Bobzitto.8571

There are plenty of builds that do 'ok' (25-30k) dps but don't get posted in snowcrows because it's considerably below the meta. That said, I find it extremely hard to believe most players who don't play the meta would arrive at those builds on their own. And to be honest here, I've sincerely never seen anyone get kicked from a group simply from playing a certain class/spec - and I pug 100% of the group content I do. Players trying to learn raiding =/= players using builds that simply don't work due to stats/traits/spec/weapon choice. Yes, these very often intersect, but removing Arc will not fix this, it will simply make people go on a witch hunt whenever fights are taking too long, to see who's using the 'bad' build. On the other hand, Arc allows players to see who isn't pulling their weight and either kick them (if in an experienced group where this wouldn't be acceptable) or talk to them and figure out what is going on(in a learning/training group where this is somewhat expected). The problem is rarely the tool, but rather how you use it. Just yesterday I did T4s with a reaper that had 800 AP and was doing 2-2.5k dps. When we finished the last fractal, I asked them what build they were using and they linked me the stats. They were in Dire gear, which...pretty much explained it all without even looking at the rest of his build. Gave them some advice and to check snowcrows/discretize/metabattle. What we need isn't to disable Arc, it's to have players show more respect and acceptance towards players who are new to a certain type of content and what is expected of them there. And to get rid of this mentality that only classes doing 35k+dps are viable for content. Removing Arc fixes neither.

The last post updating the gemstore stated we'd be getting new items this Friday (namely, today). Did I misread something or they forgot about it? Asking cuz I've been waiting for the enchanted crown to return since Feb.

Sadly, it's not the profession that deserves it most: <insert main here>

https://snowcrows.com/benchmarks

I do think the -lore- and worldbuilding of GW2 are miles ahead of FF14 (in part due to the existence of GW1). There's a lot of story to the world and some of it is quite magnificent, like the story behind Orr or Ascalon. When looking at things at a grander scale, GW2 gets a lot right. However, the plot followed by GW2, imho, completely pales when compared to FF14. Nothing in GW2 is given proper time to breathe unlike in FF14, so everything feels as if it is resolved before it had a chance to be explored. To me, it feels like the game would benefit much more from having smaller, more insular stories that explore different areas and cultures of the world rather than the whole 'this thing is going to doom the whole world' on repeat. Also, Emet-selch. If you know, you know.

I still have this issue, no idea what causes it but I just...keep replaying the mission until it eventually works. Seems to happen on other missions too, whenever cutscenes are involved.

Nope, every MMO regardless of PvP goes through balance patches as long as it is receiving updates. Nearly all MMOs have stat-based gearing and you can never really tell how things will work a few years down the line when players went from having X crit to having 10X crit. Almost every MMO also has PvP...even ones where it is not the focus like FFXIV. And alas, they also have balance patches regardless of PvP since, again, updates add new skills, or change rotations, and things need to be looked at again. Speaking of GW2 specifically, one of the biggest things to affect balance was the introduction of elite specs, a more grounded approach to support classes focused on buffing and healing, and changes to how classes interact with content (which again, leads to a need to rebalance things). Welcome to every game ever, mate. People who actively participate in a game's community outside of the game tend to be the ones who love it most. That can easily turn to toxicity when they see critics to the game. Doesn't justify them going after you and asking you to leave, but do get off your high horse thinking you hold the truth of what's right or wrong or how things should be. Specially if you're going to try and validate that with kitten-poor arguments like 'I've been playing games since the 70s' or 'I've played every RPG worth their salt so what I saw is the law". Go to any game's forum or reddit with that horrid attitude and you'll meet much the same reaction. Except maybe WoW because we've been talking kitten about WoW for the better part of a decade.

Nobody needs anything in this game. Question is, what is the harm in reducing the timegate to obtain it for anyone who wants it? If I want to spend the whole day gathering to craft a ton of ascended mats/gear for myself, why can't I?

I can see the point of some of the time gates we have for purely economic reasons (like quartz or ascended mats) but I do think they hurt new players or people looking to craft new sets of ascended gear. Easy solution, allow players to craft unlimited amounts of these resources but only the first one of the day is tradeable. People who don't have the resources at hand and want to avoid farming for them will continue to rely on the trading post (either buying raw mats or the finished product), while players who accumulated resources won't have to get the mats drip-fed to them. GW2 would also benefit from a system like Lost Ark's, where not doing something daily allows it to accumulate so you can reap the rewards on a different day, albeit at a slight loss. In GW2, if you miss the daily 3 one day, the following day it would give you 3g50s instead of 2. A player doing it every day is still at an advantage, but people who can't do it everyday are at less of a loss. Considering how much daily stuff some of us try to farm, depending on what we're working on, it would be pretty helpful.

Maps: The maps are visually stunning and really pushing the engine to its limit (in both good and bad ways). There's some clipping here and there but you can ignore it for the most part. I wish New Kaineng had a darker vibe to it (like Cyberpunk's Night City). Still, New Kaineng doesn't feel as lived-in as one would hope with its size. The metas are OK. Worse than HoT, better than PoF (the xpac metas, not what came after). I wish DE could be more organic, like Drizzlewood Coast or Dragonfall, rather than on a fixed timer. Story: Frankly, I didn't like it as a whole. I like Ankka, and I like Mai Trin's redemption arc (which doesn't work that well for anyone that didn't play S1), but there's way too much happening without a shred of logic or reasoning behind it (like Aurene constantly doing stuff without thinking because plot armor). The "villain" at the end feels super tacked on, and it would have been better if it had appeared way earlier when we noticed how killing Elder Dragons screwed with the balance of magic. Or if it hadn't appeared at all. Music: Awesome pieces, and it's great to know they used traditional korean instruments in it. Would have loved to hear biwas, shakuhachis and shamisens but we can't have everything. Not as much variation as what we get from a certain japanese composer who loves breaking the mold but still great. Masteries: It would be nigh impossible to top the glider and mounts, simply because of how their implementation changes the way players interact with the maps and traverse the game world. There isn't a single better mount system in the genre. What we got were some self-contained masteries and a bit of utility. Fishing and the Skiff are there for each other, but I don't like how they did Fishing in the game. It feels like a one-off gimmick for achievements, but I frankly don't know what they could have done instead. The Skiff exists for fishing almost exclusively, as any body of water will be crossed faster on a Skimmer. The Arborstone works as a hub and I like the architecture of the place a lot. I also like that it becomes a serviceable hub without draining player resources like EotN. Good for newcomers. My favorite, though, has to be the jade bot. It is the only one that really brings utility outside of its little bubble, with the vitality boost, the self-res, extra utility and farming resources with the chips (or whatever they're called). E-specs: (This is PvE-related as I don't generally engage in PvP or WvW) This is where I feel things were rushed. Not from a design standpoint, but from the sheer amount of reused assets for some of the specs. Design-wise, Anet does a great job opening up roles and allowing for more variety in what has been established as the meta (quick/alac providers, dps, occasional heals). Vindicator: - Vindicator GS is basically a reaper copy and GS5, which had the chance to look amazing, is probably the most visually bland skill in the entire game. - I don't like the choices we got for our legends. The duality of it feels weird as a build that uses one side rarely has any reason to use the other. Also, we all know Nika is the one who carried these two buffoons to victory. - The dodge mechanic is a bit clunky and I've had my fair share of issues not actually dodging stuff while in the air. Virtuoso: - Cool skill effects, a great streamlined glass-cannon build for mesmers. The dagger attack sounds get very annoying very quickly. Specter - Scepter AA animation is the same as warrior's axe. - Can feel a little clunky at least in action cam, with you suddenly targeting allies you moused over. - Other than that, the class feels great. Catalyst - With the most recent changes, feels really good to play. - Hammer 3 orbs need to stay after hitting block/immune enemies, specially since they're the crux of energy generation for the weapon. - Could do away with energy in its entirety, TBH. - Auras as a mechanic don't feel as fun. Willbender - You now know what happens when you give guardians coke. - Feels fun and fast, but your F1 is clunky with the delay between you dashing and you dropping the fire attack. The good part is that it can follow your target and drop in weird places to hit them, but it still feels clunkers. - MH Sword is completely antithetical to the design of the spec. - Whenever you mount/dismount, you get the Aegis passive from F3. Unsure if it was fixed recently or intended. Bladesworn - Feels like a 'love it or hate it' spec. - The blade weapon skills feel 'meh'. Pistol is nice. - Very risky, not sure the rewards are worth it with the current balancing. - Still a bannerslave (to be fixed soon?). Harbinger: - The glass cannon for the necros. Amazing damage, at a very hefty survivability cost compared to the other e-specs of the class. - Elixirs and the blight mechanic can be fun to play around with. - Elixirs are almost mandatory for the blight mechanic to flow well. Untamed - Very much tamed. Bad damage, the ability to control your pet skills feels more like a detriment if you can't put them on autocast. - For how much work it is to proc them, ambush skills feel underwhelming. - Does nothing a soulbeast doesn't do better. Mechanist - Any time you join a meta group, there's a 90% chance 50% of the group are playing mechanists, and thus I rest my case. - Dye mechas when

Use TacO. Done it half a dozen times now, never took more than ~35min.

Rather, I think what we are seeing is a shift as these kinds of builds cement themselves alongside DPS builds as a core of the game. It's similar to other games asking for, say, healers and tanks. They've always been there so for them that's normal, but as new specs open up more providers of quickness and alacrity, the game gets to a point where it's comfortable to design content requiring them. Since we're the vanguard to this kind of design, it's kind of new and strange to us.

I believe it was called "The illusion of choice"?

Find me a player that has a polished rotation without having checked external sources. I really, really doubt you'll find a DRK or DRG or SAM out there doing great rotations without having sought the correct rotation in The Balance. DPS checks are in literally every Savage and Extreme boss (is that HC? Or just ultimates?), specially when you're doing it at the correct gear level. Otherwise, yeah, they don't have enrage timers for the most part. Also for DPS in GW2, I'll have to disagree here. There's plenty of mechanical fail. I remember when I did DE with random groups and you could tell a group was doomed on the very first smash the boss did when the fight began. You saw like 25 people get downed by standing in the shiny circle, you knew you were effed. (also, "bigger dps" is a solution for most bosses regardless of the game)

You don't need all. Get a healer and a quick provider and you're golden. Unless you find 3 DPS that play with their elbows. I haven't had it happen yet. If you're pugging, don't join a group that doesn't state what specifically needs. Also, how is requiring CM to do CM gatekeeping, for people farming it every day? You don't like it, go make your own group and get the challenge done, there is no gate being kept.