Guild Wars 2

Before I start, I’m fairly new to GW2. I have been reading a lot about the pvp system and how it works. I played this game at launch, got to 80 on a thief and played pvp. I also had some friends playing with me at the time. The problem was, the pvp system was so bad that it really did not do anything to keep me and my friends playing. There was no reward, no mmr system, no incentive to be competitive, and no way to see how much my skill has improved. From what I have seen and read, there really haven’t been many changes to the system. I came back to this game for the expansion and have been playing for the last few weeks to try and get better at the game and get ready for the expansion. Me and many others are not satisfied with anything else currently on the market. I love playing MMOs, and I am REALLY hoping that Anet can make the changes needed to take this game to the next level. The combat and WvW system in my opinion is great, and GW2 has more potential than any other game out there to be a PvP powerhouse. (I have played a ton of different MMO’s and games in general). I also have actively played LoL/Dota2, CS:GO, and other popular games. I really think the lack of a good pvp system is the top reason that most people quit this game. There was just nothing to work for, and pvp just felt so hollow even though the combat itself was pretty awesome.

Anet REALLY needs to release a real ladder/ranking system to start things off. If they released that before or with the expansion, highly competitive people such as myself would have something to keep us interested. WvW could also use some updates to make it great. There are so many small things that they could do to make their pvp system really good.

In my opinion, GW2 PvE will never be able to set itself apart and stand out from other MMOs on the market (at least in terms of being able to hook a lot of people and keep them playing). Most other games focus almost purely on PvE, and it is a saturated market.

When I first played guild wars 2, there really wasn’t anything to keep me playing. That’s the biggest reason why it doesn’t have 10x more people playing it today. The design is so poor, and the thing is, all it needs is some small things to get started. Anet should keep updating PvE, but PvP in this game is what is going to bring more players in. PvP is the thing that can set this game apart from the others, and I really don’t think PvE in this game will ever have that opportunity. There is no way that GW2 will ever be able to set itself apart from WoW or other games through PvE. It would take way too much time.

Putting in a working ladder would keep people like me playing. That is the only change I really want over everything else. A ladder sets a good foundation for other changes such as a solo queue, cosmetic awards, and a better matchmaking system all around. A good ranking system is really in my opinion the best way to keep people in sPvP.

A working, ranked GvG system and a tournament system such as the one that was in GW1 would also be great and would add to the depth of PvP in this game. These are simple changes that could go so far in making this game great and building a much better playerbase. The idea for these changes are out there everywhere. Look at LoL, CS:GO, Dota2, and others. These games keep people playing because they are highly competitive and there is always something to work for.

CS:GO was in a similar position at the start of its’ life and many people thought it would die off. There were more people playing CS 1.6 and Source than were playing GO. The game and franchise was slowly dying. There were so many problems in CS:GO that made it almost unplayable. Now look where it is, 3 years later. Valve listened to the community and made vast changes to the game in new skins and a decent (it still could use some work) ladder and matchmaking system. The game also made many changes to movement and a lot of other technical and balance issues. The game rose from the dead because of the CHANGES that valve made. They listened to the community and from those changes, Counter-strike is more popular than it has ever been.

The increase in the playerbase that HoT will bring provides a great opportunity for GW2. People like me that quit a few months after launch will be hoping that changes have been made to problems that made us quit. Adding depth to pvp will be a major selling point for people like me to keep playing.

I really want to see this game succeed as an MMO fan who is not satisfied with what is currently on the market. This game has the most potential of any other MMO out there to be the next great MMO. Anet really needs to see why so many people quit the first time around and add depth to the pvp experience to keep players interested.

I don’t want to sound rude and your post is well written and thought out and I fully agree, but threads/feedback like this are being posted since the game was launched… three years ago. You can really feel the results of that feedback by going ingame.

#sarcasm

I dislike the CS:GO comparison, though. That game was crafted to be a competitive esports game as a whole, and it was never in a state like you described. In GW2, PvP always felt like the unwanted stepchild and most GW2 players don’t even care about it. And nobody wants to watch it either (Twitch).

Well, to be fair, anet made some really good attempts and improvements.
It just wasn’t enough, I guess… and it’s probably too late now.

Please, anet, prove me wrong.

Unfortunately, as a sPvP player on and off for the past 3 years, I can tell you that the Arenanet devs are downright stubborn about leaderboard systems and MMR.

Even though there are multiple systems in place that they could just rip off and replicate and the community would thank them so much, they try again and again to reinvent the wheel. And now we have a leaderboard totally based around grinding, which is even worse than the last leaderboard we had.

So, the chances of us having a real, respectable leaderboard at this point are almost zero. WoW’s leaderboard is a thousand times better than GW2’s.

Also, look at what they think of as ‘cool cosmetic rewards’: giving everyone a million kitteng mini llamas, as if that’s somehow an adequate reward for PvP.

tetrodoxin.2134:

I don’t want to sound rude and your post is well written and thought out and I fully agree, but threads/feedback like this are being posted since the game was launched… three years ago. You can really feel the results of that feedback by going ingame.

#sarcasm

I dislike the CS:GO comparison, though. That game was crafted to be a competitive esports game as a whole, and it was never in a state like you described. In GW2, PvP always felt like the unwanted stepchild and most GW2 players don’t even care about it. And nobody wants to watch it either (Twitch).

Well, to be fair, anet made some really good attempts and improvements.
It just wasn’t enough, I guess… and it’s probably too late now.

Please, anet, prove me wrong.

CS:GO was considered a failure for a while after it was first launched. Many old players of the game hated it and refused to switch over after trying it. Once the changes started coming in, more and more old players decided to give it another try and it became more popular than its predecessors.

I also think the fact that no one’s watching it has a not to do with the amount of people playing pvp. I generally don’t watch games that I don’t play, and the fact that other than pro games, there’s really nothing competitive about the games that are being played. Watch… The few days after the new expansion comes out, viewership will explode on twitch for GW2. This increase of viewership brings in new players to check out whats going on. If they begin watching and see a brand new ladder system added in and people playing pvp seriously and competitively, this may drive them to check it out. Watching someone play the hollow matches that are going on now isn’t fun, you’re right. But adding incentive that makes people take winning and losing more seriously is more entertaining to watch. Winning and losing a match should be a big deal. With the way it is now, it’s not, and that isn’t fun to watch.

The combat itself isn’t the reason people aren’t watching.

You are right, viewership will increase when HoT gets released, probably for a few weeks. Plenty of “famous” streamers will play GW2… PvE. Which is what this expansion is mostly about. Probably a lot WvW as well, since it was always quite famous.
One new map is not a PvP expansion, it’s barely a content patch. Everyone here is hoping for a serious ladder system, but that wish is as old as the game. With the pace changes and improvements were implemented in the last couple years, I just can’t see it happen. Low expectations, secretly hoping I’m totally wrong.

As I said, I fully agree with your perspective!
I just lost all the optimism that goes with it.
So salty. I know. Gonna play some CS:GO now.

tetrodoxin.2134:

You are right, viewership will increase when HoT gets released, probably for a few weeks. Plenty of “famous” streamers will play GW2… PvE. Which is what this expansion is mostly about. Probably a lot WvW as well, since it was always quite famous.
One new map is not a PvP expansion, it’s barely a content patch. Everyone here is hoping for a serious ladder system, but that wish is as old as the game. With the pace changes and improvements were implemented in the last couple years, I just can’t see it happen. Low expectations, secretly hoping I’m totally wrong.

As I said, I fully agree with your perspective!
I just lost all the optimism that goes with it.
So salty. I know. Gonna play some CS:GO now.

Well I hate to sound too harsh, but I also don’t want to sugarcoat it either. If this expansion ignores PvP and is only a PvE expansion, then this game is as good as dead. Most people don’t look to play GW2 for its PvE. Sure, it might be really fun for some people, but those same people will be playing the other games who also have good PvE once they get bored of GW2. There isn’t a game out right now that has really good PvP. GW2 having something that the other games don’t will keep players coming back. Going too PvE heavy is a terrible business decision for this game.