Guild Wars 2

I´d still play the game even if there was no loot.
I don´t really care for shinies or money.
I´d only stop playing the game if I didn´t have fun playing the game with my friends anymore.

What will be the reason to make events or farm mobs then?

It is already boring and in some cases I get angry when for some reason after 5 minutes of farming my loots decrease a lot even with 150+ magic find so something is wrong about it.

Just look at the champions, people just skip them because they give no loot most of the times and to say the truth I wouldn’t spend 5-10 minutes of gaming for 1silver reward and a bit of karma

Yes, I would. Loot is only one of the game’s many, many enjoyable aspects, but one I could easily live without.

It’s a complicated question. How do you define loot? Drops only?

If they changed things so I could get everything I wanted by completing a “specific something,” I wouldn’t mind. Then I’d have a goal and a path to get something without having to farm and hope for drops.

The problem is that too much in the game depends on RNG. Loot plays an integral role in getting what you need in this game, and a lot of mechanics would have to be changed to accomplish this task.

In other games, such as WoW, things that drop off random mobs are almost ALWAYS worthless unless you’re in the process of leveling. Everything you need later in the game, you obtain by doing “something.”

I would play MORE if i didn’t have to spend hours each day grinding out cash and gear to try a new build. This kitten contest of who can spend the most on gems is just plain bad for gameplay. If the devs got rid of the equipement system WvW would certianly be more fun and you wouldn’t have to worry about leachers in your dungeon groups (or dungeons in general). It would just be skill and insight that would seperate players, as it should be.

DreamOfACure.4382:

You should be playing for loot, but not obsess over it. Many players are already comfortable playing that way, if they run a streak of bad luck, they can still enjoy other parts of the game to compensate.

Exactly. That is why single player RPGs are much more satisfying to play than MMOs. Loot is fun but not essential to beat the game. Side quests and fluff usually have a very specific way to obtain them which is not RNG.

GW2 would work much much better if skins were obtained through some sort of a quest chain rather than randomly dropping from the mystic toilet.

To answer the OP, no i would not play this game if it didn’t have loot.

No, I would not play if there were not loot.

Nalora.7964:

Since I have been told quite a few times today that “playing the game is not about loot”

Would you still play Guild Wars 2 if they took ALL loot out?

Yes. In fact, if my only reason to play the game ever becomes exclusively “loot” that’s the day I bid you all farewell.

Yes. PvE to 100% completion. PvP wouldn’t be affected.

DreamOfACure.4382:

“The game is not about the loot” argument is a silly misconception by people who are trying too hard to enjoy the game in a different way.

Loot is a fundamental part of the MMO concept, for it to be lacking would be like having an incomplete game.

It always bothers me when I see players make that argument.

You should be playing for loot, but not obsess over it. Many players are already comfortable playing that way, if they run a streak of bad luck, they can still enjoy other parts of the game to compensate.

Just counting from what I have played : UO was not loot based(not like what it is today at least), DAOC was not loot based, EVE is not loot based.

While these games focus more on PVP or the sand box aspect of MMO compared to GW2, a lot of people do not play for loot. I personally spend at least 95% of my game time in WvW and sometimes don’t even bother to loot.

Just because WoW became a loot grind game and became popular doesn’t mean every MMO has to be a loot grind game.

In my opinion, making a MMO so loot grind is the main goal is taking the easy way out, you don’t have to have any real content, just add loot and people conditioned by WoW will blindly farm until the end of the world. Hopefully, GW2 won’t go that far because there aren’t that many mass PVP games worth playing right now that isn’t 10years old or EVE online(which you need to play as a second job)

Nalora.7964:

Armor would be standard issue. There would be no “skins”. No shiny of any kind. Your only reward would be the “fun” of killing for an achievement. There would be no monetary gain.

Probably not because of the silly restriction mentioned above. Even in FPSs where there really is no loot there is usually still some sort of point(currency) system for customization or at least unlock some additional avatars.

No, I would not still play gw2 if they took all loot out. I expect loot gain with playing an mmorpg. ooo shiny! things puts a smile on my face.

MMO gameplay isn’t engaging enough in most cases to exist purely for the thrill of gameplay, without having something you’re working towards or earning as well.

Not in the long term

Depends on what the driving motivation would be. GW2 is based on a reward system so the entire system/game would need to change in order for me find motivation beyond that now.
There is the guild aspect as well.
If they pulled it and replaced it with nothing then not a chance.

Depends on how they set that up. When they started the interviews the original design was supposed to be the first ever horizontal progression themepark. It was supposed to get ALL of the scores needed for stats and damage improvements entirely from leveling and trait choices, the gear was not supposed to have a single stat score on it.

It would have been big imo because it would eliminate so many problems we have today. The progression we have right now is requires you use the TP which requires you have gold which requires you buy gems. Hopefully this will change as people start buying the mats from the laurel vendors.

If they didn’t start the game with a stat increase then there wouldn’t have been as much outrage over their Nov 15th patch, because Nov started off with stealth nerfs to drops which directly affected the economy negatively. On my first level 80 I was able to buy a full set of exotic gear for 6 gold. That was every piece, the runes, the sigils, and weapons. (At the time i thought i could make the jewelry easily little did i know that the rares in JC would require ectos.) Now 6 gold might not even be enough to buy a crafted piece of armor for a single slot. And what gets me is people think that’s normal or perceived.

my disappointment about this game is on many levels and it would be too much to go into for this thread. I do not envy what the newcomers have to deal with, the disappointment tho is not from what the game was like at launch, it’s from what they’ve done since. It’s from the stealth nerfs to loot, the breaking of my favorite class, and the direction they’ve taken not to improve choices but to further limit them. Even with the problems they had at launch, the first month was a utopia imo.

If they had stuck with the original game design there would be no outrage happening in these forums about the economy or the grind.

I think you’ll find there’s many a player who would rather there be no gear grind whatsoever because it’s been such a difficult thing to balance in mmo’s and that not only would the majority of players not only still play but they’d also spend more in the store (with real money) because it’s so much more pleasant an experience when you like a game enough to support it, then when you are forced to go to get gold because the loot is completely gone.

Yes. The loot is fairly meaningless to me now. I spend all my gold on minis and I save the karma so I can get exotic armor when I hit level 80.

I do use armor and weapon drops, but I assume if they removed loot they’d also change the system so that you don’t need to upgrade your armor or weapons so that wouldn’t be an issue.

I play to experience the world and the stories. Loot is just one of the progression mechanics along the way.

the only way they can keep me playing without loot is by increasing the difficulty.

that would actually make me enjoy the game even more than now.
i am the opposite of a player who will farm easy stuff forever and ever.
farmers are just that; farmers.

If the story and the world were a lot stronger, sure. I have played plenty of indie games where the only reward was getting to the end of the story. I enjoy that kind of stuff a lot. It’s like an interactive book.

The only problem is… after I got to the end of the story I put down those games and never went back. So… after I finished whatever story Anet had on the table currently I would probably do the same thing. So maybe it’s a no then?

So I guess it depends on what you mean by “still play”? Would I play constantly, like an MMO is supposed to make me? No. Would I come back for another chapter of a story? Yes.

^
makes sense.

its too bad you ll miss out on all these low level zones!
and if you do an alt to complete them, youll end up in Orr anyway…

I’d properly play more if the loot system was more like GW1.

yes I would, for the same reason I still play tetris.

I play for the fun of doing something atm not tomorrow, and to improve myself, learning more, honing my skills.

This is what I really dont get with all the, there is no end game etc etc yapping, whats the diff. between endgame in doing a certain “raid” to get loot to do another raid to get loot to be able to do the next one…. and just.., well do what you think is fun and not for the reward to let you do the next thing you think is fun.

I logg in, do what I want to do for that moment, then when Im satisfied I logg out.

I guess players who are whining about gear grind, no end game etc dont really like games like tetris or why not starcraft.., cause starcraft is pretty big and you know what.., you dont get jack rewards for “playing” the game.., but its still fun.., hmm magic ^^

So yes, I would play this game if they took away every loot possible, but then I would wish for possibility for an totally open pvp world.

happy hunting ya all!

I don’t think there’s an MMO that doesn’t have loot or some form of gain to it. You’re taking a statement to the opposite extreme. Just because GW2 isn’t ALL about the loot, doesn’t mean it might as well not have any. There has to be a sense of progression stat-wise and visually as well. The thing is though that the armor drops in dungeons and the open world can easily be replaced.

to answer your question: Yes. I would still play it because this still leaves the crafting system, and the dungeon armors. Loot pertains to drops from bosses and mobs (atleast to me) but dungeon armors for tokens aren’t drops.

Nope I need loot and stat progression to play…..

Interesting question. But I’m a story and lore hound and I want to see how the stories play out (particularly the asura storyline, those little guys are great).

Heck, I went back to GW1 to see the lore and storylines even though I hated the gameplay in it. I also had no interest in the gear skins.

I did end up grinding to get the HoMs so a form of the loot element did enter into my playing but that wasn’t the reason I went back.

I guess I would play GW2 without the loot, but I probably wouldn’t be playing it as much. Of course, without a sub that’s no big deal.

I probably still would, I really like the gameplay in general including the npcs and story. I’d probably be a bit sad though, because looting is kinda like opening a present! It’s a surprise, where sometimes you get something really good, while other times…
Though, I do feel that they would have to totally re-work certain things, like events that require specific drops and such.

I have not played for a week, and the issue is loot.

Not uber loot, not weapons, gear or anything else. Lack of common loot I need to play the game the way I wish to play it.

I like to craft, and gear all of my Characters in gear I have made. In all games. The horrendous low drop rate of crafting fines or vendor trash I could sell to purchase fines impacts my game in a very negative manner.

My leatherworker Ranger gained 5 levels attempting to farm/earn gold to make a set of level 35 rare armor,rendering it obsolete before it was even made. My level 80 warrior got there using gear other people made, since I could not acquire mats faster than I could level, and the opportunity cost of those mats made buying armor far cheaper than making it.

I’d like to make my own exotic armor, but again, the sheer rarity of drops makes it senseless. I can sell the few fine mats I acquire for far more than exotic sells for on the TP.

I like the open world. I would like to adventure there with some small hope of it being financially rewarding enough to at least pursue basic crafting. It isn’t. Shoving any rewarding gameplay into a hampster wheel of fractal running isn’t suitable for my playstyle either.

For me, loot isn’t about ludicrous skins or kitten, but instead is the ability to simply play the game, in the world, with some hope of gradual progression in bank balance and equipment.

Anet pushed this game as no grind. In reality, it is as grindy a game as I have ever played, and now.. Token hampster wheels shoved into world adventuring. Been there, done that.

^
thing is the open world just becomes soooo easy at one point that if its too rewarding people will farm it and get bored/fall asleep.

dungeons / wvw / pvp is where the gameplay shine.

leveling up is the single player / lore stuff.
its quite good. but after finishing the personal story, it dies out quick.

I would pvp for no loot if it were fun to do.

No loot would be great. The only thing I really like about the weapons is choosing the best skins.
If the game only dropped skins- nothing with stats or anything- it might be even cooler.

I would play an MMO that is designed around not needing loot as a player motivation. GW2 isn’t designed that way, so simply removing the loot wouldn’t work.

Anet should just give pvp players a separate game called “GuildWars: VS” and put them on a completely segregated server.

And for the ones that sooo loves to just explore, “GuildWars: Atlas” where there is no leveling, no loot, no way points, no DE, just you and your buddy traversing the maps singing the smurf theme.

Well, even though I might not, I know that there are people out there who would. After all, City of Heroes/Villains didn’t have loot, and it was insanely popular up until it’s (severely premature) shut down.

DreamOfACure.4382:

“The game is not about the loot” argument is a silly misconception by people who are trying too hard to enjoy the game in a different way.

Loot is a fundamental part of the MMO concept, for it to be lacking would be like having an incomplete game.

It always bothers me when I see players make that argument.

You should be playing for loot, but not obsess over it. Many players are already comfortable playing that way, if they run a streak of bad luck, they can still enjoy other parts of the game to compensate.

To be quite honest, I had rarely looked at my loot except to note I got some on occasion, or when something nifty happened. But months went by, and the only time I ever saw anything but a blue or VERY RARELY a green text fly by was when someone else would put in map chat a [LOOK AT MY GREAT LOOT] Then, finally 3 weeks ago, a gasp YELLOW TEXT flew by and by golly by wow, it belonged to ME!

It was this that made me aware of how truly awful my drops are comparatively. In GW1 I was constantly giving stuff away, just having fun, I never sold anything…why should I? I was always full of GREAT loot. It was fun! Heck, once a month or so I had to do a PURGE of my storage just so I could have room for more stuff.

But in GW2, even if I had great loot I could not drop it for a buddy or give it to him, because of (what I believe) is the overuse of account/soulbound on items, and who would anyway given the eye popping costs of everything? I guess all those “lucky” people who have THOUSANDS of gold already.

The fact that other players have thousands of gold is mind boggling to me. It was only this fact that made me begin to look at my own loot and ask myself —-why am I still broke? I NEVER spend money. I rarely if ever WP anyplace. To me spending 5 silver is enough to make me cringe. I run away rather than incur an armor repair bill. I actually love the idea of WvW, and the times I have been there have been fun up to the time I had to pay for my armor repairs. So I gave that up. Same with Dungeons, I don’t get drops or money enough to pay for my repairs, so why bother?

Everyday I have to give myself an attitude check and tell myself, just enjoy the game, forget about: Ever having cultural armor. Ever having exotics on your alts. Ever being able to hold your own in Orr. Ever doing dungeons. Ever doing WvW. Ever getting anything other than porous bones by the stackful. I have to just pretend there is no loot. And the game is less fun because of this. Because many areas of the game are just not do-able for someone who cannot pay the repair costs, and who would like to save up to have at least one character look the way you envision them to look. And in the end…really…it is that “my character is unique” —-that drives most of us for the loot.

Yes

So long as they designed the game around not having looted items, I’d be perfectly happy with that.

That said, I have the DR bug right now, AND their game is NOT designed around a zero loot scenario, so until they do, I want to have loot parity with other players again.

MadDemon.7548:

Well, even though I might not, I know that there are people out there who would. After all, City of Heroes/Villains didn’t have loot, and it was insanely popular up until it’s (severely premature) shut down.

There was loot. Lots of it. I was filthy rich in that Game. There was a market as well. I never worried about loot there because I had gobs of it. I played for 8 years.

Despite my lengthy post above. Since this game is designed WITH loot with stats, loot needed for mats for crafting, and loot needed to make any gold whatsoever without being herded to the store to buy gems for gold, loot or the lackthereof is the reason why I only login for dailies, if that. I’ve been playing other games. My GM left the game, the guy who founded my guild completely left because of the ongoing ignored problems that DR creates for players (not for bots).

I would play. I don’t know if I’d be as obsessed, but I’d definitely still play this game. I have too much fun just exploring the environment. I’ve started new characters and one of the first things I can’t help but do is rerun some of my favorite jump puzzles, even though I know I won’t get anything even worth selling at the end. I’ve found hidden unique places that have absolutely nothing in them but I go back again if I’m nearby just to look. This is probably why I’m hopeless in WvW and stuff, but still. I like being immersed in the environment of the game, not just the people I’m around.

I barely get any loot already because of the ‘perceived’ DR/loot bug. I’m not very motivated to play much anymore. Certainly not motivated to spend any more at the cash shop until things change.

Yes, I would.

While the shinies are nice, I don’t consider them key to my style of gameplay.

I think the only things I’d miss is my Magmatron, the Halloween shield and my armour set I put together.

I would have to play GW2 the same way I played Dishonored, Assassin’s Creed and other games of that nature. My playstyle would become entirely focused on enjoying the world, progressing my story and having fun with the combat system. Effectively all that’s missing is the trip to max level, gearing up and getting skins. The game would then be entirely about the story and the environment. A lot like a single player game where I occassionally group with players for the harder content.

So really I wouldn’t mind as long as my character could look at least custom when I make it.

I don’t really see how the game can function without loot

Hopefully “loot” doesn’t include all cosmetic progression, because a huge appeal of MMOs is the ability to flex your accomplishments.

Either way, I would focus more on the actual content and less on what I have in my inventory. I’d pay a lot more attention to my surroundings and actually take the views in as I’d feel a lot more at ease. Hell, I probably even would have bothered to complain about issues that are badly designed, like writing an essay on why the camera is utterly terrible in Guild Wars 2.
TL;DR version – Aimed too low, goes all over the place in tunnels and enclosed jumping puzzles.

Loot is the reward for killing stuff so if there is no loot, there would have to be some other reward in place. Dungeons have limited loot drops so the rewards are from the chests and after killing the final boss.

If there was no loot, there would have to be achievable rewards (even for casual player).

So would I play … yes … as long as there was some reward in doing so.

the only game I have ever played that i would play w/ NO LOOT period…only achievments the the joy of the community is SWG. Sadly they ruined that game years ago. No…with out the goal setting of getting this or that or leveling X alt i would just stop logging in.

let my post show that the crafting, “dungeons” and pvp had not 1 kittenin thing to do w/ loots… the mob dropped loot in that game was HORRID… and noone cared. talkin pre jedi SWG…if anyone cares

SWG had it all until it had nothing.. .RIP

Absolutely not. The MMO gameplay wears exceptionally thin without the treadmill components.

Without loot, motivation to do things such as events, dungeons, and quests almost vanishes. There becomes very little reason to do any of these things more than once.

You can’t honestly look at the people lining up to do an explorable path for the third time and not think that most of them are just working it for the loot. If there were no loot, they simply wouldn’t be there.

I wish they will one day create a mmorpg without any loot at all (maybe only cosmetics ?) . And i would gladly play gw2 for a few more years if they got read of all the loot ^^

depends if it gets ’’replaced’’ by another system and features…but too late for this game or any other game out there or any other game coming in the next years…lets see it in the next projects in the future, but probably not. the loot will always be used as a key feature, could be improved indeed, because some games just have horrible loot system.

no, certainly not, loot is the reason I kill things.

Sure, as long that also means every player has fair access to all equipment. Just so you know Im a WvW player, after playing many many many hours of this, I only have 54% map completion, and only 3.5k kills in WvW, so in other works I don’t build to kill, I build to screw people over so someone else gets the kill.

i would play even more, or to be more precise i would play what i want. give me tokens to gear up my character and release me!