Games Guild Wars 2

svartalf

Can't get enough of FH
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Making a thread for more comprehensive coverage of GW2, because there wasn't one.

massively.com said:
Flameseeker Chronicles: C-C-C-Combo maker

by Rubi Bayer on Nov 7th 2011 12:00PM

Fantasy, Classes, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Flameseeker Chronicles


Sing hallelujah, for the Guild Wars 2 news drought is over! (The information gates may now slam shut for another excruciating period of time, but I'm choosing not to think about that.) Jon Peters brought us all sorts of exciting information on pets, Engineer changes, and cross-profession combos last week on the ArenaNet blog.

Now that we've had some time to absorb the news and talk it over, I wanted to take some time to look at it more closely, particularly the cross-profession combos. Follow along after the jump and let's get started!

The entire cross-profession combo mechanic holds such interest for me in large part because it fits so neatly with Guild Wars 2's "group up if you want, but no pressure" setup. You're not required to be in a formal group or party to get the advantage of this. If you're someone who just wants to go his own way, you're not going to be missing out on a crucial battle advantage. Want to pause to join an interesting-looking battle on your way to Divinity's Reach? No grouping required, and if you happen to notice one of your battle companions lay down an initiator, see what you can do with it.

The fact that initiatiors are out there in the world, visible to anyone nearby, is so much more than just a flashy visual effect. Making it a world effect rather than a party or individual effect opens it up to anyone around, not just those who choose to participate as part of a set group. I love it because it's further progress in a field that ArenaNet already excels in: acknowledging that a lot of people prefer to play solo and their gameplay shouldn't be penalized for that.

The new details that Jon gave us last week really cemented my appreciation of the entire mechanic. The floating notification, again, is more to me than just a nice visual addition. It adds the same fun element of discovery that I love about the crafting system -- you're just playing around and... hey, look at that, you just discovered something new! Think about how much fun it's going to be in the first weeks and months following launch as players everywhere stumble across new combinations. I can't wait.

fc1-rb-116.jpg

Speaking of discoveries, I want to gush over the Engineer for just a few minutes. I was a huge fan of the Engineer before. I've mentioned it here and there before, but playing an Engineer with a flamethrower, using multiple skills to repeatedly roll my enemies back and forth through a wall of flaming napalm was one of the highlights of my Guild Wars 2 playtime over the past year. The class is just so much fun! The gadgets and tools accessible by this class opened up so many opportunities for interesting play that became one of my favorite classes almost the moment I got my hands on it.

There's a ton of potential there, and it's exciting to see the ArenaNet team revisit the class to explore that potential. The new version of the toolbelts, including all of the additional skills, tells me that this class is going to be a lot more interesting and a lot more complicated than it was before. This is good in my eyes because Guild Wars 2 needs classes that will require players to learn and think as they play. This isn't your basic hack-'n'-slash game, and some intricate classes fit really nicely in the setting.

I've said before that it's going to take a certain type of player to play the Engineer successfully, and I think that holds even truer now. You're probably not going to be a fabulous Engineer player right out of the gate; plenty of time, patience, and trial-and-error will be needed. In that way, it reminds me a lot of the current Assassin. I've known people in Guild Wars who will leave a group before they'll allow an Assassin to join because of the perception that Assassins are a bad class. In fact, the Assassin is pretty devastating if you play it right, and I really think that's going to hold true for the Engineer.

This is definitely one of the first two classes I'll be making in Guild Wars 2. (Very, very soon, hopefully!)

Finally, I want to wrap up by inviting all of you to join Massively Overpowered for some Guild Wars playtime this week. We've wrapped up all three campaigns plus Eye of the North, and we're taking the next step by jumping into the War in Kryta. We're going to get started this Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. EST in Lion's Arch Japanese district one. If you've never done WiK, or if you have an alt who needs to get through, join us! We'll start at the very beginning and see how far we can get.

See you Thursday night -- let's enjoy some playtime to distract us while we wait for beta!

rubigwswipe.jpg
Rubi is a longtime Guild Wars player and the writer of Flameseeker Chronicles here at Massively. The column keeps a close eye on all the events in Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2, and anything bridging the two. It's also the home of a weekly summary of the travels of [MVOP], Massively's Guild Wars guild. Email Rubi at rubi@massively.com.
http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=221
 

Chosen

Resident Freddy
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Looking forward to this game, the details of this game looks amazing. And hopefully the dynamic system will show out to be a breath of fresh air.
 

Jimmy

Resident Freddy
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i played the first one was great didn't buy all the expansions tho but GW2 is looking pretty great.
 

svartalf

Can't get enough of FH
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GW2 Cinematic conversations.

massively.com said:
Guild Wars 2 devblog highlights cinematic conversations



by Matt Daniel
writer_rss.gif
on Nov 22nd 2011 7:30PM



Fantasy, News items, Guild Wars 2, Dev Diaries



"One of the things we game developers always have to struggle with is reconciling our ambition with the reality of a production environment," begins today's Guild Wars 2 dev blog. That principle of balance comes into play in the case of the game's cinematic conversations, as the blog notes. James Boer goes on to detail many of the unique strategies used in Guild Wars 2's dialogue scenes in order to ensure that precious balance between ambition and pragmatism.



For instance, characters are designed in such a way that they don't look terribly good during close-ups, and there is no easy way to integrate facial animation. As a result, the team settled on a compromise, pushing the characters farther into the background. This, combined with the painted backgrounds utilized during conversations, lends a unique style to GW2's cinematic dialogues. For the full details, just head on over to the ArenaNet dev blog.
Tags: anet, arenanet, cinematic-conversations, cinematics, conversations, dev-blog, dev-blogs, dev-diaries, dev-diary, dialogue, guild-wars-2, gw2, james-boer, ncsoft
 

Himse

FH is my second home
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Really excited about this game! Alot of people I know are definitely gonna give it a try!

Watched a pvp video the other day and it looks like fun! It's quite fast paced but it's no WoW Arena, drop all cooldowns at X point and win.

Looks actually quite balanced and the instanced 5v5 stuff looks fun, objective based rather than just outright killing, would be good if they did game modes though!
 

svartalf

Can't get enough of FH
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Mesmer..
massively.com said:

Broken embargoes and leaked videos aside, longtime fans of Guild Wars 2 are expressing a complete lack of surprise at today's Mesmer reveal. ArenaNet finally unveiled the long-awaited eighth class this morning: the iconic Mesmer, the class that's been nearly synonymous with the Guild Wars name since 2005.



OK, maybe that's a little on the dramatic side, but after fans waited through seven other classes, two books, and quite literally years of development news, it's Kind of a Big Deal. Now it's finally here, so what's it like? Let's take a closer look at the Guild Wars 2 Mesmer class.



While the reveal has shades of the class we currently know, this Mesmer is definitely not the present-day GW1 Mesmer. "We've updated the Mesmer, moving the profession away from its origins as a support role by creating a formidable magical duelist who can stand on his own," says ArenaNet. This deadlier and more sophisticated version has three skill sets: Illusions, Shattering, and Mantras.



Illusions can take two forms, beginning with clones, which are illusory versions of the Mesmer character that carry the same name, low health, and basic behavior. Phantasms are a bit more sophisticated; as ArenaNet noted, "Phantasms are illusions that look like the caster but have their own names and carry special illusionary weapons that look different and have specific behavior."



Shattering is another focus that builds naturally from Illusions. Shattering will destroy Mesmer Illusions and create a secondary effect. There are four secondary effects ranging from protective to straight damage to stuns and dazes.



Finally, the Mesmer has Mantras at her disposal. Mantras have a long cast time, but they provide the character an instant skill slot. This is handy because the Mesmer can set it up before battle and have an extra skill available to deploy right away in the middle of a fight. Even better, the bonus skill can be used without interruption while the character is casting another spell.



The Mesmer has a nice arsenal of weapons available, including a staff and greatsword from the two-handed cabinet. A sword or scepter as a main hand item is complemented by a choice of focus, pistol, sword, or torch for the off-hand.



Head to the Guild Wars 2 site for all the details on the Mesmer!
 

svartalf

Can't get enough of FH
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Closed beta...
Massively.com said:
Updated: Guild Wars 2 to 'officially enter closed beta' this Friday

by Rubi Bayer on Dec 14th 2011 2:30PM

Betas, Fantasy, Guild Wars 2


Just in case you haven't gone into full-on meltdown from Guild Wars 2 news overload, ArenaNet has tossed out one more announcement for you via today's Reddit Ask Me Anything session: "We will officially enter Closed Beta Testing this Friday. It will be marked with an increase in our pool of testers. To clarify, this phase of testing is still under NDA and is not open to the public."

While it's something -- and definitely more than anything we've seen so far -- the population at large shouldn't expect to see closed beta key applications and giveaways popping up all over the place. NCsoft seems to be continuing its pattern of very limited testing for GW2. Still, it's a step in the right direction for eager fans.

[UPDATE: ArenaNet elaborated on the beta information by explaining "We have a studio internal selection process for our Closed Beta that starts on Friday. There will be no public application form.]
 

Custodian

Loyal Freddie
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Dec 22, 2003
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213
<-- fingers crossed
Been part of the closed testing of GW1 for past 7 years, from original Alpha till the current Test Krewe. Apparently that doesn't guarantee any chance of getting into Beta for GW2 :(
So crossing fingers is all I can do...
 

Cirventhor

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http://www.arena.net/blog/dragon

Welcome to the Year of the Dragon

By Mike O'Brien January 23rd, 2012
more on: developmentnews

Welcome to the Year of the Dragon!

Today is Lunar New Year’s Day, and according to the Asian zodiac system, the first day of the Year of the Dragon. It’s an auspicious omen for all of us at ArenaNet, as we get ready to make this our own Year of the Dragon.

According to tradition, the dragon embodies passion, independence, and ambition. We think it’s a perfect analogy for what we’re trying to accomplish with Guild Wars 2. We’re a company full of MMO and RPG fans, and we’ve set out to fundamentally rethink how you deliver an RPG experience online. So this year, the Year of the Dragon, let’s usher out old thinking – the tired old quest model, stiff repetitive combat, and monthly fees – and usher in the new.

Guild Wars 2 has captured the imagination of gamers and media all over the world with its action-oriented combat, its living world full of dynamic events, its highly personalized role-playing experience, and the handcrafted artistry that suffuses every element of the game. Last year, thousands of you joined us at shows and events all over the world to try Guild Wars 2 for yourself. This year, you’ll finally be able to immerse yourself in the vast, diverse world of Tyria.

We recently finished our first closed beta test, and we’re now ready to hold progressively larger events. In February we’ll invite select press to participate in beta testing, and in March and April we’ll aggressively ramp up the size of our beta test events so that many of you will have a chance to participate. And of course, this all leads to the release of Guild Wars 2 later this year.

So stay tuned to our official Guild Wars 2 website, our Facebook page, and this blog for more information about how to participate in an upcoming beta event.

It’s been an incredible adventure over the past five years, working with our community and our team of dedicated artists, designers, and programmers to realize this vision. This year, the seeds of that work come to fruition. We can’t wait to play the game with you.

So welcome to the Year of the Dragon – the year of Guild Wars 2.
-Mike O’Brien
ArenaNet Founder and President​

/dance
 

Overdriven

Dumpster Fire of The South
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Guild Wars 2: New Frontiers.

Looks like GW2 is going to be taking over my time when it comes out then. Not played a 3x realm game in ages.
 

Gahn

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Having a close eye on this... also the idea that you can istantly go to Mists and act as an 80 and xping while pvping + drops = win.
 

Urgat

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I concur, this is looking more and more like a game i wanna play.

If they seriously stick to their design philosophy and break away from the cookie cutter MMOs we have had since wow, it will be a winner IMO

It is VERY reminicent of DAOCs RvR system... i cant help but wonder if that is intentional, in that they realised that the DAOC RvR basic, is a good foundation formula for open pvp.
 

eksdee

FH is my second home
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It's definitely intentional. They have referenced DAoC numerous times as a big influence on WvW.
 

Fefner

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I concur, this is looking more and more like a game i wanna play.

If they seriously stick to their design philosophy and break away from the cookie cutter MMOs we have had since wow, it will be a winner IMO

It is VERY reminicent of DAOCs RvR system... i cant help but wonder if that is intentional, in that they realised that the DAOC RvR basic, is a good foundation formula for open pvp.

They have already said that they used to play Daoc and that's why they wanted a WvWvW type of thing going on in GW2. It looks very very good there are a few questions i want them to answer like is there different types of speed like in Daoc, unlike WAR where everyone was running the same speed players couldn't get away or catch ppl in the distance but apart from that and a few little concerns it looks very good, the frontier zones are huge, might be bigger than the frontiers in daoc which is good to see.
 

Soazak

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Saw some of the WvW videos last night, it reminds me a lot of old daoc frontiers and the keeps are massive. The center keep in the Eternal Battleground was probably about twice the size of Jordheim/TNN/Camelot, first time I've been so amazed at a game since seeing the daoc back when I was playing UO.

And PvP is actually something they're incorporating into the game, rather than just an addon/minigame that they slap on at the end.
 

Ctuchik

FH is my second home
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Saw some of the WvW videos last night, it reminds me a lot of old daoc frontiers and the keeps are massive. The center keep in the Eternal Battleground was probably about twice the size of Jordheim/TNN/Camelot.

Oh god, for some reason that brings back memories of warhammers city sieges...
 

Dvaerg

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I am gonna play this game with a few rl friends, i am pretty sure this is gonna be a great mmorpg to play.

Good PvP game is what i've been looking for in a while, cannot wait for it to be released :)
 

Soazak

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I am gonna play this game with a few rl friends, i am pretty sure this is gonna be a great mmorpg to play.

Good PvP game is what i've been looking for in a while, cannot wait for it to be released :)

I think everyone is waiting for this game, it sounds like the first game that actually has PvP (rather than a minigame that's just added onto a PvE game).

Will LT be playing?
 

Dvaerg

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I think everyone is waiting for this game, it sounds like the first game that actually has PvP (rather than a minigame that's just added onto a PvE game).

Will LT be playing?

I think Itsumi / Docmandu will be playing it, not sure about the rest of them :)
 

Chosen

Resident Freddy
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Hopefully the WvW zones allows exp bonuses etc, so people can go there for exp. So that I can go there and gank them :D
 

Ctuchik

FH is my second home
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While you probably can XP there like in DAoC it probably won't be worth the time invested because the game itself doesn't promote grinding. So if you wanna greygank you will have to find one that is sidekicked by a higher level, which potentially makes him higher level then you. :)
 

Soazak

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Hopefully the WvW zones allows exp bonuses etc, so people can go there for exp. So that I can go there and gank them :D

Like Ctuchik said, probably not, but there are towers & supply routes that should be used by smallman groups etc, I know that's what you ment rather than grey ganking :D
 

Chosen

Resident Freddy
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Like Ctuchik said, probably not, but there are towers & supply routes that should be used by smallman groups etc, I know that's what you ment rather than grey ganking :D
Nothing wrong with grey ganking :(

Hehe, anyway Carl. Paid a friend to build up ancientreign guildwebsite.(URL will be www.ancient-reign.com which is redirecting to another website atm) - so when he is done I will start preparing the guild for the game release! Hopefull original AR and new FH members will come join us. Aswell as some of the AR members I had on Rift!

This also includes you, as I still need my officers :)
 

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