Guild Wars 2 (official review on pp 21)

[wonderpug]

For me it is the next great thing.  It's set the bar to a new level.  I will never again pay a monthly fee for an MMO (but it seems like everything is moving to free to play anyhow).  I will never again accept an MMO that doesn't encourage collaboration and cooperation amongst strangers as strongly as GW2 does.  I'm done with steep levelling curves, I'm done with holy trinity grouping requirements, I'm done with needing 40 people to block off 3 hours in order to see a cool giant boss battle.

There's still room for improvement, of course, but GW2 is the new baseline for what I can demand to see in an MMO.

[Arclight]

For me it is the next great thing.  It's set the bar to a new level.  I will never again pay a monthly fee for an MMO (but it seems like everything is moving to free to play anyhow).  I will never again accept an MMO that doesn't encourage collaboration and cooperation amongst strangers as strongly as GW2 does.  I'm done with steep levelling curves, I'm done with holy trinity grouping requirements, I'm done with needing 40 people to block off 3 hours in order to see a cool giant boss battle.

There's still room for improvement, of course, but GW2 is the new baseline for what I can demand to see in an MMO.

I'm an Arclight, and I approve of this message.

[Zarkon]

Fuck you giant timed group jumping puzzle of DOOOOOOOOOOOOM.

That is all.

[jersoc]

so in case you guys haven't heard. nov is kicking off with a content patch.

some stuff confirmed:
a new harder dungeon compared to what's in the game
events leading up the main patch. possibly beginning as early as thur/friday
new spvp game types
new events

speculation is an entire new island to explore.

[PR_GMR]

so in case you guys haven't heard. nov is kicking off with a content patch.

some stuff confirmed:
a new harder dungeon compared to what's in the game
events leading up the main patch. possibly beginning as early as thur/friday
new spvp game types
new events

speculation is an entire new island to explore.

So there's a content patch? No wonder I just logged on and tried to play and there's a whole load of files to download. I just wanted to logged on quickly and play for an hour. Ugh!

[jersoc]

the main stuff doesnt hit til the 15th. just beached whales and flyers atm. i would expect to go down this week, probably tuesday.

[Gratch]

There a big "Lost Shores" weekend event that kicks off this Friday.  Looking forward to it!

This is also a free trial weekend.  I (supposedly) have three guest keys that I'm happy to send out to anyone who wants one.  Will need to figure out where they are though...

[rshetts2]

There a big "Lost Shores" weekend event that kicks off this Friday.  Looking forward to it!

This is also a free trial weekend.  I (supposedly) have three guest keys that I'm happy to send out to anyone who wants one.  Will need to figure out where they are though...

Heres how you distribute your guest keys:  https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/free-trial-event-november-15-18/

[Gratch]

There a big "Lost Shores" weekend event that kicks off this Friday.  Looking forward to it!

This is also a free trial weekend.  I (supposedly) have three guest keys that I'm happy to send out to anyone who wants one.  Will need to figure out where they are though...

Heres how you distribute your guest keys:  https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/free-trial-event-november-15-18/

Thanks rshetts2.  I sent out one this morning, but have 2 more if anyone wants 'em.

[Gratch]

Apparently all the new quest lines for this "one time event" are completely bugged.  None of the NPC's who allow you to continue the quest are spawning, so there are a truckload of people just standing around until they fix it.

The new dungeon apparently works though...might have to give that a run later tonight.

EDIT:  Gave the dungeon a go with a two different random PUGs last night.  They were a glaring reminder of why I dislike gaming with other people.

[Doopri]

this is one of those games i passed on at launch (xcom was fast approaching and im a "one game guy" ) but have considered lately.  the only thing ive heard to change my mind is that the world is starting to feel a bit... empty... true or not?  keep in mind im someone who thinks that an MMO better be "MM" - is it going to be a problem if i jump into the party late?

[Gratch]

So I finally get to the final mission on my personal story quest this afternoon.  A quest that I have played through solo for the last 110 hours and 80+ levels.  So what do they do?  Make the final dungeon the only time in the entire game where you are required to group.  Even better, I haven't been able to find anyone to do it (the only PUG's I've found wanted to charge me 30+ silver to join). 

Yes, I know I'm playing an MMO, but the reason I've enjoyed it so much is because I haven't had to "officially" join up with anyone throughout this process.  It has been completely, 100% soloable...right up until the very last mission.    Changing it all up at the very end is puppies.

[wonderpug]

this is one of those games i passed on at launch (xcom was fast approaching and im a "one game guy" ) but have considered lately.  the only thing ive heard to change my mind is that the world is starting to feel a bit... empty... true or not?  keep in mind im someone who thinks that an MMO better be "MM" - is it going to be a problem if i jump into the party late?

It's emptier than it was before, but there's always people bringing up alts, so I would go ahead and dive in. Plus, the nature of group events helps draw people together even if the zone is somewhat sparse. And the culture of the gamers in the game seems very friendly and collaborative. You can ask zone chat for help on just about anything an people usually help out.

[Teggy]

So I finally get to the final mission on my personal story quest this afternoon.  A quest that I have played through solo for the last 110 hours and 80+ levels.  So what do they do?  Make the final dungeon the only time in the entire game where you are required to group.  Even better, I haven't been able to find anyone to do it (the only PUG's I've found wanted to charge me 30+ silver to join).  

Yes, I know I'm playing an MMO, but the reason I've enjoyed it so much is because I haven't had to "officially" join up with anyone throughout this process.  It has been completely, 100% soloable...right up until the very last mission.    Changing it all up at the very end is puppies.

Hey Gratch, I'm on that quest too - maybe we can get enough GT/OO people together to do it.

[Soulchilde]

So I finally get to the final mission on my personal story quest this afternoon.  A quest that I have played through solo for the last 110 hours and 80+ levels.  So what do they do?  Make the final dungeon the only time in the entire game where you are required to group.  Even better, I haven't been able to find anyone to do it (the only PUG's I've found wanted to charge me 30+ silver to join).  

Yes, I know I'm playing an MMO, but the reason I've enjoyed it so much is because I haven't had to "officially" join up with anyone throughout this process.  It has been completely, 100% soloable...right up until the very last mission.    Changing it all up at the very end is puppies.

Hey Gratch, I'm on that quest too - maybe we can get enough GT/OO people together to do it.

I need to run it for my Engineer

[Gratch]

Cool, I'd love to get through it if we can get a group together.  I've never grouped in GW2, so I honestly have no idea how that all works.  Good news is, I'm off tomorrow afternoon through Sunday, so I should have plenty of time to give it a shot.   

[wonderpug]

Name a time and I'd be happy to help out with my thief if I'm available.

[Teggy]

Well unfortunately, short-term timing is not the best because my folks are headed in for Thanksgiving. Maybe Sunday afternoon/evening? We'll need a fifth.

Grouping is easy, although I'm assuming we're not all on the same server. We'll have to do some server hopping, but from what I understand that is easy.

[Gratch]

What server is everyone on?  Ehmry Bay here.

[KC]

I've been playing this for the last few weeks and agree with the earlier comment that the world is feeling empty.  For the first 10 levels or so, there were lots of players around to team on events.  I'm up to level 26 now and sometimes I can't find anyone to join me for an event and I end up getting mobbed even though I am 2-3 levels above the recommended level.

[Teggy]

What server is everyone on?  Ehmry Bay here.

I think most of us are on Ehmry Bay.

[rittchard]

I've been playing this for the last few weeks and agree with the earlier comment that the world is feeling empty.  For the first 10 levels or so, there were lots of players around to team on events.  I'm up to level 26 now and sometimes I can't find anyone to join me for an event and I end up getting mobbed even though I am 2-3 levels above the recommended level.

This was a problem I know I mentioned in Beta test but of course was ignored.   The PvE is so much fun when there are others around; even a single other person makes a world of difference, but as soon as it's empty, it can be a complete chore to accomplish anything.  What they need is a reason for people to come back to lower level areas, and to make the whole "dynamic PvE" more meaningful.  There should be server wide rewards or some other motivation to keeping lower levels intact, and the enemy content should be constantly encroaching.  As much as I love the game, I get frustrated by knowing what it has/had the potential to be.

My advice if you are stuck solo is to go to a completely different lower level area and just do those quests and exploration, or supplement with a bit of crafting.  I've done full levels just wandering around in areas far below my level, and it's still fun.  The xp is smaller but comes much faster the more you outlevel the content.