Still the best MMO on the market

[Blaeys.3102]

In terms of fun and entertainment value, I think Guild Wars 2 is probably at the lowest point its ever been. The game feels disjointed and directionless - and, if anything, is taking on more of a "me-too" feel in certain areas (fractals, sPvP and raids, specifically) than I would like to see.

But it is still the best large scale (100+ players) fantasy world experience in gaming (which is what an MMO should really be). Nothing even comes close, imo. Other MMOs, such as WoW, FF and Elder Scrolls, really focus on the smaller (5 to 25) group experience, putting most of their "fun" content inside instances. While they are still MMOs, that takes away something that GW2 has seemed to master - the open world experience.

That is where this game shines - in the two game modes where 100s of players come together to collectively tackle game content - open world and WvW.

And that is where Anet, imo, needs to focus 99% of their development. Let's get slightly more challenging content into open world (focus on what guilds can bring and support with, imo). Let's look at polishing the WvW experience and addressing regional population spikes in some creative way (leveraging guilds in some way is probably the key there as well). Those are the areas where GW2 differs from the competition - and where they can continue to hone their brand.

And - to be clear - Im not saying they should abandon the instanced content - just that it should, rightfully, take a back seat to the parts of the game where they truly are different.

I still love logging into GW2. I still love grouping with my guild and heading into the newest (or even one of the older) zones to trigger bounties, challenge world bosses or just run through some of the more complicated dynamic events. These things make GW2 the best MMO on the market - and I really hope Anet understands why that is.

[zealex.9410]

Is this a mood reset thread?

As for your request, i dont believe challenging ow content works. You cant balance it because everyone can join.

[Blaeys.3102]

@zealex.9410 said:Is this a mood reset thread?

Hopefully. There has been a lot of doom and gloom on the forums and reddit lately. I just wanted to remind myself - and others - that GW2 still has a very solid place in the world of MMOs in the areas/game modes where the first two Ms in MMO actually means something.

[Recklan.8615]

Agreed. Thanks for this.

[Vinceman.4572]

@"Blaeys.3102" said:And - to be clear - Im not saying they should abandon the instanced content - just that it should, rightfully, take a back seat to the parts of the game where they truly are different.

Instanced content release already is in an all-time-low only beaten by the overall content drought before HoT. It cannot be worse than it is at the moment.I'm not arguing for more instanced content - usually I would do that - in these days it's more question of "Will there be a successful future for GW2?"The statement of Mike O'Brien in terms of GW2 being in good hands is not trustworthy at all. Even with the Saga coming we don't know anything about the next year. We also don't know about the internal team spirit or if there are goups that also want to leave or even follow O'Brien joining his new project in the next weeks/months.

All the stuff that happened doesn't convince reasonable consumers to spend money in the gemstore (game copies sold via newer players are negligible to this point) and my concern is that it'll lead to a massive decrease in revenues. The consequences are forseeable.

[Despond.2174]

It's definitely one of the best for me but it's gone down a bit because everything you mentioned after many years begins to be a bit stale. I'd like some new content for non-repeatable content. Just LW every few months isn't enough if I want to treat as my primary game anymore. Before fractals, world bosses and everything else was fine especially when I was trying to reach goals that cost gold. But I've achieved pretty much nearly everything I want.

Mind you sometimes I'll still log in to do metas just so I can see eternity in action. Also that rare chance in finally getting an egg sac. Currently now I am playing way more than usual because of LW and a nice drop I received. I hope whatever shifting they are doing gives them a strong base to continue GW into a GW3, all new engine and modern tech for more gameplay mechanics. I will buy GW3 instantly.

To be honest the MMO scene is filled with over-hyped titles, P2W models that have a game condensed servers and die off in 6 months and copy+paste WoW clones. GW2 is still top 3, but it could hit it out the park if we knew more about it's future other than Living World. More attention to other game modes would be appreciated. I am not sure how financially viable it is, whether they plan to have an expansion, whether they see this franchise going to a new engine and release etc.

I would like more QOL features like an aura/effects tab and maybe new items/skin to be bought with things like fractal relics etc. More currency sinks, karma, everything.

[Saniyah.1984]

Monetisation can ruined any game tho. No matter how great it is :(

[Blaeys.3102]

To clarify again, I am not against instanced content and see it having a role in the future of the game, but I think Anet has made some significant missteps in their implementation.

The "me-too" approach to raids, spvp, dungeons will not work for this game. Other games do it better and, because they choose to make those modes the centerpiece of their game, will always do so. GW2 will never have a raiding scene that holds a candle to the breadth and depth of WoW or FF raiding. Those developers put everything they have into mastering those game modes. Simply put, if I were truly interested in difficult10 man instanced content, I would look to those games LONG before considering GW2.

If Anet wants to make a dent in the instanced content crowd, they need to do something very different. Forget about the hyper structured raid model other games are using and integrate the raiding experience into something they already do well - the living story chapters (the recent strike mission is an example - poorly implemented - of how they could do that). After each chapter comes out, go back and add versions of those instances with more difficult mechanics - scaling to the extreme. The content is just sitting there, lost to time after you do it once. Why not use it to expand the appeal of the game. Then do the same thing with guild missions and world bosses - create special guild triggers that spawn extreme versions of the open world bosses (in open world so everyone can participate - while still ensuring some organization from the guild triggering) outside of the scheduled versions we have now.

And the best part is, that would feel unique. It would be difficult content that Anet could market around that isn't a pale imitation of what the other games do. It would even tie in well with the rest of what Anet is doing - the things that actually feel unique to this game (open world).

It is the lazy carbon copy approach they took to specific game modes - in an obvious attempt to bring in new categories of players - that have really hurt the game, imo. They need to take a step back and focus on the areas that make them truly unique - expanding upon the two areas where they really shine above the competition (open world and wvw).

But, all of that said, my point above still stands - the approach they have taken to open world and WvW make this game the best MMO on the market, even today. Now, they just need to leverage that to make it even better.

[XatraZaytrax.2601]

I was thinking how sad I would be if this game were to disappear tomorrow. I feel now the same way I did seven years ago that I want to play this game forever.

It was here when I was lonely, when I was demoted so my boss could give my job to her friend, when I had to work from home and had limited interaction with anyone for days on end, when my mother got cancer and died, when I was finally downsized after working at my job for 26 years following a company buyout, and when I was unemployed for nine months. This game and its wonderful people helped me through those dark times and get stronger just by being part of a vibrant community.

I'm not a person to be easily swayed, so maybe that is why I can't see how monetization has hurt this game. I make due with what I have and only buy those things I want and can afford. Sure, there are things about this game that make me grit my teeth, like jumping puzzles, achievements I can't do myself (I admit I obsessed with achievements), feeling locked out of raids because I don't really understand what is expected, and the constant doom and gloom in chat and forums.

But I have decided to take this game for what it is as long as it is. Give me a wvw mount, I will make it work; decrease my stats and buff my opponent, I guess I will make it work -- the main reason I have at least on toon of every class. I will be grateful for the home away from my life that this game has given me.

[Lonecap.4105]

@XatraZaytrax.2601 said:I was thinking how sad I would be if this game were to disappear tomorrow. I feel now the same way I did seven years ago that I want to play this game forever.

It was here when I was lonely, when I was demoted so my boss could give my job to her friend, when I had to work from home and had limited interaction with anyone for days on end, when my mother got cancer and died, when I was finally downsized after working at my job for 26 years following a company buyout, and when I was unemployed for nine months. This game and its wonderful people helped me through those dark times and get stronger just by being part of a vibrant community.

I'm not a person to be easily swayed, so maybe that is why I can't see how monetization has hurt this game. I make due with what I have and only buy those things I want and can afford. Sure, there are things about this game that make me grit my teeth, like jumping puzzles, achievements I can't do myself (I admit I obsessed with achievements), feeling locked out of raids because I don't really understand what is expected, and the constant doom and gloom in chat and forums.

But I have decided to take this game for what it is as long as it is. Give me a wvw mount, I will make it work; decrease my stats and buff my opponent, I guess I will make it work -- the main reason I have at least on toon of every class. I will be grateful for the home away from my life that this game has given me.

This was a special post, thanks.

[Aeolus.3615]

@Blaeys.3102 said:

@zealex.9410 said:Is this a mood reset thread?

Hopefully. There has been a lot of doom and gloom on the forums and reddit lately. I just wanted to remind myself - and others - that GW2 still has a very solid place in the world of MMOs in the areas/game modes where the first two Ms in MMO actually means something.

Gw2 isn’t any of those 2 initially M’s, You must be new to online mmo genra.

This game does not have a decent pvp game mode since is more towards gimmicks and rewards tracks, gw1 pvp was far superior.... gw2 ended being just forced content cause would be bad if didn’t had pvp....

This game is based in clutter delivery to sacia-te most players brains.The massive gameplay is against empty server,blob farms empty enemy server time zones, nothing more.

About pve.. who cares isn’t even a challange since there’s classes balanced to overperform.

[Psycoprophet.8107]

Honestly I can't imaging a more bland pve experience than gw2 story and episodes lol pvp and wvw are the only half decent content of which is carried by the combat mechanics lol

[Dante.1763]

@Psycoprophet.8107 said:Honestly I can't imaging a more bland pve experience than gw2 story and episodes lol pvp and wvw are the only half decent content of which is carried by the combat mechanics lol

Ah im glad opinions vary ! :D

WVW and PVP are boring, and unsupported, they -could- have been good and interesting but they never got the proper support.

The story in both GW1 and GW2 has been kinda average, its never really been top notch. It has its moments, but its never been enough to make this game stand out. still, one of the better ones i think.

[Psycoprophet.8107]

@Dante.1763 said:

@Psycoprophet.8107 said:Honestly I can't imaging a more bland pve experience than gw2 story and episodes lol pvp and wvw are the only half decent content of which is carried by the combat mechanics lol

Ah im glad opinions vary ! :D

WVW and PVP are boring, and unsupported, they -could- have been good and interesting but they never got the proper support.

The story in both GW1 and GW2 has been kinda average, its never really been top notch. It has its moments, but its never been enough to make this game stand out. still, one of the better ones i think.

Yeah defenitly unsupported and yeah circle jerk gets boring after yrs and so did wvw especially with the meta never changing

[Gop.8713]

I'm certainly still enjoying it, no plans to move on to anything else. But at the same time I have stopped suggesting it to other ppl irl, and if I didn't already have so much time invested in it I'm not sure it's something I would want to pick up for the first time today. OTOH there might be better MMOs out there, but any I would consider putting in that category are subscription based and so really a completely different genre in my mind . . .