luigiormario.7305

They still got ~2weeks worth of content from a $25 expac (even if we don't count anything to come). I personally think that's good value thesedays.

Just to clarify, you believe WvW is a different game? I was under the impression this was a Guild Wars 2 Expansion, of which WvW is a part.

WvW is part of the game that this expansion released for, same as PvE and PvP. Are you saying just because most of the expansion content is focused on PvE means all of it should be? WvW in particular has precious little in the way of released content so I personally don't begrudge the odd armour set catering to them.

As above after the latest patch (5 minutes ago as of the time of writing) I can access character select- but any attempt to play the character is met with unable to access log-in servers. This was not happening immediately prior to the patch.

Here I thought he/she was just really good at hiding!

You were seemingly saying the cost was the issue in your earlier comments where you were highlighting the quantity rather than quality using words such as 'poor' and 'value'. Or is your point moreso that you believe quality can't be achieved with less quantity? One thing I think Anet have done really well is the communication as to when main features are coming in these expansions, they gave a full roadmap for SOTO and have already stressed in this reveal the things that will be coming in future quarterly releases (as opposed to launch). Not buying it at all is understandable in itself, or indeed waiting for your ideal feature to release before purchasing. I think complaining about not having all 'selling points' at launch is a stretch however, considering their transparency on this thus far.

I do agree that relying on completion of the two previous metas to trigger it (which themselves rely on completed events to trigger) does seem to lock out many time-poor gamers from regular attempts. I think having more challenging/coordinated metas such as this is a good thing, but similar to what happened with Soo-Won such a large time investment to retry after each failure isn't an appealing factor. Though achieving the right balance in open world is evidently more difficult than just getting the map to /gg as with raids or strikes after a wipe.

Yes SOTO was likely the least rushed of the three, but due to the changing business model I still think it was somewhat rushed. Certainly Gyala Delve's release suffered from similar reasoning. If they can stick with the same model for a greater period of time one would hope the content can only get better as they continue to streamline.

Player interest, if one is to believe ArenaNet numbers, is still perfectly fine without an expansion in your definitions. Are you saying because only the one model has worked in the past, anything different can't work in the future? This is my entire point? You have predetermined that this model of less more often can only fail. Admittedly they had suggested something similar with IBS with saying no more expansions. The last three releases - IBS, EOD and SOTO I believe have suffered in quality due to changes in this structure. IBS had a rushed ending to start EOD, EOD was rushed due to no planning, SOTO was rushed as they had nothing finished prior to completing EOD (due to the rush for that). A problem of their own making I know, but I don't see why this new release schedule is doomed to fail from the beginning just because they have changed their minds in the past? This model allows for much better planning ahead than they've had in certainly the most recent few years, so I for one am interested to see the next few expansions and if they can reflect that. But as I said, if you're certain that this model can only fail and nothing else, then shouldn't you find a different game until the structure suits your ideals? And if not, guild wars 2 must be doing something to keep your interest, which would indicate expansions as you put them are indeed not obligatory.

I omitted that part because if you are relying only on a good expansion to salvage a poor one, you are waiting a very long time. I took your statement to mean a decent LS is a satisfactory level of content- it's fine to get dissappointed, but you can never guarantee the next expansion would be up to your standards. Even without omitting that part, you answered your earlier statement, so it makes just as little sense. I didn't ask if you'd prefer it over what we got. My issue with what you seem to be saying is that a 'perfect' LS season still wouldn't compare to a 'perfect' expansion, in an ideal world. As you have just indicated, you are someone who only accepts LS as filler material. My major point here is that it appears to me that you have preconceived these new expansions as LS, when they're more of a hybrid even from your definitions. It really seems as though no matter if the next one is worse, the same, or better, you have predetermined that nothing will match a traditional expansion. I don't deny previous expansions were good for the game, but you seem determined to say these won't ever work, only your preferred model will. At the end of the day, some people like SOTO, others don't (like with previous expansions), but if you're so determined only one structure will work I'd be looking at a different game.

Did you really just say if an expac is bad where can you look to, and then proceed to say decent LS could salvage it? This being your summary of SOTO, I take it you are assuming then that all future 'expansions' will be, in your opinion, as bad or worse than SOTO? Would you prefer to have several good quality LS seasons, or a non-stellar expansion such as EOD from your perspective? Whilst I can see why you're disheartened due to the first release of this new cycle being not to your liking (personally am of the opposite opinion, I enjoy SOTO), I don't think traditional expansions carried the cycle. I believe this new cycle still has the potential to please everyone if the content quality is there. I think just the mindset of living world vs expansion isn't the best way of looking at the new cadence.

I think the philosophy of it comes down to if you don't have a tough dps check then you can just run extra healing and facetank a bunch of mechanics. It seems to be that or make everything a one-shot. Not saying that it should be as high as it is necessarily, just that I understand the need for higher HP.

I'm not saying it's the correct or best way, just that it does the job. I too would prefer more complex mechanics than a dps check. They both require pressing the right buttons at the right times/more frequently, but yes a dps check focus tends to be less engaging. For me personally I think the mechanics in this fight are good - especially if chasing the title. I would rather have this fight with the dps check included, than have a repeat of CO CM which can be completed with relative ease.

I did give it a go, and yes that's why I said it's out of reach of everyone right now. But I don't think it needs to be made to be as 'easy' as existing challenging content. Plenty of content has been trivialised or made easier by power-creep, I think it might be good to have a fight now and then that is borderline unachievable to keep the hardcore gamers interested. But yes, it does need to be taken down a peg to be achievable in the first place.

Whilst yes it probably is abit out of reach of everyone right now, as a challenge mode it doesn't have to be accessible to 90% of the player base. One of the common complaints with CO CM was it was too easy - cleared in 1 pull. I think it's good if the fight remains one achievable only by the top few percent, as most content in this game appeals to the other 99% (similar to HTCM).