Updates
Well let's see, what's to say? There's a big push at work to get switched over to a fiber optic internet line, which should provide around 7 times the bandwidth we've had (for less money). If things go well, that should be up by the end of the week. If things don't... well, yeah. Afternoon thunderstorms fouled any weekend hiking plans, though I can't really complain too much. The area needs any precipitation it can get.
I've made some very minor progress in campaign/rules design toward something I think could work. The up side is I've addressed the trickiest parts to my fair satisfaction. The down side is that leaves everything else - setting info and sifting through rules to make necessary alterations or writing up new sections. Whee. Not moving quickly by any means.
Over the weekend, I had two radically different dungeon experiences in GW2. Saturday (after finishing up my Gift of Battle), I tried out a guildmate's advice and used gw2lfg.com to find a Citadel of Flame group to join. This only took a few minutes, and I zoned in to find the other four players off past the first boss. I got mobbed and died just trying to catch up, having to wait through the next waypoint unlock to join. Then there was a little awkwardness through the last boss or two. One of the players did offer some pointers in the few down moments, and we ran it again almost immediately, but it was a hurried pace, bypassing much of the trash by running from one area to the next. Each run was... I don't know, maybe ten minutes? Fast. I feel I learned a lot, and can better contribute next time, but it wasn't really enjoyable beyond providing some fast token.
Then Sunday night, with two guildmates and a couple random people, we poked our heads in Aetherblade Retreat, the new dungeon. The first real boss is a several-phase, increasing-difficulty fight with some sort of ruthless mechanics. It took a couple times for me to see very specifically where not to be standing at phase transition, but after that we just weren't able to pull it together and make it all the way through. This took... a long time, it felt like, and we failed out right there. Overall, I was disappointed in my own performance as much as anything.
I was also asked directly about whether I consider the GW2 legendary a more worthy goal than the WoW one. Well, I'd thought about that some already.
The benefits: The WoW legendary has more mechanical benefit, being so much higher item level than stuff available at the same tier. But... it'll probably be overshadowed while leveling up in the next expansion (assuming there aren't many patches between now and then). A GW2 legendary weapon is merely equal to exotics I already have and "future-proofed" to match any ascended weapons that might be introduced - assuming ArenaNet's plans don't change, because MMOs are subject to changing opinions after all. GW2 legendaries have a cool cosmetic effect, too, but that's cosmetics. So... temporary stat benefit versus cosmetics and probable future-proofing. Eh... that seems like a wash, really.
Attainability: Well... for the WoW legendary, I mostly have to run LFR. The down side of that is the time involved in inconvenient blocks. As I've said before 2+ hours is difficult to commit to. So while the total time may not be bad by comparison, the individual breakdown is unwieldy. In GW2, well, it's taking a lot longer (especially now that I'm down to mostly stuff that's super rare or trading post purchases), but I can chip away at it at my leisure. Each gold earned is a tiny bit closer. So, really, the GW2 item feels more attainable at this point.
The Games: Honestly, both are at fairly low points for me as far as social support. The WoW guild just doesn't have a sustainable number of players at this point - I'm really not satisfied making a night of running scenarios. If there isn't some uptick in attendance, I don't see much reason to renew a subscription, which would mean I stop playing sometime in August. Then maybe I pick up the next expansion for a month to see how that plays out. Even with my driving goal to be "geared to the point I could raid if the guild is ready to do so" - I'm already there, and have been for some time. Given the motivation level of the few who do show up, I'll still probably be in the top five geared players in the guild by expansion's end if I do nothing right now. In GW2, the guild feels fairly empty too, and (for reasons that elude me) the other guild I was a member of dropped me, so I won't be doing any more guild missions it looks like. GW2 does have a couple things going for it, though: 1) no monthly subscription fee, and 2) I can still do stuff solo and feel like I'm accomplishing something without feeling burned out.
The Verdict: So... yeah...
Given all that and looking at things right now, I feel of the two, I'd rather invest time into GW2. I'm not entirely pleased with that, given how much time I've put into WoW, but it just doesn't seem worth the effort currently.
I've made some very minor progress in campaign/rules design toward something I think could work. The up side is I've addressed the trickiest parts to my fair satisfaction. The down side is that leaves everything else - setting info and sifting through rules to make necessary alterations or writing up new sections. Whee. Not moving quickly by any means.
Over the weekend, I had two radically different dungeon experiences in GW2. Saturday (after finishing up my Gift of Battle), I tried out a guildmate's advice and used gw2lfg.com to find a Citadel of Flame group to join. This only took a few minutes, and I zoned in to find the other four players off past the first boss. I got mobbed and died just trying to catch up, having to wait through the next waypoint unlock to join. Then there was a little awkwardness through the last boss or two. One of the players did offer some pointers in the few down moments, and we ran it again almost immediately, but it was a hurried pace, bypassing much of the trash by running from one area to the next. Each run was... I don't know, maybe ten minutes? Fast. I feel I learned a lot, and can better contribute next time, but it wasn't really enjoyable beyond providing some fast token.
Then Sunday night, with two guildmates and a couple random people, we poked our heads in Aetherblade Retreat, the new dungeon. The first real boss is a several-phase, increasing-difficulty fight with some sort of ruthless mechanics. It took a couple times for me to see very specifically where not to be standing at phase transition, but after that we just weren't able to pull it together and make it all the way through. This took... a long time, it felt like, and we failed out right there. Overall, I was disappointed in my own performance as much as anything.
I was also asked directly about whether I consider the GW2 legendary a more worthy goal than the WoW one. Well, I'd thought about that some already.
The benefits: The WoW legendary has more mechanical benefit, being so much higher item level than stuff available at the same tier. But... it'll probably be overshadowed while leveling up in the next expansion (assuming there aren't many patches between now and then). A GW2 legendary weapon is merely equal to exotics I already have and "future-proofed" to match any ascended weapons that might be introduced - assuming ArenaNet's plans don't change, because MMOs are subject to changing opinions after all. GW2 legendaries have a cool cosmetic effect, too, but that's cosmetics. So... temporary stat benefit versus cosmetics and probable future-proofing. Eh... that seems like a wash, really.
Attainability: Well... for the WoW legendary, I mostly have to run LFR. The down side of that is the time involved in inconvenient blocks. As I've said before 2+ hours is difficult to commit to. So while the total time may not be bad by comparison, the individual breakdown is unwieldy. In GW2, well, it's taking a lot longer (especially now that I'm down to mostly stuff that's super rare or trading post purchases), but I can chip away at it at my leisure. Each gold earned is a tiny bit closer. So, really, the GW2 item feels more attainable at this point.
The Games: Honestly, both are at fairly low points for me as far as social support. The WoW guild just doesn't have a sustainable number of players at this point - I'm really not satisfied making a night of running scenarios. If there isn't some uptick in attendance, I don't see much reason to renew a subscription, which would mean I stop playing sometime in August. Then maybe I pick up the next expansion for a month to see how that plays out. Even with my driving goal to be "geared to the point I could raid if the guild is ready to do so" - I'm already there, and have been for some time. Given the motivation level of the few who do show up, I'll still probably be in the top five geared players in the guild by expansion's end if I do nothing right now. In GW2, the guild feels fairly empty too, and (for reasons that elude me) the other guild I was a member of dropped me, so I won't be doing any more guild missions it looks like. GW2 does have a couple things going for it, though: 1) no monthly subscription fee, and 2) I can still do stuff solo and feel like I'm accomplishing something without feeling burned out.
The Verdict: So... yeah...
Given all that and looking at things right now, I feel of the two, I'd rather invest time into GW2. I'm not entirely pleased with that, given how much time I've put into WoW, but it just doesn't seem worth the effort currently.
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