Power Creep and why it's bad for games.
This is a worthwhile discussion. Alternatives to power creep:
1. Aesthetic gear and mini-pets.
2. Non-essential consumables (instant res/+ Skill Point consumables that can you can grind for, if you must).
3. Wealth (have gems (as in the real money valued currency) drop in small amounts in high level dungeons).
4. Titles (worked for GW1).
5. Companions (NPCs like heroes in GW1 – they take up a party slot and you can only have one per character – but first you have to complete a ridiculous list of challenges to unlock them or pay ArenaNet).
6. Post 80 bonus rewards for doing lower level content – have lower level content provide level 80 characters with level 80 appropriate drops – this would really make the whole game the endgame. Probably the best option, really.
7. A Karka Mount. Travel Tyria in style, can’t be attacked or attack while on the mount (good for getting from point A to point B in a zone without skirmishing along the way). Costs 10000 Gems or you can grind out an excessive number of rare drops to combine at the Mystic Forge. Doesn’t affect actual combat effectiveness and gives players something to care about working towards. Best way to maximize profit on whales without introducing power creep.
There most be multiple paths to achieve the very same power level.
Crafting, PvP and PvE all must provide equal paths to equal power level.
This is a worthwhile discussion. Alternatives to power creep:
1. Aesthetic gear and mini-pets.
2. Non-essential consumables (instant res/+ Skill Point consumables that can you can grind for, if you must).
3. Wealth (have gems (as in the real money valued currency) drop in small amounts in high level dungeons).
4. Titles (worked for GW1).
5. Companions (NPCs like heroes in GW1 – they take up a party slot and you can only have one per character – but first you have to complete a ridiculous list of challenges to unlock them or pay ArenaNet).
6. Post 80 bonus rewards for doing lower level content – have lower level content provide level 80 characters with level 80 appropriate drops – this would really make the whole game the endgame. Probably the best option, really.
7. A Karka Mount. Travel Tyria in style, can’t be attacked or attack while on the mount (good for getting from point A to point B in a zone without skirmishing along the way). Costs 10000 Gems or you can grind out an excessive number of rare drops to combine at the Mystic Forge. Doesn’t affect actual combat effectiveness and gives players something to care about working towards. Best way to maximize profit on whales without introducing power creep.
1. If I were them, I would’ve added every max armor set from GW to the gem store as a set of skins.
2. Why the hell didn’t they bring consets back?
3. I actually really like this idea. Even if it’s just a gem per chest per EM path, that’ll still add up.
4. Yup.
5. Hm, honestly I’m not sure. The game isn’t built around a party anymore.
6. Well, drops do scale to your level, but you still get some stuff from the zone’s level.
7. Eh…personally, I don’t like it. Waypoints kinda defeat any desire for mounts.
This is a worthwhile discussion. Alternatives to power creep:
1. Aesthetic gear and mini-pets.
2. Non-essential consumables (instant res/+ Skill Point consumables that can you can grind for, if you must).
3. Wealth (have gems (as in the real money valued currency) drop in small amounts in high level dungeons).
4. Titles (worked for GW1).
5. Companions (NPCs like heroes in GW1 – they take up a party slot and you can only have one per character – but first you have to complete a ridiculous list of challenges to unlock them or pay ArenaNet).
6. Post 80 bonus rewards for doing lower level content – have lower level content provide level 80 characters with level 80 appropriate drops – this would really make the whole game the endgame. Probably the best option, really.
7. A Karka Mount. Travel Tyria in style, can’t be attacked or attack while on the mount (good for getting from point A to point B in a zone without skirmishing along the way). Costs 10000 Gems or you can grind out an excessive number of rare drops to combine at the Mystic Forge. Doesn’t affect actual combat effectiveness and gives players something to care about working towards. Best way to maximize profit on whales without introducing power creep.
1. If I were them, I would’ve added every max armor set from GW to the gem store as a set of skins.
2. Why the hell didn’t they bring consets back?
3. I actually really like this idea. Even if it’s just a gem per chest per EM path, that’ll still add up.
4. Yup.
5. Hm, honestly I’m not sure. The game isn’t built around a party anymore.
6. Well, drops do scale to your level, but you still get some stuff from the zone’s level.
7. Eh…personally, I don’t like it. Waypoints kinda defeat any desire for mounts.
Yeah, part 7 is just for people who don’t want to, for example, fight to the next contested way-point on Orr (or who want to show off). It’s a minor benefit, but it is a benefit, and it is ridiculous enough to attract the type of spender interested in such things. Five isn’t great but better than gear grind. For Six I mean to improve drops if you are level 80, such that you get drops anywhere in the game as good as you would in the 80 zones. That way you would be able to enjoy all content as endgame at 80. The 80 zones would still be worthwhile for their resource nodes and merchants, so the change wouldn’t make 80 zones redundant.
The problem with number five as of Friday at Noonish where I live:
Lindsay Said, not a direct quote here, The new items are to give you that edge in end game, and that they will be adding new and more powerful infusions to end game.
No longer is the entire game considered end game as they stated before release.
And they have already stated that ALL NEW CONTENT will based off the Asecended gear, thus gating the content, if you want to do it you’re going to have to play FOTM period.
Oh yea, i totally agree.
Gw2 Kinda seems to be heading towards that direction.
I experienced this ofc, in Allods online. New “expansions”, new gear. Whatever you did before just becoming so useless, it’s hard to get back on track. You can’t hop in and continue, you have to be there with proper gear to get new gear :/
But Gw2 isn’t like that yet, and it’s good still.
Although, I can’t help being so frustrated. It used to be fun, until something happened for me, wasn’r game itself, but whatever I do, I get annoyed.
Lost Shores then;
I like the place, enviroment, it’s pretty.
But, mobs there are too hard imo.
Confusion that’s hitting so high numbers it’s ridiculous.
You’re downed, you cant even see if you got negative effect on you, and end up killing yourself.
Karka, taking half your hp in a few seconds before they pause. Sure, not that bad, but I feel so useless. Like, soething is wrong..
Conclusion anyway, if it keeps going this direction, as stated in vid, it will be bad. I know it, i experienced it.
Sure, that’s a long time into the future though. But why not stop it now?
There is nothing wrong with power creep…in games that were built for the power creep…this game wasnt, and its going to destroy it….id love to see the numbers right now, i guarantee players are leaving GW2 at an alarming rate.
Yea, I’m kinda intrigued by the numbers too..
Here is a nice article about why companies love power creep.
http://www.cracked.com/article_18461_5-creepy-ways-video-games-are-trying-to-get-you-addicted.html
-Mike Obrien, President of Arenanet
Mystic Forge required to play Gear Wars 2. Feed the monkey, pay to win.
This is the new model, get on with it.
smack..Wut?…smack…smack…
Crafting the same power level as BiS is, so it’s part of your character and profession, not just some loot luck.
Not changing the power of the encounters, but differentiating them while increasing the number of skills available from the start on to allow players to adapt.
It sure is the harder way, but they could have made a standard geargrinder if they had wanted to have it easier.