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After 30ays of play, I don't think I could ever come back.
delete5230
Member EpicPosts: 7,081
I played GW2 for about 30 days on release. I belonged to a large good guild that had hi hopes to be #1, we had meetings on Vintrilo ( voice chat ) we set strategies, we had generals lieutenants and sergeants. We made plans for WvW, PvP Dungeons and open world events.
On opening day we had at least fifty players on voice chat alone trying to organize. But this was a BIG no can do. Sure the game was new, sure many needed a few days of solo to get the basics. Nothing came of anything. Events were already set by developers, events were mixed with strangers and us. We had no point to be organized, even as a duo. Developers took care of that in giving us what they THINK we would like. After several days everyone caved in and went the solo route as the game set for us. 75 of us all alone with people around us, it was like being in a packed mall by your self.
Now for just me. When I play a single player game, I find once I figure out the mechanics of a game I get board. MMOs used to fill that gap by adding community. With this I could play for months on end, but GW2 is just another single player game. Once a figured out my Necromancer it was just another single player game.
Comments
With other words, you ended up with people that wanted to be forced into grouping without really want it.
After you all found out that the game gives you the choice, to either play as a group in a party OR go ungrouped (still can be together over ventrillo and work together on events and such or WvsWvsW), you all split and went into "solo mode".
This shows however not that the game is at fault, it shows that the players are at fault for choosing to go solo, even they CAN be in groups.
This game unlike some others is giving you the choice.
I have done personal story with guildies, dungeons, events, WvsWvsW.
If you want you can.
Oderint, dum metuant.
Four months in and I have yet to play by myself for a single day. You can play any MMO solo if you choose. I choose not to. An MMO community is what you make it. Community is not created by the game, but by the player. Not one time in four months have I ever logged on and done something by myself.
Map Completion: Ran with 3 friends of mine.
Personal Story: Ran with same 3 friends of mine. (Met in game BTW)
Dungeons: Yeah you go ahead and try these solo. Let me know how that works out for you.
WvWvW: Run solo in here the whole time to. Let me know how that works as well and how much you help your server.
Let me tell you what community is and what I have seen. When a guildy chats in Guild Chat and asks for help with something you respond and go help. Don't ignore like most. When a guildy chats in Guild Chat that they are LFG to run a dungeon get in there and run the dungeon. When a guildy is forming up a PvP group for sPvP or WvWvW in Guild Chat then respond and get in on the group. Use voice coms. Talk about other shit besides Guild Wars 2 in voice coms. Trade between guildies instead of using the TP. Craft for your new lower level guildmates. Help them level by running personaly story thats 10 levels above them.
I'm about sick of the MMO gamers blaming games for community. That's the most ignorant thing I have ever heard. You are the community. You make it. If it sucks its because you suck.
Well sead +1
Waiting for the other guys to respond to your post that says GW2 is not social beacuse you can't sit in chairs.
If it's not broken, you are not innovating.
You've obviously found the best guild on the best server and play at the prime peak times. There are heaps of guilds/players that are completely unresponsive to any sort of initiative that you're talking about. The only person that could do anything with your advice would have to be in a very specific and opportunistic situation. There are too many factors in GW2 that make it a very anti-social uncooperative game up until max level. I'm glad that you're in the ecstatic minority who's gameplay experience involves frollicing in fields with 30 other players chewing up the PVE, laughing and slapping asses all the while.
The majority of us however, got burned pretty bad. There are no incentives for doing most of the things you mentioned. And as our oft selfish society dictates....if there aren't incentives its no go.
Was in response to Paroxitic's post btw.
But you can't sit in chairs...
Seriously I agree and yet disagree. A way a game is designed can heavily influence the social aspect people have towards a game. GW2 for example is actually quite anti-social as it does heavily focus on random people just doing the same tasks working 'together' yet not being together.
That being said as you say its up to the community to really interact. You could easily talk with others and communicate. Theres nothing stopping you from talking with people around you or forming a group with others, even if your going to be stuck in a 'mall' filled with people.
Sure, GW2 seems to shy away from being social being a common practice (which I'm not huge on to much, granted I do solo a lot, I felt even less inclined to actually talk with others in the game) but theres nothing say you can't communicate, specially if you are in a guild for just that purpose. Even if a game isn't promoting it, it doesn't stop you from doing it yourself.
The main reason the game isn't very social is because it doesn't require much communication to do anything. You just zerg your way through the content, like a bull in a china shop. That's not to say it can't be a fun social experience, especially if you have the right guild and the right friends playing at the right times. But that's true for any game with a chat feature.
Think about it, when was the last time you were part of a zerg washing over some random DE, where people were coordinating tactics to hold the line or whatever? The realty is you have a large group of people doing stuff as individuals because they don't need to work as a group.
You make me like charity
What happens when you log off your characters????.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFQhfhnjYMk
Dark Age of Camelot
I think GW2 together with SWTOR is the most anti-social game I have played. It is entirely solo-centric, and even when you do group, the absence of any defined roles means that no-one even bothers to discuss tactics, they just res and run until they can get the hell out of the dungeon and the group and take a long shower to wash the whole ugly experience away.
But it is not only that, when quests were harder, or there were quest hubs you would strike up conversations with random players, merely as a consequence of being in the same place and struggling with the same quests for a period of time. With hearts and static events you just stroll through the requirements and wander onto another one in no particular order.
Admittedly you can talk in guild chat, but then I could also sit on the phone to a mate while playing a game. Surely the point of an mmo is that certain elements of it should be social.
currently playing: DDO, AOC, WoT, P101
To small? Yikes... try running from Citadel in the north assualt Bay with no waypoints built... it doesn't feel small then.
Oderint, dum metuant.
Here, here!
I know what you mean I remeber that GW1 change very well. With a limited amount of time to play you get the idea that you must pack as much experience in as possible. Having Heros you can start a group and get going without having to wait for anyone. Since you don't have to wait it fills that need but hurts the need to socialize with others. I think the loss was more then the gain. In GW1 I had a great guild that enjoyed doing things together I have yet to find one in GW2 but I haven't really looked. I join random groups in open world all the time (Note: the drops are better). I use gw2lfg to find dungeon groups and for the most part have found decent folks to play with.
Point is there is a tricky balance between allowing players to get into the action as fast as possible and the need to find others to play with. I can't say that I personally feel that GW2 has swung so far to one side as to be entirely anti-social but it is more toward that direction.
Lets see if I get this right
You cant sit in a chair = Antisocial
Not that many emotes = Antisocial
No forced grouping = Antisocial
Doing DEs in a group of strangers = Antisocial
Refuse to start the snowball effect (ask in chat for help) = Antisocial
Refuse to chat in zone chat hoping for someone else to start = Antisocial
Dungeon runs with pug everyone do dps no trinity = Antisocial
Did I get all this right or have I missed something?
If it's not broken, you are not innovating.
"We had no point to be organized, even as a duo."
Thats why your guild never mattered. It isnt the responsibility of any game to inspire a guild to become organized.
And, no, you never "figured out" your necro. I can tell by the body of your text.
Seems like devs knew game will fail grouping =D so they made it very easy way, whole game works fine with pugs.
I guess it was correct decision so nobody left behind.
try before buy, even if it's a game to avoid bad surprises.
Worst surprises for me: Aion, GW2
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/innovation
Yah, "forced social interaction" always yielded great results!
Man, when i see all those people that whine about no forced social interaction i really wonder do they belong in MMOs anyway if the only way they interact is if somone forces them to.
MMOs are as social as you make them.
The problem is that people who proclaim them "anti-social" (ehm, its wrong term, at least they could look at what it means anyway, forced social interatcion is basically definition of anti-social) arent aware that the cause of that is themsleves and not the game.