Guild Wars 2

I live in WvW – the pve content is of no interest to me but the content you put forth is good. wvw is the best most original content on the market for me but its currently being overshadowed by faults I cant work past. I love the open world pvp and large and small scale battles. I live for the week long competition.
I like the new reward tracks – thank you for finally getting wvwers some decent loot
I like the skins the TP, the market all of that.

What I dont like.
Wvw populations are still imbalanced as heck. essentially you incentivized server transfering to join a winning team.
you brought in new classes that are op in specific fields. if you build and or grind the gear to counter one the other is unbeatable. you’ve essentially made general purpose wvw obselete – new flavor of the month builds to pop up that can only be countered by building specifically to stop that specific build.
in the first few couple years of wvw I typically played solid well rounded classes that could handle most of what i encountered as a full time wvwer. my gear was built for that my characters were built for it. and I was able to win a good portion of the time due to skill and solid tactics. When I did lose I never felt like it was the class it was always close and even though I would get frustrated I had to admit the player was just more skilled than I.
I considered my self decently skilled and won 85% ish of my encounters. to beat me you had to be good. the gear or build alone would not suffice.

the spectrum of condi damage vs direct damage have been widened so far apart that anyone who builds to the max either way kills anyone who isn’t geared specifically to stop it.

if you build in the middle either end of the spectrum will kill you no skill required.
if you build to counter condi – a power build will get you and vice versa.
the number of viable builds in wvw has shrunk drastically and unless you are willing to grind for weeks or plunk down cash for gems you cant compete. thats gear grind – pay to win – and invalidating players time and experience.

WvW is awesome – its unique – but I cant play it because I refuse to transfer and give up on my server and friends -to add salt to the wound we get gleefully jumped on by hordes of pay to win transferees. if I roam and I am set up to counter condi a flavor of the month daredevil kills me in a few seconds – if im set up to counter the daredevil the flavor of the month condi mes shows up and condis me to death. in either case no amount of skill is going to help me. thats not fun . that’s rock paper scissors.
it is the exact thing WoW did with the pvp seasons only instead of vertical gear grind its horizontal. “new content” “new stats” equal changing your ascended armor and runes and sigils – it means paying your “death tax” until you have the right gear and build – it means the right gear and build is still going to be crap against your dynamically opposed counter.

I have a few more things to try but I’m getting pretty discouraged and I am about to chuck the game into a “pay to win” “grind to win” category and be done with it.

Curently I see the game as having a different sort of holy trinity. so I am going to make a “healer” next. yes just like WoW I’m gonna slap some nomads armor on an ele or guard ( will have to research) max out condi removal and healing and just support teammates. thats what I feel like im being pushed into – in order for server mates trying to roam they’re going to need condi cleanse or heals. youve esentially made a really complex expensive version of WoW for me. I quit WoW to play GW2 specifically to avoid that trinity and all the gear grind.

Or no maybe
I’ll just hop off the carousel now. because if the past is any indication I will invest the time and energy into finding that thing that works and you will just nerf and or make it obselete again.

phys.7689:

Qazmodon.1823:

and no its not bad design to create an open world without direction – its open world – its an mmorpg not a single person linear game. its a different mindset – its a different kind of game – it doesnt hold your hand and tell you where to go you have to make….dunh dunh dunnnnnh DECISIONS either you like open world or you dont. sounds like the majority of posters on this thread need to go back to their console single player games where content is set out in a tidy neat fashion for them to mindlessly consume untill they reach the end and become real winners.

in open world you have to provide a lot of you’re own entertainment and goals – not everyone likes that. then they come whine and complain on the forums – ignore the whiners and complainers gw2 is pretty cool if you can provide even a small amount of imagination. I know its hard for the kitten kitten mindset of the main stream to grasp that.

a well designed open world game generally starts with a compelling narrative then sends you out into the open word with a general purpose and reasoning. They also generally have a main plotline to pursue at your leisure
Skyrim is a perfect example.

you start out with a compelling high drama story, then they tell you to go talk to this guy. You can go off and explore OR YOU CAN GO TALK TO THAT GUY.

open world doesnt mean your required to do everything in the map to progress, it means you can choose what to do, and when to do it. And it doesnt mean there is no guiding plotlines/quests.

what you are talking about is a bad execution of an open world game.

well after you finish the first story line thing you can DO THAT HEART QUEST AND TALK TO THAT GUY or you can go explore maybe TALK TO THAT HEART QUEST GUY or go explore then when you get to level 10 you get a mail and YOU CAN GO TALK TO THAT GUY there is plenty of guidance in the starting levels you sound like you’re complaining for the sake of complaining. picking the pepper out of fly dung

ShelBlackblood.7826:

@Qazmodon
This sounds like all MMOs with acceptable quests are trash for you. So Skyrim is the superior offline RPG because it has an open world? Oh my, I didn’t know there were elitists when it comes to simply level a character.

no no totally the wrong take on what im trying to say.
in the linear quest single player games you go from point A to point B to point C etc. you dont have to find your own way. to me that is an extremly boring stupid game but somehow people shell out the bucks for those games over and over. it may be elitest but yeah i question the intelligence / creativity / imagination level of those types of consumers. to be blunt they’re too limited to even understand the concept of what gw2 or for that matter all mmorpgs is all about.

I love the quest systems in most mmorpgs because they add to the world. they help define the locations. they help add to your own personal story. however to complain about the difficulty makes no sense to me since you can just challenge yourself by going past to a more difficult area or byy “nerfing” yourself by replacing gear and skills. if you aren’t being challenged in gw2 its because you aren’t even trying to seek it out. its not hard to find a challenge at all.

for example defending the watersupply in queensdale is a neat little open world quest. the bandits come to poisen the water and you defend it it – or fail – regardless of outcome what happens affects the town below. sorry thats just neat. what happens also affects the next little open world event. as far as difficulty. yes on my main it would be stupidly easy. doing it on a brand new toon with crap gear would be a way I could make it a challenge if i wanted to.

this is a microcosm of the entire game. it takes some imagination on the players part to enjoy the scenario. it takes a little spark to imagine yourself as a noble defender of the village. there’s two ways to engage in this event you can mindlessly press buttons and hurry on to the next event – ie mainstream – or you can appreciate the detail in the art work-detail in the story. you can wonder what the bandit was going to say when she’s dying and says " if i only….gasp" what ?? finish bandit college – took the job in shiverpeaks? finished cleric school? married jo bob hanson like her heart told her to? what life event did that poor girl regret? what set her down this road? what filled her with so much callousness that she could poison an entire village? there are kids in that village!! was it greed ? was it righteous fury at queen jenna? did a royal guard do something naughty to her mom ?

that’s just one small part of a huge masterfully worked world.

coming here to complain about how “easy” it is is tantamount to bragging about how awesome you are and how this game and all who play it is beneath you. I have to wave the bs banner on that. if you just don’t get it its a failure on your part not the game.

Linfang.1087:

A person with 20k AP can get bored with the game and quit.

A person with a pre cursor and/or Legendary can get bored and quit.

However I can be sitting in a starting zone wearing rags, but if i have a good guild, new friends and a sense of belonging to a community I am having a blast.

I want to log off with a smile, and excited, looking forward to logging in again. I just don’t log in because I have a Legendary, I am obligated to. That gets old quick. Once you get some amazing loot and the honeymoon is over it does not matter. It’s the community that through time really makes the game.

^^ this once i found my first active guild it went from thinking of quitting to game on. the guild exploded on me there was much drama – guild mission was compromised splinter group formed and we started our own gig and worked to a common goal together – I log in because my buddys are waiting for me. we got “work” to do. it can seem like a bit of an obligation at times. sometimes we lose, sometimes we win, regardless of the place or mission its the people that keep me coming back in. I can come in and hear " dude were getting our * kicked soooo hard" and instantly crack a grin because I know the sitrep is going to be riddled with sarcasm, humor , stories of stupidity and valor. the shiney sword is nothing – the people are everything – just look around till you find your click.

yeah – no precurser here either but ascended has the same stats and you can craft your way to those. I dont care about the skin very much so i dont consider that a loss.

no gold here either – I live in WvW all other game modes and other games are pedestrian to me – I judge my wealth in the amount of seige in my bag and how many keeps our server has managed to waypoint.

as far as guilds and community connections go I did go through a phase ( very early on) where I was about to leave the game – the map chat and community seemed barren giving me the impression that i was in a large empty world devoid of community. then I got into teamspeak – and mumble – and found a thriving community cloistered away in small voice chat rooms through a variety of different mediums. the community really is awesome but its hidden away – i think anet should host its own voice coms for us for free so players have more access to where the bulk of the community is. I can completely agree that the community and game can seem stale if you only see it through map and or guild chat.

as far as AP goes I am also in the same boat – I am at the three year mark as well and have about 5 to 6 k ap (i think) but I cannot understand for the life of me why anyone gives a crap about that – ooooh you have killed x amount of flame legion grats you get a title and ap points!! an arbitrary number with an arbitrary title seems likea silly thing to worry about. my wife has 50+ shoes I dont get that either.

and no its not bad design to create an open world without direction – its open world – its an mmorpg not a single person linear game. its a different mindset – its a different kind of game – it doesnt hold your hand and tell you where to go you have to make….dunh dunh dunnnnnh DECISIONS either you like open world or you dont. sounds like the majority of posters on this thread need to go back to their console single player games where content is set out in a tidy neat fashion for them to mindlessly consume untill they reach the end and become real winners.

in open world you have to provide a lot of you’re own entertainment and goals – not everyone likes that. then they come whine and complain on the forums – ignore the whiners and complainers gw2 is pretty cool if you can provide even a small amount of imagination. I know its hard for the kitten kitten mindset of the main stream to grasp that.

all the people agreeing on how “easy” it is are moro…..mistaken. essentially you choose youre own difficulty in gw2.

you can easily adjust the difficulty by going into higher level maps and mobs you arent ready for quite yet

at level 9 and 10 you dont know enough about the game to make any substantial gripes about anything yet let alone the difficulty. take that level 9 to the next map and fight some level 15 mobs you’ll be button mashing and evading like crazy.

quote]

She* and what exactly is our " attitude" and play style you speak of? Yes, we require our members to run specific builds and classes and form proper parties, but so do many guilds that actually know how to play. I’m sorry if you think us not keeping players not willing to run proper builds and classes is a " bad attitude" but we would rather hold our standards than deal with players that do not play as a team.

[/quote]

yes and the fourth color block must be blue BLUE IT MUST BE BLUE

I would like something LESS extravagant

the only non trench or half trench coat chest is the duelers coat but even that has the big puffy sleeves

so maybe some simple tunics basic shirts – you know something not all flamboyant and dashing – im kinda glammed out with all the designs currently avaidible

you guys did a fantastic job on creating these awesome skins but I would really like to be able to dress down a little bit

have you ever ran in a trenchcoat? its a complete pita – they flap all against your legs and can tangle you up. my poor wvwer runs all over the map for hours at a time. the thought of him doing that in a normal trench coat makes me feel sorry for him.
can we get him some short sleeves ? hes got to be hot and sweaty . and the thought of all the dodge rolling while wearing a trench coat seems pretty onerous as well.

granted its a personal immersion issue I have and only a small detail but if you guys could consider that would be great

Pikka.6023:

Get rid of the WvW Server model entirely. It’s a fundamentally poor model and can never be balanced.

if perfect balance is ever achieved then no one wins.

the tier system seperates the heavy weights from the bantam weights from the light weights.

the glicko measures your performance for your size. bruce lee was little but I’m pretty sure he would beat the brakes off of your average 200 pounder.

the whole point of competition is to seek advantage and win – be it numbers or skill -

This fix is to slim down the super heavyweights so they can compete against people in the same weight class. not to make it “completely fair” complete fairness means complete balance – complete balance means no one wins – if no one wins then why compete?

I consider the placement at the end of the week my “win”
1rst “yay we won”
2nd “mmm ok we didn’t lose”
3rd “grr”
although if they included a prize at the end of each week it might be a way of rewarding defenders – currently the K trainers reap the most reward for participating as far as prizes go – handy for papering things but if no one sticks around to defend the ppt impact is minimal.

aaaaaah – TROPHIES FOR THE GUILD HALL -

you would need the constant loot drops to keep the fair weathers and pugs but having a big piece of loot and a trophy at the end might encourage them to actually defend or something – especially if it was something based on how well you placed at the end of the week

morrolan.9608:

Qazmodon.1823:

DiscoJacen.1590:

I really enjoy it when ppl with not the slightest idea of what’s happening in tier 9 come and preach.

tier 8 you meant, there is no tier 9.

wvw is a masterpiece of strategy, community building, and large scale war.
the problem wasn’t with anet or the design it was with players manipulating the system.

No it most certainly isn’t a masterpiece. ESO has a far better designed large scale PvP game, unfortunately it had other problems which meant that there wasn’t a large scale guild migration from 1 to the other. Basing the sides on servers was a mistake anet made just for example and the way siege is built and used requires too much busywork. Not to mention the inability to properly reward more defensive activities.

to me it was close to perfect – by avoiding factions they prevented one side from being imbalanced due to class imbalances – they do still have balance issues but since everyone has equal access it is still “fair” (even though annoying) unlike WoW and SWOTOR where if they have a class imbalance it screws the whole faction.

I like the populations being based on a server and the fact that you could give your server bonuses it gave the fighting just a touch more meaning ( not much the rewards are kinda weak imo.)

I like the way siege is built but I hate trying to keep the kitten things refreshed.

I do agree that defending isn’t rewarding at all especially considering how crucial it is

all of that being said I should have stated “in my opinion anet created a masterpiece” because it fixed a ton of problems I’ve had with other mmorpgs. and like in other mmorpgs Ive seen the players do a ton of crap I personally don’t agree with and break parts of what I consider to be a very cool game

DiscoJacen.1590:

I don’t see why I should pay to change servers for a gamemode that could/should be fixed by the developers.

And if you can’t understand that you need to move out from your parents house and start earning your own money coz clearly you don’t know what spending personal money is for something that shouldn’t be broken in the first place.

1. then don’t Anet offers the service you are free at anytime not to pay for it.
2. I own my own home and make plenty of money – anet put out a good product the players are the ones who broke it. and even then its not really broken just not optimal

DiscoJacen.1590:

Send me links to our “communities” since you seem to know them better than ppl from tier 9 do.

my server was tier three – the first wvw tourney happened and we had a mass exodus. we dropped all the way to tier 8 – we rebuilt and are halfway back up- the community’s may be small but they exist- when my server was a ghost town I picked up my flamethrower and went to work instead of crying about it on the forums- I have no doubt our server will climb to tier one some day even if anet hadn’t changed anything – partly because its my online home with my online family and im gonna be knocking on doors and planting finishers in peoples faces for at least the next 5 to 10 years – the other reason is my friends from my server are just as committed as I am – and they also get to work instead of crying when they show up to an empty map – its not anets JOB to fix your servers willing ness to participate in wvw . its yours step one is be positive and go to work.

DiscoJacen.1590:

I really enjoy it when ppl with not the slightest idea of what’s happening in tier 9 come and preach.

tier 8 you meant, there is no tier 9.

wvw is a masterpiece of strategy, community building, and large scale war.
the problem wasn’t with anet or the design it was with players manipulating the system.

servers wouldn’t be ghost towns and the populations would not be imbalanced if people didn’t buy entire guilds and siphon off from lower tier servers.

this is an elegant solution to a complicated problem.

the only way to counter attrition is by growth by stopping growth the population will gradually dwindle to more even populations.

kudos to anet.

and no discojacen – the communities in lower tier servers still have very strong and loyal cores of people – far from dead.

I like this change – I didn’t sell out my friends and server mates to transfer to a stacked server. without being able to buy off players from low tier servers how are you tier one blobbers going to compete with people who play wvw for more than just shineys. players who win even when outnumbered, without allies. how are you going to keep your troops morale up when you start getting facestomped by players who get things done with far far less people. give the guys on low tiers a little manpower and you guys are gonna be toast. no wonder you’re complaining. lets see the “skill” of tier one players when their tactics and strategies have to be completely reevaluated because they can’t just blob everything to death. not to mention you filled your ranks with people motivated by greed and self service. when the going gets tough will they stick around??
funny how the tier one guys look “down” on lower tier servers – those lower tier loyalist have more grit in one roamer than the entirety of your mega blobs. you should continue to cry cry cry without being able to buy your population anet pretty much signed your death certificate. that’s the crux of your issue – those of you complaining. what NOW

I haven’t see one servermate build a golem since this event ended lol

I don’t think it was a ploy just an honest well intentioned attempt that was horribly thought out. I am beyond being angry at this point and can leave it at “please don’t do that again”
on another note for all of us in here complaining there are just as many running around in golems taking advantage of it . maybe even more so. its the cost of attracting mainstream.
on the subject of “game community hate and vitriol” its not just pc and console gamers that are out of control. people are just being awful to each other worldwide. soccer stadiums filled with rioting fans trampling each other, basketball games that end up with mobs of people destroying blocks of city, civil unrest over events released in the news when the claims haven’t even been investigated and the trial hasn’t even happened yet. too many cases to talk about and going into specifics would just derail the thread. I think the current media that people have access to is part of the problem. there’s an average intelligence level – 50% of the population worldwide falls below it. media is so easy they can read react and they have a voice. add a little manipulation from the top of intelligence scale that has an agenda and you get media firestorms that translate into real life consequences. I think a good portion of humanity is emotionally driven knuckle draggers without the ability for rational thought . and then the moderately intelligent people get drawn into their crap because it starts to impact their lives and so they to must speak only adding to the “noise”
It is normally why I don’t even bother going into forums. I’d rather play the game and avoid the drama and the trolls and overall negativity. that being said even I had to come speak out against this event. before this post it has been 10 months since I posted anything and this is the most I’ve posted over the course of 2 years. literally this event broke the one reason I play gw2 to the point I am on the forums. when I am on the forum then I am not happy with the game and I am pretty easy to keep happy.

anet please don’t let guys from marketing touch the buttons in their spare time in the future kk pls n ty

not to mention the new guy moving to a higher tier already has a pretty hard fight ahead of him. fighting attrition is already hard when the going gets tough but this is gonna have a much bigger impact on smaller pop servers just trying to deal with the fallout. in low pop wvw servers 1 person can have a pretty big impact. something like this has the potential to set growth back substantially.

we worked really hard to go up a tier – this event kicked our already stretched population in the nuggets and we will probably lose standing and drop back a tier – this is gonna cost us at least a week or two to recover from even after the event is over.

I like golems for the simple fact that when youre on an under populated servers you dont have enough people to actually build anything without multiple supply runs. that being said there should definitely be a cap of 2 to 3 golems per map period. 10 alphas can be through a gate on an upgraded keep before the swords even show. with a little balance they can still be impactfull and cool without being over powered. definitely not a fan of this golem event though. aside from that I agree with everything else in your posting.

You’re always creating PvE events on WvW maps.

How about an event where we can attack and kill people on PvE maps? Expand their horizons and shake their playing experience up for a week.

YES – seconded

I am 99 % wvw = I do guild missions because I am the guild leader of a wvw guild and we like the hero banners. I spend 30ish bucks a month in gems religiously I convert most of that to gold to pay for upgrades siege , equipment for guildies, and misc wvw related expenses. our influence is spent primarily on wvw related buffs.
If there was a way to earn hero banners within WvW I would not even do guild missions. in order to get a guildhouse in HOT I will be forced to pve for a bit even for that. I am not happy with this.

I deeply hate this event and the message it sends to me about wvws future and your regard for the wvw community.
nothing I can say that hasn’t been said by hundreds already.
I do feel compelled to add my voice to the cacophony TURN IT OFF ASAP.

well I don’t duel much I was unaware you weren’t supposed to spike. actually I think that’s the first time I’ve ever bowed to issue a duel challenge. been in lots of 1v1s but not really a formal dueller.
to the guy telling the theif where he was screwing up come on and try me out I have yet to lose a 1v1 against a condi build of any class.
I wanted to give kudos to that theif he gave us a hell of a struggle and lasted against me far longer than 99 percent of the other condi thiefs I have fought against.
anyway enough said on my part I really don’t care about the rest of the negative input you forum warriors may throw at me so I wont be responding any further.

well done sir.

http://youtu.be/RKKvVD9LYsg

They’re doing what all game developers do. focusing on the short term. the last game I played that felt more like a place instead of a theme park ride was Ultima online. they started with a brilliant concept and then corrupted it to appeal more to mainstream and new players. and I get it when its time to pay the bills you need new players. the problem is mainstream players are flighty, emotionally ballistic, knuckle-dragging, zombies. they are impossible to please and keep long term. they’re used to sitting in front of a TV being spoon-fed content in a zombielike state. when you cater to that customer base they will eat your content faster than any gaming company on earth can produce it. while catering to the masses you alienate the nerds. the nerds give you immortality the knuckle-dragging masses give you a large profit bump then grow bored and leave. by catering to mainstream customer bases you are guaranteeing a life cycle which is stupid IMO. game worlds are digital content. it doesn’t die it doesn’t decay. I am not saying not to add new content or to never change, I am not saying make it horrible for new players. I am saying a place is a place. make it real change the mindset of “lets give them what they want” into “lets create a place” because when you create a place you keep the nerds and the nerds give you immortality, the nerds make friends and then you get more nerds then you get growth.
how do you make a “place” you ask. a bear is a bear, it will eat you. it doesn’t care if you’re young, old, naked, or geared to the teeth. bears don’t change because some hormonally charged teenager cried and whined about it. don’t do it ANET don’t succumb to the knuckle-dragging masses. “its a trap!!”
I haven’t been playing long but can I see how much you have avoided many of the pitfalls UO stepped into and IMO you have done a great job so far. however if you want to add content you don’t need to tell us more story’s. the world is full of gaming companies who think they’re in the digital movie biz. you don’t need to give us useless shiny things like armor skins and cute pets please get it right and focus on making it a “PLACE” focus on the meaningfull WvWvW give us blocks to play with focus on making your core game stronger and add content that makes a difference in the long term.
so far since UO you are the first game that gives me any hope that somewhere some company is going to “get it”
you broke the trinity- great ty for giving us more flexibility
you introduced a dynamic changing playing world where your actions actually have impact on the environment “even if only short term we all know the bandits will be back to poisen the well”- that’s great too I actually feel compelled to help the poor npcs out everytime I go back that way.
you eliminated the ability to grief each other yet you give us world pvp you removed kill stealing resource stealing you broke the mold of anything that hakitten the market in a long time and wow is the gaming community that you have fostered great. nicest bunch I have seen in a long time and I have been gaming since 93.
you are so on the right track. yet you still haven’t gotten to where UO was right after beta. Britannia was a place. objects had value, grinding levels was manageable and your reputation among your fellows players mattered and content? you could make everything from spoons to a golem. instead of making us a more realistic “place” and adding content that made sense to a “place” such as the ability to craft horse barding or maybe a wagon they decided to emulate WoW and make people “safe” and give magical item drops etc. they catered to the wrong crowd alienated their core players now theyre a server ghost town. that’s not all they did wrong by a long shot but that is the root cause of their demise.
my back yard doesn’t give a flying f about me it is a place I can do millions of things in by bringing objects into it and manipulating them but at the end of the day it would just as readily recycle my dead corpse into my wife’s lilies.
focus place place place ignore the whiners the nerds will stay the knuckle dragging masses will come and go regardless of your actions.