Guild Wars 2

Preface; the following is born of my own personal opinions, preferences, and principles. It is in no way intended to defame or challenge the views of others, nor to begin an argument or flame war. I simply felt compelled to sit down and express my recent and personal issues with Guild Wars 2 in the hopes that someone among the game’s community –a community I have long held above that of other MMOs due to its openness, helpful demeanor, and courtesy- would lead a sympathetic ear and perhaps offer some opinion or perspective that would help me make up my mind on if I plan to continue playing, or abandon the game at least until the next expansion.

First a bit about who I am as a player. I am, at my core, an avid role player. I get into MMORPGs more for the RPG part than the MMO part, and dislike anything but casual competitive play. I lack the skill to compete in PvP against more experienced and dedicated players, as well as the desire to do so. Likewise one of the largest draws of the Guild Wars series to me was, and continues to be, the lack of raids and what I have always felt raids meant. That is to say repeating content, perhaps dozens or hundreds of times, as the primary form of late game content. Because of this I have zero interest in The Fractals of the Mists dungeon. Indeed I dislike that dungeon on principle and refuse to set foot inside even once. And, of course, this means I have no need nor interest in ascended equipment.

I am writing this up because over the last few months my enjoyment of Guild Wars 2 has suffered what I consider to be a pair of devastating blows. The first came when I finally completed the personal story, and the story mode of each dungeon. My progress was delayed by a few months simply because I grew to hate the class I chose as my main, and deleted it to reroll another one. I did this instead of simply rolling an alt because for me my investment in my main is, beyond any doubt, the number one reason I play games. Arkham Creed is my online identity, the name I have used on countless forums and the character I played in every MMO of my history. It is not at all a stretch to say that if I cannot accomplish something with Arkham, I have little to no desire to even attempt it.

Arkham has long been a rouge character, something difficult in MMOs as I have a, put gently, long standing disagreement with the MMO genre over what exactly defines a stealth class and stealth gameplay. As you may imagine this meant that Arkham began as a thief, however by level sixty I had grown to completely despise everything about the Guild Wars 2 thief, not just the expectedly underwhelming stealth. Rerolling as an engineer was a compromise that still doesn’t fully sit well with me, as it is hard to reconcile who Arkham is as a character and how I envision him with the gameplay I adore from the engineer.

However this isn’t the blow I mentioned. That was merely why it took so long to reach that final instance. Long story short because of a discrepancy between the performance of my computer and that of the party leader of said instance I missed the end of the story. I am not referring to the dungeon that I could simply repeat, but rather the once in a –character’s- lifetime instance afterward. I missed the final speech and cut scene. I missed the celebration. And lacking the ability to replay the instance or even just watch the scene left me disheartened. Yes I could see it with an alt, or I could see it on youtube, but I must reiterate; if I can’t do it as Arkham I have no desire to do it at all. What is my core engagement of the game was utterly and irrevocably destroyed by a single system performance issue. Even moving forward with an expansion will not help, as there is now and likely will always be a gap in Arkham’s story. It was almost enough to have me abandon the game outright when it happened, but I pressed on.

The second and more recent event has to deal with endgame. I have long defended Guild Wars 2 on the topic of endgame, and have felt that, personally, going after a legendary skin was all the endgame I needed to tide me over until an expansion. However I came to realize something only a few days again when my fiancée began her long quest for Twilight; legendary weapons are meaningless to an engineer. With my build I spend the vast, vast majority of my time using a kit, typically either flamethrower or elixir gun, and this would make my efforts for a legendary irrelevant because I’d never actually see it, never use it.

I could just change my build of course, and have sought advice in another thread about that, but have since come to a conclusion on the topic; I’m not going to. The whole reason I am playing as an engineer and not another profession is because of my current play-style and build. I love the engineer because of the kits and the versatility that offers. To play an engineer without a kit, or to downplay my use of kits, would undermine the whole point of having rerolled into that profession in the first place. So my choice boils down to either playing the profession I enjoy, but having next to nothing actually holding me to the game, or renew my efforts for a legendary, thus regaining that goal and that purpose, but loose the gameplay I enjoy and loose the whole reason I play an engineer. It is distressing.

And that is my problem as it stands. So much of the things that held me to this game have been called into question, and I cannot see a way to renew my interest and enjoyment of the game. So far I’ve held on because of my fiancée, and because she and I do enjoy playing together. But for me my time with the game is becoming increasingly strenuous, rather than the relaxing entertainment a game should be. I don’t want to leave because I enjoy the game, in theory, and because I want to be there for my lover (after all I am the one who introduced her to the Guild Wars series years ago), yet at the same time I no longer have a goal to keep my sights set to, nor the anticipation of a story to continue. And I find myself wondering what the community thinks of this, and if you have some new perspective I may find helpful.

Anyone who approaches any game with such a limited sphere of what they’ll enjoy is in danger of not being able to fulfill their personal agenda in the game.

I’ve RPed too, but I RP many characters, not just one. If one character doesn’t work for me, I’m quite happy to make one that does within the context of the said game.

If this game doesn’t work for the single view you have of your character, you’ve answered your own question. Why even ask it?

no

Vayne.8563:

Anyone who approaches any game with such a limited sphere of what they’ll enjoy is in danger of not being able to fulfill their personal agenda in the game.

I’ve RPed too, but I RP many characters, not just one. If one character doesn’t work for me, I’m quite happy to make one that does within the context of the said game.

If this game doesn’t work for the single view you have of your character, you’ve answered your own question. Why even ask it?

Thank you for the response, but I ask that you please read the entire post (or in this case the two first posts) before replying.

Hmm, couldn’t you just tag along someone who is doing their story?

So much text for such a simple decision. If you’re not enjoying the game, play something else. There. Not every game is for everyone. As much as developers would like to be able to do that, it’s just not realistic.

No game is perfect.

People will always complain for imperfections just as life itself.

There are millions other games out there, go explore and have fun. Life is short.

You could always RP that Arkham Creed was so exhausted after this climatic battle that he promptly passed out and was unable to partake in the “victory/celebrations” that ensued. It could have happened…

On a more serious note, you sound like a very intelligent person and perhaps the problem that you are having might not be exactly originating from the game (quality and variety of content not being taken into consideration) – but rather your “boredom” may stem from a lack of being able to use your imagination or opportunities to RP? Have you ever thought of joining a RP Guild? I hear that there are several about.

While it is perfectly acceptable to play an MMO without actually involving the community, in my humble opinion, the community adds an uncontrolled and dynamic element to the game.

I have no need to go for a legendary, and I’m not really bothered by “stats” per-say, BUT I do enlist people to join me when I want a particular item or title that will fit with my image of the character that I have created. Yes, I also RP a lot.

Long ramble short – Do not give up on the game right away. You have already spent months achieving your current status. Don’t allow Arkham Creed to fade away. Perhaps it is time for him to find a side-kick, a dysfunctional group of people, Sylvari, Asura and char to join his adventures.

If ever you need a friendly face in game, feel free to contact me!

PS: I am on Desolation (EU-server).

Cheers!

Arkham Creed.7358:

Thank you for the response, but I ask that you please read the entire post (or in this case the two first posts) before replying.

That would hardly change his response. Your points are both valid, but they are both caused be heavy restrictions you’ve laid on yourself, which then collided with a bug/a design choice that doesn’t fit into them.

The answer is simple. If you don’t enjoy playing, don’t play. That is the best advice you’re ever going to get on this, and it’s not mean or disrespective, it’s just honest. Either take a break to get some distance, or just move on.

Regarding: “I have no interest in Fractals of the Mists, so I have no interest in ascended gear.”
Ascended gear is also available for laurels (well, all except the back item), which can be earned by completing daily and monthly achievements.

Regarding: “I missed the final solo story instance, and can’t replay it.”
If you have an in-game friend who has not yet finished the personal story, you can accompany your friend’s character into that instance by partying with them.
The only downside is that it will be their character talking in the dialogues, and not yours. You can come up with a role-playing reason for this, though. Perhaps Arkham is a modest and cryptic person who lets his young protégé speak for him and is happy to let this friend take the credit while he just proudly stands behind them, knowing how it truly went. That way, he can just slink away into the shadows later, looking for the next adventure.

edit: I missed the part about your fiancée. Perhaps she could be the friend mentioned above, and Arkham could let her character take all the credit as an act of love / friendship / whatever your two characters might feel for one another?

I may have a possible resolution for you. You can still play your Engineer that you love, but instead of shooting for a legendary you’ll never see, help your fiancée get her legendary.

Now you have something to shoot for and you can still play your Engineer. These were the only two problems that I got from reading what you wrote, let me know if there are more.

There is always a chance of getting a “replay cinematic” option on that story window that, at this point, serves little purpose on your hero window. If it hasn’t already been suggested, it might be worth suggesting it in the appropriate forum. You’ll never get that moment back, but you might be able to at least get closure.

Regarding the legendary, I can sympathise with you on that (I’m going for the bubblegun on my engineer, but lament the frequency with which it will be seen). I think the big question is what is more important: getting the legendary or showing it off to people. Just because you have a kit out doesn’t mean you didn’t work hard and earn that legendary, it doesn’t mean that you didn’t pursue your self-identified end-game.

On that note, I kinda agree with what Vayne said. You’ve identified a subset of the game you enjoy. There are obviously parts you do not; you shouldn’t be forcing content you dislike on yourself to get at that which you enjoy—you might be best off finding a different game to play.

Maybe the secret is to have an alt that isn’t Arkham. One of my friends is much like you with his warrior character—he has to do everything on that one (I play my guardian similarly, but that character was just an alt a long time back that became a favorite of mine). One day he rolled an alt and he was freed from those restrictions. All of a sudden he was able to pick the “evil” choices in games, he was able to experience new stories, and he recognized that he could enjoy content that his warrior disliked. He still plays his warrior primarily, but he has other characters to take places that his warrior wouldn’t go.

I’m not sure what your beef with Fractals is, but I find it to be a fun dungeon format. It isn’t about endless grinding for treasure (your typical MMO raid fare), it is about facing varied challenges in a semi-unpredictable format. It is everything I loved about Urgoz’s Warren and the Deep in GW1, and it gradually gets harder as you progress through the tiers (Urgoz was pretty easy after the first kill—fractals get easier as you learn the encoutners, but there is enough rising challenge that it doesn’t trivialize as fast).

I think its time for an honest assessment of how much you enjoy the game and how much you play it due to inertia (your fiancee is obviously the main party with whom you should have this talk). There may be a better choice out there for you, or maybe you just need a different approach.

Jornophelanthas.1475:

Regarding: “I missed the final solo story instance, and can’t replay it.”
If you have an in-game friend who has not yet finished the personal story, you can accompany your friend’s character into that instance by partying with them.
The only downside is that it will be their character talking in the dialogues, and not yours.

Actually for the very last instance that takes place in Caer Aval it shows it as if it is your instance even when you join someone else’s story. There may be additional details to it but when I did that last step for the first time I was very surprised to see my character show up in the cutscene instead of the instance owner.

Edit: A MMORPG is a terrible place for actual role playing, there will always be many many constraints and limitations. If you want that go with pen and paper type RPGs or MUDs.

I’m not reading this post I’m just voting yes. On side note…should I post a post about a guy who has to post posts to see if he should play a game based on other players posts?

i don’t know you, but i could replay the arah story mode (which is the final battle you lost if understood well) with my main so many times that i cannot bear it any more of it… but i will still do it for my guild mates.

if you are the first to enter the istance you will also be the one in the cinematic. maybe your Arkham had a vision without the ending part. now you have to live it and see what’s ahed.

about legendary i don’t know what to say, but it is up to you, you can still craft one even if you wouldn’t use one all the time.

fractals… well the concept around ascended gear and gear treadmill may have ruined your perception of that dungeon.

but i suggest you to try it once, at least to discover the story there you might be surprised by some lore, expecially if you know guild wars 1.
you can do very fine until lv 10 without agony resistance, and if you get involved and interested the ascended gear will come easily (at least rings).
if you care about skins there are pretty nice ascended back pack that can keep you busy for a while. check them out.