Guild Wars 2

Hello there,

I know that this subject comes up all the time, and I hope this doesn’t come off as rudeness at all:

Without the addition of an -official- roleplaying server, Tarnished Coast simply feels like any other server, except with roleplaying dialogue happening every now and again. The way I like to play is with those who love the lore and want to feel like their characters in the awesome world you created.
My immersion is broken when I see other players who do not play for the same reasons as me, (be it “LFG” spamming, legendary weapon flaunting, or generally whining about the game’s features).
Roleplayers are a reclusive bunch sometimes, and while the community is trying very hard to band together and create something great, I cannot help but feel that so many of my grievances, (along with many other’s) could be solved by simply adding an “RP SERVER” badge next to the server’s name.
If it is somehow impossible to do this, I would truly appreciate wondering why it was.
ArenaNet has created something incredible, and the roleplaying community wants to make the best of it, yet I feel ya’ll can’t help a brotha out.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this.

If your immersion is broken by map chat, you need to hone your imagination a little bit. And honestly, if you think an “official” roleplay server is going to stop people from doing that in map chat, you are sadly mistaken. I’ll tell you right now. Many other games have an RP tag next to some server names and the only thing it has ever accomplished is painted a target for griefers.

Goodness gracious, so hostile from even the kindest of statements.
I’m going to imagine that you aren’t a roleplayer, and thus do not understand the frustration that this issue ensues. That’s alright, but if you don’t have a proper understanding of the target audience, I don’t think you are the most qualified person to answer, or comment, to this inquiry.

I disagree with the notion that “the only thing it has ever accomplished is painted a target for grievers”. Community vigilance could pretty easily smash that down. World of Warcraft actually had a pretty well-controlled RP server.

If anything, I understand that this wasn’t a necessary feature to begin the game with, as moderating an RP server is something that isn’t as important as early game bugs. However Its been a few months now and I thought that these concerns should be brought to the table for the necessary part of the community to address.

Lykoaster.3780:

Goodness gracious, so hostile from even the kindest of statements.
I’m going to imagine that you aren’t a roleplayer, and thus do not understand the frustration that this issue ensues. That’s alright, but if you don’t have a proper understanding of the target audience, I don’t think you are the most qualified person to answer, or comment, to this inquiry.

I disagree with the notion that “the only thing it has ever accomplished is painted a target for grievers”. Community vigilance could pretty easily smash that down. World of Warcraft actually had a pretty well-controlled RP server.

If anything, I understand that this wasn’t a necessary feature to begin the game with, as moderating an RP server is something that isn’t as important as early game bugs. However Its been a few months now and I thought that these concerns should be brought to the table for the necessary part of the community to address.

I can’t say I see where the impression of hostility is coming from. Honestly, I’ve been on the RP servers in WoW. One was actually my home for 6+ years. Despite the tag, half of the people on them weren’t even aware the servers were RP designated, and community vigilance does absolutely nothing against anyone with a mind for griefing RPers, because ultimately the only thing that will ever stop someone is disciplinary intervention, and griefers are honestly very good at walking the line between annoying behavior and bannable rules violations. As an RPer on Tarnished Coast, I’d much rather it stay unofficial for those reasons.

Unfortunately, even the RP community usually can’t decide on where the line should be drawn. Some of us (like me) are OK with OOC conversations going on in Map chat, and we even find it convenient to be alerted when events are up, when people are looking for groups etc. Others might on the extreme end of the RP spectrum and get upset when any sort of OOC talk shows up at all, even if it’s appended with (()), believing that any OOC topics should be addressed only in whispers. Yet more will fall somewhere in between.

And even if that’s resolved, there’s still sticky issues like the content of RP. Suppose you have a player who wants to roleplay a racist Charr, and goes around being snide and rude to all Human players he meets. It’s completely in character, and the player may be careful not to go overboard, but I can guarantee that somebody will inevitably take offence for real and report them and/or get their friends/guildies in on the action.

Then there’s also the Lore problems. A good example are the Sylvari. You have players who are roleplaying themselves as Secondborn, or a member of the Nightmare Court, or a Sylvari that is otherwise completely disconnected from the events of their Personal Story. Most RP’ers are fine with this, but there will inevitably be some who insist that a Sylvari character must at least adhere to the spirit of their Personal Story, which means no Secondborn, Nightmare Court or elder Sylvari.

And let’s not even mention the players who create characters that are clearly taken from other fantasy settings. :P (The other day I saw a character who obviously made their character to look exactly like a D&D drow, complete with a female drow name and a Black Widow spider pet. Completely lore-breaking, but I have to admire the effort they put into it!)

With such variance in the RP community, trying to have an official RP server means that you’d need somebody in charge of it all, which means rules need to be laid down, and not everybody will agree with those rules. It will just end up being a mess and result in a lot of hurt and angry players. I’d rather stick with an unofficial server and let the RP community form their own smaller groups within it.

That’s a very valid point.
I can take off map chat, and try to ignore the pink Norns, but in the end, I don’t know which is worse: A few griefers, or quite a few non-roleplayers, (Not too sure what else to call them).

I personally find griefing to be a very rare instance, while non-roleplayers are a constant annoyance, but I see where you are coming from.
If there were to be stricter policies about conduct on the RP server, like was shown with the infamous karma weapon exploit, I think it could work out well.
Again, I think this is heavily dependent on how serious ArenaNet would take it, but you make a really good argument. Still, however, I’d like a designated RP server, and I’d like to take my chances with rare griefers that can be openly reported rather than open forum of anything and everything, where griefers cannot be reported for being rude.

Apologies if I misread your post as overly hostile when you didn’t mean them to be. It’s always difficult to understand a person’s individual inflection through text alone.

Seriously, most peoples ideas of roleplaying is cyber sex.

i do know what roleplaying is i played pen and paper games for the better part of 22 years.

I love Roleplaying, but her is the skinny Jr.
between
Everquest
Fina Fantasy Online
World of Warcraft
Star Wars
Rift
Vanguard
Eve Online
DDO
CoV & CoH
GW 1
you, if you are a true Role Player like my self, will never find any good roleplaying on a MMO.

Lykoaster.3780:

That’s a very valid point.
I can take off map chat, and try to ignore the pink Norns, but in the end, I don’t know which is worse: A few griefers, or quite a few non-roleplayers, (Not too sure what else to call them).

I personally find griefing to be a very rare instance, while non-roleplayers are a constant annoyance, but I see where you are coming from.
If there were to be stricter policies about conduct on the RP server, like was shown with the infamous karma weapon exploit, I think it could work out well.
Again, I think this is heavily dependent on how serious ArenaNet would take it, but you make a really good argument. Still, however, I’d like a designated RP server, and I’d like to take my chances with rare griefers that can be openly reported rather than open forum of anything and everything, where griefers cannot be reported for being rude.

Apologies if I misread your post as overly hostile when you didn’t mean them to be. It’s always difficult to understand a person’s individual inflection through text alone.

I understand where you’re coming from, but I think it’s extremely unlikely that we’ll ever get a dedicated RP server for all the reasons I mentioned. I don’t do that much RP myself (too much stuff to do in-game otherwise!), but I try not to do anything that would ruin the RP experiences for people I do see around me. I don’t use OOC speech in Say, jump on tables they’re sitting at and start dancing, cast spells in the area, or lure monsters to them. One time I did accidentally trigger an event near a group of roleplayers which ended up drawing them into the fight, but in my defense I had no idea that simply walking close to the NPC would make them go hostile.

If anything, my impression of the community on Tarnished Coast has been overwhelmingly positive so far. Even those who don’t RP are usually very considerate and tolerant of those who do, a welcome change from other games where if you try to RP in an area, somebody will usually try to spoil your fun.

And I think that apology was directed to someone else.

Kaimick.5109:

Seriously, most peoples ideas of roleplaying is cyber sex.

i do know what roleplaying is i played pen and paper games for the better part of 22 years.

I love Roleplaying, but her is the skinny Jr.
between
Everquest
Fina Fantasy Online
World of Warcraft
Star Wars
Rift
Vanguard
Eve Online
DDO
CoV & CoH
GW 1
you, if you are a true Role Player like my self, will never find any good roleplaying on a MMO.

There are many great roleplaying groups in an MMO. All you need to do, Jr., is open your eyes to where you wouldn’t expect them to be. Friendliness doesn’t hurt either.

While pen and paper games are surely an incredible way to grow your imagination and play by your own rules with a close group of friends, the way humans interact with roleplaying is indeed changing. All I’m posing for is an emblem by the Tarnished Coast server name to show people where it is they are welcome.

Your comment about sex is already false as I do not roleplay for that reason, so begone with that, yo.

By the way, anyone who feels the need to call themselves a “true” anything is not that thing.

I think this has been a relatively eye-opening conversation.
I’m surprised by the amount of people who are strong in the idea of an unofficial server. I am just disheartened by the lack of roleplayers that I see in public places.

If anything, I remember in the development of the game that there was talk of having stages for the community to host their own plays, shows, etc. Perhaps just having more “things” to bring the community together would be what we need… Something besides the tavern-talks.

Anyway guys, thanks for the responses. While I really dislike having to wade through the inappropriate comments, It’d be worth it to hear a good idea.

Lykoaster.3780:

I am just disheartened by the lack of roleplayers that I see in public places.

If anything, I remember in the development of the game that there was talk of having stages for the community to host their own plays, shows, etc. Perhaps just having more “things” to bring the community together would be what we need… Something besides the tavern-talks.

Taverns are usually the place to go for RP. There’s just too much that can go wrong in other areas; wandering monsters, dynamic events, bot trains etc. Also, it seems that most dedicated RPers have joined RP guilds and thus usually only RP with those people. Occasionally I will still see some people roleplaying in the middle of a map, and sometimes I join in if it’s appropriate, but most of the time I tend to feel like I’m intruding. (There’s been a few times where they actually told me to get lost because it was a “private RP”.)

New to the game, I was wondering though that if Tarnished Coast was the only place for RP or if there were small sects on other realms. I have friends on the server I’m currently on and I don’t believe they’re too into the whole RP thing.

Tarnished Coast (US) and Piken Square (EU) are the two unofficial servers for RP, although even on those servers most RP still tends to happen in popular areas like taverns or scenic landscapes.

If you’re looking more for a small, tight-knit group of RPers, your best bet is to join a RP guild, and I’m sure there’d be some on most servers.

Put RP next to a server, allow a free window of time for players to migrate. Problem solved.

I have roleplayed for many, many years and I would never expect something like mapchat to be an in character space.

Lykoaster.3780:

There are many great roleplaying groups in an MMO. All you need to do, Jr., is open your eyes to where you wouldn’t expect them to be. Friendliness doesn’t hurt either.

Okay, besides the cyber sex thing, I don’ think he said anything ta deserve yer condescending attitude there – if ya want people ta treat you like a grown up, ya gotta act like one.

I find it funny that yer so convinced that you’ve been attacked by all these anti-rpers in this thread, when most ah the people what are commenting here are roleplayers but don’ agree with yer idea.

I started jus’ this thread about two months ago or so, but since then I think I’ve changed me mind. One, because I do remember the griefers in other MMOs an’ know most of em are too lazy ta find out where the rp is without a tag. Two, because rp is about buildin’ community an’ it’s real easy for any rper ta type “Guild Wars 2 rp server” an’ get their answer – plus be introduced ta the main hub for allota rpers in the game.

For were ya find rp … I roleplay all over the place – I’m almost always rpin’ in the field when I run inta people; three months inta the game and I’ve only been in ah bar once. If I wanna find someone ta rp with on Tarnished Coast I can always find someone, even in the middle ah the night when I play.

Bothered by people what aren’ rpin’ in the game or world chat? Makin’ it an RP server won’t change that … there are allota people drawn ta the RP servers ‘cause the community there’s jus’ friendlier even though they don’ want ta do any roleplayin’ themselves. And in ah MMO there’s always gonna be stuff ya hafta either ignore or work inta yer RP from the game itself – Waypoints, Ressing, Crazy Fighting Maneuvers, Magic Food, No one livin’ in the houses, etc. It’s just gonna happen, so ignore it or work with it. (Like the never endin’ Risen; I rp that you can’ really kill em, jus’ put em outa order for a bit – since they’re already dead – but they always get back up eventually. This way I work the game’s Spawn mechanics inta me rp.)

This isn’ ah PnP game, (An’ I always find it darlin’ when ah MMO player tries ta pretend that online rpin’ is soooo elite. I’ve probably played in more settin’s and systems than you’ve got years in yer skin … Jr.) so yer never gonna avoid stuff conflictin’ with yer immersion.

I don’t RP, but I think that it should get a little [RP] tag, or you should get to know why it doesn’t.

All the “it wouldn’t do any good anyway” “yes it would” and “you can’t police non-RPers” arguments aside; why doesn’t it have one?

What’s the big deal? What would it hurt? What’s the worse that could happen if you did? How much work could it possibly be?

Maybe there’s players joining, hoping to RP, assuming there isn’t an RP server and going elsewhere instead, and never discovering otherwise. Maybe there are players with some heavy PTSD issues with RP going and, unknowingly, joining Tarnished Coast and then going into a cognitive tailspin.

Anet is perfectly happy saying there’s an unofficial spot for RPers, I don’t see why they would have a problem with recognising them officially.

All that said, if this gets no traction you could try asking why in the Lore forums. They get dev responses quite a lot, and I imagine the lore devs are happy that others like their lore so much.

Anastasia.8697:

What’s the big deal? What would it hurt? What’s the worse that could happen if you did? How much work could it possibly be?

That’s pretty much the tl;dr version of everything I would want to say about this.
Very well put.

Anastasia.8697:

What’s the big deal? What would it hurt? What’s the worse that could happen if you did? How much work could it possibly be?

Honestly , it does require plus work.

When Anet says there is a unofficial RP server , that only means , “RP players can gather here and find more like them” , BUT , they dont take any responsibility over the “special” kind of grief RPers got. Which means a few more guys to check complains … cause RPers server do generate lots more than a normal server.

That means , the server rules are the same , only part of the players in it are not.

Also to add the server now would require Anet to add another server , since they cant really force the not RPers to move simple because they want to change the server tag. usually in games there is a warning before you create in RPers or PvP servers ,right? While i admit , no idea how much it would cost for Anet to create/sustain another server.

Honestly I do not see any purpose whatsoever of RP, period. I guess you have to be a certain breed of person to love RP’n so much. I will not be racist on those that RP on any of my servers. If you enjoy it then that is your business not mine. I play games for timesinking, and get my head out of the clouds with real live problems. It is my theropy.

I do think we should have some type of Roleplaying servers for those that want them, but, I am sure people will complain do to them rather having more servers to play on, instead of the wasted cash spent by the company on Roleplaying servers. Roleplayers are not the majority of the gaming community, Most are PVE players, or PVP players.

So you are feeling isolated because you can’t isolate yourself?

If you want to RP, find other players that want to RP, get in groups or guilds, and RP.

In any case, it’ll be great if we could make our own quests like in Star Trek online, allowing RP in customized maps.

But special servers for that? No.

I will always be against worlds with particular settings excepting language.
No RP servers, no PK servers, no am level servers, no ‘vanilla’ servers with updates or expansions disabled, etc.

The reason I don’t like this idea is because all my friends are on Piken Square (The European RP server), while I don’t RP, and if I get more friends (who don’t RP) to play this game, they could get discouraged to join the server because it’s official.

And I’m not just making that up, I had to tell a friend that you don’t see them outside the cities before she was comfortable joining.

I’m sure someone said it already (didn’t read the whole thread yet) but you realize you can filter out map chat, yes? Do you also realize that in pretty much all MMORPGs the map/general/what have you chat is the OOC chat, yes?

Lykoaster.3780:

I think this has been a relatively eye-opening conversation.
I’m surprised by the amount of people who are strong in the idea of an unofficial server. I am just disheartened by the lack of roleplayers that I see in public places.

If anything, I remember in the development of the game that there was talk of having stages for the community to host their own plays, shows, etc. Perhaps just having more “things” to bring the community together would be what we need… Something besides the tavern-talks.

Anyway guys, thanks for the responses. While I really dislike having to wade through the inappropriate comments, It’d be worth it to hear a good idea.

On Tarnished Coast, I have:

• Attended a play in the Grove
• Been literally dragged into an RP group that I found while exploring, so I joined them for a bit
• Met a group of racist humans in Divinity’s Reach while on my Charr
• Been RP hit on by a random Norn on my tiny female Norn
• Met a wandering pack of RPing Charr in the Black Citadel

I’m sure there’s more I can’t think of at the moment.

Just so you know. My guild felt there wasn’t enough RP going on outside of DR so they gathered up a group of people and went outside. They regularly RP outside of the city

If you don’t think there’s enough RP going on in whatever place, gather up some people and start RPing!

Also, keep in my two things:
- If you are not RPing and find players who are, consider them NPCs. And just like with NPCs, ignore them unless they go “CITIZENS! …” You can’t ignore that…
- If you are RPing anf find players who are not and annoy you, ignore them and consider them ‘deranged’.

The only reason I think an official “RP” server tag should even be implemented is for those who already know what the tag stands for and look for it to see what fellow roleplayers play on.

The tag itself won’t stop people from breaking character/immersion in standard chat channels, nor has it ever in other games, but it certainly helps remove any confusion as to what the roleplaying servers are, unofficial or otherwise.

an official RP server is a good idea solely to help gather all like minded players to a certain server, there will be rule breakers everywhere. But atleast now RP players won;t be alone and could actually find other RP players.

( not an RP player myself )

Nox Aeterna.2965:

Anastasia.8697:

What’s the big deal? What would it hurt? What’s the worse that could happen if you did? How much work could it possibly be?

Honestly , it does require plus work.

When Anet says there is a unofficial RP server , that only means , “RP players can gather here and find more like them” , BUT , they dont take any responsibility over the “special” kind of grief RPers got. Which means a few more guys to check complains … cause RPers server do generate lots more than a normal server.

That means , the server rules are the same , only part of the players in it are not.

Also to add the server now would require Anet to add another server , since they cant really force the not RPers to move simple because they want to change the server tag. usually in games there is a warning before you create in RPers or PvP servers ,right? While i admit , no idea how much it would cost for Anet to create/sustain another server.

I think we have a fundamental disagreement -

I don’t think adding an “RP” tag on the server list would ALSO require Anet to police the server and address people joining who weren’t RPing or impose rules.
I think it would just be a quick and easy way to identify the server with the most roleplay in the server list for new or transferring players.

I’m glad to see that this conversation got some more attention!

I am seeing a trend for some commenters that they think I am unaware of disabling map chat. Just to clarify, I know you can customize your chat to what you do/don’t want to see, however there is a certain amount of interaction that takes place in “say” chat that would be awfully distracting for roleplayers. Even if this “distracting” talk wasn’t intentional, it can still happen and dampen the certain experience that I am trying to create. An RP server would help diminish the amount of distracting talk, in my opinion.

Another issue in this thread is that the word “isolation” is being morphed into “antisocial”. I’ve got plenty of buddies who RP with me, and I’m an all-around respectful, talkative person with other players. While other RPers are definitely in existence, they are quite often either shy or keep their RPs private and between close friends. So far, in order to RP in Guild Wars 2 you need to be apart of a specialized guild, get lucky, or go to a tavern.
I have read everything said on this thread so I could understand the opposing arguments, but after listening, I still believe that an official addition of an RP server would greatly benefit the community as a whole.

I doubt adding 4 new servers is any kind of a stretch for Anet to accomplish.
2 RP servers (1EU, 1US) for the average roleplayers.
2 RP servers (1EU, 1US) for the hardcore roleplayers.
The first allowing for LFG and such, but the general spirit of the server would be for the purpose of roleplaying. The latter would have strict rules about what’s allowed and what’s not, such as that one cannot ever break from character, nor have a character who doesn’t fit at all into the lore.

I RP constantly on TC. I am surrounded by RPers everywhere I go. We simply ignore the twits who want to spam us with attacks. And really, /map is populated by a Herd of Stupid! Don’t go there.

This message was brought to you by a Kitten Who Role Plays

Maybe I should look at joining an RP guild… Trouble is, that would mean I can’t really represent my existing guild, which consists of RL friends I’ve gamed with across several other games. :/

At the same time though, some RP guilds can be pretty strict about attendence and participation. There are times when I just want to log in and run around harvesting/completing hearts because I just don’t feel up to RP at the moment.

I honestly had no idea that there was an “Unofficial Roleplay Server”, but I wish I did know! So maybe making it official would help people learn of it’s existence.

I “sort of” roleplay by default. I try to look very pretty so that people will pay attention to me. I generally type very proper and avoid using things like LFG. When I advertise for our guild (The Tyrian Explorers Society), I advertise as if we’re the same people who send mail when you complete an area.

And I find you get a pretty friendly response from that kind of thing, even on a non-roleplay server. When I talk with friends or guildmates in game, I talk normal of course, as I don’t expect them to do it too.

So, while I wouldn’t join a roleplaying server (due to wanting to hang out with friends in game), I’m really glad you guys exist.

Kaimick.5109:

Seriously, most peoples ideas of roleplaying is cyber sex.

i do know what roleplaying is i played pen and paper games for the better part of 22 years.

I love Roleplaying, but her is the skinny Jr.
between
Everquest
Fina Fantasy Online
World of Warcraft
Star Wars
Rift
Vanguard
Eve Online
DDO
CoV & CoH
GW 1
you, if you are a true Role Player like my self, will never find any good roleplaying on a MMO.

I completely agree. I haven’t had 22 years of experience, but I have had 8+ years of forum experience where posts required 500+ words of intelligent language. That is true roleplaying, in my opinion. However, it’s different for everyone. You can’t expect that true RP experience when you go to an MMO that is not focused on a roleplay.

Nonetheless, for the OP… I am also on TC, and I’m surprised that you are struggling to find some good RP. Join an RP guild, go to DR and just hop in. There are always a ton of people in DR roleplaying when I get on. Plus, there are plenty of RP guilds to join (some of which are really heavy RP).

Regardless, I would hate to be on TC if I did not have the opportunity to do “LFG” for dungeons. I am here primarily for the game, but RP is fun on the side. If you are here primarily for RP, then an MMO probably isn’t right for you.

So what I’m getting from the OP is " I dont want to be around you non-RP jerks " and that an official RP server would fix their problem which just seems elitist to me . Dont get me wrong I’ve got profiles for all my characters and RP them on occasion but the whole official RP server thing is ludicrous.

lookitsandrea.8531:

Kaimick.5109:

Seriously, most peoples ideas of roleplaying is cyber sex.

i do know what roleplaying is i played pen and paper games for the better part of 22 years.

I love Roleplaying, but her is the skinny Jr.
between
Everquest
Fina Fantasy Online
World of Warcraft
Star Wars
Rift
Vanguard
Eve Online
DDO
CoV & CoH
GW 1
you, if you are a true Role Player like my self, will never find any good roleplaying on a MMO.

I completely agree. I haven’t had 22 years of experience, but I have had 8+ years of forum experience where posts required 500+ words of intelligent language. That is true roleplaying, in my opinion. However, it’s different for everyone. You can’t expect that true RP experience when you go to an MMO that is not focused on a roleplay.

Nonetheless, for the OP… I am also on TC, and I’m surprised that you are struggling to find some good RP. Join an RP guild, go to DR and just hop in. There are always a ton of people in DR roleplaying when I get on. Plus, there are plenty of RP guilds to join (some of which are really heavy RP).

Regardless, I would hate to be on TC if I did not have the opportunity to do “LFG” for dungeons. I am here primarily for the game, but RP is fun on the side. If you are here primarily for RP, then an MMO probably isn’t right for you.

I disagree 10000000%! I have been role playing since 1980. I have been LARPing since 1995. I meet all kinds of RPers on TC from excellent to hideous. I avoid the hideous ones, focus on the excellent ones and have fun every single time I log on. If all you see around you is bad RPers, either you aren’t looking hard enough or the problem is not an external one.

This message was brought to you by a Kitten with a Keyboard

500+ words for an RP post? Come on now. City of Heroes had a 255 character limit per post and we got along just fine.

I agree with the OP. An official RP server would be a godsend and would really make more of the playerbase feel at home. With lore as rich as GW2’s, why wouldn’t you roleplay it a bit? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to RP my Norn in the middle of a Claw of Jormag run. You know… stun the giant lizard with a Golem bomb, and charge forward with Savage Leap screaming “FOR BEAR AND FOR HOELBRAK!”

… ahem. Yes, RP server please.

I agree with the OP. It wouldn’t be much to just add a green [RP] tag to Tarnished Coast/Piken Square’s names.

Not to discredit the current state of RP. I’ve had amazing RP on TC unofficial or not. I recommend taverns for finding the most basic RP, but if you want the really good stuff at a easy to find place, I’d recommend going to Guildwars2roleplayers.com.

I play on TC, though i dont roleplay. Chat is far too limited for my paragraph posts and there are better options for my roleplay, SL for instance where ive roleplayed the past 3 years.

That said though, i dont see any real benefits to turning a server into an official RP server if its not going to be policed and if it IS going to be policed then it would require a whole new server because you cannot expect non RP-ers to just pack up and leave.

No Policing:
- Great, now you have an RP-tag but the issues you wanted to get rid of are still there
-Great, now you have an RP-tag and free server transfers… Here come the trolls who didnt know about us yet.

Policing:
-Great, now im suddenly on a RP server and i am forced to adhere to rules that werent there when i joined the server.
-Oops, i want to ask a question about a game mechanic/whatever else OOC, but if i do i will probably be reported and/or be treated less then friendly by the rp community which i have just interrupted.

Also, as said above by another poster, there would have to be a baseline or ruleset on what is and what is not allowed as far as roleplay goes. In Second Life this was made easy by the fact that every roleplay sim was owned and managed by a player. They paid the rent on the roleplaysim and also made the rules. People not abiding by those rules could just be removed. Let me also mention that there were quite a few of those rp-sims, just because people couldnt agree on much of anything at all. Everyone had a different opinion on what was considered good/bad roleplay.

In GW2 however that isnt an option, so if i decide i want to roleplay as darth vader reincarnated as a busty norn lass, nobody is going to be able to stop me as long as im roleplaying, unless Anet sets up a specific set of rules for roleplay.

Mordachai.1896:

Also, as said above by another poster, there would have to be a baseline or ruleset on what is and what is not allowed as far as roleplay goes. In Second Life this was made easy by the fact that every roleplay sim was owned and managed by a player. They paid the rent on the roleplaysim and also made the rules. People not abiding by those rules could just be removed. Let me also mention that there were quite a few of those rp-sims, just because people couldnt agree on much of anything at all. Everyone had a different opinion on what was considered good/bad roleplay.

In GW2 however that isnt an option, so if i decide i want to roleplay as darth vader reincarnated as a busty norn lass, nobody is going to be able to stop me as long as im roleplaying, unless Anet sets up a specific set of rules for roleplay.

I’m probably the player you were referencing.

There was actually another thread I saw just yesterday which provided a clear example on why dedicated RP servers are usually a headache to police. In it, the OP laid out his baseline idea for his guild, which was similar to a missionary guild for a “long-lost” 7th god trapped in the Mists. The more people that worshipped this god, the more power they gained and the sooner the god would be able to return to the world.

Trouble is, this basically goes against the lore of the GW2 game world, which is that there are only 6 gods. (Maaaaaybe there are other gods out there, but we can’t pre-empt ANet by creating our own gods.) So then you’d have players who are arguing against this guild and saying that their roleplay is flawed and lore-breaking. An ANet rep would have to step in and make a ruling, which I imagine would be that this 7th god does not exist, essentially destroying the whole premise of the guy’s roleplaying guild (unless they were willing to roleplay their characters are basically deluded charlatans worshipping a false god, which judging by the guy’s post, is not what he wanted).