How do people keep playing?

[Deleted]

I loved GW2, the leveling was excellent when I did my Elementalist. Getting to 80 though, I just can't be bothered to do much of the content.

How do regular players stay interested? Fractals? SPvP? WvW? I don't seem to get the drive as there is no 'conventional' end game like a gear grind. I've got a thief, ele and mesmer to 80 now but doing WPvP keeps me interested for about 10 minutes, then I log back to HotS or WoW.

I think I'd like it more if some friends played/had a decent guild. Am I missing something about the game, or is there pretty much worthless rewards for doing things except (rarely) some vanity items and salvage? I really enjoyed the leveling experience the first time, but the second and third times just felt like a ball ache.

[Valeron]

they keep playing because they enjoy it

same as other games

[Meledelion]

What do you get from playing HotS? Useless skins, who cares... So why do you play it? (the answer to that is probably the same as "why do ppl play GW2")

[Deleted]

What do you get from playing HotS? Useless skins, who cares... So why do you play it? (the answer to that is probably the same as "why do ppl play GW2")

Very true, but I feel like working towards a master skin is more prestigious and fun than say a legendary in gw2 which obviously is much harder to get. Plus the variety of characters keeps me playing, the short games and playing with friends.

[Kelimbror]

Very true, but I feel like working towards a master skin is more prestigious and fun than say a legendary in gw2 which obviously is much harder to get.

So you are saying that you like easier goals and not long term progression? I don't see how this is relevant to GW2. That bit of snippyness aside, GW2 has plenty of short term goals to go for. The only goal of the game isn't to 'get a legendary'. PvP has various reward tracks, there are misc achievements, and living story things. They may not do the best job at communicating how you can go about all these things, but they've never had efficient secondary systems.

Plus the variety of characters keeps me playing, the short games and playing with friends.

GW2 has multiple classes, it is very much a game you can jump in and out of, and whether your friends play or not isn't really the game's problem, you know?

It sounds like you've almost answered your own question, so I'm left wondering exactly why you aren't playing GW2.

[Fencers]

You play for the sheer enjoyment of gameplay. The reason every game is played.

I don't understand your question, OP.

[zito]

I loved GW2, the leveling was excellent when I did my Elementalist. Getting to 80 though, I just can't be bothered to do much of the content.

It

Is

The

Same

Fucking

Thing

I am just done.

[Karizee]

One of the big draws of GW2 is that there is no gear treadmill, that's why the playerbase was so thrilled to hear that the Heart of Thorns expac won't increase levels or obsolete our gear we worked so hard for. But there are always new challenges to overcome, things to acquire, tons of content - just always something new to see or do.

Probably 75% of my time is between Living Story/Open World and WvW. WvW has all the camaraderie and teamwork of raiding, plus some very unique sandboxy-type elements and is a different experience every time I go in. I swear, I'll be doing something on the web, check out the score on mos.millenium and BOOM there go my next 3-4 hours. I spent like 90% of my day yesterday in a massive all out war for a frikken supply camp in a Borderlands where more and more players, more and more siege, more and more strategy, tricks and tactics, each side trying to outsmart or outplay the other because that camp was KEY to holding bay and it was like our life depended on it lol.

[Gray_Matter]

I loved GW2, the leveling was excellent when I did my Elementalist. Getting to 80 though, I just can't be bothered to do much of the content.

How do regular players stay interested? Fractals? SPvP? WvW? I don't seem to get the drive as there is no 'conventional' end game like a gear grind. I've got a thief, ele and mesmer to 80 now but doing WPvP keeps me interested for about 10 minutes, then I log back to HotS or WoW.

I think I'd like it more if some friends played/had a decent guild. Am I missing something about the game, or is there pretty much worthless rewards for doing things except (rarely) some vanity items and salvage? I really enjoyed the leveling experience the first time, but the second and third times just felt like a ball ache.

It seems to me like you want some goals. GW2 is less stressed about setting those goals out for people. You should probably look into doing all of the jumping puzzles or collections and the various achievements that you can get. You get to pick your goal. Perhaps even a legendary if you want something longer term.

[Lazuli]

I flaunt my superiority to the lesser plebians in pvp and force my e-penis down their throats.

Does that answer your question?

[Davemetalhead]

It

Is

The

Same

Fucking

Thing

I am just done.

And yet, with levelling, there is that satisfaction with dinging that you don't get once you're done. There's that feeling that you're working towards something, that your character has made an improvement, that you have access to something that you didn't have earlier.

Yes, you're doing the same things - no it doesn't feel the same.

[Christonya]

I loved GW2, the leveling was excellent when I did my Elementalist. Getting to 80 though, I just can't be bothered to do much of the content.

How do regular players stay interested? Fractals? SPvP? WvW? I don't seem to get the drive as there is no 'conventional' end game like a gear grind. I've got a thief, ele and mesmer to 80 now but doing WPvP keeps me interested for about 10 minutes, then I log back to HotS or WoW.

I think I'd like it more if some friends played/had a decent guild. Am I missing something about the game, or is there pretty much worthless rewards for doing things except (rarely) some vanity items and salvage? I really enjoyed the leveling experience the first time, but the second and third times just felt like a ball ache.

I log in... and just play. I go to silverwates / dry top and just run around next thing I know some odd hours are gone. I jump into wvw and follow a commander, again same thing.

Then I log into wow, I do the daily "chore" crap.. then log out outa boredom.

[Rukh]

Go get your full luminescent skin. Or a legendary, or try to get to 10k achievement points. You could install SweetFX and explore for outstanding places to take pictures of. Or join/make a guild and try to achieve all the guild unlocks. Basically what I'm saying is find a goal and start working on it.

- - - Updated - - -

And yet, with levelling, there is that satisfaction with dinging that you don't get once you're done. There's that feeling that you're working towards something, that your character has made an improvement, that you have access to something that you didn't have earlier.

Yes, you're doing the same things - no it doesn't feel the same.

You don't do the same things as leveling. You can go back when you're at 80 and do the same things if you want to finish hearts/vistas/explore, but you're not out doing silverwastes, grinding up agony resist levels for fractals, killing triple headed worm, etc while leveling. People who say that don't play GW2.

[Fencers]

And yet, with levelling, there is that satisfaction with dinging that you don't get once you're done. There's that feeling that you're working towards something, that your character has made an improvement, that you have access to something that you didn't have earlier.

Yes, you're doing the same things - no it doesn't feel the same.

Players still ding post level cap. The increase in "level" is arbitrarily assigned to progression. Though players at level cap in GW2 do have a many specific activies they can engage in if they wish. The game simply doesn't enforce any of it on players- it is largely non-linear. You, the player, make it up.

[Itisamuh]

And yet, with levelling, there is that satisfaction with dinging that you don't get once you're done. There's that feeling that you're working towards something, that your character has made an improvement, that you have access to something that you didn't have earlier.

Yes, you're doing the same things - no it doesn't feel the same.

And to a lot of people, no longer working toward something is reward enough; not everyone enjoys the carrot on a stick thing.

[Vizardlorde]

Find a group of people that you can get along with and have fun conversations and just mess around.

[Davemetalhead]

Players still ding post level cap. The increase in "level" is arbitrarily assigned to progression. Though players at level cap in GW2 do have a many specific activies they can engage in if they wish. The game simply doesn't enforce any of it on players- it is largely non-linear. You, the player, make it up.

Oh I agree - I'm just saying that for some the reward of levelling is that steady progression - it's certainly what I enjoy most about MMOs. I have little to no interest in "endgame", but that satisfaction of dinging and your character developing is something I play for.

[Baconeggcheese]

When you see those people up in general discussions wishing wow just stopped making raids and focused on everything else, what they're wishing is that they play gw2.

People not unlike myself are used to that huge shift in mindset when you hit level cap, and it simply isn't there with gw2. You just keep doing the same thing you were doing before and run out of story. That guy who plays world of warcraft to level alts and do open world content and everything except endgame pve and pvp? Much better served playing gw2.

[kendro1200]

You play for the sheer enjoyment of gameplay. The reason every game is played.

I don't understand your question, OP.

^This.
I like running around and exploring. I like the large emphasis on overworld content, with fluid player interaction to do large events. I like the dungeons when not doing them in a min/max speed run, because they're a bit chaotic and incredibly fun. I like the hot join spvp, where I hop in, play for a bit then hop out.
Combat in GW2 is insanely fun. I went to WoW for only a few months a year after playing GW2. The only thing I could play was a warlock before Kil'jaden's Cunning was nerfed. Once KJC was nerfed I could not play a warlock and thus play WoW. KJC didn't make the game easier or harder, but it changed how I interacted with the environment and approached combat, similar to how I do in GW2. I was more engaged by moving around constantly, thinking of where to move next, rather than casting, then move and decide where to go, then sit and cast, etc.
I've been having a ton of fun on my Ranger, swapping between my lbow and sword/axe with double bird pets. The playstyle is very glass cannon, and it requires constant micromanagement to keep working, but it feels great to pull off. I run around, with some skin rewards as a compass arrow to give me a general idea of where to go, and then I enjoy doing stuff in that general direction.
I can understand why people hit 80 and are then like, "Well now what?" Because I remember when the game first came out, I grinded a lot of crap on my necro really hard and quickly, and got bored before the Molten Facility even popped up. I took a little break, and came back by playing fairly casually (also giving up on Anet ever actually doing something worthwhile with the condition system until maybe HoT). Playing the game for a few hours a day, starting off with dailies, and then checking out other things to do, is a very enjoyable way to play, just like one would do in any other MMO. The difference is that you aren't doing it because your character is being threatened with obsoletion due to a new tier of gear, but because you want another outfit, or another stat set of the same tier. People that liked to collect gear for primarily transmog purposes in WoW should have a field day in GW2 because the wardrobe system is incomparably better than what WoW (or even D3) offers.

[Deleted]

Friend just started playing again. I think I'm just used to character progression in a way that increases character power. Maybe I'll go for a legendary, as looking bad ass increases my power