Guild Wars 2 Catch All

As I am reading everybody’s initial impressions and hear the CC crew get excited about it, I can’t help but feel sad. Sad at the fact that when I pick this game up in about 2 months, most people will have moved on. Sad that, much like Warhammer Online and other games before, those hailed public quests will be completed rarely to never, because the zones will be deserted and grinding old content will be nothing but a nuisance to the veterans. Sad that despite all the unique features that Guild Wars 2 has going for it, people will have moved on to Pandaria, Pandora or whatever third-world conflict this year’s COD will be set in and the 20% of the player base sticking around will be mostly entitled, cynical elitists. Sad that for the GWJ community the next new hotness - whatever it may be - will have arrived, leaving the GWJ guild gutted. Sad that Guild Wars 2 may be the true next generation MMO instead of a lovingly crafted world that can be experienced without the need of player interaction.

Maybe I am too jaded when it comes to MMOs, but Guild Wars 2 couldn’t have come at a more inopportune time for me.

Two things that will help with that,

Players scale down to whatever area they're in, and it's worthwhile for them to do it. You only scale upwards in PvP though, so everyone's on the same level. Depending on the zone (early areas are reasonably static) it will be different for them as well, so an outpost might be captured and need recapturing, or a whole zone might need to be overturned.

Events scale to the number of people present. I just got involved in an event solo that during the betas there were about a dozen people there, solo it was easily handled groups of about 3-4 enemies for me plus the guards, with more it turns into a frantic assault.

Overall though, like any game there's going to be falloff in player numbers as the next big thing comes out. It does seem to be quite friendly to the player though, and assuming you enjoy the type of game it is there doesn't seem to be anything much to drive people away from it. I'd also say to give it a little more time than a few days after launch to see how people react to it.

IMAGE(http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/eeyore61_5881.jpg)

On the upside with no subscription fee it would be easy for you to rally together GWJ people to play with at any point. It seems to me that the GWJ MMO'ers aren't as fickle as the bulk of the G&P crowd anyway.

LiquidMantis wrote:

On the upside with no subscription fee it would be easy for you to rally together GWJ people to play with at any point. It seems to me that the GWJ MMO'ers aren't as fickle as the bulk of the G&P crowd anyway.

That's a good point, so long as people have the client installed there's few hoops to jump through to get back in.

Luggage wrote:

Maybe I am too jaded when it comes to MMOs, but Guild Wars 2 couldn’t have come at a more inopportune time for me.

I think the game is going to hold up and main its popularity over time. The beauty of the low-level areas is that due to the down-leveling all content is viable at all points in time. If you are level 50 and go to the level 1-15 area, maybe do a level 10 public quest, you will be scaled down to roughly level 10. The experience and loot you gain is appropriate for your level 50 character, though. So there's really no "grinding out old content" because it's still worth playing. If you find a public event really early in the game that you love, it's just as viable to do it at level 70 as it is at level 10.

Yeah, maybe some of the GWJ contingent will have moved on by then, but I think the game is going to be fairly popular for awhile and the population will stay spread across the content, even as the average level of the population increases. We'll see.

Scratched wrote:
Badferret wrote:

Random neat feature, the moment you get mail, there is actually a bird that will swoop in across the screen and deliver it to you.

Even underwater. It leaves a trail of bubbles as it fli... er... swims.

Wow, I've done almost 75 hearts and I've have never seen that bird. Either I'm oblivious or he's MIA when you have graphics configured for the lowest setting..

I find the controls are mostly fine, it's the environment and camera that can cause the problems. Some bits of puzzle have collision that doesn't match up with the visuals or what you expect to be solid, and I've had the camera go weird (lock to a perspective) when I got too close to a tower making it into Tomb Raider 1 controls.

I think it is a racial issue. Asura have less challenges than some of the larger races but will still have some. I think the race that struggles the most will be humans since they are neither large enough to see over obstacles nor small enough for tight spaces.

There are also lots of places that look like you need to jump but can just run up. Likewise there are places that look too far to jump that you can jump to.

Also, I agree with the others. There is no mentoring system, it just works automatically so there are literally no barriers to helping others of any level. If you are present, you have value to the collective. This is so much more true in this game than in any other to date.

So it is almost as if we can't find lasting entertainment here, then shame on us.

edit: The bird is there. It is just tiny and quick. On my Asura, it is almost butterfly sized. Don't feel bad. I just noticed it for the first time last night after 60+ hours playing.

Luggage wrote:

Sad that for the GWJ community the next new hotness - whatever it may be - will have arrived, leaving the GWJ guild gutted.

Judging by the comments in here, in game and on the personal experience of me and my friends, most of us are not about "jumping on to the next big thing". For many Guildies, this is either their first foray into the MMO world or a return to the genre after a long absence. We're also mostly players that find one game we truly love to pieces and we stick to it for years.

Luggage wrote:

Sad that Guild Wars 2 may be the true next generation MMO instead of a lovingly crafted world that can be experienced without the need of player interaction.

It is still very feasible to explore a huge majority of the content on your own, some stuff just might be more challenging. The only PVE elements that I could see a lone player getting locked out of are dungeons and Orr.

gwartok wrote:
Scratched wrote:
Badferret wrote:

Random neat feature, the moment you get mail, there is actually a bird that will swoop in across the screen and deliver it to you.

Even underwater. It leaves a trail of bubbles as it fli... er... swims.

Wow, I've done almost 75 hearts and I've have never seen that bird. Either I'm oblivious or he's MIA when you have graphics configured for the lowest setting..

It's a "blink and you'll miss it" kinda thing.

..and yes, Sunday night when I noticed the bubbles underwater, I totally lost my sh*t

also, you can see the bird when you send mail and when other players get/send mail as well.

GrandmaFunk wrote:
Luggage wrote:

Sad that for the GWJ community the next new hotness - whatever it may be - will have arrived, leaving the GWJ guild gutted.

Judging by the comments in here, in game and on the personal experience of me and my friends, most of us are not about "jumping on to the next big thing". For many Guildies, this is either their first foray into the MMO world or a return to the genre after a long absence. We're also mostly players that find one game we truly love to pieces and we stick to it for years.

Luggage wrote:

Sad that Guild Wars 2 may be the true next generation MMO instead of a lovingly crafted world that can be experienced without the need of player interaction.

It is still very feasible to explore a huge majority of the content on your own, some stuff just might be more challenging. The only PVE elements that I could see a lone player getting locked out of are dungeons and Orr.

Actually with just a few exceptions everyone that has posted in here have flown mmo coops before in the past for assorted different reasons. So going by the comments (especially at launch) isnt a good indicator of mmo longevity as far as the GWJ hive mind goes.

I don't know what you are talking about. *whistles aimlessly*

GrandmaFunk wrote:

It is still very feasible to explore a huge majority of the content on your own, some stuff just might be more challenging. The only PVE elements that I could see a lone player getting locked out of are dungeons and Orr.

There are a few areas in general pve that are kept/defended by champion mobs that just aren't feasible to solo. You aren't exactly locked out... but if you're alone it will be really really hard.

JeremyK wrote:

Anyone figure out a good strategy for that Fire Elemental event in NW Asura? Seems like the only strategy I saw people using was dying(including me). I saw it killed but it was just from like an hour of people reviving at waypoints and running back to do very little damage before repeating.

I finished that event a couple of days ago. There is no good strategy. You and everyone else will die. A LOT. Just stay out of the red circles...as a matter of fact, as soon as you see a red circle, dodge immediately. The AOE attack comes very quickly after you see the circle, so move your butt out of there. Also, kill the adds as fast as possible. The main guy isn't that bad, but when the adds accrue, it's impossible to survive. Also, get off the little bridge leading into the area because there's no where to dodge. I saw a TON of people incapped on that bridge. Get across it and into the open area as quickly as possible. Also, don't go to the right of the bridge either, because, again, there is no room to dodge and you'll get cornered by the adds. Trust me.

How do you send a waypoint or coordinates in chat? or can you?

Oh for those who have been avoiding WvW. You may want to occasionally go in and go to some of the out of the way corners with mobs. With the bonus xp you get from long standing mobs it's worth it. We've been seeing massive bonus xp (this is level dependent) in the 90-120 range! That's on par with some small pve events let alone kills. Whats great is when you find a big group of them.

groan wrote:

How do you send a waypoint or coordinates in chat? or can you?

From memory, it its either shift or control left click. Or maybe right click. You can definitely do it.

Ya I'm pretty sure shift+LMB sends whatever you clicked on to chat.

I realized this after setting shift as my 'swim down' key... that didn't turn out too well.

Hmm, I tried that.
So shift-lmb on the map will send the coordinates to chat?

I'll try again tonight. if anyone can try it and confirm, post back.

Not coordinates, you need to click on a waypoint or landmark.

Also, if you are grouped with someone, you can supposedly write or draw arrows on the map that your group mates can see, and you can definitely place a waypoint that can be seen by party members.

Can anyone verify that party drawing works?

This may be related to the ongoing issues but when I tested it out with a guildie, we never saw what the other drew.

GrandmaFunk wrote:

Can anyone verify that party drawing works?

This may be related to the ongoing issues but when I tested it out with a guildie, we never saw what the other drew.

This worked for me in the headstart period, but wasn't working a few days ago.

Just created a GW2 Builds thread.
http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/1...

in case anyone cares

how to set up custom playlists so your music gets mixed into the game :

http://www.guildwarsinsider.com/guil...

Badferret wrote:

Not coordinates, you need to click on a waypoint or landmark.

Also, if you are grouped with someone, you can supposedly write or draw arrows on the map that your group mates can see, and you can definitely place a waypoint that can be seen by party members.

Ah So!

Ok, now I get it. makes sense.

GrandmaFunk wrote:

Can anyone verify that party drawing works?

This may be related to the ongoing issues but when I tested it out with a guildie, we never saw what the other drew.

Were you all on the same instance? It didn't work when I was in the overflow and my friend wasn't but worked fine when we were both in the same one.

Hit Lvl 20 on my Azura Elementalist last night, and enjoying it a whole lot. My biggest decision is to continue with the Elementalist or start on other classes to 20. Over all I think I'll stick with my Elementalist, just makes more sense if I want to do dungeons and such.

I love how if you complete all the exploring in an area, they give you a pretty nice reward. I got 40 Juite(Cloth) among the rewards and that was sooo welcome cos Juite is so hard to come by.

Being the hoarder that I am, seriously considering buying more bank space >.<

emyln wrote:

Being the hoarder that I am, seriously considering buying more bank space >.<

Remember that you can buy gems with gold. The current rate is 277 gems for 1 gold. Just hit "o" and go to the currency exchange tab.

Tkyl wrote:
emyln wrote:

Being the hoarder that I am, seriously considering buying more bank space >.<

Remember that you can buy gems with gold. The current rate is 277 gems for 1 gold. Just hit "o" and go to the currency exchange tab.

Exactly what I plan on doing. The question is do I want that extra bank space or another character slot first...

Ooh! Another slot for me for sure.

I will have to look into this currency exchange. Though for some reason I think I only have like 3 gold max per character =(

I am sure I can transfer but it would be cool if they borrowed a page from d3 with the shared money pool. Is there a shared stash?

fangblackbone wrote:

Ooh! Another slot for me for sure.

I will have to look into this currency exchange. Though for some reason I think I only have like 3 gold max per character =(

I am sure I can transfer but it would be cool if they borrowed a page from d3 with the shared money pool. Is there a shared stash?

Yep, your bank is shared.