Originally posted by Chivalry1978 Ok how about this I found the hype not to be lived up to and the fan base to rival republicans in the amount of mud slinging.....
I find the haters resemble Republican politicians with all their laughable generalizations of the GW2 fanbase.
I never went into it expecting a sandbox, but was expecting lots of groundbraking features as all the hype pointed to that. waht i did get was a well made themepark game but nothing really new just a few different twists on things and like i said its not a bad thing..
But yeah we all have different tastes in games and its very rare i ever bash a game because i hate it ill usually try and explain why tho i did bash SWTOR a bit to start with haha
Anyway i may actually pick up GW2 at some point but only when its cheaper
What you got was the first 6 zones in a game comrpising of 25 different zones. What you got was the first 20 levels in a game comprising of 80 levels.
And it is a themepark, yes, but in such a way where you can experience the themepark as a sandbox. You can start off in the human area for the first 20 levels and, if you want to, go over to the Charr area to experience that content as well... and... still gain levels for it. And within that themepark there are a LOT of sandbox elements waiting for you You just have to go out and find them which, shock horror, is a thing that the game emphasises right from the start. At later levels your map won't mark things up for you, it won't guide you to the rare Boss mobs and dungeon encounters, it won't give you the best gear by pointint you at an instance entrance and saying "farm"; all of that will come through decidedly sandbox-ish interactions with the game world, just like they did in Eye of the North.
I'm not suggesting that you're not entiteled to your opinion, or that you are wrong, just that your perspective seems to be based on the fact that you went in and played what is a very sandbox themepark as a linear themepark, and now you're complaining about it.
Also, Guild Wars 2 never promised lots of ground-breaking features outside of PvP. OTHERS claimed it had ground-breaking features. ArenaNet have always maintained that they set out to make a more traditional MMO in a lot of ways (see: when they first announced it they openly stated the reason they were making it was to deliver a more traditional Guild Wars MMO exeprience).
I think people are looking for the next great MMO that isn't World of Warcraft or a WoW clone. And I think most people feel like Guild Wars 2 is the best hope of that goal.
GW1 fans might like GW2, but playing the game has convinced me that in no way will it kill off quest-based MMORPGs. I believe that I can argue that the DEs in GW2 make for even less PvE content than what is found in those other games.
there like what ... 1500 DE's in-game right now ? It's a number they brought out almost a year ago.
I think we'll have more then enough PvE content.
It's rather have 1500 DE's then 3000 kill/fetch quest hubs
Why? You like running around a giant world full of forts and outposts that serve no real purpose filled with nondescript NPCs that do little else other than stand around or let you buy stuff off them? That's basically what you do in GW2. You run around aimlessly praying to whatever god you worship that you run across a DE and in the interim you do your heart quests (awfully grindy kill/collect quests) and your personal story.
If you can't find a DE, well you know you encountered ones before, and if all else fails, just escort that freaking cow over and over again.
That isn't an evolution in game design at all. That's just WAR or at best Rift stripped of all the quest hub content.
so you like TERA, because of its combat and its fantastic graphics? We are ok with that! But, maybe you could understand, that other people like other MMOs. Sounds rational, doesn't it? And many players with experience from playing WoW, EQ2, AoC, Vanguard, LotRO, Rift and SWTOR are a little tired of one big problem:
One has to do a lot of stuff in MMOs he or she does not want to do.
Call it grinding, farming, raiding, etc. This comes together with a lot of points that make it even worse:
Imbalanced PvP because of itemization.
Players do not play together to win in PvP, because they just want honor (you know grinding for items...).
Waiting ques for PvP.
No well crafted world-PvP. Just owning others with your well earned items.
Many players play as a healer, although they do not want to, but their guilds need some for raiding.
Players judge other players because of their armor stats, and not because they are good or just friends.
Players rushing through well crafted dungeons without giving a shit about the mechanics, because they are just farming some %@#+-points for items.
You always feel like you are not able to just play the game, because you need to farm for better items!
Other players that claim to be hardcore and that it always has been like this and always will be.
The same players insulting everybody else as casual noobs that are guilty for everything bad in any MMO.
An outdated AI - called holy trinity - that makes playing boring and repetetive.
Sitting around and waiting for a healer or a tank.
Doing the same stupid quests again, again and again.
People tend to make quests more and more alone, because it is more effective in terms of getting XP, items, etc.
No riddles, no traps, and they always tell you "it is not possible in an MMO".
No failure, you can try something again and again, until you succeed.
No change to the world. Whatever heroics you achieve, nothing happens.
Groups of people standing around with a golden ! over their heads.
Not being able to make a choice, no branching. Again they tell you "It is impossible in MMOs!"
A world made in high graphics, so that you and your friends need to buy a new PC, but at the same time, the world does not look well crafted and immersive.
No place for just exploring a big world and looking for some adventure. The game always tells you exactly what to do, and there is nothing else to do.
No freedom to do whatever you want to do now (PvP, world-PvP, dungeons, quests, solo-quests,etc).
And then comes ArenaNet and they promise to change all of that crap? And the beta shows they really do?
They definitively earned the hype!
Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need.
Was not really over hyped by the publisher but really by the fanboys on here... some people where making it out to be the second coming of christ
I need proof there was a first coming! Screen shot or it didn't happen!
its well known that mary somehow had a kid without having sex then all of a sudden jesus was a grown man, romans didnt like him and killed him.. he then came back from the dead as a zombie.. this is fact its written in some book..
Was not really over hyped by the publisher but really by the fanboys on here... some people where making it out to be the second coming of christ
I need proof there was a first coming! Screen shot or it didn't happen!
its well known that mary somehow had a kid without having sex then all of a sudden jesus was a grown man, romans didnt like him and killed him.. he then came back from the dead as a zombie.. this is fact its written in some book..
And here it goes again more bickering...sigh if your games are so awesome why are you not playing them right now? What is your compulsion to come here and flame and bash as if your opinion's are the only one that matters and all else mean nothing? Just curious.
Why? You like running around a giant world full of forts and outposts that serve no real purpose filled with nondescript NPCs that do little else other than stand around or let you buy stuff off them? That's basically what you do in GW2. You run around aimlessly praying to whatever god you worship that you run across a DE and in the interim you do your heart quests (awfully grindy kill/collect quests) and your personal story.
If you can't find a DE, well you know you encountered ones before, and if all else fails, just escort that freaking cow over and over again.
That isn't an evolution in game design at all. That's just WAR or at best Rift stripped of all the quest hub content.
But hey, at least the cities feel alive right?
That's certainly one way to play it, however that's not the only way, and you certaintly aren't forced to play it this way. I see quite a few people choosing to play this game like previous MMOs and then complaining that it isn't 'different'.
Personally, I didn't have to pray for anything. I spent me weekend exploring, and getting overwhelmed with so many events, I had to pick and choose which I wanted to do and which I wanted to skip. I lvling into some of the higher lvl areas only to find this problem getting worse and worse. Especially realizing that I didn't have to stick to fighting mobs my own lvl, I could do just fine taking on mobs 2-5 lvls higher in certain cases.
As for WvW.. well I guess you just don't get it. Most people had an absolute blast with that, and it's been some of the most fun people have had in over a decade. Personally I find it cool that you can not only capture & upgrade your own keeps, but you can also deck it out w/ various siege weapons, hire guards to help defend it, or if you wanted to take it you could choose to either beat down the front door, teleport over the walls, or just blow the walls up entirely.
The only thing in common with Darkfall and Teras combat system is that you press the mouse botton to attack LOL..
Darkfall did it better imo because you can move while casting a spell, the only thing tera has that darkfall doesnt is that some classes can dodge.
Out of curiosity, is melee any useful in Darkfall?
Because while move while casting may sound good and all in theory, in practice you can kite indefinitely a melee, effectively rendering all those classes useless.
The only thing in common with Darkfall and Teras combat system is that you press the mouse botton to attack LOL..
Darkfall did it better imo because you can move while casting a spell, the only thing tera has that darkfall doesnt is that some classes can dodge.
Out of curiosity, is melee any useful in Darkfall?
Because while move while casting may sound good and all in theory, in practice you can kite indefinitely a melee, effectively rendering all those classes useless.
Yeah melee is fine in Darkfall.. Combat in Darkfall can be pretty fast paced, one moment you can be casting spells at each other but then get close enough for melee combat you quickly get out your sword and start attacking.. even if your not a hybrid class and go destoryer you are constantly shooting arrows and dodging spell attacks and so on until you get close enough..
There are also spells you can use to launch yourself closer to your enemy, or use a monut to get close..
I really enjoy the combat mechanics in Darkfall, i know the game is not perfect but no game is..
The only thing in common with Darkfall and Teras combat system is that you press the mouse botton to attack LOL..
Darkfall did it better imo because you can move while casting a spell, the only thing tera has that darkfall doesnt is that some classes can dodge.
Out of curiosity, is melee any useful in Darkfall?
Because while move while casting may sound good and all in theory, in practice you can kite indefinitely a melee, effectively rendering all those classes useless.
DarkFall combat. The guy was switching on the fly between skills.
GW1 fans might like GW2, but playing the game has convinced me that in no way will it kill off quest-based MMORPGs. I believe that I can argue that the DEs in GW2 make for even less PvE content than what is found in those other games.
there like what ... 1500 DE's in-game right now ? It's a number they brought out almost a year ago.
I think we'll have more then enough PvE content.
It's rather have 1500 DE's then 3000 kill/fetch quest hubs
Why? You like running around a giant world full of forts and outposts that serve no real purpose filled with nondescript NPCs that do little else other than stand around or let you buy stuff off them? That's basically what you do in GW2. You run around aimlessly praying to whatever god you worship that you run across a DE and in the interim you do your heart quests (awfully grindy kill/collect quests) and your personal story.
If you can't find a DE, well you know you encountered ones before, and if all else fails, just escort that freaking cow over and over again.
That isn't an evolution in game design at all. That's just WAR or at best Rift stripped of all the quest hub content.
But hey, at least the cities feel alive right?
I've seen you post quite a bit against GW2 lately so its clear we are on opposite bandwagons and I won't belittle your opinion or curse your name; therefore, I am here to discuss and not to persuade. It is a game and I could care less what your opinion is of it. Or if it is even popular for that matter (why people care if a game is popular or not is beyond me). As long as there are two full servers for me to play with I'll be fine. I'd only require two for the WvW content. I'm sure there will be at least that for a long time to come, if not years.
The forts and outposts if anything feel like they serve MORE of a purpose in GW 2. Take WoW for instance. I see a fort, but why is it there? nothing ever actually comes out and attacks it. They tell me the orcs across the field are attacking yet they are just standing there picking daisies and wondering in circles. Giving the actual outpost ZERO meaning to me other than just being a quest hub.
Here I see towns and things actually being attacked.
I would hardly consider it running around aimlessly. Its more exploring and having a good time. In Skyrim you pretty much do the same as well as in every other game of this nature. You don't have to do anything twice if you don't want and also the heart "quests" hardly seemed "grindy" to me. Sense I enjoyed doing each of them and they all offered multiple ways to complete the objective.
I don't think the initial assessment is that spot on either. GW1 has nothing to do with GW2 outside the lore. The games are so different that your enjoyment of GW1 in no way accurately predicts your appreciation of two.
I'm not quite sure your beef with GW2 and I don't think I'll ever understand it, simply because I had such a good time in the beta.
I understand that I won't ever understand your point of view because my first hand experience varied so widely so It'll be useless trying to explain your point with intent to convince me. (its kind of like telling someone their favorite food sucks. I've tasted it too, and its my favorite so clearly in my experience your wrong). I'd encourage you to give it another look down the road.
I've already tried to understand your point of view in the past and almost every criticism you make I either had a completely different take on or just didn't experience completely. The DE's, for example, felt completely revolutionary. So much so that I can't go back to normal questing anymore. Cancled two subscriptions because the games now feel completely stale. The DE's were..well..dynamic and fun. I chose how I wanted to proceed rather than being told. I could see things actually happening before me. I didn't wander around searching purposely for DE's. I explored, did hearts, and stumbled on them which was an absolute blast.
The combat was responsive and felt visceral and engaging. I thoroughly enjoyed picking my skill slots and how I could participate with any player I chose. I didn't have to stand around and gather a party I just went out. At one point I started a roving band of thieves on the WvW, for example. We did really well. Sometimes we participated outside of battle, gathering materials and resources. Then we went into the fray and sieged castles as a band. As thieves we often found backdoor defenses and things.
I was pleased with everything I saw. I did not have a single complaint. There were balancing issues and performance issues but I kept in mind this is a beta of an unreleased game that doesn't even have a release date on it. So those things are to be more than expected. Hell, if those things weren't there I'd be pretty pissed because the game is in the oven for no reason at that point.
Again, I'm not trying to convince you because I know we are at an impass at this point. We both experienced it ourselves so there's no other proof we can give each other. Your not going to convince me my table is orange when I'm using it and its brown you know?
I am trying to impart a little bit of courtiousness though. Be courtious to your fellow gamer. Just because you experienced something one way does not mean that is actually how it is. I know that sounds a bit strange. Right now there are far more people who loved and enjoyed the game than disliked it. Please don't take that as belittling and neither is it me trying to support my own opinion. Its just the way it is right now. If it were otherwise I would tell you as I honestly don't care at all what other people do with themselves. So, right now, it is statisticlly far more likely that you may convince someone who would actually love the game not to try it than it is that you would actually save anyone the money. As it stands your opinion or experience is less likely to happen.
I wish people would abandon these crusades to either destroy a games reputation or to be a holy knight in its service. Your beloved games can stand on their own. Its useless trying to save people money because everyone has their own values. What you may think is an awful game another person may have thought was absolutely incredable (clearly as is the case here) and you just turned away someone who may have thoroughly enjoyed the title. The only purpose I believe people have is to try to convince themselves that they have a correct opinion through force. You can say (using the subjective 'you' here, representing all video game bashers or templars) your trying to educate people but, again, what good are you actually doing?
For every one of you there is one of me who loved the game. Also you may actually be misleading people sense, and once more, everyone has their own values. Its likely that bashing a game will result in you keeping someone away from a game that they would have actually liked. You could also say the same for those who would burn the heritics. You may actually be convincing people to waste money on a product they don't like. Its impossible to tell and it is surely doing more harm than good. Let people form opinions on there own. There is plenty of information on this game out there right now and the entire game ran and played exactly as foretold. Almost every square inch of the games features were covered in detail before all this beta stuff. Its not hard to find. You can read how everything happens and plays to such a fine detail that actually playing it for me felt exactly as I had pieced together using all of the information.
As someone who's stepped back to watch from afar, I'd warn you guys about the hype and excitement. I'm not saying you should not try the game. I'm saying just not to buy wholesale the stuff the companies / developers put out to promote the game, and coming in with certain expectations.
Without getting into the tiny details, I'll just leave some examples of a few titles in the last few years to have some serious hype and / or mega-expectations and enter the field with some hefty issues.
Age of Conan - After WoW's success and before the SWTOR promotion juggernaught, AOC had an absolutely amazing marketing to promote the game. End result? Heh...
Warhammer Online
Star Trek Online
Star Wars The Old Republic
Thanks for your time. For the sake of your fandom and finding an actual MMORPG "home," I really do hope GW2 is everything you hope it would be. But for me, the track record of MMORPGs will say otherwise.
"I have only two out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." (First Lieutenant Clifton B. Cates, US Marine Corps, Soissons, 19 July 1918)
It is a good game. People nowadays are so jaded, if this game came out a few years ago peoples minds would explode and we would all just lose are minds and run around on the streets stabbing each other.
I loved the beta and I am glad it is over or I'd still defend Stonemist Castle as Kodash against Blue and Green. It was fun as hell to see them fighting each other instead of us who kept the castle.
It's hyped like it is because of it's popular IP, the that fact it changes/removes a lot of "typical" things and that it adds things that are not common. It's different from the norm and that has people excited, a little too excited at times, but it's good to look forward to things. I think like most MMOs we'll know after three months how good the game really is for the majority of us. The important thing is that if there are parts that add without subtracting other games will pick it up. I think a less oppressive and organic system like the DE's are something every should have. Unfortunately ANet got a little clip crazy in the process IMO lol.
GW1 fans might like GW2, but playing the game has convinced me that in no way will it kill off quest-based MMORPGs. I believe that I can argue that the DEs in GW2 make for even less PvE content than what is found in those other games.
there like what ... 1500 DE's in-game right now ? It's a number they brought out almost a year ago.
I think we'll have more then enough PvE content.
It's rather have 1500 DE's then 3000 kill/fetch quest hubs
Why? You like running around a giant world full of forts and outposts that serve no real purpose filled with nondescript NPCs that do little else other than stand around or let you buy stuff off them? That's basically what you do in GW2. You run around aimlessly praying to whatever god you worship that you run across a DE and in the interim you do your heart quests (awfully grindy kill/collect quests) and your personal story.
If you can't find a DE, well you know you encountered ones before, and if all else fails, just escort that freaking cow over and over again.
That isn't an evolution in game design at all. That's just WAR or at best Rift stripped of all the quest hub content.
But hey, at least the cities feel alive right?
1) NPCs move around and have their own conversations / interactions with other NPCs. They will also defend their town / outpost during attacks. For example, in the norn starter area the Blacksmith stops smithing and turns into a were-bear and helps drive off attackers.
2) Its hard to miss DEs, they are everywhere. And the big zonewide ones will give you map icons on where to help out.
3) Please, its nothing like WAR or Rift.
Please stop being so ignorant. This isnt the cheap rip off dynamic events that TERA is getting.
Comments
I find the haters resemble Republican politicians with all their laughable generalizations of the GW2 fanbase.
What you got was the first 6 zones in a game comrpising of 25 different zones. What you got was the first 20 levels in a game comprising of 80 levels.
And it is a themepark, yes, but in such a way where you can experience the themepark as a sandbox. You can start off in the human area for the first 20 levels and, if you want to, go over to the Charr area to experience that content as well... and... still gain levels for it. And within that themepark there are a LOT of sandbox elements waiting for you You just have to go out and find them which, shock horror, is a thing that the game emphasises right from the start. At later levels your map won't mark things up for you, it won't guide you to the rare Boss mobs and dungeon encounters, it won't give you the best gear by pointint you at an instance entrance and saying "farm"; all of that will come through decidedly sandbox-ish interactions with the game world, just like they did in Eye of the North.
I'm not suggesting that you're not entiteled to your opinion, or that you are wrong, just that your perspective seems to be based on the fact that you went in and played what is a very sandbox themepark as a linear themepark, and now you're complaining about it.
Also, Guild Wars 2 never promised lots of ground-breaking features outside of PvP. OTHERS claimed it had ground-breaking features. ArenaNet have always maintained that they set out to make a more traditional MMO in a lot of ways (see: when they first announced it they openly stated the reason they were making it was to deliver a more traditional Guild Wars MMO exeprience).
You're playing Tera; don't throw stones in glass houses.
Tera has a nice combat system and bugger all beyond that.
Why? You like running around a giant world full of forts and outposts that serve no real purpose filled with nondescript NPCs that do little else other than stand around or let you buy stuff off them? That's basically what you do in GW2. You run around aimlessly praying to whatever god you worship that you run across a DE and in the interim you do your heart quests (awfully grindy kill/collect quests) and your personal story.
If you can't find a DE, well you know you encountered ones before, and if all else fails, just escort that freaking cow over and over again.
That isn't an evolution in game design at all. That's just WAR or at best Rift stripped of all the quest hub content.
But hey, at least the cities feel alive right?
Dear OP,
so you like TERA, because of its combat and its fantastic graphics? We are ok with that! But, maybe you could understand, that other people like other MMOs. Sounds rational, doesn't it? And many players with experience from playing WoW, EQ2, AoC, Vanguard, LotRO, Rift and SWTOR are a little tired of one big problem:
One has to do a lot of stuff in MMOs he or she does not want to do.
Call it grinding, farming, raiding, etc. This comes together with a lot of points that make it even worse:
Imbalanced PvP because of itemization.
Players do not play together to win in PvP, because they just want honor (you know grinding for items...).
Waiting ques for PvP.
No well crafted world-PvP. Just owning others with your well earned items.
Many players play as a healer, although they do not want to, but their guilds need some for raiding.
Players judge other players because of their armor stats, and not because they are good or just friends.
Players rushing through well crafted dungeons without giving a shit about the mechanics, because they are just farming some %@#+-points for items.
You always feel like you are not able to just play the game, because you need to farm for better items!
Other players that claim to be hardcore and that it always has been like this and always will be.
The same players insulting everybody else as casual noobs that are guilty for everything bad in any MMO.
An outdated AI - called holy trinity - that makes playing boring and repetetive.
Sitting around and waiting for a healer or a tank.
Doing the same stupid quests again, again and again.
People tend to make quests more and more alone, because it is more effective in terms of getting XP, items, etc.
No riddles, no traps, and they always tell you "it is not possible in an MMO".
No failure, you can try something again and again, until you succeed.
No change to the world. Whatever heroics you achieve, nothing happens.
Groups of people standing around with a golden ! over their heads.
Not being able to make a choice, no branching. Again they tell you "It is impossible in MMOs!"
A world made in high graphics, so that you and your friends need to buy a new PC, but at the same time, the world does not look well crafted and immersive.
No place for just exploring a big world and looking for some adventure. The game always tells you exactly what to do, and there is nothing else to do.
No freedom to do whatever you want to do now (PvP, world-PvP, dungeons, quests, solo-quests,etc).
And then comes ArenaNet and they promise to change all of that crap? And the beta shows they really do?
They definitively earned the hype!
Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need.
Was not really over hyped by the publisher but really by the fanboys on here... some people where making it out to be the second coming of christ
I need proof there was a first coming! Screen shot or it didn't happen!
its well known that mary somehow had a kid without having sex then all of a sudden jesus was a grown man, romans didnt like him and killed him.. he then came back from the dead as a zombie.. this is fact its written in some book..
Hahaha as if you actually even played the beta.
Obvious troll is obvious.
A combat system that they copied from darkfall at that. So they cant claim it new either.
Haha, I stand corrected sir
The only thing in common with Darkfall and Teras combat system is that you press the mouse botton to attack LOL..
Darkfall did it better imo because you can move while casting a spell, the only thing tera has that darkfall doesnt is that some classes can dodge.
That's certainly one way to play it, however that's not the only way, and you certaintly aren't forced to play it this way. I see quite a few people choosing to play this game like previous MMOs and then complaining that it isn't 'different'.
Personally, I didn't have to pray for anything. I spent me weekend exploring, and getting overwhelmed with so many events, I had to pick and choose which I wanted to do and which I wanted to skip. I lvling into some of the higher lvl areas only to find this problem getting worse and worse. Especially realizing that I didn't have to stick to fighting mobs my own lvl, I could do just fine taking on mobs 2-5 lvls higher in certain cases.
As for WvW.. well I guess you just don't get it. Most people had an absolute blast with that, and it's been some of the most fun people have had in over a decade. Personally I find it cool that you can not only capture & upgrade your own keeps, but you can also deck it out w/ various siege weapons, hire guards to help defend it, or if you wanted to take it you could choose to either beat down the front door, teleport over the walls, or just blow the walls up entirely.
Out of curiosity, is melee any useful in Darkfall?
Because while move while casting may sound good and all in theory, in practice you can kite indefinitely a melee, effectively rendering all those classes useless.
Yeah melee is fine in Darkfall.. Combat in Darkfall can be pretty fast paced, one moment you can be casting spells at each other but then get close enough for melee combat you quickly get out your sword and start attacking.. even if your not a hybrid class and go destoryer you are constantly shooting arrows and dodging spell attacks and so on until you get close enough..
There are also spells you can use to launch yourself closer to your enemy, or use a monut to get close..
I really enjoy the combat mechanics in Darkfall, i know the game is not perfect but no game is..
DarkFall combat. The guy was switching on the fly between skills.
I've seen you post quite a bit against GW2 lately so its clear we are on opposite bandwagons and I won't belittle your opinion or curse your name; therefore, I am here to discuss and not to persuade. It is a game and I could care less what your opinion is of it. Or if it is even popular for that matter (why people care if a game is popular or not is beyond me). As long as there are two full servers for me to play with I'll be fine. I'd only require two for the WvW content. I'm sure there will be at least that for a long time to come, if not years.
The forts and outposts if anything feel like they serve MORE of a purpose in GW 2. Take WoW for instance. I see a fort, but why is it there? nothing ever actually comes out and attacks it. They tell me the orcs across the field are attacking yet they are just standing there picking daisies and wondering in circles. Giving the actual outpost ZERO meaning to me other than just being a quest hub.
Here I see towns and things actually being attacked.
I would hardly consider it running around aimlessly. Its more exploring and having a good time. In Skyrim you pretty much do the same as well as in every other game of this nature. You don't have to do anything twice if you don't want and also the heart "quests" hardly seemed "grindy" to me. Sense I enjoyed doing each of them and they all offered multiple ways to complete the objective.
I don't think the initial assessment is that spot on either. GW1 has nothing to do with GW2 outside the lore. The games are so different that your enjoyment of GW1 in no way accurately predicts your appreciation of two.
I'm not quite sure your beef with GW2 and I don't think I'll ever understand it, simply because I had such a good time in the beta.
I understand that I won't ever understand your point of view because my first hand experience varied so widely so It'll be useless trying to explain your point with intent to convince me. (its kind of like telling someone their favorite food sucks. I've tasted it too, and its my favorite so clearly in my experience your wrong). I'd encourage you to give it another look down the road.
I've already tried to understand your point of view in the past and almost every criticism you make I either had a completely different take on or just didn't experience completely. The DE's, for example, felt completely revolutionary. So much so that I can't go back to normal questing anymore. Cancled two subscriptions because the games now feel completely stale. The DE's were..well..dynamic and fun. I chose how I wanted to proceed rather than being told. I could see things actually happening before me. I didn't wander around searching purposely for DE's. I explored, did hearts, and stumbled on them which was an absolute blast.
The combat was responsive and felt visceral and engaging. I thoroughly enjoyed picking my skill slots and how I could participate with any player I chose. I didn't have to stand around and gather a party I just went out. At one point I started a roving band of thieves on the WvW, for example. We did really well. Sometimes we participated outside of battle, gathering materials and resources. Then we went into the fray and sieged castles as a band. As thieves we often found backdoor defenses and things.
I was pleased with everything I saw. I did not have a single complaint. There were balancing issues and performance issues but I kept in mind this is a beta of an unreleased game that doesn't even have a release date on it. So those things are to be more than expected. Hell, if those things weren't there I'd be pretty pissed because the game is in the oven for no reason at that point.
Again, I'm not trying to convince you because I know we are at an impass at this point. We both experienced it ourselves so there's no other proof we can give each other. Your not going to convince me my table is orange when I'm using it and its brown you know?
I am trying to impart a little bit of courtiousness though. Be courtious to your fellow gamer. Just because you experienced something one way does not mean that is actually how it is. I know that sounds a bit strange. Right now there are far more people who loved and enjoyed the game than disliked it. Please don't take that as belittling and neither is it me trying to support my own opinion. Its just the way it is right now. If it were otherwise I would tell you as I honestly don't care at all what other people do with themselves. So, right now, it is statisticlly far more likely that you may convince someone who would actually love the game not to try it than it is that you would actually save anyone the money. As it stands your opinion or experience is less likely to happen.
I wish people would abandon these crusades to either destroy a games reputation or to be a holy knight in its service. Your beloved games can stand on their own. Its useless trying to save people money because everyone has their own values. What you may think is an awful game another person may have thought was absolutely incredable (clearly as is the case here) and you just turned away someone who may have thoroughly enjoyed the title. The only purpose I believe people have is to try to convince themselves that they have a correct opinion through force. You can say (using the subjective 'you' here, representing all video game bashers or templars) your trying to educate people but, again, what good are you actually doing?
For every one of you there is one of me who loved the game. Also you may actually be misleading people sense, and once more, everyone has their own values. Its likely that bashing a game will result in you keeping someone away from a game that they would have actually liked. You could also say the same for those who would burn the heritics. You may actually be convincing people to waste money on a product they don't like. Its impossible to tell and it is surely doing more harm than good. Let people form opinions on there own. There is plenty of information on this game out there right now and the entire game ran and played exactly as foretold. Almost every square inch of the games features were covered in detail before all this beta stuff. Its not hard to find. You can read how everything happens and plays to such a fine detail that actually playing it for me felt exactly as I had pieced together using all of the information.
http://www.wix.com/guardiansofthegarter/home
As someone who's stepped back to watch from afar, I'd warn you guys about the hype and excitement. I'm not saying you should not try the game. I'm saying just not to buy wholesale the stuff the companies / developers put out to promote the game, and coming in with certain expectations.
Without getting into the tiny details, I'll just leave some examples of a few titles in the last few years to have some serious hype and / or mega-expectations and enter the field with some hefty issues.
Age of Conan - After WoW's success and before the SWTOR promotion juggernaught, AOC had an absolutely amazing marketing to promote the game. End result? Heh...
Warhammer Online
Star Trek Online
Star Wars The Old Republic
Thanks for your time. For the sake of your fandom and finding an actual MMORPG "home," I really do hope GW2 is everything you hope it would be. But for me, the track record of MMORPGs will say otherwise.
"I have only two out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." (First Lieutenant Clifton B. Cates, US Marine Corps, Soissons, 19 July 1918)
Just not worth my time anymore.
1) NPCs move around and have their own conversations / interactions with other NPCs. They will also defend their town / outpost during attacks. For example, in the norn starter area the Blacksmith stops smithing and turns into a were-bear and helps drive off attackers.
2) Its hard to miss DEs, they are everywhere. And the big zonewide ones will give you map icons on where to help out.
3) Please, its nothing like WAR or Rift.
Please stop being so ignorant. This isnt the cheap rip off dynamic events that TERA is getting.
Philosophy of MMO Game Design