Guild Wars 2

I think it would be cooler if the hearts are not visible on the map so people can stumble upon them and have a better sense of adventure

But they are invisible. They become visible when you pass near then or when you talk to the NPCs that explain the map to you, they tell you where are the people that need help, that’s why the hearts become visible.

Leopard Girl.8230:

I think it would be cooler if the hearts are not visible on the map so people can stumble upon them and have a better sense of adventure

You can actually turn off virtually everything on your map, just click the small eye icon in the lower left corner and check everything off.

It’s an ironic post, actually.

Hearts were added based on feedback from alpha testers that the game was too directionless (the initial design didn’t have them) in terms of not being able to find even the general vicinity of a dynamic event without stumbling across it. So hearts were added which are almost all in the immediate vicinity of a dynamic event (or part of one) to direct you to that vicinity and give you something to do while you are waiting for the DE to begin. Then scouts were added to show you where the local hearts are.

The game is still exploration based. But if there were really no directions, LOTS of people would complain loudly about that — more than the few people who complain about hearts mucking up the “purity” of the exploration game.

I simply don’t talk to the NPC that shows them all in a given area.