Guild Wars 2

We had no real cliffhanger, the story just stopped abruptly as if someone turned off my TV in the middle of a show.

It did not leave me on the edge of my seat but rather thinking `was that it?´

I could not disagree more, the story has taken a nose dive since Hidden Arcana, the only highlight in this season.

Two words.

Exceptionally disappointing.

I am no fan of the story at the moment, it is beyond tedious and full of uninteresting characters. But the episodes themselves are jarringly short, it is like suddenly turning off a TV show after only watching for fifteen minutes, to only continue two weeks later.

The jumping puzzle was epic, but so severely unrewarding that I know for a fact I will never do it again. It is hard to believe but this season might actually be worse than last, worse rewards, story quickly going down the toilet and episodes that are completed in no time. Not to mention the horribly grindy nature of badges, armour pieces and other similar mechanics

The Hidden Arcana story instance may have been a wonderful highlight, but I am not sure it is worth suffering through this.

“Has Living Story failed?”

Yes.

lordkrall.7241:

So you would rather have them focus on new releases twice a year (or whenever there are festivals) than having releases twice a month?

Who says we are only allowed one or the other?

Arena Net did fine adding festival content along with Living Story content in the first year of release.

Novuake.2691:

I hope they do not reuse last years like they did with Halloween…

Same, but you know in your heart it will be an exact copy.

Sad thing is with no new content I will very likely be playing a different game that provides new festival content each year, I am sure I am not alone in that.

Torsailr.8456:

most forum goers would be rather kittened off at the idea.

The bring back SAB topic has hundreds of posts and the in game protest attracted many many more. Your personal opinion seems to colour your view too much, SAB fans are not the minority.

Ayakaru.6583:

no SAB please, that was a huge waste of resources

Everyone enjoys different aspects of the game, you may not like SAB but that does not make it a waste of resources as thousands of players do actually enjoy it.

Personally I find competitive PvP is a huge waste of time, but the few that like it still deserve resources to be spent on it.

Raziel.4216:

So yeah, you have the right to ask for it.

Yes, everyone has a right to want things, but what gives the people in this topic the right to say those opinions should be ignored? Problem here is opinionated people who feel offended by the fact that not everyone sees the world in the same way as them, which is bizarre as nothing offensive is being said.

I want female roles, I also want -better- male roles. Currently compared to the female roles, the males in the living story are either useless, comical or moronic, any unbiased person can see that disparity.

Even if it were true, don’t you think making a post like this was an extremely thoughtless thing to do? Especially without a `potential spoiler´ warning.

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

Aedelric.1287:

lordkrall.7241:

Are they?

Magnus, Evon. Rytlock, Logan, Canach, Master of Peace and Aerin are all male and indeed rather important and relevant.

Canach is just as important and present (if not more) as multiple of the female characters people count, so why shouldn’t we count him?

Yes.

Off the top of my head, Ellen Kiel, Belinda Delaqua, Caithe, Avatar of the Tree, Eir, Countess Anise, Ela Makkay, Zojja and that is only from season two. I am sure I could name many more if I included season one characters like you did.

Keep in mind I am not counting the many other smaller voiced roles like soldier and such, which are often female. But at the end of the day none of this is really important, the real issue is the major characters and how the males are often portrayed as idiots or incompetent.

Arena Net could really do with making a new major male character that is useful and not a complete moron, the lack of relatable or likable male leads is disappointing.

Ooh, you stacked the count by adding in characters who existed before the Living World launched, when the person you replied to avoided doing so. Foul! Yellow card.

Edit:

I just checked. Magister Ela Makkay was in Season One, twice. Once, though, as a purely infodump character. Belinda began in the epilogue instance of Season One. Ellen Kiel didn’t take part in events at all in Season Two, so she is a pure Season One character you pulled in.

Countess Anise, Avatar of the Tree, Eir, Caithe, and Zojja were all in the Personal Story at various points for various races.

So really your list for season two comes down to . . . nobody.

Ela MakKay had a prominent role in the last couple of episodes, you sure you been playing season 2? And yes, some characters existed before the living story season 2, but same with characters in his list.

How is it okay for him to list things from before living world and season 2 but I am not? Seriously is a double standard going on here, some peoples passion seem to be getting the better of them.

End of the day I have a right to want a new male lead, just like anyone else has a right to want whatever it is they like. Why nitpick and complain about other peoples likes/dislikes, go do something constructive instead.

Looks like Aloe Seed.

I would rather have SAB back.

lordkrall.7241:

Are they?

Magnus, Evon. Rytlock, Logan, Canach, Master of Peace and Aerin are all male and indeed rather important and relevant.

Canach is just as important and present (if not more) as multiple of the female characters people count, so why shouldn’t we count him?

Yes.

Off the top of my head, Ellen Kiel, Belinda Delaqua, Caithe, Avatar of the Tree, Eir, Countess Anise, Ela Makkay, Zojja and that is only from season two. I am sure I could name many more if I included season one characters like you did.

Keep in mind I am not counting the many other smaller voiced roles like soldier and such, which are often female. But at the end of the day none of this is really important, the real issue is the major characters and how the males are often portrayed as idiots or incompetent.

Arena Net could really do with making a new major male character that is useful and not a complete moron, the lack of relatable or likable male leads is disappointing.

lordkrall.7241:

While the biconics have more females than males there are other characters in the Living Story.

Yes and most of those other characters are female.

Arena Net does have a bias towards female, it is not bad but I would like to see another likable prominent male role, Braham does not cut it and Canach is not important enough nor is he often present.

Gaile Gray.6029:

I have these three to refer to the team:

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Hero_of_the_People
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Fine_Wining
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Brewmaster

I cannot locate notes about fractal weapons. I’ll keep looking.

Yea, those are the only collections that have never unlocked for me.

Slyverine.7081:

Ok seriously, every time something new comes, you will find something to complain about and HARD.

I agree, people even complain about complaints, it seems ridiculous now!

Seriously though, people purchased the game and have a right to their opinions, be it good or bad. Just because what they say does not align with your own personal beliefs does not mean their opinions are irrelevant.

No one is forcing you to read every negative comment, you should take your own advice and just go play the game. Also, do not try taking the moral high ground here, you are as guilty as the people you talk about, you yourself are complaining and not constructively either.

Personally I think the last update was mediocre at best, tedious and uninspired at worst, it deserves criticism.

Wolfheart.1938:

Really? I don’t remember that at all.

Then you perhaps have a selective memory.

Dangerous vines coming from the maguma region, erupting from the ground.

The Master of Peace takes the Dragon Egg steadily North West towards Mordromoth rather than heading south east towards the `floating´ city of Rata Sum. Not only that, he heads underground where the vines are coming from!

Logic is not powering this plot and never has, just idle whim. I think it a bit much to ask of the writers to change their ways at this point, the Idiot Plot is what they know and love.

CureForLiving.5360:

Aedelric.1287:

Did we even play the same content Aden Celeste? Because Tangled Paths was rubbish.

Objective statements really have little value when they’re just subjective opinions in disguise. What I’m saying is: different strokes for different folks.

Obviously, but it is still hard to believe or even take what they wrote seriously after experiencing the update myself.

It is not skilled, it is not overly interesting, but it is rewarding and that attracts players. The OP is right, it is some of the best content in the game because it actually has a lot of people actively playing it, which is the sole purpose of game content.

Do not forget Guild Wars 2 was marketed as casual friendly and EOTM is a casual friendly version of WvW, the games supposed end game content. No it does not require a lot of skill, but the average GW2 player does not have vasts amounts of skill, or looking for a challenge for that matter.

Personally I prefer doing other things in game but I do not have disdain for others for preferring content I have little interest in, like some people. Everyone who bought the game has a right to like what they want.

Did we even play the same content Aden Celeste? Because Tangled Paths was rubbish.

Walhalla.5473:

Aedelric.1287:

Spoilers

Last update was Guild Wars II living world at its best, this update is Guild Wars II living world at its worst.

Ever played Season One of the Living World?

Yes, I did play season one, I wish you did not remind me.

Lessons were supposedly learned from season one, yet we seem to have regressed back to season one type content. Nonsensical story, poor writing and tedious gameplay, seems like the living world is back on form.

Spoilers

Last update was Guild Wars II living world at its best, this update is Guild Wars II living world at its worst.

Granted the first boss fight was well done, with the flying and all. The second was tedious, but not as tedious as actually having to navigate the `labyrinth´ (It does not deserve the name) to get to it. The story was fairly boring, Caithe taking the egg at the end was not an unexpected twist but rather a moment of exasperation instead.

I was quite shocked at how short the whole thing was.

I do not know about anyone else, but between the chest nerf and the fact that mobs do not drop loot, it is not a place I want to spend time in as I do not feel rewarded enough for my effort.

The idea of the region is good, but as usual Arena Net have missed the mark in regards what they think players would find rewarding content. People are always going to gravitate to the easier and more rewarding content once novelty factor has worn off.

The loot is fine, it balances the lack of mob loot especially champions.

Such objects should have a slider of their own.

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

I disagree, I thought that was an excellent excuse to explain some stuff that was only in the books, or in GW1. It was important to get all of the information out of the way, so everyone is up to speed.

You only need to spout exposition if the story has failed to pave the way with enough information, it shows that the writing team is still struggling to put together all their eclectic story arcs into one cohesive narrative. Arena Net had plenty of opportunity to seed the lore and knowledge required to understand the events happening to the player character in previous updates.

That said, it was much better than Ela Makkay during A Moment’s Peace, which is a testament to Arena Nets improvement in the writing department between the two seasons.

Do not get me wrong, I love most things about this update, but nothing is perfect.

“Go on.”

The writing was great, from all the Ogden lines to the snippets of lore found throughout the library. The only thing which was not so great in the writing department was the inclusion of Marj and Kas in the Facet, seems like the only reason they were present was to spout exposition, which sort of detracted from the wonderment of the whole scene.

No matter, the quality of writing has steadily gotten better since season one, aside from Marj ghost sword nonsense.

For two years now I have been lukewarm towards the Living Story, at best. But that last mission, my God it felt like I was catapulted back in time to Guild Wars, such fond memories! It was not just the fact that I was able to experience something so familiar but also that the Facet is beautiful, the art team should be proud! The music alone almost bought a tear to my eye, please release it to Soundcloud ASAP!

Please expand the facet and add more aspects of the original so it can be included as a new fractal.

If you keep bringing back old location and lore like you have with this mission, then I might actually start becoming an actual fan of the Living Story.

For two greens and a blue, no they are not rewarding at all.

They are fun to do, but only once or twice but not constantly.

Not sure where Marjory and Kasmeer are with all that crystal around them, but it reminds me of the Facet of Light.

Looks like some interesting events might be happening with part two.

Well, an Abaddon statue is confirmed, not Abaddon himself.

It will be interesting to see where they are going with this, I just pray to Dwayna that they do not screw up the lore and retroactively cheapen historical events. For example Scarlet and the Thermonova Reactor.

The other one is Ghosts of Ascalon, try Amazon.

They could fill the screen with that nonsense, I am still not going to care about the stupid tournament.

Anyway, advertisements like this should be optional and should have a selection box in the game options. I do not mind the content guide itself as it can be useful, but this is not content and as such should not even be mentioned in it.

Your own fault, you do not deserve to get it back.

Why is Arena Net wasting time changing features that are not broken?

I liked how the gem store worked, seeing the chart of increasing and decreasing demand. As for gem purchasing, why remove the option to select the amount you want? It is essentially removing convenience in favour of “streamlining”, industry standard term for pointlessly dumbing down.

Well, it is not like we are getting enough fresh content to last a whole month. The short time frame is to gloss over the fact nothing is new this year.

huggles.5271:

Shameless self promotion right here.

Indeed.

Yea it can be replayed but the living story has very little replay value. It has achievements, which only a few people actively seek to accomplish but beyond that it has no reward.

The Living Story Season two was an improvement over one, but it is still very far from being a satisfying experience. It feels shallow, rewards are not rewarding enough and replay value is virtually nonexistent. The new map was nice but to be honest I have never been back since the end of the last episode.

Personally I would rather Arena Net focus on other things rather than the living story as it never seems to be as good as they tout.

LanfearShadowflame.3189:

Re-used holidays are a staple.

Only in Guild Wars is the content completely recycled. Most games use previous events but add more content, not just rewards.

Personally I am not pleased that the focus of Halloween has been shifted to the dire living story. Anyway if last year is anything to go by, we will have even less Halloween content to play with.

I would love to see Skritt as a playable race, but not before Tengu.

I know many feel the same, Tengu is the fan favorite for the next playable race.

I do not think you are in a position to criticize Kamikazecopilot, you have your answer.

Player skill is irrellevant, what does matter is a players level of patience, willingness to learn and ability to work in a group.

Just too many factors and gameplay types to narrow ‘skill’ down as a speciftic knowledge base or artificial statistic.

SKATE.1394:

See if you can guess which classes I was playing

55 Monk?

Last Halloween was quite the disapointment, removal of content/rewards for festivals is a really bed way to go. Worst thing was, Arena Net had no real reason to remove any of it.

Yes we had some new content, but it was less than what was removed. I am not optimistic for this years Halloween, if last Wintersday is anything to go by.

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

Aedelric.1287:

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

Yes you have.

Care to elaborate?

I’ll name two:

Wardrobe, Story Journal.

Care to elaborate? Which precise CDI affected change and what was the direct changes? Also two changes out of tons of CDI’s not really much to be proud of. Now if Guild housing is implemented as a direct result of the current CDI, that would be impressive.

I am not saying the CDI’s are useless, but the impact they cause on Arena Nets plans seem minimal and opinions are often misinterpreted. (For example trait changes and mismanaged wardrobe implementation)

Gnat.9405:

You know there are some great platformers out there…

Irrelevant, if you want to play another game then feel free.

SAB is more than just a simple GW2 jumping puzzle, it is an adventure and a relaxing alternative to GW2 without actually having to stop playing, quite genius actually.

I demand less male skirts and less skimpy female armour! I want everyone armored and no one to look sexy in the slightest!

Torsailr.8456:

I would rather them put more resources into more regular things than SAB.

I would rather they drop everything and work only on SAB, Arena Net can not cater to both our extremes.

Personally I think it a good idea if they release SAB with each WvW tournament, it would help fill the gap between living story and feature packs and give PvE players something to do.