Guild Wars 2

PookieDaWombat.6209:

Yeah, at this point I am probably going to be focusing on my 80s and maybe bringing my test necro out to farm some stuff to try to ear some gold and mats for what she has used up. There is just no joy in playing a toon made after April. Sadly that means once I’m bored playing with those level 80s I may find myself walking from the game. i hate that this might be the case. i really do. This trait system has broken the game IMO. No amount of NPE is going to make it right either. Fifty five pages and 5 months and…yeah…nothing.

So much how I feel.

I play my 80’s but even so, the direction of the game with changes since April have severely dampened my enthusiasm. My time in game has been tremendously decreased since April, and I have spent almost nothing in the game since then either. No new characters have been or will be made, and I felt no desire to invest more in my existing 80’s as the game has gone in a direction I really dislike.

Much of the fun is gone with these changes, chief among them this new trait system.

Brtiva.9721:

PookieDaWombat.6209:

Yeah, at this point I am probably going to be focusing on my 80s and maybe bringing my test necro out to farm some stuff to try to ear some gold and mats for what she has used up. There is just no joy in playing a toon made after April. Sadly that means once I’m bored playing with those level 80s I may find myself walking from the game. i hate that this might be the case. i really do. This trait system has broken the game IMO. No amount of NPE is going to make it right either. Fifty five pages and 5 months and…yeah…nothing.

So much how I feel.

I play my 80’s but even so, the direction of the game with changes since April have severely dampened my enthusiasm. My time in game has been tremendously decreased since April, and I have spent almost nothing in the game since then either. No new characters have been or will be made, and I felt no desire to invest more in my existing 80’s as the game has gone in a direction I really dislike.

Much of the fun is gone with these changes, chief among them this new trait system.

More like the main cause of the fun being lost. Imagine if they just brought back auto unlocking all traits for each tier upon unlocking the actual trait tiers (Adept, Master, Grandmaster)…you know for a fact most players wouldn’t even be complaining about the leveling anymore, because we’d all know once we got our traits unlocked, the real fun would start. But right now…there is no fun, not even at level 80 unless you have the money and skill scrolls to unlock everything. :/

Well, ever since my NPE ele hit 80 I’ve been out and about unlocking traits. So far I’ve bought one for her. It was one of the WvWvW ones. I’d just come out of Eternal Battlegrounds tonight after getting the one for befriending the hylek — had to sit around and wait for the event to start to allow that, all the while hoping I wouldn’t get slaughtered by a zerg from another server and have to run back to that spot — if running back would even have been possible.

The one I bought was one you get for befriending the ogres. Unfortunately, they were already befriended. My server’s best buds. I would have had to wait until some other server befriended them and then sit around waiting for the event to start that would allow me to re-befriend them. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

Anyway, I’ve been at this for several days now, going for the more or less easily accessible traits (the ones not locked up in some dreary dungeon). More than anything else, this feels like a time sink. A ‘padding out’ of the game that sends us hither and yon willy nilly through the existing content. It kinda looks like an attempt to keep us busy while new content trickles in at the speed of cold molasses.

I can see how it might – might – prove beneficial for an actual ‘new player’. Hey, check out this – and this! Oh, and this! Cool, huh?

But for us guys that have been there, done that, most likely doing it again tomorrow – bah. It’s one of the most ridiculous things I’ve seen a dev team do to kill the fun in their game.

Old Timer: Hey, hey, leveling a new alt, I’m ready to try out some builds! Maybe something besides full on zerk this time! Yeah! Bring on them trait points!

Trait System Redesign: Sorry, first you gotta re-do stuff you’ve probably already done a couple dozen times to unlock the traits you’ll need for your builds. On every single new character you make from now on.

Old Timer: Oh yeah? Say, that makes me want to whip out the credit card and buy a couple dozen character slots. Not.

Would it immanentize ye olde eschaton if anet offered us old timers the option, at character creation, to choose ‘locked’ or ‘unlocked’ traits? Seems like a reasonable compromise to me, if anet truly intends to stick to their guns on this thing.

So many well well-written posts here… Seriously, can Anet just for once admit that what they did was wrong and listen to the people here?!?!

samo.1054:

So many well well-written posts here… Seriously, can Anet just for once admit that what they did was wrong and listen to the people here?!?!

I’m sure they can listen, and I suspect they can definitely admit . . . in terms not exactly what you worded . . . there were mistakes made.

But I doubt they will do exactly what the people here say. Why? Because it all doesn’t work together with each other part. Because the instant they do the change, we’ll see many more topics about how the “new system” is screwed up.

It is almost never the perfect idea to do exactly what your customers demand, though it is a good idea to listen to them and weigh what they say carefully.

samo.1054:

So many well well-written posts here… Seriously, can Anet just for once admit that what they did was wrong and listen to the people here?!?!

Well to be fair, they are now in a position where any changes they make to the trait system is going to be put under the harshest microscope available. They have a reputation at this point (from a lot of players’ perspectives) for mangling the trait system. If they don’t revise carefully, they risk repeating what happened last time, only worse for them this time because people will feel like Anet can’t get it right at all.

So the revisions will require careful consideration and time, unfortunately for us.

Yes, I absolutely agree with both of you – right now they have to tread carefully on this matter, but still step in the direction that the community is showing them and trusting their guts at the same time.

Any way you look at this tho, it’s quite clear that current system is unacceptable for the big majority of us. It’s like an abortion of all the alts that we ever wanted to make. :P

And let’s not even talk about how this system effects new players. It’s pure torture.

samo.1054:

Yes, I absolutely agree with both of you – right now they have to tread carefully on this matter, but still step in the direction that the community is showing them and trusting their guts at the same time.

Anyway you look at this tho, it’s quite clear that current system is unacceptable for the big majority of us. It’s like an abortion of all the alts that we ever wanted to make. :P

They’ve also insinuated in a post before this current system isn’t what they want to keep forever either. Take it as you will, but they have said they want to change it. Just not blindly.

samo.1054:

And let’s not even talk about how this system effects new players. It’s pure torture.

I don’t know if you’re qualified to talk about “pure torture” as far as gaming goes. Not until you go back and try chocobo breeding for a gold chocobo . . . as an introduction. Afterwards we can discuss “NetHack”.

My original suggestion disappeared at the end of the ‘changes coming to NPE’ thread (which promptly ended up on page 4, unfortunately). It took time because I wanted to level a character – at my pace – under the new system(s) before giving larger feedback.

My TLDR of the post boils down to ‘Please add Trait Unlocks to the new Content Director.’ At the very least, it would create a ‘nicer’ tie-in of the April trait change to the recent Leveling/CDS changes. My preference is for a separate drop-down entry, but I’ll take anything right now; as mentioned above, I find the trait disconnect rather jarring, and its caused a leveling ‘plateau’ on the new Mesmer a couple times now.

A (somewhat) more cynical solution would be a gem-based, home instance ‘unlock’ of the trait trainers (similar to the various resource node unlocks). These folks would sell traits at much reduced gold/SP costs from the public ones; It would still be a gold and SP sink, just not as big. And yes, I would probably buy this in an instant.

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

I don’t know if you’re qualified to talk about “pure torture” as far as gaming goes. Not until you go back and try chocobo breeding for a gold chocobo . . . as an introduction. Afterwards we can discuss “NetHack”.

Have I mentioned that my three years in Eve Online was (mostly) as a Miner, or other form of ‘crafting’ industrialist? Or the 3-4 years in Uru/UU with static content? (we made our own) As for NetHack, I was a fan of Larn actually, and the occasional foray into a ‘Xanth’ zone in a DikuMUD I frequented in college (I honed my touch-typing skills playing MUDs – this was before tintin existed).

If we’re still fishing for ideas here…

Trait Dungeons

I know, weird thought, but here it goes (and I may have mentioned earlier? Kinda wish the search function worked properly…):

Instead of tiny, annoying, time-exhaustive tasks for one measly trait, have themed instances. Mini-dungeons, basically. So what’s the theme? That depends on the track.
Adept power line? Wreck an army in Harathi.
Master healing line? Survive the swarm in Mount Maelstrom.
Toughness line? Protect/carry a bundle/Mcguffin through hostile territory.

The reward is the entire block for that trait line at that tier.

There’d be Only 10 to design, since they’re done by package instead of individual trait. (Or one for each trait, if you’re feeling really, really ambitious.) Or maybe 15, if there’s a want to include Grandmaster lines, but I’m fine with those being level 70-80.
Or maybe 25: 5 Adept packages, 5 Master packages, and 15 for the singular Grand Master traits.

Alternately, if we’re not feeling the efficient version, have trait NPCs that start world events that other people can jump in on as they’re going.

And I’m rambling. =P But the idea’s there.

tl;dr of what really should be in the new system:

*Immediate activation. No waiting for events that won’t show. If one’s busted, then the player knows how to identify the source and report it.
*Scaling participation. Bring your friends or do it alone. It shouldn’t take 25 people to do a trait meant for one person.
*Efficiency. Chasing low level traits is bad, and players need them as soon as possible to allow for builds to start and experiment.
*Choice. See also immediate activation. If we can’t be efficient, at least let us choose which traits we get for finishing trait tasks.

- – -

And really though, move Adept/Master/Grand Master so that we get to toy with traits sooner. Really. Please. Waiting for 80 to get these traits doesn’t let us experiment with them during character development.

Adept and Master traits should not be tied to anything at all. Nothing. Nada. These should be BASIC, because… they ARE basic. They should be available – ALL of them – well before level 60.

Grand Master traits, if you want to tie them to something, make it something that doesn’t require people to group with a bunch of other people or wait on broken or time consuming events.

I thought this game was built around anyone being able to play it and being able to compete regardless of whether they play a lot or a little. The way this is now, and the way that some people suggest even changes to this ludicrous trait system, requires a LOT of time and commitment, to get something that is SO BASIC to EVERY character.

I’m still disgusted by this change. I can’t even……….

A big and (most likely) easy to implement improvement would be an account wide unlock of the traits. So you have to do this tasks only once for all your characters.

After trying it, I like the trait unlock system.

I can understand the distaste over it because this is not designed for power levelers. However, if it was played like how they game intended it to be, it be fun.

But, it needs improvements. Such as, notifications.

What is shown here, is the level ranges of each trait unlockittenpt looking through wiki to find where each traits are. However, with any kind of notification saying: “A new trait quest is unlocked!” Then the telescope next to the locked trait will appear and the player can do that quest.

runeblade.7514:

I can understand the distaste over it because this is not designed for power levelers. However, if it was played like how they game intended it to be, it be fun.

Not on your 3rd+ character. It’s nothing but an annoyance at that point, compared to the previous system where everything was handed to you from the getgo, and they just threw you out in the world and said “do whatever you want”.

Tachenon.5270:

I can see how it might – might – prove beneficial for an actual ‘new player’. Hey, check out this – and this! Oh, and this! Cool, huh?

I’m a new player that just started a few months ago and I’ve already given up on leveling my first character at level 52. How’s a new player supposed to figure out all these stupid unlock requirements? Luckily I made mine before the patch but I STILL got bored. I already had all the skills I wanted by like level 40 and from then I was just waiting for traits but from 40 to 60 it is BOOOOOORING stuck with only adept level traits.

RyuDragnier.9476:

runeblade.7514:

I can understand the distaste over it because this is not designed for power levelers. However, if it was played like how they game intended it to be, it be fun.

Not on your 3rd+ character. It’s nothing but an annoyance at that point, compared to the previous system where everything was handed to you from the getgo, and they just threw you out in the world and said “do whatever you want”.

If you don’t want to find all those traits, you can always buy them from profession trainers.

samo.1054:

Yes, I absolutely agree with both of you – right now they have to tread carefully on this matter, but still step in the direction that the community is showing them and trusting their guts at the same time.

Any way you look at this tho, it’s quite clear that current system is unacceptable for the big majority of us. It’s like an abortion of all the alts that we ever wanted to make. :P

And let’s not even talk about how this system effects new players. It’s pure torture.

Oh man, yeah, I understand. I came in after the changes.

runeblade.7514:

RyuDragnier.9476:

runeblade.7514:

I can understand the distaste over it because this is not designed for power levelers. However, if it was played like how they game intended it to be, it be fun.

Not on your 3rd+ character. It’s nothing but an annoyance at that point, compared to the previous system where everything was handed to you from the getgo, and they just threw you out in the world and said “do whatever you want”.

If you don’t want to find all those traits, you can always buy them from profession trainers.

Oh, yeah, at 40g and 360 skillpoints per character, I’m sure everyone is rushing to do that.

runeblade.7514:

RyuDragnier.9476:

runeblade.7514:

I can understand the distaste over it because this is not designed for power levelers. However, if it was played like how they game intended it to be, it be fun.

Not on your 3rd+ character. It’s nothing but an annoyance at that point, compared to the previous system where everything was handed to you from the getgo, and they just threw you out in the world and said “do whatever you want”.

If you don’t want to find all those traits, you can always buy them from profession trainers.

But that isn’t making the system fun, or rewarding. People are actually paying not to play it.

If the traits were account unlocks I would genuinely love them. Every unlock, even the grub, would be satisfying. As it is, every one is just a frustrating thing that I can’t even tick off a list because I know I’ll have to do it again and again.

runeblade.7514:

RyuDragnier.9476:

runeblade.7514:

I can understand the distaste over it because this is not designed for power levelers. However, if it was played like how they game intended it to be, it be fun.

Not on your 3rd+ character. It’s nothing but an annoyance at that point, compared to the previous system where everything was handed to you from the getgo, and they just threw you out in the world and said “do whatever you want”.

If you don’t want to find all those traits, you can always buy them from profession trainers.

I tested the new trait system after it was launched. i got a new guardian to level 80. I got a chunk of traits from exploration and found i needed to buy some more just to make her viable in any level 80 content. I basically blew through all of her skill points she had left at that point along with a bunch of SP scrolls and most of my gold and I still don’t have all the traits i wanted her to have for the builds I envisioned for her.

CrashTestAuto.9108:

runeblade.7514:

RyuDragnier.9476:

runeblade.7514:

I can understand the distaste over it because this is not designed for power levelers. However, if it was played like how they game intended it to be, it be fun.

Not on your 3rd+ character. It’s nothing but an annoyance at that point, compared to the previous system where everything was handed to you from the getgo, and they just threw you out in the world and said “do whatever you want”.

If you don’t want to find all those traits, you can always buy them from profession trainers.

But that isn’t making the system fun, or rewarding. People are actually paying not to play it.

If the traits were account unlocks I would genuinely love them. Every unlock, even the grub, would be satisfying. As it is, every one is just a frustrating thing that I can’t even tick off a list because I know I’ll have to do it again and again.

Yeah, anytime the traits are purchased is pretty much an indictment of the system. And the only build diversity this encourages is in having a patchwork of nonsensical traits, which is just bad, and why am I even wasting my energy writing in this thread anymore?

Guhracie.3419:

Yeah, anytime the traits are purchased is pretty much an indictment of the system. And the only build diversity this encourages is in having a patchwork of nonsensical traits, which is just bad, and why am I even wasting my energy writing in this thread anymore?

I haven’t seen it brought up, I am positive it has, but it bears repeating: the Trait UI interface is awful and clunky since the April change.

Where before we had an intuitive cascading menu pop-up of Traits, we now take a step back in the evolutionary process and get a list and drop down menu.

Now to even “view” the choices the UI forces you to “spend” your trait points, albeit such a thing is reversible…but this is clunky.

Sifting through Traits in the “new system” is a PITA, in my opinion.

The way we choose to build our characters should NEVER depend on the generosity of other players helping us out.

I have a guild couple who couldn’t try a build they wanted for at least 2 weeks because they couldn’t successfully complete Temple of Balthazar both Sundays they logged on.

1. Yes, we had some guildies help, and it still failed.
2. These people work during the week and don’t have patience/time/energy to try multiple times in a sitting.

Also…

Anet: YOU ARE LOSING POTENTIAL $$$ / NOT PROFITING WHEN YOU COULD BE because many players refuse to create new characters under this trash Trait system. The frustration is not worth it.

Just noticed something. Prior to the 9/9/14 patch I would get 76 skill points leveling to 80. Now I would get 68. It’s interesting how linking one system to another (making skill points a currency for traits) leads to further annoyances when those linked systems are changed.

I’m getting very tired of people making blanket statements about what type of players dislike the new trait system. Dismissing everyone who dislikes the new system as power levelers/ key farmers/ people resistant to change for change’s sake/ people who aren’t playing the game as intended is a cop out and it’s insulting. People who don’t like the new system have MANY and VARIED reasons for their dislike. You can read 55 pages worth of why, here. GW2 was billed as a game you could play the way you wanted to play and now it isn’t, largely because of the highly flawed new trait system.

I am not a power leveler. I am not a key farmer. I am not a ‘push to endgame’ player. I am not a Mists farmer. I am not resistant to all change and am willing to adapt to the NPE. I am someone who plays the game to enjoy the journey. I like to make alts and grow them, experimenting with different classes and character types or race/class combinations. In what category do I fall? The group for whom the new trait system ruined gameplay.

My teenaged daughter liked to play for the story and WvW. She hadn’t maxed out her favorite character, so when her traits were taken away, it killed her interest in playing. She didn’t want to spend tons of time completing maps (her least favorite thing to do in GW2) or PvEing to work for traits and skills she already had access to before the trait changes. She hasn’t played since. The new trait system ruined her gameplay, too.

I used to play how I wanted to play, when I wanted to play— and so did my daughter. I tried the new system and in it, I feel penalized by making alts that are skill and trait crippled, that cannot access LS, that no one will take into dungeons until they’re completely maxed-out, and that have to waste a lot of time in places I don’t want to be for a slim chance at accomplishing an event I don’t want to do in order to gain a single trait.

It’s not fun. I don’t feel rewarded for this kind of non-play. In my opinion, no game should have players resenting the time (and money) they spend indulging in escapist entertainment. So, I haven’t been playing or spending. As others have stated, I check in every so often to see if anything has changed. I keep hoping something will happen on this issue because the game used to be fun and I love Halloween in GW2. I am starting to lose hope, though.

Kuldebar.1897:

Guhracie.3419:

Yeah, anytime the traits are purchased is pretty much an indictment of the system. And the only build diversity this encourages is in having a patchwork of nonsensical traits, which is just bad, and why am I even wasting my energy writing in this thread anymore?

I haven’t seen it brought up, I am positive it has, but it bears repeating: the Trait UI interface is awful and clunky since the April change.

Where before we had an intuitive cascading menu pop-up of Traits, we now take a step back in the evolutionary process and get a list and drop down menu.

Now to even “view” the choices the UI forces you to “spend” your trait points, albeit such a thing is reversible…but this is clunky.

Sifting through Traits in the “new system” is a PITA, in my opinion.

You don’t have to spend anything. Just click once somewhere on the line you want to see and they appear in the column to the left. Hovering over those will show you what each trait does, and then you can see where they are with the telescope. You have to be at least level 30 in order to see the traits, though.

Kumion.7580:

I’m getting very tired of people making blanket statements about what type of players dislike the new trait system. Dismissing everyone who dislikes the new system as power levelers/ key farmers/ people resistant to change for change’s sake/ people who aren’t playing the game as intended is a cop out and it’s insulting. People who don’t like the new system have MANY and VARIED reasons for their dislike. You can read 55 pages worth of why, here. GW2 was billed as a game you could play the way you wanted to play and now it isn’t, largely because of the highly flawed new trait system.

I am not a power leveler. I am not a key farmer. I am not a ‘push to endgame’ player. I am not a Mists farmer. I am not resistant to all change and am willing to adapt to the NPE. I am someone who plays the game to enjoy the journey. I like to make alts and grow them, experimenting with different classes and character types or race/class combinations. In what category do I fall? The group for whom the new trait system ruined gameplay.

…
In my opinion, no game should have players resenting the time (and money) they spend indulging in escapist entertainment.
…

I totally agree (except the part about the NPE. I don’t like that either since it seems to be all part of the same thing.)

Lazuli.2098:

Kumion.7580:

I’m getting very tired of people making blanket statements about what type of players dislike the new trait system. Dismissing everyone who dislikes the new system as power levelers/ key farmers/ people resistant to change for change’s sake/ people who aren’t playing the game as intended is a cop out and it’s insulting. People who don’t like the new system have MANY and VARIED reasons for their dislike. You can read 55 pages worth of why, here. GW2 was billed as a game you could play the way you wanted to play and now it isn’t, largely because of the highly flawed new trait system.

I am not a power leveler. I am not a key farmer. I am not a ‘push to endgame’ player. I am not a Mists farmer. I am not resistant to all change and am willing to adapt to the NPE. I am someone who plays the game to enjoy the journey. I like to make alts and grow them, experimenting with different classes and character types or race/class combinations. In what category do I fall? The group for whom the new trait system ruined gameplay.

…
In my opinion, no game should have players resenting the time (and money) they spend indulging in escapist entertainment.
…

I totally agree (except the part about the NPE. I don’t like that either since it seems to be all part of the same thing.)

I think his point was that he can put up with the some of the bad changes but that traits were too much. I agree with you though, 90% of these changes are complete trash and ruin the experience. The other 10% that I actually like and think are good for the game (trait respect button) could have been done with out these other changes.

Lobo Dela Noche.5127:

I think his point was that he can put up with the some of the bad changes but that traits were too much. I agree with you though, 90% of these changes are complete trash and ruin the experience. The other 10% that I actually like and think are good for the game (trait respect button) could have been done with out these other changes.

Exactly. I’m not a fan of the NPE, particularly the level-gating of skill point acquisition, although I can see how it works better for the absolutely-new-to-MMO players. I’m willing to adapt to the NPE without liking it 100%, but I agree that the only good thing about the trait system change was the easy respec button.

Lobo Dela Noche.5127:

…
I think his point was that he can put up with the some of the bad changes but that traits were too much. I agree with you though, 90% of these changes are complete trash and ruin the experience. The other 10% that I actually like and think are good for the game (trait respect button) could have been done with out these other changes.

OK maybe the way I quoted that was distracting. I should have done it this way.

Kumion.7580:

…
I’m getting very tired of people making blanket statements about what type of players dislike the new trait system. Dismissing everyone who dislikes the new system as power levelers/ key farmers/ people resistant to change for change’s sake/ people who aren’t playing the game as intended is a cop out and it’s insulting. People who don’t like the new system have MANY and VARIED reasons for their dislike. You can read 55 pages worth of why, here. GW2 was billed as a game you could play the way you wanted to play and now it isn’t, largely because of the highly flawed new trait system.

I am not a power leveler. I am not a key farmer. I am not a ‘push to endgame’ player. I am not a Mists farmer. … I am someone who plays the game to enjoy the journey. I like to make alts and grow them, experimenting with different classes and character types or race/class combinations. In what category do I fall? The group for whom the new trait system ruined gameplay.
…

ITA

Well I think for those of us who’ve been with the game since beta or launch, the new trait system feels like a chore. I recently made a few new characters and traits are something I don’t really look forward to hunting down. Most I will outright buy if I can, though I’m out of knowledge scrolls so there’s that. lol. It might take longer and I’ll have to avoid doing any “real” gameplay (like dungeons) until I have the proper traits but unless it’s something easily accessible, I probably wont be running all over Tyria looking for the specific activity for unlocking the traits. Grandmaster traits I can understand having some unlock requirements if they really have to keep this, but for the very most basic traits I don’t think it should be necessary. :/

Once I’ve made so many characters I wouldn’t want to have to trait hunt on each and every one of them. I rather preferred when buying trait books was an afterthought, and you’re left to truly play around with builds after that, rather than looking at what trait looks the best from a list and doing that activity to unlock that one without knowing exactly how it’ll all work out together with the rest of the build you’re using.

LadyHorus.8214:

Well I think for those of us who’ve been with the game since beta or launch, the new trait system feels like a chore.

I just started this game a few months ago, right before the big traits update, so I have all the traits “unlocked” but leveling up STILL feels like a chore. I got to level 52 or 54 before I went on hiatus because it was too boring. I was done with getting skills I wanted by like level 40, and with only adept level traits accessible until level 60 it just makes levels 40 to 60 feel like you’re leveling up for absolutely nothing. Getting 1 measly trait point every 6 levels is not a good enough incentive to make me continue playing.

Tachenon.5270:

Well, my NPE elementalist hit 80 this morning. She has 23 skill points and 11 traits unlocked. Whee.

I just about spit out my coffee reading this…Whee. Lol. So true.

So, i know the Anet stance on not talking of things before they are set to go, but a few of the last trait changes happened without so much as a peep about them on this thread. So i put this out there now: Anet, are there any trait changes you have lined up for one of the next 2 update cycles or not? A yes or no answer would suffice at this point. I’ll pester you more for details closer to an actual update.

Let me do a calculation
•10 silver + 2 skill points for each Adept Trait
•50 silver + 5 skill points for each Master Trait
•1g 50 silver + 10 skill points for each Grandmaster Trait
•3 gold + 20 skill points for the newest Grandmaster trait added with April 15 patch

3 gold 60 skill points to unlock all adept trait
1o gold 100 skill points to unlock all master trait
3o gold 200 skill points to unlock all grandmaster trait

in total you need 43 gold and 360 skill points to unlock every single trait

This new trait system is 100% piece of ****
they say it helps new players to understand the game better
We had no issue when we started to play this game…
why should new players do?
they aren’t stupid or anything
This is a f game, not Java/c+/c++ nor biochemistry

spending more time on grinding traits wont profit you anet, only buying gems from us do.
and actually gw2’s pve content kinda sucks……

sorry for being a raging beach but this is how I feel

somehow I feel like ill be banned soon ….. sigh

Just checking in to see whether Arena.net has admitted yet that they messed up big time with this, but apparently they haven’t.

I had been avidly playing GW2 from beta till April 2014. Bought … 8 character slots in total, I think? Bought a bunch of minis, bought some town clothes. Leveled 9 characters to max level.

In April 2014, I stopped playing entirely. I can not play this game when the most basic functionality (traits) is a broken mess. My favorite thing to do in GW2 was creating new characters and leveling them up — this activity is completely ruined. So there’s nothing for me to enjoy anymore.
… the breaking of town clothes that I bought for actual money and the complete disregard for players in that context, along with the breaking of RP servers, were mere tips of the iceberg that compounded to me leaving the game.

I’m still very saddened by this. In the years I’ve played, I’ve come to love Tyria, and my characters, and the fighting system. I love the character of Taimi. But I can’t play the game in this state anymore. I’ve been back to WoW since April, and while that game has a lot of flaws as well (especially in the lore department), leveling alts is still fun there.

I’d love to return to Tyria, but the trait system needs to be fixed before that’s possible.

As anet anounced the new Trait System

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/traits-unleashed-forty-new-traits-and-more/

they said:

“We want it to be much easier to experiment with and learn new builds as you explore the world of Tyria.”

How should this be achieved with the new Trait System???

I have many Characters (12) created before and after the new Trait System. I am mainly an WvW Player, so many of them have nearly nothing unlocked. How should I experiment with new builds? I rarely play the Characters created after the new Trait System, because they have no build. Buying all these unlocks for each and every Character is far out of reach for me. :-(

Shylock.4653:

As anet anounced the new Trait System

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/traits-unleashed-forty-new-traits-and-more/

they said:

“We want it to be much easier to experiment with and learn new builds as you explore the world of Tyria.”

How should this be achieved with the new Trait System???

That was just bullkitten corporate double-speak for “this is a massive gold- and time-sink.”

SIX MONTHS.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this today and I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t actually hate the NPE over all. Its fairly useful for some and although it slows down some of my play and doesn’t let me challenge myself by playing story steps while under powered for them, and although it feels like all the 1-15 zones are like playing MMO-lite, i don’t HATE it. I can even live with the whole playing blocks of a story every ten levels even though it makes some leveling between those points feel a little aimless. These are all things that can be easily overcome and after time, even a little enjoyable if you come at it the right way.

There were even some things in the NPE that I was on the fence about, but have come around to appreciating, like the changes to the TP, and I’m a fan of many of the skill updates/balances.

Sadly, all of that is absolutely meaningless in the face of the Trait problem. See, you can’t make a delicious cake and then slather it with a heaping pile of Vegemite and expect people to want to eat the cake, yet that’s exactly what you’ve done Anet. The trait system as is stands now is so utterly broken that it makes everything you were attempting to do with the NPE completely pointless. It undermines the leveling experience, the new player experience and the ability to keep players engaged.

Older players want to have nothing to do with making alts and new players will soon find that making additional characters will be both boring and poverty inducing. In essence, you’ve taken a crucial aspect of the character growth process and made it unworkable for new players. Making little tweaks here and there is nothing more than putting lipstick on a pig.

So like many of the POOR changes ANET has recently made, this one didn’t really come to light (to me) until today. Between making PVP not enter-able until level 22, to siege disablers (WVW BAND-AID), now this! Seriously ANET!? You’re taking what WAS a great game and “fixing” stuff that’s NOT broke. This one has to REALLY take the cake!

So I’m helping someone with a new toon, and I am telling them what/how my similar toon (same profession) is built. They go to distribute their points and do so without problem (6/6/0/0/2). Then I tell them what ‘trait skills’ to select, and the only response I get is “**** I don’t have ANY of those”. So I look into it and deduce they now have to be ‘earned’ through various random “quests” or BOUGHT for a ridiculous amount of, not only gold, but now SKILL POINTS too. Are you serious?

Needless to say, I informed this person that this system is NOTHING like it was when the game first launched, and I spend maybe a few gold to unlock what were all traits/skills at the time. They were pretty enraged, and rightfully so! What was it, not even 6 gold before for all 3 books, to learn your traits. Now I am seeing that it is in upwards of 40-50 gold PLUS skill points. The poor person I was trying to help is a casual player at best, and it would likely take them 12 months to unlock stuff for ONE toon.

This is absolutely absurd. It’s bad enough you’re now not giving traits at all until 30. I can even get passed that one, as I could always just help people power level straight to 80 ASAP. Even the gold thing, worst case scenario (if it was someone I really liked) I could send them 50 gold toward unlocking traits/trait skills, but no, it costs SPs too, which is NOT transferable. This new system makes me want to vomit, I will surely NOT be recommending this “going downhill quickly” game to even my worst enemy. Not until some of the MAJOR things (like this) are FIXED.

I am fine with the idea of charging or having these “quests” for new/future/subsequent traits/skills, but the old system for just buying the 3 books to unlock all the ‘base’ traits/skills needs to be restored. This new system is CRAP, and will HIGHLY discourage players from playing this, what used to be a GREAT, game.

Dear ANET,

Please, STOP ruining your game, while I still play.

Sincerely,

Sparc

PookieDaWombat.6209:

I’ve been thinking a lot about this today and I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t actually hate the NPE over all. Its fairly useful for some and although it slows down some of my play and doesn’t let me challenge myself by playing story steps while under powered for them, and although it feels like all the 1-15 zones are like playing MMO-lite, i don’t HATE it. I can even live with the whole playing blocks of a story every ten levels even though it makes some leveling between those points feel a little aimless. These are all things that can be easily overcome and after time, even a little enjoyable if you come at it the right way.

There were even some things in the NPE that I was on the fence about, but have come around to appreciating, like the changes to the TP, and I’m a fan of many of the skill updates/balances.

Sadly, all of that is absolutely meaningless in the face of the Trait problem. See, you can’t make a delicious cake and then slather it with a heaping pile of Vegemite and expect people to want to eat the cake, yet that’s exactly what you’ve done Anet. The trait system as is stands now is so utterly broken that it makes everything you were attempting to do with the NPE completely pointless. It undermines the leveling experience, the new player experience and the ability to keep players engaged.

Older players want to have nothing to do with making alts and new players will soon find that making additional characters will be both boring and poverty inducing. In essence, you’ve taken a crucial aspect of the character growth process and made it unworkable for new players. Making little tweaks here and there is nothing more than putting lipstick on a pig.

^this^

not to mention, as a veteran player, it surely doesn’t make me want to HELP any new players accomplish getting all their trait/skills (I’d rather be having fun PLAYING the game rather than WORKING in it!). When before they could dump a FEW gold into THREE books to unlock traits, it’s now either dump MANY skill points, and FORTY-FIFTY GOLD into traits? NO WAY MAN. I feel bad for any new player that asks for help, cuz my response is going to be “NO” and “you should have bought the game BACK WHEN IT WAS GOOD”

GG ANET

55Pages
6+ months
and not a single flying kitten has been given by Anet.

and that’s why when someone asks me if GW2 is a good game my answer is : not anymore, dont buy it.

I just generally answer “it can be” and leave it at that. I’ve said the same things about other games I personally would never touch but still seem like they might possibly be fun.

Like Battletoads.

sparc.3649:

Between making PVP not enter-able until level 22, to siege disablers (WVW BAND-AID), now this! Seriously ANET!? You’re taking what WAS a great game and “fixing” stuff that’s NOT broke. This one has to REALLY take the cake!

Just saying… you can still enter WvW and EotM using portals and the hotkey. I was in EOTM on a level 2 the other day.

Mister zeeRo.8561:

55Pages
when someone asks me if GW2 is a good game my answer is : not anymore, dont buy it.

Same. I can’t really recommend this game to anyone.

I’ve almost completely checked out of gw2 after starting a new character with the NPE. It killed the love I’ve had for this game. The traits thing…just…no. And 6 months of thread, with the only comment of substance from the anet team being “wow, this is too long to read, could you summarize it?”…and then never ever coming back, it tells me that the traits thing is permanent, and that we’ve all just completely wasted our time by trying to get them to listen.

So yeah, I’m kinda sad about the direction they decided to take GW2, and I’m sure I’ll pop back in randomly for things like halloween or what have you; but I’ve gone from an every day player to a once a week or so player, and I’ll probably fade out for a while entirely.

I’m so disappointed that a game that once promised that we could play and explore the way we wanted to has become a game on rails where you have to play the way they want you to play if you ever want to see the full potential of your character.

I’m sure the white knights will be in any second now to say that the company won’t miss me and my regular gem card purchases, which ya know…true enough. But I’m still sad, watching something I loved become something I can’t be bothered with.

tofumon.5924:

Mister zeeRo.8561:

55Pages
when someone asks me if GW2 is a good game my answer is : not anymore, dont buy it.

Same. I can’t really recommend this game to anyone.

I agree. The sad thing is that arenanet doesn’t realize the power of word of mouth and how much faster the negative spreads compared to the positive.

GuzziHero.2467:

sparc.3649:

Between making PVP not enter-able until level 22, to siege disablers (WVW BAND-AID), now this! Seriously ANET!? You’re taking what WAS a great game and “fixing” stuff that’s NOT broke. This one has to REALLY take the cake!

Just saying… you can still enter WvW and EotM using portals and the hotkey. I was in EOTM on a level 2 the other day.

Oh yea I know, this came into question for an alt account I just recently purchased. I tried to go straight to PVP and it would not let me. Upon hovering the sword icon for it at the top the ‘tooltip’ was “must be level 22 to enter”. I was royally DISGUSTED. Being a ‘veteran’ of the game the next thing I thought to do was try to AG (Asura Gate) in LA (Lions Arch), which did work. All this was also addressed in a different thread in it’s ‘proper’ place here. I still think it’s NOT acceptable, because ANET ONCE boasted about being able to “dive in” to doing whatever you like doing, and not having to do anything you don’t. Well, that’s clearly turned in to a lie. Since you now cannot enter PVP until lv 22 (not counting AG in LA that is)… I also anticipate if it’s something they’re passionate enough about (as I said in the other thread), I expect them to make modifications so that you will no longer be able to go through the AG in LA to get there (as if a new player would even know about that anyway)… It just makes me so angry, because this game had SO much potential, and they’re just flushing it down the toilet. WvW has issues with ‘balance’ between servers (server stacking), and ‘balance’ issues between offense and defense, people really only like to offend since defense doesn’t offer ANYWHERE near the rewards as offending does. Then they insert the SIEGE DISABLER, which the item itself kittenes me off, but it’s only the 1/2 of it. The other half of the anger there is to me that’s just a stupid “BAND AID” to the real problems, and I’d much rather see ANET actually address the ACTUAL issues at hand and not come up with stupid BAND AIDS! So I began boycotting WVW ever since the SEPT ‘14 “feature pack” due to the siege disabler, and decided I’d go back to try some more PVE and PVP. That’s when of course (on my alt account) I learned you cannot enter PVP till lv22 :O Then doing some PVE (dungeons primarily) I found out about this crappy new trait system when I told my son how to trait his character, he learned he didn’t have ANY traits, and it’s not the ‘simple’ 3 books any more (for like 4 gold), now it’s every INDIVIDUAL trait must be unlocked by (INAPPROPRIATE) “quests” or paying a grand total of 43 GOLD * AND * 360 Skill Points PER TOON. Are you kidding me. To me it’s looking like they’re TRYING to flush this game down the toilet. Such a shame. They have so far within a few “updates” or “feature packs” managed to trash just about every aspect of the game to me, WVW, PVP, AND PVE… Not to mention tarnish their own image by backtracking on everything they said and claimed in beta and at launch.

That’s fine, they’re not the only ones that can backtrack. I am going to backtrack too. I once said this is the best MMO that’s ever been released to date. Well, now I’m backtracking. I will be warning people that this game is no good (especially for new players). I will even let them know that “it used to be good” and “you missed it”, “you should have bought the game when it launched, because that’s when it was good”.

So if they don’t do something, maybe it (the game) will die. Maybe not, of course it will still have it’s fanboys, and many of the new players wouldn’t even know about all these changes they’ve made “FOR THE WORSE”, unless of course they read threads/posts like this. Which also leads me to think any threads and posts like this will just be swept under the rug.

I for one will try to stick around just a little longer to see if they do resolve these issues. When or if I do leave though, I don’t plan on coming back or even popping my head in to see if they’ve resolved the issues (ever), so I hope they do so in a timely fashion. I make it a habit that, once I leave a game (uninstall) it’s gone for GOOD.

The clock is ticking ANET!!!