Concerned about Guild Wars

This is the first time I have posted here but I am so concerned that I need to see what other people think.

Has anyone else noticed a severe down turn in players in towns and PvP areas. speaking to players I have noticed that nearly all players who still play are in a solid guild they are happy with, this does mean that new guilds a doomed to fail. Some long established guilds are recruiting now as players are going inactive and it seems that there is no new blood coming through.

Let us just hope that people get bored with what ever new game they are playing and come back to Guild Wars. If they don’t then I can see Guild Wars dieing a slow and painful death.

Don’t get me wrong I love this game as I have 3000+hours of game play. I am the leader of two guilds one a mixed PvE/PvP guild and a new tournament GvG guild.

thanks

I wonder how many GW players are also "WOW" players who are playing the new expansion? Then again, a lot of players could just be taking a break from the game....

From the PVP side.

My friends list used to have 30 people online at once on average (95% PVP)...

It now has 5 on a good day (of which 3 are PVE players)...

GG Anet, all those people left for WoW. Ignore a community, ignore balance for three months, put three, four however freaking many "fun" seasons on PVP, send Gaile to try to placate us, show that you've done the near-impossible and tried to make balance WORSE over the weekend. All that and surprise surprise, people leave.

Honestly, for a game with so much potential Guild Wars is the most mismanaged product I've seen. If I was a shareholder in NCSoft I'd be screaming.

I partly agree with dgb, maybe in not so harsh terms.

I think Guild Wars should look further into the areas that WoW is capitalising on, while lots of players want "mounts", others say Anet answered that with the Nightfall Wurms...but to be honest, it's not near as good.

I know I know there is no real need for things such as mounts, but I would think Anet would answer the calls a bit better.

Maybe letting players get to level 30 with the next expansion could help?

Who knows.

dont compare wow and gw they are entirely different styles of games. why on earth would u want a mount? we have map travel. both games are great fun to play. whats wow capitolizing on? being a mmorpg? while guild wars is an action game with a few rpg characteristics?

Yet another doom and gloom thread.

Guild Wars is doing fine... not sure what towns your going to, but all the major outposts are always nice and active on the EU servers.

PvP is going strong. PvE is still fun.

You can't compare GW and WoW, they are two different games completely.

I don't think GW was meant to be a populistic game for the masses, there are a lot games with the generel idea.

Well to begin with the newly added Hero have turn guildwars into a single player game or in anet terms "personal experience"

can't say its a bad thing can say its a good thing since some of us actually hate playing with inmature kids and remember those PuG days looking for monks etc etc (1 hrs pasted no real monk) (omg we don't need a smite monk etc etc the list goes on)

Let face it the game is repeative next chapter maybe a different setting a few new armour so we can play dress up ,a few new skill so we have new ways to kill each other after that whats next off to Elite mission so we can endure 2-3 hrs of pain taking hardship or more. after thats done what next farm farm farm woo double drop week end again!!!farm farm some more

Then there the guild problem 90% inactive after complete the game 10% super hardcore farmer and still i see people on the street another guildleader wannabes shouting "can someone donate 2 plate so i can get a guildhall" smack* at this late in the game i think it better to just join a guild for crying out loud

Revisited towns in past chapter (ghost town) at this rate i think chapter 4th might be the last chapter anet might just have to move on to a new product.

Let face it guildwars is a PvP title as much as they try to make it PvE its still build on a PvP core (omg nerf again WTF etc etc)

Stating out the problem i really hope gaile see this and whole anet team better start brain storming soon cause i think the end is near.

Apart from problem we see, guildwars is still quite fun with friend half way across the globe slaying monster together, forge running with WARRIOR before at age of spellbreaker ,halloween event etc etc.
Its a great game but could have done better

Maybe should just expand the number of players per map from 8/8 to 16 /16 so theres room for all classes (no more sin hate etc) bigger warfare setting or something new like that

Sadly I'm going to debate this, you can compare them. One reason solely with little explanation needed: They are fighting for the same market.

I myself have seen a decline, but I have also seen increases with other players. Just because your best friend doesn't play doesn't mean the kid across the street just started up. I know personally of approximately 5-10 people who are R10+ in the HA environment who just gave up from not being interested anymore, and have moved on to WoW. On the other hand, I know about 4 people in person and are picking up GW cause they think WoW got retarded. People need change, if this was your first video game ever I would be impressed.

There are so many locales in Guild Wars now that it's hard to keep them all populated. Not a big deal. A lot of it also has to do with what time of day you are playing.

It might help if they would let players freely move between districts. Maybe set up a rule that if under x amount of players are in the American district for a particular outpost, you are then given the option to try a European or other district for that area.

I have played both WoW and GW Prophecies, Factions, and Nightfall since their respective release dates. So, sure, I'm playing the expansion. But I'm also playing GW, getting my Warrior through the game, perhaps to be followed by my Assassin ... depending on how the patch turns out.

GW and WoW are different enough that I don't feel that either one replaces the other, and both games are of excellent quality.

I'm still seeing a lot of players in the areas of GW that I happen to be playing in, but I haven't surveyed the whole game. And I am generally on during prime time for the US, so that may make a difference.

Overall, the number of people who play has not really changed, but the number of town/outposts has. We're just spread a little thinner than we once were. I'm taking a NF character from LA to AC and when I got to Ice Tooth Cave I fully expected to be the only one there. To my surprise, there were eight others in the cave. Not a huge number, but surprising nonetheless.

That being said, there are a number of reasons why some people have either stopped playing or have decided to take a break. After getting one character through the game, regardless of chapter, it gets a little boring to do it again. Getting 10 characters through anything is a chore. Not having the ability to "run" through the game as we all did during Prophecies is another factor. How many of us actually went west of ToA and explored the jungle after our second or third character? Most players want an open-ended game, like The Elder Scrolls series of games, and those players don't like ANet "telling" them how they should play by limiting their choices with locked gates.

I can't comment on the PvP scene as I don't partake in that aspect of the game. Others in my Guild had a few issues with the skill balance weekend, but everyone did…but that's to be expected, as it's impossible to please every player.

People come and go, old players leave and new players join in the fun, people go in search of something different, others stay with what's comfortable. Every experience is different.

Problem is the fact that guildwars isnt really a game you can play for a long time without getting tired. The way me and my friends in guildwars operate is basically keep in touch with the game, check guru forums everyday and such, and when a new chapter comes out, Go play for a month or two or till whenever we get tired. Then we go find other gamges to play and then come back if theres a worthwhile event or if there is a new chapter

QFT

I see a lot of that all the time.

This is from a PvE perspective:

I own and play both WoW (though I exclusively play TBC atm). GW is almost a once off deal. New content is added in the form of a chapter. You play it, you finish it. Nothing else to do, except spending enormous amounts of time farming to pimp out your toons. WoW is however a constantly changing arena. New content added on a regular basis, with great support from Blizzard. WoW has much more things to keep someone interested, and at the end of the day has more staying power.

What you said is very true ,my friend can ask me whats guildwars end game then go Silence....(Think to myself FoW no that can't be it with that much E bayer around farmed to get it to only get with little no people who give a S**** about it "so what its the same stats armour with different pixel big deal cry to myself T.T"

well bitching it out is still important as nothing ever change if we don't sound out (some kids saying "man this game is great!!!" yes i know its great but it could have been better....)

ok let talk about free online game there is quite a few title coming up like a

Archlord: http://www.mmoz.com/index.php?page=archlord

2moons http://2moons.acclaim.com/

I can tell you there will be more games coming up i hate to see guildwars goes down, why should we be playing guildwars and not something else this is a very simple question something Anet should ask themselves too.

Sure i can alway sing Anet tune "the game is great!!! its so freaking cool!! etc etc" then next day Anet Announce closing Guildwars down as it no longer a viable product.

Just trying to state some point and trying to be constructive about it.Anet know the problem but they aren't fixing it fast enough i don't want to remind everyone of some bug monster still standing silly still existing somewhere in guildwars factions

Why bring a sin, when you can bring a nuker or MM instead? Why bother with useless classes when you're much better off with 8 nukers, 2 tanks, 2 MMs and 4 monks? Anything above 8 horribly breaks balance.

GW isn't dead, though it's community finally is. The complete lack of social aspects (spam, abuse, no moderation, anonimity) was with GW from the start. But there was no alternative.

With heroes, there finally is no need to worry about that anymore. With exceptions of DoA and FoW, heroes will get you there reliably. And here's where the rift occured. Experienced, veteran players used their funds to pimp out all the heroes with elites and working synergetic builds, fully outfitted armor, ideal weapons, and simply plowed through the entire content in a few hours.

Meanwhile, new players and those who couldn't afford it, were stuck with sub-par heroes (or even their characters) in PUGs who were the same. And the contrast in effectiveness was glaring.

But above all, NF, while very nice overall, offered nothing whatsoever to any even slightly veteran player. It was just the missions, and nothing more. DoA is a faulty concept which doesn't work in GW (people play GW to NOT do 4-8 hour raids) and apart from that, there was nothing.

So now there's two completely different worlds. A new player and a veteran. The later lives in their own instance of GW. One populated by a select number of friends or guildies, using heroes for the rest. And a new player, who's struggling just to be done with content.

But with 0 incentive to have even slightest social interaction, the community became redundant. With the delays between chapters and no visible improvements to existing concepts, this won't change, and with 1 year or so between major changes, the community will have hard time rebuilding itself, even if something were changed.

GW was designed as co-op single player game. As such, majority plays through it, then stops. In all this time, there was no hint whatsoever to add anything more to it, and as such, community ceased to exist.

I played WoW. What is this new content you speak of? TBC was the first content addition. Everything else was the same as Sorrow's furnace or DoA equivalent.

They added this, its called International. Nobody uses it, lord knows why.

Nah was Suggesting something with a bigger for epic feeling
As for the gimp sin laugh was quoting so that it would be some what of a requirement for map similiar to the need of fighting shiro with ss sv etc etc that would make the class favorable.

Anyway it have been done in guildwar faction 8+8 vizunah square and unwalking water etc just that the team are on different side that all. wanted something that was together then again its just a suggestion not to concern about breaking balance since Anet have done it before

Classic Lawlessness

Yes Hero by far the best teammate around my mes ranger hero does prefect interrupt etc etc but found it to be boring at time since it became a solo game but PuG sometimes is fun with a good group but then again with a bad group well goes without saying s**

yes DoA is NOT FUN its a bloody pain just like the name suggested

Maybe can ask Anet if i could buy a house in guildwar now XD

QFT

Maybe can suggest a role play server laugh

well can alway start predicting the outcome of guildwars a few more chapter down the road ha ha Anet dug a very deep hole lets see if they will get themselves out laugh

Actually, It is mostly because 60% of players are under 18, and right now is the season for Exams and Final Exams for the end of semesters and terms. Also if you are a university student, It is also the end of the Autumn term and Examinations are on the way. So people are taking a break to study.

I've stopped playing GW to play WoW. Do you know why? Because GW is a flaming pile of crap now. Anet has been slow to fix everything. As many people have said, GW had the potential and blew it several times. Skill balances should have happened shortly after NF came out. Skill balances that preempted NF should have happened shortly after Factions first came out. This game started dying a long time ago, recent strives to fix fundamental issues with GW (reconnects, party search, etc) have come waaaaaaaay too late. Coupled with the current state of the ladder and fun season after fun season, I'm personally not surprised GW is, imo, dead already. ANet has pulled: "too little, too late".

I wonder if one of the issues with GW is that if you're bringing over already-developed character, you only play half of the game's PVE content. Perhaps there should be some benefit that you can only achieve by starting a new character in the new continent--surely I wouldn't want to see elite skills that could only be capped in beginner areas, but perhaps if Sunspear Elite armor had only been available to Elonian-born characters, it would add incentive to create some new characters in addition to continuing with existing ones.

It's only a month after Christmas and the kids are still playing with all their new toys. Wait til summer and they'll all be back.

This thread has gone from the GW is dying to the usual why don't they make it more like WoW.

1. Population estimates are all subjective. We don't all have the same time zone or lifestyle.

2. ANet knew GW would lose players to other games, interests or lifestyle changes. They planned for this by making it painfree to return as your account does not suffer for your absence. The new chapter releases, special events and weekend events draw players back.

3. ANet is not trying to be a non-subscription version of WoW. They don't want to be EVE or Oblivion or Neverwinter Nights, either. Many of the things that players feel would "improve" the game will never appear because they don't fit ANet's vision of the GW.

QFT!

Thank you God, someone has some sense. I swear every time some goober logs on and doesn't find a swarm of people in whatever backwater outpost they have parked their toon in they start going all chicken little. There are 3 friggin chapters. People are going to be spread a little thin. That doesn't mean Guildwars is dying.

The point being made about time zones and lifestyles is worth covering again too. I work 60 or more hours a week and I'm sure I'm not the only one. There are a lot of working adults who play this game and they have limited time. People with lives simply don't have the time to populate a game world at all hours of the day and night. Here's a thought though. Has anyone ever thought of international districts? I know when I log in and feel like doing a deep run I usually pop up in American districts. Guess what? EMPTY. Hop over to international and it's slap full, like it is noob weekend all over again.

People whine and complain about community this and community that in Guild Wars but the thing of it is they often overlook international districts entirely. Here are people who are probably just now waking up at whatever ungodly time you decided to log on at and will be happy to play with you. In fact International districts generally have more mature and well mannered players than any American district I have been in. So why not give your fellow gamers in other countries a chance, most of them type passable English, because I know only a handful of you jokers know another language, and are among the friendliest folks you could ever hope to game with.

The one thing that has always bothered me is the 1 Elite Skill slot. Why bother capping 200+ elites if you can only use one (or 2 if a new cap)? As a W, I can't justify using anything other than Defy Pain. If I got the caps, why not let me use them?

Come closer so that I might smite you. Defy Pain? I want whatever drugs you are on.

[skill]eviscerate[/skill] [skill]Triple Chop[/skill] [skill]Dragon Slash[/skill]

Those are just a few off the top of my head.

I'm still loving GW. I have played pretty much every day 2-4 hrs since prophesies, and I'm still on.

I play both pve and pvp. When a new chapter comes out, I'll play it for 3 months. After I beat the game several times, do elite missions several times, and have a good feel for the classes, I'll do pvp for 3 months.

Guild Wars isn't dying. More and more people are playing. Of course, they aren't all playing at the same pace or in the same place, but the player base is increasing.

I really like nightfall. The missions/quests are enough to keep me interested, the scenery is beautiful, except doa which is ugly in an interesting way.

People always complain about skill rebalances, get used to it. They have defined the world. We all play in the boundaries they define. We can ask them to change, but by being rude, pouty, nihilistic won't force them to change. One of the best parts of the game is trying to find what works, and how to counter what works.

For every overpowered skill there is a simple counter. Find it, use it. If they change the skill, change your counter.

The Gates of Domain is the perfect elite mission. It is very hard, you can do it all at once for better returns, or split it up into manageable segments.

A-Net has been trying to do what we have asked them to, if it fits their model. Don't expect everything you want, because someone else will whine about GW being dead already. Just enjoy the game. It's a masterpiece.

Don

Thats just rubbish.. If someone really likes gw he could plan when he/she is learning and dont need to spend 24/7 on there homework.. (i'm not saying that person has no live!)

Not saying that you have to be addicted, to plan school just to be able to play gw..
I only mean if you want to play gw, because you like the game as it is, it's no excuse to say you need to say that you have exams so you cant play!
..

Psssh when I was in college I know that come exam time I had 0 time for recreation. Every professor thinks their class is the only one you have, or acts like it is anyway. Then you have people that work for a living. These are folks that have to go in and pull 40 or more hours a week so they can continue to pay for things, like high speed internet access, that are necessary to play the game. That doesn't leave a lot of time for Guild Wars. I wish it did but it doesn't. So there you have it. You have folks furthering their education, folks looking to make good marks to get accepted into good schools to further their education and then you have people who live in the real world and have to actually work for a living. Anecdotally that leaves a relatively small portion of the population that can actually populate the servers 24/7. It is not rubbish, nor is it ridiculous to have priorities.

What world do you live in? Exams are the fact of life for students. Fail and you end up loosing summer and time to play. Dunno about you but my parents would definitely kill my net if not my comp usage if i failed in an exams cuz i was too busy playing GW.

Responsible gaming is a must. Don't frig your life over a game if you got a lot of life still ahead of you.

yea!!! PvP is going really well at the moment!!! GvGs are a blast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think Mr Thomasnl is unfamilar with the North American school system, understandable as they are in they Netherlands.
Its not an excuse its simply a fact of life. Its Exam time, there is always a noticeable decrease in player activity, be it WoW, GW, or w.h.y.

I'm sorry, as he's in the Netherlands, how does the US school system affect how many people we see in the Euro servers?

I completely disagree that PvP players want it to be like WoW. In fact, the thing that SEPARATES Guild Wars from every other game out there including WoW is its unique PvP. The problem is that Anet is clearly not doing a good job of maintaining GW as this type of game. Not yet anyways.

you'd be surprised, examples:
http://www.guild-hall.net/forum/showthread.php?t=44707
&
http://www.guild-hall.net/forum/showthread.php?t=44511

those are just examples though

Now your getting it, SING IT AGAIN BROTHER!!!

I would say that from an American server pov GW is lacking in players as if you look at the ladder well locked and took a look at Oserver mode you will notice how good European and East Asian Guilds are doing.They are doing far better than American Guilds I have noticed a few American fall apart almost.I would be concerned about the game as I find it very hard to do any recriuting as I need to anyway there is The Fury some are playing on to more PvP.I would have to say the Guild Situation need to be looked at and evaluated.Balanceing Guilds would be nice instead of skills.

What do you mean by Guild Situation and balancing Guilds??????

And the reason you see more Euro on the ladder is because Euros make up 67% of the ladder... The Reason? because there are at least 8 different countries alone on the Euro servers and thats not including other countries that use particular countries servers... Its amazing how many Dutch play on the English server

Age, that was some grade A hilarity.

I disagree. WoW has no end-game so you're more or less just plodding through the game. The satisfaction of completing the game in GW makes it far better for me. To then go back and do it with another class makes the replayability of GW far higher than WoW. This is only my opinion, but I know a few people that have both games and they more or less agree.

Having said that, WoW has some great features that I think GW would benefit from. It's swings and round-abouts.

Back on subject though, can you imagine all the people you see over the three areas all cramped into Tyria? The place would be hammered. It's just a case of more people spread over a wider area. More regular additions would be great though, rather than a new campaign every 6 months.