Why does no one talk?

[Shiyo.3578]

No reason to. You can do everything solo, and even in groups you're just fighting alongside each other, not actually interacting or using teamwork. This game had potential to make teamwork a thing but they abandoned combo fields as a concept and now you just stack on top of 1 person while mashing your DPS rotation.

 

It's also just navigating a UI to join groups so you don't even need to make friends or create groups of players to do stuff since you'll ALWAYS be able to quickly find a group to join.

[Zephire.8049]

Because if I'm talking that means I can't play, so why would I try to strike up conversation with strangers in a video game when there's social media for that? I'm perfectly happy to help someone out but I rarely find map chat to be worth engaging in, especially if it's a random "Hi!" or something else that could easily have been meant for a whisper.

 

I'm also usually following guild chats and/or watching shows on a second monitor, so if I want to engage in map chat I have to stop doing those things on top of no longer playing the game.

 

It comes down to the fact that there are other ways for me to socialize and map chat is not conducive to that, especially as an MMO such as GW2 requires active movement. I still see map chat being active a lot of the time, though, it's just not my thing.

[VanWilder.6923]

> @"SirRocket.3516" said:

> GW2 seems to be full of introverts, the chats pretty much always dead. Its seldom seen people just talking away. Every time I try to talk everyone just ignores you. Is there a reason GW2 has always been so socially barren?

For me, Guilds War 2 is a "GAME" which means to "PLAY". Its not where I engage conversation. So normally, I never read chat.

 

[Lumikki.1725]

In EU we have many languages and not all can even understand what others are saying. But mostly they are just busy doing what ever they do.

[TwoGhosts.6790]

What's to talk about in general map chat?

Mostly city maps are full of asinine BS and trolls.

Occasionally I'll answer questions if I spot them, but often in a whisper.

I'll mostly spend my time chatting to guildies.

WvW map and team chat is a totally different thing, and after so long you kinda know a lot of the people anyway.

[Mea.5491]

It's not only GW2, I play 3 MMOs (GW2, FFXIV, ESO) and people don't talk in any of them outside of guild chat.

[Pifil.5193]

I see chat in cities and in lobbies all the time, very little worthwhile of course, just the usual tired memes, trolling, bickering and inane nonsense you see in any online medium. I don't bother with it.

 

I don't see as much chat in the maps where you actually play. That's because it's an action MMO where you need to be playing. The game also doesn't have the downtime of slower MMOs; you're not sitting there waiting for quest mobs to respawn, for example, you're playing right now.

 

I suspect most of the kind of chat the op is looking for has switched to multi-game communities in Discord by now.

[Danikat.8537]

While reading this topic I logged into my alt account on the NA server and found a conversation running in DR map chat about whether Alexander the Great was a better leader than Hannibal. Not sure how that one got going but it seems popular. There's also a seperate conversation in say chat about armour skins. So people definitely do talk sometimes, but probably not as much outside of cities where there's more to do which makes typing difficult.

[Just a flesh wound.3589]

I don’t know about other people but I can’t actively play the game and type at the same time. If I say (type) anything in map chat I have to completely stop what I’m doing and I need to be in a spot where I’m not going to agro mobs. This means I’m not likely to say anything unless I’m on a city map or I’m sitting around waiting for an event to start.

[Westenev.5289]

Reason 1 - your conversational partner doesn't speak your language (a real problem in EU servers that kills many potential convos).

 

Reason 2 - the player has actively turned their chat off, or is actively ignoring you.

 

Reason 3 - the player is actually trying to play the game. 90% of my character deaths are probably due to trying to type during combat.

[Turkeyspit.3965]

After playing WoW back in Vanilla through to WoTLK, back then you had to communicate with your party, call targets, CC, etc. By the end of that time period, and back when I played in WoD and Legion, that was lost. You just ran in, spammed kitten, and collected loot.

 

GW2 instanced content (Fractals) is very much like that.

 

I vividly remember after joining a new guild, I jumped into a guild group for some T4 dailies - we were all experienced fractal players, and while all 5 of us were on Discord, not a single word was spoken until maybe the 3rd fractal, when I pointed out we were being silent lol.

 

People in GW2 don't talk to each other because it isn't necessary..and in some cases, appreciated, since there are many in this game who request the ability to play the game solo or with heroes like GW1.

[Tukaram.8256]

If I am busy playing the game, I have no time to type, and never think to look at the chat. If I am not actively playing - I log off. Chatting rarely fits into my gameplay.

My son and I were playing and he asked why I was ignoring someone. He said they had been trying to ask me a question. I never look at the chat and had no idea. I did not mean to ignore them, but who looks at the chat window?

[Lysico.4906]

NA servers.. play 5ish est to 9 ish est and the map chat is going non stop. I turn if off to focus on guild/squad many times..

[Teratus.2859]

Guess it depends on the map.

I notice a lot of chat in cities, usually people just gibbering on in some random conversation of total nonsense.

Depending on your sense of humour these can be pretty funny/entertaining or pretty annoying/offensive.. really depends on you there.

 

I see active chat in early game zones a fair bit too, usually helpful stuff and people asking questions.

But in the higher level maps the chat does seem to get quite dead for a decent amount of time.

[Kylden Ar.3724]

> @"SirRocket.3516" said:

> GW2 seems to be full of introverts, the chats pretty much always dead. Its seldom seen people just talking away. Every time I try to talk everyone just ignores you. Is there a reason GW2 has always been so socially barren?

 

Really, you are not missing much.

[Thornwolf.9721]

* Stopped talking because this "community" really is more of a nuisance than anything else. "one of the nicest communities" my arse.

* most people don't care, and like some in my guild have everything BUT guild/squad chat disabled.

* Why bother when no one listens?

* Why care when no one else does?

* Guilds being a joke in the game inspires less people to seek them out, they have no meaning and were made probably to be more of a meme than anything else. A shame considering how cool they were in guild wars 1.

* Shills will bash everything you say if it doesn't fit their narrative, and rather than accept a difference in an opinion they will go through hell to try and convince you that you're wrong and uneducated. (Despite knowing more on the subject)

* The game does NOT require you to deal with others, it as a matter of fact is easier to solo anything and everything (Outside of raids or strikes) than to ever put up with other people. Sure world bosses can't be soloed BUT people mostly turn up for those so you can just be a rando-pug. The game was built with that in mind as most modern MMO's try to strip away the necessity of grouping up so people who don't wana be around people can still be in an MMO. So its more of a digital chat-room with a game put ontop, because it doesn't require people to learn or socialize to get anywhere. I've done everything in this game that I've done mostly on my own and I've never felt the urge to partner with someone. Im even in a guild and still I mostly fly solo, why? Well nothing requires me not to and honestly it has no end-game I find worth while to seek a part for. (I don't like this games raids, and strikes are something I only submit myself too to get something I want..... like the norn bear armor.)

[Josiah.2967]

This isn't WOW, Rift, or FF. Those games have harder content where you seek good friendly players and ask for help. They have the holy trinity where you can not fufill all roles by being the top 2%.

 

Say what you want about the holy triniry; however, it does lead to more social games.

 

The only time I make new friends in this games is harder instanced content or fashion wars...

[Fenom.9457]

I do wish there were more “hangouts”, just places that naturally become popular places to talk and show off and such, there’s a socialization aspect I haven’t been able to find in any games I play for years now.

 

But I will say the bank area in DR is kinda close to that, and map chats can get really wild too. Especially dragons stand, at least in my experience

[Khisanth.2948]

> @"Astyrah.4015" said:

> > @"Randulf.7614" said:

> > GW2 is also not really a sit and chat game - players are genreally always busy. Other mmo's are a lot more static in gameplay and it is more common for players just to sit in one place - esp a city - and banter away whilst players here are...well...playing. Being very solo friendly is prob a factor too

>

> this is definitely one thing, i remember playing ragnarok online (at it's heyday) and it's definitely one of the things people did, since there was no pressure (either from the game or the community) to do things fast/immediately/rush (well, aside from hitting max level) people had time to sit down in town and chat with randoms

 

Depending on when you played there was also points in its life where you were forced to /sit for recovering MP/HP ... that leads to a lot of time where you are just doing nothing

[killermanjaro.5670]

I think it's a combination of things, some people just might be busy / focusing on doing their own thing in game, or just might not be the talkative type or might be a bit anxious talking to strangers in general chat (just cause you're playing an MMO doesn't mean you have to use chat or force yourself to try and be social). And I also think a lot of very talkative or socially outgoing players tend to find themselves in parties or guilds and end up mostly talking in party / guild chat channels, or on discord / teamspeak servers, so pay little attention to map or talk chat.

 

I quite enjoy teaming up with anyone who just happens to be passing by and uses talk or map chat to ask for some help, or how to get somewhere etc, I've had some of my most enjoyable moments in the game when this has happened, but it does seem to be getting rarer for that to happen (though I also play less these days, so it might just be I'm not playing at the right times).

[killermanjaro.5670]

Thinking about it, what would be nice is if you could toggle an icon above your player name (like a tag, but not visible on the map, just locally above your player), where having the tag on is just an indicator that you're happy to talk just using normal talk chat. As I'm sure one reason a lot of people don't use talk is because the times they have used it nobody has responded to them or they're afraid to ask, having an indicator a player is open to talk chat might help negate those issues/concerns and connect players with each other and encourage more social interactions between players.

[Excursion.9752]

I go afk alot. I generally message people back if I am whispered or mailed. I spend a good amount of time in WvW and there are times I wish people would be quiet. lol. So while I understand in some areas in the game it may be to quiet there are other areas where it is not. I basically comes down to player personalities and if people are willing to admit they need help or want it.

[Kosmo.3468]

> @"Thornwolf.9721" said:

> * Stopped talking because this "community" really is more of a nuisance than anything else. "one of the nicest communities" my kitten.

 

I migrated to this forums because the subreddit one is just insufferable. I've seen genuine newbie questions being downvoted to 30%, with answers like: "google it up, spammer". What the hell is wrong with these people.

 

 

[sorudo.9054]

the worst thing that happened in the 7 billion years this earth exists is human kind, i really don't want to deal with them more then i have to.

[SoulGuardian.6203]

Few reasons for that.

 

People might just wanna get on with what they're doing.

 

Could be that they chat a lot with guild mates and friends, so the rest of the time, they actually just want to play the game.

 

Some people might use a controller and are far away from the keyboard.

So they don't bother getting up to reply.

 

...and then there are people that avoid chatting completely, for their own personal reasons... there could be a thousand of them.

One; for instance, to avoid trolls... or parents telling their underage kids that they can play GW as long as they don't communicate with anyone... because, well, you can guess why.