Guild Wars 2

Finally finished season 2 after noticing some shadow thingies in the middle of all that chaos from the final mission.

I appreciate the rewards but I feel that these repackaged role-playing experiences – should there be more in the future – need to have better guidance added instead of just throwing them in the gem store as is. It could also use a dedicated spot in the “looking for group area”.

Bought season 2 and I really regret this.

I got glitched missions which needed to repeat, little to no explanation on the mission-puzzles with some requiring out-of-the-game searching.

And the final mission… oh boy… There’s a dragon that keeps smashing and chewing me, random exploding spores, flames that keep getting extinguished with no apparent reason that resets all effort and I keep running around in a small area, with little time to react, and dying from stupid AoE everywhere. Challenge shouldn’t be overkill like this. This doesn’t provide player satisfaction, just grief and frustration.

Nice trolling.

The level 80 upgrade and goodies were done sensibly and it was a great addition, IMO. Now going back to hibernation…

Why should I pay the price of a full game for an expansion? There’s no monthly fees, so should that justify the inflated price? No, not in my opinion, since there’s the gem store which is a source of surplus revenue. If I’d be happy with what the game had to offer I’d likely use the gem store and, in time, possibly spend more than a monthly subscription plan as I have done in the past.

What the corporate price tag created, for someone like me who hasn’t played the game for a while and was interested in coming back to try the expansion, is that I have no longer a wish to come back, buy the expansion, play it, and use the gem store for whatever interesting items there.

At least two purchases are lost since my wife is of the same opinion. There’s a lot of good quality competition in the gaming world for the consumer’s hard earned money and I’m certainly not interested in inflated prices versus a fair one. Asking a full game price for an expansion completely killed any interest for me.

The price tag doesn’t compute. I feel it’s a ripoff for an expansion. I preordered GW2’s deluxe edition back in the day and was looking forward for HoT. It was a good excuse to come back and spend untold hours once more. But that’s out of the question like this. I see no incentive besides being the proverbial cow ready to be milked.

I’m better off spending that kind of money in brand new games.

The Chinese servers are separate from the rest of the world.

You could transfer your account to the US while in China, as the connection is much better.

Other than that, try a VPN (which is a must for foreigners working there). That should help with the connectivity.

I’ve recently leveled up 5 characters to 80. They were lying dormant on lvl 20ish from pre-traits, pre-NPE times. I did it because of Edge of the Mists which has been very enjoyable.

I don’t understand how great, liberating content like EOTM and an excellent iteration like the improved luck mechanics can coexist with very unfortunate decisions that restrict gameplay.

I’d be crazy to create any more characters right now. I had a taste of the good stuff and of its potential for improvement. The current direction greatly degrades the quality of this game.

Mystic toilet does what it knows best. I never liked it and stay away from it as much as possible – but it’s working as intended.

Labjax’s suggestion to go to a downleved area until level 30 solved the problem for me.

So I went to a down-leveled area with my bugged lvl 29. Did hearts, events, and explored the map. After lvl 30 I went back to EotM and the problem was gone.

Thanks for the tip, Labjax

Had today planned to level up my Ele. Got to lvl 29 and this happens.

It’s awesome to see how well their QA is working.

This sucks. I hit lvl 29 and have the exact same issue. First I thought it was diminishing returns, but I see now it’s even worse….

What a train wreck.

They shouldn’t have gone full kitten (as in excessive dumbing down) on leveling up.

The previous unlock for weapon skills was very intuitive and immersive. It already provided a very good way to get acquainted with each weapon skill while interacting with the environment. They basically replaced something much more organic to something completely artificial. If level locking works for some people, then confine that to the utility skills and perhaps reduce the weapon unlock on kills, but never go full “kitten”.

In that line, it’s counter-intuitive to hide information from the map. Let it all out but have something like a “what is this” button that can relay information on what are those icons on the map. Perhaps include specific videos embedded from YouTube which would give a much more effective visual information than to just have written “boring” words to read. It is preferable to have some thing like this, that players can enable or disable at any time, than to treat players like they are idiots. It is not intended, for certain, but it is what people end up feeling.

Getting rewards while leveling up is pretty cool.

As for the complete dumbing down of gameplay for lower level characters… what new player base do they think they have?

a) Toddlers
b) People who never played a game in their life
c) Had an unfortunate accident and their IQ got hindered
d) Are squishy little things in need of the utmost protection

I’d absolutely hate to be a lower lever character with this extremely paternalizing way to deal with new players.

Anet, keep the rewards on leveling up and put everything else back (with new chars) until something truly good comes out from your improvement efforts. This particular feature is just awful.

This reminds me of the “Our Time is Now” trailer. An utterly strange and disconnected way to reach the player base. But, no worries, no one is perfect. I know that they can do better with hindsight and with the acute amount of feedback they’re getting on this. I just hope that they can fix this swiftly.

Gem purchase is now truly worldwide with the new billing platform.

I work in mainland China most of the year and was never able to purchase gems from there; I needed to be in Hong Kong in order to do that. Right now any previous restrictions (besides possible fraudulent alerts) are gone.

Smart move , for many reasons.

Now I need to be careful in not spending too much…

I used to be a ranger like you, then I took a nerf in the knee…

Seriously, rangers have been one of my favorite classes in many-a-games. That includes Guild Wars 1. The derisive tone in this thread is pretty accurate with the state of rangers in this game.

It’s Christmas and gold sellers are perhaps betting that it’s worth the risk of losing several accounts if they can sell well.

TexZero.7910:

Probably fix all the features that should have already been in the game.

Yes, please! It’s painful to verify that guilds, the trading post, and other features are still in need of improvement. More than a year later, it’s about time to clean up the house before introducing massive new stuff.

I’m glad ascended doesn’t make exotic worthless. I left the game after the November 2012 patch that introduced this new tier and came back one year later. It’s good to know that the vertical progression treadmill is negligible. The only ascended items I intend to get are trinkets since I only need laurels for them.

Champion farming is a great way (IMO) for casuals, levelers, and farmers to have a chance at a rewarding experience from the game they play. This is an obviously popular activity and I think it would be a lot more constructive to improve on this rather than kill it.

With this in mind, I wouldn’t dislike seeing a farm rotation to different places. Let’s say that every week, a different area would be more profitable to farm for champions and events. That would give everyone an incentive to explore the world instead of being stuck in particular places. This would make players happy travelers instead of frustrated customers due to NERFING THINGS TO DEATH.

I usually report and ignore their messages as they were never that persistent, and they will be permanently blocked anyway.

I just did a quick search on RMT websites and they’re not cheap! Why would people want to spend 300 bucks for 2000 gold? And for the more affordable prices of 100 or 200 gold, it’s not that difficult to get this amount in game anyway. It’s just not worth it.

Those high prices could mean that ArenaNet is doing a pretty good job in handling real money traders.

Also, I think that one of the reasons people get their accounts hacked is that they actually register in these websites and don’t bother to add a different email from their game account. Maybe go as far as using the same password. Again, not worth it…

Adding sales tax (or finally enforcing it) with no prior explanation or modicum of context isn’t nice. That’s a good deterrent for people not to buy directly from the store and go for gem cards instead. It could now be cheaper to buy a 2,000 gem card for 30 bucks from a well know game cards site (or from a physical store). Or not buy anything at all.

pessimist.7294:

Short question: Why dont you just block all connections to China and Russia? Would make things a lot easier. Especially since China got their own version of GW2.

Hey, I play from China. I’m working here and there’s a whole bunch playing from here.

a) The problem isn’t exclusive to those countries, b) gold sellers would be undeterred with blocking attempts, c) only legitimate players would be hurt.

China will supposedly have its own version but I would dread on being mandatory to play in servers cutoff from the rest of the world. Also, considering that major updates would need to be authorized by the respective government branch (2-week rotation DLCs included), I’d expected GW2 to lag way behind…

Arikyali.5804:

I’d prefer it if the champ train was just moved onto a different map. The people running it are probably level 80s…the map’s designed for newcomers.

I happen to be leveling up two chars and I use the train on occasion for that purpose. I’m not looking to speed level and I find this to be a good way to level up and get good loot.

As for the OP, how about if the devs give something better for players to do instead of nerfing something to death? After most people migrate to the next best thing, they could then “improve” Queensdale. That’s the smart thing to do.

An immediate consequence for the sort of paternalism you ask is resentment. You’re asking for a perfect rage-storm with very little return. There’s no point in aggravating a lot of players on “killing” something that is very popular without good alternatives.

In the meantime: if you don’t like it, don’t do it.

I definitely appreciate the changes on magic find and improved rewards. Those were changes that made me come back.

I’d appreciate the addition of guild halls and better guild tools, which have been asked since the beginning. Also, not being able to search by armor type (light, medium, heavy) on the trading post is an unfortunate overlook.

I wish they could have worked on these things before spending a lot of time and resources in this crazy 2-week rotation of new and disposable content (2 weeks is too quick for things to just disappear, and I’d like to see an expansion).

There have been moments where I spent a sum similar to what a monthly subscription would require in a year. On the other hand, it can take months until I use the gem store again. Also, I didn’t play for a year due to the introduction of ascended gear, but I could still come back from where I left off.

I still consider this system better than a monthly subscription. On the other hand, it would be best for Anet not to overdo and add (or let add) more shenanigans similar to lion chest keys, the mystic toilet, or pay to win skins which would give reason for players to prefer the stability of MMOs with subscription fees.

They did well in removing that armor until a different one can be designed. It was creating a bad precedent in monetization of what was supposed to be difficult to acquire in-game. That is a form of “pay to win” and it shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

Any reuse of skin armors or weapons in the store that are already in-game (especially ones supposedly difficult to acquire) sends out a message that players would just need to get better skin versions from the store instead of actually having to play the game for lesser exclusive versions.

More importantly, ArenaNet would be further compromising themselves as a company that wants to make the best game possible (and making good money in the process while having to compromise with NCsoft); instead, they would be a company looking for a quick buck with no regards to their own creation.

I’m sorry that this will affect those who have already purchased that aberration, but there are limits that shouldn’t be crossed.

What troubles me at the moment is that there’s no point in ArenaNet to create new interesting armor and weapon skins that players can acquire in-game when there’s better profit to be had from the gem store.

Instead of selling a whole set of skins so frequently (especially reused ones), it might be better for the store to have “orbs” that would add an effect to armors and weapons: fire, lightning, earth, or water effect. Players would first need to work to get the armor in-game before adding that new shining effect. Maybe the armor already has fire embedded to it, but players could change it to another one of their preference. Maybe instead of a standard glowing red fire, a ‘dye’ orb could provide a different choice in color. This could be a good compromise between proper game-playing and monetization.

I think there’s too many RNG sinks / low RNG rate in this game which makes me perceive this system as somewhat of a scam. That’s a part of GW2 I strongly dislike.

Wow. This is monetization at its worse.

How did something like this came out from the ‘bad ideas’ bucket into reality?

I recently started to play more consistently after a year of near absence (changes to the luck system and greatly improved rewards re-kindled my interest).

After trying out different living world content, I don’t find that exciting having to rush through new stuff before it’s gone, so often. Special content, once in a while, makes it special. Every two weeks? It makes it uninteresting. People play one content, then it’s gone. There’s this feeling of forceful playthrough that can eventually burn out players.

All of this work with “disposable” content shouldn’t have to go to waste so often. I’d like new content where some of its parts could remain persistent, and rarer special events that could last for (perhaps) a month, so that everyone could get to it at their own pace.

I’d like to see a greater refinement of persistent content and special activities to be more spaced in time.

This is a game. I look for entertainment in it. I like this activity as it is rather therapeutic after a long work day, and it’s a viable way to get loot for a casual player. Don’t nerf this to the point of oblivion…

I hope they won’t require people living in China to access Chinese servers that will most likely be cut off from the rest of the world, and in Chinese language. Isolated servers and Chinese language only is exactly what we have with WoW and what happened in the foiled attempt of having Guild Wars 1 in China. There’s too many rules and different ministries vying for control of video games. Expansions can take years to be released in the Chinese market. I thought GW1 had been enough of a headache, but here they are trying it again…

The game has strayed from what I perceive as “fun”. But my wife still plays it every day. She’s Chinese as she would hate having to abide to yet another law/censorship that serves to isolate Chinese citizens from outside influence, in order not to break “harmony” with Chinese social and cultural identity.

The internet has been our connection with the outside world from an otherwise system of laws that serve to constrict access to outside influence. Making players in China having to access Chinese-only servers would be quite a suffocating experience, at least in our case. She has a whole network of good friends that would be heartbreaking to lose, and it would be extremely difficult for expats like me to play in Chinese language.

Aye.8392:

I’ve gone from being a rabid fanboi to being a completely disgruntled and unhappy customer in 3 short months. It’s kinda sad.

Their communication on these changes certainly helps foster that kind of feeling. It’s a very dry and apathetic form of communication while avoiding to recognize player concerns. It’s like getting punched in the gut while saying “stay. go. we don’t care. you’re all a bunch of whiners anyway.”

Empathy. The current community managing directive dislikes this. This current approach of communicating with players succeeds in making disgruntled players more disgruntled.

The interesting part is that this company still has, within them, a more charming and pleasant approach. One that expresses “sorry for this. we do care”. There’s a lot that could be learned from Gaile Gray.

All brain, no heart when communicating really sucks. Stop being this dense.

Up until now players were able to go to either region… but that won’t be possible in guesting…

Ridiculous.

Chris Whiteside.6102:

And the moral of this story is that i need to pay more attention to the feedback we are receiving. There is a great deal going on so a method of more open communication between the teams/design and the community would be great and I intend to work on how we can accomplish this.

Chris

Public Test Server

Draven.7210:

Amon.5042:

GREAT communication. Community managers now exist to hush the populace while waiting for the storm to subside and get back to business as usual. GREAT work.

I’ve never felt so thoroughly alienated by a game company. I’m done with ArenaNet. Enjoy the $500 plus I stupidly spent in GW2, plus whatever I spent in GW1 since 2005. Unfortunately I can’t apply for a refund because I stupidly pre-purchased this “thing” on April 10.

Goodbye.

[moderated]

I purchased two DDEs for me and my wife and spent the rest in gems on both accounts. Do the math.

You, sir, are a perfect match for what this company now represents.

GREAT communication. Community managers now exist to hush the populace while waiting for the storm to subside and get back to business as usual. GREAT work.

I’ve never felt so thoroughly alienated by a game company. I’m done with ArenaNet. Enjoy the $500 plus I stupidly spent in GW2, plus whatever I spent in GW1 since 2005. Unfortunately I can’t apply for a refund because I stupidly pre-purchased this “thing” on April 10.

Goodbye.

Hello OP. Before you ask me to relax, please explain this:

http://venturebeat.com/2012/05/21/guild-wars-2-interview-monetization/#s:guildwars2-16

Mike O’Brien:

I want to point out that in Guild Wars 2, being competitive isn’t all about having the best gear. It’s not like you’re going to go into world-versus-world and get smoked because someone else has a godly weapon that you can’t hope to acquire. We’ve always been against that kind of thing.

Here’s what we believe: If someone wants to play for a thousand hours to get an item that is so rare that other players can’t realistically acquire it, that rare item should be differentiated by its visual appearance and rarity alone, not by being more powerful than everything else in the game. Otherwise, your MMO becomes all about grinding to get the best gear. We don’t make grindy games — we leave the grind to other MMOs.

I’ve heard that talk for the past five years. I pre-purchased GW2 on day 1 because of that premise. It took one weekend for years of “propaganda” to become empty.

No. I won’t relax. I didn’t purchase two DDEs and spent over 500USD in appreciation of that premise to now have ArenaNet give me the middle finger.

Dorian Teal.1203:

You guys are really angry.

http://venturebeat.com/2012/05/21/guild-wars-2-interview-monetization/#s:guildwars2-16

Mike O’Brien:

Here’s what we believe: If someone wants to play for a thousand hours to get an item that is so rare that other players can’t realistically acquire it, that rare item should be differentiated by its visual appearance and rarity alone, not by being more powerful than everything else in the game. Otherwise, your MMO becomes all about grinding to get the best gear. We don’t make grindy games — we leave the grind to other MMOs.

After researching more about the possible reasons for this apparent breach in design philosophy, I found this:

June, Nexon acquires 14.7% of NCsoft
http://www.bizjournals.com/prnewswire/press_releases/2012/06/08/NY21443

August, NCSoft is in the red
http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/08/08/ncsoft-weathers-6m-loss-in-q2/

Monitizing Producer at ArenaNet, coming from Nexon
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/crystin-cox/3/957/a77

It doesn’t seem that GW2 is the money making machine NCSoft and Nexon expected, and they seem to be trying to revamp the allure. I think the direction is a wrong one. There could be other ways to do this without compromising the manifesto, but the higher ups might still be obsessed in seeing WoW cloning as a path to greater success.

I’m really sorry for the ArenaNet staff who dedicated so much of their time and passion into making the new evolution of MMOs, and now having to conform to a distortion of that vision. As the higher ups get desperate for results, I expect more distortions to come about.

I’m just a player who came along because of ArenaNet’s original vision. Thank you ArenaNet, for the overall positive work you’ve done up to this moment. This recent patch produced a fundamental change that I don’t agree with and will therefore stop spending money and time with GW2.

I hope for better days.

Good one. I was initial disgusted by the title but got pleasantly surprised by its content.

Anet/NCSoft shenanigan, on the other end, made me stop playing. I had planned on leveling up all 8 professions to 80. Now I don’t know if I should start demanding for a refund due to being lied to or leave it as a second account for my wife.

They won’t see a dime from me again either way. I’ve spend over 500 dollars in two accounts since open beta in what is now junk for me. Been playing with Anet since late 2005. This sudden abandonment in philosophy and official comments on future content (which will deepen gear grind) comes particularly hard and is a major letdown.

Let’s all hail the new overlords and their awesome new flavor: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/crystin-cox/3/957/a77

Agree with OP. I’m very disappointed with where they’re headed. I’m not only skipping this event but also ceased playing altogether.

This patch has put an end to 7 years of playing with ArenaNet.

Gear grind progression was horribly unexpected and I want nothing to do with it. I was already displeased with gambling and MF in gear, and now this. This is not the kind of game I’m interested in playing.

Coming next!

Super-ascended armor because lots of you already have vanilla ascended and you need a new “challenge”. Never mind the investment you made in outdated exotics and ascended v1.

Go grind some more!

MF in gear is a really stupid concept, IMO. It should exist only as consumables.

I have no idea what’s happening with ArenaNet. I don’t like where they’re headed and I feel more and more uninterested in this game. How many more levels of gear grind are they going to come up with?

Your ticket should be able to get through. Have you tried using a different browser? Also press control+F5 so that your cache is cleared before trying again.

In your ticket ask for a 48-hour window to be opened so that you can purchase. I’m able to purchase in my account but my wife’s account got blocked. We need to ask support to open an window every time she wants to buy gems.

There has been changes to security and I think you now need to contact support for an email change: support.guildwars2.com

Open a ticket there and add the following in order to expedite the request (so that they know they’re talking with the actual owner of the game)

- Your GW2 Username
- Your serial code
- A character name, if any

Anlyon, make sure you make a backup of the game folder when you have it working again. I have a backup stored in the hard disk and have the client installed in 3 of my computers. I’m covered when it comes to problems like this.

deherch.3158:

I have been playing since pre-order start.. And these last few weeks I am getting really annoying lag. Jittering back and forth.. delayed actions….
pls fix

That’s pretty much what happened to me. Battleping helped me with this. It’s a paid service but it usually helps those that are far from the datacenter.