Guild Wars 2

Elegy.2159:

I recommend lots of blinds and condi removal. Stealth helps too.
I’ve only done it on engineer. Door guard is a surprising difficult solo encounter. c:

Thank you, Elegy… I need to try an engineer build.

I just wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to reply, both positive and those that may point out the duller part of my senses.

Given that this is apparently the accepted nature of the game, I will move on.
Either I will party with people, when I can get a better computer, or I will wait till lvl 80 and get some Exotic Gear!

This has been helpful and nice to see the type of people in the GW2 community!

Again, many thanks!

p.s.
I did leave a question unanswered, by accident.
“Why play an MMO” – because of the beautiful large worlds and story-line.
Same reason I play ESO! [Even though I wish it were single player with the option to play with friends, and not a lot of other people doing similar quest… with GW2 this is not a problem with how it is set up though… it kind of works.]

Aidan Savage.2078:

If that’s all you saw, then unfortunately you do deserve some of the ribbing you’re getting."

Actually, you are the second person.
Everyone else has been very polite, helpful, etc..

And, as humans, we all learn, understand differently – just because my intellect is not up to par to your standards, does that justify a ‘ribbing’ as you call it?

If so, that goes to show reasons I prefer to just solo my content.

Thanks to the others though… very kind of you!

Palador.2170:

First of all, being 80 and having Exotic gear does help.
Second, you’re going to die. A lot..

Thanks, Palador, Im not too far away now. [Well, maybe from the Exotic gear… but soon enough.]

Lishtenbird.2814:

Tip:

Reading what the game says takes about 10 times less time than writing a post about how basic features in an established 2-year old game are wrong.

Exactly! I read what you just posted… Enter story mode lvl 30 – nothing else on that button to say otherwise [that you need anything else]

@Loki, Thanks… part of the issue with grouping is not wanting to hold others back.
My specs are not the best and I can have some pretty low framerate issues.
The other issues I pointed out in my reply to Melanie.

@AdaphonDelat, Thank you for the offer.

I suppose I will hold off, at least until I get a better computer where the lag is not as bad… that way it will be of mutual benefit for both parties in the group.

Thank you all for your kind replies.

Melanie.1240:

Dungeons are group content by default. You’re trying to solo content that’s meant for a party. Ofcourse it’s going to be hard. :P Just get a group and you’ll breeze through it like it’s nothing. Have you ever played a game with solo dungeons? I have yet to see one (not that I played a lot of games, but they’re at the very least rare).

Thanks Melanie…
Just wanted to experience the story alone.

Actually Dungeons and Dragons Online, DDO, I go through dungeons alone.
They are designed with multiplayer in mind, but I spend hours going through the dungeons… and enjoy the pace.

One reason that i like going alone is because of my experience with WoW.
People can be in a rush, too slow, I can be too slow, some disappear, etc.

Personally, I have a lot of patience toward people… but I am not the best gamer, though i love games… and do not want to be the cause of someone else’s poor dungeon experience.

Olvendred, I took the ‘clearly’ stated recommendation to be separate from ‘story mode’ option. I suppose I was wrong – thanks for pointing that out.

RSlongK… thanks for the well wishes, will dive into the dungeon forums… youtube is what helped me with the Ascalon Dungeon.

I just really wish the game would remember where you are in the dungeon.
[DDO is frustrating like that as well… spend hours in a dungeon, log-out of game, and…]

Lazaar.9123:

Story mode dungeons are intended to introduce you to dungeons, if you are highly skilled.

Heh… well, I’m obviously not ‘highly skilled.’

That is an awkward way of introducing a dungeon… “go in story mode and find out… you just can’t do it alone!”

Thanks for the response!

So, I tried my second dungeon, [character lvl 70+].

Im fighting a ‘door guard’ who is lvl 40 — I’m leveled down to 42 — and with my pet and other creatures, such as wurm, birds, etc., – I die every time… before the guy is even half down!

• Why have an option for story mode if you don’t want a party, etc. if it is nigh impossible to complete the quest – it is set for lvl. 40, getting up to lvl 70+, sure I understand the down-leveling system, but this is ridiculous… again, what is the point?

………
Time: Locked out: Restarts: etc.,

My first dungeon was in Ascalon…
I spent, what seemed to be hours, defeating everything alone… and then I got to two characters I could not beat… got the lady alone, and no problem, then the guy… could not defeat him no matter what…

I logged out, looked up a solution, and found I was supposed to throw rocks at him to ‘knock him out’. Wow… o.k.

BUT… I go back in, and the ENTIRE dungeon is reset.
Im essentially locked out, or rather my whole dungeon has been reset EVEN though I did not leave…

What if you have to go somewhere? What if you are just ‘dog tired’ as I was?
What if you get stuck, and happen to log out the game, etc.
The entire, almost impossible dungeon has to have a reset??? You have to be kidding me.

Ah… yes, I know WoW is like this, etc. – but two things:

1: Story mode… should not feel impossible
2: If it is going to take hours it should at least let me start where I left off.

I would love this to change – again, lvl 70+ and my second dungeon in story mode, and it honestly sucks, I hate it… it is disappointing, and while everyone may say get a guild… the story mode option should not even be made available. [now that would be cheap if they took it out, it would be better to just allow a fix…]

Frustrated player… who will stay away from dungeons… until it’s fixed.
[This also affects potential future purchases to expansions, etc. – though it seems some are concerned about the lack of dungeons in the new expansion?]

Sorry for the irritation, but after any length of time, with essentially nothing to show for the effort… again, one can say get a group – but it is an option for story mode – which is the point, essentially.

Thanks for reading!

So… lvl 70+ now, finished my story-line, [at least until 80], and in an EPIC conclusion everyone is standing around when I am given the TITLE: CHAMPION of ORR.

how cool! BUT…

Wait, Titles section in my menu says, “No title available”

What???

Finally, some achievement, it is clearly stated I will “FOREVER hold the title of: Champion of ORR”, and… no title.

Great – lvl all the way, practically to 80, and not one single title – fun.
It seems I missed Champion of Lions Arch back when they advertised last day, and I saw hundreds of people running around with title… but give a title in story mode, and – nah, no big deal… story doesn’t matter, forget the dialogue, not sure why I played it.

Not angry or upset, really, just trying to point out that it would be nice to have this corrected in an update.

Thanks!

Thank you for the kind reply,

Indeed, the ‘lost feel’ is part of what I was referring to, but as you mentioned… can be quite ‘realistic’.

That is what I was referring to with quest… I absolutely love that the heart quest give you unique gear, and while it is not too low, per say… it somehow has that feeling that I received it too late.

As for flying, I fully understand what you are referring to with the zones… found myself last night trying to get to a zone over some mountains, and remembered that there are set locations for zoning into new areas. [again was away for awhile, and typically fast travel around – sounds silly I forgot, but anyway.]

You are correct, it is a lot to do with preferences, and I appreciate that you took the time to share yours. [Was concerned that my post may be taken the wrong way, and by no means did I want to come across in an arrogant manner that I had it right… just with the expansion these were a cumulation of thoughts and feelings about the game – that i thought i would put out there.]

FrizzFreston.5290:

I’d say most of these issues stem from preferences.

it sometimes make you feel more lost , since the world flows over into eachother from zone to zone. (Probably more realistic)

flying could be awesome…
…But the zones don’t actually load over into eachother. At the edge of the map there’s nothing. :p As well as being able to get to broken locations.

Most heart merchants eventually sell too low gear for your character to use (although when I level up a character it’s pretty awesome to some extent)

coglin.1867:

You need to stop looking at games in the context of comparison to other games.

Colin, the problem is, that is the only way to express what it is I feel about this game.
Im not comparing it to any game… these are feelings as I play it.

Like the location ‘blending’ its much like what I said about the music… it is there, but it is not distinct and does not stand out on its own right… as Im not humming the tune, as with ESO, etc. – I do not find myself recalling my walk through as in WoW…

or even when Im playing, feeling a bit ‘lost’… it just blends.

Comparison is only to help provide a background to what I wished to discuss, concerning my experience with the game.

Again, i fully appreciate that most are very happy with the game… and as mentioned, I like it a lot, but wanted to share my own experience.

Thanks!

PART 3:
BLENDS….

This is the biggest ‘issue’, as it were…

When I think of WoW, I can remember each area with detail.
The night elf, blood elf, dwarf, questing zones… each area is easy to recall.

With GW2, it blends… I do not recall with the same depth the areas.
I cannot pin point what it is exactly, but ‘blending’ is the best way to describe it.

Trying to recall my Norn walk through… and it is there, but as I go throughout the world, much of it does not just ‘stick’ out. [Yes, I know there is the Charr, sandy area, Sylvari woodsy area…] But the feeling that you are not quite sure what area it is, not being quite distinct is a common feeling.

Again, thanks for reading.

PART 2
*
Faction
I half expected, from the trailer, that we would get a WoW type of faction with the conflict shown.

To be clear, the one thing that I do NOT like about WoWs factions is that you can’t choose sides, only if you are a ‘sweet’ little panda.
[As we know there is the argent crusade which has people from both factions.]

So if GW2 did do factions… please let it be by choice. It may be that GW2 is onto something by having all races on the same team, but for those who do not engage in pvp, wvw., nor guilds… it may be fun to sneak in their area, [do it all the time in WoW.]

Sneaking into enemy territory could be a skill even, to gather intelligence, etc.

Mounts
Yes, I know – no mounts.
Even WoW people say it takes away form the world.
I have to say, don’t use it then… what I feel is it gives more.

I love art, and you miss a lot on ground level… so much beauty as I fly around Azeroth that you just can’t see otherwise.

Maybe GW2 just is not big enough, and there are the loading zones for each zone… so I guess it is as it is, and I will be happy for the new gliding system… seems cool.

• Dungeons
  I tried to solo a dungeon, the lowest one, after leveling above requirement… took forever, then I got to one where I later read you needed to throw stones at one of the two antagonist, but to find this out, I logged out and was logged out of dungeon, and so it was all for nothing.

Its nice how GW2 scales back to make it feel a challenge, but if you have to sleep, leave, etc. your dungeon state should be saved… I know, WoW, etc. doesn’t do it – but this is beyond ridiculous and I know Im not the only person to solo it that has said so.

Voice acting
Last but not least, all quest should have animated voice acting like ESO.
ESO, from what I played in the beta made me feel part of the world… feels like WoW day of reading quest are gone – I know GW2 does something with the living world, in which I wish my character better resembled who I see on screen…

Conclusion
Overall it is a lack of immersion… either through the story, [and there is a lot of story, but still], the characters, or just everything mentioned above.

• I really love that you can get specialized equipment after each quest
  But by the time I get to a quest, it is typically too low level, but it feels a lot more consistent and more rewarding than WoW questing… [not necessarily raids which give you cooler armor, at higher lvls anyway – like Panderia… lower lvls. not so much.]

• i also love that my armor feels cool even if I don’t go to the gem store, but I feel the gem store, at least getting gems in game, is next to impossible, as with gold to get gems.
  But that is part of the no sub fee, I suppose – though with the new DLC/expansion route, this could perhaps change.

Either way… i do wonder if there will be a GW3 or if this is like ESO, WoW and should just drop the number, [like ESO renaming to ‘Tameriel Unlimted’ –
Have to say, the ‘2’ is a cool dragon though.

Thanks for reading!

PART 1: [Too long so Part 2 Below]

Just leveled my first character to 69 last night, up from 65, after a long hiatus from GW2.
The last time I was in the game, for any length of time, was during the Halloween event and then a quick try for the Christmas.

The GW2 Halloween event blew away WoW’s in my opinion… and other family members.
It was our first time and we wish that we had tried it out earlier as it was during the final days.

The Christmas, didn’t feel the same… [not just due to theme.]
It felt not quite as prominent?

Either way, watching the release event with the family, etc., I can say that Im interested in the update, but it does not quite feel like a true DLC/expansion to me… though, that may well change as I see more about the new area, etc. [Again, we just got a brief run down, so I am open.]

I did want to address issues that i personally have with GW2 that help with the ‘mixed’ feelings about the update.

GW2 is a family ‘favorite’, as it were, but it does not seem to fully/clearly dominate the imagination, as it were – and I will try to explain why.

First, the good… I feel like games such as Elderscrolls Online, ESO, have actually learned from GW2, and no Im not necessarily talking about their new no-sub, but buy a DLC and pay monthly as an option for ESO plus. [The latter is like Dungeons and Dragons Online, DDO… mixed with GW2 Trading Post and now DLC.]

• The ‘issues’ are as follows:
  Music

After watching the trailer I thought there may be the beginnings of a faction war, [similar to WoW], with new race, etc. [Felt like it with the tension!]

But after reading the forums, Im guessing not.

The idea of expanding housing is a cool idea, as someone brought up.

Will there be a Mac Version of the expansion?

What’s more, what happened to the Mac forum, it may have been ‘slower’, but now it is nye impossible to find topics that are recent and relevant as they are quickly drowned out by PC comments.

The search function, I know, but it does not just come up with mac when ‘mac’ is typed in, it has everything that has those three letters.

So, seeing the above… it seems like Mac may be ‘dropped’ for the expansion? I would hope not, GW2 is really a great game. [The only issue being the TP having issues.]

Anyway, thanks!