Guild Wars 2

Marcus Greythorne.6843:

pulsecodesgnl.3470:

From what I have seen personally, and from our guildies these are topics in need of discussion for each section:

General:
1. Guilds (General)
a) Guild
b) Guild Content is nearly nonexistant, all attempts so far have just been stop-gaps. Guild Missions were a great idea, but lacked sustainability (especially once maxed on merits).
c) Guild
d) Guild
e) Guild
f) Guild

2. Guilds
-snip-

Oh god no, please not more guild stuff. I hate that there is content which is doable for guilds only. Yeah, I can participate in a certain way, but won’t get the rewards.

I got away from games like WoW because I wanted to get away from this heavy organized playing on a schedule. No to large instanced group content, the open world direction is so much more fun to me than having to find a whole group of players who have the exact same timetable as I and actually the morale to stay a couple of hours in the game, just to complete content. I’m a family man now and can’t do this anymore. GW2 shouldn’t change it’s direction 180 now. Don’t make GW2 another Raid-game, there are enough others there already.

Tequatl was an awesome first step, there certainly are problems but I feel this is the direction that works for GW2.

I really wonder how many GW2 players are part of a larger guild because they want to, and not because they can only complete certain content that way for the rewards.

The problem is, if it weren’t for things like guilds, a lot of people wouldn’t be playing at all, and I might be one of them. The guild is what keeps me playing, certainly as much as I do.

I think not including things for guilds to do would not only hurt the game, but it would hurt your game…because there are a whole lot of people who play only to play with their guilds.

Chris Whiteside.6102:

Asuka Shikinami.5462:

Good Morning Chris,

It may be worth creating a separate thread (for each game mode) for people simply to list (no discussion) what they think are the issues atm or the aspects of the game they would appreciate develper feedback on. This one is all over the place.

I think that’s a good idea. Should we close this thread? And then i will create a new one in each forum area asking for folks to list the area they would most like to discuss?

I can then open a new thread about Polls on Monday on the main forum?

Chris

Sure, I would post my mockups again if that’s fine. I know you’ve seen them, but it would like to hear more feedback from everyone to see if its viable.

This post is very much all over the place though, it might be worth packing it up and starting fresh with some clear and concise discussion topics.

Chris Whiteside.6102:

Asuka Shikinami.5462:

Good Morning Chris,

It may be worth creating a separate thread (for each game mode) for people simply to list (no discussion) what they think are the issues atm or the aspects of the game they would appreciate develper feedback on. This one is all over the place.

I think that’s a good idea. Should we close this thread? And then i will create a new one in each forum area asking for folks to list the area they would most like to discuss?

I can then open a new thread about Polls on Monday on the main forum?

Chris

There’s no harm in leaving this open through right? The thread is meant to be about open communication, which went a little off topic, but still serves a purpose.

AntiGw.9367:

Lonesamurai.4852:

AntiGw.9367:

I don’t see how polls could give you more information than participation, activity and click statistics.

It would tell them what those doing them actually THINK of the content they just did

How is that more useful than actual statistics?

If you were to look at pure metrics, you’d probably think I’m someone who likes ascended weapons. I’m working on leveling all three weapon crafts, and have been farming for mats and gold.

If you ask me, however, I’ll tell you that I dislike that ascended gear got added, and really dislike the way it was implemented with a long grind to achieve it. I’ll tell you that my normal play style means I have no hope of achieving it without specifically farming for it, and that my current farming is the first time in any game that I’ve ever actually farmed. I’ll also point out that, for the first time since I got excited about GW2 two years before launch, there’s a distinct possibility I’ll move to another game, especially if ascended armor follows the pattern of ascended weapons. Though the “you don’t need ascended, so just ignore it” crowd won’t understand, I just want to have BiS gear and enjoy the game without needing to work toward another loot carrot.

Would any of the information in the second paragraph come from just looking at what I’m doing in game?

If I leave in a month or two because ascended armor puts me over the edge, would pure statistics tell you why seeing that I did grind out ascended weaponry?

Would any statistical analysis of my current play style tell you why I used to buy small, but regular amounts of gems with cash, but stopped with the introduction of ascended weaponry?

Gibson.4036:

If you ask me, however, I’ll tell you that I dislike that ascended gear got added, and really dislike the way it was implemented with a long grind to achieve it. I’ll tell you that my normal play style means I have no hope of achieving it without specifically farming for it, and that my current farming is the first time in any game that I’ve ever actually farmed. I’ll also point out that, for the first time since I got excited about GW2 two years before launch, there’s a distinct possibility I’ll move to another game, especially if ascended armor follows the pattern of ascended weapons. Though the “you don’t need ascended, so just ignore it” crowd won’t understand, I just want to have BiS gear and enjoy the game without needing to work toward another loot carrot.

One thing to note on the ascended gear is that it doesn’t seem to bad to outfit a single character. If you run more than one character/class, though, it goes from barely bearable to impossible to even consider. Because the ‘refining’ of the materials is time-gated, it means that it doesn’t just take x hours to outfit your multiple charas. It now takes x days to do so.

I was initially interested in ascendeds. Now I just dislike them on principle. To unobtainable.

Chris Whiteside.6102:

Asuka Shikinami.5462:

Good Morning Chris,

It may be worth creating a separate thread (for each game mode) for people simply to list (no discussion) what they think are the issues atm or the aspects of the game they would appreciate develper feedback on. This one is all over the place.

I think that’s a good idea. Should we close this thread? And then i will create a new one in each forum area asking for folks to list the area they would most like to discuss?

I can then open a new thread about Polls on Monday on the main forum?

Chris

Yep, I think we should close the thread. It’s time too look forward, rather than back.

Hello, again, Chris. Thanks for continuing to visit the thread. I’m excited to see where this goes.

I posted a request last night that may have got missed, but very much fits this topic of collaborative development involving the players. I’ve seen many requests for a public test server on the forums over the last year, but I’ve never run across you or another ArenaNet staff member explaining the choice not to have one.

I’m not advocating adding one, but I’d really like to hear the thought process behind choosing not to have one. I know you have an internal testing team. I assume every MMORPG has one, and yet many choose to also have a public test server to get broader player feedback and bug hunting. What are the reasons behind choosing not to have one for Guild Wars 2?

EDIT: As for closing this thread, I think there is more room to discuss player/developer communication. There’s no reason future posts here have to “look back” any more than the large number of forward looking posts that have already been written.

Chris Whiteside.6102:

I don’t want to derail the thread by jumping into a specific area just yet as that would be unfair to everyone else who also have their priority areas that they want to discuss moving forward.

I hope that makes sense?

Chris

Absolutelty.

I figured it fit in alongside the poll discussion as another avenue for collaboration. I’m kind of ambivalent about it; I wasn’t looking for a discussion so much as a statement. But it definitely makes a lot of sense to give it it’s own thread, as I know there are plenty of people who are passionate about it and would like to discuss it.

Thanks, again, and enjoy your time in game.

Gibson.4036:

If you were to look at pure metrics, you’d probably think I’m someone who likes ascended weapons. I’m working on leveling all three weapon crafts, and have been farming for mats and gold.

If you ask me, however, I’ll tell you that I dislike that ascended gear got added, and really dislike the way it was implemented with a long grind to achieve it. I’ll tell you that my normal play style means I have no hope of achieving it without specifically farming for it, and that my current farming is the first time in any game that I’ve ever actually farmed. I’ll also point out that, for the first time since I got excited about GW2 two years before launch, there’s a distinct possibility I’ll move to another game, especially if ascended armor follows the pattern of ascended weapons. Though the “you don’t need ascended, so just ignore it” crowd won’t understand, I just want to have BiS gear and enjoy the game without needing to work toward another loot carrot.

I just want to add that I’m in exactly the same boat, I’m doing the grinding/crafting for ascended weapons but I hate it.

morrolan.9608:

I just want to add that I’m in exactly the same boat, I’m doing the grinding/crafting for ascended weapons but I hate it.

I am afraid this goes for me as well. I am hoping the ascended topic makes it to the final choices for PVE alongside RNG more than anything else.

Chris Whiteside.6102:

Zacchary.6183:

Chris Whiteside.6102:

Zacchary.6183:

Are there going to be devs for each profession that frequently visit the profession forums so that those players may collaborate with them to hopefully make their professions more enjoyable?

Please….?

Absolutely .I hope we can role this initiative out to all the separate forums and perhaps even create new forums with the intention being that specialist devs in each area will be attached to a particular forum on an ongoing basis (-:

The initial plan is essentially a test to see how the process works, which we will evolve based on discussion with each other.

Hope that makes sense? I am in between meetings and running around (-:

I love the pic by the way. Dogs Rock!

Chris

W00!!!!

I dance like this in rl!!!

Ah, so you play a Norn, do you? That explains so much…

TheDaiBish.9735:

Marcus Greythorne.6843:

Safari.3021:

In game Polls:

Barmen.

You talk to a barman in a tavern, they chat yto you, ask you questions, you give your responses.

Anet get their poll.
Player recieves tankard of ale for their time.

Encourage participation by making “visit tavern for a drink” a daily achievement when a poll is needed

haha this makes ingame polls actually immersive, nice idea Only problem I can think of: how do you make the connection between the things you want to ask about (a specific event etc.) and the dialogue?

NPC: “Grab a seat, I’ll pull up a drink for you. Heard news at the Splintered Coast is pretty bad. One of the Dragon’s lieutenants seems to be getting stronger”

Player: “Yep, you wouldn’t catch me there” [didn’t participate] / “I was actually there in the fight” [participated].

NPC [if participated]: “Really?! I bet it was a close fight.”

Player: “Psh. A walk in the park for someone like me” [easy] / “Well, it was a sight more difficult than the usual fights I get into” [medium] / “You have no idea. Bodies. Bodies everywhere” [hard].

NPC: “Really…Fancy talking about it?”

Player: “Sure” [brings up a text box] / “Not really, it’d probably bore you” [if answer was easy] / “I’m trying to forget it, why do you think I’m here?” [hard]

NPC: “Truly a thrilling tale” [text box filled] / “No problem, I understand” [text box not filled]

NPC: “Here you go. This drink is on the house.”

Or something along those lines.

That is pretty cool.

Chris – Thank you so much for your time. I won’t pretend I’ve read through all of this thread, because it’s pretty long. The two things that are always on my mind though aren’t new “issues”, so they may have already been addressed in this thread.

1. There have been many topics on this one, but it’s such a wonderful idea and suits the GW2 model, that I feel like the only reason it hasn’t been implemented is due to technical barriers: Namely, a “PvE locker” of sorts. For the first time since the Living Story was launched, I don’t really want to finish the current Living Story achievement. I mean, the achievement points are nice, but I have to ask myself, do I really have the room for another skin that I don’t plan on using? I WANT to collect these things. I’d use transmutation crystals if I could—just to hold onto the things I’ve collected. This is the #1 thing I want in this game, even more than….

2. Build diversity. I hear so much complaint on the forums about GW2’s new turn for alt unfriendliness. Well, I play one character, so this doesn’t effect me. But I share their concern. This game just isn’t meant to be played with multiple builds. Sure, you can pay the gold/tokens/laurels for another set of armor, but storing it and accessing it is such a pain. Even before ascended gear, I can say honestly that throughout the year that I’ve played this game, I’ve stayed with one single build because of the cost and storage of changing it.

I know a solution is in the pipeline: Legendary armor and trinkets. THEN we can have build diversity. And I want it so bad. But, can’t we bridge the gap? Perhaps a Mystic Forge recipe where you can, say, throw an Exotic Medium Berserker Shoulderpad and an Exotic Medium Cleric Shoulderpad, along with some additional ingredient, and get back an Exotic Medium Shoulderpad in which you can switch between berserker and cleric’s when out of combat. This would be fun, I think, to collect and earn these stats. Gotta catch ’em all

3. I don’t mind ascended gear. Many people seem against it, but I actually like the idea. With that said though, I don’t like the execution. Particularly with ascended weapons. I’m not sure what went wrong, but there’s something wrong with the balance. I don’t think I should have 100 bloodstone bricks, but only 10 dragonite thingies (and even less of that other one). I delete bloodstone dust now, and I’m going to get to a point in the near future where I’ll be deleting dragonite, and then later the other T7 mat as well. I hope that the ascended armor fixes this imbalance (maybe by requiring more bloodstone bricks than the others?) Either way, there will be a point when this mat is useless and clogs up one’s inventory. But my bigger concern is that crafting from 400-500 is incredibly boring, tedious, and expensive. It took me longer than those who were very excited, but I did craft quickly from 400-450 using elder wood refinement from 400-425, then exotics from 425-450. Now I’ve just been refining, and I have so many T7 mats that I’ll never use, and I’m at 471. At this point, I don’t want to pay the cost of crafting the rest of the way to 500. I’ve already been fortunate enough to get 2 ascended weapon boxes (neither of the stats I truly want, but I’m not going to complain about that!) and the cost vs return is too high at the moment. I suspect other methods of obtaining these ascended weapons will come into play. Or, eventually, I’ll find the box with the stuff I want. I felt that ascended trinkets (aside from the backpiece) was done perfectly. I, for one, enjoyed the time gated content that meant you had to work consistently, not grind it out in one evening. (And I did enjoy getting my ascended backpiece the first time, but blah blah alternate builds, blah. In short, I don’t want to do it again. And again. And again.)

That said, I’m incredibly optimistic about the game. I don’t like everything, and my dream would be to see quality of life patches having a higher priority, but this game is truly amazing. I hope that, someday, PvE Lockers find their way into the game (and are flexible). And I can rest knowing that at least Legendary equipment will allow for the build diversity that I want. I’m also sure that as T7 mats become cumbersome and unneeded by players, there will definitely be some sort of fix, be it more recipes that use them, and/or the ability to sell them to a vendor for some small profit.

So, can you give a hint about what the general intentions/plans/things to be looked at are for next year?

Maybe to get some early feedback? I mean I assume part of why this first year’s had so many rough patches has been because of the need to have this stuff all planned ahead before launch. But year two should mean things start to see light and get smoothed over, right?

Something strange, I no longer feel like a mushroom! That is all we can ask for Chris is open dialogue and the fact that we are being listened to. Thank you. Am I ever going to pick your brain on RNG!

coronaas.4362:

The post started to give me a headache but I think he either said to stop being a jerk on the forums or if you don’t like the game to just leave

anyone care to clarify?

Yep thats what i took it as, its a novel way to treat your customers i’ll grant you that.

Chris Whiteside.6102:

Chris Whiteside.6102:

The communication pipeline in most part lacks one very important component. Specifically, ArenaNet having more time to feedback on your ideas, concerns and our own plans.

Chris, the reality is, though, that it isn’t that you don’t have time to give feedback to your player base. This statement makes it seem as though no one at ANet has any control over time allocation. It is far more likely that whoever is in charge is not making the time available for this to happen.

Chris Whiteside.6102:

We do need to build out more time to be in dialog with you, specifically, following up on our own investigations of your suggestions and concerns.
We will work harder to achieves this.

Thank you for acknowledging this. I do wish that there was more of a concrete commitment here. Simply saying “We will work harder to achieve this” feels a bit like vague hand waving.

It is just frustrating when normal constructive feedback on player dissatisfaction with Living Story gets little to no response, and yet your response to unconstructive feedback is a quite lengthy (and pretty sincere, I think) post… in which you state that you guys don’t really respond to unconstructive feedback. It seems quite contradictory.

It is quite apparent that there has been a lot of negative feedback in regards to the quality, quantity, and pace of Living Story releases, yet there has been little to no response (or even casual acknowledgement) from you guys. If you allow that kind of frustration to fester, of course it is going to get progressively less and less constructive.

I feel that you guys are so focused on what you want to give us, you are refusing to hear what we actually want. So, this journey you are talking about taking us on? If it’s going to be all about what you want, then, to be honest… I’m not sure that I do want to go on it with you. Being dragged all over the place by someone who doesn’t care what you’re interested in, but keeps telling you “Hey, you’re going to love this next place I’m taking you to!” isn’t fun in the least. But if you’re open to discussing the itinerary and destination, then maybe we can plan this trip together.

This post here is great, this is exactly how i feel as well, great post i wish i could have written it as well as you did.
thank you.

This is such a rare and wonderful opportunity, so I have to ask: Will there be a way for us to pass on suggestions and receive feedback on more quality-of-life type enhancements, specifically to do with i.e. UI improvements, mouse/keyboard input and ideas surrounding a fixes for things like the camera collision issues (the jumpyness), extra menu options for FoV and even vertical camera offset adjustments?

It would be really great to get some dialog going surrounding these things, since they really affect gameplay at the most basic level … and some of these unresolved issues are quite old now. It would really make my day getting some info about these things, and I’m sure others share my eagerness as well.

Also, thank you for being so proactive Chris. It’s really great to have this type of interaction with the people behind this great game. I hope it will continue.

Don’t have much to add until we see where this goes and how it pans out. I am looking forward to more discussion on many topics.

minbariguy.7504:

Chris Whiteside.6102:

Would in game polls affect the immersion for the player?

That is a very good question. Obviously for me, the answer is “no”, but this could be a real concern for others.

I wonder if it’s possible to have an in-game poll initiated by an NPC? Or if that would be overly complicated? I’m interested to hear what others have to say on the subject of in-game polls.

If it appears up in the corner of the screen and you can just click it or close it no, if it appears in the center of your screen all rudely then yes it would be unliked, to be polite.

Either way i believe polls would help, if their results are actually used. By that i mean, positive and negative results.

I’m sceptical of what this will accomplish. I have been posting on the forum for over a year now under the impression that what I write (provided it was constructive and respectful, which it isn’t always) had a good chance of being read by someone it was relevant to. I still assume that’s the case – that forums are read just not frequently commented on.

What exactly is the goal of all these threads and polls etc? I don’t see how they would appease people or lead to more satisfaction unless actual actions in game followed (which my understand is that won’t happen for 3-4 months in the best of cases). If a thread is created in the ranger forum asking what issues ranger players are most concerned about, what would happen if 90% of the posts talked about pet AI or pet survivability in challenging content (WvW, dungeons, World Bosses etc)? This is already a known issue and has been well documented since the beta yet it becomes worse and worse with each content patch (most of the dungeons this year kill the pet with certain mechanics – electric fields in Aetherblade Retreat, everything in the Tequatl Encounter etc). Devs talking about it in a forum thread isn’t going to change anything in game. What if rangers raise issue with the main hand sword auto-attack leap chain and the character control issues it causes? What if the thread becomes split between PvP rangers that love the cruise control to stick on their target and PvE players who hate the inability to dodge DoD (dodge or die) attacks because of a useless (to them) leap function?

What happens if players themselves aren’t clear on what they enjoy? The Crown Pavilion and Scarlet’s Invasions were very popular content. Is it because they demonstrate the best gameplay experience in the game or is it because they gave out large and imbalanced amounts of loot compared to the rest of the game? What if you get a lot of praise about the mechanics of Tequatl and Twilight Assault but a month later people only run the other two TA paths because they are easier and faster despite the new path being more “fun”?

What if you get a lot of negative feedback about Ascended tier equipment? What if the company has a hard stance supporting ascended regardless of what the feedback says (as long as the metrics are fine)? What about Scarlet? If there is a lot of negative feedback to her as a character and her central role to the stories being told (and how poorly received they are by many people) we know you can’t just kill her off – the story has been building up to her and stuff down the pipe line will involve her so until that’s resolved she’s here for better or worse regardless of what the feedback says (the Living Story has gone all in on Scarlet at this point). Then we have the issue of forums representing the vocal minority and only a small subset of the community. It’s easy to dismiss or devalue forum criticism on the grounds that it doesn’t represent everyone.

I’m not looking for a specific reply on any of the issues I raised above, they are just examples of the scenarios that will be raised and I can’t see how threads on the forum are going to change these situations or appease the people they are important to. Is the goal simply to raise the visibility of developer consumption of the forums, or is the goal to create a new paradigm which will give player feedback more power to influence the future of the game’s development? I am under the impression the later already happens with the forum and I don’t believe the former is likely to result in any real changes in the game, just player perception of the forums.

TL;DR What does all this hope to accomplish? Is this going to have any real potential to change the direction of the game differently from how the forums currently work? How is a new way of handling forum feedback going to impact on the content releases for GW2?

I’m willing to bet they won’t look at my comment but…….

Ascended Armor: its ugly. and people hate it. Especially since its gonna involve time-gated bull and expensive as hell materials. Can’t you just implement direct armor infusing like in GW1?

There’s been a lot of whiny threads that got the dev’s attention.They used to say forum represents a small figure of the player base and they don’t really care.Sales may not be doing well or some reason that got them to start communicating.All i can see here is a company in panic mode trying to save themselves.They have never been so active in communicating why start now?There must be an ulterior motive.Oh they do pay attention to whiny threads because thats what got them starting to post on forum more.

xephire.8324:

There’s been a lot of whiny threads that got the dev’s attention.They used to say forum represents a small figure of the player base and they don’t really care.Sells may not be doing well or some reason that got them to start communicating.All i can see here is a company in panic mode trying to save themselves.They have never been so active in communicating why start now?There must be an ulterior motive.Oh they do pay attention to whiny threads because thats what got them starting to post on forum more.

Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe sales dropped and people started to leave after getting their legendary. Hit them in their wallet and they start to pay attention, like what happened with the whole EVE cash shop fiasco. Except this isnt a strike, ppl just leaving.

And agree about ascended armor being ugly, also the implementation of them as crafting or super rare drops is lame. Your pretty much forced to craft since your going to get stuck with awful stats if you do get a chest to drop.

I would also like to see more Transmutation Stones being rewarded or at least a MF recipe to turn green ones into rare ones. Prob in my dreams tho.

Dromar.1027:

I would also like to see more Transmutation Stones being rewarded or at least a MF recipe to turn green ones into rare ones. Prob in my dreams tho.

Ohgods! I would love this. I have so many basic transmute stones that are useless and I have yet to receive even a single Transmute Crystal in all of my 4,500+ hours of play. I’d love to actually be able to use them. Please, ANet! *crosses fingers and hopes*

Dromar.1027:

xephire.8324:

There’s been a lot of whiny threads that got the dev’s attention.They used to say forum represents a small figure of the player base and they don’t really care.Sells may not be doing well or some reason that got them to start communicating.All i can see here is a company in panic mode trying to save themselves.They have never been so active in communicating why start now?There must be an ulterior motive.Oh they do pay attention to whiny threads because thats what got them starting to post on forum more.

Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe sales dropped and people started to leave after getting their legendary. Hit them in their wallet and they start to pay attention, like what happened with the whole EVE cash shop fiasco. Except this isnt a strike, ppl just leaving.

And agree about ascended armor being ugly, also the implementation of them as crafting or super rare drops is lame. Your pretty much forced to craft since your going to get stuck with awful stats if you do get a chest to drop.

I would also like to see more Transmutation Stones being rewarded or at least a MF recipe to turn green ones into rare ones. Prob in my dreams tho.

Youll see more transmutation stones in the form of cash shop i believe.

xephire.8324:

Dromar.1027:

xephire.8324:

There’s been a lot of whiny threads that got the dev’s attention.They used to say forum represents a small figure of the player base and they don’t really care.Sells may not be doing well or some reason that got them to start communicating.All i can see here is a company in panic mode trying to save themselves.They have never been so active in communicating why start now?There must be an ulterior motive.Oh they do pay attention to whiny threads because thats what got them starting to post on forum more.

Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe sales dropped and people started to leave after getting their legendary. Hit them in their wallet and they start to pay attention, like what happened with the whole EVE cash shop fiasco. Except this isnt a strike, ppl just leaving.

And agree about ascended armor being ugly, also the implementation of them as crafting or super rare drops is lame. Your pretty much forced to craft since your going to get stuck with awful stats if you do get a chest to drop.

I would also like to see more Transmutation Stones being rewarded or at least a MF recipe to turn green ones into rare ones. Prob in my dreams tho.

Youll see more transmutation stones in the form of cash shop i believe.

:(

Gibson.4036:

AntiGw.9367:

Lonesamurai.4852:

AntiGw.9367:

I don’t see how polls could give you more information than participation, activity and click statistics.

It would tell them what those doing them actually THINK of the content they just did

How is that more useful than actual statistics?

If you were to look at pure metrics, you’d probably think I’m someone who likes ascended weapons. I’m working on leveling all three weapon crafts, and have been farming for mats and gold.

If you ask me, however, I’ll tell you that I dislike that ascended gear got added, and really dislike the way it was implemented with a long grind to achieve it. I’ll tell you that my normal play style means I have no hope of achieving it without specifically farming for it, and that my current farming is the first time in any game that I’ve ever actually farmed. I’ll also point out that, for the first time since I got excited about GW2 two years before launch, there’s a distinct possibility I’ll move to another game, especially if ascended armor follows the pattern of ascended weapons. Though the “you don’t need ascended, so just ignore it” crowd won’t understand, I just want to have BiS gear and enjoy the game without needing to work toward another loot carrot.

Would any of the information in the second paragraph come from just looking at what I’m doing in game?

If I leave in a month or two because ascended armor puts me over the edge, would pure statistics tell you why seeing that I did grind out ascended weaponry?

Would any statistical analysis of my current play style tell you why I used to buy small, but regular amounts of gems with cash, but stopped with the introduction of ascended weaponry?

This. So much of this.

Just plain metrics, even those gathered from the proposed polls, can only go so far. In many cases, the statistics will not tell the whole story, or may actually tell an entirely different story than the reality of the situation.

Polls, while good to get a general feeling on something, don’t really go into enough detail to be a true representation either unless you break them down to the point where you might as well be asking for a straight out written response anyway. For example, you can ask in a poll if players like Ascended Gear and give it a 5 for love it, 1 for hate it scale. Let’s say a player gives it a 5. Awesome, they love it! But wait, do they love the look of it, the way it’s acquired, the fact that it provides them with a new goal to achieve in game, the fact that they were just getting bored and wanted something new to do, that it gives them an advantage in WvW, that they love crafting, etc? All of these and more would/could be valid reasons for a player to rate it as a 5, and no one could argue with them, but just the 5 alone doesn’t provide any useful feedback at all to further development of different/similar content.

This is why we need open and direct, and ongoing, communication. This is also why we need ANet to be forthright about it’s design plans and methods so that the communication we do have isn’t diluted by players who don’t really like the game but remain with it in vain hope that somehow the stars will align and they’ll start getting what they want out of it even if it’s not in ANets cards to ever go that way.

xephire.8324:

There’s been a lot of whiny threads…
snip

Whatever the reasons, let’s try to give them some trust again.
We have nothing to lose
I do not say we have to be blindly optimistic, but this can be an good opportunity for both devs and players.
Plus if it turn out to be a sinister attempt to stem the discontent we will notice it in a few months.

StriderShinryu.6923:

[…] For example, you can ask in a poll if players like Ascended Gear and give it a 5 for love it, 1 for hate it scale. Let’s say a player gives it a 5. Awesome, they love it! But wait, do they love the look of it, the way it’s acquired, the fact that it provides them with a new goal to achieve in game, the fact that they were just getting bored and wanted something new to do, that it gives them an advantage in WvW, that they love crafting, etc? […]

Premising that I think we need a mix of statistics + forum + ingame polls, it is logic that if formulated so unclear, a question, it would definitely be valid for next to nothing.
A good survey can be much more precise than that.
They can create response bias tweaking the questions, but would they really benefit from the manipulation of what could be a valuable source of informations?

I simply have two bits of advice for you, Chris:

1) No matter how much you beseech the player base, there are GOING to be elements that their sole goal is to simply scream and complain as loud as they can. To them, you aren’t there to discuss things, you are there to yell at. They WILL look for any reason to be insulted, and if worse comes to worse they WILL make up reasons to be insulted if they have to.

You can NOT let that small group of people dictate the conversation, and you can NOT let them run you (or other developers) off, nor can you use them as an excuse to ignore the rest of the feedback. Yes, they are going to be crude and hurtful and spiteful, but you’re gonna have to power through it, no matter how unfair it is, if you want to keep those lines of communication open.

2) Metrics and customer feedback, be it through forums or polls or beta test realms or surveys, are all well and good. It never hurts to know what your players like or don’t like. But at the end of the day, this is YOUR game (and I say that in the plural sense encompassing the entire company); and you shouldn’t be afraid to do what you want to do, or reject ideas from the community, no matter how popular they sound.

Players will respect decisions that they don’t like if it shows a creative passion rather than a feeling that you’re simply trying to milk as many dollars as you can.

I’ve collected a few ideas on reddit, you might want to look in there for other suggestions: http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/1o6dfj/chris_whiteside_is_asking_for_our_most_wanted/

I don’t like that guilds seem to be such a big topic, but if the majority wants it… Personally I feel excluded from these things because I play late at night, mostly alone.

Is this where I tell anet that time played should not equal power, and that’s why a lot of their systems really grate on my nerves? Ascended items, laurels, fractal and dungeon tokens. Hell, even the long time it takes to get to 80 (it’s far longer than a tutorial needs to be!). All of that’s the cheap thrill of “keep doing this simple task and you get a reward!” What am I, a dog?

I shouldn’t have numerical disadvantages compared to someone who plays more than me just because he put in more time. If he plays better (because of practice or research or whatever) then that’s fine. But now the guy who has a lot more free time is playing on easy mode, and probably acting smug about it.

Also you should put in some ‘hard mode’ dungeons, and put monsters in that use player skills. Don’t just give them bigger numbers, but make them smarter.

It’s good to see you guys trying to get some communication going, and to build a better community. You’re going to have a long road ahead, and at least part of that is on your own heads due to past actions/inactions.

Now, a few suggestions:

Skritt Survey Squad: Space these guys out like the laurel vendors, and give them a few lines to say. They can explain that they’re there to perform surveys, and clicking on the right option takes you to a survey screen that explains that it’s for the player, NOT the character. Then, when you make a new survey, you can make talking to one of them a possible daily task, instead of visiting a laurel vendor. And skritt are kinda cute/funny, so people will remember one standing in Hoelbrak or the Iron Citadel.

Relax the Forums: Any GOOD forums I’ve been to have always had a “and whatever” area in them. A place to talk about stuff that doesn’t really have anything to do with the game/webcomic/ect that the forums are for. I’m not saying to allow ANY topic, make some guidelines (please). No other video games, no politics, no religion would be a good start. But give us an area to talk about other things that interest us, so we can kind of get to know our fellow players a bit better. Community isn’t just Player – Dev, it’s also Player – Player. A Roleplay section might be worth trying as well.

And finally, You Need to Listen. On the very first page of this thread, people complained about the moderation of the boards. They got this:

CC Danicia.1394:

The only time the Moderation Team edits a post is to remove profanity or comments which violate the Forum Code of Conduct.

Complaints and comments continued, and got them this:

Martin Kerstein.3071:

This thread is about discussing the post from Chris Whiteside, not the moderation on this forum. Please focus on the topic at hand. Any further posts discussing things not related to the original post will be removed.

I’m not going to say if there’s a problem or not. What I will say is that there is a PERCEPTION of a problem, and when it was put in front of you, you guys brushed it aside right off the bat. Not a good start to open communications, especially when the problem in question is one that hampers open communications.

Safari.3021:

In game Polls:

Barmen.

You talk to a barman in a tavern, they chat yto you, ask you questions, you give your responses.

Anet get their poll.
Player recieves tankard of ale for their time.

Encourage participation by making “visit tavern for a drink” a daily achievement when a poll is needed

this is amazing, it actually enhances immersion, instead of breaking it.

Chris Whiteside.6102:

So to start with what i am suggesting we do is that we have a list of topics for each category, so for example:

1. Character Development. I really don’t care about rest of the game, this is most important thing to me.
1a. New skills.
1b. New traits.
1c. Alternate Advancment System (ie. non-tiered traits for weapons only, non-tiered traits for skills, traits hunting in the world)
1d. Customizable Weapon skills. Let’s face it. Locking 5 skills to weapon, while make balancing easier is not really fun to play in long term. Not if you played GW1 for long time. I really don’t care about balance in PvE and WvW. People will find form build regadless and will use it. And will scream that game is unbalanced even if you allow them to use only single skill. Ignore them.
1e. At this point I’d also like to discuss resource system. Currently we only managing cooldowns. The thief initiative system is very cool. I really don’t get why other classes didn’t get something similiar (like energy), for all skills (including utility and elite). Shorter cooldowns and energy manamgment(and I mean fast regenrating energy, backed by energy generating skills) = more dynamic combat.
1f. Item progression. Please. Create more horizontal items, with more than three boring stats. Boring stat are flat increases to basic statistics (+23, +%). Reintroduce items that work’s in more intresting manner like “While you health is below X, you get something”. “while you are affected by Z, you get”. “If you are in state Y you get”. You got the point.
Also. More than 3 stats per item. And more importantly. Just introduce random stat generator for PvE, that will create items with more extreme ranges of flat stats (like +100, +100 +300).
I honestly don’t see any point in hunting for loot, if the only thing I get is higher numbers of the same crap, with the same configuration.
Runes are not enough.
If want inspiration look at your previous game itemization. It’s was perfect for the time. The only thing it needed is extending, not scrapping and introducing dumb system from 23874 other games.

And finally, You Need to Listen. On the very first page of this thread, people complained about the moderation of the boards. They got this:
CC Danicia.1394:
The only time the Moderation Team edits a post is to remove profanity or comments which violate the Forum Code of Conduct.
Complaints and comments continued, and got them this:
Martin Kerstein.3071:
This thread is about discussing the post from Chris Whiteside, not the moderation on this forum. Please focus on the topic at hand. Any further posts discussing things not related to the original post will be removed.
I’m not going to say if there’s a problem or not. What I will say is that there is a PERCEPTION of a problem, and when it was put in front of you, you guys brushed it aside right off the bat. Not a good start to open communications, especially when the problem in question is one that hampers open communications.
(This ^^ infinite loops of plus one).

Chris,
If the team found a mechanic in the game that simply was not working or holding the game back, would they fix that mechanic?

I honestly would like to believe that the DEVs care about this kind of stuff, however there are things in the came holding it back. Class balance is one of them, more specifically, build balance. For example, the ranger class i would imagine to be a cross between a thief and a warrior, especially with a sword or great sword, however the DPS on the GS just does not come any where near the reliability that a warrior or thief has. Not to mention we do know the warrior/ele classes are unbalanced in terms of how well the classes were put together.

What im getting at is there is ALOT of potential in all the classes, ranger even more so. The necro could also use some buffs as well. Warrior and DD ele could be toned down or left the way they are if you toned every other class up to level ground.

Other issues would involve content like teq, and guild missions. I have a very good guild that can do guild missions quickly, easily and efficiently. However, others are not as lucky as me. I am on a server that has not been able to kill teq…at one point i was the only one there at his event. Don’t get me wrong, i love his fight but he simply as too much health. By that i mean, he should have 50% of his health or tack on another 15 minutes to the fight. The fight remains hard, but it is still DOABLE. Why even time these bosses any way? Why not just make them super strong? Other things already mentioned involves the legendary process…its challenging yes but the money grind gets boring…. been there done that.

I would like to leave off on a good note. GW2 has definably been a fresh of breath air…i cant thank you guys enough for doing a great job creating an immersible world that keeps me comming back for more every day and even more when new content comes out (will be freaking out like a fan girl on October 15th). If you fixed some simple things, this game could trump out WoW.

Chris,

here’s another suggestion for the forums: maybe add an indicator to the +1 button (maybe a ! next to the number) if a dev clicks it to indicate that a dev read the post and noted it down for further discussion with the team or something like that. I understand that you guys are very busy and can’t always respond to a thread, but this way at least we’ll know that you guys are taking it into consideration.

Crazylegsmurphy.6430:

Taking a few ideas mentioned here, and some of my own, I have mocked up an idea of how in-game surveys could work.

1. Login Screen

(See first and second image below)

- When players log in for the first time after the survey goes live, they are presented with a prompt that asks them to choose whether they would like to participate in the survey or not.

- If players choose not to participate, they are shown a prompt that explains that they can turn on the survey in settings.

2. In-game survey

(See last two images)

- Once a player has opted into the online survey a new icon shows up on the menu bar.

- When a player completes an event that has a survey attached to it, they will be prompted with an alert icon (similar to when new mail comes), so they can see they have a new survey to fill out.

This could also be accompanied by a carrier pigeon, or some other animal.

- When players have time, they can open the survey panel and fill out the surveys they’re interested in (or skip the ones they’re not).

- Surveys are only displayed once, and once they’ve been submitted they disappear from the list, unless they’re updated and require a new survey (Eg. Tequatl)

*See images below for more

I just put this here again because I think this is brilliant- great work man

As for topics I only play PvE so I’ll stick to that:

condition damage cap
horizontal/ vertical progression
character progression in terms of the personal/ LS
Emotional anchors in the world i.e personal housing/guild housing/ roleplay
A PVE skin locker for LS skins
A build template

Why don’ t you fix Ranger class..You made it the kittentiest class in the game with all your nerfs..( pets, spirits )
Noone being playing ranger in wvw anymore…do something.