Guild Wars 2

So now that GW2 has been out for a bit, I thought I’d reflect on one of the things that has bugged me so far while playing the game. Just to clue you guys in on my state of things, I bought the game about 3 and a half weeks ago, and I have a lvl 50 guardian as well as some other <10 lowbies.

My main issue with the game so far has been the (extreme) lack of cohesion moving through the different zones. Let’s break down the gameplay elements that lead to this feeling so we can pinpoint where the problem lies.

Insofar as I can tell, there are 3 main mechanics that make up the “questing” in GW2. We have Personal Story, Heart Tasks, and Dynamic Events.

Between the 3, Personal Story is by far the most compelling with respect to your character. This storyline is where your “legend” is created, and you get to watch/decide how that unfolds. Your Personal Story is the closest thing to what I would call “traditional questing” for the following reasons:
-Events follow a chain pattern where one section might just be a bit of dialogue, and another may require a big boss fight at the end of a long story arc.
-Sometimes the player is sent to an entirely new zone in order to progress in their Personal Story

Heart Tasks seem to be the most out of place to me. They are strewn about each zone, with a vague background associated with each one. With each Heart, some conflict exists that the player must resolve – usually by repeatedly completing any of 3-4 different tasks until enough progress has been made to satisfy the conditions and receive the reward.
In my opinion, the three problems with the Heart Tasks are:
-They just pop up sans explanation, and the player has to go out of his/her way to learn more about whats happening to warrant their active participation in the problem. Anet has made it so easy for players to just blast through these without giving them any thought or providing a story-backed reason (which is a vital element in MMOs)
-The variety of available tasks to complete is quite small, and oftentimes I find myself endlessly grinding through enemies to fill the progress bar. Yes, there are some instances where the different activities to do are fun and new, but so far it has felt like 95% of the time I’m bashing heads in without knowing why.
-Related to the previous point, because Heart Tasks just pop up when you are in the appropriate area, there isn’t a defined “beginning” to any of them. The closest you get to an introduction is when you talk to the Scout who points out the location of the heart, and then subsequently when you speak with the “quest giver,” which isn’t even necessary (and in fact feels like a waste of time to do so). [YES, I understand that you could argue that it’s my fault I find these Tasks devoid of meaning because I’m too lazy to go talk to the NPC for 10 seconds, but my point is that Anet really hasn’t incentivized doing so. Why bother having them in the game if they effectively serve no purpose?] Similarly, these Tasks have no definitive “ending.” In fact, they abruptly end without much fanfare and while I appreciate the cute note with some coins that I get in the mail, I don’t feel as though I’ve made an impact on the situation.

Finally, Dynamic Events are the sort of “new” and “novel” element added to the game. When I was following the development of the game in the year and a half or so before its release, Dynamic Events were by far the mechanic I was most looking forward to in the game. I was so excited to play through an ever-changing world where I felt like my actions directly impacted my surroundings in an unprecedented and profound way. I remember a Dev blog I read hinted at Dynamic Event chains that would evolve over months, which to me was awe inspiring. To be perfectly honest, I have found them to be lackluster and disappointing. While I admit to enjoying them when they are available, the role they play in the game is nothing like what I originally imagined them to be. Now, I know Anet will continue to add new events and diversify/complexify the system to a much more robust point as time goes on and they are able to add more content. However, in their current form, Dynamic Events are not the heralded revolutionary way to play. Here are a few of the issues I have with Dynamic Events:
-There just are not enough of them at this point for a player to feel like they are the driving force behind progression.
-The “changes” that come about from either participation or lack thereof on the behalf of players is underwhelming.
-They feel too linear. Either the group of players participating takes an active role to help or they neglect the situation. The latter never occurs because that course of action is never rewarded. Since it is in “everyone’s” best interest to drive the dynamic event chain forward, they seem as if there is no real choice in the matter. This makes them feel inconsequential. Players may only participate to progress unidirectionally, and there exist no opportunities to branch the quest chain in a different direction.
-Dynamic Events repeat too often, to the point that the illusion of dynamism feels false.

Sharpen your pitchforks people! I’m about to start talking about World of Warcraft =O
One of the best elements of questing in WoW is the sole fact that the storyline and sense of interconnectedness between zones was extremely solid. Players were driven by quests to travel to new zones or new quest hubs (which simply do not exist in GW2). The only quest element that actively requires players to travel to unexplored territory in GW2 is the personal storyline, which in my opinion makes no sense considering that the personal story is an instanced, separate mechanic that doesn’t feel like it’s connected to the rest of the playable world. Part of the epicness of WoW was being asked by a quest giver to run across the zone 2 or 3 times to talk to different people. You felt like you were playing a part in something big, something of consequence. Everything had a feeling of “building up” towards a big climax. If you paid attention in high school literature classes, you may remember the traditional story-arc with a beginning, middle, and end. Each quest line / quest hub in WoW was a miniature story that played out as you completed different tasks. Neither Dynamic Events or Heart Tasks in GW2 fulfill that, and as I stated before Personal Story is too far removed from the world and accounts for too small a portion of gameplay to offer that consistent story.

If you’re still with me, I’m about to sum up my argument (woo!).
The main problem with “Questing” in Guild Wars 2 at the moment, is that the three different mechanics driving player progress each fall short and the result is an incoherent romp through Tyria as opposed to a fluid storyline.

So if you made it through my wall o’ text, I’d really like to hear some feedback on your own experience and how it compares to mine! Give some opposing points of view or expand on any of my points if you see fit.

Thanks for reading and hopefully this starts some good discussion =)

There is no questing, no quest hubs, nothing having to do with questing in the game
Once you take that in
Nothing is trying to fulfil a questing need or substitute for questing, because there is no questing
You like many others are preprogrammed from previous games that used questing as the main source of experience needed to level
Your thought process is flawed because you are trying to come up with some relationship between what they do in GW2 and questing.

Really start thinking the matrix. You need to free your mind

That’s what I hated about questing in WoW…. being led around by the nose. Go here, do these quests, then go there, do those quests…

And that’s what I love about GW2… I can just wander around and it feels like stuff comes and finds me instead of the other way around.

To each his own.

Break out of that box, OP! Cohesion, schmohesion! When an NPC runs up to you, begging for help, that’s where you go! When you wander within reach of heart-text, let it inform you that there are things to watch for locally. The map’s list of objectives will let you know how much of that zone’s content you have left to discover. There’s all the direction you need to spur you on, let your feet and imagination do the rest.

I came here from an mmo that has quest hubs,then that mmo offered me an alternative too quest hubs which was more fun and more rewarding so the player base has two options or mix as too how they want too lvl.
GW2 offers no questing no quest hubs =very good I for one will never play an mmo with quest hubs again

What I am sad about is that nothings asks you to travel a long way away (ignoring personal story). WoW did lead you around, but it gave you a reason to travel to places. GW2 lets you be free but it makes me feel like I’m someone without any real purpose in life. I randomly wonder the world and solve peoples problems.

I’m not sure about you but I rarely randomly travel somewhere I haven’t been in real life unless I know it may be interesting for some reason. In this I follow the shinnies.

Ah, Pluckerpluck. I’m sad that you’re sad. I must say, too, that curiosity leads me where no signpost is posted! Even in WoW I couldn’t help climbing on a boat or Zep just to see where I’d end up. Go on… get out there and wander around a bit. You might find it completely liberating!

Pluckerpluck.8692:

What I am sad about is that nothings asks you to travel a long way away (ignoring personal story). WoW did lead you around, but it gave you a reason to travel to places. GW2 lets you be free but it makes me feel like I’m someone without any real purpose in life. I randomly wonder the world and solve peoples problems.

I’m not sure about you but I rarely randomly travel somewhere I haven’t been in real life unless I know it may be interesting for some reason. In this I follow the shinnies.

You should get out more…hit the country roads and just drive. See what you can find. I can quest on any game out there.

Here, I can step into the heart of Tyria and start traveling…and things start happening. Players need help, npc’s have problems…do I go…do I stay….every decision leads to a new unknown. I’m really enjoying the playstyle.

Debsylvania.7396:

Ah, Pluckerpluck. I’m sad that you’re sad. I must say, too, that curiosity leads me where no signpost is posted! Even in WoW I couldn’t help climbing on a boat or Zep just to see where I’d end up. Go on… get out there and wander around a bit. You might find it completely liberating!

I was going to type out a long reply, but I like how you said it. I’ve never been the type that liked being told what to do, so I think the things that make the OP sad are the things that make me love this game.

I don’t follow any of the hearts I simply ‘explore’. I’ve had a fine time doing just that.. the last thing I want is to have to go to some npc and pickup a quest and then run here, run there and repeat that till I"m 80. I want that I can go to any MMO made in the last decade.

I think the world presents the storyline just fine if you interact with the NPCs and various lore elements strewn about. There is no dialogue boxes explaining what you’re doing, unless you want there to be. You are free to go up to any heart vendor and hear the story before doing the activity, if you choose. You are free to explore the world at your leisure and run into a dynamic events going on.

I think you’re spot on with the dynamic events being too linear. There are some that have multiple branches that eventually meet in one culminating event, but many are linear in nature. In some cases the changes are underwhelming, like a bear rug appears, but this is more than you get in most MMOs where you are just told you succeeded, yet the threat still exists. I do not think that all changes to the world are underwhelming though, If you stop and listen to post event wrap up and follow up, you can get some good lore and story. You just have to be patient.

I agree with the other posters that you need to get the old way of thinking out of your head. This is a new game, embrace the changes and try to understand the thought behind them.

You’re free to roam the world and go where you please and wherever or whatever that may be, there is something you can do that will earn you XP. You are even rewarded for things like gathering and exploring! How cool is that?

Also, what’s wrong with the idea of a wandering hero? Sure you have your main storyline that details your journey to heroism, but when you’re not doing that you’re free to do as you please, as you would in real life. You’re not directed each and every step of the way – you choose what to do and where to go and that’s what GW2 does.

On the topic of a cohesive story, I do think there is a story. If you pay attention to what the Scout’s are actually saying to you, and what’s going on with each of the Heart and Dynamic Events, all of those things are connected. Each zone has a story where every action taken in that zone is a part of that story. You just have to slow down and pay attention to it (and much of it is acted out in front of you and sometimes by you and not written down in quest text).

One last thought – Pluckerpluck, this game asks you to explore and travel perhaps more than any other game. We have Vistas, Waypoints, Points of Interest. And then of course you have the Hearts so if you finish them all you get map completion rewards. They want you to travel the world and see it all and unlike other games, you actually are rewarded for it. Not to mention how easy and quick they’ve made traveling long distances. No need to wait 5 minutes on a flying mount – just Asura Gate/Waypoint and you’re there in a few seconds.

how on earth can you call it grinding??

All these POI’s/hearts/skill points and things allow me to explore a whole map not staying in any one place long and level up while doing heart quests and DE when they appear.

It encourages me to explore unlike in GW1 where I bee lined to the next town or the objective. Or if I wanted to level up I went outside to murder a bunch of monsters if the quests where to hard.

If you’re worried about the story cohesion between heart events, often times, the Scouts (they show up as yellow telescopes in the minimap) not only tell you where hearts are but why they’re in existance.

There’s a lot of this “You’re stuck in WoW thinking! Think new!” I think it’s a futile argument. The thing is as the OP says that traditional quests are gone, we all agree on that, yes?
Now, being a new revolutionizing game in itself is not a good excuse to remove something quite essential to this genre (and don’t tell me it’s not an MMORPG :p), unless you replace it with something new and revolutionizing and preferably better.

The problem here is that what they put in place instead of quests is (in the opinion of some, at least) not better, it’s actually just even more boring than traditional questing. It’s nothing to do with thinking outside the box and what not, it’s a matter of whether something is interesting and fun to play or not. Quite simple ^^

Ticee.2451:

There’s a lot of this “You’re stuck in WoW thinking! Think new!” I think it’s a futile argument. The thing is as the OP says that traditional quests are gone, we all agree on that, yes?
Now, being a new revolutionizing game in itself is not a good excuse to remove something quite essential to this genre (and don’t tell me it’s not an MMORPG :p), unless you replace it with something new and revolutionizing and preferably better.

The problem here is that what they put in place instead of quests is (in the opinion of some, at least) not better, it’s actually just even more boring than traditional questing. It’s nothing to do with thinking outside the box and what not, it’s a matter of whether something is interesting and fun to play or not. Quite simple ^^

That’s actually not what people are saying, they’re saying the story and lore is there, you have to look for it.

It’s actually quite similar to the WoW style of doing things if you want it to be. You want a story to follow and a linear questing system where you go from hub to hub and zone to zone? Well, if you follow the Scouts, the Hearts, and the DE’s they will lead you level by level in a very particular order around the zone and onto the next.

But the beauty is, you don’t have to follow them. You are free to wander as you please and earn XP in whatever way you like and are rewarded for that as well.

The lack of a questing system was 100% intentional, and was widely touted as a SELLING point for the game. Not sure why this is surprising.

Untouch.2541:

Ticee.2451:

There’s a lot of this “You’re stuck in WoW thinking! Think new!” I think it’s a futile argument. The thing is as the OP says that traditional quests are gone, we all agree on that, yes?
Now, being a new revolutionizing game in itself is not a good excuse to remove something quite essential to this genre (and don’t tell me it’s not an MMORPG :p), unless you replace it with something new and revolutionizing and preferably better.

The problem here is that what they put in place instead of quests is (in the opinion of some, at least) not better, it’s actually just even more boring than traditional questing. It’s nothing to do with thinking outside the box and what not, it’s a matter of whether something is interesting and fun to play or not. Quite simple ^^

That’s actually not what people are saying, they’re saying the story and lore is there, you have to look for it.

That may be, but my point was just.. Is it more fun this way? That’s basically what the matter is about I think.
People aren’t stupid after all, we can all see things are done differently here, there’s no need to keep telling them to think new.

Hickeroar.9734:

The lack of a questing system was 100% intentional, and was widely touted as a SELLING point for the game. Not sure why this is surprising.

Yes, but throughout development I got the impression that Dynamic Events were going to effectively replace questing – and I don’t feel that they have at all.

Omega Mayhem.7163:

That’s what I hated about questing in WoW…. being led around by the nose. Go here, do these quests, then go there, do those quests…

And that’s what I love about GW2… I can just wander around and it feels like stuff comes and finds me instead of the other way around.

To each his own.

I agree with Omega 100%. I never played WoW but I get sick and tired of the
“Go to x, kill y, and go back to x, then return and kill more y for z drops.” types of games. I’m really glad GW2 took this out and this is a new game trying out new and different ways than the old typical MMORPG type of ways.

While I enjoy GW2’s style of questing, I have to say that I’m a little sad at how easy it seems to be to fool so many people.

The quest system isn’t really that different from other MMOs. Travel to new area, complete quest, travel to new area, complete quest. And if you’re at a loss for areas to travel to, there’s a handy map that lists all the hot spots where something interesting might be happening! At the end of the day, you can just follow the icons on the map and miss next to nothing in any given zone, which is really no different than following the quest markers in any other MMO.

There’s a jump puzzle or two in each zone, and most of them can’t be found by following the icons on the map, but outside of that, it really is just another game of “Follow the marker.”

Rise.9702:

Omega Mayhem.7163:

That’s what I hated about questing in WoW…. being led around by the nose. Go here, do these quests, then go there, do those quests…

And that’s what I love about GW2… I can just wander around and it feels like stuff comes and finds me instead of the other way around.

To each his own.

I agree with Omega 100%. I never played WoW but I get sick and tired of the
“Go to x, kill y, and go back to x, then return and kill more y for z drops.” types of games. I’m really glad GW2 took this out and this is a new game trying out new and different ways than the old typical MMORPG type of ways.

Well, is there really that big of a difference between “kill 20 Orc Marauders”/“bring me 15 Scarlett Badges” and “kill enemies and destroy their supplies until this yellow bar fills up” ? The only real difference is that you don’t have to go talk to the quest guy before and after, which is bad in my opinion, because then you’re only experiencing the middle of a story, and not the beginning or ending.

Ticee.2451:

Untouch.2541:

Ticee.2451:

There’s a lot of this “You’re stuck in WoW thinking! Think new!” I think it’s a futile argument. The thing is as the OP says that traditional quests are gone, we all agree on that, yes?
Now, being a new revolutionizing game in itself is not a good excuse to remove something quite essential to this genre (and don’t tell me it’s not an MMORPG :p), unless you replace it with something new and revolutionizing and preferably better.

The problem here is that what they put in place instead of quests is (in the opinion of some, at least) not better, it’s actually just even more boring than traditional questing. It’s nothing to do with thinking outside the box and what not, it’s a matter of whether something is interesting and fun to play or not. Quite simple ^^

That’s actually not what people are saying, they’re saying the story and lore is there, you have to look for it.

That may be, but my point was just.. Is it more fun this way? That’s basically what the matter is about I think.
People aren’t stupid after all, we can all see things are done differently here, there’s no need to keep telling them to think new.

I think maybe you’ve mistaken some of these enthusastic replies for finger-pointing somehow. I know that wasn’t my intent, and I’m sure it wasn’t anyone else’s. The enthusiasm is a byproduct of fun, so yeah, it really is fun (and mostly because it is so intuitive and different), but like anything maybe somewhat a matter of personal preference.

Scera.9746:

Hickeroar.9734:

The lack of a questing system was 100% intentional, and was widely touted as a SELLING point for the game. Not sure why this is surprising.

Yes, but throughout development I got the impression that Dynamic Events were going to effectively replace questing – and I don’t feel that they have at all.

OK, you have a point there. I’ve had that thought at many points.

The biggest problem with dynamic events is that the only thing about them that’s dynamic is when they start….and that’s probably not even dynamic (probably a timer). They’re really SCRIPTED events in every way, which is the very opposite of dynamic.

Scera.9746:

Well, is there really that big of a difference between “kill 20 Orc Marauders”/“bring me 15 Scarlett Badges” and “kill enemies and destroy their supplies until this yellow bar fills up” ? The only real difference is that you don’t have to go talk to the quest guy before and after, which is bad in my opinion, because then you’re only experiencing the middle of a story, and not the beginning or ending.

That you choose not to go talk to the relevant NPCs and learn about the world/situation around you. Is a fault on you and not the game for giving you the choice. What you are essentially saying is you expect the choice removed and expect to be forced to view all the content otherwise you will be too absent to do it yourself.

This kinda demonstrates your mindset is still stuck in the progression of games that do not allow choice.

Hickeroar,
“Dynamic” does define what I see happening when an event triggers. For example, an npc talking to a player, kittensponds with an action, which triggers another action, which results in an event beginning is all a dynamic process… like dominoes are dynamic in their tripping the next in a chain to fall. They are “scripted”, too, because these chains are laid out in a particluar way or way(s).

So, maybe the difference is just a matter of semantics.

Scera.9746:

Rise.9702:

Omega Mayhem.7163:

That’s what I hated about questing in WoW…. being led around by the nose. Go here, do these quests, then go there, do those quests…

And that’s what I love about GW2… I can just wander around and it feels like stuff comes and finds me instead of the other way around.

To each his own.

I agree with Omega 100%. I never played WoW but I get sick and tired of the
“Go to x, kill y, and go back to x, then return and kill more y for z drops.” types of games. I’m really glad GW2 took this out and this is a new game trying out new and different ways than the old typical MMORPG type of ways.

Well, is there really that big of a difference between “kill 20 Orc Marauders”/“bring me 15 Scarlett Badges” and “kill enemies and destroy their supplies until this yellow bar fills up” ? The only real difference is that you don’t have to go talk to the quest guy before and after, which is bad in my opinion, because then you’re only experiencing the middle of a story, and not the beginning or ending.

For a start, here you don’t have only one thing to do… Every single heart out there gives you choices to how are you going to fill that yellow bar. So, because of just this simple fact, quests here are not like any other game you have played before.

Now, about hearts… You know they were not part of the initial development and were just introduced to make the transition from the traditional mmo quests you know so well to the ones we have in GW2, somewhat smoother, right? Originally we would have DEs only.

Now about DEs, I do agree with the OP about the fact that I also believed they would be somehow bigger and less strictly scripted. I still find them fun, but I agree that some improvements could be seen on that department. The same could be said about meta events.

I read most of your post and .. none of the other responses (I ain’t got time for dat!)

Heart quests: Yep. They streamlined questing. While the system in place is better than the traditional “Hi there, can you kill X bears for me?”, it does nothing to make you feel like a hero and it can be done almost mindlessly (almost every heart quest has the option to kill something.. so you can essentially just roam around killing everything and get rewarded). There’s a better system than this to be found.. just gotta wait for someone to think of it.

Events: You hit the nail on the head. They were supposed to be game-changing events to make the world dynamic. Instead, it’s just a matter of “Oops, the bull is raging again, let’s go beat it up” or “Bandits are spawning, let’s kill some waves”. You see the same events all the time and they just serve as some bonus XP. Hardly the revolutionary system that was advertised. What is needed is epic events. Single events that span days, weeks, months… the world is actually CHANGED from them. What would also be good is events where you can pick sides. So like.. an event starts, you can either collect items and turn them in to some guy or do.. something else. And whichever part is done more successfully will “win” the event (and get different rewards depending on which part was done).

My friend smokes weed a lot and tends to zone out in MMO’s just wandering aimlessly and killing stuff.. he would probably excel here.

The part that is missing OP is that this is the “heroes Journey” plot device think of any movie/novel/etc where the hero has this grand destiny to fight evil (sometimes he/she/it doesn’t even know it) but lacks the strength/knowledge/etc to just do it, still he travels to fight this evil and during this journey to the inevitable clash with the big bad he ecounters other people/cities/etc that need help be it bandits or a citiy being sieged or simple things like a caravan needing escort to puting out fires. So the hero helps and as he/she/it does this grows stronger and becomes a is finally able to fight the big bad. Only after the “heroe’s journey” is done then comes the climatic battle (sadly underwhelming in GW2).

So why not do it the old fashioned and give you quest? becasue Anet decided to make it about the journey, you can travel through any area and find problems that need solving and some you will take head on and some you won’t becasue you are the hero so you where your help is needed.

Remember after your intro battle? (after creating your toon) the first NPC that spoke to you? They start you on this road

Norn get this “… Think of the glory!”

That’s what I hated about questing in WoW…. being led around by the nose. Go here, do these quests, then go there, do those quests…

And that’s what I love about GW2… I can just wander around and it feels like stuff comes and finds me instead of the other way around.

To each his own.

Your “quest” in GW2 is to go around the world and help people out where needed. You can go to whatever zone you want and help anyone you want. Tired of a zone? Move on. There is no need to wait to complete a certain part of a chain or to be a certain level before the quest becomes available.

You are just a dude that is out to make the world a better place however you see fit.

To the OP, there’s one very important aspect of the GW2 questing that you’re totally overlooking and is completely absent from the WoW questing… and that is the WoW quests aren’t really happening. They are all illusions requiring you to use your imagination in order to convince yourself that you’re affecting the persistent world. Those Centaurs aren’t really attacking the town, they are grazing in a field not bothering anyone… and not only that but somehow killing 10 of them stops the imagined invasion even though there are 10 more still grazing there. All while the guy near to you is doing the same thing, not affecting the world whatsoever (aside from hindering your progress perhaps).

That’s your idea of a true questing system?

So the OP is complaining about one of the best things about GW2. Got it.

Although the dynamic events are a bit linear, I’ll give you that. There’s a lot of potential for expansions and new content to address that though.

Huh? All the Hearts and DEs are pieces of jigsaw that go towards creating a giant snapshot of “what’s happening in Tyria”, they’re all connected, not so much as narrative, and not necessarily with each other directly, but as all going together to form “the story of Tyria” that you’re living through as you move through the virtual world. Sometimes hearts will be about how the locals are being affected by the dragons, even if remotely. Sometimes the story will be about how locals are contributing to the greater task of beating the dragons.

I really don’t see the problem. That way of delivering the world story is very immersive for me (and it’s not as if there’s no text involved – ALWAYS check important nearby NPCs when you’ve finished a DE, they often help fill in what you’ve just lived through).

That, combined with the personal story makes the game world feel quite rich and dense to me.

Pluckerpluck.8692:

What I am sad about is that nothings asks you to travel a long way away (ignoring personal story). WoW did lead you around, but it gave you a reason to travel to places. GW2 lets you be free but it makes me feel like I’m someone without any real purpose in life. I randomly wonder the world and solve peoples problems.

I’m not sure about you but I rarely randomly travel somewhere I haven’t been in real life unless I know it may be interesting for some reason. In this I follow the shinnies.

I do somewhat agree with you that certain ‘travel’ quests in WoW were always not a bad thing. I remember the first times/travels to places like Hillsbrad and you had to go through Arathi where the place outleveled you or going from SW to Booty Bay.

Being sent someplace, sometimes, isn’t a bad thing.

Watch it OP.

“Hello everybody,
although feedback is much appreciated, mentioning other games here is off-topic. Therefore, this thread will now be locked.
Thanks for understanding.”

lmao… /cry

One thing that helps with the immersion is to talk to NPCs that have names, i.e. not just Citizen. Some don’t have much dialog, but they all add flavor. The lore is there, you just have to be more proactive. Traditional questing is more like reading a book – the author takes you where they want you. GW2 is more like visiting unfamiliar places without a guidebook. You have to talk with the locals to get the full experience.
You can just run around looking at the signs, but you’ll only see the tourist traps and miss the really good stuff

I have to agree with OP but i also agree to the disagreeing Posters as well. I agree that the Hearts arent intense enough to make you feel you doing something special. I have around 290 hours of gameplay(98% of the World map completed) and while the game is a blast for me, when i think back how my Warrior build his Story, the more i realized i was killing mobs allmost all the time.

Sure you go around discover stuff, make some jump n run but its just a small part.I love the Personal Story it was one of the point that made me junk so hard. But the thing is, its the only good implemented Story in the whole game.

After playing so long and much i think the best way would have been to have a system with some classic questing but not hubs more like side storys. I would have loved to do a proffession story line. Where i do warrior stuff with some choices to make or maybe an armor, weapon story line where i get an exotic after a long time with lots of effort wich looks awesome.

I guess the Story mode in dungeons are about side storie but i have to be honest, they were the most dissapointing thing in the whole game. But that has no place in this thread.

So yeah i would like to see some classic quests for side stories while leaving the leveling progress mostly as it is.

@Pluckerpuck
“What I am sad about is that nothings asks you to travel a long way away (ignoring personal story). WoW did lead you around, but it gave you a reason to travel to places.”

GW2 allows you as the player to decide where you want to go and when. How is that a negative? I love the type of freedom that games like GW2 and Skyrim give me. I explore, experience and play the way I want and where I want. I really hate linear experiences. They just feel so limiting.

As far as story cohesion, I think I take a different approach than some in the rpg space. I create a backstory for character independent of the devs story. I follow the main story but I allow the backstory to drive my character’s motivations and actions. So the story for me most time is consistent and easy to follow. I have my overarching theme and things happen to support that. It helps me enjoy the content more because in my head cannon, I am seeing my character’s story unfold based on game and my own internal content.

GW2 has the best “true” questing system we’ve seen so far in the genre.

It’s just a different kind of questing system.

For a lot of players, being able to wander, explore, and blaze their own path… taking part in a personal story and in an active, dynamic world is a dramatic improvement. It’s not a mistake or oversight on ArenaNet’s part… it’s their design philosophy realized in game mechanics. I’ll take it any day over the linear nose-leading from one static field of mobs to another with walls of text that the “traditional MMO formula” has offered us for a decade.

How many people actually read quest text in MMO’s like WoW? It’s an extremely mall percentage of actual players. The majority see an exclamation point over a NPC’s head, click accept, then go finish the reqs so they can do it all over again. The way it works in GW2 is you’re actually trying to stop an invade horde of enemies from taking over a town. Sure, the end result is the same but the delivery is different.

I find questing, in games like WoW, to be trivial barriers that are there to waste your time. In GW2 the hearts make me feel like I’m actually helping whether it be reviving soldiers on the front line, beating back the enemies, or collecting supplies to aid in the fight. Sure, it is still a kill x or collect y, but the delivery makes it feel more than that.

Just wanted to add one more thing about the benefit of head cannon in the rpg aspects of MMO.

My main is a human noble. I have finished my personal story. So you would think that my story is over. Not in my head cannon.

I am now making a walking journey back home to Divinity Reach. What I mean is that I am literally going back through each zone. Why from story standpoint? The minions are still out there. The aftermath of the dragon still exists. Before I return to my safe home, I want to help as many people as I can. I want to clean up the mess and kill any remaining undead.

I am excited about this approach. I am hoping to experience some new DEs that I may have missed. Also, I hope to find jumping puzzles as I take a little more time to explore (I have only found/done one and that was on my alt). Also, it will help with my 100% completion in Malchor and Cursed Shore.

My head cannon story is the motivation to walk back through zones. GW2 allows me the freedom to do that without punishing me for being at lvl cap now. Also, I find many (not all) of the DEs to be fun so I don’t mind repeating them. This is the first MMO where I have been excited about repeating content.

Again, maybe it is just me, but Arenanet has found a way to deliver a game that hits all the right buttons.

Fozzik.1742:

GW2 has the best “true” questing system we’ve seen so far in the genre.

It’s just a different kind of questing system.

For a lot of players, being able to wander, explore, and blaze their own path… taking part in a personal story and in an active, dynamic world is a dramatic improvement. It’s not a mistake or oversight on ArenaNet’s part… it’s their design philosophy realized in game mechanics. I’ll take it any day over the linear nose-leading from one static field of mobs to another with walls of text that the “traditional MMO formula” has offered us for a decade.

I have yet to see something truly dynamic in this game. Mobs are standing around like in all other mmos, events happen every three minutes wich results in me having as much inpact on the world like in your average questing hub.

Dynamic events were one big point for me to buy this game and i wouldnt say im dissapointed but yet i expected more of it. I realy hoped for them to be longer lasting.

If you now think , Gothdir hates the game so just quit, please read my post from 2 above.

I’m not getting it. We are really arguing about how your character is introduced to quests? Most MMOs (RPGs in general) make you talk to npcs and this one doesn’t so its revolutionary?

Some people like to pretend there character has to interact with other people to find out the situation and thats the old mindset? Mindset? This is some heady talk for a fantasy MMO where you find a quest hu.. heart, do/kill a load of random stuff, and level up.

I for one love the heart system. I like to roleplay my character is telepathic and can enter any village and know exactly who needs the feed bag and who gets stabbed. Cow or pirate… its a tough call but that pirate looks so cute, and that cows given me the stink eye.

I have no issues with the Hearts, Storyline (but I haven’t done hardly anything on any character with this aspect, just skipping it) or Dynamic Events outside of the bugs that need to be and seemingly are being attended to.

The system is different, I find that refreshing. I like it.

Any game isn’t always the best game for someone, for me GW2 is a good game and for the last 5 years the best one to date. Before this, GW1.

Hickeroar.9734:

The lack of a questing system was 100% intentional, and was widely touted as a SELLING point for the game. Not sure why this is surprising.

This.

If you want fetch quests you bought the wrong game, there are several trash MMOs around with this poorly designed system if you want tho.

Red Falcon.8257:

Hickeroar.9734:

The lack of a questing system was 100% intentional, and was widely touted as a SELLING point for the game. Not sure why this is surprising.

This.

If you want fetch quests you bought the wrong game, there are several trash MMOs around with this poorly designed system if you want tho.

While I respect your opinion that the aforementioned system is “trash” I want to emphasize that it isn’t an arbitrary process. The quest-giver centered method is an example of one of the oldest elements of human existence: narrative storytelling. Think of each quest in a “standard” MMO as a mini story with a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning and exposition take place when you first acquire the quest from the NPC. The middle is the actual activity you are asked to do, and the ending is the completion/turning in of the quest. This process is an extremely familiar element to humans, one that predates recorded history. To ignore this would be a big oversight in any argument that the “standard” or “old” quest system is flawed.

My point isn’t that the abrupt introduction to Hearts in GW2 is a departure from the traditional system – we all agree on that. My argument is that this new system does not particularly solve any of the old problems and has its own negative aspects as well.