Guild Wars 2

I am having absolutely no fun in this game. What am I missing? Big fan of Skyrim – this game is not even in the ballpark as far as I can tell. I really am trying hard to like this game – what am I just not getting? Help – I want to have fun here, but just kinda lame. I’m not a troll and would welcome some input on how to make this game fun at all.

I felt that way for awhile. While I’m not sure your progression in the game so far, or your style, I’ll tell you what I did personally.

I started as an Ele, and being new to the GW universe, I had no idea what I was doing. Couldn’t get help for the life of me. Tried to learn on my own, and failed. Rage quit. Two weeks later, I come back, and make a Necro. And, despite not having learned I thing, I kept at it. I was determined that, even if it meant I’d despise Necromancer at the end of the day, i’d hit level cap and understand the game. I turned out to love Necromancer. TL;DR – Force yourself to do something, and you might realize you like it. Idea: Try Fractals of the Mist, even if you’re not big into dungeons. Try WvW if you’re not into PvP. And so on. Break your own mold.

What I do with friends who have a similar problem now, is first help them find a profession they like. What I did with my fiance, and what I am doing with a friend tomorrow actually, is going into sPvP on various professions, and having them just mess around with weapons on the NPCs. We didn’t talk traits. We didn’t talk sigils, stats, runes. Nothing but learning each weapon and the class mechanic to see what they preferred. At some point they feel they like a profession, and I tell them to remember it, but I make them try at least 5 of them anyways. My fiance loved Warrior at the start, but liked that ranged ability of a Ranger and was interested in Necro after watching me, but she settled on Guardian. And Gaurdian was the first one she tried and hated initially.

Try that, and don’t be scared to contact me in-game if you want.

Not all games are for everyone. Good luck in your search.

Hi.
Games are often very different. There are many differences between skyrim and GW2.
The first and most obvious is off course the MMO-element. You are playing with other people and/or against other people. This is very different then Skyrim. In here there are thousands of heroes running around. Not all can be the Dovakhin, so the game treats you as a lesser Hero.

The second reason is that This game is much less focused on RP-ing. The most elements are there but its a lot less embedded, its more a game then a world.

Maybe you can explain what you like about Skyrim. What kinds off activity’s did draw your attention there?

Tell us what you do in-game that makes it feel un-fun.

I shifted from PvE to WvWvW because PvE was getting stale for my taste and I got “renewed” fun. Don’t know how long this will last though since my server is pretty inactive on it plus my timezone don’t see tons of people on it. :|

It sounds like you have a pretty one-dimensional view of the game. You say you don’t like ‘it’ but you don’t say what the ‘it’ is you don’t like.

Since there are dozens of facets to the game allowing you to play pretty well whatever and however you want, it sounds to me that you had a rigid idea of what you wanted the game to be and it doesn’t fit your criterion.

Fine, move on.

I’ve tried to get my family to like this game, but they just didn’t get into it. They come from Rift, a pretty traditional MMO. You, like my family, are probaly not doing something correctly. You could be missing the porsonel story, they other zones, the dynamic events, or the biggest one is…

Not playing the correct profession. It takes time to find which profession is for you. Do some testing with new professions and you’ll enjoy this game way more with your favorite one, mine is guardian.

What is it that you like about Skyrim? For instance, if someone said they weren’t having fun playing Skyrim, what would you say to them?

I’ve discovered one thing I DO like about GW2 so far – the feedback, ideas, and thoughtful questions those who have replied to my initial post have been really good. I got something from every reply I’ve read here tonight. Thank you all.

I think that having fun in a game is all about doing something that you like doing. I, for example, like experimentation with strategies to come up with a character that is versatile for me capable of dealing with each situation. In Skyrim, I accomplished this by setting rules for myself, such as using no gear at the highest game difficulty. In Guild Wars 2, I play WvW and attempt to duel and take on groups of skilled players with a build that is specifically designed around that. I have fun doing that, so find something you find fun too.

graceness.3156:

What is it that you like about Skyrim? For instance, if someone said they weren’t having fun playing Skyrim, what would you say to them?

Good question. Lots of answers – I think I’m beginning to realize I enjoy questing alone better. I like the way that when a quest is done, and I turn around to leave the area, it is not automatically re-seeded with more “bad guys.” There seems to be no real endgame. I like the leveling system and the skill building. One of the other posters said I might be a little one-dimensional in my approach to GW2 – I think they are right. It seems I was looking for an on-line Skyrim, and was hoping GW2 might be close. I may try to lighten up a bit and try some more – I’ve read some good ideas from some other posts on how to proceed with that, but I would be a liar if I said I felt my money was well spent here – and my time feels like an even greater loss. Still, I’m glad this game appeals to so many others and realize the problem is more with my expectations. Thanks for your post.

Contiguous.1345:

It sounds like you have a pretty one-dimensional view of the game. You say you don’t like ‘it’ but you don’t say what the ‘it’ is you don’t like.

Since there are dozens of facets to the game allowing you to play pretty well whatever and however you want, it sounds to me that you had a rigid idea of what you wanted the game to be and it doesn’t fit your criterion.

Fine, move on.

I actually think this answer is pretty dead on. I would agree my expectations for what this game probably is and what I’d hoped it would be seem to be pretty far apart. I am starting to get a the feeling I’m just not a massive on-line person. “Fine, move on” may be some pretty solid advice! What don’t I like about the game so far? Although it is true there seems to be opportunity to play “whatever” I want, I have yet to encounter anything engaging. I have not exactly played for a super long time, but for the time I have played, I’ve not yet been engaged with anything I’ve done.

It feels like a Renaissance Fair. At noon there will be a jousting match to watch, come back in thirty minutes and you’ll see that jousting match again, and again at 1:00, too. I turn around and its the same old thing and the first show was as unengaging as all the repeats.

One of the other posters said I’m probably just doing something wrong or don’t understand all the game has to offer – I kinda hope he’s right. I’ll give GW2 a couple more tries before I pick up my toys and pout all the way home.

I am also a big Skyrim lover and was my main game for quite awhile. I think that you might really enjoy the personal story and quests. The Sylvarian one, oddly enough, reminded me of the Skyrim main story.

Crafting is also something that is overlooked but can be quite enjoyable. I know that was something I enjoyed in Skyrim.. it’s also one of the quickest way to gain xp in GW2. Also exploring and clearing maps is something you might consider as in Skyrim, that is a similar aspect of the game. You can choose to engage in nearby activities or solo the map clearings by doing the hearts and unlocking point of interest, vistas, and skill points. As a bonus, you get a chest after each map clear.

I do think you should try out various professions and see which one you like playing with the most. I tried out a few before I settled with the Guardian as my main. Each profession has different aspect to it and I think it takes time to find the one that fits you Although there are 4 other slots to play with as well.

GW2, I was not impressed with at first.. I signed up on behest of a friend and the trial week was introduced. I played casually during it and didn’t think much of it.. but decided that what I have seen, I liked enough, to purchase it. I absolutely love this game and it’s a time sinker for me. There’s so many aspects of this game, there is something that anyone can get out of.. w vs w, p vs p, quests, living stories, dungeons. I just think it takes time and a bit of effort to find it because there are so many options and ways to play.

Finding a small guild to do activities with and guide you on GW2 Journey might be for you. Even having a friend to join you to play together might make it more fun.

I like the way that when a quest is done, and I turn around to leave the area, it is not automatically re-seeded with more “bad guys.” There seems to be no real endgame.

That’s pretty much the whole design point of an MMO. There simply is no way to implement quests so that it would take into account whether you’ve done it or not. They tried something like that with the Personal Story, but since you cannot revisit the areas, it’s not really working.

I like the leveling system and the skill building. One of the other posters said I might be a little one-dimensional in my approach to GW2 – I think they are right. It seems I was looking for an on-line Skyrim, and was hoping GW2 might be close.

Well there’s one of the things you should never do. Playing a single player offline game and expecting some other, completely unrelated game to be like its online version. In fact, being a single player offline game enables the game to do things that you simply cannot do when you have multiple “protagonists” running about.

Don’t look for an end game. A true MMO is one that doesn’t have one, otherwise we’d reach cap and that’s it: game completed.

Arenanet are pushing this even further with the Living Story concept that introduces new events every fortnight and expanding the story as they do so.

Just as it takes time to get to know a new place to live/work and make friends, so it takes time to settle into a new game. It takes time for it to fall into place. Be patient, follow the advice above and find a class you enjoy.

For me, the big draw to a game is the roleplaying possibility and can we build a long story arc for our RP concept in GW2? The answer was a resounding yes.

You say you like to solo, but don’t rule out joining a guild. Making friends and helping them when they get stuck, learning challenging dungeons together and grouping for extra guild influence, all add to the flavour of the game.

Good luck in finding your feet, it’s a beautiful and enjoyable game, in my opinion.

As others have mentioned try different professions. Try different weapons. I started out with a ranger. Longbow is great but really enjoy swapping to the greatsword for mele. Next I tried an elementalist. And although I enjoy both of those I find the mesmer to be the most fun. Also have been having fun with my guardian smashing things with his hammer.

When I first started I couldn’t jump to save my life. Now I’m only a little better, but I really like going for the vistas and jumping puzzles.

Also you might consider teaming up with another person. My sister and I often play together. Since we have unlimited free long distance with our cable we call and leave our phones on speaker while we play.

Sawyer.1530:

Contiguous.1345:

It sounds like you have a pretty one-dimensional view of the game. You say you don’t like ‘it’ but you don’t say what the ‘it’ is you don’t like.

Since there are dozens of facets to the game allowing you to play pretty well whatever and however you want, it sounds to me that you had a rigid idea of what you wanted the game to be and it doesn’t fit your criterion.

Fine, move on.

I actually think this answer is pretty dead on. I would agree my expectations for what this game probably is and what I’d hoped it would be seem to be pretty far apart. I am starting to get a the feeling I’m just not a massive on-line person. “Fine, move on” may be some pretty solid advice! What don’t I like about the game so far? Although it is true there seems to be opportunity to play “whatever” I want, I have yet to encounter anything engaging. I have not exactly played for a super long time, but for the time I have played, I’ve not yet been engaged with anything I’ve done.

It feels like a Renaissance Fair. At noon there will be a jousting match to watch, come back in thirty minutes and you’ll see that jousting match again, and again at 1:00, too. I turn around and its the same old thing and the first show was as unengaging as all the repeats.

One of the other posters said I’m probably just doing something wrong or don’t understand all the game has to offer – I kinda hope he’s right. I’ll give GW2 a couple more tries before I pick up my toys and pout all the way home.

I think this sums it up pretty well. This game is very much like a Renaissance Fair in many ways. What you have to do is abandon thoughts that this is like other games, especially RPG such as Skyrim. Don’t think of it as a replacement of a game that you liked. Instead, drop all expectations and explore to see what the game is. Then you can see if you like it. Otherwise, you are just missing the other game instead of exploring this one.

I’m “lucky” in that I haven’t played MMO much before. So not bringing the baggage of expectations to the game, here’s my list of enjoyable things:
1) game is vast, so much to do, so many places to explore.
2) you’re not forced to do anything. just do what you want, enjoy the journey rather than the end achievements
3) game is collaborative. people naturally helps each other as everyone contributes to each event. you can start a quest, get 90pct there and someone else happens to finish it with you.
4) the devs are nuts! some of the puzzles put in are just sick! take jumping puzzles for instance, i never had problems before but i sure get vertigo in game. jeez.
5) constant updates. new events, new stuff all the time.
6) game play so different to each profession, and diff builds in each. even the classes are so different to each other.