Guild Wars 2

It’s not about this one time stat increase – it’s about how they will need to do this again and again and again and again to satisfy players yearning for a carrot on a stick in order to be able to enjoy the game. And about abandoning a design principle which was important to many of their loyal fans and otherwise informed customers.

Vorch.2985:

Spectral Agony from GW1 required armor infusion to mitigate. It wasn’t a problem.

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Spectral_Agony

Which is why I say wait and see before you rage yourself to death…

However, you got that infusion as part of your storyline – when you actually needed it to defeat the enemies using said Spectral Agony. Infusion did not otherwise boost your stats though.

Haroshia.9358:

tl;dr: If you want gear progression, there are plenty of other games that have it. Go play them. Let GW2 be unique.

I was thinking more in terms like:
“Gear treadmill → ArenaNet is changing its target audience/market only 2 months into the game → this will upset many players in this specific (strongly advertised before launch) segment → please don’t, there are already enough MMOs in the direction you’re heading into”
- but your version works, too

Thank you OP for this post – it sums up most of my thoughts and arguments quite nicely
(You might want to add a TL;DR section for the lazy)

…and this is why I’d vote in favour of a month-long ingame poll on the Ascended-gear and carrot-on-a-stick issue, advertised on all available channels – that way, everyone should have the chance to make his/her opinion heard (and obviously doesn’t care either way when he/she doesn’t).
I know those things are tricky, but right now, a lot of us just feel like ArenaNet listened to an uninformed vocal minority (which can frankly chase their carrots elsewhere >_>).

Przemek.6835:

If you don’t like gear progression, even as little as ANet wants to introduce, either stay away from the new dungeon and help gear up people that want to try it out (because you will need exotics before stepping there) or go craft, farm events or do whatever you want. The game is ment to be fun, and your “fun” doesn’t have to collide with others.

Once I am required to grind to enjoy content, said content is no longer fun to me. Sorry.
(And don’t start with how everything in GW2 really is about grind, so far I’ve managed wuite well without it.)
Why are you disappointed in players who wish to keep this one game free of the carrot on a stick? The lack of monthly subscriptions here easily allows you to play something different once in a while when you feel the need to chase a carrot.

vysaek.8290:

So.

You want a game with no new gear, stats or [name it here] to fight the whole 4 dragons we have to whipe yet.

You want the same, items, whithout any change or new mechanic… I find that kind of boring myself.

Oh, I do want new gear – merely cosmetically new gear that is. Maybe some new runes at some point, but surely not 2 months into the game…

Actually, the blog post merely confirmed all of my fears and changes absolutely nothing about the arguments I made.

…Seriously, can’t we just forget about the increase in stats and restrict the new gear to those infusion slots, which at least appear to be dungeon specific? I could live with that, as long as I wouldn’t automatically need to grind for days to be able to enjoy the new content…

I frankly don’t need any special Gimmix like stronger gear (i.e. gear with higher numbers) etc. in the so called “endgame” to keep me playing – and I have absolutely no problem with a merely cosmetic progression.
That was one of the big selling points for me, actually.

Excited? Hell no.

…Can’t we just have new gear with infusion slots without an increase in stats?
That way, it would really be dungeon specific and probably wouldn’t bother the rest of us.

It’s not like I dislike the rest of the upcoming patch – really looking forward to it! – but that part just ruins it. Can’t we have a month-long ingame poll or something, akin to the feedback stuff during the BWEs?

Drazharm.1829:

As says a friend of mine: OH LÀ LÀ LE GARAGE! 3% magic find! I found lost lands of Atlantis!

Man, I just can say I laughed so much i began to cry. Nope, the item marks clearly “UNIQUE”. This can be readed as two ways:

1.- You can only carry 1 ascended item
2.- You can only carry 1 ascended item with that name.

Can you, please, stop being drama queens and don’t cry me a river?

The blogpost clearly states “Eventually, you’ll be able to kit yourself out with a full set of Ascended gear and high end Infusions to help give you the edge in end game content.”

It also states “This is just the beginning. In November, we’re only adding the first level of Infusions and Ascended Rings and Back slots, so that leaves us a lot of room to build upon these levels of Item progression in future content.” – thereby underlining my argument.

And this is just not what I signed up for…forgive me for being disillusioned and quite frankly, deeply dissappointed in ArenaNet.

People are moaning because ArenaNet listened to the people moaning for a carrot on a stick – instead of staying true to their loyal fans who were looking the one game which doesn’t.

The problem isn’t a 2 point increase in stats – the problem is that the very same people who have already started getting bored because they rushed through content and spend hours and hours on getting legendaries will be bored again in no time. And then we’ll need another increase in stats to pacify those people, only to have them getting bored again a few weeks later…it’s a vicious circle.

ZudetGambeous.9573:

We could still have that. The problem was exotics were TOO east to obtain. It took 1 day to get a full set of exotics and then the game was essentially over, you had seen all the content and the only thing to do was grind the same event over and over again until you could get a better looking weapon.

They are replacing that mindless grind with a series of dungeons that allow you to infinitely progress and get a slower progression of the next tier of gear so you can progress even further down the infinite dungeon.

Just because YOU didn’t find anything worthwile and fun to do after reaching lvl 80 and getting full exotics doesn’t mean there isn’t anything there.
I still don’t have full exotics on my main, map completion is stuck due to WvW, have barely started on jumping puzzles, lazily starting to level alts,…

Corian.4068:

Stop being afraid and do it. Eat the deaths if you need to.

Everyone’s okay with repeated dungeon deaths, or repeated jumping puzzle deaths, but dying even once in PvP is somehow magically worse than all of that?

Hop to it, man. Or grab all those friends you’re so loath to leave and knock the map stuff out together. You can fix this yourself, you’re just afraid to.

Dying to jumping puzzles usually doesn’t damage your armor, alas it is not nearly as expensive – and dungeons are not required for world completion.

Also, one of the nice things about world completion up to 97% was that you could just do it on your own pace…now, you’ll have to spend days watching the battlegrounds to look for an opportunity to complete your POIs etc. . Not fun. Not enough time to spare.

Cynic.3496:

Gathslan.1870:

Cynic.3496:

Frotee.2634:

Gathslan.1870:

Cynic.3496:

I’m happy about this patch! I even hope they do add full progression raiding someday! You can’t keep people interested on cosmetic gains only and I think they finally realized that. It’s going to be nice to have a reason to login again.

yes you can, just read 99% of this threads comments

Seconded – you know there are still people playing GW2? The game where you quasi-automatically got max stat gear once you reached max lvl (which was 20)?
Do you realize there are probably quite a lot of people who bougt this game for the very reason that there was no carrot on a stick? Once they add full progression raiding, I’m done for good – like, from MMOs forever.

Thank you, uninformed people buying the game expecting the same old garbage we get in every MMO, for ruining my one not-standard MMO.

I think you should be playing console games…

Or you should play one of the thousand MMOs out there that cater to you instead of trying to change a game into your vision with kitteny feedback, oh and skill>gear less casual than aquiring better gear to win You should play console.

Generic response. Gear progression doesn’t mean less ‘skill’, it means they worked toward a goal. I still think you should play on console if you this everyone should always be equal and that everything should be handed to you like an infant.

So enlighten me – why is it necessary to change the ONE MMO (aside from GW1, which wasn’t really a MMO) which caters to OUR interests, when there are thousands of MMOs with a gear treadmill for YOU to choose from?
Why should those of us who bought GW2 precisly for the things it does (or did) differently leave? Why should we be punished when it is you who is unable to feel a sense of fun and accomplishment without a carrot on a stick?

I really DO hope we are worried over nothing, but the two German fansites are pretty much agreeing over this itty bitty detail. And being a native German, believe me when I say that I did not misread that statement. Again – it is not the 2% or something that makes this new armor more powerful. It is introducing stronger max gear only 2 months into the game ans the expectations raised by this…because those of you moaning about how you have no goal? You’ll be complaining again in 2 weeks max.

Gathslan.1870:

Cynic.3496:

I’m happy about this patch! I even hope they do add full progression raiding someday! You can’t keep people interested on cosmetic gains only and I think they finally realized that. It’s going to be nice to have a reason to login again.

yes you can, just read 99% of this threads comments

Seconded – you know there are still people playing GW2? The game where you quasi-automatically got max stat gear once you reached max lvl (which was 20)?
Do you realize there are probably quite a lot of people who bougt this game for the very reason that there was no carrot on a stick? Once they add full progression raiding, I’m done for good – like, from MMOs forever.

Thank you, uninformed people buying the game expecting the same old garbage we get in every MMO, for ruining my one not-standard MMO.

captaincrunch.6731:

Gabi.5264:

Why is everyone complaining so much? DIOS MIO MAN

Anet just made a brilliant move in my opinion.
Opening new fronts to this game, that has a lot of potential, and now when they are trying to extend it, you’re all whining and whining and jesus christ more whining.

Stop it and let them do the changes quietly, they are more then welcomed.

Agreed. These forums can be pretty bad whenever anything is introduced that’s different. Don’t let it fool you into thinking this is the mindset of the majority. These forums represent a small minority of the community that’s pretty vocal about these things.

I’m pretty excited about this new stuff.

The problem is: Introducing a gear treadmill is nothing new – it is the same old trash you can find in every other MMO (except GW1). We are not complaining about the introduction of armor with a 2% stat increase – we are complaining about the introduction of item progression. Because once they start with that (only 2 months into the game, no less), I bet they won’t stop at that…

And NOT having that was a design principle – abandoning this to conform to MMO standards? Not innovating. Not what I paid for. Not what I waited for for years.

Even f it is only a slight increase – I HATE item progression à la WoW.
The absence of this idiotic timesink was one of the factors which made me love GW1. I was already uncomfortable about the cost involved in getting full exotics, but introducing a new gear level you can only get through dungeons? Yeah, thanks, that kind of ruins it for me >_> There is a reason why I don’t play other MMOs…

I’m really not one to panic, but if you keep listening to people who did not bother to read up on the features of GW2 beforehand and now keep complaining about the lack of things they are used to, you may lose your most loyal fans – you know, those fools who actually waited years for GW2 and were happy about the differences between GW2 and other MMOs.

Sad panda is sad ;_;

And it really is a huge disappointment. Why do you let down the very people who keep defending your game?

Darmikau.9413:

Girjon.3560:

Well Cursed Shore is ment for groups not singles.

I’m not sure where you got this idea.

Dungeons are meant for groups because they are crafted explicitly for 5 people. Every other instance in the game is meant to be solo-able. That’s the entire game’s credo.

Actually, No. There was an interview or article somewhere that mentioned that yes, there will be areas in open world PvE that are more geared towards group play (= more of a challenge to solo players). That was quite some time before release though…I’ll post a link when I find it.

Btw: By group play I don’t necessarily mean coordinated groups of 5 people, but rather “running along with other players”.

Phaethon.4986:

You’re not gonna carry a desktop tower from hotelroom to hotelroom. Even if gaming laptops are heavy, its still better than a tower+screen+keyboard+whatever. And NOT gaming is not really an option
I would personally not buy a gaming laptop, but would go for a high-end “regular” laptop. It will also run the game very decently. (even my 4 year old laptop runs GW2)

Ok, you might be right here – If I’m “on the road”, I just take a good book with me. Or play on my macbook, which still handles GW2 on an acceptable lvl…but I really mostly take a good book. Or five.

In that case, I suppose I’d also just go for a good regular laptop (or comparable macbook, if you have the money to spare – yes, I hate working on windows that much)

It’s not about playing you style or not – it’s just that not every playstyle will work in every environment. You do need to switch strategies from time to time – e.g. while it might be fun to play a MM in normal PvE (not oh so very effective, but usually doable), it just won’t work in a dungeon.
When you want to play a glass-cannon ele, you just might need to look for a group to farm Orr with – or get better at dodging. Or accept that you will have a higher mortality rate…

I agree that for that price, getting exotics would be nice. I really like both the Asuran and Sylvari cultural armor though, but for everyone else? Naaa. Not really worth it.

And Asura are obviously far superior to humans – only a bookah would come to the conclusion that humans are more powerful…

I’m not sure about the playable race (they kind of loose their edge when forced into that – look at how agreeable your Asuran gets :/ ), but I really definitely want a Quaggan mini – Quaggan pirate, Quaggan Ghost, normal adult Quaggan, normal baby Quaggan,…

Ah yes, the plushy. Why do we not have a plushy yet? I’m throwing money at my screen but nothing happens I love the belly-voice idea XD

Apart from the fact that I find enemies aggroing everything within their path pretty annoying as well – solo farming with a glass-cannon ele just might not be the best idea :/
Have you considered playing that build in a group or trying a slightly less squishy build for solo farming?

…Uhm…so what exactly is you problem with implementing weapons which require a HUGE time investment to get, but only provide a very special skin vs. an advantage over players who are unable to invest that huge amount of time?

There really are other ways to keep people playing – and believe me, there are enough who will invest the time simply to feel like a very special snowflake in a specific skin.

And to everyone saying the game won’t last long on skins alone? Look at GW1. Max level was 20, everything beyond that was skins and titles. Worked just fine.
I believe people are forgetting another part of the philosophy behind making GW2 a game without monthly fees – enabeling players to play more than one MMO at one time. If you are bored with GW2 when you have reached your personal goals – fine, just go and play something else for a while; until the next update or holiday comes along (I have a feeling that those create quite a bit of revenue in cash shop items).

I am personally quite happy that I am not forced into a Gothic/S-M look with my necromancer :/
However, I’ll freely admit that I wouldn’t mind a couple more choices in this area which are not bound to dungeon armor…
For example: We have numerous lvl 80 karma vendors in Orr, but they all sell exactly the same armor! The only difference is the rune attached to it. Couldn’t we have e.g. Necro themed armor for Grenth and Mesmer themed armor for Lyssa?
(Should I mention that I really really hate the look of that exotic karma armor on my female Asura Necromancer?)

Please don’t

I will freely admit that dredges are dreadfully annoying though – however, I’d much rather see that handled by adjusting the respawn rates or – even better! – making the respawn rates dependent on player activity/presence in the vicinity.

The point with the lvl 40-65 areas is also that there are quite a lot of them – and if you are not going for 100% map completion, you really don’t need to visit each of them, as your personal story will only touch a few of them. And even people going for 100% map completion are often just trying to finish the maps as fast as they can…

That would be kind of awesome Especially if you get assassinated before you csn collect your loot, what with there really only being one waypoint you can actually use…

I only have my necro on 80 so far, and I really don’t have any trouble with Orr – as long as I don’t try to rush it and run through hordes of undead… I’m using a condition/wells build btw (ok, one of these ‘wells’ is actually an Asuran racial skill, and I often switch between the blinding well and Blood is Power, but hey)

“Strategy”: Run into a group of Undead, drop my utilities + the two AoEs from scepter and dagger, switch to deathshroud, skill 4 – watch the numbers go down

(I don’t care if there are more effective ways to play the necro, I’m having fun)

Done and GL – Although I can’t help but to point out that this is not exactly a very…well rounded survey. For example, I would judge my guilds/groups performance very differently depending on whether we’re talking about PvE or PvP.

Out of curiosity: What are you trying to measure and which methods are you planning to use for evaluation? (Are you using quantitative methods at all?)

Actually, I would say that it really is much better to just build a gaming desktop (and have a macbook for work and flexibility).

I just built one myself for ~ 800 € which should be able to comfortably play GW2 on high (if not max) settings – I can post my specs and experience with them later this week when I got it assembled and have GW2 transfered.

I believe the problem is that EU and US are really different servers, while EU worlds and US worlds are actually on the same respective server.

You don’t necessarily need heavy armor profession to be able to take a hit Soloing is also pretty easy on a necromancer for example.
You really might want to try different professions though – maybe you just don’t like the feel of the elementalist?

And do feel free to join various guilds – you can have one for each of your interests after all

There are always people who are very good at playing the (trading post) market to their advantage – however, I believe you really need to watch prices carefully before you can start turning a profit there to know when and what to buy and resell.
(I’d be happy for a hint on how to start)

Why would everyone stack cond/vit/toughness? Personally, I only need either vit OR toughness…

It might become less of an issue if we got map-specific waypoint fees instead of lvl specific fees…I love wandering around the lower level areas, but it does get pretty expensive pretty quickly, because it just takes a lot longer to earn what you spend for travel.

Personally, I would actually advise to play before you start reading the forums – we have a very vocal, very….“whiny” minority here.
Yes, there are bugs. Lots of them, if you care to look. But there are quite a lot that you wouldn’t notice if you hadn’t read up on it before >_>
There is a lot more to enjoy than to argue about though, if you like the way GW2 is handling things in general.

Seconded – especially with the kind of fps I am getting in Lion’s Arch ~_~

I must admit that I also find it quite annoying to have to “complete” the WvW maps in Order to get 100% world completion – mostly because I can not do this “on my own time”, as there is simply no way I could get all those POI etc. without a large group, especially when our Server is losing (Gandara player here).
I do not mind being encouraged to to some WvW content (heck, I actually enjoy it) – but being forced to wait with completing an achievement that I perceive as PvE based because of PvP-matters is not particularly enjoyable.

Nevermind, Martin just cleared up the timeframe for all of us

I was never targeted, but I did it anyway – for old times sake

Thank you guys Now I can get my boyfriend to attend the party in my place and get at least the achievement and title. Wish I could be there ;_;

Make lots of awesome videos people!

Ah, to specify my favoured timeframe: I assumed that the party would be repeated in regular intervals, as in one party every 3 houres or so, to give everyone a chance to participate – under these conditions, I would love for the party(ies) to start at midnight pacific. Or anything before midday GMT, really.

Funny to have started such a debate I don’t feel offended by the question though (having it interpreted it as intended), it is usually quite amusing to us, too – like last year, when he tagged along to gamescom and ended up having more fun than me ^^°

I do agree on a general….‘attitude’ towards female gamers though – can get quite annoying.

I’d love for Act 4 to start on Midnight Pacific Mean Time though…pretty much the only way for me to experience the party myself ;_;

Will we get a timeframe on when Act 4 goes live – that is, when we can attend the party?
Will it be just once or will we have parties similar to what we had in GW1?

Just so I can brief my non-gamer boyfriend on what to to with my toon (and when, since he has an important exam coming up) while I’m out of town…

Frankly, I’d be happy if it didn’t stick out in a right angle from my…back.

Don’t know…but it’s very nostalgic for GW1 players

Tell me about it – I am leaving the civilised world (well, at least access to a computer and/or the internet) from midday (GMT+1) on Wednesday to Sunday >_>

Finally, something positive in this forum! Thank you, OP
I agree, btw – it really isn’t about what awesome loot you get, but how much fun you have on the way – and there are lots of ways to enjoy yourself in this event.
Although I am not surprised at its scope – GW1 was very similar that way

Also, they have given the time in GMT (as opposed to GST, which we had until yesterday – at least, we changed the clock last night here in Germany), so it still shouldn’t be a problem to calculate the correct tome for your region.

guessing the event will start at 8 pm in Germany, as we are GMT+1