Guild Wars 2

I’ve picked up 5-6 Support Tokens in the last couple of days. These were the ones that were used to be able to vote for Ellen or Evon in the last set of temporary content.

I’ve gotten them off random mobs in Queensdale, Gendarran, Malchor’s Leap, one from a boss mob in CM explorable, one from a level 75 personal story instance (leading up to Zhaitan) and from some random champion somewhere I cannot remember.

In the case of both champions, I do not believe the tokens replaced rare loot. At least as far as I could tell given pattern recognition of “normal” loot amount.

Agree that they need to be removed just to get them cleaned out. In the meantime, an extra silver is a pre-birthday bonus.

Sylvari necro after dropping 2 wells and killing off multiple mobs in Deathshroud (via Life Transfer):

“How refreshing. I feel energized.”

Makes me giggle. Everytime.

PS: My entire guild just learned a new word today! Lol.

She’s always been barefoot.

As Queen, I figured being barefoot kept her in touch with common ground for her people, reminded her to be humble, e.g. kept her “grounded” and “down to earth”. <straightface>

Or maybe she’s just part Sylvari and gets strength from the earth, yanno, getting back to her roots.

Or the Ministry resents her so much they have her on a strict budget, hence using abbreviated sheets for a dress.

Maybe Logan figured taking her shoes would keep her palace-bound and “safe”.

Or Anise has height issues and Jennah is humoring her.

Post your “101 reasons why Queen Jennah is barefoot” here.

Esya.3427:

Raine.1394:

Given my concern for screen clutter, and since the display of my titles is not optionally viewable by others, I choose to never to display a title. It seems like the responsible thing to do.

I had the same reaction the day that was introduced. Until they add a button in the options to make titles shown optional, I will not show a title.

Nice. A lot of folks made the same choice at that time. Good community here.

Posted for my guild on the thread 4 months ago:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/How-to-turn-off-titles/first#post1710897

“By the way, in an effort to help the community, my guild has turned off all of our titles on all of our characters.* (We will no longer be showing our “achievements”.)

-something to consider"

TheZeus.8617:

Lol fanboys i see. It’s ok once a new game comes out this one is gone. I am sick of getting suspensions for say kittento people who are utterly rude and disrespectful even if they don’t cure. So what i have a mouth, comes from 11yrs in the military. You don’t like it turn on you Fn filter!

My father joined the Air Force at age 18 back when it was the Army Air Corps.

He was a career military officer. One of the most decorated officers in Air Force history.

He served in World War II, The Korean War, Viet Nam (twice) among other activities.

Do NOT use the military as an excuse for swearing. Not in public.

Unless you are saying you were never officer material.

======
If you agreed to the EULA, and broke it, do not complain on the forum.

Good luck wherever your gaming takes you.

Nope. Neither does anyone in my guild.

We are trying to avoid adding to the visual clutter and hoping that ANet (eventually – sigh) makes seeing them optional.

Titles have become meaningless to us (and none of them humorous enough to use, sadly.)

Understand there are titles that are meaningful to players. And support them wanting to wear them and having them seen by like-minded players.

Again, would prefer an option to turn off seeing them.

Zacchary.6183:

Remove CoF.

/problemsolved

Wouldn’t it be a kick if it was that easy.

Sadly, the entitled, self-focused behavior is not limited to locations in game.

It’s a choice. It’s a value. And a lack of understanding that other players may not embrace/support/ascribe to the same choice/values.

Is the Bartle test so outdated that no one understands there are multiple types of gaming personalities that exist in this game? (Explorer/Achiever/Killer/Social).

Nemhain, I assume you are asking if there is a limit on number of characters per account. The answer so far, from folks posting here, is we have not hit a limit yet. (There are some of us that have in the 36-38 range on one account.) I believe someone has 43, not sure if it is on one account or not.

If you are asking if you can have characters on multiple servers on the same account: no.

That was a good question to ask if you are new to the game. Or have not bought new character slots before.

-I have 37 characters on one account. 7 on my 2nd for a total of 44 characters. All on the same server.

Buying more character slots: credit card, Gem Store for 800 gems each ($10 U.S.) and select the Upgrade category in the Gem Store.

Azure Prower.8701:

So I just received my birth day present and it is the most disappointing ever. Really? A random minipet I already have tons of or a tonic?

I was expecting more.

Lol. Nice GW(1) screenshot.

I like some of the ideas here.

As for rolling multiples:

Checks spreadsheet.

First account: 7 warriors, 8 mesmers, 4 necros, 5 rangers, 4 elementalists, 4 guardians, 3 engineers, 2 thiefs….

…not bothering to check 2nd account.. 44 altogether and 12 at 80.

You get the idea.

(Does not include the ones I’ve deleted.)

Yes, I do it to try out different looks. (Also I am a creative name junkie, and my characters have different “personalities” and “feel” based on race. Never mind ranger “themes” with matching pets names.)

And there are just armors that look good on one race and not another. I’ve found some that look great on a Human and weird on a Norn because of the stretched/deformed Norn torso. And the same armor is a totally different set on an Asura. And yes, I have rolled characters for the cultural armors in some cases. And the badge armors in others (HoW and TA gear for example.)

I would love to be able to:

1) Have some hair styles shared across races

2) Cultural armor shared across races (assuming the character does some extraordinary feats for the other race and is awarded an “honorary” race title that allows him/her to access that armor.)

PS: some of those alts were classes that were rerolled because I started either Norn or Asura and found them too tall or way too short for good camera angles in Fractals/Explorables (ground target anyone?). At least for me. Human height seems to be about mid-screen.

So:

3) I’d love to have a camera option that allows me to center my camera mid-screen for all my characters, regardless of race.

PPS: Forgot to mention, yes, some of those same professions have totally different builds/gear and are played differently for different guild needs.

I also alt swap for my guild’s needs. Have been doing so for over a decade, often using 2 to 4 accounts through different games to play 2 or 3 at a time.

44 alts here in GW2, 12 at 80 (all but one of those 80s in full exotics), running fractals, have ascended, celestial and laurel gear scattered across a 3-4 “mains”, as well as explorable badge gear for looks on a couple. Oh, and a couple of 80’s that have some karma gear for specific builds.

I have respecced at least 3 of my 80’s and regeared them accordingly (from the ground up). And no, I don’t run CoFp1 farm loops… never have.

I find the balance of soulbound and account bound gear to be fairly reasonable in this game.

And yes, at age 56 I have a life. Some of it is “retired”. A lot of it is not. Thank you for asking.

PS: I’ve chosen one character to WvW with, and yes, there are some changes I’d like to see there.

Apologies! It was not my intent to take the quote out of context for any type of agenda.

Just pointing to the merged thread where the discussion was occurring and the (official) suggestion that seems to be the best work around at the moment.

Karma bottles will “stay put”. There will be no auto “drinking”. So unless you consume them, you should be ok.

The question about the Karma cap is a good one.

Feel free to add to the thread there. You will find other like-minded players have posted there as well.

Overall, the change to store tokens, etcetera by account is wonderful addition.

There are concerns regarding pooled gold. For multiple reasons.

All of your gold will be pooled by account.

You will no longer be able to store gold separately on individual characters.

ANet’s response to this is the suggestion that you create a personal guild.

(Per Martin Kerstein): page 5 of thread listed below

It is not as simple as having both, it is something that is within the code and the interaction of multiple different elements of the game. So it might look like an easy thing on the outside – under the hood there is a lot of programming magic going on.

So if you need to have a bankspace to protect yourself from – well – yourself, you have to use the “individual guild” route.

Please see this thread: (for answers to your question and other questions):

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/livingworld/jubilee/Token-Wallet-Thank-you-a-net/first

Up to 44 alt slots now.. do the math. There are expenditures beyond that via gemstore, including buying copies for family and friends.

Was it worth it? For the amount of fun I’ve had since BWE1 up through say…. January.. the answer is yes. I and my guild have really enjoyed the first 3-4 months of the game, the Halloween event and the Wintersday Event as well.

At the moment, we are quite concerned about the future direction of the game, as well as other issues.

I know I have spent more money than I could have. More than I should have. And often left feeling like I am not getting a good “return” on it for my entertainment. That is totally my responsibility and my perception regarding ephemeral items and their “fleeting” value. I can choose to call that extra money spent an “investment” in the game, “support” for ANet or just write it off as a loss (discretionary budget bucket).

My guild feels this is the game that best suits our playstyle (5-man content) and the closest PvP experience we will have to DAoC’s RvR. And we will stick with it until another game comes along that can deliver either of those two requirements better, or we lose all trust in the developers.

Bottom line: spent too much. Most of it was worth it.

realloc.5846:

goldenwing.8473:

It is common knowledge within the computer industry that removing an existing feature will cause customer dissatisfaction and undermine trust and future business. There is over 40 years of data to back this up.

Joy for the vast majority of players, who waited for this change so long vs. “dissatisfaction” of the couple of kittens, who just dont want to adapt?

Yeah, how Anet dares…

Please check the other posts I have left on this thread before making assumptions.

I have advocated for options. (The change for tokens is necessary and welcomed, the issue specifically is gold. And again, I have been advocating for that being an option that can be user toggled.)

I understand there are players that are 100% happy with these changes. And I support that.

Thank you.

Martin Kerstein.3071:

You did not read my post properly. It is not an option. It is not possible without touching core systems. Which will have other consequences. An MMO is a very complex thing.

As a developer who has worked on systems far more complex than an MMO, I understand this.

However:

A feature that has been in place for almost a year, that is fairly industry standard has been removed.

It is common knowledge within the computer industry that removing an existing feature will cause customer dissatisfaction and undermine trust and future business. There is over 40 years of data to back this up.

ANet’s response to this is:

Martin Kerstein.3071:

It is not as simple as having both, it is something that is within the code and the interaction of multiple different elements of the game. So it might look like an easy thing on the outside – under the hood there is a lot of programming magic going on.

So if you need to have a bankspace to protect yourself from – well – yourself, you have to use the “individual guild” route.

This is not just a matter of “protecting oneself from oneself”. What plans does ANet have when the Trade Post creates problems due to lag?

Will ANet allow one-man guilds to be created and leveled free of charge (to reach guild bank ability) in order to compensate for the removal of the feature?

==
At this point, it is not about the cost of the new one-man guild. It is the hassle required to manage it on an on-going basis in order to “duplicate” a (standard) feature which has been removed.

I actually do not expect a response at this point. I believe, given the posts from ANet here, that this subject is closed.

I was considering putting a Bifrost on my Asura only because it makes me laugh. I can get the same laughs using preview at the trade post when I feel the need. Just can’t take the prospect of using one seriously however.

I respect other players and their choices. Outside of appreciating player skill and appreciating the creativity some players exhibit in both speccing and putting together looks….

… “impressed” is a word I do not associate with online gaming.

Navi.7142:

Would it be an idea to implement a “gold bag” that player could give their characters if they want to? This gold bag would collect the gold per character and would only allow to store the gold in the token wallet by a right click on that bag.

Players that appreciate the new token wallet will not need to “give” this gold bag to their characters, but players that prefer to collect the gold per character could easily do so (by checking).

The gold bag would act like an inventory bag with its own place and can be checked (gold per character) and unchecked (gold goes directly into the token wallet) just like the player wants it.

Or there could just be an general option that is set that either keeps gold on each character or deposits directly to the collective wallet.

With an option to override the don’t deposit (as you said) with a click to deposit. (Perhaps on the paper doll screen.)

An advanced option would allow this deposit/don’t deposit to occur on a character by character basis.

Consider my post and bewhatever’s post merged.

( I had maxed out my bank vault tabs within the first 2 months.) If ANet had offered even more bank slots for gems, I would have bought those as well.

That, however, is a separate issue from gold.

Having read the thread, I’ve just created a one-person guild to be able to manage my gold myself. My guildmates will be doing the same thing.

I’m not happy about having to deal with this because the design did not take into account an option that allows players to manage their gold on a character by character basis. Not happy about having to create a one-off guild, nor manage it in order to handle something that was already easily managed via current game mechanics. Not happy that “new and improved” breaks something “tried and true”.

However, I’ve learned over the decades that many developers make changes they THINK are good without understanding the entire impact on their system, their customers and most importantly, their customers’ experiences.

Any intuitive change to a complex system will inevitably leave that system worse off.

Given the dev responses here, it is clear, again, that I and my guildmates are a minority that will just (continue to) be ignored. We are mostly happy with 90% of this addition. The last portion goes in the “things that ANet does that makes us grind our teeth” bucket.

-Happy for those that _are_100% satisfied with this change.

Clarity: see posts on this and related threads concerned about being able to keep gold separated from one large collection/spending pool.

JustTrogdor.7892:

This is what happens when you add a prize to the achievements. Because the prize is available people want it right away. They feel they can’t wait. I’ve seen it with achievement titles as well. Someone mails someone else a bunch of gold so they can get the “Golden” title. Look at the “Combat Healer” title. Do you think most people with that title went out of their was rez 1000 other players? It is more likely they farmed downed NPCs.

Now there are chests with shineys tied to it and people “have” to have it right now.

+1

I had the “Combat Healer” title within the first 3-4 months of the game (might have been less, I wasn’t really paying attention; I don’t use titles.) Didn’t even know what it meant. I was just playing the game and loving the fact that I could help the community by reviving downed players. No reward other than the good feeling that I was part of something bigger, something helpful and friendly.

I agree with the sentiment that attaching rewards (to things that could just be part of regular play) will incent some players to behaviors that aren’t always in the best interest of the game overall, nor the community.

It’s always sad to see community spirit devolve as intrinsic motivation disappears . And I’ve given feedback on that to the devs.

Rainweaver.7302:

On the other hand, why can’t we have less skimpy light armor?
Why can’t we have more majestic wizard-robes that don’t feel the need to always expose legs or chest?

Agreed.

I’d also like some cloth chest pieces that don’t look like a turtleneck with headlights glued on. :p

I think most of the females in this game obviously are walking-challenged: they seem to need to remove the front part of their skirts to move. Oh, and btw, they apparently do NOT know how to use scissors either, because rather than making a slit, they either swiss-cheese the skirt, or lop off part of it leaving a front butt-flap.

Nuka Cola.8520:

is this normal that i haven’t done a single speedrun of cof1 since the farming began? its like the whole population of gw2 doing it lol

Have never done so. Don’t plan to. Quite capable, but why? Not why I play GW2.

I don’t believe the whole population of GW2 is. I believe it’s a very small minority that stand out, not because of player skill, or ability to spec/gear, but because some of the behavior exhibited is the very antithesis of the community-oriented play this game and its players promote and prefer.

If their ability to continue to farm is removed, they will find the next, easiest path of least resistance.

I have no problem with their preferred playstyle. Only with the immature behavior that often, but not always, accompanies it.

Don’t see the need to “mark” any particular group of players.

Keep your list of friends nearby and let the others keep to their own.

-Simplistically dismissive (not of you, Nuka Cola, but of the whole issue)

Deified.7520:

I’m rather curious about this because I want to get into it, but playing with friends and people I know is something I try to do because I just have so much more fun. The only PvP i can get my friends and any guildies of a guild that has 200 people is WvW roaming. They give me some of the worst excuses I can find to not do spvp. I always give them solutions but they just make up another excuse. Maybe I’m unlucky, but the other guilds and people I interact with seldom do sPvP. I’ve only met 1 person who is a avid s/tpvper in this game and he goes offline for long periods of time.

So tell me forum, why do you guys not play sPvP? I really wish more people would play it, it is saddening that I am in contact with 200+ people and I hardly see any of them want to do spvp.

Two reasons:

1) Have not found any PvP (1v1 or small group) in an MMO that satisfactorily provides the kind of 360 degree/aerial combat (premade tactical choice of gear/fighter type) that an FPS does incredibly better.

2) When playing an MMO, I prefer to actually do large scale strategic battles (DAoC/Warhammer Online style), that binds/builds communities (while using personalized/customized gear/fighter type e.g. spec/build.)

FPS and MMO RvR (WvW) provide 2 very different playstyles.

FPS games generally tend to do their playstyle best.

Some MMO’s do community-oriented PvP very well.

I don’t like to mix the 2 genres in one game. (One or both of the playstyles usually suffers.)

PS: kokocabana posted while I was creating this post. I agree.

PPS: My guild agrees as well.

No problem with any of them except the first one:

“Respected” is a word that I would never use in association with an online game.

Well, actually all of the titles above sound pretentious. And I suspect if I do happen to notice them on anyone, I will probably just laugh.

One of the ways that you can report (PvE) griefing is to send an email to ANet support. Be clear describing the problem, include details regarding server, time, etcetera, and have screenshots.

Good luck with that.

And I am sorry you experienced that situation.

tolunart.2095:

goldenwing.8473:

tolunart.2095:

IndigoSundown.5419:

goldenwing.8473:

Looking below the surface, it’s obvious there’s a pattern here. ANet seems to be sending fluff items to players that have purchased things via the gem store.

Is it for buying items in the store with gems, or for purchasing gems with money? I used gold to get gems during the time period and did not get the kite, so I think it is the latter.

The gift is for purchasing gems, not purchasing items with gems.

What?!??

/Apoplectic glare

How dare you, good sir or good madam, deign to insinuate that my outrageously mad ramblings were anything but absolutely flawless in all factual details!

/cough

Yes, you are correct, purchase of gems.

Merely correcting a typo, your flawless reputation is intact.

;)

Lol, more important to have data correct than any reputation. Thanks for catching that! (forgot to put the obvious /wink on previous post).

tolunart.2095:

IndigoSundown.5419:

goldenwing.8473:

Looking below the surface, it’s obvious there’s a pattern here. ANet seems to be sending fluff items to players that have purchased things via the gem store.

Is it for buying items in the store with gems, or for purchasing gems with money? I used gold to get gems during the time period and did not get the kite, so I think it is the latter.

The gift is for purchasing gems, not purchasing items with gems.

What?!??

/Apoplectic glare

How dare you, good sir or good madam, deign to insinuate that my outrageously mad ramblings were anything but absolutely flawless in all factual details!

/cough

Yes, you are correct, purchase of gems.

I received a kite, it is in my vault. I also got the last “thank you” (somebody remind me what it was, I have totally forgotten.)

I don’t purchase things through the gem store to get “thank you’s”, or to get “random reinforcement”, or to walk around with “advertisements” in game in the hopes that other players will see them and want to buy them from the gem store, or (pick a phrase that says “this was misconstrued” and/or cynical reaction). I purchase things through the gem store because I want to use them in game.

Surface value, ANet did not need to thank me. Surface value it was kind/good business/(pick an adjective) of them to do so. It does not change how I feel about the game or ANet.

Looking below the surface, it’s obvious there’s a pattern here. ANet seems to be sending fluff items to players that have purchased things via the gem store. The pattern may or may not continue. It may be random reinforcement (usually extremely effective), it may be something they will continue to do, which means players can count on receiving some “free” fluff based on their previous purchases.

In which case, feel free to view it as “already paid for”. In which case it isn’t “free”. In which case.. wait… what was the argument about? Not being warned that “free” stuff was being sent to players who made previous purchases to gauge when/how much a player should pay to get “free” stuff? … I just got lost in my own twisted logic of trying to define what “free” means. Never mind.

Back on topic:

@OP, I am sorry you feel you can’t trust ANet over this issue. They are your feelings, and you have a right to feel/express them.

I have other issues I don’t trust ANet over. The list is moderately long but incredibly shorter than any other list from other developers I have encountered over the years.

literalirony.7591:

I asked: as a warrior what runes or orbs would you run in knight’s armor? And no one could say anything except DITCH KNIGHT’S DITCH KNIGHT’S FULL ZERK FULL ZERK FULL ZERK

I asked them what their reasons were for never running anything but zerk, and it EVENTUALLY came out that you didn’t need any mitigation because a guardian or d/d elementalist can keep you alive

I asked, what if you don’t have these in your party? What if you’re in a PUG and you want some mitigation with knight’s armor?

The general consensus was “join a better guild.” C’mon. I didn’t want to be told to “just use zerk,” I wanted some advice on what to slot into my knight’s armor!

Raine.1394:

Full zerker is absolutely optimal when running trinity (guardian/warrior/mesmer), cof1, or in any PvE fight (eg. Lupicus) where the fight is known and the dodge mechanic is sufficient to avoid taking sustained damage.

I , personally, run full knight’s armor (zerker weapons) with soldier’s runes and all zerker trinkets as my all-purpose running around build. The build is sub-optimal, but general purpose. I can comfortably do all PvE without feeling like I’m a mistake away from death and even drop into WvW if I want to. If my intent was to optimally run dungeons in a premade I would adjust my build for it…but, that’s not my intent.

I agree with Raine’s analysis.

I am going to step out on a limb here. First, I have 3 warriors at 80 (I have 43 alts), and have experimented with different combos of builds/armor.

Currently running Fractals with a 4-man guild group and have built one of my warriors specifically for doing just that in synergy with the rest of the group and more importantly my own playstyle.

That warrior has Knight’s armor. And started with Berserker accessories.

She runs with Superior Rune of the Soldier for the shouts. Synergistically in my group, I am damage/tank/ and more importantly part healer.

We are working in the Fractal 10+ range (which may not seem like a huge deal to those past 40+… something we will not attain with only 4 people.) It’s challenging enough for us atm. This warrior also works well for our group doing Explorables with 4, something I know other folks are also doing.

Take everything you get with a grain of salt.

And remember, free advice is always worth what you pay for: nothing

Good luck and I hope you find what works for you.

zenleto.6179:

I was wondering where you were!

Lol! Was trying to not encourage this altaholic sickness!

Tried to resist posting here and failed:

43 alts. See post on thread link below for details. (Have now added Elementalist to guild Fractal runs..yay!)

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/For-those-with-more-than-8-toons/first#post2403227
.
.
I believe there is a gentleman on the same thread who posted he also has 43 alts.

Absolutely correct that level 80 with a build that works for you and is properly synergistic with traits is the only “true” picture.

For someone starting out, trying out different professions to get a “feel”, by 30, they should know whether or not it’s a profession they want to stick with and would be looking forward to accumulating more traits to have it work the way they want.

Using the insta 80 SPvP or WvW, if you are the kind of person that can get your head quickly around the ins and outs of the profession, instead of learn-as-you-grow, is good advice. Just be advised that your experience may not be entirely positive, nor representative of what the profession can do with proper skill over time.

Use whatever method gives you the best data you can use.

Again, good luck!

You get your last utility slot ability at level 30.

You get your first utility slot at 5, then next at 10, then 20, last one at 30.

I believe level 10 gives your first inkling, level 20 gives you almost the full sense, and many players believe you need to hit 30 before you can say you’ve got the full picture.

I might experiment and get a few to 10, then go back and revisit the ones that seem to fit you best/feel good. And go from there.

Also, different weapons can make a huge difference in playstyle. So experiment with those also in the 5-10 level range.

And welcome to GW2 and good luck!

Vayne.8563:

I feel for you…because genres evolve. What used to be an RPG is nothing like any MMO really. MMOs are TERRIBLE RPGs. I’m an RPG guy from a long time ago and this is the first mmoRPG I can play for any length of time.

The genre is evolving. Rift had some jumping. SWToR had some jumping and I suspect future games will have a lot more of it. Genres evolve all the time. If you don’t like the way it’s evolving, it will simply evolve without you.

I don’t usually like legitimizing personal attacks like this by responding.

However, there is an issue that is important for the future of the game, and that issue deserves a response.

I, too, am an old RPG player for close to a decade and a half. I’ve helped alpha and beta a fair amount of games, and sat in on a lot of internal discussions over the years, and would like to think as a retired software developer (Fortune 20 company), that I’ve contributed. I’m a big proponent of the genre evolving and have left countless posts and discussions (both publically and internally to devs) over the years advocating such, including on this board.

The problem here isn’t that the game is evolving more in the direction of an MMO or an RPG, but rather devolving in the direction of Nintendo-style play. The best examples of “old-school RPGs” that I can think of are the gold standards set by the Infinity Engine (BGII: SoA) and subsequent Forgotten Realms games like NWN. Tremendous quantities of these games focused on exploration and problem-solving. The Forsaken Halls open mini-dungeon is a great example of the classic “Dark-room” problem-solving style play that was the hallmark of these games. In BGII, there were plenty of puzzle rooms where you only even began fighting mobs if you did something horribly wrong. These games were deeply immersive with well-written characters, including those that the player interacted with in the environment. The choices that the player made, including in seemingly inconsequential dialogues impacted the game world at a time when MMOs were in their infancy.

This sort of creative problem-solving, whether it’s finding the right lever or finding the right NPC to talk to in a crowded city in order to uncover a secret plot, being kidnapped and disguised as a Drow and hauled through the underdark, etcetera, are the hallmark of old school RPG. They were immersive and required thinking.

What many members of the GW2 community are concerned about is not the relative return to old school RPG encounters and immersion compared to recent MMOs. What we are deeply concerned about is that much of the new jump-puzzle related content has nothing to do with either MMOs or RPGs. MMOs are vast, persistent worlds populated by players and NPCs alike where a community of players blends with the game world to create an experience that goes beyond what’s possible in a campaign-driven single player game. RPGs are role-playing games where you the player can slide into an immersive world and feel like you are making a difference in that world.

Jump puzzles are a return to old Nintendo-style, single-player hopping from one rock to another to get the chest at the end

Most old-school RPGs did not even have a mechanic that allowed characters to jump. The old Infinity Engine games certainly didn’t. Short-range screen blackouts and cutscene-style teleports were required to even move characters across a chasm. Instead, the player was asked to think: strategically, tactically, creatively, to problem-solve their way through situations that sometimes had heavy combat, and sometimes just presented a challenge for an explorer to get through. But the point was that they didn’t take twitchy reflexes, and they were never in isolation from the game world.

Evolutionarily speaking, many players, myself included, have expressed their concern that jump puzzles are not evolving the MMORPG genre but are grafting in a kind of gameplay that harms both the MMO and RPG aspects of the game. That’s not evolving role-playing or community-building content, it’s replacing both of them with single-player twitch-reflex movement games that don’t appeal to me or many other players. I don’t personally have a problem with people who love jump puzzles. What I and many other players are frustrated by is that this niche style of content is not only potentially crowding out content that is both MMO and RPG, it is increasingly being forced on everyone (having it linked to rewards/achievements.) This does not even address the issue of whether technically the engine can properly support this style gameplay for all players, latencies, and machines.

Well said, Harbard.

I also signed up to play an MMORPG.

There’s a lot more I could add, but there have been many on this thread that have expressed the same sentiment. Harbard, thank you for your voice here, you echo my feelings and my guild’s feeling very well in your posts.

I’m sitting here pondering whether ANet is trying to position GW2 as a “hybrid” for a unique new gaming experience and wondering about potential concept success/failure, whether they are trying to attract non-MMO players or whether they added content, not understanding the rigorous segmentation required to understand how their current customers would react.

Or whether this is just a case of “hey the cook is really good at making pancakes, so let’s push pancakes all day” at the steak house.

I have no problem with jump puzzles and races and mini games that appeal to a lot of players. They don’t appeal to me. Never have. As an MMO player, if I don’t need to do them, I won’t.

Unfortunately, unlike SPvP which I can entirely skip if I choose, that is not the case with the creeping addition of achievements/rewards being applied from this “inserted” content.

I am concerned when this constant inclusion of mini-games and jump puzzles gets linked to achievements/rewards that are part of the mainstream MMO PvE experience.

I am annoyed that I may need to engage in a style of play that I didn’t sign up for at release, and there is a faint sense of dread when new content releases that has this style of play hooked to mainstream content. “Annoyed and dreading” are not positive customer experiences for me.

Bottom line:

If the devs seem hell-bent on including “Nintendo-style” mini games and jump puzzles required to reach “mainstream” content, then it ought to be included as “fun for fun’s sake” only. Leaving all of it optional for players without regard to impact. Or a player’s ability to participate (see: technical connection / server issues that have existed since release.)

I agree with the sentiments in this thread that the achievement can be gained in totally arbitrary ways that either the developers did not forsee (I think they have more faith in the playerbase than anyone), or did not seem overly concerned about (plenty of achievements to be had to reach the end goal of this set of content.)

I am more concerned about the constant inclusion of mini-games linked to achievements/rewards at all.

If the devs seem hell-bent on including “Nintendo-style” mini games and jump puzzles required to reach “mainstream” content, then it ought to be included as “fun for fun’s sake” only. Leaving all of it optional for players without regard to impact. Or a player’s ability to participate (see: technical connection / server issues that have existed since release.)

Although I understand there many fans of this style content,

-Not of fan of MiniMORequiredtoPlayGame.

On our server, I have seen folks who have already gotten the first achievement stand aside at the finish line and allow others to come in.

That is a very kind, courteous thing to do. And I applaud those that choose to do so.

Anyone demanding that they do so needs to look up the word “entitled” in a dictionary.

fadeaway.2807:

Which race?
Which class?
Which order?

Why?

If I had only character slot in this game I would quit. (Has 43 alts)

To answer your questions:

Race: Asura (IF ANet would fix the kitten camera-at-feet and/or add an option to have all alts with screen-centered camera.)

Profession: Mesmer. (Yes, the more tiny havoc-wreaking minions the better! Muwhahahaha… /parodies Despicable Me 2 commercials.) (Which coincidentally should answer “why” for the first question.)

Order: Whisper. Easiest to get through stories. Love the Whisper Staff. Absolutely hate Tybalt. He’s a buffoon. (Yes, I realize, everyone else outside my guild seems to love him.)

Horiksson.3410:

I want to buy a 9th character slot to see other Charr storylines. What I’m wondering from those of you with more than 8 characters, which class did you do more than once and why?

Thank you!

Incoming wall of text. See Bolded for summary.

43 alts, 12 at 80. My two “mains” for Explorables and Fractals are: Mesmer, Warrior. For pure “fun” factor: Dagger/Dagger/Wells Necromancer, then Ranger for (solo) outdoors.

Warriors – a lot of my alts fall in this profession. 3 at 80. For me, this is a fun, easy class. Has multiple “roles” it can fulfill, even in a game where those “roles” supposedly do not exist. Love the array of weapon choices and builds. Norn, Asura, Human, Sylvari. Different builds/armors. Different uses. Different “feel” determined by race. Mostly used in Explorables. And no, not one of them is a CoFp1 build.

Mesmers – almost as many as the Warriors. Love the fact that I can play in a controlled way or based on build, be absolutely chaotic and still effective. Again, different builds. Different types of group support. I run Fractals with two of them – Norn and Asura play differently. Original was an Asura, got frustrated with ANet’s horrible camera-at-feet inability to see, rolled a Norn and ended up with two different playstyles using same weapons and found my guild wanted both. My Norn has an “old school” build, my Asura is bouncing all over the place wreaking havoc. Love both.

Necromancer – four. Asura, Human, Norn, Sylvari. Asura Necro was my first 80. Dagger/dagger/wells spec. Loved the heck out of her. She was part caster, healer and a kitten good “tank”. Got tired of looking at monster knees in Orr and rolled a Human (which eventually went staff/ds build at 80), and then much later a Norn (level 72) which looks the most “necrotic” in the combination of hair choice/gear/dye job I created. I am still pondering build changes for this one. I have a guildmate that loves playing his Necro in our groups, so mine are basically “retired”. Necros offer a lot of choices in play style and outside of my Warrior, are the closest to an ATV profession I have found in this game.

Elementalist – three I take seriously.. One at 80 is a Human. Not particularly fond of Human female looks / animations. This one will probably be replaced. Been fiddling with elementalists since beta, different builds/weapon combinations. Found one I finally enjoy and is optimized the way I want for DPS/healing balance and my guild prefers my Mesmer. Can’t win.

Ranger – only two. Surprise! Norn is at 80. Again, started with an Asura (see the trend?), and swapped to Norn to see if worked better for sight issues and then got totally surprised when it hit 80 in less than a week, I was just having too much fun to notice the leveling happening. My 80 Norn is my “go-to” character for dailies, etcetera. Of all the professions I have played, it is hands-down the most fun to use outdoors.

Engineer – only two. Taking neither seriously. One is an Asura (cliché “it just fits”), the other, of all things is a Sylvari because the combination of the name I picked and the concept of a “dry twig” using a flamethrower was too humorous to resist. I can wield the engineer fairly well, and love the lack of “weapon swap” cooldown; however, I feel like I’m using Reverse Polish Notation in order to play the thing. In other words: the Elementalist does it a little more straight-forward.

Guardian – One at 80, one at 47, other mid 30’s. Two Humans, (planned on Tier 3 cultural armor at one point.), and a Sylvari (tier 1 cultural armor). All three collecting cob webs. Once to 80, I think was enough for me on this class. The guardian class is a great class, it offers a lot in the tanking/healing/support areas. I just prefer doing all of that on my Warrior in a more “straight forward” way.

Thief -They make for great name naming opportunities, and yes I have several including Asura, Human, Norn, and Sylvari. I don’t PvP. I know how much healing they can require in an Explorable, even when they are well-played. Another profession I have totally abandoned.

Note: you may note a lack of Charr. Played several during beta. Rolled a Charr Mesmer for giggles (bright punk-pink hair), and couldn’t bring myself to get it past low 20s. Ditto with an Elementalist. Am now currently working on getting a Charr Warrior through a line of stories (have seen almost all of them with guildmates.) Picked Warrior, because as cliché as it seems, Warrior feels like the “best fit” for the Charr culture.

TL:DR I have multiple alts of the same profession because different races/builds/weapons create different “feels”/playstyles, different contributions to groups.

Ranger, most fun to play outdoors, is not one I play with guild groups. Warriors and Mesmers are the ones I play most in groups. Necromancer can be an incredible combo of damage, tanking and healing.

I don’t particularly like it either, it feels more cluttered, less easy to navigate.

My daughter feels the same.

My husband and son find it more intuitive.

I understand there are different ways that basic personality types observe, use, categorize data.

And that there were probably players who did not like the original version.

I will adapt. I won’t like it. But I will adapt.

PS: And if ANet changes it again sometime in the future, I will adapt once more.

PPS: It’s unfortunate that this new interface is not a toggle-preference. I’m allowed to make that suggestion, yes?

As I’ve already said:

I have no problem with ANet rewarding their loyal (GW1) customers.

The reward is not unreasonable.

I played GW1 for 2 weeks and have respect for those who stuck with it for so long. Take that anyway you want.

====
As for achievements, I don’t know how many I actually have, nor do I care.

When I raised this particular forum issue with my guildmates, to get more feedback, the response was an immediate 1 of 2 reactions:

1) What? There’s a leaderboard?
2) Leaderboard? Oh that? I have no idea where it even is.

As for GW1 titles/arrogance? When I notice titles, which is rare, and I see “God Walking Amongst Mere Mortals”, my only reaction is: oh, it’s someone who spent a lot of time in GW1. Nothing more. Nothing less. I’m glad it is meaningful for them.

My guild does not use titles because they aren’t amusing enough in combination with the right name. Others may have found differently.

I understand this is apparently a concern for some players. In perspective, I don’t find anything out of line, ANet has been open about caring about their loyal players since before release (see: names brought over).

Mkalafut.1273:

goldenwing.8473:

I have no problem with ANet rewarding their loyal customers.

The reward is not unreasonable.

I played GW1 for 2 weeks and have respect for those who stuck with it for so long. Take that anyway you want.

Props to you. Care to share your thoughts in the other threads?
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Survey-Remove-Achievement-Leaderboards/first#post2382384
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/500-AP-for-GW1-Hall-of-Monuments-Intended/page/2#post2382387

Had not spotted those yet.

Will add a post, although I’ve really nothing more to say than what I already have.

papryk.6273:

JustTrogdor.7892:

I only got a Legendary, Atherblade armor skins for each armor type, 5 jade tickets, and a copper ore. I sure hope tomorrow’s award is better.

wait what? You can get a legendary weapon from those chests? oO

It’s called sarcastic humor. Doesn’t often come across well in pure typed format on a forum without emoticons.

It’s often better accompanied by a sardonic lift of a brow or a twisted corner of a lip. Or just a pure <straightface>.

In this thread: subjective opinion (sorry for redundancy).

Glad there are customers who are enjoying it.

And sympathy, actually empathy, for those who aren’t.

Whatever boat you are sitting in.. remember, there will be more new content coming soon.

I have no problem with ANet rewarding their loyal customers.

The reward is not unreasonable.

I played GW1 for 2 weeks and have respect for those who stuck with it for so long. Take that anyway you want.

Yes one for 100, 500, and every 500 after to 3,000. Achievements page tells you at the top.

I have no idea how many achieve points I have, nor do I care. I suppose I ought to look, huh?