My Full List of GW2 Pros and Cons

[Arnox.5128]

Pros:

- No sub fee. It's been stated over and over but it can't be overstated. ANet has found a winning formula to both please its players and generate revenue.

- In-game store is mostly well-made. In a perfect world, this game would not have any microtransactions in any way whatsoever, but servers be expensive, yo. And since this game has no sub fee to rely on, microtransactions are a necessary evil. But the mtx in GW2 are also pretty much non-invasive and integrate smoothly into the game. I think ANet has found the best compromise between giving players as much freedom as possible while still finding a good way to keep the game and further development funded.

- Fashion Wars. Making awesome alts and cosplays. Acquiring account-wide permanent dyes and gizmos. Definitely one of the top reasons why I love the game so much.

- Combat. It feels really good once you FINALLY achieve that perfect flow with your character. When you're just blasting out skill upon skill and smoothly adapting to the situation at the same time. Just feels so good. For example, clearing the very first part of the Volcanic fractal solo with my ghosty girl was amazing.

- Gear and class always stays relevant. No kitten gear treadmill. With one caveat, but I'll get into that later.

- Every class feels incredibly unique and powerful. Once leveled to 80 with a full Exotic set, classes will fully come into their own and feel like gemstones and you'll soon have a compulsion to make and max out a character for each one.  

- Mounts. For the most part, they're very well done. I would complain that the Skyscale makes many of the other mounts completely redundant and is grindy as hell to get, but otherwise, definitely amazing.

- Great race selection. I don't think there's any playable race in GW2 where I've said "Ewww I'm never playing that." They'll all smoothly and accurately animated too with their own fun quirks to them.

- Very easy to become attached to your character(s). Not sure if this counts since it combines a few of the above points, but all of the design behind the way the classes feel, character animations, voice acting, races, clothing, titles, and extensive customization for almost all of that, it's almost IMPOSSIBLE not to fall in love with the character you make.

- Incredibly rich lore/world. Even for an MMO, it just seems like Guild Wars 2 is absolutely stuffed with charm and neat stuff. No matter how long you play and how much you see, there ALWAYS seems to be more. More to see, more to do, more to experience. But if you don't care for any of the game's story at all, the game also does a really great job of just getting out of your way.

- Trading Post is mostly great. It's not INSANELY robust for the true traders among us perhaps, but I think for the rest of us, it definitely gets the job done and done well.

- Megaservers. Being able to log in and always find players on your map, no matter where you go is an often overlooked but awesome feature of GW2, ensuring that every map is active.

- No server downtime. ArenaNet has committed to keeping the servers online 24/7. The only "downtime" you'll ever experience is downloading a new update for the game.

- Optional user authentication via SMS. If you don't want that though, GW2 will respect that as well. Considering the value of most people's accounts though, I would strongly suggest you consider securing it.

Cons:

- No Guild vs. Guild support at all. C'mon, ArenaNet. And don't tell me the Guild Wars was just a lore event. You and I both know that's a poor excuse to not include one of the best features of GW1. And no, WvW is not a suitable replacement. If it can't be added, at least tell us why. Don't leave us hanging like this.

- Guild implementation is ancient. It's LONG since been due for a large feature update.

- No easy way to duel or set up group PvP matches.

- No full historical record of PvP tournaments or WvW matches.

- Free stat changing locked behind legendaries. Every player used to have this almost right from the get-go in GW1, but in GW2 it's been locked behind an INSANE grind. Why? Why is one of the most important and interesting features for combat in a super combat-heavy game restricted behind a huge grind/paywall?

- Going through levels 1-79/leveling specializations with an alt is completely and utterly pointless after you've already manually leveled a char to 80 the first time and gotten the specs. Even for practice with a certain class, that can still be easily done without denying players access until they've done so and so arbitrary tasks. What's worse is even if you're willing to pay to skip the grind with an Instant 80 booster, you still have to get the Hero Points for the specializations.

- Forced Mastery unlocking to obtain sometimes basic functionality or access to further areas and to progress the story. Unlike the other things on this list, I kinda get why this was done, but at the same time, it's a huge pain when you see a new and cool place or thing you'd like but then get immediately stopped and told you have to get so many arbitrary points in order to go there/obtain that thing. This can also create PvE issues between players who have certain Masteries and those who do not. These select mandatory-for-progression Masteries are simply increasing the level cap with extra steps.

- No way to view a player's achievements or unlocked skins. Just achievement points. Which is silly.

- Can't copy text from the chatbox or even mail. Sounds like a small thing, but it can get VERY irritating at times.

- Selling/getting rid of loot is a pain. Besides maybe buying some bags which auto-sort your loot by type, there's nothing really you can do about this without using one third-party tool or another.

- Some pieces of loot have COMPLETELY ABSURD drop chances. See: Invisible Slippers, Mystic Infusions, etc. Guild Wars 2, and in fact, the entire Guild Wars series in general, was supposed to be built to respect your time and skill.

- LFG tool needs a few tweaks in order to realize its full potential. At the moment, it has some seemingly small yet major flaws such as not letting you see how many listings are in each category at a glance and not remembering which tabs you had opened. When players have to open each category just to see if there's listings there, they're much less likely to use it.

---

Besides all that, thank you, ANet for giving us one of the best MMOs currently out there on the market. If I complain about some things in the game, it's only because I care so much, and also, because this game is so good, it makes its flaws stand out all the more.

Edited November 12, 2021 by Arnox.5128

[Dawdler.8521]

36 minutes ago, Arnox.5128 said:

Cons:

- No Guild vs. Guild support at all. C'mon, ArenaNet. And don't tell me the Guild Wars was just a lore event. You and I both know that's a poor excuse to not include one of the best features of GW1. And no, WvW is not a suitable replacement. If it can't be added, at least tell us why. Don't leave us hanging like this.

- No easy way to duel or set up group PvP matches.

- No full historical record of PvP tournaments or WvW matches

- Free stat changing locked behind legendaries. Every player used to have this almost right from the get-go in GW1, but in GW2 it's been locked behind an INSANE grind. Why? Why is one of the most important and interesting features for combat in a super combat-heavy game restricted behind a huge grind/paywall?

Not really true. There are arenas for that both in WvW and PvE, guilds gvg in WvW every now and then at ye olde gvg spot whether you appreciate it or not (as well as duelers standing there pretty much every time one pass) and there are webpages tracking WvW complete with match history using the API.

For the free stat change its kind of a silly way to word it as "locked" - obviously there is supposed to gold and timesinks - but its also relativly cheap to change stats on ascended if you dont want that.

Edited November 12, 2021 by Dawdler.8521

[Arnox.5128]

32 minutes ago, Dawdler.8521 said:

Not really true. There are arenas for that both in WvW and PvE, guilds gvg in WvW every now and then at ye olde gvg spot whether you appreciate it or not (as well as duelers standing there pretty much every time one pass) and there are webpages tracking WvW complete with match history using the API.

For the free stat change its kind of a silly way to word it as "locked" - obviously there is supposed to gold and timesinks - but its also relativly cheap to change stats on ascended if you dont want that.

Actually, I recently did the math for a full Ascended stat change. It's actually not that cheap at all. And it's not even that convenient either compared to just getting another exotic set. As to legendaries, I don't actually have a problem with them at all and even would have liked them had it not been for locking a major piece of functionality behind them.

GvG, I don't care if there's a space or not for that. It's not supported in the game at all. No leaderboards. No matchmaking. No nothing. And WvW stats, I shouldn't have to look at a source outside of the game to see past stats. That's pretty lame.

Edited November 12, 2021 by Arnox.5128

[hash.8462]

1 hour ago, Arnox.5128 said:

Actually, I recently did the math for a full Ascended stat change. It's actually not that cheap at all. And it's not even that convenient either compared to just getting another exotic set. As to legendaries, I don't actually have a problem with them at all and even would have liked them had it not been for locking a major piece of functionality behind them.

As for the stat change of the ascended equipment, it would be nice if it would add the new stat combination instead of replacing it (however I doubt this is technically doable), that way you can create a semi-legendary equipment (equipable by only one character at a time but with different stats to be used by different builds).

[Arnox.5128]

11 hours ago, hash.8462 said:

As for the stat change of the ascended equipment, it would be nice if it would add the new stat combination instead of replacing it (however I doubt this is technically doable), that way you can create a semi-legendary equipment (equipable by only one character at a time but with different stats to be used by different builds).

I could get behind that at least.

[neighto.7386]

14 hours ago, Arnox.5128 said:

- Can't copy text from the chatbox or even mail. Sounds like a small thing, but it can get VERY irritating at times.

 

 100% this... I might be inclined to join peoples discord in wvw more if it wasn't such a pain in the tuckas to do.   This has bugged me since the game was released.  

[Blude.6812]

Con-- Targeting.

[Debesyla.7102]

"No easy way to duel or set up group PvP matches"

Wait, are custom PvP arenas/matches in the PvP selection removed? Or is making a custom match with your own requirements not good enough?

[Arnox.5128]

2 hours ago, Debesyla.7102 said:

"No easy way to duel or set up group PvP matches"

Wait, are custom PvP arenas/matches in the PvP selection removed? Or is making a custom match with your own requirements not good enough?

Custom PvP "servers" must be bought and can only be used for a limited time before you have to buy them again. Even further, there's no easy way to link a server in chat, so you gotta coordinate with everyone to make sure everyone joins the right server. It's a major pain in the ***.

3 hours ago, Blude.6812 said:

Con-- Targeting.

How would you like it improved?

4 hours ago, neighto.7386 said:

 100% this... I might be inclined to join peoples discord in wvw more if it wasn't such a pain in the tuckas to do.   This has bugged me since the game was released.  

Speaking of Discord, that links directly back to guilds and having to join a guild Discord server because GW2's guild features are woefully inadequate.

[Blude.6812]

15 hours ago, Arnox.5128 said:

Custom PvP "servers" must be bought and can only be used for a limited time before you have to buy them again. Even further, there's no easy way to link a server in chat, so you gotta coordinate with everyone to make sure everyone joins the right server. It's a major pain in the ***.

How would you like it improved?

Speaking of Discord, that links directly back to guilds and having to join a guild Discord server because GW2's guild features are woefully inadequate.

Targeting --that it would actually target the enemy that is in front/ close to you. For example, the flax farm in TD. Surrounded by drakes while  harvesting, start ranged attack and I see I am locked on to frogs the NEXT LEVEL DOWN underneath the flax farm. Not the only place this happens BTW.

[Arnox.5128]

10 hours ago, Blude.6812 said:

Targeting --that it would actually target the enemy that is in front/ close to you. For example, the flax farm in TD. Surrounded by drakes while  harvesting, start ranged attack and I see I am locked on to frogs the NEXT LEVEL DOWN underneath the flax farm. Not the only place this happens BTW.

Are you using the action camera?

[Blude.6812]

20 hours ago, Arnox.5128 said:

Are you using the action camera?

Only time I use it is during shooting gallery like interactions and the odd time jumping. Regardless, the game shouldn't pick up a target that isn't even on the same level or same area than the one you are actually fighting and the drakes are actually closer as well.

 

 

Edited November 14, 2021 by Blude.6812

[PeterRedhill.3182]

I really only have two cons.

Inventory increases that costs gems aren't account wide like they are in other games that have that.

And Transmutation shards are awful to use as someone who doesn't pvp and doesn't earn a lot of them passively.  I have been while leveling but it's like 1 for a whole zone and that just feels terrible when other games would just be gold or some catalyst that I can craft.  I can't craft those things and as a player it's not fun at all.

 

But out of all the things those are the ones I'd want addressed more than others.  One is just archaic and the other actively makes me disinterested in participating in it's system.

[Rogue.8235]

generally agree but\

On 11/11/2021 at 11:56 PM, Arnox.5128 said:

- No easy way to duel or set up group PvP matches.

There's already a custom arena system in place, it just needs to be updates.   Also, full team queues need to come back in sPvP.  Beyond that, no changes.  Especially no pvp in pve.

On 11/11/2021 at 11:56 PM, Arnox.5128 said:

- Free stat changing locked behind legendaries. Every player used to have this almost right from the get-go in GW1, but in GW2 it's been locked behind an INSANE grind. Why? Why is one of the most important and interesting features for combat in a super combat-heavy game restricted behind a huge grind/paywall?

I agree in that I wish stats were uniformly acquirable.  However, full on stat swapping on a whim isn't good.  This would completely destroy any semblance of a working economy.  Also, GW1 and GW2 are very different games.  For one, GW1 had no reliable market.  You just stand there in Kamadon shouting at the world in the hopes that someone responds.  To have stats locked behind gear would be ruinous for gw1.  However, GW2 has a working economy with effortless trade.  

Any further discussion of the differences between GW1 and GW2 would be fruitless as it should be very apparent that comparisons of the systems in between the two games on the basis that they have Guild and Wars in their name is completely fallacious at best.

On 11/11/2021 at 11:56 PM, Arnox.5128 said:

- Going through levels 1-79/leveling specializations with an alt is completely and utterly pointless after you've already manually leveled a char to 80 the first time and gotten the specs. Even for practice with a certain class, that can still be easily done without denying players access until they've done so and so arbitrary tasks. What's worse is even if you're willing to pay to skip the grind with an Instant 80 booster, you still have to get the Hero Points for the specializations.

The leveling part isn't very detrimental.  Veteran players have too much tomes that leveling an alt is near instantaneous.  

The hero point part has merit.  However, it doesn't take much time to get the hero points needed for elite specializations with the tools a veteran player accumulates over time.

As for pointlessness of leveling, it may be pointless to you but it isn't necessarily so for others.   I enjoy the leveling process because I don't see it as grind.   It's just gameplay for me.  I play the game and sometimes that means playing a new character.  

Rewards are not the only reason to play a video game.  You can play it for the sole enjoyment of playing it.    

On 11/11/2021 at 11:56 PM, Arnox.5128 said:

- Forced Mastery unlocking to obtain sometimes basic functionality or access to further areas and to progress the story. Unlike the other things on this list, I kinda get why this was done, but at the same time, it's a huge pain when you see a new and cool place or thing you'd like but then get immediately stopped and told you have to get so many arbitrary points in order to go there/obtain that thing. This can also create PvE issues between players who have certain Masteries and those who do not. These select mandatory-for-progression Masteries are simply increasing the level cap with extra steps.

I don't fully agree with this, but neither do I completely disagree with all points raised here.

I see that the intention of the mastery system was to play the map in addition to just playing the story.  Taht way you get some mastery points and experience to level the mastery track.  However, the pacing is synchronized, and so the above quoted perception is formulated.  

When I played Drizzlewood Coast for the first time, the pacing of the mastery track there and the story were spot on.  I now know what the intended feeling of gameplay is supposed to be.  However, HoT and Bjora Marches didn't have that same pacing.  There will come a point when your natural exploration exceeds your mastery level, and that is where the feeling of necessary grind comes in.

I have no idea how this could be fixed.  Just an observation.

On 11/11/2021 at 11:56 PM, Arnox.5128 said:

- No way to view a player's achievements or unlocked skins. Just achievement points. Which is silly.

Completely unnecessary in the game.  It's always fun to link gear when someone asks what skin it is.  That social aspect is okay to be in the game.  But for the devs to go out of their way to implement the above is just pointless.  It doesn't help anyone.

What would be the point of viewing some random persons achievements? 

On 11/11/2021 at 11:56 PM, Arnox.5128 said:

- Selling/getting rid of loot is a pain. Besides maybe buying some bags which auto-sort your loot by type, there's nothing really you can do about this without using one third-party tool or another.

I never found the inventory system to be bothersome.  It's easy to offload stuff.  I don't use any third party tool other than a screen reader because I'm blind.  Screen readers just read the screen for me.

However, I can easily intuit what to do with a hoard of items because I'm organized and logical like that.  I also don't know what most people think should be the time spent for inventory management.  If it's 2-3 seconds, I believe that to be   ridiculous notion.  

Personally, I feel the time spent and the tools given are more than adequate and sensible.  Also, anything I don't immediately recognize, I can /wiki shift click it.  That's already built into the game.

On 11/11/2021 at 11:56 PM, Arnox.5128 said:

- Some pieces of loot have COMPLETELY ABSURD drop chances. See: Invisible Slippers, Mystic Infusions, etc. Guild Wars 2, and in fact, the entire Guild Wars series in general, was supposed to be built to respect your time and skill.

This is for the people that think all loot is just trash loot and want something "exciting"

Honestly, I don't really care if there's stuff that is rare or not.  I just get what I want based on the marginal cost of it.  If something is too expensive for me, I didn't really want it that badly.

But yeah, recall all the threads about the "quality of loot"   This is the solution for those threads.  Don't like it? then let those players know.  You can't have rare and drops-for-everyone simultaneously.  

 

 

Again, I mostly agree with everything else.

 

 

[Arnox.5128]

6 hours ago, Blude.6812 said:

Only time I use it is during shooting gallery like interactions and the odd time jumping. Regardless, the game shouldn't pick up a target that isn't even on the same level/area than the one you are actually fighting and the drakes are actually closer as well.

 

I guess, but if you're not using the action camera, I don't know why you're not just explicitly targeting what you want to shoot.

5 hours ago, Rogue.8235 said:

There's already a custom arena system in place, it just needs to be updates.

Yes, I know. That's why I said no easy way to do so.

As to PvP in PvE, this has already been discussed ad nauseam in many a thread and I don't feel like getting into another incredibly long knockdown drag-out fight about it again. We'll agree to disagree.

5 hours ago, Rogue.8235 said:

However, full on stat swapping on a whim isn't good.  This would completely destroy any semblance of a working economy.

How do you figure that?

Not that it matters since it's way too late to change how it works at this point anyway.

5 hours ago, Rogue.8235 said:

Any further discussion of the differences between GW1 and GW2 would be fruitless as it should be very apparent that comparisons of the systems in between the two games on the basis that they have Guild and Wars in their name is completely fallacious at best.

To act like it's unreasonable to expect the same core ideals from the same series is, I think, also completely fallacious at best. If the same core ideals are not ever to be expected from games in a specific series, then the series name means absolutely nothing. Consistency of core ideals within a series are incredibly important.

5 hours ago, Rogue.8235 said:

The leveling part isn't very detrimental. 

I'm gonna say this once. "It's not that bad." is not a valid argument for having something. What does forcing players to go through levels 1-79 on every single character, whether through tomes, instant 80, or natural leveling, contribute to the gameplay experience in a positive way? Now, if I wanted to be really cynical, I could just say that the levels are there now to sell instant 80 boosters, but funnily enough, I wouldn't even be that mad at all if that were the case since ANet does still need to earn money and they still offer lots of tomes for people who don't want to pay.

5 hours ago, Rogue.8235 said:

As for pointlessness of leveling, it may be pointless to you but it isn't necessarily so for others.   I enjoy the leveling process because I don't see it as grind.   It's just gameplay for me.  I play the game and sometimes that means playing a new character.  

I don't necessarily have a problem with the levels being there, but there should be a choice for veteran players as to whether they want to go through it all again. And that's the issue right now. There are a few ways to get past it, but they all have a major drawback to them. Tomes are irritating to click through and you need to spend a large chunk of gold outfitting the character in at least Exotic. Instant 80 boosters are quite nice, but they're expensive at $20 a pop, and they never have any sales on them. Leveling the character manually doesn't cost any gold or actual money, but it does cost a fair amount of time, and you still have to pay for the Exotic gear at the end as well.

5 hours ago, Rogue.8235 said:

Completely unnecessary in the game.  It's always fun to link gear when someone asks what skin it is.  That social aspect is okay to be in the game.  But for the devs to go out of their way to implement the above is just pointless.  It doesn't help anyone.

What would be the point of viewing some random persons achievements? 

This would not only show the active skins used, but also all skins that the player has unlocked. Not a lot of point to it, but it can help immensely when you're creating a character with someone instead of having to go to the bank and scroll through all the skins, and then ask the person about each skin you think would be a good fit.

As to achievements, that's easy. Bragging rights. By your logic, you could also easily say that titles are pointless too. GW2 is a super fashion-heavy game. People like to show off. Why not achievements as well?

5 hours ago, Rogue.8235 said:

I don't use any third party tool other than a screen reader because I'm blind.

You can play GW2 in your condition? That is impressive! I'm glad you're able to do so and I sympathize.

5 hours ago, Rogue.8235 said:

I also don't know what most people think should be the time spent for inventory management.  If it's 2-3 seconds, I believe that to be   ridiculous notion.  

When I get out of a place like the Mad King's Labyrinth or the Silverwastes, it takes me a good 5-8 minutes each time to sell and off-load everything. That doesn't sound like much, but it adds up fast and can start to grate on you.

Edited November 14, 2021 by Arnox.5128

[Emegale.8403]

About the pros, here I agree in many ways. Of the minus, there are only a few for me. There is almost no customization of the interface, you can't even shift the minimap from left to right. Although the game has the ability to use an action camera, there are some flaws associated with it, although thanks for adding it. It is impossible to get a Gift of Battle in a PvE way for those who for some reason cannot play pvp or www or at least somehow exchange it in major events such as Halloween, etc. 

[Vayne.8563]

5 hours ago, Emegale.8403 said:

About the pros, here I agree in many ways. Of the minus, there are only a few for me. There is almost no customization of the interface, you can't even shift the minimap from left to right. Although the game has the ability to use an action camera, there are some flaws associated with it, although thanks for adding it. It is impossible to get a Gift of Battle in a PvE way for those who for some reason cannot play pvp or www or at least somehow exchange it in major events such as Halloween, etc. 

You can get a gift of battle without ever setting foot in WvW, if you have enough badges of honor from achievement point chests, but it'll take a while. You just need to join a guild that has the right merchant and buy something from him every single time the big spender daily comes up.  When it comes up 80 times (probably about 40 weeks) you would have a gift of battle without ever setting foot in WvW.

[Rogue.8235]

6 hours ago, Arnox.5128 said:

Yes, I know. That's why I said no easy way to do so.

As to PvP in PvE, this has already been discussed ad nauseam in many a thread and I don't feel like getting into another incredibly long knockdown drag-out fight about it again. We'll agree to disagree.

I personally want the custom arena system to be revamped for easier management by players.  It's a good foundation for what could be a great system.  Wishful thinking, yes, but that's just my 2c.

6 hours ago, Arnox.5128 said:

How do you figure that?

Not that it matters since it's way too late to change how it works at this point anyway.

You would eliminate the bulk of sustained demand for commodities.  What use are the basic crafting materials if people don't need a continuous supply of them?  You then have non-stop supply with one-time demand.   That is going to severely crash the markets, and the commodities markets are the backbone of the economy (much like any CPI goods).

I can draw the Cartesian graphs if you want.

6 hours ago, Arnox.5128 said:

To act like it's unreasonable to expect the same core ideals from the same series is, I think, also completely fallacious at best. If the same core ideals are not ever to be expected from games in a specific series, then the series name means absolutely nothing. Consistency of core ideals within a series are incredibly important.

They are different games.  They have completely different mechanics.  They have completely different methods of trade amongst players.  They have completely different systems for gameplay, exempli gratias, all instanced content vs. open world.  They have completely different combat systems.  They have completely different attribute systems.  They have completely different equipment systems.  They have completely different trait systems.  

You present the  that attributes should be customizable at any time because a different game has it.  Yes, it's a fallacious notion.

The core ideals do not include stat select ability at will.  A core ideal is "Players should always be happy to see another player" and is one ArenaNet actually designs around.  A core ideal is builds that allow only a select few skills to be available at a time.  Character attributes are systems that are incidental to the core ideals.  They are also two completely different systems vis a vis GW1 and GW2.

6 hours ago, Arnox.5128 said:

I'm gonna say this once. "It's not that bad." is not a valid argument for having something. What does forcing players to go through levels 1-79 on every single character, whether through tomes, instant 80, or natural leveling, contribute to the gameplay experience in a positive way? Now, if I wanted to be really cynical, I could just say that the levels are there now to sell instant 80 boosters, but funnily enough, I wouldn't even be that mad at all if that were the case since ANet does still need to earn money and they still offer lots of tomes for people who don't want to pay.

Interesting preface for this paragraph.  

Anyways, it does add positive elements to the game.  Just because you do not like it doesn't mean that it must be bad for everyone.  This is what you are claiming.

Again, players find it enjoyable to play the game on new characters.  Levels 1-79 is part of the game.  

Granted, you and an unknown number of players think that 1-79 is not part of the game (for some reason).  I suspect it is because you care only for the Skinner Box.  That's not gameplay that's chasing dopamine re uptake.

I, and an unknown number of players, enjoy just playing the game because we enjoy the game itself.  Level 1-79 is part of the game we enjoy playing.

It's a strange assertion that (1) 1-79 does not constitute gameplay but is a "forced" task and (2) playing the game solely for the enjoyment of playing the game is dismissed entirely.  You dismissed it entirely with the above paragraph.  There is zero consideration that playing the game, itself, is a positive contribution to the game.

6 hours ago, Arnox.5128 said:

I don't necessarily have a problem with the levels being there, but there should be a choice for veteran players as to whether they want to go through it all again. And that's the issue right now. There are a few ways to get past it, but they all have a major drawback to them. Tomes are irritating to click through and you need to spend a large chunk of gold outfitting the character in at least Exotic. Instant 80 boosters are quite nice, but they're expensive at $20 a pop, and they never have any sales on them. Leveling the character manually doesn't cost any gold or actual money, but it does cost a fair amount of time, and you still have to pay for the Exotic gear at the end as well.

You want free exotic gear for all new characters?  I assume also a stat combination of your choosing based upon the earlier point that stats aren't freely selectable on a whim.  

Again, this would kill the economy.  See section 1 above.

You also never consider that 1-79 is actually part of the game.  You want to not play a large portion of the game because... well you don't actually state why 1-79 is considered a forced task and not gameplay.  You just assumed it's a fact, not your personal opinion.

You are given tools to "skip" past the "forced" task via tomes of knowledge.  What I understand is that you desire a system that let's you create a new character that starts at level 80 with full exotics of any stat combination of your choosing.   

What do you consider to be the actual game and why do you consider only those parts?  It would help to illuminate the issue.

6 hours ago, Arnox.5128 said:

This would not only show the active skins used, but also all skins that the player has unlocked. Not a lot of point to it, but it can help immensely when you're creating a character with someone instead of having to go to the bank and scroll through all the skins, and then ask the person about each skin you think would be a good fit.

As to achievements, that's easy. Bragging rights. By your logic, you could also easily say that titles are pointless too. GW2 is a super fashion-heavy game. People like to show off. Why not achievements as well?

Eh, I can see the point for the skin thing.  Only drawbacks (potential) would be dev time to create the system, which I don't have inside knowledge of and, thus, can't say if it's a considerable drawback.  Could even be a side project like the material storage revamp was.

For achievements, one must consider how the system can be abused to diminish the gameplay experiences of others (aka griefing).  It would put a little more gas on the already contentious instanced-group formation.

Other than that, I don't see another way this could be misused.  I personally don't have a need for external validation, but this seems like a system with little drawback.

I personally don't care for it, but that's literally just me speaking for myself.

6 hours ago, Arnox.5128 said:

You can play GW2 in your condition? That is impressive! I'm glad you're able to do so and I sympathize.

I can, and I suck at navigating new maps.  I get lost so much and it takes forever to learn, but it's all just fun.  I do enjoy the moments where I realize I'm in the air way way longer than I should be (usually happens in Maguuma(. 

I sometimes do dungeons and strike missions, and I solo dragon response missions.  I don't do any other PvE instanced content because I have no idea what's going on and it could just be a frusterating experience for all involved.

I can competently PvP.  All I have to do is learn the current meta for the league season, design my builds around it, and I'm good.  Players, especially at low ELO, tend to be extremely predictable.  That's because most players do "rotations" with little adaptation.  Hence why I learn the meta, so I know what they'll be doing.

You should see how long it takes me to figure out new boss mechanics in the game, and how long it takes me to figure out the constant "floor is lava" mechanics.  It's forever.  It takes forever, but I eventually figure it out and can solo most anything in PvE.

I spend a lot of time on the Wiki because it's easy for my screen reader to read websites.  I usually read skills, dialuge, and boss mechanics if it's taking more than forever to figure out.

I also constantly use /wiki shift click to read my inventory.

There is no other online game I can play.  Only GW2, because the devs already made it mostly blind-friendly.  They've even made some small tweaks here and there based on my feedback (@Fire Attunement.9835 I noticed the changes to the Lich in the labyrinth.  Thank the developers for me!).

6 hours ago, Arnox.5128 said:

When I get out of a place like the Mad King's Labyrinth or the Silverwastes, it takes me a good 5-8 minutes each time to sell and off-load everything. That doesn't sound like much, but it adds up fast and can start to grate on you.

I would, personally, consider 8 minutes to be on the "too high" area of the scale.

Personally, I just right click and open all until all the bags are opened.  Store all mats, salvage all food, seel the rest and, if not vendible, toss it.  I used to list all those tonics, but it's actually cost inducing to list them as there is very little chance they'll be bought (I've had tonics listed for over 2 years before removing and trashing them).  

It does take extra time to go to the vendor to convert the mats into cobs/etc.  

I usually have around 2.5 stacks of bags and so it doesn't take me long.  Definitely under 5 minutes.

I think the main issue is that the inventory system isn't very intuitive to effectively use.  I really do beleive all the necessary tools are already in the game, but it does seem to be an issue within the player base.

If the tools are there, but the players still struggle, two possibilities come to mind.

(1) better tools are needed.

(2) better tutorial/teaching/learning is needed.

 

for (1):

• P1: players think inventory management takes too long
• P2: tools for effective inventory management exist in-game
• P3: Players are aware of these tools.
• P4: Players utilize these tools.
• P5: players use these tools effectively
• Therefore, tools are inadequate.

For (2):

• P1: players think inventory management takes too long
• P2: tools for effective inventory management exist in-game
• P3: players are aware of these tools
• P4 players utilize these tools
• P5: players don't use the tools effectively
• Therefore, better tutorial is needed.

For (2):

• P1: players think inventory management takes too long
• P2: tools for effective inventory management exist in-game
• P3: players are aware of these tools
• P4: players do not know how to use these tools
• Therefore, better tutorial is needed

For (2):

• P1: players think inventory management takes too long
• P2: tools for effective inventory management exist in-game
• P3: players are not aware of these tools
• Therefore, better tutorial is needed

 

Whether better tools are needed in the game depends on if players know there are tools already in-game, players effectively use said tools, and inventory management still takes too long.

 I question if premises  3 and 4 are realized in the player community.  

There is another confounding variable:

Players know what to do with every item in their inventory.

Whether that is true or not changes what is needed.

So, reanalyzing:

for (1):

• P1: players think inventory management takes too long
• P2: tools for effective inventory management exist in-game
• P3: Players are aware of these tools.
• P4: Players utilize these tools.
• P5: players effectively use these tools
• P6: players know what to do with every item in their inventory
• Therefore, tools are inadequate

For (2):

• P1: players think inventory management takes too long
• P2: tools for effective inventory management exist in-game
• P3: players are aware of these tools
• P4 players utilize these tools
• P5: players know what to do with every item in their inventory
• P6: players don't use the tools effectively
• Therefore, better tutorial is needed.

For (2):

• P1: players think inventory management takes too long
• P2: tools for effective inventory management exist in-game
• P3: players are aware of these tools
• P4 players utilize these tools
• P5: players use the tools effectively
• P6: players don't know what to do with every item in their inventory
• Therefore, better tutorial is needed.

For (2):

• P1: players think inventory management takes too long
• P2: tools for effective inventory management exist in-game
• P3: players are aware of these tools
• P4 players utilize these tools
• P5: players do not know how to use the tools
• P6: players know what to do with every item in their inventory
• Therefore, better tutorial is needed.

For (2):

• P1: players think inventory management takes too long
• P2: tools for effective inventory management exist in-game
• P3: players are aware of these tools
• P4 players utilize these tools
• P5: players are unaware of the tools
• P6: players know what to do with every item in their inventory
• Therefore, better tutorial is needed.

 

The above is why I don't think better tools are needed.  People just need to learn how to better manage the inventory, but are not given the lessons for such learning.

That's my take.

The only time I spend lots (over 5 minutes) on inventory is if I'm researching markets to see if I want to invest some liquid assets into that market.  Usually I opt not to but I have found some occasional gems.

I don't count my market research as part of inventory management because it's beyond what most players do and outside the scope of what we're debating.  Essentially, I'm a dork that enjoys market research and I know that most people aren't nerdy enough to enjoy doing the same 😛

Edited November 14, 2021 by Rogue.8235
stupid typos

[The Greyhawk.9107]

On 11/11/2021 at 10:56 PM, Arnox.5128 said:

- No way to view a player's achievements or unlocked skins. Just achievement points. Which is silly.

 

Why does this need to be a thing?  Why do you need to see what armor and weapon skins I have unlocked?

[Arnox.5128]

5 hours ago, The Greyhawk.9107 said:

Why does this need to be a thing?  Why do you need to see what armor and weapon skins I have unlocked?

1. What harm is it gonna do?

2. As I said above, it can help immensely when you're creating a character with someone instead of having to go to the bank and scroll through all the skins, and then ask the person about each skin you think would be a good fit.

3. While we're making achievements viewable, why not unlocked skins too? Might as well.

Edited November 15, 2021 by Arnox.5128

[kharmin.7683]

33 minutes ago, Arnox.5128 said:

1. What harm is it gonna do?

 

It would become yet another thing demanded of players for high end game content.

 

34 minutes ago, Arnox.5128 said:

 

2. As I said above, it can help immensely when you're creating a character with someone instead of having to go to the bank and scroll through all the skins, and then ask the person about each skin you think would be a good fit.

Asking another player sounds like a great way to build community.  I enjoy when people compliment my look or ask about skins.

 

35 minutes ago, Arnox.5128 said:

3. While we're making achievements viewable, why not unlocked skins too? Might as well.

One can already look through the wardrobe to view all skins, locked and unlocked.  I'd rather Anet spend resources elsewhere since this information is already available to players.

[Arnox.5128]

12 hours ago, kharmin.7683 said:

It would become yet another thing demanded of players for high end game content.

Just like they do in WoW. Oh wait, no they don't, because that's stupid. And EVEN IF that were to be true, who gives a ****? Go play with someone else if you don't like the group. And that's assuming that you even do raids yourself. Are you even in that scene? All the people I've met that actually are in the raid scene have been nice and helpful. Admittedly though, that's anecdotal.

EDIT: I'm talking about viewable skins ONLY. No stats. Yeah, viewable stats would be different.

12 hours ago, kharmin.7683 said:

Asking another player sounds like a great way to build community.

I'm not gonna fight for public skin viewing nearly as much as viewable achievements, but if I had to pick between community and not being really annoyed any time I need to compare skins with someone else, I'll take the latter. And besides, if I like someone's character, I just tell them. I don't need an excuse to do so.

Edited November 16, 2021 by Arnox.5128

[The Greyhawk.9107]

Why do you need to know what achievements I've gotten either? Why is any of this stuff yours or anybody else's business?  And why should Anet spend time on this instead of other more relevant things?

Edited November 16, 2021 by The Greyhawk.9107

[Mungrul.9358]

On 11/12/2021 at 4:56 AM, Arnox.5128 said:

- Free stat changing locked behind legendaries. Every player used to have this almost right from the get-go in GW1, but in GW2 it's been locked behind an INSANE grind. Why? Why is one of the most important and interesting features for combat in a super combat-heavy game restricted behind a huge grind/paywall?

Yup, this is my biggest problem with the game too, and I'm the dufus who originally suggested adding stat changes to Legendaries.

I don't even buy the economic argument, as Legendaries still have other benefits that normal equipment don't with completely free transmutation and unique aesthetics that even gem store items don't get, such as footprints, unique sound effects and armour that transforms appearance based on combat status.

[Arnox.5128]

1 hour ago, Mungrul.9358 said:

Yup, this is my biggest problem with the game too, and I'm the dufus who originally suggested adding stat changes to Legendaries.

I don't even buy the economic argument, as Legendaries still have other benefits that normal equipment don't with completely free transmutation and unique aesthetics that even gem store items don't get, such as footprints, unique sound effects and armour that transforms appearance based on combat status.

And as I said before in an earlier thread, they'll still be pretty valuable just simply based on what they are. They're legendary items. Items that take tons of resources and dedication to make. If you have one, you can safely be called a GW2 veteran, hands down just by people seeing the weapon. It's a status symbol. And in such a fashion-heavy game as GW2, that means something big.

WITH THAT SAID THOUGH, it probably will still make a big economic impact, not necessarily because a bunch of mats formerly used for legendaries are going to flood the market, but suddenly, people don't need to constantly pay out for new gear anymore. They just get an Exotic or Ascended set for one char just for the defense stat and then they never have to spend anything on gear stats or changing stats ever again. This will most likely create major gold inflation. A ton of gold that formerly went to gear is now going to be sitting idle in people's pockets. That's bad. Like it or not, GW2's economy is actually pretty kitten well balanced. I can't fault ANet for that. Gold has shifted up and down in value, yes, but I don't think I've ever ONCE seen it get out of hand even a little. It's definitely inflated since launch day, but compared to something like WoW? It rates no higher than a footnote.

Edited November 16, 2021 by Arnox.5128