Guild Wars 2

As is, GW2 is by far one of the most RP unfriendly MMO’s I’ve ever played. I understand that we’re a niche part of the playerbase, but I know plenty of people who would like to play, but are turned off by the complete lack of RP orientated features. Almost every MMO, even ones lacking RP servers, have plenty of ways to help roleplayers gather and, well, roleplay in peace. With the advent of HoT, I hope at least a few of the following suggestions can be taken into considoration;

1) Megaserver options/RP specific layers and tags

Since megaservers, it’s grown increasingly hard to roleplay outside of a city. Unless we’re on the same server (Which is reasonable), and in the same guild, and in the same party, we are most likely split up at random and scattered to completely different ‘layers’. And with a party cap of 5…. well, large groups of RPers simply cannot reliably meet, worse still even if we happen to be on the same layer upon entering a zone, if we move to a different one (Travel RP) we can very easily get split up -again-.

Even for non-RPers, it can be fiddly getting people on the same layer for gameplay purposes (Exploring together, world events, etc) as soon as the player count exceeds five. There needs to be some way to select manually what layer we want to be on (LOTRO and PS2 did this), or allow us to tag ourselves for ‘RP’ which will send us to a layer specifically for roleplayers (Perhaps with fewer NPCs and no Dynamic events) so we don’t have to clog up the chat for the non-RPers within cities or regions.

2) Speaking of dynamic events…

Someway to opt out of them, there are plenty of lovely locations we’d like to use as hubs… that are raided by centaur every five minutes, or bandits, or plants. Gameplay-wise these are completely fine, but as RPers we tend to hang around a location for much longer, and having the -same- thing occur over and over during the course of several hours can be… grinding. As suggested above, an RP or ‘static’ layer would be wonderful as a way to opt out of seeing these events take place.

They can -sometimes- generate RP, which is good, but not so good when our characters have just started winding down from combat, and suddenly they get attacked again, and again, and again, for ever and ever until we try to find somewhere else to camp out in the world.

3) Allow the use of ‘lower’ armour types on higher armoured professions

My guardian ought to have -some- form of casual wear, but none of the outfits on the gem store are suitable for this (imo), and there’s a few cloth sets that might work but… I can’t wear them? For what purpose? I can get disallowing a mesmer to wear heavy armour, but the reverse is, quite frankly, odd. From a gameplay perspective it won’t really be ‘broken’ as all gear at the equal level is more or less on the same stat area.

The same applies to the gem skins, there’s some sets that I’d love to use but are restricted to an armour type, but… others aren’t? That’s pretty inconsistent. :V Like the jungle explorer set, I can use that on ANY armour, but LORD FORBID I TRY TO USE A ‘light’ ARMOUR SKIN ON HEAVY ARMOUR!

4) Sittable chairs. Like, actual sittable chairs.

I’m aware it can be problematic, animating the sitting position for so many characters of varying heights and body builds. But what about, at the very least, some kind of spawnable chair? Whether it’s from the gemstore or built into an emote (Like TESO) I don’t really mind, just… I want to sit on chairs without either sinking through them or still appearing like I’m sitting on the ground (Leaning back through the backrest etc).

5) (Minor) A talking animation

No matter how much my character talks, he or she just… stands there… unmoving. Suffice to say, it looks odd. A more minor problem but it is worth mentioning. Even just some random assortment of animations from the dialogue scenes would work fine.

I could go on and on about other niggles, but these are the big four (or five) features that I feel would massively improve the roleplayability (Is that a word?) of the game, and though the RP community is small, we are certainly a -very- dedicated lot (And probably most likely to splurge money on cosmetics).

PS; More town/casual outfits please.

I totally agree with this and would love to see some of these things happen! Even just the smallest details can make the difference between a bland world and one that seems more interactive and real. The chair thing would be sweet, and I definitely miss the days of just being able to hop into one specific server and find RP everywhere. As someone who’s homeworld is not TC, that is something that I really miss A LOT and I now have a harder time finding RP; especially outside of cities- like you said. So, yeah, great post and I hope you get more attention for it! =)

I doubt being able to opt out of dynamic events would be possible. Other than that, I agree with the suggestions.

Too bad ArenaNet is going in the exact opposite direction.

Luna Silvae.9208:

I totally agree with this and would love to see some of these things happen! Even just the smallest details can make the difference between a bland world and one that seems more interactive and real. The chair thing would be sweet, and I definitely miss the days of just being able to hop into one specific server and find RP everywhere. As someone who’s homeworld is not TC, that is something that I really miss A LOT and I now have a harder time finding RP; especially outside of cities- like you said. So, yeah, great post and I hope you get more attention for it! =)

Thanks! We RPers are a very dedicated bunch, RP is the sole reason I am still playing various other MMO’s. One of which I would have stopped playing back in ‘06 if it were not for it’s roleplay community. I strongly urge ANet to not dismiss us, especially as GW2, as a game, -could- be the best MMO for RP, what with the focus on cosmetic rewards rather grinding for numbers.

Rangelost.4857:

I doubt being able to opt out of dynamic events would be possible. Other than that, I agree with the suggestions.

Too bad ArenaNet is going in the exact opposite direction.

I don’t see why it wouldn’t be from a programming perspective, I’d imagine the events just check to see which layer they’re present on, and if(layertype)==RP then eventtrigger=0. Yeah that’s probably VERY much dumbed down, but the gist should be there.

Ranor.5261:

I don’t see why it wouldn’t be from a programming perspective, I’d imagine the events just check to see which layer they’re present on, and if(layertype)==RP then eventtrigger=0. Yeah that’s probably VERY much dumbed down, but the gist should be there.

Preventing events from being called on a specific map copy, or even reducing the number of times they happen per hour, would make it very unattractive to non-roleplayers. Because of this, the RP map copy would find itself nearly empty at all times. And you know what happens to empty map copies…

Everything is possible from a programming perspective. That’s not what makes it impossible. What makes it impossible is having to convince the staff — the department that’s been making some insanely awful decisions lately — that making the servers run extra map copies for a minority of players is somehow beneficial.

If you ask me, megaservers are an absolute mess and have been significantly impairing my overall experience since April, but maybe that’s just me and everyone I know. What we need is an option to opt out of megaservers altogether, and play with players from our own home server only, like it used to be.

Not that related but i would like them restoring and deepening the personality system where i could choose some answers to match my personality role play (aggressive, noble, charming).

They should’ve deepened it instead of scrapping it:/

Rangelost.4857:

Ranor.5261:

I don’t see why it wouldn’t be from a programming perspective, I’d imagine the events just check to see which layer they’re present on, and if(layertype)==RP then eventtrigger=0. Yeah that’s probably VERY much dumbed down, but the gist should be there.

Preventing events from being called on a specific map copy, or even reducing the number of times they happen per hour, would make it very unattractive to non-roleplayers. Because of this, the RP map copy would find itself nearly empty at all times. And you know what happens to empty map copies…

Everything is possible from a programming perspective. That’s not what makes it impossible. What makes it impossible is having to convince the staff — the department that’s been making some insanely awful decisions lately — that making the servers run extra map copies for a minority of players is somehow beneficial.

If you ask me, megaservers are an absolute mess and have been significantly impairing my overall experience since April, but maybe that’s just me and everyone I know. What we need is an option to opt out of megaservers altogether, and play with players from our own home server only, like it used to be.

Hence why I said that the repeated events are lovely for regular gameplay, a layer people could only enter if they opted for it (Being made aware that it has no dynamic events ofc) would suit RPers just fine. Though I do agree it will be hard convincing anyone to make an extra duplication of every map with events toggled off for maybe 5% of the playerbase, if that.

That said, DE’s are not the most significant issue in regards to ease of RP, the main issue right now is, as you say, being able to RP with people in the first place due to megaservers.

Would first person view and more emotes be good to add to this list? I’d imagine these features would also be good for roleplayers, but as a non-roleplayer I can’t personally speak for the roleplay community. My sister however is a bit of a roleplayer and would agree with OP that this game really isn’t RP friendly compared to several other games we’ve played. In any case, I definitely support any additions to the game that would make it a better environment for roleplayers who really do bring a bit of extra life to Tyria imo.

hells yeah! being able to opt out of megaserver FTW !!!!!!
well said, Rangelost.
and yes…let’s double the current # of emotes…which is around 18 i think. WAY TOO FEW.
btw..I love that its a free mmo that I can get lost in regularly and hate to complain. but this is a good topic.

The game occasionally pops up a ‘Change to this server since this ones empty’ message for me. They should have that but allow for roleplay. eg.

‘You have been in this map for 15 minutes would you like to join the roleplay server (if you chat a few times without pinging WP’s). Designated roleplay server rotation lands on Maguuma (or wherever) would you like to go there?

Not a roleplayer myself but have bumped into a few and I surprisingly jumped into character when they chatted to me lol

I’m an ex-rper in GW2. Loved it at first, and have to say the RP I was involved with is some of the best I’ve been a part of in an MMO.

The big blow for me was the Megaserver. A certain Anet employee gave a, sorry to say, quite ignorant piece of advice with regards to preserving our RP communities, just guild up. Ignorant on 2 levels – a) the way a RP guild generally functions is somewhat different to a standard guild – the guild is usually based around a concept, for instance a war band, or Seraph unit or similar, so would be impractical to roleplay that concept ina free-for-all guild. There are some generic RP guilds that act as a social meet and RP-organising guild to look for and join RP, and those types weren’t too badly effected. and b) at time of Megaserver implementation, grouping was so random that those factors that apparantly were a part of the algorithm, meant kitten all to the reality, with guild and party members all in separate instances of the map a distinct possibility.
There was a Megaserver and RP thread that had a strong level of activity at the time.

That isn’t to say I’m wholly against Megaserver, but most certainly at the time it was a huge blow to the various RP communities about.

Anet see RPers as a very small minority, and unfortunately with all these things, its a numbers game. However, perhaps Anet fail to see the value of the RP community to the game, and indeed their wallets. In terms of the game, I’ve greatly enjoyed seeing all the RP out and about. I no longer partake, but I enjoy spectating. It makes the world seem more vibrant, and more dynamic. Dynamic events are fine, but they are all the same, and all too frequent that it becomes less about it being a living world, and more about a game of event whack-a-mole. The dynamism of the world is great, but then in some ways that can also negatively impact the immersion. Some other MMO’s have strong storylines, outside of the main plot, tied to particular zones, and while the dynamism isn’t there as its usually quests in other games, the quests allow you to involve yourself more easily in the feel and concerns of the story.

In GW2, the maps are fantastic, beautiful and full of RP potential. But in some ways they are also a little soulless as there is less emphasis on the characters and concerns of those in the area. The positive side is the events, that allow great spontaneity in RP, and with RP about, some player made storylines for the zones are very interesting and engaging.

In terms of their wallets, RPers, by their nature are more likely to buy the skins and gems to convert to gold in order to get the best look for their character. They are also more likely to purchase more slots, as each character is unique and has real personality, whereas to others they may just be an avatar – have one of each class, and combine that with one of each race to do the storylines. Its a simplisitc view, and not to be seen as gospel truth, but is just illustrative. Speaking personally, I have 64 character slots, and enjoy taking the time to craft a character, in their style, personality etc. RPers are more invested in the game, both through monetary and also passionate means – the RPers are usually the hardcore fanatics of the game that can be relied upon to support and play throughout the game’s life.

It has to be said that, given that, I do feel the RP community has had a rough time here with Anet. We aren’t officially acknowledged, therefore we can’t reliably be taken into consideration with new features and content. Some features have benefitted us (wardrobe or example), but often comes at another cost (town clothes).

The suggestions given in the first post are great, and the events one aside, seem possible, if unlikely given the other priorities at the moment. Another thing I’d love to be see is some form of editable character sheet just to allow some notes on the character to be easily accessed by all. This could be through a feature of he game, or giving the tools and permission for some form of 3rd party add-on to do it. I’ve seen both ways in various MMO’s, and both work really well and can really help RPers in establishing the public persona of a character.

i agree with most, though if you think gw2 is unfriendly to RPers play tera..took them until last expansion to add walk >>

Excellent post Wolfheart, I’m very happy to see there is some real dedication to the matter. I remember in beta when we campaigned for speech bubbles and the ability to walk.

TL;DR: I agree with most of this, with notable exception to the idea that it’s the most RP unfriendly MMO I’ve ever played.

My POV on each request:

[Accessing Other Instances]
A couple of MMOs I’ve played had a list that could be accessed from the Minimap that would show all the instances available for the current zone, and a count of friends or guild members you had in each instance. Instances that were full would be greyed out, but every other instance would allow you to transfer to them. Star Trek Online is one example I recall off the top of my head.

[RP-Specific/Private Map Instances]
Given the cost of keeping servers running, and the like, I’d honestly expect such things to be a premium feature, though I’d have no idea how to implement it without worrying about dividing the player base based on money (which is always a bad idea).

[Opting Out Of Dynamic Events]
Personally, I tend to incorporate dynamic events into my RP, but I seem to be a minority there. I do worry frequently that the presence of RPers who aren’t participating in a Dynamic Event will artificially inflate the difficulty of the event for those who are participating. Since I’d rather this not happen, I’m generally for a way to opt out of dynamic events. However, I’m also for some sort of penalty for this. Maybe reduced rewards for a few events once you start participating again.

[Wearing Different Armor Classes]
As for armor classes, I know of one MMO that will give you a debuff if you’re wearing the wrong type of armor. I know there’s an issue with new players not immediately noticing this, but new players barely grasp the stats system on any MMO anyways, in my experience. The only exception is if they do the research, and, well, problem solved. As an example, I believe WoW implements this, though as a buff for wearing the correct armor type, rather than a debuff for wearing the incorrect one.

(As a note, I don’t agree at all with transmuting one armor class to look like another, though I can hardly argue with "Why can I wear a cloth outfit over heavy armor, but not transmute heavy armor to look like light armor)

[Talking Animation]
That would be cool. I’ve seen it in other MMOs (FF14, off the top of my head), though personally, I spend most of my RP time staring at the chat, so it’s not something I’d ever think to ask for.

[Emotes]
Different sitting poses would be nice. I don’t know anyone who sits like the female human, norn, and sylvari do. At least not regularly.

[Chairs]
I’m not holding my breath. Given the large amount of non-sittable chairs in the game, I don’t expect this to happen any time soon, if ever. Personally, I could easily get by with proper sitting animations. I’ve had my asura sit "in" a large number of chairs with the basic emote.

[Open Up Them Houses!]
As a personal addition, I’ve glitched into a number of houses that are otherwise closed off, and seen that the insides of them are properly setup. Why the closed doors? Please open them! Speaking of which, open up the uninstanced "home instance" areas! I imagine the simplest implementation would be to have an extra option on the "enter your home instance" screen, that allowed the player to simply enter the non-instanced area. You don’t have to flesh it out. I’m fairly certain roleplayers will do that for you.

---

As an incentive, I’ll note that I’ve spent a frankly embarrassing amount of money on gems while I’ve been RPing in GW2...but I also took a year-long break from the game because the little inconveniences start wearing on me after a bit.

The current transmutation, outfits, and pets system that was implemented while I was gone, though? Love that. Thanks very much. Loosing the Charm/Dignity/Aggressive thing? I know it didn’t do much, but that seemed like a step in the wrong direction.

Still, I’d hardly say GW2 is the most RPer unfriendly MMO I’ve ever played. I’d tell you who that distinction goes to, but I frankly don’t remember who it was. Probably for good reason.

Wolfheart.1879:

at time of Megaserver implementation, grouping was so random that those factors that apparantly were a part of the algorithm, meant kitten all to the reality, with guild and party members all in separate instances of the map a distinct possibility.

It hasn’t changed. To this day, I am thrown in map copies at absolute random. It doesn’t matter which home server I’m from, which guild I’m representing, how many friends are online or how many party members are present on a map copy. Two times out of three, I’m getting shoved into another map copy, away from everyone else.

Sometimes, I’m in a party with 4 other players, and after walking through a portal, we get separated in 3 different map copies. Then, we all click to join another party member’s map copy, which in reality only causes us to swap all over the place, and still end up on a bunch of different maps. It’s absolutely ridiculous, confusing, and let’s be honest, unacceptable.

And megaservers aren’t an issue exclusively to roleplayers. They are a massive blow to World vs World. It is now absolutely impossible to call your world to arms. You have no idea whatsoever where people in map chat are from.

This goes for large scale events, as well. I’ve witnessed a lot of frustrated guilds trying to do guild missions and having all the trouble in the world getting their members in the same map copy. When you’ve got a timer counting down, the last thing you want to do is try and figure out this kind of garbage.

Ultimately, megaservers are a devastating blow to any sense of community in general, and encourages players to be on their worst behavior. I’ll reiterate: it is absolutely necessary that players have the option to opt out of megaservers.

It’s been over 9 months now, and still no signs of improvement on the horizon.

Rangelost.4857:

Wolfheart.1879:

at time of Megaserver implementation, grouping was so random that those factors that apparantly were a part of the algorithm, meant kitten all to the reality, with guild and party members all in separate instances of the map a distinct possibility.

It hasn’t changed. To this day, I am thrown in map copies at absolute random. It doesn’t matter which home server I’m from, which guild I’m representing, how many friends are online or how many party members are present on a map copy. Two times out of three, I’m getting shoved into another map copy, away from everyone else.

Sometimes, I’m in a party with 4 other players, and after walking through a portal, we get separated in 3 different map copies. Then, we all click to join another party member’s map copy, which in reality only causes us to swap all over the place, and still end up on a bunch of different maps. It’s absolutely ridiculous, confusing, and let’s be honest, unacceptable.

And megaservers aren’t an issue exclusively to roleplayers. They are a massive blow to World vs World. It is now absolutely impossible to call your world to arms. You have no idea whatsoever where people in map chat are from.

This goes for large scale events, as well. I’ve witnessed a lot of frustrated guilds trying to do guild missions and having all the trouble in the world getting their members in the same map copy. When you’ve got a timer counting down, the last thing you want to do is try and figure out this kind of garbage.

Ultimately, megaservers are a devastating blow to any sense of community in general, and encourages players to be on their worst behavior. I’ll reiterate: it is absolutely necessary that players have the option to opt out of megaservers.

It’s been over 9 months now, and still no signs of improvement on the horizon.

This is by far my biggest problem with megaservers, even in regular gameplay they might help keep zones populated but they butcher any attempt at coherent gameplay, even between the same guild and party. It’s clear that ANet, Blizzard and other companies that make this form of ‘megaserver’ are deadly afraid of simply merging lower population servers, and instead decide to overcomplicate the possible solution to the problem. or at the very least, they just glance at the zone numbers, go “Yup, populated” and call it a day.

Game devs don’t seem to have a clue what to do with RP communities. It’s as tragic as it is comical to me, as I perceive it.

I’ve gotten to the point of feeling fairly certain that they really just don’t care about us as either a demographic or as a playstyle.

We’re just loyal idiots that will buy appearance stuff and remain loyal because we invest so much time and energy into our stories and each other that they don’t have to try to please us.

We’re kind’ve like the abused spouse in the relationship. They taker is entirely for granted and if something has to be cut or redacted to satisfy a budget concern, anything that fosters RP it’s regarded as pure excess anyway.

And they know we’ll new the last ones to leave. They don’t have to try to keep us.

They’ll consequently never do so. Some of us will make threads like this now and again, but that’s utterly ignorable.

Just like we are.

To be fair, what credible game company builds a game just to appeal to the RP crowd? Sure there’s inevitably going to be the draw to the game, but that’s as a result of making the game worth playing in the first place. Do you know how boring the the personal story would be if it was explained as being told to do this, do that, go here, race back there, all the while you’re stuck with a pessimistic talking salad that refuses to die?

Aidan Savage.2078:

Do you know how boring the the personal story would be if it was explained as being told to do this, do that, go here, race back there, all the while you’re stuck with a pessimistic talking salad that refuses to die?

Heh heh… Commander…

When it comes to a story, though, we don’t get to choose, and there’s a reason why. ArenaNet isn’t trying to tell your character’s story. They’re trying to tell Guild Wars 2’s story, while including your character in it. The original Guild Wars did the same (looking at you, Kormir).

At the end of the day, it’s like wanting to walk through the blue door when the game tells you to walk through the red door. The story’s in the red door. There’s no point in going into the blue door. You might as well just abandon the story and imagine your own. You might as well become a rolepl— oh, wait.

http://www.galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=517

We are Bob.

I honestly don’t see how these are things the game NEEDS. I think you are confusing needs with desires. Needs are things that must be adhered to or else there will be irreversible consequences. Desires are things that would be nice to have but you can totally get by without them.

As it has been pointed out already countless times in numerous other posts, the RP community is small and very niche. To have ArenaNet divert resources to these kinds of unnecessary extras instead of things that actually matter to the majority of the player base and the actual game itself (like bug fixes and new content to play through) would be a real disservice to the game.

I’m not saying don’t RP, but please don’t try to make it sound like the RP community is the most significant portion of the player base, because it’s far from it.

I have had 0 issues with the megaserver, absolutely none. It works and it is very easy to get into the zones with my friends/party/guild. Calling your server to arms is laughable. Not everyone in a server cares to play W3, and they are under no obligation to do so.

To want to ‘opt out’ of core features of the game like the megaservers or dynamic events is just ridiculous… next you’ll be asking that characters have no skill bar or health indicator, or to have all the weapon/armor skins in the game automatically unlocked so they can RP with their shiny equipment.

Really, this whole thing is coming off as wanting to take the game out of the game and turn it into nothing more than a glorified chat room with interactive avatars . There are things out there that provide a much better medium for RP than this game. Try Second Life, or IMVU, or the Sims, or whatever other site community you can find in the darkest and strangest corners of the internet. Those ‘games’ are designed specifically for what you are wanting. GW2 is not. Why else would they get rid of town clothes and made it so you couldn’t mix and match outfits or costumes? ArenaNet probably realizes that the RP community is not really worth the effort of catering to. Why would they spend so much time/money/resources/manpower coding and programming unnecessary extras that only a small percentage of the player base will actually buy in to (emphasis on buy)?

OPs suggestions are not needs for the game, they are just the desires of a niche group of people who masquerade as players of the game. But alas, you are paying customers of ArenaNet so you are at least allowed to voice your complaints, just as I’m allowed to point out the obvious.

Zera Allimatti.2541:

I honestly don’t see how these are things the game NEEDS. I think you are confusing needs with desires. Needs are things that must be adhered to or else there will be irreversible consequences. Desires are things that would be nice to have but you can totally get by without them.

As it has been pointed out already countless times in numerous other posts, the RP community is small and very niche. To have ArenaNet divert resources to these kinds of unnecessary extras instead of things that actually matter to the majority of the player base and the actual game itself (like bug fixes and new content to play through) would be a real disservice to the game.

I’m not saying don’t RP, but please don’t try to make it sound like the RP community is the most significant portion of the player base, because it’s far from it.

I have had 0 issues with the megaserver, absolutely none. It works and it is very easy to get into the zones with my friends/party/guild. Calling your server to arms is laughable. Not everyone in a server cares to play W3, and they are under no obligation to do so.

To want to ‘opt out’ of core features of the game like the megaservers or dynamic events is just ridiculous… next you’ll be asking that characters have no skill bar or health indicator, or to have all the weapon/armor skins in the game automatically unlocked so they can RP with their shiny equipment.

Really, this whole thing is coming off as wanting to take the game out of the game and turn it into nothing more than a glorified chat room with interactive avatars . There are things out there that provide a much better medium for RP than this game. Try Second Life, or IMVU, or the Sims, or whatever other site community you can find in the darkest and strangest corners of the internet. Those ‘games’ are designed specifically for what you are wanting. GW2 is not. Why else would they get rid of town clothes and made it so you couldn’t mix and match outfits or costumes? ArenaNet probably realizes that the RP community is not really worth the effort of catering to. Why would they spend so much time/money/resources/manpower coding and programming unnecessary extras that only a small percentage of the player base will actually buy in to (emphasis on buy)?

OPs suggestions are not needs for the game, they are just the desires of a niche group of people who masquerade as players of the game. But alas, you are paying customers of ArenaNet so you are at least allowed to voice your complaints, just as I’m allowed to point out the obvious.

Your sneering disdain is noted.

Get a load of this smug character, folks. So very pleased that others don’t get nice things.

naiasonod.9265:

Your sneering disdain is noted.

Get a load of this smug character, folks. So very pleased that others don’t get nice things.

I wish I got nice things. Though, to be fair, I don’t go to a clothing store and ask to buy bread.

Re: title. Sadly, the game doesn’t need roleplay features. Or roleplayers.

Even more sadly, the developers know this. Roleplaying doesn’t make money, so developing content for it is not a productive use of resources.

I, personally, have never see any computer game as an RPG when it tells the story to you rather than you making it yourself.

Zera Allimatti.2541:

naiasonod.9265:

Your sneering disdain is noted.

Get a load of this smug character, folks. So very pleased that others don’t get nice things.

I wish I got nice things. Though, to be fair, I don’t go to a clothing store and ask to buy bread.

Your analogy isn’t apt, I fear. Someone would have to be utterly moronic and dissociated from reality in its entire to suppose they might find bread in a clothing store.

Finding RP in an MMORPG? Well, one’s not exactly straining credulity to envision that, in a fantasy game, some might like the fantasy, and that in a game with lore and story, some might wax imaginative in who their characters are and what they’re about in this fanciful world of fireballs and evil dragons.

No, I fear your analogy is merely an extension of your sneering disdain with not so much as a single thread connecting it to relevance. You presume it to be as absurd as, statedly, looking to buy bread in a clothing store.

All you really do is provide demonstrable evidence of your own complete and total failure to comprehend any perspective other than your own upon it.

Zera Allimatti.2541:

naiasonod.9265:

Your sneering disdain is noted.

Get a load of this smug character, folks. So very pleased that others don’t get nice things.

I wish I got nice things. Though, to be fair, I don’t go to a clothing store and ask to buy bread.

No, but going off your previous comment, I’d wager that you go to a clothes store and demand that security remove those customers who do not meet your personal standard of fashionable from your presence prior to you browsing the clothing.

naiasonod.9265:

Zera Allimatti.2541:

naiasonod.9265:

Your sneering disdain is noted.

Get a load of this smug character, folks. So very pleased that others don’t get nice things.

I wish I got nice things. Though, to be fair, I don’t go to a clothing store and ask to buy bread.

Your analogy isn’t apt, I fear. Someone would have to be utterly moronic and dissociated from reality in its entire to suppose they might find bread in a clothing store.

Finding RP in an MMORPG? Well, one’s not exactly straining credulity to envision that, in a fantasy game, some might like the fantasy, and that in a game with lore and story, some might wax imaginative in who their characters are and what they’re about in this fanciful world of fireballs and evil dragons.

No, I fear your analogy is merely an extension of your sneering disdain with not so much as a single thread connecting it to relevance. You presume it to be as absurd as, statedly, looking to buy bread in a clothing store.

All you really do is provide demonstrable evidence of your own complete and total failure to comprehend any perspective other than your own upon it.

Fine, I’ll give you another analogy.

Looking for the RP support being asked in this thread from GW2 is like going into an ‘ethnic market’ and not being able to find a specific brand of a product (let’s say a bottle of a specific hot sauce or seasoning). You’ve seen the product in other ethnic markets, but somehow because this particular market doesn’t have the specific thing you are looking for, it is suddenly a horrible market that is out to specifically exclude you. It’s a conspiracy, I tell you! That market is under no obligation whatsoever to give satisfy the particular needs of such a small customer base. They can try, and they might not succeed, but the main focus of their business will always come first. RP is not the main focus of this game.

There have been other threads where RPers go so far as to say things like “this is an attack by ArenaNet on the RP community”. That is how ridiculous the RP community can be. I’m too lazy to go look up those threads again because they are old, but do feel free to search for them if you’re so inclined.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to go buy some bread.

Zera Allimatti.2541:

That market is under no obligation whatsoever to give satisfy the particular needs of such a small customer base. They can try, and they might not succeed, but the main focus of their business will always come first.

Zera Allimatti.2541:

Give us more GW 1 weapon and armor skins. COPY/PASTE ALREADY!!!!

I’d wager that the number of people who want recycled GW1 content is also small.

Zera Allimatti.2541:

naiasonod.9265:

Zera Allimatti.2541:

naiasonod.9265:

Your sneering disdain is noted.

Get a load of this smug character, folks. So very pleased that others don’t get nice things.

I wish I got nice things. Though, to be fair, I don’t go to a clothing store and ask to buy bread.

Your analogy isn’t apt, I fear. Someone would have to be utterly moronic and dissociated from reality in its entire to suppose they might find bread in a clothing store.

Finding RP in an MMORPG? Well, one’s not exactly straining credulity to envision that, in a fantasy game, some might like the fantasy, and that in a game with lore and story, some might wax imaginative in who their characters are and what they’re about in this fanciful world of fireballs and evil dragons.

No, I fear your analogy is merely an extension of your sneering disdain with not so much as a single thread connecting it to relevance. You presume it to be as absurd as, statedly, looking to buy bread in a clothing store.

All you really do is provide demonstrable evidence of your own complete and total failure to comprehend any perspective other than your own upon it.

Fine, I’ll give you another analogy.

Looking for the RP support being asked in this thread from GW2 is like going into an ‘ethnic market’ and not being able to find a specific brand of a product (let’s say a bottle of a specific hot sauce or seasoning). You’ve seen the product in other ethnic markets, but somehow because this particular market doesn’t have the specific thing you are looking for, it is suddenly a horrible market that is out to specifically exclude you. It’s a conspiracy, I tell you! That market is under no obligation whatsoever to give satisfy the particular needs of such a small customer base. They can try, and they might not succeed, but the main focus of their business will always come first. RP is not the main focus of this game.

There have been other threads where RPers go so far as to say things like “this is an attack by ArenaNet on the RP community”. That is how ridiculous the RP community can be. I’m too lazy to go look up those threads again because they are old, but do feel free to search for them if you’re so inclined.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to go buy some bread.

As opposed to the plentiful threads some have posted about how Anet’s destroyed PVP, WvW and PvE?

Congratulations, you’ve (almost) identified that some people are like that. I’m quite firmly convinced that RP communities don’t have an exclusive claim on drama-queening doomsayers though.

Enjoy your bread.

While I don’t RP and never have, I think some features would be good and enjoyable for all players. Like more emotes, or (some) interactive furniture, or the return of town clothes.

uknortherner.2670:

Zera Allimatti.2541:

That market is under no obligation whatsoever to give satisfy the particular needs of such a small customer base. They can try, and they might not succeed, but the main focus of their business will always come first.

Zera Allimatti.2541:

Give us more GW 1 weapon and armor skins. COPY/PASTE ALREADY!!!!

I’d wager that the number of people who want recycled GW1 content is also small.

Not as small as you’d think, but at least I understand that they are under no obligation to do what I would like. ArenaNet will do what their business plan dictates regardless of what you or I give as input. They might consider our suggestions, but they don’t have to. My signature is old, and I don’t really pay attention to it. I’m surprised anyone else did.

Zera Allimatti.2541:

-Snip-

You do realize that the RPG in MMORPG sands for Role Playing Game right?

Without RP gw2 is at best a stats based hack and slash game and at worst, it’s facebook with slick graphics.

GuzziHero.2467:

Even more sadly, the developers know this. Roleplaying doesn’t make money, so developing content for it is not a productive use of resources.

It depends on how you monetize it. If your goal is to make money by increment with micro-transactions and such then it is profitable to keep players playing much and as long as possible. RPers aren’t as quick to hit the “end game so game over” point in provided content and they tend to make up their own “soft” content when given the tools to do so. Thus keeping them logging in and looking at all the cool stuff they can pay for.

GuzziHero.2467:

I, personally, have never see any computer game as an RPG when it tells the story to you rather than you making it yourself.

This is true for a given value of truth. It comes down to weather you want to be the Game Master, who makes the story, or the Character, who lives it.

naiasonod.9265:

As opposed to the plentiful threads some have posted about how Anet’s destroyed PVP, WvW and PvE?

Congratulations, you’ve (almost) identified that some people are like that. I’m quite firmly convinced that RP communities don’t have an exclusive claim on drama-queening doomsayers though.

Enjoy your bread.

The funny thing is, ‘dead’ is entirely subjective. You’re right, though. Like the RP community, the sPvP/W3/PvE communities all have their fair share of doomsayers (and I treat them all equally to the same disdain I do here). The difference is that sPvP, W3, and PvE actually matter to the game. They could make it so the game has 0 emotes and did not have the ability to walk and the game would be just as playable as it is now.

My overall point in this whole thing remains: the OP’s suggestions are not needs for the game, they’re just nice extras (keyword is nice, not necessary). PvP/W3/PvE being core components of the game, the issues in those aspects of the game certainly qualify as needs for the game.

Zera Allimatti.2541:

My overall point in this whole thing remains: the OP’s suggestions are not needs for the game, they’re just nice extras (keyword is nice, not necessary). PvP/W3/PvE being core components of the game, the issues in those aspects of the game certainly qualify as needs for the game.

That, I can agree with. I wouldn’t be in the camp of those asking for what I’d recognize as being dramatic changes to much though, in the understanding that the RP community is a relatively small minority and that the game overall is best served by development resources being applied where they’ll benefit the most people most of the time.

I tend to be one that prefers asking for modest things with (as best I can discern) an expected minimum of actual work involved to realistically consider them.

Example of something I couldn’t endorce: Special tools mucking too much with the megaserver structure. God almighty, I can just imagine what sort of nightmare it would be to try to make things work well and reliably if some people could ‘opt out’ of being shunted around networks of servers while others didn’t.

It boggles the mind to imagine the sorts of bugs that would foster alone. I wouldn’t envision outright character erasure winding up being how bad that could get, monkeying around even expertly with something that foundational.

Example of what I would endorse: Sprucing up chat options for things like being able to turn on random name coloration and being able to set custom text colors client-side. I.e – I could make my text appear as purple, though only on my screen, and I could make someone else’s appear as red, still only on my screen.

Maybe kill the broadcast range of emotes too. They broadcast WAY too far, IMO.

Zera Allimatti.2541:

My overall point in this whole thing remains: the OP’s suggestions are not needs for the game, they’re just nice extras (keyword is nice, not necessary).

You are trying to apply the concept of intrinsic need to a video game?

Zera Allimatti.2541:

PvP/W3/PvE being core components of the game, the issues in those aspects of the game certainly qualify as needs for the game.

One of the issues in PvE is a lack of things to do, RP is something to do.

Zera Allimatti.2541:

They could make it so the game has 0 emotes and did not have the ability to walk and the game would be just as playable as it is now.

If gw2 was a first person shooter you’d be right, but it’s an MMORPG. Those things enrich game play and add texture to the players experience by providing more ways to interact with the game world.

Rangelost.4857:

Wolfheart.1879:

at time of Megaserver implementation, grouping was so random that those factors that apparantly were a part of the algorithm, meant kitten all to the reality, with guild and party members all in separate instances of the map a distinct possibility.

It hasn’t changed. To this day, I am thrown in map copies at absolute random. It doesn’t matter which home server I’m from, which guild I’m representing, how many friends are online or how many party members are present on a map copy. Two times out of three, I’m getting shoved into another map copy, away from everyone else.

Sometimes, I’m in a party with 4 other players, and after walking through a portal, we get separated in 3 different map copies. Then, we all click to join another party member’s map copy, which in reality only causes us to swap all over the place, and still end up on a bunch of different maps. It’s absolutely ridiculous, confusing, and let’s be honest, unacceptable.

And megaservers aren’t an issue exclusively to roleplayers. They are a massive blow to World vs World. It is now absolutely impossible to call your world to arms. You have no idea whatsoever where people in map chat are from.

This goes for large scale events, as well. I’ve witnessed a lot of frustrated guilds trying to do guild missions and having all the trouble in the world getting their members in the same map copy. When you’ve got a timer counting down, the last thing you want to do is try and figure out this kind of garbage.

Ultimately, megaservers are a devastating blow to any sense of community in general, and encourages players to be on their worst behavior. I’ll reiterate: it is absolutely necessary that players have the option to opt out of megaservers.

It’s been over 9 months now, and still no signs of improvement on the horizon.

Fair enough. I wasn’t denying the issues were there still, more that since I stopped RPing I haven’t grouped or done much other than events, bosses PS, LS etc, the stuff that doesn’t really need groups in the open world, so haven’t noticed if the issues are there or not.

To say something further on other points raised, I wouldn’t say GW2 is the most unfriendly game for RPers, but its the only one, from those I’ve tried, that has gone in some important ways a few steps back. Usually they just stay where they are.

Rangelost.4857:

Ultimately, megaservers are a devastating blow to any sense of community in general, and encourages players to be on their worst behavior. I’ll reiterate: it is absolutely necessary that players have the option to opt out of megaservers.

Disagreed.

What they need to is to give us the option to choose megaserver instance.

Other games have solved this “problem” by a simple drop down menu list. Why Anet has decided to keep this hidden is beyond me. People can then decide their own instances for player driven events (roleplaying included). Hey all, drunken brawl event in Megaserver Instance #8 this weekend! Etc and so on.

Opting out of megaservers is probably technically impossible. If it is 100% full you wouldnt be able to use it because others do not opt out. Changing the way that system works is pointless and a waste of resources, when other games with megaserver tech has the solution as I mentioned above. Its not problem to decide on a common instance. IE if #1-10 are 100% full, the game is running #11 at 30% capacity, #12 at 10% capacity and #13 at 0% capacity (just in case) while #14 and up are closed. Roleplayers, guilds etc can just hop into #13 and fill it up.

GameVeight.2745:

It depends on how you monetize it. If your goal is to make money by increment with micro-transactions and such then it is profitable to keep players playing much and as long as possible. RPers aren’t as quick to hit the “end game so game over” point in provided content and they tend to make up their own “soft” content when given the tools to do so. Thus keeping them logging in and looking at all the cool stuff they can pay for.

Um… sadly, I think Anet showed us what they thought about roleplayers with megaservers, town clothes and the removal of the Personality system.

They wouldn’t miss us.

Town Clothes: These could be brought back exactly as before. Keep Outfits; some people like them. But there is zero reason Town Clothes couldn’t be restored since so very few actually got turned into Outfits. The vast majority of my old Town Clothes are still here in my Bank in useless Tonic form just waiting for a reversal spell! I’m more than ready to have my Dragon Emblem T-Shirt restored to it’s former glory.

Chairs: Every character could carry around his/her own chair in an “invisible pocket”, just like a Looney Tunes character who whips a huge mallet out of nowhere. When the player types /chair, his toon hauls out a chair and plops himself down. Sure, someone could sit on a mountain top for fun and RPer’s would be upset about “immersion”. But suck it up. RPer’s would still be in the vast majority of the players who use the emote.

Megaservers: Megaservers need to be removed from the main cities. This has been obvious and begged for by more than just the RP crowd since before it was even implemented, but they went ahead and did it anyway with exactly the expected results. Loss of player bonding with familiar faces, loss of WvW recruiting grounds, etc.

If they are going to keep Megaservers, then they should think about using Home Server as a higher metric for determining where you go. They should group up the same home servers again and again (preferably ones that never meet in WvW) so we see familiar faces once more. Stop thrusting us in amongst strangers.

Last point on Megaservers: we don’t all want overcrowding! Many of us chose lesser-population worlds for a reason! They need to institute High Population, Medium Population, and Low Population Megaservers with corresponding minimum and maximum crowd levels for us players that prefer a small town free-to-breathe feeling to the packed-in-like-sardines claustophobic world they’re forcing us into now.

GuzziHero.2467:

Um… sadly, I think Anet showed us what they thought about roleplayers with megaservers, town clothes and the removal of the Personality system.
They wouldn’t miss us.

This is true.

I’m not gonna bother replying to every little snippet posted so far, but based on what I have read my thoughts are as follows;

I have never said RPers are a majority, or acted like it. In fact I have explicitly stated that we are a niche community. However, a healthy RP community can do wonders to help flesh out an MMORPG (See the RP in MMORPG?), and as I have said, I am still subscribed to another MMO -because- of RP. I would not be giving that developer money if they had made it so horrendously difficult to RP in a fluid, slick manner. That is what I am after here, yes some of my suggestions could just be nice to have, but things like the ability to choose a megaserver layer manually (Which many MMOs of old have done, and why GW2 and WoW etc refuse to allow the same is mind boggling) and town outfits have no reason to not be present, even people who don’t RP can benefit especially from a less convoluted megaserver. (Funnily enough I posted this matter to the GW2 reddit, when I was told “Oh just r-click and join map” except that doesn’t always work…)

As for the personality system, I agree it could have been fleshed out, but really in the end it did… nothing, literally nothing. That is an example of a ‘nice to have’ system, and whilst I do miss it, I don’t really mind whether it’s here or not.

Population density; absolutely agreed that the obsession with keeping -every- zone/map as densely packed as possible needs to stop. Again, for regular play that is fine, and a high pop helps with world events, but for people who just want breathing room or RP we -want- to be able to choose to have some space. Again, the ability to pick map layers would completely amend the issue. People playing normally can join a densely populated map, people who want to RP or just want to explore a quieter world can get space of their own. It’s obvious that the ability to let the player pick a map is there (See the volunteer system/button when the map gets very empty), so why not just open up the full list? Like the PvP server browser?

That being said, everything else could be seen as a ‘nice to have’ feature. And to be honest, if megaservers were amended as suggested, I would gladly shut up about everything else. It’s by far the biggest obstacle for ease of RP, and even ease of regular gameplay.

Also, to the guy suggesting we RPers go play on the Sims or Second Life, or to the ‘dark corners of the internet’. u wot m8?