Guild Wars 2

Let me preface this with – I have read each Users posts regarding the Travel System as both envisioned and implemented.

The actual central ideas that the GW2 Travel System either promotes fast travel, breaks immersion, should be harder/easier/less expensive I understand but do not necesarily agree with their sentinments.

IMHO the key issues of the Travel System is that it flat actually does not enable fast travel, and also discourages Grouping, inhibits players not already self endowed with more Gold than they will attain thru normal adventuring, & questing. and thereby contradicts the spirit of the ‘Manifesto’ that Anet offered to promote how GW2 stands apart from other MMO’s.

The Waypoint system and the its seeming Archaic/chaotic World Map dispersion of Zone by Tiers make the Travel In Tyria a very tedious and time consuming process. It also discourages Players from bothering or even wanting to try out a different Profession or Race based solely on it’s cumbersome and wasteful implementation.

As far as viable solutions/suggestions I have thought of in my Travels both in Beta and now In Game after launch are:

1. Reduce the number of Zone Portals available as indicated:

a. A single Centralized Master Zone Portal in Lion’s Arch that graphically displays the destination hub portals available to it on the World Map: e.g. Capital Cities of each Race, The Mists, and other key Town/Quest Hub Portals(s) as necessary.

c. Sub Portals at these destinations that display only the available destination Portals in it’s own regional area.

My own interest in this regard is that Anet should streamline the entire theTravel System into one that actually Promotes vice Discourages players investing their time or willingness to Group with comrades on the opposite sides of the World/Map.

Does this further break Immersion? To some I am sure that it would… but the pursuit of the Mythical Immersion that players value so much is thwarted even more by the system in current use just as it is standing outside a Dungeon entrance spammin /says of LFM every 10 mins until you actually have a full group!!

Do I want to bypass the excitement/enjoyment of combat in each zone? Yes & No .

I’d prefer a logical/responsive Travel System that enhances both vice requiring player the current slogging thru multiple Zones without being hampered by delays from content they have already quested in.

It breaks Immersion to have to conform to this unnecessary time sink in order to experience new content or joining distant groups. It does not actually promote Replayablilty of Zones… It cheapens the experience I wished to have with an an Alt/native to a given Zone or geographic region for the ‘first time. I’d prefer not to pharm lower zones with my Main who will soon achieve Lvl 80. The current Travel system will actually diminish my desire to actually play any of my four Alts in their own Racial Areas as first time explorers. Too much been there/done that for my blood!

- Z

Let me preface this with – I have read each Users posts regarding the Travel System as both envisioned and implemented.

The actual central ideas that the GW2 Travel System either promotes fast travel, breaks immersion, should be harder/easier/less expensive I understand but do not necesarily agree with their sentinments.

IMHO the key issues of the Travel System is that it flat actually does not enable fast travel, and also discourages Grouping, inhibits players not already self endowed with more Gold than they will attain thru normal adventuring, & questing. and thereby contradicts the spirit of the ‘Manifesto’ that Anet offered to promote how GW2 stands apart from other MMO’s.

The Waypoint system and the its seeming Archaic/chaotic World Map dispersion of Zone by Tiers make the Travel In Tyria a very tedious and time consuming process. It also discourages Players from bothering or even wanting to try out a different Profession or Race based solely on it’s cumbersome and wasteful implementation.

As far as viable solutions/suggestions I have thought of in my Travels both in Beta and now In Game after launch are:

1. Reduce the number of Zone Portals available as indicated:

a. A single Centralized Master Zone Portal in Lion’s Arch that graphically displays the destination hub portals available to it on the World Map: e.g. Capital Cities of each Race, The Mists, and other key Town/Quest Hub Portals(s) as necessary.

c. Sub Portals at these destinations that display only the available destination Portals in it’s own regional area.

My own interest in this regard is that Anet should streamline the entire theTravel System into one that actually Promotes vice Discourages players investing their time or willingness to Group with comrades on the opposite sides of the World/Map.

Does this further break Immersion? To some I am sure that it would… but the pursuit of the Mythical Immersion that players value so much is thwarted even more by the system in current use just as it is standing outside a Dungeon entrance spammin /says of LFM every 10 mins until you actually have a full group!!

Do I want to bypass the excitement/enjoyment of combat in each zone? Yes & No .

I’d prefer a logical/responsive Travel System that enhances both vice requiring player the current slogging thru multiple Zones without being hampered by delays from content they have already quested in.

It breaks Immersion to have to conform to this unnecessary time sink in order to experience new content or joining distant groups. It does not actually promote Replayablilty of Zones… It cheapens the experience I wished to have with an an Alt/native to a given Zone or geographic region for the ‘first time. I’d prefer not to pharm lower zones with my Main who will soon achieve Lvl 80. The current Travel system will actually diminish my desire to actually play any of my four Alts in their own Racial Areas as first time explorers. Too much been there/done that for my blood!

- Z

Tks for the clarification/insights Sarah… Was going to retry the zone with a duo of heavy AoE hitters in group – it definitely appears to be a group instance needed to even up the battle field odds.

Two things m8, I am very well versed/practised in my Profession, Combat Abilities, and combat tactics/techniques in this game & half dozen other MMO’s. My post was directed to Devs… Your response bears no validity either to me personally, or to the issues I brought up to them. And no… you do not have to respawn/restart over again, you have the option to comeback to a checkpoint and indeed, continue on from the exact point you left off at.

I will not trouble these boards in future when a ticket/bug report is obviously more warranted and better received.

Suggest you check back to some of the other personal quests folks have submitted posts on… Quite a lot of them address the same type spawn rate problems that I did.

Long Post warning:

I have noticed an unsettling common thread in the personal story quests that pops up in every other leg of the Whispers questline. To me it seems from the start, several of the quest legs are little more than an exercise in Player patience/determination to see it finished. Player skill, level. or gear play little role in overcoming each obstacle in that path.

Every other leg or so You are confronted by, and repeatedly defeated by hordes of fast respawning mobs with uncanny AI as opposed to the weak player NPC’s who do not have the loves from Dev’s in their own AI or in how under-powered they are by comparison with the mobs!

Results in multiple Player deaths, and breaks any ‘immersion’ these stories should provide. Two of the worst in the Asuran Order of Whispers line are Battle of Claw Island, and the Critical Blowback fiasco’s. I did leave the Claw instance naked on several occasions, even when trying to level up over it a bit to take it on again. The Critical Blowback thing I have yet to solve, aside from the multiple mob spawning there seems no way at present to clear out the mobs and proceed to the next area.

I am reasonably well geared, knowlegeable how a Ranger should be played but my efforts are thwarted by Stupid Player NPC AI that has them drifting apart to fight respawning mobs which eventually overwhelm the “force” by their own setting themselves up for defeat by taking on several of em on their own at each of 3 spawn pts or anywhere in between! I even tried backing off to get close to the next part of the chantry, but them happly little souls were quite content with getting ganked in numerous separate spots throughout the Ordeal!!

A few things come to mind that would help greatly:

1. Fix the spawn rate so that it doesn’t totally overwhelm the allies with an all too easy divide and conquer strategy.
2. Player ability to use the Boulders lying about near each spawn pt opening in the ground to simply cap the opening long enough to give the npcs a chance at victory.
3. Also give the Player the ability to actually give all these supposed veteran player NPC’s the simple command of Rally here, or Too Me… Now!!

These would make this leg a much more engaging, worthwhile, and fulfilling event for all players burdened by it!!!

At recommended level, & ever 2 levels after I have attempted the Blow leg of the personal story 4 times now, each with the same disatisfying, inevitable defeat/zone out! Even the Orr/Arah leg given by Caithe was far more suited to & enjoyable by a Solo player to conquer!

I am now lvl 60 – have upgraded gear & tried tactics changes each time, but am left debating whether to hold off till lvl 61 or 2, enlisting a very well skilled./geared lvl 80 Ranger guildmate to help me OP the zone, or just simply cave to the feeling that my joy of playing GW2 would be greatly enhanced by simply not bothering with the Personal Story quests at all on any of my 4 Alt characters in future!!

Does not sit well with me, especially not when my actions are at the scrutiny of a number of other players who are members of the Guild I founded/lead!!

Give the Ranger personal quests a bit of love/scrutiny yourselves please… Tone it down or give the Player viable options to change the outcome every time! As it is otherwise I am done wasting my time with Personal Quests altogether!!

Tks for your attention & efforts in adapting the scenarios in varied Personal Quest lines to make them a challenging yet more satisfying experience for all Players who try them!

Rgds, Znurf Zindahaus – Lvl 60 Asuran Ranger