Guild Wars 2

Vayne.8563:

If anything, the announcement the way it’s phrased, is specifically telling us there will be no expansion.

This is exactly what I thought since I first saw the article.

uknortherner.2670:

If players overhype anything then it’s the players’ fault, not ANet’s. No company should be held responsible for the level of stupidity that comes from the actions of a few players who cannot tell the difference between rumours/speculation and hard facts.

I agree completely. Not Anet’s fault at all in this circumstance.

But does it matter whose fault it is if Anet feels the financial/reputation fall out ?

My employer has a new catch phrase, “it may not be our fault, but it is our problem.” The idea is that it doesn’t matter if a customer’s concern or complaint is our fault if we are the one’s losing money due to their dissatisfaction. So we fix issues that are a problem even if they are not our fault.

Rampant speculation and unreasonable expectations may not be Anet’s fault but they may be a problem that the company would be well advised to address before they become a problem.

You just can’t kowtow to unreasonable. I had a business. Some customers I worked very hard to maintain. Some I could care less whether I maintained them or not. The customers that always had a complaint or a problem…not necessarily worth the time and energy, or the blow to morale. If a customer became obnoxious and started abusing employees I’d gladly show them the door.

There are always going to be unreasonable people. People who get their hopes up and then blame the company that they got their hopes up.

No company can or should base their policy around these individuals. It’s more hurtful than helpful.

I think that there is a difference between kowtowing to the unreasonable and heading off speculation before it becomes a problem. This isnt about allowing customers to abuse your employees but rather about keeping customer expectations in line with reality. Basic company/customer communication really.

Ashen.2907:

I think that there is a difference between kowtowing to the unreasonable and heading off speculation before it becomes a problem. This isnt about allowing customers to abuse your employees but rather about keeping customer expectations in line with reality. Basic company/customer communication really.

Given the players around here? Heading off the speculation invites the customers to abuse the employees and messengers.

There’s no win. It’s a Kobiyashi Maru.

. . . or was it a Keyser Soze? I forget.

Ashen.2907:

I think that there is a difference between kowtowing to the unreasonable and heading off speculation before it becomes a problem. This isnt about allowing customers to abuse your employees but rather about keeping customer expectations in line with reality. Basic company/customer communication really.

Speculation isn’t a problem for business. Speculation is a good thing for business. The response that Anet said X or promise X or implied X isn’t reasonable and unreasonable people are going to be unreasonable no matter what you do.

Anet isn’t teasing an expansion here, only what comes next. Talking about it works it Anet’s favor, not against Anet.

The few people who feel lied to and leave…all part of doing business.

Adry.7512:

IndigoSundown.5419:

Adry.7512:

FrostyBou.5491:

I spend enough money on the gemstore as it is, I do not want to spend another $50 on an expansion. With 3500 hours of gametime, I still have not manged to set foot in 80% of the dungeons, do more than 1 full fractal, or do more than ~170ish pvp matches(just got wolf rank a couple days ago). I’ve got more than enough content to meet my gaming needs if they continue putting out living story content as they have been. (though I would like the living story pieces not to keep ending on cliffhangers)

……..what? what do you doooooooooooooooooooo? honestly ima just put the troll stamp on ur forehead and be done with you.

So, someone who doesn’t play the way you think he should is a troll. I see how it is. If you were to step out of the box of your own experience, you might see that there are possibilities you hadn’t considered.

your right that could def be true, but then he probably does A LOT of wvw, or other achievements or focuses a lot on pvp. still though, he makes it seem as if what we have is plentiful. what he has to realize is that most people are NOT like that. most people want to take the WHOLE game in, not just focus on a few aspects of it. so thats why i called him a troll, yes he could be telling the truth, but the way he says it is deceiving.

yea, could be a wvw-er, but said himself he had only played about 170 matches in pvp. I’ve got 2k hours on my account, 6+ 80s, 300+ ranked wins in pvp and world completion, WvWed quite a bit and done my share of fractals and dungeons.. I fail to see how someone with nearly twice my playtime has seen “so little” of the game

unless ofc he’s solely doing WvW, that is.

If they want to go big an expansion is a must. They also need the money to keep things running, and I doubt the LS and the gems will offer such like an expansion would.

Dondarrion.2748:

Adry.7512:

IndigoSundown.5419:

Adry.7512:

FrostyBou.5491:

I spend enough money on the gemstore as it is, I do not want to spend another $50 on an expansion. With 3500 hours of gametime, I still have not manged to set foot in 80% of the dungeons, do more than 1 full fractal, or do more than ~170ish pvp matches(just got wolf rank a couple days ago). I’ve got more than enough content to meet my gaming needs if they continue putting out living story content as they have been. (though I would like the living story pieces not to keep ending on cliffhangers)

……..what? what do you doooooooooooooooooooo? honestly ima just put the troll stamp on ur forehead and be done with you.

So, someone who doesn’t play the way you think he should is a troll. I see how it is. If you were to step out of the box of your own experience, you might see that there are possibilities you hadn’t considered.

your right that could def be true, but then he probably does A LOT of wvw, or other achievements or focuses a lot on pvp. still though, he makes it seem as if what we have is plentiful. what he has to realize is that most people are NOT like that. most people want to take the WHOLE game in, not just focus on a few aspects of it. so thats why i called him a troll, yes he could be telling the truth, but the way he says it is deceiving.

yea, could be a wvw-er, but said himself he had only played about 170 matches in pvp. I’ve got 2k hours on my account, 6+ 80s, 300+ ranked wins in pvp and world completion, WvWed quite a bit and done my share of fractals and dungeons.. I fail to see how someone with nearly twice my playtime has seen “so little” of the game

unless ofc he’s solely doing WvW, that is.

I’ve got 2.5K hours, and there’s a lot I haven’t done either. Most of what’s undone is what passes for endgame.

Vayne.8563:

You just can’t kowtow to unreasonable. I had a business. Some customers I worked very hard to maintain. Some I could care less whether I maintained them or not. The customers that always had a complaint or a problem…not necessarily worth the time and energy, or the blow to morale. If a customer became obnoxious and started abusing employees I’d gladly show them the door.

There are always going to be unreasonable people. People who get their hopes up and then blame the company that they got their hopes up.

No company can or should base their policy around these individuals. It’s more hurtful than helpful.

very true, but it is a sign that a company that WILL spiral down and fail, is also a company that doesnt take its customers into consideration, especially when their customers is their main source of income. dont forget that…..yes there are plenty of unreasonable people, but there is also a lot of people who make valid statements. its also true that people who stuck with this game THIS long, despite its disappointments, are people who feel strongly about the game. these disappointed people….their opinion matters, even more than those who are contempt with the game. the rest……well they already left, and onto the next game.

aspirine.6852:

If they want to go big an expansion is a must. They also need the money to keep things running, and I doubt the LS and the gems will offer such like an expansion would.

if they are intelligent people, i am sure they think the same. UNLESS, they also happen to be out of the box thinkers….then maybe they have something in a grand scale, that is different from all of this…..maybe not….idk.

Vayne.8563:

If anything, the announcement the way it’s phrased, is specifically telling us there will be no expansion. Anyone who expects one with that wording is just living in hope.

The wording talks about new ways to expand the Guild Wars 2 universe. Expansions aren’t new ways to expand it. That’s old school. To me this implies new things that aren’t being done in the industry at least commonly. Ergo, it won’t be an expansion announcement.

This !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I normally don’t agree with Vayne. But in this case it’s pretty clear.
Before this Pax thing was another announcement from the A-Net head.

They simply and plain stated that the rumors of an expansion going on since 3 years and that they will clarify this issue very soon.

Doesn’t sound like “we are working on an expansion” to me.
Now the new announcement is, that they present a complete new way
MMO’s or at least GW2 will opperate in the near future and Living Story was just the beginning.

If someone asks me i think it will be more simple than everyone else is expecting.
They will stick with LS but will have kinda polls like we did with the “Bazaar of the four Winds” and who do we want to support.
This will create a changing future despite having the same story coming after with changing characters. A very simple illusion of game depth.

Man… people will be so disappointed at PAX

Right now expansion for me is pretty much moot. I just don’t really care about GW2 that much anymore. I just check the forums every once in a while to see what is shaking.
The LS is very uninspiring and with long long breaks in between I just don’t care that much. Honestly I cant really remember some of the characters or even what the LS is heading to.
It is really too bad since GW1 captivated my attention for 7 years and almost 10k hours of gameplay. GW2 has had since beta and only 1.3k hours
I hope that people still enjoy the game and what it offers but after two years of the same stuff it has gotten very very stagnant.
GW2 really needed an expansion released about 6 months ago.

Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy the living story a bit, but I would like an actual expansion. The pax statement sure does sound like it’s just living story as usual. I find that disappointing. I feel after two and a half years that playable tengu, a new weapon, polymock and maybe other minigames, and new zones should have already happened. So I’m slowly losing interest in the game, simple as that. If this continues, well I had my fun, but I guess this just isn’t the game for me.

Forum suggestions , CDI thread etc … almost never have an impact in the game , what is the point of all this forum theater ? It just make people frustrated .

So, rather than announcing an expansion, Anet will be announcing something that follows on from the Living World… so, we get the Dying World now…?

Dondarrion.2748:

So, rather than announcing an expansion, Anet will be announcing something that follows on from the Living World… so, we get the Dying World now…?

More of an in-between place twixt Living World and Dying World called Purgastory.
Or is that where we are now?

If it is not an expansion, what’s the harm in saying it is not an expansion? I really don’t get it.

The buzz would still be there. People would still wonder what the announcement is. People would still speculate. Instead of fixating on the expansion, they would try to find new clues.

Sure some people would complain that they want an expansion, period. But they’re already complaining, nothing would change.

So, what’s the harm in saying it is not an expansion?

Just create an expansion already.. I’m beggin you!

It’s been over 2 years and we still haven’t killed the second Elder Dragon yet. I wouldn’t be surprised if we kill our last ED by 2038..

Zanshin.5379:

If it is not an expansion, what’s the harm in saying it is not an expansion? I really don’t get it.

^This. The Living World was just the beginning. that implies something even bigger is coming, this could mean an expansion. And since there is already a high demand for it, a lot of people will expect it. If there is going to be no expansion they should tell us up front and don’t create all this false hope.

I’m curious to see what’s coming next, but I’m not hyped.

I wouldn’t mind if what’s coming next takes the form of LS-like updates that grant us new gameplay abilities, skills, weapons, etc. I don’t mind it takes a year to discover a new continent, all I want to say is that the game is, to most of us, pretty much stagnant. We need variation in the way we play (I don’t play such weapons or such skills because I like them but rather because they are the most viable option), that’s what GW2 lacks.

I’ve been pretty absent lately, and I know I’m not missing much, if anything at all, but I would be sad if I were to quit GW2 because it didn’t advance anymore.

Anyway, bring on the news, ANet, we are looking at you!

I am curious

But is there anybody here that “DONT WANT THE REVEAL TO BE AN EXPANSION”?
I would like to hear your view point.

Knighthonor.4061:

I am curious

But is there anybody here that “DONT WANT THE REVEAL TO BE AN EXPANSION”?
I would like to hear your view point.

Yes, I would rather ANet didn’t completely abandon their principles and give into pressuring from an extremely vocal minority of short-sighted individuals. And I can tell you right now, that’s not what it is.

They probably have found a way to incorporate the advantages of a traditional expansion into the Living Story, which is exactly what they should be looking to do. After all, there’s nothing they could do with an expansion that could not be accomplished via the Living Story; the only difference is that in the latter case we see the changes slowly over time, and we can have them at no extra cost.

Furthermore, the current model of the game allows that every player has free access to all content currently in the game, unless they missed some story episodes, but those aren’t anything you have to see. Compare that to a traditional, paid expansion, in which a lot of new content is added, typically like skills, professions, perhaps even races, but all of this is behind the price tag of the expansion, so only people who buy the expansion can have that content.

I will be in attendance of this announcement, so I hope most sincerely it is not a traditional “expansion.” Of course, I want the game to continue expanding, and I do hope they’re going to be announcing some cool new additions, just not in the format of a paid expansion.

Andred.1087:

Yes, I would rather ANet didn’t completely abandon their principles and give into pressuring from an extremely vocal minority of short-sighted individuals. And I can tell you right now, that’s not what it is.

Okay first, while it is possible the people who want an expansion is a vocal minority, you have no proof of this. Second, just because we want an expansion doesn’t mean we are short-sighted.

I would love to have a large landmass, new classes, weapon types, new races etc. That is the kind of content I want and I want it in one great burst, not tiny chunks. You don’t want that kind of content and you like the current release method, that’s fine. To each their own. But it doesn’t make my opinion less valuable than yours.

You can call it what ever you want, being large update or LS update or feature pack.The core problem is lack of content,few end game maps,broken dungeons,crazy long grind bolsted with RNG,wvwvw that lacks any meaning,boring pvp.There is certanly more things that need to be adressed.So the easiest way to solve majority of those problems is making an expansion with maybe some few goodies like new proffesions,race.Oh and if you think that only “Minority of short-sighted individuals” is asking expansion you are very much wrong.GW2 has steady decline of player base and only blinded fanatics can say that the game is oke and that we need 1 hour of content updates every 3 weeks and that all will be oke.Oh and i must say that LS mark 2 is better then previous one ,but those two new maps ,while they are nice and cool looking ,they dont have substance of old maps (less hearts,events) and to me they feel somehow empty

Windu The Forbidden One.6045:

Just create an expansion already.. I’m beggin you!

It’s been over 2 years and we still haven’t killed the second Elder Dragon yet. I wouldn’t be surprised if we kill our last ED by 2038..

Reminds me of what Harry said to Ron when the latter complained about the pace of finding horcruxes.

The dragons have been around for, in some case, centuries. I don’t know that they’re going to be simply run down like a checklist.

Sariel V.7024:

Windu The Forbidden One.6045:

Just create an expansion already.. I’m beggin you!

It’s been over 2 years and we still haven’t killed the second Elder Dragon yet. I wouldn’t be surprised if we kill our last ED by 2038..

Reminds me of what Harry said to Ron when the latter complained about the pace of finding horcruxes.

The dragons have been around for, in some case, centuries. I don’t know that they’re going to be simply run down like a checklist.

Gameplay – Story segration. Some things in a story have to be shortened for the sake of gameplay.

A good example of this is Dragon Age Origins, every once in a while the world is attacked by Darkspawn, it’s called a blight. Blights usually last many years, the first one lasted centuries. Though the blight that occured in Dragon Age Origins lasted less than one year, and the game was awesome. It was either that or making a game that lasts dozens if not hundreds of years…

Besides we already killed one. Which went really fast. Sure it took a long time before the pact was formed but ever since it’s formation killing an Elder Dragon doesn’t seem like that much of a monumental task anymore. Hell we could have killed 2 elder dragons already if Logan hadn’t bolted to save his would-be girlfriend. That dragon could have been killed by just 6 people and Right now we have a gigantic advanced army of seasoned dragon slayers, complete with airship fleet and the people who almost killed an elder dragon singlehandedly (minus snaff, grenth rest his soul).

Will there be a guild wars 2 expansion in 2015?

Good question.

We can probably rule out any sort of box, but there’s an upcoming announcement that might be a prelude to some similar-scale content drops. We have no way of knowing one way or the other for now.

When it comes to new traits in the expansion

Do you all want a new level beyond grandmaster
Or
Do you all want more trait lines added to the lines we have now?

Knighthonor.4061:

Do you all want a new level beyond grandmaster

NO! In that direction lies power creep.

Do you all want more trait lines added to the lines we have now?

I’d rather have this than another level. However I’d even rather have them add more options for the lines and levels we already have. Specifically I want more decent options for the lines and levels we already have.

Knighthonor.4061:

When it comes to new traits in the expansion

Do you all want a new level beyond grandmaster
Or
Do you all want more trait lines added to the lines we have now?

Why would I want either?

Under the current trait acquisition system, adding any new traits by any means at all means bringing along some of the same stock MMO expansion baggage that I don’t want to see.

Assuming that the trait changes are reverted, doing either would probably be acceptable.

If an expansion means the end to living story…(for good..it wont come back)… I will return to Guild Wars 2.

Right now, Im too far gone. As long as living story is in the game, I will not be Sad reality for me because this game had such potential for me.

cesmode.4257:

If an expansion means the end to living story…(for good..it wont come back)… I will return to Guild Wars 2.

Right now, Im too far gone. As long as living story is in the game, I will not be Sad reality for me because this game had such potential for me.

This seems to be the consensus on MMORPG.com, give or take a few white knights and uber-casual players still trying to make their first level 80.

Will they show us the work done since launch ? Or did they really did nothing ?

The issue with no expansion isn’t really the facts, but the perception. Perception is usually even more powerful than facts and in the MMO world the perception is you need an expansion to give gamers more content and boost the population/activity levels.

While I applaud Anet for trying, it’s clear the expansion mindset is so entrenched into the gamers pschye I’m not sure the living story has gone any way (in general) to displace it.

This being the case more LS will only act to continue the “It’s an old game with no meaningful new content” impression, which in turn will lead to a further decline in numbers and therefore revenue.

Since the perception seems to be “only an expansion will do” The hype and buzz surrounding an expansion will bring back more players than just relying on the LS alone.

Looking at the guilds I know of, the pattern seems to be Go play other stuff. logon for LS, do LS for a couple of days, log off and do other stuff again

While this may give a temporary ‘blip’ in activity it doesn’t really provide any long term growth usually associated with an expansion.

TLDR: People expect an expansion to give more content, and don’t seem to be convinced that the LS alone can deliver it

Its a shame when a game is developed to break a mold, and the people who express interest in the game for that exact reason expect it to fit the same mold the game was advertised to break.

I can’t care too much either way. Anet has a track record of getting backlash whenever it does anything it all, whether it be sticking to its principles or acquiescing for a large group of like-minded gamers/focus groups.

Do whatever. I know that said opinion doesnt hold any motivation regarding any which way, but I wanted to voice how I came to feel that way, since more than a few players are shaming Anet for appearing to feel similarly.

I want to say its okay for Anet to not go back on its game design just to please some gamers who can’t accept anything that is -not- a WoW clone, but that isnt my place. I dont have metrics.

Sariel V.7024:

Reminds me of what Harry said to Ron when the latter complained about the pace of finding horcruxes.

The dragons have been around for, in some case, centuries. I don’t know that they’re going to be simply run down like a checklist.

Even among hardcore fans, that section of the book is regarded as tedious. It’s also the seventh book in the series, not most people’s first encounter with the narrative.

I’m not saying that we should have killed an ED by now, but currently the personal story is broken and still ends on an anti-climax, and the Living Story is just… bleh.

Azure The Heartless.3261:

Its a shame when a game is developed to break a mold, and the people who express interest in the game for that exact reason expect it to fit the same mold the game was advertised to break.

I can’t care too much either way. Anet has a track record of getting backlash whenever it does anything it all, whether it be sticking to its principles or acquiescing for a large group of like-minded gamers/focus groups.

Do whatever. I know that said opinion doesnt hold any motivation regarding any which way, but I wanted to voice how I came to feel that way, since more than a few players are shaming Anet for appearing to feel similarly.

I want to say its okay for Anet to not go back on its game design just to please some gamers who can’t accept anything that is -not- a WoW clone, but that isnt my place. I dont have metrics.

If I was in the mood for a well-crafted stock MMO at any given time, I have at least two such games installed and ready to go right now, so on that point, I agree.

On the other hand, a game can be different without having to try to zig almost everywhere that another game zagged. Perhaps not so much in the case of expansions, but I do get the impression that ANet’s designers can sometimes be too quick to dismiss mechanics and other elements of other MMOs as ‘harmful’, sometimes missing what the point of those mechanics was.

a good related read,
http://massively.joystiq.com/2015/01/06/flameseeker-chronicles-is-2015-the-guild-wars-2-expansion-year/

What I would like to see, like, right now, is some preemptive damage control from ANet.
There is already in the heads of many members of the community, the idea, the doubt, about an expansion to be announced. So we have two possible scenarios, there will be an announcement about an expansion, or won’t. In the first case, then it’s okay to do nothing and let the hype run wild, but if there won’t be an expansion, then just saying after PAX, “we never hinted about releasing an expansion” won’t be enough to keep people civil about that topic. If there isn’t an announcement about an expansion, then that should be at least be hinted to us, so the community can manage their expectation in a better way, in comparison to previous similar cases. Let’s not have the NoSAB/NoDungeons interview again, tell us what won’t be announced before the announcement, it’s a smart thing to do, in my opinion.

Azure The Heartless.3261:

whether it be sticking to its principles

I haven’t seen that yet.

Hello all,

I like the game very much but didn’t see a suggestions corner on forums.

So if sometimes an expansion will come I suggest a gear skin revamp.

There are a lot of awful mmos but with better skins for armors, weapons..etc.

Thank you and A Happy New Year!

Ashen.2907:

Azure The Heartless.3261:

whether it be sticking to its principles

I haven’t seen that yet.

…Living…story?

probably?

Wetpaw.3487:

a good related read,
http://massively.joystiq.com/2015/01/06/flameseeker-chronicles-is-2015-the-guild-wars-2-expansion-year/

Yes, it was a good read.

Also, I don’t want a “Traditional Expansion”. I just want the game to be expanded, not just endlessly polished features that are released with the living world/feature packs as if this was the expansion style content we were expecting all along.

Azure The Heartless.3261:

I can’t care too much either way. Anet has a track record of getting backlash whenever it does anything it all, whether it be sticking to its principles or acquiescing for a large group of like-minded gamers/focus groups.

All game companies get backlash for that. Take Ubisoft for example. In the same week last year, they got backlash for both innovating and trying new things on a franchise (AC : Unity), and keeping a franchise glued to its roots by releasing more of the same (AC : Rogue). The same people expressed anger at both, and on one article/forum, were outraged at the game for trying new things, and on another, were outraged at the game for releasing what worked.

While its way less extreme in Anet’s case, its still there. If they break away from what they are currently doing and release an expansion, there’s going to be people angry. If they stick to living world/polish packs (I mean feature packs), people are going to be angry (like me). Its literally one of those kitten ed if you do, kitten ed if you don’t kind of situations.

(laugh) Watch this ‘expanded’ universe be something like a card game, or micro games through your IPad, or oh oh!

They’re making a Guild Wars movie.

Notice how when they merged the Wintersday feedback thread, Gaile said that the devs would read it, and even responded multiple times herself.

When she merged the expansion thread, she did NOT mention the devs ever reading it, nor has she responded once throughout the 12 pages of begging.

I’d buy an expansion, but I’m not betting on one.

FoopOplo.7914:

Notice how when they merged the Wintersday feedback thread, Gaile said that the devs would read it, and even responded multiple times herself.

When she merged the expansion thread, she did NOT mention the devs ever reading it, nor has she responded once throughout the 12 pages of begging.

I’d buy an expansion, but I’m not betting on one.

Due to Anet’s policies regarding content revealing, I would say the devs staying away from this topic actually speaks in the expansions favour. If such a hot topic wasn’t in their plans they wouldn’t be in this muted state. The highlight of the Wintersday thread can be seen as the devs not having “two big side projects” involved in that area and can therefore talk about it with more ease.

I think the announcement will be proportional to the hype.

If they had something amazing or large coming they would have gradually increased the hype (if their marketing was properly done).

That said on a scale of 10 the hype factor is actually at 1. Will they even be able to say something about the next WvW maps? Or the news SAB world?

Vayne.8563:

If anything, the announcement the way it’s phrased, is specifically telling us there will be no expansion. Anyone who expects one with that wording is just living in hope.

The wording talks about new ways to expand the Guild Wars 2 universe. Expansions aren’t new ways to expand it. That’s old school. To me this implies new things that aren’t being done in the industry at least commonly. Ergo, it won’t be an expansion announcement.

1. /saves this comment from Vayne
2. *wait for an expansion
3. …
4. blackmail material!

=P