Guild Wars 2

Instead of dropping damage output or the number of bounces from mirror blade, you could just make it where bounces simply won’t occur if objects are too close. I’m thinking a ‘near by’ kind of distance. Should be apt enough to stop those crazy bursts and yet still keep mesmer on par.

Loxsus.3841:

I know that the whole “Mesmers can faceroll and win anyway” is definitely blown out of proportion. I mostly PVE as mine but I dabble in some spvp. I die ALL THE TIME. Even on 1v1s; notably versus guardians and elementalists. Tried the powerblock build and the stealthing build. Using stealth most since I’m bad and stealth really only seems to be super useful for people like me. I did the same on a thief to disengage when learning to play; stealth a lot.

So no; I think ALL DAMAGE is nuts right now but if this is rectified with built in extra toughness or something then I think it’s manageable.

Also, I soloed a few mesmers as my Ranger which I play more of in sPvP. I run ranger runes with soldiers trinket for a mix and between the Reveal I can put down, the greatsword blocks/swoop/3rd attack evade/longbow knockback/longbow stealth, I do ok.

As an aside, I never got anywhere close to ever taking down an elementalist and my win against thieves wasn’t great either on my mesmer. Most were stalemates of stealth play so I don’t see the complaint if both can do it. Unless the complaint is “stealth is annoying” in which case “Yes, it’s always been annoying and always will be”

Pretty much this.

Haven’t really noticed any solid evidence to the idea of mesmers being OP. I’m beginning to think it’s just an exaggeration by people who aren’t used to being stomped by mesmers.

Played several pvp matches since my recent return and things feel relatively the same as before. Out of the list of mesmers I’ve faced so far, none have shown this so called OP burst. Maybe that’s why I’m not convinced.

I just came back from a bit of a break and I’ve read + experienced a bit of a buff to my shatter damage.

Assuming this is true, then I am eternally grateful! Since just about release day and on, my berserker (shatter damage) focused build has always felt so kitten weak compared to my team.

Yet despite my arrogance to keep the build and after recently witnessing a slight improvement, the looming aura of insignificance has disappeared.

Praise the lord – Lyssa!

Nar.8327:

One of my characters.

That’s absolutely stellar!

Never ran beanie before, yet it’s grown on me.

So I’m going against the flow here, but I think the only times I’ve ever used the skill is for like PvE exploit areas. Even then, it’ll be a situation where the team makes me use it. =P

I don’t like the skill, so whatever. Just my opinion.

I think in PvP, it goes against how I like to play. Taking advantage of large distance travel is certainly a great tactic, yet I just like to be more confrontational. It’s really that simple. =/

I hope I don’t get flack for this (I love ya Anet!)… but let’s keep it real…

http://youtu.be/oMuLD4rjUM0

Oh boy do I miss both FoW and UW. I’d love to have them as the top-tier explore areas like before, more so for the atmosphere they’d bring.

You gotta love that last pose + twilight.

“There can be only one!”

Pwent.2639:

Shattered concentration is better in almost every situation in pvp over rending shatter if you have room for it. Why would you put a few extra stacks of vuln when you can already spike it up to 25 stacks instead of stripping stability, protection, stacks of might, vigor, and such?

I gave it a go and must say, I’m liking it so far. I only got a round in before my internet started to die. So I’ll probably commit to it tomorrow or somethin’. In any case, there was some pretty good advantages I earned within that round; due to sc. It was probably just the players skills, but a couple of 1v1 vs a necro and war both started out questionable up until I dropped their boons, then it was almost like steamrolling.

So I updated the video and also changed a sigil on the PvE build. I actually use Perception instead of strength as typically with strength runes + boon duration; I can hold a ton of might. So getting some crits seems proper.

Please do offer any advice you can give to help make this build better! I guess just remember the core idea being about balancing and reliability; from support and lock-down to damage etc. It’s gotta be a build that can essentially cater to a casual player who doesn’t want to constantly change builds.

Pwent.2639:

4. No stunbreak in pvp?

I haven’t had a need for it. Usually phase retreat to create a little space followed by cleanse is enough to alleviate the time I might be stuck. Even then, it’s not a very common situation I experience. Most of the time, a stun will only be a problem for me when I’m either overwhelmed by foes or it’s a big cluster fight for a cap point. In both of those situations, it doesn’t usually matter if I’m stunned or not. 1v1 spacial scenarios are easy to maintain with what I have.

Pwent.2639:

5. I have played around with most things on mesmer at least once, except rending shatter. Did you miss click when using the build editor?

Anything to put pressure on the foe as well as give me a little more edge with offense, then I’ll take it. I like the idea of dropping lots of vulnerability as it not only benefits me, but my allies as well.

Pwent.2639:

6. Sigil of force and accuracy dont effect clones and phantasms.

Doesn’t matter. I’ve only got two in the build and they’re both traited for higher crit chance, so that’s good enough. If you haven’t noticed, the source of my damage is the burst, so the sigils and mantra trait are working as intended.

Pwent.2639:

10. At the end are you bragging about beating them even though you used skill clicking as a handicap?

Bragging is an overstatement. Think of it more like silly trolling in an attempt to raise some blood pressure. I probably should cover the chat anyways. I’ll load a new video later – also downing the gain so the music isn’t as loud.

While you call it a handicap, I call it a challenge.

From GW2 wiki:
“The game uses a 2-hour day–night cycle: day lasts for 70 minutes, night for 40 minutes, with dawn and dusk taking 5 minutes each. "

I know it’s fantasy, so it doesn’t have to cater to reality’s (about even) day/night cycles. Yet the disparity doesn’t feel right. Is it possible to bump up night without ruining the game engine? Or is it too much work, considering that events being on times etc?

On another note, how about making nights a little darker? It seems like the moon is always there to reflect light – driving the excuse to bump up the brightness.

Just a little more realism would be nice. Perhaps I’m just playing too much Skyrim and holding GW2 to an excessively high a standard. =P

Second post reserved for added videos & info*

Preface
——————-
This build focuses on keeping to one setup for everything. It’s an attempt to assimilate a balance within the core mesmer mechanics so you don’t have to change traits or gear ever again. I’ve been using this type of build for along time (minus updates that force me to alter a few things). Overall, it just seemed appropriate to form something I could use for just about any situation and still be reliable. Unlike the first Guild Wars, this game is far less customizable and the variety of builds are not as demanding within the world. Due the leniency, it just felt natural to find and sustain a balance.

Hopefully this build can come in handy, more so for a casual player.

Editor
——————-
pvp:

Versatile Mesmer 1

pve:

Versatile Mesmer 2

Videos
——————-
I’m still in the process of recording more videos. If you have any suggestions of situations you’d want to see this build perform in, then please don’t be afraid to ask.

pvp:

Random Match 1
Random Match 2

Yea, I’m probably gonna have to agree.

I’ve played nothing but mes since release of both GW1 and 2. Now in 1, mes was great for pvp and pve. Yet it seems so underwhelming in GW2.

I’ve been playing a lot of PvP lately as well, and for the most part (given a similar skilled foe), my bursts can’t deal significant damage to tip the tide. They might get through if the person is inexperienced or glass, otherwise I have to resort to playing a dancing game while I either wait for support or go run to support.

Here’s the best part, I don’t play full berserker – at least not 100%. I try to throw in some toughness to allow me time to hold ground a little, yet I still kinda feel worthless compared to other professions.

Don’t get me started on this chronomancer nonsense. A time control related setup will work so well with… nothing… Most of the time, it’s me trying to create space and back up and as much as slow conditions sound like good support for that method, unless those conditions last for like 10s, then it’s be trash. Given other professions getting the same or resistance, we’ll continue to be nullified in the grand scheme.

I disagree. I’ve had an awesome amount of tight-knit matches and games where tides turn half way through. It never felt like that before – games were far more predictable.

This probably won’t weigh as much because I only play mes, but I’m enjoying the nerf. The field feels a little more balanced ever since.

I am desperately hoping that, at some point, we’ll get alternative versions of current emotes so my character doesn’t have to be stuck with stereotypical nonsense just because of gender – in other words; having my kitten female warrior sit like she’s posing for some 50s calendar is kinda off-putting.

I disagree with OP, but only because I don’t believe the rational thing for Anet to do is to listen to us. We’re talking about a subject matter which varies so much, that perhaps an alternative approach would be best.

My suggestion is that Anet should separate all sets into three categories; skimpy, med show and full cover. At which point they can look at which categories need more to balance things out and then go from there. I think that’s the only way to be truly fair over people shouting on the forums etc.

1. The silent majority won.

2. Your touting is funny.

#teamkiel

Digital Dragon.2697:

Loved the old world female Mesmer armor. I’d prefer to run around in tights then a skirt.

Hey now, one skirt isn’t gonna kill ya.

Besides, if you’re truly old world, then perhaps you’ve forgotten what our Obsidian armor looked like =P

Black obsidian + chaos gloves = WIN!

I’d desperately like to see a light armor that has a stylized angled-cut skirt like the Viper and Phalanx sets.

So it just dawned on me, what if the guild halls require merit to unlock? This presents a huge issue for my guild as the whole premise for us is to be casual and just hang (for the most part). So having to focus on guild missions just to get a hall seems like it’ll cause some unwanted conflict for us. I can certainly imagine our guild failing to obtain recruits or activity if we don’t have a hall.

Is there any chance it’ll be like GW1 where we can just pay gold?

So, considering this is supposed to be an expansion, can we expect a new soundtrack?

Sarabande.8260:

WoW’s community is terrible, the game is about NOTHING but loot.

Give it a few months and you’ll come to realize that GW2 is the same. I’ve never played any other MMO, so technically I probably shouldn’t be talking. Although, just from my personal experience, it feels like a loot-driven game over all else.

I keep playing hoping they amp up their story or implement some new awesome game play that makes me want to actually fight and travel… yet in the end, it all falls back to loot. D;

No, don’t rebuild it. A great tragedy happened there, so rebuilding will just nullify that event and thus diminish the value of having that kind of serious story element to begin with.

Forgive me for using this as a reference, but consider the Twin Towers. It’s the same idea. So rather than just re-building the towers, it was turned into a memorial ground – far more honorable and respectful for the lives we lost.

So at best, treat LA like a memorial place.

ICEing.9237:

For all who are interested in the specs:

Expansion -
Processor 1 x Intel® Core™ i7 5820K Processor (6x 3.30GHz/15MB L3 Cache) – Intel Core™ i7 5820K
iBUYPOWER PowerDrive -
Processor Cooling 1 x Asetek 510LC Liquid CPU Cooling System [SOCKET-2011] – ARC Silent High Performance Fan Upgrade
Memory 1 × 16 GB [4 GB X4] DDR4-2400 Memory Module – Corsair or Major Brand
Video Card 1 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 – 4GB – EVGA Superclocked – Single Card

1 x Gigabyte GA-X99-UD4 — 4x PCIe x16, 6x USB 3.0, 4x USB 2.0
Power Supply 1 × 700 Watt – Standard – *Free Upgrade to 800W Standard
Primary Hard Drive 1 × 240 GB Kingston V300 SATA-3 SSD — Read: 450MB/s Write: 450MB/s – Single Drive
Data Hard Drive 1 × 1 TB HARD DRIVE — 32M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s – Single Drive
Optical Drive 1 x LG 12x Blu-ray Reader, DVD±R/±RW Burner Combo Drive – Black.
2nd Optical Drive -
Media Card Reader / Writer 1 × 12-In-1 External USB Media Card Reader/Writer (SDHC supported)
Meter Display -
Sound Card 1 × 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard
Network Card 1 x Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)
USB Expansion Card -
Operating System 1 x Windows 8.1 + Office 365 Trial [Free 30-Day !!!] 64-bit
Monitor 1 × 32″ 1920×1080 Sceptre E325BV-FMDU — LED MHL TV, 3 HDMI Ports, 1 MHL Port, Built-in Surround Sound Speakers
2nd Monitor -
Monitor Cable 1 × 30 ft. DVI to HDMI Cable (Resolution up to 1080P)

I’m not trying to offend, but you honestly got ripped.

It’s not that difficult to build you own pc and with all the youtube vids to help, easy stuff – far more beneficial to do it yourself.

I mean, a 3.3 core and you’re paying over 2k – screw that! That’s your biggest mistake yet. A six-core is completely unnecessary for gaming in general. The idea behind multiple cores is essentially for multitasking (i.e. multiple programs at the same time). So if your concern is just the game, then you’ll want to focus on the Hz. This is why OC i5’s are still more expensive than i7s or even six-cores.

Here’s what you should’ve got:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117369

and then windows 8… goodness no…. no no no

I’m sorry. But hey, if you wanna strut your stuff here then you can certainly expect some truth behind your bad choices.

Also, just in case… here’s some info on ram:
http://youtu.be/dWgzA2C61z4

I’d like a more Mass Effect style, with renegade type behavior. Nothing over the top, like becoming a true enemy to the heroes of Tyria. Yet something where I can still make harsh choices, that in effect might make my allies a little squeamish and perhaps form some distrust or something.

laokoko.7403:

don’t do it. You might regret 1 year from now.

Don’t fall to the dark side. Must… resist…

I’m complaining, so head my words! How dare you give me free content! I paid for the initial product and completed the game, yet because I’ve chosen to continue playing without paying, logic then dictates that my opinion must be recognized and accepted!

I hate this and that, and also those and these. They don’t ruin the game but instead they actually make things more effective and active. Yet that’s just too much work! Even though I could take a break or even quit, I won’t. Obviously that means you better listen to me!

So, end conclusion, where’s the mini raccoon with a Santa hat!? I demand it.

Mogrey.3891:

such voting means nothing.even if you are fanboy or not.
not to mention that they are comparing different games.it’s not even fair

Precisely. Fiction is inherently subjective. The only reason opinion matters is because of time and money. Thinking philosophically, remove those elements and fiction becomes pure.

OmniPotentes.4817:

I’ll tell you what you can do with all that surplus ore, dust and fragments. Delete them. I have 50 bricks of every imaginable ascended crafing material and 3 stacks of every unrefined type. I use my Mawdrey to gobble up its daily rations of dust. All the rest goes straight into the trash bin. By now I think of them as trash rewards. Just junk that takes up bank space.

If it’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s don’t do this^

Odds are Anet will find a way for people to use up the current excess ore and fragments, just like with the addition of the Mawdrey. Or who knows, perhaps new armor or weapons will require ore/fragments. It’s like people trashing silk before they became part of ascended crafting. Bad call, imo. Another example is boss exotics for the rare achievement collection or even champ bag weapons. All of that stuff was cheap up until Anet made a use for it.

So rare stuff like that, it’s probably best to store it and wait to see what comes up in the future.

…2,648 hours + 13mins over the past 842 days.

No pre drop, not even during that Southsun event either. Never was able to forge, despite the crazy amount of ectos I lost attempting it. I had to buy both for my two current legendary weapons, which is something I’m probably gonna regret. I mean, if I didn’t know any better, my account is probably flagged or something – as if they expect me to pay indefinitely. =P

No no no…

This is what you’re looking for: http://youtu.be/FQPVoVaPOQU

I like the new design. It’s simple and clean, which is far less distracting. More to the point rather feeling all spammy.

I firmly believe the crux of this issue comes from the rewards mentality, which is in part due to the lack of a unique game play environment. People are so focused on loot, that everything otherwise is either left behind or optimized & utilized to get to that reward in the quickest way possible.

If only Anet had game play that was more complex, meaningful and exciting. Then the reward aspect would be shifted to the combat itself; instead of trying to minimize combat time for shinies. >_>

I know this isn’t the greatest example (not even the same genre), but consider Call of Duty. People arn’t playin’ that for gold. They’re playing it because it’s fun shooting stuff. Apply that same concept to the combat of GW2 and people might not be so strict with meta builds, although you’d still have to consider expanding things via attributes and skills etc.

Fun and engaging combat is desperately needed.

Wanze.8410:

If mobs now come to your location and your rewards scale with the amount of mobs you kill, this is very easily exploitable by farmbots.

That would depend on the rewards and how they’re implemented. In addition, there’s other ways to treat the system in order to stop bots as well as encourage exploration for normal players.

This is actually an added part I’ll throw in the key points section, but there would probably need to be something that requires players to seek out enemies beyond solitary areas of the map. It would be far too easy and even tedious if players could just hang at the front of Divinity’s Reach to fight Tamini.

So one way to adjust this issue is by requiring higher leveled enemies for higher tier meters. This would help push low-leveled players out into the map, yet that’s clearly a small part of the problem.

Next is to guide 80’s into searching the world and without forcing them or turning it into another scavenger hunt kind of thing. This is where it becomes a tad bit more program-heavy as Anet would probably need to create further systems to drive depth and complexity.

On the other hand, you could always allocate tiers based on the levels of map. Even more! There could be unique NPCs per region; which all offer unique circumstances given the story & conflict of that area.

This also doesn’t include how often mercs would spawn or when. So it’s still rather unpredictable for bots.

On the scale of things to make, this kind of system wouldn’t be too difficult. Probably a few months worth of effort, which should fit with how they rotate teams.

Overall though… I’m just trying to find ways to improve immersion and take our heads out of the ‘rewards mentality’. The only way I can imagine that happening, without massive changes, is to focus on character interaction and merge that with combat etc.

I had an idea of how GW2 could improve it’s overall immersion, add more entertaining game play and still maintain it’s current system without an unreasonable overhaul. I tried to keep in mind that resources might be scarce and budget may not be high, therefor this is meant to be filler, which takes advantage of ideals that many of us still want to see more of, without hefty requirements.

If you like this idea, then don’t forget to +1 and also provide helpful criticism to how this system could improve without taking up resources etc.

The Concept
What if our heroes were able to interact with the open-world enemies on a more personal level? A system that starts by interacting with an NPC which gives you an option to “fight the good fight” by selecting a certain race which you then must go out and battle.

For example, let’s say you decide to take on the centaur menace. After committing to that choice, you’ll be tasked to go around the map and fight against any centaurs you find. This would be centered around the PvE map, so that way people are encouraged to not just hunt down centaurs but even complete events already out there – to get people going out to explore etc.

Now for the interesting part. As you start fighting centaur tribes, you’ll build a meter. After killing a certain amount, this meter will start to display your threat level. This is when things begin to change. The centaurs will take notice (figuratively speaking). We can’t have all of the NPCs suddenly change with you around, that’s clearly game-breaking. What will happen, however, being a threat to the centaurs, they’ll send out little mercenaries or gangs to try and take you on. So in other words, you’ll be out gathering or traveling and then a group will spawn to try and kill you.

So it’s basically adding personal dynamic events that’ll spawn around you. Now of course these events will have to be restricted to certain areas of the map and won’t trigger if you’re in the middle of a boss event etc.

Key Points

• Rewards and titles can be acquired upon defeating x-amount of merc groups.

• Essentially all of the main “intelligent” enemies will be choices (Svanir, Centaur Tribes, Inquest etc).

• Only one choice while building up a meter to make it feel unique and personal.

• The threat level should have various tiers for rewards and challenge. So the first tier is common foes. Then it grows to vets, elite and so on – ending with the death of a legendary.

• You should be able to replay these options, for entertainment values.

• This system can always be expanded on, if desired. For example, you can always create new dialog from the enemies that spawn. This system could even lead to a story line if you wanted. There are plenty of ways to go beyond a generic form.

• The groups that spawn will be fairly random. Again, it’s to encourage people going out to explore. Having people wait at a certain destination or for a certain time will just defeat the purpose by taking away from the whole immersion etc.

• To prevent people from hanging out in one location to build their meter, there could be a requirement of defeating higher leveled foes for each tier. Additionally, given a more story-driven system, each region could offer specific terms to be met in order to build a meter.

Thoughts? Wanna add more or change things? Just keep in mind that this basically needs to be possible with Anet’s current team. I figure it’s possible even with just a Living Story team.

Raziel.4216:

I hope they do this again.
We’ve been playing our “good guy” characters for 2 years, stepping on the bad guy’s shoes is a nice change.
Besides we’re not the bad guy ourselves, we’re reliving the bad guy’s past.

Exactly. It certainly was a disturbing scene, yet the fact that it wasn’t actually my character was enough to pull back and think rationally about the situation. I actually enjoyed the setup enough that now I have some more personal feelings about Caithe, Faolain etc.

An art contest to decide the skins would be fantastic…

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

First, “esque” is what you want, not “esk”.

Ya learn something new every day. Thanks.

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

Second . . . I much agree but there is a thing as “too much complexity”, and “too emotionally connected”. A story can be pushed to be too complex for its own good. (See: Lost, Doctor Who (when it takes itself way too seriously, and Primer), or rely too much on emotional connections . . . which have no guarantee of forming with some of the audience. This is how some films/shows/stories get “this was GREAT” people having no idea why some people just can’t like it.

And again, it’s possible to provoke deep thought or interesting stories without dipping into the mature/darker themes.

Too complex might be possible if connecting the dots becomes overly difficult or leads to contradiction. As for being too emotionally inclined, that boils down to the viewer and their abilities at little self-control. Arguably, that point is probably why taboo material is frowned upon.

Vayne.8563:

There are many things that make stories adult stories. In the case of O’Henry, who’s considered one of the great short story writers of all time, it’s about the target audience which was adults. The topics he wrote about wouldn’t generally interests children. We were forced to read some of them in school and I can assure you most of the kids weren’t happy about it.

Adult means just that. It’s a story written for and targeting adults. Guild Wars 2 with it’s teen rating can’t really just target adults, because there are people playing who aren’t adults.

And there are people playing who don’t really read or follow stories all that well.

The violence comment I made was in response to another post. It has nothing to do with whether there is violence in Guild Wars 2 or not. My comment was about whether things like sex and violence are necessary for adult story telling.

I don’t believe they are.

I do agree about the violence, sex etc. not being a requirement. Although I still think you have the wrong idea behind what makes a story adult.

I wouldn’t say it’s about what interests people, but moreover it’s the comprehension or lack thereof. That’s not to suggest that a story needs to be “super smart”, yet there is still a bar to be surpassed.

The way I see it, there are two core parts that make an adult story (or a good one at least). Firstly is indeed the level of complexity. Having to think rather than simply turning your brain off to enjoy the ride. This is the crux of why I believe mainstream “PG-13-esque” stories are degrading. Secondly, you’ve got emotions. With any rational & open-minded person (basically mature), dealing with less conventional material is what makes the enjoyment. So it’s not that “darker” themes are better, it’s that they allow for deep thought.

Vayne.8563:

And there are many great adult stories that don’t have any of that. Read some O’Henry short stories like “Gift of the Magi” or “After 20 Years”. They’re adult stories with no sex, violence or death.

In fact, adult stories as well as being dark and be heart warming.

Kids would just see stuff like that and screw up their faces in disgust…but some of us adults like happy endings occasionally.

You need light to balance dark.

As true as that may be, you’re ignoring the fact that the Guild Wars franchise already has violence. Hell, GW1 is far more potent with it’s portrayal of such concepts than it’s successor.

Out of curiosity though, would you care to elaborate on what makes the stories, you cited, adult? Just because you call it adult doesn’t make it so. Please explain.

Again, that whole darker means better attitude is being brought up. Try to ignore that, it only eludes the actual problem.

It’s a fair assessment though. Arguably, some of best adult stories have all kinds of sex, violence etc. Yet that’s not the inherent point of it. It’s not about shock value. A good adult story has those elements due to character development or even atmosphere. It’s meant to progress a mental state that ultimately gives opportunity for profound thought. I suppose part of the problem is the fear of having those thoughts. People not wanting to see any value from those situations, hence why a David Fincher film won’t be exceeding that new comic book adaptation in box office anytime soon. =P

In seriousness, the core of GW2’s faults stems from what others already mentioned – the lack of impact. Everyone appears so benign and nonchalant about the supposedly intense elements. The gravity of those events are taken with a grain of salt, which ultimately means GW2 has work to do.

Ashen.2907:

I am afraid that I have to disagree with the OP’s portrayal of what he/she considers, “adult,” storytelling. The specific example given is pretty much the opposite of mature or adult in my opinion. It does very much coincide with common young adult angst driven melodrama however.

Again, don’t take it at face-value. Think about the ways that those elements could be drawn out. The Kasmeer part, for example, doesn’t need to be crap where her hand is flailing in her forehead as she wails around with great despair. It’s nothing that pathetic. You have think about how all of the other minor interactions that help build her condition to the point that perhaps her committing suicide isn’t as simple as an abrupt decision. Maybe it’s something where there’s a new enemy which injects a poison that makes people a little insane. Marjory’s arm was cut off to save her from the the sting she received on her hand. She got the sting due to her overly zealous behavior of wanting to avenge her sister etc.

Perhaps Kasmeer even had a part in Marjory losing her arm, thus driving more motive for their relationship problems and also adding to why she would feel guilty. Kasmeer then gets stung herself, yet she’s unable to do anything about it. So she suffers the full effects. As a result, her mind ends up focusing too much on the guilt factor, which then leads her to a cliff, Braham stepping in to the rescue. Yet Kasmeer’s mental state has her fighting Braham, which results in him falling etc.

It can go even deeper than that and beyond!

In addition, that’s only minor stuff compared to the larger elements at hand. Again, you’ve got dragons and war etc. Toss all of those into the mix and the complexity goes further.

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

Adult concepts do not necessarily make a story “better” just for having them.

Relative to saying “death doesn’t make a story good”. Like I said, that’s not what I’m suggesting. The problem is that GW2 already has adult concepts. They simply haven’t implemented them correctly or at least in a meaningful way.

ArchonWing.9480:

Your concepts are sound, although the particular suggestion of yours is not really adult storytelling as much as it is “teenage angsty storytelling” which I don’t think is particularly better and I’m afraid it gets confused with so called “mature storytelling”.

That was a very narrow and blunt example. Given appropriate details, it could have far more significance. I suppose something I should have mentioned is how character’s should be dense in their own right.

As it stands, the lot of characters in GW2 are way too versatile. You could pretty much swap them around and nothing much would change. Instead, especially when you have such a vast selection, they all need to be more focused and centered around deeper conditions. So when there’s collision, it provides a powerful event that then leads to further conditioning.

Characters are nothing more than the harbinger for emotive emphasis. Constructing meaningful adult storytelling inevitably means taking advantaged of how far you can push those emotions so that the audience is able to develop better connections for or against; then leading them on a well-rounded path.

I figured it would be far more beneficial to have an intellectual discussion over the writing merits of how Guild Wars could improve it’s story elements instead of hashing out little responses in other threads – which usually leads to people rambling on about irrelevant and meaningless interpretations.

So to preface, please do keep an open mind. My points are in no way meant to suggest that the story of GW2 needs to be more violent etc. Usually when the base of this topic arises, it always goes in the direction of “well adults like children’s stories too” or “death doesn’t make a good story”. As much as those could be valid arguments, they are completely devoid of the actual problem.

The Value of Adult Concepts
In my opinion, adult stories by definition are meant to push people in directions that go beyond simple notions. We see these concepts take place, even in Disney movies, when a character we’ve become emotionally attached to dies (citing one of my favorites; The Lion King). It’s a powerful moment and thrusts our emotions into that deep realm where the heart of mature stories comes from.

However! The issue is not whether a story has an adult concept or not. The value comes from how you treat those concepts. This is precisely where mainstream PG-13-esque stories fail. There are some exceptions, of course, yet the overall majority are unable to grasp it.

The Treatment of Adult Concepts
In order to understand the difference between a minute concept and a meaningful one, you first have the realize that adult elements should be taken seriously. In other words, the impact should be at least equal to if not greater than the overall theme of the story.

Right off the bat you can see how a Disney story doesn’t quite fit. Sure it has adult concepts, yet they’re not given the amount of value required for a meaningful adult repertoire. Instead, these concepts are treated as gimmicks; a minor toy for emotional disparity only later retorting back to that happy, all smiles feel-good state. This isn’t a bad thing, mind you. Yet it simply degrades the power of the adult concepts.

A prime example is the latest of J.J. Abrams Star Trek series. Spoilers exempt, the end of that film had an incredible step towards a substantial adult element, yet it was destroyed moments later when we realize that all is good. As a result, the audience was treated like they’re bi-polar and the film ended. Ouch.

Impact That Matters
Building a sincere & mature story component means honing in on the emotions that cater to those aspects and keeping them throughout the entirety of the story, even when the events themselves have ended. You’ve implemented a great deal of adult concepts, yet none of it has been able to hold ground long enough to be relevant to most players interests. Dragons, wars, pillaging and death. All of it being shut down by dailies and shop items. Even the LS has people diverting their attention to if you care about the game or are simply dragging it like a dead horse.

Breaking free of that mold means showing the power of those concepts. In order to do this, you have to give all of those aspects a purposeful encounter that later develops and evolves into further complex conditions. These conditions become the driving force of character interaction and atmosphere.

An example of how to achieve this goal while still keeping to your T-rating; let’s take the events of Marjory and her sister, Belinda. I’m not going to draw out any lavish details, but a general concept should still make the point.

Let’s say that Belinda’s death was so traumatic, that Marjory begins to change. Her personality starts to shift towards anger and hate. She begins to push her friends aside and even starts to discourage her relationship with Kasmeer. Revenge becomes overwhelming, to the point of self-mutilation. Perhaps Marjory ends up making a brash decision during battle that results with her losing an arm.

Now being less effective in the fight, Marjory is beginning to lose traction. She starts to feel worthless and pushes herself further away from friends and family. This, of course, affects the characters around her. Kasmeer has tried everything to uplift Jory’s spirits, yet to no avail, she begins to feel deep guilt. Kasmeer’s heart takes a plunge and attempts to commit suicide, yet is saved by Braham. It’s then that the head-strong brute fumbles, helping Kasmeer yet sacrificing his own life. . .

This can go on forever, yet that’s the kind of value required. It’s a matter of keeping everything within the fabric of those powerful moments. One effective element should become a force that drives to further elements, rooting your story into something compelling and memorable.

I just hope there’s more concern for serious and adult storytelling. Her Disney background is leaving me rather skeptical.

Pretty much what Malediktus said.

It’s way to expensive for me, and I’m usually buying gems with real money too. No way in hell I’m gonna fork over real cash for 2400 gems, only to buff myself to 1k stacks in bank. That’s ridiculous.

If anything, they need to at least give discounts to people who do spend real money.