Guild Wars 2

Before you say anything else, please say at the top of your post if you like Dungeons better or the open world better in GW2 (well, do what you want but I hope you at least consider answering this before you give your opinions/comments/explanations thanks!)

I’d have to say I like open world in GW2 better than the dungeons. Not exclusively because of dynamic events- which I do like- but just the overall experience of exploring and running around the big world of Tyria.

My enjoyment of the open world has taken a hit with some of the recent changes, but I still love the world and the music and the way everything looks.

Dungeons are fun, especially when I do them with friends. For me, they aren’t as fun as the open world + exploration etc.

I think I explained it best to a friend a while back… no matter what plans I have or how much I want to complete a zone 100% that particular day, I can still just get swept away and run off into a neighboring zone and go explore and find a bunch of fun things. I enjoy being a leaf carried by wherever the Tyrian winds take me :P

oh and, Skrittsburg caught me totally off guard I loved discovering that place (and a lot of other places too).

Open world.
There are so many things that make open world exploring so much more fun and refreshing in this game.

I’d much rather explore the open world, as there is much to see and to experience. Every corner holds something new and exciting.

Open world is far more fun and I wish we had more of that. I don’t find dungeons the least bit fun and am disappointed the story of Destiny’s Edge is tied into that and not the open world or as part of your personal story.

I doubt I’ll ever find dungeons fun. I’m more glad that they’re over with at the end then I am of actually playing them. The Open world is where it’s at, exploring and dynamic events are where its at for me.

I didn’t mention that I haven’t reached 100% map exploration on my 80, been playing 8 characters and having fun switching back and forth…

I spend a lot of time killing dragons (please add more!! ! !!)

I have to say that the mad king dungeon and the mad king labyrinth were my favorites so far

Why not just have both have more open and and dungeons there is room for both. The big problem with open is getting a tag (putting high enofe dmg on the mob) on a mob this is the same problem in many pure open world games such as FF11 where tagging or calming a mob was EVERYTHING in that game.

Open world.

I don’t have huge map exploration but look forwarding to getting it, particually in the snow based areas as the background music is stunning. Dungeons are a nice alternative from time to time as well. The problem with open world is the loot drops have been hit since November (though the patch stated it would raise them) so dungeons are the most reliable way to get loot.

Also I agree with Mahaedros, the Mad Kind labrynth was awesome.

Jski.6180:

Why not just have both have more open and and dungeons there is room for both. The big problem with open is getting a tag (putting high enofe dmg on the mob) on a mob this is the same problem in many pure open world games such as FF11 where tagging or calming a mob was EVERYTHING in that game.

Are you saying you like dungeons better in GW2?

As far as having more of both, yes please! As long as the massive new content additions we’re hearing about are well done then I’ll feel better about this game.

By the way, I bought this game for the PvP and was pleasantly surprised (initially) about how much fun the PvE has been in GW2. I gotta say I am more pleased with the open world PvE though.

Mahaedros.7085:

Jski.6180:

Why not just have both have more open and and dungeons there is room for both. The big problem with open is getting a tag (putting high enofe dmg on the mob) on a mob this is the same problem in many pure open world games such as FF11 where tagging or calming a mob was EVERYTHING in that game.

Are you saying you like dungeons better in GW2?

As far as having more of both, yes please! As long as the massive new content additions we’re hearing about are well done then I’ll feel better about this game.

By the way, I bought this game for the PvP and was pleasantly surprised (initially) about how much fun the PvE has been in GW2. I gotta say I am more pleased with the open world PvE though.

I do like dungeons to a point because its more about communication then a rush and out put massive dmg. Not to say i dislike open events it give you time to talk to new ppl but i must say ppl abused these open events as a “free” way to farm and they tend not to like talking much and play very bot like.

Found this from ff11 i remember camping this guy the time put into this lol and offten not getting claim.
Behold open world at its worst.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Njjox9oII7w

Open world. That’s what makes the world feel alive.

Open world.

world is alive
no lobby lfg end game
no demands for gearscore, dps meters, elitist epeen flashing
no RNG you buy your gear mats with skill points, karma, drops.

they need to return to this model fast.

Open World, I’ve always hated instanced content since it makes me feel claustrophobic for some reason so dungeons are not fun for me at all.

The Open World in this game is amazing and although I do want to get 100% (60 atm), I also have a tendency to wander off and explore.
I love poking my nose into everything and seeing what I can discover. Some of the most amazing sights I have seem have been hidden in little out of the way caves and underwater.
I also get a kick out of playing on my different alts because it seems to me that the world looks and plays differently from each perspective.

This is a tough one to answer.

I like playing in the open world because I can go at my own pace, explore and see things I havent come across yet, even on my second level 80.

Then again, I really like loot and if you want the phat lootz you gotta do dungeons/fractals. Rare and Exotic drops in the world are just that, Rare! So I like dungeons just to get the loot.

Now, if they ever implement a solo dungeon, I will be happier than a pig in…..well you know the rest. =D

keep up the great work Anet!

lordozone.9167:

This is a tough one to answer.

I like playing in the open world because I can go at my own pace, explore and see things I havent come across yet, even on my second level 80.

Then again, I really like loot and if you want the phat lootz you gotta do dungeons/fractals. Rare and Exotic drops in the world are just that, Rare! So I like dungeons just to get the loot.

Now, if they ever implement a solo dungeon, I will be happier than a pig in…..well you know the rest. =D

keep up the great work Anet!

oh dear… Are you saying you, at the moment, are playing more for the rewards than fun?

not trying to rehash some of the recent debates regarding changes made to the game…that pot has been stirred enough(and I respect people on both sides who have debated the topic).

if solo dungeons (or whatever it is you most wish for…) was implemented would you still do it even if it was not the most rewarding and delivering the “phat lootz”?

Mahaedros.7085:

lordozone.9167:

This is a tough one to answer.

I like playing in the open world because I can go at my own pace, explore and see things I havent come across yet, even on my second level 80.

Then again, I really like loot and if you want the phat lootz you gotta do dungeons/fractals. Rare and Exotic drops in the world are just that, Rare! So I like dungeons just to get the loot.

Now, if they ever implement a solo dungeon, I will be happier than a pig in…..well you know the rest. =D

keep up the great work Anet!

oh dear… Are you saying you, at the moment, are playing more for the rewards than fun?

not trying to rehash some of the recent debates regarding changes made to the game…that pot has been stirred enough(and I respect people on both sides who have debated the topic).

if solo dungeons (or whatever it is you most wish for…) was implemented would you still do it even if it was not the most rewarding and delivering the “phat lootz”?

fun is a term thrown around alot but what you have to understand is it’s more fun to get rewards for time spent in games then not to, and it’s more fun to instantly have the capacity to jump into an event then having to wait for a group sometimes for hours.

@Mahaedros
I will play no matter what, I love the game.
Just saying I would be tickled pink if we had a solo dungeon that could be done at an individuals pace =D

ya I agree with you, I guess I just like hearing what other MMORPG players consider more “more fun.”

rewards are more fun
doing what you want to do without waiting is more fun

which more fun do you prefer more?

I was raised and bred playing sandbox games hence I got exploration in my gamer blood :p

Although to be fair, it’s never good to have too much of a good thing. Dungeons and WvW bring a nice breath of fresh air when it is needed.

Sadly the problem with exploration is that it can only be done once…unless the devs keep adding new zones ad libitum (which I doubt we’ll ever see in any game of any kind…ever) so yeah, it is a shame it works like that but it is good while it lasts. As you might have guessed, I already got my 100% world completion.

Really looking forward to their next big content update, I think the creative department at Anet have a real good grasp of what a beautiful virtual world can look like so kudos to them !

lordozone.9167:

@Mahaedros
I will play no matter what, I love the game.
Just saying I would be tickled pink if we had a solo dungeon that could be done at an individuals pace =D

I’ve definitely always liked the idea and my spin on it is that I would like to see profession(class) specific solo dungeons that were a test of your mastery of that particular profession(class). Maybe to the point of doing them naked or geared in specific armor/weapons…the only way to complete it would be to learn your characters specific abilities and use them appropriately at the right times with challenges tailored to those abilities.

Open world kills dungeons, i much prefer open world to a drudging grind of the same claustrophobic thing 24/7, gear or no gear i’d take open world over the repetition that is dungeons…

Open world.

world is alive
no lobby lfg end game
no demands for gearscore, dps meters, elitist epeen flashing
no RNG you buy your gear mats with skill points, karma, drops.

they need to return to this model fast.

Agree totally.

neither.

sence of accomplishment! It can be loot, achievements or completing a personal goal!

every part of the game can have some sort of achievement made. I been trying to complete dungeons to get that little achievement notification, but dont get me wrong – I like getting the loots too.

even when I played WoW, I tried all I could to complete achievements, so that is fun to me.

but the topic was about world or dungeons. Both have something for me, and I will continue to hope for a combination of the two =D

Personally would find Dungeons one thousand times more fun if they were Dynamic and Random like Diablo 1 were, as then they’d be different every sitting, but i can understand why this has not been designed..

Plus dungeons are epically over the top in how hard they are, even in a good party they are stupidly hard (why so many dodge parts and exploit past bits inside of them)..I like some challenge but dying 10 or more times gets annoying…and the trash is harder than the boss mobs…finally Risk vs Reward in most dungeons doesn’t compare, 3-5 hours in a dungeon for 60-180 tokens just isn’t worth my time in my opinion..

Just a few examples of why open world feels nicer than the above.

I generally prefer open. Despite this being an MMO, I don’t really like playing with people all that much. Terribly unreliable.

Open world! And, thank you OP for asking :-)

I love open world games, but there just seems to be a lack of meaning to them sometimes. Dungeons I consider more of a test, a benchmark where you can see either how fast and/or efficiently you are able to clear a challenge.

I get bored of dungeons because they feel caged if you run them over and over too many times. Open world I get bored because there is often not much direction to them and areas often become obsolete for what little you can gain from them (i.e. low level areas; I almost always love them in games, but end up finding myself just sitting in them not really doing anything lol).

I would definitely love to see the some areas and cool paths that can only be reached by jump puzzles (they seem to always end a short distance after the puzzle… ) and definitely more labyrinth like areas would be awesome like a large network of natural and/or mining tunnels that twist and turn where players can become lost in (kind of like the Shark’s Maw Caverns in Lions Arch, but less gimmicky); more of just a straight forward massive ancient underground labyrinth; maybe with a few jump puzzles in it, a few potential spots with a champion or a couple of vets, but mostly just about exploring.

Open World if it’s given the same care as dungeons. Dungeons are nice, but I HATE how it segregates the players into little rooms & makes the world empty. It’s a total waste.

phlemhacker.1372:

I generally prefer open. Despite this being an MMO, I don’t really like playing with people all that much. Terribly unreliable.

sometimes though I like MMO’s for fighting other people instead of playing “with” them lol

I do like the non-grouping-cooperating though in this game- no tag, no need to party etc

leveling up new characters I often find an event I have done before but with far less players around…sometimes things just click and without a word being said you can win a tough fight. Try it again later and the people don’t cooperate and you haven’t a chance at success.

Overall, I’ve enjoyed it and the times when players actually do come together for a victory it’s a rewarding experience.

Open world. I’m just not interested in dungeons at all. I like a sense of freedom in my games, and committing to a group and location for x amount of time, kinda stomps all over that.

Mahaedros.7085:

phlemhacker.1372:

I generally prefer open. Despite this being an MMO, I don’t really like playing with people all that much. Terribly unreliable.

sometimes though I like MMO’s for fighting other people instead of playing “with” them lol

I do like the non-grouping-cooperating though in this game- no tag, no need to party etc

leveling up new characters I often find an event I have done before but with far less players around…sometimes things just click and without a word being said you can win a tough fight. Try it again later and the people don’t cooperate and you haven’t a chance at success.

Overall, I’ve enjoyed it and the times when players actually do come together for a victory it’s a rewarding experience.

I agree with you there. Grouping up for events without partying is great. As for fighting other people, that’s why I play EVE as well. :l

In good games with good dungeons, I LOVE DUNGEONS….

In GW2 have to go open world as the dungeons are some of the worse ive played

why? They are badly designed and lack need of good mechanics that need good group cohesion to defeat, bot to mention boring as all fights are similar.

Open world

I like exploration and the dynamic events.
I have also had some bad experiences in dungeons. Like when the warrior yells “Heal kitten !” …..

Jski.6180:

Mahaedros.7085:

Jski.6180:

Why not just have both have more open and and dungeons there is room for both. The big problem with open is getting a tag (putting high enofe dmg on the mob) on a mob this is the same problem in many pure open world games such as FF11 where tagging or calming a mob was EVERYTHING in that game.

Are you saying you like dungeons better in GW2?

As far as having more of both, yes please! As long as the massive new content additions we’re hearing about are well done then I’ll feel better about this game.

By the way, I bought this game for the PvP and was pleasantly surprised (initially) about how much fun the PvE has been in GW2. I gotta say I am more pleased with the open world PvE though.

I do like dungeons to a point because its more about communication then a rush and out put massive dmg. Not to say i dislike open events it give you time to talk to new ppl but i must say ppl abused these open events as a “free” way to farm and they tend not to like talking much and play very bot like.

Found this from ff11 i remember camping this guy the time put into this lol and offten not getting claim.
Behold open world at its worst.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Njjox9oII7w

lol KB huh. So many kills, so little rings ; ;

You remember MPKing @ Faf? Lol. oh man good times.

I just want to say I love the open world gameplay. I love the whole mystery of whats gonna be back down this cave and this unexplored piece of map. etcetc. The first time I snagged a particular vista in Brisban Wildlands on this waterfall, I stayed up there to look around a bit. It was pretty good view, then something caught my eye below me. Some champion toad just right there! it took about 3 deaths before some reinforcements arrived but we took her down! One of the best experiences I’ve had on this game.

I haven’t done many dungeons. I do love games and events that make u battle through hoardes of trash mobs with the occassional tougher baddy until you reach a cutscene, where a tremendous baddy 30x the size of you comes thrashing through the ground and at that moment, you know you’re in for a fight. I love the strategy, the long fight, the knowing that a single action or lack there of could mean the difference between you and your adventuring acquaintances slaying the beast or being its dinner. The communication in hectic battles like this is awesome. I have played through casual trash mob fights with friends on team speak, and we are all usually joking or chatting just relaxed. But when that end game boss is up and you know it’s going to be a run for your money the gloves come off the game face goes on and everyone gets down to business. I LOVE END GAME LIKE THIS^

I very much dislike 1-3 hour group end game dungeon grind. Especially if the game is designed to nerf all other forms of fun, or not even include other things to do in the game for equal gain. In a huge beautiful world, there is plenty of room for a “huge” amount of activities.

I also prefer non-instanced open world dungeons, which progress from easy to hard the further you explore it.

I like 2 things!

Well I like both, but I like to spend the majority of my time in open world of course.. the bread and butter of an MMO

Open world.

I wouldn’t mind dungeons if they could be soloed and scaled to match the number of participants or if there were a checkpoint system where you could join/leave a long dungeon mid-stream. If you had a guild or regular group, you could join it in group mode. But if you didn’t, you could it in LFG mode and run through with people joining or leaving at checkpoints as other commitments demanded.

I haven’t even look at the dungeons yet. I find the idea of them a massive turn off in any game. What really annoys me is that there is some gear I want from them, which at the present state of the game, and in the usual mmo’s, means being forced in weapons, skills and talents I don’t want to use, in order to survive or be invited, then having to grind the dungeon over and over again until I have the mats to purchase the gear.

No thanks.

I might try them if the skills and build are tweaked in the upcoming patch, otherwise I’ll stick to random encounters with people in the Open World.

Dungeons

Open World is far too easy and al though I prefer the visuals of Open World and the dynamic events and the diversity. There is no real challenge there for the most part so it gets monotonous/dull to run events after a while making it feel more grindy than fun. Don’t get me wrong I like exploration in small doses just challenging content to me outweighs exploration + I like the teamwork requirement of dungeons.

Open world.

I like the fact that with the open world you can spend 5 free minutes and still actually do something. Try to do something in a dungeon if you only have 5 minutes…
And I like the openness itself. I am not crazy of small, narrow, hallways. I need room to run.

Ugh, I absolutely HATE dungeons. So, yeah, open world it is for me.

Mahaedros.7085:

Before you say anything else, please say at the top of your post if you like Dungeons better or the open world better in GW2 (well, do what you want but I hope you at least consider answering this before you give your opinions/comments/explanations thanks!)

I’d have to say I like open world in GW2 better than the dungeons. Not exclusively because of dynamic events- which I do like- but just the overall experience of exploring and running around the big world of Tyria.

My enjoyment of the open world has taken a hit with some of the recent changes, but I still love the world and the music and the way everything looks.

Dungeons are fun, especially when I do them with friends. For me, they aren’t as fun as the open world + exploration etc.

I think I explained it best to a friend a while back… no matter what plans I have or how much I want to complete a zone 100% that particular day, I can still just get swept away and run off into a neighboring zone and go explore and find a bunch of fun things. I enjoy being a leaf carried by wherever the Tyrian winds take me :P

oh and, Skrittsburg caught me totally off guard I loved discovering that place (and a lot of other places too).

Typically dungeons in most MMOs. But hte dungeons in this game are just flat out boring. Even the first time through, so na way i’m running them ad-naseum to get tokens like most games require.

In their current state, probably neither…. they both offer differences in the game which have potential, but don’t necessarily deliver.

I might side more with the open world just because it has the best potential to make the world feel more alive and continually in a state of flux (a real horizontal progression that keeps players playing)… although this sort of happens already, it’s kind of at a bare-minimum as far as horizontal progression goes.

Open world

And I will go so far as to say that dungeons ruin good mmos.

1) They restrict the amount of people that can participate
2) They force players into builds they dont want to play
3) They segregate players based upon gear and/or experience
4) They force players to play at peak efficiency which in turn causes stress and creates a hostile environment.

Dungeons/Raids in their current format embody everything that is wrong with todays modern mmorpgs.

Now I know there are players out there that love their dungeons, they love the small group content, they love the challenge, they love the loot chase...god bless you. Do whatever makes you happy thats what the game is here for.

But if a game wants to make a perfect dungeon system that everyone will enjoy, they only have to do one thing. You have to do away with the stupid restriction on the amount of players that can come. If a group wants to do it with 5, let them do it with 5 but if I want to bring 500, let me bring 500 that way I can still play with my friend Bob who is a great guy but sucks at video games. That way I can play any build I want because I dont have to be optimal and the stress goes away because if we cant beat it we can just go get more people.

Open World.

I dislike dungeons in general – but I tried a few here in GW2 (3 I think) – the experience definitely did not change my mind.

Open world.

It makes the world feel more alive, full of action, fun, epic in my opinion. Would be great if they expanded this idea. They already seem to realize that they messed up putting the end game in an instance. The world is allot more dead now.

Open world – which includes the non-instanced minidungeons

The dungeons are alright, but when I do them, I invariably find myself far more excited about the potential rewards than I do about actually playing them. That’s not the case with the overworld minidungeons (let alone the overworld itself), which I tend to simply stumble into and complete on the fly, no need for planning, no need to get guildmates together for, because the transitions are… not all that noticeable, and theres usually some people already in it. Furthermore, the mechanics tend to feel, more interesting, I guess, rather than being shuffled along from A→B→C in the instanced dungeons. As another result of the overworld not being railroaded, there’s also just a lot more things to do.

Open World.
It’s pure fun.

The problem with open world at high levels is that they simply make the areas nasty unpleasant and full of undead and more undead. Yawn.

Open world, the game was clearly designed around the open world and not dungeons. The combat system severely reflects that, with a focus on solo play. It makes adventuring much more fun. The environments are also beautiful in open world (apart from cursed shore, bland and ugly), in dungeons you play the same map so the areas get boring to look at after a while.

Dynamic events are brilliant (when they work), and the heart system of not needing to talk to an initiating npc is a very welcomed addition.

I much prefer the open world. I prefer the exploring, the seeing things that you don’t expect to see, a favourite few hours of mine was the first time I went into the mount maelkstrom area and I realised there was a volcano there. I thought “I need to climb to the top of this volcano!” so I did, and I stood of the edge and looked down into the lava below, took a screenshot and felt a messive sense of accomplishment
That was a good day

1 thing that hasn’t been mentioned here, is the mini dungeons that you can find in the world. I have found these really enjoyable especially when you don’t expect to find one. However, as always outside of dungeons and fractals, the rewards are so poor.

To adress the problems with rewards and loot, I propose 2 things:

1)Loot in mini dungeons and jumping puzzles should be made on pretty much the same as doing a dungeon. If you get 2 items out of a jumping puzzle chest they should be the same sort of rarity you’d get from a chest in a dungeon, except you only get 2 items not 5 or 6. Same thing for mini dungeons.
These rewards would reward a totally different type of player from the ones that like to repeatedly do dungeons. It would reward the explorers, move the main chances of getting rare loot away from just dungeons, and it would probably get more people in the open world looking for the mini dungeons and jumping puzzles.

2) When you have chains of events, the reward should go up for the more events you do. There would need to be a safegard put in place to stop people deliberately failing events though. But For something like the temple missions, if you stayed from the very first event, and did all the events that lead up to its cleansing, this is the same amount of time as a dungeon section so you ought to be rewarded accordingly.