GW2 Path of Fire Launch Day is turning into a huge disaster!

Launch day is tough on any game…well, in the multiplayer and MMO aspect anyways. I have learned more often than not…that huge game titles always experience a handful of problems when something new comes out. Just the other day I was lagging like crazy while trying to get across Dalaran (World of Warcraft) because something new had dropped and the servers were jam-packed full of people.

But…for ArenaNet…the hype for GW2’s new expansion is quickly going down the drain 😦

Even I am suffering from the feelings of being let down. With all the Beta testing (that  ever got to do) and stress testing…I feel there should not be this many issues. But, according to players and fans of the game, this is nothing new. In fact, people said similar issues happened when “Heart of Thorns” launched…and something similar happened back in August (though I am not sure what event that was).

Dunno what I am talking about? Well, here is my post from my personal facebook about the issues:

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I was so excited to play “Path of Fire”! The minute it went LIVE (cause I watched the countdown on youtube)- I downloaded it…I have officially been waiting for over 2 hours now…sitting at the same instance point in Lion’s Arch to begin the journey into Elona. Every time I try to enter the instance, I get an error message…and I’m not the only one. Seems the whole server (and all other servers) are like this.

Problems include (but are not limited to):

1. Players being unable to enter the instance for the prologue.

2. Players getting stuck at the prologue loading screen before the game client crashes.
3. Players playing through the prologue multiple times with no progression (bug)
4. Players getting kicked out of the Crystal Desert after entering Amnoon with no way back to the Desert.
5. Multiple game crashes.
6. Some players experiencing problems with the game recognizing they even bought the expansion.

ArenaNet are aware of the issues and are working as fast as they can to fix it. But the hype is going down the drain. I was not the only one who huddled around the instance point, and our characters just wept.

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On Twitter the Guild Wars 2 team (ArenaNet) has been very good about trying to keep people updated. It seems like most the issues were stemming from EU servers (which I am on unfortunately) and they restarted those to see if that fixed the issues.

The first time the team posted, most people seemed very angry…a lot of people were blaming the developers and comparing them to Blizzard and Square Enix. They called out ArenaNet’s lack-of-experience with MMO’s because it seems these issues are common when it comes to ArenaNet launching anything.

On the other hand- by the second tweet (which was an hour later), people seemed more optimistic and poured love and support towards ArenaNet and thanked them for all their hard work. I’m on the ladder about it. Am I disappointed I can’t play? Of course…
Do I blame ArenaNet? No. But, as some guy kept saying in the Twitter comments…a few extra gems in our accounts would not hurt either 😉

Either way, all we can do is be patient until this all blows over.
Already there are people who are angry and have said they wasted their money and will never waste it again (and will spend it elsewhere)—but that’s just business. Unfortunately you can not please them all.

For those already playing PoF, I hope you are having a blast. For my brothers and sisters still waiting to tackle the God of War and Fire, I say: “We shall prevail!”

 

I will see you all in the next blog! 😉