Trapped in MMO Limbo // giving Guild Wars 2 another try
Every now and then I get this urge to play an MMO. Unfortunately, for various reasons, there's not many that I'm actually wanting to play. I've tried so many over the years and I have ones that I like, some that I dislike, and a couple that make me sad for what could have been.
Case in point: Archeage could have been a brilliant MMO if not for the in-your-face pay to win mechanics AND the ghastly labour system in which you can only do so much each day before being told, "Sorry. You're out of labour points. Come back tomorrow." ~ what kind of idiotic company wants to limit their potential playerbase?
Another that makes me sad for what could have been is Star Wars: the Old Republic. What started out as a brilliant MMO with the most fun I've ever had in any pvp, with several wonderful stories as well as an over-arching story, with a wonderful solo-or-group experience depending on your preferences... transformed into a mere shell of what once was and has now turned into a game where you just click a purple button every five or so minutes, with a teeny bit of combat and makeshift story thrown in-between.
So, while waiting for Final Fantasy XIV to install their Oceanic servers they've promised to release in patch 6.1... and also waiting for Lost Ark which is due to be released in February... my partner and I have been trying to think of another multiplayer game to play, preferably MMO-style. Guild Wars 2 was the answer.
Now I have tried Guild Wars 2 once before, many, many moons ago. And I think my main issues with it at the time were the economy -- the trading post seemed weird to me at the time? Overpopulated with everything worth a pittance? -- and mostly just the fact that I was playing by myself. This time I'll have my partner with me. And because this is mostly just a time-sink I don't really care about the state of the economy. 🤷♀
First of all, I had a bit of trouble.
I bought Guild Wars 2 a fair while back, and for some reason my account had been flagged for suspicious activity. I didn't feel like dealing with support and since the game is free-to-play now, I decided to just use my secondary email to get a new account to access the game.
I'm miffed that I don't have what I consider my "proper" account, especially when I paid money for the game back in the day. But it's not as if I got very far in it or anything.
My partner and I made some tree-people. 🌿🌷 I'm a warrior and he's a necromancer.
My first impressions though... I'm just trying to work out why I couldn't really get into it back in the day? I guess my style of play has kind of changed over the years and that could be a big part of it.
Back then, I was more looking for a game that I could farm in and make lots of money on the trading post/auction house. Probably also more of a cookie-cutter-MMO that gave off SWTOR and WoW vibes. Nowadays, whilst I still enjoy doing that, and still enjoy the "cookie-cutter MMO", I also enjoy more.
I find it a bit odd that quests are just automatically given to you and are completed by clicking on a flashing icon that appears above the minimap. There doesn't seem to be much talking to NPCs. But I do like the random events that appear, that remind me of the FATE events in Final Fantasy XIV.
Having abilities attached to weapons seems pretty cool too, but at the same time I feel as though the classes themselves should have abilities? Maybe they do? Apparently I unlock "skills" at level 11... so maybe that's where I go a bit more indepth with my character personalisation?
The graphics are very pretty and I've seen quite a few people running around/flying around on interesting looking mounts, with unique pets following them, and some people just chilling on floating, glowing flowers for some reason.
While I'm intrigued enough to keep going, and am enjoying admiring my surroundings, I'm not too sure I can actually get into the game.
Part of me is holding back because I know I plan to spend a lot of time in Final Fantasy XIV and a LOT of time in Lost Ark, so I'm not really wanting to get tooooooo involved with this. It's just supposed to be a mini time-sink while waiting.
I don't know...we'll see how it goes. 🙂
If nothing else, I'll probably just go from zone to zone fulfilling quests and seeing some pretty scenery as I do so.
I haven't done a Screenshot Showcase in a while... maybe this will inspire that. 📸
Until next time! 🍂🍄
Aah, good to see you playing some Guild Wars 2! I love the Sylvari areas.
GW2 has both world events and quests. The things that start randomly and you complete with the glowy icons on the right are usually either world events, or achievements you've completed. The quests still need to be picked up, although I think they do get completed through the icons on the right... The main quest kinda works automatically though!
Classes do have their own skills. The weapon skills are different for each class and those are the skills you have on the left side of your bar. The right side of the bar will eventually be filled by you with other class skills that stay, no matter what weapon you use.
Hope you enjoy your time in the game, even though it's just a filler! 😊
I'm just going to play World vs World now, which is basically all I do in Guild Wars 2 😅
The Sylvari areas are very picturesque! 😁 My partner ended up making another character, a human, and I have to say that their area is a lot duller than my nice foresty area.
With the quests, the ones that I go to on the map with a heart symbol, usually as soon as I get near them I automatically get the quest and then once completed the person with a heart above their head turns into a merchant, but the quest completes automatically. There's been one quest so far where I've needed to talk to an NPC to be allowed into an area, and another quest where the NPC turned me into a treeant-type illusion in order to fulfil the objectives.
Just thought it was strange I didn't have to actually interact with many NPCs! 😅 It's not really a bad thing, was just unexpected after being used to clicking on pretty much every NPC in an area in order to get anything done when it comes to other games.
So far I'm enjoying my time! 😊 Haven't done much just yet, but plan to explore quite a bit more soon!
Yes, the living world with its world events was a big change compared to most other MMO's. I like that you can just explore and randomly bump into such an event, instead of having to pick up quests everywhere (only to then find out your quest log is full). At higher level, you'll find areas with a big series of map events, all building up to a huge event where you'll have to kill a dragon or something like that.
Most of the story comes out of the main quests, which are shown when you click on H and then go to your Story Journal. Those stories lead you through various areas and they'll give more information which will also make some events make more sense. I'm not sure how many of these stories are always freely accessible though. Some are free when they are released and later can be bought. Although they sometimes give them away for free later on...
Nice to see someone who enjoys MMOs around here 😂 I used to enjoy MMOs and would try many different MMOs regularly, but now it seems like there aren't too many that are still popular. Also since MMOs command lots of time for grinding and dailies, I guess they just slowly become more impractical to play over long periods of time when we have increased responsibilities. Cheers!
I think that's actually why I prefer MMOs! 😁 I want to find that perfect one that I can practically live in and grind away and enjoy myself for a very long time. Normal games are played and then finished -- I like the longevity and digital life an MMO can provide... assuming that it's a good MMO anyway. 😅
Beautiful thing, play the game with your partner! Unfortunately, my wife only uses the computer to check e-mail. Or is it better? I have more time to play it :D I always wanted to play a game with my girlfriend!
I find gaming with your partner to be one of the best things. 😄 It's always healthy to share common interests! We have it set up so our two computers are right next to each other and it's nice and cozy.
Although I love the stories in SWTOR, I'm disappointed at the route the game went. One of the things about MMO'S I enjoy is the grind, and there's none in SWTOR now. If you're a fan of Lord of the Rings, you could try giving LOTRO a try. The graphics are dated and it's an older game, but it is pretty decent with a friendly community for the most part.
The grind in these types of games is one of my favourite things also!
I did try LOTRO quite a few years ago and I remember enjoying it quite a bit at the time! But I was also playing it during an unstable period of my life, so it didn't last very long. I might try that one again too at some point! 🙂
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I’ve been in such limbo as well. Oddly enough I think Archeage was my last real attempt at playing a mmo for many months. The guild I was in while they didn’t have a lot of money we scored a lot of early victories. After a while with some bribing going on from the top guild on that server everything fell apart and that it was. I didn’t want to join the enemies or spend crazy amounts on the game so months of work gone in an instant and I rage quite in that game.
Nowadays when it comes to MMOs and me anytime I get to the point of needing to join a raiding guild and committing 5 days a week 6+ hours a night or something like that I just cannot. I just want to free-roam and not be stuck into a schedule. Most time I won’t even join a guild if they require you to join their discord lol.
Ahhhh yes... I flatout refuse to join Discord for most things these days, haha. Yes, I am on Discord. No, I do not need to join a new channel for every little teeny thing, and especially not to join a group of elitist gamers. The moment I see Discord as a requirement, no thanks.
When I actually decide to be social and look for guilds and things, usually I look for casual-friendly/social guilds. 🙂 Those ones are usually fine with people who just want to free-roam and still do the more difficult content when they can and not because it's demanded.
I personally didn't get very far in Archeage, as much as I wanted to. Those labour points killed me. 😭