Guild Wars 2

Maybe it’s an odd question but does the game make you feel powerful?

For me this is actually the first mmo that really show you, yes you are a walking death machine. I mean it makes sense, from a in-universe perspective the player is someone who can kill dozens of normal people with no problem.
Though some people will probabaly say otherwise.

What do you think?

It makes me feel tiny.
I am convinced GW@ actually exists inside of a pocket dimension, where everything is much smaller.
Look around in game, your not on some strange fantasy world. You’re in someones back yard! Those aren’t giant mushrooms, giant trees, giant crabs, giant undead sea anemones. Those are just normal sized mushrooms, trees, crabs and undead sea anemones.

An ant is ten times as powerful as an equivalent sized human would be, so really you’re just playing an insect-sized humanoid with funny powers. One good magnifying glass and its all over for you, buddy.

Puts things in perspective doesn’t it? :P

I feel powerless next to those Dragons.

Sometimes i do,sometimes i don’t.But compared to Guildwars 1 where i also had a warrior,i was nearly unstoppable with the endure pain build i used as W/Mo,taking over 6vs1 was a walk in the park then.If i try 6vs1 now…its about 99% im getting my faced smacked deep into the ground.

As a ranger class; of course not

I can tell you this, our Invincible/Stealth adversary thief; who can kill dozens of normal people with no problem is.

There is no feeling of Powerful while maliciously being stabbed to death by an invisible enemy, is there?

There is no feeling of Powerful while reminding yourself that you can die at any minute, is there?

There is no feeling of Powerful while always running for your life is there?

Of course not

Nah, not at all to be completely honest. Not with 1 shot mechanics and such, anyways.

I went back to some low level areas with my main toon elementalist after quite some time. Trying to get 100% map completion. I was one shotting some foes with my dagger/dagger 3 skill (forgot name, because I don’t use dagger/dagger much).

That makes me feel pretty powerful.

Other times. Not so much.

Although yesterday in WvW, running Scepter/Dagger, I tied up a much bigger force during a siege, was put down, but rezzed up again and prevented our castle from falling. I don’t think I killed a single foe, but 5 of us stymied a much, much larger force of about 20 (not all PCs, some were NPCs). That was fun. Not sure if I felt powerful so much as lucky and somewhat competent.

Powerful in the WoW “go back to low level zones and bbq everything just by looking at it” sense? Nah. But that’s not really a good kind of powerful anyhow.

Now, ask me if I feel capable.

As a level 80 ranger I would say, no. I feel like if I play smart I can survive in Orr but certainly not powerful.
If I need my fix of feeling powerful I’ll take my toon back to a low level area and harass some mobs.
At level though, I don’t think harassing multiple mobs at once is such a great idea. (it’s a mixed spec for using spirits)

As a Guardian, I feel very powerful.

You feel even more powerful if your character looks the way you want him/her to look.

Infernia.9847:

As a level 80 ranger I would say, no. I feel like if I play smart I can survive in Orr but certainly not powerful.

Interesting, yes it probably depends on the class.
Every class has an other mix of offense and defense, so some are better at specific parts of the game.
Necros and Guardiens have it easier in open world pve as they can pretty much slaughter through enemies (even in Orr). But i may be biased because my main is a necro.

As a mesmer, I feel like that random guy carrying a portal. I couldn’t care less if they removed it or gave it to everybody and just fixed my class instead of slowly breaking it more with every patch.

Iruwen.3164:

As a mesmer, I feel like that random guy carrying a portal. I couldn’t care less if they removed it or gave it to everybody and just fixed my class instead of slowly breaking it more with every patch.

I never carry portal unless there’s a golem rush involved, and that’s not all that often over the course of WvW play.

Never felt powerful on my Ranger. Felt like a sly hunter, but never especially powerful.

Feel super strong with my Engineer. There’s something empowering about a tiny Asura burning down enemies with a flamethrower. Or ’sploding them with a Big ’ol Bomb and then dragging their body back to me only to be pummeled with a giant wrench. heheheh…good times.

Necro…nah, didn’t feel strong or even like an aspect of death. Just felt like I spread disease and ran around in a panic trying not to get swatted until my conditions eventually broke em down. Like that guy in a movie who’s being chased and just throws whatever’s around at his attacker while panicking.

Guardian felt pretty strong & sturdy. Could take a beating and still be standing at the end.

Thematically, I certainly feel more powerful compared to GW1. I can roam the world alone and handle creatures, veterans, and even sometimes champions without the aid of annoying henchmen. I shouldn’t have to hire mercenaries to protect me…I am the Hero of Shaemoor!

I am powerful.

On my guardian and ele, yes. On my ranger, no. I felt much more powerful in GW1 because I could come up with builds that can solo farm just about anything and hardly ever take damage.

In the open world, yes.

In dungeons, not so much. I’ve never been fond of the “5 ‘heroes’ beat on one minion for 30 seconds” mechanic found in general dungeon play both here and elsewhere.

This may sound corny but as an ele I don’t necessarily feel “powerful” at max level. Its more like I have achieved a deeper understanding of the elements and how they are used. Which in turns leads to some nuke like moments

From my necro’s point of view:

In WvW YES I do, I may not hit the high numbers, but you support well and that is all that counts when your with your server mates. It also helps that it usually takes quite some work to get my profession down even when being swamped; but this also is support as it gives my server mates a chance to escape.

In PvE, NOPE, I cannot hit the high numbers and it just seems EVERYTHING in Pve from the dungeons to the open world has far to much health. I may as well go for a coffee while taken out a veteran or even some normal mobs. I realize ANet was going for an attrition class with the necro, but in PvE it just doesn’t hit hard enough to feel useful, no matter the weapon.

In PvP I couldn’t tell you as it isn’t my forte, but if facing players in WvW is any indication, I am sure it would feel quite balanced and fun.

Just make us hit things a tad harder in PvE, cleave, higher weapon speeds for some weapons or something, because as it sits even a full on condi master is kitten compared to a regular warrior.

IndigoSundown.5419:

In the open world, yes.

In dungeons, not so much. I’ve never been fond of the “5 ‘heroes’ beat on one minion for 30 seconds” mechanic found in general dungeon play both here and elsewhere.

Exactly what I was going to say. With my mesmer in the open world I’ll take on any champ or group event solo and usually come out on top, most of the time pretty easily. In dungeons with trash mobs that have more hp than an overworld champ, no, I feel like a chump.

Running a guardian.
In WvW I feel strong – I have good survivability, and can down most 1v1s (sometimes 2v1s), but they take a while to play out, since I run support and my damage isn’t the highest. I end up being one of those annoying people that runs away from 1v1s a lot, just because I know how long it will take.

In PvE I feel powerful, but not godmode – I can take down regular mobs on all maps by just facerolling, though I have to be more careful in orr.

In Dugeons I feel powerful as well – they’re also mostly a faceroll, barring some specific mechanics (like the KDs on the adds in AC p1), and I throw out a lot of boons all the time, so I feel like I’m helping there too.

in open world PvE and even dungeons my wells/staff necro is an invincible goddess. i run right into the middle of huge mobs and do my thing and watch the whole army die at once, and i come out unscathed.

In WvW i’m dead meat

On my guardian, I feel like a brick wall and armed with a nice sword that does alright damage. But at least I can take tons of hits. I feel strong.

On my necro I feel like a blob armed with a rubber chicken. Although possibly harder to kill, I don’t feel powerful there at all. Though I’d vote for replacing the axe auto attack with a rubber chicken. It would be more effective.

No, and that is one of the major failures of the game as currently implemented. I just played in Orr a bit and walked into a sea (literally, far too many to count) of vet spider hatchlings. It was the silliest thing I’ve seen yet with the whiplash slapdash balancing there. Players were down everywhere. It was not challenging and it was not fun. No one there, whether downed or running for their lives, felt like a hero. Of that, I can assure you.

It varies, actually, sometimes I feel powerful relative to the mobs, sometimes not.

It’s odd really, I can have a run of feeling godly, but then something stupid happens and I die like a chump to a spider or something.

But it’s usually my not paying attention to something that causes it. If I’m concentrating and in the zone, yes I feel godly. But the game does punish goofing off quite severely, especially on the squishies like the Mesmer.

Yes in an open world – with my war I can obliterate huge groups of trash/veterans and many of champions, but no so much in harder dungeons(arah, fractals 30+).

No i do not, i have every class and very little “feels powerful”..I kinda just feel like a clone of everyone else, don’t even feel unique really…

Problem is still the same today everything scales and it should not.. If they was to remove the scale, down to lvl, this mob, and how many are at this raid more people would play the game. No matter what you do to your char your nothing more that a clone of the next guy.

I play mostly Rangers. 8 of them now. Rangers, not Druids.

I’m not powerful. I am, however, very hard to kill in pve. I can out survive multiple encounters fairly easily.

Living to loot their dead corpses is winning. It’s just not instant.

Apparently the necro is the most powerful of all.

I felt i am very powerful in low level map. The amount of mobs i can pack and kill but no matter how i geared it is still possible for me to get killed is the best mmo experiences. I am strong but not over powered.

This felt extremely good while playing downscaled with low lv friend. I am a powerful companion to them, instead of the kill everything and take all fun away kind of guy.

Beware the necro, destroyer of all forums!

Not so much. In GW, yes, yes I did. When I could round up double figures of mobs and kill them all, that was true power. Now in GW2, pull more than 6 and your lucky to get out alive.

Compared to GW1, there’s much less individual power in GW2.
Compared to Heroes of the Storm for example, which I briefly tried, GW2 has much more individual power. Not much of a contest as I’ve never played a game with as low ceiling as HotS – no matter how skilled you are you’re only going to do a tiny bit more than someone who is mediocre with the same hero. I’m not sure I ever felt as powerless as there, so I stopped.

Since people are comparing GW2 with GW1 I’ll give my three examples:
1. 55hp monk. A great example how with creativity and skill you can increase your power immensely.
2. My Dervish build in Fort Aspenwood. Pure tank. I would play on a Kurzick side, go out to aggro one turtle and luxon warriors around it, then switch to the other side and aggro the rest. I would thus in total be tanking 2 turtles, 8 luxon warriors, and few enemy players who would try to kill me. With good build I made, and skillful execution, I was near-invincible. That was power. I didn’t need to kill anyone, I just needed to stall until time ran out and we won.
3. Being a Mesmer in PvP. GW1 mesmer could easily kill an unaware caster in 2 seconds by just using one skill (Backfire). And anyone remembers frag mesmer? That was power

Funnily i was still here when this thread popped up, things have changed a smidge but classes like Engie still feel horrible..

Wow I didn’t notice this thread had been necroed. Lol. Teach me to look first.

I do,especially when i use greatsword warrior and i hear CLUNK from crits or revenant and handling multiple enemies in am agile way.This game makes me feel more in control than other mmos

In Vanilla PvE content: Naah, the mobs are just extremely broken and incapable of killing you (you can survive by doing nothing, if you have few regeneration buffs on you), if you go with the apex build: Full berserker DPS with passive defense.
In comparison, vanilla PvE content has only armed civilians as your opponents, while you’re the mass murderering monster who enjoys killing them without facing any opposition.

In HoT PvE content: Yes, I feel more powerful, when foes attempt to kill me, but I defeat them with atleast some skill, fighting actual fighters than civilians of vanilla PvE.

There are some classes in which I feel powerful while playing. No, I won’t list them because Anet will then nerf them.

As a Charr Mesmar, being able to ‘fly’- I feel soft. light, and floaty.

Arcana

Hurling Meteors upon you
Huge Storms of Lightning too
Can cripple, bleed and burn you
And summon elementals true

I will show thy aura’s
bring might and heal -All-
Give you second life
even with this power: I’m still small

I control the elements
I control the arcane

And with all this power
I still feel mundane.

Aurora The Mystique, Fiery Arcane Venus, Vii Terra Igni Omni -Elementalists-

(for original see below…)

PaxTheGreatOne.9472:

Arcana

Hurling Meteors upon you
Huge Storms of Lightning too
Can cripple, bleed and burn you
And summon elementals true

I will bring you aura’s
bring might and heal you
Give you second life
seemingly out of the blue.

I control the elements
I control the arcane

And with all this power
I still feel mundane.

Aurora The Mystique, Fiery Arcane Venus, Vii Terra Igni Omni -Elementalists-

+1- nice prose
You really don’t want to see the limerick for my Mesmar Charr, and his Asura hat now tho-. . .

trub.1657:

PaxTheGreatOne.9472:

Arcana

Hurling Meteors upon you
Huge Storms of Lightning too
Can cripple, bleed and burn you
And summon elementals true

I will bring you aura’s
bring might and heal you
Give you second life
seemingly out of the blue.

I control the elements
I control the arcane

And with all this power
I still feel mundane.

Aurora The Mystique, Fiery Arcane Venus, Vii Terra Igni Omni -Elementalists-

+1- nice prose
You really don’t want to see the limerick for my Mesmar Charr, and his Asura hat now tho-. . .

Thank you,

I’m not native English speaking and I tend to rewrite it again and again… Glad people approve of my scribbles…

Have no special feeling about it, i rather feel like being one of all others fighting in the world. Gw2 is not like the old classy medieval rpgs where you create your char and from the first moment you arrive the whole world got spot light on you as you are lifted as the one and only to save the world from an unknown evil force or such.

No matter what village you arrive they all know you already like “oh there you are saviour of all” xD

When i think of how the additions to the world function i rather feel like being in some kind of theme parc by now even. Silverwastes or drangons stand? Like rollercoaster or water slide today?

Can be that its this way for me cause i dont have any relation to the story of gw2. i miss the depth of plot or world.

ianervan.7915:

Compared to GW1, there’s much less individual power in GW2.
Compared to Heroes of the Storm for example, which I briefly tried, GW2 has much more individual power. Not much of a contest as I’ve never played a game with as low ceiling as HotS – no matter how skilled you are you’re only going to do a tiny bit more than someone who is mediocre with the same hero. I’m not sure I ever felt as powerless as there, so I stopped.

Since people are comparing GW2 with GW1 I’ll give my three examples:
1. 55hp monk. A great example how with creativity and skill you can increase your power immensely.
2. My Dervish build in Fort Aspenwood. Pure tank. I would play on a Kurzick side, go out to aggro one turtle and luxon warriors around it, then switch to the other side and aggro the rest. I would thus in total be tanking 2 turtles, 8 luxon warriors, and few enemy players who would try to kill me. With good build I made, and skillful execution, I was near-invincible. That was power. I didn’t need to kill anyone, I just needed to stall until time ran out and we won.
3. Being a Mesmer in PvP. GW1 mesmer could easily kill an unaware caster in 2 seconds by just using one skill (Backfire). And anyone remembers frag mesmer? That was power

GW1 PvP as a Mesmer was soo much fun!

Derom.1205:

Maybe it’s an odd question but does the game make you feel powerful?

For me this is actually the first mmo that really show you, yes you are a walking death machine. I mean it makes sense, from a in-universe perspective the player is someone who can kill dozens of normal people with no problem.
Though some people will probabaly say otherwise.

What do you think?

No. Not in comparison to games that are fully designed around power fantasy. I always find these opinions interesting, because the game model is the direct opposite of that.

FrostSpectre.4198:

In Vanilla PvE content: Naah, the mobs are just extremely broken and incapable of killing you

This post makes a solid point to me.

It doesn’t make me feel powerful to overcome foes that are weak any more than it would make me feel like a good chess player to beat someone who I am teaching to play for the first time.

Would knocking out a nine year old make a professional boxer feel powerful, or like a bully?

As Asura Engineer I do not really feel like “powerful”, but that’s what I kinda like. This “hurr durr, I have a big sword” nonsense is lame. I like to have (several) aces up in my sleeve without showing. Wearing the noble armor, dual-pistols and a top-hat, being like 1.00m “tall” and have no faceroll ability does instakill with a huge number does not make me feel powerful. It’s more like, uh, being ambidextrous. Seeing someone bleeding/burning to death by me is not quite powerful but I enjoy this way of fighting more.

Yet, standing on a ledge, seeing two or more people/mobs in a fight, shooting down a poison gas mortal shell and finish them off by grilling ’em to death with the flamethrower feels very good though, because … I love my class.

The best example is the Kim Jong-Un rocket (tool belt skill of the rocket turret). It is huge, it launches like a nice firework rocket, it travelles ballistically in an angle that is just hilarious and then you get a 0.1 second explosion and a sound as if you hit a plastic dumpster with a stick. THAT makes me feel totally NOT powerful^^

EDIT: Holy moly, “2 years ago”

I only feel powerful with respect to those around me, if I see another player struggle to down an enemy after 20-30 seconds and only brings it down to half and I charge over and headbutt > burst skill it and it dies, that feels powerful probably at the expense of the other player feeling very not powerful. I think it depends a lot in how you build your character and what you’re doing at the time that decides if you feel powerful or not.

I am powerful. I charge into the fray, swing my blades and murder my foes. I burn with the fires of Balthazar and all my enemies melt in my wake, feeling no pain, only righteous fury.

I am a warrior and I stand tall.