Guild Wars 2

I started this game with friends and family, so for me, it has been an MMO from the beginning. However, it is difficult to grow our guild due to the nature of the way you can group without really grouping. Would I change that with how the mobs are spaced and aggro’d so easily? No, I wouldn’t. I think for the way the game is designed, the “auto grouping”/“non-grouping” works exactly as intended.

Do I enjoy the game more when I have friends or family in vent/mumble? Absolutely!

So, what would I change about the game if given the keys for a day?

1. Make Orr a little easier to get around without being attacked every 10 feet and all mobs on a super short respawn timer.
2. Create a guild registry for people looking for guilds and guilds looking for people. Building a guild seems more challenging in this environment.
3. Revamp crafting to make them a little less complicated and mat intensive at lower levels. I used to craft a lot in WoW, started in GW2 and gave it up early. Decided it wasn’t enjoyable nor profitable.

A short list of some of the things I like and wouldn’t change:
1. Non-grouping for major events. Randomly helping others is epic. Just coordinating where to meet and the objective for a major clash in Orr is fun and doesn’t take hours to plan.
2. WvW is great! No complaints or suggestions there.
3. Personal Story is good fun and easy to help others with.
4. Vistas and puzzles are great. Love to be able to enjoy the actual artwork by seeing it through the Vistas.
5. No mounts. I actually don’t miss them a bit.
6. Way point travel.
7. Map completion rewards.
8. Objectives and Achievements.
9. Clothing options, transformations, and weapon skills.
10. Ease of respec’ing and trying different “talents”/builds.
11. Guild functionality (although building a guild is challenging in this environment).

Although the list is longer, I will stop there.

Actually, it reminded me of the last Cataclysm raid where you fight the claws of the dragon and not really the dragon… bad and truly sad.

But other than that, it was creative and fun, and challengingly epic in nature (the dungeon as a whole).

Maybe they can say, he didn’t die completely and the time it takes to make another dungeon with just him is how long it took him to recover and be ready to face us again, and here is the “real final fight”. Something head on, with groups of 10+. I am thinking Sindragosa here…

There is no sub, so play something else for a while.

I was just chatting with a guildie last night about two things related to this. First, no MMO will ever give you that “wow, this is amazing” feeling ever again, like the first one you played. Second, this game doesn’t necessarily breed that “I have to log on, its all I think about” kind of feeling. but the good thing is, its not a sub, so it doesn’t matter if I don’t play for a day or two or three. It is here when I want to play. I can do any number of things when logged on, but most important is grouping and chatting with friends/guildies while doing them.

Oh, and if you zoom out and look at the entire map of Tyria, Arenanet has plenty of real estate to develop in the future. There is more to come, if all goes well.

Just my .02$

Unfortunately, unless this is your first MMO, my guess is that its going to get boring at some point (faster for some than others). Most likely you will never find that “oh my gosh this is awesome” feeling again in an MMO. I know this is true for me.

However, that said, I find that GW2 is very enjoyable, when I am playing with others. Since lvl 80 (a few days ago) it makes a huge difference for me. Feels very grindy and pointless, when I am by myself… but with friends in Vent/Mumble, I have a blast exploring and chatting along the way.

This to me, is the essence of an MMO. Playing the same game with people you know and talking about it while exploring, fighting, planning, etc… If you are playing this game by yourself most of the time… bingo, boredom is going to set in as you attempt to recapture that first MMO experience that you never will…

Get in a guild, ask your friends to join you, talk to others, group often and get a ventrilo server so you can invite others to talk while you play.

What’s your internet speed? I built a system over the summer and have had ZERO lag in WvWvW or any other area within GW2. My son’s system (2 year old gaming system) has no issues either. Could you have internet issues?

For me its a matter of managing it. Use it to my advantage when necessary (running through mobs), and just dealing with it when I am trying to conquer a jumping puzzle for a Vista (fall less).

Not sure one solution exists that everyone would like.

Tarnished Coast server
Skill challenge south of Sentry Steppes and West of Zho’gafa Catacombs there is no NPC, marker, or any other indication of where this skill challenge starts or what it is. No one can complete the zone as a result.