Showing Posts For Allegory.6587:
Hello! First off, huge props to you + the team for this patch. For the first time in recent memory, playing through this chapter had me stopping to realize “Oh.. this is Guild Wars after all,” which is something I and a lot of GW1 veterans appreciate. Even subtle nods to the established lore (the symbol on those lost badges.. mm) are exciting to those who are familiar with the original game.
Fort Salma
The cutscene with Marjory and Belinda was a fantastic storytelling choice. We were able to see the emotions Marjory felt, rather than having to listen to her and Kasmeer talk it out after the fact. I found this had tons more impact, and whoever animated her face did an excellent job, so kudos on that.
However, this chapter’s place in the overall narrative of the chapter was a bit questionable. I can see how it was necessary to introduce the sword, but it was sort of “welp I’ve arrived, oh fancy meeting you two here, exposition time!” It played out too conveniently. It might have made more sense if you’d gotten a letter from Marjory asking for your help dealing with the problems at Fort Salma rather than being summoned by the Priory.
The Pact
Fantastic job making the player character feel recognized for their past. I know that there are different opinions on whether the player character should be the hero or simply one more grunt among many, but the personal story has already established our identity as the commander of the pact and the defeater of Zhaitan. Also, profession and race-specific dialogue and interaction is a great way to feel like your character’s identity matters.
Neither of these things have to be big, they don’t need to throw a party in our honor, just acknowledge who we are and what we’ve done.
Caithe Reconnaissance
More Canach please.
Okay, but really, Canach (and Countess Anise) are imo two of the more interesting characters currently in play. They feel like actual characters with their own set of motives, rather than just cardboard hero #15. I think there’s a lot of room for smaller intrigue within the story, even if the main event driving the plot is bringing down the dragon. I like the feeling that there’s more at work than just what we’re dealing with at this moment, because it makes me curious and excited for what is going to happen in the future.
Library
Yesssssssssssssssssssssss.
Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.
I had a huge smile on my face the entire time. I talked to every NPC because I loved the dialogue and the shushing. Giving the player the option to read up on lore is great, because it lets interested players learn more without forcing disinterested players (or those replaying for achievements) to slog through it multiple times.
Speaking of slogging, since it is such a long chapter I agree that the chapter would have been better served if it was divided between the story section (up to meeting Ogden) and the combat section (Glint’s lair).
Glint’s lair was fantastic. It brought back memories of the GW1 mission while still retaining a GW2 feeling re: combat and mechanics.
As shown in this chapter, location & ambiance are a fantastic storytelling device. We don’t need NPCs to feed us every part of the story if we can look around and get an idea of what’s going on.
Great work, and I can’t wait to see what the next chapter brings.
(edited by Allegory.6587)
It really did have that GW1 feel. As I was doing the final step of the chapter I was remembering the prophecies mission it’s based on and realized what living story chapters can (and imo should) feel like: missions, a la GW1. And for me at least this was the first chapter that felt like a proper mission.
So excellent work Anet, I’m thrilled with this chapter and I look forward to what’s coming next!
I suspect people would be mostly alright with the change if it weren’t for the loss of functionality. Having preset amounts conveniently offered is nice. I’m okay with that. I am not okay with losing the ability to convert the exact amount I need to buy something.
Here are the main problems introduced by the change:
I buy $10 of gems to convert to gold. I have 800 gems in my account, but due to the options presented, I can only convert 789 of them. I am left with 11 gems I cannot convert to gold due to the exchange rate, and there is nothing on the gem store I can buy that costs 11 gems or some increment thereof. They are essentially wasted, and I am not getting the full value of the $10 I spent on gems.
I have 11 gems on my account. There is an item I want that costs 200 gems. Whereas I used to be able to convert gold to gems and buy 189 gems to purchase said item, now I am forced to save up until I can buy ~twice as many gems I need. After purchasing the item, I now have 211 gems in my account that I don’t really have a use for (and even if I buy another 200 gem item, those 11 gems aren’t going away). I am being forced to pay more than I would otherwise spend.
It’s fine to keep the new currency exchange layout, but please, please bring back the option to convert custom amounts of currency. And when you do, please do what makes logical sense and instead of asking a person how much gold they want to convert into gems, ask them how many gems they would like and calculate the gold cost based on that.
I hope this was calm and rational enough to be considered as viable feedback.