General Feedback - My thoughts to A-Net - Long-Time Player (WPE) comments welcome!

A big fat NO!!

Forcing people to group together will not improve things and it takes out a lot of casualness out of the game. If people don't want to group, then they arent going to do it anyway and just play the game less or quit PVE altogether.

Also, too many of you are too quick to blame heroes for lack of PUGS. With more and more people on your friends lists and people with guildmates, of course there's going to be less people willing to play with strangers and rather play with friends.

Hail and well met, fellow champions of ascalon! May a thousand blessings of balthazar fare you well on your noble travels!


tl;dr

The only thing I don't like is how some people say that the pve and pvp should be seperate or pvp has too much attention. The skill balances allows more diversity in skills for both pvp and pve.

Anyway, I agree that this game is going in the wrong direction. Prophecies was the best chapter imo. There were actually people in districts, henchmen weren't always used for parties, I never really had a problem with noob people in my groups. Now its just heros and henchies groups... I mean COME ON! This is a multiplayer game and I expect to play it with like people. Factions and Nightfall were kinda disappointing. The whole pve content in factions wasn't that great and I had to run around a lot in quests (and wth is up with that naga oil quest - WTS Naga pelts 500 each). Nightfall had better pve content, except it turned into a single player game. It even required you to bring heroes.

When I try to create a group I look around for 20 min for a tank, 2 monks, and some other guys. So finally I get a full party. I click on the guy to start the mission. NPC says "You need Tahlkora to start this mission". And I say crap and I have to kick someone out. In prophecies it was great because they extra npcs just tagged only with you as allies.

I'm worried about the next chapter and I'm wondering if I'll even want to buy it. I won't buy it if it's more of the same like nightfall's single player "features" and factions boring quests COMBINED. We need to add something new to guild wars and something that will bring players closer together (I mean like more people in certain towns - most districts seem empty these days cause we're spread out on 3 "continents"). GW just needs something new to stay fresh, or it's just gonna go downhill.

You don't ask for much, huh? Nevermind that much of that is impossible under the GW engine, I guess.

Ironically, it IS worded that way on the very first page.

He wanted a discussion that only included long time players that agree with him. That is not how a discussion works. Why don't newer players have a say in the state of Guild Wars? Why can't people post if they disagree with him?

Discussions have a lot of opinion and arguments based on many views on the topic. If he didn't want arguments in a discussion thread, then he should have made his post a Blog entry instead. That way, there is no one to vocally disagree with him.

Actually, it is... someone makes a post and you discuss the topic of the post. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt that you know what the word means, so perhaps the OP needs a little more help in clarifying the topic... (he's only said it in BOLD LETTERS in every one of his posts)

The topic of the post: Ideas for fixing some of the issues listed here.
NOT the topic of the post: Do you think the following are issues?

Am I the only one that sees the difference?

I dont get it, you keep repeating the above to a lot of people but you do not want to hear arguments against what you have to say.

Just because someone might disagree with you does not mean they are not being constructive.


I for 1 do not want to be forced to use PUG's and LOVE heros and what they bring to the game.
My reason is because I tried PUGS for a long time and in the end I did not get much enjoyment out of the game when using PUGs.
I finished Prophecies 7 times with Henchies only because of "Id 10 terror" PUGs.

The BODY of the FIRST post in a Thread counts toward the topic not just the title. The title could be named "Fish" and the body could talk about Pork or Beef only.

Discussions come with agreements, disagreements and everything in between.

A one way discussion is a discussion that does not want disagreement. That is exactly what was in the first post.

BUT THEN, there was the asking of comments, Which begs for disagreement.

Not wanting people to disagree in a discussion forum is basically writing a Blog post and pruning people with a different view from the comment section.

You use a blog for a blog post. Not a thread in a discussion forum.

He could have just said "Post Here if you don't like Guild Wars as it is now". AND that would have been much easier, shorter and more obvious for a mod to lock. Because what is said has been said multiple times. Just with less words.

With regards to Heroes, I can only say that making their level advancements dependent on their inclusion to the PC's parties and quests was not the best idea. Had advancement simply coincided with the PC's advancement, there would have been a lot less pressure (for some of us) to advance AI party members rather than play with real life people.

I am undecided whether reducing the number of Heroes one could use at a time, or increasing that number, would have made a difference. In my case, I quite happily used Henchmen until Nightfall forced the issue of Heroes. I don't often go looking for PUGs, though Nightfall made me acutely aware that cries of 'LFG' had practically disappeared altogether.

Getting rid of henchies/heroes is a bad move. Heroes can be removed IMO... If we get 'hero control' on our henchies (changing build, telling each of them where to go instead of all 7 of them at once).

But imagine this game withotu heroes or henchmen.... You want to do villainy of galrath quest, but nobody wants to do it. Your guildies are busy with other stuff as well... Great moment to get henchies or heroes.

Also, most quests can't be done solo, but aren't worth the trouble of finding a good party.

I'll go ahead and toss my two cents in here because, though I only have about 18 months and 2,600 hours or so logged on the game, I've gone through hell and back to make sure that I could properly play it properly on my computer.

I remember back when I first bought Prophecies, in early/mid 2005. I was baffled by it; I'd just come from a lengthy tenure as an Elder Scrolls: Morrowind (and its expansions) player and was looking for a new world to gawk at, but in a multiplayer environment. The moment I logged into the game and made my very first character, and the second I was in pre-searing, I could feel that I'd made a correct decision in doing so.

I ran into a lot of logistical issues between my computer and Guild Wars. My computer was an old grumpy thing, and didn't like the young multiplayer rapscallion, try as Guild Wars did to make a good impression on my PC. So, I changed around some of my computer's settings to make it more welcome, ran my game through a filter that shut off some of it's component like shaders, downloaded video upgrade upon video upgrade, cleaned out old files, and FINALLY managed to work the differences between PC and game out in a psuedo-psychiatric way. I was proud of myself. What's more, I was able to play, and play I did.

I stuck with Prophecies for a heck of a long time, and had a damned lot of fun, especially with the friends that had gotten me into the game. But beyond them, I too found that comraderie among strangers. People helped me out as an up and coming post-searing protector. I was offered lessons on game mechanics, examples of the weaponry I'd find later on in the game, introductions to PvP combat (which I still enjoy off and on to this day), a helping hand with missions, and was even given some good beginner equipment - I wasn't handed anything amazing because at that point in the game I didn't need anything amazing, as my sense of accomplishment from acquiring the "big time" items has always been more important than just being given the best.

As the game went on, I found less and less of this honor and fellowship among players. When Heroes came out in Nightfall, I thought they were great. Amazing little customizable tools I could use in times of trouble where I just couldn't find groups. As times went on in Nightfall, however (I'm just going to skip over Factions; while it had it's good points, in my guild we usually just don't discuss it as a whole), I noticed myself relying on heroes and henchmen more and more.

I completed Guild Wars: Nightfall using heroes and henchmen. There were only two missions in the entire game that I couldn't complete using them. I made a Nightfall tank and used them all the way through, stopping to find real people only for the Gate of Madness mission. I was a little depressed. The mentality of the PUG had changed too, I noticed. When I finally did take a break from heroes/henchmen to find that Gate of Madness group, I went through the mission a few times because everyone kept dropping at the first group mistake, saying things like "piss off, my heroes r better than j00."

I went back to Tyria, where I thought I'd find more player-made groups. I did. I found plenty of them. But I noticed a few changes in a lot of the players I was meeting. They didn't seem to have the same mentality about heroes, but their builds were changing, drastically. I remember being in the ring of fire island chain doing the "Abaddon's Mouth" mission (I believe this is the name of the last one) and seeing our W/Mo tank using Mending, Frenzy, and endure pain. I almost cried, and my guild leader had a damned good laugh over it.

I messaged him/her later to ask why she was using that build and all I got was "my build dont suck. I use it wit my heroes." Man, I just about pissed myself, mostly because I had to laugh at the irony of going back to Tyria to find it so affected, if only in that one case, by heroes. But that's just a little laugh I had, and not a reflection on the game as a whole.

- - -

I don't agree with some other points made in the original post, though. My biggest issue are the points made on the introduction of greens. Greens, while possessing max and sometimes useful modifications, are limited in their applications.

You can't change the mods on greens. You either use the green as is, or you switch over to a moddeable collector or gold item. Greens come with one skin, and that's it (not sure if there are any exceptions from the rule). Rago's staff, for instance; everyone thought it was "omgwtfmuffincake?!?!" but that skin was damned ugly. It cost a lot when I first saw it so I thought to myself "oh, a prestigious item to have, surely." Then I realized that everyone and their mum, dad, ferret, chameleon, and landlord had one. Suddenly, the green item was about as "omgamazing" as a collector item.

The thing about greens is that they are one thing. You can't alter them. They are what they are what they are, and that's it. I use some green items, sure, but I prefer golds and collectors. The skins of most of the greens in all three lands of Guild Wars are hideous. Absolutely repulsive, in most cases. There are plenty of exceptions, but I think that on the whole the green item will never carry the prestige that certain gold items have.

I was just playing a week or so ago and while in a FoW run someone pinged an expensive green item. I believe it was Koosun's fire staff, which still goes for a fair amount of money. Our tank pinged "Furious Dwarven axe of Fortitude." All I could think was "pwnt." I think about how many people out there have that green fire staff, with it's one skin, unchangeable mods, etc. Then I think of how many people have a Dwarven axe with the mods and requirement (10) that our tank had. There is no comparison when it comes to flexibility and prestige.

Yes, green items can give a player instant power. But they will never be as powerful or meaningful as many other items. So go ahead, ping your Rago's flame staff. I'll just tell you about the 7 I've sold, and the 6 billion other people that could have those as well. Just look at the "triple green drop" weekend coming up. That's going to remove a hell of a lot of prestige from all of the somewhat rare or expensive green items in Cantha. Think back to the "zomgGHIALSTAFFWTSWTSWTS!!" days. I look at those and laugh.

- - -

I will agree on the points made on Content of the game. Tyria was by far and away the most inventive and non-repetitious. I really enjoyed that Continent and all of its various environments. The best screenshots in my folder, lookswise, are from that continent. It had deserts, mountains, lush jungles, beautiful beaches, fearsome volcanoes, forested areas (6 areas which pop into my head). Factions had grass, slums, forest, sea (4 areas). Nightfall had an amazing "noob isle," followed by desert and psuedo-desert, and Tormented land. Less variety for me, more of the same thing.

But, you know, A-net can't please everyone. You made some great points and, to me, some not so great, emotionally-charged rather than objectively-observed statements which both speak to and against the quality of the game.

These days, I'm not sure what to make of Guild Wars. It has changed, though, and I can't say it's for the better. Now when I run into a game problem I just stop playing and wait for an update to fix it, rather than report a bug, discuss it in towns, or comment on issues about it on the forums. If something else comes along I won't have a hard time tearing myself away from this digital world like I might have a year or more ago.

So, I'd say that while I would hesitate to call myself disgruntled. I do agree with your idea in that I'm disappointed and, at this point, disinterested.

*deleted, double post*

Posting pure opinions won't help A-net improving the game.
You made a list of everything YOU think that doesn't work, but there are several threads adressing the problems you listed and they were all answered.
Meaning you basically end with pure rant without new things to bring or new propositions.
I will try to adress your problems so you can feel better about the game.
Understand that I eat up my time doing this instead of working. (/Slap on my dumb self).

Fall of Camelot.
You express more a feeling than true fact. It's logical that GW's feeling has changed. Everything were new, and for everyone at the beginning. Now, WPE players know the in and out of the game. IMHO, you should just look expansions with the child's spirit.
About "GW may loose players", there's 1 thread per week popping up saying the same thing since the release of Factions. And GW sales get them wrong each month.

PVE Vs PVP
I'm really sick of these threads made by PVEers that didn't even tried a shot on PvP outside RA. PvPers NEVER complained about PVE "messing up" PvP. Even when they were forced to grind PVE to be competitive. I personnally do both. And this kind of thread are REALLY made by ignorance. GW has always been presented by its Devs as a competitive game. You should REALLY do some PvP (team based PvP, not RA/AB) to understand the in and outs of this part of the game before complaining. When I moved at the end of Prophecies to PvP, I couldn't before that understand the true meaning of the BALANCE word. I was a scrub.
I like PVE. But imbalance in PvP is like facing Glint as a regular mob, as EVERY player in PvP turns on skills ensuring victory, i.e. the most overpowered and imbalanced. So nerfs are needed. A-net nerfs are not always good (overnerfing or underbuffing), but at least they try to keep a balance.
Please, do some GvG regularly to understand what I'm meaning.
And again, you throw your FEELS (as written in your text), not facts, truth, nor propositions.

The Fellowship is Broken
Again a Heroes against People thread.
If you define fellowship by PuGs availability, then you just missed 95% of the game. Fellowship is not in PuGs, but in GUILDS. For a game called GUILD WARS, I find this justified.
There is a guild recruiting forum around here, ingame also, just find ones with like-minded people. When you will be in a good guild, you won't be alone. Follow Kormir's advice, don't fight alone, and join a guild suited to your needs (i.e. a guild turned towards PVE for you apparently). For me the fellowship has never been broken, and I went in several different guilds since the beginning of the game.
PuGs could be improved, thus. By putting an in-game audio communication tool. By allowing every player skillbar / energy bar to be displayable in battle (exaclty like hero does, but for real players). I already made these points in the HeroVsPeople flamefest thread. However, until this could be done, they will be by far largely inferior in terms of efficiency compared to a guild group or a hero group.

For the love of Money
Sigh. You'll love collector items.
BTW, if you want that skin, farm for it. Alone, like farmer Joe? No, with your guildies. That's an exciting PVE entertainment. Look, take the Cantha event, ask if some friends/guildies would be there this weekend, and go farm some greens/chest runs etc...
Guildwiki already gives all the info on where and how to find the rarest skins in the game. If you are in a PVE guild, doing Elite areas with guildies to stockpile rare skins items will not take you much of that time.

Farmer Joe
To me casual farming is okay, it brings supply, lowering prices. Botting for ebay is not. Because ebayers, with their large amounts of money, will be able to afford for themselves a huge price on weapons that don't worth it (skyrocketting rarest skins). But I'm not an economist, so I could be wrong.
Anyway, economy in GW is NOT linked with efficiency.
So, as I already said, you should look for collector weapons.

Deja Vu!
Seriously... Are you blind? For Factions Kaineng City I can understand but... Nighfall? The somptuous fountains of Vabbi? The Dark Sulfurous Wastes? The warm savannah of Kourna? The Hidden City of Adashim? The tortuous Badhok Caverns? Are they so identic?
No. It's Elona, Land of the Sun. But from the blue glowing of the Realm of Torment to the Red lands of Kourna, coming from the green jungle of IStan, you cannot say "that's the same".
As I said, look with the child's eyes. Elona is really beautiful.

Closing thoughts
So where are your propositions to "improve" the game, huh? Or is it just a rant in the face of A-Net?
In addition, asking for people only with your views to post in your thread is symptomatic of a closed mind. You give the stick to be beaten.

Anyway, just quit the game and join other MMORPGs if Guild Wars doesn't suit you. If you want a more lone, PVE oriented, and deeper world, just try WoW. It's not that more expensive than buying collector's edition of each new chapter of Guild Wars. I've tried it myself, and was astonished by the gigantismic world, with deep lore, billions of quests, and various landscapes.
The time investment it requires to be optimal and efficient just didn't suit me.

I'm done with it. Greetings to you, and have a nice game.

Point #2, they will never do. The game engine, server system, everything is based on an instanced-game-world format. This is simply not possible, even if they desired to.

Point #3, this is also not such a good idea. Unlimited farming will cause inflation to skyrocket, and devalue the money of the game. There are other ways to control the selling of Gold for real $$. Limiting each account to 100k outgoing Gold per day, would be a great way to do this, impacting only the gold farmers..since they couldn't give away more than 100k per GW Account per day. People who buy or sell large items would just have to wait till the next day to buy/sell their next item...but Gold Farmers need to transfer huge deliveries many times a day. This would kill their business, without impacting the game that much. Anyone have any other ideas on it? I wanna hear em


To avoid confusion, my opinion is that Heros SHOULD NOT be removed from the game. I like them, don't get me wrong. I happen to think that limiting each person to 1 or 2 heros would be ideal, or changing the way they work a bit. You can get the party makeup you want by combining Henchmen, while still having a slight disadvantage.

The scaling drop quality in relation to # of human players sounds like a great idea to me. Instead of farmers running in and out of gates all the time, solo...you could have groups of treasure hunters banding together...kinda like Corsairs

Then its time for a new gaming engine, and a new marketing strategy. What was good idea 2 years ago, has now become tired and outdated.

I play mostly free to play/cash shop online games now, and a few of them are better than Guild Wars in more ways than one. The one thing I don't miss about Guildwars are the item drops. I suppose if you want to take chances on chests, thats fine, but expensive. The monster item drops are so few and far between and making money in the game is diffucult unless you resort to running and farming (which I'm guilty of for most of my Guildwars playing hours). Near the end of time playing Guildwars all I did was buy and sell.......I hate to think how many hours I wasted on WTS this or WTB that, just so I could afford 1 piece of fissure armor pants. (500k-600k). If they dont want us to farm, dont want us to run, dont want to give us an action house (unless thats now implimented), then just make the game a free download and set up a serious online cash shop. It would be a good move imo.

Oh yea, and I agree with the other comment about not having heroes required for a quest/mission. That was a really bad idea.

I unfortunately predict bad things in the future for Guildwars unless some major changes occur in the next year or so.


edit: actually, the more I think about it, the more I like my idea. Make Guildwars a free-to-play online game with a free client download from their website, and set up a Cash shop to make money on the back end. I know this is not a new idea, but here is the twist. These other new free online game have zero advertising except for word of mouth from the online gaming forums. Guildwars could still advertise in stores like best buy if they still had a box on display. The only difference is, they wouldn't need to include a CD or instruction because you could get direct from the website. You would only need to add a cash-item card that could be redeemable thru the cash shop after you've installed the game. This would still keep Guildwars alive to the public, this would save money in packaging on the front end and they could still charge money for the "getting started kit w/a cash card", say $19.95. This could be set up like the World of Warcraft idea of using a card to play monthly for the kids that dont have ATM/Credit Card, or for the people not willing to use a Credit card online. Make it as simple as possible to use the cash shop and make the ingame transfer fast w/less hassle. Find a new set up that makes it easier than having to register for paypal (its to much work for the average joe thats not so computer savy). I'm rambling now, but I think I have a good idea non the less.

I fully agree. Heroes are in the game now and I'd lose henchmen before I'd lose Heroes. They are a great addition that have allowed an ongoing issue (PUG hatred) to fully bloom.

I don't necessarily blame Heroes for the lack of PUGs, per se, but I do believe that playing with Heroes is easier and faster than playing with non-Guildie people or those you don't play with often. Unfortunately, gamers taking the path of least resistance is pretty common and Heroes really are that path.

As I said, I think the solution is to find a way to make playing with real people more appealing without changing what it's like to play with Heroes. No penalties for using the AI but a bonus for being social

What he was trying to avoid was having people with nothing to say besides "Hey, I like the way things are heading and I think you're all wrong" to hold off and let the discussion topic stay on track. This thread is about:
Is that really so hard to respect? Just smile, chuckle at the grumbly old players, and move on People don't have to post in every thread they see, right? For the record, I don't see that he has and problem with people who disagree, so long as they still have something to contribute to the topic. It's the ones who come in and say "nothing's wrong with the game/you guys are just bored/what a stupid thread" with nothing to add besides a complete and total disagreement (often delivered with an insulting tone) who he didn't want to post here.

That's very nice of you considering he asked you not to bother. Keep your time. Do your work. What you say and the angsty style you toss our way helps nothing...especially not the thread Let it go, man. Let it go and just move on to a thread that actually interests you rather than one that only earns your contempt. The 'just quit if you don't like it' attitude contributes nothing...well aside from reasserting our point that even if everyone had quit this game, it would have barely changed my experience with nightfall. A.Net could have created a hundred AI to trade spam local chat and just rush around the towns and it wouldn't have been that different than what Nightfall was for me (I liked Nightfall, mind you, it was just a lot more lonely than the other chapters).

Nice response. I think that sums a lot of it up for me too. Maybe it's just what happens after playing the same engine for 2 years but I honestly don't think so. There's more to it than that. Hopefully A.Net will find an overall solution to revitalize our zeal and bring our interest back full force

I really like them, for the most part (their PR campaign could use a little work imo ), and would like to keep supporting them. Something definitely needs to change though.

The online game "Flyff" has some good ideas about making players more social. You get XP bonuses for the more real players you have in your group. Another idea would be to have a skill leveling system for skills that buff you and other players like Flyff has, except make it so you only gain experience and leveling in the new skill if you use the new "buff skill" on another player in your group. (this wouldnt apply to pvp, just pve). When I say "buff skills", Im taking about skills that can make a player have more HP, MP, Stamina, Dexterity, Strength, Defense, etc.......

Agree with everything the op said. GW pve is no longer a team game its single player. Anyway I just pre ordered Vanguard and look forward to playing a game where you HAVE to group to proceed.

wsmcasey,

I'm not exactly sure if I understand your idea on how the method of paying for Guild wars relates to in-game Gold economy, or the lack of sociability between the players.

Could you elaborate for us?

I wasnt specifically making a connection with my idea and the ingame economy or the lack of sociability. I was throwing out additional ideas to improve the game in the future. This topic is about improving the game as a whole, not just gold and sociability. I'm thinking of the big picture.

First off, yes I am a beta players (since E34E), but I dont like the restriction you place on posters. All of the points you speak about can be reasonably commented on by players who joined in the first months of prophecies as well.


PVE vs PvP - Who Wins?

The battle between PvP and PvE is a constant (annoying) theme here on the forums. Am I really the only person who splits his time almost 50/50 between the two? The only one who can enjoy getting a protector title just as much as winning a guild battle? Sometimes I get that feeling when reading posts here...

Comming to the point of balance changes for PvP, I have to back up ANets developers. Balance affects PvP alot, while it affects PvE almost not at all. So one farming build is nerfed ... 2 days later the next one is all the rage. I still remember the first "elite" area, which was supposed to be tough for 8 person teams was farmed by 2 or 1 person teams and you had trouble finding a full team in TotA. Or how the new elite areas of factions developed "standard" builds which required so little actual effort that you could browse the web while playing if you wanted (Hp, Hp, Hp, ... move, Hp, Hp, Hp anyone?)

Humans will always be more clever than the AI, therefore they will always find a way around nerfs of certain skills. Unless an area is found which is truely unbeatable, the argument that skill balances should be catering to PvE seems to miss the point.

The Fellowship is Broken

Your best point. There are definitely less player groups around. But honestly do you want or need them for the early Istan missions? These are at best at tutorial level in terms of their difficulty. At least once you reach Vabbi, you will notice that the majority of mission groups is human, not hero/hench.

So shrug off the first few missions and look again later. The harder the missions get, the more people split: The elitist few, who do every single mission with their henchs/heroes and the rest who return to human groups. And tbh, I didnt like playing with the first group anyway.

For the love of Money

You are contradicting yourself here. You want to have something special: "I earned it, and i was proud to wear it. Everyone I met commented on it." But you hate high prices for items? If something is rare, it will get a high price. The only way to make its price drop is to make it less rare. As long as people try to distinguish themselves by wearing better armor than others, they will always be caught in a rat-race trying to better others who are trying to do the same.

Farmer Joe

See above: You say you "spent hours upon hours creating the perfect weapon" and how proud you were when buying your first 15k armor. Guess what: Everyone wants that feeling. How do you get there? Farming yourself ... or Ebay. Like in EVERY economic system there will always be people who try to cheat their way to riches. You can combat them, but you can't stop them trying.

Deja Vu!

I am with you almost 100% here. Tyria lent itself to exploration and travelling, Cantha was boring and ugly. Nightfall is better, but suffers from to much desert. Why do all mid-high level areas have to be barren wastelands?? I hate being in those places, why do I need to spend most of my playing time in something as ugly as the desolation or the realm of torment, when I would much rather explore the beauties of Istan. Come on designers come up with a villian living in a gorgeous landscape for once.


- Xeeron

There is one fundamental problem that Anet can do nothing about, the learning curve.

What I mean by this is that for long time players there is not a huge amount of learning required in each chapter. Yes there are new skills and new monsters. But the way you tackle them won't change a great deal from your last mission in Prophicies.

This lack of time needed to learn has made many older players a little jaded when it comes to new areas.

We don't all remember that it took us 3 attempts to beat thunderhead peak mission or the dozen of times for getting the bonus on dunes of despair....

We've come to expect - start mission - complete mission - if I want bonus I got bonus.

We have become very critical of mistakes other players make and have little room for people who wish to test a build or idea.

Efficency has become key to most people when making a team, they have little room for a build that may be fun but does not work as 'well' as the accepted cookie cutter builds that are posted on the forums.

End game content tends to be more frustrating than fun for the new chapters. Sorrows furnace was the best and still is the best end game content they ever added. It has repeatable quests, reasonable difficulty, farmable items and is lots of fun to do with other people.


IMHO the greatest mistake in the two new chapters is the denial of exploration. Putting up walls, unopenable doors ect... that require a quest or mission or tittle to progress is just annoying. Most of the hard core players will do the missions at least once, but forcing us to do them add nasuim for every char we have( i've got 9) is just mean and short sited.

I do understand that running is the reason they made exploration impossible in the two new chapters. But there were much better ways of dealing with runners that what they choose.

For example one thing they should have done a long time ago was move the armor in Forge to the Dragons lair, that would end most forge runs quickly and easily. They could have moved the 15k armor to the ring of fire islands to stop those runs as well, putting some quests in the grotto/citadel to make up for it.


A big part of a role playing game is the ability to control the corse your character takes. Forcing us to do missions in the order you want is a bad move. If we choose to follow the story we will follow the correct order, but we want it to be our choice, not forced upon us!

I hope that in chapter 4 there is more interaction between new players and old. In NF by the time new players reach the mainland theve spent many hours lvl up heros and have little interaction with people, so the vets tend to look for other vets because they want to move on as fast as possible.

I'm a short timer, but a consistent player (2-4 hoursa night)

This is how i see it...Back in 1989 I heard of this band called the Barenaked ladies. I bought there CD, gave copies to my friends went to concerts and talked them....I was in on the ground floor and I found something new...I loved them and I wanted everyone to hear about it...

This continued through the Alboms Maybe you should drive and Born on a Pirate ship. In 1995 the Barenaked ladies came to Indiana to play at my student center. I was in the third row with all my firends so excited about what my favorite band had accomplished...

Fast forward to 1998 and they have a radio hit "one week" that I hear over an over. Now everyone likes them. They play the winter olympics. My frines 12 year old daughter loves them. I see them in concert with my eventual wife...they play only new songs..nothing from the old albums...they play for 45 min...what a gyp...they are my band...I have been by their side from the beginning...they owe me more.

Fast forward to today...a friend told me that the Barenaked ladies have a new album out...I could care less...they have changed so much...they are a gimmick. they for got who their fans are...i've moved on...

Does this sound familiar?

All GW is doing is going where the money goes. For every hard core gamer that takes screen shots and just explores, there are three mindless noobs that jsut want to be "run through NF so I can get Primeval armor."

I like this game because I don't want to pay monthly and for the time I put in (over 800 hours since July 2006) it is a very cheap, fulfilling pway to entertain myself. I will buy each chapter, play it according to the way that A-net concocts and be happy..why? cuz its better than watching Grey's anatomy or playing something else I have beaten 40 times.

I understand your exasperation...you were on the vanguard...you were involved with something new...now you are the equivalent of the 30 year old at the rock show surrounded by 12 years olds...its hard man, but understand this you are not A-nets #1 priority...they care about selling copies and dominating the industry first. The 12 year olds on the floor buy what ever they sell...so sometimes A-net will cater to the lowest common denominator.

You have 2 choices...you can do what i did with the barenaked ladies and walk away, or you can evolve as nature intended and look at each new chapter and change as a challenge. Also, you can pull out those old CDs and relive the memories...speaking of which...maybe its time to hit Amazon and give my old favorites a try..what's that new song called again?