xLOKIx0830

I'd like to ask Colin what he thinks GW2 is missing the most. Everyone has their own preferences, but I think it would be interesting to hear someone's perspective on this topic who is actually developing the game.

For instance, I know Anet's focus, as of now, is fairly split between repopulating PvE areas and bringing PvP up to par. But, why are those areas lacking in the first place, what needs to be fixed? I'd like to know what they feel is the most important to work on to meet these goals, from a design perspective and from a player perspective. Is it the content, is it the rewards, or is it the interactions people can do with the environment and one another that is most important?



I just recently watched Wooden Potato's newest video regarding gw2 , and I share a similar perspective to his. I'd like to hear Anet's response to the concerns outlined in this video, which is:

• The world feels hollow because of not being able to interact with it all that much. It has so much personality and beauty, and yet you can only look at it.
  
  
• Are there any plans on introducing ways to interact with the environment, via the use of a traditional quest model or some other functions?
  
  
• Why was the traditional quest model completely left out of the equation in developing gw2? We understand that GW2 is trying to innovate the genre (it undoubtedly has), but the main innovations come from taking existent models and refining them, removing the bad and improving the good. Many aspects of GW2 reflect this (combat, level scaling, crafting, dungeons, overflows), and yet, for the most important model, the content, nothing is refined from the old model, it's just redone completely.
  
  • I'd also like to emphasize that I'm not talking about "kill 10 rat quests", but rather have npcs or objects that you can interact with that give you a task to do. These could sprout mini-games, scripted conversations and npc interactions, or grant access to areas that could not normally be accessed. The areas of gw2, especially the cities, are massively huge and gorgeous, and house an unlimited amount of potential for content, and yet they are nothing more than glorified museums. No touching allowed. It just seems weird, and lacking.

I'm not so much concerned with when certain features will release. Guild halls, esport pvp, precursor scavenger hunts, expansions, new weapons, and the like will all eventually come out. I'd rather know things that we otherwise wouldn't know, but can hear now.

I'm looking forward to the Q&A. Cheers!

- Lokí

I realize this is meant to be a pve based discussion, but I'd like to point out a few sets that i find to be fairly effective with warrior in PvP and WvWvW. Typically, what is effective against players will also be effective against AI, so these points won't be N/A.

Unlike other professions, I find every weapon the warrior has useful and serves a clear purpose. Starting with the mainhands:

• Axe - High dps with even higher bursts
  
• Sword - Sustain dps with mobility
  
• Mace - Heavy hitting single hits with inherent defense and control abilities.

Next, the offhands:

• Axe - Raw damage PBAoE.
  
• Sword - Bleeds and blocks.
  
• Mace - Vulnerability and control.
  
• shield - Defense and control
  
• Warhorn - Mobility and support

From these options, I'll list the combinations I find most effective, and will state why.

• Axe/Mace - The mainhand axe's job is to deal as much dps as fast as possible through fast, heavy hitting auto attacks and an even heavier burst skill. This means stacking vulnerability and might are the key aspects to making this weapon effective, and that is why I chose offhand mace. Both M axe and O mace can stack 4 instances of vulnerability, meaning, without traits, you can start dishing out 8% more damage overall. Additionally, the second skill on O Mace is a ranged knockdown, which sets up your eviscerate perfectly, as it is both a gap closer and your main source of damage.
  
• Mace/shield and Greatsword - The main problem with hundred blades isn't the fact that you are held in place while it is executed, but that your enemies will likely move out of it's range after it is executed. This means the best way to maximize the effectiveness of GS, you will need to use tools that hold the opponent in place. M sword's burst skill, throw bolas, and bulls rush are all good choices, but the best choice is M Mace's burst attack, which deals 2 seconds of stun. If you trait 10 points into arms, there is a trait that increases your crit chance by 50% when attacking an opponent who is stunned, which is perfect for this set up. Use mace to sustain and survive until you gain adrenaline, hit the opponent with your burst skill, switch to GS, and then enjoy your guaranteed to land hundred blades that hits in all criticals. This is probably one of the most devastating combos in the game, especially if paired with frenzy.
  
• Sword/Warhorn - M Sword is good at 3 things: sustained damage (the raw damage from sword is actually really good), stacking bleeds, and staying on your target. This means you don't use M sword to deal kill an enemy, you use it to inflict heavy pressure on the target. This means you are most likely not the main damage of the group, but more-likely a support role. This is why warhorn is used. You gain constant mobility to yourself and your allies (and remove conditions if traited) and deal constant pressure to a target, forcing it to respond.

That's all I feel like writing for now . Cheers!

How has it been disabled exactly?

I was able to convert 25 ectos into 107, though I did do this 7 hours ago. There was a patch after then, but it seemed to still work after the patch. Unless they change the chance of obtaining ectos, I don't see how they could stop this.

Soki, on 06 December 2012 - 11:19 AM, said:

You have some fair points, and I do share your concerns. However, I believe you are looking at this from the wrong angle.

First of all, I like how the mystic forge items are at the moment. Having set recipes, no matter how expensive or excessive they are, will mean there will be a clear sign of progression for the player trying to obtain them, which is necessary. However, to me it seems there isn't enough of these items in the forge, especially relatively easy ones to get, and so a brand new lv 80 player is just thrown into this situation where he needs to get 350+ lodestones to get anything cool. Anet, in my opinion, desperately needs to add a lot more, easier, items to get in the forge for one, getting people introduced to using it, and two, close the gap between crafted exotics and mystic forge exotics, much like what ascended items are for.

In terms of grind, however, this game only becomes one when you make it so. One of this game's major strong-points is to have all the content available to you at all times. The whole point of this is so you can gather the materials you need for a cosmetic item while playing the modes and areas you enjoy (The game isn't fully at this point yet, but the basis and the philosophy are there). Having to get 350 molten lodestones for vulcanous wouldn't be so bad if molten lodestones or cores were easily obtainable in other areas of the game, such as PvP or WvWvW (like trading in glory or badges for cores). Anet has expressed that they want to introduce these aspects into more parts of the game, bu the real question is when this will happen.

Furthermore, the act of focusing on one goal will make that goal seem longer to get than if you weren't focusing on it. When people decide "I'm going to get full t3 cultural armor at level 80" and all they do is try to get it, they have just set themselves up for a long, long grinding game, and it becomes tiresome and boring. However, if they were to make that goal a long term one, like a legendary, then the game would still have enjoyment while still having a form of progression.

For instance, I have 2 tier 3 culturals on both my level 80s, and yet I have not spent more than 4 hours farming in the game. By just doing map completion and dungeons with friends, in about 3 weeks I got enough to buy both sets for my thief and warrior. I would have certainly gotten it faster if I just farmed orr for days on end, but I don't believe I would have had as much fun as I did just doing dungeons and map completion.

What this game needs is more engaging forms of content, which will eventually come in later patches, that reward players and help them progress towards their cosmetics.