Guild Wars 2

[Elessar Telrunya]

The official Guild Wars 2 website with a game trailer has been released here.

[Elessar Telrunya]

New video on the website.  Pretty neat look into the races.

[Meclar]

Guns?! Wtf guns?!  Looks sooo much like WoW.

[Elessar Telrunya]

More information released about GW2!  http://www.arena.net/blog/guild-wars-2-design-manifesto

It actually sounds really fascinating how combat is going to be implemented.  I really hope it lives up to that expectation because it sounds awesome.

[Mo]

Looks good.  Can't wait to play it.

[Meclar]

They released some info and short clips of elementalist spells

http://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/professions/

I was hoping, seeing as how it'll be in the future from the current GW, that the eles would have even less clothes but I guess that's not the case.

[Elessar Telrunya]

Ahhh, cheesy dialogue - my ears!  It looks cool, but the elementalist sounds a lot more like the sorceress from D2 now.  I hope they release more information soon.

[420]

Ahhh, cheesy dialogue - my ears!  It looks cool, but the elementalist sounds a lot more like the sorceress from D2 now.  I hope they release more information soon.

True but I like the skill-based banter. Like "I'm so stunning." when using electricity based skills.

Too bad they are going to have to compete with Diablo 3 because I prefer Diablo's game style to GW. If I only have 2 or 3 friends on we can still complete all the quests and the items are a lot more diverse, allowing for people with the exact same builds to have completely different effects.

-420

[Meclar]

If I only have 2 or 3 friends

This makes me roflmao

I'd like to get in on some D2 action but discs are MIA.  Except for the cinematics disc that bastard always tricks me into thinking I've found the play discs.

[420]

This makes me roflmao

I'd like to get in on some D2 action but discs are MIA.  Except for the cinematics disc that bastard always tricks me into thinking I've found the play discs.

All you need is the CD Key. Then you get an account on the New Battle.net and plug in all your Blizzard game CD Keys (Starcraft and newer only) and you can download a digital version.

-420

[Elessar Telrunya]

True but I like the skill-based banter. Like "I'm so stunning." when using electricity based skills.

Too bad they are going to have to compete with Diablo 3 because I prefer Diablo's game style to GW. If I only have 2 or 3 friends on we can still complete all the quests and the items are a lot more diverse, allowing for people with the exact same builds to have completely different effects.

-420

Yeah, it occurred to me that GW came out around the same time as WoW, and now GW2 is probably going to come out around the same time as D3.  It's a shame they'll have to compete again.  I feel like D3 will win that battle.

[Meclar]

All you need is the CD Key. Then you get an account on the New Battle.net and plug in all your Blizzard game CD Keys (Starcraft and newer only) and you can download a digital version.

Where do I get the CD key?  Don't say from the CD....

[Soul Sojourner]

Where do I get the CD key?  Don't say from the CD....

It's on the case, dude.

[Meclar]

The set of CDs I had belonged to someone else and they came in those paper envelopes.

[420]

The set of CDs I had belonged to someone else and they came in those paper envelopes.

You had to have the key to install the game so I'm guessing it was written down somewhere or sent to you in electronically (email, IM, PM).

-420

[Elessar Telrunya]

More updates on GW2 - quite revealing actually.
Part One
Part Two

A list of weapons has been confirmed:
One-Handed: Axe, dagger, mace, pistol, scepter, and sword.
Two-Handed: Greatsword, hammer, longbow, rifle, shortbow, and staff.
Offhand only: Focus, shield, torch, and warhorn.

Not all weapons are available to all professions, and some professions can wield one-handed weapons in their offhand.

Characters are also able to interact with the environment to improvise weapons, like taking branches from a fallen oakheart can yield a weapon, or an elementalist that finds boulders can use them to create a meteor, etc.

There are Ten skill slots:
5 are set dependent on weapon and profession, and 3 are completely chosen by the player, 1 is chosen by the player but must be a healing skill, and 1 is chosen by the player but must be an elite skill.

There was actually a really funny comic included about the one healing skill.

There are Eight professions:
Three "scholar" professions - Elementalist is confirmed.  I hope the mesmer gets included, but who knows.
Three "adventuring" professions - I think one of them is supposed to be a Ranger, but I don't know where I saw that.
Two "soldier" professions - Warrior is also confirmed, but the details have not been revealed.

There are no longer secondary professions, because it overcomplicated the game mechanics.  Their object seems to be to make the system as simple but as versatile as possible.  They want to incorporate a lot of movement and ingenuity into the game.

Races do get race specific skills.  Confirmed are Grasping Roots (Sylvari), Arcane Blast (Asura), Wolf Form (Elite Norn), Hounds of Balthazar (Elite Human).

The most interesting passage described how movement and flow of skill choice can affect combat.  It sounds really cool.

To illustrate what I'm talking about, I was watching two of our game designers--Jon and Isaiah--play the other day. Jon is using his shield to deflect the fire breath of a drake, when Isaiah hits the drake from behind with a skill called Devastating Hammer, launching it into the air. The drake is sent flying over Jon's head, who immediately turns and uses a skill called Savage Leap to impale and finish the drake right as it hits the ground. This was a very cool looking (and effective!) sequence of events that flowed very naturally from how combat in Guild Wars 2 works.

I'm really excited now.

[Meclar]

yeah there's no way in hell I'm getting those d2 keys

[Meclar]

From the GW2 blog:

Eric: Early in the development stage, we worked on the concept of a single ?companion? NPC who would accompany the player, but we soon determined that it wasn?t necessary. We?ve developed Guild Wars 2  so that it?s a completely soloable experience due to our profession design, dynamically scaling content, and the social approach to events. And, since Guild Wars 2 is a persistent world, we can?t really let each character run around with a full party of NPCs in tow.

This makes me feel a lot better about the game.  My confidence is at 60%.  But the skill bar needs to go:

Eric:  Think of it this way:  You?ve got 5 slots that you can slot freely, with the caveat that you have to bring one heal and one elite skill. Your other 5 skills are determined by the weapon set you bring. Most professions can equip two weapon sets and switch freely between them in combat, even stringing together combinations of attacks between them. That means you have access to 15 skills at any given time and you make a minimum of 7 choices (9 at most) to determine what those skills are. Yes, we do restrict some of your choices to particular categories, but there is still a lot of choice there.

[Elessar Telrunya]

I'm not too bothered by the skill bar yet.

[Mo]

Whats wrong with the skill bar?

[Elessar Telrunya]

Probably the ways they have limited it, but I'm waiting until I can see how it actually works out to decide if I like it or not.

[Meclar]

It's a persistent world why shouldn't I have access to all my skills?  It irks me to have the max amount of skill points in an attribute but only 2-3 skills that benefit from it.  Don't get me wrong I like the secondary benefits like the energy saving from higher Expertise in Rangers or the energy regain from Necromancer's - um whatever attribute is that gives them energy but make it more complex, not simple, we're not dumb.
What I really don't get, like with this latest big update they did a few months ago, is when they nerf skills like Obsidian Flesh that Warriors used more than Elementalists (I had another tank build that worked just as well as an obby tank so it didn't effect me but now I have only one choice for a tank build rather than 2).  Why nerf a skill that was commonly used for a profession that it didn't belong to then go and tell us 'hey we want diversification in builds'.  I'm afraid I'm never going to get to play a battlemage ever again. 
Like let me do whatever the hell I want and pay the consequences and stop worrying about having warriors do warrior things and mages do mage things.  Ohhh and don't even get me started on this homogenizing of Norn are fighter classes crap if I want a Norn as a freakin staff weilding firebombing, shape-shifting turkey, let me have it!  There's your character personalizationing!
I hope there's a playable demo I can't wait to see it.

[Illutian]

*poof*

Seriously starting to lean towards not wasting my money (again)

How is Guild Wars 2 different from other MMOs?
While Guild Wars 2 adds a persistent-world experience, it retains the unique characteristics of the original game, including strong narrative, extensive instanced gameplay, anti-grind design philosophy, and strong support for competitive play.

This is what killed GW for me...huge world; and I only see others [out of party] when in Town/City. Single-player MMOs are boring

*poof*

[Mercy]

Yeah, agreed. That's why I still play WoW. Too much fun. Khad, you're still playing I see. What server are you on now?

[Elessar Telrunya]

http://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/dynamic-events/dynamic-events-overview/

A new look into the event system, although I'm not sure they told us anything I hadn't already gleaned from other articles.

[Elessar Telrunya]

http://www.arena.net/blog/arenanet-hits-the-convention-circuit

Arenanet announced their first live demos of the game at gamescon in Germany and PAX in Seattle.  I hope this means public betas are coming shortly thereafter.

[Elessar Telrunya]

The Warrior profession has been revealed on the gw2 website.  I'm kind of disappointed because we already knew a bit about the warrior class.  I was hoping they would reveal classes they hadn't talked about yet.  Currently the gw2 site is having some minor aesthetic issues, but everything's still there.  An article on traits was also put up, and they seem to be replacing attributes.  I hope they release a profession we actually don't know is in the game yet, instead of continuing to rehash old information.

[Mo]

Thanks for the update.

[Elessar Telrunya]

Healing and Death

It's official - there is no monk class in gw2. This makes me sad and leaves Enelya looking for a new calling.

[Meclar]

Death penalties make death in-game a more tense experience. It just isn't fun.

Wha? If it's not tense then why the hell am I playing the game?

This potential to rally from the edge of defeat adds greater drama to combat

You mean intensity? Rallying from defeat is when there's only 1-2 people alive in your group and from that everyone comes back, that's what separates good players from shitty ones.  I think this goes with how PUGs play.  When shit goes down no one retreats, tactically, they just stand there and keep hammering.  So rather than forcing us to be better players they're catering to laziness and uncreative play, i.e. res shrines.

You could say instead of DPS/heal/tank, we have our own trinity of damage, support, and control

It seems like they're renaming it and selling the same thing.  I guess it's not a surprise that they would remove the Monk profession sense we'll be able to explore without a party but healing and tanking are my favorite things to do in GW simply for that reason they are reactive.

Don't belittle the SUPPORT role by calling it heal. Healing is the least dynamic kind of support there is. It is reactive instead of proactive. Healing is for when you are already losing.

Calling healing healing is demeaning?  What the fuck is this guy talking about...did he just say that healing is easy!? and if it's reactive unlike the other two dozen ways to play proactively how is it less dynamic.  The complexity is based on the skills not the professions.  If you're healing you're just taking damage, not losing and it's expected you'll take damage when you attack ... or are they gonna remove damage too?

Alright let's see some improvements in the NPC "AI".