Hey! This will be a long post so I start right away!
I have created an account on almost any known MMO but I mainly played WoW (1100 days /played),FFXIV (250 days) and GW2 (130 days).I have high hopium for the steam release.Watching some videos from WP or Teapot regarding this subject,I realised I have a unique perspective,having so much playtime in other MMOs but at the same time loving GW2.
Coming from other MMOs it's 2 things that really annoy me in GW2.
A. - CLARITY & VISUAL NOISE -
The game lacks clarity in almost every department.Some examples:
-You open LFG, you see the symbols of 3 core guardians in a group.No info of their roles!
-You enter a strike and you don't know:"is this daily only?What are the rewards?Can I see them anywhere?"
-Bosses are casting abilities noone knows their names.
Regarding visual noise:
While in a strike or raid, the game "forces" us to be grouped up, while at the same time you can't hide other players' graphics effects, combo fields, infusion glows, huge backpacks dyed in permafrost, twilight's huge graphic after effects, etc while at the same time you try to find an angle to watch your character's auto-attack chain animation so you won't ruin your dps by canceling it.
Last but not least, the poor 2010 UI which was designed for simpler times, nowadays just ruins the gameplay instead of embracing the long-gone simplicity of Vanilla GW2.
Before talking about solutions (and expectations) I will write about the second problem.It is an MMO after all. EVERYTHING is intertwined.
B. - GEMSTORE & IN-GAME REWARDS -
I can't stress enough how I prefer subscription based games. Especially FFXIV which has a known patch cycle that I can organise my sub accordingly, play as much as I want and then return when new content arrives.
GW2's moneytization starves the actual game from rewards sadly. All cool skins are behind real money. "But you can buy gems with gold" many would answer to this.Yes it's true. Let's analyse where this leads though: Since there is no gear progression in the game, everything comes down to gold per hour. People who don't enjoy fractals are doing them cause they are the best GPH. People asking for 500 LI for Boneskinner, cause it is a waste of time(thus gold) if you wipe.Some maps are dead because their GPH isn't the best.
So in the end, EVERY reward in game is related to gold. Which is boring. And makes everything a "rush".
Let's talk about solutions and expectations. Many MMO players after character creation will go to "UI settings".
-"Oh! There are no UI settings. Ok then, I need to get my ...gwelvui! Oh there are no addons? But I want my HP bar there and the enemy bar there and my spells vertical in the middle of my screen!"
That would be a typical first minute experience for many new players.
1.Open up the UI. Allow in-game modification. Add more menus.A separate achievement panel, a separate crafting panel. Options to keybind these. Add more bars. Add ways to check our non-active weapons' cooldowns. Give information.Give the power to the player.
2.Fight design starts with character and UI design! So: Allow mod of SCT that is currently hiding (everything) animations of smaller enemies,add options to hide combo fields,glow effects,spell effects,pets. Make boon applycation and healing be "raid-wide" so players dont have to be blobed in melee. Options to filter boons and conditions. Separate non-essentials buffs from in-combat boons. Add proper casting bars,both for player and the bosses.Let me know if my granade 2 is ready. Dont punish me for interrupting my auto-chain to use CC.You shouldnt punish me for being good.With bad character design and bad UI,developers have less room to make more interesting mechanics.Allowing players to spread throughout the boss arena will open up the design for mechanics like soaks,lines and personal responsibility.
3.Regarding gemstore and rewards: I know this community hates the word "subscription". And tbh adding a sub to gw2 right now after so many years would be weird. But an addition of seasonal pass is easier in my opinion. IF done correctly. So assuming we are having a seasonal pass (that money will only speed things up) will allow you to rework the daily login rewards (which btw should be allowed to stack for at least 3 days).Find your development cycle and fit 2 seasonal passes in-between. Each one with a new BLTC Weapon skin set and new mount skins.Reward some of them through it.Connect the seasonal pass with in-game activities. Allow rework of the daily system which will be connected to the seasonal pass instead. Remove lootboxes!!Allow all these beautiful skins to be given to players by doing "10 strikes" or "5 raids". Yeah,ok,Boneskinner itself wont drop the mount skin,but it will be obtained through the various activities asked from the seasonal pass.
Epilogue:In my opinion GW2 right now needs more QoL than new content. New UI, re-imagined rewards structure,allow players to enjoy their ranged builds,give us knowledge of things,what bosses drop,what bosses cast,a better LFG system with matchmaking. Like it or not,you have roles now (alac,quick,heal,dps,tank). Embrace them instead of acting like they don't exist.
Thanks for reading if you reached this far! Take care <3
PS:please remove the FOMO from the gemstore too!! :D