Guild Wars 2

So I was thinking about the differences between GW2 and other popular MMO’s, trying to figure out what exactly makes the experience feel so different. It dawned on me that there are many similarities between GW2 and games in the hack n slash genre.
-Unchallenging combat (being able to take on many enemies at a time – “hordes of enemies”)
-More “action/active” based combat, relying more on reflexes than tactics or strategy (sorry to say, my experience thus far seems to reward blindly hacking away until your targets die – even skill combos feel underwhelming and seem inconsequential)
-Access to most – if not all – skills and abilities before hitting about 2/3 of the level cap
-Lack of a fully fledged PvE “end game”

Obviously these are just a few points and in many ways GW2 exhibits properties of a traditional MMO, from gathering/crafting to the 3rd person camera angle.

Would like to hear what you guys think and if any others have come to the same conclusion or have different opinions.

Disagree with most of these points. Even access to the skills is unlike hack/slashers since you can have all of your weapon skill in a couple of levels and everything else, including your elite, at 30. That’s a lot faster than any action game I’ve played.

The only place you hit close to the mark is the end-game. But to me there’s an end-game. Others don’t see it that way. Subjective opinion is subjective.

Well, every mmo has mobs(typically those you encounter throughout leveling) that you can easily dispatch. Almost any mmo allows you to auto attack your way through content as long as you stray from the more challenging mobs.
Perhaps you should run some dungeons and do some tpvp before you draws such a bold conclusion.

Are you having fun? If the answers yes, then why does your question matter at all?

If no? Then perhaps state the reasons why not constructively.

I am curious as to what level you are, what profession you are playing, and what dungeons you’ve run. There are areas where “unchallenging combat” is an unfair assessment. Not all combat is challenging, but not all combat is unchallenging. There are plenty of instances where I have been overwhelmed trying to take out a small group of baddies.

Additionally, dungeons require more strategic combat than simply “hack and slash.” Some of this requires reflexes, moreso than other MMOs due to the dodge mechanic being implemented. In some of these dungeons having certain skills makes your party’s job significantly easier.

As far as having access to all your skills early, I can’t argue much against that. Being able to have a full skill bar at level 30 is cool, but also makes 31-80 a bit less exciting. There are some awesome traits to look forward to getting, but gaining a passive isn’t as exciting as getting a new toy to play with.

End game argument is driven into the ground. Not even going to go there.

Those are my thoughts.

AVHero.7382:

I am curious as to what level you are, what profession you are playing, and what dungeons you’ve run. There are areas where “unchallenging combat” is a kittenessment. Not all combat is challenging, but not all combat is unchallenging. There are plenty of instances where I have been overwhelmed trying to take out a small group of baddies.

Additionally, dungeons require more strategic combat than simply “hack and slash.” Some of this requires reflexes, moreso than other MMOs due to the dodge mechanic being implemented. In some of these dungeons having certain skills makes your party’s job significantly easier.

As far as having access to all your skills early, I can’t argue much against that. Being able to have a full skill bar at level 30 is cool, but also makes 31-80 a bit less exciting. There are some awesome traits to look forward to getting, but gaining a passive isn’t as exciting as getting a new toy to play with.

End game argument is driven into the ground. Not even going to go there.

Those are my thoughts.

Level 62 guardian so far – and yes I realize that now I’m going to get a bunch of flack for saying there’s no endgame when I haven’t gotten there yet but I’ve read/researched enough to know that it’s going to be more of the same.

I have done a couple dungeons and my biggest problem with those is that death is simply, and completely, inconsequential because all you have to do is run back from the waypoint while 2-4 of your party is still alive and eventually by beating your head against the brick wall it will fall down. There is no price for failure. This means that there is no demand for skill other than a slightly faster run.
Now don’t get me wrong, I actually think that the capacity for skill-based combat is much higher in GW2 than other MMOs. Honestly there could be some encounter designs that really utilize the mechanics that already exist within the game. The problem is, the price for failing to properly execute these mechanics is too low.

Wait until you do explore mode of the dungeons. Much more difficult. Also, a repair cost is not “no price.” It is, rather, a very concrete price. And if the boss has a mechanic that clears your whole party, then what? It resets. I know story mode dungeons can seem very hack and slash at times, but it gets better (or worse, depending on your perspective).

Also, I asked what class you were because there is one class that always discusses how world combat is super easy: the guardian. I could have predicted it, but I didn’t want to flat out call you out for playing one of the sturdier classes and complaining about not dying.

something in the first post caught my eye —
“third person camera angle”

In my experience that feature didn’t get introduced until the 2nd generation of MMOs (i.e. just before WoW came out).

Scera.9746:

AVHero.7382:

I am curious as to what level you are, what profession you are playing, and what dungeons you’ve run. There are areas where “unchallenging combat” is a kittenessment. Not all combat is challenging, but not all combat is unchallenging. There are plenty of instances where I have been overwhelmed trying to take out a small group of baddies.

Additionally, dungeons require more strategic combat than simply “hack and slash.” Some of this requires reflexes, moreso than other MMOs due to the dodge mechanic being implemented. In some of these dungeons having certain skills makes your party’s job significantly easier.

As far as having access to all your skills early, I can’t argue much against that. Being able to have a full skill bar at level 30 is cool, but also makes 31-80 a bit less exciting. There are some awesome traits to look forward to getting, but gaining a passive isn’t as exciting as getting a new toy to play with.

End game argument is driven into the ground. Not even going to go there.

Those are my thoughts.

Level 62 guardian so far – and yes I realize that now I’m going to get a bunch of flack for saying there’s no endgame when I haven’t gotten there yet but I’ve read/researched enough to know that it’s going to be more of the same.

I have done a couple dungeons and my biggest problem with those is that death is simply, and completely, inconsequential because all you have to do is run back from the waypoint while 2-4 of your party is still alive and eventually by beating your head against the brick wall it will fall down. There is no price for failure. This means that there is no demand for skill other than a slightly faster run.
Now don’t get me wrong, I actually think that the capacity for skill-based combat is much higher in GW2 than other MMOs. Honestly there could be some encounter designs that really utilize the mechanics that already exist within the game. The problem is, the price for failing to properly execute these mechanics is too low.

I dont think the Price is to low for failing. I think there needs to be more rewards for people who play well.

dont die as much = get more loot

Yeah in some parts the heavy class feels (emphasis in “feel”) easier… the switch from a light to a heavy has been quite liberating.

Death is alway inconsequential is MMO’s of late. There hasn’t been death with a real price since the EQ corpse runs. And I don’t miss that in the least.

If you really want to challenge yourself, then play permadeath. When you die, you delete the character and start over. We ran an experimental permadeath guild on EQ2…it was fun for awhile as it really changed group tactics.

Eventually it just became tiresome….cause we’re supposed to playing a game for fun. Not going to another job.