Is Power Creep Acceptable?

Last time we had this topic in the old forums but there isn't any poll back then. Now we got a poll!For the benefits of the newcomers, over the course of 5 years, our dps have grew from 10-15k range to 30-45k range.People kept on asking for more difficult contents but the way I see is that, contents were made easier due to ever growing power creep.

To some extend at least.I don't mind getting stronger, I actually enjoy that in a game but at the same time I want to be able to grow on a mechanical level as well. I don't just want to do more damage by default. I want to work for it, I want to master difficult encounters that rely on individual skill and not just a group with enough dps and a healer and so on. I prefer content for smaller groups anyway.

No, all it does is invalidate older content. The entire reason for having things like downscaling was to avoid that issue. Newer mobs will just become more powerful to match but older ones will be left in the dust.

It is necessary, a MMO with no powercreep over the course of 5 years is fictional. Mobs and encounters should scale accordingly of course.

They should make things harder by putting more emphasis on positioning and fast movement. That is where the true strength of GW2 combat lies.

Should make what harder? Story? I already find story annoyingly hard that I don't ever want to repeat it whereas I did HoT story a few times whenever I was bored. Like I can understand the push for a challenging META or something, that I would understand. Ofc then you guys would just complain it fails all the time. I want to actually enjoy the time I spend doing story with my friends, not be stressed out because it's a bunch of kitten.

@Lunateric.3708 said:It is necessary, a MMO with no powercreep over the course of 5 years is fictional. Mobs and encounters should scale accordingly of course.

They can scale without powercreep.They are meant to be a challenge for your level.

If you deal 100 dps you are not supposed to face a mob with 1 milion hp and have your attack incrased, because it would mean that old content would be unplayable due to faceroll. instead the mobs should be conceived around what is the overall dps. Mechanics and attacks should make the difference.

at this point.. yes. In fact they may as well add in levels 81 - 100, and just become another Wow Clone.

@STIHL.2489 said:at this point.. yes. In fact they may as well add in levels 81 - 100, and just become another Wow Clone.

Soon.

I bought both xpacs but PVP wise, I prefer the 10-15K range.

Depends on context. There are two types of creeps commonly occuring in games, direct powercreep (this thing is strictly better than the old thing) and complexity creep (this thing opens up new options/does stuff differently).I believe that direct powercreep leads to more unhealthy social enviroments and less interesting gameplay (always chasing the next "fix", invalidates older content) as seen in games heavily focused on geargrinds, while complexity creep is more stimulating for players (finding the right tools for the job so to speak).

Given the extent to which the game has been seriously "dumbed down" since release. I have to question why power creep is even necessary.

To be fair, I think PoF power creep is minimual. In addition the devs seem to want to reduce the power creep caused by PoF as well.

Surely horizontal progression, by adding more elites and gear options, is vastly superior to adding more “power.” Not only it does not invalidate older content, it also provide you more options to play that content.

Power Creep goes hand in hand with transforming areas of the game into useless dead organs, creating bad balance and encouraging toxic meta fanaticism.When half your profession is in a state of complete uselessness, you have to recognize Power Creep is not giving you anything, but robbing you options.

The problem is that power creep introduced for PvE impacts other game modes which is an issue. Defensive stats gain less value as offensive ones move up. The old 'I don't have to take a hit if its dead' versus the 'dead deeps do no damage' argument. Course this a difference on how people might gear up depending on their game mode and there might be valid arguments on various sides and situations.

I still wonder if one of the main issues is the AI though. We don't use the tank/deeps/healer model but the AI in a lot of spots kinda does. Instead why doesn't the AI follow rules that a player in PvP or WvW would, drop the squishy one first and then move from there to get them in rez mode. Mind you this is not the same as an enrage timer. Especially since enrage timers only increase the call for power creep since you have to drop them faster versus you need to win and survive the encounter. These are not the same thing.

Course we are seeing more mob evolution as we move from Core to HoT to LS to PoF so, we might be getting there yet. When I see people dropped by new mobs, I admit its kinda nice since they can't just come in an wipe the floor and move on. Course getting back the daily reviver would be nice too. ;)

Not from a wvw pov. Anet keeps buffing damage leaving our hp pool quite the same. One shot ponies.

Agree from the PvP/WvW side without changes to defensive stats it gets out of balance.

(No)

'The past should be alearning experience not aneverlasting punishment.What's done is done!!Constantly going over theordeals you previouslyfaced will only be a burdenin you life'

I think some degree of power creep is almost certain, because players want to feel like they are improving a bit, and want new options to feel at least as powerful as the old ones. They should keep it relatively low, and make sure that it's not tied into things that are only available to the players who are already so strong that they don't need it, but I don't think it's possible to eliminate power creep entirely.

I think the power creep was really badly thought out. It's ruining pvp/wvw.

It divides core players and expansion. And as they still haven't fixed the downscaling, it really makes expansion players overpowered in the lower maps.

I also dislike having to use elite specs.

I thought anet wanted to avoid power creep?

I'm a little bit concerned with it in respect to feeling 'forced' into new specializations to do the newer content because one of the older specializations, or a 'base class' combo, has trouble doing the content, but you enjoy whatever class you've built better than the newer specializations.

That is my only real concern with it. Power creep in general isn't a horrible thing. It serves as a selling point in the early days of an expansion, but I think there is a responsibility to then come back around and let the older specs and base classes 'catch up', and sometimes knock newer specs down, to balance things moving forward.

It would be nice if it was mechanics alone that made new specs shine and be fun, but power creep helps sell it at the end of the day.

And my concern is mostly with just general PvE, and being able to play new expansions and LW with older specs and base classes. If there was a way to couple earning (key) power with respect to fractals, PvP (WvW?) and raids and it was 'only' applicable to those areas, I think that wouldn't be a terrible way to introduce some verticality to areas of the game that generally look for that without impacting the rest of the game.

@Khisanth.2948 said:No, all it does is invalidate older content. The entire reason for having things like downscaling was to avoid that issue. Newer mobs will just become more powerful to match but older ones will be left in the dust.

I have to highlight this. This is the main issue with power creeping. Every contents that we once had slightly harder time on have gotten easier, possible skills that we can gain from doing all those contents no longer comparable for the newcomers.

I always believe that initial contents are there to help players cultivate abilities to do harder contents. But, if power creep comes into play, cultivating those abilities become questionable. The progressions in the game thus is lost.

No, one of the design tenets, one of the ideals this game was purported to be designed around was that new content would not nullify existing content, that the endgame would be about gaining variety of all visuals and aesthetics, gameplay and builds, and map and instanced content; instead of providing advantages to be chased or purchased in order to qualify for new content at the cost of nullifying existing content.

And it is absolutely shameful how much of a lie that design ideal wound up being, so much so that it's become clear they never even had so much as a shadow of the intent to design this game without power creep.

Power creep is inevitable in a game with a level cap, unless its replaced with some other kind of creep.Players want some kind of advancement mechanism to keep playing and such advancement has got to make them better in someway.Theres a limit on how far anyone will go with cosmetic creep.Anet have got to generate revenue somehow to keep the game going which means creating reasons for people to want to buy more stuff from the gemstore and just selling cosmetics wont do it.

I dislike the effect of power creep on old content, and the necessity to use the latest, most powerful whatever in competitive play.

However, RPG's sell power fantasies. That's it, plain and simple. Add in that it's in a lot of peoples' nature to want more power, and it'd extremely hard to avoid power creep for sellers of such power fantasies. So, I believe power creep is inevitable in such games. I believe in either riding the horse in the direction it's going or jumping off and finding a new ride. Since I'm still here, I voted, "Yes."