Guild Wars 2

I saw this post here claiming that GW2 is Anti-Social. He is right, to a point. Just a misuse of words. It’s not that it’s anti social, it just lacks social depth…or social aspects which have made MMOs famous. Take WoW for example. It didn’t became famous because of it’s super amazing gameplay, matter of fact, that game really sucked in terms of gameplay until patch 1.8. What made it famous was it’s social aspects. If you did something awesome, raid or pvp, you were known throughout the server. Guilds had recognition throughout not just the server, but the entire game. Players that did dungeon runs in x amount of time, or just overall skilled players were recognized. Everyone knew the trolls, the world pvp gankers, thekitten etc. It had a real community. That is something this game lacks. A community worth staying for.

Most of the people that play WoW are bored of WoW. Why do they stay? Because of the friends they have made, you truly make long lasting friendships..well before you did. Not so much after BC. But anyway my point is, that this game needs something like that. It plays more like a single player rpg in an online world. You don’t need to group up with people or make friends, you just do your own thing and interact with people only when needed.

DEs for example, because of the way it works, you don’t need to group up to do them. Just go to the DE, let other players randomly come, do the event and everyone leaves. No one groups up to go do other DEs and such. In dungeons, most pugs don’t even speak other than mention how to mechanics work. Then after the dungeon, everyone leaves without grabbing adding for future dungeon runs etc. They just leave like they were in an LFG queue. There’s no need to group up with people and do things with because of the way the game is, while it’s great..it also has that flaw that you don’t really make friends or group up with people to do activities. It kills the social aspect of the game. I think that’s what the other poster was trying to say and I completely agree with him if so. Thoughts?

Creating a party/group isn’t needed because of how loot and kill credits work. As far as I know you can just help someone kill a mob and you get credit for it.
I have seen certain mobs in zones which requires more than one people. I’ve seen people calling out other people on the chat to kill a big mob somewhere.
So you do need each other at certain points

You can’t do certain DEs alone, so you wait for a few others to join. Isn’t that grouping? You end up doing the DE with 3-5-10-20 people…isn’t that grouping? What’s the difference?

I can’t comment on the community feeling cause I just started playing the game, even though I pre-ordered. But yeah I see what you mean, it’s awesome to have a community, to know people for their skills, or bad attitude etc

Things I miss from the original Guild Wars:

1. Guild vs Guild matches. There was a ladder and being up on the latter netted you some recognition from others when they saw your guild tag.

2. Favor of the Gods. Was great when you could get and hold it for your region. Players really appreciated it since it gained access to specific instances that were only available when you had favor.

3. Elite skill capture. Was nice to be able to find groups to run down and capture elite skills. (yea you could do it solo but players were always prefered to heroes/npc’s)

4. Dual classes/meta game. There were always discussions going on about what class combo had a great skill synergy. Putting together a solid build and being able to share it with others was a great feature as well. The meta game was always about group composition and how to best manage class skill synergies to maximize their effective use. But you always needed to cover your bases with mitigation, healing, corpse control, mobility, enchantment removal etc etc.

To me they really added a lot to the game as a whole and was a very social aspect of the game.

One of the greatest accomplishments of Rift, was their incorporation of dynamic grouping; of which when you join an event, you can automatically opt-in to be a social team member to collaborate and cooperate more efficiently with the community.

That would be something that would be nice to have in open-world GW2 and WvW.

that, my fellow players, is my only grip with GW2.

it really feels like a single player game.
as the game keep us, by design, unnafected by the other players. mostly.

that was me saying gw2 is antisocial (topic got deleted btw)

i agree with everything here,which is basically the same point

Yeah I agree with this thread.
But this is the sort of MMO concept you’ll be seeing now.

I’ve compared the social aspects to MMO’s like these to sandbox MMO’s, where there frankly is a big difference when it comes to the community and necesseties for socializing.

Gimano.7381:

Creating a party/group isn’t needed because of how loot and kill credits work. As far as I know you can just help someone kill a mob and you get credit for it.
I have seen certain mobs in zones which requires more than one people. I’ve seen people calling out other people on the chat to kill a big mob somewhere.
So you do need each other at certain points

You can’t do certain DEs alone, so you wait for a few others to join. Isn’t that grouping? You end up doing the DE with 3-5-10-20 people…isn’t that grouping? What’s the difference?

I can’t comment on the community feeling cause I just started playing the game, even though I pre-ordered. But yeah I see what you mean, it’s awesome to have a community, to know people for their skills, or bad attitude etc

Yeah but see, you get grouped automatically without being grouped up if that makes sense. You don’t actually need to be like “hey, wana group up and do some DEs?”. You don’t need to talk to people other than mention where the DEs are happening, and to tell others to revive you.

Antikid.2341:

that was me saying gw2 is antisocial (topic got deleted btw)

i agree with everything here,which is basically the same point

Did you delete it or did Anet delete it?

I disagree with this, I think the game is very social.

You need other people around to events effectively, so that creates social interaction throughout the entire game. Some people even call out where events are happening and where the next will be so that everyone in that map can come together.

I also have a different experience than you in dungeon runs; I have added many people during these runs and have run with them again afterwards if they were a good player.

Social interaction can’t only come from everyone else, you have to get involved also. If you think the game is antisocial you only have yourself to blame.

anet deleted it
dno why tho coz i was just saying what other people are saying

The game isn’t antisocial. And why would a game have to hold your hand to get you to be social? It is up to the players to interact with people. I often, start chit-chatting with people when I’m reviving them or during escort events. It usually gets others talking, even if it’s just for that mission.

But there have been plenty of times where people will suggest going and doing something else after that event and usually people will be like ok and we run around the zone, doing hearts, and de’s etc.

It just takes one person taking that first step and speaking up to break the ice.

I actually agree. There’s never a reason to actually even communicate with anyone. Also goes hand in the hand with how DE’s work/scale atm. There’s no need to work together, in fact you’re competing for loot.

thing is, even if you could talk to others.
its an action game. not a tactical game.

socializing concept to me should be include in other aspect of the
game. like some quest that requires a fixed amount of players.
or the ability to send other players on quests.
or the abilty to shout, with voice over, basic stuff like “follow me” or “hold”.

dunno..

the problem is not the chatting or being friendly
im very friendly ingame

the problem that there is no real need to be social ,u can solo the whole game
and vice versa the actual teamplay is virtually non-existent so u can ONLY play solo. even if u are grouped it feels the same way

but i shouldnt comment too much coz i get this poor guys thread deleted or my account banned lol

“need or greed” on big boss loot chest, with unsellable soulbound gear/items?

that would at least put some talk in the game after a big fight.
as long as these loots are mostly cosmetic and styled. could be ok once in a while.

Just because you CAN solo the entire game doesn’t mean anything. You can solo many MMO’s if you really want to. You are also free to group up with people and be social, so…just be social.

demonic corn.2187:

I disagree with this, I think the game is very social.

You need other people around to events effectively, so that creates social interaction throughout the entire game. Some people even call out where events are happening and where the next will be so that everyone in that map can come together.

I also have a different experience than you in dungeon runs; I have added many people during these runs and have run with them again afterwards if they were a good player.

Social interaction can’t only come from everyone else, you have to get involved also. If you think the game is antisocial you only have yourself to blame.

Dude…did you not read a thing I said? Yes, you do get together with other people and do events, it’s part of the game. But you don’t HAVE to group up, like join a party and just do things together. Because you don’t have to and it really isn’t required at all, people avoid it and just go about their business. Merely communicating with others to tell each other where events are going on, doesn’t mean it isn’t anti social. People are just trying to figure out where to do things, other than that. There’s no grouping, I’ve never seen guilds go and do events together, it’s all isolated in a way.

demonic corn.2187:

Just because you CAN solo the entire game doesn’t mean anything. You can solo many MMO’s if you really want to. You are also free to group up with people and be social, so…just be social.

You can but it’s easier to group up with others and do things in other MMOs. In this game, you’re kind of better off not grouping up with anyone and just go exploring and do events on your own. Bump into other people doing events, sure, doesn’t mean theres any need to do things together. See my point?

or some kind of event that leads to an “instance” in which before it starts the present player can discuss.
maybe the instance could be multifaceted, and players need to assign themselves to a specific duty; some player killing the pirate captain, while another team is clearing the deck, while another team needs to fire cannons.
before the event would start, there could be some kind of chat room to decide who does what. and each mini event within the main event could affect the other and the quality of the loot at the end.

Antikid.2341:

anet deleted it
dno why tho coz i was just saying what other people are saying

Really? Wow..stay classy Anet.

The thing is that, sure you yourself need to start being social if you want to have that in GW2.
But, as I’ve myself experienced, I found that it took quite some time to actually find a group of players interested in talking and not just grouping up and nobody said anything to anyone. They seem to be in the minority of the overall playerbase.

Compare that to a sandbox MMO, where everyone is in many ways pretty much required to talk, and the most important thing, encouraged to talk with each other.

That’s something important in an MMO I think. When you are encouraged to be social, you will tend to find that the community in general is more tightly nit, it’s more friendly, more welcoming, more exciting.
You just really wont get that if the game itself doesn’t kind of invite you in, then most people just wont bother.

Spankmymonkey.1396:

Dude…did you not read a thing I said? Yes, you do get together with other people and do events, it’s part of the game. But you don’t HAVE to group up, like join a party and just do things together. Because you don’t have to and it really isn’t required at all, people avoid it and just go about their business.

It seems like you are saying you want the game to force you to group up. I think a lot of people wouldn’t like that. If you really need a game to FORCE you to be social then that is your own fault…learn how to talk to people on your own without being forced to do it.

I have grouped with my guild to do large world events sometimes, have made friends in dungeons, and have talked to people in map chat while leveling. It obviously isn’t a fault in the game if some people are having a social experience and some aren’t.

I really dont understand this. Why does a game need to force you to be social in order to be social? I played many many MMOs and in nearly all of them there were many instances where we’d create a group to help grind quests that required killing ridiculous numbers of mobs and the only thing said during all of this was thanks for the party.

On the other hand here without even forming a party I had conversation after defeating some really nasty Group even between two people for example, I always had conversation when doing dungeons etc..

Dont get me wrong not saying that guild wars does something magically to make people have conversation just that it doesnt discourage it! you can be perfectly social without the game creating a need for it!

the game is intuitive and you don’t need people asking for anything you can see someone in distress and you know how to help them, that’s a good thing not a bad thing.

Social interaction like the word itself implies is a social thing that is what people do together. There is no need to have a gun to ones head to do it imho!

Seriously, people, stop confusing antisocial with asocial.

we are not saying “forcing players”.

but merely, ENCOURAGING social aspects.

ex: in a DE, there could be a leader, and that leader alone can type and it will appear on top of everybody screen. leader could be selected by having more total karma aquired so far, or whatever else.
without definite “LEADERS” that can “CLEARLY” get their msg to the team.
itll be chaotic.

Oddly enough, this game makes it so easy for people to cooperate that its the first (of many) mmos where I have not met and made a solid group of online friends in… it seems like the removal for the need of proper greeting and such makes the process much much harder.

and social interaction can lead to fun situation….

like a need or greed on a cool item, or a choice of tactic to use, or voting for a group leader, or whatever else the mechanics can help to do.

it can be FUN.

demonic corn.2187:

Spankmymonkey.1396:

Dude…did you not read a thing I said? Yes, you do get together with other people and do events, it’s part of the game. But you don’t HAVE to group up, like join a party and just do things together. Because you don’t have to and it really isn’t required at all, people avoid it and just go about their business.

It seems like you are saying you want the game to force you to group up. I think a lot of people wouldn’t like that. If you really need a game to FORCE you to be social then that is your own fault…learn how to talk to people on your own without being forced to do it.

I have grouped with my guild to do large world events sometimes, have made friends in dungeons, and have talked to people in map chat while leveling. It obviously isn’t a fault in the game if some people are having a social experience and some aren’t.

Well then you’re misunderstanding. You shouldn’t be forced to be social, you should be ENCOURAGED to be social. In this game, you are not. And stop with the insults dude, I posted this to have a discussion with others and quite frankly you’re pissing me off implying that I’m anti social and don’t know how to interact with others. Talking on map chat does not = socializing. That’s not what I mean. I’m talking about a community of players. You keep misunderstanding what I’m saying. People know each other and make friends by grouping up out in the world doing quests or in this case “events”. Helping each other out. By making everything automatic, it has eliminated that. No need to actually group up, because the game does it for you. No need to actually interact, because the game rewards you for reviving and helping others. People do these things out of their benefit, not because they actually want to group up. It’s an isolated experience.

Avatar.1923:

we are not saying “forcing players”.

but merely, ENCOURAGING social aspects.

ex: in a DE, there could be a leader, and that leader alone can type and it will appear on top of everybody screen. leader could be selected by having more total karma aquired so far, or whatever else.
without definite “LEADERS” that can “CLEARLY” get their msg to the team.
itll be chaotic.

There is barely anything like that given that most DEs are easy and lack strategy. The closest thing you’ll get to a leader is a bunch of random people yelling for you to fight the Shades when fighting Risen Grenth Acolyte.

Freelancer.4802:

Oddly enough, this game makes it so easy for people to cooperate that its the first (of many) mmos where I have not met and made a solid group of online friends in… it seems like the removal for the need of proper greeting and such makes the process much much harder.

This exactly.

This is a big gripe for me also. I wish the game encouraged players to actually socialize more. Right now, might as well think of other players as npc’s.

The biggest culprit for this, imo, is the fact that grouping has lost its purpose. Even when i am playing with my gf (which is sitting right next to me), the only real purpose of me being in her party is to see where she is in the map.

A solution to this: Bring back instanced missions from GW1. Harder content can be 10 man, while more easier content can be 2-5 player parties. Come on Anet….this game practically begs for this.

I’m not insulting or implying anything. All of the perceived insults were IF statements. I’m saying IF you need to game to force you into being social then that’s your own fault.

If you are saying grouping isn’t encouraged then maybe you have not fully played through it. If you are saying the community isn’t close, well, it is a new game it takes time for bonds to form.

Here are some things that encourage grouping:

1. Difficult Story Quests – having trouble in your story quest? Ask for help and make a friend in the process

2. Dungeons – you need 5 people to do a dungeon. That’s 4 potential new friends/people to build a community with

3. Tournaments – If you want to be successful in tournaments you need to find a team, and you will all be vested in success due to tournament ticket costs.

4. WvW – There is a whole community here that you should join. People coordinate attacks, defense, and are willing to group up to take towers, supply camps, or keeps. You can’t even build siege weapons without everyone helping out with supply.

Besides dungeons, you don’t NEED to group up for any of these things. However, the increased chance of success in them ENCOURAGES grouping for them. As far as events are concerned, I really wouldn’t want to have to group up for every event, that would be bothersome, and I especially don’t want someone “leading” each event, that would get annoying.

social aspects in this topic mean:

-being a player that gets noticed through his unconventional/excellent play (every class has only 1 or 2 viable builds)
-being the guy in your group (or as group) that stands out (through teamplay that doesnt exist in gw2)
-being the guild that stands out (through achieving things that no other guild has done)

these things are not possible in gw2

it is not about being friendly with other players or being part of a community

i hope this clears things up

It’s a tricky one – some areas might just have more socially inclined people.

But I think a big problem is that the game has a lot less structure than other games…………….by which I mean no real overarching storyline as there was in GW1.

That’s not a criticism (although I admit I don’t like it).

But think back to GW1 if you ever played it and the subsequent instalments.

The PvE missions meant there were always people asking for help in towns and outposts – or people forming parties.

In GW2 (only my experience) that’s sadly lacking. PvE just seems to involve running around with other players, killing things en route or undertaking the hearts.
And the other players may as well be game characters as there’s little or no interraction – it’s just kill all the creatures (or boss) and move on.

And the removal of dedicated healers etc. could well be a problem there. Again think back to GW1 and people would form parties based on specific scenarios – usually including a healer or two.
People would actively discuss tactics and skill sets required, and thus you’d make friends or join Guilds based on actually taking on the game with other players.

I think the thing we all forget is that these types of games are not new anymore. When vanilla WoW came out prolly 90% of the people playing had never touched an MMO. Everyone was learning how to play and novelty of being around other people in a persistant world made stuff so fresh. Everyone just wanted to talk and group to find out what it was all about. You mention that the social aspect dropped off at BC and I think that has a lot more to do with people getting over that initial rush and getting more focused on gear. Remember they made raid sizes smaller so that people could group easier essentially giving more people who felt locked out of the end game social club access.

Also many of the things that promoted strong social activity in vanilla WoW are now seen as tedious now by most of the MMO community. For instance you knew the good healers on the server because you had to spend an hour in LFG trying to get a run together and it was not fun to then spend an hour wiping after going through that. Raids required 40 people which did promote coordination and interaction between those folks, but you had to play a ton to keep up with that. BGs you got to know folks because you’d be sitting in your home city’s “lobby” to queue up for them so it was a good time to talk to the other people you always saw there.

To address the “time sink” over the years WoW came up with things like the dungeon finder, bg queues and small raid sizes. With those additions the community in WoW is now mostly gear driven and nasty to each other now. Everything is cross server so there’s no accountability for acting like a kitten.

Anet has done an amazing job of creating the underpinnings for social interaction under the current expectations of MMOs. You can get in an hour of gameplay and get something done WITH other people. I find that most of the random people I run across are extremely friendly in this game. I’m not being viewed as competition in the way of them completing “x activity for x reward”, so people are more inclined to stop and talk a bit if I make the effort. That to me is better than any of the other MMOs I have played over the past 5-6 years and makes me feel an experience much closer the magic in the vanilla WoW I remember.

demonic corn.2187:

I disagree with this, I think the game is very social.

You need other people around to events effectively, so that creates social interaction throughout the entire game. Some people even call out where events are happening and where the next will be so that everyone in that map can come together.

I also have a different experience than you in dungeon runs; I have added many people during these runs and have run with them again afterwards if they were a good player.

Social interaction can’t only come from everyone else, you have to get involved also. If you think the game is antisocial you only have yourself to blame.

Yup, this exactly. If you make no effort to be social, no one will be social to you back! I’ve made an effort, and made plenty of friends in the process. Hardly a single player game, definitely an MMO!

Aeson Thackery.5927:

demonic corn.2187:

I disagree with this, I think the game is very social.

You need other people around to events effectively, so that creates social interaction throughout the entire game. Some people even call out where events are happening and where the next will be so that everyone in that map can come together.

I also have a different experience than you in dungeon runs; I have added many people during these runs and have run with them again afterwards if they were a good player.

Social interaction can’t only come from everyone else, you have to get involved also. If you think the game is antisocial you only have yourself to blame.

Yup, this exactly. If you make no effort to be social, no one will be social to you back! I’ve made an effort, and made plenty of friends in the process. Hardly a single player game, definitely an MMO!

Totally agree. In general, players have almost no interest in trying to be social and making friends anymore and make no effort. They are quick to blame others and not look at themselves and see if they are part of the problem. They are totally cellular and have huge social anxiety or something. I miss the warm, friendly, welcoming community back in Everquest, but the playerbase is an entirely different beast to what it was back then and I don’t think its fair to completely blame ANet for players not being social enough. I think they can continue to re-tweak gameplay mechanics to encourage this more, but there’s only so much one can do. I think is a society problem. People are so absorbed into technology they have forgotten the ability to bond with people or something, but that’s a totally different topic.

perhaps unsocial is the word you are looking for