Why Guild Wars 2 actually is in a great place now

[Vayne.8563]

4 hours ago, mindcircus.1506 said:

Posts like this are a great way to farm hearts and cups.
But really....
The last map added to this game was.... North Drizzlewood?
July 28th 2020.
Since then we got the very poorly received Champions content....and then?
"Return to" achievements? This is literally old content.

And we're looking still at no content until next February.

This is a VERY significant content drought. Easily the worst since I personally started playing the game a little over 5 years ago.

Let's contrast this with the launch of Path of Fire, which followed Season 3.6 on time, then   immediately went into season 4.

All of this was some of the best received content Anet has ever delivered and was done without missing a beat.

That was the game "in a good place".

Realistically?
10 month content drought
A batch of elite specs who's reception can best be described as "lukewarm".
A playerbase that collectively babyraged over the story execution of the last playable new content we received
Yet another bunch of lip service over WvW only to have the beta of a years long awaited feature to be called off over bugs mere hours after being switched on.
Multiple assurances of increased balance for competitive modes that quite simple have not happened.
An sPvP scene that was absolutely ruined by negelct and a small number of players violating ToS.

This game is objectively speaking, in the worst place I have seen it.

I love this game.

It's easily my favorite MMO ever.

Every day I work on creating content for it and evangelizing it to people on youtube.

But it's in a really bad place and trying to spin it otherwise doesn't do anyone any service, least of all the developers you are trying to impress with your post.

I'd agree with you if they didn't say, have a DX 11 beta going on and they're finally getting to the nitty gritty on the alliance stuff, and the Season of Dragons has great rewards with a lot of people working on it.  I've enjoyed playing those zones again when they're full of people.

Content is important but it's not the only thing that's important.  I've lost track of the times people said I'd forgo content in order to get something like better optimization. 

Edit: There's also the lengendary armory, too. Lots of people now working on legendary armor that weren't before.

Edited November 9, 2021 by Vayne.8563

[Alcatraznc.3869]

Guild Wars 2 is a solid game for its age but especially for a "not popular title". When you ask people about MMO, they'll most likely be talking about title like Final fantasy, World of warcraft, Elder Scroll Online, the recent New world or Black Desert Online (and a few more I may have forgotten). 

 

Guild wars 2 isnt perfect but no MMORPG is and compared to the previous title mentioned above GW2:

-is free to play and doesnt require any subscription like Final fantasy, World of warcraft or Elder scroll online. I consider DLC, especially PoF to be a must have but at best, it's a pay once and enjoy it for a lifetime

-is much much more stable and less glitchy/exploity than New World. Well it isnt really fair to compare New World which is fairly new to a 9 years old game but it is still worth mentioning considering the level of how poorly coded New world is.

-is not a grind fest that forces you to leave your computer on 24h/24h 7d/7d and basically turn your game into your job like Black Desert Online does. 

 

With EoD coming next year, it looks like Anet gave themself a kick in the butt and started working on both optimization and content. Although a bit sad I wont be experiencing EoD this year, I would rather have a DLC that's mostly working well with a few bug than something releasing early and be as buggy as a beta test. 

With old title WOW dying and new MMO like New world being buggy as hell or PSO2:NGS being.....basically dead at this point, GW2 has some huge potential and if Anet manage to do some great advertisement on top of the work they're already doing, I'm not saying it can be the MMO of the year but it can definitely get very close to that title. 

[TheQuickFox.3826]

3 hours ago, Lyssia.4637 said:

I'm so sorry about your mom.  I'm glad you are finding support from the game and community; whatever people feel about the game, I always appreciate the reminder that, in the end, games and their communities can do a lot of good.  

 

Ty. ❤️

[Doggie.3184]

5 hours ago, mythical.6315 said:

Unfortunately I do not see that being much of an improvement. FF14 is doing so well because they have content that appeals to all player types whereas GW2 primarily much focuses on the very casual players. Unlike GW2, content is actively being developed rather than simply being abandoned or having 2+ years between new stuff.  When was the last fractal?  When was the last raid?  

I am literally only talking about their fashion game, the thing I hate the most about GW2 that almost all other MMOs do better with FFXIV being my most enjoyable experience in when it comes to diversity and choices. We have some of the worst and biased fashion designers I've ever seen ruling over this game who only care about human females.

Edited November 9, 2021 by Doggie.3184

[vanfrano.1325]

6 hours ago, Doggie.3184 said:

I am literally only talking about their fashion game, the thing I hate the most about GW2 that almost all other MMOs do better with FFXIV being my most enjoyable experience in when it comes to diversity and choices. We have some of the worst and biased fashion designers I've ever seen ruling over this game who only care about human females.

Are you really talking about FF everything is about oversexualized catgirls XIV? It's the MMO with the ugliest skins I've ever seen.

Edited November 9, 2021 by vanfrano.1325

[Doggie.3184]

10 hours ago, vanfrano.1325 said:

Are you really talking about FF everything is about oversexualized catgirls XIV? It's the MMO with the ugliest skins I've ever seen.

If they choose to be. But you say that as if GW2 isn't filled with oversexualized human females which are the overwelming majority (and that same stuff on males is a totally different concept with less quality and doesn't even fit correctly). I mean it's even their mascots for EoD currently.

But FFXIV has an even number of genders for Miqo'te/catgirls/catbois cuz they both get high quality properly-fitting-for-each-race fashion with lots of choices including tons of things without buttcapes.

Edited November 9, 2021 by Doggie.3184

[Valfar.3761]

I think the things GW2 does really well are:

 

1. Is the only other game besides WoW that lets you play as an inhuman beastman. The Charr even run on all fours and really sells them.
2. Vertical maps in HoT, Bloodstone Fen, and Draconis Mons (sadly Anet stopped doing them).
3. Fun, non-combat gameplay such as that quest in one of the Norn maps where you build an army of snowmen that look like an actual army from a distance to scare off invaders. Or that cowtapult quest where you help this crazy Charr engineer fling cows using a catapult. Or the one with the RC cars. Or playing with your baby dragon and raising her. The first chapter of the Icebrood Saga was just you participating in a festival. 
4. Player character is voice acted during the story.
5. Interactive cutscenes with the player being able to retain control of their character during a conversation, with the character's head tracking each other. You feel like you're there, not watching 100+ hours of movies as in FFXIV. Icebrood experimented with interesting stuff like the camera zooming in on Bangar.
6. Implementation of mounts.
7. Setpieces like running through the jungle carrying a dragon egg while being chased by a spider lady, or flying into a crystal dragon's mouth and exploring the weird dimension inside of him.

But that's it. GW2 just isn't a very fun game to play. As mentioned on the prior page, you do the story once and that's it. The only particularly fun content in GW2 are the HoT maps, but those have been out for 6 years and I have had my fill of them, and they haven't designed fun maps like those since. EoD will most likely be the last expansion for GW2 (quite possibly the last maps we ever get) so I'm hoping they're good like HoT's, but given the design of the post-HoT maps I doubt it.

 

Honestly, the MMO genre is in a really bad spot right now. WoW doesn't have anywhere near as much as quality questing content as it did back in MoP. Classes aren't as fun. Too much grind. Etc. FFXIV is a great JRPG, but as an MMO it doesn't have much longevity for me. And there's GW2 which has 4 maps going for it and that's it really.

[Gibson.4036]

14 hours ago, Valfar.3761 said:

 

Vertical maps in HoT, Bloodstone Fen, and Draconis Mons (sadly Anet stopped doing them).

This was something they highlighted in an EoD preview, so you might be in luck there.

14 hours ago, Valfar.3761 said:

As mentioned on the prior page, you do the story once and that's it.

I've done it twice. Once on my own, the second time with my son. He took ownership of all the instances, so it was fun to play through the story not as the commander, but as the commander's faithful sidekick that everyone else completely ignores.

Lately I've been amazed by how many things are out there that focusing on the story completely bypasses. I've done Metas I never had to touch as I storied through zones, found jumping puzzles in core I didn't even realize were there even though I have several characters close to world complete, and stopped to talk to NPCs I've always disregarded only to find they have some really interesting stories.

So, yeah, there's a lot of stuff in this game, tucked away in so many little corners. I couldn't disagree more that HoT is the only fun to be had.

[Mungrul.9358]

20 hours ago, Doggie.3184 said:

But you say that as if GW2 isn't filled with oversexualized human females which are the overwelming majority

That's what you may see the most of, but there's a huge amount of options out there for players who don't play with those types of characters.

I have one human female (a revenant), and she most certainly isn't oversexualised!

And I have so many options available for all my other characters, I often feel spoiled for choice.

I can't comment on FFXIV, as I've never played it, but I certainly don't find GW2's fashion choices limiting!

[Eloc Freidon.5692]

When GW2 is releasing a full episode every few months and having an expansion every 2-3 years is when it was in a good place. IBS was a stumbling finish and face plant, without getting up for two years, has been the worst.

[Doggie.3184]

56 minutes ago, Mungrul.9358 said:

That's what you may see the most of, but there's a huge amount of options out there for players who don't play with those types of characters.

I have one human female (a revenant), and she most certainly isn't oversexualised!

And I have so many options available for all my other characters, I often feel spoiled for choice.

I can't comment on FFXIV, as I've never played it, but I certainly don't find GW2's fashion choices limiting!

You wouldn't even know what actual choice feels like then. FFXIV has an unlimited playtime free trial so have at it. The last time I actually worked towards an armor skin in game in GW2 was the metal legion T shirt, and that was a long time ago. There's nothing fun cosmetic-wise to strive for other than weapons (which they flood the game with more than anything) and I already made all the legendaries I like. 

Anyways, there's no reason to back and forth about it. I'm just stating the fact that GW2's fashion designers (for males) is the most disappointing part about the game to me compared to other MMO and never really learns and improves much~ Which is a shame when they have such a good reskin system. There's currently no sign of that improving in EoD so it will likely continue to be it's weakest link to me. If one day they deside to hire better designers or polish everything the game could be more interesting and I might actually spend my transmutation charges for once.

[Jabu Jabu.3971]

GW2 is and has always been the right place where to stay!

[Deihnyx.6318]

GW2 has been pretty good for quite a while (if we forget dragonstorm...). I do think it suffers the lack of exposure though, and an expansion will probably help with that.

[xXMapcoXx.9614]

On 11/7/2021 at 11:39 AM, Vayne.8563 said:

Yep, played it. Liked it up until the last chapter.  The last chapter was hamstrung to create an expansion. Since I'd prefer an expansion to a chapter of the living world, I understand that I'm sacrificing one thing to get something I want more. In the real world, you can't always have everything you want.

 

IBS kept me busy enough and now Seasons of the Dragons is keeping me busy enough (actually I'm enjoying it).  So yeah, you don't need to say more. 

In 9 years Anet screwed up what is essentially the tail end of one story, freeing up staff to make a new expansion that many said was never coming. 

Shutting up the people who said there would never be an expansion and the game was in maintenance mode?  Worth it.

you joking right i can give you lot of exampe where anet have screwed up lws1?

[Vayne.8563]

2 hours ago, xXMapcoXx.9614 said:

you joking right i can give you lot of exampe where anet have screwed up lws1?

LS 1 is arguably some of the most popular content in the history of the game, but it was hit and miss. However, the nightmare tower, the marionatte, Escape from Lion's Arch, the Aetherblade Dungeon and the Molten Facility were massively popular. And even the Battle for Lion's Arch was popular, though I didn't love it personally myself.

I'm not sure what examples you can furnish but sure, go ahead. It's probably just your opinion. The big problem with LS 1 was that it was temporary content.

[Eloc Freidon.5692]

People forget that LWS1 almost killed GW2 with every piece of content developed disappearing forever as fast as it was added. How it was done back then was very anti casual. Champions repeated all those mistakes.

[quaniesan.8497]

I can't speak for the rest of the base, but nowadays i log in just to do one or two pvp matches. Then when i go to meta maps (aka Wait Wars)... then i go "can't do this anymore....  " then I log off. Some day i last abit longer.  And btw, I get sick to the stomach everytime I heard  "It's bad"   ,  "This is actually working?". 

 

Asked a friend to play w me in the summer, he dropped after 2 months in.   The recent beta are super underwhelming for me. But i saw some hype on gw2 youtubers doe.

Edited November 13, 2021 by quaniesan.8497

[battledrone.8315]

On 11/12/2021 at 5:40 AM, Vayne.8563 said:

LS 1 is arguably some of the most popular content in the history of the game, but it was hit and miss. However, the nightmare tower, the marionatte, Escape from Lion's Arch, the Aetherblade Dungeon and the Molten Facility were massively popular. And even the Battle for Lion's Arch was popular, though I didn't love it personally myself.

I'm not sure what examples you can furnish but sure, go ahead. It's probably just your opinion. The big problem with LS 1 was that it was temporary content.

a few hundred players doesnt make it "massively popular". even 1000s of players arent enough. you would literally 

need millions of players . and there clearly werent that many.

[Vayne.8563]

1 hour ago, battledrone.8315 said:

a few hundred players doesnt make it "massively popular". even 1000s of players arent enough. you would literally 

need millions of players . and there clearly werent that many.

Massively popular is a relative term.  If I run a club of 30 people and we have a book that 25 of them like, we'd say that book is massively popular in our club.

Season 1 was massively popular in the game. It doesn't mean that everyone plays Guild Wars. It means a pretty big percentage of players, in my opinion, participated in it regularly and enjoyed it.   Yes that makes it massively popular. If you don't play this game, it's likely you'd never heard about it.

Context is everything.

[Balsa.3951]

agreed anet is on a good way now, IBS was sadly a shame but the direction seems right now to take over to become MMos number 2 

[battledrone.8315]

21 hours ago, Vayne.8563 said:

Massively popular is a relative term.  If I run a club of 30 people and we have a book that 25 of them like, we'd say that book is massively popular in our club.

Season 1 was massively popular in the game. It doesn't mean that everyone plays Guild Wars. It means a pretty big percentage of players, in my opinion, participated in it regularly and enjoyed it.   Yes that makes it massively popular. If you don't play this game, it's likely you'd never heard about it.

Context is everything.

you can bet, that if it was THAT popular, they would never had turned it off in the first place.

"massively popular" would indicate an approval rating way over 50%. and you are still at least a million 

players short of that statement.

 

[Vayne.8563]

1 hour ago, battledrone.8315 said:

you can bet, that if it was THAT popular, they would never had turned it off in the first place.

"massively popular" would indicate an approval rating way over 50%. and you are still at least a million 

players short of that statement.

 

This isn't true.  While it was popular it also had massive problems, the biggest of it was it wasn't sustainable. And it prevented people starting the game from getting into the story.  It was massively popular with people playing but that didn't mean it wouldn't have been a detriment to getting new people in the game. There are all sorts of reasons that changes are made to creative endeavors all the time. Popularity is one reason something keeps going, but there are many reasons why projects get cancelled.  

 

The assumption that anything popular would continue is not a good one, even though it would seem to be a no brainer. I've been in publishing a good portion of my life and that's just not how it works...not all the time.

[Ryou.2398]

On 11/13/2021 at 3:21 AM, Vayne.8563 said:

Massively popular is a relative term.  If I run a club of 30 people and we have a book that 25 of them like, we'd say that book is massively popular in our club.

Season 1 was massively popular in the game. It doesn't mean that everyone plays Guild Wars. It means a pretty big percentage of players, in my opinion, participated in it regularly and enjoyed it.   Yes that makes it massively popular. If you don't play this game, it's likely you'd never heard about it.

Context is everything.

No its not lol massive means the word massive we cannot change the meaning of words just because it does not fit our narrative or opinions.

[Guillejhin.8964]

Nice videos 4k in 15 fps ;D

Edited November 14, 2021 by Guillejhin.8964

[Vayne.8563]

1 hour ago, Ryou.2398 said:

No its not lol massive means the word massive we cannot change the meaning of words just because it does not fit our narrative or opinions.

Actually words change definition constantly based on context. I edited professionally for ten years and I can assure you this is the case.

For example, this game is an MMO, which is a bunch of players all playing in the same zone at the same time. It's not a lobby game like Path of Exiles which isn't considered an MMO. This game has maybe up to 150 people in a zone max...is that a massive number of people? Nope.

But it's massive compared to how many people can play Path of Exile together. Even in this one obviously example, the word massive has changed it's context to apply to what you're talking about.

 

I can probably give you hundreds of examples of words that change meaning when they change context.  In the case of massively popular in a game, it means players of the game overwhelmingly played/supported it. If you don't agree with this, that's okay. People can make up their own minds about the value of context.