I want to preface this by saying a few things:
- I don't know a whole lot about the GW franchise (just downloaded the first one for a free trial, so I hope to change that), aside from what I've read on this forum and a few other sites (and yes, I read the big primer above in its entirety)
- I'm not trolling
- I know I probably am saying some dumb shit or "missing the point", but that's why I'm asking for clarification.
- I've played WoW for a while, and fully admit to being stuck in that mindset...though I'm here to try to get out of that. It could just be that GW2 just is not the game for me. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it at all - in fact, it looks fucking fun and I plan to try it out regardless. The whole reason for this post is to try to solidify or realign my understanding of the game, for better or for worse, so I know what to expect. I think what I have to say is pretty representative of WoW players in general, and something like this could actually be something other people look to.
My issue with GW2 stems from the apparent lack of endgame content as I understand it. Now some people claim that the whole concept of endgame content that you have to do sequentially, in addition to having to meet certain standards to even attempt it, is stupid. I won't say they're wrong, but I'm just analysing the alternative. To me, the presence of endgame content gives me something to do once I have finally made my character as powerful as it can be from a levelling standpoint. I actually don't mind levelling up, though I will fully admit that the entire process is made significantly more time consuming and labour-intensive than it needs to be in WoW.
With GW2, I just don't understand what it is I'm supposed to do once I hit 80. Apparently there is still a ton of content to see/do once I hit 80, but without the incentive to come back, what is it that keeps me playing? I've gone through it, taken what I need, and...then what? Why do I want to do it again? I actually like the idea of not having huge statistical variations between armor sets, since it basically turns the game into a math class with "stat priorities" and all that shit. That said, it still does give a real sense of progression when you're strong enough to participate in harder raids. This game seems to have a strong emphasis on PvP as well (which I fully admit that I don't do a whole lot of in WoW), so the emphasis being more on skill than "who has more strength" does seem like a better way to go.
I've read in some spots that the endgame is based more around improved aesthetics, earning achievements and titles, and things of that nature. What does this even mean? If I get the cool looking gear from completing something once, then there's nothing to make me come back and do it again - if I don't, then I have to come back and do it repeatedly, which is the grind that this game claims to want to avoid...so that means it must be achievements and stuff?
That makes a bit more sense, but again, it isn't something I see playing out very well long-term, and that's still assuming that it doesn't mean you get a title or achievement simply by virtue of completing a task. I assume it means it needs to be done in a certain way (similar to WoW achievements where you down a boss in x amount of time, don't have anyone get hit by a certain attack, etc). Playing to earn all that stuff may be appealing to some players, but I don't see it being nearly as fruitful as simply allowing characters to make themselves more powerful. I also play games on consoles, and the whole concept seems similar to trophy whoring. People gear up so they can get to the next round of content, but why would they work tirelessly to get titles? They're just going back and doing the same fights over and over, except they get a little trophy instead of a new helmet. I'm not saying one is better than the other, but one option seems more apt to lend itself to the longevity of a game. I'm fully aware that a raid at level 60 is the exact same as a raid at level 85, just with bigger numbers involved.
So, if I understand it correctly, how is it going to keep people coming back? Am I just vastly underestimating the amount of prestige, titles, cool armour, etc. that will be present in the game? Am I also underestimating just how long the game experience will be? I'm all for doing a ton of fun shit with people (more on that later), but Skyrim boasted "endless quests", and just left out the part where you're just going to be doing the same fetch/retrieve shit for the thieves guild a million times for no real reason, reward, or purpose.
Another thing that kind of concerns me about the lack of static endgame content is how it de-emphasizes teamwork. In WoW, the biggest thing that keeps me going back is the comraderie I have built with the people I play with routinely. I have mastered my class, they have mastered theirs, and everyone needs to work as a team to achieve the same goal. Take the dragon they show in all the videos, which is apparently a level 50 boss. To fight that dragon, I can just point and click and that's it. I don't care what everyone else is doing, and I don't need to care. It's going to die eventually. If it's just a one-off event to never (or rarely ever) be repeated, then I would have to assume that it can't be that hard to kill. It may be time consuming, and I may need to play my class well in order to not die myself, but even if I die, it's completely irrelevant, save for the fact that I'm now annoyed with myself. In WoW, if one person dies, then it could be bad (particularly if it's someone vital to the raid comp), and the raid could wipe. Then we have to come back and do it all again until we have it done right, and done as a team. In GW2 it seems like I am completely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things - I don't need to be good or bad at anything to really progress through the game. I can run at that thing and die 50 times in 20 minutes, but it's still going to die because someone else will kill it.
Now that I've typed that, I guess that could say the game is about advancing your own skill level so you don't run at it and die 50 times in 5 minutes. Even then though, I see a sort of stagnation happening: I know how to play my class, now what do I do with it?
I guess one other thing to consider is this: the game doesn't charge a subscription fee, so I'm assuming they don't expect me to stick around and play for years. Should I just be treating this more like a single player game that I happen to just play online with a defined beginning, middle and end?