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ArenaNet! Please add some social stucture and competitive nature to your game! It's starting to su
Karteli
Member CommonPosts: 2,646
Guild Wars 2 is essentially a solo player game, as it is. There is no guild outside of a chatbox, and like hell there are wars. Wasn't there supposed to be guild wars .. ok, I withdraw the question, I'm familiar with Guild Wars 1 already.
Guild Wars 2 brings to MMORPG'ers a new form of entertainment, which in it's most important quality, doesn't have subscriptions. . However it also brings a new form of anti-social gaming in the disguise of an MMORPG that real gamers should be concerned about.
There is no social community in GW2. Other games facilitate this by adding emotes, inspects, and intricate /who commands to give a general idea for each player to identify with their surroundings. Guild Wars 2 provides none of this.
As a saving grace, GW2 does provide a few emotes, like /bow. You can't /smile, /frown, /bounce, etc, though. There are only a dozen emotes that are allowed, which are non-confrontational. EverQuest 1 & WoW released with something like 100+ emotes .. GW2 can't do that too?
What better way to compare yourself to others than to inspect them? GW2 won't let you do that. It's too confrontational, and could leave to rivalries. 
Which leads me into my next part. The reason why Guild Wars 2 has no social community is because it has no rivalries. Everyone is equal at max level. There is, in fact, no reason to love or hate any other player. There is no emotion in anything this game offers. The other players might as well be NPC's and all but the top 1% would notice the difference.
I can't see this game succeeding as an MMORPG. It has all the groundwork for a quality game, and the graphic & map design is amazing!... but ArenaNet is losing people with every day that passes, as players realize that GW2 is a really lonely game (even if you bring friends).
MMORPG'ers play games to interact with other players, not just see them walk by.
Want a nice understanding of life? Try Spirit Science: "The Human History"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8NNHmV3QPw&feature=plcp
Recognize the voice? Yep sounds like Penny Arcade's Extra Credits.
Comments
shouldn't this belong in the GW2 forums under requests?
I am very happy there isn't code for addons so we don't play guild-ons 2 instead of gw2. and that there isn't and inspect button or command those i wish to ask about their wear i ask in a tell.
Love the antisocial arguemnt, yeah that's why almost ALL of the bonuses in the game are guild related and can only be earned temporarily via participation with other guildies.
The other bonuses in the game come from WvW which pretty much eliminates any argument that they don't have well thought out pvp objectives or pointless kill fests.
Why is it that people who are generally anti-social themselves project that onto other games? sure this game doesn't have notifications when someone logs on or off on the friends or guild roster but that doesn't stop you from talking to someone at random when you are impressed with something they did. I just joined an active guild the reason i joined, is not only did they rez me when they didn't have to to get credit for a champion kill, they gave me items for free and asked if i wanted to join their very large party of people while they went thru and rampaged an area for completing a map, even tho my participation wouldn't add to their points in the guild, AND dropped some banners for me to use for the 30 min bonuses to everything.
If you're having an anti-social time, it's definitely not the game.
I agree that GW2 isnt very social as compared to some other mmo's..
but emotes and inspecting people do not make a social game.Why would one need to inspect anyone in todays mmos? everyone pretty much has the same gear for the most part.Whatever the latest and greatest is,thats what people shoot for.
emotes,to me,are nothing but fluff.
What rivalries are you looking for? im not sure I follow really...do you mean other factions? I would think that the other servers that give your server its run for its money would be your rival.
I'm glad you enjoy the anti-social argument. This is one game that should not be anti-social because, for once, it is a game worth playing. It has the quests (hearts), leveling, and exploration. But it lacks social interaction.
You use "say" to just communicate with other players to achieve interaction. Every game has that. What this game lacks is what I described.
I never mentioned notifications, but you did. I mentioned key parts that superceed notifications. Parts that make a game interactive.
GW2 lacks interactivity with other players.
Want a nice understanding of life? Try Spirit Science: "The Human History"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8NNHmV3QPw&feature=plcp
Recognize the voice? Yep sounds like Penny Arcade's Extra Credits.
Inspects are rivalries. In GW2's case it would be legendaries.
Progression is another form of rivalry. Individual PVP "duels" might be another rivalry. Essentially someone having more than someone else, be it status, gear, or recognition.
These are some of the rivalries I was talking about. [not more factions]
RvR is not really any form of rivals, because, well you can just change servers. Also any victors who performed exceptionally are anonymous.
edit: players for SWTOR have been also telling EA that there needs to be more competitive rivalvies (in this case, minigames, Swoop Racing, Pazzak, Sabaak, Freeroam 3D space combat PVP, etc). EA also ignored this and people just stop playing. An uncompetitive MMORPG is just asking for disaster.
Want a nice understanding of life? Try Spirit Science: "The Human History"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8NNHmV3QPw&feature=plcp
Recognize the voice? Yep sounds like Penny Arcade's Extra Credits.
Since you clearly didn't read the OP, let me fill you in: the post didn't say it was missing, it harped on a design decision made by ArenaNet that the original poster doesn't agree with. That is, interactive elements such as inspect were (apparently) left out to avoid rivalries.
I don't understand why ArenaNet would need to "cut corners" on something as trivial as an inspect element for the hero panel if they can produce 3 consecutive months of free content for their playerbase?...
It's true, though -- I might as well be playing the game solo with a bunch of NPC's, 'cause it doesn't feel any different. I have, at times, gone for the emotes that are usually the norm in MMO's and they weren't there, and when it does come up, it doesn't say you're, say, bowing to the person you're targeting, but it just says a generic "you bow" or whatever, so it leaves other players out of it.
There's a lot of this game that attempts to make things a lot more social, but unfortunately, none of the actual systems in the game actually make the game feel like you have to socialize. The mechanics might force you to interact with others on a base level, but it isn't necessarily social, because very rarely do people talk or do anything aside from finish the event, get their reward, and leave.
I did experience a bit of socializing with the Halloween event, but there wasn't much to be done aside from that.
We do really need the guildhalls and the PvP belonging to them, yes. I know for a fact (source Jeff Grubb) that guildhalls already were in work 1 1/2 years ago but werent ready for release when the game went live. My guess is that they will be the PvP focus on the next expansion.
The other part I cant really agree with, you dont see many people walking around with legendary weapons, do you? You can say pretty much about most players just by looking on them. There is room for more cool looking hard to get gear though, something between dungeon and legendary, and some legendary armors as well.
Adding more skills would at least help me as well, more choices opens up for more speccs.
GW2 is an excellent game but it do still lack things, particularly Guild Vs Guild PvP in guildhalls/towns/castles.
Where is the guild wars in guild wars?
Read the OP again...
"Inspect" is one of those odd features that some people grew accustomed to in their particular game and as such interpret that if a game does not have it then it was 'cut' or 'left out' as opposed to not even being a concern in the first place.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
I'm sorry to disappoint you, but MUD's in the early 1990's allowed inspects. It's not a new concept.
It is not an ODD feature.
Concern is here. Hence why this thread was created. MUD's were very social. GW2 is not. I've identified the reasons for this.
Want a nice understanding of life? Try Spirit Science: "The Human History"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8NNHmV3QPw&feature=plcp
Recognize the voice? Yep sounds like Penny Arcade's Extra Credits.
nope, which is why many people play multiplayer games.
It is not an odd feature, no but hardly something a game must have either.
Yes, you might accidently add a player with vendortrash gear in the dungeons, but I can frankly spot those on looks anyways.
The only part I miss with it is when I see someone with really cool looking gear and want to know what type it is, but the whisper function usually helps me with that.
Yes, GW2 do lack some stuff that it should have, particularly the guildhalls but inspect is a rather insignificant feature that only is needed in games that have fashion gear.
In GW2 there are a few players who bought skins or have HoM skins, they are really the only ones you need to inspect. If you are in a PUG with 4 players in storebought skin you might get a nasty surprise, but that is it.
I wont complain if they add the feature, but I dont care that it isnt in either.
Hey, if they add features, Great!
But if they continue to ignore people who want a social MMORPG, then so be it. Their popularity will continue to decline.
I would think the features I suggested to make GW2 more social would be only beneficial. If you think this game would be left without features, that's your opinion. I find GW2 unappealing in it's current social state.
What you are saying is not like any other game that comes out. You restrict change. Just like SWTOR, the fanbase who restricts change, will also tumble GW2.
If you love a game, you will acknowledge that there is room for improvement. Overall usage of this game is down, so you "might" see a bit of room for improvement. Menu Server population numbers are manipulated. XFIRE tells all (unless you say the huge XFire spike when this game came out was a fluke).
Want a nice understanding of life? Try Spirit Science: "The Human History"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8NNHmV3QPw&feature=plcp
Recognize the voice? Yep sounds like Penny Arcade's Extra Credits.
There's always roo for imrovement, but additional emotes and /inspect are at the bottom of my list. I also don't think they add anything social to the game. If you want to know what another player is wearing, ask them. That's also more social than spying on them via chat.
Guild Halls, improved dungeons, more complex dynamic events and other things that encourage co-operation are what would improve GW2's social structure.
Also, please, tinfoil hats and XFire numbers? Again? Whyyy?
In < red > list em.
Guild Halls?
Think about it. Social the first few days or even a week. After that, pfft.. Runes of Magic had more social mechanisms than GW2 and their guild halls were still rather boring.
More complex dynamic events?
It's still not social. You don't even know the people that helped you. They may as well have been NPC's, complicated or not..
Emotes at the bottom of this list for being social? REALLY? Emotes are the source of expression betwen players. This says a whole lot about your feelings, and your post.
Want a nice understanding of life? Try Spirit Science: "The Human History"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8NNHmV3QPw&feature=plcp
Recognize the voice? Yep sounds like Penny Arcade's Extra Credits.
I wouldn't call inspect an improvement. The opposite actually it breeds elitism like crazy. That is the last thing any game needs.
As for Xfire take it elsewhere. It doesn't show anything until it fully documents its userbase and their habits. People who actually thought about it have realised this long ago.
Honestly, if there is one improvement I wanna suggest, it's that their zones could stand to have a central goal to them.
The observation I have made based on the zones I did play in, is that the zones are a massive cluster of sub-objectives, but there isn't anything to ty them together, or at the very least make them FEEL related to each other.
Take for example that Fire Elemental boss fight in Metrica Province. It's supposed to be super dangerous, but because of it's static position and the fact that the event chain that leads up to it is in one tiny corner of that zone, it ends up feeling very in consequential and just a side thing, rather than anything major or noteworthy.
MY idea would be to make that Fire Elemental move around the entirety of the map, with a few safe areas for protection. The central story of that zone is now about stopping this freak fire elemental, all the while helping to deal with aftermath of the damage inflicted by said firestorm. We can even go further and tie it into the relatively unknown Inquest group, thus giving said group more relevance.
It should be noted that even with this suggestion in place, the dynamic events themselves don't need to go in a linear fashion; they can still be spread around, only now they can relate to a central goal instead of feeling like a bunch of random objectives placed purely for the sake of being there.
I hope this suggestion was written decently and actually made sense.
Hmmm other games facilitate social communities by those methods? I guess you're really missing out on grouping with other people for anything from a PvP match, a dungeon, leveling up alts with friends, to a strike team in WvW. I also see folks walking around town and hanging out in corners RPing, but I'm on that server.
No inspect = a player can transmute and do whatever they like for appearance, and the only way to know what they have is by having them link you their equipment. Much less prying into others, but if you feel like folks are using crap gear, you may never know. I don't really care for this inspect everything about a character by right clicking on them feature, it makes them appear more like NPC companion and less like People with tad of mystery about them. For me, having an "inspect gear" option is an anti-social feature, often promoting elitism doesn't make sense to me for an RPG aspect amongst other players.
Plenty of reasons to love or hate other players, but I don't see you offering good reasoning for that - do you have to inspect their gear for that to be a realization? lol
In the end you believe rivalries are the reason for social communities, but your reasoning for the existance of a social community and your definition of a social community are skewed. That's how I see it anyways
Yes they where.
Elitism is a competative subset, but not one you need or want. They don't actually want to compete, but to scorn those they deem below them. It is actual anti social.
Gdemami -
Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.