Guild Wars 2

So I picked up GW2 after trying many other MMOs and started playing and I don’t get it. It seems rather boring as hell. Am I missing something? Seems all I do is go from one pve event to the next and I can’t make much sense out of what all is going on in Lion Arch. I mean I get that there is craftin and banks and such but is it just like say WoW? I dont understand why they made an exact MMO as WoW minus the subscription… Is PvP or this WvW fun? I’m looking for some fun and granted the dodge and move aspect of fighting is more interactive and some minor small things like this are different from say WoW it still feels the same. As if I would just grind and get tired of it just like WoW.

So can someone maybe fill me in on what I might be missing? or am I just hopeless now that I’ve played all other MMOs and have done and seen it all?

Oh one thing I do miss is parties and groups. I get it that it auto puts you into groups when solo’n but having no dedicated heal and tank class seems to make the game less fun and less social so far. But do fill me in if I’m not getting it.

I honestly could write a lot, but OP i think you covered it yourself mostly.

Wow, that was a lot of "MMO"s and "WoW"s in one post. I haven’t played WoW, so I can’t make any comparison there, personally.

More seriously…If you play for a while and you feel like you just don’t “get” it, it’s possible you’re tired of MMOs in general, or that the basic game mechanics just aren’t clicking with you. I can’t decide if it sounds like what you want is a standard MMO or something different, but, either way, it sounds like the magic is just gone for you, personally, with the genre. Maybe play something else for a while and come back to it with a fresh perspective?

Or perhaps someone more familiar with PvP and WvW than I am can give you some pointers to try them out.

If you could be more specific with what you’re looking for, someone might be able to give you more specific suggestions.

I guess I was expecting GW2 to have more of the things I liked about MMOs only done better and no subscription. That’s what it lead me to believe anyways, but it actually doesn’t. I mean yeah no subscription which is great but certainly not more or better of what it is about MMOs that entertain me. Which I’ve not completely put my finger on, but it would be the social aspect and sandbox stuff which GW2 has less of it seems. So I just wanted to ask here to make sure I was not missing it before I dismissed it as “like all the rest subpar MMOs”. The graphics are great though, interface is horrible.

I have to agree with Woof here. I just don’t get it either. I just feel lost when I play GW2. It seems like I don’t have a goal to strive for. Aside for reaching level 80 that is. I think so far the only fun I’ve had on this game, even though I bought it on launch day and I play it from time to time, is when I do WvWPvP. Maybe its the fact that I am stuck in the WoW mentality of how an MMO must be and that’s why I can’t see things “clearly”. Or like Rednaz said, maybe MMO’s aren’t for me anymore.

I have time, so I will hopefully try to cover the pve aspect of this game for you.

While there is no trinity in this game, it doesn’t mean that there is no team work. This game is all about dmg. You then, depending on your class, equip some support skills which enable you and your team to do more dmg.

By support I don’t mean healing and/or tanking. These things, while “exist” in the game, are in no way at all useful in pve. They belong in WvW. PvE support are things like buffing you party, using skills to deflect or nullify dmg and the most important one is you, yourself, doing as much dmg as possible without dying.

Leveling in this game, this late into the game, must be pretty boring due to not a lot of players at low level. I suggest you to go to WvW, find a zerg, and level your toon to 80 there.

At level 80, if you are big on pve, just do dungeons. Your ultimate goal in the dungeons should be to play flawlessly while doing as much dmg as possible. This means that your toon will be equipped with full berserker gear and full dmg traits. Melee weapons>ranged weapons by a mile. Always use melee unless the fight requires ranged and/or the boss is too tough using melee.

This is where it gets “fun”. Most bosses will one-shot you if you do not dodge their big attacks. The challenge comes from learning when to dodge, mastering your dmg rotations, when to use your “support” skills, and learning what skills and weapons to use for certain fights….all to maximize you and your partys dmg.

Some players here will give you bad advice. Like using healing gear, power/toughness/vitality armor, etc. Pls don’t listen to them. The challenge is like I explained above. If you use bad gear, then while you can beat the dungeons, it will be because your party carried you and/or it took forever to finish the dungeon.

How agro works in this game.
dmg>toughness amount>everything else

This is why dmg oriented players want to play with other dmg oriented players. If there is only one dmg oriented player and the other four are running w/e crap, then the boss will instantly go for the highest dmg player.

Last advice. I don’t know what class you are currently playing with. If your class is not close to 80. Then reroll to a Warrior or Guardian. Class balance is almost non existent here and those two classes are the best all around classes. Other classes do more dmg but their dmg output is wholly dependent on heavier classes to “tank” the dmg. and/or dependent wholly on having a full dps grp.

For specs, head over to guildwars2guru.com. Most specs there have been through a spreadsheet to verify its usefulness.

Yeah it is very noticeable how empty the zones are in GW2. In launch day and a few months afterwards I was able to always find someone to level with. Now that I play this game more often and i wanted to level a Warrior, I mean c’mon you can’t denied that a little Asura with a giant 2 handed sword looks pretty cool, it is hard to find someone to “quest” with. I think I got around 30+ levels by just being in Queensdale and following the kill champs zerg. >.> Talk about boring. But thanks Caramel, I learn a lot from your post.

I play for a few week, then I quit.

I will probably quit soon.

Satoshy.5308:

Yeah it is very noticeable how empty the zones are in GW2. In launch day and a few months afterwards I was able to always find someone to level with. Now that I play this game more often and i wanted to level a Warrior, I mean c’mon you can’t denied that a little Asura with a giant 2 handed sword looks pretty cool, it is hard to find someone to “quest” with. I think I got around 30+ levels by just being in Queensdale and following the kill champs zerg. >.> Talk about boring. But thanks Caramel, I learn a lot from your post.

My most recent lvl 80 was my thief. I did a mix of map completion, personal story, crafting, and WvW to get to lvl 80. Yeah, any champ train is boring. Its like staring at wilted grass for hours. That’s why I think WvW is the best way to level.

I do suggest getting to lvl 80 though. There is a lot of fun to be had at lvl 80….that is until you get tired of the content. Anet has been super slow in releasing meaningful content.

I know exactly what you mean Caramel and figured this much about GW2. I totally got the whole Dodge thing they stress and how everyone can do great damage. I guess it does not appeal to me to play like this in an MMO. Would be cool sometimes however, like if only some classes needed to be played like this and would be cool if there was a lot of diversity in classes. I think I understand what they are doing in GW2 but just thought there would be more. As someone else pointed out the emptiness makes the game very boring and unattractive when new. Having no set goal worsens it too. I get it that you can make your own but something is just missing. I love sandbox games and was hoping this would be a bit more of that than other games. I knew better but bought it anyways to try.

I would try the WvW PvP stuff but as it is now there are so many other MMOs that I already have awesome PvP gear in and know how to play that it just does not interest me that much to learn slightly new mechanics to achieve what I already have achieved in other games I guess. I still may give i ta try one raining boring day when I’m sick or something when just being able to situp is entertaining. Then perhaps I will find the value in it. =) I think I am maybe tired of MMOs in their current state, not the genera though as I’m sure they will get much better now that others feel the same way I do.

Anyone know of any other MMO games that have a different twist to them or they find fun? I’ve done Aion and Rift and EQ and WoW and a lot of the MMOs that I know of but perhaps others like World of Tanks or something else is fun that I overlooked and maybe misjudged by it’s cover? I mean honestly I would play a My Little Pony MMO if it was fun. I know fun is a lose term and different for everyone but I’m getting desperate and open minded to try about anything. =)

I’ve been told by a lot of people that lvl 80 is where the fun is and I guess that’s the only reason why I keep going. Like every MMO I’ve played, I always reach max level in at least one character. Just so I can get the “full” experience per say. I just really hope that by the time I finally reach max level Anet finally beings to roll out some major patches. So far all the patches they release have been in the “meh” side of things. Nothing huge that can get you excited. And considering how slow I am at leveling Anet has a lot of room/time to work with :-P

@ Woofdang, so far the only MMO that I am currently looking forward to playing is The Elders Scrolls Online, and that’s only because I am a huge fan of the series. But that doesn’t come out until 2014. But if you want to try something MMO’ish, give Path of Exile a try. It is a Action Based RPG somewhat similar to Diablo and free to play. And trust me, NOT pay to win. It recently got release on Steam and I’ve been playing it since Beta. So far I would give that game a solid 8/10. But thats just me though. Also to add onto the list, Final Fantasy 14: Realm Reborn, can’t really say anything about the game aside from what my friends tell me and they say it is really good.

Dante.1508:

I honestly could write a lot, but OP i think you covered it yourself mostly.

That and anymore would probably get flagged as a personal attack

But I feel your pain OP. I think a number of folks are just waiting for something else to be released.

You probably didn’t do your research before buying the game, and after you bought it didn’t turn out the way you expect it to.

You’re not missing on anything. You just don’t know what you’re looking for.

Yenn.9185:

You probably didn’t do your research before buying the game, and after you bought it didn’t turn out the way you expect it to.

You’re not missing on anything. You just don’t know what you’re looking for.

+1

I loathe WoW and all gear-based games, GW2 is an island in an ocean of monotony.

gw2 is just another themepark mmorpg. I’m not sure what you are expecting.

and it is funny talking about wow, which is the market leader.

I dont’ understand why making a game like wow (without needing to pay subscription is bad).

fill free to go to mmorpg forum and complain like how every mmorpg is bad, which is what those forum have become.

Not to be called a white knight this game was billed as being different. Not just WoW without subscriptions. Not a WoW killer or a WoW clone.

No trinity. No penalizing players you help. You are encourage to help everyone. No need for teaming on most things. Exploration is encouraged.

As for the emptiness of some zones I chalk that up to the too successful steering of players to the short term living story content and/or dailies. There is a lot of area across all the zones in the game. If they didn’t try to concentrate players the whole game would appear sparsely populated. Since the game automatically down grades your character this makes low level zones places interesting for both low and high level players. You won’t just find high level players in the high level zones as you would in other MMOs. An 80 can PvE anywhere and still earn XP and level appropriate loot. Downside it’s arguably easier to still play a level 80 character, due to having all the skills and rare or exotic items, in low level zones and if you get the same XP and loot, why not play there. So we have a sort of inverse situation here than in most MMOs where high level characters are only found in high level zones and players try to level as fast as possible to go where they are to one where you can level to maximum just by playing in low level zones with max level characters joining them there rather than off doing high level content.

Terok.7315:

Yenn.9185:

You probably didn’t do your research before buying the game, and after you bought it didn’t turn out the way you expect it to.

You’re not missing on anything. You just don’t know what you’re looking for.

+1

I loathe WoW and all gear-based games, GW2 is an island in an ocean of monotony.

Amusing because that’s exactly where this game is heading.

On topic:

It gets down to player preference really. You’re not missing much as you level up. It’s basically the same thing you’ll be doing after you hit max level. Do what everyone else has done. Try it for a while. If you don’t like it, then you just don’t like it. There’s no way of forcing yourself to like a game.

In the end, you lose a bit of time and what you initially paid for the game if you don’t like it and decide to walk away. On the other hand, if you like it, then that’s good too. You found a new game to play.

I have played PoE since beta too. It’s a nice game for sure. Not what I would really consider the type of MMO I like but for what it is I do like. But can only play so much of it at a time.

As for WoW, I do like WoW. I think it’s a great game despite being a themepark game. After 7 years or so it just got boring and ran it’s course. Unless they totally opened it up to a sandbox game I’m not interested.

The new Final Fantasy game seems interesting but after going to the site I could not find any information about it’s details which I find odd.

Teege.4623:

Dante.1508:

I honestly could write a lot, but OP i think you covered it yourself mostly.

That and anymore would probably get flagged as a personal attack

But I feel your pain OP. I think a number of folks are just waiting for something else to be released.

It wasn’t a personal attack, i was agreeing with what he was saying, i mean i could say a lot about why he is right etc, but he mostly summed it up himself in his post.

To the FF14 comments, its far from good, its terribly linear, with a lot of grind and repetitive end game dungeons. Honestly it has very little to keep players after say a month.
If you must play another mmo i’d say try Rift, its closer to GW2 but plays like WoW (if that’s what you like of course)..

Teege.4623:

Dante.1508:

I honestly could write a lot, but OP i think you covered it yourself mostly.

That and anymore would probably get flagged as a personal attack

But I feel your pain OP. I think a number of folks are just waiting for something else to be released.

Sad to say, I’m one of those people.

I’m not even defending GW2. The thing is you says GW2 is bad. But what is good.

If there is a good mmorpg, you’ll be playing that instead of going to forum of another game and complaining about how bad the game is.

The thing with FF14 is it “was” terrible. I have never seen any AAA mmorpg with such a terrible review before. It is so terrible, the game company even admit it is terrible. So they actually shut it down to redo it. I dont’ know how it is now, hope they fixed a bunch of things.

Playing GW2 alone is pretty hard and boring, and more specially is what you aim is to quickly get to end game content. This game is for me really about exploring (which again is boring alone ) the detail they put into the world are amazing and you are rewarded for doing pretty much anything, gathering/helping NPCs/story/crafting/etc… And when you get to level 80, you can start your quest to getting a legendary weapon. A weapon that even though it will take you countless hours to get, will never
be useless, no expansion will come in 2 months and make it useless. And once you have gotten pretty much all you like (gear/skins/etc.) you can help you world in WvW, lead a group.

This is pretty much my experience of GW2, of course not everyone like the same things, but this is a great game to me.

P.S. Went back to WoW last week to raid with a friend, my gear are complete junk now (1 year later) took me so long to get them only to be replace.

Here is what i like and hate in GW2.

Pros:

• No holy trinity.I don’t miss the tank/heal/dps.And i was dedicated healer before with tank as alt.
• Improved mob taging.I always hated in WoW that i have been punished if i was not the one to pull the mob.
• Improved grouping.You decide do you want to play solo or in a group.But for both you have been rewarded.It’s up to you to talk with people and group withy them or not.You are not being forced to group.You have the freedom to choose.
• Removed quests.What quests do are to set you a goal that you have to complete.I really like that GW2 is doing a different aproach with questing.
• The Overflow system.I really hated in WoW to wiat in queue to enter my home server.I’m glad Anet found a way to remove that.
• Patches & instances.I like that patches take maximum 5 minutes to apply and if you are in instance you are not being kicked automatically.You have 3 hours to finish and then the patch will apply.
• The maintance.There isn’t any at all.No more 4-5 hours of not being able to play.
• Improved loot tables.I don’t miss the ninjas from WoW.Personal loot is great.
• TP/AH.I like the cross server AH.There are always things to sell and buy.Which is good forLow population realms.

Cons

• Groups.WoW groups have some minor things that i miss.Like 8 marks that you could put on people and 6 marks that you could put on the ground.Also when you are in a raid group you could make Raid Warnings and you could see all your people on the map.
• PvP maps.I miss WoW’s 10/15 battle grounds(WSG,AB,EOTS).I really do.
• Grind.I don’t like how much grinding has GW2

If you came expecting GW2 to be a WoW clone then you obviously didn’t make your homework.You should have researched more.The game has similarities to WoW and a lot of things are different.

Playing MMOs from 2004 till today… I don’t get it either.. Being new to the game. I am like, what the hell, where is everyone? Where is all the chat? When do I get to do instances and form a party? I mean, I still don’t understand why this game even has Guilds, if you can call um that. Going back to Aion… There is No Social Aspect to this game it seems. Whats the point of Leveling up if I insta get pvp gear and Level 80 once I click on pvp button? I Don’t understand this game. To me, this game is a RPG with a dead chat box. * btw, NEVER Played WoW.

MinisterofDeath.1925:

Playing MMOs from 2004 till today… I don’t get it either.. Being new to the game. I am like, what the hell, where is everyone? Where is all the chat? When do I get to do instances and form a party? I mean, I still don’t understand why this game even has Guilds, if you can call um that. Going back to Aion… There is No Social Aspect to this game it seems. Whats the point of Leveling up if I insta get pvp gear and Level 80 once I click on pvp button? I Don’t understand this game. To me, this game is a RPG with a dead chat box. * btw, NEVER Played WoW.

Of course there is a social aspect.The difference is that in other MMOs exist group quests.If you want to do it you either have to form a group or to be higher level than the quest.
If i don’t count those group quests in other MMOs there is 0 incentive to group with people in Open World.Why?Because alone i get more items,gold experience,materials.Why should i form a group then?
The only other place that grouping is needed are Raids.But even that is becoming less and less needed.

In GW2 it’s up to you what you are doing.
Do you want to group with other people or not.
Do you want to talk to other people or not.

If you want to talk to other people make friends and join a guild.Everytime i level a new alt i meet new people and make more friends.I repeat everything is in the hands of the player.
Anet doesn’t force you to do this or that.You decide what to do.To be social and to talk to people or not.To do events and form groups or not.It’s not Anet’s job to tell the players what to do.

My guild is very active.In non-prime time we have 20 online and in prime time 60 people.We do many PvE things together and very little WvW because we are cross server comunity.

After reading this thread and all of the OPs post, I have to agree with his original comment. You are absolutely correct, you do not get it, not at all. That’s okay, not every game is for everyone. I hope you either learn to love it or go on your way and find a game you do enjoy.

One thing that baffles me though, is the few posters here that are new to the game, but claim to have come from other MMOs, and act as if they are shocked that the starting zones are not crowded. To act in such a manner shows either an absolute lack of fore thought, foolishly preset expectations, or a classic over all lack of population flow in MMOs.

After reading all the comments I think that it’s not the problem of you not “getting” it, but more the aspect of other mmo’s you are comparing GW2 with.

GW2 does not have a so called “endgame” aspect than other games do. You do not have to get to 80 (at least not quickly) to enjoy the content. There are no so called “endgame” dungeons (even tho most of them are only run by level 80s, but that’s not the point) I understand that most mmo’s and I agree with that, give you something to do the moment you reach endgame level or max level. Most of the content in other games you can not access before reaching that level.

GW2 is complete different and you will need some time adjusting to that. I played a lot of mmo’s as well prior to GW2. I was one of those “cool” people that spent 15 hours a day hardcore farming, dungeon runs, guild missions, pvp and what not, but I looked into GW2 about 3 months ago, after I purchased the game shortly after beta. I couldn’t find myself playing the game and moved on. Now I am back and I have to say that after looking at it closely, I kinda enjoy playing it by now and I can tell you exactly why.

GW2 isn’t any pressure like other games, I can decide when and where to go. I can decide which Event I like to join and not being forced into quests or events I don’t enjoy. I am not forced to pvp the moment I turn max level and I do not have to consider which area might become pvp orientated (based on server time etc). I don’t have to get maxed out gear within 3 days to be a part of instances or game content and if I want to chat with some friends, I am able to do that as well. In other words, I can go afk multiple times a day and don’t miss out on events or instances.

Altho not every person runs around with the exact “same” build, armor or weapon. This makes GW2 a bit more interesting. Not every person is forced to play a “tank” or a “healer” like other games want you too. GW2 has more group dynamics when it comes to instances or meta events. A other thing I really enjoy is that you don’t need an alt to open a instance and then solo that instance 5billion times a day.

Most MMO’s become the new trend with soloing everything in the game and showing off their money at the end of the day. I do not need a kitten increase or kids spamming world/map chat with insults and immature comments all day. Another reason I decided to play GW2 to be honest with you, since most subscription or free to play mmo’s are plain annoying, when it comes to the community.

Sure I agree at times I do miss that “hardcore” gaming experience you have in other games instead of “casual” gaming but you can do that in GW2 as well, if you really care that much. See GW2 as a vacation and maybe upcoming patches catch your interests.

What Coglin & Slurpey said i agree on 100% with it.GW2 is missing the traditional meaning of ‘’End Game’’ in a MMO.
Also your hand is not hold all the time by the company telling you what to do and where to go.Everything is unlocked from the start.Everything can be done.You just have to decide what do you want to do.

I think once you have played a variety of MMOs, you tend to get a bit critical of what individual ones lack. I know I want an MMO that has what I enjoy from all the other MMO’s. Sadly, that doesn’t exist. In general, I’m tired of repetitive tasks to get the rewards. All games I’ve played seem to have that as a fairly large part of their game though.

Yenn.9185:

You probably didn’t do your research before buying the game, and after you bought it didn’t turn out the way you expect it to.

You’re not missing on anything. You just don’t know what you’re looking for.

You are right.I couldn’t say it better