Guild Wars 2

I’m going to join the others in saying if you have no specific need for Windows 8 features, then you should not “upgrade” yet, and if you aren’t sure if you need them, you probably don’t.

And I’m not only saying this because omgmetro, it’s that there will likely be a lot of issues while they get that first service pack worth of updates out. Windows 7 is perfectly functional and more widely supported in the meantime, at least for now.

Heh, you’re talking to a guy who ran 44 chloro in PvP, so I definitely understand the amount of healing flying around in Rift.

GW1 was kind of similar in that everything revolved around healers, and I guess they wanted to be rid of that mechanic for PvP.

Several professions have methods of healing others, but you should know that there is no dedicated healing in this game. You’re not really meant to be able to sustain people through healing, it’s kinda like just a one-off trump card.

That said if you do want to have that healing utility guardian and engineer are probably your best bets, though like I said most professions can. It sounds confusing but even warriors have some healing capability.

GW2 is very easy to pick up and put down while still enjoying it. I’d go so far to say it’s a better game when played in this manner, to such an extent that it’s actually disappointing when played as a traditional MMO. Best in moderation or something silly like that.

So you may not have to cancel your Rift subscription if you don’t want to, and just play both games depending on what suits your fancy.

I prefer toughness on my warrior. I think they have naturally high HP anyway, and my build relies a lot on regeneration, which makes toughness more valuable.

I don’t think the scaling is working in higher level zones like Orr. Events that should be soloable are spawning mobs far too quickly, and the karmatrain events have too few mobs. Eyetest says it’s about the same spawn rate and same number of mobs regardless of the number of players.

While we’re balancing PvE, the sustained damage of bosses/champions is far too high, creating fights were the objective is “don’t get hit”. This damage is beyond the current scope of the game, as no amount of defense, support, or healing can mitigate it. Remember, our tools are designed to fight against opponents of equal strength (other players), so when ridiculously-scaled-up PvE enemies come up to bat you’re just nowhere near their league.

Do not mistake me here. I’m not saying special attacks or big windup moves need to be weaker. I’m not saying there needs to be less adds. I’m talking about the sustained normal damage from the boss itself. Most cases, far too high.

Pick the one with the coolest sounding name. That’s about all the difference it makes.

People are aglow over Tarnished Coast, but that’s probably the only server in the entire lot that has any sort of distinctive community or personality, and even that is marginal.

As for WvW, what’s the point if you’re just going to join the biggest zerg? If your server has no coordination, take charge of it yourself. Even if you have to start with five people and get pounded into the dirt. You pick up two regulars a week and by the end of the year you’ll have a couple dozen people.

Call that unrealistic if you want, but if you make the effort, people will eventually get behind you.

I’m ultimately okay with this, because outside of blacks and whites dyes of all colors are cheap and easily accessible even if you choose not to spend gems on dye packs.

It’d be preferable for the dyes to be unlocked for one’s whole account, but even if they aren’t this is still a step ahead of GW1 and other games where dyes are one-time use. It’s not what quite what they told us we’d have, but it’s still more than what other games are offering.

Masanbol, I’m pretty sure that’s a quaggan.

No. Even without the meme, For Great Justice is better than super srs warrior shouting about death.

It’s very intentional that you get about 20 chests* per 1 key* in the course of your normal gameplay. Very, very, very intentional.

If you’d like to justify buying some keys on the gem store, however, consider subscription games. 15 bucks a month, right?

If you drop 15 bucks a month on gems, that’s quite a lot of keys. You ultimately don’t HAVE to, but the entire point of making the chests a common drop is to encourage you to buy keys off the gem store.

Finally, you can exchange gold for gems and buy keys with those, but if we’re talking say 1 gold* for, oh, three keys* or so, it’s probably not worth it.

* - Numbers are largely arbitrary and meant to create a general example, rather than for accuracy.

In terms of like, major content updates such as new zones and the like, I imagine we’ll see smaller, but more frequent updates than we did in GW1, because they tended to do those as separate standalone campaigns (which were MASSIVE in scope).

I’m hoping for development similar to Rift, personally. Trion really set the bar for adding content to their game with major events pretty much constantly as well as a ridiculous stream of new modes of play for just about everyone imaginable.

Well, it becomes easier to just spam the button when there’s lots of targets dying fast. There’s no real point in targeting non-elites if you’re melee, for example, because you’ll hit them just by swinging.

Also, the autoattack range for melee is actually shorter than the actual skill’s range so sometimes you won’t autoattack even if you can be hitting them.

So sometimes I end up spamming 1 in those situations, and it kind of becomes habit even when autoattack is firing off.

The world is neither static nor dynamic.

It is cyclic.

They’re fine as they are, considering that at times they can be contested (this is extremely apparent in Orr zones), I just wish the ones in the capital cities were free to travel to no matter where you are.

Would save a couple of load screens going from WvW to LA to The Grove, for example. Cost is still zero so I don’t see why not.

Waterfalls and the water effects in general. GW1’s looked good for their time too, so I’m glad to see that carried over.

The sky is lovely too at those rare chances you get to have a look at it.

madviking.7125:

I like the pirate captain who sings Gilbert and Sullivan. Captain Penzan (Penzan…Penzance…get it?) in Remanda Saltmarsh

This too, this was epic, and totally the last thing I expected at 4 in the morning. XD

That you’re enjoying yourself is no reason to dismiss or make excuses for the game’s shortcomings.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s good to see you’re enjoying yourself, but let the developers defend their shortcomings. You’re a paying customer; you’re under no obligation of loyalty to them. It’s quite the other way around, in fact.

Quest logs are good, but for storyline stuff, not every time some random guy in a town wants you to kill 15 bandits.

GW2 does have a quest log in that regard, but you don’t sift through it to figure out what you’re doing. Rather, it’s a nice little thing you can read through for nostalgia or whatever.

So yeah, I do approve of that. One thing I would like to see added though is the ability to replay them via the quest log to fill out a storybook like GW1. You write a page in the storybook for each story mission, then turn it in for rewards. That’d be a nice way to pick up karma. Maybe they can add hard mode versions of story instances in a similar way.

Just sayin’.

GW2 has the potential to become a legit esports platform, the problem is, the window in which it has to do that is RAPIDLY closing. The organized PvP teams left Rift by about the three month mark.

But Rift isn’t that type of game, right? Trion came out and said during beta that their PvP isn’t and never will be an esports-style format. So why compare GW2 and Rift?

Because honestly, GW2 has more in common with Rift than it does games with active esports communities right now.

Granted, GW2’s structured PvP is in a better state at six weeks than Rift was at six weeks, but the features just aren’t there. And despite the address we just received, I suspect the features are ready, and that someone in a suit is holding off their release while he tries to figure out how to profit off of these features.

Ain’t gonna work. GW2 needs all the organizational/community features of League of Legends, for free, and as soon as possible. Otherwise esports isn’t happening here.

It’s not “if you build it they will come”, it’s “if you don’t build it, they will leave”.

Like I said earlier, it took about three months for organized PvP teams to start disappearing from Rift. We’re halfway there.

I would interpret this as no macros that have delayed inputs.

I read and understand what support’s response to you was, but I think as long as you weren’t doing something like setting up a a delayed skill rotation to one button you’d be fine.

Likewise, setting up your move keys to spam your autoattack so it functions kinda like a turbo button would probably also be unacceptable.

But if you were simply setting up one button on your keypad to do two instant functions (let’s say select called target + gap closer skill) and you used that as part of your normal play that would probably not get you in trouble even though it’s not officially supported.

Very gray area.

Warhorns are pretty epic once you get over the fact that they aren’t causing direct damage.

But as a force multiplier (especially with the trait) they’re just incredibly, incredibly effective. To the point that I’d eventually expect nerfs on them, tbh.

It doesn’t show when solo, but put multiple allies and enemies in the mix and that warhorn starts to really make a difference.

It’s good where it is. Would like the major traits to be more game-changing than they are though.

Mog.1589:

OP depends. Yes it is awesome when there is a smaller group and not some huge zerg. However at the sametime it sucks donkey balls when you go to do an event and cannot complete it AT ALL because there are two few players. The latter seems to be happening a lot more in some zones.

This. Don’t get me wrong, not being part of the zerg lets you appreciate the environment and the zone flavor more, but the zones seem to be designed with a minimum level of player activity in mind, and when it gets below that, it’s hard to get anything done.

It’s really apparent in the two Orr zones that aren’t Cursed Shore when it’s not peak hours. They go to crap, and there’s untouched group events and overrun outposts everywhere and one player can’t do much about any of them.

They’re all over if you’re looking for them. I see and get a handful of them every time I play.

Probably my favorite is a chicke—where, I can’t remember. Ebonhawke? That if you attack it, it doesn’t die, and just spawns a lot of chickens at you. Fantastic Zelda reference.

Well, other MMOs have had similar problems with mobs as they get pushed into slopes or walls. That part I think the players have to recognize and reposition, because that problem’s not unique to GW2.

The random invulnerables in water though are infuriating and happen entirely too often.

I suspect that the mobs target whoever has the highest toughness. I have points in toughness, as well as toughness armor and accessories, and mobs always seem to pick me out of a crowd.

Unfortunately, no matter how much toughness you stack you can’t take hits (even if you’re dodging all the big stuff the autoattack damage is too high), so it seems to me if you want to melee without attracting aggro, you’d want to go as squishy as possible, and just mind your dodges on the big stuff.

It’s really a disservice to the people who worked so hard to make these zones gorgeous that players don’t get to see that kind of stuff unless they stop what they’re doing and tilt the camera up into the sky.

There’s gotta be a way that we can see both the environment around us AND immediate gameplay area.

The nice thing about GW2 is there isn’t this omg-I-found-something-I-have-to-do-it-before-anyone-else-finds-it-and-steals-it-from-me feeling, and that has made encountering other people in the game world a joy rather than a burden.

Glad to hear you’re having positive experiences though.

Edited by moderator: Refrain from the use of all caps when posting
Edited by user: Because the moderator edit looked silly!

My problem with that article is that we paid for the whole iceberg, and not just the tip. I understand they want to create sustainable paid features. I really get that. They are a business; they need to make money past the initial transaction. That’s fine.

However, we are sorely lacking basic features (most of which were mentioned in the article itself), and I suspect we are missing those not because they aren’t ready, but because the devs (or their NCsoft overlords) are still analyzing the ways in which they can make people pay even more for them.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m thoroughly enjoying the game and I feel I’ve gotten my money’s worth, but that does not mean it’s okay for basic features to be omitted, or even worse, added as a microtransaction.

The kicker is that if said basic features for the esports community don’t happen fast, whether or not they’re paid, the community isn’t going to develop. They’ll move on to the next thing or go back to the games they came from. Can’t profit off of a community that isn’t there, guys.

(Edit: Apparently I got the name wrong, so it is not pit fighter. Original post as follows, but others have since corrected my mistake.)

I believe you’ll find that as “pit fighter” gear in the 70s on the trading post, but I’m not completely sure because you can’t preview off of there.

I’ve always been opposed to PvE objectives on PvP because the style of gameplay tends to shift from “hey, let’s beat that group of players” to “hey, let’s avoid that group of players and exploit the PvE objectives any way we can for rewards”.

I’m not saying GW2 has that problem as severely as some games (looking at you, Aion, and hi Alterac Valley!), but yeah. Why even create the possibility for it to be an issue?

People need to stop being afraid of PvP. Yes, PvP isn’t designed with your victory in mind, but since when has that ever meant it’s not fun? Don’t you have fun playing a game of pickup basketball whether you win or lose? Why is that different for MMO PvP?

People approach MMO PvP like someone’s going to come and beat up their families just because they’ve entered a PvP zone. Why the fear?

The hilarious thing is, the same people have NO fear of dying repeatedly in dungeons. Why is dying repeatedly in PvP any worse?

Rift’s class customization was just fantastic. Yeah, there were obvious synergies, but there was enough wiggle room in there that you knew what kind of build and playstyle you wanted, you could make it and it’d be effective. People really look down on “snowflake” builds in the wake of WoW, but if you understand the game mechanics you really can do some amazing things.

I enjoyed the dungeons as well, though I couldn’t tell you anything about the raiding as I haven’t been interested in that sort of gameplay in a long time.

I will say this. Trion busts their butts trying to make that game fantastic, and for the most part it is—but their fault is that sometimes they try a little too hard to please everybody, and it can create frustrating inconsistencies in the game experience.

However, since the game has been out for a year and a half now those issues may be settled. Bottom line, Rift is worth trying, especially if you liked WoW as they’re essentially the same game, just be aware of Trion’s sometimes-bipolar method of altering the game.

I wouldn’t say more healing is the thing that’s needed, as much as less incoming damage in PvE.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m perfectly fine with big windup moves or special attacks being devastating, but I think the sustained damage output of many of the higher-class PvE mobs is just beyond the scope of the game, considering that the player skills (in particular, the healing ones) are designed around fighting someone of equal strength (other players).

So if that damage came down some we’d probably see slightly less chaotic PvE fights.

They’re good features, but looming overhead is the fact that they’re paid features.

That, I believe, is the true priority here.

And I’m not blaming them for looking for ways to make a buck, just calling it for what it is.

I also believe if they don’t talk about a feature beforehand, it’s not that it isn’t ready, it’s that they’re still assessing what ways they can make money off of it.

And that’s a sad, sad way to approach BASIC FEATURES. Paid tournaments is fine. Custom arenas, meh, whatever. That either have come as paid features before the basic featureset is in place is questionable.

Getting overhyped before release is how people were disappointed by GW2 to begin with. And Rift before it. And Aion before it. And Warhammer before it. And AoC before it. And Vanguard before it.

C’mon guys, relax a bit.

It’s too good compared to the other elites, sadly. It’ll get nerfed to 120 second cooldown if we’re lucky, and 180 if we’re not.

Yeah, many of those changes were nerfs. You should be thankful they didn’t hit us, although they might once our trait bugs are worked out, haha.

It’s because the shorter cooldown skills can be meaningfully built around, while stuff like transforms cannot be, and at times they actually detract from your build as they replace your weapon skills.

Yeah, those skills are powerful and fun, they’re just not very fun*ctional*.

I just got done saying this in another thread, but yeah, elites need to be stronger versions of utility skills that will see use in most fights, instead of these supermoves that really do nothing for your build.

Looking at you, transform elites. Looking at you, summon pet elites. Looking at you, anything with a higher cooldown than 60 seconds.

Don’t get me wrong, those supermoves are fun, it’s just that they’re not useful in every fight, even when they’re ready to be used because you don’t want to waste them.

As annoying as the waypoint costs are sometimes, I like them because they give me an excuse to run around in the world from place to place and gather.

Be nice if it was free I guess, but I don’t mind this either.

The weird thing is, most of the skills in the transform sets would be good elite skills on their own.

But throwing them all together for 20 seconds out of 3 minutes is significantly less useful, especially when you lose access to all the skills you’ve carefully built yourself around.

Take this skill for example: http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Judgment

This would be fantastic as an elite just like that in the 0 slot, not as a stupid transform that gives access to it ONCE every three minutes.

Point is, less situational nonsense, and more skills that you can use to either round out or further specialize a build in every fight.

I’m fine with party members picking it up.

I dunno that the modern MMO player can handle expansions without increases in level cap. I think they’d be confused as to why they should buy it and play if there’s no “progression” (read: gear upgrades with new text colors and bigger numbers).

As for the skills,, I’d like to remind you that you could do far less with your cards in M:tG Alpha/Beta than you can with the dozens and dozens of expansion sets since. Even in GW1 each expansion added loads of new skills and ways to build your characters. All of that didn’t happen at the launch of Prophecies, so be a bit patient.

I want them to communicate more about player concerns. Fight the ignorance and paranoia with information and transparency, even when that information is going to be disappointing to the players (see: Peters on FoV).

Not saying it has to be shouted from rooftops, but if that sort of info could find its way to forums or dev blogs more often that’d be fantastic.

Warrior shield doesn’t provide much in terms of support. Lot of defense for the warrior, and a stun, not much on support.

You might want to look into warhorns instead.

I plan on using something like 20/0/20/30/0 with mace/mace and mace/warhorn for about equal parts damage, control, and support. I haven’t tested it to be sure all the weakness traits stack, but that’s what I’m shooting for as I level up.

I can’t think of a specific zone off the top of my head, but I love the Ascalon and Shiverpeaks regions. Always loved winter zones, but I love Ascalon because it’s pretty in a melancholy sort of way. It’s really well done.

Looking forward to the “badlands” parts of Maguuma, too.

This thread is a prime example of the toxicity of MMO forums in recent years.

Just over a month and we’ve gone from this is amazing to this could be better to I don’t even like this at all.

Which, if you’ve done the research and arrived to this conclusion after giving the game a fair chance, fine. But if you guys got here because you’re letting forum people convince you that you don’t like the game, you should probably stop being parrots and sheep and start being humans. Make your own decisions.

Having fun with a flawed game? Good, that’s what matters, and they’ll fix the flaws eventually.

Not what you expected to be? You didn’t do enough research. Sorry for your shortcoming, but if you guys are really taking your time investment so seriously, you might wanna do it based on research and not hype.

Not having fun? Not everyone will. Why are you still playing? Why are you still reading the forum?

Get over yourselves, people.

Duels were a fine idea in say, ten year old games that had no other on-demand PvP.

Guild Wars 2 has two forms of on-demand PvP, making duelling entirely unnecessary.

…or at least, unnecessary to those who aren’t afraid of actual PvP.

You didn’t read the last sentence in that post you quoted. XD

I get that some of the kits are a little bland, but let’s not act like that’s the very essence of all GW2 combat, in much the same way the statements I made in that post about GW1 and WoW aren’t very accurate for those games either.