Guild Wars 2

Lately, I have logged in less and less. I log in, my crew says, whatcha wanna do? I answer, hmmm, meh. I can’t think of anything to do that really makes me get excited.

This makes me sad. I love the world, the towns, so exploring still interests me a bit. But, I get nothing but the experience for my efforts. Yes, the intrinsic fun of it should be enough. Dungeons? They seem to be ok, but again, for my efforts I have never gotten a piece of gear to use, and nothing to actually WANT in there. DE’s are fun at times, and those I love most because of, go ahead laugh, dye. That random chance for something fun makes me like that.

So, last night, having another “meh” night and my crew finally going separate ways or off to other games, I sat down to ask myself what is missing for me. The answer is just what stood out for me, as a casual player who does like character progression and working on skills, but seems to also be looking for something the game is missing.

I am asking, to our community, does anybody else feel this way? Here are my observations after asking myself some hard questions.

1. I need carrots on a stick that are just fluff and fun and random. For example:
dyes
pets
clothes
outfits
armor for skins
potions
food
fun items

And I know the game needs cash shop money. I can and have gone there for an outfit and a few pets.

But, I would still do that and have more fun if there was at least a chance for some of the fun fluff to be found out in the world in the process of our going about the business of the game world.

I need more clothes, lots more. Not just pirates and cooks, but dresses, pants, shirts, skirts, hats. And I need some of these to not just be in the store but a chance to find a random piece in a chest, in a dungeon, in a mining bag.

Same for some of the pets. Maybe a few special ones that only drop in the game and cannot be bought?

I want things to do like fishing and the chance to find a rare fish that will let turn into a shark! I know all this is silly, carebear fluff and I am not proud that realizing the lack of these carrots in the game mattered enough to make me start not playing as much.

But there it is. I am not proud haha. And the game is young. Maybe more fluff and cosmetic fun will come, right?

Am I the only one feeling like something is missing?

When I saw the title of this I thought you were literally looking for carrots to harvest in-game. When I realized cooks could make dyes, I immediately took cooking on an alt. Only problem? Cooking is super mat-intensive. Alas. More farming.

I don’t feel like something is missing, but yeah, gimmicky-type drops on a random basis would be a cool addition. I would add an increased drop rate for the black lion chest keys too.

I’m not sure how it is even possible to lack carrots in this game.

On my Warrior I probably need 500g to get all I want, all weapons (different versions), different armor setups, etc.
Go figure on all characters on my account.

Do whatever activities you feel like.
Get gold.
Buy gems.
Get minis/dye packs/costumes/whatever.
????
Profit.

That’s pretty much my approach at the moment. I’m relying almost entirely on drops for my armor and weapons, with occasional karma purchases. I’m using my money to buy minis (at the moment from the trading post because gems are so expensive).

It’s pretty much what I did in GW1 as well (except of course I had to buy my armor in that game).

I think maybe OP is feeling lost because there is no clear progression path in PvE after you hit 80. Once your 80 you can A] Get 100% map explore and b] GRIND

That is all. Literally I just described the game once your 80 (PVE only).

Mog.1589:

I think maybe OP is feeling lost because there is no clear progression path in PvE after you hit 80. Once your 80 you can A] Get 100% map explore and b] GRIND

That is all. Literally I just described the game once your 80 (PVE only).

That’s completely false.

I got 411 hours in the game, 2 80s with exotics and I’ve yet to grind or get 100% map.
Hell, I have yet to repeat the same thing twice in a day.

There are objectively plenty of things to do and plenty of variety unless one locks himself into repeating things; but that is completely player’s fault, Anet cannot force you to not act like a zombie.

I agree, Red Falcon, there are tons of things to do. I initially kindof wrote off Orr as too much of a pain in the butt, but once I got deeper into it and got into some big groups doing events, I’ve found myself having a ton of fun in there exploring and fighting. There are some really great DE’s in that zone. However, traveling the zone by yourself is pretty rough — you definitely need to stick with a crowd.

That said (about Orr), I’m mostly motivated there because I would like two specific skins from my cultural set and those require Karma. Hard to say if the fun of the events themselves would be drive enough if I lacked those goals.

I too need carrots, mostly for a sense of achievement, and making my own really doesn’t satisfy myself, especially when the pve game is so easy. And I dont get much from 2 manning a champ or soloing vets without blue gear(all previous suggestion from other threads lol)

Red Falcon.8257:

That’s completely false.

I got 411 hours in the game, 2 80s with exotics and I’ve yet to grind or get 100% map.
Hell, I have yet to repeat the same thing twice in a day.

There are objectively plenty of things to do and plenty of variety unless one locks himself into repeating things; but that is completely player’s fault, Anet cannot force you to not act like a zombie.

Okay lol you should learn what progression means at endgame. There is no progression once your 80 in PvE. All there is, grind same dungeons over and over or farm.

Thanks all, for the input. I am going to log in tonight and start looking to make gold to buy fun things from the TP. That will give me a goal: make and buy dyes and buy pets.

And like I said, I do love exploration. But I am still hoping for more random goodness too as the game matures. And clothes. Not armor. Clothes. And maybe I just don’t like the belly-dancing look of most of the elemental gear for my sylvari. I belly-dance a bit in real life, so I love the flowing, hip-baring outfits. But not all the time, and not in a fight haha. I actually like the medium and hard armor styles so much better. I should have leveled my ranger first!

Now about those carrots! I actually leveled cooking to 400 and loved that. I did it the hard way after they stopped the easier way when the game first launched that some players found. I had so much fun going out to find ingredients, do hearts, etc. So, maybe I do need to just find a goal and make my own carrots, well things with carrots in them!

But Anet, please let a few more random fun things drop in the world.

Karma, you sound like my kind of player. I love belly-dancing (or watching it, anyway), and middle eastern music.

If you need more carrots, check Root Vegetable nodes. [/joke]

What if they added a new crafting trade called Party Planner or something? You could craft themed town clothes (e.g. pirate, zombie, Santa-elf), transmogrification tonics, fireworks, etc…

I am really happy with the game overall, I think it’s one of best mmo releases this decade, if not ever. BUT, I can understand some people’s gripe with the lack of post-80 progression. To me, taking my time, the exotics are even still a goal (I’m only half geared on my main), but I can forsee a time when that is done in the near future.

Then there is the very far away goal of legendaries, which is cool, but distant.

It almost (to me) feels like there needs to be a “tier” between exotic and legendary, but then that starts us down the slippery slope of gear progression, which then demands content that requires that gear, etc. etc. and likely most of the audience doesn’t want to go that way.

Tough call… we need that second level of carrot, perhaps, but not the gated content that comes with it. Does that mean even COOLER gear to strive for than the exotic tier? I don’t know what the solution is tbh.

Collect all the different dungeon armor sets!

Though on a serious note, I’d love to see rewards other than gear in chests/as drops.

Shatterer mini anyone?

Mog.1589:

Red Falcon.8257:

That’s completely false.

I got 411 hours in the game, 2 80s with exotics and I’ve yet to grind or get 100% map.
Hell, I have yet to repeat the same thing twice in a day.

There are objectively plenty of things to do and plenty of variety unless one locks himself into repeating things; but that is completely player’s fault, Anet cannot force you to not act like a zombie.

Okay lol you should learn what progression means at endgame. There is no progression once your 80 in PvE. All there is, grind same dungeons over and over or farm.

This game has:
PVE – 8 dungeons 33 total paths which are essentially 33 different dungeons, 24 of which are GW2’s equivalent of hardcore endgame PvE content, tons of Dynamic Events, Map Exploration that gives rewards, and Crafting
-PvP – sPvP, tPvP, and WvWvW

All in all that’s more overall content than most games have. What is progression in other games? Grinding dungeons over and over or grinding PvP battlegrounds over and over to get better gear so you can restart the grind all over again with new content in a new patch like a trained mouse in a maze. This game has exactly all of the stuff you want – lots of dungeons, lots of PvP content, and tons of different gear sets to earn.

The only difference is the gear sets are an equivalent gear level and no one is better than the rest which is awesome. And no one is forced to grind sets to do all the content in the game. Even better.

But what you seek is already in this game, the only difference is that the game isn’t forcing you to achieve certain goals to play the game like other games do, which is why you feel lost. So you make your own goals according to what you enjoy.

You wanna feel like the top dog and say you have all the best gear in the game and have tackled all the content? Well then do it. This game has that progression. The only difference is the stats aren’t better and the game isn’t gating players off if they don’t do it. That doesn’t mean you can’t still do it all and be the best like you would in any other game. You can show off all the different set skins and titles and whatever else and people will know what you accomplished, exactly like those other games. You just have to set your own goals.

Do all the dungeons and earn the gear, earn all the Karma gear and Cultural Armor, make the Crafted set, earn a WvWvW set even. Get some titles while you’re at it and a Map Completion star. Maybe even buy a Commander title. Heck, every time someone clicks on your name in game they’ll see that massive amount of account medals you have as well proving you did all the content and progressed your character farther than most.

What’s keeping you from doing all that and progressing in this game? You can’t rely on MMO companies to hold your hand and tell you how to have fun. You need to learn how to decide for yourself what is fun and what goals you’re going to set for yourself.

@Leiloni: good ideas there, and much thought put into how to make your own paths in the game.

Tonight, I logged in, took myself to a low level area I had not seen and just explored, did some random events, explored a bit, then sold all my mats, made some money. Got some gems from some gold, and bought a round of minis.

And no idea who put the (on a stick) on this thread title, but it cracked me up :}

I still want more random fun, but making my own paths worked better tonight.

If you look at the start of every great mmo, you will see that there wasn’t much to them at release. If your board now come back in 6+ months and check out the changes. Because if your not having fun now trying to force yourself to have fun is not going to work.

Mog.1589:

Red Falcon.8257:

That’s completely false.

I got 411 hours in the game, 2 80s with exotics and I’ve yet to grind or get 100% map.
Hell, I have yet to repeat the same thing twice in a day.

There are objectively plenty of things to do and plenty of variety unless one locks himself into repeating things; but that is completely player’s fault, Anet cannot force you to not act like a zombie.

Okay lol you should learn what progression means at endgame. There is no progression once your 80 in PvE. All there is, grind same dungeons over and over or farm.

There is progression just not stat based. It’s only a grind if you don’t enjoy it and if you are not enjoying the game why are you playing?

Well … this is what we get in a community where people are more interested in how they look than they are in who they are. Like we are all just some Kim Kardashian wannabes. “Oh look … I have a new set of kitten AND a matching cape”.
This game looks amazing, but sometimes what’s inside is more important than what you see. So far I am not convinced that GW2 is going in direction of content over design. And I would like that. I would like that a lot.

Edit: This censorship is getting beyond stupid. The “kitten” in my post is nothing else but “breasts”.

The game could definately use some more optional “fluff” carrots. That’s for sure. Preferably unique to specific zones so there’s reasons to go back to each zone.

I log into GW2 and TS3 and play (and chat) with my friends. Dungeon runs, DEs, whatever I do with them (talking on TS3) I find all activities fun and great. When I play alone whatever I do (same DEs or exploring…) becomes dull.

An MMO is always giving fun WITH your friends.

Agreed about the lack of fluff. Right now, there’s just absolutely no excitement about the drops in the game because they are nothing but gold in some form. Something to be sold, broken down and sold, or combined and sold. It’s dull. I used to get a small thrill from dyes when they dropped, but that’s long since worn off. Now, there’s nothing at all I look forward to when I open a chest or take down a mob. Just another little bit to add to the old bank account.

This game really needs to put some loot into the world that makes people cheer when it drops. Not uber-leet gear, but maybe some rare, uber-chic sets. Or how about some town clothes. A lot of people (myself included) would flip to see some new clothes in a drop. How about making mini-pets an ultra rare drop? How about making GEMS an ultra-rare drop??

ANet has options here that don’t even require new content to be added to the game, that would help spice things up a bit. It’s only a matter of tweaking loot tables. They just need to exercise those options. Of course, nothing would beat a few brand new items being made available. But that’s also not something I would expect to see within the first couple of months.

Perhaps their Hallow’s Eve plans will give us something to look forward to, in terms of loot. Maybe Mad King Thorn costume pieces that randomly drop off sugar elementals? That would definitely have me looking forward to drops again.

I agree…sounds like your describing what everquest 2 offers. Tbh at this point i’d take eq2 with this games graphics and be happier. The game was a fun solo-co-op especially upon launch when there were other freaks like myself leveling alongside each other overloading every zone. The thrill died pretty fast for me at 80 “granted i play more than most people”. My other hardcore friends quit long before i did and are back to playing other games…my more casual friends “log on maybe 3 times a week max for a couple hours” simply love the game…but as some of em have hit 80 i noticed some of em log on for 5 minutes or less or simply have been MIA for a week but claim they just had “better things to do”.

There is simply something lacking for a lot of people at 80. I’ve heard several reasons from my friends i’ll recite em here real fast. (each catagory is what i will hear from different friends

1.(elite pvp friends) No spvp scene. No ranked play, no payed tournies, no e-sport features, slow bugfix/balance.

2.(guild rp friends) No town house/guild house. Few activities to do as a guild outside WvW, few town cloths or in town events to wear them to, stale story, dont find legendary fun or cosmetic option for what they want. World Bosses feel boring after first time.

3. (casuals). Did everything i wanna do….“hey did you hear X came out?”

Tbh 90% of the people i see when i log on in my guild now are all foreign and never speak anyway not sure who invited em, i log on cause i was the fan boy who got all my friends to play. Sadly i find myself on the forums looking for hope more than playing the game and found myself on here less and less. I’m just gonna assume the game wasnt meant for my demographic and move onto the next thing if i dont see changes this month.

Mog.1589:

Red Falcon.8257:

That’s completely false.

I got 411 hours in the game, 2 80s with exotics and I’ve yet to grind or get 100% map.
Hell, I have yet to repeat the same thing twice in a day.

There are objectively plenty of things to do and plenty of variety unless one locks himself into repeating things; but that is completely player’s fault, Anet cannot force you to not act like a zombie.

Okay lol you should learn what progression means at endgame. There is no progression once your 80 in PvE. All there is, grind same dungeons over and over or farm.

Not everyone requires progression to continue having fun in a video game. There’s lots of things to do at 80. All the same things you enjoyed doing pre-80, obviously…. You did enjoy doing those things on the way to 80, right?

That said, I like the original post. Town clothes, outfits, armor skins, dyes, cosmetic stuff. All good stuff.

SPvP – Same maps over and over, same game type for all the maps = Boring after a very short time. It’s on the devs to add a lot of content there, more maps, more game types, something.

WvW – 3x of the same map, “zerg” warfare, for tokens for gear/style rewards = lots of fun depending on the time of the day and how many people (on all sides) opt to be on, but lately it’s fun for the first few days then back to one server dominating and not many non-jumpers on. That’s on us players. I’d like to see unique Boarderlands per server or at least unique for each colored side or maybe be done with the Boarderlands maps all together.

World Completion – Fairly easy during leveling, actually the best way to level in my opinion. = Not much more to add there, could do it all again on another character…

Dynamic Events – I’ve done most, if not all of them, they get repetitive. BUT that’s my fault for logging for so kitten long. = Best way to ease the “grind” for gold/materials. Devs could change it up so that they’re actually “dynamic” and change a bit. (lots of threads already on this point)

Dungeons – Story path plus three others of varying difficulty, with a token system for gear/style rewards. = Decent start. What actually happens in these dungeons needs work (again plenty of threads on this). Change them up a bit so the token rush is more fun or even (dare I type it) longer.

Legendaries – Lots of time needed here, need the Karma, the gold, and just a bit from everything else. = The only real “work at for a long time” goal. I think the devs did a good job of integrating the whole game (minus SPvP) for this goal. I do wish there was more to Legendaries than just getting a weapon.

You’d grind SPvP to collect the styles. You’d grind Open World for all gold for minis and getting every Legendary. You’d grind WvW for dominance and all it’s styles. You’d grind dungeons for all their styles. BUT that’s only if you really have to have them all asap. All these carrots are firmly placed in the ground, all you have to do is crawl through the barbed-wire field of landmines to get it. After all the styles and collections are done, for variety you have WvW and SPvP and for consistency you have the Open World’s “Dynamic” Events.

There is no real “carrot on a stick” here. They’ve set it up like Aion 1.5 was: Get to level cap then spend all your time in the Abyss. Here they’ve taken the time out of getting the gear (not completely RNG drop based) and we have no special PvP gear needed to get for the advantage. So we get to 80, get full exotic sets and go out to WvW all day long. This was made even more obvious when they give you a WvW blueprint choice for finishing the “personal story”.

EDIT: Point being, they’ve centered the game on doing stuff because you like doing it not on doing stuff just to be “better”. I like WvW and running around the Open World for my Legendary. I’d like SPvP a lot more if there were more variety to choose from.

“Carrot on a Stick” should be a recipe, then we could easily solve this dilemma. It’s not, right? I wouldn’t know, I’m not a cook.