Guild Wars 2

Some people say that Orr will stay corrupted… but ANet say that GW2 is a living, breathing world.

- Some games, when making expansions, they make new zones or new continents, and GW2 certainly needs both Cantha and Elona at some point, but why not have expansions (or whichever model they choose) where the world that we already know moves on. Orr getting rebuilt and returns to its former glory, maybe letting the gods play a bigger part as well.
And I mean that it doesn’t necessarily have to be just Orr, but it can be the entire world that looks different.
- People seem to be afraid of change and old content going away, but if ANet is truly serious about making a living and breathing world, then I think it would be absolutely awesome to see old Personal Stories move out and new coming in (maybe through Living Story or instanced content, I don’t know. We don’t know how best to deal with it yet, but someday we might) and having a world that offers more than just the same old adventure (and cheesy LS updates, sorry ANet. :P)

- Something major, or some major parts just playing through the Living Story (but make sure that you take the time to get them right, and not just spit out content that shouldn’t be every two weeks – and don’t get me wrong. New features and updates every two weeks are fine, but stressing poorly written content out because you want to be the best updated MMO out there… which right now reeks of quantity over quality to me… it seems like a bad idea that can cost the game its soul).

- Just a thought.
What do you guys think of getting new adventures in the same scenery and watching our previous endeavours have a major impact on the world (like Orr being rebuilt)?
- Any feedback is, of course, welcome, but keep it civilized.

It’s possible zhaitan can still corrupt even if truly “dead”. There is ofc a lot of Orr unexplored. It’s possible that area could be used to show any dwindling corruption.

I think the game wasn’t built in mind for a fully living breathing world in the terms being construed. It would require huge overhauls to each affected zone to do so and I imagine that’s a lot of extra work on top of the 2 week schedule, that would also invalidate a huge chunk of older content. It’s one disadvantage of us going up and destroying an Elder Dragon.

In the current context though..the invasions are more in keeping. Teq revamp is more in keeping. They could press forward the charr/human negotiations rather than having the delegates standing in a tent doing nothing for a year. Random attacks on Ebonhawke ala invasions with Renegades would classify too. Same with future dragon minion attacks.

Removing corruption or overhauling zones? Potentially over ambitious and complicated for any game imo

they can’t fix orr because of the living story in there.

one solution would be to phase like world of warcraft does (am i allowed to mention that game?), which would splinter the community across 2 phases. which Anet also doesn’t want.

so yeah, i’d love to see orr getting cleansed (that’s trahearne’s wyld hunt), but i’m not seeing it happening. maybe an expansion that alters the living story, giving us a reason to replay it?

Sinifair.1026:

Some people say that Orr will stay corrupted… but ANet say that GW2 is a living, breathing world.

Anet’s been saying a lot of things, and said a lot of things. Not all of them are true or come to pass.

The so-called “living world” or “living story” is no more than a progressional linear tale about Scarlet and her after-effects (which just about always deal with Kiel cleaning things up). Only exception of the Super Adventure Box and this Tequatl update.

Sinifair.1026:

What do you guys think of getting new adventures in the same scenery and watching our previous endeavours have a major impact on the world (like Orr being rebuilt)?

In one way, I think that’s a great idea. However, at the same time, I think it’s a terrible idea.

Say, for example, we remove the corruption of Orr. We reduce the risen. Then what of the personal story? What of new players?

Already, players now will never know the experience of the Ancient Karka and the karka invasion (lag infestation excluded, it was an interesting plot even if too short). Nor would they know of Flame and Frost’s plot and the Molten Alliance’s foundation to the game, or Mai Trin’s acts. One can now only learn of such – in full – via second-hand sources. Eventually the dungeons will be put into Fractals (supposedly this year), but that’s still only part of the story, and they’ll likely be altered to be fitting of other fractals.

Now, imagine if Orr becomes cleansed. To those who have completed their personal story and has defeated Zhaitan, this makes sense. But… now you have folks invading Orr in the personal story, and once they leave it’s… cleansed? What? It creates that paradox that ArenaNet’s trying to avoid (but doing so with too many ‘precautions’ imo).

Anet said that they were planning the living story concept before release. But they kind of messed up, having static content as a base that was released as a full off the bat, then having coming and leaving content afterwards. Should have released the main story bit by bit instead… but aw well, what’s done is done.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Now, imagine if Orr becomes cleansed. To those who have completed their personal story and has defeated Zhaitan, this makes sense. But… now you have folks invading Orr in the personal story, and once they leave it’s… cleansed? What? It creates that paradox that ArenaNet’s trying to avoid (but doing so with too many ‘precautions’ imo).

Simple… Well, not simple, but solvable given enough resources. Zones are instances with large population caps. Technically, even servers are instances as they are one instance of the world among many. Arena Net need only have to have two types of zones for each Orr zone. On completion of the personal story players get shifted to defaulting to the post-Zhaitan Orr, while those not yet there in their personal story have the Orr as we know it today. Players can choose to relive the old Orr if they desire through a Fractal portal¹, and new players can taxi into new Orr if they have no desire to complete their personal story and play with their friends, whenever they may be.

This is a large undertaking as it means creating three new zones even though many of the art assets and terrain will probably remain the same. However, it isn’t unexpected for MMOs to release new zones overtime. Most have added a few by the end of their first year. Unfortunately, adding new zones or even completely redoing one seems to be out of the question.

¹ – By Fractal portal I do not mean a dungeon, but just a portal in the mists that transports players to a different time and place in Tyria, namely pre-Zhaitan’s demise.

Edit: If I’m not mistaken, this would be similar to how Guild Wars Beyond was handled. Players could enter a zone and have it be in a different state based on their progress in the Beyond story.

I think that if ANet is going to use living story as their primary plot vehicle going forward, they need to let things truly change, and if personal story becomes an artifact, so be it. If they tie their hands to avoid messing up the personal story continuity, living story will never be able to progress in ways that feel significant. It doesn’t make sense to hamper the primary storytelling method to preserve one they’re not really using anymore going forward.

I think if they’re going to stick with this living story thing, they need to be bold with it and pull no punches.

Randulf.7614:

It’s possible zhaitan can still corrupt even if truly “dead”. There is ofc a lot of Orr unexplored. It’s possible that area could be used to show any dwindling corruption.

I think the game wasn’t built in mind for a fully living breathing world in the terms being construed. It would require huge overhauls to each affected zone to do so and I imagine that’s a lot of extra work on top of the 2 week schedule, that would also invalidate a huge chunk of older content. It’s one disadvantage of us going up and destroying an Elder Dragon.

In the current context though..the invasions are more in keeping. Teq revamp is more in keeping. They could press forward the charr/human negotiations rather than having the delegates standing in a tent doing nothing for a year. Random attacks on Ebonhawke ala invasions with Renegades would classify too. Same with future dragon minion attacks.

Removing corruption or overhauling zones? Potentially over ambitious and complicated for any game imo

Unless it is looked upon as an “expansion”.
- Sure, WoW’s Cataclysm ruined the game. But it was ruined by the references to TV-series and all the commercial it brought into it.
- The World of Warcraft was no longer the world of warcraft, and even the NPC’s knew this.

But like Cataclysm, a revamp of older places into something new and better is possible.
- I have little faith in the two week system keeping up quality of story arcs. New features and update, sure, but they need more substance and quality.

- I think major impacts are possible, but not if they’ve given up before even trying… especially when it’s been done before (mind you, I’m not asking that it is being done on a two weekly basis, but maybe once a couple of years in between).

Serris.6874:

one solution would be to phase like world of warcraft does (am i allowed to mention that game?),

WoW used to be great.
- They made references to TV-shows and was more about commercial in the end that the world of warcraft was no longer the world of warcraft but polluted with stuff that had no place within the world.
- Even the NPC’s couldn’t take it seriously, then how could players?

Still, WoW comes with a lot of experience on MMO’s, and saying that the game wasn’t a massive success is a lie.
- Don’t be mediocre and mainstream just because kids think that WoW sucks and it’s “cool” to have that opinion. Just don’t.
- Ignorance isn’t bliss, it’s sheer stupidity.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Sinifair.1026:

Some people say that Orr will stay corrupted… but ANet say that GW2 is a living, breathing world.

Anet’s been saying a lot of things, and said a lot of things. Not all of them are true or come to pass.

The so-called “living world” or “living story” is no more than a progressional linear tale about Scarlet and her after-effects (which just about always deal with Kiel cleaning things up). Only exception of the Super Adventure Box and this Tequatl update.

Sinifair.1026:

What do you guys think of getting new adventures in the same scenery and watching our previous endeavours have a major impact on the world (like Orr being rebuilt)?

In one way, I think that’s a great idea. However, at the same time, I think it’s a terrible idea.

Say, for example, we remove the corruption of Orr. We reduce the risen. Then what of the personal story? What of new players?

A new and better personal story.
- Lets be honest, none of us would really miss the old one.

They called it a fully branching storyline.
- I see it as a tree with many roots but one trunk.

I dont understand the obsession with a cleansed Orr, especially with comments (some other threads) to reality or showing how time passes.

I mean, the not-very-visible damage we caused to earth in the last century is not going to go away in a decade even if humanity dissapeared today. Orr has been through alot, including corruption by an ancient, world-destroying power and infestation by undead. That’s not the kind of stuff you shake off in a few months.

In GW3 if it takes place hundreds or thousands of years in the future sure, have a cleansed Orr. Not in GW2 though, it would feel artificial if they presented it as halfway changed into a tropical paradise in a 2014 update.

Mastruq: It doesn’t necessarily mean that we go to Orr and it is all fine and dandy.
- Rather, it should show some progression towards its cleansing. And that is Trahearne’s Wyld Hunt, is it not?

WoW’s Cataclysm showed progression within the Western Plaguelands when the expansion launched.
- It was nice to see that at least some progression had been made.

Rebuilding and cleansing the land will take time, yeah, and I’m not asking for the Extreme Home Makeover team to come in and remodel the whole deal.
- But getting results and seeing that we players have made an impact and making new content to the world and actually changing how it looks is not a bad thing at all.
- I wouldn’t mind if the areas in GW2 looks entirely different some years from now. Say, if the Norn claimed their old hunting grounds from Jormag and moved there and rebuilt their cities (some would probably stay behind, sure, but you get the idea) that would be a nice change of things after Jormag is defeated as well (and maybe we’ll get new major villains later).
- Moving the world forward is something that I understood that ANet wanted to, but it’s going to be one mediocre ride if they don’t change anything.

- My number one reason for wanting it is that as they gain more experience on how to deliver stories and content PvE wise, the new stuff that replaces the old will only get better. The world might look different in some areas (not necessarily all) and have more interesting content and more content than currently available.
- That means that these old places don’t go out of fashion, they don’t vanish when new zones arrive, there will actually be an incentive for us to go back there and explore it again.