I thought the forum list looked a bit…. chaotic, so maybe we can alle place our impressions here using the nice sticky-format. Here I go:
Specializations
Were they fun?
Yes, I hugely enjoyed all of them (except Dragonhunter and Tempest). The Berserker felt sooooooo cool and strong, just like the Reaper, and they changed the way you play completely, with different builds. I loved the Daredevil and the totally different way to play, I had trouble making a really good condi build, but direct damage was very nice. Chronomancer was very difficult, but felt really good. And I loved the Shiro/Glint combo for Revenant and the amount of damage and support you could do.
Did they change how you play your profession in a meaningful way?
Yes, except for Tempest. I still get the feeling it’s the same old ele (that I love dearly, since I main it), only with a few extra attacks. It doesn’t function differently, I don’t get the same kind of kick from it that I get from the other professions. I was very happy with the aura’s, but I noticed it was sooooo hard to make a good support build because the things you needed where in too many different specialisation lines, making for a half-buttocked support built which wasn’t as empowering to play as the rest (which the elite spec of Rev did do correctly). I have the feeling that some trait placements for aura-improving traits should be changed around, so that if you go water-earth-tempest you can be an awesome support character.
How were the improvements to the previous Specializations? (Dragon Hunter, Tempest, Chronomancer, Reaper)
The Reaper went from bad-buttock to bad-buttocker, really awesome! Chronomancer I didn’t try again because I already loved it. I’ve tried Tempest again, I noticed the overloads where better, but those where not my problems with the elite spec (see above). I didn’t try DH, because I love playing condi guard, and I can’t find a way to make that work with DH, which doesn’t mean that it sucks, just not my playstyle!
Creatures
How is the difficulty of the new hostile mobs, and are they fun and exciting?
I love the fact that you have to watch out for the new mobs, it makes the PvE environment so much better and dangerous. I feel the upscaling makes the power of the monsters too much: they one-shot you even with full Knight Gear, and I feel that ppl (like my friend) who want somewhat more chance to stay alive (and miss 1 or 2 dodges a minute) have a chance to have that. I think there should be a tweak in the damage mobs do when they upscale (of course you can improve it a bit because of all the boons you get with other ppl), because at normal scale it’s perfect.
World
With the Opening of two new outposts, we are adding in a bunch of new events. Are they fun?
I thought they where very well built, funny and cool to do. I did, however, notice that there wasn’t a lot to do during daytime when the events got finished (which was pretty quickly). Nighttime was more filled with events (but they where somewhat devoid of story and didn’t suck me in as much as the daytime events)
Do the new events bring you more into the world?
YES! Using characters from LS and PS was a very good move, it makes Tyria feel alive
Are the new events challenging, meaningful, and interesting?
Most of them are challenging! I noticed that the wyvern was too easy to keep grounded during the events I did with more then 8 ppl. Below that number it’s hard, but in a good way. Above that number, the scaling goes off, and it is too easy to keep him down.
Mastery System
How is the progression?
Very good: fast at the first 2 tiers, slow to very slow for the last, I think it’s a very good balance!
How is it using the mastery abilities in the current area?
It feels totally awesome. Every time you ‘level up’, you feel that old rush again! My friend was playing and I saw how ecstatic she was when she could finally use the glider and it opened up so much content. It was cool!
Is the mastery system providing a meaningful area of progression?
I think so, good pacing and good goals for account-wide progression!
Do you care about experience and mastery points?
Yes, both!
Does it provide a good framework to add more masteries in the future?
I would be very, very excited every time I heard a new mastery being added. Although you should be carefull that they are really meaningfull, otherwise they will lose their splendor.
Do you want to learn as many masteries over time to overcome challenges later in the future?
Yes!