Guild Wars 2 Lead Designer Sits Down For A Q&A With GuildWars2 Junkies

Written by: Mike Schaffnit (@MikeSchaffnit) | June 29, 2012 1:30 pm

31 Comments

In an interview with GuildWars2 Junkies Lead Designer Eric Flannum sat down to discuss questions surrounding Guild Wars 2 topics like World vs World, player starting weapons, and the Asura and Sylvari.

One of the first questions addressed was concern over the size of racial hit-boxes based on various race heights. Players were concerned if it was going to provide any sort of edge, however, Eric put fears (or pre-planned advantages) to rest when he stated that every character in Guild Wars 2 has the same exact collision cylinder. This in turn means the hit box for Asura could potentially be larger than the character model and vice versa for races such as the Norn.

The next major question addressed was over the fact many players are dissatisfied with the current weapons that certain classes are starting with. Based on the nature of Guild Wars 2 combat, it only makes sense that players are given the possibility to pick which weapon they want to start. Eric said this was something they had previous implemented through certain story choices at the begging of the game, however some players were potentially not understanding the decisions they were making and thus ending up with a far inferior or more difficult weapon to start with. In order to fix this, they decided to pick what they felt was the best weapon for each class. The weapons in question are still under consideration and changes to the weapon of choice for each class can change based on Open Beta Weekend feedback.

There were other questions regarding WvW, PvE vs PvP experience, and a whole lot more so for the entire Q&A be sure to check out the entire article on GuildWars2 Junkies website.

Guild Wars 2 Lead Designer Sits Down For A Q&A With GuildWars2 Junkies

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http://twitter.com/BillMcD Alan

My experience has told me so far is that if they don’t put it in A beta it is either something that is unfinished and not up to par or ITS NOT IN GAME. This has me very worried for GW2 now, and makes me with i didn’t preorder. Devs may have good hearts but you cant trust the process unless its transparent because publishers at least WILL screw over players if it improves the bottom line.
- Old Ben
  
  Seeing him say that “we haven’t locked down the content yet” after the release date has been announced and is less than two months away was one of those “WTF…?” moments.
  
  Maybe he just meant “the content of the next BWE”, but if they’ve already said there will only be _one_ more BWE before launch, then they definitely should know, at this point, what is being tested in that BWE.
  
  I get the feeling that they picked the launch date based on some external factor (tradeshows? competition?), and that pre-purchasers are effectively going to be beta testing a lot of stuff in the days before release, especially in the asura and sylvari areas.
  - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_R35J5EUERGS3E6JRIQMBCDTRRY Nathan I
    
    it’s very clear that he was referring to the content of the next BWE. People really need better reading comprehension. Also the next BWE is still 3 weeks away, they can put a lot of stuff in in that period. Of course they’re not going to know exactly what’s going to be in the next BWE.
    - Old Ben
      
      > Of course they’re not going to know exactly
      > what’s going to be in the next BWE.
      
      …which means they shouldn’t have already decided that it will be the last BWE.
      
      Which was my point.
      
      People really need better reading comprehension.
- Jay
  
  We’ll have to wait and see…
QSatu

I think one of the better questions was about animations.
Old Ben

The “some players are stupid so we must limit their choice” excuse is getting a bit old, Eric.

If players are so stupid that they can’t make the connection between the question “which weapon do you want?” and the weapon they’re given, then it probably doesn’t matter which weapon you give them anyway.
- QSatu
  
  I thought he meant: Some weapons are more complicated skill wise than others so some players ended up with harder starting experience.
  I think the best idea would be to put npc near starting zone which would exchange starting weapon for any other.
  - Old Ben
    
    > I thought he meant: Some weapons are more complicated
    > skill wise than others so some players ended up with harder
    > starting experience.
    
    The starting experience is always “spam #1″, so it doesn’t exactly take much skill anyway.
    
    And at least those players would be having the experience they wanted (ex., shooting with a pistol, instead of stabbing with a dagger). I’m sure I’d have a much easier experience if they gave me a tank, but if I want my character to be an archer, the tank isn’t going to make me enjoy the game (even if it makes combat easier).
    
    > I think the best idea would be to put npc near starting
    > zone which would exchange starting weapon for any other.
    
    How would that be different from asking it as part of character creation?
    
    I’m all for putting choice in the game world (instead of in the menus), but if you know you want to use a pistol (for example), what sense does it make for your character to start with a dagger? If “you” (your character) prefers pistols, why would he be carrying a dagger instead (or vice-versa)?
    
    This isn’t a big deal (weapons are available from vendors all over Tyria), but the justification is a bit worrying, especially coming from one of the designers. “Some people make bad choices so we’re going to deny everyone the chance to choose”.
    
    Design a product to be idiot-friendly and soon idiots will be the majority of its user base.
    - Jay
      
      Yup, I would prefer either of the two options you both laid out. Like you said though, it’s not a big deal.
    - Iwerks
      
      Yeah, I’m not sure why he worded it like that. I think it was more a response to not completely inundating players with choices before they even get to move around.
      
      My friend played for the first time during the last stress test, and he hadn’t even started fighting half-an-hour after he entered the character creator. With all of the questions asked and choices to make, I think it’s a pretty fair allowance to just give you a simple weapon to start with.
      
      Also, it’s worth noting that it’s not really an even choice. Engineers would get what, two choices (pistol or rifle? how would you even know the differences without studying first?) while the Warriors get seven? Engineer’s choice feels kind of shallow, while Warriors are awash in options that can be very hard for new players. Unless you come in with some deep-seated plan for what weapon you want (I didn’t, my friend didn’t), that decision isn’t easy even if you do know what the weapons do.
      
      I approve of the choice they made. I think they’ve justified it poorly. The magic of role play is the ability to make informed decisions, not just choose at random. Given how differently certain weapons operate (Warrior bow has lots of AoE attacks, while the rifle is purely single target – vastly different playstyles, even though they’re both ranged), the expectation that players “know” what they want to use before the get out of the gate is a high expectation indeed.
      
      Plus, I was psyched by exploring the world a bit and finally picking up my first greatsword at level 4. It felt like a promotion, something I earned rather than having it handed to me at level 1. Little thing, but I enjoyed it.
      - Old Ben
        
        > he hadn’t even started fighting half-an-hour after
        > he entered the character creator.
        
        Neither had I nor anyone else. But that has nothing to do with the questions and everything to do with tweaking your character’s appearance and picking a name. I don’t think I spent more than 5 seconds thinking about any question, and I certainly wouldn’t have spent more than 2 thinking about which weapon I wanted to start with.
        
        > Engineers would get what, two choices
        > while the Warriors get seven?
        
        That’s a game design issue. Different classes have different weapon restrictions.
        
        > pistol or rifle? how would you even know the
        > differences without studying first?
        
        How are you supposed to “know the differences” between all the other options in the character creation questions? How are you supposed to know the difference between a norn and an asura, if you never “studied” the issue? How are you supposed to know the difference between a mesmer and an elementalist? How are you supposed to know the difference between the Ash Legion and the Iron Legion?
        
        Because a) you can go study if you want to and b) the place where you make that choice has a short description of those things. For example:
        
        “Ash Legion: I use cunning to overcome my enemies. The Ash Legion teaches stealth and subterfuge. We end battles before they begin with infiltration, information gathering, and precision strikes.”
        
        Likewise, it would be pretty easy to include a short description of each weapon.
        
        I have nothing against having a “default” (and perhaps also a “random”) button for people who don’t want to bother about the choice. In fact, that’s already in the game (if you press “skip to end” during character creation, the game makes all the choices for you).
        
        But eliminating players’ choice (of something as influential on your character’s look & feel as your weapon) with the dubious excuse that “it could make players’ experience more complex” is just bad design.
        
        If I’ve already decided that I want my thief to be an archer, I don’t care if it’s “more complex”. I’m going to get a bow. By giving me a dagger (or whatever) at the start you’re just making my character feel slightly less “mine”.
      - Iwerks
        
        Okay, clearly weapons are a big deal to you. Sorry for stepping on a sore subject. Comparing weapon selection (flexible as can be) to race and background selection (one-time fixed decisions) doesn’t make sense unless weapons are a really big deal.
        
        Out of technical interest, however, I will point out that tool-tipping every weapon for every profession (remember, the weapons’ abilities change as you change professions) would be non-trivial. Doable, sure, but non-trivial and takes a fair bit of work. For something as easily changed as a weapon slot, it’s not something I’d want the dev team focusing on. I’m also not sure how deep you’d want those tooltips. There is a lot of depth in most of the weapon kits, and explaining all that away would – again – slow the creation process down.
      - Old Ben
        
        > Okay, clearly weapons are a big deal to you.
        
        I think they’re a big deal for everyone. They determine the contents of half your action bar, they’re the most influential decision on the way your character plays (after class selection), and they have a major impact on how your character looks
        
        > Comparing weapon selection [...]
        
        During character creation you’re given a choice of helmet / pauldrons that has absolutely no influence on your playing style (or even on your stats, or anything else; it’s purely cosmetic). Do you find that more important than a choice of weapon?
        
        > tool-tipping every weapon for every
        > profession [...] it’s not something I’d
        > want the dev team focusing on
        
        It’s not a dichotomy. The people writing the tooltips are not the people coding the engine or doing the animations or recording the sound effects. Writing 30 or 40 weapon tooltips isn’t going to impact any other areas of development.
        
        > I’m also not sure how deep you’d
        > want those tooltips
        
        As “deep” as the tooltips for the other choices, would be the obvious reply. A couple of lines are more than enough. There’s no need to explain individual abilities (those already have dedicated tooltips, when you put your cursor over the icons). Simply mention if a weapon is melee or ranged, if it’s more focused on AoE or single-target attacks, and if it’s one-handed or two-handed.
        
        In fact, you can already find some descriptions in the official GW2 Wiki. For example:
        
        Warrior greatsword: “A two-handed weapon that allows you to perform sweeping area-of-effect attacks while being able to move quickly between groups of enemies.”
        
        Ranger greatsword: “A brute force, heavy-damage, two-handed weapon with emphasis on countering and evasion.”
        
        I’m not saying those would be my “ideal” descriptions, but they’re more than enough to give players an idea of how the weapon plays. I could certainly write all the necessary tooltips in two hours or less, and I’m sure so could Arena Net’s official tooltip writers.
        
        Most players don’t really care about that, anyway; they just want a weapon that _looks_ right on their character. They know they’ll eventually get one of each and learn all skills anyway; the initial choice is just about making your character feel “personalized”.
- http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
  
  The lack of weapon choice in the character creation is really a poor design decision. Especially when the weapon clearly indicates the combat style of the profession. It is really silly that third party sites have to layout basic weapons choices that should have been made during the character creation.
  - Old Ben
    
    Not sure what you mean about “third party websites having to layout weapon choices”. Your possible weapon choices are listed in the hero panel; the issue is just which weapon you’re actually given when you start (and no website is going to be able to change that).
    
    People can buy weapons from vendors soon enough, so it’s not a big deal, but it’s stupid (in terms of game design and in terms of role-playing) to give players a weapon that is “wrong” for the character they imagined.
    
    It would almost be preferable to start them with no weapon and just make them pick up a weapon from a rack at the start (like TSW does).
- http://pulse.yahoo.com/_R35J5EUERGS3E6JRIQMBCDTRRY Nathan I
  
  Arenanet is a business, they need to try and appeal to as many people as possible without compromising their core ideals. This means making it easier for new players who don’t know anything about the game to pick it up and play.
  
  He was referring to the fact that some weapons are very straight forward, while others are more complex. He was not saying that people don’t know that they will get a bow when choosing a bow after being asked “what is your favourite weapon”.
  
  Reading Comprehension. You need that in life.
  - Old Ben
    
    > This means making it easier for new players who don’t
    > know anything about the game to pick it up and play.
    
    That’s what “default” options are for. If you don’t know what to pick, you pick the “default” or “recommended for new players” option. Problem solved.
    
    Eliminating choice for players with a functioning brain because “some new players might not know what to pick” is a terrible design philosophy. Especially in an RPG (which is about letting people adapt their character to their personal taste) and especially in GW2 (whose designers went on and on about how you’d be able to “play the way you want to play right from the start”).
    
    The fact that so many threads popped up in the official forum about this issue should be a hint to Mr. Flannum that people care about that _choice_ more than they care about any supposed differences in “weapon difficulty”. If someone wants to play an archer, they’re going to get an arch and use that, even if you force them to start with a dagger. You’re not helping them, you’re just adding a little annoyance and a little barrier between the players and their characters.
    
    > some weapons are very straight forward,
    > while others are more complex
    
    Regardless of your weapon, all you can do at the start is spam #1. There is no “complexity” involved. By the time you’ve unlocked that weapon’s skills, chances are you’ll have come across several other weapons as drops, not to mention _every_ other weapon type being sold by NPC vendors.
    
    > Reading Comprehension. You need that in life.
    
    Understanding how things actually work instead of being a fanboy and just repeating talking points. You need that in life, too.
http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr

The WvW queuing may or may not continue being a problem at launch. When I was logging in for a GamebreakerTV guild WvW event, I would log on an hour before the event and go afk at one of the WvW maps. While I would keep my activity up to stay connect, I did notice other players doing the same.
- http://twitter.com/DaPhoolz Rp TheFoolz
  
  i guess, in the future there might be a /report for afk player. then Dhuum appear and kick the reported player back to PvE.
http://profile.yahoo.com/BODC6RD6AXDP4RTY53UC3DM6UE Katie_Kips

i like guildwars
Kagitaar

I know that starting your first experience with the game at all, rolling a mesmer and getting a melee sword does not feel good at all. If you want to be gentle on new players, why not give them a weapon that makes sense for the class archetype? Clothie caster does not make me think of stabbing.
- http://twitter.com/DaPhoolz Rp TheFoolz
  
  i think it’s because they’re trying to tell you that GW2 is different than other MMOs.
  
  At first i got a sword for my mesmer too. and I was very confuse for a while. Then i learn how to play with sword and now Sword+pistol is my main weapon set.
  
  for me, GW2 has so many thing to learn/discover during the game and i love it.
  - Kagitaar
    
    Well good for you. I think the sword is awful and a clothie should not have to melee the starter event boss.
    - Old Ben
      
      While having the option to go melee is nice, every other mesmer weapon is ranged (even the greatsword), so starting out with a 1-handed sword gives a completely incorrect idea of how the class plays.
      - Kagitaar
        
        Exactly my point.
  - Old Ben
    
    In the end, everyone is going to try every weapon and unlock every ability. But it’s important to make people feel a connection to their character right from the start, and picking your weapon has a major influence on that.
    
    For example, if you imagine your warrior with a sword and shield and the game gave you a rifle instead, it would just feel “wrong”, it wouldn’t feel like that was actually your character. Even if you know that (later) you will also want to unlock all the rifle skills. And the same if you imagined your warrior with a big hammer, and the game gave you a sword and a shield instead.
    
    It doesn’t make any sense for the game to let you pick your helmet and pauldrons (which have no influence on gameplay) but not let you pick your weapon (which can completely change how your character looks and plays – ex., dagger thief vs. bow thief).
Revanhavoc

Crap I’m early…

When’s the sitdown for the the regular junkies?
SiderFace

Was anything said about cash shop (gem shop) errors?

I was never able to receive items that I bought with the complimentary gems.
Did not come to my inventory, mail, or stash. I talked to a few other people who experienced the same issue.
Geoffercake

whenever i start a new character i buy one of each usable weapon from a vendor, pretty basic stuff. and i unlock all my weapon skills while exploring the low level area and while doing so, i get a feel for each weapon so i can figure out which ones i want to use
Geoffercake

when starting a new character its best to buy one of each of their usable weapons from a vendor and unlock all the weapon skills as you explore the low level area(s). this way you get a feeling for each weapon and know what they’re good for so you can decide which to use

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