People like to complain and find fault. Other people like to get all hyped up and defend the game they like to the death. Welcome to the world of MMO gaming forums.

I am fairly excited for the game, but am trying to keep the hype down. The more you build something up in your mind, the less fun it will be. I will play it and enjoy it for what it is. When I get bored, I will move on.

Even if it only holds my attention for a couple months, I still got more out of it than any other MMO I have ever purchased for the cost (simply because of no sub fee). Well besides, EQ, WAR, DAoC and FFXIV, got a lot of game time with those (a lot for free too).

All of the trash talking and hyping up happens with every MMO launch. People don't remember the SWTOR days of everyone talking about how next gen and amazing the game is? I was on the other side of the coin, making fun of how bored I was with it even after only getting to level 15ish. And now look at it ...

I still bought the game and played it because friends were, but I grew bored and "finished" with it in about 1 months time. We'll see how GW2 goes, but so far, it feels like the most polished MMO I have ever played, besides RIFT. It is just a game, and I hope I can enjoy it for some time. If not ... there are a million more coming out that I can try as well.

To each their own, no sense in trying to convince the ignorant or flame the fanboys. Just move along. If people hate the game so much, why are they on here every day posting about it? Why don't you post in a community of something you do enjoy, instead of trashing on something you don't like?

The things I don't like about the game ... but still plan on playing it:

-Teleporting around makes the world feel less massive and you lose immersion

-So much zoning makes me lose immersion

-I would like a slower leveling progression

-Would like not only more instanced PvP maps and modes, but also a tiered mode or boosted mode to use your actual character and your progression in the game

-More skills sets, or ways to possibly change out skills that are not simply linked to the weapons you are using ... I have a feeling it will get boring using the same 5 skills once you get spec'd down a certain weapon path.

-Ability to have different trait builds and gear, that you can swap to when you want. This would provide more dynamics and difference in play for a single player ... instead of having to pay a hefty respec cost just to try something new on a character.

-Hopefully WvWvW is balanced, the beta felt mostly imbalaned even after they changed the match ups. I am pretty sure I could write a better matchmaking algorithm than what they have currently. The biggest issue is population, currently. And most likely will always be the problem.

-Don't like all the competitive focus of the game, I want to play more in a world. I want PvP and things to actually matter and effect things. Not just give me some new costume to wear. The progression is kind of lacking at least from what I have heard. We'll see how it pans out.

Originally posted by VagabondLife

Originally posted by Vorch

Didn't ANet say something about balancing the servers a bit more often right after release so that you don't have to spend the first couple weeks in unbalanced matches? Can't be bothered to look up the source as I'm supposed to be studying, lol.

I forget also where I heard it, but it was something about having the matchups only last a few days at first, and then building up to the 2 weeks after the matchups were easier to figure out.

I heard the same sort of thing, not sure from where though. Either way, it sounds like a good idea to me.

The main issue with WvWvW right now, during the BWE's is obviously population imbalances. Once this stuff is more evenly matched, it should be great fun as well as a challenge.

Originally posted by dellirious13

As for PVP in the persistant world....I don't see how that would fit with lore or anything...and my opinion is that open world PVP was never that great (very unimaginative) in most MMOs (WoW's WAS great, but now there isn't much reason to explore the world, no world bosses, very few rares to farm, etc--and so all open world PVP is now is ganking), whereas WvWvW gives a cool, explorable, battleground with many features, and constant impact on the persistant world....there is also a huge chance they will start adding events, other specials, expansion of the WvWvW stage. Its something new melded with old ideas, and I really like it and like the fact that they are trying new things :D

WoW had open world PvP? The fact that people call it open world PvP and think that is great makes it pretty obvious to me that many people do not have the same definition of "good PvP".

Open World PvP in WoW and basically any game comes down to "Open World Ganking". When playing most of these games, the times where I actually felt like I was having a fun and evenly matched PvP experiece are next to none. It is either some monstrous 50 person zerg killing solo players, high levels ganking lower levels when they are killing mobs, or any combination or in-between of the above two. This isn't PvP, it is simply stupidity/bad/horrible PvP.

When I say "Open World PvP" I am talking about games like WAR or DAoC. Games where it is more structured, with objectives. Not just out to gank people who are not looking to PvP at the moment. Where your actions actually effect your world, which is persistent. It isn't about just ganking people with an overwhelming force of players or levels, it is actually mutually agree'ing to PvP against the other side. It is almost like a battleground, but not really. Simply entering an area with PvP objectives is agreeing to the fact you are KoS to the other faction(s).

There are still issues with population balance in this PvP, but in a 3 faction system, things start to get very interesting, very quickly. Once GW2 servers get balanced and matched up correctly, the WvWvW stuff should be amazing. Good open world PvP to me does not involved ganking at all. It involves strategy, flanking, sneak attacks, baiting, feinting weakness, strategic pushes and retreats, seige engine warfare, army movement and attack angles, timing, etc. If real Open World, Structured, Objective based PvP doesn't scratch your PvP itch, then you don't know what real PvP is. In turn, go back to ganking noobs in starter zones to make yourself think you are something you are not (good at PvP).

I am not here to convince anyone to like the game. Try to get a key for a BWE and give it a try yourself. All I can say, is go into the game with an open mind, don't expect some WoW clone/quest hub grind fest. Explore the world and see what you find.

Personally, the game is just downright a blast to play. I can login and have zero direction or goals in mind, and find myself distracted and having fun for 2-3 hours just doing DE's and exploring. There are jump puzzles, there is crafting, there are hidden rewards in all sorts of nooks and cranies around the world, there is SPvP, there is WvWvW, there are dynamic events, there is a personal story. There is just so much to do.

The most boring part of the game, I think, are the golden hearts. These are meant to guide people to level specific areas where dynamic events happen. I think many people, including myself, went to these hearts, completed them, and left. These are not the main content in the game. The orange dynamic events are where the fun is.

Personally, I hope they crank up the frequency of the dynamic events so they can be a bigger part of the leveling and exploring experience ... especially in the zones with less population.

I agree with the OP. I am the same type of gamer. Rushing through content. Blasting my way forward to the end and completing most raid content 1st or 2nd on a server. I did this in RIFT and ended up quitting the game in 2 months because even Trion couldn't pump out content fast enough (and Trion does a GREAT JOB at putting content out quickly).

Most of the negative comments I hear about GW2, I question if people are even playing the same game. One night of running around following DE events was some of the most fun game time I have had in a long time. We had a destination in mind, but it took us almost all night to get there. It was distraction after distraction, and it was all so much fun. Listening to NPC's only to have the conversation open up into an event.

GW2 is one of the most immersive games I have ever played, if not the most. I like that I can "just play" and not always be worried about my next objective ... as I am rewarded for everything I do. Even just going out to harvest crafting materials, I end up finding many new quests and events along the way. I have even found caves with "rich" mining veins in them, guarded by mobs and some sort of boss. While not a specific DE itself, it was still a challenge with a reward.

There is just so much exploration, followed by challenge, followed by reward in this game, it is fantastic. I think many negative views on the game are due to people simply playing it incorrectly. Just explore the world and have fun. The golden hearts are not the meat of the content. Listen to the NPC's, follow the story, I am sure more often than not it will end in some new quest you have never done before.

I can't wait to get my hands on the game again :)

Originally posted by Sythion

Okay.. what I think we can all agree on based on the responses in this thread:

1. GW2 has a lot of types of content, not all players want to do all of the content, though some do.
2. The game should not have its leveling curve based on doing just Heart quests or just Heart quests and a couple DE's. That would trivialize the experience for many players.
3. The game should not have its leveling curve based on doing every single bit of content in the game in order to stay at the current level. That would force players to do things they consider unfun, and there are so many types of content at least a few people will find them un-fun.
4. NEITHER 2 or 3 is the current state of GW2.

So the question for everyone on both sides of this argument, how "much" content should be required before leveling?

My opinion, as I've stated earlier:

• All DEs
• All Hearts
• All Exploration
• All Personal Story

Those are all PvE centric play styles, and they should be sufficient to to level. From the responses here it seems like it is sufficient to level in the Human zone, and not in the Charr zone.

 

Of course this stuff can be swapped out depending on what a player finds fun.

Good post, and I agree for the most part. However, I don't think you should be required to do all DE's as a requirement to be of sufficient level. I am the type of player that will participate in WvWvW, SPvP and PvE content, and I just hate missing content. I think they are pretty close to where they are at now with the leveling curve, I think they should make it slightly slower and pump of the frequency of DE's in zones.

And the Charr zone had a ridiculous amount of DE's when I was there. We would be participating in one, with 2 or 3 more going on in our quest log. When I talked about spending 2 hours getting to a skill point ... that entire 2 hours was us doing DE after DE after DE. The main problem is, the frequency of the DE's seems to be dependent on the player population, I would like to see more of them in even less populated areas, as the DE's are much more fun and different than filling the golden hearts.

The 25-35 zone felt pretty empty and I hardly did any DE's, just filled hearts and moved on. That was boring and stale. I almost wish they never put the golden hearts in the game now :P Especially after hearing why they did it.

They better not make it easier to level, personally, I think I am progressing too fast. If anything, I would like them to slow down the experience gains some.

If people think they are supposed to just "finish the gold hearts and move on", then they are not playing the game correctly. The gold hearts are not really even supposed to be part of the game ... the DE's are, those are the orange circles/shields/quests that pop up randomly around the golden hearts. These are the meat of the content in the game. The golden hearts are just there to guide you to level specific areas.

They added the golden hearts because people were confused at where to go. Now people think the golden hearts are the DE content and the only content to level through. This needs to be brought up specifically in the tutorials when beginning the game. The golden hearts are some of the most stagnant boring content in the game ... the DE's are way more fun and interactive.

Since the entire game is "end game", I don't see a point in fast leveling. The journey is more important than the destination, especially in this game. I say, slow down leveling and let us enjoy more of the content. Crank up the amount and frequency of DE's would help too.

I know when in a heavy population zone, it was amazing how many events were going on at one time. My friends and I spent like 2 hours getting across the map to a skill point we were after just because we kept encountering new events and doing them. Was some of the most fun I have had in a while in MMO gaming. The "just play" attitude of the game is refreshing, I like not having the structure of chasing quests NPC's/turn ins the entire time I am leveling up. You can just explore and go where the wind blows you, very different!

I don't really get what the complaint is. World vs. World vs. World is "Open PvP", or as close as it is going to get at this point. The lore and gameplay wouldn't cater well to PvP. Letting people run around ganking people doing DE's? That would be VERY counter productive and counter to what ArenaNet is trying to do with the PvE system. The last thing you need are players ganking people during boss fights with bosses that 1 shot you.

I just don't really see it working in the game. Call it carebear or whatever you want. If you had a brain larger han a size of a pea, you would see that the game design simply doesn't support it in the PvE world. The WvWvW seems fun when I have participated and will get my Open PvP urges fulfilled doing that, which I am very much looking forward to.

It does feel pretty zergy right now, but the BWE's have also been horribly disorganized and people running around in non-cohesive groups. When actual guilds start playing WvWvW and coordinating attacks and using actual strategy, I am sure that will change.

There are games out there made for ganking and being bad at PvP, go play those. GW2 feels much more like WAR or DAoC, with real organized open world PvP. Which is exactly what you are not looking for OP? You just want to gank newbs. Congratulations on sucking horribly at PvP, is all I can really say at this point.

There are buffs for sprinting, use them when you are traveling long distance. And adding the ability to hold down a button and block for a long period of time would be completely overpowered. There are already shield skills you can use. While I do think shield kind of lack the defensive capabilities that they should bring, from a balance stand point, being able to 100% block attacks would be ridiculous.

I think the only thing I would like to see is more off-hand abilities. Maybe allow a player to focus more on the primary or off-hand. giving 3 off hand skills and 2 main hand. I don't feel there is enough diversity at times when playing Guardian. Then again, I haven't played all that long, so hopefully the current abilities will grow on me some :)

I don't really sit around waiting for an MMO to release. Hyping it up in your mind is just going to make it a total dissapointment. I try to go in with low expectations and don't research watch every video on the internet. It has been on my radar for a while, but I have played and am playing many other games. I would say I have really started looking forward to it starting last year, and more so at the start of this year. Ready to jump into something different for a while. Either way, the release date is only getting closer, can't wait to jump in and play, or even another BWE would be nice ;)

Or you can get a damn job and buy your own copy. I would never purchase random copies of a game to give out to random people on some forum, lol, are you serious?

I can suppor the game just fine buying my own copy (or my wife/friends) and buying stuff in the cash shop. Nice try though?

Originally posted by graggok

Anet is usually pretty consistant about release new information even if it just some screenshots or something the like, but the last two days they seem much much more active, I am gonna put my tin foil hat on and say the 6/28/12 14:30 may not be the release date but I believe its is a prelude to some form of tease.

Just in time to take a poo on TSE's parade.

I did have quite a bit of fun when playing. I really didn't find many, if any of the heart events to be very fun at all. They only got fun when DE's started around them.

My main concern, is DE's seem to pop up depending on how many people are in the zone/area. The starter zones seemed to have DE's going at all times. You would be doing one, with 3 going on around you. When I hit the 25-35 zone, didn't really see any. Maybe 3-4 total. So the game is much more fun and epic with more people around, that is for sure.

Also, when voting for most things, the fun I would have was directly linked to the difficulty. If I died a few times, 5/5 stars on the fun. If I steam rolled the entire event, 2/3 stars out of 5. I want difficutly and I want to get my ass kicked. Without challenge, frustration and struggle, there is nothing to really enjoy or celebrate when you do complete something.

I don't have much fun with the Heary Quests, but the DE's are fantastic. It is even more interesting if you follow around the NPC's and listen to the stories, only to see another event unfold in front of your very eyes. Can't wait to explore more of this when I get more time in game.

Originally posted by Zeno89

I'm just so confused by all these posts about people loving GW2... I found it so stale and boring... WHAT AM I MISSING HERE! lol

A brain and MMO gaming experience. The 3 faction PvP alone is enough to keep me busy for months. I also enjoyed the exploratory aspects of the game, and the more action oriented game play feeling. Plus, I can login and play it whenever I want, and not have to worry about a subscription.

To me, it is basically a no brainer purchase, like BF3 or any single player game ... I can just get on and play it, whenever I want. I don't have to worry about forking out 15 bucks just to check it out or enjoy myself when I want to. That is the beauty of it.

Originally posted by Thorbrand

The game is far over hyped and a long way from launch before we can even say it is a great MMO. I think it has a long ways just to be classified as a MMO yet. Right now it is pretty much a advanced GW1 not much of a MMO. Great PvP and the WvW is awesome but there is a lot more to a MMO than that.

What the hell are you talking about now? I soloed 99% of the time in WoW/RIFT/instert bad "MMO" here. I group and participate with other players non-stop in GW2. There seems to be way more interaction in GW2 than most recent MMO's. Then you have PvP and Dungeons which are all about grouping up.

You apparently need to look up what MMO stands for and stop throwing the term around for which you don't understand in the slightest. Massive Multiplayer Online, you are saying a game where you are playing with thousands of others players at the same time, with more player interaction than most other "MMOs", isn't an MMO?

Nice work.

Originally posted by Lagoz

TSW's combat has more depth than any other mmorpg up to date.

 

The reason being that you have 525 skills available and you need to choose 7 actives and 7 passives out of those.

Add this to PvP and you'll have opponent with any combination of  525 abilities against you.

You can see from the weapons he/she is using which will limit this to 100-200 different abilities.

 

In any other MMORPG except Rift you can tell what the X class is going to do when you see him/her. In TSW you have to react/figure out what the opposing player is using. This is called depth.

TSW combat is a lot closer to MOBAs than any MMORPGs and I don't see people screaming LoL/Dota/Hon has limited and outdated combat.

 

TSW could be described as "Easy to learn, impossible to master".

It seems like you are talking more about GW2 than TSW. There is still all the tab targetting, auto-aiming button mash fest in TSW from what I have seen. I haven't played it hardly at all, just the last beta event, but the combat seems boring and stale. My button rotation consisted of running in and spamming AoE's until all the zombies died. There was hardly any times where it felt challenging.

I did enjoy the story, and some of the puzzle like quests in game, really seems creepy/wierd which was cool. But past that, I didn't feel the gameplay and combat was very solid. It also seemed like many of the "different skills" were basically the exact same when it came right down to it.

Basically every weapon has a 5 point combo system for abilities, and the two weapons I tried were basically the exact same as far as a couple singe target and then AoE abilities. I didn't see much comboing at all, just spamming like mad crazy. My pistol guy was more DPS, my Chaos magic guys was more tank. I managed to get a closed beta key and want to try more, but it hardly seems revolutionary to me. It also falls into the "we need a tank/healer/dps for group" again, which is getting old for me.

The action oriented gameplay (and skill based aiming) is much more alive in GW2 than TSW. TSW feels like another tab targetting, button mashing, face rollingly easy MMO so far. Some of the "make you think" quests and puzzles are new and awesome, but the combat is pretty bland to me. And I have played GW2 and TSW for just one beta weekend each, so about the same time.

GW2 is more polished. GW2 feels way less theme parky and linear/structured (multiple characters will go through the exact same crap in TSW when leveling up). GW2 has a box cost and item shop, but no sub fee, while TSW has a box cost, sub fee and item shop (fail). ArenaNet has way more reputation for great games than Funcom. Play what you want, but my mind is pretty much decided at this point, unless TSW closed beta is way more amazing than the BWE. Also the closed beta has an NDA still ... 2 weeks before release? What kind of badness/fail stuff are they hiding from people untli release? This makes me pretty wary of purchasing it at this point.

Especially since basically every subscription goes F2P within a few months. Companies need to get with the times, the mass exodus will begin a couple months after release, if not before then. This is the biggest problem with MMOs with a subscription based model. You need population to make the game fun and playable, yet companies are forcing people out by charging them and not having enough content to keep people occupied. I don't see how this or any subscription based game is going to be any different.

To each their own, but I am still on the fence about buying TSW. There are some things I like, it is the combat and low mob variety that has me yawning. Just like SWTOR, the story isn't going to keep me playing ... the gameplay is.

I am shaking in my boots. That keyboard turning is going to destroy me!

I don't see how it would be hurting them. The game will be ready when it is ready.

I hope we get some kind of release date soon though, it feels a little odd offering pre-orders, taking people's money and still not giving out a date yet. I think that is the only thing I am scratching my head about right now. Getting anxious to start playing!

I think doing 2-3 day match ups the first couple weeks would be ideal. Pull metrics on how many are participating from each server, during the different match ups, then after the 2 weeks of data mining, set the "final matches" and bump it up to the 2-3 week time period.

My server was kind of in the middle of the pack in the BWE2. I had a lot of fun doing World PvP, we were just vastly out numbered. It wouldn't have been so bad if people on the third world ever showed up and did something ... We'll see how it plays out, but World PvP population/participation is going to make or break the PvP, as it always has.

Once the match ups get really even, I would like to see the time extended even longer. Making it as persitent as possible is what makes it more interesting. Right now, I am not sure there is really enough rewards from World PvP though, the only reward is just doing it for fun. That is one reason DAoC and WAR were good, is because that basically was "the end game" and the only way to really progress past level cap.