Guild Wars 2

Faranox.4217:

The Experience scroll only being useable by those under level 20 is awful. GW1 was a rallying call against grinding. GW2 embraces the grind.

+20 levels could be great for everyone.

I can understand why they didn’t make it a flat +20 levels. I’d rather not be running dungeons/Fractals/whatever with people who double-clicked their way to level 80 and have no understanding how to actually play their class (I know they can already do this through crafting, but that’s beside the point). Perhaps it would have been better to bump those <20 to level 20 and give everyone else skill points?

Yes, but not because I care to make Celestial gear (particularly with ascended gear on the way). I’m doing so because my borderline-OCD makes me want 250 of every item in the collectibles tab.

Araziel.7201:

Looks like Chicken Little is here showing his kitten again. If anything more gold is being removed from the economy due to cheap players like yourself converting gold to gems instead of supporting Anet with a gem purchase every once in awhile.

This is just another disguised whine post from a player that lost money on the trading post.

A. The my gold to gem conversion is purely for an item I would never pay money for. I purchase gems with cash for things like character slots, etc.
B. I’ve never played the Trading Post and I never will.
C. You’re making a lot of baseless accusations, and you’re doing so in a childish, petulant manner.

Vayne.8563:

Because they’ve provided no in game minipets for free at all? This makes no sense. They wouldn’t have had to give up minipets from the sets they’re selling, for which there is an achievement.

I mean I keep getting minis in game for free. So it probably isn’t this.

How does it not make sense? They just added 46 new mini-pets to the Gem Shop. They could have reserved a dozen or so of these to be given randomly as birthday gifts. But they didn’t. The fact that we’ve been able to earn a few (which is obviously not the same as being given a few) through in-game achievements doesn’t change the fact that they could have but didn’t use a portion of the 46 new mini-pets just added to the game as birthday gifts.

Quick Mouse.7635:

This is not inflation. Everyone is buying gems to buy the limited time items (eg. everlasting mining pick) that are returning to the gem store. The price increase for gold -> gems reflects the increased demand, not inflation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supply_and_demand
I swear 99% of people who post about inflation in the economy have no idea what inflation means u.u
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation

So you’re saying the increased rate of new gold being introduced to the economy with an unchanged rate of gold sink won’t lead to inflation?

EpicHedgehog.1754:

C’mon ANET, we know that you’re watching the forums, post something, explain the reason about the decision to make the birthday presents that way.. or you will just wait till 28th for the real kittenstorm that is going to come to the forums about all the people get their presents…

What is there to explain? They decided they’d rather sell us mini-pets than give them to us. It really is that simple.

Ensign.2189:

Fluctuations in the gold/gem exchange rate are not inflation.

The big spike in the exchange rate occurred when A.Net announced the daily sales last week, not when the Queen’s Jubilee patch went live.

You need to re-check your assumptions; what you’re taking for granted as common wisdom is nothing of the sort.

So you’re saying the increased rate of new gold being introduced to the economy with an unchanged rate of gold sink won’t lead to inflation?

I’m at almost 500 myself, and I’d LOVE the option to toss them in the MF for some Transmutation Crystals.

Every Sunday I convert 1% of my gold into gems for the purposes of slowly – and I do mean slowly – unlocking all the extra bag slots for my characters. This Sunday I noticed a fairly steep jump in gem prices from last week. This is no surprise, as the current Living Story content is introducing a ton of new gold into the economy. And as we all know, adding gold to the economy faster than your gold sinks can remove it causes inflation.

So, I’m wondering if there are any plans to either dial back the new gold (farmers won’t like this) or add new gold sinks (non-farmers won’t like this).

Vayne.8563:

But you do realize if they gave unique minis to each person who was an altoholic, people would say they were trying to force people to buy character slots, and people who play one character would complain that people with multiple characters have an in game advantage.

No matter what Anet did, they were going to get flack.

Unique minis? Not necessary. Random minis from a pool set aside specifically for birthday gifts? I don’t see any harm in that.

As I said in another thread…I personally find getting multiples of the same mini-pet as a birthday gift insulting considering they just added 46 mini-pets to the Gem Shop.

I personally find getting multiples of the same mini-pet for a birthday gifts slightly insulting considering they just added 46 new mini-pets to the Gem Shop.

Thanks for the tips, guys, but the point of the thread was supposed to be about Orr and how to fix it (if you think it needs fixing). The anecdote was just to illustrate one of the problems that arises when a zone designed for high populations isn’t highly populated.

Knote.2904:

darkace.8925:

It seems to me ArenaNet is approaching (or already at) a crossroads. They’re going to have to decide whether they want to make the game they originally wanted to make (the game many of us signed on to play) or pander to the “MOAR LOOT!” crowd. I honestly don’t see how they’re going to be able to do both. One glance at the new Achievements overlay they just added to our character select screen tells me they’ve already made up their mind.

They can and SHOULD do both.

Easy, make everything in the game lucrative, just like they did for champion loot.

Then everyone can do whatever they want and still get money. And if someone wants to put in the effort to get extra amounts then they can do the more challenging stuff.

It doesn’t work that way. If everything is lucrative, then nothing is lucrative. Inflation is funny like that.

The only idea I could come up with that didn’t involve killing the Champion Loot system is a “the gods have extended their blessing” system wherein a server-wide bonus to gold and magic find (I’m talking a significant bonus here) was awarded so long as all Temples were under Pact control. I don’t know if this would actually get players back into Orr, but it’s the only thing I could come up with.

Whatever the developers decide to do, I hope they somehow find that balance wherein Orr is appealing to loot-chasers without becoming the place to farm. I like the idea of players spreading out into the rest of the world (even though I don’t like that they’re doing so in the form of one big blob of farmers), but neither do I want people to be alone in Orr staring at something they need yet are unable to obtain.

I’m two skill challenges away from 100% world completion. Both of these are in Malchor’s Leap, and neither is obtainable on my own. One is at an underwater Statue of Melandur, which when contested cripples and bleeds and interrupts channeling. The other is guarded by a Champion Risen Knight who doesn’t seem to be willing to call a truce.

So here I am just two skill challenges away from world completion, and I can’t get it because there’s virtually no one in Orr. Orr was designed to be the place to be at end game. But somewhere along the line, players decided they didn’t want to be there. Then ArenaNet tried to lure them back with promises of Champion Loot. Two weeks later then lured them away with promises of even better loot.

So now the region is abandoned, leaving those who need various skill challenges out of luck unless they’ve got a big enough guild to back them up. Unfortunately, I’m committed to a very small guild consisting of friends and family. We’ve nowhere near the firepower to clear Temples or fight back Champion Risen Knights in Orr.

I don’t know what the plans for Orr going forward are, but it’s clear something needs to be done. Even if the Champion Zergs jumping from zone to zone in pursuit of Scarlet’s loot return after this portion of the Living Story closes, these are not exactly the type of people who are going to sacrifice DPS (drops per second) to help someone out.

It seems to me ArenaNet is approaching (or already at) a crossroads. They’re going to have to decide whether they want to make the game they originally wanted to make (the game many of us signed on to play) or pander to the “MOAR LOOT!” crowd. I honestly don’t see how they’re going to be able to do both. One glance at the new Achievements overlay they just added to our character select screen tells me they’ve already made up their mind.

I enjoy underwater exploration, but not underwater combat.

Nibi.3572:

Honestly… Karma pots need to go now

They have no use anymore as karma is placed in the Wallet

That, and the fact that we can no longer use them with karma boosters (after the 3rd, anyway), means they no longer serve a purpose other than giving the “shiny!” people something to unwrap at the end of each day when they’ve finished their dailies.

Neilos Tyrhanos.5427:

Now, Colin’s told us that there are bigger projects going on in the background, and the LS is in its infant days, to be sure. It could very well ratchet up and give us bigger releases; maybe even new zones, and work on the campaign against the dragons. It could even take us into Elona or Cantha.

A lot of people keep bringing this up, and it’s certainly not untrue that he said as much. But there’s only so many times you want to hear your waiter to tell you the chef is still preparing your steak when you’re hungry for a substantive meal. This is particularly if you’re getting tired of eating the complementary bread.

No Walking.6349:

We’ve gotten an expansion’s worth of content in all the updates already…what’s the problem?

You and I must have very different notions on what constitutes an MMORPG expansion.

lordkrall.7241:

Ah yes, lets ignore everything else in the world because there are dragons.
I am sure the real world completely stopped and everyone focused on the war during WWII….

A world where there only is a single issue (dragons in this case) is a dead and boring world.

The Living Story is a bunch of episodic installments of Mario constantly saving the kidnapped Princess set against the backdrop of Mass Effect’s Reaper invasion.

And you use the word “world” to describe Tyria. A world, if it’s worth its salt, must be crafted and cultivated organically (as it was with the initial release). There’s nothing organic about the Living Story. It’s all mechanical.

Gehenna.3625:

Vayne.8563:

Regardless of what you call it, my point was Anet won’t be doing that, because they don’t want to divide the player base. It’s not going to happen. What they will release is expansions more along the lines of Eye of the North, so that’s what you’d have to compare the new expansions to, not full games.

We can argue about the word, but the word isn’t really what I’m talking about. I’m talking about Anet making a statement to excludes that type of expansion (if you still want to use the word) from consideration.

I disagree with that. Anet have said that it’s unlikely, but I am sure they are keeping their options open. Unlikely doesn’t mean never ever no way. It means they will try other things first.

Our little side-discussion might be a little misleading; they might release a traditional expansion like WoW’s Mists of Pandaria, but they’ll never release a stand-alone campaign in the vein of Factions or Nightfall.

Vayne.8563:

darkace.8925:

Vol.5241:

I really don’t see what the fuss is about.

The only difference between an expansion and the living story is how the content gets pushed out.

Expansion – content comes out all at once
Living Story – content is gradually pushed out

So when juxtaposing the Living Story with, say, Guild Wars: Factions or Guild Wars: Nightfall you really see no difference other than release schedule?

Factions and Nightfall weren’t expansions. Eye of the North was an expansion. Factions and Nightfall were stand alone games, which you didn’t need Prophecies to purchase or play.

Anet has said from the beginning they would never do this again. The reason given was that when Factions came out, it divided the playerbase. They won’t do that again.

The Living Story is something new…and there are longer term goals, bigger projects Anet devs are working on, quite apart from the Living Story content. When those bigger pieces are finished, Anet has to decide how to integrate them into the game.

But Factions and Nightfall aren’t expansions and can’t be seen that way. They’re full games and either way, we won’t be seeing that style of release in the future.

Not to argue semantics, but how where they not expansions? The fact that they were capable of being played as standalone campaigns doesn’t change the fact that they expanded the game. Both added a new campaign and plenty of content for players who chose to use their existing character(s). If that’s not an expansion, then what is?

First, I think you guys should slow down with these things. The game launched with 60 mini-pets. Since then (a few days shy of one year), you’ve added 98. That’s a mighty fast pace. I’m sure these things are popular, but compared to the original Guild Wars they’re feeling less and less “collectible” every time another is added to the game.

Second, when you do release new ones (hopefully it won’t be for a very long time), I think we could do with fewer mini-people and more mini-animals/creatures.

Third, if you’re going to offer mini-pets for our second (and subsequent) birthdays, please consider returning to the random system you used in Guild Wars.

Fourth, a lot of people would be happy if you’d add a mini-pet slot in our hero panel.

The Living Story feels like that PnP RPG game where every gaming session has a random encounter, and soon enough everyone just kind of forgets there was ever a main story.

Gizmo.8623:

Dredge have very primitive weapon

They’ve got sonic weaponry, armored personnel vehicles, automated defense turrets, mortars, battle suits, and drills capable of boring holes large enough for troops to walk through. I’d hardly call their weaponry primitive.

Did you have some gear with +Vitality (health) that broke when you died?

Vol.5241:

Well you can go compare Saving Private Ryan with Band of Brothers, both of which are highly acclaimed.

The relevant thinking here is comparing it in MMO terms.

If you try for an expansion you’re going to have a game with no updates for a long time. Your playerbase decides not to play and you lose out on revenue

As opposed to Living Story, it keeps things fresh and keeps people playing. And they can also provide themed microtransactions to help supplement their revenue.

I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m saying you’re wrong to pretend those of us who want fully-developed expansions are backward thinking or somehow wrong to think that way.

But to the point at hand, I’m not saying they can’t do both. And I’m not even saying they can’t just roll with the Living Story. But if that’s the route they’re going to take, I’d rather them go with once per month updates and give us a bit more to chew on with each update. This would mean less filler and more of the polish we all appreciated about the game when it launched.

Vol.5241:

But I’m sure they would be able to present as such.

A quick analogy I can think of:
Expansion = Movie
Living Story = Mini-series

Now consider the production values of a mini-series vs that of a blockbuster movie.

Vol.5241:

I really don’t see what the fuss is about.

The only difference between an expansion and the living story is how the content gets pushed out.

Expansion – content comes out all at once
Living Story – content is gradually pushed out

So when juxtaposing the Living Story with, say, Guild Wars: Factions or Guild Wars: Nightfall you really see no difference other than release schedule?

ColinJohanson.2394:

I just want to remind folks again, the features and content you’d traditionally find in an expansion will absolutely be added to Gw2. The thing we haven’t decided is what form the release of that content would be presented in, be it a traditional expansion, living world, or some other form.

Thanks for the reply. My vote, if you’re interested, is “traditional expansion”.

Arcade Fire.4895:

i like the new changes to the longbow, its a step in the right direction. the pet nerfs were unwarranted though. they need to either give pets more survivability or undo the dmg nerfs.

I don’t. I think it was a one-sided buff that came at the expense of the other side. I’m glad you’re enjoying the change, but I personally haven’t used my ranger for anything other than a mule since the “step in the right direction”.

ttyl.6021:

Even easier: Champs spawned by events don’t drop bags. Give bags for completing event, relative to difficulty.

Seems simple enough to me.

Hopefully whenever they get around to adding new Legendary weapons we’ll get an alternative to the jokey Moot. I’d personally like something with a “paladin/holy warrior” look and feel.

CntrlAltDefeat.1465:

I’d settle for helms that don’t make me look like I’ve got a pot on my head.

lol, agreed. I an ornate barbute too much to ask?

Vol.5241:

You have impossible expectations if you think a game will be completely without bugs.

If you gave them even 2 months between releases there still would be bugs.

There are three types of bugs.

1. “Bugs happen” bugs are the bugs that slip through the cracks, no matter how vigilent the developers and QA teams work to catch them. I don’t think any reasonable person would hold these against the devs.

2. “Sloppy bugs” are bugs that exist because the developers are either too lazy or too incompetent to catch or fix them. Again, I don’t think any reasonable person would accuse ArenaNet of being guilty of not putting forth maximum effort into ensuring their game is smooth and polished.

3. “Deadline bugs” are bugs that bugs that would have otherwise been caught had the developers or QA team had enough time to properly test and polish the product. With a two week turnaround with content, these are slipping into the game. While there’s hardly been anything game-breaking, I think it would be hard to argue the level of polish we’ve come to expect from ArenaNet hasn’t slipped.

Vol.5241:

The release so far is above acceptable and the bugs right now are not gamebreaking.

Again, the bar for quality and polish has been set high by ArenaNet. A perfect example would be the support tickets. Though not by any stretch gamebreaking, support tickets for an election dropping a week after the election ended just isn’t what some of us have come to expect from the team that lived by the credo “when it’s ready”.

And that’s just one example. There are others (such as the lack of PC voice acting). I’m not saying you should be bothered by this lack of polish, but I am.

There’s been no word on when we’ll get a new race (or even confirmation that we will), but it’s probably a safe bet to assume it won’t happen before 2014.

I agree. And I don’t like the reasoning behind it (people playing more regularly translates into more Gem Shop purchases). The fact that destroying 150 dragon pinatas (pressing F 150 times in Lion’s Arch, where the only threat of death is falling from a high elevation) is worth more Achievement Points than equipping THREE legendary weapons says it all.

Cobalt was a mace skin instead of a sword skin.

Xae Isareth.1364:

GW2 is a MMO, it has to have some time-gated content to keep you playing.

Didn’t the developers say back before release they were fine with players taking extended breaks from the game?

There are many characters I wouldn’t mind see buy the farm, but they’re just going to wind up being replaced with other, equally irritating characters. So what’s the point? Better the cardboard cutout you know than the cardboard cutout you don’t.

AnthonyOrdon.3926:

We are listening. Not only to what you’re saying but also to what you’re not. The very first living world team actually did the thing some of you have called for. Some 40 or so permanent events were added around the game in our very first content update. They were met with little interest or fanfare. Granted, Halloween may have stolen the show. But those events are still in the game today. I’ve seen very little reaction to them, however, positive or negative.

As someone who enjoys the dynamic events, that’s unfortunate to read.

Laryakan.1684:

The community is hurried to see some big and quality content.

I am, but I don’t know that the community as a whole is. For all we know the typical player is quite content to be fed farming-friendly Living Story content.

So I logged in to do my dailies and get started on the new content. I often minimize the game and read patch notes or browse the forums while loading between zone changes. I noticed in the patch notes that karma consumables have changed to offer more karma at the expense of being compatible with karma boosts.

As someone with a stack of liquid karma jugs and liquid karma drips, a few karma boosters, and some karma boost food ready to go, I (like many, I’m sure) was saving them to pop them all at once at a later date. So I was bummed that I lost out on a chunk of karma, but the increased karma awarded for the consumption lessened the sting

So I started burning through all my saved karma consumables when I logged in. Later I noticed a thread on the forum about the karma change with a developer response (or it might have been started by the dev, I don’t remember). Curious about what others thought on the subject, I opened the thread.

Needless to say the sting of not being able to use consumable karma items with karma boosts was ratcheted up a notch when I learned that the supposed increase to karma from the consumables had been pushed back until the 3rd. Not only did I not get to use the consumables with boosts, but I didn’t get the increased karma from them either.

That one hurt. I’ve filed a support ticket, so hopefully all will be rectified. If not…ouch.

Kareth.6572:

Stop crying, the content is different, and great.

“You have SO MANY ZONES in this game, we could easily be doing numerous things simultaneously, with reasonable numbers of people”

You had ALOT of events like that in the past. If you dont like this one, just dont play it and stop freakin cryin on forums that you dont like it…

You’ve contributed nothing of worth to the discussion.

We don’t have any details as of now, but I’m hoping for new utility skills and customizable weapon skills. I’d personally love to have some say on what skills I can use with the weapons I want to use. But we’ve a third of the year before the changes are supposed to be implemented, so as of now we can only speculate.

I just saw a big thread discussing this issue, so I threw my post there. This thread can be deleted.

Same happened to me. I don’t suppose anyone’s going to compensate me the 50 silver the bug cost me?

Steele.2784:

I thought the whole point of having a second installment of a game was that the second game was supposed to be better than the first… do they have monkeys making skins or what?

I think it’s simply a matter of volume. They’re releasing Living Story content at such a breakneck pace to ensure players keep logging in. They want players logging in so they’ll spend money in the Gem Shop. The most lucrative items they sell in the Gem Shop are the rng weapon skins (there’s a bit of presumption on my part on this one). And so they’re releasing weapon skins and Living Story content at a very fast clip; and quality if bound to suffer when turnaround on new content is so quick.

Erasculio.2914:

No, really. I think that’s the core of most issues in the game right now.

We have a lot of players who play the game to get items (example, example, multiple examples here). If those players had no item to farm for, they wouldn’t be playing anymore, and ArenaNet doesn’t want that.

I agree with this assessment, but I also recall ArenaNet saying something to the effect of “if you get bored with the game and want to take a break, that’s fine. We don’t have a subscription fee, so we’re okay with players taking extended leaves from the game” before launch. Maybe I’m misremembering what was said or remembering it out of context, though?