Just how much of an effect have players had on the design of GW

As you know the Devs have been listening to players about the game and taken the views into account, in terms of PvP they certainly listen to FoTM trends ;P.

In terms of things that simply cannot be changed in a matter of a monthly update, what exactly have players affected...

I mean things like naming NPCs after players, Gwen herself (would she have appeared if players weren't so fanatical about researching her?), The perma pre-searing group, and indeed, the whole idea of going ahead with a high PvE focus.....

I'm always suggesting stuff and discussing other people's suggestions. MAny things I asked for, like: Ways to change the variable properties in equipment, something in Melandru's Secret garden so people go there to see the place, storage bags that can only accept a certain type of item, difficulty settings, headgear collector in pre-Searing, ways for PvP characters to change animal companions, a 'daily quest' system to make people go to a certain place, sorting the statues with a dialog-based intercace, remove /roll from PvP...

A lot of things I wanted and asked for were added, not always the way I wanted, but they get added somehow.

So, either they have the same ideas as us just by coincidence, or they listen to us. Either way we win.

Quite a lot. There are outposts named after Guilds and players (Zos Shivros and Grand Court of Sebelkeh for example) and even NPCs in the latest updates are named after players (Wynn (Zaishen Training Captain ) for example ).

The Hall of Monuments changes were a result of a much heated debate here on Guru (and other fansites) soon after the release of EOTN.

There are a lot more, but those are the first ones that spring to mind.

What did they name Grand Court of Sebelkeh after?

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/member.php?u=27869

I seriously doubt it. Selket/Empress Selket is a character from Unreal Championship 2.

any influence is just a coincidence

A big effect. Almost too much, really.

Balthazar faction was a result of PvPers wanting a way to collect skills without PvE grind.

I don't think developers ever intended people to get level 20 in pre-sear, but it just proves what players can do when given enough time! Thus, a Title was born.

Not to mention, the ability to buy new character slots, and all the new additions (character design change, name change, more storage, Pet Zoo, etc) are all things the players have been asking for quite a while.

In fact, the only thing I think people really want that hasn't happened yet is a In Game Auction House.

Maybe next year?

I'm a person with feelings.

Meanie.

That person is of little or no importance, certainly not enough to name an outpost after them.

There is a big one that was just recently added. The Hair stylist.

Titles were added because of player demand.

And the Favor of the gods was changed due to the players.

Too much in the wrong places, too little in the right ones.

Ahh, yes, your absolutely right about....

what exactly are you talking about again??

What would YOU like Anet to do they haven't done yet?

Some of the things that were suggested in Grimpaw's Dream Patch over at TGH dated 7/7/2005 and implemented in the game.

* New interface for advertising and joining groups.
* Not limited by district.
* When a player accepts a group invite they automatically transfer to the group leader's district and are added to group.
* Allows groups to post what they have and what they want. Automatically added info about players, classes, total fame of current team members, etc.
* Dye preview.
* Load / save skill selections (builds). This would allow you to load a set of skills both in-game and when making PvP characters.
* Some way of reconnecting and joining your team in PvE and PvP. My favourite is that reconnecting characters start out dead (but with no additional DP from that death).
* The ability for the group leader to move the entire group from zone to zone.
* The ability to "save"/unlock items like weapons (perhaps a maximum of 5 or 10) that can then be "loaded" on to PvP characters.
* Haircuts and perhaps even face-changes for existing characters.
* A collector that exchanges collectables for runes of minor, major and superior vigor.
* View tombs movies from Tombs staging outpost.
* Allow for infinite attribute changes in towns and outposts.
* Wands and staves with requirements for each caster attribute. There are still some attributes that have no associated weapons.
* Upgrades or mods for wands.
* increased [faction] rewards for arena PvP.
* Flawless victories give a faction bonus
* Only one spirit of each type

Too much

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Heroes were a result of players complaining about the lack of customization with henchmen, namely the inability to change their skillbars.

Most players nowadays don't even know this and they blame Anet for ruining PvE for introducing them.

The initial lack of infinite respeccing of attributes in towns was an obvious design flaw, that was incompatible with the concept of being able to switch out your skills whenever you wanted.

The effect of player wishes and suggestions on the game is MASSIVE.
They really do listen and add things players want, or even refuse to make certain changes because they would negatively impact a significant group of players (even if it's a small minority).
The problem is the things players want are not always good for the game, like making things unnecessarily easier.
Another is that some pretty obvious and important things take YEARS of QQ'ing and long threads before getting into the game (like the recent removing /roll from pvp). And some, while obvious, easy to implement and heavily demanded still aren't done (certain skill nerfs, removing heroes from pvp, and some more I won't mention here)

I am pretty sure by all the class requests that at the very least, assassin was the result of people asking for such a class, and paragon might have come from a request for a bard class.
Other minor things not mentioned would be the Frog, the lack major runs in the other campaigns (people were complaining for ages about the Droknar's Forge run), pretty much everything in the 4th anniversary update, Zaishen Keys (people with UAX wanted to be able to still use faction), the heavy enchantment removal in subsequent campaigns to stop farming (along with the entire scarab infestation where minotaurs used to roam), and many of the enemy mob builds in eye of the north/norn tournament.
The fact that we still complain about the game is a pretty good indication of how we have enough faith in Anet to at least try to listen to us. Even after several years of generally criticizing PvP balance, we still sort of do so

you win this thread.