Guild Wars 2

agreed that this update is totally fun. most importantly, it requires strategy, co-operation and not just button spamming. excellent job all around, ANet! additionally, we’re back to dragons and the core story, – hooray!

Scarlet and the steam punk nonsense can take a hike now, please.

i can appreciate not playing in a guild. i am in a very small family based guild and we do not do a lot of the group-based content because it’s hard to coordinate schedules. my reaction to SAB was exactly the same. i saw the ‘party of 5’ window pop up and didn’t play the content as a result. i have since tried it solo and didn’t get very far before i realized the time commitment to finish the zone was more than what i had. i haven’t been back to SAB and don’t feel like i am missing out. i’m doing other things and that is ok. besides, i really don’t like the Asura and Rata Sum is one of my least favorite cities. floating cube cities break my immersion.

the thing that i don’t get is that nobody is forcing anyone to get Ascended or Legendary gear. i am enjoying the game just fine without, and while i recognize that some more unique gear would be nice to have, it’s not compulsory. these items are extremely hard to get and rare for a reason. if you want ’em, you have to put in the effort – no entitlements.

Biglulu.3928:

Tad.4109:

i totally think confusion is warranted here. i mean, are we to believe that the Queen and Anise staged a ruse in the form of PUBLIC speech that endangered the lives of countless innocent civilians simply to flush out Scarlet? it makes zero sense. Queen Jennah might not be smart enough to cover her nasty feet in a pair of shoes but she can’t be that daft, can she? i want a better explanation of events but it’s doubtful that that will happen.

What does being barefoot have to do with intelligence? Perhaps she just likes the feel of the natural floor when she walks instead of shoes. Please don’t equate unrelated concepts or a person’s preferences to intelligence.

please don’t assume i’m being serious! plenty of people on the boards make fun of Jennah for not wearing shoes. it’s not meant to be serious.

i totally think confusion is warranted here. i mean, are we to believe that the Queen and Anise staged a ruse in the form of PUBLIC speech that endangered the lives of countless innocent civilians simply to flush out Scarlet? it makes zero sense. Queen Jennah might not be smart enough to cover her nasty feet in a pair of shoes but she can’t be that daft, can she? i want a better explanation of events but it’s doubtful that that will happen.

panzer.6034:

In Tyria, we clearly have thousands of people running around throwing out predictable, repeatable magical effects, logically reducing “magic” to the same function of turning on a computer or using a smart phone in the real world. These folks are simply using the natural laws of their reality to accomplish tasks in the exact same manner as we do in our world. Harnessing the laws of nature through observation and creating repeatable results IS science, whether you’re creating transistors in California or throwing out your 1,000th identical fireball in Tyria.

i see what you are saying, but given that Tyria isn’t real, i see no reason why it should have to abide by the same logical rules that apply in our world. fantasy worlds can, and should have their own rules and logic as long as that logic can be properly explained – that’s what makes a great fantasy world. in this respect, Tyria suffers because it doesn’t seem to have consistent logic and reasoning.

LameFox.6349:

Tad.4109:

i vote eating disorder. every time she says ‘later tater’, i crave tater tots.

I’m not sure eating disorders are contagious…

fine, use logic.

i vote eating disorder. every time she says ‘later tater’ i crave tater tots.

yeah, that hit me after i finished Clockwork Chaos and used my Watchknight tonic for the first time. i couldn’t help but think to myself ‘ok, so the loot was good along the way, but this is what i get as a final reward? a naked robot in heels? gross. no thanks.’ besides, the loot farming tended to bring out some ugly behavior and that isn’t fun. i liked how the base game was built on cooperative rewards. this feels like i got sexism as a reward.

lordkrall.7241:

Tad.4109:

lordkrall.7241:

So, people shout about how this should be in-game.
HOW would this be in-game?
The only one that could tell us all this would be Scarlet (if she even can due to the experiment) and I have rather major doubts she would tell us.

there are a number of ways a story like this could be told in the game. cut-scenes, journal entries players collect for completing missions, or maybe the player journeys around the map to interview the various NPCs Scarlet held her apprenticeships with. all of those people hold valuable information, and talking to them could make for some very interesting in-game detective style storytelling.

And that is assuming they are still alive and/or willing to actually talk about her. We do know that she didn’t have much trouble at least killing off one of them, so why assume the others are safe?

i’m not assuming they are safe…that could also be part of the fun of trying to find them.

lordkrall.7241:

So, people shout about how this should be in-game.
HOW would this be in-game?
The only one that could tell us all this would be Scarlet (if she even can due to the experiment) and I have rather major doubts she would tell us.

there are a number of ways a story like this could be told in the game. cut-scenes, journal entries players collect for completing missions, or maybe the player journeys around the map to interview the various NPCs Scarlet held her apprenticeships with. all of those people hold valuable information, and talking to them could make for some very interesting in-game detective style storytelling.

this is the kind of story that needs to be put in the game. i am not sure i like the story, but at least i know a bit more about Scarlet and some things make a bit more sense after reading this.

as a side note, i was participating in an ‘invasion’ (term used loosely since the invaders always retreat) in the Gendarran Fields and at one point i couldn’t help but laugh because the Centaurs kept attacking us as if nothing else was happening around them. i realize the Centaur attacks are scripted events, but it was just so silly watching these creatures try to attack us with cheap swords and bows while the robot invaders where busy shooting at us with their ‘pew! pew! pew!’ laser beams. i almost had to stop playing – having both of these things happen side by side just made no sense. zero believability factor.

i do wish the invasions felt more like invasions. i think it would be cool if the invasions worked like Factions did or WvW where we fight for control points on the PvE map. of course, with all the overflows being generated, it would hard to create something like that with a sense of permanence attached to it. but, if Scarlet’s forces actually started taking over parts of the map, i would feel more compelled to act. as it now, it’s kind of a like a G.I. Joe vs. Cobra battle…it’s only a matter of time before Cobra retreats.

Epicninja.8429:

no, now people will just spam CHAMP HERE [location] and half the players will run there for a box breaking the event even more, its not the event that is the issue, its the people, greedy people are greedy, they care about the gold, not finishing the event as it is intended

it’s already happening.

i thought the same thing and made some comments about that during the last update. the Tyrian Orders appear to have fallen off the lore radar along with the dragons and everything else.

i think living story would work better for me if the following were to occur.

1. each month a new chapter in the living story is released. players will know that the content for that month will focus on this new chapter in the living story. at the beginning of each month, players will learn what is happening, and be given enough context and background information to know why and how they need to act.

a critical piece for me is that as players finish achievements, they are given new information about the current chapter in the story. this can happen through cut scenes, emails, or a journal that is received in a rewards chest. in other words, you learn about the story as you make your way through the content. right now, the content is about participating in zerg after zerg with no new information or storytelling provided. if you are going to tell a living story, then storytelling needs to be tied to rewards. period.

2. two-weeks into the month, the conclusion of the chapter is released. it does not overwrite the previous content. rather, it is complementary to it and is primarily a minor update that allows characters to complete the chapter, and help set the stage for the next chapter.

if those two things were to happen, i think a lot of confusion on the part of the player would be alleviated. at least we would have a basic road map for how the living story will unfold.

i agree with much the OP said. i feel like AreaNet’s new marketing slogan should be ‘GW2: come for the dragons, stay for the steampunk’. in other words, i am totally lost and confused by the living story. the sci-fi/techno route this game is taking doesn’t interest me at all – i was promised dragons and fantasy! but, confusion in storytelling isn’t always a bad thing. heck, i’ve been confused reading George R. R Martin from day one and that’s the reason i LIKE reading his books. i want my confusion RE: living story to compel me to play. so, for now i am still engaged and interested in seeing where this living story will go, but it does seem like the lore has seriously jumped the shark.

if nothing else, can we please stop saying ‘later tater’ and ‘die die die’? so. freaking. cheesy.

my problem with Scarlet is that i still have no idea who the heck she is and why i should give one flying kitten about her. the content so far is a lot of fun, but the storytelling lacks. at the end of the Queen’s Speech event Anise announces (after doing nothing throughout the entire battle i might add) that she had information on a threat to the Queen, but she doesn’t give any of the details of how she acquired that information, why she took it seriously, etc. a number of NPCs seem to know more about Scarlet than what is being shared with players.

i am very hopefully this event will provide further information on who Scarlet is and why we should care, but for now i am still super confused by this living story and have no idea how any of it ties together. in some ways, being confused can be fun, but i was hoping for a big reveal at the Queen’s Speech and that never happened. that said, my first battle in the field was a heck of a lot of fun and helps make up for my current state of confusion!

pelto.7345:

we are all farmers in one way or another stop denying it

exactly. i found that visiting 30 balloon towers felt more like farming and a grind than the arena does (not to mention not very fun). however, it was my choice to visit those towers so i can only blame myself.

i have mixed views on the arena. on one hand, it does feel as if all i am doing is button spamming in combat. because of that, i find running around reviving downed allies to be much more fun and challenging.

that said, the arena is a very quick and easy way to level characters, and given that levels in this game are pretty much arbitrary constructs that are annoying to me, the faster i can get to 80, the better.

posted this in another thread as well.

i think that Jennah needs to call on all Tyrian races to unite once more to reach out and make contact with lands long isolated (Elona, Cantha) and urge these lands to join in the fight against the elder dragons. much like cutthroat politics, i hope that players get to decide which land to make contact with, first. Living Story content for the rest of the year could focus on our choice, preparing Tyrians for the journey ahead. hopefully by Q1 2014 we’ll be landing on either the shores of Cantha or Elona. or both.

additionally, i think each race will have a special task to perform in order to secure their support for the Queen’s initiative to reach out to these lands. if i am right, everyone who is asking ‘what about race x?’ will have something very important and special to do.

i think that Jennah needs to call on all Tyrian races to unite once more to reach out and make contact with lands long isolated (Elona, Cantha) and urge these lands to join in the fight against the elder dragons. much like cutthroat politics, i hope that players get to decide which land to make contact with, first. Living Story content for the rest of the year could focus on our choice, preparing Tyrians for the journey ahead. hopefully by Q1 2014 we’ll be landing on either the shores of Cantha or Elona. or both.

EDIT: i think each race will have a special task to perform in order to secure their support for the Queen’s initiative to reach out to these lands. if i am right, everyone who is asking ‘what about race x?’ will have something very important and special to do.

30 balloons was a bit much. i couldn’t help but remember what Colin said in the Manifesto regarding combat when i was doing this challenge. (paraphrasing) “look, i swung a sword, i swung it again. hey, look! i swung the sword yet again. we just don’t think that’s ok”. i kept thinking “look, i visited a balloon tower, i visited one again. hey look! i visited one yet again!”. after awhile it didn’t feel ok. i felt like i was going through the same motions over and over again.

but what’s more frustrating for me is that after visiting 30 towers, i still haven’t defeated all the Queen’s Champions. so, i guess i’ll have to go visit some more! at least i have my cute red balloon now.

Zanshin.5379:

Tad.4109:

most of the threads i have read regarding this update have been very constructive. i’ve seen a lot of respectful brainstorming and good ideas shared.

I’ve also seen a lot of “if you can’t do it, you suck”.
Not the most respectful thing to say.

oh, i’ve certainly seen those as well! i just think the majority of the threads have been respectful. but yeah, not all of them.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

Again I bring up the fact that not all players will be able to complete this challenge. Because one player may find it impossible to do doesn’t mean it’s broken (yes I know there are random bugs here and there). Patches and bug fixes aside, the main mechanics are still punishing for some. But remember, this is a challenge.

i agree. and, because not all players are able to complete the challenge, it’s not unreasonable for those players to feel a bit frustrated when the fail, especially when defeating these bosses is the only way to obtain the Queen’s Gauntlet achievement. personally speaking, these types of boss battles are just not fun for me, especially when i go into a downed state after just one hit.

i am glad that others enjoy this content and do not think it should be changed. that said, i think it would be great if alternate roads to obtaining the Queens Gauntlet achievement were offered. i think it would be fun if players were offered a choice of challenges based on the focuses of the three Tyrian Orders: an espionage challenge, a scholarly challenge, and a military challenge. that might not satisfy everyone, but at least there would be choice and opportunities for multiple types of players to feel successful.

i don’t think anything has matched the rage seen on these forums when Ascended Gear was launched. that. was. bad.

most of the threads i have read regarding this update have been very constructive. i’ve seen a lot of respectful brainstorming and good ideas shared.

Mustbeghosts.7043:

I admit they got a bit of an eyeroll from me the first time I saw them. It does sometimes feel like there is a flowchart in the world that goes: Can you put breasts on it? Yes -> Put breasts on it. Even when it is not necessary to do so. There was a lot of similar discussion about the sylvari design, I believe. It can get a bit beleaguering at times, and is always worthy of discussion. Personally, I was satisfied with the reasoning I read in discussions about the sylvari, and have seen many valid points about the feminine form in the case of the watchknights.

I do also just want to remind people that by no means should this discussion be a love all/hate all. You can like that they are feminine in shape and still dislike the degree to which the design takes that shape. Personally, female warrior robots seem awesome to me. I like the idea of a female monarch with an entourage of female robot warriors. I love the female shape. I’ve been rocking one myself for quite awhile. But I do dislike that the female shape being represented is something even Barbie hasn’t even had for several years now. I dislike the heels. I dislike the waistline.

I don’t feel as though they’ve been “sexualized” because there is a very large difference between being sexualized and merely exhibiting secondary sexual characteristics. There is a line there to be crossed but I don’t feel the watchknights cross that line.

I feel, basically, that my initial eyeroll stemmed from a larger issue in society where breasts of a considerable size and waistline of a less-considerable size and a rump of a considerable shape are seemingly shown everywhere people can conceivably put them. When discussing sex and gender representation, there is no such thing as a single occurrence, you have to consider the representation at large. Yes, the feminine body is beautiful in all of its forms, no, ANet is not alone in appreciating it. I very strongly appreciate the beauty of it. Which is why I’d like to see it a bit better treated.

very well said.

the Watchknights are totally over the top. i would be more ok with them if there was equal gender representation and/or a valid reason given in the lore as to why i am looking at a naked robot in heels. the heels are gross.

regarding the Queens Gauntlet: this particular content is of no interest to me. i really wish this content was instanced, too. that way i wouldn’t have to deal people watching just how bad i am at these boss fights. by entering the que, i also feel like i am wasting the time of people who actually like this content. but, i can’t get the associated achievements unless i throw my hat in the ring.

for players who like these boss fights, great! however, i think it would be awesome if players could have multiple paths to achievements to choose from based on their play style. for example, what if players could represent their order (remember those?) in the Gauntlet? in this example, challenges would cater to the focus of that particular order. Durmand Priory members would have a scholarly challenge, Order of Whispers would have an espionage challenge, and the Vigil could fight the bosses as they currently are.

i also agree with much of what the OP had to say. in particular, i find the growing number of currencies in the game to be totally overwhelming and unnecessary. it’s great that we now have a currency wallet, but the fact that we NEED a currency wallet speaks to a growing problem within the game. special currencies are not bad per-se, but please streamline them. i don’t have the time (or interest) in collecting all these currencies. i also agree that needing special currency AND gold to buy QJ event-specific items is just ridiculous.

as far as dynamic events go, i also desperately want more dynamic events in the world. i am super excited that this release has new events in the world that are tied to the QJ story. that said, i agree with the OP that these events are a bit lackluster in quality (every balloon tower is pretty much the same), but adding events in the world that tie into the living story is a much needed step in the right direction.

one thing the balloon towers do very well is that they serve as a visual representation to the player of the living story within the game world. i think new events benefit from obvious visual clues like the balloon towers: they help lead the player into the story, and also help the player rediscover zones in new ways.

lastly, i think ArenaNet has forgotten that simplicity is sometimes the most elegant solution. there are plenty of simple things that could be done to help this world feel ‘alive’. shops could open and close, taverns could come alive at night, field crops could rotate, animals could migrate, seasons could occur, etc. i have no idea how simple it is to add these things from a programming perspective, but when i think of what makes a world ‘live’ it’s often very simple things.

i hope that ‘S’ is for ‘Scandal’. after all, from a role-playing perspective, there is so much about this arena and Jubilee that do not pass the smell test. what right does Jennah have spending Kryta’s coffers on this huge monument to herself? even worse, the Queen only plans to use the arena two weeks out of the year? how does that make sense? how does that help her people? additionally, she’s built balloon towers all over Tyria in remote locations. why? wouldn’t that money be better used building infrastructure in Kryta, helping the poor, etc? Jennah has a lot to answer for and i hope the people of Kryta wake up and take note! this entire event has scandal written all over it, and i hope a scandal is what we get!

i also love the wallet, but like others, wish we could still deposit money in the bank.

in a different thread Colin said this content was being designed to return each year.

ColinJohanson.2394:

We still want to have some content that can happen each year, our holiday festivals, Super Adventure Box, Zephyr Sanctum, and the new Queens Gauntlet are all intended to be content that will regularly return. The goal of having these in our portfolio of event content that can occur again each year is they allow us the opportunity to easily build on something we’ve already completed as themes for some of our releases for year 2.

agreed. my posts are in the spirit of lore and role-playing.

Gabby.3205:

Quite frankly, I don’t think ANY ruler should waste money on a celebration for themselves. And every single year? Really? I mean, Jennah could put that money to good use, like pushing the centaurs away from DR’s doorstep, hiring more people to keep the bandits away from the farmers and from the water supply, rebuilding that lady’s vineyard… And that’s just Queensdale.

exactly. i totally agree with you. and what happened to all those people who lost their homes in the collapse? according to gossiping NPCs in DR, nobody was killed because Jennah had the area evacuated before the collapse. what did she know that they didn’t? why were their homes not rebuilt? this whole thing isn’t passing the smell test. Jennah has a lot to answer for!

from a lore and role-playing perspective, i think i would rather see players outside the arena boycotting this event. if Queen Jennah is so irresponsible with her coffers that she can’t afford to operate this new monument to herself for only two weeks a year, maybe she isn’t fit to rule.

i also watched the twitch video and noticed the outcry when it was announced that the arena content would be temporary. on one hand, i have yet to play the new content so it is hard to judge. on the other hand, i don’t know why they wouldn’t leave something there permanently. if nothing else, the arena gives DR something unique and a reason for players to go there. it was also mentioned in the video that it wouldn’t be possible for the Queen to operate the new arena longer than two weeks. if Queen Jennah can’t afford to operate her new arena for more than two weeks, then maybe she isn’t fit to rule… why did she build it in the first place?

i’ll preface what i am about to say by stating that i’m really just another schmuck who knows nothing about game design with an opinion about game design. that said, i found Colin’s comments a bit confusing. in my mind, why can’t the current Orr be turned into instanced story zones thus paving the way for a new Orr?

Thobek.1730:

Some dynamic events already do this. In the Harathi Hinterlands there is a massive chained dynamic event which leads to eventually to a final assault against the Modniir centaur leader. You push them out of camps, you can fail this and they will retake the land.

So these world changing event already exist, are you asking that they should be included in the living story as well? This would be hard to do because people would complain about not seeing the content i.e. some group completing that part before others had witnessed it. You could do it in instanced events but that wouldn’t change the world.

i totally agree with you. the point i was attempting to make was that the same events happen again and again and again. i know exactly what to expect in zones when i enter them. what i think is needed to help create a ‘living world’ is more events, regardless of what they are – my brainstorm was simply that, a brainstormed example. to put it another way, once current event chains are completed, the cycle starts over again. all i am wanting is newer event cycles, or alternate outcomes to current events that don’t currently exist.

to that point, i would love there being events in zones tied to Cutthroat Politics. in fact, as it is now, i randomly wander through Kryta waiting for someone in map chat to say ‘Troll is up!’ or ‘Wasp is up!’ in order to get my support achievement. those events are fun, don’t get me wrong. however, when i am tasked with completing tasks in the field in order to support my candidate, i want to do things that feel like meaningful support. in other words, i want events tied to the story and to achievements we are trying to obtain. how is killing the wasp 10 times helping the Keil campaign? i don’t see the correlation.

The Karka event did a great job of integrating story with events. right now Tyria feels like it has a living story, but not a living world. once you leave Lion’s Arch or the Sanctum, it’s the same old Tyria.

there are aspects of Cutthroat Politics that i am enjoying, but i personally don’t feel that it makes Tyria feel like a living world – at least not in a broad sense. for example, when I go into Queensdale, I know that Harpies will attack the dam, Bandits will try to poison the water supply, Centaurs will attack farms, etc. these events are fine, but i would like a deeper dynamic event experience. just brainstorming a scenario here, but what if events triggered in Queensdale, that if successfully completed, forced the bandits to regroup underground? maybe in their place, new threats appear that trigger all kinds of new dynamic events. for me, if zones had a richer dynamic event experience, the world would feel much more alive. the living story is fine, but zones have become a bit predictable.

Atlas.9704:

No it can’t be Detroit.
It is actually prettier.

ha! i totally agree, and was hoping someone would say that.

that said, my other characters are human, so i guess i haven’t spent much time in other cities, either. it’s a shame, too, because i really like The Grove.

i just rolled a new Sylvari character and have been spending a good amount of time in The Grove as a result. while in The Grove, i hardly ever see any other PC’s in that city and i am curious as to why this might be. maybe i just happen to be in The Grove at the wrong times? or, could changes be made to The Grove to make it a more compelling city? if so, what would you add/change to make the city a more enjoyable place to visit?

i just want to voice my support for a return of Cantha. Cantha was by far the most compelling continent for me on GW1 – it added richness and diversity to the game. as far as humans go in GW2, what we have now is a sea of white people – hardly any diversity among the humans at all. as a result, they are not that interesting to me.

almost a year into GW2 and no sign of Cantha or Elona. sad. hopefully the never-ending living story will bring us back to these lost shores.

EverythingXen.1835:

Tad.4109:

Tyria after Dark is my favorite. the hosts are hilarious and the show is rather informative.

I see what you did there

ha! i wondered if anyone would notice that. but, name aside, they really are my favorite. i also agree that Tales of Tyria was once good, but too much drama and too many server transfers for my tastes. i wish them well, but i’ll stick with TAD for now.

Tyria after Dark is my favorite. the hosts are hilarious and the show is rather informative.

I am thrilled that makeover kits have been added to the game, thank you! I think it would be great if makeover kits could be put on a timer, rather than a one-time use. For example, maybe the makeover kit could last for a few hours, up to a day? Sometimes characters don’t look exactly the way you think they will in-game, and it would be great to have some time to tweak the look of our characters.

Thanks again for this great addition to the game!

Raf.1078:

If you are “turned on” or “attracted to” a toon in a video game? You may need to get out more.

why does it have to be about that? my avatar as a representation of myself in the game. there is nothing wrong with wanting to look a particular way – it’s called roll playing.

i would like there to be more sexy and stylish options for men in this game. right now, i think the game lacks options for men in a number of categories, not just ‘skimpy’ (although that is certainly true). while i would like see kilts and bikinis for men, i would like to see my mesmer dress like a 17th century noble. to that point, i also wish armor was class specific, but that’s a different conversation i suppose.

azurrei.5691:

so true, but if we all wanted to be a day trader we would do it in real life, not in a game that is not at all about day trading (or maybe it is…) – flipping is for the lazy

i never said i flipped goods. in fact, i actually don’t do much flipping as i have found it to be too risky.