Guild Wars 2

This statement by Half-Tooth resonated with me:

Half Tooth.1867:

There is a kind of unspoken preassure in the LS to do it as fast as possible before it goes.

The LS content and it’s associated AP, being temporary and buggy creates a discourse between enjoyment and frustration.

Previously having attempted to get the achievement for ‘Portal Closures’ and being stuck on 11/13 for days and days. I had to repeat it because some events didn’t register and there was no tracker to tell me which ones I’d missed.

I would log onto GW2 and would look at that outstanding achievement and think ‘Do I REALLY have to try this again?’ Now of course the answer is ‘No, you don’t’. However, if I don’t do it NOW, I will NEVER be able to do it, ever. I’m not exactly happy with that prospect either. This example could be applied to other LS content, I has similar issues with SAB and it not registering achievements and feeling I had to replay content.

So now I feel this pressure. I can let it go, walk away, turn my back on it. But honestly, who out there would be happy to leave it at 11/13? Perhaps those that don’t care. Perhaps those that are thinking of leaving the game, maybe it’s what made them leave.

Others say you have a choice. You participate or not, the decision is up to you and they’re right, ultimately it is my choice.

The temporary nature of LS coupled with buggy achievements, that don’t register when you have actually completed them or similar (game breaking?) issues. All creates a kind of frustration, a kind of pressure.

Perhaps if I could get away from it, the buggy monotony of it all, take a month off and come back and try it again, it wouldn’t be so bad. But no I have to do it now, or not at all.

It’s how I feel about LS, a grind that’s buggy that if your having issues with, walk away and never look back. That or thrust yourself right back into it again before it goes.

You really have to sit back and take a good look of what achievements really offer you. I used to try and complete them all but now I have a different approach and enjoy the game so much more. Just do the ones you enjoy and leave out the painful grindy ones. It helps it become a game again.

While I totally agree with your post, SoPP, the fact is that the Devs are already aware that many of us find the pressure of Living Story deadlines to be frustrating and unpleasant.

They just don’t really care all that much.

No matter how many times we tell them, it will not make them care any more. Even if we flood the CDI threads with that message, they will refuse to see or acknowledge it.

What will make them care? Log out. Stay logged out. Don’t buy gems. It is literally the only message they will understand.

Its spoken about plenty. I’ve seen countless threads about it.

Unfortunately there’s not much that can be done about it. For every person that would rather have a slower schedule and more breathing room to just play the game, there’s another person that’s done everything (or everything they care to do, anyway) and needs a constant barrage of new content to keep the game interesting. And the latter folks are going to win out in the end, because the people who feel pressured are still playing, pressured or no, but they lose people if they don’t provide content for the people who want more.

To heck with two weeks.

If I dont finish the meta achievement by the weekend the patch is released, I write it off as a lost cause. The real crowds of players are finished and gone by that point.

Im glad the last few LS chapters have had their content last much longer than two weeks to at least give folks more of a chance… but Anet cant fix the problem that the new chapter two weeks later pulls the critical mass of players away from the “old” content regardless.

I think the addition of Dailies counting towards the Living Story Meta-Achievements is a big help and a step in the right direction. I kind of wish there were some other ways it could also be done though. I can’t really think of any off the top of my head that don’t involving grinding or RNG though. At best maybe something like a Crafting Category?

So a Living Story comes with a few small things you can craft with smaller crafting achievements. Make some special sharpening stones, oils, focus crystals, food, etc… out of stuff like the Spores we collect. Make 10 and earn another point towards the Meta Achievement. That kind of thing. That’s already +8 achievements towards meta if each profession could have something minor to make.

I have ignored the last 2 updates completely, I just don’t care anymore, just let the timer run out and remove the tower from the game.

That’s the point that made me leave the game for one month. I hadn’t the time to comlete some living story achievements and I felt a bit frustrated and “uncomplete”.
Now I’m trying to come back in game, trying to enjoy the new things.
But the LS and the huge gold-gem exchange aren’t exactly what makes me whanting to fully play again, as was the first year.

Many of those group-based zerg achievements become nearly impossible to complete after the first couple of days. The players try to knock them out as fast as is humanly possible and then the zergfest becomes a ghost town, leaving the late comers out of luck.

EverythingXen.1835:

To heck with two weeks.

If I dont finish the meta achievement by the weekend the patch is released, I write it off as a lost cause. The real crowds of players are finished and gone by that point.

Im glad the last few LS chapters have had their content last much longer than two weeks to at least give folks more of a chance… but Anet cant fix the problem that the new chapter two weeks later pulls the critical mass of players away from the “old” content regardless.

Too true.

This is a problem with the way content is delivered. The content has to be designed to withstand the horde that will rush to it as soon as it is released. Once they’re done, they’re gone. Anyone who didn’t rush to it is faced with content designed for a herd. If you’re alone, or have one or two others, the content doesn’t seem to fit all that often. This aspect of the problem might be solved if the content down-scaled better.

I do only things I like. I did not finish the WvW meta or all fractal achievements. It does not matter. There will be new achievements I enjoy more. The pressure is set by yourself. Enjoy what you want and ignore the rest.

The last few releases offered much more permanent stuff like fractals, a new dungeon path or Tequatl. You can experience it on your own pace. Even the Tower of Nightmares was very long accessible.

Any pressure to do the content is unspoken, yes, but that is because the pressure is entirely within your imagination. If you choose to skip a month then you’ll see that you are no worse off. All your imagined problems will never materialize. That’s why nobody is speaking about it.

Nurgle.6597:

I have ignored the last 2 updates completely, I just don’t care anymore, just let the timer run out and remove the tower from the game.

My sentiments exactly, if we all ignore it then LS will go away or at least turn into something worth while.