Guild Wars 2

Elthuzar.9478:

The stand out positives from the Original Guild Wars:

• 20 Levels
• Build variety
• Cloaks
• Extremely well written/developed story
• Gear progression in the form of skins, not stats.

Stand out negatives from the Original Guild Wars:

• No Jumping.
• No Swimming
• Heavy instancing

The above sums up my own feelings on GW1. I love GW1 so much, I still play it at least once a week.

I realize we can’t switch from, say, 80 levels to only 20 in GW2 — that would be stupid. GW2 has lots of great features — but it shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

GW1 was very good prior to the excesses (OP skills) of GW:EotN. Consider what the first game did right when designing for GW2.

Addendum to my prior post:

Ascended armor should have selectable stats. The current grind kills any interest in build experimentation.

Yes, this is about progression. Making ascended == progression.

Expand upon the Home Instance for horizontal progression. Let us customize the home instance to benefit from and reflect our character’s accomplishments. Do it account-wide.

How about meaningful, unique skills from each order? Say, use Luxon / Kurzick models, but with some more variation reflective of an order’s nature? Have us do order-unique quest for cosmetic and skill achievements?

Our character should reflect our chosen order.

The world should reflect our character’s progress. If I’ve helped slay an elder dragon, people should notice.

Give us more armor and weapon skins that reflect in-game accomplishments, as opposed to our ability/desire to buy things.

More skills, earned in-game, to show that we have done something. Don’t assume everyone has hundreds of skill points unspent from grinding champs.

Give us skill choices (earned via points or gameplay). Surely my character has learned some new moves / attacks / skills in the last year, showing that I know more than a fresh level 80.

Have the personal story progression grant skills, and PvPers can buy those skills?

Do not add another tier of gear with arguable “improvements” in stats. Ascended / legendary gear is enough grind, and does not reflect character accomplishment.

No more vertical progression. No more levels. I quit WoW because I got tired of chasing an ever-moving target. Let me chase new things. Don’t throw away my existing progression to give me and illusion of progress.

Heta.8629:

Players will only be satisfied with the rewards if they get 2 exotics for completing the story instance. Anet have tried offering a multitude of different rewards for completing content but no single reward will satisfy everyone. Some people also don’t want a cool way to unlock the new skills and would rather just use skill points for them so they can start using it. On the 10th I don’t want to find out how to unlock my new heal skill then go do some dynamic event or find some NPC to unlock it. I want to buy it, make my new build and try it out. You can go do some dynamic events or make your own story and don’t unlock the skill until you’ve done it but let us who just want the skill use our skill points we earned playing the game to unlock the skill and play the game

Exactly my viewpoint. People should quit imposing their idea of “fun” skill acquisition. I don’t want gates on my skills.

I’ll probably equip my main, a ranger, with full celestial ascended armor; she already has 3 ascended celestial weapons (one a Tequatl drop). I have the probable materials already, except the quartz crystals, but I’m close on those. I think I have enough mats to get 500 leatherworker in a day or so.

After that, I won’t be “ascending” my few alts.

I can’t physically play PvP due to injury (only one hand), so I don’t care about PvP. I’ll be making the gear because I want it, not because I need it.

In my experience, the commander tag is useful for one thing: creating a zerg.

Otherwise, it only indicates that someone paid gold to have a blue taco over their head. It is not earned thru good gameplay or approbation from other players, and is thus meaningless.

As a player, I have no idea how competent a commander is, if they are competent at all. Unfortunately, most players will follow the taco, reinforcing zerg gameplay.

Perhaps give us a different tag in PvE that is earned from guild participation?

They look like drilling rigs of some kind, and they all look and act identical.

Definitely Scarlet’s doing.

GW2 lacks the skill depth of GW1, I’ll grant that. But I think the greater problem is the shallow nature of PvE, where skills really don’t matter. I still sometimes play GW1, and my ranger there feels unique. Pets are much more useful in GW2, but that’s about it.

There are too few GW2 utility skills that are interesting, and the GW2 elites are few and boring. Plus, we have only 3-4 skills to select anyway.

GW2 longbow lacks poison/fire arrow and tactical shots; the five longbow shots are okay, but boring after a year.

Give me interesting elites and a few choices in my primary weapon skills.

But it won’t happen, because of their quixotic quest to “balance” PvP. PvP is the entire reason for our limited skill selection.

3/10

The fractal update is meaningless to me, since I can’t play them.

Toxic tower? 6/10 for both updates; the tower could have been much cooler, with some real background and substance, but instead it was a scavenger hunt followed by another zergfest. I do like the obelisk in my home instance. Then they reverted to giving us useless mini pets….

I am so tired of people claiming to speak for everyone. ANet does not owe me, or many people I know, an apology.

It’s become fashionable for some to join the hysterical anti-Scarlet bandwagon. She is, in my opinion, a poorly-presented character written by writers who desperately want to tell their prove that their new supercilious story about an insane rhubarb is better than the original GW story about dragons. I’m hoping ANet ties her to the dragon story firmly.

But to constantly harp on Scarlet is ridiculous. It’s a game, folks.

The upcoming “WOW: Warlords of Draenor” will include a free “instant 90” boost for one character of any level, as in you can create a new level 1 and make it a 90, instantly, with upgraded gear and skills.

GW2 should sell such things in the gem store.

If ascended gear is removed from the game or significantly nerfed, I will stop playing and depending money on gems. Simple as that.

Attaining ascended is relatively easy, as compared to other games where the best-in-slot gear is a constantly moving target.

ANet is guilty of poor communication and bad exotic design, not deceit. Ascended gear was probably planned from early on; it’s in how they introduced it that their error lies. With the CDI, it appears they are learning and improving.

Now, if they add another gear tier above ascended, I’ll also be kitten ed.

Just don’t make PvP mandatory for PvEers. Hardcore PvPers vocally hate being forced to PvE; please respect their wishes, and respect that many PvE players do not want to be forced into PvP.

That said, I play both modes, though my focus is PvE for philosophical and physical seasons.

Equalizing rewards is great and good — but you will be making a mistake by making PvP mandatory.

If you’re still recruiting, send me an invite, please.

Two perspectives on the nightmare tower:

In terms of difficulty, I’m fine with the tower. Finished it in a few hours, in spite of landing in the great player-deserts known as “overflows”. I love that instances can be soloed or 5-manned; I did it both ways.

In terms of design, it is awful. Once again, the most effective way to reach the goal is zerging.

Hint for ANet: Zerging is not “Playing with others.” Zerging has a mob mentality, it’s a group that has all the social aspects and “fun” of a mobile riot. Most of this game’s tactics and strategy are lost when running and pressing ‘1’ is the most effective gameplay.

Guild Wars could be renamed “Chasing the blue taco.” Maybe you could get sponsorship from Taco Bell?

Mechanically, the tower is fine. I’m a 52yo male ranger with only one hand (left, not primary) due to an accident in January; I use keyboard & touchpad on a laptop. If I can do the tower, anyone can.

But it has no real story, no depth, nothing real as a reward other than a video of the mad rhubarb. The 3-key chest is boring and disappointing; it’s no better than world boss chests. I have no interest or incentive to do the tower again.

The tower could have so much more than a zerg run. It really doesn’t tell a story with its events, nor does it provide interesting rewards – well, some people might like the gas mask, but that’s about it. Scarlet still displays no motive or grand design; I can guess what she’s all about, but in-game, she’s still just annoying.

Keep trying, ANet.

ColinJohanson.2394:

We agree, this is something we’ve been discussing a lot lately and working on some various answers for, but I’m curious:

What rewards would you like to see from rewards? Would they be different when you’re leveling up than when you’re level 80? What would motivate you to want to go around the world playing as many different events as possible, rather than the same 4-5 over and over again?

Some of the fun challenges we are currently solving, but it’s great to hear peoples thoughts on this subject as well.

Well, how about… and I’m spit-balling here…

• Laurels? Say, a 2-3% chance?
• Black lion keys? Again, only a small chance
• Tickets from past events, such as the dragon bash?
• More materials
• A chance at a random title; an increase in fame? Not sure how that would work; maybe fame is like luck, and as you gain it, merchants would give a discount?)
• Some peasant rarely gives you their first born child in gratitude as a mini-pet…
• Maybe some of Miyani’s crafting items for the Mystic Forge?
• Better rare and exotic drops
• a few random ascended materials, though this may be coming for Damask.

Make the special stuff drop once per day per event, like event chests.

Chris Whiteside.6102:

Conncept.7638:

What I believe players wanted can be summed up as: Expansions on the existing stories and event mechanics already within the world, to the end that these stories feel more alive, expanding outward based on more advanced event mechanics, more story steps, leading to more varied story steps, player choice, and player success or failure. That expansion can come by way of the LS updates, or just retcons of new content into existing areas.

I don’t want to see a giant tower out of nowhere on the front lines of the war with the centaurs nearly as much as I would like to actually see the story of the war with the centaurs. I don’t want to see the dredge and flame legions ‘powers combined’ as much as I would like to see the stories which the flame legion and the dredge are already a part of continued. Tyria already felt like a living world on release, those feelings just needed to be continued, but were instead diverged away from, and in some cases wholly ignored.

(Sorry I’m saying ‘them’ as if you aren’t part of the conversation but I have no idea if you were a part of the team of developers at the time or not)

Thanks for the info. I will have a think.

Chris

Please think on this.

This sums up my greatest, grandest frustration with Guild Wars — the complete and total failure of ANet to follow through on existing great stories. What attracted me to GW2 was the expectation of experiencing more of what was there and unresolved in GW1..

Scarlet’s true evil is that she eclipsed the rich world many of us came to love. So many unanswered questions, so many dropped stories, we have races and places that have been let to rot while Scarlet cackles madly. Perhaps that is her greatest evil — the focus on her is destroying/making us forget the Tyria we loved.

If you want a list of dropped/forgotten/ignored story-lines, just let us know.

maxinox.6283:

Could you improve the IU’s pet ? I need to see boons and conditions.

Yes, please. I could do this in GW1.

JonPeters.5630:

Sytherek.7689:

JonPeters.5630:

Summoned creature AI is a different can of worms that we aren’t opening for the same reason. Pets that delay F2 use isn’t some wait script we put into their skills it has to do with core AI behavior shared by all pets and creatures and how they decide tasks. Rewriting that has the risks of breaking millions of unknown things so we have up until now band aided the solution. It is something that needs addressing but won’t be addressed until we can kitten how and when we will test it.

As a former AAA PC game developer, I am mystified by the above.

My frost drake’s underwater F2 is instant, but the dry land F2 has a several-second delay — that makes no sense whatsoever. Underwater, I press F2, and the button works immediately; on dry land, clicking F2 does nothing initially, for 2-3 seconds.

Why the difference?

Since you asked so nicely. The underwater skill is an instant skill which doesn’t not require the AI to change it’s think state, as it can fire off during other actions. The land skill plumbs into our animation system which requires the drake to change it think state and execute a new order to the animation system. Both AI think state and animation can’t be running 100% of the time on every creature on the server for obvious reasons (it would create massive CPU usage and generate tons of skill lag) Animations are masked by client side blending, but the AI stuff has no way to be masked. We can make special cases for Ranger Pet F2, but doing so requires time and testing.

Thank you for the reply.

So I suppose this answers why some pets’ F2 is more responsive than others on land.

These days, Fluffy the Ice Drake at least seems to hit his target about 80% of the time in PvE, which is vastly better than when the game was released. I look forward to future improvements.

JonPeters.5630:

Summoned creature AI is a different can of worms that we aren’t opening for the same reason. Pets that delay F2 use isn’t some wait script we put into their skills it has to do with core AI behavior shared by all pets and creatures and how they decide tasks. Rewriting that has the risks of breaking millions of unknown things so we have up until now band aided the solution. It is something that needs addressing but won’t be addressed until we can kitten how and when we will test it.

As a former AAA PC game developer, I am mystified by the above.

My frost drake’s underwater F2 is instant, but the dry land F2 has a several-second delay — that makes no sense whatsoever. Underwater, I press F2, and the button works immediately; on dry land, clicking F2 does nothing initially, for 2-3 seconds.

Why the difference?

Anthony.7219:

Sytherek.7689:

brittitude.1983:

Another thing I hope is addressed is the actual type of achievements that are involved. I liked how Emissary Vorpp’s achievements were designed in the Clockwork Chaos release. I felt that it led you through the story and you gained important information. I also thought it was a good strategy to have it open further content when it was completed.

I very much agree. Vorpp’s achievement was fun, interesting, and easily doable.

Also, it wasn’t the only achievement set for that release. Two or more easily easier achievements would be better than one megalithic one.

Am I the only one that thinks that a ‘story’ being driven by ‘achievements’ is bass ackwards?

No, you are not. Achievements should flow from the story.

brittitude.1983:

Another thing I hope is addressed is the actual type of achievements that are involved. I liked how Emissary Vorpp’s achievements were designed in the Clockwork Chaos release. I felt that it led you through the story and you gained important information. I also thought it was a good strategy to have it open further content when it was completed.

I very much agree. Vorpp’s achievement was fun, interesting, and easily doable.

Also, it wasn’t the only achievement set for that release. Two or more easily easier achievements would be better than one megalithic one.

Both temporary and permanent content is a good idea. However, the emphasis feels like temporary content is ANet’s plan. Temporary content does not evolve or progress the real world; surely Scarlet’s minions would make some permanent changes in the zones they’ve invaded, for example.

I feel that ANet is largely ignoring the Living World as they tell they’re Living Story. NPC’s should be talking about Scarlet all over Tyria. Jenna and Thackery should be talking about the Nightmare Tower. Right now, the Living World isn’t living.

The music is horrid…. I’m sure someone else will love it. But not me.

If it’s min-dungeons, I hope they scale. I don’t feel like spamming LFG to enjoy the content.

The design sounds intriguing. I have moderate hope it will be.

Server hopping might be reduced by giving incentives to individuals for staying on a server. Improve the WvW drops or give special chests to “server” loyalists, perhaps — make “loyalty” like “luck”, but you lose all loyalty by server hopping.

Make server loyalty a benefit. Sadly, in this society, loyalty is most often bought.

Bad guys show up uninvited and mess up RL. Same thing happened in GW2. Krait invaded.

My only gripe is that NPCs should be reacting more. Making that transition is a lot of time-consuming work, so I understand why ANet did what they did. Still, the folks in Ft. Selma should be acting nervous…

mjhungness.8059:

One of my two capped toons is an Engineer and I love playing him. But that’s beside the point. I’m levelling my thief and have problems if I’m caught alone with conditions on me. And that’s the only realy issue I see with conditions and lower level toons – they won’t have the skill base that a capped toon has and maybe hasn’t selected any condition removal yet. That’s a wake-up call on having the tools to do the job.

Thank you for a friendly, insightful response. Yes, it appears to be a condition-removal problem. And I don’t have 25 skill points for the new healing skill at level 30ish. So I just need to be more cautious. I think I’ve been playing my fully decked-out 80s too long.

In a game where the assault on a dragon can be led by a Charr in pink leather armor, wearing a plush quaggan backpack, and wielding a bow that fires unicorns, anything is realistic.

It’s getting better… maybe the practice is doing me good.

My level 27 Engineer, Buhni (guess the race) decided to check out Kessex Hills. After all, my level 80 Norn ranger had fun killing Krait while down-leveled…

Uh, did you ANet folk TEST the new Kessex with people on-level?

Just wondering.

Now I admit, I’m not the best engineer ever, but Buhni is getting his ears singed. Those mobs are tough on people at lower levels, and you just changed a leveling zone. You might want to rethink your balancing; my ranger in all exotics/ascendeds is great in the area, but the scaling is murder on Buhni in greens.

BTW, the name if Buhn-eye. People think I’m a “bunny” for some reason.

Thanks.

I tried these techniques long ago, before my forced hiatus. Maguuma is the only area I don’t have fully explored. Wall crawling, mountain climbing, cave exploring, dumpster diving… well, those two spots keep eluding me,

I have 10 in-game mails in my inbox from my daughter. The hint is unimpressed.

What’s the trick to getting the “e-mail full” piece of the hints? I have ten unread mails, but the item doesn’t get checked off in my achievement.

I’m going mad trying to find two missing pieces of the Maguuma maps. I have “Been there, done that”.

I was gone from GW2 for several months, so maybe they added something I’ve missed.

Good stuff. As a ranger, I’m very happy with the changes.

Keep it up, ANet. I just bought gems to show my appreciation for this and the nice krait tower you made.

Thank you, ANet. Thank you!

I can’t wait to try this out.

I’m hearing hammering in Dredgehaunt, but I can’t find a source. Anyone else hear anything?

Chopps.5047:

Last two commenters: do you use spotter? Vigorous spirits? Frost spirit? What pet do you choose? Probably not devourer huh? I recommend devourer, especially for players who fire and forget pets and/or extremely hard hitting bosses. Plus, you can stand behind it and range while it eats projectiles since it tends to stand in place. Explore these options and your questions are answered without dev input. Also, practice with sword and take an offhand axe.

By the way, pets all just got +71% health in pve. And they still die for you?? You just let your cat tank the boss or something?

I solo champs and do general PvE with drakes. Fair damage, fair survivability, decent tanks. And I love lizards.

HOWEVER, I spec very hard into my pet.

Again — the ranger is not completely broken as some alarmists claim. But it needs some dev respect and love. Maybe this livestream will start that.

Chopps.5047:

Sytherek.7689:

Chopps.5047:

The cynicism in this thread is approaching critical levels.

And what has ANet done to show rangers some love?

I won’t threaten to rage quit or change classes. But when two prominent devs, in an official demo, act bored while playing a ranger and can’t remember class basics is kinda telling…

I don’t expect grand gestures or massive class changes. I do expect respect and knowledge of their own product. Name one dev who mains a ranger.

I would guess the devs doing the balancing play all the professions. Anyways, what has ANET done to show love? Well, over the last year…

Huge longbow buff and rework, Companions might, beastmasters bond, pet health increase, spirit health increase, reveal on sic em, natures voice, offhand axe rework, blast finish on warhorn was given, offhand training fixed to affect all offhands, companions defense fix, stun break on “protect me”, a new pet (reef drake)

I’m sure there’s more. Of course there were nerfs too but it really isn’t too bad

Those changes were nice, but they do not address most of the concerns mentioned in oh-so-many threads, including this one. Please refute specific complaints.

Just because someone gives you a lollipop doesn’t mean you are equally pleased when they kick you in the shins. I’m thankful for the improvement; they have not fixed fundamental problems.

Chopps.5047:

The cynicism in this thread is approaching critical levels.

And what has ANet done to show rangers some love?

I won’t threaten to rage quit or change classes. But when two prominent devs, in an official demo, act bored while playing a ranger and can’t remember class basics is kinda telling…

I don’t expect grand gestures or massive class changes. I do expect respect and knowledge of their own product. Name one dev who mains a ranger.

Thank you, ANet, for the attention. I sincerely appreciate it.

I’ll grant that pets have their problems, and the Ranger is far from perfect. And I rant about how the developers treat the class like it’s an afterthought for the carebears of PvE. That patch preview with the two devs acting bored and uninformed about rangers was terribly insulting.

I feel like the devs are are saying, “Poor carebears! They can’t figure out how to play their rangers.” Overall, I’ve felt ANet is very condescending toward ranger players. I want to see them talk about ranger in the end game; lots of lower-level and casual players are using rangers already.

ANet, show us one of you developers playing a ranger in competitive PvP or WvW, and prove it’s equal to other classes. Show us some real respect, and eat your own cooking, so to speak. That’s not calling you out, it’s asking you how 6ou think the ranger is balanced and best used.

That gripe aside, the pet is very viable in PvE with a WS/BM build. My pet (a frost drake usually) rarely dies in chaotic dynamic event, gives good damage, and isn’t hard to control. WvW and PvP, not so much.

The “Living World” isn’t living.

What we get is a random rhubard boss and various “new” factions that have no real (or even imagined) connection to old existing lore. No connection, no story, not real involvement by my character (other than boarding the loot train/zerg).

In other words, disconnected and BORING.

Give me dragons.
Give me mursaat/white mantle.
Give me krait with no rhubarb.
Give me a tangible reason to be there other than empty achievements & backpieces/minis
Engage my curiosity.
Tell a story, make the world change, let me actually be a part of my story.

Dark Catalyst.1028:

The problem is that the farmers, grinders, vertical progressionists and mindless little zerglings are changing this game for the worse. They’re changing it to what it was never supposed to be.

They are playing the game the way they enjoy it. Who are you to say that their enjoyment means anything less than yours?

GW2 is far from perfect, and I have my complaints, but overall, I find it a pleasant time-waster. I have plenty to do, and ignore parts of the game I don’t enjoy. Does that offend you?

When I want to feel like I’m part of Tyria, I walk the world. I’ve walked a lot, too.

No one if forcing you to use waypoints. Choice is good.

Vayne: ANet has not made a " a game that you can walk away from and come back to."

If you walk away for even a couple of weeks, you miss temporary content.

If anything, ANet has built a game that is hostile to taking a hiatus.

It’s like putting down a book, and coming back to find unread chapters ripped out and gone.

Excellent post.

As a former game developer, I’ve been defensive of ANet, trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. The video wherein ANet employees couldn’t find an old, oft-used Ranger trait, and where both devs acted bored about the class — well, that destroyed my faith. I’m not one to kitten about my class, but that video was pathetic and dispiriting for people who favor rangers. Some of us, most of us, take the class seriously.

This “balance patch” did little to increase class or build diversity for any class.

As for content updates, they are beyond disappointing. The world is far from living. The stories are disconnected for players, and Scarlet invasions only reinforce zerging as a primary form of play.

I still enjoy many aspects of the game, and plan to stick around for awhile. But with so many games on the market, GW2 should strive to be more.

Too bad the Queen and Thackery know nothing about this…. if the story is truly “living”, even an idiot like Thackery would have at least a “we’re investigating strange happenings at Leviathan” dialog.

Libraries in the faction personal instances. When I visit the Durmand Priory, the personal instance already has a large library. Add a clickable shelf (ala Dragon Age: Origins) — heck, you can be simple. and just make it a list of books we can read.

Or, how about a little grey icon in the upper left corner of the main interface, giving us a list of stories?

timmyf.1490:

I think that you should stop and strongly consider what you’re about to say any time you are about to speak on behalf of the entire playerbase.

A lot of people play Guild Wars 2 and they have a diverse set of opinions.

I can only speak for what I’ve seen with my friends and my guild, but none of us seem terribly upset about Ascended gear. Some folks have it. Others are working toward it. Others have no interest in obtaining it. Nobody has quit the game over it. Nobody feels betrayed by ArenaNet.

I honestly wish we would just let the Manifesto go and have a discussion about where GW2 is and where it should go from here. Constantly referring back to a years-old video and evaluating whether the game strictly confines to the ideas presented there is silly.

I couldn’t have said it better.

There’s a nothing wrong with requesting changes and finding some things annoying or wanting.

It is unproductive and silly to whine about the perceived differences between some very old manifesto and what the game is now.

GW2 is a good game. Not perfect, but nothing ever is.

1: Living story / temporary content
2: New zones
3: Alt friendliness