Feedback talk:Linsey Murdock/QuestionsF1

Could we...

Nag at the reintroduction of the arenas in proth?,my char is stuck at 98.7 in tyrian explorering and ive been everywhere exept the discontinued arenas, ive tryed loads of things,texmod,my freind looking closely at the Tyrian map conserned to my one,NOTHING,exept the arenas is left...i know your not the peep to tell..but nag somebody :3 --Neil2250 15:09, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Try using the Grandmaster Carto guide. There is so much extra in Tyria and many are just common missed areas. One could probably get 110% if it let you go that high.--SirBoss 16:42, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Agreed. I was able to get 100% with out accessing any discontinued areas. TexMod is invaluable for finding the slivers you would otherwise not see (frequently in areas that you've visited dozens of times!) Terryn Deathward 16:51, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Since the Tyrian Cartographer title is based off of my Ele's map, I know she has over 100% without having ever been in any of those areas. It's definitely possible, I promise! - Linsey talk 17:31, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Those titles are based off of actual player maps? Thats kind of interesting, all this time I just figured the game automatically took the % amount of the map you've revealed out of the % amount of playable area able to be revealed by a player (with some % leeway by the devs). DarkNecrid 17:41, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

It does. But in the case of the Tyrian title, because of the closed arenas, Mo wanted to make sure that there was enough leeway so that a character who never went into them would still be able to get the title. At the time he began work on that, he found out about my Ele who had already unlocked over 85% of the map and had never been into the Arenas. So he had me uncovering the rest of the map and gave me updates on how close I was. Once that char had unlocked pretty much everything but those Arenas, he took my total pixel count and based the max title off of that (I have since uncovered a couple tiny spots left over here and there and entered the Arena outposts to get those unlocked, hence being over 100% now). It was a pretty awesome experience since I was just a player (and unemployed) when we started the process and ended up getting my job about half way through. It's the thing that got my foot in the door up here, so that's why I say my Ele basically got me my job. :D - Linsey talk 19:38, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Oooh, we finally know the story behind it. :) Awesome tale! DarkNecrid 20:40, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

So, need help with anything, coming up with story ideas, random stuff? Get you a coffee? Shine your shoes? Waaayhey! I'm in zee door. What, you don't want my girl guide cookies >:| ^_^ ~~000.00.00.00~~ 21:01, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Neil, there are some replies here too, as you posted there as well ! :P Btw, nice and funny trivia about your ele mapping Linsey vs the job hehe Davor Belegnaur 19:59, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

yea i got the title and i could not get into the arenas so yea it is very possible... but a use for them/ being able to explore them would make my ocd side very happy.-- Zesbeer 21:23, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Very interesting story Linsey. Since you say you've actually hit a couple spots more than originally planned, it makes me feel a bit better about the Cartography Mod still showing a few places. Of course, now I'm curious to know how that map compares to yours.--Pyron Sy 21:32, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Interesting Linsey, I know that Katherine is the only one with Legendary Cartographer (or any Cartographer max titles) and she maxed just after the Prophecies map changed to the Eye of the North map. If that one guy needs help still, GW Guru has a lovely list in the Tyria section of places most people forget. Just know, the road to Legendary Cartographer took me 3 years and lots of hugging and other inappropriate things done to invisible walls. ^^" Katherinezoltin 23:53, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Finals GvG

What happened to them? Why are they not on B? BlazeRick 06:41, 29 September 2009 (UTC)

DirT forfeit= no finals ever played = no match on obs. --The preceding unsigned comment was added by 84.130.74.87 (talk).

Wow, why'd they forfeit? (not that I blame them). Karate Jesus 20:43, 29 September 2009 (UTC)

for the lulz maybe - Wuhy 21:26, 29 September 2009 (UTC)

From what I hear, DirT had someone DC right before the match and chose to forfeit rather than take a hench. But, I've heard a lot of different accounts of the matter and I'm not exactly sure what is fact. - Linsey talk 17:15, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

Sheepy (one of the players) dced like 3 seconds before matchup, they had no chance on entering with a hench.

yay war dc - Wuhy 21:01, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

Well, good to know that the dc's are affecting other GvG matches besides just mine (I hate ending up with just 4 players :/) Karate Jesus 21:03, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

Lag and complaints of lag

Firstly, I apologise if this is in the wrong place, but I think it contains a few things relevant to multiple people including the community at large. For some time now there have been multiple complaints of horrific lag problems within on the Guild Wars servers, while I can't say whether more people have been having problems, they have been louder about it, specifically complaining of massive lag spikes and disconnects, only in Guild Wars while all other software functions normally and only from a specific point in time some months ago. While I am not really actively playing any more, even when I was I did not personally experience these problems, but many people I knew were, so I started talking to people and trying to collect as much data as possible. One of these people was my brother, who wishes to remain anonymous for now. He has been in contact with support and his ISP multiple times and I have seen some of this correspondence and as far as I can tell, all parties seem to be in agreement as to the cause of the problems and a solution is being worked towards, at least in his case. My goal in this post is to make you (Linsey) personally aware of the problems as the head of the live team as well as the community at large as some action may be required on their part to fix the problem for themselves personally. I admit I am curious as to why if ArenaNet or NCSoft (as I understand support is controlled separately) are aware of this problem nothing has been said, but I am not privy to the internal workings of your company, so it would naturally be inappropriate for me to speculate.

The conclusion of several emails back and forwards between NCSoft support, my brother's ISP and himself and the running of multiple tests seems to be that the horrific lag problems in Guild Wars and some other NCSoft games is due to the practice of shaping bandwidth by some ISPs to prevent bandwidth being effectively hogged by users downloading essentially 24/7 using P2P sharing networks. Apparently for whatever reason, Guild Wars traffic resembles P2P traffic and as such, some ISPs have been shaping it. This explains why some people are having absolutely horrific issues while other have none at all, whether the traffic is shaped or not will depend on your ISP. This problem has occurred internationally across many different ISPs, so I suspect something was changed in the Guild Wars netcode to precipitate this at some point rather than a massive coincidental change in the policies of many ISPs across different countries, but it is also possible that they all use related software to shape their traffic. I admit this contains hearsay, but the final analysis was provided by my brother's ISP as opposed to coming from support, but they also indicated that NCSoft was willing to work with them to solve the problem and had indicated a timeframe for a solution to manifest, which incidentally has now passed without solution, but I am certainly understanding that problems can be more complex than originally anticipated, so that is neither here nor there.

The point I am trying to make is that there seems to be real evidence that this problem is real and that NCSoft seems to have acknowledged it, at least company to company if not to their customers, and seems to be working towards a solution. The important thing for people who are not my brother to do is to contact their ISPs, which is advice that ArenaNet has been giving from the start, but without knowing the cause of the problem they will likely get nowhere, so now they know what it likely is, traffic shaping. As far as I understand it is also a problem ISPs cannot solve alone, but NCSoft is aware of the problem and working to fix it.

As mentioned earlier, I don't know why this hasn't been announced if it is known, but I suppose that is more a question for the community team than the live team. I'm happy to clarify anything I've said here, although I've been asked to not reveal some specific things such as ticket numbers. I apologise for drama that I expect to follow, no one can control the internet, this is not supposed to be a "lolAnetizbaed" thread and I would appreciate it if responses could be kept on topic and relevant, but I doubt that will happen. Keep up with the what I would consider a generally high quality of work, despite specific reservations, and thanks for your time. Misery 11:41, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

tl;dr version: The recent lag problems are likely due to traffic shaping by your ISP due to how GW traffic appears. NCSoft appears to be aware of this and is working on a solution, but if you want to fix your lag problems you should contact your ISP with this information as well as it would appear neither company can solve it alone. Don't be a dick if you reply. Misery 11:41, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

What ever the cause I hope it does get resolved. I'm one of those that doesnt have a problem anywhere else but GW. Rofl just lost a survivor at 1,331,254 xp due to a lag spike. I'm not the only one that experienced it during that time. Which would lead me to believe it is not my ISP.--SirBoss 14:43, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

There are many computers between yours and A.net's servers. Some of these backbones are used by a significant portion of the playerbase en route to the A.net servers. If any of these links in the chain isn't working well, you will have connection issues. Log in to any online game and ask if anyone is getting lag. You'll always gets some "yes" replies. Periodic lag is the reality of online gaming. I'm saying this is all of it, but it is certainly a portion. Manifold 15:33, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

If you had read the original post you would know that this was stated and addressed already. -- Armond Warblade{{Bacon}} 15:42, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

UPDATE: After a fair bit of back and forth between the three parties, my brother's lag problems seem to be resolved and he is able to play again. Although answers from his ISP and ArenaNet were not always consistent, it appears it was being worked on the entire time and was finally resolved. If you are having problems, follow the advice ArenaNet has been giving from the start and contact your ISP. Misery 11:45, 19 September 2009 (UTC)

Disregard the previous comment, Citizen. Complain to ANet staff who have 0 control over network and latency issues. —Jette 11:55, 19 September 2009 (UTC)

Because of the large amount of lag complaints such as yours, our programmers looked into the issue and (again) found no issues with our game servers but did see various network issues which could be causing the lag. This is something out of our control, and entirely on the shoulders of your internet server providers. Every time we get reports of lag, we look into it and most of the time, it's totally not us. - Linsey talk 06:11, 4 November 2009 (UTC)

Hero to be Removed

Once heroes are removed from HA and GvG and HB are deleted, will existing PVP characters still have access to heros? This question arises because some GW players have used PVP characters and their heroes for storage purpopses. Samberum 4 Sept 2009

PvP characters have access to the Isle of the Nameless, the Zaishen Challenge and Elite, Menagerie, and, of course, Skirmishes. Why should they lose Heroes when there are still many places to use them? MithTalk 21:58, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

Will heroes still be available in skirmishes? Otherwise I guess it would be impossible to play against heroes, and that's something I used a lot to investigate issues with the AI skill usage. --Draikin 17:34, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

They clearly stated they are going to remove them from Heroes' Ascent and Guild versus Guild. Nothing was sad about any of the other places where players can use them. MithTalk 19:26, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

You still have access to heroes on PvP characters and are still able to unlock heroes with balthazar faction. We have discussed a little bit, reducing the cost to unlock heroes since they are less useful for PvP characters, but it's not on the schedule at this time. - Linsey talk 06:14, 4 November 2009 (UTC)

Random Arenas

hai Linsey, I'd have a question regarding RA, since you already work with it(sync) and with a seemingly close format too(sealed deck), do you have any plans to lessen the randomness? I'd think of a system that analyzes your build and decides if it is a back/mid/frontliner so for example it could make 1 healer 2 midliner(and not 2 of the same profession pls) 1 frontliner groups. this way, you still get random people, but you would stand a chance against others.. i dont think this would take much time to implement since this mechanic already exists(AI can decide a skill's use) and would lessen the leeching/leaving too, so please consider this - Wuhy 12:40, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

Errr.. Although I'm all for people requesting things, I always find "i don't think this would take much time to implement" a tad presumptuous. Wuhy you know very little about GW coding or its internal design infrastructure. Thus by all means ask for things you think would be nifty, but don't include baseless comments such as those in your reasoning. Thanks -- Salome 12:46, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

what do you base your statement on? - Wuhy 12:49, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

That your statement is presumptuous? King Neoterikos 12:54, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

im just taking examples from joe(kimmes).. - Wuhy 13:12, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

Your assumptions are flawed because you assume people will design builds with a logical, clear purpose. Misery 13:44, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

I wonder what part of "Random" Arena has been interpreted as "Mostly random" Arena or "Random but we'll try to give you a good team" Arena. Erasculio 13:47, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

Misery is correct, What if the dervish, mesmer or ele is a healer but get labeled as front(derv) or mid liner, or what if the mesmer is illusionary weapon as is a front liner but gets classified as a mid line, or what if the monk is a wammo with a sword or the ritualist is spirit strength, they gets classified as healers but in reality they dont actually have any heals Talamare 13:50, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

you clearly did not read what the fuck i just said.. it determines it upon SKILLS, so if a monk has 3 or more healing prayers skills, than that monk, my friend, is a healer. same for others.. not so hard is it? - Wuhy 14:30, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

There are all kinds of builds out there that would be really hard for an ai to classify. How would it classify a flag runner build? Not to mention the builds that only need like 3 skills, like most barrage/pet builds or MM builds, and the rest are just thrown in there for support. Right now my hero MM uses 5 skills that have nothing to do with being an MM. These are just examples, but the point remains, your system would assume the builds people choose in RA would conform into some predertimined set of classifications, but with 1200 skills out there, that just wouldn't work. (Satanael 14:51, 6 September 2009 (UTC))

(Edit conflict) You clearly did not read what I said. How would you like to classify this build? Half the build is healing, half the build is offensive midline. What about a build with sever artery, gash, frenzy, ray of judgement, bane signet, retribution, mending, patient spirit? Healer, smiter or frontline? The algorithm you are talking about is far from simple unless everyone agrees to run pre-determined builds, which is not random arenas at all. I can't even suggest the kind of builds you actually encounter in the wilds of RA, but they are often even less logical and clear than my two examples. Unfortunately I think too much for that. At the moment heroes determine what something is by what weapon it is wielding, swap from a wand to a sword and watch your heroes and henchmen change formation, I don't know why you seem to think this ludicrous and extremely complicated functionality of determining role by skills is already built into the game. Misery 14:57, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

"How would it classify a flag runner build?" try again, im talking about RA.. @Misery: well, you got expel and two heals, you get teamed up with a monk with less hex removal, more prot, more condition removal(so essentially a LS monk), you got some domination support including ench removal, caster disable and pressure, since you have no rupts, you get a ranger with random elite and 1-2 good rupts and conditions and a war running pretty much anything but more preferably a sword/axe war since you already got shutdown on mesmer so those can just chop them to death.. to the wammo shit: yes, pretty much that.. - Wuhy 15:07, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

""How would it classify a flag runner build?" try again, im talking about RA.." You just proved my point, your algorithm would assume that people would not bring a flag runner build into RA because there are no flags to run, but there is nothing stoping anyone from bringing any build into RA. It may be stupid to bring that build into RA, but I would bet money it has been done. Remember, RA is where most people experiment with creating new builds. And, as I said, that was only one example, misery and I have provided several others we only just thought of now. You may be able to think of all these reasons why a build is a certain way, but ai doesn't think like you, coding in all the necessary contingents to determine the purpose of a specific grouping of 8 skills chosen out of 1200 possible skills would be near impossible, and if not impossible than a shitload of work. (Satanael 15:21, 6 September 2009 (UTC))

they are already doing ai updates coz of the henchmen bar contest, also, if you do bring a flag runner to ra, then i guess it will be considered as a snare, heal and prot character? not so hard, is it? - Wuhy 15:31, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

Im going to bring a ranger spirit spam build, with only ranger spirits and no other skill... what am I under your classification, also just because Im going to not use any weapons (empty hands)... or... Im going to bring a bar with only self block stances and no other type of skills, Also empty hands... what does your system classify me as (for god sakes nobody say something like "it classifies you as a noob" Talamare 15:47, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

The point of Random Arenas is that it's Random. Lessening the randomness of Random Arenas defeats the purpose of the gametype. DarkNecrid 15:54, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

You are talking about a computer algorithm as if it as a thinking human. Programming has not reached that level of sophistication. You basically want RA to be PuG TA. Misery 16:12, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

"you clearly did not read what the fuck i just said.. it determines it upon SKILLS, so if a monk has 3 or more healing prayers skills, than that monk, my friend, is a healer."

Patient Spirit, Word of Healing, Guardian, Draw Conditions, Mending Touch, Holy Veil, Armor of Sanctity, Conviction

I have two healing prayers skills, but that's definitely a healing build. ¬ Wizårdbõÿ777(talk) 16:20, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

Wuhy: go take a computer programming course. Any language, any level that's appropriate for you (it's pretty obvious that we're talking a 101 course here). Learn about variables and flow control and memory allocation and things like that. Then take a look at your suggestion and realize just how goddamn huge an algorithm you're talking about as though it were "easy". Then realize that the server has, in an absolutely ideal situation, 30 seconds to process this whole thing and create teams (though realistically people are going to be joining at all times during the countdown). -- Armond Warblade{{Bacon}} 16:49, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

And what about the smitting monks gogo ranger,warrior,necro,monk(smiter) team. 1monk 3others doesnt work alwese.Death Sligher 17:22, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

This is as bad as the discussion on Linsey's Journal page asking that American districts be removed from the mix because there are too many bad players in American districts. No one seems to understand that Random arenas is suppose to be random, and you should be prepared to play with whoever you get on your team. It's not about having a "good team" or a "balanced team". If you end up on a bad team, you will lose, so learn to suck it up. -- Wyn talk 17:25, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

ok, armond, then im waiting for linsey's response here.. wyn: yup but it would encourage and get players used to balanced rather than gimmick shit, also it would mostly remove the leeching and leaving problems in RA. - Wuhy 20:10, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

yeah.......I'm not gonna say this often, but this is probably a prime example of exactly the kind of suggestions that make more sense in the pure /User/ suggestion format (the PnH one excluded o/c b/c it's obviously a troll-fest built by a troll for other trolls to nourish on). I mean this is definitely not a concept that has been fully fleshed out yet therefore it should really have it's own page to develop first. (nor do I see the most obvious solution even being offered...which I'm not about to pull an Era on and offer here). And once it is, it should have to pass Joe's sniff test first --ilr 20:26, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

also armond, i understand the server problems, but i think if someone could pull it off, then that person is joe.. - Wuhy 13:05, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

I'm all for a system that makes balanced-ish teams (especially with TA gone), but it most certainly should not replace RA. As far as that goes, the only system currently in place that even resembles that is the auto-henchie selection in HA, which blows pretty hard. You mentioned that "AI recognizes certain skill types", but that's not really so true. AI regularly puts Ineptitude on my monk, Shame on my offensive midline, and other such badness. I'm not exactly ecstatic about using that discriminatory system to put teams together. =/

In a related story, going to non-American districts was a definitely a way to get better matches in the past; not so much with the new anti-sync measures. Would it be possible to implement, say, districts based on (as an example) glad title, which wouldn't be pooled in with the rest? Or even a ladder system (replacing the current HB ladder) that measured RA ability? Or even making it Heroes' Ascent-esque, with teams competing with other teams who have similar win streaks (you could even use the maps in a certain order!)?

Also related to RA, and also JQ/FA, and, to a lesser extent, AB, I think the ability to compose teams (even if not full teams) wouldn't be so far out of line. Playing PvP with a small group of friends is always nice, and one might not always want to HA or GvG (I like HA, and I like GvG. Do I want to have to do HA or GvG every time I want to play with my guild? Not so much). I can't speak for everyone, but I'd imagine that others hve similar sentiments. If you could, say, enter two people into a RA team, or 3-4 people (I'd say 8, but small steps are cool) into a round of FA or JQ, or maybe enter two teams into the same round of AB, that'd be really nice (though I understand that it might give some players the advantage of... being paired with competent allies). ♥

There are a lot of small changes like that that would, imo, go far to make PvP more... playable. is for Raine, etc. 19:16, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

"AI regularly puts Ineptitude on my monk" ur wielding a spear, it still can detect it is anti-physical. "Shame on my offensive midline" yup but it can still detect it is an anti-caster skill. - Wuhy 13:33, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

It doesn't detect that. The AI for each individual skill is individually coded. Misery 13:49, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

yup so? - Wuhy 14:02, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

The equivalent would be coding what kind of bar (healer, midline, frontline) every single possible skill combination in the game is. Feel free to work out how many possible bars there are in the game, I cannot be bothered. Misery 15:01, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

because??....... no just take the skills as this team has already 3 interrupts, so it does not need more, if team has 3 healing/prot skills, it does not need more, if team has 2 hex removal skills, it does not need more, if a team has 5 melee attack skills, it does not need more.. maybe all the skills would have to be classified as doing a role and making a new system around it but i think this is within the range of doable things. - Wuhy 15:11, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

And I, and several other people, disagree with you for the reasons already outlined. This is clearly a personal suggestion and belongs within your feedback space. Misery 15:15, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

People who have programming experience are telling you it is not practical to do so. And the instant you thought that something massive like your suggestion can be implemented, you certainly have not a single clue about what programming is. Please pick up some programming skills and reach industrial level proficiency, then find out how ridiculously hard it is to implement something lie this. Also, kindly not presume you know better than people who had the real hands-on experience. You don't. Seriously, this must be the modern incarnation of the childish brat whining for the moon. Pika Fan 15:21, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

:OOOOO JOE CAN HANDLE IT!!1!1!!!11 - Wuhy 19:16, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

also, stfu alrdy pls, i do not rly care about what you say, i wanna hear linsey and joe, but she probs wont read this wall of text now.. - Wuhy 19:21, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

There's a simple and clear difference between "doable" and "practical", and sadly, it seems you are incapable of understanding that. Pika Fan 19:50, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

im not, ur just not linsey :-( - Wuhy 20:23, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

It doesn't matter if it's impractical. Having linsey answer you won't make a difference. Owait. It must be so hard for you to add 2 and 2. Scratch whatever I just said, then. :-) Pika Fan 10:04, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

• sigh* I don't care, now go away. I want an official answer not a lot of fucktards saying OOH USUCK, mainly because I don't fucking care about them. I'm waiting for Linsey to recover and respond. - Wuhy 13:58, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

(Reset indent) It is a workable idea, but it takes a huge amount of time. First of all you'd have to make sure each skill has one or more type such as healing, interrupting_attack_skill and so on. Next, you'd have to apply this to the skills (1200+, but maybe a macro could do it). After a successful application, which includes doing the getType, the setType and other type related functions, after then you can start working on the algorythm, which begins with clarifying the build types, and it takes a loong time. --Boro 14:45, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

the test crewe could get involved in such things(the categorization) too - Wuhy 16:06, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

The Test Crewe is only a group of testers. They would not decrease the actual workload at all. — Poki#3 (talk) 06:26, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

yeah, i said "could".. would be useful.. - Wuhy 13:06, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

Or you "could" start exercising logic in your posts. But you won't. :/ Pika Fan 12:19, 19 September 2009 (UTC)

Why should Lindsey, or anyone waste their time or effort an a format that is 99% face rollers (tab hexing and mind blasting) when there are far more pressing issues with real formats? Just saying...I actually did use to play RA when it was fun and you could enter from ID or Asian districts and not have a full retard team. Zen` 08:33, 20 September 2009 (UTC)

it was, now its gone.. im just trying to make it a bit less frustrating but everyone is an asshole here *sadface* I'd be happier if ppl could still sync but we got back the korean district. best thing probably would be eliminating sync by randomizing the queue but still pulling ppl from separate dists(or at least american, euro, asian and int so less syncing in jap and russian for example) /personally attacks Pika Fan - Wuhy 15:26, 8 October 2009 (UTC)

Rather than have some AI arbitarily decide what kind of build you're playing, couldn't you just click "enter as healer", "enter as midline" or "enter as frontline"? alternatively you could always use different districts "district 1 healers" etc and mix them up that way. I like RA for the lack of gimmiked spike builds, which are dominant in many other "higher" levels of play. I also like that I can jump right in, without carefully forming a group. I also don't need to worry about ts/vent or broken build synergies. I hate RA on the other hand, when I am paired up with a defy pain warrior and a flare monk. I don't expect everyone to bring perfect builds, but it would be nice if they at least knew their place in a team. What I (would) propose to solve this problem is to tier RA. This means that it would be split into 2 (or more) levels of play, with only those players that have shown their competency (having achived a certain glad level, or number of wins, or commendations from othr players, w/e) being able to play in the higher bracket. This is (from my understanding of allocated progaming recources) never going to happen, but im sure it would change RA from something that is laughed at by "elite" gvg and ha players (no comment on this) to a battleground where any GW player is able to jump and find a reasonable team at their skill level. Sepia 00:15, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

There are a number of things wrong with your idea. Firstly, having a "high" gladiator rank does not mean you know what you're doing. There are rank 8 gladiators that got it by synching, touch ranger, assassacaster, etc. Second, splitting an arena into two identical arenas wouldn't do anything past splitting the player base in half. Like my arguments against Hero Battles, I'm going to use common sense and the name of the arena to get the point across. It is not called Get Paired Up With People As Good As You Arenas, it's called Random Arenas. As Wyn said, sometimes you will get a crap team. Call them noobs in chat then get a new team when you lose. ~Shard 01:13, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

It should be "get paired up with RANDOM people who are as good as you to play against other RANDOM people who are as good as you". It shouldn't be "im testing a new build". it shouldn't be just another team arena. Currently, RA is rubbish. I still love it for its lack of team gimmicks and no wait time, but its mostly frustrating and timewasteing. Syncing was a problem, and in theory it has been dealt with. What im suggesting is to keep the good bits and get rid of the bad bits. I see no reason to resign RA to always being rubbishy "play a monk or lose". Obviously syncing is breaking the rules, but why do you have a problem with Touch Ranger and Assascaster? Touch Ranger was good for its survivability (and was quite effective till people learned to counter it) and Assacaster is about as effective a spike as can be run by a single player. Personally i have achieved a good glad rank without syncing or running either of these builds, but they are actually effective at what they do. There is no reason RA should all be about farming noobs for a title/keys. I want to play with skilled opponents, against skilled opponents.Sepia 20:14, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

Then you're playing the wrong format. If Random teams don't suit you, try HA and/or GvG. They're in teh game for a reason. — Poki#3 (talk) 21:31, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

what? and play "my spike is bigger than your spike"/"my infuser is better than your infuser". At least between time you can play Capture the flag/King of the hill.

Regardless of what arena you're in, a single player can carry a team or cause a team to lose. If you have a problem with RA, don't play RA. ··· Danny Pew Pew 21:35, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

We have talked a little bit about being able to set rules for match making. If the server supported it, we could also all random grouping in Codex Arena. If we did decide to apply rules for matchmaking in RA, I wouldn't want the rules to be so granular that it's actually trying to pair people intelligently. It's called Random Arena not Balanced Teams Arena. We'd likely be just targeting the really unfortunate groupings like 3 Monks. - Linsey talk 06:23, 4 November 2009 (UTC)

~(\(\;.;/)/)~

Is it technically possible for players to tame devourers? Obviously it can't be done during RotWM since you can't bring Charm, and it would be amazingly difficult during Charr-broiled plans since it only comes around once a year and the enemies actually charge you, but it is possible to charm monsters' pets using clever (cheesy) hero tactics in other scenarios, so I was wondering if it's possible to charm these, or if there's some script that prevents players from charming them. If it is possible, what are the chances of us actually being allowed to charm them without having to jump through flaming hoops to do it? I want one :3 —Jette 22:48, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

I though the dovoures from Charr-broiled plans were already charmed, and that was making impossible to charm them. But it would be really great being able to charm them. Factions has two elite Animals, the other campaigns should have two too. The Devourer could be Prophecie's or Eye of the North's. MithTalk 14:03, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

They aren't already charmed, no animals are. They have to be charmed by monsters, just like players have to. The difference is that the monster version of Charm Animal has a 1/4 second activation time and they use it as soon as a player gets in compass range. You can capture monster pets by sending henchmen and heroes to kill the monster before it ever charms the animals, using the U-map so you can send them far enough. It's difficult and irritating, but it can be done. This would be harder during charr-broiled plans, though, since they charr like to bum-rush the Eye, but I assume it's theoretically possible. —Jette 16:13, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, well, "they are already charmed at the time you can get close to them", it was my statement implied. It seems the The only exception is Thul The Bull's wolf, that appeared as his party ally without being charmed before Factions. I don't know if they changed that, last time I went there, there where two Elder wolves, and they turned aggresive when I came close, but the guy didn't seem to charm any of them like other hostile NPCs do. As for the Hero trick, in many cases some of the monsters are already there when you enter the area, but with further waves they are most likely spawned just a bit after they are sent to battle, they spawn, wait a bit, and then start to move. That would mean that they would spawn and then charm the animals... although some of the Charr rangers in the mini-mission appear to go to battle without a charmed animal. Maybe they left them behind without charming, but it seems no one tried to go to the spawn points and charm one. We'll have to remember for next Wintersday. MithTalk 19:03, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

Or we can bug Linsey about it until she says yes. Let's do that, it's much faster. —Jette 20:35, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

In response to the "You can capture monster pets by sending henchmen and heroes to kill the monster before it ever charms the animals, using the U-map so you can send them far enough.", you actually can't do this because the monsters don't even really appear until the player is in compass range, if you send your heroes there, they won't encounter any monsters until you get into compass range. 71.221.172.180 00:39, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

Well, the idea is that the heroes will keep the monsters from actually charming the animals once you do get in range. They tend to be stupid and forget to cast the skill. —Jette 00:45, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

Aye, if there's a bunch of heroes and henchmen at their location when they spawn, they'll (usually) start fighting immediately rather than bothering to stop and charm. I've picked up a couple of level 15 pets from Cantha that way. Draxynnic 04:49, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

I don't believe there is any way to charm a Devourer. I don't think we'll be able to make it a charmable pet either, but who knows what the future beholds ~_^ - Linsey talk 06:26, 4 November 2009 (UTC)

Rubies

Hey Lindsey, I was wondering if it's possiable for you to clear something up for us. Basically a few people are saying that any monster has a chance of dropping rubies, can you confirm/deny this? ~ PheNaxKian 13:22, 10 September 2009

Isn't it only elementals? ...kinda like how all level of critters of a specific Phylum or Class related to beasts or insects can drop monstrous claws or whatever? --ilr 19:37, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

The only ruby I got from a monster drop was from a stone summit in Eye of the North. MithTalk 19:48, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I've gotten a Ruby from an Aatxe before. 71.221.172.180 21:46, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I've gotten rubies and sapphires from Ancient Oakhearts in Prophecies. -- Wyn talk 22:27, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I get rubies from Shadow Army units all the time (well... comparatively speaking), but I get them from boulder elementals in Ascalon as well (only in hard mode, but I've heard of them drop in NM as well). I think they can drop from any critter than can drop materials, with more dangerous monsters dropping them more frequently. In Prophecies, this is somewhat limited since not every creature drops materials, but all Factions, Nightfall & EotN monsters (that I know of) drop materials, and should therefore be able to drop rubies/sapphires. The drop rate must be staggeringly low, though. I think if you want some, your best bet is going to be farming rollerbeetles in Vabbi, since they can drop jeweled/ruby daggers (which can salvage into gems) as well as Geodes, which can salvage into gems as well. But don't hurt them, they're too adorable. ;_; —Jette 23:15, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

If you want rubbies and sapphires, hulking stone elemantals are the way to go ;). --Ellisia 23:18, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Some people seeing reports of them dropping from plenty of completely different creatures spread around the whole world may be under impression that that any monster has a chance of dropping one. They are wrong. There are certainly many monsters that cannot drop them at all.--Yawg 00:40, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Rare crafting materials can be obtained in numerous ways. They can be purchased from traders, created by artisans, obtained as loot or salvaged from items. taken from rare crafting materials page and from personal experience i think its safe to assume that any creature has a chance to drop a rare crafting material. Simzy 01:53, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

I believe the last time I got into this discussion (quite some time ago) I was told that any creature can drop rubies/sapphires if it could drop any other crafting material. (That is to say, any creature that has any crafting material on its drop list also has rubies and sapphires, and possibly diamonds, on its drop list as well, and vice versa.) -- Armond Warblade{{Bacon}} 03:34, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

There has never been a verified diamond drop in the entire history of Guild Wars, as far as I'm aware. Vili 点 03:35, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

I've never heard of Kournans, Luxons, Kurzicks, Skree, or Corsairs dropping gems. And that's just from the list of things that drop cloth. Manifold 15:31, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

... Read what you just said, then realise why any further answers from anyone other than a dev with access to the loot tables is pointless. Misery 15:34, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Of the thousands of people who have visited wiki and various forums, none have reported finding gems from the enemies I mentioned. Of the thousands who have, there have been many reports of yetis dropping gems. I think we have a decent sample size to conclude that certain enemies do not drop gems. A developer's statement would be the ultimate proof of course, but it's a reasonable assumption at this point. Manifold 02:42, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Of the millions of people who have played Guild Wars, very few (comparatively speaking) have reported drops. I would agree with Misery that the only ones that can truly answer the question are the developers who have direct access to the actual drop data tables. -- Wyn talk 03:22, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

One of the only very few things I like from Ragnarok online are the drop rate info in the website. It's discouraging to see a 0,0000000000001%, but in GW drops aren't nothing like that (I hope, XD), so I think that would be nice to have. MithTalk 01:04, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

I am told it is not any monster in the game. In fact, not most. - Linsey talk 06:31, 4 November 2009 (UTC)

This probably won't ever see the eyes of Linsey, but here's a shot! (Question)

Has your team reconsidered creating a Gladiator Emote to reward our fellow 4v4ers? Champion tier has Gold Capes, Hero Has their Zoo of emotes, and HB is becoming extinct with Sealed Deck being introduced soon. Just had to ask, despite the defiant odds of you ever seeing this thread again. :x --Ulterion 23:23, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

I want siege turtles to give me a 12-gun salute when I type /luxon. is for Raine, etc. 23:33, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

tbh with RA and even that made completely random(no syncing), it is not a good idea to implement a title emote for that, rather, there is sealed deck, and that could use an emote just for the awesomeness.. this should appear when you use /sdrank :OOO (with voice) - Wuhy 11:18, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Has Ulterion heard of the new Game suggestion section? That's where this belongs. -- Wyn talk 11:21, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

dont be so cruel wynthist :-(((, also, linsey, i hope this is not another grind title(hero, zaishen), but more like champ, since it already has ladder, imho it shouldn't give points to low ranked players. - Wuhy 11:24, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

It does not have a ladder. Linsey said in her journal post IF it was popular they would add a Ladder. DarkNecrid 12:21, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

lol. ok. how can it be NOT popular? :D - Wuhy 12:44, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

I doubt they'd make a prestige emote for something you get randomly. ~Shard 02:42, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

They made one for violating the EULA repeatedly, didn't they? —Jette 05:23, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

They made more than one. LoDA, Cartographer + Lucky/Unlucky, at the very least. It's to be argued that Drunk title was also made to reward EULA breakers (ergo more AFK playing than ever before). Just take a peek in Pre-Searing for shining examples of people using macrobots to max Drunk/LoDA, you can't miss them standing there for 12 or more hours doing nothing but LoDA runs or with the drunk-speak message bubbles appearing. There was one individual who was sitting in Ascalon Dist 3 for four days straight macroing Drunk points. No replies to tells, no movement, nothing, but those drunk messages sure did keep appearing the entire time :) -thejynxed- 16:28, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

@Wyn - A suggestion typically starts with "I think you should" kind of phraseology, don'cha think? There's no need for me to "suggest" this as they're already fully aware by now [if they've been keeping up with the guru forums] that a Gladiator emote is highly desired by a large portion of the PvP playerbase [search the guru forums for proof]. I ask only to find out whether it has crossed their minds at all. despite their [live team's] intense investment into GW1. Kapeesh? --Ulterion 08:15, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

You are asking for a change to the game. This is a suggestion, regardless of HOW you phrase it. Keep in mind that the number of suggestions that users will be allowed to post directly on Developer pages is limited. The number of suggestions you can post from your feedback page is unlimited. -- Wyn talk 08:17, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

In Short: USE your feedback userspace. --Boro 09:09, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

@shard: sealed deck random orly? kinda like TA but u make the build in a limited amount of time and with limited skillset changing each... owell week i guess? uhmm btw LINSEY: whats with runes? i wanna do sealed deck with my pve char, with limited skillset, you should be able to change runes in your armor while you are there.. or idk but u get it.. - Wuhy 11:01, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

I suggest you wait until ArenaNet outlines the rules for their sealed deck format before you start complaining, and if runes are a problem, then have alternate armor available in your inventory, or enter with blank armor and runes in your inventory. Personally, I think you are really carrying this way over the top, finding problems that as of yet don't even exist. -- Wyn talk 11:06, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

tbh i can see this being a problem when it is released, so yeah.. i would be fine with ALL runes/insignias disabled in sealed deck.. or idk - Wuhy 11:12, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Actually I was talking about RA. I don't know how you got "Sealed Deck" from a question about the gladiator rank. ~Shard 01:12, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

I dont know either :OOO maybe I'm retarded :OOO - Wuhy 09:58, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

btw personally attacking myself is against the NPA? :-( - Wuhy 10:00, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Late to reply, but it's just part of being truthful with yourself. <3 Pika Fan 12:23, 19 September 2009 (UTC)

flaming me does not make your dick bigger, unfortunately - Wuhy 00:33, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

We have certainly discussed it, but there are no plans to do so at this time. - Linsey talk 06:32, 4 November 2009 (UTC)

Lore Question on Turai and Joko

Linsey, an idea which has been thought of for a while is that Turai Ossa and Palawa Joko are Norn (or part Norn) due to their heights and the two references of Elona by Egil Fireteller's profession (and Gaile's response from the writers on how Egil had " traveled to the southern kingdoms") and Danira. I personally think Turai's height is a game mechanic thing (the original model was the Ghostly Hero model which is used for PvP, thus the height would be for PvP purposes, imo). So can you confirm or deny whether Turai and/or Joko are Norn or not? -- Konig/talk 02:37, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Guess they forgot to use scale(double,double,double) --Boro 09:11, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

I cannot confirm nor deny. Sorry Konig. - Linsey talk 06:35, 4 November 2009 (UTC)

The Deldrimor Arena

I don't know if this has come to the live team's realisation or not, but with the removal of the Team Arenas coming up, I suggest that the Deldrimor Arena, the only TA only arena, should be added to the rotation in Random Arenas. It's a nice map and, in any case, adds variety, and would be a shame to loose with the removal of TA. Underated 17:07, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

I agree, Deldrimor Arena should be moved to RA. Also, a question regarding the maps of the new arena, you said that the HB maps will be moved, but what about the EN-based maps used in Costume Brawls? Since Costume Brawls is a Sealed Deck arena, one would think the maps would be possible to move to the new arena. So will this be done? -- Konig/talk 23:32, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes, I really love those costume brawl arenas. But the thing is, costume brawl is 6v6, and the maps are balanced for 6v6. Now, I could understand sealed deck being 6v6, but the maps might not work so well if the sealed deck was say, 4v4. Underated 15:33, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

I thought that the Sealed Deck arena was going to be like Costume Brawl minus the costume and plus more builds - i.e., 6v6. If it was still 4v4, I wouldn't see much need to change HB arenas. Of course, it has been a long time since I did any HB. -- Konig/talk 17:09, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Yep, I was thinking it might've been 6v6, but I read her journal and she wrote 4v4. I'd imagine that they'd have to change the HB maps if they don't mean for every sealed deck game to have the capping mechanism, or to be killcount. Underated 19:54, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Actually, Costume Brawl is 5v5. I don't think it would be too unbalancing to play 4v4 on those maps. -- Dashface 08:42, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

IMO keep CB maps at CB so they remain "special", bring Deldrimor over to RA because Ogden will be a sad dwarf if you don't. DarkNecrid 09:40, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

There should be a 6v6 pvp format. --Boro 12:45, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

Don't worry, we put it into Codex Arena! - Linsey talk 06:36, 4 November 2009 (UTC)

HoM reward for legacy players?

I've seen it proposed and discussed that the HoM transfers to GW2 are a way to reward GW players who own the original games and all the work they put into the characters. The thing that bothers me about it is aside from campaign/bonus completion or elite mission completion rewards, I will be getting very little from the HoM transfers. The thing is, I have been playing Guild Wars since 2005 and have clocked many many hours in game. I don't think someone could say I haven't done much. I actively avoid titles and grinding: if they weren't rewarded for something I wasn't doing prior to their inclusion I wasn't about to start doing things I didn't enjoy just to get them.

It irks me a little now that GW2 is on the horizon and I realise even though I have played GW just as long, if not longer, than many people with several maxed titles I will be logging into GW2 with very little to show for my long history with the game compared to people who were more willing to grind it out.

Do you really think the HoM system really does put an accurate focus on the player achievements for GW? I have always felt like it was poorly targeted towards the grind heavy title system and very little of my personal play style (and most of the people I play with) was reflected by the things recordable in the HoM, even if I spent just as much if not more time playing that way.

How was the HoM's design structured to include or exclude certain player achievements? How was weight distributed among those achievements? If you could redesign and refocus the HoM to incorporate a broader or different reflection of player achievement and activities would you? Do you think the HoM rewards legacy players or simply rewards legacy players with a grind oriented play style?

I realise some people might think I'm asking about what rewards are given in GW2, which you can't answer. I am not asking for GW2 info or HoM reward info. 110.32.1.105 12:50, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

I feel your pain, I myself have deleted and remade characters over and over and over again, and many times I get the feeling I could have a GWAMM-like character title-wise if it wasn't for my playstyle (who likes to repeat early game content, make new chars, has 'suicidal behavior' characters). I am around for 3 years and my 'best' character currently is a mere People Know Me with a handful armors and minis on his hall. I doubt however the benefits from GW1 will be very major and I wouldn't ruin my fun grinding for stuff only to be disappointed later. If worst comes to worst and you miss out something you really want badly in GW2, you could always return to GW1, get it put on your HoM and transfer it to GW2 so you will have it - unless it relates to something permanently missable, such as limited edition miniatures, or titles that will become permanently unatainable (Commander), anyway I don't think ANet would link important stuff to these. I wonder how many features will make people want to go back to GW1 to get them, though, possibly not many.--Sensei 13:15, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

You have reached the highest tier in the nothing accomplished title track. lol I cant believe you are "irked" that you dont get anything because you havent done anything.--SirBoss 13:49, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

Cartographer x4, Protector x3, Guardian x4, Vanquisher x4, Skill Hunter x4, Master of the North. That's 20 titles you can max that do not involve grind (unless you're defining grind as "anything that takes a long time"). Then there's the 3 statues just for beating each campaign, and the 6 elite mission statues. That's 29 statues for Honor. Fellowship, if you try each of the challenge missions and have done DoA for the statue and Slavers' Exile for the Master of the North points, you should have a few heroes upgraded, more if you do them on multiple characters. Black moa and black widow are both trivial to get, and either gets you animal companion for free. Devotion, you get minis just for your characters existing; unless you regularly delete and recreate all of your characters before they hit the 1 year mark, you have some minis. Resilience, elite armor isn't that expensive; EotN armor is particularly cheap and going through the missions and turning in a full Hero's Handbook will usually get you rank 5 for whichever group (just remember Deldrimor armor doesn't work, except Silver Eagle). Valor, again, Destroyer weapons are fairly cheap.

Are you going to have as full an HoM as someone who does all of these things plus works their ass off grinding the rep titles, farming the challenge missions for hero armor upgrades, and farming for money to get every elite armor and displayable weapon? No, of course not. But without even knowing what sort of rewards the HoM will confer in GW2 (but knowing none of them will affect gameplay), why care? So the people who put in more effort will get extra bragging rights. How does that affect you?

Even if we assume that people who grind grindable things should not get more reward than those who don't, what metric should we use to determine who gets what? Years since the account was opened? So someone who bought Proph at release, played a few hours, then put it aside for the next 4 years should be getting more rewards than someone who got into GW later and played like crazy? Or hours played? So people who spend all their time idling and chatting in their guildhalls should get more rewards than people who are only on a few hours a week but play their hearts out for those few hours?

If you're curious, this is coming from someone who has played for 4 years, does have a large number of hours played, has done all the elite missions, and has 28 maxed titles and working on more. Take it as you will. - Tanetris 15:10, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

Just an addition: since the titles you mention include full vanquishing and book filling, we can also assume most (if not all) of the reputation titles to be maxed too, thanks to the title update last year. :) I have maxed out Lightbringer and Sunspear without ever repeating anything or any area - just returned the Elonian books and vanquished areas (still 10 to Vanquish). Even Eye of the North reputation is easily maxable without much grind. Dwarven reputation is specially easy to get without returning any books towards it, so even 25 titles are attainable without actually repeating content several times over (=grind). Zaishen quests, double weekends and the November 2008 update really helped this.--Sensei 16:22, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

..That was a thorough owning Tanetris. I agree with you. 151.209.112.137 16:28, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

walls of text are walls..... anyhow i really dont know what you have been doing in this game that can avoid doing something for a title that isn't 1 grind 2 some how completing a title. i guess you could be really bad at the game and lose all the time at pvp... and really compared to other games i know with achievements or just wow guild wars is probably the least grindy game there is.-- Zesbeer 17:37, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

Years ago, that was pretty awesome. Now, that's just kind of sad. I should also like to direct you towards nowhere, as I imagine Linsey is not involved with the HoM much. This would be a better question to ask the people who are working on GW2, who do not actively visit the wiki. —Jette 17:56, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

Linsey has been both very vocal and involved about the Titles. And I do respect that b/c she could have just as easily of pulled a Matt Miller and been totally "cryptic" (and hypocritical too) about them all (the guy had every badge in the friggin game but never gave us any proof of earning them like Linsey has, it was incredibly obvious that he just entered a cheat code and gave himself the grindiest ones). That said... are they actually fun to get??. --ilr 21:17, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

Some titles are fun. Exploring Tyria the first time was pretty nice, I found some cool areas even I hadn't noticed before, like in Lornar's Pass (I'm referring to the little Dwarven homes, not the temple -- I knew about that for a while). Protector is one I just got by virtue of doing it the first time through, since I liked to do the bonuses the first time anyway. Vanquishing can be... very rewarding in some areas, very frustrating in others, and less enjoyable that hitting your privy parts with a tack hammer repeatedly in Old Ascalon and the Crystal Desert. You may think I'm exaggerating, but you'll be holding your bruised, swollen nutsack while nodding in agreement with me if you ever try it. Worst game experience I've ever had, and I've played this. It took about 24 hours grand total of time that would have been better spent slamming my brains against the table until I couldn't feel it anymore. It was so boring I cried. The Guardian titles were also irritating, but it was irritating in a "why do they reward us for doing the exact same thing with higher level enemies" sort of way more so than a RAGE sort of way. EotN titles are similarly bad, feeling more akin to WoW than to GW. Some are kinda fun, though, like candy. I candy. —Jette 22:04, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

I would say that the activity behind any given title is fun, until it becomes a chore. Getting drunk, getting sugar high, setting off fireworks: all fun the first time, generally not-so-fun by the 10,000th time (where exactly the cutoff is varies from person to person). Similarly, exploring every single bit of the map and finding neat little hideaways is fun, until you drive yourself crazy rescraping zone after zone trying to find the last 0.5%. Killing things is inherently fun, except if you have to kill the same things over and over to max Asura/Dwarf/Norn/Vanguard/SS/LB/Lux/Kurz, there's going to come a point where it gets tiresome (again, varies from person to person, and relieved somewhat that there are a lot of different ways to earn rep these days besides just shrine bounties).

On a sidenote, I didn't mind vanquishing the Crystal Desert. I went from Mouth of Torment for the 8-man party, did Arid Sea, Skyward Reach, and Diviner's Ascent one run, the other three zones a second run, both pretty easy. For Ascalon, I went from Yak's for a 6-man party and similarly did it in chunks: Ascalon Foothills, Diessa Lowlands, Flame Temple Corridor, and Dragon's Gullet together one run, The Breach, Old Ascalon, Regent Valley, Pockmark Flats, and Eastern Frontier together a second run. It was... Not really an experience I'd want to repeat, and each took a pretty big chunk of time, but I stand by that it was shorter and less frustrating than going from Yak's for each individual one or trying to do Eastern Frontier with a 4-man party would be. And to me it was worth it for the satisfaction of knocking out all of Ascalon in 2 afternoons. Probably not for everyone, though. - Tanetris 16:15, 18 September 2009 (UTC)

I've done everything I can to get more info from the GW2 guys about this stuff, but still no luck. This particular angle has been worked. I suggest you try Regina for the Community angle. Or you can try poking John Hargrove who is point for the HoM in GW2 but I don't expect that to be as fruitful.

On the subject of my personal experience with titles and the HoM, yeah I feel all the same pains that every other player feels. I too have felt some frustration at "needing" to complete various titles I felt had too low of a "fun" return for my time spent. But as a designer, I'm generally OK with that. For the most part. Some titles could still use a little smoothing out. Like adding an icon for getting drunk, among other things. - Linsey talk 07:17, 4 November 2009 (UTC)

A question about the PvP henchmen

So, Its just something I've been wondering. Lets say Henchmen 1 has a great skill bar, with skill A thats one of the best points in his build. During skill balances, you guys decide that skill should be nerfed, but can't figure out a way to nerf it good enough, so you just Smiters Boon'd it and make it completely useless. If said thing happens, are we just gonna get stuck with useless henchie(s), or would they hold another contest to change said skill bar, or something of the sort?personn5 19:37, 18 September 2009 (UTC)

first option. - Wuhy 19:42, 18 September 2009 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure skill balances take a lot more work than people give them credit. Most think that they analyze player usage data from the game (including those who aren't vocal on wiki or forums) and use that information to decide how they are going to change a skill. Personally, I really don't know how they balance skills; however, I am sure they also take in consideration which NPC's (both mobs and henchmen) hold said-skills and see how they would affect them. Something like how the RoJ buff had some major effects in some PvE encounters, but I am sure the Live Team was considering the response of the AI to the changes, not just the players only.

As far as the PvP henchmen, they asked for unique, robust builds. One would think that the builds worthy of being chosen should be balanced enough to fit many different team builds while being able able adjust as skill evolutions later on. (Otherwise, we would just see a bunch of meta-builds on the PvP henchmen.) And, like stated before, the Live Team would probably keep in mind how changes would affect the henchmen as well, as they ARE technically 'players' like us within the game (which is the beauty of NPC's sharing the same skills as players).--Rexivus 20:43, 18 September 2009 (UTC)

""I'm pretty sure skill balances take a lot more work"...stupid robot datamining" -- /fixed --ilr 03:29, 19 September 2009 (UTC)

Anet has a dartboard with pictures of skills on it. I heard izzy has crappy aim. [/joke] ~Shard 03:34, 19 September 2009 (UTC)

Not that I agree even slightly with all the relentless skill balance whinging, but this dartboard comment reminded me of the corresponsing MtG card. -- Dashface 10:00, 19 September 2009 (UTC)

If they analyzed skill usage data, they'd probably buff skills no one uses instead of Ether Feast. If they analyzed pre-made skillbars, there wouldn't be a bunch of assassins with lead attacks, dual attacks, and no off-hand attacks. Or mobs with Shield Bash and no shields.

I'm going with the dartboard theory. is for Raine, etc. 18:34, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

We will need to keep Henchmen in mind when doing skill balances and adjust accordingly should we feel it necessary. - Linsey talk 07:37, 4 November 2009 (UTC)

Feedback Concerns

I just want to say I agree with the OP. Thanks for all the new content that caters specifically to a broken game mechanic (permanent invincibility). Congratulations, I am ABSOLUTELY not buying GW2, nor any other NCSoft game in the future. You've all made it perfectly clear you're completely incapable of providing your customer base with a balanced, playable game. --The preceding unsigned comment was added by User:173.79.39.237 (talk).

I've read the journal entry, and it's good to know that you're planning on dealing with shadow form, but are there any plans to make the underworld (or other high-end areas) accessible to a wider variety of team compositions (including team with post-Shadow Form nerf assassins)? -- Gordon Ecker (talk) 09:41, 21 November 2009 (UTC)

"I said it countless times.". I think that really is all you need to say. You've said it all countless times, but they have chosen to do something different, so, get over it, stop beating a dead horse. Arena Net has made their decision on how they wish to handle this and these continued topics bitching about it is seemingly not going to change their decision. If you have suggestions on how you would like to see it changed, then make those suggestions in the appropriate feedback area. Or, contribute to the ongoing discussions regarding the FIFTEEN (15) existing suggestions for SF. Coming here and bitching at Linsey is really not productive. -- Wyn talk 10:39, 21 November 2009 (UTC)

TBH Wyn, I think that given the seriousness of the issue, the lack of results, and the ineffectiveness of the feedback space, people were going to come here anyway, it's the most direct way ( as many see it ) to let Lin know what's going on. -- Tha Reckoning File:User Tha Reckoning Sig2.jpg 16:03, 21 November 2009 (UTC)

or you know, you could see this wasn't meant to fix SF, but the next skill balance (all being well) will. ~ PheNaxKian 18:02, 21 November 2009

Most of the bitching above came before Regina's journal update. (Satanael | talk) 18:17, 21 November 2009 (UTC)

And there's a difference between saying something and actually doing it. In the past taking anything Arenanet has said had to be taken with a grain of salt, and I'm sure Linsey and Regina are painfully aware of this. ~~000.00.00.00~~ 19:11, 21 November 2009 (UTC)

It's that whole "we don't wanna announce anything before it's final" issue. Which is fine for a new(ish) game that hasn't found a niche yet... but kinda pointless when ya look at where this game is at. --ilr 20:23, 21 November 2009 (UTC)

"the ineffectiveness of the feedback space", you need to backup that statement, since you have absolutely no clue if the feedback space is effective or not, given the few updates that have occurred since it opened, unless of course you expect the suggestions to be acted upon instantaneously after you have posted them. Several have already been removed by the posters because issues have been addressed by updates. -- Wyn talk 22:34, 21 November 2009 (UTC)

But you have proof to the contrary? Just because they've addressed some of the OVERWHELMING issues, which have been talked about on the forums, here, and in-game doesn't prove that they addressed them because of the feedback space. We have almost no evidence that they actually read them, and tbh, I'd doubt they read many of them (unless someone links it on their talkpage). Considering that they keep talking about how they have no free time, it just doesn't seem reasonable to expect them to even read them....which makes them ineffective. Karate Jesus 22:48, 21 November 2009 (UTC)

I have read a good deal of the feedback and I know Robert has as least read pretty much every single bit of skill and balance feedback recently because he and James are heading up the next skill balance. - Linsey talk 23:06, 21 November 2009 (UTC)

It was more a statement of my own opinion than almighty fact. I put some ideas up there to go with the flow, but I feel the feedback space was more of a symbol to help the populace feel that things are actually being done to address the situation, but I've come to have a more pessimistic view than most, you certainly don't have to believe it at all, cause Linsey just said there that they do acknowledge it. It's all in what you want to believe. I'm more of a " I'll believe that when I see it" type of person, so that's my stance, I wasn't assaulting the feedback space or anything, Wyn. I was just stating reasons that people are more likely to come here, because they're more apt to get a response from Linsey. -- Tha ReckoningFile:User Tha Reckoning Sig2.jpg 01:45, 22 November 2009 (UTC)

The simple fact is that Linsey has repeatedly stated that they DO in fact read the feedback/suggestions, whether they have time to comment on them or not. She has said this over and over and over, so while that is true, I will continue to request people take their ideas, comments and suggestions there rather than exploding Linsey's page with this repetitive stuff. Don't be part of the problem, be part of the solution. -- Wyn talk 01:52, 22 November 2009 (UTC)

(Reset indent) If disagreeing with someone's statements that you regard as true, without any proof of it, is being part of the problem, then I'm afraid I will always be a part of the problem. I agree that the page shouldn't be bloated with things like this, but it's irrational to think that it will ever happen short of you banning every person to suggest anything here. -- Tha Reckoning File:User Tha Reckoning Sig2.jpg 01:56, 22 November 2009 (UTC)

Disagreeing with someone's statements when you or both of you are wrong is wrong. For example, if P1 states "Arenanet's last update was intended to fix SF," and P2 objects, "On the contrary, Arenanet doesn't want to fix SF," then when the truth is "The last update wasn't a fix but a fix is coming", P2 can't say "Well, I was just saying the opposite of P1."

And to say, as some have above, that Arenanet's "record" is not living up to what they promise, is absurd. You show me such a tendency and I'll go down on you. Oh, and by the way, when the reality contradicts your own opinion instead of almighty fact, it doesn't count as a transgression. | 72 (U|T|C) 02:24, 22 November 2009 (UTC)

If you're referring to the conversation between Wyn and I, you missed the point of it, we weren't talking about anything near what you claim, I already knew that this update had nothing to do with SF, having visited Regina's Journal. Also, this is a public wiki, and we don't need you to "go down" on anybody. -- Tha Reckoning File:User Tha Reckoning Sig2.jpg 02:47, 22 November 2009 (UTC)

Reference-catch fail. But okay, I missed the point, agreed. Sad that yet another response not suitable for this page should go on this page. It seems to imply that I or people don't know better, eh? :/ | 72 (U|T|C) 02:52, 22 November 2009 (UTC)

There is no reason to continue this discussion; Regina and Linsey have both addressed all of the concerns we've brought up. Aevar talk contribs 09:53, 22 November 2009 (UTC)

Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! BlazeRick 20:21, 22 November 2009 (UTC)

"have both addressed all of the concerns we've brought up...brought up on the derailed part of this topic" -- fix't ...there's still gonna be the issue of making UW playable for "balanced teams" in the future. It doesn't have to happen over night, but there's no harm in them atleast commenting on it sometime before the year's over... --ilr 23:53, 22 November 2009 (UTC)

It is playable for balanced teams currently. It's just that everyone uses SF and not balanced. Regina addressed our concerns about SF (read Regina's journal). We'll all just have to wait and see. Aevar talk contribs 05:13, 23 November 2009 (UTC)

Problem with uw is that it contains big homogenous mobs (e.g. 8 monks, 9 mesmers, 5 warriors). There is absolutely no diversity required for balanced play. --Boro 13:57, 23 November 2009 (UTC)

Red Resign Day & Commander Title

Answered. This section has been answered and should be archived by to the appropriate archive.

Dear Linsey,

I assume that Anet knows about Red Resign Day when Zquests are farmed by players for Commander title points and loads of gold. However, I have also learned that the Commander title will remain once HB gets removed. Am I correct in my assumption that the Commander title in the Hall of Monuments won't result in anything extra for Guild Wars 2, as this would result in people breaking the rules (ladder manipulation) getting a reward? Also, what about players who haven't earned enough points for HoM display yet...would they be left out of a reward in favor of the farmers? 145.94.74.23 20:36, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Things like "red resign day" are why I hate the GW playerbase. I hope GW2 attracts a crowd that plays for fun instead of "profit," whatever that's supposed to mean in a simulated world. —Jette 20:38, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

"won't result in anything extra for Guild Wars 2, as this would result in people breaking the rules (ladder manipulation) getting a reward?" -- The title itself is enough for some... Humans will cheat at anything and everything even if it only adds a centimeter to their E-Peens. --ilr 22:02, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

(Edit conflict) Someone, I'm sure, will post the link after me, but it's been stated that both the Commander title and the new Sealed Deck title will contribute to the same "bonus" in Guild Wars 2. In other words, if you don't plan on playing Sealed Deck but already have the HB title, you do get some benefit, but not a whole lot. ··· Danny Pew Pew 21:11, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

@jette LOL hb will never = fun. thus red resign. also ""# Gaining points in the Commander title will no longer be possible. You’ll still be able to display it, and it will count in the Hall of Monuments and towards the Kind of a Big Deal title track. "" and "There will be a new title for this new format. This title will be the counterpart of the Commander title; either will satisfy a single requirement towards the Hall of Monuments and the Kind of a Big Deal title track, but not both at once. It’s a one-or-the-other kind of thing."- Zesbeer 21:21, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

I think Jette was talking about GW2 being fun, not HB. Mediggo 07:36, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

yes i know he is but he is saying that hb should be fun and that's just not possible with the way it is right now. personally i cant wait for sealed deck to come out.- Zesbeer 08:51, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

I quote: "Things like "red resign day" are why I hate the GW playerbase. I hope GW2 attracts a crowd that plays for fun instead of "profit," whatever that's supposed to mean in a simulated world." This wont change in GW2, you should play a MMO that has a monthly fee because there are a lot of kids who can't pay that or have parents who refuse to pay for them. (Ate of DK 15:57, 3 October 2009 (UTC)).

Do you know how many teenage lusers play WoW? That costs $14.99 a month and it's still full of asshats. Granted, anyone with a functioning frontal lobe would use a private server, which is free, but even those are full of morons. The fee would need to be monumental in order to prevent stupid kiddies from getting in. —Jette 16:05, 3 October 2009 (UTC)