BWE 2 Feedback
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How I tested
I tested every specialization and treated it as if it is its own class. That means that not only i used the spec trait line, but the weapon and the utilities, almost exclusively. Not entirely sure if this was the best approach, but it is the one I’ve decided to take. I wanted to feel each spec for what it was and not what I becomes when you mix other stuff in it. For the same reason I’ve also changed the builds around having the other 2 spec lines supporting the theme of the spec line, in a way that made sense to me (again might not have been the smartest thing but there you have it). All specks got tested in full berserker exotic gear, except the supporty/healy versions that I used the celestial instead.
What kind of player I am
Super casual, ex raider, i’ll do it when i feel like it type of player. I’m no master of gameplay. I can barely maintain a 50,001% victory margin in pvp. I play all the classes, I don’t main anything. I’m no speed runner, no class expert either. I’m as average as they come, and I’m having fun doing stuff. I don’t do silly stuff like stand on the red on the ground, but i can’t tell you what every type of finisher does with every field like some others can. As I said average. I know enough to be able to play. I love quests and lore in general. Enjoy the feedback.
How is the difficulty of the new hostile mobs, and are they fun and exciting?
The mob difficulty is fine, and perhaps just a bit on the easy side. Just a bit. It was really refreshing to see mobs go invis, run away and attack you from another angle. Definetely a plus. Overall a very pleasant experience and fun, and you didn’t get tired after the third mob. Also a very welcome change is the increase of the skill pool for mobs. It seems like mobs have more attacks to chose from and some have some sort of strong and weak points which gave flavour aplenty and on some cases forced you to adapt a bit.
One issue I’v stumbled upon some times is the ability of certain mobs to almost kill you instantly if you get caught at a bad time. Some mobs, not all, have very strong attacks with somewhat weak or non existant tells or telegraphs so it’s easy to get caught of guard. Sniper mobs and smokescales come to mind. The mechanics are not bad, on the contrary, the mechanics are fun and interesting. It’s the tuning of the abilities that felt a bit off. Personally I would prefer it if the mobs in total were a bit stronger, and those specific attacks that can take you down super fast were either toned a bit (a bit though, don’t nerf it to the ground) or better yet, had some sort of telegraph or tell so you have some warning about what’s comming.
On that note, bosses would use some more revealing tells OR -better yet- the game should auto lower the effects. I was in an event and the glows and fires and thunters and particles were over the top making watching for that giant frog hammer difficult. I can’t remember if the game gives you already that ability in the options, if it does please disreguard.
Finally there were some bugs here and there, like ranged attackes passing through walls and skills that were supposed to stop them, but those are just bug that will get fixed eventually so no biggie. Same goes for the occasional boss that doesn’t do anything yet. And since the experience was positive, I have to say I really liked some of the boss fights, new and interesting abilities, we need more of that. It was fun.
With the Opening of two new outposts, we are adding in a bunch of new events. Are they fun?
Short answer yes they are. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and the fact that both event chains are dressed up with story was even better. I found myself going to different events and different places in the events just to catch up with all the dialogue. Adding voice acting was a great idea, made everything feel more alive which is always a plus. I’ve done both event chains with all availiable specs plus the revenant and I didn’t get tired or bored which says a lot about th pacing. It was nice, and felt just right. For reference I consider silverwastes a torture box that should be used only in emergencies. Eventually everything gets old and tiresome, but this time it didn’t start as such and i think that’s important. Finally the comic relief in one event was very nice, i giggled and it didn’t detract from the general atmospere of the area.
Do the new events bring you more into the world?
Yes, as I’ve said above, the addition of story to the events that unfolds before your eyes was great, you really wanted to see it through, and got a feeling about the atmosphere of the zone
Are the new events challenging, meaningful, and interesting?
They are most certainly meaningful and defenitely interesting. Challenge wise they were ok, could use juuuuust a hint, a very small hint of difficulty. Of course people were dieing left and right everywere but that’s because most people didn’t know the fights well and got caught off guard standing in the red. By the time i tested revenant (saved it for last) i barelly died from anything except when i tried to save someone and ending up dieing right next to (no good deed goes unpunished). Still the events felt more fun and engaging than other main tyria event. So a definite step in the right direction.
Mastery System
How is the progression?
I went in with no masteries left with four and didn’t farm at all for them. I understand the first tier needs to be super fast to get and as you go up in level they become harder. I can tell cause the fourth tier of masteries felt super long. Still, I have to wonder a bit here, with an account wide system like that, to be able to reach fourth lvl mastery in gliding (after taking the mushroom one also) felt a bit fast (I cannot believe I just wrote that). Maybe the last 2 tiers will require more time and effort that the beginning ones. Can’t tell you for sure didn’t reach that high. However I would love it if you kept the first tier like it is right now, cause you really do need to grabe the first tier essentials to enjoy the game, and then make a more balanced approach on how fast you take each mastery, so that you feel you’re progressing at a steady pace instead of going up fast and then boom an xp wall smashes your face. Keep in mind i didn’t progress the masteries beyond fourth tier gliding so take that into account.
How is it using the mastery abilities in the current area?
More updrafts please. I got the updraft mastery and wanted to test it but darn things were nowhere to be found. If I have to ask on map chat were to find some updrafts to use maybe there aren’t enough of them. Again a more even and spread out approach seems better to me, but i’m no game designer.
Is the mastery system providing a meaningful area of progression?
To be honest here, the answer is no. I didn’t feel like i was progressing my character. They felt more like part of the map mechanics and as such they were fun and engaging and gave you something to do. Of course it could be because i’ve unlocked gliders and mushrooms which are part of the map mechanics. But I definetely didn’t get the feeling that i was progressing as a character (or account) but more like i was upgrading the map for my play. I found nothing wrong with that, I rather enjoyed it alot.
Do you care about experience and mastery points?
About experience, no. But that’s more due to the type of player I am than anything else. I even wanted to test if an xp booster affects your mastery intake but i forgot. This is how much I care. On the other hunt mastery points I totally care. Going after them felt like a weird combination of a scavenger hunt, an adventure and a gliding puzzle (can we please have some? gliding puzzles i mean, like jumping puzzles, but with gliders). It was absolutely fun figuring out where exactly is the point, and how to reach it. You get a weird enjoyment when you do that. It felt great when i found a shorter path to one of the more difficult to reach, and a total idiot when i couldn’t figure out how to get one of the easier ones. More of this please. Also one final not on masteries. I understand that many people don’t care to read the text BUT i’m not one of them. Change that generic, boring stuff about us demonstrating our masteries and put in some small stories full of flavour like we get in main tyria when we commune with a place of power. Just like some and sweet mini lore candy for when we get there. For the few of us who read the quest texts in mmos :P
Does it provide a good framework to add more masteries in the future?
Originally I was against the concept, it felt short and weak on paper. Now that i’ve experienced it in context though, I think it does provide a good framwork. Especially if such masteries become integral parts of the maps. Honestly thinkign of masteries as part of map didn’t diminish the experience of them (as I originaly assumed) but it had the opposite effects on the maps. Masteries made the maps more interesting and engaging. You just don’t progress yourself or your account, you progress the map. and it feels great. More map clusters should be treated like that, and, i’ll dare say it, go back in normal tyria and add region specific masteries there too. Lika ascalon masteries etc etc. I still don’t see it as a character progression system but as a map progression system it felt great. Most important it was fun. And it made it clear that the interaction of masteries with the maps produce more interesting maps mechanically.
Do you want to learn as many masteries over time to overcome challenges later in the future?
Yes! My mind goes to overdrive just thinking the underwater masteries we might get one day when bubbles comes out. Please fix underwater combat, you got a nice thing going there, don’t thow it away, thanks. Back on topic now.
Stronghold PvP -Feedback on the new UI -Feedback on Stronghold itself
Played a few matches. The ui is nice and informative. Can’t say much more than that. The map is new and interesting, just not sure about how it will end up being played. I mean i’ve already noticed certain paterns forming up but until we end up with an idea about the best strategy that will be used, we can’t tell. Right now it’s different and new and fresh, and pvp needed that. The idea behind the map is nice. Time will tell the rest.
Specializations
Berserker
I was expecting to be wowed by this specialisation but truth be told, i wasn’t. You get your adrenaline up fast, you press the berserk button and you expect something to happen. And it doesn’t really. After 15 seconds it’s over and you’re standing there thinking that’s it? were’s the rest of it? it just feels like you get a great 15 second buff but that’s all. The enhanced specialization F skills felt weak also (except maybe the bow and rifle). Especially the axe. Didn’t made me want to use it, at all. Sometimes it even felt as a downgrade. The torch skills on the other hand were fun and clicked into play almost immediately. The utilities were ok but nothing impressive after all. The elite was fun, buf for a skill that requires you to pair it up with another utility to unstun yourself, it felt undertuned somehow. Finally the heal skill. I don’t know what was it about it but i couldn’t use it all. It felt cluncky, undertuned, didn’t heal enough, easily lost in the heat of battle. Some of that is lost due to my inexperience with the spec but still it felt bland, souless, flavourless. Tune it up would be my choice (but i’m no game designer)
Another thing with berserk is that it didn’t really change the way i play. I felt i was more of a warrior than a berserker. A warrior that berserks, instead of a bersker that reverts to warrior now and again. Don’t know if that makes sense.
Tempest
It sounded boring and ininspired on paper, more of the same. Ended up being pretty fun all around. I have a thing for fire spells, and maybe that’s why i loved warhorn on fire, but water felt nice too. Air and Earth were ok. Didn’t spend much time useing them. The shouts were fun to use (didn’t expect that at all). Heal skill also fun, even the elite was “fun” in its own way (can the eles get a really cool, self centered elite please?). Overcharging your attunement was fun, didn’t feel clunky or out of place, and I at least found a playstyle almost immediately. Everything fell into play, and I had fun.
Didn’t change the way i play the class, but it does gave me more options and if felt fun. I’ll leave the number crunching to the pros.
Daredevil
Classic thief. Play it the first time you hate it, leave, play it again love it. Same thing happened with daredevil. Nice spec, had tons of fun with it. Staff skills are better than they look on paper, great fun to play. Made a mobile thief, even more mobile. Only gripe with staff is the auto attack animation chain 3. It’s silly, the visualls don’t match the range of the skill either and it feels like we’re underwater or something. Please change it to something more “martial artsy” than having it resemble the move that the head of a marching band would do. For that matter, change the way we hold the staff in general, it’s not natural or cool. Copy the monkey king would be my advice, he knows his staff moves. Healing skill is nice, awefull choice of animation. Please don’t reuse animations like that, i felt like i was watching my guardian with staff number four. Surelly you can come up with something more original than that. Elite is different and fun, a sure plus, especially when we get mobs we can use it to finish up. Utility skills were nice and fun no complaints there.
One of the few specs that really did change the way i play the thief. The choice of 3 different dodge types is really great. Only gripe is that the jumping dodges feel a bit slow, maybe up their animation speed just a bit. The swiftness one was all right.
Dragon Hunter
Really, really powerfull spec. I didn’t expect that at all. A tad boring to play (it’s a ranger with a bow made out of light) but darn powerfull. Bow auto attack could really use some speed, the projectiles are slow, too slow. They felt like I was shooting arrows underwater and the friction made ‘em slow. On the other hand the projectile destroyer arrow we get, is going too fast for an unskilled player such as myself to actually use in a meaning full way. Maybe slow it up a little. As it was i was either shooting it too early, or too slow, making the sniper mobs extremelly happy. I think one of them told me they were sorry for ruining the shot for me. Now, traps. I thought they would be bleh, but they weren’t. Except dragon’s maw. The rest were surprisingly fun to use and watch, nice animations indeed. There was something satisfying watching all traps go off at the same time and the pretty numbers. Dragon’s maw was … ok i guess. Nice animation but that’s about it. I’ll leave the number crunching, as always, to the pros. New virtues were nice, felt like an enhanced version of their older selves. New ways to use them too.
Dragon hunter changes a lot the way you play guardian if you want it to. With a bit of wardrobe magic you can be a ranger of the light without a pet. Good stuff.
Chronomancer
It’s a mesmer, only better. Can’t go wrong with that. Everything felt tight and into place. The shield skills, omg, the shield skills. What a joy to use. Even if this thing doesn’t go meta, I’m sure ppl will use the shield just for the fun factor. I used both skills on cooldown, just because i could. As for the wells, cool effects, cool animations, utility on demand. Everything felt right, everything felt fun, everything worked well with everything else. Just a joy to play and be in events. Mesmer has always been one of the most original classes i’ve seen in an mmo, and chronomancer continues that trend.
It doesn’t change the way you play the class, it just makes it feel even better.
Reaper
It felt like I was a tank in cloth armour. With a huge sword. Auto attack 3 was very satisfying, it really did feel like something cold and heavy was comming down. Sword 2 is also nice (especially when the enemy is under 50%), and that floaty animation does grow on you alot. Sword 3 was also great, it just felt like the range suggested by the visuals of the skill don’t match the actuall range of the skill. Either that, or I can’t aim or judge distance properly (always a possibility). Skill 5 on the gew is … peculiar. something is off with that thing. Feels like it’s too short? misses too much? can’t really tell, but it felt off. I didn’t use it much. I could tell you more about the healing skill if i had any chance to use it, but truth be told, everything died without actually making me use the heal skill. I think i might have used it once in an event when i got kitteny and stood in front of a big hit comming down. Utility shouts felt weird at first, but i found myself using them all the time (i wasn’t in shroud). They fun in their own way. Elite shout, felt nice also. Reaper shroud was mental. Things melt away, you look cool doing it. The abilities were fun, felt tight, a joy to use. I don’t know how much use this spec will see in raids, or pvp, but for solo pve in the maguma it was extremely fun and enjoyable.
It felt like a different necro.
Revenant
Too tired to write it up, I played this the most. Tested it as dps, tank/support, heal/support, condi build. If anyone is interested in it I might write up something tommorow.
Almost Final Thoughts
Small bugs asside, this beta weekend left me feeling better about my purchase. There is no doubt in my mind that this expansion is a super small one. There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind. But it’s well made. If what I saw in this weekend is a herald of things to come, then, (and I can’t believe I’m saying this) I can live with it, as long as the next expansion comes in a 12 to 15 months and is more appropriately sized. Everything else was fun. I had fun this weekend. And it wasn’t the new car smell effect (ok maybe it was just a bit).