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Disappointing Main Story
HellSings
Member Posts: 185
When I first read about the ever changing personal story of GW2 I was very excited. The idea reminded me of Bioware's Mass effect and Dragon Age series. That alone was a huge incentive for me to buy the game. I did not expect it to be as good but I did expect more from A-Net.
Heres my problem: The story doesn't relate to my character, the way I want to portray and personalize him. I made a necromancer, as evil looking as possible, destined to crush friends and foe alike, only to have its image shattered by the story. Here is a necromancer whos feasts on souls going around helping strangers, the seraphs and throwing around parties. The game turned him into a hero, without giving me a choice. I DO NOT want this, and when A-Net said I could have my 'own' personal story I was under the impression I could actually CHOOSE my options.
I am aware of the 3 choices: Charm/Dignity/Ferocity but its very lack luster. From lvl 1-20 I only encountered about 3 choices, and they weren't anything exiciting. Each option lead to a new side quest, and the lack of proper cinematics just made it seem like another quest.
Well thats my rant about the storyline, whether you agree or disagree feel free to discuss.
Comments
It's actually really funny you mention this, because my brother made the same comment to me when I was on my Necro during the last BWE, as he was accompanying me during my "personal" (aka canned) story.
"Wow, for a mage that deals in death, and resurrecting rotting corpses and demons, you sure are a nice guy,", or something to that effect, he laughed. Yeah, not the image I had for him either.
Now, I did like the personality choices that were sometimes available with some of the NPCs, but it seems mostly eyewash, and does not seem to really make a substantial difference overall.
This is a problem with some of the games focused on story - they are dictating a story to me, I'm not really allowed to tell my own. It's one of the reasons I dislike this trend on "story" in MMOs. I prefer having the tools to fashion my own story.
Hell hath no fury like an MMORPG player scorned.
I've always had that exact same problem with Bioware games, because I found their 'moral' choices prettty ridiculously shallow, and you generally had a selection of things that made me think you were stuck as an idiot. (Holy crap, just kill that person now! Kill them now! Save some time!)
I didn't expect any better from GW2, honestly, especially considering that's Bioware's specialty.
So if Bioware doesn't impress me or feel like good choices, why would I expect it from other game companies that DON'T have people thinking it's good?
edit: I was able to enjoy it more not by thinking of it as my character's story, but sort of like just an examination into the lives and styles and backgrounds of various GW2 people. MY character has a different story that I RP out myself.
Double edit: Oh, and it's because story isn't class based, it's race based. It's not 'this is the story of a necromancer', it's 'this is the story of a human'. Also, the whole super stereotypical evil necromancer thing you both mentioned reminds me of the crappy shallow Bioware personalities that are so stereotypical, so I guess I could see how that works for you.
Seriously, being evil in a Bioware game is like being cartoon evil. They just need a mustache to twirl and railroad tracks to tie a girl to. 
I also never really understood why people thought Biowares story-telling was good. I always found it mediocre at best. Like, when presented with the "supposedly" hard choice of sacrificing one person to save thousands of others, the good chioce always resulted in you still saving the thousands of others as well as not sacrificing the one person (also, it tended to give alot more experience).
To add to the OP, even the developers state that their main stories are very weak. I honestly don't think they ever meant them to be more than just some background ambience or something.
i didnt try necro but i agree with your complaint
EQ2 fan sites
Unfortunately, ANet appears to be worse at it than Bioware, as there is even less of an illusion of choice or self-determination in the personal story in GW2.
Hell hath no fury like an MMORPG player scorned.
Yeah, they are worse at it than Bioware. That's Bioware's speciality, after all. They also didn't sink NEARLY the budget into the personal story section that say... Bioware did for SWTOR, and it shows.
Less experience, not as many specialists, less budget, it'd be a miracle if they were as good.
On the other hand, the world storytelling with dynamic events and NPCs doing things, is way better.
Arenanet did a much better job in my opinion of telling story on the scale of the world, rather than the scale of the personal character. In fact, you can pretty much ignore the personal story and that impacts your gameplay experience very minimally. ... and I'm fine with that.
I agree, the story leaves a lot to desire. I also plan to play a Necromancer for those reasons and it will suck being such a good guy. It really shouldn't be that tough to set apart personalities and choices that will make your character behave in a way. Simple personalities are evil, selfish, charming, just, heroic, wise, etc. Options to have a character behave more in such a way would have made it much better. I made a mesmer with the choice of a mask of evil to show my dark side however in cut scenes my character never wears it and acts like a goofball.
Rest of the game is pretty good though
Remember... all I'm offering is the truth. Nothing more.
I patently disagree. Since I played the beta of TOR, I thought the personal stories where awlful - thet basically made one for each profession and it stayed the same no matter what race you were. A.Net is trying and still tweaking the game. Yes what you do DOES change the story (a guildie made 2 characters, same profession same choices) but did things differenet and got totally different stoires. Your personal story also affects how the world reacts to you also. It is subtle but it is there.
ever since Nightfall in GW1 they added Jeff Grubb to their staff and it shows
http://wiki.gtm.guildwars2.com/wiki/Jeff_Grubb
EQ2 fan sites
You should have played a Charr. They're a might bit crotchety.
You either haven't played those games or just dislike them, because I can't relate to the whole 'crappy shallow Bioware personalities' at all. It wasn't just kill him or save him or sacrfice him, they had these options yes, but there was alot more to it. What I enjoyed about Dragon Age I (not II) was manipulation and power. Instead of killing a band of theifs or sparing them, you could manipulate them, tax them or force them to join you. The dialogues and events which followed these choices made it actually feel like you were in control. Mass effect did the same thing with companions, building relationships and breaking bonds was a lot more sophisticated then having a partner follow you around every mission.
The whole its a story based on 'race' not 'class' doesn't change anything. Humans can be both good or evil, just like a necromancer. About the 'cartoon evil' thing, I don't get it, this is a game is it not? The whole point of games is to experience an alter ego, alter realities, being able to do things you normally wouldn't.
The fact you are forced to be a stereotypical hero in guild wars 2 breaks any ties I could have hoped to have with my character. I would much rather take Bioware's personalities, because atleast it gives me a choice instead of forcing me into a shallow character.
To each his own.
You have a completely valid point since this is a subjective topic and you are right that you can't make an evil/bad character.
HOWEVER, we have known for quite a while that this has always been the plan for GW2. In multiple interviews with the devs, they have been asked if we would be able to make characters on the wrong side of the law to which they've always replied with a resounding no.d
It simply goes against their mantra of having all players be completely cooperative in PvE, something that we know they are not going to budge on.
I stopped playing them after Dragon Age 1/Mass Effect 1. Those were my last attempts to support Bioware, bought all of their previous games since Baldur's Gate first came out.
I just got tired of their storytelling style.
Notice, I didn't say 'Oh, Guild Wars 2 is totally superior!', I just said that if Bioware doesn't impress me and I think THEIR storytelling is poor, what are my chances I'm going to think GW2 has an awesome personal story?
... and I prefer more subtle shadings of character. Honestly, the type of characterizations I like, the type of actions I think are clever, Bioware just doesn't allow for them.
It's sort of like how Batman isn't that smart, he just lives in a land full of stupid criminals. It's because comic book writers aren't super geniuses, so they do a poor job of portraying Batman as one.
You're confusing what I said. You're thinking I said 'Oh, Bioware sucks because GW2 is superior', while all I said was a crotchety stick waving and a 'That isn't GOOD characterization, this isn't like proper literature!'.
I'm a snob. We all have our standards. Yours is set to Bioware level, and that's good for you.
Bioware simply can't represent me or the types of characters I like to play. I find almost all the choices I'm given to be relatively cartoonish and simple.
TSW has better story/voiceovers than SWTOR and it didn't use a fraction of its budget.
GW2 story/voiceovers are laughably bad, and the budget is no excuse. Fortunately the game has other things going for it.
Haven't had much issue with the story in GW2 so far. Yeah you're kind of cookie cuttered into your character initially but aren't most games like that? You initially start off as one architype and mold your character pissing off people as you go to make your guy more and more brooding and dark.
The choices I got to make during my playthrough actually had me concerned. If I didn't save my friend would he die? If I didn't stop the poison would the city hate me? It's not amazing and in depth yet, but we've only been able to have a sample of the story.
I do enjoy playing the evil characters though. Just find it too easy for most games, like bioware.
"Sir can you help me rescue my mother? I can give you a reward!"
"Reward you say..." *force chokes the kid and steals his money*
I'm hoping for more options that are permanently effecting your character. In an mmo that won't let you go back and redo the choice from a save file it will be quite interesting to see how things pan out.
You know that's the problem with themepark and why i kind of always hated them, and why i always though they are not the good way to build an rpg at all. They actually would need to code every single way someone would want his character to behave, and this is just not possible at all (especially because mmo have to be politically correct and a player don't want to be that at all), so they have to rely on cliché like Bioware games that are just filled with them (especially if the coder is unimaginative and lazy) to the point they are not even funny if you have some role playing background. Not even talking about the total lack of imaginative enhancer any real rpg should be about, quiet the contrary in fact because it kill your imaginative work. It is all good as cheap and quick fast food rpg imo, but not for anyone that want and like building his own characters based on his own personality rather than on cliché you can find everywhere.
I just avoided the personal story because i want to keep that as a chill out mode after release. In fact i only made the first scene for 2 characters and i could already tell what i think about coding a character story from a developer standpoint make no sense. Yes its nice and relaxing to have a personal solo king of rpg mode in an mmo, i won't disagree here about that at all, but imo they would better have it done as a solo game mode like i believe they did it in GW1. ANd if they want people to really be able to build their character persona in mmo, they will have to let people mess their game around and build them as sandbox at least for this aspect. You can't be a bad guy if you are helping everyone around, that's for sure, but themepark forbid you that, and in sandbox all the bad guys are exploiting their freedom to no end... Which is also why the player population is so split about this.
So mmorpg will have to deal with that one day or an other. There is no way mmo can continue to impose their politically correct trend and yet let people role play the way they want to do it. If you want to be a bad guy, you sure should be able to mess other people, if you want to be a good guy, you should be able to help other people, that's the way it is and both developers and player will have to accept this whatever they dislike it or not, those are life constant, and there is no way you can ignore/deny the duality life is about even in your games.
GW2 just like most MMOs are not so much about your characters story, it is about the story of Tyria.
What you want is TOR, it put almost all effort into giving you this, GW2s focus is multiplayer.
It's hard to deny that the PS is dodgy at best, and ludicrous at its worst. But, we have to consider that it was a Beta delivery: animations and voice might change in the final product (might being the key word here). Also, it is kinda excessive looking for Shakespearian drama delivered via an MMO.
After all, we all know what happens when you focus on story and not on the game.
I think it is admirable that Anet even tried to make the PS somewhat diverse (the whole character creation in GW2 really transports me to the Gypsy in the Ultima series). But of course there has to be some heroic overlapping and some silliness.
So, I go to my bookshelf for engaging stories. Hell, if you really want a game with a story sort of tailored to you, immerse yourself in Morrowind, Oblivion or Skyrim. One of those will provide that to you.
But demanding too much is always a sure way to get stupidly disappointed, especially when you are looking for things in the wrong place.
Those games also forced you to go a certain way for certain things. You couldn't punch out the king while he was escaping as you would get brutally murdered. You couldn't slay the dragon and call it a day when escaping in skyrim. Your character was pushed along through a seemingly linear path that opened up from there. But it doesn't open up to the sense people like to claim either. You had two choices, Stormcloak or Empire or go straight story and slay the dragon. The rest was all sidequest filler which all the dynamic events and exploring can be chalked to for GW2.
So even morrowind, oblivion, and skyrim are pretty linear story wise.
When you look at the story as a whole though it seems like a fairly decent story.
But why are we judging GW2 story before we can do the same?
Doesn't make sense.
You have only experienced GW2's story up to level 20. The devs said that each individual's story will branch into dozens of different directions.
GW2's storyline shouldnt be bashed because no one has even completed their storyline yet.
-I am here to perform logic
Indeed.
It'd be like judging skyrim or any other game after only seeing 1/4th, if even that, of the story.
Doesn't make sense at all
.
And Anet is a great company that seems to actively aim to please the fans. So I would be quite surprised if they didn't do the same with the story.
I had the same reaction to my thief's story it made no sense to me why he's such a do-gooder helping the local authority.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
Some players point out that the characterization and storytelling in Guild Wars 2 is poor, as is the voice-acting.
The immediate reaction here: Obfuscate and bash Bioware?
Attempts at sleight of hand notwithstanding, Bioware has nothing to do with how limited, linear, and generally poorly done ANet's attempt at "personal story" is in GW2. That's all on ANet.
The stories in GW2 are just as hackneyed, and just as derivative, as you'd find in the most mediocre pulp fantasy anywhere. More importantly, it doesn't seem to add anything meaningful to the game. Personal story was hyped quite a bit by ANet, but so far it appears to be a weak spot of the game.
Hell hath no fury like an MMORPG player scorned.
As Meowhead pointed out, even the games that provide such choices in a game's story have issues. I encountered many moments in SWtoR storylines where I said, "Those are my three choices?" or "I chose response B, 'Sure I'll help you out." but my character's dialogue was, 'I will destroy them!' " Even the games that provide such choices are often clunky.
In GW!, the game's story presumes that the character is a hero, who wants to save the people of Rin from the Charr, the people of Kryta from the undead, and the world from the Mursaat and the Titans. In GW2 the stories (at least from what I've seen so far) also presume your character is a hero, not a villain. While playing the hero works for me, I can see where some people might want to play a downright evil character.
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man. -- George Bernard Shaw
I do agree about the personal stories being kind of crappy. I'll play them just to play them, but mainly just so I can get the XP, etc. To me, the real point of the GW story is your role in the overall history of Tyria, not your lame personal story.
I do disagree with how you look at Necromancers. I don't look at them as evil. Badass, but not evil. I plan on playing a Norn Necro, which considering how the Norn look down on people messing with the dead, makes me an outcast. That's how I look at Necromancers....as outcasts. So, maybe looking at them that way will make it a little easier to do the personal story and help all these people out. I know that most people would say, "well I'm an outcast, these people don't want me around, why should I help them?", and that's a good point, but maybe outcasts still have some compassion for those in need? I know I'm stretching it a bit.
There are some storylines too that may fit a little better. I played a Noble Thief Human in both BWEs and my storyline included the whole carnival thing. SPOILER ALERT! In that one, your are trying to stop the Ringmaster from hypnotizing and controlling other people for his own evil plans. That is a direct parallel to the dragons controlling their minions so it's not something that most people would want, including necromancers. (yes, I'm deliberately ignoring the fact that necros control minions!)
I know I'm just trying to justify the personal stories to make them easier to swallow. I agree that they aren't all that good but I think Anet kind of painted themselves into a corner with the overall storyline of GW2 that wouldn't allow for people to be on the bad side of things.
Even with the lame personal stories, I still think GW2 is an excellent game. If one part kind of sucks but the rest is awesome, I'm ok with that!
You want me to pay to play a game I already paid for???
Be afraid.....The dragons are HERE!