Guild Wars 2: The One Thread

[Tristan Khan]

enough idealism...Do you actually believe that that is ever going to happen? Or is that something you wish for like world peace?

I do believe it's possible, yes. Whether or not Arenanet is able to do it with GW2 remains to be seen. I can't really know for sure until I've tried it out myself. But the thing is though, I think there is a decent chance that they can pull it off like they say, since they are trying to design the game to be like that already from lvl 1.

If I didn't believe it was possible, then I wouldn't be looking forward to trying out GW2 as much as I do. I'm terrible bored of wow atm, not because wow is a bad game, but because there are some serious limitations to the vertical progression model that they use. That model forces me have to wait around ever so often for the really fun stuff, like new content, new raids. If I wanted more of that kind of playing, I'm sure there are plenty of other nice MMOs out there that I could play for 6-12 months or so before I had exhausted all the content.

Wow's weakness as I see it - as well as other MMOs that follows the same vertical progression model - is that when you have gone from lvl 1 to max lvl, when you have done those 2-3000 or so quests, you are basically 'locked out' of that content forever on that character. No amount of kicking and screaming can change that. What's done, is done. That part of the game is over for that character.

So then the developers have only one thing to do to keep you busy and happy, add more content and add it often. But there's the really bad part, the developers are never able to make new content fast enough for people. The players will always consume the content they are given, faster than the developers can create more. Unless ofcourse, they fall into another trap, and make the content grindy and repetative for the sake of slowing peoples progression down until they can push out more content.

The reason I believe that Arenanet has a chance to make a really fun game at all levles - so much fun in fact that you might even forget about your leveling at times - is that they are building the game around this idea of players having awesome fun without grinding already from lvl 1, and when you hit max lvl, you are not 'locked out' of the content. The content is still there for you to enjoy for months and years to come if you so wish.

The way Arenanet is designing the game, with the dynamic events that branches out to other events, makes it more or less impossible for you to experience all that the game has to offer first time around. It just isn't possible for you to go through it all in one go, because you're not the only one that gets to decide what happens in the gameworld.

There are thousands of other players around you that also has an effect on what's gonna happen next in the world. Will they fail at an event and start of another chain of events this way, or will they succeed at an event and start another chain that way? Will the game go into night time mode when you happen to be online, and start different events because of that? Will some lucky player almost by accident pick up that rock out in the gameworld while exploring, starting a new chain of events that could change the whole map whithin the hour?

So you will not even be remotely close to finished with the content when you hit max lvl. They are making a game with a shitload of replayability compared to many other MMOs out there. Arenanet isn't 'locking you out' of the content at all, instead they actually scale you down so you can still enjoy the content you missed more or less the way it was supposed to be experienced. Not by one-shotting stuff as you do in many other MMOs.

In wotlk our guild was farming ICC for the better part of a year. Every week, again and again and again. I was so bored at times I just wanted to rip my hair out, but there was little or nothing else to do for that year. But I still loved my characters, and liked to play them, so I just had to suck it up. Now if blizzard had gone and done some of the things that Arenanet is doing - with the downscaling and the karma/token/transmutation stones - then you can bet your ass our guild wouldn't have spent close to a year farming ICC.

We would have gone back to BC and done Kara, SSC, TK, BT and what have you from time to time. And we would have had closer to the same difficulty that we had before, and still get loot (or buy loot) we could use. Instead of going back and do those raids, being totally overpowered and get loot that even the vendors barely want anymore.

This is some of the reasons why I think Arenanet has a chance to make a game that is going to be so fun and engaging for such a long time, that hitting level cap will for many just feel like a little sidenote.

How's this for idealism mate?

TL;DR: Arenanet isn't gonna make all the fun content useless when you hit max lvl like so many other MMOs do, so it has a decent chance of being fun and engaging for a very very long time.

[Mif]

Wow has always used a carrot on a stick model because they need players to keep grinding away so they get their $15 again next month.

But when you take that monthly fee out of the equation, as ArenaNet has done, there's no need to made players grind.
So instead of putting development effort into jiggling a carrot in front of your playerbase to make them keep grinding, it can be put into actually making the game enjoyable.

[Lathrall]

Tristan, Thank you.
You have summed up my feelings for WoW that have been building up for a while now. GW2 is a breath of fresh air and a change I desperately need. You left out one thing, may be due to you not enjoying it or you are more of a raider than a pvp person. I was a raider myself and stopped doing it due to the feeling you have for it also in your explanation of ICC raids. Well, when this expansion came out I dusted off one of my other characters that had been shelved and capped them out for strictly pvp. Bad thing is with pvp in WoW it's the same feeling as in raiding.
Not only are you up against others and have to work on your skill to improve to be able to be competitive, but you are also stuck with the grind of gearing up with pvp gear that has resilience on it to be able to withstand the hits you are taking or else you get globaled before you can even react. It turns into a second job. I don't want to feel like my gaming experience is a second job anymore. Don't get me wrong though, I have enjoyed my time in WoW since '05, and if Blizzard were making the changes that Anet are making to their MMO I would prob not be considering leaving.
I want that fun again. Anet is bringing that back imho.

[Valeron]

One of the things I wish ArenaNet would have done, is gotten rid of levels. I like their philosophy that you should enjoy the content no matter what level you are, so why not take it one step further and eliminate levels altogether. I mean they have the pieces in place already for people to participate in the content no matter what level you are. Looking back on their design it seems like they just added levels because people are used to levels.

[Snakez]

*Wall of text*

Haha you had to say "So, what will be your story?" at the end.

Looking back on their design it seems like they just added levels because people are used to levels.

yep, if there wasnt a leveling system i would sadface

[Lathrall]

It does give folks a feeling of accomplishment to see those level numbers. I wouldn't mind them taking them out either but I don't have a problem with them still being in place. I prob won't be paying much attention to them as much since I'll be trying to decide from one moment to the next what I'm gonna do. Do I want to go and take on that awesome dynamic event I see over across that field or do I want to work on my personal story. Do I want to work on pvp or play one of the mini games.

Come on, keg rugby sounds like it's gonna be a blast.

[Trollsbane]

That's a cute little Drizzt and Gwen. =)

[Lathrall]

Thanks.

[Tackhisis]

There are thousands of other players around you that also has an effect on what's gonna happen next in the world. Will they fail at an event and start of another chain of events this way, or will they succeed at an event and start another chain that way? Will the game go into night time mode when you happen to be online, and start different events because of that? Will some lucky player almost by accident pick up that rock out in the gameworld while exploring, starting a new chain of events that could change the whole map whithin the hour?

Do you realise that you will the only player in the zone while everyone will be at level 80 zones? Do you realize that events are same events in the same place and they repeat each few hours? Do you realize that most of events you'll encounter will be in their reset-to-start faze?

Try to think for a month or two in the future.

And of course there will not be 'thousands' of players even after release, as the game will have multiple separate servers.

[Tristan Khan]

Do you realise that you will the only player in the zone while everyone will be at level 80 zones? Do you realize that events are same events in the same place and they repeat each few hours? Do you realize that most of events you'll encounter will be in their reset-to-start faze?

Try to think for a month or two in the future.

And of course there will not be 'thousands' of players even after release, as the game will have multiple separate servers.

As have been said before; If you're not gonna be bothered with reading up a bit on the game, there's really no point in you throwing out questions and false statements in this thread. Could you atleast do us all a favor and catch up on all the videos and links in the first post?

[Mif]

Do you realize that most of events you'll encounter will be in their reset-to-start faze?

That's not at all correct.
Events will progress in both directions in the absence of player intervention.

[Blznsmri]

As have been said before; If you're not gonna be bothered with reading up a bit on the game, there's really no point in you throwing out questions and false statements in this thread. Could you atleast do us all a favor and catch up on all the videos and links in the first post?

They never will, tackhisis just comes here and trolls us. I think they do it in the SW:ToR thread too but I don't keep up with that one.

[Trollsbane]

If people come in and are problems, refer to this page, posts # 2392, 2394, and 2396 on what to do. =)

http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...ources/page120

[Blznsmri]

If people come in and are problems, refer to this page, posts # 2392, 2394, and 2396 on what to do. =)

http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...ources/page120

But but but... Passive aggression. PASSIVE AGGRESSION.


Seriously though, report the bitch.

[Zorial]

So far Tackhisis hasnt said anything particularly insufferable, he just keeps spewing out his misinformed opinions.

[Trollsbane]

I used to be mean to the trolls, but then I got in trouble and mods kept reminding us on the forums to just report. And what a weird thing, it worked. lol

[Blznsmri]

So far Tackhisis hasnt said anything particularly insufferable, he just keeps spewing out his misinformed opinions.

It was worse around 60's-80's I think.

[Trollsbane]

So far Tackhisis hasnt said anything particularly insufferable, he just keeps spewing out his misinformed opinions.

Just wait. lol Or check his post history. he jumps from thread to thread insulting MMOs and their fans.

[Blznsmri]

On the topic of Guild Wars 2:

Who all thinks that Kilroy Stonekin will make a reappearance?

I hope so. He's better than Leroy.

[Zorial]

It was worse around 60's-80's I think.

That actually made me laugh, nice 1

---------- Post added 2011-06-01 at 06:05 AM ----------

On the topic of Guild Wars 2:

Who all thinks that Kilroy Stonekin will make a reappearance?

I hope so. He's better than Leroy.

Seeing as how this game is set a few hundred years into the future, i think he himself won't be there, perhaps a descendant?