Guild Wars 2

ASB.4295:

Cause those people don’t really understand why they are upset. They can tolerate leveling and the journey from common to exotic because there is almost no work involved. They could also tolerate/ignore the leveling and gear system in game because they saw where it would end. There was a definite endpoint to how effective you could be: Exotics(+sigils). Now we have ascended gear. And no, not the complete set, so you could clearly see how much work you have to do until you’re finally done again. They spaced it out to make the journey longer. And when the complete set is released, they can just add new infusion tiers, because there are only fine’s now.
Those people just want to be done. They wouldn’t cry if there was only one tier of gear with one set of base stats. They wouldn’t cry if leveling didn’t give you more base stats, and just expanded your capabilities, like traits and utility slots do. They either want nothing to do with the journey of getting more powerful, or they want to ignore it, redefine it as a mandatory tutorial, after which they are fully equipped and 100% ready. They’re two different player philosophies, and you can only fully satisfy one of them at a time.

I’m not saying everyone opposing ascended gear is like that, but there’s a portion of players that looked forward that the game would almost completely lack this kind of progression, and what there was of it could be completed without too much of a time investment.

There are actually ppl like “Go make progress content, but based on the skill, brain and coordination, not based on the gear”. I expected ArenaNet to add more and more dungeons that will be more deep with mechanics, including brain puzzles, hardcore mechanics etc. Reward can be cosmetics, some kitten looking armor that You can show off in LA.

I was almost buying into that kitten bullkitten the blog poster made until he started spouting off about Nexon trying to acquire Valve. What a moron. Let’s get one thing straight: Valve is a privately funded company, they cannot be bought out. Do your homework people.

I believe it. After NCSoft shutdown City of Heroes, I stopped giving them money anyways. I pre-ordered this game a week before the news of City of Heroes and to this day I have not spent a single dollar in the cash shop. ANet might be a great group of people and developers, i’ve heared alot of good things about GW1, but their relationship to NCSoft kills it for me. I hope for all the best towards GW2 and ANet but I expect more grind in the future, a terrible cash shop, and loss of player base within a year or two.

It’s a great game but oh well, I got my 60$ out of it.

nosleepdemon.1368:

I was almost buying into that kitten bullkitten the blog poster made until he started spouting off about Nexon trying to acquire Valve. What a moron. Let’s get one thing straight: Valve is a privately funded company, they cannot be bought out. Do your homework people.

Well, anything can be bought if you have enough money in the corporate world. There’s the adage that “everyone has their price”.

Also a rumor like that only takes one of two things to start it. Someone overhearing that an offer was made and declined, or needing to make something up to fill a blog post for a day

nosleepdemon.1368:

I was almost buying into that kitten bullkitten the blog poster made until he started spouting off about Nexon trying to acquire Valve. What a moron. Let’s get one thing straight: Valve is a privately funded company, they cannot be bought out. Do your homework people.

type into Google: nexon+valve

do your homework

of course, it is still unconfirmed, but that hardly makes the blogger a “moron”.

is every other blogger who has reported on this a “moron” also?

I thought the valve Nexon rumor was well known. Gabe newell even made a statement about it somewhere. I believe he said it would never happen which in business speak could be the truth or were working out my package. You never can tell Can’t find it at moment but I did find these.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/09/27/report-nexon-and-ncsoft-trying-to-acquire-valve

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/11/valve-partners-with-nexon-to-bring-dota-2-to-japan-and-korea/

Anyone who has read about the way Valve operates and their hiring practices would be able to tell you that no one is going to be buying Valve. This isn’t some “we have loads of private funding so our way is the only way” BS like what’s written on ArenaNet’s website, this is fundamentally how the company operates. The blogger’s a moron for ruining a perfectly good speculative post with complete hyperbole, thereby rendering me unable to believe any of his other points.

Narkosys.5173:

That is based on speculation.
It depends on how you see things. Did they throw out the manifesto?
Tier gear and gated content.
Yes Nexon owns 15% voting shares of NC Soft in part publishes Anet who produces GW2.
Beyond that we just dont know the influence one has over the other.
It is safe to say they are without doubt making significant altering choices in the vision and direction of the game. The rest is up to you to decide and your critical thinking.

I will say this I played the game every day for 6+hours and on the 15th I stopped.

Yes they threw out the manifesto (well a big, big part of it). Again I will point out Mike O’Brien, Ree Sosebee and (most importantly, assumed former lead game designer) Eric Flannum have all been very quite since launch. I believe Eric is gone…

All evidence to me points to an internal shake up that they tried to keep very quite. It probably came quickly. I’ve never forgotten that ArenaNet was owned by NCSoft and that they have always maintained full control. I kind of expected them to gut the company and use Korean resources to maintain the game and add new content post launch. ArenaNet’s lead by an artistic group of visionaries, the funding flows from business savy, cut-throat NCSoft. They let they artist and dreams have their way until a better way to make money off what they produce can be had. Then they step up and remind everyone of who’s little kitten they are.

If there is any of truth to this the game is doomed. I hope NCSoft is reading this.

SamTheGuardian.2938:

Narkosys.5173:

That is based on speculation.
It depends on how you see things. Did they throw out the manifesto?
Tier gear and gated content.
Yes Nexon owns 15% voting shares of NC Soft in part publishes Anet who produces GW2.
Beyond that we just dont know the influence one has over the other.
It is safe to say they are without doubt making significant altering choices in the vision and direction of the game. The rest is up to you to decide and your critical thinking.

I will say this I played the game every day for 6+hours and on the 15th I stopped.

Yes they threw out the manifesto (well a big, big part of it). Again I will point out Mike O’Brien, Ree Sosebee and (most importantly, assumed former lead game designer) Eric Flannum have all been very quite since launch. I believe Eric is gone…

All evidence to me points to an internal shake up that they tried to keep very quite. It probably came quickly. I’ve never forgotten that ArenaNet was owned by NCSoft and that they have always maintained full control. I kind of expected them to gut the company and use Korean resources to maintain the game and add new content post launch. ArenaNet’s lead by an artistic group of visionaries, the funding flows from business savy, cut-throat NCSoft. They let they artist and dreams have their way until a better way to make money off what they produce can be had. Then they step up and remind everyone of who’s little kitten they are.

If there is any of truth to this the game is doomed. I hope NCSoft is reading this.

Isn’t Ree Sosebee writer for the game lore and events, not in charge of the code?

Que?! Say what?! Wut?!

It sound like this is going to turn into a self fulfilled prophecy. Ppl are going to point out small flaw all the time to the point of them not making much money off the game then they MUST get others to buy parts them or the game will die as they are being bought by others the way the game MAY play or will be blamed on for having this small flaw or another will keep pushing the game away from its old ideas.

Simply put the fans them self are killing the game by endless complaining this is just one of them and should be treating as such.

I’ve been seeing this 15% aspect here and there, but the wider perspective has yet been presented. Is 15% the biggest single share holder? (is the other 85% broken up into 1%-14% shareholders?) What is the whole picture? What/who is the largest shareholder? (I’d guess Anet is largest single share holder. /shrug) What influence might a 15% have via straight up share holding or contractual partnerships bring? /shrug.

Yup they are the largest shareholder:
http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/06/08/nexon-invests-6-8m-in-ncsoft-becomes-largest-shareholder/

Loumy.7841:

Yup they are the largest shareholder:
http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/06/08/nexon-invests-6-8m-in-ncsoft-becomes-largest-shareholder/

From the article:
“This puts Nexon’s share ownership of NCsoft at 14.7%.”

That means they have the largest amount of shares, but it doesn’t mean they get to dictate terms to the rest of the shareholders.

Well . . . “should not mean”.

The article the OP quoted is not very reliable but there is truth in Nexon buying 15% of shares in NcSoft and thereby owning a majority share in comparison.

Nexon is known for their f2p games and I am pretty sure it will affect NcSoft operations. If the Consortium is a personification of Nexon in GW2 is speculation. An interesting theory but still a theory.

Gehenna.3625:

The article the OP quoted is not very reliable but there is truth in Nexon buying 15% of shares in NcSoft and thereby owning a majority share in comparison.

Nexon is known for their f2p games and I am pretty sure it will affect NcSoft operations. If the Consortium is a personification of Nexon in GW2 is speculation. An interesting theory but still a theory.

Well that is a possibility, but it could be the Consortium is to Black Lion what the Inquest is to the colleges in Rata Sum. Far as I can tell, the Consortium appears asura-controlled . . .

That blog post is silly and without any solid basis. The writer doesn’t even check to see how long it actually takes ANet’s teams to design something like Lost Shores. They just assume an amount of time to fit their purpose.

With how the games been sold to the masses they need to tread careful cos if they try to go pay 2 win they will have servers devoid of players and a ton less money than what they whould have if managed smart.

i dont know enough about this Nexon thing cos I play games I dont research em, but they dont sound like the type that will try to let the game carry on along the road Anet originally planned.

Lutharr.1035:

With how the games been sold to the masses they need to tread careful cos if they try to go pay 2 win they will have servers devoid of players and a ton less money than what they whould have if managed smart.

i dont know enough about this Nexon thing cos I play games I dont research em, but they dont sound like the type that will try to let the game carry on along the road Anet originally planned.

Due to the fact you can buy anything in-game with gold and that you can buy gold with gems, this game is already treading on the toes of Pay to Win whilst not actually going there directly. Anybody with a fat wallet can get all the loot they desire in this game just by coughing up their credit card number.

I’m not saying it’s a 100% Pay to Win scenario, but I am saying those with little time and fat wallets can get gear that others took weeks or months to obtain, thus removing any prestige said gear has.

If new armor sets keep getting released then anyone with the real life cash can be ahead in WvWvW immediately rather than having to grind the gear out over a period of time. It’s almost Pay to Win, but not quite, but you can buy yourself a distinct advantage for a period of time.

The good news is Valve is still Valve, for now anyways.

Jski.6180:

It sound like this is going to turn into a self fulfilled prophecy. Ppl are going to point out small flaw all the time to the point of them not making much money off the game then they MUST get others to buy parts them or the game will die as they are being bought by others the way the game MAY play or will be blamed on for having this small flaw or another will keep pushing the game away from its old ideas.

Simply put the fans them self are killing the game by endless complaining this is just one of them and should be treating as such.

I agree with the sentiment here. All that has occurred is a single tiered dungeon, not a 40 man soul crushing series of raids that can only be mastered with weekly ventures that drone on for hours and hours week after week, month after month to obtain the new best in slot and generally replace every item on your character with every expansion, endlessly. So far as I’m aware it’s some new accessories with stats just a few points above exotic and a new upgrade slot that provides a few more points in conjunction with the new ‘Agony’ resistance that has no bearing on the game outside of FotM.

I don’t seem to ever see anyone simply post anything like, “Hey guys at A-Net. We see you put in some new jewelry and this new upgrade slot. Most of us are really hoping this isn’t a sign of rapid, massive, sweeping changes to gear in this game becoming more like the treadmill style we’ve left behind in other games. Just hoping you keep in mind what the majority of your consumer base wants out of this game.”

It’s almost always along the lines of, “YOU ARE DEAD TO ME A-NET!!! YOU’VE IRRETRIEVABLY SHATTERED MY TRUST AND FAITH IN YOU BECAUSE OF WHAT THIS SMALL GEAR UPGRADE MAY PORTEND!!! I DON’T THINK I CAN EVER FORGIVE THIS AND I THINK WE SHOULD GET SEPERATE APARTMENTS AND START SEEING OTHER GAMES!!!”

Just saying, I see where measured suspicion may be warranted of the recent action of adding these few ‘Ascended accessories’ and upgrade slots. Mainly because of how many of the recent MMO title’s launched with such majestic expectations and then quickly went over the falls in titanic, catastrophic fashion. A Boston Tea Party style boycott may be jumping the gun just a tad though. IF GW2 IS going to kitten the bed though? At least let em do it first before we call in the lawyers and file for restraining orders.

If the point is reached where I feel left behind and not a ‘competitive’ player anymore? I’ll just stop playing. Done it before with plenty of other games and never took it personally. Heck Bioware has made plenty of fun games for me, Funcom may surprise us someday too (well, maybe ;P). I never felt I had to swear a blood oath to never patronize them again in my life either though.

I still have high hopes for GW2 as well until I’m given an actual, confirmed reason not to. Not just assumptions and conjecture about what may happen in the future from the industry experts and pontificators. That’s just me and my subjective opinion though – every single one of us is entitled to our own as well. That’s my two copper anyway.

NaughtyProwler.8653:

The good news is Valve is still Valve, for now anyways.

Not exactly true. Valve was once a game developer now their focus shifted towards acquiring teams that have potential to bring them even more money. Not to mention their gold mine called Steam which allows them to forget about stuff mortal players in the game industry need to worry about.

If Nexon takes over GW2, I’m uninstalling on the spot and never looking back.

Caedmon.6798:

Mm i know what they did to atlantica ( one of the very Very few f2p’s i have actually enjoyed ). 15% is alot..but not so much that they are in control,they have a word but not the last word.I dont think it will change alot,if it does..then…well…i rather not say.

Actually, that 14.7% of shares they have makes them the largest single shareholder. That gives them far more influence (especially with the board of directors – and they’ll have a say next time board selections happen – and other decision-makers at the upper end of NCSoft’s heirarchy) than would be the case if there were others with equal or greater shares.

Guys think about the timing in which Nexon bought the shares. All indicators show they had a very strong interest in GW2. They bought into the company knowing NCSoft had 100% control over ArenaNet because NCSoft owns 100% of ArenaNet. A lot of people think NCSoft is just the publisher and ArenaNet is independently owned and that’s not true. ArenaNet has zero independence outside of what Korean owned NCSoft chooses to extend to it. It’s been that way from the beginning.

Well to put it bluntly. If they screw the game up with stupid payment models everyone will quit and they wont make anything. So I doubt these people who know buisness would make such a stupid move.

Chill out. Calm down. Dont be preachers of doom until there is something to at least preach about..

There are some very convincing threads both here and over at gw2 guru that outline a parallel narrative in the Lost Shore story, ArenaNet’s way of explaining why it happened, is happening, within the story and code of game.

Needing to break nexon’s grip to win back gw2 could be the new narrative.

Interesting read, and if true is a very scary thought. I will sit back and hold judgement until I see more “monetary”-like behavior from Arenanet. Keeping on this topic, it would be a sad day indeed to see a developer such as Arenanet sell out for more money to a company that looks toxic. I only started following GW2 in March, I was sold on all of what they fed me, and it was so until recently. The article makes a good point, it takes several months for content to be created. Curious timeline.

I will say this though(agreeing with the article):
-Arenanet did betray 7 years of reputation from gw1
-Arenanet went against their manifesto(No, Im sorry, there was no gap between exotic and legendary..you decided to create one recently. Previously, it was all equal. This was not a reason)
-Arenanet is catering more towards hardcores, but will quickly learn that lesson

I am done with the game for at least a while, and if they don’t fix the fractal level system(at least), I will be done for good. My level 5 character should be able to join a higher level group, or at least be able to find a lvl 5 group easier. The fact that they are not even working on a Dungeon Finder right now just confirms my fears that I will be out of this game for a while. Too disgusted to play the game. If I log in, it is to just check up on things… look at map chat to see how things are progressing in terms of older dungeons being run, and what fractal level groups people are looking for. I am leaving myself at level 5. I am curious to see if anyone is looking for lower level groups day to day, week to week. Instead of Guild Wars 2, I am playing WoW for at least the next month.

They need more gear to be honest. You can’t have it both ways by adding “just one more” tier.

If your going the progression route at least do it well. Add some 10 man with Legendary armor and weapons with a bump in stats.

For me, I was fine pre-patch and fine post-patch. The only difference is instead of running explorable all day I run fractals, which at least I can continue to watch a number go up to see how far I can get instead of /shrugging and saying “well thats 60 tokens I will just use for forge or salvage, no good unique drops (because we ALL love pure random tables), but hey 26 silver on top of it!”

Edit: The only stat that baffles me is that they bumped a % based stat. It is one thing to have an extra +2 condition dmg, but an entirely different thing to have +2% critical damage

I see dark times in GW2 future.

Also think about it guys….I feel ArenaNet is still passionate and true to their game….however they are being forced/controlled by Ncsoft to go another direction…and if Nexon get their grubby lil controlling hands in on this then all I can say is…I hope for the staff of Anet the best…..Ncsoft and Nexon are a cancer.

All I wanna say are….

<beep!> <beep!> and <beep!> to Nexon and the pre-Nexon manager ….

Bring your stupid strategies back to Korea and don’t try to pollute GW2 again.

Maybe there are little clues about this in the Lost Shores?

“Under new management” – those that have done the jumping puzzle will remember this achievement. I wonder if they’re trying to tell us something here…?

Azelroth.6801:

Maybe there are little clues about this in the Lost Shores?

“Under new management” – those that have done the jumping puzzle will remember this achievement. I wonder if they’re trying to tell us something here…?

I thought the exact same thing when I saw this

To be honest Ive made my peace with ascended gear. If it was a one time deal, as they say it is, I would have worked for it. My problem now lies with fractal levels. I cant possibly keep up with everyone moving so fast in levels. It disgusts me to feel the need to log in each day to run that dungeon(while as awsome as it is)…forsaking all other dungeons. If this is what Nexon and/or NCsoft is pushing, I want no part of it.

I would say, even this is partially true then the future of GW2 will be very bad indeed.

So people can be bought by large dollars….

What a sad world this has become.

And I saw that the game is turning into a pay to win game, right in the article. I mentioned this a month ago, and all’s I got from my comment is negative feedback.

Well I told ya’s so.

The problem is, whilst Koreans make great MMOs, they tend to make them extremely grindy – Maple Story for instance was perhaps one of the biggest grinders in history, I haven’t played many F2P MMos that haven’t either been pay to win or grindfests.

Dragon Nest, Maple Story, Vindictus, and Mabinogi all were too grindy for me. That’s why they are all called Asian grinders. Unfortunate but true … many asian players tend to favor repetitive game play. Most of these types of players relax at home with a beer after a day’s hard work in the office. They don’t want anything that requires thinking. So they just want something that requires minimum thinking. Personally I like games with minimal grinding but lots of stories.

Sadly that article made entire sense and seems very likely.

I also remember reading something about gw2 not being a gear grind treadmill…
Perhaps it’s not, but is sure as heck is a material treadmill. Grind to get the materials to make ____…or pay the ridiculous Trading Post cost. Tier 6 Materials prices are freaking mind boggling.

If you want weapons with a glow or particle effect, you’re going to have to buy a ton of gems and convert to afford it…or spend a year farming the materials only to have the items become obselete when the next batch of gear’s released. (Legendaries are the exception, for now) GW2 is not the poor nor the casual persons game…not anymore…

I think I get the storyline in gw2 now. Nexon=zhaitan, and their turning arena net into their undead minions.

cesmode.4257:

…..

-Arenanet is catering more towards hardcores, but will quickly learn that lesson

I am done with the game for at least a while, and if they don’t fix the fractal level system(at least), I will be done for good….

…..Instead of Guild Wars 2, I am playing WoW for at least the next month.

I’m sorry. not that I want to specifically call anyone out or anything but this just lept at me like those infant Aliens that attatch to your face in that movie, well… Alien heh.
No one needs take anything personal here, we’re just having a discussion. We’re all independant, mature gamers who know what we want in a game and will of course gravitate to the game that best suits that.

It just appears to me from the above that the poster is inferring that a more casual game is what they are looking for (and that they already feel that an inferred promise by the producers of GW2 to be that casual MMO has been broken), especially in terms of gear and content progression. From either the recent addition of rings, a backpack, and an upgrade slot that slightly excede the stats of similar exotic items along with one, tiered, 5 man dungeon, and / or from the “facts” hinted at in the blog that the OP has linked, in favor of a more casual friendly game, someone is leaving GW2 to go back to playing WoW?

Are some players, who appear to be seeking a “casual friendly” MMO abandoning GW2 for WoW and other MMOs because they already believe WoW and others are more casual now? Or are people shelving GW2 currently to play other games just doing so for reasons completely outside of and seperate from the “casual vs. hardcore” reasons? I mean is it simple protest and boycott or is WoW and other MMOs like it really already seen as the more casual game(s) compared to GW2?

Either there’s a very drastic change to GW2 that I’ve completely over looked or my understanding of the definitions of casual and hardcore games is extremely flawed and skewed. By my current understanding, despite the new rings, backpack and tiered dungeon, games like WoW and those similar are light years more hardcore, particularly in their gear progression and time demands to stay on par with the rest of the community.

Likewise by my current understanding, choosing WoW over GW2 because of those recent highlighted events, as the more casual game isn’t just jumping the gun its, well… it’s way beyond any addage anyone has coined so far in humanity’s history of pithy adages!

I dunno, I’m just not getting it from that viewpoint. If someone wants to go check out the new expansion because the commercials look cool and it’s already turning into a REALLY boring Winter for them too? That makes perfect sense to me. I didn’t think I’d want to but I think I might check it out. I’m even thinking about frapsing it as a satirical piece – I’D BE LOGGING IN WEARING THE SHAMAN TIER 2 GEAR – TEN STORMS SET LOL!!! I’m going straight into a BG too! That my friends is gonna be comedy! I don’t see any possibility of getting back into WoW though because I have NO WHERE NEAR the time needed to be competitive there, it would just be a novelty. That’s what I’m getting at when I wonder why someone might attempt to return to WoW seeking a more casual game than GW2 though.

/shrug

To each their own.

P.S Anyone with any critically thinking inclination saw the potential for GW2 to become a pay-to-win game from the instant it’s revenue model was announced. No matter who or what accused “Antichrist” of a company has their hands on the wheel the temptation is gonna just… BE THERE.

That “article” is little more than the “Left Behind” series of how it could happen in GW2. It assumes A WHOLE LOT, establishes nothing, and isn’t much more than fiction with a REALLY loose premise whose only real goal is to stir up some kind of reaction. The fact is we’ll all have to sit here and see what develops. I guess with a few blogging on-lookers attempting to identify any ‘Nostradamus-like’ conspiracy instead of fringe anthropologists drawing loose “conclusions” about Mayan calendars and what not.

When a company refuses to maintain an open, honest and transparent dialogue, speculation and pessimism are the only tools left to defend yourself with.

How often has it been proven that silence, denial and/or meek justification in the face of such things has ever lead to a positive result in the court of public opinion.

It does seem like Anet is going against many of their design philosophies. Whether it is because of Nexon, it is hard to tell, but the cash shop is currently such a joke in many aspects. The horrible items one can get from chests is not even worth it, and Anet keeps playing on peoples gambling addictions to make money. Other items are ridiculously expensive such as dyes. This leads many to questions why dyes were changed from account bound to character bound in the first place. Most people believe it was an attempt by Anet to just make more money…

Introducing a Gear Treadmill and such is also very questionable… I have to say, I can’t agree with the way Anet has been managing their game recently.

ITT: conspiracy theorists who think investment = change in artistic direction or business model.

There are bits of truth in that article, but it was clearly written to be fear-mongering and garner the internet’s controversy and rage. Internet, like the dark side, feeds on rage and fear, and also on feelings of being maligned, and the post merely exploited that by stirring up some controversy. Don’t take it at face value.

But there is some truth in the post, of course. Nexon has been involved with NCSoft since March or so. I recall the beta forums making some outraged remarks about Ms. Cox, but it’s still inappropriate to assault or accuse specific individuals. If I recall, Anet’s stated that they have not had their arms twisted, and that their actions have been purely internally-driven. They’re designing the game as they feel it’s best designed.

For those wondering how on earth they could believe introducing Ascended gear was okay: they have two groups to cater to. One wishes for gear progression, and the other does not. I believe their current approach to satisfying the desires of both groups is to introduce this gear progression, but keep it confined to limited content, such as the Fractals. Most content should still be practical at rare/exotic level, but if you want to progress farther, ascended gear is available (and only really necessary in the Fractals). Of course, this falls apart when you consider WvW, but I won’t say their plan is perfect. I think they are intending to implement a fully optional gear progression for those that desire it. I don’t believe they intend to ignore the large portion of their audience that vehemently opposes stat progression, and I still have faith in Anet’s ability to continue designing intelligently.

That’s my two cents.

Maz.8604:

When a company refuses to maintain an open, honest and transparent dialogue, speculation and pessimism are the only tools left to defend yourself with.

How often has it been proven that silence, denial and/or meek justification in the face of such things has ever lead to a positive result in the court of public opinion.

Thing is, Anet do tend to post responses to player concerns, admittedly they don’t do a particularly brilliant job of making their responses visible since they’re often buried in a forum, on their twitter, in a blog or in some completely random place altogether but they do tend to respond somewhere.

Unfortunately that doesn’t stop people from calling them liars and a whole host of other nasty things even when the post is pretty clear, let’s take Chris Whiteside’s blog post about ascended gear for instance:

“I’d like to respond to concerns players have raised about ascended items. Please keep in mind that we’re releasing this as one portion of a massive November update that introduces and improves many aspects of challenge, progression, and rewards. With this and upcoming updates, we view ourselves as introducing large amounts of content with supporting systems and features, akin to an expansion pack, building on Guild Wars 2 through a series of live releases. So it’s important for us to be able to add an expansion pack’s worth of progression and rewards to support that content.

Our goal is not to create a gear treadmill. Our goal is to ensure we have a proper progression for players from exotic up to legendary without a massive jump in reward between the two. We will slowly add the remaining ascended gear items and legendary items in future updates to allow people time to acquire them as we add exciting new content that deserves exciting rewards. We will not be adding a new tier of gear every 3 months that we expect everyone to chase after and then get the next set and so on.

Ascended and infusion rewards will be available in both PvE and WvW over time, and be made available through all sorts of content around the world including existing content. PvP will remain unaffected to ensure our intended PvP balance going forward. We are also working on other reward and progression systems for the game that tie into current and new content and features. As you know we care very much about your support and opinion and are listening intently to what you say.
Finally we look forward to hearing your thoughts on the upcoming content, and we will ensure we share our thoughts with you on the experiences we share in the Lost Shores."

Chris Whiteside – Studio Design Director

People have called him a liar, said the post is vague, said that they could change their mind and make it a treadmill instead anyway (I.E. They just want something to whine about and someone to vilify) and a whole bunch of other things in response to that post.

I’d say that post was fairly clear, even if you dig into it a bit deeper all it means is that when they add new content they’ll stick a couple of bits of ascended gear in there to encourage people who might otherwise give it a miss to try that content, I do however feel like they need to work on the grind factor of it though, by no means should it be a freebie but it takes so much time to get any of the gear that it sucks the fun out of things fast.

Ickorus.4518:

Maz.8604:

When a company refuses to maintain an open, honest and transparent dialogue, speculation and pessimism are the only tools left to defend yourself with.

How often has it been proven that silence, denial and/or meek justification in the face of such things has ever lead to a positive result in the court of public opinion.

Thing is, Anet do tend to post responses to player concerns, admittedly they don’t do a particularly brilliant job of making their responses visible since they’re often buried in a forum, on their twitter, in a blog or in some completely random place altogether but they do tend to respond somewhere.

Unfortunately that doesn’t stop people from calling them liars and a whole host of other nasty things even when the post is pretty clear, let’s take Chris Whiteside’s blog post about ascended gear for instance:

“I’d like to respond to concerns players have raised about ascended items. Please keep in mind that we’re releasing this as one portion of a massive November update that introduces and improves many aspects of challenge, progression, and rewards. With this and upcoming updates, we view ourselves as introducing large amounts of content with supporting systems and features, akin to an expansion pack, building on Guild Wars 2 through a series of live releases. So it’s important for us to be able to add an expansion pack’s worth of progression and rewards to support that content.

Our goal is not to create a gear treadmill. Our goal is to ensure we have a proper progression for players from exotic up to legendary without a massive jump in reward between the two. We will slowly add the remaining ascended gear items and legendary items in future updates to allow people time to acquire them as we add exciting new content that deserves exciting rewards. We will not be adding a new tier of gear every 3 months that we expect everyone to chase after and then get the next set and so on.

Ascended and infusion rewards will be available in both PvE and WvW over time, and be made available through all sorts of content around the world including existing content. PvP will remain unaffected to ensure our intended PvP balance going forward. We are also working on other reward and progression systems for the game that tie into current and new content and features. As you know we care very much about your support and opinion and are listening intently to what you say.
Finally we look forward to hearing your thoughts on the upcoming content, and we will ensure we share our thoughts with you on the experiences we share in the Lost Shores."

Chris Whiteside – Studio Design Director

People have called him a liar, said the post is vague, said that they could change their mind and make it a treadmill instead anyway (I.E. They just want something to whine about and someone to vilify) and a whole bunch of other things in response to that post.

I’d say that post was fairly clear, even if you dig into it a bit deeper all it means is that when they add new content they’ll stick a couple of bits of ascended gear in there to encourage people who might otherwise give it a miss to try that content, I do however feel like they need to work on the grind factor of it though, by no means should it be a freebie but it takes so much time to get any of the gear that it sucks the fun out of things fast.

It’s good you brought that post up. With what’s been goin on its probably been buried pretty deep.