Guild Wars 2: The One Thread

[Gray_Matter]

Someone created a thread about A/Net up time with a bunch of criticism. I had a post typed up earlier today but didn't submit it and I see the thread is now closed which is a good thing. I would still like to write about GW2 up time as an MMO. So I am putting it here in the hope that none of the GW2 trolls that we have been forced to deal with lately pick up on it. This information applies to pretty much all MMO's.

As a software architect, I can tell you that while 100% up-time is possible, the cost to implement it is completely prohibitive. There are cost/benefits that need to be taken into account with any large system. High availability is governed by a number of factors from software design through to the hardware. The more reliability you want, the higher the cost and most often this cost is on the hardware side. A/Net don't have monthly subs to throw at the hardware upon hardware. Their reliability has been quite admirable so far. I normally play in the evenings and have been very impressed. To keep a system up 24/7 is extremely difficult. Everything from backups to maintenance and upgrades need to be done on the running system. That is no small feat. We have some pretty big systems and we almost always have a small amount of down time for upgrades and also experience the odd hick-up when something slips through the cracks. This even happens on one of our systems which is far bigger than GW2 from a value point of view.

[zito]

Wow tried to do TA exploreable mode and the leader said f it because he couldn't get past flowers..... which of course disbanded the group.

[Deleted]

Wow tried to do TA exploreable mode and the leader said f it because he couldn't get past flowers..... which of course disbanded the group.

It's a little funny and sad that the first trash pack + flowers can be the hardest part of Ta exp, it's definitely a brutal start if people aren't used to the instance. I used to love flowers before we farmed that dungeon... :P

[Loyrl]

I noticed yesterday that they put up a 1 day transfer wait on servers. Have they said anything about adding a gem cost yet or a longer time to wait? I wanted to switch because I ran into a few bugged skill points and wanted them done, but I guess I'll have to wait to get them fixed. @ 92% getting closer.

[Deleted]

I noticed yesterday that they put up a 1 day transfer wait on servers. Have they said anything about adding a gem cost yet or a longer time to wait? I wanted to switch because I ran into a few bugged skill points and wanted them done, but I guess I'll have to wait to get them fixed. @ 92% getting closer.

Nah they haven't said when it's changing to a longer duration or a cost (guesting will need to be up first I guess), they added the 24 hour limit to address some exploits to do with server transferring. They are meant to be pushing a patch soon (midnight 25th), that addresses quite a number of bugs, fingers crossed it fixes the bugged skillpoints.

[zito]

I have concluded on high population realms, the zergs have ruined Orr. I switched to a lower level zone and noticed the 80 part of Orr had no zerg, so everything was mass chaos. Each base was under attack events were lively.

It

was

GLORIOUS

I got drowned in it for 2 hours now I have go to work. Argh. I was mostly solo and some occasional people came to help.

Though I soloed 4 group events. One of them though, the hounds of balthezar where you have to kill the 4 champions I got help at the end after I killed the hounds by myself. Some botters came to help, only a 4 of them though so it was still exciting fight.

Zerg ruins games :/

[DrakeWurrum]

Zerg ruins games :/

Well, only if the game doesn't design with zergs in mind. Which is what happened with GW2 and is, imo, its biggest flaw.

---------- Post added 2012-09-24 at 11:00 AM ----------

Also: I'd totally xfer to a lower-pop realm if it didn't mean losing all the influence and guild upgrades that my girlfriend and I have managed to build up in our personal guild. Admittedly, it's not as much as bigger guilds, but it wasn't easy to get to where we have on our own!

[Fencers]

I sorta said something about the "zerg effect" in the Rift forums recently.

I really don't think any MMO can reconcile this [zerging]. It's the nature of open world content. Either one enjoys the casual/simple nature of it or not.

The last MMO to have "serious" open world content was like FF11. And that was a mixed bag of awful and spectacular all in one. The problem of the "zerg" really has no solution in Rift, Warhammer, Guild Wars 2, etc. Heck, even EQ and DAOC could reach that point given enough people showing up.

Probably totally unrealistic to expect anything more than casual content out of open world PVE in MMOs for a good number of years to come.

http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...t-Storm-legion

It just seems impossible to really have a PVE experience that is on the level of instanced raiding in the open world. Just kinda unrealistic as I said above.

[Deleted]

Also: I'd totally xfer to a lower-pop realm if it didn't mean losing all the influence and guild upgrades that my girlfriend and I have managed to build up in our personal guild. Admittedly, it's not as much as bigger guilds, but it wasn't easy to get to where we have on our own!

I'm pretty sure I read something on the official forums in regards to them considering a system to move/transfer guilds and upgrades, the current restrictions are definitely limiting guilds who want to move but don't want to lose all the stuff they've spent the last month working on.

[Kelesti]

Just for Delias' pain and amusement:

• Updated vendors in the Ascalonian Catacombs and Caudecus’s Manor to sell level 80 versions of their unique skins rather than level 60 and 70. Players who purchased the level 60 and 70 versions will soon be given the opportunity to upgrade those to level 80 without having to use transmutation stones.

And then there's this bit for everyone else.

1) Dungeon tokens are now rewarded at the end of an explorable chain. This was done to stop players from repeatedly entering a chain and farming the first boss that dropped tokens rather than playing the entire chain. At some point in the near future, we will make up for this by making dungeon tokens a rare drop so that even players who are not completing a chain can make partial progress toward the rewards.
2) Dungeons reward 20 tokens for completion and now reward an additional 40 tokens for the first time they are completed each day. This means that if players can complete all 3 chains of a dungeon in a day, they’ll receive a total of 180 tokens, which is enough to purchase some of the smaller rewards.
3) Dungeon tokens should be account bound. This will allow players to have a single character farm tokens for their other characters.

[Meledelion]

I'm so happy I got my full arah set already

[zito]

Just for Delias' pain and amusement:

• Updated vendors in the Ascalonian Catacombs and Caudecus’s Manor to sell level 80 versions of their unique skins rather than level 60 and 70. Players who purchased the level 60 and 70 versions will soon be given the opportunity to upgrade those to level 80 without having to use transmutation stones.

And then there's this bit for everyone else.

Good changes, it basically sums up to WoW's version of daily valor points. Except since there are 8 dungeons you can get 1440 tokens a day if you have the time. Which actually guilds can now make a "raid day" and just form teams of 5.

[DrakeWurrum]

Good changes, it basically sums up to WoW's version of daily valor points. Except since there are 8 dungeons you can get 1440 tokens a day if you have the time. Which actually guilds can now make a "raid day" and just form teams of 5.

Except every day could be a raid day, so nobody has to feel obligated. :P

[Fencers]

I always found the lockout mechanic to be odd. Natch, I understand why it is there in Warcraft and the like. Just seems weird. Esp. as I played MMOs for so long where lockouts did not exist. So it's just an odd thing- once per day/week. So you don't want me to play your game? D:

Kinda glad those tokens are account bound. Though I still have little desire to bother with dungeons in the game.

[Valeron]

I don't understand, every day can't be raid day in other formats? =D

He's probably referring to weekly lockouts for raids in other games.

[Exroyal]

He's probably referring to weekly lockouts for raids in other games.

Welcome back!

Anyone else besides me excited for their news about new content which they were going to talk about in October?

[Valeron]

Well I thought I'd give the forums a break. It looks like it has calmed down here so I felt safe to post. I still see some of the same "hater" posters but they don't post as much.

Anyway, as far as new content. I hoping for a new area that isn't based on the risen. I'm pretty tired of them.

[DrakeWurrum]

Anyway, as far as new content. I hoping for a new area that isn't based on the risen. I'm pretty tired of them.

Eh. I personally have a hard time seeing much difference between Risen, Branded, Sons of Svanir, and Destroyers.

Other than, like. Color scheme. And which graphical animations are used.

[Valeron]

the return of the mursaat would be cool

[DrakeWurrum]

the return of the mursaat would be cool

Cross your fingers.

ArenaNet has "some really cool plans" for the mursaat in Guild Wars 2.