How many can pinpoint exactly what Dark, Ethereal, Fire, Ice, Light, Lightning, Poison, Smoke, Water (NINE) combo starters do? And that each has at least two different types of effect depending on your class and the skill/weapon you use....
So far I haven't seen anyone use this feature besides randomly.
Haphazardly? It takes less than 5 minutes to run through any personal combos you can do (once you have your weapons skills ofc), you can do it rather systematically.
In a group or near other people? See a field? Press a combo finisher and note what happens.
That is not haphazard, that is experimentation and it is neither difficult or really time consuming in this case but it does give the player something to explore without the need for spoon feeding them absolutely everything.
If you haven't seen anyone using combos other than randomly them either you have been incredibly unlucky and have been grouped/near the worst players on earth, or you are simply not noticing it (which is the one I am going to go for here). I rotated combos all the time on my ELE in groups and I have noticed loads of people setting up repeat combos when I've been finishing them on my WAR and that is talking about the usual zerg DE's, not more structured pvp/dungeons where they occur far more often.
I'm not against them putting in a list (already a wiki after all), but I really can't see what is so hard about it at the moment.
Oh why did I bother? I'm so so sorry. The game is absolutely perfect. Everything is clear as day and everyone is playing to the best of their abilities. I hardly see anybody dying like noobs. People know exactly which skills to use to save the day as well.
Yep, nothing for me to see here, moving on. Enjoy.
Seems to me you need your hand held to understand the game and that learning through actual gameplay is too hard. If all you see is random use of combos you are simply playing with people who spend no time learning. Its not hard to figure out the combos and especially easy to learn which ones YOUR character can do and work from that starting point.
Also failure to use the Wiki would be fine 15 years ago, if you CHOOSE to ignore the info readily available to you then you choose failure.
Tool tips in general are horrid in GW2, I have to wiki stuff constantly or try it out before I even have an idea what half of it does or should do lol.
How many can pinpoint exactly what Dark, Ethereal, Fire, Ice, Light, Lightning, Poison, Smoke, Water (NINE) combo starters do? And that each has at least two different types of effect depending on your class and the skill/weapon you use....
So far I haven't seen anyone use this feature besides randomly.
Haphazardly? It takes less than 5 minutes to run through any personal combos you can do (once you have your weapons skills ofc), you can do it rather systematically.
In a group or near other people? See a field? Press a combo finisher and note what happens.
That is not haphazard, that is experimentation and it is neither difficult or really time consuming in this case but it does give the player something to explore without the need for spoon feeding them absolutely everything.
If you haven't seen anyone using combos other than randomly them either you have been incredibly unlucky and have been grouped/near the worst players on earth, or you are simply not noticing it (which is the one I am going to go for here). I rotated combos all the time on my ELE in groups and I have noticed loads of people setting up repeat combos when I've been finishing them on my WAR and that is talking about the usual zerg DE's, not more structured pvp/dungeons where they occur far more often.
I'm not against them putting in a list (already a wiki after all), but I really can't see what is so hard about it at the moment.
Oh why did I bother? I'm so so sorry. The game is absolutely perfect. Everything is clear as day and everyone is playing to the best of their abilities. I hardly see anybody dying like noobs. People know exactly which skills to use to save the day as well.
Yep, nothing for me to see here, moving on. Enjoy.
Seems to me you need your hand held to understand the game and that learning through actual gameplay is too hard. If all you see is random use of combos you are simply playing with people who spend no time learning. Its not hard to figure out the combos and especially easy to learn which ones YOUR character can do and work from that starting point.
Also failure to use the Wiki would be fine 15 years ago, if you CHOOSE to ignore the info readily available to you then you choose failure.
Once again, having players really heavily on a wiki for basic game mechanics is a failure on the game design, not the player. Some things are understandable to need a wiki for, like how those combinations work. I wouldn't mind if Anet left it to players to figure out a good majority of the combo fields. The problem is the fact that they are never introduced at all besides an obscure, badly-written tooltip under each ability. Even the most "hardcore" games have gameplay designs that introduce basic mechanics. It's not like combo fields are such a commodity in the mmo genre that we can assume they exist, either. They only reason the rest of the game holds up is because most people have played an mmo before, which means they know the basics of mmo combat.
Other mechanics of the game, such as hearts and dynamic events, are introduced pretty nicely. For example, the tutorial of the game surrounds you with the things, revealing the orange circle on the minimap along with the goal in the corner. The player has the opportunity to understand that, hey, these orange goals use those orange circles. The events are easy so the player can figure it out, and then they are thrown into a world where they now know what to do with the orange circles. Sure, not all the orange circles are the same, but the player has some kind of direction.
Combo fields have no introduction at all. If anything, it's the opposite of direction. Most of the PvE experience is solo-able, so when they enter a group and have no idea what a combo-field is, it's not their fault. Their mind subconsiously blocks out the tooltip because they had no need for the combo-field before. Not everyone likes to go on a wiki for a casual game. They just want to play and have fun.
How many can pinpoint exactly what Dark, Ethereal, Fire, Ice, Light, Lightning, Poison, Smoke, Water (NINE) combo starters do? And that each has at least two different types of effect depending on your class and the skill/weapon you use....
So far I haven't seen anyone use this feature besides randomly.
Haphazardly? It takes less than 5 minutes to run through any personal combos you can do (once you have your weapons skills ofc), you can do it rather systematically.
In a group or near other people? See a field? Press a combo finisher and note what happens.
That is not haphazard, that is experimentation and it is neither difficult or really time consuming in this case but it does give the player something to explore without the need for spoon feeding them absolutely everything.
If you haven't seen anyone using combos other than randomly them either you have been incredibly unlucky and have been grouped/near the worst players on earth, or you are simply not noticing it (which is the one I am going to go for here). I rotated combos all the time on my ELE in groups and I have noticed loads of people setting up repeat combos when I've been finishing them on my WAR and that is talking about the usual zerg DE's, not more structured pvp/dungeons where they occur far more often.
I'm not against them putting in a list (already a wiki after all), but I really can't see what is so hard about it at the moment.
Oh why did I bother? I'm so so sorry. The game is absolutely perfect. Everything is clear as day and everyone is playing to the best of their abilities. I hardly see anybody dying like noobs. People know exactly which skills to use to save the day as well.
Yep, nothing for me to see here, moving on. Enjoy.
Seems to me you need your hand held to understand the game and that learning through actual gameplay is too hard. If all you see is random use of combos you are simply playing with people who spend no time learning. Its not hard to figure out the combos and especially easy to learn which ones YOUR character can do and work from that starting point.
Also failure to use the Wiki would be fine 15 years ago, if you CHOOSE to ignore the info readily available to you then you choose failure.
Once again, having players really heavily on a wiki for basic game mechanics is a failure on the game design, not the player. Some things are understandable to need a wiki for, like how those combinations work. I wouldn't mind if Anet left it to players to figure out a good majority of the combo fields. The problem is the fact that they are never introduced at all besides an obscure, badly-written tooltip under each ability. Even the most "hardcore" games have gameplay designs that introduce basic mechanics. It's not like combo fields are such a commodity in the mmo genre that we can assume they exist, either. They only reason the rest of the game holds up is because most people have played an mmo before, which means they know the basics of mmo combat.
Other mechanics of the game, such as hearts and dynamic events, are introduced pretty nicely. For example, the tutorial of the game surrounds you with the things, revealing the orange circle on the minimap along with the goal in the corner. The player has the opportunity to understand that, hey, these orange goals use those orange circles. The events are easy so the player can figure it out, and then they are thrown into a world where they now know what to do with the orange circles. Sure, not all the orange circles are the same, but the player has some kind of direction.
Combo fields have no introduction at all. If anything, it's the opposite of direction. Most of the PvE experience is solo-able, so when they enter a group and have no idea what a combo-field is, it's not their fault. Their mind subconsiously blocks out the tooltip because they had no need for the combo-field before. Not everyone likes to go on a wiki for a casual game. They just want to play and have fun.
I use and set up combo fields when solo ALL THE TIME. If you are so casual you just want to play and have fun then let combos happen randomly like others seem to claim. If you truly want to learn the game you research places like the wiki and the game forums. Anyone saying otherwise is simply handicapping themselves. If you dont want to take time to learn too bad, I am so tired of people wanting their hands held. If you are blocking the tool tip subconciously or otherwise then you are the type who wont learn.
I am so tired of the excuses people give like when they say they close tool tips because they are full of useless information, then they complain that the information was missed. If you dont read or spend time learning you are always going to be below average.
On a side note. I get crafting but kinda don't. Its a weird thing since I am a mad crafter. I just feel that anything I make for my current level is useless since I can pick up anything better within 5 min. Keep thinking I am missing something.
For the last 25 points of each crafting tier, you can buy insignias with karma from the craft vendor (fourth tab.) These use fifteen of the blue items (scales, claws etc.) and combined with the armour/weapon components will make a rare that usually keeps you going for a few levels.
Thanks Kanubis, didn't know this at all. I need to read up on the mechanics. I have no issue experimenting but I feel mechanics should be explained. Will check out tonight.
How many can pinpoint exactly what Dark, Ethereal, Fire, Ice, Light, Lightning, Poison, Smoke, Water (NINE) combo starters do? And that each has at least two different types of effect depending on your class and the skill/weapon you use....
So far I haven't seen anyone use this feature besides randomly.
Haphazardly? It takes less than 5 minutes to run through any personal combos you can do (once you have your weapons skills ofc), you can do it rather systematically.
In a group or near other people? See a field? Press a combo finisher and note what happens.
That is not haphazard, that is experimentation and it is neither difficult or really time consuming in this case but it does give the player something to explore without the need for spoon feeding them absolutely everything.
If you haven't seen anyone using combos other than randomly them either you have been incredibly unlucky and have been grouped/near the worst players on earth, or you are simply not noticing it (which is the one I am going to go for here). I rotated combos all the time on my ELE in groups and I have noticed loads of people setting up repeat combos when I've been finishing them on my WAR and that is talking about the usual zerg DE's, not more structured pvp/dungeons where they occur far more often.
I'm not against them putting in a list (already a wiki after all), but I really can't see what is so hard about it at the moment.
Oh why did I bother? I'm so so sorry. The game is absolutely perfect. Everything is clear as day and everyone is playing to the best of their abilities. I hardly see anybody dying like noobs. People know exactly which skills to use to save the day as well.
Yep, nothing for me to see here, moving on. Enjoy.
Seems to me you need your hand held to understand the game and that learning through actual gameplay is too hard. If all you see is random use of combos you are simply playing with people who spend no time learning. Its not hard to figure out the combos and especially easy to learn which ones YOUR character can do and work from that starting point.
Also failure to use the Wiki would be fine 15 years ago, if you CHOOSE to ignore the info readily available to you then you choose failure.
Once again, having players really heavily on a wiki for basic game mechanics is a failure on the game design, not the player. Some things are understandable to need a wiki for, like how those combinations work. I wouldn't mind if Anet left it to players to figure out a good majority of the combo fields. The problem is the fact that they are never introduced at all besides an obscure, badly-written tooltip under each ability. Even the most "hardcore" games have gameplay designs that introduce basic mechanics. It's not like combo fields are such a commodity in the mmo genre that we can assume they exist, either. They only reason the rest of the game holds up is because most people have played an mmo before, which means they know the basics of mmo combat.
Other mechanics of the game, such as hearts and dynamic events, are introduced pretty nicely. For example, the tutorial of the game surrounds you with the things, revealing the orange circle on the minimap along with the goal in the corner. The player has the opportunity to understand that, hey, these orange goals use those orange circles. The events are easy so the player can figure it out, and then they are thrown into a world where they now know what to do with the orange circles. Sure, not all the orange circles are the same, but the player has some kind of direction.
Combo fields have no introduction at all. If anything, it's the opposite of direction. Most of the PvE experience is solo-able, so when they enter a group and have no idea what a combo-field is, it's not their fault. Their mind subconsiously blocks out the tooltip because they had no need for the combo-field before. Not everyone likes to go on a wiki for a casual game. They just want to play and have fun.
I use and set up combo fields when solo ALL THE TIME. If you are so casual you just want to play and have fun then let combos happen randomly like others seem to claim. If you truly want to learn the game you research places like the wiki and the game forums. Anyone saying otherwise is simply handicapping themselves. If you dont want to take time to learn too bad, I am so tired of people wanting their hands held. If you are blocking the tool tip subconciously or otherwise then you are the type who wont learn.
I am so tired of the excuses people give like when they say they close tool tips because they are full of useless information, then they complain that the information was missed. If you dont read or spend time learning you are always going to be below average.
Once again, you misunderstand what I'm saying. Not every class can set-up and execute a combo field on their own, especially if they decide they like a particular pair of weapons and set of skills. Now, I agree with you on some of the more hardcore aspects of the game. If you want to know exactly how strength and precision compares to condition damage and vitality on your engineer, heck yeah! Use the wiki. Experiment! Figure out what works best, and be rewarded for that effort!
I'm talking about a mechanic of the game that is necessary to succeed in some places. I'm not asking the developer to hold someone's hand and give a list of every possible field, I'm asking them to naturally introduce combo fields in the game in a way that makes them more significant. Right now there is very little indication that combo fields exist. And when they appear, it's often times in the heat of a short battle where you can't really tell what effect the field is having and things like that.
I'm not talking about a level 80 player being ignorant to combo fields. At this level, yes most people know about them. I'm talking about a level 35 running AC for the first, second, or third time. Many people (myself included) have complained about the dungeon system being messy and unorganized mainly because we missed this very crucial aspect of the game. Don't act like it's an obvious system, because it really isn't. Even though it's a very basic and fundemental part of group content, it's never explained or given any significance whatsoever.
I hate it when people like you get so worked up over something that's barely effecting the game. What I asked for is an optional quest that allows people to more naturally get introduced to the idea of a FUNDEMENTAL MECHANIC of the game. It would take maybe 10 minutes to complete, and it would allow lower level players who are brand new to the game to experience a new element of combat that's unique to this mmo for the most part. No, it wouldn't stop the exploration of the mechanic. No, it wouldn't make the game easier. No, it wouldn't be hand holding. Hand-holding is not introducing basic parts of the game in a natural way. This is called good game design, and it's been implemented in all sorts of hardcore classics from The Legend of Zelda to Dark Souls.
How many can pinpoint exactly what Dark, Ethereal, Fire, Ice, Light, Lightning, Poison, Smoke, Water (NINE) combo starters do? And that each has at least two different types of effect depending on your class and the skill/weapon you use....
So far I haven't seen anyone use this feature besides randomly.
Haphazardly? It takes less than 5 minutes to run through any personal combos you can do (once you have your weapons skills ofc), you can do it rather systematically.
In a group or near other people? See a field? Press a combo finisher and note what happens.
That is not haphazard, that is experimentation and it is neither difficult or really time consuming in this case but it does give the player something to explore without the need for spoon feeding them absolutely everything.
If you haven't seen anyone using combos other than randomly them either you have been incredibly unlucky and have been grouped/near the worst players on earth, or you are simply not noticing it (which is the one I am going to go for here). I rotated combos all the time on my ELE in groups and I have noticed loads of people setting up repeat combos when I've been finishing them on my WAR and that is talking about the usual zerg DE's, not more structured pvp/dungeons where they occur far more often.
I'm not against them putting in a list (already a wiki after all), but I really can't see what is so hard about it at the moment.
Oh why did I bother? I'm so so sorry. The game is absolutely perfect. Everything is clear as day and everyone is playing to the best of their abilities. I hardly see anybody dying like noobs. People know exactly which skills to use to save the day as well.
Yep, nothing for me to see here, moving on. Enjoy.
Seems to me you need your hand held to understand the game and that learning through actual gameplay is too hard. If all you see is random use of combos you are simply playing with people who spend no time learning. Its not hard to figure out the combos and especially easy to learn which ones YOUR character can do and work from that starting point.
Also failure to use the Wiki would be fine 15 years ago, if you CHOOSE to ignore the info readily available to you then you choose failure.
Once again, having players really heavily on a wiki for basic game mechanics is a failure on the game design, not the player. Some things are understandable to need a wiki for, like how those combinations work. I wouldn't mind if Anet left it to players to figure out a good majority of the combo fields. The problem is the fact that they are never introduced at all besides an obscure, badly-written tooltip under each ability. Even the most "hardcore" games have gameplay designs that introduce basic mechanics. It's not like combo fields are such a commodity in the mmo genre that we can assume they exist, either. They only reason the rest of the game holds up is because most people have played an mmo before, which means they know the basics of mmo combat.
Other mechanics of the game, such as hearts and dynamic events, are introduced pretty nicely. For example, the tutorial of the game surrounds you with the things, revealing the orange circle on the minimap along with the goal in the corner. The player has the opportunity to understand that, hey, these orange goals use those orange circles. The events are easy so the player can figure it out, and then they are thrown into a world where they now know what to do with the orange circles. Sure, not all the orange circles are the same, but the player has some kind of direction.
Combo fields have no introduction at all. If anything, it's the opposite of direction. Most of the PvE experience is solo-able, so when they enter a group and have no idea what a combo-field is, it's not their fault. Their mind subconsiously blocks out the tooltip because they had no need for the combo-field before. Not everyone likes to go on a wiki for a casual game. They just want to play and have fun.
I use and set up combo fields when solo ALL THE TIME. If you are so casual you just want to play and have fun then let combos happen randomly like others seem to claim. If you truly want to learn the game you research places like the wiki and the game forums. Anyone saying otherwise is simply handicapping themselves. If you dont want to take time to learn too bad, I am so tired of people wanting their hands held. If you are blocking the tool tip subconciously or otherwise then you are the type who wont learn.
I am so tired of the excuses people give like when they say they close tool tips because they are full of useless information, then they complain that the information was missed. If you dont read or spend time learning you are always going to be below average.
Once again, you misunderstand what I'm saying. Not every class can set-up and execute a combo field on their own, especially if they decide they like a particular pair of weapons and set of skills. Now, I agree with you on some of the more hardcore aspects of the game. If you want to know exactly how strength and precision compares to condition damage and vitality on your engineer, heck yeah! Use the wiki. Experiment! Figure out what works best, and be rewarded for that effort!
I'm talking about a mechanic of the game that is necessary to succeed in some places. I'm not asking the developer to hold someone's hand and give a list of every possible field, I'm asking them to naturally introduce combo fields in the game in a way that makes them more significant. Right now there is very little indication that combo fields exist. And when they appear, it's often times in the heat of a short battle where you can't really tell what effect the field is having and things like that.
I'm not talking about a level 80 player being ignorant to combo fields. At this level, yes most people know about them. I'm talking about a level 35 running AC for the first, second, or third time. Many people (myself included) have complained about the dungeon system being messy and unorganized mainly because we missed this very crucial aspect of the game. Don't act like it's an obvious system, because it really isn't. Even though it's a very basic and fundemental part of group content, it's never explained or given any significance whatsoever.
I hate it when people like you get so worked up over something that's barely effecting the game. What I asked for is an optional quest that allows people to more naturally get introduced to the idea of a FUNDEMENTAL MECHANIC of the game. It would take maybe 10 minutes to complete, and it would allow lower level players who are brand new to the game to experience a new element of combat that's unique to this mmo for the most part. No, it wouldn't stop the exploration of the mechanic. No, it wouldn't make the game easier. No, it wouldn't be hand holding. Hand-holding is not introducing basic parts of the game in a natural way. This is called good game design, and it's been implemented in all sorts of hardcore classics from The Legend of Zelda to Dark Souls.
Let me see if I have this right. I am all worked up over something you say is BARELY effecting the game, but its a fundemental mechanic that you are WORKED up about because it is not spoon fed to the masses?
So I am the one worked up but not you? Could they do it better? Yes, but at the same time people here are using the excuse that casual players might not read about the game. Sorry but if you choose to ignore sources of valuable information and then make excuses about it you are an enabler.
For many years I have been taught that if you see someonthign on the ground...move out of the fire!!!
So, now it's hard to tell if the stuff on the ground is from friend or foe. Not that it matters, because on my warrior I have great difficutly even seeing the mob we are gighting (group content) due to the AOE going on. Plus my mouse usually is unresponsive/lost due to screen lag or whatever it's called.
While it isn't a big deal to me personally since I understand all the combo fields and what they do at this point, I'm all in favor of introductory/tutorial scenarios that properly allow players to experience the various nuances of game mechanics at least on a novice level.
Then they're encouraged to use what they've learned and build on it on their own as they go along.
Its really simple, and honestly, your most likely not going to even worry about 'combo fields' much at all in game as they will happen quite naturally, so long as you don't poorly aim skills.
If your talking about effect... then yes... they really need to describe status effects and the likes far better. Its almost like they try to hide it to make the game look far more complex then it really is which isn't really a good thing.
On a side note. I get crafting but kinda don't. Its a weird thing since I am a mad crafter. I just feel that anything I make for my current level is useless since I can pick up anything better within 5 min. Keep thinking I am missing something.
You got to experiment a bit with mystic forge too in regards to crafting. It is a bit like combo fields for combat.
You can easily combine four pieces of blue or green junk of the similar levels and type (ie. shoulders, pistols, etc) using mystic forge and have a pretty good chance of getting something rare or exotic level.
Once again, you misunderstand what I'm saying. Not every class can set-up and execute a combo field on their own, especially if they decide they like a particular pair of weapons and set of skills. Now, I agree with you on some of the more hardcore aspects of the game. If you want to know exactly how strength and precision compares to condition damage and vitality on your engineer, heck yeah! Use the wiki. Experiment! Figure out what works best, and be rewarded for that effort!
I'm talking about a mechanic of the game that is necessary to succeed in some places. I'm not asking the developer to hold someone's hand and give a list of every possible field, I'm asking them to naturally introduce combo fields in the game in a way that makes them more significant. Right now there is very little indication that combo fields exist. And when they appear, it's often times in the heat of a short battle where you can't really tell what effect the field is having and things like that.
I'm not talking about a level 80 player being ignorant to combo fields. At this level, yes most people know about them. I'm talking about a level 35 running AC for the first, second, or third time. Many people (myself included) have complained about the dungeon system being messy and unorganized mainly because we missed this very crucial aspect of the game. Don't act like it's an obvious system, because it really isn't. Even though it's a very basic and fundemental part of group content, it's never explained or given any significance whatsoever.
I hate it when people like you get so worked up over something that's barely effecting the game. What I asked for is an optional quest that allows people to more naturally get introduced to the idea of a FUNDEMENTAL MECHANIC of the game. It would take maybe 10 minutes to complete, and it would allow lower level players who are brand new to the game to experience a new element of combat that's unique to this mmo for the most part. No, it wouldn't stop the exploration of the mechanic. No, it wouldn't make the game easier. No, it wouldn't be hand holding. Hand-holding is not introducing basic parts of the game in a natural way. This is called good game design, and it's been implemented in all sorts of hardcore classics from The Legend of Zelda to Dark Souls.
Let me see if I have this right. I am all worked up over something you say is BARELY effecting the game, but its a fundemental mechanic that you are WORKED up about because it is not spoon fed to the masses?
So I am the one worked up but not you? Could they do it better? Yes, but at the same time people here are using the excuse that casual players might not read about the game. Sorry but if you choose to ignore sources of valuable information and then make excuses about it you are an enabler.
No, you still have it wrong. I'm saying that a tutorial, a solution to the problem at hand, would barely affect the game. Combo-fields, on the other hand, are a big deal and are something that I feel need to be introduced better. This is twice that you've misunderstood me, which tells me that you are very bad at understanding what I think is the problem at hand. Please take more time when reading someone's post and replying to it. My solution and my thoughts have been pretty clear.
Yeah the OP has a point.. ANET ahould have a tutorial solely dedicated to combo fiels.. not only because of the lack of formal ingame information... but also due to the massive amount of improvements it gives to your playstyle...
i started using combos at lvl 75.. and belive me when i say, the chnage is hugeee. you kill a lot more faster, but the thing im impresed the most are the defensive posibilities.. my mesmer with the right combo somewhat gets untouchable for arround 4 sec, pretty nice uh?
Ever since my experience of my first dungeon and sPvP, I've noticed that the biggest advice is to learn combo fields. Apparently they are a pretty big deal. That being said, in my experience up to level 46, there hasn't been in intro or some sort of tutorial to combo fields. This is a problem.
I think Arenanet needs to put in some sort of tutorial system for combo fields. I know there are plenty of resources online, and I'm not saying I'm having a problem personally with combo fields anymore. But going into the first dungeon at level 35 with no real instructions can make those first few experiences a discouraging mess. Many people are complaining about the dungeon system because of a lack of a tutorial.
I don't think anything's wrong with the mechanics. I just think it's odd how there is no in-game introduction to such an important mechanic. Hopefully Anet will implement one in the near future.
totally agree.
Proud MMORPG.com member since March 2004! Make PvE GREAT Again!
Once again, you misunderstand what I'm saying. Not every class can set-up and execute a combo field on their own, especially if they decide they like a particular pair of weapons and set of skills. Now, I agree with you on some of the more hardcore aspects of the game. If you want to know exactly how strength and precision compares to condition damage and vitality on your engineer, heck yeah! Use the wiki. Experiment! Figure out what works best, and be rewarded for that effort!
I'm talking about a mechanic of the game that is necessary to succeed in some places. I'm not asking the developer to hold someone's hand and give a list of every possible field, I'm asking them to naturally introduce combo fields in the game in a way that makes them more significant. Right now there is very little indication that combo fields exist. And when they appear, it's often times in the heat of a short battle where you can't really tell what effect the field is having and things like that.
I'm not talking about a level 80 player being ignorant to combo fields. At this level, yes most people know about them. I'm talking about a level 35 running AC for the first, second, or third time. Many people (myself included) have complained about the dungeon system being messy and unorganized mainly because we missed this very crucial aspect of the game. Don't act like it's an obvious system, because it really isn't. Even though it's a very basic and fundemental part of group content, it's never explained or given any significance whatsoever.
I hate it when people like you get so worked up over something that's barely effecting the game. What I asked for is an optional quest that allows people to more naturally get introduced to the idea of a FUNDEMENTAL MECHANIC of the game. It would take maybe 10 minutes to complete, and it would allow lower level players who are brand new to the game to experience a new element of combat that's unique to this mmo for the most part. No, it wouldn't stop the exploration of the mechanic. No, it wouldn't make the game easier. No, it wouldn't be hand holding. Hand-holding is not introducing basic parts of the game in a natural way. This is called good game design, and it's been implemented in all sorts of hardcore classics from The Legend of Zelda to Dark Souls.
Let me see if I have this right. I am all worked up over something you say is BARELY effecting the game, but its a fundemental mechanic that you are WORKED up about because it is not spoon fed to the masses?
So I am the one worked up but not you? Could they do it better? Yes, but at the same time people here are using the excuse that casual players might not read about the game. Sorry but if you choose to ignore sources of valuable information and then make excuses about it you are an enabler.
No, you still have it wrong. I'm saying that a tutorial, a solution to the problem at hand, would barely affect the game. Combo-fields, on the other hand, are a big deal and are something that I feel need to be introduced better. This is twice that you've misunderstood me, which tells me that you are very bad at understanding what I think is the problem at hand. Please take more time when reading someone's post and replying to it. My solution and my thoughts have been pretty clear.
No actually now you are clear. The reason I am bad at understanding you is because you were not as clear as you thought you were. Happens a lot online, the idea in your or my head seems perfectly clear but the typed version fails to convey those same thoughts as clearly as they sounded in our own heads.
You can utilise combo fields by yourself, but many professions either have lots of combo finishers (Warriors) or lots of combo field-creating skills (Necro).
This is true.
And Engineers has a decent number of both combo starters and finishers, but comparatively speaking Engineer's uncomboed attacks also seems a bit weaker than either Warriors or Necro.
I think they have created an interesting way balancing the professions.
You can utilise combo fields by yourself, but many professions either have lots of combo finishers (Warriors) or lots of combo field-creating skills (Necro).
This is true.
And Engineers has a decent number of both combo starters and finishers, but comparatively speaking Engineer's uncomboed attacks also seems a bit weaker than either Warriors or Necro.
I think they have created an interesting way balancing the professions.
Unfortunately for me my favorite weapon combinations on my Guardian provide a few fields and ZERO finishers. In order to get fineshers I need to use weapons I am not as enamored with but may have to go with at some point. Kind of a shame since my current weapon choices have a nice synergy with my style of play.
Unfortunately for me my favorite weapon combinations on my Guardian provide a few fields and ZERO finishers. In order to get fineshers I need to use weapons I am not as enamored with but may have to go with at some point. Kind of a shame since my current weapon choices have a nice synergy with my style of play.
Yeah I can understand I've played Guardian a bit too.
Guardian's base attacks is a fair bit stronger than Engineers though (just from my personal feeling, seems to kill a lot faster without combo with guardian).
Unfortunately for me my favorite weapon combinations on my Guardian provide a few fields and ZERO finishers. In order to get fineshers I need to use weapons I am not as enamored with but may have to go with at some point. Kind of a shame since my current weapon choices have a nice synergy with my style of play.
Yeah I can understand I've played Guardian a bit too.
Guardian's base attacks is a fair bit stronger than Engineers though (just from my personal feeling, seems to kill a lot faster without combo with guardian).
Yeah I would agree the guardian kills faster sans combos and like I said I have fields I just lack finishers. Thats ok though my main is a Ranger and they do have a nice selection of fields and a few finishers so I can do my own combos as needed.
My guy is in his 40's and I only learned about combos from this site to be honest. The only in game indication I ever saw was:
Combo Finisher: Projectile
I'm willing to admit I might have missed something but I have to agree with the OP and the majority it seems like that it isn't really expalined at all in the game. Certain classes have a lot easier time performing combos by themselves and I can easliy see how some people might not notice. I can't combo between both my weapon sets yet an ele can use any weapon to perform a combo.
I wanna add that the Wiki does a great job at explaining all the different combos, but even after learning each type I feel like there should be more of an indication in game.
Comments
Seems to me you need your hand held to understand the game and that learning through actual gameplay is too hard. If all you see is random use of combos you are simply playing with people who spend no time learning. Its not hard to figure out the combos and especially easy to learn which ones YOUR character can do and work from that starting point.
Also failure to use the Wiki would be fine 15 years ago, if you CHOOSE to ignore the info readily available to you then you choose failure.
Once again, having players really heavily on a wiki for basic game mechanics is a failure on the game design, not the player. Some things are understandable to need a wiki for, like how those combinations work. I wouldn't mind if Anet left it to players to figure out a good majority of the combo fields. The problem is the fact that they are never introduced at all besides an obscure, badly-written tooltip under each ability. Even the most "hardcore" games have gameplay designs that introduce basic mechanics. It's not like combo fields are such a commodity in the mmo genre that we can assume they exist, either. They only reason the rest of the game holds up is because most people have played an mmo before, which means they know the basics of mmo combat.
Other mechanics of the game, such as hearts and dynamic events, are introduced pretty nicely. For example, the tutorial of the game surrounds you with the things, revealing the orange circle on the minimap along with the goal in the corner. The player has the opportunity to understand that, hey, these orange goals use those orange circles. The events are easy so the player can figure it out, and then they are thrown into a world where they now know what to do with the orange circles. Sure, not all the orange circles are the same, but the player has some kind of direction.
Combo fields have no introduction at all. If anything, it's the opposite of direction. Most of the PvE experience is solo-able, so when they enter a group and have no idea what a combo-field is, it's not their fault. Their mind subconsiously blocks out the tooltip because they had no need for the combo-field before. Not everyone likes to go on a wiki for a casual game. They just want to play and have fun.
I use and set up combo fields when solo ALL THE TIME. If you are so casual you just want to play and have fun then let combos happen randomly like others seem to claim. If you truly want to learn the game you research places like the wiki and the game forums. Anyone saying otherwise is simply handicapping themselves. If you dont want to take time to learn too bad, I am so tired of people wanting their hands held. If you are blocking the tool tip subconciously or otherwise then you are the type who wont learn.
I am so tired of the excuses people give like when they say they close tool tips because they are full of useless information, then they complain that the information was missed. If you dont read or spend time learning you are always going to be below average.
Thanks Kanubis, didn't know this at all. I need to read up on the mechanics. I have no issue experimenting but I feel mechanics should be explained. Will check out tonight.
Once again, you misunderstand what I'm saying. Not every class can set-up and execute a combo field on their own, especially if they decide they like a particular pair of weapons and set of skills. Now, I agree with you on some of the more hardcore aspects of the game. If you want to know exactly how strength and precision compares to condition damage and vitality on your engineer, heck yeah! Use the wiki. Experiment! Figure out what works best, and be rewarded for that effort!
I'm talking about a mechanic of the game that is necessary to succeed in some places. I'm not asking the developer to hold someone's hand and give a list of every possible field, I'm asking them to naturally introduce combo fields in the game in a way that makes them more significant. Right now there is very little indication that combo fields exist. And when they appear, it's often times in the heat of a short battle where you can't really tell what effect the field is having and things like that.
I'm not talking about a level 80 player being ignorant to combo fields. At this level, yes most people know about them. I'm talking about a level 35 running AC for the first, second, or third time. Many people (myself included) have complained about the dungeon system being messy and unorganized mainly because we missed this very crucial aspect of the game. Don't act like it's an obvious system, because it really isn't. Even though it's a very basic and fundemental part of group content, it's never explained or given any significance whatsoever.
I hate it when people like you get so worked up over something that's barely effecting the game. What I asked for is an optional quest that allows people to more naturally get introduced to the idea of a FUNDEMENTAL MECHANIC of the game. It would take maybe 10 minutes to complete, and it would allow lower level players who are brand new to the game to experience a new element of combat that's unique to this mmo for the most part. No, it wouldn't stop the exploration of the mechanic. No, it wouldn't make the game easier. No, it wouldn't be hand holding. Hand-holding is not introducing basic parts of the game in a natural way. This is called good game design, and it's been implemented in all sorts of hardcore classics from The Legend of Zelda to Dark Souls.
Let me see if I have this right. I am all worked up over something you say is BARELY effecting the game, but its a fundemental mechanic that you are WORKED up about because it is not spoon fed to the masses?
So I am the one worked up but not you? Could they do it better? Yes, but at the same time people here are using the excuse that casual players might not read about the game. Sorry but if you choose to ignore sources of valuable information and then make excuses about it you are an enabler.
Agreed. I checked the Wiki but first off all it's hard to memorize which combo you can pull of which works for what other class.
And it probably only works with a group of peopel who worked with each other before, use teamspeak etc.
So, I tried to find combos I could pull of myself on my own. I only found one so far. (use it all the time, it is ace)
For many years I have been taught that if you see someonthign on the ground...move out of the fire!!!
So, now it's hard to tell if the stuff on the ground is from friend or foe. Not that it matters, because on my warrior I have great difficutly even seeing the mob we are gighting (group content) due to the AOE going on. Plus my mouse usually is unresponsive/lost due to screen lag or whatever it's called.
While it isn't a big deal to me personally since I understand all the combo fields and what they do at this point, I'm all in favor of introductory/tutorial scenarios that properly allow players to experience the various nuances of game mechanics at least on a novice level.
Then they're encouraged to use what they've learned and build on it on their own as they go along.
1.) Pop combo field ability
2.) Use ranged attack
3.) Profit.
Its really simple, and honestly, your most likely not going to even worry about 'combo fields' much at all in game as they will happen quite naturally, so long as you don't poorly aim skills.
If your talking about effect... then yes... they really need to describe status effects and the likes far better. Its almost like they try to hide it to make the game look far more complex then it really is which isn't really a good thing.
You got to experiment a bit with mystic forge too in regards to crafting. It is a bit like combo fields for combat.
You can easily combine four pieces of blue or green junk of the similar levels and type (ie. shoulders, pistols, etc) using mystic forge and have a pretty good chance of getting something rare or exotic level.
No, you still have it wrong. I'm saying that a tutorial, a solution to the problem at hand, would barely affect the game. Combo-fields, on the other hand, are a big deal and are something that I feel need to be introduced better. This is twice that you've misunderstood me, which tells me that you are very bad at understanding what I think is the problem at hand. Please take more time when reading someone's post and replying to it. My solution and my thoughts have been pretty clear.
Yeah the OP has a point.. ANET ahould have a tutorial solely dedicated to combo fiels.. not only because of the lack of formal ingame information... but also due to the massive amount of improvements it gives to your playstyle...
i started using combos at lvl 75.. and belive me when i say, the chnage is hugeee. you kill a lot more faster, but the thing im impresed the most are the defensive posibilities.. my mesmer with the right combo somewhat gets untouchable for arround 4 sec, pretty nice uh?
totally agree.
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No actually now you are clear. The reason I am bad at understanding you is because you were not as clear as you thought you were. Happens a lot online, the idea in your or my head seems perfectly clear but the typed version fails to convey those same thoughts as clearly as they sounded in our own heads.
This is true.
And Engineers has a decent number of both combo starters and finishers, but comparatively speaking Engineer's uncomboed attacks also seems a bit weaker than either Warriors or Necro.
I think they have created an interesting way balancing the professions.
Unfortunately for me my favorite weapon combinations on my Guardian provide a few fields and ZERO finishers. In order to get fineshers I need to use weapons I am not as enamored with but may have to go with at some point. Kind of a shame since my current weapon choices have a nice synergy with my style of play.
Yeah I can understand I've played Guardian a bit too.
Guardian's base attacks is a fair bit stronger than Engineers though (just from my personal feeling, seems to kill a lot faster without combo with guardian).
Yeah I would agree the guardian kills faster sans combos and like I said I have fields I just lack finishers. Thats ok though my main is a Ranger and they do have a nice selection of fields and a few finishers so I can do my own combos as needed.
My guy is in his 40's and I only learned about combos from this site to be honest. The only in game indication I ever saw was:
Combo Finisher: Projectile
I'm willing to admit I might have missed something but I have to agree with the OP and the majority it seems like that it isn't really expalined at all in the game. Certain classes have a lot easier time performing combos by themselves and I can easliy see how some people might not notice. I can't combo between both my weapon sets yet an ele can use any weapon to perform a combo.
I wanna add that the Wiki does a great job at explaining all the different combos, but even after learning each type I feel like there should be more of an indication in game.
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