Guild Wars 2

Will we ever be able to complete the personal story solo or with one friend?

When I got through to the final part of the personal storyline I was very surprised to find that it could not be soloed since every single quest prior has been soloable.

My son and I are wondering if we will ever get to fight the dragon. Given the state of the game population it is difficult to get anyone to do this and two is not enough.

I’ve played many MMOs with personal storylines and never once were they not soloable. Anyway it is not a huge deal to me as a primary PvPer but my young son was quite disappointed.

Not sure how forcing us to group and do a dungeon fits with this quote..

Quote:
It’s extremely important that we stay true to our philosophy that you should be able to play Guild Wars 2 the way you want to play the game
~Colin Johanson

Probably not, like any dungeon it is designed for five players, I doubt you could get to the final battle in less than four players (maybe three if you’re good and very patient).

Are you using gw2lfg.com ? If not, this will make the world of difference in finding a group for any dungeon, it only took me two tries to find a full Zhaitan party.

PS: If you are really really stuck, just ask on the forum and I’m sure people would be happy to help you out.

You are not understanding the issue. Yes everyone can find a group, sooner or later. The issue is that in a PERSONAL story line, no group should EVER be required. There is no sense of personal achievement in a forced group.

Tumult.2578:

You are not understanding the issue. Yes everyone can find a group, sooner or later. The issue is that in a PERSONAL story line, no group should EVER be required. There is no sense of personal achievement in a forced group.

Is that the OP’s issue, or your issue? There are at least three other open posts on this, I understand the point being made and agree with it (to a certain extent), although it’s nothing I’d get my panties tied up in a knot over. In this particular thread, the OP mentions the difficulty he had in finding a group to complete personal story with his son. I am replying directly to the OP on this point trying to be helpful, not on issues raised in other threads. Sheesh.

He asks about doing the storyline solo and complains that he cant solo it. He comments that no other MMO he’s played requires or forces grouping for a personal story. He shows the philosophy supposedly used to create the game and how different it ended up. And yes, he comments about finding groups difficult, and your comment regarding finding groups was very constructive. He NEVER mentions the dungeon. I simply found your justification for forced grouping," BECAUSE it’s in a dungeon", unreasonable. No offense intended. I certainly could have chosen a better way to start my last response. It sounds like it’s not just my issue, or his, or yours, but alot of people’s issue. I discovered it yesterday and I’m still fuming!

I am personally glad that it is how it is. I would have been very disappointed if the big, bad, super-boss of the story that we’ve been told is super scary and super tough to handle were killed by just me and my lonesome. I was actually quite relieved that it required I find some other people to complete; it made the experience much more satisfying.

Tumult.2578:

You are not understanding the issue. Yes everyone can find a group, sooner or later. The issue is that in a PERSONAL story line, no group should EVER be required. There is no sense of personal achievement in a forced group.

Exactly! I had purposely not read any spoilers about my personal story quests so imagine my disappointment only a few minutes ago to find my personal story now requires gathering up outsiders (be they friends or strangers) to complete this.

Rising Dusk.2408:

I am personally glad that it is how it is. I would have been very disappointed if the big, bad, super-boss of the story that we’ve been told is super scary and super tough to handle were killed by just me and my lonesome. I was actually quite relieved that it required I find some other people to complete; it made the experience much more satisfying.

I never said alone. I just said without other player characters. There were plenty of tough encounters where I had help from NPCs during the personal storyline. Why couldn’t that pattern continue? Why should I have to be bring total strangers into my personal storyline instead of continuing with the NPC’s that had my back the whole way through?

It just feels devious to be able to fight all the way through what is supposed to be a personal storyline with the support of NPCs and then suddenly be forced to group with other players and do a dungeon to finish the last part.

Daemon.4295:

Probably not, like any dungeon it is designed for five players, I doubt you could get to the final battle in less than four players (maybe three if you’re good and very patient).

Are you using gw2lfg.com ? If not, this will make the world of difference in finding a group for any dungeon, it only took me two tries to find a full Zhaitan party.

PS: If you are really really stuck, just ask on the forum and I’m sure people would be happy to help you out.

I appreciate your input and we actually did get a group together at one point.

First, we had to spend I don’t know how long just to secure the area. Then after I don’t know how long we got everybody in a group.

After a few afks and getting some replacements for drops we finally enter the dungeon.

We get through to the first boss but our group can’t drop him. We get him down to near half health but then the boss heals himself back up. This goes on for about 30 minutes. So I ask another player why won’t this boss die and he says ‘we don’t have enough DPS’. I think to myself ‘Holy Trinity’.

I look at the clock and realize we have spent 2 hours now trying to do this last part of the personal storyline and we are now failing at the first boss mob (for whatever reason) so we left to eat dinner and never return.

Rising Dusk? You can’t envision a massive battle with a large contingent of Pact npc’s helping you struggle to the point where you can finally reach and trigger the giant crossbow that pierces the dragons armor fatally?, or the plunger that Pact forces hooked up to the device that triggers an explosion that destroys the entire island and the dragon with it, or… do I need to go on? There are many ways it could have been done to everyones enjoyment, without forced grouping.

Sureshot.6725:

Daemon.4295:

Probably not, like any dungeon it is designed for five players, I doubt you could get to the final battle in less than four players (maybe three if you’re good and very patient).

Are you using gw2lfg.com ? If not, this will make the world of difference in finding a group for any dungeon, it only took me two tries to find a full Zhaitan party.

PS: If you are really really stuck, just ask on the forum and I’m sure people would be happy to help you out.

I appreciate your input and we actually did get a group together at one point.

First, we had to spend I don’t know how long just to secure the area. Then after I don’t know how long we got everybody in a group.

After a few afks and getting some replacements for drops we finally enter the dungeon.

We get through to the first boss but our group can’t drop him. We get him down to near half health but then the boss heals himself back up. This goes on for about 30 minutes. So I ask another player why won’t this boss die and he says ‘we don’t have enough DPS’. I think to myself ‘Holy Trinity’.

I look at the clock and realize we have spent 2 hours now trying to do this last part of the personal storyline and we are now failing at the first boss mob (for whatever reason) so we left to eat dinner and never return.

Yeah, I hate when dungeon entrances are contested. But definitely use gw2lfg.com , soooo much faster than trying to shout for a group as shouting is restricted to one map on one server. Apparently Anet will be integrating a similar functionality some time soon.

PS: the reason why you lost that battle is that the boss eats those grubs or whatever they are to heal. You need to take out the grubs as quickly as possible.

Wait, so I have to do a dungeon to finish the personal storyline? Well, that kills any desire I had to finish the personal storyline since dungeons are horribly designed and amazingly unfun. I’m already peeved that I can’t even attempt dungeons solo without dragging a group down just to learn how the dungeon works, now I am forced to play with other people to finish my solo stuff? That’s really dumb.

Well its been almost a week and ANet has not responded to the question. So without a straight YES or NO I think we can take this as a possible some day way in the future but not being considered at the moment.

Sure would be neat to just be able to solo along with other NPC legendary fighters from the Orders. That way I wouldn’t be forced into grouping and dependent on others. Also would make my character more important within my own personal storyline.

Quote:
“It’s extremely important that we stay true to our philosophy that you should be able to play Guild Wars 2 the way you want to play the game.”
~Colin Johanson

Not True

“…and it starts with asking a very simple question that surprisingly isn’t asked that often in game development: “Are you having fun?” – Colin Johanson https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/is-it-fun-colin-johanson-on-how-arenanet-measures-success/

Personal Story Failure = No, it’s not Fun to be forced into grouping.

Guild Wars 2’s Ree Soesbee Explains Personal Story SEE: http://www.gamebreaker.tv/mmorpg/tales-of-tyria/

No mention of requiring grouping to complete a PERSONAL story.

“…When you’re playing through the game, you’re going to see an amazing open world with plenty to do, but you also get to play through the equivalent of a full-fledged single-player RPG…” Leif Chappelle – http://www.arena.net/blog/the-evolution-of-narrative-in-personal-story

Again, not true. And these are but a few examples that are NOT the actual experience in GW2 as contained in the press releases.

Frankly, I like many others are extremely disappointed.
1) This is Trehearn’s story – not my character’s.
2) It is NOT a personal story that can be completed solo since it requires a dungeon and a group in order to complete the story.

Daemon.4295:

Tumult.2578:

You are not understanding the issue. Yes everyone can find a group, sooner or later. The issue is that in a PERSONAL story line, no group should EVER be required. There is no sense of personal achievement in a forced group.

Is that the OP’s issue, or your issue? There are at least three other open posts on this, I understand the point being made and agree with it (to a certain extent), although it’s nothing I’d get my panties tied up in a knot over. In this particular thread, the OP mentions the difficulty he had in finding a group to complete personal story with his son. I am replying directly to the OP on this point trying to be helpful, not on issues raised in other threads. Sheesh.

The OPer’s issue is that he doesn’t think the final quest should require a group. He raises 2 points in support of this issue:
1) It is hard to find a group to do the last quest.
2) Requiring the player to find a group to complete the last quest goes against Anet’s stated goals for GW 2.

Reading the OPer’s other posts tends to suggest that he is of the opinion that 1 is not an independent contention (it is hard to find groups for this quest) and that he could not be made fully satisfied by making it easier to find groups (especially since I feel he would rightly be upset to find someone elses character exclusively talking during HIS personal story cinematics).

From: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/personal

Definition of PERSONAL
1
: of, relating to, or affecting a particular person : private, individual <personal ambition> <personal financial gain>
2
a : done in person without the intervention of another; also : proceeding from a single person
b : carried on between individuals directly <a personal interview>
3
: relating to the person or body
4
: relating to an individual or an individual’s character, conduct, motives, or private affairs often in an offensive manner <a personal insult>
5
a : being rational and self-conscious <personal, responsive government is still possible — John Fischer>
b : having the qualities of a person rather than a thing or abstraction <a personal devil>
6
: of, relating to, or constituting personal property <a personal estate>
7
: denoting grammatical person
8
: intended for private use or use by one person <a personal stereo>

Except in GW2 personal means a group of five (5) or more.

@Raykole. You dont have to post the definition or personal.

The dungeon is a personal story.
The problem is that it is not your personal story
You get it?
It is Trahaerne personal story on how he devised a plan to beat Zhaitan and you are his lacky. In fact, Trahaerne had 5 other lacks just like you who went through the same trials as you did.

I’ve just hit this and it’s very disappointing. Bump!

I’m entirely with the OP (and others) on this. I get that the final battle is Trahearne’s – fine, no problem. Also that it’s obviously got to be epic. But everything else has been my story; the personal story of the final battle should be just that – the story of my contribution to that battle. Every part of that story before has been just that, even once Trahearne took over the lead character role. As an example, retaking Claw Island was his battle – but the story was of my contribution under his leadership. Forcing me to group for a dungeon to complete the final portion of my story – something I very much do not want to do, and probably never will – is at complete odds with everything in the personal story part of the game up to that point.

Let’s put that another way. One of the biggest flaws I saw in the original Guild Wars was the way it followed the outdated, ultimately lazy model of single player, single computer games, of simply making successive bits of the game harder as the primary way of controlling advancement – forcing max-level players to play ever “better” (if they could) to make progress, until as a solo player you either beat the game with a sigh of personal contentment, or found someone overpowered to rush you through the bits you couldn’t do. Or (as with so many single-player games) until you simply gave up.

Guild Wars 2 was a breath of fresh air in that respect; yes, it gets somewhat harder as you go along. There’s nothing wrong with extra difficulty in moderation; it simply shouldn’t be the overarching feature (and it should never intrude so much that it completely blocks further progress). But mostly the story arcs are tuned OK and beatable (and on more than one occasion, when they haven’t been, the dev’s have changed them so that they are).

Except at the end. Suddenly, BAM. Not only is the game too hard to beat on your own, but it’s deliberate. After weeks or months of support from the designers at every step to make sure you had at least a sporting chance on your personal story, they’ve made absolutely sure you can’t take the final one. “Sorry. Either go find a party to rush you, or go away. It may be the climax of your personal story, but we’ve decided that it’s too hard to design a climax that is both epic and solo-able. You’re just going to have to live with not being allowed to do it alone.” It’s crass. Worse, it’s lazy.

I do and don’t like the idea. The game is callled guild wars which implies that working together is necessary and I like that, however I find it very frustrating in that I have found no one who will complete the story with me, they all want to do thew exp side of the dungeon.

Meh, I don’t really see the big deal about the whole dungeon thing. I just asked in my guild “can anyone do my final story mission with me”, got a group in like 2 minutes, got in the dungeon, they didn’t mind me watching cutscenes (and there was another guy who needed to do Arah as well) and we got it done quickly enough.

…how hard is it to do that?

colesy.8490:

Meh, I don’t really see the big deal about the whole dungeon thing. I just asked in my guild “can anyone do my final story mission with me”, got a group in like 2 minutes, got in the dungeon, they didn’t mind me watching cutscenes (and there was another guy who needed to do Arah as well) and we got it done quickly enough.

…how hard is it to do that?

So this.

I agree that it is hard to find others willing to story these days and I think I read a post where the devs acknowledged that and said they are trying to remedy that.

However I don’t see any issue with the last story being a dungeon requiring a party. It is tryig to get you to experience and succeed at something you may have been avoiding. now that your story is near an end you are encouraged to see the other offerings of Tyria. You’ll also get that hin when you get one of he final rewards for completing the story which will be somehing you can onl use in a different part of the game.

If youdon’t like my thoughts on why a group is. a good thing to slay the elder dragon, just look what happene d when Destiny’s Edge tried to take on one wih 1 man short.

technically you could also do arah story with only 2 people. There is only one thi that requires activation at the same time.

Lastly /w me in game if you still want a run. My guild is runnnig 2 players alts through it for their completion very soon (like his weekend) and we are always happy to take others. We dungeon a lot and really enjoy doing all modes. ( easist to /w fangedterror and we are active nights 8pm est and on.)

Edit: typing on a phone FTL

Just hit this quest as well. Doesn’t seem anyone will run it in Story mode. It was also a surprise that a group is required to finish my story.

It is actually quite funny with people complaining about no-one wanting to do the dungeon.
Based on the number of such comment on this forums alone there would be enough people for over 10 groups.

lordkrall.7241:

It is actually quite funny with people complaining about no-one wanting to do the dungeon.
Based on the number of such comment on this forums alone there would be enough people for over 10 groups.

I don’t think it’s a lack of people but it’s some people don’t have the ability to devote 2 hours straight to do a dungeon and THEN do the story part. I have a young child, I am unable to devote that much time in one sitting and I will not ask people to put their game time on hold waiting on me if I have to suddenly Away From Keyboard which happens often.

At least with the other story missions you could akitten or worse case just restart without wasting anyone elses time.

Pretty much resolved myself to not doing the last mission on any of my characters – if it happens it happens but I am very disapointed that ANet did the bait and switch on this.

Edit – really, AwayFromKeyboard gets replaced with kitten? Wow.

Rising Dusk.2408:

I am personally glad that it is how it is. I would have been very disappointed if the big, bad, super-boss of the story that we’ve been told is super scary and super tough to handle were killed by just me and my lonesome. I was actually quite relieved that it required I find some other people to complete; it made the experience much more satisfying.

In my honest opinion Claw Island is PERFECT! It wasn’t too long. It felt epic. There were many but it was single-player. We need something like Claw Island, but way bigger, for the Zhaitan battle. I’m incredibly sad that after months of hard work I simply cannot finish my personal story, and by personal story I mean Trahearne’s personal story.

lordkrall.7241:

It is actually quite funny with people complaining about no-one wanting to do the dungeon.
Based on the number of such comment on this forums alone there would be enough people for over 10 groups.

It would be ironic if we were all on the same servers at the same time and all had the time to devout to Arah in story+ mode. Personally I live in a time zone that is closer to Eastern Australia’s time (albeit a day earlier) than it is to the US east coast time. And I play at some rather odd hours… I can hear the undead crickets chirping in Orr.