My impression as a returning player

[Vik.9617]

Ok so get back in the game after a 4 - 5-ish years break play I just thought Id make a list of things I like, dislike and hate.

 

Things I like about GW2:

- The atmosphere is second to none, always has been my favorite game when it comes to graphic

- Unique classes each class feels different with their own unique mechanic.

- I like the difficulty of the new content in End of Dragons.

- PvP is great (haven't played that much though but what I played was fun)

- Some JPs are great fun.

- Mounts are awesome.

 

Things that I dislike:

- Players don't really play that much together ppl usually just end up doing their own thing. Would have been nice if they added a small bonus for doing things in a party even if it is just their "own thing". Or add an auto-party feature that can be turned on and off.

- The skill system isn't as fun as the GW1 skillsystem was. I really miss the multi-class system of GW1 I wish they could implement a multi-class system to make each class even more customizable, I know it isn't going to happen but one can wish.

- I don't like the unfair advantages some classes has over other classes, some do the same high dps consistently like engineers with an easy skill chain while classes like Elementalist struggles for the same dps uptime due to it requiring to use a more advanced skillchain and the fact that they are limited to a certain range doesn't make it better. This is my impressions of the balance situation anyway.

- Legendary/Ascended items are too hard to obtain, re-spec is a gatekeeper for new players to get into Raids I think it would have been awesome if Anet added a renting system where you could "rent" gear for raids for a low price that changed your gear to work as a legendary item for a small price say 1 gold for your entire equipment to work as legendary gear for 2 h, that way you can run raids then swap back without much hassle after you are done with the raid or strike content and your gear changes back to whatever it was before.

- I think the story is a bit too goody two shoes at times which made it bland and that was the main reason I quit before.

 

Things I HATE:

- Not warning player that they cannot complete certain instances before they level certain skills high enough, like Ember bay and that stupid JP I got to the very end after 4 h painfully dying over and over again only to realize that I couldn't get to the end because my gliding level wasn't high enough, I should have required to use that glide to enter that area or given a warning that I couldn't complete it without having that skill leveled to it's second highest tier. I was considering quitting the game again due to this.

[HowlKamui.5120]

To your point (on the thing you hate), GW2 does do a tremendously bad job of explaining a lot of the game’s systems. That’s actually why it has one of the best wikis for any MMO out there i think. Because it is necessarry. Lol.

 

[Danikat.8537]

8 hours ago, Vik.9617 said:

- Players don't really play that much together ppl usually just end up doing their own thing. Would have been nice if they added a small bonus for doing things in a party even if it is just their "own thing". Or add an auto-party feature that can be turned on and off.

Significant chunks of the game cannot be done solo, including most open-world meta events. Strictly speaking you don't have to be in a party or squad to complete them, but you do have to coordinate what you're doing with other players and that's much easier to do in a group because of the extra information and tools it gives you. Then there's all the instanced content (dungeons, fractals, raids, strikes) which does require you to be in a party or squad to complete it and PvP and WvW where of course you'll be playing both with and against other players. (You can play WvW as a solo roamer, but even that usually involves coordinating with the other players on the map, if only to make sure you're covering different areas.)

Whether you usually play solo or in a group likely comes down to what you're doing, but if you want group content there's a lot of it and IMO that's more meaningful than simply adding a buff for being in a party while effectively playing solo.
 

8 hours ago, Vik.9617 said:

- Legendary/Ascended items are too hard to obtain, re-spec is a gatekeeper for new players to get into Raids I think it would have been awesome if Anet added a renting system where you could "rent" gear for raids for a low price that changed your gear to work as a legendary item for a small price say 1 gold for your entire equipment to work as legendary gear for 2 h, that way you can run raids then swap back without much hassle after you are done with the raid or strike content and your gear changes back to whatever it was before.

Legendaries are not required for any part of the game, including raids. (That would be a catch-22 since originally clearing multiple raids was the only way to get legendary armour and it's still the only PvE method.) They're designed to be an optional long-term goal for those who want one. Ascended is also not required for anything except high tier Fractals. It's recommended for raids and strikes (especially CMs) but you can complete them without it and those game modes are also some of the best ways to get ascended equipment.

So I think this is intentional. You're supposed to get ascended equipment while playing those areas of the game, and so the message is that if you don't feel ready to start getting ascended equipment then you're also not ready for content which requires it, and if you are then playing them will help you to get it. (And of course you then get ascended with the appropriate stats for the build you want to play in those game modes.)

It's also important to bear in mind that all those game modes, including raids, are completely optional, this isn't one of those MMOs where the whole game is funnelling you into raids because that's where the majority of end-game content is. Many people have been playing for years without touching raids or running out of things to do.

Finally a legendary rental system would have to be much more expensive or restrictive than 1g for 2 hours. Daily achievements give 2g and take much less than an hour and there's other quick ways to make gold as well. I suspect a lot of players don't play much more than 2 hours per day on average (especially the more casual players who aren't likely to ever make legendaries) so at that price I think the majority of players could maintain the upgrade permanently. If there was a way to rent legendaries I imagine it being more like a one-time token you get from your first attempt at a raid, strike or fractal, so you get a few opportunities to try it out and then if you want to keep it you have to make the real thing.

[kharmin.7683]

9 hours ago, Vik.9617 said:

- Legendary/Ascended items are too hard to obtain

Seriously?

[GODh.3892]

9 hours ago, Vik.9617 said:

Things that I dislike:

- Legendary/Ascended items are too hard to obtain

 

Things I HATE:

- Not warning player that they cannot complete certain instances before they level certain skills high enough, like Ember bay and that stupid JP I got to the very end after 4 h painfully dying over and over again only to realize that I couldn't get to the end because my gliding level wasn't high enough, I should have required to use that glide to enter that area or given a warning that I couldn't complete it without having that skill leveled to it's second highest tier. I was considering quitting the game again due to this.

The JP in Ember Bay is probably one of the hardest JP in the game, even with max gliding... at least for me.

Ember Bay is a map that is part of Living World 3 (LW3). All LW3 maps have a special merchant where you can buy  cheap ascended trinkets (you pay with unbound magic and the local map currency, which is different for every LW3 map). Picking Berserker stats is a safe choice as it is the most popular stat for doing damage. And ascended gear (including trinkets) are account bound. So when you found something  better for character X, then you still can use it on another character.

[Danikat.8537]

I think the Ember Bay JP is supposed to be crazy difficult, but it's also a valid point that if you need abilities you can't get inside it - like updraft use - there should be something stopping you going in without it, or at least a warning, so players don't spend what could easily be several hours getting through it only to find it's impossible to finish.

It's a fairly common system in games to gate areas behind the ability or item you need to complete them, GW2 does it as well in a lot of areas (like the jackal puzzles which you can't get into without a jackal and the sand portal ability).

[Voyant.1327]

On 7/6/2022 at 2:48 AM, HowlKamui.5120 said:

To your point (on the thing you hate), GW2 does do a tremendously bad job of explaining a lot of the game’s systems. That’s actually why it has one of the best wikis for any MMO out there i think. Because it is necessarry. Lol.

 

Facts.

The first month of playing is literally wiki'ing how to play & where everything is.

Biggest issue is main things like collections/achievements is so counter-intuitive. But in general the game has a very poor immersion factor in this category, you're constantly alt-tabbed.

I will agree the wiki is great though. Best game wiki I've used to date. 

[Vik.9617]

On 7/6/2022 at 11:01 AM, Danikat.8537 said:

Finally a legendary rental system would have to be much more expensive or restrictive than 1g for 2 hours. Daily achievements give 2g and take much less than an hour and there's other quick ways to make gold as well. I suspect a lot of players don't play much more than 2 hours per day on average (especially the more casual players who aren't likely to ever make legendaries) so at that price I think the majority of players could maintain the upgrade permanently. If there was a way to rent legendaries I imagine it being more like a one-time token you get from your first attempt at a raid, strike or fractal, so you get a few opportunities to try it out and then if you want to keep it you have to make the real thing.

I thought I had a great idea with the rental system to get new player into raids you could limit the use of the gear to raids only or make it so all earnings made using rented gear Anet takes a 25%-50% cut. That should be a good incentive to get the gear yourself. Not having to respec your gear is the dealbreaker for me while I am saving up to a secondary setup for raid content would be nice to not having to do it before you can enter also rented gear is a good way to let new players try out different builds.