Guild Wars 2

With the late release of the patch yesterday I jumped unto reddit to see how it fared for everyone only to find the only things people cared about was: Gem prices have changed

That couldn`t be right, so I took a look at the patchnotes only to have my fears confirmed: Helloween is the same as last year (mostly)

They have announced it in the recent blog post, but with the high activity of Chris Whitside (actually love his interactions) and his excitement for the patch I hoped for something more. Anything at least.

Last years Halloween and Wintersday got a lot of flag and feedback regarding the whole festival events, which boiled down to these two things:
- Players thought the story is good enough to be continued
- Players do not like it if content in any way is cut back (modified and streamlined to make it more accessable is okay, but not missing)

These were the hopes of players. ANet build a great foundation to build upon and extend , however for this year it is clear: They do not want/are not able to do anything with it

Story: Blood and Madness
The obvious question: Why did you decide to just reuse an event that got praise and flag at the same time last year, without any changes/improvements?

Blood and Madness was well received in its idea, but critisized for its execution and payoff. The bloody princes only involvement being in the very short instance and the gating (for new players, who are forced to grind, instead of being allowed enjoying the story) was just patting.
It could have been soo much more . There were several suggestions on how things could have been better implemented, down to a voting system , in which we players choose a side between the Mad King and the Bloody Prince to change the next years Halloween.
Sadly it seems the only feedback they decided to implement was: It was “fun”

The Event
While we finaly got the Pumpkin Carver title back, it begs the question: Are you really satisfied with your work on these festivities?

LA looks great as usual, but the rest is just the same old stuff we had the last few years. While it is good for new players, I, as someone who experienced the last two years, see no real reason to be excited.
If anything I am just disapointed.
While fun, a little twist here and there. Something to keep it up to date would have done the trick. (Even the Archievments are the same)
I am not saying these are not fun, but it shines a bad light on the developement of the game if we just get a copy and paste (which is even more disheartending, after the Anniversity was also just there and did not feel like an celebration at all)

Improvements
Currency Exchange… I guess there is a big Thread about it already. While the Idea is good, the execution is only half backed… something I start to feel about a lot of the recent changes sadly (For real. This game should be fun, but the last few months it just makes me sad)

Black Lion Weapons
Why are these removed?
I get the Lovestruck weapons, as they are Valentines Day weapons, however the others make no sense.
You went out of your way to make them available through a vendor after a lot of complaining and now you take them away? Please explain.
Aetherblades are still in game, however as long as you don`t plan to integrate them to their loot-pool, removing them is cutting content.
Dragon`s Jade : While the event is apearently resigned, these cool weapons have no other place in the game at the moment. As long as the festival is not guaranteed to come back, they should remain.
Fused and Dreamthisle : Enemy forces are still there. As long as you do not plan to make them a reward in any other way (Season 1 re-integration rewards), cutting them (even temporary) is cutting good content out of the game.

If you have plans, then please communicate them. Please explain changes, so the playerbase is not left confused.

They remove Black Lion Weapons At times to make room for new sets to be put into game.

No comments about the rest of your post though.

Considering they said near launch that they would be recycling Festivals and Holiday content, it’s not that much of a surprise. What was surprising is that they didn’t do it for last Halloween.

I’m not that fond of the Story instances we are getting in Season 2 LS, so I’m not missing a new one for Halloween that much. I barely remembered how to do the ones from a year ago. I’d rather have Season One kind of content back, truly.

Everyone has another month to obtain any of those weapons from the BLTC trader, so there is a somewhat lengthy warning. It’s not unusual for them to remove weapons available there, I’m sure more are in-coming. New is always good, or at least, different. ; )

There are new rewards, and the John Smith mystery, which I find fascinating! So, there’s that, at least. =)

what do u expect this game could be looked at , that its slowly running its course , what else is left to do on here after 2 yrs + ?? up the level ? open a map maybe ? not much else , i left for a yr and came bk and made another char from fresh , it was fun for a short time then the same reason i left in the first place , started to dawn on me , the game play is repetitive , especially if you make more than 2 chars lol , the reason the designers didnt change it , is because they either didnt want to or couldnt be bothered to , this game is like every other online game sooner or later , it runs its course and people log off and find new games or new challenges , its a shame really , that very little effort was used this time round , and nothing really new was implemented either , but im sure people will soon realise , how much little effort was put in to this event , and feel the same way and log off and look for new adventures and new games ,thats the evolution of gaming im afraid …

How do I do the new dungeoms

Kabolt.7283:

How do I do the new dungeoms

If you are asking about the Story Instance, then you just have to go to the Black Citadel, go or teleport to Nolans Waypoint, left from the Asura Gate and talk to the NPCs.

If you are asking for the Mad Kings Labyrinth , then there is a door in Lions Arch, next to the old Mystic Forge Plaza , north from the Lions Statue. It is marked with a Pumpkin

@Whoopmeister.7493
I do not believe that is the case, well at least I hope so.
However that is why I asked these questions. It is their policy to not talk about stuff that is in developement, but I think they can elaborate why they did certain things.
I mean, a simple: _"This is how we want to handle the whole affair from the start." or _"We do not have enough manpower/are focusing on bigger things at the moment."

Well, basicly anything would be nice. More so, since they want to show more transperency.

@Paradox.1380
I agree that the NPC that offers them is allready full, however the choice of weapons is still weird.
I could agree to holiday items, since they are coming back year after year, but this choice is cutting of actual content from the game, which at this point where lots of people is pleading for content being ingame is kinda counterproductive, don`t you think?

@Inculpatus cedo.9234
I agree on the Mystery (which I hope does not turn out like the story mysteries sigh ). While I do not play the Mystic Toilet, I like me some secrets.

They said they wanted the build a foundation they can bring back every year. Maybe it was an mistake last year where they expanded the story for Halloween and the SAB in their second incarnation. Maybe they have shown something, they shouldn`t, didn`t intended to, … well I do not know.
I for once thought they would go beyond the norm and expand on their foundation after these well received and good expansions to their established content.

I do not want to feel entitled by any means. I just would like to understand the reasoning. If they decide that is the best, thats okay. However If they do so, they should also take their time to adress issues and questions that come up.

“@Paradox.1380
I agree that the NPC that offers them is allready full, however the choice of weapons is still weird.
I could agree to holiday items, since they are coming back year after year, but this choice is cutting of actual content from the game, which at this point where lots of people is pleading for content being ingame is kinda counterproductive, don`t you think?”

I think that they will probably bring them back some day. Maybe in a different means? Who knows. All I know is that this is a common practice for them to take out older skins to make room for newer ones. Only a couple of the categories are tied to actual holiday events (Wintersday, Halloween). The others are mostly random or tied to special events themselves from Living story (Jade Dragon, Fused, Scelerite, etc).

Here are some quick things they can do:

- If they need space, put them in boxes. Allow us to buy these boxes and choose our skin (Aethebrlade Box, Ley Line Box, etc…)

- Add them to the loot-table of the associated enemies. All of them are still in game and might even be more relevant with the reintroduction of Season 1.

- I am fine with holiday items, but not so sure about stuff that is related to regions and events.
Even if people would be annoyed that they spend money to get these, the ability to aquire them easier (relatively) and maybe a full set is more interesting in my book.

I really wish they would communicate the reasons behind changes a bit better.
Like having an AMA after the patchnotes hit, or a live stream. That would be awesome.

I mean, how many of us start facepalming themselves after reading some of the notes, which shouldn´t be the case with proper explanation and reasoning behind them.

In one of the other posts it was mentioned that this is China’s first Halloween since launch. So the speculation is that they kept them the exact same so they can have access to the same content at least once.

Well they definitely streamlined how you can get to the content this year. Which is nice. They also fixed it so when you look at the TP for a mini, you can see if you have it in your collection or not. It says skin locked or unlocked (which is very nice but it’s not mentioned in the patch notes for some reason).

Naturally they did have to work on changing the way LA was decorated, since it was different last year at this time…completely different.

And they’ve certainly upped the labyrinth rewards this year. Adding the new consumables was a pretty good idea too.

But I do wish they’d continued the story.

One thing which might explain why they didn’t (and I don’t know if this is true or not) is because a lot of long time players have left the game, replaced by a lot of new players who have never experienced a halloween. So it’s possible they’re giving this year’s crop a chance to catch up.

Would have been nice if they also added some additional 2012 elements to this years Halloween.

Vayne.8563:

Well they definitely streamlined how you can get to the content this year. Which is nice. They also fixed it so when you look at the TP for a mini, you can see if you have it in your collection or not. It says skin locked or unlocked (which is very nice but it’s not mentioned in the patch notes for some reason).

Naturally they did have to work on changing the way LA was decorated, since it was different last year at this time…completely different.

And they’ve certainly upped the labyrinth rewards this year. Adding the new consumables was a pretty good idea too.

But I do wish they’d continued the story.

One thing which might explain why they didn’t (and I don’t know if this is true or not) is because a lot of long time players have left the game, replaced by a lot of new players who have never experienced a halloween. So it’s possible they’re giving this year’s crop a chance to catch up.

Well that is true, some nice fixes were there, as well as some streamlining, however it is still just disheartening.

It just feels weird seeing them rise high and then fall down. They never pull through, as they introduce something and then leave it alone.
Do they change things, do they listen for feedback?
I don´t know.

Halloween last year had some little complains. Streamlining is the way to go nowadays, I apreaciate that and finaly farming the labyrinth makes sense again…

However on the other hand it also shows that they do not go further than needed.
Here, we streamlined it a bit and here are some rewards, see you next year.
That is the feeling I get from them at the moment and I do not know how to judge them anymore.

I just want to feel excited again for this game. (Not that I need it, though. Civilisation: Beyond Earth is coming out in three days and I know I will be sucked into the: Just One More Round of it )

There is so much wasted potential here and I just cannot understand a lot of these things they decided to do.
I am no developer, but I am willing to listen and learn.
I wish there would be something to allow me to do that.

Thank you Anet for not turning this event into a time travel experiment to a Lion’s Arch of the past. I’m glad you decided to do the event in the destroyed LA.
I’m a happy camper,

I thought that there were new dungeons that you had to get a candy corn elemental to do

Kabolt.7283:

I thought that there were new dungeons that you had to get a candy corn elemental to do

Unfortunatly, it is the same as last year.
Do the first Instance, then get the Candy Corn Elemental (If you don`t have one) and then enter the Instance again.

It was a pain last year (more or less), as the Candy Corn Elemental was hidden behind an archievment gate.

Overall, this is just a short and (sour) sweet side story

Paradox.1380:

All I know is that this is a common practice for them to take out older skins to make room for newer ones.

Only if by “common practice” you mean "it has happened once before… And it wasn’t received well even then.
I’d rather they didn’t remove content for the game without a really good reason (and i don’t consider “cash grab” a good reason).

My personal point of view is rather the opposite as I don´t care for that lore, story and awfully bad instanced singleplayer-content (also known as personal story or LS2). I also consider the Black Lion-weapons which will be removed as childish, fugly, tasteless, . . . so not really a loss for me.

I love farming the labyrinth though which gives me either good gold or cheap 20-slot bags and a ton of essences of luck for my magic find. Also the new buff-food (on reviving) is a better addition than it seems on first glance because it goes into the slot for oils/sharpening stones/chrystals and therefore gives new options we didn´t have so far.

To me the balance and structure of loot and rewards is an essential improvement compared to 2013.

I’m going to add an “I am not pleased with recycling event comment” here as well.

I for one am very disappointed that they’ve already automated the Halloween event much like they did with Guild Wars 1. On top of which, this holiday was usually their best one back in GW1 day and I’m sad to see it reduced to… this.

I always loved their Halloween event the most and I still hold the Mad King as one of my favorite characters introduced in the old game… much like Adelberne. That aside, I would love to see them continue the events in a grandiose fashion as they had and not cast them by the wayside of some “big new project.” I will admit I do not enjoy the Wintersday Event as much as I did with GW1, but I was disappointed with that event being mostly rehashed last year as well (if my memory serves correctly). The holiday events should be fun and fresh and serve as a deterrent from waiting for “the next big thing.” They don’t have to be completely new each time and heck, I think you should be able to access previous events, but it doesn’t make sense story-wise in the world when you have a story element that repeats as though the event in the world is a new thing. Updating dialogue to reflect a previous encounter would suffice to say the least.

Anyway, I hope they go back and do the events since they’ve already automated Wintersday, have currently automated Halloween (my favorite of holiday events), and have dropped the Moto Back-to-School event. My heart is a little sad as I look forward to this event every year since GW1. I guess I won’t get my hopes up again next and see if they bother with it at all. And yeah, I am acting like a child whose Christmas just got ruined by getting clothes instead of toys. Over-privileged? Maybe, but it’s Halloween kitten it!

Boo-stricken,
Narsilik