An End and a New Beginning

[Centaur]

It will probably not come as a surprise to most of you that I have not really been enjoying GW2 as of late... to the extent that I just stopped playing and have gone back to playing the kind of games that I do enjoy... such as single player RPGs.
Based on many of the things ArenaNet said during their development stage, I came to believe that Guild Wars 2 would be something that it simply isn't. Despite many innovations (some of which are very good) and despite some fun personal stories and some great zones, once I had completed those, I realized that the game is still very much a traditional MMORPG, and it focuses on several of the things that I do not enjoy and do not want to spend my time on (such as fairly traditional endgame and gear grinding). I definitely will keep my eyes on this game, as it has a lot of potential, so if ArenaNet do decide to improve on the aspects of the game that I find the most important, then I will absolutely give it another try. But at the rate they are going now, I don't expect any of those changes to happen anytime soon.

Because of this, and because even after I stopped posting I found myself forced to regularly read posts from some people claiming that I was twisting ArenaNet's words, taking words out of context and making them into something ArenaNet had never said, and that I was digging up lone quotes where apparently there would be many other quotes stating the opposite (believe me, if there were, I would know) - in other words that this was all my own fault and that ArenaNet had basically done everything right - I also found myself less and less enjoying visiting this forum.
So over the last few weeks, I have limited my attendance here to cleaning up the spam and occasionally moving threads to the appropriate sections.
As the number of visitors on this forum has decreased anyway, and the forum doesn't really need 3 moderators as it is right now, this will be my last week on this forum, after which I lay down my function as moderator. It might mean that the occasional spam message isn't deleted as fast as it used to, but other than that, you shouldn't notice much of this.

So I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for making this forum your home, for helping us make it into the nice alternative to the official forums that it has always been, and for generally making our moderator jobs fairly relaxed and easy. I've been on this forum for more than 2.5 years now, and most of period I have enjoyed very much.

[bokiz333]

I am a very very sad panda right now. Sorry you feel that way Centaur. Even if you don't enjoy the game; sucks that you can't enjoy the community. You're a mod, put Vayne on ignore! I for one am going to miss your well thought out, rational and intelligent posts. This forum is worse off with you out of it.

Hope after a while, you find that you can enjoy this forum again and come back as a poster if not a mod. Don't make me threathen you man, you know I can outrun a Centaur.

[Centaur]

Thanks for the kind words. It's definitely not just Vayne though. In general I just find it difficult to enjoy spending time working/being on a gaming forum for a game that I don't enjoy anymore. So whether or not that will ever change is entirely up to ArenaNet now...

[Yarnia Kills]

I just want to thank you, Centaur, for your contributions to a great forum. For the most part, I try to stay out of forums because they are generally stages for angry folk who love to insult others. However, I did not feel that way about this forum. You, Centaur, were primarily responsible for the tone. It was so refreshing to see folks taking the "high road." Your writing, information, and mature attitude made the forum something special. People participated in equally noble ways.

I hope this forum can continue to keep to that "high road" even when we feel disappointed in the game.

[chiria]

Your words shall be missed by me as it was those that brought me away from eq to here. May you find whatever pastures of green you are trotting to.

[Vayne]

We may not agree on everything, Centaur, but we agreed on a lot of points. The one point I don't agree on is that Guild Wars 2 feels like or plays like any other MMO. I've played a lot of them, and it feels completely different TO ME. I understand where you're coming from, but my experiences are different from yours, and you seem quite put out that I didn't agree with what you were saying. It's not that I don't respect your opinion, because I do. I simply didn't feel the way you worded it was fair. I still don't.

That said, I mostly did try to emulate your moderation style and much of what this forum is is down to your even handed, thoughtful and intelligent posts. Nothing that happened between us will ever change that, or lessen my respect for you. I don't disrespect you, I disagree with conclusions you've drawn, as they don't equal my observations. It could be that in the end, I had different expectations all along than you did.

At any rate, I hope you find a great game that you can enjoy playing and get behind. You should have fun. After all, that's what games are about.

And you will be missed, despite the recent disagreements between us.

[Izzy]

I think I understand how you feel Centaur, as I also feel a bit let down by ArenaNet's promises. They gave us so much hype over features that still aren't here. They said things in interviews and blog posts that they have not done. It's worrisome for sure, but I take it with a grain of salt. Basically I still have hope in the game, that it may change. I'm also still having fun, so until that stops I won't quit playing.

But anyway, this thread isn't about agreeing or disagreeing with you. Thank you for making this forum a great place to visit. You always make very helpful and informational posts. I truly admire your professionalism in dealing with things here and I've learned a lot from you. I honestly hope I can handle things as well as you do. I also hope you keep an eye on Guild Wars 2 because I believe there will be many changes coming in the next year, hopefully for the better.

I'm not very good at saying goodbye so I'll just say take care Centaur, I'm sure I'll see you around. Let us know how you're doing sometimes and what games you're playng!

[Centaur]

Vayne, I want to make it very clear that I have a lot of respect for you as well... and yes, there are many things that we agree on. And I have the utmost faith that you and Izzy will do a great job running this forum after I'm gone from it. No need to try and emulate me... just do things your own way, and the two of you (and this forum) should be perfectly fine!

Also, it's not the fact that you disagree with me, or that you are still enjoying the game, that I am unhappy with. I'm actually glad that there are still people like you who play the game in a different way and who still enjoy that, and I hope that will continue to be so. It's only the way in which you chose to express that disagreement, that I am unhappy with. But I don't want to pull this thread any further off-topic on that issue, so I have made one final post in the other thread about this.

And Izzy, thanks! I too still have some hope in the game, that it may change for the better... I just don't expect those changes within the next 2-3 months. So while I will definitely keep my eye on it, for the time being I will put it to rest and focus on games that I like better (I'm playing the Baldurs Gate Enhanced Edition right now, and I have a lot of fun replaying that awesome game).

[JHCinSC]

Thanks for all you have done for the forum, Centaur, and good luck in whatever games you play in the future. I too feel a little betrayed that GW2 isn't the game that the developers told us it would be, but I also feel that it was released before it was complete in an attempt to start making a return on their investment. I am still enjoying the game though and we all only have so much free time so it is important to spend it on something that you enjoy doing. I too am hopeful that Anet will deliver on some of the promises they made long ago. It may be in the next expansion; who can tell. Take care.

[bokiz333]

You know what? I can't keep silent any more. I'm glad Centaur is leaving. There I said it. He's always going on and on about how he doesn't like things...and you know what I'm talking about. I'm so sick of hearing it all the time. Over and over and over again. I get it. You've made your point. I agree with it. Vayne disagrees with it. It's an endless circle jerk and I for one have had it. I wish you would have dropped it sooner. Sure, I'm with you man, it's pronounced To-mayh-toe; and these rubes keep saying Po-ta-to...but we can't keep going on like this. It's tearing us apart.