Guild Wars 2

Hey everyone. I’m a new player. Before I begin my rant, let me precede by telling you the kind of games I play frequently: DoTA2, Battlefield 3 & 4, Starcraft II, Dragon Age: Origins. For single player games I play on a harder difficulty because I like challenge, and as for the others, I play PvP because I like in-depth mechanics, strategy, and a good challenge.

On to GW2. I picked this game up because my friends raved about it, and after reading the stunning reviews, I went ahead and took the plunge and bought the game. I played World of Warcraft a long time ago and thought that was a decently challenging game. But right now I have a level 9 sylvari and all I can say is this game is INCREDIBLY, INCREDIBLY, INCREDIBLY, INCREDIBLY EASY and BORING!

I am “completely” floored by how easy it is to “kill stuff”. I don’t even need to use 2, 3, or 4, all I do is walk up to stuff (that is my level or higher) and kill in 6 or less hits with auto-attack. Am I missing something here? I haven’t bought anything from the stores. Does the game get harder as you go along? Does the PvE get any better than this? My experience feels way different than everyone else, and I’m wondering if I’m doing it wrong. What exactly makes this game so great to stand out amongst the other MMO’s on the market? Maybe it isn’t for me, but judging by the reviews there’s got to be some hidden substance.

Thanks for the help.

The starter zones are balanced such that everything is mindlessly easy to kill. Combat starts to get a bit more involving and demanding at higher level zones, but to be entirely honest the game really is too easy overall.

That is why they are making an expansion, Heart of Thorns, and focusing on hard-core end game content. They have made challenging content before (like Liadri) so I have some confidence in their ability to deliver on that.

I would suggest trying to get at least half way through the level 15-30 zones before you make your final judgement. At the very least, make it out of the starter zone before you judge the difficulty. But if you’re used to playing on hard difficulties, the open world will definitely be easy for you.

In that sense, I would suggest you try sPvP, where you fight other players. If you’re new to the game, I can promise you’ll have a steep learning curve in that mode.

It’s a kind of “choose your own adventure” difficulty scheme. Early on it’s very easy, but by the time you get to the end of the main line, do dungeons, fractals, etc. you’re going to see the challenge creep up.

Don’t try to think about it like WoW, where leveling is the core experience. Think of leveling as the tutorial that’s more about exploration than challenge, and the instances and level 80 areas, instances, world bosses, etc. as the challenge.

Most content in the game can be completed by autoattacking, HoT will hopefully be changing that up a bit. Some mobs in the current high level zones require a little bit of movement with the addition of 2-3 more keys. The dungeons do require more, but not by much.
GW2 open world PvE is not the thing you play for hardcore or difficult content(right now, might be changing with HoT). You’re better off playing GW2 for its story, exploration, dressing up and other things. GW2 is a great game to relax in when you don’t want to take things serious.

If you want more difficult you could try SPvP. I greatly dislike, but there are people that still play it.
Things do get harder as you level, they just never get “hard” in the open world.

The starter zones are easy because there are people in there who have never played a game before. They’re still learning the basics. Hard mobs on top of it would be too much.

You’ve listed several PvP games that you’re used to so I’d try some of that in GW2. The open world PvE doesn’t get frustratingly difficult really but at level 9, there’s not really much challenge. It’s the starter zone after all… The open world is more about adventure type stuff. The more challenging stuff is usually in dungeons, fractals, meta events and stuff like that.

So basically the game only gets challenging with end-game content? That might sum it up for me then. To me, leveling has primarily been the experience. I remember doing quests at around lvl 20-30 in WoW and it was a challenge and getting a good party was essential in dungeons and the like, as well as getting good equipment. I liked the leveling system in WoW and how PvE was challenging no matter what level you are. I wish I could go into the settings and set the difficulty at this point lol.

Any chance the dev’s will nerf the difficulty so it’s more difficult throughout the whole game?

As you have only four skills it seems obvious you have not yet progressed to the parts of the game where you are challenged, leave the starter zones, do dungeons, boss fights, fractals and then we can talk about the games difficulty.

Also HoT the expansion is to introduce more challenges, raids and is touted to be the hardest end game content introduced to date.

RoffleMyWaffles.1295:

Any chance the dev’s will nerf the difficulty so it’s more difficult throughout the whole game?

I think you mean buff, nerf would imply that you want it easier.

Aedelric.1287:

RoffleMyWaffles.1295:

Any chance the dev’s will nerf the difficulty so it’s more difficult throughout the whole game?

I think you mean buff, nerf would imply that you want it easier.

I’m sorry. You are correct.

I just want to make sure that after I leave the starter zone, the game will become more difficult and getting a good party to do this or that quest will be rewarding. In short, I don’t want cake until I hit level 80. What is the earliest when I will actually get decently challenged and start dying? Lol

RoffleMyWaffles.1295:

Any chance the dev’s will nerf the difficulty so it’s more difficult throughout the whole game?

They have only made things easier since the game’s release because of people asking for things to be easier.
There are already people whining about the difficulty of mobs in the first new zone in the game’s expansion. This was after playing a single weekend. These complaints are against mobs that simply require dodging/reflecting when they make a telegraphed attack.

I would stick through it though. Raids and fractals could prove to be very challenging. The difficulty of the mobs in the new zones are already much better than those in the base game.

GW2 is not about leveling, it is about exploring with no set up goals. This makes the game boring for most of people.
Exploring the world with your own personal goals in mind is a tricky thing becasue all we do in other games is follow the quest log which we don’t have in here.

Think of GW2 as a sandbox game where you make you own difficultly.
If the game feels too east, play it without the armor and use manual attack and not auto-attack.

But I agree.. the game gets boring very quickly due to “no goals” system

lol, u want hard. Try to get to ascalon dungeon atleast. You will feel helpless and weak. Also, lving in wow is the easiest thing there is, “do quests, get gear, do dungeon get carried”. I dont find it hard or challenging as u are making the comparision to gw2.

RoffleMyWaffles.1295:

Hey everyone. I’m a new player. Before I begin my rant, let me precede by telling you the kind of games I play frequently: DoTA2, Battlefield 3 & 4, Starcraft II, Dragon Age: Origins. For single player games I play on a harder difficulty because I like challenge, and as for the others, I play PvP because I like in-depth mechanics, strategy, and a good challenge.

On to GW2. I picked this game up because my friends raved about it, and after reading the stunning reviews, I went ahead and took the plunge and bought the game. I played World of Warcraft a long time ago and thought that was a decently challenging game. But right now I have a level 9 sylvari and all I can say is this game is INCREDIBLY, INCREDIBLY, INCREDIBLY, INCREDIBLY EASY and BORING!

I am “completely” floored by how easy it is to “kill stuff”. I don’t even need to use 2, 3, or 4, all I do is walk up to stuff (that is my level or higher) and kill in 6 or less hits with auto-attack. Am I missing something here? I haven’t bought anything from the stores. Does the game get harder as you go along? Does the PvE get any better than this? My experience feels way different than everyone else, and I’m wondering if I’m doing it wrong. What exactly makes this game so great to stand out amongst the other MMO’s on the market? Maybe it isn’t for me, but judging by the reviews there’s got to be some hidden substance.

Thanks for the help.

So you play three strategy games PvP games and a single player RPG. Of course the PvE is a walk in the park for you.

Most of the game is very easy. A level 80 can shrug off attacks and keep going. It’s the new level 80 areas that are harder and require more attention to what’s going on around you. If you want a game with challenging combat while leveling, this might not be the game for you.

Ronah Lynda.2496:

But I agree.. the game gets boring very quickly due to “no goals” system

I had the same thing, so I made a check list of the things I want to do/collect and formed a guild of people who want to do the same things. It’s much better now.

I also played the Beta for HoT, I spent most of the time dead on the ground if I wasn’t playing near people who could help fight things. I’m really looking forward to the full release. From first impressions, it has the teamwork aspect of the Silverwastes without the loot grab of the shovel runs, which kind of kills the teamwork and fun when a map is chest runs only.

The game was heavily nerfed during beta. Back in the day, some enemies in the starter zone could basically 1 shot you. The problem of course was that the average player couldn’t handle action combat, so they nerfed everything. Since then, they’ve been slowly trying to teach players how to play. With every major content patch, they’ve slightly increased the difficulty.

If you want a challenge at lower levels, play naked or only equip what is given to you (don’t simply buy the best gear available). Additionally, all enemies you encounter should be a minimum of +1 levels above you.

You can find/create a challenge by playing in areas above your current level. I would imagine you would find your character dead quite soon after stepping into the next level map (15 – 25). But, you don’t have to even leave the starter maps yet; just walk/run to the opposite side of the map from the entrance to your Home City. I think you will find the creatures there give you more of a challenge.

Welcome to Tyria, and good luck!

My question at this point is, playing normally (i.e. not taking off armor, using the best items available, etc.), at what point does the game because challenging/more difficult in PvE in reflection of games like WoW, SWtoR and some of the games I’ve mentioned? Lvl 20? 30? This will be the deciding factor if I should stick around.

Thanks again for the help.

Nowhere during leveling, in my opinion. Not in the PvE maps at least. Not even the level 80 zones if you are above average in ability except maybe the Silverwastes. Maybe the new maps that are coming with the heart of thorns. Those are supposed to be harder. If you want challenging fights in this game, may I suggest WvW.

Boring? Not for me. Oh – just level 9 and making judgments lol.

It’s not hard, but surely not boring. You’ve seen almost nothing at level 9. To be fair you should play at least to level 71 to play fully traited, better yet to 80.

I think though even perhaps overly easy for a keen player you will be missing a true perspective on the game until you level up one character fully. I hope you do that and I hope you have fun along the way too.

If you want added difficulty while leveling and faster leveling play in areas 5-9 levels above your current level. It may not be as challenging as you desire, but anti speed leveling comes in at 10 levels over current level.

If you can do try to explore the social aspects of the game as well. Grouping up and Guilds can make things fun. I love helping friends do things I find easy that they find hard and getting help from them with things I’m week in.

As to your last query it will be in level 80 zones where it may get challenging for you. If you stick with the game and try HOT Anet promises harder content.

Hope you find some fun in game.

It’s actually why some of my friends quit the combat is just too easy. They even ended up nerfing the mobs in orr

Well he hasn’t listed an MMO and pretty much all MMOs are like this~ GW2 has a more interesting, convenient and less repetitive quest system at least. I am not the average gamer though and you may not be either~ majority of the games out there I find to be too easy for me. You listed DAO which is one of my favs, I found Nightmare mode to be relatively easy but the challenge was still there and made it more fun than normal~ same with DAI.

You can actually go to areas higher level than you anytime you want in GW2 though if you want stronger stuff to face and revealing the map gives xp along the way. I think too high of lvl may lessen xp though I’m not sure how the scaling works nowadays. PvP will give the most combat challenge.

The game did used to be harder less easy but many people complained about it causing a nerf and some slight handholding added to the game. There are some pretty crazy challenges to find though for achievement hunters and more to come I’m sure with how well the new Living Story direction went. Liadri and Super Adventure Box Hard Mode are some of the toughest things to exist in a video game so Anet has some hardcore sadist among them.

For the most part, I remember WoW’s open world PVE being easier than GW2’s. Even in the early levels (maybe especially in the early levels).

GW2 is mainly geared towards casuals, so open world PvE is really easy. Most you can do is to try to explore area with higher lv than you. Also search for events, because that what makes PvE more interesting and some can be quite challenging if there are less player in the area. Otherwise, dungeons is the more challenging area you can do, and the first dungeon is unlocked at lv 35.

I suggest you check PvP as well. You don’t need to be lv 80 because all stats are equalized in PvP and gears is just for cosmetic. PvP is where the combat system in this game really shines, and the learning curve is not easy.

I can find decent challenge in leveling by seeking out groups of mobs, whether that’s patrols, events I can solo, or whatever. I say decent, not exceptional, and I’m hardly the most skilled player around — but I can certainly find circumstances where I want to use more than just the #1 attack.

Part of what you might be seeing is that the #1 attack — depending on profession and weapon chosen — might be your most potent attack, with 2-5 being situational control, etc. Necromancer dagger is an excellent example. 2 is a self heal attack, 3 an immobilize — neither of which I want to use unless I need them. Depending on my off-hand, I might kill a lot of mobs with number 1 only. With Vets, I might use Focus as the off-hand, and use #4 for Vulnerability.

The skill system allows for more depth in play, but in vanilla, setting yourself up to want to use that depth takes more doing — but it can be done. By and large, if a single mob is no challenge, seek out places where you can aggro more than just one. The more, the merrier, as it were. There’s also going into higher level areas if even numbers don’t wake you up.

Good luck, have fun, welcome, and I hope you can find more depth.

Thanks guys. I think I’ve come to the conclusion that GW2 just isn’t the MMO for me, unfortunately. I don’t know if any MMO will be these days. The music is beautiful (Jeremy Soule, another reason I decided to play) and the graphics are great, but when it comes down to the nitty gritty of good, challenging gameplay throughout the regular course of the game (not just at the highest lvls), I don’t think I’m going to find it here. I can’t just auto-attack and have fun, I have to do more. I mean seriously, I know I already mentioned it, but it was SO INCREDIBLY EASY. I was losing virtually NO health at low levels, while stomping everything like I was a lvl 40 in a level 1-10 zone.

I probably should’ve mentioned Dark Souls in that list of games I play too, even though I find that to be over-the-top challenging, mostly. I would say I was looking for something challenging at the level Dragon Age: Origins, and even better, in-between DA:O and Dark Souls in terms of challenge (considering the unique game mechanics of GW2).

Back in the day I played Dark Age of Camelot, Anarchy Online, Asheron’s Call, and World of Warcraft. I played Elder Scrolls Online at launch and that was difficult in some areas and when killing mobs at a higher level than you. Those were all challenging games. Even after just leaving the beginner zones. You couldn’t just run up and kill something 5 levels higher than you. You needed a friend and strategy, and even then you may barely survive.

Thanks for all the feedback folks. I’ll be checking back here once the expansion comes out to see if anything changed.

Can´t speak about the other games, but DAOC was indeed much harder, especially in the dungeons, you were probably dead meat if a mob 3+ levels above you targeted you and you did not run from it. You could have never afforded to just sit by and wait in Avalon City if you were not sitting in a safe spot, even some of the less skilled necromancer players were killed when they were afk for too long.

GW2 is severely lacking in terms of Vanilla mobs and lacking in WvW(no buff bots, big bonus!) compared to DAOC, despite acting on the same kind of system. The one major advantage is has over DAOC is that it´s story moves on. Snail like, but it moves forward.

To each his own I guess, but at least try to hit lvl 80 and try out some other portions of the game like WvW/EotM (think that is available from lvl 30, haven’t leveled an alt in awhile), dungeons (you will get mail invites when you hit required level for each dungeon) or fractals before passing judgement.

I love reviews like this when people have played for 2 hours, never left starter zones and complain that game is lacking difficult content. Amazing.

Shame you didnt last it through the Levels. If u were just stickin it through till HoT u problably would’ve been more satisfied as mobs/PvE is “harder” there. In any case, GW2 stands out for many since it isnt like other traditional gir/contenttreadmill mmos. 80 will always be max Level, exo/asc is the best gear, and surely you would appreciate that comming from so many mmorpgs and surely is tired of the old mill.

Can I please have your skills because half my play style is “Mob. Run in for attack….ummmmm….this isn’t going good…..dying slowly……..kitten….RUN AWAY”

And I played DA too on nightmare mode….granted, I died and relied on saves……

RoffleMyWaffles.1295:

Thanks guys. I think I’ve come to the conclusion that GW2 just isn’t the MMO for me, unfortunately. I don’t know if any MMO will be these days. The music is beautiful (Jeremy Soule, another reason I decided to play) and the graphics are great, but when it comes down to the nitty gritty of good, challenging gameplay throughout the regular course of the game (not just at the highest lvls), I don’t think I’m going to find it here. I can’t just auto-attack and have fun, I have to do more. I mean seriously, I know I already mentioned it, but it was SO INCREDIBLY EASY. I was losing virtually NO health at low levels, while stomping everything like I was a lvl 40 in a level 1-10 zone.

I probably should’ve mentioned Dark Souls in that list of games I play too, even though I find that to be over-the-top challenging, mostly. I would say I was looking for something challenging at the level Dragon Age: Origins, and even better, in-between DA:O and Dark Souls in terms of challenge (considering the unique game mechanics of GW2).

Back in the day I played Dark Age of Camelot, Anarchy Online, Asheron’s Call, and World of Warcraft. I played Elder Scrolls Online at launch and that was difficult in some areas and when killing mobs at a higher level than you. Those were all challenging games. Even after just leaving the beginner zones. You couldn’t just run up and kill something 5 levels higher than you. You needed a friend and strategy, and even then you may barely survive.

Thanks for all the feedback folks. I’ll be checking back here once the expansion comes out to see if anything changed.

Yep from the sound of it, GW2 is not the right thing for you if you’re expecting something like hardcore leveling and difficulty right off the bat. My last tip: having a friend to play with is always better in MMO and since leveling in GW2 is easy, you can actually reach “endgame” within no time and enjoy all the challenges as lv 80 (dungeons, fractals, WvW). But anyway, there are tons of other games that are right up your alley, because GW2 is more casual friendly and is different than the game you listed above.#

Maybe the OP needs to buy Guild Wars 1. Now that game was challenging if you didn’t know what you were doing. They had mobs in there that worked together as a team and would wipe the floor with you, especially in Hard Mode.

Oxidia.8103:

I love reviews like this when people have played for 2 hours, never left starter zones and complain that game is lacking difficult content. Amazing.

Problem is, it doesn’t get much more difficult later on. GW2 isn’t designed for the style of difficulty the OP seems to want, it doesn’t matter if its starter or a lvl80 zone. GW2 is not made to be challenging, anything that was a challenge has been toned down over the years.

Your early experience is pretty much how it’s going to be the rest of the game.

I find it funny,cuz i had a friend try out GW2 and she complained that she can’t one-shot mobs that were 4-5 level weaker than herself. She told me over and over again: But i can do that in WOW! So i don’t think that WOW’s difficulty level is much higher. o_O (Said friend died a lot as well xD )

But yeah,you won’t find hardcore content here while leveling up. Mmo’s in general might be a bit too easy for you.

Seems to me the OP was just riding the “GW2 is just too easy” critical crowd, and never did give it a decent chance-that his/her mind was made up in advance about the game.

I also remember the game being much more difficult the first days (or even during the first few months?), but that may be due to lack of experience with the system. Used to see many players “nude” as a result of unrepaired armor pieces.

Also, Straits of Devastation used to be a real pain the first time you arrived, and as much hate as those zombies got with all the crowd control skills, it was a very enjoyable experience to discover with friends. Very underrated maps, which I have honestly liked more than the new areas, which tend to be a bit more chaotic than I like (too many things going on in the screen at the time-not necessarily more “difficult” than old Orr, but just confusing at times.)

GW1 was indeed harder but could be simplified if you knew specific “build formulas”, though I did enjoy trying to figure out on my own which build would counter the AI for the specific mob or map the best. It’s such a different game, though, much like an apples vs oranges comparison, and did have its own set of weaknesses.

Since the OP did spend money, if it was me I would make certain to get a better grasp of the game-or perhaps another Profession-up until level 80. This game may never be “hardcore” difficulty (whatever the silly term entails) but some encounters are definitely more challenging/engaging than what he/she did encounter at level 9, even in today’s GW2 “easy mode” version.

(I also love more turn based RPGsf, and purposefully shy away from “action” titles; as such, while I do not find GW2 “hard”, I find the forced “puzzle” parts very annoying and “difficult”-like the laser room at the Crucible of Eternity, and other similar episodes.)

And BTW, the auto-attacking 1 you read a lot about even in these forums for PvE map is not really an accurate criticism, but just a bad exaggeration people use to make their “GW2 PvE is easy” points-you cannot hope to do that all the time and “win” even in the first few maps with some encounters, 100% guaranteed (need to dodge and/or heal at the very least, and that’s not pressing only 1.)

Well you can make this game more challenging for you very easily without taking off armour etc. You are level 9, no problem go to a lvl 15 part of the starter map. That still too easy? No problem again go to the next map, the level 15-25 and I assure you that you will start to get 2-3 hit. Not only that but the mobs will start to chase you down from half a map away lol. Has anyone else noticed this before? I tried it one day for a laugh just running though the maps on a low new char and I can tell you, the further in you get the mobs TRULY do chase you from half a map away. It’s like they can smell weakness :P

dont know if someone said it yet but…if you are bored because its to easy, go into higher lvl zones , i remember my first time i created a norn, and near the beginner zone is the lvl 80 with the world event , so as i was exploring and stuff i sudenly stood before a lvl 80 mob as a lvl 20 war and got one shoted…

so yeah , if the starting zone is to easy , simplay go into others , you dont have to finish all the hearts in a zone if its boring , move on , or go to wvw or pvp and get killed alot ;P

RoffleMyWaffles.1295:

My question at this point is, playing normally (i.e. not taking off armor, using the best items available, etc.), at what point does the game because challenging/more difficult in PvE in reflection of games like WoW, SWtoR and some of the games I’ve mentioned? Lvl 20? 30? This will be the deciding factor if I should stick around.

Thanks again for the help.

You can try to play the dungeons when you reach the required level. Ascalonian Catacombs becomes available at level 30 for the story and level 35 for the explorable mode, where you get more loot than in the story. I remember when I first hit level 30 and went into the dungeon it was pretty difficult. If you want a challenge you should look for a party around level 30-40 and give that a try.

BrooksP.4318:

Oxidia.8103:

I love reviews like this when people have played for 2 hours, never left starter zones and complain that game is lacking difficult content. Amazing.

Problem is, it doesn’t get much more difficult later on. GW2 isn’t designed for the style of difficulty the OP seems to want, it doesn’t matter if its starter or a lvl80 zone. GW2 is not made to be challenging, anything that was a challenge has been toned down over the years.

While not a challenge for experienced players, perhaps, some Champions will be hard to Solo for many beginning players. I can think of some that could be deemed hard even nowadays (of course they are not supposed to be soloed in theory, but sometimes that particular corner of the map doesn’t have players on.) We find the game easy because we are so experienced 3 years later, but I do remember having trouble in the past with some of these Champs, which I liked to Solo before the Megaserver era.

What tend to be too easy are so-called trash mobs, and even Veterans/Elites. Would be cool if we could have new PvE maps in which soloing is very, very dangerous and grouping is highly recommended. My favorite PvE content so far was the Kessex Hills tower; you could “solo” things but it was way more perilous than anything else in the game to do so, barring Dungeons.

Paulytnz.7619:

Well you can make this game more challenging for you very easily without taking off armour etc. You are level 9, no problem go to a lvl 15 part of the starter map. That still too easy? No problem again go to the next map, the level 15-25 and I assure you that you will start to get 2-3 hit. Not only that but the mobs will start to chase you down from half a map away lol. Has anyone else noticed this before? I tried it one day for a laugh just running though the maps on a low new char and I can tell you, the further in you get the mobs TRULY do chase you from half a map away. It’s like they can smell weakness :P

Lol. Yep. I was running my lower level warrior through mid level maps to grab waypoints. Not only do things hate you, they really really hate you. After I was chased down and oneshot by an elemental, I decided to leave that map for later.

The first chapter of The Lord of the Rings was boring, so I stopped reading it.

I mean, it’s not like anything interesting happened after Hobbiton, right?

RoffleMyWaffles.1295:

But right now I have a level 9 sylvari and all I can say is this game is INCREDIBLY, INCREDIBLY, INCREDIBLY, INCREDIBLY EASY and BORING! (…) I am “completely” floored by how easy it is to “kill stuff”.

As you did some (a lot?) PvP on other games, you could try PvP in GW2. Also, if the starter map ist too easy for you (it is designed for new und unexperienced players that are new to the game and mmo mechanics) go to a higher level map. You can play at your own pace.

I’d suggest looking up some videos on youtube of some playthroughs, let’s plays or reviews of late game content. Yeah, all in all, the content will be relatively easy with some challenge being the act of learning the various intricacies of the games. The interesting thing is, just because the game is easy doesn’t mean you can simply just 111111 everything. If you try, you’ll find brickwalls that force you to do more. That doesn’t mean it’s hard though, just that you can’t simply faceroll everything.

The problem is, there isn’t as much content in the game that requires extensive forethought and active adaptation as you’d think. The way I see it though is, when the game isn’t super hard difficult means you’re free to experiment and challenge yourself.

Not defending the game though, I hate how easy some content is…but don’t judge the game by the starter zones. The starter areas are stupidly easy (for a vet…it’s almost insulting). Wait until you get to some more unforgiving events in the open world. When you learn to conquer them proper (without using cheap cheating tactics) you can pat yourself on the back and say the game is easy.

Lol I say the game is easy all the time but I’ll still get rocked in Orr if the odds are that much against me.

Zok.4956:

RoffleMyWaffles.1295:

But right now I have a level 9 sylvari and all I can say is this game is INCREDIBLY, INCREDIBLY, INCREDIBLY, INCREDIBLY EASY and BORING! (…) I am “completely” floored by how easy it is to “kill stuff”.

As you did some (a lot?) PvP on other games, you could try PvP in GW2. Also, if the starter map ist too easy for you (it is designed for new und unexperienced players that are new to the game and mmo mechanics) go to a higher level map. You can play at your own pace.

I only skimmed this thread but this appears to be the first time someone has said this. Weird it took this long.

If the OP is finding the starter area too easy (which he will do) then I’d go into a higher level zone. Much more challenging, and once you level up and that area becomes too easy, just move on to the next. I can guarantee you will die there.

That said, and I truly don’t intend any offence by this, but you can get to lvl 9 within an hour or so. Is that really enough time to judge a game’s difficulty and challenge? I’m sure there are other games out there where you would say the same thing to players of that opinion. An hour playing is certainly not enough for an MMO. Especially when all you have done so far is sample the tutorial area and then declare the game too easy.

In answer to your follow up question. At lvl 30 you can enter the first dungeon. Ascalon Catacombs. Give that a go. You will find the content in there far more challenging and you certainly will have to do more then stand still and autoattack. :p

I also wouldn’t get too hung up on levelling. Unlike in WoW, levelling in Guild Wars 2 is designed to be quick and easy. As others have said, levelling is more of a tutorial and can be done in a fraction of the time investment of other MMOs.

Reading your other games, none of them is a MMORPG.

MMORPGs are… different. Considering their history, originally hailing from multi-user-text-based-dungeons, they’re games built around the social interaction on top of (or sometimes actually in lieu of) the main gameplay.

That is to say, if you consider a game such as EQ1, the game was extremely slow. This was part necessity due to technology, but also helped facilitate social interaction. In say DotA2 you don’t exactly want to talk about your weekend with someone in a round, right? In a MMO, you might be chatting about the recent episode of GoT in WvW while storming a castle.

Consider the implications of the difference in basic design. MMORPGs cannot be too “tight” in gameplay design. That’d preclude any form of social interaction, getting to know people and making friends. It’s a very different basic design paradigm.

It’s true that overall, open PVE is too easy. The first time I got problems 3 years ago was in the Ascalon Catacombs story mode (which they nerfed pretty hard later on).

BUT it is untrue that there isn’t challenging content even in lower level zones. Take the Kessex Hills for example. There are lots of events that are hardly/not doable on your own (Krait Witch, almost all toxic events). And the earliest champion that WILL 95% kill you even if you hit lvl 80 is Kezurak in the Gendarran Hills. I am a good player, I can solo dungeons, have defeated Liadri and more but NONE of my lvl 80 characters can defeat that lvl 35/37 (can’t exactly remember) champion.

Just look around a bit and try group-events alone. Oh; and never compare a games difficulty with Dark Souls, especially not a MMO. A famous and hated NPC from GW2 would say “This won’t end well”.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

Paulytnz.7619:

Has anyone else noticed this before? I tried it one day for a laugh just running though the maps on a low new char and I can tell you, the further in you get the mobs TRULY do chase you from half a map away. It’s like they can smell weakness :P

Lol. Yep. I was running my lower level warrior through mid level maps to grab waypoints. Not only do things hate you, they really really hate you. After I was chased down and oneshot by an elemental, I decided to leave that map for later.

We once took a trio of lvl 20 Asura from Hoelbrack all the way south through Dredgehaunt, Timberline and Mt. Maelstrom to Fort Trinity. Granted, we had a favourable party composition (guard, thief, ele) and all of us knew all three classes well, but it still was pretty challenging getting down there in one piece.

We had originally intended to try and go on to Cursed Shore, but after several tries we just couldn’t make it from Fort Trinity to the Rally point. Maybe it’s time to dust of that idea, create a bunch of new twinks and try again?