Archive for the PvE Category

Southsun Cove Update Notes

Posted 14/05/13 by
Hey, is that a new Asura Gate I see?

Hey, is that a new Asura Gate I see?

The May Upate is now live, bringing us the new Southsun Cove content. Jump in and enjoy the sun and surf as it will only be available through June 4th. Don’t get too close to the animals though…

A few highlights from the notes:

  • New weapons skins and minis added
  • New Guild Treks for Southsun Cove area
  • WvW EB Jumping Puzzle now a separate map
  • WvW now has traps
  • New Gem Store item How to Dance 400 gems
  • First Skill Lag fix is in (more to come)

Follow the little red icon link to the right to read all the notes, or check out the full notes in our forum. Then come join us in discussing the new Southsun Cove content here.

FYI, Cragstead not being accessible is a bug and they hope to have it fixed today.

Reginal also posted a short “things to do list” for the new Southsun Cove content here.

Finally, GWOnline’s Alaris created an interesting article about Rangers’ (generally bad) Dungeon reputation vs their actual performance in a more casual or medium level ability group, which has sparked a very lively forum debate. Come on in and join the fun. And check our RD’s piece on the problems with Town Clothes and then let us know what you think in the forum!

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Are rangers actually under-powered?

Posted 09/05/13 by

It got crowded in the elevator

It got crowded in the elevator

I’ve heard it a few times lately… rangers with pets are terrible in dungeons. Rangers with pets are no good in small places. A ranger without a pet is just worthless. And so on. This leads to rangers not trying to get into difficult content, and/or not being accepted/invited to play there. Fortunately, I’m in a great guild where people can join in activities with whatever profession they want, so getting a team of rangers wasn’t difficult.

Now I know from my psychology/statistics work that people can develop incorrect beliefs. I noticed in forums that many of the complaints came from rangers who don’t play their rangers in difficult places (because they’re so underpowered, why bother). And there is the common assumption that rangers are underpowered because their pets die, and they are weak without their pets. And then, as supporting evidence, I’ve heard of people turning down rangers when making groups.

But here’s a different theory: rangers are just as good as any other profession, and the only thing they need is someone to undo the bad rep they’ve been getting.

Two competing hypotheses… It’s time for some science!

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10 Tips to playing Guild Wars 2 better

Posted 25/04/13 by

Thief is a good profession to learn to play.

Thief is a good profession to learn to play.

I create the opportunity for learning, so that I can keep improving. I do that by seeking ways to challenge myself on specific gameplay skills. Here’s 10 ways you can use to keep learning too.

10 Trigger combos

You can trigger combos by yourself on many professions by using a skill that creates a combo field, then using a skill that triggers it. Self-triggered combos is a good way to learn and practice which of your own skills are what part of a combo. Sometimes, you can combo skills differently to trigger different effects like defensive or offensive effects. Once you learn that, expand your combo knowledge by triggering combos with other players either by triggering their fields, or by setting up fields where they will naturally trigger them.

You can likewise take some time to learn how to combine skill effects. Breaking armors is good just before doing high dps. Or snaring is good before hitting those large AoE’s.

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Dailies: an updated guide

Posted 26/03/13 by

Dailies are easy extra income, mystic coins, laurels, and karma. This is a short guide giving some pointers on ways to make the dailies easier, by giving hints on how to incorporate them into normal play or combo-ing them.

I would suggest you start with the following if you plan on completing them… they are relatively short but also fairly specific. These dailies are also pretty easy to synergize with other dailies.

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Endgame: An alt-a-holic’s perspective

Posted 13/02/13 by

I’ve always liked playing different characters, and now that I have a few at max level and with somewhat decent gear, I feel I have some *cough*authority*cough* to talk about what to expect from your characters in endgame. The good news is… the game remains pretty similar to early- or mid-game, so whatever profession you like early on is likely going to be your favourite still later on.

I regularly switch between my so-far 7 characters, and I will eventually have all 8 professions afterall. The main thing that influences who I play though isn’t what profession I like best… I love them all for different reason, and I especially love that they give me different experiences. The main thing that influences my pick is whether I plan to PvE, do dungeons, or do WvW. I find that while each profession can be useful in all three places, some professions adapt better to my playstyle in those different areas…

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Fractals of the Mists Dungeon Improvements

Posted 22/12/12 by

This just in: There are some administrative updates coming to the Fractals in January! A summary is below, with more details on the official site.

Currently, if a party member disconnects from a fractal dungeon run, they are unable to rejoin, which can cause a lot of issues for that player and their party. Our new system will allow players who disconnect to reconnect to their party and jump back into the dungeon. We certainly understand how frustrating this situation can be, and would like to apologize for the delay on this fix.

We’ve also made a few changes to the way party-level restrictions work. Currently, players who want to join a party are limited to the lowest fractal level in the party. This makes it difficult for lower fractal-level players to find parties, so we’ve modified the party-level restrictions to allow players of any fractal level to group up. At party creation, players can choose any fractal level up to the highest fractal level in the party. Upon completion of the fractal run, all players equal to or lower than the chosen fractal level will have their fractal level increased by one. All players above the chosen fractal level will gain karma, but their fractal level will not increase. Rewards from the fractal will be based on players’ personal reward level as long as the reward level is equal to or lower than the chosen fractal level.

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Missed Ancient Karka Event Chests – Shipping now!

Posted 08/12/12 by

ArenaNet is shipping the Lost Shore event item – the Ancient Karka Chest – to those that missed it, due to disconnects or “no-reward-occurences”, now. So if you participated in the event and did not get the reward chest, there is a good chance you will find it in an in-game mail during the next few hours.
Not all mails are sent at the same time, so don’t panic if you did not get your mail yet, while other people have already received it.

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Greatsword Guardian Leveling Build

Posted 23/09/12 by

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since Guild wars 2’s release I have been busy leaving a lot of bodies in my wake, instead of writing up new articles. I am back to share with you the leveling build I used.

I will be covering the full monty so get yourself some coffee, maybe a beer if you’re that guy, and sit down for a bit while you read this.

I clocked 75h 20m from 1-80 with this build, so it works. Proof will be at the bottom of the article.

This build will allow you to fight enemy groups up to around 8, depending on the enemies you are fighting. Intelligent play will allow you to fight 2-3 veterans at once, and stand up against a champion in group fights.

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PvE Levels 1-50, What Changes?

Posted 05/09/12 by

Yeah, I fought that thing

Yeah, I fought that thing

I have often played games, only to find out that the more I played it, the more things changed. In MMORPGs, I find that generally, as you level up, you start having to manage your energy more and more, and you are also pushed into specializing into a role. I also find that leveling slows to a crawl. Meanwhile, I find that the increase in power due to experience and gear is mostly negated by increased monster level, thus making the whole leveling experience moot.

What of Guild Wars 2?

Well, I have not gotten to level 80 yeeeeeet, something I plan to remedy promptly if my daughter and my boss will let me. (Changes of that happening are slim to none)

However, here’s how I think the game changes in the first 50-ish levels…

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World’s First Level 80 Reached

Posted 28/08/12 by

Most of you will actually be enjoying the game, taking in the breathtaking scenery and enjoying the action but there are those who like to reach the level cap as fast as possible. A player named Surfeuze has taken the prize to reach level 80 first with help from  his guild called War Legend.

According to ArenaNet, Surfeuze raced through the content in PvE up to 60 then his guild helped him craft his way up to 80 by supplying materials. ArenaNet have now checked that the player reached the cap in a legitimate fashion and Mike O’Brian commented:

Level 80 is always something to celebrate, but be aware that this was not through normal leveling. A few users have made us aware of unusual ways to level very fast. We’re fixing these issues as I type

I am not a big fan of the race to the max level cap, it is not a true indication on how hard or easy an MMO is. I always think you should enjoy the game as intended by the developers.

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