Guild Wars 2

Fashion Mage.3712:

TheDaiBish.9735:

Orpheal.8263:

Monks are basically a Human only thing… thats why Cleric would definetely be the better choice.

How are Monks a human only thing?

Monks in the GW universe don’t get their power from worshiping but being attuned to one of the Bloodstones.

Didn’t know that. Guess that argument is out of the way then.

To humans monks were often associated with gods or at least with religion. And that is also true for charr monks (who were obviously shamans). However there were even non-sentient monks in GW1 and mursaat monks (who I do not take to be very religious, even if they are seen as being divine by others).

Mysticjedi.6053:

Will specializations give us new weapon skills with “old” weapons along with new utilities and elites?

Since we still haven’t had a blog post on specializations it is still a bit vague. However from what I have read it seems like specilizations will not give new weapon skills with old weapons. They only include: 1) 1 new weapon, 2) 1 new healing skill, 3) 1 new elite skill, 4) new utilities, 5) new traits (some think an entirely new trait line instead of one the old trait lines but this is not confirmed) and 6) a ‘changed profession mechanic’.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

Might be useful to train mastery lines quickly instead of playing to get the exp needed to advance them.

You’d still need mastery points though, you can not advance masteries through xp / tomes alone.

ImTasty.2163:

Where does everyone keep getting this only one map talk? I see it on the forums but no one has yet to provide a link where it was stated we only get one map.

I’m not sure where it comes from but Arenanet has actually disproved it multiple times quite clearly by talking about multiple zones/maps. The most recent case was the article posted on april 3rd where Anet said the following:

Each map also has its own unique themes and map-wide meta-features that connect to the story and the characters in new and exciting ways. For example, in Verdant Brink— the first map players encounter once they enter the Heart of Thorns—etc

Akagami.9861:

MAYBE they started working on it after the China Release…maybe…

This is what I heard or at least, that they only seriously started development after the China release.

Orpheal.8263:

And I doubt that the Revenant uses a staff for melee combat, because the staves that the game has so far are by their design not made for any melee combat with their big slowing down staff heads, that are clearly a sign for magical staves only as thats the point, where the magical energies get channelled, before they get unleashed in a blast to hit the target with it like in GW1

Like I said, both the trailer and datamining do seem to suggest this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=IOUk2y0K2m8#t=93

http://i.imgur.com/SjX7u2A.png (note the range on the staff skills)

Tskales.2804:

Warrior should get staff as a melee weapon, which can have spear skins.

Based on the trailer and based on data-mining it already seems like the Revenant will use the staff as a melee weapon so this seems unlikely.

GummiBear.2756:

Where did they officially confirm the hammer for engineer?, so far i know onlt ranger staff, and necro GS is officially confirmed

Well, it’s offically confirmed in the same way the mesmer shield was: it is shown very clearly in a trailer.

Thief with a rifle is the most stupid thing ever, and i hope…i hope it’s not true. Cause if it is… kitten it i’m out of here and onto a new game. It doesn’t make sense, at all and it doesn’t fit.

Thief with some cool axes? hell yea i’m all up for that…but a rifle? NO NO NO NO NO

This is actually what i’m waiting on, as soon as they announce the specialization for thief i will know if i will get the expansion or not.

God please don’t let them ruin the Thieves even more with a freaking rifle….please…

How exactly does a rifle not fit the thief? Also, how exactly does the axe fit? And how exactly does such a relatively minor choice make you ragequit?

Mar.4839:

Going to hope this is because next week’s info will be about Specializations!

Since this week was PvE and PoI, I’m going to guess next week will again be PvP and Ready Up. Specifically I am going to guess next week will be about guilds, i.e. guild halls and guild leaderboards.

I hope it will be specializations but I expect specializations will be left as the last thing on the list.

We already have summoners in this game:

- Minion Masters.
- Guardians with spirit weapons.
- Rangers with spirits.
- Engineers with turrets.
- Pretty much all Mesmers.

What we need, as others have pointed out, are ways to make these ‘summoners’ more effective.

Dante.1763:

Indie.4129:

Kormir

Kormir is a god. you cant really harness a god, unless you want to become its avatar(ALA dervish from GW1) which would be neat, but not for the revenant.

I don’t know, I could somewhat see a dervish specialization fit the revenant. Although, on the other hand, Charr dervishes wouldn’t really work so maybe not.

BuddhaKeks.4857:

Short answer: yes, probably.

Long answer: Let’s look at the definition of the word guild.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/guild?s=t

noun
1.
an organization of persons with related interests, goals, etc., especially one formed for mutual aid or protection.
2.
any of various medieval associations, as of merchants or artisans, organized to maintain standards and to protect the interests of its members, and that sometimes constituted a local governing body.
3.
Botany. a group of plants, as parasites, having a similar habit of growth and nutrition.

The first definition applies here, but honestly it’s rather vague. So I guess that means that all those organizations you mentioned can in fact be guilds. We have no confirmation though. All we can do is judge by the first games standart, in which such organizations were usually guilds, so this could be true ~250 years later.

Doesn’t the second definition also fit, at least in GW1’s time?

One of the rare places where guilds are explicitly discussed in relation to Guild Wars 2 is the Movement of the World. For reference, here is the quote:

The guilds of Tyria have grown and expanded, despite the destruction of the Battle Isles. Balthazar helped raise a new temple in Lion’s Arch, stepping on the hearthstone of the construction and opening a gate there to the Mists, so that heroes of each world could compete in contest. But these guilds are not racially aligned as they were in the past—no longer restricted merely to humans, they accept heroes of all societies into their halls.

The Asura easily fit into the guild system, using guilds as they would any other krewe designed for a task. To the Charr, the guilds are like warbands. They do not replace the loyalty the Charr hold to their legion but instead allow them unique opportunities to display the strength of their race and increase their own personal reputations as ferocious combatants. Norn are always eager for a fight, and their loyalty to friends makes them a blessing to any combat force. Sylvari bring unique and unpredictable strengths to a guild, and are eager to enter into any danger simply for the experience of it.

Guilds are a prominent force in Tyria, taking on challenges that individual adventurers fear to face, and braving even the most dangerous opponents. It is said that if there is any hope for the races of Tyria to find peace, it will come from the guilds and their atmosphere of cooperation and unity.

To me it seems like guilds in the context of Guild Wars 2 refer specifically to bands of adventurers like Destiny’s Edge and no longer to other types of groups.

VergilDeZaniah.3295:

As having human legendary figures (such as Barradin, Adelbern, or Gwen): that won’t work.

Do you think they will lend their powers to charrs ? That wouldn’t make sense lore-wise…

Shiro is human as well and appears to be one of the legends. If you mean Ascalonian humans specifically then I agree with you that those humans are unlikely.

Though I don’t think their willingness to lend their power is a factor here. Mallyx and Shiro seem like guys who would not be very interested in helping mortals fighting dragons and what not. Thus I think it has more to do with the Revenant wanting to channel legends and being able to channel legends than with those legends approving of being channeled.

I think what is being hinted at is purely story and dialogue, not gameplay.

Simonoly.4352:

Just two new weapon skills would be a thoroughly boring update for Mesmer (especially as part of an expansion) so I expect the specialisations have more to them than just allowing you to hold a new weapon type.

We know specializations are more than a new weapon, namely: 1 new healing skill, new utility skills, 1 new elite skill, new traits and a “changed profession mechanic”.

My thoughts are that it’s probably too late in the development of HoT to make suggestions like this. Whatever the Mesmer specialization ends up getting is what has probably already been decided upon.

To me it depends on the content. Obviously some content (like new skins, adventures, jumping puzzles) are lower on my list of priorities than other content (specializations, the revenant, masteries and the new zones).

However, since tastes differ across different players, I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave out some content in favor of other content. Besides, it might even make that much of a difference if the different types of content are made by entirely different teams.

Mik.3401:

Diovid.9506:

Edenfer.9816:

Nice, I thought they only added new weapons with specializations.

Specializations include:

- 1 new weapon.
- New traits.
- 1 new healing skill.
- New utility skills.
- 1 new elite skill.
- ‘changed profession mechanics’

Instead of 1 new weapon I’d say 5 new weapon skills. It seems kinda unfair and impossible for Ranger to get Staff and Necro get Greatsword, when Mesmer only obtains shield with 2 skills.

Actually, we know for a fact that the Mesmer specialization will only get the shield as a new weapon. However, it has been mentioned that those specializations which do not get a 2-handed weapon will get some form of compensation. No details on that compensation have been given however.

Edenfer.9816:

Nice, I thought they only added new weapons with specializations.

Specializations include:

- 1 new weapon.
- New traits.
- 1 new healing skill.
- New utility skills.
- 1 new elite skill.
- ‘changed profession mechanics’

No doubt we will get one (or possibly more) deep dive(s) on guild halls and other guild-related stuff so you will probably have to wait until then to get a definitive answer.

However I personally doubt they will increase the amount of guilds you can join.

Zelkovan.2630:

Whether or not that means they get new traits

I thought it was already confirmed that the only the old professions wouldn’t be getting anything new, aside from specializations?

or just become more powerful in general

I hope not. The entire game is balanced based on how powerful the professions are now. I’d rather have anything new be as powerful as the old than the old being brought to the level of the new.

revamped skills

This together with revamped traits is what I hope for and what I think is most likely.

rapthorne.7345:

pretty sure it was already touched on that specialisations are a part of the mastery system

Interesting that you are sure but yet this is the first time I see it being mentioned. I seriously doubt it.

What Anet is aiming for is that vanilla professions will be just as strong as specilizations. This is also to keep it balanced between players who own HoT and players who don’t own HoT i.e. those with HoT have more options but not stronger options. Whether it will actually be balanced however remains to be seen.

The question one has to ask is: How will PvP or WvW players get access to specializations?

The mistake that we will gain mastery points from leveling up comes up now and again.. This comes from a misunderstanding in how the mastery system works. There are two components to masteries: 1) mastery points and 2) xp. Mastery points are gained from various activities (such as map completion and adventures). Mastery points unlock a ‘tier’ of a mastery and then that ‘tier’ has to filled via xp. Thus you can’t level masteries using xp alone.

Besides that, Anet has stated that they are still looking at how leveling items will work with the mastery system.

ZudetGambeous.9573:

There is supposed to be a feature patch in April, so it should be still coming assuming Anet didn’t lie to us.

Source? Because I don’t remember reading anything like that.

Eirian Direstorm.9748:

The screenshots here show what look like three maps, but when I was in the test and looked at the map, there were also two level 80 areas to the right of the landing zone to which the test was confined. So it could be more.

You mean the Silverwastes and Dry Top?

I’m expecting a big bug fix / balance update around HoT’s release but not an actual feature patch.

Although things like the new PvP map, guild leaderboards and the new WvW borderlands could be seen as being feature patch-y since they do not actually require you to own HoT.

takk.5698:

- Who is she ? Why did she attack lion arch ?

This gives a decent (although somewhat lengthy) summary of everything that happened before season 2: http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Living_World_season_1

- did she only appear on living world or also in personal story ?

She just appeared in the living world.

sorudo.9054:

Nike.2631:

There is a world of difference between “traits unlocking system” and “traits system”.

so the first change was also simply trait unlock?
because for the past 10 months we have talked about the entire trait system, not just unlocks.
specialization will change how traits work entirely, it might not be a huge change but they will change some things including unlocks.

I think you’re confusing two things. Specialization will give access to new traits, yes.

However, seperately from the specialization system, the unlock system for traits will be changed. To be clear: this change to the unlock system is completely seperate from the specialization system.

Andred.1087:

x Charlie.4820:

Red Queen.7915:

How anyone would think “let’s make it so that anyone who doesn’t buy HoT can only play on EB – that’ll make people super-happy and make them ALL buy HoT!” is beyond me. That would be terrible marketing.

Money > peoples feelings.

Anet are a company, As i said it’s not the best marketing tactic and i highly doubt they would do it. It is a marketing tactic nonetheless though.

You make a common mistake by forgetting that customer satisfaction is part of the equation. Doing a disservice to your customers = losing potential money, so they can’t just go waltzing around making decisions solely on projected profits.

I agree with the point you are making but.. wouldn’t projected profits include projections for customer retention and customer spending?

Jski.6180:

For now odds are they are going to add in a lot more

They are indeed going to add in more but ‘a lot more’? Doubtful.

and if you want to get down to it each class has 2 specialization the level 80 you need to get before you can unlock the others and the new one they are adding in.

That is one way of looking at it, yes.

I think its going to be a quest that you need the expansion to do. I have a feeling its going to be some what like the old GW1 add in a new class every expansion now if they add them in for expansion or for LS updates its has been yet to be seen.

On the one hand I hope so but on the other hand I also hope WvW and SPvP players can use specializations without doing PvE.

Yes it going to require some pve to get the new specialization

Nothing in that direction has even been hinted.

and i do not think your going to be able to use the specialization in spvp

And what gives you that impression?

joneb.5679:

1) Is the expansion anything more than gathering a whole season of a Living Story and gameplay features updates together and adding in a few more maps to bump up the quantity so we can pay instead of getting free LS?

What about the Revenant, masteries, specializations, adventures, guild halls, a new pvp map, pvp with guild leaderboards, new borderlands, new legendaries, new weapon/armor skins and so on? When exactly is it enough to be an expansion and not a living story season? Besides, we don’t even know the price of it yet so it might be less expensive than expansions of other games. Although given the amount of stuff we have gotten for free (i.e. content and features that are not dlc or require a subscription) I’d happily pay quite a bit for the expansion.

2) Isn’t it something that has been in planning and production long before the announcement and that’s why the LS Season 2 was much less quantity on the whole than Season 1? (It seems to me to be less quantity though better quality).

From what I understood development on HoT only seriously started after the Chinese release (with the Chinese release itself requiring a lot of resources).

3) Do you expect that after having a huge break from content and LS that suddenly players that have become bored will suddenly just all give up the new game they are playing and flock back for HoT?

1) A lot of people are still playing so they do not need to come back.
2) The beauty of an mmo without a subscription is that people can and do easily come back.

I understand you did give us LS story for two years which in the beginning was very frequent and sometimes good quality updates for free but much of the first year was temporary and what it left behind mostly boring. Also LS 2 did leave behind some really nice extra maps and events and content but I would have much rather had more substantial chapters like Factions and Nightfall and paid for them than what you have done with free frequent mostly temp LS season 1, less frequent season 2 then a huge quiet spell and paid for expansion that seems it may still be less substantial than those GW1 campaign chapters.

I agree. I rather have expansions than living story (though an alternation of both is also enjoyable I think). We will have to wait and see whether this expansion delivers but so far I am optimistic.

What I understood was that people without HoT can enter guild halls but certain features of guild halls are unavailable.

The new WvW and PvP areas are also accessible for people without HoT.

The jungle areas, masteries, specializations, the Revenant and so on are HoT-only.

Danikat.8537:

They’ve said that “challenging group content” will be part of the expansion but haven’t given us any more information than that. Sounds a lot like dungeons, or something very similar (raids?) though.

Well.. some people fear that “challenging group content” will just be open world bosses like the Wyvern and Tequatl. We’ll have to wait and see though.

1. I think you mean specializations instead of the mastery systeem. The mastery system is completely unrelated from PvP.

2. Yes, specializations are HoT-only.

3. Yes, it seems like specializations are usable in PvP but Anet is intending them to be horizontal progression. That means that they are aimed at providing more options, not at providing stronger options. Whether that will hold true or not in practice remains to be seen of course.

1) As Sagramor said, there is no link between the Largos and HoT.

2) Anet has already confirmed there won’t be a race with this expanson. Here is their stance on adding races:

Shacknews: You’ve added a new profession, however you did hold off on adding a new race. What led to this decision?

Johanson: For this one, we looked at what we would get out of adding a new race and what benefit it actually brings to the players from a gameplay standpoint. It’s very limited in Guild Wars 2. A new race adds a racial skill or two and a little bit of story, but it doesn’t give that much meaningful gameplay in the grand scheme of things. The race is more context for the early story that you experience. So we wanted to focus things that would provide a lot more gameplay and address parts of Guild Wars 2 that we felt like we really wanted to be able to make a better experience and grow. So right now, we didn’t feel that a new race was a key need for the game, whereas the other things that we’re adding really provide fundamental building blocks for the future.

3) See this thread on the viability of the Largos as a future race: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/lore/Viability-of-largos-as-a-playable-race/first#post4882310

Maybe the Ritualist will return as a Necromancer or Revenant specialization. Otherwise, I don’t think the odds favor a return of the Ritualist.

Aomine.5012:

Play GW2 since launch. 5.3K play time. AP 26200 (TOP 50 on leaderboard)
Got GWAMM from GW1. Spent at least 20k gems through credit card transaction.

DIDN’T GET PICKED.

So loyalty, play time, gem spent, AP, GW1 credit, are none factors in choosing samples.
It’s just random RNG selection from all accounts.

That.. doesn’t prove anything. It might still be that it was random amongst the ‘loyal players’ or that it was random amongst all players but that ‘loyal players’ had a higher chance of getting picked. We have no way of knowing outside of them outright telling us.

Avascar.9237:

Having it come out late May sounds reasonable.

While we have closed and open betas yet to come? And 9 weeks of specialization reveals? And then probably additional weeks of reveals on guild halls and ‘challenging group content’? I don’t think so.

Besides, if it was 2 months away there would be a release date and a price and options to pre-order.

takk.5698:

where can I find to read about GW1 story ?

This is a start:
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Lore
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Timeline
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Lore
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Timeline
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/The_Movement_of_the_World

takk.5698:

also just got 3 books
- edge of destiny
- sea of sorrows
- ghosts of ascalon

which one should be read first , second and last ?

The chronological order is: Sea of Sorrws —> Edge of Destiny --> Ghosts of Ascalon. However, the books can really be read in any order you want.

Gomes.5643:

Well I want that fake Patchnotes from GW1 back.

Agreed. Fake patchnotes were awesome.

TamTiTam.9574:

i.e. depending on your choices, NPC’s hate or like you, survive to live a fulfilled life in your story instance or die a terrible death.

In fact, when Anet first gave details on the Personal Story and the Personality System they said that this would be the case. They repeatedly gave the example of saving the hospital or saving the orphanage which would have lasting effects on your home instance. That… didn’t work out so well.

Stability and defiance might seem similar but they are actually different things thus talking about a ‘stability break bar’ confuses things. That said, Anet has said that there will be ways for players to get a break bar, though they didn’t give any details.

ReSpect.7125:

You think Mes and/or Ele gonna get another one hand weapon (to compensate for the other classes have 2h) or its fine like this?

We know each specialization only gets 1 weapon. We have also heard that specializations which do not get a 2-handed weapon will be compensated somehow.

Also remember that even a new off-hand weapon is equal to 8 new skills for an Elementalist, due to attunements.

Where does this information comes from (a trailer, interview etc)?

Only the ranger and necromancer weapons have been officially confirmed. The information on thieves, engineers, mesmers and guardians comes from trailers. The information on the elementalist comes from datamining.

Is the sword main- or off-hand?

I’m not sure, I think it was main-hand.

Electro.4173:

As for future new professions… I mean, unless they don’t plan on adding another large expansion I don’t see how they could NOT do more professions. They’ve already stated that they don’t care to add new races because they don’t really offer much variety in playstyle. They have to add something new besides just specs, IMO.

They said they wanted to focus on masteries and specializations now. But now that the groundwork for those systems has been laid, they might add a race in the future. From the interview you seem to refer to:

So right now, we didn’t feel that a new race was a key need for the game

And why exactly are specializations (combined with masteries) not enough I wonder?

sorudo.9054:

ppl really need to read some before asking for something, specialization is more then just some pretty weapons.
it will completely replace the trait system

That’s not what has been said. Yes, specializations will give some new traits but nowhere has Anet indicated that specializations will “completely replace the trait system”.

Like Aaron said, while it is probably true that the average mesmer cares more about beauty, fashion and the like than the average non-mesmer, this wouldn’t apply to all mesmers.

Morsus.5106:

The past has shown us that ArenaNet won’t try and make sure that all of the classes have the same amount of variety, just that they are all viable and balanced.

The present shows us that Anet will try and make sure all of the classes have the same amount of variety, seeing as Revenants will have a specialization available to them.

witcher.3197:

GW1 for example added hundreds of new skills to existing professions in every expansion, while also releasing 2 new professions with each.

Yes and that lead to 1) many many skills which were never used because they were horribly underpowered and 2) several severely overpowered options. There is a reason Anet has stated that they do not want to repeat what happened with GW1.

I hope Anet sticks to the 9 professions there are now and just adds to them.