Guild Wars 2

Revenant: Found it fiddly at first, by the end of the 2 hours, I wished I could keep it. Dwarf is clearly the better of the two legends, could do with less of a delay when switching stances.

Map: Similar to Dry Top. Has the same advantages (clever layout, looks pretty) and the same disadvantages (too vertical, gimmicky movement options)

Story mission SPOILERS Very much approve of the new addition to the LS band of buddies. I fell off a cliff and spent ages figuring out how to get back, by the time I had, the champ had been killed by NPCs. Also good to see Rytlock again. I really hope we get Glint as a legend for our Revs also.

Events: Escorts too weak, took me too long to get to most areas because I was still getting used to the map.

Mastery: Cool system, just wish I’d seen that tick mark earlier, by the time I found it, I didn’t have enough time to unlock gliding, and as I’m in the UK, I won’t be able to make the other two tests, unless you sporadically decide to have another one tomorrow? hint (worth a shot)

Good quick review and I agree with most (if not all) of what you say.

I would recommend they put some kind of mastery tutorial into the mix. The first inkling I had that they existed was when I got awarded a master point but didn’t know what to do with it. Then was a bit confused when I came across the magic jumping mushrooms…

Events to defend the rally point were pretty much suicidal. No breathing space between assaults and trying to get Pact Soldiers with supplies from origin to rally point were an exercise in futility.

Agree it was a bit of a learning curve with the Revenant, but I quickly settled into the play style. I really like it.

Agree with most of this.
Would add a comment about Adventures.
I only got to do the Scavanger’s Pit. Which sucks major time with lag. Basically the NPC takes ages to start moving again, by the time he does so, you get a Poison shower.
Adding to that, there’s no reward. I mean i managed to clear the first tier of it once before dying to a lag-“rooted” character, and i got nothing for my effort.
Its a fun thing to try, and it IS challenging. But its not very rewarding as far as i could tell.

The Events also seem pretty intensive. (As in non-stop until you get a combo-breaker and fail one, then on the Itzl town at least, it pretty much stopped the whole chain, and night came not too long after) it can be awesome, or turn out into a frustrating situation when you just want to get it over with so you can interact with NPC A, or do Adventure B.

The Mastery system is kinda awkward (probably cause its not completed), and i still find it a bit weird you have to unlock a line THEN gain experience with it to gain something out of it.
Would make more sense you unlock the line you at least would unlock a incipient version of the Mastery reward, then you’d master it through ACTUAL use. Idk, it feels like the whole thing was a good idea that got jumbled in a rush of many other stuff that ended up making it too complex for its own good.

Revenant felt a bit weak, maybe because of the weapons and gear we could use. Hammer, like most ranged weapons is kinda bad at short range, but the mace/axe option didn’t feel as good for what i wanted. Didn’t help i went for my preference of tankier builds instead of the damagy traits, i guess.

What else to say… The map feels nice, i still think some dev is trolling us with that mastery point near the Pale Reavers camp. You can jump till almost getting it, but then for the life of me, i can’t figure out a way to get up on the apex to interact (doesn’t help that the only way for revenant to get swiftness with available stuff is a kinda awkward to do on a jumpy situation field combo). Albeit truncated as it was i liked exploring, there’s some great aspects to the map. Transitioning into caves was a bit weird though, i don’t know if it was my system (crappy pc) or unfinished stuff, but i got about a second of black everything before the cave got visible. The entrances themselves are just dark blobs.

I share the sentiment about not being able to participate in the other two parts of the beta. It really left a sour taste, the times. I mean if they didn’t do 2 hours, then break, if it was 6 straight hours, i could still be testing the map, trying out more stuff, and getting more feedback.

I actually preferred the Demon Legend (and the mass and axe weapons) over the hammer and the dwarf legend. It felt a lot more dynamic and brutal. However, both the hammer and the other set felt really good with the Revenant. At first, it was hard to handle for me, but after some time, it felt natural to use this class. definitely a great addition, with some well designed animations.

Edit : the intelligent Mordrem are a really good addition. They look incredible, feel threatening and they have some modicum of tactics, which is great. And the first choice of the new PS is setting a great tone to this one (and I hope that it has lasting repercussions afterward).