Guild Wars 2

Living World in Guild Wars 2

by Colin Johanson on July 2, 2013

We’re Excited to Announce: Releases Every Two Weeks!

To make the world of Tyria feel alive, first and foremost it needs to frequently update and change. We’re excited to announce we have adopted a two-week major release cadence going forward for Guild Wars 2.
4 teams working on this .
they want GW2 to be different from all MMO.
Does this means no expansion ?

No I think we will see an expansion sometime in the future that includes new playable races and new areas of Tyria to explore. However I suspect this will be a while away.

I also think the expansion may not arrive in conventional ’here’s the box’ way but time will tell. For now we are getting such a huge amount of content every fortnight Im happy to wait

If we do see an expansion, I foresee the forums erupting in “How can you gate us from content through a paywall? This is absurd, I’m quitting, grumble grumble.”

I’d welcome an expansion, but it’s probably in the far future when they feel like they’ve perfected the current content.

Why does it matter? If they’re releasing new content all the time, including zones and abilities, with some of that content being “sticky” or persistent, and they’re doing that to maintain interest to keep the cash shop ticking over, and that’s funding the “rolling” expansion, why do you want a “big bang” expansion pack?

Of course, it might not be like that; the best case outcome of my interpretation of their aims as stated in the recent publicity might not be achieved, but still, what’s so special about “an expansion”?

guild wars expansions were usually massive continents to explore. This game hasn’t even been out a year and guild wars 1’s first expansion took 2 years i think. It was worth it though (please bring back cantha!!!)

womble.2153:

Why does it matter? If they’re releasing new content all the time, including zones and abilities, with some of that content being “sticky” or persistent, and they’re doing that to maintain interest to keep the cash shop ticking over, and that’s funding the “rolling” expansion, why do you want a “big bang” expansion pack?

Of course, it might not be like that; the best case outcome of my interpretation of their aims as stated in the recent publicity might not be achieved, but still, what’s so special about “an expansion”?

The stuff they patch in now does not get most players back into the game, an expansion would.
The stuff they patch in now offers 1-2 hours of gameplay every two weeks, an expansion would last months.
The stuff they patch in now offers no real exploration and story, an expansion hopefully does.
The stuff they patch in now does not offer real zones, classes, races, abilities, real new features(housing? new weapons? new options of advancement?), = all the stuff an expansion in most games does.

The point is: the current patching doesn’t really maintain the interesst. Most players I enjoyed the game with over the last 10 month have left. My 20+ player guild is lucky to get a full group playing now. An expansion would change that – instantly. So yes an expansion is the big bang for most player, which the not so living story isn’t.

Sadly Colin Johanson is telling the same stuff since release over and over and over. Look at the current news. Big words don’t create big things, but he seems to think that, no matter what people are telling him. The world of tyria is great. It is fun to play it, but it is not really changing and not it is not living at all. All you see are things happen again and again and again. This is no bad thing, but it does not generate the feeling Colin is talking about. The living story is neither living nor story. Some nice bits of story in the blogs would be better implemented in the game. Most players don’t even know about or read the blogs. I get carried off. Colin is wrong with most he is telling – sadly. The patch’a’holics can never replace an good sound expansion.

womble.2153:

Why does it matter? If they’re releasing new content all the time, including zones and abilities, with some of that content being “sticky” or persistent, and they’re doing that to maintain interest to keep the cash shop ticking over, and that’s funding the “rolling” expansion, why do you want a “big bang” expansion pack?

Of course, it might not be like that; the best case outcome of my interpretation of their aims as stated in the recent publicity might not be achieved, but still, what’s so special about “an expansion”?

It matters because the content they are releasing right now is just temporary and way too little.

I’d would’ve much rather have them take the last 9 months since release and give us some decent filled-out content that keeps me occupied, instead of releasing some tidbits every month that occupies me for a day or two.

Did you read what they’re planning? “What they do now” is, if they achieve what they seem to be aiming for, will be as mouse flatus to a hurricane, when compared with their apparent aims.

Just because it hasn’t happened yet in the Living World doesn’t mean it’s not going to. If the Living World shapes up to Colin’s expectations (and ramping up the teams to support it and developing the engineering behind the systems to accommodate it could easily have taken these first few months and explain why it’s not happened sooner) it sounds like it’s going to deliver all of those aspects that are ever going to be delivered: features; zones; stuff to do. Whether they’ll ever add new classes or races is yet to be determined, but why so adamant that this couldn’t be done as part of the natural progression of a game where the architecuture underpinning it has been designed to allow it.

If they can’t develop engaging content incrementally, I see no reason why they should be more capable of doing so with a “big bang” release. Prior “failings” don’t automatically mean they’ll continue. Remember that it was over 2 years from WoW’s launch til their first expansion. I don’t think that Guildies quitting can be blamed entirely on a world that’s been “static” for 10 months.

So again: if the content can be delivered organically as a game growing week by week (a technical achievement way beyond the cast iron worlds of WoW/SWTOR etc), why should an expansion necessarily be better?

I’ll bet it will have an expansion, and I’ll bet this Four Winds stuff leads up to up to the first expansion (and the introduction to a playable Tengu race).

tfwzyko.3516:

guild wars expansions were usually massive continents to explore. This game hasn’t even been out a year and guild wars 1’s first expansion took 2 years i think. It was worth it though (please bring back cantha!!!)

Actually Guild Wars 1 only had one expansion. That was Eye of the North. Fractions and Nightfall were stand alone games that didn’t require the original. Also Fractions came out a little over a year after Prophecies.

womble.2153:

If the Living World shapes up to Colin’s expectations

That, my friend, is one might big “IF”.

Doesn’t look likely. https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/GW2-unlikely-to-get-expansions-Interview/first#post2342472

Just because they said they don’t have one in the forcast for this year or next, doesn’t mean they will never do one.

On the other hand, if they can provide that content via the regular updates, freely and effectively, why the heck not?

There has been a lot of “well the living story sucks so this wont work” and truthfully, no one can know that. Not even Anet. It IS doable, the question is whether or not they can pull it off. I think they can, and I’m willing to wait and see.

LanfearShadowflame.3189:

Just because they said they don’t have one in the forcast for this year or next, doesn’t mean they will never do one.

Let’s be honest. If a developer can’t provide content for its playerbase, they will play something else. When GW2 gets an expansion in 2015 and my guild and I am happy playing something else – which is likely after the linked interview – we wouldn’t care much for it in 2015.

EvE Online patches new free content in expansion like sizes every 6 months. The have a monthly fee and an ever increasing player count since release in 2003. It can be done if you do it right. They offer players some real stuff to explore every 6 months and the people pay for it with monthly fees. GW2 has no such fee, so they could sell good sized chunks of content for a reasonable amount of money. Instead we get free stuff with the quality of free stuff. We get big mouthed stuff with “grind your next skin or it will be gone” content every two weeks for free.

I for one would prefer to pay for quality content.

No, it just launched for Asia, at least year-year and a half for an xpack.

If they start releasing new zones/races/professions whatever with their Living Story they won’t need expansions, and I believe that’s why they made such comments. Why do you want a massive amount of new content, if you can get it all gradually? Of course the current Living Story hadn’t add anything expansion-worthy yet….

Can’t see a expansion happening before 3rd-4th quarter 2014…so long way off…expect a zillion more expansion threads before then…lol

You have new content every 2 weeks, like they say never more than 7 days from new content, what more could you want?