judeobscure.2537

what do you know? ;)

Awesome stuff, Aliam. And here I was asking if the game was too easy and if I needed to use white/basic items - I'm so far from this level of play. I didn't even really understand the rudiments of the combat systems in the game. SMH. I learned a ton in this thread. Thank you all! :smile:

I've played Diablo and PoE as well, but in those games I never get good enough to where my whole screen is always full of mobs that are all exploding ever second or two. I usually just play through the campaign a couple of times, so I never get too powerful, which keeps combat in the fun/challenging zone. I think I'm just only so interested in combat. I can enjoy it plenty, but there has to be more going on to sustain my interest. I think I'm learning that as I learn about GW story/lore/world. Thank you for the link about Combo Skills. I had read something about those before, but didn't really understand. Just reading the wiki is fun! Having so many different types of skills you're having to manage in real time at the pace of the fight/game does seem fun. How silly I was thinking I needed to use basic/white items to enjoy the game - my goodness. This sounds awesome. Not only are you managing your skills, but also your build+skills+items, all in real time as the fight changes. I wonder how many players out there are playing the game this way. I find it fascinating to hear about what sustains players for so long, and then to hear about the differen things they're focusing on in-game. That sounds super. I doubt I'll ever get that good, but wow, now I'm seeing more what they meant when the said they were inspired by the Magic: The Gathering game. But in real-time, not turn-based! Thank you for breaking everything down, explaining it all, and making it easy to understand, MZ! =) Speaking of, what other games have you enjoyed as much? Elementalist differ from similar classes in other games you've played? Do you still play SWTOR? Did you play GW1? I think I fall into a trap of thinking I need to kill everything I see. Even though I don't like the idea on paper, I still have the 'clear' mentality I used in games like Diablo and PoE where I wanted to clear the whole map, almost as if I had to to move to the next area. I think I end up 'focusing' on combat in GW2 in part because enemies area always respawning. Which is silly because you can never get rid of them all. I guess that would need to be another change in mindset I would need in order to avoid getting burned out - not killing too much. thank you, mz. :smile:

Aliam, this was awesome to see. You made some great points, and the videos make it easier to understand. Thank you for taking the time to put that post together with the videos - I appreciate it! Your post, along with Danikat and Mungo, have really helped me understand much better what to expect from the combat, weapon, and armor systems.

This is something I've been thinking about as well. I'm trying to marry the weight of the story/lore/world with the combat, and I'm having diffculty with this part. I feel like killing thousands of sentient beings and monsters, each within a few seconds or fractions of seconds leaves me feeling hollow. When I think what something like that might be like irl, and then to look at how it's represented in game, it's just not appealing. I'm trying to think how I can change my mindset about combat to make it more enjoyable within the fold of experiencing the story and world. I'd like the warring and fighting to have an emotional aspect or payoff to synchronize with the arc of the story. But I feel like there's a disconnect there. How could I frame the actual experience of the combat gameplay so that it integrates better into my experience of the story? One question I have about combat skill rotations is, are you responding dynamically to what the enemies are doing, where you may choose different skills in different sequences, or are you always going through your skills in the same order? Do you change your build depending on the environments and enemies you're fighting? Does the game allow for that type of flexibility, control, and response? Is that an enjoyable way to play? I'm wondering if alternate stat combos are more for the sake of variety, or if they're necessary to respond to and defeat various enemies? This is interesting, are you talking here again about intentionally underperforming in combat so as to lengthen the engagement with the enemy as well as your own abilities? That's quite alright, this is invaluable insight for me. I'm learning a ton. You guys are saving me a ton of time and frustration I would have dealt with going in blindly. Great, I hadn't even considered doing this. I am playing around with different weapons and skills to see what I enjoy. I'm torn between the elementalist, the ranger, and the warrior. I doubt I'll have time to play the game through more than once, but it's difficult choosing between melee and traditional combat and magic. I hadn't considered this either. There are so many options and combinations. Are we able to interrupt pre and post cast animations just be initiating another action/movement/skill? I've caught myself watching animations and trying to position mobs too since I read your post. I think combat is the biggest hurdle for me in choosing GW2 as an RPG to invest in. I've always been more interested in story, lore, characters, and details more than combat. I like what I've learned about the story and lore of GW1/2 so far, I'm just wondering if I can sustain through so much combat, even if it's fun but feels disconnected from the story I'm playing through. I think I misunderstood just how differently different games and studios approach RPG design. I didn't realize combat was the dominant focus of the game. I see there is a lot of exploration too, but slaughtering thousands of mobs and enemies, without ever the threat of really dying, equates in my mind to my character essentially being a god. A god that doesn't make many decisions and only has to kill enough to see the end. Any thoughts on how to approach that? What is it you look for in how you receive and experience the story? How does combat fit into and define the experience of the GW world and stories for you? Thanks so much for your responses, mz. :smile:

Thank you for your write-up, Danikat! This is invaluable information for me. It sounds like I would have wasted a lot of time unnecessarily. This is definitely helping me understand the game better, and plan better how I want to approach my playthrough. :smile: Your last 2 recommendations of just using yellows or greens for additional challenge if necessary is very helpful. It sounds like that's a good way learn the enemies and my class while being retaining the challenge. Afterall, I don't want to make it impossible because that won't be any fun, but I also want the combat to be challenging, rewarding, and fun. It feels awful to kill things in 1 second, and then to kill dozens or hundreds of them that way. It feels like a waste of time. I was making an assumption that I needed to use only whites or that I would run into power balance problems from other games. This is another thing I'm not well versed in about MMOs or GW2 in particular. Your information about stat combinations and equipment, damage type, defense or offensive focus is very helpful. I didn't realize that white/basic items/gear is limited in this way, and who knows how long I would have played without realizing that. Thanks, again, Danikat. I think instead of blindly, arbitrarily limiting myself without understanding even the rudiments of the combat design this approach is much better; knowing more about how the game works beforehand. I always thought that would ruin the game, but I'd hate to play for a long time and not know about or understand some of these fundamental aspects of the game. There's so much to learn. I'd like to hear more about your connection to GW2, Danikat. I see your hours and years played. I'd like to hear more about your decision to reside here. Was it it luck that GW2 happened to provide what you needed? Did you know early on that it had what you were looking for? Did you play GW1? Why not other games as well? Do you play other games? Do you play other types of RPGs?

mungo zen.9364, thank you so much for your comment. that's helpful insight. i like your suggestion about also evaluating at lvl 80 across classes. do you play with any self-imposed limitations or other rules variants similar to what danikat.8537 and i were discussing? as danikat had asked, i think my main motivations here are: a. making combat challenging throughout b. experiencing combat in way that allows me to experience and learn the enemy movesets and abilities as well as those of my own character/class. c. add quality and value back into the combat so as to make it more enjoyable, thereby making the overall experience of the game more enjoyable. i'm finally starting to understand and appreciate the lore aspect of the game, but the enemies not offering much challenge contradicts the importance they have in the lore/story/world-building. that disconnect between what enemies represent from within the story and the challenge they represent in combat leaves me unsatisfied. i consume games and stories at an excruciatingly slow pace and know i won't have the time and stamina to blast through lvls 1-80 and the story repeatedly which is why i'm considering this type of playthrough. i'm hoping to increase the quality of the experience as per my preferences. but i'm very ignorant of the combat mechanics and game systems so i'm trying to educate myself a bit more first, although i'm sure i'm gonna run into some things i don't count on. permadeath sounds appealing too, but i'm afraid like pacificterror.7805 was remarking, i'm just not skilled enough, nor do i imagine i would have enough time and stamina to play through again if i died near the end of my story. mungo zen, how would you describe your motivations when you play? i think that's another aspect i'm interested in exploring during this playthrough - to better understand the structure, ambitions, and limitations of the rpg experience in mmos. i've really only started to learn about the different ways rpgs work across different mediums (tabletop, boardgames, solo crpgs, mmos), and i think i'm trying to determine the rpg experience that works best for me going forward. please feel free to also share other thoughts on the broader topic of different strategies/approaches you use and recommend to best enjoy gw2. thanks all :smile:

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond, Danikat! This is exactly the kind of information and insight I was hoping to get. Yes, you're right, I meant basic/white items and equipment. Are there parts of the games that for all intents and purposes basically unavailable to you now because of the self-imposed limitations we're discussing? Is accessing and completing the more difficult areas/content a part of the challenge, or do you feel there is a hard limit on what can be achieved using basic/white tier items and armor? I was wondering where the limit is and meant to add that to my original post. I feel if I did hit a limit with what I could accomplish in game using basics/white, that I would then consider going to the next tier of item. I'm curious how unbalanced the relationship between player and content is. I've always heard mmo players complain about the games being too easy (overpowered items, zerging, monster/boss design, etc.) and felt this would be a good way to address that problem. Based on all your play, what tier weapon and armor would be the minimum required to clear all content? Will you play EoD this way? Do you still play without these rule variants on other characters so you can experience the parts of the game that are inaccessible when playing basic+permadeath? How would you characterize your motivations for playing GW2 (lore, combat, exploration, social, etc.)? Have you experienced everything in GW2 that you're interested in?

I know other players will be assisting, but given that I'm curious what kind of experience this would be make for in GW2. How did it change the combat experience for you?Did you learn anything new about combat, gear, items, or abilities? How long did it take you?What did the difficulty curve look like?Did it affect your overall enjoyment of the game? Do you feel like it was worth it?Do you feel like it was a better or worse experience than always running with best items and armor? Would you recommend it? Why or why not?What kind of players would you recommend it to?What kind of advice would you give to someone interested in this kind of a playthrough? Thanks all :smile: Please feel free to share any other thoughts, observations, or comments.