First Impressions

[ffc]

So how are you guys taking out a tower gate that has catapults inside which fling everyone away from the door so a ram cannot be built? I cannot afford a golem for a tower let alone convince a ragtag ~15 raiders to build some and walk them over.

I was part of a pick-up group that went to a tower after we took a camp. When we got to the tower, we couldn't complete the ram due to the catapults and I have no doubt even if we could complete the ram it would not have stayed up long due to aoe's. There were only a handful of defenders on the walls and the crazy warrior who would pop out of the door on occasion. It turned into very boring door plinking. Maybe pick-up groups aren't supposed to be able to take towers and I'm doing it wrong so I'm open to suggestions.

[Ingmar]

15 people against a defended tower is pretty iffy, but you can do it if you starve out their supply by taking depots, killing dolyaks, etc.

[ffc]

Eventually one of our group said the defenders ran out of supply, but I don't know how he knew that to be the case.

I entertained myself by pulling defenders off the wall, but it almost backfired when I pulled down two and they almost killed me before jogging back inside.

[Threash]

Yeah, what you were trying to do is supposed to be hard.  A fortified and defended keep with defensive siege equipment is very unlikely to fall to a rag tag group of 15, and honestly that is exactly how it should be.

[ffc]

Got it, I'll adjust expectations accordingly. I thought tower gates were supposed to be easier than they are because of how fast camps can be flipped and how there are two more tiers of gates after towers.

[Threash]

If it wasn't for the catapult you would have probably succeeded if you had a ram or two and enough supply to build them, but entrenched defenses like that require a bit more effort.

[rk47]

There's a reason why it's called Guild Wars.
Join a guild. Pony up for siege engine - my guild takes gold donations from members, some even bought gems for gold to pump up more while others mine mithril ore etc. Have like a team for holding and deployment while others run supply.
It's basic stuff like these that makes the difference between ragtag band just dropping a siege weapon and expecting it to be competitive.

If you're not part of a guild, it's best to just capitalize on the war economy and start hoarding raw mats on weekdays and dumping it into the market on weekend. There's a reason why price jumps when demands increases. :smugcapitalist:

[satael]

If you put the ram down at max distance (360 I think) and stand behind it to operate it you should be safe from a catapult hitting the gate from the other side (then again you are more open to any defenders on the walls).

[Ingmar]

Catapult knockback can hit you anywhere, it just depends on where they set it up and how good they are at aiming it.

[Lantyssa]

You could always try knocking down a wall instead of the gate.

Yesterday I saw a zerg bouncing off the gate while about a dozen took down a side wall.

[Ingmar]

You could always try knocking down a wall instead of the gate.

Yesterday I saw a zerg bouncing off the gate while about a dozen took down a side wall.

Guilty (of being in the zerg). Someone had to heal them!

[Crumbs]

Still having a blast.  I'm back on Tarnished Coast, which has a number of excellent leaders in WvW.  The Necro is level 61, and it looks like I might have a max level character for the first time since WoW. 

There are a good number of things that are minor annoyances, but I can live with them until they are fixed (preview items on the BLTC pls).  The only thing that they need to change ASAP, that is really having a negative effect on my experience, is the keybindings.  All they need to do is allow them to be character specific and I'm good.  Yes, it's extremely lazy on my part, but I don't want to have to rebind every time I switch toons. 

Being locked into an unchangable action bar is one thing, but the keybinding needs more customization.
 

[Furiously]

Did the mini dungeon last night. Damn that is pretty fun.

[Kageru]

Nearing 80 on my first character, still lots of zones I just want to explore and dungeons, PvP and crafting have lots of room left to progress. The value of this game in terms of cost versus game-play you can draw out of it is just amazing, and I'm still struck by the sheer beauty and craftsmanship of some of the scenery.

[Venkman]

Here too. Been 80 for a few weeks but only 57% world completion. Just hit Rata Sum last night for a quick 100% and man that place is cool looking. And more deadly than The Grove in terms of death-by-falling. At least in The Grove you can see where the branches end. 

[Falconeer]

The best part is really the lack of a subscription. The two months mark is a meaningful one for me as it usually marks the peak of my interest for a MMO these days. Now, with WvW not yet delivering some of the things I was hoping for, and sPvP not offering many options, my interest is starting to slowly go down. But knowing that I do not have to dabble with an exit/entry fee every time I want to get a fix or see what's improved will definitely always have me stick around.

[tazelbain]

Ha, got a Greatsaw skin from a random BLTC key drop in WvW 30mins before the patch removed Halloween stuff from chests. Sold it and bought a Crossing.

[Lantyssa]

<hate>

[Threash]

I had to buy my stupid spider bow.  And it is actually starting to creep me out.

[Mattemeo]

Ha, got a Greatsaw skin from a random BLTC key drop in WvW 30mins before the patch removed Halloween stuff from chests. Sold it and bought a Crossing.

I am completely unashamed to say I'm keeping my Greatsaw skin for a while till there's some actual demand for it. I struggle to make cash in almost every game since WoW, where I had a decent hang on the economy and could play the Auction House to my satisfaction (though I never got so far as buying people's guild banks like a certain Slap guildie; I just made enough to never really need to worry). Part of it is because I no longer find the grind compelling in any way - I couldn't bring myself to do dailies in SWtOR after the slamming-cock-in-fridge-door debacle that marred the Cataclysm experience so badly, and the 'Daily' in GW2 is only a daily in name, not execution, but is also pretty far from a lucrative endeavor. My Mesmer is nearing 80 and I expect at some point I'll want to gear her up with the good stuff. A spot of gold from selling an unobtainable item would do me and my need for alt and bank slots a great deal of good.

[murdoc]

I got the Scythe skin to drop and debated holding onto it for awhile to see how much it would eventually go for. I ended up selling it for 22g which was far and away the most cash I have ever had in this game and paid for all my exotic jewelry and weapons.

[ezrast]

Tonics have a purpose after all!

[rk47]

Well. I'm off to play another game at this point - there's just nothing pulling me back at the moment.
There's the odd level or two with Warrior Alt, but Fractals remains a 'terrible' content for me. It'd be around for months before they add something new in Xmas.
Maybe I'll return there or not.

For those struggling with cash, the current increased Dungeon silver drops are pretty quick and painless was to earn cash if you consume Omnomberries per run.
Heart of the Waves path 1 and Citadel of Flame path 1 is half a gold each from pure coins alone.

[March]

Took the slow boat to 80... must say that for a game that somewhat revolves around dress-up, I'm rather disappointed in my options at 80 for attainable interesting armor.  I'm running in a set I've had since mid-40s and there only seem to be 2 immediate options: Cultural and Order sets (and for this particular character, Norn Medium Armor - Order of Whispers... neither excite me).  There are certainly other "post-grind" options of various sorts... but throw me a bone for making it to end-game.  Even in the cash shop, there's only one skin per armor type. 

Of course, having a Preview button on the Auction House might show that more skins are out there... but that seems to have been overlooked.

And while I'm whining about QOL issues, there has to be a much better way to do a wardrobe system - even preserving their precious micro-trans.  I'd be ok spending a transmutation thing to equip an item in a slot... just let me have multiple slots and configurations.

Aaaand... yes, I'd like to have a multi-spec option (yes, I'll pay you 400 gems to open it)... let me spec for different roles and/or weapons with one button click.  I'll give you $5 or $10 upfront for the privilege... spare me the 3s and a trip to lion's arch.

C'mon folks, I'm trying to give you money.

[Furiously]

For those of you quitting, I'm like 150 short on each of my t6 mats for the last thing I need on my legendary. Can send them to furiously.

[Crumbs]

Of course, having a Preview button on the Auction House might show that more skins are out there... but that seems to have been overlooked.

I'm holding on to my theory that they don't want people to use the AH for skins, they want people to use the gem store.  AH preview gets in the way of that.

[Ingmar]

But you can't really buy any armor skins from the gem store? Just town clothes mostly.

[Cheddar]

I have no idea whats going on.  Guess I need to read the help thingy and the other threads.

Currently I am smashing whatever buttons pop up, hitting f1 to turn into a "death shroud" and mashing more buttons randomly, and when I die I get to mash more buttons randomly.

Its confusing.

[kildorn]

But you can't really buy any armor skins from the gem store? Just town clothes mostly.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure no preview via the AH is a mistake, not an attempt to make you use the store.

Not being able to transmute level 80 gear with the cheap stones is the way to make you use the store in theory (though I still have a pile of them just from leveling)

[Lantyssa]

They have plans to add preview to the AH.  It was a last-minute addition as it was.

[rk47]

For those of you quitting, I'm like 150 short on each of my t6 mats for the last thing I need on my legendary. Can send them to furiously.

daww man, already got my stuff cleaned out by some friends.
another guy will take over my account anyway for 2 steam games 

[Crumbs]

I do love a conspiracy theory....oh well there will be more

In other news, Chris Whiteside did an AMA that is kind of interesting.  Answers, or at least talks about, many of the recent concerns and etc:

http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/13tuac/im_the_studio_design_director_on_guild_wars_2_ama/

[rk47]

TFDR

terrible format didn't read.

[murdoc]

Those Reddit AMAs are awesome, but my God - I do not know how anyone could think that format is worthwhile. What a pain in the ass to try to decipher.

[tazelbain]

I love the shit about this is*totally* not a change to design philosophy of GW2.    The lies are just a insult cherry on a betrayal cake.  Is there some legal reason why they can't admit this?