2 questions for Anet

I read your update but I am still left with 2 questions. Are we to expect more expansions? Has the alliance system for wvw been cancelled?

@"Dashingsteel.3410" said:Has the alliance system for wvw been cancelled?

"Our long-term plans for the game like World Restructuring and large-scale improvements to quality of life are still in the works." To one of your questions...

D:

@GDchiaScrub.3241 said:

@"Dashingsteel.3410" said:Has the alliance system for wvw been cancelled?

ok thanks... so used to hearing it as the alliance system wasn't sure if that was the same thing or not

@Dashingsteel.3410 said:

@GDchiaScrub.3241 said:

@Dashingsteel.3410 said:Has the alliance system for wvw been cancelled?

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@Dashingsteel.3410 said:

@GDchiaScrub.3241 said:

@Dashingsteel.3410 said:Has the alliance system for wvw been cancelled?

Indeed, but it isn't out right rejection which still answer's the OP's question.

@GDchiaScrub.3241 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@Dashingsteel.3410 said:

@GDchiaScrub.3241 said:

@Dashingsteel.3410 said:Has the alliance system for wvw been cancelled?

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@GDchiaScrub.3241 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@Dashingsteel.3410 said:

@GDchiaScrub.3241 said:

@Dashingsteel.3410 said:Has the alliance system for wvw been cancelled?

Semantics at this points, but I will clarify. OP's question was specific about canceling. "Has the alliance system for wvw been cancelled?" The official response says it wasn't canceled. My bias is still skeptical (probably like you), because I'd rather see things done before things get hyped.

@GDchiaScrub.3241 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@GDchiaScrub.3241 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@Dashingsteel.3410 said:

@GDchiaScrub.3241 said:

@Dashingsteel.3410 said:Has the alliance system for wvw been cancelled?

@"Dashingsteel.3410" said:Are we to expect more expansions?

I wouldn't assume that ANet will answer that directly.If they said, "read my lips: no more expansions" without announcing a new system (for monetization and to introduce elite specs, major stories, & other features), then people would go crazy. And if they said, "yes, more expansions" without announcing a general date, fans would also go crazy. Therefore, I don't see them addressing the question anytime soon.

The game was fun before we knew HoT was coming (although the pre-HoT content drought was awful) and the game has been fun with HoT & PoF. I'm willing to cut them slack that whatever they do going forward will also be fun.(Or, maybe it won't be. But we won't learn that based on whether there will be or won't be expansions going forward.)

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:

@"Dashingsteel.3410" said:Are we to expect more expansions?

I wouldn't assume that ANet will answer that directly.If they said, "read my lips: no more expansions" without announcing a new system (for monetization and to introduce elite specs, major stories, & other features), then people would go crazy. And if they said, "yes, more expansions" without announcing a general date, fans would also go crazy. Therefore, I don't see them addressing the question anytime soon.Well, not saying anything at all about it also drives people crazy. So which crazy is best? I would still like to know whether expansions are in the cards at all still.The game was fun before we knew HoT was coming (although the pre-HoT content drought was awful) and the game has been fun with HoT & PoF. I'm willing to cut them slack that whatever they do going forward will also be fun.(Or, maybe it won't be. But we won't learn that based on whether there will be or won't be expansions going forward.)That's really a matter of opinion. I think that GW2 vanilla or pre-HoT if you prefer was terribly boring. It's the first RPG style game where I hated leveling and felt like there wasn't really anything of interest to do once I got to 80 after doing that chore of a leveling process. So with HoT it got a bit better but now with PoF, particularly with mounts the game has become a lot better for me.

The problem with not having an expansion on the horizon is that more and more people may get bored and feel like they don't want to spend money on a game that doesn't give a big content injection to keep things interesting. I certainly don't get much mileage out of LS4. Something has got to change positively with regards to content or I know it won't hold my interest anymore for long.

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@GDchiaScrub.3241 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@GDchiaScrub.3241 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@Dashingsteel.3410 said:

@GDchiaScrub.3241 said:

@Dashingsteel.3410 said:Has the alliance system for wvw been cancelled?

It really isn't a strange thing for me to say.

"are still in the works" =/= "are not in the works" These two are not the same.

In theory they could officially cancel it later, but as of now...they have not. Cease this please, as I'm not here to debate speculative interpretation of ANET's response. That's irrelevant to the OP's query that was specific to cancellation (which hasn't been done yet according to ANET).

D:

@Gehenna.3625 said:Well, not saying anything at all about it also drives people crazy. So which crazy is best?I don't know. But unlike you or I, ANet has a financial stake in getting it right. I'd bet on their answer, not mine.

I would still like to know whether expansions are in the cards at all still.Sure, that's reasonable.

The game was fun before we knew HoT was comingThat's really a matter of opinion.Let me rephrase: millions found the game fun before anyone knew about expansions. Many found the expansions fun. Objectively, the game was 'fun' for enough people enough of the time to allow ANet to grow substantially (even discounting the 140+ staff-positions allocated to other projects, assuming that's close enough to accurate for discussion).

The point being: I recommend that people not pin their hopes on ANet being more forthcoming now, despite what's happened. If the game doesn't hold interest, find one that does. This game makes it easy to come & go as one likes, without missing out on much except the excitement of launch days/weeks, which are ephemeral in any case.

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:Well, not saying anything at all about it also drives people crazy. So which crazy is best?I don't know. But unlike you or I, ANet has a financial stake in getting it right. I'd bet on their answer, not mine.Well their more recent bets didn't exactly pay off, so let's not assume they know best.I would still like to know whether expansions are in the cards at all still.Sure, that's reasonable.

The game was fun before we knew HoT was comingThat's really a matter of opinion.Let me rephrase: millions found the game fun before anyone knew about expansions. Many found the expansions fun. Objectively, the game was 'fun' for enough people enough of the time to allow ANet to grow substantially (even discounting the 140+ staff-positions allocated to other projects, assuming that's close enough to accurate for discussion).Considering that the revenue peaks never got over a third of the initial peak of the game coming out in 2012, I have to conclude that most players of the original millions never made it to the expansions. Sure a lot of people stuck around but also a lot left.The problem with not having an expansion on the horizon is that more and more people may get bored and feel like they don't want to spend money on a game that doesn't give a big content injection to keep things interesting.But that was true pre-HoT and people spent money on the game anyhow, with a gem shop that wasn't as efficiently run as it is now.It was a downward trend already then and it only went up again after PoF but that didn't last either. Running it more efficiently to me means that you get more money out of the same or fewer players. It's not an indication of a growing player base.

Now the one thing I can imagine is that by not saying that there will not be another expansion they know that more people will hold on and still play and spend. That's of course not very nice but that's probably better from a business point of view, although for the long term it will cost them goodwill. I really have no idea how many people will be happy to continue this game if they knew there would be no more expansions. I really don't. But I can't imagine it just being a handful of people.

The point being: I recommend that people not pin their hopes on ANet being more forthcoming now, despite what's happened. If the game doesn't hold interest, find one that does. This game makes it easy to come & go as one likes, without missing out on much except the excitement of launch days/weeks, which are ephemeral in any case.And my point is that, speaking for myself, I'm getting down to just logging in for dailies and that means that it's not far off that I will stop playing again because I'm getting bored. LS chapters will not get me back... and it is entirely possible that I'm not alone in that.

I read the first few posts and my thought on this is ....................................... maybe, we, as a community, should look at everything with a glass half full perspective instead of a glass half empty j/s

Every statement like the one today just says nothing. They might as well of said nothing. Hearing the words “still in the works” for years now is infuriating. It’s a no brainer they are working on this. What matters is after. Is there a LS6, 7, 8? Is there an expansion? Is there more raids Raids and Fractals? I’m tired of this bare minimum crap. Say something that matters.

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:

@"Dashingsteel.3410" said:Are we to expect more expansions?

Anet needs to really get over their fear of talking to the players. They need to realise something that most adults comes to realise - you can't please everyone all the time.Then they need to start talking to us at least twice a week. At least twice a week.

What would you have ArenaNet say right now? They just found out that their future plans are disrupted. I can't count how many times I've seen posts about ArenaNet rushing things; and now there are demands they rush decisions about the future?Perhaps, we would be better served if ArenaNet took some time to plan carefully before just throwing out some answers that may or may not be able to be fulfilled.

What does it mean, specifically, to ask "will there be another expansion"?

Is the question "will there be a large release of several related maps and story with a complete narrative arc that isn't spread out over time?"Is it, "will there be major new features, mechanics, or gameplay changes added to the game?"Is it, "will there be new skills, classes, races, specializations, or other things to change up the core character build and combat loop, that carry over to PvP and WvW?"Is it, "will there be upcoming content and features we have to pay for, which we hope will inject money into the game and keep it running?"Is it, "will there be new content/gameplay that can be hyped and marketed and bring people into the game?"

What are people looking to get out of an expansion, that they don't think LS and piecemeal updates can provide? If those features were somehow provided with LS episodes, what would be lost? Contrariwise, if an expansion lacked those features, would they still enjoy it?

I think we can safely say no AFC this month!

But, to be honest, I'm not expecting any detail just yet as they organise. They will need to change their communication strategy and start finally talking to us about the future in more detail, but I think a few weeks grace is fair