Guild Wars 2

Nah that’d be confusing to new players

lol j/k

I really do agree with you

I feel like they probably try, and something stops them. I can only imagine they have a ton of content, etc. all 50% done, that just got put on the backburner when someone higher up says to start working on something else.

I honestly wonder how many partially completed zones there are, weapons, skills, that may have all been thrown to the side to focus on other projects ‘cough Living World cough’

I am honestly more impressed by some update regiments as F2P games…Firefall, Warframe, Planetside 2 get updates all the time, good ones, content ones, balance ones, etc….I think some management and decision making strides need to be changed here.

There is new content. Every time you level up, a new text box pops up that tells you that you’ve unlocked a bunch of content that used to not be locked.

In two years they don’t even meet the standards update of some generics and basics f2p. Most of these that have a way smaller team release some sort of expansion-like content in 2 years. Anet has a huge development problem.

Sokia.3710:

There is new content. Every time you level up, a new text box pops up that tells you that you’ve unlocked a bunch of content that used to not be locked.

Sad part is, there was a dedicated person doing all the work needed for that mess of a leveling system. A person that could have been working on some actual new content instead. And only gods know if that was just one person…

Simzani.4318:

In two years they don’t even meet the standards update of some generics and basics f2p. Most of these that have a way smaller team release some sort of expansion-like content in 2 years. Anet has a huge development problem.

Yep, pretty much.

Removing content is the new adding content, yo.

Gw2 suffers from a lack of content. It’s been out for over two years and there really isn’t much content to show for it. Are there any other mmos that have released such little content over a two year period?

To be fair, there has been a lot of content, and some of it was pretty good. Flame And Frost, SAB, Tower Of Nightmares, Attack On Lion’s Arch, Karka chain and Southsun/Consortium, Bazaar of the Four Winds, new Aetherblade path, Queen’s Jubilee, Edge Of The Mists.

The problem is that most of this content is no longer accessible, as it was temporary. I’ve been saying since Flame And Frost that temporary content was the wrong direction to take this game. Now, we are seeing the results of that. There is very little in the game that wasn’t there at launch, other than a bunch of achievements. I mean, what permanent content did we get? Southsun Cove, Dry Top, a single new path in a dungeon, Edge Of The Mists, Fractals Of The Mists, ascended gear, and some new runes/sigils.

Einlanzer.1627:

I don’t at all hate the new season of the LW, and I actually like some of the game system changes that have taken place lately, but the pace of content releases is still egregiously slow and that is certainly one of the biggest reasons this game has hemorrhaged players.

In 2 years there has been 0 new weapon types, 0 new classes, 0 new races, 0 new game modes (unless you count SAB), very few new skills, 1.5ish zone maps, 1 large dungeon, a bunch of paid cosmetics, and some temp content.

I know there’s been a lot of miscellaneous stuff, mostly minor and bundled with the LW, but still – that’s pathetic. That’s significantly less new content than most totally free MMOs that are less successful than GW2 see in the same time period.

What is going on here, exactly? The #1 way you attract and retain players is by generating hype. The #1 way to generate hype is to talk about your plans in advance, and to release major content updates frequently. Most people don’t care as much about story as they do about having new stuff to play around with. This game desperately needs an expansion or to have much bigger content patches than it has been getting, pronto. The 2nd most desperate thing it needs is more consistent interaction between designers and players.

Your source of the game having lost players is…? People have been saying that this game is losing players since the Lost Shores launched back in November of 2012. If it’s bleeding players so badly, then why hasn’t the game gone under yet, and why does the game continue to feel more and more populated as time goes by? Even with the megaserver change I’ve noticed sharp increases in the number of players I encounter, and those increases are taking place long after megaservers were introduced.

Not to mention, I’ve routinely felt increases in player population. While there was a period around 2013 where the population seemed to decline, it has steadily gone up since. And if you’re going to cite anet’s revenue, that has more to do with the fact a large number of potential customers have already bought the game and many play the game for free after buying it, which is perfectly okay.

To answer your main point though, there has been a lot of added content just as a previous poster stated right above me, but a lot of it was temporary. I’m pretty sure that once season 2 is up and we’re rolling on to season 3 and season 4 and so forth, the content will begin to pile up. Also, there was a recent interview I believe where ArenaNet vaguely hinted that their goal was to add new maps as part of living world and make that more of a primary focus than it was in season 1.

(Note: I interpreted it as a vague hint, but nobody in the gaming press seemed to catch it. So keep in mind I just interpreted the article as them hinting at that, so take what I say with a grain of salt if you must.)

Heck, the “Season 2 will be returning!” literally shows a portal in-front of the gate to Fort Vandal. (Although the website glitched for me recently, I still remember what the image looked like.)

Sorann Peace.9056:

Also, there was a recent interview I believe where ArenaNet vaguely hinted that their goal was to add new maps as part of living world and make that more of a primary focus than it was in season 1

Season 1 was about changing existing maps, for the most part. There were a lot of events in existing maps. Then there was Tower Of Nightmares, which was just a new map which you entered from an existing map. Then there was the Attack On Lion’s Arch, which was genuinely interesting and fun in a lot of ways, although I thought the very last Attack patch was extremely lackluster and poorly implemented. The beginning of AOLR was not only more interesting, but better designed mechanically.

Sokia.3710:

To be fair, there has been a lot of content, and some of it was pretty good. Flame And Frost, SAB, Tower Of Nightmares, Attack On Lion’s Arch, Karka chain and Southsun/Consortium, Bazaar of the Four Winds, new Aetherblade path, Queen’s Jubilee, Edge Of The Mists.

The problem is that most of this content is no longer accessible, as it was temporary. I’ve been saying since Flame And Frost that temporary content was the wrong direction to take this game. Now, we are seeing the results of that. There is very little in the game that wasn’t there at launch, other than a bunch of achievements. I mean, what permanent content did we get? Southsun Cove, Dry Top, a single new path in a dungeon, Edge Of The Mists, Fractals Of The Mists, ascended gear, and some new runes/sigils.

I agree with this, and I said the same thing at the time. Temporary content should, at most, be limited to small-scope things that basically serve as easter eggs. A good MMO very obviously cannot be built on primarily temporary content. I really don’t know what they were thinking.

Even if you include the temporary content though (which you shouldn’t), there really hasn’t been that much new content by MMO standards. Where are the zones, dungeons, skills, weapons types, etc?

Stiofan.6720:

At release I actually thought by 2 years in we would have all of tyria, cantha and elona. How naive was I lol.

I thought we’d have all of Tyria opened up and be getting ready for an expansion to either Cantha or Elona. Granted I based this on how quickly A-Net was able to release content for GW. I like you was naive.

Stiofan.6720:

At release I actually thought by 2 years in we would have all of tyria, cantha and elona. How naive was I lol.

Cantha in April 2019

Shortly after finishing up the core content of the game (world explore, getting level 80, ect), I remember thinking how great the future of the game would be if it was expanded upon in a scale similar to the first guild wars.

I was aware that the game wouldn’t be receiving “boxed” expansions, but that was only a good sign to me. I had played many other games that followed a similar incremental update system and was happy with the results, preferring them over the boxed expansion model.

The first living world update they released got me excited for the future. If a new map and an entirely new dungeon system is what we can expect, the future of the game is going to be great!

After that was only despair. A new update! What the heck, the only thing to do is help refugees and fiddle with sign posts? Yay another update! What’s this, a new dungeon?! Well I guess I don’t mind all that other dull stuff.

Wait, you’re telling me the new dungeon is temporary? What idiot came up with that? And so followed the direction of the rest of a wasted season, all content being temporary and adding little to nothing to the game in the long run.

Nearly 2 years after release they finally release some more permanent content, after a long break, followed by another long break until part 2. The content itself also has a good amount of problems. Its tedious to replay due to forced “stand and listen” segments and offer no reason to replay them after 3-4 times for the achievements. The new open-world design however is a step forward in open-world design.

But what’s this? No new dungeons are being designed and neither is SAB? What happened to content diversity?

In summary:

The update model they have chosen for this game has been very successful for other games, but ANet has failed miserably at it. Season 1 did little to make the game any stronger due to temporary content while season 2 content is slow, lacking in diversity, and has low replayability.

Now that they are focusing more on permanent additions the game will hopefully be better content-wise in a years time, but the lack of content diversity and interest sustainability is very concerning. It won’t matter if we have another few story instances and maps if nothing else is added and there’s little reason to go back and replay the content that has been added.

Sokia.3710:

There is new content. Every time you level up, a new text box pops up that tells you that you’ve unlocked a bunch of content that used to not be locked.

Repackaging at its best; this is the new trend in marketing.

Bri.8354:

What the heck, the only thing to do is help refugees and fiddle with sign posts?

You mean you didn’t like fixing sign posts?

Maybe if you play the original Guild Wars theme music in the background, it will make it seem more epic.

In my opinion Dry Top was the worst thing that could’ve happened to LS. Many people are forgetting that LS really hit its stride towards the end of Season 1 when Anet released quality patch after quality patch. Origins of Madness, Escape from LA, Battle for LA – these patches showcased what LS was capable of when done right: epic, large-scale group content that made you feel like part of a living, breathing world.

Unfortunately, outside of the improved story instances, Season 2 has been a complete disaster. By compromising with the outcry for permanent content I believe that Anet backed themselves into a corner. Dry Top is clearly designed to be permanent content, and it has all the limitations that prevent it from being engaging group content as a result. There’s just nothing at stake – no fail condition, no sense of urgency, no challenge, nothing. Dry Top is destined to become another Southsun Cove. Anet should stick what’s worked in the past, and that’s temporary content that requires high player turnout. The only place I’d like to see new permanent content is in instances.

Kaldrys.1978:

Dry Top is destined to become another Southsun Cove. Anet should stick what’s worked in the past, and that’s temporary content that requires high player turnout. The only place I’d like to see new permanent content is in instances.

I will agree that Escape From Lion’s Arch, and to a lesser extent Battle For Lion’s Arch had a lot of interesting stuff in them. It seems like the main problem is that it would be difficult to make content like that and make it replayable, so we are getting more instanced stories like we have seen in Living World 2.

The issue is that if you want all of your content to be replayable, and you make it REQUIRE a group just to stand a chance to complete the events and achievements, then anyone who missed the achievements the first time around will have to get some group or guild together just to help them through it. So, I don’t think making content that requires a group is a good idea for Season 2. If you can replay an episode but you need more than five people just to complete the episode, much less get all the achievements, it’s not going to help most people.

My biggest criticism is that the Lion’s Arch chain REQUIRED a zerg just to complete most of the content and particularly the achievements. I was a huge critic at the time. EFLA was much better because you could still rescue civvies with a small group and it made a significant difference to the rewards at the end of the instance. But, when the story progressed to BFLA pretty much everything was zerg boss mechanics with timers and huge health bars.

Kaldrys.1978:

In my opinion Dry Top was the worst thing that could’ve happened to LS. Many people are forgetting that LS really hit its stride towards the end of Season 1 when Anet released quality patch after quality patch. Origins of Madness, Escape from LA, Battle for LA – these patches showcased what LS was capable of when done right: epic, large-scale group content that made you feel like part of a living, breathing world.

Unfortunately, outside of the improved story instances, Season 2 has been a complete disaster. By compromising with the outcry for permanent content I believe that Anet backed themselves into a corner. Dry Top is clearly designed to be permanent content, and it has all the limitations that prevent it from being engaging group content as a result. There’s just nothing at stake – no fail condition, no sense of urgency, no challenge, nothing. Dry Top is destined to become another Southsun Cove. Anet should stick what’s worked in the past, and that’s temporary content that requires high player turnout. The only place I’d like to see new permanent content is in instances.

While dry top isn’t perfect, it is a huge improvement over the previous open world map designs which expect you to wander around looking for events to complete for no greater objective.

But dry top still has the many problems that plague the open world, and will like you said, likely share the same fate as southsun cove, along with the many other maps that outside of world bosses and temple events, only serve as a place for leveling up and completing dailies.

Sadly the issues with the open world aren’t just limited to map and event design. I’d also argue that the design of every open world boss released thus far is poorly done, and this includes the ones in season 1.

No boss is mechanically designed to deal with more than a small group of players. They have trouble killing a few players, let alone a massive amount, and those who do die can quickly recover through revives or waypoints. This trivializes every piece of content which doesn’t resort to secondary means of difficulty.

That content which does resort to secondary means of difficulty, always does it poorly. We only see lower forms of difficulty, such as timers before an automatic defeat turning the fights into DPS races, and player coordination revolving around lower forms of mechanics, such as everyone standing in the same spot or doing some generic task at the same time. None of the higher forms of difficulty or mechanics are present in these fights, such as the utilization of player skills in reaction to the enemies actions.

The open world is fundamentally flawed, and their attempts at fixing it have all been poor. It is possible to address the issue, but if they keep sticking to low quality fixes, such as those seen in the open world bosses, you’re only going to get a low quality outcome.

I would take the above post a step further and say there’s a serious “central” balance problem in the game where it’s hard to find events that aren’t either too hard or too easy. They seem to have a really tough time with the sweet spot and virtually everything in the game is either too difficult at the baseline and scales too poorly, or the opposite.

Kaldrys.1978:

In my opinion Dry Top was the worst thing that could’ve happened to LS. Many people are forgetting that LS really hit its stride towards the end of Season 1 when Anet released quality patch after quality patch. Origins of Madness, Escape from LA, Battle for LA – these patches showcased what LS was capable of when done right: epic, large-scale group content that made you feel like part of a living, breathing world.

Unfortunately, outside of the improved story instances, Season 2 has been a complete disaster. By compromising with the outcry for permanent content I believe that Anet backed themselves into a corner. Dry Top is clearly designed to be permanent content, and it has all the limitations that prevent it from being engaging group content as a result. There’s just nothing at stake – no fail condition, no sense of urgency, no challenge, nothing. Dry Top is destined to become another Southsun Cove. Anet should stick what’s worked in the past, and that’s temporary content that requires high player turnout. The only place I’d like to see new permanent content is in instances.

I disagree. Temporary content can be very good when used well, but it is no replacement for world expansion (i.e. permanent content). You cannot sacrifice the latter for the former. This is why we have the problem we have now, the game is 2 years in and has very little to show for it. People who play intermittently have almost zero incentive to come back, and there’s a failure on Arenanet’s part to generate enough hype to stir fresh interest.

There’s a reason people clamor for permanent content. They just need to do more and do it better.

Geez people, A.net said early on that they will be trying something different with GW2. They learned that expansions are NOT the best way to push forward things. After all in Factions you could get to lvl 20 in 2 hrs or less. People were eating through those expansions fast and then complaining that there wasn’t enough content.

People were also clamoring for a living world – one in which places changed. Well, A.Net has tried to combine both. Was it successful, the jury is still out but at least it is different. The world does feel more like a living world compared to the likes of ArcheAge and ESO, both which feel dead as doornails.

Currently, no company will make all of their players happy. It goes with the attitude, that I bought your game, you need to keep me entertained forever.

If A.Net put permanent content in ( which they have, BTW – Southsun Cove and Dry Top are examples), people still complain. If they made an expansion, the same people claiming they want one will complain that it wasn’t enough or crummy or some other reason. Most posters come here just to complain.

Dusty Moon.4382:

Geez people, A.net said early on that they will be trying something different with GW2. They learned that expansions are NOT the best way to push forward things. After all in Factions you could get to lvl 20 in 2 hrs or less. People were eating through those expansions fast and then complaining that there wasn’t enough content.

People were also clamoring for a living world – one in which places changed. Well, A.Net has tried to combine both. Was it successful, the jury is still out but at least it is different. The world does feel more like a living world compared to the likes of ArcheAge and ESO, both which feel dead as doornails.

Currently, no company will make all of their players happy. It goes with the attitude, that I bought your game, you need to keep me entertained forever.

If A.Net put permanent content in ( which they have, BTW – Southsun Cove and Dry Top are examples), people still complain. If they made an expansion, the same people claiming they want one will complain that it wasn’t enough or crummy or some other reason. Most posters come here just to complain.

Actually, most people very clearly want actual expansions to the game, because the world of an MMO needs to grow over time to stay interesting. The method of delivery isn’t that important. I would wager the reason people complain so much on these forums can largely be attributed to how little new substantial content streams into the game.

New maps and more LW stuff is great, but what i think is needed is content accessible to everyone across all levels. I am very disappointed that in 2 years, we have seen no new weapon types with their owns skill sets and no new professions, as far as MMOs go that is REALLY poor.

I think they know, we’ve been asking for real permanent content for a year.
If nothing is released in terms of content it must be because they are busy working on it and intend to release it all at once, like an expansion.

octave.3982:

New maps and more LW stuff is great, but what i think is needed is content accessible to everyone across all levels. I am very disappointed that in 2 years, we have seen no new weapon types with their owns skill sets and no new professions, as far as MMOs go that is REALLY poor.

Yeah, I agree. We should have had way more new skills and weapon types by now, at the very least.

+1 for op

The part that bugs me is that gw1 had such amazing expansions with real content … MASSIVE amount of new zones, profs, skills, story, dungeons (heck! eotn had 18 dungeons!). But ever since the last gw1 expansion (2007) anet seems to be completely opposed to the idea of expansions. After that expansion came what i believe was the precursor to living world. It was very slow story quests that took forever to get through. The belief then was that it was cause they were all working on gw2. But now … i wonder.

I also don’t mind the LW but it seems to occur at a snails pace with huge breaks all the time. Furthermore the rest of the content that normally goes with new story is completely lacking. Lets not even get started on spvp cause i’ll be here all day.

My super tiny sad opinion in a sea of opinions is that gw2 is on the wrong path and has been for sometime. :/

Dusty Moon.4382:

Geez people, A.net said early on that they will be trying something different with GW2. They learned that expansions are NOT the best way to push forward things. After all in Factions you could get to lvl 20 in 2 hrs or less. People were eating through those expansions fast and then complaining that there wasn’t enough content.

People were also clamoring for a living world – one in which places changed. Well, A.Net has tried to combine both. Was it successful, the jury is still out but at least it is different. The world does feel more like a living world compared to the likes of ArcheAge and ESO, both which feel dead as doornails.

Currently, no company will make all of their players happy. It goes with the attitude, that I bought your game, you need to keep me entertained forever.

If A.Net put permanent content in ( which they have, BTW – Southsun Cove and Dry Top are examples), people still complain. If they made an expansion, the same people claiming they want one will complain that it wasn’t enough or crummy or some other reason. Most posters come here just to complain.

You could get to level 20 in factions quickly but you didn’t finish the campaign at 20. It was great. I hate leveling. I want to spend as much time as possible with all the toys available to me. That’s what’s interesting, not overcoming artificial barriers and fake feelings of improvement.

aliksyian.7642:

Dusty Moon.4382:

Geez people, A.net said early on that they will be trying something different with GW2. They learned that expansions are NOT the best way to push forward things. After all in Factions you could get to lvl 20 in 2 hrs or less. People were eating through those expansions fast and then complaining that there wasn’t enough content.

People were also clamoring for a living world – one in which places changed. Well, A.Net has tried to combine both. Was it successful, the jury is still out but at least it is different. The world does feel more like a living world compared to the likes of ArcheAge and ESO, both which feel dead as doornails.

Currently, no company will make all of their players happy. It goes with the attitude, that I bought your game, you need to keep me entertained forever.

If A.Net put permanent content in ( which they have, BTW – Southsun Cove and Dry Top are examples), people still complain. If they made an expansion, the same people claiming they want one will complain that it wasn’t enough or crummy or some other reason. Most posters come here just to complain.

You could get to level 20 in factions quickly but you didn’t finish the campaign at 20. It was great. I hate leveling. I want to spend as much time as possible with all the toys available to me. That’s what’s interesting, not overcoming artificial barriers and fake feelings of improvement.

This.

The beauty of GW1 was that it showed that a game could be engaging regardless of its level cap. I never felt that I needed to be any higher than level 20, because there would always be enemies at higher levels somewhere (especially in Hard Mode), new skills to learn, new areas to see… oh, and did I mention the endgame stuff, like FoW, UW, DoA? That was fun, repeatable, and good.

I haven’t found much in 2 that is really of the same quality; not so strange considering the focus has shifted largely to grind.

I actually would have preferred that max level had been 20 like in GW. Gave so much room for Max-level content. In Prophecies we had about 1/4 of the game was max level, Factions was 3/4, and Nightfall got it balanced out right at 1/2. Here we have 2 maybe 3 zones that are max level content(not including SouthSun and Drytop as they were added later.

I agree on there being too many levels in GW2. I think 40 would have worked just fine, and they could have centered most releases around the level cap. I kind of wish they’d go in and compress it, honestly.

Once upon a time I had a boxed MMO in one hand and a boxed GW Prophecies in the other, and I was trying to decide which one to go for. In the end, I went with Guild Wars based on the “skill, not hours played” sales pitch and then found myself playing many hours because it seriously delivered.

I’ve had a lot of faith in ANet devs over the years because they built a lot of credit with GW1. The past two years seems to involve them being hell-bent on flushing that down the toilet.

I miss the low level cap. I miss the many, many skills to choose from. I miss the freaking variety in game styles I could choose to play, and the variety of enemies I encounter. I honestly think a large part of GW2’s lack of content feeling finds its origins there.

Yes, perhaps GW1 had too many skills and a lot of ways to really suck, but I think GW2 overcompensates to extremes- to the point of becoming dull. I have literally not once changed my level 80 skills and traits after maxing out my gear two years ago (Ascended treadmill not counted, more of the same). I have 10 skills that work everywhere and I never nead to think about them. Occasionally I move, I dodge, or carry a bundle. That’s GW2 in a nutshell; not necessarily lacking content but having a lot of the same bland stuff.

Lady Elvea.2847:

Once upon a time I had a boxed MMO in one hand and a boxed GW Prophecies in the other, and I was trying to decide which one to go for. In the end, I went with Guild Wars based on the “skill, not hours played” sales pitch and then found myself playing many hours because it seriously delivered.

I’ve had a lot of faith in ANet devs over the years because they built a lot of credit with GW1. The past two years seems to involve them being hell-bent on flushing that down the toilet.

I miss the low level cap. I miss the many, many skills to choose from. I miss the freaking variety in game styles I could choose to play, and the variety of enemies I encounter. I honestly think a large part of GW2’s lack of content feeling finds its origins there.

Yes, perhaps GW1 had too many skills and a lot of ways to really suck, but I think GW2 overcompensates to extremes- to the point of becoming dull. I have literally not once changed my level 80 skills and traits after maxing out my gear two years ago (Ascended treadmill not counted, more of the same). I have 10 skills that work everywhere and I never nead to think about them. Occasionally I move, I dodge, or carry a bundle. That’s GW2 in a nutshell; not necessarily lacking content but having a lot of the same bland stuff.

Agreed on all counts. The lack of available skills to experiment with really, really hurts this game. Combat feels very repetitive with too little room to experiment.

Einlanzer.1627:

Lady Elvea.2847:

Once upon a time I had a boxed MMO in one hand and a boxed GW Prophecies in the other, and I was trying to decide which one to go for. In the end, I went with Guild Wars based on the “skill, not hours played” sales pitch and then found myself playing many hours because it seriously delivered.

I’ve had a lot of faith in ANet devs over the years because they built a lot of credit with GW1. The past two years seems to involve them being hell-bent on flushing that down the toilet.

I miss the low level cap. I miss the many, many skills to choose from. I miss the freaking variety in game styles I could choose to play, and the variety of enemies I encounter. I honestly think a large part of GW2’s lack of content feeling finds its origins there.

Yes, perhaps GW1 had too many skills and a lot of ways to really suck, but I think GW2 overcompensates to extremes- to the point of becoming dull. I have literally not once changed my level 80 skills and traits after maxing out my gear two years ago (Ascended treadmill not counted, more of the same). I have 10 skills that work everywhere and I never nead to think about them. Occasionally I move, I dodge, or carry a bundle. That’s GW2 in a nutshell; not necessarily lacking content but having a lot of the same bland stuff.

Agreed on all counts. The lack of available skills to experiment with really, really hurts this game. Combat feels very repetitive with too little room to experiment.

I’d be happy if they added 5 new skills per weapon and allowed us to choose which 5 we bring. Having skills bound to certain weapons sucks. Just makes the combat that much more boring and repetitive.

Galphar.3901:

Einlanzer.1627:

Lady Elvea.2847:

Once upon a time I had a boxed MMO in one hand and a boxed GW Prophecies in the other, and I was trying to decide which one to go for. In the end, I went with Guild Wars based on the “skill, not hours played” sales pitch and then found myself playing many hours because it seriously delivered.

I’ve had a lot of faith in ANet devs over the years because they built a lot of credit with GW1. The past two years seems to involve them being hell-bent on flushing that down the toilet.

I miss the low level cap. I miss the many, many skills to choose from. I miss the freaking variety in game styles I could choose to play, and the variety of enemies I encounter. I honestly think a large part of GW2’s lack of content feeling finds its origins there.

Yes, perhaps GW1 had too many skills and a lot of ways to really suck, but I think GW2 overcompensates to extremes- to the point of becoming dull. I have literally not once changed my level 80 skills and traits after maxing out my gear two years ago (Ascended treadmill not counted, more of the same). I have 10 skills that work everywhere and I never nead to think about them. Occasionally I move, I dodge, or carry a bundle. That’s GW2 in a nutshell; not necessarily lacking content but having a lot of the same bland stuff.

Agreed on all counts. The lack of available skills to experiment with really, really hurts this game. Combat feels very repetitive with too little room to experiment.

I’d be happy if they added 5 new skills per weapon and allowed us to choose which 5 we bring. Having skills bound to certain weapons sucks. Just makes the combat that much more boring and repetitive.

All classes should really have about twice the number of skills by now that they currently do, both weapon and utility skills. I’m also not convinced it’s the best idea to require a healing and elite slot. The 5 utility skill slots should probably just all be free to put whatever you want, even if they have to reduce the efficacy of some of the heal skills.

I would also be in favor of some type of multiclassing, although I understand it would be a tough thing to pull off.

Another thing from GW I wish they had kept was the Missions. They were basically Dungeons that you HAD to do to progress the story. What we have now for Dungeons is you have to do the story version to unlock the other paths but they aren’t mandatory for the MAIN story-line of the game. This also promoted teamwork and helped in making friends in-game. Not to mention most dungeons are just on farm and if you don’t have a meta-build you’ll be kicked.

Einlanzer.1627:

Lady Elvea.2847:

Once upon a time I had a boxed MMO in one hand and a boxed GW Prophecies in the other, and I was trying to decide which one to go for. In the end, I went with Guild Wars based on the “skill, not hours played” sales pitch and then found myself playing many hours because it seriously delivered.

I’ve had a lot of faith in ANet devs over the years because they built a lot of credit with GW1. The past two years seems to involve them being hell-bent on flushing that down the toilet.

I miss the low level cap. I miss the many, many skills to choose from. I miss the freaking variety in game styles I could choose to play, and the variety of enemies I encounter. I honestly think a large part of GW2’s lack of content feeling finds its origins there.

Yes, perhaps GW1 had too many skills and a lot of ways to really suck, but I think GW2 overcompensates to extremes- to the point of becoming dull. I have literally not once changed my level 80 skills and traits after maxing out my gear two years ago (Ascended treadmill not counted, more of the same). I have 10 skills that work everywhere and I never nead to think about them. Occasionally I move, I dodge, or carry a bundle. That’s GW2 in a nutshell; not necessarily lacking content but having a lot of the same bland stuff.

Agreed on all counts. The lack of available skills to experiment with really, really hurts this game. Combat feels very repetitive with too little room to experiment.

Yep. My friend who I played GW1 quit GW2 pretty quick because he didn’t find the build options nearly as interesting as GW1. Personally I liked GW1’s system much better.

I always hoped that when moving forward from 1 to 2, ANet would make use of the lessons learned. GW2 kind of feels like they threw out both the bad and the good with the bathwater.

GW1’s combat system wasn’t perfect by a long shot, but it had a lot going for it that’s sorely missing in 2. Sure, I love that I can cast and move simultaneously, but considering the things I’ve had to give up it feels like I got the bad end of the deal.

New weapons and skills would go a long way towards fixing that… new worlds to explore even more so. I know there’s a great team hiding away in those Seattle offices somewhere… let’s see what they can do to fix up GW2?

Have played GW1 since about 2005, and GW2 since release. My GW2 experience now is logon,, see if my friends are there then log off. There’s nothing in the game that makes me want to get on now. There is no real sense of I had better not fail in GW2 I loved the Underworld in GW1 it took tactics to get through it,, one party wipe and you are kicked, GW2 is just too easy there is no real risk. While I still love the game, more in the way I am hanging out for an Expansion or something,, a whole new area or race. To be honest at the moment the game is just downright Boring. But I live in hope.

Unfortunately I have the feeling that if they added all the maps they are working on ATM, as well as other game plans in an “expansion” of sorts, people will still complain about it because they will burn through it pretty fast-some players just eat content, which is fine, but not coupled with the often irrational requests for more, more, more.

This game is full of content, actually, most of which goes underappreciated, because it’s not meant for 100% of players’ taste. There’s a bit of everything for many players, and some of it goes to a theoretical waste when it’s not cared about (for instance, JPs-I don’t care for them nor need them, yet significant amount of development time have been put to these… instead of complaining, I just enjoy the parts of the game I like, enjoying the lore details, maps, etc.; when ANet doesn’t cater to me it doesn’t me they are ignoring “the playerbase”, because I (my needs/preferences) are not necessarily representative of the big picture needs of the game.) The proverbial treasure of riches is there, in my strong opinion-this game is full of things to do, appreciate, and just plain enjoy.

I disagree the content is stale-people just have perhaps played for too long ignoring content that isn’t suited to their taste. I myself haven’t explored this game fully, and I have indeed been playing since headstart (yes, I would appreciate the new maps when they come-and they WILL come-but I cannot say I have explored the game in its entirety; map completion on some characters don’t convey the full-game experience.)

In other words, some “GW2 vets” are bored to death with GW2, while others haven’t really fully enjoyed all the game has to offer. I sincerely doubt 100% of “vets” think GW2 is “out of content” atm.

(Also-and this is not aimed at anyone in particular-please be rational and understand that “add content or else” threat posts are not the best way to communicate with ANet. It’s not an effective way to “demand” any sort of change. You can very well ask for welcome changes, additions, and new, permanent content in more civil and appropriate ways.)

I second most emotions in this thread: highly disappointed with the updates. There’s simply almost nothing we have after more than 2 years. I thought we had the whole crystal desert after one year and maybe the whole maguuma jungle or ring of fire islands and a soonish new continent (elona/cantha).

Even my worst case scenario saw at least 4-5 maps and a couple of additional dungeons… well, they didn’t even match this. I really don’t know any other MMO who has such miserable content updates. There is something very wrong in the upper management and that’s widely known by now. What a shame for such a talented studio and a waste of manpower. I really feel sorry for now. I haven’t lost all my hope though. Meanwhile I play other games and only come back if something substantial will be integrated.

Sorann Peace.9056:

Einlanzer.1627:

I don’t at all hate the new season of the LW, and I actually like some of the game system changes that have taken place lately, but the pace of content releases is still egregiously slow and that is certainly one of the biggest reasons this game has hemorrhaged players.

In 2 years there has been 0 new weapon types, 0 new classes, 0 new races, 0 new game modes (unless you count SAB), very few new skills, 1.5ish zone maps, 1 large dungeon, a bunch of paid cosmetics, and some temp content.

I know there’s been a lot of miscellaneous stuff, mostly minor and bundled with the LW, but still – that’s pathetic. That’s significantly less new content than most totally free MMOs that are less successful than GW2 see in the same time period.

What is going on here, exactly? The #1 way you attract and retain players is by generating hype. The #1 way to generate hype is to talk about your plans in advance, and to release major content updates frequently. Most people don’t care as much about story as they do about having new stuff to play around with. This game desperately needs an expansion or to have much bigger content patches than it has been getting, pronto. The 2nd most desperate thing it needs is more consistent interaction between designers and players.

Your source of the game having lost players is…? People have been saying that this game is losing players since the Lost Shores launched back in November of 2012. If it’s bleeding players so badly, then why hasn’t the game gone under yet, and why does the game continue to feel more and more populated as time goes by? Even with the megaserver change I’ve noticed sharp increases in the number of players I encounter, and those increases are taking place long after megaservers were introduced.

Not to mention, I’ve routinely felt increases in player population. While there was a period around 2013 where the population seemed to decline, it has steadily gone up since. And if you’re going to cite anet’s revenue, that has more to do with the fact a large number of potential customers have already bought the game and many play the game for free after buying it, which is perfectly okay.

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To answer your main point though, there has been a lot of added content just as a previous poster stated right above me, but a lot of it was temporary. I’m pretty sure that once season 2 is up and we’re rolling on to season 3 and season 4 and so forth, the content will begin to pile up. Also, there was a recent interview I believe where ArenaNet vaguely hinted that their goal was to add new maps as part of living world and make that more of a primary focus than it was in season 1.

(Note: I interpreted it as a vague hint, but nobody in the gaming press seemed to catch it. So keep in mind I just interpreted the article as them hinting at that, so take what I say with a grain of salt if you must.)

Heck, the “Season 2 will be returning!” literally shows a portal in-front of the gate to Fort Vandal. (Although the website glitched for me recently, I still remember what the image looked like.)

New map incoming during S2 second half….portal advertise. This is what they are planning. Each season will introduce new content, maps, races, etc. People do not like it, they want a large pack. I feel this is the better way to go, since I’d rather take smaller chunks to download the new content, rather than download for 2-3 days and be unable to play. The US still doesn’t have a decent broadband system and large downloads still require many to take exhorbitantly long times to download the biweekly patch.

Also they were preparing a game release into China, guess where their focus was? Yeah, properly introducing a game to a 160+ million player market. So let’s see where we go in the next year….

Roybe.5896:

Each season will introduce new content, maps, races, etc. People do not like it, they want a large pack.

Actually most people just want something rather than barely anything. I wouldn’t mind a large pack (even if it’s a boxed version I have to pay) but if they release the same amount of things in-game “for free”, slowly but still with a rhythm (not something, nothing during a year, then another thing), I’d be surprised and pleased.

VergilDeZaniah.3295:

Roybe.5896:

Each season will introduce new content, maps, races, etc. People do not like it, they want a large pack.

Actually most people just want something rather than barely anything. I wouldn’t mind a large pack (even if it’s a boxed version I have to pay) but if they release the same amount of things in-game “for free”, slowly but still with a rhythm (not something, nothing during a year, then another thing), I’d be surprised and pleased.

They are attempting to do this with LS. People just do not like it for whatever reason. With the changes to the season list in your hero menu, all this content is not only replayable by anyone at anytime, but also has it’s own achievements. I do not know what people expect to get out of an expansion that cannot be delivered via the LS. Anyway, I am not against an expansion. I just feel that the current model will provide the same content more efficiently.

Roybe.5896:

VergilDeZaniah.3295:

Roybe.5896:

Each season will introduce new content, maps, races, etc. People do not like it, they want a large pack.

Actually most people just want something rather than barely anything. I wouldn’t mind a large pack (even if it’s a boxed version I have to pay) but if they release the same amount of things in-game “for free”, slowly but still with a rhythm (not something, nothing during a year, then another thing), I’d be surprised and pleased.

They are attempting to do this with LS. People just do not like it for whatever reason. With the changes to the season list in your hero menu, all this content is not only replayable by anyone at anytime, but also has it’s own achievements. I do not know what people expect to get out of an expansion that cannot be delivered via the LS. Anyway, I am not against an expansion. I just feel that the current model will provide the same content more efficiently.

If Anet delivers a race and a profession during the Living Story, and some new skills and weapons, the opinion of the Living Story will change drastically.

It’s not that Anet could or couldn’t. It’s that so far, they haven’t. At least they’ve introduced a new zone. It’s a start.

Um, I am sorry OP, but you are playing the wrong game.
See, GW2 is revolutionary game, you don’t get mainstream stuff like new content, who needs that?
Rewarding content? Nah, too mainstream as well.

Seems that this game is not for you and you should move on.

This is the reason why I don’t play much anymore except for popping into WvW from time to time into a random zerg. There’s just nothing new coming into the game. I remember back then Runescape use to have a non stop flow of fun new permanent additions to the core game and they made less money than Anet.
Well Archeage releases today in a few hours and the developers have already revealed a ton of new permanent content coming later this year.

Don’t know what happened to Anet GW1 had awesome new content updates. Must have something to do with the secret Nexon take over of NCSoft.

sonicwhip.9052:

This is the reason why I don’t play much anymore except for popping into WvW from time to time into a random zerg. There’s just nothing new coming into the game. I remember back then Runescape use to have a non stop flow of fun new permanent additions to the core game and they made less money than Anet.
Well Archeage releases today in a few hours and the developers have already revealed a ton of new permanent content coming later this year.

Don’t know what happened to Anet GW1 had awesome new content updates. Must have something to do with the secret Nexon take over of NCSoft.

It’ll be interesting to see how many players Archage has two years from now and what kind of complaints they have. I’ll tell you one thing. The launch, the headstart thus far is less than stellar. I have a suspicion that Archage isn’t the panacea that some think it’s going to be.