Guild Wars 2

Guild Wars 2 needs better lore.. lore from GW1, and a storyline that continues after Zhaitan, no more Scarlet, pirates, and all that fluff, it’s seriously tearing down the overall lore of the Guild Wars universe and fun. The living story is not bad, but it isn’t great either. The reason for this is, Anet wants a changing world, and even though this is content every 2 weeks! Which is cool, it disappears just as quickly as it came, and rarely leaves a mark on the world itself. Instead please, just make an expansion, take us back to Elona, Cantha, and eventhough this is wishfull thinking, i hate that a game i loved, and waited for for ages, has boiled down to mediocre storytelling if any… and constant grinding. Go back to your roots, and deliver a quality experience for your player base, you can only use that many carrots before the stick breaks.

One feasible way of looking at it, is that the living story is an outlet to keep current players playing, while the majority of the Anet team is working on an expansion and new races and maps and lore! Wooo. and release it next year? One can only hope.

Or that they simply think that bi-weekly updates is better, and will deliver as much content as an expansion. No. It doesn’t. Because not only does this content dissapear, it leaves players feeling empty, and having undergone a grindfest, and worst of all it’s temporary. The world feels far from living. It’s awfully dead. Sorry if i tend to talk for all of the community, this is only my opinion, and it has probably been said before.

So though this might seem like a whiny post, it’s just a fan and avid follower, kinda tired of the direction the game is taking. LS is meaningless, temporary and lackluster. Give some content with substanse. I really hope the team is working on an expansion. Preferably one around the jungle dragon, so they can realease the maps of maguuma and Janthir Isles, along with the the Tengu race as the main focus – because hoping for Cantha and Elona, and all that wonderful lore going on there, is well. not gonna happen, time has shown us that. Palawa Joko and the Jade sea, is now fluid again! Awesomeness…yeh.

We need lore+substanse+expansion.
No more meaningless pirates, robots, and cyberpunk kitten? who even decided that.. hell.. i dunno.. seems like you guys at Anet are creating it as you go along, without any coherency to the main storyline.. i.e DRAGON! Raaarrwrr.
Theres almost no worthwhile story in the game, people are aimlessly trying to fill their achievement tabs with kill x number of this and that, and overall it’s a horrible gaming experience. Just my opinion of course. I just can’t fathom this is the same team that brought us Guild Wars 1, somethings wrong. You can hold as many “free trial weekends”, as you want to try to lure in new players, but even they will leave in time, with this trend you’re following now. What happened to creating a FUN game… guess that got thrown out the window.

/whinemode off

- O

Guild Wars 2 has a story?

You lost me at expansion. I ain’t paying $60 for additions to this game when they’re giving them out for free.

RyuDragnier.9476:

You lost me at expansion. I ain’t paying $60 for additions to this game when they’re giving them out for free.

Well you get what you pay for…

living story is not a substitute for an expansion.
living story has given us: 1 new zone (southsun), some ascended items, a few new stat combo types, 1 new jumping puzzle, some rng item skins, change one dungeon path.
an expansion should almost double the current content: 10 new zones, 2 new playable races or professions, 2nd elder dragon fight, 15 new jumping puzzles, complete ascended tier, new weapon type, 4 new dungeons, change 10 existing dungeon paths to reflect zhaitan’s death (only accessible after you complete your personal story).
I would gladly pay $60 for an expansion instead of this living story

I agree. Guild wars at least had a story. This is way too much like WoW. So many junk quests that do nothing. Karma to buy things? Huh? I played for a week and I haven’t been back. Binding the skills to a weapon is so frustrating. Sure it may be a living world with better graphics but it is way too easy to get lost in all the trash quests, unviewed vistas, quests you have to repeat to get “Karma” and all that other crap. This game was hyped up waaaaaaay too much and it wasn’t all that it promised. What is with the level adjusting? I go into a lower level area and I get adjusted based on the enemies there? That is the main reason I will no longer play guild wars. You disappointed me with this game Anet. VERY much so.

Deus Rift.3951:

I agree. Guild wars at least had a story. This is way too much like WoW. So many junk quests that do nothing. Karma to buy things? Huh? I played for a week and I haven’t been back. Binding the skills to a weapon is so frustrating. Sure it may be a living world with better graphics but it is way too easy to get lost in all the trash quests, unviewed vistas, quests you have to repeat to get “Karma” and all that other crap. This game was hyped up waaaaaaay too much and it wasn’t all that it promised. What is with the level adjusting? I go into a lower level area and I get adjusted based on the enemies there? That is the main reason I will no longer play guild wars. You disappointed me with this game Anet. VERY much so.

LOL, the level adjusting and open world hearts for quests, vista’s are all the reasons I play GW2 over things like WoW. I love being able to go to a low level area and not feel like I am absolutlely trouncing everything (why would you ever go to a low level area in WOW…there was never a reason to go back). I love the vista’s. I also like the repeatable little side quests that you can jump into if you want to or ignore if you want to.

I’d love an expansion that takes us back to some of the other continents. I want to see how the rest of the world has been changing!

Moshari.8570:

Deus Rift.3951:

I agree. Guild wars at least had a story. This is way too much like WoW. So many junk quests that do nothing. Karma to buy things? Huh? I played for a week and I haven’t been back. Binding the skills to a weapon is so frustrating. Sure it may be a living world with better graphics but it is way too easy to get lost in all the trash quests, unviewed vistas, quests you have to repeat to get “Karma” and all that other crap. This game was hyped up waaaaaaay too much and it wasn’t all that it promised. What is with the level adjusting? I go into a lower level area and I get adjusted based on the enemies there? That is the main reason I will no longer play guild wars. You disappointed me with this game Anet. VERY much so.

LOL, the level adjusting and open world hearts for quests, vista’s are all the reasons I play GW2 over things like WoW. I love being able to go to a low level area and not feel like I am absolutlely trouncing everything (why would you ever go to a low level area in WOW…there was never a reason to go back). I love the vista’s. I also like the repeatable little side quests that you can jump into if you want to or ignore if you want to.

However, when you level it means nothing because you essentially stay the same level. Sometimes I just want to mess around and it would be nice to go back and take on the champion monsters with a group when you are a little stronger just to kill a few minutes. Some people play like that now and again. People like me who don’t have all day to play tend to do that a bit. Not everyone wants to always keep going up and up. We enjoy stopping and taking time to just screw around. I can’t do that with this game because of level scaling.

Deus Rift.3951:

However, when you level it means nothing because you essentially stay the same level. Sometimes I just want to mess around and it would be nice to go back and take on the champion monsters with a group when you are a little stronger just to kill a few minutes. Some people play like that now and again. People like me who don’t have all day to play tend to do that a bit. Not everyone wants to always keep going up and up. We enjoy stopping and taking time to just screw around. I can’t do that with this game because of level scaling.

This is what they call horizontal progression. You stay relative to the creatures around you so therefore you have nothing to prevent you from enjoying every area regardless of your level. You actually do get a little stronger. As you unlock more abilities and skills as well as get better equipment you will find that the lower level areas are indeed easier than when you first went there. Heck I solo champions in most of the areas once I got my exotic armor and weapons. So that ability to stop and screw around does exist in the game…I do it all the time. My level 80’s spend time in all the low level areas as well as in the 80 areas…which is something I never did in WOW…in wow, once I was max level, I only stayed in the max level areas and dungeons.
Since ANET is always adding little things to the low level areas (they just added a bunch to Kessex hills) it makes it more bareable to go back to there and adventure a bit without sneezing and accidentally killing all the monsters in a 600 radius around me.

ZudetGambeous.9573:

RyuDragnier.9476:

You lost me at expansion. I ain’t paying $60 for additions to this game when they’re giving them out for free.

Well you get what you pay for…

That and “expansion” means permanent content “exxxxxppaaannnnndinnnng” the game. Temporary loot farms are not expansions.

They already said they’re going to add permanent areas next year. Meaning we’re getting that for free.

RyuDragnier.9476:

They already said they’re going to add permanent areas next year. Meaning we’re getting that for free.

The problem is we don’t know what those permanent areas entail.

It could mean we get one or two areas like Southsun (where it’s used for one or two living stories, and then becomes a ghost town) over the course of the year. It could mean we get an entire continent’s worth of content (highly unlikely). It could also mean things like the WvW map they’re adding.

An Expansion, however, would be a guaranteed permanent addition of content at a level similar to that of Factions, Nightfall, or Eye of the North. And yeah, you’re kitten right I’d happily shell out $50 for that.

Whether they sell, it or give it away for free to not split their customer base, the point is we want the game to expand in a significant way, like Factions, instead of re-treading old ground under the banner of a living/changing world.

I think that, for me personally, the main reason LS is not working is due to primarly of the frequency it comes out.

Every 2 weeks we havea new pach. Even though it quickens the pace and for the hardcore players it delivers new contents and new challenges every 2 weeks, it also makes it (apparently) less thought. Especially lore wise, it seems very shallow and not very deep. I have not played GW1 so I cannot make a comparison with them. Being a “fresh” GW2 player I can only say that I love the game, the way it was delivered when it came out.

Having a level 80 char there are still loads to do (WvW, JP, farming, Legendary, crafting, dailies, etc.) and I am not tired. What I dislike is that whenever a patch is launched I have to go where everybody is going, mass farm the new zones and do the other steps to reach the meta achievement. The alternative is just to miss it out completely because let’s face it: 2 weeks for casual players are gone in a heartbeat.

I think LS is a good concept, it just needs more structure and a coherent line, not just 2 week patches with neew achievments to meet and low lore and long-term goals.

The problem is they hid too much lore. They feel that the suspense would keep the players playing.

Nope.

When some lores are 8 years old (e.g. Wizard’s Tower), and they still hasn’t been resolved, the players will lose interest.

RyuDragnier.9476:

You lost me at expansion. I ain’t paying $60 for additions to this game when they’re giving them out for free.

I have never understood these type of comments, “Well I’m not paying for expansion” or “I can’t afford that” Really?! Look at other game series, like Call of Duty, or Madden, heck, even Mass Effect. The first couple series I mentioned come out with new games almost yearly it seems, at least Madden does, and people don’t whine and say, “Oh I can’t afford that” they keep making games and people keep buying them. And as far as Mass Effect goes, it’s like saying, well I played the first Mass Effect and then I will never play the rest of the series cause I can’t afford it…. People WILL buy expansions for GW2 specially if it includes a new region, a new elder dragon, so keep whining but you are not the majority of the player base.

wookiee.4631:

Kind of a side rant, but I don’t understand why players are so vehement about an expansion and not wanting to work with the LW concept. Devs have repeatedly said nothing is set in stone. I’d say the Living World should be tinkered with until it’s certain that an expansion is a better option. Who says the LW will stay on it’s present course forever and ever? I’d say a big change for the direction of the Living World is coming. Developers are trying to improve communication with players, and many (at least many on these forums) have clearly stated they don’t like the short, grindy, temporary nature of the releases.

If people really want to pay for an expansion, fine, that’s their opinion. All I’m saying is I don’t believe the Living World idea is out of steam by a long shot and is still worth experimenting with. If I can get the same content as an expansion for free, I’m willing to try different concepts for the LW, even if those methods and ideas aren’t so good at first and need tweaking.

I wanned to disagree, but I have to agree on that.
But on the other side – LS still need to prove it’s worthy. Because now it’s dumbing down main game update after update. Can Living World work in GW2? Sure. But I don’t believe it will. Not with this writers and not under this course.
Am I willing to give LS a chance? I don’t have a choice. But basing on my experience so far – if I have a choice between expansion and no LS against more LS and no expansion… I take box expansion any day, hands down.
It’s probably not so much about not believing that LS can be good. People tend to choose big change over hard work to improve broken stuff. And LS is broken, many believe it’s beyond repair.

Random sky-pirates and pretending a world-boss just appeared when people have farmed it daily since launch isn’t exactly thriller story telling.

webtoehobbit.4201:

RyuDragnier.9476:

You lost me at expansion. I ain’t paying $60 for additions to this game when they’re giving them out for free.

I have never understood these type of comments, “Well I’m not paying for expansion” or “I can’t afford that” Really?! Look at other game series, like Call of Duty, or Madden, heck, even Mass Effect. The first couple series I mentioned come out with new games almost yearly it seems, at least Madden does, and people don’t whine and say, “Oh I can’t afford that” they keep making games and people keep buying them. And as far as Mass Effect goes, it’s like saying, well I played the first Mass Effect and then I will never play the rest of the series cause I can’t afford it…. People WILL buy expansions for GW2 specially if it includes a new region, a new elder dragon, so keep whining but you are not the majority of the player base.

There’s a difference between a sequel and an expansion. An expansion just adds stuff while keeping the majority of the game there. A sequel is from the ground up different in areas, locations, etc. An example of an actual expansion is the Shivering Isles expansion of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Everything else in the game was still there, it just added new areas, enemies, and equipment. I will accept an expansion for a single player game, because hey, I can wait for it to drop in price, and really miss nothing.

But for MMOs, you’re playing a game with multiple people. How would you like it if the living story required going to areas you can’t enter or you can’t do things with your friends because they’re in other areas you can’t reach because you don’t have the expansion? That’s the difference, it’s unfair in a multiplayer game for people to be unable to do things with others just because they never bought the expansion. I will not be a part of games that do that, I never have been, I never will.

You’ll be waiting a long time for an expansion. Arenanet has been focusing on making gw2 for the Asian market and has been feeding us fluff until it happens. There’s no hope right now but there might be some after the release in Asia.

You want a expansion when they already given you a expansion worth of content for free what I DONT EVEN…..

Moh Jay.7240:

You’ll be waiting a long time for an expansion. Arenanet has been focusing on making gw2 for the Asian market and has been feeding us fluff until it happens. There’s no hope right now but there might be some after the release in Asia.

And eventually the game will become asian grindfest coupled with some hentai
lol ;p

Marquie Thomas.1873:

You want a expansion when they already given you a expansion worth of content for free what I DONT EVEN…..

I think he means a proper expansion. One that gives more dungeons and continues on with the main storyline of the dragons. Possibly add a new race and new areas to explore. I DONT EVEN understand how someone could think 1 day worth of content with the equivalent of “kill this many of x or find this many of x” every two weeks should take the place of an actual expansion.

I absolutely agree 150% with everything you’ve said. I’m a huuuuge fan of The Guild Wars universe and all its wonderful lore. To me, it seems like the hope of that returning is the only thing keeping me checking up every two weeks.

Enough of this Scarlet crap. She has to be the most uninteresting villain I’ve ever encountered in a game with serious lore. The fact that she exists in a game with lore I once fell in love with makes me cringe. I mean why is she evil?….because um..she’s evil?! It just seems so random and pointless. And Skypirates? The name alone says it all. Like you said, it just feels like a meaningless grind to get the achievements. When I had first heard about the idea of the elder dragons (powerful forces with an only desire to destroy), I thought the writing team stooped to an all-time low. All thought I did take that back after the game was released, Scarlet has proven me wrong anyways. If this new upcoming patch is Scarlet, I’m going to start giving up hope on the writing team.

I mean there’s sooo much cool & interesting existing lore that they could expand upon here. Dark allies, whispered promises, and madness? for a race that sacrifices slaves to their prophets? Right away this reminds me of the Mursaat and White Mantle. We know the Mursaat are still around somewhere, could they have moved on to using the Krait for their motives? Nope…’cuz its probably just Scarlet again.

I mean even bringing Dhuum or the Shadow Army back for this would make sense. Because its Halloween we KNOW that the veil to the Underworld is very thin. After all, we only have doors popping up all over the world that lead to a section in the Underworld.

As far as expansions, the living story is great and is part of what makes this game unique, but we absolutely need more substantial content. I feel right now that the only way of delivering this is through expansions, unless Anet can prove me wrong coming up here starting with the new patch.

Anet, stop with all this random new lore and start expanding upon the existing underlying lore. Also stop working kitten content that will only be removed within a few weeks, and start putting your resources towards something that will really blow our minds ***cough***new maps, races, skills, weapons, & dare I say professions?***cough***