Guild Wars 2

Preface:
I have been a consumer of MMOs for over twenty years. The longest I have been in one MMO was Everquest so I will be making comparison to that game so has to show how MMOs have changed since the late ‘90s to the present.

The game is now officially 10 months old, and a lot has taken place in that time. In comparison to Everquest nothing but some balancing too place in the same amount of time. Also the number of PvP servers increase while the number of RP servers decreased.

In comparison GW2 realized that the Dynamic Event system wasn’t fully working as designed and the Ascending Armor issues made most feel they fully placed a grind system into the game so in the first four months a large group left the game. How did Anet respond? They introduced the Living Story system. A system that is now called the main stay of the PvE end-game.

So when you place EQ and GW2 together for the same period. Anet is the Roadrunner and EQ is the Coyote. EQ could be called the the first full MMORPG with Anarchy Online coming in a close 2nd. Both were released in nearly the same time period, but it is EQ 3rd person view model that caused people to look into to making more games of this type. (SIDE NOTE: I am fully aware that you could also do first person view on EQ but many opted to do 3rd person)

Anet has been extremely active to responding to how its customer are using or not using their product. They have in turn quickly implemented changes to keep their player base. Namely the casual players that are between the age of 30 to 60. Has this alienated many hardcore players? Yes, but you do not realize is that hardcore players have more time on their hands. This has an inverse responds to their pocket book. Anet is aiming this game for those with the most disposable income.

By making event that are short term and can be completed in a short period of time they first keep the casual players coming back for more since the content is never the same. Sure at this time there are core elements that are the same, but Anet has stated that even this can change as they pursue their new PvE end-game; the Living Stories.

Any business major can confirm the statement that is best to pursue the few with the money then the poor majority. Now I am not saying that most of those playing this game are poor. Honestly I am stating the total opposite. Mainly due to the fact that most Hardcore guilds and players have left the game to find games that are more suited to their playing style.

Anet is run by people that have been in the MMO industry for as long as I have. They spent five years developing this game. They learned their hard lessons with Guild Wars. They have taken what they learned and placed these findings into GW2. Their engine per them is one that can add new content quickly. That is why in January they announced that Living Stories were coming and the did. Just think on that for a second. Five months into a game and they see they have made mistakes with the game and proceeded to quickly address them and implement new content.

Did EQ do this? No. In fact they couldn’t. They did not add any new content till the game was nearly two years old. Anet has done what I believe no other MMO out there can do. They saw the curve in the road and actually followed it instead of crashing in the trees.

Those that complain that there is no new content is either blinding themselves or are not playing the game. Will we see an expansion anytime soon? If they follow the Guild Wars model, maybe at Christmas time. Me personally I don’t care. I am in the age group this game is mainly targeting and I have disposable income, and I am happy with the game and they way it is going.

Remember this is just my personal over-view of the game. I have not gone in to specifics nor do I plan too. We all have our own opinion. Many, especially in the forums will not agree with me. You are welcome to your feels an opinions, as I am mine.

If you are playing the game, Hope to run into you some time as we continue to have fun. If you are not in the game nor have been in a while yo don’t know what are you missing.

Is there somethings that can be better? Yes, maybe in time we will see this happen

That was a good read. No lie, I be buying those $15 Gem Cards like crazy, lol. I am 31.

I’m 28 and I work full time. And I love the Living Story method of content; everything is short enough that I don’t have to worry about not being able to finish it, engaging enough to keep me interested, and constant enough so that I don’t get bored. I understand why some players hate it, and why they would prefer more traditional content styles, but for players like me Arena Net’s current model is about as close to perfect as an MMO can get. I just wish they would tone down the RNG dependency a bit.

I’m 51, mostly retired and have a good deal of time on my hands. But I’m also past the point where I want my game to be a second job.

I like challenge, but I like challenge on my schedule. I don’t always know when I’ll feel well enough to do a dungeon like Arah or a Fractal. So this game works perfectly for me.

I don’t always love the personal story however, particularly stuff like the 50 effigies at the end. But it’s definitely better for me than any other MMO has been to date.

I think Anet is on the right track with personal stories, but many areas of the game obviously need work. Fortunately Anet has the time to do that work. They launched in a pretty good window of opportunity where there’s not much competition.

It’s a good game…one day, it may well be a great game.