82 replies to this topic

[Ritualist]

beadnbutter32, on 20 December 2012 - 01:00 PM, said:

Now that GW2 has dropped in popularity and is no longer in the 10 ten best seller lists, you can see the shortage of new players, and it won't be long before it goes free to play.

Nah, we'll get heroes instead.

[Lucas Ashrock]

Bottoms_Up, on 20 December 2012 - 11:08 AM, said:

There is currently a thread on the official forums about how to get PvEers into WvW. In it the disconnect between the PvE and WvW worlds was mentioned, even to the point that many PvEers probably don't realise that they are getting world bonuses off the backs of the WvWers. Imagine if the towns had criers that would announce important events that occur in WvW, say like when the home borderlands garrison is lost or won, or when a map is completely won by your side. Like the examples you mention, this could be just one thing that might help to connect two strands and populations of the game and overall improve its social space.

I hope you know every buff or anything gained from wvw battleground is absolutely not related to the pve environment.
They promised wvw buffs to be a serverwide buff regardless of if you're playing wvw or just pve, just being part of your server.
Actually, it's nothing like this at all. You can be on the last server or the top one, your pve results are exactly the same.
Buffs apply when you move to wvw, and inside it, you do some pve. Basically, every buff you see displayed as gained by your server is a fake blinking, not active nor working at all moving out.

Edited by Lucas Ashrock, 20 December 2012 - 02:40 PM.

[Arquenya]

blindude, on 20 December 2012 - 02:21 PM, said:

gw2 is a themepark..different game so no comparison there.
I think you people should stop thinking too much and start doing things you enjoy even if that means stop playing.Its a game we should keep our heavy analysis for more important things. Unless you get a kick off doing just what you do in this forum so in that case my bad

"Don't worry be happy" .. yes thanks for the contribution

Protoss, on 20 December 2012 - 02:32 PM, said:

Nah, we'll get heroes instead.

Already looking forward to grinding ascended gear for 4 extra heroes .. per character!

Edited by Arquenya, 20 December 2012 - 03:39 PM.

[Zero_Soulreaver]

I honestly always wanted to try out Rift.  If it goes free to play I will give it a shot for sure.

Sheepski, on 19 December 2012 - 08:21 PM, said:

Many MMO's focused on the content and forgot about creating an awesome world, and thus suffered declining subs and player base. However Gw2 has one of the best ambient environment, landscapes, use of space/land mass and living cities/outposts etc of any game I've played. A-net can improve the content available to satisfy the player base (assuming you believe there's anything wrong) but if a game lacks the environment, there's not a lot you can do, besides completely re-design it.

The thing is its still debatable if this "awesome world" is enough and if the content GW2 has at the moment is currently enough also.  I think the content is really lacking at the moment. To each their own.

[CalmLittleBuddy]

A good housing system is what makes the world real for me. In EVE, you can build your own base (or bases) and run your own platforms and claim space for yourself. EVE was (and is at times still) stunning in its sparse beauty. There were entire systems that had nothing in them except for beautiful structures (and NPC pirates). Some of these were so hard to find or get to, people sold bookmarks to them.

Also, EVE's universe changes over time. It's persisten and it's vast!

Guild Wars 2 is pretty big and has a lot of things to see, but no place you'd want to sit for a while and rest. And not having a house to decorate brings me down a lot.

But I disagree with the premise that the world is the key to longevity. So many counter examples to that.

I would say that world is ONE of the ways to be successful long term. More important than that would be unique character identity. The more a person feels that their character is special, different, their own, the more attached they get.

[witteker]

I think subscription fee goes against the livable concept.  All mmorpg should be free, including WoW.

[Lucas Ashrock]

CalmLittleBuddy, on 20 December 2012 - 03:16 PM, said:

A good housing system is what makes the world real for me. In EVE, you can build your own base (or bases) and run your own platforms and claim space for yourself. EVE was (and is at times still) stunning in its sparse beauty. There were entire systems that had nothing in them except for beautiful structures (and NPC pirates). Some of these were so hard to find or get to, people sold bookmarks to them.

Also, EVE's universe changes over time. It's persisten and it's vast!

Guild Wars 2 is pretty big and has a lot of things to see, but no place you'd want to sit for a while and rest. And not having a house to decorate brings me down a lot.

But I disagree with the premise that the world is the key to longevity. So many counter examples to that.

I would say that world is ONE of the ways to be successful long term. More important than that would be unique character identity. The more a person feels that their character is special, different, their own, the more attached they get.

Totally agree. If just graphic was what keep players online, ffXIV was the best mmo of the history now. There are places on that game so stunning to leave you half-breath staring at them for hours
EVE is just pure awesomeness, deffo

Edited by Lucas Ashrock, 20 December 2012 - 03:32 PM.

[Millimidget]

Sheepski, on 19 December 2012 - 08:21 PM, said:

However Gw2 has one of the best ambient environment, landscapes, use of space/land mass and living cities/outposts etc of any game I've played.

It was decent. Slightly better in some regards than WAR, but not significantly so.

Step one would be to replicate whatever software is used to create relatively seamless transitions between zones in other MMOs. Step 2 would be to ditch the Orr-like spots with fantastical background stories; they're just not realistic enough settings.

witteker, on 20 December 2012 - 03:25 PM, said:

I think subscription fee goes against the livable concept.

Quite the opposite; I feel cash shop games invariably end up designed to push players into the cash shop, which does not seem compatible with the livable concept at all, but seems perfectly suited to themepark design. You're basically pushed to pay for the ride every time you log into a cash shop themepark MMO. Subscription fee at least eliminates the need for obvious intrusions of the cash shop.

Edited by Millimidget, 20 December 2012 - 03:40 PM.

[Minu]

I read it as "MMOs are no longer RPGs".

Now I am sure a lot of us have known this for some time.  Modern MMOs, since WoW, cater to the generic gamer, with a few morsels thrown in here and there for old school players.

Lotro had housing, and regular GM interaction, and that is the only MMO I have seen to date that offers that kind of real world flexibility on occassion, harking back to the pre MMO days, where we plays "online roleplaying games" with a few other people, maybe 20-30 on a server at any one time.  The people that played, generally were mature, had a long history of Dungeons & Dragons, and had read every fantasy novel lots of times, the atmosphere was always good.  GW2 really has no atmosphere at all for me.  Whilst I am enjoying some parts of the generic gameplay, there is no connection between me, my characters, and the pixelated world they inhabit.

The storylines people developed and people's imaginations, created far more fun that anything Lotro, Swtor and GW2 has been able to throw at me.

If we are seeing the end of the modern MMO, what is next?  Personally I hope the generic gamers stop playing completely and go play some shooter or sports game, and that a new, "old style" roleplaying game might emerge.  I have reasonable hopes for Neverwinter, if it fails to attract 90% of current MMO players.

Edited by Minu, 20 December 2012 - 03:51 PM.

[Lucas Ashrock]

You got it right. GW2 is at current status just a farming/grinding game completely senseless as RPG with nice graphic ( to be honest i saw better).
By far, any true RPG player of the old school like me stay far miles from this game (we all agree what you wrote about LOTRO, 100% just superb feeling to live in the game and be part of it ), most i know left yet, others are leaving, just a little (like me) are still curious to check what this Jan Feb reborn will be.

Edited by Lucas Ashrock, 20 December 2012 - 04:00 PM.

[LFk]

Did anyone ever play Mabinogi?

There were a variety of houses, at various prices. You could get married. You had rent, etc. The game environment was otherwise crap, the combat crap, the dungeons, hilariously awful.

But that brief connection to a quasi-life kept me and quite a few of my friends on that game for a few months. All I enjoyed about that game boiled down to purchasing a house, decorating the house, and inviting others over. Guild Wars would actually benefit strongly from adding things like player housing. At the very least, Guild Halls have been promised.

... and back in real life, I don't want a mortgage, to maintain it, whine, whine, etc.

God dammit.

Edited by LFk, 20 December 2012 - 04:01 PM.

[Brizna]

What?? Should GW2 be more of a place to live in and less of a game?? Go live Secod life if that's your type of thing, last time I heard this was a GAME not a virtual life simulator, at least they advertised it as a game.

[Millimidget]

Brizna, on 20 December 2012 - 04:14 PM, said:

What?? Should GW2 be more of a place to live in and less of a game?? Go live Secod life if that's your type of thing, last time I heard this was a GAME not a virtual life simulator, at least they advertised it as a game.

I'm not sure what you're trying to get at here.

If you're going to be spending the time in-game, whether it's to roleplay or grind 100s of hours for mats, shouldn't it be as enjoyable as possible? If anything, these RPG-less themepark MMOs feel more like a "second life" or like work than even the traditional MMOs did.

[Minu]

Brizna, on 20 December 2012 - 04:14 PM, said:

What?? Should GW2 be more of a place to live in and less of a game?? Go live Secod life if that's your type of thing, last time I heard this was a GAME not a virtual life simulator, at least they advertised it as a game.

This is what I refer to as a generic gamer.

Of course, it's horses for courses, different people have different views and the quality of one's entertainment is always subjective.

As an equally ludicrous reply as the above, I could suggest that since the above person wants to play a "game", he should go and play FIFA 2012 on his console?

[Lucas Ashrock]

We are talking about immersion and a sense to be part of the game. Depth in content, ever heard? No, noone was asking Second Life.

[Feathermoore]

Bottoms_Up, on 20 December 2012 - 11:08 AM, said:

There is currently a thread on the official forums about how to get PvEers into WvW. In it the disconnect between the PvE and WvW worlds was mentioned, even to the point that many PvEers probably don't realise that they are getting world bonuses off the backs of the WvWers. Imagine if the towns had criers that would announce important events that occur in WvW, say like when the home borderlands garrison is lost or won, or when a map is completely won by your side. Like the examples you mention, this could be just one thing that might help to connect two strands and populations of the game and overall improve its social space.

Ideas like this are what makes a world feel alive. The game actually giving players information on other players. Eve's bounties are displayed on screens when you are in stations and on the bulletin boards floating near the gates (new feature but the bounty system was completely overhauled recently). It makes it feel like the game is revolving around the players and evolving from their actions.

Player housing does help, but it isn't just the housing. You can't just have a personalized area (we have our personal zones remember, how many of us use those?) You need to make it so that the areas become a meeting area, a place that has a purpose and brings people together. Guild halls had vender/bank services and members used them as a meeting place (largely because travel didn't cost anything making it easy to play with friends).

People become connected to the people they play with more than the game. They associate the game with memories of friends and it becomes a place they want to return to. I hop into GW1 occasionally, not to play, but to see if any of my old buddies are on. If my GW1 guild wants to play together, we have to do it in GW1 because we are all on different servers in 2 and there is no guesting. And we get together and go play a dungeon or two.

GW2 currently focuses too much on "solo" play and gives people no reason to go out and actively seek new friends or connections. You used to be able to rely on players to do that on their own, but the current gaming group needs to be given resources to help this along. These are the features Anet should be focusing on.

[Minu]

To add to my rant, and please take this somewhat tongue in cheek, if meant with a little seriousness and certainly real views from the past.

Generic gamers have killed MMORPGs!

WoW, has killed the RPG.

We are left with only MMOs.  Where lots of people (usually) run around without interacting with each other, and shoot, stab, blast things to their hearts content.

We climb aboard the gear treadmill, and grind for rewards that we are told from above that we must strive for, whether we actually want to or not.  It is a curse of the generic MMO.

I am in no doubt that if "generic gamers" all quit MMOs tomorrow, the games themselves would be better places, emptier and soon to be shutdown, but better nonetheless.

I do not want my chosen game style diluted by the generic gamer who has no idea what 2D8 might mean, I do not want the numbers bolstered by people who's only interest in RPGs is to come up with the most stupid names.  

I want a game with a few hundred dedicated players, who interact, both as allies and enemies, where what I do within the world actually matters, and where the things that happen within the world, effect my character.

I have little hope of this ever coming to fruition.

Edited by Minu, 20 December 2012 - 04:32 PM.

[Lucas Ashrock]

Sadly agree. And same time, sadly, i have to tell you if you still play this game ( or any other clone) with this spirit, it's time for you to leave the mmo world and this game, they are not leaving.
It's a commercial trash with a 2 after a great mmo name for selfish junk, sheeps, gambling addicted, some jerks and generic gamers
Oriented with a senseless lack of RPG or immersion. Feel free to give it a shot in future, maybe will change, if still online

Edited by Lucas Ashrock, 20 December 2012 - 04:48 PM.

[Sheepski]

Lucas Ashrock, on 20 December 2012 - 04:46 PM, said:

Sadly agree. And same time, sadly, i have to tell you if you still play this game ( or any other clone) with this spirit, it's time for you to leave the mmo world and this game. It's a commercial trash for junk, sheeps, gambling addicted, generic gamers
Oriented with a senseless lack of RPG or immersion. Feel free to give it a shot in future, maybe will change, if still online

[Lucas Ashrock]

I'm still positive hoping tomorrow will be different. Don't be sad.

[Millimidget]

Lucas Ashrock, on 20 December 2012 - 04:51 PM, said:

I'm still positive hoping tomorrow will be different. Don't be sad.

I've played MMOs for too long to be optimistic. Most usually aim high for release, before lowering their aim as the game wears on, doing whatever they can to squeeze out what last little bits of revenue they feel may be there for the taking.

RE: WoW - vanilla WoW was a modest compromise with plenty of immersion to be found, but the post-release development team took it, and the industry, off the deep end with subsequent updates.

Edited by Millimidget, 20 December 2012 - 05:49 PM.

[I swung 4 times]

Kymeric, on 19 December 2012 - 08:52 PM, said:

I remember from the very start of Rift, people were praising how polished it was, but repeating that vague phrase, "it feels soulless".

I had the same feeling about it.  The world has some interesting designs, interesting characters, but this vague feeling that it is a hollow veneer.  I don't get that feeling about Tyria at all.  I find it very immersive, though it'd be difficult for me to point out why, in comparison to Rift.

GW2 satisfies me precisely because I can just go live in the world, finding something to do without it being part of a defined journey from point a to point b.

Rift failed at having a compelling background story and a lack of racial starting zones.  Its game mechanics were definitely an advancement from WOW.  I dare say I prefer Rift 5 man instances over GW2 5 man instances.

[Red_Falcon]

From what I've seen there are two types of players:

Free mind player:
Logins into game, says hello to friends and enjoys some activities with them; plays a few of the 40 dungeon quests, does a few events he likes, kills some bosses/champs with friends, some WvW, a couple sPvP games.
During this whole he accumulate some wealth that he stockpiles away in case one day he wants to craft a legendary or something – but it’s not the reason he plays, it’s just a long term goal in the back of his mind.
He logs off satisfied and happy.

Corrupted player:
Logins in game with the sole objective of obtaining materials or gold for a pre-determined item or goal.
Does not care of having fun, he just wants to repeat the most rewarding content to accumulate the most money in the shortest time.
Everyone else is playing, and he’s bothered by this. "Why does this guy laugh? Why isn’t he rushing this kitten dungeon so we finish sooner? How dare him enjoy himself instead of concentrating on rushing and DPSing?"
He kicks him from the team and replaces him with individuals similar to him: no one talks, everyone rushes. If they die they leave the team with no warning or start “the blaming game”.
Sometime they insult each other or worse.
If they are successful, at best he will timidly ctrl+click some of his loots and talk about his revenues.
At the end of his play session, all he cares about is how much money he made in total, how much per hour, how much others have made.
He is not happy.
His carrot is still far and why is the game enforcing him such a long exhausting grind?
The game is so bad, he thinks about playing something else. But he knows that if the game allows for grinding he will grind and get angry, if the game doesn’t he will say “there is no endgame” and quit.


The bottom line is that one is free to decide how to play: play for entertainment or play for unhealthy obsessive item-chasing addiction.
Unlike other games, GW2 does not require nor enforces either behavior; one can be successful with oranges or pinks alike.
The ultimate choice is up to the gamer.

I've seen people who grinded money and lives on Super Mario 3 - that goes a long way to explain how much this grind thing is a state of mind.
Sure, some games -require- grind in order to access content, but GW2 is not one of them.

[Sheepski]

Red_Falcon, on 20 December 2012 - 06:22 PM, said:

From what I've seen there are two types of players:

Free mind player:
Logins into game, says hello to friends and enjoys some activities with them; plays a few of the 40 dungeon quests, does a few events he likes, kills some bosses/champs with friends, some WvW, a couple sPvP games.
During this whole he accumulate some wealth that he stockpiles away in case one day he wants to craft a legendary or something – but it’s not the reason he plays, it’s just a long term goal in the back of his mind.
He logs off satisfied and happy.

Corrupted player:
Logins in game with the sole objective of obtaining materials or gold for a pre-determined item or goal.
Does not care of having fun, he just wants to repeat the most rewarding content to accumulate the most money in the shortest time.
Everyone else is playing, and he’s bothered by this. "Why does this guy laugh? Why isn’t he rushing this kitten dungeon so we finish sooner? How dare him enjoy himself instead of concentrating on rushing and DPSing?"
He kicks him from the team and replaces him with individuals similar to him: no one talks, everyone rushes. If they die they leave the team with no warning or start “the blaming game”.
Sometime they insult each other or worse.
If they are successful, at best he will timidly ctrl+click some of his loots and talk about his revenues.
At the end of his play session, all he cares about is how much money he made in total, how much per hour, how much others have made.
He is not happy.
His carrot is still far and why is the game enforcing him such a long exhausting grind?
The game is so bad, he thinks about playing something else. But he knows that if the game allows for grinding he will grind and get angry, if the game doesn’t he will say “there is no endgame” and quit.


The bottom line is that one is free to decide how to play: play for entertainment or play for unhealthy obsessive item-chasing addiction.
Unlike other games, GW2 does not require nor enforces either behavior; one can be successful with oranges or pinks alike.
The ultimate choice is up to the gamer.

I've seen people who grinded money and lives on Super Mario 3 - that goes a long way to explain how much this grind thing is a state of mind.
Sure, some games -require- grind in order to access content, but GW2 is not one of them.

good post, imo.

Although I don't exactly fit into either category; it does seem like the vast majority of games' populations think like either of those 2 examples.

[Sinful01]

Is it weird I actually enjoy the discussions here on the GW2 Guru forum more than I enjoy much of my in-game time?

-----

I have to agree with a lot of what was said in here already: beautiful art does not equate to "living/livable world"; MMOs dropped the 'RPG' a while back & seem geared toward generic gamers; and other things.


I agree that "community" and interaction are important to that lived-in feeling. So I agree that GW2 doesn't really 'promote' community.

They tried.  They seemed to think guild chat & DEs would foster community, maybe.  To me, I solo'd basically everything.  There isn't any content out there, open world, that you can't really solo and even when in a group doing world PvE, I'm soloing. Part of this is just because I can't move the stupid party box somewhere I can easily see it, so I often am unable to watch party health & run around doing things at the same time.

DEs were supposed to be, I figure, those group-moments where we all come together as a community and share an experience.  Sadly, they function like the Commander icon in WvW ... a Bat-Signal that calls everyone together for a minute or two to zerg.  Any time I've met and grouped up with people in game (including PvE, PuG dungeon runs, etc) I felt as important as any random XBox join in an FPS game.  I'm just a body to fill a slot, if needed, or one person in a sea of bodies autoattacking at a DE while watching TV.

I'm not sure if it has to do with the "no trinity" thing or not.... but, no one feels unique or special.  Everyone is DPS.  Everyone gets the same skills.  Everyone ends up with the same few builds.  There isn't that notoriety you get in other games.

Secondly, I feel the game is just too .... watered down?  Not challenging?  You don't have those moments like: "we need someone to fill out our PuG" and then you get someone, and the person is just awesome and you're wow'd by them and make friends because of it.  Suddenly your friend's list (or guild if you can recruit them) is full of people you not only feel are nice, friendly people, but also that are good at the game.  In Everquest, for example, you could be a really awesome "puller" who skillfully split spawns at camps or for raids.  People would rely on you because you were good ... you could show off your skill ... you felt rewarded because others appreciated you.  Here, the best compliment I've been able to come up with for someone's skill is "wow that dude really knows when to dodge roll."

Edited by Sinful01, 20 December 2012 - 07:09 PM.

[sty0pa]

Sheepski, on 19 December 2012 - 08:21 PM, said:

....whether the game world is live-able. If this is the case, the future of Gw2 has got to be bright, surely?

...However Gw2 has one of the best ambient environment, landscapes, use of space/land mass and living cities/outposts etc of any game I've played. A-net can improve the content available to satisfy the player base (assuming you believe there's anything wrong) but if a game lacks the environment, there's not a lot you can do, besides completely re-design it.

I'm not sure how you can say this with a straight face?
I'm not just trying to troll, you, I'm dead serious.

If 90+% of a games' population is sitting around in Lion's Arch, how can that possibly imply the world is "alive" or even well done?
The rest of the world is dead.  Aside from compulsive completionists, nobody goes to any but level-appropriate zones (of which there's a very very narrow path) after about lvl 40.  The hubs don't feel any more alive than any other game - all the npc's just stand there, doing nothing except occasionally spouting some random dialogue.    There's absolutely no reason to raise your reputation with anyone once the level treadmill is done, as the karma rewards are neither unique nor interesting - they're pretty much the same models you find everywhere else.
The idea of being downleveled to make the content interesting is clever, but they still leave you at a level where it's a) too easy, worth almost nothing in rewards.  You can go cruise Orr (you know, land of the 10 second repop undead overy 30') or the rest of the worthless world.

Personal zones?  Meaningless and dead.
Town clothes and interaction in any city other than LA?  Irrelevant.
Housing? None.
Variability?  Better than most mmo's, in that DE's 'happen' but unfortunately their consequences aren't nearly significant enough; far too many just reset to 'original gamestate' with no character/world development going on like some sort of sitcom.
In fact, anything that makes any zone intrinsically different than any other, barring the people standing around wearing different costumes?  Not really.  Accents?  Unique foods or festivals? Strange customs? Meatober is about it.

Don't get me wrong, it's BETTER than WoW, et al, where zones you outlevel are TOTALLY worthless, but only just.

But to suggest that GW2 is some sort of exemplar of the concept of a living mmo is either flat-out wrong, or a tragic comment on the banality of modern mmo's.

[Bloodtau]

LFk, on 20 December 2012 - 04:00 PM, said:

Did anyone ever play Mabinogi?

There were a variety of houses, at various prices. You could get married. You had rent, etc. The game environment was otherwise crap, the combat crap, the dungeons, hilariously awful.

But that brief connection to a quasi-life kept me and quite a few of my friends on that game for a few months. All I enjoyed about that game boiled down to purchasing a house, decorating the house, and inviting others over. Guild Wars would actually benefit strongly from adding things like player housing. At the very least, Guild Halls have been promised.

... and back in real life, I don't want a mortgage, to maintain it, whine, whine, etc.

God dammit.

Sorry but how does turning an MMo into the Sims mean more people would play it?

[Lucas Ashrock]

I guess he was pointing to the concept of housing and environment on a game where rest was horrible but still, feeling yourself part of a world and living on it, enjoying it for months, just for the sake to have a beautiful house and invite peeps and have a laugh, on a comfy sofa and a beautiful room around you. Depth, design, feeling to be part of the game. Not just log, daily fractals, logoff.

Edited by Lucas Ashrock, 20 December 2012 - 11:21 PM.

[Arquenya]

Sinful01, on 20 December 2012 - 06:31 PM, said:

I have to agree with a lot of what was said in here already: beautiful art does not equate to "living/livable world"; MMOs dropped the 'RPG' a while back & seem geared toward generic gamers; and other things.

Imagine you and your friends have houses in Ebonhawke. You do mini-games with a friend, sitting in a tavern that's run by a player that has been specializing in cooking and is one of the few that can make real good buff food, there's people from all around the country that pay him a visit to get some of it. You duel a bit in the town's square before more guild people arrive and you can watch pet races (or do them if you're ranger). After that you decide to pack up and run a dungeon, after which you come home with a nice pile of loot. Fortunately the blacksmith is still awake so he can repair your gear as those trolls put some ugly dents in it. You make a campfire somewhere and talk a bit before going to sleep in your house where your minipets wander around.

.. perhaps we should be thankful that game designers don't make games too nice and attractive so we won't waste too much time playing and enjoying them

Edited by Arquenya, 20 December 2012 - 11:41 PM.

[MCBiohazard]

Feathermoore, on 19 December 2012 - 09:08 PM, said:

I am not saying these things don't happen. I am saying the basic game design doesn't encourage it. There is no reason for you to ever enter a party with a random person in the open world, not being in one is just as effective as being in one. This makes interplayer communication less likely as talking is annoying. Crafting can be done completely alone (as opposed to EVE where it requires a chain of players or alts to make things) and trading even involves no interaction. Multiple guild systems is great for staying in contact with multiple groups of people... except that I can only talk to one group of them at a time.

These things don't seem to matter as they are so small, but this group of small features is what fosters and encourages connections. Being able to create your own chat channels to keep in contact with different groups is such a simple, yet powerful tool. Crafting and trading systems that require the input of multiple players and other systems that cohesively bring players together that have similar goals is a powerful system that builds connections.

GW2 doesn't help the players come together. That doesn't mean you can't, or that it doesn't happen. It just means that the game doesn't foster such interactions that are crucial for the longevity of a game. Some of the "features" even inhibit such a community from developing.

I really feel you on these points. They're such minor things but they really hinder the ability to casually interact with your fellow players and feel as if you're actually connecting with them on some level. Guild Wars 2 launched slightly before NCSoft announced the closure of Paragon Studios' City of Heroes, and that is a game I sorely wish Arenanet stole more ideas from because it was a game that truly fostered a sense of community through its game design. Teaming with literally anybody was feasible and had meaningful rewards for everyone involved because they implemented a sidekick and exemplar system that matched all group members to the team leader's level, enabling people to play together no matter what level they were and the difficulty and rewards of the instanced missions the game threw at you scaled with the number of players on your team. That one feature is the only thing I wish would be implemented in every future MMO coming out but for some reason nobody else wants to take the idea. It allows small groups to regularly team with each other and solo at their discretion without throwing a wrench into the level spread. It allows big groups to form up full teams no matter who is around.

GW2 only scales down by area without allowing lowbies to tag along with more experienced players in return. As a result, no max level alt really ever wants to hang with lowbies because they're artificially nerfed but not enough that they still can't make trivial work of the lowbie's content either for little reward. I wish Arenanet stole the sidekicking idea before Paragon Studios got axed. I wish GW2 was as fun to team in as it is to solo explore. I really miss City of Heroes.

Edited by MCBiohazard, 21 December 2012 - 01:30 AM.