Guild wars 3

[Leger.3724]

So the Isle of Janthir expansion gives us our Hall of Monuments of Guild Wars 2. Interesting.

[blade eyes.2034]

Hi everyone,

Vet player here, just sharing his thoughts. GW2 is the only MMO I ever liked, and I was going to quit gaming before I tried GW2 in beta and fell in love with it. After EOD, I have stopped, since to me the game has ended there, and I don't want another 10-year story. What makes GW2 amazing is the world and the exploration of the world and the many other things you can do in the game, but it's all outdated now for a vet player like me. When I say outdated, I don't mean the graphics; I mean the world itself just doesn't seem to offer anything new or interesting experiences for me. I know many online players, especially MMO players, play to grind to get stuff, and they care about stuff, but for players like me, we play for experiences that make us feel something, for worlds to explore. I don't care about all the stuff; they can take it all away, and I want them to take it all away. Give something interesting, artistic, and beautiful. GW2 is an artistic masterpiece, a beautiful game, and an interesting world that I still recommend to new players. That's why I look forward to GW3 whenever it does come out.

Thanks for reading :)

[Cyninja.2954]

TL;DR: TC doesn't like MMOs, enjoyed GW2 but then falls back into his dislike for MMOs. Uses this fact to explain why he looks forward to GW3, which might very well be a MMO.

[blade eyes.2034]

Hi, thanks for the summary, even though it wasn't accurate. To clarify, it's not that I dislike all MMOs inherently; it's more that I haven't found many that offer the same kind of immersive, exploratory, and artistic experience that GW2 did for me. GW2 was the exception because it felt different from other MMOs, focusing more on the world and experiences rather than just grinding for gear, even if that element does exist to an extent.

What I hope for in GW3 is that it will continue to push these boundaries and offer fresh, engaging content that goes beyond the typical MMO formula. So, while GW3 might be an MMO, I'm looking forward to it because I believe it can provide those unique experiences that GW2 did so well.

[Cyninja.2954]

22 minutes ago, blade eyes.2034 said:

Hi, thanks for the summary, even though it wasn't accurate. To clarify, it's not that I dislike all MMOs inherently; it's more that I haven't found many that offer the same kind of immersive, exploratory, and artistic experience that GW2 did for me. GW2 was the exception because it felt different from other MMOs, focusing more on the world and experiences rather than just grinding for gear, even if that element does exist to an extent.

What I hope for in GW3 is that it will continue to push these boundaries and offer fresh, engaging content that goes beyond the typical MMO formula. So, while GW3 might be an MMO, I'm looking forward to it because I believe it can provide those unique experiences that GW2 did so well.

You seem to be missing the point.

What is devoid from your narration is:

- the social aspects of the game, the friends along the way. This reads a lot like a solo players diary looking forward to the next single player fix

- the continued development and expansion is one of the main points why traditional MMO players gravitate to these games. This might very well be the issue you had with other MMOs

- statistically, if you like 1 out of a dozen products, chances are very high you will only like 1 from the following dozen products. This might be the one you hope for, but chances are slim

- you have 0 idea of what GW3 will offer. The only thing you know about it is:"it won't be GW2". Which seems to be sufficient for some to get their hopes up. What does that say about expectations though?

- you were talking about quitting gaming. How much closer are you going to be to quitting 5 years down the road when you have left this franchise since EoD?

As such my summary seems pretty accurate I believe.

I am not saying your feelings are incorrect. I am trying to poke at the logical inconsistencies present (which can be very common with feelings).

Thanks for sharing but this couldn't have gone on the GW3 reddit? In the GW3 thread here on the forums (where it will get merged into eventually)? When has the GW2 forum become the GW3 forum? 

The current talk of the town is the coming expansion with its followup announcement from yesterday. 

Edited June 5 by Cyninja.2954

[Zok.4956]

1 hour ago, blade eyes.2034 said:

What I hope for in GW3 is that it will continue to push these boundaries and offer fresh, engaging content that goes beyond the typical MMO formula. So, while GW3 might be an MMO, I'm looking forward to it because I believe it can provide those unique experiences that GW2 did so well.

I can understand you, but the feeling you had at the beginning of GW2 is something you probably won't experience with any other game. It's a bit like first love, which you never forget.

Will there actually be a GW3 and what kind of game will it be? From a business perspective, it would make sense to make a successor to GW2 - because GW2 will certainly not attract large numbers of new players. But think about how many GW players back then (it was GW and not GW1) didn't like GW2 because it was so different from GW. So if you like GW2, you might not like a possible GW3 at all.

[blade eyes.2034]

30 minutes ago, Cyninja.2954 said:

You seem to be missing the point.

What is devoid from your narration is:

- the social aspects of the game, the friends along the way. This reads a lot like a solo players diary looking forward to the next single player fix

- the continued development and expansion is one of the main points why traditional MMO players gravitate to these games. This might very well be the issue you had with other MMOs

- statistically, if you like 1 out of a dozen products, chances are very high you will only like 1 from the following dozen products. This might be the one you hope for, but chances are slim

- you have 0 idea of what GW3 will offer. The only thing you know about it is:"it won't be GW2". Which seems to be sufficient for some to get their hopes up. What does that say about expectations though?

- you were talking about quitting gaming. How much closer are you going to be to quitting 5 years down the road when you have left this franchise since EoD?

As such my summary seems pretty accurate I believe.

I am not saying your feelings are incorrect. I am trying to poke at the logical inconsistencies present (which can be very common with feelings).

Thanks for sharing but this couldn't have gone on the GW3 reddit? In the GW3 thread here on the forums (where it will get merged into eventually)? When has the GW2 forum become the GW3 forum? 

The current talk of the town is the coming expansion with its followup announcement from yesterday. 

Thank you for your response; I can see where you're coming from, although you're making a lot of assumptions. I'll break them down to hopefully clarify my point of view.

First of all, I absolutely value the social aspects of MMOs; it is what originally interested me in the genre. However, if we are being honest, the vast majority of MMOs fail at it. One of my biggest grievances with GW2 is their lack of support toward Guild systems, but they still do it better than most. I have enjoyed many adventures with friends in the game; in fact, my best memories of the game are with other players, whether it's in the Open World, Dungeon, Fractal, or the Living World events back in seasons 1 and 2. I made many new friends and memories from those shared experiences. My focus in the original post was on the unique experiences and exploration that GW2 offered, rather than solely on solo play.

Moreover, my preference for GW2 isn't accidental. The game, when it first came out, was marketed toward those who want something new, those who disliked MMOs to an extent and wanted something new in the genre, while keeping and enhancing what made it great, which is the social aspect, as you correctly stated. "If you hate MMOs, you'll really want to check out Guild Wars 2."

We explore and make friendships within those worlds, but monotony can easily creep up on us. The nature of existence is change, and that's what I look forward to in GW3. I have lost friends and connections as time went by, as we all do. But I still have a few close friends that I made along the way; hopefully they'll join, and hopefully I'll make many new friends in new worlds and adventures.

The likelihood of me liking GW3; your statistic is false, as you dismiss too many variables and make too many assumptions. Although I dislike most MMOs, I have played and loved GW2 for the past 10 years or so. I already don't play video games anymore; the last few games I played were about a few years ago, and any games I play now are the occasional co-op with friend & family or mostly short games like Journey. But the fact is that I still occasionally check on GW2 news and sometimes jump on it, says enough.

Lastly, I'm not a Reddit user, and that's why I posted on GW2, because even though I'm talking about GW3, it's still within the realm of the game.

[Astralporing.1957]

2 hours ago, blade eyes.2034 said:

Hi, thanks for the summary, even though it wasn't accurate. To clarify, it's not that I dislike all MMOs inherently; it's more that I haven't found many that offer the same kind of immersive, exploratory, and artistic experience that GW2 did for me. GW2 was the exception because it felt different from other MMOs, focusing more on the world and experiences rather than just grinding for gear, even if that element does exist to an extent.

What I hope for in GW3 is that it will continue to push these boundaries and offer fresh, engaging content that goes beyond the typical MMO formula. So, while GW3 might be an MMO, I'm looking forward to it because I believe it can provide those unique experiences that GW2 did so well.

Looking at the direction GW2 is going, your hope will amost certainly be unfulfilled. Most of the divergences from the MMORPG norm GW2 has made are things Anet has tried to change back throughout the whole history of the game. GW3, if it ever releases, will be more traditional MMORPG than GW2 is now, not less.

[blade eyes.2034]

33 minutes ago, Zok.4956 said:

I can understand you, but the feeling you had at the beginning of GW2 is something you probably won't experience with any other game. It's a bit like first love, which you never forget.

Will there actually be a GW3 and what kind of game will it be? From a business perspective, it would make sense to make a successor to GW2 - because GW2 will certainly not attract large numbers of new players. But think about how many GW players back then (it was GW and not GW1) didn't like GW2 because it was so different from GW. So if you like GW2, you might not like a possible GW3 at all.

I appreciate your perspective. Indeed, GW2 was unique, and I agree that it's similar to a first love, something you never forget. I had similar experiences with other great games like Skyrim and The Witcher 3, but they're not the same, as they miss the other players' factor within the world. They were amazing experiences in their own right.

Although the possibility of me not liking GW3 will always exist until it actually comes out, if it ever does, my post was more about why I look forward to it. While I would like to see them build on the many great things that GW2 did, I actually do want it to be different in many ways. I'm not interested in playing GW2 in Unreal Engine.

 

[blade eyes.2034]

10 minutes ago, Astralporing.1957 said:

Looking at the direction GW2 is going, your hope will amost certainly be unfulfilled. Most of the divergences from the MMORPG norm GW2 has made are things Anet has tried to change back throughout the whole history of the game. GW3, if it ever releases, will be more traditional MMORPG than GW2 is now, not less.

Now that is an interesting perspective, and you might actually be right. If that's the course, I'll indeed dislike GW3 as it would be just like any other MMO. Of course, it would still depend on how they implement it.

[Astralporing.1957]

6 hours ago, motoii.1835 said:

Literally this! Why is everyone panicking in this thread and crying so much and declaring quitting Gw2 if Gw3 is to be officially announced. Lol. It's just a game, they'll gain 10 or more new players in place of 1 veteran/gw2 player for sure.

From where? Most "new" players to newly opened MMORPGs are MMORPG veterans that are "maining" a different game, and likely won't switch unless they decide that new game is significantly better in all aspects, which basically never happens. Especially since most of those aspects are not something that is dependent on technological advancement.  New games end up having better graphics (usually), but that's pretty much it. As for gameplay and story, they are not significantly affected by technological change, so the new MMORPGs start at pretty much the same point there as it would be the case a decade ago. That leaves stability, optimization, and speed. Here switching engine to a different, more modern one can actually make things worse. Not only devs would not be able to utilize most of their experiences with the previous engine, but more modern engine also means higher hardware requirements. And all that even before considering that established games will have years of accrued content advantage over a newcomer.

Alll those things are among the big reasons for why there was no new succesful MMORPG in many, many years. Majority of potential target group is already commited, and it takes way, way more than just eye candy to make them switch. And new games generally just can't offer that. Hoping that somehow GW3 will be different is naive. Miracles do happen sometimes, but expecting them is unreasonable.

6 hours ago, motoii.1835 said:

For as long as the game is really as exciting as Gw2 was at it's release, it shouldn't have problems with generating a bigger playerbase.

If the game ends up being "as exciting as GW2 was at its release" it would generate at best the same playerbase as GW2 generated then. Except it will likely be lower than that, because it would not only be competing against more established MMORPG games at the market (not only GW2, but also FF XIV, which wasn't really a thing yet when GW2 started), but it would be doing that in more static and shrunk MMORPG environment that was the case those 10+ years ago.

6 hours ago, motoii.1835 said:

And no, I don't think Gw2 is closing down anytime soon if Gw3 comes out... What stupid idea is that?

Having GW3 and GW2 compete for pretty much the same group of players would be a far bigger stupidity. GW3 would need to get some initial players from somewhere, and it's unlikely to get them from other MMORPGs (and, due to how MMORPGs went out of vogue, it's even less likely to be able to get carried by a large influx of completely new players either). It would practically mean that GW2 and GW3 would have to share the same slice of the pie. Which would end up with both ending up hungry. Definitely not a good idea.

6 hours ago, motoii.1835 said:

I think what they're trying to do here now is to provide us with as much endgame as possible with the WvW update (hopefully) and PvP (raised from the dead) so that Gw2 can exist on it's own when Gw3 WAS to come out. But still, it's less than a rumour now. A loose sentence from some CEO still means close to nothing until we receive an official statement/announcement.

A "loose sentence" from "some CEO" means quite a lot when the CEO in question happens to be the CEO of the very company that decides what gets developed and what does not (remember, Anet at this point is nothing more than one of the sub-departments of NCSoft). And when that sentence is being made to shareholders.

[Zok.4956]

46 minutes ago, blade eyes.2034 said:

I'm not interested in playing GW2 in Unreal Engine.

Well, I would be quite interested in that. 😉😇

[Randulf.7614]

Let’s just be clear. GW3 has not been announced. It’s been discussed and not for the first time after it was leaked being scrapped in a prototype form years before. Any new mmo (even more unlikely since the mmo market for new games is just about dead) would be 2030 at the earliest. Hard to look forward to a mythical game so far down the line we will all have prob moved onto other things in our lives.

Enjoy GW2 since that’s what is here and don’t look to what might come in 5-6 years or more

[Aergia.5960]

Honestly, considering how old GW2 is, I don't think making GW3 is even a good idea at this point...
By transitioning from GW2 to GW3, all players will obviously have to start over from zero. I'm sure ArenaNet knows that most players won't be pleased with that and will either remain on GW2 (some people are still playing GW so why not) or will simply quit. After all, why play GW3 if they will announce GW4 at some point?

[kharmin.7683]

5 hours ago, Zok.4956 said:

 But think about how many GW players back then (it was GW and not GW1) didn't like GW2 because it was so different from GW. So if you like GW2, you might not like a possible GW3 at all.

I missed out on the first year of GW2 because I was too stubborn to move from GW1.  Only when all of my friends had migrated, and I really didn't have anyone to run around with in GW1, did I finally make the move.  I think I'll be a bit less reluctant whenever any GW3 arrives, though.  It would remain to be seen if it is something my friends and I would enjoy more than GW2.  Wait and see, I suppose.

[motoii.1835]

3 hours ago, Astralporing.1957 said:

From where? Most "new" players to newly opened MMORPGs are MMORPG veterans that are "maining" a different game, and likely won't switch unless they decide that new game is significantly better in all aspects, which basically never happens. Especially since most of those aspects are not something that is dependent on technological advancement.  New games end up having better graphics (usually), but that's pretty much it. As for gameplay and story, they are not significantly affected by technological change, so the new MMORPGs start at pretty much the same point there as it would be the case a decade ago. That leaves stability, optimization, and speed. Here switching engine to a different, more modern one can actually make things worse. Not only devs would not be able to utilize most of their experiences with the previous engine, but more modern engine also means higher hardware requirements. And all that even before considering that established games will have years of accrued content advantage over a newcomer.

Alll those things are among the big reasons for why there was no new succesful MMORPG in many, many years. Majority of potential target group is already commited, and it takes way, way more than just eye candy to make them switch. And new games generally just can't offer that. Hoping that somehow GW3 will be different is naive. Miracles do happen sometimes, but expecting them is unreasonable.

If the game ends up being "as exciting as GW2 was at its release" it would generate at best the same playerbase as GW2 generated then. Except it will likely be lower than that, because it would not only be competing against more established MMORPG games at the market (not only GW2, but also FF XIV, which wasn't really a thing yet when GW2 started), but it would be doing that in more static and shrunk MMORPG environment that was the case those 10+ years ago.

Having GW3 and GW2 compete for pretty much the same group of players would be a far bigger stupidity. GW3 would need to get some initial players from somewhere, and it's unlikely to get them from other MMORPGs (and, due to how MMORPGs went out of vogue, it's even less likely to be able to get carried by a large influx of completely new players either). It would practically mean that GW2 and GW3 would have to share the same slice of the pie. Which would end up with both ending up hungry. Definitely not a good idea.

A "loose sentence" from "some CEO" means quite a lot when the CEO in question happens to be the CEO of the very company that decides what gets developed and what does not (remember, Anet at this point is nothing more than one of the sub-departments of NCSoft). And when that sentence is being made to shareholders.

First of all, Gw2 generated a LOT of new players even though Gw1 was not that big of a name. It was known but not as known as Gw2 is known now. I understand that 2012 was a different time for mmos, but we still keep getting new mmos left and right and most of them are big misses. Gw3 would only escalate the number of new players cause Gw2 REALLY popularized the Guild Wars brand/franchise. I don't think it would have any problems with attracting masses again. It wouldn't be another 'Gw2 is coming and it's a wow killer!' type of a situation, but given how most MMOS rn are uninspired and lack longevity, Arenanet has a huge chance to provide MMO players with a fresh experience for sure. And Gw3 and Gw2 don't necessarily have to compete for a playerbase at all. There's so many players looking for an MMO for themselves and unable to find anything that would respect their time and provide the fun aspect of it, again, Gw2 did that once and it divided players but it was very successful nevertheless in terms of casual players. 

 

Committing to a single MMO means nothing, it's not like you can't play multiple games at the same time and switching from one to another. You make it sound like you spend 10-12 hours on a single game, I doubt it's the case. Gw2 lacks content and the majority of people playing it now stick around for dailies, weeklies, the VERY occasional new content, WvW and PvP (and let's not even talk about the state of those). Providing players with a new experience would only benefit both the company and the playerbase. You can't place all the eggs in one basket for years on end expecting it to forever give you the same profit. Sure, WoW does that successfully, but those two games are not comparable. Gw2 has been struggling with content for years now, WoW doesn't. And also, who even said that Gw3 is going to be an MMO? Gw3 could be a card game for all we know or a mobile game.

 

In regards to the loose comment from the CEO, he greenlit the IDEA of Gw3 happening potentially, that literally means nothing. Tens of games have been greenlit and ended up being scrapped months into their development. Unless we receive an official statement from NCSoft or Arenanet, this comment really means nothing.

[kharmin.7683]

There are a lot of assumptions there without any tangible proof.

[Azinoth.1902]

Noone with the right mind would make a sequel to a game that is all about long-term collections and large achievements... 🙂 
The "engine is outdated" is also not a good argument, look at the graphics of FFXIV, noone is complaining about it (way worse than GW2).

Besides, I'm not interested in starting a level 1 character in a new MMO which I didn't ask for. I've played all major MMO's in the last 15 years, and I'm sick of thinking about a fresh new character which is walking on foot, minimal inventory, has nothing, and questing for dozens of hours in a generic forest:) "Been there, done that".

[motoii.1835]

13 minutes ago, Azinoth.1902 said:

Noone with the right mind would make a sequel to a game that is all about long-term collections and large achievements... 🙂 
The "engine is outdated" is also not a good argument, look at the graphics of FFXIV, noone is complaining about it (way worse than GW2).

Besides, I'm not interested in starting a level 1 character in a new MMO which I didn't ask for. I've played all major MMO's in the last 15 years, and I'm sick of thinking about a fresh new character which is walking on foot, minimal inventory, has nothing, and questing for dozens of hours in a generic forest:) "Been there, done that".

Noone will force you to play it. For every complainer like you there will be 100 new players in your place. 'look at the graphics of FFXIV, noone is complaining about it (way worse than GW2)'  what are you talking about? FFXIV is constantly under fire for it and they even introduced some changes to the graphics not too long ago (or at least revealed the changes). Please do some research before you speak nonsense. 

[Azinoth.1902]

2 minutes ago, motoii.1835 said:

Noone will force you to play it. For every complainer like you there will be 100 new players in your place. 'look at the graphics of FFXIV, noone is complaining about it (way worse than GW2)'  what are you talking about? FFXIV is constantly under fire for it and they even introduced some changes to the graphics not too long ago (or at least revealed the changes). Please do some research before you speak nonsense. 

So I can't have my opinion because it doesn't match yours, while your opinions ares facts. Understood.

I'm an FFXIV player, I don't have to do research. The millions of happy players prove that it's a successful game, and the lower quality graphics is not a major issue for them.

[Inssengrimm.7924]

XIV is getting a graphical update after being a game that released for the PS3... Let that sink in.
Is not that the player base had huge issues with the graphical fidelity of the game, but since is going to probably stand pretty high for another decade, a graphical update was actually needed. 

By comparison, it took almost 10 years for GW2 to get a barely funcional dx11 release.
And is known as an old game with very bad optimization.

XIV is not an ugly game, yet, it runs flawlessly both in PC and consoles. 

But then again, comparing Anet to SE is truly unfair on all possible metrics. 

[Suyheuti.1732]

Everyone is missing the point. The graphic details are 3rd concern of MMORPG’s. I’m 36 years old, I have been played at least 5 MMORPG games and I witnessed many games death. 
Only end game content and playability matters. 
Gw2 set on a very good system, that is why old contents are not dead. 
Let’s take Gw3 and be realistic. Think about Gw2 releases content. For instance, couple years later, Anet will release Gw3 and exactly same content with core Gw2 game. It doesn’t matter how good the graphics are. Are you willing to run every map without mounts? No raids, no gliding options. Very limited options at max level. 
People will demand core game + minimum some of HoT+PoF features. 
You know how long Gw2 preparation took + add PoF release time. You know the answer. 
If they hurry to release Gw3, the game will born dead.

NCsoft is greedy company, they sank every game except Guild Wars. If anet fall for this, that tornado will sink gw2 too. 

What should arenanet do?  They should be smart, hire the old team who developed especially LWS4 . They should stop asking money for expansions which has worse content and innovation than LWS4. After release Gyala Delve, nothing came good to the game. If new expansion is bad, I dont want to think. 

[Ashen.2907]

If GW3 is released as an MMO I would be in a position to have to decide between switching to it, a new game with a tiny fraction of the content compared to its competition, or going where there is more content. GW3 would have to be a truly astounding product for me to choose it over competition that offers far more. 

I am not saying that a (hypothetical) GW3 wouldn't reach that threshold, just that a new MMO will be compared to games that offer more content.

[perilisk.1874]

As someone who has been playing GW since GW1 beta, I've kinda hit the point where I don't have much enthusiasm for GW2 even with the expansions. I'm sure some of that boils down to just having less time for time-intensive types of games, but at least part of it is just feeling like everything is been there and done that, even with new maps or skills or whatever. I think mounts were really the last time things actually felt fresh. So, I'm not really opposed to GW3. Worst case, it's new enough and different enough that I actually want to sink some time into it for a decade.

That said, to justify risking what is still a pretty viable product for a lot of people, GW3 would need to accomplish a lot of things -- for one thing, it should probably do a better job than the HoM of encouraging people to keep playing and spending on GW2. For example, attaching points to the GW2 wardrobe (with hard to obtain or gem skins being worth more) that allow skin purchases in GW3, maybe giving elite skins or other rewards for each legendary unlocked, etc. Maybe make gems common between both games, so you could convert GW2 gold to gems to GW3 gold. And also, try to differentiate itself enough in gameplay that people could theoretically still want to play one or the other.

Also, it really has to justify itself as a new game, and not just something that could be an upgrade to GW2. For one thing, it should probably rethink controls to be gamepad-, and thus console-, friendly (yay, broader market). To the extent technology allows, it should probably lean a little more into action and more platforming-style mechanics, but with a social twist on the latter (build the freeform friendly assistance from free rezzing or mesmer portals in at a fundamental level). They should also take the opportunity to consider future-proofing it. Not just in terms of being positioned for the latest and greatest in graphics, but also for things like AI – if not in the game, at least in the development pipeline, to enhance speed of delivery, maybe automate QA, maybe even create more disposable temporary content. Automatic voice generation could be helpful (NPCs could actually use a PC’s name, rather than a random title like Pact Commander, Snaff Savant, or Poobah), especially paired with built-in voice chat. They could consider where VR could be useful (if not for main gameplay, maybe in cities or low-intensity explorable areas, to get more immersed in the world).

Regarding combat, hopefully they address some of the ongoing pain points with GW2 that are tied tightly to decisions made for the original core game – for one thing, the visual clutter issue, which is exacerbated by the stack and spank mechanics. Actually allowing players to hold space in a way that blocks both allies and enemies would help with that (with some anti-trolling safeguards, so players could pass ally players at the cost of not being able to fight in their space) and would also make tanking more of a feasible concept. While I suggested above that gameplay be more action-based, I think that should mainly apply to the front and midline. Ideally, while the frontline is playing a soulslike and the midline is playing an FPS, the backline is playing something drawing from CCGs and boardgames (and GW1), albeit with more time pressure. It would also be nice if they featured more use of consumables in combat, so that they don’t have to add so many artificial resource sinks to the economy. For some additional tactical consideration, I'd also suggest adding a friendly fire penalty to some skills -- not to harm allied players, but to diminish the effectiveness of offensive skills that hit them, or supports that hit enemies.

I also kind of hope they drop fixed character professions. The original GW2 concept made everyone a self-sufficient soloist, in part to solve the problem GW1 had where professions were more tightly locked to roles, such that some characters were overdemanded and some were underdemanded. Instead, it created the GW2 problem where there were 9 different ways to play power DPS in Zerk, and now you have 9 different ways to be power DPS, condi DPS, or support (what’s tanking, precious?), with all the attendant balancing issues of so many skills in the same play space, and after all that some professions are still regarded as better than others. I think my ideal system would have every character in a single “profession” in GW2 terms, while professions would get downgraded to something more like elite specializations – something that changes up the rules that are common to all professions to focus them on a role, and all of which can be unlocked and freely swapped in/out for all characters. Fewer skills for the same role mean less gameplay focus on build, and more gameplay focus on learning to actually effectively use those skills. We challenge Mario with lots of different scenarios to use his jump so that he masters it, not by giving him twenty slightly different jumps and letting him pick which one is almost always the best.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

On 6/5/2024 at 1:30 AM, Astralporing.1957 said:

remember, Anet at this point is nothing more than one of the sub-departments of NCSoft

ArenaNet has always been a 'sub-department' of NCSoft, being it is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NCSoft since 2002.