81 replies to this topic

[Humungous]

Played nearly 3 hours last night with my brother, a serious rarity for me now that I have children, and we had a blast!

Bottom line is that we just did whatever we felt like, didn't sweat "progress" towards some ridiculous virtual goal, and mixed it up with different characters and events. In that 3 hours, we played four distinct game-modes, with 3 different characters each!

We started with an AC run, which was fun because we did a few things that we hadn't done before, rather than just speed-running it, and we had a few newer players to help along.

Then we went to EB to the jumping puzzle, which I'd never been to. It was a hoot. Didn't get far at all, but had some hilarious 3-way rivalries going with some FA & TC guys: yanking each other around and blasting each other off cliffs. Eventually, more TC showed up so we couldn't progress. Next time!

So the two of us ran around EB being obnoxious: taking camps, jacking yaks out from the middle of small zergs, stealing sentries, or drawing zergs to defend keeps from our two man "attacks". As a mark necro and focus mesmer, we eluded many zergs in some pretty epic chases. Didn't "accomplish" that much, but had some really fun cat and mouse going.

Finally, we dropped into tPvP, where we won our first tournament (we don't play much). We were mostly carried by a helluva thief player, but my brother and I had fun playing a psuedo-bunker-duo with strong team-fight builds. Our teammates were very nice people: didn't even complain when I bombed our first match (15 points maybe?)

So in 3 hours, we did a dungeon, ridiculous jumping puzzle + pvp, hit 'n' run WvW with some really fun chases (we had a group of 4 TC guys chasing us around for nearly 20 minutes), and a tPvP tournament. Never got boring, never felt grindy. We didn't really make much "progress", certainly not compared to focused grinding, but we had a lot of fun!

Much better than mindlessly trying to grind out some achievement, gear, or whatnot.

Edited by Humungous, 18 December 2012 - 06:47 PM.

[Red_Falcon]

GW2 has indeed a tonload of varied and very fun activities to do.
And that's exactly what I wanted from GW2.

On the not-so-bright side, there is little variety when it comes to characters tho.
Hopefully they will release more weapons, skills and other customization.

[Craywulf]

I think you just exemplified what is missing from today's gamers, which is letting the game take you where it leads, instead trying to control the progression. Play the game as ArenaNet intended is far more enjoyable. It's a fun game when your not focused on trying to be efficient and highly effective in every conceivable way.

[Kymeric]

Gotta agree, Humungous.

The game seems designed to fight the traditional way of playing an MMORPG, where you set a series of short term and long term goals for yourself and try to find the most efficient way to achieve them.  I have the most fun when I just explore and do what presents itself and strikes my fancy at any given time.

Unfortunately, a lot of MMORPG players have been conditioned to play goal-oriented, and I'm not sure that conditioning will break easily.

[Tregarde]

Humungous, on 18 December 2012 - 06:46 PM, said:

Bottom line is that we just did whatever we felt like, didn't sweat "progress" towards some ridiculous virtual goal...

Yep. That is one of the things that makes GW2 fun for me. The "need" to grind is so much less that I can just spend my time doing whatever I want, and I'll still make progress. I can relax, instead of turning a game into a second job just to reach the "end."

[Gilles VI]

Humungous, on 18 December 2012 - 06:46 PM, said:

-snip-

It's what players make themself do really.
I, like you, just do whatever I want to do, which is mostly dungeons. But still, I don't feel obligated to do them, I only do them when I want.
And because of that I'm having a blast, even after 500h played now.

Other players will only focus on once certain aspect (WvW, Fractals, Legendary,..) and will grind that for hours per day, day after day.
And then get surprised it gets boring.

For example alot of people whine about the karma requirement for legendary weapons.
Because it requires days and days of grinding orr! Those people don't understand there is also another way, just doing daily/monthly, chilling out in dungeons, rolling alts and levelling them, WvW,...

It all depends on the player really.

[Humungous]

The "second job" effect is pretty intense. You may see my posts in other threads about making $$ via crafting. I found myself getting up early so I could manage my stupid trading post stuff before the kids and wife woke up for the morning routine!

How asnine is that? I know better, yet I found myself getting swept up in it. "Just 30 more gold and I can get that cultural piece!" Guess what? I have the $$ now and haven't spent it because I'm having a lot more fun playing other parts of the game. I nearly have an 80 in every class (crafting ftw), but I'm having so much fun with my mesmer and my ele, I may as well have only 2 characters.

I've been realizing that I can't afford that kind of weird, unhealthy gaming mentality, and it's simply not nearly as fun. So I have enough $$ to buy fancy armors? Who cares? As it turns out, my brother's silly Asuran necro looks just as awesome as anything I have, and he has less than 1/4 the $$ I have.

I also used to think that I'd want multiple exotic sets for each character, but as it turns out, both my mesmer and my ele really only have 1 WvWvW build that I like, and sPvP lets me play around with other fun builds if I want.

Somehow, I got caught up in it. You'd think that a grown man with kids would know better! It's insidious stuff!

[Tregarde]

Humungous, on 18 December 2012 - 07:31 PM, said:

The "second job" effect is pretty intense. You may see my posts in other threads about making $$ via crafting....

That's a little different than what I was thinking of. One of the major reasons I'm leaving EverQuest 2, and why I never picked up similar games, is the necessity of the gear grind. In order to experience the entire game you NEED to go on raids, for that 1% chance that a really good piece of gear you NEED will drop randomly, all so you can move on to more difficult raids for that 1% chance that the next level up in gear drops, all so you can move on to the most difficult raids...  And every time a new expansion comes out, the cycle starts anew because the super awesome gear you spent all that time acquiring is little more than tissue paper compared to the new high end.

For someone who is a more casual player, it means you just keep getting further and further behind. By the time you get gear that can survive older content, no one is doing that stuff anymore. So the "disconnect" just keeps growing.

Compare that to GW2 where, going at my own pace, I already have 3 characters at 80, each one is nearing 400 in a crafting skill, and I do not feel like anything is out of reach.

[Arngrim Einheri]

Playing the game for the sake of playing is always more fun, but in GW2 and in any other game. The problem comes when playing for the sake of playing and you get bored because you don't find fun the "fun" parts of GW2. For me the truth is as simple as that, I find many of the features of the game "unfun" while others find it fun. No big deal, everyone has a different liking. I only ocassionaly pvp now, but if they improve the game with the new patches I'll play more.

English is not my main language so I have to ask something. I don't understand what the "as intended" part is, Is this game meant to be played on a determined way? If so, which way is that?

Edited by Arngrim Einheri, 18 December 2012 - 09:02 PM.

[Alex Dimitri]

"as intended" means the way they made it to work, right way......
but honestly advertisement version of GW2 and the Live game are not exactly on pair, many things are different (worse if you like it) but then again as always "good advertisement" is always based on a lie .

[Humungous]

I *think* "as intended" for gw2 is to basically feel free to try all the various ways to play, without any sense that you're falling behind because you aren't pushing to optimize your advancement. I could be wrong, of course

That's what I "intended" to mean with "as intended"

Tregarde, on 18 December 2012 - 08:44 PM, said:

That's a little different than what I was thinking of. One of the major reasons I'm leaving EverQuest 2, and why I never picked up similar games, is the necessity of the gear grind. In order to experience the entire game you NEED to go on raids, for that 1% chance that a really good piece of gear you NEED will drop randomly, all so you can move on to more difficult raids for that 1% chance that the next level up in gear drops, all so you can move on to the most difficult raids...  And every time a new expansion comes out, the cycle starts anew because the super awesome gear you spent all that time acquiring is little more than tissue paper compared to the new high end.

For someone who is a more casual player, it means you just keep getting further and further behind. By the time you get gear that can survive older content, no one is doing that stuff anymore. So the "disconnect" just keeps growing.

Compare that to GW2 where, going at my own pace, I already have 3 characters at 80, each one is nearing 400 in a crafting skill, and I do not feel like anything is out of reach.

I get you. Yeah, that's pretty bad. I had something like that with DAoC. I was the last in my guild to hit 50, and was always feeling pressure to do so. Eventually, a guildmate let me AFK level for the last 3 levels!

[Craywulf]

Arngrim Einheri, on 18 December 2012 - 08:57 PM, said:

English is not my main language so I have to ask something. I don't understand what the "as intended" part is, Is this game meant to be played on a determined way? If so, which way is that?

"As intended" means play the game the way it was designed as opposed to trying to rush through it or find some way to abuse a particular mechanic to achieve some success. farming or botting, using macros or just focusing on grinding it out was never ArenaNet's intention. They just want to make a fun game. If you're not having fun then you should move along to the next game.

Play the game in the spirit of it's intentions and it will be a lot more fun for everyone.

[Arngrim Einheri]

Craywulf, on 18 December 2012 - 09:56 PM, said:

"As intended" means play the game the way it was designed as opposed to trying to rush through it or find some way to abuse a particular mechanic to achieve some success. farming or botting, using macros or just focusing on grinding it out was never ArenaNet's intention. They just want to make a fun game. If you're not having fun then you should move along to the next game.

Play the game in the spirit of it's intentions and it will be a lot more fun for everyone.

And how was it desgined to play? That's my question, although Humungous answered it pretty well I think. "If you're not having fun then you should move along to the next game." are you talking directly to me or in general terms?

Edited by Arngrim Einheri, 18 December 2012 - 10:43 PM.

[ExplosivePinata]

I've been doing the jumping puzzle and explorer achievements and enjoying them.  A few have been hell but worth it when finally completed.  My only gripe is with the nerfed/bugged/sporadic drop rates (as mentioned in the 22 page thread on official forums).  I am getting a little tired of spending ages completing a jump puzzle only to be rewarded with blues and greens at best.

So far I don't know how many puzzles/explorers I've completed but it's a lot and not had any rares and certainly no exotics.  I've played since the headstart weekend and still haven't had an exotic drop.  I just think that as fun as the game is, I feel like I'm being so very unrewarded for my time spent while everyone else gets rich  

Edited by ExplosivePinata, 19 December 2012 - 12:01 AM.

[iLag]

If more people thought like OP maybe this game may've been grindless.

[ExplosivePinata]

Edited by ExplosivePinata, 19 December 2012 - 12:58 PM.

[Midnightjade]

Good thread, agree with the sentiment.  My Guard is 80 now with full exotics, some cool-looking stuff and even some ascended gear.  This week I've been torn between doing fractals for more ascended, and just messing about in the winter event.  So far it's been 50:50 but the event has been more fun.

Not sure whether I'll finish up the Guard (needs a craft 400 and dungeons, and a ring) or just level another character, or do a Legendary on the Guard (same stats as Exotic, just a different skin).  The game has a lot of options, and much less of a grind for gear than your typical MMO.  As a vet of the genre for over 8 years, it's a nice change of pace.  Less pressure, more fun.

Edited by Midnightjade, 19 December 2012 - 03:30 AM.

[Craywulf]

Arngrim Einheri, on 18 December 2012 - 10:42 PM, said:

And how was it desgined to play? That's my question, although Humungous answered it pretty well I think. "If you're not having fun then you should move along to the next game." are you talking directly to me or in general terms?

Just generalizing.

[Ritualist]

Humungous, on 18 December 2012 - 06:46 PM, said:

Much better than mindlessly trying to grind out some achievement, gear, or whatnot.

Meh, GW1 did it better.

[Lucas Ashrock]

No doubt. If the OP play couple hours if and when, for entertainment without a real goal, just to do something and have fun with, instead of the usual offline game, i'm not surprised at all he's having "fun". Sadly, mmo are not a 1 hour per week kind of games. Much less this one, grind based. But ye, as i said depends on goals. If the goal is pass the time and super mario or an internet game is not enough, nice alternative.. Not a surprise the core of his post is about wvw zerg and spvp zerg and he consider this game as fun

Edited by Lucas Ashrock, 19 December 2012 - 08:24 AM.

[Perm Shadow Form]

Mindless fun?
Not for me.

[Auenwing]

Glad you are finding enjoyment in the game!

My guild has always been a big believer in finding fun in a game they way you want (often regardless of what is offered.)

GW2, for all my often comments out here about minor issues, allows us to do just that! On a wide spectrum of playstyles.

It is a game we know we can play for years.

This is the only game that I've ever played in over 12+ years, where I literally lose track of time. That's a rare "childhood" feeling I cherish.

Glad to see GW2 made Gamespot Game of the Year. Well deserved!


.

Edited by Auenwing, 19 December 2012 - 08:45 AM.

[Beul van Noord]

finally, a positive message ..
and i totally agree!

[Serris]

i like goal-oriented play, with subgoals. below level 80 this was simple. i wanted to reach 80, and every level was a subgoal. it's my 4th lvl 80 and i feel like settling down for a while. so i set myself a new goal, getting a decent set of exotics. according to every mention before release (and even after during some AMAs), this would be very easy. i'm not finding it easy. 20G for a set on the trading post, running dungeons over and over and over for tokens or even the karma ones (the temples are never cleared on my server, noone has any interest in clearing them) are all very had to obtain.
i'm currently working towards the 20G, but as someone who wants to play and "go where the game leads me", this is taking a long time indeed.

i kind of miss the old armors of gw1, where i could buy the armor, and buy new insignias/runes when funds were available.

Edited by Serris, 19 December 2012 - 08:51 AM.

[Lucas Ashrock]

He's illuded gw2 is the glorious successor of gw1 (which share just the name) , and forgetting how gw2 won that "title" of game of the year.
Let him be. Fanboys and casuals playing zerg wvw/pvp find this game a pearl.
Guess soon we will see "the 2012 mmo who failed faster" title lol. 3 months, 99% of the posts on their official forum (when not insta deleted banning the user digging the truth) of complains and "this game is pure junk, look at X Y Z, there isn't one single thing on this game worthy his price" again and again on page 1-2-3 of every section, even festivity sections

Edited by Lucas Ashrock, 19 December 2012 - 08:59 AM.

[Menehune]

Kymeric, on 18 December 2012 - 07:04 PM, said:

Gotta agree, Humungous.

The game seems designed to fight the traditional way of playing an MMORPG, where you set a series of short term and long term goals for yourself and try to find the most efficient way to achieve them.  I have the most fun when I just explore and do what presents itself and strikes my fancy at any given time.

Unfortunately, a lot of MMORPG players have been conditioned to play goal-oriented, and I'm not sure that conditioning will break easily.

I think it's actually good to have goals. The negative effects come when one sets deadlines and creates checklists/roadmaps and tries to follow them rigorously with maximum efficiency. One of my goals is to eventually get top racial armors for all of my characters, but with 9, ATM, and my tendency to get distracted on my way from here to there on maps, it will be quite some time before I achieve it. I have in-game goals. I just don't need to achieve them NAO! or by a specific time in the very near future like maybe yesterday.

[Coren]

Every time I log on GW2 I'm loving my time on it. But the next day I play something else. I can ignore the useless items in gemstore as long as content keeps coming in.

The larger the game, the more faults you'll find, which is why Portal 1 was such a flawless success.

If ANet can stop making half arsed decisions like ascended gear, I can see gw2 becoming something truly great for the foreseeable future.

[Heart Collector]

Humungous, on 18 December 2012 - 06:46 PM, said:

<snip>

Much better than mindlessly trying to grind out some achievement, gear, or whatnot.

Finally, someone who gets it This game is meant to be played in a laid back, casual way IMO. Not meant to be a competitive, e-peen flexing thing. I don't have time for hardcore MMO stuff (where you can't play at your own leisure and need to schedule your play) so I leave the harder games for single player, GW2 is perfect for me as a multiplayer experience.

[Kymeric]

Menehune, on 19 December 2012 - 10:13 AM, said:

I think it's actually good to have goals. The negative effects come when one sets deadlines and creates checklists/roadmaps and tries to follow them rigorously with maximum efficiency. One of my goals is to eventually get top racial armors for all of my characters, but with 9, ATM, and my tendency to get distracted on my way from here to there on maps, it will be quite some time before I achieve it. I have in-game goals. I just don't need to achieve them NAO! or by a specific time in the very near future like maybe yesterday.

A good point.

I'm definitely looking to get my exotics now that I've finally hit 80, but I don't have a time frame and I'm not bothered if I get distracted by something else that looks fun along the way.

You're absolutely right.  It's not really the goal that's the problem, it's focusing on following the most efficient path possible to get there. It has been my experience that money making in this game only seems to take forever if you're trying to do it in the shortest possible time to get what you want.

Edited by Kymeric, 19 December 2012 - 03:37 PM.

[Zero_Soulreaver]

Here we go again with people trying to tell others how to play a game.  You have to be kidding me, sometimes I just wonder how old some people are on these forums b/c everything is like 5 yr olds who get mad when you do things a certain way. "Waaa nuuu your doing it wrong! Let me do it!"

The irony here is these people are constantly proven wrong every single patch GW2 has.  Now those who were claiming the game was made for "them" are sad because the game changed which is proof they were never the #1 fans they thought they were.  This game was made to cater to everyone and it was always that way.

Games have no right way to play, stop saying random b/s just because you want to be smart or an elitist.  You'd be amazed how many people play games in ways you'd never even dream of.  Some people play games to challenge themselves, doing speed runs where they take no damage.