The TRUE problem with GW:/

Communication. Communication. It's unbeliveable.

How will PvP ever take off? I meet people every single day who condemn this game because they can not the stupid chat system.

How hard can it be? This is an online game. Communication should be vital. Why is it that I can play some lame EA FPS like BF2 and have free in game voice support but not this? Why is it that trading, selling, buying, grouping and chatting is so horrible?

Why is the community at an all time low and why is the pvp not taking off? There are probably 10 times as many GW players who run around confused not knowing what to do!

Standing in a city.. it's chaos.. it's bad and it's unorginised. Everything is a hassle. people shout in their faces, people in general are mean and stupid, the newbies don't even get a chance to get into it, and its hard to meet guilds and people.

going into random arenas spread fears into many.


Communications. COmmunications. Anet is so focused on pvp in this game. Why can they not see that no matter how mant gazllion classes or skills or pve areas with duplicated monsters with uniqe skins, that the community still sucks?

When I log of guild wars in general I actually get mad. not because the game is bad, but because people are such racistic flaming morons. people just dont get along.

its not that simple to just put them all down in a chatroom and let them work it out.

economy, community, pvp, players... hell... EVERYTHING is being hold back by the poor in game communications tool. I dont give a twat if people feel like they wanna be anti social and bla bla bla bla, but even from a game mechanic point of view you cant denie that its screwed up.

And everyone agrees, the majority of factions review had their negatives about how stupid it was to group, meet people and trade and buy and sell. when GW came out over a year ago we where all like cutting them some slack because we expected they would fix it.


and yet Anet continue to ignore it. why cant they see? they call themselfs players of the game too. then perhaps they can see what a hostile experience it is to go into a random arena and getting threatened on your life for not being very good at pvp. some people will defend the current system and just say that its competitive, but I call BS.

Its just the bad tools that make so many people assholes. its almost impossible to find cool players in this big maze.


I dont usually whine or have problems with this game, but they said that they would add some sort of new trading system/bazaar/auction house before factions.. then they delayed it, and still nothing.

new classes and skills is great and all for pvp, but whats the point if most people cant find any decent people to play with. at least when you play lesser crap games like WoW you can actually talk to them with a proper chat and find people you can get along with.


I dont have any suggestions or ideas on how to do it, but I just know from my long online gaming experience that meet, trading and fighting with other people in GW is ackward and wrong. it makes me frustrated and I feel its severely limiting the games succes.

we all know that many people stick with MMORPGs for many years because of friends, even if they think the game is bad. EQ and WoW are good examples. good friends or nice guildies can make any bad game fun.

good friends or nice guildies could make GW king of all games.



my question to gailie if she could answer it; why why why won't anet prioritise this anymore? this is a hugh problem? im not an mmo expert or anything, but im just talking to a player. as a player and gamer who sits and listens to other frustrated gw players on general messege boards. i like the new interface changes, but its really not what i had hoped for...

-lawnmower.

They are opening up elite missions this weekend. That should make you feel better.

its not entirely anets chat that turns people into monsters. alot of people seem to be hostile little prats. but i can never seem to see the chat or read anything on it in busy areas. waht they need to do is make it to where the chat doesnt move if you bring up that box that lets you move it up and down.

/cryface

I think it has something to do with the camera. and the way chat bubbles work. you cant make long sentences with chat bubbles and there are no quiet areas or indoor houses where people can converse in quiet and peace. its a big mess.


and its also stupid that there is no in-game email system where you can send items and money to each other. I mean.. that stuff should be manotory.


it would also be good if there was a global "search". where you could like go in a search for other in your age group, or on others from your country or something instead of standing in a certain district like a moron; "LF 35+ YEAR OLD PLAYERS!!!! INVITE KTHXBYE"!.


Its tedious and bad. they should really do something. its tearing the game apart and suddenly some day people wont care about the game anymore because people just had bad experiences online with other people regardless o0f how good the actual game was.

I don't see how you can complain about poor communication and then cite Random Arena as a reference.

/abomination

/ricky lake


/winsthread

/uninstall

... In the context of why some people in the game are jerks.




why even bother.. there is no way Anet does not know these major problems. but they wouldnt bother replying to this thread. they dont care. my bet is that they will just try to get as much out of the current consumer as possible before calling it a day and closing all the gw servers down.

This is the problem with your /rant. I was really hoping that (1) you'd point out SPECIFICALLY what is wrong with the GW communication system or (2) make a suggestion as to how it can be improved.

I understand that an auction house would clean up most of the "trade" clutter that populates the local channels (which I completely abhor, as I've said in other threads).

But your point - that people are "jerks" and "noobs feel left out" seems to be the problem in ANY MMORPG. When you're behind the anoniminity (sp?) of the internet, you can totally be rude, crass and otherwise odd to other people without fear of repercussion. Especially if you're immature (adults and adolescents, combined).

The only way to solve this is mass censorship and/or 1984-like monitoring/persecution. I personally would rather have those rude people in the game than have a fear-type environment.

But I digress...if you don't have any specific suggestions for improvement to the problem, then why make this post?

im not sure what this is supposed to mean, but seriously, stop crying. the communication system in guildwars has always been the same, and it works. the game is not dying due to the chat window. the game is dying because chapter 2 is junk. also, how do you figure that bad chat is going to "keep pvp from taking off"? because you cant find a group? hate to tell you, but pvp is well past the point of 'taking off'... if you cant find a group its probably cuz they dont take inexperienced whiners.

LoL go play WoW or EQ

Find a friendly guild and make friends, that's what you are saying, right?

Your tirade is kind of all over the place, it was hard to read.

ain't that like saying, - don't point out that cancer is a problem, if you don't have a cure?


im pointing out that it does not work. im not a developer. im realistic. what do you want me to do? come up with some tagged on stupid idea that would just make it just as bad as it is now? I dont think so. then I would rather be honest and point out that there is a serious problem than playing shigeru miyamoto and all haily about fixing every little thing with this game.



to your other "Points" -

Being rude and all that is part of any MMORPG. But as I said communication has gone numb in this game. just look at the state it is in. I dare you to go to gamefaqs, IGN and gamespot and gamespy, 1up and all the biggest gaming forums on the internet and count how many people who hate this game because of their experiences with it?

its a common belief that;

1)GW is empty.

2)its hard to find group

3)that 99% of the players are 12 year olds who can only say lol

4)that the game is frustrating

5)that the game has no community. and it sort of hasent. ever wondered why not many people have bothered making faqs or videos or stuff like that? people dont even care about the championship! the average GW player does not care about the top korea guilds. they dont know why they are. they have never bothered to try hall of heroes.




and why is all this? because its frustrating to be called a douchebag for trying to learn the game and for trying random arenas for the first time.

because its frustrating to ask a question in a city, or asking for a group and getting no responses because 50-75 people are shouting with Caps on.


because its not fun to play an online game for hundreds and hundreds of hours where you feel you are the only one who is not making any friends even if your a perfectly normal and sane guy and just wants to play and have fun without judging other people by their religion, color of their skin, their sexual oritation or their gender or their age.


I have seen it so much that its sick. Its just down right sick and its unbeliveable that it has made it so far. I think its unbeliveable that neo nazis are being allowed to post jew hating in global districts 4 a clock in the morning.

and why the hell should players spent their precious time playing police officers and getting strangers banned by calling mods and admins and sending emails with screenshots as proofs or using all their time putting people on ignore.


Im puzzled why people in general dont bring this up further.

im puzzled why pvper are not concerned that only a small fraction of the playerbase boarders with pvp. no one care if you have won HoH. No one cares if you won the championship.. people just dont care because there is no sense of community.

then look at wow - how long did it took before they created their first game icon, Leroy Jenkins?

Something like that would never ever be able to happen in GW. because the playerbase has no soul and there is no community or love for the game at all. there is only desperation and people trying to flame each other for falling in the pvp which has the very steep learning curve.

I have tried so hard for my cousin to like this game(he currently plays wow) and he just cant, because he constantly meets defeats. no matter how nice he tries to be, or how much time he tries getting into groups or getting good experiences it always goes wrong.


and even when you get into a group you still have 50% chance that they will just quit while your doing the mission. chance is even bigger in random arenas.

Out of all the problems with GW, I don't know if communication would even make it on my list. There are much deeper rooted problems with this game.

They need to hire a few ppl to prowl busy districts, take screenies of abusers and ban them. Weed out offensive I'm-so-cool jerks and the dweebs that spam Local with trade. Till they do that, there'll be no community feeling or whatever.

here is some advise ... if you are new ; stick with the pvse side of game and make a monk... then as a healing monk you can make friends in the missions area with other people. everyone loves monks that heal .then you can take your new friends and try pvsp...and who knows join there guild and make more friends ...

You do all realize that the average person does not KNOW how to report someone? So theres EXTREMELY few people reporting ANYONE? The average person (myself included) will say "I've just reported you" and does not really do it because they do not know how or are too lazy.

[

good friends or nice guildies could make GW king of all games.

Then go out and find some good friends or nice guildies.

Stay out of areas that have lots of selling: Lion's Arch, Ascalon, Droks, Kaineng Center, The Marketplace. If you need to be there, avoid districts 1 or 2. Go to teams arena. Announce on general chat you've been playing xx long, and want to get into some PvP with patient people that will help you learn. You would be surprised how many helpful people are out there. Other than that, turn off emotes and trade channel. If you really want to block out idiots, put them in your ignore box (under friends list, just type in name, and add to ignore)

Unfortunately, morons are out there, so you will have to ignore some of the racist, sexist, and homophobic things people say.

Above all else, remember it's just a game.

Download TeamSpeak and Ventrillo. Doesnt take more than 10 minutes. Do something yourself to make a great game, dont just blame Anet.

i might be thinking of anothe game, dont listen to my first post

I didn't bother reading all this, but my suggestion:

Turn off All, Emote and Trade chat. Leave them off.

Join a good guild and use Guild, Team, Alliance and Whisper, they are there for a reason.

Problem solved.

What you're describing is a problem you'll get in most online games you play. I don't see how Anet can fix this for you. You need to take some steps yourself and calm down.

Step 1 - Stop complaining (and crying). It only feeds the idiots.
Step 2 - Re-evaluate your life and whether you've been playing too much GW. You sound like you need a break from online games.
Step 3 - If you choose to keep playing get THICKER SKIN.
Step 4 - Practice, practice, practice.
Step 5- After 2 hours come back and rock off the faces of people talking trash, cause they mostly suck anyway.
Step 6 - Now that you've won make the choice whether to be a trash-talking douche yourself, or be helpful.

Sounds to me like someone needs to learn to not let others affect them so much. I play in the same GW world, I visit RA, I see a lot of crap talk, but I don't let it bother me and I go on doing what I came to do. You will run across idiots ingame as well as real life. You might as well learn to deal with it. Do you call for the President, or whomever the leader of your country is, to make changes about communication or proclaim that the world is coming to an end because somebody said something offensive ?

I don't PvP much, but sometimes I'll go in RA with my touch ranger and I get lots of comments from people, none nice. Do I care ? No, except I do find it amusing as they lay dead on the ground, telling me how much of a noob I am.

You can't control what other people say or do. You can only control how it affects you and how and if you respond.

har har that the best part of RA >;D

it's funny people think GW is the only game that has these problems when it's in every single MMO game. Someone can't actually believe that racist comments are only in GW, they are in every single game and the reason you are asked to report them is that GMs can't be everywere and the fact that the OP actually has to ask why he has to report them shows he doesn't know much about what he is talking about. No one ask people to police you report what you find offensive and if you can't be bothered to report someone why are you whinning about it? Seems to me if you have time to post an arguement that really is all over the place you have more then enough time to fill out a report. The reason people dont' bring that up is because it's understandable. As for the so called GW hate on other websites it's not that bad as you want to make it seem to be.

If you are arguing about In-game voice communcation which i believe you said in that. Most PvPers use voice programs namely Vent and Teamspeak just like WoW players.

Imature players are not GW exculsive either. I played WoW for awhile the communtiy maturity is about the same.

as for finding a group for PvP pugs are usually bad. Best to find players and play with them on a regulary basis. I haven't PuGed an HoH group in so long because i just go with friends and guild members.

PvPers are not concerned cause it's not a problem. IDK why u assume PvP is not taken off or what have you.

Leroy Jenkins is a gaming ICON???? that has to be the funniest thing i seen in a long time. If he is a gaming icon then Fat1lity most be a gaming god.

in game voice communication would be a very very nice feature...

Depends on your point of view. It may be a requirement for PvP, I wouldn't know, but I shudder to think of what PUG's in PvE would be like if it was available for everyone! It's bad enough looking at the garbage without having it screamed in your ears.

I agree 100% with the OP.
And all you guys flaming him and telling him to fix the problem for himself - you don't get it. Yes, I can join a great guild, I can download teamspeak, I can turn off every single chat channel there is, but that won't fix the big problem. Some of us care about the game long-term and aren't content to ignore the problems.

The fact of the matter is that communications in GW are horrible as a baseline...
That means many many new players get turned off, before they ever have a chance to find a good guild or get teamspeak. And why should they have to turn of all their chat channels? That's ridiculous. Many of my old friends have left because of the general poor atmosphere...

And no - other games are not like this. At least WOW and EQ are not. I don't see the rudeness and dehumanization in those games on the same scale as this one. I mean, of course, those people exist everywhere - but not in the abundance that they exist here.

The atmosphere IS NOT condusive to making friends and chatting. Its more like people just yell at anyone and no one really even tries. There's no personal intimate conversations.
I can honestly say I love this game but the reason I keep thinking of quitting is the poor atmosphere which stems from how they have the game setup. This game has the best graphics, the best gameplay, the best developers, and the best company supporting it, but its all wasted because of the in-game atmosphere.

I really wish the developers would look into how the other MMORGS do it, check out WOW, EQ, etc...fix the actual interface.
Some ideas:
-We NEED an Auction House to cut down on WTS/WTB spam.
-A LFG tool would help too.
-The actual chat interface needs to be made bigger - with an resizeable box
-We need to be able to just hit enter and start typing in towns and outposts, i.e., ENTER "/1 Hi all!" where 1 = the General Chat Channel
-We need to be able to type "Tell Echo Envitas Help!" instead of clicking on the different sub-boxes
-We need more commands at our disposal, such as ways to look for people, i.e. a "WHO"
-Ingame mail would help too, but I doubt that would be feasible with ANET's business model
-Same for in-game reporting, it would help, but I don't know if that would be feasible with ANET's business model
-Basically we need more tools at our disposal.
-For more a more concrete idea just look into how some of the other games do it, they manage to make it communication okay

All in all, this is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing that ANET should work on.
I doubt they realize how many more players this would secure as GW players.
And this would make people nicer too, believe it or not. The game would feel less like an FPS and more like a real RPG/MMORG. People would have more accountability and I promise you, the niceness would catch on.

Anyway, if anyone reads this that cares about the longetivity of the game, and wants to make this a quality game, please please look into some of these ideas...
Especially since Nightfall is supposed to be RPG/PVE centered, this would be the #1 thing that needs improvement.
Don't forget that 80% of GW players are PVE players!

Thank you.

P.S. in-game voice-chat would not fix the problem.

soo what...you work for Blizzard er something? How could even begin to suggest GW is the game of 12 yr olds while comparing it to wow. That one guys right u need to think about why u are still playing game...just sounds as though youve been unsuccesful in the game and are making up excuses. You wanna see cut throat community play Lineage 2 some time, ppl are ruthless yet its still #2 in subscriptions. If u have been playing
GW from the gate and ur friends list isnt full and your not in a guild full of like minded ppl perhaps your the problem my friend. As far as ppl talking shit in pvp turn your local chat off the only reason u would even have it on is so u can see what they might saying.. heh..i think u like it..What game that features competetion between players is there not smack being talked? Its your own fear that keeps u out of pvp..u think a rank 6 iway'r is a pvp genious lol?
Stay out of LA1 K1 theres always several districts in these places. Sure GW far from perfect but christ man it sounds like your feelings have been hurt

PS: u made me think of clip i saw of kid going off the deep end on his key board while playing WoW..looked 4 link couldnt find

Are you complaining about pve or pvp? Seems like both, which are completely different things.

OP is also asking for a "LFG" Flag with search feature.

FFXI has this option, go to LFG, then do search for all people LFG and it shows there level's and job, then easy way to direct whisper.

Aka make a LFM - Looking for mission and a list that shows up of ALL the other people LFM on your server (all Districts) in that zone so it's easy to meet up and form groups instead of shouting.

Do agree, trade house, auction house or some way to offload trade spam off the normal chat would be a huge improvement to clear up chat.

I'll agree with the OP just on the basis that the people flaming him in this thread are exactly a part of the problem he is talking about. Grow up guys. Cut out the /whining boo hooo baby posts. By responding with the typical drivel and negative comments to the OP, it just makes you appear less intelligent and without really anything to add to this thread.. that is trolling. Read the rules.

There is a serious lack of communication in this game. For a game that is tending to focus on, and consider pvp as the end game reward for pve.. (I know, LOL), they SHOULD at least have in game voice communication.


GW is falling apart. If you want to green farm, fine.. if you have a build part of the formula, you will always have something do. Firestorm instead of meteor shower... nm... we will find someone else.

Oh noes, we need an order necro for IWay! Oh wait... you cannot play with us noob... you must be r6+

I cannot trade in GW anymore. I cannot find anything that I want to buy or am I able to sell anything because for every ONE of my lines, at least 10 other people have spammed the same line repeatedly.. (Despite the supposed tightened chat filter)

Try to do unwaking waters/boreas seabed/gyala hatchery at a odd hour of the day. Unfortunately, some people have different schedules. I have actually given up on goaling towards any 15k luxon armors, (Even though most are butt-ass ugly), because of the difficulty in finding people who know what they're doing in gyala, or in the first place, even at gyala.. So, so much for pve, in most cases.


Which leaves non-halls and the most fruitlessly rewarded pvp... ok... GvG.. there you can play, provided you have 4 people in your guild and at least 4 friends... but don't even get me started on smite...

text in bold = me

Guild Wars is the first online game I've really gotten into and since it's release I have become an incredibly skilled player using henchies and my guild, and the rare skilled group that comes along from time to time.

I'm slowly veering more and more towards only playing with henchies and guildies.

I don't know if it's the sub-par com system or if the majority of guild wars players really are 12 year old brats, but I always just assumed all online games were like this.

It's too bad too, I enjoy meeting new people and stuff, but the flaming and the spamming makes it damn near impossible to interact with other players in towns and outposts without wanting to eviscerate myself.

I keep hearing this, and TS/VENT are great if you are already in a group. However for any sort of socializing, group forming, trading, etc... it does absolutely nothing to help. Perhaps you people are misunderstanding the complaint.

As some people have already mentioned, just pick up Ventrillo or Teamspeak off of the internet.

Most (if not all) the top PvP teams and guilds use a form of audio communication because it just makes everything a lot easier. Now, that method is for people who have microphones and speakers. Not that hard to get, is it? All that's left is some organization within a group of friends or guildmates and you're fine with the communication.

So text is bothering you? Then ignore it. But don't forget that a lot of people will refuse to use a form of audio chat because of various reasons. You will encounter text almost all the time when you're not already organized into a group who has already planned ahead not to do so.

So World of Warcraft had Leeroy Jenkins? Well, that's just an example of a team who had a misunderstanding with a player with the use of some audio. Because you saw a video of people chatting, does it mean that Guild Wars doesn't have a way of doing the same? No, you just havn't been exposed to it. A person on Guild Wars could do the same when the team is planning to go kill Urgoz or something. The team gets ready to trap, and one guy runs in and screws everything up, yelling "OppEEEEEEEETHHHHHHHHHHHH" for all I care. Same effect, but not as fresh because it has already been done.

Text will always be the staple of online gaming because of it's simplicity and efficiency of how to set it up. You need a keyboard, and that's about it. Most computers come with a keyboard rather than a microphone. To most people, a microphone is just extra money for something that's not even needed. Don't want to type? Then you'll have to find the right people, simple as that.

People in HA tend to be able to use Vent/TS and still form groups/exchange builds/organize themselves just fine (I used to see this happen in ToA as well, but not so much anymore). Am I to assume this means most PvE individuals are not up to such a task? I hardly think that could be the problem. >.> You're just less likely to find people in PvE who have TS or Vent to use.

No one is misunderstanding the complaint. There's just nothing anyone can do about it. GW is working on it, and that's all we know at the moment. Look how long it took for increased storage. There still isn't guild storage, reconnects, profession changers in guild halls, etc. and they're all things they're known to be working on. It just takes time to create/test/add, so people need to learn to use the resources at their own disposal, not bitch about having to work a little harder for the time being.

I will tell you one thing my Admin knows very well as I am super moderator that games puplishers and developers don't play thier games.That is part of the problems with many games as to bugs and what gamers find.I would have to say that most of them are more concerned with making money than thinking about who plays thier games yes GW is suppose to be a PvP game but it didn't turn out that way.PvPer wanted observer mode and how long have PvEers asked for auction houses and are still waiting.
I would like to see better guild support as well when those who have logged into thier account for 2 or 3 months get an e-mail reminder.We all benefit if they fixed what is need to be fixed instead of working on future chapters and leave that for later.

I think his point was that he would like having other VoIP communication like BF2 or CS.

As for grouping tools, the answer I've gotten from Gaile is that I quote "Shouldn't be so lazy." Yea, thanks for that answer... I'm sure I'm supposed to somehow magically see through lines and lines of spam of people LFG to find need, then copy-paste their name after clicking on theirs to whisper, copy-paste their name into the invite bar and hope I get my invite to them before someone else. :]

Anyways, I've seen reviews bumming Factions for A-Net STILL not implementing any sort of grouping tools, trading areas, auction houses, reconnects, and the other million things people have been whining for (which should have been included from the start; unless you're actively trying to rip people off)

I can hope for it to get better but I highly doubt it. Vanguard is coming out soon and I'm finally going to get into the Beta so we'll see how that goes. Hopefully that game will have people who actually give a shit about things other than nerfing skills to improve the overall game. :]