Guild Wars 2

I understand: ANet wanted to do something different with GW2. I get that. They just couldn’t do the same exact thing as GW and call it GW “2” because it’d have been… the same.

That said, I’m not a fan. I played two of the three GW2 betas, and really didn’t like the game. I felt that things had been dumbed-down (we can’t pick our own skills, no secondary profession, the thinking as to profession/secondary profession/skills/armour/insignia/runes/strategy/situation that let me play the way I want to play have been wiped out and instead I’m bound to playing with skills that are fairly useless or poorly designed and are dictated to me by my weapon instead of letting me choose by myself. I was happy to stay in GW because of this, but the game has really done a quick dive since the release of GW2.

So I bought GW2 so that I could still enjoy gaming with my guild. The problem is that the only reason I bought GW2 was because my GW guild has gone dead since release. The people I’ve played with for years (and have known personally as extended family for almost 20 years) have left GW in favor of GW2.

We have a small guild – which we prefer because it’s a “family guild.” But that is a problem.

We have seven people. Seven.

In Guild Wars, if we wanted to go out as a party, we took each other and one hero, and the whole group could go and play together.

In GW2, if we want to go out as a party, five can go and two have to sit on the sidelines, and there’s no way around it if you’re going into an instance.

I feel like ANet is forcing me to solo the game because I can’t play with my other guildies. It’s supposed to be a “social” game, so they say. But then they limit interaction.

Now, the argument could be made that there has to be a limit, and that’s understandable. But why change that limit from what we’ve been taught is the “right number” for seven years in Guild Wars?

You can add additional spots – in PvP, but that does nothing for those of us who are in a guild that has absolutely no interest whatsoever in PvP. We’re locked in to having to break up the group because of the five-man limit.

What was wrong with 8 people in a party?

Obviously, the suggestion here is to up the limit.

I’m happy with most things in this game, but I am with you on the party size thing. In the open world and WvW it doesn’t really matter if you have 2 or more groups, but it would be nice to have the option to take more than 5 people from your guild into a dungeon together.

Maybe they will up the limit at a later stage, or add dungeons designed for larger groups. Here’s hoping anyway.

Buy a commander title.

Each of your guildmates can farm enough gold to send it to the guild leader to be a commander.

This way, they can join your squad and follow your icon in PvE. If you set up waypoints, they can also see it on the map.

For activities, you don’t need to do dungeons. They are a thing called Jumping puzzles and mini-dungeons. It is like a raid with no limit on party members.

I know what you’re saying runeblade, but mini-dungeons aren’t quite the same experience as full dungeons. Personally I think dungeons should be scaleable, with a team size of say 2-10 players. They have the technology to scale content base on player count, so why not in Dungeons too?

I know that the dungeons we already have are probably balances for a team of 5, but I would really like to see scaleable dungeons added at some point, whether it’s existing ones or new ones. It just gives more people more options, and that is always a good thing in my book.

I’m not sure I follow this. Your complaining about a limit to party size which is in every game.

The average MMO usually limits a party to 5-6 players, this is nothing new. I can understand coming from GW it’s a tad annoying since we went from parties of 6 all the way to 10 or something like that. ANet wanted to make a fullfledged MMO and that’s the way it goes.

Have no fear! Your party of 7 will be needing 3 more members soon so you can try the new 10-man dungeons that will be gracing us with their presence soon enough.

Try WvW yet? You can split into two groups, 3 and 4, and run around together or as someone else suggested you could go for a commander title. Personally, I would say save the gold for your legendary weapons as my guild routinely proves the commander title pointless. It’s not hard to coordinate a few groups of 5 without some shiny arrow on your head that says “Hey, I spent 100g on this thing!”

ubaid.8213:

Now, the argument could be made that there has to be a limit, and that’s understandable. But why change that limit from what we’ve been taught is the “right number” for seven years in Guild Wars?

The problem is in GW the limit changed routinely over the course of the original game and the following xpacs. There has to be a set limit, rather than increasing party size the farther you progress in the story.

Like I mentioned, there are 10 mans coming. So you’ll have to worry more about finding some PUGs, or suggesting heroes I guess, soon enough.

That’s true, Raine, going from 8 to 5 is annoying and it is something a lot of GW1 players had to adjust to. But if they add 10 man dungeons, that will be something I guess. But I still think scaleable Dungeons are the way forward. They could even add in different events and puzzles based on the number of players. I just feel that having more flexible options makes for a happier experience overall. Not that I’m unhappy with GW2 of course, it’s an awesome game the best even, but there is always room for improvements.

Like I said, we were essentially taught that, once you got to higher level areas, the 8-man party was standard in Guild Wars.

I know that a 5-man team is standard in other MMOs, but wasn’t it part of ANet’s Manifesto that they weren’t making a “standard” MMO?

From what I’ve been given to understand, the “Commander” thing works for PvP, not PvE. Have I been misinformed on this?

Finally, it’s frankly annoying that you’ve got to grind (didn’t ANet also say this wasn’t going to be a grind?) gold to be able to play with your friends. It just feels punitive to make us grind gold for something like that – especially when gold is needed for just about everything else in the game (waiting for it to be necessary to spend a few copper an hour just so our characters are allowed to breathe the air).

Rin.1046:

Maybe they will up the limit at a later stage, or add dungeons designed for larger groups. Here’s hoping anyway.

They did in the first. First of all it was only 4 to a group and you could hire out bots to fill certain roles. Then you had the introduction of heros and larger group sizes to go along with expansions. I imagine something similar will happen with GW2. Just have to be patient.

Ridgeblader.7135:

Rin.1046:

Maybe they will up the limit at a later stage, or add dungeons designed for larger groups. Here’s hoping anyway.

They did in the first. First of all it was only 4 to a group and you could hire out bots to fill certain roles. Then you had the introduction of heros and larger group sizes to go along with expansions. I imagine something similar will happen with GW2. Just have to be patient.

Yeah. I’m in no rush. I’m sure they will improve things.

I’ve heard the “Give it time” argument in two other rather famous MMOs of recent history: “Star Trek Online” (went F2P in 2 years) and “Star Wars The Old Republic” (went F2P before its first anniversary).

Here, I’m also hearing, “It gets better once your at higher levels.”

I don’t understand either mentality, frankly.

I’ve paid my 60 bucks. I’d like to play something I enjoy now, not weeks, months or years down the road. The timing there, of course, could be argued.

I also don’t understand the complacency of the “it gets better when you’re higher level” model. Wouldn’t you want me to like the game out of the gate, and not have to slog through something I think is fairly mundane at best just to get to the good bits?

We could argue that until we’re blue in the face, it won’t matter.

So what’s the word on the “Commander” thing? Is it, as I’ve been told, JUST for PvP, or is it also for PvE? Anyone know?

SWTOR is on a restricted F2P up until level 40, after that you must subscribe to play the end game content.

You are playing something essentially right out of the box with anything like that improvements will be made over time.

Groups are not broken which is your main gripe, it is just that groups are smaller than you like. So you have to wait until Anet decide they want bigger groups in the game or recruit three more family friends and run two groups through dungeons.

Ridgeblader.7135:

SWTOR is on a restricted F2P up until level 40, after that you must subscribe to play the end game content.

You are playing something essentially right out of the box with anything like that improvements will be made over time.

Groups are not broken which is your main gripe, it is just that groups are smaller than you like. So you have to wait until Anet decide they want bigger groups in the game or recruit three more family friends and run two groups through dungeons.

I’m well aware of what TOR’s F2P mechanics are. When it went F2P I figured it was finally worth the price, until I saw how heavy-handed they were with the F2P restrictions (although they changed a few).

I never once said that groups are “broken.” You’re trying to put words in my mouth. I’m making a suggestion that they raise the cap. If you don’t like the suggestion, that’s certainly fine; we’re both entitled to our opinions. But don’t try to put words into my mouth. That’s not fine.

I said that I feel the groups are too small after playing Guild Wars for several years and being in higher-level areas with 8 people – because that was ANet’s model for Guild Wars. Since I can’t play with the rest of my guild due to the decreased party size, I often find myself having to go out into the world and Solo – which I find to be absolutely no fun at all.

Don’t look at 7 as 5 with 2 on the sidelines, look at it as a group of 4 and a group of 3 with an additional 3 prospective new friends. This is how my guild approaches dungeons and we’ve met far more players worth noting as friends than we have players worth avoiding.

In open-world content, we often don’t even bother grouping.

ubaid.8213:

I never once said that groups are “broken.” You’re trying to put words in my mouth. I’m making a suggestion that they raise the cap. If you don’t like the suggestion, that’s certainly fine; we’re both entitled to our opinions. But don’t try to put words into my mouth. That’s not fine.

I said that I feel the groups are too small after playing Guild Wars for several years and being in higher-level areas with 8 people – because that was ANet’s model for Guild Wars. Since I can’t play with the rest of my guild due to the decreased party size, I often find myself having to go out into the world and Solo – which I find to be absolutely no fun at all.

My apologies, it was upon reading a poor choice of words. I did not mean to indicate that you thought that groups were a broken mechanic. I understand that your issue is the actual size limitation of the group being to small for your liking. What I meant to express was only that “groups” are not a broken mechanic so it will not be looked at as a matter of urgency.

I also didn’t say I didn’t like the suggestion either and never indicated I was against the idea. I have only ever said that I believe the change you are after will come with time.

As someone who likes solo play, I’d rather dungeons have difficulty scaling that allowed between 1-8 or more. I get all the social interaction I need when I’m in WvW and the whole rest of PvE.

I’d appreciate some down time where I can solo. A dungeon is the perfect place to go all Indiana Jones and explore. Already having all the goodies gated in them “forces” me to do them. Forcing me to party with 4 strangers though, isn’t appreciated. Having it moved to 8 even more so. An MMORPG only requires simultaneous game play.

KyleQuest.4639:

As someone who likes solo play, I’d rather dungeons have difficulty scaling that allowed between 1-8 or more. I get all the social interaction I need when I’m in WvW and the whole rest of PvE.

I’d appreciate some down time where I can solo. A dungeon is the perfect place to go all Indiana Jones and explore. Already having all the goodies gated in them “forces” me to do them. Forcing me to party with 4 strangers though, isn’t appreciated. Having it moved to 8 even more so. An MMORPG only requires simultaneous game play.

An MMORPG only requires simultaneous game play for you.

For me, an MMORPG is astonishingly boring if I’m not playing with people I know. For me, a game is play time, not solitude time. When I want solitude, I grab a book, a good CD and a cup of tea and go sit in a room by myself; I don’t go into an MMORPG that’s touted (by its developers, no less) as a “social game.”

Scaling dungeons would certainly solve that equation for both of us.

But I’m making a suggestion to raise the party cap (which may not work for you), and if they do, you may find yourself making a suggestion to lower it again.

Maybe I’m the only one in the entire game that thinks the 5-man party of the average, cookie-cutter MMORPG of today is inconsistent with ANet’s manifesto of GW2 being an MMORPG that breaks the mold; and who thinks the limit makes a game I already don’t like that much more unlikable. Playing with my guild would make GW2 palatable to me. For now, I can’t even be bothered to care about the Wintersday stuff (and I was big on Wintersday in Guild Wars).

I don’t think I’m the only one who doesn’t like the level cap, though. I know at least six other people who also don’t like the level cap but don’t use the forums. They may represent a miniscule and demographically insignificant portion of the game’s population, but I’ve known them for about 20 years. Bet there are more I don’t know.