Guild Wars 2

User Generated Content.

Open world PVP mixed in with PVE is the best form of user generated content. It is in fact a sandbox that changes based on player input.

Computer Generated Content.

Think of a computer system that can build dungeons and NPC’s randomly. The gaming experience will remain fresh for much longer. Perhaps indefinitely.

Current formulae uses linear story telling. This system will always take longer to build than to consume. Grinds are placed to make it take longer to consume. Some companies monetize convenience in exchange for money to reduce the time it takes to grind.

I’ve always wondered why playing a slot machine was more appealing than overcoming a difficult challenge by discovering, learning and adapting.

Vote with your wallet.

And as I stated previously, since gw2 does not have a gear/stat treadmill, the carrot on the stick is “skins”. Being able to purchase skins, therefor, makes it pay to win.

I was unable to find in game achievements attractive enough to be worth my time either. Even though I knew that item skins were the end game, acquiring them with money instead of skill did make it feel like pay to win. In a sinister and twisted way.

They’re curves and the at every price the demand for each side is different, as the price changes, new users enter and leave the market and trade differently. It’s not as simple as some will buy and some won’t, the curves are quite dense.

So you’ve observed market behavior after tightening the taps on “in game” gold income streams and concluded that new players will enter the market when the price reaches an attractive level.

It’s difficult to poke holes in your economic strategy because, it makes sense. I’m betting that your player base will disagree with you in the long run. :P

In a game where practically anything you do floods your inventory with items, the trading post makes it easier to sells the items you don’t want and use the money to buy the items you do want. It generally works well and is convenient.

I’m not a fan of a game where players can gather great wealth for buying low and selling high. I would much rather have the players acquire that wealth from tackling and overcoming exceptionally challenging problems.

Like John said, what is your time really worth? Is buying low and selling high all day a valuable use of your time? In the end, when the servers shutdown, all the paper money goes back into the box.

Behellagh.1468:

Calae.1738:

I knew this would happen a long time ago. What I didn’t predict was them nerfing all the lucrative farming spots. It’s actually gotten a lot worse than I had anticipated. The rate of increase in gold inflation seems to be increasing exponentially.

On second thought, I don’t think Mr. Smith is as good of an economist as I had originally thought.

Inflation happens if too much gold is entering the system but as you pointed out, easy sources of gold have been nerfed. So where is the gold coming from? Is there still too much gold entering the game? That’s what you seem to be implying.

And before you say it, no gold from selling gems isn’t new gold, it’s gold players sold for gems.

The north American player base has declined and the European player base has practically vanished. Arena net is focusing most if not all their resources in Asia, which should be obvious to anyone.

Assuming a declining player base and a reduced gold output through farming, how do you explain golds continuing devaluation to gems? If this is not inflation through gem to gold conversion or third party influx then maybe someone is manually turning the knob to milk the players.

I knew this would happen a long time ago. What I didn’t predict was them nerfing all the lucrative farming spots. It’s actually gotten a lot worse than I had anticipated. The rate of increase in gold inflation seems to be increasing exponentially.

On second thought, I don’t think Mr. Smith is as good of an economist as I had originally thought.

I don’t intend to return but I do visit the forums from time to time. There are better games out right now.

lordkrall.7241:

Calae.1738:

I don’t think you are wrong.

I have a feeling that what we are seeing is a combination of milking the current playerbase and targeting a different market on another continent that has literally hundreds of millions of people.

The China market is HUGE. Even if this is just a cashgrab strategy, they can make bank and not care if the game itself died a quick death.

Ah yes. I am sure they would be willing to put 300+ people (and friends) out of a job for some swift dollars….

We don’t know what their future projects are. I wouldn’t let go of 300+ people if my product produced a temporary profit at the expense of project A.

I have bad feeling that they do not care if this game dies as they have made tons of money while it lasted and they can just move on to the next project. I hope I’m wrong though.

I don’t think you are wrong.

I have a feeling that what we are seeing is a combination of milking the current playerbase and targeting a different market on another continent that has literally hundreds of millions of people.

The China market is HUGE. Even if this is just a cashgrab strategy, they can make bank and not care if the game itself died a quick death.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

Calae.1738:

A game revolving around a trading post will not last long. Then again, it may have been intended.

Recettear says hello.

Looking at that image makes me smile.

Without describing the image itself, I can almost see which market Arenanet is targeting.

A game revolving around a trading post will not last long. Then again, it may have been intended.

Manasa Devi.7958:

An expansion is the only thing they can offer that I’ll pay for.

Pretty much this.

I think NCsoft is milking it. Resources are allocated elsewhere and in other markets.

When I compare this game to others, sometimes I can’t help but wonder how foolish I was. A couple of my friends are returning to the other game that shall not be named. Even after a 10$ price hike, that 50$ expansion will have more content than what Guild Wars 2 had and possibility will ever have.

That list doesn’t fit with this crowd of gamers I think.

GW2 is more casual than casual. Auto attack AFK that rewards participation, role players in bars, 2D spreadsheet gameplay from the trading post.

Imagine the uproar from the community if they had to succeed in a challenging task to get a fluffy pink Quaggan backpack.

Imagine a video of a Trading Post player with a play by play commentator.

The trading post is probably the most useful tool in their possession to curb inflation.

The money coming in to the system has to be drained in order to avoid prices from reaching incomprehensible numbers. Every time an item exchanges hand, money is being taxed through the trading post and erased from the game. You can argue that repair and travel also serve this function but on a much smaller scale.

In a game where the most prestigious items require an absurd amount of materials to make, the trading post is not a part of the game, it is the game.

silvermember.8941:

Why would they refund it? There is no reason why they should refund it other than you having a hissy fit.

I suppose that it’s concerning to see Arenanet trying to milk their player base this way. What ever player base they have left that is.

Dark Catalyst.1028:

Hey, at least you’re earning your legendary when participating in the tourney. Unlike the other way of acquiring them where you do nothing but test your “legendary” patience by participating in endless grind and trying your luck in the Mystic Toilet.

I’ve often wondered if Arenanet even understood the meaning of the word Legendary.

Reducing the power of gear people spent real time and money to build is something Blizzard understood very well to NEVER do again. Early through their first expansion they decided to “nerf” epic crafted sets that millions of people invested money and time to build. The community uproar was so massive, it prompted them to reverse their decision very quickly.

I’m curious to see how the Guild Wars 2 community will absorb this one.

mrstealth.6701:

Calae.1738:

The last Guild Wars 2 living story trailer had about 6000 views. 6000. For an MMO that’s quite sad. The community doesn’t care about the story or the game.

I think it reflects how much the developers care about their own game.

Not sure what trailer you’re referring to, but the latest LS-releated trailer on their official Youtube channel (Battle for LA, 3 weeks ago) has over 40,000 views. But it is a sharp decline from the trailer before that (Escape from LA), which has over 130,00 views.

I didn’t even know they had a youtube channel.

Now I can clearly see a sharp decline in interest in the game.

The last Guild Wars 2 living story trailer had about 6000 views. 6000. For an MMO that’s quite sad. The community doesn’t care about the story or the game.

I think it reflects how much the developers care about their own game.

The living story was an experiment.

I didn’t complain much about it, other than the easy difficulty and childish story telling. It could of worked well if they knew which market they’re targeting. I think they don’t know who they’re targeting. Anyone with a pulse? A fun adventure for the whole family? Who knows.

I like to draw a parallel to racing games when discussing PVP balancing.

Assuming both cars are built the same, only the best driver wins.
Assuming both cars are different, only the best car wins.

PVP is based on a set of rules. If there were no rules, there would be no competition.

The problem with GW2 is that the rules keep changing after every balancing patch. The “cars” have their own unique features and are always being modified. You can’t balance this no matter how hard you try. Blizzard understood this a long time ago. They, like Arenanet will keep plugging holes only to create new ones.

It’s a never ending cycle.

I don’t play anymore either. I use to though. A lot. I also spent a lot of money; over 600$. I never considered it an expense but rather an investment. Not a good one I might add.

As time went on I realized that I wasn’t the target market.

To be honest I have no idea who they’re targeting. What age group or type of gamer exactly? Who knows. Long, repetitive grinding are features found in Facebook and Asian games. Definitely not for me. Lesson learnt.

Length
Average fractal should be between 15 to 30 minutes to complete. With a timer. Once the timer reaches zero, the fractal collapses on itself and all players die.

Normal
Timer is longer than on hard. NPC’s have a special set of abilities. Loot is proportionate to the time and difficulty.

Hard
Timer is shorter than normal. NPC’s have a long list of offensive and defensive abilities that are selected at random at the creation of the fractal. Loot is proportionate to the time and difficulty.

Miss Sugarific.8471:

Anet needs better armour desigeners, period. OR get some inspiration from some other games. Where are the designers from the previous game?

Maybe they should take one living story team and turn it into a fashion team.

This is not the first time they release re-skinned armor whipped up by one person on his lunch break. Like someone else said before, at least they’re not charging money for it.

This is just a lack of resources on their side. You can easily tell how much a company invests in something when you look at the quality of what they produce.

That can’t be fixed with the current ruleset in place. The rules would have to be fined tuned for competitive play by region; which won’t happen. Why?

Because WvW is a sandbox for casual players who like to follow a blue dot around the map in a huge blob of 50+ players. Input lag and FPS drops are the defining features of WvW.

A truly remarkable competitive experience.

Convenience in exchange for money?

I got a better idea.

How about content in exchange for money. Actual content.

Well… lets see…

I’m watching yellow bars moving right and rearranging a bunch of junk in my inventory. My character is standing perfectly still and I’m clicking on a 2D interface.

This activity is so engaging that I feel more alive now than I’ve ever felt before.

Just more Scarlet. Other than that, pretty much nothing.

Hopefully there will only be 1 MMO with these mechanics. I’m hoping other studios have the common sense to not add these in their game. Then again it all depends how casual it is. Downstate and rally systems are for casual players.

No hardcore competitive PVP community would tolerate these mechanics.

Leamas.5803:

Calae.1738:

sadatoni.6524:

Why is there hardly anyone in Orr any longer? It’s like a ghost town.

For those playing since launch, it’s quite inconceivable to think that a human being can tolerate doing the exact same thing for 16 months.

Yet, this is exactly the type of behaviors hardcore players embody. Isn’t repetition essentially what an MMO is all about?

That depends on your definition of hardcore. My understanding of hardcore is a player who demands a challenge and seeks to master their tool box to find a solution. Provided that the developer can provide the appropriate sandbox.

sadatoni.6524:

Why is there hardly anyone in Orr any longer? It’s like a ghost town.

For those playing since launch, it’s quite inconceivable to think that a human being can tolerate doing the exact same thing for 16 months.

Windu The Forbidden One.6045:

Azzer.8137:

You guys are totally kittening annoying they make a game with loads of free contents, some permanent most temporary they work hard as well to make this game, seriously if you guys dislike the game so much and what they are doing with it why the kitten are you still playing?.

I just don’t get it.

I’m being critical because I care. If I didn’t care or like this game I would simply play something else.

The second that the majority of player no longer care; they no longer complain. They stop playing and disappear.

Less than 5% of dissatisfied customers voice their dissatisfaction. What do you think the other 95% do? They just disappear.

As a company, how much would you value your customer’s complaints?

Devata.6589:

Teege.4623:

Burnfall.9573:

Injustice, Oppression, Elitism, and Favoritism, is this the future we need?

I’ve noticed a lot of that from the developers and here on the forums from those who run it.

But to contribute to the topic, I don’t look forward to anything exciting from GW2 in 2014.. I’d happily pay a sub for one of these up and coming games though.

I keep finding it funny that in every mmo forum I keep seeing people asking for sub-based games and if a game decides not to go sub-based they are all mad but in the last 9 years (really resent released games still need to prove them-self) all games that went sub-based failed with there sub-based model. I do understand that you do not like a micro-transaction based model but GW1 had a good model where they focused on expansions. That was really good.

I think if GW2 switched to an expansion model like they did with GW1 with new skills, abilities, classes, physics and NPC mechanics the game would probably hold more players.

It’s more likely that GW2 will be released in China before they can produce a large expansion but; there isn’t much time before the competition arrives. If they are very successful in China they might abandon the North American market.

“Printing money” doesn’t “devale the total value of money” in circulation. In fact, it has no effect upon the total value of money in circulation, which is why it has inflationary pressure. Issuing additional currency causes the exact same amount of value (that is to say, the measurable of utility of all goods in the market) to be spread amongst a larger pool of money, causing the value of each individual unit of currency to decrease. It may seem like a pedantic distinction, but it’s the difference between a clear mathematical effect and some sort of magical change because experts say so.

When new money is created, it has little or no inflationary effect to the people who touch it first. Once that new money circulates daily and demand for goods and services reach equilibrium (without any increase in productivity); prices of food and energy start to rise. That is real inflation, not the kittened CPI that exists today.

IVIUIEI.9631:

2014 is going to be AMAZING for GW2 and the community per Chris Whiteside. I hope he’s right, fingers cross.

We’ve heard something similar last year. My advice is to not set your expectations high and you won’t be disappointed. If there’s no detailed plan of what they’re doing or working on then chances are they’re not really working on anything worth talking about.

Even an abstract idea creates a buzz within the community. They have nothing, literally nothing.

If GW2 will turn out to be amazing; it’ll be added to the long list of amazing games coming out this year. If not, no loss; plenty of other games to play.

I’m guessing that they don’t want people farming ascended. It’ll cut into potential gem sales.

My prediction…

Crafting increased from 500 to 600!
New Legendary items to craft!
New rewards in existing content!
Another healing skill!
Easter bunny suit with colored egg basket in gems store!

The Spiral King.2483:

People can scream RNG all they want. Ecto rate has most certainly gone down since launch, and again since several months ago.

Since November the demand of globs have remained relatively consistent. However, the supply has literally tripled. This is a trend from last month. One way to keep the prices high is to reduce the influx of supply.

It wouldn’t surprise me to know that the salvage rates have been altered. Not one bit.

Azure Prower.8701:

I started since head start of the game.
I used to log on every day to do the dailies.
I used to care about getting every achievement point I could.
I’ve obtained the commander feature.
I’ve hit 80 on eight characters.
I’ve crafted 5 ascended weapons for my main.
I’ve crafted a legendary for my main.
I’ve reached the top 700 in achievement points.

Then the fractal revamp hit. Then come the ascended armors.

Now I’ve stopped caring. I’m losing interest.

Because I do not want to even think of farming for different tiers of cloth from mobs for ascended armors. Because I no longer want to repeat content I’ve done a thousand times before for an insignificant reward.

This has become a Korean grinder. I’m now struggling to log in.

I know what you mean because I feel the exact same way. I would love to log in but, I can’t. I know exactly what to expect from the moment I log in to the moment I log out.

Imagine knowing that you’ll be sitting through a 2 hour movie you’ve already seen a hundred times.

Even if I force myself to log in, I’ll probably log out very quickly.

My guess is that Arenanet couldn’t generate enough revenue from the ideas of the manifesto.

Their current strategy is very similar to mobile games and facebook games. Long tedious and boring grinds that can be shortened in exchange for money.

This business model is terrible and doesn’t earn a good reputation amongst passionate gamers. That’s a stain they won’t be able to wash off so easily.

In a game without any meaning or purpose, I suppose it makes sense that players try to find meaning in other things. But gold? Really?

Of all the things you could possibly find meaning for, gold apparently has enough value for it to mean something.

How much do I have? How much do you have? I wonder if someone has more or less than me?

How pathetic.

Some people are playing just to get gold; like a high score in pacman. I can assure you that gold in GW2 has an intrinsic value of zero.

Everything in GW2 is property of Arenanet. You own nothing.

The hot new business model in today’s games is making them grindy. So much so that some people would be willing to pay real money to reduce the time it takes to grind.

Imagine that. Make your game suck so bad and so boring that you give your players a convenience option in exchange for money.

…and it works.

Oh yea I forgot The Witcher 3 and Dragon Age: Inquisition . The 2014 list of RPG’s is nuts.

This is to be expected and is visible in other games.

The players doing the dungeons are no longer doing them for the experience but instead the reward. They want to clear it and get it over with as soon as possible. They’ve done it too many times. Anyone would find this type of gaming experience boring.

Playing a game for the rewards instead of the experience is an unfortunate reality in the MMO genre.

Excited? Well, Let’s see…

Darksouls 2
Watchdogs
Elder Scrolls Online
Wildstar
Warlords of Draenor
Destiny
The Division
Everquest Next

Yeah sure I’ll have more Scarlet and Ascended crafting because that’s a lot more fun.