User talk:Linsey Murdock/Questions10

New mechanic: Punishing those who interrupt
Currently almost every mechanic in GW can be punished by the recipient in some way. There's anti-attack abilities that can make it hazardous to target someone, anti-Knockdown that can reflect the KD or deal damage for the attempt, anti-hex, enchant, and healing to punish people who use those, even a way to KD people who are using a speed boost, but nothing to repay someone for interrupting you. So, an example of something that could be implemented (Yeah, it would require adding a few new skills or reworking an old one to fit, so I recognize it's unlikely to happen)

Shout. "NO U" 5 energy, 8 recharge. Paragon Command Attribute. If target has successfully interrupted a foe within the last second, all of target's skills are disabled for 2..5 seconds.

This would provide a reason to consider taking a Paragon secondary as a monk (Punish a mesmer who's just interrupted you) while still requiring a great deal of skill to pull off (You only get 1 second to execute it), and only allowing punishment if the interrupt was successful. It might also make people have to think about when it's worth interrupting someone, rather than just launching interrupts constantly to have as effective shutdown as they can get. Since interrupting is a specific event, an invisible effect marking 1 second after a successful interrupt could be applied to the cause of the interrupt as a global code change that would hopefully not require every interrupt in the game to be modified. -Binary 20:11, 10 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm assuming this was meant as a joke since the lead up, the shout itself and the follow-up were mostly wrong and nonsensical, even though I think you mostly failed. (with only "NO U" being moderately funny - you should usually try to end with the punch line). -- Inspired to ____ 22:14, 10 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I was actually quite serious, if you'd like to point out where I was wrong I'll gladly correct your misperception. -Binary 22:16, 10 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Serious? How sad. I mean what do you expect mesmers to do if this was implemented? E-denial? Wand spiking? You also forget that there are several options to prevent interrupts from effecting you already. Besides, this is not a place for making suggestions to GW. 75.146.48.190 22:44, 10 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I expect them to keep interrupting people. But maybe they'll have to deal with not being unpunishable for launching the interrupts constantly on recharge.  Did you even bother to note the restrictions on the skill, how short its skill disruption is if it does get applied, or the fact that if you're using it you've got to have Paragon somewhere in your classes?  That's quite a set of limitations right there.  I didn't forget anything about skills that make interrupts not work on you, but this is different: It's punishing the user of the interrupt for interrupting.  Everything else simply protects you from suffering the disruption of it, which is entirely different.  As far as if this is the place or not, I've talked to various people about where it best could go and this page was recommended, if Linsey doesn't believe it should be here all that she needs to do is let me know (Or move it herself) and it'll be gone. -Binary 22:50, 10 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Not a joke...lol...now that is funny. -- Inspired to ____ 23:13, 10 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Currently there is no counter to interrupts. In case you aren't aware, here are a few more things without viable counters; hexes, chants, and weapon spells. All of them are broken because they can't be removed (in the case of hexes, the right ones can't be removed, because hex stacks are quick and cheap, and hex removal is very slow).
 * There are counters to interrupts. Try Glyph of Concentration and Tranquil was Tanasen.
 * Basically, it's a good suggestion. If you're an ele, especially after the glyph lesser nerf, what can you do to dissuade the PD mesmer from camping your ass and not letting you spells off? Absolutely nothing. And, thanks to the glyph lesser nerf, you can't even out-skill him by fake casting. In a game so heavily driven by interrupts hitting key skills, why is the interrupt mechanic still... uncounterable? - Auron 23:36, 10 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Seriously? OMG, the game has been taken over by people who only know how to whine. Listen carefully...If someone else is camping your ass then their sole purpose is to tie you up which is okay because you happen to be tieing him up also. Also, with the above "good suggestion" as you call it...you now need a counter to that because otherwise every interrupt will result in shutdown because this would become a must have skill which equals: omg I was interrupted so you do nothing for 5 seconds. Or, more accurately: please interrupt me so I can remove you from the game. Please, if anyone fails so bad that they want interrupts removed from the game, at least be honest and just suggest that. -- Inspired to ____ 23:57, 10 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I see you finally gave me something to respond to. But you didn't accurately respond to the example I gave even (Which was why I gave it, so that people could see what I was intending and not have to make random guesses -- which you've done, anyway.)  I gave the disruption a range from 2..5 seconds, so if it's disrupting for 5 seconds that means an attribute investment of over 12 in a random Paragon attribute line.  That's *not* happening on most characters, and the most that would be commonly spared would likely land it around 3 second duration.  So you can be shut down for 3 of 8 seconds, *if* someone can have their secondary be Paragon, *if* they catch you within 1 second of you interrupting them, and *if* you already interrupted them.  If you whiff an interrupt and someone thinks you hit it anyway or does it because they have to twitch to land it (Or they just jump the gun and use it when you're casting an entirely different spell) that's 8 seconds until they can possibly try again.  Please, if you think 3 seconds out of 8 shut down is removal from the game (Because you fail at being even slightly unpredictable with your interrupts) you need to go play more and theorycraft less.  Besides that, it's only an example skill so there are many other ways such a thing could be implemented to accomplish similar goals.  This is just one that seemed the most effective to me while still requiring skill to utilize.  -Binary 00:21, 11 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Congratulations, you have actually gotten me to engage you on this stupidity so at least you have accomplished something. Anyway, 1) it would happen with your skill because it is so OP 2) you didn't say it needed to interrupt the user of the shout so all any of the multiple players carrying it need to see or hear is that someone was interrupted 3) interrupts do no dammage, they only prevent you from using a skill by using a skill so..."big deal" and 4) you just spent a lot of time trying to convince me how worthless the skill you felt so sure needed to be implemented into the game that you posted it an inappropriate place - what's up with that? -- Inspired  to ____ 00:46, 11 September 2008 (UTC)
 * 1) Saying it is OP just as a fact isn't a point at all 2) No it doesn't need to interrupt the user of the shout, is everyone on the team going to be watching for one mesmer to do an interrupt so they can switch to them within 1 second? And not overlap each other?  And they're all going to be spending their secondary profession and attributes to get it to a good blackout?  That's a lot of investment to shut someone down for a few seconds after they've already gotten that interrupt off. Plus if the enemy team has, say ... TWO people that can interrupt (A warrior could do it with disrupting chop, and everyone would what?  Use this shout on the enemy mesmer?  Nice whiff) it gets even harder to do that.  Only in the world of theorycraft will this result in a completely shut down mesmer for 9 seconds (To let the first user's recharge), and that would have meant three interrupted enemy spells anyway so it's far from a complete blackout. 3) This skill would do no damage, it would only prevent you from using skills by using a skill so..."big deal" right back to you, and 4) I already went over this, I talked to a number of people and this was the most appropriate place they could suggest for such a suggestion and I will move it (Or not object) if told to do so (Or it is moved) by someone with the authority to make such a suggestion. -Binary 01:43, 11 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Say whatever more nonsense you will...I be done with this except for this: it's a shout targeting a foe like a couple other OP PvE only skills and you keep referring to Mesmers as if either you think they're the only class which can interrupt or you have a serious case of Mesmer hate. -- Inspired to ____ 02:01, 11 September 2008 (UTC)
 * You're right that I refer to Mesmers most, I was simply using Mesmers as an example of a class that often carries interrupts (I am aware that Rangers do this frequently too, and are probably even worse abusers of spamming interrupts in hopes of hitting something than Mesmers). Maybe I was continuing to use them because of the false claim earlier by an anon that this would render Mesmers obselete except to wand spike or e-deny people.  The situation remains though, none of your points are valid about it being too effective if for no other reason than because 1 second is a tiny window and it's just not that easy to pinpoint who launched the interrupt -- especially if the enemy team has even two people (Let alone more) possible of doing it.  The PvE skills that are so broken and are shouts are relatively unconditional and have a significantly more powerful effect than this, so that's a blatant strawman. Or is "Coward!" now too good to exist too just because it's a shout, even as an elite? -Binary 04:21, 11 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Coward is obviously overpowered. Nerf plz. - Auron 18:47, 11 September 2008 (UTC)


 * The more I think about this idea, the more I like it. It's moderately effective against mesmers and creates an entirely new level of skill play with warriors (disables empty adrenaline and getting locked in frenzy for five seconds would suck, but it would be hard to fit a counter inside the 1s timeframe (because nobody spams adrenal interrupts on charge except for RaO whores) unless you were actively trying to bait an interrupt).  My only concern is that it's kind of ineffective against rangers, especially in <8v8, because they can just tab+space with apply in the downtime and be almost as effective as they would be without the disable (since a dshot already landed to trigger the skill), and the recharge might be too short.  Also, proper interaction with PD might be difficult to program considering the self-disable. --71.229 19:08, 11 September 2008 (UTC) then again, i suck, so i could just be talking out of my rectum
 * Well, it was just an example I gave so that it would be clear what I was thinking about. The actual blackout duration and limitations to the target (Like, if it's you that was interrupted, etc. (That would make it harder to code)) could easily change, as well as the actual penalty -- it could be changed to do a bit of edenial to make it a more global effective against any class, like 5..10 energy instead.  That would have to remove the "I just interrupted someone" flag so that a whole team couldn't edeny someone for interrupting, of course.  All of that would be left to testing to see what was usable, broken, or whatnot of course.  As far as the PD disabling goes, the engine already has to handle that if Blackout is applied to someone who just used PD so I'd imagine this would function the same way. -Binary 23:08, 11 September 2008 (UTC)
 * this is retarded, and u know that. --Cursed Angel [[Image:User Cursed Angel Signature.jpg|19px|talk]] 00:37, 12 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Isn't this entire discussion in the wrong place? -- Salome  [[Image:User_salome_sig2.png|19px]] 02:29, 12 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I've been over that at least twice during this discussion, so I'm not repeating why again. You can check in the large sequence of replies to find it. -Binary 04:40, 12 September 2008 (UTC)
 * yeh but it's still in the wrong place... ur retarded idea should go with all the other retarded ideas at the suggestion pages, it's neither more important or more of an issue than the rest of that shit, and linsey isn't even the right person to bug about things like this is she..? --Cursed Angel [[Image:User Cursed Angel Signature.jpg|19px|talk]] 10:16, 12 September 2008 (UTC)
 * So it's only in the wrong place when it's a suggestion you don't like? Looking briefly over the other topics, I'd say about half on this page are suggestions -- shouldn't you be posting on every single one of them that it doesn't belong here?  Some have been there for a long time and you never bothered, so it's not lack of time... -Binary 00:03, 13 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Interrupts are one of two types of skills in guild wars that actually require some amount of skill, you know, unless you have Savage Shot, Distracting Shot, and Magebane Shot all on one bar. The punishment for missing an interrupt is that it recharges (unless you're a ranger), you lose energy (unless you're a ranger), and nothing happens (unless you're a ranger with apply poison or barbed arrows).  ~Shard  [[Image:User Shard Sig Icon.png]] 08:48, 13 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I once saw a ranger run Disrupting Shot, Punishing Shot, Savage Shot, Distracting Shot and Choking Gas onto one bar. I almost cried for the deluded soul.
 * IMO, it would make more sense if the clause was changed from "[foe]has successfully interrupted a foe" to "[foe] used an interrupt skill that didn't interrupt a skill...", that way it punishes interrupt spammers more so than skilled interrupters. I can see where one could argue about "lucky spammers," but if they're "spamming" interrupts, then they should be easy to shutdown.
 * And finally, yes, I do believe this suggestion is in the wrong place, no matter how many people told you. IIRC, Linsey works more with PvE content and the like. This suggestion would probably be more appropriate here. -- Ezekial Riddle 21:37, 13 September 2008 (UTC)
 * All of this makers sense, except for the fact that counters against interrupts exist already. They're just not used, that's all. 145.94.74.23 16:18, 16 September 2008 (UTC)
 * late to the party, but that's because that they are simply not viable. -- NUKLEAR  [[Image:User NuclearVII signature 3.jpg|19x19px]] IIV  19:01, 25 September 2008 (UTC)
 * While I understand where you are coming from on this, I don't believe that it would be a good mechanic to add to the game. I agree with Inspired in that any player that is spending all their time to tie you up is removing themselves from the game as well. - [[Image:User Linsey Murdock sig.jpg]]Linsey talk 01:14, 31 December 2008 (UTC)

Crate of Fireworks
Linsey can I ask you a tiny favor? Can u keep poking the guy responsible for the Zaishen Chest for me, until he adds the Crate of Fireworks. It's a pity that such a cool item can only be acquired once a year, if it will be available next year. --M age M ontu 21:21, 20 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Adding the Crate to the ZChest would be a blast! Please, the community'd love it! :D &mdash; Why [[Image:User Why Are We Fighting BlackRose.jpg|Talk]] 09:55, 21 September 2008 (UTC)
 * YES!!!! &mdash; Wolf  [[Image:User Great Darkwolf User Image paw.png|19px| ]] 23:02, 21 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Or how about just putting NPCs that we can craft them from, or buy them from, and fireworks in general. Waiting for events mainly to do my party animal title is just a little bit too annoying.  A large amount of this game is now feels like a job, title grinding etc.  118.92.205.189 23:43, 21 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Also making titles mainly only farmable during events creats an extremely annoying grind in the game, which basically forces those that want the title into farming their ass off for a long time, since they are now on a deadline.--The Gates Assassin 23:45, 21 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Agreed &mdash;Blood  [[Image:User Blood234 Blood sig .JPG|19px|]] 23:48, 21 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Disagree. If you want the title, you'll need to attend the parties, not find an easy way to farm them all year round. 145.94.74.23 09:44, 22 September 2008 (UTC)
 * As if you need to wait for the Canthan New Year, Halloween and co to party. Last I checked you can party all year round and not wait for special events. --M age [[image:user MageMontu sig.png| ]]M ontu 09:53, 22 September 2008 (UTC)
 * What about Party Time? What about party drops? Some of these titles are a lot easier to get points for during certain events. -- [[Image:User_Alaris_sig.JPG|Alaris_sig]] Alaris 13:54, 22 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Off-hand, the only party title related things I can think of being able to get, without attending events, are either from the Z-key, which requires Balthazar Faction grinding, the Snowmen dungeon and ... I think thats it.. oh, and the Mox storyline. Drunkard, you can buy basic drinks from traders, exchange reward items for them, they have a simple dungeon and not sure if they drop from the Z-chest.  Arenanet has made a lot of titles too much like a second job, either incredibly massive for no good reason other than to grind people retarded, or increasely difficult unless you want to wait for a few events, which not everyone around the world can attend (so many can miss out unless people want to start the line of thinking that if its important you're going to adjust your real life around an F-ing game - games which are supposed to be for enjoyment), or to grind themselves even more retarded with specific grinding.  I would love more Crates of Fireworks, but even if it was only added to the Z-key chest thingy it just forces me to go out and Balthazar grind, or just farm even more to be able to get it and there's no set way of getting it, Z-chest being random.  Then a market will be created but since the Crate would also be avaliable in the Z-chest I wouldn't imagine the price being very acceptable.  I want to enjoy the game, not feel like its a second job that I don't get paid for. 118.92.205.189 17:53, 22 September 2008 (UTC)
 * you can get Sugary items items and Alcohol all year long from a merchant. also the last time i saw the price of crates they were at 800g which isnt much. if they added them to the chest i think the price would drop.75.172.44.33 19:27, 22 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I would love to see Crates added to the Z Chest, if only to even out from all the Firewaters, and Creme's that the Z-Chest drops. Adding Crates would mean that it would be possible to get party points to.  Yes I know tonics drop, but after nearly 200 z-keys, I'm still waiting for a tonic drop. On another related point, in the UK, we are coming up to Guy Fawkes Night, commonly called Bonfire Night.  This is usually a night where a large number of UK people let off fireworks, and have bonfire parties.  Just thinking this might be a nice excuse to have a firework drop weekend.  After all we've had grog weekends, and sweetie weekends, would make sense to have a firework one at some point (apart from Canthan New Year). 195.183.80.137 09:56, 23 October 2008 (UTC)

Hargrove and I are discussing this. Thanks for bringing it up. - Linsey talk 20:05, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

Adding more weapons to the HoM
So far we have GWEN weapons only later to have the Tormented Weapons added, so thats weapons from GWEN and Nightfall, so are there any plans to add elite weapons from Proph and Factions to the mix? Seems weird that Arenanet's only decided to add Tormented Weapons only. 118.92.205.189 20:10, 25 September 2008 (UTC)
 * It seems wierd if you don't pay attention to the effort getting one of the Torments weapons or Destroyer weapons takes. There's nothing comparable in Proph, and only Zodiac comes close in Factions. Not that having more choices for adding to the HoM would be bad, esp since not everyone likes the Tormented / Destroyer skins. 75.146.48.190 20:29, 25 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Guys if you read above it would seem that Lynsey has already answered this, she said that its nt technically possible to add more sets at the moment. -- Salome  [[Image:User_salome_sig2.png|19px]] 20:30, 25 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I agree that tormented and destroyer weapons are more valuable but you can't even compare them to each other. Tormented weapons are by far more valuable than destroyer weapons and imho should hold a more prominent status/position than them.- TheRave [[Image:User_TheRave_sig.jpg]] (talk) 20:32, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

There were a number of factors involved in the decision. Only full weapon cycles were considered which rules out a huge number of options. Of what was left, it was important that the weapons that are put into the HoM were valuable enough to warrant the prestige which rules out a whole lot more. IF the Zodiac set was a full set then it could be considered for inclusion, however getting Zodiac weapons isn't that hard, it's getting ones that are perfect that is the difficult part. Adding things to the HoM at this point is tricky technically because of the way the data needs to be stored and how it transfers to GW2. - Linsey talk 21:59, 25 September 2008 (UTC)
 * =D so you're saying no matter what weapon we put in, we are going to get a specific GW2 weapon based on the weapon type, which also means all current professions exist in GW2 =D--The Gates Assassin 22:15, 25 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Assasin, I think that's a stretch, to say the least, but one I hope is true. -- Salome  [[Image:User_salome_sig2.png|19px]] 22:23, 25 September 2008 (UTC)
 * why dose prestige = expensive?, and why cant there be a generic green weapon monument?75.172.44.33 22:29, 25 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Zodiac is only missing a spear and scythe though, isn't it? Surely those wouldn't be the hardest things to program? I suggested a few months ago basically making a new type of zodiac weapon, basically bigger or with a different colour scheme or throwing a few extra gems on them, and calling them greater zodiac weapons which are inscribable and from a collector in exchange for something gained from doing the elite faction missions, say 30 Urgoz gems and 30 Deep gems per weapon, might be an idea. But then that might be an awful lot of effort. As it would mean reskinning existing weapons, adding 2 new ones, adding a collector and adding some form of collectable drop from the end chest. Also to answer the IP, as mostly green weapons arent in set format and their is way too many to even start considering what could be added and what shouldn't. -- Salome  [[Image:User_salome_sig2.png|19px]] 22:33, 25 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Assassin: no that is not what I am saying at all.
 * 75.172.44.33: from dictionary.com "prestige: reputation or influence arising from success, achievement, rank, or other favorable attributes." It's not a stretch that prestige in games would be equated with rarity which in most games comes hand in hand with expense. The reason we can't use generic green weapons is because there are hundreds of them.
 * Salome: Getting a Zodiac Spear and Scythe isn't about the programming. I don't want to do a major overhaul of the rewards in The Deep and Urgoz. With a few tweaks it should reinforce the existing system. Also, getting the kind of art resources you guys keep talking about is difficult. If I got that kind of art time, I would rather use it for something bigger and new instead of making changes to these areas. - [[Image:User Linsey Murdock sig.jpg]]Linsey talk 22:41, 25 September 2008 (UTC)
 * well my question is more based on why dose the monument have to be a reward for people who spend a lot of money on skins some people don't like don't get me wrong i have enough money right now that i could get those weapons i am not going to fill that monument until ether the prices drop greatly or until the monument becomes account based because its not worth it to me to get 11 weapons on my rit for my rit's heroes to use.. also my idea of the generic green statue was suppose to be like the Animal companion statue for the non rare pets. not to add all the green weapons.75.172.44.33 23:52, 25 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Why are you waiting for the monument to physically be made account based? We made the decision to announce the change well in advance so that people won't have to wait so I am curious why that hasn't effected your playing. - [[Image:User Linsey Murdock sig.jpg]]Linsey talk 00:12, 26 September 2008 (UTC)
 * well the biggest deterrent for me is the customization that happens. if it dedicated it like minis i think i would be fine with it. but if some thing is dedicated i would want it to show up in all my hom.75.172.44.33 00:26, 26 September 2008 (UTC)
 * But if you already have the gold to buy all the weapons, and we know the monument will be account based, why don't you buy all the weapons for the characters you want to have them (for example, the sword for your warrior, the daggers for your assassin, the staff for your ritualist)? When the HoM becomes account based, it won't matter if you have filled the Valor monument with weapons belonging to a single character or with eleven weapons each from a different character. Erasculio 00:39, 26 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Id imagine its down to uncertainty. Not knowing if/when the update will happen, or how exactly it will work might cause players to wait till its actually implemented before working on their HoM. --Just One More Thing 00:46, 26 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Also, there is quite a bit of history in GW that if you do something before ANet make a change, you then have to do it again afterwards. Especially when it comes to the hall of monuments. Sadie2k 11:25, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

The whole point of us making that announcement was so that people could prepare and change their playing styles to match. The account wide HoM changes are based entirely upon the achievement you have already put in the Hall. You will not have to repeat them for them to count. - Linsey talk 22:29, 26 September 2008 (UTC)
 * the main deterrent is the lack of info.75.172.44.33 23:43, 26 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I agree with 44.33, even since the update it hasn't made me want to go out and play any more of my characters any more than before the update due to the lack of relevant information about what it all actually means. Account Based HoM setup gave off the notion that I'll be able to see equipment and etc of any combination of characters on my Account, thus actually making it worth the effort, but the community is confused on what account based actually defines.
 * From what I've been hearing from here or else where the Account Based version will be, pretty much, a copy and paste of my main character, as he has the most titles, armor, mini pets, destroyer weapons, heroes etc in his HoM. Thats not very exciting.  Armor is a question mark as there isn't complete sets for each profession when it comes to campaigns, so that monument could still be empty for some characters.
 * A true Account Based HoM, in my eyes, would be to allow the player to show armor sets and titles etc not exclusive to the character in the HoM at the time. I had visions of having my core characters up there, in their Armor; my Derv up front, my warrior and monk at his side, and the two legendary survivor eles watching over all of them.  Similar with the titles, showing achievement for the character's who got them....  but alas.  That would have been epically cool but too much work.
 * There is just far too many questions about what the HoM update will actually do, its a mass deterrent and what we do know doesn't really encourage people or make it seem worth it. The Update when it came out didn't really say much, and was just words, and again its one of these things we have to wait and see with... again... wait and see.  Kinda getting bored of that kind of attitude myself.
 * Rant over, rolling over to go back to bed. 118.92.210.136 03:44, 27 September 2008 (UTC)

Sorry to say this Linsey, but plainly spoken the Weapons Monument or the HoM in general is a monumental failure!

And it was so right from the moment when ANets Devs decided to make Destroyer weapons the only ones allowed to be displayed. IMO this decision originally had nothing to do to make “only full sets of weapons” to be worthy to be displayed in the HoM as you stated here, but as a simple time saver so ANet would not have to recreate a great bunch of GW1 weapons to show up correctly in GW2 style quality.

As one can see items that have been added in the recent past (GWEN, BmP), are of much higher quality graphics and texture wise and I assume its pretty close to the texture quality we’ll see in GW2. So by only allowing Destroyer weapons you had killed two birds with only one stone when it came to the weapons monument: by only allowing Destroyer weapons you would a) only have to recreate that particular set of weapons graphics to be displayed in GW2s version of the HoM and b) by using texture quality close to or similar to the one that will be used in GW2 you would not have to recreate the textures for GW2 at all but maybe only create higher polygon versions of the those weapons.

This “time saver” thinking IMO is also the real explanation why the armour monument originally only featured generic “statue” versions of GWs 15K elite armours. ANet originally never intended to exactly display the players character with its armour, but show that generic statue version of the armour that could be easily recreated for GW2.

The HoM was advertised as a place where WE could display OUR achievements, OUR weapons, OUR armour. But what we got is a HoM that only allows us to display ANETs choice or weapons, ANETs choice of armour and ANETs choice of achievements that are allowed to be displayed. Only monuments that allow for a real choice are the title and mini pet monument.

Bottom line the HoM is nothing but a graphical representation of the title mechanics: instead of “kill 26 thousand monsters in Norn territory to achieve rank 5 in the Norn title track” it is “collect  250 Granite Slabs, 100 Iron Ingots, 10 Diamonds, 10 Onyx Gemstones, and 5 platinum“.

As a result of this I stopped filling my HoM since I realized its nothing personalized but a list of generic milestones ANet created that I have to hit so I am allowed to show something in “my” HoM. And since I have gotten really tiered of ANets extreme use of grind mechanics ever since NF, I stopped to view the HoM as a place where I can create a personal shrine for my airs to visit in GW2.

Face it ANet, the HoM was the biggest advertised feature of GWEN (next to 18 multi level “copy & past” dungeons)and hands down it became GWENs greatest disappointment.

Trying to explain that only ”complete weapons sets” where considered to be displayed at the appropriate monument is a lye since you could very well allow mentioned zodiac weapons! As I recall there is a whole set of them, what’s missing is a spear and a scythe. Add them and you could allow zodiac weapons. Want them to have perfect stats? Make them a drop form the Deeps and Urgoz end chest.

The “only complete sets” explanation also an evasive manoeuvre to cover up a badly designed HoM in the first place and an attempt to not add an even bigger work load on ANets shoulders regarding GW2s HoM development, that needs to duplicate everything a player puts in his GW1 HoM. And I can tell you now: if GW2 HoM does not look like the one player “owns” in GW1, you’ll face the next big community uproar where the BMP debacle will look like a mild summer breeze.

Oh and BTW: My Warrior used Sskais sword to kill: Shiro twice (Fac, NF), the Lich twice (Proph, NF), Abbadon and the Great Destroyer. It’s an ugly weapon but has good stats for an adrenalin warrior and was my first green I ever got dropped in GW, yet I am not allowed to display this weapon. Why? Regards ~Garbaron~ ; 27th September 2008


 * Foooool! Linsey doesn't read walls of text! >_<!! Vael Victus  [[Image:User_Vael_Victus_Sig.jpg|18px|Pancakes.]] 19:13, 30 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Probably ^_^ I think, as I am guilty of long walls of text also, it should be limited to a 3 line maximum.  Maybe we should run an experiment, if Arenanet employees respond to short, sometimes concise otherwise vague comments, or sometimes over thought and HUGE walls of text. 118.92.147.180 09:49, 1 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Why? Workload.  You are right about a few points, the HoM was a terrific marketing tool, its the thing that really made me want to get Eye of the North, and I, like so many were bitterly disappointed when you go into it and 90% of your stuff couldn't be shown.  The weapons monument jerked me right off, didn't even know Destroyer Weapons existed.  All and all the HoM is a great idea but poorly executed, well perhaps thats the best word for it, executed.  The HoM was a great notion that was pretty much killed before it started. 118.92.210.136 10:06, 27 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I don't agree withGarbaron. IMO, adding everything to the Hall of Monuments would only add unnecessary complexity to the monuments and devalue the accomplishments that currently may be added there. Saying that having a Tormented Weapon (or even a couple other skins, such as a Zodiac Weapon) is an accomplishment is something I agree with; saying that finishing the game with a random blue or green weapon is an accomplishment is just an exageration.
 * In the end, I don't think the HoM should be for what the players believe is an accomplishment, rather for what Arena Net has decided is an accomplishment. Not only because it is their game (and no one here has bought Guild Wars, only the right to play within it), but also because different players see different things as accomplishments. Is the guy who finished Prophecies without wearing any piece of armor going to get a Honor statue for doing that? What about the guy who finished Factions without using any skill? And the guy who wears a mix of Vabbian and Sunspear armor, is he going to get a customized Resilience Monument? All those are IMO not feasible, nor things that should be implemented in the game.
 * (And really, accusing people of lying without any evidence and without any real arguments - if the Zodiac set is missing a spear and a scythe it's not a full set, period; being an "almost" full set is irrelevant, since it's still not a full set - is just bad form. You are not going to be listened to throwing random accusations around, or believing you know what Arena Net's original intentions were.) Erasculio 13:47, 27 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I always love this notion: "adding everything to the Hall of Monuments would only add unnecessary complexity to the monuments and devalue the accomplishments that currently may be added there." Devalue it for whom?  There are little mechanics to show detailed things; such as player with no armor, but as we know armor is irrelevant with Protective Spirit.  Anyway.  Weapons, on the other hand, could have been handled - yes more workload kind of way for Arenanet - in a fair better manner.
 * Also, to these comments "and no one here has bought Guild Wars, only the right to play within it". Let me point out, very clearly, Guild Wars wouldn't continue to exist without the players either, unless people think Arenanet or NCSoft would continue to support and fund a game no one plays.  Yes, we don't own Guild Wars, don't be dense, but without our Support Arenanet would never have gotten the chance to have made a sequel, both in the series or Guild Wars 2.
 * So many point out everyone has a different idea of what an accomplishment is yet its Arenanet who out and out insulted many by specifically telling people what it important to whom but specificing the accomplishment but also allowing only a fraction of things to be shown. All and all it can be justifed to an extent; but could very well have indeed personal taste too.
 * There is nothing wrong with the notion of allowing people to put anything in the HoM in regards to say Armor or Weapons; from their first green, first starter set of armor, their first craft weapon, to their favored combination of max armor, the weapon they carried as they wiped the floor with Shiro for the second time - the qualifying factor would be to have it that these weapons don't add towards the possible bonus that comes with what the Hall means for Guild Wars 2. Allowing the system to have recognised the weapons and different armors (combinations) allowing them to be displayed but only allowing the Destroyer, and now Tormented Weapons and Elite Armor sets to add towards the bonus would have been the ideal.
 * It would have allowed the player to show off, with proud, their favored weapons and armor thus their personal journey through Guild Wars but then still given them something to grind/work towards for the HoM; the issue with making it only accept one or now two sets of weapons or limited armor sets, is that far too many people were disappointed when they first got to it. Arenanet's handling, as they 'own' the game, was that they didn't prepare the players for the Hall.
 * Also, I'm not a programming wiz but no one on here, a forum or at Arenanet can convince me that it couldn't have been done better, because it could. All and all, the Hall is a nice idea, its something that is truly unique and I'm glad some developer person dreamed up the idea but they've literally programmed too many limitations in and thought too one-dimensionally when it comes to the players (and, to turn my nose up at the "you don't own Guild Wars) and our continuing support with Guild Wars.
 * Alas ... 118.92.210.136 18:31, 27 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Take a look at this page - we have players complaining that making titles easier to get would devalue them. Of course we are also going to get people complaining if filling the Hall of Monuments, which right now is something hard to do, were made easier (and much easier, as would be if everything were allowed to be added there).
 * In the end, saying that killing Shiro with a blue weapon (or with any given weapon) is more of an accomplishment than killing him anything else is false, given how the power of weapons is almost the same regardless of color. It's only a matter of sentimentalism, and sentimentalism is far from being a sign of an accomplishment on itself. Whatever a player thinks is important to him - that's irrelevant for a feature that since the beginning was stated as being a way of recording accomplishments, not being a photo album of your character's memories. A "favored weapon" is not an accomplishment, the first crafted weapon someone used is not an accomplishment, and so on.
 * In other hand, if Arena Net suddenly allowed people to add things to the HoM without giving a reward in GW2 for them...People would come here and throw (more) accusations about how Arena Net would have lied, since they have stated multiple times in the past that everything added to the halls is going to give some kind of GW2 reward. That's not really a viable option.
 * (And really - you don't own Guild Wars. If you had never played GW, it would be the loss of one among more than one million players, hardly enough to make an impact. It isn't your support that allows Arena Net to work on GW2 - it's the support of millions, many with different opinions, different tastes and different priorities about the game and about the HoM. Your support is not enough to entitle you to think that your decisions and your wishes are more important, or better, than what Arena Net decides and wishes. This is a great read about that.) Erasculio 01:11, 28 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Please don't be one-dimensional in regards to the whole 'owning Guild Wars' line.
 * Secondly, I agree, a favoured weapon is not an accomplishment, its not something I'm trying to justify as an accomplishment, I'm putting it down to personal taste; its like putting a print of the Mona Lisa up on your wall and knowing the true accomplishment is getting the real thing. There could have very well have been a dual-fuctionality to the HoM that would have been very pleasing, yet it wasn't done.  Having players show what they wish and also making it something to work towards, as more incentive than the current work-like motive it is now.  Yet, then again, the HoM is an option, but again, people can't think so one-dimensionally when address the mind of the player when something new is put into a game.
 * In the end one can look at these 'accomplishments', barring titles... well, even them to a point, that accomplishment of the HoM is gold/grind. Skill tomes. Runners.  Buying/trading minipets and armor upgrades.  Destroyer weapons = gold.  Meh... thats probably pity of me.  As, after all, accomplishment can be measured so many ways. 118.92.234.188 01:42, 28 September 2008 (UTC)

I don't consider buying Destroyer Weapons or any other weapon an accomplishment. The weapon stack was never that. It has been said on the forums a lot of times, but what people wanted was something to show their characters accomplishment, not what ANet considers one. My main character has only rank 1 in survivor, but it is that characters achievement (It was the first rank 1 survivor I had) and I would like to show it. Right now, we only have a generic HoM and all the finished once will look similar. Yes, a major letdown. Anyone who considers a set of pixels to be something that can be devalued, should really go outside more. --The preceding unsigned comment was added by User:84.56.208.53 (talk).
 * Actually, thats a good point, you make a good point: the value of a set of pixels. 118.92.234.188 17:54, 29 September 2008 (UTC)
 * @ Erasculio: Where did I say I want ANet to allow me to add everything to the HoM? I stated that the HoM was badly designed and was supposed to serve as a development time saver for ANet. That they initially never intended to show ANY personalized stuff, but generic place holders they can easily recreate or even reuse for GW2s HoM.
 * The “destroyer weapons only” Weapons monument, the generic 15k Armour statues which where originally there when GWEN was released, as well as the companion monument which features generic pet statues for everything aside Phoenix, are proof enough that this indeed was what ANet had in mind. Only due to popular demand and uproar at message boards was the armour monument changed to display a resized copy of the character who holds the HoM by this giving a hint of the promised personalized HoM. Only because of immense player debates and uproar is a change to account based now being implemented by ANet. And am sure if ANet had had a choice, the HoM would still be what it was when GWEN was released but pleasing players is a must especially now where the sequel is postponed to only god knows when. Of course ANet would never admit to that. Regards ~Garbaron~ 29 September 2008
 * The Hall was a nice idea, but when released, even now is nothing more than a grind to keep people playing, and even making it Account Based isn't in itself enough to really reshape the HoM. It doesn't really encourage people to continue playing more as most characters have most titles started on their main (not saying everyone has yet our of people I know in game I don't know any that don't, especially since the introduction of the HoM).  Weapons could have been done better, in a far more constructive way, but this is something that will clearly not be changing.
 * It is disappointing though, knowing that at the end of the day everyone's HoM is going to be relatively the same. Though, this is typical of Guild Wars [he says after seeing two EXACT same versions of his character in Lion Arch - seem look, same armor >.<]  ^_^ 118.92.234.188 18:04, 29 September 2008 (UTC)

IMHO the weapons monument is only a money sink, because the weapons you can display at the moment are weapons you have to buy, i.e. you can not get them as loot. And displaying 11 weapons means you have to spend ~333P at the moment (if you have to buy all materials). And since the weapons are customized by displaying them, you can not even use them for your other characters (Aaaaarrrrrrggghhh). Kali The Devourer 17:20, 3 October 2008

Quick Question regarding HoM
Well I'm now confused, lets say your warrior has Eleite Charr Armor applied in HoM, what will show when your derv enters after account based modification update? Appear as the warrior? A Manikan? I doubt I spelled it right. You prob already answered this but I didn't see it. Third are you allowed to answer this question since A Net as already announced the update? Thanks, Linsey! -- Blood  contribs  00:43, 26 September 2008 (UTC)
 * my thought was that it would just show your ele in that set. and it would aways show her in that set.75.172.44.33 01:43, 26 September 2008 (UTC)
 * It will appear in the corresponding ele set and if their isn't a corresponding set it probably wont display at all. For example Silver Eagle, Elite Exotic and Elite Imperial have no corresponding sets for many of the other professions, so if you have them they probably just wont be displayable. Also to Lynsey I know alot of people are now investing in their weapons and armour monuments with various characters, due to the account wide announcement, however many people are unclear as to how KoaBD is going to operate once the HoM goes account wide, thus most people are still focusing on 1 char for their titles. -- Salome  [[Image:User_salome_sig2.png|19px]] 22:22, 26 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Linsey, you might want to take note of this-> This is a quick photoshop job a friend of mine made when the devs first announced the account based modification update for the HoM. It's basically a lol-worthy interpretation of the announcement which I don't think anyone would want to see happen, even on a good day. :)  --68.32.187.152 08:41, 27 September 2008 (UTC)
 * That's both eeeeeuw, and ROFL. --M age [[image:user MageMontu sig.png| ]]<font color="#CC0000">M <font color="#330000">ontu 08:47, 27 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I think people are overthinking some of this. I personally understood the explanations to mean that if you choose to view your HoM in account mode, rather than character mode, you will see the highest combined achievements of all of your characters, eliminating duplication, as well as all elite sets (only 5 displayable) of armor, all minipets (so no more than 66), the highest representation of heroes (so no more than the 29 available statues), and the combined contents of the weapons monument. I don't believe they are going to display female armor on a male character (as in the above linked picture) they would display the male version of that armor on the current character model. As for the Honors monument and KoaBD, if one of your characters has earned rank 6, you will see rank 6. If another one of your characters has achieved Incorrigible Ale Hound, you will see it. It is not going to change the unlocks for GW2, I don't believe you were going to get multiple unlocks for completing things on multiple characters before this change was announced. It is also, imo, not going to change how KoaBD works in general, each character has to earn as many titles as it takes to earn each rank, it's not going to suddenly make any of the current character based titles account based. So if you want to earn God Walking Amongst Mere Mortals on more than one character, you will still need to max 30 titles on each. --[[Image:User Wynthyst sig icon.png | Wyn's Talk page]] Wyn 09:20, 27 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Wyn although I agree with almost everything you said I hope that you are mistaken in regards to the KoaBD title. As the point of changing it to account wide is to encourage more diversive play styles through encouraging people to play more than 1 charecter. If however KoaBD is still charecter specific then that surely would be counter intuitive, as people will still focus on one main charecter. -- Salome  [[Image:User_salome_sig2.png|19px]] 13:28, 27 September 2008 (UTC)
 * (EC) I mostly agree with Wyn, people are overthinking (and also overreacting). But IMO it would be very cool if the change to account-based helped players regarding what I see as a flaw in the KoaBD title - how having multiple characters with different titles is not rewarded as much as having a single character with different titles. Would be rather nice if some kind of fix were implemented (shameless plug) or if the Rainbow Phoenix were awarded to people who have 30 unique titles in their accounts (as opposed to the 10 it takes for a single character). Erasculio 13:47, 27 September 2008 (UTC)


 * (EC)I think if you read some of Linsey's posts to questions regarding title track changes, you will see that the only title track changes that are being considered are for Wisdom and Treasure hunter. I would be very, very surprised and disappointed to find that they are making KoaBD in some way account based, to me it would remove all incentive I currently have to play any of my other characters if they would all get the benefit of the 25 maxed titles I have on my derv. --[[Image:User Wynthyst sig icon.png | Wyn's Talk page]] Wyn 13:53, 27 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Really? Do you mean you would mind if all titles were made account based (so your level 1 dervish had Lightbringer rank 8), or that you would be bothered if specifically KoaBD were to be made account based (so your level 1 dervish would have KoaBD, but no Lightbringer rank or any other title), or both? (Linsey, we're so flooding your talk page, aren't we? Sorry : D) Erasculio 14:34, 27 September 2008 (UTC)
 * (EC)Since the KoaBD title track is displayed by the "tapestry" of the Honors Monument and not by a statue, I don't see it making that much difference in how the account mode of the HoM will look. The highest achieved level of KoaBD is what will display there. As to the Rainbow Phoenix, since pets are character specific, I would think leaving it the way it is would give you more incentive to play your other characters if you want to have Rainbows on each..... but that's just my thoughts.
 * @Erasulio, yes I would mind if all my characters received the benefits of the titles I earned on my dervish, it gives me nothing to strive for with them. I mean talk about removing any incentive to play any of my other characters, that would pretty much end the game for me. Of course, I achieve my titles a bit differently than a large number of players, I don't grind, I don't farm, I just play the game, and help guildies and friends. I guess for those players who spend countless hours grinding out reputation points by killing things over and over again, or mindlessly riding the wurms, or whatever other 'title grinding' they do would find it much more convenient if all their characters got the benefit if they only had to do it once. --[[Image:User Wynthyst sig icon.png | Wyn's Talk page]] Wyn 14:59, 27 September 2008 (UTC)

This is all speculation of course because ANet have not said exactly how the account wide update will work, and untill they do so, we do not know. --Just One More Thing 20:57, 27 September 2008 (UTC)
 * i would like to point out that alll of this discussion is because of the lack of info we have about the incoming changes to the hom. and the lack of understanding as to why and how The Monument of Valor will work and why it dosnt have some sets.
 * imo if they just made it easier to get the titles that are not account based once you have maxed them on another ch(along with making survivor account based once you reached rank 3), i think would put to rest a lot of the koabd stuff.75.172.44.33 21:19, 27 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I will admit i wouldnt want all my charecters to gain the benefits of the titles i have gained for other charecters as it would prevent me from playing on them to some degree,however the KoaBD title is somewhat flawed if looked at in conjunction with anets stated aim of trying to encourage players to play with more than one charecter. As with the HoM going account wide people will still focus solely on one charecter if the KoaBD title doesnt go account wide at the same time. -- Salome  [[Image:User_salome_sig2.png|19px]] 23:19, 28 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I guess I really don't understand how you propose that KoaBD would become account based. Maybe if you were to explain how you think it should work? (edit) As for it being flawed in comparison to giving incentive to play your other characters, I think it's just the opposite, as it continues to give me something to strive for on my other characters. By making it more account based, then there would be NO incentive to play my other characters since I have almost maxed out KoaBD on my derv.(/edit) Again, imo, these changes are only to the appearance of the HoM, not to how titles are earned or counted and as I said before I don't think it's going to affect the unlocks for GW2 one way or another. It is just so that you can go into it with any of your characters and see stuff there. Of course, I could have totally misunderstood everything that has been posted about the proposed changes. --[[Image:User Wynthyst sig icon.png | Wyn's Talk page]] Wyn 01:40, 29 September 2008 (UTC)
 * To me it would be alot better if the developer team got the approval if they haven't already because everyone is contridicting one another. At least that's what it look's like to meh. --  WoB  [[Image:User Wings of Blood sig icon.png|18px]] 02:54, 29 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Where is the contradiction? We have been told that the Hall of Monuments will become account based, and so far nothing different from that has been said by an Arena Net employer.
 * Wyn, I think the difference is that you're talking about maxing KoaBD with multiple characters, while Salome is talking about using multiple characters to max KoaBD. Like in this discussion, while players who max the KoaDB title with multiple characters would lose if the title became account based, players who just want to max it once, but don't want to be restricted to doing all that "work" with only one character, would actually be helped by such change. Erasculio 03:18, 29 September 2008 (UTC)
 * i think the best thing they could do to make people want to play more ch is once you reach max sun spear for example all your other ch that don't have sunspear would get a buff that would let them get like 5 times as main points. so that way they can max the title a lot quicker and not have to grind half as much. or just make it so once you get a title maxed it gets maxed for all your chs....75.172.44.33 04:50, 29 September 2008 (UTC)
 * also why cant we put BMP weapons into the monument a lot of people would probably buy the bmp upgrade. if they could, also all those skins are Jawsome.75.172.44.33 23:26, 29 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Probably because it wouldn't take very long to complete the monument if you could put BMP weapons in. The BMP content isn't very difficult.  Yes, it would probably increase sales of the BMP but it wouldn't extend the play-time/grind factor that it takes to get the materials and gold for Destroyer Weapons, and the gemsets etc for Tormented Weapons considering, especially the latter, is difficult for their main player-base, the casual player.  If you want to complete an HoM you simply have to play longer, HoM = game lengthening tool.  118.92.234.188 23:49, 29 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Shiny! -- [[Image:User_Alaris_sig.JPG|Alaris_sig]] Alaris 00:53, 30 September 2008 (UTC)

@Erasculio: Actually, they've said it's going to be either account-based or character-based, and that players can toggle between the two (I'm assuming in case people have attained several titles on multiple characters and they don't want their hard work to go to waste). Kokuou 21:47, 1 October 2008 (UTC)
 * I wish I could answer some of these questions but to be honest, I don't know how it is going to work right now either. Once we get farther into development on this, then I should be able to say more, but right now I just don't know. I was not the designer on this project so I am not as intimately acquainted with it as I will be when we get closer to releasing it. When that is going to be, I do not know. I really wish I had more to tell you guys, especially since this topic has gone for so long unanswered, but sadly I do not. I did read all of the posts here though, so at least you know they have been heard. - [[Image:User Linsey Murdock sig.jpg]]Linsey talk 23:29, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

What are your thoughts on...
Some of the most requested additions to guild wars. i know there is a lot of skill balance but i am going to be focusing more on the the features that are wanted and keep popping up over and over. First off character customization, what are your thoughts on adding features like A hair stylist, a sex changer, name changer. also what would the possibly be of getting some sort of package deal where you can buy those things in the on-line store for like $5-10? also what are your thoughts about how travel is set up in the game right now. what i mean by that is Clicking on ether the ship, asuren gate, or vortex to get from place to place do you think or see any changes to that system? thanks for your time! 75.172.44.33 22:15, 3 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Adding some of the features you mentioned is certainly something that I would like to do, but there are technical issues to take into account. Things like how we store data and whether it can be manipulated easily. That's not to say that we aren't exploring the possibilities.
 * I don't think we will ever change the map travel system. - [[Image:User Linsey Murdock sig.jpg]]Linsey talk 19:11, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
 * good to know, how do you feel about the people who are forcefully getting them selfs banned so they can change there toons name?75.165.99.163 19:48, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
 * How are they accomplishing this? The only way you can get a name change is if your name is inappropriate in the first place. - [[Image:User Linsey Murdock sig.jpg]]Linsey talk 01:30, 9 October 2008 (UTC)
 * they ask there friends to /report there toon and then they get banned. for having a "inappropriate name" and they do it at a time they know there going to not be playing. this is the work around to not having a in game name changer.75.165.99.163 02:15, 9 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Sound to me like Anet is missing out on a revenue stream. If people are willing to go to this kind of trouble to get a name change, then I'm sure they'd pay say, five bucks, simply to have Anet put the "banned-until-name-is-changed" flag on their account. --[[Image:User mrsmiles tinysmile.png| ]] MrSmiles 21:06, 16 October 2008 (UTC)
 * their is a lot of stuff anet is missing out on, revenue wise. i for one would pay for a npc that would let me change my toons name every 6 months. i would also pay for a hair stlyest. and a "plastic surgeon" or face changer. i would pay $5 each for those upgrades. that would be $15 that anet could get from each person. i personally have 2 toons i don't want to delete in hopes of a name changer and hair changer.75.165.117.51 00:50, 17 October 2008 (UTC)
 * I sure as hell wouldn't pay real money for a makeover of my toons. I would pay for a HUGE storage increase though. Sjeng [[Image:User_Sjeng_Sig_Icon.png|13px|talk ]] 15:46, 30 October 2008 (UTC)

With "Not changing the system" you mean not touching it at all or not changing the icons and the maps? I'd love to be able to see the other maps without being there, so I don't have to go through crowded cities that slow down travel or cities with low party size so I can keep my team full without having to split. For Example: That way people won't have to visit cities they don't want to travel to and parties won't have to split due to having to stop by a town with a party size of 4 when they travel between outposts with a party size of 8. Just how the inter-region icons (Boat, Vortex and Asura Gate) work to show the other maps instead of traveling there would be more than enough, there is no need for new systems or new maps, and the rest of the travel icons would stay the same. MithTalk 10:44, 1 November 2008 (UTC)
 * You are in the Elonian map. You double click the Vortex. Instead of traveling to the Gate of Torment, the Torment map is shown. Now you can double click any other outpost, including the Gate of Torment, to travel there.
 * That is an interesting idea, but I don't think we would be able to show campaign maps that you aren't currently in. The world map system is a little finicky. - [[Image:User Linsey Murdock sig.jpg]]Linsey talk 23:36, 5 January 2009 (UTC)
 * What may be a good idea is to actually populate the map travel boat with more cites than just the main ports for each campaign that that toon has unlocked. Like Kodash Bazaar, Amnoon Oasis, Gate of Torment, Doomlore.  I've lost count of the number of times we've had to break guild teams because Spamadan only allows 4 member parties.  Or when going from the Domain of Anguish to any town in Tyria/Factions takes at least 3 mappings to get there (or 4 for Tyria if you need to keep your 8 member party intact).  To my way of thinking just adding the cities to the list of mappable ports alone would help a lot and need not take to much programming time to impliment either.  81.108.21.92 03:45, 1 February 2009 (UTC)

Zaishen (Elite) Challenge Questions.
Hello Linsey. I just wanted to ask yoo if you could answer any of the questions about the Zaishen elite challenge on the talk page: http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Talk:Zaishen_Elite_(mission)#Notes Thanks in advance! Sjeng 16:20, 4 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Hmmm, all these questions are better suited to a programmer. I'm going to pass them along but that's the best I can do right now. - [[Image:User Linsey Murdock sig.jpg]]Linsey talk 23:45, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

Additional Storage/Server Space/Character Slot question
Just a question here for Linsey, if its possible to get an answer on this from yourself or another employee. Can I ask which takes up more space on the servers; a character or a tab of storage?

I don't understand the programming design/limitation of storage space (and its space requirement on the server) and characters (and their character on the server) but am curious as to what takes up more in the long run. 000.00.00.00 02:11, 6 October 2008 (UTC)
 * I know I'm not Linsey, but Characters would take up more space easily, but from a programming standpoint neither of these things would take up insane amounts of space by themselves on their server where they host this data, as in essence all a character is is a bunch of numbers attached to a bunch of other numbers that get translated into graphical representations of what you see. An item in storage is (most likely, this is pretty much your generic coding here) just a bunch of numbers that basically say what the item is, how many you got, and that gets translated down the road (elsewhere) into what the item does and what it looks like etc. Of course maybe they did something really complicated coding wise here and for some reason they use up a lot of space but in general all they are is numbers that are interpreted by other stuff into what you see in-game, but in theory the characters would use up more room since each account has multiple characters which each have their own inventories, heroes, and heroes inventories, titles, title progressions, whereas storage is shared per account and only has to track the item GUI's and the # per item in there. DarkNecrid 03:26, 6 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Remember the comments we got the other day about how items don't "exist", though. It was mentioned months ago (although I don't remember who said it) that one of the reasons why we don't have a trade house is how the items themselves are part of the characters; so an item isn't placed in storage, but rather part of the storage becomes an item (as far as I understood it). Found it - take a look at the links within this post, I think they may help you. Erasculio 03:43, 6 October 2008 (UTC)
 * oic, BLOBs. That actually explains rather well why duping hasn't existed in this game until the reconnection flaw was discovered. Other MMO's use the GUI system, so duping uses a flaw to tell the server you have multiples of the same unique ID (that is generated upon creation) item, which in general it isn't programmed to check (although games like Diablo II actually have a program that runs every X amount of days/months that will check for duplicate ID's on each item, and delete them, deleting duped stuff). Rather interesting, thanks for link! In any case, the character blob is probably bigger than the account blob since the account blob really wouldn't be tracking as much as the individual characters would, plus there are more character blobs than account blobs. :p 71.113.141.161 03:56, 6 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Argh I suck at remembering to log in. That's still a rather unique design choice tho. Not more complicated either, just different. ^^ DarkNecrid 03:58, 6 October 2008 (UTC)

So ... much... techno... talk... brain... exploding. ^_^

I've just been thinking about space, the whole character slots thing. I'd personally like to see you being able to be storage slots, character slots are nice but I'd rather a storage slot instead, purely ease of use. Anyway, thanks for the info. 000.00.00.00 03:35, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

The recent update allowed players to store destroyer weapons in the HoM. Is there a way to allow the same for ascended armor? At the current stage of the game I have lots of money but nothing to blow the money on because there is not enough storage. --65.38.32.136 09:56, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
 * AFAIK you can NOT store your weapons in the HoM, just display them. They still remain in your inventory. Would be nice though, same for armor. Sjeng [[Image:User_Sjeng_Sig_Icon.png|13px|talk ]] 11:59, 30 October 2008 (UTC)
 * There are a lot of complicated things that I would need to explain in order to answer this question. This is a topic of great discussion up here. We very very much want to improve storage but there are a lot of other things to consider. Stuff you would never imagine having so much to do with this subject. I can't really go into all those things, so let me just say: We are working very hard to find a way to improve storage this year. Beyond that, I really can't say any more.

Joke ?
Did you change something in the way heros behave recently ? I do not find that funny. Yseron - 90.29.181.18 00:35, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Um what? --  W  o  B  [[Image:User Wings of Blood sig icon.png|19px]] 00:39, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
 * You mean, besides the August patches that messed up all the hero/henchmen behavior, and now practically force casters to "tank" if they are H/h'ing?--Fighterdoken 00:42, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
 * No no, as I recall it they updated skills for heros once they did that big update. (and gave them some "become crazy" pills) :D Naru 01:13, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
 * I thought it was hilarious. Vael Victus  [[Image:User_Vael_Victus_Sig.jpg|18px|Pancakes.]] 03:34, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Hey come on guys. Constructive feedback might help get these issues resolved. Heckling, even light-hearted in spirit, is more likely to just waste space. Very few of the developers go out of their way to be approachable by the community for feedback purposes and the least we can do is try to keep the information useful. -- WarBlade 03:51, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Ah. So that's why my old tactics don't work anymore in the Assault on the Stronghold mission. I thought it was me. 145.94.74.23 06:06, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
 * I recently had trouble with that mission too, I ended up taking two mark of protection heroes (terrible usually, but it exploited the bad enemy targeting rather well...). - Auron 06:17, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
 * And it explains why my H/H sometimes just stand by my side while I'm attacking... I can't even make use of my flatbow range anymore, because the H/H will not attack if the foe is out of my aggro bubble.  And about caters needing to tank, I always had that problem, which is why my monk has a specific smiting build to use when using a H/H group and why I almost never take any heroes with her if I'm in a human group. --Lady Rhonwyn 06:21, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Updates to AI are always a delicate thing to do. Sometimes improvements made can end up messing with other aspects of the game but we are always striving to improve hero AI as best we can. Please keep in mind that AI work is never done. It can always be improved upon. We appreciate reports of faulty AI, but just saying "hey everything sucks now" isn't very helpful. - [[Image:User Linsey Murdock sig.jpg]]Linsey talk 00:00, 6 January 2009 (UTC)

PvP stuff, could you look at this when you have time?
Hey, I know your busy, but this has been bothering me for a bit and since you seem the most responsive and this is mostly a game design issue, I'll just throw it here. It's not too terribly verbose or long, so when you have time if you could read it, I'd appreciate it (and be very happy if you commented.). It's about common problems with PvP (not including balance, I left that out. This is non-balance issues, just game design issues), mostly about how you guys could build a better audience. While I'm sure not all of it could be done, I am sure bits and pieces could be done over time. :) http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/User:DarkNecrid/PvP, I'd put it here but your page is already 300kb and I don't want to make it bigger. Thanks! DarkNecrid 22:13, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
 * I don't really have time today, but I'll make a note and take a look tomorrow. - [[Image:User Linsey Murdock sig.jpg]]Linsey talk 01:10, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Isn't it like almost 7 on the west coast? Food time imo. -- Armond Warblade[[Image:User Armond sig image.png]] 01:38, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Finally read through this thing. Some responses:
 * When Andrew posted that those skins would be ready soon, he must not have been aware of a major bug which still prevents them from being released. We are trying to get it fixed but unfortunately the bug is so complicated that it requires time from our lead programmer to fix. To say that he is extremely busy would be an understatement. Once we can get him nailed down to take a look, we will be able to release the skins. Trust me, we aren't holding them back for a frivolous reason.
 * Costume Brawl was originally designed for exactly what you ask it to be. I'm not sure if we want to make it a year-round arena at this point, but I certainly think it is worth discussing further. Post-it noted. Keep in mind that its popularity thus far could have a lot to do with it being a new arena.
 * At one point Ryan Scott was working heavily on creating a robust tutorial for new PvP players but in the end, we did not have the time to implement it. While I would like to say that we could complete that project this year, I know that there is already a huge amount of work that we have queued up and I think that this would not take precedence over those things.
 * Improving the default builds for PvP chars is a good idea, I am making a post-it note to look into it.
 * I have always wished there was something PvP chars could spend their skill points on. Post-it noted.
 * That thread on scrimmages is pretty epic. It's certainly a great idea, I'm just not sure if the amount of work required would be worth it. I did bookmark the thread for further discussion though.
 * I don't believe we could restrict a character slot as a PvP-Only slot.
 * PvP-Only rewards is something that has come up quite a bit lately. It's a cause Joe has been championing but it really comes down to available resources. If we have the resources to fill out this system with PvP-Only rewards than I think it is something we will consider seriously.
 * I already have a post-it for adding a "buy multiple keys" button.
 * A PvP boxed version is an interesting idea, I will mention it to our marketing team.
 * Thanks for the feedback! I hope this is some of what you were looking for. - [[Image:User Linsey Murdock sig.jpg]]Linsey talk 01:33, 6 January 2009 (UTC)
 * It's perfect, thanks for the reply! :) DarkNecrid 04:43, 6 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Glad to hear that was what you were looking for :D Told you I would get to it eventually :P - [[Image:User Linsey Murdock sig.jpg]]Linsey talk 18:48, 6 January 2009 (UTC)

A question thats been bugging me ...
A question thats been bugging me since I started playing Guild Wars was; why were Minion Masters, at to a degree Spirit using Ritualists, never been given some kind of party member for their creations? Playing as a Minion Masters can be a bit of a pain in one's behind when using skills that require you to actually target a minion required for the spell/skill etc, and one would have thought a party menu would have been implimented.

I enjoyed playing my MM Nercomancer, I love my 'pretties' as they storm through mobs of AI ... ehhh, uglies ^_^... but I find it a frustation to play some of the skills (especially in battle) becuase it can be challenging to select minions. Sometimes precious timing is required and hard to pull off. Anyway, I ramble: Why weren't we, as MMs, not given a party menu (style game mechanic) for your minions (my pretties ^_^)  000.00.00.00 20:18, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
 * That's why you use hero MM's instead of being one. :P No seriously, I would kill (a can of Mt. Dew, which I normally do anywya) for a button that tab target's minions or spirits.  But that's been a suggestion since inception, so I don't imagine it's coming with GW1.  --Ravious 13:19, 9 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Improvements to Minion Masters like you mention have come up a lot. I am going to make a post-it note to look into it a little more, but I'm not promising anything. - [[Image:User Linsey Murdock sig.jpg]]Linsey talk 01:37, 6 January 2009 (UTC)

HoM display selection
Is it in the plans of the team to allow players to choose exactly what trophies to display on each monument, if they have more than the displayable number? I know this has been extensively discussed in many places, but I don't think I've ever seen a confirmation or refusal of such change. I guess, now would be a good time to ask is the wake of the upcoming title and then HoM updates, since you may actually know the answer now. <font color="#000099">Rose Of Kali 05:49, 13 November 2008 (UTC)
 * Just to make sure you know, the HoM changes are not in today's build. That said, I will make a note of it as a heavily requested feature and see what I can do. - [[Image:User Linsey Murdock sig.jpg]]Linsey talk 18:06, 13 November 2008 (UTC)
 * I will love you forever if you manage to get that implemented. Good luck with it. :) -- [[Image:User_Elveh_sig.png|15px]] Elv 19:17, 13 November 2008 (UTC)

New Area
Hey Linsey, I was just wondering if anet could add some new elite area in the game. I'v heard a lot of players complaining and eventually leave because of the lack of stuff to do. If you guys could make a long and hard mish, DoA style, that would be amazing and would get some players back in the game. I know you guys are working on GW2 though im sure you could spare a few guys to do that. Thanks a lot if you read that. '' UnnderVart 11:17, 15 November 2008 (UTC)
 * Given how empty DoA is, I doubt that's a very good idea...Elite areas are bad. The great majority of players are not "elite", by the very definition of the word. Anything made for a minority of players is effort that could have been used to improve the game for everyone, not just a small part of the community. If a new area were to be added to the game (and it very likely won't be - the Live Team has only one designer and one programmer, without any artist on the team), IMO it would work better as a new "common" area, like Sorrow's Furnace. Erasculio 11:47, 15 November 2008 (UTC)
 * The problem with the Elite areas aren't that they are hard (they aren't.), it's that they are too time consuming for poor rewards and are done rather lazily (just like hard mode, but more so.) in their design (BIG NUMBERS!!!!!!!!!). Harder areas do benefit the entire community, they give people something to strive for and to become better players, and it adds more to the game. Which do you think adds more longevity to a dying game, an area that can be beat by 99% of the people in an hour, or an hour that takes awhile to beat? The latter of course. DarkNecrid 12:40, 15 November 2008 (UTC)
 * Depends. If it's an area for "elite" players only, the majority of players won't be able to even try playing there effectively and so the increase in longevity would be insignificant. An area that is too hard do not make players strive to improve themselves, it just makes players give up. This is easily seen comparing DoA with Sorrow's Furnace - SF is rather easy, but it still was filled with players (real players, not just farmers) for months thanks to how it was seen as a fun place.
 * DoA is the opposite. It's not time consuming - if you try to play through all of DoA in one sitting it's going to take a long time, but doing each quest by itself (which is the logical way to go if you don't want to spend hours there) is less time consuming than playing through the Deep or Urgoz's Warren, yet those two were far more popular (despite the difficult access) than DoA has ever been. Rewards are also not the problem - Armbraces are rather expensive if you consider that they aren't a random drop, unlike Voltaic Spears, and aren't limited in number like the rare minipets.
 * Giving players a big reward is not enough, nor is it good game design. The main reason for playing through an area should be because that area is fun. If players only play through an area because they want the reward at the end, but hate the experience itself, than it becomes just one more grind, something the latest update shows us Arena Net is trying to reduce. Again, Sorrow's Furnace did this - the rewards for playing there a side bonus, but the area is fun enough that playing there was a "reward" on itself. Erasculio 13:11, 15 November 2008 (UTC)
 * Pieces like Tihark Orchard, Ascalon (pre-Searing), The Falls which grant a unique experience, maybe show beautiful environment and make the player enjoy the area by nothing but flavor could be a non-competitive part of the game the improves more if not most players's gaming experience. New content that exists just for fun can be quite satisfying for it could act as a balancing between the game you beath and triumph and the game you live in. And if you still want a reward, it could be modelled after things like Then and Now, Here and There. Even Sorrow's Furnace as seen in many requests to make it harder (and except for Alkar and maybe the last battle t's a "mere flavorful" adventure into the lore of GuildWars) can be seen as such pleasure-only activity. <font color="#C10000">Ɲ <font color="#000000">oɕʈɋɽɕɧ  13:28, 15 November 2008 (UTC)
 * I think it would be a really good idea for a new area, to open the way in Sardelac Sanitarium to The Catacombs. It could be something like a dungeon with quest(s), new monsters and rewards. But the area should be the old Catacombs map, maybe only with a few changes. I miss that place from post-searing, and I think this would be a good idea to make it available as a new area. In this way the players can get some new content in the game... Massiv 00:13, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

This came to my mind and I'll post it here before I post it on GW1 Suggestion page (due to the really extensive page and it's long loading) How about making an outpost on the far top left island in Tyria, an outpost with Polymock PvP and Brawling 3 on 3? Add a special reward like armor that uses a new material to craft...perhaps gold bricks? I don't know but to meh this prob won't happen due to too many thing's on the developers' plates. =[ -- W <font color="#660000">o  B [[Image:User Wings of Blood sig icon.png|19px]] 00:19, 16 November 2008 (UTC)
 * While I'd love to see brand new areas - elite areas or just new explorables don't matter. First I think that the Prophecies "Elite" areas are in need of a re-vamp (along with the core but they recently got revamped with that chest). On GW Guru, a thread (once more) was made requesting/proposing ways to bring back Sorrow's Furnace, seeing how Urgoz/Deep got this recent revamp and, as I said, UW/FoW got one not too long ago. I then made my suggestions for Sorrow's Furnace, Tombs of the Primeval Kings, and The Titan Quests, to make them more desiring. This could bring people back to these areas a bit more, not to the degree of new content, but well enough - at least for a while. I understand that some ideas in there would be hard, but I just put everything that would be beneficial. I for one thing the Titan Quests really deserve a look at, because many many people, myself included, like those quests, but unfortunantly they are not repeatable. Even just making them repeatable would make me glad. Linsey, I hope you read those suggestions (would post them here, but they are long and I'm still not used to the wiki interface). But remember to take that break before working yourself like for the last update ;) - Azazel The Assassin 02:39, 16 November 2008 (UTC)
 * Most of those rewards aren't feasible, though. There's no artist assigned to the Live Team, so they cannot make new weapon skins (or new monster skins). Those areas were discussed recently, and Linsey gave some input, here. Erasculio 11:06, 16 November 2008 (UTC)
 * Maybe a new FoW/UW from the Dwayna statue, those areas are pretty great game experience while not being too "elite" for normal ppl to enter or requiering any special campaign. an open area, much like FoW, around 10 quests and a chest that spawns in the end would be enough, maybe some rare (old) weapon skin that drops there or whatever, it do so much more to gw than a new elite area/dungeon/questline/mission. --<font color="Black">Cancer Angel [[Image:User Cursed Angel Signature.jpg|19px|y so srs?]] 11:48, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

Well when i said DOA it was more to use the example of a quit large area with different quests requiered to reach the last mission. Ya the rewards should be better im sure that would bring some players. I think we should use the concept of HM a bit better. A new or already existent area should be modified with new challenges, new rewards. Make it like a normal area in NM for those who don;t play elite areas, with a small reward. And then make it a very hard elite area in HM. I mean with a very high difficulty difference between the two. Honestly whats the true difference between FoW NM and HM?? '' UnnderVart 12:46, 16 November 2008 (UTC)
 * @Erasculio, I know some of those things would be hard to do (mainly the new weapons). There wouldn't be a need for new enemy skins, just addition of enemies, using previously used skins, and new, or even the EN, builds. And that is pretty much the only thing that is not feasible. Chest skins exist, summoning stones have existing skins (just need to change the color of the inner part), monsters that are summoned exist, just need the build, there are maps for HoH that exist that can be added to Tombs, making the Titan Quests repeatable would just need a code change. All in all, the changes to all three would be good for one or two monthly updates. Really only the weapons pose difficulty - which can be fixed with another design-a-weapon contest (but there can be a theme this time!). @ Cursed Angel, ANet said they won't add anymore God Realms, and if they did they would need to make an entirely new map, new enemies, new lore (why would we be needed in the realm?), possibly new weapons, possibly new NPCs. In other words, it would have to be nearly 100% new, which would be a bit much on the Live Team. What is needed is either the expansion of a region (reusing textures so not too hard - a new God Realm would need new textures as well if it is to be liked - not a needed but a wanted thing), with the same monster skin (could rename and make new builds), and same model NPCs. @UnnderVart, I would agree that there should be a bigger difference between NM and HM, especially for the Elite Areas and such. But just simply raising levels and numbers, which is what would probably end up happening, is not the way to go. It would need different, harder, builds and, in essence, mob placements that would make people have to think (and using things like Perma-SF or a full Ursan team *if it never got nerfed* and just rushing in should cause death in HM). Sorry for my long post, brain fried, can't add anymore atm. Azazel The Assassin 20:19, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

I would like to see something done with Catacombs in Post no need for new weapons skins just put the same stuff as the UW and FoW have but with no chests and to get to this area you will have to be certian level.This would liven up Tyria and Ascalon. Age 18:05, 28 November 2008 (UTC)
 * Catacombs! I'd like to be able to somehow go back there in Post as well. It was never a big or particularly tough area, but it does look really cool and I always thought it a shame it can only be accessed in Pre... -- [[Image:User_Elveh_sig.png|15px]] Elv 10:41, 3 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Maybe something similair to the BMP. You "travel back in time" and participate in the searing, fighing the Charr invasion. It would use the maps of zones we already have and allow people to spend some time in parts of GW they haven't been to in a long time. 121.91.86.30 14:22, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

First I would like to break down for you guys what is needed to set up a new zone ("elite" status or otherwise) including how many different people it takes and then I will talk a little bit about new content in general. A new zone requires these things: I know there are lots of things I am leaving out, but this should at least give you all some idea of what is required for just one zone. We are talking about ~20 people MINIMUM to accomplish. I would LOVE to make a new God Realm. LOVE. But getting all these resources at this point would be extremely difficult. On the topic of new content in general, I mentioned a little bit about what it took to make M.O.X. so you know that doing any new quests is not a trivial task. I don't even want to talk about how stressed I was trying to get the Wintersday quests done in half the time with less people. From start to finish, a single quest can take around a month of development. Granted, certain people only work on it in specific stages but never-the-less, it is a time consuming process. But in all honesty, I would not have been as interested in working on the Live Team in the first place if I was not going to be able to add new content at all. It was the first question I asked when I was assessing whether or not I wanted to leave the GW2 team for this. In the six months since we started, the Live Team has already added a brand new hero with his own series of quests and brought Wintersday to the Eye of the North with its own series of quests. That is new content and I fully intend for us to be adding more small pieces of new content like this as we move forward. It's all just a matter of acquiring the resources and time needed. We have a VERY LONG list of things we want to do and new content is certainly on it. We know you guys want it and we do want it too. :D And with that, I am going to end this epically long response and go home for the day. - Linsey talk 03:15, 15 January 2009 (UTC)
 * 1) Map: This means a level designer to work with the lead on the project to get down the layout and flow of the zone. It then gets kicked over to the level artists who will lay down all the terrain textures, wall cladding, lighting, props etc to turn the zone into the final product. While the level artist is working on that, another artist is needed to create new textures and props to support the new aesthetic of the map for the level artist to use (even if we reuse a majority of existing assets, some of this is still needed). An effects artist will also likely be needed for new effects which add to the aesthetic of the zone. Then we need the level designer to generate the mini map and get the map hooked up in the world.
 * 2) Design: A designer is needed to detail out the overall design and drive the project. A couple other designers are needed to assist in designing and writing all of the quests, NPCs, mechanics, chatter, etc. <This could be done by one person, but as a frame of reference, to introduce M.O.X. as a new hero with his quests it took one designer to drive the design of M.O.X himself, Me to design the overall design of the four quests, and two other designers to design the details of two of those quests all over the course of two months and believe me when I say it was still stressful and tight on time.> A writer is needed to go through all the text making edits for spelling, grammar and awesomeness. Once those edits are done, Jeff Grubb does a continuity pass for any red flags and a last round of edits are made. Then the text goes to localization where a team of people translate everything into the languages we support. A designer is needed to design out all the creature armies, their skill sets, themes, etc. An item designer is needed to design any special items functionality (things like consumables, green items, etc) as well as design out what loot can drop in the zone and all of their drop rates.
 * 3) Art: A concept artist is needed to concept out the overall aesthetic of the zone, any armor, weapons, NPCs, new architecture, bosses, monsters, etc. Everything gets concepted before being made. A character artist makes any armor pieces needed as well as new NPC models. A creature artist makes any new creatures (reskins or otherwise). An animator is needed to animate any new models or adjust animations that are disfigured based on the reskinning (for instance, M.O.X. needed some substantial help to get him moving and using his anims properly at his size. He used to float around a lot and not in a good way). A prop artist is needed to create any new items that can't use the amazingly versatile "red bag" model. A concept artist is needed to make any new inventory or skill icons. If we make anything like books or other containers (like the Moa incubator) then we need a graphic/UI artist to fix up the images on each page or to create the UI art. An effects artist is needed to make any skill effects.
 * 4) Implementation: A creature designer makes all the species needed (that's NPCs, monsters, and any other things which are spawned), this is usually someone who's entire join is creating species, but it can be done by two or three of the regular designers like myself who have been trained in how to set this delicate stuff up. The item designer hooks up all the inventory and bundles items needed. Again this is something that another designer can technically be trained to do but items are even harder than species so it generally falls to the one man who knows everything about our item system. Same deal with setting up the loot lists and drop rates, but this is even more scary and delicate so it isn't easy for someone who is not intimately familiar with the system to pick it up and get it done without serious training. The designers on the project then take all the species generated and script out all the spawns for the base spawn, the quests, any special NPCs etc. Once the spawns are down in at least their most basic state, it can be sent to a content programmer who hooks up all the quests, special mechanics, special items, skills, monster and NPC AI, etc. New sounds need to be recorded and coded into the map too. New mechanics like the battles down below in the Turai BMP mission required a lot of prototyping and additional server, engine and graphics programmers to make work at an acceptable level. If there are any cinematics, that requires another team of people to code the cinematic, do any special animations, effects, sounds, etc.
 * 5) Testing: Once most of the pieces are together, a QA team begins searching the zone for bugs. Bugs are all over the place like animation glitches, floating props, effects not working, creatures spawned in unpathable spots, quests blocked, too many creatures spawning in an area, quests interacting with other quests poorly, spawns being too difficult, drop rates, skills not working or acting strangely, missing effects or icons, typos in text, text not localized, crashes, drops in frame rate, disconnects, you name it we got it. So round after round after round of bug fixes are made by all the people previously involved. Then there are rounds of testing for playability, balance and continuity and subsequent rounds of tweaks and more bug fixing.
 * 6) Release: Marketing and Web are needed to working on any promotions being done. A web page for the feature needs to be created complete with its own text and graphics requiring more peoples time and effort. Update notes need to be compiled and checked against what is in game. A Dev Update needs to be written and edited. Community needs to be up to speed on everything involved. All the files involved have to be integrated up to the Staging servers where the whole testing process begins again with another round of bug fixes. Then everything needs to be integrated up to the Live servers and distributed out.
 * And here I was about to ask roughly what it would take to make something along the lines of the UW. Thank-you for this massively long post Linsey. I think I need to copy this and hide it away somewhere for future reference. If you ever got the chance, no sarcasm here, I would LOVE to here that elaborated on =D &mdash; Jon  [[Image:User_Jon_Lupen_Sig_Image.png|18px]]  Lupen  04:17, 15 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Thank you for the long response Linsey. It seems that areas as new content is out of the question. While that is sad, knowing that new content is on your list of things to do is great news. But I have a question on a similar topic - how much "manpower" would it take to redo many if not most of the builds of NPCs. I am asking because I think that if builds can be changed, at least for certain areas (especially those with builds that contain skills that had their functionality changed). In my opinion, changing the difficulty through builds would be just as good for "new" content as a new quest chain or Hard Mode. Just a suggestion on how to keep people interested without new content. On a side note, I too would love to hear the elaborated version. :) -- Konig Des Todes 05:39, 15 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Revamping monster skill bars is an interesting idea. I'll have to think about that some more... - [[Image:User Linsey Murdock sig.jpg]]Linsey talk 05:51, 15 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Let me add to this that any new content you DO manage to find time for, is very much appreciated. I like M.O.X. and I also like the summoning stones. Thank you for those. 145.94.74.23 08:51, 15 January 2009 (UTC)

Thank you Linsey Pumpkin pie 07:30, 20 January 2009 (UTC)