BioDio.3476

This was a really good read, thanks for putting this together.I haven't reached the current season yet, so, I don't know how it works. FF14 had (has) the same problem of waiting for dialogue during an instance when people just wanted to farm a certain eh... semi-raid. After that, all of the story sequences are done instanced, none of the plot is ever done during group content since everyone got mad at that. One thing I enjoy in FF14 is that the entire content of the game (exclude PVP) is populated. You can find a party to do anything in the game, even old base game raids, due to the way the game is designed. I don't feel that in any other MMO, I think WoW made something similar recently?But GW2 has a bunch of content that, well, people just have no reason to go there, making it hard to find groups like you said. I'm not even gonna talk about Season 1, like, wow, I don't even know how that got approved... Again, great idea on paper, but a middle finger for newcomers, glad they changed for Season 2. Most of the other stuff you said, is true, and I agree with it. I mean, GW2 has a great foundation. I'm not a fan of an MMO without the Holy Trinity (Tank Healer DPS) hardcoded, but I'm ok with GW2.I think the game has progressions issues at the end of the day, but I also don't know how to solve those issues, and they're not major. The game is fun and enjoyable from start to... well, forever, but it can get repetitive depending on your gameplay style.

I'm probably the minority, but, personally, I don't find any vanity items in the cash shop particularly interesting/attractive, game's gear, even level 1 gear, is pretty cool looking, and the HoM gear being free to transmute, including dyes... I can make my character look the way I want. Also, the base mounts look amazing, with the possibility to also dye for free.I did buy most of the Episodes from Season 2 and Season 3, since I wasn't so active back then, only had a couple of them unlocked, and that was the only time I bought anything from the game since I started playing from the beta.Never felt the need to spend money besides that. I'm gonna buy some QoL stuff, that's the only thing I feel like I need. I'm just saying, this game is much bigger and complex than GW1, but still has the GW1 philosophy, by not asking you to pay for anything besides the game, however, even in GW1 you had to pay for a pack of 4 bonus missions, explaining past events of each game, which was fine, the missions were nice and they gave you some cool weapon skins.GW2 is massive, in every sense of the word, yet, it doesn't ask you too much to experience everything. The base game is free, and it's by far the best 1-80 experience out there in the market... for free. Again, this is my point of view. Black Desert has a very predatory cash shop, and the game still asks you to pay like 5/8€ just to play it. Sure, it's great to get up to a friend and say all the good stuff from the game has to offer without asking too much from you, but, I personally don't think they need to go to such lengths. Asking for up to 50 gems per episode during the release window doesn't seem that crazy. You don't have to buy anything in the gem store. Just buy gems. That's enough to help support the studio. Asking to pay for episodes during the release window goes against precedent. However, you are more than able to buy 50 gems each time a new episode is released. I guess I'm not sure what your agenda is here. It seems like you want to enforce some kind of subscription or mandatory payment model which is opposed by the game's F2P concept from inception?I guess you're right. Well, this was an insightful discussion, good to see other points of view. Hope the game stays around because even after all these years, I honestly think it is aging pretty well all things considered. I played other MMOs in between my FF14 sub, but I keep coming back to GW2, overall, it's a very enjoyable experience.

I'm probably the minority, but, personally, I don't find any vanity items in the cash shop particularly interesting/attractive, game's gear, even level 1 gear, is pretty cool looking, and the HoM gear being free to transmute, including dyes... I can make my character look the way I want. Also, the base mounts look amazing, with the possibility to also dye for free.I did buy most of the Episodes from Season 2 and Season 3, since I wasn't so active back then, only had a couple of them unlocked, and that was the only time I bought anything from the game since I started playing from the beta.Never felt the need to spend money besides that. I'm gonna buy some QoL stuff, that's the only thing I feel like I need. I'm just saying, this game is much bigger and complex than GW1, but still has the GW1 philosophy, by not asking you to pay for anything besides the game, however, even in GW1 you had to pay for a pack of 4 bonus missions, explaining past events of each game, which was fine, the missions were nice and they gave you some cool weapon skins.GW2 is massive, in every sense of the word, yet, it doesn't ask you too much to experience everything. The base game is free, and it's by far the best 1-80 experience out there in the market... for free. Again, this is my point of view. Black Desert has a very predatory cash shop, and the game still asks you to pay like 5/8€ just to play it. Sure, it's great to get up to a friend and say all the good stuff from the game has to offer without asking too much from you, but, I personally don't think they need to go to such lengths. Asking for up to 50 gems per episode during the release window doesn't seem that crazy.

You bring a good point. I've done WvW before a couple of times, for the dailies.Ok, one good thing about GW (both) is that even if it's not perfect in every way, it offers a lot of different content. I mean, FF14 PVP is embarrassing, the game is amazing at doing Raids and Epic endgame boss fights and trials (my opinion, but the FF14 gameplay is more responsive than GW2, from my experience), but the PVP is embarrassing. Every year FF14 tries to salvage the PVP but, the core of the gameplay is just... bad for PVP. GW (both) gameplay is not perfect, but it's crazy versatile, it's ok for everything. However, this game needs more spending players from my understanding. I'm not joking when I say that I feel like I'm stealing from the devs every time I play the game, look at the ridiculous good quality amount of content Arena Net creates... for free. In 2020... for free. I would vote for them to at least sell an episode half-price during the release window, and not for free. I'm gonna buy the Deluxe Edition of the next expansion and spend some money on the game. I haven't spent money since... pfff... I really dunno, I know I did at some point, and I have the deluxe of PoF, but that's it. There is no P2W, no sub... asking for a couple of coins for every episode, should be fine?! Probably half the people will reject this idea, but really, if you like the game, don't let it die, and show GW2 as an example of a good non-sub MMO that can turn a good amount of profit (I really don't know if they're doing well, but I don't feel like its too hot). That leads me to, PVE is what casual players play (in MMOs). Casual players make the majority of the players. PVP in GW was always hardcore. I did PVP in GW1 to get the HoM achievements, and once I got the hang of it, I was destroying, but it took a lot of dedication and practice. It requires a LOT of skill to pull off a well-balanced build and master it.PVP and PVE can be separated modes like in GW1. Go to PVP, pick the gear you want, and off you go. Balanced. I know we're too late for that. But we're just discussing here.I did not intend to create this post asking for changes to the game, just saying my point of view, like, just sharing some feedback on how I feel about the game. I think the PVP experience can and should be more streamlined, so it wouldn't need too much balance every time they introduced new content, but, that's my opinion. Story missions are just a minor issue I have. GW2 story feels like GW1, a single-player game that you can play online/co-op. FF14 story sequences are actually locked as a single-player ONLY experience, but main bosses, endgame story raids, no, that's online, with a party, and it feels epic.GW2 has world events with Dragon's minions that required hundreds of players, but a god was just you a sword and a sapling... meh. It was the best fight so far in the game, but... eh. I felt like PS2 Kratos.Here is an example of an endgame story boss fight (skip to the middle at the change of the phase), with a dragon in FF14. The ending of the 2nd expansion - I feel like world bosses are more powerful than the Dragons or a God in GW2, just that. But overall, GW2 lore is really good, and I've read all 3 books. I just think the game could get a bigger crowd, somehow, because what's here, truly is one of a kind, and I don't want to see it die slowly, since the current player base doesn't feel enough for this game. (Meaning that, feels like the game doesn't do the money it was set to do when it released)

Well, yeah, I clarified that above, but, this is an online game/MMO, it would feel more impactful than playing it solo. But hey, if it works better for the community, then I'm the minority. It just felt... meh, when I killed both dragons and a god. If it was a single-player game, ok, that's just how it is, but, as an MMO, it doesn't feel amazing killing an all mighty powerful god, solo (with an average gear set).

I'm actually fine with everything you said, but, just want to clarify some stuff SpoilerGameplaywise, you kill both dragons alone (core and HoT) and a god (PoF). In PoF you have the help of Aurene, that's what I meant, and in Zaithan you have the help of a fleet.. etc. All cool, but (sorry, I need to), when compared to the ending fight of each expansion of FF14, GW2 final boss fights feel, weak... They should be mandatory raids that reward veterans by queuing up to help newcomers. That's how the FF14 queues work. Every single bit of group content from 1 to 80, rewards endgame players and leveling players. Regarding the gear grind, it's a tricky topic, it really boils down to each player experience. You probably won't believe me if I tell you that, if I grind for the legendary or ascended gear, in GW2, it'll actually be a bigger grind than when I grind for mid-range gear on FF14. I usually don't grind for the top of the line gear, but for example, in FF14, to get an endgame ready weapon, right now, it takes you 2 days. You can take that weapon to any raid, normal or hard (or any content in the game). The gear is a bit different, but you can choose to grind some months (having a small weekly cap, so, 3-4 days a week) for medium-high gear or just get some current raid drops for a couple of weeks (medium-range gear), usually less than 1 month, making 4 runs weekly (each run is around 20min). GW2 is a bit different, however, once you finish that long grind, you're set... forever.I think the idea is to keep that progression feeling (that the core GW2 nailed it, SO WELL), and don't make that grind boring or too long. Yeah, sure, you can create a new character, but what if I just like that 1 character? Again, this comes down to player choice, but, I could argue that most people (especially nowadays) enjoy progression more than 1 big grind.Just adding 10 extra levels to each expansion and have the same progression as you have in the core game. In the endgame, you could upgrade your ascended gear to the current meta. I think that would solve most of my issues, and I (as a non-legendary player) could continue feeling that gradual gear progression, changing the looks of my character to the current zone without using transmog for a temporary look. Also, I think it would make the mobs more balanced. About skills, again, it depends on the class. Let's take a look at Elementalist, with a total of 40 active skills / 4 attunement skills / 5 support skillsElementalist has more skills than my Dancer has in FF14, and Black Mage too. Yeah, you don't use all at the same time, the same is true for my Dancer. I also hated WoW for the number of skills, but I think both GW1 and FF14 proved that was not necessary. This is just a personal issue, I have a harder time with GW2 skills than FF14, since I can't see them all and I need to switch tabs (switch weapons) to use another set. This is not an issue, just something I pointed out. I don't even know of a solution, I think it's fine as it is. Just pointing out that you're using the same skills for years on end unless you change your specialization. Ignore my talk about fractals, I did some years ago, with a couple of friends, I don't really remember most of it, and I was just following them. Was fun though.

This is not a rant post, but I'll just write the negative points I find in the game. For the record, I don't think there is a non-sub/kind of F2P/non-P2W game better than GW2. This is truly a massive game for an amazing value. However, for all the years I play it on and off, it always feels like it could do much better. I play mainly FF14 and come to GW2 in between my FF14 subs/patches. I play GW since the original 4 games, and started GW2 in beta, but was never a hardcore player. I'm currently in the PoF Living World story. So, if I'm wrong with any of my statements below, please, correct me, I'm not a pro-player, just telling you how I perceive the game as a returning player/or maybe as a new player. Lack of a Strong ProgressionOne of the "best things" about GW2 is that you don't need to farm new gear with each new expansion. I still remember in WoW, the long grind farm for new gear with each new raid expansion, terrible. So, when GW2 announced this (basically, the same thing happened in GW1), felt great, on paper. Using the same gear since for 2 expansions is... well, boring. Yes, I can farm other cool looking gear, but why, the gear I put up is just fine. This can also make veterans with stronger gear get bored in the open world, so, with each new expansion/patch, the game can't be too difficult, so the majority of new and the returning player can finish the story, at the same time the people who are fully geared can just destroy everything.I really enjoyed how FF14 managed the endgame, you have an entry-level of gear, easy to obtain, useful to complete the entire story, then a mid-range gear, more time consuming to obtain but will let you do the hard mode of the end-game, which will reward you with the best gear at that point in time, so, its tier-based. Someone told me WoW does something similar (no idea). While in GW, I play with a friend who did his ascended gear set before he started HoT, and after all these years, he's still using the same gear.For many people this is fine, but for some, it's just boring. I saw a bunch of cool gear in Elona, but I'm not gonna equip it, all of it sucked when compared to the gear I got pre HoT or during HoT. It's just vanity gear. As I've seen written somewhere, this is Fashion Wars 2. Again, not a major complaint, since this is the philosophy of GW since GW1, but, well.. yeah. DifficultyThe game is hard. I know the veterans will come here and just shred me to pieces, but the reality is, after you start doing the ending zones of the core game, and going to the expansions, you'll see there is a spike in the difficulty. This is a difficult topic for me for a couple of reasons: Maps get crazy - Seriously, I love the maps in GW2 (expansions/Living World/Core Endgame), they look amazingly complex and amazing to explore, but, I also hate them because they can get WAY too confusing and difficult to traverse. I honestly dunno what to say here. I hated HoT verticality. It demanded too much from the player. I fully explored some zones, but, really, it felt like a test of my patience than skills. PoF maps are much more fun to play, but some areas get a bit crazy, BUT, I think it's more balanced. Can't wait to see Echovald Forest >_>Mobs can be frustrating, depending on location. The spawn times are a bit too quick (at least in the expansion zones), and there are a lot of difficult areas, with too many strong mobs around. This comes down from what I mentioned above regarding the progression of the game. The game is too easy for fully geared veterans, but difficult for normal geared people. If the game had a progression like previous MMOs, the devs would know which gear on average would the players have at that time, and you could scale the areas like the core game scales the player levels.Dungeons/RaidsThe game feels like it doesn't care for their dungeons or Raids. Why not make some story missions part of a dungeon, and the end of each expansion a Raid? I mean, the ending of each expansion was like... meh, PoF was cool, but, wow "I did that alone"? Damn, I'm a superhero. (Ok, someone helped, but still). I bet most people don't know dungeons are a thing, they feel like an afterthought. I've done 2 dungeons runs and run in hmmm... 5 fractals? I don't remember. Every time FF14 introduces new mechanics, they show you what it is, and make sure you know where it is and how it works. I'm not talking about the exploration stuff, I'm talking about mechanics you should know, GW2 is still a theme park MMO, not a survival MMO. Nothing in the main path brings me to a dungeon or raid, I just get a tooltip "oh, you can now to this"... ok, but, should I? Why should I do it? My gear is fine, I'm leveling fast... why should I go there?Dungeon experience is also, meh, but, yeah, that can be just personal taste. Same SkillsThis is again, a difficult topic for me to discuss since is another GW2 philosophy. I'm using the same skills in my ranger since the core game, so, basically, doing the same rotation for years.Sorry, but... again, in FF14 with every expansion they revamp the combat, adding new skills, new rotations, and remove certain skills that aren't as useful or joining them with others. Making the total amount of skills mostly the same, but with fresh gameplay feel. However, I would say, GW2 does better. They added specializations which is a great addition, however, that means I need to farm new gear to use that efficiently, and there is a chance that we don't end up liking that specialization, in my case, the Druid. However, I did enjoy Soulbeast, but once I tried it with my current gear, I got stomped HARD by PoF mobs, so, I went back to my old build and been doing normal progress. I don't think this is something that should change in the game, but, just giving my point of view. This, joined with the lack of strong gear progression, can make the game boring after awhile. Just some closing positive notes, The road from 1-80 is by far the best experience I've ever had in any MMO. I love FF14 leveling, but it doesn't feel as rewarding as GW2 (until you reach level 80 in GW2). Masteries, whoever came up with this, is a genius at game design. Mounts, best mounts in any MMO, best use of mounts in any MMO, best-animated mounts in any MMO. Almost all gears look great (but I like the FF14 gear the most, just personal preference), but the dye system is just so perfect and good, and... perfect. Ranger pet collection <3. World events... and so on, so on. I haven't done much progress after all these years, because, after playing some days on my main character, I need to create a new character or continue to level up a character just to feel that amazing progression. GW1 had the same issue, but it was a different game. GW2 could, IMO, be much stronger than what it is currently. It still feels like a game for GW veterans and has a difficult endgame entry point for casual players, since the endgame starts at the end of the core game. That is a LOT of content to tackle for a newcomer. One last thing, I really don't like the amount of inventory management it needs to be done, this game has so many items, its crazy, but maybe it's just me having issues.

I have both, but I haven't started PoF and don't want to until I'm done with HoT.However, please ^^ can you be more specific? I dunno what AA means and marauder GS and such... (I'm not pro or hardcore, I just enjoy GW since the first game)

Hey, I will have some time during the next few months, so, wanted to get back to my lovely ranger.However, since I'm playing solo PVE, in the 1st expansion, what builds do you guys recommend? I don't need the number 1 best build for everything, just one that is good overall, one I can use to progress in the game since this expansion is proving to be a bit difficult.Any tips also welcome.(don't tell me to go to Path of Fire to get my mount or wtv else, I love GW lore, and don't want to do the story in any different way) Thanks