Guild Wars 2

I got this game because I (like a lot of us GW1 players) like the idea of “max being max” and everything else being cosmetic. GW1 went on this way for 7 years, and there wasn’t a fit thrown over it. This was one of the selling points, one of the “key features”, of GW2 drilled into our heads by the devs before release.

Now, just over 2 months in, the weapons we’ve been working for that were supposed to be “max” forever are set to be replaced with better items. There were some nice skins I was looking to replace my current exotics’ style with…now I have no desire to get replace those common/basic exotics’ skins because I know it will be outdated/outclassed in an upcoming update.

This was supposedly done because “too may” players were getting Legendaries/etc, and now have “nothing to do”. I say this is -their- fault for rushing their way to what they knew was the end-point of progression. These players are not the majority (how many Legendaries have -you- seen in-game?) There are plenty of other games for these types of players, GW2 doesn’t need to become like every other MMO for them.

What happens after these players get their ascended gear (which they will again rush to get as soon as they can) and have “nothing to do” yet again? Anet says Ascended is the final tier of weapons, but they said that about exotics(stat-wise) just a few months ago. They went back on their word once, what assurance do have this won’t happen again?

And now we also have new “unique” items dropping in dungeons with new stat combos. What happend to every stat being readily available and not relying on RNG/drop rates? Do we have to repeat the dungeon 100 times because we keep getting boots when all we need is the helm from the set?(speculation, as I don’t know what the actual items are, or whether they can be sold on TP)

Osprey.6587:

Lopez.7369:

Infusions have stats. LOL.

I didn’t mouth off about it because I had no way to know prior but this doesn’t surprise me at all. So now the grindiest of the grinders will have the best WvW gear. Isn’t that great. Que incoming pvp only stat to reduce the effectiveness of PvE gear in WvW creating yet another problem. A-Net, you all are a bunch of fools for doing this.

yeah, I was going to spend most of my time in WvW, but this addition to the game is throwing the venue out of balance.

I’m really glad I deleted my characters a few days ago, a sense of relief that I will not be returning for some time if ever, now I just need to figure out a way to get perma banned with a bang!

mods, any help here would be appreciated.

edit; you know that’s a good idea, if the WvW venue used the same sPvP gear system, I’d kiss ArenaNet’s feetsesss. Have both original GW1 and WoW II side by side, genius.

… add open world PvP servers while you’re at it. though still thinking how best to get the biggest perma ban ever.

It is interesting to see people ordering others what to do “go away now that you see what it is” and characterizing anyone unhappy with this turn as “whining.” And then have the gall to call others rude or entitled. At least people who bought the game are entitled to post their views without subservience to the rude folk calling them whiners and telling them where to go. And it is more than fair to voice ongoing disappointment with characteristics (such as vertical gear progression) tacked on to a game not yet 3 months after release, that were never advertised and were actually argued against by the game’s designers in the run-up to the game.

I’d encourage even those “leaving” to continue voicing opinions in case anet decides to court you back. What’s been changed can be changed again, if they realize a mistake has been made.

ckeeton.4907:

the problems that dont exist you mean? the problems that arent even in the game yet? riight. overreacting whiners are amusing.

it has nothing to do with the problems that are in or that will result.

bottom line, only reason why everyone is complaining is because Anet seems to have gone full 180 degrees on everyone by potentially implying that there will be a gear treadmill, something they said they resent and had no intention on putting in during development.

Oh ok so were all mad on a POTENTIAL gear treadmill despite the designers saying they dont intend to make the game a gear treadmill but to have some sort of vertical progression for people who enjoy that sort of progression. you people need to chill out

ckeeton.4907:

Oh ok so were all mad on a POTENTIAL gear treadmill despite the designers saying they dont intend to make the game a gear treadmill but to have some sort of vertical progression for people who enjoy that sort of progression. you people need to chill out

No, not “Potential” anything… Actual, undeniable gear stat progression post-release, that is the complaint. As if open world encounters were too tough and required “more stats” to contend with. The more stats are added, the less meaningful older areas of the game become, meaning less areas with any challenge and a loss of content, from that vantage.

Just one of the problems with “gear progression” but one I’ve not seen even an attempt at countering to date.

Honestly I’m at the point where I’m considering ditching the game. I stuck it with despite the balance issues, glitches and the fact half the dynamic events are broken because I figured they fix these things eventually but I don’t like the direction this game is heading anymore and feel like it was sold to me on false premise so there isn’t a point.

Well basically Spvp is completely balanced stat wise…there is no gear farming required or leveling…Wvw has auto balanced stats BUT gear/level does create a small difference…for example a level 80 in full exotics generally had 1k+ more in all main stats then say a 40 in base gear (example the 40 warrior has around 1800 Atk the 80 warrior in exotics will have closer to 3k+)

This was already the case prior to these new gear items, so honestly they wont change much…what it will add is a dungeon farm that players lke

I am very opposed to the stat inflation and gear check introduced by the new patch. I derive no joy from increasing the numbers on my character sheet. Gaining another 500 hit points does not make me a better player. It’s not an impressive feat.

If I take down a champion alone, or win a 1 on 1 fight against an equal-level, equal-gear WvW invader, that can be impressive. That may be a measure of skill or talent. If I win because I have played longer, if my “gear” grants larger bonuses, then that success is lessened.

Aside from the gameplay implications, I rather dislike seeking out new gear for its stats. When I completed my exotic set (half from crafting, half bought outright) I felt relief. “Finally,” I thought, “I’m done with this. Now I can focus on the fun parts.”

I felt a similar relief when I reached level 80 and the world was truly open to me, but that’s a separate issue.

The other part of the new patch, the infusion-agony gear check, is also distressing. It segregates players. I’m discouraged from playing with my friends who haven’t progressed as far. Who benefits from this?

The core of the idea, an endless dungeon that gets more difficult as one progresses, is solid. But tying progress to gear? Gear that must be ground out? Terrible.

Personally, I would make the infusion process something limited to the dungeon, and something that reflects the players’ skill and ingenuity. Perhaps small events in the dungeon grant protection for a limited time. Perhaps something as simple as an ever decreasing time limit. I don’t know what would be best, but I tell you nearly anything would be better than a gear check. Gear does not measure skill. Gear does not measure tactics. Gear is a measure of time spent playing, and little more.

So what does this mean? They already have my money. I’ve enjoyed the game very much so far, I admit. I love dynamic events. I love the open world with its secrets and tricks. I like the WvW and how it (sometimes) brings the server together.

But I don’t like this. I don’t like what this hints at for the future.

Perhaps I’ll play something else for now. I have other games I have neglected. I’ll wait and see if favorable changes are made, or (less ideally) if the power level plateaus again. But if the power level continues to creep upwards with new equipment? No thank you.

ckeeton.4907:

Oh ok so were all mad on a POTENTIAL gear treadmill despite the designers saying they dont intend to make the game a gear treadmill but to have some sort of vertical progression for people who enjoy that sort of progression. you people need to chill out

A gear treadmill is when your character is 100% maxed out, then something is introduced that means your character is less than 100% maxed out, and you have to grind to get back to 100% maxed out, which is exactly where you were to begin with.

Adding vertical progression (at the top) of a game post-release is, by definition, a gear treadmill.

It doesn’t matter if new equipment is introduced every 3 months, every six months, or every two years.

It doesn’t matter if new equipment takes 100 hours to get, or 50 hours, or 2 hours.

It doesn’t matter if the newer equipment is 100 stat points higher, 30 stat points higher, or 5 stat points higher.

Adding any statistically superior equipment to a game after people have reached the maximum is a gear treadmill, and for many players, that’s a dealbreaker. It’s not a matter of degree. It’s a Yes/No, all-or-nothing issue.

I like how they didn’t even have the balls to make a full announcement. This company will not be around once a better game comes out. You have lost our trust as fans amd the locust will move on as well.

http://i.imgur.com/MV1Vt.png

Agrik.7465:

I’d encourage even those “leaving” to continue voicing opinions in case anet decides to court you back. What’s been changed can be changed again, if they realize a mistake has been made.

When you lose someone’s trust, it’s extremely difficult to restore that trust. Had they been honest and open about their intentions I may have given them a chance, I probably still would have left but I wouldn’t hold it against them. This situation was handled poorly and I’m done with them.

The only way I’d come back is if Mike O’Brien formally apologized for reneging on his manifesto, put his head between his legs, and kiss his own kitten

ckeeton.4907:

i’m glad the developers dont listen to these so called “fans” that personally attack the arenanet developers. you arent fans youre just whiners.

Would you have kind words for a girlfriend who cheated on you? It’s pretty much the same emotion many people are experiencing right now, albeit on a very nerdy level lol

ckeeton is just a troll. The people advocating for Anet to not put in the WoW treadmill are the ones trying to prevent this game from dieing in the next 90 days.

ckeeton, its already confirmed as a gear treadmill stop being an Anet apologist.

This is WoW copy #675 at this point.

ckeeton.4907:

i’m glad the developers dont listen to these so called “fans” that personally attack the arenanet developers. you arent fans youre just whiners.

Cause now they betrayed us and giving content to wow fans.

phanmc.6759:

Agrik.7465:

I’d encourage even those “leaving” to continue voicing opinions in case anet decides to court you back. What’s been changed can be changed again, if they realize a mistake has been made.

When you lose someone’s trust, it’s extremely difficult to restore that trust. Had they been honest and open about their intentions I may have given them a chance, I probably still would have left but I wouldn’t hold it against them. This situation was handled poorly and I’m done with them.

The only way I’d come back is if Mike O’Brien formally apologized for reneging on his manifesto, put his head between his legs, and kiss his own kitten

True, I did have that trust (which is why I bought gems), and it has been lost. But, before this change I had enjoyed the game greatly and admired what they’d done with nothing but positive expectations for the future. That trust is broken, but the groundwork is still there if they back off this “gear progression.” Which might in theory happen, at least if we keep our voices heard; they might want us back at least once the gear-progression folk migrate on to the next content then want in some other game(s).

These ascended items are replacing my medium term goals, not adding new ones. Instead of working towards a sweet-looking weapon, now I’m going to go grinf Fractals so I don’t get locked out of future hard content.

ckeeton.4907:

IllegalChocolate.6938:

ckeeton.4907:

all of you people complaining really irritate me. its like you cant stand change. big deal they changed A PORTION OF THE GAME. IT ISNT THE END OF THE WORLD.

They made a change that was contradictory to their mission statement, for those of us who are responsible consumers and value corporate standards, that is a big deal.

You’ll understand that when you’re older.

no i just like to be open minded and i actually adapt to new ideas and dont just want a MMO that is suppose to evolve to just remain static. it isnt the end of the world. its 1 dungeon. there are other things to do. its nice to see some people are too close minded to figure that out.

There is nothing new about a gear treadmill. In fact, it is the exact opposite of new.

ckeeton.4907:

IllegalChocolate.6938:

ckeeton.4907:

all of you people complaining really irritate me. its like you cant stand change. big deal they changed A PORTION OF THE GAME. IT ISNT THE END OF THE WORLD.

They made a change that was contradictory to their mission statement, for those of us who are responsible consumers and value corporate standards, that is a big deal.

You’ll understand that when you’re older.

no i just like to be open minded and i actually adapt to new ideas and dont just want a MMO that is suppose to evolve to just remain static. it isnt the end of the world. its 1 dungeon. there are other things to do. its nice to see some people are too close minded to figure that out.

Oh so a vertical progression gear treadmill grind with a gated dungeon and debuff mechanic is a new idea?? Its already been done to death in every other MMO ever. If you actually were interested in real change, instead of meaningless trite change just for the sake of change, you’d be defending what ArenaNet was supposed to stand for, not what this patch is signaling.

NaughtyProwler.8653:

ckeeton.4907:

IllegalChocolate.6938:

ckeeton.4907:

all of you people complaining really irritate me. its like you cant stand change. big deal they changed A PORTION OF THE GAME. IT ISNT THE END OF THE WORLD.

They made a change that was contradictory to their mission statement, for those of us who are responsible consumers and value corporate standards, that is a big deal.

You’ll understand that when you’re older.

no i just like to be open minded and i actually adapt to new ideas and dont just want a MMO that is suppose to evolve to just remain static. it isnt the end of the world. its 1 dungeon. there are other things to do. its nice to see some people are too close minded to figure that out.

There is nothing new about a gear treadmill. In fact, it is the exact opposite of new.

…it isnt the entire game. its one portion and it isnt a gear treadmill. its a form of vertical progression. it doesnt define the whole game.

ckeeton.4907:

NaughtyProwler.8653:

ckeeton.4907:

IllegalChocolate.6938:

ckeeton.4907:

all of you people complaining really irritate me. its like you cant stand change. big deal they changed A PORTION OF THE GAME. IT ISNT THE END OF THE WORLD.

They made a change that was contradictory to their mission statement, for those of us who are responsible consumers and value corporate standards, that is a big deal.

You’ll understand that when you’re older.

no i just like to be open minded and i actually adapt to new ideas and dont just want a MMO that is suppose to evolve to just remain static. it isnt the end of the world. its 1 dungeon. there are other things to do. its nice to see some people are too close minded to figure that out.

There is nothing new about a gear treadmill. In fact, it is the exact opposite of new.

…it isnt the entire game. its one portion and it isnt a gear treadmill. its a form of vertical progression. it doesnt define the whole game.

Actually, because the gear is better than any other gear in the game and can be used outside the dungeon, this absolutely does affect the entirety of the rest of the game. Except sPvP, thankfully.

Now that it’s official, we need to respond with haste. Quitting is not enough. ArenaNet and those that advocated for treadmill gameplay need to pay a price for this bullkitten.

I still love how you people keep referring to everyone who doesn’t hate the new tier of equipment a WoW fan.

I personally have had friends who no lifed WoW, I’ve seen it played. I’ve screwed around on their account before….and I hate the game.

But I’m not against a new tier.

ckeeton.4907:

NaughtyProwler.8653:

ckeeton.4907:

IllegalChocolate.6938:

ckeeton.4907:

all of you people complaining really irritate me. its like you cant stand change. big deal they changed A PORTION OF THE GAME. IT ISNT THE END OF THE WORLD.

They made a change that was contradictory to their mission statement, for those of us who are responsible consumers and value corporate standards, that is a big deal.

You’ll understand that when you’re older.

no i just like to be open minded and i actually adapt to new ideas and dont just want a MMO that is suppose to evolve to just remain static. it isnt the end of the world. its 1 dungeon. there are other things to do. its nice to see some people are too close minded to figure that out.

There is nothing new about a gear treadmill. In fact, it is the exact opposite of new.

…it isnt the entire game. its one portion and it isnt a gear treadmill. its a form of vertical progression. it doesnt define the whole game.

Ohh…. I don’t have time to explain this. I’ll keep it short and sweet. Vertical progression is gear treadmill. It’s just a nicer, PR-friendly way of saying it.

Tyr.1965:

ckeeton.4907:

NaughtyProwler.8653:

ckeeton.4907:

IllegalChocolate.6938:

ckeeton.4907:

all of you people complaining really irritate me. its like you cant stand change. big deal they changed A PORTION OF THE GAME. IT ISNT THE END OF THE WORLD.

They made a change that was contradictory to their mission statement, for those of us who are responsible consumers and value corporate standards, that is a big deal.

You’ll understand that when you’re older.

no i just like to be open minded and i actually adapt to new ideas and dont just want a MMO that is suppose to evolve to just remain static. it isnt the end of the world. its 1 dungeon. there are other things to do. its nice to see some people are too close minded to figure that out.

There is nothing new about a gear treadmill. In fact, it is the exact opposite of new.

…it isnt the entire game. its one portion and it isnt a gear treadmill. its a form of vertical progression. it doesnt define the whole game.

Actually, because the gear is better than any other gear in the game and can be used outside the dungeon, this absolutely does affect the entirety of the rest of the game. Except sPvP, thankfully.

That’s a good point… If the gear stats only applied in the dungeon, and not in the open world, I’d not have nearly the same problem with it (though others still might). People wanting gear progression could have been given that, while others would be less affected. It might still ruin the dungeon for those that might have liked it otherwise, but at least would not pollute other aspects of the game (such as making lower level areas of the game even weaker and mob tagging harder).

Giving the gear its stats only in the dungeon would satisfy me as a compromise that feeds the stat-lovers, without damage for others outside of the dungeon.

ckeeton.4907:

IllegalChocolate.6938:

ckeeton.4907:

all of you people complaining really irritate me. its like you cant stand change. big deal they changed A PORTION OF THE GAME. IT ISNT THE END OF THE WORLD.

They made a change that was contradictory to their mission statement, for those of us who are responsible consumers and value corporate standards, that is a big deal.

You’ll understand that when you’re older.

no i just like to be open minded and i actually adapt to new ideas and dont just want a MMO that is suppose to evolve to just remain static. it isnt the end of the world. its 1 dungeon. there are other things to do. its nice to see some people are too close minded to figure that out.

You’re new to the franchise, aren’t you? You didn’t read the manifesto, did you?

BondageBill.4021:

New content patch at prime time, and not a single full NA server. Expanded account limits per server or massive exodus?

It’s quite possible they expanded the capacities due to the refer-a-friend trial. I would be somewhat surprised of a mass exodus due to the gear situation. We will know for sure if Anet moves forward with their plans, or this gives them pause to reconsider.

ckeeton.4907:

NaughtyProwler.8653:

ckeeton.4907:

IllegalChocolate.6938:

ckeeton.4907:

all of you people complaining really irritate me. its like you cant stand change. big deal they changed A PORTION OF THE GAME. IT ISNT THE END OF THE WORLD.

They made a change that was contradictory to their mission statement, for those of us who are responsible consumers and value corporate standards, that is a big deal.

You’ll understand that when you’re older.

no i just like to be open minded and i actually adapt to new ideas and dont just want a MMO that is suppose to evolve to just remain static. it isnt the end of the world. its 1 dungeon. there are other things to do. its nice to see some people are too close minded to figure that out.

There is nothing new about a gear treadmill. In fact, it is the exact opposite of new.

…it isnt the entire game. its one portion and it isnt a gear treadmill. its a form of vertical progression. it doesnt define the whole game.

You’re missing the point. People that only do WvW now have to grind this dungeon in order to stay on par with the best available equipment. Also, they have already intimated that this is not the last tier of gear they are going to add. So yeah, they actually are redefining the whole game.

Agrik.7465:

Tyr.1965:

ckeeton.4907:

NaughtyProwler.8653:

ckeeton.4907:

IllegalChocolate.6938:

ckeeton.4907:

all of you people complaining really irritate me. its like you cant stand change. big deal they changed A PORTION OF THE GAME. IT ISNT THE END OF THE WORLD.

They made a change that was contradictory to their mission statement, for those of us who are responsible consumers and value corporate standards, that is a big deal.

You’ll understand that when you’re older.

no i just like to be open minded and i actually adapt to new ideas and dont just want a MMO that is suppose to evolve to just remain static. it isnt the end of the world. its 1 dungeon. there are other things to do. its nice to see some people are too close minded to figure that out.

There is nothing new about a gear treadmill. In fact, it is the exact opposite of new.

…it isnt the entire game. its one portion and it isnt a gear treadmill. its a form of vertical progression. it doesnt define the whole game.

Actually, because the gear is better than any other gear in the game and can be used outside the dungeon, this absolutely does affect the entirety of the rest of the game. Except sPvP, thankfully.

That’s a good point… If the gear stats only applied in the dungeon, and not in the open world, I’d not have nearly the same problem with it (though others still might). People wanting gear progression could have been given that, while others would be less affected. It might still ruin the dungeon for those that might have liked it otherwise, but at least would not pollute other aspects of the game (such as making lower level areas of the game even weaker and mob tagging harder).

Giving the gear its stats only in the dungeon would satisfy me as a compromise that feeds the stat-lovers, without damage for others outside of the dungeon.

Yes, I feel this would be the first step needed to be made to repair good will. Say, okay we’re going to try to appease gear treadmill people even though it doesn’t fit the rest of the game or our promise, but since it doesn’t fit the rest of the game then those increased stats won’t work outside of fractal dungeons.

If the majority skip out on it then they’ll get the clear message that their community simply isn’t interested in that route. And if it does take, then it doesn’t hurt the heart of the community that doesn’t want the stat increases in the rest of their game.

Gilandred.9870:

BondageBill.4021:

New content patch at prime time, and not a single full NA server. Expanded account limits per server or massive exodus?

It’s quite possible they expanded the capacities due to the refer-a-friend trial. I would be somewhat surprised of a mass exodus due to the gear situation. We will know for sure if Anet moves forward with their plans, or this gives them pause to reconsider.

They put further stats on the Infusions themselves. This is a clear permanent shift in how their view their game, sadly.

Siebenstein.1376:

So why, why, why does infusion-gear has to be better than exotic gear?.

To provide vertical gear progression to the WoW locusts.

Rainshine.5493:

Tyr.1965:

Lande.5782:

They put further stats on the Infusions themselves. This is a clear permanent shift in how their view their game, sadly.

The only bad thing about not having a subscription is that I can’t click the unsubscribe button right now to show my disgust for the direction theyre taking this game.

Just don’t log in again. If you’ve been logging in regularly, and buying from the gem store, that’ll be just as clear a message.

Some advocate logging and doing nothing to take up bandwidth, which will cost ArenaNet for upkeep.

Either way, you can choose to voice your disdain however you see fit.

Rainshine.5493:

Tyr.1965:

Lande.5782:

They put further stats on the Infusions themselves. This is a clear permanent shift in how their view their game, sadly.

The only bad thing about not having a subscription is that I can’t click the unsubscribe button right now to show my disgust for the direction theyre taking this game.

Just don’t log in again. If you’ve been logging in regularly, and buying from the gem store, that’ll be just as clear a message.

What’s sad, is that I’ve been trying to work up the motivation to log in so I can at least still get my money’s worth from the box cost and gems I bought, but I can’t find the heart. They totally just drained all my ambition to play, let alone continue to support them with my hard earned money.

My friends have been bugging me to play MoP all this time. I’ve always said no. GW2 was a lasting game for me. It had a type of permanence that none of the other games — WoW, Aion, Tera, SWTOR — had.

That sense of permanence arose from the freedom that you, ArenaNet, gave me. I could what I wanted — not what I felt like I should do to chase an ever-elusive climbing number. For the first time, I was free. I made my own choices. I can’t tell you how empowering it felt to make my first set of exotic gear, and to think, “I am done!”

It was addictive enough that I rushed a second character to max. That same rush — the same euphoria of possibilities was there just as the first. For you see, each character I brought to max, each character I geared in what I thought was permanent, enduring armor, opened a new world of possibilities.

The game didn’t end for me. It finally began.

I know this is only the preference of one player. But I know myself the best, and can be most qualified to explain only my own feelings. And for me, the moment of being “done” was not a death, but a host of doors opening. Which build shall I try? How many possibilities are ahead of me? Which weapons feel fluid, natural, like water shifting past the shore?

For you see, the leveling and gearing was simply a pre-requisite. A necessary evil.

With one patch, you’ve just taken away my primary reason for playing GW2. You’ve made my necessary evil permanent.

There is a long list of games offering gear progression. In fact, one in particular that I’ve never thought I’d want again has a long and storied history of such progression. WoW has the system down admirably. They’re stable, adept, and after so many years, very, very experienced in providing for progression-minded players.

If I must deal with such a necessary evil, I’d pick WoW. ArenaNet, how can I plead with you to shine in your own right? For in being niche, rebellious, you’ll shine like a single star that shook, and continues to shake the preconceptions of the game development world.

In becoming like the rest, you’ll simply be a dimmer, lesser version of an aging red giant. However bright you gleam, it would only be as a sad echo eclipsed by that different, brilliant star. No amount of waiting for the giant to decline will help. In that orbit, none will notice your spark.

Please reconsider.

Lirael.2603:

My friends have been bugging me to play MoP all this time. I’ve always said no. GW2 was a lasting game for me. It had a type of permanence that none of the other games — WoW, Aion, Tera, SWTOR — had.

That sense of permanence arose from the freedom that you, ArenaNet, gave me. I could what I wanted — not what I felt like I should do to chase an ever-elusive climbing number. For the first time, I was free. I made my own choices. I can’t tell you how empowering it felt to make my first set of exotic gear, and think, “I am done!”

It was addictive enough that I rushed a second character to max. That same rush — the same euphoria of possibilities was there just as the first. For you see, each character I brought to max, each character I geared in what I thought was permanent, enduring armor, opened a new world of possibilities.

The game didn’t end for me. It finally began.

I know this is only the preference of one player. But I know myself the best, and can be most qualified to explain only my own feelings. And for me, the moment of being “done” was not a death, but a host of doors opening. Which build shall I try? How many possibilities are ahead of me? Which weapons feel fluid, natural, like water shifting past the shore?

For you see, the leveling and gearing was simply a pre-requisite. A necessary evil.

With one patch, you’ve just taken away my primary reason for playing GW2. You’ve made my necessary evil permanent.

There is a long list of games offering gear progression. In fact, one in particular that I’ve never thought I’d want again has a long and storied history of such progression. WoW has the system down admirably. They’re stable, adept, and after so many years, very, very experienced in catering to progression-minded players.

If I must deal with such a necessary evil, I’d pick WoW. ArenaNet, how can I plead with you to shine in your own right? For in being niche, rebellious, you’ll shine like the single star that shook, and continues to shake the preconceptions of the game development world.

In becoming like the rest, you’ll just simply be a dimmer, lesser version of an aging red giant. However bright you gleam, it would only a sad echo eclipsed by that different, aging star. No amount of waiting for the giant to decline will help. In that orbit, none will notice your spark.

Please reconsider.

I hope ArenaNet reads this post and the many others like it throughout this thread and really take it to heart and think about it.

aliksyian.7642:

I am very opposed to the stat inflation and gear check introduced by the new patch. I derive no joy from increasing the numbers on my character sheet. Gaining another 500 hit points does not make me a better player. It’s not an impressive feat.

If I take down a champion alone, or win a 1 on 1 fight against an equal-level, equal-gear WvW invader, that can be impressive. That may be a measure of skill or talent. If I win because I have played longer, if my “gear” grants larger bonuses, then that success is lessened.

Aside from the gameplay implications, I rather dislike seeking out new gear for its stats. When I completed my exotic set (half from crafting, half bought outright) I felt relief. “Finally,” I thought, “I’m done with this. Now I can focus on the fun parts.”

I felt a similar relief when I reached level 80 and the world was truly open to me, but that’s a separate issue.

The other part of the new patch, the infusion-agony gear check, is also distressing. It segregates players. I’m discouraged from playing with my friends who haven’t progressed as far. Who benefits from this?

The core of the idea, an endless dungeon that gets more difficult as one progresses, is solid. But tying progress to gear? Gear that must be ground out? Terrible.

Personally, I would make the infusion process something limited to the dungeon, and something that reflects the players’ skill and ingenuity. Perhaps small events in the dungeon grant protection for a limited time. Perhaps something as simple as an ever decreasing time limit. I don’t know what would be best, but I tell you nearly anything would be better than a gear check. Gear does not measure skill. Gear does not measure tactics. Gear is a measure of time spent playing, and little more.

So what does this mean? They already have my money. I’ve enjoyed the game very much so far, I admit. I love dynamic events. I love the open world with its secrets and tricks. I like the WvW and how it (sometimes) brings the server together.

But I don’t like this. I don’t like what this hints at for the future.

Perhaps I’ll play something else for now. I have other games I have neglected. I’ll wait and see if favorable changes are made, or (less ideally) if the power level plateaus again. But if the power level continues to creep upwards with new equipment? No thank you.

Very good post, I agree entirely.

The very idea of having “dungeon only” ascended gear as top tier is a Guild Wars game breaker imo.

They could have introduced a new tier accessible via ALL game modes… Karma, Honor Badges & Crafting… that imo would be fine (cater for everyone). But no, now as it has been mentioned, all we will have is a resistant grind in a dungeon that many players will only do it for the stats and not because its FUN to do.

I like WvW and will NOT be playing a game where i have to do stuff I do not enjoy to be a viable asset in WvW.

Shame on you Anet

Tyr.1965:

Rainshine.5493:

Tyr.1965:

Lande.5782:

They put further stats on the Infusions themselves. This is a clear permanent shift in how their view their game, sadly.

The only bad thing about not having a subscription is that I can’t click the unsubscribe button right now to show my disgust for the direction theyre taking this game.

Just don’t log in again. If you’ve been logging in regularly, and buying from the gem store, that’ll be just as clear a message.

What’s sad, is that I’ve been trying to work up the motivation to log in so I can at least still get my money’s worth from the box cost and gems I bought, but I can’t find the heart. They totally just drained all my ambition to play, let alone continue to support them with my hard earned money.

I feel like I got my money’s worth out of the box. I don’t even mind expanding my bank fully right off, because I did cooking (and had a blast with it) and I got plenty of use out of that space. I don’t regret unlocking all bag slots for my main, either, because she put those to great use too in the time I’ve played. I don’t regret all the cow finishers I bought, because the laughs I had with guildmates in WvW were more than worth the price.

I do regret the extra character slots I bought, though, for characters I’ll never play.

I believe they did say that people will be able to get Ascended gear via WvWvW.

That doesn’t change the fact that people who like that treadmill sort of thing will attain what they can and instantly crave more, never ever being satisfied, and pushing the edge towards the treatdmill and powercreep.

Wintyre Fraust.6534:

Sadly, there’s no way to trust them no matter what they do now. They’re all in with this. Backing out will only additionally alienate the WoW locusts they’re trying to court.

Let them alienate that parasitic crowd for all I care. They never were and never will be the true bread and butter of the Guild Wars player base. ArenaNet can undo this change and things can be right in Narnia once again, but re-earning our trust? That’s going to take awhile.

So they went through with the increased stats, in spite of the massive outcry.

I havn’t been this mad at a game since Diablo 3. They took my favorite MMO ever, a bright spot of uniqueness and creativity in a sea of WoW clones, and they turned it into a WoW clone.

the chat filter will not let me adequately express my feelings. I’ll give them a week to fix it, or at least release plans to fix it, then I’m uninstalling and never coming back.

Rhyse.8176:

So they went through with the increased stats, in spite of the massive outcry.

I havn’t been this mad at a game since Diablo 3. They took my favorite MMO ever, a bright spot of uniqueness and creativity in a sea of WoW clones, and they turned it into a WoW clone.

the chat filter will not let me adequately express my feelings. I’ll give them a week to fix it, or at least release plans to fix it, then I’m uninstalling and never coming back.

The increase is actually far larger than initially speculated too. Further, it seems that infusions also add to base stats, even though they explicitly stated that it would affect dungeons only.

First post in this forum, last post in this forum. I know this post will just drown in this thread but i feel like saying this anyway.

I just downloaded the patch and checked the patchnotes, with a tiny little bit of last hope that Anet changed their mind at the last possible moment. Well turns out they didn’t. So i logged into the game, gave all my gold and items to my guildmates (well at least to those who are still playing) and deinstalled the game afterwards.
3200 hours of GW, 300 hours of GW2 and what’s left at the moment is a feeling of deep disappointment. I won’t come back to this game, not even if they should someday revert all of this. I will however play GW1 from time to time and if it is just to remember the good old times and to get a taste of what GW2 could (and should, as it was promised that way) have become.

It’s not because i hate gear treadmills as a concept alltogether, i have played games with that concept in the past and i will play games with it in the future. It is just that this game was advertised as the one alternative where you could just play along and didn’t have to worry about staying competitive after every update.

So that’s it, just wanted to say something and not just leave quiet and completely unnoticed. It has been a good time and i’m sad that it is over so fast, goodbye.

Yams.3859:

For those who are not happy with the stat increase, why don’t we decide on a day where no one logs into the game for a day? A weekend day (say Saturday Nov 24, one week after the content update, starting GMT 0:00 for 24 hours) would have the largest impact as player logins are highest. The benefits are two-fold:
1) For those claiming that this direction alienates a majority of the playerbase, ANet will have some concrete numbers to work with. It could be the case that much of what we see here is grandstanding and we are all happily chasing giant crabs to care, or ANet might see a 50% drop in playerbase for that period.
2) Talk is cheap. If we all feel as strongly about this as the forum posts suggest, we need to do more than complain.

This is only a suggestion and we should decide on its merits or lack-thereof after this weekend once we have a better idea of how frequently Ascended loop drops and what the Infusions are.

Just some thoughts.

Now that Ascended gear is here for good, I’d like to bring back my earlier suggestion. What are people’s interests in this? Any traction?

BondageBill.4021:

Gilandred.9870:

BondageBill.4021:

New content patch at prime time, and not a single full NA server. Expanded account limits per server or massive exodus?

It’s quite possible they expanded the capacities due to the refer-a-friend trial. I would be somewhat surprised of a mass exodus due to the gear situation. We will know for sure if Anet moves forward with their plans, or this gives them pause to reconsider.

I agree it was more likely that server capacity has been increased, but a man can dream, right?

I just checked a couple of areas. I was first put into the overflow on LA, which is not unusual on the normally FULL TC server. Map chat was active; hard to tell how many people there due to the culling, but seemed about right. Went to Queensdale next. Definitely a noticeable increase in players. There were around 15 people at the starter farm heart; normally there’s less than 5. My guild also has around 23 players logged in; again normal. In conclusion, draw your own conclusion:)

Yams.3859:

Now that Ascended gear is here for good, I’d like to bring back my earlier suggestion. What are people’s interests in this? Any traction?

Well, I can promise that whatever day you pick, I, too, will not be logged in. Because I’m not logging in at all.

So, a post I made saying I have deleted the client in protest of the new gear treadmill direction the game is taking was deleted because it was not on topic.

Excuse me, it is entirely on topic.

You want to know my thoughts on Ascended gear? I deleted the kitten client and will not be re downloading the kitten thing until Anet realizes just how badly they have screwed up.

This is on topic, I have done this because I am totally disgusted with being lied to and fooled by Anet for 7 years. I would say that is pretty on topic.

Sky.9347:

http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/chart?symbol=036570.KS

Satisfying.

For the uninitiated: see the little uptick up too Nov. 7, that’s a result of “new content and balance patches coming!” – see the drop after it, that’s because “and a brand new tier of gear!”.

Info dump on ascended gear + forum riot happened on the 12/13th.

NCsoft stock price fell off a cliff on the 8th.

So yeah, you can’t blame it on this, as much as I wish you could.

Gingelyr.3648:

These ascended items are replacing my medium term goals, not adding new ones. Instead of working towards a sweet-looking weapon, now I’m going to go grinf Fractals so I don’t get locked out of future hard content.

I’m in pretty much the same spot now. Why should I bother getting a new weapon for it’s skin, transmuting it with another exotic, when I know that it will become outclassed in the near future? That would be wasting a currently “max” exotic -and- the transmutation stone.

Best case scenario would be getting a skin I like with stats I like as well…and still having to waste the trans stone later to upgrade my “max” weapon to the “new max” that Ascended adds.

Yams.3859:

Yams.3859:

For those who are not happy with the stat increase, why don’t we decide on a day where no one logs into the game for a day? A weekend day (say Saturday Nov 24, one week after the content update, starting GMT 0:00 for 24 hours) would have the largest impact as player logins are highest. The benefits are two-fold:
1) For those claiming that this direction alienates a majority of the playerbase, ANet will have some concrete numbers to work with. It could be the case that much of what we see here is grandstanding and we are all happily chasing giant crabs to care, or ANet might see a 50% drop in playerbase for that period.
2) Talk is cheap. If we all feel as strongly about this as the forum posts suggest, we need to do more than complain.

This is only a suggestion and we should decide on its merits or lack-thereof after this weekend once we have a better idea of how frequently Ascended loop drops and what the Infusions are.

Just some thoughts.

Now that Ascended gear is here for good, I’d like to bring back my earlier suggestion. What are people’s interests in this? Any traction?

I’ll do one better, I’ll stop logging into the game..ever. Freed 16 gigs of space. Onto the next disappointment.