Guild Wars 2

Dear Creators of Guild Wars 2,

I am among that rare and often doubted breed of gamers known as “casual.”

I am exclusive to MORPGS. My first was Meridian 59, I have also played Ultima Online, Lineage II, Everquest, Everquest 2, City of Villains, Champions, Diablo, Diablo II, Guild Wars, and World of Warcraft up to Cataclysm.

In my 16 years of gaming, I have learned the following about myself:

• I prefer medieval-themed fantasy RPGs
• I love questing
• I love exploration
• I like to help others
• I love achievements
• I love loots!

Here is what I don’t love about MMORPGS:

• Drama
• Folks who know way too much about a game so they
• -> give me all the details of an instance before going in so that there are no surprises
• -> berate me for not having the uberest of specifications, gear, techniques, etc. as specified by elitestjerks.com or some other site that I refuse to browse
• Endgame content that requires massive raiding parties

I am 41, female, a teacher (15 years at it), a homeowner. I have small livestock to care for; a husband who is not a gamer by any stretch of the imagination, and social (church, non-profit, hobby) organizations to which I volunteer my time.

I don’t have time to do extensive research on something I do for fun and to relax. I don’t generally like to group with other folks, because I don’t want to have to abandon them suddenly when my husband (my priority) comes home, or if I need to check on the animals.

If I do group with others, it is a very small group of real life friends with whom I have traveled from game to game. The problem there is that though the group is small, the variety of game dedication is great. Some may have low level characters. Some may have maxed characters. So grouping together with our main characters becomes unlikely.

Ultimately, I have left every MORPG I have ever played because there was eventually nothing for me to do that didn’t make my brow furrow.

GW2 has been so much fun for me. I have been able to level a character fairly quickly in my free moments between chores and dinner time. It contains all my favorite elements:

• Gathering (that does not require building skill level to gather high or low items)
• Crafting (though I’m not doing much of that yet)
• Questing
• Exploring
• Loots! (I don’t know why, but I LOVE finding unidentified dyes)
• I can help people even if I’m not grouped with them, without worry of being called a looter or a kill-thief.
• People can and do often help me when I get myself in trouble (which is often)
• When I group with my real life friends, the levels scale so there is at least some challenge for all of us
• As a ranger (I always play some sort of scout character) I don’t have mana (I don’t know if power is an issue for other classes).
• I love that I can tame a variety of pets.

I also love the Order of Whispers story line, thus far. It cracks me up!

I could go on and on but I have a dentist appointment to get to.

I just want to thank you for creating the game that I have been waiting for. It has been so much fun for me without making me feel that I have to live the game or leave the game.

Much love,

Jenna Roberts
aka “Laughter Lightheart”

+1

I just like what you have to say and wanted you to know it.

Might be a better idea to thank Arenanet for actually making the content. NCsoft didn’t.

Thanks Shadowflare. That’s how much research I do.

Cool and cute, and I agree to many parts. ^^

I agree. Its almost like ArenaNet has specifically created a game that so fits the lifestyle of busy adults.

Great post Jenna. I think you are a great example of the type of gamer Guild Wars 2 is primarily made for.

It’s nice to find gems like this in seas of negativity and resentment. I, also, love this game for what it is and am having a great time with friends in it.

Give give the OP an A+.

<3 this post. Thank you.

Hi, Jenna! I think we’d all be surprised to find how many of GW2’s players have similar situations. Thanks for spelling it out so nicely, and thanks to ArenaNet for providing us with such a good entertainment “fit”.

This by far is the best post i have read thus far ,you hit the nail right on the head remeber back in uo it was about the team play and exploration and no raids no fancy armor etc…. getting to 7 time GM was a bragging right other than that was just about fun, and I feel this one gives that old feeling agian .

I agree wholeheartedly with pretty much your entire post, Jenna.

I also want to say the op sums up my thoughts on the game perfectly. I hopes anet understands we are the not so vocal majority…

Whispers is funny. if you ever have time do roll an asura seriously funny lines there too.

I think ANet deserves a thread like this, thanks OP.

ANET has made the perfect game for me, as well, for about the same reasons as the O.P. Well said!

Agreed, OP. I feel the same way. I think in some ways I’m both casual and hardcore, in that I like to enjoy it all — open PvE, Dungeons, and WvW — and I’m still loving it.

Great post OP. I think what you said sums it up for a lot of us.

Vim.7318:

I like GW2 but it lacks depth …

Not sure what you mean by depth? The world seems very well developed and alive to me … maybe you should get involved in some RP?

At any rate, another great compliment post – and again, even with some of the bugs, this is the best MMO I’ve played for a very very long time. Anet will be keeping me as a customer for many expansions to come, I suspect.

Jack of Tears.9458:

Vim.7318:

I like GW2 but it lacks depth …

Not sure what you mean by depth? The world seems very well developed and alive to me … maybe you should get involved in some RP?

At any rate, another great compliment post – and again, even with some of the bugs, this is the best MMO I’ve played for a very very long time. Anet will be keeping me as a customer for many expansions to come, I suspect.

Depth is not about the amount of content a game has.

Will not derail the thread, I appreciate the OP’s post and I’m glad you’re happy with the game! +1