Endgame is not so much about activities that start at lvl cap in the guild wars series. Its something you start on early on in the game already. In the form of achievements, titles and elite armourset looks (not stats).
But I can understand that some players will find it confusing that there is no reason to rush to lvl cap in this game, well except for just being max lvl of course. But there are no exclusive gamefeatures waiting for them at max lvl like raiding or something.
Which is great IMO. Perhaps we can get back a sence of community back into mmos which has been missing for sometime.
Originally posted by Loke666 Not having monthly fees is an advantage in this case. It doesn't really pose a big problem for ANET if people play for 6 months and then take a break until next expansion launches while games like Wow needs to have the players playing all the time.
I have reservations about this point of view. Anet is making GW2 so casual that you can literally take months off without consequence. Of course why should Anet care about that since they already got your money and dont rely on monthly subs. But your game pop and community could be spotty and unpredictable. You could have a ghost town one day then overpop the next. Fair weather gamers are not who I play with in my mmos. But I can understand that there are a LOT of people that welcome this idea and have no problem with it. To each their own.
Dynamic events have not been done before. They are a vast improvement over quests, PQs and rifts.
Now wait, this is not entirely accurate, not to mention that last part is a little on the subjective opinion side. How DE's are set up is different I'll give you that, but this is definitely not the first time dynamic events have been done. It's just the first time they've been done in the manner Anet has implemented them (major PVE content in an MMO).
As for it being a vast improvement over quests, what do you mean by this? I view them more as an alternative to quest dynamics, that doesn't make it a vast improvement over quest dynamics.
Questing isn't just something that's done in WOW. Questing is something done in RPGS's in general. There are great versions of this and there are bad versions of this.
To SB fans, please stop making our demographic look bad.Stop invading threads that have nothing to do with sandboxes.
Dynamic events have not been done before. They are a vast improvement over quests, PQs and rifts.
Now wait, this is not entirely accurate, not to mention that last part is a little on the subjective opinion side. How DE's are set up is different I'll give you that, but this is definitely not the first time dynamic events have been done. It's just the first time they've been done in the manner Anet has implemented them (major PVE content in an MMO).
As for it being a vast improvement over quests, what do you mean by this? I view them more as an alternative to quest dynamics, that doesn't make it a vast improvement over quest dynamics.
Questing isn't just something that's done in WOW. Questing is something done in RPGS's in general. There are great versions of this and there are bad versions of this.
I really don't think there is such a thing as objective opinions
To me it seems like DEs will be a vast improvement over quests in MMOs. You say that RPGs in general have questing, and while this is true, in MMOs, the quests are there to propel you towards endgame. In singleplayer RPGs they are there to move the story forwards. For MMO quests to feel like singleplayer quests, there would have to be real and permanent consequences (without phasing) which is just not possible with today's technology (I think for this to happen there would have to exist some sort of random quest generator that still resulted in meaningful objectives). DEs at least give the illusion of consequences, which I think is a step in the right direction.
I'm sorry if this all sounds like gibberish, I'm really tired but for some reason felt the need to comment.
<childish, provocative and highly speculative banner about your favorite game goes here>
Dynamic events have not been done before. They are a vast improvement over quests, PQs and rifts.
Now wait, this is not entirely accurate, not to mention that last part is a little on the subjective opinion side. How DE's are set up is different I'll give you that, but this is definitely not the first time dynamic events have been done. It's just the first time they've been done in the manner Anet has implemented them (major PVE content in an MMO).
As for it being a vast improvement over quests, what do you mean by this? I view them more as an alternative to quest dynamics, that doesn't make it a vast improvement over quest dynamics.
Questing isn't just something that's done in WOW. Questing is something done in RPGS's in general. There are great versions of this and there are bad versions of this.
opinions are always subjective ;-p
Anyway, Single Player RPG quests are a whole lot better and more interesting than your standard mmo variety. The beauty of the dynamic events is that you can have a different experience for each play through you do. On the other hand, standard quests are going to be the same experience.
Dynamic events have not been done before. They are a vast improvement over quests, PQs and rifts.
Now wait, this is not entirely accurate, not to mention that last part is a little on the subjective opinion side. How DE's are set up is different I'll give you that, but this is definitely not the first time dynamic events have been done. It's just the first time they've been done in the manner Anet has implemented them (major PVE content in an MMO).
As for it being a vast improvement over quests, what do you mean by this? I view them more as an alternative to quest dynamics, that doesn't make it a vast improvement over quest dynamics.
Questing isn't just something that's done in WOW. Questing is something done in RPGS's in general. There are great versions of this and there are bad versions of this.
The concept that ArenaNet has developed and is calling Dynamic Events has not been implemented before. Whatever other MMOs have done which someone could claim to be dynamic content are not Dynamic Events. In other words, when someone talks about Dynamic Events and says that Rift did them first, that is a completely inaccurate thing to say. I'm not just splitting hairs here, they are a completely different concept and in my opinion, GW2's DEs are a better system for a variety of reasons.
As far as being a vast improvement over quests, I am speaking of traditional MMO quests, specifically WoW's leveling quests. It is indeed a subjective opinion. In my opinion, dynamic events are superior to these WoW style leveling quests in every conceivable way. About the only way that DEs aren't superior to WoW style quests is in presenting a player with an epic solo journey. This is why GW2 will have the Personal Story mode in addition to DEs.
"Gamers will no longer buy the argument that every MMO requires a subscription fee to offset server and bandwidth costs. It's not true you know it, and they know it."-Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet, 2007
Lol, they have dungeons (instances) like any other mmo in the market, and ¨dynamic evens¨ like Rift did it before and WvWvW every 15 days?.
It's GW2, didn't you know they could get away with it?
Dynamic events have not been done before. They are a vast improvement over quests, PQs and rifts.
They have dungeons with a story mode which then unlocks an explorable mode with three paths which show the aftermath of the story. They also contain random events to keep it fresh, as well as hidden events. One example they gave would be that if you used a jar of bees as an environmental weapon on a certain monster, it smashes down a sectional of wall in a rage and opens up a hidden area.
They have continuous WvWvW PVP, the article is poorly worded. He's saying you get a bonus for winning and that the bonus lasts for the two weeks while the next WvWvW match is being played.
Ignore the people who love to hate. Especially Naz.
Now wait, this is not entirely accurate, not to mention that last part is a little on the subjective opinion side. How DE's are set up is different I'll give you that, but this is definitely not the first time dynamic events have been done. It's just the first time they've been done in the manner Anet has implemented them (major PVE content in an MMO).
As for it being a vast improvement over quests, what do you mean by this? I view them more as an alternative to quest dynamics, that doesn't make it a vast improvement over quest dynamics.
Questing isn't just something that's done in WOW. Questing is something done in RPGS's in general. There are great versions of this and there are bad versions of this.
I really don't think there is such a thing as objective opinions
To me it seems like DEs will be a vast improvement over quests in MMOs. You say that RPGs in general have questing, and while this is true, in MMOs, the quests are there to propel you towards endgame. In singleplayer RPGs they are there to move the story forwards. For MMO quests to feel like singleplayer quests, there would have to be real and permanent consequences (without phasing) which is just not possible with today's technology (I think for this to happen there would have to exist some sort of random quest generator that still resulted in meaningful objectives). DEs at least give the illusion of consequences, which I think is a step in the right direction.
I'm sorry if this all sounds like gibberish, I'm really tired but for some reason felt the need to comment.
There isn't, it didn't sound as though it was stated as an opinion at all. It came off more like a hardline statement. :P
(yellow) I'm sure many would say the same about TOR's questing design, as most report if feels similar to ME or KOTOR. Which basically just reinforces my orginal point, that questing can still be done well, it's just a matter of making it feeel like an adventure rather than a grind.
I won't argue that GW2 sounds more entralling than WOW's questing, I had more fun watching a hurricane blow through Baltimore this weekend than I did playing WOW though, and I was without power for almost three days. In short it doesn't say much to say it's better than MMO questing :P. Not to make a statement about GW2 being bad mind you, just that i feel WOW questing is that bad..
To SB fans, please stop making our demographic look bad.Stop invading threads that have nothing to do with sandboxes.
Now wait, this is not entirely accurate, not to mention that last part is a little on the subjective opinion side. How DE's are set up is different I'll give you that, but this is definitely not the first time dynamic events have been done. It's just the first time they've been done in the manner Anet has implemented them (major PVE content in an MMO).
As for it being a vast improvement over quests, what do you mean by this? I view them more as an alternative to quest dynamics, that doesn't make it a vast improvement over quest dynamics.
Questing isn't just something that's done in WOW. Questing is something done in RPGS's in general. There are great versions of this and there are bad versions of this.
I really don't think there is such a thing as objective opinions
To me it seems like DEs will be a vast improvement over quests in MMOs. You say that RPGs in general have questing, and while this is true, in MMOs, the quests are there to propel you towards endgame. In singleplayer RPGs they are there to move the story forwards. For MMO quests to feel like singleplayer quests, there would have to be real and permanent consequences (without phasing) which is just not possible with today's technology (I think for this to happen there would have to exist some sort of random quest generator that still resulted in meaningful objectives). DEs at least give the illusion of consequences, which I think is a step in the right direction.
I'm sorry if this all sounds like gibberish, I'm really tired but for some reason felt the need to comment.
There isn't, it didn't sound as though it was stated as an opinion at all. It came off more like a hardline statement. :P
(yellow) I'm sure many would say the same about TOR's questing design, as most report if feels similar to ME or KOTOR. Which basically just reinforces my orginal point, that questing can still be done well, it's just a matter of making it feeel like an adventure rather than a grind.
I won't argue that GW2 sounds more entralling than WOW's questing, I had more fun watching a hurricane blow through Baltimore this weekend than I did playing WOW though, and I was without power for almost three days. In short it doesn't say much to say it's better than MMO questing :P. Not to make a statement about GW2 being bad mind you, just that i feel WOW questing is that bad..
You know what the sad thing is about that statement (underlined part)? Is that WoW probably has some of the better questing in mmos. Kind of a statement on quest quality in the genre right now I think.
The writer completely forgot about scaling down. This means, that at level cap, you can enjoy the WHOLE WORLD. You still get rewarded for participating in level 20 areas, because you yourself will be downscaled to level 20-ish.
This feature is not exclusive as end-game content, but it sure opens up a lot of content.
Think about most other MMO on the market, when you hit max level, you can only enjoy 10-15 percent of the world, because you don't get rewarded for any of the lower level content. In GW2, you can enjoy the entire world at level 80. The only mssing feature is the personal story aspect...
GW2 sounds awesome, and kudos for them of not following the accepted end game=raiding model. Mentoring is wonderful (EQ2 has it and does make replay/grouping with lower level friends fun).
The WvWvW over a two week period. I wonder how that will be scored? Who holds it at the end? That will result in a mass of people the last day I would think. Holding a large scale zone 24/7 for two weeks, will be interesting.
Definitely can't wait for this one. I hope it's all it's hyped to be.
I can't recall a mmorpg where you even had more then 100 vs 100 on the same map so how are they going to do 1000 vs 1000?
What's that you say; there are instances of 10 vs 10 times 100?
No seriously how does this world vs world work?
Guess you never played Dark Age of Camelot. I was in a few 200 (mid) vs 200(hibs) vs 300(alb) battle already during a massive relic raid on more then a few occassions.
This makes me think they should make WvWvW more like a sport with a regular season and standings for your world. Include win/loss record and even a championship series at the end of the season. I think it would give people even more reason to contribute than just a server buff. Including individual stats would make it even more interesting to see how you stack up against other people. I would most definitely be into that!
Guild Wars 2 is one of those games where I believe it's going to be about the journey and story along with traditional RPG elements like loot collecting. So many other games are built so that you rush to the end to experience the "real" game. I like the way GW2 is shaping up!
Agreed. Not having monthly fees is an advantage in this case. It doesn't really pose a big problem for ANET if people play for 6 months and then take a break until next expansion launches while games like Wow needs to have the players playing all the time.
Wait so making less money is an advantage to a business?
How does WoW need players playing all the time and why doesn't Guild Wars 2?
"And what makes it all worth it, is that the winning server will receive a blessing for their “world” for another two weeks until the next battle begins."
Hmm, let me get this straight ... each WvWvW battle lasts a week and then you have to wait two weeks for the next WvWvW fun to begin?!
So "world pvp" not only restricted in place (designated zones only) but also restricted in time?
Does this mean you can't enter the WvWvW area in those weeks inbetween? Or is the battle fought after a week and then the zones become a barren battlefield without objectives yet with the option to roam around looking for pvp if you so desire?
I had the impression that every battle lasted a week, immediately followed up by the next one.
*confused*
I think you need to read that whole paragraph again.
"That’s right, players can player either normal PvP, or choose to go into battle where three whole servers will duke it out on hugely epic persistent battlegrounds, trying to take over castles and keeps for two whole weeks."
You battle for two weeks, winner gets the blessings, battle for another two weeks, new winner gets the blessings, and so on and so forth. I dont think it stops at all.
The concept that ArenaNet has developed and is calling Dynamic Events has not been implemented before. Whatever other MMOs have done which someone could claim to be dynamic content are not Dynamic Events. In other words, when someone talks about Dynamic Events and says that Rift did them first, that is a completely inaccurate thing to say. I'm not just splitting hairs here, they are a completely different concept and in my opinion, GW2's DEs are a better system for a variety of reasons.
As far as being a vast improvement over quests, I am speaking of traditional MMO quests, specifically WoW's leveling quests. It is indeed a subjective opinion. In my opinion, dynamic events are superior to these WoW style leveling quests in every conceivable way. About the only way that DEs aren't superior to WoW style quests is in presenting a player with an epic solo journey. This is why GW2 will have the Personal Story mode in addition to DEs.
Like I said it's never been done in an MMO not in the way arena net is doing it anyway. Correct me if I'm wrong but couldn't the way in which DE's are set up essentially be compared to RTS AI? With a guide system in place that lets you know where your minions (in this case villagers) are in trouble? The consequences seem pretty identical in the case of failure. The way in which the events play out, seems similar to age of empires to me after further study of them. Given many at Anets background it wouldn't surprise me to see influence from the RTS genre.
Just to clarify if it is indeed influenced by such designs I think that's actually a good thing.
To SB fans, please stop making our demographic look bad.Stop invading threads that have nothing to do with sandboxes.
Guild Wars 2 is one of those games where I believe it's going to be about the journey and story along with traditional RPG elements like loot collecting. So many other games are built so that you rush to the end to experience the "real" game. I like the way GW2 is shaping up!
Agreed. Not having monthly fees is an advantage in this case. It doesn't really pose a big problem for ANET if people play for 6 months and then take a break until next expansion launches while games like Wow needs to have the players playing all the time.
Wait so making less money is an advantage to a business?
How does WoW need players playing all the time and why doesn't Guild Wars 2?
WoW is the exception to the rule because they got to the casual market first and people are already paying its sub, so it's hard to compare directly to WoW. When 11+ million people are paying your sub and the threshold for turning a profit is like 200k, it's really hard to believe that WoW "needs" players playing all the time. It's also really hard to say B2P is the way to go unless GW2 exceeds all expectations. But like I said, WoW is the exception so let's instead compare GW2 to a new P2P MMO instead.
All other things being equal, GW2 sells more copies than the P2P. People don't have to sub to two games or worry about cancelling their other sub. It can also be purchased as a gift or by parents for their children. In the case of GW1 in particular, I think it's safe to say that it sold vastly more copies than it would have had it been P2P. It significantly outearned the P2P City of Heroes over the same timeframe so it's not necessarily the case that a P2P always outearns a B2P.
Secondary to the initial purchase, people who bought GW2 because it was B2P and wouldn't have bought it if it were P2P are candidates for buying stuff in the cash shop and paid expansion content. Because of higher box sales and potential for secondary income, not everybody needs to pay $15 a month to equal what a P2P might make
One real concern for a P2P MMO is the market share that WoW has. MMOs are social games. For a person to leave WoW and play another game, they have to both be willing to give up on their progress in WoW, but also the game probably has to be good enough that the person is able to convince their friends to switch over as well. A non-WoW P2P MMO might take subs from WoW for a month or two and then that player might go back to WoW, or simply give it up if they've progressed through enough of the content and want to stop paying the sub. If they do, they're not earning much more than if it had been B2P due to the free month. With a B2P MMO, the player doesn't have to make that decision, they can keep playing (and potentially buy through the cash shop) or just put the game on hold while they wait for an expansion.
In GW1's case in particular, people are buying the trilogy and EOTN at a discounted price years after release. ArenaNet isn't making huge money per sale, but I think the majority of those sales don't happen at all if the game is P2P.
It will be interesting to see a year or two from now what GW2's income looks like on NCSoft's quarterly reports compared to the 3 million or so Asian subs of Aion. Until then, all we can do is speculate, especially since we're not sure what kind of expansion content GW2 will offer. If I had to guess though, I'd say ArenaNet and NCSoft will be very pleased at how things will have worked out.
"Gamers will no longer buy the argument that every MMO requires a subscription fee to offset server and bandwidth costs. It's not true you know it, and they know it."-Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet, 2007
The author should do some more research, maybe talk to the devs to help clear up some misconceptions, then get back to us. (Not a slight, when a game deviates so much from the established way of doing things, there are always going to be a ot of misconceptions, among fans and among people who write about games professionally)!
As others have said, the old concept of MMO "End Game" doesn't really apply in GW2.
With Dynamic Event Chains replacing Quests and the game world being extremely dynamic and ever changing, every time you play through a zone, it will be a different experience and there will also be changes to the environment that reflect the outcomes of previous events along the chain.
The game also has an automatic "side kick" system, that actually scales characters of a higher level down to a level appropriate for what ever content they are participating in. This keeps content of any level fun and challenging for you, no matter how much higher your actual level is. Plus, your loot is determined to make sure it's appropriate for your actual level, not the scaled down level.
As you level up, all the way to the level cap, you still have meaningful access to all the lower level content that makes up the dynamic world of GW2. Reaching the Level Cap just means that you now have access to all the content in the game, so the entire game world IS "end game content". (That doesn't mean that there isn't content designed for level 80, because there is, but it will only be a small portion of all the content available to you at the level cap).
The whole idea of "endgame" was a mistake that was caused by developers getting caught with their pants down and needing to keep players busy so the subscription revenue would keep rolling in until expansion time. That mistake grew into a giant monster and "engame" has almost consumed every other aspect of MMOs.
Endgame, by its very nature in current MMOs, is just the worst kind of bait-and-switch gameplay...where players are forced to completely change their play style when they reach max level. Because of this, you get players who either hate the journey through the levels and want to rush it as much as possible to get to the game play they like (the typical modern conventional wisdom says the MMO should be designed for these people), or you get players who just want to play, explore, and enjoy the journey...and current MMOs have very little to offer that player once they reach max level. Lazy development has lead to less and less replayability in the modern formula game, so unless you like to grind for layer upon layer of gear that's only useful in regard to the next layer of grind, you're pretty much done with the game in very short order.
GW2 will be taking the genre off of the whole failed "endgame" experiment that should have been gone a long time ago. They are actually using innovative design and some new ideas to create a game where an endgame bait-and-switch and timesinks aren't even necessary. There's no "endgame" in GW2 as the word is defined in the modern genre, there's just the game. People need to realize that in order to really understand this new game, they are going to have to leave their preconceived notions at the door. The conventional definitions and labels just don't fit this game very well, because ArenaNet is actually taking a different approach to many of the fundamental issues in the genre...rather than just putting their own little spin or spice on the same old mechanics and systems.
Instead of rushing to get to the part you enjoy, just play the way you like to play from level 1. Instead of doing one thing for 80 levels and then being pigeon-holed into a completely different play style if you want to remain in the world...just play the way you like to play from level 1 until you stop playing. Forget the arbitrary and stale definitions and labels for play styles and for types of content and just play. People are going to have to go into GW2 with an open mind, or they are going to be pretty lost. We shouldn't be trying to describe the game in terms that don't really define it or fit... this ain't a "traditional" (read: WoW formula) MMORPG. Thank God, finally.
EDIT: Further reading in case anyone is bored -
A rather prophetic post from 2009. Little did I know that ArenaNet was in the process of doing exactly what I was thinking... Did they read my mind?
More talk of engame in context of the genre. ArenaNet, in so many ways, has gone back to the roots of the genre and re-examined the conventional wisdom...they are getting rid of many of the problematic and destructive tangents developers ended up on in the last decade, and replacing them with genuine creative new solutions.
Each WvWvW match lasts 2 weeks. Once it finishes, an new match will start directly after that. The blessing i assume will last the duration of the next match.
The whole concept of "endgame" content is broken and retarded. I don't understand why a game should suddenly change focus once I reach the end, and have me doing completely different things than I was doing before. Also, if endgame is the focus, then it makes everything that comes before just a race to get to the real part. The "endgame" should start when you first log in, and continue until much later when you get bored of the game and stop. Or forever, if you never get bored. I like getting bored though, it means I can go play other games. Who wants to play ONE game for the rest of your life?
Endgame as it's most often used is really just repainting grind and hiding the fact that you've already done everything that's interesting to do in the game, to keep you playing when there is actually no reason to. It works because by that point you are an addict, and it doesn't take much to keep you going.
Once you are trained to press the lever over and over for random chance of a pellet to pop out, you will keep doing it even when the random chance drops to near zero, especially if there are flashing lights every so often that say you almost got one!
Comments
Which is great IMO. Perhaps we can get back a sence of community back into mmos which has been missing for sometime.
I have reservations about this point of view. Anet is making GW2 so casual that you can literally take months off without consequence. Of course why should Anet care about that since they already got your money and dont rely on monthly subs. But your game pop and community could be spotty and unpredictable. You could have a ghost town one day then overpop the next. Fair weather gamers are not who I play with in my mmos. But I can understand that there are a LOT of people that welcome this idea and have no problem with it. To each their own.
Now wait, this is not entirely accurate, not to mention that last part is a little on the subjective opinion side. How DE's are set up is different I'll give you that, but this is definitely not the first time dynamic events have been done. It's just the first time they've been done in the manner Anet has implemented them (major PVE content in an MMO).
As for it being a vast improvement over quests, what do you mean by this? I view them more as an alternative to quest dynamics, that doesn't make it a vast improvement over quest dynamics.
Questing isn't just something that's done in WOW. Questing is something done in RPGS's in general. There are great versions of this and there are bad versions of this.
To SB fans, please stop making our demographic look bad.Stop invading threads that have nothing to do with sandboxes.
SW:TOR Graphics Evolution and Comparison
SW:TOR Compare MMO Quests, Combat and More...
I really don't think there is such a thing as objective opinions
To me it seems like DEs will be a vast improvement over quests in MMOs. You say that RPGs in general have questing, and while this is true, in MMOs, the quests are there to propel you towards endgame. In singleplayer RPGs they are there to move the story forwards. For MMO quests to feel like singleplayer quests, there would have to be real and permanent consequences (without phasing) which is just not possible with today's technology (I think for this to happen there would have to exist some sort of random quest generator that still resulted in meaningful objectives). DEs at least give the illusion of consequences, which I think is a step in the right direction.
I'm sorry if this all sounds like gibberish, I'm really tired but for some reason felt the need to comment.
<childish, provocative and highly speculative banner about your favorite game goes here>
opinions are always subjective ;-p
Anyway, Single Player RPG quests are a whole lot better and more interesting than your standard mmo variety. The beauty of the dynamic events is that you can have a different experience for each play through you do. On the other hand, standard quests are going to be the same experience.
The concept that ArenaNet has developed and is calling Dynamic Events has not been implemented before. Whatever other MMOs have done which someone could claim to be dynamic content are not Dynamic Events. In other words, when someone talks about Dynamic Events and says that Rift did them first, that is a completely inaccurate thing to say. I'm not just splitting hairs here, they are a completely different concept and in my opinion, GW2's DEs are a better system for a variety of reasons.
As far as being a vast improvement over quests, I am speaking of traditional MMO quests, specifically WoW's leveling quests. It is indeed a subjective opinion. In my opinion, dynamic events are superior to these WoW style leveling quests in every conceivable way. About the only way that DEs aren't superior to WoW style quests is in presenting a player with an epic solo journey. This is why GW2 will have the Personal Story mode in addition to DEs.
"Gamers will no longer buy the argument that every MMO requires a subscription fee to offset server and bandwidth costs. It's not true you know it, and they know it." -Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet, 2007
Ignore the people who love to hate. Especially Naz.
This is not a game.
There isn't, it didn't sound as though it was stated as an opinion at all. It came off more like a hardline statement. :P
(yellow) I'm sure many would say the same about TOR's questing design, as most report if feels similar to ME or KOTOR. Which basically just reinforces my orginal point, that questing can still be done well, it's just a matter of making it feeel like an adventure rather than a grind.
I won't argue that GW2 sounds more entralling than WOW's questing, I had more fun watching a hurricane blow through Baltimore this weekend than I did playing WOW though, and I was without power for almost three days. In short it doesn't say much to say it's better than MMO questing :P. Not to make a statement about GW2 being bad mind you, just that i feel WOW questing is that bad..
To SB fans, please stop making our demographic look bad.Stop invading threads that have nothing to do with sandboxes.
SW:TOR Graphics Evolution and Comparison
SW:TOR Compare MMO Quests, Combat and More...
You know what the sad thing is about that statement (underlined part)? Is that WoW probably has some of the better questing in mmos. Kind of a statement on quest quality in the genre right now I think.
The writer completely forgot about scaling down. This means, that at level cap, you can enjoy the WHOLE WORLD. You still get rewarded for participating in level 20 areas, because you yourself will be downscaled to level 20-ish.
This feature is not exclusive as end-game content, but it sure opens up a lot of content.
Think about most other MMO on the market, when you hit max level, you can only enjoy 10-15 percent of the world, because you don't get rewarded for any of the lower level content. In GW2, you can enjoy the entire world at level 80. The only mssing feature is the personal story aspect...
i just hope this game lives to it's expectations and hype it's been getting..... :-/
GW2 sounds awesome, and kudos for them of not following the accepted end game=raiding model. Mentoring is wonderful (EQ2 has it and does make replay/grouping with lower level friends fun).
The WvWvW over a two week period. I wonder how that will be scored? Who holds it at the end? That will result in a mass of people the last day I would think. Holding a large scale zone 24/7 for two weeks, will be interesting.
Definitely can't wait for this one. I hope it's all it's hyped to be.
Proud member of Hammerfist Clan Gaming Community.
Currently playing: RIFT, EQ2, WoW, LoTRO
Retired: Warhammer, AoC, EQ
Waiting: SWToR & GW2
Guess you never played Dark Age of Camelot. I was in a few 200 (mid) vs 200(hibs) vs 300(alb) battle already during a massive relic raid on more then a few occassions.
Wait so making less money is an advantage to a business?
How does WoW need players playing all the time and why doesn't Guild Wars 2?
I think you need to read that whole paragraph again.
"That’s right, players can player either normal PvP, or choose to go into battle where three whole servers will duke it out on hugely epic persistent battlegrounds, trying to take over castles and keeps for two whole weeks."
You battle for two weeks, winner gets the blessings, battle for another two weeks, new winner gets the blessings, and so on and so forth. I dont think it stops at all.
Like I said it's never been done in an MMO not in the way arena net is doing it anyway. Correct me if I'm wrong but couldn't the way in which DE's are set up essentially be compared to RTS AI? With a guide system in place that lets you know where your minions (in this case villagers) are in trouble? The consequences seem pretty identical in the case of failure. The way in which the events play out, seems similar to age of empires to me after further study of them. Given many at Anets background it wouldn't surprise me to see influence from the RTS genre.
Just to clarify if it is indeed influenced by such designs I think that's actually a good thing.
To SB fans, please stop making our demographic look bad.Stop invading threads that have nothing to do with sandboxes.
SW:TOR Graphics Evolution and Comparison
SW:TOR Compare MMO Quests, Combat and More...
WoW is the exception to the rule because they got to the casual market first and people are already paying its sub, so it's hard to compare directly to WoW. When 11+ million people are paying your sub and the threshold for turning a profit is like 200k, it's really hard to believe that WoW "needs" players playing all the time. It's also really hard to say B2P is the way to go unless GW2 exceeds all expectations. But like I said, WoW is the exception so let's instead compare GW2 to a new P2P MMO instead.
All other things being equal, GW2 sells more copies than the P2P. People don't have to sub to two games or worry about cancelling their other sub. It can also be purchased as a gift or by parents for their children. In the case of GW1 in particular, I think it's safe to say that it sold vastly more copies than it would have had it been P2P. It significantly outearned the P2P City of Heroes over the same timeframe so it's not necessarily the case that a P2P always outearns a B2P.
Secondary to the initial purchase, people who bought GW2 because it was B2P and wouldn't have bought it if it were P2P are candidates for buying stuff in the cash shop and paid expansion content. Because of higher box sales and potential for secondary income, not everybody needs to pay $15 a month to equal what a P2P might make
One real concern for a P2P MMO is the market share that WoW has. MMOs are social games. For a person to leave WoW and play another game, they have to both be willing to give up on their progress in WoW, but also the game probably has to be good enough that the person is able to convince their friends to switch over as well. A non-WoW P2P MMO might take subs from WoW for a month or two and then that player might go back to WoW, or simply give it up if they've progressed through enough of the content and want to stop paying the sub. If they do, they're not earning much more than if it had been B2P due to the free month. With a B2P MMO, the player doesn't have to make that decision, they can keep playing (and potentially buy through the cash shop) or just put the game on hold while they wait for an expansion.
In GW1's case in particular, people are buying the trilogy and EOTN at a discounted price years after release. ArenaNet isn't making huge money per sale, but I think the majority of those sales don't happen at all if the game is P2P.
It will be interesting to see a year or two from now what GW2's income looks like on NCSoft's quarterly reports compared to the 3 million or so Asian subs of Aion. Until then, all we can do is speculate, especially since we're not sure what kind of expansion content GW2 will offer. If I had to guess though, I'd say ArenaNet and NCSoft will be very pleased at how things will have worked out.
"Gamers will no longer buy the argument that every MMO requires a subscription fee to offset server and bandwidth costs. It's not true you know it, and they know it." -Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet, 2007
The author should do some more research, maybe talk to the devs to help clear up some misconceptions, then get back to us.
(Not a slight, when a game deviates so much from the established way of doing things, there are always going to be a ot of misconceptions, among fans and among people who write about games professionally)!
As others have said, the old concept of MMO "End Game" doesn't really apply in GW2.
With Dynamic Event Chains replacing Quests and the game world being extremely dynamic and ever changing, every time you play through a zone, it will be a different experience and there will also be changes to the environment that reflect the outcomes of previous events along the chain.
The game also has an automatic "side kick" system, that actually scales characters of a higher level down to a level appropriate for what ever content they are participating in. This keeps content of any level fun and challenging for you, no matter how much higher your actual level is. Plus, your loot is determined to make sure it's appropriate for your actual level, not the scaled down level.
As you level up, all the way to the level cap, you still have meaningful access to all the lower level content that makes up the dynamic world of GW2. Reaching the Level Cap just means that you now have access to all the content in the game, so the entire game world IS "end game content". (That doesn't mean that there isn't content designed for level 80, because there is, but it will only be a small portion of all the content available to you at the level cap).
Want to know more about GW2 and why there is so much buzz? Start here: Guild Wars 2 Mass Info for the Uninitiated
The whole idea of "endgame" was a mistake that was caused by developers getting caught with their pants down and needing to keep players busy so the subscription revenue would keep rolling in until expansion time. That mistake grew into a giant monster and "engame" has almost consumed every other aspect of MMOs.
Endgame, by its very nature in current MMOs, is just the worst kind of bait-and-switch gameplay...where players are forced to completely change their play style when they reach max level. Because of this, you get players who either hate the journey through the levels and want to rush it as much as possible to get to the game play they like (the typical modern conventional wisdom says the MMO should be designed for these people), or you get players who just want to play, explore, and enjoy the journey...and current MMOs have very little to offer that player once they reach max level. Lazy development has lead to less and less replayability in the modern formula game, so unless you like to grind for layer upon layer of gear that's only useful in regard to the next layer of grind, you're pretty much done with the game in very short order.
GW2 will be taking the genre off of the whole failed "endgame" experiment that should have been gone a long time ago. They are actually using innovative design and some new ideas to create a game where an endgame bait-and-switch and timesinks aren't even necessary. There's no "endgame" in GW2 as the word is defined in the modern genre, there's just the game. People need to realize that in order to really understand this new game, they are going to have to leave their preconceived notions at the door. The conventional definitions and labels just don't fit this game very well, because ArenaNet is actually taking a different approach to many of the fundamental issues in the genre...rather than just putting their own little spin or spice on the same old mechanics and systems.
Instead of rushing to get to the part you enjoy, just play the way you like to play from level 1. Instead of doing one thing for 80 levels and then being pigeon-holed into a completely different play style if you want to remain in the world...just play the way you like to play from level 1 until you stop playing. Forget the arbitrary and stale definitions and labels for play styles and for types of content and just play. People are going to have to go into GW2 with an open mind, or they are going to be pretty lost. We shouldn't be trying to describe the game in terms that don't really define it or fit... this ain't a "traditional" (read: WoW formula) MMORPG. Thank God, finally.
EDIT: Further reading in case anyone is bored -
A rather prophetic post from 2009. Little did I know that ArenaNet was in the process of doing exactly what I was thinking... Did they read my mind?
More talk of engame in context of the genre. ArenaNet, in so many ways, has gone back to the roots of the genre and re-examined the conventional wisdom...they are getting rid of many of the problematic and destructive tangents developers ended up on in the last decade, and replacing them with genuine creative new solutions.
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
What Leongti said. Our columnist forgets perhaps one of the most essential system/feature in the game. Oh well, can't catch'em all!
And for everything else, there is a wiki explenation: http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Sidekick
Each WvWvW match lasts 2 weeks. Once it finishes, an new match will start directly after that. The blessing i assume will last the duration of the next match.
The whole concept of "endgame" content is broken and retarded. I don't understand why a game should suddenly change focus once I reach the end, and have me doing completely different things than I was doing before. Also, if endgame is the focus, then it makes everything that comes before just a race to get to the real part. The "endgame" should start when you first log in, and continue until much later when you get bored of the game and stop. Or forever, if you never get bored. I like getting bored though, it means I can go play other games. Who wants to play ONE game for the rest of your life?
Endgame as it's most often used is really just repainting grind and hiding the fact that you've already done everything that's interesting to do in the game, to keep you playing when there is actually no reason to. It works because by that point you are an addict, and it doesn't take much to keep you going.
Once you are trained to press the lever over and over for random chance of a pellet to pop out, you will keep doing it even when the random chance drops to near zero, especially if there are flashing lights every so often that say you almost got one!