Guild Wars 2

…if the game feels the same but with bigger numbers.

I’m just a player so I can only assume about certain things. The November patch added the first stages of a treadmill to GW2 due to, what I can safely assume from ANet’s statements, a large drop in the playerbase. From the trends following the patch, I can further assume the VP has worked to a degree and that they’ll stick with the model. Hell, one of the designers even said they liked the model.

However, as a player there is one thing I can most assuredly say: VP is only working in a superficial sense. This is because statistics are superficial. They were a tool that worked in the olden days where dilemmas could more easily be delivered through math. In a game in a game that tries to get away from UI based combat, they become even more superficial; they’re benchmarks that motivate, but they don’t change the way players look at the game nor do they really change the actual gameplay. As a player who’s played many RPGs, I can at the very least say for myself that GW2’s progression system feels the most skin-deep and unengaging.

At this point, I’ll allow myself to indulge in one final assumption: players are not dumb. They may not be versed in the ways of game design, have the best spelling nor be familiar with the intricate workings of a GW2, but if the game gets boring (read: feels the same/ no decision making) they’ll eventually move on. They’re certainly free to do so in this day and age. Designers can constantly pump out new content to keep them coming, but that’s not a reasonable alternative even with the most efficient development pipeline and it won’t be effective if it all feels the same.

The main suggestion I’ll make in this thread is for the designers to move away from the current model of statistical progression. In a game that focuses less on stats and more on execution, progression should focus less on raw statistics and more on the elements of execution: timing, spacing, positioning, movement, windups, etc. Don’t bother with balance (the game’s not that balanced anyway), but focus on interesting decision making paths. PvPers have either stuck to PvP or have moved on. PvErs will group and play with others if they feel like it, and it’s all fine and dandy as long as everything does something. The TP where players can trivialize the time it takes to “progress,” in other words they’ll play less if they can buy everything. RNG can be a good method of setting players on unexpected paths of decision making, thereby increasing the replay value. They may even like the paths they’re presented with. Extending the life of a game by creating unexpected dilemmas is really the premise behind RNG in the first place.

“The main suggestion I’ll make in this thread”

Put it in suggestions.

Yargesh.4965:

“The main suggestion I’ll make in this thread”

Put it in suggestions.

Suggestions can be included in discussions too, can’t they?

It will most likely be moved to Suggestions by the mods, because when there is already a forum focused on a particular subject, discussions about that subject do not belong in General.

For example a detailed analysis of Engineer ability and weapon choices posted in General will be moved to the Engineer forum because the Engineer forum is a forum for posting about Engineers.

It’s not hard to figure out.

Totally agree OP, less treadmill more class additions, game content and customisation..

I agree. All this stuff would be better than just gear progression (though I disagree it’s a treadmill. That requires a lot more than what we have now). However, all that stuff takes time to produce. It’ll come, just like it happened in Guild Wars 1. Over time.

I think complaining about the treadmill comes a couple of months late, doesnt it? They added ascended items (for the record, I own none) half a year and havent added another tier, nor expanded ascended item into armor or weapons. Its pretty obvious that if they stick with the current speed its less of a treadmill and more of a slight incline.

Still amazes me that they leave out one of Gw1 best aspects. The skill system, finding, unlocking and prepping a set up. People would of had tons more to do then.
Still who wants to be punished so bad running dungeons for minimalistic rewards. (I specifically mean casuals especially) There is no incentive… Unless your a HC player at this point. It doesn’t really take skill i mean common; its avoid not being hit…and most often to chaotic; especially new players; and for old ones it become simply a minigame of don’t get hit. (I don’t know how to really explain my point there w/o going on forever.)
Nothing drove me more crazy then when people used to defend the true lack of skills by saying just use 2 weapons. Every month that finally died off… Because the truth is its all repetition in a pretty box.
I swear sometimes it feels like were playing an MMO that was developed in Soviet Russia times. It lacks most the things that were good in Gw1 :/ But it gives you everything Gw1 could use lol…

I find that leveling up in any class adds identity to that class, while giving a ton of different tricks to that class. I’ve leveled up 3 classes so far, and none of them felt the same.

Keyska.4105; Still amazes me that they leave out one of Gw1 best aspects. The skill system, finding, unlocking and prepping a set up. People would of had tons more to do then.

Absolutely agree, one of the best things about GW1, especially in NM, is it allows for a great deal more individuality in player and team build. Some system for capping skills would be most welcome.

Claudia De Anar.6304:

Keyska.4105; Still amazes me that they leave out one of Gw1 best aspects. The skill system, finding, unlocking and prepping a set up. People would of had tons more to do then.

Absolutely agree, one of the best things about GW1, especially in NM, is it allows for a great deal more individuality in player and team build. Some system for capping skills would be most welcome.

The skill capping system was great in that each skill causes players to look at their entire skillset differently. It’s the really engaging deck-building element that GW2 is sorely missing. In GW2 you min max stats and choose obviously superior traits. What exacerbates this is that traits are mostly inconsequential in the open world, unless they boost your dps or sustain.

I would take back all the negative things I’ve said about this game if they implemented skill capping, but I can’t see them being able to design it without making the system as convoluted as it was in GW1. It’ll also take a lot more finesse to pull off with GW2 when you consider how the game tries to incorporate action elements into their combat.