The game has been around for a year and half now, and yet basic problems with the game still exist, unaddressed, even though we have been complaining about them since release. Here is a short list off the top of my head:
-Z axis is still a joke. Flying henchmen and floating pets still exist. There is no lower limit on hit boxes, so anyone can attack someone directly above them despite the terrain. Set a trap under a bridge and anyone walking above the bridge will trigger it. ArenaNet remains strangely silent.
-Pathing is ridiculous. Hitting 'action' on an object isn't enough, as any sharp corners, terrain obstacles, or other characters will block your movement. Henchmen and pets regularly get stuck behind other henchmen or enemies and are unable to attack your called target. Enemy NPC's stay hidden behind corners despite being unable to attack (although this makes it a bit easier to farm). Again, ArenaNet remains silent.
-Pet AI is, again, horrible. Henchmen AI will at least be improved by the addition of henchmen controls, yet, if Nightfall is any indication, pets remain useless. At least with henchmen, you can call a target and have the henchmen attack it, or Shift+Ctrl click something to order your henchmen ahead of you. This doesn't work with pets. In addition, pets regularly switch targets, randomly choose to remain in combat long after you run, or lose their target at the slightest hint of movement on the player's part. As it stands, beastmastery remains being viewed as something tacked on as an afterthought, with no real work put into it to make it viable. (I won't even get into the lack of Beastmastery/ Wilderness Survival weapons, or the fact that using two consecutive pet attacks causes only the last one to initiate, thats something for another thread).
-Spell graphics, particularly for the elementalist class, do not properly show the true radius of the spell. This, compared to the above items, seems to be the easiest thing to fix, but it remains unchanged since Prophecies release.
Look, I like this game a lot. I really, REALLY want to see it succeed and do well. But I cannot log on without running into fundamental problems that make the game look half assed, and cause large amounts of frustration. These are things I've listed off the top of my head, I'm sure I and many others on these forums could add to the list easily, and all of them have been around since released, and have been complained about since release.
Just looking at some recent additions the the game, the inclusion of character sorting was a great idea, but once we actually get it, we get two almost useless methods of sorting, with no way to save the sort upon exiting the game. This is just half-assed. I want to see this game do well, but that means not doing something 75% of the way when it should be done 100% of the way. I don't work at ArenaNet. I don't know what the cause of this is. Maybe the programmers are lazy, maybe they have their priorities changed around. Maybe they think doing things half assed is a great way to make a game. I'm sorry if I come across as harsh, but its pretty frustrating to play a game you want desperately to love, and be continually smacked in the face with glaring problems that have been around for 1.5 years.
I would love to hear a response from someone at ArenaNet. Are these just impossible problems to overcome? Too much red tape to go through to get these things fixed? Are these things just not seen as important? In my humble opinion, basic gameplay problems are the first things a new player notices, and if nothing else, would be the one area you want to be flawless.
