The Ogre

@cyanpill ...except for post level 50 progression, of course, at which point you HAVE to group and join the raids.

Grouping should NEVER be *required* for the storyline or leveling as a design decision, but should always be optional and available (though not with extra bonuses - if you have to bribe people to group then obviously something's wrong with the entire concept).

Not saying that the game has to automatically be completable with every race/class/spec combination solo, just that having storylines lead into group-only instances (including ones that don't technically require a group, but can be done solo if you outlevel it a ton) or open world bosses or areas that require groups of players (while in the proper level range for the quests that send them there) to complete should be avoided.

Frankly, grouping is a miserable, lonely experience for most who play MMORPGs to be social. Normal groups only rarely chat beyond "Hello," "Ready?," giving orders, and whining about loot rolls. Hell, I can't remember the last time I grouped and anyone other than me bothered with even the basic courtesy of a "Thanks for the group!" when finished. At least a month now.

3049? Ugh. The Clan invasion begins in August, in that case. I just lost any interest I may have had in MWO. 3025/3026 is the best time period.

@hassaun2006 "Why would anyone balk at respec restrictions *which most people have dealt with for years with little problem* to the point that they would avoid what is shaping up to be one of if not the most important games of the last 5+ years? I just don't get it."

Because they HAVEN'T had to deal with respec restrictions, beyond not being able to change your primary profession, in Guild Wars for most of its history.

Oh, and on respec fees... The lack of respec fees and being able to freely change your character any time you want, for whatever purpose you want, while in a safe area (ie, town/outpost) was one of the best parts of GW1, features-wise (along with the free map travel). Inclusion of respec (and map travel) fees is a huge step back in terms of player-friendliness.

The fees might "lend more weight" to your decisions - but that is totally against what Guild Wars character design was about.

Eh. The "Holy Trinity" is still in Guild Wars 2, no matter what anyone wants to say. Instead of "Healer, Tank, DPS" it's now "Healer/Buffer/Debuffer, Tank/Control, DPS" (ie, damage mitigation from heals/player buffs/debuffing the foes, some method of keeping the foes away from the squishies as much as possible, and DPS) As plenty of Ascalon Catacombs videos have shown, it's just as necessary as it's always been to have people take specific roles.

My main just celebrated his 4th birthday yesterday and has over 2000 hours sunk into him. I do take long breaks, though, and all the GW2 press beta news IS what started me playing again recently (just captured the last Prophecies elite skill for him last night, which also gives him rank 1 of Kind of a Big Deal - it's no GWAMM, but it'll do; I really should try and find a guild one of these days...).

Only if it's one player, one vote. The thought of allowing mainly the most hardcore of the hardcore (and beta -> live transitioners are almost always such) decide how the game goes is every bit as bad as using the forums (also filled mostly with the most hardcore of the hardcore).

Definitely prefer account-wide rewards. And, for freemium, account-wide purchases (screw shelling out for a weapon for only one character).

"Salvaging, the other way to acquire crafting material, is a little different from what we saw in the original Guild Wars. Rather than salvaging modifiers off of equipment (which might be possibly at higher levels, though I've not seen it happen), players can use salvaging kits to reduce loot (such as dropped armor and weapons or junk drops like scrap metal) into its component parts, turning it into useful stuff like scraps of jute (used for clothy stuff) and chunks of copper (used for, well, copper-y stuff). "

Er, that's exactly how salvaging works in GW1 - you can salvage mods (with an Expert/Superior or Perfect Salvaging Kit), but most of the time you're salvaging crafting components . Common salvage (iron ingots, bolts of cloth, plant fibre, bone, and more) with regular salvage kits, and common or rare salvage (random which you get, if the item has multiple types attached - bolts of linen, paper, rubies, sapphires, and many more) with Expert or Perfect (100% chance of salvaging mods without breaking the item, though otherwise same as Expert) kits; Superior kits are just 100 charge Expert kits.