Are "Achievement Points" that big of a deal?

[Sir Arigius.6294]

I have almost 6 thousand AP points.

 

I originally didn't think it was a super big deal. I recently met a player who had over 30 thousand AP.

 

We seemed to get along and I added them on my friends list. He/she started helping me doing jump puzzles. 20 minutes into it, they started lecturing me about AP and what it was and to look at their score. After that, they gloated & preached about their AP score. I got back lash from them because I had hardly done any of the jumping puzzles or this or that. At that point it just felt like bragging. Then after the help which I thanked them profusely for, they mapped out and quit talking to me as they wouldn't return my pm's. I just felt like that particular player wasn't getting enough recognition  for their achievements and randomly picked a stranger to gloat to is the best guess I could come up with. 

 

It never was a big deal to me despite the fact you get some rewards depending on how much you've gotten through the years of playing. It was just one of those features where I was like, "Oh cool." and then I just moved on to doing what I wanted in the game after checking it out. 

 

 I did want to get everyone else's opinion on whether or not AP is important to them. Thoughts? 

 

 

Edited December 1, 2021 by Sir Arigius.6294

[AgentMoore.9453]

AP are supposed to be a personal measure of progress that means as much (or as little) as you want it to. They aren't supposed to be a measure of other players in any way, so bragging about AP or assuming you know anything about another player because of their AP count is beyond silly and I'm sorry you were treated this way by someone empowered by a big number.

I chase AP for fun as part of my endgame and would happily help another player who wanted to work on theirs, but it's 10/10 an opt-in, do it if you feel like it part of GW2 that doesn't determine your value.

[Tails.9372]

23 minutes ago, Sir Arigius.6294 said:

At that point it just felt like bragging.

That's cause it was. At best you can say that someone with a high number of APs is more likely to "know what he's doing" / "have a proper build and gear" but even that isn't a given.

[Doggie.3184]

They used to be more fun centuries ago when they unlocked random skins but considering the lack of features and out dated quality of the only armor skins AP gives (can't dye their effects) and the high AP weapons just being reskins mostly~ the main thing I look forward to is the rare periods of free gold+gems. Laurels also convert into gold and I was able to make a few legendaries funded entirely with them. I am at 34,292 AP currently.

As for the amount in general it does show how much effort and time someones put into the game.

People used to use it to gatekeeper people from joining groups but it's been many years since I've seen that. They use titles and kill proof items now.

Edited December 1, 2021 by Doggie.3184

[Embered.5089]

AP is optional. It's not a measure of how good someone is. It occasionally can be used to determine some things, like if someone has less than 1k AP, they're probably new because you'll get more than 1k AP by the time you're 80, even if you boosted to 80 and played for a few hours. If someone has over 30k AP, that just means that they spent a lot of time doing achievements and most likely went out of their way just to collect them. It's not in any way a measure of how good a player is or how much they know about the game, although generally someone with more AP will be more knowledgeable simply due to what they went through to get the AP.

That guy just wants to feel good about himself. I am impressed by the number, but I'm unimpressed by his behavior.

[Doctor Hide.6345]

Most don't care that much about AP on others since it is more a personal thing . I am sorry you ran into a person like that though since he is more the special type. But generally, you are fine with how many you want to do. I have less than you in fact since I don't care that much for it.

[Randulf.7614]

It’s a personal trophy nothing more. Just a carrot to chase. I have over 30k ap and it’s meaningless. It proves only that I’ve prob played the game too much more than anything else!

[Cynder.2509]

AP actually had a purpose back when dungeons were popular. You had to have at least 10k to join LFG groups or you'll be kicked upon joining. You could filter out bad and good players back then aside from filtering out the good and bad based on their classes (ranger as a big example. Especially with a bear and that totally annoying bow.)
Unfortunately I currently only have 32,491 AP and I worry about it so much because I should have 40k at least like all the others that play since 2012 too... I feel pretty worthless having such a little amount of them. I feel like I constantly need to proof myself to others. 

[Nol Fran Shee.1285]

Before WvW had levels or Commanders people would follow me around thinking I knew what I was doing because I had a lot of AP (like 15k at the time)

 

Been here since beta and I still don't know what I'm doing in WvW (even though I farmed legendary armor there), thankfully I can follow a commander around and be a zergling.  I now have over 30k AP and it still doesn't reflect skill in WvW or PvP.  but ask me a PvE or lore question and I'm your mesmer!

[Doctor Hide.6345]

15 minutes ago, Cynder.2509 said:

AP actually had a purpose back when dungeons were popular. You had to have at least 10k to join LFG groups or you'll be kicked upon joining. You could filter out bad and good players back then aside from filtering out the good and bad based on their classes (ranger as a big example. Especially with a bear and that totally annoying bow.)
Unfortunately I currently only have 32,491 AP and I worry about it so much because I should have 40k at least like all the others that play since 2012 too... I feel pretty worthless having such a little amount of them. I feel like I constantly need to proof myself to others. 

 

I am confused if you are being serious or not. But if you are being serious, than I have to let you know that you don't need to prove yourself to anyone. You should feel happy and confident by just being you and what you already did.  You don't need others approval. Also, most people don't care about your AP.  They look more at how you act over the stuff you have done. It's fine if it is a personal goal for 40k, but you should it for yourself and not to make other people acknowledge you because that would be a battle you will never win.

Edited December 1, 2021 by Doctor Hide.6345

[Xinopia.5134]

You can easily subtract 15k from those high AP players since you can earn 10ap a day from 3 simple tasks, to a maximum of 15k. I hate doing daily shores so i have about 12k, instead I play what I wana play when I wana play it.  AP means nothing!

[Razadune.9260]

Yes, they're important! I didn't realize how much when I started playing the game in earnest, and how tied the achievements are to unlocking cosmetics and other things throughout the game.  They aren't quite like Xbox achievements or Playstation trophies where they're just throwaway kudos to say you did something, there is a good purpose to gaining some of the achievements in GW2. The benefit to doing some of the achievements in the game isn't really obvious at first, since achievement systems in most games are just self-congratulatory and don't really have much bearing on anything...but in GW2, it's a good idea to find some you want to do that give you things you'd want, and work on those (like mastery points, or cosmetic unlocks, or titles if you're into that).

       

  

But also...no. They aren't important. They aren't really a measure of skill or much of anything other than the amount of time you've spent playing, and what you've spent that time doing. Don't sweat the number unless you want to hit a milestone unlock or something.    

 

58 minutes ago, Cynder.2509 said:

 I feel pretty worthless having such a little amount of them. I feel like I constantly need to proof myself to others. 

    

You aren't, and you don't. It's just a video game, the point is to have fun...so, do what's fun to you, and if you're enjoying it that's all that matters. Nobody worth paying attention to is going to judge you by what you've done in a video game rather than by what kind of person you are. Someone that's nice to be around and fun to play with is worth the world to others, in game or out of it...far more than any arbitrary achievement score ever will be, for sure.

[Randulf.7614]

I think the vast majority of players - since launch or otherwise prob have less than 15-20k. Last time I saw the leaderboard, over 20/25k was top 1% in game. Threshold might even be lower, I can’t remember

The cosmetics and gems are nice, but they do not reflect skill or ability. I am testament to that because I am not skilled. I just chased the carrot for a long time since launch. But I’ve broken that habit now.

They are a number that does not have - and never has despite what people say - any wider meaning beyond the individual player. Those who used it as a dungeon filter all those years ago were being ridiculous because ap wasn’t reflecting skill then any more than it does now.

 

Edited December 2, 2021 by Randulf.7614

[Rogue.8235]

3 hours ago, Sir Arigius.6294 said:

I have almost 6 thousand AP points.

 

I originally didn't think it was a super big deal. I recently met a player who had over 30 thousand AP.

 

We seemed to get along and I added them on my friends list. He/she started helping me doing jump puzzles. 20 minutes into it, they started lecturing me about AP and what it was and to look at their score. After that, they gloated & preached about their AP score. I got back lash from them because I had hardly done any of the jumping puzzles or this or that. At that point it just felt like bragging. Then after the help which I thanked them profusely for, they mapped out and quit talking to me as they wouldn't return my pm's. I just felt like that particular player wasn't getting enough recognition  for their achievements and randomly picked a stranger to gloat to is the best guess I could come up with. 

 

It never was a big deal to me despite the fact you get some rewards depending on how much you've gotten through the years of playing. It was just one of those features where I was like, "Oh cool." and then I just moved on to doing what I wanted in the game after checking it out. 

 

 I did want to get everyone else's opinion on whether or not AP is important to them. Thoughts? 

 

 

 

Achievement points are meaningless.  The only people that care about achievement points are the ones that think others care  It is not demonstrable proof of anything.  It's just a nice, completely arbitrary number to have.

Most of us get achievement points accidentally just by playing the game.    Also, people who prefer, and excel, at a single mode will have less than those who0 experiment with every mode (and are not necessarily good at any mode at all).  It's just an arbitrary number.

Oh, and those who are completionists do care about achievement points, but usually don't care about anyone else's nor care who notices.  They care about completion for their own internal gratitude, not out of a desire to impress others for external validation. 

Don't fret over those who require external validation for their own self-esteem.  Just keep going on in life, do your thing, and let them do their thing.

 

.

[Sinmir.6504]

3 hours ago, Doctor Hide.6345 said:

 

I am confused if you are being serious or not. But if you are being serious, than I have to let you know that you don't need to prove yourself to anyone. You should feel happy and confident by just being you and what you already did.  You don't need others approval. Also, most people don't care about your AP.  They look more at how you act over the stuff you have done. It's fine if it is a personal goal for 40k, but you should it for yourself and not to make other people acknowledge you because that would be a battle you will never win.

I think he was having a joke with the second part. But the first part was real back before Heart of Thorns came out. I don't remember seeing it at 10K, but I've seen dungeons saying 5-8K, no idea what happens if you try to join with >8k.

Other people's AP isn't really important, seems the player OP met just wanted to brag about having a lot.

On this note, there is a recent thread about the friend list, requesting the ability to hide online status/location ect. Te ability to hide AP would be nice.

[Dopamine.6324]

few days ago had 36k ap playing dps in fractal cm group, highest he got was 8k dps and dying almost every mechanic.
didnt inform group that he was new to cms or anything like that so kinda yikes

Edited December 2, 2021 by Dopamine.6324

[Handsel.2891]

You get the majority of APs automatically while playing the game without even thinking about them. You can also get many points with the help of other people (like jumping puzzles) without you doing any of the work. As it was stated already, achievement points are meaningless in terms of player skill. I can only be sure about my own efforts getting the amount of points I have, and even then, it's only a measure of how much commitment you have to the game, mostly time-wise.

On the topic of JPs, for example, I did every single one of them on my own without any help from others, so I know that those APs I really did work for. This fact only has meaning to me, though, and shouldn't be used to lord it over other players.

That player who helped you doesn't represent the best of the community, for sure.

[mythical.6315]

It’s not a big deal but apparently some people need to hold their AP count over others in order to feel good about themselves. 

[Zera.9435]

Short answer, no they're not. The only thing AP is good for the specific milestone rewards. A little coin, some laurels, some gems, boosts, weapons, and armor. Aside from that, they serve no purpose other than e-peen measuring contests.

[Mungrul.9358]

Outside of the milestone awards, I couldn't care less what my AP score is.

Judging players based on AP is an indication that someone is probably not a nice person and is better off ignored.

[Vayne.8563]

AP is like everything else in this game. It's something to do for people who enjoy doing it. I'm one of those people. I enjoy getting achievements. But at the end of the day, I'll never catch my wife so it keeps my ego relatively in check. lol

 

Games are about fun. You should do what you find fun. 

[Malice.5867]

I really like the idea of AP...in other games. I believe that achievments are a great tool for you to stay engaged into a game. Lets say you normally WvW, but currently don't feel like it? Go chase a randnom collection or pick an achievment to do. This way you won't feel bored, will be able to work towards something "meaningful" and enjoy different aspects of the game. 

GW2 completely ruins this with the daily quest rewarding 10 AP. Some of the most annoying and hard achievments in the game reward you with 5 AP and huge collections that require sooo much time reward you with 10-20AP. 

In all other games when I see someone with a lot of AP I think to myself  "this guy plays the game", when I see someone with a lot of AP in GW2 I think to myself "this guy probably logs in for the daily, and then logs out until tomorrow". 

[Alcatraznc.3869]

When I see someone with low AP (between 0 to 2k) I know the guy is a new player. So yeah when I see a 200AP player join my T4 fractal group, let's just say I am very skeptical about his knowledge of the fractal (or fractal in general).

 

But as you play, you unlock achievement, even some you didnt know existed and at some point it just becomes whatever.  You get some goodies for reaching certain treshold (and some threshold does give good reward like 400 gems) but outside of that player dont care much about AP.

[Astralporing.1957]

10 hours ago, Cynder.2509 said:

AP actually had a purpose back when dungeons were popular. You had to have at least 10k to join LFG groups or you'll be kicked upon joining.

You are aware, of course, that the "10k AP or kick" groups were joke groups? 10k AP at the time APs were used for group filtering was a lot - most of the speedrunners themselves didn't have that much. By the time overall AP numbers of veteran players went up to the level where it wasn't ridiculously high anymore, AP prefiltering in LFG mostly went out of fashion already.

10 hours ago, Cynder.2509 said:

You could filter out bad and good players back then aside from filtering out the good and bad based on their classes (ranger as a big example. Especially with a bear and that totally annoying bow.)

Yeah, about that... the more knowledgeable players at that time already knew that those filters were extremely bad at their job - a lot of the top AP players were known to not be all that good at actual HC play (due to putting most of their efforts elsewhere).

 

10 hours ago, Cynder.2509 said:

Unfortunately I currently only have 32,491 AP and I worry about it so much because I should have 40k at least like all the others that play since 2012 too... I feel pretty worthless having such a little amount of them. I feel like I constantly need to proof myself to others. 

I don't see anything unfortunate about that, and no reason to worry at all.

[Astralporing.1957]

1 hour ago, Malice.5867 said:

I really like the idea of AP...in other games. I believe that achievments are a great tool for you to stay engaged into a game. Lets say you normally WvW, but currently don't feel like it? Go chase a randnom collection or pick an achievment to do. This way you won't feel bored, will be able to work towards something "meaningful" and enjoy different aspects of the game. 

GW2 completely ruins this with the daily quest rewarding 10 AP. Some of the most annoying and hard achievments in the game reward you with 5 AP and huge collections that require sooo much time reward you with 10-20AP. 

The daily APs are capped. At some point you will run out of them. Most of the high-AP players reached that point long ago.

Quote

In all other games when I see someone with a lot of AP I think to myself  "this guy plays the game", when I see someone with a lot of AP in GW2 I think to myself "this guy probably logs in for the daily, and then logs out until tomorrow". 

Well, this is as bad an assumption as thinking someone with high APs must be good at the game. There's hardly anyone with "lots of AP" for whom APs from dailies would be a majority - especially considering the fact that the daily AP cap is at 15k, so it's just plain impossible to be a majority for anyone at above 30k AP.

1 hour ago, Alcatraznc.3869 said:

When I see someone with low AP (between 0 to 2k) I know the guy is a new player. So yeah when I see a 200AP player join my T4 fractal group, let's just say I am very skeptical about his knowledge of the fractal (or fractal in general).

A number of those players are actually alt accounts, in which case AP count is completely irrelevant. Still, it should be quite hard for anyone at 200AP to even see LFGs for t4's much less have enough ascended gear and ARs

Quote

But as you play, you unlock achievement, even some you didnt know existed and at some point it just becomes whatever.  You get some goodies for reaching certain treshold (and some threshold does give good reward like 400 gems) but outside of that player dont care much about AP.

Yes, most players probably don't. As can already be seen in this very thread, some do treat it as Serious Business (TM) .

Edited December 2, 2021 by Astralporing.1957