Guild Wars 2

eye floater.7140:

pdavis.8031:

eye floater.7140:

I think that people miss a lot of the content by being able to instantly travel to their destination- if everyone was forced to run, think of all the content that would be brought back to life! Think of the possibilities that would open up! Silverwastes is kind of an example of that, and it seems to be working out just fine.

But people have to go through and experience the content to open up the waypoints in the first place. If you choose to, you can certainly do it again. But being forced to do it over and over after you’ve already done it once is recipe for disaster. Everything in the game is optional, even the first time. But after you’ve done it once, even more so. You completed say all dungeon paths and story on AC. Now unless you want specific rewards (tokens, gold, etc.) there is no reason you ever have to do it again.

Now lets say, in order to do anything in Plains of Ashford, you HAVE to go through AC first. How many people would be in Plains of Ashford? Would it be worthwhile to have to find a group, run a dungeon, just to be able to be get into the zone? I don’t think so.

While this is a hypothetical situation, the principle is the same. No one should be forced to do certain content repeatedly just to be able to do a boss, an event, or explore.

It’s just… A little more running.

And a little more time than I may have on the average day.

Or too far to run to help out a friend do a skill point or a non-world boss champion/event if I’m off in an area not near a waypoint doing something. They may be near a waypoint, but it was a pain to get to where I was due to hordes of enemies in the way. So I don’t want to leave here until I’m done or closer to a waypoint. And this is the only character that’s got a waypoint anywhere near where my friend currently is.

OP…I agree w/ you. WPs do remove a lot of the “immersion”/or traffic that a player could experience while playing. Now that we’ve been spoiled by WPs, it’s far too late. I have always thought (and re thought after the tendrils “attacked” the WPs) that we should have to run to a WP to access other WPs rather than in the middle of no where. Story and Asura have always mentioned them being connected and that is decent way to reflect that. At most it adds 45seconds to your travel.

P.s. My apologies if someone else already brought that up but, I don’t have TIME to read ALL of the responses. B-)

LTREEVEY.2348:

OP…I agree w/ you. WPs do remove a lot of the “immersion”/or traffic that a player could experience while playing. Now that we’ve been spoiled by WPs, it’s far too late. I have always thought (and re thought after the tendrils “attacked” the WPs) that we should have to run to a WP to access other WPs rather than in the middle of no where. Story and Asura have always mentioned them being connected and that is decent way to reflect that. At most it adds 45seconds to your travel.

P.s. My apologies if someone else already brought that up but, I don’t have TIME to read ALL of the responses. B-)

It wasn’t brought up. I wouldn’t have an issue with this either as long as it made an exception for dead characters and as long as the number of waypoints and their locations remained the same (or only had minor changes).

But removing them? No.

eye floater.7140:

pdavis.8031:

eye floater.7140:

I think that people miss a lot of the content by being able to instantly travel to their destination- if everyone was forced to run, think of all the content that would be brought back to life! Think of the possibilities that would open up! Silverwastes is kind of an example of that, and it seems to be working out just fine.

But people have to go through and experience the content to open up the waypoints in the first place. If you choose to, you can certainly do it again. But being forced to do it over and over after you’ve already done it once is recipe for disaster. Everything in the game is optional, even the first time. But after you’ve done it once, even more so. You completed say all dungeon paths and story on AC. Now unless you want specific rewards (tokens, gold, etc.) there is no reason you ever have to do it again.

Now lets say, in order to do anything in Plains of Ashford, you HAVE to go through AC first. How many people would be in Plains of Ashford? Would it be worthwhile to have to find a group, run a dungeon, just to be able to be get into the zone? I don’t think so.

While this is a hypothetical situation, the principle is the same. No one should be forced to do certain content repeatedly just to be able to do a boss, an event, or explore.

It’s just… A little more running.

Yes, it’s a little more running. But I don’t want to spend the extra few minutes running if I don’t have to. Also that time adds up. So in say my average 3 hour play time, I could spend 30+ minutes just running to content I want to do. So that brings my effective play time down to ~2.5 hours. Thats at least 2 world bosses I missed out on because I had to spend that time running.

Also WPs are a valuable gold sink. So unless you dramatically increased the cost to use the fewer WPs, that means more money in the game, which leads to inflated prices, which leads to being unable to buy anything from the TP. Yeah they only cost a few silver, but literally everyone using WPs multiple times a day it adds up VERY quickly.

Seera.5916:

LTREEVEY.2348:

OP…I agree w/ you. WPs do remove a lot of the “immersion”/or traffic that a player could experience while playing. Now that we’ve been spoiled by WPs, it’s far too late. I have always thought (and re thought after the tendrils “attacked” the WPs) that we should have to run to a WP to access other WPs rather than in the middle of no where. Story and Asura have always mentioned them being connected and that is decent way to reflect that. At most it adds 45seconds to your travel.

P.s. My apologies if someone else already brought that up but, I don’t have TIME to read ALL of the responses. B-)

It wasn’t brought up. I wouldn’t have an issue with this either as long as it made an exception for dead characters and as long as the number of waypoints and their locations remained the same (or only had minor changes).

But removing them? No.

Of course…down players would have regular access to all WPs. But running to a WP to me is something they could implement w/ moderate whine rather than removing

LTREEVEY.2348:

Of course…down players would have regular access to all WPs. But running to a WP to me is something they could implement w/ moderate whine rather than removing

And they would have to allow for exceptions for areas where it isn’t possible to run to a waypoint. The pirate jumping puzzle in LA. The jumping puzzle in Blazeridge where the exit to the area is only accessible if you complete the jumping puzzle.

I actually like this topic, because I come from the (old)school of MMO hard knocks of endless travels (hour at times) to grab your dead corpse, and now playing modern MMO’s where I am wherever I want to be in just a few silver. Both have their advantages, one a challenge aspect, the other a convenience, and with MMO’s those things typically don’t mesh, one or the other.

My proposal: keep the existing WP because honestly they are a convenience, but they should be treated as a privilege and not a right, it would be more immersive if the events that “contest” them happened with greater frequency and even if a system was developed where it can spread to other adjacent WP’s, getting stronger as they took them. What this would create is zone-wide events to clear the WP’s and create a new type of dynamic event where there are rewards based on your level of support to those events. I would have some WP’s that remain always unlocked so fast travel is never completely eliminated (Dungeons & entrances at zone transfer points). It could be a fun constant “tug-of-war” between the zone inhabitants and the players on control of the waypoints. Zones that are ignored would obviously lose the convenience of active WP’s but it also would spawn a high level event to clear them for greater rewards.

Just my 2 copper…

eye floater.7140:

I think that people miss a lot of the content by being able to instantly travel to their destination- if everyone was forced to run, think of all the content that would be brought back to life! Think of the possibilities that would open up! Silverwastes is kind of an example of that, and it seems to be working out just fine.

No, because those people had to experience the content to begin with in order to get to the waypoint to unlock it. What people are “missing” is having to spend 2 minutes repeatedly running to the same freaking spot in order to take part in the guild mission. Honestly, I don’t think they’re missing it all that much. Making waypoints contested is already bad enough. If they were to remove a significant number completely I am pretty sure that I would simply quit the game. How’s that for bringing content “back to life?” Blizzard took flying out of their expansion. Know how many time’s I’ve played WoW since? Zero. I didn’t even feel tempted by the free week.

eye floater.7140:

Bernie.8674:

eye floater.7140:

So maybe it’s just me, but I realized a few moments ago that the abundance of waypoints in every map makes the experience feel less authentic.

Please don’t ask ArenaNet to make the game less fun for everyone else just so that it can be authentic to you.

You know when you begin a game? It’s new, it’s beautiful, you’ve never done any of it before.
Well that feeling of excitement and wonder wears off pretty quickly for most people, I think- after that, it’s all about getting money (for many people). The game loses it’s grandeur, and you never (yes) stop and smell the roses. Not that everyone wants to of course, but I think that something like swapping wp’s for res shrines would strengthen that part of the world… it would re-immerse the veteran players in the content they now take for granted.

Or it would take the tedium to another level and provide yet another incentive to quit. Like you said, it’s new and beautiful because you haven’t done it before. Once you’ve been there and done that you don’t need to repeat it. Nothing is stopping you from walking and appreciating the scenery. I’m glad you enjoy that aspect of the game, but please don’t try to impose it on me.

seabhac.5346:

Just don’t use them. Simple. There are people, like me, who use them to save time on days when game time is minimal. On days when I want to feel the immersion, I have the choice to not use them.

The OP specifically asked for discussion on alternatives to the system, not your opinion on how he ought to play.

I’ve always thought WPs being so prevalent was seriously story and immersion breaking. It’s like the age old question of “Why didn’t Gandalf just fly the ring in to Mount Doom with the great eagles?” Well for one, because he couldn’t, the movies follow the books, in the books those eagles weren’t exactly at his beck and call, they were allies no more prone to fighting Sauron head on than anyone else. But more importantly, because it would have made for an AWFUL STORY had that option been available or taken.

In GW2, that ‘eagle’ option is both available and taken frequently, and it harms the epicness of both the story and world as much as the flying mounts ANet said they would never allow in the game.

Now does that mean there should be no transportation options? Absolutely not, you have to gauge playablity with storytelling and immersion in game design. But, that doesn’t mean we can’t have a system or systems which provide the same convenience of playability without being so immersion breaking or inexplicably broken in certain parts of the story and event system.

Of course this would not even be a problem if they were just UI elements instead of canon parts of the game, but ANet opened that can of worms themselves so they’re going to have to deal with it.

As for fixing them, I don’t see any major system or mechanical changes coming nor would I really want one, but aesthetically the WPs could be changed to transportation systems that fit the areas in which they are found.

For example;
Norn: Shrines of Raven, Leopard, Bear, and Wolf which transport you by the power of the spirits at the cost of an offering.
Human: Krytan Taxi, Just give humans a horse and buggy taxiing system, maintained by the krytan government and available for a fee.
Charr: Steamrail, an underground steamrail system maintained by the citadel and operated by collection of a fee upon use.
Sylvari: Windseed transport, the seeds they use to get around the pale tree, except working along a horizontal axis and maintained by wardens at a price.
Asura: The asura would maintain the WP system, also this is the system which would be adopted for use by the pact, being used in the Orr campaign.

Conncept.7638:

seabhac.5346:

Just don’t use them. Simple. There are people, like me, who use them to save time on days when game time is minimal. On days when I want to feel the immersion, I have the choice to not use them.

The OP specifically asked for discussion on alternatives to the system, not your opinion on how he ought to play.

Voluntarily walking is a viable alternative to the system.

Conncept.7638:

I’ve always thought WPs being so prevalent was seriously story and immersion breaking. It’s like the age old question of “Why didn’t Gandalf just fly the ring in to Mount Doom with the great eagles?” Well for one, because he couldn’t, the movies follow the books, in the books those eagles weren’t exactly at his beck and call, they were allies no more prone to fighting Sauron head on than anyone else. But more importantly, because it would have made for an AWFUL STORY had that option been available or taken.

Yes, but did anyone ever intend for us to read Lord of the Rings every single day? Because if they did, I think we would prefer the version where they just jump on the eagles and drop the ring into the lava.

Conncept.7638:

In GW2, that ‘eagle’ option is both available and taken frequently, and it harms the epicness of both the story and world as much as the flying mounts ANet said they would never allow in the game.

If it was so harmful to the “epicness of both the story and world” then players wouldn’t take them. The reason they’re so widely used is that re-walking the same path day in and day out to get to the content you want to play is simply not interesting to most players. I understand that it’s interesting to some, and those players are welcome (encouraged, even) to ignore the waypoints and walk.

Immersion is such a joke… as if you could possibly be unaware that you’re sitting at a computer using a keyboard/mouse to control pixels. But no, you’re right, let’s go ahead and remove the only thing that makes getting around this game convenient just because it doesn’t feel “authentic” enough for you.

Bernie.8674:

Voluntarily walking is a viable alternative to the system.

Not what was stated and you know it. An alternative to the system is what was asked, as in an alternative system to the current system, not an alternative use of the system, or in the case of such a banal suggestion, not using the system at all. Quit being a smartkitten and act like an adult.

Bernie.8674:

Yes, but did anyone ever intend for us to read Lord of the Rings every single day? Because if they did, I think we would prefer the version where they just jump on the eagles and drop the ring into the lava.

Completely inapplicable argument. The entirety of GW2 as compared to the entirety of LOTR. You don’t play all of GW2 every day, you couldn’t if you tried, just as you couldn’t digest LOTR in twenty four hours. You read parts of it just as you play parts of GW2, and any part of LOTR would be ruined by that conclusion to the story.

Bernie.8674:

If it was so harmful to the “epicness of both the story and world” then players wouldn’t take them. The reason they’re so widely used is that re-walking the same path day in and day out to get to the content you want to play is simply not interesting to most players. I understand that it’s interesting to some, and those players are welcome (encouraged, even) to ignore the waypoints and walk.

Read, learn to read, read the post before responding to it, please.

I did not suggest they be removed or even heavily change to any degree, only that they be aesthetically changed to better fit the area in which they are found. It makes no sense, for example, for the Sylvari, who for a time were hunted by the Asura and are barely making up with them at the start of the game, to have a highway of asuran technology through their land. Similarly it makes no sense for the pridefully autonomous Charr, who at the beginning of the game are just coming off a major war and isolationism, to be dependent on an Asuran transportation system.

eye floater.7140:

You know when you begin a game? It’s new, it’s beautiful, you’ve never done any of it before.

Well that feeling of excitement and wonder wears off pretty quickly for most people, I think- after that, it’s all about getting money (for many people). The game loses it’s grandeur, and you never (yes) stop and smell the roses. Not that everyone wants to of course, but I think that something like swapping wp’s for res shrines would strengthen that part of the world… it would re-immerse the veteran players in the content they now take for granted.

Waypoints are not the cause of people losing that sense of wonder and fun. They are a cure for boredom. People use WP’s to get to where they want to be, whether that’s for farming or some other reason. They do so because that content is what’s fun, not scenery, and not some regular event they’ve done many times and could care less about.

Assume for a moment that your suggestion were to be adopted. Players who have seen region X umpty-seven times are not going to suddenly relax and think, “How wonderful!” They will port in where they can and run to wherever they want to be, cursing ANet the entire time for making it take longer. If the event boss is dying just before they get there, and if that starts to happen more often, they’ll be on here demanding WP’s be restored.

As far as immersion goes, those who RP are in all likelihood the most immersed in the game. Sometimes, they walk because real people don’t run everywhere. Does that mean that other players should be forced to walk because walking is more immersive? Running is an option. So are WP’s. I’m all for you having a more immersive experience (and anyone else who wants one). Nothing stops you from doing so. The WP’s are not holding a sword to your head.

As far as convenience goes… It may in fact be overrated. However, try suggesting that the LFG tool be removed. There is no feature that spells convenience like the LFG tool. It would be a lot more immersive to have people gather in front of the dungeons and use Say to group up. Let’s also remove Map chat. Way not immersive. Finally, while WP’s are indeed a convenience, removing them for the sake of immersion would also be a convenience because one can ignore them now with a minor exercise of willpower.

Conncept.7638:

I’ve always thought WPs being so prevalent was seriously story and immersion breaking. It’s like the age old question of “Why didn’t Gandalf just fly the ring in to Mount Doom with the great eagles?” Well for one, because he couldn’t, the movies follow the books, in the books those eagles weren’t exactly at his beck and call, they were allies no more prone to fighting Sauron head on than anyone else. But more importantly, because it would have made for an AWFUL STORY had that option been available or taken.

Just for kicks and giggles, there is a theory as to why Gandalf didn’t use the eagles.
He wanted to, but got "killed" by the Balrog
http://www.reddit.com/r/FanTheories/comments/130it2/lord_of_the_rings_a_theory_about_the_eagle_plot/

You can read it here. It’s actually pretty convincing…

I despise the idea of less way points. In fact I would change the way point system by increasing the way points per map by 2 to 3X.(10 to 15X for Dry Top and Silverwastes) If you’re not in sight of at least 1 way point at all times, IMO the map has too few of them. For people who want to RP, or feel that way points impact “immersion” there would be a check box for the option “Remove way points from my view and make them unusable for me.”
Way points would never be contested.(that defeats their purpose) Instead they would be surrounded by a safe zone, where hostiles cannot enter and you can neither attack or be attacked.
If you get 100% completion for a map, you’d get a discount on your way point cost for way points in that map.(I’d prefer free, but Anet would never go for that.)
And this game was never designed with mounts in mind. As it is, they have to cull minis when map population gets too high. How immersion breaking would it be to have characters floating along, riding mounts that are invisible? And you wouldn’t even be able to see bank stations or other game features in places where players congregate.(unless mounts were auto-stowed in cities and outposts)
<edit>
The “Tag a way point to teleport” idea is interesting, but we’d need far more way points for that to be viable.

A lot of players are secretly hoping that the new Borderlands map don’t make waypoints a big deal. Waypoints are unbalancing.

Perhaps I am missing something, but I do not feel that I miss a single thing by using a waypoint. At some point in time, with every single character, I have to run to that waypoint and experience everything along the way. If I choose to do so, and I often do, I can run within areas and not use waypoints (I am cheap).

There are times, though…and not infrequently, when I want/need to go to a particular place for a particular thing. The example I have used before is buying eggplant. I need to go to a particular spot in Sparkfly Fen and typically I am doing my cooking in Hoelbrak. I do not want to run across the world…or even across half of the Sparkfly Fen map just to buy some eggplants. Now, the counter argument would be that it would force me to think more carefully about my purchase habits…and maybe buy 20-30 bags rather than one or two bags at a time.

That aside, though, waypoints do facilitate getting things done in a more efficient way, especially considering that for every waypoint, I have already made the run on foot. As an aside…I personally would be fine with mounts (preferably flying mounts) in place of waypoints but, absent that, I would prefer no changes at all to the existing system.

Nah. Leave em. I say if you want to travel more you should do so and leave the waypoints for those of us that like to get to events when they are happening.

How about if ANet encourages players not to use WP instead of forcibly removing them?

I want these in every zone:

• Trading post
• Profession trainers
• Bank
• Laurel vendors
• Crafting stations

I don’t want dailies where I am forced to teleport around. The old dailies were perfect.

Bam, wp becomes truly optional. I am not forced to wp to the city and back out.

I really wish they would reduce the amount in alot of zones, the Silverwastes has a really good amount imo and reducing them could open up new forms of travel cough mounts*cough*. I think the devs could do a fantastic job with them, give us something else to collect, like have a few for each race then ones you can get out in the world etc like in WoW for example. One game for me that I loved exploring in and still do it from time to time is LotRO. The map is absolutely massive with relatively few fast travel points. The game world in GW2 feels large and expansive at first but after you have all the WP’s unlocked it feels small because you are just porting everywhere. Theres a WP every thousand feet in some zones, yes that was an exaggeration but you get the point.

You can’t simply “ignore” WPs just because you “don’t like them”.

Maps with less instant travelling are designed differently by developers. For example, a long journey traditionally rewards players with a nice reward at the end. But if you spam its locations with WPs, players would simply be able to farm chests, at which point said chest would need to be nerfed or removed. This is just one example.

Maps with less WPs, where the journey is challenging and rewarding, is far more immersive and satisfying to me as a player. But if I suddenly choose to ignore existing WPs, it won’t enhance the game like at all, because current maps in GW2 are not fine-tuned to long travelling.

Silverwastes and (to a lesser extent) Dry Top are really good at that. The fewer waypoints, coupled with all the acchievements they offer, make for a more immersive and rewarding experience than warping to everywhere or ignoring WPs to travel through bland maps.

Lol…u guys…some of you (in text) sound like you have your “hell no” pickets and posters ready. The OP can’t flip a switch to make the suggestion take shape nor are devs going to take this one idea by one player and run with it. I posted earlier that we are spoiled by them and this sound off is evident. I get the “we don’t have time” stand, but yall sound like its time to put dude up on stake for blasphemy. I still agree with OP but it’s too late because it’s what many are accustom to.

eye floater.7140:

So maybe it’s just me, but I realized a few moments ago that the abundance of waypoints in every map makes the experience feel less authentic.

I have thought about it before, and decided that in this case i prefer convenience to “authenticity”.

Is this another “giff mounts” thread in disguise ?

However .. no thanks. If you think its fun to wast more time with traveling than
with playing .. try Lotro .. and tell me how long it takes to bore you to death when
you sit the next time 15 minutes on a horse to travel from one town to another.

And for “authenticity” .. why don’t you ask that your character have to sleep
every now and then and you can watch them for 6-8 hours sleeping ?

Beldin.5498:

Is this another “giff mounts” thread in disguise ?

However .. no thanks. If you think its fun to wast more time with traveling than
with playing .. try Lotro .. and tell me how long it takes to bore you to death when
you sit the next time 15 minutes on a horse to travel from one town to another.

And for “authenticity” .. why don’t you ask that your character have to sleep
every now and then and you can watch them for 6-8 hours sleeping ?

I have played a game like that once. I can’t remember what it was called, but it was an old DOS game. Where your chacter had to eat and drink every so often. Had to sleep, or would get fatigued and pass out. It was an interesting mechanic, but made for extreamly boring game play. Of course while you slept it would skip until you woke up, but still.

Hmm, you don’t like waypoints, so must other people suffer. That’s an interesting logic…

compers.9065:

Hmm, you don’t like waypoints, so must other people suffer. That’s an interesting logic…

The flaw in your argument is people are using waypoints to snag events.

Events are becoming who can way point the fastest rather than who can navigate the terrain better to get there.

It’s a trap! This is a mounts post in disguise! Don’t trust it!

No no no no no!

I think it should vary according to the level of the map. Beginner zones should keep their current number of waypoints. Level 80 zones should all feel more like Silverwastes. Then just make a nice downward curve for the areas in between.

eye floater.7140:

So maybe it’s just me, but I realized a few moments ago that the abundance of waypoints in every map makes the experience feel less authentic.
Maps don’t feel like wilderness anymore- if you can port to 17 different places on a single map at your will, it doesn’t feel epic or grand. Nowhere is remote. I get that people don’t want to run so much, but it’s partly the journey that makes an area worth getting to.

So I propose swapping 90% of wp’s for res shrines.

Now I bet that this would kitten some people off, but just take a second to think about what it would be like without such easy access to EVERY area in every map.
I think it would tremendously help the game and the overall feel.
Thoughts?

edit- Okay, why do people continue to lambaste me for “forcing my playstyle on others”?
THIS IS DISCUSSION. IDEAS. WAYS TO WORK AROUND THE RUNNING ISSUE. PLEASE.

I think your idea would make a great many areas less traveled save for sheer necessity of map completion than they already are.

I think your idea would make a great many world boss and general event participations outside a much smaller breadth of heavily trafficked areas get very low.

I think your idea is terrible and would neither make anything feel more ‘authentic’ nor improve anything at all, except perhaps your opinion of the matter.

Gulesave.5073:

I think it should vary according to the level of the map. Beginner zones should keep their current number of waypoints. Level 80 zones should all feel more like Silverwastes. Then just make a nice downward curve for the areas in between.

Many of the Orr zones’ waypoints are already far more frequently contested than any other area’s. Also, Silverwastes is kind’ve annoying.

Who here enjoys running back to Vinewraith lanes when you die? Raise your hand.

All who’ve raised their hands, punch yourselves, because that crap is annoying.

Why is this discussion even happening? If this thread had been allowed to die like the many that have come before it we wouldn’t have to put up with OP changing the thread’s title 4-5 times.

A-Net has used Waypoints since 2004 when Prophecies came out. They ARE NOT going to change now. DEAL WITH IT.

Seera.5916:

eye floater.7140:

pdavis.8031:

eye floater.7140:

I think that people miss a lot of the content by being able to instantly travel to their destination- if everyone was forced to run, think of all the content that would be brought back to life! Think of the possibilities that would open up! Silverwastes is kind of an example of that, and it seems to be working out just fine.

But people have to go through and experience the content to open up the waypoints in the first place. If you choose to, you can certainly do it again. But being forced to do it over and over after you’ve already done it once is recipe for disaster. Everything in the game is optional, even the first time. But after you’ve done it once, even more so. You completed say all dungeon paths and story on AC. Now unless you want specific rewards (tokens, gold, etc.) there is no reason you ever have to do it again.

Now lets say, in order to do anything in Plains of Ashford, you HAVE to go through AC first. How many people would be in Plains of Ashford? Would it be worthwhile to have to find a group, run a dungeon, just to be able to be get into the zone? I don’t think so.

While this is a hypothetical situation, the principle is the same. No one should be forced to do certain content repeatedly just to be able to do a boss, an event, or explore.

It’s just… A little more running.

And a little more time than I may have on the average day.

Or too far to run to help out a friend do a skill point or a non-world boss champion/event if I’m off in an area not near a waypoint doing something. They may be near a waypoint, but it was a pain to get to where I was due to hordes of enemies in the way. So I don’t want to leave here until I’m done or closer to a waypoint. And this is the only character that’s got a waypoint anywhere near where my friend currently is.

Agree with you there, unless it’s an exceedingly long event they do need something that allows for teleportation to friends or mounts or more speed options for non-aggro dumping classes.

Galphar.3901:

Why is this discussion even happening? If this thread had been allowed to die like the many that have come before it we wouldn’t have to put up with OP changing the thread’s title 4-5 times.

A-Net has used Waypoints since 2004 when Prophecies came out. They ARE NOT going to change now. DEAL WITH IT.

http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/10/14/flameseeker-chronicles-the-case-for-mounts-in-guild-wars-2/

This should dispel any other myths this community would like to put forth about the mounts issue in this game.

Frankly speaking, the waypoints are the least of the OP’s problem if he thinks there’s too many. Probably doesnt even realize that the 30-40 minutes or so it takes to from from Rata Sum to Mount Maelstrom in the game is condensed down by nearly a thousand or two. Even metrica province should take someone a few days, if not weeks, to walk from one end to another.

Nobody wants to take longer getting to where they want to go to actually have fun.

It’s basically making you take longer to do anything.
And missing out on events or things because you can’t get there fast enough.

No thank you to this idea OP.

eye floater.7140:

I think that people miss a lot of the content by being able to instantly travel to their destination- if everyone was forced to run, think of all the content that would be brought back to life! Think of the possibilities that would open up! Silverwastes is kind of an example of that, and it seems to be working out just fine.

Pffft. People will just Death-Taxi their way across the maps if they can’t waypoint their way there.

These are the only transportation options I can come up with. I tried to make them as general as possible to include variations of the same idea. These also include my biased assessment, and are sorted in order of convenience:

• Teleportation – our current way-point system, very convenient and easy to use, optional usage, has to be unlocked per character via manual travel, charges a small fee per use, existence counters the need for mounts, apparently game-breaking, apparently overrated
• Mounts – lag-inducing vanity items that essentially serve the same function as way-points but in a slightly less convenient form, the exact same thing as a passive speed boost except they will be available to all players, optional usage, provides new content whether it is part of an unlockable achievement or is available as gemstore merchandise, will most likely be expensive, player satisfaction will sky-rocket, server lag will also sky-rocket, currently obsolete
• Passive Speed Boost – the less flashy alternative to mounts, optional usage, already exists for some classes in the form of signet passives and/or trait abilities, availability is dependent on character build and may be limited because of this
• Sparsely Located Access Points (a.k.a. SLAP) – less convenient form of teleportation, optional usage of what little remains, players will be forced to walk fairly moderate distances because there are fewer places to spawn from, increases time spent travelling and decreases time spent playing the game, players that suck at the game will waste most of their time running which will most likely add to post-death frustration, slower classes may suffer, higher likelihood of missing out on events, arguments suggest this is slightly more realistic and will improve immersion, high probability that it will increase the already abhorrently loud cries for the addition of mounts
• Absolutely Nothing! – the most extreme option, mandatory, very realistic and maximizes immersion, players will be forced to walk to every destination, highest likelihood of missing events, players will spend most of their time running to places instead of enjoying the parts of the game that they like, guarantee of at least 7 new mount threads every hour, invokes flashbacks of taking the exact same daily commute to school/work

I cannot think of anything else that is in some way different from any of these options. Take your pick. Thankfully, I know that the current way-point system is never going to be removed, so I don’t worry one bit about any of the less exciting options being implemented.

seabhac.5346:

Just don’t use them. Simple. There are people, like me, who use them to save time on days when game time is minimal. On days when I want to feel the immersion, I have the choice to not use them.

this, so much this.
__

And OP, by you wanting to take away wp’s, you ARE wanting to force your playstyle on others.

I’d LOVE to be able to DE-ACTIVATE waypoints and get mounts. I’d absolutely love that so much.

tigirius.9014:

Galphar.3901:

Why is this discussion even happening? If this thread had been allowed to die like the many that have come before it we wouldn’t have to put up with OP changing the thread’s title 4-5 times.

A-Net has used Waypoints since 2004 when Prophecies came out. They ARE NOT going to change now. DEAL WITH IT.

http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/10/14/flameseeker-chronicles-the-case-for-mounts-in-guild-wars-2/

This should dispel any other myths this community would like to put forth about the mounts issue in this game.

A fairly biased article to say the least.

Realistically speaking there won’t be any change of the wp system now or in the future. The game is designed around that system and it takes it into account. I spent 3 hours last night hoping from one side to the map to the other to do one world event after the other. So, there’s that out of the way.

Personally I was kinda hoping that they were moving away from the wp system (which I personally hate, and try to avoid using as much as I can) and into something different. Especially given how mordremoth seems to destroy them. I thought to myself that maybe with the expansion comming we’ll see a reduction to wps and perhaps an introduction to an alternative moving around system (i’d prefer mounts, but there could be other mechanics introduced – like gliding in the new maps).

Still there’s so much beauty in the world that it’s a shame folks don’t have a chance to enjoy it cause there’s no poi or vista or something to guide them there. But that’s personal preference.

What i would very much enjoy seeing however, is a sharp increase in the cost of wp usage as a means to remove money from the economy (there’s already too much gold going abouts). So instead of 1silver maybe make it 5 or something like that. And bring back repair costs, and god help us who thought to give us more money making bonuses on our account for doing the monthly log in everyday stuff. There’s too much money in the economy already, we need more ways to take some of it out and i think wps is a good and convenient way to do it.

Anyways, down with wps, up with mounts and alternative transport methods that don’t involve me watching a loading screen.

Also, someone suggested earlier to at least make the kitten things tie in thematically with the culture of the area or the landscape or the theme of the zone, which is a brilliant idea.

Maybe we could have alternative ways to travel like, I dont know, some kind of large portals, possibly made by the technologically savvy Asurans.

Wait kind of like the portals that are already in the game, but now used to travel from point to point on a map? Sort of like if you imagine Cursed Shore having no waypoints but instead having portals from LA->Caer Shadowfain, CS->Gavbeorn, Gavbeorn->Meddlers and Meddlers->Shipwreck Rock. Anything between you have to walk to. Revival would only be possible at these sites.

Hahaha, naaaaah… That’s just ridiculous. We clearly need to steal res shrines from some other games, its the only logical thing to do.

Bump. An old WP discussion

With HoT coming we will get Gliding, which from what I have perceived as a way to travel to access content. Players have been saying, that ‘if we’ve been playing the same map for ever, we wouldn’t want to run it’ but that’s only because they gave us such a huge opportunity with WP’s in the first place. These maps, although no mind blowing anymore still offer a lot ish to do while traversing from A2B. If anet had never given us the car("1k"Waypoints) and instead gave us a horse and buggie(“100 Waypoints”) much of that little content would still be half relevant because we wouldn’t have skipped it so much. That and boost to loot. I could be wrong.
For example, Maelstrom and H/Highlands are some of my favorite maps, but are they almost entirely known for their world Bosses. However, like most maps, they do offer ok events and a number of Champs to loot(which can be enjoyable). The real culprit to me is the timed WB events, but that would be less of a thing if there weren’t so many waypoints and stupidly short event chains that set of these world bosses.

tldr: The number of WPs, W/Boss timers with short chains, and the Microwave killed GW2’s lesser content. I hope gliding will be the primary mode of transportation in HoT because Anet will offer fewer WPs. For those “I don’t have the time” players. I definitely understand because ,I more than not, don’t either, but since GW is a gear grinding keep up with the pack game, you can always do it when you can.

P.S:: Food cooked in the oven is usually better for you than food cooked in the Microwave.

(did not proofread)