Guild Wars 2

I was asking on a thread about what this game’s life span would be, since I tend to complete games and I don’t want to go back to playing this a ton if the game would shut down soon. The replies varied, but the one thing I saw quite a bit in the replies was that the game will likely last a long time, but only to the hardest of the hardcore players and everyone else will migrate to other games or just stop playing. This reminded me of hearing a bunch of people in the GW2 chat complaining about the game before I stopped playing it for a while, complaining about all sorts of things from events being static and uninteresting to the story being horrible. This brings me to my question; has the game dipped in quality over time? If so, what is it that’s going wrong, and what would you suggest to fix it?

One last thing I’d like to know: If you’re one of those who plans on migrating to another game soon, which one are you moving to? I plan on clearing out some time for Kingdom Under Fire 2 after seeing Angryjoe’s interview.

Players lost sight of playing for fun. It’s all about earning enough gold to cheat out the cash shop by any means necessary.

No new contents=repeating same old things over and over. PvP is stagnant, so is wvw with the same match ups, and no more new dungeons in foreseeable future. But we gotta be happy with gem store item updates+few hours of living story that doesn’t really add to the lore other than in some cut-scene/

I’m not going to migrate, but this game is getting worse. Arenanet seems to be doing the ostrich approach when it comes to their game. They do what they want and nobody can say anything about it. Sure, they attempt to make some communication, but if it’s not what they want to hear, they ignore it. Also, you have to be really loud because their head is in the sand.

The main focuseseses focii… focus of GW2 Arenanet is currently e-sports (with an unbalanced, flavorless meta), PvE progression through Living Story (extremely slow, bland, re-using old content and shoving players back to old content to progress new content), and WvW Tournaments (in an attempt to keep WvW fresh and engaging, along with more World loyalty).

Of course none of this is working because…

WvW:
Megaservers are one step in the wrong direction for world loyalty. Now, I’m not saying Megaservers are bad. I love them (as long as they don’t give me 10 or less fps), but they do dilute the game and make it harder to say “I LOVE MAH WERLD”. Notice when you see those guild recruitments in town? Did they forget to include their world? Is their world not yours? Fun. At least Global Guilds will be a thing, soon, but that’s still less world loyalty for WvW.

PvE:
Fresh content in the forms of… sections of a new map. Not even a whole map, but just sections. Now, I’m not going to say that we’re not getting ANYTHING, but we’re not getting anything new. After the second patch of Dry Tops, we pretty much got everything there is in it. The third installment added a bit more, but had nothing new in comparison to the second, which was barely more than what was in the first (bar the weapon skins and continuation of Mawdrey).

Mawdrey attempts to force players all over the world to keep it fresh and engaging, which would work if all the Waypoints were borked, but.. they’re not, because Taimi (yeah, her, the PROGENY, not any of our thousands of Asura Pact Commanders or Pact Engineers or Asura Home Instance Krewe’s) was able to single-handedly stop Mordremoth from disabling them all. So people just waypoint near the area, get the item, and go back to whatever they were doing. Also Dungeon, Fractals, and fresh zones are getting no love (Dry Tops is similar to a champ train but instead it’s events for Geodes for Keys for Chests for loots). Wooo, another level 80 zone full of loot trains. It’s not like we have Karka Shell farm in Southsun, Champ Train in Frostgorge, Plinx + More Farms in Cursed Shore. Nope. We don’t have any farms, none at all, not since they nerfed Queensdale farming (which was actually a viable, cheap way of leveling up characters after the horrible trait update [horrible in relation to leveling new characters]).

PvP:
Still no matchmaking, still no new game modes, still no new maps (bar Skyhammer and Courtyard, one of which is available for Arena). Huge imbalance Skyhammer + more. Removal of water (sort of justified, but they really need to rework underwater. Additionally, PvP gets rewards that are used in PvE, instead of getting rewards useful for players in PvP. With the addition of the generic suits, it ends up nullifying the PvP only skins, unless you’re a henekitten LAkitten.

Underwater:
From the beginning this has only been an addition to land combat as opposed to being it’s own combat. The fact that about 10-30% of the game is underwater still baffles me as there are so many problems with the combat. From few finishers to lack of variety, there are problems. The fact that you can’t use all of your utilities underwater means that there are land-only utilities. So why, then, are there no underwater only utilities? Why? Because Arenanet doesn’t care about underwater anymore. They removed the underwater PvP map because of tons of underwater bugs they didn’t want to address and changes to skills. Hmmm, that sounds very healthy. Oh, and sink is fun. It likes to ignore defiance and stability.

EDIT:
This came out longer than I expected, but I can keep going. Keep in mind most of this is all my opinion and should be taken as such.

Not worse. It’s just…the same.

But no gw2 is here to stay. The servers aren’t going down any time soon.

Behellagh.1468:

Players lost sight of playing for fun. It’s all about earning enough gold to cheat out the cash shop by any means necessary.

This is what I do. As all cool skins get added to the gemstore…. back in my day new skins were locked behind new and difficult content.

Esplen.3940:

I’m not going to migrate, but this game is getting worse. Arenanet seems to be doing the ostrich approach when it comes to their game. They do what they want and nobody can say anything about it. Sure, they attempt to make some communication, but if it’s not what they want to hear, they ignore it. Also, you have to be really loud because their head is in the sand.

The main focuseseses focii… focus of GW2 Arenanet is currently e-sports (with an unbalanced, flavorless meta), PvE progression through Living Story (extremely slow, bland, re-using old content and shoving players back to old content to progress new content), and WvW Tournaments (in an attempt to keep WvW fresh and engaging, along with more World loyalty).

Of course none of this is working because…

WvW:
Megaservers are one step in the wrong direction for world loyalty. Now, I’m not saying Megaservers are bad. I love them (as long as they don’t give me 10 or less fps), but they do dilute the game and make it harder to say “I LOVE MAH WERLD”. Notice when you see those guild recruitments in town? Did they forget to include their world? Is their world not yours? Fun. At least Global Guilds will be a thing, soon, but that’s still less world loyalty for WvW.

PvE:
Fresh content in the forms of… sections of a new map. Not even a whole map, but just sections. Now, I’m not going to say that we’re not getting ANYTHING, but we’re not getting anything new. After the second patch of Dry Tops, we pretty much got everything there is in it. The third installment added a bit more, but had nothing new in comparison to the second, which was barely more than what was in the first (bar the weapon skins and continuation of Mawdrey).

Mawdrey attempts to force players all over the world to keep it fresh and engaging, which would work if all the Waypoints were borked, but.. they’re not, because Taimi (yeah, her, the PROGENY, not any of our thousands of Asura Pact Commanders or Pact Engineers or Asura Home Instance Krewe’s) was able to single-handedly stop Mordremoth from disabling them all. So people just waypoint near the area, get the item, and go back to whatever they were doing. Also Dungeon, Fractals, and fresh zones are getting no love (Dry Tops is similar to a champ train but instead it’s events for Geodes for Keys for Chests for loots). Wooo, another level 80 zone full of loot trains. It’s not like we have Karka Shell farm in Southsun, Champ Train in Frostgorge, Plinx + More Farms in Cursed Shore. Nope. We don’t have any farms, none at all, not since they nerfed Queensdale farming (which was actually a viable, cheap way of leveling up characters after the horrible trait update [horrible in relation to leveling new characters]).

PvP:
Still no matchmaking, still no new game modes, still no new maps (bar Skyhammer and Courtyard, one of which is available for Arena). Huge imbalance Skyhammer + more. Removal of water (sort of justified, but they really need to rework underwater. Additionally, PvP gets rewards that are used in PvE, instead of getting rewards useful for players in PvP. With the addition of the generic suits, it ends up nullifying the PvP only skins, unless you’re a henekitten LAkitten.

Underwater:
From the beginning this has only been an addition to land combat as opposed to being it’s own combat. The fact that about 10-30% of the game is underwater still baffles me as there are so many problems with the combat. From few finishers to lack of variety, there are problems. The fact that you can’t use all of your utilities underwater means that there are land-only utilities. So why, then, are there no underwater only utilities? Why? Because Arenanet doesn’t care about underwater anymore. They removed the underwater PvP map because of tons of underwater bugs they didn’t want to address and changes to skills. Hmmm, that sounds very healthy. Oh, and sink is fun. It likes to ignore defiance and stability.

EDIT:
This came out longer than I expected, but I can keep going. Keep in mind most of this is all my opinion and should be taken as such.

I would love to hear you keep going, actually. You clearly know a lot about the game and have more than enough evidence to back up your claims and prove your knowledge.

The lack of significant permanent engaging content is making the game worse since it is a theme park style game.

It’s Been Worse

I think it’s getting better, but that never happens as fast as we want it to.

ArenaNet is still digging out from the disastrous decision to build Living World Season One as one-time-only “throwaway” content and leave little more than some torn up landscape, novelty backpieces and fond memories to show for it in the end.

Replayability suffered almost to the point of permadeath as a result.

However, they have learned from the experience and will hopefully start making up for lost time with a more aggressive pace for new replayable content in Season Two — and perhaps some separate parallel content initiatives to shake some of the cobwebs off of Jolly Old Tyria.

Either way, I think GW2 is going to continue to improve and be around for a quite a long time to come. Or I may be smoking crack.

You decide.

I think the no end game part is really coming back to hunt them. And many players are complaining about it.

But I think the followers is strong. There are enough dedicated GW2 players that the game should run for a long time.

It’s unlikely to fade away into nothing – worse games then this hold on for a long time.

It definitely feels like it’s ‘withering on the vine’ though – very little new content added to the game, seems a bit schizoid in it’s direction – kinda all over the place.

I quit the game 6 months ago and came back. I couldn’t handle the frustration of seeing where GW2 was headed after the potential it showed at release and the direction development (or lack thereof) has taken. I think alot of others have done the same for the same reasons. The game is still very active and most of those who are here have come to accept the games shortfalls. I’m trying to do the same. It is still a good game, just nothing on what it could have been. I think the game still has a good 2-3 years left in it tbh. How long it does last IMO, is in the hands of the players and the communities they build upon.

You know something is wrong when GW2 is stealing from GW1 Eye of the North to start the story.

Main threat………. bla bla bla…. the guys who can do something about it don’t wanna work together…. bla bla bla.. you make them work together.
Throw a dragon into the mix who turns living beings into minions….. awesome.

Then you switch to LS2 where… you won’t guess it… a dragon pops up who turns living beings into minions and there is a group who could do something about it but doesn’t wanna work together. Of course you make them…………

Sounds awesome ?? It get’s better. The whole thing is mixed with 90% text boxes you have to click through without any action until boss fight.

As long as A-Net is not going back to things that made GW1 so incredible good
this game is doomed.

Bad. Anet is becoming worse every patch. They keep on saying they listen, but with the changes theyre doing, they are proving otherwise.

gobax.6185:

Bad. Anet is becoming worse every patch. They keep on saying they listen, but with the changes theyre doing, they are proving otherwise.

You mean the commander tag colors people were asking for? Or the miniatures / finishers in the wardrobe people were asking for? Or the dungeon instance owner change people were asking for?

Yeah they’re really not listening to us at all.

The game definitely has it’s ups and downs. If you’re a dungeon runner, it’s generally bad. Probably the same for a PvPer. WvW seems to be a mixed bag, but needs more attention.

Open world PvE is where the game is centered right now, and there are people who love it and people who can’t stand it.

There are things that are worse, there are things that are better. Dyes are account bound is better. Crafting is getting better. Collections are getting better.

The new zone has new bosses, new creatures and new mechanics. I happen to like the zone particularly. Obviously some people don’t.

The bottom line is, the community is deeply divided on just about everything.

Even how to make the game better.

gobax.6185:

Bad. Anet is becoming worse every patch. They keep on saying they listen, but with the changes theyre doing, they are proving otherwise.

They do not lie. They do listen. But what they hear doesn’t change their plans. Everything is about two things.

1. Living Story
2. Gem Store

As long as what anyone says is about how great and awesome those two things are, they pay attention.

If you bring up anything else. They listen.

Nerelith.7360:

gobax.6185:

Bad. Anet is becoming worse every patch. They keep on saying they listen, but with the changes theyre doing, they are proving otherwise.

They do not lie. They do listen. But what they hear doesn’t change their plans. Everything is about two things.

1. Living Story
2. Gem Store

As long as what anyone says is about how great and awesome those two things are, they pay attention.

If you bring up anything else. They listen.

You don’t think so? Remember when they were removing glory they were also going to remove ranks and they decided not to because of the PvP feedback on it. Or the fact that EoTM even had an open alpha server with it’s own forums.

I think they do listen. They don’t obey. The filter what’s said through what they plan on doing. There’s no other way to do it.

I personally do feel that the game has gone downhill over time and is continuing to do so. Others will disagree and you may very well find that the very things that lead to my opinion of decreasing merit are elements that you enjoy. It would probably be a good idea for you to invest some time in the game to decide for yourself.

The game will likely be around for many years. Mmos typically do…unless NCsoft has a decision in the matter. I personally think the game has gotten worse over time. Too much fluff for my liking. Things seem to revolve around things I don’t enjoy in a videogame. Like dressing up and collecting pointless minis.
I like to be challenged. PvP in this game is utter garbage, don’t play it at all. PvE is seriously faceroll easy, which can be partially blamed on the AI.

Oddly, I think season 1 living story was better than what we are getting now. Maybe because it offered more than a couple hours of gameplay. Tis a game with serious potential, but with no lasting gameplay. I can take a several month break and come back and enjoy the heck out of the game for about 3-4 hours until I do everything that I missed.

SLthethird.3562:

This brings me to my question; has the game dipped in quality over time? If so, what is it that’s going wrong, and what would you suggest to fix it?

One last thing I’d like to know: If you’re one of those who plans on migrating to another game soon, which one are you moving to? I plan on clearing out some time for Kingdom Under Fire 2 after seeing Angryjoe’s interview.

No, the game is not going to shut down. You can still get through the Personal Story and map completion. There are still people running dungeons, Fractals, and Dry Top. Alot of the complaints in the forum are from veteran players who maxed out everything or at least finished most of the game. Those are the folks who are yearning for new content.

In my case, my gameplay has been affected by people leaving. I might be able to recover from the loss, but I don’t know what the future holds for me in this game. I don’t like the idea of leaving because I really love my GW2 Sylvari, Mawdrey, and the quaggans (esp. Shashoo). I would definitely miss all of the quaggan jokes and salad jokes that made this game very good for me. The last time I got attached to video game characters was back in the 1990s when Final Fantasy 7 came out.

For your first two questions, those questions have been answered by players responding to this thread: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Is-anyone-happy-anymore/first#post4355988

Regarding your last question: I recently re-opened my MapleStory account and I’m trying out FF14. I’ll be joining ArcheAge’s Open Beta on September 4th because a few of my GW2 friends and allies will be over there.

I’m also saving up for WoW’s Warlords of Draenor because my guildies have bought it. My main in WoW is a Draenai, and the lore in the new expansion involve them. There is some comfort that the Draenai are very similar to the GW2 Sylvari in some ways.

I will still be logging in to GW2, checking out the new updates, and playing with my guild at least once a week. I’m still an officer in my guild after all. Plus, I haven’t played the Norn storyline, so I’ll be starting a new Norn character on September 9th. I’m hoping the current situation with the game is just a bump in the road.

SLthethird.3562:

One last thing I’d like to know: If you’re one of those who plans on migrating to another game soon, which one are you moving to? I plan on clearing out some time for Kingdom Under Fire 2 after seeing Angryjoe’s interview.

Trying Archage Open beta, Loved the Closed Betas… so have high hopes. Trade runs were fun. Getting a glider, Open world mass PvP, Pirates…etc… Create your own class type of character developement.

I think that while I Like Gw2, I may simply have reached a point where I crave new content. This is the point where I usually anticipate an expansion,… and yet, they are commited to Living Story.

Some people love Living Story, …I am not thrilled with it. I do hope the game is around for sometime.

Grind/Farm

Unlike other grinding/farming games, this one has no new content to farm. They just change the rules every now and then so you farm difference places you already know.

Nerelith.7360:

SLthethird.3562:

One last thing I’d like to know: If you’re one of those who plans on migrating to another game soon, which one are you moving to? I plan on clearing out some time for Kingdom Under Fire 2 after seeing Angryjoe’s interview.

Trying Archage Open beta, Loved the Closed Betas… so have high hopes. Trade runs were fun. Getting a glider, Open world mass PvP, Pirates…etc… Create your own class type of character developement.

I think that while I Like Gw2, I may simply have reached a point where I crave new content. This is the point where I usually anticipate an expansion,… and yet, they are commited to Living Story.

Some people love Living Story, …I am not thrilled with it. I do hope the game is around for sometime.

I’m really leery of Arch Age. I have a feeling, a strong feeling it’s going to become pay to win. The problem with most sand box games is that most people aren’t good at sand box games, and they suffer from a lower population. Eve has really done well with 500,00 subs and still had to close offices.

Majic.4801:

It’s Been Worse

I think it’s getting better, but that never happens as fast as we want it to.

ArenaNet is still digging out from the disastrous decision to build Living World Season One as one-time-only “throwaway” content and leave little more than some torn up landscape, novelty backpieces and fond memories to show for it in the end.

Replayability suffered almost to the point of permadeath as a result.

However, they have learned from the experience and will hopefully start making up for lost time with a more aggressive pace for new replayable content in Season Two — and perhaps some separate parallel content initiatives to shake some of the cobwebs off of Jolly Old Tyria.

Either way, I think GW2 is going to continue to improve and be around for a quite a long time to come. Or I may be smoking crack.

You decide.

I also subscribe to this opinion. (With the added sentiment that even during the “worst” parts, I still found the game fun and engaging. And things have improved for me.)

The problem is that once certain people are disappointed with an addition to the game, they appear to have decided that everything that comes after it will make everything even worse, unless it is the direct removal of the part that disappointed them.
Unfortunately, game design and storytelling do not work that way. You can’t take it back, but you can tweak it, or start adding more stuff that hopefully more people will like better. In this way at least, ArenaNet’s frequent comparisons between the Guild Wars 2 Living World and TV series make sense. If a certain character, mood or plotline in a TV series is unpopular, you can’t just erase it and pretend it never existed, or you will lose the entire audience. No, the solution is to quickly resolve the offending piece of the story, and then move on into a more pleasing direction. This is what ArenaNet has done and is doing in their writing and implementation of Living World Season 2.

Meanwhile, these dissatisfied players become embittered and actually offended by the game developer’s refusal to “apologize and take it all back”, while they fail to see that their concerns are slowly but surely being addressed in the game world. For them, the name “Living World” has become synonymous with “bad content”, and they fail to see how Season 2 tries not only to avoid the pitfalls from Season 1, but to be a good and memorable product in its own right.