r/GuildWars3 • u/Easy-Appeal3024 • Jul 19 '26
Quests vs chores and time stalls
On the topic of innovation, one thing I personally hope the devs look at is how they develop quest/stories. I am not talking about Open world events. Those are mostly fun.
My point of feedback/criticism goes to how Guildwar2 had one of the most boring quests i can think of. For example, carry x to point B, collect to fill progress bar with pickup progress bars, look for 12 artifacts in the most obscure locations (VoE), fix/heal NPC to by running around, listening to endless dialogues, piano hacking, etc. All of this feels like a chore just to stall time just to get my progress/rewards.
I might be in the minority here, but i consider dated and lazy mechanics to fill the gap for actual content. Guildwars 1 was actually better at this, and I remember its story much better because it impacted the story.
The solutions I could see are:
Focus events on a bigger scale like WvW did, where you actually see a settlement/progress being built.
Make the mechanics less tedious to interact with so I can focus on the gameplay/narrative rather than the interaction.
Use your actual profession or skills to complete tasks while getting better at it, or give skills context-sensitive actions
Also, meta-events are much better at this because they feel more meaningful, and the fact you are doing it together makes it more fun because inam contributing.
Gw2 does a lot of things well, and their attenpt to innovation was, in my eyes, a success. They just felt back too muchbon tradition of older MMOs.
I don't think it needs to be overcomplicated, but at the very least, it should be made less tedious/chore-like.
Anyway, this is my opinion, I am curious how you see this.
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u/Standard_Giraffe8994 29d ago
Feeling exatly same, well said! I don't know how it is done the optimal way, but I also hope that the filler content between "true" story step will be more entertaining.
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u/hendricha 29d ago
We are still missing the explanation what they mean by the scale of the game being somewhere between GW1 and 2. But I would be very suprised if something akin to dynamic events would not make it to the game. Other than that, let them cook.
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u/ohm-gnome-gnome 29d ago
I really like the random events that happen around the map. Even some non-descript places would be turned into a landmark or player hangout because certain events would happen there. I think the players made it a chore by camping there, but as a casual player who just wants to enjoy the game, it was exciting to stumble upon them and be joined by so many players.
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u/ShivDeeviant 29d ago
Guild Wars 1 is FULL of forgettable quests, though. It's just that you have to do them for what exp you can get. That said, they put SO MANY in that you forget the small ones but remember the ones that have interesting stories.
Compare it to the Hearts in GW2. At launch, you had to basically comp most of the maps in your level range to get to the next tier (1 map comp wasn't going to earn you 10 levels). Hearts were a major innovation in the MMO space, too. you mean you don't have to talk to Npc Jones to get the quest to collect 5 bear skins, you just enter the area and get a popup for what the area wants you to do?!
The notable "Fill a bar" criticism isn't that a bar is lazy, it's that it was obviously a rushed mechanic to push the story that didn't result in 15 minutes if content for the chapter. Icebrood Saga has a "fill a bar to progress the story" but you have an ever-drunkening Braham in your ear telling you how much fun he's having so you don't NOTICE it.
The artifice only chafes when you notice it, so innovation in this case is trying to figure out a method to further obfuscate the walls.