Celeste and Allona recap The Dragon’s Reach: Part the Deuce (spoilers ahoy, ye be warned) and speculate on the upcoming September Feature Patch.

Audio Version

What We Did This Week

 

Allona

• 
  
• Casually happened onto an active Tequatl map … that was successful!
  
• Some light keyfarming, one run with listener, Cara(?) — which was super cool.
  
• kvgh ighhn;gs hm lra! LIGHT OF DWAYNA backpiece! It is gorgeous! It makes me gorgeous! And the only reason I was able to finish it this soon (soon being relative) was due to some incredibly generous people. Thank you thank you thank you!
  
• Living World … all solo … owie owie owie
  
• Explored the new region of Dry Top
  

Celeste

• 
  
• More Keyfarming
  
• Living Story
  

 

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Patreon thanks: Special thanks to Martin for being generous and contributing to our Patreon campaign, we truly appreciate your support.

 

Report from Lion’s Arch

 

The Dragon’s Reach Part 2

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/releases/august-12-2014/

https://forum-en.guildwars2.com/forum/info/updates/Game-Update-Notes-August-12-2014

• 
  
• There’s a nasty rumor going around about the Queen
  
• Phlunt takes Taimi’s WP recalibration device
  
• Taimi reacts, as a child would, and runs
  
• Unfortunately the Inquest runs into her first
  
• We finally get all the damn bureaucrats to the summit (apparently Asura & Humans aren’t trustworthy?)
  
• Shadow of the Dragon shows up and tries to kick ass
  
• We kick its butt but The Avatar of the Pale Tree is weakened
  
• Mysterious Seed backpiece expansion
  
  • 
    
  • Feed it your bloodstone dust
    
  
  
  
• PvP reward track for Arid Region – Maguuma Jungle & Maguuma Wastes (thanks for pointing out to me M, I totally skipped it ~C)
  
• From the game patch notes – I’m really interested to replay The Battle of Claw Island because the audio has been revamped.
  
  • 
    
  • A: I am really interested in this as well, and my warrior is on this bit in her personal story!
    
  
  
  

 

Our thoughts on this episode

Allona’s thesis: My high level review is that I felt really satisfied by this episode, both in what we learn and what we had to do; and in where it leaves off considering we are going in to a mid-season break. Specifically: I LOVED Canach and Annise, like, a lot. I also liked the many hints being dropped  (coughLiviacoughwhitemantlecough) … remember Angel McCoy said they only put stuff in if it’s important! I enjoyed the mechanics of the party (side note: the random NPC dialogue was fantastic!). The only thing was it took a while for me to figure out that I had to linger around groups for the trigger to question someone to appear, but not before I ran from circle to circle chasing the disappearing green stars on the mini map for way too long a time! The middle part with Taimi was fun, but a bit less interesting than the rest of the episode (sorry Taimi! I still lurves you!), well, other than Phlunt. Normally Asura are still fun and charming when they’re jerks, but not this guy. Love to hate Phlunt. The summit was cool and, man, that last fight! I had broken armour! It’s been AGES since I’ve had broken armour! It didn’t help that I was running an alternate build for the bulk of it. It got much easier after I broke combat (ie: hid in a corner) and switched back to ol’ reliable. As far as the final vision: I’m still digesting that. It almost looked like the vines were choking out crystals … Is Mordy going to remove Kralkatorrik for us? The pact might send it a thank you note since K was next on their hit list.

Celeste: It works. It was good. I didn’t like that Phlunt was a jerkface, I didn’t like that we had to go back and deal with political crap. I realize that this just goes along with needing to be the lead character (http://thepaletree.net/2014/08/13/shadows-have-fallen/). It was colorful to hear all the dialogue at the party. I liked that a lot. The last instance was not as hard for me as it was for most people apparently. This is probably the first time I’ll ever be able to say something like that too. The vision was interesting I hadn’t noticed the face in the branches until I saw some of the gifs on tumblr about it. I don’t know where we’re heading with that but I am intrigued.

 

Black Lion Stuff

• 
  
• New Chaos weapon skins are available for the next four weeks from Black Lion Weapons Specialists for the introductory price of one Black Lion Weapon Ticket.
  
  • 
    
  • A: This might make me a terrible GW1 player, but I am very meh about these. Maybe I need to see them out in the wild. Could be preview isn’t doing them justice.
    
  • C: I’m not crazy about them, but I think they look pretty good
    
  
  
  
• The price of Ley Line weapon skins has increased to 5 tickets.
  
• A Mini Mordrem Leyleecher is now available in the Toys category of the Gem Store for 500 gems.
  
• Utility Primers are now available in the Special category of the Gem Store for 150 gems each or 25 for 2625 gems.
  
  • 
    
  • (12h booster) Any utility item consumed while the primer is active will have the same remaining time as the primer, rounded up to the next hour
    
  
  
  
• The Wreath of Cooperation skin is now available in the Style category of the Gem Store for 400 gems.
  
  • 
    
  • C: I actually think these look pretty good!
    
  • A: Yeah … imma get me one.
    
  
  
  

 

Feature Patch Announced

Now instead of us getting more living world in another two weeks we’ll be getting a feature pack in September!

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/announcing-the-september-2014-feature-pack/

• 
  
• This week’s focus is on, no surprise here, Competitive Play modes (i.e. sPvP, WvW), which we’ll get into more later on in the show
  
• Week 2: A Fresh Start – “focused on improving the Guild Wars 2 experience for new and veteran players alike!â€
  
  • 
    
  • C: I have no idea what this could mean as far as features, pure quality of life?
    
  • A: I read this as more tutorials … perhaps instituted in such a way that veteran players could still learn new things
    
  
  
  
• Week 3: Collecting and Trading – “we’re rethinking the way you collect and trade items!â€
  
  • 
    
  • C: Does this mean we’ll actually be able to open trade windows now? Or send CoD mails?
    
  • A: Revamped collections pane? Maybe customizable? I think P2P trades would really hamper TP traffic. Maybe a finessed mail system though? And pretty please let there be armour weight searching in the TP!
    
  
  
  

 

Tournament thing AKA ESPOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTSSSSSS

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/announcing-the-guild-wars-2-global-tournament-series/

• 
  
• Worldwide PvP tournament with a $50,000 purse
  
  • 
    
  • C: It’s really pretty awesome if you’re even close to being good enough to be in the tournament or enjoy watching highly skilled players, for those of us that aren’t it’s just a piece of news.
    
  • A: I was impressed with the pot for this tourney. Pretty exciting!
    
  
  
  
• Between teams who had won the upcoming Tournament of Glory
  
  • 
    
  • Glory winners will be receiving an exclusive armor skin
    
  • “You are not required to participate in the WTS qualifier if you come out on top in the Tournament of Glory, so if the sweet new armor is your goal, you have nothing to worry about.â€
    
  
  
  
• Next blog post: Do you feel glorious?
  
  • 
    
  • C: Interesting title considering the lack of glory in game
    
  • A: THAT WAS WHAT I THOUGHT!
    
  
  
  
• Balancing Act – obviously class balance changes
  
  • 
    
  • A: Obvs
    
  
  
  
• Tricks and Explosive Finales – No clue
  
  • 
    
  • A: Actual combat finishers or elite maneuvers?
    
  
  
  
• Command The Rainbow – I wasn’t too sure what this was, but thanks to Hunter for the tip (http://huntersinsight.wordpress.com/2014/08/13/feature-pack-2-the-re-featuring/)
  
  • 
    
  • A: Colour-coded commander tags was the first thing that popped to my mind
    
  
  
  
• Prepare to Fight – Probably the new PvP mode
  
  • 
    
  • A: I’ve seen a few players mention GvG. That’s where I would place my money (not really, I hate gambling)
    
  
  
  

 

Birthday Vendor

In Lion’s Arch there is a Birthday Vendor to the South of Trader’s Forum WP, at the moment the NPC will give you a title “Loyal†and 1 Achievement Point. We’re coming up on the 2nd anniversary for release so the feature pack or at least some kind of reward was expected.

Ask An Asura

 

Dear Celeste and Allona,

Hi. I just want to say that I love your show. In stating your opinions and experiences in Guild Wars 2, you both are polite, respectful and thorough in your analysis. I appreciate all your hard work.

I do have a few questions. If you have already addressed these subjects, I apologize. I’m new to your site and have not had a chance to listen to all your episodes.

So, here goes. . .

*Question 1 — Is it worth trying to do ALL the events for each area? I have tried to do this, but I see that there are some that are no longer working, and there are some that only activate when another event fails. Is there an ‘achievement’ for doing all the events for each area? If so, I could not find it. Did I miss it? What do you ladies think?

• 
  
• There is no achievement for completing all the events in an area (though it may seem that way in Dry Top). If you do find an event that’s not working properly, please report it. Type in /bug with a screenshot of the stalled progress, ArenaNet needs to know about it!
  
  • 
    
  • C: I enjoy trying to do as many events as I can in an area and I’m still finding new ones all the time. For the most part (exclude Orr) I have a lot of fun playing as the lone wolf hero.
    
  • A: I think if you actively try to hunt down and complete all the events in a zone you will pull your hair out in frustration. The fun part of the event system is that, even close to two years after launch, I am STILL coming across events that I have never seen before!
    
  
  
  

 

*Question 2 — Is there a place where I can find a list of all Mystic Forge recipes?  I get frustrated when I go to the Mystic Forge, and I see that there are certain items I have that can be used, but I can’t find a recipe. Guild Wars 2 Wiki is great for most information, but for some reason, there is not a complete list of the recipes.

• 
  
• C: This is something that has long since frustrated me, here’s a couple of things that will at least help a bit:
  
  • 
    
  • If you run into an item that you see you could use, search for that item on the wiki, there will usually be a long list of recipes that it’s a component in
    
  • This google doc gives you a lot of recipes but certainly not all of them https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AvQFBweLyTK7dGNoTm1oWVI2NkkwY2VlTlZINURPeWc&usp=drive_web#gid=0 Maybe a save a copy so you can sort by different ingredients?
    
  • There definitely needs to be a website compendium of this. I vote gw2db picks it up and throws it in their recipe data.
    
  
  
  

*Question 3 — Is there a remedy for my complete and utter hatred for Jumping Puzzles? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost reach the end of a JP, and I fall. All I can think is, “What a complete and total waste of my time.” Not to mention I actually get a little vertigo when I do some of  them. *Sigh. I’m weird. I know. But is there some sort of adjustment I can do on my ‘options’ panel that will make them easier?

• 
  
• C: Jumping puzzles are, by their nature, ephemera. There’s the carrot of a small chest and the achievement points you get for completing them. If that’s not enough for you (and sometimes it’s not enough for me) don’t do them.
  
• C: I think they may have been messing slightly with field of view lately, whenever I see my character drop down  and it’s near fatal it makes my stomach churn. It hasn’t done that before, so either I’m more sensitive or it’s been slightly altered. There’s a letterbox overlay that can change the FoV to help with vertigo (http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/2cr4k8/letterbox_overlay_in_rainmeter/). A few other suggestions are to put a white dot on your monitor in the middle of the screen to give your brain something else to reference for depth/focus/perception. Another thing I really wish they would work on is giving players the ability to zoom more freely. It’s something that really irritates me and would help folks that get vertigo while gaming.
  
• A: Make friends with a mesmer who is good at JPs. ;) My REAL advice is to run them with friends in a group. People who can laugh off a bad jump and keep it light and fun. (If one of them is a mesmer, bonus!)
  

That’s it for now. I must say that I am loving the Living Story. I was a little shocked at how upset I was when Marjorie’s sister died. I really felt for Marjorie. I am loving the other characters too.

Thanks for all you do,

Edana Yavana Ivo

 

Allona’s Tip of the week: 80 is not the end. A common complaint about GW2 from players coming from other MMOs is “there’s no endgame.†Arenanet countered with “it’s all endgame.†I think it should be “It’s all levelling†(which would explain why players who don’t like the levelling process of MMOs aren’t typically at home in this game). GW2 is about constant learning and exploration. Embrace the levelling, it’s all journey with no final, lasting destination. If you find yourself in a race to 80/end game try to take a step back and shift gears. Just try … you never know, you might like the journey.

Celeste’s Tip of the week: Within the first week of the month, get as much as you can done with your Monthly. Check out the wiki if you’re struggling to get some of them done!

Tales of Tyria

 

Listener Jerry :

One thing arenanet could do to address the issue that some precursors are much more desirable than others is to add some mystic forge recipes to allow one to change one precursor weapon to another.

Maybe something along the lines of a precursor plus a weapon of the type you want and a lot of some time gated material to get out a specific weapon type. Or if they want to stick with the rng, a formula that gives back out some other random precursor so you’d just have to keep rolling until you get lucky.

Of course, this plan may just have the effect of inflating the price of all of the less desirable precursor weapons.

Great show! Keep up the good work!

• 
  
• C: I really like the idea of throwing in a precursor and getting one that you really want instead of what you may have gotten. Though I also agree that this would definitely increase the cost of the lower-end precursors to the point of ridiculousness (well, further into it).
  
• A: First: I love getting emails like this that are written as an extension to our conversation about precursors from last week. Second: A mystic forge precursor exchange could be interesting. I would probably still get ragey if it didn’t work out for me. :)
  

 

Lore Bomb Brownies

(Part of our show’s random chat room conversations from a few episodes ago… Thanks Jawa for sharing!)

 

• 
  
• 1 cup all purpose flour
  
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  
• Pinch of salt
  
• 1/4 cup sugar
  
• 4 Tablespoon butter
  
• 2 tablespoon water
  
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 1/4 cup if you like it gooier)
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• 2 eggs
  
• ~30 frozen unwrapped Hershey’s Hugs
  

Preheat oven to 325 F. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, butter and water. Bring just to a boil. Remove from heat. Add chocolate chips and vanilla extract. Stir until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Transfer to a large bowl. Add eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in Hugs. Spread into a greased 9â€x9†baking pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely. Cut into 2â€.

 

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If you’ve got a burning question for our Ask an Asura segment, please let us know!

 

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MMO Reporter Meetup at PAX Prime. The meetup is taking place at 7:00PM on August 28th (Thursday) at the Elephant and Castle Pub. We’ll have prizes from Elder Scrolls Online, Lord of the Rings Online, Wildstar, Guild Wars 2 and more. Listeners who plan on attending please RSVP to chris@mmoreporter.com with how many people will be in their party. Visit MMOReporter.com/PAX for more info!

 

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