Guild Wars 2

Reposting this video in protest to ascended armor. I would have thought Anet would have learned from all the other failed MMO’s on the market, players don’t take kindly to the breaking of promises, and outright lying.

Aaron.4807:

I do not intend to be dramatic with this post but it will certainly come off as dramatic.

If this is indeed an implementation of a kitten gear treadmill…

The day when my current exotic gear is not competitive is the day I am done with GW2. I got value out of it, but Anet will not get anymore of my money.

ofcourse you’ll still be competitive. You might not have “the best” gear though.

Leiloni.7951:

Khalisto.2615:

ANET has not broken their promise, since the early days of BETA we have had armor/weapon progression in the game.

Don’t you remember leveling up and getting a “white” colored item and then doing a Heart quest and getting a “Green” item? from there you went to Yellow and then orange for exotic. GW2 already had armor/weapon progression guys! Ascended will be the next tier of progression.

What GW2 means when they talk about no traditional armor/weapon progression is that you can obtain the same item stats whether you craft, quest, purchase in the trading post or run dungeons… they will all be equal in power. Even the LEGENDARY are equal in stats as the exotic, just a cooler skin to sport.

Ascended will be the next logical tier in stats but I am sure there will be many ways to acquire this. Personally I hope they stick with Dungeon Hunting.

ANet stated that once you hit 80 you would easily be able to obtain a set of max stat gear (Exotics). This is the “plateau” they talked so much about. They said once you reached this gear plateau and had exotic max stat gear, you could grind for prettier/better looking gear, but no gear with higher stats would be released. So they actually promised no stat progression/gear treadmill/power creep after you hit the exotic set. This Ascended gear goes against that promise.

Citation needed.

7 Years in GW1, 3 months in GW2 and never was this dissapointed.

Wow, I finally am so close to finishing off my armor set that I was about to buy some gems and get some fluff items. Now I am reading there might be a gear treadmill?

I’m not going to start ranting until more information is released, but I will say I’m holding onto my cash in the meantime just in case. If I felt like it would be in my best interest to farm another set of gear to stay on an even playing-field in WvW, then that would be the Death Knell for me….too many other great games coming out at the end of this month to put up with that kind of nonsense.

bcbully.7289:

Aaron.4807:

I do not intend to be dramatic with this post but it will certainly come off as dramatic.

If this is indeed an implementation of a kitten gear treadmill…

The day when my current exotic gear is not competitive is the day I am done with GW2. I got value out of it, but Anet will not get anymore of my money.

ofcourse you’ll still be competitive. You might not have “the best” gear though.

i meant in the context of a protracted gear treadmill system, which by anets comments they seem to be implementing. I will not be participating in anything like that. Down the road, when everyone out gears me and the game is no fun because my max exotics don’t cut it. I am certainly done. I imagine a lot of people will be.

Jestunhi.7429:

HTXL.2598:

Jestunhi, surely you jest.

You remember the time first time you ever raided? I do. It was in Rift, a great game btw, despite the opinions here.

Though entertained with GW2, I have yet to feel that same intensity once during my leveling experience.

So by not fulfilling their promise, you actually meant “did not design the game exactly as I personally want it” rather than them making a promise and not keeping it?

I asked you a real question, was hoping you’d answer cordially. Have you, in all honesty, felt the same intensity, at any time, during your leveling experience, as you have when you first raided in any end-game experience.

Draknar.8604:

Wow, I finally am so close to finishing off my armor set that I was about to buy some gems and get some fluff items. Now I am reading there might be a gear treadmill?

I’m not going to start ranting until more information is released, but I will say I’m holding onto my cash in the meantime just in case. If I felt like it would be in my best interest to farm another set of gear to stay on an even playing-field in WvW, then that would be the Death Knell for me….too many other great games coming out at the end of this month to put up with that kind of nonsense.

Good thing you caught this update, you can save your gems for the Ascended gear. That’s what I’m doing.

GonzoNeo.4965:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Vv0tx9GbRE

7 Years in GW1, 3 months in GW2 and never was this dissapointed.

I really wished what they said was true cause I spend a lot to time pushing #1 doing plinx and having enemies respond 10min! that is a luxury here 5 sec they respawn.
Dang those were the hype days.

Is the community overreacting?
Yes

Should the developers be more transparent and communicative?
Yes

Do we need tier 3 gear 2 months after release?
No

“Whelp, anet lied. Time to quit. GG guys, later.” don’t help anyone.

I agree. That’s why I, for example, just said my opinion on it, and also pointed out that my opinion was only for the – hopefully wrong – case of the worst worries being true.

I sure am not quitting now, in fact, I was just finishing my last jumping puzzle. I only will if the game continues into a way I don’t like.

Which makes sense. I mean, at the end of the day, it’s a game, and people shouldn’t play things they don’t like for whatever reason.

Could you imagine if your job was to read all these posts? lol I couldn’t imagine coming in the next day. How cheery must that person be?? Do you think their insurance covers trauma from the mental abuse of reading all of this? Somebody should create a little cartoon of whats going on at Arenanet.

Manager (AKA El kitten): Well Bob, whats the feedback from that them there customers?
Bob (AKA Poor Employee in Charge of Forums): Well……. we’ve got 25 pages of hate filled rants based on management’s decisions.
Manager (AKA El kitten): Oh come on Bob, its not that bad. What is it they’re complaining about?
Bob (AKA Poor Employee in Charge of Forums): Well……… basically we’ve buggered them and they don’t believe it was consensual.

Not going to read 25 pages so if this is a rehash oh well.
I seem to recall Anet saying something along the lines of legendary comparable armors coming out sometime after release. Exotic is not the top tier for weapons, legendary is. So releasing this new armor is nothing more then them doing exactly what they planned in the first place. A tier above Exotic and on par with Legendary is not cause for freaking out.

HTXL.2598:

Jestunhi.7429:

HTXL.2598:

Jestunhi, surely you jest.

You remember the time first time you ever raided? I do. It was in Rift, a great game btw, despite the opinions here.

Though entertained with GW2, I have yet to feel that same intensity once during my leveling experience.

So by not fulfilling their promise, you actually meant “did not design the game exactly as I personally want it” rather than them making a promise and not keeping it?

I asked you a real question, was hoping you’d answer cordially. Have you, in all honesty, felt the same intensity, at any time, during your leveling experience, as you have when you first raided in any end-game experience.

I have little interest in raids.

If I did, I’d be in a raiding-heavy game.

I bought GW2 because I don’t want that. It lets me progress to the max level and tier of gear by whichever playstyle I choose rather than being forced to repeatedly grind raids to get geared up.

Thayel.1236:

Not going to read 25 pages so if this is a rehash oh well.
I seem to recall Anet saying something along the lines of legendary comparable armors coming out sometime after release. Exotic is not the top tier for weapons, legendary is. So releasing this new armor is nothing more then them doing exactly what they planned in the first place. A tier above Exotic and on par with Legendary is not cause for freaking out.

Exotic and legendary weapons are exactly the same stat and damage wise. Only difference is the skin and ’’legendary’’ icon

Leiloni.7951:

Deth.4109:

“Introducing Ascended items, artifacts of great power that can be improved by a special new type of upgrade called Infusions, which can be found in dungeons. Look for more information about Ascended gear soon”! NOTHING here explicitly states these items are better in way than exotics, if any thing they could be the same stats with different methods of customization<be it cosmetic or Effect(not statisical). To be honest this thread has killed my faith in the GW2 community, i feel as if every last raging person in this thread needs to quit gaming and get therapy and stopi acting like a kittening idiot.

Multiple fan sites do in fact state that they are statistically better:

http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/11/12/guild-wars-2s-lost-shores-content-primer/
“slightly more powerful than exotics”

http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/473/feature/6882/A-Peek-into-the-November-Update.html/page/1
“a bit more powerful than exotic quality”

http://www.buffed.de/Guild-Wars-2-PC-169660/News/Guild-wars-2-November-Update-mit-Item-Progression-1034934/
Translation provided by DirtyKlingon on page 1 of this thread:
“This is a departure from the principle, that an improvement of items should not be in the game rather the exotics (and the more beautiful but equal legendaries) should be the end of the value-flagpole. Arenanet reasoned this change of course with the feedback from fans and players. The appreciation of equip is a big motivation for many”

Clearly all of those fansites have been given the exact same preview because they all formatted their articles in the exact same way. Also it’s pretty clear there is a stat increase, as evident by those sites as well as the lack of a denial in this thread – the only thing ANet posted in this thread was a “we’re posting a blog update soon” and that’s it.

Adding more gear to the game that requires more and more grinding endlessly for better stats will be a game killer.

This game attracted the players that did not want that kind of mechanic and players that did want it have already left. I myself am a pvper at heart along with a large group of gw2 players. I have found pve fun and interesting in gw2 and have been looking forward to new challenges in new dungeons in the form of content. I already must farm 2-4 sets of gear for different specs in wvw and I am just finishing my 3rd set.

Now they are going to add another tier that forces me to grind another set of gear if I want the best stats in the game? If so I may come back to the game a year or so from now if the pvp takes off at some point. But my daily logins doing wvw, daily achievements, and dungeons will end.

Say you lost 40% of a possible market by getting rid of a progressive gear grind. But gained more loyalty in 60% of the market that either loves the idea of no gear grind or doesn’t care. By changing your manifesto and trying to earn the players of the 40% market you are going to lose the players you already have, AND there is no guarantee the progressive gear grind players will come back to your game and benefit you more then you lose.

Jestunhi.7429:

HTXL.2598:

Jestunhi.7429:

HTXL.2598:

Jestunhi, surely you jest.

You remember the time first time you ever raided? I do. It was in Rift, a great game btw, despite the opinions here.

Though entertained with GW2, I have yet to feel that same intensity once during my leveling experience.

So by not fulfilling their promise, you actually meant “did not design the game exactly as I personally want it” rather than them making a promise and not keeping it?

I asked you a real question, was hoping you’d answer cordially. Have you, in all honesty, felt the same intensity, at any time, during your leveling experience, as you have when you first raided in any end-game experience.

I have little interest in raids.

If I did, I’d be in a raiding-heavy game.

I bought GW2 because I don’t want that. It lets me progress to the max level and tier of gear by whichever playstyle I choose rather than being forced to repeatedly grind raids to get geared up.

Then you don’t know what they promised.

It sounds like people don’t want to play an MMO.

MMOs need to have ways to continually advance your characters, that’s what sets them apart from other online pvp games or single player RPGs with online co-ops.

GW1 was not an MMO, GW2 should not be like GW1.

Zefiris.8297:

“Whelp, anet lied. Time to quit. GG guys, later.” don’t help anyone.

I agree. That’s why I, for example, just said my opinion on it, and also pointed out that my opinion was only for the – hopefully wrong – case of the worst worries being true.

I sure am not quitting now, in fact, I was just finishing my last jumping puzzle. I only will if the game continues into a way I don’t like.

Which makes sense. I mean, at the end of the day, it’s a game, and people shouldn’t play things they don’t like for whatever reason.

And that I’m ok with. Sadly, not everyone is as level headed as you and takes to the more dramatic overreaction type posts. I would also not like a gear treadmill to be introduced. I also don’t think Arenanet suddenly became stupid over night and decided to implement one.

Thayel.1236:

Not going to read 25 pages so if this is a rehash oh well.
I seem to recall Anet saying something along the lines of legendary comparable armors coming out sometime after release. Exotic is not the top tier for weapons, legendary is. So releasing this new armor is nothing more then them doing exactly what they planned in the first place. A tier above Exotic and on par with Legendary is not cause for freaking out.

Except that legendary weapon stats are not better than exotic stats while these stats will be better than exotic armor stats. So, you are giving us a false equivalency.

Thayel.1236:

Not going to read 25 pages so if this is a rehash oh well.
I seem to recall Anet saying something along the lines of legendary comparable armors coming out sometime after release. Exotic is not the top tier for weapons, legendary is. So releasing this new armor is nothing more then them doing exactly what they planned in the first place. A tier above Exotic and on par with Legendary is not cause for freaking out.

Again……. Exotic and Legendary Weapons, have exact the SAME stats, there are not more powerful, only change the skin.

This not, there is the difference.

Should we not reserve judgement until they actually release this new content? If it’s a matter of a couple extra power or vitality it matters not in terns of being able to contribute equally in groups. Lets see what happens, you never know you might actually like it

Kirby.4951:

Leiloni.7951:

Deth.4109:

“Introducing Ascended items, artifacts of great power that can be improved by a special new type of upgrade called Infusions, which can be found in dungeons. Look for more information about Ascended gear soon”! NOTHING here explicitly states these items are better in way than exotics, if any thing they could be the same stats with different methods of customization<be it cosmetic or Effect(not statisical). To be honest this thread has killed my faith in the GW2 community, i feel as if every last raging person in this thread needs to quit gaming and get therapy and stopi acting like a kittening idiot.

Multiple fan sites do in fact state that they are statistically better:

http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/11/12/guild-wars-2s-lost-shores-content-primer/
“slightly more powerful than exotics”

http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/473/feature/6882/A-Peek-into-the-November-Update.html/page/1
“a bit more powerful than exotic quality”

http://www.buffed.de/Guild-Wars-2-PC-169660/News/Guild-wars-2-November-Update-mit-Item-Progression-1034934/
Translation provided by DirtyKlingon on page 1 of this thread:
“This is a departure from the principle, that an improvement of items should not be in the game rather the exotics (and the more beautiful but equal legendaries) should be the end of the value-flagpole. Arenanet reasoned this change of course with the feedback from fans and players. The appreciation of equip is a big motivation for many”

Clearly all of those fansites have been given the exact same preview because they all formatted their articles in the exact same way. Also it’s pretty clear there is a stat increase, as evident by those sites as well as the lack of a denial in this thread – the only thing ANet posted in this thread was a “we’re posting a blog update soon” and that’s it.

Adding more gear to the game that requires more and more grinding endlessly for better stats will be a game killer.

This game attracted the players that did not want that kind of mechanic and players that did want it have already left. I myself am a pvper at heart along with a large group of gw2 players. I have found pve fun and interesting in gw2 and have been looking forward to new challenges in new dungeons in the form of content. I already must farm 2-4 sets of gear for different specs in wvw and I am just finishing my 3rd set.

Now they are going to add another tier that forces me to grind another set of gear if I want the best stats in the game? If so I may come back to the game a year or so from now if the pvp takes off at some point. But my daily logins doing wvw, daily achievements, and dungeons will end.

Say you lost 40% of a possible market by getting rid of a progressive gear grind. But gained more loyalty in 60% of the market that either loves the idea of no gear grind or doesn’t care. By changing your manifesto and trying to earn the players of the 40% market you are going to lose the players you already have, AND there is no guarantee the progressive gear grind players will come back to your game and benefit you more then you lose.

Doesnt matter how big % it is .. Players who play Guild Wars because it has horizontal progression they are loyal and they dont quit GW in few weeks, months.

But players which wants vertical progression quit every mmorpg released after few weeks, months as we can see for the past few years. So catering to these players would be the dumbest thing to do …

Guild Wars always had its playerbase, players who loves horizontal progression. For many many years … Dont know why would they screw them over like this.

Hope this is all just speculation and Areanet explains it all

HTXL.2598:

Then you don’t know what they promised.

Then, again, I request you provide a link if you claim that they have broken their promise.

But if you think that my lack of interest in raids means that I am somehow unable to read any part of the interview / advertising relating to raiding then you are mistaken.

The fact that I came here specifically because it wasn’t required to progress kind of says I looked into it, wouldn’t you say?

The fact is they sold us (for YEARS) that GW2 would not have a gear treadmill, and now they’re adding a gear treadmill. It’s not hard to understand why people are mad.

Those trying to argue random minutiae are being intentionally disingenuous just to argue.

Well, since we don’t know much about this new item tier I’m writing my concerns for the hypothetical cause that there is an item progession. (Only for the people asking to relax)

The point many seem to miss is that the issue about those new items is not that they are a bit stronger than the current stuff. As people said before we got a slight progression before, BUT this was supposed to be the end of gear progression (at least stat-wise). So no matter how much someone played this was supposed to be the maximum.

If A-Net bends to those people who go for “slight” progression only 2 and a half Months after release we got to ask what comes next and when? Will people get bored at christmass or will it be in february that we get the next item tier? And for what do we need it? Oh wait the current content is fine but it becomes boring eventually after having obtained those shiney ascended gear so content needs to become harder and items higher and higher and higher…

Eventually A-net will leave people behind who cant play 24/7 but who cares abouts those noobs? Right noone will. And this is my concern. Please note I’m willing to be patient and wait for a statement but these are my worries.

aaron.7850:

Is the community overreacting?
Yes

Should the developers be more transparent and communicative?
Yes

Do we need tier 3 gear 2 months after release?
No

i dont know if ppl are overreacting, i have followed the project for about 4 years before the release, and one statement was:
no gear progression.

now, im not angry for this, but i have some question that NEED a clear answer.
I left wow to follow that 4 years of magnific blogs, that simply are not represented in the actual game, and instead of keeping that promise, we are going in the “big no” zone. So, ok some PPL are exagerating, but i understand clearly that concern .

LeoXearo.3641:

It sounds like people don’t want to play an MMO.

MMOs need to have ways to continually advance your characters, that’s what sets them apart from other online pvp games or single player RPGs with online co-ops.

GW1 was not an MMO, GW2 should not be like GW1.

By what definition?

You believe MMO’s require endless progression & stat increases? Please find me 3 sources which agree with that definition (so you can’t just find one site with an extreme definition).

GonzoNeo.4965:

Thayel.1236:

Not going to read 25 pages so if this is a rehash oh well.
I seem to recall Anet saying something along the lines of legendary comparable armors coming out sometime after release. Exotic is not the top tier for weapons, legendary is. So releasing this new armor is nothing more then them doing exactly what they planned in the first place. A tier above Exotic and on par with Legendary is not cause for freaking out.

Again……. Exotic and Legendary Weapons, have exact the SAME stats, there are not more powerful, only change the skin.

This not, there is the difference.

I see, so Anet changed it from Twilight to Twilight

Maybe the first one will be an upgraded Ascended version…

I’m all for more skins and more options for character customization.

However I share the concerns of many in this thread [though there are so many pages now I have not ready every post]. Guild Wars was always appealing for finding ways to entice us players with each new chapter and the expansion and the content updates without any changes in what was "max" armor and weapons.

While I do have two level 80 characters now, I have played pretty casually and have not been in a rush to get one character maxed out. I am still in the very early stages of deciding what armor skins I think I want and how I will go about getting them -- dungeons runs, PvP, dynamic event zerging -- on these characters. But I guess now I have to make sure I get this other gear as well? This has me worrying that there will always be that "new" level of gear now as content is added to the world (and a continual need for me to get the higher-level transmutation stones if I want to to keep using a skin), and not having that was one thing that always was appealing about the Guild Wars style of play.

I liked that in Guild Wars a player could get a max-level set of armor, even if it wasn’t the skin or one he or she wanted (e.g. getting one of the basic max level sets in Droknar’s or K-City and the docks in Kamadan), and be fully functional in the game. Then you were free to explore the story, complete missions, quest in the instanced zones, run dungeons, etc. as you wanted without fear that you were not bringing to bear as much as the other players. It left me free to play with my friends and guild, helping out when we ran high-end missions and dungeons or just helped get people through a chapter or to a prestige armor vendor. And along the way, I was rewarded with cool drops and mats and money and could similarly customize my character. I knew that through play I would get the prestige armors I wanted, the cool weapon skins I was after. And I did. More than once on some characters when new armor and weapon skins were introduced! But getting them didn’t make the character suddenly better. The gear "treadmill" was in chasing cool looks, not chasing after a maximum that keeps getting pushed further away with new content.

I am not claiming that cannot be entertaining or that going after the new hotness of gear in a game doesn’t keep people involved -- I know it does! I’ve played other MMOs. But I liked that in GW it was a visual goal and not an always-updating functional goal. I felt that was one of the set of characteristics that made Guild Wars unique and enjoyable.

And I was keen on GW2 being the same. I was happy to have two characters at 80 now, with another close, knowing that I could get into the "let’s look awesome" phase of the game while also knowing I don’t have to change my gear.

Sure, we don’t know how the gear differs, and arguably for most people the new gear may not be necessary. But everything sounds like it points to a stat increase as well as an upgrade slot uniqueness, and these are indications, to me, that GW2 is not following GW1. And I am worried.

Since I cannot see any info on the stats of the gear yet, I can’t know if I am justified in that worry. Still, making something more desirable than everything else at 80 that is essentially equal suggests that will keep happening. And then I start to worry about level cap increases with new chapters instead of the previous method.

Seems like people rather play top model online to see who looks the prettiest in their armor XD

Masterwork/Rare/Exotic is not a treadmill. Upon reaching 80, you can directly go for exotic and be done with. Well, you could until now, apparently.

this blog post needs to hurry up lol

Jestunhi.7429:

HTXL.2598:

Then you don’t know what they promised.

Then, again, I request you provide a link if you claim that they have broken their promise.

But if you think that my lack of interest in raids means that I am somehow unable to read any part of the interview / advertising relating to raiding then you are mistaken.

The fact that I came here specifically because it wasn’t required to progress kind of says I looked into it, wouldn’t you say?

Yea, look, I’ll wrap my posts up here.

Don’t leave the game because w/e happens I assure you, this game is catered for the casual mindset, which is good. They need to retain players as well tho, spice up things just a tiny a bit to cater to everyone.

In response to the end-game comment:

When we looked at the concept of “endgame” for Guild Wars 2, we designed it the same way. We didn’t want the endgame to be something you could only experience after a hundred hours of gameplay or after you reached some arbitrary number. We wanted it to be something that players got to experience every step along the way, spread out across the entire world of Tyria, so we’ve introduced game elements that you’d normally associate with “endgame” at every level and every possible opportunity.

LeoXearo.3641:

It sounds like people don’t want to play an MMO.

MMOs need to have ways to continually advance your characters, that’s what sets them apart from other online pvp games or single player RPGs with online co-ops.

GW1 was not an MMO, GW2 should not be like GW1.

advance your character can mean a lot of things !
From visual appearance to more skills, traits etc.

It doesnt mean only gear stat progression !

and GW 1 is not mmo? So it is adventure, or FPS game?
If Guild wars 1 is not mmorpg, then world of warcraft is single player game aimed for 6-8 years old kids.

really .. think first before you post someting.

this is not good, it should be purely cosmetic. Allow the new armour to have some kind of special effect but not better stats.

I left WoW where the grind for gear was horrible, please don’t tell me its going to happen again.

You can also guarantee this dungeon will increase the trend of LFM Guardian/Warrior

HTXL.2598:

Jestunhi.7429:

HTXL.2598:

Then you don’t know what they promised.

Then, again, I request you provide a link if you claim that they have broken their promise.

But if you think that my lack of interest in raids means that I am somehow unable to read any part of the interview / advertising relating to raiding then you are mistaken.

The fact that I came here specifically because it wasn’t required to progress kind of says I looked into it, wouldn’t you say?

Yea, look, I’ll wrap my posts up here.

Don’t leave the game because w/e happens I assure you, this game is catered for the casual mindset, which is good. They need to retain players as well tho, spice up things just a tiny a bit to cater to everyone.

In response to the end-game comment:

When we looked at the concept of “endgame” for Guild Wars 2, we designed it the same way. We didn’t want the endgame to be something you could only experience after a hundred hours of gameplay or after you reached some arbitrary number. We wanted it to be something that players got to experience every step along the way, spread out across the entire world of Tyria, so we’ve introduced game elements that you’d normally associate with “endgame” at every level and every possible opportunity.

Uh… so thanks for posting a quote that proves what we’ve been saying and goes against what you keep saying about raids? Lol.

I haven’t seen so many people scared about a treadmill since I last saw The Biggest Loser

They say the stats will be SLIGHTLY better and everyone is freaking out? What? We haven’t even seen what the stats on this stuff is yet. Also no old content is being made obsolete by this. It sounds like the gear is just a reward so people who enjoy the dungeon can do it more efficiently as it progresses in difficulty, which I think is a good idea. We shall have to wait and see though I suppose.

Marrgon.6852:

Should we not reserve judgement until they actually release this new content? If it’s a matter of a couple extra power or vitality it matters not in terns of being able to contribute equally in groups. Lets see what happens, you never know you might actually like it

Never! It does not make any difference if the stats are just slightly more powerfull.
Once you have started to go that route there will never be a feeling like before. It would be indeed a broken “promise” a difference to other games which attracted me because of that (I was a hardcore raider and pvpler in WoW for years).
We would never be save that they would not do it again.
I feel sad about it because I do believe designers should stick to their vision. I never bought biowares “we do what people want most”. Bullkitten!
Anet did the right thing. Promote a vision and stay true to it. That way your customers do know what to expect and those who do know (and do not want you to change the game they want it which is most of the time different to the next one) and play it will stay loyal to your game.

Changing that? Well, I feel sad about it.

synk.6907:

I’m all for more skins and more options for character customization.

However I share the concerns of many in this thread [though there are so many pages now I have not ready every post]. Guild Wars was always appealing for finding ways to entice us players with each new chapter and the expansion and the content updates without any changes in what was “max” armor and weapons.

While I do have two level 80 characters now, I have played pretty casually and have not been in a rush to get one character maxed out. I am still in the very early stages of deciding what armor skins I think I want and how I will go about getting them — dungeons runs, PvP, dynamic event zerging — on these characters. But I guess now I have to make sure I get this other gear as well? This has me worrying that there will always be that “new” level of gear now as content is added to the world (and a continual need for me to get the higher-level transmutation stones if I want to to keep using a skin), and not having that was one thing that always was appealing about the Guild Wars style of play.

I liked that in Guild Wars a player could get a max-level set of armor, even if it wasn’t the skin or one he or she wanted (e.g. getting one of the basic max level sets in Droknar’s or K-City and the docks in Kamadan), and be fully functional in the game. Then you were free to explore the story, complete missions, quest in the instanced zones, run dungeons, etc. as you wanted without fear that you were not bringing to bear as much as the other players. It left me free to play with my friends and guild, helping out when we ran high-end missions and dungeons or just helped get people through a chapter or to a prestige armor vendor. And along the way, I was rewarded with cool drops and mats and money and could similarly customize my character. I knew that through play I would get the prestige armors I wanted, the cool weapon skins I was after. And I did. More than once on some characters when new armor and weapon skins were introduced! But getting them didn’t make the character suddenly better. The gear “treadmill” was in chasing cool looks, not chasing after a maximum that keeps getting pushed further away with new content.

I am not claiming that cannot be entertaining or that going after the new hotness of gear in a game doesn’t keep people involved — I know it does! I’ve played other MMOs. But I liked that in GW it was a visual goal and not an always-updating functional goal. I felt that was one of the set of characteristics that made Guild Wars unique and enjoyable.

And I was keen on GW2 being the same. I was happy to have two characters at 80 now, with another close, knowing that I could get into the “let’s look awesome” phase of the game while also knowing I don’t have to change my gear.

Sure, we don’t know how the gear differs, and arguably for most people the new gear may not be necessary. But everything sounds like it points to a stat increase as well as an upgrade slot uniqueness, and these are indications, to me, that GW2 is not following GW1. And I am worried.

Since I cannot see any info on the stats of the gear yet, I can’t know if I am justified in that worry. Still, making something more desirable than everything else at 80 that is essentially equal suggests that will keep happening. And then I start to worry about level cap increases with new chapters instead of the previous method.

This is exactly the way I feel.

Am i the only one who likes these changes.

Zerah.2450:

I haven’t seen so many people scared about a treadmill since I last saw The Biggest Loser

No ones scared about a treadmill but when you pay for a reclining chair and a few months later it’s replaced with a treadmill there’s plenty of reason to be unhappy.

Leiloni.7951:

HTXL.2598:

Jestunhi.7429:

HTXL.2598:

Then you don’t know what they promised.

Then, again, I request you provide a link if you claim that they have broken their promise.

But if you think that my lack of interest in raids means that I am somehow unable to read any part of the interview / advertising relating to raiding then you are mistaken.

The fact that I came here specifically because it wasn’t required to progress kind of says I looked into it, wouldn’t you say?

Yea, look, I’ll wrap my posts up here.

Don’t leave the game because w/e happens I assure you, this game is catered for the casual mindset, which is good. They need to retain players as well tho, spice up things just a tiny a bit to cater to everyone.

In response to the end-game comment:

When we looked at the concept of “endgame” for Guild Wars 2, we designed it the same way. We didn’t want the endgame to be something you could only experience after a hundred hours of gameplay or after you reached some arbitrary number. We wanted it to be something that players got to experience every step along the way, spread out across the entire world of Tyria, so we’ve introduced game elements that you’d normally associate with “endgame” at every level and every possible opportunity.

Uh… so thanks for posting a quote that proves what we’ve been saying and goes against what you keep saying about raids? Lol.

Sigh, nevermind -_-

Clever.7918:

Am i the only one who likes these changes.

Considering they are the exact opposite of what ArenaNet used to sell 99% of us the game (no gear treadmill), yes.

LowfatEnvelope.5934:

They say the stats will be SLIGHTLY better and everyone is freaking out? What? We haven’t even seen what the stats on this stuff is yet. Also no old content is being made obsolete by this. It sounds like the gear is just a reward so people who enjoy the dungeon can do it more efficiently as it progresses in difficulty, which I think is a good idea. We shall have to wait and see though I suppose.

Once you’ve crossed the line, there’s no going back. It doesn’t matter if a fraction of a toe is across, once they’ve added gear with better stats than exotics, they have a)broken the promise that this game was created around, and b)they will keep going with more and better statted gear after that. We’ve all been around the block and we know how this goes. That line is a very distinct line and you’re either on one side of it or the other.

by the way, the famous blog post where they will explain “all” to calm the community is still missing ?

I’d be fine with legendary armor with cool effects. But I really don’t want to see a gear treadmill. I want to spend my time gaming, not grinding. And I don’t really see “well, you don’t HAVE to get ascended armor” as an acceptable response. If its numerically better, it is beneficial to get it.
Its not the same thing as legendary weapons, as legendaries are identical to exotics in stats. It is not the same thing as whites/blues/greens/yellows. The game has operated on the idea that yellows are the numerical max. If this ceiling is raised, then all of the effort people have put in for “max” armor is rendered useless. It is really easy to see this in the TP, as level 79 gear is nowhere near as valauble as lvl 80, despite the tiny difference in stats.

I’ll wait for Anet to actually say what this Ascended business is all about. Then we’ll see. It’ll be ok if they raise the stats once or twice. But we’re only two months into the game. People are freaking out because they fear this will lead to a treadmill.

Pawlegance.7012:

Kain Francois.4328:

souldonkey.9534:

From the linked article:

This sounds literally EXACTLY like “Hey guys, so the Mursaat have this thing called Spectral Agony, and yeah, it’ll kitten you up. Oh, also you can’t see them. You need to ascend so you can see them and infuse your armor so they don’t 2 shot you. Here, go talk to this dude. He’ll have you do some junk and things and you’ll be all set.”

Am I the only one that sees this or do people here honestly just get the jollies from complaining about stuff no one knows anything about yet?

Thank you for echoing what my other post said. This could very well be a good thing too due to the return of the Mursaat.

I quote from the recent article "Arenanet begründet diesen Kurswechsel mit dem Feedback der Fans und Spieler. Die Aufwertung der eigenen Ausrüstung sei für viele eine große Motivation. Weiterhin motivierend dürfte auch sein, dass die aufgestiegenen Waffen sogenannte Infusions-Slots bekommen. Dort baut man “Infusionen” genannte Upgrades ein, um die Waffe noch mächtiger zu machen."

Which says item progression is a big motivation for many players. Ascended weapons have infusion slots, which can be upgraded to make weapons even more powerful.

As someone who’s bilingual I think I can deliver some clarification on this issue. From the way the German article is worded it sounds to me very much that “ascended gear” is NOT a name of a new tier, but that they’re talking about improving the gear you already have. They clearly state that “players see great satisfaction in upgrading THEIR OWN gear. Furthermore, the upgraded weapons will recieve a slot to add infusions, which should be motivating as well. That’s where you add upgrades called infusions to make your weapons even more powerful.”

LowfatEnvelope.5934:

They say the stats will be SLIGHTLY better and everyone is freaking out? What? We haven’t even seen what the stats on this stuff is yet. Also no old content is being made obsolete by this. It sounds like the gear is just a reward so people who enjoy the dungeon can do it more efficiently as it progresses in difficulty, which I think is a good idea. We shall have to wait and see though I suppose.

“Introducing Ascended items, artifacts of great power that can be improved by a special new type of upgrade called Infusions, which can be found in dungeons. Look for more information about Ascended gear soon”! i see nothing here hat says Ascended>Exotic stop spreading mis information, all of this is pitifull.