Guild Wars 2

The number of merchants was likely considered too overwhelming for new players and thus were removed, along with buckets of water, cow feed and tameable Ranger Pets.

When people say these changes must have been catered to five year-olds, I think they are selling today’s kindergartners far short.

What next, i wonder, less waypoints perhaps?…i can see new players getting confused by having too many of those
Perhaps they’ll introduce mounts soon too as there must be plenty of new players who’ve come to expect mounts from playing other MMOs and are confused by the lack of them here…

Fiontar.4695:

The number of merchants was likely considered too overwhelming for new players and thus were removed, along with buckets of water

You can still get a bucket of water, which has no skills, which magically appears in your hands out of nowhere when you search a burning hay bale.

Because picking up a bucket of water off the ground, where you could see it, was too confusing for new players.

Fiontar.4695:

The number of merchants was likely considered too overwhelming for new players and thus were removed, along with buckets of water, cow feed and tameable Ranger Pets.

When people say these changes must have been catered to five year-olds, I think they are selling today’s kindergartners far short.

I found a juvenile jungle spider at the top of Morgan’s Leap

Yeah, I really do feel that removing the complexity of starter zones has resulted in it feeling a lot more… lifeless.

1. Merchants and traders are missing, lending towns and trading hubs a more empty feel. (Lion’s Arch havens. Supposed to be safe places for trade to be conducted. Has no traders??)

2. The lack of bundle items means that advancing Hearts is generally limited to “killing” stuff, which reduces personal RP options of choosing more peaceful methods of completion. One of the most standout things about GW2 at launch was “You mean instead of killing 10 rats, I can choose to water crops or feed cows instead? Cool!” It felt DIFFERENT. The options are still there in later maps, but I really feel that it should be introduced early to show that GW2 is something different.

3. The lockout system for Skill Points results in a lot of NPCs just standing there and you have no idea what to do with these people. What does the symbol over their head mean? Why can’t I do anything with him/her? Is it bugged?

Streamlining the new player experience is all well and good, but don’t forget to allow players to learn at their own pace, ANet. There’s no reason why the gifted kid has to be held back when he’s clearly bored of doing basic arithmetic.