April Update: the Long Term

Brought back decent PuGs, gives guilds something to do. Rewards are nice. Good to have a way to purchase tomes. Doesn't actually add content though.
-8/10

It's fun to be able to have multiple pets now, but seriously the "have multiple pets" idea should have been bottom-list. There are many other things that needed fixing then devoting a bunch of time to a new area and system that doesn't actually change much.
-6/10

Way too expensive. This comes uncomfortably close to GW Adopting the marketing methods of Rappelz and Mabinogi...both of which don't even require you to buy the game.
-2/10

See above.
-2/10

Nice. And since storage actually does put weight on anets servers, the extra purchase is justified ( unlike above )
-9/10

Meh. Just a collector who moves around and gives stuff thats actually useful. Nice, but nothing special.
-6/10

Why it wasn't done this way to being with? Regardless...
-7/10

A bit too grindish for what you get. I suspect anet purposely made it difficult to obtain the higher end ones simply because they don't really have the server space for everyone to be walking around with an extra 20 slot. But very helpful when you do get it so...
9/10

overall- 6.5/10. Good but with bad priority. PvP is what really needs to be fixed, not little tidbits for PvE that don't actually change gameplay.

Pretty good update, breathed new life into the game. Adds an extra incentive to doing stuff on certain days, and as a result team play. Some of it still isn't worth it but still nice.
It was asked for lots by various people, but I've only been in there twice. Hard to get enthused by it.
Not used, had already remade any characters I wasn't happy with
Grateful for the free storage, but I won't be buying more.
Love this. Its fun playing the game trying to find him, then working out ways to farm what he needs. I've yet to get anything good from him but much love from me anyway.
Only benefit I got from this is previewing armors across characters
Got a 20 slot bag straight away which has helped so much with my warrior's equipment. Also got a 15 slot bag, and am lazily going for a second 15 slot. After that I'll just use it as a way of making cash, I don't need more storage space on characters I don't play.

Overall I liked the update. I'm worried what they'll be doing next and if they plan on adding new items to Nicholas every once in a while to stop him getting boring, but I'm looking forward to seeing what the next update will bring.

I enjoyed the update. The only downside I have encountered is the time it takes for casual non-PvP players(RA,TA,ect) to get the gold coins for the Heavy EQ pack. But I'm still happy with it. I have slowed down to casually doing the EQ pack with one character instead of trying to get as many done on multiple charaters. Aafter I got the 10 pack for most of my chars I didn't see a point of going after the Heavy EQ pack so aggresively. And for me 10 dollars to change 5 characters appearences and build was great for me now I actually like the looks of most of them having the option to use all three campaign otions for the makeover.

I for one Appreciate the work they did for us, and say kep up the good work. Though I'm looking forward to August to see what they have been working on.

I agree PvP needs a major update.

But I disagree (as a primary PvE player) this did little for PvE...

Many players get attached to their pets, but with no way to "save" them, it sucked when we had to get rid of our old pet to fill up the HoM with exotic animals. Menagerie was a great update, especially for those who've wanted one since 2005. (some people just like collecting pets).

The Z-missions are an amazing idea. What's one of the top complaints about Missions in Guild Wars? There is no one around. Z-Missions fixed that. You can even find groups for Normal Mode (although it takes a bit longer) if you'd like.

And never underestimate the lure of more storage... I thought I'd never buy an extra pane, but I ended up doing it anyway because the Chest is so convenient.

This and other PvP concerns keep popping up. With rumors of an update for PvP love floating around (I think Linsey suggested it once, and we've run with it...), it's worth considering:

How can they fix PvP?
Skill updates will clearly be high on the list, but are there things that this April update showed us that might come into play? Will we see new maps or old ones reused? Some collection of seriously broken mechanics outside the skills themselves that will be altered?
Forgive the generality of the question, as my PvP is pretty limited.

And as many people suggested about the z-coins: they got what they needed and have now lost interest in REdoing content again (and again)...so, what could possibly come along to induce replaying? Have the devs conditioned us to play for, and wait for, and call for, escalating rewards to continue to play? Will the next update need to OUTDO z-coins to keep or entice players?

1. Zaishen quests, bounties, and battles rewarding z-coins
Great update. The repeat bug was kinda annoying, but I did get the chance to do some easy missions/bounties twice with most of my characters, so I've already managed to get 1 heavy and 2 large equipment bags. I love the extra storage. It might be a bit grindy, but hey, it seems to get people pugging again, so all good to me.

2. Zaishen menagerie
Even though I rarely use pets (if I bring them, it's for fun/show), I like the option to store my pets, and never lose them again, account wide! Good update.

3. Makeover and Extreme Makeover Credits for purchase
Not going to use this, but people wanted it, so I guess it's good for them.

4. Name changes for purchase
Same as above.

5. Free in-game storage tab, with the option to buy more tabs
Thanks so much for the free one. Not going to buy extra ones. Price is way too high.

6. Nicholas the Traveler and his gifts
Fun to do, and helps with the sweet/party/drunk title a lot, plus gives boosts to PvE, which is handy in HM and vanquishing. Love it.

7. Account-wide Hall of Monuments setting
Yes! I really wanted this option. Best part of the update.

8. Cheap 5-slot equipment pack, with the option to earn others.
See point 1.

All I'm wondering now is what the next "big" quarterly update will be... If there's going to be one.

It was fun the first couple of weeks but after that I saw no need to keep on doing them.

Well, got two 20 slot bags - did the easy missions while doing Luxon Faction grind. After I already maxed the Kurzick rank in a farming weekend.

The Zaishen Missions add grind for a certain objective, getting a bag.
Compare this to WoW's daily heroic - there it actually reduces grind and grants additional rewards.
The Menagerie is cool, finally a way not to lose a pet. Also great for heroes and players if they want to swap pets.
Nicholas is a really interesting kind of collector, maybe more should be moving like he does and change what they want. Besides that I do not bother with him anymore, farming for collectibles or buying them is not my kind of cake.


The worst thing they did was selling storage. They know we buy chars and accounts just to have storage. They opened Pandora's micro-transaction box, I expect GOOD THINGS to come for Guild Wars 2.
The backpack is enough, scrubs, buy your storage if you need it! :>


This game needs to get away from the emphasis on grinding and farming! (yep, that is the only endgame option of the game without need for grind: grind)
Maybe they add open pvp to the GW2 world? I would like to make farming more "interesting" to bots and players. :>


GW has, by design, they thought they would release chapter after chapter every 6 months, no proper "endgame". And this design flaw that results in the awesome title grind that probably bored a lot of players to hell. OK, they probably would have left earlier otherwise.

Huh? A makeover kit is $10 (if i remember correctly) and you get to change looks of 5 characters, or the same character 5 times. So one makeover would mean $2. I don't find that expensive.

If they make this "mandatory" then I'll stop playing GW. It's why I never played WoW though I tried the demo. I don't enjoy walking around minding my own business only to find myself dead each time I cross paths with some idiot. And there is always an idiot at every crosspath.

And I'm sure bot-like players would not appreciate your "interesting" addition to their activity. And believe it or not, best bots are legit human players

I know what you mean there. Though there is way to make it optional. In WoW you can go into servers that don't have open PvP. I guess for the PvP fans, an open PvP world would be godd - if GW2 is going to have entire world instances, it shouldn't be too much harder to make one of them a PvP world.

Though considering you'd then get a high proportion of ambushers stalking it, it might defeat itself. Guild Wars has never been about that kind of playing style, and they would definitely alientate a large proportion of their players (me included) if they didn't provide a way round it.

They could do as Perfect World does and have 2 modes, one where you can not be harassed and a PK mode where you can. That way you have a choice on how you play.

No worries, on WoW PvP servers you rarely see anyone outside the instances. And nobody bothers with open world PvP. I levelled up on two different PvP servers and well, got killed once while levelling up and after that only on the Isle of Quel'Danas when people were bored and waiting for WOTLK.

And yeah, you are right, some Guru members got banned in GW for their botlike behaviour, speaks volumes about these players and the state of the game.

I just wonder that pvp related changes in supposedly open pvp worlds have less impact on me than PvE and PvP related changes in Guild Wars.
ArenaNet also has an odd interpretation of PvE challenge and difficulty. Apparently it cannot be easy enough, including hard mode. They turned "endgame PvE" into extreme time intensive achievement grind.

So, you hate grind, huh?

Yes. I also hate you and everyone else who quotes only parts and refuses to understand or intentionally does not want to understand my postings.

Maybe you should read it again.

But let me sum it up for you: Guild Wars has become grind for little reward and grind's sake by now, and I am not happy about it.

LOL, I actually agree with you that the end game is just grind. I also agree it's because GW was not set up to have persistent PvE play: Players were expected to play, stop, buy new Chapter, play, stop, etc.

It's a tough time for GW: 2 years since any new major content, little to no info on GW2, I understand the frustration believe me.

I just thought it was humorous how you hate grind, and yet are doing 2 of the most grindastic titles in the game!

Not making fun of you, or blaming you, just pointing out the humor of the situation. (should have added a to the original comment)

Yeah, I am sorry, too.

I am very concerned about Guild Wars 2 and a bit disappointed with Guild Wars 1 at the moment. Makes me nervous, and I know many other players are, too.

Guild Wars is a great game, and a welcome change from the flood of WoW copies following the Diku MUD scheme in all flavors. And I hope they continue working towards the strengths of GW's system, and not towards going back to the roots of every other MMO, or what people nowadays perceive them to be.

I think the problem will be trying to balance the large portion of players who play GW as a PvE game (which was not the original intention) with the Pvp players who play as originally intended. This might account for the time involved trying to satisfy both groups, of course this is just speculation on my part

/off topic sorry

ive been ok with the update. cost of the equipment packs is a tad high for the casual gamer. i have 11 characters and since the update, for the amount of time i can play im just now getting near my first 20 slot pack. i could use 3 maybe 4 20 slot bags but for the time ive had its almost worth buying more storage or another character slot instead of grinding the bags. the z-missions have given me a reason to go for guardian on a few characters. the one thing i would like see changed on the equipment packs is the ability to also carry the story books. it would also be nice be able to accept up to 5 z-missions before being told you cant take anymore.

1. Zaishen quests, bounties, and battles rewarding z-coins
~Decent fun, but i don't do dungeons just to kill the boss, (but it does bring players back to do them together, or get ran, either way)
2. Zaishen menagerie
~Never played with it, because pets are pointless in most situations
3. Makeover and Extreme Makeover Credits for purchase
Why not?
4. Name changes for purchase
Why not?

6. Nicholas the Traveler and his gifts
New items? A collections quest? Sure!
7. Account-wide Hall of Monuments setting
Good adition
8. Cheap 5-slot equipment pack, with the option to earn others
I, like it, Awesome for carrying extra weapon sets

Not really off topic IMO.

I think this is the problem. We have two very separated game modes that influence each other.

I wonder if they really thought they can turn PvE players into PvP players, but this strict and total separation only enforces an artificially created gap between PvP and PvE that usually results in forum blabla between those who favor pvp or pvp.

I think they wanted to mix pvp and pve together, but in the end they mixed two things that are still very separated and different. Like an Oreo...^^ But both still use the same mechanics, which they are now separating more and more by now.

I am not sure how this will turn out. Sometimes PvP balance prevented our dear designers from totally going overboard in PvE.


Aion mixes PvP and PvE seamlessly, it does not have this separation. Still there are wishes on the forums that some players want PvE servers with consensual pvp only. Which would not really work, but well.


What I want to say is that it is hard to combine pve and pvp if both are more and more and very strictly separated.

Guild Wars eternal dichotomy. Two different games in one game that sometimes influence and affect the other one. This is like having two souls in a body, it creates problems.

They should never have split skill between PvE & PvP, the skills should have remained PvP based so PvE players would not be at such a loss when trying to move into PvP

They should also never ever ever have introduced PvE only OP skills as this rendered PvE idiotproof and thus made the divide of PvE to PvP even greater.

1. I do the easier missions and bounties for the quick coins. The only time I ever bother with the combat is when I feel like making PvPers cry and go into AB with a toucher or RA with an ROJ monk.

2. I worked on it a bit when it first came out since grinding pets worked out pretty will alongside grinding up on my survivor (no boxing for me, thanks). When I hit r3 though, I pretty much ignored it.

3-4. Wanted them, but not bad enough to pay for them. Useless.

5. Took the freebie. Took the $40 for the other 4 and bought 4 copies of factions instead for the extra storage.

6. These are probably the best thing of the update for me. Best thing I've gotten was a VDS, but since I love to metagame, I've taken a shining to analyzing the drop rates to the point of farming the collectibles for other people on the condition that they tell me what they got. (According to current market prices and data collected, Gifts of the Traveller, if opened, have an average value of 3.6k)

7. (EDIT: Forgot this one) Not sure I really see the point...

8. The 5 slot is sufficient, if unnecessary, for most of my toons except my monk (3 armor sets) and necro (same). I'm not interested in the heavies, though. I'll probably get 3 larges for the same price and sell them.

Real PvP players don't play PvE. AB is PvE for that matter.

In real PvP a toucher is easily taken care of. Try it sometime.

It's easily taken care of in AB too. Amazing how ranger and ele shrines can take care of you before you even get into range. And ROJ monks are all but useless in RA.

Most of the ones crying are on my team.

1. Zaishen quests, bounties, and battles rewarding z-coins

No, did not work for me. I did the quests for maybe a week or two. It *was* something 'new'. I got bored quickly. I have 10 chars, so I've seen it all before. Some of the rewards are out of line with the effort it requires. It's been close to 4 months, I still do not have a heavy bag. Anyway, whatever, old content, missions, quests and enemies are still old. I do anything from 0-5 (at most) now per week, of zquests, missions, bounties. Weeks go by without doing any.

2. Zaishen menagerie

No, barely using it. Capped all the pets I didn't have in 2 days, and that was that. It's a cosmetic change at best, i.e. nice to look at. They must make pets more viable in-game.

3. Makeover and Extreme Makeover Credits for purchase

No, haven't used it, don't think I will. I planned my chars from the start with the way I wanted them. Plus, charging RL money?????

4. Name changes for purchase

See # 3

5. Free in-game storage tab, with the option to buy more tabs

Yes, used the free storage and got it all the other acounts I had access too. Sorted out a bit of the storage problem, but had several mules and accounts already. Implemented this too late. Plus, charging $$$???

6. Nicholas the Traveler and his gifts

Yes, this is the only one I am making use of consistently every week. They introduced a 'new' way of farming and forcing new farming builds for items generally unneeded in the game. Something 'new' and 'fresh' every week.

7. Account-wide Hall of Monuments setting

No, not used, might in the future, depending on the benefits linked to GW2. HoM is still lame in its current state, they can still add more features, additional weapons, etc.

8. Cheap 5-slot equipment pack, with the option to earn others

Yes, got the 5-slotter on all chars. It is a lame way of introducing a storage solution. The rewards are not worth it for the bigger bags, when compared to the effort / money required. See #1 also.

Overall - No, this update did not do much for GW1 and I for one do not believe it made people play more, maybe for a few weeks, but not anymore. Lots have stopped again. Regina mentioned previously that with the April update they are seeing more playing / logon activity, but I simply cannot believe that, not from what I am seeing in-game.