Guild Wars 2: The One Thread

[Lane]

After TOR, I really am not feeling the subscription model unless there's going to be consistent quality updates. But, more digressing.

Ironically, after GW2 I'm not feeling the B2P/F2P model. I mean, I may as well just pay a sub if inventory space, bank space, and character slots are going to be itemized.

I really don't care about PvP in either ESO or Wildstar. I typically only start PvPing in MMOs when I've run out of other stuff to do.

One thing I will say about ESO is it gave me the story/characters I've so desperately wanted basically the entirety of my GW2 playtime (outside of the personal story).

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I know a few that played TESO beta & said they`re 1-2 shotting most things. Doesn`t seem challenging, but perhaps it`s the usual trade show tricks.

I don't know what level they got up to, but that's kind of par for the course. I mean, I 1-2 shot most things in the beginning of GW2 too.

[Meledelion]

I got to level 14 (and then my toon corrupted and I couldn't log on it anymore JEEEEJ) and I was still oneshotting stuff (nightblade power!)

[zito]

wildstars promotional clips are amazing, I agree. ANet could learn a thing or two from them in that department.

No, W* promotional clips leave out crucial detail and make things better then what they actually are. It is called sugar coating and Anet doesn't need more of that bull shit.

[Lane]

Level 14? Geez. :P I only got 3 classes to level 5, and unfortunately Nightblade is the one I didn't get to play much. I can't go into much detail, but some classes are (expectedly) more powerful than others and I did die in combat a few times, especially where multiple enemies were concerned.

Regardless, I really don't need or look for difficult combat in questing, in fact, I'd rather not have it. Put it in dungeons, challenges, group quests, whatever, but regular quest trash mobs do not each and every one have to be some kind of epic standoff.

[Arlee]

Well, without going into NDA-breaking detail of non-specific betas, I keep trying to sprint in GW2. Constantly. "The key, it does nothing!" That's just one minor example.

I do that constantly. I also constantly try to dodge in WoW which is equally fruitless

Honestly, I need to the two week patches to keep me engaged in GW2. This last patch cycle has proven that for me having any longer than the two week cycle I don't feel any pressure to get the achievements done and as a result I play less. When I know there is a patch coming in two weeks with more things too do I am a bit more focused on getting things done.

[Meledelion]

skinner box!

[Valeron]

skinner box!

mmo design in a nutshell

[Meledelion]

It's sad because it doesn't have to be, or at least not to this extent.

The most obvious stuff is dailies.
Regular content delivery (on a schedule) is another obvious one.
Tied with the above one are "sales" or "special items".

It's really sad that all developers tend to go this route all though you can't blame'm, it's like being chip leader and forcing people all in.

The worst part is that most can be taken away easily, they're not there for any mechanical problem.
Dailies=> monthlies where you get a bonus if you do more?
Instead of being vague about what we get, be vague about when we get it "we aim to release a whole new story from april to july". Make it ready and trigger like DE's. OK you actually did "cleanse" the tower? Bam next part.
1time items shouldn't exist .

[zito]

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/i...e-gem-store-2/

New—Basic Ore Node Pack!
Using a Basic Ore Node Pack will place a Copper, Silver, and Gold vein in the home instance of every character on your account! Visit these nodes once a day to mine their resources with any one character.

Can't tell if serious

New—Metabolic Primer!
Make your food last! The Metabolic Primer lasts for 12 hours, and the effects of food you eat while it’s active will last as long as the Metabolic Primer does (rounded up to the next hour).

12 hour foods. Jesus...

[Lane]

Wow @ the Basic Ore Node Pack, that's... well, I think it's OP, but I know people will just argue it's a convenience item. I quit doing the gathering daily because it's a pain in the ass, so that's like a guaranteed achievement point a day just zoning into your home instance, for money, meh. Not to mention it'll potentially cause the prices of silver and gold in the AH to tank, depending on how many people buy it.

Edit: Nevermind. Apparently prices have gone up because people are speculating about Jeweling, which kind of makes the nodes even more OP. I'm definitely not going to miss GW2's economy.

Honestly, I need to the two week patches to keep me engaged in GW2. This last patch cycle has proven that for me having any longer than the two week cycle I don't feel any pressure to get the achievements done and as a result I play less.

I have admittedly been bored out of my mind this patch (at least once I OD'ed on Wintersday). It didn't help that there really wasn't much to do in the aftermath of the tower.

However, I can't say I've had fun in the vast majority of the previous patches. They keep me active in the game, yes, but they weren't enjoyable other than satiating my OCD to complete achievements. I realized after looking at the latest trailer that I don't even have the heart for that anymore.

[Fencers]

mmo design in a nutshell

Most video games are "skinner boxes". That isn't necessarily a bad thing either. It's nonsensical to believe so.

In fact, the greatest video games ever made use operant conditioning in gameplay as an expression of the developer's goals. One couldn't even recreate these landmark or historical works otherwise.

However, I can't say I've had fun in the vast majority of the previous patches. They keep me active in the game, yes, but they weren't enjoyable other than satiating my OCD to complete achievements. I realized after looking at the latest trailer that I don't even have the heart for that anymore.

I understand you have expressed a sort of mania w/r/t video game collectingin the past. But if you felt the game was not enjoyable at any point, why did you not cease playing?

I am curious what drives this compulsion in game players. There was a related topic on MMOs a week or so ago where a user claimed he felt the compulsion to "play a lot" despite not enjoying the game because he had paid for a month of sub time.

Now the conversation of value for time is a little different. At root here I believe there is an underlying issue of unhealthiness that drives this "need" to play games sans enjoyment among users interested in the medium as entertainment.

That isn't to say that entertainment alone is the sole modus of video games, natch.

I find this doubly curious when so much of GW2's update strategy is about pick-up & go play. It seems one would be playing the game, incorrectly [for lack of a better word] by being under this self imposed commitment.

[Lane]

I understand you have expressed a sort of mania w/r/t video game collectingin the past. But if you felt the game was not enjoyable at any point, why did you not cease playing?

Well, for part of that time I was still doing map completion, alts, etc. I had other reasons I was playing the game, but the LS updates have mostly boiled down to achievement point grinds. I did like the first installment of SAB, Bazaar of the Four Winds, (parts of) Queen's Pavilion, and (pre-nerf) Scarlet invasions, for what it's worth.

It's mostly now that I've done everything I wanted to do (80 of every class, 100% map completion on multiple characters, etc.) I find that there's not enough lure to keep me playing anymore. As I said in another thread, there were several aspects of GW2 I did enjoy, but it seems that Anet has decided not to expand upon them, or at least not to do so in a time frame that will keep me invested.

Also, while this may have been obvious to others, I've only really just come to this conclusion myself. It's one of those cases where I guess I thought I was enjoying my time in GW2 more than I actually was, if that makes any sense.

The only thing I feel I've made a "compulsion" for myself are the dailies for the laurels for the ascended gear. The LS stuff really isn't any different than bi-monthly dailies. I suppose I just go on auto pilot to get it done not unlike the rep grinds I used to do in WoW. That's what MMOs do -- institute grinds for rewards, it's part of the design, is it not? -- so I didn't really give it any thought. Business as usual.

[zed zebes]

MMO community has a toxic mindset. I don't mean to pick on Lane, but the healthy thing to do when you've played a game to death is to take a break and do/play something else for awhile. Even myself, I don't know if there's anything I want to do in the game right now, but I'm logged into the game, idling or running around while guild chatting.

[Valeron]

for me I just enjoy the general gameplay of GW2. the combat, the jumping puzzles, the look of the game, that's why I play. I have no real goal (except having an 80 for every profession but my dislike of Guardians is making that difficult) for it other than just playing it. When I get tired of it I stop. Sometimes I haven't played for a week but mostly I'll play for a few hours a week. To me it feels a bit liberating not having to worry about playing to progress in a standard mmo.

The only other mmo that I think I would have the same feeling for would be the ESO one due to my enjoyment of that series. But the poor combat in that game as it is now would greatly hamper my enthusiasm for it.

[barackopala]

oh god today i went back to playing WoW and I couldnt even embrace how slow everything felt even when WoW has one of the more clutch controls for mmo's... the idea of having no dodge or useful self healing was a bit confusing :P

[Valeron]

yeah I cannot play a game with that type of combat anymore

[Meledelion]

I understand you have expressed a sort of mania w/r/t video game collectingin the past. But if you felt the game was not enjoyable at any point, why did you not cease playing?

I am curious what drives this compulsion in game players. There was a related topic on MMOs a week or so ago where a user claimed he felt the compulsion to "play a lot" despite not enjoying the game because he had paid for a month of sub time.

That's what skinner boxes do... It's basically the whole point of a god damn skinner box, how can you comment on something if you don't understand what it's used for?

"A process of behavior modification by which a subject comes to associate a desired behavior with a previously unrelated stimulus."
Logging in is the desired behavior.

And that's what's bad about skinner-boxes, you don't play becomes you want to or enjoy it you do it because you are conditioned to.

I've linked it in the past but here you go a nice explanation about skinner boxes.

You're mistakingly assuming we're talking about "if you do not get hit by the blue fire, you get extra cookies" where you condition someone to do something inside of the game, with the conditioning of making players log in and THAT's the issue.

[hrugner]

oh god today i went back to playing WoW and I couldnt even embrace how slow everything felt even when WoW has one of the more clutch controls for mmo's... the idea of having no dodge or useful self healing was a bit confusing :P

The most vexing thing for me is just how far apart everything feels in WoW compared to GW2. The combination of mobs that die as soon as you get to them, and the comparatively longer time it takes to get to them, combine to make it feel like I often am not playing the game but waiting to; this feeling is compounded by the queue focus of most casual play.

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I am curious what drives this compulsion in game players. There was a related topic on MMOs a week or so ago where a user claimed he felt the compulsion to "play a lot" despite not enjoying the game because he had paid for a month of sub time.

This happens to me as well. I've been lead to believe it's a symptom of growing up poor, and it takes awhile to grow out of it. It's a depressing compulsion that will kill you at a buffet, but is a blessing at the library.

[draykorinee]

The biggest factor for me and why i don't play much anymore is the lack of social group otherwise I'm playing an average rpg with a borough story, it doesn't seem worth playing an mmo without a social group to me.

As to movement and controls i still struggle with the floaty feeling and lack of aggro.

[Deleted]

CDI stands for Collaborative Development Initiative. It's a process where ArenaNet works with the playerbase to decide the future development of the game. The developer picks a hot topic, opens a thread and discussion ensues. It's been interesting to watch it unfold, it has spawned it's own vocabulary and tests.

Completely unwieldy at this point, a new topic spawns 1000s of posts. There's also a topic that is strictly working on how to better manage/navigate the initiative.

Thanks. It seems interesting. It's like creating the game with players themselves.