Guild Wars 2

Before reading this, just know that I don’t hate GW2. If I did, I would not bother to write anything. This game has great potential, but potential doesn’t make a great game. Too many MMOs with potential have came out in recent years, but could not become what they should have been .

I know this post is long, and I hope I didn’t waste my time writing this. I’m sure the topics have been covered before, but I just wanted to add my thoughts.

What I find lacking is…

Character customization:
The choices I make in the beginning are kinda cool, but I don’t really feel any sort of impact from it. I feel that a good amount of the skills and traits are bland. It seems as though, by trying to keep the classes balanced, they have in turn made a lot of things boring. With the limited amount of skills we have, each one of them should stand out. Having bland skills can easily be overlooked in other MMOs since you will have others on your bar.

I like the weapon system, yet at the same time, I don’t. What really bothers me is that if I’m not a fan of one type of weapon, but it fits my play style, then that’s what I must use to enjoy the combat. It woud be great if they added more weapon skills that you could swap like slot skills.

I also feel the traits available just don’t make me feel all too unique. I’m not sure how WoW is now, since I haven’t played in a long time… but I liked the fact that if you went into one tree you would unlock new skills. Most of the regular choices were usually pretty interesting as well.

Story:
Yeah, it’s there… but it plays out like a story for very young children. If you are going to add story to a MMO, then do it right. I could overlook the bad acting if they were entertaining. I enjoyed a little bit of the stories, but for the most part, they were very simple and predictable. I know story isn’t the core of a MMO, but I do enjoy a good story. I also enjoy choices that affect my character. The choices you make in this game really don’t matter. In the end you are going to be rolling with Trahern, become a typical hero, and do the same exact kitten as everyone else. I’d love to be more involved in the story and have my actions change the outcome.

With that being said, I’ll take improvements in other aspects of the game over this. However, since it is in the game, I would have liked it to be better.

And one more thing to add to this part… How horrible is the last part of the story? That was the most boring battle against a last boss I ever had. IMO just scrap half of the story starting from Trahern and start over if possible.

World Bosses:
These guys are a complete joke. When I first encountered them, I said “Oh kitten! Cool!” After defeating it, I thought “Oh… that was easy. Hope the others are more entertaining.” Defeating these bosses doesn’t require any type of skill at all. If you die, it’s not because the AI was great, it’s because the mob used some powerful attacks.

At first I thought the rewards for a World Boss was too low. Now, It’s probably too much. I mean you get rewared for spamming buttons standing around hoping the mob will die quickly.

Feeling of the world:
First, let me say that I think Tyria is beautiful. One of the best looking worlds I have seen. What’s missing is the vibe you get from the zones. The DEs do not really give me the feeling of wanting to understanding why things are ocurring. It just feels like kitten is happening and I’m there. For the most part there is no connection between events. Sure there are reasons for why these events occur, but they are very shallow, and none of them are intriguing.

I give ANet props for going in this direction. It is definitely something I like more than picking up a million quests. I just feel it could have been so much better.

I’d also like to add that they missed a great opportunity with Vistas. It would have added more depth to the world if there was some sort of narration that talked about that location.

World PvP:
There is none. IMO this adds another layer of entertainment to the world. Sure, sometimes it can suck, but it can also be a lot of fun. There is no suspense while out in the world. I miss the feeling of wondering if an enemy is around, and when I will be attacked. Will this passing enemy attack me? Should I attack him?

Mobs just don’t scare me. I don’t think I’ve been scared of a mob since I played FFXI way back when. I’ve ran through a ton of mobs, had them chase me, and not died PLENTY of times. I want to feel some sort of fear of what might happen in the world.

Getting ganked repeatedly sucks… but how about those times you schooled the kitten out of the ganker. Or a larger group than yours finds you, but your group wins. Or just those random and intense battles that, whether you win or lose, you walk away thinking “Whoa, that was fun!” This could happen in WvW, but 9 times out of 10 you will get zerged.

My most memorable moments in MMOs have been in World PvP. I feel that this trend of separating PvP from PvE makes the world kind of boring. I see the positives, but there should be an option for people who don’t care about being ganked.

My suggestion would optional zones that are built similar to a regular zone with a bunch of DEs and Hearts, but with starting points for each “faction” like in WvW.

sPvP:
I’m not sure how paid tournements are, but as far as the rest… The capture points don’t feel all too important. I’m not sure what it is, but maybe it has something to do with the rewards for winning. Maybe in other games they felt important because if you won, you were one step closer to being more powerful. Not really sure how they could improve this aspect of the game… I do like the fact that I don’t have to constantly gear up.

There is also a lack of different modes. I know this has been discussed many times, but having a single mode gets boring quick. I am a fan of CTF and would have liked to see at least one at launch. I don’t think it would be bad to try something different either. SWTOR’s Huttball was something I hated at first, but eventually enjoyed a lot.

WvW:
I was hoping it would be less about a zerg than it is, but that’s what we got. Sorry, but protecting a Dolyak or whatever is not my idea of fun. Camping a JP all day, as some of my friends do, is not fun all the time either. Seomthing must be done to split people up in order to win. IMO zergs are boring as hell. If we do go off in a small group, or solo, 9 times out of 10 we get rolled by a zerg anyway.

I’m also not a fan of the bag drops. There have been so many times that I failed to see a bag until I walk by a little later and notice them. Who knows how many bags I didn’t pick up? Why not just auto loot in WvW (and for that matter PvE)? The amount of bags I actually notice is so low, that the WvW JPs seem more effective at netting badges (and I’m not a fan of farming JPs for badges btw… I rarely do it).

I also don’t like how everything but Eternal Battlegrounds looks EXACTLY the same. Why couldn’t they have the same exact layout, but with different environments (ie one snow, one grassy, one jungle).

Why are all my enemies nameless? Why not, at the very least, display their names when they die? Sure, the servers are constantly switching who they are matched against. That doesn’t mean that a rivalry between certain people can’t be formed for that week, or the next time they face each other. IMO this is one of the things that make PvP fun. It’s not too much of a big deal, but it definitely takes away from the game in a way.

Just wanna comment on wow skill trees.
There really isn’t any choice, it’s mere illusion because certain skills belong to either healing, dps or tank, and the most part you choose one of three of those roles then choose to add skill points into skills for that role, if anything you might have a 2-3 skills points to move around in any one skill tree, but anymore and your gimping your class so there really is no choice, especially having ppl inspecting you in raids.

Infact, the traits in this game give you more choice as you don’t have to go 30 30 10, for some builds you have to spread the out more evenly, and you get to change the effects of the 10, 20 and 30 points.

I think I feel the same way about this game. I looks amazing and polished, it just feels like its missing something to really get me excited. For me I feel like the combat could be more exciting as in making classes feel more unique from each other and all skill having to be aimed instead of tabbing between targets.

I really think this game as stated previously as well as many months ago needs work.

It has great potential. It lacks refinement and a reason to continue.

Combat : Out of most mmorgs, this is one of those unique games that makes me feel that the game is about skill, action, quick thinking, and more action. On the other hand the encounters do not embrace the mechanic to full potential.

1) More roll evade encounters……this also means a better warning animation, flash, or aoe ring to imply getting out of the way.

2) More skills per weapons…..the same 5 skills get old fast. And yes I know about the illusion of of options in a skill tree. However the first Guild Wars had a progression to unlock new skills or find them in the world.

3) Areas and story leave a why even bother…..after the newness wares off. And you go to more and more zones. I get a “why should I care” about almost the entire world.
Don’t get me wrong. The intro of your character into the world is great for all races. But the higher you progress the game simply has nothing to offer as far as story and immersion are concerned. And that is kind of important to an mmo.

4) Give me more to do than just kill things in your world…….. How bout more collectibles. Opening the carnival as an attraction. Winning stuffed toys, mounts, and other silly items. Not as important as game mechanics or an immersive world but it lends a great hand. This is an mmo after all.

I have not returned to this game since the big world changing event in November. Since then I have played almost everything else. From Vs mode fps shooters, single player campaigns, Mass Effect multiplayer, The Old Republic (mmo), and I even went back to WoW for a short period.

And in that time with my experiences with all those other games. I simply came up to the fact that Guild Wars 2 does not give me a reason to return nor care about it’s world.

I am very impressed that this game feels more action oriented vs a set rotation. It is still amazing that the holy trinity is dead and replaced with a complimenting your team mechanic. And the art style is very rich with amazing animations and great emotes for all races.

So devs please entice me to come back because your gem store emails are not doing it.

+1 All of your posts, I agree 100%

This game NEEDS some form of progression and a REASON to acquire wealth. At the moment, even if you’re the richest guy in the game, you can’t really buy anything worthwhile.

I expected this game to last me 5+ years… Unfortunately it only lasted me 2 months. What a shame tbh.

pluzoid.2597:

Just wanna comment on wow skill trees.
There really isn’t any choice, it’s mere illusion because certain skills belong to either healing, dps or tank, and the most part you choose one of three of those roles then choose to add skill points into skills for that role, if anything you might have a 2-3 skills points to move around in any one skill tree, but anymore and your gimping your class so there really is no choice, especially having ppl inspecting you in raids.

Infact, the traits in this game give you more choice as you don’t have to go 30 30 10, for some builds you have to spread the out more evenly, and you get to change the effects of the 10, 20 and 30 points.

My point was more about unlocking those new skills/spells. I don’t think GW2 needs to unlock new weapon skills exactly like WoW, but give us options to give each class more variety and flavor.

bleyzwun.1204:

Feeling of the world:
First, let me say that I think Tyria is beautiful. One of the best looking worlds I have seen. What’s missing is the vibe you get from the zones. The DEs do not really give me the feeling of wanting to understanding why things are ocurring. It just feels like kitten is happening and I’m there. For the most part there is no connection between events. Sure there are reasons for why these events occur, but they are very shallow, and none of them are intriguing.

sPvP:
I’m not sure how paid tournements are, but as far as the rest… The capture points don’t feel all too important. I’m not sure what it is, but maybe it has something to do with the rewards for winning. Maybe in other games they felt important because if you won, you were one step closer to being more powerful. Not really sure how they could improve this aspect of the game… I do like the fact that I don’t have to constantly gear up.

Feeling of the world-Anet should add lore to the towns through interactive items. Most small towns are missing local government (a mayor or local lord).

SPvP-I think Anet should add some bigger maps. And the capture points on those maps structure’s like a farm, rock quarry, tower.

I really wish they allowed standard pvp requests 1vs1 on normal maps

Atoss.1056:

I really wish they allowed standard pvp requests 1vs1 on normal maps

yeah the wvw maps are kinda boring, fighting on other maps would be more fun