Guild Wars 2

I wasn’t making any assumptions or generalizations regarding other dungeons. I was just explaining my personal experience with the one dungeon I did stack in. I’m also not saying that stacking is horrible or anything of the sort. It’s not my preferred playstyle, is all.

And I didn’t make assumptions regarding dungeon design. I enjoy watching and reading up on video games, as a whole, and happened across a video interview between IGN and Kevin Miller regarding dungeons (published Aug 2012). It was a specific interview done while showing off Twilight Arbor.

And I do have fun running dungeons. To each their own… but I think it’s important to understand that everyone enjoys different things about any MMO.

I picked up Guild Wars 2 within the first week or two of its release, and back then, I used to play with a group of 5 friends. we ran a number of dungeons as the designers had initially intended for them to be run (without stacking, utilizing tactics, and learning to work together). I LOVED the dungeons. Sure, they sometimes took awhile to complete, and we died frequently, but there was this amazing satisfaction following every completed dungeon.

After a 4-6 month hiatus from the game (maybe even longer!), I decided to try my hand at the LFG system for the first time. I stayed away from any that demanded experienced players, despite being lvl 80, because I knew I was rusty on the game mechanics. The first and second group I joined ran into a corner just before engaging the Spider Queen while saying one word: “Stack.” I requested some clarification (not having heard of this before), but never received any response. I was promptly booted from two groups following two wipes (I was using dodge maneuvers to get away from the boss, wondering why they had chosen such a tight area to engage her in). The third group just booted me when I asked them what “stack” meant. I FINALLY decided to ask my guildmates for a hand, and they promptly took me on a run, while inadvertantly teaching me the meaning of stacking. The run was quick, efficient, and entirely unfulfilling.

Here’s what I have concluded:

Stacking is just DULL. It takes all the fun out of the game, and doesn’t help me to figure out how I can best alter my character, equipment, or playstyle for both PvE and WvW. There’s nothing fun about running a dungeon when it’s about standing in a corner. I completely agree with the original poster on this point.

I DO, however, see the benefits in stacking, if your sole goal is to run as many dungeons as fast as possible. Hell, I’d easily do it again, if I’m just trying to farm the dungeon for something in particular.

Since my typical goal is to have fun with the game, and I enjoy a good challenge, I’d much rather not engage in stacking. The only real frustration, as I experienced it, was in the attitudes given by other gamers. I think I’ll try advertising a “no stacking” dungeon run in the next night or two, and see how things go.