I have loved this game very much since it first came out, and I have always been impressed by the graphic design and the details of everything. However, I had some problems with the new map I played on today in the beta. First off, most of the areas I played through during the story continuation went fine, although chasing Braham when he first ran off in the new area led to me feeling like “the blind following the blind”. My biggest issue was simply that. Once I was able to just run around and explore, I felt like I was just going in circles, except for the times when I was falling off a cliff and into a chasm. Apart from the starting wp, I could only see one other wp on my map, and no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t seem to figure out how to get there without, yet again, falling into a chasm. The large number of drop offs everywhere I went was very off putting. Half the time I also found myself having to alter my camera angle just to go up or down a large precipice just so I wouldn’t fall into a chasm again. I died more time in the new map area from falling than by attacks. Although, I do have to say that even with a maxed out lv 80 character, I felt a bit overwhelmed by enemies sometimes. I found it even more difficult to fend off attacks when there were 4 or 5 enemies on me at once while I’m solo and trying to be aware of my surroundings so I don’t yet again fall off the edge.
Overall, I would give the story an A+, although if enemies are going to be able to ride mounts, we should too. Dragone Age: Inquisition has a whole collection of different kinds of mounts to ride! Even the old game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time allowed Link to ride Epona, and that game came out nearly 17 years ago! I would give the graphic design an A, all good apart from the many chasms to fall into or just general drop offs. Lastly, I would give the Dragonhunter specialization for the guardian, and his use of a longbow, an A minus. I say this because while I did enjoy it and love it, it felt clumsy to use. I’m sure with more time playing with it, it would feel less clumsy, but with the current setup for specializations in regular gameplay, you can’t get the full effect til much later in the game, as opposed to the beta where everything was maxed from the start. I was hoping there would be a little more training or tutorial time for each of the new specializations/weapons. I consider myself a GW vet having played since the first game was out and then continued to do so with the release of GW2, and even I’m having time adjusting to so many new fighting changes in such a short amount of time. For a guardian who is used to using melee weapons or sceptors/staffs, switching to a longer range with a longbow requires an adjustment in fighting tactics. If I was a new player, I might find some of this daunting and would probably die a lot more just trying to figure out how the new stuff works. One last comment in relation to that: the very short “hints” that pop up for new things, like the new masteries you could earn exp for, aren’t as helpful as I think they could be. A little info is good, but is there any way you could add a link to the hints that would expand them to a more detailed hint if the gamer wished it?
Bottom line, I would say that it’s great, and I’m anxious to be able to play HoT parts of the game on a regular and permanent basis. I just think that there is still a little more that your team could tweak to improve parts of the game. Lastly, I would like to suggest/request that when HoT finally is released for download, you make extra character slot purchases discounted. I already have a filled slot for every current profession, most of which characters are maxed and statted/traited exactly how I want them. I also have an extra unused slot that I am saving for my new Revenant. However, once the game comes out, I will likely buy at least 2 more slots, if not more, for a new guardian focusing around the longbow and Dragonhunter abilities, and also for a new mesmer focusing on one handed weapons with a shield off hand and using Time Mage abilities. I know for a fact from discussion with my fellow guild mates that they are of the same opinion, and plan to buy extra character slots too once the expansion is released for download. My guess is, you’ll get a lot more slot purchases if you do offer a discount for at least the first week or two after the download release date.
Thank you for your time and allowing me to be part of this testing process.
- Brian, aka Link