Locked Gates In Nightfall

That's not the point at all. I don't want to skip the game, I just want to enjoy it on my terms.

If I want a particular skill or collector item, why shouldn't I be able to go after that first, then do the missions?

Or skip the missions entirely, and just get to the Arenas or whatever else there is I want to do?

The better question is: Why do people want gates? You can still play the game you want to, and go through the missions in order never stray off the beaten path, etc. But why do you want to force me to play the same way? My decision doesn't effect your ability to enjoy the game, but your wanting gates sure as hell effects mine.

Yeah, I wish Factions was bigger. Frankly, the Gates are just there to artificially lengthen a short game. That's the truth. Take out the gates, and most people would skip through the boring city parts once they did the quests with one character. I hate the fact we are forced to go back and forth through the city just to get to the "cool" Luxon and Kurzick areas...

my idea of fun is actually being able to get lost.

literally lost with no idea what is around the next corner, what will i find if i go this way instead of that way, finding a neat little something someone put there for someone who happened to stumble over it.

Factions gate system shuts you out from that fun

also since you can get the final 30 attribute points fast easy and early i move that the attribute quests in chapter 1 be available BEFORE having to do those miserable missions instead of AFTER

I did realise the jungle existed until like 6 months of owning guild wars lol

I hope there won't be locked gates. I still get a good laugh at those (even in cantha) that aren't at the level everyone else is when they get to a mission town and wonder why no one will party with em. I think they might actually do it like they did in prophecies, with that nice long run to droks or some such deterant for people to just walk to high level areas. We already know they are doing the noob island deal again, so I doubt you'll be able to get off there at level 1.

You'r right. the thing is, if you got a better weapon or the right elite skill, you'r even making it easier for everyone else.
and keep in mind that even i can enjoy the kind of freedom you'r given in an elder scroll.
But i can't understand why people are complaining. I mean, in almost every rpg, you HAVE to go trough all the game and to buy those lame copper/iron/silver sword before you get rewarded with the god-like-end-game-weapon.
Unlike most companies who tend to restrain your access to some areas with the level of the monsters, Anet is balancing the game for lvl20.
But it's not like you don't have to deserve that collector item you talked about just because you've reached that level in a few hours.

You, my dear, have hit the proverbial nail squarely on its proverbial head.

Forced linearity is bad; I can't even bring myself to play through Factions again now that I've beaten it with one character. If Nightfall has locked gates, I will not be buying it. It's that simple.

I've heard plenty of other people express the same sentiment. I think ANet had best listen to their playerbase on this or they'll notice a hit in sales.

I actually like the gates. SOME of them.

Makes sense that HzH and Cavalon have them. You cant argue that the Palace gates need to stay closed- do to the way the map-missions are laid out.

I hope that they put in gates, although sparingly.... I dont see a reason why the gate for Naphui Quarter exists, but other than that; they kind of make sense at least to me.

I agree with the above poster that it was a device used to 'lengthen' the game... and maybe if they had only HALF the gates, then everyone would be happy.

It got kind of old seeing lvl 3 toons in 15k citadel/grotto armor... that just isnt right... droks? fine.

After you beat the game, you should have all gates unlocked... I cant believe I have to spend the next few days questing the luxon faction just to get to th Hatchery for my protector title.

Its funny- Ive done shing jea island about 4 times (including the one deleted char) and pre-searing ascalon about 50 times.... but I cant bring myself to quest out the Bazaar for the life of me.

It may make sense, but it destroys fun.

In a game, fun takes precedence over making sense every time.

Okay. That's yours. That's not mine, as I previously stated.

I've taken eight+ characters through Factions, and honestly the only part I hate is Nahpui. Everything else is great, and I didn't mind repeating it all over and over--while Factions is certainly shorter than Prophecies, it's several times more enjoyable. No wandering around, wondering where to go next, have I missed anything--it's all right there, right in front of you on a neat list.

Forced linearity is a wonderful thing, and I certainly hope Nightfall has it as well. Mind you, it's hardly make or break--I'll be buying a copy for each of my accounts on release day regardless.

and this is exactly the point.

there are no * god-like-end-game-weapon* for you to get.

the skin may be god like but the stats are the same as that trusty sword you got early.

the game lets you buy top stat armor/etc right off the island so why screw it up with gates just to force you to stay in a maze.

if they keep the gates to filter out noobs those same gates will filter out many casual gamers who will feel that IT IS NOT WORTH THE EFFORT TO DO IT AGAIN.

then they will look at how many hours of *fun* they had before they said no more.

one character in a short time will not be worth the money.

i got many times my moneys worth from chapter one

i dont feel i got my moneys worth of fun from FACTIONS and went back to Tyria.

however i preordered Nightfall because it will still more than even out

this is totally speculation:

I think the people who dont care (or even notice) the gate thing, are the people who are dedicated 'pvers' who really enjoy just going through every single quest.

The people who want to skip through and stuff, are the people who LIKE the pve, but have the overall goal of PvP with your rp character (im one of these ppl). I cant say I didnt pay for a droks run the second and third time around prophecies myself- but the kids in ascalon arena say Im a cheater for it? This sort of thing makes it come down to who has 2k to blow and who doesnt, which is an imbalance- while not TRUE pvp (come on ascalon arena is a joke lol, and shiverpeak- lol thats where we go to feel tough at lvl 15)

Factions kept the max armor pretty much right at the start as opposed to prophs which had about 6 useless armor vendors (yeah i want 51 AL for queen farming...)

There should be gates on towns where you get 15k armor. Or possibly even on the challenge missions (zos chrivos) or other 'special' but non-essential places. This would make it worth it to the individual to do the quest attatched, whithout hindering the people who want the cut-n-dry.

And hopefully they wont allow you access to the underworld until much later in the game (comparing Factions again) I couldnt believe how soon it popped up in Factions- and how un-glorious it was at that. Come on, the quest for ascension is attainable with very little time or effort put in.

Im starting to digress... gonna find another thread to make an ass out of myself on. gg.

OMG i think she is serious.

i thought that first post was a joke (honest)

Actually, that's wrong.

I loathe, despise, and otherwise abhor PVP. I play PVE exclusively. And I hate locked gates.

One of the biggest draws to PVE for me is exploration, and locked gates completely kill that. What, I get to the next town and I can only "explore" the mission that I just played through? Wow... that's fun. Even the truly explorable are boxed in by locked towns. There are few things more frustrating than uncovering a map of an entirely new area, getting to the other end and seeing a portal icon, and finding it locked.

Not to mention they force you to approach the side quests from a certain area; I can't tell you how many times I did a Jade Sea quest, which was right next to the gate for some town or other, but since the gate was locked I could not just exit from there and avoid all the butt-ugly and annoying monsters in between, I had to go to another town across the zone and fight the entire way from one end to the other just to talk to someone for some FedEx mission.

There should be no locked gates, period.

Me too! Forced linearity a good thing?! These people give RPGs in general and GW in particular a bad name

I really hope anet dosnt lock gates, In gw1 the most fun parts are when you fight towards a zone and see the gate, and find that new town. really blows when you fight towards the zone and an npc says, "no can enter"...........................................M EGA GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Hmm, funny, right before you go to the Luxon or Kurzick side, there's a total loss of where to go. There's no primary quest (you completed the Sunjiang District mission, and are taken to Maatu Keep). I mapped to all the Kurzick cities, to no avail. Finally, I looked online to see you had to talk to Jamei! Geez, thanks for telling me. Now I have to click on everyone with an exclamation point to continue with the Main Story?!?

Now, maybe there are times like that in Prophecy, but I can't remember a time where you have No Missions to complete and No primary quests to do. Perhaps you can think of a time?

That's great - for you. As I said, not having gates doesn't change the game for you. You can still follow the primary quests and avoid any sidetrips, and be perfectly happy and content.

But having gates ruins the game for me. See the difference?

i actually think i have a workable compromise on her not wandering around getting lost as well as letting me explore.

have a signpost pointing the right direction in addition to the compass arrow so there is no way to get lost while i can wander to my hearts content.

as for missing quests have a log addition you can click that gives any quest you have missed and an arrow to the NPC.

that way she can get them all in order and i can get them as i find them.

that should work for both of us

I think part of the gates had to be implemented was to be able to maintain storyline and be able to back track in to mission area's and reflect advancement in the plot. Hard to descripe but the way levels were designed, General Cho's Estate, Temple zone were "dual" zones.

Also It seemed a bit ackward with all the gates at first in factions, but going through factions at least once, I didn't notice them taken my 2nd character through.

Yes, in the area you arrive after finishing a mission. That's the way it is in every mission in Factions and Sunjiang District is no different.

The primary quest was there. Can hardly blame the game if you chose to ignore it.

Really? Because I disctinctly recall usually having a big star of where to go next.

Maybe in a couple of places (like the Emperor's Hand, after City under Attack, I think?), you didn't.

In any case, it was confusing to me, because I'd been to Maatu keep like 3 times before, and didn't bother searching for exclamation points this time!

It would help to always have a Primary Quest to point you in the right direction. Why would anyone object to this?

There's never a star to follow after finishing a mission and before picking up the primary quest. Not even in Prophecies.

Edit:
Which is most likely why they conveniently put the primary quests at the same location you arrive after missions.

/not signed for locked gates.

Anet if you are gonna put locked gates into Nightfall please tell us now and save us having to buy the same crap again to find out.

LOL! Wow, played this game for over a year and never noticed that. To be fair, I usually click on every exclamation point I see, but whatever reason, I missed Jamei the first time. Oh, well. There goes one point.

But it does give me another reason to complain: Factions has more wrap around then Prophecy. Very Rarely do you have to go back to an area in Prophecy in order to continue the Main Story.

Factions is all about going to one area, going back, going to another area, going back again. I agree, it's one reason they "had" to put in some gates (like Emperor's Palace gate), but I also think it was bad design.

It's just another reason Factions feels smaller than Prophecy, and feels more repetitive. (And another reason I hope Nightfall has a totally different layout and mission structure).

*passing the buck* for at least half the quests.

if they did that i would do a nasty

Prophecies certainly didn't have a primary quest always pointing you in the right direction; I missed The Wilds and Bloodstone Fen entirely my first playthrough, with me none the wiser that they ever existed.

I greatly greatly prefer forced linearity; though I understand why certain types of people dislike it, I can't stand Oblivion or Morrowind for that exact reason. I don't have time or will to hug every wall and try every single direction.

The primary quest from Druid's Overlook ends in The Wilds outpost, where you get the reward from it. But they had that stupid message quest in Druid's that takes you to Quarrel Falls, where you wouldn't normally end up until after Bloodstone.

you are too young to know what a Heathkit was but the forced item check is like that.

you might as well have a step by step guide in front of you.

done this?...........check it of go to next step

note be sure to do this quest now or it will be harder later.......check

done stepxxxxx?.........do it now.

that is mind numbing.

i said i would support ANET through chapter 4 for the chapter 1 fun/value but that does not mean i will force myself to play something i dont like.

hopefully Nightfall will make up for the drastic (my opinion only) shortcomings/let down of Factions which i dont play

I played all the way through Factions with four charaters and I want gates!

Knightsaber, I think you are unique in your desire!

Like lornars pass ?

That doesn't stop lvl 3s in droknars forge though.

Though the best solution may be to find a mix of enemies that makes the area require several people to pass it.

This is probably what confused me; my first time through, I likely just picked that quest as the one to do.

This is what I want, as this is what Factions had. What do I need to do now? Why, here's a clearly-labeled Primary Quest that tells me in no uncertain terms what I have to do next if I want to progress through the storyline.

People seem to misunderstand my viewpoint, and what I'm saying. I am arguing in favor of gates, yes, because I prefer that style of gameplay. But it's honestly not that big a deal either way. If Nightfall has gates, yay! If Nightfall is as open-ended as Prophecies, that's fine too. I'll just have to pay closer attention to my quest log and those big green exclamation points.

I don't see a problem with gates.If you wanted to do all of your exploring there were a RED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GOton of side quests you could do in the major cities.

And I've brought Five characters through the game.Gates are no problem.Getting 10k Kurzick faction without AB on the otherhand..is a dirty rotten sonovabitch.

could you get to the nice explorable areas OUTSIDE those miserable cities without doing locked gate missions?

who cares about side quests in those grubby cities that simply send you back and forth like passing the buck

Nothing beats exploring and sadly factions prevented that

I think there is a BIT of correctness to the previous statement about the "Strictly PVE players not caring as much about gates"

As the JOURNY is part of the fun. Going though the game in the order it was ment to be played lays out the story the way it was written.

Sure I can pick up a book. Read a chapter, skip to the last chapter, read it, know how it ends and go back to read all the middle stuff, but that takes away from it a bit.

I mean how good would... The 6th sense be if somone whispered the "trick" to it right as you sat down? Wouldn't you want to pound that guy?

Sure. Some people want the "ABILITY" to make that choice for themselves. Meh. That doesn't bother me.

Much as gates don't bother me. I do the game in order and play though as it's layed out. Hince the gates are never really an issue. I have tons of fun.

Will it kill me if OTHERS can skip ahead or to the end? Nope. That won't bother me either, as I'm not one to do it.

Some people get run to Droks. Some don't. If I don't want to. I don't pay my 2 K for the run.

Does it kill me? Nope. Does it kill me others do it? Nope.



So... in the end.. I can say either way it won't bother me.

I sort of like the idea of having to do A B and C before getting to D.

But it won't kill me if some guy goes to D then Q then Z. Which ever floats your boat.

I know! I know!

Gates could be...

... account wide!

Everybody wins!

I you want to make an area impossible to run just add mass amounts of mesmers groups with the odd water spiker group..ice imps ftw! runnings hard when you cant move and you're getting pounded on all sides

Unfortunately, there is one reason. Compressed, overlapping terrain layout. I worry Nightfall will suffer this same problem since it was 6 months into development by the time Factions came out and people started to voice their... displeasure... at the locked gate system.

Think of what would happen if most gates in Factions were removed. A player could arrive at Kaineng Center, wander outside, find the skyway, and end up at Senji's Corner or further without ever noticing Vizunah Square or Nahpui Quarter. This problem doesn't exist in Prophecies because the terrain layout is such that large, often hard (for the intended level) explorable areas separate missions. If you want to skip the Great Northern Wall, it's a long walk to Fort Ranik. If you want to skip the jungle, its a long walk from Lion's Arch to ToA to Sanctum Cay. The terrain size and layout acted as the inhibiting force to steer new players around.

In Factions, the compressed, overlapped terrain caused a situation where people could wander around and end up 3 missions ahead of where they should be, with less effort than it would take to get to the mission they should be at. The locked gates, in my opinion at least, are a sympton of this design error. In a way they also disguise another problem I have with Cantha's layout. There is nothing to explore. There is no Mineral Springs, or Anvil Rock. There are no outposts like Fisherman's Haven or Marhan's Grotto. There's no where off the beaten path to explore, with the small exception of two challenge missions near the end of the game. It wouldn't matter if ArenaNet opened the locked gates in Factions, because there's no where to go anyway.

I hope Nightfall will be designed with Tyria's layout as a template instead of the one used in Cantha. Tyria's layout gave freedom and exploration, while for the most part (they goofed a little with quests at Druid's Overlook) preserving a linear mission layout that helps new players move through the game. Also, Tyria's layout included extra areas that can be fun to explore, without being required. I'm worried though that Elona's terrain design may have been set in stone before Factions released and it might suffer the same faulty premise.

hmm interesting post..never considered that, i dont mind having a bit of a trek to get to a certain area as long as they include a few mobs and a couple chests im happy.

Fedex missions make me depressed then i drink more..qwerty stamped on your forehead anyone

I hope they still have them...

Having open portals everywhere only ecourages people to hirer a runner, hirer a powerleveler, and then use bots to farm high-end areas while completely bypassing the normal game...

Just look at the sitatuation at droks.

Locked Gates FTW... filters out lazy noobs/cheaters.