Well, I guess this post can't really change reality, but I've been thinking how good Guildwars expansion packs could've been: (I'm just letting my imagination run wild)
Alternate Reality:
Guildwars: Factions Expansion (requires GW)
Additions to core game:
- Addition of rare "dual" elite skills (New skill set allows for 1 elite skill from ur primary and 1 other elite skill from your secondary (dual elite skill is unlocked for only some 2 elite skill combos, not all. Dual elite skill is 1 skill that takes 2 slots)
No, changes game dynamic too much
- Addition of 2 skill on bar (makes 10 skill on skill bar)
tremendously imbalancing
- Additional faces/hair/body (fat thin)/muscular/limpy/facial expressions (ability to update original characters, since they will show age)
They did add new faces. I, for one, don't mind not having to watch morbidly obese assassin spinning in the air
- Additional armor pieces (shoulder pads, under clothing) at reduced prices
For balance reasons, it can't be real armor, so why not just add more art for more sets?
- Fluid motion control choreography to characters
- Better animation on characters
- More controllability on characters
Not sure what you mean, WSAD and clicking seems to work just fine
- Additional graphics (nearlly all skills have their distinctive animation)
- Additional skills (revamp a lot of never used skills to make more dynamic builds)
Agreed, there are a lot of worthless skills that no one ever uses
- Addition of skill trading (Ability to trade a skill to another... mechanic may have to be worked out)
Sounds tricky, why would anyone ever buy skills if they could rent?
- more vibrant armor, glowing orbs, etc etc.
- more emotes, verbal emotes
- Improvement of previous Tyrian voice actors and introduction of new sound effects
What? Is Elder Rhea not good enough acting for you? Sheesh, everyone's a critic .
Additions to Guild functionality:
- Guild local events (set by guild leaders/high ranking officers/enlisted officers)
Events include: Snowball fights (when snowing), dodgeball, tag, hide and seek (this turns radar off and name tags off), scrimmage, CTF, Deathmatch, etc.
minigames in the GH might be nice, I'd prefer content in the actual game though as these would be very sparsely populated for many guilds.
- Guild layout improved with personalization, ie banners, weapon stacks, flowers, armor stacks, rooms, tables, food, free beer, etc...
Who could say no to free beer...
- new Guild rankings (high ranked officers/enlisted officers)
bad, bad idea. I'm already sick of people bothering me to become an officer as soon as they join. We don't need any arbitrary separations, it's a community, not a regiment
- High ranked officers/leader can change layout of guild hall
- enlisted officers can invite guild members
- Alliances - halls will merge into a larger hall. (with the leader hall largest, and allied halls only half their size) You can walk from one hall to the next so the entire alliance is in the same area.
It's easy enough to warp, I'd end up warping anyway as that's a long way to run
- Alliance annoucements (only shows when the lead guild leader/ranked officers type it, so it doesn't show everytime u log in)
Much needed, spam is an issue though. They do need to show up when people log in though, otherwise you may as well just type it in the chat
- Alliance call - A popup shows when the lead guild leader wants an alliance to meet at main guildhall (popup only shows in towns, small whispers show if ur in mission).
Something wrong with alliance chat?
- Include VOIP as part of the game.
TRIPLE SIGNED WITH GIANT SIGNET OF APPROVAL
Canthan Invasion (main storyline of the expansion, introducing a smaller version of Cantha, but many updated and new areas in Tyria. Imagine the original prophecy map being about 1/3 larger, showing the bottom as the top of Cantha with ships steaming towards the Lions arch coast, smoke rising in the dunes of dispair and smoking ruins of the forest)
- The Canthans have invaded Tyria
- Choose sides, do missions to fend off the invasion.. insert storyline here
- Tyrians can remain to fight for tyria, or join the canthans.
- Tyrians can travel to cantha to act as an envoy, enabling them to play the expansion pack, get new armor, etc.
There is an area along the coast called the great battle.
The Great battle is huge, spanning the entire width of the coast, can be even fought on ships (with the improved fluid motion system). The battle begins the second you go out of town. It's no longer monsters you have to fight, it's people, real people. The battle line is practically a hostile town that can be fought in. You can be in a team, or alone, there are AI healers and nukers etc. nearby. Aim is to either get objectives, do covert operations or just plain kill the crap out of the other people. There are generals who you can talk to and ask for quests which they will send you on. There will be intense battles going on between groups of people, if you either help them or leave them be. There will be a set number of people fighting. Joining the battle will remove an AI warrior or so, and leaving will add an AI warrior in your place.
There will be cannons going off, bombs dropping, explosions in the background, people screaming, hexes shooting etc. It's hectic, it's war.
If you don't like the battle line, you can leave the place, and do "war missions", which are to help gather supplies for the war or fight other places to help the war effort.
You can also do peace missions which help end the war through means of treaty etc. more relaxed missions where you have to rescue people or deliver messages.
These are missions, so it requires a group, not quests.
Anet can then do things like Announce to the entire game world that the canthans have broken through!! go to Lions arch and defend the city!
or for canthans, All Canthan warriors, onwards to lions arch!
Maybe have a predefined day to have this happen?
A nifty idea, but many people didn't buy both chapters. The Luxons vs. Kurzick dynamic is fine, though it could be expanded to mean a bit more ingame
Keep adding new things into the game, like new siege weapon has been invented. Etc.
For PvP, skill sets will be frozen once the game is out. No nerfs to any skill sets unless they create an uberly powerful undeafeatble person.
Skill balances no only fix those uber powerful builds, but also shake things up a bit to keep the game fresh. I, for one, love when the new skill balance updates come out. It gives me a chance to play around with a whole new bag of tricks every time and rethink my builds.
PvP will have more arenas, more mission like arenas, better rewards (customized weapon art, ,armor, special PvP only skills)
This is just more content in general, which will come when it comes. It takes time to make these things, and they have added much of this.
Anyways, I guess one can just wonder...
The only reason i'm posting this is because Guildwars is lacking some excitement. Nothing global is happening, nothing important is about to wipe the entire GW world to bits. Everything resets once you're in town. Areas are all the same even after you end the plague and beat Shiro.
Say hello to instancing.
With lone expansion packs like Factions and soon Nightfall, people are leaving original Guildwars.
For one, it's not an expansion. For two, of course people are moving on to the new content, did you stay in Ascalon for a year and never explore outside of that?
I feel Anet is making a vending machine, you put your money in it, out comes 1 coke. Drink the coke, and there's nothing more.
This sums up everything anyone has ever sold in the history of all time ever. Ever.
I loved the game when it came out...
Now, I wish I could turn back time.
To when things were new? I loved it when I made a warrior with vamp touch, and I love the challenge and sense of accomplishment it gives now