Passion has gone my friends [Merged]

[Gehenna.3625]

10 hours ago, kharmin.7683 said:

This is a highly subjective statement.  I found PoF to be a great change from HoT as if the devs listened to much of the players' opinions of the latter.  If not for the ridiculously large aggro radius of most mobs, I'd probably spend the bulk of my time in these zones.

And, yes, this is my opinion.

Well, as much as I hated HoT at the time, it's grown on me over time and that's now my go to expansion when playing PvE. However, I do have to agree with you on the aggro range of mobs in PoF being out of control. That alone made the replay value of PoF next to zero for me. I would spend time there if it wasn't so frikkin annoying with the mob aggro range. As it stands I never really go there anymore.

[Mistwraithe.3106]

10 hours ago, Zok.4956 said:

I don't think it was economically stupid. At the time of launch, LW was free. It was funded from initial game sales and later, like a F2P game, by Gemstore sales. 

The fact that LW content remains free for active players, and only future players have to pay something for it, was a smart move in order not to antagonize the players who were active at the time when this change was introduced.

Well, I disagree. I believe it is well established that current customers of a game are the ones who will be most willing to pay for new content. Deliberately not charging active players and instead trying to charge later/new customers is reversing this and I can't see any reasons why GW2 would by so different from all other games that normal economics should be reversed. I can't prove it tho :-).

[Obtena.7952]

I think it's important to be accurate with something being talked about here. The Living story content we got between expansions was NEVER free. It was part of the cost of the expansion. Still, there is some truth in the claim this wasn't an ideal situation because people forgot they DID pay for it and needed the expansion to access it. Therefore, I agree it was a mistake for Anet to throttle content this way because it made a bad perception with players who convinced themselves that NOW we pay for all new content, they are getting shafted. 

The one point I will acknowledge to people complaining about the new model is that the content is more expensive than what the original expansion costs were. Unfortunately, that's just a consequence of how the game has aged as well as it's players and the content/skins they already accumulated. Still, you want the old content, AFAIK, it can be purchased from time to time at prices that are inline with the cost of the new content as well so.

It would be a bold move but I'm of the opinion that if Anet wants players (veterans or not) to continue to patronize the GS at levels that could justify more content and features, they need to start considering selling content that IS pushing that P2W boundary. At some point, offering more mount skins can't pay the bills because a player starts asking themselves "How many mount skins do I ACTUALLY want?"

Edited March 6 by Obtena.7952

[Holmindeboks.3490]

12 hours ago, Sobx.1758 said:

Yeah, "you only farm a few raids a day and some dungeons" and yet you still said you didn't get drops for a few months so you quit. From my understanding you keep going against your own words, am I missing something crucial here?

You can't get loot if you don't play. Again, I don't understand how these 2 sentences work together. From my understanding it's constantly repeated equivalent of "I don't want to do, but I want to have" along with the "make these drops rare for others, but easy to get for me" (also based on another thread we talked about this exact same thing). In that case, your expectations are unrealistic.

Oke, i log in weekly for the seitung chest. For the jackpot. But without getting loot  i meant i didnt het loot the last 7 years i played. With loot i meant items worth of 1k+ gold. Ofc i got some nice skins. But this were not actual drops but from bl chest or mount license or wardrobe unlocks. So doesnt count because i had to pay for some. I dont play mmo actively anymore because the drops are bad. 
 

same with trick or treat bags or wintersday bags. That one expensive item i needed to buy gems. But ofc i didnt loot it. Other from guild got it. 

so i meant it was in the past.  instead of now. Thats why i dont play actively anymore. 

and in wow i meant only mount loot drops. The skins that also drop from those raids i already got. Except tusks of mannoroth with lower drop chance then 1%. 
 

 

and true about wow that you cant take a break. If you do then you missing many exclusive items. Every big patch when it has a raid the previous mount from the end boss would be a drop or no more obtainable. Ofc guildwars 2 has also good points. But wow is for the die hard addicted players. I hate daily’s so in wow i nearly did some. I am sure if guildwars 2 had better loot and easyer gold making i still love the game. But because i feel that i have to use my wallet for everything OR farm weeks to craft a legendary to sell its bad. A few loot drops could change my mind. But no matter which meta i do i never get rewarded. 
 

and say for yourself. It feels nice if you finally loot something nice. A mount from a licence. The 1 out of 15 that you wanted. I had this twice. Or an legendary card in hearthstone. Or a legendary bow in assassins creed origins with a nice buff on it. Or when you get a good weapon legendary or uber unique in diablo 4. 
this feels awesome when you FINALLY loot something nice. 
 

but in guildwars 2 i havent looted a single item worth more then 1k gold in the past 7 years. And when i do a meta i get nothing but junk loot. So thats not so weird if i am starting to hate on the loot drops. I want that nice feeling for good drops instead of a middlefinger and think if i want loot buy gems and go to the store. 
 

and then also i see many players with titles i am rich you know. And other players showing off. Or they got nice drops. Or farm all day long. Or use their wallet to often. Or play since release and had the luck with getting rich with the trading post. Or when players ping an infusion. 
 

 

Edited March 6 by Holmindeboks.3490

[Sobx.1758]

14 hours ago, Holmindeboks.3490 said:

Oke, i log in weekly for the seitung chest. For the jackpot. But without getting loot  i meant i didnt het loot the last 7 years i played. With loot i meant items worth of 1k+ gold. Ofc i got some nice skins. But this were not actual drops but from bl chest or mount license or wardrobe unlocks. So doesnt count because i had to pay for some. I dont play mmo actively anymore because the drops are bad. 

Not sure why you claim any loot you didn't "rng into" somehow doesn't count. Nobody made you pay rl money for anything, you can play the game, convert currencies and buy what you want. You didn't get 1k+ gold drops, because they're actualy rare. If they weren't rare, they wouldn't be -subjectively, by player perception/paid gold- valued how they currently are. As I sad:

On 3/5/2024 at 9:51 PM, Sobx.1758 said:

"I don't want to do, but I want to have" along with the "make these drops rare for others, but easy to get for me" (also based on another thread we talked about this exact same thing). In that case, your expectations are unrealistic.

Your expectations are unrealistic and I'm not sure what you still don't understand about that.
Go play wow if they have "better chance for a drop". Oh wait, but you quit it because you didn't get the drops. So why do you keep repeating this nonsense? Maybe I need some dots connected for me here. Wow good because better rng, but you quit it because you didn't get drops.

 

14 hours ago, Holmindeboks.3490 said:

and say for yourself. It feels nice if you finally loot something nice. A mount from a licence. The 1 out of 15 that you wanted. I had this twice. Or an legendary card in hearthstone. Or a legendary bow in assassins creed origins with a nice buff on it. Or when you get a good weapon legendary or uber unique in diablo 4. 
this feels awesome when you FINALLY loot something nice. 

You don't want a game, you want a casino. And not just any casino, you want a casino that keeps paying you out jackpots. No wonder you don't have any fun in mmos when you keep logging in with the mentality of wanting 1k+ drops (or whatever the equivalent of that is in other games). Again: unreasonable expectations are unreasonable.

14 hours ago, Holmindeboks.3490 said:

and then also i see many players with titles i am rich you know. And other players showing off. Or they got nice drops. Or farm all day long. Or use their wallet to often. Or play since release and had the luck with getting rich with the trading post. Or when players ping an infusion. 

Yeah, how dare those players have stuff when you're logging in once a week for a meta and don't get the same things?

Edited March 6 by Sobx.1758

[Gehenna.3625]

13 hours ago, Holmindeboks.3490 said:

but in guildwars 2 i havent looted a single item worth more then 1k gold in the past 7 years. And when i do a meta i get nothing but junk loot. So thats not so weird if i am starting to hate on the loot drops. I want that nice feeling for good drops instead of a middlefinger and think if i want loot buy gems and go to the store. 

I don't think I've ever gotten loot that was worth 1k gold. 

[QueenKeriti.5176]

20 hours ago, Gehenna.3625 said:

I don't think I've ever gotten loot that was worth 1k gold. 

I have...one time...and it was on my alt account of like 300 hours vs my main account of 7600+ hours. 😑😭Main account? Probably done pinata well over 1000 times and nothing. Alt account? Third pinata. Simultaneous joy and rage.

I feel like "account luck" is real. 🙃 (throwing in an edit: this part is meant as a joke, not serious)

Edited March 7 by QueenKeriti.5176
last line was meant as a goofy joke, but text =/= tone very well :(

[Holmindeboks.3490]

10 hours ago, Sobx.1758 said:

Not sure why you claim any loot you didn't "rng into" somehow doesn't count. Nobody made you pay rl money for anything, you can play the game, convert currencies and buy what you want. You didn't get 1k+ gold drops, because they're actualy rare. If they weren't rare, they wouldn't be -subjectively, by player perception/paid gold- valued how they currently are. As I sad:

Your expectations are unrealistic and I'm not sure what you still don't understand about that.
Go play wow if they have "better chance for a drop". Oh wait, but you quit it because you didn't get the drops. So why do you keep repeating this nonsense? Maybe I need some dots connected for me here. Wow good because better rng, but you quit it because you didn't get drops.

 

You don't want a game, you want a casino. And not just any casino, you want a casino that keeps paying you out jackpots. No wonder you don't have any fun in mmos when you keep logging in with the mentality of wanting 1k+ drops (or whatever the equivalent of that is in other games). Again: unreasonable expectations are unreasonable.

Yeah, how dare those players have stuff when you're logging in once a week for a meta and don't get the same things?

Dont know what you are trying. 
indeed i cant expect wow drops a mount of 1% chance to drop within 60 days playtime (or 90) i wanted invincibles reins and the new karazhan mount. But i only did the “raid” boss with max 3 characters a week. Btw i got 2 sets of warglaives that was also my goal. And i also dont play wow because it is more addictive and cost more time. 
 

But you dont understand it. Keep spending all your money. I just shared my experience about the game. And its nice to see i am not the only person who think like this. I grew up to not being greedy. Btw if you have facebook then follow guildwars 2 and wait till they give away something free and check how POSITIVE the reactions are when players get a transmute charge or a revibe orb. Ppl spend sometimes hundreds of cash for gems and if anet give away something back its very low worth (not useless) but just cheap. 
 

same for amazon prime gaming. Wow gave mounts, pets. 
guildwars 2 gave boosters (veterans dont need boosters) 

 

but keep bashing on me. You cant win. And keep defending the game. Have a nice day. 

[zeyeti.8347]

Guys if you feel bored of the game , which is normal when you spend hours and hours on the same game , just switch a bit of game , gw 2 is very friendly when it comes to some breaks , even if you are away 6 months.

Just play few hours of gw 2 , then go on another game , reinstall an old game to find nostalgia (trust me nostalgia is one hell of an emotion) , try a new one, i recently did dark souls 2 with all the dlc's as an example, tryed last epoch , helldivers 2, and i am near to reinstall mass effect trilogy , don't be afraid to leave this mmo a bit , you are not paying a subscription so nothing in your brain should retain to take short breaks or long one if you wish.

I mean gw 2 has no vertical progression so at some point you are done improving your character and could feel bored and it's pretty normal , abusing something is never good (just like food)

And as everything when you come back from a +- long break , it's "home sweet home".

[Vayne.8563]

On 3/5/2024 at 9:06 PM, Holmindeboks.3490 said:

so 6 or 9 months for less content, that means that they are rushing to fullfil the wishes of the players with new content instead of taking the time for better content.
they also dont understand the part of mmo(rpg) because rpg means loot, but in gw2 there drop no loot, the mobs drop junk and the loot is mostly behind a paywall (or even worse, behind rng... black lion chests)

i just bought my weekly seitung chest and again i got a middlefinger. i wont play the game again until i loot that 6k + worth item. i am done with wasting my time on a junk farm simulator.

I don't think you know what RPG stands for. Hint, it's not about loot. The fact is, if the loot was more common it would also be worth less. This is a game of trickles and always has been. I get plenty of loot playing which adds up to enough gold to get the stuff I want.  If you want that big drop, there are other games, but those same games lock you to the last zones that come out.  I prefer the way it's done here.

[Bladestrom.6425]

5 hours ago, Holmindeboks.3490 said:

Dont know what you are trying. 
indeed i cant expect wow drops a mount of 1% chance to drop within 60 days playtime (or 90) i wanted invincibles reins and the new karazhan mount. But i only did the “raid” boss with max 3 characters a week. Btw i got 2 sets of warglaives that was also my goal. And i also dont play wow because it is more addictive and cost more time. 
 

But you dont understand it. Keep spending all your money. I just shared my experience about the game. And its nice to see i am not the only person who think like this. I grew up to not being greedy. Btw if you have facebook then follow guildwars 2 and wait till they give away something free and check how POSITIVE the reactions are when players get a transmute charge or a revibe orb. Ppl spend sometimes hundreds of cash for gems and if anet give away something back its very low worth (not useless) but just cheap. 
 

same for amazon prime gaming. Wow gave mounts, pets. 
guildwars 2 gave boosters (veterans dont need boosters) 

 

but keep bashing on me. You cant win. And keep defending the game. Have a nice day. 

Your problem is you want a game based on loot, and  GW2 core gameplay is not about loot, its about collections and achievements that may or may not output loot.

[Zok.4956]

5 hours ago, Holmindeboks.3490 said:

indeed i cant expect wow drops a mount of 1% chance to drop within 60 days playtime (or 90) i wanted invincibles reins and the new karazhan mount. But i only did the “raid” boss with max 3 characters a week. Btw i got 2 sets of warglaives that was also my goal. And i also dont play wow because it is more addictive and cost more time. 

You keep talking about WoW. GW2 does not try to be WoW. Maybe you should talk about WoW in a forum related to WoW?

 

5 hours ago, Holmindeboks.3490 said:

Once readed someone with a 3 months old account got chak infusion. On the forum. 

Someone got a chak infusion on the forum? 😅 Well, ingame it does not matter how old an account is for the random loot tables.  My grandma played the lottery her whole life and never won the jackpot. When something is rare and truly random, there are always a few lucky winners and everyone else.

 

13 hours ago, QueenKeriti.5176 said:

I feel like "account luck" is real. 🙃

Of course there is luck. Some people win something and get lucky. However, there are no “luck accounts” in GW2, i.e. accounts that are given priority over other accounts in the random loot tables and therefore have a better chance of getting better drops. “Luck accounts” only exist in the minds of those who try to see a pattern and don’t understand what randomness really means.

BTW: Sure, there's Magic Find, but that's something every account can get.

[Gehenna.3625]

16 hours ago, QueenKeriti.5176 said:

I have...one time...and it was on my alt account of like 300 hours vs my main account of 7600+ hours. 😑😭Main account? Probably done pinata well over 1000 times and nothing. Alt account? Third pinata. Simultaneous joy and rage.

I feel like "account luck" is real. 🙃

Well it is real because it's all RNG. I also feel loot is meh btw and the chance of getting something really cool is minuscule. At the same time there are many other ways to get cool skins and highest stat items are readily available. 

This is a different game, however, and I think you need to rethink the "chasing loot" principle. What I'm saying is that if that type of (valuable) loot is the only reason that makes you quit GW2, then you might want to re-evaluate playing GW2. This game has never been about that. Never play a game for the potential it has or wishful thinking... play it for what it is. That's just my opinion but I think it'll save you a lot of stress and frustration.

[Bladestrom.6425]

55 minutes ago, Gehenna.3625 said:

Well it is real because it's all RNG. I also feel loot is meh btw and the chance of getting something really cool is minuscule. At the same time there are many other ways to get cool skins and highest stat items are readily available. 

This is a different game, however, and I think you need to rethink the "chasing loot" principle. What I'm saying is that if that type of (valuable) loot is the only reason that makes you quit GW2, then you might want to re-evaluate playing GW2. This game has never been about that. Never play a game for the potential it has or wishful thinking... play it for what it is. That's just my opinion but I think it'll save you a lot of stress and frustration.

this is it in a nutshell.  Its the equivalent to playing WOW for years then announcing you are leaving because the game does not intend to offer a gear power ceiling so you don't need to farm gear to keep up with the power curve..

[kharmin.7683]

1 hour ago, Gehenna.3625 said:

 What I'm saying is that if that type of (valuable) loot is the only reason that makes you quit GW2, then you might want to re-evaluate playing GW2. This game has never been about that.

Loot in GW2 is there to sell for gold to convert to gems to buy the stuff from the store that you really want.  Or to breakdown and be used for crafting.

[Bladestrom.6425]

Just now, kharmin.7683 said:

Loot in GW2 is there to sell for gold to convert to gems to buy the stuff from the store that you really want.  Or to breakdown and be used for crafting.

Exactly, in GW2 loot is a means to an end, whereas in WOW (for example) loot is the end.

[Ashen.2907]

20 minutes ago, Bladestrom.6425 said:

Exactly, in GW2 loot is a means to an end, whereas in WOW (for example) loot is the end.

That may vey well be the best summation of the concept I've seen. 

[Labjax.2465]

On 3/4/2024 at 6:41 PM, Mistwraithe.3106 said:

My post was quoting soulknight and was entirely on why it needs to cost money for the mini-expansions because the free LW model was unsustainable and a mistake.

Whether you want to say the mini-expansions are more like living world content or the old big expansions is a different matter. It's also not necessarily that relevant given plenty of people are saying in this thread they really liked LWS3 and LWS4. So the underlying point of your post is probably more whether you like the content. Again tho, not what my post was about which was purely the economics of the models.

This just seems to me like justifying a decision after the fact based on the fact that it was the decision that was made. They made the LW world model work for a long time and I'm pretty sure it was lucrative too. Because freemium tends to be lucrative. MTX and lootboxes can make near endless money where other content models can't. That's not to say I like those models; as a customer and human being, I despise them. But to look at their shift from "free-ish LW + occasional expansion + MTX" to "paid mini xpac + MTX" and talk about it as if the previous model was unsustainable just because they made the shift now doesn't make any sense to me. Partly because of the fact they made it work for so long, partly because it's not like they shut the cash shop down or something. They'll still got that on top of the xpac stuff and we need to be clear-headed about the fact that these companies (and Anet is by no means uncommon in this way, I'm not singling them out on this) tend to double and triple and quadruple dip on monetization whenever they can get away with it because of the unrealistic expectations coming at them from above for making more and more and more profit each year. If the expectations were realistic, GW2 could quietly make somewhat less profit as the years went on, everything would be fine, and they'd probably have a decent size, sustainable team without rug pulls like the 2019 layoffs. Instead, we get companies that regularly dump their employees, their business model, and their customers like none of it matters because for the people at the very top of the absurdist scheme of it all, it doesn't actually matter that much. They've got money in so many things, it's just digits of power ticking up for them at that point.

[Gehenna.3625]

21 hours ago, kharmin.7683 said:

Loot in GW2 is there to sell for gold to convert to gems to buy the stuff from the store that you really want.  Or to breakdown and be used for crafting.

Yep and it makes loot entirely boring and inventory management is a chore but at least I do a lot of crafting so that makes up for it. And that's fine btw, but if you want to have these "yes!!!" moments when you have a really cool drop, then you're in the wrong game afaic.  Very few people have that very rarely and that's just how this game is. Not every game has to do the same after all.

Edited March 8 by Gehenna.3625

[Ashantara.8731]

On 3/7/2024 at 10:50 AM, zeyeti.8347 said:

Guys if you feel bored of the game , which is normal when you spend hours and hours on the same game , just switch a bit of game , gw 2 is very friendly when it comes to some breaks , even if you are away 6 months.

Just play few hours of gw 2 , then go on another game , reinstall an old game to find nostalgia (trust me nostalgia is one hell of an emotion) , try a new one, i recently did dark souls 2 with all the dlc's as an example, tryed last epoch , helldivers 2, and i am near to reinstall mass effect trilogy , don't be afraid to leave this mmo a bit , you are not paying a subscription so nothing in your brain should retain to take short breaks or long one if you wish.

I mean gw 2 has no vertical progression so at some point you are done improving your character and could feel bored and it's pretty normal , abusing something is never good (just like food)

And as everything when you come back from a +- long break , it's "home sweet home".

So we need to psychologically trick ourselves into believing that GW2's quality level of content delivery was still good? 😄

[Sobx.1758]

13 hours ago, Labjax.2465 said:

This just seems to me like justifying a decision after the fact based on the fact that it was the decision that was made. They made the LW world model work for a long time and I'm pretty sure it was lucrative too. Because freemium tends to be lucrative.

They told us they're changing the release schedule because the previous one is unsustainable for them. Looks like it's a valid reasoning behind the change. Meanwhile despite demanding clarifications from devs, when you get informed about the reasoning you're freely dismissing whatever you want, in this case "based" on nothing more than your vaguely broad idea of "freemium tending to be lucrative" and you being "pretty sure it was lucrative too". For what we currently know, facts are you don't have any idea about LW sales, so it's you who's making things up as you go.

13 hours ago, Labjax.2465 said:

Partly because of the fact they made it work for so long, partly because it's not like they shut the cash shop down or something.

By that logic any change of a system or restructuring of a company -not just gaming one- is pure nonsense "because they made it work for [whatever time] before". Often that's not really how it works though, even moreso when we're talking about 10+ year old mmorpgs/games/products.

 

Throwing those generalized claims with nothing behind them sure is easy, too bad in reality it lacks any substance. For one (but not limited to, more in the previous posts), still waiting where you were going with this one 🤷‍♂️ :

On 3/3/2024 at 9:58 PM, Labjax.2465 said:

Or are you even playing the game yourself? Because sometimes the things you say to me, it's hard to believe you're even engaged with the game and are enjoying it.

On 3/3/2024 at 10:44 PM, Sobx.1758 said:

The things I say to you, like what exactly? What specifically are you basing what you just said on? I really hope this question won't remain unanswered similar to the previous ones, like the one about what exactly you need to "relearn" that's so hard about dailies or relic usage. For now it sure seems to be easier for you to keep throwing these vague sentences and then avoid sharing the details about them.

Come on, I want to know how much I'm not playing/enjoying the game and what it's based on 😄 

Edited March 8 by Sobx.1758

[Mistwraithe.3106]

13 hours ago, Labjax.2465 said:

They made the LW world model work for a long time and I'm pretty sure it was lucrative too. Because freemium tends to be lucrative. MTX and lootboxes can make near endless money where other content models can't. That's not to say I like those models; as a customer and human being, I despise them. But to look at their shift from "free-ish LW + occasional expansion + MTX" to "paid mini xpac + MTX" and talk about it as if the previous model was unsustainable just because they made the shift now doesn't make any sense to me.

Ok, some fair points there. But it’s also completely unfair that you assume Anet don’t have a clue what they are doing and have switched to mini-expansions because they are greedy rather than because they needed a new model.

Let’s put it this way, how many freemium funded games are still going after 10+ years and releasing new gameplay content all the time? I don’t know of any but my game knowledge isn’t that wide, maybe you do? Furthermore, if any exist then do you want to be playing them?

The freemium model is most successful when it is extremely exploitative and it milks whales dry, often over quite a short 1-2 year lifespan. Fortunately, GW2 haven’t taken that approach and my impression is that income has been a challenge for many years. Certainly they have had it much harder than their subscription based competitors (tho GW2’s model has made it easier to just survive, I think a subscription model is intrinsically easier to get into a death spiral if your subscriber base starts dropping significantly because a subscription is a big barrier to new players).

Anyway, there isn’t much more to say. Logically the mini expansion model provides more reliable income to Anet at a price (for players) which is very cheap compared to subscription competitors while also letting people keep playing for free by opting out of buying the expansions. But if you choose to distrust Anet and assume the worst about their motives then there isn’t anything more I can do about it.

[Labjax.2465]

1 hour ago, Mistwraithe.3106 said:

Ok, some fair points there. But it’s also completely unfair that you assume Anet don’t have a clue what they are doing and have switched to mini-expansions because they are greedy rather than because they needed a new model.

Let’s put it this way, how many freemium funded games are still going after 10+ years and releasing new gameplay content all the time? I don’t know of any but my game knowledge isn’t that wide, maybe you do? Furthermore, if any exist then do you want to be playing them?

The freemium model is most successful when it is extremely exploitative and it milks whales dry, often over quite a short 1-2 year lifespan. Fortunately, GW2 haven’t taken that approach and my impression is that income has been a challenge for many years. Certainly they have had it much harder than their subscription based competitors (tho GW2’s model has made it easier to just survive, I think a subscription model is intrinsically easier to get into a death spiral if your subscriber base starts dropping significantly because a subscription is a big barrier to new players).

Anyway, there isn’t much more to say. Logically the mini expansion model provides more reliable income to Anet at a price (for players) which is very cheap compared to subscription competitors while also letting people keep playing for free by opting out of buying the expansions. But if you choose to distrust Anet and assume the worst about their motives then there isn’t anything more I can do about it.

The point of my post was not "they have no clue what they are doing and are greedy." The point was that from everything I understand about how this system operates, through theoretical explanations, through stats, through anecdote and self reporting, the expectations from the very top tend to be unrealistic and always wanting more. There's a reason within that I said I'm not singling out Anet. Publicly traded companies tend to have it the worst in this way and Anet's publisher, NCSoft, is publicly traded.

I don't agree with this framing of "it's that I distrust Anet and assume the worst" like it's a binary dichotomy of trusting them fully or believing the worst. If you follow the line of reasoning I'm using to its core, I'm actually giving Anet an excuse in a way. I'm saying it's the fault of the system and the investing class more so than it is the fault of anyone at Anet and what they want. That doesn't, however, mean I excuse the behavior itself. The behavior has consequences that can upend the lives of employees themselves at times (see the mass layoffs in the past, for example) and we as customers have our own interests to be concerned about, too. They as a company entity feeding investors have their interests, which don't always align with the personal interests of employees.

In other words, at a certain point, it's not even so much about trust or distrust, as much as it is about valuing your own interests. Anet as an entity is on organization centered around its own interests. Without any sort of customer advocacy group, we as players have no such organization to protect our interests. We are already at a disadvantage in that way. It's why people tend to pull out the trope "vote with your wallet" because it's all they can think of to impact anything, but that just leaves people acting randomly and alone in their own interests based on willpower, not based on shared interest. I encourage people to view it through that lens, of power and interests. If you view it through the lens of trying to be understanding of an entity that has fundamentally different interests from you and has nothing in place to force it to take your interests seriously, you will be like me in the past and be surprised when it results in you getting burned every time.

[Ashen.2907]

There are a lot of business models that work for a while and then not so much. Every business model works until it doesn't, at which point the company adapts or dies...or adapts and dies anyway.

[zeyeti.8347]

18 hours ago, Ashantara.8731 said:

So we need to psychologically trick ourselves into believing that GW2's quality level of content delivery was still good? 😄

Game is far from perfect ofc , it is far away from the old time consuming mmo , due to for most ppl not having any kind of vertical progression , so it's normal for some ppl to feel a bit underwhelmed at some point if you play gw 2 like 4-6 hours a day (more the w-e) you gonna quickly do the all around visite of the game , it's neither bad or good , depends on how ppl take the game for.

But you can give the game a break without being overwhelmed or feeling like you missed a big chunk by not connecting 3-4 days in a row , i mean even the seasons give you 3 months to connect to add them for free.

And trust me i am far from being a white knight defending anet ...

what makes me stay on the game is the combat mechanic who is way more faster than 90% of the good mmos out there, but i do take a break from it.