Guild Wars 2

GADefence.5634:

“The fees, particularly for small distances, are not only meant as a gold sink but also to deter you from always porting around tiny distances, which it accomplishes in my opinion quite effectively. Generally I think the fees are acceptable.”

The fees are there to annoy and cuckhold. Going to daily jump puzzles is either expensive or annoying (you still usually mine and kill your way there so drops aren’t very adversly affected)

It also prevents you from as easily playing with your friends. There are not many dungeosn not adjacent to a main town, or easy enough to get to, so the fee means those that know the trick go “H->Mists->LA->Gates->City->Outside->Dungeon” for free while it drains those that do not. That said, this is again an annoyance.

Waypoint fees are not a good gold sink as 60% of the player base avoids it and lives with the annoyance and the other % doesn’t know how to and walks everywhere. Annoying your clientelle like this =/= good.

“That said, how about giving a couple of classes a summon spell? Allow them to summon a specific party member to their location. This allows a group to quickly relocate a wayward member to the action. If you’re not in a group, use the waypoints.”

*bold*Because every walock summon @#%^ from WoW will tell you that was a GREAT addition.bold

Yes, the classes with the ability will asked often for this service. This opens up a chance at making a bit of copper on the side. I never saw a problem with it in WoW.

Thinking more about it I was channeling EverQuest with Wizard Spires and Druid Rings but making it a port to player function. shrug

Anyway, maybe instead offer a cash shop item that allows for free waypoints for a set period of time? Call it a Waypoint Pass and have it cost x amount of Gems and allow the character to teleport for free for x amount of time. Maybe offer it in different time periods? 24 hours, 3 days, week, month? Each costing more?

edit Spelling.

I agree that waypoint costs are a cause for hesitation for many people, myself included. However, there are activities to be done that can offset the costs.

That said, how about giving a couple of classes a summon spell? Allow them to summon a specific party member to their location. This allows a group to quickly relocate a wayward member to the action. If you’re not in a group, use the waypoints.

Necros have a sigil that allows them to revive downed players within a certain radius. Maybe make it larger or have that ability have a splash effect on downed players outside of it’s primary affect. E.g. players in the main target circle are fully revived, players in (x) radius of it get their revive bar (x%) increased, becoming less the farther away they are,

While I find to many pop culture references can ruin immersion, I enjoy little hidden easter eggs like this!

All hail Ceiling Cat!

While I find the idea of this feature counter to the MMO aspect of the game I feel players should have the choice to be incognito.

I agree! I don’t have any new game consoles and don’t often buy video games. I’ve played WoW and EVE Online after leaving EverQuest in 2004. I got my monies worth out of each of those titles but am happy to leave the monthly costs behind. For the $60 I’ve spent I have already more than recovered the value in enjoyment.

Now that I am not paying monthly subs, I can save some money and occasionally throw some into the TP for special items.

I wonder if I can convince my wife to let me GW2 for 24 hours if it is for charity. Hmm. I may have a shot as she plays too.

Kaineng is fairly active in that TZ. I play 8pm-12am most nights and there are plenty of folks online.

I have a love/hate relationship with knockback. I like it as an immersive element of combat. I don’t like how often it happens though. That said, I am not trained to watch animations of mobs in game, other than “bosses” whose animations are a sign of a new phase of encounter.

GW2 brings this concept to every fight. Animations are different and will indicate in many cases an impending smash like attack. I’ve found that by moving alot, using the dodge mechanic and watching the mob, I can avoid many knockbacks. It’s new, and it’s hard, but like with other games, will be learned with repeated use.

SpectacularYak.6518:

Moonpuncher

I really enjoy this conversation. But I don’t think I’ve called anyone a fool. Generally, I find the more name-calling you have to show, the less credibility your argument has. If you replace “fool” with good quality persuasion you might get somewhere. Dumdumpants.

Quoting this instead of something else because quote is, as usual, broken.

And yeah, lay off Moonpuncher. He’s being pretty reasonable and sparking a fair discussion.

There’s a problem with perpetual progression in MMOs, and the problem is that it is for all intents and purposes illusory. As you level up, so too do your opponents. Your level of power relative to the world you’re inhabiting is essentially static. In early stages, you might progress from killing rats to killing dragons, but eventually the game will blow its “fantasy hierarchy” wad and you’ll be back to killing rats again. Only HIGH LEVEL rats. With a mystic sword.

There comes a point in every MMO gamer’s career, when they’re swapping out the pants they spent 500 hours of raiding to acquire for a pair of green pants dropped off a random zone mob in the new expansion, that they begin to wonder what it was all for. The veil is temporarily lifted, and the reality that you’ve basically been running in place becomes apparent. Some people really enjoy the act of running, so they shrug and carry on. Others fly into a rage of disillusionment and crash the forums, talking about skinner boxes and operant conditioning and wondering how on earth they managed to stay so duped for so long.

I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with people who play just to see numbers go up incrementally over a period of many years, but I cannot claim that I find it particularly compelling myself at this point. What I desire from a game developer is their content. Their enemies, their dungeons, their story. If I log in to a new MMO to find that a significant portion of that content has been gated behind excruciating time sinks, I will look angrily in their direction, and my mouth will form a firm, hard line.

Couldn’t have put it better myself. I just scrapped a longer post after not being able to say it right and found this.

Calavera.1086:

Shout, shout, let it all out.
This are the things I can do without.
Come on, I’m talking to you.

This guy knows where it’s at.

Moonpuncher.7250:

darkwombat.3695:

I feel sorry for the OP. What he misses is the Skinner Box.

He wants to chase that pellet….forever…

Do you really think the reason you log in and play is any different? I hate to break it to you, but you’re just chasing a different pellet. That’s the problem with blaming things on some form of conditioning: Even your response to this thread granted you some form of satisfaction, and that’s why you did it.

Your argument applies to pretty much anything we do. Ever. Which means you somehow think we should want to play a game that doesn’t give us a reward. You’ve harbored contempt towards the “gear” reward, but have no problem with whatever other type of reward you’re getting here. I’m not sure why my pellet deserves your pity while your pellet remains anonymous

Very true! Life is a big pellet chase. Why do we work? We like getting paid. Rinse and repeat for most everything.

Omega.5682:

Ragnar Dragonfyre.1806:

ITT: Players bought an MMO with a well advertised PvP endgame, where skill shines over gear and were expecting something different.

What skill? How is there any player skill in this game? Please substantiate your claim.

Absence of proof is not proof of absence.

(Snipped out the full quote body as it made the post to long.)

It is a big change coming from games like WoW and STWOR, both of which I’ve played. I’ve been out of WoW almost 2 years now. We all have what marketers call an “anchor.” This product anchor is a preconceived notion and expectation of how all products in a certain field should be the same. We take these anchors with us from place to place. In terms of MMOs, we take certain concepts such as the ‘Holy Trinity’ of class archetypes and gear/content progression with us from game to game.

ANet is attempting to severe those particular two anchors by offering a different profession system and content ladder. As my main character isn’t quite 80 yet I am not yet able to fully relate to the lament of the 80s seeking something more to do.

The community of this game is amazing and I’d like not to lose lots of people from lack of interest. I think ANet knows this and will place endgame status right behind removal of launch bugs.

Moonpuncher.7250:

theerrantventure.9185:

Moonpuncher.7250:

Leave it to me to create a title that begs to be flamed.

Look, GW2 is a different kind of MMO. The problem is that most of the people playing it are used to the MMO scene and there’s certain things we’ve come to expect. Working hard for better gear is one of those things. I’m a power and stat guy, which means I typically like to min-max, and I care much more about power and stats than appearance.

When I hit level 80, I had enough money within a week to get a full set of crafted exotics. From a power/stat perspective, I’m done. I have the ‘best’ gear in the game. This means there’s no real carrot for me to chase now. Yes, i could farm for legendaries or dungeon gear, but 1) legendary is WAY too big of a jump. Give me something to do in between now and then so I don’t lose focus, and 2) I haven’t seen a way to get cooler looking gear. Level 80 exotic weapons should not look like total crap, but my exotic scepter is a stick with a bulb on it. So much for “exotic”.

I know, I know, this is how it worked in GW1. you get the best gear soon and you just re-skin it. But guess what? GW1 wasn’t that popular. They did dungeons and scripted events really well, but otherwise could take a page from some of the MMO kings in the business.

So please Arenanet, I had a great time playing your game, but give me a reason to log in and grind. Right now I have 40g and absolutely nothing to spend it on. I can save up 100g for commander or 500+ for a legendary, but in a game where most people are scrounging to save 50 silver, I should feel rich with my 40g. Instead, I feel like I’ve bought everything worth buying and don’t quite have the motivation to farm for MONTHS before seeing something better.

Give me a way to slowly become more powerful please. I can’t keep playing a game purely for cosmetic enhancements and I suspect a large part of the community feels the same way.

I’ve put in bold font a sentence up there…isn’t that the definition of a grind? Repeating the same content for months to get gear?

“grind” has garnered too much negativity these days. Putting in some work to get a reward is a great idea in games. I’m talking about motivation here. If I need to log in and farm up some dungeons for a week or two to get some great gear, sign me up. But legendary weapons seem to be the only decent thing to shoot for in this game, and right now that grind could take MONTHS with absolutely no return on my investment. I want some shorter term rewards. I want stat bonuses, or some type of quality of life change. I should not need at least 90g before i can see a neat animation on my weapon. Right now, everything (even legendary precursors) looks plain, like something you can buy off of a vendor.

I’m not using the term “grind” negatively. I am, however, using the phrase “grind for months and months with nothing to show for it during the process” negatively.

Ahh ok. I misinterpreted the intent then. I do understand the need for motivation to log in. I think ANet is having to walk a fine line in trying to please all play styles. Right now the end game content is ‘light’ by industry standards insofar as group content and gear go. I have faith that ANet will correct that with upcoming content patches.

All I can say is keep playing! Content will come in time.

Moonpuncher.7250:

Leave it to me to create a title that begs to be flamed.

Look, GW2 is a different kind of MMO. The problem is that most of the people playing it are used to the MMO scene and there’s certain things we’ve come to expect. Working hard for better gear is one of those things. I’m a power and stat guy, which means I typically like to min-max, and I care much more about power and stats than appearance.

When I hit level 80, I had enough money within a week to get a full set of crafted exotics. From a power/stat perspective, I’m done. I have the ‘best’ gear in the game. This means there’s no real carrot for me to chase now. Yes, i could farm for legendaries or dungeon gear, but 1) legendary is WAY too big of a jump. Give me something to do in between now and then so I don’t lose focus, and 2) I haven’t seen a way to get cooler looking gear. Level 80 exotic weapons should not look like total crap, but my exotic scepter is a stick with a bulb on it. So much for “exotic”.

I know, I know, this is how it worked in GW1. you get the best gear soon and you just re-skin it. But guess what? GW1 wasn’t that popular. They did dungeons and scripted events really well, but otherwise could take a page from some of the MMO kings in the business.

So please Arenanet, I had a great time playing your game, but give me a reason to log in and grind. Right now I have 40g and absolutely nothing to spend it on. I can save up 100g for commander or 500+ for a legendary, but in a game where most people are scrounging to save 50 silver, I should feel rich with my 40g. Instead, I feel like I’ve bought everything worth buying and don’t quite have the motivation to farm for MONTHS before seeing something better.

Give me a way to slowly become more powerful please. I can’t keep playing a game purely for cosmetic enhancements and I suspect a large part of the community feels the same way.

I’ve put in bold font a sentence up there…isn’t that the definition of a grind? Repeating the same content for months to get gear?

I wish! The forums are the extent of my GW2 interaction at work and usually only on slow days.

Pretty sure I saw a Charr Elementalist dash past me named Charr Nobyl.

I love exploring and just listening to NPC chatter. I haven’t been through all the maps yet and each new map is amazing.

/signed

I would love this for taking screenshots of vistas and for combat in small environments.

The ‘Holy Trinity’ of tank, dps and heals is deeply ingrained in MMO players and can be a comfortably familiar play style.

That said, I like that GW2 has decided to use a different framework. Each class having a healing ability makes soloing safer and dynamic events smoother with everyone able to help revive and heal. Gone are the days of “Group LF <insert role here> for <dungeon name here.” I don’t miss that.

Dejavu.3264:

I am running an Asus G55VW laptop:

Intel i7 3610QM 2.3Ghz quad
8GB 1600 RAM
Geforce GTX 660M 2GB

It runs at max settings just fine, except in highly crowded areas like a massive wvw zerg. However turning down certain settings does help alot and the game still looks great.

Heat is also a non-issue. I think Asus got something right with their design, I ran this G55 for 24 hours straight while playing GW2 and the heat coming out of the vents were minimal.

Asus all the way. I have been gaming on an Asus for over a year now and it manages heat very well. I’ve been running GW2 on it for a week on med-high settings and the internal temps stay reasonable. It runs on Ultra with 30FPS but it does get warm (temps around 185F on the mobo). Normally it will run between 140F-150F depending on where I am in game.

Check out the program Speccy to monitor internal temps on the fly.

I liked my Asus so much I got a new one for my wife to play GW2 on too! Both of ours feature an i7 2.2GHZ processor. I have 4GB of RAM and she has 6. I have the nVidia 540m 1GB gpu and hers runs a nVidia 610M 2GB. Mine’s the A53 series, hers is a K53. Price falls in the $700-900 USD range from sites like TigerDirect.com.

Cheers!

Unless I am missing this option somewhere. I’d like to be able to not have to check the box to “display signature” with every reply and post. Can it be a global setting to use it or not?

Tradewind.6913:

Not if it’s going to be pooping everywhere.

Touche sir.

I’m with Tradewind on this one, heh heh. A message of the day would be nice in chat.

I think we can all get behind (or in front of) a Massage of the Day though.

I saw it mentioned that the TP is world wide and not just server? Is that true?

That is an interesting setup. On the positive it helps lower population servers from having supply issues. On the negative it can allow just a few big servers to set the costs of goods which can adversely affect smaller server economies.

“Hello, thank you for calling Black Lion Prime Credit, this is Peggy…”

I understand the functional need for the fees but I always say boo for hidden fees. Just add a subtotal to the sale notification to reflect the fees. Transparency is good.

+1

Sometimes after a long day I don’t have the mental stamina to actually focus on the game for things like events and quests. Sometimes just logging in and sitting in a scenic area with soothing music is enough while I chat with friends. To be able to have a simple activity to do then, like fishing, would be great! My wife’s character cooks so I could supply her with fish to cook up while chilling by a river/stream/lake/pond.

Ah ha! Maybe it is intended for some creative hopping to be done to get it. A gathering jump puzzle if you will.

Hm, I’d report that as a bug, looks like the node is spawning slightly off.

I got nostalgic for EverQuest when reading this thread. TRAIN TO ZONE!!

While I concede the point that getting hit by a train and dying is inconvenient, there are a few positives to come from it. The big one is that it can facilitate spontaneous group interactions similar to events. Think of a mob train as a player created event. Imagine getting into trouble and booking it for a nearby town or waypoint. Shout for help and you may arrive to find a group of fellow adventurers waiting to save you and get some exp and loot! You may even make some friends.

For the situations where someone does get taken down by a passing train there is hope because everyone can revive negating the need to wait for a ‘healing class.’

Since we’re all scaled to the zone you won’t see higher level characters griefing noob areas. Getting in over your head is sometimes unavoidable and is one thing that makes the game exciting. So toss on a conductor hat and fire up that train when the kitten hits the fan.

Choo choo!

Calavera.1086:

In the options menu you can adjust the gamma slider to the left, it will make the game darker.

This was my first thought at the title…

But to the OP, while I agree that playing a thief or necromancer as a hero feels odd, it is just the direction the game set up for. It’s a hero’s game. Other titles on the market work in the “good/evil” points.

Daenji.5280:

In a world in which pack animals are used, the Dredge and the Charr use armored transports, and there are apparently helicopters and airships… I’m thinking cosmetic mounts are within reason. I am opposed to them being used in locations that make no sense. For example, the middle of Lion’s Arch seems like a good no-ride, no-fly zone to me. I also think you can’t practically allow them in combat with this system. There are plenty of areas where I think they do make sense though and I would personally support adding them for use in these areas and with those situations. If you add them I propose that they provide a speed boost no greater than 33% and that this not stack with any other speed boost.

This sums up my thoughts quite nicely. A simple selection of low speed buff mounts offered for both in game currency and gems would be fine.

Would it be possible to get a locked forum thread graveyard section? When the forum mods are on the ball there can be a ton of locked threads on various pages and they sometimes stay up for quite a while. It’d be nice to just have a place to toss them. May also be useful as a representation of what not to post.

Cheers!

Kirkbeefknaw.6807:

Hey Guys;

Just bought GW2 and having played the first one to death, was wondering if any of you could give me some pointers? Also, what class?
Cheers in Advance!

Take your time when you create your character. The back story is influenced by a few of the creation options. Also, take time to explore a bit of the starter area, this game is huge!

I have tried each of the classes for 5 levels. So far my favorites are Elementalist and Warrior. They are all fun though! It depends on your play style.

Cheers! Welcome!

While I usually frown upon “cash shops” in games I completely understand the business need for them. These games do need to make a profit to be developed. GW2 is the first free to play MMO I’ve experienced where I don’t feel bothered by a cash shop. The game is so big and fun, I don’t yet feel the need to utilize it and not using it doesn’t hurt my game play.

As I am used to paying subscription fees for games, I won’t mind occasionally throwing some money ANet’s way for stuff from the Trading Company. I do love that I can choose when and how much to pay though. So long p2p games!

There are a ton of threads going bashing aspects of GW2. There are a smaller few praising the game. It seems many of the stories are the same, yet there is no balance to the feedback. So I pose a question to everyone, two if you will:

1) What is one thing you like about the game?

2) What is one thing you don’t like about the game?

I’ll start us off.

1) I like that I don’t feel pressured to rush through content to grind gear in raids. I can take my time and explore. As a former raider in an other MMO, I don’t miss the repetition of the same instance for months on end. Was it rewarding to get that piece of tier gear finally? Yes, but looking back I missed many of the details and story elements that got worked over by expansions.

2) I don’t like that there are not enough starting character slots to have a character of each class. I know that I can buy those slots however I am new to GW and would like to try each one without having to delete others that I spent time creating.

Spryt.8012:

What do you mean with hardcore. Like EQ1 hardcore?
Where you respawn naked and have to fight your way back to your corpse to get gear back?
Where dying in some places without any respawn or way to get back in?
Where disarm makes you drop your weapon on the ground for any player to pick up? Where mob spawns required for progression are so rare you need to camp the same spot for hours/days?

Won’t deny it was a lot of fun back in the day. But tbh if they released that 2012 I think I would have to pass.

Spryt hit the nail on the head here. The “hardcore” games now are cake compared to the earliest MMOs. Bittervet rant aside, while many current games do have many features that cater to casual gamers, there is still content for hardcore folks.

I think the problem lies in what is “hardcore”? Do you want hours running the same dungeon/raid again and again to get epic gear? Do you want to run the same PvP maps over and over to get the best PvP gear or kills? What makes the game work for “hardcore” players?

Game companies have to find the balance that attracts the largest audience. They are a for profit company after all. GW2 is a vast game. I do not have a level 80 character and can’t speak to what is available at that level. From what I gather in the forums though is that there isn’t “a lot” to do. All I have to say to this is; give it time. Let them have a couple months to work out launch bugs and smooth things out. I’m sure they won’t disappoint with the first content patch.

Wooo EQ. I started that in High School. Played a Dwarf Paladin that never reached max level. Paladins were worthless in EQ. I gave up when WoW came out and did my time bleeding money to Blizzard. I have an off again on again relationship with EVE Online and I did play SWTOR for 1 month before I lost interest.

Now, marriage, full time work and starting a family mean my MMO time is limited to a couple hours a night at best during the week and the same on weekends unless the little one takes a long nap.

Most games are just a rush to level cap then raiding for gear, with weak stories and little or no character depth. GW2 defies that. I love that I can create a character with depth in a living breathing world. The capitol cities in GW2 are all I wanted and expected them to be in a game like WoW but were never delivered, until now.

I’ve had the game a week now and don’t have a character over 10 and 5 full slots. The game is so big and new that I haven’t yet decided which of my characters to begin as my ‘main.’

I don’t buy many video games (really only an occasional Steam purchase as I own no current game consoles) but I would consider this $60 well spent. I know I will get hours and hours of play out of GW2. Heck, even my wife just started playing!

I know the game is being lambasted by the hardcore crowd. They have their right to voice the flaws. However for us casual folks, the game feels right. ANet will work out the bugs in time. It’s a game, there’s no rush.

Sparkie.3465:

They already got your guild mate’s money. It doesn’t matter to them if your guild mates go off and play the release of the panda expansion. In fact, they might be glad to have the load decrease for a little bit while they hammer out more release bugs.

However, this is what I’d tell your guild mates:

“Go play WoW, and have fun at it. When the severs are unplayable on the panda release day, come play GW2 for a bit. When you are sitting in queues to get on your WoW server, come play GW2 for a bit. When your DPS character is waiting for an hour or more to do the panda leveling dungeons, play some GW2 while you wait.

When the WoW servers are stable and the instances are working, go enjoy WoW. We’ll still be here in GW2 if your raid wipes give you a headache, if your class turns out to not be the PVP flavor of the month, or if you don’t like the look of your tier armor and you’d like the customizable armor of GW2. Your account will still be active since it’s free to play. So say hello to the pandas for me and don’t be a stranger – we’ll keep the porch light on for you over here."

Couldn’t have said it better myself, well put!

As it has been said several times already, I’ll echo the sentiment: Might as well have a sub and be pay to play.

While I will certainly purchase big expansions paying monthly for ‘mini expansions’ is just calling a subscription by another name.

Personally, I like GW2 thus far because it is not pay to play. It’s a nice break from the other games of its ilk. I don’t own a next gen console and am glad to have paid $60 for a game that will provide me with hundreds of hours of content.

GW2 is billed as an MMO that’s not an MMO. It’s geared around the player experience and story. Is the loot/reward system perfect? No. however it isn’t perfect in any game because to be perfect you have to please everyone.

Give the game more than a month to get on its feet. The devs will (should) take into account feedback and make adjustments accordingly.

If you want lots of pixelated rewards quick fast an in a hurry, check out a pay to play MMO for a bit. GW2 isn’t your standard MMO and never claimed to be.

While I respect the right to voice opinions, I disagree with calls to change the game to the extent that it would be considered an overhaul. The game is new and will grow. If you’ve put in hundreds of hours, great! However this isn’t a pay to play game. You’re not continuing to pay for something you don’t feel is good.

You’ve gotten quite a return on a $60 purchase. 200+ hours is a lot of content. There will be content updates and expansions down the road. If you’re unhappy with the game now or feel you’ve ‘beaten’ it, put it down for a couple months and come back. Things will have changed and you can explore the new stuff.

No one is forcing you to play and 200+ hours is a respectable return on your purchase cost. Try the game on a new character or shelve it for a while.

While some of the criticism mentioned here is valid, I find it to be premature. The game is not even a month old. I understand that some folks have the free time to reach the level cap with more than one character, which is great! However you fall into a small and elite group of players who can fly though MMO content.

A majority of us can’t fly through content like that. I’ve just managed to get a copy of the game and have been very happy with it so far. I’m not worried about endgame. GW2 for me is about the story and exploration. Sure, I’ll try the hard dungeons when I’m 80, but that is a long time coming.

TL:DR – The game is new. The rest of us are catching up. Cool your jets about endgame.