tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577405488165152910.post2735739832427708812..comments2023-09-08T11:06:25.282-05:00Comments on Of Course I'll Play It: Rethinking Roles in Guild Wars 2Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07841034885738903494noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577405488165152910.post-71217077790829424842012-09-17T10:55:39.256-05:002012-09-17T10:55:39.256-05:00Kring: If I'm in a guild group in a dungeon we...Kring: If I'm in a guild group in a dungeon we will be using voice chat, I probably won't hear what my character is saying. Even more so if there are lots of noisy spell effects going off all around.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577405488165152910.post-42867371580367919752012-09-17T07:27:58.357-05:002012-09-17T07:27:58.357-05:00Whenever a condition is applied on you, your chara...Whenever a condition is applied on you, your character says something to inform you what was applied (audio).Kringhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03128630042421602039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577405488165152910.post-8761676358965575422012-09-16T15:26:11.627-05:002012-09-16T15:26:11.627-05:00"I wish they'd give us the ability to sav..."I wish they'd give us the ability to save sets of skills for different situations."<br /><br />I meant to mention this earlier in the post, but got distracted. Though this is strictly speculation on my part, I have to believe ANet will provide such functionality before very long. They had the ability to save, load, and even share build templates directly from within game in GW1, and I would be very surprised if they don't add similar functionality for entire skill selections once the rest of the game settles down a bit. <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07841034885738903494noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577405488165152910.post-60542767803172503552012-09-16T14:19:19.192-05:002012-09-16T14:19:19.192-05:00Excellent points, Dusty. I definitely got the sen...Excellent points, Dusty. I definitely got the sense that, to what extent you're able given the traits you have, you do need to switch out your abilities when going into a dungeon or other large group thing. As an aside on that note, I wish they'd give us the ability to save sets of skills for different situations. It's nice, too, that you CAN be more than just whatever your profession is generally pigeon-holed into, and I think we will find that everyone, even if they intended to go in as the dumb faceless dps or whatever, needs to step up and wear different hats as the situation calls for it.<br /><br />I worried people might've been getting frustrated at all the dying last night to the point of no longer having fun, but I'm glad to see it doesn't sound like that's the case. I do think we'll vastly improve as we get used to the game and our characters, and gain familiarity with other peoples' abilities. Gear also really does help. Like Stephanie said, even going back into low level areas, there is a noticeable difference with better gear. Honestly, though, the dungeon was so fun, the dying didn't seem that bad. I like that they include waypoints (even if it was a while before there was a second one.. that run got a bit long) and repairs right inside the dungeon. I had more fun dying in this dungeon than I've had in other MMOs more or less flawlessly kicking butt. :PMaegen Parvenuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13429723437565326411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577405488165152910.post-88107422670989493742012-09-16T14:17:31.392-05:002012-09-16T14:17:31.392-05:00I felt rather unprepared for my first AC run, havi...I felt rather unprepared for my first AC run, having had the mistaken impression that there was no semblance of the "trinity". Now that I've got a better idea of what the roles are, how they are filled and how they overlap, I'm actually somewhat excited.<br /><br />I loooooooved tanking in WoW. When I stopped playing, I had three 85s, all tank-spec. It seems like most of what I liked about tanking in WoW is covered by "control" in GW2. I still need to make some mental adjustments, but in so doing, there will be much, much more to try out than there ever would have been with the old trinity. Control-spec thief? Control-spec squishie? I'm very intrigued.<br /><br />I'm still going to park my thief for the time being to level my warrior, but I am liking the future possibilities.Thomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00503114577071001150noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577405488165152910.post-63598864722093996942012-09-16T14:05:57.841-05:002012-09-16T14:05:57.841-05:00I agree. I really love the versatility of my rang...I agree. I really love the versatility of my ranger. When I'm alone, in a large group of monsters, after I've shot my volley of arrows I'll often switch to sword/torch and wade in there with the second AoE, then pick them off one by one with the sword. With the ability to jump in and out of the fray with the sword, as well as the AoE and the ranged toss of the torch, I feel like even the melee set of weapons gives me some survivability. Of course, I tried it out in the dungeon last night on the troll, figuring maybe the poison ability would slow down his regen. I promptly got shown the floor and didn't try that again. :D But generally speaking!Maegen Parvenuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13429723437565326411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577405488165152910.post-84173873476603063302012-09-16T13:29:49.301-05:002012-09-16T13:29:49.301-05:00hehe while we've never played together directl...hehe while we've never played together directly spinks, after following your blogs and your design discussion for all these years I have absolutely _zero_ doubt you're more than good enough to tackle these instances. It may take some rethinking, and maybe some re-tooling of your abilities, to get what you would call "good" but you'll totally get there. You can join my group any day.. :) <br /> <br />However, you might want to try to convince a few more folks in your guild to wear plate. ;) <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07841034885738903494noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577405488165152910.post-5790906680632663952012-09-16T12:52:43.884-05:002012-09-16T12:52:43.884-05:00Stephanie, I may honestly not be good enough to pl...Stephanie, I may honestly not be good enough to play instances in this game. It's a bit crazy, there are spell effects and AEs going off all over the place, I can barely tell what I am doing let alone what everyone else is, many of the boons only last for a few seconds anyway and I just found it crazy confusing. Plus the only plate wearer in our guild likes playing support but doesn't like tanking :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577405488165152910.post-60714996861737085582012-09-16T12:51:14.499-05:002012-09-16T12:51:14.499-05:00Well said. I believe a certain amount of flexibili...Well said. I believe a certain amount of flexibility with weapons and utility skills goes a long way towards making the dungeon experience more enjoyable.<br /><br />In one of my first AC storymodes, we were wiping on the ghost trash mobs consistently until a thief switched to whatever he was using to apply blind. Ditto a Twilight Arbor run with the nightmare hounds that were tearing into us horrifically until we started blinding them consistently too, and making sure everyone had condition removal.<br /><br />As a Guardian, I've been bringing a hammer or mace/shield/focus into dungeons lately, instead of my usual sword/focus solo weapons. If I manage to land that third hit to apply symbol of protection (and a simple trait switch makes symbols larger and symbols heal), I've noticed everyone in melee range becomes a lot safer.<br /><br />I also swap around weapons when out of combat as needed. Sceptre/shield is my standard for ranged, but during a TA explore run, another Guardian demonstrated a very nice use of the staff (volatile blossom clearing - that wide cone is like a lawnmower)<br /><br />JeromaiAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577405488165152910.post-37382566702374952192012-09-16T12:45:28.264-05:002012-09-16T12:45:28.264-05:00So on the boons and conditions UI - I couldn't...So on the boons and conditions UI - I couldn't agree more. The tiny little icons down next to your name, and the triple row of cryptic icons under the boss's name aren't nearly sufficient in conveying the kind of information you need to make good choices. I'm guessing they're just relying on you to learn the icons and suss it out. I'm already getting better at tracking that stupid poison icon and it's countdown timer on my thief, because when it appears I need to get that condition removed asap. <br /> <br />wrt to your other points, I also agree - especially about grave yard rushing not being fun. But for myself I get through it because I remember so many mission in guild wars 1 as coming across as just friggen complely impossible the first couple of times you attempt them, and then when you finally get the right mix and build and methods, it becomes completely doable. I remind myself these are those same designers, and trust there's a key that will soon be uncovered. <br /> <br />I also don't know what they were thinking with Ascalonian catacombs being the first dungeon. The prevailing opinion is (and so far I share this opinon through three dungeons), that is is harder than most of the other dungeons you encounter. It's certainly much harder than Caudecus Manor. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07841034885738903494noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577405488165152910.post-46251485642519540852012-09-16T12:42:15.210-05:002012-09-16T12:42:15.210-05:00Another really brief comment to add to Dusty's...Another really brief comment to add to Dusty's. Gear DOES make a difference. If you are wearing gear lower than your character level, you WILL notice a difference. Try as hard as you can to keep yourself geared in the best gear you can get for your level. Even when mentored down to 15-25, at level 80 I performed far worse wearing level 70 gear than I did wearing level 80 gear. <br /><br />I also learned to start gearing up stats based on what I do. I'm a plate wearing class. I'm on the front lines almost constantly EVEN if I am playing a support role, I get hit. I've been stocking up on toughness and vitality, because those folks behind me are going to (hopefully) be stocking up on condition and the other bits that will take the mob down while I hold it there. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12100510419531734584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577405488165152910.post-73495277771227339352012-09-16T12:38:07.743-05:002012-09-16T12:38:07.743-05:00re: boons, I don't find them hard to see becau...re: boons, I don't find them hard to see because you don't need to know WHAT they do. Red = bad and cure it asap. You can see all these red icons in the group window, or under your own health smack dab in the middle of the screen at the bottom. Anything yellow is a boon, anything red is a condition. Mesmers get an ability that the more often they are hit = more boons on them, and then you can transfer all of those boons to everyone else. So you just wait until 5-10 yellow icons show up, hit the other skill, and bam, whole group has those. <br /><br />It's much easier for me to see now what those icons mean just through trial and error, the one that roots for example, the daze symbol, etc. <br /><br />I think it matters less what each icon represents, and more just to recognize when you have (or don't have) those icons in general. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12100510419531734584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577405488165152910.post-77523140323795341992012-09-16T12:37:58.565-05:002012-09-16T12:37:58.565-05:00I have always played a DPS class in MMO's and ...I have always played a DPS class in MMO's and in most of them it was pretty straight forward.<br /><br />Last nights run taught me this will not be the case in Guild Wars 2 just like your talking about. From reviving to just making the group better overall there is a lot to watch out for. I felt myself slowly getting into a groove towards the end of catacombs run.<br /><br />One thing I like about the Ranger class even though it's a semi squishy is the options. I have noticed that if the mob is trained on my pet and there aren't enough close in fighters. I can switch to a melee weapon and give the "tanks" a short break. It's risky, but one option I want to exploreBruce McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02481623473366030133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577405488165152910.post-32654251330744064962012-09-16T12:28:20.714-05:002012-09-16T12:28:20.714-05:00Here's my question. If the boons and condition...Here's my question. If the boons and conditions are so important to PvE fights (and I agree they are), why have Arenanet made it so hard to see them? Unless I'm missing something, you have to squint at the little icons.<br /><br />And the graveyard zerg might be effective, but it isn't fun to keep dying. Would be more fun to be able to figure out how to avoid it.<br /><br />I've only done the first instance with my guild but what I came away with it from was a feeling that it wasn't really fun and the rewards weren't very good.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com