Guild Wars 2?

ineffablebob · 2012-07-17T09:36:45.000Z

Guild Wars 2: Every Crowd Has A Sylvari Line-Up

This weekend sees the final Guild Wars 2 Beta Weekend, with the big addition of its two remaining races – the ingenious gnome-like Asura, and the flowery Sylvari. You’ll be able to play as either… or indeed both, if you like… but what can you expect...

Who are the Sylvari? Thankfully, not quite the hippie themselves-huggers you might expect – though of course, there is a more organic element to their civilisation than the other races. Choose one, and after a tutorial in a dream world plagued by nightmare, you’re spat-out into the world fully grown and naked aside from a few strategically placed leaves. Pausing only to get dressed, it’s then off into the main world to help vanquish evil on a “Wyld Hunt”.

If the sight of those words makes you air-guitar, congratulations. You are Old.

/is old.

Khoram · 2012-07-17T09:37:51.000Z

DKDArtagnan:

For the sake of other people, I certainly hope not. But I find it hard to see how they can deliver anything close to what people expect - given the level of hype.

And how exactly do you know what people expect?

I am expecting a well made MMO with no monthly fee, great art and visual style, that caters to my explorer-heavy tendencies. I’ve been looking forward to and following the development of this game since the first teaser trailer in August 09 (I think that’s when it was). The beta weekend events have only confirmed for me so far that this is definitely living up to my expectations.

I don’t think it’s going to cure cancer or anything. I don’t understand why the reaction is either crazy zealot “OMG OMG this is best thing evar!1!” or hipster dufus “meh, I’ve taken dumps that were more fun.” Can’t there be something in between? It’s a fun game that costs $60 and you get somewhere between 20-200 hours+ entertainment for that. I’ve lost count of the number of games I’ve paid $40-60 for over the decades that I played for 5 minutes and uninstalled in disgust.

Bring it on.

Nephrinn · 2012-07-17T09:55:01.000Z

Yep, I’m with Khoram and have been looking forward to GW2 since I preordered it back in 2009. Put in over 40 hours during BWE 1 and 2 and still itching for more. For me, the game has more than matched the hype behind it.

walTer · 2012-07-17T10:06:14.000Z

After the betas, I really see nothing to indicate that it will not live up to what the developers say the game will be. I don’t even see it as hype- they are just telling us what the game will be and how it will be different than other MMO-type games out there. And so far, at least in the betas, they have delivered.

To quote Khoram, BRING IT. It was fun and is fun as a beta, so I can’t imagine it will all of a sudden suck when the final product comes out.

gringokidd · 2012-07-17T10:11:11.000Z

So this will be my first beta weekend. Is there a server that most Qt3ers are on? Or a good one for WvW?

Jag · 2012-07-17T10:11:53.000Z

Yeah, pretty much echo what Khoram said.

Nephrinn · 2012-07-17T10:20:54.000Z

gringokidd:

So this will be my first beta weekend. Is there a server that most Qt3ers are on? Or a good one for WvW?

Honestly, go with a low pop server if possible. The servers this weekend are going to be PACKED. And the crowded starting areas and WvW are going to bring any PC to its knees (assuming they still haven’t optimized anything).

Reldan · 2012-07-17T13:46:15.000Z

Zeitgeist:

It certainly is overhyped at this point - so much that even the devs themselves seem to backpedal a bit (see latest blog post about dynamic events).

I think a lot of people will be disappointed after the initial rush, just like with any big game/MMO.

What latest blog post?

Reldan · 2012-07-17T13:53:25.000Z

GW2 gets it done, is the talk. You know what is hype? Is people talking, is gossip. GW2 also have reputation, very pleasant, I think you know. Queue BWE.

(BWE Weekends Happen)

Now for you, GW2 reputation is not from gossip. You see this? I show you what we do, and now for you GW2 hype is fact. Is solid.

Reldan · 2012-07-17T13:55:12.000Z

Nephrinn:

Honestly, go with a low pop server if possible. The servers this weekend are going to be PACKED. And the crowded starting areas and WvW are going to bring any PC to its knees (assuming they still haven’t optimized anything).

They will almost certainly be offering free server transfers the first 24 hours. If you wind up on a server that’s overfilled do not hesitate to switch to a lower pop server. I used the server transfer last BWE and it took less than a minute.

Zeitgeist · 2012-07-17T14:29:07.000Z

Reldan:

What latest blog post?

http://www.guildwars2hub.com/features/interviews/dynamic-events-dev-journal-colin-johanson

Andre_Costa · 2012-07-17T14:39:50.000Z

So, clearing misconceptions some people had about the event system is backpedaling? OK!

walTer · 2012-07-17T14:40:07.000Z

Maybe I missed something but I don’t see any backpedaling in that article. Everything I see tells me that the dynamic events are going to be great fun. Having enjoyed them in Rift, the ones in GW2 seem to be take them to a new level, i.e. what happens AFTER the event.

Zeitgeist · 2012-07-17T14:55:43.000Z

I found it a slightly less hype charged article (THE MMO REVOLUTION!!) from a gw2 developer than many that I’ve read before. But maybe I’m misremembering, I certainly didn’t state it as fact in my original post.

bmceldowney · 2012-07-17T15:14:01.000Z

I got a beta key!

I also have a family beach trip to the Oregon coast this weekend!

I have no portable system capable of running this game!

I hate all of you!

Daagar · 2012-07-17T15:41:06.000Z

I think the overhype is around people looking for the next 6+ year game like WoW. People became invested in WoW, and want a fresh new experience that wraps them up completely for years on end like WoW did. From what I’ve read, GW2 - while maybe a great game - isn’t that game. You play to level cap (maybe multiple times on alts) and… that’s it. There isn’t a progression end-game (maybe PvP?). You then put it aside until the next expansion or whatever. I’ve read that 1-80 is ~80 hours (1 hr/lvl). While 80 hours is obviously a huge amount of content for the price, it isn’t the 15-20 days /played time that folks remember from WoW. Nor can it be, as it isn’t a subscription model game.

This is why Diablo3 hit such a painful wall. Beyond the other issues (boring loot, etc.), I think people wanted something to last for years on end. It isn’t that kind of game. People remember Diablo2 being that game because it was pre-WoW.

Malkroth · 2012-07-17T16:00:31.000Z

gringokidd:

So this will be my first beta weekend. Is there a server that most Qt3ers are on? Or a good one for WvW?

All beta characters are being wiped before this beta weekend, so everyone will be the same level and no characters in place on servers already.

Sean_Tudor · 2012-07-17T16:01:17.000Z

Khoram:

Bring it on.

Ditto. I think with reference to hype it has been balanced by two very solid betas. It’s not hard to see how the game will play out if people have spent any time at all in the beta tests. The hype surrounding GW2 is not even in the same league as that of eg. SWTOR which had fansites gushing all over the place and very quickly died after a couple of months.

If people are expecting a better improved WoW clone they will be sorely disappointed. Guild Wars 2 is its own game and attempts to bring some fresh twists to the MMO genre (like The Secret World). I know from many EQ/WoW traditionalists from my old guild that they do not like the lack of formal raiding in Guild Wars 2 or the lack of clearly defined endgame content. At its core GW2 is still more of a casual/exploration game.

Nephrinn · 2012-07-17T16:05:28.000Z

GW2 actually has a pretty engaging if not better endgame than WoW and its clones. The Anet devs recently stressed that there’s plenty to do after you hit 80 (PVE and PVP wise) and I’m inclined to agree with them. And from all indications, GW2 will have a somewhat aggressive live team that will put out new content on a regular basis; much more so than WoW and most MMOs.

Andre_Costa · 2012-07-17T16:07:28.000Z

Daagar:

I think the overhype is around people looking for the next 6+ year game like WoW. People became invested in WoW, and want a fresh new experience that wraps them up completely for years on end like WoW did. From what I’ve read, GW2 - while maybe a great game - isn’t that game. You play to level cap (maybe multiple times on alts) and… that’s it. There isn’t a progression end-game (maybe PvP?). You then put it aside until the next expansion or whatever. I’ve read that 1-80 is ~80 hours (1 hr/lvl). While 80 hours is obviously a huge amount of content for the price, it isn’t the 15-20 days /played time that folks remember from WoW. Nor can it be, as it isn’t a subscription model game.

Uh … no. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIExN1GZK_Q