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  1. #1

    Are Dynamic Events fun enough?

    The game is not a gearmill. You play the content purely for the sake of enjoying the content, not for the purpose of endlessly growing your character power. This notion has been restated countless times. Playing for fun. My question is, are DE really that fun?

    They are one of the biggest aspect of PvE, something the game is largely built around. They are used as one of the main selling points of the game in differentiating it from other MMO's, similar to what SWTOR did with their voice-acting marketing.

    But at their root, when it comes to actual gameplay are DE really much more than standard MMO questing? As far as I can tell, they are not. Yes there are triggers and chains and whatnot, but none of that really changes how you actually play, you simply follow the chain, play your toon, kill some mobs, get some loot - just like standard questing.

    If DE were just for leveling purposes I think they would do fine, but to build a large part of the entire PvE game on them? I'm not sure how long they will remain compelling and fun.
    Last edited by ShimmerSwirl; 2012-08-17 at 02:57 AM.

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  2. #2
    A lot of them are very tedious, IMO. They are the same types of DEs over & over. Kill/defend/collect. It's not too different in actual objective from other games. Presentation is pretty good though. Some better than others in that there is may be more personality or back story to one DE over another.

    Some of the elite events can be cool as well. Though they can also be tiring after a few rounds. I am most curious to see how content evolves post-launch more so than what is available on ship date. Anet might have a Urgoz, Slavers or Underworld up their PVE sleeve.

    Don't think the open world content is really meant to be super serious. It's rather clear in almost every aspect of the game that it is a casual, pick-up & play gameplay experience. With a strong PVP component in other aspects of the game.

    Natch, one can devote a lot of time to the game. Though that's true of anything really. Not really indicative of design.

    .02$ and all that.
    Last edited by Fencers; 2012-08-17 at 03:13 AM.

  3. #3
    I've probably spent 50+ hours in the beta, and my highest level character was 10. I spent all those hours in Queensdale, and it was nothing but fun.

    The DE's are fun, but for me it's due to feeling like I'm part of something bigger. Instead of just grabbing a shopping list of what to gather/kill and running off alone to do it, I get swept away in the things happening around me, and join up with many other players who are killing stuff together, and rezzing each other.
    Community makes it more fun then traditional quests for me.

  4. #4
    I think it's fun mainly because it's different from what..99.5% of what's out there? (I think voice acting is very nice, but never I would buy a game based on that o.0..just a side note).

    I think some are tedious as Fencers said, but it feels more alive than just questing. And I think that's a big point. I mean in other games you have a farm, bears are attacking the farm, the farmer is afraid etc. As for the quest you must kill 10 bears. Nevermind they will always be there, nevermind they never actually attack the farm, just circle around it. That kind of detail is golden, because you would really do that content mindlessly (ignoring the texts and such) and move on.

    You ask if it's much more than standart? Maybe not, but it is fairly different (with success so far), which all in it's own is a win. As for

    "As far as I can tell, they are not. Yes there are triggers and chains and whatnot, but none of that really changes how you actually play, you simply follow the chain, play your toon, kill some mobs, get some loot - just like standard questing."
    Im not sure what you want. How exactly you want to play on the "How" there?

    Yeah, I do agree that it's a bet to take DE as a large part of PvE. And Im anxious to see how fresh they will keep everything, but if they manage to do it I think it's a big change. But its a matter of IF they can and will keep up, rather than questioning the design of quests itself.

  5. #5
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  6. #6
    The Insane DrakeWurrum's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by muchtoohigh View Post
    My question is, are DE really that fun?
    O_o

    You might as well be asking "are raids really that fun?"

    It's just as subjective and pointed.
    Last edited by DrakeWurrum; 2012-08-17 at 03:27 AM.
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  7. #7
    DE in themselves are fun but they tend to repeat themselves. Some boss DE are very good but there aren't a ton of them compared to other DE.

    But anyway... it's still better than standard questing like kill 15 guys collect 10 shoes which imo is the most boring of things.
    Last edited by rezoacken; 2012-08-17 at 03:32 AM.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by muchtoohigh View Post
    The game is not a gearmill. You play the content purely for the sake of enjoying the content, not for the purpose of endlessly growing your character power. This notion has been restated countless times. Playing for fun. My question is, are DE really that fun?

    They are one of the biggest aspect of PvE, something the game is largely built around. They are used as one of the main selling points of the game in differentiating it from other MMO's, similar to what SWTOR did with their voice-acting marketing.

    But at their root, when it comes to actual gameplay are DE really much more than standard MMO questing? As far as I can tell, they are not. Yes there are triggers and chains and whatnot, but none of that really changes how you actually play, you simply follow the chain, play your toon, kill some mobs, get some loot - just like standard questing.

    If DE were just for leveling purposes I think they would do fine, but to build a large part of the entire PvE game on them? I'm not sure how long they will remain compelling and fun.
    I realize some people hate youtube personalities, but TotalBiscuit nailed this one pretty well: http://youtu.be/yUloE28vNew?t=10m48s

    Edit: My opinion: Since WoW, MMOs have been about the solo quest-fest, where you pick up quests and go do quests for exp, money, and loot. Grouping with other players is generally not optimal, as you get less exp per mob, and if you're doing a collect quest you'll need to kill twice as many mobs so that both of you can complete the quest. So since WoW, MMOs have really been about soloing, until you get to the level cap where it becomes a very group-based game.

    With GW2, everything is group based. No, you don't actually have to group with other players via the UI or anything, but all of the events in the game are generally more rewarding when you're part of a team vs being by yourself. More monsters spawn, which in turn gets you more loot and exp, event difficulty goes up, and since you're playing with others, abilities that are more useful in group situations are much stronger.

    I really think that's a big part of why I like this game. I don't really want to go back to the EQ days where everyone has to group to do things unless you're a pet class (or can kite), but I like the balance that GW2 manages to hit, where you're powerful by yourself but feel even stronger when working with others.
    Last edited by Willias; 2012-08-17 at 03:39 AM.

  9. #9
    The DEs that I've done so far have been fun to me. Yes staying in one area and seeing the same DEs come up every x amount of time does get repetitive to be sure.

    However, the interactions between NPCs and DEs have made me change the way I play GW2 from WoW and SW:ToR. In the latter 2 I simply go from quest to quest ignoring all other NPCs unless they are directly tied into the quest, not so in GW2, in GW2 when I see a NPC run up and yell something about how he needs able bodied people to go attack a camp of centaurs I stop what I'm doing, go talk to him and start a DE(or more likely a chain) that I may not have known about otherwise.

    For me this kind of interaction makes the game world as a whole more alive.

  10. #10
    Some are more interesting than others, but I haven't been bored yet by them.

    Also, remember that the action is only part of the event. Stick around to watch the transitions to get the full effect. When you really know what's going on the fun level can go up several notches.

  11. #11
    Normal Dynamic Events are way better than questing but are not something I would do purely for fun at max level. However, I will be doing events with bosses at the end like Shadow Behemoth. It was definitely the most fun I have had in a MMO at such a low level (level 15). Anet has said that these event bosses will be harder at higher levels. I know they can't make them TOO difficult seeing how they are meant to be defeated by unorganized groups, so one can assume they will be on the same level as heroic dungeons in wow or somewhere around there.

    Then you have explorable dungeons to keep you occupied, as well as mini uninstanced dungeons.
    Last edited by Adversarius; 2012-08-17 at 03:58 AM.

  12. #12
    Fun is going to be subjective to the individual. In WoW, after doing a dungeon a couple of times it's was pretty easy, everything is scripted and you knew what to do, how to pull etc....but the dungeon itself wasn't what kept me playing. A lot foot was being able to do dungeon runs with friends, but even then it sometimes got boring.

  13. #13
    Merely a Setback PACOX's Avatar
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    I'm actually feeling pretty good about the DE.

    I know they are different but take Rift for example. Rift has a tiny game world compared to MMORPGs but the arguable the most satisfied community of players. Because Trion is able to dynamically alter their game they can always add new content and build upon old content. And as they added new stuff their designs evolved. They went from basic close x rifts to some pretty epic events. Anet has a bigger budget and bigger studio.

    If the DEs are supposed to get more complex (and they do from what I've seen) as you level then I am excited. In the starter zones you already have you obvious chains like Frozen Maw, the Queensdale water system, centaur skirmishes, Son's of Svanir chains, Ascalon Ghost chains, the Shadow Behemoth, whatever the shaman is in the Charr area. These are just ones I got to see in BWE 1 and 2. They were less obviously ones like the Jackalope, the cave explorer and giant fish in Queensdale, a ton in Kessex Hills, a pretty out of the way one in the Diessa Plateau that opened a way point to another area (if someone explored that area please share) but the whole zone has a number of chains, one in the Asura starting area that spanned two hearts (a lot of people miss this one because I always saw the NPC for for the chain left for dead or on its own). There are tons of them in just a fraction of the game. I don't foresee running out of DEs for awhile.

    I like them, you just have to know how to pick them,.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Adversarius View Post
    Normal Dynamic Events are way better than questing but are not something I would do purely for fun at max level. However, I will be doing events with bosses at the end like Shadow Behemoth. It was definitely the most fun I have had in a MMO at such a low level (level 15). Anet has said that these event bosses will be harder at higher levels. I know they can't make them TOO difficult seeing how they are meant to be defeated by unorganized groups, so one can assume they will be on the same level as heroic dungeons in wow or somewhere around there.

    Then you have explorable dungeons to keep you occupied, as well as mini uninstanced dungeons.
    I would also add that arenanet probably jumps the difficulty up quite a bit at the higher level DE's expecting the players to be experienced in the game by level 80 .

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by pacox View Post
    a pretty out of the way one in the Diessa Plateau that opened a way point to another area (if someone explored that area please share)
    If your refering to that waypoint in the north east area thats the one that opens up the open world puzzle dungeon. Basicly flame leigon attacks a town south of there, win or loose the town needs repairs(if you loose theres an additional step to clear the legion out first). After repairs you need to help get the warband back togeather to lead a counterattack. Once you escort the warband over there there is a DE to capture the temple, if you suceed the way into the dungeon opens. Once open every few minutes a DE runs to defend the temple, if that one fails the entrance to the dungeon closes and the whole chain resets back to step 1. spoiler tags just in case someone does not want to know

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  16. #16
    Some are more interesting than the other but none really bored me. I loved DE's such as helping at the farm, fighting with a group of NPC through a small dungeon, solving puzzles etc.

    There are quite a few interesting that make the whole leveling process much different.
    "Loss of blood... My only weakness!"
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    Anyway, if you don't already see where I'm going with this, allow me to spell it out: the only meaningful MMORPG "endgame" -- i.e., something novel to do after the progression process is over -- is that of the sandbox.

  17. #17
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    I enjoyed the DEs, but they can get boring if you only do them. You can do heart quests, exploring and personal storyline in the mix to make DEs just the cherry on the cake. I personally give prio to personal story>heart>de>exploration.
    It's all about personal preference.
    Don't forget there's always the craftng skills to level up!

    (And that's only PvE, and with WvWvW, sPvP and hot-join PvP there are so many things to do.
    Last edited by mmoc2aad59a6a5; 2012-08-17 at 06:06 AM.

  18. #18
    I spent most of my time in Queensdale and probably ran the same events multiple dozens times. I never felt like I was bored — and I am very easily bored, mind you. The nice thing — when there not that many players in the zone, the events are more interesting, because you get to see more of them. For instance, during BWEs the number of players was so great that centaurs were always pushed back. During last stress test, less players were around, the probability to fail an event was higher, so I was constantly finding some new events which weren't simply not triggered in earlier tests.

  19. #19
    Well it sounds like you haven't had a chance to play the game. Are dynamic events fun? Yes! Absolutely! Quite different than your normal questing that you have seen in WOW, SWTOR, RIFT etc. you help out NPCs in the heart areas and Dynamic event happen along the way. Yes most can seem the same but the immersion is so much more appealing than collect 200 boar hides kill such and such at this spot and along the way kill x amount of Y NPCs. It's all integrated where the heart areas/Point of interest lies. As it is Dynamic events can be random and not necessarily because you helped out a NPC in the heart area.

    I created 3 Norn Characters (I'm staying with norn in the stress test at the moment) and by no means was it stale. There were times I did not experience the same things all 3 times. And that's not including the personal stories which were different as well.

  20. #20
    Fun enough to me, there's always going to be questing in MMO's to level. This is the first thing that's added variety to make it more entertaining. Sure, some will get boring. But so can anything. I can't stand WoW anymore, but somehow millions of people STILL love the game, and still back it with their soul. I've tried finding ways to enjoy WoW still but it's just not fun anymore.

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