Curse

Numa Pompilius · Apr 10, 2006, 08:26 AM // 08:26

Seriously, the gear/keg/mine/book/torch/whatever stance tank exploit is way overdue for fixing. I reported it first time in _JUNE_ last year!

For those who perhaps doesn't know, there's a bug in the monster AI which makes all the monsters attack any character carrying anything - to the point they'll ignore the other members of your team. And it doesn't matter what you're carrying.
So, in Elona Reach, have a warrior spec for defence, and pick up a mine. Everyone else in the team will now be left alone, and can kill the mobs attacking + heal the warrior. The mission is now ridiculously easy.
In Thunderhead Keep, have a warrior spec for defence, and pick up the torch. Everyone else in the team will now be left alone, and can kill the mobs attacking + heal the warrior. The mission is now ridiculously easy.
In Sorrows Furnace/Grenths footprint, have a warrior spec for defence, and pick up a keg or a gear. Everyone else in the team will now be left alone, and can kill the mobs attacking + heal the warrior. Farming greens is now ridiculously easy.
The exploit works _everywhere_ where there is something you can pick up. You're low level? Well, go to Nolani Academy mission, pick up the book, and farm the ghosts.

The fact mobs _only_ attack the person carrying _anything_ simply doesn't make sense. There's absolutely no reason mobs should go gaga over a tank carrying a keg, gear, or mine!
This exploit completely screws over the PvE campaign.

So, ANet: pretty please, with sugar on top, fix the RED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GOing Stance Tank exploit!

koneko · Apr 10, 2006, 08:30 AM // 08:30

Nobody looked at my nice-nice log in the "Game and Dev Tracker" section to see Gaile's response to the keg/urn+aggro problem

Yes, ArenaNet knows about it.

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s....php?t=3008105

Screenshot #3, towards the bottom ("urn issue"), screenshot #5, first line. They're looking into it. I assume it's on their minds because of the upcoming release of Factions (ritualists getting pounded on by everything in the area).

Numa Pompilius · Apr 10, 2006, 08:33 AM // 08:33

OF COURSE they know about it, and has known about it for almost a year. I'm trying to get them to actually do something about it.

EDIT: And not just for the ritualists.

koneko · Apr 10, 2006, 08:37 AM // 08:37

Gaile Gray: You bet we know about the urn issue, and we will deal with that, yes!

So they are (edit: or will be) "working on it." If you've waited for "months," you can wait a bit longer, really.

Numa Pompilius · Apr 10, 2006, 09:54 AM // 09:54

I reported it 10 months ago. People started abusing it in earnest about 4-5 months ago. I am not talking about ritualists urns here, I'm definitely and solely talking about the Prophecies PvE campaign, NOT repeat NOT about ritualists and their plight when carrying urns in the Factions campaign.

EDIT: PROPHECIES PvE campaign, not FACTIONS PvE campaign. Really. Not ritualists and their urns. At all. Promise. Really.

Haggard · Apr 10, 2006, 09:57 AM // 09:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Numa Pompilius

Everyone else in the team will now be left alone, and can kill the mobs attacking + heal the warrior. Farming greens is now ridiculously easy.

Apart from the fact they don't drop anyway. 5 man would cause suicides without a keg/gear tank.

koneko · Apr 10, 2006, 10:00 AM // 10:00

Please look at screencap #5, which I mentioned earlier. This is not limited to urns, they are looking into all item-holding.

Gaile Gray: Oh, yes, the book trick IS the urn problem, the overall aggro situation.

Summary:
1. They know about it.
2. They're in the process of looking into it/fixing it. Kegs, urns, all item holding.
3. Is there really a use to complaining about something they know about and are looking into?

Edit: I'm done with this thread. They're looking into it, they know it's a problem. No use arguing over it, end of thread.

Numa Pompilius · Apr 10, 2006, 10:06 AM // 10:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by koneko

Summary:
1. They know about it.
2. They're in the process of looking into it/fixing it. Kegs, urns, all item holding.

That is not what she says (which is that they'll fix the urn-tank thing), not the context in which she says it (which is the urn-tank thing), and not my reading of what she says (which is that they'll fix the urn-tank thing).
But I hope you're right. It would certainly be about fricking time they fixed this.

EDIT: Regarding your added point 3... Yes. Because that's how the "Mobs don't run from AoE damage" AI exploit finally got fixed, people complained about it. It wasn't something which was unknown to ANet until september last year.

Lexar · Apr 10, 2006, 10:54 AM // 10:54

Maybe they just look very slowly

I agree it is not good for the game when a bug like the book trick in fow becomes a part of the game for many people. There are people that will ragequit if you just get your reward.

Yeah tanking without a cheap trick is actually very difficult, you need to use bottlenecks in the map to block mobs, check your aggro all the time, keep the rest of the team out of your aggro bubble (this is the hardest part because pugs in general don't even know what aggroing is, even wammos), know the routes that patrols take. You can simply copy a build, but if you can't do this, you won't be a good tank in high level areas.

SaintGreg · Apr 10, 2006, 01:22 PM // 13:22

Fixing it wouldn't change anything very much. Theres no book trick in "tomb of primeval kings" and it took about a week for a standardized, cookie cutter farming build to be developed that clears it very quickly and easily. It might make fissure of woe a little bit more interesting, but it wouldn't change the fact that in pve it is possible to develop something resembling a "best" build, and people will run that.

I do think they should change it, but it won't magically make pve super intense, or make people not want to farm high level areas.

Empirism · Apr 10, 2006, 01:55 PM // 13:55

i agree that with this "trick", things are ridiculous easy, only if theres a even little teamwork and understanding how things work

what I think its not a "bug", I think its meant to be that monsters attack one who carries those things for protecting it or whatever, its for the players who used it for advantage and made builds to maximize the idea being a single target tank.

Avarre · Apr 10, 2006, 02:53 PM // 14:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haggard

5 man would cause suicides without a keg/gear tank.

Oh no, you have to learn aggro and can't just blunder along giving PvE the name of being skillless. What a loss.

Fix the aggro bug already, burn the books, snap the gears, bury the kegs, snuff the torches, unsummon the sceptre...

It's easy enough to get single-tank aggro without these items, you just have to pay a little attention. While these items make things easier, even for groups that have the experience to not need it... it diminishes the gap between skill and skillless. Why don't we just give fame from the zaishen in HA, then everyone can get it, just like drops...

Uzul · Apr 10, 2006, 03:01 PM // 15:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Avarre

Oh no, you have to learn aggro and can't just blunder along giving PvE the name of being skillless. What a loss.

Fix the aggro bug already, burn the books, snap the gears, bury the kegs, snuff the torches, unsummon the sceptre...

It's easy enough to get single-tank aggro without these items, you just have to pay a little attention. While these items make things easier, even for groups that have the experience to not need it... it diminishes the gap between skill and skillless. Why don't we just give fame from the zaishen in HA, then everyone can get it, just like drops...

quoted for truth.

Ishmaeel · Apr 10, 2006, 04:07 PM // 16:07

Now I love ANet as much as I love my unborn child, but when something gets unfixed for too long, I always smell the air for tiny conspiracies.

My guess is this: They (of course) were aware of the problem, however they have been taking their time in fixing it because they need to consider how many people would be alienated by this fix. Most of the forum dwellers must know the AoE issue way better than I do. The flames of that update don't seem to be completely extinguished yet. If I were in their shoes, I wouldn't make that update right away either, what with the approaching second chapter and all the keg-miners who would ragequit before preordering...

But now the tides have turned and rits are on the wrong side of the glitch. Time to reconsider. Time to fix. Urgently.