Guild Wars 2

Now I went through the New Player Experience and as a former Student of Education i am a bit confused.

Guild Wars 2 used several system who worked in synergy with each other to provide a very open leveling and explorative experience, in which players were able to use several ways from the beginning of the game to reach their own goals.

On an educational level some of these changes are not very thought out.

1. Gating Skills behind a arbitary level
1.1 Weapon Skills
The old system worked by using the weapon on several enemies. The more you used the weapon, the “stronger” it got, by unlocking new abilities.
This is a system that has been used in several other games over the years and is usually regarded as very intuitiv, since it mimics a real life learning process.

The new system changed that in favour of a linear unlock system. At level X you have that many weapon skills unlocked.
What sounds pretty straight forward comes with the downside that is not allows the player to familiarise himself with the weapon.
If the player decides to stick with one weapon he will still unlock all other weapon skills after level X, even if he never touched the other weapons before.
While this sounds very comfortable (not having to grind to unlock skills, but seriously, It never felt like a grind, except for maybe underwater weapons, which also was very quick), the downside is that it does not ends the problem the “gating” tried to solve.

All the change did was make an existing problem worse. Players might still not have a full grasp on the weapon skills after this change, because some of these skills might just be there suddenly, while the old version used the intuitive way to introduce them.

1.2. Gating skills even further
In the old system, as soon as you got the skillpoints, you could buy the skills. You got them at Level X, so you could get familiar with the weapon and healing skill first and they were tiered, so you could learn some simpler first and the more special or powerful later.
This system was very open, because from the start you had a choice when and how you will spend your points.
While some slots will unlock a bit later, to provide a a sense of progression, you could still look at all the skills and plan your purchases beforehand.

The feature patch however pushed that further back, with skillchalenges only available after level X and gating the most powerfull skills (elite) way back to level 40, the half way mark.

The question here is. If the normal system, which was pretty open and still had some gating in it was too complex for new players, how does pushing it back further change the complexity?
The complexity does not go away, it is only delayed. In fact the gating and delay is mostly confusing, because even if you do not get send to characters like skilltrainers, you will still see them in the world with their nice blue triangle on top and be confused to whats their point is.

If the goal was to slowly give players access to new gameplay mechanics, so they can occupy themselves with others first, is not working then, because these things are still visible in the world and their own hero menu.
Even if you do not give it to them, they will stumble upon these things and think about them. The supposed confusion will be there, no matter what.
What would help is a proper tutorial and no gating.

2. Gating basic gamemechanics
This is something i do not understand. Basic game mechanics, even things you promoted the game with are locked behind a level.

2.1 PvP and WvW
Guild Wars 1 and Guild Wars 2 was promoted with following statements: “You can do what you want from Level 1. Do you want to level in PvP, you can do that. Do you want to fight on the battlefield, you can do that as well.”

The new system gates these promoted features behind the aforementioned level X.

If this is a system that should protect new players from jumping into these modes, without knowledge of the game, then it is fine, however you propmoted the game otherwise.
Futhermore. These are well known competative gameplay modes. This means anyone who wants to have a go there knows that he will be fighting against other and definetly better players.
If they jump in, then it is their own decision. Taking away the choice is pampering the new player.
Again, i follow up with an argument often told about the gem store: “Nobody forces you to do it”

2.2. Cosmetic Options
Before the patch everything was acessable from the start. You wanted to make a pink legendary wielding Norn, because you unlocked the skins and colours? You may so.
You got a Rytlock by linking your old Guild Wars 1 acount? Have him run around.

The new system lockes them out and treads them as a reward after a certain level.

This is no educational change and does not make the game easier to understand. Instead of promoting a wide and open gameplay experience it tells you that for everything you want you have to grind levels.
You unlocked a skin? Well you might apply it a few levels later.
You want to be colourful? Well wait a bit, then you might.

The reward before was given by exploring and finding these things in the world. Now it is gated by an unnesarry restriction. Even if the level requirement is very low, i do not understand the reason behind it.

2.3. Down State
Down state before was accessable from level one.

Now it is pushed back to level 5, because it was supposedly to confusing for too many players.

Again, pushing it back is not mitigating the problem. It is an unique system to guild wars 2 (and borderlands) and subsequently is something players have to learn.
Pushing it back just to have it suddenly apear in the wild, instead under safe conditions does not help.

A better way to impliment this would be right at the tutorial. Get the player in downstate and explain it there, like you did with the dodging tutorial.
Old players will quickly hit 4, while new players get their explanation.

I will extend it later, as i have not much time at the moment, i am sorry

Jaken, this is great so far.

I wish the forum would stop forgetting the +1s I tried to give both posts.

Thanks for the kind words EnemyCrusher, i try my best.
As i said i was only a student, so I simply would like to get behind the reasoning of these changes and how they are trying to solve the underlying problems in general.

Exerpt: The delay as guiding tool
The new system uses the a feature/information delay as a way to guide the new players through the content. Level based unlocks substitute the exploration aspect that was presented before.
While I agree that a lot of information at once can be overwhelming, I would like you to step back a little and think about how these game elements have been presented to the player before.

In the old sytem, players got introduced to the tutorial area.
Here they learned how to move and that using a weapon will unlock further weaponskills (depending on how many enmies they might encounter as the progression of the tutorial might differ, depending on how many instances are there).
You get also introduced to the dodging via tooltip, see a healskill in your skillbar and you might even get into the downstate at the bossfight.

While none of this is mandatory, you will get introduced to all of this in a very natural way. Hitpoints go down, the screen will flash, warning you of your impending doom and if you do not manage to to ward it off, you find yourself on your behind, confronted with the down state.

Even if you dont meet it there, you will meet it at some point later in the game.

So far, all systems you get introduced to from the tutorial do not feel overwhelming, as they focus on the task at hand.

The open world
leaving the open world you get your first reward. A new weapon you are able to choose. This suggests you got several weapon your character is able to use.
With that choice you are directed to next Scout. This NPC gives you a tour of the nearest area and tells you where you can help.
The story step you are also able to follow after you talked to the scout is also marked with a level number.
As you continue playing the game you will notice the number differ from your level, sugesting that you might have to train a little bit till you can follow that part. (ignoring the downside of a fragmented story now, i am talking about the mechanics)

The Scout sends you to the nearest heart at which you might’/will be introduced to two other main components: Heart Quests and Events.

While heartquest is static and symbolized by an NPC with an empty heart over his head, events are shown with a big organge circle on the map and on the right side of your screen.

The heart quest feels like any other important NPC, since he is marked. As you interact with him, he gives you clues how to help him. After you done so, you might notice the change from empty heart to full heart and that he has a triangle there as well.
if you interact now, you will be introduced to a new courency: Karma.

Speaking about interaction: The first Heartquest in Queensdale introduces you of the concept of multiple ways to finish a task.
You get introduced to the F-Key function, who does all interactions in the game for you. Reviving, talking, interacting with objects. This will be the point where you notice that this is a crucial key for you.

Enviromental Items are also scattered around. You are tasked with feeding cows. Looking around you see bags of cow food.
Getting close to them prompts the “f-key” interaction and as soon as you pick it up, the skillbar changes.
So intuitivly the player might notice: “items i pick up in the world offer me new abilities”

So you got cow food no, you can run fast with it. However as you get near the cow, you can use “f” again. By doing so you the cow get satisfied and the bar from the heart fills. You have done something right…

There are two answers to your questions OP. Colin explained further some of why what was done was what done and it wasn’t just about teaching it was also about pacing.

Anet did extensive testing over a one year period and this was the version of the build which retained the most players and kept them playing longer.

As for the downed state being too hard or confusing or not, that’s not really the problem. People learn better when not bombarded with stuff. There’s a lot going on in the beginning and if you keep through stuff on top of it, even simple stuff, some of it will slip through the cracks.

If I say remember this number and I say 4, you’l have no problem.

If I say remember this number, 3, you’ll have no problem.

They’re only single digits.

But if I kept that up and gave you more and more single digits without any break in between to memorize them, you’d soon be forgetting some of them, and if you don’t, then others definitely one.

It’s not that any one thing is so complex. It’s that a barrage of things all at once is harder to retain.

The new system delays the exposure to these fundamental parts of the game behind a leveling structure, changing an intuitive multi layered aproach into a straight forward one layer distribution.

While a deleay will work in softening some of the issues, it is a downgrade on an educational level, as the thinking process gets taken from the player and into the hands of the developer.

In general it sends the wrong message, since some of the features were actually pretty good and with the right guidance would be not as problematic as this NPE makes them out to be.

in fact it tells veteran players and the ones who came based on old reviews and your won promotion material that you think that they are not able or willing to learn a game they have already payed for.

If you buy a game, you usually do a little bit of background check. Look at reviews, see how it is promoted.

While the new system mostly applyies to the lower levels, it is still very different to a lot of the reviews people were throwing around at the release of the game.

People will go and look at the initial reviews, which display a complete different experience mostly.
If they look into new informations they will mostly find them through forums, fansites and the game page.

If these informations clash and conflict it does not create a good impression on the potential new player and they might be more warry…

I admit this part is mostly hypothtetical, but it is something that is concerning me, as I like the game, but I do not understand most of these choices.

Vayne.8563:

There are two answers to your questions OP. Colin explained further some of why what was done was what done and it wasn’t just about teaching it was also about pacing.

Anet did extensive testing over a one year period and this was the version of the build which retained the most players and kept them playing longer.

The entire system is an absolute mess and further kills what, at launch, was the best MMO of the past decade, by a wide margin.

As to “we tested it and this is what worked”, how did they test it and who did they test it on? I find it impossible to believe that they tested it on Western MMO Players and came up with this result. I also seriously doubt they tested it on Eastern MMO Players and got this result. Could it be the best system for a random group of non-gamers off the street? Maybe, but I think most MMO players and gamers in general will find the system not only frustrating, but very insulting to their intelligence.

We know this system was implemented in support of the China release and, unfortunately, we also got it here. The first thing I thought to myself after testing out the NPE was that ANet must think Chinese players are absolute idiots. I was actually offended by the implied racism of the system.

Even if there is any truth to their testing claims, how the hell is that a way to design a game? Lucas Arts tried the same thing when they forced SOE to implement the NGE for Star Wars Galaxies. That had focus group testing as well and it was disastrous for the game because of the ham handed way they tried to dumb down the game in an effort to appeal to the lowest common denominator.

I think it should be obvious to many that NPE has nothing to do with making a better game or improving the learning experience for new players. The only point of NPE is to provide an artificial sense of progression to cover for a ridiculously dumbed down Trait system that back loads actual character progression and introduces large gaps where there is no appreciable progression.

If you boiled actual character progression in the current game to it’s purest, distilled form, we could have a level cap of 16, with the first 4 representing very negligible gains. 4/5ths of the current game levels are essentially meaningless. Gaining a level used to mean something, now it’s most often just an artificial barrier to essential game functions pre-level 20 and absolutely empty filler post level 20.

The game suffers greatly as a result and, sadly, we find ourselves in a situation two years in where Vanilla GW2 is a vastly superior product to the game it is today. If a game would be better of scrapping two years of development almost completely, that says something and it isn’t good.

I feel similar to Jaken. To avoid repeating my self heres the post i wrote https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Constructive-NPE-feedback/first#post4408914