Tyrian Chronicle: Is GW2 Casual Player Friendly Still? .

If you read the Guild Wars 2 subreddit or official forums, you’ve probably seen a number of complaints that Heart of Thorns made the game “too hardcore”. But is that really the case?

GW2 is hardly the first MMO to ever have the hardcore vs. casual narrative amongst its players, and it probably won’t be the last. One of the problems with ever finding a solution to this ongoing war is a question of definitions. Just what does “casual” mean, anyway? Does it mean being limited by time? Is it an indication of difficulty level? Desire?

It’s hard to argue one way or the other when we don’t know exactly what the terms are, but I still don’t think that Guild Wars 2 is particularly unfriendly to not-hardcore players, even after the arrival of Heart of Thorns.

Hardcore Content Exists

If we go with a loose definition of casual player as someone who doesn’t want to have to schedule their playtime, then clearly Heart of Thorns introduced content designed to appeal to the more hardcore folks. The biggest example of this is the introduction of raids – raiding is the pinnacle of “appointment gaming”, where your team’s success can depend on having the right people in front of the instance at the right time.

Raids also favor players who have the time and inclination to farm the best gear and optimize their playing. This process may not be any more time intensive than more casual pursuits (more on this later), but it certainly takes a goal-driven personality.

Another way that the game is arguably more welcome to hardcore players is the renewed emphasis on eSports in structured PvP. As with raiding, a well-performing eSports team relies upon regular attendance, lots of practice, and the willingness to fine tune your play.

Heart of Thorns certainly added new content for more hardcore players!

Grinding or Playing?

Of course the addition and highlight of more serious business content doesn’t necessarily mean that options for more casual players were decreased. One common complaint, though, is that what “casual accessible” content was included in Heart of Thorns is locked behind that most hated of mechanics: a grind.

Again, “grind” is another term that has a different definition depending on who you talked to last. Generally it refers to having to do the same pieces of content over and over again to get a particular reward. And while repeating the same thing over and over can get understandably frustrating, it seems that since Heart of Thorns some player feel that everything is a grind, including just literally playing the game.

Elite Specs, with their newer 250 point unlock barrier, are hardly a grind. You need to complete 25 different hero points in the new content to fully unlock a spec, and most players will have at least some points finished in old Tyria to make that number even smaller. And even if you don’t, you’re not running the same content over and over – you are hitting 25 different locations and fighting different monsters.

Masteries are also not a grind, by the purest definition. Yes, they are long and yes, you probably wanted to be done with them, like, yesterday. However, you complete masteries by doing just about every other thing in the game – anything that would usually give you XP. It’s literally just playing the game.

It’s hard to see either Elite Specs or Masteries as particularly unfriendly to casuals.

Other Content

What other content could be seen as not for casuals?

I’m no fan of over-reliance on the Gem Store, but contrary to what many players think Heart of Thorns has in fact increased the number outfits and armor skins that are obtained through gameplay and not direct purchase. (Whether you like the new skins is, of course, a matter of taste.)

Heart of Thorns also introduced a number of collections and legendary quests, including the Elite Specialization weapons collections. These quests involve earning Masteries, farming zone currency, and crafting items (or farming the gold to buy them), and can be easily done by a determined player who likes to play alone or only has a few hours a week to play.

The new Heart of Thorns zones each feature a cyclical event cycle where a number of small events leads to a series of end bosses. While it’s entirely possible that someone with very limited time could have to log off before the boss appears, this is no different than any of the pre-expansion world bosses. Guild Wars 2 has always been a game where you could log on and just miss your Daily boss or Tequatl.

There is one area where I think the complaints of fewer options for casual players is totally valid, and that’s dungeons. The nerf to dungeon rewards and lack of attention to Fractals has not only made it more difficult for time-limited players to earn gold, but also decimated the population of players who are looking for a group. This makes it more difficult and time consuming for those remaining players who still want to run small group instanced content.

As I’ve mentioned in past columns, change is scary, particularly for video game players. Guild Wars 2 went three years without an expansion, and Heart of Thorns introduced some significant changes and updates. It’s understandable and expected that not all of the new content will be beloved by all players.

However, I think the cries of “too hardcore” are misplaced. Yes, there are more options now for players who desire difficult group content with tight expectations and scheduled attendance. With the exception of dungeons, though, the casual player still has the same opportunities as they did before Heart of Thorns, and perhaps even more with the addition of Masteries, new collections, and Elite Specs.

The game has more difficult content now, but players were clamoring for challenging end-game content before Heart of Thorns was even announced. Of course some people just won’t enjoy the new content and that’s totally fine, but I’m not sure there’s evidence to back up the claim that the game is just too hardcore now.

Related: Column, Dungeons, eSports, Guild Wars 2, Raid, The Tyrian Chronicle