Guild Wars 2

Lighter.5631:

casual with 3 80 without completing personal story?
come on, i compeleted mine on my 1st 80, i only have 2 btw..

It’s not that I don’t want, or haven’t been able, to. It’s more I haven’t bothered as yet. I simply enjoy the leveling of my characters. I’ll get around to completing the story at some point, and finding people to do it will just be easier when my guildies get to that point too.

Yes, I know, I’m weird.

Qaelyn.7612:

Kaiyanwan.8521:

Then why all the catering to the people that play so much and not to the ones that play 5 hours a week? Why the ascended stuff, if those people burn through it anyway? Why the achievement rewards?

Can you please tell me what in this game requires legendary or ascended gear?

Can you please tell me why I would play the game and not try to get legendary or ascended gear?

Or to put it another way Getting a legendary or ascended gear requires getting a legendary or ascended gear. That’s why it’s there. To be gotten.

Kaiyanwan.8521:

Lighter.5631:

… so get over it, efftard.

I do not have to get over it. The game is fine for me. I just tend to look beyond the egoistic lines of my own interests and try to see the bigger picture.

I see the flaws that will arise if you play below a certain level. I see the reasons behind people in a guild no longer logging in.
I don’t say the game is dying. I just say, the game that GW2 could have been is dying. A utopia, where hardcore and casual players can live side by side.

On my side, the sun shines bright enough, it is just the other side, that steadily drowns into darkness.

The game has many problems, and those problems certainly don’t involve it being casual unfriendly. The 4 main problems are rewards for the hardcore, class imbalances, lack of long term character progression and a storyline which is like watch EastEnders.

Non of those really affect players who just pop in for a hour a day because they don’t show until you’re very deep into the game.

urm,
the game is casual and shallow as a pond of dogpiss..
absolutely no effort is required.
for a whole year you were handed the best gear possible almost as soon as you got the top level, after a year a new weapon type was introduced that require to work casually for about one week for the BIS item for top level!
every released content that is not 1 shot stormed by the most inept of the playerbase is instantly nerfed under the whining of the masses….

and people still complain that it is hard and grindy? I don’t get it….

These threads never go well, for there are two different definitions of “casual” and “hardcore”. One is based on time (“casual” denoting player that plays the game considerably less than a “hardcore” player), one is based on attitude (“hardcore” players play for the challenge and bragging rights, “casual” players play to be entertained).
As a consequence of the different definitions, people tend to get their wires crossed in threads like that. And the widespread mutual lack of respect for the other group’s playstyle doesn’t help either.

Personally – I am a casual attitude player with a hardcore amount of time. I don’t care for frustrating content at all (I am still without a Tequatl kill and I never set my foot into Aetherpath or Arah 4). I prefer entertaining to medium challenge levels, as I don’t play this game to prove myself against some digital challenge, but to have fun. However, since I -do- play the game a lot, I have decent gear and sort of know my class well enough not to be a total burden for a team. I guess challenge-wisely, my favourite content is about Fractals Level 5-15 hard. That’s pretty much right for me.
I want a legendary weapon, but I couldn’t care less if literally everybody else has got one too, as my casual attitude makes me totally immune against any desire to have anything ‘exclusive’.

So what does GW2 offer someone like me?

a) WvW.
Running with a zerg is fairly casual friendly. Since it’s PvP, it’s by nature competitive content, yes. But since I am a part of a larger army, I don’t have to be a 1 vs 1 goddess to have fun there.

b) Low level Fractals
Since this content scales, it’s very suitable for both casual and hardcore players. Only downside is that thinks to the poor group finding support of this game (yes, I consider the lack of an automated dungeon finder to be one of the bigger obstacles to get casual players into that sort of content), getting a group for the lower level ones can be a hassle.

c) Farming a legendary.
Since I am that casual with a lot of time at my hands, I can go for this with some sort of hope to get it done one day. Have to credit GW2 for giving people like me access to be most prestigious gear in the game, actually – most other MMOs would lock that sort of gear behind super-frustrating raids and thus way out of my reach.

The Living Story is another story, though. I think it’s an equal opportunity offender that really caters neither to hardcore nor to casual players. Hardcore players will find the content to be waaay too boring and non-competitive, casual players of the “doesn’t have much time” type won’t be able to complete the often grindy achievements before ANet takes the content out of the game again. I don’t know what the LS really wants to be. Myself – I can get the achievements done, for I have the time for it, and sometimes even do that, but I don’t really care for the rewards much and the content is usually not able to hold my attention for long.

TooBz.3065:

Qaelyn.7612:

Kaiyanwan.8521:

Then why all the catering to the people that play so much and not to the ones that play 5 hours a week? Why the ascended stuff, if those people burn through it anyway? Why the achievement rewards?

Can you please tell me what in this game requires legendary or ascended gear?

Can you please tell me why I would play the game and not try to get legendary or ascended gear?

Or to put it another way Getting a legendary or ascended gear requires getting a legendary or ascended gear. That’s why it’s there. To be gotten.

Let’s turn the question around. Would it make things better if they just gave you them when you hit 80?

They were made to be long term goals for the ‘hardcore’ crowd. By making them short-term goals you just destroyed the entire point of their existence.

Xae Isareth.1364:

TooBz.3065:

Qaelyn.7612:

Kaiyanwan.8521:

Then why all the catering to the people that play so much and not to the ones that play 5 hours a week? Why the ascended stuff, if those people burn through it anyway? Why the achievement rewards?

Can you please tell me what in this game requires legendary or ascended gear?

Can you please tell me why I would play the game and not try to get legendary or ascended gear?

Or to put it another way Getting a legendary or ascended gear requires getting a legendary or ascended gear. That’s why it’s there. To be gotten.

Let’s turn the question around. Would it make things better if they just gave you them when you hit 80?

They were made to be long term goals for the ‘hardcore’ crowd. By making them short-term goals you just destroyed the entire point of their existence.

At this point, yes. I know I’m not suppose to say that, but honestly it’s how I feel.

I’m very very very tired of laurels and dailies and not being able to change my gear on a whim.

I don’t want to commit to a build or a class.

When I decide I want to try a condition spec on my Mesmer or cavalier trinkets on my warrior, I want to get the gear and go. If they had just been a little nice and made ascended gear account bound I’d be happily collecting different sets for use on different characters.

But they aren’t nice. And they don’t give a kitten about me. But that doesn’t mean I have to shut up just because someone says “you don’t need it”.

tl;dr: if people can kitten about not having long term goals, I can kitten about the bullkitten they make a long term goal.

TooBz.3065:

Qaelyn.7612:

Kaiyanwan.8521:

Then why all the catering to the people that play so much and not to the ones that play 5 hours a week? Why the ascended stuff, if those people burn through it anyway? Why the achievement rewards?

Can you please tell me what in this game requires legendary or ascended gear?

Can you please tell me why I would play the game and not try to get legendary or ascended gear?

Or to put it another way Getting a legendary or ascended gear requires getting a legendary or ascended gear. That’s why it’s there. To be gotten.

Leaving aside the fact that you didn’t actually answer my question (and I have a pretty good idea why)…

The answer to your question is that you should do whatever you enjoy. Some people enjoy working towards long-term equipment goals; others do not.

It’s optional.

The reason to not try to get a particular type of gear is that you are more interested in playing the game than grinding equipment. Which, it just so happens, this game is ideally designed for.

IME the people who complain about stuff like this simply cannot be satisfied:

- If they put in stuff that requires time and effort to get, they get complaints about grind.
- If they put in stuff that is easy to get, they get complaints about lack of challenge.
- If the new stuff comes slowly, people say they’re bored.
- If they put in new stuff frequently, people get upset because old gear isn’t as valuable.

The real solution is to get off the merry-go-round of trying to please hardcore gamers. And from what I can see, that’s what Arenanet basically has done.

Qaelyn.7612:

TooBz.3065:

Qaelyn.7612:

Kaiyanwan.8521:

Then why all the catering to the people that play so much and not to the ones that play 5 hours a week? Why the ascended stuff, if those people burn through it anyway? Why the achievement rewards?

Can you please tell me what in this game requires legendary or ascended gear?

Can you please tell me why I would play the game and not try to get legendary or ascended gear?

Or to put it another way Getting a legendary or ascended gear requires getting a legendary or ascended gear. That’s why it’s there. To be gotten.

Leaving aside the fact that you didn’t actually answer my question (and I have a pretty good idea why)…

The answer to your question is that you should do whatever you enjoy. Some people enjoy working towards long-term equipment goals; others do not.

It’s optional.

The reason to not try to get a particular type of gear is that you are more interested in playing the game than grinding equipment. Which, it just so happens, this game is ideally designed for.

I actually did answer your question. The part of the game that requires getting ascended gear is getting ascended gear. It’s in the game, it’s a part of the game. Therefore, I think my answer is valid.

Edit: I don’t think that ascended stuff is optional. It’s too much better, the stat allocations are different and, in some cases, superior. So to me it’s not optional.

Arguing with me on this point is a total waste of time. At some level, the entire game is optional. I don’t have to play. So at best we are arguing about shades of optional.

TooBz.3065:

I actually did answer your question. The part of the game that requires getting ascended gear is getting ascended gear. It’s in the game, it’s a part of the game. Therefore, I think my answer is valid.

If that’s an answer, it’s a circular one.

In most games you need to get ever-better equipment just to participate in the content. In this one, you really don’t.

If you’re grinding to get gear just for the sake of getting it, and then complaining about how much you hate the grind, then you’re doing it wrong. Sorry, it’s really as simple as that.

Qaelyn.7612:

TooBz.3065:

I actually did answer your question. The part of the game that requires getting ascended gear is getting ascended gear. It’s in the game, it’s a part of the game. Therefore, I think my answer is valid.

If that’s an answer, it’s a circular one.

In most games you need to get ever-better equipment just to participate in the content. In this one, you really don’t.

If you’re grinding to get gear just for the sake of getting it, and then complaining about how much you hate the grind, then you’re doing it wrong. Sorry, it’s really as simple as that.

I don’t care about other games. I have never played any of these other games you mention. To me, you can’t justify stealing a candy bar just because other people steal cars. (What I mean is that bad is bad even if others are worse).

Anyway, I explained my position, you’ve explained yours. I suggest we put down our keyboards and back slowly away while eyeing each other warily. (You can’t have the last word, I won’t respond)

Except nobody is stealing anything from you. If anything you’re stealing from yourself by apparently choosing to on purpose play in a way you dislike.

Seems to me that what you’re after doesn’t exist, and can’t exist because it is based on contradiction.

It is like you are telling the casuals to play what is left of the days when GW2 was released.
“Here you go, you still got the vanilla experience. It is still in the game.”

We are over a year later, we got a new tier (ascended, but actually, every release of ascended items is managed like a whole new tier of equipment in other games), we got The Zerk that runs somewhere else every two weeks and mindless champion farming.
So you tell the people that do not have the patience to grind out their dailies and mats for ascended, or do not want to jump around (thank the holy kitten we have jumping puzzles, I always thought this game would be a platformer), to play one year old content, or take a break.

This is not Sparta.

That’s one perspective.

From where I sit, I see lots of casual players saying they have lots to do and are mostly enjoying doing it, while a few hard-core players tell them they’re actually not having fun.

You see, there would have been a lot of ‘new’ experiences if they actually kept everything they created in the game. We got AR, MF, SAB, Mad Descent, Queen’s and a whole lot more of interesting content in the past year, more than an expandion’s worth. But reasons beyond a mere mortal like me, they took it all out.

Qaelyn.7612:

That’s one perspective.

From where I sit, I see lots of casual players saying they have lots to do and are mostly enjoying doing it, while a few hard-core players tell them they’re actually not having fun.

Because they are playing Skyrim right now?

TooBz.3065:

I don’t think anyone here has the slightest clue about what a “casual player” is or what they want. No one posting here is a casual player, no matter what Vayne may try to say (sorry man, you play way too much to claim that label).

So, casual for you is determined by time spent. I think it’s attitude, as in what weight the player gives to playing the game. Two examples.

ANet adds a new achievement or skin to the game. The casual gets them or not, depending on whether they care to do the content required. The non-casual player has to have them because they’re there.

Someone is playing the game. His wife says, “Let’s go to my mother’s house.” The casual says, “Sure.” The non-casual says, “You go ahead, I’m working on achievement X.”

IndigoSundown.5419:

TooBz.3065:

I don’t think anyone here has the slightest clue about what a “casual player” is or what they want. No one posting here is a casual player, no matter what Vayne may try to say (sorry man, you play way too much to claim that label).

So, casual for you is determined by time spent. I think it’s attitude, as in what weight the player gives to playing the game. Two examples.

ANet adds a new achievement or skin to the game. The casual gets them or not, depending on whether they care to do the content required. The non-casual player has to have them because they’re there.

Someone is playing the game. His wife says, “Let’s go to my mother’s house.” The casual says, “Sure.” The non-casual says, “You go ahead, I’m working on achievement X.”

Ok. You have a definition of casual that works for you, it’s not the only definition. Vayne has like 7 million achievement points and claims that he’s casual. I have less than 8k and think of myself as hardcore. Others say, since I only have played 1000+ hours since launch I’m a newbie.

Why label. Why disregard the way people feel with a name?

TooBz.3065:

Qaelyn.7612:

TooBz.3065:

Qaelyn.7612:

Kaiyanwan.8521:

Then why all the catering to the people that play so much and not to the ones that play 5 hours a week? Why the ascended stuff, if those people burn through it anyway? Why the achievement rewards?

Can you please tell me what in this game requires legendary or ascended gear?

Can you please tell me why I would play the game and not try to get legendary or ascended gear?

Or to put it another way Getting a legendary or ascended gear requires getting a legendary or ascended gear. That’s why it’s there. To be gotten.

Leaving aside the fact that you didn’t actually answer my question (and I have a pretty good idea why)…

The answer to your question is that you should do whatever you enjoy. Some people enjoy working towards long-term equipment goals; others do not.

It’s optional.

The reason to not try to get a particular type of gear is that you are more interested in playing the game than grinding equipment. Which, it just so happens, this game is ideally designed for.

I actually did answer your question. The part of the game that requires getting ascended gear is getting ascended gear. It’s in the game, it’s a part of the game. Therefore, I think my answer is valid.

Edit: I don’t think that ascended stuff is optional. It’s too much better, the stat allocations are different and, in some cases, superior. So to me it’s not optional.

Arguing with me on this point is a total waste of time. At some level, the entire game is optional. I don’t have to play. So at best we are arguing about shades of optional.

Meant to be optional, though I do not mean to infuriate you, so feel free to disagree. Can’t be intended that you must get full ascended gear for 8 characters with different stats for different builds. Even the grindiest players would have trouble achieving such a thing. Therefore, IMHO, the statement that you don’t really need Ascended is valid, more than a trolling point.

To say that you can say that the whole game is optional misses the point of what I am stating with Ascended not being must-have gear.