Guild Wars 2

I’ve come back from reading this particular thread:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/dungeons/Solo-Dungeon-option-end-forced-grouping/page/1

And it left me thinking: What does the phrase “Play the Way you Want” in GW2 mean to the players? I’ve pondered 3 potential definitions that I believe to be the most prominent. Of course, if you feel that there are other definitions, please post your thoughts, or just go down to the TL;DR

These are my POTENTIAL definitions. I do not consider them to be the only ones:

1) “Play The Way You Want” means wanting to play the game for the fun-filled experience.
This is probably the most “innocent” definition, and was the aim of many early video games. I think this is also what ANET originally had in mind in early development, which is seen in this blog post: https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/is-it-fun-colin-johanson-on-how-arenanet-measures-success/. This is tricky to measure since Fun is Subjective

Does GW2 have things you would want to play for fun? There certainly are plenty of things to do. But if choosing this definition, does the game satiate your need for a good adventure? Is it something you want to brag about to your fellow players (I beat such-and-such and it was an awesome fight!)

2) “Play The Way You Want” means “Wanting to be awarded items the way you want to be awarded.”
Here’s where I open the can of worms. I believe the core of MMOs’ designs is the need to provide VISUAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS in the form of ITEMS to the players. GW2 is no exception. What makes this a volatile topic is that not everyone wants to do the same thing as others would do it. There will be different opinions and methods of how people will go about acquiring things in game. But when taking this definition, it all comes down to this : People want stuff. Period.

Does GW2 award you with items they way you want to be awarded? There are certainly different means of obtaining them. But if choosing this definition, does the game satisfy your need of simply having an amazing item? Do you want to show off your item to other players, or simply keep it as a testament to yourself?

3) “Play The Way You Want” means wanting to have the highest score in some in-game activity that you enjoy the most, and you can work towards this high score the way you want to.
I think this definition applies more to WvW/sPvP/tPvP activities, particularly Leaderboards and Rankings. Who didn’t like having their 3 initials with a score of 1,000,000 at the top of a local arcade machine When taking this definition, fun and items are secondary; what it comes down to is your Skill or Dedication of the game and a title to show it somewhere.

Does GW2 provide you then environment to test your skill and dedication to the activities you enjoy? The game has titles, achievement points, PvP/WvW rankings, Leaderboards and whatnot. If choosing this definition, does your title/rank earn you that sense of accomplishment that you want, like scoring 1,000,000 on Asteroids or Centipede or Minesweeper?

TL;DR: What does “Play The Way You Want” in GW2 mean to you (The Player): does it mean wanting play for the Experience, the Items, or the High Score? All three? Something other than these three?

I don’t know. I went by the definition Anet gave when they explained it. It means that you can get to max level and max gear in a variety of ways. For example…

You can get exotic armor and weapons by doing WvW, or by doing dungeons, or by doing world events, or even just staying in a starter zone and doing dailies (though you’d eventually have to go to Orr to get the karma exotics with it).

That’s what Anet said it means in more than one interview. Why shouldn’t I believe them?

I just play for the fun, the adventure, the exploration. Loot is great, but secondary. =)

As for the phrase ‘play the way you want’ in Guild Wars 2, I will take the developers at their word for what it means. Works for me!

I agree with Iculpatus. The only way to enjoy guild wars is to do play for the intrinsic reward of playing (that is, play for fun).

Do what you want when you want to do it. If you get bored do something else. You’ll get enough gold etc to cover repair costs and sock a little (very little, we talking change-in-the-couch money) away toward those shiny divinity runes (or whatever).

I think play the way you want meant that each aspect of the game was suppose to be more or less extrinsically rewarding in its own way (Loot). For example, whatever you did you could get exotic gear (Best-in-slot at launch) from doing that activity.

Which is true, but the fact is that the game is very stingy with its loot. IMO there are only two parts of the game that are out of line, COF p1 (sleeping walking for gold) and Fractals (ascended rings very very fast).

It was a marketing phrase to hype the game that far too many read into as gospel. It basically meant you werent tied down to a single linear progression, supported by the multiple xp channels, no grind for gear and scaling down of lvls to the appropriate zone.

Thats it, nothing more. If ppl felt the need the read or want more, that is a diff matter.

You are right that the game has become tied too much to rewards snd the demands for them. Whether that is a design flaw in the content or just over demanding players would be a diff discussion, but the game has fallen into a bit of a trap, where rng and grinding can rear its ugly head needlessly. Yes, theres nothing you need to have, but there are better ways for players to obtain the fun skins etc and still generate revenue for the company.

Ultimately this is a game less than a year in. No mmo a year in is by any means the finished template. There is a lot of mileage in the game and maybe only in 2-3 years can it be judged properly

Vayne.8563:

I don’t know. I went by the definition Anet gave when they explained it. It means that you can get to max level and max gear in a variety of ways. For example…

You can get exotic armor and weapons by doing WvW, or by doing dungeons, or by doing world events, or even just staying in a starter zone and doing dailies (though you’d eventually have to go to Orr to get the karma exotics with it).

That’s what Anet said it means in more than one interview. Why shouldn’t I believe them?

I think it’s a shame that there are some people on the forums that don’t consider what Anet believes is the definition, then go about complaining that Anet are liars (of course, there are some legitimate complaints on other topics). But I guess it’s because "Play the Way you Want is much like the words “Grind” and “Fun”: it can mean something completely different among different people. Anet is acting on their beliefs of what these terms mean. To me, this is completely fine.

This game doesn’t allow me to play the way I want to play it, it’s impossible.

Nick.6972:

This game doesn’t allow me to play the way I want to play it, it’s impossible.

How do you want to play?

The draw for me with a game like GW2 comes largely from its open world that allows me the freedom to “make my own game” from the world and its systems provided.

If I want to have a costume contest in LA, I can do that. I can explore, chat with frienda, do dungeons, help low level characters, play the TP, role play, farm, roam solo, join WvW, start a guild and be a leader, command in WvW, etc.

My imagination, or lack of, is the limit.

This is not true of most single player games with exception of some sandbox games, but even those days fall far short in comparison to GW2 for allowing me to play the way I want to play.

Meili Ying.3820:

Nick.6972:

This game doesn’t allow me to play the way I want to play it, it’s impossible.

How do you want to play?

The way Manifesto Trailer promised.
That, and more strategic, more team play, no zerging – less active more chess like.

I’d love to have a more strategic war system than what WvWvW is at the moment. I’d also like to be able to find a spot and farm there until my heart’s content without being penalized for it.

Nick.6972:

The way Manifesto Trailer promised.
That, and more strategic, more team play, no zerging – less active more chess like.

asperbianca.3196:

I’d love to have a more strategic war system than what WvWvW is at the moment. I’d also like to be able to find a spot and farm there until my heart’s content without being penalized for it.

It’s good to see that people are inclined towards the Skill basis of things. I think that “Skill” and “Fun” can overlap in “playing the way you want”. To be honest, I’m quite weary of the loot basis of things that I’ve seen on the forums.

Imo no one should use the phrase “play the way you want” anymore. Too much people taking that simple statement too literal.

For example:
I want to play chess like hockey.

…

Vayne.8563:

I don’t know. I went by the definition Anet gave when they explained it. It means that you can get to max level and max gear in a variety of ways. For example…

You can get exotic armor and weapons by doing WvW, or by doing dungeons, or by doing world events, or even just staying in a starter zone and doing dailies (though you’d eventually have to go to Orr to get the karma exotics with it).

That’s what Anet said it means in more than one interview. Why shouldn’t I believe them?

Don’t you know that the vocal minority of the Guild Wars 2 community know what Arena Net meant better than they do?

Vayne.8563:

I don’t know. I went by the definition Anet gave when they explained it. It means that you can get to max level and max gear in a variety of ways. For example…

You can get exotic armor and weapons by doing WvW, or by doing dungeons, or by doing world events, or even just staying in a starter zone and doing dailies (though you’d eventually have to go to Orr to get the karma exotics with it).

That’s what Anet said it means in more than one interview. Why shouldn’t I believe them?

I’d say this is most accurate. You can max your character out through a variety of different avenues. Obviously no game can claim to let you do everything any way you want. I mean, what if I want to hit 80 by killing ambients? Should I be kitten Anet didn’t make this possible? Should I scream “BUT YOU SAID I CAN LEVEL ANYWAY I WANT!”? Nope. What if I want to level up by just doing TP transactions, or level up from number of whispers made.

Anet has to set parameters. I can tell you that the 3 level 80s I have were all leveled differently. My first was leveled through hearts and events, my second mostly from crafting and WvW, my 3rd was leveled also through hearts and events but in zones level 50 and below. I just got caught up in those zones and with scaling just jumped around lower level zones. Not sure why, I just did it that way.

My 4th character I’m duoing with my GF the entire way and has mostly leveled up doing the Living Story stuff exclusively.

I consider this being able to play my way. But what about the daily options!! They force me to play the way Anet wants me to play!! I hate rules!!

Dailies are optional people. Don’t try to claim Anet doesn’t let you play your way because the optional dailies are more structured. That isn’t quite what Anet had in mind when they said play your way.

I guess what you’re looking for and what I agree with is that people take things way too literally, which is why we end up with systems (such as legal) that are riddled with asterisks to the point of obfuscation. A certain amount of rationality is understood, I hope, with such statements.

Then again irrationality is way more exciting.

It’s pretty simple to me. It’s why sandbox PVE games are so great, they allow people when built from the ground up to allow for as many options as possible to do whatever they wish with rewards with satisfaction and with balance. It’s no secret that the most choices in any game makes that game more popular, when you restrict content restrict rewards restrict choices and design a game to only have a small number of choices for activities you end up with lots more complaints.

I’ve seen it in alot of games. Every time it’s happened in the elephant in the room it’s when they content stopped. It’s when their ui enhancement stopped, it’s when the activities beyond what they had already had ready in their expac content they’d prepared to release over a series of patches each time ended.

In Sandbox PVE games it’s always been about enough activities and perks to prevent stagnation and the continual improvement of the game in all aspects. We’ve yet to see their version of the kitchen sink patch, I’m hoping that will change soon that would definitely be a large step forward and until NCsoft starts pouring money into this title instead of the other games it will remain stagnant for the most part and no amount of temporary content will fix that it will still only be a bandaid for a larger problem.

Simple, “play the way you want” means that one should be able to play this game the way they want without someone sticking a carrot on a stick to coax us into doing other kitten (i.e. nerfing drop rates everywhere except the places that anet wants us to go to).

I would like to play how I want, but somehow I feel anet thinks my way of doing it is wrong.

Vayne.8563:

I don’t know. I went by the definition Anet gave when they explained it. It means that you can get to max level and max gear in a variety of ways. For example…

You can get exotic armor and weapons by doing WvW, or by doing dungeons, or by doing world events, or even just staying in a starter zone and doing dailies (though you’d eventually have to go to Orr to get the karma exotics with it).

That’s what Anet said it means in more than one interview. Why shouldn’t I believe them?

Because that’s not true anymore. Remember, max gear is the ascended tier now.

Astralporing.1957:

Vayne.8563:

I don’t know. I went by the definition Anet gave when they explained it. It means that you can get to max level and max gear in a variety of ways. For example…

You can get exotic armor and weapons by doing WvW, or by doing dungeons, or by doing world events, or even just staying in a starter zone and doing dailies (though you’d eventually have to go to Orr to get the karma exotics with it).

That’s what Anet said it means in more than one interview. Why shouldn’t I believe them?

Because that’s not true anymore. Remember, max gear is the ascended tier now.

Ascended gear is also only worth taking for one specific type of content. Completely optional content I might add. You only get ascended gear from Fractals, and you only need ascended gear for Fractals.

You keep saying that players should be able to play the way the want by your definition rather than what Arena Net actually meant. So why can’t the players who want to play with statistical progression be allowed to play how they want? Ascended gear and Fractals is their system for doing that.

So with that in mind, in essence, Arena Net has given up on its idea and is gradually building towards yours. That makes your complains rather hypocritical.

Arkham Creed.7358:

Vayne.8563:

I don’t know. I went by the definition Anet gave when they explained it. It means that you can get to max level and max gear in a variety of ways. For example…

You can get exotic armor and weapons by doing WvW, or by doing dungeons, or by doing world events, or even just staying in a starter zone and doing dailies (though you’d eventually have to go to Orr to get the karma exotics with it).

That’s what Anet said it means in more than one interview. Why shouldn’t I believe them?

Astralporing.1957:

Because that’s not true anymore. Remember, max gear is the ascended tier now.

Ascended gear is also only worth taking for one specific type of content. Completely optional content I might add. You only get ascended gear from Fractals, and you only need ascended gear for Fractals.

Oh, please.
“It means that you can get to max level and max gear in a variety of ways”. “No, ascended is not max gear, exotic is. Oh, you say ascended is actually better? Doesn’t matter, it’s optional”.

That is hypocritical.

And actually, Anet gave up on my (and its) idea, and is gradually building towards something i do not want, and didn’t expect in this game.
I definitely didn’t want them putting more and more insistence on gear and grind. And i had a reason to not expect that – everything they’ve been saying before game launched suggested they didn’t want that in their game either.

Astralporing.1957:

Arkham Creed.7358:

Vayne.8563:

I don’t know. I went by the definition Anet gave when they explained it. It means that you can get to max level and max gear in a variety of ways. For example…

You can get exotic armor and weapons by doing WvW, or by doing dungeons, or by doing world events, or even just staying in a starter zone and doing dailies (though you’d eventually have to go to Orr to get the karma exotics with it).

That’s what Anet said it means in more than one interview. Why shouldn’t I believe them?

Astralporing.1957:

Because that’s not true anymore. Remember, max gear is the ascended tier now.

Ascended gear is also only worth taking for one specific type of content. Completely optional content I might add. You only get ascended gear from Fractals, and you only need ascended gear for Fractals.

Oh, please.
“It means that you can get to max level and max gear in a variety of ways”. “No, ascended is not max gear, exotic is. Oh, you say ascended is actually better? Doesn’t matter, it’s optional”.

That is hypocritical.

you CAN get to ascended gear by at least 2-3 ways.

1.1 Do fractals for a chance for ring drop
1.2 Do fractals for pristine relic
2. Buy them using Laurels (rings, amulet, earrings)
3.1 Use a mixture of laurels and wvw tokens to buy them
3.2 Get a chance for them with the wxp chests.
4. Do guild missions for guild commendations for the earrings.

At least 4 different ways. That’s certainly variety in my book.

Astralporing.1957:

Arkham Creed.7358:

Vayne.8563:

I don’t know. I went by the definition Anet gave when they explained it. It means that you can get to max level and max gear in a variety of ways. For example…

You can get exotic armor and weapons by doing WvW, or by doing dungeons, or by doing world events, or even just staying in a starter zone and doing dailies (though you’d eventually have to go to Orr to get the karma exotics with it).

That’s what Anet said it means in more than one interview. Why shouldn’t I believe them?

Astralporing.1957:

Because that’s not true anymore. Remember, max gear is the ascended tier now.

Ascended gear is also only worth taking for one specific type of content. Completely optional content I might add. You only get ascended gear from Fractals, and you only need ascended gear for Fractals.

Oh, please.
“It means that you can get to max level and max gear in a variety of ways”. “No, ascended is not max gear, exotic is. Oh, you say ascended is actually better? Doesn’t matter, it’s optional”.

That is hypocritical.

Way to make the ‘way to literally’ point!

Oh and on that vein there are a variety of ways to make ascended items, so.. uh?

Astralporing.1957:

Arkham Creed.7358:

Vayne.8563:

I don’t know. I went by the definition Anet gave when they explained it. It means that you can get to max level and max gear in a variety of ways. For example…

You can get exotic armor and weapons by doing WvW, or by doing dungeons, or by doing world events, or even just staying in a starter zone and doing dailies (though you’d eventually have to go to Orr to get the karma exotics with it).

That’s what Anet said it means in more than one interview. Why shouldn’t I believe them?

Astralporing.1957:

Because that’s not true anymore. Remember, max gear is the ascended tier now.

Ascended gear is also only worth taking for one specific type of content. Completely optional content I might add. You only get ascended gear from Fractals, and you only need ascended gear for Fractals.

Oh, please.
“It means that you can get to max level and max gear in a variety of ways”. “No, ascended is not max gear, exotic is. Oh, you say ascended is actually better? Doesn’t matter, it’s optional”.

That is hypocritical.

And actually, Anet gave up on my (and its) idea, and is gradually building towards something i do not want, and didn’t expect in this game.
I definitely didn’t want them putting more and more insistence on gear and grind. And i had a reason to not expect that – everything they’ve been saying before game launched suggested they didn’t want that in their game either.

It’s all relative. I suppose you can rightly say I am being a hypocrite here, but –and I am speaking of a subjective opinion so don’t waste your time arguing the point- I don’t define negligible stat differences as being worth notice. I’m not a min/max player who has to have the most powerful gear, so something as small as the gap between ascended and exotic is far beneath my notice.

Yes, that can be considered hypocritical, I admit that. But I stand by my statement in the last post. You demand Arena Net provide you content build around your definition of “play the way you want” rather than their own, and then complain about the steps taken to provide that. That too is hypocritical. If I can admit to my own hypocrisy you can acknowledge yours.

Edit.

I see you added to your post, so allow me to add to mine. While I agree with your distaste for the recent additions and redesigns of certain aspects of the game, gear grind in particular, I understand why it was done. The community asked for it. No; demanded it. It still goes back to the issue of “play the way you want.” Arena Net is giving the community more options of how to play, working little by little toward giving them all that ability by their definition, rather than Arena Net’s. And yet many still complain about not getting their way. Some are hypocrites, others are simply impatient.

Draknar.5748:

Vayne.8563:

I don’t know. I went by the definition Anet gave when they explained it. It means that you can get to max level and max gear in a variety of ways. For example…

You can get exotic armor and weapons by doing WvW, or by doing dungeons, or by doing world events, or even just staying in a starter zone and doing dailies (though you’d eventually have to go to Orr to get the karma exotics with it).

That’s what Anet said it means in more than one interview. Why shouldn’t I believe them?

I’d say this is most accurate. You can max your character out through a variety of different avenues. Obviously no game can claim to let you do everything any way you want. I mean, what if I want to hit 80 by killing ambients? Should I be kitten Anet didn’t make this possible? Should I scream “BUT YOU SAID I CAN LEVEL ANYWAY I WANT!”? Nope.

You joke about it but you could level to 80 killing nothing but ambients. It may take 50 years but you would get there.

The game is best when it rewards you for doing which ever content you personally prefer. For example, exotic gear, karma, etc…

I think the game falls down when they try to direct you to a particular task. This has been done extensively with ascended gear. Rings are much easier to get through fractals (or so I hear, repeatedly), accessories are much cheaper if purchased using guild accommodations. Almost all ascended back pieces require fractals.

It would be better (IMO) if they weren’t so heavy handed about weighting particular activities.

Arkham Creed.7358:

Don’t you know that the vocal minority of the Guild Wars 2 community know what Arena Net meant better than they do?

Erm, you ARE part of the vocal minority. Everyone else is either complaining or playing.

TooBz.3065:

The game is best when it rewards you for doing which ever content you personally prefer. For example, exotic gear, karma, etc…

I think the game falls down when they try to direct you to a particular task. This has been done extensively with ascended gear. Rings are much easier to get through fractals (or so I hear, repeatedly), accessories are much cheaper if purchased using guild accommodations. Almost all ascended back pieces require fractals.

It would be better (IMO) if they weren’t so heavy handed about weighting particular activities.

I enjoy standing around in LA chatting. Should that be rewarded too?

Stone.6751:

TooBz.3065:

The game is best when it rewards you for doing which ever content you personally prefer. For example, exotic gear, karma, etc…

I think the game falls down when they try to direct you to a particular task. This has been done extensively with ascended gear. Rings are much easier to get through fractals (or so I hear, repeatedly), accessories are much cheaper if purchased using guild accommodations. Almost all ascended back pieces require fractals.

It would be better (IMO) if they weren’t so heavy handed about weighting particular activities.

I enjoy standing around in LA chatting. Should that be rewarded too?

Aren’t you?

Draknar.5748:

Vayne.8563:

I don’t know. I went by the definition Anet gave when they explained it. It means that you can get to max level and max gear in a variety of ways. For example…

You can get exotic armor and weapons by doing WvW, or by doing dungeons, or by doing world events, or even just staying in a starter zone and doing dailies (though you’d eventually have to go to Orr to get the karma exotics with it).

That’s what Anet said it means in more than one interview. Why shouldn’t I believe them?

I’d say this is most accurate. You can max your character out through a variety of different avenues. Obviously no game can claim to let you do everything any way you want. I mean, what if I want to hit 80 by killing ambients? Should I be kitten Anet didn’t make this possible? Should I scream “BUT YOU SAID I CAN LEVEL ANYWAY I WANT!”? Nope. What if I want to level up by just doing TP transactions, or level up from number of whispers made.

Anet has to set parameters. I can tell you that the 3 level 80s I have were all leveled differently. My first was leveled through hearts and events, my second mostly from crafting and WvW, my 3rd was leveled also through hearts and events but in zones level 50 and below. I just got caught up in those zones and with scaling just jumped around lower level zones. Not sure why, I just did it that way.

My 4th character I’m duoing with my GF the entire way and has mostly leveled up doing the Living Story stuff exclusively.

I consider this being able to play my way. But what about the daily options!! They force me to play the way Anet wants me to play!! I hate rules!!

Dailies are optional people. Don’t try to claim Anet doesn’t let you play your way because the optional dailies are more structured. That isn’t quite what Anet had in mind when they said play your way.

What you two said pretty much sums it up

I don’t get why people can’t understand that a game is suppose to be fun. Things that aren’t fun are bull.

To further explain. There are intrinsic rewards (things you do because you enjoy them) and extrinsic rewards (things you get for doing stuff).

I think guild wars is the best when those two system align (this is not rocket science).

But an extrinsic reward can be useful to push someone out of their comfort zone.

For example, if I were afraid to run a dungeon because I didn’t know the path and I’ve heard that people are kittens to newbies, but I do it because I can save 5 gold on the sword I want if I do it a five times, then that’s all good. If I find that I hate dungeons I can spend a relatively small amount of money and avoid them.

On the other hand, I think extrinsic rewards that (for all practical purposes) “force” someone to do stuff they hate or find dull are bad. If I feel like I have to run a dungeon to get the sword I want (not talking about skins) because otherwise I have to pay 50 gold then the incentives are too misaligned. Because even if hate running dungeons, I’ll do it because the alternative isn’t reasonable.

If I feel like I have to do enough stuff that I hate, I quit. And you all ask for my stuff (which is soulbound anyway)

Three things:

There’s always room for improvement.

The more choices the better.

This game doesn’t have that many choices especially for rewards and progression not to mention the age old system of slowing progression is in full force in a game without a subscription, especially when it comes to alts.

(I’m trying to be patient waiting for the news about rewards but I find that I really would like some more good news)

tigirius.9014:

The more choices the better.

I used to be that idealistic, then I got old.

Never mind me, move along.

Astralporing.1957:

Vayne.8563:

I don’t know. I went by the definition Anet gave when they explained it. It means that you can get to max level and max gear in a variety of ways. For example…

You can get exotic armor and weapons by doing WvW, or by doing dungeons, or by doing world events, or even just staying in a starter zone and doing dailies (though you’d eventually have to go to Orr to get the karma exotics with it).

That’s what Anet said it means in more than one interview. Why shouldn’t I believe them?

Because that’s not true anymore. Remember, max gear is the ascended tier now.

I said armor and weapons, not trinkets. And for armor and weapons at this point it’s STILL true. Trinkets are neither armor, nor weapons.

Meili Ying.3820:

2) “Play The Way You Want” means “Wanting to be awarded items the way you want to be awarded.”
Here’s where I open the can of worms. I believe the core of MMOs’ designs is the need to provide VISUAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS in the form of ITEMS to the players. GW2 is no exception. What makes this a volatile topic is that not everyone wants to do the same thing as others would do it. There will be different opinions and methods of how people will go about acquiring things in game. But when taking this definition, it all comes down to this : People want stuff. Period.

It’s really sad to see people who cannot see beyond the lie that is saying “All MMOs need to be based around grind”. I have replied to that here, so I won’t repeat myself… But it’s sad.

To me, playing the way I want would mean playing my class/profession they way I want to and not only be a viable build, but also be among the top builds of the game. Maybe that’s selfish and maybe its not realistic, but the question asked what it meant to me, and that’s what it meant.

So I came to GW2 hoping to play a good, solid archer. Whether that was as a thief sniper, a heavy plated warrior/marksman, or as a nature loving ranger… it didn’t matter. Only bows are weak in the game and to my knowledge, not one profession specs as a ‘master of the bow’ with a viable build, let alone among the top builds in the game. We get #3 key spamming dagger assassins, hundred blades warriors, and bunker melee beastmasters… but no viable bows.

So GW2 does NOT let me play the way I want to play. Which I find quite disheartening.

penatbater.4710:

For example:
I want to play chess like hockey.
…

You, 31 friends and some creativity and you could.

Vayne.8563:

I don’t know. I went by the definition Anet gave when they explained it. It means that you can get to max level and max gear in a variety of ways. For example…

You can get exotic armor and weapons by doing WvW, or by doing dungeons, or by doing world events, or even just staying in a starter zone and doing dailies (though you’d eventually have to go to Orr to get the karma exotics with it).

That’s what Anet said it means in more than one interview. Why shouldn’t I believe them?

I really like it when someone actually reads what Arenanet has said. I really hate it when folks want to make assumption and think their assumptions are fact.

The only things that are fact is what Anet employees post and get published.

If you can’t back it up with something Anet stated in some form. Don’t bother posting.

You got a +1 from me Vayne

Vayne.8563:

Vayne.8563:

I don’t know. I went by the definition Anet gave when they explained it. It means that you can get to max level and max gear in a variety of ways. For example…

You can get exotic armor and weapons by doing WvW, or by doing dungeons, or by doing world events, or even just staying in a starter zone and doing dailies (though you’d eventually have to go to Orr to get the karma exotics with it).

That’s what Anet said it means in more than one interview. Why shouldn’t I believe them?

Astralporing.1957:

Because that’s not true anymore. Remember, max gear is the ascended tier now.

I said armor and weapons, not trinkets. And for armor and weapons at this point it’s STILL true. Trinkets are neither armor, nor weapons.

You are still excluding them simply because they contradict your general thesis. Also – there will be both armor and weapons, we already know that (and there is nothing suggesting they will be any easier to get than trinkets are). In other words, you already know that they don’t intend to keep to the explanation they themselves gave. So, the answer to the question of why shouldn’t you believe them is simple – because they already said they aren’t going to stick to their own definition.

Astralporing.1957:

Vayne.8563:

Vayne.8563:

I don’t know. I went by the definition Anet gave when they explained it. It means that you can get to max level and max gear in a variety of ways. For example…

You can get exotic armor and weapons by doing WvW, or by doing dungeons, or by doing world events, or even just staying in a starter zone and doing dailies (though you’d eventually have to go to Orr to get the karma exotics with it).

That’s what Anet said it means in more than one interview. Why shouldn’t I believe them?

Astralporing.1957:

Because that’s not true anymore. Remember, max gear is the ascended tier now.

I said armor and weapons, not trinkets. And for armor and weapons at this point it’s STILL true. Trinkets are neither armor, nor weapons.

You are still excluding them simply because they contradict your general thesis. Also – there will be both armor and weapons, we already know that (and there is nothing suggesting they will be any easier to get than trinkets are).

There are no armor and trinkets yet. Let’s look at it from the point of view of a new player just starting out.

If it takes you a month to level a character to 80, and you do your dailies every day of the month (or 20 dailies and a monthly), you’ll have an ascended amulet already. If you do some fractals during that time, odds are you’ll be about ready to get a ring at the same time.

You’re making it sound like these ascended items are “hard to get”. Not in comparison to any other MMO out there.

Those who come from Guild Wars 1 think the grind for this stuff is insane. Those who come from other MMOs really don’t. They may not like time gating, but this isn’t grind.

And again, armor and weapons AT THIS TIME are easily attainable just by playing and if you do some guild missions, so are the ascended earrings.

Astralporing.1957:

Vayne.8563:

Vayne.8563:

I don’t know. I went by the definition Anet gave when they explained it. It means that you can get to max level and max gear in a variety of ways. For example…

You can get exotic armor and weapons by doing WvW, or by doing dungeons, or by doing world events, or even just staying in a starter zone and doing dailies (though you’d eventually have to go to Orr to get the karma exotics with it).

That’s what Anet said it means in more than one interview. Why shouldn’t I believe them?

Astralporing.1957:

Because that’s not true anymore. Remember, max gear is the ascended tier now.

I said armor and weapons, not trinkets. And for armor and weapons at this point it’s STILL true. Trinkets are neither armor, nor weapons.

You are still excluding them simply because they contradict your general thesis. Also – there will be both armor and weapons, we already know that (and there is nothing suggesting they will be any easier to get than trinkets are).

I think it’s premature to worry about ascended weapons/armor. I predict that’s something they’ll release in another year (if they release it at all. I’m not holding my breath though. I’d rather they release new armor skins).

penatbater.4710:

I think it’s premature to worry about ascended weapons/armor. I predict that’s something they’ll release in another year (if they release it at all. I’m not holding my breath though. I’d rather they release new armor skins).

The devs already said that the full ascended set, including full armor and weapons, will be introduced before the end of this year.

Astralporing.1957:

penatbater.4710:

I think it’s premature to worry about ascended weapons/armor. I predict that’s something they’ll release in another year (if they release it at all. I’m not holding my breath though. I’d rather they release new armor skins).

The devs already said that the full ascended set, including full armor and weapons, will be introduced before the end of this year.

The devs also said there wouldn’t be vertical progression in this game. Why are you believing them now. lol

Vayne.8563:

Astralporing.1957:

penatbater.4710:

I think it’s premature to worry about ascended weapons/armor. I predict that’s something they’ll release in another year (if they release it at all. I’m not holding my breath though. I’d rather they release new armor skins).

The devs already said that the full ascended set, including full armor and weapons, will be introduced before the end of this year.

The devs also said there wouldn’t be vertical progression in this game. Why are you believing them now. lol

They said that at launch, but in November they also said that content would be gated only for those with agony resistance. That’s vertical progression if I’ve ever seen it, and I have.

I think Play the Way you want means:
-Not feeling like you must participate in a particular activity that you do not want to participate in
-Spend your time in game however you want and still be even-keel in terms of character “power”.
-Be able to obtain BiS gear in multiple ways, each way in similar in time spent or resource spent.
-Do not feel like the developer is “encouraging” you to participate in any content/system that you do not want to participate in.
-Take time off whenever you want to come back and not feel “behind” in terms of lore, story, gear, items.

tigirius.9014:

Vayne.8563:

Astralporing.1957:

penatbater.4710:

I think it’s premature to worry about ascended weapons/armor. I predict that’s something they’ll release in another year (if they release it at all. I’m not holding my breath though. I’d rather they release new armor skins).

The devs already said that the full ascended set, including full armor and weapons, will be introduced before the end of this year.

The devs also said there wouldn’t be vertical progression in this game. Why are you believing them now. lol

They said that at launch, but in November they also said that content would be gated only for those with agony resistance. That’s vertical progression if I’ve ever seen it, and I have.

I dunno, I have full ascended accessories and I’ve not done fractals passed level 10 and have no agony resist. What content is gated for me? Unique boss battle? More powerful ascended gear? Nope…

I’m max stat no matter how you look at it and I can access all content without AR. I just can’t do more difficult versions of the exact same content I’ve been doing this whole time. Big freakin whoop.

Vayne.8563:

Astralporing.1957:

The devs already said that the full ascended set, including full armor and weapons, will be introduced before the end of this year.

The devs also said there wouldn’t be vertical progression in this game. Why are you believing them now. lol

Because this is consistent with the line they presented since November change. It is, of course, possible that they will again abandon their plans and decide to drop the ascended eq, but at the moment it seems unlikely.
If it happened, however, i’d be very happy.

Draknar.5748:

tigirius.9014:

They said that at launch, but in November they also said that content would be gated only for those with agony resistance. That’s vertical progression if I’ve ever seen it, and I have.

I dunno, I have full ascended accessories and I’ve not done fractals passed level 10 and have no agony resist. What content is gated for me? Unique boss battle? More powerful ascended gear? Nope…

Yes, fortunately the devs seem to have abandoned their original plans of introducing more and more of agony-like mechanics all over the game.
Yes, no matter how bad the ascended idea is now, we can at least take small measure of comfort in the fact that originally it was planned to be much, much worse.

Vayne.8563:

Astralporing.1957:

penatbater.4710:

I think it’s premature to worry about ascended weapons/armor. I predict that’s something they’ll release in another year (if they release it at all. I’m not holding my breath though. I’d rather they release new armor skins).

The devs already said that the full ascended set, including full armor and weapons, will be introduced before the end of this year.

The devs also said there wouldn’t be vertical progression in this game. Why are you believing them now. lol

I really hope they’ve changed their mind on Ascended armor and weapons, I really do.

IndigoSundown.5419:

Vayne.8563:

Astralporing.1957:

penatbater.4710:

I think it’s premature to worry about ascended weapons/armor. I predict that’s something they’ll release in another year (if they release it at all. I’m not holding my breath though. I’d rather they release new armor skins).

The devs already said that the full ascended set, including full armor and weapons, will be introduced before the end of this year.

The devs also said there wouldn’t be vertical progression in this game. Why are you believing them now. lol

I really hope they’ve changed their mind on Ascended armor and weapons, I really do.

I’m all for new weapons and armor, but just for looks. Not a Tier 2 level of armor like the Ascended trinkets are.

Zacchary.6183:

Simple, “play the way you want” means that one should be able to play this game the way they want without someone sticking a carrot on a stick to coax us into doing other kitten (i.e. nerfing drop rates everywhere except the places that anet wants us to go to).

I would like to play how I want, but somehow I feel anet thinks my way of doing it is wrong.

This comes close to how I would interpret it.