Guild Wars 2

Let me start by stating I love this game. I played the betas was there at 1 am for opening night to get my names and characters and I still play for hours everyday. That said it is starting to get old. I like the living stories but it is like your teams are so disconnected from one another that nothing flows.

Let’s look at the last 2- we went from an election to a jubilee. They have nothing to do with one another and characters we have seen from previous living stories do not know us. There is no living story it is 2 weeks of achievement spam with no growth on our characters. Living stories could work if they connected and went on to work with each other instead of just ending.

Where is the exploration we once had? Going into new areas and finding the jumping puzzle and the hidden secrets. They are gone and we need new ones. In fact when is the last time a new jumping puzzle was given to us? I think it may have been Christmas.

There are only so many stale achievements and skins you can throw at us before the interest is gone. There has been no new content for us to explore only achievements that require clicking or going quickly to a waypoint and then leaving. It saddens me to see that there is nothing happening for my character.

Living stories are a great idea if you get them to work together and actually create a story for our characters to go through that matters. All I am getting out of it is a few lines of text and achievement points for 2 weeks and then the next one rolls out with no connection what so ever- and if there are repeat characters they do not remember you.

Anyway I hope that makes sense. I love this game and plan to play for years but how many years can you take 2 week content that just makes you feel like you are grinding out achievement points?

The last jumping puzzle was given to us last month, in Gendarran Fields. It’s one of the better ones.

The living story is designed to be in arcs. So for example, the Flame and Frost living story was a 4 month arc. The link between that and the next living story were what happened to the refugees.

After that we had the Dragon Bash party in LA which lead to the death of a member of the Captains Council, which tracked into the next Living Story about the Aetherblade Pirates (which introduced your new jumping puzzle). After that we had a vacancy on the Captains Council due to the assassination which led into the last Living Story before this one.

The reason the living stories aren’t one continuous story is so that it’s easy for people who take breaks and come back to pick up on the action.

Despite that some of the characters from previous living stories do show up in this one. Brahm and Rox are both present in this living story if you watched the instance.

Yeh the living story stuff doesn’t quite do it. It’s a little here and a little there. In other threads I’ve compared the approach here as getting a constant stream of snacks, rather than a meal 3 times a day.

In the end they add content but because it trickles in and some of it comes and goes, you either miss parts of it or you don’t have time to get into it as the next bit is around. It sort of sets the pace for you rather than you having some time to get into it.

So for those reasons I would prefer expansions, however, I don’t think this game was set up with that in mind. I think a lot of people overestimate what Anet is actually able to do from a resources point of view.

Of course if the game makes it big in China and they start crying expansion….one never knows.

jazzllanna.1278:

Let me start by stating I love this game. I played the betas was there at 1 am for opening night to get my names and characters and I still play for hours everyday. That said it is starting to get old. I like the living stories but it is like your teams are so disconnected from one another that nothing flows.

Let’s look at the last 2- we went from an election to a jubilee. They have nothing to do with one another and characters we have seen from previous living stories do not know us. There is no living story it is 2 weeks of achievement spam with no growth on our characters. Living stories could work if they connected and went on to work with each other instead of just ending.

The Living Story content is presented in such a way as to not alienate new players. If you missed out on one arc you won’t feel like you’re screwed. With that being said, if you look closely you will see that each living story thread ties into the next in a very subtle way. Take for example how when the living story started with Flame and Frost. The mystery behind that hasn’t been fully resolved and has carried into the current living story. The Aetherblades are an even better example of recurring themes and a continuous story.

Where is the exploration we once had? Going into new areas and finding the jumping puzzle and the hidden secrets. They are gone and we need new ones. In fact when is the last time a new jumping puzzle was given to us? I think it may have been Christmas.

There are only so many stale achievements and skins you can throw at us before the interest is gone. There has been no new content for us to explore only achievements that require clicking or going quickly to a waypoint and then leaving. It saddens me to see that there is nothing happening for my character.

There was the Labyrinthine Cliffs but that was unfortunately removed from the map. There’s been a lot of focus on WvW and sPvP since many people have agreed that those aspects of the game were lacking. There’s actually been 3 new PvP maps released since launch. There certainly doesn’t appear to be much going on in terms of new PvE zones but I have to correct you on the part about jumping puzzles. The Sky Pirates patch added the Not So Secret jumping puzzle to the game.

Living stories are a great idea if you get them to work together and actually create a story for our characters to go through that matters. All I am getting out of it is a few lines of text and achievement points for 2 weeks and then the next one rolls out with no connection what so ever- and if there are repeat characters they do not remember you.

Anyway I hope that makes sense. I love this game and plan to play for years but how many years can you take 2 week content that just makes you feel like you are grinding out achievement points?

The problem with the way that ArenaNet has always told stories is that they’ve left a lot of things open ended. There are a lot of mysteries that will most likely never be solved. There are tons of loose ends that will never get tied up. I suppose that by doing so they maintain a feeling of mystique. By leaving things open it’s up to the player’s imagination to fill in the gaps.

If you really want to get into the story you have to talk to NPCs and really study the environment because it provides you with a lot of clues you would otherwise miss. I’m also pretty sure that Braham and Rox recognize you as long as you did the Flame and Frost content.

I am loving and appreciating the Living Story, but I would definitely pay for an Xpac right about now.

It is not time for an expansion. It would probably kill the game.

But it is time for REAL content to appear. So far LS has been nothing but holiday events. If you stop and think about it, there has been almost absolutely NO core content added since the release of the game for except fractals….and that’s already gotten old.

Nothing will change, Living story is where they want the game to head as they have stated. Each installment of Living story is exciting for all of half hour but then starts to get old fast, It’s predictable and dull.

Colly.4073:

Nothing will change, Living story is where they want the game to head as they have stated. Each installment of Living story is exciting for all of half hour but then starts to get old fast, It’s predictable and dull.

I don’t know about that. I still see people excited about certain aspects of this living story, including the Gauntlet. People were still playing the racing game and the survival game from the last living story long after they got the achievements for them.

Living Story is the expansion.

Official Dev Word.

Official Dev Word is actually that they havent decided how they will release expansion style content since the Living World is something that is very new and they are still figuring out what works with it and what doesnt.

Colin Johansson has said that they have a large dev crew working on longer term projects for the game but they arent ready to talk about what is being worked on yet. How they release this content, either as super large LS updates or paid expansions, hasnt been decided on yet.

Lutinz.6915:

Official Dev Word is actually that they havent decided how they will release expansion style content since the Living World is something that is very new and they are still figuring out what works with it and what doesnt.

Colin Johansson has said that they have a large dev crew working on longer term projects for the game but they arent ready to talk about what is being worked on yet. How they release this content, either as super large LS updates or paid expansions, hasnt been decided on yet.

This… right here ^^^^^^.

Gosh, still not even a year old and calling for an expansion [again].

If you are bored, find something else to do for a little while. Its not like your account is going to be removed if you opt to take a break.

Maybe for another Festival Living story adding more gem store items and more temporar content?

Nick.6972:

Maybe for another Festival Living story adding more gem store items and more temporar content?

Sounds like a good idea. Count me in.

LanfearShadowflame.3189:

Lutinz.6915:

Official Dev Word is actually that they havent decided how they will release expansion style content since the Living World is something that is very new and they are still figuring out what works with it and what doesnt.

Colin Johansson has said that they have a large dev crew working on longer term projects for the game but they arent ready to talk about what is being worked on yet. How they release this content, either as super large LS updates or paid expansions, hasnt been decided on yet.

This… right here ^^^^^^.

Gosh, still not even a year old and calling for an expansion [again].

If you are bored, find something else to do for a little while. Its not like your account is going to be removed if you opt to take a break.

Some were calling for an expansion within the first month.

Vahkris.6847:

LanfearShadowflame.3189:

Lutinz.6915:

Official Dev Word is actually that they havent decided how they will release expansion style content since the Living World is something that is very new and they are still figuring out what works with it and what doesnt.

Colin Johansson has said that they have a large dev crew working on longer term projects for the game but they arent ready to talk about what is being worked on yet. How they release this content, either as super large LS updates or paid expansions, hasnt been decided on yet.

This… right here ^^^^^^.

Gosh, still not even a year old and calling for an expansion [again].

If you are bored, find something else to do for a little while. Its not like your account is going to be removed if you opt to take a break.

Some were calling for an expansion within the first month.

Which is why I had the [again] at the end.

They wont be an expansion for a while because Arenanet is still trying to figure out the game basic structure. Their original plan of making a big game with content for people to do did not work out well because it seems players think content exist solely for rewards, which is the opposite of how Arenanet intended it to be. So until the get the basic structure down for the world they wont bother nor should they with an expansion.

It has become apparent that to players content is a euphemism for loot.

tl;dr

Arenanet doesn’t have the basic structure of the game down because their initial bet proved wrong. Making an expansion w/o knowing what their audience wants a doomed to fail.

Lutinz.6915:

Colin Johansson has said that they have a large dev crew working on longer term projects for the game but they arent ready to talk about what is being worked on yet. How they release this content, either as super large LS updates or paid expansions, hasnt been decided on yet.

Ah no.
Colin just recently said they aren´t working on an expansion at all and completely concentrating on Living Story.

Those “large dev teams” you insinuate are likely to work on expansion are instead most definitely retooling just about all the Dungeons we have in game.

zeromius.1604:

If you really want to get into the story you have to talk to NPCs and really study the environment because it provides you with a lot of clues you would otherwise miss. I’m also pretty sure that Braham and Rox recognize you as long as you did the Flame and Frost content.

I talk to all the NPC’s and Rox and Braham do not remember you in the pavillion area. I did the frost and flame too.

I did forget about that jp.. It was fun but I really liked the Halloween and Christmas ones so I guess I just forgot about it.

I don’t think a year after a game has been out it is crazy to think about adding a new area to explore- new hearts, events, stories, ect. I don’t know what is the normal time frame on these things?

I still play the game a good bit and I get all the achievements for these living stories, talk to the npcs ect. I guess that is all I have to look forward to then. I don’t think I am alone in thinking that an expansion would be good at this point in the game, but I guess that is not in the cards. The living stories have potential but as of right now they just seem off to me.. and not fulfilling- They are fun, but not the same as an expansion.

HawkMeister.4758:

Lutinz.6915:

Colin Johansson has said that they have a large dev crew working on longer term projects for the game but they arent ready to talk about what is being worked on yet. How they release this content, either as super large LS updates or paid expansions, hasnt been decided on yet.

Ah no.
Colin just recently said there aren´t working on an expansion at all and completely concentrating on Living Story.

Those “large dev teams” you insinuate are likely to work on expansion are instead most definitely retooling just about all the Dungeons we have in game.

The article doesn’t say antying like that. Also you logic fails when you realize that the LS team is only a small part of the studio. They might not be working on an expansion, but they are not ONLY working on LS story. Unless you have inside information, you cannot say with any certainty, what the developers are working on.

How about you click&watch the actual interview instead of reading that stupid IGN article?

And due to my logic and reason I can very well deduce that ATM all hands are tied to polishing the game(YAY!).
Maybe you haven´t noticed the innocent little statement in Colin´s latest blog or simply don´t understand the meaning.

EVERY Dungeon will be rebalanced, re-polished or even outright deleted and rebuilt from scratch.
This is basically half of the PvE content of this game that is being totally redone!

They took 3+ years to launch this game and now are redesigning roughly a quarter of it.
That is your expansion right there.

HawkMeister.4758:

How about you click&watch the actual interview instead of reading that stupid IGN article?

And due to my logic and reason I can very well deduce that ATM all hands are tied to polishing the game.
Maybe you haven´t noticed the innocent little statement in Colin´s latest blog or simply don´t understand the meaning.

EVERY Dungeon will be rebalanced, repolished or even deleted and rebuilt from scratch.
This is basically half of the PvE content of this game that is being totally redone!

They took 3+ years to launch this game and now are redesigning roughly a quarter of it.
That is your expansion right there.

i am not arguing that the dungeons are not being redesigned, I am simply saying YOU DO NOT know what everybody at Arenanet is doing because they never talk about EVERYTHING they are working on, just a few things.

We can both agree that expansions are not in the picture.

Seriously I’m very hopeful that they’ll add ‘fun’ to the dungeons, that’d be as good as an expansion for me since I don’t play them due to them being anti-fun(otherwise known as ‘work’).

Yep.
And quite frankly they´d be barking mad if they wouldn´t concentrate their complete resources outside of the LS Teams on pretty much the only real PvE endgame they have.

LanfearShadowflame.3189:

Lutinz.6915:

Official Dev Word is actually that they havent decided how they will release expansion style content since the Living World is something that is very new and they are still figuring out what works with it and what doesnt.

Colin Johansson has said that they have a large dev crew working on longer term projects for the game but they arent ready to talk about what is being worked on yet. How they release this content, either as super large LS updates or paid expansions, hasnt been decided on yet.

This… right here ^^^^^^.

Gosh, still not even a year old and calling for an expansion [again].

If you are bored, find something else to do for a little while. Its not like your account is going to be removed if you opt to take a break.

But most players who have been there since the beta or release….are pretty much already bored with the game.

Take me for example. I even took a break from the game for a couple of months and that’s considering I have 4 lvl 80’s. Imagine if I only had ONE character…..it would have been torture.

Its just recently when they changed the release cycle of their LS stuff that it has gotten a bit more interesting for like the first few days of the LS release….but that content is so small that any player can chew through that stuff in a matter of days.

Noooooooooooooo……

No more powercreep! just STOP IT.
don’t want to see anymore Zerker Powercreeping for atleast another year… for the love of all that is still good and decent in this game…

Vayne.8563:

Despite that some of the characters from previous living stories do show up in this one. Brahm and Rox are both present in this living story if you watched the instance.

But when I went up to talk to them in the CP, they didn’t know me!

ArenaNet or Colin Johanson have said that the one anniversary update will include a huge amount of permanent content which will affect the entire continent of Tyria, except the zones which haven’t been unlocked but they might unlock a new zone like Maguuma Wastes, i mean it’s one year anniversary.

I hope they will change entire zones with new events and new mobs sometime. Like Primordus lands and infest an entire zone with his minions etc, the zone becomes branded with flames and fire and new events and mobs appear and the landscape take a new form.

I’m lookig forward to it.