Guild Wars 2

This is a topic that I’m sure has been touched on multiple times here but it’s been bugging me trying to figure out what exactly PvE needs. Don’t get me wrong, I love GW2 and am still logging a lot of time into the game. It’s just that the whole PvE environment feels… soulless.

Each area feels like a blank canvas to be painted and tossed aside. There is no drive to visit distant towns or areas as you already know what to expect— some tasks, some vendors that sell the same items you can buy where you already are, and a vista or two to view.

It’s very unfortunate that PvE feels this way as a lot of the world’s scenery is absolutely gorgeous and would be overlooked in the monotonous exp grind.

I think PvE needs to feel less like it was designed specifically for your character to conquer and more like a traditional MMORPG world, but I just can’t put my finger on what exact changes could be made.

I’ve noticed that ArenaNet has started implementing unique vendors and personal item collection questlines. This is definitely starting to make PvE feel like it has more to offer, but I still think it needs a big rework in general.

Thoughts and opinions?

All I want is Elona, is that too much too ask for q_q

Gliding. Also, more flavorful content in general – I’d love to see more of those unique merchants.
And how about another world boss in Ascalon, besides the Shatterer? All the starting zones except for Plains of Ashford have a world boss. (Fire Elemental, Jungle Wurm, Shadow Behemoth, Frozen Maw.) Could we maybe have a ghost boss?

To me lore/world building is missing, something GW1 did a lot better IMO. What I always felt Anet should have added is some form of codex (similar to that of Mass Effect) or at least a bestiary. The weird thing is that GW2 originally had a lore book system but this system got removed sometime before release. Another feature that I would have loved that got removed before release is the presence of lore snippets on loading screens.

I completely disagree. I’ve been playing since launch and I still enjoy exploring the PvE maps and I’m still coming across things I’ve either not seen before or forgot about.

The problem is a lot of it is easy to miss if you’re not looking for it. Like the NPCs in Claypool that will tell you about the towns history, which ties into the events of GW:Beyond in GW1, or the event chains in Lornar’s Pass where you help a human and an asura learn about the ettins and can get a lot of background on them from the dialogue.

If you look at PvE maps entirely in terms of what rewards you can get from them and the mechanics of the activities you have to do to get them (e.g. kill things until the timer stops with no regard for what the things are or why you’re being asked to kill them) then yes they will seem empty. But the same is true of applying that approach to any RPG. If you take the time to actually explore there’s a huge amount of stuff to find.

New dungeons, gliding, mounts, elona, cantha.

Harder world bosses.
I want more tequatl-hard bosses, especially for higher level maps, Shatterer is a nice candidate for this.
(granted, we kinda have these in HoT now, but I want this for core Tyria)

For overworld content?

A better map system, honestly. If I had a way to permanently mark all those special places so I could visit them again later, I’d be sure to come back and visit what I marked. If my underground/underwater maps didn’t disappear as soon as I got out of range, I’d actually know where I’m going and would consider going to say hello to the dredge some more.

But, nope, map sucks. :\

It would be nice if the world bosses do random attacks, and not patterned/easily readable attacks. (Why are mushrooms in HoT maps harder than World bosses? lol).

Better rewards. Instead of getting the same greens and blue items, there needs to be an incentive for people to do events, like the chance of getting something exclusive, besides a precursor weapon.

Being able to farm mats from mobs. This would increase activities… Those are just my ideas.

Enemy cast bars.

Would be nice to have a new dungeon related to each HoT zone. I’ve only been to Verdant Brink, and Auric Basin so far though.

You could make a Verdant Brink dungeon center around going underground to stop future armies coming up to attack, and put a dent in the force of the Mordrem.

In Aric Basin you could make a dungeon about further exploring with The Exalted and uncovering secret ruins to gain power.

PvE simply needs more rewarding content besides EXP grinds. I enjoy events, but others may not. Having new dungeons with new weapons and armor sets would be nice.

Maybe things like Elite Auric Weapons, and Elite Mordrem Armor. This could be a future trend similar to GW1 attire. We need more options for how a player can utilize PvE to progress their character.

The game simply needs more smaller achievable goals for players, rather they be small or big.

Diovid.9506:

To me lore/world building is missing, something GW1 did a lot better IMO. What I always felt Anet should have added is some form of codex (similar to that of Mass Effect) or at least a bestiary. The weird thing is that GW2 originally had a lore book system but this system got removed sometime before release. Another feature that I would have loved that got removed before release is the presence of lore snippets on loading screens.

GW1 Eye of the North had a great story journal added that was a really cool way to keep track of goals and objectives. Seeing that added would be cool.

It’s what your post made me think of.

The My story tab kinda the same thing as the Eotn story journal (well you cant turn it in for anything but i never cared much about that part

honestly to me PvE is the best part about this game /i loved GW1 more for its PvP then the PvE

I would like if the mobs stood out more from each other (like fighting a bandit should feel different from fighting a drake)

Less grind, less concentrating or “challenging content”, more actual fun and entertainment.

Kam.4092:

Diovid.9506:

To me lore/world building is missing, something GW1 did a lot better IMO. What I always felt Anet should have added is some form of codex (similar to that of Mass Effect) or at least a bestiary. The weird thing is that GW2 originally had a lore book system but this system got removed sometime before release. Another feature that I would have loved that got removed before release is the presence of lore snippets on loading screens.

GW1 Eye of the North had a great story journal added that was a really cool way to keep track of goals and objectives. Seeing that added would be cool.

It’s what your post made me think of.

I was thinking something much more elaborate. Just to give you an idea of what Mass Effect’s codex is: http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Codex

Not strictly related to PvE, but I kind of wish Tyria had a second moon to give that “you’re really in a different world” feeling.

How about more use for skills besides PvP.

I remember long ago looking at my skills to see what was interesting and finding Corrupt Boon on my Necro (Poison yourself. Transform boons on your foe into negative conditions.) I thought, hmmmm. Put that in with Epidemic (Apply vulnerability on yourself. Spread conditions on a target foe to all nearby foes.) and maybe that will be interesting. So I ran around PvE with that for a while…. until I realized it had little to no use in PvE. This sort of lack really hampers PvE combat.

[quote=5912580;Schewe.1673:

I think PvE needs to feel less like it was designed specifically for your character to conquer and more like a traditional MMORPG world, but I just can’t put my finger on what exact changes could be made.
[/quote]

I really disagree with this part. When i first started playing 3 years ago i thought it played closer to Skyrim than a traditional MMO. An exploration driven game full of distractions that pulled me away from the way i was heading with a new event or an interesting location. And i could progress through the game doing pretty much what i felt like atm.
This is actually something i’m missing from HoT, the events are structured and predictable, you never just come acrokittenandomly while exploring and i think that’s a shame.

That’s what it does right anyway, what it does wrong is how ridiculously easy it is. I mean, it actually takes effort to die with some classes and most skills and armor sets other than pure offense is useless. Sure it’s relaxing and doesn’t need to be as harsh as HoT, but once you been to most places it often just feels like the game is letting you win and it gets dull.
I actually like changing my skills and weapons depending on the situation but i guess i’m in a minority. =l

Disclaimer – all of this is my sole opinion:

I think the biggest issue in the past 12 months has been a scattered vision of what the game is supposed to be – resulting from the developers trying to please every kind of MMO player and, as a result, drifting away from the base vision that made this game so much fun at launch.

This game isn’t about e-sports. It isn’t about high end difficult content. It isnt even about acquiring the best gear possible.

This game is about giving us something fun to do in large (20/30/50 plus) people groups. Up until GW2, no other MMO really did that in a sustainable way. Even those that tried ended up drifting toward the low hanging fruit as end game – focused pvp and raids.

GW2 needs to get back to the vision and basic concepts that made the original game launch so great. Focus on open world activities, living story, huge boss fights like Tequatl/Shatterer/Mordremoth (the best part of the expansion imo), world vs world, guild missions etc – in other words, the activities that do not pull the community into smaller 5 or 10 man groups and away from each other.

So, yes Anet, give us new fractals, pvp maps and the (very occasional) raid – but get the development focus back where it belongs – on the thing that set you apart from WoW or Tera or ESO or any of those other games – back on the open world, events, guild stuff, celebrations and other fun things that bring the community together in large groups to enjoy content.

Again, just my personal opinion.

I think, an option to play dungeons solo (or with henchmen) is missing. I really can’t be bothered any more with the childish “dungeons suck because there are no rewards” or me constantly being kicked because of my group.
Sometimes I’m quite frustrated while playing, thinking how much more fun the game would be if it was a solo-title with the exception of world boss events or world events in general.

Danikat.8537:

I completely disagree. I’ve been playing since launch and I still enjoy exploring the PvE maps and I’m still coming across things I’ve either not seen before or forgot about.

….
If you look at PvE maps entirely in terms of what rewards you can get from them and the mechanics of the activities you have to do to get them (e.g. kill things until the timer stops with no regard for what the things are or why you’re being asked to kill them) then yes they will seem empty. But the same is true of applying that approach to any RPG. If you take the time to actually explore there’s a huge amount of stuff to find.

I agree with Danikat.

From my perspective, GW2 is a game that offers a consistent stream of minor loot and is rich in a lot of little details. Other games need to offer significant drops more often because a variety of other mechanics requires it: needing to re-outfit characters with each expac, competition for drops, lack of downscaling, etc.

In the end, the best way to have fun with a game is to accept it for what it is and see if that’s fun for you. If it’s not, move on to something else.

Fishing!
Lore system :P
Player-owned decorations that drop from mobs and/or are easy to craft (chairs, bookshelves, mugs, books,cushions, etc)

LegACy.1296:

Harder world bosses.
I want more tequatl-hard bosses, especially for higher level maps, Shatterer is a nice candidate for this.
(granted, we kinda have these in HoT now, but I want this for core Tyria)

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/state-of-the-game-update-q1-2016/

LOL
Apparently wishes do came true =D