Guild Wars 2

What upsets me most about this video is that it reminds me how crappy my computer is. My corn doesn’t move like that.

Is like signing up for dance lessons, then complaining that there are no parters, while sitting on the bench not talking to anyone.

None of us have any idea how many players are left playing the game, and so speculating based on personal observation serves no real purpose. Regardless of the actual numbers, what bothers me is that people on this forum to take the time to login, and create posts about the game dying.

How is it that these people can’t put two and two together that perhaps a more productive solution would be to put that energy into finding other players? Why are these people not putting effort into creating social events in game where people can show up and meet other players?

Take a look back and count how many posts are discussing the LFG system. Yes, ANet has admitted they’re looking to improve it, but how is it that these players are sitting around on a forum agreeing with each other, yet not one has the forethought to say, “Hey, why don’t we all meet in the game right now?”

The game may be dying, or it may be slowly growing. Players may all be grouped in level 80 areas, or crowded around crafting tables, I don’t really know. What I do know is that if you find yourself on here, spending your time trying to convince everyone else of something you surely can’t know, instead of trying to find players to make the game more enjoyable…then you, are nothing but a troll.

(if that changes to “kitten” then that will really make my point look stupid.)

It’s a tad old, and I’m not sure if it’s been posted before, but..

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/08/29/guild-wars-2-a-grind-by-any-other-name/

Bvhjdbvkjf.1987:

tl;dr

When your reply is that, your opinion becomes invalid.

Lol simple AI… feel free to code that and send it to them – see how simple that really turns out to be. It might be cake compared to the rest of the engine but I’d much rather them fix other actual problems than make yellow mobs realistic.

Well, if I didn’t have my own business to run, and had those skills, I may just do that. However, I’ve played a lot of games with simple animal AI. It’s not that it’s hard to do, it just seems that it wasn’t a priority for ANet.

The animals in the world feel more like this conversation happened.

“So, we need some animals obviously, so just, I dunno, space them out in different areas.”

“Ok, but won’t that be a bit boring?”

“No, no, we need to make the world feel more alive, plus the players need stuff to kill all the time so they feel like they’re accomplishing something.”

“Hmmm, I suppose…should we perhaps give them some AI or something?”

“Nah, players won’t care. They just want to see stuff on the screen.”

“Ok…”

*Dev sits down and places animals in environment Sim City style.

“That work?”

“Ya, perfect! See how no matter what direction you look, there is something happening? That’s how you make a world seem alive!”

“Awesome, I suppose I should work on those bugged skill challenges huh?”

“Nah, take the rest of the week off.”

Ok, I kid a bit, but it honestly just feels like the animals are in the game because that’s what is expected in an MMO. They don’t feel like they have been placed in a way that makes logical sense, or for any reason other than to give the player a false sense of a living breathing world.

roqoco.4053:

Agree with Drakos. What’s the problem? That you are getting killed by these adds or just that the additional seconds you take to kill them are interrupting your leveling efficiency?

Seconds add up. If I am trying top get to a dynamic event, or make my way back to Lions Arch, the last thing I want to do is stop every 30 seconds and fight some aggressive creature for 30 seconds or more.

Not only does it annoy me, but it costs me time, and possibly money. It takes away from my ability to enjoy the beautiful world, and it feels immersion breaking.

Why make a game with dynamic events, cool stories, amazing scenery, and then jam pack it full of carbon copy animals that stand around just waiting for me to pass? Why muddy up the world with perfectly spaced creatures that add nothing to the environment but excessive visual stimuli?

Sigh…if I had my way, you people would love this game. I guarantee if I wrote my ideas down here for each creature I’ve encountered in the game, you would be betting ANet to implement them.

Dude, I live in Canada. You think I have misconceptions about how moose and deer behave?

Deer at are closer to cities/towns tend to be a lot less timid than the ones you find in the wild. In the town of Banff for example, the amount of tourists that visit that place has virtually domesticated deer species and they will approach most people

Moose, on the other hand are tricky. More times than not, they will avoid human contact. The only time you really see them is when they happen to wander into a town, but event hen they’re pretty easily startled. The only time they’re really aggressive is during rutting season where they will attack anything they feel is a threat (my stepdads old car has the dents to prove it).

The point is, there are many other games (Skyrim for example) that have basic AI for animals that feels much more natural. The density in that game also feels much better and the occasional eye candy they provide makes that world feel really nice. In GW2, it’s a visual eyesore. Every single direction is filled with something.

They don’t need to spend time coding some crazy AI that would impress MIT, they just need to cut the density down, and add simple AI like..

Non-aggressive animal

- player approaches, take notice
- player gets closer, move away slowly
- player gets too close, run or aggressive display
- player attacks, attack back

Aggressive animal (predetory)

- player approaches, take notice
- player get closer, move away, or start stalking AI
- player is now being stalked
- player attacked

Aggressive animal (non-predetory)

- player approaches, move away
- player gets closer, display defensive behavior
- player gets too close, attack

Then, up the strength, and reduce the density. Now, you have a world that is full of dynamic creatures with basic behaviors that somewhat mirror the real world. It allows the world to breathe.

If a player is trying to farm deer for leather, they now need to do a bit of work. The game could compensate by dropping a bit more leather or meat for the reduced animal count.

CharrGirl.7896:

GW2 makes the same mistake virtually every other MMO does out there: it doesn’t place animals in a realistic way. You never see deer running away from you in the forest or a pack of wolves hunting across the map. The pretty much just stand there and like you said, wait for AoE as an excuse to attack.

I’m no animal expert but I think they should have made it more realistic. Especially with animals like hyenas or other predatory mammals. They just don’t wander around in the open waiting for you to come along so they can attack you.

Less is always more. You’re right, in the wold animals actually tend to avoid most human contact. Large predetory animals will attack, but do so with a lot of stealth.

I realize GW2 isn’t a simulator, but that’s no excuse for not event attempting some kind of realism. I personally feel that animals should be given bigger ranges, slightly better AI, and less density.

For example, let wolf packs roam large areas, but make them strong. As a player, I need to decide what it means when I see one. Am I going to take the long way around and avoid them, or continue on my path and hope I don’t become the target? The wolves, should be prowling. Some simple AI that allows them to appear as though they’re hunting.

Of course each animal is different and some animals do group in herds. Deer for example ( we have lots here in my town) will generally group together, but are very easily startled. If you even look at them funny, they’ll start moving away.

In GW2 they’re mindless creatures that could care less what is happening. Yu can stand right next to a moose and it will continue doing its animations, oblivious of what I’m doing. In the real world, this encounter would be much different.

All I have ever asked for in this game is to, at the very least, reduce the density of non-essential animals. There are more than enough enemies to loot if that’s what the player wants to do. I’m just so very, very, very, tired of trying to get to a vista, or POI, or whatever and being constantly attacked by the same carbon copy creature.

This has honestly been my number one complaint since the first time I logged in, and it still bugs me to this day.

It’s like the designer in charge was like, “I think we need to add more animals….no…more….yes, that’s right, I want the world to feel alive!”

The thing is, more creatures doesn’t make the world feel more alive, it makes it feel more contrived. I am constantly annoyed that every direction is filled with some perfectly spaced out aggressive creature.

I have to stop myself from ranting again, but I’m going to say that whoever is in charge of creature density has A) never stepped foot in the wild didn’t have the confidence to let the world stand on its own, and over compensated by over populating every single inch of the world.

I’ve been meaning to post this since the last major patch.

I noticed in the patch notes that ANet made the bridge in Kessex herder by adding veteran centaurs and catapults. I was wondering what effect this would have and so I wandered over.

To my surprise, they had indeed seemed to have solved the issue of bots. The catapults created a situation where the bots weren’t able to function in the area, and so for the first time since launch the area was clear.

I was intrigued so I stuck around for the “dynamic” event (which predictably happens every few moments). To my disappointment the addition of the vets and catapults did nothing to make the event more challenging. I stuck around to watch another round, and the result was the same, the centaurs were unable to repair the bridge.

Curious, I entered world chat and encouraged everyone on the map to come to the bridge, but stand on the opposite side. The idea was that the increase in players would scale the event, thus overwhelming any players on the other side not willing to participate in the experiment.

The experiment of course, was to see what happens when the centaurs actually repaired the bridge. One by one players showed up, and before long 30+ players were standing there watching the centaurs do their best. Surprisingly, even though only about 5 players were fighting, the centaurs were still very close to being defeated.

In the end they repaired the bridge, and the resulting Zerg made quick work of the continuing story (resulting in the bridge being destroyed).

I sat there and realized that this game, at times can be difficult in all the wrong places. For example, many dynamic, and heart events can be easily completed by simply button mashing, but walking from one place to another can attract every aggressive animal on the planet, resulting in death.

Or, you’ll spend 20 minutes battling a champion troll, all the while the vets respawn multiple times, yet a giant dragon will go down in a matter of moments, with minor casualties.

I’m a gamer that grew up in a world where games would allow you to progress almost until the end only to inform you that you forgot one item, and can no longer progress (Space Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, Kings Quest). A world where you have very few lives or continues to finish the game, which would result in hours of careful gameplay and practice (Mega Man, TMNT, Ninja Gaiden).

So, for me, it can sometimes feel that developers these days are too afraid to let gamers fail. Everything is handed to them on a silver platter, and if they just participate, they will win. GW2 even has a metal awards system like you used to have during sports day at school where you get a silver for basically just running in the right direction most of the race.

I long for the day that I’m standing in Kessex hills and the game hits us so hard that we all must fight tooth and nail to hold that bridge, and yes…perhaps even fail the event. I’m okay with that you know. I won’t lose sleep if I have to walk into town and recruit a few players to help me. I won’t quit the game if every now and then I have to rethink my strategy.

ANet, it’s okay to be a challenge sometimes.

As to point 4, most people do not want to be held accountable for the bugs of this game and do not bother telling anyone about them in this forum. They just follow your number 1 and stop playing.

I’m not really sure what you mean by being held accountable. I think that in a world with YouTube, free image hosting, and all that, anyone has the ability to gather evidence in support, or against something.

If the respawn rates are too high in some areas (ANet has admitted to this), then capture some video and record some detailed information. Post it on the forums and allow the community to comment on, and improve the data. This will have one of two outcomes.

1. ANet will see it, and dismiss it.
2. ANet will see it, be persuaded by it, and act on it.

This type of community feedback can only help improve the game. Sitting back and just complaining that things are broken in every direction, doesn’t really help.

I’ve seen a few posts by ANet on here stating they welcome, and encourage feedback, as long as it is constructive. Too many posts on here are just knee-jerk reactions without any real evidence to support it. Sure, you can choose to just stop playing, and that is a totally legit option, but if you want to see a game succeed, then do everything you can to improve it.

Argh…I just read the first post again. Sorry for the spelling and grammar. I should never, and I mean never, write stuff on the iPad when I just get up. The combination of those two things apparently makes me sound like a total moron.

Playing less is never a good alternative for an MMO, unless you were addicted playing all day every day in the first place. An MMO should be able to be played 4-6 hours a day and hold your interest if you ask me.

4-6 hours a day is a lot of time. At maximum that’s like 40 hours a week. That’s another full time job! For most people, that’s not even possible, or advisable.

Of course, I’m not here to tell you what to do with your time, but as I said in my first post, if you’re spending that many hours on anything, above and beyond your normal life (work, relationships, hobbies, school, sleep, etc), then it’s not surprising that you feel you’re running out of things to do.

My girlfriend and I spend about 1 – 3 hours every few days and the odd Weekend doing 4 – 6 hours. We’re both level 71, with 37% of the world explored. We’re still getting a lot of joy out of the game.

I think back to when I had two free weeks of WoW last year and I played that game almost 8 – 12 hours a day. I remember feeling so bored, but pressured to keep going. I felt like none of my friends were ever online, but that was because I saw them only a few times out of a huge day.

So I know how it feels. You want to enjoy the MMO so much that you play it almost non-stop. The strange thing about MMO’s is this strange desire to keep going, and going. You almost feel guilty when you’re not. I personally think much of this is simply habit forming, and so when your brain and body start fighting your desire to keep sitting there, you look for something to blame.

It’s not that the game is bad or anything. It’s just that you’ve reached a saturation point where no matter how fun the game is, it’s simply not going to feel fulfilling.

I was just in the game and I decided to head over to Kessex Hills to see how the new bridge event held up with the new patch. It’s still too easy, but at least the catapults have cleared out the bots.

Anyway, I wanted to see what happened when the bridge was rebuilt, so I put out a call for people to come stand around and scale the event to prevent it from succeeding. No less than 40 people showed up (I have a screenshot).

I then went to Lions Arch and there were about 10 – 15 at each crafting station, and a bunch at the Trading Post.

I realize these are anecdotes, but the game is far from empty from what I can see. What is actually more typical is everyone choosing to play it as a single player game. Not many people communicate, or chat at each other. When two or more people join up for an event, no one speaks.

I think that is why the game feels like a single player game to some. People need to make more of an effort to be nice, and social.

For example. Earlier today when in Kessex. I asked if anyone needed help with anything. Within seconds I had a few people asking if I knew how to get a certain POI. I told them to meet me, and I walked along with them, chatting, fighting. I showed them where it was, they thanked me, and we went on our way. Also, I commented on someones cool outfit and she and I chatted for about 5 minutes.

People are in the game, they’re playing. Perhaps give it another chance and attempt to be more social.

Arson.4189:

1. I am playing less (Torchlight 2 is funner atm)

2. No one to socialize with because everybody already quit.

3. See #2

4. I didn’t pay to beta test a game.

1. And that’s totally valid. Playing less isn’t a bad thing. Forcing yourself to play one game, all the time, simply makes no sense. I have many other games in my computer, as well as real world hobbies that I participate in. If something seems more fun, then that’s great.

The trick is to not automatically assume that just because other things are enjoyable, that it means this game is not.

2. This is simply an excuse not to try. There are many players on this forum, and in the game still. I was standing in Lions Arch just last night and there were lots of people there. Saying, “everybody quit” is nothing more than exaggeration.

3. See #2

4. It’s not so much beta testing as it is supporting a project you enjoy. If your goal is to play through games, good or bad and move on, that is a totally valid position. If your goal is to see this, or any other game be as successful as possible, then take the time to support it in any way you can.

TwiceDead.1963:

… Okay let me see if I got this right.

You want to be able to wear everything, even if wearing the stuff would literally cut your combat effectiveness in half.

Why would you want to do that? The only reason I can see this wished for is if you want to cosplay or something IN GAME which is like…

I’m mindblown.

Yes.

That’s not the only reason though. Say I’m out in the world and I have a really weak starter medium armour. I kill a wild boar and it drops a heavy armour (because, as you know boar always wear these).

Now, I have a choice. I can loot at the stats and say, “Well, I could wear this because even with the loss in mobility / skills, it’s still better than what I have at the moment…or, I could sell / salvage it.”

That’s the practical reason.

The cosmetic reason is that it would just look cool to take bits and pieces from other armour sets and apply it to my character. I see so much cool stuff in the world, but it bothers me that I can’t just put it on. At the very least being able to transmutate them would allow me to really customize my look.

I already mix and mash all the medium armour, but I would really like to be able to use some of the other stuff.

Easterlily,

Exactly. That’s what I’m saying. It’s all just numbers in the game. If I put on a heavy armor then I should get some defense, but also lose some speed. This is what I would personally love to see.

“You are attempting to wear armor that isn’t for your profession. Tu may not receive the full benefits of wearing this, and it may cause you to slow down, or reduce your ability to fit. Wear anyway?”

Equip | Cancel

I may be in a situation where my gear is busted, but it’s better to wear this drop, than go shirtless. I may find that even though I’m getting less movement, and ability, wearing it may be better than the low level gear I have on.

From a RP perspective I just always thought it was strange in MMOs that I can’t wear all the gear. I think my girlfriend was saying that you could do this in Neverwinter Nights or something, and it was fun and added just another dynamic.

Ebooks
Animations
Tickets to social events in game (provided they offered me something cool for coming to the party)
Tickets to play games at the carnival
Town clothing
Player housing (furnishings, etc)
Haircut
Mini-games (Chess, checkers, etc) I could play in game
Transit pass to travel for free for a month
New in-game music
Pets (that I can actually choose)

Here is my list for staying interested.

1. Play less

Some of you guys seem to be putting in an unhealthy amount time on the game. Call it burn out, or whatever, but there is only so long you can do a task before it gets boring. There is a reason factory work sucks. Whether the game is WoW, Arkham City, GW2, or Mega Man 2, if you find yourself in the game doing things like jumping on top of the Jewelry station, killing rabbits, or staring at our crafting station, then take a break.

2. Socialize more

So many posts on here are about how no one is around. Why not create social events where you can meet others feeling the same? Start a dance parry, or a farming party. Try some role playing, or geez, even try creating an intake dating service.

The point is that this is an MMO with thousands of other players. Running around farming onions is a lot more boring than talking to people. Meet in a pub in the game and have some conversation. Sitting in map chat alone isn’t really that social.

3. Help new players

You what the game to succeed, then go find new players and help them avoid some of the pitfalls you have. Help them it’s vistas, POI, or help them farm. Perhaps help them by making them some cool new Armour, or showing them not to craft.

If new players are made to feel welcome, they’ll only help improve the game. Running around alone in silence is a lonely experience.

4. Gather data

If you’re going to come on here and complain about he game without end, why not do something to improve it? When you run into bugs, or issues, document them. If the respawn rates are too high, make some documentation with creek caps. If you’re seeing diminished returns, spend a day or two showing why this is the case using proper evidence.

Then, compile that data into something useful and post it on here. I’m sure Anne would love having this kind of data available.

The point is, if you want to continue playing the game, then start thinking of ways to make it fun. Sitting on here complaining that ANet isn’t patching it to your liking and fast enough really isn’t all that productive.

Plus, it would make crafting a lot more cool since you could do all the crafts and build stuff for yourself.

Hmmm…good points. Perhaps it may not work with weapons, but what about just gear? Could a thief wearing chain mail just get slower, and diminished defense/ stats?

The weapons may work if they became crippled, for example, if I have two daggers I can flip around and do my crazy skills, but if I pick up a great sword, I only get a basic attack.

It’s like when you pick up bottles and stuff, you get an attack or two, but you don’t get the full range of abilities that our would with a dedicated weapon. It’s like any weapon you pick up gives you the basic attack as you would get starting the game, but with less damage, android never gain skills past a point.

Correlation doesn’t equal causation.

There could be many reasons why the game could appear to be losing players. From players spreading out, other games competing for time, or school starting, to bad patches, bugs, and bots…they all are potential reasons.

However, the reality is that unless ANet confirms this, none of us can know if the population is dropping. Anecdotes and bad stats are not sufficient evidence to because to conclude the game is dying.

What I would suggest is to spend time trying to bring whatever players are left together. So many people on here post about how events are lonely, only to have five more reply with, “I know, right!”

Why are these players not setting up groups in the game?

If the player base is indeed dropping, why are the members of this forum not suggesting social events that encourage players to find each other? I have not read one post about a party in Lions Arch on Sunday, or a Canadian Thanksgiving turkey hunt plan, or whatever..

Sitting around complaining that the Mae is dying without doing something about it is just complaining for the sake of it in my opinion.

I’m not sure how popular is would be in an MMO, but my girlfriend made a good point the other day. Why can’t we wear anything and everything in the game?

If I want to wear chain mail, en the game should let me. If I want to use a rifle, even though its not standard for my profession, then let me. All the game would have to do is reduce the effectiveness of any items I use.

So say I’m a thief and I decide to pick up a huge sword. I should be able to, but I might be slow, and what may have a 200 damage for a warrior, only allows me like 100, or less.

This would allow players to have the choice to use all the gear in the game opposed to just dumping it on the trading post, or selling it for cheap. I like the idea of using Armour that may not be ideal for me, but it may be better than what I can find, or currently make.

Plus, it opens the possibilities for my character to try all the stuff without having to create a bunch of alts that I really have little desire to play.

Agreed. I don’t really have time to wait around to get into WvW, nor do I have much desire to get involved with it at this point. I won’t be able to reach th monthly achievement unless I force myself through it.

I realize its an attempt to get people playing it, but it just doesn’t feel like it belongs together.

Sounds good to me. I don’t have much more to say. They need to do something to keep the maps relavent.

I have my settings fairly low, but is jewelry supposed to be visual on the character?

Thanks guys.

My girlfriend and I have been transmutating the new higher stats stuff, with the style of some of the stuff we’ve found. I just wish there were better ways of determining what exactly I was making.

I suppose the “discovery” is supposed to be a surprise…I did google and found some images that should help, they’re only female versions though.

My one issue with crafting is that I can’t figure out what the final product will look like.

I’m trying to make armor for my girlfriend and I (thief & mechanic), and we both enjoy getting new looks. The problem is, I’ve spend hundreds of mats getting to level 300 in leather working, yet half the time I have no idea what I’m making.

For example, I used karma points to purchase a rare recipe, then spent quite a lot of materials “discovering” a new jacket. I then previewed it and realized it looked exactly like the other jackets. The stats were good, but it was kind of a waste.

So, when I’m creating new amour sets, now can I figure out what style I’m making? Do they have all the styles available online, or in game where I can see what is available to make, and what they’re called?

I just started a similar topic, but I got to thinking last night. Why would I ever visit the lower level maps, or create low level gear?

As players progress, most of the content in the game becomes redundant. This means there is a huge world out there that, unless new players are constantly exploring, becomes basically a waste.

I’m sure this happens with all MMO’s, but my question is whether anything can be done about it?

For example, lets say that a global story started that resulted in evil forces pushing their way into the starter areas. This of this like in Lord of the Rings when the forces of Mordor pushed their way further and further across the world.

This could mean that all current hearts, dynamic events, vistas, and POI could be slowly replaced with others. The environment could also slowly change as evil spreads. Either way, do you guys have any thoughts on what this means for the world when only the edges are worth visiting?

Before I start, I have have not checked into this, so forgive me if I’m totally wrong.

I have been seeing more and more posts popping up about population drops and it got me thinking. How many new players are starting per day, and are they finding a lonely barren world?

It sucks to think that there are new players excited to play the game, and then realizing they’re basically playing a single player game that isn’t all that easy without other players to help.

So here are some questions I have.

1. What can be done to bring new players together when they start new maps?
2. Is there anything ANet can do to encourage high level players to go back and revisit these maps without ruining it for low level players?
3. Level 80 players seem to be hurting for stuff to do, has anyone tried organizing a group to help new players feel welcome?

The reason I ask this is because in the past I remember how lame it was playing hours and hours of WoW alone. It was hard to get people to communicate, and it was even harder to get people to let me join their groups.

As well, we all know that a healthy population is key to the success of an MMO and it’s future. If new players find their initial experience to be frustrating and lonely, it will mean that everyone will max out, and the world will be a very lonely place.

More importantly, if new players aren’t spending money, then ANet won’t produce new content, and we all suffer.

So, anyway…it’s early so forgive my grammar. I just wanted to see what you all thought.

I wish! Some of the rain forests would benefit from these.

Devildoc.6721:

I kinda prefer the way it is. Dragons have a high amount of loot (potentially anyway) and if they’re farmed too often that would be bad.

Also here’s the thing.

Everything loses its fun with repetition.

In Skyrim, my first few dragon fights were a lot of fun and exciting.

But after awhile, it got to where I was literally fighting a dragon every time I fast travelled.

That kills excitement.

It goes from “OH SNAP A DRAGON!” to “Sigh… ANOTHER Dragon? I just killed one 5 minutes ago”

Sure, but I never said more dragons.

I’m just not super excited about the whole, “Honey, going out to slay the spawn o’ dragon at the plateau, be back in three hours.” thing.

I realize there are events that need to get triggered for the dragon to show up, but I wouldn’t consider this “dynamic” when everyone on the map map I was on seemed to know exactly which event(s) set this off, and where it was.

What I don’t understand is why the game doesn’t make use of a random setting. If, for example the way to spawn a dragon was for the game to think like this:

Choose spawn time between 3 and 5 hours
Choose event from list of 3 to 5 possible stories
Choose location from 3 to 5 possible places

Even though these are still technically scripted, there are enough random elements that it would still appear to most players like it was random. You would have to stick around for quite a long tinpme on a single map to find each event. It wouldn’t be feasible to camp and wait because you would have to have guild mates posted at every possible location, for 3 -5 hours, and then be able to recognize each event.

They could even go a step further and have the first event randomly generate one of 2 – 3 other events that either do, or don’t lead to the dragon. This simple random element would go a long way to making the dragon (and other events) feel much more dynamic.

In the game Dead Island the enemies scale to meet you. I think this may be a possible solution.

The trick here is for the game to remain challenging and not require you to “hold back” just so others can have a chance. I think that it would work to have enemies of varying levels attack based on the players.

There must be a way to have the enemy adjust so everyone has an equal fight.

Copper is copper. I took it and then reported them. Hopefully they continue to be this successful and send me a few silver, or gold.

This should be interesting.

My thought is, any third party mod that they approve, should be implemented as a standard option for all players, or offered as official approved download mods.

I don’t think any player should have an advantage over another no matter how insignificant the change may seem. Call me Captain Lamepants, but I would be cranky if I didn’t have the same access to some options as other players.

In the end though, accessibility should always be a top priority for any company. If the suggestions above improve accessibility for all players, then ANet should be seriously considering adding them as standard options.

I would buy ebooks on there I could read in the game or on my iPad.

I would buy beefed town clothes, a house (furniture), Holiday costumes (that fit the theme of the game), mini-games that I could play with friends, and a “transit pass” for waypoint travel.

Why would marriage make the rating different?

I would be fine with it as long as it didn’t force stereotypical couples only. I would rather see houses so I could seduce my girlfriend in game while she’s on business trips.

I wish the daily achievement had a countdown. Being that I’m currently visiting Germany, I’ve sound that logging off to have dinner or whatever has resulted in me losing my daily goal when I was so close.

If I knew when the cutoff was, I could better judge whether to continue, or just give up for the day.

LanceHavenbay.2067:

Sorry, but I disagree with that. I’ve seen and known far too many large troll guilds, that would take advantage of that in a heart beat.

/denied

Yes, but like making a false report to the police, it would be risky to mass report players and then have your entire guild be suspended for false reports. To me, these types of abuses should be easy to spot.

Ahhh, that would make sense. It also makes sense why people have been suggesting a “transit pass” idea. Hmmm.

If it is in fact a way to keep us all broke and tempted, then I’m not sure ANet will reduce the cost of in-map waypoint to free.

I wonder if there is another way to approach this situation that would allow ANet to make money, but also not keep players broke.

Please, please, please don’t anyone spoil where he is.

Can you imagine a dragon randomly setting down in the middle of Lions Arch? That would sure get the city moving.

Ya, the, “ETA on dragon” was exactly what I saw as well. It’s quite sad actually that ANet choose to stick with that standard MMO formula for dragons. I can kinda understand that some other bosses and mobs need to be consistent, but dragons are one of those world events that don’t really need to be bound by those constraints.

People want to fight big creatures. They want the experience of working together to bring down something so different from the normal mobs they see day in, and day out in the game.

When these epic events happen every three hours, in the exact same spot, it instantly takes all the excitement out of it, and every other epic boss fight. They cease being special.

My friend and his brother once told me about his experience with a huge boss fight in some MMO that was started by the developers and the excitement on their faces as they told me about how the server had to work in shifts to defeat it. That event will stick with them for years I suspect.

My dragon fight today will soon become just another “dynamic” event that blends with all the rest every time I see it fly overhead. Like I said above, do t get me wrong, it was fun, but I’m not sure how much excitement I will feel the next time I see one fly over.

Sore,y if this has been asked before, but what exactly are the reasons that the waypoints cost anything in the first place? What is ArenaNet trying to accomplish by having this in the game?

ImariKurumi.5761:

Anet Forum Manager: Dude here wants more dragons, more excitement, surprise element.
Anet Dev: No problem! Lemme put a script in so that 10 Dragons spawn on him everytime he logs in. He gonna love the surprise…

Well, not sure about more dragons….

It’s exciting enough, it’s just that everyone already knows the surprise. As mentioned above, even if they spawned in one of like six locations or something, it would at least start to feel less scripted.

I realize that a random spawn point isn’t going to happen, but they could at least randomize when it comes. Having people in the world chat being able to predict the attack down to the minute isn’t super awesome, or all that fair.

If it spawned anywhere between 3 and say 5 hours, then it would become less predictable. If they could vary the location as well, that would help as well. Unless they implement a truly randomized system, people will be able to predict when it will attack, but at least it’s not getting spoiled for those players who happen to be reading the wold chat.

The first time a dragon flew over my head, my girlfriend and two other guild mates were in Norn territory. We all heard, and saw it, but had no idea why it was there or what it meant. It was very excitingly. Now that I know they spawn at regular intervals, it’s not very fun.

I know if I just hang out in that territory for at least three hours, ill get to fight it. And like all of the other, “dynamic” events, it just feels scripted and immersion breaking.

It was the first time I’ve ever seen a dragon, and I must say the fight was pretty darn fun.

However, I’m kinda sad because it wasn’t really a surprise. Everyone knew when it was coming, where it would be, and the events that lead up to it.

I know, I know I say this a lot, but I wish this game borrowed more from Skyrim. In that game dragons spawn randomly, and in random places. The scripted, predictable event in Guild Wars 2, once again broke the immersion for me

I would have loved to see, " Holy crap, a dragon just landed on me by (insert place here), help!"

I wish that the devs would try to figure out a way to make these large events more random in both location and timing. It would really add to the “wow” factor if no one could predict the dragon down to the minute.

Anyway, it was cool to experience, but now that I know it will spawn every three hours, in the same place without fail, it really takes the excitement out of it.

Temper, I don’t know much about bots, but this insight is amazing. I personally appreciate your openness on this issue.

In this game, how many GM’s would it take per server to effectively control bots? Are there any other ways to combat this issue? Are all these bots stolen / pirated accounts, or have they purchased each license?

I think ArenaNet should put people like you on the payroll.

It’s is one of my top pet peeves about this game. I’ve done a lot of these hearts and I don’t think I could tell you what half of them were about.

There is no presentation to these quests. It’s just magically know what to do, do it, run off. There is no story, no reason.

People have told me, “Go talk to them first then.” However this solution really doesn’t work when the quest has already been spoiled.

My two suggestions for hearts and dynamic events is to hide the quest until you’re close enough to either see, or hear what’s going on. I realize that ArenaNet wanted to eliminate the idea that you had to physically visit NPC’s, but this is way to far in the other direction.

As someone who plays these games for the stories, and the RPG element, this pulls me out of the game every time. There is no mystery, no discovery, no understanding…it’s just all spoon fed to me, and I can just blast through without even caring why I’m doing what I’m doing.

The last two responses are, in my opinion why we have ridiculous respawn rates, repeating quests, and a world that really doesn’t care if you’re part of it or not.

People seem to find time to commit to a lot of things in life, why not a world wide MMO game? There is no pressure to play at all in my opinion. You’re already missing out on content in GW2 because it’s happening without you. Players are gaining levels and moving out of the starter zones, the trading post is filling with stuff, and a community is being built in-game and out.

The way this would work is for the game to slow down and actually have events that mattered. If the quest was, “Collect 5 gears” then it wouldn’t be like going down to the grocery store and buying a bulk family pack. It would be something that would take planning and effort.

I dunno, I think it could work, but it would mean that players would have to shift the mentality from, “want it now…now what?” to “The quest is the game, and the game is the quest.”

Personally, I think they should just start world servers at different times during the year, and that world runs regardless if anyone shows up or not. If you are there on day one and you and a few others manage to kill a camp of bandits, that camp will be destroyed for all other players in the game.

What you do actually, truly matters. The story/ world will run until its resolved, one way or another.

So, what do new players do? They have a few options.

1. Wait until a new server/world starts
2. Join the story in progress
3. Play in a “holding” area where you do other tasks (farmer, training, exploring) until the server starts.

I personally would play a game like this. I would get to know the players on my server. I would log in every day to make sure I helped and didn’t miss awesome stuff, and I would create a name for myself.

I completely, and totally agree.

It’s all in the presentation. You can make microwave dinners look appealing if you put them on a plate, out a parsley sprig on the side, and serve it with wine.

The way the quests are presented to me in this game is one of the things I dislike most about it. I honestly, truely, don’t care about killing endless waves of anything. The fighting aspect amounts to glorified button mashing so, for me it’s all about the story, the immersion.

I want to play in a fantasy world that feels dynamic and alive. I want to feel like when I go explore the world, I’m rewarded by finding amazing things to do and see. I don’t care about XP, or gear. I just want to experience cool stories.

In GW2, the presentation of the stories are like trying to read a novel on Twitter. The game is basically a series of spoilers.

I’ve been reading a lot of topics about “Endgame” and I have to admit, I don’t really understand what that means.

My questions are…

1. What do players expect they should do once they’ve completed everything?
2. How do MMOs that have been around for years, keep top level players playing?
3. What could Guild Wars 2 do to improve the endgame experience
4. If you could suggest a drastic change to improve the endgame for all MMOs what would it be?
5. Would you support a game that was so hard, it took months, or years to reach level 80?