Guild Wars 2

First, I want to say that I do realize what ANet was aiming for with this new system. It is a way to gradually introduce the mechanics of the game to the brand new player. The game gets progressively harder as the person’s levels increase. I get that.

It would seem, however, that in ANet’s desire to complete this objective, they overdid it. Leveling does not seem more rewarding now, and it certainly isn’t feeling any more “fun.” It feels even more tedious than it did before. Some of the lockgates are ridiculous. For example, did you guys know that combo fields do not unlock until level 52?

To be fair, here’s my feedback on the good, the bad, and the ugly of the new system.

Good:
- Leveling takes less time in the lower levels.
- Irritating hearts have been removed or changed.
- Tedious unlocking of weapon abilities is gone (ignoring the level locks for a moment).
- Personal Story isn’t the jumbled mess that it used to be. (I don’t agree with it not starting until level 10 though).

Bad:
- The lock-gates are spread out too far. If ANet is set on keeping this lock system, then they need to rework it.
[Suggested Solution] By level 20, a person should have all abilities unlocked. To still be unlocking mechanics at 52 is just ludicrous.
- Map completion items are locked.
[Suggested Solution] No map completion item should be locked – AT ALL. Having these items locked serves no educational purpose to a new player. It is simply content that is arbitrarily withheld from them.
- Some hearts have been “dumbed down” to the point of being insulting.
[Suggested Solution] New players enjoy a challenge. If you remove the challenge, you’re not going to keep their attention. Put the challenge back in the beginning hearts (some challenge, at least).

Ugly:
- There is no option for a veteran player to turn the new leveling system off. I distinctly remember the introductory blog post stating that veteran players would be able to disable the new system if they wished. Where is that option? Most of the griping and complaining about the new system would cease if ANet would give veteran players the ability to disable the new system like the blog post stated. This option is a must.

Feel free to add your own “Good, Bad, and Ugly” lists.

Just so you know, the only part of the NPE that Anet said you’d be able to turn off is the compass telling you where to go for hearts, waypoints and such NOT the level gating they added.