This is why GW2 loses players

[zistenz.1945]

12 hours ago, Randulf.7614 said:

Didn’t they just celebrate continued growth of players? I mean I don’t dispute that there shouldn’t be any group story steps, but it’s not losing players right now it seems.

I don't believe anything they say.

[Lord Trejgon.2809]

1 hour ago, zistenz.1945 said:

I don't believe anything they say.

Everyone rejoice, we now have people trying to use steam charts as if they were relevant to anything.

FYI: the AN's claim of doubling the playerbase, was just before the steam release, meaning that steamcharst do not even cover relevant period.

Bonus points - considerable majority of GW2 players are NOT using steam version of it. Because they have got the game before steam was even an option, and you cannot bind existing account to steam (best you can do is download client through steam and then configure it to not use steam for login).

[Bladestrom.6425]

1 minute ago, Lord Trejgon.2809 said:

Everyone rejoice, we now have people trying to use steam charts as if they were relevant to anything.

FYI: the AN's claim of doubling the playerbase, was just before the steam release, meaning that steamcharst do not even cover relevant period.

Bonus points - considerable majority of GW2 players are NOT using steam version of it. Because they have got the game before steam was even an option, and you cannot bind existing account to steam (best you can do is download client through steam and then configure it to not use steam for login).

its millions of accounts outwith Steam.  The reviews are overwhelmingly positive in Steam with a spattering of reviews from people who expect a 'gearing' game so all is good I would say.

[Omega.6801]

I have not experienced this issue.

[zistenz.1945]

3 hours ago, Lord Trejgon.2809 said:

FYI: the AN's claim of doubling the playerbase, was just before the steam release, meaning that steamcharst do not even cover relevant period.

Doubled the accounts? Maybe. The active player numbers? No effing way. The charts show the trend, not the actual numbers.

[SoftFootpaws.9134]

14 hours ago, Westenev.5289 said:

I kinda agree. It used to be that you'd log in and find 12 silverwaste lfg's and many dungeon/fractal groups (usually distinguished by casual or speedrunner). Nowadays you have so much choice of content that the game feels empty (esp in off peak hours or holidays), unless you do a world boss run.

 

Involving mass group content in personal story probably isn't a great idea.

This is more an issue of the LFG being badly designed, since it seems put together by someone without much knowledge of the game, and there being no auto-grouping tool in nearly 2023.

Edited December 20, 2022 by Mariyuuna.6508

[Healix.5819]

51 minutes ago, zistenz.1945 said:

Doubled the accounts? Maybe. The active player numbers? No effing way. The charts show the trend, not the actual numbers.

It's not hard to believe. The number of active players no doubt doubled over the last few years like they claim, but that would be compared to GW2's lowest point when the layoffs happened. Covid boosted everything the year after that, then they followed up with EoD. Similarly, ArenaNet likes to point out that EoD outsold PoF, except they're no doubt comparing PoF's month of pre-purchases vs a year for EoD. What's funny is they've been acting like PoF was the worst expansion, but it just looks like a fight between CJ (EoD/HoT) and MO (PoF), especially considering what happened.

[Lord Trejgon.2809]

2 hours ago, zistenz.1945 said:

The charts show the trend, not the actual numbers.

yes, it shows the standard trend of a new game being released on steam. Within a scope of game's history on the steam which has started after the claims.

27 minutes ago, Healix.5819 said:

What's funny is they've been acting like PoF was the worst expansion

I dunno where you got that feeling from I didn't catch it myself. The "outsold PoF" to me sounded more like "guys remember this huge successfull expansion people loved? this one got more sales, so it's definitelly good" kind of argumentation.

[Lord Trejgon.2809]

52 minutes ago, Genthore.2384 said:

There are plenty of things wrong with this game like the horrible mounts stuck in combat ridiculousness.

care to elaborate about that? I do not recall much of games that allows to mount up while in combat, and the only one I know off to allow it, has those mounts as separate entities that stay where you leave them, so even to have to leave area and disengage  from combat just to reach wherever  you parked your mount.... assuming you didn't park it in silly place where it gets murdered by mobs while you were busy.

55 minutes ago, Genthore.2384 said:

Its the same on the chat channels in game- you say anything other than how great the game is and you get ganged up on by the "community" in an attempt to stop anybody from ever complaining

and yet this forum is 90% people complaining about things in the game, and in alot of threads you see alot of people actually supporting said complaint.

56 minutes ago, Genthore.2384 said:

After all Guild Wars 2 is absolute perfection to these people- the obvious problem is users who are just too dumb to figure out what THEY are doing wrong

If you have stopped and read the thread you would notice a number of comments mentioning that game could be doing better work at telegraphing the step mechanics of this particular step. But OP have ignored those and just went in stubbornly repeating the misguided claim that story steps REQUIRE completion of an instance, despite being show by two different people that this was not true. GW2 is far from perfect, but if you raise a misguided complaint, and have people clarify to you that it is misguided, you can either take the help offered (and maybe complain about actuall issues, instead of perceived one) or you can put a tinfoil hat on, and go on about how your misguided complaint is the reality of the game, and how everyone who tried to help you is a white knight out there to shut up any criticism....

[zistenz.1945]

2 hours ago, Healix.5819 said:

It's not hard to believe. The number of active players no doubt doubled over the last few years like they claim, but that would be compared to GW2's lowest point when the layoffs happened. Covid boosted everything the year after that, then they followed up with EoD.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not all doom and gloom. I give the credit where it is due, but I think what they say and what the trends show, something is odd. Statistically speaking, a very small percent of clean sample data is enough to analyse some of the movements in the deep of the whole picture. And the Steam players' chart is very good sample, becuse of it is full of new, unbiased and curious people who wanted to try something new they heard of via their friends / the heavy ad campaign, but doesn't liked the separate client or this step was the final moment to join up.

Quote

yes, it shows the standard trend of a new game being released on steam. Within a scope of game's history on the steam which has started after the claims.

Since the start, the 8k peak was very lukewarm, so to speak. For a new, high class MMORPG it would be devastatingly horrible. But it is not surprising: the game is 10 years old, with an established playerbase, many potential player already plays it, or at least tried it, so I wouldn't consider it as a new game release at all. As I said before, the Steam influx was mostly new and unbiased players - and we already lost at least half of them. I dare to say, most of the still active Steam player numbers are just alternate veteran accounts and bots/afkers. The game couldn't keep the new players at all. ANet only caters the old players because they buy and stay (mostly). They don't revisit the old systems to make them accessible for the new players, they just left them rot in the corner and powdering the cracks in the machine until it runs out of gas. And that's the main problem, that's why I said I don't believe any numbers they say.

 

(And I honestly think the different client was a missed opportunity even if it was inevitable by a business choice (different game store background, as I heard). Many veteran players couldn't play with and help to their new friends even after they invited them to play (except if they made a new account and start anew, of course). I know about the command line switch that would allow to log in with the old accounts, but no way to know when they will remove it or "force" people to their different accounts. The veteran accounts now could not show to the one of the biggest (over 30m) playerbase in the world that the game is very alive and waits them.)

[Gibson.4036]

My take is that the main reason GW2 loses players is because ANet keeps changing vision.

This is what we want we gamt to be!

No, this is what we want it to be!

These are the cornerstones of GW2!

Well, actually, pretend those don't exist, this other thing is the cornerstone of GW2!

[Khisanth.2948]

1 hour ago, zistenz.1945 said:

Many veteran players couldn't play with and help to their new friends even after they invited them to play (except if they made a new account and start anew, of course).

Where are you getting this misinformation from? All players use the same servers so they certainly can play together.

[Linken.6345]

20 minutes ago, Khisanth.2948 said:

Where are you getting this misinformation from? All players use the same servers so they certainly can play together.

I think s/he/it mean that they could not continue playing their old accounts on steam with their new friends.

And we have known that from the start and they could have just used their old accounts when playing with their new friends on steam but chose not to for what ever reason.

[robertthebard.8150]

1 hour ago, zistenz.1945 said:

Don't get me wrong, I'm not all doom and gloom. I give the credit where it is due, but I think what they say and what the trends show, something is odd. Statistically speaking, a very small percent of clean sample data is enough to analyse some of the movements in the deep of the whole picture. And the Steam players' chart is very good sample, becuse of it is full of new, unbiased and curious people who wanted to try something new they heard of via their friends / the heavy ad campaign, but doesn't liked the separate client or this step was the final moment to join up.

Since the start, the 8k peak was very lukewarm, so to speak. For a new, high class MMORPG it would be devastatingly horrible. But it is not surprising: the game is 10 years old, with an established playerbase, many potential player already plays it, or at least tried it, so I wouldn't consider it as a new game release at all. As I said before, the Steam influx was mostly new and unbiased players - and we already lost at least half of them. I dare to say, most of the still active Steam player numbers are just alternate veteran accounts and bots/afkers. The game couldn't keep the new players at all. ANet only caters the old players because they buy and stay (mostly). They don't revisit the old systems to make them accessible for the new players, they just left them rot in the corner and powdering the cracks in the machine until it runs out of gas. And that's the main problem, that's why I said I don't believe any numbers they say.

 

(And I honestly think the different client was a missed opportunity even if it was inevitable by a business choice (different game store background, as I heard). Many veteran players couldn't play with and help to their new friends even after they invited them to play (except if they made a new account and start anew, of course). I know about the command line switch that would allow to log in with the old accounts, but no way to know when they will remove it or "force" people to their different accounts. The veteran accounts now could not show to the one of the biggest (over 30m) playerbase in the world that the game is very alive and waits them.)

So, if I'm understanding you correctly, an almost empty server, with nothing but new players on it, would have made the new players stick around?  How does that work, exactly?  Because my experience with a new MMO is, if I log in, and there are very few players, and nobody knows what's going on, I log out, and don't go back.

[Ashen.2907]

6 hours ago, Genthore.2384 said:

 They act like they want to hear input from us but when you post things what you end up getting is a bunch of butt hurt team members defending what they perceive as an insult to their masterpiece. There are plenty of things wrong with this game like the horrible mounts stuck in combat ridiculousness. Its the same on the chat channels in game- you say anything other than how great the game is and you get ganged up on by the "community" in an attempt to stop anybody from ever complaining.  After all Guild Wars 2 is absolute perfection to these people- the obvious problem is users who are just too dumb to figure out what THEY are doing wrong

I dont have an issue with complaints about the game. I have voiced plenty of them myself. I do tend to take issue with people lying about it or acting entitled though. If someone is upset about the reaction to their complaints perhaps they might want to consider being accurate and honest in their criticism, and less focused on self entitlement.

Edited December 21, 2022 by Ashen.2907

[Mistwraithe.3106]

6 hours ago, Genthore.2384 said:

 There are plenty of things wrong with this game like the horrible mounts stuck in combat ridiculousness.

My sister is a serious long time WoW player and she really likes the feel of the GW2 Raptor (the only mount we have so far), thinks it's well implemented and very realistic how it moves. So I don't know where you are coming from there.

 

4 hours ago, zistenz.1945 said:

As I said before, the Steam influx was mostly new and unbiased players - and we already lost at least half of them.

I think you will find that it's extremely common for a Steam game to have peak player counts 3 months after release which are at least 50% reduced from the player counts immediately after release. The main exceptions would be viral new hits which take the world by storm, but clearly GW2 is not a viral new hit, it's been available for a decade and anyone who was desperate to play it already could via the Arena Net client. So for GW2 the Steam release was just a new marketing/sales route which they hope will deliver more players over time.

You could still quibble about whether 8k simultaneous players was disappointing for the initial Steam launch. Seems a bit low to me so potentially a bit disappointing for their marketing department.

 

[Silent.6137]

59 minutes ago, Mistwraithe.3106 said:

The main exceptions would be viral new hits which take the world by storm, but clearly GW2 is not a viral new hit, it's been available for a decade and anyone who was desperate to play it already could via the Arena Net client.

There were many who were expecting a sudden huge influx of new players from Steam. Although it would have been nice to see that, I really didn't expect that to  happen for that exact reason. Older game and most people who are interested in MMOs and wanted to give GW2 a try probably already has. Steam availability might entice some but any large increases will have to rely on the marketing of this game over there.

[SlipLihte.1307]

I can also confirm that my partner and I took part in Battle for Lion's Arch, it failed, and we were able to still enter the breachmaker through a portal in the middle to complete the story.

[Naxos.2503]

1 hour ago, Rogue.8235 said:

 

Fascinating.  9 posts above yours is a player who put on a mini tutorial to solve the issue the OP is complaining about.  If you're having the same problem as the OP, see below:

 

I think the general attitude here is "I see what I want to see". OP likely headed into the wrong instance thinking it was a requirement for the story to complete the group instance, which it is not. And the second fellow is assuming everyone is telling him off for being disingenuous, when in fact everyone is essentially telling him "Dude, wrong door".

[Tiamat.8254]

Oh well, you might as well play another MMO because they must be so much better than GW2. 🙃

[Ashford.8540]

On 12/20/2022 at 12:50 AM, Silent.6137 said:

You absolutely do not need to complere the whole Battle to advance. Absolutely no story requires group events to complete, as I mentioned earlier. For this part, you can even solo it although it'll take a while. All you need is to fill the green bar by completing events in there and you'll be able to proceed.

Just so there's no ambiguity, I used an alt to do the story so I can take a screenshot: Battle of Lion's Arch story progression. Note the UI on top left that says 7/12 sectors recaptured and I got the completion. Soon as you get that, the instance location at Grand Piazza (middle of the map) will appear, as shown in the bottom picture.

The problem is there's a green location marker near the main north entrance when you are in the story, leading many to assume that's how you proceed to the next step.

Ya that's completely out of it's way to figure out without that screenshot, that needs an update at some point.

Edited December 22, 2022 by Ashford.8540

[Ashford.8540]

On 12/20/2022 at 4:28 AM, zistenz.1945 said:

I don't believe anything they say.

 steam is a horrible metric for this game in particular.

 

- The launch was badly advertised

- The launch was hot garbage in general because of the fact that the steam version was so inconvenient, that people jumped back to the normal launcher

 

If anything, the trend you are seeing are people with one part buyers remorse, and players moving back to the old launcher.

[Dreams.3128]

OP you DO know there is a winter event going on that is occupying people's attention correct?

[Silent.6137]

6 hours ago, Dreams.3128 said:

OP you DO know there is a winter event going on that is occupying people's attention correct?

OP already realized that:

On 12/19/2022 at 5:18 PM, Ashford.8540 said:

Some are saying it's because of the holiday event in which case they need to know that you can get some jolly items right there just from killing a few bosses.

And did indicate in the reply that the he/she is aware of the solution now and incorrect assumption.

 

 

Edited December 22, 2022 by Silent.6137

[Zeivu.3615]

On 12/19/2022 at 2:38 PM, Vayne.8563 said:

 I've done LWS Season 1 on five characters so far, including a couple of weeks ago.  No idea why you think it's not done, but you're factually wrong.  The reason people leave Guild Wars 2 is because they don't know how to use timer sites or the LFG tool. That's a more accurate statement.

 

Are you certain that nobody with uncompleted content wants to micromanage their lives so they can catch an event that they only need to do once so late in the end game?

 

But seriously, the reason nobody stays is because once they get ascendeds/legendaries, there simply isn't any reason to play.