It’s probably been said before but oh well…
There are a number of things I like about the living story;
1. The new characters (granted the back story/introduction isn’t always there but it’s part of the mystery it makes Tyria feel bigger than all the characters we already know)
2. The length, I like how in 5-6 days you can realistically complete the achievement even if you only have a little bit of time to play, it means time poor players are not spending all their time on the story
3. I like the multiple pathways to complete the overall achievement, I personally don’t like seek out/go find or repetitive quests (others probably do) but I can still complete the achievements by doing the things I enjoy… I don’t have to do everything and I still get a sense of completion
There are more things I like but 3 will do
Things I think could be improved
1. Time gated events become part of your story and use phasing technology to affect the world. For example if you complete your living story about the jungle worms then when you enter the areas of the zone where they spawn on your map they spawn… if you haven’t completed that part of your personal story then you don’t see them spawn. (it not new technology and it used quite a bit to make your decisions/story feel like it has a true impact on the world in other games.
2. Make the living story leave permanent changes, use it to rebalance zones, fill in empty areas, re-align events so they flow rather than be just timer driven, add in zone meta events, etc. Make the world more alive. I’m ready for the next level in dynamic events were events have towns being created and destroyed (not waypoints, that’s just god awful), events flow across and around a map leading to a final boss fight.
Overall I want to see the living story leaving behind a changed more dynamic, more interactive, more full Tyria.