Okay OP the new PPS is better than the last, but of course, who gets to judge which arguments are ignorant. It’s like saying if you think an argument is ignorant than it must be…which is still offensive…but it’s better than it was…so I’ll reply to the post now.
I get exactly what you’re saying about the whole ascended gear/legendary thing. This game has a problem, and the problem is, it’s not really made for people who are goal-oriented to the exclusion of all else. I understand you play this way, but not everyone is going to.
I like having smaller more easily attained goals, rather than longer goals (though I find a mix of both best). So with the living story I have 2 week goals (or a month or whatever) and with the legendary I have the longer goal that doesn’t consume me. It’s fine. I’ll get my second legendary eventually. Same with gearing up my guys in ascended gear. I’ll get it when I get it.
This is the best attitude to approach the game with. For those who really want to be constantly challenged, this game probably doesn’t provide enough variety. But for those of us who want the occasional challenge, mixed in with a beautiful world that we enjoy exploring or even just re-experiencing, it’s a different story.
Progression is what a lot of people crave in MMOs, but in the old days, it wasn’t this way. In older RPGs your progress was determined by where you were in the story, not what gear you had. And I think that’s what Guild Wars 2 is trying to recapture (with mixed success I might add).
I think certain player types love this game, because there’s no other MMO really like it, and other player types don’t love this game because they’ve come to expect other experiences from MMOs, and they’re really not equipped to see what Anet is trying to do.
My thing is, by starting with pen and paper RPing many years ago, this is more like that experience to me than any other MMO has been. Since that experience is what I’ve been looking for, this is a good (though not a great) MMO for me. I assume it will get better over time as well.
In the mean time, it’s not the game that’s deficient and it’s not that you’re wrong. It’s the compatibility between your desires for a game and what the developers are actively trying to do.
This is why so many people do end up saying things like, “this game is not for you.” I’m not saying it, but maybe now you see the reasoning.
Great post this.
Going by the famous Bartle Types, people forget that hardcore Achievers are only one of several playstyles. The reason games have been designed more for them during the years of subscription MMOs was because they’re more liable to enjoy the Skinner Box treatment, and keep subscribing. But even with WoW, most players weren’t like that at all – despite the vast numbers of people who tried WoW, the retention rate was never that great, the “churn” rate was high, and by Blizzard’s own admission, most people who have played WoW never got beyond level 30 or so.
I think this is what Anet must have primarily taken note of with GW2, with the result that they’ve re-thunk the whole thing. Design the game with Explorers, Socializers and Player-Killers in mind too (so far, they’re not doing so good with the Socializers, but with the other two types, they’re doing pretty well). Also, don’t worry so much about attracting Achievers, therefore don’t worry so much about having grind as the number one feature of the endgame. Add new content so the game feels a bit fresh each time you come back to it (which it does, for me at least).
All this makes GW2 have a more compelling virtual world feel, it feels more rounded somehow than what subscription MMOs eventually culminated in (WoW). For me, it’s like a “place” that I keep coming back to. I don’t play it all the time, I dip in and out of it, and enjoy the hell out of it when I’m playing it, but don’t feel compelled to play it all the time to “get anywhere”.
I’m pretty sure that the game is designed more for this type of use, rather than the “24/7 must play all day and every day to achieve x” type of use.
