• On Friday the 16th, Lion's Arch will be invaded by an ancient hostile race - a completely new introduction to the Guild Wars universe - the Karka. They'll plague the coasts of Tyria 'til the event concludes sometime on Sunday in a huge zonespanning event.
• It will permanently add a new zone, a new type of dungeon, and an all new sPvP arena to the game (set in a Kodan Sanctuary), as well as a whole new tier of gear.
• ...and more, like new skins and pets for the gem shop.
• Guild Wars 2 is still subscription-fee-free, outside of the initial buy-in. Just sayin'.

Feelin' a bit lazy, so I'll just refer to the post on gamebreaker.tv, where all of this can be found much more in-depth - it's where I got the infos from in the first place. And here's the trailer...

Whole new tier of gear is worrisome. I'm not sure how the armour will work outside the new dungeon or how much better it will be over the previous stat ceiling so I don't want to get all crazy yet but it still seems unfortunate that they went in that direction with the game.
 
I think ArenaNet is supposed to be putting up a blog post today about that stuff. If that is true then I can't wait cause I gotta see what they have to say about all of this.

There is new info out about ascended gear. https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/linsey-murdock-unveils-new-high-end-ascended-gear/

I will soon be getting a Macbook pro Retina and am hoping it can handle this game. Quite excite at the idea. 

@SuperWristBands:

It isn't all too bad - 3-5 stat points above Exotic and all the Legendaries are being moved to this new tier retroactively.

I'm interested when they say you can get the new rings etc by completing the new dungeon, though if I'll have to do it 5 times per ring, I'll be over there happily not bothering.

@selfconfessedcynic said:

@SuperWristBands:

It isn't all too bad - 3-5 stat points above Exotic and all the Legendaries are being moved to this new tier retroactively.

I'm interested when they say you can get the new rings etc by completing the new dungeon, though if I'll have to do it 5 times per ring, I'll be over there happily not bothering.

I really doubt it would be 5 times for a ring, seeing as most pieces of gear require only 3-4 runs.

I don't like the sound of Agony. Percentage reduction of HP is gimmicky and lazy. It essentially forces the player to get Ascended gear if they want to perform comfortably. Having seen GW2's approach to enemy design, I'm not particularly thrilled about this.

@shinboy630 said:

@selfconfessedcynic said:

...

I really doubt it would be 5 times for a ring, seeing as most pieces of gear require only 3-4 runs.

Yup, fair enough. If it's 2 runs per ring, that'd be about the point where I'd be thinking "hmm - 10 runs for a full set then (including back slot)" and end up doing it. Even if it was, for example, 2 runs for an earring, 3 runs for a ring and 5 for a back slot or somesuch, I may be sold. Assuming the new dungeon is fun, of course.

@SuperWristBands: We currently don't have a clue what the Infusions will do. I'm hoping they're more along the lines of mid-tier Armour buffs than raw stats - for example, "an additional 10% speed boost when under the effects of swiftness" or "+20% Fury duration" for example.

But yes, anyone who subscribes to the slippery slope theory - something with which I am on the fence - definitely has grounds for concern.

I was hoping for the Mursaat to come back. Nope it's just monsters.

@selfconfessedcynic said:

@SuperWristBands: We currently don't have a clue what the Infusions will do. I'm hoping they're more along the lines of mid-tier Armour buffs than raw stats - for example, "an additional 10% speed boost when under the effects of swiftness" or "+20% Fury duration" for example.

The blog from Linsey Murdock essentially makes it sound like infusions are just an expansion of capital-"i" Infusion from the first game. Whereas there it was used as a combination story device/gameplay mechanic to allow you to actually combat the mursaat, here it'll be used to give you resistance to specific enemy mechanics in much the same way.

@selfconfessedcynic said:

@SuperWristBands: We currently don't have a clue what the Infusions will do. I'm hoping they're more along the lines of mid-tier Armour buffs than raw stats - for example, "an additional 10% speed boost when under the effects of swiftness" or "+20% Fury duration" for example.

But yes, anyone who subscribes to the slippery slope theory - something with which I am on the fence - definitely has grounds for concern.

For now we have to wait to see how many pieces of armor can be infused and how many ascended pieces of gear there are. But in general I agree with the sentiment that the 'agony' dungeon mechanic and introducing a "item progression" mechanic to negate those effects is a return to lazy MMO design that many thought we had left behind. Sure the endless dungeon is optional, but the point is that it would have been better if they 'gated' participation in the optional dungeon just through dungeon difficulty/design rather than forcing people who want to participate in advanced runs of the new dungeon to get new gear.

MMOs are time sinks, that much is understood with anybody who has played them for any amount of time. But being forced to invest a "item progression" timesink to participate in advanced content sucks for all involved, especially those who have already invested time and effort in getting their crafted exotics/dungeon exotics.

This update also adds new harvesting nodes, crafting materials and recipes It's safe to assume there will be new crafting tiers (or at least mystic forge recipes) for creating the new armour. You don't HAVE to do the dungeon to obtain it.

I also have to imagine the old dungeon rewards are going to be tweaked in some way too.

@WinterSnowblind: From the information they released, the ascended armor pieces will not be released this upcoming patch. They will be made available after the Lost Shore update, and can be made available outside dungeon (e.g. in WvW). What ascended gear has been confirmed so far for this patch is a ring and back piece, so many people have concluded that ascended jewelry will be available with this patch.

My point was that there definitely is a better way to 'gate' participation in the new dungeon than rely on an MMO mechanic that has been proven archaic and unpopular in the past (elemental resistances in WoW for example).

I don't have an issue with any of the announced gear; I have an issue with their design decisions behind the 'agony' mechanic. Being forced to wear gear to negate the effects of the mechanic doesn't reward player skill, which goes against much of what the current combat system and dungeons are designed for.

Here's the post I made on the official forums if anyone here wants to point out that I'm being dumb about something:

- The stat bonuses invalidate the exotic tier. This is an RPG, and I think that most of us here are aware that, generally, people who play RPGs are going to be unsatisfied with sub-optimal stats. Raising the ceiling creates a culture of unhappiness for players who either had already reached the previous maximum or were about to. Not just for the money they’ve invested in achieving the previous tier, but for the time spent. My playtime up to this point has primarily been spent meandering around zones in the pursuit of 100% world completion, so I haven’t yet been in areas where exotic drops are most frequent. Imagine the pleasant surprise I felt upon receiving top-tier shoes for my efforts (and it was an effort) after completing the Halloween jumping puzzle. Those shoes are now transient, a mere stepping-stone worth only the ectos I’ll end up salvaging them for rather than the reward they were.

- If ascended gear is going to come sans stat moddability, then this is a great time to give us either a) a much greater assortment of pre-packaged stat collections, or b) some way to cherry-pick which three stats we want on our gear. Increasing stat diversity increases build diversity, which in turn extends the end-game for those interested in exploring their options.

- Infusion in PvE could, I believe, be a fantastic idea. Maybe it’s the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia having their effect, but I can appreciate the effort ArenaNet is making in calling back the Guild Wars 1 mechanic. One of my most powerful memories from the early days of that game was encountering the mursaat for the first time, and how utterly disoriented – and to be honest, intimidated – my 13-year-old self was by how quickly they blew me away upon first engagement. To this day, I remember having to dodge around mursaat/jade patrols like a fugitive while I was exploring the Southern Shiverpeaks and how powerful I felt once the seer had worked his mojo. It’s one of the few mechanics in gaming that I recall as being effective as both a story-telling and gameplay device. If GW2 infusion can similarly integrate itself in an interesting way functionally (i.e. not just +20% crit chance vs. marmosets) and lore-wise (i.e. not “you need to be infused because marmosets are pretty strong”), then I see myself loving it all over again.

- Infusion in WvW, on the other hand, seems totally ill-advised. Yes, the mode works in large part because the opposing forces are never entirely evenly-matched, and that produces certain dynamics that can appeal to players inexperienced in PvP. There is still, however, something to be said for one or two scouts encountering their counterparts in an open field – on completely even footing in terms of trait, sigil, and rune availability – and duking it out with skill as the deciding factor. If one of those players has the advantage of some mechanic attached to much-harder-to-obtain armor, that fight would instantly become less interesting.

I think my favorite thing about this whole situation was the Studio Design Director pretty much going on the forums and saying "STOP YO BITCHIN". I love how Anet listens to the community's input, but also doesn't take shit from them.

@Dark_Lord_Spam: Don't really agree with your first point, but eh. Also, a minor factual point, but the halloween shoes can't be disassembled.

@Turambar: Yeah, you are correct as long as we are talking about shoes from the jumping puzzle and not the ones dropped from chests in the catacombs.

@Dark_Lord_Spam: I have a lot of problems with your post but I just figure I will share my perspective. Firstly, I'm of the mindset that masterwork doesnt invalidated Fine, Rare doesn't invalidate masterwork, and exotic does not invalidate rares. Its different tiers of armor for different investment levels. So in the same way, Exotics will not be invalidadted by ascended and the legendaries will not invalidate the Ascended. And I prefer to think of it as shaking out the last things that weren't ready at launch. (I promise they didn't put this together in the few months since launch. Im betting it was almost ready to launch but they held off). Also, I dont think we even know what infusions will do. Its hard to say how they will be a good or bad idea in WvW and other aspects of the game. I think thats my biggest problem with your arguments is that they work on very many assumptions. I say give it a few days, then you wont have to speculate. Then you can refocus your argument and argue against something that exists and not against something that may or may not exist in a hundred different fashions.

But of course thats my 2 cents. I choose to see this as an opportunity to work for more things in this game I love. I chose no to take this as a personsal "scew you" from the arenaNet team who hasn't lied to me yet. If they dont plan on implementing a gear treadmill I believe them. A one time addition of 2 more tiers of armor in itself does not inherently implement a gear treadmill. They have no interest in ruining the game and I wish people would give them more credit instead of instantly taking to the forums to shoot down an idea that could be really cool.

@jesterroyal said:

Firstly, I'm of the mindset that masterwork doesnt invalidated Fine, Rare doesn't invalidate masterwork, and exotic does not invalidate rares. Its different tiers of armor for different investment levels.

I'm talking less as in usefulness to the day-to-day player and more as in market value. The BLTP has most fine and masterwork items listed at merchant price. Basics can go for several times more because of their materials potential, while rares go for about a dozen silver minimum because of ecto salvaging. In all cases, it's clear they're not priced for use as actual equipment. Exotics are the only tier that are at this point. How long can that last when ascended is the new ceiling?

@jesterroyal said:

Also, I dont think we even know what infusions will do. Its hard to say how they will be a good or bad idea in WvW and other aspects of the game. I think thats my biggest problem with your arguments is that they work on very many assumptions. I say give it a few days, then you wont have to speculate. Then you can refocus your argument and argue against something that exists and not against something that may or may not exist in a hundred different fashions.

To be clear, I was working totally from presumption. That's why the points on infusion sound more about possibilities and a general "feeling" than anything concrete.

@Turambar said:

the halloween shoes can't be disassembled.

Well, that's even better then. :P