Guild Wars 2

This idea appears on the forums every so often. Still a good one, and one I wish they would do.

A repeat from something last year or the year before.

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

SamTheGuardian.2938:

It seems their best strategy for survival would be to make the few people are still playing this game happy.

(emphasis added)

That’s because there aren’t just “a few people” playing this game still.

Depends on your outlook. But we know, from the Super Adventure Box fiasco, ANet can see where people are in numbers within any zone.

Given the latest announcement, I don’t think it a stretch that the current population is not in a pretty place. Even the diehards, on and off the forums, admit to playing something else now.

It’s telling, but only ANet knows the numbers for sure.

As for the reason? It’s simple: they’re spread too thin.

Beforehand, almost everyone was focused on Living World and Seasonal content and updates. The ‘expansion’ diverted resources in its attempt to get a product out fast.

And it burned more than a few in the company out just as fast.

Colin left for a reason, and even without saying why . . . it’s still a telling reason.

Thus, you now have the announcement that ANet is going to ‘refocus’ it’s efforts. That’s code for, “This is going nowhere fast. Better go back to what made us a success in the first place before everyone abandons the ship . . . employees included.”

I don’t think that’s the overall issue. It’s just a symptom with the state of the game. But that’s another discussion for another thread.

Personally, I never did legendary crafting. Never intended to. And thank God I didn’t.

Heart of Thorns is by no means a ‘finished’ product. Hell . . . two parts of Dragon Stand’s map are still missing, so you can’t even do the achievement there.

WvW and Legendary weapons? Not completed.

Two new classes got one beta test before they shipped out. One. And then got nerfed with a bunch of nonsense.

And on and on and on. No one can say HoT was ‘finished’ with a straight face. No one sincere anyway.

Honestly? ANet made a Mythic mistake. They listened to the loudest and most vocal voices to derail what made their game successful: casual content with constant updates that kept the masses coming back.

There’s a belief that an expansion would include massive amounts of content.

In other words, people wanted less finger food from Living World, and more of a banquet from an expansion ala Heart of Thorns.

I think we know how that worked out . . . and thus your bottleneck.

Andred.1087:

And just because you and your friends aren’t happy doesn’t mean the game is going to kitten.

This is true. Me and my friends are unhappy because it’s going to kitten. People don’t make up threads like this because everything is rainbows and unicorns, you know?. But, to be fair, most of my friends have started to play something else.

Myself included. Just logging in, getting my dailies, and logging right back out.

I know that can’t be what ANet wants, but we’ll see if they can get back on track. The expansion was a trainwreck. No question. Many of us saw it coming, but many others said otherwise. That the expansion would ‘be awesome with years and years of content.’

Funny. I don’t see them post anymore. Do you?

Here’s a hint about knowing who is and isn’t happy: dissatisfied players stopped playing and don’t post on forums where they don’t play. Happy players typically play the game and don’t post. Unhappy players still play, somewhat, and tend to be more vocal in their disappointing . . . because they’re still holding out for hope.

Just because you and your friends are happy doesn’t mean everyone lives in that bubble. Threads like that prove it out. And the backlash from that other thread and negative comments from hardcore supporters like Wooden Potatoes are the proverbial cherry atop this mess.

The ironic part is if they didn’t label it an expansion, but downloaded content for Living World, this wouldn’t even be a discussion. Said it before and will say it again, “People had no idea how much Living World kept casuals interested. A sudden content drought isn’t going to go well after seeing new content every two weeks to two months.”

But no, people had to have their ‘expansion’. It won’t hurt interest, they told us. And here we are. . . .

Sidizen.9048:

If woodenpotatoes leaves then I’m out. If someone so passionate for the game and it’s lore decides to quit then that’s a pretty big sign the game’s going downhill.

Agreed.

It’s the right decision. Interest in the game has dropped off the map because there is nothing new to do. Without Living World, most now just log in, get their dailies, and log right back out . . . if they even bother anymore.

That needs to change soon if Guild Wars 2 wants to survive.

At this point, all I want if for staff to be useable underwater.

I would kill to have two pets out at once, but I know the tears would epic on the PvP forums.

Pretty sure he asked this: So mostly I play alone or with random groups, and I know it’s an mmo, but do you think that gw2 is moving away from the possibility of being able to get everything in the game playing solo?

And yes, HoT proves this out. While you can still do the majority solo, which I did, certain hero points, mastery points, and even areas are locked without a group or zerg.

The new raid is also proving certain content will also be locked out from the solo and/or casual player. While I have no qualms about giving raiders the content they want, this content should not include items now excluded from the majority. This includes cosmetic items and gear.

They should at least add a secondary method to allow all players access to every part of the game sans a group, raid, or zerg.

Yes, content gates are here. Whether they stay is another story.

Hybarf Tics.2048:

Ardenwolfe.8590:

A lot more effort?

Already quit 2 weeks ago, not logging in not even for dailies. Reason I did quit been here since 2005, the game has gone downhill too much, been srewed over by the poor amount of content in HOT and it’s sorry excuse for being as such. Also by the time living story 3 will come out 18 months will have gone by since the second chapter, sorry but that not darn good enough.

From now on I’ll come here only when content is added as in new maps or expansions speaking of which if the next expansion is again less than 5 maps that will be the final nail.
Meanwhile I’ll be spending time on Tom Clancy’s: The Division starting on March 8th where there is more communication from devs and no silence embargo. They are pomissing 3 DLC in the first 12 months. Now that’s what I call burning the midnight oil.

Have fun you’all and see you in 5 months or so in LS 3.

I feel you, friend. I’m still doing dailies, but went back to Star Trek Online (of all things), and now I’m trying Black Desert Online . . . which I’m starting to hate . . . but I’m still giving it a chance.

Hope they learned something after this ‘expansion’ fiasco. Stayed with Guild Wars 2 longer than any other MMO, to include WoW, and I hate what’s happening here.

In the future, I sincerely hope they release more content, do more testing, and base decisions less on the vocal minority and PvP nonsense.

Guess we’ll see.

Things should pick up when Living World returns, but yeah . . . I feel you. Right now, I’m logging in, doing my dailies, and then logging right back off to play something else.

Threads like this, the responses above, and my experiences tell me I’m not alone, but you wouldn’t believe the backlash I’ve gotten for stating my opinion as well.

I really hope they return to the way the game was beforehand. Otherwise, what Ok I Did It said . . . sadly.

Yes, except for the expansion, it’s free. This includes everything in the base game. There are certain limitations. But most of these are in place to prevent gold seller spam, botting, and/or trolling.

That said, Guild Wars 2 is not in the best of places now. And while I’m sure that statement is going to draw all kinds of personal attacks, it is what it is.

Try it for free, but don’t expect the population it once had until July: that’s when Living World returns and will give players new carrots to chase.

In my humble opinion.

Careful. You’re going to rile up the natives with that talk.

Andulias.9516:

Can anyone take kitten like this with a straight face? Since when is PvP a good indication of the game’s popularity? What’s better, a PvP room! And has your wife ever heard of taxiing? Because if she hasn’t, please do tell her that if she doesn’t taxi she will be transported to a low pop map and that has NOTHING to do with how many people are actually playing the game!

Are we honestly supposed to take your post seriously?

Given that the room has been always full, no matter the hour, yes, it’s a pretty good sign. Been that way, off and on, for the last week since a certain game came out. And yes, my spouse tried taxing multiple times. Is that not a given when I said she couldn’t find a full map?

I know, I know. I shouldn’t believe my experience, but I should definitely believe yours.

At this point, most log in to get their three dailies, and then log right back out to do something else . . . if they log in at all these days.

Yes, I know. Doom and gloom. Funny thing to call reality, but sure. Keep telling yourself the game is fine. Been through this with enough MMOs that ’it’s fine’ is the anthem for anything but fine.

But, again, far be it from me to inject reality and reason into a forum discussion.

It’s more of ‘people left because they had nothing to do in-game that they have not already done ad nauseum.’ And we won’t have anything new to do until around July. But don’t worry. Someone will say the population and the game is fine despite my and others’ experience. Nevermind the many threads that have posed this question whether directly or indirectly. It’s all fake ‘doom and gloom.’

This is the official forums after all.

Some of the excuses here boggle my mind. Last night, the PvP room I frequent was empty for the first time. My wife cannot get a full map anywhere to get her legendary done. And certain areas are now all but ghosted.

Yes, a certain and new MMO is drawing attention away, but the writing was on the wall long before that came out.

Is HoT fail?

. . .

Can anyone ask that question with a straight face?

Bad. Very, very bad.

A lot more effort?

Not surprised.

Actually, if I had to guess, it had more to do with his inability to get the developers to listen overall. While the ‘crybaby threads’ are an issue, they do not factor into improving the class.

They do, however, factor into nerfing the class. History has proven that one. But, regardless, I’ll always be grateful he helped revert the smoke assault change.

If nothing else, he managed to convince the developers to do that.

No, I don’t feel cheated. But my druid playstyle is pretty much what I wanted from ranger in the first place. So there’s that.

Impressive, but the druid messed up when he switched from staff and tried to melee you. Didn’t help that she decided to stop using the smokescale either.

I’ll answer your question, but not in public. I don’t need to eat any more nerfs. Please check your PMs.

“ArenaColin: In regards to balance – balance is NOT driven by our PvP Pro League, the pro league is a marketing effort that has almost zero impact on our dev team. Drawing parallels between the two is at best disingenuous."

I did. I’m playing another game now. I do log in to do my dailies still, but I’m bored out of my mind.

But, to be fair, I’ll return when Living World is up and running again.

How would I balance classes in PvE? I’d stop basing my decisions on the complaints and comments from players in PvP. When the mordrem complain we’re killing them too easily, come back and talk to us.

Overall, Guild Wars 2 has some of the best quality. Playing other games made me realize this. Hardcore. And despite my disappointment, I will say, yes.

Guild Wars 2 is the best MMO I’ve ever played.

But the changes to PvE, based around PvP elements, is not helping it stay that way.

Given our experience with the last ‘expansion’, I sincerely hope not.

They’ll never say. But if I say the many, many, many empty maps in the new zones are any indication, someone will come here and tell us that there’s one or two full maps out there. So the community isn’t dying or shrinking.

Use LFG.

. . .

Yeah, that logic escapes me too.

Will eat nerfs? Druid’s been eating nerfs since open beta. This is nothing new to the community.

Because if our pets could actually hit someone in PvP, the tears would be epic. Smokescale’s teleport is case-in-point of that. It’s also the biggest reason why most PvP rangers/druids use it.

Eurantien.4632:

rummy.4102:

Archon.6480:

Yeah, they had to nerf ranger after seven of them made it into the championships, and dominated the matches… What’s that? Oh, right, that was revenant…

This is the part that puzzles me. A few guys that I will never meet, and make up .0025 of the player base (that’s made up but its a very small percentage) have the most control and influence on what gets done to pvp. Why?

Just to clarify…

This was said on a reddit post.

“ArenaColin:

In regards to balance – balance is NOT driven by our PvP Pro League, the pro league is a marketing effort that has almost zero impact on our dev team. Drawing parallels between the two is at best disingenuous."

https://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/3v0x29/how_do_anet_expect_us_to_take_pvp_seriously_when/

However, I do know that one of the PvP coordinators, who has direct communication with the balance team does talk to top players about issues. The issue is that GW2 balance is clearly NOT around top tier play. At the same time it’s not for pure casual play either. I don’t really know what they are doing with design. I honestly have no idea why druid was nerfed. In the last 4 world tournaments, or whatever you want to group them as. There have been 16 teams. That is 80 professions total assuming no teams changed team compositions at all. There have been 2 ranger players. Both teams got third place. The ranger/druid was clearly not the most efficient choice. It has been about a year and we still see ranger/druid nerfs. It really doesn’t make any sense to me.

This is so disingenuous, it ain’t even funny. Of course the PvP Pro Leagues haven’t affected balance or caused these nerfs. PvP has. Period. No doubt. End of discussion.

Anyone who thinks otherwise is kidding themselves or not paying attention. Again, when was the last time a PvE mob complained about getting killed too fast?

Exactly.

I can’t believe he would say something so opposite or reality and try to hide it with selective, word use. Take out ‘Pro Leagues’ and there’s your answer.

I can read the PvP forums and correlate each ranger nerf with specific threads there. Seriously. Please don’t insult the community’s common sense when we have proof to back it up.

Crapgame.6519:

What I find ironic is that they continue to do this sort of crap but yet ignore the fact people are not playing. HoT more or less was a game breaker.

This isn’t helping any either (not so much the change here with bristleback, but Ranger changes quicker than others).

Agreed. I play another game now, log into Guild Wars to get dailies done, and then log right back out and return to the other game.

For me, the expansion certainly has done more harm than good at this point.

I really do dread patches. Seems the class eats a nerf every time.

Seems a good conclusion, given the outfits, wings, and the like added to the store. Still, I hope we get to get those two areas in Dragon Stand that won’t allow map completion. . . .

Can’t believe that still hasn’t been fixed.

Agreed. I’d also love it if we could use staff underwater as well.

So . . . I recently returned to another game—that shall remain nameless—and started to play between downtime with Guild Wars 2. Let me tell you . . . it was a huge wakeup call.

Between the huge amount of bugs that stopped quests, with promises to fix it ‘tomorrow’, server crashes, maintenance downtime, rubber banding, and other nonsense, it made me realize how put together Guild Wars 2 is.

Perspective really is something else.

Thank you for maintaining a pretty smooth game. You never know how good things are until you experience all the things that are so very wrong somewhere else.

I’m very happy with this patch.

Agreed. I was a little skeptical about losing permanent swiftness and regeneration, but HaO gives an easy work around. The new Guard is truly amazing.

Just FYI: Guard no longer gives the pet stealth. But this is also a plus, if you pet tank, because using it in combat doesn’t cause aggro to go straight to you.

Overall, I’m not loving Protect Me . . . but Guard is another story.

I used Guard before. Not liking the cooldown change, but my God is it powerful now. I’m loving it.

Indeed. Given our history, who knows where we’ll be with today’s ‘balance’ patch. Let’s hope it’s not another round of nonsense.

Excuse us. ‘Salty’ is someone reporting another player because they lost to that player in PvP. So Leeto’s opinion is therefore nullified. As far as why ‘every ranger uses bristleback and smokescale’, that’s because the other pets truly suck in comparison.

Too busy chasing around players and not hitting squat. Sorry if two of the new pets manage to land hits like all pets are supposed to.

I know it must be hard dealing with rangers and druids who know what they’re doing.

Our apologies.

First off, I want my two minutes back. Second off, reporting someone because you lost? Thanks for bloating the reporting system because you’re a sore loser. Third? This is why druid gets nerfed.

Not because they’re some overpowered beast.

But because someone doesn’t know how to deal, ego-wise, with someone else who is a smarter and better player.

Here’s the thing: sometimes, even if the opposing player uses one of the suckiest classes in the game, that player may be just smarter and better than you. I know it hurts to hear that, but there’s always someone smarter and better out there.

And if you are stupid and suck? Well . . . expect a lot of loses. That’s just how it is in the game and how it is with life in general.

Please stop asking for nerfs so that smarter players can be forced down to your level. Please get smarter with your gameplay and tactics.

Do dailies, do carebear PvP, farm chests in the four new maps, log out.

Ayrilana.1396:

Ardenwolfe.8590:

Most is not all like in core Tyria. The entire map of Dragon Stand proves this out. It’s zerg or go home.

The events outside the escorts can be done solo. If there weren’t champions in the escorts, those could probably be done solo. When I said most, I was referring to events.

A caveat does not make something less true. Even attempting to say Dragon Stand can be soloed is beyond the pale. You know this. But let’s talk about the other maps. You think the meta can be advanced to completion solo? How about any of the metas?

Exactly. Trying to say the maps can be soloed, even the events, is moot if the end still requires multiple zergs to complete to be successful.

Again, let’s not kid ourselves. It’s not solo friendly overall. The map wars and taxing again prove this out.