Guild Wars 2

I’ll freely admit I love Fractals. What I love the most about them is the acknowledgement and willingness from ArenaNet to strip back dungeons to their bare bones. If players are already speed running dungeons, bypassing enemies and content, then why have those obstacles to begin with? Not only do Fractals make dungeon running quick, painless and fun, but they have singlehandedly removed speed running (there’s nothing to speed run through!). It must also reap rewards for ArenaNet in their ability to develop the dungeon content quickly now that little or no narrative is involved (I’ve been informed the content was made in as little as 5 weeks).

In spite of all this, I do have some long term concerns about Fractals. While some of the flaws can be attributed to “newness” and the fact players are flocking to them in their droves, others require serious attention to ensure that long term damage isn’t done.

Dungeon Difficulty

On paper the prospect of a dungeon scaling in difficulty, the more you progress, is great. However, this tends to mean three things when the difficulty in Fractals increases: enemies have slightly more health and deal more damage per increment, gain access to more skills and harsher environmental effects become present. A harpy on lower difficulties might attack you with standard arrows but at higher levels those arrows might knock you back. Things like this are great for creating a challenge to the player, while keeping the dungeon fresh.

What is frustrating however is the initial dungeon difficulty is frighteningly easy, with enemies and environmental factors reaching a very early ceiling, leaving only monster health and damage as the difficulty curve. My biggest issue here (and I’ll expand on this further below) is that it all becomes very predictable, very quickly. Once enemies and environmental factors have reached their peak, adding more health or having enemies deal more damage for the most part isn’t pleasurable. It’s also a relatively lazy way of creating longevity. Yes it will make an encounter more difficult on a numerical basis but not one on a tactical or strategic one. I would much rather see improved AI routines and a greater focus on environmental/enemy changes than the simple approach currently on display.

Difficulty Increments

I honestly couldn’t tell you what the changes are to Fractals between difficulty level 1 and 7. I don’t think there has been a single moment where I’ve said to myself: “Wow, that’s much harder” when climbing the difficulty ladder. Which begs the question: why have so many inconsequential difficulty levels? If the only difference between initial and later levels is fractional differences in enemy health pools and damage, what is the purpose? Surely it would be better to have Fractal difficulty levels increase on a scale of 1-3-6-9-12 instead of 1-2-3-4-5 so that difficulty jumps are apparent.

Hand Holding

What I’m struggling to understand in Fractals is why we’re forced to play through Fractal after Fractal to climb up the difficulty ladder. As someone heavily experienced in explorable dungeons, it’s actually quite insulting and laborious to play through content that is so easy, level after level. I appreciate that the purpose of the difficulty system is to steadily expose players to each Fractal and its intricacies, whiling providing a steady stream of Fractal Relics and yet it all feels so forced. Would it surely not be a bolder move of ArenaNet to say: “Hey, there are 50 difficulty levels in the Fractal’s. You can choose whatever difficulty you want, right from day one.” Obviously this poses its own set of problems, such as players completing the content quickly, dying lots and obtaining high level gear early into the Fractals lifespan. But is that not a player’s choice? Why must I be forced to play through Fractals repeatedly just to reach a difficulty akin to mine or my guilds ability? As it currently stands I’ve had more challenge from Blossoms in Twilight Arbor than anything a Fractal has thrown at me and yet I’ve potentially dozens and dozens of levels to go until I reach something comparable.

Explorable Ghost Towns

Part of this issue is easily attributed to the newness of Fractals, but trying to get a standard dungeon run now is like finding a needle in a haystack. Waypointing to several dungeons this week saw me encounter 1 person outside Caudecus Manor. I suspect more players will eventually return back to existing dungeons but I don’t envisage the number of players who will to be half of what they used to be, for several reasons:

1. Ascended items are only available in Fractal’s.
2. Fractals are quick and painless.
3. Fractals do not require any risk of speed running to complete relatively quickly.
4. Fractal rewards vs. time investment are far superior to dungeons (I usually make 2-4g per run).
5. Fractal rewards will only get better.

There will always be people looking to complete the old dungeons, but when good groups were already hard to find, the chances of groups willing to do runs the moment you log in (I see me wasting countless hours looking for more Twilight Arbor groups) is incredibly slim, without a looking for group tool to soften the blow.

Don’t Get Left Behind

The difficulty progression of Fractals has already, in a matter of days, split the player base. If people already in the game are struggling to find people to take part in level 1 runs, what chance does a newcomer have if they decide to purchase Guild Wars 2 in several months time? Having only taken a single day’s break from Fractals on Monday, I’m already seven levels behind some of my Guild mates. For me to then ask them to come down to my difficulty level (when they see little or no progression from doing so) is no incentive and is a waste of their time.

Although those entering Fractals may choose any difficulty level from 1 up to the highest common difficulty level in the group, this doesn’t address the fact that those at level 1 cannot play with those at 15, who want to join a level 15 difficulty dungeon. This is a huge design flaw and coming back to my earlier point (Hand Holding) serves to do little but segregate a player base in an infuriating way. All I keep thinking when I encounter this issue is: “how dare you assume I can’t complete a dungeon at X difficulty!”.

Character Bound Difficulty

I’m actually stunned that this made it into the live game I cannot for the life of me think of a single, logical reason as to why it even exists; it surely has to be a mistake by ArenaNet. So not only do we have to plough through superficial difficulty levels, but once we have done so, we cannot actually take alternative characters into dungeons at the difficulty level we’ve earned. I suspect ArenaNet’s argument might be that they don’t want people quickly gearing-up alts and for fear of repeating myself, it all feels so forced. Why must I re-run Fractals from level 1 just because I switched from my mesmer to my engineer when I’ve not only earned my stripes already, but have to play through the face-roll difficulty that the beginning stages offer. It’s absolutely baffling.

You say that its too easy AFTER the fact that you have been through them. We are hand held as you call it through lvl 1 and then up because we had no reference to what they were. Was 5 too hard? Was 10 too easy?

You and others are making this lvl thing out to be a bigger deal then it is. No incentive at all for guildies to run lower ones? What exactly are you in a guild for if not to give and get help from others? I’ll run lower lvl fractals rather then wasting time doing nothing but waiting for your exact level of fractal to need a group.

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 are all tragically easy to the point where I would say they are below Exporable standard. How is it not a big deal?

1. I can’t play on an alt at a difficulty I’ve earned, because his level is reset to 1.
2. Players who have surprassed X difficulty aren’t coming down levels because the rewards and progression are worse.
3. Time is precious for everyone and while many players and guildies will lend a hand, they aren’t going to waste their entire play time trying to get you up to speed when there’s nothing for them in it.

You’ve addressed every single solitary problem with fractals as they are now.

Well done good sir.

Fractals != Explorable Dungeon

1. Your alt did not earn that difficulty, nor should they be ‘carried’ by your main.
2. Generalize much? Not everyone is in it for the loot and ‘progression’.
3. Maybe people should join a less self-centered guild then? I don’t consider 1-1.5 hours a ‘waste of my entire play time’.

I mean, it’s not like you have to boost someone from level 1 to 20 in one sitting, right?

Besides, what about the random drops, Vials and fractal tokens? Or do you define that as ’there’s nothing for them in it’ as well? Every time I run a set of fractals I’m hauling away bags full of items, including rares. Or do you mean that this diminishes the original dungeons? If that is the case, I agree. But then again I never figured out why (in a game that’s all about dynamic events) they had to put such archaic dungeons in.

Now I commend you for making such a detailed first post, but your follow-up gives the indication that some people still measure their timescale in ‘epics/hour’ or something where everything has to be obtained yesterday

1. I don’t believe this an issue of a main carrying an alt or visa/versa. As I’m the player, this is me earning a pass, not my character. Regardless of what profession I’ve played, I’ve earned my stripes by reaching difficulty X and thus my alts should receive the same pass to higher difficulties. Making players re-play the same lower difficulties serves no purpose other than the drag out the inevitable.

2. No, absolutely not. I completely agree. I play the game for the fun and have no real need for anything in the Fractals (I have plenty of gold, full Exotics and end game weapons of my choice) but that isn’t to say others aren’t. I do however want to be able to play with guildies, while still allowing them to progress.

3. It isn’t a waste, but I’m conscious that me taking up peoples time, because I’m lower level, isn’t exactly optimal, is it? Players should be able to play to the highest difficulty level in the party and level up progressively that way rather than forcing higher level players to come down a level. It desperately needs flipping on its head.

In relation to loot acquired during a Fractal, I have no real complaints about that. Like I said, I don’t need the loot really and would rather see other things addressed and have the opportunity to play at a difficulty of my choosing. Rather than choosing a difficulty after grinding.

So effectively (and please say if I’m wrong here), a lot of concerns could be mediated when the entry portal no longer checks for the lowest character in terms of setting the level of the Fractal, but the highest (or even select the difficulty manually)?

I’d be all for a mechanic where a group can decide which difficulty they want to run the Fractals on, but I fear they were not designed with this in mind.

From what I’ve seen so far (and I’ve only done these Fractals up to level 4 on a casual basis with 3 guildies) allowing people to set the difficulty level themselves could cause an imbalance and have a lot of people running around with 2 Ascended rings within a day. And then you’re right that nobody would want to do level 1-9 as it would be a ‘waste of time’ considering the difficulty-vs-reward.

Aveneo.2068:

So effectively (and please say if I’m wrong here), a lot of concerns could be mediated when the entry portal no longer checks for the lowest character in terms of setting the level of the Fractal, but the highest (or even select the difficulty manually)?

I’d be all for a mechanic where a group can decide which difficulty they want to run the Fractals on, but I fear they were not designed with this in mind.

From what I’ve seen so far (and I’ve only done these Fractals up to level 4 on a casual basis with 3 guildies) allowing people to set the difficulty level themselves could cause an imbalance and have a lot of people running around with 2 Ascended rings within a day. And then you’re right that nobody would want to do level 1-9 as it would be a ‘waste of time’ considering the difficulty-vs-reward.

Doesnt it uplevel you? so you could make an alt..have a good group walk you through 10 and farm rings on low level alts every day…

Ditton.3149:

Aveneo.2068:

So effectively (and please say if I’m wrong here), a lot of concerns could be mediated when the entry portal no longer checks for the lowest character in terms of setting the level of the Fractal, but the highest (or even select the difficulty manually)?

I’d be all for a mechanic where a group can decide which difficulty they want to run the Fractals on, but I fear they were not designed with this in mind.

From what I’ve seen so far (and I’ve only done these Fractals up to level 4 on a casual basis with 3 guildies) allowing people to set the difficulty level themselves could cause an imbalance and have a lot of people running around with 2 Ascended rings within a day. And then you’re right that nobody would want to do level 1-9 as it would be a ‘waste of time’ considering the difficulty-vs-reward.

Doesnt it uplevel you? so you could make an alt..have a good group walk you through 10 and farm rings on low level alts every day…

Your group is entered based on the lowest leveled player, not the highest. If you’re dungeon difficulty 1 and your party level 15, you have to play at level 1.

Ditton.3149:

That kind of programming takes alot of money and time..Id rather they focus it on bugs, balances and SPvP than you getting better AI routines..

Unfortunately it does and would never happen. Wider access to more random skill sets from mobs would be an easy option- a touch of the unpredictable.

Keep in mind that the dungeon is open to all players because it upscales them to 80… So some hand holding might be in order. Whether or not is was the right move to have the upscale feature is debatable (personally, I think not).

The leveling feature is definitely one of the more prohibitive measures in the entire game. A fresh player to FotM should be able to hop into a group with a player who wants to set the level at 10+. I think an xp-type system of tracking your progress would be useful so that even if players do lower fractals, they get credit towards getting to the next level (though obviously completing the max level available for that particular toon instantly ups your level progression) while players that are “far behind” essentially get power leveled through the fractals so that you don’t have to run them 50 whatever times just to be at the max level. A simpler version would just be making the max group level available equal to the highest achievement a player has progressed and upon completion everyone moves up 1 level.

First, this beautifully sums up my own feelings about FotM. Superbly written, great read!

Personally, I think this is sort of a litmus test for ArenaNet and where the game is headed. Is the needless prolonging of content at the expense of social play (play with friends, regardless of their fractal level) the way GW2 is supposed to be nowadays.

The way ArenaNet addresses these valid concerns and criticisms will show in what direction GW2 as a whole is headed.

(Having said all this: I went to FotM on saturday, then had other things to do and now feel so far left behind, I’m not even inclined to log on anymore. Still, the fractals I’ve seen so far were very good dungeons indeed.)

Lewis Burnell.2493:

Ditton.3149:

Aveneo.2068:

So effectively (and please say if I’m wrong here), a lot of concerns could be mediated when the entry portal no longer checks for the lowest character in terms of setting the level of the Fractal, but the highest (or even select the difficulty manually)?

I’d be all for a mechanic where a group can decide which difficulty they want to run the Fractals on, but I fear they were not designed with this in mind.

From what I’ve seen so far (and I’ve only done these Fractals up to level 4 on a casual basis with 3 guildies) allowing people to set the difficulty level themselves could cause an imbalance and have a lot of people running around with 2 Ascended rings within a day. And then you’re right that nobody would want to do level 1-9 as it would be a ‘waste of time’ considering the difficulty-vs-reward.

Doesnt it uplevel you? so you could make an alt..have a good group walk you through 10 and farm rings on low level alts every day…

Your group is entered based on the lowest leveled player, not the highest. If you’re dungeon difficulty 1 and your party level 15, you have to play at level 1.

Ditton.3149:

That kind of programming takes alot of money and time..Id rather they focus it on bugs, balances and SPvP than you getting better AI routines..

Unfortunately it does and would never happen. Wider access to more random skill sets from mobs would be an easy option- a touch of the unpredictable.

Yeah, but the above OP wants to be able to take any toon on his account and access whatever his highest grouping is for that account. So if all accounts have high access then you could simply farm rings and whatever else you wanted all day with a dedicated group quite easily.

Regarding the farming of rings on lowlevel alts, I do not see this as a problem. Mainly because only true level 80 characters can wear them, and you can only wear 2 rings. And then there is the question of this daily reward chest. Is this chest from the daily account-wide or per character?