Curse

awry · Sep 15, 2010, 02:24 AM // 02:24

I have and i'm betting most of you all have also memorized all the gw skills, their skill associations and the best combinations they work in. If I say a skill name, even a random one not used often like "drunken blow" probably all of you will know what it is or get the general sense of what it does and its appropriate usages.

Now there are 1319 skills that are in the game, more if you count monster skills. We've more or less mastered this knowledge... to put it into perspective, a literate chinese person knows 3-4000 characters. If you think about it, memorizing a skill is like memorizing a character's definition, its usages, its applications and its role in the general scheme of things. If we see an incomplete bar, we know what's missing, just like if we were looking at an incomplete sentence. We can even recall the past history of a skill, as one would know the etymology of words. Holy shit. If guild wars was a language, we would all be either fluent or at least semi literate. Is anyone else surprised at how much they unintentionally learned?

Cuilan · Sep 15, 2010, 02:28 AM // 02:28

Reminds me that skill updates cater to those who know so much like you say, new players, and those who don't actively try to learn all that information.

awry · Sep 15, 2010, 02:35 AM // 02:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cuilan

Reminds me that skill updates cater to those who know so much like you say, new players, and those who don't actively try to learn all that information.

Not quite sure what you're getting at, but i'm guessing you're saying there's a steep learning curve and the casual player can't catch up? I don't believe so, just like with a language, we learn our comfort skills and then move onto skills that do more specific things.

Sirius Bsns · Sep 15, 2010, 02:44 AM // 02:44

Meh, it's not that big of a deal. It's kind of like playing Chess for so long that you know, from start to finish, what every move will ever lead to. If you look at it in terms of what you've just filled your head with though... [garbage], then yea... I feel sorry for all of us veteran players! >.<

LifeInfusion · Sep 15, 2010, 02:51 AM // 02:51

Immersion helps.

That's why language programs have the "instant immersion" thing and people go to countries in which the language they are learning is spoken.

If you do something for a couple hundred (or thousand) hours, then I am pretty sure you will have some grasp of it.

Ka Tet · Sep 15, 2010, 03:21 AM // 03:21

So what you're saying is if Spanish speakers gave old white men tiny pets or shiny gold emotes for learning Spanish, then no one would care about immigration. My friend, I think you should visit the Middle East.

Tar Ionwe · Sep 15, 2010, 03:27 AM // 03:27

I've never really though about it before but I completely agree with the OP. For most people that have played for quite some time need only to look at a bar and see how everything is going to work. And then when say you get a pug and they ping something old everyone remembers the time when the skills was used. Quite interesting.

Wish Swiftdeath · Sep 15, 2010, 03:31 AM // 03:31

Kinda scary tbh the amount of time i've spent (and know) about this game. If only i'd spent that time on maths - then I wouldn't need any help on my calc 2 homework... :P

Aba · Sep 15, 2010, 03:34 AM // 03:34

Quote:

Immersion helps.

Bingo...
be around something so much, you start to pick it up without trying or wanting

Shayne Hawke · Sep 15, 2010, 03:36 AM // 03:36

I think I used to be like that, and now that I don't play GW so much, I find myself losing hold of that knowledge.

Zodiac Meteor · Sep 15, 2010, 03:50 AM // 03:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aba

Bingo...
be around something so much, you start to pick it up without trying or wanting

Exactly, it's not exactly difficult either. Learning another language =/= playing the game. Skills do exactly what they say and pictures/animations help know what the skill is.

awry · Sep 15, 2010, 03:53 AM // 03:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zodiac Meteor

Exactly, it's not exactly difficult either. Learning another language =/= playing the game. Skills do exactly what they say and pictures/animations help know what the skill is.

True, but there are similarities. Oh and for argument's sake, flashcards

Zodiac Meteor · Sep 15, 2010, 03:54 AM // 03:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by awry

True, but there are similarities. Oh and for argument's sake, flashcards

flash cards that you play with for an hour or two hours or possibly three. A very effective studying strategy!

Pleikki · Sep 15, 2010, 04:10 AM // 04:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shayne Hawke

I think I used to be like that, and now that I don't play GW so much, I find myself losing hold of that knowledge.

This!, sure i still open gw, but its only place to chat

Cuilan · Sep 15, 2010, 04:35 AM // 04:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by awry

Not quite sure what you're getting at, but i'm guessing you're saying there's a steep learning curve and the casual player can't catch up? I don't believe so, just like with a language, we learn our comfort skills and then move onto skills that do more specific things.

I don't know what I was getting at either, but it's a changing thing that gives faster reward than learning a real language.

Chrisworld · Sep 15, 2010, 05:51 AM // 05:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by awry

I have and i'm betting most of you all have also memorized all the gw skills, their skill associations and the best combinations they work in. If I say a skill name, even a random one not used often like "drunken blow" probably all of you will know what it is or get the general sense of what it does and its appropriate usages.

Now there are 1319 skills that are in the game, more if you count monster skills. We've more or less mastered this knowledge... to put it into perspective, a literate chinese person knows 3-4000 characters. If you think about it, memorizing a skill is like memorizing a character's definition, its usages, its applications and its role in the general scheme of things. If we see an incomplete bar, we know what's missing, just like if we were looking at an incomplete sentence. We can even recall the past history of a skill, as one would know the etymology of words. Holy shit. If guild wars was a language, we would all be either fluent or at least semi literate. Is anyone else surprised at how much they unintentionally learned?

I used to be very very much like this with Guild Wars back in my GW haydays, but it's all mostly faded away with time, around early 2008 I just started taking constant 6-8 month hiatuses, it's mostly degraded now and if say any skill I'll just respond "huh?"

Now.. if my brain could only absorb anything I try to learn or read as well as Guild Wars skills, I'd be on a roll here but .. meh.

Zodiac Meteor · Sep 15, 2010, 06:20 AM // 06:20

Here is something scarier, when there was only 151 Pokemon I knew every Pokemon's level that they evolve, level that they learn a skill and worst of all every Pokemon's number.

I was 10 years old

Mesmers Are Bad · Sep 15, 2010, 06:32 AM // 06:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zodiac Meteor

Here is something scarier, when there was only 151 Pokemon I knew every Pokemon's level that they evolve, level that they learn a skill and worst of all every Pokemon's number.

I was 10 years old

I have to cop to that one as well >.<

stanzhao · Sep 15, 2010, 06:50 AM // 06:50

learning gw skills is not like learning to read at all.

first, people are forced to learn to read in schools. I am not entirely sure you can unintentionally learn something. You can memorize what something should look like. but to work out the formula of 'why' is a different thing all together.

if someone gave you six coloured blocks, gave you 30 seconds to memorize what order they were in, you could probably place them back in order. Then if someone said there was a reason, or a pattern as to why they were in that order, you wouldnt be instantly able to tell them just from looking at them.

you would need to sit down and think about it. Same with GW skills. when someone hands you a cookie cutter build, maybe you have seen it before, and if you hit skill x after skill y, it works, but you dont always know why.

good example of this is the 330 ele, ps and sfa, get them in the wrong order and it doesnt work. you dont need to know why, just dont do it again.

i am not sure where i am going with this...

fowlero · Sep 15, 2010, 09:10 AM // 09:10

I never thought of it as a language, but that's an interesting idea.

I've more thought, if i knew anything as well as gw during school that'd have made things one hell of a lot easier.