Tyrian Times – Hopes for the Future of GW2
By Meredith Watson, OnRPG Tyrian Reporter
It is early days for Guild Wars 2 yet already the community has a bucket list of items they would like to see in-game at some point. Currently, and because the game is so new, ArenaNet is busy fixing bugs, addressing the problem of bots and gold sellers as well as policing its community. But let’s take a look into the (hopefully) not too distant future and think about what features we’d like to see in Guild Wars 2.
I see quite a few asking for mounts, which in all honesty is a bit silly. Mounts surely have no place in Guild Wars 2 other than more aesthetics due to the already very quick travel system. You can’t go more than a short distance without finding yet another waypoint out in the wilds. Divinity’s Reach and Lion’s Arch both have 13 waypoints while the Black Citadel has 11 which not only attest to how large the cities are but how easy it is to get around. If you can’t be bothered running a very short distance, then maybe Guild Wars 2 isn’t for you. The only issue with the current travel system and it really isn’t even an issue is that is can be expensive. No doubt ArenaNet could make some brilliant looking mounts such as the carriage in Lion’s Arch but it just doesn’t seem viable at this point.
Another very common adjustment more than a few would like to see is making dyes account bound rather than once opened only usable by the character that opened it. It seems such a little thing to worry about, but for a lot of players customization is important to them for whatever reason. Thieves should wear dark colours. Everyone knows this. Say you have a necromancer who would also look smashing in the gorgeous dark dye you just found but you have a thief that would also warrant using the dark dye. What do you do? Obviously, if dyes were account bound both characters and subsequent characters could benefit from the dye in question. As it stands now you can but hope the dye you want drops again or you find it on the trading post. Along the same lines are the players asking for weapons dyes as are found in Guild Wars. Not the blades mind but dye to change the colour of hilts and other decorative bits. The more dye the merrier.
If you’ve played games like EverQuest II, LOTRO or SWG for example, you know what is missing and that is player housing. There does seem to be plans from ArenaNet for player housing but as of yet absolutely no word when that may happen. We can only hope that when player housing and guild halls are introduced that movable furniture and décor will also become available either through vendor, gems or player made. Huntsmen could make furniture, tailors could make carpets, armour/weapon smiths could make the metal bric-a-brac much like in EverQuest II. Adding player housing doesn’t seem like it would be a difficult thing for ArenaNet to implement as there appears to be a lot of components in place already. Player housing might just make Guild Wars 2 perfect for a lot of players.
Dueling for some is used to test their skills, weapons and gear. Currently, there isn’t a dueling option in Guild Wars 2 but quite a few players would like to see it added. Personally, I am not a dueler and my hope would be that if ArenaNet were to introduce dueling that they would also include ways to avoid being spammed by duel invites, which are annoying at best.
If we are going to be completely honest here, the trading post could use some work. The filter options are very limited especially when trying to find armour. Currently, when you select armour you will see a drop down menu with choices for slots but not for type such as light or medium. Instead you will have to scroll through all the choices for that slot whether or not you can use them. Of course adding level parameters help but only to minimize how many items you will need to scroll through to find something that fits. Sure that plate chest piece is shiny and sturdy but it doesn’t do me any good on my delicate Mesmer. Adding more options for searching the trading post would definitely be a boon for players.
Since we are on the subject of the trading post, what about a preview option? This functionality is present in other aspects of the interface and it would be convenient to have it working on the trading post as well for armour and weapons. How many times have you bought something on the trading post only to find it looks terrible? Dye can only do so much. There are options to swap looks of gear but it really would be best to try before we buy.
Lastly more options on the trading post that can be purchased with gems. Right now it is very limited but I would love to see things such as hair colour change, appearance change and maybe even race change though that might be tricky given personal stories. More cosmetic options would go down well I think with the community.
These are intriguing times in Guild Wars 2. Not just because Guild Wars 2 has that new game smell but because of what is to potentially come. At this point, anything can happen. There will be many changes over the next year and beyond. Hopefully, they will all be welcome and wonderful changes but whatever happens it promises to be an exciting ride.
What would you like to see added to Guild Wars 2? What improvements, if any, would you make? Join our massive forum discussion and tell us about it!
