Guild Wars 2

Disclaimer: -english its not my native tongue so bear with me, i might have a few typos btw.

TL; DR: not included this is meant to be read.

As title says i have over 600 hours of gameplay in gw2, i have 2 toon lvl 80, at this moment lvling another 2, i have been playing since bw1 and pre-ordered gw2 because i felt this game would be awesome.

-Upside-

Indeed it is, let me say first that im deeply in love with this game, and has been the best 60$ ive spent in a game, wonderful job have been done by Anet putting life into the world with a rich lore, rich storyline and wonderful graphics, it is fresh to the MMO scene in some aspects.

as you can see for me replayability its 100% assured i started with humans and have played almost every storyline and for me it felt complete, of course everything cant be perfect, some npcs are dull and forgetable and you cant hardly remember them later on, he died? “who cares” its sometimes the initial response, some arent forgetable and make feel the world so alive that you sometimes will fall in love with them and doing your personal story isnt enough and you want to be with them all the time.

(for me: you can find a thread related to that npc in “Personal story” sub forum).

as i said early replayability its 100% because leveling its always fun it was a great idea by Anet doing an horizontal scale because to be honest who likes playing 600 hours to get 1 lvl 80 when you can have loads of them and do whatever you want whenever you want.

and thats my next point, unless you only zerg in Orr all day all night there are some many things to do that times flies away, if you play 10+ in Orr you are not allowed to say that game needs more content.

why? you might ask, when i first started gw2 i came with the previous mindset any mmo have imposed over, rush, rush, grind, grind, you are max lvl now your power level its over 9000 , now go complain in forum that you dont have more content.

i did that first rushed and max-capped everything then felt i have nothing else to do. then i realized that gw2 its not like previous MMOs, so i then went into a long journey of completing 100% world map and im proud to say i achieved it, then realized i rushed and didnt do my PS so i completed it.

overall i felt really good playing so i decided to start another adventure with another toon and enjoyed PS, the content and world, i felt so good again that im doing it again with another toon, and perhaps another toon.

this game has so much potential that im amazed of things this game can accomplished, but like a coin everything have his other side so.

-Downside of guild wars 2-

Somewhat this game feels rushed at certain point, in bw1- to -bw3 everything felt really polished almost perfect for an upcoming mmo, indeed its well polished up to major lvl areas where game started to breakdown with some bugs, but HEY tell me only 1 released game that didnt have a bug over the first month.
But thats not the point i personally feel that this game could have use another month or 2 of beta testing

This game derailed his concept along the way, one of the main things that made me say i want this game was the major concept of non-grind, yet this game isnt for casual gamers let me explain why, its true you can get any gear by any means. like crafted, karma, tokens but the easiest one its the crafted.

still the big and huge problem that everyone can get max gear and there is no much difference.

its that casual gamers dont play for stats they play for looks.

so, when you have a T3 set that cost 100g wich are only for looks you are just saying to casual gamers, you cant have this unless you grind enough, ive loads of casual gamers and they hardly do 1g per day, so that means they will need 100 days to get that full T3 set, wich comes to my next point.

gold sink, gold sink makes an established flux of gold to prevent an inflating economy and that is marvelous but current gold sinks just damage casual gamers wich means they are not allowed to fully enjoy the game.

lets put the same example of the 1g if i say to my friend lets hop over some maps and gather matts they will alway say " i would love to, but no thank you" because 4 teleports means 20% of his wealth and dont get me started about repair bills, its a nightmare for them, wich means that when you hit lvl 80 you are just doomed into a grind fest to maintain your toon alive.

another thing that dissapoint me its the faded RNG im cool with RNG, but kill 3000 times Blob the Glob to forge 4 swords and throw them into a magical blender and hope you get a shinier sword its not what i call fun.

let me explain, faded RNG by Anet have boosted the prices of the precursors wich means only will make gold sellers richer because black market gold its always cheaper than gems, hence more bots will come in in order to sell more gold and its a never ending problem.

at this moment 11-10-12 where the gold and i mean loads of gold is, its in about 1% of the gw2 population wich in a mischievous way they scam people and control the influx of gold into their pockets, and im talking about the precursor yes buth thats another story and im starting to derail from thread.

overall
I would buy Guild Wars 2 again, replayability its 100% and my score its.

8/10
********

nice review i agree on a lot of points thanks

Denial of Service:

I am not attempting to be a jerk here, or anything, but something about your playtime struck me as a bit odd, then I did some rudimentary math.

47 (days) x 24 (hours) = 1128 hours
or
617 (hours rounded up, of course) / 24 (hours) = 25.7 days.
Thusly:
1128 (hours) – 617 (hours) = 511 (hours) or 47 (days) – 25 (days) = 22 (days)

Needless to say, I love this game too, but Jumping Rytlock Christ, get out of the house more. Or stop using programs that play the game. Either /or!

Aside from that, very well-written post. I understand the initial frustration of powerleveling myself up to 80, only to realize…I was 80 all along, in a sense. Sure, I unlocked more skills, and so forth, but rushing myself to the end of the game really gave me no benefit, aside from these abilities (Most of which aren’t tremendously helpful, anyway). I slugged away to craft myself my final tier armor, and procure the best statted exotic weapons that I could…but then what did I do? I was at a loss. Money had no real purpose, aside to stockpile for cosmetics, or pass off to another character. Farming was dull, bland, boring, and any other synonym you can think of for tedious. Then I decided to explore.

Exploring the lands of Tyria is a pretty interesting experience (aside from Orr- love the zone, hate the mobs- beating a dead horse here), with plenty of enriching in-game sights. I took my time, now, and only found myself frustrated when running across the random horde of nude rangers, and their trailing bear army.

Personally, I feel the economy will figure itself out, one way or another. Either it will become ‘BLACK AND WHITE DYES 20PLAT’ or it will actually stabilize into something that is a flowing market. I assume the first, but I hope for the second. Most in-game economies are -very- unstable for the first months the game is out, but eventually settle down. The biggest issue I see thus far is people undercutting other people by ridiculous amounts, and lowering the average price of goods to near nothing. That, or offering to buy good at 1 copper more than vendor price, which nets people less in return, due to tax (listing price, etc). Fix some of these issues, and get rid of the bots, and I’ll be happier than a pig in…uh…mud. Right. Mud.

Bazeel.8602:

Denial of Service:

I am not attempting to be a jerk here, or anything, but something about your playtime struck me as a bit odd, then I did some rudimentary math.

1—-47 (days) x 24 (hours) = 1128 hours
or
617 (hours rounded up, of course) / 24 (hours) = 25.7 days.
Thusly:
1128 (hours) – 617 (hours) = 511 (hours) or 47 (days) – 25 (days) = 22 (days)

-2-Needless to say, I love this game too, but Jumping Rytlock Christ, get out of the house more. Or stop using programs that play the game. Either /or!

Aside from that, very well-written post. I understand the initial frustration of powerleveling myself up to 80, only to realize…I was 80 all along, in a sense. Sure, I unlocked more skills, and so forth, but rushing myself to the end of the game really gave me no benefit, aside from these abilities (Most of which aren’t tremendously helpful, anyway). I slugged away to craft myself my final tier armor, and procure the best statted exotic weapons that I could…but then what did I do? I was at a loss. Money had no real purpose, aside to stockpile for cosmetics, or pass off to another character. Farming was dull, bland, boring, and any other synonym you can think of for tedious. Then I decided to explore.

Exploring the lands of Tyria is a pretty interesting experience (aside from Orr- love the zone, hate the mobs- beating a dead horse here), with plenty of enriching in-game sights. I took my time, now, and only found myself frustrated when running across the random horde of nude rangers, and their trailing bear army.

Personally, I feel the economy will figure itself out, one way or another. Either it will become ‘BLACK AND WHITE DYES 20PLAT’ or it will actually stabilize into something that is a flowing market. I assume the first, but I hope for the second. Most in-game economies are -very- unstable for the first months the game is out, but eventually settle down. The biggest issue I see thus far is people undercutting other people by ridiculous amounts, and lowering the average price of goods to near nothing. That, or offering to buy good at 1 copper more than vendor price, which nets people less in return, due to tax (listing price, etc). Fix some of these issues, and get rid of the bots, and I’ll be happier than a pig in…uh…mud. Right. Mud.

1- that means 25 days playing 24 hours straight but playing 13hrs for the past 47 days yields an absurd amount of 600+ of gameplay

2- hahahaha that made me laugh yeah i know, but i have 2 months where i have to just lay down because in work i broke my left rib and got something wich i dont know how to translate but its when the nerve gets a lot of pressure from the ribs and when you move it hurts like hell so nothing better that just lay down playing a game.

for me atm its just sleep and play (i kinda wish were like this more often).

dude i like you XD nice reply and yes, ive reported over 3000 bots (hyperbole much?) in my whole adventuring career.

600 hours since launch is pretty casual actually.i usually play 16 hours a day,no job or school though.my mom doesnt mind as long as i take out the garbage and do laundry soemtimes

sainguine.2870:

600 hours since launch is pretty casual actually.i usually play 16 hours a day,no job or school though.my mom doesnt mind as long as i take out the garbage and do laundry soemtimes

How can it be pretty casual when you just described it as pretty hardcore?

Denial of Service:

It’s all good! I was just teasing at you, for the most part. I’m a full time student, currently, returning to school on the Post 9/11 GI bill, so I have a pretty silly amount of time I can play, as well. I was just shocked at the amount of playtime dedicated, though your explanation makes it quite a bit less absurd. I’ve broken ribs before, and I understand the pain you are describing quite well. Intercostal nerves, and so on.

I feel your pain on the botting issue, however. I understand that ArenaNet is well aware of the situation, and is ‘Doing all they can to ensure this problem does not escalate’, though it is disconcerting to see the same people constantly teleporting about and botting in Orr, Frostgorge sound, and otherwise. These have been reported numerous times, and while I have some margin of trust in ANet, it is disappointing to see them continuing to farm there, despite all the reports I am sure they get (hell, I report them at least once per day, on average). Hopefully, Anet will implement online ‘GMs’ or something similar, to help nick this problem in the bud. Hell, just ONE individual GM per server could really cut down on the numbers of bots, if they frequented the botting areas and banned the blatant botters.

sainguine.2870:

600 hours since launch is pretty casual actually.i usually play 16 hours a day,no job or school though.my mom doesnt mind as long as i take out the garbage and do laundry soemtimes

This is the sort of player I had aimed the ‘go outside’ comment at.

That’s 15 40 hours work weeks.

So approx 13 hours a day for 47 days ?

You guys are scary…

about post #1:
100% agreed
most mmorpgs got a very slow progression and are mostly played hardcore because of this
such games also gives you the feel that you need to rush through things in order to not getting bored or being rewarded frequently
more content is simply an illusion at that sort of games

you just need more hours to get an end-geared max level character than at GW2

that’s the mistake which often leads to “i’m at 80 and bored”-posts – they probably played it at least 4 hours a day while rushing through the game
there is no need in GW2 to do so…i got that within the first day playing it

i’m playing almost daily since the game launched and got my ranger at lv67 and my mesmer at lv29

GW2 is not meant to be rushed and played hardcore
almost no game is, except some Pay2Play or Pay2Win online games or maybe such games as touhou :P

but it’s hard to get rid of that “need…that…lvup…fast” mentality when you grew up with it…

Great post! I agree with many of your points!

For the folks calling 600+ hours “hardcore”, I disagree. What are those 600 hours spent doing? One character grinding out gear etc? Ok, that’s hardcore. Playing many characters and going through the story? For someone who is injured and on bedrest, that’s normal play.

That’s roughly 13 hours a day. If you play 13 and sleep 8, you still have 3 hours for food/hygiene/chores/tv etc. Nothing scary.

Vanity gear – things that cost stupid amounts of money like 100g or a legendary weapon. These things are not for normal users. These are not needed to be competitive. they are only for those crazy people who absolutely just needs long term goal.

You play until you dont have fun anymore. GW2 allows itself to end. It’s okay with you putting the game down until they make some new content. Surely you got your 60 dollars worth.

Just because its a MMO it does not constitute that its a replacement fo life. these extreme items are only for the select few. they have that price so they would be rare. thats the entire point. If they weren’t so exclusive they wouldn’t be legendary at all.

take down your ego, and be happy with what you got. thanks to the dye system and transmutation stones, you got plenty of options to make your ideal awesome character. You dont need access to everyone. those things do not make a difference to your characters power.

theerrantventure.9185:

For the folks calling 600+ hours “hardcore”, I disagree. What are those 600 hours spent doing? One character grinding out gear etc? Ok, that’s hardcore. Playing many characters and going through the story? For someone who is injured and on bedrest, that’s normal play.

I’d say if you are gaming over 12 hours every day, regardless of what you are doing, that’s pretty hardcore. In his situation though I’d probably do the same thing (I actually have done it), but it’s hardcore nonetheless.

Dudes… I play a lot, but I’m just going to say… over 12 hours a day in a chair playing a game, you’re just ASKING to get an early heart attack. It’s not a question of if, but when. Just saying…

@sainguine

By the nine, that’s nothing! I have clocked over 900 hours into the game I play 20 hours a day.

Here’s hoping you recover from your injuries soon, DoS.

As to the review (which you are in a unique place to make – probably even more so than the professional sites given the time you’ve played), I think it is a fair assessment -both positive and negative.

I particularly agree with your statements about Orr/Cursed Shore. I found that, once you get away from the mindset that “end game” has to be accompanied by a “level 80” tag, then the world really opens up and becomes fun. I find I spend much more time in zones like Gendarran Fields/Fireheart Rise/Bloodtide Coast, get close to the same Karma I would in Orr and have a much more fun (e.g. less grindy) experience.

And, yes, 600 hours in that time frame is hardcore, but not far-fetched for someone in your situation.

Again, get well soon.

15 hours a day on average for a little less than month and a half, before significantly slowing down to a mere three or four hours day? If your post would have started with anything other than “im deeply in love with this game” I would label you a mad man.

Even so, step away from the keyboard. Really, just step away. This is a fantastic game, built to last, it will be here when you get back. In fact, I promise I won’t kill all the monsters and leave plenty for you when you return.

You still here? No seriously, outside with you.

Blaeys.3102:

Here’s hoping you recover from your injuries soon, DoS.

As to the review (which you are in a unique place to make – probably even more so than the professional sites given the time you’ve played), I think it is a fair assessment -both positive and negative.

I particularly agree with your statements about Orr/Cursed Shore. I found that, once you get away from the mindset that “end game” has to be accompanied by a “level 80” tag, then the world really opens up and becomes fun. I find I spend much more time in zones like Gendarran Fields/Fireheart Rise/Bloodtide Coast, get close to the same Karma I would in Orr and have a much more fun (e.g. less grindy) experience.

And, yes, 600 hours in that time frame is hardcore, but not far-fetched for someone in your situation.

Again, get well soon.

Yes, my experience as well. Unlike in most mmo’s where I rush to max level, I’ve forced myself to take my time in GW2 and I feel very rewarded for it. Taking your time and exploring the world is really where it’s at.

I’m a bit undecided about the gear-related-goals in the game as they are now. At the moment, I find the process of grinding, so to speak, for my maxed out gear to be fun — and the quest for cool looking dungeon gear is so far nice as well, but I’m not sure of the longevity of those goals as motivation.

For me there is only one glaring flaw in the PvE game, and that is the lack of very significant challenges for guilds to attack. I know there are dungeons, and they fill this niche a little bit. There are also open world challenges, like harder areas and events in Orr, but I suppose I miss the big raid-style goals. By this I’m not saying that there should be a gear progression grind like other MMOs, but there was something about a raid instance which helped to define and motivate a guild. I’ve been in a few guilds so far, and while they run dungeons and do WvWvW, the more PvE focused guilds lack this sort of meta-goal to bind them together. I suppose I miss the long term progression that raids give you, without really missing the gear treadmill progression part of that.

I don’t know if GW2 needs to necessarily adopt this same type of thing, but it would be cool if — for example — there was an open world boss, or area, which required some serious guild coordination and participation to tackle. How that differs from a raid, or a dungeon, I’m not sure, but luckily it’s not my job to solve this particular problem — I just perceive that it exists.

Arsenal.2601:

15 hours a day on average for a little less than month and a half, before significantly slowing down to a mere three or four hours day? If your post would have started with anything other than “im deeply in love with this game” I would label you a mad man.

Even so, step away from the keyboard. Really, just step away. This is a fantastic game, built to last, it will be here when you get back. In fact, I promise I won’t kill all the monsters and leave plenty for you when you return.

You still here? No seriously, outside with you.

Edit: ah …. injury…. I see now …

Don’t feel bad, Arsenal. I jumped the gun on that one, too.

Skimmed through that and got to this.

“Somewhat this game feels rushed at certain point”

And I thought… hmmm… I’m going to grab a calculator.

In 47 days, there are 1,128 hours. You’ve played 616 hours.

1,128-616 = 512.

You’ve spent 512 hours off of Guild Wars 2 since it’s launched.

When I’m not sleeping or working, I’m playing Guild Wars 2. I have roughly 320 hours. I feel I play too much.

Now, I’m sure you have good opinions and all that good stuff, but I have to ask. Where it God’s name do you think you have the right to complain about the game feeling a bit rushed when you RUSHED THE GAME YOURSELF BY PLAYING FOR NEARLY 70% OF THE TIME THE GAME HAS BEEN RELEASED. I honestly don’t even see why you’d bother telling us your time played. It’s not like the amount of time in game makes it so you’re opinion is better than anyone elses, or that it’s significant proof. I’ve spent most my time in WvW and you won’t see me talking about how terrible of a place Orr is (if it even is).

Thanks for post Denial. Sorry to hear that you are injured. I guess in a way it is good timing since you get to play a great game.

But man, 600+ hours. I thought I was playing too much then I saw your post. Now I don’t feel so bad about spending most of non-working hours playing lol.

how do you view your gameplay hours ?
and what is “Orr” ?

and what is “Orr” ?

@SameHH: Awesome question!

Link: Ruins of Orr

Orr is a high level area...but i guess you are not that serious about that question...

by the way...my medical condition also forces me to be at home most of the time over the past years (except for uncle-doc visits and important appointments) and only got 145 hours with all characters since it launched...so that’s not really a reason to play GW2 all the time - but if that sort of ingame-time-management doesn’t get out of control, i have nothing against it :P
weird... i’m pretty sure, at all other previous mmorpgs i’ve played, that it was way more hours that i’ve spend on them...
really felt to be forced to play, because of the slow progression - but that was part of the marketing

arenanet just got rid that sort of thinking and still making good money
i’m hoping that this sort of gameplay will inspire the developers and designers of other, future mmorpg releases

though, i’d like to have a slightly lower exp-rate and a drastical nerf at crafting-exp at GW2 - a rusher can get to max level in 3 days or within an one-and-a-half-day hardcore session
...and then they are complaining about the lack of contents -_-’