Guild Wars 2

I’m fairly new to GW2 and I’m kicking myself for getting into it so late. I’ve read a bunch of summaries on the past Living World Events, but most are brief explanations and all of them make me want to play them for myself. It makes it real hard to get into current LWE’s when I’ve missed so much already.

My suggestion is to make the past LWE’s some sort of paid DLC or expansion for those of us who missed them entirely. I know that I personally would not hesitate to lay down the money to be able to experience those stories for myself. I’m sure there are others out there who would be equally as interested.

(I tried to post this in the Suggestions forum, but I kept getting a message that said I was unable to do so.)

That’s because the Suggestions forum has been locked and moved into the archives.

I agree with your desire that past Living Story instances should be available to play by everyone. This could be easily done via a Historian NPC that just transports your party into the appropriate instance. I don’t think it should be a charged DLC though; if anything, it’s adding to the world and the list of what players can do.

Honestly, I’d rather have the Molten Facility and the Aetherblade Retreat back in their original forms than have them in their Fractal version. Big events like the Tower of Nightmares or the Marionette battle could become special versions of Guild Missions where a big guild gathers up their participants beforehand (and lets anybody in LA or the map know that they’re starting), and then goes in where they have up to 30 mins to complete the mission.

Either of these suggestions are excellent. It does not ‘break the living world’ to allow players to relive it if that is openly admitted that it is re-living it, not what is happening now.

Heck, it could be attached to the fractals lobby as a way to relive past, adding a second entry method where you and your party can pick a LS chapter.

This sounds like very little work for lots of reward to players. I wish a Dev would come out and provide a logical argument why this isn’t a good idea from all angles. Arenanet would keep their players less alienated, make them feel like they can catch up, can build more complex Living Story (because previous ones will be playable). More players means more chances someone will go ‘hey, I kinda want that cash shop thing’ and buy it. Or, as DLC/unlocks in the gem store (300 gems per LS chunk, I’d say about 5 this LS. or 1000 for all in season 1).

Good for players? Check.
Cheap to make? Check.
Lore-compliant? Check.
Profitable for ANet? Check.

PLEASE! TELL ME WHY THIS IS A BAD IDEA!!!!!

Yeah, I think this is a really cool idea! And the concept of a historian NPC is a great way to integrate it into the Guild Wars world without creating a time paradox. I’ve played Guild Wars since the first game, and I really love the story. Unfortunately, I’ve missed out on some of the Living Story during my time in GW2, and I’m bummed that I there’s no way to catch up other than to read summaries about them on wikis or fansites. This would be a nice treat to give to players who are really interested in the deep and engaging lore of GW2.

I mean, I understand the point of LIVING Story is a “do-it-while-it’s-there” kind of thing, but you know, stuff happens and a lot of people don’t always get to experience it when it’s there. Not to mention any newcomers to the game will be completely lost unless they do a TON of reading and wiki-hopping beforehand.

Long story short, I think this is a terrific suggestion. I’d love to see something like this implemented into the game at some point.

dreadicon.5840:

Good for players? Check.
Cheap to make? Check.
Lore-compliant? Check.
Profitable for ANet? Check.

PLEASE! TELL ME WHY THIS IS A BAD IDEA!!!!!

The goal of the living story is to have players constantly logging in because they are taught that not logging in means they missed something that they cannot get/experience now. Frequent log-ins means more chance to present your revenue stream in the form of the gem store.

If they allowed people to replay that stuff then players (across the entire player population not you personally) might log in less because they can “catch up” and thus there are less contact points for selling them something.

I personally dont agree with this logic btw, but marketing says that is how it works, and money calls the shots.

TLDR: The reason the LS is player-unfriendly is money.

I love everyone’s input in this, and the expanded ideas. The reason I suggested that they be a paid DLC (as much as I would love it to be free), follows Mastruq’s point. Profit seems like it would provide more incentive for ANET to possibly give us a way to replay the old LS. And to be honest, seeing as this is a no-subscription game, I don’t mind paying for a DLC if that means it supports GW2 and goes towards a better playing experience.

I don’t see it happening soon, but I hope this is something the ANET devs would be willing to listen to their consumers about.

The Living World/Story is already a “free DLC every 2 weeks.”

I’m not sure I’d like to pay to relive the Living World stories but they could easily bring them back as fractals. The most memorable moment in Dragon Bash Festival was that aetherblade dungeon they added and it’s now possible to do it again in the form of two fractals (altough one is only the last boss and the other’s only the first half of the dungeon). They only need to use an NPC to explain the story of that fractal as the players complete it. For exemple, they could alter the Marionnette’s fight a bit and make a fractal boss out of it. An NPC could explain the background behind this particular event and the impact it had on Tyria while the players fight the boss. That way we get more fractals and a way to relive the important moments of the Living Story.

Mastruq.2463:

dreadicon.5840:

Good for players? Check.
Cheap to make? Check.
Lore-compliant? Check.
Profitable for ANet? Check.

PLEASE! TELL ME WHY THIS IS A BAD IDEA!!!!!

The goal of the living story is to have players constantly logging in because they are taught that not logging in means they missed something that they cannot get/experience now. Frequent log-ins means more chance to present your revenue stream in the form of the gem store.

If they allowed people to replay that stuff then players (across the entire player population not you personally) might log in less because they can “catch up” and thus there are less contact points for selling them something.

I personally dont agree with this logic btw, but marketing says that is how it works, and money calls the shots.

TLDR: The reason the LS is player-unfriendly is money.

I am glad that you don’t agree because this is a fallacy. I do agree that the marketing department is probably using said demented logic, that they were taught in college and embrace without question, to panic their consumers and make them fear not logging in and miss a day. This strategy comes at the cost of the experience, a bad experience. When someone does miss a few days or weeks and realizes how much less stress they have not playing versus playing eventually people will stop playing the game. Not to mention other more rewarding games coming along that don’t punish their players for playing on their own schedule. This is a disgusting maneuver that Anet is taking and pains me to have to lower my opinion of this company.

Yes absolutely they should add the past LS DLC but more importantly it should have never left. This is one of the top disappointments I now have in GW2. Anet has lied to everyone when they stated that GW2 isn’t a grind because they run it in such a way that grinding is a requirement. Giving a linear path in GW2 by adding and removing LS DLC and achievements every 2 weeks or so takes tremendously from the idea of playing GW2 my way. If I do that then I will never accomplish anything and once 2 weeks has past I no longer have a choice. This forces people into the mindset of “If I cant play my way then I wont play at all!”. The question is does Anet understand this and do they care?

Cinnamon Goddess.3869:

~snip~
This forces people into the mindset of “If I cant play my way then I wont play at all!”. The question is does Anet understand this and do they care?

It’s evident that something have changed their mind to abandon the current living story path judging from the announcement of season 2 and the ongoing CDI discussions.

Three things I care about the game I play: Graphics, Story, and Combat. Everything else is a waste of time.

For instance, they can easily design a dungeon that give specific item per run. That’s what dungeon is all about. Indiana Jones did not went through dangerous dungeons only to find an RNG chest in the end. No, he went through all that trouble because he knows what’s he’s getting out of it. The RNG reward system is invented and designed to waste the player’s time, in the case of the Black Lion Chests, to waste player’s hard earned money.

Couple the RNG with the Living Story limited play through, it generates a lot of frustrations. Even gaming websites wrote articles placing the Living Story in a negative light.

So hopefully, this upcoming season would show what have they’ve learned from the past.

There’s still hope.

Here’s another option.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/livingworld/lwd/GW2-Novel/first#post3633542