Guild Wars 2

I was just using the GW1 classes as an example. My point was although new classes are fun and exciting to talk about, it’s much more complicated than simply picking a fighting style and adding it to the game. There have been requests for the martial artist monk type for example, and although that would be awesome, it wouldn’t fit in my view. Aside from Humans, I don’t see the other four races being the type to have martial artists. It just wouldn’t sit right to have a Charr throw punches when they have claws, and their stature along with Asurans’ are not ideal to be modeled that way.

I would argue that that phenomenon (of not seeing the new contents as game revitalizing) came about not because the content wasn’t interesting but because it wasn’t delivered the way you have come to expect. Instead of just one big patch of content, they came out bit by bit and it can be hard to see but when combined they are a lot, especially more so when you take the temporary contents from LS season 1 into account. They realized in LS season 1 that making the new content temporary can make the game appear stale (especially for those who missed them) and they’re correcting it with LS season 2. People can make all the critiques about it being obvious and whatnot, but in their defense, I would say that the temporary content that kept changing made the world seem all the more alive. Maybe too alive in fact, as it turns out people didn’t like the game moving on without them.

I’ll start by saying that when I got my toon to lvl 80 and entered the last maps I had no clue about what I should be doing there. Where are the hearts that served as a guide to me? Only events and more events, so many I of them I could not understand what was going on, so I just left and started a new toon. Living Story for me does the same thing, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, nor where I’m supposed to go, when I got lvl 80 I just felt lost.

I would really like an expansion that would continue the content in a more focused way, instead of these bits we get every once in a while. The expansion should raise the level cap as a way to reintroduce hearts and really continue the Personal Story in a meaningful way. So to answer your questions:

1.1-Raise level cap and bring back hearts so we have a more guided approach to what we should do in the world;

1.2-Introduce new weapons for every class:

1.2.1-One completely new weapon for each class that makes sense for that class weapon types, for example, introduce a spear that warriors and rangers could use, introduce a book that mesmers, necromancers and elementalists could use;

1.2.2-Increase the weapon types that each class can use, for example, necromancers now can use greatsword, guardians can use longbow, elementalists can use swords;

1.3-One new class;

1.4-A new continent, Cantha, Elona, newly discovered continent, maybe even the mists;

1.5-New WvW map with new mechanics on this map only;

1.6-Continue the Personal Story, with more focus on your character so you could care about him (her);

1.7-New PvP maps with new modes, capture the flag, a Dota-like map but instead of towers you could have Guards and your team has to kill those and defend yours until someone kills the last Guard(a Guild Lord);

1.8-New armors and stuff to go along level cap raise;

1.9-Rework class mechanics to bring changes to the roles and how they are played, for example, what is the fun in having that adrenaline skill that you can only use if you are fighting, or a necromancer transformation where it just sits there above your weapon skills bar and you cannot use it until you fill it up a little bit, or the mesmer that has 4 useless skills if there is no illusion in play, this kind of design is anti-fun because you should be able to use whatever skill you have whenever you want to, so I’ll describe how I would change the warrior in the following sub-section:

1.9.1-Make warrior able to use his F1(adrenaline weapon based skill) even if he has not a single point in his adrenaline bar, but make the skill be considerable less effective;

2-PvP maps(not WvW) should always be available even if you don’t buy the expansion. The class reworks should also be given to all players, including the ability to equip weapon types that the class currently can’t, but not the completely new weapon;

3-Basically the rest not mentioned in point 2. Increased level cap, access to new continent, new WvW map, new weapon, new class, new armors and stuff, further progression of Personal Story.

Of course this is just my opinion, feel free to agree or disagree with me.

It would be a good time to add new professions or something like sub classes. These professions, etc. would be behind a pay wall (you would need to pay in some capacity to “unlock” them). Same idea with a new race or two.

General content, like any world maps, dungeons, WvW, fractals, etc… essentially any content that requires a lot of players to function, would be open to people who don’t pay for the expansion.

You would sell things like exclusive titles with the expansion pack, exclusive skins. etc.

Basically, you make it something very desirable to pay for without making it a required wall to pay your way through to play the game with other people. You don’t want to restrict peoples’ access to playing with each other because, yes, that would fracture the playerbase in a game that is “buy box and play as much as you want.” So you put the money-making part in features that are not necessary but add an extra dimension of flavor to the game (sort of like Gem Store items, except on a larger scale).

any DLC ,it can cost 40/50/60 $ just give any content , not some crap wall of text which I stop reading after 5th click .

I personally want a expansion not because of what it can deliver. The Living World can deliver exactly what a expansion can. I want it so that it will bring back a lot of old players and attract new players.

That is really hard to do with the Living World. Over time I think we will get the large dose of content that we would have received in a expansion. However I don’t feel that the living world gets the mindshare that a expansion would have.

1. What Should a full paid expansion Contain?
New Races (min. 1)
New Zones (min. 10)
New Armor
New Skills
New Weapons
New non combat features
New Personal Stories
New dynamic events
MAYBE a max level increase ( I hope not but several people want it and I will live either way)

2. How can you fairly implement it into the game without Fracturing the player base (aka, what aspects of it should come “free” as a general Patch to the game)?

Freebies should be access to weapons, armor, and skills although they should be a bit more difficult to get.

3. What aspects should be maintained behind a “Pay wall” while still providing a sense of Value? (Basically, what shouldn’t be available to those who do not pay while still making your investment/money seem well spent.)

Everything else.

Occasionally using my own ideas, mainly ones for a Cantha/Depths of Tyria expansion as illustration.

1- Personal Story “forks” at around Level 20 or 30. For instance, you could continue along the current path and join an Order, or explore the Depths of Tyria, eventually fighting Primordius, losing, retreating along the old Dedege route to Cantha, and who knows what’s going on there.
1.1- A player could go back and do the other campaign’s story later.
1.2- The first arc of the new story, some of which would be in already-available areas and some in new areas made available through the Living Story, to get the hooks in people to buy the expansion. (For instance, the Depths of Tyria portion with the loss to Primordius as a cliffhanger). Also, some new lands aesthetically fit the “gradual reveal” thing they’re doing for the Maguuma wastes- and the Wastes are in fact one of them. They are, in-story, unexplored. The Depths of Tyria would be the same. But to have to “explore” Kaineng city would meke little sense.
This is the “general patch”, along with any A.I., interface, etc. improvements.

2- New lands. A Small expansion would be 1 new region the size of Ascalon, (Such as the Maguuma Wastes if they are indeed building up to an expansion). A large one would have multiple such areas (Depths of Tyria, Echovald Forest, Jade Sea, Kaineng City). Basically, something comparable to Guild Wars 1 expansion.
2.1- New areas with completion hearts. I know ArenaNet have this vision of a game that runs on Dynamic Events, but hearts get players moving around, going to where the events are. Take advantage of this, design hearts to lead players to events.

3- Really good story, and very different from first campaign story. Not because the first campaign story is terrible, but because both on release and anyone later playing through the campaigns in sequence will enjoy it more if there’s something fresh. That’s why I think that the first expansion should be Cantha rather than another Elder Dragoon as a villain or Elona (more Undead as the main enemy).
3.1- For future expansions, don’t be afraid to have them require previous ones, so long as each one does not require all that came before it. This serves ArenaNet twofold- it gives them a way to get money out of players (Indeed, part of the reason I think an expansion is just better than the Living Story, besides the fact mentioned above that gradually allowing access to areas only makes sense in some places, is that I would be more comfortable if ArenaNet, the video game company, was making money with video game sales) and gives them more freedom to tell any good story that they can come up with.
3.2- The content of the story is not to be compromised in the name of its shape. Cutting the “Greatest fear” story to force a new chapter every 10 levels is an example of this. So is having all dungeoon story modes focus on Destiny’s Edge. Story chapters, if there are any, should be as long or short an the story you want to tell requires. Different story choices should not just be mirrors of each other.

4- New dungeons. 1 or 2 in a small expansion, at least 5 in a large one. Designed in such a way as to discourage speedrunning. Include Story Mode in the Personal Story multiple times (tough which ones should depend on story choices). And make them fun and spectacular. I don’t want dungeons to be only really played by a small subset of players who insist on speedrunning everything, I want the average player to want to get good enough to do explorable mode. Why does everyone think Portal is such a great game? because rather than meeting the Lowest Common Denominator, it raised it.
For instance, in my previous idea, you could have the unsuccessful attack on Primordius be Story Mode and the actual boss fight against him be in explorable mode.
4.1- Also, change old dungeons to discourage speedrunning. Consider nerfing Stability.

5- If new races are added, do so cautiously and in small numbers. Making all new armors fit and voice acting all new content for all of them would take increasingly long for each new one added. New professions are probably just a bad idea. No max level increase. None whatsoever.

In general, just focus on making new content, and making it good.