Guild Wars 2

My 3 year anniversary in this game is coming up, and I realize I have nothing to show for it. My AP is barely at 5k, I have yet to find a precursor (when 2 friends of mine who started the game less than a year ago have both found at least one without even going through the Mystic toilet – something I’ve dumped more than 500 gold into), have no legendary items, my guilds are dead and dying due to the game being so stale, and I have less than 10g in my wallet.

I’m not a super hardcore player, but I play this game a good amount – and it never feels like I’m getting anywhere in this game. I bought the expansion yesterday, and I feel kind of excited for it, but I also have this bad feeling it won’t really change anything.

The thing is that this is a game – not a job. No one will care if you’ve played since launch and have “nothing to show for it”. If you’ve enjoyed your time in gw2 then that’s all that matters.

If you find it stale or are having a time with guilds then I’d suggest taking a break or even moving to another game.

I feel that way sometimes as well. But then I ask myself "what is gold used for? Do I actually need lots of it?

And for the most part… I find that I don’t really need it for anything! My characters (and yours) are probably sufficiently geared out for whatever their intended purpose is, and if I ever find a need for gold, there are plenty of sources. Plus, a goal is always nice to have. Guild Wars 2 without a goal is incredibly dull, wouldn’t you say?

You’ll most likely never get anywhere until you set some goals. Pick something, anything and work towards it. That should provide some measure of progression for you.

If AP is a metric you like to use, start there for your goals. use the achievement tab in your hero window to guide you.

If your social circle is waning – reach out, try a new guild or two to find new friends.

I too don’t have a legendary, hopefully with HOT I can start working on earning one as opposed to playing the RNG game. Since you have HOT, that may be a goal for you as well.

I myself had to take a long break from the game due to work. When I returned to the normal world my interest in GW2 was reinvigorated. Nothing wrong with taking a break and coming back as Miss Lana advised.

I’d recommend not using gold as a metric for progress, if you are anything like me you’ll find it comes and goes. I am a sucker for buying new shinies. Gold comes naturally from playing, moreso if you farm (but that can burn one out fast).

If you have fun playing try to think of that alone as the primary value of the game, not abstract markers or pixilated trophies.

I wish you the best and I hope you can find what you are looking for.

I think you’re looking at it wrong, especially when it comes to gold. I’m in a similar position to you, I’ve been playing since launch and I think I have about 2g right now. But obviously I’ve made more than that. I spent it, I’ll make more, then I’ll spend that too. That’s how it goes.

If you had 500g to throw in the Forge you can get 500g again. If you want a legendary save up and buy the precursor this time.

But more importantly it’s a game, the point is to have fun playing it, not to get more stuff than other people. As long as you’ve enjoyed what you’ve been doing it doesn’t matter what the reward was.

You still can use the title Faithful, when you hit your 3y. That’s what I do, I’m like you, no other thing to show my dedication, but you know, precursors/legendaries have never been a real proof of that. Titles are the best proof I think, the anniversary ones, or the Hall of Monuments ones, if you played GW1 back in the day.

Lyndis.2584:

My 3 year anniversary in this game is coming up, and I realize I have nothing to show for it. My AP is barely at 5k, I have yet to find a precursor (when 2 friends of mine who started the game less than a year ago have both found at least one without even going through the Mystic toilet – something I’ve dumped more than 500 gold into), have no legendary items, my guilds are dead and dying due to the game being so stale, and I have less than 10g in my wallet.

But you – hopefully – have lots of fond memories of awesome in-game moments?
Because really, that is the main thing to take away from gaming.

But what about the friends you have come across while you played? The strangers you shared a funny moment with? The time you managed to finish that jumping puzzle that was giving you so much trouble? That time when you made it to Arah on your first character?

I myself have been playing for 3 years and hardly ever have much gold on me and only got a precursor once which I gave to a guild leader who later stopped playing before he finished his legendary but you know what, if I could go back in time and try to change it I wouldn’t since all the choices I’ve made in game good or bad have allowed me to play with the friendliest people I’ve meet anywhere online and the times I shared with them are more valuable than any legendary weapon or any amount of gold! The true value of your character can’t be found in your wallet!

Don’t listen to these people telling you to go find a new game, that’s what kills MMO’s and you are unlikely to come back, if you are 100% bored then yes move on,

AP’s are easy to get, unless you are a solid WvW player then meh,

After HoT is released you will have pre-cursor crafting so you Legendary hunt can begin.

As for the forge don’t let 500g upset you, ive had well over 20,000 into that thing, granted ive had pre’s in return but my most recent run of bad luck extended nearly 4,000g, so all is not lost on that front.

Lyndis.2584:

My 3 year anniversary in this game is coming up, and I realize I have nothing to show for it. My AP is barely at 5k, I have yet to find a precursor (when 2 friends of mine who started the game less than a year ago have both found at least one without even going through the Mystic toilet – something I’ve dumped more than 500 gold into), have no legendary items, my guilds are dead and dying due to the game being so stale, and I have less than 10g in my wallet.

I’m not a super hardcore player, but I play this game a good amount – and it never feels like I’m getting anywhere in this game. I bought the expansion yesterday, and I feel kind of excited for it, but I also have this bad feeling it won’t really change anything.

Well if you are reward focused (what it looks like) and so like hunting and earning rewards is what you like, there really is only one option and that is grinding gold.

Earning cosmetics and other fun items, just isen’t a lot of fun in GW2 because it’s mainly monitized.

So try other elements of the game, doing fractals or WvW or PvP, maybe one of those things are interesting for you. I am also a person who likes the hunt for cosmetics but that just is close to nonextisence in GW2 (other then grinding). But I happen to like the guild-stuff and WvW. So maybe one of those things is also fun for you?

The president of said monitazation of HoT would be based on selling the game so maybe the hunt for comsnetics gets fun in HoT but we will now know that untill hoT is availible for a while. I know the raid will reward legendary armor, so if implemented correctly that can be a lot of fun. then you can do content and be rewarded for it.

It’s hard to suggest anything. You really didn’t give us much information that tells us why you have low AP or only 10 gold. Low number of hours played? Only play WvW? Spend every copper you get? Mostly stand in town and role play? If you only play WvW then there’s no point in telling you good farming spots in PvE, for example, as you are unlikely to farm for long.

Ferguson.2157:

You’ll most likely never get anywhere until you set some goals. Pick something, anything and work towards it. That should provide some measure of progression for you.

If AP is a metric you like to use, start there for your goals. use the achievement tab in your hero window to guide you.

If your social circle is waning – reach out, try a new guild or two to find new friends.

I too don’t have a legendary, hopefully with HOT I can start working on earning one as opposed to playing the RNG game. Since you have HOT, that may be a goal for you as well.

I myself had to take a long break from the game due to work. When I returned to the normal world my interest in GW2 was reinvigorated. Nothing wrong with taking a break and coming back as Miss Lana advised.

I’d recommend not using gold as a metric for progress, if you are anything like me you’ll find it comes and goes. I am a sucker for buying new shinies. Gold comes naturally from playing, moreso if you farm (but that can burn one out fast).

If you have fun playing try to think of that alone as the primary value of the game, not abstract markers or pixilated trophies.

I wish you the best and I hope you can find what you are looking for.

The only problem with setting goals in GW2, the activity to get the reward usually means grinding (mainly gold), So if that is not your thing then ‘setting goals for yourself’ isn’t really an option.

Compare that to some other MMO’s, when you see a nice mini and set your goal to get it, you might end up doing a dungeon and then you see a skin what sends you all over the world in following / completing some quest-chain, the next item you are after might require you to do a mini-dungeon in some area you have never visited before, then the next item requires you to fight a boss to get a recipe, then farm some mats and make it.

That experience of hunting down items (where the items become your goal) is very different in GW2, and when OP says “Ï have nothing to show for it” I think his ‘goals’ are along this line but then the question becomes if grinding is what he wants to do.

All the the things you’ve listed are quite doable, but if you haven’t focused on them so far, it’s for a reason.

If you’re comparing your progress to other players, you’re doing it wrong. If you’re having fun, you’re doing it right.

My recommendations: Do what you want. If you want something, go for it. If you don’t, don’t sweat it.

Don’t worry, be happy.

Devata.6589:

The only problem with setting goals in GW2, the activity to get the reward usually means grinding (mainly gold), So if that is not your thing then ‘setting goals for yourself’ isn’t really an option.

Compare that to some other MMO’s, when you see a nice mini and set your goal to get it, you might end up doing a dungeon and then you see a skin what sends you all over the world in following / completing some quest-chain, the next item you are after might require you to do a mini-dungeon in some area you have never visited before, then the next item requires you to fight a boss to get a recipe, then farm some mats and make it.

That experience of hunting down items (where the items become your goal) is very different in GW2, and when OP says “Ï have nothing to show for it” I think his ‘goals’ are along this line but then the question becomes if grinding is what he wants to do.

I didn’t intend the goals to be items except for the one thing he expressed in his post, a legendary. To me goals are usually not reward driven but fun activity driven, no need to grind unless that is your thing.

He has many non-reward centered things he can do to get APs.

Maybe I should have posted some examples, like – completing a new jump puzzle, joining a guild and doing guild missions, doing the Hirathi hinterlands event chain from beginning to end, doing all temple runs in Orr in one day, doing every daily – PvE/PvP/WvW every tuesday, complete one incomplete map a day until 100%, leveling and alt, etc.

I used to farm and it almost ruined the game for me. Now I just harvest nodes as I play and sell the mats, mostly mid tiers and make about 150-300 gold a week without even trying. Gold is easy to get if not rushing for it.

My personal goal is always to have fun. Best fun I have in game is helping my guildies with Jump Puzzles and open world events together. I’m not great at JPs, but I know them and we have a blast doing them and laughing together.

I think desiring skins/weapons/gear is fine – until the drive to get them outweighs the fun of playing. I’m not an item hound, yet I have most everything I could want as it comes along with just playing the game.

If one sets one’s goal as having fun, by doing things that challenge you or that you haven’t done yet you’ll be a lot healthier than if ones goals are solely gear based.

And to be less obtuse and more direct I’d advise the OP to join one new guild every few days until he finds one he is happy with. Playing with others always seems to be more fun than the base activity to me with amiable company along.

edit: spelling

I haven’t seen a precurser after 7000 hours of play, and most people in my
guild also have never seen one after 3 years of playing .. so that is totally
“normal”.

Ferguson.2157:

Devata.6589:

The only problem with setting goals in GW2, the activity to get the reward usually means grinding (mainly gold), So if that is not your thing then ‘setting goals for yourself’ isn’t really an option.

Compare that to some other MMO’s, when you see a nice mini and set your goal to get it, you might end up doing a dungeon and then you see a skin what sends you all over the world in following / completing some quest-chain, the next item you are after might require you to do a mini-dungeon in some area you have never visited before, then the next item requires you to fight a boss to get a recipe, then farm some mats and make it.

That experience of hunting down items (where the items become your goal) is very different in GW2, and when OP says “Ï have nothing to show for it” I think his ‘goals’ are along this line but then the question becomes if grinding is what he wants to do.

I didn’t intend the goals to be items except for the one thing he expressed in his post, a legendary. To me goals are usually not reward driven but fun activity driven, no need to grind unless that is your thing.

He has many non-reward centered things he can do to get APs.

Maybe I should have posted some examples, like – completing a new jump puzzle, joining a guild and doing guild missions, doing the Hirathi hinterlands event chain from beginning to end, doing all temple runs in Orr in one day, doing every daily – PvE/PvP/WvW every tuesday, complete one incomplete map a day until 100%, leveling and alt, etc.

I used to farm and it almost ruined the game for me. Now I just harvest nodes as I play and sell the mats, mostly mid tiers and make about 150-300 gold a week without even trying. Gold is easy to get if not rushing for it.

My personal goal is always to have fun. Best fun I have in game is helping my guildies with Jump Puzzles and open world events together. I’m not great at JPs, but I know them and we have a blast doing them and laughing together.

I think desiring skins/weapons/gear is fine – until the drive to get them outweighs the fun of playing. I’m not an item hound, yet I have most everything I could want as it comes along with just playing the game.

If one sets one’s goal as having fun, by doing things that challenge you or that you haven’t done yet you’ll be a lot healthier than if ones goals are solely gear based.

And to be less obtuse and more direct I’d advise the OP to join one new guild every few days until he finds one he is happy with. Playing with others always seems to be more fun that the base activity to me with amiable company along.

Sure, that might be true for you, but when he says “I have nothing to show for it” I think his preferred experience is very much reward driven. Many MMO players like that hunt for rewards.

Interesting take Devata. I think we all project a bit when we read. I mostly gave weight to his comments about guilds and friends. I would think a good friends list and a guild to be proud of are something to show for 3 years of effort.

I can see how you have read it, and understand your take on it. That’s all fine. I just hope someones/anyones suggestions here in this thread may provide the OP the helping hand he is looking for to get back the feeling of accomplishment/fun/friendship from this hobby.

I’m the same when it comes to wealth but I don’t really care. It isn’t hard for you to find a new guild, the game is only stale to you.

A person with 20k AP can get bored with the game and quit.

A person with a pre cursor and/or Legendary can get bored and quit.

However I can be sitting in a starting zone wearing rags, but if i have a good guild, new friends and a sense of belonging to a community I am having a blast.

I want to log off with a smile, and excited, looking forward to logging in again. I just don’t log in because I have a Legendary, I am obligated to. That gets old quick. Once you get some amazing loot and the honeymoon is over it does not matter. It’s the community that through time really makes the game.

I think you forgot the important part of RNG.

It’s the part where you’re expected to buy gems to convert to gold to buy all those items.

Take my advice, dont do RNG. I did it, lost thousands of gold to it (gotten lucky twice) but i found out, if i stop tossing stuff into the toilet i’ll end up on a bigger pile of money and a bigger pile and in the end i can afford to buy a legendary or the precursor i need.

RNG is like waiting to win on betting games almost, can take a lifetime to win that 100 millions. Save that money you put into it, and you are the one going home lucky in a long run.

yeah – no precurser here either but ascended has the same stats and you can craft your way to those. I dont care about the skin very much so i dont consider that a loss.

no gold here either – I live in WvW all other game modes and other games are pedestrian to me – I judge my wealth in the amount of seige in my bag and how many keeps our server has managed to waypoint.

as far as guilds and community connections go I did go through a phase ( very early on) where I was about to leave the game – the map chat and community seemed barren giving me the impression that i was in a large empty world devoid of community. then I got into teamspeak – and mumble – and found a thriving community cloistered away in small voice chat rooms through a variety of different mediums. the community really is awesome but its hidden away – i think anet should host its own voice coms for us for free so players have more access to where the bulk of the community is. I can completely agree that the community and game can seem stale if you only see it through map and or guild chat.

as far as AP goes I am also in the same boat – I am at the three year mark as well and have about 5 to 6 k ap (i think) but I cannot understand for the life of me why anyone gives a crap about that – ooooh you have killed x amount of flame legion grats you get a title and ap points!! an arbitrary number with an arbitrary title seems likea silly thing to worry about. my wife has 50+ shoes I dont get that either.

I have had my good share of MMOs in my gaming lifetime and honestly GW2 is one of the least rewarding game out there.

During the GW2 “no content down time” this year, I went back and played some of the available free to play MMOs out there (not going to name them here) and doing a low level quest in those games felt more rewarding than running a level 40+ fractal or a dungeon.

I don’t expect a precursor or whatever rare RNG drop but the whole game just feels under rewarding in every aspect. It’s like the developers want the players to hate the game by constantly getting screwed for their efforts. Anyways my advise is if you play GW2, don’t play it expecting any rewards or achievements. my two cents…

Lyndis.2584:

My 3 year anniversary in this game is coming up, and I realize I have nothing to show for it. My AP is barely at 5k, I have yet to find a precursor (when 2 friends of mine who started the game less than a year ago have both found at least one without even going through the Mystic toilet – something I’ve dumped more than 500 gold into), have no legendary items, my guilds are dead and dying due to the game being so stale, and I have less than 10g in my wallet.

I’m not a super hardcore player, but I play this game a good amount – and it never feels like I’m getting anywhere in this game. I bought the expansion yesterday, and I feel kind of excited for it, but I also have this bad feeling it won’t really change anything.

Can’t speak on the 5k AP, that’s really low for being 3 years in. But whatever.

You haven’t found the right guild it sounds like.

Linfang.1087:

A person with 20k AP can get bored with the game and quit.

A person with a pre cursor and/or Legendary can get bored and quit.

However I can be sitting in a starting zone wearing rags, but if i have a good guild, new friends and a sense of belonging to a community I am having a blast.

I want to log off with a smile, and excited, looking forward to logging in again. I just don’t log in because I have a Legendary, I am obligated to. That gets old quick. Once you get some amazing loot and the honeymoon is over it does not matter. It’s the community that through time really makes the game.

^^ this once i found my first active guild it went from thinking of quitting to game on. the guild exploded on me there was much drama – guild mission was compromised splinter group formed and we started our own gig and worked to a common goal together – I log in because my buddys are waiting for me. we got “work” to do. it can seem like a bit of an obligation at times. sometimes we lose, sometimes we win, regardless of the place or mission its the people that keep me coming back in. I can come in and hear " dude were getting our * kicked soooo hard" and instantly crack a grin because I know the sitrep is going to be riddled with sarcasm, humor , stories of stupidity and valor. the shiney sword is nothing – the people are everything – just look around till you find your click.

If you want something specific its best to decide what (can be anything from a Legendary, Dungeon Master, WvW or PvP Rank/Achieve) then go for it. Thats assuming you’ll measure your enjoyment of the game in accomplishments (which you seem to since you want “something to show for it”).

Pick something you want or like and go for it, if your guild is a bit empty join another one until your friends come back for HoT – you might even make new ones on the way.

Recently I took some new players through Arah killing all mobs and doing the puzzles – I found it quite rewarding telling them about the dungeon and lore and making sure they had a good first experience (not straight into skipping everything). So if you’re experienced at any part of the game that might be something you’d enjoy doing too.

Draknar.5748:

Lyndis.2584:

My 3 year anniversary in this game is coming up, and I realize I have nothing to show for it. My AP is barely at 5k, I have yet to find a precursor (when 2 friends of mine who started the game less than a year ago have both found at least one without even going through the Mystic toilet – something I’ve dumped more than 500 gold into), have no legendary items, my guilds are dead and dying due to the game being so stale, and I have less than 10g in my wallet.

I’m not a super hardcore player, but I play this game a good amount – and it never feels like I’m getting anywhere in this game. I bought the expansion yesterday, and I feel kind of excited for it, but I also have this bad feeling it won’t really change anything.

Can’t speak on the 5k AP, that’s really low for being 3 years in. But whatever.

You haven’t found the right guild it sounds like.

I’ve been around since head start and I’m just shy of 5K AP. But I have taken breaks and one was at the time of LS1, so I missed a majority of that, not to mention I don’t feel the need to obsess over raising it. AP isn’t a measure of skill. So having low AP isn’t really a negative thing or something that should be so high for how long someone’s been playing.

do you have any of the old unavailable awards? like wings of sunless? shattered holographic wings or Air-Filtration Device?
if so then thats an achievement, and something shiny to show you’ve been here awhile!

one of my favourite things to do in MMOs is collect the things that won’t be around in the future

Draknar.5748:

Lyndis.2584:

My 3 year anniversary in this game is coming up, and I realize I have nothing to show for it. My AP is barely at 5k, I have yet to find a precursor (when 2 friends of mine who started the game less than a year ago have both found at least one without even going through the Mystic toilet – something I’ve dumped more than 500 gold into), have no legendary items, my guilds are dead and dying due to the game being so stale, and I have less than 10g in my wallet.

I’m not a super hardcore player, but I play this game a good amount – and it never feels like I’m getting anywhere in this game. I bought the expansion yesterday, and I feel kind of excited for it, but I also have this bad feeling it won’t really change anything.

Can’t speak on the 5k AP, that’s really low for being 3 years in. But whatever.

You haven’t found the right guild it sounds like.

I’ve been through almost 7 guilds, 2 of them being 500 man full guilds. All of them are dead. Not because the community sucked, or the people in them were boring, but because WvW got so incredibly stale, and PvP is going nowhere. It’s hard to also join a new community knowing no one. When I join a new guild, it just feels wrong.

I quit caring about AP when it became a list of daily tasks you have to do rather than things you could achieve naturally while playing.

I quit caring about GW2 when I realized ANET is fully invested in forcing groupthink playstyle and could care less about “play your way”.

Except for the people with family only guilds, I expect each of us here has gone through several guilds. This seems to be a feature with all mmos. If you read their forums, sooner or later you’ll see the post about dead guilds and long gone friends. I’m on my 5th guild now, I think, and most of my friends don’t play and haven’t logged on in a couple of years. All you can do is join another guild and start over. Sucks I know. I miss my friends from Guild Wars 1 but you have to keep trying unless you want to be completely alone.

I’m hoping HoT actually has big bad bosses with actual good drops, rather than extreme rng and grinding.

Substatic.6958:

I’m hoping HoT actually has big bad bosses with actual good drops, rather than extreme rng and grinding.

Im afraid this is what itll be tho… I predict it will be the same drops as world bosses with maybe a few new item skins dropping like frac skins do now… maybe a gold or 2 too…

OP if you feel this sad over your current situation there are always options to improve how you feel about your current standings in the game. Find a new guild who can be helpful to you and assist you in gold making. Save up as much as you can and start getting that legendary even if you have to buy the precursor (if thats whats important to you).

Make a fun goal of it and attempt to get it by Oct 22! Then you’ll feel more relaxed and caught up and enjoy HoT live even more!

ATM my goals are around the same. I carry little gold and no legendaries but! Its more important for me atm to find a great guild to experience HoT with. Capturing that guild hall will be a great memory to make!

I never tried to get a precursor but have full ascended gear. I also worked really hard to get my wife the infinite hair style kit and finally bought it a week ago.

Just gotta set a goal and do what you enjoy and go for it.

Also I made all my ascended gear from scratch. Took a while but I spent very little gold.