Introducing the Ultimate Armor Challenge!

Introducing a new elite armor with a nice challenge element to obtain. This new elite armor called Ectoplasmic Armor will challenge you not only in pve but also pvp to show you have what it takes to master the game in both aspects. You will need to complete several challenging areas throughout the game in hard mode, gather lots of ectos, and play through lots of various types of pvp. You will be doing this to gather parts necessary for the armor crafter to build your new armor.

These parts will be bound to your account so they will not be tradable, droppable, or allow for any method for them to be transferred to another account. These parts consist of two categories, battered pieces and tokens. The battered pieces are earned through difficult pve battles and the tokens are awarded through pvp battles.

Once you gather your parts you make one last battle in the Underworld and have your armor set crafted at a npc. The npc will have a challenging spawning requirement that prevents a player from simply buying a run! The new ectoplasmic armor will be very rewarding because it will be both beautiful to the eye and also symbolic of your victories. Details on obtaining the parts as follows…


Battered Chest Piece Left Side – Obtained for free from Spirit of the Domain Of Anguish, spawns at death of Mallyx in Hard Mode
Battered Chest Piece Right Side – Obtained for free from Spirit of Slayer’s Exile, spawns at death of Duncan the Black in hard mode
Battered Head Piece – Obtained for free from Spirit of Sorrows Furnace, Spawns at destruction of The Iron Forgeman in hard mode
Batttered Left Arm Piece – Obtained for free from Spirit of Urgoz Warren, spawns at death of Urgoz in Hard Mode
Battered Right Arm Piece – Obtained for free from Spirit of the Deep , spawns at death of Kanaxii in Hard Mode
Battered Right Foot Piece – Obtained for free from Spirit of the Ruins of the Tomb of the primeval king, spawns upon killing all of three of the darknesses in hard mode
Battered Left Foot Piece – Obtained for free from Spirit of the Fissure of Woe, spawns upon completing all quests in hard mode


Champion’s Token – 1 awarded for each Guild vs. Guild Victory
Hero’s Token – 1 awarded for each hall of heroes Victory
Codex Token – 1 awarded for the first Codex Victory after the first
Gladiator’s Token – 1 awarded for the first Random Arena victory after the first
Luxon’s Token – 1 awarded for each Alliance Battle as a Luxon
Kurzick’s Token – 1 awarded for each Alliance Battle as a Kurzick

Armor Crafting Requirements

Spirit of the Underworld Armor Crafter – Spawns upon Defeating Dhuum in Hardmode but only if you are in an all hero party! This extra challenge will ensure that you have what it takes all by yourself and prevent you from simply buying a run!!!
Ectoplasmic Head Piece – 250 Ectos, 5 Champion’s Tokens, Battered Head Piece, 20 Platinum
Ectoplasmic Chest Piece – 250 Ectos, 5 Hero’s Tokens, Battered Chest Piece Left Side, Battered Chest Piece Right Side, 20 Platinum
Ectoplasmic Arm Set-250 Ectos, 10 Codex Tokens, Battered Left Arm Piece, Battered Right Arm Piece, 20 Platinum
Ectoplasmic Foot Set- 250 Ectos, 15 Luxon Tokens, 15 Kurzick Tokens, Battered Left Foot Piece, Battered Right Foot Piece, 20 Platinum
Ectoplasmic Legging Piece -25 Gladiator’s Tokens, 250 Ectos, Battered Legging Set, 20 Platinum

seems pretty cheap and fast to get that armor
1thing I wonder: how ur supposed to beat dhuum if the whole party is heroes are ur not a hero urself

well... I am

on topic: they are one year late with haloween 2010 quests finale, 6 yrs late with Paragon update, they still haven't released WoC pt 3 and U expect them to design anything other the costumes? LMAO

I did read, and my answer is still no.
Reasons:
They wount add any new armor.
We dont need another gold sinc/ grind.

Doing UW with heroes takes of the whole concept of Guild Wars.
armor costs 100k, if you pay 1k fee to get into UW, you need to gain 1k to pay for armor.

and theres much much more reasons, and this is probably the 9000+ thread made about this.

Aren't you earning the token thingies though ?_? and wouldnt they just be un-tradeable?

But still, no :c I don't think GW1 is going to get any new armors anytime soon o: (or ever again lol)

Summary:
step 1. grind
step 2. grind
step 3. grind
step 4. grind
step 5. grind
step 6. repeats steps 1-5 X 10
step 7. Elitism.


yay

Actually Olle, you pay 1k to get in, and after beating Dhuum, hand in The Nightman Cometh, and your 1k is reimbursed

Got me on this one.....

(;

Its yourself and 7 heroes.


Excuse my confusion about your reading after your wrote TLDR. Only 1 part is with heroes the rest can be players and the pvp aspect requires players. The 1 hero part is just a challenging test. For the 100k + Entrance Cost just use a scroll.
9000+ Thread? Show me a link to a thread about Armor Challenge! This thread is more about the method to get armor, the new armor is just secondary to the main idea.


The challenge itself would need a small amount of coding, yes the armor itself might take some time to make!


This will be challenging so a lot of players would not be able to obtain it. This is more for players that have mastering everything and want a new challenge or want a way to display what they have done!

By diversifying the challenge its not very grindy. As a whole it requires a lot of work but its not really repetitive. You do each elite area once unless you lose. You only do a few battles from each pvp type (unless you keep losing).

It is an incredible amount of grind that would serve absolutely no purpose except to give the top 2% of gw players more epeen.
1250 ecto (around 10 million gold) and 100k for a single set of armor + tokens and you don't consider that grind? The time it would take slowly making that money (sc, powertrading, etc) for that money wouldn't be considered grind to you?

Like the Idea, just not the method.

Personally i miss the days where 70% warriors wore gladiators armour because you couldn't inscribe any armour with any Bonus.
It sucked for Variety but was better than the current setup IMO (only 1-2 usable inscriptions and any skin, its not a challenge...)

I'd like some simpler method of adding "Uniqueness" to keep some interest.
I would suggest sonething like...:

Using current Armour art and:

Either adding different "Texture" or Dyeable Area to existing art.
(e.g. 2 Variants of Exotic armour 1 normal, 1 w/ reversed dyeable area)

Allowing Cross-class armour art. Assasin/dervish/ranger could all be interchangable (not fully only "semi").
Monk/ele/nec/mes/rit ect armour art could be mingled a little.
Dervish need this :P (only 2-3 ok... looking skins(dresses)) not even worth making the char for me.

Customization is one of the biggest things that draws me to games, this one included.
I would love to have more armour art to choose from. When i make a new character i Always check WIKI for the armour art then choose my class and gender according to my favourite :P.

So yeah i think more Variety but less ELITE GRIND.
I'd rather grind for 2-3 more different "normal" armours than 1 pro elite one..... worth nothing but looks.

More collectibles clogging up my storage? No TY.

I lol'd. Sad but true.
Six years with Paragon update in particular. Sounds really bad lol.

Yes, gathering 1250 ectos ain't a grind for the average player.

/notsigned for obvious reasons

Also, I'm fairly certain that PvP doesn't need another reason to be exploited.

Sure some will want to do this to show off, just like any high-end item attracts that element, others may want to do this for a challenge, something new to go for, or to have their first new armor skin in a long time. Aquiring 1250 ectos from scratch would be a grind for sure! So, yeah new players on the block will have some work to go. However, the type of player this is targeted at is probably sitting on stacks of ectos with nothing to spend them on. For them its just a simple remove from storage transfer.

Collectibles will be deletable, no big deal really. Plus you will have to have the quest active for them to be awarded anyway. I forgot to mention that in my first post. The quest will be given by an npc at GTOB!

For the average player it probably is a grind to get 1,250 ectos, however this is designed to be a difficult challenge for the above-average player.

Also, PVP does need another reason to be exploited, for obvious reasons!

Hint! Try getting an alliance battles match or codex match consistently day-to-day!

Didn't read it but the tokens would be synced without a doubt

Your idea wouldn't change a thing then.
Above average players (money-wise) are a minority, they wouldn't be able to boost any activity whatsoever in PvP. Even if your idea targets the average player, gathering those tokens will be done by syncing and only syncing. Remember RR day?

This is an awful idea for a couple of reasons.

1. I feel as though any armor made of ectoplasm would look really ugly.

2. The cost is rediculous. What is the point of making an armor that only the grind-enjoying farmers/SCers or powertraders could afford? Average players like myself don't have ectos just lying around.

I'm all for introducing new armor skins, but these ideas that have been thrown around recently have been horrible (I am also referencing the recent full chaos armor suggestion). If the team that makes costumes is going to make more armor skins, make ones that look normalish but still cool, and make them the same price as the other non-obby elite armors.

By the way, when I say "normalish but still cool", I'm referring to armors that aren't all sparkly or glittery, but still have a cool look to them. I like to use the champion's armor set from dragon age 2 as an example, since its probably the best looking armor among any of the rpg's that I play.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mHNA1CW4DA...pion%2Bset.png

You see, it doesn't glow or look like its made out of shiny light. Its just a nice looking armor thats made out of basic materials.

But this is all beside the point. My primary objection to this suggestion is the rediculous price. If anet is going to add more skins to the game, they should not do something stupid by adding another envoyesque weapon/armor that only the super rich can afford.

Nice idea, but I think it could be improved like this:

1. remove the ecto cost. If you want an armor set that requires great prestations (doing all the hard areas in hard mode) then that should be enough, you shouldn't also introduce insane grind to get the ectos

2. split the set in 3 sets. PvE is very different from GvG/HA/codex and that is again very different from AB/JQ/FA/RA. I would make different sets for these very different gameplay modes, because most people don't enjoy all 3.

As has been mentioned before, this is a terrible idea. Not only has this idea been presented before, but isn't there enough epeen in the game? Add to this, there is a laundry list of other things the Live Team has slated. I doubt the idea of even more crap grind, Epeen induced, obnoxiousness takes precedence over the scads of other things they have yet to finish. As for getting these tokens, THIS may be the worst of the ideas... PvP is already damaged enough, I doubt adding a bunch of people notorious for finding a way to cheat the system will help... Syncing/resigning is already prolific enough without the addition of people only there to get some more trophy crap.

I agree with most. We sure don't need another prestige item just for few, if they were to make other armors they should be avalaible to everyone. I think obsidian was a damn stupid idea anyway (and the fact that people wears it despite looking ugly just cause of its price). And yeah, forcing people into pvp for that won't make it more lively but rather more exploited, so even worse.

The goal of this is not to revitalize pvp, so I'm not worried at all if it doesn't. To claim it won't boost ANY activity is ridiculous! It will bring some activity.

Claiming it will ONLY be done by syncing is another ridiculous claim! Will people sync (cheat), sure but there has always been syncing every day to this day. Others won't sync and earn it in the intended way. Will people bot (cheat) the ectos, sure but there has been botting for ages and still to this day. Perhaps they will get banned too! Will people buy runs, sure and that has always been going on also. However, they will have a difficult time to cheat the last requirement (getting to the armor crafter) so that is where alot of the cheaters will be stopped!

1. Thats a guess of yours but how did you come up with that when I never gave a specific description.

2. Not targeted at you. People have to understand that not everything is obtainable by the average player or above-average players will never ever be challenged.

3. This armor has to be exceptional since its awarded for great victory and expense! However, since I didn't describe your argument against what its may or may not look like has no weight. To add, I didn't describe it because the look is secondary to main goal of this which is the method of obtaining the armor, I'll let the developers and artists decide what the final product will look like, but certainly not you since your not the target (above-average players only)

1. With no cost or little cost behind it, it would lose some weight and feel like a cheap "greeny", and lose some interest or become more common.

2. The point of combining all the different elements of game types is intentional. To test players across different elements of the game, that what makes this the ultimate challenge. Some players are good at only a certain play type or maybe have not bothered to learn another type. This lets them do it all!


Show me where this amor challenge has been mentioned before.

Epeen is only 1 of many motivations behindy why players will undertake this, but I already addressed that so read earlier my response. This laundry list is not really followed. So who knows when they will finish what they said they will do...sometimes its right away sometimes it years.

Syncing I already addressed in this post under Elnino!

Yes we do need another prestige item for a just a few! Some players need an outlet for all their ecto gathering over the years, if anything players need to cash-out now as the game comes to an end for many. The key is they won't simply be able to buy this armor, they have to work for it too by overcoming the challenges of gathering the parts and getting to the crafter. As you mention the obsidian armor you prove there is a market(demand) for high-priced armor. Are you claiming all people will cheat? Sure many will and many will not. So yes it will be more lively.

I like the idea of a new armor and some ideas are pretty good. But forcing pve people to play pvp is never a good thing. But since all resources are set on GW 2 and the basic idea for GW2 is make all items as easy as possible to get, I doubt this will ever be introduced.

Th idea of new armor is nice, however there are a few things I'd like to point out:
- Ecto cost is way to high, even if it is supposed to be for the "elite" people.
Gw was supposed to be a game where skill matered, not that you got alot of money and can get things other people can't get.

- The idea of needing to complete pve and pvp objectives is a nice idea, but like other people said: forcing pve people to play pvp just wont work.

- Creating a fairly big update like this for a small community of people in gw is just unfair towards other players.

- And ofcourse: this will never happen, but you probably knew that yourself.
It takes anet a few months to do a simple skill balance/update.
We still got the long forgotten update to underpowered proffesions/skills, never seen anything about that, 3rd part of WoC, estblishment of Ebonhawke and other "beyond"stuff.

I'd rather have more interesting lore/story lines then a stupid armor update few people will gain ANY benefit from.
Sure high end areas/pvp will see a little bit increase in activity but that's it.

An armour set just for he elite/ uber rich few?? .. Bollocks to that.

I do agree with you that new armour sets would be cool, but it's just not going to happen at this stage as others have already said.

Heh, we won't even get a cape tweak for female chars so that it actually looks like a cape instead of a dishcloth someone stuck to their back as a joke. :P

Why limit it to 250e per piece? If it is supposed to be for those who are truely wealthy why not 250a per piece? And those who have mastered the game.....require 43 max titles? Might as well throw an /age req in there too lets say 50k hours. Sound reasonable? Ok now you know how most of the people will view this suggestion. Factions Derv and Para armor are widely accepted as the only "needed" new sets of armor.

So the Goals Are?:

1) Add small activity boost for anet, w/ a big programming investment.

2) Add a challenge for (IMO) very high end players who are bored with FoW armour and are happy to re-grind EVERYTHING again....and who most likely will find it easy.

3) what... effect ecto prices for people that collected too much...?

5% of active people will attempt this, if even that and when they stop trying thats it activity over no leed-on effect from the revenue or anything.

Awesome thought put into the idea its just not going to Appeal to Anet. I would love to see something similar for players of all abilty so we CAN add activity.

Look at Nicholas the Traveler, an example of a brilliant ploy to keep players coming back! Low end too high end I would argue.

Thanks for putting forward a well thought out Idea.
But i dont think the top 1-5% is where this should be aimed as these kind of ideas need to appeal to anet... so they need to have a payoff for anets investment of time in a 7+ year old game.
This just doesn't am i wrong?

No it won't. period.

You want to worsen the situation in PvP? Really?

I'm going to address point 2 since 1 and 3 were already addressed in my previous post when I said that my opinions on the likely artwork were beside the point.

Everything should be obtainable by the average players. That is how supposedly-anti-grind games (like GW) work. Even elite armors should be obtainable by those who have a life outside of guild wars and aren't willing to waste their time grinding countless ectos. On the topic of grind, that is exactly what this armor would be. You call it a "challenge" to get that absurd number of ectos. Its not a challenge, its just a rediculously time-consuming grind. Pretty much anyone, regardless of skill level, could get that many ectos if they had the time to do so.

I has also already been pointed out by others in this thread that Anet shouldn't cater to the power traders and the "1%" (if thats how you want to address them) over the rest of us.

Second batch of reasons why this shouldn't be implemented besides obviously drawing away from Anet's resources:

1. People are already jaded against the top percentage of people who have uber amounts of money more than them, why add an elite armor to further the imbalance?

2. Ecto prices would skyrocket (theoretically, if people actually wanted this crappy armor) making it harder for people who scrape their cash together to get obby armor for HoM, making 50/50 even harder for people who don't have obscene amounts of cash.

Summary: Why make an update to reward the players who have already done their part to make themselves a tier above everyone else? To create an even higher tier, so they can laugh at those under them and act even more elitist? Or is it to make it harder for everyone else to feel happy with the amount of money they have since they're always having to measure up to the rich people? Please.

/not signed.

Probably one of the most "un-fun" ideas ever posted here in Sardelac. - Excessive grind required - strike one. Requiring players to take part in activities that they do not enjoy (PvP / PvE) - strike two. The vast majority of players would look at the requirements and say "No way!" (they may even throw in a bad word for emphasis) - strike 3.

And, as others have pointed out, the live team has enough on its plate to keep them gainfully employed for the time being. Throw in the fact that GW2 is on the horizon and also the fact that many players have already shifted away from GW to other games, you're talking about a game that has passed its hey-day and will fade dramatically when GW2 is released later this year. This raises the question: Who will be left to show off your fancy new armor to?

This doesn't look very GW-like.

This looks more like something someone that played grindfest games until he got used to grind to the point of not seeing how bad it is would like in one of those other grindfest games.


Farming and speed clears are not part of the original GW design and philosophy, so you should not take them into consideration as something positive for anything you suggest.


I always like to see posts and commentaries from people that left grindfest games like WoW or the many Korean grinders, and how they suddenly opened their eyes and noticed that the game didn't felt like a game, but like a job of chore.