They specifically asked people to test sPvP and the new map + currency exchange + email security functionality.
The stress tests are 4 hours long and are meant and asked to test certain things don't read to much into it. I do far far less PvE during stress tests simply because of the time frame.
I believe all of this has been discussed and addressed even in the OP and the following replies.
I could say the same thing about this entire thread, but I didn't.
You know, it would be great that for certain big events some town NPCs would talk to others about it as the event is going on. Forgive me if this already happens. To keep away from seeing too much I stayed away from cities.
Scalable content helps with this. They could scale back some of the content post release to help counter some of this.
It's ok to not be able to do every DE you see. Sometimes, things are just going to be too hard while you are solo and that is ok. As long as a solid amount of DEs are doable while solo or with a small group, things should be ok. You will just not be able to get a positive outcome from some of the DEs.
It seems having less people around is better for this game's PvE. Saying that though, I struggle to remember ANY PvE experience that has been made better for me at launch in ANY game by having an incredibly crowded zone.
The problem with overcrowded zones in GW2 is almost the exact opposite problem with overcrowded zones in other MMORPGs.
It becomes TOO easy and quick, as opposed to waiting in line for each of you to get a shot at the same 10 rats you're killing, or whatever.
I don't think there's much of a way to solve that in GW2 though, there's just TOO many people that can be crammed into a really busy area. At least with the bigger DEs shown in later zones (Like the Shatterer or Tequatl), there's multiple DEs going on at once that people can split up, with them all needing to be done.
(edit: My friends and I got past the zerg the other way, pushing past them fast enough that hardly anybody was doing later content by the time we were. There's different ways to avoid the zerg, and the population should diffuse within a relatively short time, since there's so many alternate zones to be in, and lots of side things like PvP, minigames and dungeons to pull people away later)
I agree Meow, it's weird how it's flipped for this game like this.
Our plan here is too spend the first few days PvPing, gathering, and crafting bags etc in order to let the wave pass us by a bit, hopefully to give us a bit of breathing space.
When everyone has diffused a bit we will get started on the open world PvE stuff.
Anyways, I thought all events scaled down to solo-ability, even the GEBs. But they do not...at least for a p/p d/d s/d rogue. I tried every trick I had to take down a GEB. It just didn't happen.
Group events scale down to 5 people (Though two determined people can usually beat it if they're good, at least in all the zones I've seen so far)
The big bosses like the fire elemental are supposed to scale down to =10= people, I believe. Though again, a much smaller group (Say 5 people) can complete it if they're on the ball. Or even less people if they're patient and willing to die.
Yes, I can totally picture later in the game's life, some zones having those huge bosses wandering around for hours at a time until a group is put together to put them down. This is where guilds come in handy.
Now what Meowhead said is what I thought when they released the feature information on gw2. So I am not really understanding the op's issue tbh. Group content will not scale down to 1 person, that is a given. I would stick with the normal DE's that are meant to scale down to solo ability unless you can find an acctual group of players to help with the group content. Isnt this like complaining that you cannot solo instances? I mean the content is made for 5 people anyway, so I treat them like open world instances in a way. The game will scale you down on the standard DE's but for "group" DE's I dont expect them to scale down nor should they, otherwise it defeats the purpose no? Am I missing something here?
I agree Meow, it's weird how it's flipped for this game like this.
Our plan here is too spend the first few days PvPing, gathering, and crafting bags etc in order to let the wave pass us by a bit, hopefully to give us a bit of breathing space.
When everyone has diffused a bit we will get started on the open world PvE stuff.
A product of everybody in the game world being your friend instead of a competitor. It's the difference between having a lot of friends helping with a task and a lot of rivals trying to do the task before you.
... also, I'm not sure I'd want to wait! There's going to be 3 distinct waves. The 3 day headstart wave, the 1 day preorder wave, and then the actual launch day wave.
I'm hoping to push past them, because waiting for them seems like it'd take a good 5 days or so. Though admittedly, sPvP and WvW are probably great ways to spend 5 days. In sPvP you can never have too many people, and WvW the more people the better (Up until the point you have to queue).
Making bags is a good plan. I'm planning to make 8 slot bags, then when I make bigger slot bags, hand those down to my alts, and slowly trickle the bigger bags down as I play along.
Anyways, I thought all events scaled down to solo-ability, even the GEBs. But they do not...at least for a p/p d/d s/d rogue. I tried every trick I had to take down a GEB. It just didn't happen.
Group events scale down to 5 people (Though two determined people can usually beat it if they're good, at least in all the zones I've seen so far)
The big bosses like the fire elemental are supposed to scale down to =10= people, I believe. Though again, a much smaller group (Say 5 people) can complete it if they're on the ball. Or even less people if they're patient and willing to die.
Yes, I can totally picture later in the game's life, some zones having those huge bosses wandering around for hours at a time until a group is put together to put them down. This is where guilds come in handy.
Now what Meowhead said is what I thought when they released the feature information on gw2. So I am not really understanding the op's issue tbh. Group content will not scale down to 1 person, that is a given. I would stick with the normal DE's that are meant to scale down to solo ability unless you can find an acctual group of players to help with the group content. Isnt this like complaining that you cannot solo instances? I mean the content is made for 5 people anyway, so I treat them like open world instances in a way. The game will scale you down on the standard DE's but for "group" DE's I dont expect them to scale down nor should they, otherwise it defeats the purpose no? Am I missing something here?
Kind of. This isn't a whine thread by the way, in case that was ever implied. I do not want to make the content easier (except maybe tone down that fire boss event in metrica province). I want to discuss ideas of making it accessible down the line when low level zones become less populated. Some ideas that have been thrown around:
Scenario:
GEB starts
-It is discovered by a group, Group takes it down and gets bonus reward for the discovery.
-It is discovered by a single player. Single player broadcasts the event. People attend and take it down. Bonus reward for participation and taking it down in a timely manner.
-It is discovered by a single player. Player does or does not broadcast the event. After a set period of time where no progression takes place, the game broadcasts to the zone with a link to the closest waypoint. The event stays broadcasted via world map within the period of time until it is defeated. No bonus, typical reward for participants.
^That's probably the most difficult to make a feature as but I think it would be the best way to entice disovery and at leat inform people when they are in effect.
Use /map and link coordinates to gather players.
That's the simplest solution but it carries less of an incentive for people who would otherwise not participate.
Spawn additional friendly NPCs or make friendly NPCs stronger when it scales down for soloable content.
In my opinion, not an ideal solution since it can trivialize the encounter.
Have friendly NPCs in adjacent cities, towns, camps, and villages talk about group events that are currently taking place. Have friendly NPCs direct you to a currently ongong GEB.
I like this idea as well. I know this is done for some events but not all GEBs.
Honestly, it doesn't really bug me that as population thins out, group events will sit around until there's enough coordination to finish them off.
That seems like that's a natural solution to people complaining that people have no reason to group up or communicate with others.
I think almost all MMORPGs have group content you can't do solo, even in normal quest chains.
I would say the majority of events in a zone can be done solo, at least so far as I've seen. I kind of LIKE that the big bads roam around with impunity, laughing off the attempts of lesser mortals to dislodge them.
Honestly, it doesn't really bug me that as population thins out, group events will sit around until there's enough coordination to finish them off.
That seems like that's a natural solution to people complaining that people have no reason to group up or communicate with others.
I think almost all MMORPGs have group content you can't do solo, even in normal quest chains.
I would say the majority of events in a zone can be done solo, at least so far as I've seen. I kind of LIKE that the big bads roam around with impunity, laughing off the attempts of lesser mortals to dislodge them.
Me too
I just am wondering if there should be some sort of alert system so players outside of the minimap radius will be able to figure out something is happening. Some GEBs make waypoints contested so that's a start. There are some ideas in this thread that I like.
They specifically asked people to test sPvP and the new map + currency exchange + email security functionality.
The stress tests are 4 hours long and are meant and asked to test certain things don't read to much into it. I do far far less PvE during stress tests simply because of the time frame.
I believe all of this has been discussed and addressed even in the OP and the following replies.
I could say the same thing about this entire thread, but I didn't.
Comments
Woooow....Well...thanks for stopping by.
I'll just add two things:
Scalable content helps with this. They could scale back some of the content post release to help counter some of this.
It's ok to not be able to do every DE you see. Sometimes, things are just going to be too hard while you are solo and that is ok. As long as a solid amount of DEs are doable while solo or with a small group, things should be ok. You will just not be able to get a positive outcome from some of the DEs.
I agree Meow, it's weird how it's flipped for this game like this.
Our plan here is too spend the first few days PvPing, gathering, and crafting bags etc in order to let the wave pass us by a bit, hopefully to give us a bit of breathing space.
When everyone has diffused a bit we will get started on the open world PvE stuff.
Now what Meowhead said is what I thought when they released the feature information on gw2. So I am not really understanding the op's issue tbh. Group content will not scale down to 1 person, that is a given. I would stick with the normal DE's that are meant to scale down to solo ability unless you can find an acctual group of players to help with the group content. Isnt this like complaining that you cannot solo instances? I mean the content is made for 5 people anyway, so I treat them like open world instances in a way. The game will scale you down on the standard DE's but for "group" DE's I dont expect them to scale down nor should they, otherwise it defeats the purpose no? Am I missing something here?
A product of everybody in the game world being your friend instead of a competitor. It's the difference between having a lot of friends helping with a task and a lot of rivals trying to do the task before you.
... also, I'm not sure I'd want to wait! There's going to be 3 distinct waves. The 3 day headstart wave, the 1 day preorder wave, and then the actual launch day wave.
I'm hoping to push past them, because waiting for them seems like it'd take a good 5 days or so. Though admittedly, sPvP and WvW are probably great ways to spend 5 days. In sPvP you can never have too many people, and WvW the more people the better (Up until the point you have to queue).
Making bags is a good plan.
I'm planning to make 8 slot bags, then when I make bigger slot bags, hand those down to my alts, and slowly trickle the bigger bags down as I play along. 
Kind of. This isn't a whine thread by the way, in case that was ever implied. I do not want to make the content easier (except maybe tone down that fire boss event in metrica province). I want to discuss ideas of making it accessible down the line when low level zones become less populated. Some ideas that have been thrown around:
Scenario:
GEB starts
-It is discovered by a group, Group takes it down and gets bonus reward for the discovery.
-It is discovered by a single player. Single player broadcasts the event. People attend and take it down. Bonus reward for participation and taking it down in a timely manner.
-It is discovered by a single player. Player does or does not broadcast the event. After a set period of time where no progression takes place, the game broadcasts to the zone with a link to the closest waypoint. The event stays broadcasted via world map within the period of time until it is defeated. No bonus, typical reward for participants.
^That's probably the most difficult to make a feature as but I think it would be the best way to entice disovery and at leat inform people when they are in effect.
Use /map and link coordinates to gather players.
That's the simplest solution but it carries less of an incentive for people who would otherwise not participate.
Spawn additional friendly NPCs or make friendly NPCs stronger when it scales down for soloable content.
In my opinion, not an ideal solution since it can trivialize the encounter.
Have friendly NPCs in adjacent cities, towns, camps, and villages talk about group events that are currently taking place. Have friendly NPCs direct you to a currently ongong GEB.
I like this idea as well. I know this is done for some events but not all GEBs.
Honestly, it doesn't really bug me that as population thins out, group events will sit around until there's enough coordination to finish them off.
That seems like that's a natural solution to people complaining that people have no reason to group up or communicate with others.
I think almost all MMORPGs have group content you can't do solo, even in normal quest chains.
I would say the majority of events in a zone can be done solo, at least so far as I've seen. I kind of LIKE that the big bads roam around with impunity, laughing off the attempts of lesser mortals to dislodge them.
Me too
I just am wondering if there should be some sort of alert system so players outside of the minimap radius will be able to figure out something is happening. Some GEBs make waypoints contested so that's a start. There are some ideas in this thread that I like.
LOUD NOISES!