dealing with the feeling of a fragmented, un-cohesive world

dumimare

dumimare

Academy Page

Join Date: Jul 2008

Bat Country

Heavens Rebels [HR]

D/

I'm coming from World of Warcraft (frustrated by the long, tedious, grind for everything, and the fact it's becoming a chore) and I've found peace in guild wars. a bit too much of it really.

The sense of a community is one of the two most important aspects of a mmo, imo (the other one being story, but here, guild wars excels). Being all alone while questing (henchies and heroes don't count), having a real hard time finding groups for missions (i'm stuck in Rilohn Refuge atm) and the multitude of loading screens and zones makes for a real disparate, fragmented, world without any cohesiveness to the otherwise, beautifully written story.


Do you not have an issue with this?

Pwny Ride

Pwny Ride

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Oct 2006

Aussieland

Prime Players Of [OSHA] ~ [dth] alliance. <3

Me/E

No.

I dont want annoying people being annoyingly annoying when im out trying to avoid being annoyed.

Besides, theres plenty of a community, and local gathering places, you're just looking in the wrong places. Also the fact that everyone has played through the game completely doesnt help your case, which is why people rush to buy campaigns as soon as they are released.

If i where you, i would probably try the following places to look for a guild, since in many cases, guildies can assist you complete such missions, and there are some decent* people lurking around ~

Great Temple of Balthazar (both PvE and PvP'ers gather here on a regular basis)
Kamadan, Jewel of Istan
Lions Arch
Shing Jea Monastery (although i would be weary of this place)

Shame (well not really), the old U.S. Marhans Grotto groups are dead, some extremely quirky people there.

Ill just add the fact that the zones are seperated to a 'per player' basis is that it also makes Tyria seem much more vast. Although i do, in a way, see where you come from.

Numa Pompilius

Numa Pompilius

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: May 2005

At an Insit.. Intis... a house.

Live Forever Or Die Trying [GLHF]

W/Me

The fact that my team was all alone when in instance was one of the things I liked best when I came from Everquest2 to Guild Wars - having people milling around and talking about Justin Timberlake when I was in a supposedly epic battle just sucked all the epicness out of it.
However, you've got a point that it's getting hard to find pick-up teams in many outposts - the player population is now spread out over three continents, plus I think many have left for Warhammer Online. Best way to get around that would be to join a large guild, but you can also go to one of the hubs (like Kamadan or Lions Arch) to organize your groups.

dumimare

dumimare

Academy Page

Join Date: Jul 2008

Bat Country

Heavens Rebels [HR]

D/

i am in rather inactive, yet large alliance of 3 guilds, summing up a total of about 150 members. however, there are never more than 2-3 players online.

i'll take your advice and go to kamadan to LFG.

cheers men.

Luminarus

Luminarus

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Aug 2007

Sydney, Australia

Haze of Light [pure]

R/

3 guilds is not a large alliance. 150 members yet 3 online is a failing alliance, consider moving on if its not a group of ur friends, if it sis suggest that they move on too...

R4nd0m

Banned

Join Date: Oct 2008

The European Union

Quote:
Originally Posted by dumimare View Post
...and the multitude of loading screens...
By altering the startup command line, u can force tha game to download a complete update of ALL the files in the game. It will probably take the better part of an entire day, so try doing it as you go to bed.

Check here for information on the the -image command,
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Command_line#-image

It drasticly decreases the time u have to wait untill u can enter a new zone.

About LFG'ing, if u play on the european servers and is having a hard time finding PUGs (Pick Up Groups), try switching to the American districts.


Best places to look for guilds imo is:

Old Ascalon, many guilds pick up new and unexperienced players here (not saying u are an unexperinced player)

Lions Arch, better to find players/guild with a little more experience

Shing Jea Monastery... I'd would have to pass on that one...

Keineg Center, the main Hub for factions guilds looking fo members...

House zu Helzer (HzH), the Kurzick seat of factions if ur looking for Kurzick guilds/players

Cavalon, Like HzH but for Luxons

Kamadan (aka Spamadan), lot's of players and guilds looking for each other. Has a little bit of Old Ascalon feeling to it with a mix of new players and old veteran from the other campaigns.


Somehow I get the feeling you only have got Nifgtfall so far, but I just want to congratulate you and welcome to GW

Chocobo1

Chocobo1

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Sep 2007

New Zealand

CoA

N/

I know exactly what you mean. I like to talk, it's nice to socialize even in a virtual game setting. Questing alone with heroes and henchies is incredibly boring to me. If I didn't have a good mate in this game to do everything with, I really wouldn't play it. I don't see how people survive doing everything alone, it's so dull

notskorn

notskorn

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Oct 2006

Clan Roxor

W/E

Guild Wars isn't an MMO, don't expect it to be one

R4nd0m

Banned

Join Date: Oct 2008

The European Union

Quote:
Originally Posted by notskorn View Post
Guild Wars isn't an MMO, don't expect it to be one
LOL? I'd very much like you to explain that to us peasants, oh Exalted One >.<

<sarcasm>

The developers themselves call Guild Wars a COORP. Some say it stands for Competitive Online Role Playing Game, others say it stands for Co-operative Online Role Playing Game. Either way, it is designed to play with OTHER PEOPLE.

It may not be a MMO, Multi Massive Online, but that does not mean u cant team up with ppl to enjoy the game together...

Nah, just go back to Pacman or where ever you came from...

dumimare

dumimare

Academy Page

Join Date: Jul 2008

Bat Country

Heavens Rebels [HR]

D/

Quote:
Originally Posted by R4nd0m View Post
By altering the startup command line, u can force tha game to download a complete update of ALL the files in the game. It will probably take the better part of an entire day, so try doing it as you go to bed.

It drasticly decreases the time u have to wait untill u can enter a new zone.

It does. I did this, and the loading screens only last for a second or less, at times, but it still kind of breaks my immersion. I guess I can learn to live with that as long as I can actually make some progress.



Quote:
Originally Posted by R4nd0m View Post
Somehow I get the feeling you only have got Nifgtfall so far, but I just want to congratulate you and welcome to GW
I have all three chapters, and I've even taken my dervish to Cantha for a few quests.

Also, thanks for the prompt replies and the warm welcome. It's like a breath of fresh air, compared to the whiny, angst-ridden, socially challenged community of WoW. I hate to make such a sweeping generalization but it does seem to be the norm, especially on the forums.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Chocobo1 View Post
I know exactly what you mean. I like to talk, it's nice to socialize even in a virtual game setting. Questing alone with heroes and henchies is incredibly boring to me. If I didn't have a good mate in this game to do everything with, I really wouldn't play it. I don't see how people survive doing everything alone, it's so dull
Quote:
Originally Posted by notskorn View Post
Guild Wars isn't an MMO, don't expect it to be one
I know that, but it's a COORPG and way too often, this game feels like a single player RPG. I'm looking to get into some of the cooperative action. I guess I should consider looking for a new guild.

bungusmaximus

bungusmaximus

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jul 2006

Guild Of Handicrafted Products [MaSS]

W/Mo

Quote:
Originally Posted by dumimare View Post
Also, thanks for the prompt replies and the warm welcome. It's like a breath of fresh air, compared to the whiny, angst-ridden, socially challenged community of WoW. I hate to make such a sweeping generalization but it does seem to be the norm, especially on the forums.
There's tards in the GW community as well, and on the forums, dont blame WoW for nasty folks, but blame interweb (Interweb BAAAAAD).

But yeah, find a guild (Mine is right out, as we're sociopaths), you bought the game late, so finding pickup groups can be a drag, especially for less populated missions.

As for the rest, enjoy. Check the Campfire section on this forum for some useful tips.

Arduin

Arduin

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: May 2005

The Netherlands

Limburgse Jagers [LJ]

R/

Take a peek at the Guild Connections here on Guru.

Chucky333

Academy Page

Join Date: Aug 2008

Mo/

Generally the solution to your problem is finding an active guild with an active, big alliance, 3 guilds in an alliance is not big, since alliances can have up to 10 guilds.
There's alot of big, active PvE guilds you can join, just have a look on the guild recruitment forums.
Also note that the American districts are the active ones, theres more people in American districts than in european in any time of the day, even european peak hours, so try that, and theres still PUG's forming in American districts of missions etc.
If you're trying to find a group for secondary quests than i can safely say that aspect of guild wars is dead, none of the secondary quests are praticularly exciting and none of them is rewarding enough to be worth the bother, so untill we'll see some title related to quests, not many people will do them, let alone bothering with PUG's for it.
good luck

slowerpoke

slowerpoke

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Jul 2007

Cuba

nothing worse than tripping over other folks all trying to gather the same resources.

R4nd0m

Banned

Join Date: Oct 2008

The European Union

Quote:
Originally Posted by dumimare View Post
Also, thanks for the prompt replies and the warm welcome. It's like a breath of fresh air, compared to the whiny, angst-ridden, socially challenged community of WoW. I hate to make such a sweeping generalization but it does seem to be the norm, especially on the forums.
I totaly feel you, I have a few MMO's in the trunk as well. I also have to say that I understand why u make such a the sweeping generalization, cuz earlier I was active on both american-based and european-based MMO-forums, and the spirit on the US ones was much worse and less friendly than on the EU ones... Dunno why, but Americans seem to be more snappy than their EU brothers of arms. And I get the same feeling when I play the US/EU districts in the game... that was just the picture I got from my experiences...

Guess someone will start yellin "Cultural differences" any time soon? :P

cataphract

cataphract

Forge Runner

Join Date: Aug 2005

Ashford Abbey

Hey Mallyx [icU]

Mo/Me

Quote:
Originally Posted by dumimare View Post
Do you not have an issue with this?
Nope.

I like the peace and quiet. The only times I interact with the community are when I zone to Kamadan and visit these forums. And that's only because I'm a bit masochistic.

therangereminem

therangereminem

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Jan 2007

R/Mo

couple of thing you need to look up-image on the furoms adn how to do it so while you going to be away from the computer for like 2 hours you do -image and you will download everything to your dat file and not have any laoding times at all.

then go find a group of poeple that are small that play alot together every day like 25 poeple , also find poeple who will be doing the same ting as you so that have fundoing the same things dont joina allince thast farms when you want to do missions

fenix

fenix

Major-General Awesome

Join Date: Aug 2005

Aussie Trolling Crew HQ - Event Organiser and IRC Tiger

Ex Talionis [Law], Trinity of the Ascended [ToA] ????????????????&#

W/

Quote:
Originally Posted by R4nd0m View Post
LOL? I'd very much like you to explain that to us peasants, oh Exalted One >.<

<sarcasm>

The developers themselves call Guild Wars a COORP. Some say it stands for Competitive Online Role Playing Game, others say it stands for Co-operative Online Role Playing Game. Either way, it is designed to play with OTHER PEOPLE.
The ones who say it stands for Co-operative Online RPG, are wrong. It stands for Competitive, which is what GW was made for. Competition (aka, PvP).



Multiple instances is kinda good, as you dont have to deal with other people if you don't want to. I would find a more active guild/alliance though...

Chocobo1

Chocobo1

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Sep 2007

New Zealand

CoA

N/

It appears 1/2 the people on this forum are snobby basement dwellers :/ I would love to interact with others outside or to wave to some other group running by on a quest. I'm well aware of the problems that can come from this but they should just lighten up a bit. Inb4flamestorm.

dumimare

dumimare

Academy Page

Join Date: Jul 2008

Bat Country

Heavens Rebels [HR]

D/

Quote:
Originally Posted by therangereminem View Post
couple of thing you need to look up-image on the furoms adn how to do it so while you going to be away from the computer for like 2 hours you do -image and you will download everything to your dat file and not have any laoding times at all.

Do you mean I can somehow eliminate all the loading screens? I have done the whole -image thing to download all data and it certainly minimized loading times to about 1 second, but I'd love to be able to travel through zones without seeing any loading screens. (we'll leave map travel out of this as I don't see it working) But being able to go from an explorable area into a town and vice versa without seeing a loading screen would greatly improve my immersion and overall gameplay experience.

Chocobo1

Chocobo1

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Sep 2007

New Zealand

CoA

N/

Quote:
Originally Posted by dumimare View Post
Do you mean I can somehow eliminate all the loading screens? I have done the whole -image thing to download all data and it certainly minimized loading times to about 1 second, but I'd love to be able to travel through zones without seeing any loading screens. (we'll leave map travel out of this as I don't see it working) But being able to go from an explorable area into a town and vice versa without seeing a loading screen would greatly improve my immersion and overall gameplay experience.
Nah you can't eliminate the loading screens, he just meant it would automatically go to 100% when you start loading instead of needing downloads.

dumimare

dumimare

Academy Page

Join Date: Jul 2008

Bat Country

Heavens Rebels [HR]

D/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chocobo1 View Post
Nah you can't eliminate the loading screens, he just meant it would automatically go to 100% when you start loading instead of needing downloads.
it does that already. up to 100% in a split second.

komma

komma

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Aug 2007

None

N/

GW2 = persistance...nuff said.

Amy Awien

Amy Awien

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jul 2006

R/

Quote:
Originally Posted by R4nd0m View Post
LOL? I'd very much like you to explain that to us peasants, oh Exalted One
No grind, no kill stealing, no loot stealing, no pk-ing. For those you get a game with a story, more varied quests, more variation in character builds and a demand on player skill and tactics rather then time and money.

Quote:
It may not be a MMO, Multi Massive Online, but that does not mean u cant team up with ppl to enjoy the game together...
Yes, you can team up and sometimes it's enjoyable, that is the cooperative part. But please, don't team up as if it were an MMO, some people actually do try to get immersed in the setting and story.

dumimare

dumimare

Academy Page

Join Date: Jul 2008

Bat Country

Heavens Rebels [HR]

D/

Quote:
Originally Posted by komma View Post
GW2 = persistance...nuff said.

I know. But it's gonna take at least 1-2 years before we can actually play it.

Stormlord Alex

Stormlord Alex

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: Dec 2005

Beyond the Forest of Doom, past the Cavern of Agony... on Kitten & Puppy Island

Soul of Melandru [sOm]

W/E

Essentially, there's nothing you can really do - it's one of GW's 'faults' (in lack of a better word) is that it's all instanced, segregating players rather much.

Just get into an active alliance so you've got some companionship to talk to whilst out killing stuff with your NPC friends, it's the best you can do. And if they're nice, they might actually help you from time to time.

Or wait for GW2 - from what I hear, that will thankfully be a mostly continuous world.

Gli

Forge Runner

Join Date: Nov 2005

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stormlord Alex View Post
it's one of GW's 'faults' (in lack of a better word)
I think you're looking for 'strenghts'. No need to thank me.

kratimas

kratimas

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Dec 2005

Order of the Setting Sun

R/

Quote:
Originally Posted by fenix View Post
The ones who say it stands for Co-operative Online RPG, are wrong. It stands for Competitive, which is what GW was made for. Competition (aka, PvP).
/QFT

When GW first came out, they were very insistent that the PvE portion was really only there to get you started with some skills and experience playing a character type and then move onto PvP.

N1ghtstalker

N1ghtstalker

Forge Runner

Join Date: Dec 2007

E/

if area's were extremely large, vanquishing would be hell
to me i don't rly care
if i wanna play on a huge map i'd go play Battlefield Bad company or some HL2 (got big maps here and there too)
it's what you prefer of level structure rly
some games have streaming so you can play and play without one loading screen (unless you progress really fast)

HawkofStorms

HawkofStorms

Hall Hero

Join Date: Aug 2005

E/

The reason GW is fragmented is because it actually has a PLOT. You advance places and things change. IE, all the explorable areas in GW:EN occurs liked a decade after the events of the first part of the game. You can't link together events like that. IE, plotline wise, The Hedge of Denravi was destroyed when Markis let the white mantle in. But by map traveling to Hedge of Denravi, you essentially time travel backwards to how it was at a specific point in the story.

creelie

creelie

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jan 2007

Alberta

Charter Vanguard [CV]

Mo/

If you really crave human interaction in GW, try some PvP - Alliance Battles are a great way to start. AB is really fun with 24 people on the map at a time, all trying to kill each other. Whether you win or lose you still get faction points, which you can put towards an account-wide title that improves some SWEET PvE skills. The serious PvPers are off playing in more structured settings, so you can experiment with builds. Finally, it can be a good way to meet guilds with active players.

I only dabble in PvP myself but it seems far more social (though not necessarily friendly) than PvE.

Martin Firestorm

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Dec 2005

Louisiana

E/Me

Quote:
Originally Posted by dumimare View Post
The sense of a community is one of the two most important aspects of a mmo, imo (the other one being story, but here, guild wars excels). Being all alone while questing (henchies and heroes don't count), having a real hard time finding groups for missions (i'm stuck in Rilohn Refuge atm) and the multitude of loading screens and zones makes for a real disparate, fragmented, world without any cohesiveness to the otherwise, beautifully written story.
Obviously, you have not learned the dance command.

Nightfall is nearly 2 years old, and there has been no real new GW content in over a year. There are less players, and their skill level is very different depending on how long they've been at it, so PUG has become a dirty word for most veterans. You're very late to this party. Most of the pretty girls have alrerady been taken home. You're best bet probably is to join a better/bigger guild, though frankly that may be more interaction than you really want.

Vaal 84

Vaal 84

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Oct 2007

UK

R/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Firestorm View Post
You're best bet probably is to join a better/bigger guild, though frankly that may be more interaction than you really want.
qft. My experience of guildwars improved dramatically when i joined a great guild. However when the chatter gets too much i enjoy my ability to turn off all chat and wander around on my own.

Darkobra

Darkobra

Forge Runner

Join Date: Aug 2006

Scotland

Type like an idiot, I'll treat you like an idiot

E/Me

I play solo in WoW, I play solo in GW. The only difficult thing in WoW is to get 24 idiots to co-operate with you.

One thing I do like about WoW is the persistant world and the fact that the cartography titles will be so much easier. Go into an area, entire section of that area is unmapped. No humping walls for an hour to get 0.1%. What a fantastically made game.

Darcy

Darcy

Never Too Old

Join Date: Jul 2006

Rhode Island where there are no GW contests

Order of First

W/R

Guru also has a forum for forming PuGs. It at the end of the list in the Guilds section. This thread sounded like you could find someone with whom to partner.

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...php?t=10322510

enter_the_zone

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Nov 2007

R/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chocobo1 View Post
It appears 1/2 the people on this forum are snobby basement dwellers :/ I would love to interact with others outside or to wave to some other group running by on a quest. I'm well aware of the problems that can come from this but they should just lighten up a bit. Inb4flamestorm.
I have enough problems with retards in PUGS, ty...

I really don't want random retards running around my zone, which is a factor in why I chose to play GW, in the first place.

Jecht Scye

Jecht Scye

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Dec 2005

Lucky Crickets[Luck]

N/Me

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pwny Ride View Post
I dont want annoying people being annoyingly annoying when im out trying to avoid being annoyed.
This to me, is the quote of the year.

While I like to converse with people in Guild/Alliance/Local chat...I really like playing alone. It makes things so much less complicated and frustrating. At least if I fail when I'm alone I know who's at fault(doesn't happen often).

DarkNecrid

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jul 2006

Quote:
Originally Posted by komma View Post
GW2 = persistance...nuff said.
Not completely true, it's persistence in some area with a multitude of instance areas as well. (Instancing will be used for storyline, me thinks.)

Aera Lure

Aera Lure

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Aug 2005

In Baltar's head

Bring Out Your Dead [BOYD], former officer [LBS]

Mo/

Quote:
Originally Posted by dumimare View Post
Do you not have an issue with this?
Yes. I do. Back when Prophecies first came out, and onwards into Factions, prior to the availability of heroes, there was much more player interaction and all-player group formation to do the majority of tasks in the game. It was possible then, of course, to bring henchmen in to fill out a human party, but that was frowned upon and very rare. It was also, of course, possible to run a group with yourself and all henchmen to do quests and the like (though many, myself included, could do the entirety of the game that way - I just didnt find it fun).

Its just a fact of the way the game is played now. You can still find PUGs (all-human groups) but they are very rare, usually contain more griefers then ever, often contain heroes and usually arent as skilled as back when it simply was the way most actually played the game. Its deteriorated. Hero use now is a skilled activity and most use it to avoid interaction and achieve a certain level of efficiency.

That said, I never had a problem with the old PUGs. It was very rare that the group wouldnt complete the goal in my experience. You simply had to be picky about who you invited and who you joined, but there were so many forming groups back then that it wasnt difficult at all. I completed 12 Protector titles entirely with PUGs and loved it. I would not dream of attempting it now.

Much the reason I dont play anymore, though its true too I have a current technical issue (no PC lol) that stops me anyway. No desire at all to try and return and play with heroes anymore, though I did it for a while. A future MMO I play, if I do, will not have that much AI use, I can tell you that - but that is my preference.

As for instancing, I dont really mind that. Eight people out in an area was fun enough. I'm curious to see how it works for GW2 (arent we all), but I dont mind the development of more massive areas with the use of some instancing.

Ravious

Ravious

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Mar 2006

Servants of Fortuna

N/Mo

Wikipedia says it's an MMO.... just saying.