Level 80!

[Vayne]

It's the player base that conditions games. Player expectations increase, players feel they're entitled to specific things, they want more and their demands are what shift the industry the most.

You have no one to blame for how streamlined the MMO industry is other than the millions of players that blindly buy and play them. Companies are just trying to follow what works because of these people that buy said games. I've said it before and I'll say it again, MMO's are fundamentally, really bad games from a design point of view. GW2 included. The MMO industry has almost no effect on the rest of the gaming world as a whole. It's literally it's own seperate entity.

I agree with this to a point. I also believe that games train people on how to think and how to play them. The point is, make something simple enough for even a fool to use and only a fool will want to. It's an old saying, but it's not necessary untrue.

There are many lecturers out there today who talk about how gaming can teach or educate. That giving someone that level ding will help them remember things.

People can only buy the games on offer. You can blame people for buying games, but then, you have to look at the full picture. How educated are the people we're talking about, how intelligent, how susceptible to peer pressure or advertising. These are questions that aren't as black and white as you make them. Advertisers look for the weak spots and exploit them. Exploitation last time I looked, isn't a good thing.

Whether you blame individuals or culture, or the businesses that support and perpetuate the culture is simply a matter of perspective.

[Fey]

I agree with this to a point. I also believe that games train people on how to think and how to play them. The point is, make something simple enough for even a fool to use and only a fool will want to. It's an old saying, but it's not necessary untrue.

It's extremely true, and that's what I'm saying. What do people do when they buy games and they can't figure them out? They get mad, they complain, they demand refunds or compensation instead of learning the game.

This is a huuuge issue with MMO's in this day and age because they need to keep the servers running. They need to keep pumping out new content. Adjust things, fixing bugs, etc etc which is all extremely expensive. All this stuff I know you're already aware of.

MMO's today are required to be accessible at least on a playable level to the lowest tier of player. There's a reason why people who only play MMO's are not considered to be part of the gaming culture. MMO's from 10+ years ago were hard, they took a lot more effort than the ones we have today.

Because of the broadened player base companies had to adapt to keep them playing. And because MMO's are the only genre (besides shooters) that really compete with one another on a massive level, they can't expand outward and do new things, which I know you're also already aware of. But soooo many people aren't. And it's these people that hinder the industry overall.

Getting back to the topic, OP is confused with what to do at 80. GW2 is trying something new, giving us options to gear up and level up how we want to and the freedom to do pretty much whatever we want at level 80. But the thing is, you can already do whatever you want in other MMO's. Except in those MMO's, the reason to do those things is more stimulating and alluring. In GW2, there's really no reason to do anything at 80. You can do it because you want to but that's it. The lack of purpose is starting to backfire a little bit.

It's a definite step in the right direction for the future of MMO's but there needs to be far more of an insentive to do these things because of how the markets changed. And to then slowly make people realize that the generic MMO Model isn't the only solution.

PSO2 for example is doing a fantastic job of this with their F2P model and game design. But this wouldn't be a problem in the first place if the people who played MMO's could learn to adapt to new things. And trying to convince a non-gamer to try new things in a game is like trying to teach a person who's blind what colors are.

They can't see what you're trying to show them.

[chiria]

Me Once I got Unkind to 80 I crafted her 400 400 weapons-tailor, then 80 Pacbright 400 400 Armorer Artificer, then Heritic to 50 ( I was having issues as a thief- and I guess I sucked) but 400 400 jewler leather, now on Shortstop Frycook at 45 working her butt. I use my mains Unkind to gather she is fast with her pets on heel and then to see the whole world. The best I can say is to do it all -yes all otherwise you will get bored and leave thinking there is nothing to offer here by the game.

[zaradann]

This game has SO MUCH TO DO and it has little to do with what level you are. So... yeah...

Congrats on level 80, for what it's worth. Very soon I hope you see that that's not what the game is about though. So don't just log off after reaching 80 and be like "well that's finished". lol Unless that's all you ever wanted out of this game - just something to play to reach level cap in and then be done with it.

This is the first game I have ever played where the game is the goal not the level so it's really hard for me to wrap my head around. I am trying though. Someone mentioned that it is easier to level by doing all the 1-15 zones first, then the next set and so on. While I think that getting to 15 asap and then finishing the original 1-15 and as much story as you can, doing all of them is pointless. Since you get mentored down, being 10-20 levels higher then the content is no help at all. There are very few folks in the same zone as me at any one time so I solo 99% of all hearts and skill challenges. I am hear to tell you, my engineer has lvl 30 gear, skills, build yet mentored down to 10, 12, 16, 24 if I get 1 veteran and 2 friends or 3-4 mobs my level, I kill one then die. Go back, kill another, die again. So on till I can get the skill, heart or poi. The encounters are meant for 2-6 toons so soloing is not much fun.

If I clear the content in each level capped area before moving on, I will not want to play another toon and do all the same stuff yet again so soon. Thats why I want to get to 80 fairly quick so I have options. Dungeon, farm, story, craft, play lower toon. After an hour of being thrashed hard over and over, I get really frustrated. Someone in another post here said they got max level in gw1 in a couple days. Do they mean 48 hours of play time? Took me a heck of a lot longer than that. My level 30 has 48 hours played. I prefer grouping and thats why I want to get a toon to 80 soon then backtrack when I am bored.

[lmori]

I guess I'm like you in that I play these types of games mostly for the leveling. I enjoy the feeling of progression and the gradually getting stronger while you explore tougher regions aspect.
Crafting, exploring, grinding for gear, doing instances over and over just don't interest me.

What I did was just create another character with a different class, race and story. My first 80 levels I don't think I completed much more than half of the map. So on the second run I focused on the other half. The experience was completely different and just as enjoyable the second time around.

I'm about to start on my 3rd now. I will probably fill all of my character slots with 80s and I'll probably move on to another game after that.

Oh, I've also started to spend a fair amount of time in WvW. I generally don't like PvP, but the WvW is pretty well done. I have spent 4 to 5 hours straight just in WvW because it sucks you in. I was never able to play for longer than 2 or 3 hours at a time of PvE content before getting bored.

[tym]

Now myself,After reaching 80, I thought, Well I will just start a new toon and repeat the process. Tried a few others, gave it my best, For me, just seems pointless. Can only play one toon at a time.

Thought about crafting, tried it, HATED it, Just found it is cheaper and easier to buy the stuff I wanted. So my Ranger is maxed, has the best gear, love the build, (I went with critical). Also found It much harder to level to 80 by just running the map.

Still having a great time, Just running different areas, farming here and there, helping others when they need it.

Did try to find a guild, just not my thing, prefer solo, im not a people person. So yea, Its still fun, just gotta find what works best for you.