I created a topic during F&F to discuss the merits/flaws of ending primarily solo content with a 5 man dungeon. It turned out to be a pretty contentious topic.
Whether this new ending structure to Southsun was a response to that or planned all along I think it is a great format.
Single player instance that tops off the story for those who cannot fathom entering a 5 man dungeon and an explorable mode on the side for those who do. Thats perfect imo.
Thanks Anet. Jus’ throwin’ it out there that I love that direction!
What was good about this direction?…
We got two 5 minute instances.
The first one could be solod by anyone with a minimal intelligence with no effort at all. The words ‘Boring’, ‘Easy’ and ‘Tedious’ cannot describe what I feel about it. Overall it was just a rather lackluster and disappointing experience (after MF or the solo instances in F&F).
The second one required a bit of effort, not much, but a bit better.
The thing is, if this stuff was any longer, the people would still whine over not being able to participate in a group event, becouse they dislike groups. So Anet ?had to? design these events that… … … are not fun (had to restrain myself there).
I know it’s been said a bazillion times before but: This game is GUILD wars 2. Get a Guild, get freinds. Play the SOCIAL rpg (MMOrpg I might add) as the way it was meant to be played. With a team/guild/friends. And please don’t let ‘instances’ like these happen in the future.
It’s great that the 2% of whiners got what they wanted but the other 98% of the comminity is disappointed. In my oppinion.
(the precentages are purely made up, but I feel they are close to reailty)
Part of Guild Wars 2’s early promises were catering to all play styles. Do you remember heroes in Guild Wars 1? Almost all of the content was “solo-able”. I kind of feel you are pushing what you feel the game is meant to be on others who can find enjoyment in other ways.
As OP said, the inclusion of single player driving the story and 5 man for more of the “grind” aspect makes sense and is consistent with how Guild Wars was in the past. While I am not necessarily thrilled with the instances themselves, it’s a good model in that you can somewhat learn the 5 man fight in privacy and be moderately prepared for when you enter a group.
Somewhat in the same vein, I think that Guild Wars 2 hasn’t been successful in leading people to solving the key to victory for certain encounters/dungeons. Devs early on assured there would be context clues that would lead you to what you should do, yet many of the meta events (such as shadow behemoth and fire elemental) and the tutorial bosses are trial and error more than establishing clear context. Until people flesh out the encounters via wiki or blog it is mostly stumbling in the dark. That’s why I think this single player/5man model has potential.