kharmin.7683

I doubt the reduction in the challenge level of the Icebrood Saga has anything to do with some kind of "data". The way they market it and talk about it it's as if they want players to start with the Icebrood Saga and skip the rest of the game, which is understandable that's where all the old players will be. So this massive drop is there to better introduce players to the game with an extended tutorial. Where this kind of fails is that Path of Fire, the expansion required to play the Icebrood Saga, has higher difficulty fights than the Saga, as if telling players to skip even the expansion and go directly for the Season. It's a weird choice and I don't see it in any way being done for player retention, if someone finds Path of Fire too hard they'll leave already before touching the Saga, and those that liked the level of difficulty in Path of Fire will be confused at the massive drop in the Saga. Overall it's a weird choice and reminds me of Ember Bay, the second episode of Season 3 which was a joke difficulty-wise. And judging by Anet not doing another Ember Bay afterwards they got the data on how good that episode was for player activity and retention. Well said. I can understand where you're coming from with this analysis. Interesting perspective on it. Thanks for sharing. :)

@"Ashantara.8731" Look, I get where you're coming from, even though I am a "filthy casual" as some may call me. What bothers me about this entire argument is that GW2 is really the only MMO out of the many in that market that I can play. I have enough stress with real life work and enough calls on my time with family, kids and other obligations that I enjoy the few hours each week that I am able to get online with the game and decompress. I don't want/need the level of difficulty in a game that you advocate -- I have enough stress already. If I wanted/needed that level of challenge, then there are plenty of other MMOs from which I could choose. Both sides of this argument are passionate about the level of content that suits them. Unfortunately, it is difficult for any MMO to cater to them all. Those of us more casual players are fortunate to find one game out of many that we can manage. I honestly wish that there were an alternative that would suit both sides. Raids should have been it, but even so I feel that ANet missed the mark there, or perhaps diverted resources away from that content because their metrics showed it to be less profitable? Again, without the insider facts, no one really knows.

If they find it too difficult, what else am I supposed to tell them? They keep complaining about the way the game has been for over 5 years, so who should be looking for a different game then: the players who enjoyed the former level of difficulty or those who can't seem to handle it? Again, 5+ years of a decently high difficulty. If you can't handle it after five years, it is safe to assume that this isn't a game suited for your playstyle, no? Or, if a player finds it too easy and doesn't like the direction of the level of difficulty over those same five years maybe the game isn't suited to their playstyle? My point is that neither end of the spectrum is going to be satisfied with changes that run counter to the way that they enjoy GW2. Telling people to just leave is unhelpful, from either camp. And it's never safe to assume when neither side has all of the facts.

But yet, there is a general consensus that GW2 targets a more casual player, so perhaps those looking for increased challenges should be the ones looking toward different games? It does no good for our community at all to tell players to leave.

Then you are very fortunate to have the skill and ability to manage them by yourself. Not everyone possesses such level skill or ability.

In a game where one can play, earn gold, convert to gems and never have to spend any real money, we have complaints about extreme or excessive monetization?

Maybe try the Players Helping Players forum?

A lot of people use this thread for their requests for items to return to the gem store.

By Grabthar's Hammer, what a savings.

I very casual and am sitting on 7m karma. I just haven't really spent very much of it. Glad for this sink, though, because I am still working on getting my skyscale and needed these mats for the saddle portion. Wasn't looking forward to traveling everywhere for the stacks I didn't already have.

Agreed. This thread seems like an answer looking for a problem?

One of the best things about GW2 is that you can start/quit/start/quit/start/etc without having to grind gear to catch up. I suggest, regardless of the opinions in this forum, that you give it a try again and if it doesn't suit your fancy then you're not losing anything. If it does, then you can best decide how much time/effort/money you want to invest at that point.

Adventuring through open world

It will never be enough content for some people

There already exists a feedback thread https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/92516/feedback-whisper-in-the-dark

So am I. I am surprised so many people use it. And this poll so far is only a small sampling of a small portion of the player base that comes to the forums. Imagine the data that Anet must have?

As long as the investors are content with Anet, there is no compelling reason to change the status quo.

Very casual PvEer here. I have three characters on which I actively use the templates, but other toons where I have templates set up but don't play as often: 1> Soulbeast/Druid (main)2> Chronomancer/Mirage3> Weaver/Tempest I use hot-keys to swap and do so frequently depending on content, population and fun factors. I haven't had any issues other than using the wrong set of hot-keys and getting one of my mounts instead of the template I wanted (oops!), but that's my issue and not one with the system. As I have equipped each one with unique gear (for the most part, maybe a shared glove or back piece here or there) I would like to have one more account-wide equipment slot so that I could have two builds and one "working" or "testing" build.

Careful. Bumping threads is an actionable offense. Examples of Content that May Receive a Notice: Duplicate postsPosts that quote removed contentNecro-posts (comments in an obsolete thread)Posts that are off-topic, derailing, "bumps," etc.

We've already had threads on this topichttps://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/77961/new-hairstyles-beards-please-anethttps://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/74608/new-hairstyles-customization-please