Guild Wars 2

I purchased this game for a friend of mine to play along with me. The ‘new player experience’ has driven him off, telling me that the game is even more tedious and boring than before. As a result, I am also less likely to play the game. This isn’t new. A lot of members of my guild have considered leaving as playing alts is tedious. I know. I was playing an alt.

None of the logic behind the changes make sense to me. Level-gating abilities at later levels is a poor choice, and does nothing to ‘teach players’ how to play the game, just forces them into more tedium. To teach players how to play the game, provide tutorials and information as to how each class works, perhaps via a class-based tutorial mission. More content, not less.

If that’s not the goal, then it sounds like players get bored mid-range, in which case the solution isn’t to spread out already thinned options, but to (again) provide more options. They key word is more options. MORE options, not less. Not reduce the gameplay or delay it, but to show to the players that you’re willing to devote time and effort into making this game great. By this time, there should have been a middle-level questing overhaul to move away from the ‘great funnel’ model and towards one of better complexity and entertainment.

I’d see this as an exploit and report it accordingly, since that is, essentially, what it is.

This is mostly meant at the devs to consider their approach to crafting. Before I get started on this complaint, I just wanted to explain that I absolutely love the discovery aspect of crafting. I’ve found this to me one of the most exciting and interesting parts of the game, and I hope they further develop it so that even more recipes can be discovered.

That being said, I cannot say I like the crafting system in general. Although I understand that they wish for crafting to be an accessory to the rest of the game, it feels as if you cannot craft and keep up with your level without grinding or heavy out-of-pocket expense.

There’s an.. issue here with the gear grind. Where the team has worked hard to prevent the ‘grind’ as one levels, gear does -not- keep up. It becomes increasingly more difficult to find level-appropriate gear without spending large amounts of money. Karma rewards are infrequent and Karma vendors often only offer two or three piece of level-appropriate gear. By the time I have enough Karma to get said gear, I’ve leveled to the point where it matters considerably less.

Take crafting. In an efficient crafting scenario, basic crafting should be able to keep up with my character. I should be able to get the mats to craft without heavy amounts of grind and be able to get access to level appropriate basic gear. Crafting spectacularly good gear for the level should be more grind-worthy, as appropriate. I’m left wishing they applied the same mindset for the rest of the game to crafting.

So, this is a consideration to devs to consider revamping the crafting system at some point in the future. Perhaps include a different set of level-tiers. Allow people to access level-appropriate gear without passing through the ‘rarity gates’ that they provide. Make the grind its own reward with better, more customizable gear at each ‘level gate’. Let artisan crafters feel that way, and the casual crafters not feel left out in the cold.

This is something that’s come up a few times. To help organization, it would be fantastic if you could see your collections from the field. This is something that goes hand in hand with ‘add to collections’ and would be greatly beneficial to those crafting. I’m surprised that this hasn’t be suggested before.

Actually, looking at this from a realistic standpoint, there would be characters of all races and classes of all different body types. There’s a misunderstanding that only body type could exist in a world where people fight and do strenuous activity. Science is now showing that body type isn’t necessarily dictated by diet and exercise. Although these factors do aid in certain aspects of one’s appearance, it does not necessarily dictate whether your are fat or skinny. It really depends on your metabolism, and how your body processes the foods.

If you’ll notice, the Norns have a considerably heartier build. You could easily argue that, compared to other races, they have a much more physically demanding lifestyle and history. Yet, even then a character can be overweight. This is because they likely have a slower metabolism than those of the humans. But what happens when you have a human that has a slow metabolism, but is still healthy? They could be overweight easily.

Ultimately, it’s up to the designers of the game. I’d love to see a wider range of body types available for -all- races, since it -is- a fantasy game, it’s possible to see characters of many types doing things that would not be commonly seen in the real world.

As for the people who claim ‘This is fantasy, I don’t want to see -those- people around.’ There’s a very simple solution. Close your eyes. You can imagine whatever fantasy world you wish without limiting the options of other players.