Mabi improving Guildwars 2

Part of my Explorer of Tyria journal - you can find the rest here!

For some reason GW2 no longer lets me log on to their forum... I wonder why. Anyway, I feel that they can take a leaf out of Mabinogi on ways to improve the game. Recently they've been adding basic musical instruments into the game which is pretty good, unfortunately they are cash shop items though making them not as accessible to the general public and are a far cry from what you can achieve with the instruments in Mabi. Also I feel they missed out on a good opportunity with those balloon rides being instant teleporters as opposed to actual floating dirigibles that people can fly in, even if they were just "on tracks" to begin with.

Mounts of any sort would be a good addition actually, especially the flying kind. I imagine that would cheapen most jumping puzzles though. "Music and mounts are not needed," I hear you say. True, but they would add another factor to the game. One I think that would be positive, especially when you can do things like this.

They also should put more silly attires in their store, as well as let people fight in "town clothes". If the population of Mabi is anything to go by then at least half the players would prefer to be dressed in cat, cow, or penguin costumes while doing everything from lazily fishing at a stream to fighting giant dragons. Could be an untapped market there! They would also look incredibly cute. :3

Lastly the Living Story in GW2 updates every two weeks with temporary content to generally mixed reviews. Mabinogi also has temporary events  every two weeks that keeps the world "changing" but in addition adds story content in a more permanent fashion in the form of Generation quests. This may simply be possible on how they structured their game though. Sure, it means some NPCs can be seen or not seen based on where people are up to storywise which creates the odd occurence of player A interacting with something player B cannot see (and thrown into instances for story based combat) but on the whole it still works pretty well. If GW2 incorporates this it would certainly lessen the rushed feeling some people are getting at the very least.

Generation 8 Tips - The Unfair Dragon

After that let down of an ending in Generation 7, you'll probably want to get right into this and you will shortly be introduced to the volcanic region of Zardine. Lots of new stuff up here but I'm just going to focus first on the story-arc specific problem spots:

Par Ruins Unicorn (fastest solo)
Before trying this dungeon you should do yourself a favour and raise your taming to rank A or better. You'll be needing it in a few spots in the future, and it will save you some time later on. Par will not be as bad as your last visit here in G7 and there shouldn't be anything in here that you need help with. If you are getting beaten by wicked penguins or ice worms then you are doing something wrong. The boss room contains a single cute unicorn that you must tame. If you kill it, you will need to run the dungeon again.

Hella Longa (as Kelpie)
You will be missing the otter from G7 at this point. Kelpie has crap gear and even worse skills. Expect to spend a few hours in what is perhaps the most annoying RP quest in the game thus far. In rooms where the desert ghosts go "invisible" try sketch them to level as an alternate method to "heal". Also use up whatever AP he can scrounge to help end this nightmare sooner.

Renes Taming
This is where previous taming ranking will come in handy. You'll need to tame yourself some Anteaters and Boars in the Renes region and in case things go awry, both use "pig" AI and only know Counter and Defense (the boars have low heavy stander though). Reaching the boars at Pera can be scary but is pretty straight forward. If running, don't stop for anything and try steer clear of any black leopards, balrogs or big dragons (you'll get to fight one later :P) in the way. If flying, keep low and away from the wyverns in this region as they can and will attack you, making you crash to the ground. Mark the mana tunnels in that region to facilitate faster transport later on.

Baby Balloon (fastest solo, more fun with friends)
You'll also need to collect some "stars" from wyvern hunting and to do that you need to go ballooning. This can be a really fun exercise for a group and I suggest bringing at least one other person with you on your first trip and each carry a flint or two (fuel) with a large balloon. Once you get used to the balloon controls and how to refuel, position your craft near the outskirts of a wyvern cluster. The best way to bring down wyverns are with magnum shot, bolt magic (depending on wyvern type) or ballista (in that order) as the wyvern tries to do its fly-by breath attack. You don't need to collect all the stars in one go, but you should get them all without leaving the area or handing them in to Kelpie for a reward. Ballooning is another quick exploration exp collection method, but it depends on how much you like ballooning and how good you are at ranged combat.

Fossil Cleaning
While fossils drop from most of the critters in Zardine, the fastest way to get one is to grab a pick axe and head to the sulphur pits. Dig one up from the rocks, preferably the ones that don't look like golems! You'll get poisoned while digging in the area (and if you've smelled sulfur before then you know why) but you shouldn't be too worried about it. Once you have a fossil get out of the fumes then "use" it to start the cleaning mini-game - you just have to remove all the dirt outside the fossil picture. Artists used to using a mouse will find this really easy. Fastest way to get the result you need is to first outline the shape (how close to the line is up to you, if you are a novice stay a bit far). Afterwards, switch to the largest brush in the top right corner and get rid of anything from your outline to the border of the minigame. Just with that you've already removed like 60-80% of the dirt. With your remaining time, switch to the smallest brush and try get as close to the lines as possible, without going over them. If you are exceptionally good at it, this method will also trump the Cor circuit for exploration gain as there is no idiot named Voight who will screw up half your stuff. :P

*Dun Dun DUUUUUUUUUN!*

Bad Dragon (bring a team)
You can bring up to eight people with you to face the final boss of this arc. Try bring at least six. This bad boy is nothing like the dragon in Generation 3, and almost all his attacks will make you go deadly or die. It is recommended you go in with a high % of level exp (99% ideal) so that you can use it to respawn within his cave. At -100% you will not be able to respawn via that method anymore and will either need to wait for a feather res or use up a Nao stone (to get ressed Nao :P). You cannot attack this guy when he flies up so this is the time to get onto a fast mount and run as it is the signal that he is about to use one of two unfair orbital strikes.

Meteor swarm features big rocks falling and exploding all over the place, but his lightning storm is more dangerous and lasts longer - safer to wait for the bastard to land and let the effect wear off before rushing him again. When he is on the ground, he may use his flame breath which kills anything in a cone in front of him so circle wide around if you find yourself there. He also has a tail swipe which kills anyone in a wide arc in-front of him as well as a charging move that goes in a straight line forward. Expect to die a bit and bring plenty of feathers. You can regain EXP by sacrificing your pets to the dragon's attacks then ressing them. Also you do double damage if you manage to attack the beast's throat, but if you're doing that then you are likely standing where -all- his attacks can hit you back. Just keep at him and eventually he will die, earning you a powerful ability that you can use in the future.

You can also try the Renes Egg-Guarding game (which doesn't make much sense) but since I've not done it properly yet, I'll have to write about it some other time. ^_^