Worth Returning to GW2?

[Failehawk.9508]

Hey all,

I've been thinking of coming back to GW2, but wanted to get a bit of the pulse of the community before diving in. Over the years, I've left, come back, and left the game several times almost always for the same types of reasons.

 

In the past when I played, there was always this kind of exclusivity to parts of the game. The character birthdays instead of account ones, the LS throwaway content that was a case of either you were there or you lost the opportunity to experience it forever (or, in a similar thread, limited time items that was a case of the RNG being with you or not), limited time achievements (and the points associated with them) that were only available during the year they were released, the fractals/ascended gear grind or bust mentality, the have legendary = lucky/superior player or even the gold/TP skill = good player, and just the constant pressure and knowledge that no matter how much time and grinding a casual, new, or newish player did they would just never be capable of catching up or earning the same things as the veteran/loyalist players.

 

Are the LS still throwaway/temporary grinds?

 

Is there still a gold/skin/lucky item drops=win mentality to the community? I mean in such a way where people are constantly boasting about how many legendary pre-cursors they have drop or the number of exotics they've gotten in a day?

 

Is there group content that feels more like a team activity instead of the strange sterile group but solo play that was the world boss/world event zergs? Activities where a group of people can actually work towards a common goal to help each other instead of the only benefit being whether the game RNG decides to reward the individual player? Activities where people laugh, socialize, and have fun with each other instead of a mass of bodies charging towards the next goal? Where most efficient tagger is seen as the best class/form of play?

 

I know that this has all been negative so far and I don't want to give the impression I'm just dogging on the game. GW2 was a game I had fun with in the beginning and it's one I really **DO** want to like. I enjoy the combat (even though I've never been very good at it) and I like some of the concepts (exploration, jumping puzzles, etc.), but it's also been a game that's caused me some pretty swift burn out in the past. So, I guess is it still the same?

 

[Opopanax.1803]

I think the story is good.

 

The balance is bad; they need to work on upgrading old skills, balance how strong boons are, etc to get build variety again.

[Failehawk.9508]

I'm glad to hear that the story is good! When you say upgrade old skills, is it a case where the expansion skills are stronger then the vanilla GW2 skills? Are boons OP or underpowered? I was still learning how to boon stack before I left so I only have a little knowledge about it. Is it a case where meta builds rule all? Is it not possible to play an off-beat build or is it a case where non-meta builds are still relegated to open world?

[Sylent.3165]

The story is good, but 100% my own personal opinion once the short living world story is complete there is nothing to do if you already like the way your character and you don't bother trying to just get achievement points

[Opopanax.1803]

Yeah, non meta builds are mostly relegated to open world pvp. You can pull of !pat builds on lower end fractals and some wvw, but not raids, high fractals, or coordinated wvw.

 

Boons are super strong.

[Failehawk.9508]

Hrm… so it sounds like LS / content droughts are still a thing. That's not really a huge concern since I'm pretty casual in games these days so I'm less likely to finish them quickly. As far as the raids, is that something that could be done casually? I currently also play WoW and really enjoy raiding. It's nice to have a coordinated challenge for a group of guildies/friends. It's always a nice feeling to down a boss that would previously kick our backsides. :)

 

Are there opportunities to get into lower fractals? Do people still do dungeons? I remember last time I came back it was a challenge to get into these things. I'm not a huge fan of PuGing but is it possible to PuG these things?

[Game of Bones.8975]

It always comes back to what you game for and what you hope to get out of the game.

 

I'm not as competitive as most of the people who run PvP or WvW.

 

I enjoy world completion, farming, and jumping in to help players finish events.

[Opopanax.1803]

Lower fractals are easy to get into.

 

Dungeons are still here and are run, but have not been upgraded and are in stasis mode.

[Okami Amaterasu.9237]

This is a long post: you have been Warned! Mwahaha!

 

There is a lot of truth behind what you're worried about for the game, but there's also a lot that just comes with a poor experience coming into it. For example, coming into the game any new player might want to try out PvP and be hit hard by some of the more "enthusiastic" members there who harshly call-out new players for being new, kind of an odd mentality since Everyone was new at one point. If however you came into the game with a bunch of friends and just wanted to explore the PvE maps against monsters and villains, then the experience would be different. That doesn't necessarily mean PvP is toxic and PvE is rainbows and butterflies, but it does mean first-impressions are just that: first-impressions. It's difficult to understand the whole picture from the get-go, as with any game. GW2 is also a little bit less hold-your-hand tutorial training section than other mmos, so that factors in.

 

As for your main concern of **Exclusivity**, there are parts of the game that are difficult if not impossible to join without lots of experience or practice (Raids comes to mind), so there is exclusivity in that regard. However, there are just as many if not Dozens more places where other players are welcomed and even appreciated. Immediately I think of Bounties in the Path of Fire expansion maps where people ask for help in the Map chat and often others will come to their aid to defeat a boss the person needed for a weapon collection or achievement points, etc. Other times would be when players are stuck in a Story mission and need help progressing. I've never seen anyone tell them they "need to do it themselves"; almost always Someone is willing to help or give advice. Out of all the MMO's I've seen GW2 has one of the friendliest communities in the vast majority of the game. Sure you'll come across people who are in bad moods or feel cheated or whatever their situation is in that case, but that's life, and no one is happy 100% of the time. All we can do is try to help people out whenever they need it and continue having fun.

 

For the **Story**, the Living World Seasons are repeatable once purchased and/or played on release except for LW Season 1. You're right, Season 1 cannot be played by anyone in the game right now, but that was because ArenaNet was introducing so many Huge changes to the game's maps (Kessix Hills, Lion's Arch) that it is nigh impossible to replicate in a story instance where you're just by yourself and not with hundreds of other players in the open world. It's a difficult challenge for them to recreate it, so it'll probably be years before they can get around to it. Meanwhile, LW Season 2 came out and can be replayed at any time if you have the episodes unlocked. This is also true of LWS3 and LWS4 (the current one) if you have the Heart of Thorns Expansion and Path of Fire Expansion respectively for S3 and S4.

 

The **Living World Maps** themselves have their events and event chains, like any other maps in the core game or the expansions. Some have massive Meta-events that are on a world clock timer every few hours or so, and other events can be started as just a normal event chain. As for the "grind", the only thing you'll need is the currency for LWS3 maps (all of them) which is called Unbound Magic, and for LWS4 maps it's Volatile Magic. You can collect the Magic type in Any of the map from that Season, so you don't Need to rotate between all the maps if you don't want to. And again, this is only if you even want to buy anything that the magic currency offers: usually some unique armour or backpiece skins, some unique minis, some tonics, etc. It's mostly Cosmetic stuff, but there are also Trinkets (gear), yes. Almost everyone who reaches this point of the game has Exotic armor and weapon stats (it's not that hard to get), and the LW season gear rewards just give some stat variety or unique skins.

TL;DR Basically no grind if you don't want the optional rewards the season's maps give out.

 

The **Endgame of GW2** is basically a Cosmetic one. Just make yourself look as badass and cool as you can with the HUGE selection of skins for weapons and armor. You don't even Have to do this if you don't want, but most players want to feel alive in the role of their character so they customize how they look with all the different skins. You can look good with just some core game skins, with some expansion skins, with LW season skins, with Dungeon, Fractal, Raiding skins, with PvP skins, WvW skins, and (a large amount) of gem store skins. With no monthly fee for playing the game, most players will spend just a few bucks into getting something they want out of the gem store, such as unique outfit for their character (A Wedding outfit dyed black for a gothic widow avenging her murdered spouse, or some other roleplay). If you hear people bragging about how "cool" they look (I never have), then I'd just assume they're self-absorbed and leave them alone to their fantasies. Everyone looks cool, in one way or another - it's just about tastes.

 

For **Group Events**, the most hardcore and focused ones would probably be Raiding (PvE content) and usually requires training and/or a guild with friends who'll help explain it to you. I haven't done much Raiding personally just because I don't run the "most optimal" builds so it's less desirable. There are plenty of problems with the exclusivity and rigidness of Raids, but I won't speak too much about a subject I know little about other than that. If you manage to get into a consistent Raiding group, I bet it'll be a big challenge that'll test your skills. Other group events would be the Meta-events in the PvE maps be it Core, LW, HoT, or PoF. The Bounties in PoF are similar to World Bosses like you were describing, but if that's not for you then you're not Required to do it often, you know? There are also Dungeons (which are a bit more empty nowadays than before but not necessarily "dead" as I've heard others say), and Fractals (essentially Dungeons which requires good teamwork and spacial awareness as you go up the Fractal levels into Tier 4 (the hardest).) And then there's PvP which is basically Fractals on steroids because you're fighting other players instead of NPCs - Lots of teamwork and coordination required, though still less than Raids. WvW in itself is more like a battlefield, like a massive PvP zone instead of the 5 on 5 Structured PvP mode. WvW has more of that RNG element you were describing being worried about, and is a lot more hectic and cluttered, like a real battle. It's more of a zerg group against zerg group bloodfest and group-tactic mode, so if that's not for you, no one will call you out for it. Plenty of people don't WvW, plenty of people do WvW - GW2 is very open to what goals you want to set for yourself.

 

In the end, everyone gets tired of playing the same game after a while. You want to explore other games with different mechanics, different genres, different modes and ideas, etc. etc. GW2 is a fun game and can last you many years if you enjoy it. Don't feel bad if you eventually get tired of it or want to take a break or leave it forever and do other things - that's life: things come, they go. I hope you'll enjoy playing the game, whether it's just PvE exploring and wandering, hardcore grinding, intense PvP or WvW, intense PvE group content, or even just chasing after achievements and/or skins or any number of other things you want to do. In any case, hope you enjoy it, and remember to take breaks if you get tired or upset (thanks dad).

 

"I was never here, got that?"

[Ashantara.8731]

> @"Failehawk.9508" said:

> Are the LS still throwaway/temporary grinds?

 

No. When you own the respective expansion and log in during the release time, you receive each new Living World episode for free, otherwise you can buy them for Gems or from the Store. The Living World content is available always now, like all other content (except for holiday events and the like, of course, which is annual ;) ).

 

> Is there still a gold/skin/lucky item drops=win mentality to the community?

 

When did skins (i.e., cosmetics) ever had anything to do with being better at the game?

 

> I mean in such a way where people are constantly boasting about how many legendary pre-cursors they have drop or the number of exotics they've gotten in a day?

 

There will always be those in desperate need of attention, but boasting is not something you witness 24/7.

 

> Is there group content that feels more like a team activity instead of the strange sterile group but solo play that was the world boss/world event zergs?

 

There are event maps, which are more casual and relaxed, then there are fractals and raids, the latter being very thoroughly organized and rather stressful for a casual player. Dungeons still exist, and tons of other PvE content (map completion, dailies, bounty hunts, jumping puzzles, etc.).

 

You should give it a try and see how you like it and what in particular is your cup of tea.

 

> Activities where people laugh, socialize, and have fun with each other

 

If ANet keeps up the little scavenger hunts and puzzles, then yes, definitely. Holiday events are always a good platform for this type of thing, too.

 

> it's also been a game that's caused me some pretty swift burn out in the past. So, I guess is it still the same?

 

I guess that, in its core, it is still the same. But there is nothing wrong with taking breaks from it whenever you feel it is starting to stress you out. :) One of the good things about GW2 is that you can always come back and pick up where you left off.

[Failehawk.9508]

Thank you Okami Amaterasu for the excellent post. It addressed a lot of things I was concerned about. I'll try giving GW2 another go. I should have enough gems to purchase the LS chapters I've missed. Maybe I'll start with the story since it's gotten a good bit of praise in this thread.

 

Thank you all for your responses. :)

[Vayne.8563]

Disclaimer: My experiences with this game may not be typical, because of my play style. I consider myself a hardcore casual. That is my approach to the game is casual but I play it a lot. Though I don't claim to be in any sort of majority, I know know many others who play just the way I do, so here's my reply to your concerns.

 

This game is different from a lot of other MMOs. It's less about stats and more about player skill. The types of progression in the game have less to do with being able to do content others can't so, and more to do with being able to do content more quickly. A dev recently said that a good player will do 500% more damage than an average player. Not a bad player, an average player. I find that comment staggering.

 

For players like me, there's a lot to do in the game, that's not limited by time. Take the collections that have been added to the game. They're permanent content, very much like scavenger hunts. They're mostly solo, but some require events that require more people doing it. I virtually never have a problem getting those events done, and as long as you don't mind being a bit proactive, you can usually get them done.

 

One thing I've found is that by joining a guild that matches your play style you can get a lot of stuff done you might not be able to get done on your own as well.

 

Recently I realized that I hadn't completed all the bounties in Path of Fire. This is multiplayer content. Doesn't require a million people to do it. Four of my guildies joined me and we finished off the last five bounties we needed. A few people from the zone joined in when they saw my tag, but essentially it was just us.

 

The thing is, it's coordinated content that has a time limit, but it's not made for hard core players. And reasonably good group can beat a bounty, most of the time. The thing is, the better your group is, the faster you're beating it. Thus you could do more bounties in the same time slot, and thus your rewards go up.

 

A lot of people could slog their way through a dungeon. Good players can beat dungeons really fast, thus making their rewards worth their time. There are still people in my guild who run dungeons for various reasons from time to time, but the point is, there is a place for people who want to organize and get better at the game. It's just not something that the game requires you to get better at. A lesser group can still get through, it just might take them an hour instead of ten minutes. That's a reward in at of itself to me. lol

 

The living story stuff is now permanent. Only festivals are limited time rewards, everything else unlocked permanently.

 

For a hard core casual like me, there's plenty of stuff in the game to do.

[Opopanax.1803]

Good post Vayne. Many reasons that I like gw2 as well, though I am still bummed by the upgrading that old spells need.

[zealex.9410]

Exclusivity has gone down over the years with som exception. Content isnt time limited nowday.

 

Also frim back then to today this hasnt changed: u were always able to catch up and compete with veterans.

 

Hot had more of a focus in group content but it can still be qrgued thats its zerg events.

 

Pof is more play alone together and that kind of deal.

[BunjiKugashira.9754]

> @"Failehawk.9508" said:

> Hrm… so it sounds like LS / content droughts are still a thing. That's not really a huge concern since I'm pretty casual in games these days so I'm less likely to finish them quickly. As far as the raids, is that something that could be done casually? I currently also play WoW and really enjoy raiding. It's nice to have a coordinated challenge for a group of guildies/friends. It's always a nice feeling to down a boss that would previously kick our backsides. :)

>

> Are there opportunities to get into lower fractals? Do people still do dungeons? I remember last time I came back it was a challenge to get into these things. I'm not a huge fan of PuGing but is it possible to PuG these things?

 

Lower T1 and T2 fractals can easily be pugged. You will find groups in lfg and the success rate is quite high even among groups without very experienced players. You might want to stick to the recommended fractals for that day to get find a group faster.

 

Some dungeons are still being run, however the content hasn't changed much / at all since release, so it's gotten stale.

 

I can't recommend raids for a casual experience. Raids are mostly about nuber crunching and if you don't bring the meta boon support or dps, you become a liability for the team. A single player can ruin a try by failing a single mechanic. Therefore pugging raids is next to impossible as a beginner because most / all groups ask for a proof that you have plenty of raid experience plus a proof that you've killed this specific raid-boss before.

[Vayne.8563]

> @"Opopanax.1803" said:

> Good post Vayne. Many reasons that I like gw2 as well, though I am still bummed by the upgrading that old spells need.

 

Thanks...not sure what you mean by the upgrading that old spells need? Are you talking about unlocking your elite spec?

[Opopanax.1803]

I just mean old abilities and traits that have been power creeped out of usefulness.

 

But back to the game. I love the following:

B2P

LS

Pve open world

Dungeons

Fractals

Max level 80 cap with horizontal progress

So far minimal gear creep

A downright beautiful world to explore

 

I do love this game, bit would trade a LS episode for a good revamp of ok outperforming skills and traits.

 

[yusayu.3629]

The personal story (i.e. the base game story) is cool but terrible to play. They made huge improvements on story delivery over the years.

 

> Are the LS still throwaway/temporary grinds?

 

Yeah, kinda. But the stories are good and actually fun to play.

 

> Is there still a gold/skin/lucky item drops=win mentality to the community? I mean in such a way where people are constantly boasting about how many legendary pre-cursors they have drop or the number of exotics they've gotten in a day?

 

Not more than in other games tbh.

 

> Is there group content that feels more like a team activity instead of the strange sterile group but solo play that was the world boss/world event zergs? Activities where a group of people can actually work towards a common goal to help each other instead of the only benefit being whether the game RNG decides to reward the individual player? Activities where people laugh, socialize, and have fun with each other instead of a mass of bodies charging towards the next goal? Where most efficient tagger is seen as the best class/form of play?

 

Considering the best farm in the game right now consists of standing around about 30% of the time, I'd say it's kinda nice.

 

What's shafted right now is balance. They actually introduced a Holy Trinity with a mandatory support class that is beyond auto-include. Most base classes are useless, elite specs are where it's at, and PvP feels like it's dominated by Bunker builds.

[Gehenna.3625]

I recently returned to the game after a couple of years and the reason I kept leaving was that I got bored too quickly each time. I didn't really have any clear goals in the game and so it all seemed kind of pointless and leveling was a terrible grind. Well it still is but you get a lot of help to skip levels.

 

This time it seems different though. Still don't like the leveling but I've got goals and enjoy getting there. Crafting, which I felt was convoluted, is something that made a big difference. So I got stuck in and ended up leveling 4 crafting skills to 500. The downside is the cost but having them at 500 opened up the crafting options for ascended gear. Now I mainly have heavy and light armour users so I leveled tailoring and armorsmithing for armour and artifice and weaponsmithing to cover at least most of my weapon needs. So after biting that initial bullet, I finally enjoy it. Do mind it's not cheap but I managed to level each one for around 80 gold or so. It helps that I do more gathering now that I have unbreakable gathering tools.

 

As for trinkets, well, that's where LS comes in. You can buy season 2-4 and they unlock areas where you can farm for trinkets directly. I decided to get the teleport pass that you can use and go there with alts as well to help farm there. You have these handy books for each season that you can combine them all in. At least for the last two seasons. Not sure if season 2 has the same as that's the one part I haven't finished yet. And these books I put in account shared slots, so each toon has them at the ready.

 

The PoF story isn't bad. I wouldn't call it great either but it's enjoyable enough, but in the end also entirely forgettable. I don't like the slugfests though and I hope they do something about the HP on those story bosses. It's the long fighting sequences that actually disrupted the flow of the story for me and it all just ended up taking too long. So I don't play the story on alts, just on my main, but that's ok for me. Now in PoF you acquire mounts and they are very useful. The mastery system there is more forgiving than HoT, although I have gotten a bit better there as well. I even unlocked my ascended dragonhunter bow via collections which I previously thought impossible for me to achieve.

 

The new areas are also the most reminiscent of GW1, which is a plus for me personally. And I also think that they are the most beautiful ones, in spite of being desert mostly.

 

There are still downsides, but I'm sure you know of them as well. But having unlocked the mounts on my main also unlocks them on all alts and that is fantastic cause it makes life everywhere easier. The gliding was cool, this adds a lot more to it.

 

So for me it's a good experience now, but I did buy a bunch of gold (to make up for the time I haven't played cause a lot costs money in game and I did feel I needed a kick start) and got unbreakable gathering tools and some extra inventory/bank slots. So that was a real money investment that you may or may not want to use. Oh and at the moment the passes for the crown plaza location where you have everything you need close by on sale so I recommend that as well.

 

Point is, if you are happy to spend some money, then you can really improve your game experience with these items. If not then you will run into some limitations. Just not sure what to do with the final 20 mastery points I need in HoT because I'm not very good at these activities which are all based on speed and a lot of mastery points come from doing them, but I've gotten a lot more done than I ever thought I would.

 

So just some thoughts from my experience, but I do recommended spending some money. This game has no sub so it charges for things like missed LS and inventory, but for me it was totally worth it.

 

[Robban.1256]

> @"yusayu.3629" said:

> The personal story (i.e. the base game story) is cool but terrible to play. They made huge improvements on story delivery over the years.

>

> > Are the LS still throwaway/temporary grinds?

>

> Yeah, kinda. But the stories are good and actually fun to play.

>

> > Is there still a gold/skin/lucky item drops=win mentality to the community? I mean in such a way where people are constantly boasting about how many legendary pre-cursors they have drop or the number of exotics they've gotten in a day?

>

> Not more than in other games tbh.

>

> > Is there group content that feels more like a team activity instead of the strange sterile group but solo play that was the world boss/world event zergs? Activities where a group of people can actually work towards a common goal to help each other instead of the only benefit being whether the game RNG decides to reward the individual player? Activities where people laugh, socialize, and have fun with each other instead of a mass of bodies charging towards the next goal? Where most efficient tagger is seen as the best class/form of play?

>

> Considering the best farm in the game right now consists of standing around about 30% of the time, I'd say it's kinda nice.

>

> What's shafted right now is balance. They actually introduced a Holy Trinity with a mandatory support class that is beyond auto-include. Most base classes are useless, elite specs are where it's at, and PvP feels like it's dominated by Bunker builds.

 

False we don't have holy trinity.

There are no Profession roles in the form of the "Holy trinity" (Tank, Healer, Damage dealer). All Professions can Heal themselves and support others, and all can revive a fallen ally, no mater what build they have. The roles are leaning instead to "Attack, Support and Control" that all Professions have access to, yet none is mandatory for a party.

And any build is viable for pve, pvp, wvw

[Gehenna.3625]

> @"Robban.1256" said:

> > @"yusayu.3629" said:

> > The personal story (i.e. the base game story) is cool but terrible to play. They made huge improvements on story delivery over the years.

> >

> > > Are the LS still throwaway/temporary grinds?

> >

> > Yeah, kinda. But the stories are good and actually fun to play.

> >

> > > Is there still a gold/skin/lucky item drops=win mentality to the community? I mean in such a way where people are constantly boasting about how many legendary pre-cursors they have drop or the number of exotics they've gotten in a day?

> >

> > Not more than in other games tbh.

> >

> > > Is there group content that feels more like a team activity instead of the strange sterile group but solo play that was the world boss/world event zergs? Activities where a group of people can actually work towards a common goal to help each other instead of the only benefit being whether the game RNG decides to reward the individual player? Activities where people laugh, socialize, and have fun with each other instead of a mass of bodies charging towards the next goal? Where most efficient tagger is seen as the best class/form of play?

> >

> > Considering the best farm in the game right now consists of standing around about 30% of the time, I'd say it's kinda nice.

> >

> > What's shafted right now is balance. They actually introduced a Holy Trinity with a mandatory support class that is beyond auto-include. Most base classes are useless, elite specs are where it's at, and PvP feels like it's dominated by Bunker builds.

>

> False we don't have holy trinity.

> There are no Profession roles in the form of the "Holy trinity" (Tank, Healer, Damage dealer). All Professions can Heal themselves and support others, and all can revive a fallen ally, no mater what build they have. The roles are leaning instead to "Attack, Support and Control" that all Professions have access to, yet none is mandatory for a party.

> And any build is viable for pve, pvp, wvw

 

What about raids though? Didn't they bring some sort of trinity into the game in support of that?

[GreyWolf.8670]

> @"Robban.1256" said:

> > @"yusayu.3629" said:

> > The personal story (i.e. the base game story) is cool but terrible to play. They made huge improvements on story delivery over the years.

> >

> > > Are the LS still throwaway/temporary grinds?

> >

> > Yeah, kinda. But the stories are good and actually fun to play.

> >

> > > Is there still a gold/skin/lucky item drops=win mentality to the community? I mean in such a way where people are constantly boasting about how many legendary pre-cursors they have drop or the number of exotics they've gotten in a day?

> >

> > Not more than in other games tbh.

> >

> > > Is there group content that feels more like a team activity instead of the strange sterile group but solo play that was the world boss/world event zergs? Activities where a group of people can actually work towards a common goal to help each other instead of the only benefit being whether the game RNG decides to reward the individual player? Activities where people laugh, socialize, and have fun with each other instead of a mass of bodies charging towards the next goal? Where most efficient tagger is seen as the best class/form of play?

> >

> > Considering the best farm in the game right now consists of standing around about 30% of the time, I'd say it's kinda nice.

> >

> > What's shafted right now is balance. They actually introduced a Holy Trinity with a mandatory support class that is beyond auto-include. Most base classes are useless, elite specs are where it's at, and PvP feels like it's dominated by Bunker builds.

>

> False we don't have holy trinity.

> There are no Profession roles in the form of the "Holy trinity" (Tank, Healer, Damage dealer). All Professions can Heal themselves and support others, and all can revive a fallen ally, no mater what build they have. The roles are leaning instead to "Attack, Support and Control" that all Professions have access to, yet none is mandatory for a party.

> And any build is viable for pve, pvp, wvw

 

Druids say "hi."

[Emberstone.2904]

In the past I too have left the game multiple times only to come back and restart the cycle; leave, return, leave, return.

 

Though, in this last month or so I decided I was going to tackle things I haven't done before. I would do Fractals, I would try out crafting skills (just got 500 Artificer). Essentially, actually try to do higher level content and get real value from my character instead of just hanging around the world. In doing so, I have had so much more fun with the game. I've experienced cool new areas, new bosses, and have gotten access to items I otherwise wouldn't be able to (ascended gear).

 

Essentially what I'm getting at is, prior to doing this, I merely existed in Guild Wars 2. I would do the occasional core Tyria dungeon, participate in world events like Tequatl, and level characters, but that was it. There was no purpose or endgame for any of my characters. Once I got a bit more proactive in finding that purpose, I've been enjoying the game a lot more.

 

When I played WoW, I could get away with merely existing. I could queue for anything I wanted, and even raids themselves were so easy I could get pugged into Heroic modes. But Guild Wars is not like that. When I actually started doing things instead of just sitting around like I did in WoW (except, this time, I didn't have queues to do everything for me), the game became so much more. Now, I'm another 100 hours into it since I returned and still not bored.

 

Guild Wars 2 is a game of doing, not queuing.

[Aeolus.3615]

Well only u OP can know if really worth, but game still same old, time gated content/rewards/ every utilities ends in boons spam, mobs dull and high damage for virtual dificulty.~, when bosses have no mechanics besides cast aoe field where players arent there... same old lame gw2 :D still....

 

I have been alternating between my broken necro on Diablo 3 and gw2 WvW(at least the wvw players make this game worth playing).

[Robban.1256]

> @"GreyWolf.8670" said:

> > @"Robban.1256" said:

> > > @"yusayu.3629" said:

> > > The personal story (i.e. the base game story) is cool but terrible to play. They made huge improvements on story delivery over the years.

> > >

> > > > Are the LS still throwaway/temporary grinds?

> > >

> > > Yeah, kinda. But the stories are good and actually fun to play.

> > >

> > > > Is there still a gold/skin/lucky item drops=win mentality to the community? I mean in such a way where people are constantly boasting about how many legendary pre-cursors they have drop or the number of exotics they've gotten in a day?

> > >

> > > Not more than in other games tbh.

> > >

> > > > Is there group content that feels more like a team activity instead of the strange sterile group but solo play that was the world boss/world event zergs? Activities where a group of people can actually work towards a common goal to help each other instead of the only benefit being whether the game RNG decides to reward the individual player? Activities where people laugh, socialize, and have fun with each other instead of a mass of bodies charging towards the next goal? Where most efficient tagger is seen as the best class/form of play?

> > >

> > > Considering the best farm in the game right now consists of standing around about 30% of the time, I'd say it's kinda nice.

> > >

> > > What's shafted right now is balance. They actually introduced a Holy Trinity with a mandatory support class that is beyond auto-include. Most base classes are useless, elite specs are where it's at, and PvP feels like it's dominated by Bunker builds.

> >

> > False we don't have holy trinity.

> > There are no Profession roles in the form of the "Holy trinity" (Tank, Healer, Damage dealer). All Professions can Heal themselves and support others, and all can revive a fallen ally, no mater what build they have. The roles are leaning instead to "Attack, Support and Control" that all Professions have access to, yet none is mandatory for a party.

> > And any build is viable for pve, pvp, wvw

>

> Druids say "hi."

They are still not mandatory, for example in wow: If the healer is flawed, they won’t heal as fast or be able to heal for as long. The warrior (tank) dies, then so follows the other two. If the warrior(tank) is flawed then the healer has to struggle harder to keep him alive. The healer’s struggle expends their resource (typically mana) faster. If the healer struggles for long enough and they run dry on their resource, they can’t heal. That warrior dies, then so too do the other two(dps+ healer).