Why people are saying that GW2 does very good at exploring?
Am I playing another game?
Am I playing the same game where zones are clearly divided by level group (Wayfare Foothills 1 to 15 then Diessa Plateau 15-25 and so on) and on top of that are instanced?
Azeroth was better than Ascalon for exploration.
First of all you really could go wherever you wanted from lvl one, and zones are not instanced.
So am I missing something or you guys are a bit over enthusiastic?
Exploration means well, exploring. Have you gone underwater and found treasures (I have). There are also caves, etc. That is exploration. What you want is a world where there are no levels - what fun would that be? They are not instanced at all.
WoW stunk for exploration - it was very MEH that way,
So anything you can think of that fits the description is what Im looking for. Because, not all games are 100% made in a mold or another. So there has to be some %s that fits the description.
Lets break this down for a moment. A sandbox game means the game is non-linear, you can go where you want and do what you want.
Guild Wars 2 is not a sandbox as it is linear. You progress in levels up to level 80, and you have to stay within areas that are equal to your level or below due to monster difficulty. However at this point it somewhat becomes non-linear. As you can go anywhere and do anything you want at that point as the world will scale with you. Within the obvious constraints of combat and events.
So the game is less linear than other MMOs when it comes to 'end game', but still too linear to be a sandbox. If you simply must have a sandbox game, then wait for something else, as this isnt the game you are looking for.
- The areas are NOT instanced. Everybody is in the same version of the area. Exception is the overflow server, but that's better than a login queue for 1 hours like it was at WoW's release or even in SW:TOR, don't you think?
They are. Have you tried to go from Wayfair Foothills to Diessa Platou?
What do you find in front of you between the zone? A big fat Portal.
You cannot go through the borders like a seameless world. Also each zone has different instances, from time to times there is a clear message asking you if you want to switch to a different one or stay in the bloody queue.
- You can go everywhere you want as soon as you finish the introduction. Rolled a Norn, but want to visit your friend who is human? No problem. Want to try to go to a level 80 area at level 1? No problem either (except death of course). Just like WoW. But there's a major difference (see next point).
You can do that in WoW too. How many times I leveled my Troll in the Undead Zones and viceversa.
Also I used to explore higher level zones to get some XP and lvl faster while I was exploring
- You are not forced down that single path like you describe. First, you have several level 1-15 area to chose from. Then, when you hit 15, nothing forces you to a 15-25 area... you can just stay where you are, or do another 1-15 area you didn't do yet. At level 25-35, you have even more choice, etc, etc, etc... thanks to level scaling.
Well you can do the same in WoW too.
Once you finish your starting area, you can pick any other areas as long as they didn't belong to the opposing factions, and you could even do the other races starting areas.......wow!!!!
I am not here to defend WoW but certainly GW2 hasn't got that sandboxy feeling in the exploration department.
It doesn't offer anything particularly new in terms of exploration except for the level scalability, which allows you to get XP for low levevel zones.
But that's pretty much it.
The OP was asking if this game had any Sandboxy elements in it, someone said that exploration was one sandboxy feature.
I say no.
If people classify GW2 exploration as sandboxy, probably they never playied a Sandbox MMO.
This thread is of interest to anyone who might happen to like sandbox games and be curious to see if Guild Wars 2 has one or more elements that the player might recognize as desireable.
So this might actually help to sell the game to a nice audience it was not originally designed for.
I think people will come check it to find out if there is ANYTHING sandboxy to Guild Wars 2. The great majority knows its not supposed to be a sandbox, but many people dont know exactly what kind of "hybrid" design went on it.
They are. Have you tried to go from Wayfair Foothills to Diessa Platou?
What do you find in front of you between the zone? A big fat Portal.
You cannot go through the borders like a seameless world. Also each zone has different instances, from time to times there is a clear message asking you if you want to switch to a different one or stay in the bloody queue.
You are obviously confused about what an instance is. The zones would be instanced if you had several versions of them, just like for WoW's dungeons. In GW2, zones are just... zones. Granted, the world is divided into zones unlike WoW, I agree on that part, but it's still an open world, not an instanced one. And the zones are freaking huge, too.
- You are not forced down that single path like you describe. First, you have several level 1-15 area to chose from. Then, when you hit 15, nothing forces you to a 15-25 area... you can just stay where you are, or do another 1-15 area you didn't do yet. At level 25-35, you have even more choice, etc, etc, etc... thanks to level scaling.
Well you can do the same in WoW too.
Once you finish your starting area, you can pick any other areas as long as they didn't belong to the opposing factions, and you could even do the other races starting areas.......wow!!!!
Really? At level 30, you can go to a level 15 area you didn't do yet, and get XP and gear rewards corresponding to your level?
No, you can't. Please, don't try to fool me, I've played WoW for 7 years and still have 2 active accounts as we speak. In WoW at level 30, you are restricted to level 30 areas if you want to progress and get meaninful rewards/loot. Not in GW2. And you even contradict yourself in your own post since you acknowledge it a bit later...
I am not here to defend WoW but certainly GW2 hasn't got that sandboxy feeling in the exploration department.
It doesn't offer anything particularly new in terms of exploration except for the level scalability, which allows you to get XP for low levevel zones.
But that's pretty much it.
The OP was asking if this game had any Sandboxy elements in it, someone said that exploration was one sandboxy feature.
I say no.
If people classify GW2 exploration as sandboxy, probably they never playied a Sandbox MMO.
Oh yes, WoW nowadays offers so much feeling of exploration... go from one quest hub to the other, in a specific order, talk to static NPCs with a big "!" over their head, and don't forget to fly on your flying mount to make the world feel even smaller.
Listen, I'm not a WoW hater, as I said, I've played the game for 7+ years, and it's not my style to "spit in the soup", but GW2 allows choices WoW never allowed. And every sense of exploration disapeared the day they added flying mounts, too.
Respect, walk, what did you say? Respect, walk Are you talkin' to me? Are you talkin' to me? - PANTERA at HELLFEST 2023
Besides that, GW2 is a themepark through and through. Someone made a thread a while back and called it the ultimate themepark and then listed a bunch of reason why it was the ultimate themepark. I pretty much agreed with him and it made me think about GW2 design in a different way. But a lot of GW2 fans went kind of nuts.
And I would also like to say that no one needs to sell you shit. No one knows you. You don't matter. Telling people to sell you and then asking if they are capable of such a feat is condescending.
I know that its not advertised as a sandbox, therefore its not the point of the thread.
I know its a themepark oriented. Thats why I phrased "sandbox redeeming qualities". Because its mainly a themepark, but there must be some sandbox qualities for it. AND THATS WHAT I WANT TO KNOW.
People stop arguing and running in circles. The topic is about what sandboxy reedeming qualities does Guild Wars 2 have.
Not if its full sandbox/themepark or if sandbox/themepark is good or bad: I dont need those answers.
GW is not a sandbox. Therefore is has no 'sandbox redeeming qualities". Zilch, nada, zero, nothing, none.
It is however a brilliant themepark with dynamic quests, exploration, amazing cities and 3 faction pvp.
It will not interest sandbox players looking for sandbox features.
Yes and yes. ste....your probably one of the few real oldtimers that remembers what 'massively-multiplayer' meant.
GW2 will probably be a fun cooperative/competitive online multiplayer game, but only the truely delusional and immature to what massively-multiplayer means, when Richard Garriott first coined the term in the mid-to late 90's with Ultima Online, will wrongfully label GW2 (as they did with SW:TOR), as a Massively-Multiplayer game.
This thread is of interest to anyone who might happen to like sandbox games and be curious to see if Guild Wars 2 has one or more elements that the player might recognize as desireable.
So this might actually help to sell the game to a nice audience it was not originally designed for. ?
I think people will come check it to find out if there is ANYTHING sandboxy to Guild Wars 2. The great majority knows its not supposed to be a sandbox, but many people dont know exactly what kind of "hybrid" design went on it.
But the initial question was misleading - "sell me sandbox". I think it's best to state GW2 is a Themepark mmorpg.
If you'd stated the question: "Is there anything that comes close to what would trationally be found in a sandbox mmorpg, in GW2 and if so please explain," that would be much fairer way of drumming interest and setting expectations, I'd suggest?
Perhaps inverting the question makes more sense: "How does GW2 feel less like a traditional Themepark?"
GW is not a sandbox. Therefore is has no 'sandbox redeeming qualities". Zilch, nada, zero, nothing, none.
It is however a brilliant themepark with dynamic quests, exploration, amazing cities and 3 faction pvp.
It will not interest sandbox players looking for sandbox features.
Your wrong on so many levels, sandbox games=you feel immersed and feel the freedom, plus exploration. I feel the same way about GW2, gw2 has a few sandbox elements if you don't think so then I don't think you even know what a sandbox is. I literally spent 5 hours just exploring the game running around and looking at nice landscapes and I felt the freedom. Just as I did have the same feeling in a 100 percent sandbox mmorpg.
I would consider that GW2 has little or few or whatever is considered a small amount to you sandbox elements. I consider exploration and freedom in the sandbox category. I'm a sandbox player looking for sandbox features and obviously GW2's exploration did just that. I kind of feel like I'm playing a single player adventure game but really it's an MMORPG when you turn on the UI back on. The first thing that got me hooked into researching gw2 more and watch the videos was mainly WvWvW. I then realized that exploration and the art of this game is also getting me hooked.
Looking at: The Repopulation Preordering: None Playing: Random Games
I do not mean to be rude, but which part of "it's a mix of Sandbox and Thempark" you do not get?
Of course Archeage will not have all the Sandbox elements and it will not have all the Themepark elements.
It will be a compromise, sometimes compromise work, sometimes don't..
We will see when we can play Beta if it works or not.
For now we have:
Sandbox:
1) Heavily focused on Crafting and therefore player Economy driven (Weapons, Armor, Houses, Boats, Furniture ad so on)
Server based player runned economy? Is that sandboxy?
2) You can build Houses and Boats
Nope
3) World FFA PvP
Just WvWvW and structure pvp
4) You can Tame animals/pet
Yep, dunno how many pets
5) You can build your own class (although there will be some pre-made if you want)
not total freedom like AA. I don't need to explain how weapons, traits or w/e how it works.
6) Freedom, you don't have to follow a linear path to enjoy the game. You can be a Crafter, explore the world as an Adventurer or enjoy classic Themepark features
GW2 is linear. Of course a dev said you can level up to 80 just by crafting. Can explore the world, but they're in big instances, although its a persistent world.
7) No insta-travel, so you travel by horse, cart, or ship (Teleports cost lots of money)
Wavpoints for instant travel, but doesn't have to be used I suppose and has no mounts
GW2 is a themepark no less with few sandbox elements.
I do not mean to be rude, but which part of "it's a mix of Sandbox and Thempark" you do not get?
Of course Archeage will not have all the Sandbox elements and it will not have all the Themepark elements.
It will be a compromise, sometimes compromise work, sometimes don't..
We will see when we can play Beta if it works or not.
For now we have:
Sandbox:
1) Heavily focused on Crafting and therefore player Economy driven (Weapons, Armor, Houses, Boats, Furniture ad so on)
Server based player runned economy? Is that sandboxy?
2) You can build Houses and Boats
Nope
3) World FFA PvP
Just WvWvW and structure pvp
4) You can Tame animals/pet
Yep, dunno how many pets
5) You can build your own class (although there will be some pre-made if you want)
not total freedom like AA. I don't need to explain how weapons, traits or w/e how it works.
6) Freedom, you don't have to follow a linear path to enjoy the game. You can be a Crafter, explore the world as an Adventurer or enjoy classic Themepark features
GW2 is linear. Of course a dev said you can level up to 80 just by crafting. Can explore the world, but they're in big instances, although its a persistent world.
7) No insta-travel, so you travel by horse, cart, or ship (Teleports cost lots of money)
Wavpoints for instant travel, but doesn't have to be used I suppose and has no mounts
GW2 is a themepark no less with few sandbox elements.
No offense, but next time you answer someone, try to read his post first... he was talking about Archeage, not GW2. You basically refuted his arguments when you guys were actually agreeing.
Respect, walk, what did you say? Respect, walk Are you talkin' to me? Are you talkin' to me? - PANTERA at HELLFEST 2023
Besides that, GW2 is a themepark through and through. Someone made a thread a while back and called it the ultimate themepark and then listed a bunch of reason why it was the ultimate themepark. I pretty much agreed with him and it made me think about GW2 design in a different way. But a lot of GW2 fans went kind of nuts.
And I would also like to say that no one needs to sell you shit. No one knows you. You don't matter. Telling people to sell you and then asking if they are capable of such a feat is condescending.
I know that its not advertised as a sandbox, therefore its not the point of the thread.
I know its a themepark oriented. Thats why I phrased "sandbox redeeming qualities". Because its mainly a themepark, but there must be some sandbox qualities for it. AND THATS WHAT I WANT TO KNOW.
People stop arguing and running in circles. The topic is about what sandboxy reedeming qualities does Guild Wars 2 have.
Not if its full sandbox/themepark or if sandbox/themepark is good or bad: I dont need those answers.
Woah guy, what part of no sandbox qualities don't you understand? Do you expect an orange to taste like an apple in some areas? Stop trying to find blood in a stone. People repeatedly answered your question and you're still asking it?
#TeamVainlash Why did Marceline's dad eat her fries? I mean...cause she bought them and they were hers...
I do not mean to be rude, but which part of "it's a mix of Sandbox and Thempark" you do not get?
Of course Archeage will not have all the Sandbox elements and it will not have all the Themepark elements.
It will be a compromise, sometimes compromise work, sometimes don't..
We will see when we can play Beta if it works or not.
For now we have:
Sandbox:
1) Heavily focused on Crafting and therefore player Economy driven (Weapons, Armor, Houses, Boats, Furniture ad so on)
Server based player runned economy? Is that sandboxy?
2) You can build Houses and Boats
Nope
3) World FFA PvP
Just WvWvW and structure pvp
4) You can Tame animals/pet
Yep, dunno how many pets
5) You can build your own class (although there will be some pre-made if you want)
not total freedom like AA. I don't need to explain how weapons, traits or w/e how it works.
6) Freedom, you don't have to follow a linear path to enjoy the game. You can be a Crafter, explore the world as an Adventurer or enjoy classic Themepark features
GW2 is linear. Of course a dev said you can level up to 80 just by crafting. Can explore the world, but they're in big instances, although its a persistent world.
7) No insta-travel, so you travel by horse, cart, or ship (Teleports cost lots of money)
Wavpoints for instant travel, but doesn't have to be used I suppose and has no mounts
GW2 is a themepark no less with few sandbox elements.
No offense, but next time you answer someone, try to read his post first... he was talking about Archeage, not GW2. You basically refuted his arguments when you guys were actually agreeing.
Yah no ****. The white is about Archeage and the green is about GW2. The green is comparisions between GW2 [Green] and Archage [White]. Hence GW2 doesnt have much sandbox elements as Archeage. No offense, I thought it was obvious Green was about GW2
I'd still say Archeage is a sandbox mmo. They've just added quests.
You know, I think XLGames are on the right track.
All this "Archeage is not a Sandbox" vs "Yes it is", is a good sign.
If players cannot classify this game as a Sandbox or as a Themepark, that means that it is definetly something new
Its a Sandpark
"In the immediate future, we have this one, and then weve got another one that is actually going to be so were going to have, what we want to do, is in January, what were targeting to do, this may or may not happen, so you cant hold me to it. But what were targeting to do, is have a fun anniversary to the Ilum shenanigans that happened. An alien race might invade, and they might crash into Ilum and there might be some new activities that happen on the planet." ~Gabe Amatangelo
Comments
Exploration means well, exploring. Have you gone underwater and found treasures (I have). There are also caves, etc. That is exploration. What you want is a world where there are no levels - what fun would that be? They are not instanced at all.
WoW stunk for exploration - it was very MEH that way,
You are missing the boat I think.
Lets break this down for a moment. A sandbox game means the game is non-linear, you can go where you want and do what you want.
Guild Wars 2 is not a sandbox as it is linear. You progress in levels up to level 80, and you have to stay within areas that are equal to your level or below due to monster difficulty. However at this point it somewhat becomes non-linear. As you can go anywhere and do anything you want at that point as the world will scale with you. Within the obvious constraints of combat and events.
So the game is less linear than other MMOs when it comes to 'end game', but still too linear to be a sandbox. If you simply must have a sandbox game, then wait for something else, as this isnt the game you are looking for.
I am not here to defend WoW but certainly GW2 hasn't got that sandboxy feeling in the exploration department.
It doesn't offer anything particularly new in terms of exploration except for the level scalability, which allows you to get XP for low levevel zones.
But that's pretty much it.
The OP was asking if this game had any Sandboxy elements in it, someone said that exploration was one sandboxy feature.
I say no.
If people classify GW2 exploration as sandboxy, probably they never playied a Sandbox MMO.
I didnt meant I must have a sandbox game.
This thread is of interest to anyone who might happen to like sandbox games and be curious to see if Guild Wars 2 has one or more elements that the player might recognize as desireable.
So this might actually help to sell the game to a nice audience it was not originally designed for.
I think people will come check it to find out if there is ANYTHING sandboxy to Guild Wars 2. The great majority knows its not supposed to be a sandbox, but many people dont know exactly what kind of "hybrid" design went on it.
Oh yes, WoW nowadays offers so much feeling of exploration... go from one quest hub to the other, in a specific order, talk to static NPCs with a big "!" over their head, and don't forget to fly on your flying mount to make the world feel even smaller.
Listen, I'm not a WoW hater, as I said, I've played the game for 7+ years, and it's not my style to "spit in the soup", but GW2 allows choices WoW never allowed. And every sense of exploration disapeared the day they added flying mounts, too.
Respect, walk
Are you talkin' to me? Are you talkin' to me?
- PANTERA at HELLFEST 2023
GW is not a sandbox. Therefore is has no 'sandbox redeeming qualities". Zilch, nada, zero, nothing, none.
It is however a brilliant themepark with dynamic quests, exploration, amazing cities and 3 faction pvp.
It will not interest sandbox players looking for sandbox features.
Yes and yes. ste....your probably one of the few real oldtimers that remembers what 'massively-multiplayer' meant.
GW2 will probably be a fun cooperative/competitive online multiplayer game, but only the truely delusional and immature to what massively-multiplayer means, when Richard Garriott first coined the term in the mid-to late 90's with Ultima Online, will wrongfully label GW2 (as they did with SW:TOR), as a Massively-Multiplayer game.
[mod edit]
But the initial question was misleading - "sell me sandbox". I think it's best to state GW2 is a Themepark mmorpg.
If you'd stated the question: "Is there anything that comes close to what would trationally be found in a sandbox mmorpg, in GW2 and if so please explain," that would be much fairer way of drumming interest and setting expectations, I'd suggest?
Perhaps inverting the question makes more sense: "How does GW2 feel less like a traditional Themepark?"
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014633/Classic-Game-Postmortem
Your wrong on so many levels, sandbox games=you feel immersed and feel the freedom, plus exploration. I feel the same way about GW2, gw2 has a few sandbox elements if you don't think so then I don't think you even know what a sandbox is. I literally spent 5 hours just exploring the game running around and looking at nice landscapes and I felt the freedom. Just as I did have the same feeling in a 100 percent sandbox mmorpg.
I would consider that GW2 has little or few or whatever is considered a small amount to you sandbox elements. I consider exploration and freedom in the sandbox category. I'm a sandbox player looking for sandbox features and obviously GW2's exploration did just that. I kind of feel like I'm playing a single player adventure game but really it's an MMORPG when you turn on the UI back on. The first thing that got me hooked into researching gw2 more and watch the videos was mainly WvWvW. I then realized that exploration and the art of this game is also getting me hooked.
Looking at: The Repopulation
Preordering: None
Playing: Random Games
GW2 is not a sandbox game.....move along
Cluck Cluck, Gibber Gibber, My Old Mans A Mushroom
I don't think we ever even said GW2 is a sandbox game, move along.
Looking at: The Repopulation
Preordering: None
Playing: Random Games
No offense, but next time you answer someone, try to read his post first... he was talking about Archeage, not GW2. You basically refuted his arguments when you guys were actually agreeing.
Respect, walk
Are you talkin' to me? Are you talkin' to me?
- PANTERA at HELLFEST 2023
Woah guy, what part of no sandbox qualities don't you understand? Do you expect an orange to taste like an apple in some areas? Stop trying to find blood in a stone. People repeatedly answered your question and you're still asking it?
#TeamVainlash
Why did Marceline's dad eat her fries? I mean...cause she bought them and they were hers...
Yah no ****. The white is about Archeage and the green is about GW2. The green is comparisions between GW2 [Green] and Archage [White]. Hence GW2 doesnt have much sandbox elements as Archeage. No offense, I thought it was obvious Green was about GW2
I think some of us still didn't translate the OP correctly Unfortunately.
Looking at: The Repopulation
Preordering: None
Playing: Random Games
There is no sand in GW2. Wait for ArcheAge to get your sandbox on or enjoy GW2's themepark rides while you wait. That's what I'm doing.
My theme song.
Its a Sandpark
"In the immediate future, we have this one, and then weve got another one that is actually going to be so were going to have, what we want to do, is in January, what were targeting to do, this may or may not happen, so you cant hold me to it. But what were targeting to do, is have a fun anniversary to the Ilum shenanigans that happened. An alien race might invade, and they might crash into Ilum and there might be some new activities that happen on the planet." ~Gabe Amatangelo