World Boss Week starts today

[Witch of Doom.5739]

@Vivianne.2506 said:I feel lied to by Anet. I know they didn't -- but it feels like it. An event is supposed to deliver more than a box containing 3 tier 1 to tier 3 items. I've run world boss trains for approximately 10 hours by now (not all at once of course) and hit every boss at least 3x except for T3. I agree with the guy/gal who said it was a colossal waste of time. I cannot understand the purpose behind this event if the rewards were going to be such trash. If not an out and out troll by Anet, then this event is a huge disappointment at best.

Fortunately it didn't cost us anything in gold or gems, just time. I very quickly discovered that this event is not for me. Sorry you spent 10 hours in it (truly, I'm not being sarcastic).

[Hashberry.4510]

Ehh, there was no way they were going to add a lot of attractive drops, that would wreck the economy. A rare is not too bad.

[Excursion.9752]

This is a non event. Nothing about this makes you want to participate. The chance is to little and the time it takes is to great for just for one loot box. I've said it before in a different topic there should have been at least one account bound item that you could choose from after killing so many world bosses. I would be interested to know exactly how many people got something from the final tier of rewards after this is all said and done. They need to keep the rewards within reach and make things somewhat obtainable for this to actually be an event in my book. This is just flat out ridiculous. Good luck everyone.. you're going to need it.

[Klypto.1703]

They are still super boring you spend most of the time waiting and waiting and waiting then fall asleep and then wake up as its ended.

[Astrolicus.3716]

The event is fine, although a bit boring, but I'm annoyed by the loot of Bonus Box of Goods, I literally play this damn event because I want winter's heart infusion. I know it's in the Super Rare category but man, that will take many attempts. I wish winter's heart was so cheap on trading post, but it costs a lot of gold. How many times do I need to play this boring event just to get my infusion. Sigh

That's all I want. Open a box and get winter's heart.

[Cerioth.7062]

Heh, no infusion drop thus far but I did get 3 ascended chests in one day.

[Ojimaru.8970]

After having some time to gather my thoughts, I would say the event as a whole is a net positive. While World Boss Trains have existed before the event, the Bonus Box of Goods, while simple, does much to enhance the various aspects of the Train.

Strength of Community

If anything, the event shows a great snapshot of the strength of the Guild Wars 2 community. New or returning players curious about the health of a seven-year old game can experience the fun of a relaxed, map-hopping community. Each boss is simply preceded with a party; players strut their fashion, fancy legendaries, play music, make god-awful jokes, recruit for their Guilds, ask questions, explain mechanics, share Bobblehead potions, dance off. . . In other words, I’ve come to see the World Boss Train less to do with the actual world boss, but more so the communities that form organically in each map shard.

Gameplay Flow

Interestingly, I’ve found the cadence of the World Boss Train always relaxing, despite the (supposed) mad fight against some big bad evil at the climax of each encounter. The train pulls into a map, rests for a while before the event starts, warm up with the pre-events, then cue the pitched battle against the world boss, loot, and repeat. The flow of gameplay is a predictable cycle of rest and action, both of which are important.

That being said, I am well aware that Core Tyria World Bosses require hardly any effort to defeat, and thus the rest phases are often the majority of the experience, which can make the experience boring. On the flip side, the low-intensity gameplay flow likely suits players looking for a more casual, structured, and community-centric experience.

Hop On, Hop Off

One additional benefit to the World Boss Train is the ability for players to hop on, or hop off at any point. Each boss is a short, five to fifteen minute experience which a player can enjoy, and head off to do something else, if they so choose. There is no feeling of being “locked in” to an extended meta event, or being constrained by other players as one would in a Fractal, dungeon, raid, or sPVP match.

While this had always existed outside of the World Boss Rush Event, the repeatable bonus loot the event provides gives players a little extra incentive to hop back on the Train at any point of the day, without the risk of feeling that they’re losing out because of the usual daily cap. This in turn increases the likelihood that a critical mass of players are always available to drive the Train forwards throughout the day.

Depending on the actual drop rates, I really wouldn’t mind seeing the Bonus Box of Goods be kept in the game. It won’t be nearly be as profitable as other event farms -- and neither should it be -- but I reckon this would give players seeking a less intense, yet structured gameplay flow an alternative to the existing farms.