Guild Wars 2

Tl;dr: Thank you for being so blunt and honest, Mo. I really appreciate it. Although I was looking forward to more legendary weapons, I’m looking forward to seeing what you and team have to deliver. Keep your head up!

Long version: I am so sick and tired of hearing about “half an expansion.” I’m not 100% certain what was promised shortly before HoT’s release. I wasn’t around when the marketing hype was happening, since I had been inactive for years.

What I am 100% certain of is that I’ve gotten 100+ hours of enjoyment since I’ve returned post-HoT launch. For $50, I’ve gotten FAR, FAR more out of my money than I ever expected. That amounts to $0.50 per hour.

Would I like more raids, legendaries, and living season episodes? Of course! Do I expect them as part and parcel of the original $50 that I paid? No. Don’t be ridiculous. $50 is the price of 3-4 movies, up to a measly ~9 hours of entertainment. It’s the price of one or two people’s meal and drinks on a night out with friends.

Compare that to the last 100 hours I spent gliding about happily in vertical maps that I’ve never seen the like of before. The awe I encountered while fighting Mordy in Dragon’s Stand for the first time. It was well worth the $50. I have no regrets. None at all.

That said, if all of these purported features were promised before HoT, please, please have a gentle but firm talk with the teams responsible for publicly promising them. Urge them to not promise features that are more than 1, 2 months from release. Best to not promise any features that are not ready. I have the benefit of age, but most of our friends and companions in the game are younger. 10 or 15 years ago, I might have expected the world for my $50 — whether it’s reasonable or not.

In any case, here’s one voice in the sea of many. ArenaNet: you had given me the happiest days of my gaming life with GW1. You’re giving me hundreds of hours of enjoyment now with GW2, whether or not I agree with some of your previous and current decisions. But I support you, and I especially support your openness, Mo.

And now, I will go in game and support it with a purchase. Have some money to back up my words.

Keep your chin up. But maybe remember to make less promises in the future.

JoeVertigo, I wholeheartedly know how you feel.

Up until a month ago, my main had been a mesmer. It’s tough to measure how much time I spent in WvW, but by the end, I had two stacks of badges. I thought mesmer was my true love.

That is, until I tried D/D. A month later, I’m throwing all of my gold, all of my time, and all of my effort into ele. I’m fairly certain that I won’t leave D/D or elementalist. I had an 80 guardian, 80 mesmer, and 50 thief, and nothing felt even close to the fluidity, speed, and complexity of elementalist gameplay. It’s almost like an entry-way drug. You’re irrevocably changed afterwards.

Mesmer is still fun. It’s direct, powerful, and more complex than the other classes. However, it’s now what I play when I want a simpler and more direct game play without falling asleep on my keyboard (the non-snooze requirement automatically rules out warrior and ranger).

That said, I’ve never tried the engineer or necro.

p.s. To the designer(s) who were responsible for D/D, if I continue to play this game 2 years from now, it will probably be 70% due to this beautiful, brilliant, and incredibly addictive play style you created.