Cosmetic Reward is not the finest carrot for an MMO

That is my opinion after playing GW2 for last a number of months since beta (2x lvl 80s - Ele & Guard & many sub-80 alts) and after playing GW1 massively since launch (champion of the gods, gwamm & phoenix).

I think cosmetic rewards worked for GW1 beause the primary focus on GW was many formats of PvP with "looking outstanding" as the secondary aspect of the game to fill the downtime. Countless gw2 gold players collected skins while completing other PvE objectives like getting GWAMM, filling up HoM and so on. Also, we need to consider that concept of cosmetic only reward came in to being after factions was launched. With no increase in level cap and no substantial powercreep (with the exception of assassin splits in GvG), there was genuinely no want to introduce armor sets with distinctive stats.

But, in GW2, the assumption of cosmetic reward has been introduced during the launch itself. It might be an insinuation of the community although, that notion is prevalent & still makes me struggle a bit to fathom the reasoning of the introduction of the higher stat ascended gear in the game. I wonder if the devs are regretting because they allowed this "cosmetic only" concept to develop into a widespread notion in the community throughout the development without nipping it in the bud. Maybe they were afraid that they would lose a solid differentiator, something that sets GW2 apart from the other MMOs. So, they allowed that to continue.

As the game is new, it cannot offer as a good deal of objectives that one other established game can offer. As a result, several portion of the community feels that the game lacks content. I think, in other MMOs, gear grind is a substantial endgame content, if not the only 1. & that grind feels like content to the playerbase due to the fact the gear that you attain is in reality better in overall number, & not only in looks. To divert folks from that mindset, it'd require ANET to move GW2 in a absolutely exclusive direction if most of the rewards in the game remain cosmetic only.

&, that direction need to be not RNG driven pseudo-content. It will need to not be Korean MMO: ANET Edition. Possibly that direction must be emphasized focus in content that has more human element, more human interaction. Here are a number of thoughts:

Open Arena non-instanced Fights - Spars, duels and so on. Would you not like to see 2 players duking it out in a colleseum in Orr? Would you like to bet on the outcome of that fight for a chance to make many revenue? Would you like to prepare yourself for such duels rather than being a sideliner in the future & earn portion of the collected bets as reward for winning the bout? This can also be a respectable revenue sink instead of forcing Guild Wars 2 gold players to spend attrocious level of gold to obtain the looks of cultural armors.

World vs. World Competitions - How about gratifying the guilds that make the most impact in defending their own lands or lay waste of the enemies in the enemy territories in the course of monthly seasons? How about making more guild objective raids or fulfilling the guilds with tangible cosmetic rewards or temporary boons to the guild members?

World Bosses - How about adding arbitrary events where many of the current world bosses spawn adding more challenge to the inhabitants of the world to tackle. If the inhabitants prevail, reward them appropriately with something that could be used to accomplish their futire ambitions.

There can be a number of such suggestions, practical or impractical. But, the real notion behind all these is to let the community feel that they are spending time in the world & adding value to their account - not playing for the sake of fun only. I know, everyone play for the fun.. for sometime. But, without clear attainable objectives, motivation dries out. Adding gear treadmill can alleviate the problem temporarily nevertheless, in the long term content wins over pseudo-content. Real helpful rewards win over cosmetic only rewards.

These are my thoughts. What are yours?

tl;dr: Provide interesting objectives that motivate players to do something. In the event you are considering gear treadmill, you are viewing the wrong direction. That's my opinion.

My greatest challenge with GW2's present cosmetic rewards (specifically armor skins) is that there are not any of them that I find appealing. In GW1, there were numerous armor skins that I discovered attractive and I put in the essential work to get all of them that I wanted. Regrettably, most of the GW2 armor stylings appear to be intended for those players with a trenchcoat & buttcape fetish, and the minimal number of solutions don't include any styles I like.

In terms of the "carrot" concept, I'd be perfectly happy to do the work to chase a tasty carrot if there was in effect a tasty carrot for me to chase. Right now, all I'm seeing (and smelling) is an orange piece of rotting vegetable matter hanging on a string, & I've no desire to get any closer to it.

Playing for cosmetics in GW2 doesn't have any appeal for me personally, since I find the gw2 gold game to be pretty bland. Pretty much all of the passion I have for GW2 stems from the fact that it's the sequel to GW1, whereas the game itself fails to excite me.
I think that is best showcased by the reality that i am just reinstalling D3. In spite of my insane hate for vertical progression, I love the gameplay so much that I am willing to endure those moronic concepts. & regardless of how much I adore some of GW2's cute outfits, I am having issues gathering the will to play for them.

So I honestly don't think rewards are GW2's enormous concern.

Additional reading:

http://coolgamesgo.blogspot.com/2013/02/reviews-about-darkfall-unholy-wars.html

http://gameofgw2gold.blogspot.com/2013/02/character-resets-after-beta.html

http://www.gw2gold.net/news/97_5538_guild-wars-2-wvw-ranking-update-delay-to-march