Instanced vs Persistant Worlds.

I'm hard pressed which I like better. The larger feeling more continuous feeling world like an EQ/DAoC, and all the problems that come with that, like longer travel, the fact that there are players everywhere most of which don't give one lick about not infringing on anyone elses enjoyment...

Or. The splintered, disjointed world feel created by instancing gone wild. Sure I dont have to worry so much about rude people trying to run me out of my "camp", hell I dont have to worry about people at all when I step out with henchies. But then on the other hand you have running and the clear abuse of the instanced "zoning" of dead/distant party members, along with all the lameness and crap that running enables.

Tough call.

It really depends what you like. There's perks of both, I agree. In the single-world scenario, you can help other people who are in need as you pass by, or make new friends while combating. However, you'd have to farm a lot more when you have competition. The instanced world allows you to be alone if you want to be, and all the monsters are pretty much yours (as in, your party's). There's never a problem of overgrowding in instanced areas, but then again, it does get kind of lonely

Isn't this just another way of saying "WoW vs. GW"? And isn't that a discussion that we've already had a hundred times over? Some people prefer one, some people prefer the other. Why do we have to hash it out yet again?

I've never played wow, nor never even knew if it was streamlined. I'm sure theres others like me who would like to take part in this thread and have nothing to say about wow. lets not jump the gun and ruin someones thread eh?

Personally i would like to say that during my swg career it seemed as though the streamlined world gave the player a better 'community' experience. An atmosphere that was not so monotonous and usual. However at the same time there was constantly the fight for ground, and whoever had the 'best gear' usually won. This is where instanced worlds stands out. It's really a matter of preferance, mixed with which game mechanics suit which best.

/vote instanced

I think it's a different topic than the whole WoW vs. GW argument. Sure, the instance is the main differerence between WoW and GW, but still, not the whole argument.

I personally like persistant worlds better than the instanced worlds (Yes, yes I know. "GW isn't the game for you then" - tell that to my /age command). Why? My favorite part of all online games is the community. It's why I play on the same CS server all the time, or why I'm in a guild that favors cool people over serious PvPers. Also why I have a huge post count on two forums (rarely say anything remotely resembling human intelligence though). Persistant worlds allows more chance to meet up with people randomly. Of course, it also increases the chances of meeting idiots whose idea of fun is to piss everybody off, but hey.

..sorry I was thinking of Rikku

Persistant definately. It feels much richer....

But then I'm a mutant who likes seeing people running around in the world, the competion for mobs, if ya have trouble with something you can ask a person running by for help...yadda yadda.

And yes this stuff happens in many other games not just WoW

I cant think of anyone who would truly prefer instanced. Instanced is little more than a good way to save server costs yet retain good gameplay.

snap

Indeed Sino

They're good for different reasons.

Persistent Worlds both make for both a friendlier and unfriendlier environment depending on your circumstances. I suppose you can say, it's more interesting than instances.

However, as a solitary type of guy who likes controlling the quality of people I have to deal with while playing, I love instances.

I hate how cities tend to be handled in both Instanced and Persistant Worlds.

Persistant worlds have those laggy towns packed with people (Ironforge in World of Warcraft, Jeuno in Final Fantasy XI).

Guild Wars well...pretty much have glorified chat hub with the outposts being a crutch to their matching service. Building parties is a definate weak point of Guild Wars. Admittedly the outpost system and the human element are equally to blame.

I think each district in Guild Wars needs to double or triple their capacity.

I never played any other online game besides GW yet, and the idea of an EQ type environment sounds interesting to me. However, from what I have experienced so far with other human players, I appreciate the way GW is built up which allows me to get away from all the idiots and obnoxious players.

I have achieved a sort of persistence in GW. My playing partner and I have accumulated a good group of "friends" who we enjoy teaming up with, and whenever we log on we look to see who is online and what they are up to. On the other hand, when we are tired of, or pestered by, undesireable players, we simply get away from them, don't party with them, etc.

well having really balanced pvp pretty much requires instance since in persistant worlds you cant always control the sizes of the teams and bystanders can get in the way were in instance you can have set teams with a maximum ammount of people with no bystanders to block you or otherwise distract from battle

Really? You should check out WoW's PvP..it ranges and can go up to 40 vs 40, people join in at any time and whatnot. It works to some degree.

but is the pvp instanced or persistant i was talking about persistant in persistant bystanders not involed in the pvp can get in the way

also how can 40 v 40 be that great thats just like chaos.... might as well play an fps in deathmatch mode no tactics required

I don't enjoy the IDEA of a hugely persistant world much more than I do instances, but with a persistant enviornment comes kill stealing, and general asshole-ish behavior. So I like in reality, instances more.

Though, I will say this.

I really REALLY wish you could SEE the towns and people you were walking up to, the great thing about a persistant enviornment is seeing the town and looking at it from far away, then running into it's streets. It really sucks in GW how you just...walk up to a swirly portal thing. If those damn portals didn't look so fake, and if you could see the actual town part of it (maybe with some people walking around) as you were walking up to the portal, it'd be much cooler.

I used to play runescape, and I hated having high level players come in and kill/mine/fish/chop whatever it was you were trying to do before you did. Instances ftw!

Yeah its annoying to see portals and an empty town. At least show fake NPC's walking around...

Well I'm a newbie to online gaming - GW being my first and only so far. I have to say that it can be a little lonely out there at times. I guess I would like persistent worlds, but if there going to be as unfriendly as the towns sometimes are, then maybe not.

I'm going to go for ... umm ...

/persistent (I'll take the risk)

I like instances, because, generally, other people suck.

I like a persistant world because, well...I'm cruel and enjoy the pk environment, I suppose. Open pvp, persistant world, destroyable cities (or guild halls), happy times. Makes for a tighter guild, and creates intense forum politics.

Just waiting for an up-to-date game along those lines to catch my eye.