Guild Wars 2

Goose.8195:

I am not sure of the point of your post, whether you are agreeing with me or just telling me something that you think I didn’t know already.

Well, on these forums, you never know… Sometimes people don’t even read past the first sentence, and you have to repeat things in a personal quote /shrug

Since you did know it, let’s say I am agreeing with you and elaborating

Goose.8195:

I really hope Glint’s Lair comes back in some form of a dungeon or a fractal. It was just too beautiful of an area to be a one-time deal.

Not exactly a “one-time deal”, you can still do it, but there’s simply little point to do it in terms of comfort and rewards. If it was a fractal/dungeon, there would be much more incentive in going there and enjoying the already created content.

TheBlackLeech.9360:

I’ve read through plenty of these threads, stated facts, and get ignored because the points are valid irrefutable and there is no logic whatsoever on the opposing side of the argument.

Just to inform you, you get ignored because your posts are an example of demagogy, along with strawman arguments, deliberately missing strong counter-arguments, and aggression.

People here are often used to these forum tricks and don’t take them seriously.

saventis.1485:

this aint an attack or anything just my opinions ^^

Indeed. And not that I focused on the stuff you argue on anyway.

wasted.6817:

It’s a new episode, give them time, maybe they will make fractals out of it. They made MF and Aetherblade fractals that way. Except, both MF and AB already had solid mechanics in them, while GL and Laby don’t have such mechanics, they will require some significant additional work done.

Of course I will, and yes, tweaks will be necessary, but making tweaks is easier than designing from scratch. I am saying what I would like to see, and maybe that will inspire some of the people up there if they are looking for an easy way to please the dungeon people with the already designed content.

tl;dr: rehashed content is better than no content.

TheBlackLeech.9360:

You also went into great detail about how this can’t be done solo….. but if you can’t complete this LS mission on your own, there are more important things you need to worry about.

Where did you even get that? I complete them fairly easily solo, and if I die I tweak my build and complete it since I can’t guess fight mechanics just by looking at a monster. If anything, some fights are specific class-unfriendly and frustrating/boring, not hard.

I am saying that I want comfortably accessible, user-friendly, highly repeatable, reward-worth group content, and I see the new PS instances as a possible source of such within the current “no new dungeons” policy.

TheBlackLeech.9360:

Have you ever made a post on the forums where you aren’t complaining about something?

• https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/You-Know-You-ve-Played-GW2-Too-Much-When
• https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/community/creations/Keep-Calm-and-Make-Posters
• https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/lwd/Glint-s-Lair-is-Awesome
• https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/Concept-Hammer-Mesmer
• https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/lwd/So-That-West-of-Silverwastes-Reminded-Me

ToT.7018:

ok thanks for you answers guys, will wait til next year see if price goes down

It won’t, unless it goes on a temporary sale. However, there’s a very high chance that it will still cost the same in 2 years even when other scarf equivalents shift to 800 gems.

…I would’ve played them every day. As well as the Teragriff fight, Shadow of the Dragon fight and others (hopefully Marionette – or leave that one for guild raids?).

Instead, I’ve done these things once (or a couple of times if you count achievement runs) & am never coming back there again. Why?

• User-unfriendly activation.
  • You need everyone to activate the same episode (and lose progress on current if it’s not finished).
  • You need everyone to have the episode done.
  • You do not have separate LFG sections for these instances.
• Rewards.
  • There’s little point doing this content on your main; grinding open-world content for the rewards is both more fun and more rewarding.
  • Sometimes there’s a point doing it on your alt, but it is rarely enjoyable since it’s not your main and it often leads to frustration instead.
• Too much focus on storytelling.
  • Unskippable dialogues and cutscenes anyone?

I understand that the new buyable Personal Story chapters is a source of money which caters to solo players in this MMORPG, and that dungeon grinding is something ANet economists dislike, and I do not want this thread to be another “need more dungeons” thread, but… honestly, it really feels like so much wasted potential.

So… how about at least duplicating some of the fights as fractals/sets of mini-dungeons?

TL;DR: rehashed content is better than no content.

Count me in if these slots are account-bound.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

When items (Scarf) are first introduced, they are often at a higher cost than when those same items are re-introduced (Earmuffs/Festive Hat) at subsequent years/times.

Scarf is a new item; Earmuffs and Festive Hat were introduced in 2012 and keep their original gemstore prices, which were far lower overall than currently. Same things happen with minis and other returning items, and I’m honestly happy that they’re not “updating” the prices – it feels kinda… honest.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/List-Of-Things-We-Want-In-Gemstore/

Thanks for your input, Chrono. There are some interesting points. But I also think you have some idealized view on problems here and there

As for arguments, it’s still what people say, regardless of whether it makes a lot of sense to you or not. Same for “that other game” – there’s always “that other game” which had it, and that’s why it’s not specified. It’s even different for everyone.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

This topic is meant for educational purposes. It’s to point out that there are some Precursors that aren’t out of reach.

I’ll enforce the Godwin’s law and say that it’s somewhat very similar to “educational” threads telling that swastika should be allowed to be used freely since it’s actually a “kolovrat” symbol of the sun in Russia and a sacred symbol in Buddhism.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

As a car analogy: If you can’t afford to buy that new Ferrari, there’s a nice Kia Soul for a good price.

…except that their stats are Ascended vs. White.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

The point here is that even a Casual player with low income can afford a Precursor, and eventually work their way to a Legendary. Not everyone is skilled in JPs. Not everyone has the time to run 100 Dungeons a day. And not everyone has the money to buy the most desirable Precursors.

The point here is that even a Casual player with low income can afford a Precursor, and not the Precursor, and you know it.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

As a sports analogy, if you can’t afford Joe Montana, there’s always Steve Young.

Sports players have different stats, ascended-legendaries don’t; thus, the game is not a sport, it’s an art. If you want Picasso, you don’t buy Malevich because you can afford it. You either save for Picasso or buy nothing at all. And you know it.

The frosty aura of the new rebreather is really cool, but the sound effect gets annoying really fast since it overlays all other sounds. I guess it’s the same effect in the assets as with the frosty gathering tools, but there’s a difference between a temporary “when used” sound effect and “always on”.

How about, if disabling it entirely is not an option, switching it to a several second sound effect “on entering water”, or “when idle”?

No. It says “any”, not “all”.

You get 1 item and you can put it on 1 character. You can of course pass them through bank to another character later, though.

Filaha.1678:

3 dailies gets you the AP of 10 dailies previous.
You also get the bonus box rewards.
On top of the daily log-in rewards.

How is that less?

It’s not, unless you ignore the fact that one has to do the dailies (for 10AP) instead of playing the game as they liked (for 5-8AP)… and – surprise! – you are conveniently ignoring that fact.

I would like to reskin the ugly Rime-Rimmed Mariner’s Rebreather with the skin of Black Earth Aquabreather. Will the frosty effects remain?

EDIT: Yes, it will, answered here: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/Rime-Rimmed-Mariner-s-Rebreather

…aaand here we go again, deliberately comically missing the point about obtaining a legendary vs. obtaining the legendary you want and will enjoy a bit more than for 10 seconds in each Swamp fractal.

This post makes just as much sense as “you can equip all your characters in Zojja’s Ascended without ever crafting” and “everyone can become the president of United States”, but whatever, it will draw the desired attention and make a particular person happy.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/List-of-Common-Controversial-Forum-Topics/first#capes

Lishtenbird.2814:

13. (GUILD) CAPES / WINGS / SCHOOL UNIFORMS / SWIMSUITS

[+] Arguments in favour:

• That other game has it; we’ve seen it done there and enjoyed it.
• Capes are cool. A cape is a popular attribute of a hero in both medieval fantasy and modern fictional settings. GW1 had capes. Capes can be customized with guild emblems, upgraded to different styles and more. This gives people more stuff to do and more options to customize characters, especially for players in large guilds.
• Wings are cool. Wings are a popular attribute of a hero in magical fantasy settings. GW2 is about dragons, so wings decorations sounds fitting. Large wings are a good idea for legendary backpacks with special effects: angelic, demonic and more. The current options for wings are next to none, they have the same meshes and looks.
• School uniforms are cool. Obviously, Tyria should have some magical schools since magic is widely used by our heroes, and they should’ve learned to use it somewhere, and these schools can have outfits. School uniforms will contribute to roleplay part of the game. This game is a fantasy game rated as PEGI 12+, so there are more than enough players who would healthily wish for a school/university uniform for their hero/heroine. There already are real-world, non GW2-themed outfits in the gemstore (Jungle Explorer, Ninja…). School uniforms have been datamined – they are already created and in the game files, no extra work needed.
• Swimsuits are cool. The current underwear is ugly. There are hot places in Tyria, there are beaches, there is water – swimsuits make more sense than heavy armour there and are good for roleplay. GW2 has already touched sensitive subjects in the game (Kasmeer-Marjory), and swimsuits are more timid. People who want to troll others by running around in a swimsuit can already do it in underwear. Swimsuits can have countless options and will sell very good. Swimsuits are far less detrimental than various existing highly violent items (including Executioner’s outfit and Axe) and alcohol promotion (the whole Norn race, Belcher’s Bluff).

[-] Arguments against:

• Every game has its own aesthetics. GW2 is rather conservative (at least compared to many “Korean grinders”). As for GW1, it had a different game engine, and you cannot simply copy objects from one game to another.
• Capes are a common attribute of American-style superheroes and look silly. According to some info, clipping is the biggest problem with capes in GW2. The time invested into fixing capes can be instead put into fixing clipping on charr and asura armour. Drawing realistically moving cloth can lead to performance issues in zerg events.
• Wings are a common attribute of Japanese-style superheroes and look silly. Wings are immersion-breaking in GW2 – they will be percieved as real wings, not as a decoration. Large wings will contribute to visual clutter. GW2 already has several wing skins.
• People who want to see school uniforms and swimsuits have specific virtual preferences concerning girls which they should keep to themselves and not try to bring into a video game. Bringing these things into GW2 will make other people next to them feel uncomfortable.

[=] Current state of affairs:

• To each his own, and it’s still up to developers to decide what they want to see in the game. According to some info, some developers are working on it in their free time and can probably come up with something better than the Guild Banner Backpack.

Back to CONTENTS

Astralporing.1957:

Swamurabi.7890:

By having dailies that temporarily move older players on maps with newer players, you won’t get the toxicity that was the Queensdale champ train.

You haven’t seen the queensdale event train when that daily was on, did you? New players didn’t even have a chance to tag events before a zerg showed up from nearest waypoint and trampled everything underfoot.

Completing “Queensdale event completer” on my alt required lighting reflexes and situation awareness – things I never needed in Queensdale before. I don’t think I managed to tag boar after doing the pre, though.

timmyf.1490:

We have probably 20-30 active/day, 40-50 active regularly. I’d say 100+ roster spots haven’t logged in since 2013. Half of that probably quit within the first 4-6 months of the game. This also includes a substantial number of new players and second accounts.

Practically every single currently active player who hasn’t just bought the game in the past 6 months is represented within the 90% and 80% brackets.

I’d say mine looks about the same, except that we’re doing seasonal cleaning.

Swamurabi.7890:

What if Anet’s considers their game design philosophy of having groups of players playing together in underpopulated maps more important than your game playing philosophy of getting rewards for doing anything you want?

This is exactly what is happening. Since I (and other players) am not happy with their new and enforced game design philosophy, we make this kind of threads to alert them about possible consequences of the shift and to give them a hint on how to get the best of the both worlds and retain both types of (potentially paying) customers.

timmyf.1490:

The real problem is that this is a distraction from the reality. Here’s what your real problem is:

Player retention in this game is bad. I don’t know how bad, but given that having 3500 Achievement Points puts you in the top 10% should give you an idea. 90% of accounts on this game have less than 3500 AP.

80% have less than 1800 AP.

Do you know what the 50/50 split is? It’s somewhere around 800 AP.

If half of the accounts in the game don’t even have 800 AP, that’s a pretty good sign that player retention is not great. For a game that needs people logging in to buy gem store stuff in order to continue to earn revenue, that’s a disaster in waiting.

Now, you need the revenue, so this means you have a couple options: try to bring your old players back (expansion) or try to create new players (sales and retention).

That’s rather interesting by itself; however:

• How different is it from other games? Is 50% at 800AP worth of time good, bad or normal for a B2P MMO? How long is this 800AP in terms of time, is it people who’re not logging in or people who’re playing but so “inefficiently” that they rarely get AP?
• What is the main source of income, who are the people who pay most? Is it those who buy the game and desert it in a couple of hours, those 50% who play till 800AP regularly buying gold, or those 10% above 4300AP who’re loyally playing the game?

Now the other part: why are solutions self-exclusive?

• When solving one problem (new player retention), why is it important to punish the other part of the players (loyal/veterans)?
• NPE as an example: why can’t you have all that spoonfeeding gating on only till you get one character at 80, and turned off afterwards? That would achieve the goal but also make altoholics happy.
• Dailies as an example: why can’t you have large generic dailies (“kill 50” or even “100” mobs) along with specific ones, even without extra rewards? That way, you achieve the goal and lure players who log in for 20-30 minutes into doing different stuff (and improving your metrics!), but you make loyal players who only do what they want but for 2-3 hours (and improve your metrics!) as happy as they were before.

This ^ is what is called an “improvement” IMO – making the lacking aspects better, and not sacrificing the stuff which was good for one type of players in favour of others. That’s simply a shift of paradigm.

timmyf.1490:

If the “formal reading” – the actual meaning, not the one you made up – is “easier to argue on,” I assume that means I’m right.

By reading the comments as stated, my point stands.

By reading the comments based on years worth of forum-poster reimaginings, your point stands.

I’m happy with that assessment.

I’m quite happy with having that assessment as well. Some people see it this way, others extrapolate it and see it that way. The first are right because it is what was said, the second are right because it is what people felt and saw making sense; they had a cool quote which matched the gist and labeled it.

Thus I would also be happy if people actually argued on the “freedom” in question itself rather than whether they agree on the other side’s reimagination or not.

Andred.1087:

No, and if that legitimately bothers you, then I suggest you re-examine your priorities in life.

I’m looking at it as a creator, not as a generic consumer. Thus the global picture is of higher importance to me than personal experience, even though I can use personal experience as my own source of “metrics” since other “metrics” are only available to me through forums, guild chat/teamspeak, and extrapolations from my knowledge.

timmyf.1490:

As a side note, everybody is perfectly welcome to dislike the changes ArenaNet has made and the direction they are taking. I count myself among you! I think we need more 5-man instanced challenging content in this game…

…but you don’t get to pretend that a blog post from Colin in January 2013 somehow justifies every minor quibble you have with the game.

It’s not a betrayal. It’s just changes you don’t like. Get a grip.

timmyf.1490:

That is, very accurately and specifically, what he meant. You’re welcome to pervert it to mean that “you can run world bosses with just 3-5 people” if you like, but that doesn’t mean anybody else will take you seriously.

That’s why this part is right there, in the OP after the quote:

Lishtenbird.2814:

Of course it’s not only about “most powerful rewards” (even if enjoyment is the best reward you can get from a game), but about the overall feeling of freedom the game had – which definitely existed and which is the reason “Play How I Want” quote became so popular and went far beyond the meaning of “get BiS gear anywhere” in the community.

You may deny it and stick to the formal reading (because it easier to argue on), but instead look around at what people have been repeatedly saying for the last year in multiple threads, which is summarised in this thread and +1ed many times (including the “starred thumbs up” icon which posts now rarely ever get). The game screamed “play how I want” and “freedom” back then, and now it screams “fool-proof”, “gated”, “spoonfed”. The change may be to your liking, but the change is there and tangible.

I wonder, if I rename the thread to “Freedom Is Gone”, will people still find a way to argue on why “freedom” is a misused word, instead of looking at the problem it describes?

lordkrall.7241:

So instead of actually coming up with an argument, you link a comment from a red poster that is completely irrelevant to my post?

If you are going to complain about stuff, at least be ready to argue for why it is wrong/right or should be change.

Sorry, but I’m can’t take your over-exaggerated strawman (which has already been answered tens of times if you care to read this thread and the dailies thread) seriously. I’ve replied to arguments and will be replying to (new) arguments. But I’m not going to waste time on playing that favourite “I miss the point completely, honestly!” forum game of yours, sorry; I can suggest playing my “quote random red post in reply” game, though, since it might be fun and would make just as much sense

Antara.3189:

Greetings Listenbird,

You’ve outlined many of the changes that I would say were a step back for Guild Wars 2.

Stand above the vocal posters who continue to state their opinion over and over. It’s been quite obvious for some time that they only intent to belittle disgruntled players into thinking they are “wrong”, even though it’s entirely subjective.

Thanks for support and thanks for reading

timmyf.1490:

I wish Colin would just show up and clarify that “play how you want” is indeed referring to getting top-stat gear, NOT skins, NOT legendaries, NOT low-population world bosses, NOT optimal builds, NOT traits, NOT anything other than “you can get max-stat gear in WvW… you can get max-stat gear in open-world PvE… you can get max-stat gear in dungeons…”

When one can’t argue on the problem itself, he argues on the words someone used to describe it…

timmyf.1490:

I think I’m going to start a thread:

List of Threads Lishtenbird Has Started To Complain About the Same Things

I’ll be sure to reserve at least 5-6 posts at the beginning for future links.

…or about that someone who talked about the problem.

AdaephonDelat.3890:

People are arguing about the lack of diversity but neglecting the fact that it’s no longer necessary to do as the main reason to do dailies was to get the shiny.

Why do you people keep forgetting about 5-6-8 AP (and experience) we got naturally playing the game, which is now nerfed because we have to do specific stuff to get any AP? Because it is a valid and important, thus inconvenient, argument, is that why?

lordkrall.7241:

But wouldn’t play as you want to get the best stuff (as the statement actually says) also mean that I should get all the best stuff from just chatting?

John Smith.4610:

No.

LanfearShadowflame.3189:

And from the most recent datamining, it looks like they are looking at harvesting tools that have a chance of giving snowflakes (similar to the watchwork pick)

These are already in the game, drops or bought from vendors. Thanks god they’re not from Gemstore – the Watchwork thread most likely saved us.

Liz.1497:

Unless they have some funky really badly programmed system it really shouldn’t take much longer to create the separate armor items than one of the current outfits.

Unfortunately they do. As mentioned in discussions about town clothes and trenchcoats (I guess), they have very different “seam lines” for different classes which make existing armour mixable within the class, but also prohibit inter-class mixing.

Hyper Cutter.9376:

You know you can turn that arrow off entirely if you want, right?

Yes, I do. Does it vanish from existence and stops spoonfeeding players if I turn it off?

lordkrall.7241:

Should I be allowed to sit around in DR and chat all day and get everything in the game? If not, why not? Maybe that is how I want to play? Shouldn’t I, based on your adamant stance on the play as you want statement, be allowed to do just that and still get everything in the game?

I’m afraid the shine of your celestial armour makes it hard for you to see what people actually say.

Vocah.1208:

How do they work as outfits, then, on all weight classes?

My guess is that they’re a 4th weight class which just replaces your own weight class when you equip the outfit. This works since there are no race/gender restrictions for classes. (Why town clothes can’t be converted to outfits is a different question…)

Vocah.1208:

I love the logic I’m getting; ‘’it takes time and effort’’. By that logic, they can make wooden weapons, which would mean a new set of weapons every few days and people would be happy?

Quality OVER quantity!

Exaggeration is not an argument.

Yes, many people would like more skins. But some outfits are also good, they have their advantages (for one, I can use them on alts while leveling and look pretty; for two, they require no charges and do not destroy my usual skins).

That’s just a question of balance, and indeed, many people would like more skins. But it doesn’t also mean that no one would ever want outfits, and all of them should be destroyed and never created. Plus, some, like women’s elegant dress, are a single piece and won’t even have anything to combine with.

Basaltface.2786:

you forgot to add the transmutation charges that most likely eventually will be used and somebody gotta pay for them too. If you give people skin pieces to work with they gonna play arround.. combine, make new looks and transmute their armors. If you give them an outfit.. well they wont do any of that, they slap it on, colour it how they like it and call it a day. Imo skins would make a lot more sence in the longrun if you talk about benefits

Transmutation charges drop like trash now. I did have to buy some a year ago, but now I’m sitting at 30+ charges after equipping 6 characters, and I’m pretty sure new players won’t have to. So this is a minor income, and I’m sure it is a part of the calculation anyway.

Since many are still focusing on “PHIW means you get best gear” and ignoring everything else, added the following to OP:

Of course it’s not only about “most powerful rewards” (even if enjoyment is the best reward you can get from a game), but about the overall feeling of freedom the game had – which definitely existed and which is the reason “Play How I Want” quote became so popular and went far beyond the meaning of “get BiS gear anywhere” in the community.

Let’s do imaginary math.

• The team of designers has 100 hours.
• In 100 hours, they can create 4 universal outfits.
• In 100 hours, they can create 1 armour skin with variations for 3 armour classes and tweaks for all races.
• Each outfit will sell 10’000 times, which makes 40’000 sells.
• Each armour skin will sell 30’000 times, which makes 30’000 sells.
• If the outfit costs the same as the skin, it’s more cost-efficient to make outfits than skins.

Of course real numbers are different, but the idea is the same.

chaosdeity.6287:

Why is this not stickied yet?

I think it would be wise to at least wait until I’m finished revising it.

Knighthonor.4061:

where is the traits discussion? Thats huge right now.

As well as the NPE

Quote from thread FAQ:

Lishtenbird.2814:

• Topics from this list were observed to have considerable amounts of both pro- and con-oriented discussants within the community itself. If the community is instead discussing specifics of a certain idea on which everyone generally agrees and the concerns are directed towards developers, this topic will not usually be included; example: lack of attention to PvE/PvP/WvW content, changes to the Trait system, SAB, Cantha.

Chrispy.5641:

If I missed the main strong argument, then why don’t you tell me what it is?

Maybe you just went past it and conveniently pretend you never read it over and over again? Be as passive aggressive as you want, jump around forum CoC as much as you want, the millions of blondies and their male equivalents who went into phone stores and chose one single “ultimate” iPhone instead of hundreds of customer-tailored SonyEricsson A400, B500, C600, Nokia L900, M800, N700 and Samsung X100, Y200 and Z300 won’t magically disappear.

Ashen.2907:

According to that quote dailies were supposed to get you to go to different maps and try different things, not to provide additional rewards for just doing what you were going to do anyway.

Do you have a link or quote to support your claim ?

So the 2 recent years and the latest half a year with extensive daily options introduced after many threads and which made people happy do not count as an argument anymore?

Try a charr. I’ve heard some of their footsteps are backwards.

pdavis.8031:

Thats about all I can think of at the moment. Please feel free to add to the list, but I believe those cover most of the arguments against this change. Thanks!

I’m honestly surprised you haven’t listed the main con concern voiced many times:

• The source of slower, but steady AP gain which came from simply playing the game has been removed. Now you have to go out of your way to get 10AP (and experience for alts), and cannot get 5-8AP by simply playing the game the way you want.

That’s why for a PvE player with his preferences (be it Tequatl and Wurm or dungeons and fractals or Silverwastes and Dry Top) it’s next to impossible to get any achievement points unless he goes out of his way. And I bet that PvE players who know what they like to play each evening or each weekend are the majority.

Serophous.9085:

chemiclord.3978:

Because even if they made it a guaranteed item if you put in [x] number of items for, players would complain that it’s too grindy.

Make it an item easily attainable, and people complain it’s not special when everyone has it.

What’s your suggestion that pleases everyone? Because I (and I’m sure Arena.net) would love to hear it.

this guy gets it

Oh, because obviously, there can never be a middle ground! Items either drop like trash (skulls/nougats/rotten eggs and new runes/sigils), or are an Ultra Rare Drop (ghost mini and black glow jewel), nothing in between. /sarcasm

Like with craftable precursors, tokens for Tequatl weapons, tokens for fractal skins and so on, having a high but guaranteed price with the RNG option would be perfectly fine. Ever heard complaints about dungeon gear for tokens? Ascended rings for relics which also drop as RNG from daily chests? Buyable gemstore items which also drop from BLC chests? Silverwastes items which can be bought with tokens but also drop as RNG? No?

Here’s why: you can play a lottery voluntarily to save money or for the thrill of it only when you can also go and buy it after doing guaranteed X actions. Only then it is “voluntarily”. And by “buy it” I do mean the creation of item (precursor or tonic), and not changing its owner by getting from TP.

Here’s how it could be done here. Recipe 1, RNG:

• 10 t2-t5 snowflakes for a chance of tonic.

Recipe 2, guaranteed (can be adjusted to the desired average cost, since any activity has a gold equivalent of time spent):

• 10 Jumping Snowflakes (1 is a guaranteed drop from Winter Wonderland JP)
• 10 Dinging Snowflakes (1 is a guaranteed chest reward for a round of Bell Choir)
• 10 Toypocalyptic Snowflakes (1 is a guaranteed chest reward for a round of Toypocalypse)
• 100 some expensive-tier snowflakes

Want it cheaper? Try RNG and risk. Want it guaranteed? Go and earn it. And both worlds are happy!

You know what would’ve helped this thread to stop growing and solved most of the problems?

• A 5AP, no extra rewards “Completionist” with 2 generic dailies.
• Everything else is extra and gives you the full 10 AP and extra loot.

Both worlds are happy, yay!

pdavis.8031:

Or heres another way to look at it:

New Dailies:
Anet: Here’s even more pieces of cheese!!

Player: Ok, whats the catch?

Anet: Continue to do what you were doing! We gave you some nice pieces of cheese just for logging in!! But wait thats not all! If you want to get some extra special cheese then here is a list of things to do, just do 3 of them!

Player: But thats out of my way, and I don’t like those things…

Anet: Thats ok, there are lots more stuff you can do to get those extra special pieces of cheese! Plus it gives you a chance to try something new! Now go have fun!

Player: I don’t wanna…

Fanbois: oooo more cheese, extra special cheese, as well as more things to do!! Awesome!

Haters: Anet sucks! I don’t like it, change it back!

(It kind of works both ways)

You forgot that part:

Player: What about those 5 special pieces of cheese I loved which I got for just playing the game? And the sauce?

Anet: Oh, they’re now 10!

Player: Can I still get them for just playing the game? Or at least half?

Anet: They’re now 10 and only 10! Oh, sorry, you should go and jump through the XYZ hoops! Did we mention that they’re now 10?

Player: Give me back my 5 pieces of cheese for just playing the game!

Fanbois: Why are you so ungrateful? Didn’t you hear they’re now 10?!

Gaile Gray.6029:

Herr der Friedhoefe.2490:

Gaile just announced this as being a “good thing”.

Yes, I believe it is a good thing.

No one said that having a tonic recipe in the game isn’t a “good thing”. Definitely obtainable things are good things.

But as history shows, even with thousands of snowflakes flushed several precursors worth of gifts opened, you can still find yourself on the statistically justified zero-result streak which leads to severe dissatisfaction, which is not something people look for in games. That’s why RNG-obtainable things (with the current pure-RNG system) are not a good thing.

Would love to add Faolin, Caithe or heck, even Scarlet to my collection if they ever get released

Sparks The Rescue.5043:

Your before and after points aren’t logically connected. You honestly just named 2 subjective (“felt like a hero”, “now I feel like its a chore”) statements about World Boss Events before and after the MegaServer update, regardless of if they are logically and factually(!!) connected to the MegaServer change or not. In one sense, arguing that you feel like the world boss events are a chore after the MegaServer update is not a valid or factual critique of the MegaServer update in itself, it’s just a personal change you have felt over time. There’s a popular saying that correlation does not imply causation.

Your “after” points are not a direct cause from the change, nor are your “before” points in existence solely because of the absence of the change. It’s hard for me to read your thread and agree with you when there are no logical connections being made between your before and after points.

Your words sound nice and all, but I’ve read the hundreds of posts from the Megaserver megathread and these feelings are exactly what was conveyed there. A “scheduled task” is not necessarily a chore if you have an option not to do it; it’s just a task you can only do on a schedule when you don’t want to (like, say, a cinema movie shown only at 2am Monday).

World Bosses were my favourite pastime prior to the Megaserver update; I did a lot of them everyday, it was fun and sometimes challenging, but it was non-repetitive and different every evening. I tried doing WB again after the update, but those were ruined for me; the same events every evening when I have time to log in, zergs everywhere with no views or specific players to enjoy, bosses which melt in seconds and even no credits for events. I tried doing Taidha with a guildie a couple of weeks ago since he wanted to finish it anyway – and I can say that from a challenging experience it turned into a long, boring spam and lagfest.

So whatever rules of logic you apply, the fact is a fact: the experience changed dramatically, and for many people to the extent of ruining their beloved content.

Giggityman.2837:

The biggest problem is not knowing when to hit the note.

This too. I like to press stuff earlier because I think it’s time already, but nope.

DarkWasp.7291:

One time someone ran a vacuum in the room and I did flawless twice in a row because I couldn’t hear the misplaced notes.

Ahah… I actually got a better result when rushing this achievement with sound off too.

nGumball.1283:

I will put it this way. Anet simply realized that the majority of their playerbase are casual players who, in many cases, have issues exploring the entire game. What happens next is a change of ideology. Why bother with the content for people who are mostly vets when the majority of their playerbase is consisted of newer players? The content Anet is doing is to get as much profit as possible from this majority. If you disagree that they are a majority then I do honestly believe you should talk with the company and teach them how to get money. Otherwise, I do believe that we agree that GW2 is a popular title, with a huge fanbase. And if a change in ideology is going to get more profit, they would probably do it.

I understand that clearly. And the problem is that while ANet is focusing on new players who just migrated from Angry Birds (and never paid there for anything), they’re alienating players who are willing to pay and are used to paying for their entertainment (even a monthly fee).

I also have my understanding why they do that (ehm, because I live in Russia…): getting money today while you’re still working here and jumping from GW2 to some GX2, GY2 or GZ2 once this oasis dries up makes more sense from an individual’s business point of view than developing the Best MMO Of The XXI Century for years. I simply do not approve of it and write about it in this post.

The other part of the problem is that the outcome can (and is) easily predicted, and can be eeeaaasily altered to satisfy both sides! It’s just that the plan doesn’t want to, and is instead intentionally ignoring a part of the community.

Jordo.5913:

Carighan.6758:

“Play how you want” is not equivalent to “Do whatever you want and still get all the rewards”.
This is equivalent to when people “call out” ANet for it not being PHYW when their random spec is terrible. Because “Play how you want” != “Be effective independent of what you do”.

so much this

Jordo.5913:

You have to go out of your way for some rewards that you want. Just like in GW1.

Why did I not have to go out of my way to get the reward yesterday, but have to tomorrow? GJ on missing the point, deliberately or not.

Carighan.6758:

“Play how you want” is not equivalent to “Do whatever you want and still get all the rewards”.

That’s on a vertical scale. How about a horizontal (timeline) one, which is the concern of this topic?

“Play how you want, with rewards” yesterday is not equivalent to “Play how you want, without rewards from yesterday” today.

What about “the most powerful rewards” in the form of enjoyment from the game, the feeling of freedom, the feeling of being emotionally attached to a world which, unlike real world, has very little restrictions here and there?

This enjoyment is fading away as more and more restrictions are placed – those which want to “streamline” (official), or “pigeonhole” (unofficial) the player’s experience.

Astral Projections.7320:

There is another quote in that very same blog that is relevant: “We’ll add support so daily achievements will be different each day of the week, which will help drive players to different areas of the world and play together.”

They always intended for people to go here and there, doing different things to get the achievements. It never was play where you want to get those rewards. People may have been able to do so, but it wasn’t their original intention.

I’m perfectly fine with people who complete Ascalon Logger getting a bunch of extra wood (and even a bit of experience). I can get this wood elsewhere.

I’m perfectly fine with people who complete Queensdale Zerger getting some centaur trash, or greens, or even some [Delicious Boar Steak] (+10% movement speed when in a zerg; +10% experience from events). I can get these greens elsewhere.

What I am not fine with is stuffing “the most powerful rewards” – AP, which cannot be unlimitedly grinded unlike barracudas in Southsun, – into such events and forcing me to click vistas and do Fractals 11 instead of doing Fractals 50, Tequatl or Winter Wonderland.

Ranael.6423:

The thing is Hellfire is not a powerful reward, just cosmetic.

In a game without infinite vertical progression, skins are the powerful reward. As well as gemstore stuff which comes out of AP chests (like Total Makeover Kits or +20 levels scrolls).

mtpelion.4562:

I can see how misinterpreting/misquoting “Play How You Want” would lead you to believe that it is gone.

Especially since your fanciful made up version of the concept never existed.

It’s “Play how you want to get the best gear”, not “Play how you want and have all forms of rewards dumped into your character’s inventory”.

I’ll go add Colin’s words to the OP if it helps.

Vayne.8563:

The idea of play how you want has been taken so far out of it’s original context, it’s lost all it’s meaning. Anet was pretty clear on what they meant.

In most games, you level by going quest hub to quest hub and that’s pretty much what you do, until you get to a high enough level to go to the next quest hub, afterwhich you do dungeons then you raid. That’s the PvE experience of most themepark MMOs.

Here you go:

It’s extremely important that we stay true to our philosophy that you should be able to play Guild Wars 2 the way you want to play the game in order to reach the most powerful rewards.

I want to play Tequatl and Fractals 50 and CoE speedruns to get AP to get the most powerful rewards of Hellfire and Vambrace skins and the upcoming Pinnacle weapon skins.

Can I? No. I have to grind Queensdale events and harvest plants in Caledon. Yay?..