Guild Wars 2

I totally agree. Relax and enjoy the game, some people are really intense.

I agree too…but in the words of Si

It’s a big fat goose egg

As far as getting the same opinion

Holy smokes, a reasonable post! Good job. Expect backlash, though. lol

Vayne.8563:

Holy smokes, a reasonable post! Good job. Expect backlash, though. lol

I quoted Si…he is unbacklashable :P

For some folks, games are serious business. A more relaxed attitude does wonders for the blood pressure, so I don’t get riled easy.

I totally agree.
People take these forums specifically way too seriously.
My husband never comes here and he is oblivious to all the drama, he just plays the game- I doubt he noticed any of the things people here are saying ruins the game.

If he sees something new in game he goes- Oh cool, new stuff.
If a skill has been changed he says -Did they change it? oh ok.

It is a game and we play for fun.

gonna screen in game map chats at LA Tomorrow so people stop to pretend people in game don t care….

All I got was you spend 2-3 hours on a weeknight and up to 6 hours on a weekend playing an MMO when you have a family and a job. I think you need to think about that a little more rather than why there is all this apparent hate and/or rage in a gaming forum.

Couldn’t agree more with the op good post. I don’t make my way here to forums often, but when i do i look through alot of different threads and most are nonsense so its refreshing to see someone that posts something that does make sense

Yramrag.3026:

I see every nerf as a challenge. My current build became less viable because a major skill is nerfed? I take it as a challenge to readjust and rebuild my character. Getting the end-game gears is so bloody easy in this game, I already have a few set of exotic armor just to cater for different builds I am experimenting. Re-distribution of trait points is so easy and inexpensive.

The problem is, a lot of the people who cry about nerfs CAN’T readjust their build because they only use the latest greatest cookie cutter build they found on the forums. So they have to sit and whine about how their class is useless until the next super awesome copy/paste build comes along.

Danigar.3795:

Yramrag.3026:

I see every nerf as a challenge. My current build became less viable because a major skill is nerfed? I take it as a challenge to readjust and rebuild my character. Getting the end-game gears is so bloody easy in this game, I already have a few set of exotic armor just to cater for different builds I am experimenting. Re-distribution of trait points is so easy and inexpensive.

The problem is, a lot of the people who cry about nerfs CAN’T readjust their build because they only use the latest greatest cookie cutter build they found on the forums. So they have to sit and whine about how their class is useless until the next super awesome copy/paste build comes along.

To be fair, a lot of classes suffer from pretty bad traits in that one or two trees will far and away be better than the others. Ideally, Anet should be buffing other builds to be more in line with the powerful ones rather than nerfing the good builds so they’re as bad as the rest.

People do like to complain, and after a point it is exaggeration, but some classes are still pretty messed up.

Good post. I think it is also due to people identifying with their character too much. If the character is changed it seems to imply the creator of the character is not as “good” anymore. Since blame is such a feel good thing it is the ‘devs’ fault for not seeing how wonderful they are as a player. Would be nice if people had more self esteem but ‘wishes where horses’ comes to mind.

Anet slept with my entire family behind my back and insulted my favorite flavor of ice cream. I’m outraged.

Really though, nerfs…yeah, it’s a challenge, but I want the right sort of challenge, you know? Do you want to play basketball with one arm behind your back or play your opponent with your skills using both arms? Likewise I want them using both arms. Balance.

sostronk.8167:

All I got was you spend 2-3 hours on a weeknight and up to 6 hours on a weekend playing an MMO when you have a family and a job. I think you need to think about that a little more rather than why there is all this apparent hate and/or rage in a gaming forum.

Typically, not religiously. When there is nothing planned for the nights or weekends (such as movies, shopping, night out with friends/family, other appointments, etc.), this is what I do, in between catching up news on TV and other good programs. I believe I strike a nice balance and I am not worried

While I agree, I sometimes can’t resist being kitten at Anet.

The game is about fun. Wvw you get tons of fun when the match is balanced. However the current system totally imbalances the matchups. While you could argue ‘there is still fun left’. Perhaps. But having played balanced matchups, and now the current imbalanced, I keep wanting a quick fix back to the old matchups. And it simply aint coming. There are some easy fixes Anet could do with just a press on a button. They resist, and don’t tell us why they don’t do it. That frustrates me, because from my point of view, things could only improve if they implement these things (like lower points from nightcapping, glicko fix etc). Stubborness of a developper never feels good.

But op thanks for reminding me it is after all still a game I left another mmorpg after lot of dedication (and quite some money), after they made mistake after mistake (not small ones that you can ignore, massive promise breaks etc, greedy actions, almost equal to stealing money from players, etc. Customer service was a total joke etc.). I played guild wars 1 with a lot less pressure, and should do the same for gw2.

To OP.
The difference is between having in game friends or not.

Chilling with friends and making new is the ultimate goal of casual players.
When your class becomes unfun and not desired due to overnerf they just take away your fun.

If it doesn t happens to you it could make you lose some friends…..

So basically if you are a casual mmorpg player you are the one complaining

If you are one of those elitist pro players you just don t care and proceed rolling the OP class of the moment….you have time and resources to do that.

i AM a casual player.
For that i keep away from PvP as much as i can.

They first made me stop playing WWW.
If they makes even PvE unfun its quite easy to understand why i become upset.
I have to choose to play with friends without having fun, or leave the game and friends.

And then you think to the reason of that…
Some devs have this insane desire of becoming an e-sport in a game mode few players play so they ruin your game with no real reason…

They will succeed in becoming esports Tomorrow.
GW2 Diskus throw…..

LordByron.8369:

To OP.
The difference is between having in game friends or not.

Chilling with friends and making new is the ultimate goal of casual players.
When your class becomes unfun and not desired due to overnerf they just take away your fun.

I am not “casual” as in “casual about game-play or the game itself”. I read up about the professions, pour over the notes and posts about the various builds, etc. I enjoy tweaking my character, play with the mechanics that the professions offer, test them in PvP, PvE and WvW. I play to have fun. The difference is that:

I don’t have the Best-In-Slot gears (a.k.a ascended)? That’s OK.
I am not in the top half of the leadersboard (in whatever form)? That’s OK.
I do not have more than 100 gold on me? That’s OK.
I am not a Commander? That’s OK.

Fun for me is not only when I can pwn the other player in WvW, or I can kill the boss very fast. If fun is only about pwning, then of course you will be miserable when the nerf bat comes. Fun for me is how many ways I can kill that mob/player? How will the Mesmer do it, compared to the Thief? Can I do it without being a glass cannon?

In actual fact, though I belong to a large guild, I am usually solo-ing, by myself, except when I am running dungeons or participating in guild events. But because of the way I look at the game, and the amount of time I spend on it (though those time are certainly maximize as much as I know how), I would categorize myself as a “casual” gamer. I don’t let GW2 take over my life and then get upset when things don’t go my way.

It is true that people often fill their posts with exaggerations, and the OP is no exception. Any post critical towards the game is usually deemed as hate or rage, whine, QQ or whatever you like to call it.

I think this is an amazing game. The best MMO on the market, by far. However, I think it’s far from being complete, let alone perfect. I approve of people criticising the game, as they point out the flaws that still need to be worked on. Even if the point is not something that I personally care about, it might make some of the players happy, and I see that as a good thing. I grant you, there is the occasional post written in caps and full of exclamation marks, but really, who takes those seriously, anyway.

The game needs a lot of work. There are bugs too numerous to mention, features still not present in the game. Player feedback might reveal something the devs have neglected, even though it might come off as negative. But that’s how you get things done.

Gaming is serious business!!!

Thankfully im too lazy to be serious most of the time.

These people who take the game too seriously do it because they can’t excel out in the real world.

Blame society for that.

Yramrag.3026:

LordByron.8369:

To OP.
The difference is between having in game friends or not.

Chilling with friends and making new is the ultimate goal of casual players.
When your class becomes unfun and not desired due to overnerf they just take away your fun.

I am not “casual” as in “casual about game-play or the game itself”. I read up about the professions, pour over the notes and posts about the various builds, etc. I enjoy tweaking my character, play with the mechanics that the professions offer, test them in PvP, PvE and WvW. I play to have fun. The difference is that:

I don’t have the Best-In-Slot gears (a.k.a ascended)? That’s OK.
I am not in the top half of the leadersboard (in whatever form)? That’s OK.
I do not have more than 100 gold on me? That’s OK.
I am not a Commander? That’s OK.

Fun for me is not only when I can pwn the other player in WvW, or I can kill the boss very fast. If fun is only about pwning, then of course you will be miserable when the nerf bat comes. Fun for me is how many ways I can kill that mob/player? How will the Mesmer do it, compared to the Thief? Can I do it without being a glass cannon?

In actual fact, though I belong to a large guild, I am usually solo-ing, by myself, except when I am running dungeons or participating in guild events. But because of the way I look at the game, and the amount of time I spend on it (though those time are certainly maximize as much as I know how), I would categorize myself as a “casual” gamer. I don’t let GW2 take over my life and then get upset when things don’t go my way.

Unfun is when you see gw2lfg looking for guardian or warrior.
Unfun is when you hear “oh you are an ele? sorry no need for it”
Unfun is when you cannot go to arah because your dps is not enough despite your full zerker equipment
Unfun is when you are frustraded in dungeons because you cannot get rid of mobs while guardian and warriors players complain about the game being “too easy”.
Unfun is when in WWW you either die before hitting anyone or just can t hit anything before is killed and just walk around.

Should i go on?
Even devs knows that and admit that…..they simply ignore that because they only see PvP and e-sport.

Infact i think we’d all have fun if pvp died at once…abnd afaik pvp is not casual player fave mode.

Yramrag.3026:

I am a casual gamer. I have a full time job, family commitments, and (gasp!) other hobbies. I typically play GW2 for about 2-3 hours a day after I come home from work, or up to 6 hours sometimes during weekends, when I do not have other engagements.

I’m playing way less. Still I rage. Why? Not because of some rectified nerf. It’s because they listen to the whiners and take the primrose path of hitting single numbers with the nerf bat instead instead of taking some time for an education decision and a real fix. Again and again and again…

LordByron.8369:

Unfun is when you see gw2lfg looking for guardian or warrior.
Unfun is when you hear “oh you are an ele? sorry no need for it”
Unfun is when you cannot go to arah because your dps is not enough despite your full zerker equipment
Unfun is when you are frustraded in dungeons because you cannot get rid of mobs while guardian and warriors players complain about the game being “too easy”.
Unfun is when in WWW you either die before hitting anyone or just can t hit anything before is killed and just walk around.

Actually, for me, unfun is:

- Single-digit FPS at Claw of Jormag, or massive sieges on Stonemist Castle.
- Volcano Fractal. (For some reason the achievements won’t trigger on it, and the shaman boss hates rangers it seems.)
- Getting in for some WvW to find nobody on doing anything, and another server has a couple groups sitting outside the exits from spawn.
- Asura.

Hardcore players care about game mechanics. They write guides, analyze data, provide feedback, create spreadsheets and make videos for the community to see.
Casual players turn on the game in the same way they turn on a TV or a radio. They use it for their enjoyment and then turn it off when they don’t need it.

People who are vocal about the game actually care about the game; even if their arguments are irrational. Their opinions and feedback matter. Why? Because casual players don’t care.

Casual players don’t post on forums. Don’t talk with others on voip, don’t type anything in chat, don’t write guides, don’t find exploits, don’t abuse game mechanics, don’t provide feedback and just generally don’t care about pretty much anything.

Calae.1738:

Casual players don’t post on forums. Don’t talk with others on voip, don’t type anything in chat, don’t write guides, don’t find exploits, don’t abuse game mechanics, don’t provide feedback and just generally don’t care about pretty much anything.

Really? This is news to me.

Calae.1738:

Hardcore players care about game mechanics. They write guides, analyze data, provide feedback, create spreadsheets and make videos for the community to see.
Casual players turn on the game in the same way they turn on a TV or a radio. They use it for their enjoyment and then turn it off when they don’t need it.

People who are vocal about the game actually care about the game; even if their arguments are irrational. Their opinions and feedback matter. Why? Because casual players don’t care.

Casual players don’t post on forums. Don’t talk with others on voip, don’t type anything in chat, don’t write guides, don’t find exploits, don’t abuse game mechanics, don’t provide feedback and just generally don’t care about pretty much anything.

Woah there, casual players do care, post on the forums, talk with others, provide feedback, type in chat and care about mechanics etc.

They have less time to play and mostly play games for enjoyment.
That is all.

They don’t (mostly not) throw a tantrum when their min max numbers are off, make groups looking for 4zerk warriors + mesmer to run a dungeon in 7 min- because time is money, they mostly don’t exploit, they don’t confuse the game with a job or think that their in-game achievements impact their lives in the slightest.

Since when is it a crime to play a game as a game or heaven forbid to have commitments so that you can’t play 24/7?

Newsflash- a really big segment of the gaming market is made up of casual players.

In my experience the only difference between a hardcore and a casual gamer is that hardcore gamers discriminate, whereas casual gamers don’t care who they’re playing with.

I think many posters misunderstood the intention of my original post. I am not saying don’t discuss about the profession/changes/nerf. I am not saying don’t voice out your concerns about them or let Anet knows how the nerf/changes impact or affect their game-play. I am not saying “heck, let’s just suck it all up in silence”. I have already explained I am not that kind of casual players where I value the social aspect of an MMO (i.e., “chillin and making friends”) more than anything else in the game, including game play.

I am “casual” because I don’t take GW2 as life and death, like as if my best friend just died when my ele’s RTL got nerfed, or Anet just stole my credit card when they implement boon hate while I mainly run Guardian. I don’t rage in a fit and say “Anet you betrayed us” or “Anet you don’t care” or something, then post some cleverly-titled goodbye thread on the forum, giving Anet an ultimatum – “my way” or I am on the way out.

It is the attitude and mentality I am talking about here.

Budg.3064:

In my experience the only difference between a hardcore and a casual gamer is that hardcore gamers discriminate, whereas casual gamers don’t care who they’re playing with.

Core gamers often only do that because of the absurd stupidity and resistance to learning many people show. I’ve met a lot of really helpful core gamers in dungeons, but their effort is often rewarded with ingratitude.

Iruwen.3164:

Budg.3064:

In my experience the only difference between a hardcore and a casual gamer is that hardcore gamers discriminate, whereas casual gamers don’t care who they’re playing with.

Core gamers often only do that because of the absurd stupidity and resistance to learning many people show. I’ve met a lot of really helpful core gamers in dungeons, but their effort is often rewarded with ingratitude.

Well you’re both right. And you’re both wrong.

Unfortunately, a lot of that is born from the ones who aren’t helpful or are plain dismissive. There are a lot of really great hardcore players, helpful and willing to try teaching people willing to listen. Of course, the opposite is true – there are hardcore players who adopt stances which set themselves on pedestals for understanding the game mechanics closer than casual players. The superiority can lead into derisiveness and so forth.

Now, that’s not to say there’s not another side. Casual players also look at hardcore players in negative lights. “Basement dwelling fools who live with their parents and have no social lives” I think is the common thread used to describe them. Of course, not entirely true but it doesn’t matter if it is. It’s the pedestal casual players use for their own superiority.

And there’s plenty of casuals willing to just learn at their own pace, take the learning without a fuss and act grateful for it. (I was one of them, I’m somewhere between the two sides in skill, I like to think, but my attitude is still far too casual to allow me to delve into “hardcore” play styles.)

The serious problem (pun intended) starts to come in when players (hardcore or casual) want to take something seriously and find themselves not being listened to. Or worse, derided. There’s nothing wrong with taking your play seriously . . . that’s what a hobby is, after all, what normally is a waste of time pursued not just to fill time between the hours of work and sleep . . . but something to seek a personal fulfillment in.

You want to know something? Everyone has that one thing they take seriously which other people find not worth the effort. Some people have more than one thing, naturally, because they like to think something they like is worth that effort. For every time you run across someone and have to snicker and go “they take that way too serious”, stop and think about all the things you do. And before you cry “but that’s different” you should reflect on what makes it different besides it being yours.

I would stake a lot of money that if people stopped and thought about things like this before typing the first things that come to mind, forums would be a nicer place to visit.

Well I said "often", so I’m less wrong

Iruwen.3164:

Well I said “often”, so I’m less wrong

Whatever points you gain from being less wrong are taken up by the smug in the wink.

;)

Now, bedtime. Yes, at 9am :P I love my job sometimes but oy does it leave me with weird hours.

You should see the Mass Effect 3 “Give me a better ending” facebook page with 62000 likes. Players like GW2 quite a lot to give a crap about it, while GW2 devs released nerf patches almost monthly (with plinx nerf, DR from CS and they claim hand-crafted DR). After that they add in profession skill nerfs (thief 4 sec stealth duration, result, hardly anyone ran thieves in WvW), making everyone unhappy. You ask why players are angry? Hah.

The only positive thing I remember recently was the upgraded WvW loot, which recently got nerfed slightly again thanks to “overload” of heavy bags.

I agree partially. I’d consider myself to be about the same as you, except I probably play a bit more on the weekend when I have nothing to do.

You mention nerfs as a challenege, but I don’t totally see them that way. I invested time and money into building my toon into a glamour mesmer. If I would have bought those giver weapons like i was about to, I’d be even more upset. But that’s not really the point. The point is the confusion 50% nerf is unfounded. Confusion was OP because people are bad. They didn’t realize they were killing themselves so they just kept killing themselves. It was one of the greatest tools for shutting down zergs, and that’s partially removed. One of the biggest gripes is that WvW is a zerg-fest, and they seem to be encouraging it.

If they nerf a little skill or something to a class, that’s fine, but when you nerf a game-wide mechanic with a blind bat, that’s not fine. It was a lazy fix. The base damage of confusion should have been reduced, but scale properly with condition damage and duration, instead of a flat 50% nerf.

Edit: Oh, plus they buff thieves and Warriors (not needing a buff at all) while taking away builds from mesmers and engineers. I’m a mesmer and upset by what the patch will most likely bring, I can’t imagine if I were an engineer (in the game, I am irl)

What always gets me are the “ANET YOU DONT LISTEN TO OUR DEMANDS” posts. ArenaNet made this game. THEY DID. You bought it and play it because you like what THEY MADE. If you no longer like it, don’t play it! You guys post on here like ANet OWES you something.

It’s a $60 game and I’m betting most of you have hit at least 50 hrs in the game (I’m sure that’s an EXTREME under estimate for some of you).. so you should already feel like you’ve gotten your money’s worth out of the game.

… /rant.

I agree, OP. I too am a casual gamer and whenever I go on these forums, I’m just baffled at the people here. Also I can’t go into any of the profession forums because I tend to get discouraged when every other post is “this profession is useless” whereas in the game I’m doing just fine and dandy.

Having an open community to discuss the game is a double edged sword, but I feel like it cuts into the good part of the game more than the bad. People, in general, are idiots. Combine that with a person who just had a skill get nerfed and you suddenly have an irrational nerd rage spamming “I QUIT THIS GAME IS DEAD”.

… somehow started ranting again. Anyways, you guys need to relax. And it seems like everyone replying here is saying “Oh yeah I’m a relaxed person; don’t take the game seriously, etc”. Buuulllllkitten. I’d wager that more than 50% of the people on the forums are here because they take the game seriously. I’m here because my job doesn’t block the site and I don’t feel like working.

I almost think it would be better if ANet shut off the forums completely. They give you people a place to discuss things and all you do is poop on the game you’ve spent countless hours playing/enjoying. Sigh.

Mongo.2490:

What always gets me are the “ANET YOU DONT LISTEN TO OUR DEMANDS” posts. ArenaNet made this game. THEY DID. You bought it and play it because you like what THEY MADE. If you no longer like it, don’t play it! You guys post on here like ANet OWES you something.

It’s a $60 game and I’m betting most of you have hit at least 50 hrs in the game (I’m sure that’s an EXTREME under estimate for some of you).. so you should already feel like you’ve gotten your money’s worth out of the game.

… /rant.

I agree, OP. I too am a casual gamer and whenever I go on these forums, I’m just baffled at the people here. Also I can’t go into any of the profession forums because I tend to get discouraged when every other post is “this profession is useless” whereas in the game I’m doing just fine and dandy.

Having an open community to discuss the game is a double edged sword, but I feel like it cuts into the good part of the game more than the bad. People, in general, are idiots. Combine that with a person who just had a skill get nerfed and you suddenly have an irrational nerd rage spamming “I QUIT THIS GAME IS DEAD”.

… somehow started ranting again. Anyways, you guys need to relax. And it seems like everyone replying here is saying “Oh yeah I’m a relaxed person; don’t take the game seriously, etc”. Buuulllllkitten. I’d wager that more than 50% of the people on the forums are here because they take the game seriously. I’m here because my job doesn’t block the site and I don’t feel like working.

I almost think it would be better if ANet shut off the forums completely. They give you people a place to discuss things and all you do is poop on the game you’ve spent countless hours playing/enjoying. Sigh.

Nice lie about being a “casual gamer”. That casual gamer either don’t care or has left the game and moved on.

I think it’s human nature to get vested in things. Look at football fans. They can come to blows over their teams with relatively little provocation.

Actually, I think the entire thing might be a carry over from the whole primate territory thing. We simply defend ideological territory instead of defending physical territory.

This is “my” game. I must defend it. That other game, that’s not like my game. If that game is successful, then that means that future games may be more like that than what I like.

It’s all very primal.

LoneWolfie.1852:

Nice lie about being a “casual gamer”. That casual gamer either don’t care or has left the game and moved on.

You talk as though there’s only one set of actions a “casual gamer” can take. Playing a game casually does not mean you need to be 100% aloof. You play the game because you have an interest.

My gripe isn’t about the game, it’s about the people playing it. Therefore while I am casual about the game, I am critical on communities.

Yramrag.3026:

I am a casual gamer. I have a full time job, family commitments, and (gasp!) other hobbies. I typically play GW2 for about 2-3 hours a day after I come home from work, or up to 6 hours sometimes during weekends, when I do not have other engagements. Playing video game, playing this MMO, is a hobby. Like any hobbies, I sometime spend a little bit more money on it (in GW2 case, some gems) because it makes me happy. Like I sometimes spend real cash on movies (sometimes 2 movies within a day), DVD, books, and other single-player video games. Video games are great distraction and I enjoy quite a bit.

So, I don’t get the hate or rage I sometimes see on this forum. It is like as if Anet has cause you to go bankrupt, or Anet has slept with your girlfriend behind your back or something, or Anet has insulted your mother. For goodness sake, Guild Wars 2 is just a game.

I see every nerf as a challenge. My current build became less viable because a major skill is nerfed? I take it as a challenge to readjust and rebuild my character. Getting the end-game gears is so bloody easy in this game, I already have a few set of exotic armor just to cater for different builds I am experimenting. Re-distribution of trait points is so easy and inexpensive.

I understand that people raged if the character they spent hundreds of dollars building up (like in those pay-to-win “F2P” MMO, or MMO that required monthly sub), and suddenly that character is nerfed. You are entitled – because you spent obscene amount of real cash on it. But Guild War 2? No monthly sub, no pay-to-win. So why are people raging as if Anet owes them a living? What kind of mentality is this?

Let’s have mature discussion about nerf/changes, how it impact us as players. It is not the end of the world that some posts make it looks like.

Wait…my GF said Anet was just a friend OH THE HUMANITY

Mongo.2490:

LoneWolfie.1852:

Nice lie about being a “casual gamer”. That casual gamer either don’t care or has left the game and moved on.

You talk as though there’s only one set of actions a “casual gamer” can take. Playing a game casually does not mean you need to be 100% aloof. You play the game because you have an interest.

My gripe isn’t about the game, it’s about the people playing it. Therefore while I am casual about the game, I am critical on communities.

The definition of casual – Unconcerned and relaxed.

Just look at how much you wrote about the other people playing it. An unconcerned and relaxed gamer will ignore both Anet and the other unhappy players. If you forgot what genre this is, let me remind you again. MMORPG – Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game.

As much as you deny it or classify it, players are a part of the game. By even caring what other players think of this game, you have already involved yourself in a pool of muddied water.

To be honest, I think anyone who wants to post in the forums end up to be less than “casual”. You just elevated yourself to be a gamer who wants something to be done.

LoneWolfie.1852:

You should see the Mass Effect 3 “Give me a better ending” facebook page with 62000 likes. Players like GW2 quite a lot to give a crap about it, while GW2 devs released nerf patches almost monthly (with plinx nerf, DR from CS and they claim hand-crafted DR). After that they add in profession skill nerfs (thief 4 sec stealth duration, result, hardly anyone ran thieves in WvW), making everyone unhappy. You ask why players are angry? Hah.

The only positive thing I remember recently was the upgraded WvW loot, which recently got nerfed slightly again thanks to “overload” of heavy bags.

Because nerfs only happen in GW2 and never occur in other MMOs, right?

Sheese.

I’m less certain that people are legitimately angry or as upset as their posts tend to make them seem to me and more certain that some folks don’t really know how or care enough to phrase their frustrations without appealing to emotion in the reader in some shape or form.

Saying that, I don’t believe I’ve ever truly been distraught over something a games company did to me, so maybe I’m just lucky and handsome.

LoneWolfie.1852:

The definition of casual – Unconcerned and relaxed.

Just look at how much you wrote about the other people playing it. An unconcerned and relaxed gamer will ignore both Anet and the other unhappy players. If you forgot what genre this is, let me remind you again. MMORPG – Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game.

As much as you deny it or classify it, players are a part of the game. By even caring what other players think of this game, you have already involved yourself in a pool of muddied water.

To be honest, I think anyone who wants to post in the forums end up to be less than “casual”.
You just elevated yourself to be a gamer who wants something to be done.

Meh, call it what you want. The facts are that I don’t care about
- Maximizing DPS
- Only using the ‘best’ builds or equipment
- Researching the best paths to take
- Being the first to do anything

I play to have fun, simple as that. I guess there are players out there who are MORE casual. Maybe they log in for 12 minutes and press buttons just to see the pretty colors..

But all this is completely besides the point. Thank you for pulling out one little section of my post and attempting to pull it apart.

Yramrag.3026:

I am a casual gamer. I have a full time job, family commitments, and (gasp!) other hobbies. I typically play GW2 for about 2-3 hours a day after I come home from work, or up to 6 hours sometimes during weekends, when I do not have other engagements. Playing video game, playing this MMO, is a hobby. Like any hobbies, I sometime spend a little bit more money on it (in GW2 case, some gems) because it makes me happy. Like I sometimes spend real cash on movies (sometimes 2 movies within a day), DVD, books, and other single-player video games. Video games are great distraction and I enjoy quite a bit.

So, I don’t get the hate or rage I sometimes see on this forum. It is like as if Anet has cause you to go bankrupt, or Anet has slept with your girlfriend behind your back or something, or Anet has insulted your mother. For goodness sake, Guild Wars 2 is just a game.

I see every nerf as a challenge. My current build became less viable because a major skill is nerfed? I take it as a challenge to readjust and rebuild my character. Getting the end-game gears is so bloody easy in this game, I already have a few set of exotic armor just to cater for different builds I am experimenting. Re-distribution of trait points is so easy and inexpensive.

I understand that people raged if the character they spent hundreds of dollars building up (like in those pay-to-win “F2P” MMO, or MMO that required monthly sub), and suddenly that character is nerfed. You are entitled – because you spent obscene amount of real cash on it. But Guild War 2? No monthly sub, no pay-to-win. So why are people raging as if Anet owes them a living? What kind of mentality is this?

Let’s have mature discussion about nerf/changes, how it impact us as players. It is not the end of the world that some posts make it looks like.

I agree with the basic argument you bring forth (it’s just a game), because indeed, it IS just a game. But why people get angry is because they like to play it, the way it is, they have made themselves a set-up that works for them, that they feel good with.
Now they don’t want to alter it and I think that’s fine. Anet ruins their gaming experience like it was, to change the gaming experience of others for the better.
Of course, people might be tired of constantly changing their set-up, and it might not be a reason for rage, but I think it has some valid points.

Vayne.8563:

I think it’s human nature to get vested in things. Look at football fans. They can come to blows over their teams with relatively little provocation.

Actually, I think the entire thing might be a carry over from the whole primate territory thing. We simply defend ideological territory instead of defending physical territory.

This is “my” game. I must defend it. That other game, that’s not like my game. If that game is successful, then that means that future games may be more like that than what I like.

It’s all very primal.

That. It’s very true, and a very interesting subject.

I’m fairly casual, myself. But I tend to browse the forums often (they’re not blocked at my school, not that it matters for a couple months since I’m taking my last final for the semester on Thursday) for a good laugh or two. I find it amusing that people get so upset over a game myself, but I do understand the sentiment behind it, mostly because of the reason that Vayne said. I mostly multitask between watching documentaries and playing the game, aside from doing a run in a dungeon, because I don’t care too much otherwise (like if my character dies, or my attempt at a build fails miserably), not to say that I don’t care about the game itself – I think GW2 is a very good game that has good potential, with a mostly good community, compared to the other games I’ve played anyway, even if said community does have their lower points.

Just my 2 cents, mostly since I wanted to just emphasis how awesome Vayne’s post was.

Zacchary.6183:

Calae.1738:

People who are vocal about the game actually care about the game; even if their arguments are irrational. Their opinions and feedback matter. Why? *Because casual players don’t care.

Casual players don’t post on forums. Don’t talk with others on voip, don’t type anything in chat, don’t write guides, don’t find exploits, don’t abuse game mechanics, don’t provide feedback and just generally don’t care about pretty much anything.*

If we met face-to-face, I would put you in the hospital for that comment. I am a casual player and I actually care about this game. I want to see this game work so well that every boast that they’ve made towards this game is true and real. One of the factors that help make this game amazing is the community but that is by a long shot because the recent generation of gamers is comprised of alot of Hardcore.

I could say this same comment about these Hardcore gamers because they are the ones who try to convince everyone that MMOs are about PvP more than the main game. They are the ones who only care about THEIR status in the game and will ruin it to fulfill their own agenda. They will step on people just to get better scores.there might be some Hardcore that care but most of Hardcore only care about themselves.

I don’t agree with what Calae said, but I definitely don’t agree with this either. There are just as many ill-tempered casuals as there are hardcores that will step all over anyone and anything to get what they want. This really goes both ways, technically you are both right. A casual player won’t invest the time into a long winded guide for a class, but a hardcore player might belittle a casual for not reading said guide.

Double edged sword.

People have different levels of caring and it’s not a simple divide between casual/hardcore. This is divided per game too. Some games are more important than others. For example, one may casually play this game but care very strongly about Sc2 due to competitiveness or w/e. Thus changes in the game they put more effort into have a bigger impact.

Furthermore, even casual players can care. What if say, you can only play between the hours of 2-5 PM and the server shuts down every day at that time?

Or take sports viewing. It’s just a game too. Why do people feel so strongly about games that they themselves don’t even play in?

In the end, someone bought a game for entertainment. When said entertainment is disrupted for seemingly needless reasons, well stuff happens.

The drama is amazing here as always.

Zacchary.6183:

Calae.1738:

People who are vocal about the game actually care about the game; even if their arguments are irrational. Their opinions and feedback matter. Why? *Because casual players don’t care.

Casual players don’t post on forums. Don’t talk with others on voip, don’t type anything in chat, don’t write guides, don’t find exploits, don’t abuse game mechanics, don’t provide feedback and just generally don’t care about pretty much anything.*

If we met face-to-face, I would put you in the hospital for that comment. I am a casual player and I actually care about this game. I want to see this game work so well that every boast that they’ve made towards this game is true and real. One of the factors that help make this game amazing is the community but that is by a long shot because the recent generation of gamers is comprised of alot of Hardcore.

I could say this same comment about these Hardcore gamers because they are the ones who try to convince everyone that MMOs are about PvP more than the main game. They are the ones who only care about THEIR status in the game and will ruin it to fulfill their own agenda. They will step on people just to get better scores.there might be some Hardcore that care but most of Hardcore only care about themselves.

Seems like someone needs an infraction. I suggest you take a trip to the nearest anger management counselor. And the definition of casual, you need to go read it up.