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    Guild Wars 2 Been playing the long game on this

    February 16, 2022

    Guild Wars 2 Been playing the long game on this

    Been playing the long game on this

    Posted: 15 Feb 2022 02:24 PM PST

    Everyone screaming at Anet for the fractals changes, me sitting in a corner enjoying fractals without minding what rewards it gives.

    Posted: 15 Feb 2022 05:08 PM PST

    The current state of fractal content Pre End of Dragons launch

    Posted: 15 Feb 2022 02:34 PM PST

    Raiding? We're playing Belchers Bluff for 3 hours if I win this

    Posted: 15 Feb 2022 10:55 AM PST

    Reading the post about alacrity being reworked to 5 man got me like

    Posted: 15 Feb 2022 04:47 PM PST

    Update on 'enticing' my wife to play with me

    Posted: 15 Feb 2022 03:56 PM PST

    Covert operation was a success!!

    I thought of asking directly if she'd like to try it with me, but I knew to better my chances of a "yes" instead of a backhanded-busy-doing-other-things no I needed to create the most appropriate opportunity for it.

    Step 1: Inception

    Played EoD gameplay trailer infront of her. She saw it and was like, "Why is it so Asian?". My eyes light up and I proceed to explain why I thought it was pretty cool. Trailer showed New Kaineng a little and she said it looked pretty cool to explore.

    Step 2: Sad backstory

    While I was cooking dinner I talked to myself (I actually always talk to myself habitually anyway) about games and particularly GW2. Wife heard me from the bedroom and asked who I was talking to. Once I explained, she asked why I didn't I just talk about it with my friends - they all left for FF14 and New World - then said "Awww just talk about it with me then".

    Step 3: Tactical breaching

    I talked to her about recent stuff going on like the MC change and the alternate beginning to "Don't fuck with cats: Hunting an Internet Killer" ala Connor's livestream fiasco. She listened as attentively as one could be after a long day of work and gave her two cents. (she ain't a hardcore player but she gets why people are pissed about it). Soo I started talking also about why I loved GW2 etc etc and then bam, she suddenly felt like watching Sword Art Online.

    Step 4: Correlation

    Sooooo, it was my first time watching SAO (an anime about MMO's in VR) and I was pretty impressed by it. She's watched it already like years ago but she can't remember the storyline. I started to like correlate things with real gaming (main thing SAO doesn't get right is the fact there isn't a joke player dressed with a doge pic on their shirt teabagging some paralysed NPC and has a username xxYour Momxx). Then I asked her what weapon she'd use if she was in SAO; she said a bow. Calculating in my head the most obvious choice of profession she'd be down to play and it looks like ICE BOW ELE IS THE WAY TO GO. Or you know, ranger....

    Step 5: Bomb has been planted

    While watching a character get absolutely wrecked in that anime she asked, "So you play GW2 alone?". My ears prick up as I nodded then I jokingly said "Wanna play with me?". She nodded and said she'll give it a go.

    So thank you reddit community for your suggestions, and thank you Anet for your harsh decision-making and consequential drama as it helped in my cover operation of sliding into my wife's metaphorical DM's just so I can ask her to play your game with me.

    submitted by /u/Traditional-Ad-8147
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    It's okay to be DONE with content

    Posted: 15 Feb 2022 05:40 AM PST

    Edit: people seem to have the idea that Im telling them to quit playing. Far from it. I've pre ordered EoD and plan to have a lot of fun (hopefully) in the strikes and strike CMs. I'm looking forward to new content because I'm mostly done with the old content. Back when I was playing fractals only for gold I had less fun than now. I am now switching gw2 up with a different game, playing fractals and raids when I feel like it.

    I started playing GW2 at release. Back then there were dungeons and open world farm trains. The dungeons were the repeatable "end-game" content, but they weren't hard to complete, only hard if you wanted to complete them fast.

    At some point, the rewards got nerfed, and we stopped doing dungeons. The dungeons themselves remained the same (mostly). It seemed we were done with the content long before the rewards were nerfed. Only the gold rewards artificially dragged out the lifespan of the dungeons.

    People say dungeons are dead now, but open a group and it will fill within a few minutes (depending on time of day). They're dead as a farming method, but not as a content method. If you've gotten all rewards you wanted from dungeons, and you don't enjoy doing them for their own sake, you're done.

    People say raids are dead content. But there are loads of people still getting into them. The challenge is there for people that haven't played them yet. The rewards are there for people that haven't gotten them yet. If your goal is to get legendary armor and then you're done with raids? That's completely fine. If you want to get the hardest CM titles and you feel like you're done? Completely fine. Some people enjoy raids so much they try for speed clears, they try to get the highest DPS, low man, etc. They're not done for a long time.

    Fractals have loads of unique rewards. CMs have easy obtainable skins and titles, and grindable titles like Fractal God. It's okay to be done with fractals if you have the rewards you want. They also award a ton of gold. Turning the content from something you enjoy, into something you suffer through to get the gold reward. This is a psychological thing: add a reward to something people enjoy intrinsically at first, people stop doing the thing they wanted to do for the sake of doing it, into doing it for the reward. Change the reward (either by getting it and therefore subsequently losing value, or reducing it if it was worth getting repeatedly), and people then lose all motivation.

    If you're only ever playing fractals for the gold rewards. I think you're done with fractals. You don't actually enjoy them, you suffer through them for the gold reward at the end. If you actually enjoyed them more than open world farming, people wouldn't be comparing Drizzlewood to Fractal CMs.

    It's okay to be done.

    Fractals have been turned into a chore. Something many players feel they need to do every day because it gives them gold. Some get toxic when it takes them more than 1 hour to clear, because it reduces their gold/hour. There was a period where I played them quite often, did strikes quite often, and it felt like I was playing the game like I was playing WoW: daily chores you wanted to complete as fast as possible. Now I only play when people ask me along and I feel like doing them, and I enjoy them more now than I did before.

    But what do you do when you're done?

    People like to think of MMOs as games that keep you occupied for all eternity. But, especially in Guild Wars, one can be done with the current content in an MMO. It is okay to play different games (even different MMOs), while waiting for new content in guild wars. In fact, you won't be left behind. I quit for 3 years and got back with almost Best-in-Slot gear. Didn't pay a dime those 3 years either as there is no subscription fee. Once I got back, I had a ton of content waiting for me. And now I'm (almost) done.

    Or you could get into different game-modes, see if you enjoy them. But the best way is to decouple the game mode from the rewards you're getting. I don't like playing WvW when I'm going for a legendary and have to get the gift of battle. However, when I do the content just capturing stuff and being in fights, I start enjoying myself a lot. The main issue I have currently is how long it takes to get the capped weekly reward in WvW, because that makes me feel like I need to play it. If the max reward was easier to get--and repeat rewards just less efficient time wise but still decent--I think less people would see it as a chore to play to get diamond chest. You'll also have less people "farming pips" (doing something they don't enjoy), and more actually playing the mode.

    I also welcome a shift in design where you can be "done" with your chores for the week after 2-3 days of playing a certain bit of content. If they brought back mystic coins to fractal CMs, I'd want them to be bought with UFE, and capped at a level where you only needed to do CMs twice per week, instead of feeling you needed to them every day to be efficient. Needing to do strikes for 2 days only to get the mystic coins, is pretty good! If raids had daily rewards that were worth getting, people would feel the need to do raids daily, and it will probably not be as fun anymore and just turn into another chore.

    About me:

    I started raiding about 1.5 years ago (I did some at the release of HoT, but quit the game for 3 years after, only returning during covid). I didn't know about legendary armor, just that it seemed fun to raid. By now, I've gotten Envoy's Herald, most titles (I still need Taking Turns...). I raid once a week with my static for fun--the rewards are nice but if I wanted the gold I'd be better of spending 3 hours over 3 days doing fractal CMs--and sometimes I look at the LFG during the week to see if a fun boss is available to join. My enjoyment of raids has gone up and down over time. I admit, it went down after I'd gotten my first set of leggy armor. It also goes down when I felt that I needed to get my full clear but I didn't have a static that could do that. Now it's steady because I play with people I enjoy playing with, and later in the week I can play completely for fun (at a gold loss since I use food and utilities, while getting 0 rewards).

    I'm not done with raids yet, but almost there. It's why I started playing XIV and started raiding there. There's zero reason, however, to play raids every day in FFXIV. So after my savage clear and doing 2-3 days of dungeons, I'm done with the game for the week. Unless I want to level a class I enjoy. Without feeling you're being left behind, FFXIV takes probably less time/week than guild wars 2 does. Despite being a subscription game. All I need to do each week is approx 1 hour of dungeons, and (now I cleared the entire raid tier), 1-2 hours of reclear's. Raids and dungeons are also super unrewarding looking at money/hour.

    TLDR: People are done with the current fractals and only the gold rewards prolonged their life. The same has happened to dungeons, they were done with dungeons before the rewards got nerfed.

    submitted by /u/gr4vediggr
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    Guild wars 2 - End of Dragons soundtrack on Vinyl now available for pre-order from iam8bit!

    Posted: 15 Feb 2022 09:20 AM PST

    Playing Lost Ark made me go back to gw2 and realise how good this game is

    Posted: 15 Feb 2022 06:08 PM PST

    I'm a fairly new player. I currently have a level 48 guardian and then took a break from gw2 due to life and other stuff, but I always had a fun and overall great experience with this game, it truly felt like a mmo that rewarded your time. I recently decided to try out Lost Ark with all the hype surrounding it and the game just felt so… soulless. It didn't have the most interesting story, gameplay felt pretty okayish and the world building didn't appeal to me. I do admit that visually the game looks good but besides that it just felt like a glorified mobile game. Me remembering how much fun I had with this game, decided to give it another go and I truly feel like there's not a mmo that gives the same feeling as this one! Everything really feels like it was done with a lot of care, and the community was really nice aswell! I'm really thinking about buying the path of fire deluxe expansion to support the devs and to show my appreciation. If you guys have some good tips for a new player I would be more than happy to listen! :)

    submitted by /u/SWT-Mysterion
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    FYI: the current 2v2 season lasts for only 1 week and none of the usual PvP Seasons achievements are active

    Posted: 15 Feb 2022 06:37 PM PST

    Enter the Guild Wars 2 Dragon Legacy Sweepstakes – GuildWars2.com

    Posted: 15 Feb 2022 09:15 AM PST

    Q4 data out - Guild Wars 2 rising profit in years

    Posted: 15 Feb 2022 04:06 AM PST

    https://m.kr.ncsoft.com/en/ir/irArchive/earningsRelease.do

    Seems like the expansion actually makes them money. Shocker.

    Up 21 percent due to the expansion.

    submitted by /u/Natural-Setting1512
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    wvw appreciation post

    Posted: 15 Feb 2022 09:32 AM PST

    I've been playing off and on since POF and just started dabbling into wvw.. I'm absolutely blown away by everything about it. From the 50 man zergs fighting two other 50 man zergs to sieging down keeps and castles. I play mostly at night so once everyone starts going to bed I start seeing the regulars, one of whom is notorious for always carrying 250 ascended food platters of each type and dropping them like candy. Then you've got the commanders who demonstrate such deep and strategic understanding of the maps. I follow their tag like my life depends on it.. because it does. Some commanders are too aggressive for my liking (edit: as in diving face first into an enemy Zerg. Everyone has been super friendly and helpful so far!) but getting to know each one's style has been really interesting. I'm in love with the mode and have started gearing out my 6 alts because of it. Minstrel scrapper in zergs is the most satisfying healing experience I've had in any game before.

    What do you enjoy the most about wvw?

    submitted by /u/Muted-Attention5574
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    Instanced PvE Accessibility, and Killproof

    Posted: 15 Feb 2022 07:13 PM PST

    As most players know, groups forming for instanced PvE content regularly require "killproof" (KP) from members for them to join.

    What is killproof?

    "Killproof" is some item that drops as a result of killing an enemy. Showing that you have multiple of these items suggests you've killed that enemy multiple times. Usually killproof that groups require is dropped by the enemy they are planning to fight (though not always, we'll come back to that). Groups request killproof because for the most part it does help indicate that members are familiar with the encounter.

    Where is Killproof Used?

    Lets look at the existing instanced PvE content, and the frequency with which killproof is requested (based on my own experience)

    • Dungeons (included for completeness to be honest) - essentially never requires KP of any kind, but the LFG doesn't really have established norms anymore.
    • Fractals (tier 1 - tier 4) - essentially only uses agony resistance as KP, though it's a more natural gating mechanic as well (without AR many fractals will kill you without any counter-play)
    • Fractal CMs - usually requires killproof above and beyond killing. The "Dances with Demons" (DwD) title is the usual killproof, which is more than just killing the CM 100 boss, it's killing the CM 100 boss with your full group alive
    • Raids - Frequently requires killproof. Sometimes generic killproof (e.g. legendary insights/divinations, raid legendaries, etc.). Sometimes boss specific KP
    • Strikes - Usually doesn't require KP. Notable exception being boneskinner

    Why Is Killproof Used?

    I would say, the most common factor in whether or not a content frequently uses killproof is risk of failure.

    Dungeons, low tier fractals, strikes, and even raids to an extent generally have a low risk of failure. This is because it generally only takes a handful of very skilled players to make up for weaker players. As a result, people aren't as concerned about individual contribution - since the task will likely get completed all the same. Worrying about finding a stronger member will probably take longer than just going with the people that join first, so all is well. In fractal CMs, and many raids, you really do depend on the other members of your squad. Without them, you will fail. Some people get frustrated by repeated failures that they cannot influence, hence they want to group with people of a similar skill level.

    Killproof is used, because it balances convenience with effectiveness in determining if a player will pull their weight in an encounter.

    Some Interesting Case Studies

    • The boneskinner is a unique strike mission because groups for it occasionally ask for killproof - very often participants die very quickly to the "puddle/goop" mechanic, and what's worse, players not doing it correctly can kill other people.
    • The Marionette. This is a really interesting case, because it's content that relies on other members of your squad to perform, while you can't help them. One of the community's responses? Ask for raid killproof for people joining, to get some metric of their skill level even though the marionette itself didn't drop a "kill proof" item.

    Why is the Future of Strikes Important?

    To my mind, strikes have always been about helping the average player improve. Yes, they are easy for a seasoned raider, or a fractal CM player (not touching this one further...), but for the average Guild Wars 2 player, they introduce a lot of challenges and game mechanics that are either absent, ignored, or wholey unimportant in other parts of the game (everyone seems to find their CC for the Chak Garent, but the Wyvern Matriarch doesn't have to worry about dazes and stuns!). Meanwhile newbie groups can die on strike missions, but more likely they'll be told they didn't kill the boss fast enough to get all the rewards instead. This gives them feedback in a way other parts of the game don't really: You may have succeeded, but you should push yourself to do better.

    How is this Relevant now?

    With the upcoming strike missions, we've been told:

    Each encounter has a series of "pass or fail" mechanical checks

    My worry is that by introducing the risk of failure in a group setting the community will exercise killproof requirements in an effort to get their regular rewards. I think in order for mechanics to be learned and executed correctly, you need to practice it. Having a go of it in a story mission is a great help and a great idea in this regard! But I don't think it will be nearly enough. Think of all the story bosses that had boss mechanics. Think of how good you might be at them. Often times the answer is "only enough to get through it once" - since once you reach that level you stop being exposed to it. If the average player struggles with these "pass or fail" mecahnics, the average group may attempt to leave them out.

    Final Thoughts

    Endgame PvE makes use of killproof when there is a higher risk of failure. The new strike missions are going to introduce a higher risk of failure. I think in order to avoid the new strike missions from segregating the community in the same way other game modes have, the average player needs more encounters where they are forced to respect mechanics, and are given feedback if they fail. Things like adding mechancis to metas, or world bosses, or just random events. Whatever! And the "failure condition" doesn't need to be reduced rewards or evern death! It can just be time. Keep an event going until the mechanic is done. Use the sort of mechanics present in instanced content outside of instanced content.

    submitted by /u/Centimane
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    Gw2Skills.Net - New EoD Attribute Combinations

    Posted: 15 Feb 2022 03:36 AM PST

    http://en.gw2skills.net/news/?id=74

    We've just added two new equipment attribute combinations to the Build Editor - for those of you who would like to try them before the release of EoD :)

    Also there was a small update for Build Editor that fixed critical bug with doubling of health bonus.

    submitted by /u/McLeoud
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    Ah yes, we can't have the Berserker's Berserker's Helm now can we?

    Posted: 15 Feb 2022 12:11 PM PST

    Legendary Aquabreather With EoD

    Posted: 15 Feb 2022 10:27 AM PST

    Can we have a legendary aquabreather with the expansion? It doesn't even have to have a new skin, just take one of the current models and put a legendary tag on it, easy content.

    submitted by /u/Heisen-Reddit
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    Finishing off Bo Mask Left Behind and 2(!) Smokescale Claws drop in front of me!

    Posted: 15 Feb 2022 10:06 PM PST

    Mostly for PVE players, re-utilizing old maps that have so much potential.

    Posted: 15 Feb 2022 11:18 AM PST

    What do you guys think about, maybe alongside a LW season, or just as opposed to one, Anet would add more life into older maps. There are such amazing places in the GW2 older maps that are just so sadly under-utilized. Sometimes I'll just be roaming around and doing map completions, or whatever, and notice how so many areas which seem to have taken A LOT of work to create, and just artistic masterpieces be so dead when they have such great potential to hold some unique events with cool/challenging mechanics. (I always get a lot of people dragging me for being so idealistic on my posts, but I can't help it, that's just my personality haha.) I think meta map event design in GW2 is actually so great and well thought out, and really fun when you can get a population working on them. They wouldn't have to be crazy long 1–2-hour map metas like Drizzlewood Coast or anything, but just something that could be done with 10-15 players and less than an hour, scaling up in difficulty with more players around.

    I'm thinking older maps like the desolation, taking players through the sulfurous wastes and rivers to hunt down a giant Junundu world boss or whatever people come up with. Or something that utilizes that beautiful giant frozen palace in the desert highlands. HoT maps I think have enough large-scale events, plus some of them are miserable getting around but I think they do a good job with large scale events in general. I know PoF is more focused on bounties, but they're just not as fun as like drakkar in bjora marshes for example. And I also know core Tyria has world bosses, so it doesn't need more world bosses, but like some maps could use a fun chain of events that might give the world a little more life. Just because these things already exist doesn't mean we can't get a couple more things that could add to the game if implemented well and were rewarding enough. Also, the excuse for having more reasons to visit not commonly ventured areas kind of piques my interest.

    In some instances, maybe instead of adding a new meta over what certain maps already have, it might make more sense to combine certain events and create a semi map meta event chain that leads up to a bigger event. Especially in core Tyria. For example, in the starter maps for each race. Such as Queensdale, where there is that event that you have to protect that very first keep from waves of centaurs. It could be similar to the human starting tutorial where you have to protect the city, put out fires, build barricades or whatever. Taking you through the farms to that keep where THEN you could protect it from the waves of centaurs. the past that into the battle fields where u have to destroy catapults, then finally leading up to some fight with a centaur boss, or giant that giant stone hand boss summon that u fight in the tutorial but more challenging and more mechanics and steps to defeat it. (This is obviously a rough quickly thought up as I type idea so don't get too caught up in these details cuz it could be done in any way). Like all these events kind of already exist within the maps and the game but just reorganized into a larger scale event chain. This could promote activity in the older starter maps and teach new players about map metas and stuff before they reach the grand scales one that appear later on in the game. I feel like Map meta chains were kind of abruptly introduced after core that I never really knew what was happening until I like made it a point to sit and pay extra attention to what was happening. It's a huge feature of the game and giving it more attention would help people understand what kind of mmo GW2 is. Also, with the new underwater action takes that EoD had with its trailer, they could actually utilize all of that unused underwater space in the core game. (Along-side some underwater combat updates Haha).

    I believe it would add so much to the world building of GW2 and it would be a way where Anet could put out new content without having to build completely new maps for them so it wouldn't require a lot of work or resources for the development team. They wouldn't have to be too tied into the main story and they could just be "side quests" type events. And I'd just love to see more of these beautiful maps utilized better. Also, a graphics revamp for core tyria would never hurt. XD

    What do you guys think? What problems could occur because of an addition or update like this? What kinds of rewards do y'all think would bring higher level/more seasoned players back to early maps to do event chains like this? If ya'll were presented with an opportunity to restructure some older maps, how would yall go about it? I like to hear people's insights and creative ideas. XD

    Side note: if you're just gunna comment something like "anet won't do anything like this so this is a bad idea" or "anet needs to fix this other thing first unrelated to your post" or something along the lines of not really expanding on the idea then you don't really need to waste your time replying. If that's your first instinct for a reply, then you're missing the point of my idea entirely. XD This is obviously a hypothetical 'what-if' scenario that I just want to discuss, on a discussion board lol.

    submitted by /u/Elifereta
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    The Fractal reward changes are still horseshit

    Posted: 15 Feb 2022 12:14 AM PST

    I'm sure everyone saw the amazing post by solar, which cleared up a few misconceptions around the announced Fractal CM reward nerf. While I appreciated the post and clear communication a lot and it contained a bunch of very good information, it missed a very crucial element: a reason for the nerf. It justified the decision a bunch of ways 'it's only 2.7g per run, that's no big deal', 'it's only a small minority of players that's affected', 'Mystic Coin prices will totes go down in price guys' (press X to doubt), ... But none of those justifications address the issue at heart: if it's such a minor issue, then WHY NERF IT?!

    Players aren't mad that more players will get access to Mystic Coins, or that getting Legendaries will get comparatively easier to some players (edit: and it was honestly a bit insulting that you implied this in the first place, because no one was saying it). We care that you're punishing a small minority of dedicated players for seamingly no reason. You can justify it until the cows come home, until you give us a proper reason, people will feel like you don't give a shit about Fractal CM players or even actively want to punish them.

    You're saying a bunch of contradictory things as well. If it's such a small minority of players affected and if it's such a small number of Mystic Coins that will be taken away from circulation then WHY DO IT?.

    Still waiting for a good reason and I'm still reconsidering getting EoD over this, no matter how many different ways Anet and this sub tries to tell me it's totally not a big deal.

    submitted by /u/Abell370
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    My solution to the pain of forming a squad

    Posted: 14 Feb 2022 10:58 PM PST

    Hey reddit,

    Missed my 10th cake day by about an hour, but wanted to present this little project I worked on last year and never got around to finishing. After seeing this post a couple days ago, I figured I would share and see how much interest there was.

    This is (tentatively named) Squad Tracker, a Blish HUD module for keeping track of who in your squad is doing what.

    Super rough UI https://imgur.com/a/gDjnXdD

    Main features:

    • Tracks who enters and leaves your squad (or party) by character name and account name
    • Allows creation of personalized role names
    • Allows assigning each squad (or party) member up to 2 (of your personally defined) roles
    • Retains role assignment for players who have left your squad, so you can keep track of what role left
    • Allows clearing out the list of Former Squad Members
    • Dynamically loads core profession or elite spec icons from the GW2 API

    Some quirks and requirements:

    • Players who change characters will appear in both the Current Squad Members and the Former Squad Members section. The character they're currently playing as appears in Current Squad Members. This is outlined in the screenshot above by the red boxes.
    • Requires ArcDPS and ArcDPS Blish HUD Integration (both available via the GW2 Addon Manager)
    • If you launch BlishHUD after you launch GW2, ArcDPS Blish HUD Integration doesn't know who's in your squad/party until you change maps
    • Currently forgets any roles you created on app close, but I could look into persisting those or creating default ones

    ​

    Let me know if you'd like to see this released! I'd need to clean up a few things (fix the spacing and available canvas size on the Currently Defined Roles tab, get a separate icon instead of that bell (maybe a commander tag), and put something a little nicer than "testTab" and "my menu" in those places where they are now lol... maybe also add a Clear or Refresh button for the Current squad in case it bugs out) and probably some other things specific to officially releasing a Blish HUD module since I've never done it before. BUT if there is enough interest I'd be glad to do it :)

    Comments? Thoughts? Suggestions? Let me know! Thank you for your time!

    submitted by /u/ArchAngelZero
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    I'm an Average Strike Mission Enjoyer and not an Average Fractal CM Enjoyer so I don't really have a horse in this race, but maybe the folks at ANet ought to take note of how much this controversy is overshadowing positive news about End of Dragons.

    Posted: 15 Feb 2022 09:42 AM PST

    If it's really not going to affect much, then why not just retract the changes and be done with it so we can go back to our regularly scheduled EoD hype? It's clearly unpopular with the people who actually run the content in question, and I don't recall anyone else ever having a problem with it. Just being able to complete high level fractal challenges takes a ton of skill and dedication to the game, and it makes me nervous when seemingly arbitrary changes like this anger the most hardcore players. A new expansion should be an opportunity to bring people in, not set off an exodus of hardcore players and potentially scare off potential new players with controversy.

    Just my 2 coppers.

    submitted by /u/Incognit0ErgoSum
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    Mr Pool..... Dead

    Posted: 15 Feb 2022 04:23 PM PST

    Clearing up some misconceptions from this weekend:

    Posted: 14 Feb 2022 09:34 AM PST

    Hi peeps; I'm Solar, and I co-authored the blog on strikes and rewards that went up on Friday afternoon.

    You probably don't know me unless you play with me regularly in game. And that's OK- I don't use social media aside from a few guild discords (I just made this Reddit account to come here and post this)

    When writing a blog for website publication, we try to keep it to the most necessary details, because those blogs have a large and more casual audience (compared to say, the small but hardcore audiences on places like discords or Reddit!)

    And here, lack of those details really hurt, because it created a space ripe for misinformation- and I'm sorry. It's my fault, and I'd like to clear that up by giving everyone some real numbers that should clear things up a lot!

    So, dev infodump incoming:

    1: Mystic Coin drop rates in Fractal CM's
    Your average Mystic Coins earned for a session in which you complete all three Fractal CM's is 1.92. Specifically- 0.72 coins for playing 98 CM, 0.72 for 99 CM, and 0.48 coins for 100 CM.
    (The chance of having a mystic coin drop is actually only 14% per boss kill! But because you can get 1, 2, or 3 at a time, that means that the average coins per boss kill are 0.24.)
    Being an average, that means that it is the top of the bell curve if you look at a long time of consistent play. The more you play, the closer you are to that lifetime rate. Any divergence from that is temporary and only seen in small enough data samples.
    So no, it's not 3 coins, or 4 coins, or 5 coins- although you CAN get 3 in one night, you're just as likely to get 1. While you could get 6 coins in one night... you're much more likely to get 0.
    But it definitely stands out as a positive moment when you get back to back 3 coin drops from MAMA and Siax, and since that's how mammal brains work, you remember that dopamine hit and forget all the times you got 0.

    2: Monthly Mystic Coin average earnings from playing Fractal CM's every day
    So; if you play all three fractal CM's consistently every day for a month (lets say 28 days here to be consistent with systems like login rewards and weekly reward resets), your average mystic coin income for that month from Fractal CM's is: 53.76
    Again, this is an average- the more you've played, the closer you are to that average rate. In the short term you may see less or more in a given month, but you have the same chance to earn less than that as you do more than that.

    3: How much profit is 'lost' from Fractal CM's:
    As you saw above, this means that Nightmare 98 CM is worth 0.72 fewer Mystic Coins than previous.
    Observatory 99 CM is worth 0.72 less Mystic Coins.
    Sunqua Peak 100 CM is worth 0.48 fewer Mystic Coins.

    Lets use a fairly stable MC price from last week (because this weekend's price bump is not rational and so won't reflect long term trends, as you'll find more out about from reading on)
    And say a Mystic Coin is worth 1.7 gold. You pay 15% of that in TP fees from selling it, resulting in 1g, 45s sale profit.
    So:
    98CM: 0.72 MCs * 1.45g = 1.04g
    99CM: 0.72 MCs * 1.45g = 1.04g
    100CM: 0.48 MCs * 1.45g = 0.70g

    That's not all though. Mystic Coins are on the same drop table as equipment and ectos; and you can get multiple ectos. You're not getting nothing instead of Mystic Coins, you're hitting an equipment drop or ectoplasm instead. Average value there is actually a little over 30s, due to the drop chance for multiple ectos.

    But there's a point where we can go into too much detail; and this is past it.
    Suffice it to say that the total gold reduction in dropped item value for all three CM's combined is a bit under 2.7g, which is less than 1g per fractal CM.

    ​

    4: How hard will it be to earn Mystic Coins from EoD strikes?
    Pretty easy, actually!
    End of Dragons has four new strike missions. Playing through all four on Normal difficulty will award 40 Green Prophet Shards.
    On your first completion of the week, you'll also get 5 more shards from a Daily Priority Strike achievement (which rotates daily), and 25 more shards from a Weekly Achievement to complete all four strikes.
    Together, that means that your first normal-difficulty EoD Strike playthrough in a given week will award 70 green prophet shards.

    That's enough to purchase 7 of the weekly 10 Mystic Coins from the End of Dragons strike vendor.

    So; a second playthrough in that same week will get you enough shards for the rest!

    ​

    4: How do Strike Mystic Coins compare to lost Fractal CM mystic coins?
    To get the maximum 40 mystic coins a month from EoD Strikes, a player will have to play normal difficulty strikes twice a week, for four weeks.

    By comparison, to get the average 53.76 mystic coins from Fractal CM's, a player must complete all three CM's every day for 28 days.

    It should be clear from this information that Normal difficulty strikes have a much lower barrier to entry in terms of difficulty and amount they need to be played to earn their Mystic Coin rewards.

    ​

    Clearing up some misconceptions:
    Misconception 1: ANet just said most MC's come from Fractal CM's!
    Sorry! I was very unclear here. I meant they're one of the largest possible sources that a single player -can- earn, not that they are the most commonly earned source.

    In reality, 93% of mystic coins come from login rewards. The remaining 7% includes sources such as Ley Line Anomaly, WvW Gold/Platinum chests, Fractal daily chests, Mystic Forger daily mission, and Fractal CM's. Of those, Fractal CM's are one of the smaller sources- they're just really not played by a lot of people relative to other sources, because the content is very difficult and exclusive.

    Misconception 2: This will make Mystic Coins rarer!
    You've probably figured this out from the details on how they'll drop from strikes already... but no. It's going to be the opposite. Strikes are much more accessible than Fractal CM's, and can be and are played by significantly more people- and we hope to grow that in End of Dragons.

    Again- earning the 40 mystic coins a week from strikes will require completing strikes twice a week, for four weeks. This is a much lower difficulty and effort barrier than Fractal CM's. Getting the same amount of coins from Fractal CM's would have required 21 days of completing all three Fractal CM's.
    More people can play Strikes. They can earn a significant chunk of coins quickly. This is going to increase the amount of Mystic Coins that are generated, and sold on by players looking to turn them into cash gold!

    ​

    Misconception 3: More expensive 'discounted' clovers will double demand for Mystic Coins
    Only a very, very small amount of mystic coins consumed each week were used on the Fractal vendor purchase for Mystic Clovers. Only players who play Fractal CM's really have the disposable excess Fractal Relics to do so- and that's a very small group.
    (You CAN also manage just enough with T4+Recs+selling all of your Pristine Relics... but that's daunting, and few people do it, because they're trying to save those for other goals!)

    Nearly all coins that get consumed every week actually go into the Mystic Forge for clovers, or are used directly in Legendary components.
    This change will not have any real impact on coin supply, consumption, or prices, when looking at the macro (non-individual player habit) scale.

    ​

    Not A Misconception: This makes it easier for more casual players to make legendaries!
    Yes. It really does. Players who don't have access to some of the more difficult current legendary progress sources like Fractal CM's (and the Fractal clover trade) will be able to get incremental legendary progress from easier sources- particularly End of Dragons' Strikes.

    Even just nabbing the 10 coins a week from the Strike Vendor and, when needed, turning up to 5 of them a week into clovers (also with strike currency, for those who don't have access to raid or fractal currencies to use those trades too!) represents a form of discrete weekly legendary progress with a much lower difficulty barrier to access. And yes, we're hoping that once those players try Strikes out, they'll find that they love ten player cooperative content, and train up with their friends to try out harder things in the future, including strike CM's and raids!

    We really do want to get more players making and enjoying legendary equipment. This is absolutely part of that.

    Closing thoughts:
    It's pretty natural that a player of a game will make assumptions about what is common or normal based on their own habits, and what they are capable of, and extrapolate that out to 'players in general', 'the community at large', or 'everyone does this'. That's how humans work- we make meat brain hypothesis based off our own experiences, and assume everyone else is working off of those experiences and that knowledge too.

    Fact is, for most GW2 players, having a way to work directly on a legendary is very uncommon- much of it comes down to the 7 clovers a month from the final login track reward!

    It's absolutely true that if you feel like you've worked and practiced hard and earned something (mystic coins from Fractal CM's in this case!) and you find out that now it's going to accessible to other people in the future more easily... it can feel bad. That feeling is real, and valid. But you've been playing Fractal CM's, and have made a ton of tangible progress- not just the highest overall reward rates in the game, but you've earned and used those Mystic Coins, and have gotten that progress. It being easier for other people in the future doesn't take away the progress you've made.

    I know this is probably just going to make a few people angrier. I am sorry about that. I at least hope it also helps give some more context into what we're thinking and why, and helps digest some of the changes coming with EoD.

    -solar

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    IRL Iboga hallucinogen - latest research shows it to be a path breaking anti-addictive psychedelic

    Posted: 15 Feb 2022 11:53 PM PST

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7874389/

    Unlike most substance use disorder (SUD) medications, anecdotal reports suggest that ibogaine possesses the potential to treat patients addicted to a variety of substances including opiates, alcohol, and psychostimulants. Like other psychedelic compounds, its therapeutic effects are long-lasting, which has been attributed to its ability to modify addiction-related neural circuitry through activation of neurotrophic factor signaling.

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