Something annoys me about using dulfy. I can't say what it is or even if it's a rational feeling. I dunno, something seems a lot more cooperative about finding things on your own and then others working together to fill in the blanks. At the very least I hope no one opens dulfy first thing and follows it like some sort of itinerary, though it's one's own decision.
It's the equivalent to playing a game with the strategy guide in your lap; take five steps, look down and see where to go, take five steps, read what the boss strategy is. I play games to explore and 'solve' the puzzles, be they literal puzzles or just figuring out how to take down a boss or reach a vista. That's why WoW raids always bothered me, because there was such an emphasis on getting it right as quickly as possible, you were always expected to know the fight in advance. I hated that, it was like learning a synchronized music number and then hoping the other dancers don't screw up.
The Langmar Estate gallery section was
amazing, and we figured it out on our own (I don't think dulfy even had a guide up for it yet). That's the sort of stuff I love. Using Dulfy or other sites is just... following instructions. I'd rather not play the Ikea version of GW2.
Only time I ever used Dulfy was for some of the initial bounty paths. I remember I got put on Brooke duty in my first bounty and was like "holy crap how in the world am I going to find her here".
We did a ton of pre-scouting on our first Tier 3 Bounties, usually just searching around for them and then following them. I know a lot of their routes from memory at this point, or at least have a good idea where to look. I don't mind Dulfy for these though, as some of the routes are just absurdly long. I finally took a glance at Prisoner 1141 the other day, and she has like, 5 different routes all over the place. I thought it was just one big, fast loop, but apparently she disappears in places, goes off on weird side-roads... I didn't think it was quite so annoying, so I can totally see using a guide for her and a few others.
But honestly, at this point, Bounties don't need to happen quite so often. Heck, we can even do the Training ones because they give more Influence than the Tier 1, 2 or 3 ones. This is on the list of stuff to discuss tonight at our little officer pow-wow.
This is what I am trying to avoid, but previous to GW2 my only MMO played was WoW years ago. So I have been trained to look for the bright and shiney and have things so obvious. Slowly but surely the adjustment has been happening, but dang mang.
I've noticed something, in this post and demented's, and I have to get something off my chest. This isn't meant as an attack on either of you (or anyone else), any specific game or anyone's gaming preferences.
The level of conditioning going on in other MMOs (and to some degree, still present in GW2, to be fair) is scary, and almost makes me wish professionals would take note and try to document it (of course, there's already been plenty of studies in non-game situations so I'm not sure it matters).
The constant rewards and treats to keep you filling bars so you can fill bars so you can fill bars evokes all sorts of discomfort for me, and worse, you guys are even aware of it:
"
I have been trained"
"I don't know better, it is what I'm used to and
what I've been thought [taught?] to want."
"I have no time or patience to grind endlessly
but that's only way I know how to play."
Guild Wars 2 isn't perfect in this regard, but it seems a hell of a lot better than other MMOs I've played. I'm sure others will disagree, but the fact that there's a point where you can stop gearing up is a HUGE deal, and that ArenaNet hasn't been as quick with new gear as they have new content shows where their priorities lie (and I would argue that the gear they add is there to serve the content; Agony Resist is there to add to fractals, not the other way around).
Just something I wanted to comment on since I saw it mentioned the other day. It's kind of scary to see this sort of Skinner-box level stuff, and I hope you guys get past it. Like I said, I'm not trying to pick on anybody, It's just that over the years I've been saying and reading how MMO design, built to keep people paying a subscription as long as possible, results in all sorts of unhealthy behavior. That you guys know it at least means you can try to work on fixing it.
Dunno. Just wanted to share my thoughts on something that's always alarmed me about this genre.
So how does this living story rate compared to the last in fun factor? I personally thought Flame and Frost was absolutely terrible and the least fun I've had in the game until the Dungeon which was a great idea. Is there anything like the garbage that was the first portion of F and F? or the refugee item search? Not doing anything like that again.
Nah, it's better. I seem to remember reading somewhere that the early Flame and Frost stuff was done by a handful of people and was intended as more of a test to see if the tech worked. It was definitely slower than I liked, but it did have a good outcome.
I think this new two-week update schedule and the lessons learned from Flame and Frost have paid off, as the Southsun stuff has just enough content to keep me down there and absorbing it, but not enough that I'm getting sick/bored with it. I think by the time the 28th (and the next step in the story) rolls around, I'll be ready for the change.
It's a knife's edge, really; have enough content out to keep people like us (who rapidly digest everything) entertained while allowing enough time for other folks (who don't have as much time or motivation) to check it out too. The Early F&F stuff dragged out too much, so far Southsun feels about right. I think any faster and we'd feel like things are changing
too fast, and we don't have enough time to see everything, or if we do, we end up burning out or feeling like we're being forced to play in order to see everything.
Looking at the Living Story as a television show, Southsun feels like a standalone episode. It's kind of lighthearted (Guild Wars 2: On Vacation!), allowing the players a chance to breathe and do something different for an episode or two before it's back to the overarching plot.
I'm looking very very very forward to starting up again - I have missed you guys a lot! I had some of my favorite gaming moments with you all in GW2, and I am excited to get back into the swing of things!
Congratulations on the house and the wife's progress, glad to have you back.
I actually find this scavenger hunt pretty enjoyable in design, I guess because the hints are decent and the seeker means you don't need to find the exact spot (just be inside a radius), and also because it fits logistically with the plot.
You guys do know that when you scan, you can hear a 'ping-ping' sound if you're close to a sample, right? It will get both louder and higher in pitch the closer you are, and it takes advantage of directional audio. I just zipped around the island using the achievement descriptions to get a rough idea where to head, and then used the sonar to find the actual plant.
I was really impressed, and surprised they didn't actually tell you about it when you pick up your scanning device.
Needs more Fedora.
C'est la vie
