those who asked for more of those rides you get say in the four winds, so basically i got a 'wish' anyway.

I'm certainly looking more forward than i was. 

[RobinotX.1604]

 

58 minutes ago, Gibson.4036 said:

So here's my hope. It's not a very substantial one.

When you show off work you often start with something big and exciting, but you make sure to save the things that are really wow right to the end so people leave really geeked out. That means the minor things go in the middle.

People have been asking for Cantha for years. It's dear to many GW1 players' hearts. So I'm thinking the EoD stuff so far is "Wow, we're going to Cantha!", oh and here's some fun boats and fishing a few of you have been asking for, and there are a few really juicy things in ArenaNet's back pocket that they are saving for... maybe December reveals.

 

 

As I just came back to GW2 I am now playing Path of Fire and LS4. I really like the Arabic, Persian, Middle Eastern, African setting mix that is in Elona. But I am really looking forward to the Far East setting of Cantha. And that is already a reason to look forward to EoD.

Fishing is a nice thing I may be doing afterwards to relax when I am not too focused on everything and Skiffs are a nice way to go around the place again. I am also really looking forward to the Siege Turtle.

 

That said Elite Specs are my main interest for now. Curious to see what is next 😄

[Donari.5237]

I think it looks like a fun side activity.  I can also imagine skiff races with teams competing to be the best at sequential emotes and tight steering.  So far I haven't seen anything that is a deep game changer like gliding and mounts were, though if the idea of group mounts continues into more variations than skiff and turtle that could be a real change.  (Side thought, could this finally allow pairs waltzing in game?).

 

A couple of questions:  If the driver leaves the party, does that dump all passengers in the water while the skiff keeps going?  I assume so but that wasn't shown.

 

If you are in a squad, does the passenger feature work for squad mates?

[Ashantara.8731]

2 hours ago, Tyncale.1629 said:

I was really expecting more from the Fishing minigame too. That is so minimalist.  I have seen a lot of minigames in RPG's and MMO's for Crafting, Dialogue with NPC's, picking Locks and such, and this Fishing minigame is very, very simplistic compared to many of them. 

Don't get me wrong as trying to defend ANet as a "fangirl" here, but they said they weren't showing NPC dialogue because it would spoil the story. From what we have seen before in the trailer, there will also be trading as well as cooking involved in the whole fishing feature, so it might be more than "simplistic" in that regard - we'll see.

I liked the live stream and think this feature will be fun. I also hope, like many, that it and boats are not going to be the unique selling point for the expansion. I'm not looking forward to any of the elite specs (after seeing the first three) nor the legendary weapon set (what a letdown), so I am holding my breath for a decent Cantha story and another goodie we have not been shown yet - 'cause I am still waiting for that mind-blowing effect they were promising in the first EoD live stream.

9 minutes ago, Donari.5237 said:

If you are in a squad, does the passenger feature work for squad mates?

I doubt it.

Edited September 10, 2021 by Ashantara.8731

[Surolam.1490]

Today's stream answered several questions and made me more interested in this feature:
* Fishing is not going to be something you can do while AFK.
* Skiffs can interact with each other if players are in the same party and (presumably) ignore each other when not.
* People riding on skiffs (other than the owner) have things they can do to contribute to the experience.

All good things IMO.

[Tortoiseshell Sweep.3265]

Ok, well I guess that covered the what and how, but I'm still struggling with the why?

Gliding and mounts gave me new and dynamic ways to experience the world and forever changed how I play the game. I use them both all the time. I'm still struggling to understand the point of fishing? Or a multiplayer skimmer?

I'm sure it'll be fun for 5 minutes and the collectionists will have something to keep them quiet for a couple of days, but then what? Why will I ever want to go back and fish again?

New recipes? I hardly use most of the ones I've got. Mobility? I've got mounts. Chilling out? That's what I play the game for! If I want to sit around doing nothing I'll go read a book or watch TV.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I just don't get it. This is looking about as useful as those Raven masteries from IBS.

I really hope there's more to come, because if this is all they've got then EOD is going to be a total disappointment.

[Infusion.7149]

3 minutes ago, Ashantara.8731 said:

Don't get me wrong as trying to defend ANet as a "fangirl" here, but they said they weren't showing NPC dialogue because it would spoil the story. From what we have seen before in the trailer, there will also be trading as well as cooking involved in the whole fishing feature, so it might be more than "simplistic" in that regard - we'll see.

I liked the live stream and think this feature will be fun. I also hope, like many, that it and boats are not going to be the unique selling point for the expansion. I'm not looking forward to any of the elite specs (after seeing the first three) nor the legendary weapon set (what a letdown), so I am holding my breath for a decent Cantha story and another goodie we have not been shown yet - 'cause I am still waiting for that mind-blowing effect they were promising in the first EoD live stream.

I doubt it.

How is fishing and then cooking fish any different than gathering herbs and then making ascended food? The only difference is the fishing with other people on the boat. Fundamentally that means that the skiff boat is the feature not fishing, unless you consider pressing some buttons while fishing to be massively more engaging than gathering herbs. The fishing buttons include angle left / right for the fish marker and "cast line".

To me, fishing is just doubling down on the "gather 100 logs" gameplay that I hate. It's a minigame at best similar to the numerous adventures ingame as opposed to a core feature such as gliding or mounts.

[Ashantara.8731]

14 minutes ago, Infusion.7149 said:

How is fishing and then cooking fish any different than gathering herbs and then making ascended food?

I never said it was. But who knows?

[Loules.8601]

I watched the stream and wanted to leave an extended review.

1. We have already talked about the smoothness of movements. As a big fan of various games where there are sailing ships (controlled by the player), I would like to recommend the following:

a) Increase the "skidding" of the skiff in turns (possibly at a higher speed, so as not to cause inconvenience in "ordinary life") - so that the weight of the boat is felt. With the same Raptor-mount, there are enough animations for this, but with a boat - it will be felt when moving. It is not necessary to make a skid in the turns of the skiff strong (it seems that it is still present in some form), but it is worth increasing it. On the stream now, the skiff felt like it was on ice (at some times).

b) Increase the intensity of the wave effects near the waterline of the boat. It is poorly visible from the outside.

 

      2.  Skiffs are cool. I hope to see more variations of the skiff (including the Gem-store) :

 

- More boats of different sizes (as it was with the current ones), I hope to see both the largest possible boats and compact ones (for more "agile" characters or some asuras, for example)
- Perhaps additional features on the boat? A place for cooking, for example, or a Jacuzzi?: D
- Boats with different heights of platforms? For example, the group is in its usual places, and the navigator is on the platform a little higher, separately? Or some sort of observation tower for friends? 😄 

In short: I would like to see more experiments with the size and shape (especially) / location of players on different skiffs, as well as, perhaps, some cool additional functions for interacting with friends.

P.S. Make a musical skiff with different instruments (on the same boat) - for the music guilds of Tyria. I think they will be happy. And it will also look cool from the outside.

[Omega.6801]

So, after last guild chat dedicated to fishing and skiffs, here's my hot yet insignificant take...

First, I never really advocated for fishing. The concept in other games seemed boring at best and afk-gaming at worst. But ANet has wow'ed us with mounts and gliding before so hey, I wanted to see where this goes. Sadly, neither fishing nor skiffs look all that great for me. It seems like ANet has gone full RP on this one. Not that it's a bad thing, it's just not my cup of tea and also not something, that I would have thought has a huge community in GW2. I know there are RP guilds, and I hear/read people who RP every now and then in the main cities. Sure they tagged some colections and items to it. From what they said fishing will use new materials and types of materials and there will be some kind of progression that comes with these items and the new fishing stat. But if the activity is just the minigame - which looks good, but isn't more than a minigame - I'm not sure if going for all these collections will feel all that great, at least not for me, and probably not for many players who are in this game for its action combat, mobility and exploration.

It seems as if, to max out fishing, you will need to party up and I see, that this should be the appeal of fishing and skiffs, again more an RP/Community thing. But ANet has been kinda stingy about these things. GW2 is one of the few MMOs that have these very vocal parts of the community asking for this game to be a solo-experience. I'm not sure how the stacking fishing buff to this RNG-heavy minigame will fly with those players.

The masteries are ok I guess, the first on both lines feel boring and very different from the masteries we had in PoF. Sure, maybe they will enable some of the metroidvania gameplay(at least the skiff one could do this), but they just didn't feel like it. Again, it felt ery relaxed and laid back, and maybe there is an audience for this. It just doesn't seem very exciting to me.

Fishing and Skiffs seem more like a QoL or RP feature they would introduce for a festival or LS episode. While the fishing mini-game seems more engaging than a QTE, it doesn't seem to go much above that. It's still just a minigame. Rewards seems RNG-heavy, structured around crafting, selling or collections. Skiffs look fine, but again more relaxed than I would have expected from a major feature of an expansion.

[Tortoiseshell Sweep.3265]

5 minutes ago, lokh.2695 said:

Fishing and Skiffs seem more like a QoL or RP feature they would introduce for a festival or LS episode.

This exactly. I have no problem with fishing, but I don't really care about it any more than say crab toss or a HOT adventure. It's fun to do now and again but not something I really care about.

[Caboose.4376]

I truly appreciate the 'party' aspect of fishing and skiffs. It would be a cool idea to expand on that further by introducing 'profession'-related fishing skills that affect the party via buffs/actions

Hear me out Anet, please!

Guardian - "consecrates"; fishing node is consecrated giving entire party extra "fishing power"
Engineer - turbo reels; increases the 'sweet spot' for all party members
Elementalist - arcane lures; chances to catch more fish per reel is increased party wide
Ranger - 'Lure em' (orders aquatic pet); chance to not consume lure per reel is increased party wide
Thief - "trip wire"; chance to instantly catch fish per reel (skip mechanics) is increased party wide
Revenant - "Ancient fishing tips"; ask Shiro for tips on fishing and increase the duration/quantity of fishing node party wide (actually says those tips in your Revenant head)
Mesmer - "Fish mind blast"; fools the fish to the lure again, able to 'retry' a failed fish reel party wide
Necro - "Undead Quaggan fisher"; chance for failed fish reel to be instantly caught increased party wide
Warrior - "Noodling"; chance for bigger fish being caught at fishing node is increased party wide

I posted this on the GW2 reddit too, I'd reallllllllly like the devs to see and consider this because I believe it would really encourage people to party up for fishing and could lead to some interesting strategies for any high-tier fishing xD

Edited September 10, 2021 by Caboose.4376

[Omega.6801]

26 minutes ago, Tortoiseshell Sweep.3265 said:

This exactly. I have no problem with fishing, but I don't really care about it any more than say crab toss or a HOT adventure. It's fun to do now and again but not something I really care about.

It's like they redid carb toss by attaching some collections and some progression to it, even adding a mastery to it(which is one of the few vertical progression systems in the game). Would it create some new influx of people who might like the additions and maybe people who are in it for rewards or AP? Sure. But is it something that I would expect to be a major feature? Dunno...