Guild Wars 2

Level : I strongly believe that level are not needed in a MMORPG. It is meaningless. The system of level was introduced in TRPG to represent the capabilities of the PC because they were disconnected from the capabilities of the player. In competitive MMO like GW2, the capabilities of the PC are link to the player experience in the game. The idea with level was to mixed different level to have several rookies taking on a more experience foe. But this idea proved flawed when it come to MMO because every one know the level of the foe and because the difference between level is so important that have a few level above is a sure win. It appears too that people need to be same level to adventure together, which lead to the idea of minion, veteran, champion for the monster. Which means that level has become irrelevant. In GW2 the difference of level is never more than 2 above the monster, hence only 5 levels were needed to have the same experience. The Level is really only here to rail player to follow a certain path. In a game evolving around guild, this is a flawed idea. Even a newly created PC should be able to follow its guild in high area.

Level restricted item : This is another drawback of the level system. I care very much to the verisimilitude of the game (more than balance, I don’t care about balance). Therefore I don’t understand why a someone cannot put on a mithril amour just because he lacks experiences? King Arthur took Excalibur when he was young (understand low level) even if Excalibur is a legendary weapon (understand level max weapon). That the kind of story I’d like to live. My inventory is full of item that my new PC cannot use because he has to wait for the require level, then it will use the item a day or too before the item become useless. This is yet another drawback of level, the item became very quickly obsolete which means that a only level max item have a market value. The other item are not used by player. Eventually, all the PC will be level max and care only for level max weapon, this will makes 75% of crafting recipes and 90% of the weapons useless. So why create them in the first place?

Swimming : Ok, the idea of swimming is nice but this grotesque. I care about verisimilitude and here I see a PC swimming like a speed boat for half an hour without fatigue with a plate mail. The breathing question is less problematic as we have a breathing apparatus, but there should still be a limit of time underwater. But heavy amour should sunk (ie work like a heavy diving suit). People should have to drop its armour (as weight is not accounted for in GW2 this should only mean that the item is store, but actually, swimming should be related to the total weight of the PC and excess weigh should be drop on the ground and essentially lost). Even a warrior will fighting in light or no armour underwater.

That link to another topic, which is that a PC able to wear heavy armour should be able to wear light and medium. Wearing a medium or light armour is not normally call related, but skill related. I mean that heavy armour have drawbacks (excess fatigue, less mobility, very much less field of view) this why people don’t always wear their heavier armour.

The race : Ok, all race are nice looking but there technology does not fit right. Humans are renaissance while the Norns et Silvaries are more medieval looking but the Charrs have a WWII technology and the Asuras have Star-Trek-like technology. This just cannot fit. When you know that the kill ratio of colonial infantry against zulu is about ten to one you quickly realise that Ebonhawk cannot stand against WWII technology. I don’t see either why the pact still use trebuchet when you have auto-canons on turret. After 200 years of fighting, it is clear that all race should have copied the Charr technology or be reduced at the statue of minor races.

The world : First, the respawn rate is way to fast to make the world believable. Beside, monsters should ALWAYS spawn out of view of the player in some remote area and from there roam there territory, not simply be there and waiting not moving for a player to aggro them. Animal go to sleep sometime you know, this should be included in there behaviour pattern. At least, a mob, should never spawn in view of a player (unless it burrowed out of earth or teleport of course). I am tired of just having killed a monster and start fighting the other only to be attacked again by the same monster I have killed that respawn seconds after. Or, you look at a tunnel, it is empty, you go inside and, puff, a son a Svanir appear out of fine air? How can I believe in such a world? I cannot and when you cannot believe in a world you begin to not care about what is in the world.

Second, the event does not affect the world long enough so you don’t care about doing them or not! Why should I fight the centaur? They will ALWAYS be there wether fight them or not! To make player care about the world, there action should have permanent (even very small or non important) effect on the world. That is if you don’t defend a village and the village is burn, it should not be built back. Or at least the dead NPC should not come back (at least change their appearance and name). If Centaurs lose too much people they should be able to drive them for long time and from Queens dale and rebuild some of the burnt town. Of course, some thing can be undone, and some dynamic event are repetitive in nature (merchant escort for example) but the mother that get captured by the bandit CANNOT be a repeatable event with the same mother and child! You do it you save the mother, the fail result is applied permanently to the world. That is how realistic world works. And that makes people care to this world because something is at stake.

Third, there is no moral choice therefore the game is not a roleplaying game. I cannot chose to join the separatists. I am among some of the person that think that Ascalon is human territory and that charr are no more than beast. The best story are made between player that act sincerely (ie do roleplay) about their opposition of values or goals. Which mean pvp but that not the real point (the opposition can be resolved by an election among other player, which is as good as a fight) because the fight can come at a point where the decision must be taken and not a random aggression (which GW2 forbid for good reasons).

The way points : the way points are a pay to use from anywhere but the Asura gates are free? Where is the logic? Why have asura gates when you can have way points that bring money and are better as they can teleport people start-trek-like. You can bypass the way point system by going to the myst to go to Lion Arch so again why make the way point of Lion Arch paying when this can be bypassed. The whole idea of waypoint seem bad. When you die you should respawn in an hospital in major cities and may be some village, but only when you are dead and with a freeze time. Otherwise, well, the Asura gate should cost the same, and all bypass should be corrected.

Trading post : The idea is good, though a normal direct trading interface is lacking. The main problem is the cost to list the objet. As you do not get a refund when you take the object back, you can actually lose money when listing high end object if you make a mistake. Worse, you cannot put the item on list if you don’t have the gold. So let’s say you drop dusk and have 1gp then you cannot list it on the trading post at 500gp you will have to sell it at the lowest seller only because you are poor. This is not correct. I agree that listing should not be free but not 50gp even for listing a 500 gp object. What if you make a mistake and want to list it at 450gp? then you have lost 50gp.

Featured I’d like :

First person view : I would experience the game better in first person view. I will identify more to my avatar (PC). Second, it can be possible to simulate the difference between having a helmet on or not. You would have to choose to wear a helmet (and have restricted field of view) or don’t wear a helmet but risk heavy damage to the head.

Integrated voice chat : I would like the voice chat to be integrated to the game with a feature making the volume related to the distance between the avatars. This will simulate perfectly the real problem of communicating verbally in the GW2 world and in combat. In my idea, there should not be map or whisper channel, it look like telepathy and it is bad for the verisimilitude of the game.

More siege engine : We need ladders and mobile siege-tower to climb the wall. This will add a lot of tactical option to assault fortress and add a real incentive to defend them all around and not only the door. The ram should be mobile (especially as it is asura designed…). And where are the Charr’s tanks and armored transport?

Personnal story : As there is a personnal story : possibility to replay any mission (even with no loot). Possibility to be able to change decision made if the next mission has not been done (ie a possibility to correct mistake not to redo the story). Definitely a possibility to replay any cinematic unlocked.

Last transaction : At the trading post we need something like the last 5 transaction in order to see the price of the trading not only the spread which is often unrealistic. An easy way to see the book (ie see the 5 best buyers and the five best sellers at the same time in order to make educated choice).

Just for the record : I have play GW1 for 3 years and I have play GW2 since it is out. I posted here because this long review does not fit elsewhere imho.

Level: Your argument is self-defeating. Leveling provides a sense of progression, one that is lacking if you just remove it.

Level Restricted Items: Again, self-defeating argument. If items are not restricted by level, there is no sense of progression, you are able to equip the best items from the very start and you can never get stronger at any point in the game. This renders 99% of the game’s content entirely meaningless at all times. Oh, and actually Arthur wielded the Sword in the Stone originally, not Excalibur (though some tellings of the tale mess this part up). He received Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake after the Sword in the Stone was broken in a fierce battle, and after his death, it was returned to her.

Swimming: Time limits underwater would utterly ruin underwater combat. You’re attempting to pin “believability” onto a fantasy game. Besides, who is to say that they’re not using enchantments to lighten the load on their armor?

Race: The Asurans are using magi-science, not “Star Trek technology”. The charr are relying on steam-based technology. And it’s not a matter of technology, technology doesn’t always win battles. Besides, you’re arguing about the practicality of how Ebonhawke could survive the Charr’s tanks and choosing to ignore the fact that the Charr warriors are still charging into the enemy ranks with daggers, swords, and staves, just like their opponents wield.

Respawn: In some areas, yes, the rates for spawns and for event spawning are both just too fast. But most of the time (at least in low level zones) the way in which they spawn is perfectly fine. What you are talking about is a world in which the result of each event is permanent or nearly-permanent, to which I say that we’d already have run out of events to participate in if the world worked like that.

Waypoints: No argument here.

Trading Post: Ditto. A Peer-to-Peer direct trade is something that this game sorely needs.

First-Person View: No argument here.

Integrated Voice Chat: Don’t really care so long as it’s not required.

More WvW Siege Items: I’d personally like to see ladders, siege towers, and some place-able defensive walls to slow enemy advances (they have a name but it escapes me atm).

Personal Story: You were arguing for more permanence earlier, but now you want less?

Last Transaction: This wouldn’t make a difference since the market fluctuates so often that such a system wouldn’t help you in any way.

The sense of progression is enough with the item and the skill points. Level are artificial in this game anyway. The level does not give me a sens of progression, just a sens of frustration.

This is the same thing with the item level restriction. This is just frustrating to equip an item that you will use only a couple of day before it become useless. This is not a sense of progression, this is a sense of waste.

The different rarity of item is enough for this game. You begin with white item then goes to high end items. As anyway, you will play with gold and exo 90% of the time I don’t see any problem with giving my second character an exo that was looted by the first as second character are meant to only be played at max level, le levelling are just frustrating even in this game.

The sense of progression given by the level, while real become stale for people like me who have 30 years of roleplaying behind them. I still thing level can be useful but only in game that put an emphasis on the level. Which mean when there is no level adjustement, when you have pvp between people of different level and when playing at max level is the exception not the norm.