I’d like to suggest a tutorial-area, preferably in the mists. Whenever you unlock something new, you can enter the tutorial from wherever you are, talk to the mentor npc and do a training for that stuff.
Examples:
1.) First time a player enters a JP area, we had those triggers in the old monthly. In the tutorial area is an NPC, JP master where you learn the basics about JPs. How they work, the importance of camera-use and ofcourse a few training courses, with special focus on different types of platforming.
After completing each course you receive an Achievement, worth 5 AP and at the end of all 3 a title “Jumper of the Mists.”
2.) First time a player gets the mail to enter a dungeon. There should be a NPC in the tutorial area instructing about those. Mentioning the importance of level requirements, what happens when you undergo the recommendations by 2,3,4,5 levels. What scaling means. As well as a short, solo-able minidungeon with triggering a switch to open a gate and a boss fight at the end. At the start and beginning you have to watch a non-skipable cutscene.
After completing the tutorial dungeon, you receiven an Achievement, worth 5 AP and a title “Dungeon Apprentice.”
3.) First time a player obtains a bottle of Elonian Wine. The NPC in the tutorial area teleports you to the old Lion’s Arch Mystic Forge where you are given a test-inventory and can try out different stuff at first. To get the Achievement, you are asked to craft 5 items in a row, ingredients shown as pictures on boards near the MF.
The recipes could be: upgrading 4 green greatswords to one rare, creating a tray of food recipe, upgrading sige blueprints, crafting a mystic clover and crafting one of the special mystic weapons. All ingredients are bound to the instance in a special inventory, cannot be sold, moved out and all crafts get deleted once the instance is left.
For completing the task, once again 5 AP and a title “Apprentice of Zomorros.”
4.) First time the glider gets unlocked. The the gliding tutorial gets unlocked. With each tier of the mastery, another training course is unlocked. Each course explains the basics and gives a few examples + a small race-course (similar to the flying circus adventure). After all tiers are completed. This tutorial includes training and testing of gliding skills, how to precisly land on a small platform using leaning skills with examples.
When all tiers are unlocked and completed, 5 AP and a title.
5.) First time Ancient Magics mastery is unlocked. Same as with gliding, one course per mastery. Explanations, examples and a test-course.
6.) One NPC master inside the tutorial for class mechanics, e.g. ranger pets, clones of mesmers, turrets, spirit weapons, upkeep.
7.) One NPC master inside the tutorial for elite mechanics, e.g. celestial avatar, function gyro, berserker mode & primal bursts, virtues of DH, wells of Chronomancer, … etc.
8.) One NPC master inside the tutorial who explains what a breakbar is, what CC means, what skills of your class are CC skills, how they work and a test boss which can only be harmed every 25 % when the breakbar is done.
… etc.
All of these tutorials can be done only alone. No mesmer help! Please not. I can already see the LFG adverts
- “FREE tutorial unlocks, donations welcome”
- “unlocking EVERY tutorial achievement, 15g each”
Everything inside the mists, special area. Possibility to teleport from everywhere, with the option to return to the last location. All tutorials voiced, else people are just clicking through like the license-agreements of software. Cutscenes not skipable, reason see the other sentence.
I know it is enough work to keep the developers busy for months and I am totally aware that a large group of players do not like tutorials and delete every user-manual on sight.
I like the newbie dodge tutorial and I liked the old pvp tutorial. Forcing people into a tutorial is wrong. But giving them an option and rewarding their precious time with a few AP maybe pays off with more active and less frustrated generations of players.
If I was a newbie today “Welcome to Guildwars 2. Here have a level 80 booster, now enjoy the endgame!” I would quit within two weeks for sure. And I totally understand every new player and returner who feels overwhelmed and confused.
Thanks for reading and have a nice day.