To me, a casual, the future of GW2 looks uncertain based off observation of # of players ingame.

[solfizz.5730]

Can those of you who know the game more intimately than me tell me what you think?

[Randulf.7614]

What observations are these? The game is in a far better, more stable condition than it was perhaps 4 years. Population seems strong, with a stated high influx of new players recently. I see nothing but longevity for the game.

[Zephyr.5382]

There’s a bit of a lull in content at the moment; but populations still look perfectly healthy to me, with people running major world bosses, meta events and farming squads around the clock.

[solfizz.5730]

That's cool to hear! I would be happy to be proven wrong. It's just that I am playing low level characters lately and compared to when the game first launched the beginner zones are barren, but I can also understand that's probably not where the majority of players hang out. I do wish for that brand new gaming experience at times, where every inch of the world is filled with awe-struck players; it's a little sad that there are so many beautiful landscapes that seemingly get overlooked.

 

[solfizz.5730]

Furthermore, I like the sense of exploration even if I don't actually do anything (which sounds weird I know). So sometimes I will go to Lion's Arch to the series of portals with mists and what I believe are the battlegrounds (correct me if I'm wrong), and they seem to be pretty barren for how much WvW and PvP were touted. Maybe I was just there during the wrong times, I admit there's a LOT I don't know about the game apart from personal story and the base game overworld.

[SlippyCheeze.5483]

> @"solfizz.5730" said:

> Can those of you who know the game more intimately than me tell me what you think?

 

I think there is absolutely no possible way you could have the data to support that claim. If you want a more concrete response, I'm absolutely happy to engage as best I can, but you would need to supply some actual arguments to support your position, not just "game iz ded, prove me wrong!"

 

You might find http://global.ncsoft.com/global/ir/quarterly.aspx useful for digging into the question, though.

 

PS: I'm entirely unclear what your goal with this post was. Can you be a little more explicit about what you wanted to get out of it?

[solfizz.5730]

> @"SlippyCheeze.5483" said:

> > @"solfizz.5730" said:

> > Can those of you who know the game more intimately than me tell me what you think?

>

> I think there is absolutely no possible way you could have the data to support that claim. If you want a more concrete response, I'm absolutely happy to engage as best I can, but you would need to supply some actual arguments to support your position, not just "game iz ded, prove me wrong!"

>

> You might find http://global.ncsoft.com/global/ir/quarterly.aspx useful for digging into the question, though.

>

> PS: I'm entirely unclear what your goal with this post was. Can you be a little more explicit about what you wanted to get out of it?

 

I admit I was a little hasty in typing that as it was on my phone while I was out; I should have provided further context.

 

I wasn't claiming to speak from a point of authority as I hopefully conveyed with the disclaimer that I'm a casual player, so that's why I genuinely asked those of you who DO know the game's ins and outs what you see that I might be missing. I can see how this comes off as a challenge, but I assure you that's not my intent. It was written out of a desire to convey a "these are my observations, but I am receptive to other, more substantiated feedback if it exists, mainly from more experienced players" type of post.

 

I think Guild Wars 2 is awesome, and I really wish there were more players - that remains true. But if you include my followup posts, I am concerned that maps that I believe should be more populated but aren't is an indication of the game's possible decline - again which I admitted may not be fair especially compared to the condition of GW2 at launch. Knowing what kind of shape the game is in will help me make an educated decision on whether or not I will buy PoF, especially with the 30% off sale ending on Monday; that's why I am asking all these questions (eg my other posts I've created) before I take the dive.

 

I hope that clears things up for you a bit.

[derd.6413]

 

 

> @"solfizz.5730" said:

> That's cool to hear! I would be happy to be proven wrong. It's just that I am playing low level characters lately and compared to when the game first launched the beginner zones are barren.

>

 

that's completely normal. right after launch is always when the player population is the highest

 

> @"solfizz.5730" said:

>So sometimes I will go to Lion's Arch to the series of portals with mists and what I believe are the battlegrounds (correct me if I'm wrong), and they seem to be pretty barren for how much WvW and PvP were touted.

 

pvp has a dedicated lobby where ppl hang out and if you need to wait to enter wvw (and a pvp match) you can do that basically anywhere. the only reason ppl hang out there is dor fractals (but that's mostly pubbers who'm are waiting for ppl to join. go there during peak hours to see more ppl)

 

 

[Blocki.4931]

You can't tell how alive the game is by how many players you see because maps have a limit to them anyway. For all you know there could be dozens of maps open that you will never ever get to see with dozens of people

[zaekeon.5128]

Wvw zones may ‘seem’ dead but that’s because the majority of the players run around in a Zerg. Look for the commander icon on the map moving around and that’s where the players will be. It kind of looks like a thick, colored ^ symbol

[Pifil.5193]

> @"Blocki.4931" said:

> You can't tell how alive the game is by how many players you see because maps have a limit to them anyway. For all you know there could be dozens of maps open that you will never ever get to see with dozens of people

 

This is true, with the way the megaservers work we have no idea how many instances of each map there are and so we have no idea what the population for the game is. We can't even tell how many people there are on our own instance, just how many we pass by as we play.

 

WvW is different of course and it depends a lot on time of day (and the day off the week) and what server you joined.

[Cyanchiv.2583]

I completed map exploration for the second time last week since having played the game since launch. Honestly the maps appear exactly as populated now as they did then. I consistently ran past other players this second time around, especially around hearts and events. Meta events are still drawing in enough players to make multiple overflow maps as well.

 

Maybe you are not giving enough credit to the players that are just running around and exploring, because you haven't had an interaction with them maybe they are more forgettable. Also you might be ending up on overflow maps during meta events so it seems like less players are doing it but, in fact, there are so many maps are getting full.

[Warkind.6745]

What times do you play?

 

Unless I'm playing in the dead of night I usually find plenty of people. Even moreso in WvW what with the event and all.

[Klowdy.3126]

> @"solfizz.5730" said:

> Can those of you who know the game more intimately than me tell me what you think?

 

Your last post I replied to asked about what usefulness PoF has to low level characters, and that you had PoF refunded. You need to be in the PoF zones to see the majority of the people online, which you cannot do. I see tons of players running zone events, or bounty trains. You play in low level zones, which in most MMOs, are the least populated parts of the world.

[Randulf.7614]

The more the game grows, the more maps we get and the more spread the population gets. That will explain any reduced population in older maps you see. They are still way more populated than any legacy map of a rival MMO simply due to how well designed the game is for keeping things relevant, but there will be a natural dip. Since 2012, we have had 20 (I think) maps. That's a lot of spreading around

[solfizz.5730]

A lot of great responses, thanks to those willing to shed light on areas to which I was unsure.

[Eclipse.5610]

> @"solfizz.5730" said:

> That's cool to hear! I would be happy to be proven wrong. It's just that I am playing low level characters lately and compared to when the game first launched the beginner zones are barren, but I can also understand that's probably not where the majority of players hang out. I do wish for that brand new gaming experience at times, where every inch of the world is filled with awe-struck players; it's a little sad that there are so many beautiful landscapes that seemingly get overlooked.

>

 

Of course the new player zones are barren everyone is level 80 now plus when i started playing in 2012 World events were a completely new idea in the mmo industry hence the amount of people doing them was very high i remember logging into queensdale and lagging out durring event trains around the map....but this was before fractals and raids and before the new maps....so yeah ofcourse low level zones are going to be "barren" but once you get into the higher level maps your going to run into tons of players

[IndigoSundown.5419]

A couple of weeks ago, i was on Iron Marches (core zone, level 50-60). While there, I was running around doing exploration objectives and harvesting stuff. Never saw a soul. After a while, a Bloodstone-Crazed something or other (Devourer, most likely) notice hit the screen. I started that way just to see if anyone would show. Before I could get there, a Mentor tag was up at the site. When I got there, there were 8-10 players ahead of me. By the time it died, another 15-20 had shown up.

 

While this is just an anecdote, I think it illuminates the topic. People are more likely to prioritize "endgame" content than leveling content. Leveling content may draw individuals but it does not draw crowds. Zones are big in comparison to the population cap on the map. If leveling content is what you're doing, then seeing people is going to be happenstance. It's only when there's something going on on the map that has the cachet to attract a crowd, that you are likely to see a crowd.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

Beginner maps aren't barren when they are the Daily.

 

Either spend the 21 dollars now, or the 30 dollars later. It's not that much, either way.

 

Good luck.

[ewenness.6482]

As a somewhat new player myself, I actually see a lot of people in the early zones. Some of them even put up their mentor tag and walk around the starting areas, giving advice and mailing small gifts. My favourite one so far is a character named Good Fortune Choya who disguises themselves as some sort of giant pinata, making the rounds in Metrica Province and blessing people through alcohol and quaggan tonics! Absolutely brilliant!

 

What I found helpful when it comes to getting a feel for the community is making good use of the map chat wherever I am! It draws people into a conversation and helps me get to know players who I might not have met despite being on the same map due to the sheer size of the place and the countless events scattered about. I've been playing for about three weeks now and already found two great guilds through just chatting up strangers.

[Zeike.7469]

Some of us are returning players, played 4 years back finished the personal story and just ended up leaving it. Kept saying I need to get back into it, and only now have I really got into it again. Completely enjoying it, I've really enjoyed the story, love the maps, theres always something to do for me. I really want to get into WvW. I loved it back when I started, and probably people don't agree but I found it one of the best pvp systems on an MMO. However since being back and still learning my classes specializations so I am really intimidated to get into WvW just yet.

 

Soon though!

 

[Mea.5491]

No offence but your "observation" skills are lacking. GW2 is one of the most popular MMOs, it has a huge playerbase and the future of the game is not uncertain at all, especially if we consider how dead the MMORPG market is right now, there's literally no competition, everything is about the holy four: WoW-FFXIV-GW2-ESO. Go to the MMORPG sub on Reddit, ask what game to play and they will recommend these 4 because they are the "healthiest" MMOs. There's nothing "uncertain" about GW2, this game won't die for a really, really long time.

 

GW2 has megaservers so maps are always packed at any lvl, meta event squads and instance groups fill up in a couple of minutes. Also, don't forget that we have "vip passes" like Mistlock Sanctuary, tons of people use these items instead of cities = "hidden" players.

[CJH.2879]

From my own experiences of the game over the years I'd have to admit there are indeed more players in the level 80 zones (due to expansions & new content of course), but there will always be those same players that eventually create new ones and venture forth with a new hero in the start zones. I'd have to say the population is still very high but more or less more spread out then it was years before.

[wrathmagik.3518]

The only way this game will die is if they release another expansion like HOT

[Mea.5491]

> @"wrathmagik.3518" said:

> The only way this game will die is if they release another expansion like HOT

 

More like PoF. HoT has more replayable content (meta events), there's nothing much to do on PoF maps.