Level of Difficulty for Story Instances

[mauried.5608]

There seems to be this strange concept in this game that the content has to be "challenging", whatever that means.Maybe theres something wrong with me , but I play games to have FUN, not to be challenged.

[Khisanth.2948]

I believe that is called a movie ...

[Haishao.6851]

@"mauried.5608" said:There seems to be this strange concept in this game that the content has to be "challenging", whatever that means.Maybe theres something wrong with me , but I play games to have FUN, not to be challenged.

I think people generally find challenge to be fun. But I think what people mean by challenging when talking about story is just "engaging". Most people probably don't care about finding ultimate challenge in the story missions but when everything is so easy you don't really have to do anything and you're assured victory anyway, it's not engaging, and it gets boring.Zaithan fight was not engaging and certainly not challenging at all for example. It's also one of the most criticized boss fight in the game because of this.

[battledrone.8315]

@Haishao.6851 said:

@"mauried.5608" said:There seems to be this strange concept in this game that the content has to be "challenging", whatever that means.Maybe theres something wrong with me , but I play games to have FUN, not to be challenged.

I think people generally find challenge to be fun. But I think what people mean by challenging when talking about story is just "engaging". Most people probably don't care about finding ultimate challenge in the story missions but when everything is so easy you don't really have to do anything and you're assured victory anyway, it's not engaging, and it gets boring.Zaithan fight was not engaging and certainly not challenging at all for example. It's also one of the most criticized boss fight in the game because of this.

zhaitans problem is the long build up, they set up this epic encounter for almost half of the gameno matter what they make it , it will never meet the expectations of most customersits a bad compromise that doesnt satisfy either sideand it has some of the worst story writing..."the mouth, that eats magic"

[Algreg.3629]

@"mauried.5608" said:There seems to be this strange concept in this game that the content has to be "challenging", whatever that means.Maybe theres something wrong with me , but I play games to have FUN, not to be challenged.

You want to be entertained, other people want to be excited and thrilled. That is a hard thing to balance for a game designer I imagine. Personally, I would never touch a game that does not test and improve my abilites in some way. Just as I would never touch a book that would not challenge me intellectually.

[Tatwi.3562]

@"mauried.5608" said:There seems to be this strange concept in this game that the content has to be "challenging", whatever that means.Maybe theres something wrong with me , but I play games to have FUN, not to be challenged.

Totally agree!Give me a button to check, "Replace story-mode combat with epic cut scenes of combat" and I would check that in heart beat. Don't even care about the item rewards, just the completion so I can come back another time if happen to feel like a "challenge".Billions of people watch TV, movies, and read books. What's so wrong with wanting similar entertainment in the form of a 3D environment in a game we love?

Also, spastic raid mechanics and puzzles are an annoying antithesis of fun, to me. I only grudgingly do it for the story because it's forced - I absolutely don't enjoy it, at all. As such, almost 6 years later I still have plenty of content and story parts that I haven't done. I love lots of other things about the game, including the combat mechanics, just not that stuff...

[Haishao.6851]

@Tatwi.3562 said:

@"mauried.5608" said:There seems to be this strange concept in this game that the content has to be "challenging", whatever that means.Maybe theres something wrong with me , but I play games to have FUN, not to be challenged.

Totally agree!Give me a button to check, "Replace story-mode combat with epic cut scenes of combat" and I would check that in heart beat. Don't even care about the item rewards, just the completion so I can come back another time if happen to feel like a "challenge".Billions of people watch TV, movies, and read books. What's so wrong with wanting similar entertainment in the form of a 3D environment in a game we love?

Also, spastic raid mechanics and puzzles are an annoying antithesis of fun, to me. I only grudgingly do it for the story because it's forced - I absolutely don't enjoy it, at all. As such, almost 6 years later I still have plenty of content and story parts that I haven't done. I love lots of other things about the game, including the combat mechanics, just not that stuff...

[mauried.5608]

If you look at what seem to be the challenging types of fights in the game , they all involved around trying to kill a monster thats way more powerful than you are, does far more damage to you than you can do to it, and usually has far more aoe skills than you could dream of.The only way to win such a fight is simply by attrition, where you run around and dodge and jump as much as you can to stop yourself dieing whilst slowly chipping away at the monsters health.Eventually you most likley will win.The only skill thats needed to do this is your ability to punch buttons on the keyboard as fast as possible, and for people who arnt keyboard gurus they wont get thru this sort of content.This kind of content though is not fun, its like Im glad I got that over and done with and I sure wont ever do that content again.

[Algreg.3629]

@"mauried.5608" said:If you look at what seem to be the challenging types of fights in the game , they all involved around trying to kill a monster thats way more powerful than you are, does far more damage to you than you can do to it, and usually has far more aoe skills than you could dream of.The only way to win such a fight is simply by attrition, where you run around and dodge and jump as much as you can to stop yourself dieing whilst slowly chipping away at the monsters health.Eventually you most likley will win.The only skill thats needed to do this is your ability to punch buttons on the keyboard as fast as possible, and for people who arnt keyboard gurus they wont get thru this sort of content.This kind of content though is not fun, its like Im glad I got that over and done with and I sure wont ever do that content again.

The only skill you need in soccer is running fast and being able to kick a ball into to the direction you want to have it go. I can reduce every game and activity in general to the point of ridicule. Yes, it is only your ability to push the right controls at the right time, something that can be said about each and every computer game out there.

There is a wide range of player skill, and certainly the description of "keyboard guru" does not really fit the level of competence GW2 requires of you. Every game will be too hard for some and too easy and boring for others. That is pretty much the essence of every recent thread about story difficulty. I could argue as much as you for making the story missions harder than they are now (which I don't :) ) and we both would be right and wrong depending on the point of view.

[Turin.6921]

I have absolutely no issue with the normal difficulty. I think it is the only way to keep things interesting going forward. For the people that ask for an easy mode and have no health issue you just have to learn to play or bring a friend. It is a game after some challenge is required and the difficulty is very forgiving already.

BUT an easy mode for people as the OP would be a really good idea. It would have to be without rewards to keep things fair for the rest but it would be nice to accommodate people with handicaps for the game modes that are expected to be played by the most people like the story.

[Cronospere.8143]

@Turin.6921 said:I have absolutely no issue with the normal difficulty. I think it is the only way to keep things interesting going forward. For the people that ask for an easy mode and have no health issue you just have to learn to play or bring a friend. It is a game after some challenge is required and the difficulty is very forgiving already.

BUT an easy mode for people as the OP would be a really good idea. It would have to be without rewards to keep things fair for the rest but it would be nice to accommodate people with handicaps for the game modes that are expected to be played by the most people like the story.

Not without rewards, but maybe a different amount.

If there would be a option to set difficulty, keep normal difficulty at default and give the player the option to do an easy or hard difficulty. Where mobs have more or less health and armor, or certain skill and area effects are disabled. The difficulty chosen will give you rewards based on that level.

I completely support the OP and after reading his post, in my opinion this issue is something that should be fixed. I hope the Dev's will think the same of it.

[Mrs Lana.2506]

I wouldn't mind seeing this functionality added, as long as the easier difficulty means less/lower quality rewards. Otherwise there's no incentive for anyone to become better at the game, and the masses will just ez mode through the whole thing.

On the flip side, I also wouldn't mind seeing a harder difficulty being added, with better rewards.

[Etheri.5406]

@battledrone.8315 said:

@Rasta.2371 said:

See, and that's the other part of the equation. I'd probably scream and cuss at my screen for an eternity as I threw myself at boss after boss if I

enjoyed the story

. I'd end up bruised and battered, but happy, because I love stories. Unfortunately, I don't like the story here. So it's just not worth the pain.

It would be great if the story was good AND it was challenging. If you played Guild wars 1 releases you would know what i mean, the Winds of Change arc for example was incredibly well written, and somewhat challenging.

making the story challenging will only result in one thing: fewer player will actually play itand even fewer will enjoy itthats a brilliant business plan right there

I agree, forcing players to snooze through the story to access reward tracks and unique rewards as the beetle while ensuring the gameplay is on par with watching a reality TV show is great for your numbers. Looks like everyone loves and does the content because you force them to. Says nothing about enjoyment tho.

I can't imagine any video games with higher difficulty which are far bigger and more succesful. It's almost like competitive games are still heavily dominant. Even in the RPG genre, games still require a certain level of difficulty to become wide spread and popular.

I don't think it should be in story... then again I don't think the story is hard either. Lets make it more difficult for single players and allow players who struggle to bring friends / groups to carry them. Just tune down the scaling. Then there's always a way you can get it done; by interacting with other players as you should in an MMORPG.

Just kidding story will never be anything than mindnumbing reality TV. Don't make it challenging because from this post it's clear we only want easier. Just let me skip all the talking and cutscenes and more talking; i'm really not interested in how scary this dragon, god or yoko guy is if they'll just roll over and die to auto attacks more quickly than appropriate.

[GimReaper.4786]

i am handicapped, too. i used only the keyboard, not mouse, one semi-good hand, i can dodge. i can't do long jumps yet. i don't want easy mode difficulty. i want to be challenged with a loop holes. i have a very determined, undaunted, persevering , aggressive personality to succeed in life. i will practice and practice until i succeed. other mmos, i did dungeons, raids, and pvp in groups, solo mobs by playing smart. i adjusted my keybindings to function without mouse.op, if i can do it, so can you, too.

[kharmin.7683]

@GimReaper.4786 said:op, if i can do it, so can you, too.This is not always true. Some of us simply do not have the time to dedicate to getting raid-level good.

[Ayrilana.1396]

I’d prefer that there wouldn’t be different difficulty levels for story instances as that would just add even more time before we get new content.

Story instances are already soloable and those on the lower end of the skill spectrum can always join with other players to make the story instances easier.

[Menadena.7482]

@Einlanzer.1627 said:

@Disig.7169 said:I 100% agree. I feel like story mode should not be as difficult as they have been making it. I'm not doing the story for a challenge, I'm doing the story to enjoy the plot. And honestly? I haven't been able to enjoy the plot a whole lot since the game has me worrying more about an end fight after an hour long story session. Story should be accessible to all no matter how skilled. At this point in time it's definitely not.

This. Open world (generally) and story instances are not the place for super difficult content. Anet hasn't seemed to clue in that this is why most MMOs have a lot of dungeon/raid content - they act as a better framework for difficult content.

I would LOVE to see something where just by doing the basic level of a story you could get to where everyone is expected to be, like opening a new map or unlocking a collection. The other stuff would still be there but it would be optional content for greater rewards. I can do without the bragging rights that I finished something in hard mode (and the 2 blues and a green that come with most chapters) however I do not want to be left behind either.

[Menadena.7482]

@Just a flesh wound.3589 said:I’d prefer stories to be easier. I’m not so young myself and while I can do most of them I’m not really enjoying it. They could always make a hard version with more rewards for those who want a challenge.

Same here. When I log in to explore a new chapter typically I have already had a long hard day. I just want to unlock the WP on the new map and maybe I will do the rest of the story later. I play the game to have fun not to work .... let the kiddies do that if they want.

[Menadena.7482]

@Cernow.3974 said:Story content should never be balanced around the assumption that a solo player either wishes to or is able to bring a friend. The whole point of story content is .... surprise surprise ... the story. Stories are rarely more enjoyable when someone is leaning over your shoulder or tapping their feet because they want to get a move on. Everyone goes at a different pace. This is a well known fact throughout the MMO industry and most MMOs get this right. GW2 doesn't. This is a shame for all the artists, writers and voice actors who part hard work into the game only for players to not be able to properly enjoy it due to gameplay decisions.

Yeah, I have gone in with people and tried to enjoy the story .... impossible. They just complain that you are taking too long.

[Dante.1763]

@Menadena.7482 said:

@"Cernow.3974" said:Story content should never be balanced around the assumption that a solo player either wishes to or is able to bring a friend. The whole point of story content is .... surprise surprise ... the story. Stories are rarely more enjoyable when someone is leaning over your shoulder or tapping their feet because they want to get a move on. Everyone goes at a different pace. This is a well known fact throughout the MMO industry and most MMOs get this right. GW2 doesn't. This is a shame for all the artists, writers and voice actors who part hard work into the game only for players to not be able to properly enjoy it due to gameplay decisions.

Yeah, I have gone in with people and tried to enjoy the story .... impossible. They just complain that you are taking too long.

People that do that are asses. I remember back when i first did the dungeon stories and i ran into people like that, i started making my own groups and LFG them as "Story watching cutscenes" would take literal hours to fill ;-;

[Menadena.7482]

@Dante.1763 said:

@Menadena.7482 said:

@"Cernow.3974" said:Story content should never be balanced around the assumption that a solo player either wishes to or is able to bring a friend. The whole point of story content is .... surprise surprise ... the story. Stories are rarely more enjoyable when someone is leaning over your shoulder or tapping their feet because they want to get a move on. Everyone goes at a different pace. This is a well known fact throughout the MMO industry and most MMOs get this right. GW2 doesn't. This is a shame for all the artists, writers and voice actors who part hard work into the game only for players to not be able to properly enjoy it due to gameplay decisions.

Yeah, I have gone in with people and tried to enjoy the story .... impossible. They just complain that you are taking too long.

People that do that are kitten. I remember back when i first did the dungeon stories and i ran into people like that, i started making my own groups and LFG them as "Story watching cutscenes" would take literal hours to fill ;-;

The really annoying part is I was doing the hard part of the instance. I just needed them to keep pressing 1 and if they saw something helpful let me know about it. Nope, they spent the entire time complaining that I was not rushing through it.

[hugo.4705]

I never had difficulties with story apart in the last episodes, exterminator fight was limit and died a lot to understand the mechanics, became worst in episode 3, first fight got downed, difficulty is just too high remind me scuffy fight in episode 1.. I'm doing episodes for the lore and dialogs not to have a very bad time where every bosses are Sans. No issues through infiltration for me, bring more tensions than the bosses...

[GenghisKhan.7842]

I am an average player, I play the story chapters only on my warrior, with PPT equipment, and I rarely dieI could not solo Hearts & MindsAnother LS3 mission (in Bitterfrost IIRC), with 10 Elites in a very tight area, I managed to complete only after 6 or so resurrections by friendly NPCI'd say having an option for turning difficulty down during a story mission, perhaps giving up part (or most) of the reward, would be quite usefulWhile I think a Hard mode would hardly be justified, as you already have specific Achievements for that, which are usually quite well designed

[Edgy McEdgelord.4790]

You know theres such a thing called "friends" that can help you with story missions?

[kharmin.7683]

@"Edgy McEdgelord.4790" said:You know theres such a thing called "friends" that can help you with story missions?

Right, but I believe that the point is one shouldn't need to call for help on story missions that are (probably?) designed to be done solo.