Nothing feels meaningful

[Murdock.6547]

Raids, fractals, pvp, dungeons.Speedclears, safe clears, experimenting with tactics.

Nothing feels rewarding. Sure I got something neat from this or that... But whats the point? Why am I gearing ascended when masterwork is functional?Why am I running these fractals when the only reward is the same few fractals only now with more agony?

Why make a legendary when I can literally craft an exotic of each statset for half the price and 10% less stats?

Nothing is rewarding. Not even my day 1 desmina clear. Not even my dhuum cm.

Maybe this isnt the game for me?

[Elva.6372]

Really more matter of philosophical discussion, but it's really what you bring to the table as in most things in life.

I play GW2 and other games because I enjoy "connecting" with my character, I have a concept, a mental image of a character type -an inspiration.

Often game designers will work counter to my preferred method of engagement by "walking" all over my own internalized process of play-style. It's unfortunate but invariably happens because Devs have to also leverage their game design to appease those who are of a more competitively bent and/or more prone to boredom if there isn't something new coming along fast enough to keep them fixated.

But, I am primarily a role-player*, I want things that fit in that mode...and many things GW2 contains...doesn't do that so well. Even the Personal Stories become a train track...and the player character just a rail car being dragged along. The story becomes too "tight" and restraining, and nothing actually matters because very little in the way of meaningful decisions are being made by the player character.

I personally lean toward liking a deeper play experience versus the broad and shallow. and GW2 is very broad...and (arguably) somewhat shallow. Character progression is firmly placed on rails and free choice (as always) is an illusion...a pretty one, but an illusion, nevertheless.

I'd rather a character of my own making found a place in the game world, but it's a bit of struggle to do so in GW2 as compared to some other more purely RPGish games...I love the concept of my Healing Elementalist, but it's not the readily embraced by the "no one has a unique role/no trinity" game design of GW2.

So, I often feel somewhat adrift, an outsider, my own imagination and the world of GW2 have a disconnect.

But, it is a truly beautiful world -with a terribly shallow personality.

• by role-player I don't mean "rp'er" who acts out in the game with other players, I am more the foundational motivation for my character, ie personality, approach, morality, etc.

[Just a flesh wound.3589]

Maybe this isnt the game for me?Maybe not as the real reward for playing an MMO, or any game for that matter, is to have fun. If you’re not having fun then whatever pixels show up as your reward will never be worth it. If you are having fun then your reward pixels only direct you to one content or another.

[Warkind.6745]

If you're usually playing solo I'd recommend finding an active guild that's easy to interact with. Even the stuff I find fun in Guild Wars loses its flavor after soloing it long enough.

[Pifil.5193]

Yep, sounds like the wrong game for you. Perhaps games in general aren't for you.

[Eme.2018]

@Murdock.6547 You are at the stage of nihilism. Halfway on becoming a Hyperhuman.

[Elva.6372]

@"Pifil.5193" said:Yep, sounds like the wrong game for you. Perhaps games in general aren't for you.

I'd say it's just a matter of realigning expectations of outcome. GW2 has a very narrow "reward spectrum" compared to other games -like WoW where there is a huge, significant difference between poor/average gear & equipment and the "best".

Also, GW2 attempts to mimic the gear grind style of vertical progression games but in such a pathetically anemic way that many players who are fooled by ANet's mimic ploy are often left feeling underwhelmed -and cheated.

I personally am happy with horizontal progression, but ANet unfortunately tainted their design by embedding vertical progression elements that are counter to the game and the lack of consistency messes around with player expectations. GW2 ideally should have been brave enough to stick to one or the other progression model in order to avoid the prevalent schizophrenic dysfunctionality.

ANet is now (it appears) firmly developing in the horizontal gaming mode, but the "taint" of the core vertical progression facade still remains the proverbial fly in the ointment causing ongoing consternation for less informed/newer players who think they are playing a standard vertical treadmill game.

[Swagg.9236]

The only thing good about GW2 from launch was its aesthetic and role play potential. Given how it's aesthetic was slowly corrupted by neon colors, gem store inflation bait, tasteless gloss and wings, unless you role play regularly, you won't find a real reason to keep playing.

[Leo G.4501]

My personal enjoyment that comes from these kinds of games is 2-fold. I like to impart a backstory, personality, driving force and moral compass to my characters and just enjoy the world, similar to @Elva.6372 . The other is learning the game. When things become too derivative, I have to look for ways to change up the gameplay so it feels new and keeps me on my toes. Changing builds or professions doesn't always do it though so that might mean changing games or just taking a break.

One thing I've learned while playing this game is that the dropped rewards aren't much of a goal and the earned rewards are only as worthwhile as the individual wants them to be.

Ultimately, seeking purpose in a game is foolhardy. There is no purpose except the experience.

[zealex.9410]

What are you asking of the game?

[Sylvari.2953]

The main "meaning" in massively multiplayer games is not items and farming, it's making friends and having fun together. I literally just finished world completion with a handful of friends and guildies. I did not get Gold or new gear BUT I had TONS of fun and laughs. THAT is the real meaning of MMOs, maybe you should try it. :)

[EpicName.4523]

@"Murdock.6547" said:Raids, fractals, pvp, dungeons.Speedclears, safe clears, experimenting with tactics.

Nothing feels rewarding. Sure I got something neat from this or that... But whats the point? Why am I gearing ascended when masterwork is functional?Why am I running these fractals when the only reward is the same few fractals only now with more agony?

Why make a legendary when I can literally craft an exotic of each statset for half the price and 10% less stats?

Nothing is rewarding. Not even my day 1 desmina clear. Not even my dhuum cm.

Maybe this isnt the game for me?

I remember reading an article once about the kind of people that play MMORPGs as a whole. The most prominent group among those were the "achievers". A group which derives pleasure from being the first one to do something, to have the best gear, basically to be number one in everything.Just from what you pointed out as unfulfilling in your post, you make it obvious that this label clearly suits you. And yeah, if that is the case then this game just isn't for you.

You should seriously consider playing another MMO, I mean it. There you can grind raid, after raid, after raid. This will allow you to have "the best" which you can then show off in major cities. Each few months a new raid will be released, the old one will be nerfed and all that trouble to acquire the shinies will be wasted. However, conveniently you will be able to get some new gear from the new raid and show off with it...until the next raid is released. And the next...

This constant striving to be the best in something will give you that false sense of achievement, that you actually did something meaningful while in truth you only fed your vanity.

GW2 is designed around fun. No other MMO gives you so much options to do what you consider fun without pressuring you into something which horribly resembles a part-time job. If you don't like something just don't do it. If you don't enjoy playing this game, simply don't play it. It's as simple as that.

[Biff.5312]

This is all videogames. News flash - there's no 'point', except to play the content. You don't carry away anything from any video game except the experience of having played it.

[CETheLucid.3964]

@Murdock.6547 said:Nothing feels rewarding. Sure I got something neat from this or that... But whats the point? Why am I gearing ascended when masterwork is functional?

Because that comparison is a meme. Functional and satisfactory are two different things.

Why am I running these fractals when the only reward is the same few fractals only now with more agony?

You get great loot! Potentially ascended gear that lets you skip days of work and a massive gold sink by simply playing playing the game, a challenging PvE instance.

Why make a legendary when I can literally craft an exotic of each statset for half the price and 10% less stats?

Because some of them look neat. Don't have to though for exactly that reason. That's a blessing BTW.

Nothing is rewarding. Not even my day 1 desmina clear. Not even my dhuum cm.Maybe this isnt the game for me?

Maybe not. :'(

[Murdock.6547]

@EpicName.4523 said:

This constant striving to be the best in something will give you that false sense of achievement, that you actually did something meaningful while in truth you only fed your vanity.

GW2 is designed around fun. No other MMO gives you so much options to do what you consider fun without pressuring you into something which horribly resembles a part-time job.

That's some bias if I ever seen it.I remember when I said nearly those exact words about this exact game when defending it from a wow player at the time.

Before we go any further. I dont hate this game. I love it.. Particularly I love the buildcrafting... But that joy is sucked dry by a vastly ignorant and closed minded community. Playing meta is meaningless in this game... You can press 1 to win even in raids. Ive had a group that did exactly that.

[EpicName.4523]

@Murdock.6547 said:That's some bias if I ever seen it.I remember when I said nearly those exact words about this exact game when defending it from a wow player at the time.Before we go any further. I dont hate this game. I love it.. Particularly I love the buildcrafting... But that joy is sucked dry by a vastly ignorant and closed minded community. Playing meta is meaningless in this game... You can press 1 to win even in raids. Ive had a group that did exactly that.

Then find something else that you like and doesn't involve raiding. I don't like raiding either and likely won't try it in this game. How about PvP? It certainly requires more than pressing one button and some professions can be really engaging to play. Weaver, for example seems very hard to play well. There is always challenge if you know what to look for. The problem is actually finding something both fun and hard enough to make you feel good about doing it.

[GrubySzymek.1362]

The very basic rule of GW2 model is "choose your favourite farm and buy your rewards from gemstore". It's nothing new. OP is right, nothing in GW2 is meaningful. No content, no title, no achievement, there is 0 prestigue in anything.

[GrubySzymek.1362]

@Murdock.6547 said:You can press 1 to win even in raids. Ive had a group that did exactly that.

I'm pretty sure that's far from truth. Someone had to do mechanics. And this must have been special kind of build if you managed to do it by pressing 1. Or it was 1 person pressing 1 and other were carrying him?

[Zedek.8932]

@"Mea.5491" said:The main "meaning" in massively multiplayer games is not items and farming, it's making friends and having fun together. I literally just finished world completion with a handful of friends and guildies. I did not get Gold or new gear BUT I had TONS of fun and laughs. THAT is the real meaning of MMOs, maybe you should try it. :)

I am playing 100% alone and I am happy I don't have to be with others. But I just had much fun two days ago when I was hopping past a bunch of newer players in Tyria near Catland - you know, the ones with the level 40 pirates. And there was, for some reason, a lot of action going on, they were probably there to kill these pirates over and over, maybe for hearts, maybe there is an achievment.Whatever, I came by and noticed they went down to like 20% health often and almost getting downed by the turrets that also kept shooting them. I had no real progression in my mind, so I jumped up to the pirates nest's rooftop (thanks to my Springer), kneeled down and waited to intervene andd shooting down from that roof whenever these guys were in trouble. That was a super satisfying experience to be some sort of Asuran Guardian Angel of Death handing out Death Judgement's from my sniper rifle while in real life drinking some ginger tea and calming down from a stressy workday.

I love my Asura and Deadeye, and this is a huge part of game quality to me, even though nothing meaningful happened.The question is: Is it meaningful to take a walk in the park? Or to listen to music? Neither is productive, but we Bookahs need these activities to balance out work and stress.

Excelsior.

[IndigoSundown.5419]

Mr. Murdock:

GW2's concessions to the standard vertical progression desires of some MMO players was a compromise. It was designed to give those players "enough" to do that they might stick around long enough to get hooked on other aspects of the game. It was a compromise rather than an out-and-out adoption because ANet wanted to avoid alienating players who do not care for that play-style, many of whom came to this game because it would not have such things. As with many compromises, it works for some of the people at both ends of the spectrum, but not for all of them.

From where I sit, you have two options:

• Redefine your understanding of what is meaningful while playing a game; or
• Seek your definition of meaningful elsewhere.

Doing the former would allow you to play (and hopefully enjoy) GW2 for what it is. If you cannot, then you will be better off finding a different focus for your gaming hobby.

[Ashen.2907]

I tend to agree that there is not much meaning to be found in playing the game. Any game really. Games such as this are diversions, time sinks. Things to occupy us when we are not doing truly meaningful things (if we ever do).

Games are fun, or should be, but the closest thing to truly meaningful that they can be, in my opinion, is their ability to help us connect with other people and perhaps even let off some steam so that we are less stressed when dealing with the real world.

[Galaa.8475]

you need to meditate and realign your chakras and quit the game. maybe this is not the game for you?

[Tenrai Senshi.2017]

Ideally, the primary directive of a game should be to provide entertainment. Realistically speaking though, games these days - especially MMO's - are often crafted to instead pray on the addictive tendencies of consumers in order to keep them playing and spending. In particular, adding rewards that require a lot of grinding or time gating progression are typical "carrot on a stick" strategies to keep people on the proverbial treadmill. If I had to guess why, I'd say it's because taking advantage of someone's habits is easier than entertaining them, and entertainment value in itself is something that can diminish over time as we play a game more (that's not to say GW2 is not entertaining, but it may not stay entertaining for everyone over a long period of play).

In other words, if you find yourself still playing a game, even though you are bored and the entertainment value is no longer there for you, it may simply mean you are addicted to the act of playing itself and cannot help but continue despite feeling completely underwhelmed by the experience. This is something I have experienced myself in GW2 at times, and at one stage I took a break when I realised I was simply playing for the sake of playing and not because I was actually enjoying it, to the point where it was becoming unhealthy for me and interrupted my lifestyle. Nowadays I just play socially, and I rarely commit to any acts that require grinding or doing things that bore me. I also don't feel as compelled to play for hours on end, and can easily go on and off at a whim or take breaks whenever I need to.

So, what I'm trying to say is, sometimes you need to take a step back and evaluate yourself and what you are doing, and ask yourself why, kinda like what you're doing now. But then, it's not enough to just ask the question, you also need to reach an answer and act on it in a way that is beneficial for you. That's not something we can answer for you, because we don't really know how you feel, but I think it's quite easy to reach a conclusion for yourself, though perhaps you may not like its implications.

[Trise.2865]

That's because you're playing a video game. As a simulation of the unreal, any reward you receive from the game is just as false and therefore meaningless. Despite suspension of disbelief, on a subconscious level, you realize this. I suggest getting a (better) job and getting (things in) your life sorted out. That is significantly more effective than trying to fill your life with ephemera. Video games and other entertainment venues are like a polish to cover cracks, rather than a mortar with which to build.

Don't worry, we and it will be here when you get back.

Depression is difficult, but it can be beaten.

[Murdock.6547]

@Trise.2865 said:That's because you're playing a video game. As a simulation of the unreal, any reward you receive from the game is just as false and therefore meaningless. Despite suspension of disbelief, on a subconscious level, you realize this. I suggest getting a (better) job and getting (things in) your life sorted out. That is significantly more effective than trying to fill your life with ephemera. Video games and other entertainment venues are like a polish to cover cracks, rather than a mortar with which to build.

Don't worry, we and it will be here when you get back.

Depression is difficult, but it can be beaten.

Wait what?Im not sure if this is a jab at me or if youre somehow reading more than I wrote.I do not have depression. I just dont find gw fun.

Ive already started playing another mmo and so far so good. I managed to get in with some raiders and theyre showing me how things work.