Guild Wars 2

I can never figure out what to do in this game?

Played it from launch, spent ages trying all the new classes and races, fell in love with the world like all of you did, took me freaking ages to get a character to 80 because I kept deleting them because I’d convince myself I preferred that race or that class lol.

Anyways, I finally did settle on a Sylvari Thief and got him to 80. From there, I proceeded to get full exotic armour for some reason I decided on full condition exotics because I wanted to be different and I saw some guy with a cowboy-lookin’ Thief messing people up in WvW with Pistol/Dagger.

Anyways, so it only took two or three days to get decked out in gear after I hit 80 because of all the gold I’d saved. I farmed Southsun Cove for two days with some friends I’d met and by the end of two weeks I had full Exotics and three pieces of the t3 Cultural armour I wanted. Two weeks that took me at around 4-5 hours in the evening. I didn’t play any longer than that because I went to work everyday and just played in the evenings.

After that, I lost interest.

Yes, I like chasing after gear, so what? It’s fun and I like setting targets and reaching them.

Anyways, I’ve been out of the game for months now, although I always kept checking out the updates, I never really logged in for anything.

Honestly, I’ve just logged in after what 6,7,8 months, and the game is completely the same as when I left it. I think this is because of all the temporary content they release. The only difference is some of the traits/abilities.

I just can’t get past the feeling that this game has absolutely no depth to it at all, maybe because this game makes me feel directionless. I know some people probably play the game for this very reason, but me? Not so much.

I need a set of big goals to aim towards and this game isn’t giving me this, maybe aim for a legendary? But honestly, I feel like I’d never forgive myself for putting so much time into something so ultimately meaningless, it doesn’t improve my character in any way.

So I did see they announced they are releasing new content every two weeks and I got excited, I thought finally, new kitten to do. Instead there is just another event to do that will end soon, I am just not feeling it.

I think I’d prefer their content to be more like Runescape’s, my fave MMO and yeah laugh at that, whatever. They release two-three pieces of normally quite-meaningful and permanent content a month, every week bar one. And when you’re not satisfying your thirst for new stuff there is literally thousands of content to keep you busy in the meantime, that you can do in any order you want.

I log into GW2 and I just don’t know what to do. Aim for Ascended back pack? Sorry but it’s not making me lick my lips with excitement, it’s not making me say, I want that, I am going to go get it. Plus it would ruin my Thief’s outfit, I’d just hide it.

WHAT IS THERE TO FREAKING DO IN THIS GAME?

I can’t get into WvW, honestly, Zerging with a Thief is not my idea of fun, shooting my pathetikittentle shortbow at big wooden doors. I try roaming like that Cowboy dude, and I think that video was sooooo edited because I see so little action, and when you die it’s like, kitten, got to run all the way back now….nah.

Could do the same dungeons over and over the same ones from launch, for what? It sounds like only 1 dungeon is worth doing profit-wise and what would I even spend money on?

THERE IS NOTHING NEW I WANT.

I think I am fully expecting a reply saying ‘sorry bro, this game just isn’t for you’, which sucks, because I want this game to be for me

What I want is for somebody to say, do this, this, this, this, this and then do this and I will be like finally, some purpose and direction, thank you kindly sir/ma’am.

TL;DR read the thread or bugger off.

Well, unless you like going for a legendary weapon or a cosmetic skin, there really is nothing in this game for you personally to do. Sorry about that.

If you want to get gear with better stats on it, you’re quite limited in this game and that’s how most of the game’s players want it. In fact, when ascended gear was introduced back in November, many of the long time Guild Wars 2 fans left because they didn’t want another tier of gear.

Guild Wars 1 never had another tier of gear past what it launched with. That’s what people expected of Guild Wars 2.

There’s a huge number of people who play this game who hope to never see a gear upgrade again.

mh let’s see.
i like personal story quests so i do those often when i don’t have anything better to do.
i do dungeon not because they are profit but because they are fun sometimes it’s hard to find people who want to explore different path of different dungeons but it’s worth the time and the stories are pretty lore wise.
i explore a lot, even meaningless depth of world, but i find them enjoyable, there are many nice mini dungeon that you can discover here and there.
i participate in the new updates even though i’m tired of run and jump, i liked flame and frost because was story driven and felt less temporary.
i run to world boss event when people in guild chat shout they are up, i do this more routinely now since i never get something good but salvageble rares and because i grow tired of some bosses, but i still do it sometimes only to read the map chat and the crazy things people shout there.
i leveled all my crafting professions with no internet guide for the fun of it (but cooking, seriously cooking made me mad and i had to have a list of recipes to follow).
i level alts and do some pvp once in a while, all dressed in pink because i like the idea of death by pink.

you have a point though, there is no epic feeling like lotro or gw1 for some reason and a poor story to follow and part of it it’s story about uninspired characters, i wish they all went to bioware to learn some narratives technics, but this is what we have and i’m fine with it

Gear progression really adds nothing to a game for me. Everyone starts out at power X; a new tier drops and everyone hops on the treadmill. When they get off they are at power level Y. Meanwhile the environment assumes power level Y. At the end of the treadmill absolutely nothing has changed in terms of relative power player to player or player to environment.

I played WoW for years and my main started at what, 5-10k health or something? My one level 90 is pushing 400k hp now and nothing whatsoever has changed in terms of the gameplay. Sure, I can solo lower level dungeons, but in a max level zone nothing is different—I just spent a ton of time chasing stats that didn’t really matter. In fact, my favorite time in the cycle was when I had the gear and could just relax and do what I wanted in the game. And, that is pretty much what I do here now. I do miss the crafting (well, fishing too) but other than that it’s pretty much the same at max level.

I’m definitely in the number Vayne described above. More gear progression would add nothing but work for me and I’m more into play in my gaming.

Vayne.8563:

Well, unless you like going for a legendary weapon or a cosmetic skin, there really is nothing in this game for you personally to do. Sorry about that.

If you want to get gear with better stats on it, you’re quite limited in this game and that’s how most of the game’s players want it. In fact, when ascended gear was introduced back in November, many of the long time Guild Wars 2 fans left because they didn’t want another tier of gear.

Guild Wars 1 never had another tier of gear past what it launched with. That’s what people expected of Guild Wars 2.

There’s a huge number of people who play this game who hope to never see a gear upgrade again.

This sums up the GW2 dilemma. If they make a change, they either please the long-time fans, or they please the masses. If they please the masses, they get more money and rejoice. If they please the long-time fans, they get recognition and rejoice.

It’s a lose-lose situation, to be completely honest.

While it’s true Guild Wars 1 characters did not have meaningful gear stat progression, it would be a mistake to believe there was no end game power progression. Guild Wars 1’s skill system was in many ways similar to Magic The Gathering or other collectible card games when it came to acquiring new abilities. There were hundreds of skills in the game, of which you could only use eight at a time. As you could select skills from your own class and skills from any off-class, the combinations were impressive.

Also consider the method of acquiring new elite skills. It required you to seek out specific rare creatures that already had the skill you wanted, and capture those skills by killing them with a certain signet activated. Beyond that you were not just acquiring skills for your character, but for all the heroes that went with your character to create very complex and engaging four or eight man builds depending on the interaction of up to 64 different skills at once.

I think this is the biggest difference between the games. Hitting max level in Guild Wars 1 was inconsequential. The end game engagement in PVE was the ever increasing layers of complexity and nuance you could bring to bear.

You gotta make some goals for yourself. :p big goals and small goals.

This is one reason why I feel some permenet, challenging content is in order. This would most likley require an overhaul of Risk Vs. Reward in GW2 but if we had something to work towards like the Underworld in GW1 it would give some a sesne of direction.
I’d love also love to see the PS expanded. By which I mean Cut the filler crap out and continue the story of tryia and the dragons through the PS (Especially if they made it effect the open world more often.)

Esplen.3940:

Vayne.8563:

Well, unless you like going for a legendary weapon or a cosmetic skin, there really is nothing in this game for you personally to do. Sorry about that.

If you want to get gear with better stats on it, you’re quite limited in this game and that’s how most of the game’s players want it. In fact, when ascended gear was introduced back in November, many of the long time Guild Wars 2 fans left because they didn’t want another tier of gear.

Guild Wars 1 never had another tier of gear past what it launched with. That’s what people expected of Guild Wars 2.

There’s a huge number of people who play this game who hope to never see a gear upgrade again.

This sums up the GW2 dilemma. If they make a change, they either please the long-time fans, or they please the masses. If they please the masses, they get more money and rejoice. If they please the long-time fans, they get recognition and rejoice.

It’s a lose-lose situation, to be completely honest.

I don’t know that I agree with this. I think that no matter what they do, the game is going to be relatively niche, but that’s not the same thing as saying lose/lose. Eve is niche and does quite well.

The problem is people STILL think the majority wants gear progression but no one really knows, because no one has asked.

People argue that gear based MMOs do fantastic…but that’s all there have been. And Guild Wars 1 did better than most MMOs anyway without gear progression.

Most MMO players haven’t had a choice and a lot of MMO players have walked away. In addition, a lot of people who play othr types of games dislike MMOs immensely.

Skyrim and Dragon Age were both very popular games, but neither of them were based around gear progression.

I don’t think it’s so easy to say the majority of players want gear progression, even if the current MMO maket makes people think they do. In fact, I’m not so sure most people who play MMOs think that deeply about what they want.

I think the problem though goes beyond just Gear. I think that there are obviously pros and cons to getting new gear, I personally like setting myself the target of getting new gear and achieving it. But also consider Runescape, getting gear isn’t really that huge a part of that game, there are so many other things to do – and nearly everything rewards you with something MEANINGFUL. Something worthwhile getting. Quests that give you new items, unlockable shortcuts, new ways to train skills, mini-games, there is just so much more on offer, so much more to do and get.

I think that is just the problem. Gw2 just seems a bit shallow in terms of content compared to it. In RS I am constantly doing something, aiming for something, and I enjoy that. I feel like whenever I log into Gw2 I just stand outside a bank and it seems loads of other people do that too.

I just don’t think Anet have got it right yet. I like the Living Story idea but I just don’t think they’ve got the balance right with content, it’s just not clicking for me.

It’s really hard to describe. It’s like, yeah, get your legendary weapon by all means, but what is there to do with it once you’ve got it? Once you’ve got the Legendary weapon, the only content available is the same content you farmed the get the Legendary in the first place.

Vayne, I’m not saying that GW2 is going to die or is dying. I’m just stating that there is a dilemma that is being dealt with on their end. Most players don’t realize that and can’t see past the “I’m not having fun, so nobody is!”

And yes, throwing the word most is a reasonable word when most players have less than 2k AP.

Esplen.3940:

Vayne, I’m not saying that GW2 is going to die or is dying. I’m just stating that there is a dilemma that is being dealt with on their end. Most players don’t realize that and can’t see past the “I’m not having fun, so nobody is!”

And yes, throwing the word most is a reasonable word when most players have less than 2k AP.

I’m not seeing the dilemna. Do you expect 5 million regular players? I don’t. Half a million players is plenty to start. It really is.

It doesn’t matter what most players think or don’t think because the game isn’t going to appeal to everyone.

But if Anet changes the game to make it more like other games and people like me leave, then the game will have problems. Why? Because every game that comes out is like the other games. Anet won’t be able to compete against that. They’re competing, they have the players they have BECAUSE Guild Wars 2 is different.

Take the differences away and why not go play any of the other 50 formula MMOs?

GW2 takes on a different formula. Unlike other MMO – GW2 “removed” several kinds of progression – which has it’s own pro’s and con’s.

Unfortunately, the removal of this causes us to feel “stagnant” (I know, I feel it too). We reached the “peak”. So, after months of hiatus, when you come back – it is still “the same” – no progression, remember?

I left for 3 months due to work requiring me to leave my country – and when I came back, the only thing I’m probably missing are the skins and several titles – non of which is required for me to compete. I am not left behind. The same gear I own is still one of the BiS…

I am not saying this game is not for you, but this game is designed differently compared to the traditional MMO. You may want to look at this game in a different perspective.

Romeo.4378:

I think the problem though goes beyond just Gear. I think that there are obviously pros and cons to getting new gear, I personally like setting myself the target of getting new gear and achieving it. But also consider Runescape, getting gear isn’t really that huge a part of that game, there are so many other things to do – and nearly everything rewards you with something MEANINGFUL. Something worthwhile getting. Quests that give you new items, unlockable shortcuts, new ways to train skills, mini-games, there is just so much more on offer, so much more to do and get.

I think that is just the problem. Gw2 just seems a bit shallow in terms of content compared to it. In RS I am constantly doing something, aiming for something, and I enjoy that. I feel like whenever I log into Gw2 I just stand outside a bank and it seems loads of other people do that too.

I just don’t think Anet have got it right yet. I like the Living Story idea but I just don’t think they’ve got the balance right with content, it’s just not clicking for me.

It’s really hard to describe. It’s like, yeah, get your legendary weapon by all means, but what is there to do with it once you’ve got it? Once you’ve got the Legendary weapon, the only content available is the same content you farmed the get the Legendary in the first place.

Sorry but Runescape only cares about xp/hr and dead content, lets hope GW2 never becomes like that

Romeo.4378:

I think the problem though goes beyond just Gear. I think that there are obviously pros and cons to getting new gear, I personally like setting myself the target of getting new gear and achieving it. But also consider Runescape, getting gear isn’t really that huge a part of that game, there are so many other things to do – and nearly everything rewards you with something MEANINGFUL. Something worthwhile getting. Quests that give you new items, unlockable shortcuts, new ways to train skills, mini-games, there is just so much more on offer, so much more to do and get.

I think that is just the problem. Gw2 just seems a bit shallow in terms of content compared to it. In RS I am constantly doing something, aiming for something, and I enjoy that. I feel like whenever I log into Gw2 I just stand outside a bank and it seems loads of other people do that too.

I just don’t think Anet have got it right yet. I like the Living Story idea but I just don’t think they’ve got the balance right with content, it’s just not clicking for me.

It’s really hard to describe. It’s like, yeah, get your legendary weapon by all means, but what is there to do with it once you’ve got it? Once you’ve got the Legendary weapon, the only content available is the same content you farmed the get the Legendary in the first place.

I know what you’re saying Romeo, my biggest disappointment in gw2 is the lack of that sense of “epic” story i felt in gw1 or Lotro which i still play. There have been many poignant moments in Lotro (even after going through the epic several times) that brought tears to my eyes….i’ve felt no such a thing in gw2 except perhaps during my character creation and a few rare segments in the story chain.

I’ve never played RS but how long has it been out? I’m not certain but i’ve heard people mentioning it and it sounds as if it’s been around for a long while. You need to wait till gw2 ages to the same maturity then compare.

I remember gw1 had so much to do and there were still things i never managed to get around doing especially in pvp area. but i joined gw1 fairly late like 4 years after it was released so yea i didn’t know which way to turn, there was so much to do there.
I believe same thing will happen in gw2, but this is the price we to pay when starting out with a brand new MMO from release, which will always begin with much less content then a well-established game.

I think most people do love the differences this game offers, so much so, they’re terribly impatient and hungry for more. People are bored b/c they enjoyed the refreshing new style of gw2 so much, they ate it up way too fast and want more of new, but meaningful things to do.

I for one would love to see some new maps open up. I enjoy the beautiful world Anet has created but after leveling x8 lvl 80’s and getting 100% world completion on all of them, even this beautiful world can get a bit stale. So i’m patiently waiting for some new maps to open up and can’t wait to see what magic Anet weaves in them. I’ll always love the core game as is ofc, but i think its time to expand my horizons and see what is happening in rest of Tyria.

Tiger Ashante.1792:

Romeo.4378:

I think the problem though goes beyond just Gear. I think that there are obviously pros and cons to getting new gear, I personally like setting myself the target of getting new gear and achieving it. But also consider Runescape, getting gear isn’t really that huge a part of that game, there are so many other things to do – and nearly everything rewards you with something MEANINGFUL. Something worthwhile getting. Quests that give you new items, unlockable shortcuts, new ways to train skills, mini-games, there is just so much more on offer, so much more to do and get.

I think that is just the problem. Gw2 just seems a bit shallow in terms of content compared to it. In RS I am constantly doing something, aiming for something, and I enjoy that. I feel like whenever I log into Gw2 I just stand outside a bank and it seems loads of other people do that too.

I just don’t think Anet have got it right yet. I like the Living Story idea but I just don’t think they’ve got the balance right with content, it’s just not clicking for me.

It’s really hard to describe. It’s like, yeah, get your legendary weapon by all means, but what is there to do with it once you’ve got it? Once you’ve got the Legendary weapon, the only content available is the same content you farmed the get the Legendary in the first place.

I know what you’re saying Romeo, my biggest disappointment in gw2 is the lack of that sense of “epic” story i felt in gw1 or Lotro which i still play. There have been many poignant moments in Lotro (even after going through the epic several times) that brought tears to my eyes….i’ve felt no such a thing in gw2 except perhaps during my character creation and a few rare segments in the story chain.

I’ve never played RS but how long has it been out? I’m not certain but i’ve heard people mentioning it and it sounds as if it’s been around for a long while. You need to wait till gw2 ages to the same maturity then compare.

I remember gw1 had so much to do and there were still things i never managed to get around doing especially in pvp area. but i joined gw1 fairly late like 4 years after it was released so yea i didn’t know which way to turn, there was so much to do there.
I believe same thing will happen in gw2, but this is the price we to pay when starting out with a brand new MMO from release, which will always begin with much less content then a well-established game.

I think most people do love the differences this game offers, so much so, they’re terribly impatient and hungry for more. People are bored b/c they enjoyed the refreshing new style of gw2 so much, they ate it up way too fast and want more of new, but meaningful things to do.

I for one would love to see some new maps open up. I enjoy the beautiful world Anet has created but after leveling x8 lvl 80’s and getting 100% world completion on all of them, even this beautiful world can get a bit stale. So i’m patiently waiting for some new maps to open up and can’t wait to see what magic Anet weaves in them. I’ll always love the core game as is ofc, but i think its time to expand my horizons and see what is happening in rest of Tyria.

Rs has technically been around since 1999, and GW2 is way better than that game, dont even get me started

knives.6345:

GW2 takes on a different formula. Unlike other MMO – GW2 “removed” several kinds of progression – which has it’s own pro’s and con’s.

Unfortunately, the removal of this causes us to feel “stagnant” (I know, I feel it too). We reached the “peak”. So, after months of hiatus, when you come back – it is still “the same” – no progression, remember?

I left for 3 months due to work requiring me to leave my country – and when I came back, the only thing I’m probably missing are the skins and several titles – non of which is required for me to compete. I am not left behind. The same gear I own is still one of the BiS…

I am not saying this game is not for you, but this game is designed differently compared to the traditional MMO. You may want to look at this game in a different perspective.

I always felt that since there isn’t a BIS grind like WoW that constantly updates in GW2 that would be more reason to leave content in the game. My favorite raid of all time in WoW was Kharazan but once it was nerfed into the ground just before the Lich King Expansion it was never the same. Myself and my guild had some great times in there but going back now is just pointless because of the nature of WoW.
I really liked the idea of no BiS progression and scaling in GW2 becuase if a dungeon came along that I enjoyed like Kharazan it would be there forever. No Stat creep would make it irrelevent.

I kinda get what you mean. Tbh I played runescape in middle school (although seriously I mostly stood around at random places and talked to people)..But when I started seriously trying to play mmo’s later on, comparing them to rs there was always something missing cause rs felt like a real sort of world. There was always somewhere to go, always so many options of things to do. So many people. There was just so much freedom.

Anyways, I still really like gw2 but I was kinda hoping for a bit more of that free, real world type of feel to it? I’m hoping as they keep building the game (it’s still pretty new) it’ll get there..But if you want goals, there are always the achievements, too. Like just go to your achievements panel and browse through everything there. I’m not saying to make your goal to earn achievement points (some people DO do that but it sounds kinda boring and pointless to me)..but I think it’s a good place to look for ideas. Like maybe you’ll decide you want to max out a certain category, like do all the explorer achievements or jump puzzles or something.

Also do you have a guild? If not, I’d suggest finding a good medium-sized guild to join. They’re great because you can make friends, find people to play with, and maybe you’ll get some ideas from them. And try to maybe just keep giving the game a chance if you really want to play it..It’s still growing, and hopefully as they keep working on it you’ll start to see more of what you want being added.

For me the problems with GW2 stem from the fact the story is not about ME. It doesn’t matter what I do.

Tyria is a beautiful world to run around and effect, except I don’t effect a thing. I don’t really matter. If I don’t participate, so what, someone else will. Add to that the lact of any progression whatsoever and you have a lack of EPIC FEEL.

GW2 and SWToR have Epic stories, but we aren’t epic in them. LotRO works because we are paralleling the Epic Heroes and effecting things that they don’t. Story is important, but not at my expense. I need to feel epic, I need to effect change. I don’t need to be another piece being carried by the developers story. For me this is why PvE doesn’t work. Glad there’s WvW!

This is purely at level 80. Obviously my personal story is spoon fed, but the leveling and exploring is all about me. Once I hit the cap I do not progress at all, and that’s a problem.

You can’t compare this game or any game to Runescape. Runescape has the most content out of any game I’ve ever experienced, and that was when I played back from 2001-2006.

However, coming from GW1 for 7 years I also knew exactly what to expect from this game. You have to come into the Guild Wars universe with a sandbox mentality. GW is a game of experimentation and individuality. The “end game” is a personal experience, not a meta achievement.

There is plenty for you to do. FoTM for example, go after those Ascended Accessories. With the new Bazaar release you can now Craft Ascended Stated Exotics if you are 400 Crafting in the required discipline. Both of those will take care of your item/gear fancy for a while. (I am currently working on FoTM after coming to the same conclusions as you…what else is there once you completed the current stage of the living story?!)

Other then the daily chests from the Dragons and such there is no ‘raids’ in this game, this for me is a huge issue. I think there should be an instance that lasts a week inbetween resets that is bound to your guild. Kinda like Kharazan(also one of my fav WoW raids), But geared and played more like old school Everquest Raids (such as Temple of Veeshan), No Keying/attunements, but you need to kill XYZ boss or complete ABC Event to continue to the next section/wing of the Raid/Dung. but the key is more then 6 Players in the instance, enough to fullfill a healthy guild roster.

However, other then Ascended and Ascended Like Exotics, GW2 is nothing more then a fashion show for the most part. Harder to get gear doesnt have better stats, just looks nicer (in MOST cases). And the whole ‘risk vs reward’ just isnt there in the game. Anything is achivable with little to no issues (if you can Jump correctly in most cases), so thats the other thing we miss here, progression. And its something that is lacking seriously in this open world MMO.

With out the above being added in or a form of the above added in, I dont see this MMO lasting for more then a couple years at best. Im talking from EQ, EQ2, WoW(up to WoTK), and LOTRO experiences (1998-current). While this game brings alot to the table the previous were lacking (such as player segregation, I HATED THAT), its also lacking in serious player development for groups/guilds.

Gnat.9405:

You can’t compare this game or any game to Runescape. Runescape has the most content out of any game I’ve ever experienced, and that was when I played back from 2001-2006.

However, coming from GW1 for 7 years I also knew exactly what to expect from this game. You have to come into the Guild Wars universe with a sandbox mentality. GW is a game of experimentation and individuality. The “end game” is a personal experience, not a meta achievement.

In a Truely crafted MMO there is no ‘End Game’. The game just repeats itself at that point, and thats what the current GW2 is..100% repetition.

Starting with GW2 i would like to stop seeing/using the term End Game. Gw2 is a dynamic world (first of its kind in MMO verse), so ideally there should never be an ‘end game’.