6:49 pm, October 1, 2013
238
Manifesto In Flames - What Can Be Done?
As of Yesterday
https://www.guildwar...-ascended-gear/
"This is just the beginning. In November, were only adding the first level of Infusions and Ascended Rings and Back slots, so that leaves us a lot of room to build upon these levels of Item progression in future content. As we release more new end game content in the future, youll see more Infusions and Ascended item types being added to the game. Eventually, youll be able to kit yourself out with a full set of Ascended gear and high end Infusions to help give you the edge in end game content."
- Lindsey Murdock, Game Designer
3 Months Earlier
http://venturebeat.c...s:guildwars2-16
"Here's what we believe: If someone wants to play for a thousand hours to get an item that is so rare that other players can't realistically acquire it, that rare item should be differentiated by its visual appearance and rarity alone, not by being more powerful than everything else in the game. Otherwise, your MMO becomes all about grinding to get the best gear. We don't make grindy games -- we leave the grind to other MMOs."
-Mike Obrien, President of Arenanet
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While it is pretty clear of what Arenanet has in mind going forward, many of us want to know "What happened?" One does not simply decide to simply build a MMO claiming to "defy all existing conventions" & 2 months down the road completely change ones business practices & betray its playerbase without reason.
Some speculate "No endgame, not enough micro-transactions, player activity declining" & well I have a opinion on those matters which I will share, but none of these issues should have been addressed with a gear treadmill/power creep. This is one of the milestones Arenanet promised its playerbase which made it unique in the MMO industry & now threatens to go back on.
No Endgame:
While I am sure to get opposition on this, I happen to agree on this matter. GW2 is very limited on endgame. Here is #1 reason. Players are limited to 2 Zones. We have a MASSIVE world out there & only 2 zones are populated. Why has this issue gone overlooked. Currently the majority of the 80 population is found in 1 of 3 areas. Lions Arch, Orr, Frostgorge. Why? There is no incentive/reward for players to be active in the other zones. T6 crafting materials, exotic/rare drops, higher exp/karma/silver for participating in dynamic events.
Suggestion:
Zaishen Daily Dynamic Events - Each day 1 zone is selected (Outside of Orr/Frostgorge). For the first completion of every dynamic event in that zone the player would be rewarded a large % increase to Dynamic event rewards. Significantly higher than that of Orr/Frostgorge. For example: Orr/Frostgorge reward something like 378 karma for completion. ZDDE would reward 500. Once every dynamic event in the zone was completed the player would be rewarded with a 20-30 T6 mats of their choice & a fair sum of silver. ZDDE applies to 80's only. (Yes, I'm aware it would have to be affiliated with some other organization, just using Zaishen as a GW1 reference)
Not Enough Microtransactions:
This is 100% on Arenanet. Currently there is nothing in the gemstore that appeals to me as a player. I do not speak for everyone but I think many would agree that items such as Black Lion Keys are not a viable purchase. I conducted a study on these very forums & the numbers speak for themselves.
http://www.guildwars...een-r-d-thread/
The probability of a player getting a desirable item such as the permanent bank/trader is likely less than 1%. When Black Lion Keys are going for roughly 1G which equates to $2.00 US Dollars, its hard to justify such a gamble.
Suggestion:
New additions need to be added to the gem store more frequently & not just during holiday events. Additions such as unique emotes, musical instruments etc. Black Lion Chests need to have a much much more appealing drop % for desirable items. 5-6% would be more realistic for items such as permanent bank/trader etc.
Player Activity Declining:
I don't necessary agree with this. I will say that of my 6 friends who started playing GW2, I am the only one continuing to do so but my inner circle is not indicative of the games population as a whole. GW2 is unique in that there are no monthly fees. So one has the freedom of coming on & playing when he/she chooses. I think we will always see a increase in activity during event weekends & lulls when there is not. I feel GW2 is fine, but when one fundamentally changes the games core philosophy with additions such as the one that is coming it is very possible that players will move on/leave. After all, "No grind/No treadmill" was one of if not the main selling point of this franchise.
https://www.guildwar...-ascended-gear/
"This is just the beginning. In November, were only adding the first level of Infusions and Ascended Rings and Back slots, so that leaves us a lot of room to build upon these levels of Item progression in future content. As we release more new end game content in the future, youll see more Infusions and Ascended item types being added to the game. Eventually, youll be able to kit yourself out with a full set of Ascended gear and high end Infusions to help give you the edge in end game content."
- Lindsey Murdock, Game Designer
3 Months Earlier
http://venturebeat.c...s:guildwars2-16
"Here's what we believe: If someone wants to play for a thousand hours to get an item that is so rare that other players can't realistically acquire it, that rare item should be differentiated by its visual appearance and rarity alone, not by being more powerful than everything else in the game. Otherwise, your MMO becomes all about grinding to get the best gear. We don't make grindy games -- we leave the grind to other MMOs."
-Mike Obrien, President of Arenanet
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While it is pretty clear of what Arenanet has in mind going forward, many of us want to know "What happened?" One does not simply decide to simply build a MMO claiming to "defy all existing conventions" & 2 months down the road completely change ones business practices & betray its playerbase without reason.
Some speculate "No endgame, not enough micro-transactions, player activity declining" & well I have a opinion on those matters which I will share, but none of these issues should have been addressed with a gear treadmill/power creep. This is one of the milestones Arenanet promised its playerbase which made it unique in the MMO industry & now threatens to go back on.
No Endgame:
While I am sure to get opposition on this, I happen to agree on this matter. GW2 is very limited on endgame. Here is #1 reason. Players are limited to 2 Zones. We have a MASSIVE world out there & only 2 zones are populated. Why has this issue gone overlooked. Currently the majority of the 80 population is found in 1 of 3 areas. Lions Arch, Orr, Frostgorge. Why? There is no incentive/reward for players to be active in the other zones. T6 crafting materials, exotic/rare drops, higher exp/karma/silver for participating in dynamic events.
Suggestion:
Zaishen Daily Dynamic Events - Each day 1 zone is selected (Outside of Orr/Frostgorge). For the first completion of every dynamic event in that zone the player would be rewarded a large % increase to Dynamic event rewards. Significantly higher than that of Orr/Frostgorge. For example: Orr/Frostgorge reward something like 378 karma for completion. ZDDE would reward 500. Once every dynamic event in the zone was completed the player would be rewarded with a 20-30 T6 mats of their choice & a fair sum of silver. ZDDE applies to 80's only. (Yes, I'm aware it would have to be affiliated with some other organization, just using Zaishen as a GW1 reference)
Not Enough Microtransactions:
This is 100% on Arenanet. Currently there is nothing in the gemstore that appeals to me as a player. I do not speak for everyone but I think many would agree that items such as Black Lion Keys are not a viable purchase. I conducted a study on these very forums & the numbers speak for themselves.
http://www.guildwars...een-r-d-thread/
The probability of a player getting a desirable item such as the permanent bank/trader is likely less than 1%. When Black Lion Keys are going for roughly 1G which equates to $2.00 US Dollars, its hard to justify such a gamble.
Suggestion:
New additions need to be added to the gem store more frequently & not just during holiday events. Additions such as unique emotes, musical instruments etc. Black Lion Chests need to have a much much more appealing drop % for desirable items. 5-6% would be more realistic for items such as permanent bank/trader etc.
Player Activity Declining:
I don't necessary agree with this. I will say that of my 6 friends who started playing GW2, I am the only one continuing to do so but my inner circle is not indicative of the games population as a whole. GW2 is unique in that there are no monthly fees. So one has the freedom of coming on & playing when he/she chooses. I think we will always see a increase in activity during event weekends & lulls when there is not. I feel GW2 is fine, but when one fundamentally changes the games core philosophy with additions such as the one that is coming it is very possible that players will move on/leave. After all, "No grind/No treadmill" was one of if not the main selling point of this franchise.