Guild Wars 2

Ostra.3927:

MMO tiering 101.

Build gameworld around exotic stat level. = GW2 release
Majority of people get to the exotic stat level = gw2 1 month
Raise the stat level to cater to the traditional (WoW/EQ) model = GW2 Ascended
Majority of people get Ascended = gw2 in 3 months
Cater to the players that say the world is WAY to easy now = Increase World bosses and mob HP/Damage in all upper areas = GW2 in 5 months.
Ascended stat level now required for any high end areas
Players are getting tired of Ascended and want more challenge = Transcended trinkets

THAT is the future of GW2. By adding ascended stats when the world was designed for EXOTIC level stats… the only outcome for the future is to then raise the danger and challenge of the high end zones thus flushing out the last exotic users and pushing them to require Ascended.

Then the cycle just continues.

Does it get hot under that tinfoil hat?

Ostra.3927:

MMO tiering 101.

Build gameworld around exotic stat level. = GW2 release
Majority of people get to the exotic stat level = gw2 1 month
Raise the stat level to cater to the traditional (WoW/EQ) model = GW2 Ascended
Majority of people get Ascended = gw2 in 3 months
Cater to the players that say the world is WAY to easy now = Increase World bosses and mob HP/Damage in all upper areas = GW2 in 5 months.
Ascended stat level now required for any high end areas
Players are getting tired of Ascended and want more challenge = Transcended trinkets

THAT is the future of GW2. By adding ascended stats when the world was designed for EXOTIC level stats… the only outcome for the future is to then raise the danger and challenge of the high end zones thus flushing out the last exotic users and pushing them to require Ascended.

Then the cycle just continues.

The devs have said many times that ascended is the final level of gear….. I think that is the reason that alot of people aren’t as outraged as you think they should be.

I was a hardcore wow player and the number one reason i left was because of the gear treadmill, and even with that reason in mind, ascended does not bother me because exotic was way to easy to get and ascended is somewhat more grindy…. just a little bit of a carrot for those of us that want to min-max.

I think the majority of the people that are OK with ascended now however will leave gw2 in a heartbeat if another even higher tier is announced, including myself.

Ascended hits a nice sweet spot of gear treadmill without going overboard imo…..

Aurust.8961:

The devs have said many times that ascended is the final level of gear.

Yeah? They also said there wouldn’t be a new carrot to chase every 6 months and then promptly added another tier of gear 2 months after launch.

gimmethegepgun.1284:

Aurust.8961:

The devs have said many times that ascended is the final level of gear.

Yeah? They also said there wouldn’t be a new carrot to chase every 6 months and then promptly added another tier of gear 2 months after launch.

And that’s held true.

fellyn.5083:

gimmethegepgun.1284:

Aurust.8961:

The devs have said many times that ascended is the final level of gear.

Yeah? They also said there wouldn’t be a new carrot to chase every 6 months and then promptly added another tier of gear 2 months after launch.

And that’s held true.

Oh? So they didn’t release a statistically better tier of gear walled behind a ridiculous time gate 2 months after launch in an obvious carrot-shaped attempt to keep people playing?

Cruril Darksbane.2318:

Quillionaire.1063:

At no point did I ever say that Ascended should be removed, or that it’s the scourge of the earth. All I suggest is keeping its desirability and its status as a stepping-stone between exotic and legendary items without upsetting the stat balance.

Speaking of stats, if the stats are so marginal that it truly doesn’t matter in terms of balance, then why are people so adamant keeping the improved stats? It’s still a better tier than exotic no matter what because of infusion slots, and stat-swapping would more than make up for any loss of power. It’s still prestigious and desirable, which was the entire point to begin with.

We can have item progression without stats, it’s not black-and-white.

Again the developers have said countless times, that a legendary weapon is a statement. Your missing the point entirely, you should at no point be aimming for a legendary weapon because it has slightly better stats. You should aim for it to show off.

Nothing more, nothing less.

But since the game has a form of another of vertical progression the legendary as become more than that.
It’s a one way ticket to BIS city. Get it – you’ve got BIS whatever happens.
Sadly it’s more than a statement about how much you’ve put into the game.

gimmethegepgun.1284:

fellyn.5083:

gimmethegepgun.1284:

Aurust.8961:

The devs have said many times that ascended is the final level of gear.

Yeah? They also said there wouldn’t be a new carrot to chase every 6 months and then promptly added another tier of gear 2 months after launch.

And that’s held true.

Oh? So they didn’t release a statistically better tier of gear walled behind a ridiculous time gate 2 months after launch in an obvious carrot-shaped attempt to keep people playing?

Yes, 2 months after launch because they realized that exotic was to easy to get…. and there had to be something between legendary and exotic.

Aurust.8961:

gimmethegepgun.1284:

fellyn.5083:

gimmethegepgun.1284:

Aurust.8961:

The devs have said many times that ascended is the final level of gear.

Yeah? They also said there wouldn’t be a new carrot to chase every 6 months and then promptly added another tier of gear 2 months after launch.

And that’s held true.

Oh? So they didn’t release a statistically better tier of gear walled behind a ridiculous time gate 2 months after launch in an obvious carrot-shaped attempt to keep people playing?

Yes, 2 months after launch because they realized that exotic was to easy to get…. and there had to be something between legendary and exotic.

And yet they held for years in GW1 without ever increasing the maximum strength of equipment, despite it being possible, in Nightfall, to equip a level 2 with max gear.
Also, what gap between legendary and exotic? They were the same stats. They could have added some more “tiers” of skins of varying increasing costs without dumping a pointless stat increase on it.

again, if ascended was already in the game as is on the day the game launched, people wouldn’t be complaining about it. Didn’t see people complain about there being Fine, Masterwork, Rare, Exotic gear.

Raine.1394:

Probably the best option for Anet in terms of Ascended gear would be a clear statement that the experiment with vertical progression was stopping with it when fully implemented. Many people are operating from the understanding that Ascended is the end of the road in terms of power creep. It isn’t. They made it clear with the introduction of Ascended gear that what they were adding to the game was not a final tier, but rather vertical progression.

So, stopping VP with Ascended would allow them to correct course (towards skill/ability progression) and save face around the whole Ascended debacle. It could be the final tier of gear and end of power creep. However, they have never said that it would be, to date, and there is no reason to assume that vertical progression will stop. Stopping is not within the definition of vertical progression.

Yeup. The stat bonuses don’t have to end with the gear. And if worst comes to worst, they can butter up some PR, say “whoops, sorry” and add more gear anyways. It’s an MMO, after all, things change all the time.

eisberg.2379:

again, if ascended was already in the game as is on the day the game launched, people wouldn’t be complaining about it. Didn’t see people complain about there being Fine, Masterwork, Rare, Exotic gear.

.

Admittedly, I probably wouldn’t have spent the 300 or so gold I made on skins had I known that it could’ve been spent to buy more damage :p

Late November (2012) dev response to vertical progression.
They don’t intend to stop vertical progression and have officially confirmed so.
No one should be expecting it to stop.

http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/13tuac/im_the_studio_design_director_on_guild_wars_2_ama/c776dmy

…
So to the question of vertical progression. So as we know there is already vertical progression in the game and we do intend to keep moving forward with this philosophy. However we have no intention of adding a new Rarity of Gear such as Ascended. Instead and as we evolve the game existing Rarity’s will evolve over time.
…

Ascended is not the final tier. They will not promise that, only that nothing is (was) not being planned at that point in time.

http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/13tuac/im_the_studio_design_director_on_guild_wars_2_ama/c775k2x

…
We do not intend to deploy another tier/rarity of loot such as Rare>Exotic. However we also do not intend to make promises that can be misinterpreted moving forward.
…

gimmethegepgun.1284:

Aurust.8961:

gimmethegepgun.1284:

fellyn.5083:

gimmethegepgun.1284:

Aurust.8961:

The devs have said many times that ascended is the final level of gear.

Yeah? They also said there wouldn’t be a new carrot to chase every 6 months and then promptly added another tier of gear 2 months after launch.

And that’s held true.

Oh? So they didn’t release a statistically better tier of gear walled behind a ridiculous time gate 2 months after launch in an obvious carrot-shaped attempt to keep people playing?

Yes, 2 months after launch because they realized that exotic was to easy to get…. and there had to be something between legendary and exotic.

And yet they held for years in GW1 without ever increasing the maximum strength of equipment, despite it being possible, in Nightfall, to equip a level 2 with max gear.
Also, what gap between legendary and exotic? They were the same stats. They could have added some more “tiers” of skins of varying increasing costs without dumping a pointless stat increase on it.

I’m sure you’re aware of this but GW2 is a completely different game than GW1. I’m really not sure why people think that just because a thing was a certain way in GW1 it should be the exact same in GW2.

The gap is the investment in how long it takes to get. Before ascended stuff one of the biggest complaints we saw on the forums the first 2 months after release was that exotics were to easy to get.

fellyn.5083:

….
The gap is the investment in how long it takes to get. Before ascended stuff one of the biggest complaints we saw on the forums the first 2 months after release was that exotics were to easy to get.

Say what? I read the forums quite a bit and have not come across this complaint ever, much less one of the BIGGEST complaints the first 2 months after release. More spin bullkitten from the powers that be?

Links please or it never happened.

fellyn.5083:

gimmethegepgun.1284:

Aurust.8961:

gimmethegepgun.1284:

fellyn.5083:

gimmethegepgun.1284:

Aurust.8961:

The devs have said many times that ascended is the final level of gear.

Yeah? They also said there wouldn’t be a new carrot to chase every 6 months and then promptly added another tier of gear 2 months after launch.

And that’s held true.

Oh? So they didn’t release a statistically better tier of gear walled behind a ridiculous time gate 2 months after launch in an obvious carrot-shaped attempt to keep people playing?

Yes, 2 months after launch because they realized that exotic was to easy to get…. and there had to be something between legendary and exotic.

And yet they held for years in GW1 without ever increasing the maximum strength of equipment, despite it being possible, in Nightfall, to equip a level 2 with max gear.
Also, what gap between legendary and exotic? They were the same stats. They could have added some more “tiers” of skins of varying increasing costs without dumping a pointless stat increase on it.

I’m sure you’re aware of this but GW2 is a completely different game than GW1. I’m really not sure why people think that just because a thing was a certain way in GW1 it should be the exact same in GW2.

but do they HAVE to be different?

Zanryu.3417:

Both options are horrible.

“muh exotics no longer wurk omfg mah gear sux!”

There still is NO grind required to play the game effectively, exotics are more than sufficient to do every single piece of content this game has or likely will ever have.

“b-but Zanryu muh fractals”

Dailies will allow you to earn laurels, which will allow you to purchase various Ascended trinkets of your choice. I currently have full Ascended trinkets without having to actively grind them out because gasp I did dailies by playing the game!

“But I have to grind for exotics omfg!!! Anet sed no grindz!”

Exotic was meant to be something that would take a fair amount of time to acquire, however as has been a usual trend the playerbase was underestimated. In order to give people a thing to actually strive for they introduced Ascended. It’s not gamebreakingly stronger and can still be acquired by everyone, albeit a longer period of time and more effort to acquire.

tl;dr

Casuals stop crying about Ascended weapons and stop worrying about what other people have. The weapons are fine as is, just put in some work.

This is fine, until you enter small scale WvW. At this point, you have the option of rocking BiS gear, or being dead. It’s a pretty binary thing, that.

In an ideal world, the ascended gear would have identical stats to exotic, aside from the extra mod slot for AR.

Khal Drogo.9631:

fellyn.5083:

….
The gap is the investment in how long it takes to get. Before ascended stuff one of the biggest complaints we saw on the forums the first 2 months after release was that exotics were to easy to get.

Say what? I read the forums quite a bit and have not come across this complaint ever, much less one of the BIGGEST complaints the first 2 months after release. More spin bullkitten from the powers that be?

Links please or it never happened.

It was, believe it or not. And I don’t care enough to do the research but you’re more than welcome to.

Wukunlin.8461:

but do they HAVE to be different?

Yes? What is the point of making a game and having it be exactly like the last game you made? If you love GW1 so much you can still play that game you know?

i agree but then why did i spend money on my ascended GS? Its certainly not for the fugly skin with ps2 quality texturing…

fellyn.5083:

gimmethegepgun.1284:

Aurust.8961:

gimmethegepgun.1284:

fellyn.5083:

gimmethegepgun.1284:

Aurust.8961:

The devs have said many times that ascended is the final level of gear.

Yeah? They also said there wouldn’t be a new carrot to chase every 6 months and then promptly added another tier of gear 2 months after launch.

And that’s held true.

Oh? So they didn’t release a statistically better tier of gear walled behind a ridiculous time gate 2 months after launch in an obvious carrot-shaped attempt to keep people playing?

Yes, 2 months after launch because they realized that exotic was to easy to get…. and there had to be something between legendary and exotic.

And yet they held for years in GW1 without ever increasing the maximum strength of equipment, despite it being possible, in Nightfall, to equip a level 2 with max gear.
Also, what gap between legendary and exotic? They were the same stats. They could have added some more “tiers” of skins of varying increasing costs without dumping a pointless stat increase on it.

I’m sure you’re aware of this but GW2 is a completely different game than GW1. I’m really not sure why people think that just because a thing was a certain way in GW1 it should be the exact same in GW2.

The gap is the investment in how long it takes to get. Before ascended stuff one of the biggest complaints we saw on the forums the first 2 months after release was that exotics were to easy to get.

What was wrong with this?

fellyn.5083:

Wukunlin.8461:

but do they HAVE to be different?

Yes? What is the point of making a game and having it be exactly like the last game you made? If you love GW1 so much you can still play that game you know?

not having a totally unnecessary stat tier doesn’t make gw2 exactly the same as gw1 you know?

1. no
2. no

I think stat swapping should be on legendary equipment and I’d like to see some legendary armor skins.

Only thing about ascended I would like is to be able to just craft all of it myself.

Ahahaha. Stopped playing last year after the game went to garbage on Nov 15th with the release of the Ascended items. Haven’t actually even come to the forums at all in about 6 months. Just checked in to find that Legendary weapons are still kittened Number Generator with no way to for time=reward. Also as expected the Ascended items have been expanded on making it just another WoW clone. Well see you all in another year to see if they fix the game.