Guild Wars 2

Well folks my own opinion from an end user is this:

I purchased this game and enjoyed playing, in addition I was tempted to spend a few shekels on a one time upgrade of my bank, bags, and a little bit of in game gold as I came here to enjoy myself not grub around for cash.

To be honest I was quite happy to do so, and a big if not major factor was the promise the game would be free to play and my character/s are available to play all the time the servers are up. In addition I read various comments from more informed players who were of the opinion GW2 had not crossed over a line between having some useful items in the cash shop, rather than pay to win.

A subscription model though requires a different type of commitment, which includes constant level and content upgrades, and constant grinding. De-sub from such a game
(and I will use the historical comparison of WoW) would require a lot more regrinding before you hit max level again, which to be frank was where the most content was.

Please don’t get me wrong folks, I am not against subscription models per se. But in fairness to all that is a financial and game model that can only really work on a games original start up. In short you can go from subscription, to free to play models of various kinds but not the other way around, (if you value your reputation that is)

GW2 going toward subscription would make a lot of current (and former) players rather unhappy in my own view

PS am not currently playing GW2 but will hopefully return at some point on the current financial model of free to play, and may even CHOOSE to spend more real life cash. But on a subscription model that chance is almost zero

Smooth Penguin.5294:

Wait wait wait. I had no idea Anet is forcing me to sell my Dusk for 700 Gold. So if I were to put mine for sale at 400 Gold, will I be banned for not following the rules?

Man, this game just got so much more complicated.

Chuckle, I know what you mean mate.

Any type of economic system is bound to become complex.

But here are two elegantly simple rules that help……“Trade what you see, not what you think”…….and……..“When governments (real life and Areanet) don’t like the rules they change them”

If you are really into trading, best idea is to create a chart in Excel (or its equal) to establish price discovery of an item, and track it. Then in the absence of any rule changes if the price drops below the line sell or short it, and if it goes above be very careful before buying it. And make sure you have a neutral position on patch days…….

Oh yes on edit, Google the trading concepts of support and resistance, as it will enable you to find the average spread on any item and thus make a judgement call if the spread is wide enough to trade profitably

Lol nothing ever changes for a trader -:)

At this moment in time if you live in a relatively free market economy in real life you will find governments always possess the ultimate means to control the economy via central bank interest rate rate changes and general taxation, as well as economic general strategy.

In addition stock markets generally have rules designed to limit massive short term price changes in major stocks, that is certainly so in both the USA and the UK. Sure, it can break down in extreme circumstances but it is not always desirable as most people want an orderly market to trade, this allowing a degree of price discovery.

Within Tyria that is also desirable for us all, I know short term traders love making money, even virtual, no harm in that within reason.

But I would imagine the player purchasing gems, either with gold or real money would be a little cross if they found the same trade the next day yielded twice the fungible value. And if gems became so devalued Areanet stopped making money, then the servers would close.

Hence Areanet control this economy here as governments control the economy in real life, ultimately designed to maintain a stable economic base

Just my personal views

(John Smith if you read this its your turn now mate) -:)

No disrespect intended to anyone but I often think that the vendor prices for selling items including trash is a little like social security.

It is there for everybody, is designed to enable you to make a start as a brand new player from level 1 upwards, and will cover your basic in game costs as a new player and/or on a new toon.

But……if vendor prices were too generous it would cause inflation this reducing the fungible value of gold per se.

Rift, another MMO game has that issue. Over there there is no need at all to ever use the auction house as you level up, you acquire all the gold you need via vendored items.

Hence the auction house is almost dead, OR has really inflated prices. And there the auction house is limited to one server…….well we all know the problems of a low pop realm…..a dead economy being but one of them.

Even on higher population worlds it can be an issue leveling professions in terms of materials unless you gather items yourself.

For myself I don’t play a game to grind , an action house, a means of exchange, and a healthy economy are necessary to any game of this type

1443121;MagnusLL.8473:]

Here’s a simple thought. What if it turns out that the best economic model for MMO success is an highly inflationary one?

It’s not a simple thought, in fact it is a highly complex issue that would involve a whole new load of thought, and game design.

Consider thus as just one example:

Gold purchasing is quite legal and even subtly encouraged in GW2 providing it is done via the Black Lion Trading post by purchasing and then selling gems.

Now on the assumption inflation here took off, the current exchange rate would rise sharply, or to put it another instead of obtaining an average of around 1.20/1.40 per hundred gems you would get significantly more.

However the fungible value of gold would fall in game per se.

Now given this criteria would the two exchange rates generally match with first life currency……….in other words would say $10 maintain its fungible value in game when converted to gold.

In theory it should, in practice it may not, and for some initial proof of that argument I would refer you to what is called “The Big Mac Index”

http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2012/01/daily-chart-3

Again in theory purchasing power parity within an efficient market may prevail. But as you can now see it does not as markets are not always efficient.

From Areanets viewpoint this actually might be quite intriguing.

Would increased initial $/£/€ revenue from gems purchasing gold be financially attractive on the basis that they would obtain greater revenue, but eventually people would stop buying gems, thus leading to the necessity of a game redesign to reset everything (for that read “expansion” aka WoW) where everything obtained in the previous expansion is devalued, thus starting again from a new base…….

Or is it better to try to maintain a stable economy

My bet is on the latter here, but in a subscription game (WoW Rift etc) I will offer a provisional opinion inflation is highly desirable as it keeps people playing, buying expansions, and gold purchasing is not factored into the games economic design in terms of profitability for the game designer.

Chuckle……..I always used to laugh so hard at WoW kids who kept saying a games economic design had no relationship to real life economies, they were so wrong it was truly funny

[quote=1443121;MagnusLL.8473:]

[quote=1443121;MagnusLL.8473:]

I think everyone is different in terms of what they want to do in game, either at level cap or below.

From my own personal view at level 80, I am currently getting quite a lot of fun in completing the story-line chain. After that I may focus on leveling professions, in particular cooking. That means gathering things, which in turn leads itself onward to 100% world completion as well as exploring, obtaining all my skill and trait points, alongside a bit more lore.

At the moment I cannot commit to playing on a regular basis due to work/life issues, but GW2 is almost ideal in these circumstances as there is not a substantial material difference in stats with equipable items (from rare upwards) unlike the way other MMO games are structured. And of course auto mentoring impacts.

Finally I may try the end game options with PvE/PvP although that needs more playing time (uncertain atm), but my overall view of the game as a whole is very positive.

In short I am a casual player, that can be hard in other games as you are either being “carried” by other party/guild members, or you are taking advantage. GW2 solves that problem.

Finally I think there is plenty of content for more hard core players in one way or another, just a personal view

Player housing with some sort of customization within the whole area is a good idea, especially if you can landscape, add plants, non aggro mobs/pets, and perhaps jumping puzzles for visitors.

I think lots of folks would like that

Would have to be a self contained dimension type thing so it did not interfere with other players of course

I am reasonably OK with the concept of paid expansions, after all there is no subscription here and new software costs money to develop. And………if this was WoW or Rift etc you would not only pay for the expansion but also pay a subscription too.

Of course I am also assuming the cost is reasonable for what is offered etc, but that is a matter for individual people to assess and free market choice.

In business none of us could afford to give away free (insert goods or services) for ever

To be honest I have not got a clue.

And after all this is Areanets game, I am sure the folks there do what they think best for all of us, and spend a great deal of time doing just that. In all fairness there are many other consumer facing organisations that give far worse service than this company.

I do know when ever I get the time to log in I enjoy myself, the world seems quite full with other folks doing the same and one cautiously presumes they would not bother to log if that was not the case.

To be honest I will let the technical background to this virtual world take care of itself by and large, and if I stop enjoying myself I will stop logging in, but that does not seem likely at this time

Chase.8415:

Technically you’re not supposed to use anyone’s name, including yourself because it is in a fantasy setting. You could report many peoples names for violating the terms, any real life reference is considered a bannable offence.

However, contrary to popular belief; the game masters do not ban people for silly reasons.

I am sure many gamers get fed up with people who appoint themselves forum moderators, quoting rules (or what they believe to be rules) at almost every turn………..

But unlike the above post, Plasma’s post does add value imho. People in theory should behave within on line forums as they may do in real life but the sad fact is some do not always do that. Hence the common sense route toward some basic precautions……..

However if you did wish to use your own name, then in all fairness being an adult you “own” that name, its your brand. People online using Twitter for example quite often do just that, ditto Facebook.

It is not usually advisable in an MMO game of course, but I can visualise special good exceptions, for example within WoW a few years ago a well known US University had a special lecture in I think The Barrens, other exceptions might include Pop Stars or Fashion Designers. But I think you would need to prove to Areanet you own the name and brand first.

Oh yes on edit…….a lot of people use Second Life (a special type of MMO) for semi commercial reasons and willingly reveal real life details, so even within MMO environments nothing is absolute in my own view

TWMagimay.9057:

Kite.2510:

I’m worrying that once complete ascended sets appear on the world, people will completly ignore the exotics that we worked so hard to make and craft and go directly to them, and crafting diciplines will become meantingless.

Crafting disciplines were designed to be “meaningless”(at least in the sense you put in the word). It literally takes 30 min and under 5g to get any discipline to lvl 400 thus making crafting accessible to everybody and not some sort of endgame status you-are-awesome feature. In addition to that, most stat combinations can already be obtained through dungeons(and those have fancier skins) which also makes crafted gear less desired. Ascended gear won’t change the status of crafting since even know that feature is more of a way to level chars than to create gear.

As for working hard for exotics…puhlease. No matter your playstyle, you can get those as a by-product of doing w/e it is you enjoy(spare for spvp, obvious reasons) in a reasonable amount of time.

I totally agree with this.

Anyone using Google can download a step by step guide to levelling crafting here which includes the most easy and efficient use of materials.

To be honest (in my own opinion) Areanet designers were generous in handing a tool to folks that could be used as an alternative levelling route without ever killing a mob or leaving a capital city.

But having crafted items as good as the best drops here, (and easily available) would mean anyone could obtain “best” items, which in turn removes that uniqueness that many other folks love.

For me cooking here may be the profession to level (despite the cost) as the stat food does offer additional end game advantages

Well in my opinion the OP has a point of which could be pretty much expressed on any MMO gaming forum albeit with the correct name of (best gear) available.

However many MMO games usually have an in game situation where the very best gear is obtained via drops or purchased with tokens, rather than crafted. For example in WoW the only real reasons why anyone bothers with professions is for the modest stats and buffs they give, or to make gold.

There are some partial exceptions, some Rift (another MMO game) crafted gear is very close or near equal to the best drops.

But here one of the most appealing features of the game for me is that there is not a great deal of difference in stats between various classes of top end gear (exotic etc upwards) other than the look or skin of the item.

In WoW the advantage of top end raid gear can be quite substantial compared with with what people used to call entry level or welfare epics.

Erasculio.2914:

Chorel.1720:

Erasculio.2914:

Ranlea.8270:

1) The gear stat difference must not be massive (but I think folks would accept an enhancement)

Yep, Ascended gear was so well received, I’m sure ArenaNet should add more tiers…

/sarcasm

Hate to burst your bubble but there WILL be more tiers of gear in the future. Maybe not this year but it will happen. What they said pre-launch doesn’t matter anymore.

Irrelevant. The poster I was quoting was talking about how people would be willing to accept a new tier of gear as if it were nothing. Ascended gear proved him wrong.

No problem in you having a separate view…..

But a question……does ascended gear offer advantages outside pure PvE ?

Oh the above post of mine is a personal opinion and I accept others may have different views

I am pretty much convinced that both 10 and 20 player raiding in a conventional sense (PvE) would make sound commercial sense here.

There are several caveats to that though……..

1) The gear stat difference must not be massive (but I think folks would accept an enhancement)

2) It should not be possible for people to buy raid gear from the auction house, in other words all gear needs to be the GW2 equal of soul bound.#

3) I think we would need 3 types of raid with gear drops for each, entry level, medium, and advanced (for skilled dedicated raiders) I personally would accept that advanced raiding gear drop stats would make a noticeable difference

4) To make commercial sense to Areanet I would personally accept a one off gem cost for entry to all raids providing it is a moderate cost and reasonably achievable by folks buying gems from the auction house who do not have access to a credit card……suggestion 400/800 gems, or say about 15 gold cost equal

5) PvE gear drops must not give a massive advantage in PvP battles as that is not fair to those who PvP in the main.

I think at this stage of the game it is important Areanet do not fall into the Blizzard trap of making general statements they would never ever do it (examples server merges and Vanilla/BC realms) that today might make commercial sense, but can never be done as it would cause too big a loss of face -:)

I would like to see (and anticipate)

1) 10 and 20/25 people Instances for PvE introduced in game preferably at level cap – with drops equal to very good weapons and amour. It may be best practice to have two versions of these Instances, one at standard level the other at a more advanced heroic level thus suiting casual as well as dedicated gamers

2) I would like to see some forum changes. The main change I would suggest is the introduction of valued posters (lets call them Most Valued Posters or MPVs for short). These posters would be selected by AreaNet based on a criteria of being helpful and objective in forum posts towards fellow players/posters. These new MPVs could have some direct email contact with members of the Areanet community team to keep up to date with events. Of course the usual disclaimers about not representing Areanet or being an employee etc. could be made clear

3) As a slightly longer term release many players might desire their own private space within Tyria – lets call them Homesteads. These Homesteads would be purchasable for real life cash via the gem store and would enable players to customise them via landscaping, buildings, furniture, plants, some coding scripts, and animals etc. Other players could enter these Homesteads with permissions granted. Areanet could consider awarding a prize for the best designed one every 3 or 6 months. This might appeal to graphic designers, software writers, artists, as well as other players. In addition this would be an additional revenue and even possibly a recruiting tool for Areanet.

3) In Game Map design – it would be helpful for players to be able to clearly see individual regions with a broad level guide – a small change but welcome I am sure

4) PvP – There are some very skilled PvP players within game who might appreciate the in game chance of more personalised combat on a small team basis, say 2 v 2 or 4 v 4. We could call these more individual battlefields Gladiator Battlefields, these would be customised battlefields designed for 2 v 2 or 4 v 4 PvP gaming. Again as per Homesteads Areanet could consider running a league type competition – and finally very good PvP amour and weapons could be made available for players to buy based on some sort of skill point currency….. lets call it proficiency points.

5) Servers

It might be welcomed by role players to have a few designated role playing servers. Very little coding or work needs to be done here as by and large it would be self regulated by players entering these realms
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Folks, these are a few ideas to be going on with, views welcomed. (Oh if Areanet want to contact me in rl to discuss these ideas further you have my contact details -:)

Finally I might be cautiously optimistic these ideas in broad concept so to speak might well be welcomed by other players but feedback always helpful

Ulysses.4765:

The rewards that I’m receiving from events, enemies, tasks, etc. aren’t up to par with gold sinks such as the heavy teleporting prices and armor repairs. I’ve been noticing that it’s sucking me dry.

I think that teleporting prices in areas that have been completed should be discounted, if not eliminated entirely. Same for armor repairs, although it’s not as expensive as teleporting as it’s not used as often.

What do y’all think?

Well the OP makes a genuine point but with a little bit of planning virtual life can be made easier.

1) As others have said……..transport costs can be reduced by always using the free gates to the nearest capital city, before teleporting to your desired location

2) Unlike some games, professions can be genuinely worth levelling here for the ongoing and top end made goods. But costs can be reduced by only levelling one profession at a time

3) Top end gear stats can be handy, but (a personal opinion) skill based playing, which includes adding the stats best for you, make a bigger difference.

4) Inflation…….out of control inflation would kill this game for new players and casual’s. GW2 game designers have to have means of controlling it.

5) Subscriptions…….there are none here as we all know……….a subscription based game such as WoW, Eve Online, or Rift typically cost around £8 sterling per month (discounted for a year’s sub in advance). this fact make me tolerant towards dropping £30 to £40 or so every year in gem purchasing IF it is justified…….and there are in game alternatives available for those players not wishing to spend ongoing real life money.

Just some personal thoughts from me………oh happy new year everyone -:)

Well Gehenna " It’s a game forum. The truth is not to be found here." (your footer) is debatable too. My own post above was how I honestly feel, and over a few years I have picked up a few useful pointers from game forums.

Off topic here is an amusing one -:) it is true too !

" Ah but a pessimists life is actually happier than an optimists. An optimist has a lot of disappointment, when something goes wrong for a pessimist they expected it anyway. However as a pessimist you get a lot of pleasant surprises when things don’t go wrong as you expected them to. "

Well folks we are all entitled to express our own views, so from a casual player here are mine.

In both WoW and Rift all Instances and Raids completed at the correct level depended on the trinity to play.

Substantially scripted, with all individuals playing a very defined part, all we ever really needed to do was to consult the relevant website to “learn our lines” like an actor or actress in a play and movie. All you had to do was to act your part, that is tank, heal or dps, virtually never departing from the script

Individuality was frowned upon at best and at worst was called “cheating”, finding intelligent “work around’s” for bosses would quite often result in a nurf. I do accept there were exceptions here and there, for example the Lich King boss encounter (as a whole) and parts of Kara in WoW, and some 2 people Chronicles in Rift that could be soloed.

By and large though for me raiding had started to become very predictable, in short a memory test dependent on quick reflexes and efficient macros

I completed my (almost) first ever Instance last night in GW2. It has occured to me everything player side cannot be absolutely predicted, and yes we have to be multi functional units, tanking, healing, and DPS ing dependent on the situation.

Concluding, I could never ever consult a website here to learn exactly what, how, and when, to “do something” here. For me that makes it interesting, and perhaps even more so if GW2 ever introduce more formal raiding.

Just my own views folks

What I like about GW2 is the ability to pop in and out of the game, and to be able to play casually without thinking my gear is going to be hopelessly useless in “X” duration of time hence

I do accept that some players came from WoW/Everquest/Rift etc expecting a type of progression together with high end co-ordinated PvE (Raids or Raid type) and seem to be disappointed. That is a commercial issue for Gw2 game designers to re review.

Another comment is that MMO games are commonplace now, a few years ago truly viable larger community MMO games were perhaps limited to 3 (WoW Everquest 1 and 2) and maybe Eve) hence what was new and exciting is now no longer quite the same. If a game is not absolutely “right” for someone and/or what their peer group are playing, they write off the initial money and depart

Why be angry and disappointed in something that is supposed to be a leisure fun activity

As for me I am fine with the game so far

I like this game

The world feels vibrant and alive whenever I log in, be it the speech, NPCs, other players, events, there is always something happening

I am a rare poster to MMO games forums folks – but this subject interests me too.

Absolutely NOT from the viewpoint of a 15 year year old kid giving me lectures about the holy trinity system in MMO games etc, or for that matter from a games viewpoint in isolation alone (sorry to be blunt folks but sometimes its best)

But what does interest me is commercial applications of the software code behind aggro and AI in games in real life……..

For example.

1) A new type of software virus checker that recognises bad things and intelligently pursues it to destruction on a pro active basis rather than the passive nature currently

2) A real life stock market trading system that again recognises bargains and opportunities (reverse aggro ) and buys them up etc……..

That’s absolutely not science fiction, the Man Group being about the worlds largest Hedge Fund group uses the very initial dawn of such systems…..

Link http://www.mangroupplc.com/index.jsf

So folks you see, the way aggro is coded in games indicates at least a degree of AI – I think that could have interesting commercial applications outside gaming

Views anyone

An interesting thread.

I thought an Elementalist had some similarity to a Balenced Druid in WoW or a sort of Healing Mage soul build in Rift, on game entry here.

What I am finding is that in my opinion that seems to be true to a degree, using a staff I am finding I can pretty much take down individual mobs with no problems, even those 2 to 3 ish levels above me, also on auto mentoring down mass mobs are no problem either.

However I need to be careful when pulling aggro at my natural level, more so than normal, as it’s a death sentence if not.

I have specked fire and air (70/30) on trait and skill points and currently am level 40.

I find the elite wolf (1 min one) is very powerful.

However am stacking power.

But agreed I can be a glass cannon sometimes.

Should I stack more defence (health/damage MIT) or perhaps precision ?

Oh…..on edit……..Black Citidal does remind me of Ironforge a little……anyone else think that ?

Thanks too, I am really enjoying the levelling process and so far there is very little to dislike if not at all.

One minor point……….in the various Inns within the world is it possible to have an Innkeeper selling drink and food? Not all Inns have them and this feature would be nice.

A well thought out interesting detailed post Allisa Wonderland.8192

On your point about GW2 not being a closed economy you are correct.

But, in real life neither is the worlds economy either, and in particular the US, UK, and Euro area, being as you possibly know the 3 largest economies in the world.

Currently we are experiencing what is called quantitative easing which is the printing of money by government via the prime/central banks to stimulate the economy and purchasing debt. A fine line needs to be drawn between preventing disflation and default or causing inflation.

Gold purchases here in GW2 by gems is the equal of quantitative easing which many people here may not have factored into their calculations, hence the economy here “may not be the traditional one of a ongoing MMO”, ……..“understood by gamers”

Here, Arenanet may, or may not take steps to control the in game economy post launch, I understand the company has recruited an economist so we will see

It amuses me gamers always say their game economy has no connection with real life economies, they are all wrong

Independent gold sellers are a threat to us all.

For anyone who wants to buy gold there is a safe way of doing so via the Gem Store run by GW2 in game

However buying gold outside this route is taking money directly from GW2s pocket and business model – thus a threat to the game as a whole.

In addition people are running the risk their Pay Pall accounts or Credit Cards get compromised thus running the risk of both real life fraud and identity theft, which may compromise their credit rating, and could lead to permanent real life damage to themselves and their families.

All this just to try and save a few dollars or Euros

I have had the problems most other folks have had from launch, i.e guild chat lag etc/no trading post, and initial issues joining my guild.

However I am pleased to say yesterday (Tuesday 4th Sept) these issues had all gone and the game played well. So thanks GW2 for the hard work done fixing issues caused (in part) by massive ongoing demand and the sheer numbers of players online.

One modest point, if you start to play a Karma event on an overflow server, and half way complete, transfer to your main realm, you get no Karma credit for what you have done. I can live with that but it may be a point to bring to your attention