I can't help but feel massively underwhelming by EoD [Merged]

[Sobx.1758]

22 minutes ago, phokus.8934 said:

I honestly cannot believe they're selling fishing and skiffs as big features.

What else would you want the expansion to bring? Other than literally removing and re-adding mounts, of course, since that's probably what you're trying to use as some baseline for "expansion feature"?

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

44 minutes ago, Linken.6345 said:

Got a link to that article?

I do:  https://www.nme.com/features/gaming-features/guild-wars-2-end-of-dragons-preview-cantha-is-all-about-togetherness-3139566

[Gibson.4036]

With all the new articles popping up, it's clear that what at least some of the ArenaNet staff have been busy doing after the holidays is previewing EoD to gaming site writers.

[phokus.8934]

2 hours ago, Gibson.4036 said:

Are they, though?

I've seen this statement so many times, and I keep thinking, what would be the difference if they were just "features" and not "big features"? They'd still want to talk about it, right? They'd still list it on the box. Or should it have just been quietly implemented and no one knows until an unnamed day in February when we all discover an NPC telling us to go collect reeds to make a pole?

Or is it just the fact that there doesn't seem to be anything to call the "big new feature" that makes them the "big features" by default?

I don't know, just something I've been pondering.

Considering this is what they've been focusing on it seems like their selling point.  Other than Cantha and elite specs as the obvious, fishing and skiff's are fairly niche and are the "it" things for this expansion.  I suppose I always expected more.

[phokus.8934]

2 hours ago, Sobx.1758 said:

What else would you want the expansion to bring? Other than literally removing and re-adding mounts, of course, since that's probably what you're trying to use as some baseline for "expansion feature"?

Just to vaguely put it, something other than fishing and skiff's which seems to target a narrow audience.  Although I maybe the outlier because I don't care much for these things as I did with what we got during HoT and PoF (mounts and gliding).

[Gibson.4036]

It seems to me they’ve focused on skiffs and fishing and environment tours because the big selling point would be new zones with new story and new events, but someone at ArenaNet is highly allergic to revealing even a scrap of content that might be seen as a spoiler.

[Sobx.1758]

42 minutes ago, phokus.8934 said:

Just to vaguely put it, something other than fishing and skiff's which seems to target a narrow audience.  Although I maybe the outlier because I don't care much for these things as I did with what we got during HoT and PoF (mounts and gliding).

Yeah, "vaguely just something other" is by far not enough as an answer here.

Edited January 19, 2022 by Sobx.1758

[Zexanima.7851]

At least not for a long while. This isn't a doom-and-gloom post arguing the finer points of why this unreleased expansion does or doesn't "suck". People will buy it, people will play it, people will enjoy it. 

Personally, with as many times as I have been burnt or seen people burnt on game releases I'm much more conservative on being an early adopter. For me it really has to ignite my interest to even consider buying something game related on release day. The previous expansions, when I was a little less cautious, were no brainers for me. I wasn't disappointed either. I much preferred HoT but PoF was great as well. Despite their good track record on expansions something about this one doesn't seem the same to me.

I know Anet has undergone a lot of changes since PoF released so maybe it's something to do with that. Maybe I'm just "over" GW2 and no measure of new content would satisfy me (not likely). Regardless of the reason, what we've been presented on this expansion just hits different and not in the good way. If I were to try to pin it down to one thing I guess it might be that there is no game altering mechanic like the last two. Both gliding and mounts changed  how you interact with the entire game world, old and new content.

This expansion doesn't seem to have that, at least not nearly to the same extent. You have fishing but that seems like a very "low hanging fruit" kind thing to add. Setting aside any specifics on why I may not like fishing, how does this new mechanic alter the existing game? I can go back and fish in places I've been before but that doesn't change how I play the game, it's a whole separate thing. To give an analogy to how I see it (not a direct comparison in any way); Say you're really into some trading card game. When you're playing you can only have 4 cards down. With the next set of cards though they release a new rule that lets you play a 5th face down card you can flip at any time. Yeah, the new cards are cool, but that new rule freshens up how you would even play old decks. Now compare that to them instead releasing a solitaire rule set. It's neat but not nearly as exciting. I know, I know, this isn't the most direct analogy but it gets across how I view this expansion vs old ones. 

All that being said I may find out my suspicion was unwarranted after seeing some gameplay and rush to buy it a couple days after release. Unless there is something huge they've been holding  until release, I'm not banking on it. Maybe a few months down the road they'll release some spectacular new content for it they were just holding out on but I'm not banking on that either. I didn't really have any specific expectations around a new expansion. I had things I would have liked but I never really expected them. If I had any expectations at all it was that something in this expansion would really get me excited, and I know some people are which is great, but I'm not. It could just be a lack of poor presentation on their part. Idk man, I just look at what's been shown on EoD and the beta and go "Okay cool..." and am kind of left feeling like there should be something else but I don't really think there is. It also would have been neat if they had done something more exciting with professions than just another elite spec, but that's not a big deal for me so I wont rant on that. 

If you made it this far you might be asking why I would bother writing this long post on the forums because no one cares. Mainly, it helps me organize my thoughts on the matter. It's also nice to get different perspectives.

 

[Arveleg.2364]

I'm not hyped too, but still gonna buy EoD - I just want to RE-explore Cantha, just the way i did with PoF, some elite specs seems funs, turtle too, but rest is like you said - this expansion is lacking major feature, just more of the same.

[Gibson.4036]

My son and I have already repurchased, because we play GW2 together. We don’t need game-altering  mechanics. We just need more stories, more events, more zones. And $30 was a reasonable price point for that.

Some of the little details that showed up on game sites that got to preview EOD have increased my anticipation a little. There’s a chance we might be able to get the new guild hall just the two of us. The event chain involving the siege turtles sounds fun.

OP, hope you find a new game that you love, and maybe come back some time if GW2 looks interesting again to you.

[Tukaram.8256]

12 hours ago, phokus.8934 said:

I honestly cannot believe they're selling fishing and skiffs as big features.

I can.  Boats & fishing!  I am all over that.  (true story)

Hell, back in my Ultima Online days I was in the fishing guild.  It was some of the most fun I ever had in game.  Weekly fishing trips with the guild (no limit to the number of people on one boat). Fishing up sea monsters, and tons of in game drinking (and maybe some real life drinking). 

[Seteruss.4058]

Last 30€ was well worth it for what we got. 

Will buy it again even if i;m not hyped about new content.

I think it has nothing to do with new content tbh. Gw2 is getting old and we have to get used to it as most things. 

If you having fun with the game then why not. From the other hand if not then move on.

What makes you happiest is what matters more 😉

[Goettel.4389]

I used to regularly buy gems to support the one MMO I still like playing, but I found I've got everything from the gem store I want, apart from some nice skins once in a while. So I primarily preordered EoD to support the game. Having said that, both HoT and PoF have proven to be great additions to the game (for me), so I'm not worried EoD will add something worthwhile for me.

And he ho, if it doesn't, I only lost a fistful of euros, it's not that big a deal.

 

Blah, here's hoping it will turn out to be great after all! 🙂

[Dami.5046]

According to the gaming press, it's the strike missions Anet are plugging and the 'mission' at FA. But don't get me wrong, the fishing and guild Hall still remain a thing. 

It's all about 'togetherness' they say. How lovely.

Strikes, be it a dumbed down version are going to be part of the story and once unlocked you get access to the 10 man ones. The FA mission is also 10 man( i believe) and you can ride a turtle there if you haven't unlocked one.🤷‍♂️ 

Still disappointed they overlooked PvP in any new form and let's just say the other legendaries I saw a pic off didn't float my boat either. Just a sword then.

😞

https://www.pcinvasion.com/guild-wars-2-end-of-dragons-preview/

https://www.nme.com/features/gaming-features/guild-wars-2-end-of-dragons-preview-cantha-is-all-about-togetherness-3139566?utm_source=hootsuite&utm_medium=&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=

Edited January 20, 2022 by Dami.5046

[Ashantara.8731]

On 1/15/2022 at 1:52 PM, piitb.7635 said:

But what features can they add?

• A customizable UI
• More/New body types for human females and male norn (including a proper rework of armor scaling on certain body types across all races)
• Better customization of the Settings, like separating Character Outlines from Post Processing, more Sound Options with separate sliders, etc
• More Graphics Options like Sharpness
• Better customization of the Chat Window (e.g. locks, a sorting option)
• A customizable Character Selection Screen with sorting options and background selection (and fixing the racial display size issue)
• A new WvW map with new mechanics (hint: siege turtles)

Some people might not call those things "features", as many of them probably qualify as "QoL updates", but they would still add a lot of positive feedback to any major release.

Edited January 20, 2022 by Ashantara.8731

[Lord Trejgon.2809]

15 hours ago, Xenesis.6389 said:

 

Minor correction, but desert borderland was added on the day of the expansion, same with stronghold map/mode for pvp...

 

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/info/updates/Game-Update-Notes-October-23-2015

 

 

Fair, I was quite sure there was a stagger there, but I was wrong. But it does not undermine the rest of my post 🙂

[Lord Trejgon.2809]

5 minutes ago, Ashantara.8731 said:

• A customizable UI

That would be alot of work assuming it is even possible to code to not break

5 minutes ago, Ashantara.8731 said:

• More/New body types for human females and male norn (including a proper rework of armor scaling on certain body types across all races)

Not a "feature"

5 minutes ago, Ashantara.8731 said:

• Better customization of the Settings, like separating Character Outlines from Post Processing, more Sound Options with separate sliders, etc
• More Graphics Options like Sharpness
• Better customization of the Chat Window (e.g. locks, a sorting option)
• A customizable Character Selection Screen with sorting options and background selection (and fixing the racial display size issue)

That would be nice, but belongs in a feature pack not expansion.

5 minutes ago, Ashantara.8731 said:

• A new WvW map with new mechanics (hint: siege turtles)

They are not going to be adding new maps to wvw in the middle of development of world restructuring - all the resouces they can spare at wvw are spend at that, and it does not seem they will be done before eod.

5 minutes ago, Ashantara.8731 said:

Some people might not call those things "features", and many of them probably qualify as "QoL updates", but they would still add a lot of positive feedback to any major release.

Well, maybe, but I think that if they announced any of feasible "features" from your list to come with EoD most of forum users would use exact same arguments to complain about those, as they are to complain about multiplayer mounts or fishing.

[Lord Trejgon.2809]

I think EoD is big victim of HoT and PoF success with their "new mechanics" (masteries and mounts). Now it would seem everyone expects all expansions to deliver a game-changing new mechanic, and frankly that is not quite sustainable model in long-term.

And yes I am also guilty in here, my first question when they announced next expac being in the works was also "so what will be the big thing, akin to masteries from HoT and Mounts from PoF?".

On related note I am unsure what to think about players so massively underselling the concept of multiplayer/combat mounts - sure we only have one combat two-seater slated for launch, and arguably non-combat (depends on what exactly that "Depth charge" mastery is) water-bound 5-seater. But this is a significant, logical step up from PoF mounts, and I can't help but ponder the possibilities this may open for the future.

EDIT: that feel when two threads got merged and your double post turns into triple post, and the third one does not seem to make all that much sense in context of previous two.... 🙂

Edited January 20, 2022 by Lord Trejgon.2809

[babak.3654]

Nothing wrong with holding off the purchase until you're sure. 

 

I don't generally preorder games.  I'll await with interest the early adopters to see whether I want to dive in, or prioritise other games coming out around February. I'll most likely play EoD eventually.

 

[Sobx.1758]

6 hours ago, Ashantara.8731 said:

• A customizable UI
• More/New body types for human females and male norn (including a proper rework of armor scaling on certain body types across all races)
• Better customization of the Settings, like separating Character Outlines from Post Processing, more Sound Options with separate sliders, etc
• More Graphics Options like Sharpness
• Better customization of the Chat Window (e.g. locks, a sorting option)
• A customizable Character Selection Screen with sorting options and background selection (and fixing the racial display size issue)
• A new WvW map with new mechanics (hint: siege turtles)

Some people might not call those things "features", as many of them probably qualify as "QoL updates", but they would still add a lot of positive feedback to any major release.

Majority of what you've listed isn't even something that can/should be considered as expansion features.

Edited January 20, 2022 by Sobx.1758

[MokahTGS.7850]

My big problem with EoD is there isn't a big game changing mechanic.  HoT had gliding and map design, and new difficult mechanics.  PoF brought mounts.  EoD has...fishing??

I'm interested in exploring the new areas, but the elites are "meh" and really not that different from current ones.  Fishing is not fun IMO...it's a mechanic you introduce to a MMO when you need something for your playerbase to do while they wait for something else.  Adding the skiff is not really interesting because it doesn't do anything that you can't already do...let's be frank...it's just another skinnable item for the gem store.  The turtle is neat and slightly different but again, doesn't really fill a need...it's just fluff.

Of the three expansions, EoD feels so weak compared to the others.

Edited January 20, 2022 by MokahTGS.7850

[Knighthonor.4061]

On 1/19/2022 at 2:23 PM, Sajuuk Khar.1509 said:

Well they really aren't. They are selling them as features, but no one at Anet has made them out to be glider/mount level features.

Besides, what big feature is there really left to do for GW2? Fishing, boats, and multi-person mounts, all of which we are getting in EoD, have been some of the most requested features for years. The only other feature people regularly ask for, thats actually doable, is player housing. But even that isn't really a new feature, its just Guild Hall housing on a smaller/more limited scale.

Player Housing, New WvW maps, New larger SPvP game modes, New Races, New Miniature mini game, the list goes on

[Sajuuk Khar.1509]

6 hours ago, Knighthonor.4061 said:

Player Housing, New WvW maps, New larger SPvP game modes, New Races, New Miniature mini game, the list goes on

• Player housing is just Guild Hall housing on a smaller, more limited scale. Not a real new feature.
• Polymock(miniature mini game) is something almost no one cared about in GW1, and would add even less to GW then fishing or skiffs do. Its like saying them adding the choir bell game to Wintersday is a big new feature.
• We have gotten mount races all over the place(EoD will probably have them too given that they are handing out raptors and other mounts for free in the Xpack) And are, again, less of a feature then fishing/skiffs/siege turtles are. Hell, they aren't even a new feature like those are.
• A new WvW map is just a new map. We are getting four new maps with EoD. Adding in a new one for a game mode most people don't care about isn't a big feature. Ditto for SPvP.

Everything you listed here is less of a big new feature then what we got. Some of them aren't even new features, or even things large enough to show off in an expansion trailer in the first place.

Edited January 21, 2022 by Sajuuk Khar.1509

[Lucentfir.7430]

I just chalk up this entire thread as any worthwhile features for an expansion "is too much work" claims,  so impossible(even though some of them are completely doable with a lot of effort),  or doing mental gymnastics on why suggested things over fishing and skiffing are not as valuable to the game. For instance brand new weapons (Polearms/Great axes/Land spears) for core professions is too much work, but I guess it's way more work than implementing a whole new profession like they did in HoT right? I think people seem to forget that this game originally only had a 8 professions at the beginning of the game's life, and people back then were also saying we don't need another profession and it'd be too much work.

  A lot of the building frustration  with this is that comparing the look of 'soon to be released EoD'(based on betas and overall presentation so close to launch) to HoT and PoF, the quality bar is already looking like it's hitting under the bar of what people's expectations of what Anet normally pumps out in a expansion, especially one that the game has been over due for. This is not even mentioning the quick rushed wrap up of IBS to 180 an expansion, it's like this was a emergency button and wasn't planned for before hand/properly prepared.

When you look at the game as a whole when regarding this expansion, we're talking PVE/WvW/SPVP, as there are people that play all the modes and everything/majority of what the game has to offer.  PVE will always hit decently well since that's mainly where Anet puts their focus on a majority of the time, and the PVE crowd is generally very easy to please (Aside from the instance content crowd that doesn't know what they want). WvW alliances are coming but i still predict we're gunna be months away, even after EoD launch. Then the topic of balance state of the game has been mismanaged/underdelivering for a long time, jading a lot of players in those respective WvW/sPvP game modes.  So yes I suspect the game is going to be fun and swell if you exclusively play it for the PVE, you'll be happy with it no matter what, likely. On the other hand if you do more than just PVE, there's definitely a lot to be desired and expectations not even being near what was expected, drives such a poor view of EoD amongst some people that played the game for a long time.

[Mik.3401]

On 1/19/2022 at 7:04 PM, Gibson.4036 said:

Are they, though?

I've seen this statement so many times, and I keep thinking, what would be the difference if they were just "features" and not "big features"? They'd still want to talk about it, right? They'd still list it on the box. Or should it have just been quietly implemented and no one knows until an unnamed day in February when we all discover an NPC telling us to go collect reeds to make a pole?

Or is it just the fact that there doesn't seem to be anything to call the "big new feature" that makes them the "big features" by default?

I don't know, just something I've been pondering.

I think your last statement is correct. Fishing and boats have been covered multiple times by arenanet and included in the promotion they made for the expansion.

They just mentioned there will be more strikes (actually now we know it will be just 4 of them heh) so there doesn’t seem to be any big feature in this expansion. Just a collection of smaller bits and pieces. I’m not sure if that’s really worth the same money as the previous expansions.