Guild Wars 2

I figured since the refer-a-friend weekend is coming up, I decided to see if any of my online friends would want to try Guild Wars… (most of whom play WoW)

The response was a resounding “Nah, no thanks.” With reasons generally being related to hearing that the game was “too grindy.”

Is the November 15th patch going to address those concerns? I mean, what’s the point to being able to invite people to play if no one wants to bother trying the game.

Let’s take an honest look at these things… Legendary precursors cost at least 200 gold. (I haven’t seen an exotic drop in recent memory… but I just started using Magic Find gear, so I’m hoping they’ll become slightly more common.) Some people are saying they can make between 2-5 gold in an hour by farming. That’s nearly 100 hours farming for JUST the precursor. Not including all the extra stuff required for a legendary.

Alternatively, if you want to consider the “buy it” route, you’ll get ~8 gold for $20 real cash. That makes the legendaries like $500 real cash value. I could get a few years subscription to any pay-to-play MMO for that.

What I think could remedy the issue: Take a long, hard look at drop rates and the Magic Find dynamic. Limit MF to a certain percentage (like Diablo 3 did to prevent everyone from just focusing on buffing MF to an insane amount).

Then make the base exotic drop rate just slightly higher. I’m not saying they should fall out of the sky… but a higher drop rate would result in lower costs for the precursors since you can throw them into the Mystic Forge.

Next, either up the vendor price of magic items or drop the vendor price for T3 cultural gear. I mean, 120 gold? Using the prior estimates… That’s either 60 hours of farming or $300 real cash.

And let’s be honest, here… 60 hours of work in the US at minimum wage (not including overtime or taking taxes into account) would give you $435… So to anyone making 2 gold an hour or less, you’re essentially wasting your time with farming. You’d be better off getting a temporary second job, unless you actually enjoy the farming.

And this grind is unnecessary… I mean, legendaries are currently set up so that it’ll take people over a year to get. Shouldn’t we be expecting a Cantha expansion within a year? (provided the game doesn’t fail)

Shouldn’t Cantha be expected to bring with it new gear (and possibly higher levels which would outdate any level 80 gear) and weapons to strive for?

And they’re likely to continue to introduce extra areas (which may include new armor/weapon skins) like the Lost Shores prior to an actual expansion… So there should always be new content to strive for.

“The response was a resounding “Nah, no thanks.” With reasons generally being related to hearing that the game was “too grindy.”

Ouch, considering it was made with no more grind in mind (poetry).

That said, if your friends are thinking about legendaries as a new player.

I tried to get my brother into the game but he said he doesn’t have the time. But he constantly buys me CoD type games so that I’ll play with him in co-op. Some people are difficult to convince to play GW2

Endgame of gw2 is a grind to look prettier. For the last 300h+ of playtime I did little else than trying to farm for my legendary (sunrise) and not getting much closer because prices keep skyrocketing (precursors and mats like lodestones).

Someone had actually played the game for a bit, and went back to WoW…

Others were going off of hear-say. But it’s not really like I can dispute that it is “grindy” once you reach level 80.

Seeing as John Smith and ArenaNet seem intent on keeping gold (and items) scare for the “benefit” of the economy. Go ahead, “stabilize” the economy… You’re turning people off of the game (to the point that they wouldn’t even try it for free).

I wasn’t calling you a liar or your friends fools Minos, it is indeed grindy after a point, no question.

Malediktus.9250:

Endgame of gw2 is a grind to look prettier. For the last 300h+ of playtime I did little else than trying to farm for my legendary (sunrise) and not getting much closer because prices keep skyrocketing (precursors and mats like lodestones).

Right, and I’m not saying that legendaries should be given to everyone. It should require some effort… but it already requires a lot of skill points, karma, and map completion. (As well as two maxed crafting professions.)

I honestly don’t even care about legendaries… Since I’m a Ranger and I don’t want either bow.

I would, however, like to see more people playing the game. And it’s not really helping matters if everyone has this assumption that the game is “too grindy.”

You don’t want a bow from Toys R Us? What kind of Ranger are you Minos :P

Seriously though. What do you think could be done about the grind factor? Me personally as soon as I seen the requirements for Legendaries was an instant “NO!”. I got almost everything there was to get in GW1 and never felt like I was grinding. Just slowly saving up. Legendaries are just way too many hoops.

Legendaries are not required. Not in the slightest.

Anyone who uses that as an excuse not to play doesn’t comprehend Guild Wars.

They are indeed flashy, but they are most certainly not required. I have been using a Seraph Greatsword for the last month or so. I don’t function any less than a player with Eternity would function.

There is indeed grind available in the game. Guess what, they have grind in WoW, Rift, and any and all other MMO’s. The difference is that the grind in GW is OPTIONAL by far. You can play all content without having to first grind out dungeons. You don’t even need to set foot into a dungeon to reach “Max”. Can’t really say that about the other games. You are sub-optimal if you don’t have the uber sword from dungeon XYZ.

I for example am maxed out. My armor is as good as it is going to get. My weapon is as good as it is going to get. My skills and traits are where I want them. I can play in any location I desire. I can WvWvW as much as I want. The only place to go from there is to add flash.

I am not excluded because I don’t have Sunrise. I have a sword that is IDENTICAL other than the flashy looks.

Grind is only where you seek it.

Like I said (in my rather lengthy post), I think ANet should take a good look at drop rates and reconsider the MF mechanic.

Diablo 3 did this (and made other changes), but it seemed too little too late. The damage had been done, and players had found other games to play.

Kumu you are correct but lets face it, many people will think about “Whats my ultimate goal, whats my godly weapon I am aiming to wield!”

Also Minos, I said this in another post, Borderlands 2 also has a pathetic ultra stingy loot system and many players are giving up on it due to that. We need the loot. ME2 I couldn’t care less about loot because the story is what kept me going but in games like GW2 and BL2, we needs the loots and shinies

That’s the ultimate goal. Not the “I need to do this in a week” goal.

Anyone who uses that as an excuse isn’t playing guild wars. They are playing E-kitten wars and losing.

In Guild Wars 2. If I see someone wielding even a Foefire Essence I am impressed. Sunrise/Twilight? I’d be envious. Eternity? I’d follow them like a puppy.

Why? Because it’s rather special. Even months from now I don’t believe there will be more than a handful of them per server.

That’s rather impressive and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I still want mine, but I will earn it in time. Till then, I am just as effective in the game as anyone who would indeed weild Eternity…

This is the least ‘grindy’ themepark MMO I’ve ever seen.

If there wasn’t a big effort required to acquire legendaries, your friends would instead be saying ‘Nah no thanks, I heard there’s nothing to do at level cap.’

The difference between GW2 and other themeparks is that a legendary is just cosmetic, and it’s easy to get other max-stat gear.

That’s not to say ArenaNet couldn’t improve the ‘endgame’ by introducing areas that are more self-sustainable in some ways (I’d love to see some big ongoing back-and-forth battles in PvE, for example, which are simply fun to participate in).

But ‘grindy’ is simply a stupid accusation to level at this game.

As if WoW isnt Grindy? LOL! Sorry played WoW sense vanilla that game is a Crazy Grind Fest. I have spend more hours Grinding in WoW then Id like to mention. Dungeons and Crafting in that game are one huge Grind Fest… gotta get tokens so I can get my Tier blah blah blah armor.

Not saying that this game doesnt have the same system but for people not to play it because of it’s “Grindy” ways especially coming from a WoW player makes my laugh.

ITT: OP uses the impression of his friends opinions in an attempt to get ArenaNet to make end-game easier to do. Let’s watch and see how long it takes for lock. Crikey!

Seems like you have not much influence power over your friends. (Same as me. My friends are play DBL3 and they like running in circles in that game.) But no worry we are here for you. We love this game!

*I don’t think I wanna play a game where I have to pay monthly and grind like hell to make it worth. And a game where I play the same storyline and same area over and over again . No thanks .

i have a friend who thinks gw2 is awesome, but keeps playing d3 because he knows it’s not as fun, and doesn’t want to ruin his lfe…. and then i have some friends who are haters. i am contemplating unfriending them ; ))

on a seirous note. i would love more of my friends to come over from WoW or d3 or whatever else. the game is on a different level playing with friends. but they are all so skeptical. they won’t even TRY the game.

Reason being.. Those companies that made those lousy games. They USED to make epic games decades back. The fan boys waited 10 over years for a lousy release and unable to overcome the fact those game are so lousy.
ArenaNet is consider a “black horse” company so ppl will be skeptical about Guild Wars 2.

You know, I’m getting the same kind of response from most of my old WoW buddies… I tried to explain to them that this is the least ‘grindy’ game I’ve ever played, and coming from a wow player where the formula is Grind to 80+, grind dungeons, get gear, grind more dungeons, get gear, grind raids….lather, rinse, repeat… that seemed like a strange response to me. shrug ah well. my buddies don’t know what they are missing.

Kumu Honua.2751:

In Guild Wars 2 if I see someone wielding even a Foefire Essence I am impressed. Sunrise/Twilight? I’d be envious. Eternity? I’d follow them like a puppy.

Cause the legendaries are all that impressive when they are awarded to not just good players, but only to the gold kittens….

Should everyone have one? No, but players who play the game and not just “Gold/Karma Farm: The Game” should be able to obtain one too.

In all honesty I think they need a lot of reworking on their game; it’s not ready. It has a great base, but many of the mechanics in the game are just not designed very well.

Karma really doesn’t provide much of an award unless you are going for a legendary. Karma rewards should have consumable items like siege weapons you can buy and use in PvE events, or even just place somewhere and shoot at things at the bottom of a cliff for kicks. Things like temporary special effects for certain attacks would be nice karma rewards too (stuff like a flaming effect on attacks for 30 min or something, transforming into an animal that can attack and stuff, etc.).

Jump puzzles and chests should provide similar functionality by providing a special item or mat that can be traded in for special consumables and such. Chests would still provide their normal random loot too, but you would also have slightly longer term goals to look forward to by just finding chests and completing puzzles like you normally would.

They could have boss hunts that give points to players for slaying champions around the world of Tyria.

The three Orders could play a bigger part in game play as well; give special missions to players as dailies, weeklies, or maybe even just have a board at each headquarter where players can go and choose a mission themselves and work at their own pace and on missions at their preferred difficulty. Whisperers would do smaller group oriented and solo events like “Assassinate this npc at this location on the map” or “Eavesdrop on this group/npc” etc. The priory could have missions like “Find this magical artifact at this location” and “Explore this region” etc. While the Vigil would be all about larger group events and working with others to take down certain bosses, protect villages, etc. This way the three different Orders would be oriented toward different play styles.

Personally I would really like to see things like the Orders become more prominent in game to tie players into the world a bit more. Doing so would help player retention and drawing players into the game. At the moment it seems Gw2 has a reputation to just be bland and watered out with nothing to do at max level except like 3 different events (two in Orr and then the Dragons).

Nothing in guild wars is awarded to players that are “Good”. Every last bit of the items are awarded for perseverance. Everything.

That’s one of the good things about Guild Wars.

Content isn’t really locked because you don’t have the “Sword of Doom”. You can use the “Sword of minor inconvenience” and you are just as good as the person with the later. It’s the exact same sword. They just look different.

Could things be better? No one denies that. However people who state that “Legendaries are too much of a grind” are simply looking for a reason. It’s not a real reason.

Legendaries are not required. Not in the slightest.

Anyone who uses that as an excuse not to play doesn’t comprehend Guild Wars.

They are indeed flashy, but they are most certainly not required. I have been using a Seraph Greatsword for the last month or so. I don’t function any less than a player with Eternity would function.

There is indeed grind available in the game. Guess what, they have grind in WoW, Rift, and any and all other MMO’s. The difference is that the grind in GW is OPTIONAL by far.

This. Exactly.

I do not understand the whining about legendaries and cultural armour. If they had extraordinary stats far superior to anything comparable, then sure, at that point it would be more justified.
However, they do not have amazing stats, in terms of damage they are precisely the same as top tier crafted equipment. Maybe the crafted weapons don’t glow as prettily, and maybe by some standards the cultural armour looks good (a point of debate in my view).. but that is all, it is JUST cosmetic. I highly doubt you’ll be kicked out of groups because you aren’t sporting the latest in Tyrian high fashion.
Using this stuff does not illustrate that you are a skilled player, it demonstrates that you have vast amounts of time to spend on a video game, and somehow pixellated shinies help to validate your sense of self.

You do not NEED to grind for good gear in this game, and if your vanity demands it…well.. don’t complain, you made the choice and nobody is forcing you.

I had a friend of mine who initially did not want anything to do with GW2. he, like me, had grown bored of WoW but still played it some unlike myself. he got the secret world when it came out and seemed to be enjoying it, I got GW2 and of course I am enjoying it.

his reasons for not liking GW2 came down to the combat system though, not the grind. he had heard it was just spam buttons with no strategy or thought and I could not convince him otherwise pre-launch. however, he recently bought the game though because all of his friends were playing and enjoying it and he actually watched some gameplay videos.

I think the game is doing fine and it will slowly grow in popularity as more and more people realize how good it really is. this will only be accelerated by the content updates they’re doing.

GW2 is not a bad game…. at all, in terms of the kind of details put into the game. But personally, I think most players who refuses to play GW2 is in either one of these 4 boats:

1) Grind.
They fear that it is about grinding to get somewhere in the game. And for some parts… like dungeons and getting to legendary items, they sort of require the players to in fact put into several hours before being able to get what they want to try GW2 for – if those things are indeed dungeons. I remember my friend asked me "hey, so do I have to get to level 30 to try the dungeon? And I said ‘yes, of course’ (cuz it’s the truth). And before he had told me (when we played in the beta) that he didn’t really like the combat in GW2’s PVE. So sadly, he stopped playing a month ago. Good thing though, we still are pretty good buds (so I’m fine with this).

2) Past Gaming Experience:
Most of my friends are past that age of Maplestory & even WoW…. where the whole game itself is mainly about “combat grinding” (some still WoW but on casual bases now… I think they just go on there to talk to old buds instead of actually playing the game o.o). I told them GW2 isn’t about grind… but they’ve all played in the betas, plus there’s really no guideline to what style of approach that players should play GW2 in…... I couldn’t really say much more except for like “there are dungeons & legendary items later….”. Maybe it’s something else, I don’t really get how to advertise the game other than “try it, like it then buy it!! ; don’t like it then it’s ok not to buy it”.

3) Time Consumption:
Most MMORPGS nowadays requires you to put more than 1 hour each day into the game… to get multiple things done. I think that’s another reason why they just stuck with FPS & RTS games; no Dailies to worry about, no Guild commitment to worry about, just log on for 30 mins, get a group of guys and do a game (or play solo cuz match making only takes 2 mins nowadays anyways… but we usually can get a group of 5s together easy for a quick match).

4) Spammy Combat:
In most MMORPGs, there’s no way that they can build skills, buy new items, and have 8-9 teamfights in like 30 mins in PVE. As for PVP, they would need to like the fact that GW2 PVP requires autotargeting and no mana costs (so it’s much more spammy compare to RTS), and that by the sounds of it – really is the #1 turn off for all my friends who asked me how GW2 was. Trust me though that when I said… I’ve always said good things about GW2 in front of them (and no lies), but they always hate the fact that you’re allowed to spam skills in combat.

It could be any of the 4 reasons…. who knows; but LT;DR – I’ve really got nobody to invite cuz I’ve pretty much invited everyone I know who are often-gamers to try GW2 (and that’s like 5-6 people).

There is absolutely no required grind.

At all.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t expensive / hard to aquire cosmetic items like legendaries and cultural armour.

Minos.5168:

Legendary precursors cost at least 200 gold.

Nope…you can probably get the underwater spears/tridents for like 35+g. A torch is like 75g? Warhorn is around 45g. Get one of those and stop complaining when you’re going for the things that everyone else is going for. Supply and demand, you understand?

I think Legendaries were a major mistake because they should have anticipated that a lot people are going for the most shiniest or otherwise most powerful thing…or anything at the top end. That’s a risky thing to do when there is a rising consensus that spending time to achieve something is a bad thing. Especially since it is just an artificial delay for the complaint of “nothing left to do”.

@FluffyDoe: It’s only spammy if you don’t care about combos. If they forced you to play with combos only you’d get to hear how clunky combat is.

I’ve always wondered about people who see gear grind as “content”.

I mean… what would they do once they have the gear? It seems they can’t just enjoy the game, so what would they use the gear for?

It just seems like a dog chasing a car, doing so simply because it’s there and having no idea what to do if he actually catches up to the car.

Reason I left wow was because I felt they made me grind my face off for everything nonstop. So I dont get that.

As one of Minos’s friends mentioned in this forum thread…

It was not about the legendary weapons for me.

I came as an old GW1 player. Started in ’05, kept going for quite a while.

Poor design, poor testing, poor implementations have plagued this game.

I still have friends I talk with quite often (and these people are not Minos) that still do play, and often.

I have heard nothing good since I left.

The storyline skipping bug, and many other early bugs? All were due to lack of testing in Multiplayer.

This game is marketed as an MMO, the hell is with that?

The reintroduction of the old anti-farm measures (and many other things) also irked me.

All the while having ridiculous requirements on items that are essentially just for the pretties – combined with massive time requirements, massive material requirements, and anti-farm measures?

Been there, done that, prefer WoW by far.

As a note to those who say WoW is grindier? I wholeheartedly disagree on that part. Might’ve been in Vanilla, BC, Wrath? But not since Cataclysm, which I started in.

So… ehh. The game wasn’t worth my time. Hence why Minos could not convince me to return. =)

kaelisebonrai.1984:

As a note to those who say WoW is grindier? I wholeheartedly disagree on that part. Might’ve been in Vanilla, BC, Wrath? But not since Cataclysm, which I started in.

The removed the faction tabards in MoP :P
So instead of equiping a tabard , roaming in dungeons and automatically getting exalted with each faction , u have to do the dailies day after day :P

kaelisebonrai.1984:

This game is marketed as an MMO, the hell is with that?

Which MMO criteria does GW2 not meet?

Compared to everything else in the game, the grind makes up a very small portion of the content. And if you are grinding, its for very specific reasons (like getting mats for a legendary or cultural gear) that can easily be ignored without any penalty.

WoW players dismissing a game for “too much grind” though I think is hilarious. The entire business model of that game is designed around grinding to keep sub money coming it. It’s only slightly better than a straight up unabashedly grind focused Korean MMo.

Some people love their gear treadmills though. That tiny stat increase is what those types of players need to justify their money and their time. Aesthetics are secondary to numbers and in GW aesthetics are more of the focus. So people that enjoy the former will never be satisfied with GW. Just comes down to taste.

Minos.5168:

The response was a resounding “Nah, no thanks.” With reasons generally being related to hearing that the game was “too grindy.”

Then they would be wrong and clearly don’t have much experience of MMORPGs, the only “grindy” thing in GW2 is legendaries, which are entirely optional, you don’t need them to be competitive.

Lack of grind in GW2:

- You can get a set of the top level of gear very quickly from multiple sources (AH, crafting, dungeons, WvW, karma), no going through 3 tiers of stuff, no raid locks, no being forced to raid just to be competitve in PvP, etc
- There is no rep grind.
- The levelling is linear, it doesn’t take any longer to get from 79-80 than it does from 40-41.
- You don’t even have to level at all for the structured PvP.
- Nor is there any grinding for PvP gear in the sPvP, you get access to the best gear from the start.
- There is no new (that is required) grind at level cap, like PA in Rift, legendary weapon experince/gems/runes in LOTRO, etc

GW2 is about the least grindy MMORPG out there.

My advice to you is to be persistent! After a resounding no from both my parents, I managed to convert them over from wow. I just asked them to play once, and when they said no I nonchalantly slipped the highlights of guild wars into pretty much every conversation. “Did I mention that YOU DON’T HAVE TO STAND CAST?” ( I think that feature alone should convert anyone, haha.

Yeah, I had a lot of friends playing GW2 in the beginning and now they all stopped and some even went back to WoW which I can’t understand why. (pandas? yay? ugh..)

It’s like GW1 all over again. It saddens me to experience that… a second time. shrugs

At least this game is more solo-friendly. So I don’t mind too much. I just hope people will come back at a later point.

I guess some people just need that carrot on their stick. :L

samrogan.9132:

My advice to you is to be persistent! After a resounding no from both my parents, I managed to convert them over from wow. I just asked them to play once, and when they said no I nonchalantly slipped the highlights of guild wars into pretty much every conversation. “Did I mention that YOU DON’T HAVE TO STAND CAST?” ( I think that feature alone should convert anyone, haha.

It wouldn’t. Most MMORPG combats are terrible…. that is why in this age most gamers prefer playing RTS & FPS games instead of MMORPG (the amount of players owning a Steam account should be enough proof of this).

Also, I think players should never force other players to play a game by persistent persuasion, which is a philosophy that I stand by with any game:

FluffyDoe.7539:

“try it, like it then buy it!! ; don’t like it then it’s ok not to buy it”.

There’s this problem with the GW2 community where if someone tries to put it in a nice way by saying " now thanks. I’m not interested in playing GW2"; people can’t take that as what it is. It’s like “why don’t you like me, why don’t you like me, why don’t you like me”? You’re asking the person to be annoyed with you and that could be a reason why he doesn’t even want to try out the game (no offense).

EDIT: Calm down people! – No need to go kittening behind the backs of other gamers

Jestunhi.7429:

kaelisebonrai.1984:

This game is marketed as an MMO, the hell is with that?

Which MMO criteria does GW2 not meet?

It meets all. However – my comment was regarding lack of multiplayer /testing/ in a game marketed as an MMO. =)

As for pandaria? Well aware, don’t have problems with it. =)

I understand what you’re saying Fluffy. To clarify, by persistence I meant educating the played about the game, not proding them to play. I agree with you in that sense. A lot of gamers won’t try a game not because they hate the game that they were asked to try, but because they like the game they are already playing. In my instance my dad thought guild wars 2 was only a pvp game. My mom really enjoys crafting, a well. When I told them about the different pillars of the game that was what got them interested when really they would have never took the time to look into it if I hadn’t. Not sure if the OPs situation is the same but if his friends dont know about the game or have misconceptions then he might be doing them a favor by explaining it.

Sounds like brainwashing. I woke up one day after I looked at the plan – raise rep with x, do daily 1000 times here, there and there. Same for 3 other factions, get Y by doing this 100 times. Go farm ride in circles on this map for crafting. Oops, new update, new rep faction, new dungeon here, do daily there …

So umm, tell them: “What do you have to lose? A few hours of game time?”
Since Wow is not grindy that should not matter, you can get right back into where you left off. Or maybe not because everyone has the next tier of stuff already? ponders

Rouven.7409:

Sounds like brainwashing. I woke up one day after I looked at the plan – raise rep with x, do daily 1000 times here, there and there. Same for 3 other factions, get Y by doing this 100 times. Go farm ride in circles on this map for crafting. Oops, new update, new rep faction, new dungeon here, do daily there …

So umm, tell them: “What do you have to lose? A few hours of game time?”
Since Wow is not grindy that should not matter, you can get right back into where you left off. Or maybe not because everyone has the next tier of stuff already? ponders

I did lose those few hours of game time – and made them back quite quickly.. at GW2’s launch. I am one of the friends Minos refers to.

I don’t see any reason to continue.

The grind itself is not the direct issue. Every mmo has grind. Its part of the way MMO’s /work/.

The issue is? None of the grind serves any meaningful purpose. Its grinding for the grind’s sake.

I want a legendary in WoW? I better kitten well put in the work for it, even the old ones are still hard to get. But what I get /out/ of it? is a significantly superior weapon.

I want to /grind/ for X? I get benefit from my efforts, I get something worth the time, and effort. I didn’t get that in GW2. Or GW1, for that matter.

Guild Wars, has always felt to me, to be grinding for grinding’s sake. With no meaningful reward for the grind.

I tried GW2. Wanted to like it, really did. Its so /pretty/, and the way skills work is /brilliant/. But… it has issues.

I don’t want to grind for something, for the sake of grinding. Any grind I do, in WoW? Is rewarded with something beneficial. There’s a reward for my time spent, something that means something, something that’s worthwhile. Something that’s a little more substantial than what’s offered from GW2’s “Grinds”.

Not saying that WoW is the be all and end all to game design – far from it. But with regards to /this/ particular discussion (Grind and Rewards for it). I like the way they handle it better.

kaelisebonrai.1984:

(…)

Fair enough and nothing wrong with it. I might be wrong but I think that may have to do with different playstyles. I don’t grind, I like to … go on an adventure. As cliche as that sounds. I still remember coming to Ironforge for the first time … well, somewhere down the road that all got lost in a number game, the hunt for stats. Here I don’t have to hunt for stats – that’s what I like.

Slightly different appeal, I’m also not a “raider”, consequently there has been a lot of “content” that I never qualified for – which is ok in a way.

Strangely enough I miss the fishing …

FluffyDoe.7539:

There’s this problem with the GW2 community where if someone tries to put it in a nice way by saying " now thanks. I’m not interested in playing GW2"; people can’t take that as what it is. It’s like “why don’t you like me, why don’t you like me, why don’t you like me”? You’re asking the person to be annoyed with you and that could be a reason why he doesn’t even want to try out the game (no offense).

EDIT: Calm down people! – No need to go kittening behind the backs of other gamers

I think you’ll find it’s the other way around.

A vocal minority comes onto the forums, not saying “this isn’t designed exactly the way I want it” but saying “change it to how I like it or your game will fail” and telling anyone who doesn’t agree with anything they say that they are wrong, don’t understand or a fanboy.

Has anyone here claimed that GW2 is the perfect game which appeals to all potential players? Of course some people will dislike the game.

But if people do even the bare minimum of research before buying a game they will have a pretty good idea whether it’s the kind of game they will enjoy.

I don’t buy American Football games and then go on the forums demanding they make it more like Soccer…

i gave out beta weekend codes like candy to friends that were interested or i had seen play f2p mmo’s on steam (as well as buy to play games) but were reluctant to play sub based games.

if any of them weren’t interested then, they won’t be now either.

this more a sign of populations – neigh revenues – declining faster than expected. and it seems to back up what we see in game on many servers.

i invited 3 friends, two of which aren’t even into MMOs, they were all reasonably excited (likely due to all the buzz coming from me and the fact that i play it through steam :P).

dirtyklingon.2918:

i gave out beta weekend codes like candy to friends that were interested or i had seen play f2p mmo’s on steam (as well as buy to play games) but were reluctant to play sub based games.

if any of them weren’t interested then, they won’t be now either.

this more a sign of populations – neigh revenues – declining faster than expected. and it seems to back up what we see in game on many servers.

Yeah, the populations are so low that we constantly see threads complaining that they can’t join full servers.

Hmmm I think it’s kind of a perception issue. There is more to work towards than legendaries, yet that seems to be what everyone is focused on.

I think they need to polish their achievement ui and use it to direct players to different activities. I think a lot of players feel a little directionless when they get to 80. If they better messaged to players the amount of things they could work towards and then made it so they could really show off their achievement, either with a title that’s displayed better, a unique set of gear (doesn’t have to be legendary level), or even a minipet that would help give people a reason to log in.

For the average player I think the game expects them to do a little bit too much exploration and discovery.