Category Archives: Rant

GW2: One step forward, two steps back for the genre

Posted on September 24, 2012 by SynCaine

Keen has a report card out for GW2, and while I think the grades are a bit high, I agree overall with his assessment. In short, GW2 is a good game, but a month in its pretty clear GW2 is … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Guild Wars, MMO design, PvP, Rant, RMT, RvR | 65 Comments

GW2: End-game woes

Posted on September 21, 2012 by SynCaine

Remember that ultra-casual MMO that just came out? Hey turns out more people queue up for the PvP in that game than the number of people who raided in WoW (by % of the population). Who could have predicted that? … Continue reading →

Posted in Guild Wars, PvP, Rant | 36 Comments

GW2: Broken Jack of Trades

Posted on September 17, 2012 by SynCaine

GW2 has a serious identity crisis. Is it an ultra-casual MMO that rewards everyone for everything? Is it an e-sport title for competitive 5v5 teams? Is it an updated DAoC focused on RvR? Is it a WoW clone, or the … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, crafting, Guild Wars, MMO design, PvP, Rant, RMT | 15 Comments

GW2: Colin Johanson understands raiding

Posted on September 17, 2012 by SynCaine

Our own internal testing teams and alpha test groups learned to beat them using a combination of player skill, synchronous builds, strong use of cross-profession combos, use of cooking/consumable buffs (these make a huge difference!) and well formed player tactics. … Continue reading →

Posted in Guild Wars, MMO design, Rant | 7 Comments

GW2: Dead on the inside

Posted on September 14, 2012 by SynCaine

Everything just kinda plays/unlocks itself. – kalex716 I think this describes why GW2 feels like an enjoyably meh experience to me right now. I like each piece of content, to varying degrees, but as soon as I close GW2 the … Continue reading →

Posted in Guild Wars, MMO design, Rant | 40 Comments

GW2: To scale or not to scale

Posted on September 13, 2012 by SynCaine

GW2 scaling in many ways makes the whole leveling process somewhat silly. You return to where you started but the local bandits are still just as tough as their far more senior members in later zones. No matter how legendary … Continue reading →

Posted in Guild Wars, Rant | 33 Comments

GW2: An ‘explorers’ dream

Posted on September 11, 2012 by SynCaine

Short musing for today: The ‘explorers’ who love GW2 for rewarding ‘exploring’ when they ‘find’ all of the points of interest and such in a zone and getting the “you got it all” chest. That’s not being an explorer. That’s … Continue reading →

Posted in crafting, Guild Wars, Rant | 37 Comments

Someone reprogram the bot

Posted on September 5, 2012 by SynCaine

…highsec is “Space WoW”: you log in, you grind, you progress. No skill or brain is needed. And WoW is prettier. I left WoW for a competitive game and I found only Space WoW. – Gevlon That says more about … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, Rant, World of Warcraft | 24 Comments

GW2: Anet hard at work fixing overpopulation

Posted on August 31, 2012 by SynCaine

Anet’s handling of the karma weapon bug they introduced is a joke. Keen has a post up about it, and in the comments you will find Anet’s stepping-back statement. First, the ban makes zero sense. So anyone who ‘used’ the … Continue reading →

Posted in Guild Wars, Rant | 33 Comments

GW2: Dead Centaurs

Posted on August 30, 2012 by SynCaine

One of the nice things about being in the initial wave of WAR players was seeing all of the PQs played out more or less as intended. Only the newbie zone PQs were heavily zerged, and even then at least … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, Guild Wars, MMO design, Rant, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online | 35 Comments