I Would Buy A Feature / Fresh Start Story Pack (Without Any New Maps)

[Xynxycs.6718]

Friends.

 

Preamble:

Arenanet have build an incredible world. Beautiful assets, engaging lore, astounding vistas. These talented people have crunched themselves through highs and lows to bring players new content (whether us players believe that they put it out fast enough or not). While I share your craving to see what's out there or expand on previously established places in the lore (those untreaded places Cantha and Elona especially!), we're spoiled rotten for places to go in Tyria—and I believe that there is untapped potential here for Arenanet to bring players something quite special.

Here's my issue with the way these incredible maps and assets have been used so far: Each new map has been presented in as part of a long, linear story. For example, players who aren't interested in missing two expansion's worth of content have a large number of story steps to run through before reaching this new land. The context for our characters (and alts) is offered through the story of the Commander, the Pact, and the Elder Dragons.

 

A Fresh Start

I would buy a Guild Wars 2 feature or story pack that offered no new maps or assets. A feature pack would reuse the maps and assets of the existing expansions, mechanics, and professions while allowing the developers to tell new stories, giving new context to alt characters. A feature pack would offer the player the chance to create a new character (one totally removed from the story of the Pact, who perhaps rises to their own gloried history). These players would be placed in re-leveled areas / servers separate from the servers of the "pact commander" story. For example, a human born in Cantha would get to interact with the locals in a brand new way; a Charr raised on the Sandswept Isles might contend with different challenges and heart quests on their sandy home; an Asura schooled in a previously-unseen and underground Inquest vault before its fall could perhaps tell a compelling story about the Inquest and their grey morality. Once our new breed of heroes outgrow their homelands, new stories and adventures would await them in the distant land of Tyria and beyond—but this time, it would play out a little differently.

 

The stories of these characters would take place after the Commander stormed through, of course. By giving players new starting locations and contexts, Arenanet would effectively have a "new playable race" without the hassle of having to fit them with armor, voice actors, and so on. Players would have a chance to experience a new stories in their immaculately crafted world through a new perspective: new missions, a new cast of characters, and, occasionally, new areas, all without forcing the devs into a painful cycle of quick turnaround. Remember the excitement of hearing that you can choose your race and background at the start of the game, only to find out that all stories funneled into the same Commander story? This would be a chance to recapture the magic of role playing that draws players in like honey does bears.

 

This would create new content that can be enjoyed by new players (along with the vets) right out of the box. Players who aren't fully invested in the 10-year long Elder Dragon cycle would be able to boot up a new character and expect a fresh experience. New hearts in familiar areas, getting the chance to access new areas previously unavailable to the Commander, and perhaps even branching stories with low stakes (and high lore yields, of course). Maybe one of the packs could turn the player into a villain, complete with a customizable dungeon lair (that players from the main server could delve into).

 

Extra Features:

• Personality: This renewal of Tyria could see the return and proper implementation of the personality system. The player's voice actor could read one of ten lines (based on the now-forgotten personality points distribution). This would give players a real sense of role play without undermining the current story (as rewriting so much dialogue in the existing story would not be worth it from a content perspective, as nice as it would be).
• Player Housing: It's a long-requested feature, and this would be the perfect time to implement it. Housing would be available to both "Fresh start" and Commander characters. Players could deck out their homes with trophies (based on their achievements in the Microsoft Windows Hero Panel we currently have), keep their lore books, expand their storage, craft their ideal homestead, lab, or training area—basically, whatever they like—in a "neighborhood instance" of an existing map. The neighborhood would allow guildies and friends to live in proximity to one another, or as roommates (to shave down what would be an absorbent gold cost for the property).
• Hardcore Mode: OPTIONAL!! For players who like a challenge! Available to "Fresh Start" characters and Commander characters. Higher risk, higher rewards. Players would receive no bonus items for leveling, short-term penalties for being defeated (being sent all the way to one point in the map, armor must be repaired at crafting stations for resources), and would have drastically reduced Waypoint access (for example, players would need to be near a Waypoint to use them). Mount, underwater swimming, and gliding access would be restricted until the character unlocks them after completing all the necessary story steps (no jumping forward). A hunger system (with Hardcore vendors implemented who could offer the player supplies on the road) would give Hardcore players a consistent gold sink throughout their adventure, and more of a reason to use cooking). Of course, missions would offer harder content which would encourage players to team up to tackle them and rewards that would be unavailable to non-hardcore characters (exclusive skins, titles, emotes, etc).
• New Vigil/Whisperers/Priory Side Missions: Quests, if you will. "Fresh Start" characters and Commanders alike would be able to explore the organizations that they signed up for! Epic battles against evil, sinister plots of intrigue to unravel, and hidden lore—now all optional content for the player to explore given at each organization's head branch.
• Revamped Core Maps: The world of Tyria still looks great, but it could do with some love and re-balancing in some areas and beautification and increased populations (NPCs with dialogue) in others. This feature would come as a part of the update in general but fits with the "fresh start" theme. Areas get new entrances and exits (for example, being able to access the Crystal Desert from Ebonhawk). Dungeons also get a much-needed rework.

 

Well, that's about it. But what do you think? Would you go for this type of content? I'd much rather get deeper content than something spread thin, and I think that opening up the world this way would take the pressure of Anet, who have been under an infinite amount of pressure. Also, this might mean we'd get a few smaller areas in places that some players thought we left too quickly (Elona, Cantha).

 

Thoughts, comments, praises?

 

[Linken.6345]

So a new game reusing map assets and adding alot of stuff.

Player housing, hardcore mode and graphic upgrade for the whole core game is not small tasks mate.

Yea that would not be hard to balance the dev time bettwen basicly two games at once.

[Xynxycs.6718]

40 minutes ago, Linken.6345 said:

So a new game reusing map assets and adding alot of stuff.

Player housing, hardcore mode and graphic upgrade for the whole core game is not small tasks mate.

Yea that would not be hard to balance the dev time bettwen basicly two games at once.

No graphics update, just sprucing things up a little. And yes, adding a lot of stuff! But it would be mostly through writing and reusing old content.

I didn't say I'd buy a pack with no new content, I said "no new maps" 🙂 I think that maps take a considerable amount of time from the devs when they could be using their time to incentive new players to join the game while using pre-existing assets.

They're going to do this anyway with SotO with "mirror worlds," but I'd rather they return to old maps and really give players a new perspective!

Can you elaborate on what you mean by "two games"? They're doing a fine job with balance since implementing HoT, PaF and EoD. We wouldn't consider Guild Wars 2 to be three or four games now, would we?

Edited July 16, 2023 by Xynxycs.6718

[kharmin.7683]

I would much rather resources be spent elsewhere, especially not on stupid housing.

[Xynxycs.6718]

2 hours ago, kharmin.7683 said:

I would much rather resources be spent elsewhere, especially not on stupid housing.

Thank you for sharing your valuable opinion 🙂

[Elricht Kaltwind.8796]

It's a neat idea, I really like it. I would want this to contain a ton of exposition on the world and its lore since it would also be a great opportunity to deliver a lot of behind-the-scenes type lore. I'm fascinated by the world they've built, as you expressed, and I always want to know more about it. Not even just the epic, major events. I want to learn more about how people live normally in Tyria, the culture.