Why the Guild Wars 2 Internet Hate?
Haters are the loudest, does it answer your question?
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www.gw2time.com
The game and how it launched in august 2012, was fantastic, yes.
What happened in the 2 year since then (aka nothing) is deplorable.
Why do I complain, why do others complain?
Because WvW and SPvP get zero dev attention.
WvW and SPvP don’t even have development teams assigned to them, literally zero people working on them. Occasionally some clueless PvE Devs will come along and make some minor useless changes.
The company does not listen to the players. The forums are filled with thousands of brilliant ideas to improve the game, which are approved by a huge majority, and the company ignores them.
For a long time even PvE lacked direction, then they randomly create Scarlet out of no where, and make a terrible story to cover up their poor LS releases. At least now they seem to be running along with something, so they finally found some direction for PvE.
Too much open world zerging, not enough party instances. Zerging = remove any form of player skill from the game.
It takes 6-8 months per balance patch. This is unacceptable. Every 2-4 weeks they should be making tweaks and changes to keep the game from stagnating, and to encourage player creativity.
Asura is allowed in SPvP, despite its massive cheat advantage.
Skyhammer, a gimmick Soul Calibur style map, is still in SoloQ, despite the majority of hard core pvpers wanting it gone from SoloQ.
And the last one I can be bothered typing, because this is getting long (as usual), they focus on the gem store WAY too much. Every new skin is tied behind using a credit card, or giving up your entire gold supply which takes a more than a week to get back.
^^This is why I and others complain. Because since release, the company simply stopped giving a crap about the players, and about the 2 PvP modes. ^^
Stop fooling yourselves saying “everyone who complains wants GW2 to be GW1”, or, "They want to promote “XYZ” game." Start understanding what the actual problems are.
PvP modes are endgame, because they are constantly changing, and every time you enter it will be different to last time. PvP modes always allow for the player to improve, PvE never does, PvE is ALWAYS about running the same builds/strategy, it is stagnation at its best. PvP is why MMO’s can live for 10 years, because it can retain players, NOT PVE, PvE will NEVER be endgame, EVER.
And yet the company ignores PvP modes, and fails at PvE. The company has no direction besides gem store peddling.
The game has so much potential, but ANet don’t give a skritt.
PvP modes are the “endgame” in all MMOs.
Stop failing at PvE, and fix WvW/SPvP. Thank you.
(edited by thaooo.5320)
Every game have its own QQ threads. If we don’t QQ about GW2 in GW2 forum, what are you expecting people to do here?
To be honest GW2 doesn’t play like an MMORPG. It plays a lot more like a traditional ARPG like Path of Exile, Torchlight, or Diablo 2. It’s just not isometic. People might come here looking for that next big MMORPG fix they’ve been looking for after being bored of WoW, EQ2, and other traditional MMORPGs. They won’t really get it here because it’s designed as an ARPG at it’s core with MMORPG mechanics tacked on. That’s not a bad thing, it’s really fun if you understand what they’re trying to do. It’s just not WoW HD.
Because GW2 hasn’t lived up to most peoples expectations thus far. For pvp, wvw, or pve. They certainly did some things that have been cool, but have failed greatly a lot of others. They spent way too much effort on the living story when it ended up having quite a negative impact anyway.
Hate and love are two sides of the same coin, the fact that people “hate” on a game indicates that they are still emotionally invested in it and are still playing; they may grouch a lot, but they’re still here, spending time and (hopefully) money while impatiently expecting things to go their way.
There is no such thing as a universally-liked game, so there’s only two reasons why you wouldn’t see hate threads on a gaming forum: it’s either overzealous/abusive moderation or nobody is playing it and the community is dead. Either reason is enough to turn around and run away from a game.
Anyone says that, “Satisfied people don’t say anything.” “Haters are the loudest etc” are foolish. Most people who are unhappy or unsatisfied rarely say it, they just stop buying or shopping at the area. This is basic retail knowledge. To say everyone will complain is complete nonsense. Also haters are the loudest? Hypers are the loudest, they say how good something is and won’t shut up about it. Look at people who talk about certain shows/products and sports stars.
In my eyes the issue is that GW2 has so much potential, but the devs are not getting the best out of it. This leads to people being frustrated, but not enough to leave the game. As a result, people whine (as do I).
Furthermore, GW2 is aimed at casual gamers, and those are the worst when it comes to whining. They always feel entitled to everything and complain when things are “too hard” (while most PvE content is as easy as can be) and they feel entitled to getting the rewards anyway, so instead of improving, they whine.
Then there’s the bugs, the lack of keeping promises, and sometimes just flat out idiotic mistakes made by the devs.
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In my eyes the issue is that GW2 has so much potential, but the devs are not getting the best out of it. This leads to people being frustrated, but not enough to leave the game. As a result, people whine (as do I).
Yeah, it’s still a pretty entertaining game and it’s incredible, incredible value for money. It’s the squandered potential and the problems in the implementation details and the derailing of the game’s original vision that frustrates me and players like me, who came from GW1 and found themselves in a muddy half-visionary, half-tentative game that can’t decide whether it’s really bold enough to be as different as it promised. It tries to please everyone, and that leaves it floundering sometimes.
Furthermore, GW2 is aimed at casual gamers, and those are the worst when it comes to whining. They always feel entitled to everything and complain when things are “too hard” (while most PvE content is as easy as can be) and they feel entitled to getting the rewards anyway, so instead of improving, they whine.
Was with you until this point. A lot of whining about there not being enough grind is exactly why the game deviated from its original skill-based and cosmetic-rewards design model. I could easily group those people into “hardcore” players and irrationally blame them for all the game’s flaws, but I choose not to because I know logically that players cannot be swept neatly into two hivemind crowds who are either/or.
In my eyes the issue is that GW2 has so much potential, but the devs are not getting the best out of it. This leads to people being frustrated, but not enough to leave the game. As a result, people whine (as do I).
Furthermore, GW2 is aimed at casual gamers, and those are the worst when it comes to whining. They always feel entitled to everything and complain when things are “too hard” (while most PvE content is as easy as can be) and they feel entitled to getting the rewards anyway, so instead of improving, they whine.
Then there’s the bugs, the lack of keeping promises, and sometimes just flat out idiotic mistakes made by the devs.
Wasn’t casuals who asked for ascended gear or dungeons to be worked over to the point people that are the level for that dungeon are kicked.
Because Guild Wars 2 gameplay is considered awful by many people and rightfully so.
On paper GW2 is the perfect game for me as I am a casual and have no interest in raids. However, I quit the game after about a month after the head start weekend.
Guild Wars 2 has amazing graphics and the innovative way to level is great too. Events are a nice concept. Classes are amazing concept wise as well.
But in the end it all comes down to the gameplay of combat, which is VERY lacking. There’s almost no variety in monsters and those all share the same abilities. Ettins everywhere doing the same thing, predictable and boring. Feels like a lazy design.
Combat is also very repetive. Spamming spells on cooldown while occasionally dodging.
I like GW2 because I play it with a friend and we play casually and thus prefer a MMO without a sub…… but so few has changed since I last played which was 1 month after launch.
That’s like 2 years without any significant changes being added. The game had potential then if they actually actively worked on the game and fixed things beyond class balance..
I would take GW2 graphics, combat and races over ANY of any game at all times…
BUT I would take other game’s mechanics over GW2’s every day too: too much grind, not enough to do if you don’t like grind, poor rewards, very repetetive, unbalanced PvP, extremely boring story (not talking about the lore in se, just the way it was presented)…
A lot of the complaints are more like disappointment than hate.
Anet just really seems to lack direction. The fact that the game us balanced around PvP but updates around PvE just says it all. Stuff like the 50% Dancing Dagger a while back just screams that they don’t seem to have a clue what they’re doing.
The core game is a mess, with broken skills since launch, horrible class balance, with a lot of abilities and traits where you really are strained to find any actual use for, and yet that’s all on the back burner.
Then you got stuff like the hilarious Chaos of Lyssa drop rate to add insult to injury, and you got a recipe for people to be annoyed about.
I’m going to echo the sentiment that part of the negativity on the forums is just standard game forum behavior, but it’s exacerbated on this one due to how bad the game’s iteration since launch has been and how quiet the devs are on the boards.
So much potential completely squandered on slow, ill-conceived profession updates, way too much temporary content, fragmented narratives, zerg content, a poorly realized soft trinity, too much grind, pvp-focused balance, and a general lack of polish and extension to the existing game.
(edited by Einlanzer.1627)
It is simple a lot of MMORPG players love to idealize MMORPG but once it gets release those blinders fall off and they get hit with reality of the game. This is extremely common and has happened with warhammer, aion, swtor, gw2, tera and recently ESO. It will probably happen with wildstar, just wait a month.
Another possibility is that a certain group expects every mmorpg to appeal to them and when it doesn’t they feel either threaten by it, so they bash it.
Another group are the former guild wars 1 players, that have idealize the stuffing out of guild wars 1 and have managed to gross over the issues guild wars 1 had at the time of it’s prime.
All these three things have two things in common, mmorpg players lack the ability to NOT be emotional invested in games they play. The concept of just walking away of a game doesn’t exist or resonate with them. And they are all done by a small vocal minority.
This is an mmo forum, if someone isn’t whining chances are the game is dead.
(edited by silvermember.8941)
My question is, what am I missing here? Is it jealousy? Are a lot of these internet anti-GW2 rants actually shills from other companies? Maybe GW2 is not your cup of tea, I get it. But I get sick and tired of someone randomly saying “GW2 sucks” or it is a flop because it just does not make sense. It does not add up.
Jealousy? I really doubt it. Most gamers can afford more than one game and they play what they like. Shills? Well maybe some of it is. But that cuts both ways. People could actually shill FOR GW2. I really doubt shilling would make up a significant percentage. As you said, GW2 was consistently in the top 10 games. It recently fallen out of the top 10, but I suspect its still in the top 10 of the MMORPG’s. Objectively, ( and not counting whatever is going on in China) it appears to be falling in popularity rather than gaining. Of course that could just be the fact the game is 2 years old. I sense a disconnect in what ArenaNet wants and users want. Since the extreme changes GW2 has fallen from consistently 5 or 6 to consistently 8 to 12. It reminds me of when WoW blew up Azeroth. It dropped from consistently 2 or 3 to consistently 5 of 6. Extreme changes have consequences.
Most people just want a magical sandbox to play in. I think when games get stuck on telling people what they must do, the sandbox becomes a lot less fun. I’m guessing expanding the world ( enlarging the sandbox) would have done better than forcing a story line. I guess it would have also been more expensive and that’s where the rubber meets the road.
People give glowing reviews to games they’ve fallen in love with and are pretty hostile to games they’ve fallen out of love with. I think the only important take is how reaction to the game is changing.
^ I think the main problem is that GW2 is just getting stale. Every MMO in existence is slowly dying, even WoW. What happens to most games is that it slowly declines but gets some players back every time a big update or expansion comes out. GW2 doesn’t have that, even the ‘huge’ updates like destroying LA is hardly game changing.
The LS has massively hurt GW2. There’s no incentive for old players to return, because all the content is gone, and the game becomes more and more stale for us current players because the core game doesn’t change: outside of a few hours of LS events, all you do is the same stuff you did since launch, with very little variation because of the lack of build diversity or new skills to play around with.
GW2 lacks a lot of the fundamental things which makes a MMO tick: a growing world, deep character customization, and reasonable goals to hunt for (not skins that cost a small country/with a 0.00000001% drop rate or nothing), so as a result, all you see is just a decline.
This is just typical behavior in games without subscription fees, have you ever visited the League of Legends forums?
I’m assuming there’s more whining there because more children play LoL . Grownups don’t whine, they provide feedback.
Grownups don’t whine?
By definition. If they are whining, they are not grown up, no matter how old they are.
Having played just about every MMO and RPG out there, this frail, aging 44 year old gamer still finds that to this day, there are only two online games that he has given his most time to, World of Warcraft and Guild Wars 2.
This post is not about World of Warcraft. That is for another time.
I want to talk about Guild Wars 2. More importantly, on how I constantly see crowded in game cities and how it appears in the top 10 most played pc games from sites ranging from Xfire to Raptr, and yet it is also the most consistently frowned upon MMO in most online forums. This is a game that was the next step up. If World of Warcraft borrowed the Everquest model and made its game more polished, then Guild Wars 2 took all the little irritating things about all MMOs and eliminated them completely.
This is a game were you “see” what is going on right in front of you, and react. You are never told by NPCs to go kill x amount of spiders, and questing can involve many different ways to complete an area. Small events pop up and sometimes even collide. Exploration is encouraged and completing a zone map actually leads to a reward.
You can deposit material items to your bank from anywhere in the game, you craft straight from your bank, can read email from anywhere. There is shared looting so if someone tags a mob before you, as long as you hit, you get credit. Everyone can mine the same ore so you don’t get upset at other players. Anyone can resurrect anyone else which has created a sub culture of some very nice, helpful players. The game runs great, has a nice interface, beautiful graphics, gorgeous music, AND it is buy to play, making it one of the better deals around. There is little or no downtime whatsoever, and it has that special quality of being easy to get into but difficult to master. It has a sense of humor, excellent lore and even jumping puzzles for some of those parkour fans. The starting areas are fantastic and epic, and having outdoor giant monster Shadow Behemoth-like open events in all the starting areas is a real eye-opener. The wardrobe and specifically dye system is one of the best around.The end game is what we always knew it would be. People complain about the lack of gear progression but that’s what Guild Wars 2 was always going to be. Even though there are some small upgrades, it has never really been about gear at level 80. In fact, to me, it is more about how you look cosmetically at level 80, which is refreshing, to say the least. The lack of a holy trinity has made finding dungeon groups so much easier, as there is no waiting around for a tank or healer, and holds you more accountable for getting out of the way of damage.
While there have been bumps with the living story content only being temporary, future updates are rumored to be more permanent additions, so ArenaNet has listened. Some of the content was quite impressive including the attack on Lion’s Arch and the very popular Super Adventure Box. Updates in general seem to come as fast if not faster than other games that have subscriptions.
My question is, what am I missing here? Is it jealousy? Are a lot of these internet anti-GW2 rants actually shills from other companies? Maybe GW2 is not your cup of tea, I get it. But I get sick and tired of someone randomly saying “GW2 sucks” or it is a flop because it just does not make sense. It does not add up.
Everything you said there, was said so eloquently and it summed up all my feelings nicely for the game, i couldn’t have said it any better. But what you said in your last paragraph about shills, i think there’s definitely lot of that as well.
“Guild Wars 2 is the worst MMO ever released, except for all the ones that came before it”.
~ Winston Churchill… ish.
You know, there is a minecraft mod called Iguana tweaks. This is a mod I hate, since basically all it does is make the game inconvenient. You move slower, you don’t heal up, food sucks now, your inventory space is shot, mining takes forever… just a horrible mod. And yet, some people just plain love this mod.
Why am I talking about a minecraft mod? Because it epitomizes why many people hate GW2: There are a lot of features that GW2 removed from standard MMOs that players absolutely loved. To these people, it wasn’t an inconvenience, but a way of life.
*Grind. Worst game I played had 30+ skills, 99 levels in each, and each can take weeks to level even if you no-life. Now, some players like this, because it gives them a simple goal they have to work for, and without a carrot on the stick, a lot of people lose meaning in a game.
*Disproportionate PVP. Same game as above, each level of gear cost 10 times more than the last, with the best gear in the game costing more money that the gold cap. Some people like this, because they don’t want an even playing field. They want their endless slog to amount to sheer statistical pwnage in PVP.
*Fixed combat roles. The most recent MMO I’m playing has something like this, where you need one of tank/healer/resource management/ DPS in order to do pretty much anything. The fact is, some people like being necessary and crucial to their team due to their role, and like that everything hinges on a proper role performance. This provides a sense of guidance to players and their playstyle.
*P2P trading. Fact is, some players like to pretend they are in a foreign bazaar, trying to haggle their rares. They like the thrill of finding deals, and making big bank through sheer audacity alone.
*Harsh penalties for death. One game I played had it so death made you lose all but 3 of your items and your entire inventory. Some people like that thrill of danger.
*Long travel times and mounts. Some players like the remote and exclusive feel of different areas. The convenience of the WP takes away the experience from the journey.
*Additional resource management. Some players like having to deal with mana, or attack items. since it provides more depth to build around. The more factors you can adjust, the more depth you have to build around.
*Likewise, large build depth. GW2 is fairly locked in with classes and traits go, but some games have such large build diversity that it is nigh incomprehensible. Personally, this is one I like. Give me a hundred things to tweak, and you’ll keep me occupied with just theorycrafting for days.
*Limited crafting and inventory resources. Some players like competing for resources, since it brings value to obscure corners of the world, and strange monsters to fight. Managing inventory can be another “resource” players have to deal with.
*Animations and dodges. Some people want the game to be lower maintenance, and don’t want to have to deal with dodging or placement with uber attacks.
*Instances. Many players want to be isolated from other players, and hate having to deal with randoms who might come up and interrupt what they are doing.
I think GW2 is a good game. The way things run are extremely responsive, smooth to play, easy to get in to but hard to master, and there is a lot of anti-hassle measures. The update philosophy, balance frequency, balance methodology, story writing, and the gem store focus are crap, but this makes GW2 stagnant, not bad. But, the fact is that GW2 has many features that players don’t like or want, and GW2 is missing many features that are present in other MMOs.
Heck, I listed a boat load of features I miss from CoH in another thread: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/What-do-you-miss-from-other-games/page/2#post4055272
I can understand if people leave GW2 and not play other MMOs, but in terms of MMOs I don’t know where they are going to go at all.
Went back to, and am currently enjoying World of Warcraft, Got Mists of pandaria, and love playing a monk.
No game compares to it and no game coming out in the near future will seem to compare so far, either.
Guess you have not heard of EQ next? From what I have seen, it will leave Gw2 in the dust.
GW2 has some problems, sure, but it’s an incredible game – best game I’ve ever played and I plan to stick around for some time and to those who think that things don’t get fixed – they do. I’ve been around since launch and the game has really improved in a lot of ways.
I have also been around since launch, but saying it has really improved in a lot of ways, is missing the forest for the pretty trees.
Some of the trees may be in and of themselves pretty, but the forest, taken as aa whole, is worse than launch. The game has taken to monetizing as much content as possible, therefore the game is Gold centric…. or gem centric. Then by Nerfing any Gold farming they discover to the ground… Gold acquisition itself is Gem centric.
The game is becoming an excuse to get people onto the servers, so that they can be gem shopped to utter death.
I decided to go back to WoW because at least there, i know, I pay $15 a month…. I then get CONTENT. In Gw2, I MIGHT not pay anything…but I get the gem store rammed down my throat. The Minute anyone finds a way to generate gold repeatedly… consistently…within game…it’s nerfed to bloody hell. So that leaves them with the gem store to purchase their gold. Anyone else notice how they have started doing IN GAME announcements about what is in their Gem shop? Along with a friendly reminder that they also sell Gold?
Better games? I think a Lot of players are looking at gw2 through Rose colored Goggles when they say " No game Like it." Well… they are right , there is no game like it. The main issue is…that is a bad thing in this case… for gw2.
(edited by Nerelith.7360)
Do people seriously believe that disliking GW2 makes you a spoiled kid? There has been plenty of constructive, well-written feedback that points to GW2’s faults.
fanboiz…Just sayin’
I decided to go back to WoW because at least there, i know, I pay $15 a month…. I then get CONTENT.
World of Warcraft is not getting any content for a year+, while demanding you to pay 15$ per month, only to then charge you 50$ for an expansion.
If that is what you mean by “getting content”, then I suppose you are right. You ARE getting content, but you have to pay for it, after having paid for a year+ with no content.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6zkT2uZAGA – GW2 – A world of wonder
I can understand if people leave GW2 and not play other MMOs, but in terms of MMOs I don’t know where they are going to go at all.
Went back to, and am currently enjoying World of Warcraft, Got Mists of pandaria, and love playing a monk.
No game compares to it and no game coming out in the near future will seem to compare so far, either.
Guess you have not heard of EQ next? From what I have seen, it will leave Gw2 in the dust.
GW2 has some problems, sure, but it’s an incredible game – best game I’ve ever played and I plan to stick around for some time and to those who think that things don’t get fixed – they do. I’ve been around since launch and the game has really improved in a lot of ways.
I have also been around since launch, but saying it has really improved in a lot of ways, is missing the forest for the pretty trees.
Some of the trees may be in and of themselves pretty, but the forest, taken as aa whole, is worse than launch. The game has taken to monetizing as much content as possible, therefore the game is Gold centric…. or gem centric. Then by Nerfing any Gold farming they discover to the ground… Gold acquisition itself is Gem centric.
The game is becoming an excuse to get people onto the servers, so that they can be gem shopped to utter death.
I decided to go back to WoW because at least there, i know, I pay $15 a month…. I then get CONTENT. In Gw2, I MIGHT not pay anything…but I get the gem store rammed down my throat. The Minute anyone finds a way to generate gold repeatedly… consistently…within game…it’s nerfed to bloody hell. So that leaves them with the gem store to purchase their gold. Anyone else notice how they have started doing IN GAME announcements about what is in their Gem shop? Along with a friendly reminder that they also sell Gold?
Better games? I think a Lot of players are looking at gw2 through Rose colored Goggles when they say " No game Like it." Well… they are right , there is no game like it. The main issue is…that is a bad thing in this case… for gw2.
Well that’s fine dear, u go back to your WoW and we who enjoy gw2 will keep looking at the game with “rose-coloured” glasses coz you know what? It sure looks pretty and as longs as one is enjoying a game, what does it matter? Just as a matter of interest, what colour glasses are u wearing?
I decided to go back to WoW because at least there, i know, I pay $15 a month…. I then get CONTENT.
World of Warcraft is not getting any content for a year+, while demanding you to pay 15$ per month, only to then charge you 50$ for an expansion.
If that is what you mean by “getting content”, then I suppose you are right. You ARE getting content, but you have to pay for it, after having paid for a year+ with no content.
Playing a Monk, for $15 a Month, I get to play a Monk, where I also get to earn Gold while actually playing, where I can farm Gold, and spend the Gold I farmed. And not be concerned about having that Gold farm nerfed.
By Content you mean " NEW Content." And I agree, but since I have not played WoW in two years, it’s all new content for me is it not?
This thing of " and paying $15 a month without new content." I heard it before. But I also know some people pay $50 to $100 a month at the gem shop… How Much new content they get? maybe some new skins ?? that can only be bought at the gem shop?
Personally you cannot say that playing WoW I pay $15 a month, and get zero content. A server with zero content is not a server. Not sure any MMO provides ZERO content.
You mean " new Content." as such answer me this… How Much " new content ’ is there in Gw2? And please do Not dredge up Living Story.
(edited by Nerelith.7360)
To be honest GW2 doesn’t play like an MMORPG. It plays a lot more like a traditional ARPG like Path of Exile, Torchlight, or Diablo 2. It’s just not isometic. People might come here looking for that next big MMORPG fix they’ve been looking for after being bored of WoW, EQ2, and other traditional MMORPGs. They won’t really get it here because it’s designed as an ARPG at it’s core with MMORPG mechanics tacked on. That’s not a bad thing, it’s really fun if you understand what they’re trying to do. It’s just not WoW HD.
I’m a bit disappointed with the direction(less) that GW2 took after launch, and I was never expecting it to be a WoW clone. In fact, I have never played WoW nor any other subscription-based mmo.
Even if you compare GW2 to other games like, say, Diablo II (this one I’ve played), DII has two fundamental game design pillars that GW2 does not: 1) It has plenty of challenging content; 2) It’s a highly rewarding game – in fact, it’s a masterpiece in this regard. DII is an example of how addicting a game can be based on loot/ rewards alone.
Anet wants to be innovative, but there’s a difference between innovation that is desired, and innovation that is hipster.
Desired innovation is the one that comes out of necessity or evolution, like the dynamic events or the concept of horizontal progression, for example. Many players want to see the old archaic formula to change, either because they’re bored of it, or because it was built on outdated hardward restrictions. Seamless and dynamic quests, or the removal of gear grinding, is an answer to that.
Hipster innovation (hipster word used as a metaphor – not trying to judge hipster people here) is to change or to be different for the sake of it. It’s certainly an interesting experience, but it might come at the cost of desired content. The refusal by Anet to bring many features (like raids), only for them to implement similar-but-worse content for the sake of “being different than what other mmos do” does not helps this game much. More times than not, this kind of innovation is unnecessary, gimmicky, and ultimately does not priotizes quality because it undervalues that some estabilished mmo content is loved and desired by the fanbase for a reason.
But the biggest problem really is the direction that the game has taken (or didn’t take). Suddenly, Anet went against their manifesto and added gear grinding. I’m not sure if it was some kind of panic button, a desperate attempt to grab other mmo players, or something. But it was, among many other decisions, contradictory to many estabilished gameplay elements or design philosophy.
Anet’s attempt to try to appeal to everyone is not working either. Ascended gear is once again a good example. Its existence annoys those who wish for a bigger focus on horizontal progression. In order to not annoy those players too much, Anet made it so that the stat difference between ascended and exotic gear is very small – which in turn, is very unsatisfying reward for those who love vertical progression. In the end, both sides of the playerbase might find content like this underwhelming.
Finally, anet’s execution on several concepts is very mechanically cold. Tyria feels more and more like a gemstore service or a material-grinding cycle than a living world. This is because Anet is very careless of lore, flavor, immersion and storytelling when they add new stuff, like, again, ascended gear. Instead of enhancing exploration, making challenging and exciting adventures, and telling stories around ascended and legendary gear, all those items are instead “thrown” into the world, gated under massive, generic grinding, and feel flavorless and cold in the end.
I can understand if people leave GW2 and not play other MMOs, but in terms of MMOs I don’t know where they are going to go at all.
Went back to, and am currently enjoying World of Warcraft, Got Mists of pandaria, and love playing a monk.
No game compares to it and no game coming out in the near future will seem to compare so far, either.
Guess you have not heard of EQ next? From what I have seen, it will leave Gw2 in the dust.
GW2 has some problems, sure, but it’s an incredible game – best game I’ve ever played and I plan to stick around for some time and to those who think that things don’t get fixed – they do. I’ve been around since launch and the game has really improved in a lot of ways.
I have also been around since launch, but saying it has really improved in a lot of ways, is missing the forest for the pretty trees.
Some of the trees may be in and of themselves pretty, but the forest, taken as aa whole, is worse than launch. The game has taken to monetizing as much content as possible, therefore the game is Gold centric…. or gem centric. Then by Nerfing any Gold farming they discover to the ground… Gold acquisition itself is Gem centric.
The game is becoming an excuse to get people onto the servers, so that they can be gem shopped to utter death.
I decided to go back to WoW because at least there, i know, I pay $15 a month…. I then get CONTENT. In Gw2, I MIGHT not pay anything…but I get the gem store rammed down my throat. The Minute anyone finds a way to generate gold repeatedly… consistently…within game…it’s nerfed to bloody hell. So that leaves them with the gem store to purchase their gold. Anyone else notice how they have started doing IN GAME announcements about what is in their Gem shop? Along with a friendly reminder that they also sell Gold?
Better games? I think a Lot of players are looking at gw2 through Rose colored Goggles when they say " No game Like it." Well… they are right , there is no game like it. The main issue is…that is a bad thing in this case… for gw2.
Well that’s fine dear, u go back to your WoW and we who enjoy gw2 will keep looking at the game with “rose-coloured” glasses coz you know what? It sure looks pretty and as longs as one is enjoying a game, what does it matter? Just as a matter of interest, what colour glasses are u wearing?
lol Been playing gw2 since launch. I used to also be a fangirl about the game. then I woke up, saw How Monetized it became after the april patch.
Fact is, that as I said, I am currently enjoying the game. Not looking back with Notalgia.
See that is what I was doing while playing Gw2…Looking back with Nostalgia to Gw1. Hoping for some of it’s awesomeness.
Then I realized that the devs that make gw2, have no connection to the game gw1. maybe some names were kept, they kept the WP system, and… the names of some of the skills. The names of some of the races, some lore. But as to any real connection to gw1. it’s Not there.
So yes, I will go back to WoW. Play My Monk, and enjoy the money I spend On WoW, see I was spending money on gw2. Then I realized." for the Money i spend In the gem store here…I could be playing for a year on WoW, and Not get the gem store rammed down my throat."
I am gonna enjoy World of warcraft, and you can enjoy Gem Store Wars 2. :-)
by the way your condescension was palpable, Only reason I came across responding In Kind.. dear. :-)
PS: It is Ironic, that the class i loved the MOST in GW1 was the Monk…. a Healer. Now the class i am playing In World of Warcraft is… a Mistweaver. For those Not In the Know…that’s a Monk…. that heals.
Just Like In Gw1. Sad that to get back some o f what I enjoyed In gw1…I could not find in gw2, and ended up going back to World of warcraft to experience.
I think this is One reason for " Gw2 hate." to bring it back on topic. It’s Not hate, just …dissappointment at the squandering of resources and Player good will by Anet with the direction ( or lack thereof) this game has taken.
(edited by Nerelith.7360)
after reading all the pages of this thread, I echo a Lot of what i have read. I notice most of the dissapointment comes from those of us, that used to play Gw1.
I was there Shortly after release. I was there for the first 2 expansions. I Loved Cantha, My assassin… My Ritualist…
I Loved Elona, and My Dervish.
I simply feel that this game has very little of what I loved from Guild Wars. It feels that they tried so hard to be " Innovative." they left out what MMO players actually enjoy about MMO’s.
I also feel like they promised me something that because of lousy execution, they totally forgot about.
One of the reasons i bought this game was " No Holy Trinity"
Some may say they did not go back On that promise… and that isn’t the promise they failed On to my mind.
They said there would be a new trinity of game mechanics… " Support, Control, and Damage." Any class could fill any Role. But in executuon, the ONLY role you need is the damage one.
Bosses cannot be CC’d. They do one shot hits, that cannot be ameliorated through Bufs hence support…. they can be avoided entirely with wll timed dodges. So No need for any toughness, or Vitality, No need for any Boons that give toughness or vitality.
In it’s execution, in wishing to NOT have a group Depending on a dedicated healer, or a tank…. they went too far the opposite way, and made a game with everyone being independant. Maybe this is me missing some of the awesomness of filling a special role in a group. But it kinda reminds me of a Line froim a Movie…
“When everyone is special… No one is.”
I never played GW1, and am still hugely disappointed by GW2 – largely for not living up to the promises of the Manifesto.
The world should be open – instead of gated, and what’s with the weird rectangular design of the map? I want to be able to walk anywhere in the world without going through a loading door.
Exploration was promised, but I find this seriously lacking. First of all, there aren’t enough easter eggs, really long pathways that lead off into the distance. Everything is linear, and it’s only a matter of having the right stats or the right group or whatever to get there. Everything’s on a path, in other words.
Loot sucks – it’s boring as hell. No innovation at all.
Too little variety in enemies (many reused templates) and beasts, and they aren’t very interesting (AI is lacking).
Remember how Colin was describing DE’s in the Manifesto? About how they don’t want mobs just standing around in a field somewhere, doing nothing, twiddling their thumbs?
Well, every zone you go to, that’s exactly what you find. Yes, there are a smattering of “dynamic” events too, but every field has a bunch of trash mobs standing around like they belong there.
Because, you know, everybody needs something to grind XP on.
Many skills are bland, and the few that aren’t (Death Blossom) are often broken (don’t do enough damage, or don’t offer enough of a movement advantage). There are way too many skills like this.
While I like the addition of having a limited set of skills to choose from (something both GW2 and D3 do) – I think the entire skill bar should be customizable. For example, what if each weapon had 10-15 unique skills available to that weapon/class, that you could choose 5 of to put on your weapon bar (but only choose from those specific skills)? In other words, mesmer Sword would have 10-15 Sword skills that were specific both to the Mesmer and to Sword specifically, but any of those could be put on the skill bar (or I guess, the first three or last two, depending on whether it was main or off…but you get the idea). This would allow much more customization.
What about Traits that significantly alter the way your skills function (I’m looking at D3 here). For example, imagine main hand Mesmer sword GM traits, that change Blurred Frenzy to a Blink instead of distortion, another one that changed it to allow movement while channeling.
How about GM traits for Death Blossom that allow you to ‘aim’ DB in whatever direction you are pushing (instead of auto-aimed at target, or forward in the case of no target), or another that causes you to dodge-roll upon landing?
The possibilities, of course, are nearly endless, and this would provide immense customization for skills, instead of the bland +5% dmg when you hit something from the side min/max YAWN traits we have now.
And make dungeons scale – all the way down to solo if you want. Sometimes, I just don’t feel like mixing it up with random people I don’t know on the internet, and all I wanna do is go dungeon diving on my own to kill some stuff, and maybe earn some cool armor. Scale difficulty and rewards, from solo all the way up to a full group. Again, in D3 I can do a Rift on my own at various difficulties – but they scale with number of players. Soloable, and increased rewards/difficulty for groups. No reason why dungeons can’t be this way.
While you’re at it – make enemies more interesting, by programming in some actually strategic style attacks instead of just increasing their health pools to the point of tedium. Put in more variety. Randomize them, even.
And make loot more fun – put in tons of legendaries (again, D3) with lots of weird, quirky legendary effects. Make them actually do stuff, instead of just being a stat meter.
In short, do all the things you’re not doing.
I never played GW1, and am still hugely disappointed by GW2 – largely for not living up to the promises of the Manifesto.
The world should be open – instead of gated, and what’s with the weird rectangular design of the map? I want to be able to walk anywhere in the world without going through a loading door.
Exploration was promised, but I find this seriously lacking. First of all, there aren’t enough easter eggs, really long pathways that lead off into the distance. Everything is linear, and it’s only a matter of having the right stats or the right group or whatever to get there. Everything’s on a path, in other words.
Loot sucks – it’s boring as hell. No innovation at all.
Too little variety in enemies (many reused templates) and beasts, and they aren’t very interesting (AI is lacking).
Remember how Colin was describing DE’s in the Manifesto? About how they don’t want mobs just standing around in a field somewhere, doing nothing, twiddling their thumbs?
Well, every zone you go to, that’s exactly what you find. Yes, there are a smattering of “dynamic” events too, but every field has a bunch of trash mobs standing around like they belong there.
Because, you know, everybody needs something to grind XP on.
Many skills are bland, and the few that aren’t (Death Blossom) are often broken (don’t do enough damage, or don’t offer enough of a movement advantage). There are way too many skills like this.
While I like the addition of having a limited set of skills to choose from (something both GW2 and D3 do) – I think the entire skill bar should be customizable. For example, what if each weapon had 10-15 unique skills available to that weapon/class, that you could choose 5 of to put on your weapon bar (but only choose from those specific skills)? In other words, mesmer Sword would have 10-15 Sword skills that were specific both to the Mesmer and to Sword specifically, but any of those could be put on the skill bar (or I guess, the first three or last two, depending on whether it was main or off…but you get the idea). This would allow much more customization.
What about Traits that significantly alter the way your skills function (I’m looking at D3 here). For example, imagine main hand Mesmer sword GM traits, that change Blurred Frenzy to a Blink instead of distortion, another one that changed it to allow movement while channeling.
How about GM traits for Death Blossom that allow you to ‘aim’ DB in whatever direction you are pushing (instead of auto-aimed at target, or forward in the case of no target), or another that causes you to dodge-roll upon landing?
The possibilities, of course, are nearly endless, and this would provide immense customization for skills, instead of the bland +5% dmg when you hit something from the side min/max YAWN traits we have now.
And make dungeons scale – all the way down to solo if you want. Sometimes, I just don’t feel like mixing it up with random people I don’t know on the internet, and all I wanna do is go dungeon diving on my own to kill some stuff, and maybe earn some cool armor. Scale difficulty and rewards, from solo all the way up to a full group. Again, in D3 I can do a Rift on my own at various difficulties – but they scale with number of players. Soloable, and increased rewards/difficulty for groups. No reason why dungeons can’t be this way.
While you’re at it – make enemies more interesting, by programming in some actually strategic style attacks instead of just increasing their health pools to the point of tedium. Put in more variety. Randomize them, even.
And make loot more fun – put in tons of legendaries (again, D3) with lots of weird, quirky legendary effects. Make them actually do stuff, instead of just being a stat meter.
In short, do all the things you’re not doing.
Because…that would be hard.
I remember once raising the issue that gw1 was a LOT more fun to play because people could dual class. I mentioned that i would Love to see dual classing here.
the responce I got was ’ the devs said that would be hard to do."
…
Hey, whatever happened to " the devs need to do, what they need to do, to give us the most entertaining game they can…and earn the cash they get paid"?
It seems MY theory is… if giving me the fun I paid the devs for when I Bought the game… + when I shop on the gem store, means they work as hard as Possible to give me the game I paid for…then they need to work hard to give me the game I paid for.
Some people seem to think if it means that " More fun for me…= more work for the devs" I need to accept that…hey… can’t I just feel bad for the poor over worked devs, and be content with less fun?
The gems store should have DOZENS of crazy costumes and skins for armor – instead of the paltry selection that is there now.
The transmog system should allow me to transmute anything I’ve already bought for free, once I’ve bought it (or found it – like the transmog in D3) – perhaps a small fee in in-game silver would be acceptable.
People don’t buy cosmetics because the selection is too small.
This is just typical behavior in games without subscription fees, have you ever visited the League of Legends forums?
I’m assuming there’s more whining there because more children play LoL . Grownups don’t whine, they provide feedback.
O_o You must work with some wonderful people.
This is just typical behavior in games without subscription fees, have you ever visited the League of Legends forums?
I’m assuming there’s more whining there because more children play LoL . Grownups don’t whine, they provide feedback.
O_o You must work with some wonderful people.
Not whining is part of the defining traits of being grown up. You can be an adult…( over 18, or 21…depending on your jurisdiction), and Not be grown up..( mature).
Most of the GW2 hate is due to extremely poor post-launch development. We still have incredibly unbalanced builds/classes that seemingly get worse the few times a year they actually try and balance. The entire class system is built on extremely flawed components(conditions, stats, formulas, etc) Temporary content is fine when endgame foundations are solid, but GW2 endgame has NEVER been solid. Dungeons were never in a good place either(the fact that the “3” paths more often than not, feature the same areas with slightly different bosses is weak). Of course we can’t the almost complete reversal of everything they said pre-launch(manifesto, conventions, interviews, etc).
People expected ArenaNet to build on GW2 and in almost 2 years they still really haven’t done that. The things they have added are either disjointed, temporary, or purely flavor.
You could take this exact post, insert almost any mmo game name and/or company name in place of GW2 and Anet, and see this post on almost any mmo forum out there.
Mmo players with a screw loose vs mmo players with two screws loose. All very important stuff.
-Zenleto-
Most of the GW2 hate is due to extremely poor post-launch development. We still have incredibly unbalanced builds/classes that seemingly get worse the few times a year they actually try and balance. The entire class system is built on extremely flawed components(conditions, stats, formulas, etc) Temporary content is fine when endgame foundations are solid, but GW2 endgame has NEVER been solid. Dungeons were never in a good place either(the fact that the “3” paths more often than not, feature the same areas with slightly different bosses is weak). Of course we can’t the almost complete reversal of everything they said pre-launch(manifesto, conventions, interviews, etc).
People expected ArenaNet to build on GW2 and in almost 2 years they still really haven’t done that. The things they have added are either disjointed, temporary, or purely flavor.
You could take this exact post, insert almost any mmo game name and/or company name in place of GW2 and Anet, and see this post on almost any mmo forum out there.
That doesn’r mean that what he said is not relevant. Just because others say the same things about other MMO’s doesn’t mean that it is Not true about gw2.
We are not discussing the faults or failings or dissapointments of other games. Since this is Not " other game MMO" forums.
We are discussing the faults and failings of Gw2 because…. * looks at the name of the forums she’s On.* It’s called Gw2 forums.
I think part of the disappointment comes from the trust alot of people who had enough of WoW and generic WoW clones put into Anets words (who build up quite a good reputation as a developer with GW1) they said pre release.
And just two month after release everything ascended downhill.
I think part of the disappointment comes from the trust alot of people who had enough of WoW and generic WoW clones put into Anets words (who build up quite a good reputation as a developer with GW1) they said pre release.
And just two month after release everything ascended downhill.
+1
PS … Ascended downhill…. I see what you did there :P (thumbs up)
I think part of the disappointment comes from the trust alot of people who had enough of WoW and generic WoW clones put into Anets words (who build up quite a good reputation as a developer with GW1) they said pre release.
And just two month after release everything ascended downhill.
This is very true. A lot of us GW1 fans expected a sequel which built on everything we loved about the game (in no small part being led on by marketing hype). Instead we got Guild Wars 2, a game which bears almost no resemblance to GW1.
I never played GW1, and am still hugely disappointed by GW2 – largely for not living up to the promises of the Manifesto.
The world should be open – instead of gated, and what’s with the weird rectangular design of the map? I want to be able to walk anywhere in the world without going through a loading door.
I don’t think you’d want the lag that comes with that though…
I think part of the disappointment comes from the trust alot of people who had enough of WoW and generic WoW clones put into Anets words (who build up quite a good reputation as a developer with GW1) they said pre release.
And just two month after release everything ascended downhill.This is very true. A lot of us GW1 fans expected a sequel which built on everything we loved about the game (in no small part being led on by marketing hype). Instead we got Guild Wars 2, a game which bears almost no resemblance to GW1.
There are three core parts of Gw1 that were left off this game…
Elite Skill captures. Buying 100’s of skills and then putting them together as i wished.
Dual-classes.
The said that they got rid of the elite skill captures and the hundreds of skills for 2 reasons.
1. Players could kitten themselves. kitten . Anyone even use this term anymore relative to modern MMO’s? The ability to Put together, an inneffective and underpowered build, because of lack of knowledge of skills, or builds. Or how skills work.
The idea that yes, Players can come up with AWESOME Builds… Gw1 55 Monk, Gw1 Minion master… but the risk was " hey, they may kitten themse.ves."
So the trade off is, so that players don’t kitten themselves…. make everyone..mediocre??
2. Too much work for the devs balancing.
Sorry, this still doesn’t get much sympathy from me. A CORE part of what made gw1 such an awesome game for me, and many others, is totally left out of the game…to suit the convenience of the developers?
And people wonder why some of us have a gripe?
Dual – classing, and theorycrafting builds was a large part of the endgame at least for me, Gw2 leaves it out entirely… and… many feel that endgame is one of gw2’s weaknesses….
jus sayin’…you can argue against it all you want… 2+2 = 4.
(edited by Nerelith.7360)
I’ve been playing GW1 for the last few months and I find it incredible that people rely on their memories as the truth of all things. But that’s nostalgia for you.
Not everyone relies on “memories” and “nostalgia”. I was playing GW1 right until the pre-launch of GW2, so I don’t judge the first game based on “sweet, distant memories”.
Maybe you don’t…
Would you like some hard cheeze with your sad whine?
Three reasons:
~ The 180 that was done on what the focus of the game’s updates would be with the creation of fractals and with the temporary LS content.
~ The creation of a gear treadmill (and subsequently a grind) in a title where it was promised neither would be done in multiple interviews just prior to launch.
~ The use of economic systems that have caused whole games to lose all their players and crash whole companies in the past. (DR on rewards, AH focused loot system where anything that’s needed for anything must be bought and cannot be farmed, an economic system that basically forces players to buy a store currency or pay directly with real money to afford the ever rising prices for the loot that’s all focused in the AH) I myself have experienced the second major bug with DR recently as I keep getting Unidentifiable Items from boss bags chests etc.
Silence about these things doesn’t help either, and these three reasons are why so many are right now telling NCsoft on websites google+ and facebook that they won’t prepurchase or even purchase at launch the Wildstar title because they are all afraid these things will happen a second time.
(edited by tigirius.9014)
Most of the GW2 hate is due to extremely poor post-launch development. We still have incredibly unbalanced builds/classes that seemingly get worse the few times a year they actually try and balance. The entire class system is built on extremely flawed components(conditions, stats, formulas, etc) Temporary content is fine when endgame foundations are solid, but GW2 endgame has NEVER been solid. Dungeons were never in a good place either(the fact that the “3” paths more often than not, feature the same areas with slightly different bosses is weak). Of course we can’t the almost complete reversal of everything they said pre-launch(manifesto, conventions, interviews, etc).
People expected ArenaNet to build on GW2 and in almost 2 years they still really haven’t done that. The things they have added are either disjointed, temporary, or purely flavor.
You could take this exact post, insert almost any mmo game name and/or company name in place of GW2 and Anet, and see this post on almost any mmo forum out there.
I kept it vague so I wouldn’t have to type out all the things that are specifically wrong. If you want me to make the statement very specific then I can and you certainly won’t be able to apply it to another MMO/company. Seriously, I’ll spend a few hours typing up an “anti-manifesto” if you will, on the things ArenaNet has failed at. Just say the word :P
Most of the GW2 hate is due to extremely poor post-launch development. We still have incredibly unbalanced builds/classes that seemingly get worse the few times a year they actually try and balance. The entire class system is built on extremely flawed components(conditions, stats, formulas, etc) Temporary content is fine when endgame foundations are solid, but GW2 endgame has NEVER been solid. Dungeons were never in a good place either(the fact that the “3” paths more often than not, feature the same areas with slightly different bosses is weak). Of course we can’t the almost complete reversal of everything they said pre-launch(manifesto, conventions, interviews, etc).
People expected ArenaNet to build on GW2 and in almost 2 years they still really haven’t done that. The things they have added are either disjointed, temporary, or purely flavor.
You could take this exact post, insert almost any mmo game name and/or company name in place of GW2 and Anet, and see this post on almost any mmo forum out there.
I kept it vague so I wouldn’t have to type out all the things that are specifically wrong. If you want me to make the statement very specific then I can and you certainly won’t be able to apply it to another MMO/company. Seriously, I’ll spend a few hours typing up an “anti-manifesto” if you will, on the things ArenaNet has failed at. Just say the word :P
Word.
I think some players here, need a reminder of:
1. What Anet promised…. as a Manifesto, as its reason for being pre-launch,
and
2. Where it either failed to deliver, fell short, was weak in it’s execution, or flat out reversed itself mid-stream.
I hate it because NCSoft has its dirty mitts all over this game, and I’m boycotting any game that has the NCSoft tag on it.
I have a theory. I’d argue this most complaint of GW2 is lack of content so everyone bad mouthing it because there is to little to play. Leaving them disappointed and venting there anger in forums. So i think most haters really like GW2 and are dissipointed that the accomplished all the content. The amount of repetition needed to get legendaries probably didn’t help too. Honestly there isn’t enough content to have them in game. where you can get them through playing the game and not by grinding. That will eventually burn anyone out. And so love turns to hate.
3 reasons:
- It’s an MMO. In other games people who get bored/don’t like where the game is going they just leave. In MMOs, after people invested thousands of hours in their account, leaving silently is not gonna happen.
People WILL hit forums and start complaining, not because they are trolls, but because they care TOO MUCH about the game. It’s just natural
-The game promised a lot at launch, maybe too much, with all the fuss regarding the manifesto, “play like you want” etc. advertised itself like a groundbreaking mmo, yet it’s a game of half steps, where it’s biggest strenghts suffer from poor execution. Seems like the devs have alot of great idea, but never realized how to support them ina long-term scenario.
Thats not an issue in a standard cookie-cutter mmo, where really, it’s all about content and balance
-Has the name Guild Wars in it, while having nothing to do with its prequel. Many of the features that people played gw1 for years are not here, and will never be.
It’s not a worse or better game, it’s just uncomparable, yet the name and the lore force that comparison. Should’ve been called something completely different, really.
Most of the people i know that love gw2 never played gw1, and ALL of my gw1 guildies that started playing at launch left an year ago.
It’s like, naming your new dog the same as your old, dead beagle . You want to love it the same, except it’s not a quiet and clean beagle, but a mastiff that slurs everywhere
(edited by Aegis.9724)
People don’t hate on GW2 because they’re WoW fanboys,
People hate on GW2 (and categorize it alongside SWTOR, ESO, etc. as a pariah amongst MMOs) because in a world where you can play WILDSTAR, why settle for a lesser game?
Its quite funny because at the ESO reddit, its like the other way round.
Well, I played this game for a long time. As a PvEer I can certainly see why there would be negative feedback. There’s just nothing to do anymore. Dungeons and fractals got old and stale long ago. Open world isn’t challenging, and if it is it’s more from an organisational point instead of encounters that actually require personal skill, aside from that there’s this terrible idea that none of the world bosses are instanced and the current randomness of the megaservers that makes even Teq not doable most of the time.
The living story was terrible in my opinion. Nothing but zerg farm events where you hardly even have to dodge. It pretty much got boring 1 hour in. Not to mention they actually deleted one of the better dungeon paths in the game to replace it with something that’s IMO inferior. Don’t get me wrong, TA eather is enjoyable once in a while but fw/up was more fun and less annoying.
So while I really love the gameplay and the lack of trinity, I find myself without anything to do at the moment. And the sad part is, that’s not likely to change any time soon. They have ignored dungeons so much it’s likely we’ll have to wait till November for them to reset our fractal levels back to 10 and give us 1 new instance.
Then there’s guild missions, nothing new since they were introduced and more annoying than ever because of the megaserver. I’d stop doing them all together if I wasn’t leading them most of the time.