Guild Wars 2

Hello everyone,

Like the title says I’m just wondering if anyone else has parents that play this game or any game similar to it? My step dad works abroad for long periods of time and since I’ve moved away from home I know my mom gets lonely every time I call she says she’s only watching tv or sleeping.

Needless to say I’m worried about her I can call very often but can’t actually get her out of the house and since she’s home so often I figured maybe trying to get her to play a very casual game like this one might keep her busy.

She has never played many video games before in fact the last time she really tried was on my old Nintendo 64 when she tried to play spider man and go herself dizzy because of how much she was spinning the camera. But maybe if I can get on skype with her I might be able to explain the game since the open world pve is very easy.

Anyway before I tell my whole life story I just have a few questions:
-Do you know any parents that play? She’s in her mid 40s I don’t know if I could get her into games after decades of never playing one. Maybe meeting some friends her age would help shake off the negative stigma she has against video games.

-What character might be best for her to play? I was thinking of maybe telling her to play a warrior or guardian since they’re so beefy and easy to play so she likely wouldn’t spend most of her time dead, but they don’t have many flashy and exciting skills. Perhaps rangers or necros? I think mesmers and eles would be way too complicated expecially the ele swapping affinity.

-And my last question is about personal story. Can I just join her in her story with a character that has already completed it? And how much stronger is a down leveled 80 compared to a actual level 10? I don’t want to be just mowing down hordes of enemies before she gets a chance to fight should I just make a new character so I avoid that?

Thanks in advance for the help.

I know people in there 40’s and older that play. We all played GW1 together, but with them living in the US, and me in the UK, it was hard for me to do things when they where not online in the early days of GW2. And with it being so different to GW1, they didn’t really stick around for vary long. They all still play, but not alot. Mostly just when Living world drops and what not. But man, we used to play for hours and hours in GW1.

I remember the first time we all did FoW together. Started at 11pm UK time, and finished about 5am UK time. I had done it loads, and was talking them all through it. We had great fun. We never did manage the underworld as a group, but we did do it, with randoms here and there. Hall of Hero’s via Tome of the Primeval Kings was fun too. 3 of us, and the rest where my Hero’s. Micro manage like a boss.

I’m also a parent to a four year old dose that count?

My wife who is a parent and in her 40s likes simpler games other than an MMO. She really enjoys Cities Skyline, also (hate to admit it) match three games like candy crush saga.

Might be easier to get her into one of those kinds of games first.

- Do you know any parents that play?
My dad plays video games, but I’m not sure if he plays this one. He’s 52. But he has always liked video games. I don’t think it’s a matter of age so much as what interests a person in general.
I’m also a parent. I’ve always played video games, too, though.

-What character might be best for her to play?
She might like Ranger, if she liked the game.

-And my last question is about personal story. Can I just join her in her story with a character that has already completed it? And how much stronger is a down leveled 80 compared to a actual level 10?
Yes, you can join her after completing it. I have joined my husband in his story quests, and I’ve already completed my own. I’m not sure if being level 80 would be stronger. I think it would depend on gear.

My Dad doesn’t play but my kids and my grandkids play it’s been a real blast and a great way to stay in touch. If your Mom is not into video games it might be kinda hard to get her to jump in. I read how for so many GW2 is so easy but when it’s your first, take it from me, it’s not easy and going from not playing straight to a MMO is a big leap to make.

You should let her play the class she’s interested in the most, so she doesn’t get bored of it.

My husband and me are both some years older than your mom and we like very much to play this game. I think it’s not a question of age. Sometimes we play together but most times each of us play alone. We are casual players and do anything quite relaxed and have a lot of fun in GW2.

To start in the Open World I would recommend to play a ranger with a longbow. A ranger is not too complicated to play and you have your pet to help you in your fights.

Send her a free to play account and let her try it for free. Explain the restrictions on it and why before she starts so it won’t be frustrating.

I’m 59 and started playing mmos when my spouse died. I had no wish to date, still don’t. TV was boring and depressing. Games are a decent and cheap way to socialize and stay exposed to a younger generation (good and bad lol).

Ranger is versatile and very survivable and forgiving in PvE. I would stress that a new and less confidant player steer clear of the more judgemental aspects of the game, Dungeons and WvW/PvP. Even some open area events can be pretty rough. I would advise a new player to largely ignore the content “prompts” the game imposes on your screen until you have become more confident just playing open world pve.

Crafting and harvesting were fun for me in games that emphasized them more. Home decorating is also fun in games that have homes and place-able decor. It is a shame that GW2 tends to ignore a lot of alternate playstyles. Conversely, this game allows you to always overlevel most content, and it is no shame to do so. A downleveled player is always stronger, and a new player can stay in “easier” content for a long time with so many new player zones.

I wouldn’t push Personal Story to an older brand new gamer till they are at least 10 levels over for the 1st run through. The leveled rewards aren’t good enough to worry about.

I was fortunate that my first big MMO was SWG, where I was confident enough to be a non-combat Dancer and crafter. It took me 6 months to actually go out and shoot a Nuna, which owned me. Eventually I got better.

My sons encouraged me. They thought it was cool I was doing “real gamer” stuff, and so did I. Had I been pushed off onto some of the feeble, online “bingo browser” games I would not have stayed with them. I still have no interest in them. Don’t sell us “older” folks out, we can do real games.

MMORPGs are hard for someone new to gaming to really get into. There is so much to it that people can get lost.

There are a few games online that would be more simple for her to get into and you could join her even your stepdad. I hope it’s okay to mention one in specific: Pogo. It has tons of board games and word puzzles. It’s free to play.

I got my grandma to play pogo with me. She really enjoys a lot of the word games.

But I can’t imagine if I got anyone in my family to suddenly have an interest in MMOs. The world is just too vast and the fighting system would take a lot of getting used to. They wouldn’t really see a point in a lot of stuff like acquiring gear or armor skins.

Well, I don’t have any kids, but I am 43 and I love playing video games.

As for what kind of character to play, there really isn’t any way of knowing what you like until you’ve tried them all. Let her test out a few of them that you think she might like. Usually it doesn’t take long to decide which character you want to stick with.

This isn’t a casual game by the standards you are talking about. People take it for granted, but simply navigating in a 3D space and not getting lost takes quite a bit of getting used to for someone that hasn’t done it before (and isn’t a little kid that soaks up everything).

If she isn’t a gamer, I’d suggest starting with something much less intense that has social aspects to it, along the lines of what CandyHearts was suggesting.

How about we let her try it out, and make up her own mind whether or not it’s her kind of thing, before we just assume she’ll be overwhelmed and confused by all this new fangled, digital, technowhatchamajiggies?

It still amazes me that so many young people are shocked when they come across older generations that play video games, or love to rock out, are computer savvy, etc.
Did you guys think all these things started with your generation?
I’m more surprised when someone my age doesn’t have at least a small amount of first hand knowledge or level of experience with these things.

I play with both of my kids. My daughter has played since beta, and my son has had his own account since Christmas. I have shared custody of my kids, so this helps us to still do things together when they aren’t here. If your mom is willing to play, then go for it.

My wife and I are parents, and both of my kids play…but they’re in their mid 20s. lol

My mother does not play. She has never played video games and she does not like fantasy. She is also almost 71. I have no doubt she could play if she wanted to, but she has no interest.

I play though. Far too much actually. I’m 47 and my daughter is 17. I muddle along quite fine.

Your mother can play this game if it interests her.

I always sigh when people are shocked at 40+ year-olds using actual gasp computers. Especially playing games, we are supposed to be using MS office and getting our kids to tell us why our email broke right? I bought my first computer and learned how to program it before high school. Ok, not so uncommon now, but try before the mac even existed.

Is it all too hard to believe that I might actually be playing games now? Get off my lawn.

My 58 year old father is the one who got me to play this, he’s used to play Wow and star wars among other mmo’s. I was more of an fps gamer. But after seeing the angry Joe review and game round my dad’s house I was sold. I don’t see him much online nowadays he’s probably to busy playing Destiny on his ps4…

Well I am 52 and been doing the MMO thing for almost 20 years now and still love playing now that I am retired. I also use gaming to spend time with my kids. As a single father with 4 teenagers at home we all have GW2 accounts as well as many others that we play together. For a tech savy family its an excellent way to get quality time together. Of course with 5 gaming computers and 4 tablets and 5 cell phones it does get rather expensive though, but well worth it. If its up to me I will still be gaming online with my kids throughout college and hopefully beyond that !!!!

Hi,
my kids got me into this game, Im in my 50s and my wife has joined in as well. also in her 50s. Our boys have long ago moved on but my lady and I enjoy gw2 together and individually on a daily basis.

Great game for us oldies but dont know till you try it.

cheers

I’m not a parent myself but my nephews played and I thought I had to keep an eye on what they were doing. I am 56 years old and I really enjoy playing GW2.

I got my kids interested enough to play. My husband plays and even thou granddaughter is old enough to play Pathfinder her dad is not ready to let her try GW2.

Our oldest son’s wife did not grow up being a gamer BUT she has been open to doing some games since the guy she married does them. We did find Wizard101 which is designed more with kids in mind. It was an easier game for her to learn the mechanics of MMO’s and even thou she has tried GW2 she is still more into Wizard101. With the fact that the chat has decent parental controls and you cannot just ask anyone to be a friend or follow anyone … that is the game that we have started the granddaughter off in for an MMO (she’s only.

I just turned 40 and my daughter is a gamer like her dad. She played Guild wars 2 since launch. Her Ranger just got her 3 year anniversary 2 weeks ago. She was 8 when Gw2 came out and she started playing. Funny thing is she is better at the game than some of you guys out there. I know because I watched!

If you get your parents into a video game, especially into an MMO, solely depends on your parents. It’s possible, but not guarantied.

Some guild friends of mine are well above 40, and we play together since GW1 7 years ago. Some in fact are parents whose childs played GW2 at some time in the past. I am 47 and enjoy GW2 very much, playing the whole PvE range up to fractals level 50.

Other guild friends of that age struggle at this difficulty level and only play open world stuff or run with the zerg in WvW. I have to say that some of them don’t play good and you still have to explain every step in a dungeon to them even in their 20st run of the same dungeon. Why they still play after 3 years of GW2 is a mystery to me.

I also know some fellows in this age since GW1 who tried GW2 but ceased playing immediately. It’s not theirs. The gameplay is too active and too fast for them, even in open world PvE.

What kind of gaming personality your mother is, nobody knows. Create her a free2play GW2 account and let her try. Or let her try GW1. GW1 is slower. It is much easier for people with slower reactions than GW2.

By the way, my parents (now aged 75+78) always considered gaming a waste of time. I myself thought the same – until I saw Morrowind (2002). Dunno what your mother thinks about gaming. I guess you will have to find out yourself.

If she wants to try, give her a ranger. In my opinion, the most easy starting class. Ranged characters are easier to play than melee characters, and the ranger is the most easy starting character of the ranged classes.

<< Mid forties here and used to catch up with my daughter at Uni on WoW. Never quite got her into GW2 but Im still working on it

I’m 42 and I play with my 8 year old son. I just got him the game about a month ago. My wife thinks its cute, he’s in his room and I’m in the livingroom and we’re talk together thru teamspeak.

Not on this game but on Star Wars: TOR there was a guy in my guild whose mother played with us quite actively as a healer on raids and such.
She and I also spent a lot of time together on getting datacrons (sort of a mix between jumping puzzle and lost badge but gave stat bonuses).
She hadn’t played games before, this started out as a way for her to socialize with her now adult son. It wasn’t always easy for her to get the most efficient healing on raids but we were a small “family type”-guild so some of the l33t number crunchers explained in a calm manner simple tactics for her.
At us younglings he just yelled, lol, but he respected that she was new to gaming.

As for starter class I agree the Hunter is the most forgiving, Guardian might also be a good choice (they have plenty of flash and sparkles, lol) . Maybe scout out a good newbie friendly guild for her that has TS so she’ll feel confident with playing without you and gain experiences that way.

As for personal story I think you can tag along her if she opens it. I’m pretty sure I’ve helped people on their story without being at the same place in my story. But I have a lot of alts so I don’t really remember the specifics.

I tried to rope in a friend to play GW2, the downscaling works, I just thought it was a bit annoying that I couldn’t see the quest progression and he was a bit unfocused. So In the end I created a new alt and played with him for about one starter region until he got the hang of things and then played on my current fav alt.

I don’t have a parent who plays, but I have a few friends in game who are older (40+). If she does start playing, try to help her find a nice casual guild. Not to stereotype, but in my experience some of the older folks have some trouble controlling their characters and doing the more difficult content like fractals usually take longer to finish). This will ensure she’s around people with patience as she’s learning. Not saying she’s going to have trouble playing, but I have seen some people be rude to my older friends and I wouldn’t want her to experience that.

I am closing in on 50 and enjoy the game very much. I’ve met several people many years older than me playing. Age doesn’t really matter. Let her try a free to play and test for herself?

And if she feels a little lost there are plenty of casual Guilds out there, even those with age restrictions like 30-and up, if she ends up a Little shy of all youngsters :-

Menadena.7482:

I always sigh when people are shocked at 40+ year-olds using actual gasp computers. Especially playing games, we are supposed to be using MS office and getting our kids to tell us why our email broke right? I bought my first computer and learned how to program it before high school. Ok, not so uncommon now, but try before the mac even existed.

Is it all too hard to believe that I might actually be playing games now? Get off my lawn.

The consumer home computing market exploded in 1977. Kids these days forget that people 40+ were children when that happened. It’s the first generation to grow up having wide access to the first consumer-grade personal computers, the first generation to have “computer lab” and learning BASIC in elementary school, the first generation to grow up socializing via a computer network, and the first generation to play “PC computer games” on the Apple II, Commodore PET, Tandy TRS-80, etc (even first to play console games).

LOL

I’m in my thirties and I’m considered pretty young in our guild. Honestly, age isn’t the problem, not even close. If she never played videogames before she just might not enjoy it though.

Menadena.7482:

I always sigh when people are shocked at 40+ year-olds using actual gasp computers. Especially playing games, we are supposed to be using MS office and getting our kids to tell us why our email broke right? I bought my first computer and learned how to program it before high school. Ok, not so uncommon now, but try before the mac even existed.

Is it all too hard to believe that I might actually be playing games now? Get off my lawn.

Ewwwww, kids! Listening to colleges, they are the reason most 40+ people don’t play games anymore… they simply don’t have the time.

I might not be able to pull several all-nighters anymore, but being 40+ never stopped me from playing computer games (actually, it’s a perfect age for playing games, if you have a decent job and thankfully no children: you’ll have the money to buy them!)

Hokeypokey.2135:

-Do you know any parents that play? She’s in her mid 40s I don’t know if I could get her into games after decades of never playing one. Maybe meeting some friends her age would help shake off the negative stigma she has against video games.

-And my last question is about personal story. Can I just join her in her story with a character that has already completed it? And how much stronger is a down leveled 80 compared to a actual level 10? I don’t want to be just mowing down hordes of enemies before she gets a chance to fight should I just make a new character so I avoid that?

Thanks in advance for the help.

- That’s a really difficult question to answer. If she has not ever had an interest in playing games before she might not now either. The only thing I can say about this is don’t sell it as playing a game. Most of the games she has grown up with were solo games that could sometimes be frustrating if you didn’t know what you were doing or had skill for it. For older people that idea of what a game is can be boring or off-putting. MMOs are better marketed as online social spaces like Skype only there’s a shared activity attached to it. There’s lots of guilds who organize events in-game or are specifically targeted for older players. Highlight those social aspects and de-emphasize the leet gamer skill aspect.

- Yes, you can join in another person’s personal story to help them out. If you don’t want to feel like you are mowing down hordes of enemies for her, then adopt the tactic of only helping out if she’s struggling. Play a support build maybe.

I think it’s safe to say that our generation (those in their 40s and 50s) are the original video gamers. Who recalls the first time they saw Asteroids in a grocery store? Or Pong???

I think you should encourage her to give it a try if she has even a passing interest in video games. Maybe even if she has no interest at all…just because it would be something new for her to try. Maybe she will grow to like it.

40+ here… shout out to all the old SWG vets! Computers and gaming started out when I was in my early teens… as in 12-13. Been a gamer ever since the C64… miss that old 64 with the fast load cartridge and an enhancer 2000 floppy drive! (btw for those old SWG dogs, theres an Emu project playable right now. its at www.swgemu.com if your interested!)

Maybe Ranger since pet can do a lot of the work when soloing stuff. My dad in his 50s and plays video games but things like FPS/TPS games and stuff like Resident Evil and Tomb Raider. Don’t think he could ever get into an MMO type game. My mom only likes old school Nintendo games and I let her borrow my 3DS long time ago and she liked the Mario game I had but she wouldn’t play it much cuz she’d get headaches. If ever possible I wanna try again when I can get her a laptop and install F.lux on it or something to prevent her eyes from hurting. My parents are divorced so she’s always alone and bored all the time as well.

I’m just wondering if anyone else has a sister with blonde hair that plays this game or any game similar to it? My dad works abroad for long periods of time and since I’ve moved away from home I know my sister gets lonely every time I call she says she’s only watching tv or sleeping.
(…)
-Do you know any blondes that play? She has long blonde hair. I don’t know if I could get her into games after decades of never playing one. Maybe meeting some friends with blonde hair would help shake off the negative stigma she has against video games.

SCNR.

P.S. Maybe it is unbelievable for some children, but parents are normal people, too.

P.P.S. You should try to find out what your mother likes, not what you like.

CorrynnStarr.7942:

40+ here… shout out to all the old SWG vets! Computers and gaming started out when I was in my early teens… as in 12-13. Been a gamer ever since the C64… miss that old 64 with the fast load cartridge and an enhancer 2000 floppy drive! (btw for those old SWG dogs, theres an Emu project playable right now. its at www.swgemu.com if your interested!)

ZORK please.

Well I’m 65 and I play, after having played WoW for about 5 years. My sons got me interested in gaming. I wouldn’t attempt pvp, but can certainly manage well in pve. If your mother is interested enough to have a go, just be patient with her and remember that what is obvious to you, will need to be explained. But don’t ever assume that age is a barrier.

I’m in my mid-40’s and a gamer as well as my husband at 37. I have a co-worker who is 62 and plays MMOs with her kids and grandkids.
It is however harder to find older ladies that play games like GW, partially because there is a stigma of pointless, socially awkward boys being the sole audience. My co-worker and I have been trying to change some minds about that with our own experiences. We work in a gaming section of a store and have helped them see that it is not outside the realm of possibility for them to play games as a family. Some are just afraid to look foolish or unknowledgeable, but we always stress that they have the kids who are usually pretty enthusiastic about helping.
There is also the fact that older adults may have been avid, feel they have no time. My sister was the best gamer I knew fr a while. She had a rough time after college, and has been so busy that she had little time for herself.
She was finally ended up remedying with the purchase of a classic video game console, the Odyssey by Magnavox. She may not like the MMO or FPS scene, but she does like some retro gaming

I’m the parent who plays. I’m 52, and my sons, aged 24 and 19, both play as well. As far as MMORPGs go I think this is a good starting place. Good luck to your Mom and you as well.

Chaba.5410:

CorrynnStarr.7942:

40+ here… shout out to all the old SWG vets! Computers and gaming started out when I was in my early teens… as in 12-13. Been a gamer ever since the C64… miss that old 64 with the fast load cartridge and an enhancer 2000 floppy drive! (btw for those old SWG dogs, theres an Emu project playable right now. its at www.swgemu.com if your interested!)

ZORK please.

lode runner was better hehehe!

Ahhh, SWG! The ultimate sandbox. Might have to check out that Emu.
Bought my first computer, the Amstrad 1512 in 1986. No hard drive. 12 minutes to load the operating system from 2 51/4 floppys. Played text based games on the bulletin boards before the internet. Was 35 then.

And does no one remember dial up? The old 56kb/s (that’s kb, not KB). I played single player games back then and cruised the Internet at the blistering speed of 56kb/s.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

And does no one remember dial up? The old 56kb/s (that’s kb, not KB). I played single player games back then and cruised the Internet at the blistering speed of 56kb/s.

56k? Science fiction. Try 300 baud, man.