Jairyn

dannywolt, on 15 May 2013 - 09:46 PM, said:

Sorry, but I recently acquired a tinfoil hat and think Nexon's 15% share of NCSoft had perhaps more to do with it than legitimate desire.

Even so, the lockboxes are kind of her thing since the previously mentioned MapleStory so why they brought her on notwithstanding, they are "her" idea and a rejection of it (fantasizing here, obviously) coinciding with her sacking would not be uncommon in the business world. New monetization scheme = new monetization manager.

In the interests of civility it is, however, likely better to focus on the ideology than the person. Further railing against Crystin Cox will do little, but if people want a name for who's at fault, Cox and Nexon should probably be the first in line.

I would love to see more players united against the lockboxes. They are predatory and manipulative in the very same way that combining a gear treadmill and a subscription fee is... Yet ArenaNet cheerfully waxed poetic on how unscrupulous the P2P market is. GW1 had an "honest" cash shop based on flat fees and a fair amount of my anticipation for GW2 was partly based on the assurance that the cash shop would mirror its predecessor. GW1 did just fine with an honest cash-for-(digital) goods system, why are we now tolerating anything different?

I have yet to buy a key or lockbox, though I've otherwise purchased gems and gem store items. I want Arena Net to do well, I want to support them, I want them to have the funds to pay happy, healthy workers and flood the game with polish and content. I don't want them to employ shady marketing practices.

Ship Crystin Cox back to NCSoft (edit: Nexon? whatever - MapleStory) where she belongs.

I feel a little starved for new terrain. Gorgeous as GW2 is, I feel like the options are only: temperate forest/plains, tundra, jungle, Orrian wasteland, and the Dragonbrand. Did I miss any? At least Ascalon goes sort of autumnal as a change from Krytan green, but overall I feel that zones of the same biome lack for distinguishing characteristics. I rather liked how every WoW zone has its own theme and color palette to bulk up the sense of variety.

As an exploration junkie, more zones, bigger zones, and more zone variety is really big selling point. Cantha and Elona would bring a lot more diversity.

I'd also like to see something more like the collection systems of Free Realms or Rift, I feel like those add a fair amount to the game.

The missing minigames should go in. Social hearts and events in the cities is still something I'd like. They're magnificent spaces that once you unlock all the spots lose a lot of value and I think they deserve attention. As a PnP player, urban intrigue campaigns are one of my favorites, I think it's an angle too many MMOs forget about completely in the name of wandering the fantasy wilderness.

Lordkrall, on 15 May 2013 - 11:22 AM, said:

P2P in general seems to be slowly dying, so no, I don't think I'd ever truly advocate for it. If I were to be given a CHOICE, however, I'd much rather support the company through honest means than a gambling system in a game where developer diaries discussed at length how RNG is no fun.

I'm sick of the theme of every update being a new lockbox. I wish I could choose to pay more to never see or hear of another lockbox again.

Anyway... random speculation: Is the new villain of the Last Stand at South Sun a sylvari? Maybe the devs have heard us and we finally get to kill Trahearne!

Playing a mesmer without Deceptive Evasion and Illusionary Persona* feels like a punishment. I've said this since beta. The only advice I can give leveling mesmers is to tough it out. 20 Dueling changes everything.

* I keep forgetting IP is no longer OP (it used to give you an instant, guaranteed ranged shatter effect for the one that counts as you, rather than requiring PBAoE contact like the illusions do). Still, +1/3 shatter power is really, really nice.