Guild Wars 2

Endrance.1680:

Behellagh.1468:

The fundamental problem with MMOs is that the players burn through content quicker than it can be made and released. I find dynamic events still fun after all these years. And I tend to hang around only on three low level maps. And I’m putting in maybe 10 to 20 hours a week if that. Call me odd but I like doing DEs while strip mining maps of their mats unless I’m rushed for time.

I’m not tired of Maw for instance. It’s comfortable and it’s fun seeing all those players in one place. It’s as fun as riding on a same local rollercoaster for the 20th time. It’s old hat but I still enjoy it, well the screams of my fellow passengers.

Hmm, maybe I should roll an Asura next then.

Agree entirely with your post here. I’ve been playing GW since Prophecies and have run with ANet ever since. That isn’t to say I have not had issues with specific aspects, however the game as it is works wonderfully for me. The Maw isn’t boring, I still enjoy fighting Claw of Jormag, just as much I still enjoy running my toon through low level areas and stripping mats from an entire map. The often described tedious process of crafting a Legendary, which I’ve done, as well as crafting ascended gear is really satisfying. I mentioned this in a previous post but what it comes down to is instant gratification. Society today demands results without expecting too much work, there is a sense of entitlement. ANet runs things the way they do because it does work and as much as people may complain they still log in everyday. Not everyone is going to be happy and that is all there is to it. Some of you may say, “Well it’s players that think like that who will ruin this game, this is why people leave”. The reality is that this game is not for everyone and some people should leave. I don’t mean that to be harsh or even offensive, but for those seeking an experience that is, as the last poster described, more of a sprint with quicker results then a different game may be the answer.

In short, the title says it all. The game runs flawlessly everywhere else: WvW, SW and Drytop, and all other major areas. Anytime I go to the Ascalon region the sounds goes first, shortly after dialogue windows cease to populate when NPCs speak, followed by the client crash. Does anyone else have an experience like this?

We do live in a society that demands some sort of tangible payout for their time, so I suppose in that sense I can see the cause for concern in the current system; we need to feel that progress has been made and that our time is worthwhile, sooner rather than later. Even people in last place get a trophy for “sportsmanship”. Opinion is the determining factor though, you’re right. Not everyone can be happy all the time though, so OP, I’m sorry for your frustration with the grind. Perhaps with the new update there will be some features available that meet this need for you.

Crimson Clouds.4853:

As the saying goes “if it aint broke, don’t fix it”. There’s little reason to rework the system because it works perfectly fine currently and an alternative isn’t worth investing time/resources in.

Lore wise, the WPs and the system is owned by the asura- you are paying to use their service each time you WP. Unless the asura had some need for junk (trophy) items, I don’t understand how this system makes sense.

If the argument to disagree with the idea is going to be that the we are paying the Asura to run it, then in the spirit of lore I will suggest that the Asura must need technologies and items to keep the system running and sustained. To make their job easier the different individuals of each race could individually contribute by acquiring these items making the need to pay said Asura for the work needless.

You don’t agree. Got it. I still like the idea of further tying game mechanics into the storyline. Looking forward to further ideas on how this can be accomplished, even if what “isn’t broke, doesn’t need fixing”.

Crimson Clouds.4853:

It seems unnecessary to me.

Currently, I get the trophy, sell it, and that money theoretically goes towards my next WP.
Your suggestion is that the trophy gets exchanged (at a particular vendor) to fund the next WP.

It just seems like an overcomplication of the current system.

It’d make more sense if completing events in a particular area charged a bar for WPing, after 2 events you could WP to somewhere in the same area, after 4 events you could WP to another map (for example).

… But even this seems overcomplicated and unnecessary. WP fees really aren’t much of a big deal. The time I save from having to run is worth that 2-4s, because I could easily earn it back in that time.

I understand your point, however my reasoning for the suggestion is obviously not an interest that you share. Paying and Waypointing as you please is convenient, understood, but the thought was focused on lore. As for exchanging trophies at a vendor, no, this was not what I stated. As the game is now, trophies you acquire CAN be turned into vendors. My suggestion was that an item, like the trophies, would be dropped and when you had them you could then Waypoint. It would be really simple. Kill NPC, item drops, item reads, “Double-Click to choose a Waypoint location”, or what have you. It isn’t about collecting anything and turning it in or completing events to allow travel. It was an alternative idea to create lore-friendly immersion. Nothing more.

As stated before, I don’t care about the fee in regards to cost at all. It is just a game mechanic that I thought could be incorporated into the storyline, not a cheap method of pinching pennies.

Devata.6589:

Endrance.1680:

Mightybird.6034:

and by that I mean the nickle and diming grindy feel whenever you want to change your character’s appearance or have more than character 5 slots or more bank slots or….etc. Like I paid 50+ USD $ for it when it originally came out. Played since day 1. I’ve got like two, TWO pieces of cosmetics I’ve unlocked (like the special ones you can apply for free) . Seriously? There are f2p games with more cosmetic options for less time spent.

Sure there are random loot crap unlocks. I’m talking about looks you’d actually want on your character. I know the token thingys arent too hard to grind but they’re still a grind. for a paid model I should be able to change my appearance on a whim.

I did not read each and every post so forgive me if this has already been stated but having features that users pay for allows the game, and most of its content, to remain free. There is a sizable player population and the game gets consistent updates, promotions, and monthly events and these cost money. The alternative would look much like WoWs method of funding its upkeep: a monthly fee. Beyond that, this game allows you to purchase these digital extras by converting in game currency into gems, the same gems you can buy with actual cash. This adds real value to the in game currency, gold, silver, and copper, ergo you are getting merchandise for free by converting it. You are being rewarded for playing the game, as if playing a great game wasn’t reward enough.

Another alternative would be selling more regular expansions (like once a year), then the items can be in the game-world and so part of the game while not having the grind. In a way they are now selling a way out of the grind. So it’s not like this is it and the only other option is a P2P model.

What you are saying is pretty much, I settle for these negatives to not have the P2P negatives what is a choice but any F2P game out there can offer that what is exactly what OP is saying.

I don’t view the current system of things as a negative. I am tracking regarding what the OP is saying and the frustration is understandable but it’s not something I can commiserate with. Releasing expansions is great and it does bring in funds, absolutely, but releasing an expansion once a year does not guarantee stability for the game itself. It also creates deadlines and that often comes with rushed coding. If they were to schedule expansions that way it would mean having an estimate of what the profits would be and only being able to add to and regulate the game based on those profits. It’s a budgeting plan that limits what the developers can do and how much time and money they have to do it with. Building on and improving the game with regular small scale features using funding as it comes in creates a more balanced system and minimizes errors. It’s the same reason the servers don’t go down for updates. In most games, they build one huge update and then the servers go down and you wait while they implement changes. Updates for GW2 are constantly ongoing in the background allowing for sustained user access and smoother implementation.

Menadena, I did the same thing during my first few months of play. Paying to travel was something I had a hard time with as I’m used to fast travel in games by Bethesda, (Thanks Elder Scrolls!). But I came to realize that I didn’t care about the fee in truth and preferred going by foot anyway. The lore is really great and I think that if there is anyway for developers to tie the mechanics into the lore, they should. But I’m a sucker for stories and graphics.

To comment on one of your ideas I really like the thought of constructing temporary Waypoints. It could be a pretty unique spin on things. SW is a pain to run through if you are killed, I’m right there with you on that. It would be interesting to make Waypoints or have a skill to that effect, such as a Mark and Recall sort of system, somewhat like a Mesmer portal but more long range. Granted it would not be usable in PvP, EotM, or WvW.

It would seem not. You can hide all of the locked but there is no option to hide the unlocked. I understand why it would be beneficial but it’s probably a minor detail that was not considered or just overlooked during update.

Mightybird.6034:

and by that I mean the nickle and diming grindy feel whenever you want to change your character’s appearance or have more than character 5 slots or more bank slots or….etc. Like I paid 50+ USD $ for it when it originally came out. Played since day 1. I’ve got like two, TWO pieces of cosmetics I’ve unlocked (like the special ones you can apply for free) . Seriously? There are f2p games with more cosmetic options for less time spent.

Sure there are random loot crap unlocks. I’m talking about looks you’d actually want on your character. I know the token thingys arent too hard to grind but they’re still a grind. for a paid model I should be able to change my appearance on a whim.

I did not read each and every post so forgive me if this has already been stated but having features that users pay for allows the game, and most of its content, to remain free. There is a sizable player population and the game gets consistent updates, promotions, and monthly events and these cost money. The alternative would look much like WoWs method of funding its upkeep: a monthly fee. Beyond that, this game allows you to purchase these digital extras by converting in game currency into gems, the same gems you can buy with actual cash. This adds real value to the in game currency, gold, silver, and copper, ergo you are getting merchandise for free by converting it. You are being rewarded for playing the game, as if playing a great game wasn’t reward enough.

It’s not about middle-men or anything unnecessary, although to call the suggestion such is not different than calling the current system the same. I agree, the cost is negligible. The “ultimate goal” was stated in the original post: it would create a more lore-friendly, immersive experience. Nothing more than that. I for one do not use Waypoints often and spend most of my time on foot between maps; I enjoy the enviroment and the lore. I thought it would be interesting to deepen the lore and the current storyline, an Elder Dragon involved with Ley Lines and Waypoints, by using a game mechanic as a tie in.

I suppose my title makes it seem more of a gripe than a suggestion, so that is my fault. Most everyone that plays either does not mind or ignores the fee altogether because it is, as you said, negligible. My intent was to try and appeal to different views on the topic; not everyone cares for the lore so selling the idea as a monetary benefit catches the attention of a separate mindset.

I understand this is lengthy, but please give it a chance.

As I have been replaying Living Story on another toon, particularly the portions concerning Ley Lines and Waypoint weakening, I have had some increased centralized focus on Waypoints. I’d like to propose my thoughts on the Waypoint fee and possible alterations to this system.

It is understood that the Waypoint fee itself acts a sort of gold sink and also penalizes (I could not think of another word, however it is not meant to sound as harsh as it does) players for not traversing the map which ANet worked very kitten to bring us brilliant graphics and scenery. It is my opinion that a monetary fee is not the best avenue for this, although consequence is appropriate. Already in root towns there is no fee, which is also greatly appreciated. Why then do we pay to travel between Waypoints within the same area?

My idea on an alternate consequence of using a Waypoint would be a sort of “fuel”, or a method of charge required for the Waypoints in the given area to function, an item to allow the warp. Take for instance some of the trophies that drop from monsters, e.g. charged crystal. These items can be turned in to collection NPCs, however there are very few and most of these trophy items are junked at the merchant or not even picked up by some. In using items such as these as a sort of “fuel” for waypoints, a gold sink is created in and of itself through objects already existential in game, as they would not be sold, and the silver/copper fee is eliminated. It would pay for itself. Furthermore, it would be more lore friendly as well as immersive for players.

A perceived issue may be said to exist in this sort of system as the question of would Waypoints in different areas require different items. My answer would be no. Were multiple items used for this sort of system it would create conflict regarding inventory space. That said, the determined object, or “fuel”, would be solitary and available as drops from NPCs in explorable areas. It would require work on the players part to obtain some of these items, however it would have the benefit of players using a Waypoint without the need for silver/copper, as well as creating an environment in which players would have to spend time within the maps ensuring immersion in the graphics, events, and lore throughout Tyria.

I’m still contemplating finer details but I just wanted to put this out there and see what others thought about it; players and developers alike. Thank you for taking the time to read and I look forward to responses!

In GW1 we had Assassins and they were equally annoying. Granted the didn’t stealth like the Thieves we have now, rather they had similar characteristics for heavy damage output and great evade. Beyond that there were skills that made them invulnerable and difficult to hit. I hated Sins in GW1 and I hate Thieves in GW2. They aren’t going anywhere and we can only hope for a nerf which will hopefully decrease the number of people playing such a cowardly, useless profession.

Proceed to bash me as you will forum posters. I frankly don’t care. Thieves are trash.

+1 for the whining OP. XD

The new daily system awards players with an exotic level chest for completing three of the dailies and it’s filled with just about the same thing each day. When you hover over the chest prior to opening it says that it contains a scroll of experience, however upon opening it you receive two writs of experience. I don’t mind the two writs at all, it’s appreciated, rather I’m confused as to what the scroll of experience actually is and if this is just an inaccurate description, an error. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of a scroll of experience myself other than the scroll given to players on the one year mark for a toon that bumps new toons to level 20. Any idea on this?

You’re totally right abut the limited access for some players, something I overlooked. Not entirely sure how they would work around that other than to perhaps have bounties/missions based on race. That is, players would obtain their mission/bounty from their home city and it could scale to level perhaps? It may take a bit of extra work and that is understandably a set back, but there could be a way to tweak it. Just to piggy back off of what you said Zealon, the K/L faction wars was great. Boundaries changed throughout the day on the entire map. It was all very live and made it feel a bit more…important? Or realistic perhaps. That the game was changing around us based on the players.

Bump

I really like the idea of the quests. They did this in GW, across all campaigns, however most memorable for me was in Pre-Searing. It kept the game interesting. I know ANet and some others may argue that there already are daily quests, such as replaying “random events”, however storyline makes things more interesting. They could tie that a bit into the storyline even as LS creates a whole new potential for things. Right now it is pretty restricted to Silverwastes and Dry Top. Although there are random Mordremoth events taking place around Tyria, I think it would be cool to add some effects of the LS events to the smaller portions that often go ignored like with the Skritt. The same events that have been happening since release have really lost their luster. The humans around Queensdale are in eternal, repetitive conflict with the centaurs and that’s great except that nothing ever changes. The same can be said of the conflict in Orr. The Pact and the Risen go at it day in, day out and nothing there changes either. Small quests or small quest lines could help bring interest back to the original core concepts of the game rather than the areas becoming stagnant.

I am attempting to switch from EU servers to US servers and have been unable to purchase gems for some reason. I get an error message that reads, “Unfortunately an errors has occurred. Please try again later!”

Is anyone else experiencing this today, or have in the past? Thanks for any input.

For those of us that hate PvP (myself) Arah is necessary and the dungeon itself is a good time.

But this has nothing to do with the thread.

Flissy.4093:

It baffles me you think it’s logical to be able to run something like AC for example, then buy Arah armor.

100% In agreement with you here. AC and CoF are the two most frequented dungeons, I believe, and the paths can be done very easily and quickly. If you were able to swap one dungeon’s tokens for another, it would make the existence of say Arah for instance, totally unecessary. As Flissy said, if you want it, work for it.

……………………………………………………..

Bump

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/bugs/Stuck-in-Reconnaissance/first#post3729666

They are currently working it and a few people have found a work around. Just do a little reading in this thread.

Bump*

As a full time Mesmer I’ll back this thread.

Have a screenshot?

This would be a great opportunity for ANet to utilize their OCD Dev’s,tap into those functioning psych cases.

Interesting. Thanks for the reply.

What does the text in the box say exactly?

GrandmaFunk.3052:

Khursun.2354:

As for people making snide remarks, enough already with where is HoD crap. The fighters that show up and try are not deserving of your flippant dismissals since it’s obvious we are lacking bodies for map coverage.

I think most of the “where’s HoD?” comments/attitudes comes from the (possibly unfounded) perception that you did have those numbers during the first two weeks of the match-up..whereas this week you have been a relative ghost town.

So it’s not a comment on your overall status/population/capability.. it’s genuine puzzlement as to where did all those players we’ve been seeing for weeks suddenly disappear to?

That is exactly why I posted the screenshot and asked where HoD was. It wasn’t meant to be a “flippant dismissal” by any means. I’ve been in WvW for the greater part of the day and haven’t seen them at all. They did have a great presence during the first few weeks after the tier changes and even within the past couple of weeks they have maintained their borderlands. Now they are MIA. What’s going on?

O.O What happened here HoD?!

The NSPvsSF spawn battle has yet to end….day two and it’s just as heavy. I’m looking forward to the continued mayhem. To NSP, you guys have been a blast all around.

Spets the MilkBandit:
To SF, thank you for awesome fights last night, I hope we have proved a worthy enough opponent.

No doubt man.

There is probably a thread somewhere and I just don’t know where to look but I’ve been seeing a lot of Level 2 Ele’s that all look the same in LA. Most of them have weird names such as alskdhg;ashg or qwerthiasdfig. I saw one log in recently and followed it. Added to friends list to track it as well. This account had 2700+ achievement points so my question is…is this a hacked account being used to sell gold and if so what can I do? I haven’t received a message from it personally but it doesn’t move and it stays logged in. It hides out away from other players in LA. Seems fishy to me.

1.MAP AND LOCATION: Lion’s Arch: Tenaner’s Fightpit
2.WORLD: Sorrow’s Furnace
3.DATE, TIME AND TIMEZONE: Right now 6:50 am Server Time; 24 April 2013

JQ just opened up!

I want to thank everyone here for the contributions to this topic, both positive and negative. It’s good to see that so many people have constructive ideas and thoughts on an issue that involves us all. I think that ANet has gathered some good opinions from this thread and has heard the players. Thanks again to everyone for their input and their time.

Syeria.4812:

JaironKalach.4938:

I’m trying to understand why the bots would have ever bought gems? That seems like the worst move they would make with their gains. Their purpose is typically to fund gold-sellers… I don’t see where there would be value for them in buying gems.

Beyond that, it stands to reason that the bots may have had large sums of coin on their accounts when the accounts were banned. By Endrance’s logic, Anet needs to find a way to reintroduce that coin to the market, further inflating prices, in order to “correct” for the effects those bots had.

Again this is not what I am saying. This is what you gather. I’m not talking about what they bots had on them when they were banned. I’m talking about the amount of gold they injected into the TP. You talk as if botting has stopped and it hasn’t.

Rouven.7409:

So, to boil it down, if I understand this correctly, you are saying that bots bought gems with their ill gotten gold and thus drove the price for gems up. You would now like Anet to trace how many gems where bought from those accounts and adjust the gem price down accordingly?

Essentially, yes. I understand that this may cost ANet some money and that’s never fun, but neither is it fun for us to have to pay for the damage caused by the bots. If it really is as miniscule as stated by John Smith then it won’t be too much of a hit to ANet and they will be doing what they have always claimed, looking out for the best interest of the players. If it really is a huge blow to the bank account, then obviously the effect on the economy is a lot harsher than they have said.

One bot may not last long at all but there aren’t just a few of these bots. There are many of them and they are inserted into the game daily. It’s not an issue of the longevity of any particular bot Yeni. While I am aware that John Smith may have the data to prove it, he has not released it on the forum as of yet. That is what I am asking for. So good for you! You are right! He does have some data! While one bot may not be able to earn a lot of gold in one day, many bots can earn a respectable sum and with that combined effort, alter the economy. Good for you and your critical thinking skills! You did come up with the 1:1 ratio and I’m glad that I could be an inspiration. We need more critical thinkers!

Also I never once have made the statement that I think bots have higher or just enough contribution to the market over players. I also never stated in “my own personal experience”. Don’t try and skew what I’ve said.

This is not at all what I’m saying. What I’m saying is that botting was a huge issue when this game launched and it lasted about 3 months. The dev’s made it known that they were working on the botting problem and did not hide it. During that time a large sum of gold was poured into the trading post. I want to know how much it effected the economy. I’ve stated this multiple times. Before you go on posting what you think I’m saying, read again. Don’t use my opinions to make some bogus statement that player population to bot population is 1:1. You came up with that garbage, not me.

The listing fees don’t seem to be too much trouble. It’s a good fair set amount and doesn’t knock too much off the player’s earnings.

John Smith,

As far as opinions and facts go I have an opinion based on some facts. Such as bots being around longer than “a couple of weeks”. You can cut and paste and make multiple statements look like a contradiction all day. This forum is full of them. Other topics in this forum aren’t being discussed as well like what happened to the gold that was being produced by the bots. Was it taken out of the game? How much did they generate exactly? How much did this effect the market? You’ve given one “statistic”. 1/1000th. How much exactly is that? It’s all tracked so why can’t we see it? Keeping people off topic and making arguments out of questions instead of answering them is a politicians job. Customer service should not be confused with politics.

I do have an opinion and I’ve been given no data and no evidence to change it. I stand firm in what I stated. You obviously have nothing to contribute, Iruwen, seeing as you just quoted something I said and tried to fire back at me with it. This thread was meant to be constructive.

Take things in that direction if you want to. That’s your best argument and that’s okay. None of what has been said changes the fact that the in game economy was manipulated by bots and that ANet didn’t remove their contribution, if it can be called one, from the game.

I guess that’s what they pay these forum police devs to do. Mislead.

So a dev by the name John Smith throws out 1/1000th and that’s enough for you? That’s good. It’s not for me. They track everything so let us see some real proof as to the claims.

A lot of the content requires you to either pay with card or with gold. Bank slots, inventory slots, Halloween skins and costumes. Yes they corrected that mistake with Wintersday but really, GW should have have been a good indicator of how to run holidays. They didn’t need to go change it.

This is way off track. The originial intent of this forum was to bring attention to the economy and the damage it suffered due to the botting issue that went on much longer than “a couple of weeks”. If that’s the case, let’s see the data. Show us how the bots effected the economy.

The point is that there are going to be people who can’t earn that much gold because as ArenaNet stated, this is to be a casual game right? It’s for everyone but if you want to enjoy this end game content you need the gold. So since you can’t earn it in game buy it with your card. Eternity costs 2300 gold in the BLTP. So if you were to trade gems you bought with your card for enough gold to buy this sword, your’re spending about 2300 USD. 50USD will get you 4000 gems. If you convert those 4000 gems into gold you’re only getting about 56 gold. So real world cash, Eternity is worth over 2000 USD

56 Gold right now for 4,000 gems. 50 USD for 4000 gems. This was the point. But don’t take it seriously.

That’s fine. It’s what they want. Sweep it under the rug.

Cymatoperior, you lost with me with that last post. What are you trying to say? I don’t think that was it…

There is no doubt that the economy is huge. It’s massive to say the least. I don’t know why you’re playing alone Cymatoperior. Game traffic is through the roof. I should probably clarify that the purpose of this thread was not to slam ANet by any means. I’ve been playing GW since 2007 and am a huge Anet/GW fan. I just believe that the economy was greatly influenced, and still is, by a botting problem, that ANet successfully jumped on and corrected, that caused the economy to become what it is today.

It was three months not just a couple of weeks and while I understand that the devs have data I find it suspect that and economy can increase 100% in a months time. They did more damage than what we are told. I understand exchange rates as I live in a foreign country from my own at the moment. Glad to bring you a laugh sir.

During the first 3 months of launch GW2 experienced a huge botting problem. This is no secret. During this time the bots flooded the economy dramatically increasing the price of gems. While the staff did a great job of smashing all the bots, they never removed all of the gold produced by the bots from the game. Why haven’t they done so? With gems being literally worth more than the American dollar, people are spending a lot of real world cash on gems to then convert them into in game gold or spending them in the gem store for upgrades. What does this mean? This means a consistent flood of money for ArenaNet. There’s nothing wrong with them making cash, that’s what the industry is all about, but it does seem unfair that the players are the ones having to bite the bullet for the damage caused by the bots. There are two simple options to correct this problem that ArenaNet has failed to take. One. They could devalue the gems by gifting each player a set amount of gems. The players would then flood the market with the gems and bring down the value of them giving the players the fair market that they deserve. This would mean less money for ArenaNet of course. The other option is a total reset of the economy. Again this would decrease the cash flowing into the pockets of ArenaNet but isn’t it only fair? Why should we have to continue to suffer an inflated economy when it’s clearly not our fault? It’s a shame.