Thanks to all commenters

[Crickettoes.3149]

Came to see if buying xpac seems worthwhile and seeing a lot of negatives here.

 

[Bast.7253]

It’s much smaller than an expac but more cohesive and better story than EoD. 
 

I think the biggest problem is that they keep trying to invent masteries and so many of them just seem like bloat or gameplay filler.

 

The other downside is that weapon unlocks don’t compare to elite specs, especially because they didn’t really make any changes to traits or anything for them.

 

The price, while probably justified for a year’s worth of content, isn’t much different than what we got in the past which was much much more. 

[Archer.4362]

It is a mini patch to say the least with future promises, you don't know when they will be implemented, knowing anet they can be very delayed. In my opinion I would not buy it, I did not

[Kranlor Greyhelm.8417]

The story is good. But the story just serves to set the scene for what you're playing. If an on-rails series of cut scenes and bosses that can't be failed is what you're looking for from gaming, then I'd suggest that an RPG isn't the game you want, MMO or otherwise.

As for the rest, it's a series of questionable design decisions wrapped around the bare minimum of content that could still be described as an expansion. There might be lots of people here telling us to shut up because they're really enjoying this new expansion, but while those complaining provide numerous reasons why it's flawed (and often suggestions for how to fix it) the supporters seem to be thin on facts. It's very hard to get them to explain exactly what about this expansion is actually good.

I couldn't recommend anyone part with money for this. I'd struggle to point to anything and say "that's worth your hard earned cash".

[Crickettoes.3149]

Worked all week to get weekly WV done only to learn that because I don't have xpac I can't get the legendary box!

[illuminati.8453]

3 hours ago, Crickettoes.3149 said:

Came to see if buying xpac seems worthwhile and seeing a lot of negatives here.

 

I keep saying the same thing to those that ask about this release, if you like GW2 then support it and if you don't, then this xpac will not compel you to change your mind.  

[Gravitron.7982]

4 hours ago, Crickettoes.3149 said:

Came to see if buying xpac seems worthwhile and seeing a lot of negatives here.

 

Yeah I'd save your money tbh. 

[WRay.2391]

IMO you will be affected negatively even without buying it (daily, relics). Other than that rift grind is boring, other content is fine, subjectively. Legendary armor is big selling point, but see: rift grinding... Will add useful options to WV rewards though.

[Incar.7358]

I have thoroughly enjoyed this release. I don't mind it being split either, this first half has felt pretty polished to me, it provides time to polish the second half, and releasing it like this has cut any content drought down too.

It's nice to see new content and changes whether they turn out for the best or not, at least something new is being tried to refresh some older aspects of the game at the same time as new content being delivered. I seem to have been fortunate in barely running into a bug as well.

We've gotten a lot more lore which is always a bonus. A story which doesn't feel nearly as rushed as the last. New maps and all the content within, with more to come. New masteries. New systems for players to interact with, etc etc. Some of it needs adjusting now that it's out in the wild, but it's only been a couple weeks so far. Give it time, no plan survives initial contact.

Of course "if it ain't broke don't fix it" should always apply, but I'm leaving my full judgement on that until all the feedback is in and we get to see whether or not the seemingly more controversial changes are adjusted or completed so.

[Doggie.3184]

Skip it if buying it causes you to be unable to afford Baldurs Gate 3. Otherwise if you already play often with nothing else to do then go for it.

[Gibson.4036]

21 hours ago, Bast.7253 said:

 

I think the biggest problem is that they keep trying to invent masteries and so many of them just seem like bloat or gameplay filler. 

I naively hoped we were done leveling new masteries just to be able to open a new kind of chest.

That said, OP should note forums are going to be weighted toward complaints.

I personally have a mix of negative and positive responses to SotO. I’m not the only one, but nuanced responses typically get lost in between the ranting and white knighting.

Edited September 3, 2023 by Gibson.4036

[Alsandar.7420]

It is SO worth $25. People pay $15/month for WoW and get almost nothing

[Grouwdi.6279]

On 9/2/2023 at 10:30 AM, Crickettoes.3149 said:

Came to see if buying xpac seems worthwhile and seeing a lot of negatives here.

 

That's because forums are a place to 'look' for negativity. If you want a more realistic view of the game, go watch streamers on Twitch ❤️ I stream the game all the time. YES I complain about the game in areas of the game (like how the game still uses 30 year old stun/CC mechanics rather than better newer mechanics and the hardcore achievement systems that expects you to know the history, lore and lives of every developer and employee that works at this company to figure out the freaking achievements, and we'll just not mention bugs here...) but I love the game. There isn't a game on the market or that I have played in my entire life I haven't complained about in some way.

My complaints are .001% of the games population. While I complain about A, 8,m Bu and Z, others complain about H3, u9, Tf2 issues of the game. It means we're all different and you should consider the game but before you buy, watch some streamers playing the game and see if they're enjoying it, argument or not.

It's your wallet, not mine 😉

 

Edited September 3, 2023 by Crawford.4135

[willow.8209]

On 9/2/2023 at 10:30 AM, Crickettoes.3149 said:

Came to see if buying xpac seems worthwhile and seeing a lot of negatives here.

 

I'd say the same as the others.

I think the bulk of the complaints are about the overhaul of the base game (e.g. dailies and login reward, relics/runes). Buying or not buying the xpac has nothing to do with these complaints. It was rolled out at the same time and advertised together, but it affects every player whether they purchased or play the expac or not.

The expac itself I haven't really played as I have other goals to complete first, but I expect it's good just they decided to release it piecemeal for some reason and that has players confused. 

People do complain about the expac itself, but other than that certain stuff doesn't work, this mostly seems subjective to me.

It's also relevant, as others have said, that people don't usually go out of their way (make a profile, write on the forums) to talk about something that doesn't need changing (i.e. compliment)--they mostly do this for stuff they want changed (i.e. complaint). So don't go entirely by the forums. Listening to my guilds a lot of people are excited about the flexibility in the rune/relic and weapon changes, and enjoying the new map/story. Of course they're still not happy about broken stuff or the fewer choices in the dailies, and some of them have like me not been able to get the daily reward despite trying, which is a new experience for this game and not a good one. But many people do like some of the more subjective stuff that gets complained about, just there are fewer posts about this on the forums. There's even a new rift event in my guild. 

If you have the cash and like the game, my recommendation is typically to support the game. Or rather, I usually say that I'm happy to support a game with purchases, and let people decide for themselves what's right for them. But as some people like to complain about paying for anything ever in an mmo, I like to counter that with saying that I do make purchases when I can.

For me personally, gw2 is iffy right now because, as much as there is about the game that I love, the current management apparently aren't checking if anything is disability accessible, and not responding in a meaningful way to complaints that it's not accessible. 

Edited September 5, 2023 by willow.8209
details for clarity