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Old Jul 28, 2006, 07:25 PM // 19:25   #101
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Pious Haste, mysticism skill: "For 5..9 secondss ..."
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Old Jul 28, 2006, 08:37 PM // 20:37   #102
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This is possibly just me, but these two mesmer skills always make me stop and double-check I've got the right one for my build:
Quote:
Shame
Hex. For (Min: 4 - Max: 10) seconds, the next time target foe casts a Spell on an ally, the Spell fails and you steal (Min: 5 - Max: 14) Energy from that foe.

Guilt
Hex. For (Min: 4 - Max: 10) seconds, the next time target foe casts a Spell that targets a foe, the Spell fails, you steal (Min: 5 - Max: 14) Energy from that foe.
It's very ambiguous as to whether 'target foe casts a spell on an ally' or 'target foe casts a spell that targets a foe' means they cast a spell on THEIR ally/foe or YOUR ally/foe. I think it could do with some clarification.
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Old Aug 03, 2006, 01:23 PM // 13:23   #103
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First off, I realise that some of the skills that I am going to list have already been mentioned... But I hate reading through 6 pages full of comments that really aren't specific or constructive, so I skipped to the end.

This is my own attempt to suggest a fix to all skill descriptions of every profession. Below I have listed the skills in which I believe need to be fixed for the Assassin Profession. I will be adding in more professions as time passes on, and they will be done in Alphabetical order. So the Elementalist will be done next^^.

All links that are provided will be redirected to gw.gamewikis.org. I used this website to update all of the skills so that they accurately reflect those skills written withing GuildWars (don't worry, most of the changes that were made affected the quick skills reference, that was a little messy :P) Any skills that I list describe the suggested description. The current descriptions can be found by following the links of each skill. Any comments I make will be Italicized.

Critical Eye
*** Skill. For 10...30 seconds, you have an additional 1...6% chance to land a critical hit. You gain 1 Energy whenever you score a critical hit.

Removed the condition "when attacking". Landing a critical hit already implies that you have to attack.

---------------

Black Mantis Thrust
*** Lead Attack. If this attack hits, you strike for +8...18 damage. If struck foe is suffering from a Hex, that foe becomes Crippled for 3...13 seconds.

The previous description makes it entirely plausible to assume that the Hexed target can still become suspect to Cripple even if the skill misses. By using "struck" you link the second sentence back to the first. Also altered the use of language to reduce the repetativeness of the word "is"

Blades of Steel
*** Dual Attack. Must follow an off-hand attack. If it hits, this attack strikes for +5...12 damage (maximum bonus 50) for each recharging dagger attack skill.

Added in "skill" at the end of the description

Desperate Strike
*** Lead Attack. If you have less than 50...74% Health, you deal +5...41 damage if it hits.

The original description does not state that it needed to "hit". The phrase "deal +5...41 damage" implies that the skill has to 'hit', but adding in one word makes the skill more definate.

Disrupting Stab - Possible flaw: This skill fails to cause a blackout effect on targets casting spells while stanced with Mantra of Resolve. See: Psychic Distraction.

Exhausting Assault - This skill causes exhaustion on the target while the user is under the effects of "Blindness" (I haven't tried it while targets were under "block", "evade" or "miss"). This skill does not interrupt under "Blindness".

Exhausting Assault
***Dual Attack. Must follow an off-hand attack. If it hits, target foe's action is interrupted. If that action was casting a spell, target foe suffers from Exhaustion.

Added in the condition of 'hitting'

Flashing Blades
*** Elite Stance. For 5...17 seconds, you have a 50% chance to "block" incoming attacks while you are attacking.

Inserted quotes in "block" for consistency. Added in "while you are attacking" to make the skill clearer.

Golden Lotus Strike
*** Lead Attack. If it hits, this attack strikes for +5...17 damage. If you are under the effects of an Enchantment when you strike, you gain 3...9 Energy.

The original description can lead people to believe that you can still gain energy even if you miss, because the second clause does not state that the attack had to hit, and it can be said that there is no relation between either sentences. This had been changed to keep up with consistency. In instances where two effects can happen at once, see language variations in some skills: Twisting Fangs uses the conjunctive 'and'. Horns of the Ox uses "struck foe" that links it back to the first sentence. Jungle Strike also uses 'hit' in it's second sentence.

Jungle Strike
*** Off-Hand Attack. Must follow a lead attack. If it hits, this attack strikes for +8...18 damage. If it hits a foe that is Crippled, it does an additional 1...25 damage.

Marked for consistency. Changed it from "it does +1...25 damage" giving the implication that Jungle strike has two separate attacks. By adding in the conditional "additional" and removing the "+", this skill becomes more descriptive. Reference: Swift Chop

Repeating Strike
*** Off-Hand Attack. Must follow an off-hand attack. If it hits, this attack strikes for +5...17 damage. If it misses, Repeating Strike takes an additional 15 seconds to recharge.

This was a language change, it doesn't need to be considered, but saying "it" 3 times... just a pet peeve of mine^^

Temple Strike
*** Elite Off-Hand Attack. Must follow a lead attack. If this attack hits, target foe is Dazed and Blinded for 1...7 seconds. If target foe is casting a spell when you strike, that foe is interrupted.

This description had been re-worded during a hidden update (I think... well it was re-worded, that's the important part). I just changed the sentence and made it into two, to say "when you strike" instead of "and if target foe"

Wild Strike
*** Off-Hand Attack. Must follow a lead attack. If it hits, this attack strikes for +8...18 damage and any "Stance" being used by your target ends.

Followed the skill definition of Wild Blow. It seems more appropriate this way.

---------------

Enduring Toxin
*** Hex Spell. For 3 seconds, target foe suffers -1...-4 Health degeneration. If that foe is moving when Enduring Toxin ends, Enduring Toxin is reapplied instead.

It's been there for ages, but the original description (which I had to change back from GWiki) says "3 second". Also eliminated the conditional 'would', it's not needed and just confuses the skill. I replaced it with the word "instead"...errr... instead^^.

Impale
*** Hex Spell. For 20 seconds, the next time target foe is hit by a dual attack skill, that foe is struck for 10...58 earth damage.

Actually I'm not sure whether to suggest that this should be altered to include "skill" in it's description. I suppose it's not needed, but a Dual Attack is in fact a skill, not 'just' an attack. And this isn't the same to Hammer attack and Hammer attack skills, because you can perform a natural hammer attack, but you can't perform a natural dual attack (double striking is not the same thing)

Iron Palm
*** Skill. Target touched foe suffers 5...41 damage. If that foe is suffering from a Hex or Condition when Iron Palm strikes, that foe is knocked down. Iron Palm counts as a lead attack.

Otherwise, this skill should say "...suffers 5...41 damage, and if that foe is suffering..."

Signet of Shadows
*** Signet. Target foe takes 5...29 damage. If that target is suffering from Blindness, that foe suffers an additional 15...51 damage.

Is and was are two different things. GW rarely uses past tense phrases in skill descriptions...

-------------

Death's Charge
*** Spell. Shadow step to target foe. If that foe has more Health than you, you are healed for 40...112 Health.

Consistency, there are other skills that are like this, and they should be changed. Added in "Health" at the end of the skill description, you are healed, and though logic predicts that you are healed for Health (duh), you have to keep consistent with your skill descriptions. Heart of Shadow is a good example.

Way of Perfection
*** Enchantment Spell. For 10...30 seconds, whenever you successfully make a critical hit you gain 10...30 Health.

I almost forgot what it was I had changed about this skill^^. It's really small, but I just put "when" and "ever" together^^.

-------------

Aura of Displacement
*** Elite Enchantment Spell. Shadow Step to target foe. When Aura of Displacement ends, you return to the location where you activated this skill.

reference skills: Shadow of Haste and Recall

Mark of Instability
*** Hex Spell. For 20 seconds, the next time you hit target foe with a dual attack skill, that foe is knocked down.

Same as Impale. Added in the word "skill"

Note to self: Reference one link only. Takes friggin ages linking them individually^^. Second note: ANET!!! Add in skill re-wordings in your updates!!! omg I've only proof-read a couple of Gwiki skills, and I'll have to proof read the ones i've listed... and that's only one profession... I'm going to have a cry before I start the ele...

EDIT: I just noticed that someone had mentioned that Swift Chop is worded incorrectly. Ignore the reference I made...

EDIT: Altered suggestion for Black Mantis Thrust

EDIT: Exploit? What exploit? Of course I knew it was a game update... silly poster :P *shreads the last piece of information about Shroud of Silence and waves to Pyro*

Last edited by Terra Xin; Aug 10, 2006 at 03:24 PM // 15:24..
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Old Aug 03, 2006, 03:51 PM // 15:51   #104
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Nice post Terra, but there are two things in it that don't fit:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Terra Xin
Critical Defenses
*** Enchantment Spell. For 6 seconds, you have a 25...65% chance to "block". Critical Defenses refreshes every time you land a critical hit.

"block." changed to "block".
All punctuation that follows a word in quotation marks must be placed inside the quotation marks. The skill you list is properly edited and does not need to be changed.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Update - Thursday July 13
Shadow Shroud: no longer prevents the casting of untargeted enchantments.
You're not exploiting Shadow Shroud by using Illusion of Haste. Shadow Shroud has been changed to allow you to use Illusion of Haste and other untargeted enchantments, so the skill is working properly
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Old Aug 05, 2006, 07:06 AM // 07:06   #105
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OK, Elementalist Class is up next. For the moment, I am unable to supply a reference thread to the quick skills reference on Gwiki, so I'll have to link them individually again.

There were actually quite alot of errors that I have suggested here... ooo^^

Shock Arrow
***Send out a shocking arrow that flies swiftly toward target foe, striking for 10...30 damage if it hits. Shoch Arrow has 25% armor penetration.

The 'hit' component was missing

---

Kinetic Armor
*** For 8 seconds, you gain +20 armor. Whenever you cast a spell, Kinetic Armor is reapplied.

It's not necessary to state how long Kinetic Armor is renewed for if the original skill already states it^^.

Sliver Armor
***For 5 seconds, you have a 25% chance to "block" attacks and whenever you are the target of a hostile Spell or attack, one nearby foe is struck for 5 earth damage.

ohhh it's spelt Sliver Armor, that makes alot of sense now^^. Just quoted "block".

Stone Daggers
***Send out two Stone Daggers. Each Stone Dagger that hits strikes target foe for 8...24 earth damage.

Yeah, the current description sounds funny, that's all. Because the curent one should say "if 'they' hit", but I wasn't sure. This way seems more better IMO.

Teinai's Crystals
***Foes adjacent to you are struck for 10...82 damage but are cured of any negative conditions.

There are going to be a few descriptive fixes that are similar to this one. All I did was remove the "all" word, because it's already implied. Now, contrary to what I had just said, you could either make ALL skills that is relevant to have the word 'all' in it, or have them all taken out. In my proposal, I suggest that they all be removed, but you can go either way, I'm just pointing out that there is a difference if you have them mixed otherwise. I also added in "adjacent 'to you'" for better accuracy.

Unsteady Ground
***You create an unsteady ground at target foe's location. For 5 seconds, nearby foes take 5...29 earth damage each second. Attacking foes struck by Unsteady Ground are knocked down.

Now here's the second problem that is similar to the top. ALL skills should EITHER say "Target foe's current location" that implies that the spell 'could' move if it wasn't stated, OR "Target foe's location" that implies that the spell won't move, because the fact that it could move is not even hinted. Now if it seems confusing, let me explain further: If you have both of such examples located in different skills, then the ones that have the exact same effect, but they fail to state "Target foe's 'current' location" will show that there is a possibility that they can in fact move. I hope that makes sense^^, I have a way with words.



Ward Against Elements
***You create a Ward Against Elements at your location. For 8...18 seconds, non-spirit allies in the area gain +24 armor against elemental damage.

Same debate with the skill above, except this one is self targetting. This also applies to Ward Against Foes, Ward Against Melee and Ward of Stability.

---

Ether Renewal
***For 7 seconds, every time you cast a Spell, you gain 1...3 Energy and 5...17 Health for each Enchantment on you.

Replaced "each" with every time. Language change.

---

Double Dragon
**Two problems with this. The first I discovered from Gwiki, stating "The skill description is not entirely accurate - the first hit occurs immediately after the spell finishes casting and the second hit comes two seconds after the first.". The second is that this skill doesn't state whether or not it is targetabble. Since I dont have enough faction or any skill points (spent it all on assassin skills^^) I can't test this out. I'm pretty sure its a "target foe " one. So:

***You create a Double Dragon at target foe's location. For two seconds, foes adjacent to that location are struck for 7...91 fire damage each second.

Fireball
***Send out a ball of fire that strikes target foe and all adjacent foes for 7...91 fire damage if it hits.

add in "if it hits"

Flame Burst
***Flame Burst strikes nearby foes at your location for 15...99 fire damage.

This is more accurate than the current description

***Capitalise the word Flare in it's skill description.


Lava Arrows
***Send Lava Arrows towards your target and up to two other foes near your target, striking for 5 fire damage if they hit. Lava arrows have half the normal range.

Weird Skill, upon testing, I noticed that the skill targets two other foes that are located in the maximum distance (in the nearby radius) away from the target. So if there were like 5 targets adjacent to the foe, and two targets nearby the foe, lava arrows would strike target foe, and then strike the two nearby foes. When they say 'near your target' I suppose they meant it^^. Based on the skill, you have to be in range of both the target and the two other targets... so my suggestion my be hinting a change.


Lava Font
***For 5 seconds, foes adjacent to the location where this Spell was cast are struck for 5...29 fire damage each second.

Regardless of what Gwiki says, this skill currently misses the "each second" component of the description

Phoenix
***A fiery phoenix rises at your location, striking adjacent foes for 7 fire damage, and flies out to your target, exploding on contact. This explosion strikes for an additional 15 fire damage to target foe and adjacent foes if it hits.

Added in "if it hits".

-----

Armor of Frost
***For 10...29 seconds, you gain +40 armor against physical damage, but lose -24 armor against fire damage. Armor of Frost ends if you use and Fire Magic.

added in "lose"

Deep Freeze
***You cause a Deep Freeze at target foe's location. Enemies in the area of this location are struck for 10...70 cold damage, and for 10...70 seconds, they move 66% slower.

Area of affect isn't stated.

Frozen Burst
***Frozn Burst strikes nearby foes at your location for 20...92 cold damage, and causes struck foes to move 66% slower for 5...10 seconds.

um... yeah. This is more accurate, I believe so.

Ice Prison
***For 8 seconds, target foe's legs are encased in ice, causing that foe to move 66% slower. This effect ends if target takes fire damage.

small, but changed "the" to "that"

Maelstrom
***Create a Maelstrom at target foe's location. For 10 seconds, foes adjacent to that location are struck for 10...22 cold damage each second. Maelstrom interrupts Spell-casting when it hits.

Replaced "area" with "location". Getting mixed messages here^^.

Mirror of Ice
***For 60 seconds, the next time an enemy Spell would deal damage to you, that damage is negated and the caster of the negated Spell takes 10 damage.

"Spell's caster" is actually fine I suppose... I dunno...

Shard Storm
***Send out an ice shard that strikes target foe for 10...54 cold damage if it hits, causing target foe to move 66% slower for 2...5 seconds.

You're kind of only throwing one shard based on the effefct as well as the skill description... so change the skill to Ice Shard. Even then... how an ice shard causes you to move slower is a good question to have asked^^.

Ward Against Harm
***Create a Ward Against Harm at your location. For 8...18 seconds, non-Spirit allies in this area have 12...50 armor against fire damage and 12...22 armor against other damage.

OK, so we have the debate going about armour ignoring damage, that because it's not stated that particular skills or damage types ignore armour, it is merely assumed that they ignore armour, because the damage isn't reduced. So here's the problem with Ward Against Harm^^, "other damage" should either be clarified to " other Physical and Elemental damage".

EDIT: Fixed, finally^^.

Last edited by Terra Xin; Aug 10, 2006 at 03:21 PM // 15:21..
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Old Aug 05, 2006, 08:16 AM // 08:16   #106
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Asrial
Gaile, please don't take everyone's suggestions on fixes.

I'd rather see everyone submit stuff that's just not right, and have 1 person with a grammatical background being PAID to fix this stuff.
Truth is that large community does better and faster job than paid person just for that. It is wrong to believe that because someone have job to thing X nobdy else who not have this job can't do it better. It also aply to movie subtitles. When big groups who form teams and translate movies professional way but free something tell that they do great.
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Old Aug 05, 2006, 08:34 AM // 08:34   #107
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i still strongly recommend that anet use skill templates. i can't believe that they have not thought of this before, or done it this far.
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Old Aug 05, 2006, 10:46 AM // 10:46   #108
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I was going to update the above post, but the computer that I'm on is too slow. So I'll just leave with a short note. The *** is the suggested skill description. Anything in italics are comments that I have made.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Clord
Truth is that large community does better and faster job than paid person just for that. It is wrong to believe that because someone have job to thing X nobdy else who not have this job can't do it better. It also aply to movie subtitles. When big groups who form teams and translate movies professional way but free something tell that they do great.
QFT, Actually I just remembered something that started up Anet's proposal to become closer to Gwiki:

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...35&postcount=1

and the Prudence award goes to Guild-Wiki!@! /cheer

I think they already have skill templates on their website, *checks* and they're...erm... actually they could do with an update as well:

http://www.guildwars.com/gameplay/skills/listing

I don't use this template, and I haven't looked into it much. Some of the skills are fine, but for example the elemental Mantras of the Mesmer still say that you gain 1 energy, when it should be 2 Energy.
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Old Aug 05, 2006, 01:57 PM // 13:57   #109
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I'm very confused by this skill:

Defiant Was Xinrae

"Hold Xinrae's ashes for up to 5...10 seconds. While you hold her ashes, enemy Spells that the caster and the caster's allies use against you are disabled for an additional 5...17 seconds."

Is that description the same as saying:

"Hold Xinrae's ashes for up to 5...10 seconds. While you hold her ashes, enemy Spells used against you are disabled for an additional 5...17 seconds."?

Can we eliminate or clarify the confusing "that the caster and the caster's allies" part?
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Old Aug 08, 2006, 08:46 PM // 20:46   #110
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Gaile, I'd really like to help you, but it's just not that important to me. I really don't pay attention to language and grammer, although I try to maintain both within myself. I just want to play the game, meet friends and have a good time without crashing or what ever. So it's all good.
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Old Aug 09, 2006, 12:40 AM // 00:40   #111
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Just to let you know that we will continue to monitor this thread and one of the Community Team members will cull the posts and send them along to the appropriate people while I'm away in Europe.
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Old Aug 09, 2006, 07:10 PM // 19:10   #112
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A really minor thing that has always puzzled me: The inscription on the statue of Dwayna is dated "115BE", but the event that is described therein (Doric making his plea to the gods) happened more than a century later, just before the exodus.
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Old Aug 10, 2006, 09:55 AM // 09:55   #113
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A general note: Can ArenaNet please stick to a uniform standard for capitalization? That applies to skill names as well as other names in the game.

For example "Flesh of My Flesh": Why is "of" lowercase, by "My" is capitalized"?

Another example. In some shout names ALL words are capitalized (for example "None Shall Pass!"). In other shouts some words are lowercase (for example "Victory is Mine!").
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Old Aug 10, 2006, 10:06 AM // 10:06   #114
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If you ctrl + click a portal marker it says something like "I'm using a The Black Curtain". Sounds really weird. But I'm not sure what you can make it say instead.
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Old Aug 10, 2006, 11:18 AM // 11:18   #115
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stabber
An excerpt that is important to me:
1) The use of the term "spirit" in Ritualist skill discriptions is inaccurate and can be missleading. It is not clear that the effect is limited to spirits created by rituals. For example, an Unnatural Signet will not recharge instantly if used against a Spirit of the Fallen, and you will not gain energy from Essence Strike standing near the "protective spirit" Zunraa.

2) Also, the discription of all Binding Rituals should read "Summon a level ## spirit ..." or "Bind a level ## spirit ..." instead of "Create a level ## spirit ...", to be in line with the lore. The ritualist doesn't create the spirit, does he?! It was already there before he summoned it, just not in the mortal realm.
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Old Aug 10, 2006, 02:40 PM // 14:40   #116
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tetris L
A general note: Can ArenaNet please stick to a uniform standard for capitalization? That applies to skill names as well as other names in the game.

For example "Flesh of My Flesh": Why is "of" lowercase, by "My" is capitalized"?

Another example. In some shout names ALL words are capitalized (for example "None Shall Pass!"). In other shouts some words are lowercase (for example "Victory is Mine!").
Conjunctions and other particles aren't supposed to be capitalized at all. "My" is a noun, so that's why it has upper case.

EDIT: Updated the Elementalist post.

Last edited by Terra Xin; Aug 10, 2006 at 03:22 PM // 15:22..
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Old Aug 10, 2006, 06:31 PM // 18:31   #117
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Spirit Shackles says "For 8...24 seconds, target foe loses 5 Energy whenever that foe attacks. ", but it doesn't put the target into negative energy.
I would suggest: "For 8...24 seconds, target foe loses up to 5 Energy whenever that foe attacks. "

Restoration, and possibly Lively Was Naomei too, have smaller range than stated in their descriptions.

Deep Freeze doesn't say how big its range is.

It would be nice if Broad Head Arrow and Needling Shot were more precise on how much they altered arrow speed.
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Old Aug 10, 2006, 07:11 PM // 19:11   #118
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Former Ruling
Belly Smash - "...strikes a foe that is on the ground, the resulting dust cloud..." All of that filler garbage can be shortened to simply "...strikes a foe that is knocked down, your target and all adjacent foes are blinded for [x] seconds." No other skill trys to rationalize WHY they cause a condition with a story.
Well, the skill doesn't seem to make much sense unless you add a backstory to it. I mean, what if they did word the skill as you describe? So basically you smash the guy in the stomach with a hammer..... and what? He spews gastral intestinal fluid everywhere effectively blinding everybody? We really don't know because the description doens't say why everybody got blinded. Seems kinda odd that doing a specific action will cause all sorts random effects around you.

Monkey Balls - "... poke a foe in the eye with your pinkie, your target and all adjacent foes start dancing the macarena...."

Did that skill description make much sense? Probably not without some kind of backstory to it.... uhh just don't ask about the backstory to that one, you don't wanna know

Last edited by My Sweet Revenga; Aug 10, 2006 at 07:14 PM // 19:14..
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Old Aug 11, 2006, 01:40 AM // 01:40   #119
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Cyclone Axe has a sort of detailed description about it, as well as many elementalist skills such as Phoenix... and others when I find time to think...

From what I know, the only way you can go into negative energy is if you switch weapons. This is true for Purge Signet and Holy Wrath. Because in theory, it's impossible to go into negative energy when the lowest you can go to is 0. but if you switch out, then you have to replenish the "maximum energy" that you took off yourself when you switched weapons.

EDIT: I've tested Restoration in the Isle of the Nameless, it works as it was intended.

Last edited by Terra Xin; Aug 11, 2006 at 01:46 AM // 01:46..
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Old Aug 11, 2006, 06:23 AM // 06:23   #120
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The two most irritating things about the skill descriptions to me as they are right now are:
  • consistency and
  • murky AoE wording.
Basically, if you play TCG's like Magic, it's irritating to go through lists of errata detailing whether a tapped card still has effect if it's removed from battle, or what region this or that applies to. With Guild Wars, the streaming technology is a godsend, as skill descriptions can be readily and easily updated without having to filter through this year's spec updates.

Considering the number of attack skills in the game like Galrath Slash or Melandru's Shot, I suggest the following template for consistency:
"_____ Attack. If Skill Name hits, you strike for +some damage." Basically, skills seem to refer to themselves in the third person, a la Unnatural Signet. There's no reason for Jagged Strike, Galrath Slash, and Irresistible Blow using different permutations of "if this attack hits, some more damage is dealt." Skills with a secondary effect can read like:
Quote:
Axe Rake
Axe Attack. If Axe Rake hits a foe suffering from a Deep Wound, you strike for +11 damage and target foe becomes Crippled for 15 seconds.
Even skills with more complex effects like Horns of the Ox can be cleaned up:
Quote:
Horns of the Ox
Dual Attack. If Horns of the Ox hits after a successful off-hand attack on target foe, you strike for +31 damage and knock down your target if he was not adjacent to any of his allies.
Bane Signet and a couple of other skills already use the "he" wording, which is fine. (Note: "he or she" is really bad for conciseness, a quality skill descriptions should strive to attain.) As long as who the "he" is referencing is clear, we get rid of having to switch between the "your target" and "target foe" wordiness.

Spells are a little trickier, since they have more varying effects. But the issue of consistency in wording arises again. For example, Deep Freeze and Ice Spikes produce similar results, yet are worded totally different. You lose some flavor in the skills, which may not be desirable (very understandable) but here is my suggestion. Consider those two Water Magic spells - because they basically do the same thing, with differences only in the AoE and hex duration, it's pretty easy to craft up a mini-template:
Quote:
Ice Spikes
Hex Spell. Target foe and foes adjacent to your target are struck for 84 cold damage and move 66% slower for 6 seconds.
Quote:
Deep Freeze
Hex Spell. Target foe and foes in the area of your target are struck for 90 cold damage and move 66% slower for 10 seconds.
...which brings me to my next point, area of effect. Firstly, the ranges "adjacent to target" and "adjacent" are pretty muddled. Some skills use the wrong range; others are 100% misleading. For an example of the latter, consider Death Blossom, where the AoE effect is advertised as "all adjacent foes". In practice, Death Blossom strikes your target for +42 damage if it hits and deals 42 damage to foes adjacent to your target.

Wait, adjacent to your target? That's a tiny range. What's this then?

Clearly, I am not adjacent to the "Adjacent" target (look for my head on the right edge of the picture), yet it takes the 42 AoE damage. The skill description is flat-out wrong, but part of the problem is the iffy wording between "adjacent" and "adjacent to target". If we could clear that up with another modifier, such as "next to target," some other skill descriptions dealing with adjacent-ness are easily cleaned up. Flagrant offenders include Earth Shaker and Hundred Blades. Yeti Smash and Triple Chop actually get the "adjacent foes" bit correct.

Other wording issues
  • skills that trigger on knocked-down foes. "If your target was knocked down" somewhat implies the skill in question can knock down your target (ref: Holy Strike). Falling Spider has it right with the "knocked-down foe" bit, but that clause seems difficult to work into some descriptions. But hey, you're paying people for this.
  • Wards. "Create a Ward of Whatever at your location." I seem to recall "in the location" as being equivalent to "in the area" in the old GW glossary, so referencing "in the area" later in the description may be redundant. Seeing as how all skills use 'area' instead of 'location' now, nothing may need to be changed. PS - get that glossary back up, it's good stuff.
  • Multiple attacks versus single attacks. For skills like Twin Moon Sweep, it's very clear that you are attacking twice. Cyclone Axe, with its flowery description, makes it clear you are attacking once. Crude Swing and Triple Chop? Same wording with "attack all adjacent foes" (yes, I know Triple Chop is targeted), but the former uses the same mechanism as Cyclone Axe, while the latter is a separate attack that can really ruin your day if you are hexed with SS and hit lots of targets.
  • "Flavory" skill descriptions like Belly Smash's can be trimmed down. Compare with Crushing Blow - is all the dust cloud stuff really necessary?

Last edited by Seef II; Aug 11, 2006 at 06:40 AM // 06:40.. Reason: more
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