Gear difference

[DataLore.3916]

I understand that the majority of people playing this game must not care but it seems kinda pointless grinding for materials to make a cosmetic that is going to add NOTHING other than looks to a piece of gear.This is just a personal opinion of course but I love the grind to find that gear with god roll stats or making gear and hoping to get a good roll but in this game, it doesn't matter as everyone will be using the same stuff.........Don't get me wrong there is plenty of content in the game and I get that if everyone has the same gear then its a fair playing-field etc but I do wish that weapons/armour had more to it than just looks for example:Weapons could have random damage numbers in a set range making better rolls better to have .Weapons also have a random bonus this could be bonus stats to bonus boons making combinations of a good weapon with high damage and a good bonus more valuable.Armour the same as weapons making some better than others.At the moment there are loads of differently named weapons that all have the same stats and same damage but one is 60 silver and the other is 100 gold and the only difference is one looks different so I can not see why someone would spend 100g on an item that does the same thing as the 60 silver(Yeah I know some people love the look). You could still have all the different looks sold as skins aka make your weapon look like whatever you like but why have 10+ different named tw0-handed swords that all do the same damage and have the same stats you might as well just have ONE two-handed sword and just make different skins for it.

[IndigoSundown.5419]

The problem with the primary long-term goal in an MMO being the pursuit of better stats is that it promotes a gear treadmill, which also promotes power creep. I came to this game specifically to avoid that kind of thing. I appreciate that that pursuit motivates you, but it would demotivate me. :)

[Paradoxoglanis.1904]

Most people who play gw2 like the horizontal progression. While some people like yourself find it pointless to grind for cosmetic gear with no stat upgrade, many players find it pointless to grind for gear upgrades if they will just have to do it again 3 months later. And besides, in gw2 personal skill >> gear. If you want your character to be more effective you should be focusing on getting better at the game.

[Vrath.1754]

If you want to play a game that highlights vertical progression then there are any AAA MMOs that provide this experience, heck pretty much all of them. That is not what GW2 model is, it's one of the few games with horizontal progression. I'd wager most that play this game like the small gear gap this creates and highlights the skill between players. Creating random stats or bonuses would create a gap as one would always be the best, then that will be the combo everyone is after leaving the rest as an after thought.

As for crafting and materials after you craft ascended gear, then Legendary is next it provides the ability to swap stats a very convent feature. It provides a long term goal for gathering mats and such. Idk I appreciate the model in GW2 and the fact we have mutliple AAA MMOs that can provide us with different options that we might enjoy.

[Jagblade.4627]

I don't ever want to see this game turn into what you describe. I fled a game like that by the name of Aion after investing years in it. Being a working man, I got sick of spending months grinding for gear just to be remotely competitive only to have it completely outclassed by the time I acquire it, if not before so. Throw into the mix heavily RNG based stat upgrades (and more recently, A LOT of pay to win) and you have yourself a special kind of hell. GW2 from its very inception was designed against these very mechanics. If this is what you desire, respectfully, you may want to find another game.

[Taril.8619]

In the situation where there's a ton of different pieces of gear with different values and different effects... The end result is still that everyone will be wearing the same thing. The only difference is now it's much harder/more costly to obtain that same thing.

That's literally how BiS lists function. People figure out what of the available options is "Best" and then tell everyone so that everyone can then use the "Best" option.

If you add in gear treadmill... Still no different. Everyone still wears the same stuff. They just have to re-obtain the new "Best" stuff at set intervals for... Reasons. Even more so is the lack of choice when progressing between "Bests" due to how much work it is to implement bunches of armour (You can see it in standard gear treadmill MMO's. New expansions drop that powercreeps everything released before, everyone replaces their shiny end game loot with quest rewards that are better, then gets to the new max level and grinds out their shiny end game loot again. Rinse and repeat ad nauseum)

In games like the Borderlands series, it can be pretty fun to go around picking up lots of items with varying stats and using them as you progress through the game and find more interesting items. But even here, once it comes to end-game, where you've got nothing left to do but farm for gear, you are looking for the 1 particular version of the items that is best.

In MMO's, that end-game comes very quickly and so you reach a state where everyone would be looking for that 1 particular version of all their items very quickly. It essentially makes gear treadmills pretty terrible design. Especially when utilizing player markets that allow trading of items so people can just buy the best items rather than have to grind for it and hope for RNG to bless them, or when using a crafting system that allows actually useful items like relevant gear to be made (Both of which GW2 features)

It's where skins is actually one of the best ways to keep loot meaningful. Since skins are timeless, they don't get outdated by new content (In fact, more content means more items to combine with them to make cool outfits), they're always relevant and there's never a "Best" skin that everyone will want to be using as its all based on subjectivity (What you think looks best with your outfit)

[Danikat.8537]

I wouldn't say players don't care, I think the majority of people playing this game actually prefer it this way. The advantage of this system is that you don't need to be constantly changing new gear. Once you get to level 80 it's relatively easy to get a full set of exotic equipment and there's lots of options for how to do that, which all get you equally good stuff so everyone can choose the one that's best for them. After that you don't really need to worry about it anymore and can instead focus on content you want to do rather than what you have to do to keep up with everyone else or the stats the game requires from you.

It ties into the over-all casual friendly design of the game, meaning new players aren't facing an impossible chase to catch up with people who have been playing for years, returning players can jump straight into playing instead of having to grind new gear first and people who have been playing for ages can focus on whichever areas of the game they enjoy without worrying about what they're required to do first.

I realise it's different to how the majority of MMOs handle it and if you're using to always focusing on what you have to do to get the items you need I imagine it is a big change, but I much prefer playing this way and wouldn't want to go back to a game with RNG stats or a constant treadmill. I'm much happier gearing my characters once and then being able to stop thinking about it and focusing on what I find fun to do instead.

[kharmin.7683]

@Danikat.8537 said:I'm much happier gearing my characters once and then being able to stop thinking about it and focusing on what I find fun to do instead.QFT

[Khisanth.2948]

That sort of system requires a gear treadmill otherwise you will just hit an end eventually.Gear treadmills add nothing but the illusion of progress. It just provides a way for people to lie to themselves constantly. It would be much better if people stopped doing that. Both in game and out(especially with food! =_=)

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

In regards to: "10+ different named tw0-handed swords that all do the same damage and have the same stats you might as well just have ONE two-handed sword and just make different skins for it", I'd say that's already what has been done, in essence. One chooses that particular stat, and now can obtain (easily or with more difficulty) the particular skin one desires.

[Dawdler.8521]

@DataLore.3916 said:one is 60 silver and the other is 100 gold and the only difference is one looks different so I can not see why someone would spend 100g on an item that does the same thing as the 60 silver(Yeah I know some people love the look).Congratulations, you just managed to insult the entire GW2 playerbase.

[Croc.1978]

@"Taril.8619" said:If you add in gear treadmill... Still no different. Everyone still wears the same stuff. They just have to re-obtain the new "Best" stuff at set intervals for... Reasons. Even more so is the lack of choice when progressing between "Bests" due to how much work it is to implement bunches of armour (You can see it in standard gear treadmill MMO's. New expansions drop that powercreeps everything released before, everyone replaces their shiny end game loot with quest rewards that are better, then gets to the new max level and grinds out their shiny end game loot again. Rinse and repeat ad nauseum)...It's where skins is actually one of the best ways to keep loot meaningful. Since skins are timeless, they don't get outdated by new content (In fact, more content means more items to combine with them to make cool outfits), they're always relevant and there's never a "Best" skin that everyone will want to be using as its all based on subjectivity (What you think looks best with your outfit)

Amen to that!

I initially played GW2 from Open Beta to a couple of months after release. During development, Anet had made the promise that they would not ever introduce gear better than Exotic (similar to how it was in GW1).

But then they suddenly gave in to the whiners and introduced Ascended gear. Upon reading the corresponding patch notes, I felt so cheated that I stopped playing immediately and didn't touch the game for more than 7 years. Only recently did I come back when I noticed Ascended was still the top tier stat-wise and indeed no further tiers had been introduced.

So thx but no thx, the gear system is fine as it is. And BTW, I still think Ascended was a big mistake.

[Mewcifer.5198]

@Croc.1978 said:

@"Taril.8619" said:If you add in gear treadmill... Still no different. Everyone still wears the same stuff. They just have to re-obtain the new "Best" stuff at set intervals for... Reasons. Even more so is the lack of choice when progressing between "Bests" due to how much work it is to implement bunches of armour (You can see it in standard gear treadmill MMO's. New expansions drop that powercreeps everything released before, everyone replaces their shiny end game loot with quest rewards that are better, then gets to the new max level and grinds out their shiny end game loot again. Rinse and repeat ad nauseum)...It's where skins is actually one of the best ways to keep loot meaningful. Since skins are timeless, they don't get outdated by new content (In fact, more content means more items to combine with them to make cool outfits), they're always relevant and there's never a "Best" skin that everyone will want to be using as its all based on subjectivity (What

you

think looks best with

your

outfit)

Amen to that!

I initially played GW2 from Open Beta to a couple of months after release. During development, Anet had made the promise that they would not ever introduce gear better than Exotic (similar to how it was in GW1).

But then they suddenly gave in to the whiners and introduced Ascended gear. Upon reading the corresponding patch notes, I felt so cheated that I stopped playing immediately and didn't touch the game for more than 7 years. Only recently did I come back when I noticed Ascended was still the top tier stat-wise and indeed no further tiers had been introduced.

So thx but no thx, the gear system is fine as it is. And BTW, I still think Ascended was a big mistake.

Yeah ascended gear was a massive debacle. I hope anet doesn't make the same mistake again.

[Infusion.7149]

@Croc.1978 said:

@"Taril.8619" said:If you add in gear treadmill... Still no different. Everyone still wears the same stuff. They just have to re-obtain the new "Best" stuff at set intervals for... Reasons. Even more so is the lack of choice when progressing between "Bests" due to how much work it is to implement bunches of armour (You can see it in standard gear treadmill MMO's. New expansions drop that powercreeps everything released before, everyone replaces their shiny end game loot with quest rewards that are better, then gets to the new max level and grinds out their shiny end game loot again. Rinse and repeat ad nauseum)...It's where skins is actually one of the best ways to keep loot meaningful. Since skins are timeless, they don't get outdated by new content (In fact, more content means more items to combine with them to make cool outfits), they're always relevant and there's never a "Best" skin that everyone will want to be using as its all based on subjectivity (What

you

think looks best with

your

outfit)

Amen to that!

I initially played GW2 from Open Beta to a couple of months after release. During development, Anet had made the promise that they would not ever introduce gear better than Exotic (similar to how it was in GW1).

But then they suddenly gave in to the whiners and introduced Ascended gear. Upon reading the corresponding patch notes, I felt so cheated that I stopped playing immediately and didn't touch the game for more than 7 years. Only recently did I come back when I noticed Ascended was still the top tier stat-wise and indeed no further tiers had been introduced.

So thx but no thx, the gear system is fine as it is. And BTW, I still think Ascended was a big mistake.

I was one of the people against ascended gear when it first came out.

We have it much easier now but when it was still new silk was ~ 3 silver each , compared to now where it's 30 copper. Light armor cost was through the roof and if you wanted to use it in WvW you were going to have to make a new set as well unless you're using the same stats. Essentially ascended armor was above the cost of legendary armor now.

Despite the steep cost reduction over time and the increased gem to gold rate (such that you can "buy" it) , the adoption of ascended armor has been lower than anticipated judging by the addition of armor boxes to strikes.

[panzerdragon.8791]

Good day ,

Gear progression is the game ends at ascended. Legendary are just useful for stat swapping on the go. By the time I build legendary armor I already had most of the sets I needed. The way to improve in the game is found in skill and time at the golem. Honestly it's fine this way. More time to raid and less time wasted doing other stuff.

Cheers

[Dark Red Killian.3946]

The gear in this game does depend on stats. So you could get all ascended armor, and just do horrible in damage in healing compared to someone else with the same ascended armor, difference being the set of stats. If you don’t care and just want the ascended armor you may not do as well, but the key is to learning what works best and making your stats what you want, and that can take some time and dedication. There is also infusions; which increase your stats too. Lots of ways to progress your end game armor. Don’t forget legendary benefits, and food and utilities play a huge role too.

[Ashen.2907]

I prefer a game where player skill, attention, and the like are more important than grinding for the next tier of god-stat gear.

[Zephire.8049]

@DataLore.3916 said:Weapons could have random damage numbers in a set range making better rolls better to have .Weapons also have a random bonus this could be bonus stats to bonus boons making combinations of a good weapon with high damage and a good bonus more valuable.

That's similar to how it was in GW1 and it sucked. You get a cool weapon but it's a level or two below max. You get a max level weapon but the inscription sucks. You get a weapon that's both max level and has a BiS inscription but the weapon skin is awful.

Sure you could swap inscriptions around but you could do nothing about the level or skin so having a max level weapon in a skin you want is already relying on RNG two times: Once for the weapon to drop at all and once for it to be max level.

How would you even introduce different weapon stats this late in the game, anyway? There's 8 years of weapons sitting on the TP and in people's banks/on characters, so either you'd have to randomize what already exists, introduce weapons that are worse than what currently exists that no one would touch, or introduce weapons that are more powerful than exotics but less powerful than ascended and piss off the playerbase.

Horizontal progression is fine as it is and a lot of people play GW2 to get away from vertical progression/RNG gear stats. It's fine if you care more about stats than skins, but a lot of us lean more to the RPG part of MMO when it comes to GW2. There's also enough RNG carrots in the game, so why would you lock basic character progression behind RNG? All that does is benefit those with the most time they're willing to spend on a game, or those who have enough money to buy their way through it.

[xoxin.8326]

It's sort of puzzling that you ask this considering a ton(most?) MMOs have that gear progression model.

I like that GW2 is different. Not everyone enjoys following the gear treadmill.

[AliamRationem.5172]

I felt the same way when I first arrived in GW2, after playing WoW for years. But I really prefer the GW2 way now.

[Bursting.1976]

@Ashen.2907 said:I prefer a game where player skill, attention, and the like are more important than grinding for the next tier of god-stat gear.

This. I am bored of the endless, rapidly-changing gear grind that is in a lot of MMOs. I prefer one that's a bit different and rewards skill rather than grind.

[Blocki.4931]

Takes long enough to make 3 legendary sets I'd say. Or gear up multiple characters/classes/builds.

[Katary.7096]

@Dawdler.8521 said:

@DataLore.3916 said:one is 60 silver and the other is 100 gold and the only difference is one looks different so I can not see why someone would spend 100g on an item that does the same thing as the 60 silver(Yeah I know some people love the look).Congratulations, you just managed to insult the

entire

GW2 playerbase.

Can you point out how the part which you quoted is insulting? I have read it a number of times and still do not feel insulted.

[voltaicbore.8012]

@DataLore.3916 said:You could still have all the different looks sold as skins aka make your weapon look like whatever you like but why have 10+ different named tw0-handed swords that all do the same damage and have the same stats you might as well just have ONE two-handed sword and just make different skins for it.

This is literally what happens now in the game. It seems you might just need to figure more out about how the game generally works? At any rate, it should be obvious by now that not a lot of folks share your view of the gear treadmill in GW2.

[Crono.4197]

I used to play World of Warcraft, Runes of Magic and Tera for like 3-4 years each game (while also playing Guild Wars 1 and later Guild Wars 2) and those games were all about doing dungeons non-stop in order to get the best gear, only for your gear to become meaningless after 3 months when a new patch with new gear would come. Then you would have to farm again only for a new patch to come and then all your work would go to waste...and so on.

I eventually got tired of this system and stopped playing gear-based MMOs. Yeah, it's nice to feel overpowered for a few months, but the mega grind and the toxicity of such games (players that have the best gear in these games are the most toxic people because of ego boost) aren't worth it. Those kind of gamers require such a grind for gear that they basically become a second job. I'm looking for fun in games, not for a second job...too bad I realized it after wasting like 10 years on this kind of MMOs.

Guild Wars 2 on the other hand will leave everything as you left it if you don't have time to play. You're tired after work and don't feel like playing? Good, you can play tomorrow. In gear based MMOs, not playing for one day felt like I was losing game progress, so I felt forced to play even when I didn't really want to do it. That doesn'thappen here. When I play, I know I do it for fun, not because the game's system forces me in order to not feel like I'm wasting time.

This is the reason why the Guild Wars franchise will be the last MMO(s) that I'll ever play. All the other MMOs are toxic because most of them are gear based and they drive out the worst behaviour out of people. Heck, there are people in gear-based MMOs that don't even talk to you because they think it's not worth it talking to someone that doesn't have gear as good as them (happened often in TERA).

So yeah, Guild Wars 2 is good as it is.