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I don't know how I feel about the banning, to be honest. I thought I read that only those who bought >50 of the items were banned?? If that's the case, then hell yeah, ban them. But if someone is looking for 1 weapon and they buy it...meh, being a new game I'm not sure I would realize the price is that out of whack. Fortunately, I've been hording my karma points - mainly because I still have no idea what I want to use them for. But, I could have easily been in this position unknowingly.

And I can't believe they are suspending sales. That is amazing.

That reddit thread on the bans was hilarious! Man, I really love the devs to be honest. Never before have we seen such outright transparency before. I mean, not many people do that. Blizzard for instance doesn't often talk publicly about the situations of bans, let alone like to explain why they deleted a bunch of threads or locked them. :p

Thought this was pretty funny though:

vurbZ.png

That is how I understood it, Matt.....anyone who bought between 50-100 weapons at the karma vendor were banned for 72 hours, anyone buying more than 100 (seriously, those buying more than 5-10 honestly know they weren't meant to buy them at that price, if they were meant to sell that cheap then why would you buy so many if you could get them when you actually needed them for just as cheap?) got a permanent ban. That may not be how exactly it worked, that's just my understanding of what went down.

I fully agree with the ban honestly....I didn't know about the exploit, and if I did I honestly would have bought a couple, but I'm the kind of person who doesn't go overboard with crap, I would have bought weapons for all my current characters and those I may make in the near future, it would have been less than 10 for sure, but knowing what I know about how exploits are dealt with in games, I wouldn't have gone overboard with it or risk getting caught for doing it.

I'm kind of saddened that Anet didn't keep the ban in place (or didn't allow appeals), I love their attitude so far towards cheats/scumbags(those insulting others or using tons of foul language)/etc. One person commented on reddit that he KNEW buying those weapons was wrong and he agreed with Anets decision to ban him entirely, he only wanted to know how many he did buy (ended up being a couple hundred).

I'm kind of saddened that Anet didn't keep the ban in place (or didn't allow appeals), I love their attitude so far towards cheats/scumbags(those insulting others or using tons of foul language)/etc. One person commented on reddit that he KNEW buying those weapons was wrong and he agreed with Anets decision to ban him entirely, he only wanted to know how many he did buy (ended up being a couple hundred).

I'm not, I think they're doing a good job of saying, "Look, we're not messing around guys...", while both keeping transparency with the community to invalidate all the BSers out there, and outright avoiding all the negative stigma associated with the bans since this will appear to be a legitimate warning to those who've knowingly abused it.

Who do i PM/mail to get an invite to the Neowin guild

Also the conversion for ingame gold to gems is crazy cheap atm, got close to 150 gems for 50 copper, bought a lion key for 1 of 2 chests i have,,,, just need another key

I'm not all that bothered by them allowing appeals. After all, botters can be far worse things and they're currently only getting 72hour bans.

On another not-exploit note: the 6th day begins, and i still can't make a single copper or buy a single item. Really getting to the "ruining the game" point.

I'm not all that bothered by them allowing appeals. After all, botters can be far worse things and they're currently only getting 72hour bans.

On another not-exploit note: the 6th day begins, and i still can't make a single copper or buy a single item. Really getting to the "ruining the game" point.

I can't confirm this, but I had access to the AH all day today where before I didn't, even after they announced it being accessible by 15% of the players. Perhaps they're increasing the load as they go? Can't be sure.

I can't confirm this, but I had access to the AH all day today where before I didn't, even after they announced it being accessible by 15% of the players. Perhaps they're increasing the load as they go? Can't be sure.

Yes, they opened it for 25% people now. They intend to ramp it up until they hit 100%

On a side note, is there any Neowin EU guild? Or is everyone here in US servers?

I'm not all that bothered by them allowing appeals. After all, botters can be far worse things and they're currently only getting 72hour bans.

On another not-exploit note: the 6th day begins, and i still can't make a single copper or buy a single item. Really getting to the "ruining the game" point.

The market was up for most of the day for me. I bought and sold lots of stuff. What is it about the market being down that has got you so worked up? What do you need to buy so badly? If you're wanting to buy cultural armor I would say you're better off saying your money for level 80 stuff. Anything else you will just out level in 5 or 6 levels. I made the mistake of buying level 60 cultural gloves and by 65 they were completely out dated.

Yes. If you want some made mail me (fellyn.5083) 20 platinum + lump of primordium + 1 major rune of holding per bag. You buy the primordium from the vendor and they come in packs of 10. I can of course make lower tier bags, too.

I've been getting my a** handed to me by simple mobs in Wayfarer Hills, so i decided to go to Hoelbrak to see what was going on there. My eyes were opened, i found i could learn crafting there. I literally spent about 2 hours in the crafting area, just looking at all the different items i could make. As i'm an elementalist i figured starting out with being a Tailor and Artificer. Plus because i didn't realise Hoelbrak was like this, i spent a number of hours in Warfarer Hills so i collected quite a lot of materials. Turns out to build this light armour i wanted, i need Jute scraps. One of the few common materials i don't have much of :laugh: and the vendor only sells Jute thread. So now i have to go back to Warfarer and farming some jute scraps. Really liking the game now i am understanding it more, i had to stop yesterday because the lag was awful, every 5 minutes it would freeze, the overflow server was actually more stable. I think an elementalist will benefit more when i'm a higher level and i'm a bit more powerful (or just need better armour). I think soloing it as i am now, is a little more difficult. Also i think i need to tweak the controls. dodging just feels broken. I'll get there. :laugh:
just to let you know, there are some drops that aren't armor, that you can salvage for 3-4 jute scraps!

just to let you know, there are some drops that aren't armor, that you can salvage for 3-4 jute scraps!

Thanks, i did find some salvage which had Jute scraps in it. Now i have some new light armour. Now i need to salvage some leather and more jute so i can finish the set :laugh:

Again for those asking about the guild leader, it's me. Message harrisonh.2015 and I'll add you when I'm on at 6 EST. I'd have made a few other people officers of a sort if anyone was ever representing the guild (to be able to accept invites). But almost no one is who joins unfortunately.

The market was up for most of the day for me. I bought and sold lots of stuff. What is it about the market being down that has got you so worked up? What do you need to buy so badly? If you're wanting to buy cultural armor I would say you're better off saying your money for level 80 stuff. Anything else you will just out level in 5 or 6 levels. I made the mistake of buying level 60 cultural gloves and by 65 they were completely out dated.

Yes. If you want some made mail me (fellyn.5083) 20 platinum + lump of primordium + 1 major rune of holding per bag. You buy the primordium from the vendor and they come in packs of 10. I can of course make lower tier bags, too.

Aside from armors various, other things eat into your money at the same rate(or slightly faster) than you get it from events and hearts. Traveling, crafting, salvaging, repairing(this especially if you go into an explorable mode dungeon), various npc rewards after certain dynamic events and so on.

As for outleveling gear in 5-10 levels, that's unavoidable no matter what the source of your gear is.

Edit: Also, i wish WvW servers were more balanced. What you see in the pic below has been pretty much exactly the same all week and makes even considering to do WvW pointless.

wvw1.jpg

Anyone else here leveling a Necromancer as a main? I am reading many different things about most effective builds for leveling.

Two I've seen the most are D/D Blood and Death, also D/H Death and Curse. I'm currently using D/D Death and Curse and was wondering what everyone else here may be running.

finished up Queensdale last night on my theifgot 100%. I feel very weak. I have gear for my level, have >1k hp but a couple hits from monsters and I am below half. I'm level 16 half way to 17. Going to head to another starting area and level up there.

finished up Queensdale last night on my theifgot 100%. I feel very weak. I have gear for my level, have >1k hp but a couple hits from monsters and I am below half. I'm level 16 half way to 17. Going to head to another starting area and level up there.

firey, you're not supposed to get hit at all, or at least you should only eat the smaller hits. You avoid hits by side-stepping and dodging. You should be moving all the time, trying to position yourself behind the enemy (immobilize then move behind), avoiding AoEs and small hits by simply moving away and dodging any unexpected heavy hit (don't waste dodges on small hits). It's not the usual "Sit there and mash your buttons" mentality, the combat is very punishing if you don't take every fight seriously.

firey, you're not supposed to get hit at all, or at least you should only eat the smaller hits. You avoid hits by side-stepping and dodging. You should be moving all the time, trying to position yourself behind the enemy (immobilize then move behind), avoiding AoEs and small hits by simply moving away and dodging any unexpected heavy hit (don't waste dodges on small hits). It's not the usual "Sit there and mash your buttons" mentality, the combat is very punishing if you don't take every fight seriously.

I do dodge, and I am always moving, but in some fights it's unavoidable especially if there are multiple mobs then I can't get behind any as there are more behind them. It's very rare for my dodge to have much in it, and I am almost always out of initiative. I played a Necro through the BWEs (all of them actually) and the Stress tests, and I could withstand a lot more. I need to sit down and actually focus on my skills I think, I found a DPS build that I'll probably try out. I mean I am strong enough to do things my level, I just found some of the story mode quests where I was attacked by >3 people at a time brutal.

I do dodge, and I am always moving, but in some fights it's unavoidable especially if there are multiple mobs then I can't get behind any as there are more behind them. It's very rare for my dodge to have much in it, and I am almost always out of initiative. I played a Necro through the BWEs (all of them actually) and the Stress tests, and I could withstand a lot more. I need to sit down and actually focus on my skills I think, I found a DPS build that I'll probably try out. I mean I am strong enough to do things my level, I just found some of the story mode quests where I was attacked by >3 people at a time brutal.

Having the same problem with my Asura thief. What I do is AoE damage and kite them with my bow and then start stabbing them. I still die A LOT though. Where can we find decent builds for thiefs?

Having the same problem with my Asura thief. What I do is AoE damage and kite them with my bow and then start stabbing them. I still die A LOT though. Where can we find decent builds for thiefs?

http://www.gw2builds.org/view/34021/assassin is the one I am looking at,

more builds here:

http://www.gw2builds.org/browse?search=&prof=thief&category=0&type=any&game_version=&sort=score

Still don't see the great difficulty some have with living on a thief. 18 and only a few only have had a few deaths thus far.

I have literally the exact same setup as you, I bet I have >30 deaths at level 16. Only about 8 or so are story line, rest are from zone events where I try and take on monsters 2-3 levels above me.

Contrary to popular belief, there's nothing wrong with dying to be honest. I'll take challenge and death any day compared to WoW's leveling experience in which you cannot die under normal circumstances really... :p

You cannot die while levelling in WoW period. Unless you're playing on a pvp server and get ganked. WoW used to be harder back in the days tough.

@firey, if you find yourself endurance-starved then most likely you're dodging things you shouldn't dodge or you don't have enough defensive skills. Don't forget that you can completely avoid mob special attacks using knock-downs, blinds, blocks, etc. I personally play a melee warrior and I found that I could easily solo 2-3 mobs my level if I simply used all my arsenal to avoid being hit. Think about surviving (avoiding damage) before thinking about killing.

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My chosen fighters were throwing random attacks, no matter what combination the game was trying to teach me. Win streaks were happening, and I was already getting bored out of my mind just a few matches in. Turning off this mode and switching to 'Authentic' controls fixed everything right up. I was now able to control my fighter with more precision than I expected. I could control each arm and leg, which body part my attacks would aim at, and the fully customizable controls for setting up unorthodox moves were a cherry on top. None of these made me an expert at the game, but at least I was being beaten up fairly. This is not a point against UFC 6, though. Giving the option for anyone to enjoy the game is always a good thing in my eyes. There is a lot of customizability in the difficulty, with everything from slow-motion reactions to specific assists being offered as toggles. If I had a friend coming over and wanted to try a quick 1v1, the streamlined controls option is one I’d consider to make it a light and fun fight. The one part of the fighting that did not click with me was the grappling. Being taken to the ground brings in an entirely new control mechanism involving mounts and submissions that feel more like quick-time events than the heavy, tactical fighting I had seen so far while standing. The game wants me to hold sticks in certain directions to change the position or pull off submissions, trying to do the opposite actions of the opponent. Even though I tried to get used to this gameplay, it just felt like a momentum killer, and I eventually just wanted to get back on my feet to get back into the action. Legacy and Career It was UFC 6’s career mode that I wanted to play the most when I started it up. I grew up with EA Sports games, and taking my team from the ground to the top has always been my favorite task. UFC 6 has that same option but also offers a more cinematic entrance to the career experience than I expected with ‘The Legacy’ mode. This mini-campaign follows an up-and-coming fighter, Chris Carter, who is attempting to reach the heights his father had reached in the sport. Starting with a small-time gym and coach, the story follows both his growth in the space as well as the growing rivalry with a friend and fighter, Danny Lopez. The fights in this mode are very good at introducing a newcomer like me to the sport and its varying techniques. Cinematics land between the major fights, showing the growing tension between the two fighters as the years go by, feeling the pressure to not miss out on the hard-earned chances. The dialogue can be a little corny at times, especially when the bar fights kick off, but I largely enjoyed the storyline. At the end of it, I was pretty much familiar with all the mechanics of the career mode, unlocking new skills and moves, and how I needed to approach fights, both outside and inside the ring. This story mode isn’t a very lengthy one, so don’t expect an hour-long campaign. Once the conclusion is reached, Carter’s journey continues as if it’s a normal career playthrough, though I decided to start over from scratch now that I have some know-how about the basics. The career mode is very streamlined, which is to be expected considering there isn’t a team to manage like in other EA Sports games. It’s the journey of one fighter. When a fight comes up in the calendar, I could choose how many weeks I dedicate to preparing for it at the gym. A longer prep time gives the opportunity to get my fighter’s fitness up (giving a bonus during fights), earn more money and points for unlocking new skills, and gain more fans to fast-track the rise to stardom. While that sounds like a lot of things to manage, it’s more like a few clicks. There is a social media menu that sometimes pops up with canned replies I can send to fans, and the sponsors are once again a single click away from being assigned as finished. It’s the training aspect that adds a gameplay angle. Using the money from winnings and sponsorships, I was hiring different types of trainers and learning fancier moves to use in the ring. One small thing I appreciated was that it was possible to injure each other during these training sessions. If a trainer goes down in a bad way while sparring, they won’t be available for the remainder of training. If my fighter is injured, it takes valuable time and resources to heal and recuperate. Just like in real life, it makes sense not to go so hard during training sessions and save that energy for the main event. Every training or sponsorship activity I took part in used up the days and weeks I had before the next fight, bringing a balancing element to the whole ordeal. There were times I simulated most of these to just get to the next fight, but the grind for gaining even the slightest bit of advantage while trying not to overdo it is an enjoyable one. Outside of quick fights and career modes, UFC 6 also introduces an almost museum-like mode to explore a trio of fighters considered to be legends of the sport: Max Holloway, Alex Pereira, and Zhang Weili. The aptly named Hall of Legends mode is unlike everything else seen in the game. Each of these fighters has entire levels dedicated to them that I could walk around in and explore their journey into the UFC. This includes footage from real-life fights and interviews about their original inspirations and training methods. Each of these spaces is almost like an interactive documentary. Once the highlights are done, the mode offers the opportunity to take over a deciding fight from the superstars. It’s an impressive transition. Going from the real-life televised event with crowds and commentary to immediately taking over in the game has some real hype behind it. Performance and visuals It’s clear to see that UFC 6 is going for a photo-realism look with its visuals compared to any other fighting game. The fighters don’t look great in selection screens. But inside the arenas, under the flood lights, surrounded by crowds, and facing an opponent, the visuals are more than impressive. As ghastly as it is to witness, things like blood spraying into the mat and muscles reddening as they get pummeled keep improving the immersion. The fluid animations help sell the illusion even further. A missed kick carries the momentum to require a corrective step. Hard punches that glance off blocks give off the air of a hit that still took some wind off the opponent’s guard. The special moves with flips and spins look mega awkward when missing, just as they do in real life. Suffice to say, the Frostbite Engine powering this game is one of the biggest strengths of EA development studios. Playing on the Xbox Series X, the 60 FPS gameplay did not miss the mark or cause any slowdowns that I could detect. I still wish this series were on PC to see just how far the developer can push the engine. One area I continue to have issues with, surprisingly enough, is the menus. The game has fast loading screens, but almost every menu I click through has a large amount of noticeable lag before it registers. This is immensely painful in the career mode, since I have to go through multiple menus between fights to train and do sponsorships, and having a 3-second pause when selecting a simple move between pages is the only time that made me quit the game. Thanks to Xbox’s quick resume, though, I was able to instantly jump back in the next day to the same point (and wade through more laggy menus). Conclusion My primary mission going into this EA Sports UFC 6 review as a newcomer to the series was to find out if this is a good jumping-in point for someone like me. Suffice it to say, the game passed that test with flying colors. Despite the high skill ceiling, the legacy mode introduction campaign, multiple types of accessible controls, and streamlined career had me picking up the basics and fighting styles much faster than I expected. I wish I had gotten to try out competitive multiplayer during my time with the game, too, but the lack of players in the pre-release version prevented this. The impressive visuals and animations, coupled with the impact physics that let me feel every punch and kick easily, made this the most immersive fighting game I have played. The only part that gave me pause was the grappling gameplay, which killed the momentum in most fights. The Flow State amplifying system didn’t hamper the experience, but I also felt like it made more sense for an arcade fighter, not this. Easily the most annoying thing about UFC 6 was its laggy menus, which I hope get some sort of fix later. Returning series veterans might have a completely different experience from me. But for a new fan like me looking to climb ranks and see fighters get floored in spectacular ways, UFC 6 doesn’t miss a step. EA Sports UFC 6 is releasing on June 19 across Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 for $69.99. Ultimate Edition owners can already jump in via advanced access. This review was conducted on the Xbox Series X version of the game provided by EA.
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