The aesthetic of GW2 has become compromised/let us turn off flashy armor
Bellbirds.1679
Member ✭✭✭
One of the biggest draw for me in terms of the first Guild Wars games was how even the prestigious items in the game were still in line with the medieval aesthetic. Rare weapons did not glow, they were just well ornamented and appeared well maintained. Rare armor was detailed and appeared crafted with immense skill. Anything glowy was few and far between, with only I think one weapon set and a pair of gloves.
GW2 started off fairly similar, with muted but interesting armour design, and any glow or effects on armour or weaponry were fairly tame and in line with what NPCs were wearing (example: CoF armor which includes some flame effects which have been previously built up to by Flame Legion shamans also possessing similar effects.) It was generally sensible, and spoke more of a lore friendly magical 'infusion' through Flame magics or ghost magics and again, these were prestigious skins and were few and far between. Dyes were generally toned down also, with some brighter dyes which made sense for ornamental cloth pieces on armor/light armored characters where brightly coloured cloth made sense.
However, over the years, we have had far too many flashy prestige symbols added. The once rare fractal capacitor backpieces turned into huge obnoxious wings, infusions allow players to turn their charactes in glowing balls of light with snowflakes falling all around, you can't take two steps in DR before bumping into a human female in hotshorts with cat ears and angel wings. GW2 now looks like every other MMO on the market.
GW2 is an MMORPG, and at launch, the RPG part was comparatively pronounced, with the muted aesthetic, somewhat customised personal story, and the personality system. Now, I can't enter any major cities or explore areas at any medium-traffic time without being pulled from my immersion and hence my enjoyment of the game within half an hour.
I play the game to explore the world, to suspend my disbelief, to care about the lore and the story and take it at least somewhat seriously for the duration of my playtime. During the past few years, that has become outright impossible, unless I play very late at night when other plays are scarce (which I do enjoy, however I would like to not be so restricted?)
Now, do I think this should be removed? No! Of course not! The people who make their characters this way obviously enjoy it to some extent, and it would be cruel to both takeaway what was once given and to do it to please another part of the playerbase. Instead, I would like an option to customise one's expereince, perhaps in gardes of severity, with grade 1 hiding only backpacks, grade 2 hiding infusions and special effects on armor and weaponry, grade 3 hiding neon hair colours and particularly vibrant dyes, grade 4 hiding mount skins , and so on and so on, allowing a player to choose an experience that suits their tastes. If a person finds flashy armor and infusions and weapons annoying and unapealling they won't be awed by them anyway, and those who will will not choose to turn them off, so players who use them as prestige symbols will not be affected by such an option.
I don't know how possible this would be, but consiering how the aesthetics of the game used to be a major draw and now GW2 looks like 99% of MMOs on the market, and I think it would be a smart choice on Anets part to bring back that part of the games individuality.
Comments
A toggle or better filtering for flashy effects has been asked a thousand times for years. It's either something Anet can't add in or feel is detriment to further gem sales.
I don't think we'll ever get anything close to the level of detail you are requesting, but for me, the game's over the top flashing effects detract from the game world they have made
What sleep is here? What dreams there are in the unctuous coiling of the snakes mortal shuffling. weapon in my hand. My hand the arcing deathblow at the end of all things. The horror. The horror. I embrace it. . .
I despise these glowing balls of light.
I also detest the visual effects of passive skills and talents like Signet of Rage or Soldier's focus. This visual punishment is the reason I can't stomach playing with tactics.
Arenanet needs to give us option to disable these displeasing effects.
That aside, particle effects also tend to make the game lag more, thus making them quite detrimental to performance (especially for people with weaker computers).
Flashiness is free advertising for Anet. The probably have some marketing data to support it.
I am a very casual player.
Very.
Casual.
Yeah... GW2's weapon and armor designs are very shallow. Especially when compared to other games, they're ugly and unimaginative skins just bathed in Christmas lights.
It's gotten to the point where legitimately nice designs are getting hidden under particle effects that render them ugly and game performance is visibly dropping when certain infusions and backpieces approach. I knew when they added angel wings to the game that we were in for a wild fashion ride (think TF2 before and after the hats started rolling in), but I think I would have been a lot more okay with it if we could toggle the flashy visuals in our settings.
Cut forward a few years and our options for dealing with the glitz, audio spam, and obstructive visual noise are still extremely limited (and feeling moreso all the time). And that's not even going into things like ally skills looking like enemy AOEs, stutterstep performance issues, inability to disable ally portals/novelties to circumvent abuse, and other problems being brought on by all the flash.
Let people have their sparkly things, I'm not opposed to that, but also please let me see the game I'm playing and do so without lagging off a cliff.
I'm sure, considering how many people despise the blinding light show, that if anet wanted to do it, they could and should. But then we get...
...this. In other words: They could and should, but won't.
In reality, it's mostly the same in all MMOs/multiplayer games. Even if the game starts with more(or less) rational looking equipment, as soon as they realize that some people with lots of money will buy every gaudy piece of kitten, it almost becomes exclusively that and nothing else. I mean, it MUST be popular considering how it's mostly the same. Maybe not in every game, but in most for sure.
Yes! Finally someone said it!
The lighting in this game is very oppressing at times. My eyes get tired after a while. The flashiness in some of these skins is so gaudy and over the top, it's ridiculous. Ad Infinitum is the most obnoxious and my most hated back item in this game.
I get headaches from the gaudiness of it all.
Click on your name up top. Click the little icon with the down arrow for preferences. Click Signature Settings to the right.
If you care about immersion in GW2 then you have to accept the fact that every piece of equipment, skin and infusion is canon, including fractal, Inquest and super adventure box skins. They are all part of the lore, feel free to use them
I got the infusion from 100CM. Now My end game character looks like a black trash bag.
Nothing is worse than WoW when it comes to flashy crazy armor. 80+% of the high level players are like neon signs walking around and then you have the weapons that look like you have a Lightsaber.
Yep, Holosmith's sword is totally canon and I love that one in particular as it fits my Star Wars cosplay characters, also glyphic and Inquest skins are awesome
@Touchme.1097 No one is saying they aren't canon, but you must agree that they aren't exactly rich with lore, even if they do technically exist in the world. I think you're defensive because you want some flashy skins (and for the record, I have no issue with inquest/glyphic skins. This IS a world with a rich lore foundation for some degree of magitech, and these skins aren't oppresive.) but what you need to realise is no one is trying to TAKE them from you. We just want the choice to customise our game for ourselves.
Turn down the number of players visible under your graphics settings. You can also reduce the level of detail on player textures which strips away some of the pizzazz.
Agreed that many are over the top, too flashy, but that's a matter of styling. Some people apparently have the I want to blind every one with my brilliance theme going. However, if we bring up things that pull you out of immersion, how about not only armor and weapons, but the cosplaying doesn't always fit in when you see a superhero go past in the middle of Orr. Also character names....if you want to get into lore or staying with the game's theme....
Yes, for those that do not like all the sparkles and spangles, a feature would be nice. Unlikely however, and more likely it will continue to be over the top. People, try to be tasteful with styling not an eye sore.
i have alts with "glow/maggic" and alts with "no glow" themed, i like both.
the carnival effect on this game has not to do with amount of glow, but 'options', its shot to all sides, steampunk, medieval, futuristic.
a zerg in gw2 seems more like a carnival parade.
but this a game the LACK of any prestige stuff, if they remove cosmetic pretige stuff, theres nothing more left, any character become just a human controlled NPC.
main pvp: Khel the Undead(power reaper).
That options are way more likely to hide mobs right next to you killing you, or the big boss's red circle under you feet, than disco ball players 50ft away.
ANet's incompetence knows no bounds
As I do understand the point made by those who don't like flashy infusions (I don't either
), I suggest ArenaNet to add a feature in the setting menu to turn off infusion visualization. I admit sometime these infusions are so bright that they hurt my eyes and too bright is too much.
@Funky.4861 I have tried that and it wasn't any better.
@ugrakarma.9416 Perhaps instead of glowy uninspired tat they could add well designed armor and weapon skins instead, you know, like in GW1.
@kharmin.7683 Who ever decided that making GW2 look like every other MMO out there instead of nurturing the unique aesthetic of the world should be fired. GW2 MARKETED itself as an MMO that is DIFFERENT from all other MMOs. Betraying that and turning into a clone like the rest of MMOS will ultimately kill the game, as if it isn't fairly comatose as is.
Have you disabled postprocessing? Try it in off and you will have less impact of all particle effects including how it handle lights and things like fog, clouds, smoke etc which can become annoying with small snowflakes or ash particles that move around in screen.
The major issue isn't as much as player gear that have some shine on it, but the environment (effects) that add a lot moving object on screen that over time can become tiring on eye and brain.
I doubt ANet will do anything to curb all these shallow people who sunk ungodly amounts of time and or money into the game. Take whatever solace you can in knowing that all the flash and glitz is not communicating anything but being a tryhard.
Wow, it's almost like they're marketing to MMO players.
Consider the fact that this game provides no meaningful goals. After about the first six months of focused play, you're never going to get another piece of equipment that improves your stats or abilities. And there's literally nothing left to do in the game, from that point forward, but peacock around in the latest "look at me" skins. Consider also that the majority of gw2 players are fine with this sorry state of the game and even have a pet name for it ("fashion wars"). Lol, you're fighting a losing battle here.
the bloom effect and tinting that goes with the Post Processing settings is really bad sometimes (depends on area/zone - sometimes its nice sometimes it's annoying) it's much better to just disable it and run a shader/filter like ReShade to provide the bloom and other effects the ingame setting provides
but yeah it still doesn't solve the issue that some equipment players wear are just way too shiny especially those dyed in Permafrost or Scorched while having a glow effect -- they don't bother my eyes but in my opinion they just don't blend well with most of the environments of the game (well maybe in certain shiny places like Tarir or something but not everywhere else)
@Fallesafe.5932 Your argument is non-sensical. "This restaurant used to serve really delicious and interesting burgers, but now all they make tastes exactly like McDonalds." "How is that bad? They're marketing to people who like burgers lol." How does being the same as every other MMO bring in players? MMO players who want this experience will either a) have a game that fills this role already or b) be split between hundreds of different MMOs that are all that same, leaving GW2 with a sliver of the market. An MMORPG that is both excellent AND different will command much more traffic and the market audience because you will have people who both make it their 'main' and people who play it alongside their 'main' because it is /different/ from it. Not to mention that being different and breaking MMO tropes was a BIG part of GW2s marketing, and it WORKED, while they stuck to it. Do you think GW2 would have succeeded as long as it has if it was another WOW/Aion/etc clone, if it offered nothing different?
Also, read the comments of the other players in this thread. Are they not MMO players? Am /I/ not an MMO player? Clearly many real live MMO players don't want GW2 to be another gaudy clone.
@Fallesafe.5932 Also, it's not like they can't market with that too. It almost like you missed the part where I was asking for the /option/ to turn it off.
one thing i like about FF14 is that there's no over-the-top/outrageously shiny stuff. everything in the game (even if it has glow effects) fits the whole aesthetic and environment (immersion breaking mounts and other stuff aside --- but still everything fits well almost as if "most" of what they put in the game was well thought of with regards to how well it'd fit in-game)
wish GW2 would follow the same art direction (not necessarily the same art style mind you)
GW2 has done many things that are different. When it came out, the idea of things like having a dodge roll, weapon swaps, and the abolition of the holy trinity of classes was groundbreaking sned sent ripples through the gaming world. That it haven't grown into a titan is wholly due to what ANet did with it and how they handled what they had. That and marketing. Point being - while GW2 is not like many other MMORPG's and uses that as its core strength, SOME things just are synonymous with gamers.
Suck as wanting a bit of bling. Something to show their hard work. Or their wallet I suppose. Which is all well and good, fashion is as much a thing here as in real life.
But... BUT. When you go around in short pants with a peace of the night sky on them and massive angel wings with a sword that drips ooze and swirl with void-y blackj colors... then that is not fashion to me. That just tells me you want to be noticed. Noticed for your appearance. Well, that will not make me remember you. It might make me remember what I saw, but I won't remember YOU, person who wore it. But. If you are a noticable player, be if for your personality, your controbutions, or how you play, then I might remember you. Heck, I might even try to find you again. A good person is always worth finding. A suit of flash armor is just that - flashy.
@Oxstar.7643 I agree. Angel wings, hotshorts and a glowing shorts is as much fashion as wearing an entire outfit from Gucci with no actual thought as to the actual outfit. Wouldn't wonderfully designed, immersive armour feel more prestigious anyhow, like you're actually playing a powerful individual within the fantasy world? I have had many people whisper me on characters that had immersive, fairly understated but very lovingly put together appearances to tell me how much they enjoyed them. There is definitely a considerable part of the playerbase that prefers this. All shiny wings, hotshorts and legendary skins tells me you spend too much money on and assign too much importance on appearing 'powerful' in a completely fictional world that you don't even care about from a lore/story/roleplaying perspective.
@Astyrah.4015 I agree. Even the most gaudy things in FFXIV look like they fit into the world because FFXIV operates in a fictional universe where such things have always existed, with an overall more lighthearted tone in terms of art-style/aesthetic which the Final Fantasy IP has been known for for quite a long time. The Guild Wars franchise all the way from the first games to vanilla GW2 has an extremely muted, down to earth, mid-fantasy appearance, with no setup for things such as those horrid angel wings. Who made them? How do they work? How are they not extremely impractical in combat? They are an extremely lazy cash grab.
I think ANet, and indeed many of the players, need to realize that gorgerous gear is not in how flashy it is but how well it fulfills the fatasy of the class you play.
Picture, if you will, a warrior. His chest plate is reinforced to prevent armor piercing. His helmet has a visor with small spikes on it to prevent enemies from wrestling him down. His legs are rounded at the knees to make arrows slide off. His boots are simple yet elegant, with ribbed soles to get a better grip on the ground. His shoulders are simple, yet a square of metal on both sides, emblazoned with the banner of his home town.
He is an imposing figure, for although you can tell he have seen battle, he keeps his gear so well maintained that it shines as he walks. His sword is well balanced, practical, a tool made to kill, with a slight curve at the top for cutting power, yet with a vicious point to it. It is made of the best steel, and it has, like him, seen battle. It's stained with the blood of his enemies.
This, to me, truly fulfills a class fantasy. It is infinetly better than "lol, gear with super glowy bits and huge fire sword". There are times when I swear ANet are becoming the michael bay of MMORPG's - I think they should focus less money on bling and more on the content.
No.
I earned my flashy infusions and armor. You should have to see my glory and shiny floppy hat from the gem store!
@Delita Silverburg.8632 Well luckily for you no one wants to take them away! We just want the option to turn them off
Not sure if you're being sarcastic.
Personally I see the it from the opposite side: we wouldn't have an issue with aesthetics if people didn't dress themselves so brightly. Cat Ears and gigantic glowing wings are popular, and you can tell they are popular because everyone is wearing them.
"Self awareness is knowing when you're sitting at the throne of ignorance." --Leo G.
No, that is just your subjective opinion on the subject. Some people like overly flashy items, others do not. Some people target a very specific visual style for their character while others aim to stack as many effects as possible. An extensive options menu which lets players customize what kinds of items and item effects are displayed on their screen is the best solution for most players.
Since I am an MMO player and said something about similar in a similar forum, perhaps it helps to state that these flashy things are not just 'gaudy' or 'not in style with the game'. They very well might be and I'm okay with that.
The reason I want to be able to turn flashiness off is because it gives me migraines. I'm sure I am not the only one here. Flashiness for migraines is like screen shakes for motion sickness; both are terrible for the people having to deal with it. The ability to turn them off should be basic in every game.
WP's vid on a full legendary armor is a good representation of what's going on. Add a frost legion infusion and throw in some colors too and you get that ridiculous aesthetic. I have no idea how people enjoy that. I for one, enjoy giving my characters unique looks that would make sense in the lore (my warrior vigil always has the vigil pauldrons and helmet to signify being a meber of the order, my Charr rev wears dreadnought pieces and has a blood legion banner on their back, my firebrand female uses a scythe staff and wears spearmarshal pieces etc). To each their own, but trying to do a tequatl fight I noticed how 75%+ of the people around were glowing to no end and everyone mounted a "star-infused" or whatever Skyscale, as if they want to block the view with their puke-worthy appearances.
Won't lie though. I've bought the shrine guardian outfit and backpiece, alongside the new katana style swords and daggers for my dragonhunter, cause I like her being my single japanese-looking character, being a bit flashier than the rest.
TLDR: I want options to not see infusions and particle effects. The LOD option limits them but doesn't remove them I think.
SUPREME branded items are popular in the real world and you see them everywhere, but are they actually good, or just wearable signs that you have way too much money to throw around?
It doesn't matter to me how other players look. I just want more settings that will improve my comp's performance. I can't approach a group of players without my rig having a stroke. I did all the recommendations. Now I want to disable back items and infusions. I have a descent rig too. My other games run great. Just can't disable enough things for a smooth experience around groups.
The next time you get angry at someone try walking a mile in their shoes. After that, who cares! You're a mile away and you have their shoes! -Someone with more awesome quotes than me
I think you might be thinking of Guild Wars with rose tinted glasses on. I have played both games. Both games have their non esthetic items. Look at the rainment of the lich. It is available in guild wars, it has wings, hooved feet and characters with no face and glowing evil eyes.
https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Raiment_of_the_Lich
You can get that item in GW2 as an outfit but it’s an item that originally existed in GW1. So saying angel wings are out of place in GW2 is a moot point considering there are races with manta ray wings (largos) and large cow-cats stomping around.
I agree for those that do not wish to see these items there should be an option to turn off infusions, back pieces and spell effects on other players. I am one of those people that would like to turn off infusions.
But please do not say that the items they have added in to GW2 since after the start are out of place. I’m sure GW1 would have had tons of shiny items too if it could have handled the load.
Might wanna get that checked out.
Prestige Worldwide!
Well, GW2 nowadays looks just like any other flashy MMORPG, because ANet wants it to make as much money as any other flashy MMORPG on the market - and these skins earn them a LOT of money.
As sad as it is, today's MMORPGs aren't made around believable world-building, inspiring characters and aesthetic visuals. Also the fact that we, the players who started playing GW2 at launch, are now 8 years older makes us more picky and knowledgable in terms of game.
I would compare today's Guild Wars 2 to the latest Star Wars trilogy (7, 8, 9). It just reflects what the market and target wants. What might have first been a revision and expansion of original Guild Wars is actually gone, literally. It's like a never-ending TV-series that does whatever it can to make people watch.
The bigger part of online gaming industry has really turned into a huge supermarket. But, being able to turn off all that eyeburning noise would be much appreciated.
Renegade Rework - A fan-made project including artwork and Wiki
https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/72196/become-renegade-the-greatsword-wielding-revenant#latest
and yet there are still some demanding bikinis and other 'Korean cliche' items. Hope this day will never come.
i think the rationality behind that is "since you put so many immersion breaking christmas-lights armour, why not put something completely out of setting/theme?"
personally i'd tolerate those cliche stuff since they tend to not glow or shine or come with light effects at all
@DonArkanio.6419 But is it REALLY what people want? Nobody WANTED Minecraft, but turns out people really /WANTED/ Minecraft, once it was offered.
@ElijahFitzroy.5762 Are you actually comparing the Largos and Charr, races that have a deep lore and history and make sense being the way they are physically with non-sensical angel wings that came out of nowhere? Does that mean since birds exist irl that it would make perfect sense for humans to suddenly sprout wings? They are /completely/ out of place. And I acknowledge that GW1 has flashy items, but they are much, MUCH more few and far between, and I acknowledged this in my original post.
And, again, I'm asking for the /option/ to hide them client-side, not have them removed. But no, random angel wings do not make sense, no matter how you spin it. The largos have manta ray fins (that look like 'wings') for underwater locomotion. The Charr are a beast race with a great deal of thought put into how they function on from an anatomical standpoint, from the two sets of ears each being suited to a different frequency to their hunch due to their necks connecting to the back of their skull which allows for bi-pedal running. Thats good design. Taking a pair of ugly (and anatomically inaccurate) wings and copy-and-pasting them onto a character is not.
I hope there will be more realistic and elegant armor designs with EoD.
With all the shiny armor and weapons sets, it does get a bit ridiculous. At least I don't have to spend RL money or grind out achievements for much of the gaudy stuff available. So personally I don't mind, but being glowy is definitely not special in this game. If anything, staying in "regular" armor makes you stand out more. haha
this. lol i tend to notice more the people who tastefully put together the stuff available ingame or sometimes mixed with the old gemstore armour sets without flashy infusions than the ones who stack every possible effects/infusions with every possible flaming/shining thing from the gemstore/achievements/etc.
sure i'd "see" the shiny people right away from the get-go but but i usually pay them no attention but then if i spot a well-put-together wardrobe from a player with the "regular" stuff (yeah sometimes you really see them stand out or "shine" amongst the visual noise), sometimes i tend to zoom a bit just to see what kind of transmog they got going there.