An Open Letter to ANet

How is that? I'd like to try it, but I don't wanna dish out the moolahs for a trial.

ok.. not everybody is 'pro' like you are,
and not everybody has group of friends that are also 'pro'.

not all game is that challenging to the players who played the game for so long.

ever played diablo? 95% of the player just hunt the last boss, and repeat
doing it to get some good item drop. and all it takes them 30second to kill the 'final boss'.

I agree they can add hardmode but IMO if u want real challenge u should go PvP
caz no game i know has unlimited challenge, once ur good the whole game's already easy.

not worth it imho, i tried it and the gameplay sucks.

Please. If I didn't have FAITH in Anet, why else do you think I even bothered with GW in the first place?

I bought GW out of the "visions" or should I say, "illusions" that Anet created, or maybe led me to believe at the time (or maybe I was just a fool and expected too much out of them).

"The game will have this this and this at first. But we will look into this this and this in the future chapters". THAT gave me hopes. I didn't mind how Prophecies lagged many features I wished it had. I didn't mind how Factions still lagged those features, for I knew the game would get better with each chapter (and it did). We were not finished yet. We were getting there.

"We will look into the possibility of improved trade feature". Another hope. "We will improve the LFG interface in the upcoming chapters". Again.

I didn't mind how half-assed those features were when they first got introduced. That's basically how things had been in GW anyway; it will be improved. But then I found the inquirer's spill. I read Gaile's blatant lie to cover-up the mess caused by the spill. I found out at the end that they're abandoning the whole thing in order to create something else. How should I've felt, if not betrayed?

I know all games don't last forever. But at least I get what I pay for in most games. Maybe it's my own fault to buy a game out of this so-called "FAITH". I mean, if I knew back then this is how it's going to turn out in the end, I wouldn't have bothered. But I learned my lesson now. And that's why I don't have any FAITH in Anet OR GWEN, which led me to abandon the game altogether (and I don't buy GWEN either. Right decision if I'd say so myself).

Someone was stupid and mentioned the numbers? Please. Those are Anet's top people who got interviewed in PCGamer. But evidently, maybe I should agree with you anyway.

If you try it, expect something very different to Guild Wars. Levels go from 1 to 50 and doing quests get you the experience needed to progress. Quest-wise you have good-old killing ones but usually you don't have to kill very many. There are other types like escorting, scouting, crafting, delivery, traveling and many more. Most quest take place in the persistent world but there are dungeons instances which have significantly tougher elite mobs. In the Great Barrows for example which is in Barrow Downs south west of Bree, you encounter elite undead wrights and of course you need a fellowship to go in there.

As for the story, to progress in it we have epic quests a bit like primary quests and these are divided into Books and Chapters. The epic quests advance you through the land so at not point should you feel lost.

Currently we have access to parts of Eriador only but will be expanded on in later updates.
Other small features include an auction house, mailing system, mounts, housing will be implemented in the next update or so.

The crafting system is great with professions such as cook, jeweller, weaponsmith, farmer, forester, tailer, woodsworker and many more.

We also have fully functional instruments which you can play music with and form bands with others players. People gather in the Pony and play nice music but sometimes it's not so nice.

Overall a great game.

Sounds like another WoW clone to me. Lore aside, why should I play LoTR instead of WoW?

[QUOTE=Loviatar][QUOTE]...did you just say Lion's Arch?

Last time I checked, normally you should reach LA at lv11 starting from Pre-Searing. And Sanctumn Cay should be around 16-18, maybe 20. But the content of SC is definitely NOT for 20.

Level-wise, you shoul arrive at Drok if you come from Factions or Nightfall. But that would leave very little content for you to play on so....

Serious note to thread maker ......Anet lied......

who'd have thought to make an extra buck they put some lame excuse such as HoM to transfer titles to GW2 which is gonna be totally different than gw1 due to instances etc. Granted Gw is a game in its own right.


seriously man they lied rofl i coulda told u that when people thought GWEN was the new Nightfall.

Funny how all the fanboys got excited over some content they (Anet) made in order to boost Overall REVENUE...

and yea man destoryers r gay Master Togo and Rurick are laughing in their grave

Pondering doing the same thing. My 70 blood elf pally's been calling my name for a while now, but I don't feel like paying $15 a month again...

As to the rest? Yeah, it's not worth my time to argue. I posed my points, I posed my experience. Don't care to read it then fine.

I just left GW in any case here. Have fun all; I'm done here.

Because it is Middle-Earth and Middle-Earth rocks.

[QUOTE]yes i actually did.

based on how it was 2+ years ago when things were not as easy as they are now

before they made ALTHEAS ASHES super easy do you remember when the first very good all expert player group gave a blow by blow account how they finally beat it?

when that quest was worth the 3000 XP it gives?

i can solo it now easily and brought back 100 urns after clearing the whole altar just to have a supply on hand for new characters i make.

i am still having fun i think because i hero/hench and can quit anywhere anytime the mood to stop strikes.

the only goal i have ever set is to have fun and let anything else fall where it may.

compared to the guru players i am dirt poor but i can buy anything i actually want.

also i have 2000 hours over all accounts of fun time on a game.

pixel wealth no

fun yes with more to come as i am just starting GWEN

I just thought I would take the time to make a few points.

First of all, to those suggesting that I attempt high end PvP for a real challenge: lol. Anyone indicating I should try that obviously doesn't understand that PvP has been broken since the release of Factions, but was completely compromised with the release of Nightfall's skillset. I've played at the top end (I only recently was guesting for an iQ smurf) and at this point, though it's fun to play with some of the best players in the world, the game mode is regrettably so broken it's not going to get fixed.

Secondly, to those who seem to have missed my subtle indication that I had indeed moved onto other games, let me make it more clear: I'm not playing Guild Wars anymore. A standard console RPG (hell, a standard SNES RPG...) has more hours of fun playing time available than Guild Wars offers. I played WoW long enough to figure out that I was so incredibly far behind the best players in the game that it would take far too much grinding to be on par. Currently, I've formed a high end Order based guild in Warhammer in anticipation for it's release.

Finally, I would urge everyone to try to keep on topic. Though I find it personally amusing that my open letter to ANet has turned into a discussion about other, better games, the thread will only rapidly spiral to deletion at this rate. For the sake of what remains of this community, let's keep the other-game discussion elsewhere.

Which part of "lore aside" is hard to understand for you?

Did I miss something? By the time GW2 is released, the game and graphics will be around 4 years old. What would you rather ANET do? Put out 10 different chapters, with 2 new professions and tons and tons of "new" skills and "new" elite skills? Until PVP is so unterly gimped by gimick builds and paraway/ritway/bloodspike/etc builds that it is even less fun that it is already? We are at 150 elite skills right now, at chapter three, we started at 90. If ANET keeps doing the chapter strategy there would be 200 elite skills in chapter 4, 250 in chapter 5 etc. They have trouble balancing what they got and to balance near 1000 elite skills (asuming they can somehow think up 1000 unique skills) would be nearly impossible and would drive away more people that it would attract.

I agree with some of what you said, they have kept improving the game, but if it kept expanding at the rate it had been, then they couldn't keep improving the game but it would get worse. They are going to start something new while things are still good before anything gets more out of hand.

Sha Noran, I'm sorry that you have moved onto to other games, you obviously put lots of time into GW to get so good that the game is so easy for you. there is always better games as there is no "perfect" game and as you get more acustomed to a game you find out all the dirty little details that make it less atractive and others more atractive, good luck in your pursuit.

<3 Sha

GW:EN is a true disappointment.

hmmm i just skipped to the last page since this is the fastest growing thread in history :\ , when started reading it was 2 page, and i never seem to catch up with the ever growing pages.

anyways back on topic, i have read many posts in this thread and i do agree with some and disagree with others.

what that does come to?

everyone is a individual. its been said before and im sure it will be said again.

Nothing, I just skimmed through your post.

I read it. There's nothing *to* argue about, sorry. You did not post any facts, you posted your opinions and overspeculation, and as you said experience. That's all.

...which consists of 1 line that you also manage to quoted. If by skimmed you mean "skipped" then I'd understand.

But at any rate, you still haven't made any clarification to your LoTRO advertisement and how it sounds like a WoW clone. I guess I'll just take it as it is.

Well not that any of it matters. If it doesnt have mesmers its an insta-fail for me.

[/mesmerfandom off]

So I'm not in the guild anymore?

First of all, the enemy ai DOES react more like pvp, it's called Hard Mode; be patient, it's coming for Gwen too. Second of all, if I wanted to play a mode where the enemies reacted like humans, I'd play pvp...or HM. Also there are many instances in Gwen where the AI uses builds made popular by pvp.


To the people who say they don't want to gimp themselves to make the game challenging for themselves because the game isn't designed that way. All those things you do to improve your character is there to make the_game_easier. So if you want harder, make it harder and stop trying to make_it_easier. Asking for a change in game mechanics because you can't bear to give YOURSELF the challenge of doing things while not being completely optimized is just selfishness.

I am a big Sports gamer, and part of the crowd that prefers sim-style (playing in a way that reflects how the game is played in real life). Unfortunately for my favorite games (college and pro football) EA currently holds the rights and doesn't really aim their products towards hardcore sim players. Still wanting to play the game but not wanting make things so easy, we make the game harder and more "sim" ourselves. We put the difficulty on the hardest level. We give ourselves house-rules that prevent us from using those plays that work a lot, and from recruiting(or drafting) the top players. If we get too good with a certain playbook, we switch to another. We don't use the best teams, we turn the cupcakes into powerhouses then move on. If all else fails, we hop online and play_each_other (I know, it's a novel concept ). Basically, the point is, we don't sit around on forums asking things that the company most likely isn't going to give us and is inherently selfish because it's asking the company to please us few and disregard the casual masses (from which their sales come from). We take it in our own hands and make the game as hard as we want it to be. If we can't find a way to challenge ourselves, we find another game (Luckily 2K came with the great online football game All Pro Football this year).

So you took a survey that included everybody that plays GW and they were all pissed? How did I miss that one?

I'm not pissed in the slightest, I am loving EotN. I love the better builds used by enemy AI, I love the difficulty level of the Dungeons, I love the new skills, normal and pve only. The only thing I am not elated about is that there is no Ranger armor that I like, but I got over that pretty quickly, since there's three other campaigns worth of Ranger armor.

No, they're just as stupid in Hard Mode.

He meant more that a larger amount of players were upset. And I'd agree - I don't think I've seen so many people pissed off at the armors. And the fact that some of the people at the Guru that are highly respected here are also upset with the armors, and much, much more.

You are not a unique little snowflake -Tyler Durden

Get over it. Other than the forum and maybe your guild, you don't KNOW how everyone playing the game is feeling.

I just decided to watch the local chat. You know what I saw? No bitching about nerfs. No whining about the new armors(the only things I saw in that respect was, "Where did you get that sweet ranger armor?" or "Nice mesmer!"). No crying about grind. It was just the usual conversation of people having fun with the gameplay.

I think the forums could be compared to college elite. Some get so much tunnel vision they don't realize that in the rest of the world, people are just concerned with managing their lives. Most people in GW are just PLAYING THE GAME and having fun. It's ok to say, "I think this is screwed up in the game and I wish they would change it." It's very egocentric to think that because you and a few hardcore gamers(and anyone who is into the game enough to post here regularly is hardcore) agree with this plane of thought, that you represent the vast majority of gamers. If Anet followed that view, they would have quit long ago, due to a nervous breakdown trying to solve every bitch in the world.

Oh, and half the highly respected people I've seen here disagree with your views. Which should Anet listen to?

EDIT: silly red engine

Actually, some of the most respectable people around here - Avarre, King Seymon, Fenix, Makosi, and even Ensign - actually agree that the OP has quite a few good points. Where you at, son?

There goes the Guru's respect for you entirely. High-five!

haggus71, you lost all respect with ur lie on page 10 about warhammer... cant believe you had the balls to post again with more crap.... go back to ascalon, or kamadan and see what all the day 6 players are talking about some more....

maybe some day you can care on a conversation with some actual veteran players...

The OP and others simply aren't mainstream gamers. They're highly skilled/experienced gamers. Different types of difficulty levels appeal to them than the vast majority of players.

You can res in dungeons because the *vast* majority of players have more fun that way. Most people wouldn't want to play a dungeon for a while and then just be dead and have nothing to show for it. Ressing and continuing to play is just more fun for most people. Also, most people don't want to be forced to play a very narrow range of uber-powerful builds in order to survive such extraordinary challenges. Variety is good~

Couldn't have said it better myself.

A new chapter/expansion/feature is announced. ANet hypes it. People in forums speculate and go "oh" and "ah" about the possiblities. Expectations exceed actual promises. People get disappointed because the newest thing did not meet the hype and their expectations. I've posted in those "what if" and "this is going to be so ....... " thread advising people to wait and see when this new thing is actually released. I would like to see some changes made in GWEN but overall, as a casual player, I am enjoying it.

Now ... time to hype and build up expectations for GW2!

Yeppers, thats me. My expectations were high, my hopes were high, i was extremely excited to play GWEN. But in my eyes i was left with great dissappointment. Not saying that GWEN is not enjoyable, but i find it to be rushed or broken. I think these forums wouldnt be so blasted if they would of told me what to expect instead of streaching the truth in my opinion. If i knew what to expect i wouldnt be complaining. But that would be bad marketing on Anets part.

REZ SIG FTW? Why even bother bringing a rez?
You can easily hero / hench every dungeon in the game... that is the point.... 60dp, who cares, i can easily clear all that for entire party and give everyone a 10% morale boost with something that costs less then 5k....

Rez shrines.... and rez shrines ever 20 feet, so you dont even have to run far from where u all die.... that is the point....

Sorry to those who learned nothing at all on how to play while making their way to lvl 20... to them, stay in Proph, Fact, Nightfall, have a ball, but this expansion, the dungeons, the hype, was all flushed down the toilet....

And that... IS THE POINT!

The "casual player" comments gotta go, there r way to many resources and chances for you to get a clue on how to play, and have at it... sorry anet doesnt preload every character with a "perfect build" keep up your crying, maybe they will....

For a lot of players 5K is a lot to spend to lose DP.

Running further would help? Didnt think so.

Well, that is (thank god) not for you to decide, you obviously would have been much happier with 18 DoA like dungeons, most players wouldnt be.

No, thats YOUR point, nobody cares and least of all Anet if people like you get what they want for the simple fact that producing a game to your standards would lose them tens of thousands of players.

Um...maybe you havent noticed but there's a lot more crying being done by the 'elite' players then by the casual players, not to mention that well...they're playing.

As for getting a clue etc, gaming is a pastime, not a job, people shouldnt be required to spent hours trawling forums and wiki's to meet your standards, they should be able to play the game.

no the casual player is just beginning to be felt as they are where the money is and NCsoft has a very good general track record with very few auto assault type bumps.

you hopefully have noticed a steady increasing trend to casual PVE ??

and the only complaints mostly are coming from hard core farmers/epeen types

check the complaint threads

1. loot is not enough
loot is under my high standards

2. armor is not the epeen the noobs stuff i wanted

3. HOM wont let me put in all my epeen everybody stuff and i cant use it for storage

best stated post stated this

*i dont like quests, i dont like missions, i dont like exploring. i wasted 40 dollars on lousy armor*

and that sums it up

Because i got sick of all this complaining about "dissapointing armor", i think i let my monk run around in her basic Ascalon pyjama from now on.

It's actually one of the best looking outfits, it's cheap, and no one can use the Epeen insult on me!

Casual isn't the same as stupid. I consider myself a "casual" player but probably way above average in PvE. BTW ... there is no such thing as a "perfect build".

"get a clue" and "keep up your crying" sound too much like trolling to warrant a response.

i honestly thank you.

i think so also and went to my mule accounts looking for the one i stored them on.

i found them (finally)

i also found a one year bday present (FINALLY A NECRID HORSEMAN)

i also found a 2 year bday present (floating jellyfish)

all in all a wonderful find on all counts

Agree with everything you said...

It was Hyped to be the greatest thing since sliced-bread, but was served as a big, steamy piece of ( insert choice phrase here ).

It is fun at times, bad at others, I think some of us/people on this forum are not taking into account that this is an expansion and not another chapter, maybe not, just a view!

I'll say to you what I said to you in the other thread:

Point is: Collecting armor and weapons is the only endgame that Guild Wars has got. Like Ensign has said, people - more than you'd think - love to dress up their Barbie dolls.

Then again, ANet doesn't really need to concern themselves with endgame, since it's just an RPG. All that they need to concern themselves about is getting the thing sold.

The game was advertised as a very big, challenging experience, with loads of new content, with challenging dungeons. Shit, I'll admit, I consider pve a breeze and I was wondering pre-release if I was just gonna fail at the dungeons.

ANet has promised something they have not delivered. In the past, I have been a fanboy, self-righteously defending ANet. But with the release of GW:EN, I can't do it anymore. I just can't. I go to college, college is full of FUN things to do. I play GW when I'm bored these days. I don't have anything left in GW but GW:EN, and I'd rather do anything else than GW:EN, it's so boring.

I used to defend you ANet, but this is a letdown. I will probably not purchase GW2 because of this.

Oh, and by the way Haggus. We are not elite gamers, we're people who like to get a challenge. It's how the game is fun.
And some of us go to elite colleges because we a. study and b. are intelligent. So stfu.

EDIT: One of my statements didn't make sense in context.

Look, I think EotN does an ok job as a short burst of content. But it is obvious that is not what it set out to be. This is supposed to be the release to keep people busy until GW2, and it isn't that at all.

The dungeons? A few of them are really good, but a majority suck and need a lot of work. These are supposed to be endgame PvE content to keep people busy, ala Fissure/UW, Urgoz/Deep, or DoA. While Fissure/UW are dated with all the new skills, none of the new dungeons really compare to Urgoz, the Deep, or DoA in terms of challenge, depth, or most importantly, reward.

The biggest ball dropped in EotN is the weak rewards. What the hardcore PvE community wants is to put a lot of time and money into grinding out shiny new toys to show to all their friends, ala Obsidian Armor or Tormented Weapons. Again, EotN doesn't offer anything on that level; it doesn't even compare to previous chapters as far as endgame is concerned. Your hardcore PvE community wanted new, expensive, hard to get armors to work towards; the closest they got was a pair of glowing gloves that took their existing ecto stash. They wanted rare weapons to work towards; destroyer weapons are much cheaper and easier to acquire than tormented weapons, and aren't as attractive either; the dungeons offered a few new item skins but most are simply recycled old skins from previous chapters.

If I am a serious PvE player in EotN, what goals am I working towards? What is the prize that I'm shooting to get by repeating all of these dungeons and saving my wealth?

You are looking at the wrong side of this trend. It's not just that there are more casual players, it's that there are increasingly fewer highly skilled players. More leave daily, and as my friendlist shrinks with their absences, I'm often left wondering why I'm still here as well.

I guess I'm not as sure as you that this trend is such a good thing.

Why... maxed Norn/Asura/Dwarf/Vanguard titles of course, isn't it obvious?

And hey, you get increased PvE skillpower with that, this time around. You can stand in Umbral Grotto and party up with noobs to show off you PvE powers then. If that isn't a huge carrot... Prestige armors are so last week!