Guild Wars 2

As someone who plays a Sylvari main, all I can say is: “It’s OK, there’s more where we came from.” :P

If Largos didn’t have those gigantic manta-wings, I’d probably accept it. Having something so awesome compared to other races isn’t fair.

Seriously though, I wonder if Largos are more maneuverable underwater than the other races are? If so, it’d probably give them an advantage.

Granted, this last update was extremely bugged. What with excited players zerging the Knights en masse and people flooding servers (at least in the initial days), I’m not particularly surprised we found a way to break the game.

Note that I’m not defending ANet for not anticipating players to come crashing down on Scarlet in her final moments and I do think that their releases could stand some working on, but I think that it’s human nature for people to complain in general because it’s easy and it’s fun.

Observe people at school or in the office and you’ll notice how people tend to criticise things instead of praising them (that’s not to say praise is non-existent, it’s just human nature to complain – especially in a large group where your identity is anonymous).

That said, there are many opportunities for ANet to really polish their work. I know they’re trying their hardest, and I have high hopes for them! :}

Polynesian, definitely Polynesian. The Maori-style tattoos, their seafaring lifestyle, their rich copper skin tone and their wood and rattan villages.

We could possibly round as many of them up and put them on trial for war crimes. Those too insane or unrepentant would be jailed for a long time or used as Asuran experiments. *cackle

I wish we had more long hairstyles like that.

Just curious though, what do you guys think is a good way to motivate people to participate in future releases?

Lol, I forgot about the Dredge and Hylek.

However, Tengu, Kodan and Largos rate high above the Hylek and Dredge on the coolness factor (IMHO), so I vote for those three races first. :P

I have mixed feelings about the Knights. On the one hand, I’m just too lazy to bother helping the server succeed, help motivating people and making an effort to help organise groups because I only care about my loot.

On the other hand, I think it’s such a shame that such a beautiful opportunity to rally server support and build up the server community has basically devolved into a zerg fest.

Guild Wars 2 was marketed to me as being so much more than just another empty game to grind for loot and achievements, and I think both ANet and the people on our server are at fault for the current situation.

I know this might be an unpopular suggestion, but to encourage players to finish the story, I think bosses or key characters (like the 1200 citizens) should randomly drop key trinkets that, only when collected as a set, can be pieced together to become a key to unlock coveted chests (lots of gold and snazzy memorabilia are always a draw). Heirlooms for the Selfless/Thoughtless potions could be dropped by the citizens for example, so people have the incentive to grind for citizens (as is their wont) thereby helping all players participating in the event to see the story’s end.

In all fairness, all the other races get manly beards and rippling muscles while being big, so I guess it sort of balances out.

“Fear me, mortal, as I gaze into your soul… with my huge eyes… my gigantic, anime-sized eyes!”

Don’t get me wrong, Vexander – I think the idea of having Phoenixes and Kitsune as playable races would be pretty cool… but as Getefix mentioned above, if Phoenixes were pure flying creatures, it’d be pretty hard to implement.

Just think – some bad-kitten high-level boss decided to use a knockdown skill on all surrounding players, but Phoenixes, flying high above the ground, would be like: “Haha! Can’t touch this!” then everyone would want to be a Phoenix. Mechanics would be totally screwed.

Kitsune are remotely possible as Canthan characters, but there haven’t been any lore on them (to my knowledge), so I don’t see them springing up too soon.

Also, I just want my Tengu ranger so badly. So there. XD

Doesn’t matter, just got an Achievement. :P

If there were new races to be added into the game, I’d probably say Tengu, Kodan then Largos, in that order of probability.

Tengu first because they’ve been selected as a probable race by devs in the past, already have a strong lore foundation, have a city that’s easily workable into the current world, can be easily customised and are a land-dwelling race.

Kodan next, because for the same reasons above, excepting that they’ve just been newly introduced into the lore.

Largos third, because they don’t really have any of the points above, but their only saving grace is that they look kittenly cool.

Of course, ANet, being the creators of the game, have their own ideas of what’s workable or not into the game, so who’s to say? :p

To be fair, I can totally see why butterflies might be considered effeminate in Westerner’s eyes. They’ve been used too much in Disney Princess movies and have become stereotypically feminine. :p

To me, the butterflies are actually critical in providing the sort of ephemeral, fey and eldritch qualities of mesmer magic. I suppose tiny ravens would be ok, but cogs and skulls just wouldn’t do it for me. I probably wouldn’t find the class nearly as ‘enchanting’, because butterflies are a living embodiment of dazzling colour, both delicate and perplexing in swarms.

Of course, to each his or her own. Although it might be a little hard to detach the notion of butterflies from mesmers because they are pretty much an icon of the class (mesmer logo, all over their traits interface).

If it were a dungeon, I’d say 2 Guardians, 3 Elementalists.

Mow down all our enemies and leave nothing but a trail of gore.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

It’s the later. Quaggans are the ArenaNet “go-to” race for “Press Now For Cute”.

Although I can totally appreciate how Peneloopee and Bloomanoo have been used for a bit of comic (or cuteness) relief, as it were.

It’s not too bad. It gives a teensy bit of added depth as to how the different races have been affected by the attack, and how they’ve coped with it. Like how some skritt and bandits are profiting off of others’ loss.

^ Agreed.

Don’t worry ANet, we’ll still love you even if you give us slower-released Living Story updates. Just make sure they’re better thought out than they currently are!

Tobias and Lopez point out some very good views of the situation, and I totally agree that ANet has been pumping out content below customer’s expectations.

But I’ll give ANET some credit for quickly picking up on players’ rants. The reason why I haven’t really seen those game-breaking bugs is a testament to ANet’s effort to make things right again.

Note that I’m not trying to gloss over the naive (read: critical) mistakes that have been popping up, I’m just hoping to remind readers that ANet is also made up of a bunch of humans trying their best to get things solved as quickly as possible.

I think the biggest problem is ANet’s over ambitious goal of having to churn out new content every two weeks. While it’s a laudable concept, the fact that it creates a lot of player dissent when done wrongly is something they should probably reconsider.

I have mixed feelings about Scarlet. For a very long time, her character seemed flat and boring, and I didn’t really understand her motivations and feelings behind her actions. Towards the end however, I felt that ANet was beginning to give players a taste of Scarlet’s inner fears and desires.

And then she died.

I guess we’ll never know more about Scarlet now. /cry

I guess I’ve lived with the concept that the Sylvari are exotic creatures, born of magic and inhuman beauty.

Although I realise that I’m pretty shallow when I’m clamouring for prettier, more symmetrical faces. The new faces with gigantic eyes and Voldemort’s nose just don’t do it for me.

Lopez.7369:

-snip-

Besides, ArenaNet promised this content would be polished. Would you consider these past few patches polished?

I guess I have to agree this isn’t one of ANet’s most polished updates, but considering we’re already getting free new content and generally speedy bug fixes, and ANet’s been putting in a lot of effort for its player base, I thought there’d be less outrage and more understanding.

Steel Fenrir.2791:

-snip-

I’m imagining, are all male mesmers effeminate, romantic, and spinning, whirling around in their tight pants, with a big bulge in their groin for illusion? Oh lawdy. That might be it since the near equivalent of mesmers in RPG terms are bards and enchanters, and they are traditionally the fancy or fabulous type.

Steel Fenrir, you get my upvote for that hilarious description. XD

I’m not sure the lack of a cut scene skip button or the missing of a couple of non-essential chests really count as game-breaking.

I used to think that the butterflies were a bit effeminate at first, but as Astral said, while toying around with one of my alts for a bit, I’ve managed to role play a male Mesmer who’s a tad of a playboy rogue.

I now see the pink as magenta/purple (a very royal/noble/typically psychic colour) and the butterflies as gender-neutral effects of the mind-bending glamour.

I dunno, I’m not a hardcore loot/achievement grinder, so I haven’t come across the plethora of bugs you guys have mentioned. And while I do get disconnects on occasion, it’s not really the end of the world for me. : /

As Sourde and Darkace mentioned earlier, I think a monthly update would work fine. Gives devs more breathing room and gives players extra time to access content. It’s a win-win.

If those Twitter accounts aren’t being run by ANet or ANet affiliated staff, GW2 should be happy for the extra publicity. XD

Regardless, I think the account is a novel way for players to interact with the game. Players don’t normally get a tailored response when fighting a villain, and this is particularly interesting way to make a story seem more engaging.

The text actually describes the skills effect, duration, etc. and is fine the first time around. But when you’ve used the same skill, like, 1000 times…

Not sure if this has been raised in the past, but is there a way to toggle hide/show the tool tips for skills? Some skills have tons of chain moves that tend to clutter up the screen.

I know some people are used to using the keyboard for everything, but it’s kind of hard when you have a tiny keyboard and big hands. :/

Hmm… I’ve always thought ethnic Krytans were based off Polynesians and their culture.

In particular, the Krytans of 250 years ago had several notable cities built near the sea, like Lion’s Arch, which may be inspired by the Polynesians of our own world who lived lives with very strong seafaring connections.

Also, some Krytans in GW1 sported body and facial tattoos reminiscent of Maori tattoos. The historian Durmand is a good example.

Further more, Krytans have a nice, rich copper skin tone, which is similar to what peoples of Oceanic descent have.

I am just dying to fill up my extra character slot with an eagle-like Tengu ranger with his trusty (you guessed it) eagle pet/sidekick.

Please make Tengu soon ANet, please? :P

I think if ANet created another same-sex relationship and put it in the spotlight too soon, it’d probably spark a riot on the forums.

I personally think a well written love story is fantastic, regardless of gender. That said, I felt the slow development of Jory and Kas’ relationship was adorable. When they started holding hands, I immediately smiled inwardly and thought: “I knew something was up between those two.”

If ANet were to include a guy-guy relationship, I’d probably suggest they subtly add some side-quest implying such for players to stumble over.

Mrava Bloodclaw – I’ll give it an 8/10. :]

Mrava sounds nice and fitting for a female Charr… although I think Bloodclaw is a tad commonplace for Charr. I’d probably use something like Redfang or Gorehook. Something evocative of blood and claws without directly using those words. Just my stylistic difference, but Mrava Bloodclaw sounds nice too. :]

You can tell I use my thesaurus a lot. Lol.

I just wanted to compliment the composer behind the music during the battle with Scarlet aboard her airship. The adrenaline-pumping rhythm and tension-filled choral melody, coupled with the sounds of discharged laser bolts and screams of waves of allies dying all around brings tears to my eyes. The sheer beauty and terror of the scene is epic.

Reminds me of those awesome battle scenes from Chrono Trigger or Final Fantasy.

Sorry, I got carried away, but I like the audio a lot. :]

Brickfist Stormfur: (7/10) An okay name I guess, but names with a combination of mashed together English words are kinda common.

Freybrand Redclaw: (10/10) ‘Freybrand’ sounds super cool. Why are you not using this?! Lol.

I have a Charr Warrior named Straal Warbinder – because it sounds like he can’t pronounce a full sentence without uttering some form of growl. ^.^

Dingle that’s a really awesome try, but sadly it’s missing Taimi’s perma-blushed cheeks, generally placid expression and generous heapings of mascara.

I guess as players, we’ll just have to settle for heavy slider modifications and knowledge of the fact that no NPC will ever look as cute as us. XD

Yeah, Sylvari probably don’t feel the same way as other fleshy races when having to cobble together a meat golem for useful purposes. Just look at Killeen from the official Ghosts of Ascalon novel!

I personally role-play my Sylvari Necro as having a sombre outlook on life, who acts as a personification of Truth: that death is inevitable and will eventually come to everyone.

Of course, like every proper clichéd story, he gets to have a Mesmer twin sister specialising in intoxicating dreams, eternal slumber, Lies and eldritch pink butterflies. :}

I really (really) like the flower hairdo for my female sylvari A LOT. Although I wish it had an extra leaf for bangs or something to make it more perfect. I’m not really a fan of swept back styles – makes the top of the head look flat and odd from certain angles.

And I know I’m probably nitpicking, but the veining for the petals on said hairdo don’t look as defined in daylight?

My favourite is the snarky comment my male Asura makes when he gets rallied: “Guess who’s back? It’s me, by the way.”

Also, I know it doesn’t go here, but it tickles me whenever my Norn Guardian yells out: “By the power of ME! HAHAHA!” Best line in the game, IMHO.