Is this the most casual MMO ever?

Is this the most casual MMO ever?

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Posted by: felivear.1536

felivear.1536

Is this the most casual AAA MMO ever? I know some of you will get offended by this question thinking I’m attacking the game, but clearly, it was a design decision that Anet went for. Just curious if there has been another with more casual elements?

feLIVEar: Your resident forum king.

(edited by felivear.1536)

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Posted by: Adine.2184

Adine.2184

Yes and i like it that way .

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Posted by: UnderdogSMO.9428

UnderdogSMO.9428

I would say yes. As lest for its age group and target market. Its a game much in the style of things like zelda. Easy to pick up and play but harder to master.

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Posted by: Vayne.8563

Vayne.8563

I think it depends on how you define casual. Do you mean that they’ve taken away a lot of the need to min/max? Are you talking purely difficulty level? Are you talking about not having raids?

Without a definition there’s no way to answer the question. Or you can answer it, but the answer will be meaningless.

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Posted by: Scumbag Mawile.6384

Scumbag Mawile.6384

Casuals are also usually a lot more tolerable than keyboard warrior elitist game-is-my-lifes.

Well, unless you’re a keyboard warrior elitist game-is-my-life.

Disciple of Quag

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Posted by: Karizee.8076

Karizee.8076

Casual in that you don’t need to grind out gear for weeks or months before you can access content, sure. You can roll a new toon and be playing maxed out fully geared PvP 10 minutes later. Skill is the defining quality, not how much time you’ve invested.

PvE-wise it’s very accessible. You can access all level appropriate content immediately without needing to grind out weeks or months to gain ilvl or gearscore. Again, skill is the defining quality.

You can however spend a lifetime (hardcore) tweaking builds and gearsets or going for the most desirable skins and of course, improving your skills. As UnderdogSMO said, it’s easy to pick up play, difficult to master.

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Posted by: Algreg.3629

Algreg.3629

yes, and in today´s gaming market, it has to be. Sadly for some, including me, good for others. There is just no way around it, the costs of developing and running big games, especially online massive multiplayer ones, are just too great for any other target audience model to succeed. And the invention of a casual friendly grind system now is an ingenious move from a business point of view.

(edited by Algreg.3629)

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Posted by: marnick.4305

marnick.4305

yes, and in today´s gaming market, it has to be. Sadly for some, including me, good for others. There is just no way around it, the costs of developing and running big games, especially online massive multiplayer ones, are just too great for any other target audience model to succeed. And the invention of a casual friendly grind system now is an ingenious move from a business point of view.

I used to be very hardcore back as a student, and I was pretty vocal about it. Problem is, as a hardcore gamer, I was also rather poor and didn’t really support the games I played. Now I have a well paid job, which I can use to support my hobbies, of which GW2 is one. On the other hand, my time is far more limited. So here you have a double killer for the hardcore market:

- casual people are a vast majority. I’d wager 90+% but can’t give exact figures.
- casual people, on average, are willing to pay2win to invest in their favourite hobbies.
- hardcore people, on average, don’t want to pay2win since it invalidates “hard work”

So whether you count heads or dollars, casuals are what drives the gaming market. Developers are starting to realize that.

A day has 24 hours, no more, no less. Many things eat into that, be it work, kids, chores, family, other hobbies … No matter the way you turn it, for most people videogames are last on the priority list. However people want to spend big money on hobbies. Hobby cyclists often have $4000 bikes which they use twice a year or so. That’s why GW2 took the route of pay2save time.

If I can’t play Guild Wars 2 at work, I won’t work in Guild Wars 2 either.
Delayed content is eventually good. Rushed content is eternally bad. ~ Shigeru Miyamoto

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Posted by: Danikat.8537

Danikat.8537

In some ways yes it is.

The fact that you can get Exotic armor relatively easily and don’t need Ascended for anything other than higher level Fractals makes it very casual friendly. You don’t need to put a huge amount of time into the game before you’re able to actually start doing what you wanted to do. Combined with the fact that there’s no subscription fee so you don’t need to make sure you’re playing enough to get your money’s worth each month it’s great for people who don’t have a huge amount of time.

But as a lot of people have said actually getting to be good at the game, especially in PvP, takes skill; you need to understand your class and have a definite build in mind (as opposed to people like me who just toss trait points into whatever sounds interesting) and also understand general mechanics like what each buff and condition does.

All of which casual players can do. But in my experience they’re less likely to. They’re more likely to be satisfied with using traits they think are fun or which ‘sound useful’ and if it takes them longer to kill something or they can’t solo a dungeon then oh well, it’s no big deal.

In that way too I’d say the game is focused on casual players because even at level 80 you can get away with that, at least as long as you have some friends with you. But the extra complexity is there for those who want it and the difference in skill level will be evident.

Danielle Aurorel, Dear Dragon We Got Your Cookies [Nom], Desolation (EU).

“Life’s a journey, not a destination.”

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Posted by: dinominator.9862

dinominator.9862

I love it because I’m finally getting to play at my own pace, if and when time allows, and am still able to feel like I can make progress.

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Posted by: Varmyr.4253

Varmyr.4253

I think it is and I thank ANet for that! I’ve played WoW, LOTRO and SWTOR, with various degrees of involvement, but GW2 is the only mmo I plan on playing for a long time, specifically because I don’t feel forced to catch up to someone. I hit 80, I have a set of exotics from crafting and that’s it, I’m on level with everyone. (Ascended gear is a nice touch but from what I understood it’s benefits are mostly for a specific dungeon).

There are also parts that I find more difficult, like explore mode dungeons or pvp, but I don’t feel actually forced to do that to be competitive (at a fairly generic item level).

Overall, I’m really pleased with how casual-friendly this game is and it’s the no.1 reason I plan to stick with it for a long time.

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Posted by: CureForLiving.5360

CureForLiving.5360

Is this the most casual AAA MMO ever? I know some of you will get offended by this statement thinking I’m attacking the game, but clearly, it was a design decision that Anet went for. Just curious if there has been another with more casual elements?

Seeing as how the title reads: “Legitimate Question”, while you clearly self identify it as a statement. I’m significantly more offended by the fact that you feel the need to lie to get people to read your comments.

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Posted by: Alloy.2839

Alloy.2839

Is this the most casual AAA MMO ever? I know some of you will get offended by this statement thinking I’m attacking the game, but clearly, it was a design decision that Anet went for. Just curious if there has been another with more casual elements?

I didn’t think you were attacking the game, I though you were simply stating that GW2 is a great game for casual gamers, which of course it is.

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Posted by: Grim.9274

Grim.9274

On one hand it’s incredibly easy and hand-holdy to get to max level and hotjoin pvp. Than on the reverse side you have the ascended gear treadmill.

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Posted by: Cowrex.9564

Cowrex.9564

I really love the game as it is

Give a man fire, he will be warm, set a man on fire, he will be warm forever! …or dead…

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Posted by: Aeonblade.8709

Aeonblade.8709

It’s a great casual MMO.

I wouldn’t say it’s the most casual because of the gated gear treadmill they put in place is a lot harder than some other MMO’s out there.

Anarai Aeonblade [GASM] – Guardian – DB
RIP my fair Engi and Ranger, you will be missed.

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Posted by: shadowshaw.9217

shadowshaw.9217

Of all the games I’ve ever played online, this one has the best pick-up-and-play style I’ve ever experienced. I’d say it is a great game for casuals who want to play an MMO.

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Posted by: PinCushion.7390

PinCushion.7390

I can log on after work and within 10 minutes be in a siege in WvW, or be in a hotjoin sPvP match. I can, with difficulty, be in a dungeon group or fractals group. I can easily be making incremental progress on any number of PvE goals, or be halfway done with my daily (if I care).

Other MMOs I’ve played take hours of prep time before you can even start to play. My other MMO is EVE Online. It’s a great game, but it takes loads of logistics just to be able to get started. You have to have the proper ships in station beforehand, you have to have already skilled into the proper ships and weapons that your guild (ok, “corp”) uses, you have to know what time the fleet will form up and be there on time so you can wait 30 minutes for everyone who’s late. I enjoy both MMOs, but EVE is my “when I have loads of spare time” MMO. GW2 is my “when I have an hour before bed” MMO. I find EVE to be a more typical MMO experience in terms of time-investment. GW2 is far easier on time investment and therefore MUCH more casual-friendly.

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Posted by: Shimond.2478

Shimond.2478

Depends on your definition of casual. If you’re pushing for the top content (high level fractals) the game demands you log in and play daily both for the daily and the fractal dailies (not to mention doing dragon chests for rares to break down for ectos). Some wouldn’t call that requirement ‘casual’

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Posted by: Cowrex.9564

Cowrex.9564

I can log on after work and within 10 minutes be in a siege in WvW, or be in a hotjoin sPvP match. I can, with difficulty, be in a dungeon group or fractals group. I can easily be making incremental progress on any number of PvE goals, or be halfway done with my daily (if I care).

Other MMOs I’ve played take hours of prep time before you can even start to play. My other MMO is EVE Online. It’s a great game, but it takes loads of logistics just to be able to get started. You have to have the proper ships in station beforehand, you have to have already skilled into the proper ships and weapons that your guild (ok, “corp”) uses, you have to know what time the fleet will form up and be there on time so you can wait 30 minutes for everyone who’s late. I enjoy both MMOs, but EVE is my “when I have loads of spare time” MMO. GW2 is my “when I have an hour before bed” MMO. I find EVE to be a more typical MMO experience in terms of time-investment. GW2 is far easier on time investment and therefore MUCH more casual-friendly.

One of the best things GW2 offers to players. This MMO has got to be the easiest to pick and play without any waiting at all. ANY waiting.(Emphasis on the any).

Give a man fire, he will be warm, set a man on fire, he will be warm forever! …or dead…

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Posted by: Johnnyrs.3782

Johnnyrs.3782

Yes and I love it as a casual game.

NSP server | Mesmer (80), Guardian (80), Thief (80), Elementalist (80), Ranger (80) | Guild:[KIMI]

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Posted by: Mackdose.6504

Mackdose.6504

Pay2save time is such an awesome term.

“I didn’t buy into GW2 being the second coming of christ.
I just wanted a AAA MMO with no sub made by ArenaNet. And it’s awesome.”

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Posted by: Astral Projections.7320

Astral Projections.7320

It’s definitely designed to be a game for casuals. I seem to remember reading a blog post from ANet sometime before launch, which I can’t seem to locate now, which indicated that they expected there would be people that come and go in their game. To play a while, leave and play another game then come back for updates then leave again. That the game was designed with this sort of player in mind. That’s exactly what people did with Guild Wars 1. Play for a while, leave for a few months and come back. I did that myself.

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Posted by: Algreg.3629

Algreg.3629

Depends on your definition of casual. If you’re pushing for the top content (high level fractals) the game demands you log in and play daily both for the daily and the fractal dailies (not to mention doing dragon chests for rares to break down for ectos). Some wouldn’t call that requirement ‘casual’

I think it is very casual. It is addictive, but not “hardcore”, log in once a day and complete very easy tasks, you may miss one day or another, but that does not really bother you as a casual player. Ther e are no difficult missions to accomplish, it is almost autosucceed mode. And better players (no, I do not think of them as better human beings, just as better computer players) do not have any advantage over you, there are no raids to be farmed efficiently to force rare drops and things like this. GW2 invented casual grind and I am pretty sure they will expand that model in upcoming months.

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Posted by: MikeRocks.9243

MikeRocks.9243

Pay2save time is such an awesome term.

I concur! That’s pretty much exactly what it is.

The Long Road
Goal: To have one character of every race, gender, and armor class combination at level 80.
Current progress: Human 4/6 | Charr 1/6 | Norn 1/6 | Sylvari 1/6 | Asura 1/6 | Total: 8/30

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Posted by: Nurse.1085

Nurse.1085

Casual.

I’ll probably keep playing every now and then after Neverwinter, Elder Scrolls Online and Defiance comes out. I’m hoping one of those 3 will satisfy my play style for me to call home. Guild Wars 2 just doesn’t have what I want in an MMO and I miss certain things (Raiding, Healing, Battlegrounds with variety, hard content, progression, etc).

However, it is an enjoyable MMO and it has a lot of great ideas. Casual players come first though, which is why I can’t call it my forever home.

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Posted by: chrisk.4320

chrisk.4320

Yes, you can have a life while playing this game.

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Posted by: Little Old Lady.3742

Little Old Lady.3742

Big points that Anet wanted to do with this game is remove the holy trinity so players are not waiting in towns spamming “looking for monk”

The players are out running around doing stuff. All kinds of stuff to do and
so many different kinds of rewards (currency) that it lends itself well to being played casually.

Log in, walk over to a plant and harvest it… Oh look you got an onion and a dye. Now you can be pink and antique gold… Log out.

Little Old Lady, Sea of Sorrows, Robot Adventurers [RA], Tokyo Japan.

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Posted by: sostronk.8167

sostronk.8167

Is this the most casual AAA MMO ever? I know some of you will get offended by this question thinking I’m attacking the game, but clearly, it was a design decision that Anet went for. Just curious if there has been another with more casual elements?

Honestly, I can’t think of a more casual game that I have played. I guess maybe minesweeper or something like this. Or hearts.

I disagree that this is a AAA title though. At least from my definition, a AAA title would have an automatch-making system for things like dungeons. I expect basic functions like this to be in game at launch or shortly after. But for this game I don’t think these types of things will ever be implemented.

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Posted by: xarallei.4279

xarallei.4279

I suppose it is in a way. Out of all the MMOs out there it’s probably the easiest one to gear out characters in. Well, they added Ascended gear (which I still violently disagree with) but exotic gear for the time being is still pretty kitten good and very accessible. Plus, they are starting to add different, more reasonable ways to get Ascended other than fractals. Even considering Ascended gear it’s probably still easier to gear out characters. And this is a GOOD thing imho. I always hated gear treadmills in other games. It’s nice to know I can take a break and then come back and not be horribly behind everyone.

And with a hectic work schedule I don’t have quite as much time as I used to. GW2 is really the perfect MMO for people who don’t have loads of time to sink into a video game.

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Posted by: xarallei.4279

xarallei.4279

Honestly, I can’t think of a more casual game that I have played. I guess maybe minesweeper or something like this. Or hearts.

I disagree that this is a AAA title though. At least from my definition, a AAA title would have an automatch-making system for things like dungeons. I expect basic functions like this to be in game at launch or shortly after. But for this game I don’t think these types of things will ever be implemented.

Disagree completely. An LFG tool does not make an AAA title. Hell, it was only in WotLK that WoW even got an LFG. Yet, I highly doubt anyone would call that not a AAA game. Rift didn’t start out with one either. I think it’s a deliberate decision on Anet’s part not to include it. But who knows, maybe they will one day.

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Posted by: felivear.1536

felivear.1536

I just hope this game is the casual king. What I mean by that: I just hope this game is the game that all casual gamers flock to and thus, this game eats up the casual market. I totally respect your (casuals) desire for this type of game, I just have a taste for something more rewarding and challenging. If this game takes in the bulk of the casual crowd, hopefully other games will have to focus on the more “hardcore”.

feLIVEar: Your resident forum king.

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Posted by: ophidic.1279

ophidic.1279

Is this the most casual AAA MMO ever? I know some of you will get offended by this question thinking I’m attacking the game, but clearly, it was a design decision that Anet went for. Just curious if there has been another with more casual elements?

Considering how EASY most of it is, I’d say yeah.

Wait… that’s what a casual game is right? An easy game? Ok I’m looking at wiki, and I guess this is pretty casual in terms of how long you can put in and actually accomplish stuff.

I dunno. Casual games… is that like that angry birds thing?

Elyl Jrend

(edited by ophidic.1279)

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Posted by: Dangerkips.6035

Dangerkips.6035

It’s the only way to enjoy the game for longer than a week imo. Play it very casually, because there’s not much more to be gained for playing more than 2 hours a day.

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Posted by: PiSquare.2904

PiSquare.2904

Yes, its a easy to pick up and nothing to master game.