The Guild Wars 2 Thread

[Caim]

So I gave the Dragon's End meta a try today. There was a reasonable group of people, we made our way through the various encounters, beat the FUCKING ANNOYING saltspray dragons, kicked the void minions in the dick, started to work on putting the dragon magic back into the spires... and we ran out of time and failed the event. 40 minutes wasted.

FUCK.



(at least I got the Decade of the Dragons token for doing 10 events)

 

[rubinstein]

gw2 loot is abysmal. you are given fuckton of garbage with 1/5000 chance of dropping something worth more than 10g on tp. and during events* most of the loot comes from chests, not monsters, so failures are infurating. i hate it.
e: i mostly meant some of meta-events, where mobs dont drop anything so they dont become farmable

 

[frajaq]

I remember playing GW2 at launch and the loot was kinda crappy way back then. Then they introduced some... fractal equipment for those fractals dungeons (some endgame system that turned me off really hard).

If loot is still garbage even after all these years...

 

[Average Manatee]

gw2 loot is abysmal. you are given fuckton of garbage with 1/5000 chance of dropping something worth more than 10g on tp. and during events most of the loot comes from chests, not monsters, so failures are infurating. i hate it.

That's kind of how any game with player trading goes. Especially one as quick and frictionless as GW2. Everything that drops at all commonly and is valuable is put on the market and the value drops until its not even worth the 10s to sell.

 

[Caim]

Yeah, GW2's gear and drop system is its own thing. Once you hit 80 you can buy an endgame armor set for about a dozen gold, work your way to fully kitting yourself out with all Exotic gear and that's that. From there you work your way to getting a full set of Ascended gear, which is easier than ever given the new dailie system which can get one weapon and three armor pieces per season, the materials that take 80% of the effort out of making Ascended weapons, and the laurels you need for Ascended trinkets. Slap on the enhancements to your gear, pick a relic of your liking, apply agony resistance to taste and you're more or less permantly done with upgrading your equipment. Then you can start to grind for your Legendary gear if you want the luxury of being able to swap out your bonuses on the fly, but that is only useful if you're the kind of player that wants to get the most out of the most difficult fights in the game.

 

[rubinstein]

gw2 loot is abysmal. you are given fuckton of garbage with 1/5000 chance of dropping something worth more than 10g on tp. and during events most of the loot comes from chests, not monsters, so failures are infurating. i hate it.

That's kind of how any game with player trading goes. Especially one as quick and frictionless as GW2. Everything that drops at all commonly and is valuable is put on the market and the value drops until its not even worth the 10s to sell.

thats fair. i sometimes forgot that mmo economies have to sacrifice a lot of fun for stability. game economy must strongly support its other systems. but... mmos are still video games after all. fun, which is not a buzzword, is supposed to be had by interacting with systems of the game, and the systems should be fun. is it really unfair to call gw2 loot system "abysmal" if i genuinely hate interacting with it?
the system shittiness definitely outweights my ability to tolerate it not being pure fun. in simpler words: its just way too shitty.

 

[Caim]

Spears for Warriors, Thieves and Engineers.



https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/spear-factor-warrior-thief-and-engineer/

When Guild Wars 2®: Janthir Wilds™ launches on August 20, each of the nine professions will have access to a new set of spear weapon skills that have new skill effects and animations! If you missed the expansion details, be sure to check out our Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds announcement blog first.

Our blogs last week provided a general Q&A for how spears will work and a sneak peek at the new skills for the ranger, necromancer, and guardian. This week, game designers Chun-Hong Fung, Cal Cohen, and Karl McLain from our Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds combat feature team are ready to discuss the warrior, thief, and engineer respectively.

Warrior Spears: Damage from a Distance​

The warrior spear is a power-based weapon inspired by ancient Sunspear techniques, capable of striking multiple opponents at range. Even though most of their skills can attack distant foes, some of them gain increased effectiveness when used on closer targets, making opponents think twice about closing the gap.

The warrior spear autoattack is Mighty Throw, which hurls the spear at a single enemy, shattering on impact and sending spear fragments into other enemies around the target. Proximity to the target matters, as the closer the target is to the warrior, the more fragments are created.

Maiming Spear is a ranged area attack: the warrior launches the spear into the air, dealing initial damage and crippling foes in the area of effect. This cripple is helpful to prevent enemies from escaping the aftershock that follows, which is larger the closer the targeted area is to the warrior. If breathing room is required, Spear Swipe propels the warrior backward in an evasive maneuver before sending a gust of wind forward to knock enemies back.

Finally, the spear burst skill, Harrier’s Toss, allows the warrior to leap up into the air, evading attacks while hurling the spear down with explosive force and dealing more damage the more adrenaline is spent on the burst attack!

Chain Attacks with the Thief Spear​

Thief spear is a melee hybrid weapon that can be utilized by both power and condition damage builds. It also draws some inspiration from an old system in the original Guild Wars® that assassin players should be familiar with. Let’s dive right in!

The second and third spear skill slots share some characteristics. Each has three different states but will always be in the same state as the other. By default, they will both be lead attacks. Striking an enemy with either lead attack will flip both slots into the next state: follow-up attacks. In a similar fashion, striking an enemy with either follow-up attack will flip the slots into their final state: finisher attacks (yes, they’re both combo finishers).

After using one of the finishers, both skill slots will flip back to their lead attack state, ready to start a chain over again—although the fourth and fifth skills and the stealth attack all gain additional bonuses when following a finisher skill, so you may want to weave in one of those before using another lead attack. One last note on the skill chains: using other skills during the chain sequence will not reset the chain, but failing to strike an enemy with the follow-up attack will.

Now that we have a quick overview of the mechanic, let’s take a look at the full slot 2 chain. You’ll be able to mix and match skill slots throughout the chain (for example, 3, 2, 3 totally works), but we won’t be covering all of the skills today.

The Mantis Sting lead attack is a quick melee strike that inflicts bleeding and crippled. This will flip into Entangling Asp, which poisons enemies and will also immobilize enemies that are affected by a movement-impairing condition.

Finally we have the finisher skill, Falling Spider. This skill inflicts bleeding, poison, and vulnerability, inflicting additional stacks against enemies that are either immobilized or under the effects of crowd control. Each skill’s bonus trigger conditions are fulfilled by the previous skill in the chain, but these conditions are all things that the thief has broader access to, so there are opportunities to get these bonuses even when chaining skills together from different skill slots.

Engineer Spear Is Shocking!​

Surviving in certain lightning-prone environments can be a difficult task for the common Tyrian. Engineers, with their indomitable desire to create and adapt, have found a way to turn their knowledge against their enemies as weapons of mass destruction. Let’s talk about how we’ll be using the spear to dart around the battlefield and dominate targeted foes.

The engineer’s spear combat style is melee oriented with hybrid damage, encouraging you to pick a target and run directly into battle while utilizing a variety of control and damage skills. Your primary skill for this weapon is called Conduit Surge. This skill dashes to your targeted foe and applies the focused effect to them, charging them for future attacks. Every other weapon attack will apply a bonus effect or work to maintain the focused effect on your foe. One thing to note about Conduit Surge is that if a foe is defeated while under the focused effect, this skill will refresh and allow you to pursue your next target.

The Lightning Rod skill is constantly available while wielding a spear. The engineer will create a segmented lightning rod that spins around them, dealing bonus damage to focused targets and gaining an amplifying effect (with a bonus for hitting a focused target) for the next skill on the same slot—Electric Artillery. When the lightning rod is completed and hovering over your shoulder, you can choose to launch your charged rod at an enemy, immobilizing them and applying damaging conditions based on Lightning Rod’s success.

The weapon’s fifth skill and battle-ender is a skill currently called Devastation, which allows you to leap to a targeted area and deliver a massive EMP-style attack, inflicting focused foes with a continuously damaging effect.

We look forward to watching you tear around the battlefield, mixing both spears and kits together to cause fear and chaos!

Upcoming Spear News​

We’ll be showing off all of the new spear skills during a Twitch livestream on June 21 at noon Pacific Time (UTC-7). In addition, there will be a beta event from June 27 at 9:00 a.m. until June 30 at 10:00 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7) where everyone can try out spears and give us feedback!

Our blog next week will have more information on the final three professions and their spear abilities. Happy adventuring until then!

Warrior gets a callback to the Paragons of Guild Wars 1. Spear 1 hits more enemies the closer you are to your target, there's some stun and movement, with the Burst being an AoE on self plus an evade.

Thief is inspired by the Assassin of Guild Wars 1: 2 and 3 have a lead->followup->finisher combo, with both buttons staying in the same state but can be chained together however you wish. One chain lands a bleed/cripple, poisons then immobilizes if the target is crippled, then deals several conditions more if the target is immobilized/cc'd. 4 and 5 get a bonus if you just did a finisher.

Engineers get a lightning spear that seems to be pretty good at focussing down individual targets, building up damage and a powerful finisher.

I kinda like what Thief brings to the table, and from the looks of it Engineer gets decent damage. Warrior as always gets to slot in more options for either a balanced or specialized set.

Revenant, Mesmer and Elementalist next week. The week after that is a beta from June 27th to June 30th.

 

[Drakortha]

New Ranged skills for warrior can only be a good thing.

 

[Caim]

And the spears for the Revenant, Mesmer and Elementalist.



https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/spear-me-the-details-mesmer-revenant-and-elementalist/

When Guild Wars 2®: Janthir Wilds™ launches on August 20, each of the nine professions will have access to a new set of spear weapon skills that have new skill effects and animations! If you missed the expansion details, be sure to check out our Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds announcement blog first.

In case you missed our previous spear blogs, catch up on the general spear Q&A first. We also released one blog detailing how rangers, necromancers, and guardians wield spears, followed by last week’s blog about spear skills for the warrior, thief, and engineer. This week, game designers Taylor Brooks, Karl McLain, and Cal Cohen from the Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds combat feature team are ready to discuss the mesmer, revenant, and elementalist respectively.

Spears Bring Clarity to Mesmers​

The mesmers of Janthir look to the beauty of their environment to guide their spear. Through careful study of recursive designs they find in nature, they are able to weave their magic in similar patterns. Each pattern produces a unique effect, giving a spear-wielding mesmer a variety of ways to approach a fight.

The core of mesmer’s spear gameplay is the second weapon skill, Mind the Gap; you’ll channel energy into your spear and swing it around in a circle. This skill is special because you will want to hit enemies with the outer edge of its area of effect. If you correctly position yourself and secure a hit in the right area, you will do more damage and gain Clarity. The Clarity effect allows you to imbue the next pattern you create with stronger magic, increasing its effectiveness. The exact effect of Clarity will be different for each skill, so you’ll need to plan ahead to gain the most value from it.

The fourth skill, Phantasmal Lancer, allows you to dash at your foe, striking them with your spear. As you dash, a phantasm is created at your starting location. The phantasm will dash through you, striking your initial target and enemies past it. If you use Phantasmal Lancer with Clarity, instead of summoning a phantasm behind you, you will summon two phantasms at your flanks that dash toward the enemy and meet to perform a simultaneous strike!

Mesmer spear is a mobile, high-damage weapon with dynamic gameplay. You’ll want to focus on your positioning in fights so that you can gain Clarity, then choose which abilities you want to empower with it. Due to the unique requirement for careful spacing, this weapon might take some getting used to—but once you get the hang of it, you’ll find yourself weaving a pattern of victory.

Revenant Spear Is a Destructive Masterpiece​

Revenants who first heft their spear in battle often say that it reminds them of creation through destruction. Wielding dark power from the Mists, they paint the battlefield through constant pressure and debilitating effects. Let’s dive in and talk about how this condition-based hybrid weapon works.

We’ll start with the fifth weapon skill as the primary ability. Abyssal Raze is a ground-targeted skill with three charges that strikes up to five enemies. You’ll gain up to two stacks of Crushing Abyss per cast every time this skill strikes a foe, which amplifies the next use of Abyssal Raze. At five stacks you’ll reach the maximum effectiveness, causing every stroke of the abyss to deliver the most potent effect. With three ammunition charges available for this skill, let’s discuss how you’ll refresh ammunition using your other spear skills and maintain tremendous pressure on the battlefield while keeping Crushing Abyss active.

The other four revenant spear skills enable the use of Abyssal Raze by reducing its ammunition cooldown and keeping you and your enemies positioned opportunistically on the battleground. Your first skill is a hybrid of ranged or alternating melee strikes, and each of them reduces Abyssal Raze’s cooldown by a very short amount when striking a target. Your second skill is a bread-and-butter area-of-effect attack on a target that reduces your Abyssal Raze cooldown by nearly a full ammunition count. The third skill reduces Abyssal Raze’s cooldown by a static amount and is a movement ability that leaves abyssal mines in your wake, threatening foes who dare chase you as you paint your masterpiece of destruction. And the fourth skill serves as a delayed area crowd control ability to help you land the most optimal damage as enemies attempt to flee your gaze.

With all these new spear abilities coming in hot, we’re excited to watch the masterpieces you create on the battlefield. Happy razing!

Elementalist Spear: Etching for Power​

The elementalist wields a spear as a long-range, power-damage weapon capable of conjuring powerful elemental forces such as volcanos, whirlpools, and lightning storms. The spear has a couple of minor defensive tools but is primarily focused on damage and crowd control, leading to a “glass cannon” style of play that will be more comfortable when you’re unleashing spells from a distance rather than ending up in the thick of combat. In today’s post, we’ll cover a few of the skills and some of their shared mechanical aspects.

Starting things off with the fourth air attunement skill, we have Twister, a ranged, ground-targeted area-of-effect skill that (unsurprisingly) creates a twister at the location that damages and inflicts vulnerability on enemies in the area. This skill—as well as the fourth weapon skills in other attunements—has an additional effect against enemies that are within a smaller inner radius near the spell’s center, rewarding precise placement. When Twister strikes enemies near its center, it will also bring those enemies up to float in the air.

Next up is Harden, the third earth attunement skill. This is a personal defensive skill that grants the user barrier and also enhances their next strike from any spear skill to inflict daze on their enemy. The other third-slot weapon skills have some similarities: each is a utility-focused skill that protects or empowers the user and grants a bonus to their next spear skill. All of these skills also have a relatively short casting time—or none at all—which is important for today’s final elementalist sneak peek.

The fifth weapon skill slot contains the most potent skill of each attunement, assuming you can fulfill the requirements. Each skill starts off in its base state, a quick cast that etches a spell circle into the ground. As an example, the fire skill Etching: Volcano creates a spell circle that grants might to the elementalist. The skill then flips over into Lesser Volcano, a ground-targeted spell that erupts to create several damaging strikes. Unlocking the skill’s full potential requires the spell circle to be completed before reactivating the skill. To do so, the user must simply use three other skills while standing inside the etched circle.

This process isn’t limited to spear skills, so instant-casting utility skills can be utilized to speed things up. Once the spell circle is completed, the skill flips once more to its final form—in this case, Volcano—allowing the user to unleash the full potential of the effect. The full-power Volcano erupts for a longer period of time, creating additional damaging areas and inflicting more damage than its lesser version. Other attunements utilize the same etching process, but each has their own flavor and skill effects.

Try Spears Yourself June 27!​

Tomorrow, we’ll be showing off all of the new spear skills during a Twitch livestream at noon Pacific Time (UTC-7). In addition, there will be a beta event from June 27 at 9:00 a.m. until June 30 at 10:00 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7) where everyone can try out spears and give us feedback!

Let the summer spear fun commence!

- Revenant 5 is an ammo skill that has all other attacks reduce its charge refresh rate and builds up charge using itself to make it even more powerful, which might end up doing a lot of damage over time.
- Mesmer 2 rewards very careful positioning to deal extra damage and is a highly moible weapon, which feels like it can be countered pretty easy in PvP.
- Ele 5 is long-ranged and slaps down a massive fuck-off spell circle down that lets you deal more damage with its second attack as its charged up, 4 are targeted and deal more damage at the center, and 3 are utility skills with quick cast times that give bonuses to the next attack.

Honestly I'm excited for the Ele spear (it seems like a mix of Ele staff and the Black Mage from FF14), but I hope it allows you to see damage circles on the ground when you have your circle up.