Sprinting was only in select classes in WAR, White Lion and Marauder (1 class for each faction) if I remember correctly. All the classes had Flee but was mostly useless in combat unless you wanted to run away. GW2 doesn't need sprinting in combat cause from what I've seen there is much less CC compared to cookie cutter MMOs. As for traveling there is teleportation, so I see no reason for sprinting at all.

Originally posted by Pilnkplonk

Again, it's not about the speed of the character as such, but about the control you have over your avatar. GW1 didn't have jumping and people rightfully said that it is not needed in the game.. but still, the feeling of being there and having control over your character was so diminished that many people simply refused to play it, just because of not being able to jump.

While sprinting isn't as big as jumping, I've quite grown used to it in WAR and I can say it does give you that extra feeling of involvement with your character AND it adds a bit of tactical choice in fights.

And besides, the energy pool is, at the moment, used only for dodging. It is a remnant from an older system where all skills drew from that same pool. I find it weird that a whole bar is used for only one, highly situational action - dodging. It would make much more sense if it was used for similar basic movement mechanics  such as jumping and, yes, sprinting. At the moment it looks just like some kind of atavistic feature, a remnant of evolution like an appendix or tonsils in a human.

Tie dodging, jumping and sprinting to the same bar and you'll have an elegant system conductive to skillfull play and you'll get rid of bunny hopping to boot.

 

EXACTLY.  You can't get me to /facepalm any quicker than when your avatar comes across an obstacle that WOULDN'T EVEN BE an obstacle for the average person.  In AoC... I think it's the purple lotus swamps, a crafting zone, there are ladders about 10 feet high that you can't climb unless you have a skill of 200 or higher.  I mean sure, in Tortage there's a 100 foot pillar with tiny footholds that you can climb down with like 50 in climb, but NO... ladders are WAY TOO COMPLEX for your noob hands to comprehend...

Even worse in other games, where you can't climb a ladder at all.

I understand that some stuff is just intended for decor.  But the more something absurdly insignificant poses as an obstacle for your toon, the more frustrated and annoyed I get.

I would like a non-combat sprint, a good 5-10 sec or so, would be nice.

Originally posted by revy66

Sprinting was only in select classes in WAR, White Lion and Marauder (1 class for each faction) if I remember correctly. All the classes had Flee but was mostly useless in combat unless you wanted to run away. GW2 doesn't need sprinting in combat cause from what I've seen there is much less CC compared to cookie cutter MMOs. As for traveling there is teleportation, so I see no reason for sprinting at all.

Nope, all classes had sprinting. It was a basic ability,  like jumping, and which ate up you Action Points. So each time you sprinted you decreased your action potential. It was a cool mechanic actually... When you were in a safe location like a city you sprinted as often as you could because there wasn't any danger around so who cares about APs. In action, both PvE and PvP it became another tactical decision - sprint to save your buddy at the verge of death but then risk being out of APs at the critical moment? Try to fight on with your last APs or burn them for a mad dash to freedom? It really added something to the gameplay.

Imo it would fit right in with the way dodging works in GW2.

What purpose would Sprint serve that isn't already covered by Dodging and Swiftness?

Adding gimmicks for the sake of gimmicks is not good design.

Originally posted by Pilnkplonk

Nope, all classes had sprinting. It was a basic ability,  like jumping, and which ate up you Action Points. So each time you sprinted you decreased your action potential. It was a cool mechanic actually... When you were in a safe location like a city you sprinted as often as you could because there wasn't any danger around so who cares about APs. In action, both PvE and PvP it became another tactical decision - sprint to save your buddy at the verge of death but then risk being out of APs at the critical moment? Try to fight on with your last APs or burn them for a mad dash to freedom? It really added something to the gameplay.

Imo it would fit right in with the way dodging works in GW2.

When was this implemented? I played for a while after it came out and there was no such feature. There was Flee and Charge, nothing else.

Originally posted by fundayz

What purpose would Sprint serve that isn't already covered by Dodging and Swiftness?

Adding gimmicks for the sake of gimmicks is not good design.

 

Originally posted by Pilnkplonk

Nope, all classes had sprinting. It was a basic ability,  like jumping, and which ate up you Action Points. So each time you sprinted you decreased your action potential. It was a cool mechanic actually... When you were in a safe location like a city you sprinted as often as you could because there wasn't any danger around so who cares about APs. In action, both PvE and PvP it became another tactical decision - sprint to save your buddy at the verge of death but then risk being out of APs at the critical moment? Try to fight on with your last APs or burn them for a mad dash to freedom? It really added something to the gameplay.

Imo it would fit right in with the way dodging works in GW2.

When was this implemented? I played for a while after it came out and there was no such feature. There was Flee and Charge, nothing else.

I mean the devs might have called the ability "flee" but it actually had much more uses. Especially in "burning APs to be there in the nick of time and risk everything on a single blow" type of situation I described above. It really tended to have your heart pounding I tell you. You mean you never used it for any other purpose? Jeez, it was probably the most used button on my bar when I played WAR and I tell you... I didn't use it just for fleeing.. probably not at all (A kamikaze build Swordmaster DOES NOT FLEE!)

And no, it's not a "gimmicky" mechanic, definitely. It has a very clear set of unique features and functions that differentiate it from what is already available in the game.

1) It would be tied to the dodge energy pool which would solve the problem of that bar being a one trick pony. At the moment they could put dodging on cooldown like everything else and no one would know the difference.

2) It would be available to all classes, a basic ability like jumping which does not take space in your skill bar

3) It would have massive trade offs in that it would prevent you from dodging if you overuse it

4) It would be universally useful, unlike dodging. You could use it to traverse cities faster, for example. It could be used both for offense or defense or just moving around faster.

5) It feels natural to be able to sprint if you're a humanoid being with four limbs and a head. Just like jumping does. It's not like a special "move" that you need to learn and perfect. It's like running for a bus.. and running out of breath, you know.

i think we can choice sprint skills, for each class theres must be at least 1, as we got those ones on GW1 like ''sprint'' or elite ''charge''

Originally posted by Pilnkplonk

I mean the devs might have called the ability "flee" but it actually had much more uses. Especially in "burning APs to be there in the nick of time and risk everything on a single blow" type of situation I described above. It really tended to have your heart pounding I tell you. You mean you never used it for any other purpose? Jeez, it was probably the most used button on my bar when I played WAR and I tell you... I didn't use it just for fleeing.. probably not at all (A kamikaze build Swordmaster DOES NOT FLEE!)

And no, it's not a "gimmicky" mechanic, definitely. It has a very clear set of unique features and functions that differentiate it from what is already available in the game.

1) It would be tied to the dodge energy pool which would solve the problem of that bar being a one trick pony. At the moment they could put dodging on cooldown like everything else and no one would know the difference.

2) It would be available to all classes, a basic ability like jumping which does not take space in your skill bar

3) It would have massive trade offs in that it would prevent you from dodging if you overuse it

4) It would be universally useful, unlike dodging. You could use it to traverse cities faster, for example. It could be used both for offense or defense or just moving around faster.

5) It feels natural to be able to sprint if you're a humanoid being with four limbs and a head. Just like jumping does. It's not like a special "move" that you need to learn and perfect. It's like running for a bus.. and running out of breath, you know.

I'm not saying it doesn't have it's uses. I'm saying what are the uses that are not already covered by Dodge and Swiftness?

Everything in your list is covered by either one of those:

1. Putting a cooldown on Dodging would absolutely make a difference. Right now, if you have a full Endurance bar you can roll multiple time back-to-back.

2. Such a feature would render Swiftness almost obsolete, except in very specific situations.

3. Why would you use it over Swiftness then, specially considering many multifunctional abilities provide Swiftness so that you don't have a skill devoted to Swiftness alone.

4. Again, why would you need this when you already have Swiftness? In cities you have long-lasting NPC Swiftness, while out in the world you have waypoints scattered pretty much everywhere.

5. You can't just a dd a major mechanic like that simply because if "feels natural". If it doesn't fulfill an unique role then it is not necessary.

Also, when I say gimmick I don't mean that the mechanic is inherently gimmicky (because it's not in many games), I mean that in the context of GW2 it is gimmicky because it doesn't fulfill an unique role. Adding Sprinting to the game adds a lot of unnecessary complexity, while adding very little to actual gameplay.

In-combat positioning: Dodging + Swiftness 

Short-distance travel: Swiftness

Long-distance travel: Waypoints

There's swift movement, Aka sprinting.

Originally posted by Pilnkplonk

Originally posted by fundayz

What purpose would Sprint serve that isn't already covered by Dodging and Swiftness?

Adding gimmicks for the sake of gimmicks is not good design.

 

Originally posted by Pilnkplonk

Nope, all classes had sprinting. It was a basic ability,  like jumping, and which ate up you Action Points. So each time you sprinted you decreased your action potential. It was a cool mechanic actually... When you were in a safe location like a city you sprinted as often as you could because there wasn't any danger around so who cares about APs. In action, both PvE and PvP it became another tactical decision - sprint to save your buddy at the verge of death but then risk being out of APs at the critical moment? Try to fight on with your last APs or burn them for a mad dash to freedom? It really added something to the gameplay.

Imo it would fit right in with the way dodging works in GW2.

When was this implemented? I played for a while after it came out and there was no such feature. There was Flee and Charge, nothing else.

I mean the devs might have called the ability "flee" but it actually had much more uses. Especially in "burning APs to be there in the nick of time and risk everything on a single blow" type of situation I described above. It really tended to have your heart pounding I tell you. You mean you never used it for any other purpose? Jeez, it was probably the most used button on my bar when I played WAR and I tell you... I didn't use it just for fleeing.. probably not at all (A kamikaze build Swordmaster DOES NOT FLEE!)

And no, it's not a "gimmicky" mechanic, definitely. It has a very clear set of unique features and functions that differentiate it from what is already available in the game.

1) It would be tied to the dodge energy pool which would solve the problem of that bar being a one trick pony. At the moment they could put dodging on cooldown like everything else and no one would know the difference.

2) It would be available to all classes, a basic ability like jumping which does not take space in your skill bar

3) It would have massive trade offs in that it would prevent you from dodging if you overuse it

4) It would be universally useful, unlike dodging. You could use it to traverse cities faster, for example. It could be used both for offense or defense or just moving around faster.

5) It feels natural to be able to sprint if you're a humanoid being with four limbs and a head. Just like jumping does. It's not like a special "move" that you need to learn and perfect. It's like running for a bus.. and running out of breath, you know.

This I'd want in pretty much any MMO where you control the movements of a person.  Too late for most, without a doubt(LotRO), but I can dream...

I actually agree with this a lot. I watch a video where a guy respawned and was running back to the action. For a moment I was wondering why he wasn't sprinting there. Then I remembered that GW2 doesn't have sprinting at all.

It would be so easy to implement. Holding what is now the dodge button would cause you to sprint but quickly burns through your endurance meter. Double-tapping the same button would make you dodge. This is actually how it works in Mass Effect 2/3, Arkham Asylum/City, and many other games, and it works perfectly.

Like Plink said, it just feel natural to be able to do this, like jumping. Extremely few MMOs utilize jumping in any way at all, and yet it's one of the first things people complain about if it doesn't exist. There's always that moment when you think, "Gotta go fast," but you don't really have a way to go faster.

Also, this would be completely distinct from swiftness. First of all, no skills at all could be used when sprinting. Sprinting should not only use up endurance, but greatly reduce your ability to turn. That is, you have a lot less control over your moment. Sprinting is less precise. There could also be a short "stopping animation" after sprinting where you can't sprint or use a skill for about a second. Finally, if needed, you could even take extra damage while sprinting.

This isn't a deal breaker or anything, but it would be a perfect additional use for the endurance meter while adding (I feel) a lot to the game.

What's the difference, beside the animation, between dodging three times in the desired direction and sprinting in that direction?

Dodging can be used more aggressively because it makes you invincible for a short period of time. Also, most professions can teleport or jump forward without selecting a target. What you seek is already in the game, just in a different form or made of a different composition.

I am not against the idea of sprinting. I think it's great to get where you want and I also agree with you, but once people get used to the possibilities that are already in the game, you won't miss sprinting.

Edit: Rephrased.

You lot are clearly a breed above the rest.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Swiftness

Just because they don't have a skill called "Sprint", doesn't mean you have to move around at base speed when traveling distance.

My favorite movement speed increase skill is Rampage as One, the tier one Ranger elite, not only does it give you massive movement speed increase, but a massive increase in action speed. Almost makes it hard to control your character. From what the people who live in spread sheets are saying, is that RaO is a little less than 200% increase in all forms of speed for both you and your pet.

Unfortunately it makes you very visable to the enemy, nothing stealthy about the entire season of Autumn flying around the battlefield.

---

Originally posted by IPolygon
What's the difference, beside the animation, between dodging three times in the desired direction and sprinting in that direction?

---

The difference is that sprinting would get you a bit farther before depleting your endurance than dodging a few times, but using it wouldn't evade attacks.

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Originally posted by moosecatlol
You lot are clearly a breed above the rest.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Swiftness
Just because they don't have a skill called "Sprint", doesn't mean you have to move around at base speed when traveling distance.

---

I already explained the difference between sprinting and swiftness, and it is a very drastic difference.

There actually is sprinting, but it's not as you think of it. There are spells/skills that will give you speed boosts. For example, there's a mesmer WvW video where the mesmer is often casting that wall-thingie as they move along... they pass through for a speed buff.

So the effects are there, just the mechanics are a little different than, say, Skyrim.

Game is balanced around there being no sprint function, if you want a speed boost you have to pay for it in the form of either having a weapon set that gives you a speed boost, which every class has, or using a utility or elite skill to gain one.

Also you do run slightly faster when your weapon is sheathed.

Basically just deal with not having sprint, its a feature not a bug.

Originally posted by Shroom_Mage

I actually agree with this a lot. I watch a video where a guy respawned and was running back to the action. For a moment I was wondering why he wasn't sprinting there. Then I remembered that GW2 doesn't have sprinting at all.

It would be so easy to implement. Holding what is now the dodge button would cause you to sprint but quickly burns through your endurance meter. Double-tapping the same button would make you dodge. This is actually how it works in Mass Effect 2/3, Arkham Asylum/City, and many other games, and it works perfectly.

Like Plink said, it just feel natural to be able to do this, like jumping. Extremely few MMOs utilize jumping in any way at all, and yet it's one of the first things people complain about if it doesn't exist. There's always that moment when you think, "Gotta go fast," but you don't really have a way to go faster.

Also, this would be completely distinct from swiftness. First of all, no skills at all could be used when sprinting. Sprinting should not only use up endurance, but greatly reduce your ability to turn. That is, you have a lot less control over your moment. Sprinting is less precise. There could also be a short "stopping animation" after sprinting where you can't sprint or use a skill for about a second. Finally, if needed, you could even take extra damage while sprinting.

This isn't a deal breaker or anything, but it would be a perfect additional use for the endurance meter while adding (I feel) a lot to the game.

 I already replied to this thread on page 2 but nobody replied to that.  There I argued that I don't think it adds as much as it might first appear.  I also think forcing people to choose between dodging and sprinting in terms of energy consumption is a choice which doesn't benefit gameplay.

I did want to add three things.

First, because people run faster with their weapons sheathed, in essence, sprinting (or at least "running") is already in the game for the purposes of simply getting back to the action.  If there's an issue with how long that takes, it's possible to look at it as an issue with how fast non-combat travel is and I'd personally prefer that be sped up more than I'd like to see sprinting introduced.

Second, 7 of 8 classes seem to have access to Swiftness (and who knows if Mesmer is current) and 7 of 8 have access to Leaps.  Warrior in particular has Charge on their warhorn which grants 10 seconds of swiftness and is on only a 20 second CD.  Savage Leap on the MH sword is only an 8 second CD.  If you're just trying to get back to the action, you're probably going to have easy access to CDs to advance you regardless of profession.  If someone in a video seems like they're advancing too slowly, one might argue that they're doing it wrong.  I'm probably assuming that there is or will be a quick way to change your loadout template (like GW1 has) so as to minimize the inconvenience (though it's not like your "travel build" could even be bad, given that half your skills are weapon based).

I appreciate that the ability to sprint and consume energy might be more immersive or realistic, but at the same time I don't think that's necessarily the best standard.  GW2 is a cooldown based game, despite that I'm sure a lot of those CDs would be completely unrealistic and are only there for balance purposes.  The limited skillbar fits the same theme.  Why should a guardian simply forget how to put up a particular kind of bubble?  When you look at it this way, Swiftness basically IS Sprinting, it's just a choice of whether a player thinks it's important enough to remember how to do.

Why do people keep referring to swiftness?! Please stop! Read some posts in the thread before responding to the OP! This has been addressed!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DVAsmrwdtQ

EDIT: To cali, your last post wasn't there when I hit reply. I know it doesn't actually add anything significant to the game, but neither does jumping, and people probably complained about the lack of jumping in GW1 more than they did the lack of an open world. The little things like make everything feel a lot better.

Originally posted by IPolygon

What's the difference, beside the animation, between dodging three times in the desired direction and sprinting in that direction?

Dodging can be used more aggressively because it makes you invincible for a short period of time. Also, most professions can teleport or jump forward without selecting a target. What you seek is already in the game, just in a different form or made of a different composition.

I am not against the idea of sprinting. I think it's great to get where you want and I also agree with you, but once people get used to the possibilities that are already in the game, you won't miss sprinting.

 

Edit: Rephrased.

Well the thing is that sprinting as I described it is NOT in the game. It is a different type of ability. While there are skills which provide temporary buffs to speed, sprinting, as I'm describing it would be distinct enough from other speed buffs to warrant its inclusion.

Let me spin this argument a little.

Imagine that there is no jumping in GW2 as a basic ability activated by the spacebar. Imagine that you might do things similar to jumping by using skills. Imagine that there is a skill, with a cooldown, which uses a whole skill slot and which is called "jump" and it's not even available to all classes. Or different classes have different versions of the same skill.

Now imagine the same for dodging. There is no dodging ability and dodge energy. There are various dodge skills with their cooldowns, taking space in your skill bar.

Now can you guys see how this proposed "sprinting" ability actually differs A LOT from what is already offered by the game in terms of speed buffs?

3 new threads today about what those 3 people miss about Guild Wars 2, or even hate and they havent even played the beta yet. Whats not to love...?