Guild Wars 2

I have been seeing a lot of discussion recently about Winter’s Presence – the new festival item that gives a snowing effect.

Before going on, I just want to remind everyone that Guild Wars 2 is a video game. It is a leisure activity meant for downtime – something to do after a hard day of work, for example. It is meant to be played for fun. For many people, of all walks in life, it is a brief escape from the day-to-day problems they have to deal with every day in their real lives. That is one of the many reasons why entertainment like this exists in the first place, and why entertainment like this is able to attract and sustain a large audience (i.e. why the medium is able to continue and be profitable).

Guild Wars 2 boasts that it has one of the nicest, most welcoming, and friendliest communities. I would expect that around Wintersday – around the time of the winter holidays – people would be feeling extra-festive and full of goodwill for their fellow man. You would think this would be a time for the strengths of that community to really shine through.

Instead, I see people who want to play the game – to have some time off and enjoy a fantasy world without the same problems of real life – being told by some other players that their real-life problems should limit them in game as well. That because of their real-life problems they don’t deserve a fair chance at this item or that they are entitled for wanting a fair chance at it.

I have seen several people saying that they cannot complete the jumping puzzle requirement to get this item due to various physical limitations or disabilities they have in real life. I have seen people respond to those people by saying things which, in essence, boil down to “tough luck – you’re disabled in real life so you shouldn’t be able to get this item in game.”

I have also seen other people saying they are not sure they will be able to complete the requirement of getting and consuming ten thousand – 10,000 – drinks during the short period during which this festival is active. I have seen responses to those people discussing the merits of taking on additional work in real life, and trying to figure out what wage/hour rate of work in real life can cover the cost of the item. Even if we pretend for a minute that unlimited work is available in all regions of the world at all times, why does the state of the real-life economy have to come into a discussion about Wintersday at all?

I don’t think I fall into either of these groups. I can complete the jumping puzzle just fine – my reaction time and hand-eye coordination are solid enough to get that done – and I’m sure that one way or another I could somehow muster the ten thousand drinks if I really set out for it. Not sure I feel up to all that nonsense, but it’s there.

But I have empathy. I know that not all people have the same options, and that that can be for real-life reasons beyond their control. I appreciate the people who know themselves well enough to know they can’t do this for reasons that are rooted in real life and are beyond their control. And I think that especially at the time of the winter holidays, we shouldn’t be telling these people they don’t deserve this, or that their real-life problems must also necessarily be in-game problems as well. It isn’t right, generally, but it especially isn’t right for the season.

It is downright depressing to see people responding to limited or disabled people this way. Especially at the holidays. Wintersday is supposed to be a cheerful and happy time. But people with limited physical capacities, who are already pushed to the sidelines enough in the real world, are being told that they have to have the same thing happen to them in-game for the same reasons. That’s not right. Holiday festivals like this should be enjoyable for everyone. And things like personal limitations or disabilities, or the state of the real-world economy, should not have an impact on these ingame leisure activity holidays.

I don’t have these limitations, and chances are if you’re already readying up a heated response, neither do you. But while you’re loading that ammo, preparing to tell me how wrong I am for sticking up these people, and how entitled and awful they are, why not just stop for a minute and try to think about what these winter holidays are supposed to be all about? Goodwill toward your fellow man. Empathy. Compassion. Yeah, this problem doesn’t effect us, but that’s not the point. The point is that we shouldn’t be excluding people, ingame, for things beyond their control in their real lives.

And if your best defense of this is “Anet still has to make money somehow so they need to do this,” in a video game people play to get a break from their real-life problems, something like disability shouldn’t have to be as frustrating or depressing ingame as it is in real life. If it is, they’re probably going to find a new leisure activity that’s something else. The playerbase can and will get fatigued if they are pushed to the sidelines even in-game for something they’re trying to get a break from in their real life – whatever that thing may be. This includes disabilities. That fatigue is not good for business – it doesn’t generate goodwill, nor does it grow the playerbase.

tl;dr: game = leisure activity that lets you get away from real life problems. Disability and the economy are real life problems. People don’t want those real life problems limiting their entertainment. Entertainment should help them get a break from all that. Some people are responding to these people and telling them “too bad. Your real-life problem has to be a problem ingame too.” That doesn’t seem right. It’s depressing to see. Especially around the holidays.

Happy Wintersday, everyone.

I don’t really post but I frequently check out the dungeon forums looking for advice and tips. I thought I’d write you all a poem based on what I’ve seen and learned here.

Dungeon A-B-C’s (A Dungeon Forum Poem and Mini-Guide):

A is for Armor,
but it’s not that important.
With a well-timed evade,
you can simply ignore it.

B’s for Berserker’s,
it’s the cream of the crop.
Be warned if you don’t use it,
some will tell you “just stop.”

C is for Cleric’s;
all those healers and such.
It’s not so bad per se;
just can’t hurt things too much.

D is for DPS,
or “deeps” as they say.
Trinity in itself;
melt the danger away.

E’s for Evade,
or a dodge or a block.
Learn to use them all wisely,
and your runs will all rock.

F’s for Forward-up,
former path (Twilight Arbor).
Now instead we have Scarlet;
dungeons are no safe harbor.

G is for Gear check,
there are those who will try it.
Think it makes for good groups?
TBH, I don’t buy it.

H is for Hit points,
and the bosses have plenty.
Control/heals are no option,
so just zerk ‘till it’s empty.

I is for Inquest,
Subject Alpha, it’s strange;
you’ll be down on the ground
if you fight it at range.

J is for Justice,
and indeed it is Great.
Gives great boons to the party;
there is nothing to hate.

K is for “Kitten,”
which replaces the speech
of the heated debates,
over what’s the best deeps.

L is for Lupi,
the destroyer of PUGs.
Truth be told, I can’t beat it;
guess I’m one of those scrubs.

M is for Merge,
bane of all our existence.
One moment there’s a party,
then the next one there isn’t.

N is for Newbie,
we were all one at first.
But when one joins their party,
all the vets act their worst.

O’s for Overpowered.
Is it so? There’s no quorum.
If you think it’s too strong,
come complain on the forum.

P is for PUG,
when you’re in a real rush.
But you get what you pay for,
so don’t hope for too much.

Q is for Quit;
rage in groups of all kinds.
Instance gone in instants,
all have Q’s in their eyes. (QQ)

R is for Ranger,
and what can I say?
Misses all of the buffs,
as he fights far away.

S is for Stacking,
a valid approach.
Share the buffs, focus deeps;
this demands no reproach.

T is for Teamspeak,
it’s a favorite of guilds.
Working right, it works wonders,
fixing most dungeon ills.

U is for Upgrade,
might I recommend zerk?
But if you want Ascended,
it will be too much work.

V’s for Vulnerability,
and at twenty-five stacks,
you can melt any face off,
so you’ll really kick…kitten…

W is for Warrior,
truly king of the pack.
Only great at the following:
buffs, defense, and attack.

X is for “eXperienced,”
major creed of speed-clear.
Always slow to fill up;
last lists to disappear.

Y is for “Your way,”
main playstyle of the zergs.
Caring not for the meta,
they should stay with their herds.

Z’s for Zerk-meta,
it’s a thing – heck it’s IT.
Other build are great elsewhere,
Dungeons, though? Might not fit.

Hope you got at least a little chuckle out of this.