Guild Wars 2 General

[Candidus]

Analysan'
Theorisan'
Fan boyan'

Post here about anything GW2 related that excites, intrigues, concerns or enrages you.

(Ps: A quick qualifier for this thread: I checked back, and there are a few very specific GW2 topics, in addition to some topics for which the titles were mispelled. Call me what you like, I'd rather not revive one of those.)

For my part, I want to have a quick rave about the attention to detail.

Download the 1080hd video of the manifesto trailer. Do it immediately.
http://guildwars2.com/en/media/videos/

Now, let's go through all the things you notice just running the 20 seconds of that dragon landing over and over again.

1: Its hind legs and tail crash against and through the ground, smashing the earth, dislodging boulders and being generally stunning.
2: The way that its whole body, on impact, is braced in such a way as to compensate for its immense weight and momentum. Pay particular attention to the bracing of the left shoulder and the movement of the hind legs after landing.
2: The shockwave of its landing has a secondary effect on objects all over the place. Leaves, scraps and other objects are made to jump and drift on the air a considerable distance from the beast.
3: The organic way in which its tail moves from start to finish.
4: The way that its tail is used to shed momentum as it grinds to a halt. Someone who knows anatomy and physics looked at the storyboard for this moment and said "this shit's gonna go down like real". Insofar as it's possible for a giant winged lizard to land from on high realistically, this person was pretty successful to my laymen's eyes.
5: The secondary gust which follows the shockwave, once the dragon has almost come to a stop- caused primarily by the tail.
6: The fact that, as a being generating a substantial amount of electricity, the dragon EARTHS itself when it lands, with most of the arcs peeling off its body going straight into the ground! <--- This was my favourite.
7: The way the smoke pouring from the dragon's wings streaks with each downward stroke.
8: The crystals on its back. Watch them. Watch. Them.

And then the common or garden stuff.. the lighting, the way its mass and force are conveyed so vividly, etc. A lot of love went into those 20 seconds- in fact, more than I would say goes into some games as a whole.

I remember watching dragons and the like landing in front of my raids in WoW:
*flap, flap, flap, landing without transitional animation.. some shit voice acting.. battle*
I knew that this wasn't exciting at the time, but how could I even look at it without scoffing now?

I'm so glad I bought a new machine just weeks ago, and I'm so glad this game is happening. To be honest, every MMO I've ever played now seems as though it was just a stop-gap for me to bide time in, waiting for spring 2011. They all seem pretty redundant at this stage, and GW2 isn't even out yet.

Final note: I really hope that the assassin is coming back. I mained assassin in GW1... So yeah, shadow kneeling to the left of the classes artwork. You better be what I think you are.

So tell me what you want, what you're excited by and what you're afraid of. We've got a lot of time to chat between now and release.

 

[PurpleSky]

*slap* You didn't notice the inter-class combined abilities,like a mage setting the ground on fire and another class spinning in the middle of it,spreading it in all directions.

 

[Exia91]

So much to discuss in such,,, well, long time. I guess I'll start off with the Assassin and other non-Tyrian related classes. I haven't read anywhere they are implementing them to the game, though I have not read, either, that they are Not implementing them.

Though, with some thought, I figure they are left out from the Choice of Professions in GW2 as the continents are all closed off from eachother and you might say that the Assassin, Ritualist, Dervish and Paragon have died out on the Tyrian continent. Just my 2cents.

PvP wise, haven't heard that much about it either, but it stays closely the same to it's revered gameplay in GW1. I'm happy if they keep it that way. I hope they won't force me into these little maps from GW1. I hope some bigger maps with objectives to do and multiple 'fights' need to take place to actually reach the final boss in the PvP arena. (Think AV in WoW, kinda like that,,,but not the same as that!) Also, I hope not to see something like the failed attempts at World PvP that Warhammer Online has thrown at us. I really don't - Though I have only played the first month of Warhammer Online release, at that point it was empty.. just a vaste open space with nothing to see or to do.

Classes, As fans might know they update on these every 4-6weeks. I'm quite certain there's a new one coming up in the upcoming 2 weeks. I wonder which class it will be.. Necromancer maybe? Monk?

 

[ThreeKneeNick]

The very same video shows concept art of the assassin (a blackish skinny dude dual wielding daggers), im pretty confident the assassin will be a profession.

Also what caught my interest is that in the fight just before the dragon lands, the charr that gets hit by an earth magic skill (presumably Churning Earth) is actually sent flying into the air, its pretty nice. And don't get me started with the dragon, i was very impressed by how it landed, and the tail movement, and just its general design.

 

[Candidus]

The very same video shows concept art of the assassin (a blackish skinny dude dual wielding daggers), im pretty confident the assassin will be a profession.

Yeah, I did consider that they might not include the Assassin due to that "Tyria is isolated" detail. I suppose I continue to hope that some heroic figure will have created a training base for these individuals on the mainland- lore wise, I mean.

Edit: Yes, there is the concept art. Argh! How should I feel? I'll just remain cautiously hopeful. Uncertainty isn't good for my weak gamer's heart.

Also, I didn't notice that Charr getting flung through the air before. That looks good!

 

[Paragon Fury]

So much to discuss in such,,, well, long time. I guess I'll start off with the Assassin and other non-Tyrian related classes. I haven't read anywhere they are implementing them to the game, though I have not read, either, that they are Not implementing them.

Though, with some thought, I figure they are left out from the Choice of Professions in GW2 as the continents are all closed off from eachother and you might say that the Assassin, Ritualist, Dervish and Paragon have died out on the Tyrian continent. Just my 2cents.

PvP wise, haven't heard that much about it either, but it stays closely the same to it's revered gameplay in GW1. I'm happy if they keep it that way. I hope they won't force me into these little maps from GW1. I hope some bigger maps with objectives to do and multiple 'fights' need to take place to actually reach the final boss in the PvP arena. (Think AV in WoW, kinda like that,,,but not the same as that!) Also, I hope not to see something like the failed attempts at World PvP that Warhammer Online has thrown at us. I really don't - Though I have only played the first month of Warhammer Online release, at that point it was empty.. just a vaste open space with nothing to see or to do.

Classes, As fans might know they update on these every 4-6weeks. I'm quite certain there's a new one coming up in the upcoming 2 weeks. I wonder which class it will be.. Necromancer maybe? Monk?

I think that Assassins, Ritualists, Devishes and Paragons might be unavaliable to the plebiansr and new characters or be unlockable, but people who have an ancestor from GW1 at the Eye of the North of that class might be able to access that class from the get-go.

 

[Alandoril]

Just as long as dps-class damage numbers are reasonable then I'll be happy with this game. So many MMOs make dps classes completely out-of-whack.

 

[Exia91]

Just as long as dps-class damage numbers are reasonable then I'll be happy with this game. So many MMOs make dps classes completely out-of-whack.

Is it strange that I would like to see the damage at lvl cap (lvl 80) to be below 1K? I agree with the fact that the numbers are getting way too big in, say, WoW where I remember critting for up to 20K with my Warrior using Execute *crit* at 100/100rage.
No I want the smaller numbers.

 

[Facktion]

If the visuals ALONE hold up to what was seen in that trailer, I have to try this game. Going to need to get a seriously rowdy computer to run it though. Bah, was going to get one for Starcraft 2 anyways.

 

[Candidus]

I think that Assassins, Ritualists, Devishes and Paragons might be unavaliable to the plebians and new characters or be unlockable, but people who have an ancestor from GW1 at the Eye of the North of that class might be able to access that class from the get-go.

I'm not entirely convinced of this. There are definately 3 cloth, 3 adventurer and 2 heavies, for a total of 8 classes at launch. One of the heavies is definately a warrior, the other would seem to be the armoured shadow on the right bearing something like a... well, it looks like a cannon.

We also know of the ranger and the elementalist, which leaves us with 2 cloth, 2 adventurer and 1 heavy to think about. If we assume the dagger wielding concept art indicates that assassins or something similar to them are present, we're down to... 2 cloth, 1 adventurer, 1 heavy.

If we see mesmers OR necromancers again, the odds of the remaining three classes being Ritualist>Paragon>Dervish are in my view extraordinarily unlikely, because we know for certain we're in for some original classes, none of which have yet been unveiled.

 

[SilverStrike]

I really, really, REALLY hope they pull this off. What impresses me most aren't the graphics and classes, but the fact they want to try and be INNOVATIVE! I mean, they acknowledged that MMO's these days have a lot of grinding! Swing a sword. Swing it again. And again. SWING DAMNIT! Etc.
It's ambitious. But I hope they make it work. I really do. Because that would be an awesome game. I loved the first one. Its the only MMO I've stuck through to the end of the campaign and enjoyed it. The low level cap and focus on skills was a good move. And the whole 'It's your own story' stuff.. that could be pulled off, given that they used independent combat areas for each player. That means it can be persistent. That means.. Oh. I have hopes.

Please NCSoft. Please don't crush my hope for MMO. Like you did with Aion. Pleeeaaaase.
~Note, my hopes for Aion are now a smushy puddle when once I thought it'd be awesome. ~Sigh~

 

[migo]

My main interest in Guild Wars 2 is the stuff actually happens. You don't go over for a quest bubble. Things you do actually make a difference, while current MMORPGs feel like Living Forgotten Realms. (EVE Online being the exception to that, and MapleStory at least having something different by being a 2D Platformer RPG).

Other than that, I'm also intrigued by removing tanks and healers, so everyone can do everything, and it's feasible to Solo, and the game itself should feel something like Oblivion but with a more persistent world if that's how I want to do it, while occasionally grouping up with another player.

 

[Korten12]

PvP wise, haven't heard that much about it either, but it stays closely the same to it's revered gameplay in GW1. I'm happy if they keep it that way. I hope they won't force me into these little maps from GW1. I hope some bigger maps with objectives to do and multiple 'fights' need to take place to actually reach the final boss in the PvP arena. (Think AV in WoW, kinda like that,,,but not the same as that!) Also, I hope not to see something like the failed attempts at World PvP that Warhammer Online has thrown at us. I really don't - Though I have only played the first month of Warhammer Online release, at that point it was empty.. just a vaste open space with nothing to see or to do.

they said that in an interview that PVP will have maps that require teams to resource gathering, capturing points and other stuff, so I assume that the maps will be infact much bigger.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/guildwars2/news.html?sid=6273004&mode=previews

"We have two types of PVP in the game. The first is a small, team-based competitive style which places everyone on equal footing. Our second type, or "world vs. world," is a massive game type that takes place between multiple worlds (or servers, as other games call them). WVW features battles with hundreds of players, keep sieges, resource gathering, and a lot of map-wide strategy. We haven't released a ton of details on PVP yet because we're still very much working on it. Our basic policy is to not talk about things until they're in the game and we've had a chance to iterate on them. You can expect to hear more about PVP in the coming months."

Join the GW club if you want to disscuss more about GW1/2: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/Guild-Wars

I really, really, REALLY hope they pull this off. What impresses me most aren't the graphics and classes, but the fact they want to try and be INNOVATIVE! I mean, they acknowledged that MMO's these days have a lot of grinding! Swing a sword. Swing it again. And again. SWING DAMNIT! Etc.
It's ambitious. But I hope they make it work. I really do. Because that would be an awesome game. I loved the first one. Its the only MMO I've stuck through to the end of the campaign and enjoyed it. The low level cap and focus on skills was a good move. And the whole 'It's your own story' stuff.. that could be pulled off, given that they used independent combat areas for each player. That means it can be persistent. That means.. Oh. I have hopes.

Please NCSoft. Please don't crush my hope for MMO. Like you did with Aion. Pleeeaaaase.
~Note, my hopes for Aion are now a smushy puddle when once I thought it'd be awesome. ~Sigh~

NCSoft isnt developing GW2, ArenaNet is, NCSoft doesnt have much say in development, they only produce.

 

[SilverStrike]

NCSoft isnt developing GW2, ArenaNet is, NCSoft doesnt have much say in development, they only produce.

Okay, granted, ArenaNet is only subsidiary of NCSoft. I just don't like NCSoft much for having messed Aion up, and they'll have some say somewhere.

 

[Candidus]

NCSoft isnt developing GW2, ArenaNet is, NCSoft doesnt have much say in development, they only produce.

Okay, granted, ArenaNet is only subsidiary of NCSoft. I just don't like NCSoft much for having messed Aion up, and they'll have some say somewhere.

With Aion, NCsoft just stuck to what they do best; pretty korean grindathons, primarily for play by koreans and the small number of grind-loving westerners. The problem was that they advertised it as a successful middle ground, and laughably suggested that Aion west would be relatively grind light. Even now, with levelling being literally twice as fast as it was at launch, it's a grindathon nightmare.

In the end, Arenanet has been more successful in the west than NCsoft will ever be without serious alterations to the perspective from which they develop. NCsoft may be technically able to say "we think you should do this", but I doubt they will; Anet has nothing to learn from NCsoft about selling games in the US and Europe.

I'm going to edit off my little rave about the dragon's details in the OP, now that it's out of my system, and replace it with links to Anet's Blog, GW2's webpage and the most prominent fansites. Check back soon.