User talk:Linsey Murdock

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[edit] Out of Curiosity

How would you define your job at ArenaNet? Do you design how new content is going to work, manage what others are doing, write the lore and dialog, or all of the above and more? I am not trying to put you on the spot here, but I think that most of us know that you work extremely hard but we don't really know what exactly you do. I hope I am not being rude by asking you, I am just quite curious ^-^ --Shadowphoenix 18:57, 27 April 2009 (UTC)

Check out My Work on her User Page for info. – josəph 20:53, 27 April 2009 (UTC)

That section tells me that she works in design... which doesn't actually tell me what she does as a designer. See what I mean? --Shadowphoenix 02:09, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

Designers design the content that goes into the game on paper. There's other stuff beyond that that involves communication with other departments, writing lots of stuff, etc etc etc, but yeah, Linsey would be the person who writes up a 50 page document on how Zaishen Quests are going to work and makes Joe cry himself to sleep. :P DarkNecrid 02:14, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

[imagines Joe crying in his pillow] "No more ideas, Linsey. [sobers more] No more. aaahhhh, I did my best. I did my best. ^_^ 000.00.00.00 02:57, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

Linsey is like Dick Cheney, she thinks up what to do, then tells everyone else to do it. Although Linsey, AFAIK, does not shoot people in the face. ~Shard 03:26, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

^ I lol'd. Healing Paradox 04:06, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

She doesn't shoot people in the face, she tosses spears at them. -- Azazel The Assassin\talk 04:09, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

Linsey would be well known for her deadly accuracy, if it weren't for her deadly accuracy. --Ravious 14:08, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

--71.240.11.243 11:33, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Rainbow Phoenix and the HoM

It has been mentioned that the reason this pet is not charmable by heroes (aside from the bug) is because it's intended to stay "special" and only available to players (a bit funny when a level 2 Elonian can get one now, but alas). On this note, I am wondering why they, being so special, do not get a unique statue in the Hall of Monuments, while much easier to get pets, like the Imperial Phoenix and the Black Moa (can be "ran" without even completing the quest), do. I cannot come up with a single reason in my head, please enlighten me. Thanks. Rose Of Kali 08:02, 29 April 2009 (UTC)

I've been wondering that myself, and the only thing I can think of would that the Imperial Phoenix statue was originally meant to be the Rainbow Phoenix, but at some point got mixed up and never fixed... But that doesn't make much sense it would seem. I do hope the Moss Spider gets it's own statue. -- Azazel The Assassin\talk 20:33, 29 April 2009 (UTC)

The Rainbow Phoenix is a reward for the HoM. It would be somewhat weird, IMO, if a reward for the HoM gave a reward for the HoM. It would be the same thing if the KoaBD title, when maxed, counted as a maxed title for the KoaBD title track, or if the skill hunter title gave a new elite skill when maxed that counted for the skill hunter title. Erasculio 02:05, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

Unlike the titles, leveling the Rainbow Phoenix actually takes work (not much, but some still). So I don't see how it's "weird." And it's not a reward for the HoM, per se, but a reward for the KoaBD title track, which has a work around of filling the HoM (which takes more effort, and thus is less likely to occur). -- Azazel The Assassin\talk 07:29, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

The Rainbow Phoenix is not only Heros but also by chars that do not have the number of tittles needed today I was able to charm the Rainbow Phoenix with a char that as not got 1 maxed tittle on it I belive this is a bug also and so it's going back into the ZM--Kaiaba 12:59, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

This question has alrdy been answered and is archived i believe, but to answer ur question its basically what Erasculio said about rewarding a players reward.

To disappoint Azazel, the moss spider has been said to not get its own statue. And well, I disagree with Erasculio, not entirely, but still significantly. Especially now that it only takes a handful of zcoins to get the bird, without any titles at all, and thus you will still never see it in your HoM, because it won't appear there if you unlock it using coins or faction. My necro does not feel at all rewarded for getting a ranger pet that her ranger heroes can't use, and she is never a N/R able to bring it, either. I usually visit my HoM with my heroes, or another player, so I don't even get to see it there most of the time. And don't be so quick to dismiss this question after a few answers full of speculation and personal opinions. I've followed this page since a while before the "big" update, and never saw anything like it answered, there was a thread about hero charming, but not about an HoM statue. Rose Of Kali 18:08, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

I've been thinking about it along similar lines to Erasculio, but for a different reason. The primary function of the HoM is to track achievements for transfer to GW2 - a specific entry isn't needed for the Rainbow Phoenix since you already have People Know Me (or higher), and that can be the marker to give you a Rainbow in GW2. Arguably, a similar argument could be made for the Factions completion statue and the Imperial Phoenix - I'd guess that the difference is that the Imperial Phoenix requires you to actually defeat a mission with the possible handicap of a Ranger secondary (which does eliminate echoed Celestial Storms if nothing else), while the Rainbow Phoenix just requires you to dispose of any existing pets and walk into the Hall with Charm Animal. (Once you've got PKM, of course.) Draxynnic 05:00, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

Hmm... I wonder what's the difference between getting PKM and paying 1k for a Shiro run... */ponders* ^_^; Even now, paying 15 gold Zcoins to unlock the bird without any titles does not compare to paying 1k for a Shiro run. */ponders some more* Rose Of Kali 05:39, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

All animals that are not included in the Animal Unlock Pack should have a slot in the monument. When they talekd about the addition bug I though it was about that, but it was just about the pets created in the menagerie not counting as the already allowed pets. MithTalk 14:46, 19 May 2009 (UTC)

"It has been mentioned that the reason this pet is not charmable by heroes (aside from the bug) is because it's intended to stay "special" and only available to players" - The Rainbow Phoenix is already less special in my opinion, since now it can be unlocked with Zcoins or Balth faction. At least add a fiery effect to the bird that grows stronger as your max title acquisition climbs higher and higher. That would be awesome. GWAMMS with truly, fiery phoenixes. I know, this is for the suggestion area, so sue me for hoping Linsey will see and consider passing on to the powers that be. :P--209.194.208.116 17:13, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] You know what grinds my gears?

Those Disco Ball fireworks. I paid for a CE to get the Dervish Disco ball, cos I thought sweet, it's only for CE. Now I see these ever random profession letting off firework and "Oh look, there's a ranger with a disco ball! >:|". Since you're now in the habit of reusing stuff, and now reusing CE stuff does that mean we're going to see Divine Aura come into use for non CE players, or the Faction's CE effect too? Yes! Cos that would be fair. 000.00.00.00 21:15, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

I think you're over-reacting. Yes, they used the same disco-ball model.. but ask yourself this, do they have the luxury of calling up said disco ball whenever and whereever they wish? No. They don't. They need an item to be able to do it. Now, that being said, this isn't a crucial change, it's a useless little gripe I'm sure you could live without. Drago 23:00, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

Quiet you! >:| Trying to score me some glowing handie things ^_^ :P 000.00.00.00 23:46, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

But his disco ball doesn't shoot fireworks :( I want my dancing shadow clones to shoot fireworks too :( — Poki#3 00:24, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

You know what really grinds my gears? What's a disco ball have to do with fireworks? Now if they used the Paragon CE stuff, yeah you can push it, but the disco ball? Really? 000.00.00.00 00:32, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

not to jump on any bandwagon here, as i really don't mind it, as they still don't get the bonus dance. However the constant fireworks in every major outpost is getting VERY annoying. I'm one of those people who loves running about and staring at the scenery, but in towns now I keep getting daft fireworks in the way and bees everywhere. -- Salome 03:34, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

Fireworks in outposts... oversized tonic forms floating around everywhere... you wanna know what really grinds my gears? ^_^ :P 000.00.00.00 03:46, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

When you can't find the droids you're looking for? --MushaTalk 05:16, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

Improper use of the clutch? - Tanetris 05:54, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

• goes to lions..
• Searching for friend.
• couldn't find them.
• "Theese aren't the droids we are looking for". -Boro 05:58, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

As a suggestion (oh crap another one) could the silly fireworks be added into some category where they could be turned off? Such as post-process for "drunkard" effects? That would easily remedy the issue with them being spammed almost constantly in main towns.(75.0.186.25 10:39, 11 June 2009 (UTC))

(Reset indent) /agree. Let me promote my new idea some more, even though it's not very original: How about making new 'RP' disticts in outposts in which tonics, minipets, disco balls, (trade spamming?) and the like are disabled? I'd sure use them a lot, and I know a lot of other people who would, too. I mean, every time I play a baby char in Elona and a quest takes me to Kamadan, I grind my teeth because I just can't stand all the dragons, yetis, and spamming disrupt my nice, relaxed gaming experience. Just standing in Kamadan hurts my brain. --Adul 14:10, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

It hurts my gaming experience too, because it's killing the atmosphere. -- Boro 18:21, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

At least they don't work in PvP districts. I appreciate that. Raine - talk 18:36, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Eye of Janthir

This Eye is now as green minipet. But my question is: Did you guys make this Eye from the inspiration of the luminatie holy unfinished temple with the eye above it? The mention it in this video: [1] Death Sligher 13:14, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

Maybe they just liked the way it looks on a US $1 bill. Drogo Boffin 13:21, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

The all-seeing eye is an ancient symbol and not exclusive to the illuminati or the dollar bill. My guess is the inspiration came from the fact that it's commonly a religious symbol, and the White Mantle are religious nuts. --Mme. Donelle 16:13, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_of_Providence <- for more info... I always felt the mantle had a strong connection to JW's with the watchtower references... but as stated its probably the generic referece to the "all seeing eye" MrPaladin 16:40, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

Spoiler: The Iluminati control NCSOFT, and Linsey is the last descendant of JC.  :P I wouldn't go reading too much into any of the artwork used in the game. Many symbols are somewhat universal, or can be seen in other cultures. As long as they're not putting in 'obvious' offensive symbols like swastikas(which incidentally didn't always have a bad meaning like they do today), then I don't see any 'hidden' agenda or malice in putting in images from real life into the game.--209.194.208.116 16:04, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] dragon arena tourney

this topic has been mentioned before, but since a dodgeball weekend has only recently passed, i thought i'd ask again if a dodgeball AT was being actively considered. i believe u have some inkling of this, but there's a semi-organized and very enthusiastic group of gamer title chasers that would love to see this implemented. --VVong|BA 19:02, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

no update regarding this for the upcoming dragon festival? --VVong|BA 18:50, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] HoM completion question

Hiya. Since Arenanet has determined what achievements are in regards to the Hall of Monuments can you please define what a 'complete' HoM by Arenanet standards would qualify as purely in terms of Guild Wars? Is a complete HoM:

• • 5 heroes or pets in the Monument of Fellowship
  • 20 miniatures in the Monument of Devotion
  • 20/25 qualifying title statues in the Monument of Honor (20/25 as I noticed while in account mode with all visual spaces filled the Statue in the back moved one more progression along in its reveal. )
  • 5 prestige armor sets in the Monument of Resilience
  • 11 destroyer weapons and tormented weapons in the Monument of Valor.

Please to others reading, this is solely in the context of Guild Wars not Guild Wars 2. Arenanet has determined what 'achievement' is for our HoMs, I haven't seen any official word on what a 'complete' HoM is in regards solely to Guild Wars. I'm working on one HoM and I'd like to know what complete actually is before either leaving Guild Wars or starting on a second one. If this is not the case can someone please point me in the right direction

Additionally: Can I ask why when you go Account Wide the Statue on the Honur Monument doesn't appear the same away across all your characters. On my dervish, my main, it appears quite developed in Account Mode, actually one step forward compared to Personal Mode, yet on my other characters it's only appears at stage one. Can you please tell us why this is?

000.00.00.00 04:17, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

The Honor Monument still depends on your character's title rank, it's not tied to your account. If your dervish has KOABD or higher, his monument will look more developed according to his rank, while all others will stay at the base blue surface. It will upgrade its appearance one rank if you have filled all monuments on the character in personal view, or on your account in account view (20 minis, 11 weapons, 5 each for the rest). Rose Of Kali 03:16, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

Still, looks wise it would have been nice if the statue was also account wide. And, Yes I know, I missed typing everything else out. 000.00.00.00 03:21, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

I Kind of a Big Deal (tier 1) and at least all of those monuments listed above apart from 11 destroyer/Tormented Weapons which I have only 3. But for some reason the Rainbow Phoenix still appears in my HoM (That's why you're asking right?) --MageMontu 08:23, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

Nope. I'm asking so the community knows what Arenanet considers a 'complete Hall of Monuments' by their defination. 000.00.00.00 08:44, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

What we need to know, in short, is if you need to get all minipets, or just fill out the visible ones. If you need to get all elite armours, or just get 5 to visibly fill it. If you need to put hero armours on all heroes, or just get enough pets and heroes to fill the visible part etc, etc.

I know a lot of people, me included, who are dying to know the answer to this one, as filling some of them to the brim is quite taxing, as opposed to just the visible part.

- Kherec 11:46, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

Isn't the definition of "complete" all about finishing? That is not being able to do anything else? That means you have to have all titles added, every armor type, all destroyer and tormented weapons, all hero and pet statues and every minipet. THEN it's "complete" (until new minipets show up). Why does anyone think that you only have to have 5 armors to "finish" the armor monument? The monument keeps track of everything and you can change it at any time. You think that a monument with 5 armors, and a monument with 20 armors is equally complete? In fact, who said that there is such a thing as a "complete" HoM by definition? It's all up to the owners of the hall what they consider "complete". For me it'll be complete when I add all heroes, armors, weapons, 20 minipets at least and have GWAMM. — Poki#3 12:33, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

Don't be coy, original poster. Hall of Monuments on Guild Wars is a place to show off achievements, nothing else. How many achievements you wish to place in it is up to you. You're quite obviously hungry, desperately hungry, to find out the impact of HoM on GW2, and therefore how "complete" should it be to achieve some kind of reward there. Look, we all are anxious to know, but they made it pretty damn clear they CAN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT GW2 YET. So settle down, have a cookie and some herbal tea, and enjoy the game. :) 187.37.61.54 16:48, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

Also, don't forget what has been told to us. Every achievement in GW1 HoM will have some sort of effect in GW2. So fill it up until you can't add anything more. The effect the GW1 HoM will have on GW2 is not going to be based on how many statues you have, but WHICH statues you have. --MushaTalk 20:53, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

A completed Hall of Monuments will have defination in Arenanet's eyes purely in terms of Guild Wars, they defined what achievements are, they would also have to define what a complete one is.

Isn't the definition of "complete" all about finishing? That is not being able to do anything else? That means you have to have all titles added, every armor type, all destroyer and tormented weapons, all hero and pet statues and every minipet. <------- that is an impossibility for what, 99% of the playerbase sinse you can't have everything due to rarity.

187: "You're quite obviously hungry, desperately hungry, to find out the impact of HoM on GW2" -----> Please to others reading, this is solely in the context of Guild Wars not Guild Wars 2. I would suggest you take your own advice and stop reading into things that simply aren't there.

Musha: Again, same as above.

The Hall of Monuments has a unique design: specific requirements, limited viewable placements and also that Statue in the back that can have that 'Beacon of Light' after specific requirements have been reached. After a certain point the changes within the Hall stop advancing which suggests the possibility that a ceiling has been reached in the advancement, then it comes down to how far a player wishes to invest.

I can not deny that the Hall of Monuments has a dual purpose - one for Guild Wars where all the collecting takes place, and one for Guild Wars 2 where it becomes about the rewards - but discussion can be had about the Guild Wars Hall of Monuments without bringing Guild Wars 2 functionality in, that and functionality for Guild Wars 2 is purely reward based (which doesn't interest me compared to Guild Wars Hall of Monument definations). Purely, I am asking for design defination: Arenanet has defined what an achievement is: the parameters of placements within the Hall - they can also define if there's a point where continued placement of items or acquistion of titles purely comes down to player desire. 000.00.00.00 22:06, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

"that is an impossibility for what, 99% of the playerbase sinse you can't have everything due to rarity." <- Very true. Who ever said you need to have every single little thing? It all depends on you really. When will YOU consider your HoM "complete". — Poki#3 22:42, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

You're trying to turn the decision away from the point of my original question which is asking for Arenanet's defination of a completed Hall of Monuments. A user defination could be anything: everything finished, every title etc and so on or just filling out the viewable spaces and the Beacon. User definations aren't realistically valid as it's a personal choice. The Hall has specific changes as you advance through the collection of achievements, this is what I wish defination on. There's a point where no further changes within the Hall are noticed, where collection of achievements seems for personal choice. Is this a design choice with Arenanet so you don't have to get everything to achieve a completed hall. Arenanet has never truly defined the Hall of Monuments. 000.00.00.00 23:14, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

It looks like only Linsey's response will satisfy you. OK. But I really think that you're thinking about some things wrong. The fact that you can only "see" 5 heroes is a design choice that to me looks purely esthetical. I just think someone said "man, we have 25 heroes and 4 pet statues. And maybe we'll add something in the future. Where are we going to fit this?" and someone responded "well, let's just display 5 at once, and the uses can cycle through them". The Monuments are just places to add things from the game, and there's no "you've added everything" bonus, or message. The list of things you can add is finite (though some minipets are also finite) and you decide when your Hall is "complete". — Poki#3 23:54, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

Well, I did ask on Linsey's page, yes. ^_^ But, I do enjoy other people commenting, it's what being a community is about. ^_^ Thanks for adding your bits 000.00.00.00 00:11, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

I think it's pretty clear - anet's definition of complete is ALL titles, ALL minis, etc. How close you choose to be to that depends on your choice, time and skill. THat's all. 187.37.61.54 15:39, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

My guess is that we really won't know until much closer to GW2's release. They have to know what the rewards can be before they can meaningfully decide what HoM achievement is linked to what reward. And rewards like these are usually lower on the list of priorities (as in it's scheduled for when the game is closer to completion) when designing a new game. -- Alaris 15:55, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

Also I believe the rewards will be purely aesthethic or honorary (granted, most of GW1 is that, and ppl still work hard for them). It would be a dumb move to cripple new players. 187.37.61.54 16:35, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

I believe Arenanet have already said something to that effect, 187. 000.00.00.00 21:34, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Portal

May I ask what this portal is doing here? (The picture is taken in Xaquang Skyway. I excuse myself for the bad quality...) |Cyan LightLive!| 13:11, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

Isn't that just part of The Undercity? — Poki#3 15:35, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

Well, I dont remember that there was a portal in the middle of the Underworld. Because this picture is taken on a brigde in the middle of Xaquang... |Cyan LightLive!| 15:41, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

He said undercity, not underworld...--Smithyben 22:33, 14 May 2009 (UTC)

lol. Paddymew 06:06, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Hall of Heroes 1v1

Linsey How do you feel about 1v1 in halls? recently i was playing and we got a 1v1 and we noticed that the blue team has a much much larger advantage in a 1v1 especially relic ruing. they only have to have a 3-4 man block were the red team needs to have 5-6 man block do you think you would make a change to this?(maybe in a 1v1 have the blue team start in yellows base?) Zesbeer 02:47, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

it's not a matter of changing halls, it's a matter of getting people to play it. ~Shard 00:13, 24 June 2009 (UTC)

HA needs a change, same maps for almost 3 years get boring and repetitve. Like many before me have said, rotate out the maps, bring the old maps back and even try some of the 4 maps that were designed and never implemented. Apparently their is EVEN a new HoH map, although I believe that one was never finished. Depending on the community's take on the new maps during the test weekend, anet can decide whether or not they will keep the new rotation or go back. --The preceding unsigned comment was added by User:NoXiFy (talk).

[edit] Stylist Question

One thing I noticed about the stylist that I was wondering about is that despite having more appearance options, a character is still limited only to the choices normally available to his or her primary profession. That is, for example, you can't give an elementalist a ranger's hair or a mesmer's face. I was just wondering if there were technical reasons for that or if it was just overlooked. It would be nice if a character could choose any face/hairstyle/etc. from the stylist regardless of profession, as that would allow for a far greater variety in character appearances. And also, are there any plans to add new options to the stylist? Might be nice to have some brand new stuff in there to draw in folks who might not otherwise use this feature. --Axwind 14:36, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

I would guess this is due to the differences in models and animations for each profession. - Bex 14:50, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

I see headgear as a big hurdle. Besides, I think that there should still be some class distinction in there. — Poki#3 15:31, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

Agreed with bex. However I always felt that giving people 1 free credit per already-existing pve char would have been a good way to get people hooked. What is a shame is that their isn't an option only for the hair itself and not the face/race/height. As really many of us don't want a makeover, we just want new hairstyles. I know we can do that with the existing stylist but £6 for 5 hair changes is a bit steep, whereas 10 hair style changes for £6 would be alot more attractive to alot of the player base, but that's not how it was implemented and I for one am still happy to have the option there. -- Salome 16:17, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

I think 1 credit per character would have been excessive. Most people I know that have done changes have only done one per character -- meaning that they wouldn't need to purchase any credits at all. One credit per account might have been nice, though.

I also would like to see an option for reduced-price hairstyle changes, since the majority of the changes I've made have been to hair alone (including style and color). I haven't changed any faces, and only one character got a height adjustment. But like you, I'm not complaining, I'm happy that the option is there at all. --Nkuvu 16:32, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

IMO they could have given us at least one free credit per pre-Nightfall character so that we could fix the "damage" done by the face update back then. Xelonir 16:56, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

That was actually one of the few non-hair changes I made. My warrior got taller for that update, so I brought her back down to her original minimum size. But I know some people had faces changed on their characters, and had no way to correct (aside from re-rolling the character entirely). So I agree with that idea, too. --Nkuvu 19:01, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

What face update are you talking about? And I would be quite happy with a hair/color-only half-price credits, as I refuse to change faces, I'm too attached to them. I had to change my ele's hair, as it was quite old and ugly, and I also gave her a little tan and a height stretch, but that was minor and not necessary, and I would have been happy without it, I only did it because it was there. Now I have 4 credits sitting there, not sure who to use them on. ^_^ Rose Of Kali 19:17, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

Before Nightfall was released, characters in cut scenes did not move their mouths when they spoke. There was an update to all characters to alter the model to allow for a movable jaw. In some cases, the faces changed appearance (causing much grumbling among the affected players). --Nkuvu 19:28, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

(Edit conflict) With Nightfall they introduced the "moving mouths in cinematics" thing ... for this they had to modify the faces. IIRC the initial change was absolutely horrible, so they did a second change that brought faces closer to their original look. But still some chars look different from before. E.g. my necro and assassin now have mouths I wouldn't have chosen myself (and I usually spend quite some time in the character creation to get a look I like). Xelonir 19:29, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

I say give us a option to get 1extreem credit for each character one's(but it can be put in storage) for completing a hard and long quest such as the black moa bird minipet. Which is spread over all the campains. (Why: well because what these people say and because I played Perfect World International and there you can get 1 remakescroll too for each character ones by doing a quest. And you can also buy them in the ingamestore there.) Death Sligher 22:54, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

And now we've once again jaunted into suggestion land. sigh -- Salome 23:37, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

Well it is not kind of suggestion its more to proof that other games do it^^. Btw you suggested yourself to give ever character one free credit... Death Sligher 08:37, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

Nope i said it would have been nice to have done it in the past, it wasnt a suggestion on the future. Fine lines and all that. -- Salome 21:52, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Once again ...

Linsey's page is exploding with user discussion to the point where there is going to be no option but to lock it down. I would like to ask that if you wish to discuss something that has been posted here with the poster, PLEASE take that discussion to their talk page. Use the {{moved|to|[[New location]]}} tag to indicate which page the discussion has been moved to. THANKS!!! -- Wyn 19:41, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

Agreed. I'd suggest having a question/comment box filled in by the initial poster for an item, followed by an answer box for Linsey's response, and finally a link to another page for discussion among those that wish to further comment on it. Buuuut, I'm no real dabbler in web page design, not to mention lazy, so I'll leave that up to you webbers to come up with. :P--209.194.208.116 19:17, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Question about zquests

Since the PvP zquests cycle through the limited PvP arenas, is it possible to have the same PvP zquest in your quest log twice? One of my characters has 2 HA zquests, but when I went to take JQ today on another char, I wasn't able, and I'm assuming that it is because the JQ zquest is already in that char's quest log. Was this a bug that has been fixed? Or is it a bug that I am unable to take the JQ zquest a 2nd time? --MushaTalk 21:34, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

It was fixed with the last update, you can no longer do this. DarkNecrid 21:47, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

[edit] MAy 14TH Skill Update

Actually I don't know whether to be happy that you're finally doing something about skills. You know why? Right now anything you do is too late. Shadow form and 600 smite is how people play this game now. Why wouldn't they? You gave them an overpowered tool. And then just SIT ON THE PROBLEM for almost a year. :( really? I get it, you don't have time, overworked, tired, too much on your plate. Swift easy action as soon as shadow form proved to be an issue would have been nice. Instead you change the skillbars of UW creatures. Yeah. THAT solved the problem. :( Sry for the rant, just really disappointed at how this was handled. Let's give them shadow form! and then you spend many updates changing and tinkering and spending A LOT OF TIME YOU DIDNT REALLY HAVE trying to "fix" it. And then, when you realize you don't HAVE any more time to deal with it, you leave it, as a festering boil, for months. 187.37.61.54 20:41, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

← moved to User talk:Qaletaqa

or how about they fix pvp considering pve is worthless. 174.131.115.231 15:13, 14 May 2009 (UTC)

Planning some long wall of text, Prepare arenanet folks. I'm going to show you how big mistakes have you made. Boro 04:55, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Party Size in Kamadan and Plains of Jarin

I noticed after doing the Z-quest today Venta Cemetary that my party size was larger than intended. It had me as 6/4 while in Kamadan then when I zoned out to the Plains of Jarin it left me as 6/4. I did the mission with Heros and Henchmen and it kept my heroes along with Herta and Kihm. I never had this happen before and I always used the same Heroes and Henchmen in that mission. Here is a link to a screen shot I took in Kamadan [[2]]--Antiquus Lupus 22:03, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

It's been like that forever; read the Bug listed under Notes at the iwki page for the mission ~ http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Venta shadguy 22:18, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

Ah okay, I didn't realize this as I have never read the page for the mission. Thank you for the reply. Only time I noticed it after 7 times through before.--Antiquus Lupus 22:38, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

Personally, I think this is intentional, because if you go to Dajkah Inlet and talk to Dockmaster Dimedeh with 4 heroes and the 4 henchmen that are also in Kamadan, you can enter Kamadan with a 8/4 without doing a mission or anything... I don't see any other purpose for that NPC other than that, unless he was originally put there for taking the Sunspears back in the storyline, instead of Margrid doing so. -- Azazel The Assassin\talk 04:15, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Didn't they fix that, though? I remember doing blacktide for one of the first Zquests, and at the end, when I was sent back to the great hall, my party was disbanded. We used to use that trick for having an 8-man Vanq of Plains of Jarin. :( Targren 13:47, 13 May 2009 (UTC)

Haven't you just said the exact reason why it was inentional, why should they split up your group on returning to Kamadan after the cutscene? --Smithyben 22:31, 14 May 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Is there any chance of taking a look at the ritualist profession soon?

→ moved from User talk:Linsey Murdock/FAQ

Many people agree that this profession has been overlooked, especially with lack of updates to it. Most of the skills in the Communing line have been Nerfed to be quite useless, and the lackluster primary attribute spawning power and useless spirits across the board. By looking at the skill feedback area there has not been any activity by the devs in months on ritualists, which makes it seem to me they have been swept under the carpet and forgotten about. Could you shed any light on this subject? Thank you for your time Valen Spiritbinder 22:28, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

Agreed they need a buff to spawning power how i feel right now is that you can play a primary necro or ele and do a better job at doing normally rit things then a rit can.-- Zesbeer 23:50, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

Rits are the best with Channel/Resto Split. The other two lines are very meh. But Channeling and Resto together make them very effective at offensive and defensive support. I do wish communing and spawning power would get some love and channeling needs 1 skill in particular nerfed a bit.~>Sins WDB 23:59, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

There are lot of skills in Resto and Channeling that need a rework. Communing and Spawning are very weak attributes, and 90% of Rit's spirits are useless. I agree with other people here, that Ritualists need an update. Kigamo 04:24, 8 May 2009 (UTC)

You could say that about many professions tbh. Tactics is useless period, swords are bad compared to axe damage and hammer utility, beast mastery is just shit overall (mostly because pets are so limited), water magic is bad on eles, air magic is a one-trick pony that isn't powerful enough to compete with the super power creeped crap that exists now, illusion is pretty lacking, blood magic has always been bad in pve and poorly designed for pvp, deadly and shadow arts are both equally useless (with the exception of 1 pvp gimmick and 1 pve gimmick), and wind and earth prayers have never been useful. Rits aren't alone in the whole "i have so much worthless shit, buff plz" boat. At this point, however, those changes would require a lot of work to ensure they're playable yet balanced - I don't think it would add enough to the game to make it worth the time and effort from ANet. -Auron 03:00, 13 May 2009 (UTC)

Generally true (I could argue about the fine points but whatever), but I think that the Ritualist problem largely comes from the fact that Spawning is a Primary Attribute, unlike the others you mentioned. — Poki#3 (talk) 03:44, 13 May 2009 (UTC)

Exactly. The lack of utility in their primary attribute makes other professions running ritualist skill lines with Soul Reaping more viable (Sabway, Discordway are both loaded with Rt skills, but that's not the limit of secondary Rits). The only advantage to having a Primary Ritualist instead of an X/Rt is the availability of skill runes for raising attributes above 12, that's it. There are a couple Spawning skills that are marginally useful, but are outweighed by the benefits of other professions' primaries. Rose Of Kali 03:55, 13 May 2009 (UTC)

i have to agree with rose of kali over 90000 times. an other thing take into consideration is the fact that a lot of rit builds require you to hold an item for a long wile and holding an item removes rit's ability to have half cast or more enrgey from wands and stuff like that. (i realize that not all item spells are suppose to be held for a long time)-- Zesbeer 05:03, 13 May 2009 (UTC)

"Tactics is useless period, swords are bad compared to axe damage and hammer utility, beast mastery is just shit overall (mostly because pets are so limited), water magic is bad on eles, air magic is a one-trick pony that isn't powerful enough to compete with the super power creeped crap that exists now, illusion is pretty lacking, blood magic has always been bad in pve and poorly designed for pvp, deadly and shadow arts are both equally useless (with the exception of 1 pvp gimmick and 1 pve gimmick), and wind and earth prayers have never been useful."

LOLOLOLOLOLOL 174.131.115.231 15:15, 14 May 2009 (UTC)

Ip is not aware of the last 3 major nerfdates,->[3],[4], [5]. 2 weird curveballs got buffed, Summon Spirits and the still useless Illusionary Weaponry, maybe they aim Rit for PvE only? We are all anxious for a comment of the first original poster's statement.--ShadowFog 05:10, 19 May 2009 (UTC)

This thread is not a discussion thread, just a simple question was asked and some people are changing it to suit different professions,and other problems, i understand Ritualists are not the only profession that needs help. But this only pertains to Ritualists. If you want to talk about other professions that are broken, please start another topic. It is that simple folks. Valen Spiritbinder 18:49, 19 May 2009 (UTC)

It would be really nice if we could see sth being done for ritoos. I can remember only 1 good update, which was buffing Signet of ghostly might. I hate to see that a n/rt is doing my job better than i am able to :/. Spawning power is by far the worst primary attribute in the game, and i hate the way it limits ritu by buffing his skills only. Necro's soul reaping works regardless of your profession (just look at discord, sabway etc.). The same goes for elementalist, you can use energy storage to your advantage with any other 2nd profession. Mesmers? They can cast all classes' spells and guess what? Fast casting is still there. And now look at ritualists. More %hp for spirits nad longer weapon spells? The first part works for ranger's spirits too, but honestly who cares about that? Longer weapon spells? I don't remember it being important at all. My discord/sabway necro's weapon of warding does the job without SP + he's summoning minions, healing and spamming Discord. No energy management problems. I'm not saying that ritu has any energy management problems, cause with a decent build, he doesnt. I don't want ritu skills to be made ritu only. On the contrary, I think ritu's primary should be more flexible in merging with other classes. I like ritu for being a jack of all trades, but le's be honest, compared to other classes, the number of ritualists is significantly lower, I wonder why? Probably because he was forgotten and abandoned. / KiLLi4N

@ Spiritbinder, just to clarify this isn't a thread at all. Threads you can find on forums. I would remind people to stay on topic however, although their really is no difference between a discussion and a question topic. Other than staying on topic and abiding by wiki policy, please don't arbitrate what people are posting. -- Salome 18:29, 30 May 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Gwen in Pre-Searing and increased healing?

There has been a question about a note that says that it is possible to increase the amount of healing Gwen does in pre-searing. There have been no reports of this actually happening, but the only way to really settle the issue is to have someone who can look at what the game actually does check if it can happen. Please settle this question. --mtew 01:52, 8 May 2009 (UTC)

Ping? --Max 2 19:59, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

[edit] It's understandable....

That anet wouldn't want to nerf shadow form. Lots of people play it, and alot of ppl would get angry if it got shut down. However, this game is out of control and it needs to be taken back. Whatever happened to grouping up to kill in UW/FoW? Now it's all speed clears. I joined a group and they asked me to pay for cons... um, I just wanted to play in FoW. It's back to how it was with ursan. A decision has to be made. Is this game going to be controlled by the player base, with the current PvP meta and heroes, Shadow Form, Palm Strike? No it should not. The law has to be laid down where invincibility is illogical in a game based on survival, PvP should not have AI in it, and overpowered skills should not exist. It's common sense and I hope these can get addressed. Again, I know people will be upset, but this game cannot be controlled by the player base, it's Your Game. --adrin 11:47, 8 May 2009 (UTC)

← moved to User talk:Adrin

If anet think that perma invincibility need to stay, it means they think that pve is not balanced. But they will tell you that pve is balanced. If pve is balanced, then why perma invincibility is needed ? But they will tell you that you are not forced to use perma invincibility. If you are not forced to use perma invincibility then why cant you find a pug without it ? But anet always recommended people to play within a guild. If joining a guild is recommended, then why cant you find one that dont systematicaly use perma invincibility and heavy loads of consumables ? ....

John Romero once said that one of the social aspects he depicted in his movies is that, sometimes, there is nothing to do but let the new majority "eat" you, becaus if you are aware of a danger, the weaks/corruptibles will make you fall with them. Who created this majority ? If anet tell you they didnt create this majority on purpose, it means they dont control their game. If anet tell you they created this majority on purpose... .On a side note, see what directions is gw taking since they got more than 5 millions players. What will it be when they hit 7 millions ? Remember that no matter how opened to good suggestions a game designer can sometimes be, he has a big boss. And the big boss generally only think to his collection of expensive cars. Some time ago i used to make joke with anet putting "perma inside !!" on their cover boxes, they did better: perma can now be captured in prophecies. Long life to the holy might dollar, may the humanity die from its greed. Yseron - 90.29.52.251 17:31, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Survivor Title

Is anything going to be done about it? It's an extremely frustrating title to try and get, what with having no margin for error at all. One death and gone. The only way to get it is to farm like hell, really, and avoid taking any risks whatsoever. I was just wondering if it was ever going to be tweaked at all to make it more attainable and less frustrating. Or maybe it should just be removed entirely, I don't know. --Axwind 19:49, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Just don't give it a shit. It doesn't worth it. it's really hard to get and well... you get a little string that stays even if you have died after attaining the title, so making it meaningless. also what you said was a suggestion. Boro 20:19, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

It was meant to be hard. I got mine in a few days of farming Ice Cliff worms and getting chests at the same time. It's your choice to do it the hard way, or the boring way. I'm glad there was a boring way, because I tried the hard way (missions, quests, skill capping), and lost it like 95% to rank 3. I sure as heck did not want to try the hard way again. Rose Of Kali 20:22, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Also, when I got mine, I made sure that my final XP was at exactly 1,337,500, and then died right away, so my title will always stay at that number. Rose Of Kali 20:25, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

I'm glad they fixed the Hfff because so many people got theirs that way. I got mine the hard way and trust me there is a lot of worrying about weither you mapped out quick enough. Drogo Boffin 20:28, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Survivor is one of those titles that actually should exist. It's worth someone dedicating themselves to, unlike buying unid'd golds or afking on nine rings for days. ~Shard 20:35, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Well, the first one I lost was due to lag, and I died from a... devourer in Surmia... yes, sad. But considering I was a hair-width away from rank 3, I considered it enough to take the easy way next time, and still know to myself that I can do it the hard way. I almost never mapped out on that character, either, never had to, but that one time that I did, it was too late. So I took Mark of Rodgort, Firestorm, a couple other spells, and went to HM worms in Ice Cliff Chasms. 700XP per kill with blue 5 minute scrolls, not bad. And I even lagged in there (sometimes to the point of losing connection and reconnecting), but wurms can't hurt you unless you're standing next to them, so that was much safer than Kilroy, and still almost just as fast.

I would disagree with Shard, though. My main title character was made 3.5 years ago, so there was no chance for her to get either Survivor or LDoA, and that made me mad. Titles that can be lost forever should not have been made, or should have been made from the start of the game. In the case of LDoA and Survivor, the fact that they are mutually exclusive is even more frustrating. Rose Of Kali 20:44, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

I got it the "old fashioned" way, I played the game and was super careful. It took me several tries, but that's what made it worth getting. Since there already are several easy, boring farms you can use to get it if you choose, it's not as tough as it once was. I don't think it needs to be changed at all. If you want it bad enough it's very much doable. If you are only wanting it to beef up your max title rank, it's the wrong title to go for anyway. -- Wyn 20:52, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

I've never even gotten rank 1 before, I'd be happy with just that because it's too much grind to go for the higher ranks. It's just been too hard to get even that far. --Axwind 21:18, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Rank 1 in NF with well equipped and skilled heroes is relatively easy. -- Wyn 21:22, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Care to elaborate? You can move this to my talk page if you want so we don't clutter up Linsey's page any more than it already is, since the topic's gotten away from my original questions and more towards the actual doing of the title. --Axwind 22:01, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Although this is a suggestion and Wyn has no life, I've always wanted a "Friend of Grenth" title. It would be mutually exclusive to Survivor, and what it is is like survivor except instead of Surviving, the object is dying. Could have like 12 ranks using the same prefixs as the allegiance titles, with like 10,000 deaths being maxxed rank. "Sa

As long as it doesn't count towards the HoM title total sure wth.~>Sins WDB 00:09, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Lol...

"<Some Guy> has achieved the Legendary Defender of Ascalon title. The gods have extended their blessings."

"<Some Guy> has achieved the Friend of Grenth title. Grenth has extended his blessings."

Paddymew 06:25, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

Did you know that Grenth has a "This God dont like resurection signets" user box on his page ? In game his console looks like this:

A new soul once named <XXX> arrived in your realm !

Grenth: Hello, <XXX> welcome to my real...

<XXX> have been recalled to the world of mortals !

Grenth: Oh my... ! Not again....

A new soul once named <YYY> arrived in your realm !

Grenth: Behold <YYY>, for this is the realm of the mighty Gr...

<YYY> have been recalled to the world of mortals !

Grenth: HEY ! Stop this sh...

A new soul once named <ZZZ> arrived in your realm !

Grenth: Ok, <ZZZ> if you agree to stay i will offer you this free mini zipo ! How is that grea..?

<ZZZ> have been recalled to the world of mortals !

Grenth: NO WAY, WTF ?!!!

Yseron - 90.9.251.183 06:19, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

Yseron.. you made my day.-- Karasu (talk) 16:05, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

Now I get that Wintersday rivalry stuff. He's just pissed Dwayna's for emptying his realm of all the good stuff. MithTalk 17:01, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Character Select Display

I've noticed that other than actual masks or helms, other headpieces don't show up in the Character Select Menu, like the Paragon crests or the Elementalist auras. Is this something that can be fixed? Or do I simply need to check something in my graphics options? --MushaTalk 04:57, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Those are the only ones, actually, that don't show up. It's been like that since the start with elementalists. There is no option to change it. I'm guessing it has something to do with the graphical implementation of the headpiece, it seems to be detached from the character model, it full sense of the word. When I load a busy town, I see my headpiece walking around with my character still loading (invisible), so the reverse seems to apply on the character select screen. Don't know of the exact mechanics, but that's how it seems to appear. Rose Of Kali 18:59, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

So, is this something ANET can fix for us? Can they display the crests and auras on our paragons and eles on the character select display? --MushaTalk 20:15, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

They might be able to, but I doubt they will. It would take a lot of time for a screen that you'll visit maybe 10-30 seconds per day. They'd rather improve the GW2 login screen instead. 145.94.74.23 06:05, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

i think there are a lot of things that would improve the character selection screen on of which would be adding more sorting options and the good old "being able to choose what screen (ie from games past, like factions or nightfall)" a lot of people leave the game on that screen and use it as a screen saver of sorts but that's way more the login screen.. -- Zesbeer 05:24, 13 May 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, but still it's just a menu. A pretty one, but still something 99% of the players skips through very quickly. I am not saying it would be nice, I'm just saying that it would be a lot of work for a small % of players...and that's something I think they will not do. Not unless it's one of the spare-time projects of one of the developers. 145.94.74.23 06:48, 13 May 2009 (UTC)

The only change I'd love to see is more sorting options for my characters. The character arrangement seems to re-randomize every time I re-make a character, and with 14 characters, it's tedious to browse trying to find who I'm looking for (I can't even imagine this for those with max number of slots O_O). Options to sort by name, profession, or in-game age would be awesome, but best would be allowing you to sort them the way you want, drag-and-drop style. Another cool thing would be a second view of the character select page that shows you all character portrait boxes at once (like the thumbnail view style of Windows folders), and switching back to the current system (filmstrip view style of image folders). I know this looks and smells like a suggestion, and will be archived, etc, but I also don't care about who uses it or implements it, as it's not my idea, and it's nothing new, Windows has done it years go and it's not copyrighted, so there. *sticks out tongue* I just hope someone important sees it and goes "hey, this sounds feasible, let me throw this out to someone who can make it happen" and forget it was ever mentioned here. :) Rose Of Kali 23:07, 13 May 2009 (UTC)

another feature that would be awesome is to be able to select the character you want to play and where you want to start from ie be able to log of in ember light camp come back on and move your toon and have him/her start at heroes ascent.-- Zesbeer 19:56, 14 May 2009 (UTC)

That's not really that much more helpful for the effort to create it, a better alternative is to have the ability to tab through continent maps without having to go through port cities first. I think Anet is well aware of this one, as it's been requested since the days of Factions, when KC/LA took 5 minutes to load and many people still played on dial-up. Rose Of Kali 20:07, 14 May 2009 (UTC)

Better map traveling is a totally different topic, let's not get into it right now. (I have probably a whole page worth of a write up for it in my head, and I'm just waiting for the Feedback namespace...) — Poki#3 (talk) 23:06, 14 May 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Fort Aspenwood headache

Hello there Linsey. Don't know if this has been notice already. It's about Fort Aspenwood format. The turtles are suppose to help the Luxons with the gates but looks like we, as in all players, have found a way to successfully stop the turtle, if playing as a Kurzick, from a safe haven almost indefinitely. Since it has pass a few months and it can still be exploitable, been concerned, I had to at least leave you a note. Thanks for your attention.--ShadowFog 19:42, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

So apparently removing enchantments isn't enough? What is the trick that you discovered? 145.94.74.23 21:27, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

You can aggro the turtles in such a way that you can't be attacked, which causes the turtles to fire at you for the duration of the match instead of pushing the gates as intended. At least, I think that's what he's referring to. Raine - talk 21:33, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

didn't play FA lately, but is this related? — Poki#3 (talk) 00:29, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

well what you want, we have 2 turtles with aoe disenchant doing 250 each missile, we have Ion cannons and nukers burning through the gates (the former doesn't cause scatter), and we have kurzick griefers spawning minions and dieing in green to kill gatekeepers, so yeah there a lot of problems with this area, i can also tell you that i can keep turtle from advancing simply by bring a self heal and standing next to the portals going outside, they just shoot at me, i heal my self and they never move. --70.48.54.78 01:11, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Eh no, im not talking about Build Wars. If you are kurzick, after getting the first portal, it leads you to the rising stairs where the path branches to two portals. Imagine you are running to the right portal but instead going in it try to stay in a nearby range. What happens is, their left turtle(looking at it from luxon's view) will get stuck on the small bridge trying to attack that player but it's projectile will always get blocked due to trajectory and height on top of that, the player exploiting this can't be attacked from below.--ShadowFog 03:48, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Ah, I see. Tough issue, the easiest fix I can think of is making that area unaccesible to Kurzick players...145.94.74.23 06:06, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

How is this an issue? There's nothing that can't be killed, just nuke the hell out of the gates and kill any people keeping your turtles busy... — Why 08:58, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Before I forget, theres a leecher problem but I think you guys know that already. The fact is that you can not kill that player unless you pass through the gates. They are being held by happy go lucky mass enchants monks or dementia party healers Ritualists which the turtle could have helped but he's being held hostage by the strangler, you cant kill him/her because he/she its too far away from the players. It's like not having the turtle update at all. Its good if that player was in range of it's foes but that doesnt happen.--ShadowFog 15:20, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

I know it's not a sloution, but you could try Scourge Healing for a change...that would give those healers something to think about...especially if you can cover it well. 145.94.74.23 06:09, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Deviating the issue still stucks the turtle in its place. You can stop the turtle without having any drawback. Here's more problems: players getting banned from PvP for reporting leechers, if we can see the results of winning and loses from FA we can determine if a side has an advantage and traitors working on both sides.--ShadowFog 13:32, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

This is actually a "new problem". By new I mean It didn't exhist about two years ago. Some time ago the turtle had an AI update which increased it's range (I don't understand why - it made the arena SOOOOOO much harder as a Luxon). Basically the turtle used to nuke until the npcs in front of it were dead and then moved on, often moving so close the warriors would kill the NPCs or players infront. The turtle AI was changed so that if ANYTHING were to stand in it's range, it will just sit there and attack whatever is in it's range and keep doing so until that thing dies, or indefinitely attack without ever moving forward. This change made the arena much harder to play in as a Luxon because the turtles became incredibly easy to stall. All a kurzick needs to do now is run into aggro range and the turtle will stop moving. This becomes even more difficult when a Kurzick stands at the edge of the top area near between the two teleporters. If they stand there the turtle will shoot at them, won't hit them and any Luxons which require line of sight or melee will need to break through two gates and run past a bunch of NPCs just to fight them. If you have spell casters to nuke them then that becomes a little more viable, although this is rare in practice and also easy to counter with minimal healing. To solve this problem the range of the turtle could be reduced. The turtle will ignore people between the teleporters and also move through the gates faster. Since the last rebalance of the arena the favour has shifted to kurzicks. The duration of matches was reduced from 15 to 10 mins which is a MASSIVE advantage in their favour. Stripping enchantments is annoying but hardly compares to the time decrease considering turtles are so easy to make unviable simply by standing still in front of them where you are hard to hit. 122.104.166.208 14:08, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

I know this is somewhat unrelated, but in Fort Aspenwood, Kurzick NPCs use PvE versions of skills, while Luxon NPCs use PvP versions of skills, which is contributing to the bad balance of Fort Aspenwood (superpowered Sundering Shot, Ward Against Melee, etc.). 18:57, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

I don't have time right now to give a proper answer to this, but wanted to quickly note that the above comment about Kurzick NPCs using PvE versions of skills while Luxon NPCs use PvP version, is not accurate at all (unless the source code is lying to me). Currently there is only one PvP skill version being used in all of Fort Aspendwood and it's "Watch Yourself!" on Master Architect Gunther. All other skills are the PvE versions. - Linsey talk 02:18, 13 May 2009 (UTC)

That reminds me, I have some gripes about Gunther's skill-set. His Endure Pain means that he can randomly just lose 300 HP out of nowhere which can end up getting him killed before you can heal him, it's even worse when he gets a deep wound since half of his HP can just disapear without warning.(marsc 22:48, 27 May 2009 (UTC))

Yeah... tell her about the Bugs that plague that place too->http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Fort_aspenwood, located in the NOTE section. If as a Luxon I could kill the warriors myself, I would have just to have the shrine respawn a turtle.--ShadowFog 05:30, 28 May 2009 (UTC)

After the recent change to the dishonorable system, the amount of people that leaves have increased. Normally you can have 4-5 people leaving the game each time anyone enters. I had in 3 consecutive games 4 leavers and on third game the fifth one was me, got tired of the leavers.--ShadowFog 04:01, 31 May 2009 (UTC)

There now seems to be a problem that the Kurzick Mine Cleanser are using the PvE versions of Bloodsong, Displacement and Pain rather than the PvP versions that they should be. Since it allows them to summon all 3 spirits much faster than a player using a ritualist they are a lot more difficult to deal with(either of them at each mine can get a defensive spirit and 2 offensive spirits up in about 3 seconds).(marsc 18:35, 25 June 2009 (UTC))

[edit] Bears in pre-searing question

The Brutal Mauling question above got me thinking about bears in pre-searing again. Is there any particular reason the bears have the Breaking Charm skill? Bears aren't any more powerful than other pets, and a Melandru's Stalker starts at level five (compared to the bears' level three). The skill has been there forever, but I'm just curious about the possible reasons. --Nkuvu 19:54, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Either to make it a little more rare, or maybe just because the Bear used to be stronger than other pets? 145.94.74.23 06:45, 13 May 2009 (UTC)

To my knowledge, the Brutal Mauling skill has never done anything in game -- no additional damage. I don't think the bear's health or armor were ever any different from other pets, so I do not think the bears in pre-searing have ever been stronger than other pets. With Brutal Mauling's long activation time, they're actually weaker (lower DPS). It may be an intention to introduce rarity, but... that's why I asked. I'm not sure. --Nkuvu 20:18, 14 May 2009 (UTC)

My guess would be, as this is a training area, to introduce the idea to new rangers that things could interrupt their charming... as interrupting is a trait that rangers would learn, brutal mauling I thought used to cause bleeding back in the day which is pretty strong in pre... MrPaladin talk 20:21, 14 May 2009 (UTC)

It's because the ones in Pre have delicious Porridge which they refuse to share with Goldie Gwen --ilr 02:18, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Old discontinued projects and time of Live Team

Hi Linsey, first of all: Gz to this great April update, you're the best that ever happend to GW :) I found some information about a "Xunlai Market" in older fansite threads and finally made this into a GWW article here. Here's my question: I believe there are many, many projects like the market that were discontinued during development of GW. Does the live team has enough time and ressources to look into the secrets of former development (4 years are a loooooong time) or already put it on the agenda? Thanks! :) BigBluetalk 13:33, 14 May 2009 (UTC)

That would have been great. I don't see why they'd discontinue it without a serious reason after investing so much effort. This may shed some light. Rose Of Kali 19:40, 14 May 2009 (UTC)

It's possible that the project was discontinued for a good reason - for example, the team deciding it just wasn't going to work and that they should stop throwing good development time after bad. I'd love to see some improved trading interfaces (at the moment, my trading is limited to scanning the trade menu to see if anyone's buying anything I have or selling anything I want when I'm in a trading city... occasionally) but if Xunlai Market wasn't going to work, that's probably a good reason not to keep putting resources into it. (EDIT: Oops, forgot to sign.) Draxynnic 04:25, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Thank you!!!

Thanks sooo much for adding a merchant to gotb soooo useful <3 <3 <3 and makeing the moss spider grow, now if you could just add tolkano to all the pvp outposts i would be sooooooo happy but i am already happy with the changes you made.-- Zesbeer 23:42, 14 May 2009 (UTC)

...Is this where we talk about the Misc Changes? If so, what does the Dishonor system change mean? I looked at the talk page but no one's spelled it out in plain English yet... Thanks. --ilr 23:48, 14 May 2009 (UTC)

The dev updates page should explain it... once it's written. 99.142.23.15 23:50, 14 May 2009 (UTC)

[edit] May 14th Skills update

Seriously? You go, what, 6 months without a skill update and THIS is what you come up with? Granted, mesmers got a little more loving, as they were steadily gettin before skill updates stopped, Elemental Lord was brought back into the light of actually usable skills, but overall? A big impressive ball of nothing. Seems anyone who wishes to play high-end pve can either make a sin or a monk and play perma/600 smite, or just crawl into a corner, ball up and die for all you care. Wow. Ok then. So much for the 'I'm too busy to look at skills'. You looked, and this is the result. Ouch. :( Do me a favor Linsey. Get a warrior, rit or one of the other "useless" classes, head to Temple of the Ages, and tell me how easy it is to find a group that won't laugh at you and kick you out for being a noob. Then, when you finally DO find a grp that accepts you, tell me how many minutes it took to wipe and fail. 201.6.66.4 02:24, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

Regarding PvP concerns, I think there are some things to be complained about in this update. Regarding PvE, though, you're wrong. Any good group of players who don't make any obvious mistake (like triggering UW quests at the wrong time) can survive in the Temple of Ages areas. The UW and FoW were designed all the way back in Prophecies, before the power creep and added versatility given in the newer games. Groups made entirely of ritualists have successfuly completed both those areas, and that's only expected.

The problems you are pointing out are thanks to the community, not thanks to Arena Net. FoW and UW are not areas in which people go to play, they are areas in which people go to farm. It's only expected that said people will seek the most efficient way of farming, nothing else. If Arena Net buffed warriors or ritualists so they could farm better than SF assassins or 600 smite monks, then warriors or ritualists would simply replace assassins and monks, leaving us still with plenty of players complaining about how they cannot get groups. In the areas in which people are actually playing, it's easy to find a group; thanks to the Zaishen quests, I was able to find a group rather easily with my Warrior for one of the Luxon missions, and again with my Dervish for a Prophecies mission. Erasculio 02:45, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

Yes, well, SOME missions are not yet farmed with permas (some simply can't, like any with mursaat towers, one of the rare effects that actually kills a perma sin). That doesn't mean it's not BROKEN AND UNBALANCED. Look, I don't need to do any more pve, i got ALL titles and rare minis i wanted from that (what's left is pvp which i dont believe is affected by the perma disease). At any rate i play less and less gw, but it still irks me to see incompetence about a game i DID care about, and will care again when 2.0 comes out.

But anytime i see ANY group in my alliance forming for almost anyth, it involves perma or 600 smite. Not just uw/fow. ANYTHING. Vanquishes, dungeons, yes, some missions, urgoz, deep, doa, etc. THAT IS NOT BALANCE. THAT IS NOT EVEN FRIGGIN CLOSE TO BALANCE, BECAUSE TWO KINDS OF BUILDS SHOULD NOT BE SO OVERPOWERED THAT THEY SHADOW EVERY OTHER ALTERNATIVE. WHATS THE FRIGGIN POINT OF HAVING A CLASS SUCH AS WARRIORS, FOR INSTANCE, WHEN U CAN BE PERMANENTLY INVULNUERABLE HUH? WHATS THE POINT!?!? 201.6.66.4 04:42, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

I IZ USING RAGE-CAPS REGARDLESS OF WHETHER IT HELPS MAH CASE! HURF DURF RARRR! --ilr 05:39, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

Everyone, please calm down. >.>" Alright, there are some people who think that only the "best" builds can be used for certain things. I, however, choose to not hang around them as they automaticly hate me. I say, if what you play works, play it. If you have to play with heroes and henchmen, make it work. I know I do, a lot of my best stuff I did mostly by myself. I am okay with that, sure it's an MMO but that doesn't mean you HAVE to work with people. It's a matter of choice, and if the people as a collection are being weird, heroes and henchmen never complain about your build and never go AFK. ^^" Katherinezoltin 05:42, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

But in the hard way he is right, Perma since can farm really fast, make money and if they dont farm they run people bosses from the zquests for 2/4k each. And same goes for the 600hp monk. 145.53.242.142 16:16, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

Here it comes (take a deep breath before reading) Boro 15:28, 15 May 2009

(UTC)

I understand that you are working hard to make GW fun to play, and to balance the skills. But hard working will not have effect without deep knowledge of the game. I suggest you to read shard's articles about game balance, his nerf list for example, and think about skill balance only after that. Boro 06:08, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

I suggest not to balance after any one single balance article or balancer's suggestions on the internet. 145.94.74.23 07:45, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

So do I. They've been letting a single person do it for 4 years and look how terrible it's turned out. ~Shard 09:00, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

The biggest complainers about SF sin and 600 smite builds are farmers that use other classes and builds. They don't like the competition because it brings the prices down. But I would much rather see people exploit skill builds than exploit other players. The only decent complaint was posted by IP 201 above. If I want to do a mission with my sin I am asked 100% of the time if I'm running a perma build. Of course not! And this almost always leads to me being kicked from the group. The same problem happens with other classes. It's harder to get into a group because players are more unwilling to accept other classes. However, rather than seeing them nerf these builds, I would rather see them buff our heroes. --MushaTalk 17:48, 30 May 2009 (UTC)

600/smite the farm I usually do. I want it gone because it's probably the most broken thing in guildwars. I also regularly perma (though never for farming), and I also want that nerfed into the ground. I've done raptorfarm on my derv and ele, but I don't see that being as big of an issue - that farm gives specific drops, and the prices of them have really gone down. On top of that, it's relatively difficult to do that farm on derv or ele (if you dodge badly as a dervish or if you get interrupted too many times on a long cast as an ele, you die). On the contrary, 600/smite farms don't have to worry about things like that; it's far more forgiving. If your Spell Breaker drops (which it shouldn't; it's maintainable with Arcane Echo), you can spam SB and hold aggro without getting interrupted or shattered. You can even tank damage without Protective Spirit up if you're late into a SoA. And if you somehow manage to die, you don't lose anything but a couple of seconds (while if you die raptorfarming as a dervish, everything degens to death without any aggro and you get no drops). Then there's Shadow Form, which requires a minimal amount of skill (press three buttons in order? Good joke) and still has huge payoffs. I don't want either of them removed because they're better than my farm (they *are* my farm), but because they're completely and utterly broken. Raine - talk 18:55, 30 May 2009 (UTC)

[edit] recent change to the two shadow step

With the change of Heart of Shadow and Viper's Defense the target can be either foe or ally, and they seem to step you straight back away from where ever your target is, meaning i position my self where my ally and i are in direct line to my real target, i hit either of these skill and it send me to that target, Is this intentional or not? cause as cool as this is,i don't want to make a build and find out it wasn't.--64.231.1.241 02:47, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

Make a build and find out. It doesn't cost anything. Would seem kind of strange if the "target" can be both ally and foe, though, I don't like the wording of the new functionalities. Rose Of Kali 03:31, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

Yes, it's intentional. It says directly away from your target, your target can be anything. Even yourself! (which sends you backwards about 2/3rds the aggro bubble). DarkNecrid 03:38, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

Interesting... O_o A new mechanic... Who'da thunk... Rose Of Kali 04:08, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

Actually, they already had a "certain direction" mechanic for skills. I'm almost positive bull's strike or bull's charge used to work that way. ~Shard 06:42, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

You used to have to hit them in the back for Bull's. It was fleeing targets, not moving targets. Misery 11:11, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

That would be a Physics mechanic then since it would require "hit boxes" or atleast a bounding cube and constant tracking of the entity's Pitch/Yaw. Though it's possible they're using a much simpler coordinates formula that just subtracts one origin from-the-other to mimic physics. ...Gosh, I sure hope they don't try to fake it like that in GW2, that'd be a bit of a let down :\ --ilr 18:54, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Dishonorable System

I don't understand how I could have got dishonorable after 4 games after I was actually running around contributing to the team. Does reporting now NOT tell the alleged leecher that he got reported? Because I didn't see anyone reporting me, nor did I leave any matches. Please look into the source code asap, it's very vexing to get dishonorable status when people don't know why. Pika Fan 10:16, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

Obvious question, but had to be asked: did YOU report other leechers? If so, how many? This will help figure out what exactly happened (or didn't happen). If you report too much, you will get dishonorable as well, but if you didn't do that, then there's indeed a problem. Rose Of Kali 17:51, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

No. Well, yes, but it was only once, and all 7 of us reported him. This isn't just happening to me; there were 2-3 people complaining about the same problem they had.Pika Fan 19:39, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

So it appears that their little update to "the way Dishonor Points were distributed" or whatever actually broke things even more, instead of fixing them... yay... Rose Of Kali 05:10, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

would also like to know, I've got dishonorable twice without being reported/reporting others.... I did go afk a bit if that's what triggers dishonorable? --Cursed Angel 16:16, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

Whatever the system does, it sure made a change and it's working. In every game I've been on there's 0 leechers. The only leechers are the "leavers" but that seems to be minimal for now. Check well, sometimes some people tend to report others just for hate, you might not notice since the message gets pushed up by constant activities and/or maybe the system is "awarding" more points than usual. Going AFK does trigger the status, that explains the lack of leechers(everyone on the team moves!).--ShadowFog 17:10, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

Actually FA and JQ should be 2x2x4 Boro 17:19, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

Two vs Two by Four? O_o. Two vs Clue by Four? o_O. --Star Weaver 17:34, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

2 sides, each has 2 groups of 4 people. Boro 18:07, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

TBH Isnt it clear that the dishonorable thing was a bad idea from the start ? Its just how they try to fix things.The real problem is the dependance on monks because of a) power creep and b) less support/selfheals being carried together with titles.As It took to much time to fix the first and they can't possibly fix the second they introduced dishonorable.Just like it takes to much time to fix hexgay so they introduce PnH Lilondra *panda* 19:08, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

If they really wan't to keep FA + JQ more random they would be better off forcing teams into 4 groups of two then joining the 4 groups into 1 party when they all zone. If instead they went with 2x4 players would be bias towards running balanced teams more and it result in players neglecting certain professions etc. That has good and bad to it, but since FA + JQ aren't high level pvp it's better to keep it in a format where it can be more laid back.~>Sins WDB 19:14, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

TBH Lilondra, there's a lot of ppl saying that leeching has dropped a lot since dishonorable was first implemented. Wouldn't that make it a good thing? -- Alaris 19:17, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

People leeched before and still do. Boro 19:24, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

No system is fool-proof. There will always been leeching, and there is nothing Arena Net can do to eliminate 100% of it. — Jon Lupen 19:27, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

"The real problem is the dependance on monks because of a) power creep and b) less support/selfheals being carried together with titles." I'm trying hard to understand what that means, but I'm just lost. I'm getting from this that you believe monks are relied on because of other offensive builds being too powerful? And the other part has something to do with titles causing players to not bring self heals? If that is the argument you are making it's wrong. The system isn't broken because players build like they are going to find a monk. It's also not broken because players don't take self heals, which has nothing to do with it and is not true. The system doesn't work because players are penalized for attempting to report someone when other people either don't know how to report or don't want to take the time to during a match.~>Sins WDB 19:30, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

Actually I was saying that people no carry support skills like draw,SoR,... in general.All they carry is offensive support.Monks have become healbots most of the time and people don't run selfheal.Check the amount of warriors with heal sig that actually are good warriors.The dishonorable thing only fixed people from leaving the moment they saw they didn't have a monk.Wich was rly getting bad after a while.Lilondra *panda* 05:55, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

It didn't change that. People just resign early or leave when a match is over and reenter until they get a monk. You make it sound like playing a healer is something terrible to do.~>Sins WDB 06:45, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

Your missing the whole point tbh.My point is that dishonorable never fixed anything because it was just a quick update that was supposed to fix a result not a problem.They don't have the time to fix the real problem.The real problem is a) titles and b) people can't possible stay alive longer then X seconds without a monk because nobody carries support or selfheals anymore.I think my point is that unless you all use imba skills and have a zillion damage the odds of you getting 5 wins without a monk are 0 Lilondra *panda* 06:49, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

I can agree with most of that. I would imagine people don't normally bring much self support such as healing/condition/hex removal because it's not worth the time it take to use them when you can dish out offense or shut opposition down so easily.~>Sins WDB 07:04, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

There's no point in bringing a self heal because, assuming the knockdown chain doesn't prevent you from getting it off, it just means it takes the palm strike sin an extra half of a second to dismantle you, and that energy/attribute points could be better used offensively. ¬ Wizårdbõÿ777(talk) 08:40, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

Wich is my point ? If PS,VoR and stuff like that got nuked/reworked and people took some selfheal/support monks would have a much easier time and you wouldnt instalose if you didnt have a monk or a zillion damage Lilondra *panda* 12:28, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

The problem is that leeching is an accepted playing style in the eyes of arenanet. Boro 16:50, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

~Eh... You should take a look at the EULA and other legal documents of the game. The problem is that people don't read that, and so keep leeching thinking they are easily going to get away with it. Then they get reported, banned after multiple infractions, and they may or not repeat again, to be punished again. So, why do we keep seeing leechers? Because new players enter PvP once in a while, end they didn't know about the rules either, and so the thing go on. Even if you add an 'accept box' to be able to enter PvP, they would just click accept without reading it. The only way I can think right now is a 20 question surprise test about the rules. You fail it, game gets locked in a page showing the rules for 10 minutes. Eh, it's silly, but I bet it would work a bit. MithTalk 19:20, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

The problem is that the game punishes players for reporting leechers. There is no report button to quicken things up (this is for those who think the problem is that people don't have time to report). And arenanet didn't do anything to fix this problem, despite of it persisting for more than a year. Boro 06:40, 28 May 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Guild Wars and Steam

I had recently seen an update (ad) on Steam saying that NCsoft titles are now on Steam. Is there any way we can update our Steam/NCsoft accounts to reflect when we're playing something like Guild Wars? --Antioch 22:08, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

Take a look here for official answer. I remember reading elsewhere that the 2 systems are not compatible for this. If you are looking for a service to track your playtime, look at XFire or Raptr. XFire is a great messenger and more widly used, but Raptr does have more game tracking options.

I just added GW as a Non-steam Product then went to my GuildWars Shortcut and changed it from C:\<directory>\GW.exe to "C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe steam://open/games" so that I always remember to start it through steam instead. ...Atleast then ppl on my friends/group list know when I'm playing it.
It's probably too early to even ask about it, but here's hoping they fully integrate GW2 into Steam or atleast give it an Official "Steam APP ID" so that Steam tracks it properly. --ilr 19:08, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Quick question

Would you be the right person to ask a question concerning Final Rest? I came across the link while perusing The ranger skill name translations. Thanks in advance. --Riddle 05:33, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

Would that be Frozen Soil, by chance? Rose Of Kali 18:30, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

I don't think so, because Frozen Soil is a prophecies skill while Final Rest is under Factions. --Riddle 19:16, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

It is just one of the many unimplemented or removed skills.
Description - Create a level %str1% spirit. Spells that exploit corpses take at least %str2% second[s] to cast. This spirit dies after %str3% second[s]. --Zora 00:13, 18 May 2009 (UTC)

[edit] What does it take for a skill balance?

You mentioned here what it takes to create a new area/region/quest/etc, but is changing a skill really as simple as going into a mahoosive list of skills and changing the numbers? The only other thing I can think of is that you need the time to check that monsters don't get omgoverpowered (Afflicted Monks...). I'm not asking for a skill balance (though did take the opportunity to snipe at RoJ), but I'm just wondering what it takes to do one. Hope you've understood my question, --Alex Eternal 09:50, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

I think balancing like smaller recharge time etc. is just as simple as that. but stuff like this new aegis takes a whole redesign of any classes, functions, etc. the skill uses, which is a lot more work. that's just my guess from what i imagine guild wars to be programmed like ;) - Y0_ich_halt 11:37, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

or anyway i'd have tried to program gw so that number changes like recharge time are as simple as that xD - Y0_ich_halt 11:37, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

I don't think that's what he was asking. And more details than that would be necessary. IE: Is it just a database/XLS change? Does every functionality change require Coding changes? Does every single Skill have it's own function call? And how do they link to their animations; spreadsheet or is it hardcoded? (always affects activation times??). But I guess an answer somewhere between "a lot of work" and "no more than most RPG's" or "datamining/design process takes much longer" would suffice.
IMHO, The answer's obvious: Joe the Code Ninja could knock out every change in a matter or minutes. The REAL bottleneck here is the people telling him what to change :p --ilr 18:59, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

Well what I meant was, whenever someone asks for a skill rebalance, with a fantastic list of options all balanced and the like, we're often told "We'd like to but lack resources" or "I'm sorry we don't have the time" or in Izzy's case, "I'm busy working on GW2". What I'd like to know is how long it takes to do a Skill Rebalance and what goes into each skill's redesign. For instance, let's take... RoJ (... can you tell how much I hate that skill? xD), at present, my understanding of a skill rebalance is that ANet staff go into a program, find the list of skills, change a number and then test to see if any foes don't have a working chain or are overpowered. If that's the case, surely the Wiki could help ANet. Let's say I make a suggestion (once all the legalities of accepting suggestions are sorted), everyone agrees it's balanced, then anyone who wants to could save ANet time and go out to foes with RoJ (Afflicted Monks, etc) and check their skill bars and theorize how it would work out, making additional suggestions if necessary. Then they sign (~~~~) a list on the talk page of the redesign to say "This has been checked by me and there are no obvious problems." or whatever. If enough people sign it, it'd cut out a heck of a lot of QA time (... at least, I think that's what QA does). Of course there's the issue of trust, but if the Sysops and B'crats and other people (who've got a NPC named after them... I mean really, if ANet doesn't trust them...) they trust all sign it, QA wouldn't need to be so vigorous. Hope I've clarified myself (and revealed my ulterior motive of getting ANet to hire Wiki'ers), --Alex Eternal 20:14, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

Little changes like energy cost, recharge, number scaling, etc, are done by izzy in wordpad or something (based on what he's told us, each skill has its own text file with the stats in it). New skill functions obviously require new code. The original programmers made the skill system flexible, knowing that it would have to be changed often. Skill balances shouldn't take up that much time beyond deciding what's going to be changed. ~Shard 20:48, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

The problem with your example, Alex, is that it hinges on these people being able to instantly recognize balanced suggestions. Meanwhile they can claim research as their defense, by which case I mean datamining and QA testing. Like I said above, changing the stats takes minutes. Justifying and Testing multiple changes at once is the real bitch apparently. And sure you can ask here and get them to admit that fact, but it serves no purpose since they'll never reveal the actual details of the Datamining & QA process --ilr 19:54, 18 May 2009 (UTC)

A miracle, that's what it takes. Whatever deity you believe on must step down from the heavens and intervene directly. If not, all you're getting, every 6 months or so, is the crappy small skill update you just did. So start praying! 187.37.57.215 20:56, 18 May 2009 (UTC)

Let's face it. If izzy winged skill updates only half the time, we would be lucky. ~Shard 02:44, 19 May 2009 (UTC)

Being unhappy with the current state of affairs doesn't mean that you have a better solution. Skills affect PvE, PvP, monsters, farms, normal play, bosses. Tweaking numbers is not to be taken lightly. -- Alaris 13:35, 19 May 2009 (UTC)

Oh! I thought of something else! Translating the new description into the languages GW supports! Though that can't take long if it's just a numeric fix. --Alex Eternal 15:50, 19 May 2009 (UTC)

Skills affect PvE, PvP, monsters, farms, normal play, bosses. Tweaking numbers is not to be taken lightly.

Yet, Anet still manages to do it without putting any thought into it. ~Shard 01:30, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

Whilst taking potshots at ANet is very fun, you've got a userspace to debate whether or not they can/'t skill balance. Let's keep on topic shall we :p --Alex Eternal 09:12, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

It's a fact that the last skill updates were mostly inappropriate number/functionality changes. The only thing to be debated is the reason: I have three ideas: (they means the balance department)

• idea a: They are afk (see shard's dictionary) and just randomly changing skill and functionality numbers. (as long as there is no explanation from the balance department, this will be a possibility)
• Idea B: They like the game but they don't have a damn clue. (see shadow form 'nerf' in july)
• Idea C: Their higher ups are morons and don't let them to fix the game's serious problems. (Idunno. this is the land of conspiracy theories)

Boro 12:32, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

Most that are addicted to GW would love to add some meaningfull help to create an even more awesome game. ;-). Beta Testing be the most favoured one I guess. Designing ..dont make me start on that. Right..on topic.

If you would change a skill it would affect the following;

Several different level player-characters using it.

Several different level Monsters Using it.

So..I use a skill as lvl18 and they nerf/boosted that for one reason or another. I encounter different levels of problems or benefits in PvE that make me;

Unable to make good use of that skill.

Overpowered in Use of that skill.

Let me rule a specific farm for an High End item and give me a HUGE advantage over other players till the word gets around.

In PvP certain skill adjustments make fo'r;

Overpowered Team builds

Overpowered Solo Builds.

With the hundreds of skills countering eachother one adjustment is most likely resulting in adjusting another.

The key word is Balance. It would be soooo easy to adjust just 1 skill and how it behaves in a certain area if there where no dependency's to other skills.

Without proper research on the depenency's it is doomed to fail leading to more complaints from the community of players. I don't support that. It needs time to "calculate" the effects and how to get the best results. And depending on what skill, used by what profession/boss in a specific area & how the other professions can balance that out..I assume the time it takes to readjust a skill is "variable". --Silverleaf Don't assume, Know! 13:05, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for posting these factors. Let's hope the designers will take them into calculations. Boro 13:12, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

I assume they allready do so Boro :). It is for them to confirm it in answer to Alex's question. --Silverleaf Don't assume, Know! 13:17, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

Think of the player population as a massive computer looking for min/max solutions. Minimum effort, maximum payoff. Some will settle on less payoff for less effort, some just want to maximize payoff, and others still want to find something fun at the same time. Tweak one skill that nerfs an OP'ed build, and all you've done is create a new min/max space. Players who were nerfed will quickly look for something else to abuse, find it, and abuse it. We've seen it happen every nerf. The only way to really fix it is to create the space in such a way that those min/max solutions are also those that players value to be valid play styles. And that's beyond art, it's also PR. -- Alaris 13:56, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

And 52 open job functons (limited resources). --Silverleaf Don't assume, Know! 14:14, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

They just need to listen to experts. Boro 17:55, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

I am very confident they are the experts :D. --Silverleaf Don't assume, Know! 18:18, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

I have high confidence in ANet too. To say it bluntly, GW balance is well above the competition... Take a tour in WoW forums for example... where they complain that *an entire class* is OP'ed or Underpowered. Not that Fury or WHO or Diablo 2 managed to beat GW balance-wise. Frankly, most *RPG* games I've played that had *some amount of choice* in playstyle had balance flaws. GW is not perfect either, but it's well above the competition.

GW balance is also well above the vast majority of suggestions I see one the forums/wiki, IMO. The only time I see suggestions that *might* work better than ANet's is when the vast majority of forum/wiki users agree on a topic... and even then there's no guarantee. Remember Ursan? Some wanted it killed, others nerfed, and others yet wanted it buffed! Same with SF etc. But that gets even worse with PvP, where every person and his dog has his own idea of what PvP should be like. 95% of suggestions (my guesstimate) is either "pls nerf other playstyles I don't like" or "pls buff playstyles I like" with little to no regards given to balance. That includes people putting pressure so that the game is more tactical, more newb-friendly, more skill-based, or more team-based... note that some of those pressures are in opposite directions.

If I was in charge of hiring, I'd keep the current team as is. -- Alaris 18:59, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

>where they complain that *an entire class* is OP'ed or Underpowered.

ups, ups. Less visible examples abound as well. Vili 点 19:12, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

I agree with Alaris. Couldn't have summed up the state of GW better than he did. The playable PvP teams may not be of the player-preferred 2-frontline-4-midline-2-monks variety, but they are evenly matched most of the time and skill and experience determine which of the (wrongly named) 'gimmicks' win. That is also balance. 87.210.150.58 15:15, 30 May 2009 (UTC)

That is 110% bullshit. Go play some GvG and come back when you can support your argument with empirical evidence. The great players beat the bad players running gimmicks, but the bad players running gimmicks beat the bad players running balanced every time (while expending little to no effort, showing very little teamwork, not being on vent, etc). Is that balanced? Obviously not. -Auron 15:27, 30 May 2009 (UTC)

Yes, the rit primary is not great. But rits are good in PvE, I rarely hear that they are underpowered as a profession. The warrior primary is also not that great, and the paragon primary is not useful in many places... but those professions are also not underpowered. -- Alaris 04:20, 31 May 2009 (UTC)

The truth is that not many of the best builds use Spawning power at all, and when there are no spirits and weapon spells involved, other professions are better ritualists even not being able to hit 14 in an attribute. --The preceding unsigned comment was added by User:MithranArkanere (talk).

@ Silverleaf: To say it bluntly, GW balance is well above the competition GW has been out for 4 years. It was balanced for 1 year, then after all the updates and expansions they slowly broke it. Now, 4 years later, it's a mess. Lets take starcraft. It just passed its 11th year now and is still the most balanced game.. ever imo. True, it's a different genre, and 150mineral spawning pool was OP, later fixed, the fact that they had qualified people doing the balancing is what makes all the difference. Forethought is put in, which is alot less than I can say about anet's balancer.--adrin 06:02, 31 May 2009 (UTC)

Improvement is alway's possible. The many possibility's and variations in GW make it a " time consuming job" with aftereffects. I do not compair to other game because to me each game is a different ballpark. GW can easily use some improvements in skill balancing...My faith is in the fact that Izzy & the live team are allready aware on what might be improved. The have post-it's, notes and an endlest list of need-to's, want-to's and must-do's wich need to be figured out in the priority the Anet teams gave it.

Core business is priorities and the time needed to get-it-ingame. All of us can think of "easy-do-it-now" solutions. I hope we can all be smart enough to understand that simplicity is not the answer here. And to know that not every "Player-wish" is best for the game or the community. --Silverleaf Don't assume, Know! 12:37, 31 May 2009 (UTC)

Just so we're clear... (1) Starcraft has received balance changes since it was made, see patch notes for 1.03-1.05, 1.08. (2) Starcraft has far fewer "professions" or "skills" than GW. (3) In Starcraft, positioning and reaction speed and strategy play a big role, so it's harder to notice small imbalances in "skills". Don't expect games to ship out perfectly balanced. -- Alaris 15:52, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Hang in There

Hi Linsey, Thought I would send you message letting you know that I genuinely appreciate all the work you do in the Guild Wars Universe. The last couple of posts haven't been the easiest as I can tell, but you can't please everyone, even if the last content update or skill update was perfect in every way there would be someone who would personally feel like Arenanet screwed the game up for them. Keep your spirits up and thanks for keeping Guild Wars a game that is still enjoyable to play. Dero Ahmonati 17:08, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

Seconded. I still can't break my addiction... Rose Of Kali 18:12, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

I agree, the stuff you have been doing is awesome and personally, I don't know WHAT could possibly be added in the next giant content update. There are ideas that have floated around but next to a whole new explorable area, I have no clue. 0.o Good luck trying to think of something! I'm sure you guys have better ideas of what needs fixing than me because the only thing I can think of is actually adding Teller of Tales for Halloween, but that's not for about 5 months so you have plenty of time. ^^" Katherinezoltin 00:28, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

i could think of over 90000 things that they could improve that would make the game 9000 times better for one they could buff pets so people had a use for the new zoo. but yes good work thus far. -- Zesbeer 00:34, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

Pets are useful, especially Rainbow Phoenixes. Have you ever tried to prot through four elephantine psychedelic birds with warriors spamming interrupts and disable on you? Thank God for the Zaishen Menagerie! :D Raine - talk 00:58, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

Though, in fairness, I do appreciate most everything else. It'd be awesome if every update didn't come with a new way to abuse something, though. Raine - talk 01:01, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

People still use prot?--118.90.54.65 19:14, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

The current playerbase is very good at finding and abusing exploits. There was a time when Ursanway was the only abuse, but nowadays, I see people Cryway/IanInverter/Sabway/RoJway-speedclearing through the gaem. And don't forget the fastfactionfarmvanquish either...*sigh*145.94.74.23 08:11, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

Just giving credit where credit is due. All and all it was a good update. A few bugs here and there. It happens, nothing ever comes out bug free. Dero Ahmonati 18:49, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

This skill balance update was well... far from perfect. They just shown that the balance department doesn't play the game. LC nerf? lol the problem was that it was (cheap AND long lasting AND short recharge AND fast casting time). None of these problems were addressed. And the PnH nerf: That was required, however, it wasn't followed by the nerfs of many hexes (Parasitic Bond, Defile Defenses, Suffering), so there is nothing that is even remotely close to surviving a good hexway. Illusionary Weaponry: Just WTF?!? The problem is that you have a slightly less dps than a warrior, your enchantment is easily removable and you are screwed for 25 seconds. The real issues, recharge and weak effect weren't addressed. Foul Feast: The problem was that it broke inter-profession dynamics, not the recharge. Necros should have never got a draw. I don't think that I have to list the long list of fatal design issues waiting to be fixed for more than a year or got introduced right in this update (and the linked ones are just a few). Boro 19:11, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

Maybe they will look into next month. Dero Ahmonati 22:17, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

They might. I reckon they might listen to balance suggestions once people stop telling them they suck at their jobs (amongst other things). 145.94.74.23 14:29, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

Would you mind not spouting off in abbreviations and acronyms, Boro? Not all of us know what the shorthand you're talking about (LC? PnH? hexway? etc.) stands for, since, believe it or not, not every player currently playing is a 4 year vet. --Axwind 16:07, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

Those who are not playing for a year rarely come to complain about skill balance. Also I'm sorry if using abbreviations offends anyone of you, but if you think you need some knowledge, use the search function. (LC was lingering curse, not lion's comfort) Boro 16:30, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

At least they have monthly skill balances. I'm just happy that somebody is looking at the skills on a regular basis. Dero Ahmonati 18:18, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

Not offensive, Boro, just confusing. Not everyone who views this page is an old vet, and you never know what topic may catch someone's interest. Links to said skills/builds if you use shorthand would be helpful for those who aren't familiar with the lingo. --Axwind 18:36, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

The point of having shorthands is that you don't have to write down all the letters... Sigh for the first use of shorthands I will try to not forget a link. Boro 18:45, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

Just type the abbreviation or the acronym you need in the search bar (e.g. type PnH and it will display Peace and Harmony which was the skill Boro was referring to) - Reanimated X 18:49, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, but that doesn't always work, or even if it does, it sometimes brings up something totally unrelated. I tried looking up DSC lately that way (having no idea what it was), and I ended up having to ask more info because there was no link from DSC to "Drazath Speed Clear". From the context, it wasn't even clear whether he was talking about a skill (which I assumed incorrectly) or what... Shorthands are only good if everyone knows the shorthands, otherwise they fail. -- Alaris 19:39, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

At least, though, if you say "What's XYZ, I wiki'd it and got nothing," someone will probably go make a redirect or something. I think DSC has one now? :) --Star Weaver 17:32, 1 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] GW2 news

I got exclusive content that show how Cantha has evolved in GW2 ! ( and dont forget to put some attribute pts in your weapon, if you see what i mean after watching this ) Yseron - 90.9.255.209 21:59, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

And the reason you posted this on Linsey's page is? -- Wyn 22:06, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

Because it's an Awesome yet Cheezy/OvertheTop movie and Linsey is the only dev with a sense of humor? --ilr 22:23, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

 :D such a fun movie --Ellisia 22:58, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

/bows to the master. That cheered up my otherwise crappy morning ^_^ 000.00.00.00 23:03, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

Although a bit of a trolling, it was funny to watch and like Mr. 0 above me, cheered me up well. ^_^ -- Azazel The Assassin\talk 23:14, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

That's not Trolling. Posting This Part and comparing the last minute of it to GW's Crippling knockdown Palm'Assins would be Trolling... though only slightly exaggerated --ilr 19:47, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

Interesting none the less. Dero Ahmonati 18:46, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

Looks more like the effect of Mesmer hexes than low weapon attributes to me. :P Draxynnic 02:57, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

[edit] NPC Skins

Hi Linsey Once devolpment to an expansion or campaign is done is there a number of unused npc models and skins? Do you happen to use these model in future content? Dero Ahmonati 18:28, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

Had a couple lore questions as well that I thought I would slip in. (Spoilers alert)Who takes over the Shing Jea Monastery and is Gull Hookbeak found in Jaya Bluffs the same that we seen in the Tengu Accords or is it his son? Thanks! Dero Ahmonati 17:24, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

I'm quite sure that there are things that get made and then get scraped before release. The model of Nicholas Sandford was a leftover from the Bonus Mission Pack. Also see Category:Historical content and Category:Unimplemented content. — Poki#3 (talk) 00:58, 29 May 2009 (UTC)

Actually, Nicholas' skin was made when the BMP was being made. I had Linsey clarify that to me in game when Nicholas was new, as I couldn't think of which BMP he was from. -- Azazel The Assassin\talk 01:30, 29 May 2009 (UTC)

Alright that being said, can anyone answer my question on those two points of lore? Dero Ahmonati 16:44, 2 June 2009 (UTC)

Nicholas was not "left over". We had the model made at the same time as the BMP models but it was made specifically for The Traveler project. Professor Yakkington was also made at that time, though he was in a lot rougher shape. Susan Jessup made a lot of changes to him just prior to release, giving him those cute blue eyes and an almost albino color compared to other Dolyaks. There are rarely "left over" models that we choose to not use, but sometimes a model can get buried in the file server and we forget about it only to find it later on. At this point, most of those have already been used. We are a resourceful bunch hehe.

I don't have answers to your lore questions right now, but they should probably be separated out into their own section. Hmm... I wonder if there is a better place for Lore Questions... - Linsey talk 18:37, 2 June 2009 (UTC)

Hrrrmn, the old Goblins got turned into Grentches with the addition of hat... Ratmen? Or are they just TOO old and embarassing? :P Draxynnic 03:33, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for answering my questions Linsey. I really appreciate it! Dero Ahmonati 17:55, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

Hi Linsey, I can post these lore questions on your page correct or should I be posting on a different page? Dero Ahmonati 19:02, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Nundu Bay + Elder Jonah + MM = Bad

I just played Nundu Bay and had several issues finishing it due to AI of the NPCs. The shore watchers would often run out and aggro the stationary mobs outside the starting area during the seige part and pull several mobs inside.

A worse and more common threat in the mission for me was Elder Jonah would always follow me out and heal the minions. This often lead to me failing because with 250+ dmg AoE from Ele and Derv margonites he would often get killed. More frequently he would stop following and during the final part when you kill the last Harbinger and mobs run in to take you out he would be in the way of one of them and die. I won't suggest how to fix the problem for fear of overzealous rule mongers, but rather make you aware it is a problem for some people. 58.110.63.86 19:23, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

I never had that problem. Instead ding it the fast way, I kill all margonites in the mission just because I like killing them. But it's true. Against margonites minions are of great help, yet that guy, since some update, like the Kurzick Priests in Echovald, follows the party healing minions. It won't harm to add an stronger limitation on the distance he can follow, so he stais inside the walls or nightfalled Ronjok Village. MithTalk 19:27, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

I did that quest yesterday, and yes, Jonah is still a problem with MM. And it's otherwise a good mission to bring MMs so I don't want to do without one. Until they fix it, there are few work-arounds: (1) kill off your minions before leaving the base, and make new ones away from his healing range, (2) have Jonah follow you, but keep an eye on him, and when the spawns appear, intercept them before they get to Jonah, or (3) have Jonah follow you away from the path where the spawns go, by for example doing the bonus and then moving back to the main target. Personally, I think if they made it so Jonah never left the base, it would be a better fix. -- Alaris 19:33, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

I always find a way to get Jonah back into the little town if he follows me, which even though I use a MM all the time, only happens like 1/10th of the time. If Jobah was made stationary excluding when AoE hits him, then that would be good if possible. But I don't see it as a huge problem, to be honest. Besides, it's like the Factions missions, get an extra healer but can't let him die. :D -- Azazel The Assassin\talk 19:46, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

In a perfect world a necro could be able to have a UI checkbox that say "dont heal my minions, whoever you are, you AI pricks". But from what i've heard any feature, from the moment it could be usefull, need at least one year to be coded... unless it fixes an exploit or involve some cash, because suddenly, they become concerned. Yseron - 90.14.100.77 20:38, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

IMO, Identifying and using an AI's quirks to your advantage also demonstrates some degree of "skill", just like any other mechanic in the game involving eye-hand coordination or strategy. In some Cases like Dzagoner Bastion, it's a matter of expecting the "good guy's" AI to fail and simply "beating the Clock" before it inevitably happens. In other cases you may even have to bring a Bonder along just to keep the Stupidest of AI's alive. --ilr 23:25, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

All that needs to be done is set the AI to "do not move" or set Jonah as a turret or something. --8765 23:43, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

Or fix the AI so that NPC healers don't train MMs to heal minions? It gets annoying in AB, too.

Also, I'm not sure, but do heroes spend energy healing/protting minions? I could see that being a problem, as well. Raine - talk 00:20, 28 May 2009 (UTC)

This same problem was abused in the Aurios Mines challenge mission. They fixed it by putting a leash on the healers. Someone just needs to put a leash on Jonah and everything should be fine. At least for this instance.--Pyron Sy 02:18, 28 May 2009 (UTC)

They do - if you watch your monks while you have a minion swarm, whenever you're not moving they're probably trying to keep the swarm's health topped off, and this can drain their energy down to almost nothing. It's generally not that big of a problem, though, because while the minions are "alive" the AI is that much less likely to go for a target that actually matters, and the AI healers do try to keep the minions healed in combat as well as out of it, so they last longer without putting as much pressure on the MM. Like the AI minion bomber, there are advantages to the AI monk that can prot the minion that is being focussed on. :P Draxynnic 02:34, 28 May 2009 (UTC)

I don't know about prots, but as far as I've observed, heroes won't waste energy healing minions outside of combat unless they are already at full energy themselves (or have something like Signet of Rejuvenation which is free). Vili 点 07:49, 28 May 2009 (UTC)

I've seen heroes using Infuse Health on minions. Needless to say, I ripped that skill out of my monk's skillbars since then. But I'm otherwise happy that the AI pitches in to make my minions more durable. -- Alaris 14:02, 28 May 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Dishonorable system issues

Each time I play JQ or FA these days, I keep getting the dishonorable hex over and over again even though I never do anything that could make me trigger it. Namely:

- I never report anyone (precisely so I don't get hexed myself)

- I don't leave

- I play the game as usual

- I do not see any "X has been reported for leeching" in the chatlog

Not only do I get hexed, but the hex somehow lasts very long (20-30 minutes perhaps). When asking around in town, I have had other people telling me the same story.

I have seen on the wiki talk page that people have come to the conclusion that not moving might trigger it. I do not know if it is the case but let us assume it is. If it is, when you play monk, you are often standing near the area you are guarding (it is especially true in JQ when you are guarding a shrine) and on the wiki talk page, people talked about how they were just standing still and spamming spells on NPCs. There are many other examples of not moving while you are still playing the game as you should have the right to without being banned from PvP. And even if not moving does trigger the hex, which is already not an optimal decision, I randomly get hexed even when I do not stand still more than usual during the fight.

Once again, I do not know if it is true but in any case, something is wrong and you may want to take a look (perhaps it is, after all, simply bugged). Thanks in advance. Ni Di 17:18, 31 May 2009 (UTC)

Could you email me through the wiki with your character name, and we will look into it. You should not be getting a long lasting dishonorable hex just because you were standing still... - Linsey talk 22:02, 31 May 2009 (UTC)

You should not be getting a long lasting dishonorable hex just because you were standing still Does this mean we will still get a short-medium duration dishonourable hex for standing still and spamming prots on the NPCs? Well, no matter, I don't even bother to JQ or FA because I would get the hex randomly when I am not leeching. Pika Fan 22:23, 31 May 2009 (UTC)

It's the same issue as reported here : [6] Pika Fan 22:25, 31 May 2009 (UTC)

I found it odd that there was no discussion of this change in the Developer Update... and no I'm not judging it one way or another, I'd just like to point out that any kind of "gotcha" system that gets implemented, is always going to be "figured out" by the Exploiters first, and the Innocent last. It's probably the #1 curse of being a "game balancer"; and the longer it remains undocumented, the more "normal people" it will begin to piss-off *shrug*. --ilr 01:20, 1 June 2009 (UTC)

Let's not jump to any hasty conclusions about what Linsey meant with her wording. :) I'm sure she can clarify. (Aiiane - talk - contribs) 07:30, 1 June 2009 (UTC)

What conclusions? I just got done saying I'm not judging it, and the reason is that there's NO INFO to even go off of... I wouldn't be surprised at all to learn that it's not working the way they expected it to either...(read: Voodoo coding bugs) --ilr 23:18, 1 June 2009 (UTC)

I've had this happen to me in JQ, I even made a screen shot of the expanded chat window. I never sent it in because I thought they had changed the system to not show "x is declared a leecher". I somehow thought I must have peeved somebody. I'll try to dig up the screen shot for potential submission. — Mar Master 05:59, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

They also punish people who report leechers. Boro 06:23, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Balance Update?

There hasn't been a serious balance update in many months...any chance this month will bring something different? 67.237.224.87 01:48, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

Ask Izzy, not Linsey. -- Azazel The Assassin\talk 01:49, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

I don't know right now. I'm meeting with Izzy tomorrow (hopefully) to discuss possible balance issues I have observed and when or if we will address them. - Linsey talk 02:27, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

Make sure to mention hexway + hex stacking.~>Sins WDB 03:38, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

And please keep any changes to hexes to PvP, as that's where they are seemingly causing grief... Rose Of Kali 04:58, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

When she says "I have observed" she is either lying or she knows that hexgay and stuff is a problem.So there is actually no reason to start mentioning every problem now.(For the ones that rly believe I'm evil,Yes I do believe linsey is doing a good job) Lilondra *panda* 05:15, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

I've heard Izzy is fat. Have you considered offering him food to do GW1 work? 99.151.134.146 05:18, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

Lol... That was so bad it was actually funny.

I don't know if I'd go as far as saying that Linsey is doing a good job as far as skill balancing goes (not yet at least, so far she hasn't done much with that, but I love the April update), but she hasn't created any new problems, which is awesome in my books. Rose Of Kali 05:34, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

I'm talking about the big picture Lilondra *panda* 05:55, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

@Lilondra: She knows. She pvps too ya know. ~Shard 06:28, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

I never said she didn't Also this has pretty much become a discussion about her being good or not.May I move all but question to my talk page ? Lilondra *panda* 10:31, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

The big picture is too big to be easily balanced in one shot. The possible combinations of skills an attributes is too big, even if you reduce them to just builds with 3 different attribute lines active. MithTalk 10:35, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

It is easier to see if something went imba if they balance bit by bit. And because of the amount of skills in the game it is impossible to know every combination and test them in a month. If they balance, let's say 100 skills for this example, then when the build goes live there is the possibility that something goes imba alot higher then when they balance 10 skills. I rather have the team making progress slowly then making no progress at all. Qaletaqa 12:54, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

RoJ was clearly bugged from the moment it re-entered the game after the December update. So even if stuff is balanced bit by bit, it will still be possible for a skill to be blatantly bugged for over 6 months. --Arduinna 13:27, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

The skill RoJ isn't bugged. The AI for monsters, henchman and heroes is, it does not recognize RoJ as an AoE attack wich prevents the monsters, henchman and heroes to scatter if that is what you are referring to. So RoJ isn't a balancing problem. Also adjusting the AI ,most likely, takes alot more time then balancing, and I also think there is only one person working on the AI in the Live team, wich is probably Joe Kimmes, and he has alot more to do. Qaletaqa 18:00, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

Also I just read the archives of Joe, and this might not be a bug. You can read about it here. Qaletaqa 18:11, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for the link, my bad. --Arduinna 18:32, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Hero Battles MaT finale

In the latest finale both finalists (apparently) agreed to run a subpar build and not take the game seriously, which was further made clear when the player that was going to win ended up resigning. While a blatant case of match manipulation, it's also a form of protest to the way Anet has neglected the format, showing that if Anet won't take the format seriously the players won't either. The top players that remain all agree that the format is beyond broken now, to the point where its being rendered unplayable by balance issues, AI bugs and match manipulation issues that have been ruining the format for over two years now. I'd just like to know what Anet's reaction to all this is going to be (if any). --Draikin 19:55, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

So if I run a build anything other than meta I am accused of match fixing? Cool story bro. Pika Fan 19:59, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

There's a difference with not running meta and running 4 bars with 8 random skills, doing barely anything and obviously not trying, and then resigning when you're winning with a huge lead. Not that this needs to be pointed out though, I'm sure ArenaNet *has* to be aware considering this happens every single month...repeatedly... DarkNecrid 20:04, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

(ec)"Subpar" is not just something different from meta, especially when concerning finalists who intentionally bring a build that they know is not fit for the arena. Draikin didn't even mention the word meta. Don't troll or attempt to derail the topic into another catfight. Rose Of Kali 20:11, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

Anything other than meta is subpar, unless you are buildwarsing. How do you know and prove that these finalists aren't simply trying to test a build? Or simply not playing on form? There's nothing stopping people from testing builds in mATs or playing badly for that matter, stop forcing others to fit your petty and narrow-minded ideals of what "good sportsmanship" is. It isn't just blatant conga lining. Pika Fan 21:30, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

I didn't post this to debate about whether or not it was match manipulation, because there's nothing to debate. Even if you don't know anything about the format, the player names and the fact that the winning player resigned make it obvious what happened. If deliberately throwing matches is your idea of "good sportsmanship" then please consider making a separate topic about it. --Draikin 22:05, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

like i said before hero badttles is pvp? thats a funny joke you have there.-- Zesbeer 22:15, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

LOL once again. And TBH I think if they removed hero battles no one would care except the 5 people that actually play it.Warherox 07:57, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

I don't obs HB because I am not interested in it, but I had a chat with some people who do and while "the person who was winning" resigned, I hear they were only one point ahead and the other guy had all the shrines and as such, would have won as soon as the timer ticked over. I am also told that the builds were not a joke. Please remember effectiveness of builds in Hero Battles is quite difficult to judge, especially if you try to base it off effectiveness in other areas. I suspect this drama is arising from a lack of understanding on the part of observers rather than collusion. Misery 14:27, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

Ok, double checked, builds were not a joke but red did resign when he would have won, lawl. Following the rules I guess, red resign! Misery 14:45, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

Does it even matter ? HB is a joke.It goes so far that I'm actually annoyed by it cuz I have to scroll more if I want to observe 2 teams playing the same build yet diffrent then the past time I obsed again :) Lilondra *panda* 15:18, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

I hate to say this but it is well known by most players that HB is terribly broken as it stands currently. -- Salome 22:44, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

tl;dr. HB is bad.Warherox 22:55, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

in all truthfulness i would much rather have hb removed from the game and replaced with a sealed deck or just something else, i dont see how it could be fixed to where it would actually be a pvp arena-- Zesbeer 22:57, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

Remove the player and make it 4v4 (all heroes). That would make it less of a joke. Raine - talk 23:18, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

Props to you, kind sir! --Seventh 01:08, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

Sealed deck forcing unbroken manliness ftw Lilondra *panda* 05:32, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

They could replace it with PvP Polymock. Xelonir 06:19, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

Or even Dwarven Brawling. <.< Mediggo 06:32, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

Sealed deck would do :p Lilondra *panda* 10:21, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

As some of you know, "PvP Love" is high on the list for the next Content Update, and Hero Battles is one of the major action items on that list. We know about its issues and we want to assuage them, but as you guys have already figured out, the issues are major and deeply rooted in its base mechanics. I don't think that we can straight up remove it as a game type, but we might be able to smooth out the bigger bumps. It's pretty eerie that you bring up Sealed Deck, Izzy and I were just talking about it yesterday. Did you guys somehow manage to bug the Live Team room? - Linsey talk 18:46, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

Running gale warrior every time I log on gw I became so manly God gave me the gift of predicting things (he also gave me a less squeeky voice on vent wich btw is fucking awesome).Anyway I rly hope you find the solution because as long as there is a need for things like red resigns there will change nothing Lilondra *panda* 20:00, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for the update Linsey, it's good to hear that changes to HB are still being discussed, even if that doesn't necessarily mean those changes end up being implemented. I'm not against the idea of a sealed deck for the format seeing how it means you can easily deal with the skills that are broken with the format specifically (shadow steps for example). Actual changes to the mechanics in HB are difficult to implement and it's not easy to predict the end result, and frequent skill balances for the format combined with those for GvG aren't exactly realistic either so it's better to look for an easier solution. What's clear though is that any change at all is better than doing nothing, otherwise you might as well consider removing the format since it's really that bad at this point. --Draikin 20:20, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

Oh god when i brought up sealed deck i was hoping for a sealed deck arena not sealed deck applied to hb that would be god awful and not what i want at all and to reply to linsey yes i am physic not really but i do remember reading on izzys wiki page that he wanted to put that into the game.-- Zesbeer 21:54, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

She definitely meant Sealed Deck for non-HB :P, I'm sure, Draikin just misunderstood I think. DarkNecrid 22:36, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

Actually, it was sorta both... - Linsey talk 23:21, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

yea i dont think skills are the real issue with hero battles i think its the heroes ai.-- Zesbeer 23:26, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

Cool :). Just so long as the 4v4 or 8v8 Sealed Deck experience is well done and solid and bug free (if it does come!!! *crosses fingers*) I won't mind, can't say I'm looking forward to a 1v1 with AI Sealed Deck much but who knows. Could be fun for a special tournament or something :P. DarkNecrid 23:39, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

The automated sealed deck they have now was coded for HB though. I will be surprised if they have the time to extend it to other formats considering that i asked izzy about it so long ago. --Zora 00:44, 6 June 2009 (UTC)

We are not bugging the live team. We just know how can you improve Guild Wars. Boro 04:48, 6 June 2009 (UTC)

That's exciting, the sealed deck format in GW. Wonder if it would be a choice between like 3 full builds per profession or maybe kinda like PvX with 1-2 optional skill slots.~>Sins WDB 06:15, 6 June 2009 (UTC)

Huh? It's GW's Sealed Deck format but in-game, you create the bars after being given various randomly generated skills, so it's nothing like what you just said :P. DarkNecrid 06:26, 6 June 2009 (UTC)

Applying it to GW seems like it ought to be a bit different than how it is done with cards though. Think about how many skills have no use. I dunno, I'd rather not discuss it under this header. No need to get way off topic, start a suggestion somewhere if you like.~>Sins WDB 06:34, 6 June 2009 (UTC)

Well there's not much to discuss so I'll just say it's been done in various RL tournaments already over the past few years and you can find the rules on their website. It works, and it's very very fun. DarkNecrid 06:44, 6 June 2009 (UTC)

Sealed deck, while very welcome, I think would only work well if every player was given the same deck to make builds from, and the deck was re-shuffled every day or so. I'd be afraid that, if every player had their own random deck, they would either quit if given a 'low-quality' one, or depend on a second account to receive a new one, and that winning would be very much reliant on luck. Maybe the deck would be re-shuffled right before every fourth tourney, and you see builds progress out of the deck as the day progresses. Also, a few skills would have to always be available, like Orison of Healing, and all class-specific self heals (Healing Signet, Shadow Refuge, Ether Feast, etc). Also, a few key skills that other skills depend on, like one binding ritual, one item spell, Charm Animal, maybe the attunements for Eles, maybe Vow of Piety and Anthem of Flame. You'd not want to segregate the PvP base more, and HB in it's current form won't exist, so I'm pretty sure not many people will be heartbroken if the gametype was flatly replaced with Sealed-deck only Hero Battles, with well-deserved tweaks to some of the mechanics (slower morale, less solo-capping clout). That's my take on it. Looking forward to the end result..--Skye Marin 07:44, 6 June 2009 (UTC)

Sealed Deck gives every team the same deck and is shuffled every match :p. The only skills that are given to everyone no matter the deck is Rez Sig, Charm Animal if you have a Pet Attack, and some crappy Assassin Attack skills if you have an Assassin Attack Skill, that's it. This is assuming of course that the Sealed Deck a) does come, and b) follows the already set rules to the letter. DarkNecrid 08:49, 6 June 2009 (UTC)

i was thinking a format where the skills for sealed deck are split like pvp and pve and every class has a center number of skills (allowing for skill borrowing ie making some skills that are normally war into para and so on.) and that small skill set would change every month.-- Zesbeer 08:57, 6 June 2009 (UTC)

There's no way shuffling the skills daily could work in my opinion, at the very least it would have to be a week. You have to give the format some time to develop a metagame, I'd actually even prefer it to be a monthly reshuffle with a relative large skill pool so that it ends with an MaT. Tweaking the mechanics might not be needed given the fact that there's not that many hero splitters available, so splitting as a tactic would get a nerf simply because heroes no longer have the defensive capabilities to survive long enough for split tactics to work. --Draikin 11:32, 6 June 2009 (UTC)

You could always just take away their cape trims for a month-- Oh wait...

There are many viable ways to add sealed deck to GW. I'm only surprised they haven't done it yet. ~Shard 00:11, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

I haven't read all the posts, but all I can say is please please PLEASE do not replace Hero Battles with a sealed-deck hero battles. I find most of my fun in matches comes from either facing people who use original and interesting builds or spending my time thinking of an interesteing and unorthodox build that will work well. I'm fine with implementing sealed deck (4v4 or 8v8, or whatever) but do not replace the current hero battles, just fix it :)EDIT: Also, sealed deck play would also limit people from the chance of continued play of that build that they like and getting better at it. A large part of why I like to play hero battles is because my victory is solely dependent on my skill/ability and my actions against my enemy. I like making my own team build and ect. I would love to play a sealed deck format but please just fix the current HB, don't replace it.Underated Skill 14:57, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

sorry to burst your bubble but any victory you get from hb isnt from your skill its from your heroes ability to use skills. body block and cap. if they wanted hb to be more skill based they would take the focus off of capping and put it on killing things, as it is right now i can go in there and be able to completly wipe someones team and lose because they kityed there way to victory via capping.-- Zesbeer 22:56, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

Don't you know Zesbeer, HB is tactical and micro.Warherox 00:15, 8 June 2009 (UTC)

There's no way i want to see sealed deck for regular play for HB. I would rather see a change to the mechanics of the game where shrine capping was removed altogether. Some of the best 1v1 play i have ever had in GWs were 4v4 with 3 heros or or 8v8 with 3 heros and 4 hench in our guild hall. Our alliance ran a competition that we ran 1v1 comps with H/H in our guild halls. This was far more balanced than the regular HB matches that GWs hosts. It involves flag running, splitting, ganking, NPC killing etc etc. I would rather see more of an element of this in Hero battles or the maps being removed altogether and HB matches hosted on the guildhalls the person belongs to with monthly rotations. This allows for a format where the current meta is already balanced around GvG and also allows splitting and full 8v8 or 4v4 and a wider variety of builds being available and depending on the map, employing certain strategies and in general more skilful and tactical play. Either this, or have an element of flag running / NPC killing and guild lord type ganking on the current maps. In any case, a lot of the degenerative solo capping shadowstep play would die as NPC's need to be killed, guildlords need to die and flags need to be run. If you neglect the flag and choose to try and outright 8v8 this is also fine, but DP's and rezzing back in the base keep the game going which ultimately place flag running high on the list as well as a good knowledge of tactics on certain guild halls and a home advantage during normal play. Trinity Fire Angel 04:51, 8 June 2009 (UTC)

So GvG with heroes?Got it.Warherox 05:26, 8 June 2009 (UTC)

@trinity fire angel if i wanted to gvg with heros i would.-- Zesbeer 22:05, 8 June 2009 (UTC)

Linsey, how likely is it that we'll see this sealed deck change for HB or a similar rework? So far all of the planned HB changes ended up being canceled, and the metagame right now has degenerated to the point where the format is pretty much unplayable. There's no point in playing games where the match is decided before the battle even starts. Even a skill balance with a few specific nerfs for HB would help momentarily. --Draikin 23:57, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

i didnt think the meta game ever changed for hb i have felt it has been about the same scene it started.-- Zesbeer 00:14, 17 June 2009 (UTC)

I keep dreaming of Sealed Play ingame since I've heard a dev mention it in an interview in one of first months of 2006. But please, don't connect it with Hero Battles - I want real PvP action with no relevant AI. It could make a fantastic format, with every match or tournament completely unique, with a new level of replayability not seen before in GW. It's a great opportunity for something truly awesome... if it's not HB#2.--83.26.20.199 15:36, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] So?

How can i purchase from the store using SMS? - Wuhy 13:57, 6 June 2009 (UTC)

Pay by phone is only offered in the UK and Germany. IVR payment is available in both countries and SMS payment is only offered in the UK. http://eu.guildwars.com/support/article/surfpin/ --Dunyas 15:56, 6 June 2009 (UTC)

ty. also, darn. - Wuhy 16:23, 6 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Quest Builder

Not sure why this was in Lin's journal, but it appears all the qualifications center on hardcore experience and no mention at all of needing blah blah blah-Years of industry experience and shipped titles... Is this new? Are there going to be more jobs available at Anet in the future that don't exclude "new blood" on that silly Catch22 premise that the only people suited to work in the industry are those who already have a job in the industry? If so, Kudos. Many of the best levels and Scenarios I've played all came from independent authors and it would be great if we could get an injection of new content from that kind of talent. --ilr 00:24, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

This type of things tends to depend on the job (a programmer for a very killer app title will definitely have these reqs.) and doesn't just apply to the gaming industry but many businesses have similar requirements. It isn't because they think only those people can do it though, but it's because they know those people can get in and generally do the job with minimal need for help and do it well pretty much guaranteed. It's just a safer and quicker bet. For a Game Designer job it's probably better to leave it more open, because it does give you an opportunity to find a game designer who is more creative and fun about their choices and aren't afraid to break new ground. That said, the Game Designer position is one of the most competitive positions there are for any game company and hardly anyone who wants it ever gets it, and it's guaranteed that some of the people applying are going to have those X years in the industry and so on to help secure their chances. :P DarkNecrid 00:42, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

You have to start from the very bottom, by making free games in open projects, for example. MithTalk 02:01, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

...but that's the thing, It's one of those positions that's almost never open to a "gamble". It's almost like seeing a senior Programmer or art Director position open to anyone as low as GED grads. And of course we know the competition for it should be a lot fiercer than most positions but the way this one's written ...it looks like they're specifically trying to pull someone out of our own community and that seems like a promising prospect that deserves discussion --ilr 03:03, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

While companies do grab people out of their own community (relevant to GW example: Regina), I don't think it was written in a way to imply that's only what they're looking for. For a online game that's out, most (if not all) will require you to have played and liked the game, and really game design positions are almost always openy, this partly lends to their competitive nature. For example, Blizzard's Game Designer position for WoW is very similar to the one Linsey posted, with having experience as being a Game Designer already being a "plus" but not the requirement. DarkNecrid 03:35, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

Sometimes it's Not a plus though, just look at Bill Roper (or most anyone from SoE). I hope there's Banishment Seals on all of Anet's doors to keep that bugger far away once Champions inevitably Fails. But back to the point, this job almost explicitly lists knowledge of all the game's quests or style of quest making. Hopefully that means whoever fills the job will go back and fix some of the goofed up ones --ilr 21:20, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

It's a "plus" for helping your chances to get the job is all. The things you also just mentioned are things that are expected of you anyways (that's part of why they want you to have a passion for the game). It's highly unlikely they are hiring a Game Designer to change old quests, instead they are probably hiring a new one so Linsey has a new person to bounce ideas off of and improve the game as a whole since they do a lot more than just Quests. There's really nothing out of the ordinary for what they are asking for compared to the standard at all, honestly. DarkNecrid 21:32, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

That's right, ilr, a college degree or experience in game design are not required for this job. Before I continue let me say that I encourage everyone to go to college, stay in school and have a contingency plan in case your career of choice doesn't work out. I was a fine arts major in college, hardly applicable to my job now (though I did put it to use designing the UI for the Stylist), and I dropped out of school to move to the Seattle area in hopes of getting into the game industry. I had no real plan other than wanting to get a job at Wizard of the Coast as a customer service rep and no job lined up out here when I left which makes the whole thing pretty dumb on my part, but lucky for me it worked out. I do NOT recommend this approach. I spent the first 9 months here unemployed, playing GW all day long and repeatedly getting turned down by WotC. I was lucky enough to meet the GW design team and get into the Alpha Program (from all that playing while unemployed) and this is what led me to my job at ArenaNet. I can't even put into words how nervous I was interviewing for this job. As a fan, as a completely under qualified applicant and as someone expecting to get an entry level job in the industry and have to work my way up into design; I was petrified. Yay for me, I aced the design test and they decided to take a chance on me. So as you can see, it is possible to get into this kind of position in unconventional ways. When people ask me what the career path for getting into game design is, it's really hard for me to answer because there are infinite paths you could take which lead to game design and they do not all start with college. It's different for programmers and even artists because there are special languages and tools that a company could need you to be trained in for you to get a job and you get that kind of training in school. Game Design does not always have these kinds of needs. For the Live Team design position, I am much more interested in how much an applicant has played GW, their design sense, or their ability to write and communicate than what kind of schooling they have. - Linsey talk 01:06, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

(For the records, I still haven't forgotten about that "This character literally got me my job" note on one of your character's profile : D) If not for the "Experience using game level and world building tools" and "Experience with scripting languages" requirements, I would consider applying for the job. It's nice to see such open minded mentality. Erasculio 01:18, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

Hehe, I'll tell you that story one day, I promise! For the record, I had neither of those things when I applied. If you really want it, don't let something like that hold you back. - Linsey talk 01:38, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

That was quite excellent to read! :) It's great to see how people wind up in these types of jobs. DarkNecrid 02:10, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

I like to think that it's a pretty good story heh. Oh yeah, I remembered something, Erasculio, when I saw those very same things on the job listing as I was applying for my job, I panicked. I'd played SimCity, SimAnt, SimOtherStuffThatInvolvesWorldBuilding, and Sid Meyer's Civ games, stuff like that but I didn't even know what "scripting" meant. And then, of course, they asked me about it in the (second, post-initial screening by HR guy) phone interview with the designers and I had to say "no I haven't worked with anything like that". So after that, having landed an in-house interview, I looked up what "scripting" is (it is a simple programming language, usually custom made by the company) and downloaded a macro program. Started fiddling around with macros on a pre-Sear warrior (for educational purposes, I made no gold having deleted the char after I was done testing it out). That way when I went to the in-house interview, I was able to tell them about my adventures trying to get my pre-Sear warrior to run outside of town, go on a scale killing rampage, and not forgetting to pick up every drop. I've just been trying to say that people can over come not meeting all the requirements listed in a job posting, if you are good enough, they will over look quite a bit. - Linsey talk 03:21, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

Yes that's quite the anecdote. I'd call it a bit of a Moon Shot infact but Thank you for all the details. I hope it serves to deliver Anet the best talent out there should they happen to read this. --ilr 03:38, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

(resets indent for first time evers!) Thank you Linsey, I have edited my resume (that was already pre designed for you guys, but more towards a programming job), and will talk to my family who I am living with straight away about going ahead and sending it. I would love to get in now as opposed to getting a crapload of student loans, but it will still take a bit of explaining as to why I might skip finishing my Associate's, frusterate my orthodontist and go on the other side of the country. >.> So the resume isn't in the pile just yet, but if the Gods will it, it will be. Katherinezoltin 07:13, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

Here's another question: When something like this gets advertised is there much response from the international community, or is it all just people from the US? I'm wondering how much interest people from other countries express towards making a big move, signal a desire to apply for work visas etc. to get into something like this. -- WarBlade 07:38, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

I'd like to note that the only things holding me back are the possibility of an agegate (you must be +18 to apply), the time/distance issues (I'm living on the opposite side of Earth). Other than that I feel I am qualified. Boro 07:45, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

Lol I write quests for my game I'm trying to live off. I think I'd win too. But that is not the point. Linsey - my friend's currently all fuggled because he's got to pay about $68,000 for 4 years of college to learn to become a "game designer". (many classes involved) He wants to end up being a coder/programming. It seems (though you suggest it, as I would) that you don't need college, which honestly surprises me about the industry because I've heard games are the hardest to code, and MMOs... well anyway, so it is required? Or could he just get really proficient at C++, whatever else he needs, and say "Hey, I'm here!"? Vael Victus 13:45, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

Game design tools are more and more user-friendly, as an effort to make it more efficient to create content. However, someone who's comfortable with programming & interfaces in general will fare better and learn faster. Also, understanding programming can help you understand what the game can and cannot do, and what might break it, or how to make it do cool things not originally intended. Finally, when they say that they don't require this or that, well it basically means that they'd rather pick from a broader pool. You never know where a really good designer will come from, because of the creativity needed for the job. -- Alaris 14:01, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

Linsey, what where you doing logged in as John Hargrove? o.O — Jon Lupen 14:21, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

THE PLOT THICKENS Vael Victus 16:52, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

Perhaps I should sent an updated version of my CV... not that much happened since the last time I sent one in. -- Alaris 17:02, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

Going to college for game design can open a lot of doors and I do recommend going to college if you want to get into the game industry in general, I'm just saying it is possible to get in without a degree or a relevant degree. For programming, you are almost certainly going to need an education in the field to get a job. Game design can be different though. However, getting into the game industry can be VERY difficult. A lot of people are wanting to do that now, so it's really competitive. Me getting this job was basically like winning the lottery. People do get in through unconventional methods like I did, but very few manage to pull it off and it doesn't happen often. I know a bunch of other people who basically tried to do the same thing I did and have spent years beating their head against a wall. The game industry is very similar to the film industry when it was first getting going. These are all competitive fields to go into and there are a lot of people who might spend most of their lives trying to "make it" in the industry only to never reach that goal. That's why I said to always have a contingency plan.

Unfortunately, we can't accept anyone not from the US. Getting work visas can be difficult these days, and I've heard that there is a finite number of them given out each year. It causes a lot of complications and we've already brought a lot of people over from Europe this year so I don't think that we would consider trying to pull someone from another country for this position.

I happened to be hanging out with Hargrove and I checked my wiki from his laptop, where he has it set to auto-login. - Linsey talk 18:01, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

Shame about the visas... I guess there's no point then revising my CV. Thanks for the info. -- Alaris 18:59, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

I know I've already posted this somewhere else, but just to give an idea: the number of alotted work visas for 2009 was exhausted in the third week of January. They go fast, and there's about a 2 year waitlist of applications. In short: forget it as long as the current system stands. That was I believe the only reason I didn't get a job with Schlumberger - one of the best oilfield service companies in the world, as my field interview I think went very well, especially compared to my "competition." *sigh* Rose Of Kali 19:30, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

Other than that If any of you wish to experience working on a game I can suggest connecting shard. He is working on an RPG game and he already replicated guild wars skill system. The game's name is crusade. Boro 19:49, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

As someone who's always had Terrible luck, or "Negative probabilities" in pretty much everything he does, I've resigned myself to the fact that I'll never be on any Design board nomatter how much I wish I was. So I've been pursuing 3D design/optimization instead since that's generally the biggest bottleneck in any game's production and as a result there will always be "work" for Pixel Monkeys. Especially with all the Video-Card pimping and "Form over Function" obsession with Aesthetics in this industry. Infact I'm convinced most Investors and "Marketing Geniuses" couldn't tell a Bad Design from a hole in the ground but they'll instantly recognize a game that "looks pretty". And probably the biggest secret along these lines is that you don't actually need authentic "Artistic Inspiration", Artistic Talent can be faked with enough practice. So if you don't like your chances, do what I'm doing instead :p --ilr 21:45, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

I applied even though I don't have much (recent, does building levels for DOOM and Duke3D count?) design experience, in the hopes that I can prove myself to the HR folks at Anet during the interview process. I want this position as badly as I've ever wanted anything in my life... I've taken to writing GW quests complete with notes on how to make things work with the current engine just to let out some of my creative frustration. And the only reason I'm risking posting this here is that my wiki account has no info in common with my application info. Linsey, I hope you get to see all the applications received, and that there aren't a ton being thrown out by HR before you get a chance to look at 'em :) -- MrSmiles 22:14, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

Hey, Linsey, I was just wondering, does Anet or NCSoft provide relocation assistance? I know some companies (such as Bioware) do that since applicants pop up from all over the country. --Axwind 11:55, 11 June 2009 (UTC)

I'm not sure, Axwind. My guess would be yes. - Linsey talk 21:29, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

Okay, thanks! --Axwind 03:15, 14 June 2009 (UTC)

I just got the sad email from Sonia today saying they have better candidates, but I am okay with it. Its all about getting your foot in the door, even if you crush it in the process. ^^" Katherinezoltin 02:36, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

Sorry, if this has already been covered (It's quite a wall of text that, tbh, I haven't got time to sift through), but there's a lot of text from Linsey here that could go to the unanswered question on her FAQ.. --Alex Eternal 11:08, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] If you happen to find the time

I got some questions/my opinion here. I know your busy but if its possible in some way pls answer them.Lilondra *panda* 15:18, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

Why are you linking her balance questions when she doesn't do balance? DarkNecrid 19:21, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

They are questions to anet in general.If it were just about the balance I wouldnt post is as izzy is inactive Lilondra *panda* 14:29, 8 June 2009 (UTC)

Nonetheless, the question has to do with balance. You only cited skill changes, which are not within linsey's realm of control. Your main point has to do with the playing skill vs. hours played/powerful skills thing. But that's tied to skill updates and BALANCE. irrelevant to linsey if you ask me. The only place on this wiki I would dub this with any relevance would be izzys page. if even. Underated Skill 19:00, 8 June 2009 (UTC)

I think you missed the point where it was only the conclusion I linked to.These are questions to anet in general.As there is a team behind izzy and afaik linsey sometimes helps with balance.I could be wrong though just from what I've heard.Lilondra *panda* 05:48, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

I know you linked to the conclusion, yet the questions asked there are: "Why did you nerf blackout and gale...", "Why do you keep buffing raw power ?" (that's what I meant by balance questions)...I guess the other questions could be passable but they're still slightly related to the balance really, and Linsey doesn't do balance, it's Izzy + his team atm. She said she wants to help do the balance in the future, but so far it's just those guys. :p DarkNecrid 05:54, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

But linsey is responsible for changes anything in GW1. Boro 06:21, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

At best she says "No we can't do this massive functionality change it would take too much time" for the massive Elite skill updates (and if anything, that's something the programmer would gauge, and not happen much), otherwise she doesn't do balance and wouldn't have any input on that. She probably forwards some concerns or asks questions, but she is more responsible for game features, quests, character placement, etc etc etc, not balance. She has stressed this before, multiple times. DarkNecrid 07:01, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Possible References...?

From the quest "Be Very, Very Quiet..." When the Charr meets the Grawl these lines are used... any *ahem* references? Torch Harrowkeeper: GREETINGS. GRAWL. WE. BRING. WORD. FROM. THE. HIEROPHANT...savvy? Grawl Dark Priest: *oot!* Curious, thanks.(75.0.186.25 12:26, 14 June 2009 (UTC))

[edit] Zaishen Stuff repeating?

Can I ask why the Zaishen bounties are repeating? There are so many more bosses in the game, is this just a mistake or is there only like a month or two cycle programmed? Just a matter of interest. 000.00.00.00 21:38, 17 June 2009 (UTC)

See User talk:Linsey Murdock/bugs2#was this supposed to happen?. They accidentally reset the cycle - it'll still get to everything eventually. ¬ Wizårdbõÿ777(talk) 21:43, 17 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] The Ritualist

Maybe this is just me but the ritualist class feels and acts severely gimped in the recent days of Guild Wars. It has been proved that the turret style of a ritualist simply does not function well in a competitive game like Guild Wars because of their sluggish and passive behaviour. The 10% of spells that actually made them shine (ie Weapon of Warding, Ancestors Rage, Splinter Weapon) have been unfortunately nerfed into oblivion along with their only unique niche, spirits. Playing the ritualist class ever since Factions was released has led me to believe that ritualists are only useful for utility and therefore do not provide any specific niches to the group (unlike Warriors which have knockdowns, monks who can heal, mesmers who shutdown...). With that in mind, their primary attribute is of no particular use to them as spirits are hardly useable anymore and it offers little energy management to assist in that niche. There have been fewer and fewer ritualist primaries due to the fact that other classes (such as Necros and Eles) can fulfill the role of the primary ritualist more efficiently. Is there anything going to be done to overhaul the class in general and rework the spells of the ritualist so that they fulfill a specific niche in a competitive environment? I have posted an in depth list of skill balances which attempts to solve the problem and it could be used for some general ideas. While I understand that I am no professional skill balancer, I hope that your team will not be distracted by numbers and will rather take the idea BEHIND the spells. I apologize in advance if I wrote the message to the wrong person but I felt that you would most likely give me a response. Thanks Linsey :)--Lancy1214 02:21, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

How did you reach the conclusion that their primary attribute offers no energy management? -- WarBlade 03:11, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

Most of the primary attributes return energy in some way or reduce energy costs (expertise, soul reaping, energy storage, mysticism, leadership, critical strikes) and there are little useful skills that would (Energetic was lee sa, Attuned, Spirit Channeling). The primary attributes of the other classes helps to eliminate some of the problems associated with their niche (ie, costly ranger skills, necros using costly hexes, eles needing a higher energy pool to use 15 and 25 spells...) while spawning power does little in this endeavor. Hopefully, that's not all you got from that though...that was only part of the problem.--Lancy1214 03:32, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

I'm starting to get annoyed with all the "Ritualists need fixing" topics just like people are with Boro's constant attempt to change everything to needing to fix GW's balance. It is a known point and bringing it up countless times will not help much. I'm sure Linsey has said that she has the need to fix the Ritualists sticky noted. Hopefully the class will be put more on par with the rest in their own uniqueness. But by no means are they unusable. -- Azazel the Assassin/talk 03:49, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

Oh I didn't realize there was another post above. If you would give me a link to where she said that they needed to fix ritualists, that would be splendid. Also, a good portion of their skills are only useful when there is a spirit within earshot which are a) destroyed within the first 10 seconds of their plantation, b) interrupted (cancel casting doesn't work here because they cost so much energy) or c) the battle is moved elsewhere while u have to wait for a recharge to became as effective again. --Lancy1214 03:59, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

We shouldn't need to give you a link. You should be reading the rules about posting on this page first before reposting a previously answered topic. King Neoterikos 04:03, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

It was more of a request than a demand, really. 99.151.139.100 04:08, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

This has actually been brought up Twice before. Lin already answered the first one. --ilr 04:17, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

I don't normally track down links for people, but this one was easy since it has not yet been archived and you only need to scroll up to find it. Here's at least one of the previous discussions about ritualists. Not sure where the other one is that Ilr mentioned, but I admit I did not look very hard. I'm too lazy to click. (Satanael 05:20, 18 June 2009 (UTC))

--"I'll just keep in mind that spawning power might like to get looked at"--Linsey. ...Under Skill Balance1 in archives, I found it in less than 2 minutes, YW --ilr 05:52, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

Actually the time it needs for the live team to fix clearly broken or badly designed things is at least 3 months (incl single skills). (don't agree Linsey? then proove otherwise) --Boro 05:57, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

That has nothing to do with anything, Boro. Quit trolling before Wyn brings down the thunder. King Neoterikos 06:00, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

Posting Rule #2: At least check my FAQ if not my archives before posting a question to make sure I have not already answered it. King Neoterikos 05:58, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

GOGO LANCY, I'M WITH YOU! - Wuhy 06:38, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

Guess i need a break. Boro 07:30, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

(Reset indent) User_talk:Linsey_Murdock/Skill_balance1#Spawning_power_lovein
User_talk:Linsey_Murdock#Is_there_any_chance_of_taking_a_look_at_the_ritualist_profession_soon?
It's so nice to see some people are starting to get it. -- Wyn 07:30, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] How come the inscription stone in sparkfly swamp is level 0?

just wondering --adrin 09:00, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

On that note, how come the Lost Boy is level 20 in HM? O_O He's still just a little boy who somehow gained 18 levels... (or is it Shiro infiltrating? *dun dun duuunnn!!!*) Rose Of Kali 09:13, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

I believe that most (if not all) objects that you can interact with are a form of NPC, not an object/activator like in other games. This means that when you change from NM to HM they get the boost to their level etc. Example: the Fissure in the Plains of Jarin is Level 1 in NM but Level 20 in HM. Well, that's why I think they're NPCs rather than an activator. ~~000.00.00.00~~ 09:25, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

To answer the initial question: because it hasn't killed anything yet. Xelonir 12:22, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

No, not all the ones you can interact with, but the ones you can talk with. If it triggers something, it can be yellow. If it opens a panel (including dialog panels) it will be green. I believe that's why Xunlai Chests are green. But yeah, Why level 0? To keep the size? That's why Xunlai Chests are level 24? To make them way bigger than other chests of the same model? The Lost Boy has level 20 in HM because all neutral NPCs (lime names) have level 20 in HM. What I'd like to know is the 'race' of all those inanimate creatures. The Solitary Colossus is considered a monolith, but are all inanimate constructs of the same race? (Like Ether Seals or Xunlai Chests) MithTalk 13:56, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Update.

Latest upgrade was good, Ritualists and Paragons got some major love, AI got some updates wich was needed. I love it. Now gonna play more with my Paragon and will finally start playing with my Ritualist :).

One hickup tho, none of my accounts got the tournaments reward points, and I noticed that many people didn't get them yet. Even tho that the update now says that the "Xunlai Tournament Agents now offer prizes for the May tournament", any particular reason why? or is it a bug? will we still get them? Qaletaqa Hania 03:04, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

Same here, got nothing on my 2 accounts... :( Logged and re-logged a few times, still nothing. Rose Of Kali 03:32, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

It seems like it's fixed now, I now get a countdown of 9 minutes so yeah we'll see if it got "fixed" in second update of today :). I'll report back later (in aprox. 10-15 minutes) when I checked all my accounts. Qaletaqa Hania 04:34, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

It's still a no, didn't get points on any of my accounts. Qaletaqa Hania 04:42, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

Great update overall! Well, apart from the bugs, but I'm sure they'll be dealt with soon enough. Anyway, it should be nice to see Ritualists and Paragons able to come out more, although I must admit I'm a bit worried about the Mesmer in PvE - VoR and CoP were really the only skills that non-player Mesmers agreed made Mesmers effective, and this could end up with Mesmers being used as PvE-skillspammers (even more) or rejected entirely. Might not happen, but it is something that I hope you guys will keep an eye on. :P Draxynnic 07:55, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

Thx for the update, tell Izzy too.~>Sins WDB 07:58, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

Well I guess I'm the only one to be disapointed by this update, especially by Ritualist changes in PvE. I thought that PvE/PvP split should be very slight changes...here we have a huge gap between both playstyle. I think this update corrected the wrong problem. For three years (and especially since summon spirit) I've always been able to play spirit in PvE just by careful placement of spirits...But maybe I'm getting to old with always thinking it was better before ^^.Cornflakeboy 10:39, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

The update was much needed to help PvE ritualists and paragons as they were under represented in those areas. While the changes were amazing, I'm going to have to agree with Cornflakeboy. The whole point of PvE and PvP skill splits was to change the way some of the skills work, not how the actual class plays out. In addition, ritualists needed as much help as they did in PvE as they do in PvP. While I appreciate the fact that the team has actually acknowledged the fact that there is a problem with ritualists in PvE, much of those concerns are carried out into PvP as well which has limited their participation in competitive play as well. However, I am hopeful that you guys will think of something :)--Lancy1214 17:59, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

I think it's fitting since team play differs so much tween PvP and PvE. I'll add to the kudos on the update.. VoR, RoJ, CoP, Rits, Paragons... all good and needed changes. My only gripe is that SF & 600/Smite should have been a higher priority nerf than some of these. CoP & VoR were overpowered but they couldn't god-mode the supposedly hardest areas of the game.151.209.112.137 12:28, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

CoP yes - the target nerf is one that leaves it useful for a simple Mesmer but not overpowered in groups, and I think the nerf does that. VoR... ehhh. I don't know about PvP, but in PvE, apart from the fact that it puts little purple triangles on multiple targets that can trigger things like CoP, Spiteful Spirit was probably still generally better (triggers on normal attacks, has a shorter recharge than duration instead of the other way around). Now, though, with the majority of offensive Mesmer skills being either mesmer hexes or skills that deny actions (and thus potentially prevents VoR from triggering) we essentially have an elite skill that behaves antisynergistically with the rest of the profession. In its current form I might actually expect to see it pop up on secondary Mesmers, except that the likely candidates probably have better things to do with their elite slot. Draxynnic 07:04, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

Nice job. Paragons were totally underpowered , but godmode is A-Ok! (hint: sarcasm). 187.37.69.32 14:04, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

Some increase in range (like they did with Fragility) and some help to regain energy faster for Mesmers should do the trick the needs for mesmers in PvE. I had trouble findind decent builds for paragons other than the typical imbagon ones, and playing as a ritualsit was a bit too slow. Now all of that was fixed. I can't wait to try it all out. MithTalk 14:20, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

Nice job! I didn't expect such a change to my Ritualist... but I won't say no to it! By reducing casting time, you've mainly made it possible to (1) be useful in a fight that keeps on the move, and (2) make it easier to spread your spirits. The spirit spam remains limited by casting costs and recharge times, so I wouldn't say that the playstyle change is drastic... It's just a lot better adapted to PvE. It's also gonna be easier as a healer to pop a spirit without losing 3s of possible heal reflexes. -- Alaris 14:49, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

I made a few comments about the skill update on my userpage, not that they matter or anyone cares. Zen` 15:19, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

Uhh, not to sidetrack this, but what proof do we actually have (other than the slight tweak to weapon duration in Spawning power) that this was Linsey's "deal" any way? IoW: it sure is Windmill Tilty in here... --ilr 18:25, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

I talked to linsey in-game right after the update and she said she and izzy tag-teamed this one. ¬ Wizårdbõÿ777(talk) 18:48, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

Personally I don't have any proof that the skill updates are Linsey's work, and tbh I didn't ask for this to become a "skill" section, but people are free to do so because it's a topic about the update :).

I started of by saying something nice, because it gets people their attention and shows that you are friendly, it also gets most people to read the whole thing, wanted to be sure that Linsey knew what was happening with the XTH points by mentioning it on her page because she is leading the Guild Wars Live Team if i'm correct. So if she gets the news the whole live team most likely gets it. Qaletaqa Hania 18:51, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

This time, I was heavily involved in the skill balance changes. We are abundantly aware of the issues with the Xunlai Tournament House. Trust me. - Linsey talk 19:06, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

Ahh, so you were just being coy last month when ya told us you were only dabbling in it. Well Plz keep it up if you find time. This really does feel like a promising new direction. --ilr 19:28, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

No, I really was only dabbling until now. I basically dropped everything I was doing last week so that I could take on this update, worked all weekend on it, spent til 2am writing the Dev Update on Monday and have worked on balancing and bug fixing every day this week. It makes me super freaking happy that people are responding to it so positively. People get really heated about skill balance, so I think it's understandable that I was fretting over it all week. It was all I could think about. - Linsey talk 19:44, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

I think this was another great update :), I'm glad spirits will see the light of day again :p. I have a small question too: (sry if this has been answered before, or this isn't the right place) the people who recieved their tournament reward points already, but not the correct ammount, do they each need to send in a reportticket this time? Or will the issue be resolved as a whole? I'm asking because support is probbably flooded at this time (by people who didn't got any points). Greetz --Ellisia 21:33, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

Much thanks for the Rit updates! 24.188.207.20 22:27, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

Why have neither Nature rituals nor Anguished Was Lingwah been updated? Ɲoɕʈɋɽɕɧ 23:13, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

(RI) Nice update, many of the changes are really interesting. A small complain is that a specific playstyle has been nerfed, and I'm not sure Arena Net realized it. Way back in the Factions Preview Event, we could use weapon spells on spirits (there was even a specific spirit animation showing this), allowing ritualists to play in a more active way (casting spirits and then using short lasting buffs, having to think which buff was better at any given time). This was removed when Factions was released, but some time later we were given a new way to play (slightly) more actively, by using skills like Signet of Creation and Signet of Spirits to buff specific spirits at specific times. This could be used, with good timing, to increase the longevity of all the spirits which lose health when active, such as Agony (which could be made to last a considerably long time), Shelter, Wanderlust, and etc. The latest update has added a new functionality to all the old skills that buffed spirits; and while the "new" skills are interesting, the result is that an old playstyle has been lost, and some spirits (all those that lose health to act, like Agony) are now actually weaker than they were previously, despite the change in level. I'm not sure Arena Net realized this before the update. Erasculio 00:13, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

As much as I enjoyed the update, especially to the Ritualists in PvE (OMG have you tried Signet of Spirits?!! ^_^ ) I can't help but feel that some need to be looked at again, especially the Signet of Spirits. Went down into UW last night with Guildies in HM, and myself and my Signet, Vampirism and Bloodsong were able to hold off HM Aaxtes, in fact after a few near wipes I was able to (over several minutes of harassing a pair at a time) managed to take them down while through the wicked new use of the Signet, the casting time decrease of the other spirits and careful use of Summon Spirits (and that's probably not using more supportive spirits). Needless to say it was a learning for us all and massive amounts of fun, the stress of almost wiping seemed to melt away every time my little rit ran her butt off setting up spirits and fleeing before I took aggro.

Arenanet is quite slow at changing things, like keg farming and the such, that aren't right. If you're going to change or finetune what we've done in this update please do it sooner rather than later (like a week not 3-6 months). I'd like to play my rit more especially but I'd rather not get comfortable and then BAM! you guys change something in a /smacks head into desk way. ~~000.00.00.00~~ 00:42, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

Thank you for another great update! I haven't tried everything yet, but I'm aching for a chance to. I did notice how funny the ritualist spirit casting animation is now that its been sped up so much, though. Lol. Thanks again. --MushaTalk 05:40, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

Great update, I'm looking forward to the next major profession overhaul. -- Gordon Ecker (talk) 05:52, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

What happened to the "PvP love"? A lot of HBers were let down by the fact that not much was changed for them. The only positive about this update was that hexway was nerfed.76.106.26.108 13:40, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

This wasn't the content update. That is due for August - I think. -- Azazel the Assassin/talk 14:09, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

I was happy, wasn't anything really for me except the fact I have to unlock some rit skills now...but I am sure my ritualist heroes love you now because they won't have to sit behind as much. ^^" Katherinezoltin 05:48, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

Good update. Keep it up! Ritualists' spirits are really good in PvE now (although I think spiritleech aura should have been moved to spawning), and paragons recieved some love too, it's a pity that they will need to be redesigned.

PS: (in case you need screens about speed clears e-mail me pls). Boro 14:01, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] friendly message/reminder

Unbearable lag is killing your already mostly dead game. I'm not even going to bother arguing that it isn't my ISP - it's obviously on your end when everyone is having the same problems. I just wanted to let you know that you need to fix that shit because it's pretty embarrassing. I couldn't even stay online long enough to collect my monthly XTH reward - you've got some serious server issues that you need to address. Outside of balance, which I'm sure you hear enough of already, PvP is actually incredibly hard to enjoy because of these lag issues. Teleporting around the map while you're trying to do complex movement control like body blocking is incredibly frustrating. Can you give us an update like "yeah we realize lag is a huge problem and are working on it" or even "no, we're too far in the hole to afford decent servers, get used to it?" Keeping players in the dark is a mistake I hope you've learned not to make again and again, since you've already suffered greatly because of it. -Auron 06:48, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

I haven't found any lag yet in PvE zones on the 216 server(s). ~~000.00.00.00~~ 08:19, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

I lagged out from Linnok Courtyard, and it took 3 tries to re-establish connection. That's just pathetic. 99.151.139.100 08:35, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

← moved to User talk:Auron

[edit] BMP, The Tengu Accords

Dear Linsey with the new update to the ritualist's skills, Master Riyo's skill bar is also affected, the problem is that Togo's skill bar isn't. His Call to the Spirit Realm and his Disenchantment still are at the previous setting, because Master Riyo has 11 in Channeling Magic and 15 in Communing his spirits will also get the buff while Togo's remain at level 7 and his Disenchantment at 6. A battle with Master Riyo will result in a complete and utter mishappen unless the player prepares before hand and abuses a bit on the AI by casting beforehand near him and attempt to bodyblock him so that he can't run around, and destroy his quickened casted spirits with in one go with Dragon Empire Rage skill but even then it's not fool prove method a quicked recharge Wanderlust will still result in a loss because the Togo's skill bar is not balanced with the new Updates, and I still have not the faintest idea if this updates also affect Turais Ossa Storybook with the Paragons update.Sincerly Cake and Waffles10:25, 19 June 2009 (UTC)Cake and Waffles

Just started the BMP and can confirm that Togo's skills remain unchanged. (I don't see how Turai's mission would be changed except by enemies, as Turai is a warrior). -- Azazel the Assassin/talk 10:55, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

Sorry I should have been more specific, I was more thinking more on the lines e.g. if the enemies have "Braces Yourselfs" and the players used Giant Stomp (Turai Ossa), but "Go for the Eyes!" and "Incoming" affect, lets say, nicely with Turai small army, but like I said I am not very sure, but according to wiki Corsair Commandant have Bladeturn Refrain, if there are extra shouts about it could affect gameplay, (I am not stating it will ruin the mission), but like I said I am sure, But I am positive that trying to to bonus on the Tengu Accords will be extra diffcult or even not possible with the update only with extreme luck I would keep Talon alive in Master Riyon battle if I didn't managed to kill him on the spot as soon as possible.85.243.167.215 11:26, 19 June 2009 (UTC)Cake And Waffles

[edit] Feedback on the update

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/User_talk:Kain_Fy

Linsey told me, as quoted "You can post it on your userpage and then link it to my talk page" for what I was talking to her ingame about on today's update. So here I am. My all-out feedback on the update. --Kain Fy 04:52, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] WHAT THE **** IS THIS LAGG

sorry for raging linsey but srsly, what is this? - Wuhy 17:33, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

Two things. People who usually don't play logging on repeatedly on their mule accts trying to get their points, and people who no longer played GW much experimenting with the new skills. Maybe. Here's to hoping that's all there's to it. Rose Of Kali 17:53, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

obabies - Wuhy 18:00, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

(editing conflict)Also, the past couple days weather has been bad, weather at where I am at comes from the west - i.e., Anet HQ, and yesterday was a MAJOR storm, I wouldn't be surprised if that storm knocked around a few servers across the northern U.S. That, with what Kali said, and possible a few other things are probably what has been causing the lag. -- Azazel the Assassin/talk 18:02, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

GvGing last night the lag was terrible (my guild is Australian, but we play as Europe o.O) to the point where the game was unplayable. Just pointing it out. King Neoterikos 23:57, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

New Zealander here who PvEs, I don't play on the 206 (europe) server(s) be default because the ping is way too high, I play on the Us (216) ones, which have generally around the 180-200 mark for me. Is this lag people are experiencing limited to PvP? I've heard of a few pvpers going on about it but no one I know in PvE has experienced anything out of the oridinary. ~~000.00.00.00~~ 00:51, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

There are people all over PvE complaining about it, and since lag more or less made PvP impossible for me, I've done nothing but PvE for weeks now........where I still get terrible lag, rubberbanding, disconnects, etc etc. I know other PvE players who are having similar experiences. It makes perma farming a bitch. Vili 点 01:58, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

Hmm, I must be lucky then, usually I lag up a storm when people had days like this, but I'm not having any noticable difficulties. ~~000.00.00.00~~ 02:01, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

I don't think it's actually just player congestion! ...cuz check it out, last night on Dunes alone I was OMW to get the Slow Totem but the game had other Ideas and put it's own Slow Totem on ME... I could flag my heroes and they'd eventually respond, but I was rubberbanding liek WHOAH while doing it. And just when I couldn't take it anymore and got on Firefox to complain here... the connection re-established all normal like again and I was right back to Green. So I think it might be the Game Client itself freaking out too and looping some bad voodoo bugs/packets after the server itself drops us. It would be very interesting if someone could recreate this little episode and show what was happening with IP tracing when/IF it could be Force re-established --ilr 04:16, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

I highly doubt player congestion is a factor, since I get the same whether I'm playing 3:00 AM, noon, 5:00 PM, whatever. I know people all over the world, playing at usual and unusual hours, who could also attest to that... (Of course, going to Spamadan AD1 *never* helps any connection xD) Vili 点 04:28, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] unknown Tyria

a few thigns regarding unknown Tyria one being the true name of the bay nort of Kryta beyond the Giants basin the oen with the volcanic isle in it, whats is its true name, and is there any way we will be able to find out what lies aroudn tyria as a concinent and what lies on the oposite hemisphere of Tyria(world)--Lord randy taylor 23:56, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Regarding Awakened Cavalier and their "buffed" skill: non-suggestion redux

← moved to User talk:Linsey Murdock/Projects

You guys might want to check out Linsey's Project page She has specifically requested feedback on broken monster bars and this should go there. -- Wyn 11:07, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

"...I am looking for is monsters who have had their skill bars rendered obsolete due to skill updates changing functionality." OBSOLETE ...but the current state of affairs is Not a result of them being Neglected (read: Nerfed) or functionality changes that prevents synergy between the powers in their skill-set. ...but thank you for atleast keeping it in the neighborhood of Lin's page... & try not to delete this section until she's had a chance to review it -_- --ilr 21:19, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Aion

Have you see or tried Aion yet Linsey, whats your opinion on it? --77.97.23.248 14:49, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

My opinion is that guildwars still has better graphics. ^^ Death Sligher62.133.217.254 08:26, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

Who cares about graphics, graphics doesnt make a game good its the game play and other things. 90.217.214.180

Aion has better graphics and a z axis with flight-integrated combat. ~Shard 21:40, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

I'm sure that Aion has more stuff to do too. Prolly less grinding too. Drogo Boffin 21:41, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

A Korean Game? "Less Grinding"?? Did someone really just say that? --ilr 01:13, 23 June 2009 (UTC)

Aion is very awesome. It looks pretty, and the combat system works nicely, especially with the flying, which is lots of fun. There is some grinding of crafting skills, but that doesn't make it any less fun. ¬ «Ðêjh» (talk) 02:17, 23 June 2009 (UTC)

GW has better graphics I can run aion on 86FPS and GW at 34FPS or so. I guess its just diffrent gw is more reality graphics and aion more patch WoW grapics(animated style), Well i prefer Reality graphics above animeted.62.133.217.40 12:49, 23 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Kurzick NPCs in Fort Aspenwood

Why Kurzick NPCs uses PvE versions of skills? For example Ward Against Melee by Kurzick Elementalist, all binding rituals by Kurzick Ritualist, Sundering Attack by Kurzick Rangers. Luxon Longbows have Sundering Attack PvP. Should all NPCs have PvP or PvE versions of these split skills? Or favors Arenanet Kurzicks more? --84.253.233.214 19:36, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

You actually made me lmao with that last sentence. - Reanimated X 19:59, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

It may be a balance issue, an oversight or something that's on their to-do list. But I seriously doubt it's done purposefully to give one side an advantage over the other. 145.94.74.23 19:46, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

It's the same deal in AB. But it doesn't matter, because it's perma-Grenz, anyway. >.> Raine - talk 20:20, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

See #Fort Aspenwood headache? — Poki#3 (talk) 23:38, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] The "Honor" statue and the Rainbow Phoenix

Linsey, we can't figure this out by ourselves, so I decided to ask you. After the update that changed the Hall of Monuments to account based, we have noticed some inconsistencies:

• The "Honor" statue used to be linked to the maxed titles rank (or MTR). The only ways to make the statue progress was either by gaining more ranks in the MTR, or by having a completely full Hall of Monuments (all five monuments filled). However, after the update some users have noticed that their "Honor" statue has progressed without having all five monuments filled. This has happened to me: as soon as I filled my fourth monument, my "Honor" statue began showing one extra step in its progression for all my characters (the characters with "Kind of a Big Deal" title got the "People Know Me" statue, the characters with nothing got the "Kind of a Big Deal" title, and etc), despite how my fifth monument is not full (my "Valor" monument has only four weapons). Some users have seen the same behavior, but other users haven't been able to get that progression without filling all five of their monuments.
• The Rainbow Phoenix has become available, to be tamed in the HoM, for some players without the original requirements (either the "People Know Me" title or the "Kind of a Big Deal" title and all five monuments filled), but for other players the pet only appears when they meet those original requirements. I believe this is a consequence of the previous point: the phoenix appears when a character has the "Honor" statue at the second step of its progression, regardless of how said progression has been achieved.

Is there a pattern we haven't been able to figure out, or is there a bug in how the "Honor" statue works? I'm not listing this in the bugs report page because we don't know if it's a bug at all. Erasculio 00:00, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

I can verify the Rainbow Phoenix bug - I was rather surprised to find it just now. I have 9/10 towards People Know Me, but I have a fully filled out HoM, and the statue displays at level 2. Ashes Of Doom This user grants Arenanet full permission to use any of his suggestions. 03:21, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

Also, a bug that is probably connected - in the Hero panel, when I am in an account based HoM, my balthazar and kurzick faction caps are at zero - that is just now it said 1324/0 under balthazar - this isn't exactly a problem, but it's kind of odd... Ashes Of Doom This user grants Arenanet full permission to use any of his suggestions. 03:24, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

Can confirm that, it seems quite odd. 128.176.178.35 08:42, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

That's probably just a random bug, I was getting that in some explorables today. ~Shard 07:28, 23 June 2009 (UTC)

I've had that happen to me after disconnecting and reconnecting... -- Elv 07:51, 23 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] MOX Quest Lore

I was just wondering when in the timeline of GW events the MOX quests take place. After EOTN? Or during/after one of the other campaigns? I didn't recall seeing any indication of when they might have happened, but it's been a while so I might have missed something. I hope you can clear this up this bit of lore, Linsey. Thanks! --63.106.124.254 16:01, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

It must take place after Eye of the North. As Zinn, being an asura, is well known in the three continents. Before Eye of the North, Asura were not known. So there was more than likely some time between EN and M.O.X.'s quests in order for knowledge of the Asura to spread to Elona and Cantha. -- Azazel the Assassin/talk 16:37, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Xunlai Tournament House Deadline

Having some issues while voting in the new Xunlai Tournament House concerning the deadline in which predictions must be cast. The 'Rules' section states that the voting ends June 27 for this month for the GvG predictions. Today it is June 24th and it is telling me that predictions are closed and no voting is allowed. With days still until the MAT's, I'm dissapointed that I'm not able to make predictions. If you know anything about this, please let me know. Thanks! 76.176.199.250 02:43, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

According to this post by Regina, the Xunlai house is closed for repairs until further notice.--Pyron Sy 03:20, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

OMG just delete XTH. That would pretty much solve all problem around it. --Boro 08:08, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

They'll be taking that option into consideration. Imagine how much time they've spent on that thing and it's never really worked properly. Now imagine how much time they've spent on it when they could have folded those hours into actually improving more important parts of the game, like making sure their stuff like skills work properly. ~~000.00.00.00~~ 09:30, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

Go-go, Boro, let's make the Zkey prices skyrocket, shall we? They'll have to make them cost like 500-1k Balth Faction if they remove the XTH completely. Rose Of Kali 16:55, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

That suggestion would effectively kill off the majority of remaining interest in PvP, 000000. XTH and reward points were put in place to replace real world prizes. When you take away the in-game prizes for competing, people will leave - so many have already left that there is basically no desire to play the game to beat anyone. No koreans play. The americans left playing run honor balanced and never win because they lose to bad euros running 321spike builds with sixteen layers of defense. The only thing left for many players is RP - taking away the XTH would be a very big mistake. -Auron 17:05, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

Well... I don't know. I don't see the competing in guessing which guilds will win the MAT. --Boro 17:45, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

The XTH has been taken down until further notice while we investigate and repair it's many issues. Until now, the XTH system was not being maintained by the Live Team but by, so the assumption that resources which could have been used on improving the actual game were being put into the XTH, is false. We do not have an ETA on when it will go back up. - Linsey talk 19:09, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

(Reset indent) How about an ETA on Reward Points? Drogo Boffin 19:11, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

Just buy 10 Creme Brulee, it'll feel just like using 10 Zaishen keys. -- MrSmiles 03:29, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

Obviously the XTH is more trouble than it is worth. Perhaps you should consider forgetting about it? The game would be healthier that way anyway. Win win. 218.214.126.215 08:32, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

Auron, I know about the XTH and the rewards, I was around for that and the Z-rank non-sense. You almost paint a picture that PvP needs to be taken out the back of the shed and tearfully given both barrels, also I scuff at "honur balanced", I see more gimmicky 123 BS watching American matches than Europe, but then again I'm biased and probably (must be)grossly misinformed maybe because I think Pvp is shit. Hey, I'll be sad, in some ways, if they axe the whole thing. I was getting a lot from predictions and I didn't even have to compete to receive the in-game prizes. ^_^ ~~000.00.00.00~~ 09:45, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

So if the live team is not involved in XTH web development, does that mean the new system was implemented for use in GW2 as well? Or would that make too much sense? ;) --Skye Marin 19:31, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

You misunderstood, I think. The XTH was created a long time ago out of something that was meant to be something else (hence some of the unexpected bugs that just now came out with the new web system), and was maintained by someone other than the Live Team until now. That what I read somewhere on Linsey's or Regina's or whomever's page. Rose Of Kali 20:43, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Dialogue Glitch?

I got to the Eye of the North yesterday, had a tapestry shred and a normal red iris flower in my inventory, yet when I went into the HoM, there wasn't the extra bit of dialogue between the character and Gwen that Wikia says there should be:

When you enter the Hall of Monuments with the Tapestry Shred, Preserved Red Iris Flower, Red Iris Flower, or Gwen's Broken Flute a dialogue will start between you and Gwen.

Gwen: "You say you are from the south. You look strangely familiar."

<name>: "We met long ago. I have some things of yours."

Gwen: "So many feelings. So many memories. I... no. The Ebon Vanguard needs us. We'll talk again after that matter is settled."

That didn't happen for me. Did I miss something, or is it a glitch? Or did Wikia get it wrong? --63.106.124.254 16:17, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

Was it the first time you had spoken to her? Try going in and talking to her again. -- Wyn 16:19, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

This is not a glitch. You need to do all of the Ebon Vanguard quests. Maybe you should read this again. You will notice that the dialogue you mentioned is listed. Drogo Boffin 16:22, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

Er... it is not after you do all the Ebon Vanguard quests... it's after the first vision cinematic, you talk to Gwen to get a tapestry for the HoM and she says that. Also, that dialogue is NOT a part of the quest where you need the tapestry shred. That dialogue happens no matter what, as long as it is the first time you enter and get the HoM tapestry. Seeing how you got that off of Wikia, I'm not surprised it is wrong. That wiki is a mess of incorrect information. -- Azazel the Assassin/talk 16:45, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

Rofl... What? Why on earth would Gwen ask everyone if they're from the South and say she's met them long ago? Bahaha. Rose Of Kali 16:58, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

Because you get the Tapestry Shred in Pre searing from Gwen (Prophecies), which is south of the HoM. You need a Tapestry shred and a Preserved Red Iris Flower to trigger the quests Fire and Pain and Then and Now, Here and There. --The preceding unsigned comment was added by User:DrogoBoffin (talk).

@Rose, becuase it is how EN was done, it assumes everyone is from Prophecies. This issue caused a huge spam of questions/complains from a gwen fanatic a while back who made 3 topics on the same thing on here, and even took it to other Anet userpages. @DrogoBoffin, you could use a regular Red Iris Flower or Gwen's Broken Flute for the quest Fire and Pain as well, and you only need one. For Then and Now... you just need the Tapestry Shred and nothing else is needed (aside from also needing to be a prophecies character). -- Azazel the Assassin/talk 17:47, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

If that were true, Azazel, about how EOTN was done (assuming everyone was from Proph), then more would have been gone into about the Gwen-PH backstory instead of the dumbed-down bare mention we get. I tried talking to her after the first vision and still got nothing. --63.106.124.254 18:44, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

(Reset indent) Have you done the quest? I'm gonna say no you havent since you HAVE to do it first. Drogo Boffin 18:46, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

Actually, the page claims that the dialogue occurs before The Missing Vanguard. --67.240.83.137 18:50, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

Right. To get the quests from Gwen you have to doThe Missing Vanguard. Drogo Boffin 19:07, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

I know about the quets, but the dialogue I quoted above is supposed to happen before that, at least according to Wikia. When you first meet her in the HoM, if you have the right items. --63.106.124.254 20:03, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

The dialogue listed here and on gw does not seem to match up, so either that article is incorrect or both are. --67.240.83.137 20:08, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

@"then more would have been gone into about the Gwen-PH backstory instead of the dumbed-down bare mention we get." the game dialogue and actions act as though the character is from Prophecies. The making of the game takes it as any campaign - i.e., Gwen will take the hero as one from Pre-searing. Why the conversation was dumbed down? Well, 2 quests and a dialogue, one of the quests going greatly into the friendship (which also requires the character to be from prophecies)I don't see it as dumbed down for someone who only knew someone for a day, and spent 6 years as a Charr prisoner. Do we really need to go back into this?

@Drogo - you do not need to do that primary quest to get the first tapestry which triggers the dialogue in question - look at the dialogue, it is talking about rescuing the vanguard.

Regarding the dialogue, you do not need any items to start that dialogue. If you got the first HoM tapestry after the first vision from Gwen, then the dialogue should have happened, if not then you should go talk to her. When you do so, the The Missing Vanguard and the Norn and Asura quests should show. At least, that is how it has been for me every time. -- Azazel the Assassin/talk 21:01, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

← moved to User_talk:Axwind

Anyway, back to the topic, I was wondering if the dialogue mentioned above is supposed to show up at some point. According to Wikia, it's supposed to be when you first meet her, before finishing the vanguard quest. But others here say it's after the vanguard quest. Can you clear this up? Thanks. Here's the lines again, so you don't have to scroll back up:

Gwen: "You say you are from the south. You look strangely familiar."

<name>: "We met long ago. I have some things of yours."

--Axwind 02:25, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

[edit] You were in the Spearmen? D':

Thats nice to know and so sad...You guys were in my alliance for some time (We Can Count To Four [1234]). Its sad because i miss leading an alliance and HA'ing. The other day i saw Beer (I Love Beer or something like that) in HA and she wasnt in Spearmen, or some other guild thats won halls once or twice...Someone also told me it got disbanded, is this true?? There were a lot of nice people in that guild =( --→Darklɘs McChaosmongɘr 21:26, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

Rly? Bummer. 'Eh Lin, if that's true and ya find a new (preferably OpenMinded) Guild, could ya get me an Invite too? I need a break from this H/H'ing stuff and PuGs just aren't doing it :p --ilr 00:40, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

The Spearmen have had its ups and its downs. It's a really nice guild with some great people, it just lacks attendance at times as some of the players in it have been playing other games/doing other things now.--'ÑöẊĭƑý 13:52, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

After talking with beer, she said they all just took a break till gw2 --→Darklɘs McChaosmongɘr 18:02, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

I don't know anyone that goes by the handle "Beer" or something like it. 치 The Spearmen 치 was not disbanded and I am still in the guild. All of our core members have become inactive in GW due to either playing other games or in most cases, concentrating on real life. I think the only reason I would leave 치 The Spearmen 치 is if the Live Team forms it's own guild which is something we have been talking about. - Linsey talk 22:21, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

[edit] ArbComm

Hi Linsey. There's currently an open ArbComm regarding User:Shard regarding his disruption in particular of Gaile's talk pages. One of the proposed rulings involve him no longer being allowed to post on Anet employees' talk pages. He has asked, if that ruling does go into effect, if he can ask you and Emily for exemptions so that he can post on your talk pages. I'd appreciate if you could comment on Guild Wars Wiki talk:Arbitration committee/2009-06-21-User:Shard whether that's something you'd want to give your permission for. You can also review the particulars of the situation on that page and its associated non-talk page. Thanks. - Tanetris 04:46, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

[edit] DRAGON FESTIVAL

Can you confirm whether or not it is this weekend? --The preceding unsigned comment was added by User:82.8.147.3 (talk).

Of course. They usually post the announcement on Tuesday, just wait a day. Rose Of Kali 16:58, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

The event is always the first week(end) of July, so it should be ending Sunday, July 5th. -- Azazel the Assassin/talk 18:42, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

Good thing I've been putting money aside... because the welfare check isn't in the main, and I'm in the mood for major gambling! -- Alaris 18:58, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

Regina confirmed it on GWO:

"Dragon Festival will be this weekend, and all events that you know and love from past Dragon Festivals will be there. :)

The person who recalled that we typically publish an event page a week before the event is correct. The web team is working on publishing the event page for that this week.

I can't say what the mask will be, but I've seen the artwork and it's AWESOME. I personally like it more than last year's. :) I think a lot of people will like it (though of course it won't be to everyone's taste, as with all things. :))"

(source) --Nkuvu 13:50, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

Woot! New mask! -- Alaris 15:59, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

YAY! DRAGON FESTIVAL!!!! *runs around like a nut* Katherinezoltin 22:01, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

I fear for what the hat will be... if it follows the trend of the past two years, it will be this, this, or this. I only see one good hat there.... -- Azazel the Assassin/talk 22:36, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

I'm sure the mask, like all others, will enjoy its 15 minutes of fame. ~~000.00.00.00~~ 23:58, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, and then go to oblivion like the rest, XD. It's a shame for some of the mask model, since they could be nice headgear... and there are worse things than any mask that have already ma armor, like the Crown or the Bandana. MithTalk 10:52, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

All three of those are awesome, although I had difficulty seeing what the transparent one was really. But the claw is loltastic! -- Alaris 15:37, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

It is not one of those three. - Linsey talk 18:18, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

OMG SWEET! :D I only kind of liked the Dream Rider, but hey, Lins just made it more intriguing. Rose Of Kali 19:41, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

q__q I really adored the chaos wurm masque. I hope it is not something like a "Kuunavang" thing. Ɲoɕʈɋɽɕɧ 20:16, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

I got an itch... telling me it's a revamped Dragon Mask... -- Azazel the Assassin/talk 21:06, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

We wouldn't be able to do the Dream Rider anyway because it is transparent. A district full of people with transparent masks would be baaaaaaaad. - Linsey talk 22:01, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

I've said it before, I'd love to see [SUGGESTION REDACTED]... I mean, some means for masks to actually be viable combat wear (and not in the 'gimpmode to increase challenge' way). Draxynnic 04:08, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

(Reset indent) But...but...but... I <3 the Dream Rider mask... *sniff* --★KOKUOU★ 22:18, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

Me too, but I <3 stable servers and happy programmers more. - Linsey talk 22:25, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

I <3 cookies myself... ^_^ >:) Give me the cookies!! >:| ~~000.00.00.00~~ 23:11, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

Ooh Ooh! Make something with Specular-lit animated fire particles next that also emits blobs of liquid that rag-doll ripple, or induce multiple Lens Flares, and have it all ignore client DirectX-levels, muhahahaha --ilr 23:18, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

Just go with the trend. Add something that uses an extremely unnecessary amount of shaders, and then add shaders over those shaders, XD. No, really, some games are real shaderfests. Doom III could have used a bit less , and better. Some monsters looked like made out of polyethylene, >_<. I can't thank enough the moderate and correct usage of shaders in GW. MithTalk 01:20, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

Tormented claw headgearXD.Death Sligher 18:58, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

Just wanted to say, new hat = WIN! Thanks so much! -- Salome 10:22, 3 July 2009 (UTC)

Yes, whoever designed the pretty new hat gets a good job cookie. I wasn't around for the first dragon festival due to forced vacation but this hat makes up for it. ^^ Katherinezoltin 20:23, 3 July 2009 (UTC)

[edit] If Anything Was Broken....

....during the most recent (Thursday) and subsequent waves of archiving, you have my permission to hunt me down for it, same goes for Regina and her page. :) — Jon Lupen 05:54, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Stereoscopic Vision

Hey hey Linsey,

have you tried that stereoscopic 3D Nvidia glasses thing on GW yet? I tried it yesterday and I have to admit it was awesome! People actually ran past you and watching an arrow arc further away rather than just getting smaller was incredible. It messes with your eyes a lil bit as you have to get used to it, but once you do, it takes player immersion to a whole new level. I was so taken with it, I'm now saving up for a whole new gaming rig just so I can play GW in 3D. One downside however is that I did find my ranger, Salome, to be disconcertingly "perky" in 3D. ;) -- Salome 10:21, 3 July 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Dragon Festival mini missions

After 3 years, their rewards are still so low that most people I know don't bother about them. People would rather delete and create characters and make the quest than bother about the missions. New players find them too hard to beat, and old players that could beat them find them... negligible. In the time you'll waste making one of them, you'll be able to make the quests with one to three characters more. You even get more Victory Tokens by farming any big bunch of low-level enemies than by making the missions. Time spent, difficulty and rewards do not tally in there. MithTalk 04:25, 4 July 2009 (UTC)

Gotta say, this is the first year I've done one of these missions (stumbled in with just me and 3 heroes) and I was a little confused with this too. ~~000.00.00.00~~ 04:29, 4 July 2009 (UTC)

Yeh the rewards for the missions needs upped GREATLY. In 3 years ive done all the missions a grand total of once. The reward just wasnt worth the time invested. -- Salome 04:39, 4 July 2009 (UTC)

The stupid part is that the statements people make about the rewards of the missions are only based on the first two. 66.190.15.232 04:58, 4 July 2009 (UTC)

nah, all should be like 400, not 50 lol, also i dont get why do the last missions have greater rewards than the first ones.... - Wuhy 06:24, 4 July 2009 (UTC)

while hard to see a difference they get a tiny bit harder as you go unless your new,first time i did them i noticed abit but still bored me--Lord randy taylor 06:32, 4 July 2009 (UTC)

I've made tham all, and the only one really worth doing is the last one. The others are a quite a waste of time. MithTalk 13:03, 4 July 2009 (UTC)

*Sigh* This isn't a suggestion, its basic feedback and is covered by our current license. The tag on this doesn't need to be there. -- Salome 13:30, 4 July 2009 (UTC)

Might as well get used to it, right? If you read the new namespace plans (and I'd highly encourage everyone to), basic feedback like this will be more likely to be tagged and moved than it already is now. --ilr 19:07, 4 July 2009 (UTC)