Originally posted by IPolygon ~140 hours in and still enjoying it. Keep it simple guys, stop talking GW2, do GW2 or if you want to help improve the game, post in on the official forums, else just stay away from the game.
Official forums mirror mmorpg.com forum now days. And telling people to stay away from game always works right? they will do exactly like you said. That solved the problem then i guess.
Read what I wrote, please. It is completely futile to post bad things about any game and bad for your health, if you do it for the sake of ranting. Nothing will get better from this, nothing improved, you might be counted as a troll. Instead either help to improve the game by posting on the official forums OR quit the game. I wouldn't play something, if I wasn't enjoying it.
Or in other words: Stay away from this game, if you think it sucks and it cannot be helped.
Currently I feel like combat is shallow and mindless, especially when compared to GW1.
A more technically challenging Legendary Aquisition system, rather than the current waste your time ultimate farming simulator.
Loot in general, poor drop rates and uninteresting items bore me to tears. Every single equippable item in the entire game is simply a "Stat Stick". At no point will you find an item that can drastically alter your style of gameplay.
Currently I feel like combat is shallow and mindless, especially when compared to GW1.
A more technically challenging Legendary Aquisition system, rather than the current waste your time ultimate farming simulator.
Loot in general, poor drop rates and uninteresting items bore me to tears. Every single equippable item in the entire game is simply a "Stat Stick". At no point will you find an item that can drastically alter your style of gameplay.
This game left me wanting so much more.
Why should a piece of gear alter your style of gameplay? Gear is boring and a thing of the past. Gear should be cosmetic only. Skill should determine if you do well or not at a game.
But I don't blame ya, gear grind get's shoved in your face in almost every MMO and RPG made. I personally stopped playing WOW after 3 months because of the huge impact gear made and a lackluster combat system.
Originally posted by IPolygon ~140 hours in and still enjoying it. Keep it simple guys, stop talking GW2, do GW2 or if you want to help improve the game, post in on the official forums, else just stay away from the game.
Official forums mirror mmorpg.com forum now days. And telling people to stay away from game always works right? they will do exactly like you said. That solved the problem then i guess.
Read what I wrote, please. It is completely futile to post bad things about any game and bad for your health, if you do it for the sake of ranting. Nothing will get better from this, nothing improved, you might be counted as a troll. Instead either help to improve the game by posting on the official forums OR quit the game. I wouldn't play something, if I wasn't enjoying it.
Or in other words: Stay away from this game, if you think it sucks and it cannot be helped.
Even those who do nothing but praise GW2 day and night trying to give an illusion that GW2 is perfect and has no problems can also come across trolls...trolling is not associated with negativity alone.
People can complaing and still play the game. That is called 'hope'. Hoping that their grievances will be heard and remedied by Anet. But when straw will break camels back sooner or later players will quit playing. But that is up to them and not you so stop tellign people what to do.
To me, gear is an integral part of RPG. As are stats. And there needs to be progression on both.
So it's not just an MMORPG thing. It's an RPG thing.
I think what we're seeing here is a divergence in MMOs, really: Many players looking to abandon core RPG systems in MMOs and going for more action-based gameplay (as apparent from "it has to be all about skill!" posts), while some who do like RPGs for what they are are looking for that classic stat & gear progression aspect (not to mention typically top priority RPG stuff like coherence of gameworld and story, of course).
To me, game design in the vein of GW2 is actually going towards the territory of TF2 or PS2. We'll see whether players will keep pushing in their action-combat demands up to that point, or whether there's a sweet spot before that.
Oh, and... I'm still playing, but with very little exploration left to be done in the game, I can see myself not logging in a couple of weeks later. Though I've tried every other gameplay sphere in GW2, nothing apart from exploration has grabbed me. And exploration is not really something you can joyfully re-run on alts.
To me, gear is an integral part of RPG. As are stats. And there needs to be progression on both.
So it's not just an MMORPG thing. It's an RPG thing.
I think what we're seeing here is a divergence in MMOs, really: Many players looking to abandon core RPG systems in MMOs and going for more action-based gameplay (as apparent from "it has to be all about skill!" posts), while some who do like RPGs for what they are are looking for that classic stat & gear progression aspect (not to mention typically top priority RPG stuff like coherence of gameworld and story, of course).
To me, game design in the vein of GW2 is actually going towards the territory of TF2 or PS2. We'll see whether players will keep pushing in their action-combat demands up to that point, or whether there's a sweet spot before that.
Oh, and... I'm still playing, but with very little exploration left to be done in the game, I can see myself not logging in a couple of weeks later. Though I've tried every other gameplay sphere in GW2, nothing apart from exploration has grabbed me. And exploration is not really something you can joyfully re-run on alts.
If they keep the gear progression completely seperate from sPVP and WvWvW I'm fine with more gear based stuff. As mainly a PVP player and that's where I will keep my focus on endgame I like skill based games. As it stands right now I HAVE to get my exotics and ding lvl 80 too be on even footing in WvWvW. Gear does impact quite a bit.
I take it you don't care for PVP all that much ? I for one didn't buy this game for the PvE, I knew going in that gear was cosmetic and the endgame raiding was minimal. Anet did everything they promised, not a single lie. May have been a little over the top on how dynamic the events would be but other than that ppl should have known exactly what to except.
As for PVP players, director of sPVP has a double blog post coming soon on planned changes and new things to be implemented. Ladder rankings, custom tournaments and spectator mode will make me play this game for years to come.
I really don't understand the endgame complaint, you could see from a mile away that PVE would be really short term. If 6 months from now the PVP side hasn't changed one single bit then I will start questioning the longevity of the game.
Wouldn't really call progression of numbers on gear something I ever called integral to RPG systems. It's certainly something that happens, but often more as a result of treadmill styled gameplay. Even in tabletop games.
Same case with stat growth on characters as well. I never have thought of explicit verttical progression in anything to be of core importance to RPG systems. It's just a thing we do to gate the ability of a player/character and generate a means for longterm play.
Which is why I also generally advocate nonlinear progression. A character in an RPG can grow immensely without becoming a ridiculous demigod among mortals (unless that's truly the aim of the game). Especially when we know most this progress is a moot point in a numbers system because we will always be pitted against things with similarly matched numbers. Introduction of more active and skill based systems doesn't affect that alone.
As far as GW2 goes. I do like the game and see it's merits. I just don't play it much.
I'd probably play more if I had a group of people to play the game with, but right now I just make a character, fiddle around with them until I get bored of wandering around alone, and then log out. I like how the game feels when I'm running around and playing, but I would generally prefer to part of a social group playing these kind of games, which I'm just not part of in GW2 right now.
"The knowledge of the theory of logic has no tendency whatever to make men good reasoners." - Thomas B. Macaulay
"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." - Daniel J. Boorstin
Wouldn't really call progression of numbers on gear something I ever called integral to RPG systems. It's certainly something that happens, but often more as a result of treadmill styled gameplay. Even in tabletop games.
Same case with stat growth on characters as well. I never have thought of explicit verttical progression in anything to be of core importance to RPG systems. It's just a thing we do to gate the ability of a player/character and generate a means for longterm play.
Which is why I also generally advocate nonlinear progression. A character in an RPG can grow immensely without becoming a ridiculous demigod among mortals (unless that's truly the aim of the game). Especially when we know most this progress is a moot point in a numbers system because we will always be pitted against things with similarly matched numbers. Introduction of more active and skill based systems doesn't affect that alone.
^^This^^
As early as 1977 Marc Miller's Travellerfeatured level-less gameplay with minimal skill and stat progression and no gear progression. Many RPGs have followed this path since. There is nothing "inherent" or "core" about gear and stat progression when it comes to RPGs.
There are many of us who play games for "fun" - an actual enjoyable play experience while playing rather than progression. I personally have hated games like WoW for years that deliberately marginalize and destroy some of the best gameplay experiences in their games on the "holy alter of progression" - Black Temple-pointless, Karazhan-meaningless, Ulduar-a waste of time, Black Wing Lair-unplayable.
GW2 is a bold new approach and one that I hope does achieve great success. I'm sure we will continue to have and see new "progression-based" games for a long time to come but it is so refreshing and nice to see an MMO designed around enjoyable gameplay with a large world full of events and activities to participate in that aren't marginalized and trivialized by levels and gear.
Not everybody will find GW2's gameplay enjoyable - people do have different tastes after all. But to think that there is a "limited market" for this kind of game is in my opinion way off base. To me ANet is finally addressing a large untapped potential playerbase that has been ignored for years.
We can hope that ArcheAge does the same for people who want a "Sandbox" experience as well.
My gripe with the gear system is that there is no variation or randomization of the stats. They seem to be exactly determined by the level, type and rarity and do not vary between items of the same level, type and rarity.
You will never get a drop that makes you go "whoa, cool!".
If you look at the AH, you will see 1534 pieces of the exactly same axe or whatever you are looking for. Nothing can or will surprise you. You can't find that hidden gem of an item.
Otherwise the game s quite fun. After leveling 2 chars to max I still find areas I haven't throughoutly discovered. The combat is always nicely fast paced, even though it is a bit shallow. I would prefer it to be more tactical instead of just twitch based, but it's fun none the less.
There is some occasional bad game design, quite a few "random death" spots, but nothing too bad. Overall a really fun game.
Still enjoying GW2 go a lv40 charr Warrior, trying out Guardian already Lv20 feel no pressure to speed to lv80, taking the time to explore doing all hearts, vista's and WP I lied not enjoying it having a blast some of the bugs annoy me, but right now dealing with it
Wouldn't really call progression of numbers on gear something I ever called integral to RPG systems. It's certainly something that happens, but often more as a result of treadmill styled gameplay. Even in tabletop games.
Same case with stat growth on characters as well. I never have thought of explicit verttical progression in anything to be of core importance to RPG systems. It's just a thing we do to gate the ability of a player/character and generate a means for longterm play.
Which is why I also generally advocate nonlinear progression. A character in an RPG can grow immensely without becoming a ridiculous demigod among mortals (unless that's truly the aim of the game). Especially when we know most this progress is a moot point in a numbers system because we will always be pitted against things with similarly matched numbers. Introduction of more active and skill based systems doesn't affect that alone.
^^This^^
As early as 1977 Marc Miller's Travellerfeatured level-less gameplay with minimal skill and stat progression and no gear progression. Many RPGs have followed this path since. There is nothing "inherent" or "core" about gear and stat progression when it comes to RPGs.
There are many of us who play games for "fun" - an actual enjoyable play experience while playing rather than progression. I personally have hated games like WoW for years that deliberately marginalize and destroy some of the best gameplay experiences in their games on the "holy alter of progression" - Black Temple-pointless, Karazhan-meaningless, Ulduar-a waste of time, Black Wing Lair-unplayable.
GW2 is a bold new approach and one that I hope does achieve great success. I'm sure we will continue to have and see new "progression-based" games for a long time to come but it is so refreshing and nice to see an MMO designed around enjoyable gameplay with a large world full of events and activities to participate in that aren't marginalized and trivialized by levels and gear.
Not everybody will find GW2's gameplay enjoyable - people do have different tastes after all. But to think that there is a "limited market" for this kind of game is in my opinion way off base. To me ANet is finally addressing a large untapped potential playerbase that has been ignored for years.
We can hope that ArcheAge does the same for people who want a "Sandbox" experience as well.
(Oh and Devios awesome Sig btw - OOTS FTW!!!)
DnD (1975) precedes Traveller and by all accounts has set the standard for table-top roleplaying games. The system's core design was based on leveling your characters through experience and attaining better gear and equipment through modules and adventures.
Even the earliest CRPGS (Bard's Tale, etc) followed these core mechanics. So contrary to what you may state, popular RPGs have always been about level and gear progression (these were not invented by WoW).
By removing these, you are in essence, taking away one of the original concepts of RPGs.
Now, I am not saying this is not moving in a different direction; it is. But you can't simply deny that these elements have not been part of the core gameplay.
Edit: playing for fun is a subjective statement. What may be fun for one, is not for another. Personally, I played RPGs to roleplay. Yet, MMORPGS seem to have very little of that these days. So what is left for me is the character progression. You take away that and it's really a barren world with no sense of purpose. Sure, I can run around and explore, but I can also do that in my RL. I don't play these games just to do the things I can in my ordinary life; I do them to do things I can't do in it. I speak for myself, but without the progression, I have no sense of purpose in the world and therefore little drive to inhibit it.
Trying to get the perfect combination of Race/Gender/Profession/Back Story to really make the "first" character I want to level to 80.
I'm a busy guy with lots of other responsibilities, so I haven't been able to power game too much, but I have definitely got my $'s worth and as of now will continue to play for a long, long time.
Been working my way through the Chaar zones. Overall excellent presentation, zone design, layout. The DEs, which started out as basic, have grown to be much more interesting post 50. That's the first time I saw a zone wide string of DEs that was massive and felt like a war. That's was cool and what I figured DEs were all about. A few vistas were memorable and took a lot of work to hop around to get to. Haven't seen a dungeon yet, but will after 80 I'm thinking. A little something that stood out was the UI, the torn edges and at least on the Necro how everything shifts when you switch to forms. Nice touch. Downed state is also a nice addition to a MMO. It needs some tweaks in PvP, but makes PvE more interesting. Gathering is well done. Map exploration is also nice. Rolling is a nice touch, but not ground breaking, since plenty of stuns, knockdowns are instant which makes the ability to roll out of the way pointless. Can't avoid what you can't react to. The personal story has been decent. Overall stability has been excellent. NO CRASHES. Nice engine.
The not so good...
Gear design for the most part has been stale. It's gotten better after 50, but I've looked at lvl80 sets that look the same as lower lvl gear which is not cool at all.
Necro has loads of bugs, non working traits, imblanced PvP capabilities. Well know issues that have yet to be truly addressed. Our designer told us we need to learn how to use death shroud properly, but have yet to see any videos from these experts that are doing it. Basically he told 1000s of people to learn how to play, even those that have been playing since beta and have more knowledge about the class than the developers apparently show. We are far more aware of pointing out every bug then they are. No ETA on fixes. NOT good. Main reason I have little interest in PVP right now.
Plenty of bugged DEs that don't work. The NPCs just stand there and nothing happens. If you need a group, it should say group DE like some of them do or the NPC should say more people are needed. If nothing happens when I see a big circle, then I'll assume it's bugged. Map completion rewards are also messed up. They shouldn't be random. It's boring. They should be class dependent. I've gotten far more heavy armor and shields than light armor and staves, like I should be getting. I've seen VERY little I've been able to wear at alll. It should always be a yellow at the top level of the zone. What good does a lvl 25 sword do a Necro when I'm 30 and leaving the zone?
Combat is fun, but the limited skills are a downer coming from other MMOs where you have a much larger pool. Lack of real healing is also a weakness. There is simply no out healing damage. By design, but it seems wrong. In PvP there are simply too many effects going off at once, so it's hard to spot friendly buffs from poison areas for example. So much damage is off of AOE so battles are more of a cluster than anything else, when there is no concentrated healing. CC is just not tweaked right at all. In WOW for example every skill was easy to identify and counter if you were quick enough. You could see the tells. GW has no such easy iDentification, which makes it less intuitive which kills the flow and synergy. Wow combat was a dance. GW combat is like a mosh pit.
WvW seems rather pointless at the moment and the fps is horrid. The PvP maps are too simplistic with the same basic capture mechanic. 8vs8 is too many people, when you add in pets. 6 vs 6 max.
No day/night cycle. LAAAAME. Not much weather at all either. Each zone is what it is, but it kills the effect of living in a world. Reminds you it's all just a game.
Trying to get the perfect combination of Race/Gender/Profession/Back Story to really make the "first" character I want to level to 80.
I'm a busy guy with lots of other responsibilities, so I haven't been able to power game too much, but I have definitely got my $'s worth and as of now will continue to play for a long, long time.
Yep. Me too. My max (I think is early 30s) but I have 4 other alts. I'm not a powergamer by nature, so game content tends to keep me longer occupied than others (heck, took me nearly 6 months to get max level in TOR).
Originally posted by Mari2k Havent even reached lvl 20 on one toon.... its getting boring as hell the solo grind.WvW is too laggy to play when the zerg comes, and the long queues just sucks.Im looking forward to MoP tomorrow.
"solo grind" ? You're doing it wrong, no wonder why you're bored already. :P
Originally posted by Josher No day/night cycle. LAAAAME. Not much weather at all either. Each zone is what it is, but it kills the effect of living in a world. Reminds you it's all just a game.
I KNOW you aren't playing the game, there is weather (well mostly rain) and there is day/night cycle.
Trying to get the perfect combination of Race/Gender/Profession/Back Story to really make the "first" character I want to level to 80.
I'm a busy guy with lots of other responsibilities, so I haven't been able to power game too much, but I have definitely got my $'s worth and as of now will continue to play for a long, long time.
seems like we are playing the exact same way.. probably won't hit 80 for at least another month
I angered the clerk in a clothing shop today. She asked me what size I was and I said actual, because I am not to scale. I like vending machines 'cause snacks are better when they fall. If I buy a candy bar at a store, oftentimes, I will drop it... so that it achieves its maximum flavor potential. --Mitch Hedberg
No day/night cycle. LAAAAME. Not much weather at all either. Each zone is what it is, but it kills the effect of living in a world. Reminds you it's all just a game.
I KNOW you aren't playing the game, there is weather (well mostly rain) and there is day/night cycle.
Which zone can you sit there and watch it go from morning to afternoon to night? I haven't seen it yet in any of the Charr zones or cities. A Zone has a look and it never changes. If it does it's so subtle it pointless. Whatever cycles there are, obviously tooo slow and subtle to make a difference or not apparent in the Chaar zones.
No day/night cycle. LAAAAME. Not much weather at all either. Each zone is what it is, but it kills the effect of living in a world. Reminds you it's all just a game.
I KNOW you aren't playing the game, there is weather (well mostly rain) and there is day/night cycle.
Which zone can you sit there and watch it go from morning to afternoon to night? I haven't seen it yet in any of the Charr zones or cities. A Zone has a look and it never changes. If it does it's so subtle it pointless.
I angered the clerk in a clothing shop today. She asked me what size I was and I said actual, because I am not to scale. I like vending machines 'cause snacks are better when they fall. If I buy a candy bar at a store, oftentimes, I will drop it... so that it achieves its maximum flavor potential. --Mitch Hedberg
No day/night cycle. LAAAAME. Not much weather at all either. Each zone is what it is, but it kills the effect of living in a world. Reminds you it's all just a game.
I KNOW you aren't playing the game, there is weather (well mostly rain) and there is day/night cycle.
Which zone can you sit there and watch it go from morning to afternoon to night? I haven't seen it yet in any of the Charr zones or cities. A Zone has a look and it never changes. If it does it's so subtle it pointless.
If I have to look it up it's not done well. Sorry. It should very obvious when playing for 2 hrs that it nighttime or daytime. I never hadissue in other MMOs, so if it's not very noticeable here, it's not done well.
33 Engineer and 17 Warrior, and pretty much done with the game for now. The DE's get stale pretty quickly (kill this, defend that, escort that guy, repeat ad nauseum) which I can deal with, but the crafting is just a ridiculous grind. It requires far too many 'blue' materials per item past 50 skill (if you want to craft gear to use while leveling) which forces you to grind, which Arenanet in their great wisdom has now nerfed in a misguided attempt to curb gold farming (hint: IT DIDN'T WORK).
I may log in from time to time between sessions of Torchlight 2, Borderlands 2, and (early next month) X-Com to play for a bit, but that's it. If it had a monthly fee I'd have dropped it like a hot potato by now. Grinding can be fun, but in GW2 it's just tedious.
Comments
Read what I wrote, please. It is completely futile to post bad things about any game and bad for your health, if you do it for the sake of ranting. Nothing will get better from this, nothing improved, you might be counted as a troll. Instead either help to improve the game by posting on the official forums OR quit the game. I wouldn't play something, if I wasn't enjoying it.
Or in other words: Stay away from this game, if you think it sucks and it cannot be helped.
I desire meaningful and challenging PvE content.
Currently I feel like combat is shallow and mindless, especially when compared to GW1.
A more technically challenging Legendary Aquisition system, rather than the current waste your time ultimate farming simulator.
Loot in general, poor drop rates and uninteresting items bore me to tears. Every single equippable item in the entire game is simply a "Stat Stick". At no point will you find an item that can drastically alter your style of gameplay.
This game left me wanting so much more.
Why should a piece of gear alter your style of gameplay? Gear is boring and a thing of the past. Gear should be cosmetic only. Skill should determine if you do well or not at a game.
But I don't blame ya, gear grind get's shoved in your face in almost every MMO and RPG made. I personally stopped playing WOW after 3 months because of the huge impact gear made and a lackluster combat system.
Even those who do nothing but praise GW2 day and night trying to give an illusion that GW2 is perfect and has no problems can also come across trolls...trolling is not associated with negativity alone.
People can complaing and still play the game. That is called 'hope'. Hoping that their grievances will be heard and remedied by Anet. But when straw will break camels back sooner or later players will quit playing. But that is up to them and not you so stop tellign people what to do.
To me, gear is an integral part of RPG. As are stats. And there needs to be progression on both.
So it's not just an MMORPG thing. It's an RPG thing.
I think what we're seeing here is a divergence in MMOs, really: Many players looking to abandon core RPG systems in MMOs and going for more action-based gameplay (as apparent from "it has to be all about skill!" posts), while some who do like RPGs for what they are are looking for that classic stat & gear progression aspect (not to mention typically top priority RPG stuff like coherence of gameworld and story, of course).
To me, game design in the vein of GW2 is actually going towards the territory of TF2 or PS2. We'll see whether players will keep pushing in their action-combat demands up to that point, or whether there's a sweet spot before that.
Oh, and... I'm still playing, but with very little exploration left to be done in the game, I can see myself not logging in a couple of weeks later. Though I've tried every other gameplay sphere in GW2, nothing apart from exploration has grabbed me. And exploration is not really something you can joyfully re-run on alts.
If they keep the gear progression completely seperate from sPVP and WvWvW I'm fine with more gear based stuff. As mainly a PVP player and that's where I will keep my focus on endgame I like skill based games. As it stands right now I HAVE to get my exotics and ding lvl 80 too be on even footing in WvWvW. Gear does impact quite a bit.
I take it you don't care for PVP all that much ?
I for one didn't buy this game for the PvE, I knew going in that gear was cosmetic and the endgame raiding was minimal. Anet did everything they promised, not a single lie. May have been a little over the top on how dynamic the events would be but other than that ppl should have known exactly what to except.
As for PVP players, director of sPVP has a double blog post coming soon on planned changes and new things to be implemented. Ladder rankings, custom tournaments and spectator mode will make me play this game for years to come.
I really don't understand the endgame complaint, you could see from a mile away that PVE would be really short term. If 6 months from now the PVP side hasn't changed one single bit then I will start questioning the longevity of the game.
Wouldn't really call progression of numbers on gear something I ever called integral to RPG systems. It's certainly something that happens, but often more as a result of treadmill styled gameplay. Even in tabletop games.
Same case with stat growth on characters as well. I never have thought of explicit verttical progression in anything to be of core importance to RPG systems. It's just a thing we do to gate the ability of a player/character and generate a means for longterm play.
Which is why I also generally advocate nonlinear progression. A character in an RPG can grow immensely without becoming a ridiculous demigod among mortals (unless that's truly the aim of the game). Especially when we know most this progress is a moot point in a numbers system because we will always be pitted against things with similarly matched numbers. Introduction of more active and skill based systems doesn't affect that alone.
As far as GW2 goes. I do like the game and see it's merits. I just don't play it much.
I'd probably play more if I had a group of people to play the game with, but right now I just make a character, fiddle around with them until I get bored of wandering around alone, and then log out. I like how the game feels when I'm running around and playing, but I would generally prefer to part of a social group playing these kind of games, which I'm just not part of in GW2 right now.
"The knowledge of the theory of logic has no tendency whatever to make men good reasoners." - Thomas B. Macaulay
"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." - Daniel J. Boorstin
^^This^^
As early as 1977 Marc Miller's Traveller featured level-less gameplay with minimal skill and stat progression and no gear progression. Many RPGs have followed this path since. There is nothing "inherent" or "core" about gear and stat progression when it comes to RPGs.
There are many of us who play games for "fun" - an actual enjoyable play experience while playing rather than progression. I personally have hated games like WoW for years that deliberately marginalize and destroy some of the best gameplay experiences in their games on the "holy alter of progression" - Black Temple-pointless, Karazhan-meaningless, Ulduar-a waste of time, Black Wing Lair-unplayable.
GW2 is a bold new approach and one that I hope does achieve great success. I'm sure we will continue to have and see new "progression-based" games for a long time to come but it is so refreshing and nice to see an MMO designed around enjoyable gameplay with a large world full of events and activities to participate in that aren't marginalized and trivialized by levels and gear.
Not everybody will find GW2's gameplay enjoyable - people do have different tastes after all. But to think that there is a "limited market" for this kind of game is in my opinion way off base. To me ANet is finally addressing a large untapped potential playerbase that has been ignored for years.
We can hope that ArcheAge does the same for people who want a "Sandbox" experience as well.
(Oh and Devios awesome Sig btw - OOTS FTW!!!)
My gripe with the gear system is that there is no variation or randomization of the stats. They seem to be exactly determined by the level, type and rarity and do not vary between items of the same level, type and rarity.
You will never get a drop that makes you go "whoa, cool!".
If you look at the AH, you will see 1534 pieces of the exactly same axe or whatever you are looking for. Nothing can or will surprise you. You can't find that hidden gem of an item.
Otherwise the game s quite fun. After leveling 2 chars to max I still find areas I haven't throughoutly discovered. The combat is always nicely fast paced, even though it is a bit shallow. I would prefer it to be more tactical instead of just twitch based, but it's fun none the less.
There is some occasional bad game design, quite a few "random death" spots, but nothing too bad. Overall a really fun game.
Yeeeah not playing ths game anymore. I can see why people think it's fun.
But for me it' lacks challenge and thus isn't fun ;O
Guild Wars 2 Youtube Croatian Maniacs
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DnD (1975) precedes Traveller and by all accounts has set the standard for table-top roleplaying games. The system's core design was based on leveling your characters through experience and attaining better gear and equipment through modules and adventures.
Even the earliest CRPGS (Bard's Tale, etc) followed these core mechanics. So contrary to what you may state, popular RPGs have always been about level and gear progression (these were not invented by WoW).
By removing these, you are in essence, taking away one of the original concepts of RPGs.
Now, I am not saying this is not moving in a different direction; it is. But you can't simply deny that these elements have not been part of the core gameplay.
Edit: playing for fun is a subjective statement. What may be fun for one, is not for another. Personally, I played RPGs to roleplay. Yet, MMORPGS seem to have very little of that these days. So what is left for me is the character progression. You take away that and it's really a barren world with no sense of purpose. Sure, I can run around and explore, but I can also do that in my RL. I don't play these games just to do the things I can in my ordinary life; I do them to do things I can't do in it. I speak for myself, but without the progression, I have no sense of purpose in the world and therefore little drive to inhibit it.
My max toon is 35 and I just re-rolled again.
Trying to get the perfect combination of Race/Gender/Profession/Back Story to really make the "first" character I want to level to 80.
I'm a busy guy with lots of other responsibilities, so I haven't been able to power game too much, but I have definitely got my $'s worth and as of now will continue to play for a long, long time.
Level 60 Necro...
Been working my way through the Chaar zones. Overall excellent presentation, zone design, layout. The DEs, which started out as basic, have grown to be much more interesting post 50. That's the first time I saw a zone wide string of DEs that was massive and felt like a war. That's was cool and what I figured DEs were all about. A few vistas were memorable and took a lot of work to hop around to get to. Haven't seen a dungeon yet, but will after 80 I'm thinking. A little something that stood out was the UI, the torn edges and at least on the Necro how everything shifts when you switch to forms. Nice touch. Downed state is also a nice addition to a MMO. It needs some tweaks in PvP, but makes PvE more interesting. Gathering is well done. Map exploration is also nice. Rolling is a nice touch, but not ground breaking, since plenty of stuns, knockdowns are instant which makes the ability to roll out of the way pointless. Can't avoid what you can't react to. The personal story has been decent. Overall stability has been excellent. NO CRASHES. Nice engine.
The not so good...
Gear design for the most part has been stale. It's gotten better after 50, but I've looked at lvl80 sets that look the same as lower lvl gear which is not cool at all.
Necro has loads of bugs, non working traits, imblanced PvP capabilities. Well know issues that have yet to be truly addressed. Our designer told us we need to learn how to use death shroud properly, but have yet to see any videos from these experts that are doing it. Basically he told 1000s of people to learn how to play, even those that have been playing since beta and have more knowledge about the class than the developers apparently show. We are far more aware of pointing out every bug then they are. No ETA on fixes. NOT good. Main reason I have little interest in PVP right now.
Plenty of bugged DEs that don't work. The NPCs just stand there and nothing happens. If you need a group, it should say group DE like some of them do or the NPC should say more people are needed. If nothing happens when I see a big circle, then I'll assume it's bugged. Map completion rewards are also messed up. They shouldn't be random. It's boring. They should be class dependent. I've gotten far more heavy armor and shields than light armor and staves, like I should be getting. I've seen VERY little I've been able to wear at alll. It should always be a yellow at the top level of the zone. What good does a lvl 25 sword do a Necro when I'm 30 and leaving the zone?
Combat is fun, but the limited skills are a downer coming from other MMOs where you have a much larger pool. Lack of real healing is also a weakness. There is simply no out healing damage. By design, but it seems wrong. In PvP there are simply too many effects going off at once, so it's hard to spot friendly buffs from poison areas for example. So much damage is off of AOE so battles are more of a cluster than anything else, when there is no concentrated healing. CC is just not tweaked right at all. In WOW for example every skill was easy to identify and counter if you were quick enough. You could see the tells. GW has no such easy iDentification, which makes it less intuitive which kills the flow and synergy. Wow combat was a dance. GW combat is like a mosh pit.
WvW seems rather pointless at the moment and the fps is horrid. The PvP maps are too simplistic with the same basic capture mechanic. 8vs8 is too many people, when you add in pets. 6 vs 6 max.
No day/night cycle. LAAAAME. Not much weather at all either. Each zone is what it is, but it kills the effect of living in a world. Reminds you it's all just a game.
Yep. Me too. My max (I think is early 30s) but I have 4 other alts. I'm not a powergamer by nature, so game content tends to keep me longer occupied than others (heck, took me nearly 6 months to get max level in TOR).
Havent even reached lvl 20 on one toon.... its getting boring as hell the solo grind.
WvW is too laggy to play when the zerg comes, and the long queues just sucks.
Im looking forward to MoP tomorrow.
seems like we are playing the exact same way.. probably won't hit 80 for at least another month
I angered the clerk in a clothing shop today. She asked me what size I was and I said actual, because I am not to scale. I like vending machines 'cause snacks are better when they fall. If I buy a candy bar at a store, oftentimes, I will drop it... so that it achieves its maximum flavor potential. --Mitch Hedberg
Which zone can you sit there and watch it go from morning to afternoon to night? I haven't seen it yet in any of the Charr zones or cities. A Zone has a look and it never changes. If it does it's so subtle it pointless. Whatever cycles there are, obviously tooo slow and subtle to make a difference or not apparent in the Chaar zones.
take a look at this shows some of it
http://vimeo.com/44167145
I angered the clerk in a clothing shop today. She asked me what size I was and I said actual, because I am not to scale. I like vending machines 'cause snacks are better when they fall. If I buy a candy bar at a store, oftentimes, I will drop it... so that it achieves its maximum flavor potential. --Mitch Hedberg
so overall, it looks like the rush to 80s and/or those who take WvW too seriously are over it
the rest who appreciate a world created with love and joy are still having a blast
If I have to look it up it's not done well. Sorry. It should very obvious when playing for 2 hrs that it nighttime or daytime. I never hadissue in other MMOs, so if it's not very noticeable here, it's not done well.
33 Engineer and 17 Warrior, and pretty much done with the game for now. The DE's get stale pretty quickly (kill this, defend that, escort that guy, repeat ad nauseum) which I can deal with, but the crafting is just a ridiculous grind. It requires far too many 'blue' materials per item past 50 skill (if you want to craft gear to use while leveling) which forces you to grind, which Arenanet in their great wisdom has now nerfed in a misguided attempt to curb gold farming (hint: IT DIDN'T WORK).
I may log in from time to time between sessions of Torchlight 2, Borderlands 2, and (early next month) X-Com to play for a bit, but that's it. If it had a monthly fee I'd have dropped it like a hot potato by now. Grinding can be fun, but in GW2 it's just tedious.