Originally posted by Aerowyn

*snip*

noticed this as well my buddy is in his 30s and was in a zone said something along the lines of "damn not as many DE's in this zone" I asked him if he had explored around and talked to npc's to try and start DE's himself.. his repsonse "you can start DE's yourself?"

That's something I really like about the game. That I can be on my way to the next stage in my personal story and randomly hear an NPC talking/yelling about his/her plight. Most of the time I click on them and get a notification of a DE I would have missed if I simply ignored the NPC as ambient noise. So many times have these NPCs distracted more for upto an hour, from my personal story.

Originally posted by FrodoFragins

Originally posted by Medicated03

Originally posted by FrodoFragins

The way I leveled was:

 

1) Do every heart, POI and vista in each region.

2) Farm every ore node I came across

3) Do almost every DE that popped up on my map. 

4) Did story quests when I hit the appropriate level

 

I tried WvWvW just once, I was turned off by the zerg nature and the low EXP.  I was later turned off by the long queues.  I also tried crafting but found it didn't get me very far and I ran out of mats pretty quick.  I skipped the dungeons because I didn't want to run instances and felt I shouldn't have to.

 

In order to reach the cap with that four step approach, I ended up having to go to almost every zone that was tagged between 30 and 75.  The problem is that when I roll an alt, I'm going to be rerunning a LOT of content.

 

My expectation is that it should be simple and wait free to run one zone for each of the following level ranges: 1-15, 15-25, 25-35, 30-40, 40-50, 50-60, 60-70 and 70-80.  Doing so would allow my first alt to run the alternate versions of those zones.  And a second alt could fill in by going to zones like the 35-45, 55-65, 70-75 and 75-80 zones.

 

The only way I could see that happening using my leveling preference would be to have rerun and search for DE's after I completed the zone.  I feel that the zones were plenty large but that they didn't present me with enough EXP to be at the cap of the current zone.

 

I also felt that the EXP per story quest was far too low in many cases relative to the time spent. especially at higher levels.

 

 

 

 

 

see the green highlighted part ? how does that equate to "skipping" game content ? i love how you make out likt the OP rushded through the game somehow magically  , its quite obvious he enjoyed the PVE content to almost completion in all zones..... gotta laugh at some of the fanboi's responses

TYVM for backing me up.  My approach seems very reasonable and my expectations aren't unreasonable in my mind.

 

I loved leveling, I just hated seeing so much content on one character.  It leaves less to experience for the first time on my other characters.

This concerns me as well for replayability.  It seems that everyone (the fanboys) expects you to be a completionist to "play properly", but that goes against the premise of ANet stating that the game is meant for many playstyles.  I like to explore, but I will be damned if I have to go everywhere and do everything.  Yet, from what I hear on Guru, it is what the fanboys expect players to do when a newly-arrived-at-80 says "what now".  It worries me that there isn't enough meat on GW2's bones yet.

My other concern is for WvW.  I'm an ex-DAoC player, and when you went out to RvR you had fun PLUS you earned RP's to build your character in an alternate way.  Now, I fully understand why ANet didn't copy that system because they wanted people to be able to jump in even at level 1 and not have to compete against a RR10 opponent.  However, from what I've read and hear from the players, it is a great deal of fun, but its kind of a hollow experience due to lack of satisfaction in the form of rewards.  Its like RvR-lite, if I am reading the commentary correctly.

Personally, I am waiting out the first month to let the launch chaos settle.  This also gives me a reasonable time to see how the game pans out now that people get to experience the full game, rather than a few hours here and there of select content.  I am hearing a lot of very mixed info, but I think some of the truer feedback is starting to come in.  Overall, I'm concerned that maybe its not all that, and isn't something that will hold someone's interest for more than a month or two.

Originally posted by FrodoFragins

Originally posted by eyelolled

I don't doubt that if you've pushed max level, you're missing out on ALOT of the content. It's a shame if you ask me.

The point is to see them on alts.  Not to shoot my wad on the first character.

OK, and by all means, you can play the game how ever you want. I just haven't rushed at all with my second character and I'm finding that I am outleveling things.  I think it's a shame that I pushed my first character as fast as I did too, so I wasn't intending on being critical about you.

I think everyone is missing a very important point in this thread. One that no one is making directly.

Is that the games allows and supports all versions of play styles.

>Want to chew thru content and hit max level; this game is perferct for it.

>Want to level thru WvW; You can do that too, since all your pvp weapons and armor can be purchased by pvping.

>Want to level thru crafting; 100% viable. You'll level just fine gathering mats and discovering recipes.

>Want to level thru grinding mobs; There is enough variety to do just that. And you can still get decent loot drops.

>How about leveling thru dynamic events; Id say most people are doing it this way. And Im already seeing different scenerios for the same events. Very repeatable, and fun.

> How about leveling thru just exploration; Maybe not so much, but if you inclued Points of Intrest, Vistas, and hidden puzzles, you do get some very good experience. And its a big world, there is a bunch to see.

>How about leveling thru a combination of them all; Best way to do it in my opinion. Leaves a lot of variety for replayability.

This is truely a well balanced game. One that caters to all types of play styles.

And for me personally since it isnt focused on gear based end game raiding (or gear based laddered pvp) its a game that I can see myself enjoying for a long time to come.

And just so you know I dont think that GW2 shouldnt have end game raiding or laddered pvp, it should be part of Arenanets total package. But it shouldnt be the "be all, end all" of game playing and development focus like the current MMO titles that we have to choose from.

Lvling is so fast lol. I'm lvl46 in a lvl25-40 area and I'm positive that I will be 50 before I leave there. But then I don't focus on lvling , I just play the game , really eager to find and join events and complete maps. I also do WvW (at the moment less because my lvling speed is already ridiculously fast) and I craft a little if I happen to find new trophies that allow me to find new recipes.

But then I always find random ppl to group with if my guildies are not online, which makes me stay in areas even longer because often they want help to complete skill challenges etc.

I havent even visited all starting cities or areas below my lvl yet. My current 25-50 area is the first Norn one I see. I havent seen any Sylvari area yet. So its a mystery to me how ppl think that lvling is too slow.

I can kind of agree with with what the OP is saying.  I'm only lvl 14, and I completed the 1-15 sylvari starting area before I hit 13; that's with doing a lot of W v W, harvesting, and a bit of crafting.

However, if I want to craft I'm going to have to farm some mobs.  Just doing the content in the zone isn't leading to enough materials to really get into crafting.  I can also hop over to the Asura starting area and do some exploration in there if I want.

I could see it being a little tiresome running the same content with an alt, but honestly it's like that in pretty much every MMO I've played.  If I can level 4 guys to the level cap in Rfit, doing the same exact content 4 times, I won't have any trouble doing in in GW2 which I find to be a much more enjoyable PvE experience.

I also think it's a little unreasonable to expect a just released MMO to have enough content that you could run multiple alts and not experience the same content you already did.  No MMO actually provides that much content, not even after several years worth of updates.

Originally posted by dorksmetal

you do know that 30-40.40-50 are suggested level not the amount of levels you can get in the area right?

anyways  im level 80 and had no problem leveling. never had to grind never did crafting. beside the few dragons i killed a few times over but good loot was got for those.

not a fanboy, the game isnt perfect but i didnt have any issue with the exp. everything after 40 i flet gave too much exp and i leveled faster 40-80 then i did 1-40

 

Read the OP again.  I wasn't saying I had trouble leveling.  My complaint is in regards to my first alt redoing a lot of zones.

Originally posted by Aerowyn
wow you guys are crazy.. my highest character isn't even 30 yet and I play a couple hours everyday during the week and most of the day on weekends.. I also have repeated several starting zones which i found fun even the second and in a couple cases a third time through but ymmv.. also WvWvW is a ton of fun with a good team.. yes there is a lot of zerg but also a lot to do without following the zerg and be very usefull to the team.. just gotta learn the maps.. oh btw found WvW gave me a TON of XP not sure what your issues with XP was in there

they're called locusts.

How a person wants to play a game is... well... personal.

I appreciate your approach and the struggles you had with it but is it ok for some of us to ask you questions about that approach or offer suggestions on how to overcome the struggles?

Not wanting to see *any* content more than once while leveling is certainly your right to hold as a preference, but I have to ask you if you think you are being fair to the design of the game to treat the vast majority of content (the DEs) as "one shot throwaway" quests?

One of the things I love about this game is I can wander through the a zone and participate in the same events over again and have them feel like different experiences. Sometimes it was due to the size of the group. Or its composition. Or whether we succeeded or failed. Or whether I chose to defend the Eastern Gate or the Western one.

When I first started playing in the BWEs I wanted to "save" content and areas like you to "keep it fresh" so every BWE and Stress Test I played in Queensdale. After 3 BWEs, 2 longer Stress Tests, and Launch I still experienced new Events I hadn't seen in previous playings.

I'm still not tired of the area either. It's fun! I love it! It is likely that every character I make will go through Queensdale along with whatever racial area they call home.

Like I said at the beginning of my response, your personal preference is yours and it is 110% your right to choose how you want or prefer to play. Maybe what I'm suggesting simply won't work for you. But please try to keep an open mind and reflect on your approach. I really feel like you are treating DEs like one-time quests that simply aren't worth experiencing again. I don't think that is their design.

Please at least consider that.

I do the same thing you do and I'm not having your problems at all. 

Sounds like you need to repeat a few dynamic events and run to them whem people on map chat state they are up. Sounds like you are only doing DE's as they come along while you run around. You can can 1 or 2 DE's a few times and gain a level. I always outlevel the zone before I finish it.

Originally posted by FrodoFragins

Originally posted by dorksmetal

you do know that 30-40.40-50 are suggested level not the amount of levels you can get in the area right?

anyways  im level 80 and had no problem leveling. never had to grind never did crafting. beside the few dragons i killed a few times over but good loot was got for those.

not a fanboy, the game isnt perfect but i didnt have any issue with the exp. everything after 40 i flet gave too much exp and i leveled faster 40-80 then i did 1-40

 

Read the OP again.  I wasn't saying I had trouble leveling.  My complaint is in regards to my first alt redoing a lot of zones.

You should try taking one of your alts, and try something a little different. Don't use the map. Just look at your surroundings and navigate where you are. Listen to the conversations of the NPC's and just follow your instincts.  I really really wish that a person could turn every part of the UI off except the skillbar.  I think you might be surprised in how much better the ratio might seem if you take your time and enjoy it.

Originally posted by FrodoFragins

Originally posted by dorksmetal

you do know that 30-40.40-50 are suggested level not the amount of levels you can get in the area right?

anyways  im level 80 and had no problem leveling. never had to grind never did crafting. beside the few dragons i killed a few times over but good loot was got for those.

not a fanboy, the game isnt perfect but i didnt have any issue with the exp. everything after 40 i flet gave too much exp and i leveled faster 40-80 then i did 1-40

 

Read the OP again.  I wasn't saying I had trouble leveling.  My complaint is in regards to my first alt redoing a lot of zones.

with how events work you can go through the same zone multiple times and see new events,  events you only saw at the end or ones you only saw a tiny part of.. if you have issues leveling alts in this game I hate to think how you would handle it in most other games that have very linear and direct leveling paths where you do the exact same quests in the exact same order each time....

Originally posted by PaRoXiTiC

I do the same thing you do and I'm not having your problems at all. 

Sounds like you need to repeat a few dynamic events and run to them whem people on map chat state they are up. Sounds like you are only doing DE's as they come along while you run around. You can can 1 or 2 DE's a few times and gain a level. I always outlevel the zone before I finish it.

In my experience there were only a few times when anyone announced a DE, and that was because they needed help.  It would certainly have been a lot better if I could see where every DE was on the map.  I did make the mistake of missing out on starting DE's early on as I thought they were automated.  But I almost never skipped an event when it popped up for me.

I'll probably roll an alt soon and so I'll see if I was mistaken on certain things.

Originally posted by FrodoFragins

The way I leveled was:

 

1) Do every heart, POI and vista in each region.

2) Farm every ore node I came across

3) Do almost every DE that popped up on my map. 

4) Did story quests when I hit the appropriate level

 

I tried WvWvW just once, I was turned off by the zerg nature and the low EXP.  I was later turned off by the long queues.  I also tried crafting but found it didn't get me very far and I ran out of mats pretty quick.  I skipped the dungeons because I didn't want to run instances and felt I shouldn't have to.

 

In order to reach the cap with that four step approach, I ended up having to go to almost every zone that was tagged between 30 and 75.  The problem is that when I roll an alt, I'm going to be rerunning a LOT of content.

 

My expectation is that it should be simple and wait free to run one zone for each of the following level ranges: 1-15, 15-25, 25-35, 30-40, 40-50, 50-60, 60-70 and 70-80.  Doing so would allow my first alt to run the alternate versions of those zones.  And a second alt could fill in by going to zones like the 35-45, 55-65, 70-75 and 75-80 zones.

 

The only way I could see that happening using my leveling preference would be to have rerun and search for DE's after I completed the zone.  I feel that the zones were plenty large but that they didn't present me with enough EXP to be at the cap of the current zone.

 

I also felt that the EXP per story quest was far too low in many cases relative to the time spent. especially at higher levels.

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to a level based game... should of known this as soon as you started playing and realized it was similar to certain other games.

Originally posted by Aerowyn

Originally posted by FrodoFragins

Originally posted by dorksmetal

you do know that 30-40.40-50 are suggested level not the amount of levels you can get in the area right?

anyways  im level 80 and had no problem leveling. never had to grind never did crafting. beside the few dragons i killed a few times over but good loot was got for those.

not a fanboy, the game isnt perfect but i didnt have any issue with the exp. everything after 40 i flet gave too much exp and i leveled faster 40-80 then i did 1-40

 

Read the OP again.  I wasn't saying I had trouble leveling.  My complaint is in regards to my first alt redoing a lot of zones.

with how events work you can go through the same zone multiple times and see new events,  events you only saw at the end or ones you only saw a tiny part of.. if you have issues leveling alts in this game I hate to think how you would handle it in most other games that have very linear and direct leveling paths where you do the exact same quests in the exact same order each time....

Yep. Ive played 3 Asura characters through the 1st zone, and on each one I wound up discovering new DEs that I hadnt experienced on the previous plkay throughs. I also took 1 of my Asura and my Charr to Wayfarer Foothills (Norn starter area) and ran into new DEs I hadnt expereienced when I went throughit on my Norn toon.

Originally posted by Nightfyre

Originally posted by FrodoFragins

The way I leveled was:

 

1) Do every heart, POI and vista in each region.

2) Farm every ore node I came across

3) Do almost every DE that popped up on my map. 

4) Did story quests when I hit the appropriate level

 

I tried WvWvW just once, I was turned off by the zerg nature and the low EXP.  I was later turned off by the long queues.  I also tried crafting but found it didn't get me very far and I ran out of mats pretty quick.  I skipped the dungeons because I didn't want to run instances and felt I shouldn't have to.

 

In order to reach the cap with that four step approach, I ended up having to go to almost every zone that was tagged between 30 and 75.  The problem is that when I roll an alt, I'm going to be rerunning a LOT of content.

 

My expectation is that it should be simple and wait free to run one zone for each of the following level ranges: 1-15, 15-25, 25-35, 30-40, 40-50, 50-60, 60-70 and 70-80.  Doing so would allow my first alt to run the alternate versions of those zones.  And a second alt could fill in by going to zones like the 35-45, 55-65, 70-75 and 75-80 zones.

 

The only way I could see that happening using my leveling preference would be to have rerun and search for DE's after I completed the zone.  I feel that the zones were plenty large but that they didn't present me with enough EXP to be at the cap of the current zone.

 

I also felt that the EXP per story quest was far too low in many cases relative to the time spent. especially at higher levels.

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to a level based game... should of known this as soon as you started playing and realized it was similar to certain other games.

I thought they learned from the backlash on SWTOR for a completely linear leveling path.  It looked that way from the map and the zone levels.  And I assumed they were the first to get it right since WOW gave us two paths.

Originally posted by FrodoFragins

Originally posted by PaRoXiTiC

I do the same thing you do and I'm not having your problems at all. 

Sounds like you need to repeat a few dynamic events and run to them whem people on map chat state they are up. Sounds like you are only doing DE's as they come along while you run around. You can can 1 or 2 DE's a few times and gain a level. I always outlevel the zone before I finish it.

In my experience there were only a few times when anyone announced a DE, and that was because they needed help.  It would certainly have been a lot better if I could see where every DE was on the map.  I did make the mistake of missing out on starting DE's early on as I thought they were automated.  But I almost never skipped an event when it popped up for me.

 

I'll probably roll an alt soon and so I'll see if I was mistaken on certain things.

sort of missing the whole point of the game in a way.. i know people hate to hear that but it's like playing TERA or this game and complain you can't just stand around and go toe to toe with everything without dying.. game was designed a certain way and to get the most out of it should be played that way. Again not telling people how to play but to understand and really enjoy PVE i would read the dev blogs and see how this world was designed.. if you are trying to paly it like other MMOs you will probably not be happy with it.. you play it like a open world type RPG you will probably enjoy the game a TON more.. at least I know it do:)

Originally posted by Aerowyn

Originally posted by FrodoFragins

Originally posted by PaRoXiTiC

I do the same thing you do and I'm not having your problems at all. 

Sounds like you need to repeat a few dynamic events and run to them whem people on map chat state they are up. Sounds like you are only doing DE's as they come along while you run around. You can can 1 or 2 DE's a few times and gain a level. I always outlevel the zone before I finish it.

In my experience there were only a few times when anyone announced a DE, and that was because they needed help.  It would certainly have been a lot better if I could see where every DE was on the map.  I did make the mistake of missing out on starting DE's early on as I thought they were automated.  But I almost never skipped an event when it popped up for me.

 

I'll probably roll an alt soon and so I'll see if I was mistaken on certain things.

sort of missing the whole point of the game in a way.. i know people hate to hear that but it's like playing TERA or this game and complain you can't just stand around and go toe to toe with everything without dying.. game was designed a certain way and to get the most out of it should be played that way. Again not telling people how to play but to understand and really enjoy PVE i would read the dev blogs and see how this world was designed.. if you are trying to paly it like other MMOs you will probably not be happy with it.. you play it like a open world type RPG you will probably enjoy the game a TON more.. at least I know it do:)

The whole point of the game is to play how you want. He's not "doing it wrong" because he doesn't want to repeat content. It is an issue with any level based game. 

I'd take the word of someone who is level 80 and actually seen the game over a developer who wants to sell the game, and someone who's only experience beyond level 30 is what the developer tells them.

Originally posted by Aerowyn
wow you guys are crazy.. my highest character isn't even 30 yet and I play a couple hours everyday during the week and most of the day on weekends.. I also have repeated several starting zones which i found fun even the second and in a couple cases a third time through but ymmv.. also WvWvW is a ton of fun with a good team.. yes there is a lot of zerg but also a lot to do without following the zerg and be very usefull to the team.. just gotta learn the maps.. oh btw found WvW gave me a TON of XP not sure what your issues with XP was in there

exactly. Same here. My highest is level 30 as well, because in this game there is nothing to rush to the end for. Not to say it doesn't have an end game but it's not all focused at the end like most games. Althroughout the game are dungeons, and i highly doubt you hit every meta event post level 30 personally because i've seen through a friend's gameplay (who's crazy about leveling to max as well) what those events look like later on.

It amazes me that people do this but, what can one do about it. We tried to warn you not to rush. 

Originally posted by Jimmydean

Originally posted by Aerowyn

Originally posted by FrodoFragins

Originally posted by PaRoXiTiC

I do the same thing you do and I'm not having your problems at all. 

Sounds like you need to repeat a few dynamic events and run to them whem people on map chat state they are up. Sounds like you are only doing DE's as they come along while you run around. You can can 1 or 2 DE's a few times and gain a level. I always outlevel the zone before I finish it.

In my experience there were only a few times when anyone announced a DE, and that was because they needed help.  It would certainly have been a lot better if I could see where every DE was on the map.  I did make the mistake of missing out on starting DE's early on as I thought they were automated.  But I almost never skipped an event when it popped up for me.

 

I'll probably roll an alt soon and so I'll see if I was mistaken on certain things.

sort of missing the whole point of the game in a way.. i know people hate to hear that but it's like playing TERA or this game and complain you can't just stand around and go toe to toe with everything without dying.. game was designed a certain way and to get the most out of it should be played that way. Again not telling people how to play but to understand and really enjoy PVE i would read the dev blogs and see how this world was designed.. if you are trying to paly it like other MMOs you will probably not be happy with it.. you play it like a open world type RPG you will probably enjoy the game a TON more.. at least I know it do:)

The whole point of the game is to play how you want. He's not "doing it wrong" because he doesn't want to repeat content. It is an issue with any level based game. 

I'd take the word of someone who is level 80 and actually seen the game over a developer who wants to sell the game, and someone who's only experience beyond level 30 is what the developer tells them.

 

my highest guild memeber just hit 70.. he has 41% of the world discovered.. he has missed numerous zones on his way to 70.. so most likely OP is missing a lot of the zones content. Thing is yuo can easily level to 80 just by PVP or crafting or combination of them all that's what they mean by play how you want. And again like said above you can play the same zone mutliple times and each time it won't be exactly the same. Which is lot more than can be said for most any other MMO