Level 31, and "done" it seems?

Painlezz

Leveled up to 31+ and it seems like my character progression is completely finished?   As an example, on Necromancer I have all the pets, the full spec line focused on pets maxed out, and all equipment slots filled.

What's left?  I could level and put points into other specs I don't plan to use?  I could level and get better gear which gets scaled down depending on area?  I could sit around and hope that maybe... MAYBE a group gets together for group content?  Past 2 afternoons and evenings i've been looking for a non level 80 group to do story mode instances and none pop up.  The ones that do pop are either 80 only or substantially higher level req.

Simply put, it seems like there is no real reason to keep playing or leveling since I don't see any new unlocks or goals for my character outside of getting more stats (which again scale down).   

So, am I missing something?  Do you continue to unlock new skill upgrades and bonuses to benefit a spec past unlocking the skills for it (which can be done by level 31)?

GeezerGamer

They scale down, but not out.
Look at fully geared 80s in Queensdale. They are still OP for the zone.

cronius77

guild wars 2 is pretty much level to 80 get your build and gear and either run fractals or afk until world events pop or chase/farm crafting materials for your ascended gear. If you are looking for progression you are not going to find much. This game design honestly is missing quite a bit in terms of reason to keep playing. I usually come back in stints get a new character to 80 in a week and do not log back in for over a month and go play games that are just more rewarding to hit end game on.

Lobotomist

Welcome to the knowing.

GW2 is very good game, but there is absolutely no reason to play it. No progression.

You can reach lvl 80 in 3 days. And then there is absolutely no progression. No new skills , no better equipment...nothing - Only thing you can continue playing for is cosmetic items

Volgore

What the OP describes is exactly what made me quit the game with one lvl 27 mesmer and a 26necro. The classes were fun and i absolutely love the art style of the game, but i couldnt get myself to play for some 55 more levels for talentpoints only.

eye_m

I decided to take up tennis, so I went and bought a tennis racket and some tennis balls and even a full tennis outfit. I walked on to the court hit the ball forehand and backhand and realized there was nothing left for me to add or do so I quit.  Wow, tennis sucks.

vtravi

This is what happens when you have a buy to play game, where there is no incentive for the devs to keep players playing. They got your money already. 

moonbound

What are you guys talking about? There is some endgame stuff, gear and pvp, pvp is a big part of this game and the expansion coming out is all about endgame, you can play more then one class.

1. Cosmetic endgame: getting the perfect look and dyes, prestige armor and weapons (dungeon skins, MF crafted skins, Legendaries).

2. Stats endgame: Ascended gear must be crafted or purchased with Laurels; both require a significant amount of time and effort. Also do not forget legendary gear.
   

3. Completionist endgame: doing all dungeon paths, jumping puzzles, world exploration, etc.

4. World bosses and temples: large meta events that require 20+ people to complete.

5. Living Story: bi-weekly new content for all levels of play.

6. sPvP, WvW: competitive modes that are both familiar in their design but unique because of GW2's combat and classes. Their progression is unique and mostly detached from PvE (except the up leveling in WvW of course).

Most people are not satisfied with these examples. I imagine by saying "endgame," they want to hear "raiding and a gear treadmill," but that doesn't really exist too much in this game. If people dismiss the game because they don't think there is anything "to do" after they hit an 80 level cap, there's not much convincing that can be done.

Painlezz

So i'm not missing anything?  IE, once I got 31 and unlocked the last ability slot and maxed out the spec points.... That's it?

I noticed you can farm/grind to get better gear and it will make you a bit stronger... But stronger for what?  To farm achievements in lower zones?

I hate to say it... but even in a game like WoW they have you level all the way up to 100 and slowly give you new kills and perks along the way.  If I have everything unlocked by level 31 for a spec then I guess all I have to look forward to is unlocking other specs that I don't want to play... 

*sigh*

eye_m

moonbound

And really people this is endgame in a nutshell in almost every mmo.

http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/14/working-as-intended-endgame-is-the-worst-thing-that-ever-happen/

Bloodaxes

That is the reason I despise GW2, the lack of weapon skill choices.

Scorchien

Yup .. thats it .. was for me altho i do have an 80 Engi geared ... much of those lvls were spent in WvW which isnt very good ..But yes, after 30 every single fight will feel the same as the one before ..  Oddly enough reinstalled GW2 last nite , played this morning for 1 hour and realized again how sterile and boring of a game this is for me .. Uninstalled .. that was the last time...

laxie

You are essentially right, but I never looked at it that way.

Even though you are not unlocking new skills, it doesn't mean you are not progressing. Personally I love exploration - there are lots of zones and events to see in the game. Having leveled a character to 80, I still have only seen about 50% of the content.

Also keep in mind you will be getting better at playing your class the more you play it. (This is not a great comparison, but in Counter-Strike you always play with the same weapons, yet you hopefully "progress" the more you play it).

 ArenaNet have made it quite clear that they are not very keen on vertical progression. This philosophy seems to persist even into the announced expansion. In practise, it means the game is not so much about "unlocking" stuff, but more about choosing from different content areas.

A beautiful example of this is the fact that legendary weapons (these take about 4-6 months of hardcore daily commitment), are as good as equipment you get from running a few dungeons. Often times the gear upgrades at level 80 are not that noticable.

--

There are good sides to this. Generally the "gear barrier" to enter endgame content is very low, if not non-existant. You will not find yourself in a situation where you can't play with your friends because they are three tiers of equipment ahead of you.

You also get more content to choose from. In games with heavy vertical progression, you are usually like "Ok, I got Tier 11 gear, Tier 12 is dropping from Dungeon G, that's what I will do." In Guild Wars you have a much larger list of viable possibilities at any given time.

--

The bottom line is that this is what it is. It is a design choice for the most part. Not saying that it is good or bad - there are reasons why Diablo 3, which is 99% about getting better loot, is great fun. GW2 simply offers quite a different approach than most themepark MMOs. Some people will love it, some people won't like it at all.

cronius77

hence why they have unstable population in the first place. Between the living story updates you noticed the difference in player base. If your not into fractals or WvW there is little point in playing this game at 80. Ascended crafting is just a timesink that takes you about 5 minutes a day to farm the few nodes for the materials and the rest of the time its afk until the world events pop and you can go RNG and prey you get some ectos to continue your progression to making your weapon or armor. I found this game to be way more punishing than anything wow has ever done for gear progression and end game.

Octagon7711

I would get tired of playing the exact same build all the time.  They make it easy to respect because some builds work better in groups, against some bosses, solo or just as a change of pace.  I leveled my necro with pets then switched to a no-pet build.  I now sometimes use pets but prefer not using pets at times, something I wish I could do with my ranger.  I find fun in exploring as I can take a low level and quest in other class zones. 

But I understand there is no such thing as a game that is loved by every player.  Every single game comes with a list of what others find wrong with it to different degrees.  May you find a game you can really enjoy for the long haul.

observer

Welcome to GW2.  Character progression ends earlier than most MMOs, but there's still quite a bit to do.  Achievements can be considered your next form of "progression", or wait for HoT, and you'll have "Masteries" to max out.

Here's more stuff to "progress" on though.

Personal Story
Living Story
SPvP ranks & tracks
WvW ranks
Dungeons
Open-world bosses
Achievements
Crafting
Map Completion 100%
Legendary
Ascended gear
Jumping Puzzles
..and other stuff i can't remember currently.

Albatroes

The game just isn't for everyone

Deivos

moonbound said:

And really people this is endgame in a nutshell in almost every mmo.

http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/14/working-as-intended-endgame-is-the-worst-thing-that-ever-happen/

To add to this point, it's not like the majority of players want raiding as the endgame.

http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/1304374-WotLK-to-MoP-A-Trend-Analysis-of-Raiding-Difficulty

http://www.engadget.com/2014/07/03/turbine-raiders-make-up-the-smallest-player-group-in-lotro/

http://www.engadget.com/2014/11/24/the-soapbox-six-reasons-mmos-should-abandon-raiding-part-1/

Destiny only sits at an 18-19% completion on raids.

WoW has had a consistent drop on raid volume over time, with LFR temporarily boosting it.

Wildstar only makes it to around 12% at this point.


Point here being, the endgame people seem to be chasing, is not the endgame that's actually needed in terms of what's going to deliver entertainment value.

More horizontal progression would do players considerably more good in this regard. Alternate weapon skill sets, new or advanced spec lines, maybe class hybridization like in the first Guild Wars. Things that give the players more control and freedom of development.

Aside from that, fleshing out more side activities and types of things to do in general would help. GW2 has been big on the seasonal minigames and events, which is neat and gives a change of pace every so often, but does not give players a lasting alternative to the core gameplay activities.

Wizardry

moonbound said:

And really people this is endgame in a nutshell in almost every mmo.

http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/14/working-as-intended-endgame-is-the-worst-thing-that-ever-happen/

So true and yet so sad,this is the truth about game design,we are witnessing really lazy,cheap game designs from most all developers.

If people actually found a solid game to call home and stay with it for several years like 5+,90% of these games would already be closed down and half the developers bankrupt.

So in essence it is more profitable for gaming websites and developers to keep making crappy games.

lordboos

There is absolutely epic and amazing personal story which you complete from lvl 1 to lvl 80. After that there is a lvl 80 living story which is absolutely epic and amazing too. 

Yea if you keep skipping all the dialogs, cutscenes, quest texts etc. you will never get yourself attached to the world and it's story. So make new character and read all the quest texts, watch cutscenes and you will be absolutely amazed and will extremely look forward to the next part of the story just to see what happens next. Also there is different personal story for every race.

And this is just one thing from plenty that keeps you in the game and leveling.

bcbully

Painlezz said:

Leveled up to 31+ and it seems like my character progression is completely finished?   As an example, on Necromancer I have all the pets, the full spec line focused on pets maxed out, and all equipment slots filled.

What's left?  I could level and put points into other specs I don't plan to use?  I could level and get better gear which gets scaled down depending on area?  I could sit around and hope that maybe... MAYBE a group gets together for group content?  Past 2 afternoons and evenings i've been looking for a non level 80 group to do story mode instances and none pop up.  The ones that do pop are either 80 only or substantially higher level req.

Simply put, it seems like there is no real reason to keep playing or leveling since I don't see any new unlocks or goals for my character outside of getting more stats (which again scale down).   

So, am I missing something?  Do you continue to unlock new skill upgrades and bonuses to benefit a spec past unlocking the skills for it (which can be done by level 31)?

You nailed it OP. This is exaclt y what happened to me. I pushed on to 40, but yeah. I played a necro too.

There is no more character development or customization. That is what you will have for the life of your character. 

cerulean2012

moonbound said:

What are you guys talking about? There is some endgame stuff, gear and pvp, pvp is a big part of this game and the expansion coming out is all about endgame, you can play more then one class.

1. Cosmetic endgame: getting the perfect look and dyes, prestige armor and weapons (dungeon skins, MF crafted skins, Legendaries).

2. Stats endgame: Ascended gear must be crafted or purchased with Laurels; both require a significant amount of time and effort. Also do not forget legendary gear.
   

3. Completionist endgame: doing all dungeon paths, jumping puzzles, world exploration, etc.

4. World bosses and temples: large meta events that require 20+ people to complete.

5. Living Story: bi-weekly new content for all levels of play.

6. sPvP, WvW: competitive modes that are both familiar in their design but unique because of GW2's combat and classes. Their progression is unique and mostly detached from PvE (except the up leveling in WvW of course).

Most people are not satisfied with these examples. I imagine by saying "endgame," they want to hear "raiding and a gear treadmill," but that doesn't really exist too much in this game. If people dismiss the game because they don't think there is anything "to do" after they hit an 80 level cap, there's not much convincing that can be done.

Sure you posted things that could be done but let's look closer at them:

1.  I don't care about the cosmetic endgame so doesn't apply
2.  I don't care about the small boost to stats Ascended gives me.  A lot of work for little payout, again doesn't apply
3. I don't care to complete anything, not what I play for so doesn't apply
4. I don;t care about world bosses/temples or other meta events, doesn't apply
5. I could care less about it, horrible writing, etc so doesn't apply
6. PvP & WvW (again pvp) I don't like pvp so it doesn't apply

So the bottom line for me is the 6 things that you might enjoy I don't and if I don't enjoy them I have no reason to do them.  Thus those items will not keep me playing.  Again not much incentive to level up and I have even less incentive to buy the expansion.

fivoroth

Lobotomist said:

Welcome to the knowing.

GW2 is very good game, but there is absolutely no reason to play it. No progression.

You can reach lvl 80 in 3 days. And then there is absolutely no progression. No new skills , no better equipment...nothing - Only thing you can continue playing for is cosmetic items

You can PvP like structured pvp and wvwvw? Complete your story, explore the new season content, can explore the zones, do jumping puzzles, do fractals, achievements, vanity/costumes.

Soon you will be able to work on your masteries and GvG!

Dare I ask what is there to do in other MMORPGs? Except raiding. Don't give me raiding please cause for me that's the definition of no life-ing a game and doing the most boring repetitive thing known to man kind for gear which will be worthless in a month anyway.

fivoroth

vtravi said:

This is what happens when you have a buy to play game, where there is no incentive for the devs to keep players playing. They got your money already. 

What keeps you playing at max level then in other games? PvP? Cause GW2 has that in spades. For me in most MMORPGs endgame means where the game ends. I mean the clue is in the name right? Endgame = game ends

fivoroth

Painlezz said:

So i'm not missing anything?  IE, once I got 31 and unlocked the last ability slot and maxed out the spec points.... That's it?

I noticed you can farm/grind to get better gear and it will make you a bit stronger... But stronger for what?  To farm achievements in lower zones?

I hate to say it... but even in a game like WoW they have you level all the way up to 100 and slowly give you new kills and perks along the way.  If I have everything unlocked by level 31 for a spec then I guess all I have to look forward to is unlocking other specs that I don't want to play... 

*sigh*

WEll you can't really see the higher level zones and content can you? Besides would you feel better if you didn't downscale at all? Cause I hate MMORPGs which don't let you downscale cause I love to experience the world and see all that it has to offer, which is impossible as you will vastly outlevel the quests/zones and you will one shot everything. This way at least it's some kind of challenge. 

But I get what you mean. I don't think the GW franchise was necessary designed for MMORPG players like you or a traditional MMORPG player. When GW1 launched, the vast majority of its playerbase were non MMORPG players. Why? Because that game didn't appeal to MMORPG fans who crave long grinds for levelling and for gear. YOu couldn't for the sake of your life explain why the level cap was only 20 and why gear was so easily to obtain to WOW and EQ players. They were stuck in their EQ mentality of grinding for ages for levels and being on a gear treadmill 24/7. Now GW2 moved in a more traditional MMORPG direction but retained a lot of the philosophies of the original like no grinding for gear.

ALthough in the original game you character had access to something like 1600 skills and it would probably take you a very loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time to get them all. Your hero wouldn't get any more powerful after like 5-10 hours of play (level 20) but you would have tons more options.