Secondary Profession Changer in Pre-Searing

SardaTheSage

SardaTheSage

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jul 2007

The Order of Chaos Reborn[ToC]

E/

Edit, quoting my second post because it really says all that needs to be said:

Quote:
The problem here is that it is possible to screw up your character in a way that cannot be fixed short of starting a new character. With the recent changes to survivor, it seems like ANet is trying to move away from allowing that sort of situation. Now, there are only 2 situations I can think of in which you can permanently have a character stuck in an inconvenient situation.

1) You accidentally leave pre-searing.
2) You plan to stay in pre-searing and chose the wrong secondary.

Problem #1 cannot be fixed because that would mean allowing characters to return to pre-searing, which would ruin the whole point of it. #2 on the other hand, has a relatively simple solution, so why not fix it?
Last week's update brought a few changes to pre-searing that have, I think, breathed new life into that particular aspect of the game. I myself have started playing on my perma-pre monk again and am going to try for a second LDoA (my current one is post-searing). Unfortunately, I have found myself in a bit of a bad situation.

Since I no longer really felt the need to start saving quests for level 19, I began questing and soon ended up choosing a secondary profession. I almost immediately regretted my choice of secondary profession. This was further compounded when I found out that there is a new skill trainer that makes it possible to learn skills that were previously restricted to primary professions only in pre (e.g. Flare and Empathy), which would have affected my decision.

So, now, having made a poor decision, I am forced to choose between the following options: 1) Delete my 44-month old character and start over, 2) struggle on with a mediocre secondary profession, or 3) buy another character slot and start over.

Given the recent update to pre-searing, it seems reasonable to me that ANet could provide an alternative - a profession changer that becomes available once the player has reached a certain level (either level 10, as with the skills trainer, or perhaps level 15 if ANet feels 10 is too low).

The only possible downside that I could see to this is that some people, for whatever reason, might feel the need to reach that level and unlock all the secondaries before leaving pre. The solution to this would be that when a character leaves pre-searing, they become locked in their current secondary profession until the normal criteria for changing secondary professions have been met. This way, the change would only affect those who plan to stay in pre-searing. For those leaving, it would generally be easier to leave and then change their secondary than to try and level up to the point that they could do it in pre (since all you need to do is get to LA then go to GToB).

Any thoughts/comments?

Rites

Rites

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Dec 2010

Deep in the belly of Texas

R/

if they do this, then they might as well provide all the other bonuses that you get from post ie: max armor, storage, henchies/heroes

seriously, pre was only meant as a training ground. the reasoning behind the recent updates was to make it easier to get LDoA without their servers being full of deathlevelers. now you want one of the benefits of actually moving on to be implemented into the beginning of the game?

ascension is a big part of the prophecies storyline which allows you to then change secondaries, if they allow you to ascend in pre, then the whole story goes down the drain.

/NOTsigned

the game has become so boringly easy, and still people want it easier, pathetic

plus not to mention the fact that you want the devs to make changes based off of a stupid judgement call on your part. a little petty don't you think

go cubs

go cubs

Jungle Guide

Join Date: May 2007

Chicago

[SIR]

D/

Ok, true storyline would be fked....


yeah, Itd be nice though, I guess i can just finish my LDoA haha...Mo/E is fun is shit tho...

SardaTheSage

SardaTheSage

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jul 2007

The Order of Chaos Reborn[ToC]

E/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rites View Post
if they do this, then they might as well provide all the other bonuses that you get from post ie: max armor, storage, henchies/heroes

seriously, pre was only meant as a training ground. the reasoning behind the recent updates was to make it easier to get LDoA without their servers being full of deathlevelers. now you want one of the benefits of actually moving on to be implemented into the beginning of the game?

ascension is a big part of the prophecies storyline which allows you to then change secondaries, if they allow you to ascend in pre, then the whole story goes down the drain.

/NOTsigned

the game has become so boringly easy, and still people want it easier, pathetic

plus not to mention the fact that you want the devs to make changes based off of a stupid judgement call on your part. a little petty don't you think
No, I don't want any of those things, and I think that pre is fine without them. The problem here is that it is possible to screw up your character in a way that cannot be fixed short of starting a new character. With the recent changes to survivor, it seems like ANet is trying to move away from allowing that sort of situation. Now, there are only 2 situations I can think of in which you can permanently have a character stuck in an inconvenient situation.

1) You accidentally leave pre-searing.
2) You plan to stay in pre-searing and chose the wrong secondary.

Problem #1 cannot be fixed because that would mean allowing characters to return to pre-searing, which would ruin the whole point of it. #2 on the other hand, has a relatively simple solution, so why not fix it?

Rites

Rites

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Dec 2010

Deep in the belly of Texas

R/

Quote:
Originally Posted by SardaTheSage View Post
2) You plan to stay in pre-searing and chose the wrong secondary.

Problem #1 cannot be fixed because that would mean allowing characters to return to pre-searing, which would ruin the whole point of it. #2 on the other hand, has a relatively simple solution, so why not fix it?
because your solution for problem #2 is based upon an aspect of the game that you earn when you achieve the proper level/quest in the storyline.

with your chain of thought, then they should make it so you can change secondaries from the starting point in all campaigns, which would break the storylines completely

pre is a TRAINING ground, thats why they let you test all the secondaries before you choose. just because your ignorance caused you to choose the wrong profession does not mean that the whole game should be broken to accommodate you. if you dont like your secondary, then PROGRESS in the storyline to where you need to go so you can change it

RedDog91

RedDog91

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Oct 2007

Farming for Nick gifts

R/

In order to change your secondary in Tyria, you must be ascended. The quest of ascension takes place in the Crystal Desrt, which you cannot access in pre-searing.

I don't want to be the one that has to explain to Turai Osa that he and his followers died for nothing in the desert when they could have searched for ascension in the lush green fields of Ascalon.

Shayne Hawke

Shayne Hawke

Departed from Tyria

Join Date: May 2007

Clan Dethryche [dth]

R/

You can already change your secondary as much as you want in pre-Searing. All you need to do is not accept the rewards from the quests that would give you a secondary. It doesn't count as your secondary profession, and you lose the option to re-learn those skills if you complete the quest, but you essentially do have the option to switch your secondary while you are in pre-Searing.

If you are going for LDoA or LS, I have no idea why you would make your secondary to be anything besides Ranger, unless you are already a Ranger.

Rites

Rites

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Dec 2010

Deep in the belly of Texas

R/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shayne Hawke View Post
You can already change your secondary as much as you want in pre-Searing. All you need to do is not accept the rewards from the quests that would give you a secondary. It doesn't count as your secondary profession, and you lose the option to re-learn those skills if you complete the quest, but you essentially do have the option to switch your secondary while you are in pre-Searing.

If you are going for LDoA or LS, I have no idea why you would make your secondary to be anything besides Ranger, unless you are already a Ranger.
but that was the reason of his whole post. he made a stupid mistake and accepted the rewards thus plugging him into a secondary that he now regrets. so his solution to this problem is to break the storyline so he doesn't have to start over

SardaTheSage

SardaTheSage

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jul 2007

The Order of Chaos Reborn[ToC]

E/

In Nightfall, you just need to do the quests for building up the Command Post in order to change secondaries, and as far as I know, no explanation is ever given for why this is possible, but I don't see people complaining about it. If ANet is worried about the lore, they can put in a quest requirement for it. Personally, I don't care and it wouldn't ruin my immersion or anything.

I appreciate Tyria's rich lore and I enjoy the GW storyline, but I don't think it's all that relevant to the suggestion here. I'm just thinking about this from a game design perspective. Lore can be fabricated to accommodate the change if necessary.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shayne Hawke View Post
You can already change your secondary as much as you want in pre-Searing. All you need to do is not accept the rewards from the quests that would give you a secondary. It doesn't count as your secondary profession, and you lose the option to re-learn those skills if you complete the quest, but you essentially do have the option to switch your secondary while you are in pre-Searing.

If you are going for LDoA or LS, I have no idea why you would make your secondary to be anything besides Ranger, unless you are already a Ranger.
You can't put attribute points in secondary attributes unless you choose a secondary. Also, /Me is better.

Kojima

Kojima

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Sep 2010

Home

En Caligne Veritas [DARK]

R/Rt

Don see the need for a profession changer at all in pre.
1) You can change your secondary as often as you need to without any problems as long as you do not give in the quest. If you did, then it is your lost.
2) Pre searing is in Tyria storyline and the only way in Tyria to change your profession is to ascend. This should not be changed just because the other two campaigns had made it easier. Pre-sear Ascalon has nothing to do with the other two campaigns.
3) So you have made a mistake. Learn from it by either starting over or not. I can imagine the amount of mistakes everyone made in the game, even the best of us. We all learn not to do certain things again and again to get what we all got.

Rites

Rites

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Dec 2010

Deep in the belly of Texas

R/

Quote:
Originally Posted by SardaTheSage View Post
In Nightfall, you just need to do the quests for building up the Command Post in order to change secondaries, and as far as I know, no explanation is ever given for why this is possible, but I don't see people complaining about it.
in building the command post your character takes command of the sunspears, and the benefit for that is the ability to change your secondary

in cantha, by becoming Weh no Su, you are able to channel your energies better to combat the spirits (Shiro). with this renewed insight, you are able to learn more than the average mortal (aka second class can be changed)

in tyria: Quoted from Guild Wars Wiki:
Quote:
Ascension is a legendary feat that gives characters the blessings of the gods of Tyria, and the gift of True Sight.
so you are saying you want the characters to be able to recieve the blessings of the gods earlier just because of your ignorance?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chrisworld View Post
I was wondering how long it would take before someone suggested this. We were lucky enough to get the "updates" to Pre-Searing as is, and even they are a little bit out of league for the tutorial area.
/agreed

the simple fact of the matter is that pre-searing was only meant to be a training field, it was never their intention for people to stay. the fact that people have however, has caused some changes to be made to accommodate those players, but if you stick in all aspects of the game into pre, then why should anyone move on in the storyline?

SardaTheSage

SardaTheSage

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jul 2007

The Order of Chaos Reborn[ToC]

E/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rites View Post
the simple fact of the matter is that pre-searing was only meant to be a training field, it was never their intention for people to stay. the fact that people have however, has caused some changes to be made to accommodate those players, but if you stick in all aspects of the game into pre, then why should anyone move on in the storyline?
I edited my second post into the OP because you all seem to be ignoring it. You're missing the point entirely.

The potential for a player to screw up their character in a way that is irreparable seems to be contrary to ANet's design philosophy.

Indigo Diablo

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Mar 2011

Arkansas

[emd]

N/

Quote:
Originally Posted by SardaTheSage View Post
The potential for a player to screw up their character in a way that is irreparable seems to be contrary to ANet's design philosophy.
Grab hold of yourself there; you can repair the character. Suffer through your bad choice, get LDoA, sear, ascend. That will solve your problem.

Think if you were making this statement about your primary profession. "But I really wanted a Necromancer!"

Rites

Rites

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Dec 2010

Deep in the belly of Texas

R/

Quote:
Originally Posted by SardaTheSage View Post
contrary to ANet's design philosophy.
having a perma pre character also falls into this. whats your arguement on that

SardaTheSage

SardaTheSage

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jul 2007

The Order of Chaos Reborn[ToC]

E/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rites View Post
having a perma pre character also falls into this. whats your arguement on that
It's true that it was not intended, but it is something that they have been trying to accommodate.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Indigo Diablo View Post
Grab hold of yourself there; you can repair the character. Suffer through your bad choice, get LDoA, sear, ascend. That will solve your problem.

Think if you were making this statement about your primary profession. "But I really wanted a Necromancer!"
I have no intention of ever leaving pre on this character. I already have an LDoA in post-searing. As for your second point - nice strawman btw - that was a choice made in character creation, which is quite different from gameplay consequences. At the point when you made that decision, you had nothing invested in the character.

Rites

Rites

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Dec 2010

Deep in the belly of Texas

R/

Quote:
Originally Posted by SardaTheSage View Post


I have no intention of ever leaving pre on this character.
then you have one choice... suffer the consequences of your mistakes by having a secondary you do not like.

ANet has done enough "Accommodating" for a training area, they dont need to do anymore.

Kook~NBK~

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: Mar 2005

A little chalet outside Drok's

Natural Born Killaz

/not signed.

1. More experienced players shouldn't make the mistake of choosing the wrong secondary.

2. If one isn't happy with their choice of secondaries in Pre-searing, they haven't invested that much time in that character, so re-rolling isn't a big deal.

3. It's Pre-searing - an area that is very forgiving of mistakes like that, even when dealing with the higher-level enemies that come with the new quests. (And even on into post.)

4. New players are generally interested in playing through & learning the game, not grinding out some obscure (to them) title. So they won't be hanging out in pre-searing anyway

5. It seems to me that this suggestion has an ulterior motive - to allow players who have taken a secondary profession the ability, however limited, to modify their builds when tackling the new quests. Taking a secondary profession is something that experienced, aspiring LDoA's would not do until they reached 16 or 19 prior to the update since they know that saving that XP for later is the better option. (By that time, one would hope that one would know the "best" secondary to take before accepting it.)

Scorpion Knifehand

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Feb 2011

Dude, it's Pre. You can't really mess up your secondary. I'm sure that whatever you're stuck with will kill everything there just fine.

drkn

drkn

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jan 2009

Wroc??aw, Poland

Midnight Mayhem

Me/

If you're planning LDoA, you're probably already an experienced PvE player, bored with post-searing enough to get back to pre.
If you're planning perma-pre char, see above.
Story-wise, you gain the ability to change your secondary only after ascension, or similar act in the other campaigns.
Mechanically, you can switch your secondary as long as you don't accept the quest reward, which is not useful anyway.

I've made E/N that's going for LDoA, accepted the quests, and i'd love to change it to E/Mo or E/Me instead, but meh - it's not worth breaking the game's story and flooding pre with even more NPCs.

Aeronwen

Aeronwen

not so much fell as.....

Join Date: Jan 2009

UK

bone

R/

No I do not think you should be allowed to change secondaries in pre. If you made a mistake either live with it or restart.

Pre has already been ruined to accommodate those who want title without effort.

But I do think that it is illogical for the skills npc to offer skills for your primary/secondary but not to offer the free skills that you get when taking (not completing) the initial secondary quests if you still have not yet accepted a secondary.

rokocoko

Academy Page

Join Date: Aug 2008

E/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kook~NBK~ View Post
5. It seems to me that this suggestion has an ulterior motive - to allow players who have taken a secondary profession the ability, however limited, to modify their builds when tackling the new quests. Taking a secondary profession is something that experienced, aspiring LDoA's would not do until they reached 16 or 19 prior to the update since they know that saving that XP for later is the better option. (By that time, one would hope that one would know the "best" secondary to take before accepting it.)
^^ this.

You said you have another LDoA character in post-searing, so you must have some experience with the game ("pre" included). No need to mess up the story for some "mistake".

/not signed

akelarumi

akelarumi

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Nov 2009

E/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rites View Post
ANet has done enough "Accommodating" for a training area, they dont need to do anymore.
hmmmm, I tend to disagree on this point. First of all I want to thank Anet for the recent changes to pre-searing.

To the OP i would say I disagree. One of the charming things bout pre are the limitations. If you can't handle them, don't go perma pre.

There are however some things to make pre even more interesting for perma-pre chars.

1: pre to post taxi npc.
Now you need a free characterslot and help from a friend/guildmember to get your stuff out. It would be awesome to have an NPC holding your stuff for future use. My thoughts would be professor Yakington (with all his bags). In pre you can give your pre items to him and in post you go to him and he gives them back. This works only from pre to post and not the other way around off course. How serious this is depends of the difficulties to program this.

2: Event npc's. You can farm event items. You can get them, but you can't use them in pre. So make an event npc then exchanges the event drops to something usefull/wanted in pre (e.g. the event masks).

3: mentioned by someone else in a different topic: a costume trader.

4: make Kimmes capable of dedicating miniatures to the HoM as well.

gremlin

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Oct 2006

GWAR

Me/Mo

No to profession changer in pre

The reason is simple it should become fairly obvious quite early that you have chosen badly not that this will make much difference anyway.

You have so few skills and points that splitting between 2 classes or using many secondary skills is unlikely.
Starting again is the easy way out.

If it was possible to get your character really high before a problem becomes obvious it would be worth considering.
In which case I would put it in the store and charge for it so players didn't abuse it.

MithranArkanere

MithranArkanere

Underworld Spelunker

Join Date: Nov 2006

wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigo

Heraldos de la Llama Oscura [HLO]

E/

There are a few choices for secondary profession in pre:
- Ranger or Monk if you are a warrior.
- Monk or Necromancer if you re mesmer
- Monk or Mesmer if you are anything else.
You can't change secondaries without ascending, and you can't ascend in Pre.

As much as I'd like to be able to change builds without making another character or leaving pre-Searing, there are things you just don't change.
There... Limits.

This is one of those limits.

X Dr Pepper X

X Dr Pepper X

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Apr 2008

The Mirror of Reason [SNOW]

R/

What is wrong with people in this thread?

They ooze stupidity. Morons attempting elitism.

What OP asks for is reasonable enough. The ability to correct mistakes without longterm consequences is a part of ANet's game philosophy.

BUT

It would be difficult to implement it.

If one were to find a nice solution that both lets people fix these mistakes while not affecting any other part of the game, then I don't see the problem.

drkn

drkn

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jan 2009

Wroc??aw, Poland

Midnight Mayhem

Me/

Quote:
Morons attempting elitism.
Keeping the storyline is elitism for you? oO

Missing HB

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Mar 2010

Anna

A/

I see no argument nor example to say why being able to change sec prof in pre-searing would be useful, thus /notsigned...

I know it's annoying because you mention 44 month old char , but that's the same resort of old characters with bad names , bad look , etc... ( ok , yo ucan pay to change , but it's still much..)

X Dr Pepper X

X Dr Pepper X

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Apr 2008

The Mirror of Reason [SNOW]

R/

Quote:
Originally Posted by drkn View Post
Keeping the storyline is elitism for you? oO
No. How did you even conclude this from my post?

Keeping the story intact is sensible.

Shitty posts like this are just blatant dickery:

Quote:
so you are saying you want the characters to be able to recieve the blessings of the gods earlier just because of your ignorance?

Hyaon

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: May 2005

P/W

/signed

It gets boring using the same bar from charr hunts/quests, it'd be nice to vary it up!

Roen

Roen

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Jun 2010

GMT-5

[Nite]

R/

I like the new daily quests. I've a level 15 E/Mo that I started DL-ing before the latest update. It's boring and tedious as all get out. The dailies are much more enjoyable. It sucks for all the LDoAs before me but I'd be willing to accept an asterisk behind my LDoA title if that makes you feel better.

Also, I chose E/Mo (because I wanted to dye her all black and have an emo character...ha ha aren't I punny).

Lastly, no. Definitely should not be a profession changer in Pre. It would completely break the whole prophecies storyline. If you want the flexibility of changing secondaries, don't accept and lock in your secondary. If you already have, sorry...go post.

/notsigned

liqwde

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Mar 2011

wolves of the wild

R/E

Look. I don't agree or disagree. But added it would be easy. Add an NPC that erases memory. You lose your secondary and all skills, money, and and skills points spent on it. You could even go as far as removing an experience earned while you had that profession. Doesn't interfere with the story and comes at a cost.

Marverick

Marverick

Forge Runner

Join Date: Aug 2006

R/

Make it available only after you get to level 20.

If you need "story" justification, well, by achieving level 20 you've acquired enough experience to be able to learn more than 2 professions. there.
Isn't GW2 about having multiple paths to the same thing, and you get to choose the path? Well this would be like that then...

Ascension doesn't inherently have anything to do with changing professions anyway.

NerfHerder

NerfHerder

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Apr 2010

As much as I would love to change the 2 year old secondary on my Ranger in Pre, I gotta say no.

After I get LDoA, I will be making another toon just for pre, and I will get it right this time.

Swingline

Swingline

Forge Runner

Join Date: Sep 2010

Somewhere far away from you

The Mirror of Reason[SNOW]

W/

/notsigned

Like ppl have said, pre is a training ground. ANet have added sh*t tons of stuff to pre that never should have happened and yet ppl still want more.

Sir Mad

Sir Mad

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Apr 2006

Moe's Pub

Pigs Can Fly [Pigs]

R/

/not signed - where is the pre I used to love?

No more post searing stuff in pre, please. That's too much already.

reaper with no name

reaper with no name

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Apr 2009

FaZ

D/

Quote:
Originally Posted by X Dr Pepper X View Post
What is wrong with people in this thread?

They ooze stupidity. Morons attempting elitism.

What OP asks for is reasonable enough. The ability to correct mistakes without longterm consequences is a part of ANet's game philosophy.

BUT

It would be difficult to implement it.

If one were to find a nice solution that both lets people fix these mistakes while not affecting any other part of the game, then I don't see the problem.
Bolded for emphasis.

/signed

MithranArkanere

MithranArkanere

Underworld Spelunker

Join Date: Nov 2006

wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigo

Heraldos de la Llama Oscura [HLO]

E/

The thing is, you need to ascend to change secondaries.

As much as I'd love it too, there are limitations in everything. And this is beyond pre-Searing's limitations.

reaper with no name

reaper with no name

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Apr 2009

FaZ

D/

Do you "need" to ascend, or is that just an arbitrary game limitation (and a minor one, at that)?

Brixton

Brixton

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: May 2011

The backlash here is surprising. It's not an unreasonable request--and frankly, given the "training ground" arguments it seems like you shouldn't be locked into a secondary until after you're forced to leave pre-searing anyway.

But seriously, what's with all the hardcore roleplaying going on in here? Throwing the gods' blessings in their face and whatnot? You can run straight to Droknar's Forge from Ascalon City and beat Prophecies without even ascending. Yet you're complaining that the ability to try out other secondaries when you have more skill points would break the game? Seriously--no need to worry about the storyline being broken.

If people care about the story they'll go through each quest and take their time. I guarantee most people don't care that much and are only heading for end-game content. On top of that, I can ensure you no one likes being forced into someone else's preferences for a robust immersive rp experience.

This is a completely reasonable request that wouldn't affect anything. Most of these replies sound like a whole lot of "I walked 10 miles barefoot through the snow because I made a mistake, and everyone else should have to!"

Coast

Coast

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jul 2006

Belgium

Whats Going On [sup]

Mo/

not signed, we can't go to pre neither.
So if we don't get our toys then u in pre also may not get ur toys.
/end rant