Guild Wars 2

I was just wondering if there were thoughts on character development further down the road. To be specific max level. I always enjoyed playing where I can progress my character further, Its quite easy to get to level 80, and I was wondering if the max level will be extended.

I play mmo’s for diffrent reasons, but I like the feeling that its always moving forward. Although there are many in game things to do, and more content. I feel there is a max on character development. In future updates and expansions will there be new skills to aquire?

one thing I liked about GW1 was the CAP SIG. You always had an opertunity to keep progessing your character, because you had to fight so hard just to get a skill you wanted, or another to make a certain skill set.

I hope ppl dont take this the wrong way, the game is great, I would just like to see more charcter progression.

Hopefully they don’t extend the level cap. Extending level cap just creates more barriers and doesn’t solve progression.

I pretty much played 5-6 years as a warrior back in GW1, I rarely played any other prof except my PvP chars. Yet, with a level cap of only 20, I still felt progression throughout the game because there was so much to do and aim for.

So extending the level cap is a temporary fix to progression, so you hit 90 (or whatever level they bring it up to), what then? Back to grinding Karma and Gold for the next set of gear?

They’ve pretty much massacred the progression here compared to GW1, and just replaced it with “Here you go, we’ve given you 80 levels to achieve, that should keep you occupied for a while”.

hmm this makes me think a little. yes there was a cap of 20, but to achieve certain things for your toon you needed to keep playing. And Im not talking about grinding. If you wanted a certain skill you would need to go to a boss defeat him and cap sig him. I think it took me longer to get to lvl 20 in prophecies, than it did to get to 80 in gw2. on the other hand when they released factions, lvl progression was increased 10 fold.

I dont think it would be a bad idea to increase character lvl. They could add areas that would be lvl 120 or higher, that would give ppl a reason to keep the grind. Not just to make money or armor, but to fight newer bigger tougher monsters.

I would love to see some areas with gigantic monsters, that you could even defeat alone. But I would also like to see some more skills, not as much as guild wars 1 but more skills so there is more of a custamizable option there. Right now you are kinda limited to what you can have and what you can do. But dont get me wrong it is done very fairly. Someway they need to implement a new skill package or set of some sort. I would love to see my ele cast massive blizzards. I guess kinda like final fantasy 7 was back in the day. There was massive spells to cast. In a way it made you feel powerfull.

The game is great but the same skills over and over is a little too much. I was curious about the future and if anet planned on making changes like they did in GW1. not the same changes, but somethings to spice certain aspects of the game up, that may become bland.

Raising the level cap is the worst idea in MMO’s, ever. Apart from panda’s, of course.

They’ve said that they’re thinking about raising the cap via paid expansions at some point. (edit: before people start saying that they’re ‘changed their minds’ etc, this was stated before launch and reiterated since then.)

Re: skill capping, I’d love to see that come back.

Character progression doesn’t have to mean levels and gear.. I hope ArenaNet changes their mind on what they are currently thinking for character progression and see to providing something different.

Trophies of past victories to wave in front of everyone in player housing? Having npcs actually speak the exploits of mighty adventurers (players) in their daily conversations. Maybe attaining levels/ranks within the Character Order of choice, racial city, and territories beyond just going through a storyline

When it comes to character progression by attaining more power.. monsters usually nullify the power gain (because the monsters are also higher level now)… thus what is the point of it other than becoming less than powerful than you were originally. I personally want to keep the power I’ve attained already.

I could swear that someone (Colin maybe?) mentioned that they definitely will be increasing the level cap in the future. I’m not married to either idea though I don’t know how you can start raising the level cap and not negate everyone’s efforts gearing up.

The only that I do not understand what would happen if they raised the level cap is traits.

If they raised the cap to 90, then technically we would get 10 more trait points to place. This would mean people could obtain more skills making the game more generic and more builds a “jack of all trades.” I do not think I would like that very much. It may also effect PvP and unbalance it even further since classes have access to even more skills.

As the level cap extends even further past 90, then even more traits can be filled until you basically do not even have to pick or choose anymore.

Unless they do not let you obtain trait points after 80 which would be weird and slightly dumb…

Someday, someone’s going to make an innovative MMO that does away with having to gain zillions of levels, doesn’t require a gear grind, has an epic storyline, and legendary PvP.

ArenaNet did this with Guild Wars.
Whoever does it next will definitely have me playing for a long time.

I really hope they don’t raise the cap in a traditional sense, as it would break trait trees and the balancing act that is character building.
I think it’s regrettable they got rid of one of the most interesting mechanics of the first game, that of Skill Capping.
For a lot of us, Skill Capping was the prime example of excellent horizontal progression in GW1.
So I think they should maybe look at reintroducing that mechanic and also introduce a lot more skills for people to play with, expanding the amount of viable builds.
Hunting particular bosses in order to capture a specific skill was fantastic in the first game.
In GW2 they could even make it event based.

Edit: also, more affordable armours and weapons with clean, nice skins rather than the current tendency towards spiky & glowy sets.
Armour with lots of spikes and bits on fire may be popular, but that doesn’t mean it’s not terribly gaudy and gauche.
We need more elegant styles that feel crafted rather than in-your-face.
That’s why Krytan weapons are some of my favourites in the game.

Oh, and while I’m bouncing ideas around, this game could learn a thing or two from DCUO when it comes to styles. Make them collectible and re-usable, allowing characters to build up massive wardrobes without filling up bank space. You’d see people experimenting with different styles for different pieces resulting in a much wider range of diversity. Core stats on armour should remain the same, but appearance should be something the player can change at will.
Of course, this will never happen as ArenaNet have successfully and somewhat disappointingly monetised style in this game through the implementation of Fine Transmutation Stones.

They could add additional weaponry, for example a crossbow, a rapier, a whip, a halberd etc. – usability distributed evenly over all existing classes. This could potentially add multiple new play styles to all classes and the existing traits system could be expanded to include specific major trait slot selections associated to the new weaponry. If done right, this could be a good way of adding stuff without damaging the balance, but it’s not much in terms of character progression. It just adds variety.

In order to increase build variety, capturing of new healing/utility/elite skills from bosses is a good idea, I definitely agree. But I really think, that the whole trait system does not fully use its potential. The impact on the basic attributes is too small in my opinion (300 points max., only ~10% of most attributes at lvl 80) and only a fraction of the available major traits really affects game play in a way you could really speak of a distinguished “build”. In GW1 it really made a big difference, if you allocated 12 points to an attribute and buffed it via runes in your gear, or if you just invested a couple of points to enable the use of a specific skill for that build. Not to speak of the secondary class option, which was really a vital part of many viable GW1 builds. It was somehow comparable to building a Deck for a trading card game. It was a good idea to make something new and different, but why not keep what is really good and what made GW1 great?

There is a lot of potential in that area and at the end of the day a much more sophisticated way to make a fantastic game even better, than just implementing the same dumb and uninspired formula of expansion we see with all the other MMOs out there (raising level cap, power creep etc.).

ANET has proven, they can do it with GW1 – I’m confident they won’t fail us with GW2. I wouldn’t try to deny the fact that this time it’s a good deal more obvious that they are just another company aiming to make money (the gem store is a part of the game, not just a subtle option), but I still have not lost faith in them for being game developers with a vision ;-)

Increase level cap is terrible. It’s an admission that your player base is out of things to do.

They need to concentrate on open world events that provide rewards, but open world events that require wide participation and skill with a high chance of failure, and not on a fixed timer either so it’s less predictable.

Stuff like you’re trying to kill a dragon while he’s burning down a village. You don’t do it time, the village is razed and the dragon flies off. You have to man guns and actually hit him mid air by aiming to bring him down, and he could fall anywhere. He fights on the ground a bit, then gets back up to frying the village.
And then there has to be a whole mountain of effort to help rebuild the village. When that’s done, dragon comes back for more. But if the rewards are some tokens for really high end gear, well “hello” that sort of DE and effort would really set this game to fly beyond.

Jaxon.5392:

Increase level cap is terrible. It’s an admission that your player base is out of things to do.

Hear hear!

To be honest, with sidekicking, they could have set the level cap at 20 or 30, and left it there forever. It would have been much simpler to balance zones for 30 levels than 80, and any new content wouldn’t require a raise in the level cap.

A smart studio would create new content that people play because it’s interesting and fun, and not content whose only source of (smallminded and boring) satisfaction is being able to yell “DING!” and having light shooting out of your crotch.

I stayed at level 20 in Guild Wars for years and thousands of hours because the content was fun. I made so many alts that I had to buy new character slots (BIG HINT HERE, ARENANET). I wanted to try all the content with different classes, and it was fun to level when you weren’t looking at a months-long project to do it.

I stopped playing WoW after levelling one character because it’s a freakin’ drag to have to go through that grind all over again. I only have one 80 in Guild Wars, too. It’s such a pain the kitten to have to level. I just want to play the content that I like, and not be forced into other places.

TL:DR – Be a smart studio, and make content that’s fun and interesting for it’s own sake. Never, please, ever, increase the level cap. 80 is far too much as it is. It’s making me want to log out instead of creating alts.

I’ve actually been wondering about that. They go on and on about “horizontal” progress than slap 80 frigging levels to the game right from the get go. I mean most MMOs don’t have that high level caps until after like their third or fourth expansion.

Geren.1945:

I’ve actually been wondering about that. They go on and on about “horizontal” progress than slap 80 frigging levels to the game right from the get go. I mean most MMOs don’t have that high level caps until after like their third or fourth expansion.

I think they had to choose such a high number because the experience-cap for the next level always stays the same. Either do it like WoW (classic): 60 levels but you need more and more exp for the next level or like GW2: 80 levels but you always need the same amount of exp.

I’m pretty sure that the only reason they set the level at 80 was to attract the traditional MMO audience. I remember seeing hundreds of posts in other Guild Wars forums from newer players constantly complaining about the low level cap. They didn’t understand it, but it wasn’t what they were used to, so they complained.
With Guild Wars 2, ArenaNet sought to appease those people.

Their heart was in the right place, especially with the inclusion of auto-levelling. But the more I play, the more problems I see with such a large level range.

If they add even more levels, the entire game’s balance gets thrown out of whack.
That’s the core argument I’ve got against Ascended gear too; just playing, you can see that the game was balanced with the idea that Exotics would be top tier; you get a feel for it, no matter what ArenaNet’s recent PR may say.

I really don’t want them to increase the level cap. Such a terrible treadmill. I’ve long since completed my first exotic set and then skinned it how I wanted. So I started working on a 2nd and 3rd set for alternate trait specs.

A raise to the level cap would make all of my alternate armor sets pointless and I’d be forced to choose just one trait spec again until I build up alternate sets again. Not looking forward to that and at that point might not even bother depending on what the gaming world looks like. I really miss the GW1 gear/level mentality.

Stiv.1820:

I really miss the GW1 gear/level mentality.

Yea me, too. They could have done so much better if they’d kept that philosophy. Their game would have been everything they said it would be in the Manifesto. I’m so frustrated and bored with GW2 right now, and it’s only a few months old…

…sigh…

Chuo.4238:

Jaxon.5392:

Increase level cap is terrible. It’s an admission that your player base is out of things to do.

Hear hear!

To be honest, with sidekicking, they could have set the level cap at 20 or 30, and left it there forever. It would have been much simpler to balance zones for 30 levels than 80, and any new content wouldn’t require a raise in the level cap.

A smart studio would create new content that people play because it’s interesting and fun, and not content whose only source of (smallminded and boring) satisfaction is being able to yell “DING!” and having light shooting out of your crotch.

I stayed at level 20 in Guild Wars for years and thousands of hours because the content was fun. I made so many alts that I had to buy new character slots (BIG HINT HERE, ARENANET). I wanted to try all the content with different classes, and it was fun to level when you weren’t looking at a months-long project to do it.

I stopped playing WoW after levelling one character because it’s a freakin’ drag to have to go through that grind all over again. I only have one 80 in Guild Wars, too. It’s such a pain the kitten to have to level. I just want to play the content that I like, and not be forced into other places.

TL:DR – Be a smart studio, and make content that’s fun and interesting for it’s own sake. Never, please, ever, increase the level cap. 80 is far too much as it is. It’s making me want to log out instead of creating alts.

Well said! I agree.

So everything they promised about the game, they’re doing a 180 on.

I agree with the idea that they were trying to appeal to everyone. Sadly, at some point, that just isn’t going to happen. I believe that’s why there are 80 levels in this game (I loved the 20 lvl cap in GW1, like you guys did) but it became a niche game not suited people who wanted that sense of accomplishment from trudging through many levels to reach the cap. Now, Guild Wars 2 has that.
Honestly, I would HATE to see a level cap increase. The issue of trait points has been raised, and I agree that I would really be saddened to see the builds of this game go to a generic set-up for each class (even if I did wish my Mesmer had 5 more points to get all I want on him). At that point, why even have traits?
Honestly, I think they are on the right track with the ascended gear. It’s something that makes your character slightly more powerful, making the current dungeons (which are considered very difficult) easier without causing them to be “required” to play.
All this being said, Guild Wars has always been about playing the game to play it, not so much for progression. Capping skills always really annoyed me because it required me to play something I didn’t want to play to get the skills that I did want to play. Essentially, I had to do something not fun to get the the parts that were fun. I am enjoying just playing this game now, even at max level, and honestly probably will never get bored, even if the game didn’t change at all.
They could always add “more of the same” though, and that’d be cool. More weapon/armor skins, more dungeons, etc. Perhaps a new race or profession.

Me and my guildmates actually had a great convo about what Anet could do if they extended the level cap: Why not bring back secondary professions?

If I’m correct, I believe a recent SWTOR update allowed you to “dip in” to other classes. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you could have a lightsaber-wielding Jedi with a blaster attached to his hip.

Instead of giving us just another 10 trait points, why not let us pick a secondary profession? It would have to be reworked (meaning, you can’t just throw up the ele trait pool if that’s the secondary you pick, because 10 points won’t mean jack) but I think it’d be pretty cool.

As an example, I’m a guardian, and I choose Ele as my secondary. Maybe now, my Sanctuary utility now burns enemies if they touch it.

Just an idea, hate it or like it.

Personally I think they need to fix the lack of end game content before making ‘end game’ harder or longer to achieve.

Diviner.7405:

The only that I do not understand what would happen if they raised the level cap is traits.

If they raised the cap to 90, then technically we would get 10 more trait points to place. This would mean people could obtain more skills making the game more generic and more builds a “jack of all trades.” I do not think I would like that very much. It may also effect PvP and unbalance it even further since classes have access to even more skills.

As the level cap extends even further past 90, then even more traits can be filled until you basically do not even have to pick or choose anymore.

Unless they do not let you obtain trait points after 80 which would be weird and slightly dumb…

the game is already a jack of all trades in a way, they already have every class with healing skills, and its basically just the actions that are diffrent the result is the same, long range melle short range, I dont understand what you mean

Bloody Zac.8960:

Me and my guildmates actually had a great convo about what Anet could do if they extended the level cap: Why not bring back secondary professions?

If I’m correct, I believe a recent SWTOR update allowed you to “dip in” to other classes. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you could have a lightsaber-wielding Jedi with a blaster attached to his hip.

Instead of giving us just another 10 trait points, why not let us pick a secondary profession? It would have to be reworked (meaning, you can’t just throw up the ele trait pool if that’s the secondary you pick, because 10 points won’t mean jack) but I think it’d be pretty cool.

As an example, I’m a guardian, and I choose Ele as my secondary. Maybe now, my Sanctuary utility now burns enemies if they touch it.

Just an idea, hate it or like it.

I belive I herd that is old news and never coming back

Vail.1065:

Personally I think they need to fix the lack of end game content before making ‘end game’ harder or longer to achieve.

I think the end game fix will be somewhat of uber endgame content. I didnt like the hard level in guild wars 2. Most people agree doing the same things over and over again are not fun. Implement a good new area, charge for it but add an exiting twist. The trouble comes in where cost and programming and security need to be accounted for. I praise them for what the have done so far. They are headed in the right direction.

Check out my post on what I think can be done to further Attract future players more to the game
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/suggestions/How-GW2-can-be-more-Attractive/first#post1148427

Mounts ,houses,lvl cap higer beter gear whit it , things to do when u are not in combat and so on ,and mainly beter UI the one we have now is kitten