Ascalonian Catacombs (Story mode)

[desvergeh]

Thanks for the response.

I love the fact that GW2 breaks the trinity mold. I spent far too much of my life trying to arrange the correct party for WoW dungeons and raids! But I'm still a little cautious of the promises. Just because you can run a dungeon with 5 guardians, does not mean it is a good party setup.

I'm getting the feeling that 2 of the same class is no issue (due to weapon choice making such a big difference in how the class plays), but I suspect more than that might lead you to miss the skills the other classes can bring.

Well I will give it a shot and see how it goes.

[groovychainsaw]

I *think* (after one dungeon's experience, I'm clearly an expert!) that ultimately some balance will be needed in the team, and you will need 'types', such as a puller/tank, some DPS, some buffing (and particularly condition removal, which was prevalent), so in harder dungeons you will need to stick more closely to a role. Those roles *might* be able to be filled by all one class, but will probably be easier to fill effectively in a spread of classes. But I can also see, as I did last night, changing up weapons sets/skill to take on a different bosses/events, and switching back for the normal mobs in the dungeon, so even the role you start with might not be the one you use all the way through.

[Screwie]

Indeed. I anticipate the tougher dungeon experiences will demand players be more adaptable and not to build with a single role in mind.

[Lightbulb]

Got a couple of questions for those who have dungeon experience.

- How important do you think class balance is? I notice two guardians in the picture. Do you feel the overlap of their skills reduced effectiveness? Or do you think the dungeon would be viable with a party of 5 guardians if specced right?

A group of us did a run and succeeded. There were three rangers and I had to look at my screen shot to confirm what the other two were (Mesmer, and Warrior). We were a bit slow at the start but the bosses weren't too much of a problem.

We didn't do anything like coordinate our builds - indeed I was respeccing for the first 5 or so minutes. We just ran it. Could be that the other guys did it before I arrived since I was slightly late.

- How hard did you find story mode? I have seen reports indicating that these dungeons are far harder than those in WoW. Do you feel that is actually true, or just hype?

Easier than I expected. A lot of dying but you can respawn so you can't 'wipe' like you could in missions in GW (or I assume GW1). The health of the bosses will reset if left alone but so long as someone stays alive you can wear them down.

- How long did it take, especially considering wiping and learning the encounters?

A bit longer than expected. Couldn't tell you exactly. I would allow an hour and a half to be safe. Should be quicker.

Just interested as I'm fast approaching lvl30, and will likely to be trying to arrange a dungeon run or two next week. So I'm looking to make sure I get it arranged properly.

I was going to say no organisation necessary but I expect a lot of people will have done it and it might be harder to get a PUG.

I now look forward to some of the later ones since I just hit 38

[NieA7]

Just to add my 2p, we didn't need to coordinate builds but as has been pointed out having the ability to create and use lots of combo-fields felt like it was making a big difference. It was definitely handy having Groovy act like a tank, certainly when something fixated on me I found it difficult to shake them off, and with light armor it didn't take too much attention for me to get downed (you always need to keep an eye on what's going on, and be ready to dodge when required). Taking res skills was a bit of a mixed bag: mine at least didn't do much as a passive signet, and had such a long recharge on it that it usually wasn't available when we really needed it in the drawn out boss fights. Worth having at least one amongst the group, more than that might be overkill.

The other thing that seemed really useful was some control skills. Between the guardians knocking enemies around and me being able to occasionally fear them it felt like we were able to fight where we wanted to, which was especially useful against the lovers. At the very least try to get a bit of cripple or chill onto your bar, it really helps when trying to escape aggro.

[Donjim]

Hey guys! I just turned 30 and would very much like to go through AC story mode with you. I hope there are still members to whom AC is still relevant
Anyways, is it necessary to know boss tactics before I go in? Should I read up on AC tactics? And if so, do you have a link to such tactics site?

I'll try to get a group going this weekend, maybe before.

[zanchito]

Donjim: AC is quite difficult. Can be done without prior knowledge if your group is careful, though. I might be able to do it today or maybe not, can't tell yet.