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DragonBloodthirsty

This user comes and goes, and is often busy with life.

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DragonBloodthirsty

556

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1675

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52

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Reviews: 40

User Lists: 4

I like the game. I can play through a full game in about 4 hours, with most maps taking between 30 minutes and an hour. I think it is fun, but not too complex. It has some strategy and some modest story telling, and manages to do both reasonably well without one getting in the way of the other.

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DragonBloodthirsty

556

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One option is to finish with math and then do graduate school. You could try getting a minor (is that an option?).

I attended college because I wanted to and I knew what I wanted to do. It hasn't really worked out for me, but I don't regret going to college, I only regret the fact that it counts for nothing. It took me a year to find even a part time job, and all the jobs I do apply for tell me I'm "overqualified" and refuse to hire me.

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DragonBloodthirsty

556

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@Mushir said:

Thanks so much for all the comments guys. I really appreciate it.

Thankfully my mother is understanding of this situation, and she's handling is better with me since my brother has already gone through the same thing. But I know that she's praying for me all the time and she believes that this is just a "phase" and that I will eventually become religious again. That's my main problem. I don't want her to think that this is just a phase that I'm going through, but something that I'll most likely stick to through my whole life. I've told this to her, but being the religious person she is, she refuses to have the same mindset as me.

I live in the American South, so I'm not familiar with Islam in particular, but I know how religious people can be (the South is known for its Evangelical Christians, but it has a lot of more tolerable religious people, too). Your beliefs are your beliefs, however you arrive at them. I find that questioning things gives you a deeper understanding and appreciation of them.

Your mother is hoping that your "phase" is just you questioning the beliefs of your parents, and that you will eventually decide that your parents were right. When I looked at Islam when I was much younger, it looked like it had a lot of unnecessary rituals, and I find that rituals in general distract from the places where your attention is supposed to be focused. I discussed rituals some with a Catholic friend, who said that the rituals in her religion were supposed be symbolic and reinforce their intended meaning, but that never seems to be the way those things work out.

You said there were principles you liked in Islam and you think it has value. That's a good start. It might seem ironic in these circumstances, but a prayer for guidance seems oddly appropriate. If you have a god who can lead you, you'll end up in the right place, and if not you can't be blamed for not trying. I hope you find your way, wherever you go.

Now if only I weren't on my gaming screen name... oh well.

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DragonBloodthirsty

556

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Last blog, I wrote about how broken WvW was because of how imbalancing the orbs were. They got fixed by getting nixed, which is great because now WvW is fun again. Even when you're losing, you don't feel like there's nothing you could conceivably do. I thought "Finally, these people understand that giving players stat boosts in WvW fundamentally undermines the main selling point of the game."

Then I heard about the recent article on the Guild Wars 2 website, which I'm linking to here: https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/linsey-murdock-unveils-new-high-end-ascended-gear/

Really? That's your grand solution to "lack of level 80 content"? Adding a new tier of equipment that requires more grinding is not what I had in mind when I said "I want more to do once I hit level 80". I'm not opposed to new equipment, but I want it to do one of two things: look pretty, or be different (not better). Adding better stats on equipment is terrible, and I don't appreciate having all of my previous investment in time being completely invalidated. The Legendaries are the top-tier of equipment, and if that's where you want it to be, I can live with it (although I'd rather the Legendaries be an expression of player devotion to the game, not a requirement to have max stats). Adding better stat equipment is a total failure, and goes against the design principles that made me like the original Guild Wars: minimal grind, just content.

So what do I want to see added in Guild Wars 2? The new dungeon is a step in the right direction, and it sounds fun. And I'm not opposed to new equipment, but I want it to be different equipment, not better equipment. I have an ele. My main-hand options are Staff, Scepter, or Dagger. My off-hand choices are focus or dagger. Adding a new weapon type would go a long way toward cutting down on how repetitive each class is. The original Guild Wars had incredible depth and variety, and while people "settled into roles", new skills always had the potential to shake things up.

I also very much do NOT want to see equipment that is relevant to WvW. I already feel out-classed by all-exotic players, and I had intended to be a crafter because it seemed more solo friendly. I won't be winning a race to the top, but slow and steady still completes the race. If more and better equipment is constantly being added, I'll never be able to keep up. If this were a different MMO, I'd just quit and say "Well, that's how it is," but this is Guild Wars, the game that touts itself as "the MMO that lets you have a life outside the MMO". Adding another tier of equipment is a big no-no with this kind of game design. Broaden and adding new equipment, or a different mix of stats that wasn't available before is fine, as long as they are on par with the existing stuff.

I do not play Guild Wars so I can get kicked around by people who play more often than me. The original designers understood this, and even said "It's like giving the chessmaster an extra queen -- he doesn't need it, and all it does is take the skill out of the game." Keep skill relevant, and don't force everyone to invest the time and energy into farming Legendary equipment just to have numbers that are competitive. The 60K armor stood in the original Guild Wars as a high-end goal that people looked forward to completing because of the cosmetic options, and was something to aspire to as a PvE player. The PvP players didn't care so much -- and they didn't have to.

I don't care how the other MMOs do things as an industry standard. I played Guild Wars because I didn't like the industry standard. You have a large existing player base you can draw from.

So to recap:

New dungeons are awesome. New tier of equipment (with bigger numbers) is terrible. New kinds of equipment, especially with new skill sets, would be awesome (but is not expected in this update). New Legendaries and other purely cosmetic new weapons would be acceptable.

My guild mate and I were so bummed out by the news that Guild Wars 2 intended to use a gear treadmill that we updated Vindictus and played some on that, rather than continue to waste our time in GW2 (What's the point? The equipment we get will be out-classed in 4 days). We spent the time comparing Vindicus to Guild Wars 2, and saying how much better it would be if the ideas we saw in GW2 were put into a game with combat like Vindictus. I'm going to keep my eyes open for that kind of game. I hope we're over reacting badly, but our disappointment with Guild Wars 2 is growing quickly. The big shining light is that the last big screw up (the orbs) got fixed even though it was bad, and the bot plague as subsided substantially (at least on the server I'm on). Please, come to your senses and stick with your principles. They were what made you money. If things continue as they are, I will not be buying any more chapters for Guild Wars 2.

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DragonBloodthirsty

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Well, orbs have been removed from the game, and I think the game is better for it. WvW has constant and relevant activity now.

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DragonBloodthirsty

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World vs. World (WvW) was one of the major selling points of Guild Wars 2, and anyone who expressed interest in the game had an interest in WvW. There's been a lot of unpleasantness as the worlds have been settling into a routine of "Play for real briefly for a few hours on Friday, then somebody wins for the week". I think there's a lot of trouble with this.

First, the design of WvW actually favors winning and defending. Giving some advantages to defenders isn't all bad, but giving huge gameplay benefits to the team that's winning is. First, there's the orbs, which grant a 5% boost to your stats as long as you hold them. There's three of them spread across the maps, and once one team holds all of them, that's a 15% stat boost to all their players across all of WvW. Once one team has all three orbs, it becomes very difficult to defeat them in even numbers. Compounding this problem is the fact that winning in WvW accumulates points that also gives you stat boosts, especially to your health and healing. There's nothing particularly wrong with granting a stat boost to gathering, but giving the winning team more health just helps them win more.

Second, the things that were put into place to encourage participation aren't working. The Magic Find boost given to "outnumbered players" is really lame, and only means something if you're able to win. If you aren't winning any fights, it isn't doing you any good.

Finally, there is still a penalty to dying -- the repair fee. This means that, if you are dying repeatedly, you're losing money as you play. If you're spending money buying siege equipment, you lose money even faster. It is possible to get siege equipment without spending money, but it uses badges of honor, which you only collect while you're winning fights. All these things combine to make losing at WvW unpleasant and un-fun. The people who are winning are strongly motivated to stay and keep winning, while the people who are losing are penalized for losing. Throw in the free server transfers that let you change sides on a whim, and big chunks of server population just migrate with the winning team, making it difficult to build stable guilds and participate in WvW while on a non-winning server. I don't think this was the intention.

So how would I fix this enormous problem? I think that, for starters, what a guildmate suggested was the easiest to implement and best idea: swap the Magic Find and Orb bonus. Granting additional magic find while you hold orbs doesn't make the current holder win any harder than they already are, but players are still motivated to take them and hold them. Also, if you are sorely outnumbered, you need a stat boost to help make up some of the difference in numbers. This also has the benefit of causing epic feeling battles (Of the "I was outnumbered 5 to one, but I still killed two of them before they got me" sort). Just be careful that the stat boost isn't so large that you'd rather have it than extra players on your team.

Removing the stat bonuses from the WvW rewards and replacing them with some other reward would cut down on this problem as well. Simple bonuses like "increased gold from monsters" don't prevent comebacks in WvW.

I also think that, even when losing, players should still get some reward (especially in the form of Badges of Honor). Soldiers in the military get purple hearts for being injured in the line of duty, and I think something should be awarded for participation in WvW, even while losing. I don't think we should reward players more for dying than for winning, but even losing required active participation on the part of the player and should be rewarded. I think it is reasonable to add an NPC who rewards badges of honor for dying, and set it to pay out at half the rate of winning. It doesn't make sense to have your badge drop at the location and time of your death (sitting there taunting you while you're not able to pick it up), so an NPC in the main base who keeps track of your earned badges seemed the next simplest solution. That's a much more involved solution, but it still seems like a good idea.

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DragonBloodthirsty

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@TeflonBilly said:

How ANYBODY can think this paints Sony as anything but an overeaching bully really shows how thick fanboy goggles are.

Hell, even in the comtext of the commercials the lab monkey he plays in the Bridgestone commercial si a far cry from the executive he plays in the Sony commercials. This is bad PR in the constants stream of diarreah that is Sony's public image. They really need to nix their entire PR division and hire somebody who doesn't make them look like such huge tools.

I make it a point to consider each side as carefully as possible. Sony's case seems awfully flimsy to me, and based on what little I know if I were the judge I'd throw the case out because I've not been presented with the details of the "non-competition agreement". As it stands, there appears to be no applicable agreement, the Sony character "Kevin Butler" was not portrayed (he has a distinct character), and the only wrongdoing I see is Sony wasting time and money with a frivolous lawsuit. But without knowing the details of any agreement that may or may not exist, it's difficult to have an informed opinion.

As for how things ought to work, if they want to keep their actor, they need to pay him well enough that he doesn't go acting for other people.

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DragonBloodthirsty

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Normally, no. Last winter, I did take advantage of Steam's super-sales to get a year's worth of gaming for about $60. I really just cleaned out my wishlist.

What do I play? Normally, I know what I like. I pick it up, play it, and put it away when I bore of it. I like Strategy and RPGs (in that order), so I tend to play strategy games when I want to think: StarCraft for fast-paced action and Civilization for something approaching low-key contemplation. If I'm feeling less competitive, I play RPGs. I like compelling story, character building, social connection with friends -- in the MMO world. I got a kick out of the moral decision making system in Mass Effect, and I enjoyed Dragon Age (what I played of it -- it's still unfinished), but I never felt the urge to go back to them once it was done.

I also branch out and try new things once in a while, if the cost isn't too high.

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DragonBloodthirsty

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@darkdragonmage99 said:

Wait are these guys basically trying to claim they own a man and I thought slavery was over.

@darkdragonmage99 said:

@deathstriker666: character my ass they are trying to a copyright a man's likeness no one ever said the name kevin butler in that commercial the only thing they have to go on is the same man played the part. In other words what they are saying is you are not allowed to work for anyone else because you look like you.

I had the same line of thought. Actors act, it's what they do. If there's not some magical clause putting him on hold, I hope the judge throws the case out and forces Sony to pay damages. People have to work, and if you don't keep them hired they have to work for someone else.

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DragonBloodthirsty

556

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I'm expecting some awesomeness from Guild Wars 2 for Halloween, and I'll be thoroughly disappointed in them if they fail to deliver. I'm not sure if Mad King Thorn is making a triumphant return or if there will be something new, but I'm hoping it's fun. If we get new in-game costumes, I'll be able to dress up.

I don't really do the dress-up thing because there's a shortage of costumes that work for me. Also, I tend to think of costumes as a "convention" thing, so I see more of the geek oriented material.