Secrets of the Obscure - Discussion Thread

[PACOX]

I gotta figure out how the fuck they even work. The game doesn't seem to tell you anything about it unless you need to unlock the second mastery point before accessing it. I'm just about to get that, but this update isn't really lighting my fire and I'm not really hot to farm the XP quickly or anything. I probably should in case that actually lets me access and figure out what the fuck they are, because that's the only thing that might redeem the patch for me as more than "Gyala Delve 2.1"

Agreed on the weapons. Seems like they're generally approaching them as they would an elite spec, just without the associated trait line and secondary skills that are likely a big timesink/limiting factor.

Edit: Apparently convergences are every 3 hours? Thanks Anet, I fuckin hate it. I guess they're the real meta for the zone or something.

The problem I had with Gyala is that they should have called it the "end of the End of Dragons expansion!", when they could have said it's a bonus story, better setting up our expectations. They also put stupid time gates on it to stretch it out. The story was whatever for me, not worthy of the hype Aner placed around it. Zone not even bad (well the gas mechanic is dumb), it was the stupid ass tunnel that rightfully pissed people off. People wouldn't by hyper critical if Anet didn't bullshit us about, and Anet knows when it's bullshiting people (versus a dev just being too disconnected from the community). Gyala had the content of a normal living world episode release that they stretched for like 3 months (dotn remember). Poor delivery.


How do you get to Convergence? The Wizard Tower. Public instances are on a schedule, might have to ask. Wiki wasn't updated last time I looked.


Edit - think I double posted because the site was being funky.

[Edge-]

How do you get to Convergence? The Wizard Tower. Public instances are on a schedule, might have to ask. Wiki wasn't updated last time I looked.

Managed to do one during lunch after learning about the timer and wondering where the fuck one gets to it so I went to the Wiki, I'd have imagined it would be accessible through the new zone.

It was pretty good, it's just kinda a shame it's only every 3 hours for the public variety. Will have to look into costs associated with a private version and the like.

- - - Updated - - -

Did another convergence, I do enjoy the setup of a large group of folks and some pretty easy/general objectives that you can do with a single commander bringing around the zerg and small handful of folks chilling with Zojja. Very much enjoy that I can run my full support set on my firebrand and just pump out ungodly amounts of heals and boons

I'm unsure why we needed new masteries this update, tbh. It feels...pointless? Like, I don't get them at all. They're all focused on convergences and don't really "do" anything significant.

Siege fireball is quite possibly the only mastery with any real effectiveness as it gives non-turtle users a way to deal some siege damage.

Wizard's blessing could just be a passive benefit in Convergences.

Wisp Pockets could just be a passive benefit in Convergences.

Essence Attunement could just be a passive benefit in Convergences.

And Convergence Mastery is again, another passive benefit.

These are all just minor buffs/additional rewards that don't do anything. I was really hoping we'd move away from these kinds of junk masteries in the name of "progression".

Heart of the Obscure masteries actually have effects - they unlock Rifts entirely, they unlock more ways to get around Horn of Maguma zones with updrafte/leylooms, they unlock the ability to find chests throughout the expansion.

Flight Training is crucial for skyscale, specifically the new folks who didn't already have it, and the skysclae itself is used throughout the expansion and is arguably the "go-to" mount now.

Astral Ward is a weaker one of the crop, but created a progression line for rifts overall, at least, unlocking the ability to craft and unlock higher tier rifts.

Inner Nayos, so far, really only applies to Convergences and nowhere else.

It's not that it's hard to unlock them or earn the MP's, game shits MP's at you this expansion (which I'm not complaining about). I'm pretty down on the update right now still even if I think Convergences are pretty great. Really hoping the next update has more meat to it.

IN OTHER NEWS

https://www.guildwars2.com/en-gb/new...of-the-battle/



Staff warrior has big leap.

[Ghost of Cow]

So since coming back, a lot of things just feel so much better than I remember them being, so that's nice.

I almost feel overwhelmed by all the choices available, though. So many new things since I was on last, so many story chapters (somehow I unlocked all Living Story past and present? I must have bought some package.) not to mention I can't even decide on a class/spec to focus on right now. (Have everything at 80 at least.)

Too much of a good thing, I guess.

WvW seems a bit dead, though. That hasn't been encouraging.

[Edge-]

So since coming back, a lot of things just feel so much better than I remember them being, so that's nice.

I almost feel overwhelmed by all the choices available, though. So many new things since I was on last, so many story chapters (somehow I unlocked all Living Story past and present? I must have bought some package.) not to mention I can't even decide on a class/spec to focus on right now. (Have everything at 80 at least.)

Too much of a good thing, I guess.

WvW seems a bit dead, though. That hasn't been encouraging.

Your story journal will show you the chronological order to play things in, including LW episodes. They did grant some for free a while back but IIRC you had to log in to get it, so if you didn't then you just might be seeing the LW S1 content which they added in the year after End of Dragons launched. That was the "post-release content" for that expansion for the most part, bringing back missing story that left a pretty big plot gap between vanilla/HoT.

I don't WvW but it should be about as active as ever, or inactive as ever, haven't seen much about population changes. Maybe a bit less popular than before since Anet has been talking up some big changes to it for like 3-4 years or something but never actually get to the beta testing and implementing of them

[Ghost of Cow]

Your story journal will show you the chronological order to play things in, including LW episodes. They did grant some for free a while back but IIRC you had to log in to get it, so if you didn't then you just might be seeing the LW S1 content which they added in the year after End of Dragons launched. That was the "post-release content" for that expansion for the most part, bringing back missing story that left a pretty big plot gap between vanilla/HoT.

I don't WvW but it should be about as active as ever, or inactive as ever, haven't seen much about population changes. Maybe a bit less popular than before since Anet has been talking up some big changes to it for like 3-4 years or something but never actually get to the beta testing and implementing of them

Yeah, I know it's all in order, it's just one of many things that I'm like, "Wow, I need to do that too!"

Like I said, too much of a good thing. I'll get to it all eventually!

As for having access to them all, I honestly don't know how that happened. Was there some "Just get all LW stuff" sale? Because it's all unlocked, even though I didn't log on at all during PoF, for example.

[Edge-]

Haven't the foggiest. They did give out the LW chapters back in 2021 (if google is correct) and I recall that happening (just not when), not sure on expansions. Unless it's just listed in your journal but you don't have access or something? Genuinely not sure how you would have been granted everything though, but rad.

Ignore most of it and IMO just play through chronologically after picking a character, maybe looking towards an elite spec you want to play (you can unlock them in any order, just need the points for them). Depending on where you left off there's a pretty huge amount of "game" to catch up on and it'll slowly get you up to speed with everything that's changed over the years.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

WvW seems a bit dead, though. That hasn't been encouraging.

Most of the WvW playerbase is gone, having either moved on to Age of Reckoning or Foxhole. The original WvW devs were laidoff. The Desert map was designed by PvE map designers who didn't understand what made for a good WvW map and it became reviled. The WvW systems fell into disrepair. You can only WvW on the same maps with the same gameplay for so long before it becomes boring, so eventually people left. That leads to the current situation today where you only have people who port into WvW to flip the same camps over and over to do their dailies or farm the Gift of Battle for their legendaries and then port out, or WvW guilds who don't care about actually winning the war and just want to have fights out in the middle of nowhere while the zerg leader berates his people over discord.

[PACOX]

My server is in the t3 bracket and has at least one queue from EST prime until PST late night. WvW definitely isn't dead. I can't speak for stale matchups but that's just people taking a break.

[Lotus Victoria]

New area is VERY small. Finished everything important in under two hours, and did the meta like 10 times already.

[ryanmahaffe]

As of right now I think Through the Veil is an EXCELLENT PATCH...for a brief period of time, the content offered is actually top notch (besides the CM)

I think Anet if unable to make these quarterly updates meatier should instead split the 2nd update in half and give it to the first and third respectively, with a balance and event patch in between releases. This would also mean a 4.5-5.5 month wait between updates instead. of the 3 month plan, but I think that could be fine.

Have Through the Veil contain more of Nayos and the new weapons and leggo tier 1 with BOTH Cms, and have the 2nd update have the finale meta with the new Fractal and leggo relics

In between do a balance patch and maybe something like Dungeon/Fractal Rush or make even new events.

[Edge-]

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/r...mergency-exit/

Rifle mesmer blog post. One of the less exciting ones for me, likely a result of the lack of neato animations and visuals. Just show off gun guardians already, cowards!

[PACOX]

Mesmer rifle seems like Revs tablet but more but the slider got bumped more towards offense. The ability to shoot portals? Nices.

- - - Updated - - -

Speaking of Rev.

Don’t Cross the Streams

Revenants wield scepters in an unorthodox way that is unique to their profession. Having observed the Kryptis in battle, they draw upon their ability to connect individuals together using the scepter as a conduit. They use this conduit to channel energies between targets, strengthening allies and debilitating enemies.

The revenant’s autoattack chain projects a concentrated stream of energy from the tip of the scepter, which they wield like a blade to swing in a wide arc, damaging multiple enemies. The first attack, Serene Strike, is a simple melee slice, while the follow-up attack, Acerbic Cut, will grant might to allies. Motivating Whirl is the third strike of the autoattack chain, which cleaves enemies in a 360-degree radius around the revenant and applies barrier to allies on impact.

The second skill, Blossoming Aura, infuses an enemy target with energy from the Mists, dealing damage over time. After a delay, this energy explodes outward, damaging the enemy and granting barrier to allies. This effect can be strengthened by repeatedly striking the enemy with autoattacks, causing the final explosion to deal more damage and grant additional barrier to allies. While this skill can be cast at range, if you want to maximize the second effect you’ll need to get in your enemies’ faces.

Finally, Otherworldly Bond is an upkeep skill that creates a spiritual tether between you and your target. The tether has differing effects based on whether the target is an ally or an enemy. When used on an ally, the tether continually grants might to the target and allies around you. When an enemy is being tethered, the target will instead be inflicted with vulnerability and take additional strike damage from the revenant. The tether can be manually broken with the accompanying follow-up skill Deactivate, and it will automatically break if the revenant moves too far away from the target. And like Blossoming Aura, attacking enemies will cause the effects of the tether to strengthen!

But that’s not all! When the tether reaches maximum strength, the revenant gains a new follow-up skill called Otherworldly Attraction. The allied version allows the revenant to shadowstep to the tethered target, granting barrier to allies around them. When an enemy is targeted, it instead pulls the tethered target toward the revenant while applying additional vulnerability to them.

[Edge-]

I dig the theming for Revenant scepter, really like that it's a "melee" weapon and it plays into this expansions whole bit with the demon realm and whatnot. The class has never really clicked/appealed to me, tried one for a bit but just didn't dig it, but it's a very conceptually cool class.

[PACOX]

https://www.guildwars2.com/en-gb/new...e-and-defense/

Elemental Ammunition
The pistol is a condition-focused weapon that brings some mobility, crowd control, and a large amount of damage. The pistol will also provide some interesting gameplay decisions with its elemental bullet mechanic that grants players a selection of bonus effects.

Every time you use a pistol skill (except for autoattacks) one of two things will happen. If no bullet of the same element exists, the skill will perform its base behavior and create a bullet of its element. A bullet will then hover near the player character to signify it has been created. However, if the elemental bullet already exists, the skill will consume that bullet to gain a bonus effect. For example, let’s check out two skills from the earth attunement: Shattering Stone (slot 2) and Boulder Blast (slot 3).

Shattering Stone fires a shot that inflicts bleeding and cripple, shattering into multiple fragments that also strike nearby enemies. If an earth bullet is available, it will be consumed to grant the user an enhancement that makes their next few attacks also inflict bleeding.

Boulder Blast shoots a larger projectile that strikes a single enemy, immobilizing them and inflicting a larger amount of bleeding. If an earth bullet is available, it’s consumed to grant the user barrier if the projectile successfully strikes an enemy. In this case, depending on the sequencing of skills, players can opt for either more damage or more defense depending on the situation at hand.

An elementalist wielding a pistol

Weaver makes things a bit more complicated, as they can attune to multiple elements at once and have access to the multielement dual attacks. So how does this interact with elemental bullets? Dual attacks can consume bullets of both elements, granting a unique bonus for each bullet. If any matching bullet is available when using a dual attack, all matching bullets will be consumed to grant their bonuses. In the event there isn’t a matching bullet, the dual attack will create a single bullet that matches the primary attunement.

[Edge-]

PLEASE SAY GUN GUARDIAN IS NEXT

I like this though. These new weapons have all seemed cool so far and I'm down if they continue to add weapons or maybe doing a solo-trait line addition next.

[PACOX]

Solving Problems One Detonation at a Time
The engineer has been experimenting with isolating and storing the magic used by others and infusing them into their own contraptions. This has led to the creation of essence-infused arrows, devices equipped with canisters of distilled magic that can be fired at a distant location. These arrows can then be detonated, releasing the essence within and covering the surrounding area with a magic field that affects both allies and enemies. The magic from these canisters may even combine in certain circumstances, causing their effects to be even more potent than when used by themselves!

By wielding the short bow, the engineer exchanges attack power for team support, gaining a total of four types of essence-infused arrows that can be fired into the ground. Despite them being arrows, the actual act of placing these on the ground is unblockable, so don’t worry about those pesky projectile blockers getting in your way. These devices vary in effect, from debilitating your enemies to strengthening or protecting your allies. Once planted, the arrows can be triggered in several ways. They will detonate by themselves after a set amount of time (if the engineer is close enough), or the engineer can choose to detonate them manually with the follow-up skill. Finally, all arrows (except the autoattack) have a special property called Chain Reaction; when an arrow is active, it will also cause your other arrows in range to detonate. If this happens, those arrows gain bonus effects depending on the initial arrow that caused the detonation.

An engineer armed with a short bow.

As an example of how this works, let’s look at the second skill in the set, Essence of Animated Sand. When it detonates, enchanted sand is spread over an area, immediately granting barrier to allies in the vicinity and crippling enemies. When detonating other arrows, it causes them to grant a small amount of barrier on initial detonation as well, regardless of their original effect. You could either layer all the arrows in a single spot to give out large amounts of barrier in a small area or spread them out for maximum coverage, depending on the situation.

Chain reaction effects are not limited to the initial detonation, either. The fourth skill, Essence of Liquid Wrath, grants might to allies and vulnerability to enemies on detonation, then continues to pulse might to allies afterward. Its bonus effect allows other arrows to also pulse might to allies in their effective radius, making stacking multiple arrows in the same spot an effective way to strengthen allies in a short period of time.

[Edge-]

https://www.guildwars2.com/en-gb/new...ts-of-justice/



Guardian is up, it's not last!

Summary sounds good and I'm glad it is indeed a condi weapon(s), condi builds needed a better ranged option that scepter.

But damn man...these visuals are collectively boring as all fuck. Boring ass attacks with minimal movement (pew pew, minor recoil) and a ground symbol being attached to the front of your gun. I hope they do some serious work here or that the non-charr animations are better because holy crap these look like shit compared to all the cool animations and visuals that the other classes are getting with their weapons so far.

Hello, Tyrians! My name is Chun-Hong Fung, and I’m a game designer on the Systems Team here at ArenaNet. The expanded weapon proficiencies are coming in 2024 during the second major update for Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure™. Today, we’ll be taking a look at yet another new set of weapons that will be first playable during the Expanded Weapon Proficiency beta event, starting on November 28 at 9 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8).

It’s the guardian’s turn to step into the limelight, wielding not one, but two pistols as their new weapons to combat the growing threat of the hostile Kryptis. The pistols are a pair of ranged weapons that specialize in dealing condition damage, allowing the guardian to inflict bleeding and burning on their enemies from a distance with ease.

First let’s look at the cornerstone of any weapon, the autoattack. The pistol’s basic attack, Through the Heart, fires a single, fast projectile that damages and inflicts bleeding on those struck. Notably, this projectile pierces through enemies, allowing it to hit up to five targets. Many of the other skills on this weapon set act in a similar way, allowing users to attack multiple enemies with the correct positioning.

Now, let’s check out one of the more vital skills on the main-hand pistol, Symbol of Ignition. Positioned in the third slot, this skill plants a symbol on the ground below you that damages enemies. Striking an enemy within the symbol or firing a projectile through it causes the symbol to also inflict burning when it pulses. In addition, firing projectiles through the symbol causes them to ignite, allowing them to inflict extra burning on the targets they hit in addition to their original effects.

As an example of how you might possibly use Symbol of Ignition, let’s look at another skill on the off-hand pistol, Hail of Justice. As you may have surmised from the name, this skill fires a volley of piercing projectiles at your targeted foe, each one inflicting bleeding and cripple on up to five enemies. Combining Hall of Justice and Symbol of Ignition allows you to apply a plethora of damaging conditions to your enemy in a short period of time!

There are some other surprises in store for you, and I’m particularly excited about the fifth and final skill…but you’ll have to join us for the Expanded Weapon Preview livestream on November 27 at 12 p.m. Pacific Time to find out what it does!

Finally, as mentioned above, you’ll be able to try out all the upcoming new weapon and profession combos during the Expanded Weapon Proficiency beta event starting at 9 a.m. Pacific Time on November 28 and ending at 10 p.m. Pacific Time on December 3. Please note that since this is a beta event, there will be placeholder UI, art, and audio for some of the weapon skills.

[PACOX]

https://www.guildwars2.com/en-gb/new...or-punishment/

Necromancer sword skills focus on dealing powerful strike damage in an area while consuming enemies’ vital energy to sustain the wielder. The main-hand sword skill 3, Path of Gluttony, will allow the necromancer to leap to their enemy, healing themselves for each enemy struck. Hungering Maelstrom, off-hand sword skill 4, will damage and steal health from enemies in a targeted area.

With so much healing, a necromancer might find themselves with a surplus of health! Luckily, their swords always hunger. Each sword skill has a secondary ability that can be activated by sacrificing health to sate your swords. Path of Gluttony can be reactivated to cast Gorge. You leap again, repeating the effects of the first leap while also corrupting boons on enemies struck. Hungering Maelstrom’s reactivation is Gormandize. Gormandize will damage and chill enemies struck by Hungering Maelstrom.

A necromancer wielding two swords

Necromancer swords will allow you to sustain yourself through fights while also increasing your offensive capabilities at the price of your own health. Will the risk be worth the reward, or will you find yourself eaten alive?

Last but not least. Seems like a robust change.

[Lotus Victoria]

I'm not that excited for Axe Thieves, but it will be nice to have a new ranged/AoE option. Shortbow is ok, Rifles are only good for single-target, and Staff is very inconsistent. Hopefully it's fun to play.

[PACOX]

I'm not that excited for Axe Thieves, but it will be nice to have a new ranged/AoE option. Shortbow is ok, Rifles are only good for single-target, and Staff is very inconsistent. Hopefully it's fun to play.

You just made me realize thief mostly has ranged weapons.

Shortbow
Rifle
Pistol
Scepter
And now Axe.