Guild Wars 2

The moment ANET decides in-game marriage is a good idea, that is when I shun the company.

BlackPaw.5948:

You want hard mode???
Stop playing warrior/guardian/ranger.
Start playing Ele/Necro.

and then come here again.

What kind of ridiculous suggestion is that? First, I have a level 80 elementalist and up until about level 75, the game was way too easy. Second, Necro is the easiest class to play across the board and does not make the mobs any harder to deal with.

There are plenty of easy games out there, but rarely does a challenging game shine, the gaming industry has exponentially made games easier every year. It’s discouraging, and personally, I think it’s offensive to the gaming community which has stood by and supported developers from the very beginning. Being raised on games like super mario, quake, mega man, games that are challenging, and because of that are also very fun. It’s sad to see the gaming industry abandon me when it had raised me to enjoy games of a challenging nature that it sparsely produces anymore.

It was hard in BWE1, people complained, they made it easier, followed by even more complaints of it being too easy, difficulty was left alone. One of the foreseeable problems, for me at least, is replayability, it’s mind-numbingly boring killing mobs below level 50/60 because it’s so easy.

After you get used to the repetition in your skill bar to do the most damage, there is little use of cognition resources fighting NPCs. Their attacks lack power, they attack too slow, and their skills too few and predictable. For some reason ANET doesn’t see this as a problem, which honestly baffles me because they must have played the game longer than anyone.

You’re right about the memory of accomplishments. I remember fights with regular NPCs in BWE1 better than I do from just playing the game a few hours ago because the ones that were hard and challenging stuck with me, especially the events.

I think it’s important to have feedback from them on what they think are valuable suggestions, and what parts of the game are hardwired and will never change. For instance, if they say certain parts of the combat will not change – it will help streamline suggestions to improve the combat system.

If they want better feedback from us, we need it from them first.

I come here to give my criticism because I love the guild wars franchise and I would hate to see it drop off at GW2. Just because you think it’s “perfectly fine,” doesn’t mean the game will thrive like it should. You can’t change the person or their ideas, but forums are here so we can have input for the game. If ANET just ignored all the negative posts criticizing problems with the game, they would never know if something was wrong with it.

I have many criticisms about the game, not all of them are positive. I’ve been here since GW1 and I have never played WoW. I think I have every right to be negative about the game if I want.

oldenglish.8543:

I dont recommend gw2 or any MMO for that matter for the pve. Anyone who didnt think gw2 pve was going to be a grind fest like EVERY other mmo is out of their minds.

To sum up gw2. If you like pvp, get it, if you want to pve dont. If you want to pve just go bang your head against a brick wall.

Well, you could say GW1 was a grind fest too, but the PvE was fun and challenging so that largely makes up for it. In GW2 you probably don’t have to use anything other than your auto-attack until you get to level 80.

You make some good points, but I disagree about the holy trinity being required for teamwork and streamlined gameplay. In fact I think the roles of support, burst, dps, (insert missing game mechanic that would allow another option). However, it’s poorly executed with NPCs/bosses, limited skills, and lack of customizability. It’s all just watered down completely with the added bonus of positioning and active dodges. If you look at GW1, you’ve got three times as many skills, and all of which help define whatever build you decide. I’m mostly disappointed with how the mesmer turned out since it was my favorite GW1 class. Maybe it’s because they removed energy from the game, but now it’s just a mediocre DPS, you might say, “Oh cool mesmer, cloak, blink, and illusions!”, but it does nothing to insinuate teamwork where the mesmer’s main job should be to disrupt casters from casting or at least make it situationally difficult for them. It’s like they took all of the unique, and individual skills, that made the mesmer great and stuffed them into a condition(confusion). I guess it has me a little confused and I could go on about the other classes, but oh well.

Because the first thing MMO-conditioned players are going to ask is, “how many levels are there?” And some of them will judge the game based on the amount of levels.

They didn’t do it to reinforce their ideal of the game, it’s simply a genius marketing ploy.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/A-disillusioned-GW1-player/first#post405648

Why did this get locked? I did not see a similar thread discussing the differences between GW1 and GW2?

Knote.2904:

LadyRhonwyn.2501:

Scorpio.3821:

There is no sense of character advancement in this game. Gear is more about looking pretty, rather than being strong.

Yes, and that’s by design… If they would change that, they would have to change the entire concept on which GW2 was built…

I like the post about the dynamic events… Yes, they are “dynamic”. If you wander around the world, you’ll see events popping up without you having to do something. But, I agree, they’re not dynamic in execution and that would make it awesome.

I don’t have a problem with lack of gear progression.

GW1 didn’t have it, but it did have much better character customization in terms of playstyle/build. They destroyed most of that with GW2 but w/o gear progression to make up for it. There’s really no progression at all once you’ve unlocked your traits/skills.

I liked how many more unique skills there are in GW1. At least some of them seemed more interesting than the condition effects in gw2.

camoflaugz.5031:

wookie slayer.4259:

camoflaugz.5031:

I could agree that some improvements could be made to the game but what I can’t understand is how anyone can say that wows skill curve is higher than this? I left wow because it was way too easy lol, I could tank and have dinner at the same time and for dps all you do is just stand there and do a rotation. Played wow since beta and just recently left, I feel this game takes far more skill especially in the dungeons.. Could you imagine being grouped in a dungeon in gw2 with the scrubs in wow that are a dps class and want to pull everything and expect a tank to save them all the time? They wouldn’t last a second in the dungeons here and right away they would be saying this game needs tanks and heals..

I agree in part. yes some 5 man dungeons in wow where pretty easy. But some 5 mans and lots of raids had fun mechanics. I feel like GW2 dungeons have a huge lack of mechanics and environmental play most is just kite boss/adds and switch aggro if in trouble. Thats like 90% of the EM mode fights

ok I can agree that mechanics can be buffed up a bit but as far as the skill curve with the classes go gw2 hands down takes more skill than wow, you dont just stand there and do a boring rotation. I just know for a fact that those scrubs in wow, “you know what Im talking about” would be frustrated in the dungeons here because there is no tank or heals that going to save them from the dumb mistakes they make.

It doesn’t take much to say that, but GW1 also takes more skill than GW2. You can’t make a game for everyone but that is what ANET tried to do and a lot of players are getting burnt out and leaving, because the mechanics aren’t there, and the depth was sacrificed to make it easier for the casual gamer.

Red Falcon.8257:

Hard Mode needs to be done.

If they make the game too easy, we complain.
If they make the game too hard, baddies/casuals ragequit.
If they make the game too balanced, both will complain.

Simply split and make both happy Anet.

They already tried making the game balanced. BWE1 was too hard, BWE3 was too easy, so they made the difficulty closer to BWE2. A lot of people still complained it was too easy. While the difficulty in BWE1 was challenging, it made events memorable (not something to easily melt through so you can get to the next one).

IMO this made everything from 1-80 easily solo-able, which is why so many areas in between are desolate. You can’t force someone to play a certain way, and of course many players will go through content as quickly as possible. I think if it was made harder, you would find the populace spread throughout more evenly, although it may be too late for that looking at how many people have already completed the map (except alts). Adding a hard mode would only split the game up even more.

I was expecting them to be more significant like ultimates in a moba game. Most of them are pretty terrible.

draylore.2837:

Ixal.7924:

draylore.2837:

Fortunately for GW2…the game was never designed to be a heavy PVE focused game so its a minor cost well worth having something different in terms of classes.

The majority of content in GW2 is PvE so I have no idea what you are talking about.

That may be true in quantity but its pretty clear to me that the focus of GW2 ..especially profession design and mechanics is PvP not PvE. …maybe the name Guild WARS might actually be a clue. =P

Guild Wars 1 has great PvE, so I can’t relate to what you are saying.

Morrigan.2809:

Polluxo.4967:

I can’t say what is wrong with it or what can be done to properly fix it. A combination of things would probably help pinpoint a fix. From the beginning combat is so easy you only need to use your auto-attack, at level 80 there are repetitive combos that frequently get repeated on tougher enemies. There are different issues at both sides of the spectrum. What can be done to make PvE more exciting?

I can’t really agree with you at all. I have a lvl 80 Mesmer and if I stuck to auto attack I would never have made it past lvl5.

Even at lvl 80 I find that I constantly have to actually pay attention to what I am doing so that I can use my abilities to the best effect. Especially if I am playing solo.

My husband plays a Ranger and he says he doesn’t have to “play piano” with his skills the way I need to, so maybe it is your class?
I love PvE so much that I haven’t even tried PvP and WvWvW yet- I plan to, I just get sidetracked.
As for the combat and skill/ trait system- it is relatively easy to pick up sure but that does not mean that it is simple, the depth is there if you want it.

During PvE, most of my attention goes into watching for when my highest-damaging/most useful skills come off cool-down while I kite around whatever I am fighting, or healing if I am low on health. It’s honestly not that engaging or fun at all. Granted, Mesmer isn’t the greatest class to PvE with since illusions die with the target, confusion does little dmg with most NPCs attacking so slow, and overall it’s just not on par with how other classes perform in PvE.

Taking a look at GW1, there’s a little bit more to keep our attention than just cooldowns, not to mention the sheer amount of skills to choose from, no two alike. Even after playing GW for so long, it is still difficult to master the profession even with max level. It’s like we sacrificed a very in-depth and engaging system of skills for more mobility and a greater need for positioning. While I do like the mobility, and the fact positioning is key, NPCs in PvE aren’t taking advantage of that. Maybe it’s the menial skills they have, or the fact that they attack so slow.

I would like to know what the developers honestly think of the combat. Are they waiting for us to give them an answer because they have tunnel vision from working on it for so long?

At this point I would rather have my skills costing energy and attunements with no cool-downs at all.

I can’t say what is wrong with it or what can be done to properly fix it. A combination of things would probably help pinpoint a fix. From the beginning combat is so easy you only need to use your auto-attack, at level 80 there are repetitive combos that frequently get repeated on tougher enemies. There are different issues at both sides of the spectrum. What can be done to make PvE more exciting?

Gatts.4865:

have you been to orr yet? if you havent you ll be complaining of the massive respawn rate everything comes back

The only thing increasing spawn rates does is make pure DPS builds mandatory, and is easily countered with a group of more people. I think he’s referring to a more fundamental sense that NPCs are uninspired, lacking depth which could offer to make them more challenging.

Yes. I agree with everything you said. And I think some of your points can be made for not just elementalist, but all professions, especially in PvE

At it’s very foundation, outside of profession balancing, combat is far from finished. I think it’s only appropriate we can have an area to discuss ways to improve it. Unlike it’s predecessor, the combat for GW2 has serious issues with longevity. With main skill sets locked into weapons, limiting customization, it becomes repetitive doing the same DPS combos.

I think it would help spread out the population that is so fond of LA because you can get there for free.

Zionka.6897:

Again. I wish people could understand this IS action.. Moreso than having 50 skills. Pressing a ton of buttons does not a fight make. Having 50 skills is nothing more than thinking about what buttons to push next.. That is NOT action fighting. GW2 is redefining that misconception.

This is true. Do you have any input about what an ideal set of skills would look like?

I’m an elementalist. I have about 25 skills total and I know what OP is talking about. Preparation great, but this isn’t sold as a turn-based strategy game. GW2 is first and foremost an action RPG/MMO.

However, NPCs are scripted with terrible AI which is standard in MMOs. Typical boss scenario consists of DPS, healing/avoiding damage, and reviving allies. Elite skills aren’t that unique or ultimate, and the base skills lack depth to set them apart. I was hoping GW2 would stray from these MMO standards, not just the “trinity,” which may as well be renamed to septinity to define the number of different builds to cover each class. Though, the primary selling point of each class (except maybe guardian) is they each deal DPS in a different fashion, however this being an action RPG, a lot of the skills lack action. ANET took a step in the right direction when they added skills with secondary activation. It makes me think the game could be a lot better if given more paths to create more individualism in skill and play-ability. It’s hard for me to think of a correct solution for this, adding secondary activations to all the skills isn’t my idea of a solution either. I think some skills should be buffed dramatically, and others kept as connections to affect the quality of a more dramatic skill.

Events boil down to a monotonous orgy of dps and reviving allies. I think it’s just a combination of combat, downed state, and creature design, and perhaps more general – risk / reward is non existent.

NPCs should have layers within layers of weaknesses and strengths, as opposed to only a few layers of strengths, a couple layers of weakness, topped with a heaping serving of HP/toughness. The best way to think of it is… “would it be fun to play as that npc, and if so, how can I make it more fun?” If you can maximize the fun for the boss, in a creative manner, it can also be fun for the players fighting the boss. The fundamental idea for this is that PvP is fun and engaging because the end result is always different, with each combatant you’re able to capture a story of epic proportions. PvE should be no different.

http://www.gw2build.com/builds/condition-damage-condition-damage-7563.html

I wanted maximize condition damage and survivability with this build since the earth trait easily allows that. I feel like it could be better so I am asking for suggestions/feedback.

I’m aware that mist form isn’t affected by cantrip mastery, I do it for the blink so that I can land churning earth on my target or escape knockdowns while churning earth. I like to save mist form to revive allies or down enemies, although armor of the earth has more uses.

I’ve also tried using the arcane trait that gives arcane power at 75% health with two sigils of superior rage to gain quickness for faster bleed stacking, but it only triggers a handful of times per round.

Could there be a way to add more DPS in the form of crit or power without degrading too much in survivability? In this case I might replace rock shield with written in stone and use the signet of restoration for healing if I can keep high healing power. In retrospect, Arcane power can be done without since attunement swapping is not as heavy with this build.

So… ANET refuses to offer viable FOV options, but players can achieve higher FOV by simply using a custom gfx resolution or playing in windowed mode. I’m really disappointed by their indecisive response.

The cooldown for mist form with the trait, cantrip mastery, is still 75 seconds. It says 60 seconds in the tool tip, but it still takes 75 seconds to come off cooldown.

Using D/D or S/D I like to go 30 fire for the might stacking trait that makes it easy to get up to 15-16 stacks of might. I also feel like 10-20 arcane is required for any ele build to keep attunement swapping at low cd. The adept earth magic traits don’t seem worth it but toughness is important, and is air required for a burst build like this?

It was a valid complaint during BWE2 and BWE3 that events were made far too easy and boring. It’s still that way and I regret them never making the events more difficult, some are already hard, but even random bosses that don’t offer any reward are harder than most events.

I’ve seen a couple of eles in PvP using d/d with at least 4-5 boons always on them, and with a lot of survivability. I’m curious how one can pull this off?

Over time I have begun to realize how silly SPvP is. It’s a complete separation from your PvE character and it feels like a step backwards from GW1’s pvp system. If you wanted better looking gear you had to get it on your PvE character, now you have to do it in both occasions. I don’t see how this makes the game better in any way aside from distinguishing players that have PvP’d longer than others, but why should that matter?

I like how WvW doesn’t separate that part of the game to such a degree, but its not everyone’s cup of tea.

Neara.4378:

Cool story. I’m doing the exact opposite after having tPvPed with the ele over the last few days.

Elementalists offer truly versatile gameplay, demanding mechanics and are simply a blast to play. You have to work a bit harder than other classes (lolthieves) right now, but success is so much more rewarding.
Warriors might be more straightforward and therefor easier to faceroll with, but that gets you nowhere fast and is fun for about three minutes.

I’d reconsider that choice if I were you.

I wouldn’t.

I’ve been playing an ele in tourneys for a while. There isn’t really a place for elementalists in tourneys because every other class outshines any type of build an ele can come up with. You want to do AOE damage? Engineer can pull that off with greater damage and grant better combos/survivability. You want to support the team? Guardian can do everything better while still alive. Single target damage? Warrior/thief can easily out damage you with half the skills required.

The only real purpose an ele serves in a tournament is as a highly mobile capper or a diversion. I’m not saying elementalists aren’t fun, but the builds are few and far between because if you skimp on health or toughness, any competent tourney group will have you on the ground before you can cast 2 spells.