I am in the process of working with my small guild to upgrade my guild hall. Since I’m in the leadership of the guild, I can see clearly what it’s like to get the required materials to purchase each upgrade. I am completely in favor of the current system in place for Guild Halls.
The correct mentality is needed to enjoy the experience. Any player who has the mentality that they “must get all of the possible upgrades right away” is going to be disappointed. This is not a fast-paced MOBA; this is not an RTS where you can build an entire base in a matter of minutes; and I could list countless other examples. This is an MMORPG, where things take time but are rewarding.
If you try to get all of the upgrades alone, you will be overwhelmed. That’s why you are in a Guild. The task is meant to be done as a team. If you take a team and gather elder wood and mithril in Orr, or go to Dry Top and Silverwastes for Coarse Sand, it goes infinitely faster than if you go farm alone. Plus, it’s more fun to be in the company of your friends.
Even working together, a Guild Hall takes time to build. It is meant to be that way. It makes sense. And it is satisfying to see it coming together as time goes on. It should be expected by everyone that it will take time and effort.
The way Guild Halls are set up encourages the mentality of team work. It is up to players to accept that mentality. Doing it alone, and doing it all at once, is NOT what the game is about, and having that mentality is going to make you mad. Embrace the mentality of teamwork and gradual progression, and you will be much more satisfied with the results.
The game was NOT meant to be played like this: farm farm farm all day every day until you get all the rewards you can possibly get. It is much healthier to do this: spend a little time every day helping gather materials for the guild hall, and then spend the rest of the time doing what you enjoy, be it dungeons, exploring, gliding, jumping puzzles, PvP, or WvW, or any other thing. You will be surprised to find that you will not only be happier, but you will still get the upgraded guild hall that you want.
Yes, I have every alt that I am not currently actively playing at the Daily Flax Farm. I do that because that means I spend just a few minutes on my characters gathering, and then I switch to my main for the activities that I actively want to do. It also means that I am contributing to my guild hall every day, which is something that I want. I do more farming than that for the guild hall, but that is the example that I am sharing.
Guild Halls do NOT demand that you build ALL of the upgrades in ALL of the branches. There are guilds with a PvP focus, so they are meant to spend most of their focus on the PvP branch of the guild hall. There are also plenty of guilds that do not do much PvP, so that part of their guild hall is left unbuilt for a long time. It is meant to be that way. There is no shame in not having EVERY upgrade. You are meant to get the ones that you will use.
The materials required is realistic and possible.
I have an example from real life that I want to share: I was baffled to read in the newspaper that one bridge across a river cost more than 11 million dollars to complete. Yes, the project took several years, but it’s still staggering to me. The point of me sharing this example is that now I understand better the actual costs of construction. Bearing that in mind, the amount of materials required for certain things makes much more sense.
It’s possible that some things need to be tweaked, but if Anet decides to make those changes, I will accept that too. Heart of Thorns has not even been out for one month yet, and I know expecting everything to be perfect right away is unrealistic and ridiculous. If people could get a glimpse of Anet’s side of this game and issue, they might complain less and praise them more. This is a huge update all at once, and they have to monitor and work on current content AT THE SAME TIME as working on making new content.
My bottom line is this: learn to be patient, and you will be much happier.