tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post4936482178688613531..comments2024-03-28T10:18:05.213+00:00Comments on Inventory Full: Chilling At Ground Zero : GW2Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-63050474631245021922016-08-01T23:06:59.334+01:002016-08-01T23:06:59.334+01:00HoT is definitely a more High Energy experience th...HoT is definitely a more High Energy experience than Core Tyria but with the heavy nerfing it's received over the last few months it's not *that* different. I actually think even the original "difficulty" was overrated. I certainly don't think that anyone who can manage FFXIV's much harsher content gating and gear requirements would find HoT much of a challenge. It's far more flexible and forgiving than that.<br /><br />You missed the half price sale but if you don't mind waiting quite a lot longer, HoT will be bundled in with the second expansion, whenever that arrives. That might be the time to try the waters again.Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-2870749825075482802016-08-01T15:23:33.138+01:002016-08-01T15:23:33.138+01:00I think you and Jeromai hit the nail on the head w...I think you and Jeromai hit the nail on the head when it comes to the Low and High Energy thoughts. I completely identify with the Low Energy description, and agree that it was a shift to please High Energy players that lost me in GW2. And I was a HUGE GW2 fan at launch. <br /><br />I'm glad the new area is turning that around. It's a shame that I'll never get to try it and see if I'd enjoy the new direction, because I still refuse to give them money for an expansion I'm not sure I'll like. <br /><br />I maintain that it's a missed opportunity that they don't reach out to the Low Energy playerbase they lost during this mess and at least offer a trial of their new season, even if it's just for a little bit. I know I'd totally give GW2 another shot in this case, especially if the story is returning to known GW1 lore, like White Mantle. <br /><br />Heck, if I liked it enough, I MAY have bought HoT to unlock the rest of it. But I'm not going to pay for HoT before I know for sure that GW2 is trying to appeal to players like me again. <br /><br />So I guess it's wait and see still. I did unlock the chapter, though. You know. Just in case they smartened up about it. Aywrenhttp://www.aywren.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-89728510210622784532016-07-31T23:18:27.671+01:002016-07-31T23:18:27.671+01:00The Ascended gear reset was a tipping point for a ...The Ascended gear reset was a tipping point for a lot of people. For all that ANet claimed that tier of gear had been planned pre-launch, it still arrived out of the blue and appeared to be a direct response to the Karka Debacle. I was pretty cross about it at the time and I still don't have any characters in anything like full Ascended even now.<br /><br />Looking at it as positively as possible, four years on Ascende dis still the only gear level above Exotic so it represents a flat line of sorts. On the other hand, HoT cleverly managed a good deal of power creep without adding another gear tier. Try playing WvW without a HoT elite spec and see how far you get. Ok so long as you stay tight to the zerg.<br /><br />Then again, WvW is in such a tailspin for so many reasons that's hardly even in the top ten things wrong with it.<br /><br />Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-58243279164126705672016-07-31T18:46:50.083+01:002016-07-31T18:46:50.083+01:00I can actually remember the exact moment that GW2 ...I can actually remember the exact moment that GW2 "spiraled down the rabbit hole" for me. It was after the introduction of ascended weapons, and the patch that rejigged Legendary weapons so that they would always have the best, ascended stats. I played WvW almost exclusively (except for some low level PvE to understand my class), and you could easily outfit yourself at that time in exotics with WvW karma rewards.<br /><br />Then one day I was passing a tower near spawn and I saw a red name flashing an oversized black sword with trailing streaks. I felt a tinge of fear, which I had never felt before in WvW based solely on someone's gear. Yet there it was. A player who had spent hours and hours and hours grinding out gold in PvE now had a gear advantage over someone (me), who played exclusively WvW. Don't forget it had been promised pre-launch, alongside the Manifesto, that people could live in WvW and never have to adventure outside it.<br /><br />(And say what you will about the stat difference is not that great. The point of this thread is "play your way", doing what is individually fun. Personally, smaller scale WvW was always the most fun, and ascended weapons were a measurable power creep within that niche).<br /><br />I still check the official WvW forums every few weeks. WvW on Tarnished Coast was definitely one of those gaming experiences that imprints itself on you, and that you never let go of, even after you've moved on. And there is still the hope Anet will somehow miraculously make it what it could have been. That seems a faint possibility though, so ESO AvA until Camelot Unchained launches.<br /><br />- SimonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-87776056513956759002016-07-31T14:49:48.202+01:002016-07-31T14:49:48.202+01:00Pah! What do humans know? Pah! What do humans know? Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-38004409092589879132016-07-31T14:47:02.335+01:002016-07-31T14:47:02.335+01:00Reaction to HoT within the game was mixed at best....Reaction to HoT within the game was mixed at best. The general opinion was probably more negative than positive. Obviously you can't judge everything by forum posts but the trend there was not encouraging.<br /><br />The real proof that the expansion did not go as hoped is twofold. Firstly the statement made in NCSoft's 1st Quarterly Earnings all for 2016, as summarized on <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/4j3ntv/ncsofts_earnings_report_1q16_strong_performance/" rel="nofollow">this Reddit thread</a><br /><br />Although much of that is positive, earnings for GW2 over the first 6 months post-HoT were bolstered by strong item shop sales. Note the comment "The performance of HoT was not as expected".<br /><br />Secondly, around the same time Colin Johansen, prime proponent and architect of HoT and the direction of travel associated with the expansion, left the company and Mike O'Brien took over. Mike's first act was to announce a major update that "is about reducing grind, clearing away some tedium, getting quickly to the fun, and improving rewards. We’ve always said that Guild Wars should be about having fun rather than preparing to have fun, and this will be a back-to-our-roots kind of update".<br /><br />That's tantamount to an apology and an admission that HoT had been poorly received by the playerbase. All subsequent changes have been broadly in the direction of making the game easier, more casual and less "Heart of Thornsy".<br /><br />Of course, now we are headed that way there are increasing loud voices being raised complaining that it's all getting "too easy" but as the NCSoft earnings call says about the under-performance of HoT, "We have taken that as a lesson". With luck we won't see the same mistakes being made in the second expansion - although I'm sure there will be new ones!<br /><br />Personally I liked HoT a lot more than I thought I would. I understand why it was unpopular with a lot of people but I had a lot of fun there. I do think that I would have had even more fun if they'd tuned it as it is now before they released it though, but that applies to a lot of expansions in a lot of MMOs - they're usually better a few months after launch.Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-53548142922113546882016-07-31T14:29:14.207+01:002016-07-31T14:29:14.207+01:00As an outsider looking in, I'm always a bit su...As an outsider looking in, I'm always a bit surprised when I see people say that Heart of Thorns underperformed "both critically and commercially". It seems that <a href="http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/guild-wars-2-heart-of-thorns" rel="nofollow">its reviews were generally positive</a> and <a href="http://massivelyop.com/2015/12/16/massively-ops-best-of-2015-awards-expansion-of-the-year/" rel="nofollow">when Massively OP had its award series at the end of last year</a>, HoT was voted "best expansion of the year" both by the judges and the readers by quite a wide margin. Was it a case of things looking great at launch and then less so as the weeks went on? That seemed to be the problem with Warcraft's Warlords of Draenor anway. I'm just curious because I remember Heart of Thorns receiving so much praise when it came out...Shintarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16758343475446510635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-13993893880709640722016-07-31T12:54:41.730+01:002016-07-31T12:54:41.730+01:00Hey, I'm roleplaying a chill charr! Mass murde...Hey, I'm roleplaying a chill charr! Mass murder, arson and wholesale devastation of communities and ecosystems is what we do on our days off... according to the humans anyway.Jeromaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02206083433625986970noreply@blogger.com