Guild Wars 2

Hello, I am a returning player who’s spent most their time soloing to 80 with my main, a thief named “Elaine Cross.” I left GW2 around the time of Queen’s Jubilee, and came back about a week ago due the a sudden influx of free time.

I would like to join a casual and newbie friendly guild. I am mostly looking for PVE, as I have yet to even touch dungeon content. But I would not mind some PVP as well. A roleplaying guild would suit me best, but it’s completely fine if it’s not an rp guild. I would like a medium to large sized guild, but a small guild is okay if everyone is active.

I would prefer a more casual guild, as well. This is because my skill level is still questionable, and I don’t want to hold back a hardcore group. One of my goals of joining a guild is so that I will have a little help getting better at the game, especially after being gone so long.

I don’t currently have any sort of voice communication software, but I can get one if it’s required. I will mostly be in-game after 6 and 7PM EST on weeknights, and pretty much anytime on weekends.

Thanks for your time! I hope to see you in-game soon.

Like many have said, the problem with subscription based games is that once you pay, you’re basically chained to that game for a month. Many people were attracted to gw2 because it comes without that chain. They may actually lose more business by switching to a subscription model than sticking with what they got.

I think they should instead focus on the gem store. Something I’ve learned from free MMO’s: Skins sell. Make more of them. And not just town clothes, because those are really only useful for rpers and in-game social events. I think most of the armor skins are temporary? Make them permanent, or even a third section for armor skins that can be turned on and off.

Other cosmetics sell too. Hair, accessories, etc… May not suit everyone, but it will definitely bring in revenue.

Also: Mini-pets are useless. Pets are very popular in mmo’s, but normally they do something. Picking up loot is the norm, and if mini-pets did that, I’d have more reason to use the free one’s I’ve gotten AND get more. That new cat is really cute. But I’d know I would never use it.

I started reading this thinking I would disagree with most of it, but the only thing I don’t really like is decreased waypoints- And even that I’m on the fence on. I love exploring, but I hate doing it knowing I can die in an area, having to walk ALL the way back (which could take from a few minutes to a few hours) just to continue exploring. That’s one of the main reasons I stop playing MMO’s, because sometimes they feel like they punish exploring. Waypoints, to me, decreases the annoying backtracking problem in most MMO’s. To me. However, I would not complain if they came out with more challenging areas with less waypoints.

Coming from a casual player, this game is… a little too easy. I love how the game is skill based and not focused on who has the best gear. But where’s the content to challenge those skills? There isn’t much. And it DOES put us casual players a little too level with the hardcore.

One thing I would like to see is unlockable skills for classes. Skills that you get by completing REALLY challenging content. Like a dungeon who’s bosses can’t be beat with an unorganized, inexperienced PUG group. Or increasingly hard jumping puzzles, or even make them into skill challenges like we see on the map. These skills you gain wouldn’t be game breaking, and would mean nothing to a player that doesn’t know their class, but to someone who really knew how their class worked, it would be a godsend.

And I agree with event medals being too easy as well. When I first started, I joined an event against a champion. I got downed twice, only got a few hits in, and still got gold. At first I thought it was a bug… then I got used to the game and realized that, no, the medals are pretty much meaningless.

One suggestion I’ve been seeing lately is putting champ bags as event awards for successfully completing an event that involved killing champs, but you ONLY got the reward if the event was successful. This, in response to the invasion farming we’ve seen a lot lately. Well why not make it so you only got the full amount of bags on gold? And then make gold much harder to get for events like that? It would sort of fix the farming problem AND make you want to strive for the best.

Overall, I think the game areas that exist now should stay as they are. There’s plenty of content for people who only want to relax and play- and for beginners, too. But even I, who avoids most challenging content, would like to see more areas that are difficult to handle. It’s not like anyone will be FORCED to go into these areas, so people who don’t want a challenge can’t complain. The game has tons of content for casual players already.

Thanks! I’ll try running CoF a few times and see how I like it. Thank you for the tips!

Okay, so after a long break, I finally came back and leveled my thief to 80.

So I’ve hit that ‘first time end-game wall’ where I don’t really know what to do. I want to start gearing her, and CoF seems to be the way to do it. My problem is I have never done a dungeon run and from what I’ve seen, thieves are frowned upon in groups anyway.

Because I know I’m not that skilled yet, I’d like to find some decent gear without dungeons. I want to at least wait until I’m more confident with my thief. What are my options for a decent armor set? Would I be better off getting my warrior or engineer to level 80 and farming with them instead?

Sorry for the newb questions. This probably sounds stupid.

Having stealth removed wouldn’t solve the problem. Thieves are already squishy, and stealth is normally just a way to try and not get killed in a few hits. Without it, they’d have little to nothing against warriors, which really would just reverse the balance. In many MMOs, thief-ish classes rely on evasion stats. Here they kind of just have stealth and dodge. And they can only dodge so much.

As for other classes having stealth… I dunno. It could be useful, but it wouldn’t fit the theme of most classes. I feel like if they did that, it would still have to be less effective than a thief’s stealth because that’s basically the whole point of being a thief. To stay hidden and attack.

I’d put a vote in for a stealth counter, though. For each of the other classes. They should at least make it so backstab builds are easier to defend against.

I just want to say that the reason I got tired of other MMOs was mostly because of the trinity. Being forced into a role isn’t fun. I like versatile gameplay that lets me fight how I want. In other MMOs, by end game, you’re normally forced into having a label slapped on you and doing the same thing over and over again just based on your class. I like to change up my play style on the fly, and you just can’t do that with other MMOs like you can in GW2.

Almost every single MMO I’ve ever played got boring because I was stuck in a ‘role’ with little to no chance to change it up. GW2 I can switch out my skills and traits whenever I want, and also, despite nerfs and balance, every class actually looks interesting, and I am determined to try them all rather than just 1-3 classes. Hell, normally I only feel like playing ONE class because apparently my needs are too ‘specific.’ Which is really just a class that can solo a lot of end-game content while still being wanted in a party for dungeons and other challenges. I can even disregard looks, race, and plot if these two conditions are met.

Most of the time it’s the thief/rogue/assassin classes. Assuming the game design does indeed make it so they are wanted in a party.

Do you know how tired I am of having to play the same class EVERY GAME? Some classes will look interesting, but because of their role, I feel like automatically I will get tired of them after a few levels. Tanks kill too slow, healers might not be able to effectively kill on their own, and most of the dps classes I like are squishy. So I get stuck with the evasive class, extra on the evasion. Why not a warrior like class? Because they, most the time, need to be paired with a healer.

Ironically, I love the thief class in this game. But it’s nice to be able to play the mesmer and guardian classes without any of the trinity crap getting in the way. It’s especially nice to not always needing a healer/support char running around with you, since you’re in charge of your own healing/buffs anyway.

While I do agree that combat can be a little lack luster at times, I still love the fact that there’s no holy trinity. Since it makes me actually want to play every class. With most mmos, I often feel limited.

I don’t like heal spamming or being expected to always want to party, so healer/support classes are out. Almost the same with tanks, only add to that how I don’t like bulky armor and slow movement for non-mage classes. So this leaves me with DPS. I don’t like playing warrior classes. They just somehow feel less…smooth than others. So my only choices are the squishy classes, and on top of that, they have to be able to solo content while still being wanted in a party. I’m mostly a solo gamer, but parties are needed a lot for end-game content. Too bad ‘solo’ classes are often unwanted.

So, personally, I really like not having a holy trinity. I actually want to play EVERY class, they all look fun, and I’m not held down by roles that I don’t like to play.

At the same time, though, I agree that Anet needs to do something to make combat a little more… interactive? Dungeons and PVP do have that challenge, but most of the main-game content is pretty straight forward. Especially if you’re in a party.

Maybe if they added skills that are more role based, like more team healing/support skills on a guardian, it would help? There’s basically nothing they can do with world bosses, because no matter what a big handful of players are going to show up and the shear number of them will make it difficult to have a challenging boss.

I really don’t want them to change to system so much that I have to be forced into a role, but I want them to have content and skills available for those that do. Actually, being a tank or dps is pretty easy in this game. There’s just no full-time support/healing option.

The only problem I have with that is that I don’t really like doing dungeons or fractals a lot, so if I want loot, I turn to world bosses for their chests (or crafting or other means). Point is, without those chests it would kind of handicap some players like me.

Otherwise, it’s not too bad of an idea. Even with the one chest a day thing, I’ll still fight the same bosses a few times(when I have time) just because I like doing it. They’re fun! And the lag would be a lot less if you took out the farmers.

I thought they said something about not expecting an expansion pack anytime soon, but the idea was there for later? If there’s no expansion pack, then there at least should be a huge content update in the future. I doubt they’re just going to add these little tibits like living story for forever.

Anyway, here’s a tip. GW2 has no subscription. So I’d suggest taking a break. If you feel like it, come back later and periodically check on the news to see what kind of new content they’ve been releasing. Maybe it’ll be something that will be interesting enough to bring you back? One of the cool things about the game is that there’s really little obligation to play if you don’t feel like it. If it bores you right now, then find something else to play for the time being.

A lot of people don’t play pvp for many reasons, but one of my main reasons is self esteem issues. Over 10 years ago, I got into mmos when I was around 11. They were fun up until I started doing pvp in a party. I sucked, to say the least. And the players were less than friendly about it. Because of that, I just sort of naturally avoided pvp and most team-based content if I felt I wasn’t that good (And most of the time, I feel that way. Like I said, self esteem issues)

Many people don’t join wvw or pvp because of knowing that in a lot of game, that’s just how ‘teamwork’ works. If you’re not that good, you get blamed for it. And often internet-bullied for it. Yeah, it’s stupid. And really, it’s easy to ignore. But why deal with it at all?

Although I do find wvw a ton of fun (Too many players to worry about whether you’re good or not cause no one will even notice), I still get a little worried and nervous when the group I’m with isn’t that big. Because I feel like if I screw up it’s the end of the world. Yes, that’s stupid. But I really can’t help but feel like I’m inadequate in those sorts of situations. Which is why I rarely ever play wvw, unless it’s during peek hours with mass zergs so I won’t be noticed.

I haven’t even bothered with spvp yet.

Maybe they can add a few more generic dailies that can be done in both wvw and pve? As a mostly pve player, I don’t like having to go into wvw for dailies unless I feel like it that day. But It’s easy to see that the dailies are very pve-centric, which isn’t much fun for those who spend most their time in wvw. Some generic defeating enemies or event-related tasks could even that out.

I think other MMO’s have given people the idea that they HAVE to have the best gear in order to enjoy end-game. If you aren’t completely covered in the rarest crap available, then there will be tons of content that you just can’t do.

GW2 isn’t at that point. And there’s a chance that it’ll never really be at that point. But people with this end-game powerhouse mentality think it is. And to them, the daily is tedious. Because it ‘forces’ them to play out of their comfort zone in order to gain currency for something that doesn’t even make a big enough difference to make all end-game content irrelevant if they don’t have it. On top of that, it’s at a set rate. Once per day. You can’t farm laurels.

Point is, they’re overreacting. Because there’s nothing so far that needs ascended gear in order to be successful at. Not even PVP and WvW. Exotics are good enough.

Now, I will agree that if it ever REALLY seems like it’s headed in a direction where ascended items are actually ‘required’ for certain content, they should add maybe a long, much harder dungeon for the hardcore. One that gave you a laurel at the end. Nothing that makes it too easy, because if all the whiners got their shinys too fast they’d get bored and stop playing. There are a lot of players who only care about that end-game gear grind.

But GW2 really doesn’t seem like it’s the game for people who only care about having the best gear. I just don’t understand that mentality in a game where most if not all the end game content isn’t hard enough to need those little trinkets. What are those people planning to do when they get them if they really don’t find anything else in the game to do? Why are they even in such a rush to get them?

Rares aren’t really amazing enough to warrant them being… well. ‘rare’. It’s not like it’s much easier for exotics to drop. I don’t really see your point. Just because they’re called rare doesn’t mean that they are worth hours of grinding just to find one.

I like the change because 5 days a week? I’m lucky if I get an hour or two free. Before, things like Dungeons and Fractals were the best way to earn gold. Problem is, those things take time. Not everyone has time, and some of those people would like a little incentive for that bit of time they do have.

The new rare drops allow casuals like me to make a little progress when they don’t really have the time to actually farm. Now on the days when I have school work and internship work and fast food work I can quickly run Maw or SB and get a rare or two. Before, I’d pretty much just sign on the 30 minutes for Dailies. What would be the point of anything else? Why waste the other 1 hour and 30 minutes farming when there’s a chance I’d basically get nothing out of it when I could have used that time to continue reading a book or playing another game or catching up on some TV show that I’ve been meaning to watch?

Now I actually have reason to stay on for a little longer. Because now I know something will come out of it, rather than just waiting for the other 2 days to come around so that I can play catch up with all the farmers.

I know it’s all personal, and people who actually have the time to farm may feel a little insulted that it’s now easier to get better items, but it seems to me that before all this the majority of the gw2 community were complaining about loot drops anyway. Now the majority are happy with them. Keyword: The majority.

In the end, the benefits outweigh the fact that low level bosses are too easy to farm. Now some of us who actually have other things to do than play this game actually have a reason to play more often.

Like someone said, there are most likely different teams working on different things. And possibly, a few people who are only qualified to work on content. Since they may not be able to fix bugs, saying that they should stop working on content and only focus on bugs might be saying that those people would be temporarily out of a job, depending on their skillset.

So I’m all for having both. I don’t think it’s that they’re not working on the bugs, but that some of them are a bit harder to tackle. It could also be a management problem. Honestly, I have been questioning their testing system and how they go about testing patches before they’re released.

While there are some things in the patch that are a little irksome, I have to agree that most of the complainers are overeating. I’ve never played an MMO or even been apart of some sort of internet community where there wasn’t a big uproar whenever something changed. Many people say they will quit. Most of them will shut up in a day or two. And half of them will come back to the game in a few weeks at most.

What’s happening is a few of the competent players are pointing out flaws, and others are taking those flaws and making them seem like the end of the world. They’re letting their emotions flare irrationally, and eventually they’ll just shrug it off and go back to playing.

GW2 is far from over with only a few setbacks. And I really don’t see how the updates ruined the game completely. It may make some content annoying for a while, but whatever.

The internet is full of this kind of stuff, though. It’s like watching the same bad movie over and over.

I finished the daily this morning and did the new one after the update. I didn’t get a laurel for the second one, so I suppose it still counts the first. (It’s all reset now though, I believe? They normally reset around 7 EST.)

It depends on how long they can keep new content coming without a level/gear increase. My problem would be that if they kept most gears basically with the same stats for level 80, then what would be the point of playing a new dungeon more than a handful of times when you’re already maxed out? While I don’t like gear grinding, I feel I need something to work towards when playing an mmo or else the game gets stale. And mmos need to remain interesting for years instead of just dying out a few months after release, like non-mmos.

But if they can manage to add new content in an interesting way without having to add levels and new (Better statted) gear, that would be great! It might even work if they just added new skills, since it’s not terribly hard to gain skill points. And, of course, new races and professions aren’t unheard of.

If they can keep it interesting, I’d rather not have a level cap increase. But I won’t mind it, either, if the game ever starts to get boring…