Jumping the Shark...?

Hmm...just a thought here.

If people are really worried about the imbalance of pvp from raising the lvl cap, heres some food for thought..ONLY CHANGE IT PVE WISE!

This is really my perspective on how the current mmorpg leaders stand, pve and pvp wise and only from the biggest games, not to offend any players who play other games that I didnt mention.(only the biggest games player-wise).

Graphics
1.Guild wars
2.WoW
3.Runescape
Gameplay(pve wise)
1.WoW
2.Runescapee
3.Guild Wars
Gameplay(pvpwise)
1.Guild Wars
2.WoW
3.Runescape
Communication(community feel, groupness etc.)
1.WoW
2.Guild Wars
3.Runescape
Longevity of game
1.Runescape
2.WoW
3.Guild Wars
Active community(player wise, how many are on or own accounts)
1.Runescape
2.WoW
3.Guild Wars
Fun Factor while playing and developing
1.Guild Wars
2.WoW
3.Runescape

Ok, i think I have fairly accuratly labeled these 3 games in the following categories, although some people may have a difference of opinion. Ok, now i will explain my reasoning though.

Graphics: Ok, this is an obviouse no-brainer, GW graphics blow WoW and RS out of the water, 100-1.


Gameplay(Pve): Wow edges first, with seemingly endless quests, big landscapes and lvling for those who enjoy that. Runescape second, just because of the sheer repetitvness of it. Guild Wars last, because of the seemingly stagnant and limited pve options, leaving your characters somewhat "just there".


Gameplay(Pvp): Guild Wars obviously dominates this category, because of the awsome fact that it is balanced, no unporpotionate lvling and "skill" based playing. Wow, 2nd, and Runescape 3rd because too many unporpotionate lvls and way to littly combat options, just clicking like a 3 year old


Communication:Wow, with the effect that there are always thousands of players on, in the case of 1 big server giving a "world mmorpg" feel that many players enjoy. Rs is 2nd, and Guild Wars 3rd for the sense of "solo" and no real interaction with other players, and more of an rpg style.


Longevity: Lol, BY "FAR" runescape, with seemingly infinite lvling to the point of eye bleeding, countless activities to do "fishing, mining, construction etc." this game is sure to keep u playing for "years". The gameplay isnt as important, because frankly some people will just play it for the sake of things to do, despite the gameplay. Some people enjoy longer games that they can really immerse themselves in, and thats totally cool. WoW as well, although not even close content wise. Guild Wars 3rd and distant, giving the more casual gamer feel and not leaving options most players would be interested in, all though many disagree(ex. Titles instead of lvls.)


Active Community: Runescape takes this, with millions of people playing everyday, and the main reason of this is of the free gameplay and browser based mmorpg. Wow, in a very close second and is seemingly picking up players coming from Guild Wars looking for a more "mmorpg" type of game. And the Guild Wars 3rd, because of the many districts and added areas, leaving many players seperated and giving a "lonely" feel.


Fun Factor: This one I think is the most opinionated category, but I would say it really is Guild Wars, because of all three that Ive played Ive had the most fun in the beggining times with this one. WoW and runescape are somewhat tied, but i give the edge to WoW because of the over repetitivness of runescape.

Ok, so now to assign a total leader, which is difficult because all of these categories arent the same, so i will try to be as fair as possible. Knowing this information, I wont assign 1 as some people like pvp more and some pve, but i can say this that in my experiences 70% or more are more pve oriented, at least most of the time. Graphics mean the least in my opinion and are easily overweighed by good gameplay and longevity (ex.runescape). Fun Factor is important as well, but again is short-lived if the longevity isnt porpotionate.
They go hand in hand, just as community and communication because you cant have one without the other.

Now, knowing all of this people can form their own opinions, or just add on to them. But, I definetly don't want to see people making mindless criticsm and idiotic comments based on narrowminded opinions, and turn everything into a flame war.

I know that the ideal game doesnt exist, but why not add a little from all these games and make, well Guild Wars and ultimate game which attracts people of all types, casual games, grinders, hardcore mmorpgers. If people say that this is impossible, for if A-net did this Guild Wars simply wouldn't be, well Guild Wars, then i beg to differ. Even so, why would the so called integrity of the game be poorly compromised if more people were attracted and thousands of other options became available? It wouldn't. Also, A-net doesn't even have to look at it like this, but from a bussiness perspective. Many people flock to Guild Wars just for the fact of no online gaming fees, ignoring some flaws it may have. Well, just imagine how many more players would come if things changed and it became better? WoW=goodbye, becuase why would someone pay for a game like that when they can get 1 that has all that and more for no online fees?

So, basically that summerizes my point in a nutshell. Btw, I am not biased at all i am just looking at this from an observers perspective, and of trying to improve GW, which I am sure many people aggree needs improvement.

Your idea would not work because not having PvE characters available in PvE would also mess things up (although I'm not going to go into detail about that here).

Other than that, I must say I'm somewhat suprised that you actually bring Runescape into this. The tedium of grinding in WoW is multiplied tenfold in that game, and the sheer number of idiots alone steers most serious/hardcore gamers away. I'd much rather farm FoW ten times than kill the same monster three billion times to get to some high level in Runescape. If it's longevity you want in PvE, do the high-end stuff. That should be far more enjoyable than anything that Runescape could ever offer.

The other thing I really don't understand is your idea that Guild Wars is low-end in communication. The first word of the game's name blows that right out of the water. The game was designed around the concept of player communities from the beginning, and if you don't have a strong sense of community in your guild, that's not the game's issue. Sure the Runescape and WoW communities are bigger, but this has nothing to do with the quality of the game. Once a game has a sufficient population, you will always have a similar percentage of idiots, jerks, and n00bs, no matter where you go.

As I said earlier, if you want to "develop" your character constantly by playing, then Guild Wars is not for you. Guild Wars is for people who want to invest their skill more than their time. If that does not describe you, have fun in WoW (or even Runescape...) and stop griping.

If you meant investing in skills as in investing in cookie cutter builds like IWAY, VIMWAY, B/P, tanking, non-smiting, boon-protect and the sort, then that's correct.

Basically the whole game is focused on players copying other people's cookie cutter builds and simply clicking the skill buttons on their already premade templates. If clicking away like an epileptic rabbit is considered skill, then players in Guild Wars are VERY skilled indeed.

Realize that in many ways, PvP was really small in Prophecies. The addition of more interesting GvG and arena maps, along with more casual pvp really made Factions worth it from a PvP perspective. Factions was less about PvEing and more concerned with giving guilds and PvPers more content, since pvp is what makes the game strong in many ways. As a PvPer, I found Factions to be much more fun than prophecies.

Nightfall is directed at your pvers and solo players. As with CCGs different expansions have different strengths. I've seen CCGs "jump the shark" and it really isn't pretty.

Guild Wars is far more about how well you play your build than the build itself, especially in GvG. If you cannot think outside cookie-cutter builds, then that is your problem.