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Trying to like the game, trying to...
Agnostic42
Member UncommonPosts: 405
I beta tested the original Guild Wars and was thoroughly unimpressed. When Guild wars 2 was announced I was even less impressed and frankly, just not interested. When release of the game came and went, I planned on just letting it pass me by.
However, recently my wife has been watching a few videos about the game and thinks she wants to give the game a try. I feel like a carnivore married to a vegetarian, which makes me a vegetarian as well, whether I like it or not.
So I have been trying to find features and videos, wiki's and websites. I have been scouring the internet for things that will make me interested, nothing has so far. The game simply looks like exactly every other theme park MMO out there. Am I wrong? Am I the delusional one, or is everyone else, because I simply don't get the hype.
From the video's I watched the game looks like a Rift on steroids, parts of every other successful game meshed into one, with a few new things or two sprinkled on top. You have questing, the same Destroy, Deliver, Discover, Gather and Defend quests that plague every other theme park MMO.
They have dynamic events, which frankly are just taking Rift and Warhammer online and mashing their public quest systems together. I've watched many videos on those in paticular.
I did however watch an interesting video about being able to discover hidden places, and that was interesting. My favorite time in games was before the in-game map system of Everquest. Navigating zones you had already explored was still a chore until you eventually memorized the entire zone and spawn points.
They have no holy trinity... yea, they actually do. They take the DPS, Tank, Healer role and rename them to Support, Control and Damage. Whether it is the classic trinity or not, it is still a trinity. I even watched a video where a developer stated the Thief class could become a tank if he wanted, Irony or just cursed to fill the classic trinity? That's directly from Rift.
No player housing? Seriously? Is what comes to mind, I would think after all the immersion they are hoping for that player housing would have been one of the first things they implemented.
PvP sounds interesting and if I do by the game it will generally be just to try out WvWvW PvP as that sounds rather interesting and maybe a throwback to my DAoC Days of playing a stealthed hunter during the castle seige waiting for a target for my spear.
In all honesty, I am trying to become interested, I really am. My goal was not to pick apart the game, but to make an informed decision on my own without having played the game. I missed the beta weekends, I know, shoot me or crucify me, or whatever.
What makes the game so appealing to the masses that would cause such a fanatical response? When I have approached people I knew about this game, I feel as if I am inquiring about religion, and we all know how well those conversatiosn go. They escalate quickly into "Hater vs. Fanboi" to them, which is when I turn and walk away, because, frankly, I am neither.
I have no reason to hate Guild Wars 2, and am trying to find a reason to want to purchase it. To make this thread a little less pointless, I will pose a question.
What makes You want to buy Guild Wars? Hopefully some of that will rub off on me.
Comments
http://www.youtube.com/user/caraemm
This guy has some informative videos.
I angered the clerk in a clothing shop today. She asked me what size I was and I said actual, because I am not to scale. I like vending machines 'cause snacks are better when they fall. If I buy a candy bar at a store, oftentimes, I will drop it... so that it achieves its maximum flavor potential. --Mitch Hedberg
OP, by chance, are you familiar with the name TotalBiscuit?
I'm one of those people that is crazy in love with the game after playing in the BWEs.
I don't see why my reasons for that will effect you though...I mean, you are you and I am me. If you don't really like it, you don't. It seems a little silly to "try" to like something.
The one thing I will say though, is that videos alone aren't really giving you the full impact that playing the game has. I also did not like GW1 (I wanted to like it...but I didn't) and I don't know if just watching videos of GW2 would have been enough to get me to realize just how different the game really feels when you play it. Not just different from GW1, but different from every other theme park MMO that I have played.
There's no free trial yet though, so I don't see how anything but videos are available at this point.
That's why I prepurchased. It let me try the game in the BWEs and, if I didn't like it I would have gotten a refund. Too late for you to do that though.
As far as the things that I really fell in love with in the game go, there are many. But I should preface by saying that I prefer theme park games to sandbox games. I don't understand the appeal of sandboxes over Theme Parks. What kid would choose to go play in a sand box over going to Disney World?
In GW2, firstly, I fell in love with just how beautiful the game world is. I'm not talking in terms of graphics (which are "good" but not extraordinary). I'm talking in terms of the style of the art and the incredible attention to detail that has clearly been put into crafting every bit of the world. There are no cut and paste elements in this game (not like in WoW where as you explore you note that there are only a half dozen or so different cave systems that just repeat throughout the game, and that is common to many elements within it's world. Everything in GW2 seems hand-crafted and with elaborate care and detail.
I also love how the Dynamic events work. A game where I can just wander about and participate in events as they unfold around me, rather than specifically following some quest log that points me from Point A to Point B and back to Point A. And when those events unfold, they are acted out and I see and hear what is going on, not just reading a quest log and being told what is going on...yet not seeing anything actually happening. Other games will have quests that tell you to go kill 25 goblins because the goblins are attacking the town...but when you go to where they are, they are just milling about and certainly aren't attacking the town. Dynamic Events really aren't that different than Quests in other games, but how they are presented makes a HUGE difference to me.
I love how class mechanics are handled, with different weapons having different skills. And, in many cases, which weapons you chose make a very large difference in how that profession feels and plays. For a certified altoholic like me, this is pretty cool and after experimentation found that I literally enjoyed every single profession (just not necessarily every weaopn choice of every profession). I haven't had that happen in any MMO I have played ever.
The combat is also refreshing. It is more actiony then typical MMOs, with active dodging and the need to pay attention to conditions and boons and the ability to do variouis combos if you learn the mechanics and pay attention. And all the while, you can play the combat while watching the action on the screen, with little to no need to constantly monitor the UI. It feels wonderful for me compared to almost every other MMO on the market.
I also love how large the world feels. With so many things tucked away to find and discover. Exploration in this game is more fun than any other MMO I have played since my very first MMO. It recaptures that childlike sense of wonder and amazement that I had back then. Something that I haven't experienced with any other MMO, ever, since my first one.
I could keep going on and on, as there are many more things that I love about this game. But I'm me, and you're you. You may not care about the things that I care about in an MMO....or you might, but you might not see it the same way as I do in GW2. Hopefully, if you don't, you find some other game that makes you feel like I do about GW2, because it is a good feeling and whether you pick the same game as I or not, I would wish for everyone to get to play some game that makes them feel this way.
I'm honestly not sure what the point of your post is? GW2, just like any other game out there, isn't going to appeal to everyone. You don't like GW2, I don't like Madden 2012. Find a game that you like and play that. If your wife likes GW2, let her play and try the game on her copy, if you still don't like it, there are plenty of other MMOs out there to choose from.
As far as what makes people love the game, you really have to try it for yourself. By the way, there really is no trinity.
I've spent the last two days of my free time watching video's, Main Page, this site, Wiki's and Youtube. My comprehension is also decent. I am trying to figure out how and why.
Am I the delusional one, or is this becoming a cult fanaticism, where those inside understand and are brainwashed to see and follow, while those on the outside just look on and grimace.
As to forcing myself to like it. My wife is interested and wants me to partake, it's a rough situation to be in, trust me.
Ease of play with friends.
I have never seen even an IMAGINARY sandbox (ie, one of those that lists features purely in the designer's head, that haven't actually been made yet) that can boast a feature cooler or more awesome than 'Meowhead can easily play this with his friends'.
Honestly, my friends are way more awesome than any video game. Sorry video games.
Here's how they make it easy to play with my friends.
First of all, they have a feature called 'guesting', which allows you to visit other servers (Except for WvW, because it's server based PvP) to play with friends.
Secondly, everybody is auto deleveled as they go to lower areas. This means that friends can join friends in lower level areas, but still get meaningful rewards, without trivializing the content.
With the multiple guild system, I can join one guild to rp in, one guild for pvp, and still join a guild just to hang out with my friends. (Because friends, still more awesome than the rest of the game, remember).
Since the game is B2P, it's easier to convince my friends to play it in the first place, and if they quit, it's easier to convince them to come back to it (Hey, let's play GW2 for the weekend. You don't have to randomly start up a subscription again!) for a while to hang out.
Even though you CAN group up, you don't have to. Groups bigger than 5 people can still communicate through guild chat or local, and you don't have to worry about stepping on each other's toes. No kill stealing, no worries about fighting over who gets what item... all crafting nodes can be shared with your friends without discussing who gets the copper nodes, or whatever.
Because everybody is on the same side, I don't have to worry that I'm the wrong faction to hang out with my friends.
Because of the teleport system, it's considerably more convenient to join my friends, wherever they might be. No waiting 30 minutes for a boat, or waiting 10 minutes while somebody goes through a series of flight paths.
So, in conclusion.
My friends are awesome, therefore GW2, which takes into account I might have awesome friends that I want to play with, is also awesome.
(For a bit of context, not being able to play with friends is why I quit WoW, for example. Wrong servers, wrong faction, high level characters can't meaningfully do stuff with low level characters... so many obstacles between me and playing a game with my friends. It failed the Friend Test)
"Loading screens" are not "instances".
Your personal efforts to troll any game will not, in fact, impact the success or failure of said game.
This seriously..^^^
Since it sounds like your wife likes GW2 perhaps you should get her a copy and then try the game out on her copy and if you like it you can purchase it online and copy her version to your machine..
This game does not feel or play like GW1 and certainly does not feel or play like any other current or past mmorpg i have ever played it is imho superior in almost every way..
Playing GW2..
If you love her, Buy GW2
If you don't love her, Don't buy it
Be aware that perception creates (or at least shapes your personal) reality.
You don't want to like the game. The language in your post proves that. You have created and stated many barriers in your own mind (intentionally or not) to help prevent you from liking the game.
What makes you think any random forum posters are going to be able to change your mind?
If you really want to "enjoy being a vegetarian" (enjoy GW2) you are going to have to approach it with a truly open mind, and try to find things you like. The game supports a wide variety of playstyles and interests but it will be up to you to find the ones that appeal to you.
like i said in the other thread if you watch all the videos in my sig under "Hot Topics" and still can't see why this game is differn't and people are having so much fun the game just isn't for you.. like heartless said in the other thread no game is made for everyone I hate most FPS games yet COD sells millions each release. Do i go around calling all the COD fans delusional for loving that game? no of course not just differn't tastes
I angered the clerk in a clothing shop today. She asked me what size I was and I said actual, because I am not to scale. I like vending machines 'cause snacks are better when they fall. If I buy a candy bar at a store, oftentimes, I will drop it... so that it achieves its maximum flavor potential. --Mitch Hedberg
People have played the game. It's a very fun game that a lot of people just happen to like. Don't make anything more out of it.
You and your wife must play the same game?
I understand that people like the popular things. Music, movies, clothing, video games. Don't fall into that trap! It's ok if a game doesn't hook you.
As to why? You know not all people have the same opinions on games. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean other people can't love it. Shouldn't that be enough information to understand the idea? Are you just looking to start something by pretending to "not understand" why people like the game?
Epic Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAigCvelkhQ&list=PLo9FRw1AkDuQLEz7Gvvaz3ideB2NpFtT1
https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos?&sort=-downloads&page=1
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you playing an MMORPG?"
1) Watch the videos in Aerowyns video thread at the top of the screen.
2) Actually no it doesn't have a "holy trinity". No one ever said it doesn't have a trinity, because it still does. It just doesn't have a "holy trinity". There is no tanks or healers in this game. No class can take hits from mobs like other games. While warriors are able to absorb a bit more damage than other classes, if they just stand in front of mobs and trade blows, they will die in 2-3 hits. Every class is capable of controlling a mob, damaging a mob, and supporting their teammates in different ways. It's this combination that makes GW2 a little different. You don't spend hours in chat "LF1 monk". Just grab someone and go. There are no direct heals in the game either. You are responsible for keeping yourself alive.
3) Most MMOs don't have player housing, so I don't see why this is a surprise. They will be having player housing post release when they add guild halls. No exact date on that (my assumption is the Halloween or Christmas update).
Whether you get it or don't it's up to you. It's only $60 USD, and there's no sub fee. So even if you only get 30 hours out of it, I'd say it's money well spent.
As for what makes me want to buy Guild Wars 2, I loved GW1 and when they announced GW2 and some of their planned features I instanty become excited. After playing the game, I fell in love with it and this next week is going to be extremely long. It is different than other MMOs in the way it presents the content. Most importantly, it's the most fun I've had in an MMO in a long time. To be able to work along side other players without viewing them as an annoyance is absolutely amazing. I would say GW2 actually tries to make the game seem like an MMO. It will never hurt you to fight alongside another person. It will never hurt you to group either. You will both receive full exp and loot for kills you both help either other with. There is no tagging a mob before someone else gets there. And everyone can rez. And from my experience in the game, people are willing to go out of their way to rez you (it shows up on the map). And rezing offers exp, so it will never hurt you to rez someone.
Let me put it this way: I love working alongside other people. The best fun I had was teaming up with a random person and fighting through a cave or something to get a skill point or something. And the DE can be challenging. Especially the further you progress in the game. I remember spending about 30 minutes with a group of people trying to take a point from centaurs. When we finally started communicating and organizing, we actually made progress. It was an absolute blast. I've never had so much fun dying before. (And just as anyone can tell you, I've died more times in GW2 in just the starter zone than any other game)
It's been a year and a half since I last had an MMO subscription, and I really haven't felt compelled to get back into the genre because there's just so much other stuff that I enjoy doing. I decided to give GW2 a try during last month's beta weekend, though, and played the hell out of it for those few days. If I decide to buy it, it'll be for a few reasons, none of which include bringing anything new to the genre. The things I really felt the game has going for it are:
a) It's polished and gameplay/combat feels fluid and responsive
b) It's (mostly) pretty and ran well on my machine
c) The exploration and collectibles made it easy to lose yourself in the game without being aware of it
d) IT HAS NO SUBSCRIPTION FEE
Granted, it's not like I ever even really noticed subscription payments being charged, but for some reason those games having a fee always changed how I approached them, as if I HAD to play that game a lot even if there were other things I'd rather be doing at the time, or I "wasn't getting my subscription's worth." Sure, it was all in my head, but I still missed out on other entertainment that interested me because I was heavily playing an MMO at the time. The heavier players will view this as a negative aspect of the game, but to me, Guild Wars 2 didn't make me feel like I would approach the game like a big competition or a part-time job. And hey, if an occasional lazy Saturday goes by and I blow 8 hours on the game, it'll be because I'm actually having a good time, not because of some unhealthy mental defect other MMOs seem to bring out in me (and plenty of other people). Sure, maybe there won't be max level content to keep me playing for months/years on end, but with no subcription fee, who cares? I can stop for a year and come back to see what's new without any entry barrier.
It's hard to put into words the feeling some players get from playing this game. It's a sense of wandering into a world where adventures (read as dynamic events/quests) can take you to places you never intended to go.
I think you should try and play on your wife's account first. Test the waters. Wacthing videos of Divinity's Reach and exploring it firsthand are completely different experiences. There are so many nooks and crannies to find in the world. When I did one of the four hour stress tests I found a cave in the human starting area I hadn't found in 20 hours of play previous. The thought in my mind was "It's right there in front of me and I never found it. Awesome."
Now this kind of exploration isn't for everyone. I find the easiest comparison to make is with Skyrim, where sometimes you will have a goal in mind but suddenly get distracted by a sudden spawning of enemies or a cave you suddenly need to explore.
There's a little bit for everyone but it may not be to their taste. The structured pvp benefits the min-maxers of the game. They can theorycraft and build crazy ideas and test them on a whim in arena style battles. W v W benefits the more casual PvPer, a very open generally fun (if sieging without siege weapons...you're gonna have a bad time) group pvp where you try to win your server bonuses.
Honestly though I don't know how good it will be in the long run, I have had tons of fun over the beta weekends and just want to play more of the game. I can't really be completely objective until I've experienced a large amount of what it has to offer. We've only had a taste but judging from that it's a pretty solid buy.
Play for fun. Play to win. Play for perfection. Play with friends. Play in another world. Why do you play?
Thank you, this was the kind of post I was looking for. I appreciate it, honestly.
To some of the others, I am not looking for marital counseling, or trying to start a flame war. I'm being honest. I know, honesty on the interwebz, who'd have thunk it, right?
i think the only thing you will find like DAOC in GW2 is the taking castle keeps and lord room fights , other then that you wont get that daoc feeling as there is currently zero progression in world vs world like daoc had other then your normal character leveling process and sometimes buying equipment upgrades. This is of course is at release as there will be a lot more stuff coming out closer to daoc. They have hinted at a darkness falls style dungeon for world vs world but they are not willing to confirm it yet.
As it stands right now though its hard to compare this game to DAOC anymore then warhammer to DAOC was. You have three servers fighting on a map with siege weapons and taking keeps for server bonuses which i guess at its heart was what daoc was about but i dont really agree with that as daoc to me was about fighting for your realm and creating rivalrys that lived for years with other guilds and players .
As for the other aspects of the game , if you liked warhammer onlines scanario system then guild wars 2 is going to be fun to you as most of them are just like the warhammer scanarios and not like wows. Capture points and baiting with small man teams etc. They have a renoun system in place in SPVP called glory that plays just like renoun system in warhammer where you can get better gear the higher the glory rank.
PVE is pve in all games no difference other then you have less skills to macro and you dodge. Sure you can assume there is still a holy trinity but there isnt regardless of how you want to spin it. All classes have support and control builds and some healing and aoe healing so there will be no set tanks or healers or crowd control classes, even though im sure the tards that play will be yelling looking for water ele or something stupid like that showing their total lack of even remotely reading about how the game plays.
As why to play? The gameplay feels very natural and not very static. Professions can fall under certain catagories but often each can play any of those catagories but still do it in thier own way. Each profession has its own flavor.