The irony in the criticism against RNG...

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Erasculio.2914

Erasculio.2914

…Is how much of it is made by people who want to keep something as bad as RNG in place.

The worst RNG in the game is the one that rewards luck (something which doesn’t really deserve a reward) and has been set in place so people keep buying RNG boxes in order to try to find items. It’s a mediocre design, based on the idea that players are foolish enough to waste their money on RNG boxes.

At the same time, the great majority of the community (and thus the great majority of the complainers) are grinders, farmers and so on.

And guess what? Farming rewards time spent (something which doesn’t really deserve a reward) and has been set in place so people keep grinding in order to try to find better items. It’s a mediocre design, based on the idea that players are foolish enough to waste their time on grind.

I wonder if we will soon have players addicted to RNG, just like we have players addicted to farming, claiming it’s a good thing. One design is as bad as the other, and both have been set in place to milk money from players, not to make good games.

“I think that players are starting to mature past the point of wanting to be on that
treadmill, of being in that obvious pattern of every time I catch up you are going to
put another carrot in front of me” – Mike O’Brien right before Ascended weapons

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: fellyn.5083

fellyn.5083

So time spent playing a game shouldn’t be rewarded according to you. What should we be rewarded for doing? Not playing the game?

You say these things but you don’t offer any solutions to those things that you say shouldn’t offer a reward.

And I hate RNG as much as the next guy, but it has it’s place. The bad part is that in GW2 it RNG has wormed it’s way into pretty much every aspect of the game in every kind of bad way.

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Zorby.8236

Zorby.8236

And guess what? Farming rewards time spent (something which doesn’t really deserve a reward)[…]

Stopped reading here. Also, there’s rng and then there’s rng…the main complaint are these kitten ed lottery boxes.

~This is the internet, my (or your) opinion doesn’t matter~

(edited by Zorby.8236)

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Erasculio.2914

Erasculio.2914

So time spent playing a game shouldn’t be rewarded according to you. What should we be rewarded for doing?

Skill. Playing the game well. If you read some old ArenaNet interviews, you will see how they liked to say “skill > time spent”.

MMORPGs reward time spent because they want to keep addicts – those who play longer (and thus pay monthly fees longer). The inability to even consider a different scenario is one of the reasons why MMORPG players make such a bad community.

“I think that players are starting to mature past the point of wanting to be on that
treadmill, of being in that obvious pattern of every time I catch up you are going to
put another carrot in front of me” – Mike O’Brien right before Ascended weapons

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Jam.3258

Jam.3258

The worst RNG in the game is the one that rewards luck

There’s another sort?

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Silentsins.3726

Silentsins.3726

This article might be of interest to anyone who’s mused (or complained) about RNG in this game:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3085/behavioral_game_design.php
Intervals, ratios, extinction, and ESPECIALLY behavioral contrast applies here.

It’s my speculation that A-net put itself in a very weird place by emphasizing RNG over skill in this game, and then lost sight of the principals above in their war on bots.

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Kedra.9207

Kedra.9207

I have to say the difference in gear is so minimal and the fact that we can choose to grind or not is still there. I am more concerned with how closed and restricting zones are becoming for level 80’s.

I used to get up in the morning have a cup of coffee and go harvest some crafting materials. I would farm some mobs for tier 5 and 6 materials and bop around the level 80 zones. Problems occurred when so much botting occurred. Rather then boot the accounts that were using 3rd party software the zones were made more difficult and also more frustrating. We ended up with strangling vines, poisoned areas, catapults, mobs with more abilities, rivers mined, more champs, more veterans, even more mob numbers. The zones now are quite frustrating to gather in, not impossible, just not enjoyable. The agro area of mobs like Veteran Karka and Acolytes is quite ridiculous.

We had a South Sun event which was quite enjoyable but then left the zone unplayable to solo players. The outposts are always over run with mobs and the mobs in that zone are quite powerful individualy. Who needs to fight 6-7 at one time and get run over by a train of adds. The events are leaving the zone uninhabited because we need 9 friends along to visit an outpost. South Sun is now a wasteland.

Lately the solo casual gamer is finding there is not many parts of a zone to adventure in that are fun. Traveling by foot is almost a journey of frustration. Farming is almost not worth the effort put into the task anymore. The worst of it all is the zones are becoming empty. I myself do not want to farm Fracts day in and day out either for gear. So I just gave up getting that ascended back piece because I could not play long enough in the evenings to get groups for Fracts.

I thought GW2 was exceptional when released and adding content events has always been good. The changes for gear acquisition and solo play farming mobs and gathering has been a real let down IMO.

(edited by Kedra.9207)

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Latinkuro.9420

Latinkuro.9420

RNG has it’s place indeed but……
even in supposedly RNG heavy games cough swtor for example.
I ran dungeons a lot and most of the times we got purple gear for drops which would be the equivalent of exotics in gw2.

In swotor, i could get as many as 10-20 purple drops in say a week of dungeon running

In GW2 10-20 exotic drops is as many as i’ve gotten in months of playing.

Now from that perspective which RNG do you think is way to heavy and way to punishing ?

That is the issue, it’s not that RNG itself is evil, it’s that in gw2 the percentages for something good to drop are way to kitteng LOW

That is what kitten es me off so much !!!!

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Vayne.8563

Vayne.8563

Farming is an act of attrition. In other words, doing the same thing over and over again in a hope to get valuable drops. Some of the drops, like heavy moldy bags is quite different than say farming for charged lodestones.

Does a farmer deserve to get loot? I think so. It’s like when someone does a mindless title thing over and over again, until they get the title. It’s a title of attrition. Does a person who buys boxes and supports the game deserve loot? Well, they were paying for future content, so maybe they deserve something.

Deserve is a funny word. My problem with SOME farmers is they that expect a certain yield per time spent, but they think they get to judge that a fair yield is. That is to say, Anet “nerfs” a farming spot (or fixes a bug or changes an area) and SOME farmers say I’m not making enough money.

That’s not to say they shouldn’t get drops at all…but to come and complain about something as if they’re entitled to it, in that spot, just because it was there before is something I will never understand.

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: AlietteFaye.7316

AlietteFaye.7316

Farming is an act of attrition. In other words, doing the same thing over and over again in a hope to get valuable drops. Some of the drops, like heavy moldy bags is quite different than say farming for charged lodestones.

Does a farmer deserve to get loot? I think so. It’s like when someone does a mindless title thing over and over again, until they get the title. It’s a title of attrition. Does a person who buys boxes and supports the game deserve loot? Well, they were paying for future content, so maybe they deserve something.

Deserve is a funny word. My problem with SOME farmers is they that expect a certain yield per time spent, but they think they get to judge that a fair yield is. That is to say, Anet “nerfs” a farming spot (or fixes a bug or changes an area) and SOME farmers say I’m not making enough money.

That’s not to say they shouldn’t get drops at all…but to come and complain about something as if they’re entitled to it, in that spot, just because it was there before is something I will never understand.

The rare agreement with Vayne. Though that seems to be happening more lately. Possibly because every other topic is on RNG, though, and that’s one of the few things just about everybody can agree on.

twitch.tv/aliettefaye

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Ryuujin.8236

Ryuujin.8236

OP’s post is a giant strawman fallacy; or at the very least a misrepresentation of the facts.

Just because people engage in farming, it doesn’t mean they LIKE RNG farming; it happens to be the only source of income they know – and this demographic also makes up the majority of players, so you could reasonably draw any comparrison validly ie.

The majority of RNG farmers in GW2 like killing mobs
The majority of RNG farmers in GW2 like playing MMOs

The statement is fundamentally correct, but irrelevant. Secondly pretty much every trader I know is critical of RNG boxes too; perhaps moreso as they have the insight to not buy them

The Ashwalker – Ranger
Garnished Toast

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Silentsins.3726

Silentsins.3726

That’s not to say they shouldn’t get drops at all…but to come and complain about something as if they’re entitled to it, in that spot, just because it was there before is something I will never understand.

Heh… maybe you’re not trying hard enough then.

DIRECT copy/paste from the link I posted:
—-
A related phenomenon, called “behavioral contrast,” occurs in chimpanzees, among other species. A chimpanzee is doing a simple task such as pulling a lever and is being rewarded with pieces of lettuce, which they like to eat. After doing this for a while, one pull is rewarded with a grape, which they really love to eat. On the next pull, the chimp is given lettuce again and they get very upset, throwing the lettuce at the experimenter. They were perfectly happy with lettuce before, but the presentation of the grape creates new expectations and when those expectations aren’t met, frustration and anger invariably results.

The moral here is that reducing the level of reinforcement is a very punishing thing for your players and can act as an impetus for them to quit the game. It needs to be done carefully and gradually, or there may be an undesirable backlash.
—-
Humans reacting according to nature shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Resonance.4216

Resonance.4216

OP’s post

Don’t reward time, reward luck!

The end.


Elementalist of Oceanix [OCX]
http://www.oceanix.com.au

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: draxynnic.3719

draxynnic.3719

.
And guess what? Farming rewards time spent (something which doesn’t really deserve a reward) and has been set in place so people keep grinding in order to try to find better items. It’s a mediocre design, based on the idea that players are foolish enough to waste their time on grind.

I dislike farming and grinding in general myself, but the substantial difference is this:

Most of the stuff you can get by farming, you can get by playing normally. Sure, it may take longer, but if push comes to shove, you can always take an appropriate amount of coinage (collected through doing whatever it is you like to do), throw it at the trading post, and get whatever it was you wanted.

The current RNG boxes, though, provide RNG as the only means of getting the item. Want a jade ticket (or, during the last event, sclerite)? You can either farm like an addict hoping that one of thousands of boxes you’re going to grind for will have what you want, or you buy a bunch of boxes and, again, hope for what you want to come out in what is effectively gambling (which I consider distinct from playing the game in even the grindiest possible way).

To those who think Scarlet hate means she’s succeeded as a villain:
People don’t hate Scarlet like Game of Thrones fans hate Joffrey.
They hate her the way Star Wars fans hate Jar Jar Binks.

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Vayne.8563

Vayne.8563

That’s not to say they shouldn’t get drops at all…but to come and complain about something as if they’re entitled to it, in that spot, just because it was there before is something I will never understand.

Heh… maybe you’re not trying hard enough then.

DIRECT copy/paste from the link I posted:
—-
A related phenomenon, called “behavioral contrast,” occurs in chimpanzees, among other species. A chimpanzee is doing a simple task such as pulling a lever and is being rewarded with pieces of lettuce, which they like to eat. After doing this for a while, one pull is rewarded with a grape, which they really love to eat. On the next pull, the chimp is given lettuce again and they get very upset, throwing the lettuce at the experimenter. They were perfectly happy with lettuce before, but the presentation of the grape creates new expectations and when those expectations aren’t met, frustration and anger invariably results.

The moral here is that reducing the level of reinforcement is a very punishing thing for your players and can act as an impetus for them to quit the game. It needs to be done carefully and gradually, or there may be an undesirable backlash.
—-
Humans reacting according to nature shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.

I suppose I expected humans to be smarter than chimps and understand that this isn’t the only lever. How silly of me. lol

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Resonance.4216

Resonance.4216

I suppose I expected humans to be smarter than chimps and understand that this isn’t the only lever. How silly of me. lol

You’ve played this game..right?

Google search “Smiter’s Boon Nerf”,

Then realise the intellect behind it works on this game.


Elementalist of Oceanix [OCX]
http://www.oceanix.com.au

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Vayne.8563

Vayne.8563

I suppose I expected humans to be smarter than chimps and understand that this isn’t the only lever. How silly of me. lol

You’ve played this game..right?

No, sorry, I’ve never heard of it before. What game are we talking about?

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Vayne.8563

Vayne.8563

Farming is an act of attrition. In other words, doing the same thing over and over again in a hope to get valuable drops. Some of the drops, like heavy moldy bags is quite different than say farming for charged lodestones.

Does a farmer deserve to get loot? I think so. It’s like when someone does a mindless title thing over and over again, until they get the title. It’s a title of attrition. Does a person who buys boxes and supports the game deserve loot? Well, they were paying for future content, so maybe they deserve something.

Deserve is a funny word. My problem with SOME farmers is they that expect a certain yield per time spent, but they think they get to judge that a fair yield is. That is to say, Anet “nerfs” a farming spot (or fixes a bug or changes an area) and SOME farmers say I’m not making enough money.

That’s not to say they shouldn’t get drops at all…but to come and complain about something as if they’re entitled to it, in that spot, just because it was there before is something I will never understand.

The rare agreement with Vayne. Though that seems to be happening more lately. Possibly because every other topic is on RNG, though, and that’s one of the few things just about everybody can agree on.

It could also be that I’m probably not quite the fan boy everyone paints me to be. I see lots of issues with this game. What I don’t like is hyperbole to make points that have nothing to do with the points people are trying to me.

Like bringing a two year old manifesto into an argument doesn’t strengthen the argument. If something is wrong with the game, say what it is you think is wrong. Don’t say most people think this is wrong, because you don’t know. Don’t say that the game sucks because for some of us it doesn’t. State what’s wrong the with the game in your opinion and suggest a solution to it that we can discuss.

I’ll always complain when people say stuff like “the game is dying”, not because I’m a fan boy but because it’s negative speculation that’s literally unprovable…at least until the next NCsoft quarterly report comes out.

I have no problem with constructive criticism about the game. But it should be phrased constructively or it’s largely wasted.

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: starwatto.4527

starwatto.4527

I like farming, that’s why I play MMOs and especially GW2 (it’s all about farming, whatever ArenaNet says…). You can’t just say that anybodys way to play isn’t worth a reward, because it’s not the way you like, that’s just stupid. And I don’t like RNG boxes, not in normal “farming world”, that’s okay, that’s how things work – I don’t like it because there are lore-based items inside that system, and that’s not right. There should be more transparent system allowing players to actually obtain weapon, not to just gamble until they get lucky. End of discussion.

Casually hardcore since 2012
Aurora Glade
[rddt]

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: IndigoSundown.5419

IndigoSundown.5419

I wonder if we will soon have players addicted to RNG

I’m not going to weigh in on the rest of your argument, but I’d bet that “soon,” above is actually “some time ago,” at least in the general world-wide pool of MMO players. Some games have been running the RNG boondoggle for years. That the trend is spreading is quite telling.

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: tolunart.2095

tolunart.2095

I suppose I expected humans to be smarter than chimps and understand that this isn’t the only lever. How silly of me. lol

ROTFL

On an individual level, sure… as a species, not so much.

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: beren.6048

beren.6048

In any MMO time spent needs to be rewarded because players are content and if nobody logs in then you ll end up with an empty MMO. So rewarding time spend from a business perspective is good, especially if you also want to keep the people with not much skill.

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: AntiGw.9367

AntiGw.9367

So time spent playing a game shouldn’t be rewarded according to you. What should we be rewarded for doing?

Skill. Playing the game well. If you read some old ArenaNet interviews, you will see how they liked to say “skill > time spent”.

MMORPGs reward time spent because they want to keep addicts – those who play longer (and thus pay monthly fees longer). The inability to even consider a different scenario is one of the reasons why MMORPG players make such a bad community.

Every system has some drawbacks.

Farming rewards people with no life, and everyone else misses out.

Skill rewards people with cat reflexes or things like that, and everyone else misses out. Can you try to even define “skill” in this game, and what makes a fight “skilled”? Because if a nice item drops from a mob that can only be killed by a perfect sequence of moves, you’ll have a lot of people that can’t execute the sequence.

RNG rewards random people. In this case everyone has a chance, regardless of how much time they can spend on playing, how good he is at playing etc.

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: tolunart.2095

tolunart.2095

RNG rewards random people. In this case everyone has a chance, regardless of how much time they can spend on playing, how good he is at playing etc.

And with regards to RNG reward systems, the skilled player gets more chances to receive something because he plays more efficiently and spends less time recovering from defeat, running back from waypoints and so on. The person with more time to play also receives more chances because he puts more hours into the game. The person with money to spare is still given a chance because he can buy items from the cash shop which are convenient or offer a chance at rewards like the rich dragon coffers.

This is actually the fairest system because it doesn’t favor those with more money, or those who spend 12 hrs a day playing the game, or those who use special equipment or train their reflexes to be better than others. Everyone has an equal chance to gain something in their own way.

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Tolmos.8395

Tolmos.8395

So time spent playing a game shouldn’t be rewarded according to you. What should we be rewarded for doing? Not playing the game?

Time spent should be rewarded. EXCESSIVE time spent should not.

No one would be rewarded for simply having more free time than someone else. That leads to exceptionally unhealthy personal habits, and people willing to sacrifice things in their personal lives for their games…

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Septemptus.7164

Septemptus.7164

I wonder if we will soon have players addicted to RNG, just like we have players addicted to farming, claiming it’s a good thing. One design is as bad as the other, and both have been set in place to milk money from players, not to make good games.

Guess why ppl didn’t respond to those thread that would stop grinding:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/suggestions/Gifts-of-Exploration-1/first
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/suggestions/XP-TO-GOLD-conversion-vs-flippers-and-farmers/first

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: jheryn.8390

jheryn.8390

At the same time, the great majority of the community (and thus the great majority of the complainers) are grinders, farmers and so on.

Really? Where is your statistical evidence? Because if you are basing your statement on forum posters then your statement is false. All of us who post in forums are a very small minority of the people who play the game. Add to that people with complaints are the main posters in discussion and suggestion forums. Most people that play the game are content with the way things are.

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Chopps.5047

Chopps.5047

Both golf and poker involve luck, are rewarded, and not only that—we celebrate the best players in those games. There is an element of luck in most competition—and in life too. Many people are rewarded in real life for being lucky.

Also, be careful what you wish for…who’s to say you’d be successful in this skill game for rewards you allude to? Hundreds of thousands of people play this game. Just saying

Tin Foil Hat Hearer »—> Ranger Extraordinaire »—> “Be like water…”

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: jheryn.8390

jheryn.8390

Both golf and poker involve luck, are rewarded, and not only that—we celebrate the best players in those games. There is an element of luck in most competition—and in life too. Many people are rewarded in real life for being lucky.

Also, be careful what you wish for…who’s to say you’d be successful in this skill game for rewards you allude to? Hundreds of thousands of people play this game. Just saying

Awesome post Chopps! But you know the haters are going to be coming, right? LOL I’m not one of them. I am glad to have someone like you with common sense post this.

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Hjorje.9453

Hjorje.9453

RNG rewards random people. In this case everyone has a chance, regardless of how much time they can spend on playing, how good he is at playing etc.

And with regards to RNG reward systems, the skilled player gets more chances to receive something because he plays more efficiently and spends less time recovering from defeat, running back from waypoints and so on. The person with more time to play also receives more chances because he puts more hours into the game. The person with money to spare is still given a chance because he can buy items from the cash shop which are convenient or offer a chance at rewards like the rich dragon coffers.

This is actually the fairest system because it doesn’t favor those with more money, or those who spend 12 hrs a day playing the game, or those who use special equipment or train their reflexes to be better than others. Everyone has an equal chance to gain something in their own way.

The bolded part of this post is something I want to talk about. This is the first real good explanation that I have read that makes since. I myself enjoy the RNG, cause when I get something it feels better. But I don’t go spend money to attempt to get it. But the way it is explained in the above post makes sense. The current system does allow multiple groups to have a fair chance to get an item.

Hjorje
______________________________________
Lead, Follow, or get the hell out of my way.

(edited by Hjorje.9453)

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Devata.6589

Devata.6589

“Farming rewards time spent (something which doesn’t really deserve a reward)” That should not be rewarded? Isn’t the whole world based on rewards for time spend.

Normally rewards are based on time and / or skill. And I am not just talking about people and work (education (skill) and time) but the whole word. A tiger is hungry so he spends time hunting a deer. If he is skilled it will take him less time or he can catch more in the same time but still he gets rewarded for time and skills.

organisms grow and evolve. The best one (lets call that skill) survive but it all takes time. Luck is also always involved but time and skill are much more important.

(edited by Devata.6589)

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TooBz.3065

TooBz.3065

While the time spent memorizing a dungeon and boss tells should be rewarded I assume?

What I mean is, there isn’t enough actual “challenge” in the game to justify the skill elitism that I see here. At least not in PvE.

Most of it is just rote memorization.

Anything I post is just the opinion of a very vocal minority of 1.

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: tigirius.9014

tigirius.9014

At the same time, the great majority of the community (and thus the great majority of the complainers) are grinders, farmers and so on.

And guess what? Farming rewards time spent (something which doesn’t really deserve a reward)

You obviously don’t know a legit farmer so let me explain how wrong this statement is.

Farmers don’t usually farm for loot unless the fail RNG design is in the game. The RNG system was the oldest system of getting loot it started with the very first 2d games and it’s obsolete. If there were a way of getting better rewards or the rewards we need without farming for hours we would easily. Several problems with their current system insists on the grind like legendaries, rune and sigil production, as well as the single currency system for almost everything essential in the game. (runes/sigils/T6 mats for temporary consumables) If there were another way of ensuring that playing the game normally would provide these essentials we’d be doing them.

That’s why I’m hoping they take our advice and open up many an item in the karma vendors even if they were in the temples and salvages so that people can get what they need for the other currency in the game which would break the stranglehold these Economy Manipulators have on the TP and allow players to do the things that Anet wants us to do instead of farming to get the things we need.

It would also partially solve the CoF P1 problem because gold wouldn’t be as essential for it all as it is now, if they’d change the way we get precursors thru the means they already want us to be using.

So I like to farm, but not for the reasons you assume, keep that in mind please before you try to lump everyone into the same category. and finally, killing mobs does deserve rewards, that’s the whole problem with this title right now is there’s not enough ways to get rewarded for our time. Most people right now login to do the daily and logout.

They say they are working on it and I hope for the best because DR doesn’t really help the players.

Balance Team: Please Fix Mine Toolbelt Positioning!

(edited by tigirius.9014)

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: AlietteFaye.7316

AlietteFaye.7316

While the time spent memorizing a dungeon and boss tells should be rewarded I assume?

What I mean is, there isn’t enough actual “challenge” in the game to justify the skill elitism that I see here. At least not in PvE.

Most of it is just rote memorization.

PvE isn’t even about memorization. A huge majority of the bosses don’t have important mechanics and you can actually ignore a lot of them anyway. There isn’t challenge in the bosses because they didn’t design them very well. There is nothing that is threatening on any of the bosses (save for Lupicus) and it shows.

twitch.tv/aliettefaye

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Xhyros.1340

Xhyros.1340

The RNG that matters is combat RNG. Weakness, critical hits, special oncrit procs, and damage range are all combat mechanics that are determined by RNG. GW2 doesn’t have silly 1-1000 damage range attacks, so the outcome of a battle is determined more by player skill than RNG luck. If you have enough skill, luck via RNG isn’t going to play a huge role in determining if you win or lose. Your reward for being skilled is victory.

The other RNG doesn’t affect core gameplay mechanics. It’s all about currency, most of which is for obtaining non-gameplay affecting sexy skins.

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: AntiGw.9367

AntiGw.9367

“Farming rewards time spent (something which doesn’t really deserve a reward)” That should not be rewarded? Isn’t the whole world based on rewards for time spend.

Normally rewards are based on time and / or skill. And I am not just talking about people and work (education (skill) and time) but the whole word. A tiger is hungry so he spends time hunting a deer. If he is skilled it will take him less time or he can catch more in the same time but still he gets rewarded for time and skills.

Organizes grow and evolve. The best one (lets call that skill) survive but it all takes time. Luck is also always involved but time and skill are much more important.

Time usefully spent should be rewarded.

You should not be rewarded for killing boars until your eyes pop out.

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: tolunart.2095

tolunart.2095

The bolded part of this post is something I want to talk about. This is the first real good explanation that I have read that makes since. I myself enjoy the RNG, cause when I get something it feels better. But I don’t go spend money to attempt to get it. But the way it is explained in the above post makes sense. The current system does allow multiple groups to have a fair chance to get an item.

I try to look at the big picture… there are common complaints in these kinds of games, such as the “pay to win” cash shop where those willing to spend more money on the game have a clear advantage in PvP and PvE players with deep pockets have access to XP boosts and equipment that gives them an advantage over other players.

Time-based rewards like PvP gear in Rift generate different complaints – the top levels of gear make a player almost impossible to kill by an opponent without that gear, regardless of the opponent’s skill. The only way to get the gear is to spend a long time in PvP getting beat up by players who already have it. Once you reach that gear level you can compete or just stomp the lesser-geared players until you get bored and move on. But skill is not rewarded, time spent playing the game is.

This game isn’t perfect, by any standard, but it is one of the most fair games in the genre. If you spend a lot of time playing you can convert gold to gems and keep up with those who have deep credit cards. PvP players start out pretty much even with those who have been playing a long time, so skill and tactics matters more than gear. And in PvE the best gear is in reach of any player, not just those who schedule their lives around raid nights.

I think the complaints are mostly just coming from people who are used to having a clear advantage in other MMOs because of their chosen play style. Such as the problem with DR – you can wander through a zone all day long and do a variety of activities and never hit DR, or you can stand on a hill killing ettins for an hour and be punished for it. Some people don’t want to leave their comfort zone and think that if they complain about it loud and long enough, they won’t have to.

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Raine.1394

Raine.1394

Farming, under my definition, is an activity performed by every player who pursues goals in a game. Do you desire a legendary weapon? There is really no way to achieve this goal without farming the mats, gold, etc. I’m sure Vayne would prefer that we achieve game goals simply through playing the game, but farming, for me, is simply playing the game. It’s fun, satisfying, and in most games rewarding. I really don’t understand the angst and vitriol around farming. The question of whether one should be rewarded for farming, to me, is the same as the question of whether one should be rewarded for playing the game. And, the answer is yes.

On RNG, I have no problem with it as a concept or element within a loot system. It has been an element in every MMO or RPG-like game I’ve played. The key to success here is how the loot system is tuned. A loot system is generally a rules-based system that uses RNG to spread an expected level of reward across a player base. I’ve played games where I felt rewarded for play and I’ve played games that were an absolute loot wasteland. From recent statements, I’d say Anet is aware that they need to work on reward. As far as the RNG boxes go, I don’t like them at all and I don’t buy them (or keys). I would like to see other ways (like playing the game) where desirable skins etc. could be acquired.

(edited by Raine.1394)

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: jheryn.8390

jheryn.8390

I try to look at the big picture…

OMG! Not one of you people. LOL. Level headed people? I don’t know if the forums can handle that!

This game isn’t perfect, by any standard, but it is one of the most fair games in the genre.

There isn’t a game out there that will ever be perfect. But I agree this game is very fair.

I think the complaints are mostly just coming from people who are used to having a clear advantage in other MMOs because of their chosen play style. Such as the problem with DR – you can wander through a zone all day long and do a variety of activities and never hit DR, or you can stand on a hill killing ettins for an hour and be punished for it. Some people don’t want to leave their comfort zone and think that if they complain about it loud and long enough, they won’t have to.

Ladies and Gentlemen there it is in a nutshell. A big, big +1 to you tolunart. And what these people complaining on the threads about RNG do not understand is that they are but a very small fraction of the player out there. ANet knows this. It isn’t as if ANet doesn’t care about their complaints, they just are not going to change their business structure for those unhappy that they can not get things the way they think they should be able to. I’m glad people like you and Hjorje are out there. Level headed and who exercise common sense.

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Jemmi.6058

Jemmi.6058

So time spent playing a game shouldn’t be rewarded according to you. What should we be rewarded for doing? Not playing the game?

You say these things but you don’t offer any solutions to those things that you say shouldn’t offer a reward.

And I hate RNG as much as the next guy, but it has it’s place. The bad part is that in GW2 it RNG has wormed it’s way into pretty much every aspect of the game in every kind of bad way.

Everyone knows that there are two things in this world that can’t and shouldn’t buy you what you want, and that is Time and Money.

Wait, what?

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Astralporing.1957

Astralporing.1957

You should not be rewarded for killing boars until your eyes pop out.

Or rather: you shouldn’t be rewarded less for doing anything except mindless farming.

It’s not that farming is rewarded in this game – rather, everything else is penalized.

Actions, not words.
Remember, remember, 15th of November

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Mourningcry.9428

Mourningcry.9428

I just wish odds for getting a Jade ticket were as good as refreshing this sub-forum and seeing a new RNG rant saying the same old things.

(edited by Mourningcry.9428)

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Parlourbeatflex.5970

Parlourbeatflex.5970

…Is how much of it is made by people who want to keep something as bad as RNG in place.

The worst RNG in the game is the one that rewards luck (something which doesn’t really deserve a reward) and has been set in place so people keep buying RNG boxes in order to try to find items. It’s a mediocre design, based on the idea that players are foolish enough to waste their money on RNG boxes.

At the same time, the great majority of the community (and thus the great majority of the complainers) are grinders, farmers and so on.

And guess what? Farming rewards time spent (something which doesn’t really deserve a reward) and has been set in place so people keep grinding in order to try to find better items. It’s a mediocre design, based on the idea that players are foolish enough to waste their time on grind.

I wonder if we will soon have players addicted to RNG, just like we have players addicted to farming, claiming it’s a good thing. One design is as bad as the other, and both have been set in place to milk money from players, not to make good games.

As much as i hate that unique temporary skins are hidden behind chests, RNG is vastly important in some ways.
Dont even think about a player driven economy without it. Dont expect to be entertained for 1000+ hours without it either. RNG in some format has been a staple for Rpgs since their creation… It all goes back to D+Ds and players rolling dice – Luck is what keeps stale content fresh, because the outcome is never certain.

Yes I would love to see actual skins on the gem store rather than a RNG chest system, however you cannot expect MMOs to drop RNG completely. If thats what your suggesting you really have no idea on the actual mechanics behind a MMORPG.

(edited by Parlourbeatflex.5970)

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: tolunart.2095

tolunart.2095

I just wish odds for getting a Jade ticket were as good as refreshing this sub-forum and seeing a new RNG rant saying the same old things.

But… you’d run out of bank space…

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: tolunart.2095

tolunart.2095

I try to look at the big picture…

OMG! Not one of you people. LOL. Level headed people? I don’t know if the forums can handle that!

:D

I’m a thorn in the paw of this forum, among others…

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Mourningcry.9428

Mourningcry.9428

I just wish odds for getting a Jade ticket were as good as refreshing this sub-forum and seeing a new RNG rant saying the same old things.

But… you’d run out of bank space…

Don’t even get me started on the bank space rants….

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: OmniPotentes.4817

OmniPotentes.4817

RNG in GW2 is bad. No arguing about that. Chance percentages are way to low. What really bothers me is that playing the trading post is by far the most rewarding activity to make money. They were better off naming this game Wall Street Wars 2; Market Manipulator Wars 2; Speculator Wars 2; Bug Exploiter Wars 2; Gambling Wars 2; or my favorite We Allready Have Your Money So We Dont Give A kitten Wars 2. I’m typing this on my I-pad while laying on the couch and watching a movie. I’m much to tired to loggin after a week of hard work. It’s time for me to relax and unfortunately the game has started to feel like job.

(edited by OmniPotentes.4817)

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sabelle.2159

Sabelle.2159

This thread again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And Again.

RNG is something inherent in nearly every single MMO. The regular coffers aren’t even that bad. You can buy most of them for chump change. I don’t understand the fixation.

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: jheryn.8390

jheryn.8390

RNG in GW2 is bad. No arguing about that.

Really? There has been plenty of argument about that. Have you read the rest of this thread?

The irony in the criticism against RNG...

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: jheryn.8390

jheryn.8390

I try to look at the big picture…

OMG! Not one of you people. LOL. Level headed people? I don’t know if the forums can handle that!

:D

I’m a thorn in the paw of this forum, among others…

Yes. And I like that. Me too.