Guild Wars 2

I have 3.5k hours played, and i feel pretty disconnected to this incarnation of Tyria. I am a pretty big lore nerd, and the living story method of delivery, imo, is creating extremely shallow lore. I do not care one bit about pretty much any characters introduced via living world. I dont care at all who wins the upcoming election outside of how it will actually affect the game content wise ( ie morality etc). Living story provides extremely shallow character/npc development, shallow lore, and most definitely mundane lore progression.

The personal story concept I loved…. though the actual story itself was very standard good vs evil, the system itself, I believe worked out very well. Alot of the missions were extremely fun and I would even say epic. This system also provides a means to develop NPC characters you actually care about which is good for a players long term investment into the world of Tyria through immersion. As sad as it to say, I would care alot more if Treehearn dies for example, than lets say whoever these people are that are in the elections that ive spent a total of maybe 5 minutes interacting with.

I understand something like a large scale personal story mini xpac will take up alot of dev time, but i sure would buy it… and im pretty sure EVERYONE else would, instead of the hit or miss with the current gem store items. Ideally, i would want this new personal story content to be extremely challenging with some amazing skins as rewards for completion etc.

In a sense more epic dragonslaying, less elections, glorified jumping puzzle zones, and settler negotiations.

TLDR: Personal story is a superior way of lore delivery, npc development, and immersion. Living story is shallow content that I feel doesnt connect me or engross me into the world of tyria.

Create a new deep, extremely challenging, with awesome reward skins, “mini xpac” questline using the personal story method of delivery, and put it on sale for gems.

Your thoughts?…. also attached video of another huge GW lore nerd, WoodenPotatoes’ thoughts on living story and content delivery

You would have a point if the personal storyline weren’t so bad – shallow, with choices that have no lasting impact, NPCs who leave every ten levels (and the only one who stays, Salad Boy, is insufferable), and very little lore.

It has potential to be much more, sure. But so does the Living Story.

The difference between the personal story and living story is well …… Close to nothing. The living story is obvious it is not my story. Personal story at least the attempt is made to make it my story.

Other then that I like the personal story because of the way the narrative could be told. Living story is a lot harder to have a narrative that can be caught up on.

anzenketh.3759:

The difference between the personal story and living story is well …… Close to nothing. The living story is obvious it is not my story. Personal story at least the attempt is made to make it my story.

Other then that I like the personal story because of the way the narrative could be told. Living story is a lot harder to have a narrative that can be caught up on.

Guess thats the problem….. like wooden potato in that video…. i really dont see how the living story model can be made to have an epic narrative. I just dont see the structure there for it.

The living story is Anet’s attempt at easy to create content. It is meant for their ease in that they don’t need to create any storyline, or valid content. They just create an area, add arcade style gaming and push it out. They do not need to hire writers, voice talent, etc.. my final barometer on the LS came yesterday. A friend that has been pro game and always looks for the bright side, said she was losing interest and was playing less and less. She had no interest in jump puzzles and was looking for something different to play. The guild she was in imploded, and she was really disappointed in the game. I was shocked, she is always the one to shake me out of my moods when the game got on my nerves, now she is losing faith. I thoroughly believe Ncsoft cut the budget for GW2 to a bare minimum and Anet is scrambling to stay afloat.

I’ve got a pure Norn perspective, and living story has been pretty good. Charr and Norn evidently get on very well (thinking meatober fest, talon killpeace’s whiskey) even before F&F came along to cement things further.

The dredge are properly despicable and quite deranged. The Svanir have taken up the Stone Summit’s mantle of being generally cruel. The Flame Legion are the charr’s problem

The Settler stuff on Southsun added a bit more of a human dimension to it with the Divinity’s Reach characters and Ellen Kiel… and something of an Asura dimension to it too with the whole Consortium thing, plus of course the Consortium brought us Fractals of the Mists. Ellen Kiel is still too shallow for me to consider voting her onto the council; I mean ok she’s a good inspector but I could never imagine Dirty Harry running for public office

Evon Gnashblade is a much more pervasive character, ironic that he’s achieved it by just being there in the background instead of cut-scene after cut-scene. Every time anyone uses the gem store or the TP, there’s Evon Gnashblade. He IS the “black lion”. He’s also always been there in Lion’s Arch up the stairs from the TP merchants in the black lion trading company; he’s got history, like one of those background characters who’s always just been there, only now he’s stepping forward into the lime-light.

I’d like to see more of Ellen Kiel, but mmm, not as a councillor. She makes a good “tough cop” and if anything, failing an election would enrich her character more than winning one. Magnus can joke about it, the big ol’ norn! Also, we know next to nothing about Kasmeer except that she has some strange acquaintances. Wait… she IS the strange acquaintance. I wonder if she knows Demi Beetlestone or Riel Darkwater?