Guild Wars 2 - Slightly Annoying Not-So-Little Grey Arrow That Points Down And Does Not Go Away [It's Not Just You]

Just a quick Tip to others playing Guild Wars 2: I popped into GW2 after a long time away, mainly for some Stock recordings; but I found a weird little arrow that doesn't seem to have a reason for being there - other than covering up my Buffs and pointing to the 6th Skill (for no reason?). Here's what it looks like:

I asked around in the game (noone knew how to get rid of it, but others complained about it) and I looked in on the Official Forums, eventually finding this - an Official Response from a Dev there (from about a month ago):
http://forum-en.guildwars2.com/forum/support/bugs/Escape-key-no-longer-opens-menu/first#post5088931

Messing about with it a little more, it seems nothing gets rid of it for most (including myself, when it occurs). I personally have:

• Healed
• Died (while AFK)
• Used a Waypoint
• Hit ESC 42 times
• Logged out then logged in again

That last one cleared it for me, slash-whew.. But it may return, and it may not go away until I Logout again... [Maybe something will change from today's update..?]

Just letting others know that 'it's not just you' - and as of the time of this post, it seems there's nothing we can really do about it slash-sadface

See You In The Game Anyway!

Quick Tip: Guild Wars 2 - How To Split Stacks Of Items

Just a quick tip for GW2 and those of us who were tying to split stacks of things, only to link them into Chat and 'shout' the item's link to people around us, the entire Map, etc. The way to actually sort things in a more private manner, is to hold down the ALT key and then drag the stack of items to an open slot. A dialog box should come up asking you how you want to split the stack of items (as seen in the example below):

Pressing the Shift key, as most know, will link the item in the chat box, and pressing Control, will link it and shout it out in Chat automagically - which is nice and embarrassing. I've seen some random linkages in the Chat Box [of things that aren't of any interest] so I know it isn't just me! I hope that this helps someone out and saves them from this atrocious "Faux Pas"...


See You In The Games!

Guild Wars 2: How To Ride "The Train" of Queensdale (Champion 'Farming' Runs As A Group) Tutorial with Map

[NOTE*** As of April 15th, 2014 the changes to the game with the April 2014 Feature Pack update have altered The Train route somewhat - these changes will be updated in this map and article as they solidify into a commonly-agreed Route...

FURTHER UPDATES AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS ARICLE]

Ah, Guild Wars 2... I'm having so much fun with you, I can barely stop to start typing helpful Tips for others to read! Why are you so awesome? Oh, that's right, your creators and other ArenaNet buddies heard the nighttime wails of MMORPG players from other games around the globe and listened intently to our cries, wanting to soothe us softly by satisfying requests we players have made of all of those other games, didn't you? Oh, yes you did.  The result: a game I wish I had gotten into a lot sooner... Thank you, ArenaNet.

For those new to the game (or those who haven't done this before), in the beginning area of the Human lands of Kryta, there is a phenomenon called "The Train". After asking a few questions in-game and watching it a while, and then joining in on it off and on, on my own, I feel I can now safely share a simplified Tutorial on 'The Train' and explain to others (mainly newcomers to Guild Wars 2) what it is and how to be a part of it, if you wish to be.

Loading Screen for the Queensdale region, where 'runs' of The Train take place
(Click to see Full Size)

What is The Train?

'The Train' in Queensdale is, essentially, a cooperation of players moving and killing together as a group [in an MMO game?Whoknew?lol]. The Train targets a small number of Champion-type mobs [MOBile monsters], killing these same ones in a repeating cycle, again and again. The pattern [the "Route that The Train takes"] has evolved over time and differs little, no matter what server/shard you are on. Traveling and moving in collaboration with each other gives the result of faster kills, experience and loot for all those taking part (and sometimes the groups can get quite large). In Guild Wars 2, one does not need to 'Party' or form an 'official' group of any kind, in order to benefit from conquering enemies together [even when not following The Train]. Merely join alongside and help out a bit, and you too are now part of the Clique of Killing and can reap the rewards.

Even though The Train runs in the first leveling/adventuring area of the Humans (called Kryta), you can play any Race you wish, and then run/travel to the Human lands and be a part of The Train. There are no restrictions on Race interaction (no 'sides'; no factions, no clans, no tribes [to restrict players]) in Guild Wars 2. Any race can be created and interact with any of the other Races in Guild Wars 2. So, be whatever race you want to be, you can still head to Queensdale and get on The Train!


When 'on The Train' (following the group around and helping to kill the Champion monsters), you do have to be a high enough level to 'hit' the enemies in order to register as a 'contributor of the group' and benefit from the encounter (get experience, be able to loot, etc). With the Champion mobs being 'farmed' [by The Train] averaging Level 10 in this region (these are the only mobs that The Train goes after, remember), you may not be able to actually hit them until your character is about Level 7 or 8; so if you are playing a brand new character, do some starting Quests, World Events or your character's Storyline for a bit first.

Killing the Boar champion while on the Train in Queensdale
(Click to see Full Size)

If you are a 'Brand New' Player to Guild Wars 2, I strongly suggest doing that for the most part anyway (Quests and Storylines), as doing so, you will more easily learn how to control your character, fight battles, use your skills as you learn them, and learn to navigate the territories and develop your character as a whole.
The Train is, for the most part, a repeated cycle of killing [almost absolutely nothing but] a small number of Champion 'boss' style monsters (as in 5-6 of them, depending on the route The Train takes on your Server/Shard, remember it differs little) - and there have already been arguments all over forums and other websites as to whether relatively New Players should take part in it at all (and if it harms the gameplay/environment of newer players). I believe that this decision is up to each individual, as some people might eschew the practice completely until Level 80 (the current maximum level as of the time of this post), while other people will love the camaraderie and easy access to loot (you always get items comparative to your current level, whatever that may be, when the Champions die).
As with any game, there will always be people that will say a certain activity is too repetitive and boring, and there will always be people that will say it is a good source of 'loot', and there will always be people that will advise doing something else (like playing PvP or more PvE). I like to suggest, if people ask, that each person try Taking A Ride On The Train for themselves at least a few times, then judge whether they wish to continue doing it or move on to other things, leaving the choice up to each player.

[On a personal note for a moment, merely to address this matter that many people seem to argue about and state my own personal opinion, I myself enjoy roaming the lands of GW2 randomly, helping out NPCs and doing the little events found around the world. I play usually always play solo and that affords me the ability to change it up and do whatever activity I want, stop whenever I want (or if I get too tired physically and have to stop, due to my illness) and roam around taking [way too many] screenshots of the environs, gathering resources as I leisurely explore and discover the countryside. I often forget about the Storyline for my character - there is so much to do in the world; but I try to get in on it as I remember to and develop my character along with the story that is tailored for each Race. I do take a ride on The Train, but only as a 'something else to do for a change', not as my 'main leveling mechanic' or my 'main source for items'. I like to think this off-and-on approach allows me to enjoy The Train while not getting too bored of it too quickly, all the while being able to enjoy the game at the same time, and it is just 'another thing that I can do' in the huge game world of Guild Wars 2.]

Killing the Troll champion while on the Train in Queensdale
(Click to see Full Size)

How does one 'get on' The Train? 

First, I always suggest to others, to get the Waypoints that The Train uses first. This will allow you to quickly relocate and follow The Train, travelling to the next Champion that is to be killed. If you did not create a Human, travel to The Human Lands and simply run to the Waypoints to open them up on your map and register them so that they can then allow you to return to them/use them in the future and for Riding The Train.

Don't worry, there are only three main waypoints used in The Train's generally-used rotation (and it differs only slightly on some servers/shards [for instance, on Eredon Terrace, "The Bandit" is very rarely killed by The Train - which seems to be the main difference for The Route from other shards - however, since I have created my character on ET, this is the example I will use]). The waypoints used and the route generally taken are all shown in this graphic I have created of the map of Queensdale below.

The Game Tips And More Blog's Map of Queensdale and The Train Route as of April 2014 [Old Version]
(Click to see Full Size)

The Route that The Train takes usually runs like this (repeatedly):

• Begin the Route from the upper right [the Double Orange Arrows on the map I created, above]
• Kill the Boar champion in the hills there, NW of the Hunting Lodge
• Fast Travel to the Vale Waypont and head into the caves just to the west
• Kill the Troll champion inside the caves of Altar's Windings
• Fast Travel to the Phinney Waypoint and head NW to a glade at the edge of the trees
• Kill the Rotting Ancient Oakheart champion at the forest's edge
• Fast Travel to the Krytan Waypoint and head NE, towards two large hills
• Kill the Forest Spider champion on the larger hill, SE of the Hunting Lodge in a grove of trees
• Run NW past the Hunting Lodge and up into the hills and wait for the Boar event again

A couple notes about the map: I made 'tick marks' (they look like little orange hyphens/dashes) that remind you of the order the champions are killed in and which Waypoint to take [-, --, ---, etc]. I managed to capture and keep the 'white dotted-line of travel', running around following The Train, so if you are a bit lost, try to re-create the white dotted path that you see on my map. To help with finding the Forest Spider champion on a hill SE of the Hunting Lodge (and NE from the Krytan Waypoint), I put a small orange "S" where it is normally encountered. Lastly, my server/shard does not kill The Bandit Lieutenant champion [and we may be the only shard that doesn't apparently], but if you wish to find him, he is in the Bandithaunt Caverns, N of the Vale Waypont.

The champion Boar shows up only after someone talks to Lodgemaster Carthage at the Hunting Lodge. There is a short event waiting period, then two hunters come out and slowly stalk their prey. Everyone usually waits in the hills to the NW of the Lodge and this can be a good time to go through your inventory, unpacking any goodies, salvaging, organizing, etc. There may even be some Banners nearby that can give beneficial Boons ["Buffs"], usually placed by some friendly Guild Member. Take a short break, get a drink - and get ready to jump back on The Train!


When you sit down and start to play a new gaming session, or if you have lost track of where to go next, you can always ask in Chat (/map) where The Train is at that moment, to know where to 'get on' (to join in). Most people simply type, "Train?" or ask "Where is the train now?", and usually some kind soul will answer and state what stop The Train is at (what champion they are killing), or where they are heading to, at that moment. Common answers are, "Boar" or "Spider is up" or "waiting on Troll" or "at Oak", for the various champions (it may differ slightly on your server, but not by much). Sometimes, a helpful person will suggest, "Head to __some champion__", which means that the one they are currently fighting is almost dead, so you 'might as well head to the next one'.

Killing the Oak champion while on the Train in Queensdale
(Click to see Full Size)

A few things to keep in mind as you ride The Train are: you have to be able to hit the mob in order to be able to loot it at all, therefore you may have trouble if you are much lower than level 7 or so (the mobs are Level 10). Loot will drop that is around your character's level, no matter what it is, so you can usually use it right away or soon. The Boar portion of the Route takes a little bit to get started and sometimes people will say phrases like, "Boar is Walking" or "Hunters are Walking" or "Boar Starting" and so on, to let everyone know, who were most likely just standing around waiting or AFK, that the event is beginning. You can gather Resources that are around (mine veins, gather plants/food, cut down trees) or that you pass by, on your way to the champions, just don't fall too far behind if the group is large - they can start to kill these Champions pretty darn fast - and you might miss out on the Loot Drop entirely!

Killing the Spider champion while on the Train in Queensdale
(Click to see Full Size)

That's it! Try not to bore yourself with repeating this excessively, by the way. Have fun, enjoy the loot and camaraderie of fellow GW2 players; but if it starts to become boring, go back to your character's story, pop in for some PvP or even do some Gathering, enjoying the landscape and beauty that is Guild Wars 2.

[UPDATE 1*** As of April 23rd, 2014 there seems to still be a lot of confusion as to the accepted/overall Route that The Train should take. There have been many arguments over what order the train will travel in and opposing groups will perform the run in awkward manner to each other. As a result, 'finalized' changes to this map and article will be delayed, until the community can solidify a pattern/route for The Train.

For now, "the basics" of what the Train is and does are secure and remain the same as this article. The Train may still run on your server/shard in the same manner, in general. Enjoy these aspects of this post, for now]

[UPDATE 2*** As of May 3rd, 2014 although there is still a bit of debating as to what should be a 'standard route' for The Train to take, a general consensus seems to be forming and this map and article will be redone and/or updated Soon™]

[UPDATE 3*** As of June 2014, although there is still some debate that occurs (mainly because someone gets to Oak 'early' and kills it on the group), most of the consensus appears to be this route: 

Boar-Troll-Bandit-Oak

I am working on a new, updated version of the map and will insert it here when finished.

For now, the rest of the information of this post (how to follow the train, etc.) is still valid and hopefully found helpful, for those who are interested in knowing what The Train Of Queensdale is and how to do it]

See You In The Game!

And More: Deals and Sales - Guild Wars 2 is $24.99 Right Now

Woohoo! I have no idea when it started and no idea when it will end, but I just saw this with my own two eyes... if you are looking for one last reason to get GW2, it is now on sale for just under $25 American Dollars. That's about £15 British Pounds if you are from the UK, руб890 Rubles if you are from Russia, 1500 Rupees if you are from India and what works out to be about $10,000,000 Canadian Dollars:

I just might get my own copy finally and be able to stop begging others to play theirs (you know who you are)... Go to http://buy.guildwars2.com/ to get it while it's On Sale and See You In the Game!

Guild Wars 2 - How To Complete The Winter Wonderland Snowflake Jumping Puzzle of Wintersday (Tips with Video)

If there were an award for Most Frustrating Event of 'winter-timey' events of this season, the Winter Wonderland snowflake-jumping puzzle in Guild Wars 2 could arguably win the snowflake-shaped trophy. I'm all for getting presents to the eager kiddies, but I can only fall to my death so many times before I am reaching for the Scotch and caring less and less whether I get their gift-wrapped socks to them or not anymore. In fact, I'm doing this for ME now, for the Achievement... oh sorry, Tips and such, yes, here we go...

In Lion's Arch, near the display of presents and candy canes, speak with the Festive Youth (the map will have a red/white mint on it that says Winter Wonderland) and choose to brave the freezing peaks.

[The auto-kicker is set very low in this region - take care not to spend much more than a miunute standing still/away from keyboard or you will be 'disconnected due to inactivity']

Inside, there are three paths to choose to jump to your death get the kiddies their presents by: a path marked by two Quaggan, a path with two Snowmen and a path with Gingerbread Men. They are all similar and all three will eventually converge into a center point marked my giant mints as platforms and Toymaker Trixx warming himself by a fire. Warming yourself is what you'll need to do - and fast - as the more time you spend jumping around on the snowflake platforms, the more damage you will take from the exceedingly-cold environment. Once you get past the questions of why they just didn't build a causeway lined with intermittent fireplaces or just teleported you past this area, you can start to jump your way up the snowflakes into the white beyond, hurdling candy cane rungs on the way.

The Winter Wonderland area of Wintersday in Guild Wars 2 as it appears in Winter 2013,
feel free to use it as a winter wallpaper!
(Click to see Full Size)

Since each path is similar and eventually end up in the same spot (the fire with Trixx to talk to), choose whichever one you feel is the easiest (or get used to the quickest). After a few hundred falls, I settled on the far right one, the one with two Quaggan. There are a few large jump gaps and two sets of candy cane rungs to navigate, but I found once I got the hang of jumping the flakes and canes, I could get to the gifts [the second half] almost every time. Here are some jumping tips, but first, one that is most important in my opinion: disable your dodge/evade in the Options.

Opening the Options Menu, in the Winter Wonderland area of Guild Wars 2
[Quote from 'Forceome': "agh this is so hard can't get past the first part"]
(Click to see Full Size)

To disable the Double-Tap-To-Evade, hit Escape or click on the Gear icon in the upper left, then in the Game Menu that pops up, click on the Gear icon again for the Options. In the first window that opens, there should be checkboxes at the bottom. Simply uncheck (if there is one) the Double-Tap to Evade option to disable it, for now.

In the Options Menu, adjusting the Double-Tap to Evade setting in the Winter Wonderland area of Guild Wars 2
(Click to see Full Size)

This is important for this jumping puzzle because, as you correct your character's position on the platforms, or hit a key twice in excitement as you move around, disabling this will stop you from hurtling yourself off of snowflakes and mints or into oncoming snowboulders later (that's right not snowballs, snowBOULDERS).

After disabling that option, the rest of the game is mostly getting used to the jumping:

• I suggest zooming out a little, to see the flakes ahead of you a bit easier. Also, I suggest having a viewing angle of about 45degrees or sharper down towards your character. It is easier to gauge distance this way, instead of seeing 2+ snowflakes ahead of you in a flatter, more restrictive view that doesn't show you just how far you have to jump or where the next snowflake is, as clearly
   
• Get your hands in a comfortable position and have lots of room to move your mouse (if you do not have your sensitivity up high). As there is a time-limit involved, you will be spinning your mouse around quickly to navigate the turning angles and giving your mouse more room to move around may help in not bumping into anything and stopping it from being able to turn your character
   
• Jump as late as possible for the larger gaps. Start to move towards the edge of the snowflake in the direction you want to go and press AND HOLD the spacebar to leap as far as you can
   
• Find out which way of stopping your forward travel while in the air is easiest for you. You may find that letting go of the spacebar is easier (when you need to just drop down or drop quicker so you don't overshoot a platform). For me, I found that while holding forward and jump to leap through the air, letting go of the W (forward) was easier for me, so that's how I'll explain it in the following tips
    
• For smaller platforms (snowflakes, mints, gifts, etc), I hold my spacebar down as I leap towards it, and as I come over top of the platform, I let go of W when centered over it, so that I basically drop down onto it perfectly, without overshooting or getting too close to the edge. This also leaves a little bit of a run-way to build up a jump to the next platform, whatever it may be
    
• Although it might feel good to get a long chain of jumps together in a row, I suggest not getting into this habit too much, as the twisting paths and changes in gap spaces make it harder the longer you try to keep your hands in the same position and not 'resetting' your hands on the keyboard/mouse. I found it was easier to get past the snowflake portion [the entire first half of the game] if I let my hands reset often, even if I did not feel rushed or could keep going in one long jumping chain. It gives you a second to breathe and reset your hands and refocus
   
• Speaking of focus, when you find your eyes starting to wonder a bit (there is a lot of nice stuff to look at and your health going down is unnerving and distracting of course), try not to look at your health. This takes your eyes away from the platforms and stutters your concentration. Yes, your health is going down slowly and it will, as long as you are not by a fire, so just let it do so - and if it is getting close to the end (it will as you get close to the Mints middle part) try not to look at it, as it will take precious seconds away from your forward movement and focus. You will eventually die from the cold, if you do, just let yourself die and you'll get a chance to start over, don't look at anything on your HUD if you can
   
• I found navigating the candy cane rungs easiest by doing this technique: I would hold the space bar down and I jumped straight up and then I would tap the forward key (W by default), holding them both for one second, then letting both of them go. This would launch me up, then forward a bit, then drop down, right on the next rung/cane. [Hopefully, this old-school 'hold-a-then-b' style of jumping will help you past those treacherous treats]
   

In the middle, once you pass the ungodly snowflakes, there is the toymaker Trixx, awaiting your decision as to whether you want to try for extra prizes or take a consolation prize at this point. There is also the choice to give up a chance for bonus prizes by starting at this spot again if you fall when jumping from here to the end. Note that this does not allow you to ALWAYS start from here, it only gives you TWO chances to fall and start from this mid-point. Once those are used up, you will get forcefully placed back at the start of this Wonderful Wonderland of Woe.

In the second half of the puzzle, there are a scattering of gift boxes to jump on, then some mountain paths with snowBOULDERS rolling towards you. If that isn't enough pressure, there are also gusts of wind from large "friendly" snowmen and icicle missiles that drop down on you, all while you try to climb up the mountain pathway. Some tips for this section are:

• Although noone really knows how the gift-boxes work and what triggers them (some have said they are a fixed pattern, but they do not seem so and some have said it's if others touch them first, but I have seen boxes pop and disappear without anyone touching them), it does appear that if one person goes, you can go next over the ones that did not explode; but if a group of people go, the gifts go explode-crazy and I suggest waiting until they reset
   
• Don't just frantically tap spacebar and think it will work all the time on getting past these gifts. There are gaps between some of them and some will explode in front of you - so you must then adjust and hold the spacebar to get over the new gap. [I could have sworn wildly tapping the spacebar worked far better closer to the start of this event, but it seems it does not do so anymore]
   
• Once past the gifts, watch out for a gust of wind as you cross a large mint and hop down onto a candy cane bridge. Then, move onto the large mints on the side of the mountain paths, as snowBOULDERS will be coming down at you Indiana-Jones-style
   
• As you avoid the boulders and get onto the side mints, watch out also for glowing rings of fire on the ground, signalling an Area-Of-Effect incoming and stay out of the rings [It seems as though it is a giant icicle that drops down on the spot, but I have not paid enough attention to it to see exactly what it is yet]

Finally, at the end (watch out for one last snowBOULDER), are a pile of spilled gifts to the right that you must jump across to leap into the exit (a huge glowing gift box portal). The way that I prefer to do this last portion is shown in this animated GIF:

Once you jump into the huge glow and come out the other side, enjoy the rewards that await you and settle gently into the idea that you only have to do all of this 19 more times to get the Achievement!

Don't worry, it can be done... Along with some of the tips covered above, here is a full Playthrough [with embedded tip reminders] of The Winter Wonderland Jumping Puzzle of Wintersday:

Good Luck with it - hopefully these techniques will help you out a bit - and See You In The Game!