Showing Posts For nbostaph.7639:
I’m a WoW player, having started in 2009 during Wrath. Leveling sped by and even though I expansion capped, I made it into heroic raiding by the time Arthas was ready to be taken down. But over the years I enjoyed WoW less and less. PvP is just a crowd control duel. There are less and less veblen and positional goods, and those that remain (mostly raiding gear) retain value for far too short a time. The lore is completely ruined by the wacky leveling changes, and there is no interest in fixing leveling problems (including balance). General immaturity, rudeness, and carelessness rule the social atmosphere.
I tried several games back at the beginning of 2013 with a WoW friend when trying to find something better, and ended up loving GW2. The dynamic events, especially the way they encouraged ad-hoc grouping (without actually grouping), amazed me. The personal stories, voice acting and all, enthralled me. The professions weren’t exactly what I’d like, but they blew WoW out of the water. And the class that I expected to hate, turned out to be exactly what I always wanted: a primarily “support” class.
By by two months later I was max level (a very rushed process), decked out in yellows that I mostly made myself, and unsure what to do next. Without a global chat channel I had no idea how to meet people or form groups or find a guild, and the LFG tool that I’ve since heard about didn’t exist back then (that I know of). I ran across one or two guilds, but they didn’t seem very active and the leaders were not attentive or interactive. I left GW2 by spring/summer and haven’t been back since. I’ve been playing WoW, having missed healing, but I keep finding myself wishing it was more like GW2.
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So that’s what I am now. I’m looking to come back to GW2 and give it another shot, though my buddy missed healing too much and is sticking with WoW for now. I’d like to find a good guild, welcoming and supportive, who will help me get up to speed with what I’ve missed. I’d like a close group of friends, but not in a way that doesn’t welcome others to join in; I’m a relatively social person at heart but pretty quiet until I get to know people and I tend not to join in unless invited. I’m always happy to help out and teach others, and I treat everyone with respect; I expect the same in return.
I enjoyed WvW the few times I tried it, and would like a guild that has some PvP involvement. And I’ve always been interested in those group missions I kept seeing pop up but never got to do. I have a feeling that working up through fractals as a team may be my biggest source of enjoyment (though I don’t know for sure as I could never find a group to even try a dungeon), so I’d really like to make sure the guild I join does those. I LOVE fun little events just held to play as a group, and I’ve always been fond of groups working together for a common cause (grinding/farming mats for a guildie, working towards an achieve together, etc).
I’m still playing WoW and I’m not sure where I’ll end up or if I’ll keep playing both, and I’m pretty sure I’ll head back to at least try WoD. I also work two jobs right now and have a family. So my time will be pretty limited; I can’t promise to be online too often. However, if there is a set day and time when the guild does certain activities I can probably be pretty reliable. Weeknights at 6:30 pm EST or later work best for me. Weekends are possible, but more tricky.
I’d really like a guild with active leadership and membership. I ran a raiding guild in WoW and know how difficult the job is (and how thankless!). But I also know that leadership can make or break a guild. And oblivious members who aren’t dedicated to the group, or to making group activities work, leaves social interaction in a constant state of ambiguity.
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Thanks for taking the time to read. If you think your guild would be a good match, could you please tell me a little about it and tell me how you think I’d be a good fit for the group (or the group a good fit for me)?
Thank you, all, for your responses.
I was not aware there was an LFG tool (I don’t think it existed when I played) so I will give that a shot.
And I actually enjoy grinding, sometimes, if it can positively affect me or my ability to assist my guild, but I didn’t see many options for it (again, profs seemed to peter out).
And Terok, I’ll check out the forum guild recruitment, though I really prefer that stuff to be in game. Maybe if I find a good group I can drum my interest in the game back up.
Thanks again!
I don’t mean for that question may come across as aggressive or insulting. I really want to understand, and hopefully rekindle my interest in the game.
My first MMORPG was WoW; I started in 2009 during Wrath and took my time leveling. I capped at BC and ran all the raids there before moving into Wrath content. Then I finally had a chance to reach max level and give up questing and exploring in favor of raiding (specifically, as a healer). I stuck with things all the way through to the beginning of 2013, when a friend and I decided to try some other games to see if they solved the WoW problems that we just saw getting worse.
After a few different experiences, both good and bad, we found GW2 and absolutely loved it. The personal storylines were a fantastic concept, the voice acting was more welcome than I can express, the dynamic events and level scaling made the world big and dangerous and super immersive, and the professions…well, they didn’t make it to “mini-game” level like I always wanted, but they were miles ahead of WoW. And combat mechanics, ‘downed state’, effects working ‘on friendly players’, and the like were just incredible. My best ever “boss fight” in an MMORPG was as a level 38 Mesmer! I thought I had found my eventual home.
I hit max level uncomfortably quickly. GW2 developers appeared to have bought into the concept of “the game begins at max level” and rushed players through to get there. But when I did, and my personal story was about over, and the world was just about fully explored, and I was ready for a super-challenge to work toward I found emptiness. There was no chat channel to find others to run a dungeon with (still haven’t done one), no chat channel or gui to find a guild (found two dead ones by happenstance), and seemingly no raid content in the attempt to get away from the “gear grind.” In short, I felt like I was rushed to max level to get to an end-game that didn’t exist.
Between having no sense of purpose to anything, and missing playing a healing class, I returned to WoW within a few months of trying GW2. Yet I keep finding myself making suggestions to the developers to make WoW more like GW2, and keep seeing WoW go in a different direction. I get an urge to return to GW2 and remember great times leveling up, but before I even load it up I begin asking: to do what? What would I even do when I logged in? What is there to work toward achieving?
So I guess my question is twofold. Did I miss something before that could have captured my attention and given me purpose in a social context, like raiding does in WoW? Have updates over the past year added an end-game in any way?
I have tried the following and they just don’t capture my interest:
WvW – Very cool concept that I love, but no long term progression. We just fight for bonuses that reset each week. And a bit too much “giant group kills single player” while being unable to find a group.
Guilds – Poor interface and no real common goals to work towards. But I may be jaded because I could find absolutely zero methods to find a guild. Lack of global chat kills any chance at in-game social interaction.
Dungeons – May be fun, but as mentioned above I have no way to find a group to try them.
Economy – I loved playing the economy in WoW, but though GW2 has an interesting setup, the massive number of players all using the same market has normalized all prices and stymies any real economic mini-game. Worse, most crafted goods are worth less than their components!
Professions – Without any sort of global chat, there’s no way to assist other players or ask for another profession expert to help you. So they seem worthless once you get geared up in yellow.
Orr – I explored a little over half of it. It was interesting, to a degree, but there didn’t seem like there was much ‘buddying up’ while I was there, and that’s 90% of the fun of an MMORPG.
I think what I really want is:
A purpose – Some long term goal to work towards that each thing I do in game contributes towards in some direct or indirect way. A transmog weapon doesn’t quite do it for me on this front.
A social group – A guild would be great. I hate monster guilds with hundreds of players. And most of the ones I find are dead or dying or not working towards anything in particular. But how does anyone find one without a good guildfinder or global chat channel?
Social dependencies – Social interaction is often kickstarted and maintained in games by players needing something others can provide (mats, a friend with superior strength, etc).
I hope this hasn’t come across as too negative. As I said, I absolutely love the game, the interface, the graphics (I have far too many screen captures), my class…I just don’t know what to do from here and would love some help.
Thanks,
Nicholas