Guild Wars 2

Melbosa · September 11, 2012, 03:36:08 PM

So I know we had that discussion about the banning of the accounts (which is here if you missed it: http://forums.righteouswrath.com/index.php/topic,9041.0.html), which got me talking to those people whom I know are playing it. They inspired me so much to try out the game, and with the servers coming online and sales being again released, I bought myself a copy yesterday and tried it out for 4 or so hours.

What can I say? Well it is another MMO, although it really borrows some good innovations from other games. It has some of the SWTOR cut-scene story telling elements, it has Rift's world events that just happen and you auto group for, it has the weapon/talent system from TERA (or at least I am told), and WoW style interface for slickness and cleanness. What it is supposed to do is remove the grind out of the game, making you just want to play and explore (as it really should be), but I am not convinced it has yet. It should have taken so much more from all the MMOs to really remove the grind.

The Grind Left:

Crafting - while the crafting is almost, you still have to find a "crafting" station and you have to actually craft the item in game play time. SWTOR really improved this by letting you have "crew" that can do all that for you. Not many fantasy books I read had the heroes actually make their weapons and armour... nor should I have to in a game really - just something for me to sink time and grind into for resources.

Questing - while there really is the only real main story quest line, GW2 has area based events or quests that just show up or the player initiates. This means except for the main story line there isn't any need to go to a quest giver or turn in a completed quest. But these area based questing still has the kill 10 of these or 5 of those - find 8 hammers - etc. It is dressed up well though, as I didn't notice the grind at all until around lvl 10 when I ran out of places to go and things to do that I had to repeat some "area" based questing.

What it does well:

Autogrouping - when doing live events, area questing or pvp, it really does well to work well in combining your efforts with those around you allowing you to share in the experience and loot without having to make that fast group. While this removes the social aspect a bit from the game... I don't think I said a single word to anyone yet... it does allow you to not miss out of kills.

Loot - just like Diablo, loot is your own, and no one else can see you have loot to grab. Speeds it up as there isn't any round-robin rolls for stuff (at least not that I have seen yet)

Movement - while your character may not move very fast, the waypoint system is designed to allow you to move around the area very fast once you discover them of course.

Exploration - given that all the questing is area based (again except for the main story line for your character), exploring is pretty much required. They give you help though, as you have markers with Skill Challenges, Points of Interest, Tourist Sites, and Scout locations that drive you to particular areas. And there is a bonus to exploring - and no it isn't just an achievement like so many other MMOs - there is supposed to be loot rewards as well.

Combat - simpler than most MMOs, although I am starting to see the subtle way it could become more complicated and strategic. Dodge also adds an element of console play into the game, giving you the ability to choose when to dodge an attack. But yes combat is more streamlined, giving you about 5 attacks to really work with, and perhaps more if you swap your weapons mid fight. WHAT? Swap weapons mid fight - WHY? Well cause your attacks are based on your weapon in this MMO. And your unlocked attacks are based on weapon usage counts - the more you swing that axe, the better you become and the more skills open up.

Load Time - by far the fastest loading MMO I've played in years. This is a huge bonus as I'd rather be playing than waiting for the next zone to load.

F2P after purchase - micro-transactions don't give you bonuses to character development, at least not that I can find yet. So really is an F2P after you buy the game (like Minecraft in that sense). No monthly fees.

So again this is only my impression with 4 hours in. If your interested I'll keep you posted as I go.

Anyone else wanting to check this one out?

Mr. Analog · September 11, 2012, 04:04:34 PM

So far what I've found interesting are the real time events, that seems like a great way to get people together in the world, there is a major dragon battle you can get yourself into at high level and that just looks awesome. I also like the classes and some of the race designs.

Criticisms I've heard about are mainly that hitting the level cap goes by fairly quickly and that there is a lack of end game content (though I hear that gripe about every damn game). I've also seen that they don't have group matchmaking set up for guilds on world v world which basically makes it like Battlegrounds on WoW (i.e. you can't really plan strategy if you don't know what side you'll be shuffled to) you could end up fighting your guildies rather than playing alongside them. I recall watching a Yogscast video where the guys got matched on opposing teams and there was no way to get around it so they ended up fighting each other. I also think the whole pay to be a captain thing is a dumb idea (but that's just me).

I do like the gameplay I've seen so far but I am concerned about regular gameplay, I mean we haven't even gotten a single Co-Op session of TF2 rolling, which makes me think our schedules might be incompatible and I don't want to end up trailing behind again like in WoW, that sucked ass (that's what lead me to the original Guild Wars lol).

Mr. Analog · September 11, 2012, 07:15:56 PM

Darn it you got me thinking about GW2 now, I had so much fun with the other game and I'm sure they'll fix some of the matchmaking stuff

AUGH

Mr. Analog · September 12, 2012, 08:27:09 AM

Okay, I'm actually REALLY interested in this as I've been hunting around for another game I can sink my teeth into.

The main question I have is how scalable the UI is, I'm a little apprehensive when I read posts like this: https://forum-en.guildwars2.com/forum/support/tech/Increasing-the-User-Interface-Scale-Beyond-Larger

But from the sounds of things it may have been fixed? http://www.gamespot.com/guild-wars-2/forum/does-the-larger-text-ui-scale-option-work-in-the-retail-version-63853264/

Melbosa · September 12, 2012, 08:47:02 AM

If you download the game I can let you log in as me to test it out before you buy. Its just a 12GB download

Mr. Analog · September 12, 2012, 08:57:10 AM

Quote from: Melbosa on September 12, 2012, 08:47:02 AM
If you download the game I can let you log in as me to test it out before you buy. Its just a 12GB download

Ooh, you know here's what you can try, set your resolution to 1280 x 1024 and scale the GUI up to the largest possible setting (no matter how goofy looking) and e-mail me the screen shot!

If I can hack it with reading glasses we may be ok

Now I gotta pick a class!

Melbosa · September 12, 2012, 12:26:14 PM

Here you go, for all to see at the largest settings I could find.

Mr. Analog · September 12, 2012, 12:54:40 PM

That's weird, is that windowed mode?

EDIT: Sorry I meant 1920 x 1080!!!

Sorry sorry!!

Melbosa · September 12, 2012, 10:54:18 PM

You asked for it, so you get it.

Mr. Analog · September 12, 2012, 11:15:01 PM

That's actually pretty good!

...dammit

Mr. Analog · September 13, 2012, 07:10:11 AM

A'ight I'm currently downloading GW2 at 2 MB/s

I'll try to get on tonight, I'm making a roast for tomorrow though LOL so we'll see how that goes.

Melbosa · September 13, 2012, 08:40:33 AM

I'm playing on Isle of Janthir, character Melbosa, Charr race.

Mr. Analog · September 13, 2012, 08:55:05 AM

Quote from: Melbosa on September 13, 2012, 08:40:33 AM
I'm playing on Isle of Janthir, character Melbosa, Charr race.

Groovy.

I'm not sure what my starting profession should be, some of the support classes like Engineer look fun (bombs n' guns n' turrets!!) but I figure I'll solo for a bit first (maybe ranger or warrior) to feel out the game. I do like pets as well so who knows maybe necromancy is for me lol too many choices.

Melbosa · September 13, 2012, 09:09:27 AM

I'm a Warrior with Weapons/Armouring as professions. All I need is a harpoon gun to finish off my weapon skills and I'll be good for all around battle!

Mr. Analog · September 13, 2012, 09:12:26 AM

Quote from: Melbosa on September 13, 2012, 09:09:27 AM
I'm a Warrior with Weapons/Armouring as professions. All I need is a harpoon gun to finish off my weapon skills and I'll be good for all around battle!

I like a lot of the AOE/controller stuff from what I've seen on the youtubes especially for PVP/WvW

I'll probably spend a few days feeling out a couple classes.