What Keeps You Playing?

[funkychikin.2659]

I'm putting this here because it seemed too specific for general, and because it is about "help," in a sense.

To put the matter bluntly, I'm coming back to this game after a long absence, having finally left another game whose acronym rhymes with "cow." I've been playing now for a couple of weeks, and while I'm having some okay fun just exploring, I find myself already becoming discouraged at the state of the game as expressed by a significantly vocal portion of the community. In no particular order: debates and disappointments regarding my favorite profession; a (seemingly) steep learning/access curve for instanced PvE content that seems lackluster at best; and a near constant push to engage with WvW which, while admittedly unique, does not interest me.

So I'm asking you all: what is it that keeps you here? What makes you want to keep playing? What is your favorite thing about Guild Wars 2, perhaps something you find only here? Yes, I know that the only way to get into the game is to keep playing the game; no, I'm not looking for specific answers. I'm just hoping to see some positivity that might help me (and maybe others like me) actually feel engaged with the game.

Edited January 23 by funkychikin.2659

[Randulf.7614]

I am constantly rewarded for my time, no matter what I do. Whether that is loot itself, achievements (one of my chief goals), or easily accessible gameplay fun. I can play most of the game in the way I choose and feel like I am enjoying it.

Plus I look good doing it

[Kiof.5710]

I've been a very casual player, since beta, and enjoy doing whatever strikes my fancy with no pressure.  I primarily do dailies, stories, and events.  Throw in a mixture of other content, except raids and fractals, from time to time.  Is hard-core casual a thing?   Despite being casual I have had an uninterrupted login streak since day 1, except for two of three weeks in the hospital.  Atho it's mostly for dailies, and a few times only a literal login only, to keep my important only to me streak going.

Edited January 22 by Kiof.5710
Added casual exposition sentences

[Taclism.2406]

It really depends on whats your goals / what type of player are you. You can't play gw2 like it's wow mythic raid tier level of "keeping you busy everyday" or you'll run out of content in months unless you like farming achievements.
Endgame pve difficulty is also overstated, but perceived harder than it is because few have the raiding mindset and/or skillset of said other raid heavy MMOs ask for (or you're locked out of gear progression).
If you can do your rotation properly after practicing it, and see circles on the ground, you're doing better than the average. That being said, I also think the whining , loud minority complaining "nothing is hard" is a circlejerk. Anet won't do it often but they're still perfectly able to release new, harder content that barely 0.1% of the playerbase even try.to do, see harvest temple cm

GW2 is enjoyable as a theme park to me nowadays now I did everything I consider worth doing. Casual fun every now and then, or inbetween other games.
It's also good at being a collect-a-thon if you like accumulating skins

Farming decoration & tracks parts for my personal race track in a guild hall + testing its design is also about 15-20% of my playtime lol. I can't get enough of this game's mounts, they're such great toys.

[Buran.3796]

1 hour ago, funkychikin.2659 said:

So I'm asking you all, since I've not been here long enough to have a real reason to stay: what is it that keeps you here? What makes you want to keep playing? What is your favorite thing about Guild Wars 2, perhaps something you find only here? 

   The combat system is phenomenal and the PvP is very accesible: despite being in almost full legendaries as a veteran from release anyone can almost instantly jump in Conquest with normalized stats without having to grind anything. The PvE can be done almost entirely solo and despite the expansions created a noticeable power creep you still can progress with no pressure and your own pace and at will.  There's always things to do and if not I just can have fun doing PvP or roaming at WvW.

[Mistwraithe.3106]

I am a relatively recent player, half way through path of fire after doing all the story up to that.

I love exploration so unlocking and exploring new zones. That alone isn’t enough for me, I also need the story (a bit mediocre core, better in LWS1 and great fun since then) which I have enjoyed following. That story plus exploring and unlocking new things, whether gliding, new mounts, new specialisations, new map metas, cool new places, etc, works really well for me.

Equally important for me is that the game has plenty of challenge. Each of the classes plays differently, the specialisations are different again, and there is a significant difference between playing poorly and well in terms of combat performance. Heart of Thorns+ open world is rather more dangerous with any significant mob group having potential to catch out the unwary and champions being challenging to solo (or even duo sometimes). Then there are fractals which I have been playing through with friends for both different challenges and rewards. Then there are strikes and raids which I have dipped my toes in. WvW I also find fun and interesting, plenty of challenge there (easier to become a good Zerg player than being able to go head to head with good roamers but it’s all a good challenge). I have even enjoyed a bit of PvP. I can pull very good dps with a few characters now, plus some boon and/or heal builds but don’t feel I am close to having mastered all the challenges of the combat system.

This also provides plenty of goals, unlocking new abilities on my characters and gearing them up for doing different builds effectively, you don’t strictly need Ascended level equipment but it makes a noticeable difference and takes a bit of achieving, with legendary equipment a nice quality of life upgrade (I have 6 legendary items so far).

Then there are the various people I have met through guilds plus the guild I have created with friends and family, we recently unlocked a guild hall and are building it up.

GW2 is one of the best games I have played for the reasons above but also because it respects my time and doesn’t get too exploitative with its gem shop unlike many games with a similar shop.

Edited January 22 by Mistwraithe.3106

[Danikat.8537]

There's a lot I like about GW2, but the thing I can't get from other games is an MMO which works with my limited and erratic free time and also includes the kinds of big, group activities I always imagined when I first heard about MMOs. I can log in and start doing dailies or map completion or something, play together with anyone who happens to be around and end up doing a huge group event chain with 50 other players, all within the space of an hour and without having to schedule it in advance. I know there are equivalents in other games but all the ones I know of require a big time commitment because you need to be online for long periods on a regular basis to be part of the community and/or need to commit a lot of time just to keeping up with level and gear requirements.

WvW is similar, I can either join an open tag if there is one or start doing what I can on my own, join up with anyone I meet doing the same things and build up to bigger objectives as we get more people, with the freedom to leave when I need to without messing everything up for the rest of the group, because they can carry on with whoever is still around.

That applies to a lot of other aspects of the game too: it's an MMO that works with whatever time I have to give it, including being one I can take breaks from without missing anything important or coming back to find I'm behind everyone else and can't join in with what my guilds or most players are doing without a bunch of grinding to catch up.

I also like the map design - the fact that there's always interesting things to discover as I'm exploring, ranging from cool scenery or an NPC with an interesting comment on the area to big things like mini dungeons, unexpected achievements etc. I love exploring in games and this is one where it feels like they encourage actually taking the time to explore instead of just checking off pre-marked points.

[Infinity.2876]

The WONDERFUL forums. 

[Randulf.7614]

The big group events in open world are a huge part I agree

[Vayne.8563]

I've lost track of the number of people who'd come back to this game 3, 4, 5 times and on the fifth time it suddenly clicks with them. Guild Wars 2 is a game about choosing your own goals and doing them. It's not linear. It's a rabbit hole you can disappear into.

The very things you're complaining about are the same things that keep some of us here. You're right. If you're not enjoying yourself you have no reason to stay. I stay because I enjoy figuring things out.

If you're a hard core player from other games, that looks to look up every build and practice on a combat golem until your rotation is perfect and then you run into content, you're likely going to find the game too easy.  If you're the type of person who runs around the open world and expects to be spoonfed stuff, the game is likely to be too hard, at least when you get to harder content.

But then there are people like me. I'm not an "efficiency" player, looking to run meta builds and practice for long periods of time in front of a combat golem. Nor am I a guy who wants to be spoonfed stuff. I like to figure out stuff on my own. I like to explore. This game offers me a variety of experiences, depending what mood I'm in and every one of those experiences has been good for me, except SPvP, which I've still done a lot of. Enough to get 3 pieces of legendary armor and a legendary backpack anyway.

But WvW is great fun, and yes, there's a learning curve there, and that rabbit hole goes as deep as you want it to. You can capture camps and kill guards and run around willy nilly, or you can be part of an organized roaming group of havok squad and take out groups bigger than you.

Raiding can be fun and you can play it relatively casually like I do, or you can be part of a speed run team that does every challenge mode every week.

You can do fractals on a starter level, pretty easy, or do Fractal challenge mode runs every day.

You can play for achievements, skin collections, fashion wars, meta events, pretty much anything. I've spent days exploring and days doing jumping puzzles and days just hanging with friends, doing whatever they're doing. I raid at least 3 times a week, every week. I do fractals occassionally. This week I did a ton of WvW and got through all my diamond chests.

The game isn't linear and isn't easy to learn at a high level, but it's easy to get through at a low level. That's what keeps me here. YMMV.

 

[Danikat.8537]

28 minutes ago, Vayne.8563 said:

Guild Wars 2 is a game about choosing your own goals and doing them.

That's a big part of it for me as well. Right from level 2 you have options, and as you level up more of the game opens up to you but it's always your choice which parts you do and which you skip. For a while I was in a guild with someone whose main character hadn't done anything except PvP for years and wasn't even level 80 because they had no reason to level them up. But even within a game mode I think the nearest you'll come to being required to do different things is when story steps sometimes require completing open-world events, other than that you can pick and choose the bits which interest you.

Even in my favourite games there's always bits I'm less interested in, and often I just have to push myself to get it done so I can go back to the fun parts, in GW2 that's a lot rarer (at worst it's a story step I'm not keen on, like the one where you're being carried by a giant spider), if I don't feel like doing something I can skip it and do something fun instead, maybe I'll come back to that other part later, but if not it doesn't matter because it won't prevent me doing other things.

[Teknomancer.4895]

1 hour ago, Mistwraithe.3106 said:

story (a bit mediocre core, better in LWS1 and great fun since then)

The Core story always felt more like Trahearne's story than the player's starting around Claw Island, imo. For being a "commander" we did an awful lot of being commanded.

1 hour ago, Danikat.8537 said:

I also like the map design - the fact that there's always interesting things to discover as I'm exploring, ranging from cool scenery or an NPC with an interesting comment on the area to big things like mini dungeons, unexpected achievements etc. I love exploring in games and this is one where it feels like they encourage actually taking the time to explore instead of just checking off pre-marked points.

Since I came back to the game I've found myself wondering how many of the game's more-hidden spots would have remained undiscovered longer if the game had shipped with mounts from the start. Zooming by that hill at mount speeds, you might not have actually even noticed that narrow, obscured gap which can only be seen by looking in that direction from this spot.

[Ashantara.8731]

3 hours ago, funkychikin.2659 said:

So I'm asking you all, since I've not been here long enough to have a real reason to stay: what is it that keeps you here?

I don't really have anything left to do at the moment, so I am currently playing on my alt account, which was originally created for login rewards only.

If the next expansion turns out the same as SotO, with one proper release followed by three neglectable mini-content drops, I will go look for a new MMO home.

[funkychikin.2659]

1 hour ago, Vayne.8563 said:

The very things you're complaining about are the same things that keep some of us here. You're right. If you're not enjoying yourself you have no reason to stay. I stay because I enjoy figuring things out.

I didn't mean to come off as complaining, so I'm sorry for that! I was only trying to point out some things I've seen discussed (on forums and in-game) that have discouraged my engagement or dampened my enthusiasm.

I should say, I'm not exactly new to the game. I made my first character back in 2014, and played open world for months. That character was (is - I still have him) an Elementalist that I named after my primary character in Guild Wars 1, who was an Elementalist that I played from Prophecies through Nightfall. I left for 4 or 5 years, came back around Living World Season 4? I'm not sure on the dates. Anyway, I piddled around and stopped again because life got in the way. I picked up [the other game] in 2020 during the pandemic, when I joined a friend's guild and began raiding and doing mythics. That friend eventually stopped playing [the other game] and my guild disbanded. I tried to make it for another year or so, but the experience became less and less enjoyable, to the point that I couldn't justify the price or the commitment. So, I came back to GW2, primarily because I watched a few streamers who made many of the same points you did. I wanted a game that respected my time, that I could find community in, and that I could get enjoyment out of without treating it like a second job. And naturally, there's the nostalgia factor for me as well. So far, I'm enjoying the little bit of overworld stuff I've made time for.

However, like I said, the rub is that the game is in a different state than I remember it; or maybe my priorities and goals have simply changed. Either way, the transition hasn't been exactly comfortable. Which is why I thought I'd ask what y'all love about the game!

Edited January 22 by funkychikin.2659

[Taclism.2406]

3 hours ago, funkychikin.2659 said:

So, I came back to GW2, primarily because I watched a few streamers who made many of the same points you did. I wanted a game that respected my time, that I could find community in, and that I could get enjoyment out of without treating it like a second job.

then you should be fine. Most of the (bigger) streamers you mention do play this game for a living, for years now. Their experience - and frustration with the state of endgame shouldn't influence your discovery when you still have so much to explore, experience and learn over time. 

Edited January 23 by Taclism.2406

[Danikat.8537]

17 minutes ago, Teknomancer.4895 said:

Since I came back to the game I've found myself wondering how many of the game's more-hidden spots would have remained undiscovered longer if the game had shipped with mounts from the start. Zooming by that hill at mount speeds, you might not have actually even noticed that narrow, obscured gap which can only be seen by looking in that direction from this spot.

I think they'd still be found, just maybe less well known. The newer maps have little hidden things and surprises too and players still find them. I think people who enjoy that sort of exploration will deliberately take their time going through maps (with or without mounts) to look out for interesting details. Sometimes mounts can also help with reaching less accessible locations, which can lead to finding more surprises. Including one guy in PoF (whose name I can't remember) who is on a rooftop I'm pretty sure you can't reach without mounts, who just complains about mounts landing on his roof. 😄

[Vayne.8563]

46 minutes ago, funkychikin.2659 said:

I didn't mean to come off as complaining, so I'm sorry for that! I was only trying to point out some things I've seen discussed (on forums and in-game) that have discouraged my engagement or dampened my enthusiasm.

I should say, I'm not exactly new to the game. I made my first character back in 2014, and played open world for months. That character was (is - I still have him) an Elementalist that I named after my primary character in Guild Wars 1, who was an Elementalist that I played from Prophecies through Nightfall. I left for 4 or 5 years, came back around Living World Season 4? I'm not sure on the dates. Anyway, I piddled around and stopped again because life got in the way. I picked up [the other game] in 2020 during the pandemic, when I joined a friend's guild and began raiding and doing mythics. That friend eventually stopped playing [the other game] and my guild disbanded. I tried to make it for another year or so, but the experience became less and less enjoyable, to the point that I couldn't justify the price or the commitment. So, I came back to GW2, primarily because I watched a few streamers who made many of the same points you did. I wanted a game that respected my time, that I could find community in, and that I could get enjoyment out of without treating it like a second job. And naturally, there's the nostalgia factor for me as well. So far, I'm enjoying the little bit of overworld stuff I've made time for.

However, like I said, the rub is that the game is in a different state than I remember it; or maybe my priorities and goals have simply changed. Either way, the transition hasn't been exactly comfortable. Which is why I thought I'd ask what y'all love about the game!

To me, the game has changed, but not significantly. I'm guessing you're not playing with friends or a group right now, and I honestly couldn't play any MMO that way. You find the right group, and it's a different game as well. Just a guess, but it might be the case.

[TheQuickFox.3826]

I play for long-term goals. That is what keeps me playing.

 

My main goals:

• I'm an AP hunter. I like achievements and I'm striving for a high achievement rank
• Legendary gear in every slot
• All masteries unlocked
• World completion over every map
• All mounts
• A nice collection of cosmetic skins to choose from

GW2 is my main game, main MMO and the franchise has been a significant part of my life since I found a discounted box of Guild Wars: Special Edition in my local toy shop back in 2006. ❤️

[Vayne.8563]

2 hours ago, TheQuickFox.3826 said:

I play for long-term goals. That is what keeps me playing.

 

My main goals:

• I'm an AP hunter. I like achievements and I'm striving for a high achievement rank
• Legendary gear in every slot
• All masteries unlocked
• World completion over every map
• All mounts
• A nice collection of cosmetic skins to choose from

GW2 is my main game, main MMO and the franchise has been a significant part of my life since I found a discounted box of Guild Wars: Special Edition in my local toy shop back in 2006. ❤️

That's pretty cool. I bought a discounted box of Guild Wars: Prophecies in a local store, I'm guessing around the same time. I was playing WoW at the time, played Guild Wars 2 for a few hours and canceled my WOW account.

[RavensSorrow.6128]

7 hours ago, funkychikin.2659 said:

To put the matter bluntly, I'm coming back to this game after a long absence, having finally left another game whose acronym rhymes with "cow." I've been playing now for a couple of weeks, and while I'm having some okay fun just exploring, I find myself already becoming discouraged at the state of the game as expressed by a significantly vocal portion of the community. In no particular order: debates and disappointments regarding my favorite profession; a (seemingly) steep learning/access curve for instanced PvE content that seems lackluster at best; and a near constant push to engage with WvW which, while admittedly unique, does not interest me.

A question for you; Why let what other people think effect your enjoyment? I know people out there dislike meat, doesn't mean I won't enjoy a cheeseburger.  Maybe we are just socially different but I find it sad that people can talk you out of a game you say you enjoy. Also this "steep learning curve for instanced PvE" shocks me. I am sorry you've had that experience. I watched a guide and started doing it that day for Strikes/fractals. For raids I was just in a group for other stuff and someone said we are doing a raid now and that was that. No requirements or anything. Just hanging out blasting bosses. I bet you I did like 100dps the entire time too and no one said boo. Training guild and guides exist out there. Don't let social anxiety get in the way. I am sure there are some groups like you describe like in any other game. Just go around them. You can make your own groups, ask for help, and more to get into the content you enjoy. 

But onto your question. The biggest thing that holds me here is no sub fee. I'm a very casual and ADD gamer. I'll jump from game to game to suit my moods. Sometimes I want to shoot, sometimes strategies and sometimes just hit some dragon's toes. With that said there are many other positives I enjoy. The community, account progression, the class variety and combat. Like I said ADD so just switching a weapon on my Warrior, Ranger, Necro and then having a new experience is quite fun! I can strike or chill, lead or follow, blast damage or engage in wanderlust. GW2 fills a lot of my gaming needs and even when it doesn't I know it's there ready for me to go when I need it.

[Mistwraithe.3106]

4 hours ago, Teknomancer.4895 said:

The Core story always felt more like Trahearne's story than the player's starting around Claw Island, imo. For being a "commander" we did an awful lot of being commanded.

Exactly. In the Core story we were more like a sidekick that helped Destiny's Edge and Trahearne beat Zhaitan. Sure we did the heavy lifting in the fights but in many ways the story was more about them.

Starting with LWS1 the story is centered around the commander and our own band of companions and that's where it really starts to get good.

Edited January 23 by Mistwraithe.3106

[Nabbut.7480]

I mainly play for anime and combat mechanics where you can actively mitigate damage by moving, not "stand, facetank and play piano" like in CoW.

I also enjoy gathering and crafting, and resource nodes in GW2 are not spaced across the huge empty maps.

[funkychikin.2659]

3 hours ago, RavensSorrow.6128 said:

A question for you; Why let what other people think effect your enjoyment? I know people out there dislike meat, doesn't mean I won't enjoy a cheeseburger.  Maybe we are just socially different but I find it sad that people can talk you out of a game you say you enjoy.

I'm thankful for your encouragement, but I fear I haven't been clear. I'm not being talked out of a game I enjoy. Rather, I'm disheartened by what I've seen generally (in my initial return to GW2) as a pervasive negative atmosphere surrounding some aspects of the game which are most important to me. Asking for people's favorite things (things most important to them) was not to alleviate a particular experience I'm having. It was rather to build a bit of respite from the generally negative discussions I've encountered by initiating a decidedly positive discussion for myself and others. Again, like I said, that's my fault for not being clearer, so I'm just trying to clarify for all that my aim was to stir up "good vibes," not to complain or seek advice.

(Edit: That said, maybe I put this thread in the wrong forum after all.)

Edited January 23 by funkychikin.2659

[RavensSorrow.6128]

24 minutes ago, funkychikin.2659 said:

 I'm just trying to clarify for all that my aim was to stir up "good vibes"

(Edit: That said, maybe I put this thread in the wrong forum after all.)

Ah well then let the good vibes be had! 🙂 

[Vayne.8563]

2 hours ago, funkychikin.2659 said:

I'm thankful for your encouragement, but I fear I haven't been clear. I'm not being talked out of a game I enjoy. Rather, I'm disheartened by what I've seen generally (in my initial return to GW2) as a pervasive negative atmosphere surrounding some aspects of the game which are most important to me. Asking for people's favorite things (things most important to them) was not to alleviate a particular experience I'm having. It was rather to build a bit of respite from the generally negative discussions I've encountered by initiating a decidedly positive discussion for myself and others. Again, like I said, that's my fault for not being clearer, so I'm just trying to clarify for all that my aim was to stir up "good vibes," not to complain or seek advice.

(Edit: That said, maybe I put this thread in the wrong forum after all.)

The negative atmosphere is common in most MMO forums. The people that post the most have been playing this game for hundreds, if not thousands of hours. A few thousand hours in this game is not uncommon.

We all get into a place where we're doing something for so long that we've wrung a lot of the enjoyment out of it, and we want more of what we like and we're not necessarily getting it. But for what I've paid for this game, and the hours I've put into it, it's costing me pennies and hour to play.

Listening to any forum about any MMO is likely to be a negative experience, but people who are enjoying the game don't necessarily spend their time on the forums posting. Many of them are in game playing.