Curse

DarkWasp · Jan 15, 2007, 07:43 PM // 19:43

Well my friend and I (both of us have been playing GW since the beggining) came down to thinking, about how to improve this game. So, when it comes to keeping a game alive you gotto keep the player alive. The way to keep the player is alive, is to make sure that when he comes home from a hard day of school/work he doesnt log on GW only to find more work.

Conveniences in GW 1 lowered the work factor, the only disadvantages were:

The character squad feature was never added -10% convenience
UW and FoW are only available while in favor -5%
Desert and Fire Islands can only be reached by finnishing the missions before them -5%
Overall convenience 80% (OUTSTANDING for an RPG)

But then came GW 2, uh oh:

The character squad feature was never added -10%
UW and FoW are only available while in favor -5%
Nearly all new areas require atleast 2 long and boring/messy/dangerous/SurvivorTitleRisking missions to get to -20%
Explorable areas are infested with messy mobs of hundreds in Kurzick and Kaineng areas -15%
Overall convenience 50% (Might aswell buy WoW and grind to level 50, atleast i'd be making progress)

And GW 3, I'd rate 50% convienence aswell. Well 60%, extra 10% with the heroes.

So in a manor of enjoyment.
GW1 Proph - This game was awesome for the whole first year
GW2 Factions- I didn't even want to try getting another character to Cavalon (2 ranger exploring in the Jade Sea kept GW just barely alive for me)
GW3 NF- I beat the game, there were some cool missions, DoA looks cool, I need to get my necro there to do a group... BUT THERE IS NO WAY I'M GOING THROUGH ALL THE FREAKING MISSIOBS AGAIN! NO WAY!

Seeing a pattern here?
Being a PvE person, and speaking for all the PvErs I know "We DO NOT like to be boxed in to the story line!" What happened to the freedom? If I can get to Droknars in GW1 to cap some elite skills without doing missions, why cant I get to Cavalon just as freely? And why was exploring only fun in Tyria?

Sure I like doing the missions but just once!
Sure I like exploring, but I can't stand all these obsticles and mobs in Factions, or this plain ugly desert in NF!
And ofcoarse I like builds, but I don't want to dedicate another 11 hours to getting the suitable character to the area needed!

So thats why we came up withThe character squad feature Ooh, so this is what you were talking about!?

A good few people were requesting that their other characters may be used as heroes. The way I see it, that just isnt enough.

(This was mostly my friend's idea BTW)

When in the skills window, you should be able to choose to switch to another one of your characters that has traveled to the chapter before.

Say i'm in DoA, and they want a necro, my necro is in Istan, so I just switch to her and i'm in a group. This would bring me the greatest joy, knowing I dont have to do all the missions again. At this point i'd rather do statistics homework than do all those misions again, 5 times.

And it would be cool to use your other characters as heroes too, because some of us have stories for our characters, and they hunt in groups.

(A level 20 minimum on this feature would be alright with me.)

Goodbye culture, welcome back fantasy!

One of the most captivating things about GW1, it has a variety of differnt fantasy settings and characterization. You go from shiney green lands, to dusty destoyed lands, to ice, then too jungle/beach, then straight jungle, then desert, then ice again, and finaly fire islands. The magic in the game doesnt feel like Black Magic, its got this cool enchantingness to it.

I want that feeling back.

Factions did alright, if you dont count the feeling of walking down narrows paths of trash and squeezed tight mobs of random enemies.

Nightfall is a total environmental disaster! Its desert, desert, desert, more desert, and desert, and even more desert. Ooh yeah, and corrupted stuff.
Maybe adding a random artistic house would liven the place up abit, like Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water.

The other thing I liked about GW1, it was a big map with spread enemies. And not only spread enemies, but enemies with builds. Not balanced builds, but all one type.

I found it is more fun to run into 17 warrior Mountian Trolls and die, than it is to run into 17 margonites (monks,warriors,dervishes,rangers,eles.ect) and live.

Having half a billion random proffesions in large groups roaming around everywhere, well it just feels like having random paperwork ahead.

I've been spoiled, but why not spoil everyone?

Playing Silkroad Online for a short time, I discovered a new mode of RPG trading.

Trade booths, leave whatever you want in there, come back in an hour and have sold 8 items.

8 items to the newbies who need them! NEED them! Can you imagine that, a 12-23 flatbow with a req perfect for him. Hes thinking, thats a nice bow for only 200 gold! And you're thinking, thats a freaking nice 200 gold i'll be gettin!

Can you EVEN imagine that? Making money off blue/white items. WTF MATES?! Only in heaven! No more farming for that perfect gold sephis axe all day for 3 weeks!

The only problem with the trade booths, there were over 200 of them to look through.

But auction houses! Arena.net, you know it... EVERYONE has suggested this.

A categorized window (swords/ sheilds/ bows/.ect) with sub categories (Ironwing Bows/ Flat Bows/ Feathered Longbows/.ect).

All you gotto do if you are selling, is drop an item in there, tag a price on it, and go eat your breakfast.

Some of you have no idea how great it feels to come back and "Oh SWEET! I sold it!" Or how much hope you get when you dont sell something "Eh, Maybe next time I AFK."

This can not screw up the economy either.

Arena.Net, those of you who are reading this... I dont care if you have to bring both teams back together, I dont care if you have to release this system as a chapter in itself. Please add this to the game. The Party Search window isnt going to cut it!

If you had to sell it in a box 50$ GW chapter 4: The Trade System... I WOULD BUY IT!

Anyway, in summary, GW is becoming all work and no play.

(Stay tuned for my chapter ideas)

MegaMouse · Jan 15, 2007, 07:59 PM // 19:59

Cool someone on the same thought track as me. I enjoyed Profecies so much I bought a laptop so that I could play it while at work (I push barges for a living from Baton Rouge, Louisianna to Freeport, Texas so it can be qquite boring at times). Going through the storyline and discovering new areaswas always fun in I could go anywhere.
Factions: ouch what happened, kinda good at they stopped the runners, but the circle quests just turned enjoyment into "Where is the next mission so I can get out of here?". I still haven't done over half of the quests within Factions and realy do not like to go there too often e=xcept to help out Guild Mates.
NightFall: Hmm parched lands, and moreparched lands. Not very fun. Hero's: ah now I can tell my henchies what to do and keep the Ele from casting Firestorm on all the mobs (Frustrating as all get out).
Auction House: Definatly would pay fr an expansion that would incoperate an auction house even if that i the only thing in it.

Please bring back the fun in the next chapter.

Mega Mouse

Buttermilk · Jan 15, 2007, 08:32 PM // 20:32

I agree with you, DarkWasp.
And I hate being boxed in the storyline just as much as you do. Prophecies had areas that you were not required to explore. In Factions however, you had to do missions to "unlock areas" and the only areas you weren't required to explore, was the explorable mission areas. Same goes for Nightfall. You visit every area (except for a few in the Desolation and Vabbi) by following the main story.

I would love to have larger areas in Chapter 4. Lots of them. Preferably without being tightly packed with monsters. Arriving in Vabbi and having your compass displaying 20 red dots really ruins the experience.
I know, I know. Guild Wars is fast-paced. But ArenaNet really needs to slow down the pace. Just for once.

Having that said I don't want to lose all the tightly packed areas. But just a few separate areas like Sorrow's Furnace.

And please add an auction house. We really need that too.

DeanBB · Jan 15, 2007, 10:45 PM // 22:45

I just don't see using one of your characters in an area they have not made it to yet, either as a "hot swappable" toon or as a hero. How does that affect their quests or missions? How does it work when they can't go back to an area that they haven't unlocked yet but are beyond that point in the game? Really, how long does it take to go thru the story on just primary quests and missions?

Auction/merchant house, sure that would be great, I'd love it.

As far as the terrain/maps/zones, if all 3 chapters looked like chapter 1 we'd be screaming for some new look. Factions has Shing Jea, the City, the petrified Kurzick lands and the jade Luxon lands for variety. All of Nightfall looks the same? I don't think so.

Other than farming, I enjoy the challenge of a mixed mob much more than 17 of the same critter. Where's the fun in facing 7 interrupting foes as a spell caster? Or even a warrior, you can attack but have no chance of healing the degen from Phantasm without it being interrupted.

Mixed mobs bring some semblance of tactics to PvE, a pecking order at the very least, choosing which enemies need to be eliminated first. Otherwise it is just C+space, C+space, C+space...and PvE can be easy enough as it is.

As far as conveniences go, the new chapters have max armor earlier, provide a better selection of collector items, introduce a vast array of max greens, get you to level 20 faster and let you choose what skill to get rather than making you do quests to get them and have those quests spread throughout 70%(?) of the game. Where are those listed in your "convenience factor"?

How about heroes, templates, changing professions any time in a town and materials storage? Yes you can use those features in any chapter but they are all new post-chapter 1 so add to the convenience factor.

I will agree that some locked doors can be annoying but it is also annoying having level 5's in end game areas begging to get in a team, not to mention their lack of skill as a player since they skipped 90% of the game. That's a hard one to balance, running vs controlling the storyline, but again how long does it really take to go through the story?

Frazzy · Jan 15, 2007, 11:02 PM // 23:02

Yeah, maybe there shouldn't even be a story line. And if your bonder in FoW leaves you can just bring your Bonder that is currently logged out, although you cannot even have two characters from the same account on. And if you think Guild Wars is work, get a real job or take harder classes.

Vinraith · Jan 16, 2007, 12:04 AM // 00:04

For the record everything the OP suggested in part 1, I basically want the opposite. NO power levelling of your own characters, NO free map travel for characters that haven't gotten there yet, in short PvE should be about character development and OP would make it entirely about account development. There'd simply be no reason to ever play through the game again after the first time IMO. Implement changes like those and I'll never play the game again.

As to environments, I liked Factions better than Prophecies. Far more unique and less standard than the environments in Prophecies, far more visually stunning on the whole. I do agree that Nightfall's environs are too repetitive and drab.

As to the auction house, I really don't care one way or the other. It's certainly not something I'd pay for, but if it was there I might use it.

DarkWasp · Jan 16, 2007, 12:50 AM // 00:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vinraith

There'd simply be no reason to ever play through the game again after the first time.

I'd perfer not to go through the missions again.

I find the greatest joy in PvE, exploring and facing minor challenges.

Take Counter Strike and Half Life for example.

Most can play Counter Strike all day and still enjoy it the next day.

Now if you play Half-Life all the way through, you might want to wait a month before playing through again.

Thats my problem, if the necro build is hot, there is no month's rest between playing the missions, you've gotto get out there NOW. Doing the same mission again too soon is like grinding to level up, doing the same thing over and over. GW brags to minimize grinding, I just hate having it in larger more spread out missions instead of small bunches of enemies instead. (NOT SAYING I WANT TO GRIND ENEMIES!)

And thats the other thing about Half-Life, it never gets repetitive. A lot of GW missions get repetitive. REAL repetitive. I personaly fancy the boss missions, like Varesh, Kraken, Kuunvaag(sp), and Abaddon.

I guess If I made the game, I would make like 40 short challenging missions, instead of about 20 that can get long and repetitive.

Ehehe, too the person that told me to get a job. I'm pursueing a carreer in writing, my job is never going to be more work than some aspects of GW are to me.

And powerleveling the other chars, not so. Like I said, with that feature, the chars should probabbly be limmited to use when level 20.

And they'd still leach drops like heroes and henchies.

(I dont see why if its not neccesary to do the missions twice you'd quit instead of just doing them again for fun?)

MegaMouse · Jan 16, 2007, 07:58 AM // 07:58

Again i agree with Darkwasp, I like to go and do a mission several timnes just to find new areas not so much to do it ovr and over again. Sometimes I have even found a faster path to a bonus which is cool. I just mainly like to explore and if that means going out and hving to do a long mission to get to the next area , that I will do but I will probally never do that long mission again.

Mega Mouse