Guild Wars 2

I know what I’m about to say is probably going to be low down on the totem pole of being considered or thought about by those in charge, in fact I suspect players will be doing some eyerolling.

I remarked during beta when playing my Norn that hunting animals seemed to play a larger part in this game, especially when it came to killing them. I’m not meaning made up monsters and other creatures that you kill in game, but killing animals based on those in real life.
In GW1, yes you could kill animals. But the majority of those animals were neuteral, harmless, charmable, and gave no benefit to killing them (and mostly only attacked if struck purposefully or by accident with few exceptions). As an animal lover in real life, it’s not a practice I enjoy doing in game whatsoever. It’s something I’ve tried to look beyond while playing GW2, but I feel very uncomfortable being attacked and killing wolves, wolf… pups and other animals that exist in our natural world. I’ve seen other animals such as sharks be champion or veteran bosses, I’ve seen Humpback whales and turtles (I never attempted to attack this so I don’t know if it is attackable), Orcas, and other animals that you would find on an endangered, vulnerable, or conservation list.

Today while walking through the Wildlands, I started seeing aggressive Jaguars, including a queen. And once again that uncomfortable feeling returned, especially when the Jaguar yielded meat. Jaguars are a species of animal in this world that are rapidly in decline, hunted, skinned, and losing habitat. In 1997 it was placed on the endangered species list in America until being removed in 2008. However the current administration reversed this policy — furthermore it is a protected species to several US states and framework is in place for it’s continuing conservating status.
In GW1 pandas were once removed from the game due to a certain country’s feeling on them, so that it would not cause great offense.

In that same way, my question is as follows: should you be actively promoting the killing of animals (however virtual they are) that are endagered or threatened? And so what I would like to suggest, that some animals in this game be made invulnerable to attack or damage, or be removed from being aggressive. Perhaps some fantasy creature could be put in it’s place. Afterall, I’m pretty sure we will not be seeing a flurry of aggressive Pandas chasing our hero down the hill, and dropping pelts of fur and meat, eh?

I know it’s not a big deal to most people, but as an animal lover, it’s something that’s crossed my mind.

I think at the least, killing “normal” animals shouldn’t give XP.

Please, I love animals too but these aren’t, they are just bits of codes, this is a videogame not real life. You shouldn’t really care and if you want you can always make it like a role-playing trait of your character and avoid killing such animals as much as possible.

Ya know, the older I get the more I realize that no matter what the situation is there will always be someone who will complain about it.

I love animals too… I would never harm one in real life. I usually go out of my way to help them…

But… I see no reason to not put them in game as they are. Go out into the wild. Wolves and jaguars will probably attack you. When they die, they are just meat. Makes perfect sense. Note, I am also a vegetarian.

No, you’re not the only one who feels this way. I run past whenever I enter an area populated by wolves, jaguars, lynxes or whatnot.. i wish those were “green” like they used to be in GW1.

really?
you feel bad about attacking the wolves?
the things with a stupidly large aggro radius and the ability to summon more of them from nowhere and come in MINIMUM groups of 2?

or the hyenas which can teleport to you and then cripple you?

or even the deer, which on taking sympathy to and saving it from a wolf, became overcome by bloodlust, stood on it’s hind legs and punched me to death?

no, I have no sympathy towards the IRL animals in this game whatsoever, because they’re the ones which have the mechanics which annoy me the most.
(by which I mean, I actively dislike the animals in the game, not the IRL ones, although if a deer attempted to kick me to death IRL I guarentee I’d have a thing against deer from then on)
it’s just a game, and there is nothing forcing you to kill the animals except self defense for hostile ones

I wonder, do you complain about other games that have IRL enemies? do you get upset that Final Fantasy has killable wolves?

And yet I’m sure you have no problems killing the humans in the game. Or are you one of those people who also don’t let your Sims die (if you are a Sim playing person)? Oh, and before you get on me about how the Sims isn’t a real video game, I’ll also inform you that I’m a high level ranger in this game, a decent cook, and I’m in the mood for bacon.

I think I’m going load up my game and go hunt some wild boars.

I think you’re being a bit oversensitive,and like the poster above me .Why worry about killing animals when you’re constantly killing humans aswell ?

I like whacking bunnies with hammer whenever I see them.

oh for gods sake, is this an elaborate troll post?

Its a game, get over it.