Curse

=HT=Ingram · Aug 04, 2005, 07:53 PM // 19:53

Arenanet is doing fine by me. I love what you've done to curb certain problems and hope you continue this. I have a minor problem here or there on certain things but they are not important enough to worry about for chapter one. I'm more interested in seeing stuff I suggested show up in Chapter Two. Since I know most of them are code intensive.

The only thing I can think of that would be nice to encourage more PvE people to come to PvP competitions. would be to allow PvE only to be able to get the Absolute Best Armors for each class (IE Fissure +5AC as it was in beta). and leave the Standard max Armors in PvP build mode. I'm thinking of the Disabled Silk Fissure Armor for the Monk AC 65 and the Warrior Dragon Fissure Armor AC 85. Both were nice options for PvE that wasn't available in builds for PvP. I liked that. made the PvE people have a reason to spend all that Gold for something other then the different look of fissure armor. And since PvP builds did not have access to fissure it was a fair trade.

Unlocks, with Faction Are Fantastic... all anyone has to do is win a few Guild matches to see its Very easy to attain faction. However most for whatever reason do not seem to play Guild battles. that's a shame since it is called GuildWars. the PvP groups seem to focus on Tombs only anymore. Which to me is nice for an occasional battle, but not as fun to play as GvG battles are.

Keep up the great work. and I am looking forward to Sorrows Furnace for PvE as well... This was a pleasant surprise for me as I did not expect to see another explorable area in Chapter one. So I consider that Icing on the cake. Thanks a lot Gaile and all the rest of the staff over there.

See you at the Chapter Two beta!!

Ingram of Haz.

Rajamic · Aug 04, 2005, 07:59 PM // 19:59

NR is way too powerful. It makes all hexes and enchantments (which is a large portion of Necro, Mesmer, and Monk) all worthless. This is a powerful effect. And how hard is it to apply? It's not. Rather than the 10 second, single-target shutdown that Backfire gives (which can be removed with a simple hex removal), it's a 30-120 second shutdown for the majority of spells in three classes, and is not even multitarget, but broadcast! It both removes the spells and makes them stupidly hard to reapply, particularly when they will likely be removed in another 10 seconds (Oath Shot + QZ).

Make Oath Shot not affect spirits, and make NR not remove enchantments and hexes from someone already under NR's effect, and it still will be overpowered, but not nearly as much.

My biggest issue is with finding a Guild that suits you. My roommate and I both bought the game as soon as it came out, and he worked really hard to get a guild. We got a little more than a dozen people in it in a few weeks (mostly friends from another online RPG). Then he quit. He had not made anyone an officer, so we couldn't grow. After waiting over a month to see if he would come back, I left the guild looking for another one.

But how can I find one that has a similar balance of RP/PvP play that I like? That isn't full of lolzorznoobpwns people? And that help each other? In the roughly one month since I left the old guild, I've recieve one invite, but as near as I can tell, it was just a blind invite, which doesn't really help my confidence in them being a tight group.

Tactical-Dillusions · Aug 04, 2005, 08:00 PM // 20:00

Going back to my original post because i never read the "state of the game letter" previously... (silly me).

The mentioned changes sound exciting...especially the drops being increased for "nerf bat bruised" players like myself.

Does that mean you will also remove the enchant removal from jade scarabs? They never used to do that until nerf #1 came along...long long ago.

Can we please (when the bots are finally defeated as the letter states will happen) have a massive <[emphasis] area where it's a farmers paradise?

Give us millions of tengu braves of level 25 that don't stop chasing you like cowardly sand drakes do.
Give us a shallow lake full of level 30 lighting drakes.
Give us an area with 2000 hellhounds so our smiting monks can have a total blast!!
Yes, the farmers would be insanely rich and have the most uber maxed out gear but EVERYONE would benefit because they would be able to sell all this stuff at insanely low prices to EVERYONE.
Please don't act as if farmers can hold unlimited gold...i reached my cap for storage and had to buy a guild hall to make room for gold...even though i would never use the hall!

Please make sand worms use hamstring - it is so funny to see worms kill people who you are escorting around the desert. ROFL
Why ask for that specific nerf? Why not? That's a fun one. We all know where the worms show up, so those who can fight them don't care about hamstring...the junior players however....lol.

PvE arena - c'mon Gaile - i have mentioned this half a dozen times. Please just quote this paragraph and say you have seen it and discussed it over cookies and coffee and it's "on the way"
Wave after wave of monsters which get increasingly harder and more variable until you are defeated. Play solo (if you dare) or with henchies or friends/guild.

Starting level (round 1) 1 x level 1 river skale tad
Later level (round 50) 25 x lvel 20 hydras.
Even later (round 80) 90 x level 25 drake bosses.
Later still (round 150) 120 x level 35 bone dragons.
Yes it goes on... (round 280) 300 U***** Ruriks

How fun and replayable would that be? ENORMOUSLY FUN! Stand your ground like the undead hordes and thunderhead keep...hold them off or be defeated.

"Beast Master Archer has reached level 100 in the tombs of endurance and won a place in PvE heroes history!"

"Beast Master Archer has reached level 200 in the tombs of endurance and won a place in PvE heroes history!"

"Beast Master Archer has reached level 300 in the tombs of endurance and won a place in PvE heroes history and become the ALL TIME HIGH!" lol

stumpy · Aug 04, 2005, 08:06 PM // 20:06

hes your roomate ... go knock on his door!

secondly, there are many good guilds out there, it takes time trying to find a good guild.

if your looking, heres a few suggestions, ... go to tough places where guilds tend to build up and work together, like underworld or fissure. When looking for an invite, say (lfg */*20 ... preferrably seeking a group of guildies who have experience and work together, ts / vent capable)

this will get a few serious peoples attention ... moreso than ... NEED 1 MONK FOR FISSURE ... JOIN NOW HURRY! NO NOOBZ!

Damon Windwalker · Aug 04, 2005, 08:06 PM // 20:06

Is there a reason why every single thread lately has to turn into a NR debate?

Algren Cole · Aug 04, 2005, 08:07 PM // 20:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by asdar

Algren you have no respect for anyone.

I wish my post hadn't made it through because I'd rather not be dragged into some childish argument.

If you had respect for people you'd start by posting actual responses to threads instead of always trying to make other people look bad.

Do we know what you think is the state of GW from your posts? No because you didn't answer the thread instead you posted a non-specific but derogatory response to my actual response.

I wish I'd been able to retract my last thread before you answered it but I wasn't fast enough because apparently you were waiting for it. If you have a problem with me you should PM me instead of following me around on the boards trying to show how smart you are.

To answer your first point...I don't feel there is anything wrong with this game other than the majority of the people that play it. I can find hundreds upon hundreds of little things that I enjoy about the game. It makes the little things that I don't enjoy pale in comparison.... To the point where little crap that alot of you complain about isn't even worth mentioning. I don't feel the need to nerf builds because I can't counter it...I don't feel the need to complain endlessly about not getting updates every week....I don't feel the need to bitch and moan about nerfing....I don't feel the need to whine about unfair skills.....because this game is the most balanced fair game I've ever had the pleasure of picking up.

To answer your second point(about my problem with you)....I don't have any idea who you are....or recall conversing with you in the past.

MSecorsky · Aug 04, 2005, 08:07 PM // 20:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damon Windwalker

Is there a reason why every single thread lately has to turn into a NR debate?

Because people are to lazy to develop builds to beat it, so they try to complain it to death?

Maybe not... just a guess..

Beqxter · Aug 04, 2005, 08:07 PM // 20:07

Like many here, I started out as a PvE player, and now that I've finished the game I find myself drifting towards PvP until the new explorable areas or chapter comes. I enjoy PvP, but to be honest I'm not terribly good at it, I think. What I would REALLY like is an opportunity for me to practice and hone my skills at organized PvP in some low-key, no-stakes way. It's hard to get into Tombs teams, especially as a confessed noob, when there are so many hardcore players there. It's very difficult to arrange unrated guild matches, and difficult to get 8 guildmembers online to play. Intra-guild scrimmage would be very helpful, and I've heard that that's coming. Observer mode, so I could watch the pros, would also be a big help and I'm REALLY looking forward to that.

I realize that arena is supposed to fill the hole I'm talking about, but random 4v4 is a completely different game, and even organized 4v4 is quite different from 8v8. And since 8v8 (whether Tombs or GvG) is currently the pinnacle of GW PvP, that is what I want to be practicing.

To that end, it would be nice if there were easier ways of finding and organizing people in-game. Guild members are great but are often not online. I have a lot of friends on my list, but there is no way to broadcast to them "hey anyone want to do a cap run?" - you have to ask each of them individually, and they're usually willing but in a mission or something. It would be great if there was an ability to create and subscribe to a particular channel of people, maybe populated by invite to prevent trolls, where you could hang out and announce your availability to do stuff - and once you were doing said stuff, you could drop out of the channel or flag yourself as unavailable for partying.

This is a great game, and I'm totally addicted - thank you for developing it. Playing with a quality group is dizzying fun, but at the same time one or two bad apples - and there are a lot of them in there - makes it rather miserable. I'd love to see a better process for filtering out the jerks and meeting other like-minded players.

EDIT:
I have to say I LOVE Tactical-Delusions PvE Arena idea. Maybe it could calibrate its difficulty based on the number of players on your team - a great solution for when you and a friend or two are on and want to do something together, but don't want to deal with the hassle of finding 5-6 other players to team up with.

Tuna · Aug 04, 2005, 08:23 PM // 20:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarus

not just my own grand diabolical scheme to turn GW into a flight simulator.

You had me fooled

Quote:

Because people are to lazy to develop builds to beat it, so they try to complain it to death?

This is the worst arguement against NR as I have yet to see a build that effectively counters it. Of course, feel free to prove me wrong. And when I say effectively, I mean to the point that you can use enchantments/hexes effectivley.

Quote:

State of the Game Letter

It sounds like if the things you talk about are actually impletmented, and implemented to the correct extent, there might be some life breathed into this game.

asdar · Aug 04, 2005, 08:24 PM // 20:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Algren Cole

I don't feel the need to nerf builds because I can't counter it...I don't feel the need to complain endlessly about not getting updates every week....I don't feel the need to bitch and moan about nerfing....I don't feel the need to whine about unfair skills.....because this game is the most balanced fair game I've ever had the pleasure of picking up.

To answer your second point(about my problem with you)....I don't have any idea who you are....or recall conversing with you in the past.

And do you see me complaining a lot?

You don't see me complaining at all. I mentioned one thing in a thread that specifically asks for opinions from a game rep. I don't ever post "I'm going to quit unless..." threads or "the dev's need to do something about this" threads.

Do you play in Tombs? If you did play in the Tombs you'd know that this is a problem.

I know you can defeat an NR team, beating them isn't my point.

My point about NR is that it Limits the game. You can't stop a good NR team from casting the spirit and you can't play an enchantment build or a hex build against it.

I'd be ok with those two aspects of an NR team if it took skill or used up one player on your team but Any secondary ranger with zero skill points can cast NR and strip every enchantment and hex.

Zero skill for a spell that ruins so many builds is a bad thing in my opinion. Even though I think that you've never seen me start a thread about NR or complain or whine about it in a thread someone else has started because I do like the game and don't complain.

So when a thread comes along that asks for my opinion I find it very offensive that you treat me like a complainer. What's more I still think you're lying through your teeth because there would be no need to go on about how you respect their builds as if it's some great secret.

octaviancmb · Aug 04, 2005, 08:27 PM // 20:27

A couple of caveats before I begin:

1) I'm a 75% PvE 25% PvP player.
2) I've only played three primary classes very extensively at all: Mesmer, Monk, and Elementalist.
3) Although I've logged a huge number of hours, I'm certainly not an "elite" or power player. I play just to have fun and to amuse my guild and PUGmates.

Those caveats stated, I'm really excited about the new PvE content. The Sorrow's Furnace shots look beautiful. Please give us more of these breathtakingly stunning areas to explore, re-explore, and quest within. I'll happily pay you for them (just not each month...hehe).

The RP world certainly has a wealth of material you could draw from to expand the game. I'd like, for instance, to gain my revenge against all those Charr! In the beginning of each character's life, they're Enemy #1, and then, poof, they just disappear. Bring us a high-level Charr zone.

I'm also looking forward to more easily obtainable drops. We all like finding those golden goodies, but they're currently so rare that it's virtually impossible to find them through casual play. Please screw those bots and restore drops to useful levels as quickly as possible!

In PvP there are some balance issues, but I'm sure you're aware of them. I'd just like to actually be able to play my Monk or Mesmer again as *I* enjoy playing them with at least some possibility of success. My gameplay type percentages would likely shift if this were to become the case again. Till then, I guess I'm stuck running UW with the Monk or Elementalist. I *enjoy* this, but it does get a little old sometimes.

If you could point the development team toward the Mesmer elite skill line for a second and get them to make more of those skills useable (or even add a couple of new ones to the mix), I'd be ecstatic. Don't get me wrong, I love a handfull of them! The rest of them are "once in a blue moon" utility-level.

Thanks for the great game and the dedicated developers.

stumpy · Aug 04, 2005, 08:35 PM // 20:35

So Gaile,

You have decided again to jump on these boards to look for community feedback and again help improve the game and make all of us happy again ... thats what you think ...

(secretly pulls out communty feedback nerf bat) *smack*

heeeheee ... actually the game is fine, I like the direction of balancing the pvp and pve ... so both can unlock stuff equally.

the only thing i believe that needs to be addressed is the town spammed with WTS WTB ... (the need for an auction house). If I really wanted that r0xx0r sword that pwns all n00bs ... I would rather buy it from an AI auction house than deal with some of these human interfaces.

MSecorsky · Aug 04, 2005, 08:37 PM // 20:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tuna

You had me fooled

This is the worst arguement against NR as I have yet to see a build that effectively counters it. Of course, feel free to prove me wrong. And when I say effectively, I mean to the point that you can use enchantments/hexes effectivley.

It sounds like if the things you talk about are actually impletmented, and implemented to the correct extent, there might be some life breathed into this game.

Although I meant the original comment to be more toungue-in-cheek than anything, I'm going to have to follow up and ask why you have the requirement to be able to use enchantments/hexes effectively against something which specifically targets those? Makes no sense. If you go against a team that uses various protections against physical damage, do you only consider it beating them if you do so with physical damage? Sure, you may want to use enchantments/hexes by your definition of 'effectively', but too bad.

If your pant are on fire, don't stand there crying for a bucket of water, find another way to put the fire out. Your future kids will thank you.

Damon Windwalker · Aug 04, 2005, 08:40 PM // 20:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSecorsky

If your pant are on fire, don't stand there crying for a bucket of water, find another way to put the fire out. Your future kids will thank you.

...but MY future kids might thank you for NOT putting out that fire

(sorry - I just couldn't resist...)

Ensign · Aug 04, 2005, 08:44 PM // 20:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Algren Cole

I know of atleast 5 people that have counters for this build.

There's a Nature's Renewal build? Here I was thinking there were around a dozen builds, all designed to at least ignore Nature's Renewal even if they weren't shoving it down someone's throats.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Algren Cole

The point is that a counter build is out there

Builds that pull all relevant Enchantments and Hexes out of them have already gotten smashed by Nature's Renewal. The problem is *not* just that Nature's Renewal is grossly overpowered in the games that it's in - it's that it so radically constricts build design and skews balance in the process.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damon Windwalker

Is there a reason why every single thread lately has to turn into a NR debate?

Because some ignorant little shit always insists on stating that Nature's Renewal is balanced despite backing that assertion up with absolutely nothing, then proceeds to insult everyone who's stated otherwise by calling them some combination of idiotic, lazy, or whiners.

Peace,
-CxE

termite · Aug 04, 2005, 08:47 PM // 20:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gaile Gray

Please share your thoughts. We are listening and we want to hear what you have to say.

Hi. I think the only way that this game can be brought back to life is through two or more major expansion packs. Until then, it's pointless to re-balance stuff. The expansion packs should do it instead, and atleast one of them should be free (I'm not talking about addition of towns/monsters here. I'm talking about fixing the current imbalances).

P.S. I have already sold my copy of GW, so what I say might not count, but then again it might because many others such as myself have done the same thing - which is put the game up for sale after getting bored two weeks into its release. So until I see some worthy patches/fixes put into place, I see no reason in spending (and possibly going back to GW) any more of my money on your company's products.

This is not a troll post, but a suggestion. After all, it is what you've asked of the community.

Acan Vishnu · Aug 04, 2005, 08:48 PM // 20:48

I like the idea of having a state of the game address very much, its interesting to see what you guys are planning on for the game. It gives us not only an idea of what to expect, but it can help guide our ideas and suggestions. If we know that something is not in your overall plan for the game then the chances are that we won't invest our time thinking about it as much as if we never heard anything from you.

The only request I would like to put forth is that something like this be done with more frequency. I realize that it is something of a difficulty as you can't really talk about upcoming features unless you are certain that they will in fact be implemented, but even if it was just a short paragraph or two outlining one or two things that you guys are working on... well, it would be great.

Regarding the content of the message, I have to say that I am very much looking forward to seeing everything that was written there. In particular the new content and the playbalancing.

Thanks for the message guys, we (at very least I) truly appreciate everything you all are doing and are really trying to be patient. Its just hard sometimes

cyberzomby · Aug 04, 2005, 08:48 PM // 20:48

Everything looks very promising,
one more than other. But the thing Im missing is Guild Features. We need those in a game called Guildwars. I know Storage and inner guild fighting is coming. But those are just 2 features ^^
Great job anyhow.
Realy nice to see you read what the community wants

JoDiamonds · Aug 04, 2005, 08:54 PM // 20:54

Kind of you to ask.

I am currently enjoying Guild Wars greatly, both PvE and PvP. I don't play as much PvP as I'd like, due to not having a guild of people to really play with.

However, I can probably accomplish more by listing my priorities.

General polish

There's a lot of things that I like, but there's a lot of relatively small things that bother me. For instance, the fact that ignore only works on private tells, not on local chat. I'm sure anyone could come up with a large number of small issues like this. I'd really like to see this existing technology more polished before pushing out newer stuff.

Usability enhancements

This includes much larger tasks that feel like smaller issues. Examples include Minion control, Henchmen control, the size of buttons that need pushing (like most software, they are often too small), the ability to see the energy bars of your allies. This is going to be a highly debatable list, but I feel there are a lot of tasks that would only require a moderate amount of work yet would provide vastly improved gameplay.

Auction system of some kind

As has been often established, the current methods for buying and selling most items is annoying and unfun. A lot of people could be made significantly happier through this. I realize this is a mammoth task to get done right, and don't expect it to happen overnight, but do hope to keep hearing periodic updates about the fact that it's happening.

Increased communication about The State of the Game!

Fansite Friday's help greatly in telling people what's going on. I'd really like to also see a public list of items with Arena Net's own personal priorities. I'm sure there are excellent reasons that Arena and NCSoft don't want to do this, but even if it's something as simple as a list of things that Arena is aware of, I could at least feel that Arena has a clue. =) Even better would be something saying what Arena Net is activel working on, even if there's no ETA.

Additional gameplay modes

I think that GuildWars could be a much more expansive game than it currently is. For instance, the only supported modes right now include teams. I can only imagine that there would be many fine gameplay modes that are Every Man For Himself (and each woman, too). Additionally, more competitive modes vs. monsters would be interesting (i.e. groups compete to race to a destination blocked by monsters). Or a system or special ladder with some kind of handicapping, to ensure balanced games even if the teams aren't balanced. (In particular, this would be great for random arenas or vs. people you know. Presumably unrated only.)

Again, thank you for this opportunity.

Porkchop Sandwhiches · Aug 04, 2005, 08:58 PM // 20:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kakumei

THE GAME HAS BEEN OUT FOR THREE MONTHS

THREE MONTHS

COME ON

I feel the same way

I dunno, I am jaded in MMOs, I left EQ2 for guild wars and boy, at the time (it may not be like this now) the game changed every single update, and not always in the way other players and sometimes myself wanted it to. You had to keep re-adjusting to the game and it morphed into something different from what it was when it came out at release.

Blah, blah, long story short, I love how the team behind guild wars actually thinks about what the players wants and try to make a rational fix for their cries. Instead of giving them the illusion that those cries will be answered unlike some MMOs! (Hmph!) And on a second thought I can say I am honestly impressed that they do all this work without the funding of monthly fees! Also, all of you who complain about the grind in this game and the likes have never really tasted a real grind :P

But, that's just me