Topic: Guild Wars 2

[Pugnate]

Won't these random events feel tiring though? It could be too much where you are running to do your own thing and are distracted by the random stuff..

[Xessive]

Won't these random events feel tiring though? It could be too much where you are running to do your own thing and are distracted by the random stuff..

It happens occasionally but they're completely optional. You're rewarded based on your contribution to the event's success. There have been cases where a group of players are escorting a caravan and they happened to pass by the area I was in, I assisted them briefly without deviating from my intended path, and when they completed the event I got a Bronze award for my minor contribution to their effort. It's a pretty cool dynamic that gives players the opportunity to be helpful.

Overall the game's structure really encourages cooperative gameplay and that's certainly something I appreciate about it.

[Pugnate]

Just bought GW2 DD edition. WOOOOH. See you guys.

I am pugnate@gmail.com!

[W7RE]

Just bought GW2 DD edition. WOOOOH. See you guys.

I am pugnate@gmail.com!

We need your username.####
I tried to add the email, it doesn't work.



Mine is Fleshfeast.5236

[Pugnate]

Pugnate.5209

SO EXCITED! (still downloading!)

[Pugnate]

OK it is asking for my initial home world! So many choices and it is permanent! What did you guys pick?

[Xessive]

OK it is asking for my initial home world! So many choices and it is permanent! What did you guys pick?

Crap, I forgot.. Piken? Something Piken.

You can actually apply for a world transfer though there is a fee for that.

On the bright side, you can communicate with your friends no matter what world they're in. I have chatted with W7RE yay! "Dear Blizzard, please learn from others."

Dude, I can't wait to start playing with y'all!

[W7RE]

Crap, I forgot.. Piken? Something Piken.

You can actually apply for a world transfer though there is a fee for that.

On the bright side, you can communicate with your friends no matter what world they're in. I have chatted with W7RE yay! "Dear Blizzard, please learn from others."

Dude, I can't wait to start playing with y'all!

That would be Piken Square (probably, that's a location from the original GW)

Blizzard lets you talk cross-server too.

Server transfers are free right now, and have no cooldown. I'm about to move servers for a second time though, so probably don't want to follow me. (my lame friends is a fanboy of this WvW mega zerg guild so he got us all to move to their server. Then they were losing in WvW so they switched servers.) Eventually server transfers will cost and have a week cooldown, but hopefully by that time they're have guesting implemented. With guesting, you'll be able to go play on a friend's server for free without transferring.

[Xessive]

Cool, I guess we can all decide which will be best for everybody.

Not sure about WoW, since I don't play that, but Blizzard doesn't let us chat across servers in Diablo 3, sadly. Each server (EU, US, Asia) has its own friend list and you can only add people who have a character on that server.

[W7RE]

Cool, I guess we can all decide which will be best for everybody.

Not sure about WoW, since I don't play that, but Blizzard doesn't let us chat across servers in Diablo 3, sadly. Each server (EU, US, Asia) has its own friend list and you can only add people who have a character on that server.

I didn't know that about Diablo 3.

For WoW, you just add friends with their email or battletag, and you can talk to them cross server and even cross game. I can log onto Diablo III and talk to my friends on WoW.

[Pugnate]

I don't know if it is because this is the first MMO I've started but the class customization stuff is FUCKING AWESOME. So excited. I can't decide. What classes/professions did you guys pick?

[Xessive]

I didn't know that about Diablo 3.

For WoW, you just add friends with their email or battletag, and you can talk to them cross server and even cross game. I can log onto Diablo III and talk to my friends on WoW.

Yeah, I think Blizz have unified the social aspect based on region.

Yeah Pug, it is pretty sweet! My main character is a Human male Ranger. Btw, I can't find you via your e-mail. What's your Guild Wars 2 name?

[Pugnate]

Pugnate.5209

I wish Blizz hadn't unified the chat options. That sucks.

Regardless, I played GW2 for thirty minutes after hours on the character creation. I suspect I will play a lot more, but was really underwhelmed, especially after the top notch character creation tools. I guess I don't get MMOs yet.

In terms of gameplay, this is inferior to Diablo 3 and Skyrim in every way. I guess people play for the social aspect of it. I think I need to play a lot more.

[W7RE]

I got my asura thief up to level 61 and then decided I'd rather be human. they look really badass in the higher end leather armors, and you can actually SEE the details on the armor. On an asura, you're so small you don't really see the details. So I deleted my level 61 and started over lol.

[Xessive]

Yeah, the combat is semi-turn-based. You can still move freely but it's certainly not as real-time as Diablo 3 or Skyrim. It's a different flavour. It feels more akin to KotOR or NWN.

I've got my Ranger up to lvl 33 right now. I'm at the point where I need to do a bit of grinding before I can proceed with the main plot questline, so I'm exploring the world by jumping through Asura gates.

UPDATE:
Btw, this is by far the smoothest MMO launch I have experienced. No disconnection or major connectivity issues, rarely any lag, everything seems to be working as advertisid except for the first few days the Black Lion Trading store was not ready. Overall pretty impressive. All other games you usually hear the wails of nerd-rage across the webOsphere!

[W7RE]

I don't get the turn based comment. I know you don't meant hat it's literally turn based, but... I don't know. I'm very active and mobile during combat in this game, much more than any other MMO simply because dodge is so useful. Enemy attacks come at their own pace and each have a cooldown and their animation must finish before the enemy can do another attack, just like all of my attacks.

Maybe as a ranger the combat seems less active because you have a pet that's probably tanking for you. On my thief I'm always moving though. Even if I'm sticking to an enemy for a few seconds in melee, I'm circle strafing it usually.

[Xessive]

I don't get the turn based comment. I know you don't meant hat it's literally turn based, but... I don't know. I'm very active and mobile during combat in this game, much more than any other MMO simply because dodge is so useful. Enemy attacks come at their own pace and each have a cooldown and their animation must finish before the enemy can do another attack, just like all of my attacks.

Maybe as a ranger the combat seems less active because you have a pet that's probably tanking for you. On my thief I'm always moving though. Even if I'm sticking to an enemy for a few seconds in melee, I'm circle strafing it usually.

Yeah, it's a lot more active than most MMOs but it's not quite as reactive or instant as the combat of a game like KoA: Reckoning or Darksiders. It is by no means a turn-based tactics game like Heroes of Might & Magic. It is semi-turn-based because to an extent each attack waits its turn before it can be used again, a lot like Neverwinter Nights or KoTOR (minus the ability to pause), except the basic attack which is on auto. But you're able to move and dodge freely across the field. Despite that there is a dice-roll going on behind the scene the combat is very active and you have to pay attention.

I am kinda wishing the game supported gamepads like DC Universe Online. With time-consuming games that don't require aiming I'd rather sit back and relax rather than hunch over with my mouse and keyboard. I save that for stuff that demands accuracy.

[W7RE]

Here's a video of my taking down a couple normal enemies, then a veteran. This shows how active I am in combat. I actually feel like I'm able to dodge enough attacks that I just go with a glass cannon type build with almost no defense. If I can dodge most attacks through skill, I can just focus all my stats on offense.

Obviously this doesn't work in all situations, but for leveling and dungeons (mostly), it works fine.

[Xessive]

Here's a video of my taking down a couple normal enemies, then a veteran. This shows how active I am in combat. I actually feel like I'm able to dodge enough attacks that I just go with a glass cannon type build with almost no defense. If I can dodge most attacks through skill, I can just focus all my stats on offense.

Obviously this doesn't work in all situations, but for leveling and dungeons (mostly), it works fine.

1) that was bad ass and 2) yeah, the thief plays very differently from the ranger.

Have you played DC Universe Online? It's very similar but the combat feels like even more "action" because it's close to God of War, KoA, and Darksiders' style. Nonetheless the combat in GW2 is great and a fresh breath compared to most other MMOs.

[W7RE]

Yea I played DC Universe Online a bit. I played it for the first month it was out, then played it for a couple days when it went free to play. I think my GW2 thief probably plays a lot like my gadgets/controller did in DCUO, but with a lot more popping in and out of stealth.

That's something I've noticed about this theif. I really hate when MMOs limit how long you can stay in stealth, and it just makes me not want to play the stealth class, which is what I usually play in any game. In GW2 though it's still so badass that I don't care. My thief is a ton of fun.

[Pugnate]

Having fun now! It takes a bit of getting used to. Why haven't you guys added me yet? What are your screen names ?

edit:

I don't get the turn based comment. Though it is a bit like NWN in that sense I guess.

[Xessive]

Having fun now! It takes a bit of getting used to. Why haven't you guys added me yet? What are your screen names ?

You're on my list I added you a couple of nights ago.

[Pugnate]

I don't see you! What is your display name? What is W7REs? How else is on here?

COME TO GW2 ALL OF YOU!

Played a lot more. This is awesome. Killing with people online can be fun and I have some cool skills as a ranger.

edit:

Added Fleshfeast. Don't need the numbers. To add me just write Pugnate.

[Xessive]

Yeah, you don't answer when I whisper to you, brah! C'mon, brah! Why you disrespectin' me, brah?!

[W7RE]

If someone adds you and you don't add them, they show up under the "followers" tab in the friends list. I added you a couple days ago too and I haven't noticed when you were online.

[Pugnate]

You can only whisper when they are online. X what is your ID? I added fleshfeast though.

[W7RE]

Here's my asura thief before I deleted him to make a human, and then my human thief at 40 wearing the same armor. (different dye setups, and the headpiece hidden on the human)









The Asura wasn't bad at all, but I like the human more. the detail on his armor is easier to see, and he looks badass in some of the later sets, including some of the human only armor.

[MysterD]

ArsTechnica -> 11,000 accounts approximately affected by a GW2 Password Attack.

[Pugnate]

OK this game is just brilliant fun. I think my comment in comparing with D3 and Skyrim seems a bit silly now. I said that because while the game is really pretty on an artistic level, the polygon rates are really low, making it seem like the environment is made out of paper for someone coming from those two games. My friend Jamal has been saying how GW2 is a better game than D3 or Skyrim for a while -- can't even compare them --, so that's why I was disappointed, having gone in fully prepared to love the game.

But the low poly rate is not really an issue. It is understandable considering it is an MMO and the massive amount of players online. There are some very beautiful looking levels though. Very picturesque. It is one of the prettiest games I've played.

The gameplay itself is really good. The problem is that the game thrusts you in with no tutorial of any sort. So basically you can use most weapons regardless of class, and each weapon brings wit it five skills. To unlock the skills you just keep using the weapon until the five skills are unlocked. Let me tell you, the third skill for the two-handed broadsword is brilliant. Jamal, who lives close by, joined me last night, and guided me through stuff. I simply targeted a little goblin type creature, and by just tapping the third skill button my huge ranger sped forward, and did this awesome slashing and thrust attack that lasted quite a while.

I am a ranger so I have some awesome pets too. Anyway, I guess the point is to use all the weapons till you unlock every skill associated with them. I think the point where I realized how amazing the game could be is when an event began, with I'd say at least fifty other players joining together to take out some goblin like creatures. It felt like war.

There is also a very play when you please sort of quality to this. You keep wanting to play, but you also know you can come back and repeat the quests whenever you want. That's cool.

The only downside is the narrative, which feels pretty disconnected. I am not into the game's story at all, and the way questing happens, basically it feels very much like we are playing a game. There is very little suspension of disbelief. Even Diablo 3 with everyone running between objectives had a huge level of immersion still.

Anyway, overall the game seems quite amazing. I see myself playing this for a god long time. The amount of content is staggering.

[Pugnate]

X, my friends and I are on the European server, Gandara. I don't know what server you are on, but I think server swap is free for now. If there is nothing holding you there (friends etc), can you come to mine? It would be awesome to play with you.

[Xessive]

X, my friends and I are on the European server, Gandara. I don't know what server you are on, but I think server swap is free for now. If there is nothing holding you there (friends etc), can you come to mine? It would be awesome to play with you.

Nothing holding me back, switching to Gandara neow!

[W7RE]

I think they said that the free server swapping is partially (if not completely) due to the guesting feature not being in. Once it's in, you can join people on any server for anything other than WvWvW. I've got friends that are swapping servers go play with someone for an hour, then swapping back when they're done. Guesting would be a bit easier though.

[Xessive]

Yeah, guesting make sense. Have a friend in a different world? Invite them over for some cooperative gameplay!

I moved to the other world, Gandara (EU), to play with Pug but I noticed my ping shoot up to about 350ms. Turns out Piken Square (EU) seems to be the best option for us right now with an average latency within the range of about 150ms~200ms, which is tolerable. So we're both on there now, I get to explore Pug's Norn side of the continent! Gotta find me an Alpine Wolf to charm as my loyal pet!

Btw, I've been playing the game basically solo this whole time, occasionally allying with other players during random encounters, and it is good fun, but it is SO MUCH MORE fun when you're playing with friends Even though both Pug and I are rangers we have different weapons and skill sets that work well! We never really feel compelled to find a tank or a healer, we just took on the roles ourselves as the situation demanded. I really appreciate the versatility the game allows.

[Pugnate]

Haha that was awesome. I am going to be playing more in a little bit.

Yup, switched to X's server. The thing is I may be switching back to my home server, because my guild created by my friend will be hard to shift with everyone. Also, shifting servers will cause the guild influence to drop or something.

Guesting would be awesome.

I am not shifting back yet though.

The game is awesome with friends, and seems to have been designed from the ground up that way. It is also very casual in terms of commitment. Its strengths can be interpreted as weaknesses though, but for people in this day and age busy with lives outside of gaming, GW2 seems like the evolutionary step.

In terms of weapon bonuses classes are useless with anyone able to wield most weapons, with each weapon having a certain amount of skills open to anyone able to wield that weapon. Personal skills have a enough depth though. GW2 has pretty much made a 'healer' useless. That takes away from the frustration, but it also takes the game in a somewhat casual direction. Well, casual isn't the word. It isn't like the game is 'dumbed down', it is just that it tries to make it easy for anyone with commitment issues to have as much fun as those looking for a longer term relationship.

What does bother me is how quests repeat themselves nonstop so you can perform one an infinite number of times by just joining someone who has started it for themselves. Basically if I finish a quest in area A, and I am just hanging around there, it will mean that within minutes after finishing it, I will have to watch an alert that it is activated again.

I understand the appeal of this, but the double edged sword is that quests feel meaningless. Essentially, this isn't a game you want to try and play alone like a traditional RPG. That being said, there are lots of traditional RPGs to choose from, and in some manner, GW2 feels like Tribes gone RPG or something. The game is really special, and the most fun I've had in ages.

I have been playing for ten hours I'd say and have only completed 0.8% of the game.

[Pugnate]

One of the best reviews I've read from PCG in a while:

http://www.pcgamer.com/review/guild-wars-2-review/

He writes from a perspective I didn't have on the genre, but understand now that I've read the review.

[W7RE]

In terms of weapon bonuses classes are useless with anyone able to wield most weapons, with each weapon having a certain amount of skills open to anyone able to wield that weapon.

2 different classes will have different abilities with the same weapon. for example, grab a shortbow on your ranger and see what your 1-5 abilities are. Here's mine on my thief with a shortbow:

1 Trickshot - Bounce an arrow between multiple nearby foes.
2 Cluster Bomb - Fire a cluster bomb at the target area. Detonate it midair for multiple explosions.
3 Disabling Shot - Do an evasive leap away from your foe while firing a crippling shot.
4 Choking Gas - Fire an arrow that fills the target area with a poisonous cloud.
5 Infiltrator's Arrow - Fire an arrow and shadowstep to the target area, blinding nearby foes.


Also, some abilities say "Combo Field" in their tooltips. Some others say "Combo Finisher". Use a Finisher through a Field for a special skill combo effect. Like an arrow through a poison cloud will cause the arrow to do poison damage on impact. If I use my thief's leap attack through a smoke cloud field, I get put into stealth.

[Pugnate]

Wow. I had no idea. I was lead to believe that it doesn't matter. Cool stuff! This means a lot more replay value! I played a lot more. Am at level 9. I see myself playing this for ages.

X I will change back to your server if we are on at the same time.

[MysterD]

Guild Wars 2 (PC)
REVIEWS


Scored out of 100
TenTonHammer -> 94.
PC Gamer -> 94.

Scored out of a max of 10:
AtomicGamer -> 10.
AusGamers -> 9.5.
ActionTrip -> 9.2.
GameTrailers -> 9.0.
IGN -> 9.0.
IncGamers -> 9.
ImpulseGamer -> 9.
EGM -> 9.
Polygon -> 8.5.

Scored out of a max of 5:
G4TV -> 5 stars
DigitalSpy -> 5 stars.
CCC -> 4.7.
GameSpy -> 4 1/2 stars.
GamesRadar -> 4 1/2 stars.
GameRevolution -> 4.5

[W7RE]

Pug, you keep messaging me while I'm away. Then when I get back and respond, you don't say anything. (it's easy to miss a whisper if map chat is going fast)

[Pugnate]

Pug, you keep messaging me while I'm away. Then when I get back and respond, you don't say anything. (it's easy to miss a whisper if map chat is going fast)

hahaha I think that's when I am AFK.