GW2 has serious design flaws

[IAmNotMatthew.1058]

22 hours ago, Avind De Maros.7306 said:

1) Being forced into a group

Welcome to MMOs in general, except in GW2 majority of the content can be done solo, unlike in other MMOs.

22 hours ago, Avind De Maros.7306 said:

2) Being forced to ask someone else how to accomplish something

If you can't figure something out on your own or would not want to spend time on it then yes, you have to ask others who have gone through figuring it out.

22 hours ago, Avind De Maros.7306 said:

3) Being forced to leave the game to do research in a wiki or on You Tube

You are not forced to use YT or the wiki considering that those sources also created guides by.. playing the game and figuring it out like you could.

Having to interact with others isn't a design flaw. This is not Warzone or Fortnite where you press Play and you're in shooting others without the need to look up anything, because almost every weapon and whatnot is copy-paste.

[DanAlcedo.3281]

On 3/23/2024 at 5:23 PM, Avind De Maros.7306 said:

There is no way that a fully written wiki can be completed by players on the first day that new content is released.  

Ever heard of teamwork? 

Gathering information is essential in mmos. 

And people get crazy efficient at it. 

Ever been in a guild? Every find get shared. 

Found something interesting? Time to share share share! 

[vrauns.3215]

On 3/23/2024 at 9:17 AM, Avind De Maros.7306 said:

Once again I am at a point where the design flaws in GW2 have made playing this game an exercise in aggravation.  I have repeatedly run across situation where the design of the game makes it absolutely impossible for a solo player to advance and when, in those rare moments that a solo player can accomplish something without being led around on the wiki leash or while being forced to follow another player, the game borders on useless in how a player is guided.

My most recent experience with this is the process  of acquiring the sky scale mount.  I tried for two days to advance this achievement without luck.  As with almost every other achievement in this game I made zero progress and was once again forced to open a web browser to search the wiki or You Tube.  The need to seek outside help to advance in this game is consistent to the point where it has become clear that the dev's are determined to disallow progress by individuals.  It seems that there goal is to keep everyone dependent upon doing things exactly the way they are told thus eliminating individual thought processes that are the hallmark of creative thinkers.  You either submit to the leash or you can't advance.

I left GW around five years ago and switched to playing the Elder Scrolls Online.  While there are group events and tasks, a significant portion of the game can be completed without 

1) Being forced into a group

2) Being forced to ask someone else how to accomplish something

3) Being forced to leave the game to do research in a wiki or on You Tube

When playing ESO, it is easy to advance by using a bit of cognitive process.  You can think about the situation and most often come up with a solution that will allow you to complete whatever it is you are attempting.  In Guild Wars, that borders on an impossibility.  I am sure you want a specific example so here is the latest couple I encountered.

1)  I was searching for abandoned sky scale nests.  You can spend weeks on this UNLESS YOU GO TO THE WIKI OR YOU TUBE TO SEE HOW TO COMPLETE THIS.  I diligently allowed myself to be lead on across the map like a dog on a leash in my attempt to find a nest with an abandoned egg.  While this did help to uncover huge portions of the map, the process of going from one nest to another bordered on painful.  This task became a repetitive, mind numbing exercise in frustration as nest after nest simply vanished when I checked them.  Late yesterday evening I arrived at a location where there was no nest present.  I was tired and frustrated so I shut it down for the night.  I returned this morning only to find two more locations where the You Tube leash showed that there should be a nest.  I checked my inventory.  No egg.  I realized that once again, I had reached the point where there was insufficient information in the game for me to continue.  So I went to the next version of the leash and called a friend who had completed this.  She had me open up the achievement where it showed that I already had the egg.  Wow.  It would have really been nice to have some indication show up when I found the egg.  I SAW NO INDICATION THAT THIS HAD HAPPENED.  My friend said that the achievement had changed to 14% where I had it tagged to show on my screen so I did not have to keep opening the achievement window.  So a change in the percentage of completion in text that is so small I have to squint to read it was my only indicator that I had advance the process I was trying to complete.  THANK YOU GW DEV'S!!  HOW CONSIDERATE OF YOU TO PROVIDE ME WITH SUCH A CLEAR INDICATOR THAT I HAD COMPLETED THE TASK I WAS CURRENTLY WORKING ON!  I guess it is asking to much to have something show up on the screen that stated, "Congratulations!  You have found a Sky Scale egg!"  It also seemed that the programmers did not have the foresight to change how the interaction with the nest appeared when the egg was found.  That level of coding must be incredibly difficult because I find it difficult to believe that any programmer worth their weight would believe that having the nest simply vanish regardless of the outcome of your search would make much sense at all.  You don't find the egg, the nest vanishes.  You find the egg, the nest vanishes.  No text shows up on the screen to indicate that you have completed your task.  Instead, you are left to continue searching for nests that now can not be found.  But what does that mean?  If only I had looked at the change in percentage of my progress for that achievement!  How silly of me to miss such a miniscule alteration of my screen!!

2)  The next step is to infuse the egg by traveling around Tyria to find specific items.  I traveled to the first location only to find that the list of items required was no missing from my achievement.  Once again I realized that I was up against ANOTHER FLAW IN THE DESIGN OF GW, I phoned my friend once again.  It took a few minutes, but we eventually discovered that the achievement "Find a new friend" would no longer show what was needed to be done once I completed the first task on the list.  Now that I was on the second task, I had to go back into my achievement panel, type in the title of the second task to open up the list of ingredients and then tag that so it showed up on my screen and allowed me to see the ingredients I needed to collect.  HOW SILLY OF ME TO THINK THAT THIS INFORMATION SHOULD HAVE BEEN VISIBLE WITHOUT HAVING TO ADD IT AS A SEPERATE ACHIEVEMENT.  I should have realized that the first step of the achievement and the second step OF THAT SAME ACHIEVEMENT WOULD BE TREATED AS TWO SEPERATE ACHIEVEMENTS!!!  Are you F-ing kidding me?!?!?  (Here is where the moderators will step in to block this post as they do not want any criticism of the game to show up in their beloved wiki.)  

These are just two examples of the very poor design of this game.  While I love the concept of this game, I keep running into the same type of difficulties.  The developers and designers of this gaming platform are either incompetent or out of touch with the needs of the players.  So I am going back to ESO where I can enjoy some online gaming time without the frustration of being unable to advance my in game progress without having to consult the wiki or phone a friend or look it up on You Tube.  It seems to me, that Guild Wars 2 is a game designed to stifle the thought process of it's players.  You either do it the way you are told by the sources listed above, or, in the immortal words of Gandalf the Grey, "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"

I used taco markers to find the eggs in game, boom done, no help from anyone, i didnt need to leave for the wiki or youtube.

Edited March 25 by vrauns.3215

[zeyeti.8347]

Your take on the mount is nonsense at all , if the maps weren't designed around the flying mount we would have a queensdale map with 0 flavor to explore , anet is right about making vertical progression map with doors to unlock with masterys etc , this genra called metroidvania has proven to be really enjoyable and while there is no vertical progression in your character power very soon in the game , there is a vertical progression on ways to explore maps , taking an updraft with your skyscale , going higher the updraft then 4 x 360 charge with  bond of vigor , then bond of faith jumping then gliding , use jade drone to win hights with glider , going griffon speed down then release for max speed is an amazing feeling and make travelling maps  a real joy, but yeah like a lot of other games it takes time to have stuff , and this is an mmorpg , so i think there is really enough stuff you can do alone.

on the other hand i've played a bit of elder scrolls online , not very long (hit lvl30) and the maps for me result in a single word : flat !

[Padrion.7382]

So to sum it up, a completely optional task in a game that you arguably finished years ago is still desirable enough for you to socialize with a friend in order to work out a solution together? Must be a very special game then...

[Danikat.8537]

On 3/24/2024 at 9:03 AM, Cyninja.2954 said:

Topic creator will likely go back to ESO which in their opinion is the superior game. The end.

I missed that in the first post. If Elder Scrolls Online is their standard for sufficent hand-holding I can see why they'd find GW2 frustrating. I like ESO but that game wouldn't dare let players go anywhere or do anything without a quest marker pointing to the exact object they need (where the only option will be 'press the interact key'), with the compass bar at the top of the screen to make sure the quest markers are always visible. They've only just accepted that new players are probably going to be able to find their way to the DLC without an NPC literally running at them shouting about it every time they're in town.

I don't mind it, partially because I use an addon to hide a lot of the quest markers and another to hide the compass, but I have a lot more fun with the way GW2 does it where puzzles, achievements etc. will expect the player to figure it out (or get help) rather than showing them the solution before they've even had a chance to look for it.

[Wolfofdivinity.6251]

I completed the skyscale by myself...I don't really see any issue. What in the world are you on about. Gw2 has many issues, but this aint one of them. How dare and MMO make you do group content to complete a quest!

[Vayne.8563]

On 3/24/2024 at 2:53 AM, Avind De Maros.7306 said:

Regarding some of the contents about MMO's being games that are designed for group play, this is understood.  The point that you are missing is that there is almost no content in GW that may be accomplished as a solo player.  What I object to is players being forced to play in a group in order to advance.  If you look at some of the larger battles that occur such as the battle to access the Wizards Tower, these fights are won by the minority who have fought this battle numerous times.  The majority of the players have no idea what is going on UNLESS THEY ASK ANOTHER PLAYER OR CONSULT A WIKI OR YOU TUBE CHANNEL.  I have no objection to doing SOME events in a group.  I do object to being required to do MOST events in a group in order to advance.

I figure out a lot of stuff by watching and trial and error. Not everything but the vast majority of it. There are harder bits. But you read the text on your screen, you listen to what the NPCs are saying, you watch what the crowd is doing and you figure it out. You're acting like most stuff can't be figured out. It can. But for most people it's easier to go to the wiki.

I didn't come to this game from MMOs. I came from old single player adventurer games. In some cases, so old, we not only didn't have the internet, but we didn't have hint books. I remember Sierra online setting up a 900 number for hints that you had to pay by the minute, because there was no other way if you couldn't figure it out for yourself.

These were single player games that people were paying money to solve. But people did solve them. Because they put time and energy into trying to figure out what was going on, and a huge amount of that stuff is possible.  Maybe not everything but far more than you're saying. My wife does most of the collections, the vast majority, solo and without looking in the wiki. Because she devotes the time to do so. She also explores every nook and cranny of every new zone.

Some people say, right here on these forums. the game is too easy, new content comes out and I'm done with it in half an hour. Then a week later, I look at my wife, still exploring the zone looking for stuff and I think, I wonder how many of those people just used the wiki, or only complete story instances and think everything is done. My wife works to figure that stuff out.

I work to figure it out too, some of the time. And if I don't get it after a while, I ask my wife, for if she's not around, I go to the wiki, but I get the vast majority of it myself.

I did the vast majority of the skyscale without looking in the wiki.

[Danikat.8537]

10 minutes ago, Vayne.8563 said:

I didn't come to this game from MMOs. I came from old single player adventurer games. In some cases, so old, we not only didn't have the internet, but we didn't have hint books. I remember Sierra online setting up a 900 number for hints that you had to pay by the minute, because there was no other way if you couldn't figure it out for yourself.

There was another option, but that was to pick up "hints" from people at work or school and hope one of them would eventually be genuine. A lot of false information spread that way, and a lot of real info which sounded fake, because a lot of games did not take themselves seriously, especially when it came to cheat codes.

The strangest one for me was finding out, many years after I routinely did it, that the 'Missingno' cheat in Pokemon Red and Blue really wasn't intentional and some versions really could corrupt your save data, making the game unplayable. I assumed there's no way something like that could just happen in a game, it had to have been programmed by the developers, and therefore safe and the warnings were just rumours to scare people off. (I know that wasn't pre-internet, but it was shortly before I had internet access.)

[Obtena.7952]

Game wasn't to your taste? OK ... but that doesn't mean it has a design flaw. 

But people will say anything to convince themselves it's a problem with the game when it doesn't suit them. Almost like EVERY game should be something they like. 

 

Edited March 26 by Obtena.7952

[KelyNeli.4516]

Skyscale is just really a small thing compared to griffon to be honest. 

But i do agree with you, the game is completely kittened up in a design, there are literally zero information in-game how to for example create ascended gear, how to get precursors, how to get X, Y and Z. Crafting is a black magic, you literally need to occupy both monitor screens with a game and second with a youtube or wiki or some other guide. FFXIV or in your case ESO got it right, and nobody is complaining how braindead those games are, boho. 

No lifers enjoy it, because they spent 12 years already in this game and did everything step by step on their characters, but the entire game design only shoo away every single new player out there who is quickly overwhelmed by this all once he hit lvl 80 and get into HoT expansion in which he leaves the game not being able to figure out how to get kitten done, like gliders or mounts... Sure he could get better, but why the kitten should he if he just jump to other game? 

And the best thing about it are people who give no kitten about this problem and just makes jokes in this thread, okay jimmy we know you spent 60 thousand hours in the game, are you willing to do everything from scratch like new players do? Can you remember how u got ur griffon or how u farmed champion points, how u got max lvl crafter or how u made ur legendary weapon step by step? You have no idea how much grinding newcomers have to do today compared to what it was when the first expansion came out. 

And to top it off, afk farmers ruin the market for new players, who are told to farm 2k gold out of thin air to get essential stuff done. Good luck 

Edited March 26 by KelyNeli.4516

[hellsmachine.4085]

When MMOs cater to solo players, they become like WoW, where nobody talks to each other. WoW has become a very lonely experience compared to what it was in its early days. If you want a single player game, there are plenty out there. It's not hard to find a group or ask for help. That's what GW2 is about.

Edited March 26 by hellsmachine.4085

[Surelia.2651]

1 hour ago, KelyNeli.4516 said:

Skyscale is just really a small thing compared to griffon to be honest. 

But i do agree with you, the game is completely kittened up in a design, there are literally zero information in-game how to for example create ascended gear, how to get precursors, how to get X, Y and Z. Crafting is a black magic, you literally need to occupy both monitor screens with a game and second with a youtube or wiki or some other guide. FFXIV or in your case ESO got it right, and nobody is complaining how braindead those games are, boho. 

No lifers enjoy it, because they spent 12 years already in this game and did everything step by step on their characters, but the entire game design only shoo away every single new player out there who is quickly overwhelmed by this all once he hit lvl 80 and get into HoT expansion in which he leaves the game not being able to figure out how to get kitten done, like gliders or mounts... Sure he could get better, but why the kitten should he if he just jump to other game? 

And the best thing about it are people who give no kitten about this problem and just makes jokes in this thread, okay jimmy we know you spent 60 thousand hours in the game, are you willing to do everything from scratch like new players do? Can you remember how u got ur griffon or how u farmed champion points, how u got max lvl crafter or how u made ur legendary weapon step by step? You have no idea how much grinding newcomers have to do today compared to what it was when the first expansion came out. 

And to top it off, afk farmers ruin the market for new players, who are told to farm 2k gold out of thin air to get essential stuff done. Good luck 

Sorry but you know, there is zero need to come in here and basically hurl thinly veiled insults at veterans just because in your opinion GW2 is not giving anyone enough information. 

Players coming into any MMO usually learn very quickly that reading tool tips and directions is how you progress in-game knowledge.  There are plenty of sources of information right in the game for every single issue you mention, if you take the time to read even half of what is there.   Trial and error while simply exploring game play features takes care of the rest.

And yes, I remember how I did all the above: I bothered to actually read the information available to me from my story journal, the mastery tracks, the npcs, my crafting panel, the collections tabs, the maps, etc.  It is not rocket science.  Just plain learn how to follow directions and you might have a different experience. 

If all this is not your cup of tea and you just want everything ready the second you hit max, then you should probably find another game to play or better yet another genre, because categorically zero MMOs work like that.  And NO, most definitely NOT ESO got it right.  Unless you consider having to first level to 50, then to cp 160, then to at least cp1500 to be viable for veteran content all the while having to change your entire build every 3-4 months.

[Sweetbread.3678]

On 3/23/2024 at 9:17 AM, Avind De Maros.7306 said:

It seems to me, that Guild Wars 2 is a game designed to stifle the thought process of it's players.

What thought process? You seem to actively refuse to develop any sort of problem solving skill or patience, rely on the wiki instead of taking the time to organically figure stuff out/learn (spoilers: solving puzzles, makes you better at solving puzzles), and then blame the game for not holding your hand enough. The reason you like ESO so much is that literally everything in that game is just "GO TO THE CIRCLE AUTOMATICALLY DRAWN ON YOUR MAP"; at least GW2 gives you the option to figure it out on your own and then has the wiki available for those that can't.

 

[QueenKeriti.5176]

2 hours ago, Obtena.7952 said:

Game wasn't to your taste? OK ... but that doesn't mean it has a design flaw. 

But people will say anything to convince themselves it's a problem with the game when it doesn't suit them. Almost like EVERY game should be something they like. 

 

It's funny in that GW2 does have design flaws (like every single game in existence), and the ones the dude posted aren't quite them. 😂

Quote

I left GW around five years ago and switched to playing the Elder Scrolls Online.  While there are group events and tasks, a significant portion of the game can be completed without 

1) Being forced into a group

2) Being forced to ask someone else how to accomplish something

3) Being forced to leave the game to do research in a wiki or on You Tube

1 and 2 are basic MMO staples (I had to use 2 all the time in games like SWG because there was no info online at the time lmao), and 3 is a "flaw" found in far, far, FAR more than GW2. I think every "complex" game I've played, single player or not, has required me to look up guides/videos at some point. I remember finding .txt style guides for the Sailor Moon SNES RPG back in like 2000 because I got to the end of the game and realized I hadn't found all the puzzle pieces to get special accessories. 😭We used to have to buy guidebooks if you'd get stuck on some games! You kids have it so easy these days! *waves cane*

Things that I'd personally consider are flaws in GW2 are: "Here's a server list but not well enumerated that it only matters for a specific mode and that the PvE/sPvP portion of the world is all a single server unlike most MMOs" + "this is how you join people on the same map; you don't need to transfer servers to play with your friends outside of specific gamemode," lack of good feedback on how you're performing without using things like arcDPS, the entire New Player Experience being kinda potato at explaining "basic" game mechanics (like break bar/CC), that you can't kill steal by just hitting something once (unless you one shot it, lol) and don't HAVE to group up most of the time to get loot/XP/credit.......Explaining that one has always been fun. Some other stuff, too, but the "Server list," performance feedback, and new player experience are the ones I see pop up the most. :( 

[ugrakarma.9416]

Gw2 seems inspired in older "search and hunt hidden things" games like metroid, zelda or mario.... i thin inst too bad.

i had played once the neverwinter from PWE, the maps are super bland, also 0 mystery,

[DanAlcedo.3281]

Wait until people figure out that the real world works the same way.

You don't go and discover how to drive a car on your own. You learn it from others.

Dont know how to craft an Ascended item? Get stuck on something? 

Talk to people. They will help you. Even if it is just giving you a wiki link. 

Isn't that what mmos are about? The people? The social aspects? 

What's the point of playing an MMO without player interaction? 

Edited March 26 by DanAlcedo.3281

[Hsanrb.1570]

1 hour ago, DanAlcedo.3281 said:

Talk to people. They will help you. Even if it is just giving you a wiki link. 

I do think that if people offer help, and that help is the Wiki there is a problem, but since the OP brought up skyscale nests/eggs I can say I spent 2-3 weeks trying to find the darn things AND I HAD FUN DOING IT. If I can't find something I just move on or come back another day or time. I also see this conversation is talking about things like Ascended gear, crafting, and potentially dragging into builds and other things and outside the fact that you want to craft something and have no idea if you need to "Discover or get the recipe from somewhere" Most of the issues is completionist VS enjoyment.

When the joy of discovery is dead, so is my enjoyment of the game. People don't want THE ANSWER, but a little nudge here or there is perfectly fine and the community needs to accept that. That also means that the same players who get frustrated by things in the game eventually need to realize you don't have to do everything, or obtain the best things to find enjoyment in a game. IF you want a solo game, then go play something offline... but when the developers peg content on those who know everything, than they shouldn't have to scratch their heads when players avoid doing things.

[DanAlcedo.3281]

2 hours ago, Hsanrb.1570 said:

I do think that if people offer help, and that help is the Wiki there is a problem, but since the OP brought up skyscale nests/eggs I can say I spent 2-3 weeks trying to find the darn things AND I HAD FUN DOING IT. If I can't find something I just move on or come back another day or time. I also see this conversation is talking about things like Ascended gear, crafting, and potentially dragging into builds and other things and outside the fact that you want to craft something and have no idea if you need to "Discover or get the recipe from somewhere" Most of the issues is completionist VS enjoyment.

When the joy of discovery is dead, so is my enjoyment of the game. People don't want THE ANSWER, but a little nudge here or there is perfectly fine and the community needs to accept that. That also means that the same players who get frustrated by things in the game eventually need to realize you don't have to do everything, or obtain the best things to find enjoyment in a game. IF you want a solo game, then go play something offline... but when the developers peg content on those who know everything, than they shouldn't have to scratch their heads when players avoid doing things.

How I understand your problem. 

Anet creates a puzzle while leaving hints on how to solve it. However, for you and others, said hints are not enough to solve the puzzle by yourself. 

So you request more hints. 

Making solving the puzzle easier. 

[Gwynnion.7364]

16 hours ago, KelyNeli.4516 said:

No lifers enjoy it, because they spent 12 years already in this game and did everything step by step on their characters... And the best thing about it are people who give no kitten about this problem and just makes jokes in this thread

I mean, on the one hand, using the wiki and other resources isn't hard.

But on the other, yeah, this game is incredibly opaque on some subjects, especially about the achievement system, to the point I can't imagine trying to complete certain things without having the wiki open.  Like, you could wander around the SOTO maps for weeks looking for abandoned skyscale nests, but it's just easier to look them up, and even then it seems designed to waste your time.  Oh, I got it on the next to last one?  Yaaaaaaaaay.

But if I've learned anything about these forums, it's that the long-timers and overachievers don't care about anything except protecting their sunk cost.  They don't want to share, they don't want to make things easier, they don't want it more accessible.  "Get good" and a confused face is all you're going to get.

[costepj.5120]

2 hours ago, Gwynnion.7364 said:

They don't want to share, they don't want to make things easier, they don't want it more accessible.

"They" spend time updating the wiki to make things easier and more accessible. "They" aren't the game devs, so what more do you expect them to do?

[Ashen.2907]

57 minutes ago, costepj.5120 said:

"They" spend time updating the wiki to make things easier and more accessible. "They" aren't the game devs, so what more do you expect them to do?

"They" also volunteer to help people with whatever is giving them a problem. Ive lost count of how many times people like Vayne has done so.

[Kaedys.2894]

I find the OP especially amusing here.  Their argument essentially boils down to:

1. Games that hand-hold you and guide you by the nose through everything are "dumbing down humanity".
2. GW2 cannot possibly be played without cross-referencing the wiki or Youtube at every step.
3. Therefore, to avoid the need to use the wiki or Youtube, the game should hand-hold the player more and guide them by the nose through everything.

Um...what?

If you truly want puzzles that require exploration and investigation and trial/error and creative solutions, honestly, GW2 collections may be too easy for that even just relying on in-game information alone.  Many of the collection items have right in the tooltip on the collection window where the heck to find them, and/or what to do with them.  Why on earth would you think that a game hand-holding you would be a solution to games, as you assert, "eliminating individual thought processes"?  You're just asking for them to hand-hold you directly in-game, rather than relying on a player-generated and maintained resource that literally has its own dedicated slash command in the game.

Also:

Quote

You don't find the egg, the nest vanishes.  You find the egg, the nest vanishes.

There's literally text directly on the screen and in the chat box when you click on every single nest indicating whether you found an egg or not, and if you did find the egg, there's a "ding" sound and the achievement progress notification pops up above the minimap (I know, I just did the entire SotO Skyscale chain a couple weeks ago).  All achievements work this way, when you make progress on them, the game dings at you and displays a flashing notification about it in the lower right (though unlike quest completion in that area, achievement notifications go away on their own after a few seconds).  You not paying attention is not the same thing as the game not providing the information to you.

[Obtena.7952]

On 3/26/2024 at 3:01 PM, Gwynnion.7364 said:

But if I've learned anything about these forums, it's that the long-timers and overachievers don't care about anything except protecting their sunk cost.  They don't want to share, they don't want to make things easier, they don't want it more accessible.  "Get good" and a confused face is all you're going to get.

LAWLWUT? The longtimers don't 'share' and don't want it to be more accessible? Did you post that under duress or lose a bet? That's incredibly obtuse way to think. Cringey. 

Who do you think is providing you all the information that allows everyone to do the content without learning it themselves? Oh right ... the very people you accuse of gatekeeping to protect their sunken cost. JEEZ. 

 

Edited March 28 by Obtena.7952

[Izzy.2951]

On 3/23/2024 at 4:56 PM, Randulf.7614 said:

Right, so what this boils down to is not being the right game for you. This is specifically designed to be a coopertaively driven mmo. They didn't want the solo style of GW1 and designed it this way deliberately. It's not a design flaw, it's a design manifesto. One that has proved extradorinarily successful given the low level nature of the IP.

It's not going to be for everyone and it clearly doesn't work for yourself, but the game from this perspective is working extremely well and does not require a change to be more solo orientated

GW1 was x10 times more cooperative and group/guild forming than GW2 has ever been (even with the addition of heros). In this game ppl dont know what is even to interact in a guild, that would have been crazy in the gw1 era, same about talking and forming stuff with other players (even to sell and buy items lol). Literally GW2 is the most soloable and antisocial mmo out there. 

Saying that GW1 was designed as a solo game, when it was designed as a cooperative game in all gamemodes is nearly a war crime. At least dont spread missinformation, cos gw2 even despite not having heros was designed to be way more soloable and non interacting than gw1, in buying/selling, guilds, soloing story/open world and even playing pvp (or directly cliking a random fractal group in lfg with 0 social interaction). Go watch also a video of top 10 games by google search from 2004-2021, you will find that gw1 was top 10 for 3 years in a row (even more than gw2 on its era xD) to say it was a low level IP. my god...

Edited March 28 by Izzy.2951