Guild Wars Reporter

Guild Wars Reporter


Guild Wars Reporter Episode 141 - It’s a Whole New World…

March 20, 2015



Celeste and Allona have a LOT to discuss about the WvW news from Rezzed in the UK, dribs and drabs from Pax East, and the (sort of) surprise patch with camera changes n’ more!


Audio Version


What We Did This Week

 


Allona



  • Finally had the icky “PvP experience†with an abusive player. JOY!
  • Bought T3 cultural for Allona
  • Made an ascended scepter, again for Allona … She’s starting to look nouveau riche gauche
  • Ran a rare afternoon run of Fractals with Hunter, Misforawesome, ToughLoveCritic and RuneLockhart
  • Did zone completion in Lornar’s Pass with M and Hunter on some of our alts. It was relaxing and fun … I forgot how much I like LP!
  • Ran a few World Bosses with the new camera settings. WOW! Bonus: being able to target waaaay easier!
  • This thing came out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfrpnZXW-VA Fun Fact: Allona’s nail polish is…

    • A: It’s Dragon … the brand is ‘a england’ if anyone’s interested. :)



Celeste



  • out of nowhere got my 9k chest.
  • World Boss Training Camp – beat all the bosses, salvage the rares if they’re worth less than an ecto cost and then sell everything else. This is helping me to buy/sell T6 mats and get my ectos together for the final steps of Frenzy.
  • Recorded a lot of stuff in First Person View and did a little research http://gwreporter.tumblr.com/post/113876248343/id-like-to-share-some-factoids-about-divinitys P.S. I’d really like to know who designed and worked on the Orrery because they deserve cookies.

 


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Report from Lion’s Arch

 


WvW Stuff from Rezzed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfMkvCH2cbk



  • New desert borderlands will be replacing existing borderland maps, there’s discussion about bringing them back on a rotation but that’s not set up yet
  • 3 keeps, 3 elemental themes – air, earth & fire
  • each keep has 3 elemental shrines around them (keeping with the theme) outside the keep
  • fire keep is entirely underground
  • center is an oasis with dinosaurs
  • lich themed tower in another corner
  • Air Keep

    • 1 keep & 1 shrine – Jump Pads to boost yourselves up onto a cliff
    • 2 shrines – wind turrets to knock down enemies along pathways
    • 3 shrines – no falling damage in the canyons surrounding the air keep
    • keep is associated with Tengu and Lord has unique skills, the Lord room also has wind turrets within that are not associated to the shrines


  • Fire Keep

    • Entirely subterranean
    • 1 keep & 1 shrine – Inferno Hound – transforms the player into a hound with new skills
    • 2 shrines – fire turrets – from gargoyle statues
    • 3 shrines – fire immunity while in the caverns around the keep, you cannot be burned and have access to walking on lava


  • Earth Keep

    • Asuran complex ripped apart by elemental forces, filled with golems
    • 1 keep, 1 shrine – rock walls – can block invaders from direct paths to the keeps/shrines
    • 2 shrines – earth turrets – area cripple effect, often in choke points
    • 3 shrines – sandstorm – allies in sandstorm are “effectively†permanently stealthed – combat triggers an end to stealth


  • new towers -> much easier to defend your towers because the terrain is advantageous to the owner of it

    • 4 towers in the map
    • Mage College – village, mage lord is very elemental with ice and fire
    • Ogre – kinda beaten up, Ogre Lord – thief
    • Charr – Charr Lord – hammer skills pulls in and explodes
    • Lich – Lord – spreads conditions & targets a specific player that will then pulse aoe conditions to his allies


  • shrines are meant to be soloable objectives,
  • 5 min elemental blessing from shrines – speed boost and other bonuses
  • terrain variation – multi-levelled in certain areas, but not everywhere. this gives players a lot more space and hidden paths to be had
  • Oasis Event – 3 hour cycle – golden temple with an energy weapon

    • recover power cores and give them to the priory research camps
    • lands at every enemy objective, will gradually destroy the gates of those objectives

      • all 3 keeps & 4 towers


    • can be completed with a series of small groups


  • Some thoughts from Hunter about the new borderlands and defending objectives  https://huntersinsight.wordpress.com/2015/03/14/welcome-to-the-desert-of-the-real/

    • Specifically it feels like the main oasis event may end up just enabling whichever world is winning to deliver a crushing blow and minimizes the effects of players who are defending an objective/tower when in 20 minutes it will be completely open.

      • The argument against this was actually made during the presentation however when they said that if you feel like the tide is turning against you, you could send out supply teams to the objectives and repair gates as fast as they go down.


    • “The Desert Borderlands map is a definitive example of how Arenanet learns and evolves. Not content to just reskin a map and move things around, they’ve attempted to fix some of the problems with WvW and I can’t wait to see how it turns out.â€


  • Shield Generator – support role siege engine

    • range of an arrow cart
    • generates force fields, force wall, force dome – stability & blocks projectiles, blocks incoming other abilities from the shield generator



 


There were also a ton of goodies in this article over at ZAM

http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=35818


Here are the Lightning Round points:



  • Content not dependent on expansion features will still come out when they are ready (such as the upcoming camera changes)
  • There will be patches between now and the expansion, though what that is Jon and Kristen didn’t know for sure
  • Colin said that Super Adventure Box will return, and Jon has his own suspicions on when it may come out, but didn’t elaborate further
  • ArenaNet has no problem with players using Tomes of Knowledge to create an instant level 80 Revenant if they choose to do so
  • Stronghold depends a lot on players in terms of it being in the same or different queues as well as its inclusion in future tournaments
  • Reward team is working really hard on HoT. We asked about greater than 20 slot bags, but they didn’t know what the reward team is deciding to do for HoT.
  • For China, ArenaNet has strived for normal patches to come out at or near the same time in China. They will strive to do the same for HoT, but shipping a boxed expansion has a lot more to consider over normal patches.
  • We asked about Dungeons and Fractals, and Jon answered simply that they will be revealing what the super cryptic Challenging Group Content text means in the future

 


New Patch features bugs, bugs, and more bugs

https://forum-en.guildwars2.com/forum/info/updates/Game-Update-Notes-March-16-2015



  • Streaming Client Beta: Added -StreamingClient flag to allow downloading while playing Guild Wars 2. See our blog post for more information.
  • The number of votes required to kick a party member has been increased to 50% of the party. As an example, in parties of five, three votes will be required.
  • WvW map completion is no longer a requirement for a character to achieve World Completion, and these maps no longer award map completion rewards.
  • New camera settings in the General Options panel:

    • first person views and a variety of sliders that may induce motion sickness


  • Gendarran Fields

    • Adjusted the number of scaling spawns for the “Prevent the centaurs from capturing Nebo Terrace†group event to be less punishing for large groups.
    • Adjusted the start timing of the “Reclaim Nebo Terrace from the centaurs†and “Rescue the captured townspeople from the centaurs†events.
    • Increased the damage dealt by the catapults of Nebo Terrace to creatures. This does not apply to champion creatures.

      • Basically this event chain has been fixed to be a lot more fun, check it out!




  • Added a flashing effect when hovering over map legend icons to indicate incomplete POIs, vistas, tasks, skill challenges, and waypoints.

    • Very cool if you’re missing that one poi and you have no idea where it could be


  • Added the Black Lion Trading Company icon to e-mails from the Black Lion Trading Company.

    • helpful


  • Added a prompt to verify self-demotion within in a guild.

    • C: not going to test this without someone else being on, but does this apply to quitting your guild as well?


  • Fixed some instances of players being capable of shadowstepping to unreachable locations.

    • C: An attempt to cull the folks that map break?


  • Fixed an issue in which players could take repeated falling damage when running down steep inclines.

    • C: My norn, all the time.
    • A: Oh yeah … this is a nice fix to see


  • Changed the Guild Roster location text to function the same way as the Contacts panel.

    • C: I… I didn’t know they were any different to begin with… oops.


  • Stability: This boon has been changed from a duration stack type to an intensity stack type. Crowd-control effects will remove one instance of stability apiece each time they are applied. Each ability and trait has been adjusted to apply a certain number of stacks. All instances of stability not listed in these release notes will remain at one stack.

    • A: Mantra of Concentration is 1,000,000% more useful!


  • Mordrem Wolf: Significantly reduced critical-hit damage.

    • aww poor wolfie got nerfed


  • Chat logging and Party changes –

    • chat log shows how the person left the party
    • If they were kicked (which takes 50% of the party’s vote)
    • By whom they were kicked.


  • Items

    • Mini Kasmeer Meade is now compatible with the Mystic Forge.
    • C: There doesn’t appear to be some secret recipe, just another way to toss minis into the forge if you get repeats that aren’t worth anything
    • A: ~cough~queenjenna~cough~


  • Profession Skills changed and happened… read about it in the full notes
  • BLACK LION TRADING COMPANY GEM STORE

    • The new Shadow weapon set is available from Black Lion Weapons Specialists for the limited-time price of one Black Lion Claim Ticket. Tickets and ticket scraps can be found in Black Lion Chests. Keys are available in the Special category of the Gem Store for 125 gems.
    • Dye Kits
    • Three new faces for each race are available exclusively in Total Makeover Kits, found in the Services category of the Gem Store for 350 gems.

      • C: why are they all pretty much the same?
      • A: One face, three ways. I don’t mind any of them really, but still waiting for a mature, but still vibrant human female face!





 


Ask an Asura

Send us questions and they will be answered in the order they are received ~cues muzak~


 


Season One Recaps for all

Someone on twitter had asked me what happened to Lion’s Arch. They hadn’t played in a couple years and was very confused. I told them that, sadly, you can’t replay living world season 1 but I can bring you up to date through the power of youtube videos… Here follows a comprehensive list of the story so far without any spoilers for Season 2 (which is purchasable):



 


Email from Mingtow

Ok I am about to say something that is going to piss off at-less 50% of the people that will hear this, but I feel that it must be said, not for the sake of trolling but for the sake of stopping all the arguing.

First a little context. This rant is about the term “Action Based Combat”, to be more specific, this rant is about what the term means or what is the definition of the term.


While doing some research on a game, I come to the realization that almost everyone has their own definition of the term in question. Depending on whom you ask, (and this next part is an oversimplification some what). They may tell you that Guild Wars 2 or Dragon’s Prophet are “Action Based Combat” games, and someone else may tell you that TERA or NeverWinter are more “Action Based”, and a third person may say that World of Warcraft Is has “Action Based Combat”, and so on and so on. I am not going to say that one is right and the others are wrong, that is not the point.


This is a very subjective topic because the term “Action Based Combat” has no set-in-stone definition, because of that looking at it objectively is hard, but in my mind all three people are right from their point of view, even the one that said World of Warcraft. They are all right because their definition of “Action Based Combat” permits it. The following is my personal definition of “Action Based Combat”. To me “Action Based Combat” has two parts. Part one “Freedom of Aiming” and part two “Freedom of movement”.

First part one the freedom to aim at your target. If I am standing in front of a target and I turn 10 degrees to the left I want to miss the target because I was not aiming at it, not have the game auto correct or require me to lock on the the target before attacking it. Guild Wars 2 (with the combat mode mod), TERA and Dragon’s Prophet are good examples of how this part should be done.

The second part is freedom of movement and it help to balance out the first, being able to freely aim means nothing if you are aiming at a stationary target. It is easy to hit something that is not moving, it is hard to hit something that is moving, and it is harder to hit something that is moving and is trying to hit you back. Freedom of movement is the ability to attack while moving and move while attacking.


If you are moving and you can not attack or attacking roots you to the ground then the game does not have “Action Based Combat” in my opinion. Likewise if you are attacking and you can not move or moving cancels your attack than the same can be said for this. Good examples of this are Guild Wars 2, Dragon’s Prophet, and TESO. Note this is just my opinion.


So to the question, what is your definition of “Action Based Combat” in an MMO?


Sincerely, long time listener, Mingtowâ€



  • C: I seriously have zero opinion on this…
  • A: Guild Wars 2 has really good action-based combat in my opinion. That said, there are definitely certain skills that either root you or cancel if you move; I don’t think it negates that combat is still really action-y. For me ABC is being able to (for the most part) stay on the move, evade/dodge attacks, and coordinate with my party (combos, support, etc.).

 


Let’s Daydream with Tilion!

http://www.dragonseason.com/what-we-ask-for/



  • Hero Panel Overhaul

    • C: I do feel like it’s overly complicated now but I’m really not sure how they could make this any better than what they have now. Simply stating that it needs to have “focus†feels like saying coding this other thing in would be easy and take no time at all. A bit shortsighted.
    • A: There was a great mock up done by someone in the community. It was really quite thorough. (http://builtbyg.com/gw2-ux-ui-redesign-landscape.pdf)


  • Build Templates

    • This could definitely be added to the PvP build window and would make switching it up if you land in a stronghold map when you were prepared for conquest a complete breeze.


  • Megaserver(â„¢) Improvements

    • C: I still find myself landing in a different instance as my party often. Not sure about the LFG tool and the way people use it to switch instances. I still think that’s in line with it’s original purpose.


  • Wallet Expansion

    • C: Collectible expansion could also work really well for this *but* obviously you would only be able to access at a place where you can bank. I’m all in favor of adding a scroll to the side and having a ton of living world things stored in the wallet.


  • A Use for the Ascended

    • C: As someone who doesn’t really fractal or get a lot of this stuff, I totally don’t care.
    • A: Overflowing? I don’t know anyone who’s overflowing with ascended gear.


  • Right Click to Consume All

    • A: Related: Being able to purchase multiples in bulk from vendors



 


Let’s Make Some Money!

http://thepaletree.net/2015/03/12/a-time-limited-persons-guide-to-the-silverwastes/



  • Get to know the maps, encounters, and don’t bother with opening any bags until you’re done in the area.

 


Celeste’s Tip: Frustrated with the way the mini map is floating above the experience bar now? Snap it to the top by making it really narrow and then pulling it up using the notched corner. You’ll get used it pretty quickly. I didn’t realize I was still looking up there while navigating anyways… yay gw1 habits.

Allona’s Tip: Screencap your characters on the login screen regularly. It’s really fun to look back and see the visual evolution of your characters!


 


 


Tales of Tyria

 


PvP Ukulele Song (Bleeped for your convenience)

https://youtu.be/6XTRRq99Gzo



  • A: UKULELE! The only instruments I love more are banjo and xylophone.

 


Nom!

http://mymainisacook.tumblr.com/post/113990959226/gw2-watery-mushroom-soup



  • Watery Mushroom Soup … the title sounds unappealing to be honest, but the actual recipe looks delish (if you like mushrooms).

 


Adorable Asura!

http://mistsandmirrors.tumblr.com/post/113981716844/lil-sketchbook-ikka



  • C: stabby thief asura, I love it!

 


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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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