(edited by Renn.8241)
On a more positive note!!
Honestly the new system isn’t too bad for new player retention.
A simple solution for veterans, though…make Tomes of Knowledge more accessible outside of PvP and make level 20 scrolls usable at any level, why only 1-20? Why not 40-60?
Either leveling process was a chore for veterans, these changes aren’t actually any worse and people who think they are should really seek diagnosis for their problems.
Yes all you (me included) veteran’s
You were doing so well…right up until you mentioned ‘veterans’.
Don’t worry, it’s not just you as people have been brandishing the term all over the forums recently
Can anyone really consider themselves a veteran because they’ve played since release or have a slew of level 80 characters?
WoW vets i can understand as WoW has been quite happily trundling along since November 2004 but GW2 is a mere baby by comparison at, just over, 2 years old.
I don’t know – perhaps it’s just one of those words…like moreish, to supposedly describe wanting more of something, that just sets my teeth on edge…who can say?
I’ve only made it to level 18 in my tests and I found it the worst introductory leveling process of any MMO I’ve played in 20 years.
I didn’t find a single positive, a ton of unnecessary frustrations and no more new player guidance than previous. In fact, I think the process will now be even more confusing.
It’s a horrible introduction to the game and I have trouble believing most newbs will make it to level 20 before concluding the game is pure junk.
As to tomes of knowledge, etc… just accepting that a quarter of the game is now so un-enjoyable that people not wanting to be treated like simpletons should just skip it should be all the proof one needs that these changes are an utter failure.
I agree that the new stuff does do a better job of teaching things to very new players.
However, there’s two points that still need to be addressed on that front.
First, is that it doesn’t teach them everything they still need to know. It’s still missing things, and what it gives it gives out way too slow. This is the games ONLY chance to make a first impression. A bit overwhelming is better than a bit underwhelming. Underwhelming games are everywhere.
The second also has to deal with that first impression. Watch THIS. Listen to what the song is saying. THIS is the game they made. It is huge, and beautiful, and terrifying. Play through the human, charr, and sylvari introductions (I’ve always felt the other two fall a bit short). This is the world we’re supposed to be taking our first brave and defiant steps into. Reducing them to shuffling little baby steps is a horrible thing to do. Gaining new weapon skills in the into mission gave a feeling of advancement right from the very beginning, and by the time we get to the end players feel like they’ve gotten better, and might BE worthy of the heroic title they’re given.
Yes, the game was in dire need of an improved tutorial. But reducing all of the starter zones to what is now an extended tutorial and little more is not only a step DOWN from the impact of the intro missions, but it sweeps some very important plot points under the rug by making the main attraction during those levels be unlocking things. Leveling should happen as you explore the world, not the other way around.
The intent was good, and they get points for realizing that they needed to do something. But I think they’re selling themselves and the game world itself short by doing things as they did.
delicate, brick-like subtlety.
Yes all you (me included) veteran’s
You were doing so well…right up until you mentioned ‘veterans’.
Don’t worry, it’s not just you as people have been brandishing the term all over the forums recently
Can anyone really consider themselves a veteran because they’ve played since release or have a slew of level 80 characters?
WoW vets i can understand as WoW has been quite happily trundling along since November 2004 but GW2 is a mere baby by comparison at, just over, 2 years old.
I don’t know – perhaps it’s just one of those words…like moreish, to supposedly describe wanting more of something, that just sets my teeth on edge…who can say?
I understand where you coming from but maybe I didn’t make myself clear, I mean Veterans of anet, not solely GW2. Those who have stuck with anet through GW1 and all there other mistakes and successes
As well as Veterans of gaming, I approached the new character patch as if it was my first game, as GW1 was my first MMO. After now around 14 years of gaming, I have a general drift of many games and consider myself a veteran compared to soemone newer to gaming.
On a side note, my fiancee, who is brand new new gaming, found this patch very helpful and even more so got a chance to play the old version a week prior, and preferred the new system
(edited by Renn.8241)
Yes all you (me included) veteran’s
You were doing so well…right up until you mentioned ‘veterans’.
Don’t worry, it’s not just you as people have been brandishing the term all over the forums recently
Can anyone really consider themselves a veteran because they’ve played since release or have a slew of level 80 characters?
WoW vets i can understand as WoW has been quite happily trundling along since November 2004 but GW2 is a mere baby by comparison at, just over, 2 years old.
I don’t know – perhaps it’s just one of those words…like moreish, to supposedly describe wanting more of something, that just sets my teeth on edge…who can say?
We’re relative Veterans. And some of us played Guild Wars 1 before Guild Wars 2 and that counts for something too, even if it’s not the same game. I’ve been with Guild Wars for about eight year now, maybe a hair less. I feel like a veteran.
Anyway, being a part of these forums is certainly like fighting a war. lol
Anyway, being a part of these forums is certainly like fighting a war. lol
Only when you attempt to force your narrow opinion on everyone and ignore all who disagree.
Anyway, on topic. As a new player to GW2 (but not to MMO’s) I dislike how generic and boring the levelling system (and low level maps) now are.
It takes half an hour or so for most people to solidify their first impression of a game, and that first half an hour in GW2 is now massively restrictive and pretty much the same as most MMO’s out there now.
This new system I could see as being beneficial to someone who has literally never played a PC RPG/MMORPG before, but that’s about it (and come on, why would someone who’s never played an MMO before throw £50 at guild wars 2?)
Unless they are planning to implement some sort of permanent free trial (akin to WoW) or drastically increase the frequency of their trail weekends, I just can’t see these changes as a step in the correct direction, myself.
GW2 is buy to play, people 100% brand new to the MMO genre are most likely not going to buy GW2 to experience their first MMO – GW2’s new player experience should be geared towards people with experience in playing MMO’s, and instead of hand-holding you through basic features should offer more in-depth explanations and tutorials of advanced features (as of the time of typing this, the only in-game explanation of combos is a 1 sentence pop up when you reach roughly level 50 or so)
I still remember that my first session in Queensdale during the first beta knocked my socks off and hooked me on the game that I had been following intently in the years prior.
Even a few months ago when I logged in for an hour or so, Queensdale was packed, as it was still a fun zone for many.
This week, even with Megaservers, I’ve found it depressingly dead and it’s not to much to assume it’s because many share my view that the changes have been to the game’s great detriment.
The first deeply groan worthy thing I noticed was that ANet now seems to think that Water Buckets and Cow Feed are just to complex a concept for their target audience. Things just went down hill from there.
I know from discussion with a number of people that some people were a bit confused coming from games like WoW to a game where things are much less linear and a bit more inquisitiveness is expected from players. Some, even after reaching mid levels, found the lack of clear direction on what to do next something they were still having a bit of trouble adapting to.
So, yes, the game could have benefited greatly from not only a more extensive tutorial, (not only of function, but teaching players what the game world expects of them in maximizing content). However, the game definitely did not need to be dumbed down and especially not in such an inane way. I also remain flummoxed that they felt the need to remove or spoil Dynamic Events in the starting zones that made the initial game play so memorable and inspired.
I realized after a short session tonight that the level rewards updates and the Heart Updates are a nice touch, it’s just tainted by the fact that the item rewards are horrible and the feature unlocks seems to have been implemented just to try to instill some illusion of character progress at earlier levels now that Traits and Skill Points have been pushed much further up in the level progression.
In case my opinion on the feature update is unclear, I think pretty much the entire thing is a major head-scratcher and massive disappointment, (even in light of my ever diminishing expectations for the Studio after the slide began in late 2012/ early 2013).
(and come on, why would someone who’s never played an MMO before throw £50 at guild wars 2?)
GW2 is buy to play, people 100% brand new to the MMO genre are most likely not going to buy GW2 to experience their first MMO -
Because it’s free to play? opposed to other subscription based games which people are moving away from.
Your comment about “GW2 is buy to play, people 100% brand new to the MMO genre are most likely not going to buy GW2 to experience their first MMO”
Doesn’t really make sense since lots of player pick it up as their first MMO, it was even the fastest selling MMO and lots of the player base was new
(and come on, why would someone who’s never played an MMO before throw £50 at guild wars 2?)
GW2 is buy to play, people 100% brand new to the MMO genre are most likely not going to buy GW2 to experience their first MMO -
Because it’s free to play? opposed to other subscription based games which people are moving away from.
Your comment about “GW2 is buy to play, people 100% brand new to the MMO genre are most likely not going to buy GW2 to experience their first MMO”
Doesn’t really make sense since lots of player pick it up as their first MMO, it was even the fastest selling MMO and lots of the player base was new
It’s buy to play, not free to play.
There are hundreds of actual F2P MMO’s on the market right now, wherein one can experience an MMORPG without paying out of pocket first.
And for sure, when the game was brand spanking new and advertised absolutely everywhere as the holy grail of MMO’s, I’d imagine a lot of people new to the genre got sucked in to the hype, however at this moment in time, there’s very little actual advertising of GW, and it’s carried by reviews and word-of-mouth.
As it stands, I would not recommend GW2 to someone brand new to the genre unless they were doing a free trial. I would recommend them one of the perfect world/similar games so they can get a firm grasp of MMORPG’s, their systems and their structures and then, when they knew a bit more about what was happening, I’d suggest to them “oh hey, come check out GW2 if you have some spare cash”
It takes half an hour or so for most people to solidify their first impression of a game, and that first half an hour in GW2 is now massively restrictive and pretty much the same as most MMO’s out there now.
Except that GW2 has a low number of skills and a limited action bar.