Originally posted by The_Korrigan
Dynamic Events (GW2 version, not the crap WAR or Rift tried to make us believe it was dynamic): best thing that happened to theme park MMORPGs since WOW was released in 2004.

I remember when WoW came out in 2004 and all those !'s and ?'s and the questing system was so new it replaced grinding mobs as the primary source of leveling in an MMO.  I thought to myself, this will revolutionize the genre.  I was right!  Fast forward 8 years and I said the same thing about GW2's DE system.  Will I be right again?  My spidey senses predict yes.

Originally posted by Zylaxx

Originally posted by The_Korrigan
Dynamic Events (GW2 version, not the crap WAR or Rift tried to make us believe it was dynamic): best thing that happened to theme park MMORPGs since WOW was released in 2004.

I remember when WoW came out in 2004 and all those !'s and ?'s and the questing system was so new it replaced grinding mobs as the primary source of leveling in an MMO.  I thought to myself, this will revolutionize the genre.  I was right!  Fast forward 8 years and I said the same thing about GW2's DE system.  Will I be right again?  My spidey senses predict yes.

So Very True!!

The WoW innovation did more than innovate the genre, it spread outside of the genre.  You see the same system (or at least similiar) system used in single player games as well now.   

I'm hoping that GW2 has that same level of impact, not just within the genre but busting over into other game types too.  

 

Well atleast I can get away from a daily real life DE, when my dog poos on other's yard sometimes and I have to take a bag to clean it up. Let the wife handle that from now on.

 

O_O

It will do jagarud. If you are developing a new mmorg you are never ever going to select ? Over the head instead of the gw2 model. Finally after 8 years a bit of evolution. (note not revolution)

They are a welcome adaptation of Rifts dynamic events. That being said, I did enjoy how Rift introduced a guild aspect to theirs (opening up raid tears) where others couldn't interfere. There is no strategy when 50 random people just go at a meta event boss. It's just a matter of trying to survive and raising other people up.

Originally posted by RogueTroopa

Just curious if any of you beta testers  enjoyed these dynamic events or did they simply become as tiresome as the rifts? For me the rifts were a new concept at the start but people soon got tired and bored of these. 

Will I be going through the game constantly getting into dynamic events or are these few and far between? 

Well, the big difference is dynamic events are THE main way of questing in this game. Rifts, while fun, were a completely 2ndary mechanic. If you got rid of rifts, you were only losing maybe 5-10% of the game's content. Nothing major. If you remove dynamic events from GW2, you'd be stripping out roughly ~80-90% of the game's content. They're all encompassing, and they are everywhere (outside of structured PvP).

Now, this is also one of the downsides. As with anything, DEs can get repetative. They've done a lot to try and minimize this, but this is very blatant in the starting areas. It really depends on how you play, though.

For example, if you are the type of player that plays on a checklist (i.e. 'okay, lets see what i have to do here' and then goes off to check off the tasks), then DEs won't make a lot of sense for you. It won't matter how much they vary or change, you will still be viewing them like a traditional questing mechanic. Now, if you are an explorer (i.e. you'd rather forget the checklist, and just adventure out and see what's out there), then you will absolutely love dynamic events. They are best experienced, by far, when you just allow them to happen, and aren't looking for specific ones.

- Overall, I still haven't gotten tired of them, and I've been playing the game since the end of closed beta. This is primarily due to how many different ways there are to experience low lvl content. There is absolutely nothing forcing you to repeat the same content you were just doing, and if you hate your race's starting area, there's nothing stopping you from going to a different one. The freedom is most definitely a breath of fresh air.

Originally posted by Meowhead

Originally posted by Vesavius

No, nothing like Rift's, because Rift's were extremply repetitive. GW2's are not.

My overall opinion of DEs in this game though is that they are pretty shit when shared by the zerg, but amazing when tackled in a small personal group.

 

The trouble is that right now most are judging them from only the zerg.

 One advantage to pushing to level 30 in a single beta weekend, is you pretty much leave the zerg behind. :)

Most beta weekends, I've ended up starting them late (In the evening), so I actually mostly missed the zerg, and it wasn't until the latest stress test with me starting a new character that I really got to experience what it was like being part of a huge mass that just goes around destroying events.

I agree, that's not nearly as fun.  Probably about the optimal fun group is around 4-5 people for most of the time, and at least 10 for the big boss events (Because they're fairly impossible in a group of 5).

 

Yeah for sure. A small group like you say is ideal imo. We have chatted here and decided to spend the first few days grinding a bit (for loot bags and to unlock weapon skills), crafting, exploring, and gathering to let the initial herd get ahead of us so we can enjoy the DEs in a less manic environment.

 

Y'know... GW2 will maybe be in the long term the best ageing MMO we have seen because it's DEs, along with features like no specific classes required and automatic delevelling.

In the past, under the traditional model, it is a bad thing to find yourself with just a few of you in a zone, as happens usually in a game as people level past content... in GW2 it is actually arguably better.

Providing a quality starter experience in 6 months or a year from now, and not just in the first month when the servers are heaving, for one of these games is actually a pretty amazing thing. 

Originally posted by aesperus

Originally posted by RogueTroopa

Just curious if any of you beta testers  enjoyed these dynamic events or did they simply become as tiresome as the rifts? For me the rifts were a new concept at the start but people soon got tired and bored of these. 

Will I be going through the game constantly getting into dynamic events or are these few and far between? 

Well, the big difference is dynamic events are THE main way of questing in this game. Rifts, while fun, were a completely 2ndary mechanic. If you got rid of rifts, you were only losing maybe 5-10% of the game's content. Nothing major. If you remove dynamic events from GW2, you'd be stripping out roughly ~80-90% of the game's content. They're all encompassing, and they are everywhere (outside of structured PvP).

Now, this is also one of the downsides. As with anything, DEs can get repetative. They've done a lot to try and minimize this, but this is very blatant in the starting areas. It really depends on how you play, though.

For example, if you are the type of player that plays on a checklist (i.e. 'okay, lets see what i have to do here' and then goes off to check off the tasks), then DEs won't make a lot of sense for you. It won't matter how much they vary or change, you will still be viewing them like a traditional questing mechanic. Now, if you are an explorer (i.e. you'd rather forget the checklist, and just adventure out and see what's out there), then you will absolutely love dynamic events. They are best experienced, by far, when you just allow them to happen, and aren't looking for specific ones.

- Overall, I still haven't gotten tired of them, and I've been playing the game since the end of closed beta. This is primarily due to how many different ways there are to experience low lvl content. There is absolutely nothing forcing you to repeat the same content you were just doing, and if you hate your race's starting area, there's nothing stopping you from going to a different one. The freedom is most definitely a breath of fresh air.

The other downside to the system (which I have experienced during two separate play sessions now) is that because they are "dynamic" and 80-90% of the content in the game...you can get "unlucky" and have literally NOTHING to do in the game. On two separate occassions I came across maybe 3 or 4 dynamic events in 2 hours. Since there are no traditional quests (the renown hearts are very minor), I was basically just wandering around and grinding. I tried talking to every named NPC, I did all the renown quests and events never triggered. It was like a ghost-game.

Originally posted by DrWookie

 

The other downside to the system (which I have experienced during two separate play sessions now) is that because they are "dynamic" and 80-90% of the content in the game...you can get "unlucky" and have literally NOTHING to do in the game. On two separate occassions I came across maybe 3 or 4 dynamic events in 2 hours. Since there are no traditional quests (the renown hearts are very minor), I was basically just wandering around and grinding. I tried talking to every named NPC, I did all the renown quests and events never triggered. It was like a ghost-game.

renowns don't really trigger DE's generally a lot of the time DE's will overlap heart quests though..  You also have your personal story to follow as well if you feel your tired of just wandering.

Also never once in all the time I put into beta did the game feel like a ghost game people were everywhere.. but even if i was alone I find the zones to be incredibly immersive so would enjoy it either way..

I enjoy them so much that its actually difficult for me to play other mmos because they all feel stale and dry after experiencing the dynamic content of GW2.

Originally posted by RogueTroopa

Just curious if any of you beta testers  enjoyed these dynamic events or did they simply become as tiresome as the rifts? For me the rifts were a new concept at the start but people soon got tired and bored of these. 

Will I be going through the game constantly getting into dynamic events or are these few and far between? 

Mix it up with some pvp and dungeons.

You can never please everyone and overall we can be quite over critical when it comes to teams trying something new. We all cry for inovation but then when people try new things we all jump on them and say its really the same old thing presented in a new way. After time these systems evolve until we do have something entirely new.

All I can say is its much more enjoyable(imho) than the traditional questing system available in most themeparks today. I may still be killing or collecting things but the way its presented it doesnt feel like a chore. If I was still into RP ide say its much more immersive and rp-friendly as well.

Originally posted by Darth-Batman
I enjoy them so much that its actually difficult for me to play other mmos because they all feel stale and dry after experiencing the dynamic content of GW2.

same.. I'm playing TSW right now and while the puzzle quests and investigation stuff is fun the overall feeling of everything is very static in comparison which brings down the whole game.

Originally posted by Aerowyn

Originally posted by DrWookie

 

The other downside to the system (which I have experienced during two separate play sessions now) is that because they are "dynamic" and 80-90% of the content in the game...you can get "unlucky" and have literally NOTHING to do in the game. On two separate occassions I came across maybe 3 or 4 dynamic events in 2 hours. Since there are no traditional quests (the renown hearts are very minor), I was basically just wandering around and grinding. I tried talking to every named NPC, I did all the renown quests and events never triggered. It was like a ghost-game.

renowns don't really trigger DE's generally a lot of the time DE's will overlap heart quests though..  You also have your personal story to follow as well if you feel your tired of just wandering.

Also never once in all the time I put into beta did the game feel like a ghost game people were everywhere.. but even if i was alone I find the zones to be incredibly immersive so would enjoy it either way..

Both times I had made a new character in sort of the middle of the event (beta weekend 3 I didn't get into until saturday evening since I was gone, then this last stress test I joined around 5 and made a new character at 6:00). So the "crowds" of people had kind of moved on to higher level zones. There were still players, but only a small handful...for the most part what I would consider "normal" for a zone in an MMO. In both situations I followed the renown quests for my level, and got all the exploration points/vistas/waypoints. I very quickly hit a wall because my next renown quest in both situations was about 4 or 5 levels above me...which I just couldn't do. At that point the game felt very grindy since "quests" are dynamic events, but since they are dynamic they don't always show up. The zones are gorgeous and immersive, but I still like to have things to do. The sad thing is I know it wasn't because of a lack of content in the game, it was just an odd scenario where the content wasn't "revealing" itself. In the first two weekends I had PLENTY to do and I was easily outleveling the content in the early zones. I didn't have to change zones on any of my characters leveling up because there were plenty of dynamic events. On these two charactesr by about level 6 I had to change zones just because there was nothing left for me to do in the zones. It was very strange.

Originally posted by eyelolled
If I don't like one, I just don't bother with it. There is always something else going on.

I never feel like I have to finish this stupid quest so I can get it out of my quest log like in EVERY other MMO out there.

strongly agree

I think the system works extremely well in general. Some issues exist with events with only one or two players, or events that trigger too frequently.

 

Originally posted by DrWookie

Originally posted by Aerowyn

Originally posted by DrWookie

 

The other downside to the system (which I have experienced during two separate play sessions now) is that because they are "dynamic" and 80-90% of the content in the game...you can get "unlucky" and have literally NOTHING to do in the game. On two separate occassions I came across maybe 3 or 4 dynamic events in 2 hours. Since there are no traditional quests (the renown hearts are very minor), I was basically just wandering around and grinding. I tried talking to every named NPC, I did all the renown quests and events never triggered. It was like a ghost-game.

renowns don't really trigger DE's generally a lot of the time DE's will overlap heart quests though..  You also have your personal story to follow as well if you feel your tired of just wandering.

Also never once in all the time I put into beta did the game feel like a ghost game people were everywhere.. but even if i was alone I find the zones to be incredibly immersive so would enjoy it either way..

Both times I had made a new character in sort of the middle of the event (beta weekend 3 I didn't get into until saturday evening since I was gone, then this last stress test I joined around 5 and made a new character at 6:00). So the "crowds" of people had kind of moved on to higher level zones. There were still players, but only a small handful...for the most part what I would consider "normal" for a zone in an MMO. In both situations I followed the renown quests for my level, and got all the exploration points/vistas/waypoints. I very quickly hit a wall because my next renown quest in both situations was about 4 or 5 levels above me...which I just couldn't do. At that point the game felt very grindy since "quests" are dynamic events, but since they are dynamic they don't always show up. The zones are gorgeous and immersive, but I still like to have things to do. The sad thing is I know it wasn't because of a lack of content in the game, it was just an odd scenario where the content wasn't "revealing" itself. In the first two weekends I had PLENTY to do and I was easily outleveling the content in the early zones. I didn't have to change zones on any of my characters leveling up because there were plenty of dynamic events. On these two charactesr by about level 6 I had to change zones just because there was nothing left for me to do in the zones. It was very strange.

odd never had any issues like you are describing just wandering around I almost always ran into some event or something going on.. and if for some reason I didn't I always had my personal story to follow to get xp as well.. Not sure if you watched them yet but got a few good videos on leveling and such in my Sig.

Originally posted by Aerowyn

Originally posted by DrWookie

Originally posted by Aerowyn

Originally posted by DrWookie

 

The other downside to the system (which I have experienced during two separate play sessions now) is that because they are "dynamic" and 80-90% of the content in the game...you can get "unlucky" and have literally NOTHING to do in the game. On two separate occassions I came across maybe 3 or 4 dynamic events in 2 hours. Since there are no traditional quests (the renown hearts are very minor), I was basically just wandering around and grinding. I tried talking to every named NPC, I did all the renown quests and events never triggered. It was like a ghost-game.

renowns don't really trigger DE's generally a lot of the time DE's will overlap heart quests though..  You also have your personal story to follow as well if you feel your tired of just wandering.

Also never once in all the time I put into beta did the game feel like a ghost game people were everywhere.. but even if i was alone I find the zones to be incredibly immersive so would enjoy it either way..

Both times I had made a new character in sort of the middle of the event (beta weekend 3 I didn't get into until saturday evening since I was gone, then this last stress test I joined around 5 and made a new character at 6:00). So the "crowds" of people had kind of moved on to higher level zones. There were still players, but only a small handful...for the most part what I would consider "normal" for a zone in an MMO. In both situations I followed the renown quests for my level, and got all the exploration points/vistas/waypoints. I very quickly hit a wall because my next renown quest in both situations was about 4 or 5 levels above me...which I just couldn't do. At that point the game felt very grindy since "quests" are dynamic events, but since they are dynamic they don't always show up. The zones are gorgeous and immersive, but I still like to have things to do. The sad thing is I know it wasn't because of a lack of content in the game, it was just an odd scenario where the content wasn't "revealing" itself. In the first two weekends I had PLENTY to do and I was easily outleveling the content in the early zones. I didn't have to change zones on any of my characters leveling up because there were plenty of dynamic events. On these two charactesr by about level 6 I had to change zones just because there was nothing left for me to do in the zones. It was very strange.

odd never had any issues like you are describing just wandering around I almost always ran into some event or something going on.. and if for some reason I didn't I always had my personal story to follow to get xp as well.. Not sure if you watched them yet but got a few good videos on leveling and such in my Sig.

I've taken 5 characters through the early zones. It happened on two. Not really sure what else to say except that both of those were started in the middle of weekend/stress tests when most people were past the zone. Like I said in my original post I believe I was just "unlucky"...however that does still point out a flaw in the system. When you are unlucky the game suddenly grinds to a halt since 80-90% of the content are dynamic events. WIthout them, there isn't a lot to do.

I loved the whole idea of the Dynamic Events, after playing GW2 I just can't return to another MMORPG, they all feel so static and painfully un-immersive.

Something that I always feel I have to point out whenever there is a discussion about Dynamic Events, and comments that there is "nothing to do" at times, is that a vast amount of events don't simply reset. Usually there is player interraction needed to progress or start an event, if there are no events running, instead of moving to another zone, try starting them yourself, interract with objects (usually those situated near Renown Hearts), talk to npcs (even if they don't have a mark above their heads) you will be surprised. There is nothing better than starting the event yourself, always remember, those events start for a reason.

Originally posted by DrWookie

Originally posted by Aerowyn

Originally posted by DrWookie

Originally posted by Aerowyn

Originally posted by DrWookie

 

The other downside to the system (which I have experienced during two separate play sessions now) is that because they are "dynamic" and 80-90% of the content in the game...you can get "unlucky" and have literally NOTHING to do in the game. On two separate occassions I came across maybe 3 or 4 dynamic events in 2 hours. Since there are no traditional quests (the renown hearts are very minor), I was basically just wandering around and grinding. I tried talking to every named NPC, I did all the renown quests and events never triggered. It was like a ghost-game.

renowns don't really trigger DE's generally a lot of the time DE's will overlap heart quests though..  You also have your personal story to follow as well if you feel your tired of just wandering.

Also never once in all the time I put into beta did the game feel like a ghost game people were everywhere.. but even if i was alone I find the zones to be incredibly immersive so would enjoy it either way..

Both times I had made a new character in sort of the middle of the event (beta weekend 3 I didn't get into until saturday evening since I was gone, then this last stress test I joined around 5 and made a new character at 6:00). So the "crowds" of people had kind of moved on to higher level zones. There were still players, but only a small handful...for the most part what I would consider "normal" for a zone in an MMO. In both situations I followed the renown quests for my level, and got all the exploration points/vistas/waypoints. I very quickly hit a wall because my next renown quest in both situations was about 4 or 5 levels above me...which I just couldn't do. At that point the game felt very grindy since "quests" are dynamic events, but since they are dynamic they don't always show up. The zones are gorgeous and immersive, but I still like to have things to do. The sad thing is I know it wasn't because of a lack of content in the game, it was just an odd scenario where the content wasn't "revealing" itself. In the first two weekends I had PLENTY to do and I was easily outleveling the content in the early zones. I didn't have to change zones on any of my characters leveling up because there were plenty of dynamic events. On these two charactesr by about level 6 I had to change zones just because there was nothing left for me to do in the zones. It was very strange.

odd never had any issues like you are describing just wandering around I almost always ran into some event or something going on.. and if for some reason I didn't I always had my personal story to follow to get xp as well.. Not sure if you watched them yet but got a few good videos on leveling and such in my Sig.

I've taken 5 characters through the early zones. It happened on two. Not really sure what else to say except that both of those were started in the middle of weekend/stress tests when most people were past the zone. Like I said in my original post I believe I was just "unlucky"...however that does still point out a flaw in the system. When you are unlucky the game suddenly grinds to a halt since 80-90% of the content are dynamic events. WIthout them, there isn't a lot to do.

videos I have show lots of other things you can do for XP.. DE's are the core of it but you still have a lot of options.. hell you could craft ot level 80 if you wanted to. Not saying you are wrong or lying or anything i just never had this issue even during BWE2 when many people moved on past the first zone i still had a TON of stuff going on in the 1-15 charr zone where I never felt like I was grinding or out of events to do.

The DE's in the game are awesome to me mainly because of the potential for them to become bigger and branch of more and more as time goes by. I prefer a DE over a "!" quest. The fact they are chain events that you can actually fail is really cool. From what I've read and watched, the DE's have been designed to be added on to and grown over time, this just makes my creative mind go crazy with ideas and possibilities. So, overall, my view is that DE's are the new standard in which MMO's should aim for.