Raids in Guild Wars 2

[4KhazModan]

how so?

Raids reward you with legendary armor precursors (armor that can be upgraded to legendary armor). I think it will be pretty similar to the Luminescent Armor acquisition combined with the Mawdrey II scavenger hunt. No word about crafting mats.

They said it rewards you with the mats to craft legendary armor....

[Beefsquatch]

Well this seems interesting. I haven't really played in a while, but this could be a really good thing or a really bad thing for the game. The problem I always had with the PvE in this game is group synergy. Or rather, the lack of it. It pretty much feels like you're on your own with a few other guys spamming abilities. If they can make the encounters really group dependent, and not gimmicky then maybe this could be awesome. Otherwise, it'll probably be shit.

[Maarius]

This is sounds great, indeed but every time when someone says "it is different" it turns out that it isn't. So, it is either going to be different or not.

well I certainly can't remember a raid where there was no gear progression and without a holy trinity system. To be fair, I played only few mmos, so I might be wrong.

I'm also curious how the dynamic event system will be tied to raids, as Colin hinted in the presentation.

[Fencers]

So I just did a raid in Marvel Heroes this morning. Which I enjoy a lot. Though it got me thinking GW2:HoT could have similar raid mechanics only in a 3D action combat context.

I think this idea can really work in GW2 but am still curious how two opposing design aspects I mentioned earlier will be resolved. Marvel Heroes gets around the issue with gear basically. One can hard carry by virtue of gear in some cases (not all boss fights, but some) if fellow raider die to the 1-shot boss mechanics. GW2 doesn't really have that crutch but it should be interesting nonetheless.

[Aylashae]

What bugs me is no increase in armor power for downing bosses, means so little o.o

[4KhazModan]

What bugs me is no increase in armor power for downing bosses, means so little o.o

If you raid just to the loot, you're gonna have a bad time.

[Maarius]

What bugs me is no increase in armor power for downing bosses, means so little o.o

the prestige comes from new armor and weapon skins, no one wants a new tier of gear in GW2. It's one of the selling points of the game, no new tiers when new expansions arrive, so hard content stays hard. If you replay the new raid in 3 years from now, you still have a hard time if they don't nerf the encounters.

[Svifnymr]

I do wonder if they'll be tuned around Ascended armor/gear, making anything less to enter a bit of a roadblock.

[Zephyr Storm]

I do wonder if they'll be tuned around Ascended armor/gear, making anything less to enter a bit of a roadblock.

They'd be committing suicide if they did that. A vast majority of people still don't have ascended gear (hell, I bet a lot of people still probably don't have exotic gear).

[charan25]

So I just did a raid in Marvel Heroes this morning. Which I enjoy a lot. Though it got me thinking GW2:HoT could have similar raid mechanics only in a 3D action combat context.

I think this idea can really work in GW2 but am still curious how two opposing design aspects I mentioned earlier will be resolved. Marvel Heroes gets around the issue with gear basically. One can hard carry by virtue of gear in some cases (not all boss fights, but some) if fellow raider die to the 1-shot boss mechanics. GW2 doesn't really have that crutch but it should be interesting nonetheless.

If a fellow raider dies to a one shot mechanic, then one or two people can just stand over them to rez.

If anything, this may develop a more support role, someone who takes the faster rezzing talents, and giving buffs when they rez.

[Fencers]

If a fellow raider dies to a one shot mechanic, then one or two people can just stand over them to rez.

So you are assuming.

[Deleted]

Their phrasing seems a little vague regarding the trinity stuff.

I can't tell whether they are aiming this at groups with dedicated tanks/healers or not.

[4KhazModan]

Their phrasing seems a little vague regarding the trinity stuff.

I can't tell whether they are aiming this at groups with dedicated tanks/healers or not.

It is a "soft trinity" of damage, support, and control. Not quite the traditional WoW comp.

[Deleted]

It is a "soft trinity" of damage, support, and control. Not quite the traditional WoW comp.

If they can make it work, it'll be fantastic. As a Thief, I'm skeptical. Thus far my experience of "challenging content" has been "go damage or go home" and "dodge everything (yes even the auto-attacks) or insta-die".

[ghostblade]

i am stil wondering why people are so worried about the "insta dead mechanic" ? usualy these mechanics are personal things that you just have to take a step out.

[Maarius]

I love insta-death mechanics, to be honest. The most fun raids I did had those, Heigan's dance, Sindragosas cone-attack where you had to stand behind obstacles, Lich King, etc. etc. If done the right way these can make fights so much more interesting and tense.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

i am stil wondering why people are so worried about the "insta dead mechanic" ? usualy these mechanics are personal things that you just have to take a step out.

Instant death mechanics are excruciatingly punishing because if you make one, simple mistake (as the three players in the trailer did - being one second too late from jumping - it makes what was a learning experience now incredibly frustrating. Essentially, your outed for the rest of the fight over a second's hesitation. The genre moved past instant death mechanics quite a while ago, and have traded it for an approach where you usually what kills you is a stacking debuff/boss buff that won't kill you instantly but will eventually. This is far more forgiving and enjoyable.

[PACOX]

Well this seems interesting. I haven't really played in a while, but this could be a really good thing or a really bad thing for the game. The problem I always had with the PvE in this game is group synergy. Or rather, the lack of it. It pretty much feels like you're on your own with a few other guys spamming abilities. If they can make the encounters really group dependent, and not gimmicky then maybe this could be awesome. Otherwise, it'll probably be shit.

All meta builds for any game mode are built around group synergy unless its a WvW roaming build. Necros have bad reputation in PVE because they lack group synergy where Eles, Guards, and Warriors are highly welcomed because they bring a lot of synergy.

- - - Updated - - -

There's some problems with this idea of all raids being current and extremely challenging. The latest ones are always going to be the most popular. Most people will really only be willing to do those ones. People will be focused on learning the latest ones. As you go back to the older ones, you will find less and less people willing to do them. And even if you could find them, they will probably not have done them for a long time, if at all. They will have to learn the mechanics and tactics from scratch. If all raids are as challenging as the very latest ones, this will be frustrating when you have to get pugs or new recruits.

Of course this doesn't matter for a game with only a handful of raids ever released. It only becomes a problem when you have a lot of old raids stretching back over several years, like WoW, which is a state I doubt Guild Wars will ever reach.

That applies to WoW because every new raid in WoW comes with a new tier of gear. New content in GW2 brings skins, mats, and achieves. Sometimes a new stat combination. Players in GW2 are driven skins, achieves, profit, and activities they enjoy.

[Deleted]

I am a little bit frustrated to learn that GW2 is going down the raid path.
I liked the game because it was different than WoW in so many aspects.
Now one of the major WoW aspect is going to be implemented in GW2 as well.

I mean... why would i choose GW2 over WoW, if the top end-game will be no different? Besides, WoW already has 10+ years of experience with raiding and most likely mean that their raids are better and well balanced, while GW2 will need years to refine them.

My problem is that this will differentiate the community to good (elite) players and bad (casual trash) players. Just like it is in WoW. Just the same if you are casual, you will most likely end-up being insulted and not invited to any raid group. They will start measuring you by your dps, gear and build.

Bad idea, all around. We will see, but i bet all my fears will come true and GW2 will fail in trying to be the better WoW.
Which will cause me to return to WoW for the new expansion.

[Lotus Victoria]

Looks sweet. Interesting and very fun.
I'm ready for battle!