Guild Wars 2

Why should I always have Personal Story clogging up my screen?
Why should I always know the events? Why should I be notified 100% of play, that it is, infact, Halloween?
Why do I have to have achievements in only percentages (2/10 10%, or just 2/10)?
Why is there an Edit Account button if it only opens a webpage?
Why does the Black Lion Trade always show the same symbol whether it’s 1 copper, 50 gold, an item, or a combination?
Why can I never determine the effectiveness of scaled attacks such as Blowtorch(changing the red out-of-range bar’s colours depending on damage would work fine)?
Why is there so much empty room for currencies, and only Gold and no-one-gives-a-kitten? Why are there no Laurels, or Karma, or something actually used?
Why is there no automatic salvaging (of rarity, can use, etc.)?
Why must Black Lion always default to Gemstore?
Why does ArenaNet remove unachieveable achievements, but keep the bag slot lock there forever?
Why is there no way to fix the spam of events that clogs the entire screen?
Why is there no auto-loot?
Why do certain abilities (Such as Counter-Strike) not show when in range?
Why can I not change the new-pointer’s direction to be NSWE instead of camera?
Why is there no ‘never pick up junk’ option, or ‘delete all junk’ option?
Why does hitting escape cancel moving? Hitting anything cancels moving, why can’t I change my options while autorunning?

Change some of them in your Options window, if you so desire.

Good luck.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Change some of them in your Options window, if you so desire.

Good luck.

Because you totally can. Here, let me just enable godmode in the options setting, while I’m at it.

Yes, that is correct.

What you are saying: “Why is the UI so bad?”
What you mean: “I personally don’t like these things about the UI.”

Learn to say things the way they are, and someone might actually listen. Personally, I’ve never had any issues with the UI. I quite like it.

flyingcats.6194:

What you are saying: “Why is the UI so bad?”
What you mean: “I personally don’t like these things about the UI.”

Learn to say things the way they are, and someone might actually listen. Personally, I’ve never had any issues with the UI. I quite like it.

Yes, because not having mandatory information to maximize efficiency, always having unnecessary text clogging the screen, and having unnecessary clog constantly is an opinion. If you would read the post before replying, you would see how flawed it is.

You can hide the personal story & seasonal text description by clicking the coloured headline and minimising it.

You can turn off the content guide in options (the bit telling you to find the scout).

If you really hate the UI, you can always play without it altogether by pressing Ctrl + Shift + H (this hides everything though including your map, soil buttons and chat box. I like to do this sometimes though as a sort of ‘hard mode’.)

As others have said, the UI is only bad in your opinion and I personally would have put my opinion across more constructively than you have done, without all the drama.

DrAntagonist.8623:

flyingcats.6194:

What you are saying: “Why is the UI so bad?”
What you mean: “I personally don’t like these things about the UI.”

Learn to say things the way they are, and someone might actually listen. Personally, I’ve never had any issues with the UI. I quite like it.

Yes, because not having mandatory information to maximize efficiency, always having unnecessary text clogging the screen, and having unnecessary clog constantly is an opinion. If you would read the post before replying, you would see how flawed it is.

Trying to claim your opinion is fact won’t help you present the issue you are having. First, accept that your opinion is just that, an opinion. Not everyone shares the same ideas, not everyone will agree with you. I’m inclined to agree with flyingcats. I have no issues with the current UI. I never feel my screen is cluttered, in fact, compared to EVERY other MMO I’ve played it is far less cluttered. Some smaller details, such as the Black Lion default opening on the gem store are not significant enough for me to care very much, but honestly I’d probably start finding it annoying if it always opened on the tab I was on last. At least having it open on a default tab makes it more consistent so I know what to expect.

I do agree with just a few statements you’ve made, but I’d have to do a sentence by sentence response of your post. I’ll do that in a little bit, because, like I said, there are a few things I can agree with.

The UI is far less cluttered here than in other games (ever played wow?)

DrAntagonist.8623:

flyingcats.6194:

What you are saying: “Why is the UI so bad?”
What you mean: “I personally don’t like these things about the UI.”

Learn to say things the way they are, and someone might actually listen. Personally, I’ve never had any issues with the UI. I quite like it.

Yes, because not having mandatory information to maximize efficiency, always having unnecessary text clogging the screen, and having unnecessary clog constantly is an opinion. If you would read the post before replying, you would see how flawed it is.

It is an opinion. And I happen to very much like the game’s UI. It’s attractive and functional.

Now, would I like to be able to one-click disable tracking on things like the personal story and events? Probably, yes.

I really like the game’s UI. It’s pretty easy to find everything. Though it can be a bit confusing for a new player.

I am not online atm but I think that if you hover your mouse cursor over your money you will see karma and Laurels too… I may be wrong… I have never thought about it though becouse I don’t realy need to see how much Karma and laurels I got since I got over 2 millions of karma and over soon over 200 Laurels… And I don’t use them anymore :P More numbers under my back would clutter my UI in my opinion.

Why does ArenaNet remove unachieveable achievements, but keep the bag slot lock there forever?
What do you mean with this one? You know that the last Bag slot is purchased with gems…? I have never tried but I see a gem price there when I hover over it.

As many has said, you can turn of most of the UI’s in the upper right corner (Default).

Why BLTC Gem shop is always shown first? Eh? Becouse that is what you desire when you press the Lions Head, if you wich to emedietly reach the auctioner window you talk to the NPC’s. Be happy that there is a way to reach the auctioner window without using an NPC.

Why is there no automatic salvaging (of rarity, can use, etc.)? Becouse even more complaints about “I salvaged something I didn’t want to, can I have a roll-back?”

Why is there no way to fix the spam of events that clogs the entire screen?
Wow, you must realy play with a small monitor :P Well why is maby becouse Event’s is one of the big things about GW2 so be sure not to miss them

Why is there no auto-loot?
Is it so hard to press F? Why becouse why would they make it easier for Bots to make a living?

I could make answers to almost everyone of your questions but I am too lazy… But remember that my answers does not have to be true they are only my opinions.

DrAntagonist.8623:

Why do I have to have achievements in only percentages (2/10 10%, or just 2/10)?

SOMETHING had to be the default. They chose percentages instead of fractions. You can hover your mouse pointer over the Achievement in the upper right and it will show the fraction. At one time, we could only see our current completion percentage for the current TIER. But we asked in the forums, and now we can dispay by TOTAL completion as well. It’s worth making a forum suggestion to give us the option to display fractions instead of percentages if desired. (One suggestion per post is the rule/guideline). Go for it!

DrAntagonist.8623:

Why is there an Edit Account button if it only opens a webpage?

Unless I’m mistaken, this is because you can have more than one game from this company, and they will all share the same Account info. When I change my Password there, it changes for both GW2 and GW1. (Your information is literally Account Bound, not Soulbound to GW2).

DrAntagonist.8623:

Why must Black Lion always default to Gemstore?

Make another post and suggest the Black Lion remember where you were the previous session. (The Moderators of the forums want to see one suggestion per post, so your multi-gripe post here isn’t as likely to see action). There are MANY things the game doesn’t remember from one game session to the next: Chat channels. Dye sorting preferences. etc.

DrAntagonist.8623:

Why is there no auto-loot? … Why is there no automatic salvaging (of rarity, can use, etc.)? … Why is there no ‘never pick up junk’ option, or ‘delete all junk’ option?

You could probably create a single thread combining these notions as a suggestion for more advanced loot collection options.

The main thing for you to take away from here is not to post a ton of unrelated things in a single thread. It is too hard to respond to, and is therefor less likely to get the results you want. The Mods may even have an internal policy (since there is so much for them to monitor) to skip over threads that don’t conform to their guidelines (in the interest of efficiency). More work for you, but better odds of a favorable result.

At least give the players option to set their own keybinds..

#Shift
#Alt

Why should I always have Personal Story clogging up my screen?

-I’m not of the opinion that the Personal Story does clog up the screen. I believe the icon on the map isn’t distracting, and the text on the side can be collapsed, but it’s also a good reminder that I can come back to it after awhile of not doing it.

Why should I always know the events? Why should I be notified 100% of play, that it is, infact, Halloween?

-Events always pop up when you are near them, to let you know they are up when you are near them. If the events didn’t pop and give you a warning you likely could pass it by completely. The text on the side also often offers an idea on how complete the event already is, giving you a reason to rush to it, or possibly ignore it altogether. Again, I don’t feel that clutters anything, though.

Why do I have to have achievements in only percentages (2/10 10%, or just 2/10)?

-I don’t know why they use percentages, but I think it’s an effective way to provide extra information without cluttering anything up.

Why is there an Edit Account button if it only opens a webpage?

-I believe that is because your account can only be edited from the Guild Wars 2 webpage. I’ve known no MMO where you could make account edits in game.

Why does the Black Lion Trade always show the same symbol whether it’s 1 copper, 50 gold, an item, or a combination?

-This is an interesting. What would you propose should be shown instead of just the alert that you have something waiting for pickup?

Why can I never determine the effectiveness of scaled attacks such as Blowtorch(changing the red out-of-range bar’s colours depending on damage would work fine)?

-It would be difficult to make visual ques for showing the distance for every single attack you have. As blowtorch, and other scaled attacks based on distance are just a click to activate, your character would run everywhere with a reticule out in front of them showing the most effective damage for distance.

Why is there so much empty room for currencies, and only Gold and no-one-gives-a-kitten? Why are there no Laurels, or Karma, or something actually used?

-Having laurels and karma showing in the currency bar with the gold and gems would be a good idea in my opinion. Although it only takes 2 clicks to see the amount of laurels and karma as it is I wouldn’t mind it only taking 1 click.

Why is there no automatic salvaging (of rarity, can use, etc.)?

-Maybe there should be the option of automatic salvaging, although many players like to use some items for other things. Rares for trying to get exotics, checking exotics for runes that are worth more than the actual item, etc.

Why must Black Lion always default to Gemstore?

-I personally prefer it that way. I get to see new offers that appear that I may be interested in that I could possibly skip over if I don’t read update notes. Also it makes the Black Lion consistent, I think I would be more annoyed clicking it and opening it on a different tab I don’t want, than it always opening on the same tab that I don’t use often.

Why does ArenaNet remove unachieveable achievements, but keep the bag slot lock there forever?

-Do you mean unachieveable achievements such as historical achievements? The bag slot lock is there because you can click it and make a gem store purchase to open a new bag slot. It’s usable, and it lets you know that. Unless, does a locked bag slot show up after purchasing all available bag slots?

Why is there no way to fix the spam of events that clogs the entire screen?

-My entire screen is never clogged by any number of events. It’s off to the side, out of the way of important things, and provides information I want to see. I’ve never felt spammed by the amount of events that exist as well.

Why is there no auto-loot?

-I think there should be available auto-loot, even with AoE loot I find that I occasionally missed some, and I personally like to collect it all.

Why do certain abilities (Such as Counter-Strike) not show when in range?

-I don’t understand the question. Counter-Strike being the ranger’s spear move? It’s a counter, what do you mean by it being in range?

Why can I not change the new-pointer’s direction to be NSWE instead of camera?

-I don’t think I understand this question either, are you talking about the map turning to follow the character?

Why is there no ‘never pick up junk’ option, or ‘delete all junk’ option?

-Do you delete your junk? Over time junk can add up a lot of money. It seems silly to me to use an option if it was given.

Why does hitting escape cancel moving? Hitting anything cancels moving, why can’t I change my options while autorunning?

-I can change my options while autorunning. I click on the menu, then on options, and change whatever I want there while my character continues running. Having a lot of ways to stop your character from autorunning could be helpful if you’re about to run into danger. If you’re about to run off a cliff it would be nice to just smack esc and stop, than start spamming esc to exit the menu, than finding the correct button to stop your running, in which case you may likely have started falling.

you left off the one that bugs me the most…. UI windows have weird transparency at the top which makes it nearly impossible to grab the title bar for the window you want when multiple windows overlap.

Why the hell are so many people against having more options when it comes to modifying the ui?

This is why we can’t have nice things.

juno.1840:

you left off the one that bugs me the most…. UI windows have weird transparency at the top which makes it nearly impossible to grab the title bar for the window you want when multiple windows overlap.

I have ALWAYS hated that transparency. I can never tell which X I am clicking, and often shut the wrong window. It was a “neat-o” art designer’s choice I guess, but has always been a thorn in my paw. Perhaps enough time has elapsed that they’d consider refreshing the basic “look” and give us something more functional and less confusing. (After all, “less confusing” seems to be their big push at the moment).

Jim Hunter.6821:

Why the hell are so many people against having more options when it comes to modifying the ui?

This is why we can’t have nice things.

People tend to react against strongly pessimistic posts like the OP’s: Why is the UI So Bad? because, I think to many of us, most of the things he complains about aren’t particularly problematic. Not in an actually-affecting-gameplay sort of way.

Jim Hunter.6821:

Why the hell are so many people against having more options when it comes to modifying the ui?

This is why we can’t have nice things.

Nothing is wrong with asking or UI modification. How you ask, though, will influence the response you get.

I don’t really see much wrong with the list the OP created, however, I dislike immensely the way he phrased the question.

“Nothing is wrong with asking or UI modification. How you ask, though, will influence the response you get.”

QFT — Quoted For Truth.

DrAntagonist.8623:

Why is there so much empty room for currencies, and only Gold and no-one-gives-a-kitten? Why are there no Laurels, or Karma, or something actually used?

The account wallet fixed this issue with the + symbol right next to the gold. IMO I think it’s an improvement since we have so many currencies.

There’s no auto loot? Then what is going on when I kill something and just press ‘t’(personal keybind) or f and everything goes into my inventory automatically?

WHAT SORCERY IS THIS?

Serophous.9085:

There’s no auto loot? Then what is going on when I kill something and just press ‘t’(personal keybind) or f and everything goes into my inventory automatically?

WHAT SORCERY IS THIS?

I think he wants stuff to go directly into Inventory without pressing anything. The F key is right behind WASD in wearing out early, you know. Gotta protect that keyboard.

DrAntagonist.8623:

1. Why is there an Edit Account button if it only opens a webpage?
2. Why does the Black Lion Trade always show the same symbol whether it’s 1 copper, 50 gold, an item, or a combination?
3. Why is there so much empty room for currencies, and only Gold and no-one-gives-a-kitten? Why are there no Laurels, or Karma, or something actually used?
4. Why is there no automatic salvaging (of rarity, can use, etc.)?
5. Why does ArenaNet remove unachieveable achievements, but keep the bag slot lock there forever?
6. Why is there no auto-loot?
7. Why is there no ‘never pick up junk’ option, or ‘delete all junk’ option?
8. Why does hitting escape cancel moving? Hitting anything cancels moving, why can’t I change my options while autorunning?

1. Because they chose to have that functionality on the website rather than in-game?
2. Because you would need a ton of symbols for the possible combinations? Just a simple “order of magnitude” set, you end up with 3 symbols for currency, 1 for items and 3 for combinations. That’s confusing as kitten.
3. The empty space is created from the width of your inventory. The Gem count is flush left whereas the gold is flush right. Adding other currencies would make the UI inconsistent and kind of ugly.
4. Because that would result in tons and tons of complaints about people accidentally salvaging things.
5. Because they might add more bag slots in the future?
6. Does pressing one button really kill you inside that much?
7. Because there’s an option to sell that stuff at every trade NPC? And because we have bags so that we can filter junk items there?
8. Because Escape cancels everything?

I agree with options to remove HUD elements, I prefer a minimalist look and even in a game that rhymes with Pie Him I used an immersive HUD mod that eliminated everything until you were in combat or aiming, full screen glorious galore when exploring.

There is (or at least used to be) a mod for this game that removed all of the clutter including even the ripped border effect, the looooooong xp bar, PS at the top right etc. etc. Thing is I was unsure if it would result in a ban so stopped using it. If I remember it’s part of the immersive combat mod which I see some people are asking in another thread for to be officially added to GW2 (which it won’t be). Apparently it was added to Wildstar.

For 3) you do know that you can just mouse over the bottom bar of your inventory to get a nice little pop up list of all your currencies, right? No clicking required.

rapthorne.7345:

The UI is far less cluttered here than in other games (ever played wow?)

Most of the clutter you see in a WoW UI is user imposed, all the addons and crap.

WoW has one of the most modifiable UIs out there. Sadly, 100% of GW2’s UI is rigid, you can not scale or move any elements. There are extremely, EXTREMELY, few “options” to change anything with the UI beyond scaling the entire thing, slightly.

Even the target frame, at the middle top of the screen, is a complete PITA. Anyone that has played a ranged character has clicked the upper portion of the screen to drop their long range AoE only to have the Target frame interfere and cause their reticle to occur at the character’s position.

Yeah.

Jim Hunter.6821:

Why the hell are so many people against having more options when it comes to modifying the ui?

This is why we can’t have nice things.

UI modification discussion is so 2012. Costume skin discussion is what all the “cool kids” are doing atm. :p

On a serious note, I would love to have the ability to tweak my own UI, as we were able to in GW1. It doesn’t give anyone an “unfair” advantage in any way, shape or form. I’ve often wondered why those options weren’t implemented from the beginning.

I would love to unclutter my screen and do a little rearranging.

Excellent points, GOSU.