Disappointed with Bound by Blood

[Anyandrell.6238]

Seems to be something put together in haste and overall boring.

The map looks like a combination of several pre-Searing maps in Guild Wars 1. As much as I love pre-Searing (I still have a character I kept there just to be able to run around) it's still deja vu.

There is nothing to do around the map but wait for the events to start. No spontaneous missions, no hearts, no hero points, no masteries, nada. Just sit around waiting for something to start.

Some of the events are boring. Wait for a few hours to be able to jump on a platform to shoot boxes for a minute.

[sokeenoppa.5384]

> @"Anyandrell.6238" said:

> Seems to be something put together in haste and overall boring.

> The map looks like a combination of several pre-Searing maps in Guild Wars 1. As much as I love pre-Searing (I still have a character I kept there just to be able to run around) it's still deja vu.

> There is nothing to do around the map but wait for the events to start. No spontaneous missions, no hearts, no hero points, no masteries, nada. Just sit around waiting for something to start.

> Some of the events are boring. Wait for a few hours to be able to jump on a platform to shoot boxes for a minute.

 

Well it was a prologue map for new saga.

[Redavv.2643]

Personally i loved it, it had a nice balance of cut scenes and at first some of the situations that were happening in various characters seemed to generic but in the end everything led to the outcome with had, i am not saying any details cause (Spoilers). The map is beautiful i liked the fact that when the prologue finished we could see a bit of snow coming ;D;D.

 

The events are all about the celebration the Metal concert is cool i enjoyed it very much, Dont forget its a prologue and we should be able to get more episodes more often as Anet claims with this format so overall we just have to wait and see what new things will come. The story overall was enjoyable for me

[Rasimir.6239]

I ... I honestly don't know what to tell you. Your experience is the complete oposite of mine. To me, the ascalonian landscape was like coming home, reminding me of my first year of GW2 when I almost exclusively played my Charr ranger. Despite playing a lot more asura and sylvari these days, the Ascalon region still has a special place in my heart, and getting a new map in that theme felt awesome.

 

I also love that many of the events in the new map are not focussed on "kill this, kill that", but a lot more variety of activities, races, adventures, large group events like the ooze pit or the flame legion effigy. I rarely had to go around for long before stumbling on another event, some big, some small, although none come close to the level of awesome madness that the metal legion concert is.

 

There is so much detail in the story and map, in the dialog that is spread all over the place to once again give one huge jigsaw puzzle of information and background just like in the core Tyria maps. I honestly can't believe that any of this was "put together in haste". If it is not the kind of story and content you enjoy, then that is unfortunate, but I absolutely love what they did with this release.

[Randulf.7614]

I enjoyed it thoroughly but I do agree it’s a bit empty in places. Whole swathes missing much to tell a story in those areas.

What events there are are fun and have variety and play in well to the tale.

 

The strike mission wasn’t of good enough quality to be repeatable either.

 

I’m glad of no hearts though. They really felt rather forced last season and things feel more organic without them.

 

It was always going to be the sacrifice with a dialogue and ambient heavy episode, but for a prologue, they made it work pretty well

[maddoctor.2738]

Gonna ask this here... do I have to do all the events on alts too? If yes then I'm disappointed with the episode, if it's a once-per-account thing then I'm happy with it.

The Strike Mission is a joke though

[Randulf.7614]

> @"maddoctor.2738" said:

> Gonna ask this here... do I have to do all the events on alts too? If yes then I'm disappointed with the episode, if it's a once-per-account thing then I'm happy with it.

> The Strike Mission is a joke though

 

How do u mean do all the events? I mean your alt will need to the random selection as part of the story, yes

[maddoctor.2738]

> @"Randulf.7614" said:

> > @"maddoctor.2738" said:

> > Gonna ask this here... do I have to do all the events on alts too? If yes then I'm disappointed with the episode, if it's a once-per-account thing then I'm happy with it.

> > The Strike Mission is a joke though

>

> How do u mean do all the events? I mean your alt will need to the random selection as part of the story, yes

 

That's what I was afraid of. Since there is really nothing to do between events it's a massive time sink. If it was a one-time only thing I wouldn't mind, but doing all that waiting on each alt is gonna get boring fast. No actually it got boring on the first character.

 

Bound by Boredom more appropriate name

[Ashantara.8731]

> @"Anyandrell.6238" said:

> Seems to be something put together in haste and overall boring.

 

I agree that most events (not all, though!) are boring and that the map lacks proper overall excitement. But some of the details in environmental NPC dialogue are nice, some events are actually fun (e.g., the cook, the races, the shooting range, the concert), and the map, as well as the stormy path during the last mission, look gorgeous. But I was expecting more from a Charr festival. The story was a bit predictable as well, but it has potential for more exciting story-telling in the next chapter. The Strike Mission is a joke.

 

> @"maddoctor.2738" said:

> Gonna ask this here... do I have to do all the events on alts too? If yes then I'm disappointed with the episode, if it's a once-per-account thing then I'm happy with it.

 

No, you only have to do as many as needed for the green bar to progress so that you can proceed with the story.

[Psientist.6437]

The zone is not as content dense as most other zones but there may be good reasons. If the studio isn't releasing a new zone every episode, the zone may fill with content as the saga continues. As well, the plot depends on ambient dialogue which would be easy to miss or easily dominated in a busy zone.

 

Imo, the episode was a success. My only complaint is how eye bleedingly jarring combat and skin effects are when compared to the zone aesthetic. Get your crazy bling off my lawn!

[Anyandrell.6238]

> @"Psientist.6437" said:

> The zone is not as content dense as most other zones but there may be good reasons. If the studio isn't releasing a new zone every episode, the zone may fill with content as the saga continues. As well, the plot depends on ambient dialogue which would be easy to miss or easily dominated in a busy zone.

>

> Imo, the episode was a success. My only complaint is how eye bleedingly jarring combat and skin effects are when compared to the zone aesthetic. Get your crazy bling off my lawn!

 

I have yet to see that happening on any other map

[Anyandrell.6238]

> @"yoni.7015" said:

 

> No matter what, People like you will probably always be disappointed and find stuff to cry about. Sad

> The map and story are great.

 

Oh yes, I play this game because I don't like it.

You make no sense.

 

 

[Anyandrell.6238]

> @"maddoctor.2738" said:

>

> That's what I was afraid of. Since there is really nothing to do between events it's a massive time sink. If it was a one-time only thing I wouldn't mind, but doing all that waiting on each alt is gonna get boring fast. No actually it got boring on the first character.

>

> Bound by Boredom more appropriate name

 

Exactly my point

 

 

[Anyandrell.6238]

> @"Redavv.2643" said:

> Personally i loved it, it had a nice balance of cut scenes and at first some of the situations that were happening in various characters seemed to generic but in the end everything led to the outcome with had, i am not saying any details cause (Spoilers). The map is beautiful i liked the fact that when the prologue finished we could see a bit of snow coming ;D;D.

>

> The events are all about the celebration the Metal concert is cool i enjoyed it very much, Dont forget its a prologue and we should be able to get more episodes more often as Anet claims with this format so overall we just have to wait and see what new things will come. The story overall was enjoyable for me

 

It's going to be one of those maps that become empty after a couple of months, with just a few newcomers here and there. Kind of like Istan in Path of Fire.

[ugrakarma.9416]

> @"Anyandrell.6238" said:

> No spontaneous missions, no hearts, no hero points, no masteries, nada. Just sit around waiting for something to start.

 

this just make the map better, i hate masteries, hearts and hero points.

 

[Tukaram.8256]

Generally I like the maps better with hearts, but this one is a lot of fun. I ran through it with 2 characters today - and loved it more the 2nd time!

This is just the prologue, so hard to say you are disappointed with the season... it has hardly started. :)

[Nate.8146]

I'm sort of in the middle knowing that this was a prologue and never expected much from this content release. I do think with some adjustments, Anet could have improved the player engagement. Given that this is a festival event, the map is very barren and void of life and activity. It would have been better to decorate the area a bit more (balloons, fireworks, tents, crowds and whatever passes for Charr culture) and have the gameplay events enabled all the time so players are more engaged and not sitting around. Braham's voice actor was also reused all over the place. Often in the same dialog sequence between 2 or more characters. It was quite immersion killing.

 

Beyond that however, it is what it is. We'll see what comes next.

[Xion.5694]

> @"Anyandrell.6238" said:

> no hearts, no hero points, no masteries, nada.

 

And thank gods there is none of this stuff!

 

Its a prologue, just a tiny bit of content, as we will probably need to wait till December (or late Novemeber) for the first episode. The map looks nice, you can finish it in 2hrs of active play and wait till new release - like always.

 

 

[DonArkanio.6419]

> @"Anyandrell.6238" said:

> Seems to be something put together in haste and overall boring.

> The map looks like a combination of several pre-Searing maps in Guild Wars 1. As much as I love pre-Searing (I still have a character I kept there just to be able to run around) it's still deja vu.

> There is nothing to do around the map but wait for the events to start. No spontaneous missions, no hearts, no hero points, no masteries, nada. Just sit around waiting for something to start.

> Some of the events are boring. Wait for a few hours to be able to jump on a platform to shoot boxes for a minute.

 

But that is the point of this map. To run around and do the events that aren't kill zerg of mobs.

 

It's a celebration, a party (if you want to call it that way). There is no need for any more activities. I think the whole episode is beyond my expectations; whole narrative, music, new mechanics.

Although there isn very little combat-oriented. It was meant to be this. It's kind of like saying - why is there no BigMac in KFC?

[Juillin.5361]

I actually quite enjoyed it. I think my only complaint is I feel like it's lacking a couple of larger, longer events that the map could be working towards. As it is, it just feels like a bunch of random little stuff that amounts to running around and busywork. Also, I realize this might be an unpopular opinion, but the metal band broke all immersion for me. I don't really consider that a complaint, though, unless it becomes a staple change in tone for all of the chapters going forward.

[Psientist.6437]

> @"Anyandrell.6238" said:

> > @"Psientist.6437" said:

> > The zone is not as content dense as most other zones but there may be good reasons. If the studio isn't releasing a new zone every episode, the zone may fill with content as the saga continues. As well, the plot depends on ambient dialogue which would be easy to miss or easily dominated in a busy zone.

> >

> > Imo, the episode was a success. My only complaint is how eye bleedingly jarring combat and skin effects are when compared to the zone aesthetic. Get your crazy bling off my lawn!

>

> I have yet to see that happening on any other map

 

It was common in season 1 and 2 and the studio said they plan to do the same for Saga 1. That doesn't confirm we will see content added to this zone but it does open the possibility.

 

[Taelac.7036]

I thought the map had a ton of content. I played for a solid six hours yesterday, never ran out of things to do or explore, and still didn't get to everything. I also found a return to the Ascalon region a nice visual change up from the desert and jungle and snow we've been touring of late, and I appreciate that the Icebrood Saga won't be entirely snowbound. Shiverpeaks maps are pretty, but the glaring white gets hard on the eyes after a while.

[Fueki.4753]

> @"Tukaram.8256" said:

> Generally I like the maps better with hearts.

 

I like Hearts, too, as long as it's not the repeating kind.

 

[Witch of Doom.5739]

> @"Nate.8146" said:

> ..... Braham's voice actor was also reused all over the place. Often in the same dialog sequence between 2 or more characters. It was quite immersion killing.

>

I also found this bad. You couldn't get a different voice actor or two? I kept looking around for Braham and was like, "That's a Charr guard? What??" Anyway, I loved the map and liked the story line. Looking forward to following the baddies into the Shiverpeaks in the next installment.

[Lamont.5973]

I'm loving the update - a lighthearted and fun time with hints of evil to come. Thanks! and thanks for the T shirt