Does anyone else not do the main story?

[Padrion.7382]

On 2/9/2024 at 4:26 AM, darkwombat.3695 said:

I did the character story and found my parents or sister etc... But somewhere along the line I just couldnt stomach it. Ive tried like half a dozen times.

I totally understand. IMHO the personal story gets awfully boring after the 'personal' part is over. Mainly because it is centered around a bunch of characters I couldn't care less about (that includes you, Trahearne!) and features very repetitive gameplay. The latter at least gets a little better in living world season 1 and storytelling does improves noticeably in Heart of Thorns. The characters are still not likable but the pacing is actually pretty good and I found myself looking forward for the next bit.

Edited February 11 by Padrion.7382

[Ashen.2907]

2 hours ago, Padrion.7382 said:

I totally understand. IMHO the personal story gets awfully boring after the 'personal' part is over. Mainly because it is centered around a bunch of characters I couldn't care less for (that includes you, Trahearne!) and features very repetitive gameplay. The latter at least gets a little better in living world season 1 and storytelling does improves noticeably in Heart of Thorns. The characters are still not likable but the pacing is actually pretty good and I found myself looking forward for the next bit.

Yes, the story would be a bit more palatable if the PC was not surrounded by unlikable (to me) NPCs. The overall writing wouldnt be good, but at least its best moments wouldnt be degraded by the characters around me and the worst moments wouldnt be quite so laughable.

[Meviken.2054]

On 2/8/2024 at 9:43 PM, Obfuscate.6430 said:

Short answer: Yes, you ABSOLUTELY can play and enjoy the game without playing through the story for the most part. 
I have a friend who exclusively plays wvw and has a profound hatred of pve. So - it definitely is possible to play and still enjoy the game without doing the story!

However: Certain rewards and unlocking certain things are directly linked with playing through the story. Also whether we like it or not, the story helps give context for what is happening in each chapter. Playing through the story at least once is probably a good idea.

I like WvW, but not that much! (although it's close; I do PVE to get achievements, mostly; if I could get so many in WvW, I'd not bother with PvE, either)

[Meviken.2054]

On 2/10/2024 at 12:25 PM, Teknomancer.4895 said:

Skipping the story will bypass dialogue like this:

Whether skipping writing like that is a good thing or a bad thing is in the eye of the beholder, I suppose.

Yeah, that was amusing.

[Meviken.2054]

23 hours ago, Padrion.7382 said:

I totally understand. IMHO the personal story gets awfully boring after the 'personal' part is over. Mainly because it is centered around a bunch of characters I couldn't care less about (that includes you, Trahearne!) and features very repetitive gameplay. The latter at least gets a little better in living world season 1 and storytelling does improves noticeably in Heart of Thorns. The characters are still not likable but the pacing is actually pretty good and I found myself looking forward for the next bit.

Rule #1: Make the characters likable. If the players don't like them, they won't care. If they don't care, they may quit.

Rule #2: Avoid cliches like you'd avoid an out-of-control ocean liner.

Rule #3: Monty Haul RPGs have a reputation for a reason. REWARD must be matched by RISK.

I agree with many; the story is badly written. There are good spots, but far too many bad ones to gloss over.

Personally, I liked the HoT MAPS. Very different. Mazes on 4 levels. But that's me. YMMV.

[Meviken.2054]

On 2/10/2024 at 12:25 PM, Teknomancer.4895 said:

Deep down, everyone is a Skritt; the only difference is in how you define "shiny."

Love that.

[IronWolf Reaper.6805]

I did the full story on 1, a past account (I accidentally bought the newest expansion on the wrong account long story, and my dumb mistake), but otherwise I go to the point of joining Vigil, Priory, or Shadows with all of them. I have no idea if it actually has any impact on things, but feel like joining them may have potential importance so meh why not? Since I am returning after not playing for a while, I have randomly started doing a bit of story here and there, but that was triggered by SOTO and the need to unlock waypoints for infusions. 

I still haven't looked into where and how to get the materials for acquiring the Skyscale unlock requirements by purchasing from SOTO NPC outright, but still need to build up Gold for the last bit anyway, so that is at least the reasoning I tell myself. Should just look into it and go from there so it's done faster but have still have 2 toons that I have to decide how the direction for their builds. I think the biggest factor for doing activity progression in the story would be an option to complete any mastery needed from the regions if you're not sure what to do, or lack any connections socially to do group activities. I've never really loved MMO & crafting elements in general (except fishing) but after realizing how much I potentially limit myself in terms of end-game gear optimization to my builds & the potential source of gaining some revenue, I'm trying to work on my crafting activities. I may be remembering wrong or putting effort towards something that will not be of any real benefit in the end but I get wizard activity completion for some so there is at least a bit of value. 

The mastery system for Tyria and likely all expansion regions is likely going to be earned faster by doing more of the major activities vs. story but if you're someone who has never done the story it may be enough incentive to run through it once or twice, compare story between two races. I think the only real factor in doing it or not is purely do you want to. If you've never completed but just want to know what happened that was missed you could likely read all of it and get the main details, just from an impersonal POV.

[Luthan.5236]

I actually aim to have 9 chars (one for each profession) - doing full world/map completion and 1 story playthrough on each of them. (Not making any different chars for just other looks or to have some for each elite spec. Since I can just change that on the normal char if needed. And I do not really need cosmetic changes a lot.)

Still a lot of work though. I have only done 2 out of 9. (I played from release until end 2013. Came back Mid 2019. A lot of time in the past few years was with catching up and doing new achievements since I try do do most. I could be faster now ... but watching more anime instead and the festivals in GW2 take up a lot of time. Lots of daily routine lol.)

Imo the most annoying part is - if you actaully want to complete those story chapters on a char: The ones where it requires to do DRMs. Other than that I found it fine.

[Mistwraithe.3106]

Everyone is different. Personally, I'm far more interested in GW2 than I would be if it didn't have a story. It's important for me that the story happens in parallel with getting to explore new zones and areas which is a significant part of what I enjoy in the game.

Note that I think the core story is mediocre, due to a combination of being over long in placing and the second half of it being largely about Destiny's Edge and Trahearne more than the player. This is a shame as it is the intro for new players.

However, it improved from there for me. I only got to play the LWS1 remake but I liked much of what they did and Scarlet added some good humour. Then LWS2 I enjoyed, it helped a lot that the player was now the centre of the story and I really liked how it lead into HoT (which was looking forward to playing). Since then HoT, LWS3, PoF have been really fun for me (despite a bit of disjointedness in LWS3).

I've had some laughs, been slightly surprised a few times, and look forward to playing the rest of the story.