Guild Wars 2

What did you want out of GW2?

It seems like a fairly simple question, but stop and think about it for a minute. Something drew you in. Something made you think that this game would be worth buying and playing. It was enough to get you to come to the forums to read and post. Why? What was it?

And why are you here at GW2, and not at some other game? There’s hardly a shortage of fantasy MMOs out there, but this is the one you’ve landed on. Why, what made it the choice?

I think a reminder of why everyone’s here might be overdue. It’s great to focus on the future and what could be added, but not at the cost of what drew people to the game in the first place. So, what did you want out of GW2?

1. I had friends that played it at the time. Now I don’t.

2. I spend less time here than on FF14. I only really come to GW2 to do dailies in case they ever step up their game so I’m not hurting for laurels and whatnot.

I think everyone wanted structured GvG which we still have not got.

They have the maps for it re purpose the WvW maps to GvG make it so that 3 guilds can challenge each other putting loot/gold on the line. Make it to when prestige for new guild upgrades to make it competitive.

GW2 dropped the ball on guilds in a major way. Redeemed by guild missions but never expanded on. Guild buffs are also all worthless % given has no effect on anything combined with not enough builds to keep worthless buffs going.

Forcing guilds to choose between being PvP or PVE through upgrades. Causing decent in guilds. Caused a lot of my friends to fight and guild ultimatly to break up when our guild leader got drunk. So through GW2 I made alot of friends all over the world but lost them just as fast. So GW2 really needs to revamp guilds and ability for players to build content.

Player build content would add hours on

Fort blue prints in WvW 2k supplies or something places would be really nice if there was a temp base for assaults or defense blockade paths zergs usually run

It was the fluid gameplay and a great aesthetic that brought me in.

For all the faults in encounter design, the foundation is pretty darn good. (Condition damage caps aside…)

I like that the game is relatively low on commitment, so I can enjoy things at my pace without falling behind.

Fafnir.5124:

I think everyone wanted structured GvG which we still have not got.

I doubt it. Those who did GvG in GW1 maybe, but “everyone” is a strong word.

Honestly I wanted a worthy successor to GW1. Not sure if it is that “yet” I am willing to have faith and trust though, I don’t feel it has been damaged to the point of not giving that. I am not a white knight as there are things I take issue with, and I am not a basher or someone who just posts on here to troll or as some sort of payback for a perceived slight by devs or Anet. I am a fan of the franchise and the lore, especially the art, which has always been top notch. I want an escape from reality in a game world I enjoy. So far I think I have got way over the $60 whatever dollars I paid for the game (and various gem card purchases here and there) I feel that Anet has delivered a lot of content for free in the 2 years I have been playing GW2, and around 10 years total, and I appreciate that.

It’s hard for me to understand the negativity that is present in these forums of late and I am hopeful that can change. I don’t know if expansion is the ultimate answer, but I know I would buy it as soon as it was possible. I do feel it is worth it to stick around and see what is in store, as I have not been let down so far in any major way. I understand people want different things and that it is impossible to please everyone. However, I can say without a doubt overall I am pleased with the Guild Wars world and look forward to many more hours playing in Tyria! (and Cantha… and Elona?)

i’m here because someone recommended it to me, you can equate that to hype if you want.. i’m still here because, to be perfectly honest, i’m a rather habitual person.. i’d probably pass up a helo ride on a sinking ship if i knew the nearest shoreline wasn’t a world away.. i agree, the mmorpg market is fairly saturated at the moment and despite breaking out of a routine being rough for me, i have been exploring other titles lately..
off the top of my head, what did i want.. probably good mmorpg immersion, not a re-run generic version of itself in every direction

I’m one of those players that the Manifesto referred to, those who hate many aspects of traditional MMO’s. GW2 was a breath of fresh air, despite it not being GW w/ better graphics and action combat. Despite Anet making decisions since launch that I wish they hadn’t, no other game seems to be able to hold my attention as well as this one has. I’d guess I’m atypical of the standard MMO player.

What did I want out of GW2? Entertainment. I’ve gotten my money’s worth. Maybe since I don’t turn games into hobbies that eat up every waking moment, I’m still enjoying it.

I came because of the Manifesto. I had not played GW1, it was only peripherally on my radar (going to play it though). I heard of GW2 a year or two before it came out, read the Manifesto, and thought “hot kitten ! Finally a game that does not have the things I hate about MMOs!” Horizontal progression instead of vertical, play as you want, not having to fight over nodes, etc. etc.

A lot of that is gone. It is not the same game that it was in beta and shortly after release. When ascended gear entered the picture, I knew the Manifesto no longer applied.

What keeps me playing is the art, which is still one of my favorite things, JPs (I am an addict), sometimes the quirky humor that was everywhere in GW2 at the beginning still pops up, and my wife and I make our own fun.

I am not in much anymore due to arthritis/ tendonitis and having to separate the game from anet as a company. For instance, it took me over a month to forgive anet for ascended and now I generally handle that issue by ignoring it as much as possible. The trait debacle is, at this time, what I have to fight against most these days. And its a big one, bigger than Ascended.

So, when my arthritis lets me, my wife and I plan to do something (often JPs) and see if I can be pulled back into the game that day.

I wanted “Guild Wars” 2. I wanted the equivalent of what I got going from Metroid Prime to Metroid Prime 2. Same concept, same mechanics, same feel, new polish and content. I wanted Guild Wars 1: 2.

I did not get it.

My husband and I came to GW2 looking for a home. We wanted a game where we could play with others, or by ourselves. We were battered and beaten, scorched with WoWburn, and bleeding from the cuts of honorless cretins. We had wandered, seeking, through other lands. Only to be driven away by the dreaded Elitism; forced to move on by a lack of Pay to Win, doomed to never wear Best in Slot gear. We wandered through Middle-Earth. And through lands steeped in Runes of Magic. Never finding aught, save bitter ashes of defeat.

Then we heard of a new world, Tyria by name. We were shown Captures, and it was a beauteous sight. There is no Holy Trinity there, we were told, none of the dreaded End-Game we so feared. ’Tis a peaceful land, with no need to fear other players, save in carefully controlled areas, magically kept apart from the common. The vile Vertical Progression had been conquered here, as well, so we had been led to believe. And so we payed for the journey to see.

The Creators were kind, the land was artful and inviting. There was much to do, see, and find. We stumbled upon some place odd, fairly early. And began climbing and jumping to see what was to be seen. At first, we stumbled often, plummeting to defeat. But helping each other, and others who journeyed as we, we reached a mysterious portal, and strode valiantly forward. Only to be in lands above the clouds, the ground out of sight below us. It took us days, nay weeks, to work through the chosen paths, to be rewarded at the end with a fight, and a wondrous chest. And the Jump Puzzle was found, and it was good!

Then the land grew darker, colder. The Creators grew more distant. They had done their creating, now saw no need to aid the new residents of their land. They changed things, assuming they knew what was right for All, when they had no clue. They focused on small things they, in their self-imposed isolated Wisdom decided we, their people, desired. And they turned a deaf ear to our pleas. We grew sorrowful, and some grew bitter. Some cried out for a Lynching, or an Abandonment. But many of us hold on. Striding forth in hope of a New Launch, an Expansion of our lives. We Pray, often many times a day, for our cries to be heard.

And we wait.

For we know, that some day, one of many things may happen. And when any of those things do, we will know it is time to act. We may find our Prayers answered. And we will rejoice. We may find our Expansion, and wander to explore new zones in this world. Or we may find a new world out there. One that calls to us as this one did. And then we will pack our belongings, pay our fare, and be off. To new lands, new adventures, and new lives. Leaving the land of Tyria to be home to memories. May they forever blow free in the wind.

I saw my brother playing GW1, he told me it was an MMO without a subscription, which was very appealing, and I was impressed with the combat and the charr – I hadn’t seen anything like them before which was a good sign it wouldn’t be a generic, unoriginal fantasy mash-up.

I got the game not long after, just after Factions came out, and was still playing it almost every day by the time GW2 came along so I pre-purchased on the first day.

There’s a lot of things I like about the game, including the lack of subscription, the lack of a gear treadmill, the art style, the freedom to play any part of the game at level 80 (and quite a lot of it before then), the hidden easter eggs, jumping puzzles etc. and probably a bunch of stuff I’ve forgotten.

Something like a evolution of GW1 with seamless map(if not would not bother also) but got demoralized at the moment the gw1 engine fork was all about districs, and overflows, i wanted to find what happened to tyria after all those years, see many alternative classes with many diferent builds working together, something more mmo’ish, and it was at teh beggining becouse players were still learning and trying diferent builds until they notice zerk blob stuff due mechanics.

Also new way of GvG’s, since there was no monk, but i was more into wvw castle siege and stuff (as a RO player having flag on main city was important :P )somehting that could honor your guild and work/dedication,

I definitely should not be posting here i was expecting a better game, game was a full disapointment….

1. Something drew you in.
I knew nothing of GW except for the name pre GW2, and like many came for the RvR/WvW/PvPvX however you want to call it, mode.

2. And why are you here at GW2, and not at some other game?
The foundation, combat, WvW, art style. The people involved in the making of GW2 did an exceptional job. I also believe this is why many players complain about GW2, it’s not the foundation or GW2 itself but the vision, direction, and execution that followed release.

3. So, what did you want out of GW2?
I suppose more of an emphasis on WvW, and an actual expansion worth of content a huge reason why many players joined the GW2 community, and left.

Palador.2170:

What did you want out of GW2?

I am going to list the major things that I’d want out of every MMO I play.
I have not found the perfect MMO until all the criteria is met. (Rating of 8 or higher)

• Combat that is more then just point and click – Check
  GW2 Combat is actually super fun, fluid and loaded with action – I love it
  (Rating: 10/10)

• Equal pvp. Open world pvp. Gear should only matter little or be easily obtainable even on high levels – Check
  - PvP modus is awesome in this game. Except for the generalized amulets and the lack of gamemodes its really great and even.
  - WvW is also a heck load of fun. Its semi-open world but its generally acceptable for me. Gear does not dominate either. Great work!
  I’d prefer a hardcore server version where open world PvP Is all over PvE maps. That game is not really ready/built for that hence it wont influence my personal rating.
  (Rating: 9/10)

• My two favourite profession need to be playable. That being an Archer and a Tank. – Semi-Check
  - While the ranger is generally pretty neat, I am not quite fond of the pet that I have to deal with.
  - The Warrior roaming meta suggest a shield+Axe. Its super fun and kinda looks tanky. I understand the stats are mostly full zerker but warriors got great sustain anyway. While its not perfect I can deal with it.
  (Rating: 7.5/10)

• A lot of depth, with great sotries and secrets to discover. It needs to feel alive. – Semi-Check
  - While the story-content is generally pretty nice. I like the different races (except asura, they can go to hell) and I like the gods that watch over this world.
  - The game does not really feel alive though.
  The entire game is based around a very competetive system. Go fast or get left behind.
  Its ironic since there is no real grind for anything, yet I felt forced to level up my first characater super fast because it actually is fast(!). If I can get something quick, I need to. If I cant I might aswell slow down a bit more because if it takes me 6 or 8 months to max level does not really matter anymore.
  This lead to me missing a lot of litte things and areas even though I got world completion 3 weeks into the game.
  Even today I discover new things, which is pretty nice actually.
  - Mega servers did only harm. But I understand that server-merging is neccessary at some point.
  - The music is great, the community is awesome.
  (Rating: 7/10)

• Fully Open world. Player driven world. – Failed
  - Its not open world. That sucks, period.
  - Instanced areas suck, they need to go! I hate the current MMO dungeon concept.
  - WvW, PvP and PvE area all seperated. Would help greatly for an ‘alive’ feeling world if they’d get merged together.
  - I’d wish the players had more impact on the world. Political system maybe? Make PvE Matter for pvp guys. (Would make the world a lot more alive.)
  We need something like clan-wars that battle each other for bosses etc.
  The PvE world is great but its wasted potential, really.
  - The living world events that happen everywhere are a joke. Its just some random quests on a timer.
  (Rating: 4/10)

Final words:
The game is really awesome, the major things I look for being great PvP fun and equality are given and very well made.
Even the PvE world holds great potential but its poorly executed.

How would you rate Gw2 compared to the other games you have played?:
- Second best. There is just a lot of crap games out there.

What is your favourite MMO that would meet most of the given criteria?:
- Lineage II. No competition so far. Its a lot of grind but the good things outweight that. At the end of the day it had a few problems too, of course.

Edit: Some things I’d like to add that dont really fit in the post above.
Of course I was also lured by the exprimental concept of GW2.
I felt the need for something new in the MMO-scene.
Breaking the holy trinity, opening up new ways and doors. It all did sound very nice.

In the end, what can I say. It was probably the last experimental MMO for me. (And probably the first and last western MMO) GW2 is still great fun but after that I am going to go back to the holy rule set that has existed in MMOs for many years now.
I’ve been playing MMOs since Lineage1 and have seen many rise and fall and tried a variety of them.

Breaking the base-structure of this genre is no good thing, at all.
Its what makes or breaks games of that genre.

You cant play a realistic military shooter with water guns either.

Edit2:
OOOOOoooooo (-Quaggan)
I forgot something very important!
The No pay-to-win system. Thats another (100/10) for GW2 right there.
Anything thats even remotely pay-to-win is a game not worth looking at for me.
It’s sad that many current MMOs that go f2p feel forced to go p2w with it. Ironic, isnt it?

Reasonable expectations in regards to everything from completing achievements ( as in WvW yakslapping for example) to getting a precursor to advancing/progressing/improving my character through crafting/adventuring or what have you. Reasonable expectations includes a reasonable amount of time and a reasonable amount of effort for a reasonable amount of reward.

So far GW2 has failed in delivering reasonable expectations.

Aeolus.3615:

Something like a evolution of GW1 with seamless map(if not would not bother also) but got demoralized at the moment the gw1 engine fork was all about districs, and overflows, i wanted to find what happened to tyria after all those years, see many alternative classes with many diferent builds working together, something more mmo’ish, and it was at teh beggining becouse players were still learning and trying diferent builds until they notice zerk blob stuff due mechanics.

Also new way of GvG’s, since there was no monk, but i was more into wvw castle siege and stuff (as a RO player having flag on main city was important :P )somehting that could honor your guild and work/dedication,

I definitely should not be posting here i was expecting a better game, game was a full disapointment….

Pretty much this, it failed to be a worthy successor for GW1, it feels like they completely scraped all the good GW1 had instead of improving upon it. The lack of holy trinity is in my opinion seriously limiting the dungeons quality and the poor implementation of condition damage each class should have had they own set of conditions no need for condition stacking or any of that crap. The recent changes to the leveling where another bad decision, it made leveling very boring. The only time I log in now is to continue the LS and that is only a couple of hours every 2 weeks (sort of), I refuse to grind for those Shiny armor skins they aren’t worth the grind/time invested in them for me. Currently waiting for enough content to return if there isn’t some new mmo that I like before that.

Flitzie.6082:

Edit2:
OOOOOoooooo (-Quaggan)
I forgot something very important!
The No pay-to-win system. Thats another (100/10) for GW2 right there.
Anything thats even remotely pay-to-win is a game not worth looking at for me.
It’s sad that many current MMOs that go f2p feel forced to go p2w with it. Ironic, isnt it?

But GW2 is pay to win.

I mean, considering that the only way to “win” in GW2 is to have those shinier skins since there’s no such thing as progression, it makes it far easier, faster, and less of a grind to just drop some money on gems and transfer them to gold to buy what you need.

Want a legendary? Sure, you could spend days, weeks, or months and wasting gold trying to randomly get a precursor and then spend the time it takes to get all the other things, or just drop some money and buy it off the TP. Want ascended gear? You could go and grind out all the mats, or you could just drop some money and buy the mats!

That’s a clear advantage that people who pay money have over people who don’t.

Why, what did you think pay to win meant?

Filaha.1678:

But GW2 is pay to win.

I mean, considering that the only way to “win” in GW2 is to have those shinier skins since there’s no such thing as progression…

Well, lol. Skins are not Pay to win at all.

You can only ‘win’ in a competetive environment. You dont ‘win’ because you have a more expensive skin. Besides that, it all comes down to personal taste anyway.
I’d never want wear any of those legendaries. They just look stupid imo.

Pay to win is usually a term exclusively for PvP. Even in PvE you cannot ‘win’. You might clear some mobs faster, if you bought gold for the best gear. Great, what an achievement really…
Considering PvP or WvW this game as no pay to win whatsoever.
Maybe PvE does with this copper-salvaging-thingie… but thats really not something to worry about, is it?

Edit:
Regarding Acended gear. How is that a grind? The ONLY thing that limits you are laurels and they cant be bought from cash anyway, right? (And possibly time gates, too)
Exotics are for free, ascended gear requires slight effort.

That being said. There are two types of pay 2 win.
- The first being items on the shop that you Need to progess or beat other players because you cannot obtain them within the game itself.
- The second being items that would just be easier to get if you’d buy them from cash but can be obtained through regular play aswell.

Both ways it sucks, but with the second option you have atleast a chance at what you want. It would all come down to how much of a grind certain things really are without cash to rate the game as p2w or now.

GW2 has nothing of that.

Presumably, pay to win?

Paying to lose stylishly is a different thing entirely.

Flitzie.6082:

Filaha.1678:

But GW2 is pay to win.

I mean, considering that the only way to “win” in GW2 is to have those shinier skins since there’s no such thing as progression…

Well, lol. Skins are not Pay to win at all.

You can only ‘win’ in a competetive environment. You dont ‘win’ because you have a more expensive skin. Besides that, it all comes down to personal taste anyway.
I’d never want wear any of those legendaries. They just look stupid imo.

Pay to win is usually a term exclusively for PvP. Even in PvE you cannot ‘win’. You might clear some mobs faster, if you bought gold for the best gear. Great, what an achievemnt really…
Considering PvP or WvW this game as no pay to win whatsoever.
Maybe PvE does with this copper-salvaging-thingie… but thats really not something to worry about, is it?

But it doesn’t really matter what you want from the game. Some people play games with stat progression and don’t really care about raiding. Would that make games with shops where you buy stats not pay to win because some people don’t care about achieving what is supposed to be the end goal?

By spending money, converting it to gold, and buying your legendary or mats for your ascended gear or even just exotic gear instead of farming it out, you have an advantage over someone who had to play the game to earn it.

But since this game doesn’t really have stat progression, the only “goal” in the game is getting the most shinies. Once you have ascended gear, the best possible stat gear you could, there is no other objective goal. Therefore, being able to transfer gems to gold alone gives you an inherent advantage in acquiring those shinies than people who do not.

That’s what pay to win is. You pay for an advantage over non-payers.

A true non-pay-to-win cash shop would be in a game where the goal is to get stronger, but all they put in the cash shop are vanity items. But in a game where the only objective goal is to amass shinies (made even more obvious with Collections), then one who amasses shinies faster is “winning”.

PvP may be commonly referenced in “Pay to win”, but that isn’t the end of it.

I just wish they add in more Horizontal progression, but they need to be more creative.
No more kitten things like agony resistance or Ascended gear, and getting new skins does not count as progression.

I want real “horizontal” progression.

There were two things I was looking for in GW2, post-GW1:

Firstly, an open-world conquest scenario (WvW) where guilds could take and hold territory, for their own glory and resources from managing it. WvW has largely failed to deliver on that one, because you can’t hold anything for longer than a week, and even that is a punishing chore that grants you nothing in return. It’s still my favourite form of PvP in GW2, for similar reasons to Jiaju Tai’s description of Lion’s Arch: in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

The second thing was a story-based PvE mode that makes the overworld interesting, carrying on and improving from GW1. This has fared somewhat better, particularly in the recent additions via LS2, but is still sorely let down by the lack of side-quests. ArenaNet should not treat those as a dirty word – they’re great ways to explore more about the world, and the player’s character. They don’t have to be particularly complex or voiced. What they’re there for is to offer additional story to those people who would like to see more than just the main storyline quest.

Altair.6109:

I just wish they add in more Horizontal progression, but they need to be more creative.
No more kitten things like agony resistance or Ascended gear, and getting new skins does not count as progression.

I want real “horizontal” progression.

Would you mind detailing what you consider that to be? Please and Thanks!

1) No Subscription Fees
2) I played GW1 and loved the game. GW2 was natural progression for me
3) WvWvW sounded like an epic concept

Filaha.1678:

But it doesn’t really matter what you want from the game.

This thread is about my opinion and what I think/wanted out of GW2.

Filaha.1678:

Some people play games with stat progression and don’t really care about raiding. Would that make games with shops where you buy stats not pay to win because some people don’t care about achieving what is supposed to be the end goal?

I see where you are comming from. Something like this would indeed be Pay2Win.
GW2 is not pay2win. Even if the goal of GW were to obtain all skins in the game (which is not the case). It would be pay2lookshiny, if at all.

You see. The word ‘win’ just does not fit in with the concept of acquiring skins. You dont win anything if you have all of them, except that you look ridiculously shiny.

Filaha.1678:

By spending money, converting it to gold, and buying your legendary or mats for your ascended gear or even just exotic gear instead of farming it out, you have an advantage over someone who had to play the game to earn it.

That is generally true. You do have an advanatage if you’d buy mats for ascended gear.
Then again, its not like you’d autowin against anyone in WvW if you have ascended gear and the enemy only exotics. Thus you dont win(?)
There are other games where having an armor of 1 tier higher than your opponent you can literally auto-attack them to death with ease. In those games it would be pay-2-win.

You see, there is a lot to look for, not just the sole fact that you can buy gold and then use it to fund your crafting.
Thus, payers dont really have any advnatage over non-payers in GW. Or lets say, the advantage is slim its hardly even questionable or worthy of mention.

I am sorry if our opinion on this are different, but you asked me

CMM.6712:

Altair.6109:

I just wish they add in more Horizontal progression, but they need to be more creative.
No more kitten things like agony resistance or Ascended gear, and getting new skins does not count as progression.

I want real “horizontal” progression.

Would you mind detailing what you consider that to be? Please and Thanks!

well, there are lots of ways to do this.
1) more traits
2) introducing items with special abilities (like armor that grants you aegis every min, or boots that allow you to jump twice in the air etc…) like items that make your play style mechanically different , instead of statically different.

Altair.6109:

CMM.6712:

Altair.6109:

I just wish they add in more Horizontal progression, but they need to be more creative.
No more kitten things like agony resistance or Ascended gear, and getting new skins does not count as progression.

I want real “horizontal” progression.

Would you mind detailing what you consider that to be? Please and Thanks!

well, there are lots of ways to do this.
1) more traits
2) introducing items with special abilities (like armor that grants you aegis every min, or boots that allow you to jump twice in the air etc…) like items that make your play style mechanically different , instead of statically different.

Thanks I do like the idea of more traits (which I’d think there will be fore sure) and also the different abilities/features/actions with armors idea, that reminds me of Diablo 2.

Nothing special, just balance, and bug fixing.
Too bad that they are not focusing on those things…

WoW doesn’t appease me. They are charging monthly subs, something I don’t like utterly.

So I go for GW2. Let’s see how this game holds me (new player here and downloading now).

zeroxxx.5713:

WoW doesn’t appease me. They are charging monthly subs, something I don’t like utterly.

So I go for GW2. Let’s see how this game holds me (new player here and downloading now).

Welcome and I hope you enjoy it!

What i wanted out of guild wars 2? Playing an engineer, a big kitten charr engineer with daunting and beautifull designed armor like the concept arts led me to belive i would get and a freaky armory of engineer weapons, tools, gadgets and kitten turrets in a world that moved on from the 100% magic thingy and entered a time where magic and machines co-exist. I got…well the “coke light in a dirty glass” version of what i wanted.

I got to play an engineer, a charr engineer with rather..lame designed armor (if you can call coats even armor) thats stretched love and carefree with blurry textures over the charr body (and anything else but humans and if you are lucky norn) and semi freaky armory of engineer weapons that glitch like crazy with my armor´s backpiece when i use em, a toolkit that doesnt cut it as the “BOOM prybar in your face and one with the blowtorch cause kitten you!” thing i wanted and no other melee weapon in sight (talking about a hammer or something, not the current kits), turrets that didnt work for anything proper for 75% on my time here in a world that only remembers there is machines and engineering here and there and completely ignores the friggin TANKS (HELLOOO?! Why the hell they are not on the frontline in the battle against the mordem?! A-net? Hello? Tanks? Massive boom?! No? Alright..) and other stuff in the citadel that stands there and gathers dust.

Though.. gw2 is a game made with love and care…sadly no love and care for the “basic” stuff i came to enjoy myself, a world where you got clashing swords and spellcasters on the battlefield while tanks and mortars fire from the back. Its not like i didnt enjoy it (i dont play that much anymore, not much to do cept the ls), but like i said.. i sorta wanted a glass of classic coke and got coke light in a dirty glass. I sure did drink it after i whiped the glass clean..but it didnt taste like what i was hoping for. Does it mean the game is bad? Not at all, in fact its IMO still the best mmo outthere and i do love the universe…but so much wasted potential…really sad, it could be even more then it is…

I expected a sequel to GW1. I didn’t care too much about the lore, even less after playing GW2. I just don’t enjoy the storytelling in GW2 at all. I really expected the gameplay to feel like it was a sequel of GW1. Needless to say, I’ve never been so disappointed in a sequel. If I didn’t rate GW1 as one of my favorite games of all time, I would have had lower standards for GW2. It really feels like the same people aren’t making the game.

I’m not playing the game right now. I just check in on the forums to see if there are any red posts giving actual information. I haven’t given up on the game at all, it’s a fun casual game, there’s just much better options out there right now. I’m currently spending a gross amount of time in WoW. The new WoW expansion is seriously impressive.

A studio working on it like any mmo.

Filaha.1678:

Flitzie.6082:

Edit2:
OOOOOoooooo (-Quaggan)
I forgot something very important!
The No pay-to-win system. Thats another (100/10) for GW2 right there.
Anything thats even remotely pay-to-win is a game not worth looking at for me.
It’s sad that many current MMOs that go f2p feel forced to go p2w with it. Ironic, isnt it?

But GW2 is pay to win.

I mean, considering that the only way to “win” in GW2 is to have those shinier skins since there’s no such thing as progression, it makes it far easier, faster, and less of a grind to just drop some money on gems and transfer them to gold to buy what you need.

Want a legendary? Sure, you could spend days, weeks, or months and wasting gold trying to randomly get a precursor and then spend the time it takes to get all the other things, or just drop some money and buy it off the TP. Want ascended gear? You could go and grind out all the mats, or you could just drop some money and buy the mats!

That’s a clear advantage that people who pay money have over people who don’t.

Why, what did you think pay to win meant?

I always enjoy when people change existing definitions to fuel their own prejudice. Pay to Win has a definition already. Pay to look good isn’t pay to win by any traditional definition. If you’re going to change the definition why use the same words?

I originally didn’t really know what I wanted out of GW2 when it was announced. I guess I was hoping for GW1 on major steroids which would basically be GW1 with:

1. Jumping
2. Prettier graphics
3. WvW
4. Heroes/henchmen with AI that you could manage and alter similar to Final Fantasy 12 and Dragon Age: Origins and DA2.
5. Higher level cap
6. A trading house/marketplace where players could set up their own little shop
7. Better grouping
8. Dramatically better skill balance at a quarterly pace
9. Be able to fully explore the entirety of the Tyria map in addition to Orr (I’ve been wanting to explore the isles of janthir and that river delta for a long time).
10. See vast amounts of references to GW1
11. Stored HoM items actually granting us the stored items in GW2
12. More of the trading card style skills and combat but at a much faster pace and with skills that can be activated while moving (active dodge buttons was something that I feared would remove the GW1 feeling from the then mysterious sequel).
13. An ingame store that only sold outfit items, character name changes, character slots—basically the things that GW1 sold and only what GW1 sold.
14. Player housing and customizable guild halls
15. Basically all the systems, mechanics, and playmodes of GW1 returning but with much more refinement and tweaking. Especially the PvP/GvG scene.

Of course, GW2 is a completely different beast, so hoping for what would have or could have been is useless by now.

I expected Guild Wars 2 to be more immersive. I quickly realized it wasn’t the game I wanted in a perfect world. It’s still better for my purposes than any other MMO out there.

I think the reason for that is that it’s organic. Things seem to grow out of each other. As I’m moving through an area, stuff happens whether I’m there or not. Raids happen on farmsteads. Ogre’s are attacked. And if I show up in time I can pitch in and help.

I’ve tried to go back to the traditional questing system with quest hubs and reading text and I just can’t do it. This game has ruined that for me.

I also can’t stand and cast anymore, I need more dynamic combat. I did fall in love with jumping puzzles.

However, the game still doesn’t tick my biggest box (and never has) which is immersion. The difference I guess between me and lots of people is that once I saw what the game was, I decided to take it at face value. That is to say, I played for the stuff I liked.

One day an MMORPG might come out that’s more immersive, and when it does, I’ll probably end up there. But so far, no one has even come close.

I wanted a continuation of the features that made Guild Wars 1 so great while also introducing new ideas to the sequel. Guild wars in this game do not exist at all, neither do halls or even capes. The only thing that would give GW2 the overhaul it needs is a paid expansion with increased level cap, new weapons, races and classes. I know the e word is a controversial one around here, but I just don’t like the living story formula as a long term plan for the game.

I’m still here because the game is just too kitten fun. Even with all of its imperfections it has the best combat system in any MMO I’ve played.

First off let me just say awesome topic OP really fun to think back as to why we are here in Tyria. I’ll just make a quick post as to why I am here.

I started playing GW1 and instantly fell in love with the game. I have always been a player who likes to feel like I’m leading an army in every game I play and GW1 really gave me that feeling with MM. When I played other MMO I would hate the grind to max level and once you got to max level is when you started to really have fun with a game because you can basically do everything I had never reached max level in any MMO that I played because it always felt like work to me and when I play a game and it starts to feel like work is normally the time that I leave. GW1 I never felt like I was working it always felt like fun for me. Only having to pay for the game and no subs quick leveling to max level where you could then enjoy everything that the game had to offer always sat well with me.

GW to this day has been the ONLY MMO that I have reached max level (with multiple characters) I always felt engaged and never felt a “need” to do anything I always had a choice and always multiple ways to get to where I wanted to go. Then I hear GW2 is in production didn’t have a date it was ready when it was ready and kitten how I respect that in a company. I’ve always been the type of person that likes to take their time doing things when you get rushed you make mistakes and ANET having that stance for GW2 always made me respect them so much more so I waited. Read info here and their learned it was going to be an “actual” MMO (not instanced) and that really pumped me up. I always felt that GW open world would be so much nicer then instanced how it was and I’m not disappointed. Read about the combat (which is for me the best combat in any MMO out now) was pumped being able to combo with other players just got me more and more hungry for the game.

So now 2yrs later and I am very satisfied with how the game turned out overall. Sure my beautiful MM class has been changed but I still get the feeling of swarming enemies that I had in GW1 (obviously not the same but its still there) the combat the feel of the combat turned out to be better then I expected and is one of the main reasons why I love the game so much. The evolving world watching NPC fight each other the feeling of a living world I feel that and its nice to have that feeling in an MMO because thats what you want. You want to feel like your part of a world that is alive a world that will change and if I don’t log on for a few months and I come back I can expect something new ( FREE!!! ) to explore and new lore to read or experience. And then the 3 modes PvE/PvP/WvW for me that is another huge reason why I’m here.

I played PvE for a very long time when I started with the game now I find myself always in HotM I’m sure in a few months ill be constantly roaming the borderlands and jumping between the 3 modes keeps me feeling good and not worn out of the game because GW2 is basically 3 games in one. Well these are a few reasons why I’m here in Tyria and somethings I didn’t want but the majority are things that I did want so overall I’m a happy camper.

#Kurzick4life!!!

ME 1.Raiding .
2.S pvp that is not conquest .
3.Rank as league of legends system in s pvp bronze.silver/gold etc .
4.Housing.
5.More skills more weapons for each professions.
6 New zones expansion type zones.
7.New race
8.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Most important thing of all PROGRESSION in the game !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What did I want out of GW2?

I wanted what was sold to me in the initial Manifesto.
But we don’t always get what we want in life, do we?

1. An open persistent world I could explore and get lost in.
2. A place for my friends and I to hang out and play together without ever getting bored.

I sort of got my first wish, but my friends abandoned this game long ago. So my second wish is long dead. Reason they left? No raids, no side quests, no purposeful progression, bad story. Sadly even with the story getting better, its not enough to bring them back…

I wanted a themepark where I could drop in, play with friends, and leave without pressure. If I wanted to have to arrange my life around a game, I’d be playing Pokemon and WoW.

I’m also really attracted by the core features, like shared credit for kills and individual resources nodes, everyone can heal / rez, etc. Those really make the game more cooperative and fun. They’re the reason I’m still around.

Filaha.1678:

But GW2 is pay to win.

You’re redefining the meanings of terms to suit yourself and/or to “win” a kittening contest on the internet. You go right on living in your own little world and we’ll continue living in the one where terms have meanings based on common, accepted definitions.

Gilosean.3805:

I wanted a themepark where I could drop in, play with friends, and leave without pressure. If I wanted to have to arrange my life around a game, I’d be playing Pokemon and WoW.

Not sure about WoW (and not trying it after EverQuest Planes of Power), but I’m not having to adjust my life around Pokemon. Now . . . Animal Crossing . . . <shudder> that was beastly.

I’m also really attracted by the core features, like shared credit for kills and individual resources nodes, everyone can heal / rez, etc. Those really make the game more cooperative and fun. They’re the reason I’m still around.

Right, agreed and the big reason I enjoy playing when I drop in and have some time between life, and other pursuits of happiness.

What did I want out of GW2? Well . . . I got most of it. I’m still missing the bit where it looked like it’d be continuing from threads introduced in Eye of the North but we kind of got back to that semi-recently. I’m mostly looking forward to seeing what they do with the story.

(Note, looking forward as in ‘anxious to hear how it goes’ as opposed to ‘salivating over like Pavlov’s dog’.)

Combat system and the platforming system. Everything feels really fluid and smooth. Each step you take feels very precise and does not feel like you’re gliding.

Very cooperative gameplay. No loot stealing, and each resource node is instanced.

Great in-game art, loading screens, and voice acting. Although it’s not fully animated, i found the conversation during personal story is more enjoyable than any other mmo’s fully animated cutscene.

Also dodge and cleave attack.

The reason why i’m still here? No subs, and anet very rarely messed up any of their update or patch release (unlike trion). The living story is also interesting. Although, i can’t stand some of its grindy parts, i still come here to follow the story. There’s also my addiction to gw2 fashion. Lastly a very healthy community (at least in-game and in my guild).

I came because I was tired of the hamster wheel that most games become. I also came because I try a lot of games. I absolutely did not come because of gw1, that was actually a negative.
I stay because as was said above I am able to jump in and out of content without planning my life around it. I stay because the release schedule is faster than any other game I have played. I stay because to me it is a high quality product.
I stay because I have fun.

Palador.2170:

What did you want out of GW2?

There was never a specific thing i wanted out of the game, other than being able to enjoy it.
I bought it because i was a fan of Guild Wars 1 and i enjoyed the world and lore, bought and read the GW2 books and then pre-ordered the game.

I guess one thing i wanted was Lion’s Arch and Ebonhawke to look like what the books made me think they looked like

Palador.2170:

And why are you here at GW2, and not at some other game? There’s hardly a shortage of fantasy MMOs out there, but this is the one you’ve landed on. Why, what made it the choice?

Its free and enjoyable, i like a lot of things about the game, so i don’t really feel like listing reasons other than i enjoy dressing up characters and getting new skins for them (its something that i think this game does the best).

GW2 is not the only MMO i play though, i do own/play other MMO’s (WoW, EVE, FFXIV, Star Trek Online) but other than STO, they cost money, which i don’t usually have, so i end up spending my time in GW2.

What I really REALLY want out of GW2 is better boss fight mechanics against Dragon champions. In that I want the Dragons to be more on the offensive during a world event rather than just standing in one spot taking punishment from an army of players. Oh, and I’d also think it will be cool if we can permanently get to cripple said dragon champion’s capabilities depending on which part/limb do we damage the most. In short, kind of like how Monster Hunter does it with it handles it boss fights. Aside from that, I got what I want out of Living Story.

What did I want out of this game?

I wanted a game without gear tread mill. It should not have a subscription fee. It should be possible to play it even with my aged reflexes (ideally with turn-based combat, which my former MMO had). It should be pretty. It should have no item shop things which you are more or less obligated to buy.

I got all of it.

Why are you here and not in any other game?

My last MMO was Atlantica Online, a MMO with turn-based combat. It had an obnoxious item shop and a steep gear treadmill (I can only smile reading posts here about how grindy and pay-to-win GW2 is – those posters have lost their connection to reality, or so it seems to me). When that game was taken over by Nexon it got worse and worse. So I looked for an alternative and GW2 was the new kid on the block. I was (and still am) not convinced of the new Unholy Trinity, I liked the Holy one better. But all other alternatives were worse.