Author Topic: Guild Wars 2 - U jelly cuz its free  (Read 80367 times)

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etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #60 on: May 04, 2012, 11:41:23 PM »
Another cool video showing how the events play out through little stories and player action instead of just appearing and disappearing according to a timer.


etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #61 on: May 05, 2012, 02:23:23 PM »
I think Boons/Conditions are too hard to notice right now. I really liked the visual cues on health bars for conditions that GW1 had. I could immediately tell when I was poisoned or a foe was bleeding. You can tell that you're crippled in GW2 because of the animation, so it would be nice if other conditions had tells that strong. They keep messing with Confusion damage and stacking because they're worried about people killing themselves in PVP. They wouldn't have that big a worry if it was easier to tell you had the condition on you.

Phoenix Dark

  • I got no game it's just some bitches understand my story
  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #62 on: May 05, 2012, 02:27:30 PM »
Everything about player and enemy statuses is hard to notice tbh. bleh

When is the next beta weekend? Hopefully a full, extended beta starts soon
010

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #63 on: May 05, 2012, 08:51:56 PM »
I think they were trying to make things easier by getting rid of hexes because I guess they felt there were too many hexes to learn in GW1. (As though reading and learning is bad.) But then in their overcompensation for this they created a lot of boons and conditions and maybe created a new problem.

ANet has shown they can work it out, so I'm not that worried. Creating more recognizable icons or moving where boons and conditions are placed are not a big overhaul. Unlike other companies, this isn't ANet's first run at this sort of thing. They've gone through beta processes before with online games. Hell, the Factions/Nightfall previews featured classes that played extremely different than the way they played once those games were launched.

And yeah, I expect the next beta in a few weeks. I am a critical player, but it really was an impressive first go at the game. I did the Tera and TOR betas, and both were starting to wear on me towards the end of the weekend beta tests. I am pretty much addicted to GW2 already. I want all of the GW2 features in other games. Going from a city like Divinity's Reach back to Meridian in Rift is jarring. I guess Guild Wars 2 doesn't totally break the MMO mold, but it establishes a new model and standards.

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #64 on: May 10, 2012, 01:47:47 AM »
from facebook:

Quote
We’ll be conducting a stress test on Monday May 14 from 11 AM to 6:00 PM PDT (-7 GMT).

This special test event is open only to Pre-Purchase customers who have registered their accounts. With your help, we can conduct important tests and address some of the issues we identified during our first Beta Weekend Event. During this event, all you need to do is play normally with a new or existing character on your Beta account using the same game client. Please note that since this is a stress test of our servers, you may experience some in-game performance issues. If you’ve pre-purchased Guild Wars 2 and wish to participate in the stress test, we recommend that you register the account and download the game client.

Pre-Purchase customers, log in to the Beta Forums for more information and/or to download the Beta client if needed.

https://forum-en.guildwars2.com/forum/stress/news/Getting-Started/169235

Having issues logging in? Contact Support: https://support.guildwars2.com/

~RB2

Hopefully this means a full BWE to come. They were doing these same sorta stress tests the week before the last BWE.

Phoenix Dark

  • I got no game it's just some bitches understand my story
  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #65 on: May 10, 2012, 02:23:20 AM »
Sounds good. I was contemplating deleting the client lol
010

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #66 on: May 11, 2012, 03:48:19 PM »
There's a discussion in the GAF thread about levels that I found interesting but I didn't want to get trapped in that thread.

Apparently, Guild Wars 2 originally had no levels, but the lack of levels confused their testers and made them less likely to pursue things. They added levels back in to give players a sense of purpose to things, but it's interesting that some people couldn't handle the levelingl goal being removed. I am also interested in seeing how the game would be without levels, because my level wasn't so important in the beta. If you had a large enough group, you could handle higher level content. I could also handle those veteran oakhearts solo if I played smart. There's also the scaling factor and sidekicking system which might have come from the original no-levels design.

Though I have to believe that skill points or skill/trait challenges were in the game then, making for a goal on how to advance. In a way, that's just leveling under a different form. The difference is whether its horizontal progression or vertical progression. As in, your stats don't generally improve but what you can do and how you do it changes.

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #67 on: May 14, 2012, 04:20:55 PM »
I have a totally opposite feel for the game. It's more fun to me than any other MMO. Better combat, awesome world, really neat PVE experience and tons of detail and extra stuff to do.

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #68 on: May 14, 2012, 09:33:45 PM »
Well I got a crap load of screenshots this time for the blog. Took some high res screenshots, too. Our server still sucks at WvWvW.

I did some cool stuff over by Beetletun. I also got to do the Shadow Behemoth finally. Couldn't find any jumping puzzles, but did do the diving board in Lion's Arch.

I just sort of wandered into Beetletun while exploring for some new stuff to do. When I arrived, it was peaceful. I did the Heart in town, which consisted of finding hiding children and convincing them to do chores, while also killing some rats to clean up the town, along with stomping out wasp nests. I found what looked like a dungeon entrance that is a Mansion above Beetletun. I am not sure what level the instance was for and I didn't go inside. I doubt it was open for the beta. After I explored the town, I headed out towards the zone border. The Beetletun farms had come under attack and a few players and myself turne dback the ifnal wave of centaurs. After that, I collected sprinkler parts and handed them in to the farmer. Once we collected enough, he fixed the sprinklers and doused the fires that the Centaurs had made. A Seraph soldier urged us on to drive back the Centaurs. We pushed through a camp quickly and it turned into a Seraph camp with a waypoint. Then we headed for their boss's camp, and that took the two of us awhile. It was just me and an Elemantalist, but we managed to pull off the event. That then cleared that camp and the Seraph took over there, too. A weaponsmith opened up and sold me gear from the Centaur, including a sword upgrade for myself.

The Centaurs never stopped their assault and another attack to take back their camp came while I was browsing the weaponsmith. We pushed them back and I moved on towards the direction I was heading. where I came across the main Centaur camp. I had a few with me at the time, but the Chieftan showed up and summoned like 10 adds and our asses were smoked. I respawned at the waypoint we had taken from the Centaurs and made my way back up. Along the way, I ran into a human talking to a giant Ettin about joining up to take out the Centaur. The Ettin wanted me to convince other Ettins to take down Centaurs. This involved dialoge with friendly Ettins and depending on which dialogue choice you made in response, the Ettins either ran off ot fight Centaurs or got mad at you and you had to beat down the Ettin. This was a little Heart area along the way. After completing this, I tried that main Centaur camp and got my ass kicked again, but this time the Centaurs had plowed through the rest of the players and taken back that waypoint, so I had to spawn way back at Beeltetun. I ran in to take back the Waypoint, but then decided to move on. I just wanted the waypoint friendly so I could respawn.

I headed towards my story quest, which was bugged. I finished it but it didn't count as finished and I just gave up on it. The small instances were having trouble during the stress test. Some others had bugged story quests. Didn't matter because the swamp was nearby and thats when the Shadow Behemoth arrived and I got to do that.

After that, I found the entrance to Kessex Hills (level 15+ area).

Phoenix Dark

  • I got no game it's just some bitches understand my story
  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #69 on: May 14, 2012, 11:50:28 PM »
wait, is the beta back up?
010

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #70 on: May 15, 2012, 12:09:39 AM »
The stress test was today

Some screens:












etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #71 on: May 15, 2012, 01:20:04 AM »
And a high res shot:

Quote
(Image removed from quote.)

Phoenix Dark

  • I got no game it's just some bitches understand my story
  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #72 on: May 15, 2012, 02:45:45 AM »
Wow I had no idea, fuck
010

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #73 on: May 15, 2012, 03:30:07 AM »
I posted it here. It was through prepurchase access only though.

Phoenix Dark

  • I got no game it's just some bitches understand my story
  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #74 on: May 15, 2012, 03:35:44 AM »
bah that's what I get for coming into the thread, seeing long posts, saying "bah ruzbeh and etiolet going at it again lol" and logging off  :lol
010

Tasty

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #75 on: May 15, 2012, 01:50:14 PM »
Looks like LotRO. Although the Imgur JPG compression ain't helping.

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #76 on: May 15, 2012, 02:23:19 PM »
I only played Mesmer but I liked the combat. The F keys are a tricky placement, but hopefully they expand keybinding before release.

I actually prefer the combat to Tera's just due to all the movement. In Tera, you attack, watch your attack animation finish (because you can't move while attacking), then see your enemies tell and stop attacking and either use your escape skill or just move around the enemy and watch it miss, then go back to attacking. In GW2, you move and attack, and when you see the enemy tell, you can go right into a dodge or escape skill.  As a Mesmer, I was running this beta with sword + torch or pistol and a staff. In melee, I could approach with Illusionary Leap, then quickly swap positions with my clone to stun an enemy attack, then go into blurred frenzy when it attacks again for distortion. If the enemies were not dead yet then I could shatter for an aoe or a diversion to interrupt again. I also had a vanish/blind on my torch and a stun on my pistol for defensive purposes. I began liking the pistol offhand more for PVE as the stun on the 5th skill is nice and it also has a ricochet aoe effect. Plus, the illusion duelist combos with the Chaos Storm on the staff to apply confusion to the target. I stuck with the torch in PvP for the stealth escape.

I also started using combo fields a lot more. When I was with an Ele in either PVE or PVP, I would drop a Chaos Storm near one of their fire aoes, then use feigned escape through it. This counted as a "leap" finisher and granted me both Chaos Armor from my Chaos Storm and Fire Armor from their aoe field. This made feigned escape a lot more useful, other than being a clone maker.

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #77 on: May 15, 2012, 07:05:12 PM »
Yeah, they don't have a strafe animation in yet. It's just your running animation being done while you move sideways. Thus the skatey feel.

So someone got hacked or just blurped up these NDA images from playing an Asura character: http://imgur.com/a/JvEhm#16

Asura starter zone shots and one Sylvari warrior screenshot of their starter area.


etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #78 on: May 20, 2012, 10:22:02 PM »
You really love your chat bubbles.


Asuras rule.  8)

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #79 on: May 21, 2012, 12:10:24 AM »
I'll post the full reddit leak. No way of knowing how much of it is true.

http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/tw0kr/patch_notes_after_last_beta/
Quote
Leaked patch notes with some useful information.
http://i.imgur.com/mYBht.png
Some other images related to that:
http://imgur.com/pZ9NE
http://imgur.com/zCHtr
http://imgur.com/Nk158
http://imgur.com/dJ5tH
http://imgur.com/pAEhE
http://imgur.com/AuQrg
Also Droknars Forge has sunk.
Update:
http://i.imgur.com/rv8dG.png
Seems that high level dungeons were being tested internally.
More rumors (take in with grain of salt):
The "Mystic Forge" (found inside Lion's Arch) is used to make some of the most rarest-high-level items. Many of it's recipes are a total mystery.
The game is pretty close to finishing, just some high level zones needing work.
Asura zones/quests are coming along pretty fast. Sylvari zones lag you like a mother----- (framerate issues)
So a list of 'big stuff' needing some work to make it readyish for release:
Sylvari zones optimization
Structured PvP being finished (still in development)
Content (lot of quest logs etc missing and tagged with weird numbering like QEB82E and high level zones seem to miss some hearts and such.)
There's only 4 structured PvP maps in atm, the two you guys are familiar with and two more. The other two are called "Memories of the past", which is basically a conquest map mixed with some oldskool GvG elements mixed into it like killing guildlord wins you the game and "something something Capricorn", which is a coastal map with a huge pirate ship, water and beaches.
Obviously you can't just walk up to the guildlord and kill it easily. It takes time to get to him even, there's a castle gate and bodyguards and it's fairly close to the enemy teams spawn.
Pirate map
narrow bayish coast with capture points on each side
Pirate ship in the middle of the two capture points
Capture point under the pirate ship, so in the water.
Pirate ship has cannons.
Caribbeanish setting.
Memories of the past
3 capture points, two near the spawn points and one in the middle.
Each team has a fort, with a guild lord in it.
Killing guild lord win you the game, but it´s not easy getting to him. He´s protected by fortification and bodyguards.
Grassish setting.

A GvG inspired map is a big giant cocktease. No mention of class changes is kind of suspicious. In GW1, any skill changes or class changes were always noted. This is supposedly for core testers, so the notes may be more about technical changes and things to be tested.

I will error on the side of doubt.

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #80 on: May 25, 2012, 07:26:06 PM »


chronovore

  • relapsed dev
  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #81 on: May 29, 2012, 02:01:10 AM »
Gelflings!

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #82 on: May 29, 2012, 03:31:37 AM »
Quote
Beta Weekend Event 2 will begin on Friday, June 8th, at noon PDT (GMT-7) and will run until Sunday, June 10th, at 11:59 p.m. PDT (GMT-7).

If that isn’t enough to get you all bursting with excitement, here is some more news:
Your existing beta characters have not been deleted, and you will be able to continue right where you left off! This means that enterprising players with characters level 35 or higher will be able to test their mettle against the explorable version of the Ascalonian Catacombs dungeon!

So much for the once-a-month betas. They really need to start communicating more on a release time frame. You can't have people pre-purchasing a game and not releasing it for six months. This isn't Kickstarter, yo.

Also:

Quote
For those who haven’t yet pre-purchased Guild Wars 2, you’ll still have a chance to play in the beta. We’re teaming up with our partners to give away keys for Beta Weekend Event 2, so follow us on Twitter and Facebook to get the latest news.

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #83 on: May 29, 2012, 02:33:09 PM »

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta unf unf UNF
« Reply #84 on: June 05, 2012, 02:11:04 PM »
Well now that e3 put me to sleep, it's time to wake up for awesome games.

http://www.arena.net/blog/the-big-beta-weekend-preview

Quote
Keep Your Characters!
Or create new human, norn, or charr characters and start a whole new story. Since players will be able to play with their existing characters from the first Beta Weekend Event, they can experience some of the new higher level content.

Enter the Catacombs (Explorable Mode)
Looking for a real challenge? Try out the explorable mode of the Ascalonian Catacombs dungeon for groups of ambitious level 35+ players. The tough explorable mode of the Catacombs presents a party with three different paths through the dungeon, each with its own dangers and rewards. Enter if you dare!

Visit Lovely Gendarran Fields
We’ve opened up a new map, Gendarran Fields, for players to explore. A level 25 to 35 map just outside Lion’s Arch, Gendarran Fields is a picturesque area of pine trees and rolling hills, teeming with wild beasts and bandit gangs.

Unlock the Mysteries of the Mystic Forge
On a less dangerous note, the Mystic Forge has arrived in Lion’s Arch. This strange forge actually holds the imprisoned djinn Zommoros, who hails from distant Elona. If you offer the Mystic Forge gifts (like unneeded items and weapons), you will receive a gift in return. Got a pair of pistols that you don’t need? Drop them in the Mystic Forge and see  what Zommoros gives you in exchange!

Expanded World vs. World
Once again, the Mists will echo with the sound of combat as we open up World vs. World for the weekend. As usual, massive armies of players from different servers will battle for supremacy on four huge maps, but this time we’ve added a couple of interesting new twists.
Players can now take their WvW battle underground in a new “mini dungeon” beneath the central map. This brand-new subterranean level is full of tricks and traps that can be used against enemy players, and is home to the aptly named Dark Room, which players will have to see (or not) to believe.
We’ve also added skill challenges, dynamic events, and even jump puzzles to the WvW maps. Why are these PvE elements being integrated into WvW gameplay? “We want to make the transition from PvE to World vs. World easy and natural for players,” says developer Matt Witter. “We always wanted additional meaningful content on the WvW maps so that players will always have something to do, even if the frontline of battle is far away.”

New Automated Player vs. Player Tournaments and More
For this beta, we’re introducing Automated PvP Tournaments. Each tournament pits eight teams of five players against each other. Teams that excel during the three-round, single-elimination tournament are rewarded with tournament chests full of valuable loot.
The PvP reward system has also been greatly improved with the creation of a two-tier reward structure that involves Glory and Rank. Put simply, Glory is a currency that players can spend to unlock reward chests stuffed with useful loot, while Rank is a measurement of your success in PvP. You’ll receive valuable reward chests as you climb in Rank.

Combat— “A Sense of Hitting”
Combat in Guild Wars 2 is more visceral than ever. We’re constantly making improvements to the entire combat experience—better timing, enhanced sound design, subtle camera shakes—to enhance what designer Jon Peters likes to call “the sense of hitting.”

Improved Overflow Servers
We listened to a lot of the input we received from players regarding their experience with overflow servers in the first Beta Weekend Event, and we’ve implemented a new party UI that tells you when party members are on a different overflow world. We’ve also given party members the ability to fast travel to overflow worlds where other members of their party are located, and we’ve made it easier to keep party members together when moving between maps. It’s all designed to give you as smooth an experience as possible.

Improved Chat
Communication in general has been greatly improved, as well. We’re adding the much-requested chat bubbles, as well as map chat and an updated local chat function, both of which make it easier to communicate with other players.
New Key-Binding Feature
This is one of our most requested features. For those who want to customize their gameplay experience, we’re introducing a new, easy-to-use key-binding interface, which now allows you to bind modifier keys.

UI Improvements
MMO players are often very particular about their user interface, and we’re no exception. We’ve listened to your feedback and have refined our UI to make it even easier to use. We’ve revamped the mini-map in the bottom-right corner of the screen. The formerly round mini-map is now square and can easily be resized for better navigation.
UI Artist Vicki Ebberts says, “Little adjustments, like making the map resizable or wrapping the dodge meter around the top of the health bubble, may not seem like a big deal at first, but over the course of many hours spent playing a game, you start to appreciate a well-designed interface.”

Tiers for Skills
We’ve organized each profession’s elite and utility skills into three different tiers, or levels. When you get enough skills in one tier, you unlock the next level of skills. Why the change from the previous model, which let players choose from all the available skills at once?
“The tier system gives players both a sense of progression and accomplishment,” says Lead Designer Eric Flannum. “It encourages them to experiment with different skills as they increase in power, and it avoids overwhelming new players with a huge list of skills to choose from.”
“Plus,” Flannum adds, “the tier system is more scalable and expandable. We can more easily add new skills in the future with this system.”

The Gem Store is under New Management
The Black Lion Trading Company out of Lion’s Arch has officially taken over operation of the Gem Store, Currency Exchange, and Trading Post. Its new owner’s first action was to completely overhaul the Gem Store.
As a result, the all-new Gem Store is easier to use and has a greater variety of items, from the decorative—like dye packs and costumes—to the whimsical—like the Box o’ Fun, which spawns a chest that applies random crazy effects to everyone who touches it. Each beta player will receive 500 free gems on their account, so do a little shopping on us!

In Closing…
There’s no shortage of things to see and do during our second Beta Weekend Event, and this is just a small sample of what awaits you when you log in.
We’ll see you in-game from Friday, June 8th, at noon PDT (GMT-7) until Sunday, June 10th, at 11:59 p.m. PDT (GMT-7).
 

boo to skill tiers, but interesting that they did not comment at all on trait tiers, which everyone seems to hate the very idea of

The added WvWvW stuff and Automated Tournaments means I will be checking out more pvp stuff. I'm like level 18, so I could try leveling to 30 and get into the dungeon or I could try to get to the WvWvW dungeon.
« Last Edit: June 05, 2012, 02:15:58 PM by etiolate »

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (BWE2 Starts Friday at 12pm pst)
« Reply #85 on: June 07, 2012, 09:38:40 PM »
A reminder for like the two others playing that Beta Weekend 2 starts tomorrow at noon.  There is a new 5gb patch up to download with the client.

http://www.arena.net/blog/the-worlds-of-the-guild-wars-2-beta

List of servers, plus 500 gems for everyone, plus 2000 for registering your credit card. Also, world transfers are free for a select amount of time during the opening of the beta. I tried to get a rough estimate of how many will be in the beta from their youtube guy, but couldn't get a response.

There will be 96 servers in total with dedicated french and german language servers.

Some PVE and Combat tips I wrote up:
http://themoletariat.wordpress.com/2012/05/20/the-subtletycombat-in-guild-wars-2/
http://themoletariat.wordpress.com/2012/05/25/the-subtleties-group-combat/
http://themoletariat.wordpress.com/2012/05/25/an-appendix-to-group-combat/
http://themoletariat.wordpress.com/2012/05/16/the-new-pve/
« Last Edit: June 07, 2012, 09:41:13 PM by etiolate »

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (BWE2 Starts Friday at 12pm pst)
« Reply #86 on: June 07, 2012, 10:06:51 PM »
skill tiers is just annoying progression gimmick

trait tiers are the devil

I make pro builds. Let me do my shit.

Phoenix Dark

  • I got no game it's just some bitches understand my story
  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (BWE2 Starts Friday at 12pm pst)
« Reply #87 on: June 08, 2012, 12:09:07 AM »
I should have time to play woot
010

originalz

  • Z!?
  • Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (BWE2 Starts Friday at 12pm pst)
« Reply #88 on: June 08, 2012, 12:14:46 AM »
I really want a key for this!

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (BWE2 Starts Friday at 12pm pst)
« Reply #89 on: June 08, 2012, 01:01:28 AM »
There was a bunch of beta key contests but I think they're all over. Amazon is giving out keys if you pre-order, but everywhere else you have to pay the full amount.

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (BWE2 Starts Friday at 12pm pst)
« Reply #90 on: June 08, 2012, 07:11:30 PM »
damn you're a drama queen

Phoenix Dark

  • I got no game it's just some bitches understand my story
  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (BWE2 Starts Friday at 12pm pst)
« Reply #91 on: June 08, 2012, 08:19:26 PM »
bah, MLG started today. I'll have to check out the beta a bit later lol
010

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (BWE2 Starts Friday at 12pm pst)
« Reply #92 on: June 08, 2012, 09:33:00 PM »
It's already way better than SWTOR or anything else out there. I don't even know what you're freaking out over Ruzbeh. Go write in your LJ.

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (BWE2 Starts Friday at 12pm pst)
« Reply #93 on: June 09, 2012, 12:45:24 AM »
Been doing mostly pvp due to wanting to look at the trait tier changes.

Should hit PVE again once I burn myself out on phantasms.

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (BWE2 Starts Friday at 12pm pst)
« Reply #94 on: June 09, 2012, 06:08:56 AM »


Unlocked that sword after kicking ass in PVP :rock


Phoenix Dark

  • I got no game it's just some bitches understand my story
  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (BWE2 Starts Friday at 12pm pst)
« Reply #96 on: June 10, 2012, 08:17:56 PM »
Bah, completely had no time to even download the patch/changes or play
010

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (BWE2 Starts Friday at 12pm pst)
« Reply #97 on: June 10, 2012, 10:04:15 PM »
Beta doesn't end until 12am PST tonight

Ruzbeh, iterative process is a term they've been using for awhile. When first shown, the game had potions and mana. Both were removed as part of the iterative design process. The original Guild Wars was not as good at launch as it was by Eye of the North. By the time they got to EotN, they had greatly improved their PVE design from what originally existed. The Hero system is ten times better than their original henchmen system. The first GW had no typical dungeons, but EotN had dungeons with traps and keys and different routes. That dungeon design is then advanced again through GW2 where the traps and environmental hazards are added to a system that creates four different paths out of one dungeon, with random events that change the experience. The Mission system from GW1 became the story quests in GW2. So on and so on.

I am having a ton of fun and I wish they would give prepurchasers an ongoing beta, even if its this same build. Other games are boring me right now and I'd rather just play more GW2. I ran into so many cool discoveries in Kessex Hills yeterday. Frog people that turned me into pigs, Giants with a secret treasure horde, underwater Quaggan cities, sea witches, Krait slave traders, waterfalls, a battle over a bridge that you can destroy, underwater passages, destroyer caverns with deadly fissures, and escort missions that are actually good.

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (BWE2 Starts Friday at 12pm pst)
« Reply #98 on: June 13, 2012, 03:18:26 AM »
My Impressions:

I have these moments during the beta weekends where, after I have just finished a few Events or Hearts in a small area, I stop to look around and ponder what to do. I am mindful of the idea that if I talked to more scouts in the world, I’d have somewhere marked out on my map as a next destination, but I have avoided scouts for my own reason. I like to explore. The times where I’ve filled up my tasks and think I have nothing left to do tend to lead to my favorite moments.


At a certain point in the beta, I turned off the UI and began fighting moa birds without the UI to assist me, taking screenshots of the combat without the combat text or UI to explain what I was doing or what was being done to me. I did this to have some clean combat shots for this blog, but I also did it to become better at reading combat and using my skills.  This was a moment where I was not pursuing a quest-like goal, but doing whatever I wanted. It just so happened that I was fighting Moas by the lake in Kessex hills. This is where a fishing village had been repeatedly attacked by Krait slavers. I knew I needed to learn more underwater skills, so I took my blind combat into the lake.

I quickly found that I actually liked the Mesmer’s trident weapon skills more than most of the Mesmer’s land-based skills. The Trident is about the only thing in game that makes the Confusion condition matter. I noticed that the lake had an opening on the far end, at the opposite shore from where I was fighting the moa birds. I swam off in that direction, picking off krait slavers along the way, and learning my trident skills.

At the lake opening, I found a shallow tributary with some fish and crab, along with those kraits. I swam my way through this watery avenue until I came upon an even greater lake than the previous one from which I had came. I turned my UI back on, and saw that a heart had opened up somewhere near me, along with a skill point challenge. I tried to find a way back up on land, finally locating a low ledge to my left. When I got onto the ledge, I noticed a watery cavern was just below me. I hopped down into the cavern and found a Hylek waiting for me.



What I had come across was the “pig quest”, a heart in which the Hylek shaman turns you into a pig and you forage the cavern for truffles. I had seen youtubes of this event before, but had no idea where it actually was. I was excited to find it, and found the heart a nice bit of fun. While doing my little piggy truffle shuffle, I heard some Hyleks talking in the water. I hopped into the water, found an underwater passage and followed it all the way down and around, until I came up into a hidden cavern that was home to a tiny Hylek encampment.

After finishing the heart, I found my way back out and tried to find the skill challenge nearby. It took some climbing, but I did run across a stinky Asuran engineer who had some weird stink bomb contraption. He challenged me to see if I could handle his invention and we proceeded to battle. His “stinky” contraption lobbed poison all over the ground and the fight was rather challenging. I did manage to take him down and receive my reward. Looking over my shoulder, I saw what looked like an Asuran outpost on the beach.

I swam over to this outpost and found that it was full of strange races, some new and some from the first game. There were Asurans, but there were also Caromi, Sylvari and Quaggans. The Quaggan seemed to be the locals of the area, and a rather annoying one kept begging me to do something about the Sea Witch. I finally said yes, and a boss Dynamic Event popped up in the middle of the lake.



After selling off my junk items, I dived back into the lake in search of this Sea Witch.

Inside the lake was another heart, and another Quaggan. This task consisted of checking crabbing traps and fighting crabs, krait and the rest of the things that probably scare Quaggan. Given their perosnalities, I think everything scares the Quaggan. While i could handle the previous lake’s Krait warriors, this lake was decidedly more reinforced with Krait militia. As I tried to complete the heart and find the Sea Witch, I kept running into more and more foes. Once I finally found the mouth of the Sea Witch’s cave, I saw that it was guarded by veteran Krait that proceeded to run me out of town. A nearby player helped me escape, but I decided to put the Sea Witch on hold.

After I went back to the crabbing work, I found another opening in the underwater geology. Wandering in, I came to a new dynamic event. I had found a Quaggan town underwater that was being attacked by slavers. This was one of my favorite events, but also one of the more vile events, and for the same reason. First, I was doing it alone, and I was doing it all for the Quaggan. I fought off wave after wave of Krait, stopping to free the Quaggan that had been shackled by the slavers. This event allowed me to use all the underwater skills I had just learned, and my reward for completing it was hearing a chorus of Quaggan conversation.

The Quaggan look like manatees and talk like rejects from a really bad children’s show. When I had run off the Krait, the town mayor remarked “Stwoopid Kwait!” The villagers looked to blame someone and rambled on about recovering something. They celebrated and discussed what next to do. I felt like I had, by myself, saved these poor Quaggan townsfolk, but then again, I wasn’t so sure I wanted to hang around and hear them talk like babbies.


http://themoletariat.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/crystal-blue-aggression-beta-weekend-event-2-impressions/

More at link + more screens. Don't want to copy the whole thing to here.

Screens:



« Last Edit: June 13, 2012, 03:19:57 AM by etiolate »

rodi

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Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (BWE2 Starts Friday at 12pm pst)
« Reply #99 on: June 14, 2012, 11:44:51 PM »
I'm pretty sure that the black line is stylistic. It's a "frame", which makes sense considering the overall style of the game is supposed to mimic a painting. This game just doesn't sound like your cup of tea, but as a fantasy MMO it's really fantastic. (especially compared to some recent mmo's...)
« Last Edit: June 14, 2012, 11:47:04 PM by rodi »

etiolate

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Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (BWE2 Starts Friday at 12pm pst)
« Reply #100 on: June 15, 2012, 01:26:19 AM »
Some cool youtubes from the BWE2.

This is the WvWvW Dungeon, which is open to anyone to enter if they have access to the entrance. It's really cool, but may spoil finding it and getting through so SPOILERZ.

The Open World WvWvW Dungeon:




Team Legacy Buys and Builds 100 Golems in WvWvW:


There's a handful of videos of the finale event, but haven't found one that shows both sides of the event.

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (4 hour stress test June 27th)
« Reply #101 on: June 21, 2012, 04:43:23 PM »
Four hour stress test on June 27th from 10am PST to 2pm PST. A very small window for any pre-purchasers to log in.

And now I post purty videos





edit: According to the launcher, I had the time wrong on the stress test. Starts at 10am Pacific.
« Last Edit: June 27, 2012, 05:34:54 AM by etiolate »

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (4 hour stress test June 27th)
« Reply #102 on: June 27, 2012, 06:09:50 PM »
I finally figured out the entrance to the mini-dungeon in eternal battlegrounds. Once I got in there, I found myself fighting these people from Borlis pass. One of them invited me to a party. I didn't even realize you could be in a party in WvW with enemies. He then asks me why I killed him and I'm like "it's a pvp area and you attacked me." So I agree to stop killing he and his friends, and then his ele friend comes along and totally ignores the truce. Then they both decide to attack me. I must have really pissed them off. :lol

Didn't finish the mini-dungeon. Got to one of the tricker jumping puzzles when they shut down the servers.

Phoenix Dark

  • I got no game it's just some bitches understand my story
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Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (4 hour stress test June 27th)
« Reply #103 on: June 27, 2012, 06:38:38 PM »
I'm hearing more and more of my WoW buddies praising the game.  Should be interesting to see how many people switch

I popped on WoW last night and it was pretty dead. My guild isn't even scheduling stuff anyone since everyone is just waiting for MoP, and if people want to raid they can use the LFR option.

These 5 level mini expansions aren't going to cut it.
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naff

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Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (4 hour stress test June 27th)
« Reply #104 on: June 27, 2012, 07:02:57 PM »
You can really tell from the platforming in that dungeon these guys don't know shit about making a fun platformer. Shit looked horrendous, like Croc levels of 3D platforming jank  :-X
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etiolate

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Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (4 hour stress test June 27th)
« Reply #105 on: June 27, 2012, 07:15:46 PM »
The platforming works. It's quite different from a typical platformer, as where you're supposed to jump isn't obvious. It seems influenced by all the various exploits that have existed in MMOs to get to higher areas. These normally involve jumping right onto very thin ledges and ledge-walking around structures. A lot of the jumps are basically ledge walking. Like, the spot where I was fighting those people from the other server, I couldn't figure out where to go. There was a crumbled hillside in front of me. I kept trying to get up there and failing. (Eventually I did, but it involved figured out the right angles and spots to jump.) But that wasn't even the next way to go. That hill only lead to a stealth buff. It was back the other way where I had been scaring the other players off to that was the next step of the dungeon.

You walk in and it's like an open drop down to the water. When I first went in and saw that, I figured "wrong way", but to the left is a ledge you can jump to. Jumping around the ledge eventually got you to some broken scaffolding, and this scaffolding wrapped around and around, until you made it all the way to the top.

Many parts are quite unforgiving. If you miss a jump, you tend to have to find some stairs back up to a previous spot. Being a Mesmer, I had some advantages. My Portal spell allowed me to put down a portal before any jumping exercise, and if I missed, I could just put down the other portal to teleport right back up. Blink also allowed me to cover large gaps when I was fighting/racing the other players.

It's not Mario or Rayman. It seems designed to encourage people to mess with others and to make people figure out where the next platform really is. It's not a "fun" platformer. You don't just hop through. There's ledges all around, but some don't really lead anywhere. There's also all the stealth buff pools to allow players to sneak around without foes finding them, but then there's all the traps and trap controls. Luckily, nobody was manning the traps when I was in there. It seemed the only asshole in the dungeon was me.  The last section I was in looked like you needed a speed boost to even make the jump. I fell a little short and then portaled back up. Then the servers went down. =\

naff

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Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (4 hour stress test June 27th)
« Reply #106 on: June 27, 2012, 08:45:53 PM »
I understand that obscure level design can be intriguing and help with immersion/give the game a sense of adventure, recent Souls games did this really well imo. But it also just seemed obscure and janky to the point of making the game look crap, it's an RPG first and foremost sure, but putting stuff in that plays that bad seems more to detract from the game. It's one thing to have dark paths and pitfalls and jumps, it's another to have jumps that require a reliance on the dodgy clipping (Heads clipping through object) and trial and error. Still looks like an interesting game though, feeling the MMO buzz after getting into D3. Never taken the jump before, but I quite like having something big and consistent to play and I can't imagine D3 holding my interest for that much longer.
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etiolate

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Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (4 hour stress test June 27th)
« Reply #107 on: June 28, 2012, 12:26:57 AM »
I understand that obscure level design can be intriguing and help with immersion/give the game a sense of adventure, recent Souls games did this really well imo. But it also just seemed obscure and janky to the point of making the game look crap, it's an RPG first and foremost sure, but putting stuff in that plays that bad seems more to detract from the game. It's one thing to have dark paths and pitfalls and jumps, it's another to have jumps that require a reliance on the dodgy clipping (Heads clipping through object) and trial and error. Still looks like an interesting game though, feeling the MMO buzz after getting into D3. Never taken the jump before, but I quite like having something big and consistent to play and I can't imagine D3 holding my interest for that much longer.

Oh, it doesn't play bad. It all works. You can make the jumps. I found the mini-dungeon to be fun. It's just more Indiana Jones than it is traditional Platformer. More Adventure game than Platformer. Yet if you don't like it, it's just one bit of a huge game. It's inside of the WvWvW map, a giant multizone world that is full of stuff itself.

Wkich I will now be able to properly give impressions on! Our server finally had a good WvW match, with all three servers competing. For the first couple of hours, there was a lot of fighting on our left side supply camps and keeps. Blue server would take some of them and then we'd have to fight them back. Blue also had Stonemist Castle, the big place in the middle of the map (worth a good amount of points). It's also where the mini-dungeon resides, but I thought the entrance was inside Stonemist when there's actually an entrace right at our own Keep. =|

Anyways, after awhile red server started to show up and they were pushing at Stonemist from the north, and we were fighting blue from the southwest. At some point, blue went to our home world and started taking our supply camps and keeps. So I split off with a team that went back to our homeworld and retook everything from blue.  While we were doing this, some others on our side were shelling Stonemist walls with a trebuchet. When we retook our homeworld and repaired the keeps, our squad returned to the middle battleground. At this point, the walls were about to fall. Blue was fighting our massive push from the south and red's attack from the north. When we finally took the first wall down, there was a big firefight at the entrance. I did what I had been doing in our homeworld: Blink past the chokespot and drop a portal behind the blue server group, porting back, healing and then porting in again behind them. Not many people used my portal, but it did allow me to distract them from the rear while our zerg pushed forward.

Anyways, the inner wall went down faster than the outer wall and we pushed inside. We cleared out the guards in the center hall. Not everyone was going upstairs where the Lord was, so I was confused as to what people were doing. I fought with some blue server stragglers until suddenly red server pushed through from the north. They wiped me out, but the rest of the team managed to kill the castle Lord before red got to them. We then had to flush red out from inside our hall, but the walls repairing themselves on Lord kill and castle capture made it easier to trap them inside, keeping them from running.

Then the final bit of the stress test was our server defending Stonemist from Red and Blue attacking at the same time, but I skipped out on it to go to the dungeon. We ended up winning WvWvW in the end. It was a slow push from second place to first, but once we got Stonemist castle, we were in good shape.

So when WvWvW establishes a balanced matchup, it works well. The problem is that this was the first balanced match that our server had seen. Every other match was completely dominated by one side. One night we dominated, then when the Americans went to sleep, the other server retook everything and dominated. This was the first match I had seen with all three servers remaining active and it made a lot of difference. Since neither blue or ourselves could go in and wipe out red for extra supply and points, we remained in a back-n-forth over the same stretch of land. Then when red took some of blue's homeworld and began pushing from the north of Stonemist, all hell broke out for the Blue server and our server took advantage.

We also gained the favor of a Hylek camp which proved useful after blue retook a keep and tried pushing south towards the next supply depot. The hylek camp is right between the two, and we retreated back to it, sat there until they approached, and then used the Hyleks to wipe out their little zerg.

One thing we didn't do which was really dumb and frustrating was build a waypoint at one of our keeps for faster travel. Somehow you can upgrade keeps, including adding a waypoint, but I never ran into the NPC that offered this. I imagine it costs in game gold. 

Overall, I got like two or three levels while in WvWvW. The xp drops in chunks. When I took a keep, I got like a quarter of a level. Defending Stonemist was giving people a bar's worth of xp for each defense. The experience was far better than I had been having with WvW. I didn't plan on staying inside WvWvW for the whole stress test, but got hooked on it this time.

Phoenix Dark

  • I got no game it's just some bitches understand my story
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Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (4 hour stress test June 27th)
« Reply #108 on: June 28, 2012, 01:21:36 AM »
The jumping and general movement was pretty clunky last time I played. It felt like some odd third person shooter
010

Freyj

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (4 hour stress test June 27th)
« Reply #109 on: June 28, 2012, 03:24:56 PM »
MMO reviews are always a strange beast. If SWTOR can garner high 80s and 90s, I don't doubt that GW2 will do so as well unless the jank is high at launch.

That seems really early though compared to what most were thinking. Is the game still CPU bound?
« Last Edit: June 28, 2012, 04:14:51 PM by Freyj »

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (Next BWE 7/20. Launches 8/28)
« Reply #110 on: June 28, 2012, 03:56:04 PM »
It will get very high reviews. Not that reviewing a MMO at launch makes any sense.

There's not really any jank to speak of from what I've played. I've probably put in over 40 hours through all the BWEs and it's all been top notch. I found the story instances probably overtuned, and I think the talking head presentation just doesn't work. The conversation and cutscenes need to be more dynamic like the opening intro. sPVP is not to the level of GW1, but its still miles ahead of other MMOs. (A statement to how poorly other MMOs do PVP and how well GW1 did it.) The condition/boon system is actually rougher than the one in GW1. The Mesmer class will probably release without the major change it needs. It still functions as a class because the combat works so well, but the class mechanic is just inherently faulty and restricting. There's a few skill challenges that weren't working, but last BWE they fixed at least one of them. There's still some bugged skills and traits, but they tend to fix those from BWE to BWE.

Those are all my complaints of the game so far. My biggest gripe is the change to tiered traits. I think that's just a poor choice that hurts longevity of the game. Most won't notice the change or be aware of it. The other main gripe is the Mesmer issues. I think those problems were too big a change for them to try to do before release. I still don't understand why they thought the class as is has any real resemblance to what a Mesmer is iconic for. I'm also not pleased with Capture Point being the only sPVP mode, but they'll learn their lesson when people tire of that quickly.

Overall the game is great. It's an advancement on MMOs in about every way. It's not a one trick pony like SWTOR or Tera. There's the DE/Heart system, there's WvWvW, sPVP with instant gear and level boost, story instances, dungeons, jumping puzzles, exploration tools, a huge world--probably the best world design in a MMO since WoW, huge magnificent cities, quick travel, instant mail from anywhere, instant deposit, instant ability to sell an item on the trading post, a cash shop that doesn't intrude or become mandatory, tons of cool gear designs, and all the various MMO standards like crafting, guilds, achieves and so on.
« Last Edit: June 28, 2012, 04:04:40 PM by etiolate »

etiolate

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Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (Next BWE 7/20. Launches 8/28)
« Reply #111 on: June 28, 2012, 06:17:59 PM »
You are quite the determined thread shitter

Freyj

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Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (Next BWE 7/20. Launches 8/28)
« Reply #112 on: June 28, 2012, 08:29:16 PM »
I enjoy the alternative outlook after the GAF GW2 Thread of Circle-jerk.

spoiler (click to show/hide)
I also don't think much of the combat from what little I played despite the fact that it is quite impressive in some other areas.
[close]

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (Next BWE 7/20. Launches 8/28)
« Reply #113 on: June 28, 2012, 09:28:02 PM »
The combat works. Like Ruzbeh vaginaid, if the combat didn't work then the whole thing would fall apart. But the combat works and makes other games feel old in design. The ability to cast on the move makes a huge difference, along with all the positional importance and control. Knowing how to use your dodge and how to and when to disable a foe matters. There is no standing around absorbing hits. You hit and move, flowing from one skill to the next, depending on what best fits the moment.

etiolate

  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (Next BWE 7/20. Launches 8/28)
« Reply #114 on: June 28, 2012, 10:50:31 PM »
this is probably where I should post some mocking gif

naff

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Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (Next BWE 7/20. Launches 8/28)
« Reply #115 on: June 28, 2012, 11:34:10 PM »
I have played many a game where combat is all about moving constantly and casting. What's wrong with this, care to make some more valid points apart from it's confusing and chaotic?
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Phoenix Dark

  • I got no game it's just some bitches understand my story
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Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (Next BWE 7/20. Launches 8/28)
« Reply #116 on: June 28, 2012, 09:14:57 PM »
Review predictions:

1UP - B
Gamespot - 7.5
IGN - 8.6
Eurogamer - 8
seriously?

Anyway, I look forward to the game. Sucks they couldn't get it out in July, that would have been interesting. There's literally nothing to do in WoW right now, it would be the perfect time to drop a bomb. By August we might have a release date/new info on MoP
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Phoenix Dark

  • I got no game it's just some bitches understand my story
  • Senior Member
Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (Next BWE 7/20. Launches 8/28)
« Reply #117 on: July 09, 2012, 04:11:34 PM »
I created a dwarf character and wanted a name that sounded dwarven. So being a LOTR nerd, the first thing that came to mind was Gimli but that seemed too obvious. So I decided to take the name of his father, Gloin, and change it a bit. Goinio. To this day I haven't stumbled across anyone with the same name when I search the armory.

Server lists:
http://i.minus.com/ihfBNOLrNjqWa.png

Any thoughts on what server you guys will be using? I'm feeling around, seeing where friends will be landing. I like the feel of a small/medium sized server but I'll likely join a bigger one
« Last Edit: July 09, 2012, 04:13:23 PM by Phoenix Dark »
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etiolate

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Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (Next BWE 7/20. Launches 8/28)
« Reply #118 on: July 09, 2012, 09:48:09 PM »
I haven't been able to contact any of my WoW pals or GW pals to see where they are ending up. I am in a very friendly and large GW guild, and they're using Jade Quarry for the betas. I would like to stick in their guild on some level for they are helpful and laid back, but they aren't a PvP guild at all. Luckily, you can be in multiple guilds, but since WvW and sPvP seems to rely on your home server, I'll probably not be joining their server and just joining their guild instead, along with a PvP guild and a guild I make for myself.

On the suck side, I don't know what server is going to be home to any old PvP peeps I know. So I have no idea where I'll end up as of yet. I see that there is an unofficial GvG server listed on that chart, but I am not sure what that means at this point. It lists Idiot Savants on that server, and they were a longtime GW PvP guild, but I didn't exactly like all of them and there isn't a true GvG yet. Not that liking them means much now, as I imagine anyone I knew from that period has moved on.

edit: Curse Gaming was having a beta key giveaway for those that wanted in the beta without paying $$$. I hope ANet will give away more keys, because there's a lot of people that want to try it out, but having to put up money for a beta is pretty lame. It doesn't matter if you're like me and had the game reserved for like years, but there's too many bad MMOs to not have a more open beta for people to try the game out before getting burned by plunking down the cash.
« Last Edit: July 09, 2012, 09:51:40 PM by etiolate »

etiolate

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Re: Guild Wars 2 Beta (Next BWE 7/20. Launches 8/28)
« Reply #119 on: July 09, 2012, 11:54:10 PM »


Sylvari look far more interesting now. Look more like alien plant creatures rather than just Avatar-esque. Yes, I know that sounds silly, but James Cameron LOL.

Also LOL at the mushroom hair.