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I'm sorry E.C. but I really feel like you're guilty of "old paradigm" thinking in this edition of Flameseeker. GW2 is not (I really, really hope) going to have the same type of gear grind treadmills and power creep associated with just about every other MMO out there (which are all based on a restrictive trinity class system.)

Please go watch some kids playing in a park, or on a jungle gym. They are not earning credits/gold/karma/gems/isk... There is no "higher / meta" purpose to their activity... they are playing because it's fun to play.

If you remove the hideously broken mechanics of trinity-based class systems, and kill stealing, and competition over resource nodes, and ganking/griefing, and gear grind, and level grind, and subscription financial model (and HOLY CRAP, what was I ever thinking playing those other MMOs???) then you're just left with designing game elements which are entertaining, interesting, or just plain ol' fun.

Now add scaling of content AND characters so that you're not making all of your hard work at the various stages of progression become obsolete simply because a charater isn't the "right" level... viola... fun game.

I realize this is going to freak out a bunch of MMO players who have been seriously brainwashed by past games into thinking that annoying, repetitive, exhausting, frustrating content is actually good, but it's NOT good... it's just all we had before. Soon (very soon) we will have a better option.

Just go play the dungeons. If they are fun, and you felt challenged, and maybe a little exhilarated when you finished them, and you feel like maybe trying it again, and everyone in your group agrees they want to give it another go to see if you can do "better" as a group, then where's the harm? Just go play. When you've had your fill of a particular dungeon then move on to a different one, or some other type of content.

It's a little sad to me when I see so many MMO veterans essentially asking "where's my torture?" These folks have been psychologically abused and taken advantage of by horribly flawed game design for such an extended period of time... it's going to be interesting to see what happens when all that crap is removed (in some cases against the will of the tortured) and how they react when they can just... play...

"All gamers want more options..." Could NOT be more accurate... talk about "robin-hooding" the arrow in the bullseye. Well said Teri.
We do create 'characters' as gamers, and appearance does matter.

@CCP
/facepalm
You want to attract more 'diversity' in your gamer population? "HTFU" might not be the best approach to becoming more ... approachable.

Really enjoyed this episode folks. It's fantastic when you have guests on occasionally... it just brings up the energy level, and the fun level.

(non sequitur: everyone in this household thinks Teri's voice is professional radio quality - really pleasant resonance.)

Fantastic article M.D. Easily my favorite read of all the Massively articles on this CBT weekend.

The chance to participate in truly meaningful "open world" PvP where they actually KEEP SCORE and each little victory contributes to an overall win condition for my whole server is so appealing.

@edgecrusherO0
You can't buy "player skill."

There is clearly more specific information needed before any meaningful conclusions can be drawn, however, what we do already know is the same poorly designed, flawed systems present in other games featuring this type of financial model were open to abuse - those systems are NOT present in GW2. Will the systems that ARE present in GW2 be open to similar abuse? Only time will tell...

I've been waiting for this shoe to drop since learning vague details about the financial model used by ArenaNet some years ago.

To be clear; they HAD to make this announcement prior to April 10th or leave themselves open to folks crying foul after they have already forked over their money for the pre-purchase option that will allow them into all subsequent beta weekend events, as well as the three day head-start. The timing of this information is from necessity... they would likely have wanted to hold off longer, and possibly included specific details about exactly "what" can be purchased in the cash shop to avoid at least some of the hysteria due to assumptions being made (perhaps erroneously...)

Re: Hysteria
It's understandable for folks to feel strongly about this topic. Many, many players have had resoundlingly bad experiences with MTs (micro-transactions) in other games, and let's be honest here, the VAST majority of MTs are basically very poorly handled by the companies attempting to employ them as a means of financially supporting their product.

Far more MT-based financial models either start off as "abusive" towards their players (or evolve to end up that way) than not. The "money-grab" feeling associated with them is exacerbated considerably by game design practices which "encourage" (*cough* force *cough*) players to make regular purchases in the cash shop to "enable" a more normal / fluid feeling of play.

I see NO evidence this is the case with Guild Wars 2.

In fact, quite the contrary... the game is designed around a philosophy of "player skill" exerting more influence than "character power." You cannot buy player skill. No matter what, that is still earned through time invested, and practice.

There are no "gear grinds" or similar flawed design systems which are open to abuse from the MTs.

Numerous folks (at guru forums) have suggested that the proposed system is open to abuse with respect to how it interacts with the "influence" mechanic associated with guilds. However, once again, there is absolutely no logical evidence supporting those claims. At the very worst, we need to wait until we see actual numbers on the rate at which influence is normally earned, and how often it can be "purchased" with gold from NPCs. If, as has been strongly suggested, such purchases are only possible to make on a weekly basis, then there is already a sufficient "governor" on that engine to prevent it from over-revving.

Conclusion:
I've been very outspoken about my dislike of MTs in general, and my wariness about this financial model being utilized in GW2. If anyone was going to "freak out" about this announcement you would think I would be at the front of that pitchfork/torch weilding mob, but I see nothing in the post by Mike O'Brien to suggest that is the correct response. There are still further details needed about the cash shop, and I withhold the right to pick up my pitchfork when and if that becomes necessary, but at this point, I see nothing to warrant it.

As currently outlined by Mr O'Brien, the system actually looks like it will benefit both casual and hardcore (with respect to playing time) players which is a pretty neat trick all on it's own.

So what you're telling me is it's time to leave behind my stockpile of replacement vaccum tubes and upgrade to transistors?!? Oh man...

@nagennif
I'm in the same boat, but now I have a link to this article to provide to those who are looking for some clarification on these topics.

This was a comprehensive (and easily comprehendible) review of these topics. Well done as usual E.C.

There certainly were a few (really good) rants in this episode. In light of the numerous (quite justified) complaints leveled at various MMOs and their developers, it certainly makes this particular article
http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/28/the-soapbox-theres-no-such-thing-as-a-miracle-mmo/
look even more like sour grapes than it did when it was first written. At first I thought you were just complaining about complainers (some of whom I thought had legitimate issues with certain facets of games) but now it just looks like you have a problem with GW2 and it's fans (since you apparently no longer have any difficulties with vocalizing legitimate concerns about specific issues with a game)

I won't ever bring this up again, but I was so deeply disappointed with the dismissive attitude of that article, that it surprised me just a little bit to hear the apparent contrasting/contradictory attitude heard here on this episode.
Sometimes when folks complain about a specific facet of a game, or decisions of a developer it's not just "the internet" being negative again... sometimes those are legitimate complaints (like the ones expressed on this episode of the podcast)
And sometimes when folks are praising a game that has not yet been released it's not some "pie in the sky" wishful thinking, hoping for a "Miracle MMO" but simply acknowledgement of a game and developer who are making choices we approve of.

Nuff said.

Brilliant article E.C.
An enjoyable read, and an accurate assessment of the situation (as far as we know it) at this time. Well done.

BTW... you can try to mollify concerns either for, or against, there being a trinity in GW2 until you're blue in the face and it won't even make a dent in the kerfuffle juggernaut tank of that subject... the only thing that will put that dead horse in the ground is the actual release of the game, and even then, there will still be obtuse folks with blinders on who will insist that up is down, and left is actually right.

Quite frankly, I expect these sorts of "community explosions" to increase in frequency and magnitude until we actually see the game launch. Folks have simply been waiting for soooooo long, and the emotional build-up has just reached "that point" where a large segment of the community is wound a bit too tightly.

Strap yourselves to the mast folks... this storm will get worse before we see calm seas and a following breeze...

@Unverfied B
Exactly!
F2P + Browser based = not f***ing interested.

Let me know when they go for a "gaslight / steampunk" universe in a real MMO game.