Guild Wars 2

I cannot express how disappointing it was to read the below article in regards to the focus of Arenanet for 2013 in general, and in particular WvWvW.

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/colin-johanson-on-guild-wars-2-in-the-months-ahead/

There are several issues which have driven away over 80% of the founding members of my W3 guild. These are players who convinced me to give GW2 a shot, who advertised for and recruited literally hundreds of accounts to GW2 who may not have ever purchased it, with the express purpose of WvWvW. They are gone to Planetside 2 and other games now, and the core of them have several non negotiable points when they speak of even the possibility of returning to GW2.

None of these are being addressed. I will not go into great detail because there are many threads on these forums with great, innovative solutions already. Arenanet, you need to read them. Stop what you are doing for one week. Read the entirety of the WvW forums, every bit of trolling, the good and the bad. Then reset and move forward.

THE ISSUES AT HAND: AKA WHAT IT TAKES TO BRING PEOPLE BACK

1) Commander Tome functionality. Company of Heroes and BF 2142 both beat you on this with very simple team map UI functions. That is the very least. This is a huge point of contention.
2) WvW exploits, dealing with exploiters. You have lost far more non exploiters than you would by simply banning the few who abuse the system, and your policies do not help those trying to contain the problem within the community.
3) Gear treadmill. Enough has been said on this and you know that you are in the wrong.
4) Ignoring WvW. All you have to do is regularly communicate (two way communication)with your player base and address their desires, complaints, and solutions. Is that so much to ask?

These 4 simple areas will pay you huge dividends if they are given attention. I ask that you do not throw away the opportunity to address them in a timely manner. Every game that has ignored its world pvp communities has died or shrunk incredibly after failing to respond to them. Do not repeat the numerous mistakes of the past.

I personally like what Colin discussed. While I do not disagree on anything you posted, I think it is better to see the details of the update before complaining.

We’ll introduce a system of prestige and advancement specifically designed for WvW. This will give players a progression path where they earn new WvW-only abilities and bonuses, and with them gain prestige and visible titles/recognition. Also, we’ll add a new motivation to the WvW domain that goes beyond the overall weekly score to give more short term reasons to be winning in WvW as well.

YES!

… no mention of maps Something tells me we’re still stuck with EB/3x BL

imo… A step in the right direction. now there will be more incentive to play wvw. other than the server standings.. which were good reason to play, yes.

but not enough to last the long haul.

gj anet

The points above are the most common issues brought up to in my communications with former WvW players. While I am glad there are additions and improvements being addressed, the things being addressed are not things which lost the WvW community a considerable numberof allies/opponents in WvW, and are core issues.

My personal issues with this post:

There is no reason to not announce the features specifically and in some reasonable detail prior to release. Here is a good example of why I believe this is necessary.

The last game where I experienced near identical lack of communication and vague promises from a developer was Star Wars Galaxies prior to the infamous CU patch(Combat Upgrade) (some of you may remember this) and the even more hated NGE patch (New Game Experience). Both “improvements” were actively and vocally opposed and hated by the vast majority of the player base after their roll out. Both were preceded by the same sort of PR and lack of details we are seeing now from Anet. Both instigated mass exodus from the game. Transparency please.

I can’t say there’s any merit in your post at all.

You allege that you’re extremely disappointed with what Anet has announced, then list 4 ridiculously tiny non-issues that you demand resolution for. To address them individually:

1) While adjustments should be made to commander training, this has been acknowledged by Anet, and they have stated that changes will be coming (although they may have called it low-priority).

2) Exploits are continually fixed as they are identified and solutions can be found. Some still exist, but the number of working exploits right now is a tiny fraction of the number of exploits which have been fixed.

3) Enough has been said on this and not only are you wrong, but the article actually addresses this issue.

4) The article you’re so senselessly whining about is the communication you’re demanding. It’s impossible to complain about this in this context and claim that they’re not doing anything about communication. Furthermore, your nonsensical reaction to all this is a perfect example of why it’s difficult for Anet to communicate.

On top of all this, it’s stressed multiple times in the article that they’re only discussing a portion of the updates and changes. There will be many many more things fixed or added because it’s not an exhaustive list.

I like what he had to say as well, he also did mention they were fixing many ongoing issues. I guess the OP need them to list every single exploit, or glitch and say yes we are going to fix this. Could you imagine, “yes we are aware of people glitching into X tower, we plan to fix this”, “yes we are aware of people glitching into Y tower, yes we plan to fix this”, “yes we are aware of ……” It would rediculous to expect them to mention every little detail and explain they plan on fixing it.

I think this is a great start on bettering Wv3 for everyone, the rest of the fixing things issues is just common sence that should not need to be pointed out.

Syeria.4812:

I can’t say there’s any merit in your post at all.

You allege that you’re extremely disappointed with what Anet has announced, then list 4 ridiculously tiny non-issues that you demand resolution for. To address them individually:

1) While adjustments should be made to commander training, this has been acknowledged by Anet, and they have stated that changes will be coming (although they may have called it low-priority).

2) Exploits are continually fixed as they are identified and solutions can be found. Some still exist, but the number of working exploits right now is a tiny fraction of the number of exploits which have been fixed.

3) Enough has been said on this and not only are you wrong, but the article actually addresses this issue.

4) The article you’re so senselessly whining about is the communication you’re demanding. It’s impossible to complain about this in this context and claim that they’re not doing anything about communication. Furthermore, your nonsensical reaction to all this is a perfect example of why it’s difficult for Anet to communicate.

On top of all this, it’s stressed multiple times in the article that they’re only discussing a portion of the updates and changes. There will be many many more things fixed or added because it’s not an exhaustive list.

These issues may be tiny to you, but they are huge to others who left the game. I happen to agree with them on many points. I fail to see how I am demanding anything, my assessments are fair and reasonable to at least a sizable minority if not more.

While exploits may be fixed, the system for reporting and policing them is underwhelming and practically gives all cheaters carte blanche to exploit away unless they are caught via fraps/bandicam/etc. with continuous footage from prior to their exploit, during, and after the exploit. Feel free to research this on your own.

They have lied about the gear treadmill, and actually in the article worded it so as to suggest that while there will be no more tiers of gear between ascended and legendary for 2013 . Ascended gear was actually the first step in that broken promise, so can’t help you there. Am i going to throw a tantrum over it? No. It is an insult to anyone with intelligence to insist this isn’t well documented truth, and heavily referenced as a core design principle, which was flippantly disregarded shockingly early in the life off the game.

The article I am referring to gives no real details and addresses things vaguely. The update is only a few weeks away if they deliver on their stated time frame. Why these great fixes and improvements must be veiled in a shroud of secrecy is beyond me. I am seeing Anet fall into the same tired traps that have ruined other games. What you perceive incorrectly as whining is simply an appeal for the developers to recognize this and an opportunity for them to win back players who have already left, with a few simple actions.

As to your last point, I can stress to my employer that not only is the design work I promised completed, but that it meets the expectations set forth, and furthermore I have done much much more that I cannot even hint at, but provide no details whatsoever…. and I am fairly certain I would be asked for some concrete example of a system, procedure , or model. I do not expect an exhaustive list, I expect a reasonable amount of detail this far along in the process. Once again, why is there a need for secrecy or subterfuge. Reference my post above for the last similar experience I was witness to in an MMOG.

Finally, please refrain from bringing this kind of attitude into any more of my threads, it is unwelcome and personal, you can do that sort of thing via PM if you really really can’t control yourself. I would like to see these issues addressed, they are important to some people, and I am entitled to place value or rank where I see fit. The forums are my place to do so as I am not employed at Arenanet, nor do I have any personal communication or access to the process other than here.

GOOD DAY TO YOU SIR!

Um … Public Forum, you started the thread, you do not own it. People disagree, if you don’t like people disagreeing or putting forth their opinion, you probably shouldn’t start threads.

Nuzt.7894:

I like what he had to say as well, he also did mention they were fixing many ongoing issues. I guess the OP need them to list every single exploit, or glitch and say yes we are going to fix this. Could you imagine, “yes we are aware of people glitching into X tower, we plan to fix this”, “yes we are aware of people glitching into Y tower, yes we plan to fix this”, “yes we are aware of ……” It would rediculous to expect them to mention every little detail and explain they plan on fixing it.

I think this is a great start on bettering Wv3 for everyone, the rest of the fixing things issues is just common sence that should not need to be pointed out.

There are people that openly exploit, post videos of exploiting, admit to exploiting, and encourage others to exploit, and said exploits are still not fixed and the people exploiting still are not banned. Look at Wildbill. He was caught exploiting all the time against SoS in getting into keeps/towers, his own videos taken and he fully admits to doing it, and he gets banned on the forums for admitting to exploit. Still not banned for keep/tower exploiting though, just admitting to it.

Nuzt.7894:

Um … Public Forum, you started the thread, you do not own it. People disagree, if you don’t like people disagreeing or putting forth their opinion, you probably shouldn’t start threads.

Point out where he said he doesn’t like people putting forth their opinions. All he did was comment on the insulting additude the other poster responded to him with.

As for ownership of a thread, yes he does own it in the sense that he’s the author, which is the only kind of ownership he referenced. He could say “my threads” or “threads that I start”, it’s semantics you’re arguing over there. .

Blrrgh.6908:

The last game where I experienced near identical lack of communication and vague promises from a developer was Star Wars Galaxies prior to the infamous CU patch(Combat Upgrade) (some of you may remember this) and the even more hated NGE patch (New Game Experience). Both “improvements” were actively and vocally opposed and hated by the vast majority of the player base after their roll out. Both were preceded by the same sort of PR and lack of details we are seeing now from Anet. Both instigated mass exodus from the game. Transparency please.

I was there for the CU, (and the x-mas holocrons and the NGE) I have the scars to prove it (funny story actually).

But this doesn’t “feel” like that at all. More than anything else Anet seems cautious about doing things to wvwvw. and that’s a good thing, it’s almost a fluke it’s as balanced as it is.. And the last thing they should be doing is making kitten rushed fixes that break more things than they fix.

It was a somewhat fluffy PR article. Do I want more info? Yep, but I doubt that kind of piece would ever provide.

Plus+ => culling work. Not a game breaker for me but for some. They state it was harder to fix than they expected and that makes sense. If they can make improvements, I’d be really happy.

WvW progression/titles/abilities => that usually is something nice to have, not a big seller for me personally but most enjoy it a bit. It is easy to implement but difficult to design well, so yes, this does need more stated details because this can negatively impact WvW.

Cons- => for me, no statement about WvW and gear progression. I don’t mind having to slowly build up gear and also don’t mind it if someone who is playing a lot has a 10-20% edge over me. But I don’t see this being the case in GW2, their choices point towards eventual gear chasing in order to stay reasonably competitive in WVW. Big turn-off and no statement about this within the entire article.

Cons- => lack of a clear statement on cheaters. Exploits should be stated as exploits with the extra statement that if you use them, you get banned. So yes, these should be listed out somewhere, already (article is not the place though). Cheaters should get banned, they only seem to ban botters.

That article isn’t the place for it but they should be more open by proposing changes and actually reading feedback. Players are passionate about this game and many state good ideas or critical reviews of various aspects of this game.

“We recently ran small tests on Live to help us move towards eliminating as much culling from WvW as possible. The results have been promising, and we have a number of additional culling features in development. If all goes well, our hope is 2013 is the year culling ceases to exist, or is as minimal as possible in the WvW experience. ”

I marked what makes me worry in the post. Firstly they ran “small” tests. They obviously did run small tests before they published the game and didnt discover what a probem culling is. Second thing is how vague the statement on the fix for culling is. 2013 ? Call me pessimistic but this sounds to me like they consider the possibility that they either might fail or that the fix can also take till December. Not a pleasant perspective.

Also paid server transfers are a promise they have been making since the game went live. Infusions gear for WvW players ? No word on this. Lower prices for Invader gear ? Nothing. And no badge-love for people going support.

Over all this theres the label “coming soon” hanging. As ususal.

I passionately love the open world pvp WvW can offer. I want WvW to get fixed. But i have learned to be cautios towards the statements of gaming companies. :-(