Current GW2 Players - Do you think this game has longevity?

[Lazuli]

Realistically, Guild Wars 2, much like its predecessor, isn't built to withstand 40+ hours a week, every week, that current MMO players are looking to put into it. It's not. And when you start to pour that much in, week after week, you burn yourself out, you get tired of it, and look for something new.

Realistically, this all depends on what type of gamer you are. Did you play GW1? Did you play WoW? Which did you enjoy more? The endless carrot, or the pvp game with decent pve on the side? Pve is even much better in GW2. I play this game more than I should currently and am nowhere near burning myself out to be perfectly honest GW2 is eccentric and that is why I love it and will continue to play unhealthy amounts for quite some time.

[Arewn]

Considering the amount and frequency of content patches we are getting, yea it should keep people around.
Released at the very end of august, September is the first month it's out.
October we get a rather large Halloween event/content patch. Which added 2 fully fleshed out mini games with their own unique maps, a boss with its own map, clock tower jumping puzzle on it's own map, a large amount of obtainable skins, and general festivities for Halloween. Plus non-halloween jumping puzzleS and outdoor dungeonS, amongst other small things).
November we're getting another patch, apparently comparable in size to Halloween, which will introduce a new island and multi-layered, gets-harder-the-deeper-you-go dungeon.
December will have Wintersday, the Christmas celebration for guildwars. No info on it yet, but considering what Arena Net has told us about content updates, and considering how well they've delivered thus far, I'm going to go ahead and put my faith in them for that as well.
January and beyond, so long as they deliver with this November patch, and the December holiday to follow, I think it's fairly safe to assume they'll be able to continue at this pace, with a content patch every month or two (so long as the player base supports them through gem purchases, they can't run off of nothing, no sub after all).

The game in general has good replayability and a nice wealth of content for a brand new MMORPG, so I'd say the longevity, including relatively frequent content patches, is looking pretty good.

This is of course being said while giving them the benefit of the doubt in regards to their ability to put out more of these content patches, but considering they've delivered on everything thus far, I'd say they will (I followed development for 2 years, people can complain all they want about the game not being how they want it to be and blame Arena Net for it, but Anet has delivered on what they said they would)

[Deleted]

Well, I am lvl 12 in the real world, so have barely touched pve or wvwvw... how much content remained isnt that?
I have limited game time and play spvp mostly. I love getting gear for glory ranks and at this point Im r29... which means how many hours before Im even close to r80?
Until Im done, I bet the next xpac will already be out =)
However it doesnt mean many people will be left, people arent as patient as they used to and spvp has it problems. In order to get in top 32 rank in paid tournaments you need to have won... 2 of them. Show a bit how many plays them and it's a shameful number. Hopefully that will change, and how many players they will be able to lure back after a 6 month wait... time will tell.

[Moralio]

It's B2P model works so well for me. Now I play when I feel like playing not because it drains my wallet if I don't. Also I like how there is so much to do here. I have about 400+ hours /age and I've still barely touched sPvP, went to maybe 2 dungeons, world completion stuck at 80%, a legendary is only 2-3 years away (I'm terrible at making money) and my achievement list has a lot of empty spaces. Given how ANet promised regular content updates each month (Mad King was amazing) I'm pretty calm about GW2's future.

[Chrno]

If you do not play GW2, please do not bother responding, this thread is for people who actually enjoy and play GW2.

I wanted to throw out the question of whether the CURRENT players think this game has longevity for them - PvE wise, WvW wise and in sPvP.

Personally I'm levelling my third character to 80 - a mesmer this time around. I'm having as much of a blast doing it as my first 2 characters, warrior and guardian. I tried, but did not enjoy playing elementalist. PvE wise, I don't think it has longevity for me - there is a lack of "real reward" after 80 and obtaining exotics, which is not a large task. I have 100% completion on one character and it's pretty unlikely I will go through that again on a 2nd. Legendary doesn't count as "a carrot" because it's a MASSIVE time investment for a small reward. It's a catch-22 though, because this is one of the things that really attracted me to GW2 (no grinding at 80).

However, I think this game will entertain me for a long time to come because of the PvP, I think it has a lot of depth and I haven't even scratched the surface of what I want to learn. I play for about 6 hours a night and I usually log off reluctantly already thinking about what I'm going to do in it the next day/week/month.

So I say: Yes, it has longevity for me. I can see myself playing this game for a long time, especially with the regular content updates.

It isn't designed to be a long term MMO.
Anet stated they don't mind if people buy the game play for 2 months, take a break, and buy the expansion and again play for 2 months as long as those times you do play are allot of fun.

And for me that succeeded big time. My character is now level 76 and i am having a blast. This is a casual game pure sang, i'll slowly work towards 100% completing and when that's achieved i'll prob put it aside untill the first expansion comes arround.

It's PERFECT the way it is for my current lifestyle.


TL;DR: No, but it's designed that way, and it's fine

[Deleted]

I definitely think it has longevity.

I'm probably not what technically qualifies as a "casual" gamer in the number of hours I put in. I did put in 40+ hours per week at the start and that is not sustainable long-term in GW2. It obviously doesn't have that second tier of endgame content that you repeat to eat up your time on a scheduled basis, and I'm not saying that's a bad thing, I was fully aware of this going into it.

I haven't played much GW2 over the last few weeks because of work and some real life things as well as playing a lot of other games - and it hasn't mattered. I know that my character will be waiting, I know that I haven't fallen behind in anything at all and that is a massive bonus for me. I know that I can not log on now until the content patch and not be punished by the game for it.

That's how I see myself playing in the future - playing the hell out of the game when there is new content, because that's the type of gamer I am - and then taking a break in between and doing other things... but the game has longevity for me because I will continue to return, as long as Anet continues to push out content patches, holiday events, and expansions for sure.

If a friend wanted me to play, then I will always happily log on for some fun-times, whether that's a dungeon, some jumping puzzles, levelling a new character with them, etc. If I ever get bored and have some free time then I will definitely continue working on my alts (have one level 80 with 100% map complete, 100% jumping puzzles and 90% of explorable modes and two level 60s right now).

At the end of the day I have over 600 hours on my account and that's a lot of content and I see no reason why I won't be continuing to play fairly indefinitely on a casual level.

[Deleted]

i´m having fun in WvW since the beta till today... and i still love it.

here and there some patches for housing and some WvW upgrade (make it more like DAoC! ^^) and i will be happy for many years.

[VincentWolf]

It's been more than 2 months by now that I'm playing it, even though all I do now is farm, then level characters to farm more. So I suppose it has longevity.

[aevitas]

tbh it only took me a week or two to get bored to death of it i got a char to 80 then kinda lost interest the whole being downleveled for lower level areas or dungeons seemed like a great idea but tbh its a horrible idea and i just wish i couldve stayed my level rather than get owned by everything when all i want to do is get the world exploration thing done which at 78% ive given up on plus any new characters i make i just about having to get the map completions done again which just depresses me...

Woa punctations yo!

Sounds like you'd rather steamroll through content of below you level instead of having a challenge here and there.. I guess this is not the game for you.

[Karizee]

Absolutely it has longevity

Judging by the amount of people playing and raving about the game, the top spots it's still holding for sales, the glowing reviews, the free content and special events that ANet keeps throwing at us, the myriad of things to do in the game and the sheer fun of it, there is no doubt that GW2 is going to be around for very long time to come.

I hit 80 about 3 weeks after headstart, still not 100% map completion. Done quite a few dungeons, killed mass amount of world bosses, farmed a bit, bought a karma exotic set, made a named exotic weapon in the mystic forge, done tons of jump puzzles and still exploring like crazy - even on the maps I've completed. I jump into WvW a couple 2-3 times a week, but haven't pvp'd very much at all.

I was enthused about game before it launched just by the sheer beauty of it, the spell animations and the fluidity of gameplay. I was intrigued but reserved about the idea of no gear grind but after playing I can tell you that I love love LOVE that my gear won't have to be replaced with every patch, that I get to keep and use what I've earned.

I also liked the idea that I could play on my own time on a more casual basis but it turns out I am playing the game much more than I ever played my last MMO, haha. Every day I log out it's like I look at the clock and go how did it get to be 3:00am already? So much I still want to do, tons of flexibility with builds and traits to explore, It's addictive as hell, the community is great, it's super fun and the only game I'm playing atm.

[Deleted]

This is a very arbitrary question, so here is a very arbitrary answer:

I stopped playing less than two weeks in.
Horizontal progression does not interest me.
I don't need the system to be fair and equal, I need it to be fun.
The fun in Guild Wars 2 is not my kind of fun.
No raids make me a sad panda.
Visual style started out being impressive but quickly made me feel like it was over done.
Weapon skills were fun for about a week.
I have just as much flexibility in RIFT and challenge too!
True PvP games like DotA and LoL do balance a lot better.
No healing role means I have less choice. Fact.
For PvP there really isn't any need to level. Just jump in.
Instance PvP is okay, more of the same as wow really.
World PvP is zergy like in Warhammer Online. Not my cup of tea any more.
Guilds have that social feel I don't like.
Dungeons are not what I want from a dungeon experience.
Epic is not my kind of epic. Mostly just big and fluttery visuals.

All in all, I felt that there was nothing to 'accomplish' in GW2. The game felt very much like a achievement grind, something I never really got into in WoW. So if you're into achievement and being spoonfed what they pass for an epic experience, enjoy! If you're like me and you enjoy making your character more powerful by doing more epic stuff and having an experience more along the lines of next-gen EQ. Look elsewhere.

Hope that people enjoying GW2 continue rocking it I know there are plenty of people out there having a ball with it.

[Fencers]

Guilds have that social feel I don't like.

I find this to be one of the most bizarre things I ever read as a complaint in MMOs.

[warrcry]

If you by longevity means log on every day and play for 4+ hours then no. But I can see myself playing it for along time putting in 5-10 hours pr week.

[summourn]

Oh dear.

I really don't want to be cynical here. I've been looking forward to GW2 for a long time. I also enjoy the game immensely. But I can't help but, from recent experience, say that I fear it may not have longevity. I think the game will be around for a while, yes, in the way that GW1 was and still is around. But I don't know that many will be playing it.

I invited several friends, both from real life and previously forged online connections in other MMOs to play this game with me. Most of these people were excited about the game for a long time. I wouldn't call them overhyped. One or two may have been, but the others were calmly and casually anticipating what they felt had potential to be a great game.

Every one of those people has left. They have said things to me like, "I just can't bring myself to get past the log-in screen" and "I tried so hard to like it, but I can't." My entire guild who focused primarily on PvE and RP abandoned ship, which was I think approximately 30 people. Most of them actually even went back to SWTOR (or in some cases, WoW), to my surprise. (I'm also subbed to TOR, so I was able to ask them what happened, and their responses were along the same lines: they were bored and couldn't bring themselves to log in, even for the Halloween event.) Granted, some of these people probably did burn themselves out, but for as many who did, there were just as many others I knew who played only casually. One had her highest character at 33, another at 70, etc.

I also recently met someone in the game and made friends with them. They admitted to being lonely because their entire friend list and guild had disappeared as well.

I was able to speak with some of these people in greater detail, because I wanted to know what it was about the game they didn't enjoy. The two most common complaints were: "I don't feel like I'm making any progression as I level" and "I don't like any of the classes." As far as what progression meant, when asking further, I learned that this meant being rewarded with something more tangible for doing certain dynamic events. Some of these DEs can be very involving and even with multiple people there could take almost ten minutes to work through (usually invasion types). Afterwards, the player is typically rewarded with karma, exp, and a little bit of coin. It seems from the people I spoke with, they were disappointed that they weren't given some kind of item or solid reward for 'enduring' such an event. Another complaint regarding progression was that aside from utility skills, one does not earn any new skills, and he or she has the same ones from level 1-80, depending on weapon.

Dungeons were also a big complaint from many. Some said they were just too hard, others said they weren't organized enough, but the typical opinion from everyone was that they were generally painful or lacking in enjoyment to run in some way.

Again, I'm not bashing this game at all. I personally love it. I notice I tend to get strangely bored when leveling once my characters hit the 30-40 zones, and I'm not sure why. Every time I'm leveling an alt and get to that point, I just grow bored, something seems stagnant or lacking. But otherwise I've loved almost every aspect of the game, and will continue playing it. Granted, playing it alone (save for the new friend I earned) is a little disheartening, but even after my discussion, I can't seem to change those individuals' minds about coming back. They've admitted to considering it when the new content is out. I just hope that the game does have longevity, but from my and my new friend's experience, it seems a lot of people are disappearing. It makes me sad.

[WorldofWorkcraft]

-snip-

^To that, I think rewards are a big issue for this game. The idea of chests, random mob drops, etc. should really be altered as per the items. At the end of the day, despite the ability to be able to buy stuff with gold or karma, people want an item to drop right at their feet and be cool. People want to know that chests aren't just vendor crap and that dynamic events aren't just the same reward as the rest. I don't know why, with such diverse events, they all reward the same thing.

OT: Yes, but it needs more vanity additions and a different (easier/more unique) access point to them.

Mini pets come to mind. I wish they'd drop from chests, mobs, DE chains, etc. Same with town clothing. Maybe there's a chance to get some pieces of town clothing from certain dungeons, and maybe each has it's own set. They need to add more RNG stuff like that so people keep going back to do stuff, since the drops from mobs and chest items are pretty disappointing.

I just want more options I guess. There needs to be a different access point besides gold to this stuff or it turns people off, especially when gold can be time consuming to make. There's also a lessening sense of accomplishment when it's an RNG box of mini pets that you buy with gold. I'd rather grind a specific type of mob for a chance of it dropping itself as a minipet than buying it for 50s, to be honest.

They need to appeal to the grinders/collectors of the game more. Don't get me wrong, I know there's stuff to collect and do; jumping puzzles dungeon sets come to mind. They just need more options and more stuff to keep players going that aren't as time consuming as dungeons or possibly just less gold related.

[Deleted]

Well, I've pored close to 400 hours into it already so I can't really deny it has a certain longevity.

However, aside from WvW there really isn't a perpetual competition going on. sPvP/tPvP is currently lacking a real progression/ladder system to drive ambitious players.

WvW on the other hand is starting to become a bit repetitive even if it is fun in itself.


I'm sure I'll keep playing it regularly even after acquiring my Legendary. I probably won't be playing it for the 4+ hours a day I'm playing currently.

[The Darkitecht]

Short Answer: Yes

Long Answer: I think Guild Wars 2 has longevity to certain people, and less longevity to others. Many, many gamers...especially MMO gamers are expecting to be catered to constantly. They need to be held, and guided. They need to be told how to have fun, otherwise there's no fun to be had. In Guild Wars 2 you have to make your own fun. You've got to be self motivated and create goals for yourself. A lot of people talk about how pointless the cosmetic/prestige progressive system is, but it's a damned game. You play it to have fun, and there are people that are enjoying the gear plateau model as much as people who enjoy the gear treadmill.

Other games acquire longevity by guiding players through the game and new content as it's released. They tell players "Okay, we're coming out with new five mans and new raids, and putting carrots in them for you to go find. Go find them, because if you don't you won't be strong enough to acquire the next carrots we release." So the players listen to the puppet masters, and do just that. It works, and it's fun for sure - but the bottom line is the developers tell you what kind of fun you're supposed to have. Of course there are additions to content outside of PvE dungeons/raids, but those are the primary forms of new content to subscription based games and generally what keeps people playing.

Guild Wars 2 requires you to make your own fun. Join a guild, meet some people. Go run a dungeon, even if it's pointless. Go farm some events for achievements/karma/gold. Fight for your server in WvW. Time the elite DE spawns and make sure you kill every dragon that spawns for that .00001% chance to get a precursor. Work on your personal story, or level an alt. Hot join some sPvP to get your rank up, or take some players into tournament for a chance to improve your skill. The thing is you can do any of this without fear of falling behind, or being unable to access content that may come out later. You can never run a dungeon and still do the newest one when it launches.

TL;DR

Sub based games create fun for players.

Guild Wars 2 requires players to create their own fun.

Longevity? Yes, but not for everyone.

[rhandric]

@The Darkitecht: I would more describe sub games as guiding players as to how to have fun (pushing them in a certain direction), while GW2 requires/allows players free reign to have fun in the way they wish. More or less the same as what you said, but subtle differences.

WRT the OP, Kel pretty much summed it up exactly. If you play GW2 as you would any sub MMO, and then reach a point where you're burned out, it's on you. If you treat GW2 as the game it is, rather than having preconceived notions as to what it is, then you'll enjoy it for a much longer period. As a game, overall (rather than for individual players), the game definitely has longevity. Using GW1 as a model, it's lasted 7.5+ years, and is still going strong. Sure, they're not doing as much active development on it as before, and haven't for the last 5 years, due to the shift in focus to GW2, but it's still there.

[Fencers]

Well, not all sub based MMOs are MMO theme parks. Granted, a lot of 'em nowadays are. Still. Being sub based is not really tied to linearity or directed experiences.

[rhandric]

Agreed, Fencers. But, as you said, most are, and most if not all mainstream ones are, the ones that aren't end up being niche games (which there's absolutely nothing wrong with).