Guild Wars 2

I’ve put my main MMO on the back burner for the most part, and I’ve been looking at all the other MMOs I’ve played in the past. Guild Wars 2 is one of them, but various reasons kept me from continuously playing it:

-Dungeons weren’t fun
-Insane grind if you wanted anything
-PvP was always a side interest for me so there was no big draw there, and it seemed like everyone was just doing WvW

That said, I’ve been thinking of coming back and leveling a new character to get some enjoyment out of it again. Is the leveling game still fun or is it lacking as more people reside at the cap? Is it solo only for the most part or still heavily multiplayer? If it is solo only at this point, is that viable?

Sorry if these are questions you all have to deal with on a daily basis =)

While solo is viable, I’d actually recommend you join a casual leveling guild if you’re leveling a new character. Leveling is more fun with people…to me at least.

There WILL be events you can’t solo, most of which are labeled group events. Some group events can be soloed, but not most of them.

There are probably less people in the middle zones now and more in the starter zones.

Is it worth coming back? Everyone has a different opinion. Some of us have never left.

I’ve found it to be mostly a solo experience levelling up. But I still enjoy it a lot, and the content is perfectly viable solo with the exception of some group events (but letting people know something’s happening usually results in more people showing up) and obviously the dungeon you need to do to complete the personal story.

Valondon.8635:

I’ve put my main MMO on the back burner for the most part, and I’ve been looking at all the other MMOs I’ve played in the past. Guild Wars 2 is one of them, but various reasons kept me from continuously playing it:

-Dungeons weren’t fun
-Insane grind if you wanted anything
-PvP was always a side interest for me so there was no big draw there, and it seemed like everyone was just doing WvW

That said, I’ve been thinking of coming back and leveling a new character to get some enjoyment out of it again. Is the leveling game still fun or is it lacking as more people reside at the cap? Is it solo only for the most part or still heavily multiplayer? If it is solo only at this point, is that viable?

Sorry if these are questions you all have to deal with on a daily basis =)

Dungeons are still no fun.

It may be ANet but it’s still NCSoft. Grind is all they know.

This game is still being balanced around pvp and is screwing over the rest of the game.

What’s your main MMO?

Leveling is still pretty enjoyable, but at least on my server there aren’t many players around in mid-level zones. Starting zones, Queensdale especially, are well populated. You can solo about 80% of the content without too much hassle, but most group events will require other people to help you.

Dungeons are largely the same, although Ascalonian Catacombs explorable mode got a revamp.

PvP has seen the introduction of several features (spectator mode, ladders and matchmaking to name a few) and is worth checking, in my opinion.

I don’t know what are you referring to but Legendaries and other prestige skins (Fractal Weapons, most Mystic Forge weapons) still require a lot of grind to get, while exotics and ascendeds (best in slot equipment) are pretty doable.

Short answer: No

Uh, well..If you have the game already you could just patch it and try it out again.

Dungeons being fun or not is entirely based on your personal opinion, though.

PvP has always been a major part of the game and is even more now….WvW is also PvP…Soo…

The game has also never been an insane grind, except for legendaries and maybe T3 cultural armor skins but you can get that pretty quickly by doing CoF and other dungeons for money.

Simply put, No.

Nothing has changed in the game. If you didn’t enjoy dungeon/wvw/grind the first time, why would you this time?

Yes, the zones are more unpopulated, no, groups are not required. I’ve leveled 5 characters to 80, 4 of them completely solo after the zones became more and more deserted.

GLHF

Well they really haven’t changed much since you played last. If you thought it was boring then, it will still be boring now.

The short answer is: maybe, but probably not.

Valondon.8635:

-Dungeons weren’t fun

Unfortunately, they are still a dodge dance with an HP sponge. Core mechanics need to be changed for them to be enjoyable. DPS is still king. Rewards are still lackluster.

-Insane grind if you wanted anything

For a legendary? Yes, it’s still insane. Or you can pray the RNG gods and hope for the best. Use The Farmer’s Prayer for best results.

Otherwise, the grind is limited mainly because there really isn’t much to get in this game.

-PvP was always a side interest for me so there was no big draw there, and it seemed like everyone was just doing WvW

PvP is still hampered by many of the problems it had at launch.

WvW is fun in short doses. After a while it feels like many other team vs. team games, except with only one or two maps on rotations. Zergs are still king, so it often feels more like “follow the Dorito” than strategic gameplay with pitched battles and clutch moments.

That said, I’ve been thinking of coming back and leveling a new character to get some enjoyment out of it again. Is the leveling game still fun or is it lacking as more people reside at the cap? Is it solo only for the most part or still heavily multiplayer? If it is solo only at this point, is that viable?

Your experience will vary. Your best bet is to find a friend in a similar situation and level together. Otherwise you will find early zones busy and mid zones fluctuate. Most of the people you see will be running around doing their own objectives as well, so even if you see people, it doesn’t mean they’ll be social. It was more organic at launch.

I spent a good amount of gold crafting through levels because I couldn’t really bear to do more of the same after having gotten World Completion on my main. Most of the PvE is still defined by auto-attack, auto-attack, auto-attack, heal, auto-attack, rinse and repeat.

Based on the points you named you might be better of waiting for an expansion.

Dungeons haven’t changed that much. We did get a new fun dungeon but that has been removed again (was only in temporary).

About grind.. well any mmo kinda requires grinding but GW2 is a gold grind or currency grind.

If you check the forums you can see that the thinks you name are frequently heard complains so it might change after an expansion.

Personally I like doing stuff with the guild and WvW but it all comes down to your personal opinion.

Dungeons still bad, but what I know? Im a WvWer.

Grind is there but ONLY if you want a skin, Stats are cheap.

spvp still boring because its Conquest only, and if you dont have a team dont even try Tpvp, theres no matchmaking and they allow your SoloQ team vs premades.

so if you Like WvW, dungeons or casual hotjoin, game is fun for you

Nothing fundamental has changed.

It’s reasonably easy to get your full set of exotics (if you happen to have a stat set obtainable through the easier dungeons), then after that there is no progression so you have no choice but to grind for a legendary (insane) or do WvW and/or PvP just because you like it.

The leveling experience in this game was better than any game I’ve ever played, but shortly after you hit 80 the game basically ends imo.

These threads are always the same… It’s just a gathering place for pessimism and depression. The OP always sounds like they never did and never will enjoy the game, regardless of what may have changed. And the only people replying are those who didn’t like the game when they bought it, but still lurk the forums because they like complaining.

Absolutely – best MMO on the market!

Nothing has changed in the game, in regards to the reasons you quit last. It’ll take you a few minutes of gameplay to determine if you’ll get bored again.

It would have taken less time to sign on and play to determine than it did to sign on HERE and create this thread….

It’s interesting each time i see such topic, i pretty much always read same reasons why people left the game. And sadly that’s why the answer is always the same – no, not worth to came back, because you’ll quit again soon for the same reasons.

Its free to play. You own it. There is no gear treadmill that you have to worry about falling so far behind on that it would be impossible to catch up. There is not content that you are locked out of because you missed the last month or two of updates.

These forums, are still MMO forums. If players used the opinions in them to determine if they were going to play the game, no MMO in PC gaming history would have made it more than six months.

Best advice is to check the website and see if the events this month look like they would strike your fancy, and then log in to see whats going on in the game. If you aren’t digging it, that’s ok. Maybe some of the changes later down the road will catch your interest a little more (I have some friends that log in for the events here and there, but are waiting specifically for the LFG tool to be implemented before they really get back into it).

Thats the beauty of an ever evolving game with no sub, that doesn’t knock players who decide to take a break down the vertical progression hill. You can drop in to check out the scene anytime you want and still be able to jump into whatever is going on.

No offense meant, but the question doesn’t make much sense, since the game is 100% free once you purchased it. You can reinstall it anytime and have a look yourself.
So since there’s no point in asking that question – why do people ask it? Attention craving?

For the one asking, my main mmo is Lord of the Rings Online

I did find leveling in this game extremely enjoyable, which was one reason I wanted to come back. When I left the game it was due to the reasons I listed and running out of time to play 2 games. I remember rumors of dungeon revamps so I was hoping that would have changed. I felt the game had great potential, it just needed a few changes in the right direction to make it that one game that you want to log into day in and day out.

Thanks for all the advice! =)

-Acidic Vision – Is the LFG tool confirmed?

Regarding what you have mentioned, I will say this is not the time for you to return yet. It gonna make you feel the same way, at least for now.

Yes it is worth it

Ping.5739:

Regarding what you have mentioned, I will say this is not the time for you to return yet. It gonna make you feel the same way, at least for now.

For comments like this, yes I can re-install and wait for the download, log in, and spend time exploring and figuring it out. Or I can ask on the forums and see what the consensus is seeing as that doesn’t take as long…

AcidicVision.5498:

Its free to play. You own it. There is no gear treadmill that you have to worry about falling so far behind on that it would be impossible to catch up. There is not content that you are locked out of because you missed the last month or two of updates.

These forums, are still MMO forums. If players used the opinions in them to determine if they were going to play the game, no MMO in PC gaming history would have made it more than six months.

Best advice is to check the website and see if the events this month look like they would strike your fancy, and then log in to see whats going on in the game. If you aren’t digging it, that’s ok. Maybe some of the changes later down the road will catch your interest a little more (I have some friends that log in for the events here and there, but are waiting specifically for the LFG tool to be implemented before they really get back into it).

Thats the beauty of an ever evolving game with no sub, that doesn’t knock players who decide to take a break down the vertical progression hill. You can drop in to check out the scene anytime you want and still be able to jump into whatever is going on.

Free to play? I guess I was dreaming when I paid money for this game then

You don’t have to do max-level activities. Do what I did.

Start a new character, take your time with it, level professions using materials that you gathered, do some jumping puzzles, maybe complete some casual achievements, and stop playing when you feel you need a break.

Simple, casual gameplay that isn’t tiresome or boring.

Valondon.8635:

Ping.5739:

Regarding what you have mentioned, I will say this is not the time for you to return yet. It gonna make you feel the same way, at least for now.

For comments like this, yes I can re-install and wait for the download, log in, and spend time exploring and figuring it out. Or I can ask on the forums and see what the consensus is seeing as that doesn’t take as long…

A 1TB hard drive is worth nothing nowadays… just keep it installed and check from time to time.

Korrigan.4837:

No offense meant, but the question doesn’t make much sense, since the game is 100% free once you purchased it. You can reinstall it anytime and have a look yourself.
So since there’s no point in asking that question – why do people ask it? Attention craving?

To bash the game.

It wouldn’t be so bad if they had a point to make, but the idiots flat out lie about everything…

Id say currently: No.
Aside from what you listed, the content being released is more in the world of temporary content (probably to test the waters to see how we would react to such things), RNG, and yes grind.

Sure, some things are beginning to stick and stay in the game..moa races? What about the molten dungeon and the new one? If the new one is temporary, which it probably is, Id say a definate no this game is not worth coming back to.

If you had your doubts before about the game, not much has changed. If you felt that the dungeons were not find, and it was a grindy game, nothing has changed concerning those two points.

Right now, the devs are balancing everything around spvp, and most people don’t care about spvp.

WvW is still rather popular, at least on my server. People that did other things have mostly quit. Fractals are still popular, so there are those too.

but if you want honest feedback, ask on a forum that anet doesn’t monitor; speech isn’t exactly free around here.

The game is amazing…im just burnt out from 8 years of wow :-(

Valondon.8635:

Ping.5739:

Regarding what you have mentioned, I will say this is not the time for you to return yet. It gonna make you feel the same way, at least for now.

For comments like this, yes I can re-install and wait for the download, log in, and spend time exploring and figuring it out. Or I can ask on the forums and see what the consensus is seeing as that doesn’t take as long…

Alright go ahead and try it out my boy. I didn’t ask you to try it yourself, you mention it. I was just telling you it’s still the same. So much hate lol.

Ezeriel.9574:

Right now, the devs are balancing everything around spvp, and most people don’t care about spvp.

I hear this statement all the time with “spvp” interchangeable to “wvw” and “pve” depending on who you ask. The truth? Anet is balancing the game in general the way the game in general needs to be balanced.

WvW is still rather popular, at least on my server. People that did other things have mostly quit. Fractals are still popular, so there are those too.

The people who quit fit in to a few simple categories:
- The game was too hard for them.
- The game was too easy for them.
- They came from [insert mmo name here] with a certain set of expectations, but were disappointed to find a game that is trying to be different.

but if you want honest feedback, ask on a forum that anet doesn’t monitor; speech isn’t exactly free around here.

You can say whatever you want, as long as it doesn’t break the rules of conduct (such as attacking, being rude, obnoxious, etc.) I would say you are going to find roughly the same responses on any forum except that the further away from a GW2-centric forum, the more you will hear people summarily dismiss this game because they didn’t like it in the first 5 minutes. Honest feedback is hard to come by in any case because there are a flood of gamers with a multitude of opinions, but little in the way of good critical analysis skills.

Valondon.8635:

-Acidic Vision – Is the LFG tool confirmed?

The strings for it and some interface stuff was found in the dat file when someone data-mined the last content patch (the same one that leaked the aetherblade skins). It has not been officially announced but it exists in the game. We just don’t have access to it yet. Probably still in internal testing.

RoRo.8270:

Free to play? I guess I was dreaming when I paid money for this game then

You knew what I meant, but I hope you feel better now that you got that out of your system for the day.

Korrigan.4837:

No offense meant, but the question doesn’t make much sense, since the game is 100% free once you purchased it. You can reinstall it anytime and have a look yourself.
So since there’s no point in asking that question – why do people ask it? Attention craving?

It’s faster than reinstalling. It’s also faster than reading the notes and then trying all those areas about which he is asking.

A better question is why people care that it was asked. It’s not like a lot of people visit these forums and decide whether the game is worth playing based on what some strangers say—if that’s the underlying concern with these kinds of threads. From what I’ve read about the social habits of gamers, most judge games on their own and by word of mouth from friends.

People who impute the worst of motives to those who even ask whether the game is worth playing again take their enjoyment of a game too seriously and are the kinds of people who prevent it from growing through constructive criticism.

Ping.5739:

Valondon.8635:

Ping.5739:

Regarding what you have mentioned, I will say this is not the time for you to return yet. It gonna make you feel the same way, at least for now.

For comments like this, yes I can re-install and wait for the download, log in, and spend time exploring and figuring it out. Or I can ask on the forums and see what the consensus is seeing as that doesn’t take as long…

Alright go ahead and try it out my boy. I didn’t ask you to try it yourself, you mention it. I was just telling you it’s still the same. So much hate lol.

Sorry, I quoted the wrong person =( I meant to quote one of the ones that said “Why bother asking, just install the game.” Sorry =(

Guns and Giblets.9308:

Korrigan.4837:

No offense meant, but the question doesn’t make much sense, since the game is 100% free once you purchased it. You can reinstall it anytime and have a look yourself.
So since there’s no point in asking that question – why do people ask it? Attention craving?

It’s faster than reinstalling. It’s also faster than reading the notes and then trying all those areas about which he is asking.

A better question is why people care that it was asked. It’s not like a lot of people visit these forums and decide whether the game is worth playing based on what some strangers say—if that’s the underlying concern with these kinds of threads. From what I’ve read about the social habits of gamers, most judge games on their own and by word of mouth from friends.

People who impute the worst of motives to those who even ask whether the game is worth playing again take their enjoyment of a game too seriously and are the kinds of people who prevent it from growing through constructive criticism.

Hit the nail on the head.

May response to your questions maybe they will help you make up your mind

-Dungeons weren’t fun —- I have been playing since per-release I haven’t done a dungeon yet
-Insane grind if you wanted anything — for ascended and legendary this is still true, but there have been a large variety of other skins both temporary and permanent that you can get.
-PvP was always a side interest for me so there was no big draw there, and it seemed like everyone was just doing WvW --- find a server where WvW is not a high priority.

Valondon.8635:

Guns and Giblets.9308:

Korrigan.4837:

No offense meant, but the question doesn’t make much sense, since the game is 100% free once you purchased it. You can reinstall it anytime and have a look yourself.
So since there’s no point in asking that question – why do people ask it? Attention craving?

It’s faster than reinstalling. It’s also faster than reading the notes and then trying all those areas about which he is asking.

A better question is why people care that it was asked. It’s not like a lot of people visit these forums and decide whether the game is worth playing based on what some strangers say—if that’s the underlying concern with these kinds of threads. From what I’ve read about the social habits of gamers, most judge games on their own and by word of mouth from friends.

People who impute the worst of motives to those who even ask whether the game is worth playing again take their enjoyment of a game too seriously and are the kinds of people who prevent it from growing through constructive criticism.

Hit the nail on the head.

You would think that. But look at the community you are asking for a valuable opinion from. Its a gaming forum. So you will have two flavors of replies; the vocal minority that takes every opportunity possible to insult the game, its elements, or its fans and the enthusiast that really enjoys the product and comes here to engage other enthusiasts.

Any posts with actual critical analysis, or constructive criticism are few and far between. So when you ask something as broad as “Is this game worth coming back to?” the replies you can expect will either be fans selling you on new content and changes, or dissatisfied players replying negatively as a way to try to get more attention directed at a subject they don’t like (which is the wrong way to go about providing feedback).

The real kicker of it is that the people that complain the loudest are the ones that play the most. I did an experiment not too long and added players that said they were quitting, that the game wasn’t worth playing, or just generally seemed to be trying their best in the forums to paint the game in the worst light possible, to my friends list to follow. General outcome…

Nearly all of them were on daily or bi-daily for multiple hour sessions and doing anything from Fractals and explo dungeons to WvW and sPvP. Two I caught actively in LA recruiting for their 400+ member guild. It was a lot of activity coming from a lot of players that seemed to devote a portion of their day to convincing other people the game is bad.

The question its self comes into question because of the subjectivity of it. Maybe it wasn’t the OPs intent, but this could easily come off as flame bait. In which case some people may just want to know if an honest conversation is even welcome or if the OPs predisposition means its just an invitation for people to dog pile on features he mentioned he didn’t like.

Getting feedback on the forums might be faster than downloading the client, or updating it if it’s been a while. But it doesn’t matter how much data you get or how fast it comes when the majority of it is either self-serving or outright unreliable. Some things are just worth checking out for yourself.

Valondon.8635:

Ping.5739:

Valondon.8635:

Ping.5739:

Regarding what you have mentioned, I will say this is not the time for you to return yet. It gonna make you feel the same way, at least for now.

For comments like this, yes I can re-install and wait for the download, log in, and spend time exploring and figuring it out. Or I can ask on the forums and see what the consensus is seeing as that doesn’t take as long…

Alright go ahead and try it out my boy. I didn’t ask you to try it yourself, you mention it. I was just telling you it’s still the same. So much hate lol.

Sorry, I quoted the wrong person =( I meant to quote one of the ones that said “Why bother asking, just install the game.” Sorry =(

No problem. Not a big deal.

AcidicVision.5498:

Any posts with actual critical analysis, or constructive criticism are few and far between.

Here’s generally what happens when someone spends the necessary time and effort to generate a meaningful, well-thought out criticism of the game:

1. It is ignored.
2. It is sarcastically mocked.
3. It is dismissed as subjective.
4. The motivations of the OP are called into question.
5. The player is told to quit and stop trolling the forums.

No surprise, then, that people turn to other methods or leave the forums outright.

Getting feedback on the forums might be faster than downloading the client, or updating it if it’s been a while. But it doesn’t matter how much data you get or how fast it comes when the majority of it is either self-serving or outright unreliable. Some things are just worth checking out for yourself.

Barring the prejudicial characterization of people who criticize this game, you’re in luck, however, about the general tendencies of “I quit” players.

AcidicVision.5498:

Valondon.8635:

Guns and Giblets.9308:

Korrigan.4837:

No offense meant, but the question doesn’t make much sense, since the game is 100% free once you purchased it. You can reinstall it anytime and have a look yourself.
So since there’s no point in asking that question – why do people ask it? Attention craving?

It’s faster than reinstalling. It’s also faster than reading the notes and then trying all those areas about which he is asking.

A better question is why people care that it was asked. It’s not like a lot of people visit these forums and decide whether the game is worth playing based on what some strangers say—if that’s the underlying concern with these kinds of threads. From what I’ve read about the social habits of gamers, most judge games on their own and by word of mouth from friends.

People who impute the worst of motives to those who even ask whether the game is worth playing again take their enjoyment of a game too seriously and are the kinds of people who prevent it from growing through constructive criticism.

Hit the nail on the head.

You would think that. But look at the community you are asking for a valuable opinion from. Its a gaming forum. So you will have two flavors of replies; the vocal minority that takes every opportunity possible to insult the game, its elements, or its fans and the enthusiast that really enjoys the product and comes here to engage other enthusiasts.

Any posts with actual critical analysis, or constructive criticism are few and far between. So when you ask something as broad as “Is this game worth coming back to?” the replies you can expect will either be fans selling you on new content and changes, or dissatisfied players replying negatively as a way to try to get more attention directed at a subject they don’t like (which is the wrong way to go about providing feedback).

The real kicker of it is that the people that complain the loudest are the ones that play the most. I did an experiment not too long and added players that said they were quitting, that the game wasn’t worth playing, or just generally seemed to be trying their best in the forums to paint the game in the worst light possible, to my friends list to follow. General outcome…

Nearly all of them were on daily or bi-daily for multiple hour sessions and doing anything from Fractals and explo dungeons to WvW and sPvP. Two I caught actively in LA recruiting for their 400+ member guild. It was a lot of activity coming from a lot of players that seemed to devote a portion of their day to convincing other people the game is bad.

The question its self comes into question because of the subjectivity of it. Maybe it wasn’t the OPs intent, but this could easily come off as flame bait. In which case some people may just want to know if an honest conversation is even welcome or if the OPs predisposition means its just an invitation for people to dog pile on features he mentioned he didn’t like.

Getting feedback on the forums might be faster than downloading the client, or updating it if it’s been a while. But it doesn’t matter how much data you get or how fast it comes when the majority of it is either self-serving or outright unreliable. Some things are just worth checking out for yourself.

Good points, but after enough post trends usually become apparent and one can at least begin a basis of understanding of the current state of affairs.

Enjoy real life before getting sucked in again. It’s healthier and more fun

Depends on what you want out of it and what type of player you are. Only you can answer that by coming in-world and finding what you want to do. Asking others is rather pointless since we are not you and have no real concept of what you want to enjoy or want out of a game or even if you enjoy playing with others. There is so much to this game and so many ways to play it that if you are not having fun then move on and find something that gives you the satisfaction you are looking for.

Valondon.8635:

-Dungeons weren’t fun
-Insane grind if you wanted anything
-PvP was always a side interest for me so there was no big draw there, and it seemed like everyone was just doing WvW

Is the leveling game still fun or is it lacking as more people reside at the cap?

For me:
– dungeons are still not fun; same tired mechanics and lame scaling of the mobs to make them “difficult”.
- if you are talking legendary weapons, same as before, if you are talking fractals, I guess the same. I never did fractals, nor will I ever craft a legendary / farm for one.
- pretty much the same builds / teams in PvP, and in WvW more Thieves than 5 months ago.
- leveling is no fun, I have tried 3-4 times to create a new prof, never got past lv 15.

Since it`s free, log in and try it for yourself, see if you enjoy the “new” GW2.