Guild Wars 2

Dear Anet, devs, community and players,

Thanks for your efforts and your dedication that you have put and are still putting into this game. It is an incredible piece of digital art that in its up and downs has provided hours of enjoyment. Despite what you all may think of it, don’t forget that this beautiful story and this beautiful world have achieved in different ways important results.

Thanks to Guild Wars, people have discovered the beauty of playing a game without feeling stressed, exploring fantasy places that were feeling real at the same time, with plots that would keep you interested and fully immersed.
Thanks to Guild Wars 2, the same happened, though it isn’t always true for all of its aspects.

Now we are getting near the second season of the living story. I don’t know if I’ll be able to play it for various personal reasons, but I want to have faith in you.
Learn from your past mistakes, we have addressed them countless times. Don’t follow the mass. Don’t follow stereotypes like you have in various occasions until now. And especially, create new story by looking at the past of Guild Wars. Hardly other games reach this level of details and lore, so if you need help, you’ll find it there. As a writer and an artist myself, this is the best advise I can give you.

A lot of people have probably seen me on the forum complaining and posting feedbacks. I do it because I care about this game: I’ve never done this for any other game, even if I’m not that much of an online player.

Anet, remember that the community is not all equal. There are players who are still “closed-minded” about games. Those players are the ruin of this game. They are still convinced that a game should work like any other game, with the same mechanics, and we all have seen you managing those players trying to keep a low impact on the game (Fractals and Ascended). Whatever you have succeded or not, it is not my intention to discuss it here. But I’ll give you a piece of advice: don’t always listen to them. Separate good suggestions from bad suggestions.

The same can be done for the economical aspect of the game. Please Anet, don’t forget what you were trully standing for. I understand that you need money to run the company, to pay all the devs that work on this game, and for that I won’t complain anymore. But I’ll surely, infact every member and player of this community should surely, advise you whenever you’ll cross the line in a bad direction, that is, a way too greedy and economical centered direction. I believe there are passionated people who work with you, that gladly creates content for free via Living Story. Thank you all.
Don’t let other companies influence you. Think with your own head.

I leave you with this video. I hope it can inspire you as it has inspired me. In my opinion, it has the very essence of the game. What it should be, what it has been, and what it partially is even now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4YOCuYHieo

Thanks,
Syrpharon

If it is your video, the sub-titles have issues in full-screen starting about halfway through the video. No problem at small scale.

Syrpharon.7491:

Anet, remember that the community is not all equal. There are players who are still “closed-minded” about games. Those players are the ruin of this game. They are still convinced that a game should work like any other game, with the same mechanics, and we all have seen you managing those players trying to keep a low impact on the game (Fractals and Ascended). Whatever you have succeded or not, it is not my intention to discuss it here. But I’ll give you a piece of advice: don’t always listen to them. Separate good suggestions from bad suggestions.

Anet goes it own direction with ideas and suggestions, CDI included. If it’s not in agreement with Anet’s direction and ‘philosophy’ and it’s not their idea, then it has to be wrong and should be ignored. Anet’s limitations aside, closed-mindedness works both ways.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

If it is your video, the sub-titles have issues in full-screen starting about halfway through the video. No problem at small scale.

Not my video, just found it online and thought it captured the essence of the game

I dont think that the monetizationis the problem. I think that the devs are not connected to the community anymore. They have become a little deaf. And that happens from time to time.

We’ll see, if the managed to pull it back – dont forget, after all, they can just ignore us. The Game is doing so very well, financially, and it has immense success in china. They have no financial pressure from us. If they feel obligated to respond to us and listen, then its just their desire to do that.

SemmlerTh.2685:

I dont think that the monetizationis the problem. I think that the devs are not connected to the community anymore. They have become a little deaf. And that happens from time to time.

We’ll see, if the managed to pull it back – dont forget, after all, they can just ignore us. The Game is doing so very well, financially, and it has immense success in china. They have no financial pressure from us. If they feel obligated to respond to us and listen, then its just their desire to do that.

I disagree as they are connected but have been busy with release in China. Converting from English to Chinese cannot be easy.

People think they need to hear the breathing of the developers but we don’t. They read the forums but with all the negativity why would you as a developer respond? I surely wouldn’t. Also the negativity is amazing in that if you really objectively look at it with the comments, the game would never move forward (because as soon as something is changed to the way the players want, they complain). The same people seem to be complaining on both sides.

Then there is we have to have everything that is in WoW group – mounts, RAIDS, vertical progression armor, etc. This game will never be WoW, want WoW go play it.

Valandil Dragonhart.2371:

Anet goes it own direction with ideas and suggestions, CDI included.

Feels like they’re running through a maze.

I hate to tell you this but it’s probably far too late for requests like this, at least for the first parts of Season 2.

During Season 1 Anet said they had a 4 month development time for each release (4 teams, each working on 1 month of content). If they kept to that schedule then they’re already 3/4 done, which means they’re probably on to bug testing, tying up loose ends, adding vocals etc.

It’s actually likely that at least some people (like the writers and others who work on the overall theme of the content) have been working on Season 2 ever since Season 1 ended, if not before.

Danikat.8537:

I hate to tell you this but it’s probably far too late for requests like this, at least for the first parts of Season 2.

During Season 1 Anet said they had a 4 month development time for each release (4 teams, each working on 1 month of content). If they kept to that schedule then they’re already 3/4 done, which means they’re probably on to bug testing, tying up loose ends, adding vocals etc.

It’s actually likely that at least some people (like the writers and others who work on the overall theme of the content) have been working on Season 2 ever since Season 1 ended, if not before.

They probably started season 2 the same time they finished writing up season 1. As you say lead time is several months so everything I am sure is planned out to Christmas with wiggle room if enough complaints come in to change things slightly.

xXxOrcaxXx.9328:

Valandil Dragonhart.2371:

Anet goes it own direction with ideas and suggestions, CDI included.

Feels like they’re running through a maze.

That’s because, while they do have ideas, they lost the vision that was supposed to guide them long ago.

Astralporing.1957:

xXxOrcaxXx.9328:

Valandil Dragonhart.2371:

Anet goes it own direction with ideas and suggestions, CDI included.

Feels like they’re running through a maze.

That’s because, while they do have ideas, they lost the vision that was supposed to guide them long ago.

Stop beating about ze bush. I’ts cash shop, cash shop, cash shop

Hide(I)ous

I played GW for 6 years and happily bought all costumes. Wanna know how many I’ve bought in GW2, none.

Thanks for that Crystin

Paul.4081:

Astralporing.1957:

xXxOrcaxXx.9328:

Valandil Dragonhart.2371:

Anet goes it own direction with ideas and suggestions, CDI included.

Feels like they’re running through a maze.

That’s because, while they do have ideas, they lost the vision that was supposed to guide them long ago.

Stop beating about ze bush. I’ts cash shop, cash shop, cash shop

Hide(I)ous

I played GW for 6 years and happily bought all costumes. Wanna know how many I’ve bought in GW2, none.

Thanks for that Crystin

Exactly my point. I’m glad there are people here on the forum who think the same. I know for sure that if we continue to warn and suggest, even Anet won’t be able to unhear.
Let’s not forget that they listened to the players when they created the colored rarity squares around the items’ icons, just to point an example.
Players who have noticed this change of direction are still an important part of the community, they still play and contribute overall to the game, not necessarily just in the cash shop. It is the community who must warn Anet every now and then, so let’s keep at it.

The financial aid Anet needs from the game will come naturally if the game will succed, because people would gladly spend for a product that is working. But the financial aspect must be in the 2nd place, wherever the 1st place must always be the game itself, with its stories, art, evolution and immersion.

wait…so…what ever did happen to the CDI’s?

Nice letter…
I can only say as an addon: Focus on making features Next Gen / unique.
Drop the weapon CDs already, bring in power management systems to each lass!

nethykins.7986:

wait…so…what ever did happen to the CDI’s?

A new CDI starts this coming week.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

nethykins.7986:

wait…so…what ever did happen to the CDI’s?

A new CDI starts this coming week.

I think his question was more akin to “did they ever take players’ suggestions or did they just ignore the feedback?”

RoyalPredator.9163:

Nice letter…
I can only say as an addon: Focus on making features Next Gen / unique.
Drop the weapon CDs already, bring in power management systems to each lass!

Thief? :P
You can have what you like, but let’s not push everyone in the same niche.

^^ To reply on this;
Yes, the thief initiatives are a good “mana”, and I suggest ~every class use some kind of energy management, with unique restrictions that worked like heaven in GW1.
I mean, Assassins (Thieves) had Chained attacks, so they couldn’t just spam deadly skills randomly.
Warriors had to build up adrenaline to cast their weapon skills.

Where are these revolutionary designs here??