Saturday, December 29, 2012
Guild Wars 2 players being banned for things they did not do
ArenaNet is at all times taking steps to try and stop illegal modders & bot-sellers from ruining the quality of their games, however it seems like they have made a variety of errors in trying to do so with Guild Wars two as individuals have started getting banned for points they haven't done.
Those who attempt selling others illegal mods to the Guild Wars 2 gold games or such activities that are illicit as per the TOI set by ArenaNet normally get banned, although now, individuals who're trying to send other players gold by way of the private messages system of Guild Wars 2, the only way you could trade in the game, have began getting banned as well.
There have actually been plenty of complaints so far, & ArenaNet is interested in it, yet it can be a little more complex, meaning that a few folks are going to are obliged to wait for as long as a few days.
Why? Because it looks like people who were banned for the right reasons are also trying to sneak their way back in thanks to this scenario.
A large number of of the complaints are attempts by "RMT (real profits trading) workers who are trying whatever indicates they can to get back onto their accounts or even lie and try to steal new accounts by claiming them by means of a support ticket," mentioned ArenaNet Support Liaison Gaile Gray.
"A lot of cheaters and RMT workers [that] are filing bogus appeals that, sadly, need to be weeded by means of & responded to before the agents can get to your legitimate request for help.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
ArenaNet wrongfully banning 'Guild Wars 2' accounts for acquiring/selling gold
Since its release last August, Guild Wars 2, as with most hugely multiplayer online games, has noticed issues with the acquiring and selling of gold through gold "farmers" or "bots." What's more is that several legitimate players are experiencing wrongful bans on their accounts, being told that they have actually been shopping for &/or selling gold.
Upon logging into Guild Wars 2, it's common for players to find spam mail from bots, attempting to sell them gold. Participating in this practice, whether it is botting, acquiring or selling Guild Wars 2 gold, or employing 3rd-party programs that give the player an benefit over others is prohibited.
The Guild Wars 2 Rules of Conduct may be observed below:
"You can not order, sell, transfer or auction (or host or facilitate the ability to allow others to buy, sell, transfer or auction) , or offer to transfer, sell or auction, or purchase or accept any offer to transfer, sell or auction, any game Account or game Content, including (without limitation) game characters, character attributes, items, objects, currency, credits or copyrighted material, or any other intellectual property owned or controlled by ArenaNet, Inc., NCsoft, the Service, or our licensors, nor could you encourage or induce any other player to participate in such prohibited transaction(s), except as could be primarily authorized by the Service and by ArenaNet or NCsoft, without first acquiring our express written permission."
This is per usual for MMOs.
Some players, however, have found that their accounts have been banned merely for sending other players (friends, spouses, guildmates, and so on.)gw2 gold through the game's in-game mail program (the only strategy for trading items between players), forcing a few users to wait upwards of a variety of days to see their accounts restored. Others that have been waiting at least three days have been directed to a 62 page forum thread and told to post their client support ticket quantity with a description so that their status may be updated.
The trouble with quite a few players claiming to have actually been wrongfully banned from playing the game is that much of these claims are unrealistic. Loads of of them are simply attempts by "RMT (genuine income trading) workers who are trying whatever means they can to get back onto their accounts or even lie and try to steal new accounts by claiming them by means of a assistance ticket," said ArenaNet Assistance Liaison Gaile Gray.
"Many cheaters & RMT workers [that] are filing bogus appeals that, sadly, have to be weeded by way of and responded to before the agents can get to your legitimate request for help," Gray said.
Other techniques of appealing a violation include going to the Guild Wars 2 assistance page, clicking "How do I contact the Guild Wars 2 Account Admin Team to appeal a violation?" & following the appropriate steps.
It is a shame that a game that had such lofty objectives to alter the MMO genre has been riddled with one of the most common & largest difficulties that plague the genre. What's more is that, as it appears, legitimate players have been banned from their accounts with no word from ArenaNet as to when their account will be restored.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Fractals of the Mists Dungeon Improvements
Hello, everyone! I'm Isaiah Cartwright, lead designer on Guild Wars 2. I wanted to talk to you about two upcoming changes to the fractal dungeons: reconnect & party-tier improvements.
Presently, if a party member disconnects from a fractal dungeon run, they are unable to rejoin, which can cause a large amount of difficulties for that player & their party. Our new program will allow Guild Wars 2 gold players who disconnect to reconnect to their party and jump back into the dungeon. We most definitely comprehend how frustrating this situation can be, & would like to apologize for the delay on this resolve.
We have also made a few adjustments to the way party-level restrictions work. Presently, players who want to join a party are limited to the lowest fractal level in the party. This makes it difficult for lower fractal-level players to find parties, so we have modified the party-level restrictions to allow players of any fractal level to group up. At party creation, players can pick any fractal level up to the highest fractal level in the party. Upon completion of the fractal run, all players equal to or lower than the selected fractal level will have their fractal level increased by one. All players above the chosen fractal level will gain karma, however their fractal level will not grow. Rewards from the fractal will be dependant upon gw2 gold players' personal reward level as lengthy as the reward level is equal to or lower than the chosen fractal level. I.e.:
Player 1 (fractal level 2)
Player 2 (fractal level 21)
Player three (fractal level 21)
Player four (fractal level 21)
Player 5 (fractal level 53)
Player 2 makes the party & sets the fractal level to 21, plus the party goes on to beat three fractals. Here are the fractal-level results after the run:
Player 1 (fractal level three)
Player 2 (fractal level 22)
Player three (fractal level 22)
Player four (fractal level 22)
Player 5 (nonetheless fractal level 53, however gains karma for helping)
The goal is to permit everyone to play together & make partying less restrictive for everyone. We plan to ship these 2 features at the end of January.
Thanks for playing!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Guild Wars 2 Wintersday Event Now Live
NCSOFT & ArenaNet are at the moment hosting the third important event since the launch of Guild Wars 2, entitled Wintersday. Wintersday bestows bundles of getaway joy in the form of gifts, exclusive mini-games, new events & presents upon all in Tyria. Guild Wars 2 is a massively multiplayer online role playing game that offers players a immense role playing environment combined with combat mechanics, events, & customised personal storytelling.
All through Wintersday Tixx the Toymaker has made his way Lion's Arch, stopping at every considerable city on the method to deliver toys to all races. From today Tixx the Toymaker's airship will hover over Lion's Arch & stay there till Wintersday ends. While the airship hovers gw2 gold players can earn more rewards & take part in one of a kind Wintersday events building up to hectic getaway Toypocalypse. Throughout all of Wintersday, players can also participate in many different mini-games which includes a Bell Choir mini-game, snowball fights, grabbing presents that drop from the sky and a good deal more.
The Guild Wars 2 Wintersday event ends on the third January & is the third major event since the launch of the newest chapter in the well known franchise. Electronic Theatre will keep you updated with all of the most up-to-date particulars about Guild Wars 2.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Guild Wars 2 Class Guide Will Help Game Enthusiasts, Says the web Site
ArenaNet, the developer of finest Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) Guild Wars 2, received positive evaluations after publication of the game. Guild Wars 2 is considered as one of the biggest competitor of World of Warcraft.
Guild Wars 2 Class guide offers an in-depth insider tricks to help gaming enthusiasts play gw2 gold game with no dilemma. This guide encompasses everything; whether player is looking for introductory guidance or wants to speed up levels. Class guide is professionally written guidance with HD format & images. Users of the game can speed up levels & conquer the game by way of this guide.
Guild Wars 2 Class Guide will help gaming enthusiasts by means of Guide for Beginners, Guide for PVP (Player Vs Player) , Guide for Cooking, Guide for Speed up leveling in Guild Wars 2, Guide for Dynamic Events, Guide to establish a System and Guide for crafting. Newbie can speed up leveling, though, introductory material is accessible which gives an thought about gaming.
Guild Wars 2 class guide is an precise approach to cover tips & tricks used in conquering the game. Quite a few guides expire shortly on account of insufficient information for players. GW 2 class guide is 1 of the finest techniques to improve gaming experience.
Game players can download the Super Guildwars two Method Guide.
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Saturday, December 15, 2012
Guild Wars 2 Developers Wage War Against Bots
In the course of November, Guild Wars 2's security team banned over 34,000 bots from ArenaNet's fantasy MMO.
Security coordinator Mike Lewis wants fans of the game to know that the team is working difficult to remove the bot population. ArenaNet is entirely aware that most players buy guild wars 2 gold have had to deal with bots in Tyria. Lewis hopes the recent blow to the bot community will help lessen future encounters.
The removal of 34,000 bot accounts helped drop sightings from 2,000 an hour in October down to about 20 an hour today. That is a pretty profitable raid.
The security team has an assortment of tools to help identify bot accounts, but manual observation is also a massive help. The GM staff monitors the game around the clock to help detect bots.
Lewis apologizes to fans of the gw2 gold game that have actually been bothered by bots and promises the ArenaNet team is doing everything possible to keep Tyria bot-gratis.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Mike Lewis on the War Against the Bots
Hello, fellow Guild Wars 2 citizens! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Mike Lewis, and I’m the security coordinator for Guild Wars 2 here at ArenaNet. One of my responsibilities is to actively combat botting in the game, and I’m proud to say we’ve been making some serious headway on this front.
First off, I’d like to thank all of our players for your part in making Guild Wars 2 the popular and successful endeavor that it has been thus far. Unfortunately, the popularity of our gw2 gold game has spilled over into less savory portions of the gaming world, and the presence of that element has been felt all across Tyria. I know many of you have seen the impact of bots in the game, and rest assured, we have been watching closely as well.
The bot occupation, I am happy to report, has been dealt a decisive blow.
Over time, we have heavily reinforced our initiatives to eliminate botting from Guild Wars 2. We have been seriously pursuing the botting issue since the launch of the game, and the results of our ongoing efforts are palpable.
In the month of November, we terminated over 34,000 accounts for operating bots in Guild Wars 2. Moreover, we have observed a serious decrease in the population of bots in the game – and so have you, our players. The number of bots reported every hour worldwide has dropped from more than 2,000 in October to a much healthier 20 as of this writing.
I want to take a minute to sincerely thank everyone who has reported bots in-game. Your information has helped us make this tremendous stride forward. All your diligent reporting has paid off; as you can see from these statistics, your vigilance has been deeply effective and is very much appreciated. Please continue to report any bots you may run across in the future—these reports are key to our ability to remove bots from the game.
I’d like to briefly outline the steps that we have taken to shut down botting.
Collecting and analyzing data is very important to us at ArenaNet. Data is the most powerful weapon in our arsenal against bots. We’ve gathered massive amounts of information about the habits of both normal players and automated bot players. We contracted a team of data specialists to help us build comprehensive tools that comb through this data and find effective ways to single out and terminate bot accounts. Automating this process has been a major focus of the ArenaNet security team, and we’re now seeing the considerable fruits of this labor.
Another way we identify and combat bots is through manual observation. Our GM staff is equipped to monitor the game around the clock and detect bots from within the game itself. We have a considerable task force assigned to patrolling the world and eliminating bots, as well as helping us continue to improve and refine our automatic detection tools.
Last but not least, we’re in a good position to monitor and investigate bot reports as they arrive from gw2 gold players. Aided by our analysis tools and strengthened by manual investigation as necessary, GMs are able to react quickly and efficiently to bot reports and terminate offending accounts in short order.
The combination of these resources is formidable, and we’ll continue to expand and refine our tools and processes as time goes on.
Thank you all for your dedication to the world of Tyria, for helping us to overcome this challenge, and for your continued support in making Guild Wars 2 the wonderful place that it has become. We’ve made great progress in freeing our community from the scourge of bots, and we couldn’t have done it without you.
I look forward to seeing you all in-game.(source)
Buy guild wars 2 gold at here.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Guild Wars 2 Christmas baking - Participate and win great prizes!
For St. Nicholas Day we have come up with something very special for you. We start the Guild Wars 2 Christmas baking. It's worth taking, because you may win great prize packages in this activity.
The chef is a varied career in buy Guild Wars 2 gold. There are a number of ingredients and cooking instructions to select, and many recipes can also investigate themselves. This will help a boring dough is made from flour, butter, eggs and water, delicious sounding peach cookies and creative kitchen creations.
Especially at Christmas time is baked much and it smells like cookies, gingerbread, Linzer tarts and other things, delicious pastries. That is why we are today launching the Guild Wars 2 Christmas cookies, when you can win Guild Wars 2 prize packages. We want to know if you put in master bakers and chefs and photos of you with delicious Christmas cookies look (yes, on Facebook we get far too few photos of food to see!).
You have to do?
Simply bake Christmas cookies or a cake and send us a photo of it along with prescription. Your creativity knows no bounds. The only condition is that it derives the biscuits from a recipe from Guild Wars 2. Gladly lets you create your cakes and pastries also in the Guild Wars 2-decorating style. Those who prefer to cook a delicious Advent and Christmas dish can also do that. The important thing is that your judgment is based on a recipe from Guild Wars 2.
Thus, the effort worthwhile, we are giving away to all participants along with NCSOFT 2 Guild Wars 2 packages that put us NCSOFT for you in the Christmas stocking.
We are giving away 2 Guild Wars 2 packets. A package includes: 1 Standard Edition, 1 Gem card with 2,000 precious stones, 1 Guild Wars 2 T-Shirt.
A package includes: 1 Guild Wars 2 Standard Edition, 1 gem card with a code for 2,000 gems and 1 Guild Wars 2 T-Shirt.
Sends to the photo and your recipe: info [at] online worlds [dot] com with the subject "Guild Wars 2 Christmas cookies."
Do not forget with your photo (a link to an image is fine) Name and address mitzuschicken so we can send the parcels to you if you win.
Are you already Guild Wars 2 player, then you can a friend / girlfriend for Christmas give Guild Wars 2 and gamble together. And those who do not play Guild Wars 2 may start to Christmas so. For all GW2 newbies and gw2 gold players from the cooking profession have so no plan, we list a few recipe suggestions on the following. And those who would like to try in Guild Wars 2 as a chef can take a look at our cooking guide. In the guide, we tell you how to quickly ascends to the chef.
The deadline is the 12th December 2012 at 23:59 clock. Please check our privacy policy. With your entry / participation you explain agree with the Privacy Policy. Winners will be selected from all entries and notified in writing. The decision is final.
Regional post at http://www.gw2gold.net/news/97_4930_guild-wars-2-christmas-baking-participate-and-win-great-prizes!
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Special Offer at Amazon: Free Upgrade to Digital Deluxe Edition
Currently be found on Amazon, a special campaign, with all the purchasers of the Standard Edition of Guild Wars 2 will receive a free upgrade to the Digital Deluxe Edition. The campaign is running since yesterday and goes until 16 December 2012.
So if you wanted to get anyway Guild Wars 2, this action is likely to be of interest. The upgrade is obtained in the form of a code which will be sent via e-mail. The Standard Edition costs 49 euros
Digital Deluxe includes the following items:
• elite skill to summon the mist fire-wolf: With this powerful skill you can fog a deadly fire-wolf, a ghostly animal itself has unique abilities, summon.
• Rytlock miniature: It extends your character still not even up to my knees, but this has Rytlock in your pocket over the courage and ferocity of the Charr! The Rytlock miniature will not rush into battle with you maybe, but it is totally sweet.
• cup of fame, This cup is for single use grants your character glory, with which he can activate PvP rewards.
Increases with the single use of this Holy Book: • Tome of influence
the impact of your guild.
• Golem banker: This automated servant gives you five days of anywhere access to the account warehouse.
Tags: gw2 gold ; buy guild wars 2 gold
Guild Wars 2:Free Deluxe Update
Guild Wars 2 New customers can look forward to Amazon via the free deluxe edition with the purchase of the standard game.
Joy and sorrow are often together. This principle makes it before the Guild Wars 2 players hardly wait, one takes a look at a recent Amazon deal. The joy here is clearly on the side of new customers, because this is the MMORPG made by ArenaNet can now order for still 49 euros on Amazon. Small difference: The Deluxe Edition, there on top of it as a free bonus. Certainly, the many a buyer would also have wished at times the release of Guild Wars 2.
After all, the upgrade includes nice amenities, available to any good account. Only the Golem-banker who is accessible anywhere in the world helps many a full bag back on the jumps. Similarly, in the Rytlock miniature or the mist fire-wolf, the fancier visually attractive. With the cup of glory to turn new customers also free points to thereby easier to get PvP rewards. As the last item of the package says the Tome of the influence of the guild to be a useful currency. The offer is valid until 16 December 2012.
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Saturday, December 1, 2012
Guild Wars 2 WRUP: Valor edition
Some fights cannot be won. Some battles are doomed to failure from the first salvo. But even when no hope for victory remains, you must stand fast. You must raise your head and refuse to bow. You must be a testament to the meaning and the values that you embody, no matter how desperately you wish to give in. If you fail, you fail with your head held high, with dignity and your ideals in place.
This is valor. Don't let anyone tell you differently.
On a happier note, it's the weekend, and that means it's time for another installment of WRUP. That means a full rundown of our staff plans over the weekend, what games we'll be playing along with our usual meandering about the rationale behind those games. You know, as we do. Check out our plans past the break, and let us know what you're going to be up to down in the comments.
@Beau_Hindman: I'm gathering a new group of browser-based titles for coverage over the next few months. Every time I think the well has run dry, I find some wonderful new game that buy guild wars 2 gold reminds me just why I love MMO gaming. It's also giving me more motivation to pursue my goal of living, working, and playing all through one portable device. One day I hope the knowledge translates to helping those who can't afford anywhere access. After all, access to the internet is access to a lot more than just games.
@nbrianna: I hope to play some Guild Wars 2; my Warrior's closing in on 80 finally, and I've fallen in love with the most unlikely of alt characters (for me): a female Charr Guardian. I also just got sucked back into Skyrim modding (darn you, Steam DLC sales!).
@PsykopigAU: I am trying to finish off Assassin's Creed III this weekend. I am having a bit of a Torchlight II LAN with some friends at some point as well! This is all, of course, sprinkled between my shows!
@Eliot_Lefebvre: Aside from a bit more Mass Effect 3 multiplayer, I'll be focusing on Guild Wars 2 and Star Wars: The Old Republic. I've lost a dear friend this week with the closure of City of Heroes, so I'm still sort of in mourning.
@elixabethclaire: I'm not sure I'll be playing a lot, but I'll be trying to get some time on my Necromancer (in an effort to get her above 50 so that I can stream the Claw Island personal story instance this coming week) in Guild Wars 2. I'll for sure be sneaking in some time on Torchlight II, which has recently (re-)grabbed my attention in a very delightful way. I've got Aion installed again, but I don't imagine I'll find time for it quite yet.
@jefreahard: I'm working on my first endgame armor set in DC Universe Online and playing a lot of PlanetSide 2. I'll probably also dabble in EverQuest II and a gaggle of single-player titles if time permits.
@Sypster: Jef's convinced me to give DCUO a try, so that's my Boy Scout merit badge project for the weekend. I'm not sure that it's for me, but I promise to at least log in three times. I'm also checking out Arcane Legends on my iPhone -- so far I'm liking it a lot more than Spacetime's previous titles. Otherwise, I'll be knocking out some expansion content in RIFT and Lord of the Rings Online, and continuing my march toward 100% world completion in Guild Wars 2 (currently at 61%). I've uninstalled Star Wars: The Old Republic -- just too many other good games right now, and I'm not having any of that free-to-play nonsense the studio's peddling.
@MikedotFoster: I'm obsessed with Super Hexagon, so I'll probably spend way too much time on that. Also on deck: EVE Online, Borderlands 2, World of Tanks and probably a heck of a lot of Letterpress. I may take a run at some World of Warcraft, assuming my sister is looking for a little dungeon help, but that's still in the air.
@MJ_Guthrie: I will spend the lion's share of my free time (I think I still know what that is!) meandering my way through Egypt in The Secret World. I also plan to motivate myself to level in Aion, perhaps by bribing myself with a nice cookie each 25%? Then I might actually slip into PlanetSide 2 and rez a few folks. Wait, there's that new house boat in EverQuest II as well... ahhh! Can I has more weekend please?
@mackeypb: I'm going to be playing more League of Legends. I'm sorrowful, since the Age of Wushu beta is over and I can't do any high-flying kung fu. Still, LoL is a game that requires a ton of practice, so any time I can fit in is worth it. I'm practicing Diana mostly (still), though I generally pick for team composition rather than playing a specific character.
@RichieProcopio: I'm trying to settle on a build for my warrior in Guild Wars 2. I think I prefer a more defensive and support oriented specialization in order to limit my time spent taking dirt naps. I've been doing a bunch of dungeon runs (including the new Fractal dungeon) and I'll likely be tackling a few this weekend.
@Epykbeard: I'll be giving my Mesmer main a break in Guild Wars 2 to focus on my new Ranger alt. Or maybe my Engineer alt. I really like my Thief, Warrior, and Ele alts, too. Darnit! I'll also be playing some PlanetSide 2 as it has grabbed me in ways I can't really describe on a public post. It's the perfect game for someone like me who loves FPS games but really sucks at getting that headshot every time. I love that there's so much more to do in that gw2 gold game.
At the start of every weekend, we catch up with the Massively staff members and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" (Otherwise known as: WRUP!) Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game -- and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too!
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Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Star Wars: The Old Republic re-review
Time hasn't been kind to The Old Republic. It certainly doesn't feel like a game that came out last Christmas, even if at launch its technology and largely reskinned Warcraft mechanics were more a base for BioWare to flex its narrative muscles with than a big leap forward for massively multiplayer buy Guild Wars 2 gold games. Now, not even a year later, with the game recently turned free-to-play, going back to explore its worlds feels like archeology. Sometimes palaeontology. And the story that BioWare hoped to tell is unlikely to have a happy ending.
From launch, The Old Republic's key problem was that it was stuck serving two very different masters - the personal storylines it wanted everyone to focus on and the subscription fee whose dark shadow loomed over all. It offered narrative beats far beyond what any other MMO had dared, with a choice of eight different character classes, each with a unique, branching story. It then suffocated them with padding, slow levelling and an endless array of tedious stock quests that no amount of dialogue could jazz up. (You also had to spend a ridiculous amount of time running around to check in on people despite owning a bloody cellphone. That bugged me. Just saying.)
None of this has changed. What has, though, is that story is no longer an exciting novelty, while World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, Guild Wars 2 and The Secret World have all surpassed The Old Republic's stilted dialogue, basic cinematography and forgettable characters. In Pandaria, phasing and scripting comes together for a more dynamic experience with a good sense of humour. Guild Wars 2 remembers that an MMO is expected to be a multiplayer experience first, layering its plotting and single-player content on top far more skilfully. The Secret World offers infinitely better writing. Yes, they all have issues, especially with pacing. They still trounce The Old Republic's attempts, rendering it drier than moondust.
By Richard Cobbett Published Monday, 26 November 2012
Time hasn't been kind to The Old Republic. It certainly doesn't feel like a game that came out last Christmas, even if at launch its technology and largely reskinned Warcraft mechanics were more a base for BioWare to flex its narrative muscles with than a big leap forward for massively multiplayer games. Now, not even a year later, with the game recently turned free-to-play, going back to explore its worlds feels like archeology. Sometimes palaeontology. And the story that BioWare hoped to tell is unlikely to have a happy ending.
From launch, The Old Republic's key problem was that it was stuck serving two very different masters - the personal storylines it wanted everyone to focus on and the subscription fee whose dark shadow loomed over all. It offered narrative beats far beyond what any other MMO had dared, with a choice of eight different character classes, each with a unique, branching story. It then suffocated them with padding, slow levelling and an endless array of tedious stock quests that no amount of dialogue could jazz up. (You also had to spend a ridiculous amount of time running around to check in on people despite owning a bloody cellphone. That bugged me. Just saying.)
None of this has changed. What has, though, is that story is no longer an exciting novelty, while World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, Guild Wars 2 and The Secret World have all surpassed The Old Republic's stilted dialogue, basic cinematography and forgettable characters. In Pandaria, phasing and scripting comes together for a more dynamic experience with a good sense of humour. Guild Wars 2 remembers that an MMO is expected to be a multiplayer experience first, layering its plotting and single-player content on top far more skilfully. The Secret World offers infinitely better writing. Yes, they all have issues, especially with pacing. They still trounce The Old Republic's attempts, rendering it drier than moondust.
The trouble with being a sniper is that your combat screenshots either look bland or like a sci-fi version of The Naked Gun.
With its only real selling point reduced to offering mediocre storytelling in a sterile, lifeless version of the Star Wars universe, The Old Republic doesn't have much to fall back on. As a game, it shoots for adequacy and often hits it. Even so, it's a clumsy adequacy weighed down by the fact that, while it does provide player-versus-player and story-based dungeons and endgame content as the genre demands, most of its best content would have been much more enjoyable done as a single-player game. The only real advantage of getting it as an MMO is that we were never likely to see, say, Sith Inquisitors of the Old Republic, making this the only way for most of the classes to strut their stuff.
These stories are still the best reason to play The Old Republic, especially as the new free-to-play version gives you access to all of them in their entirety. BioWare goes for quantity over quality in a big way for most of the game, but these tales are decently tight and offer plenty of flexibility. As an Imperial Agent for instance, you're a spy and you work for the baddies - your boss being an immature Sith Lord who isn't called Darth Joker, but should be. It's up to you whether you play that role as a backstabbing, ruthless bastard or an honourable agent repairing delicate situations from the shadows.
I would play an RPG devoted to these guys, ideally one with lots of Alpha Protocol mixed in - and most of the rest have their moments too. Even with The Old Republic's problems, I'd recommend downloading the free client to try one of these out, and dip into a couple of the narrative-driven Flashpoints (dungeons) if you haven't already seen how they're handled. It's just a shame that most of your time is still spent on cookie-cutter questing that's several years past its prime.
"BioWare has developed some of the most embarrassing freemium approaches since Vindictus started selling sexy lingerie and calling it 'Inner Armor'."
I feel I should warn you, I'm played by Commander Shepard.
Beyond the levelling areas, you can access almost everything except Operations (raids) and a recently premium area for free, at least to some extent. However, an extra purchase is needed to let you equip or loot advanced gear you find, and you have to buy weekly passes for unlimited access to the Warzones (PVP) and Space Missions (worthless rail shooting). This isn't a perfect system, and if you find yourself buying more than a couple of weekly passes every month then then you may as well just bite the bullet and become a subscriber. It's a reasonable taster though, at least for now.
Unfortunately, that's where the good news ends. As initially generous as The Old Republic seems, it soon becomes clear that BioWare has developed some of the most embarrassing freemium approaches that I've seen since Vindictus started selling sexy lingerie and calling it "Inner Armor". It's passive-aggressive, often feels rushed, and the only reason some of it doesn't border on suicidal is that it's hard to inflict a fatal wound even when actively emptying a minigun into both feet.
Take character creation. Free players are now only allowed to create Human, Cyborg or Zabrak characters (the latter of which I think we have to assume aren't in the store purely as a pre-emptive strike on the "Darth Mall" joke). Subscribers can also access the original race choices, like Chiss Imperial Agents, and unlock others in the store or via the Legacy system. Free players have to pay up. Seems reasonable enough... until you actually try to do it.
If you want, say, a Twi'lek Bounty Hunter, you can't simply click the button, spend the money and start playing. Instead, you have to first create another character that you don't actually want and play them all the way to Level 10 - a whole planet's worth of content - to unlock the Legacy system that connects up your characters. Only then are you permitted to hand over your money, quit, go back, and start the game for real. Somebody implemented this!
Alderaan. Tssk. Even with the server saying 'full', it's about as populated as it was in The Empire Strikes Back.
The Old Republic's biggest failing as a free-to-play game, though, is its attitude. It doesn't simply push you to subscribe. It levies so many petty restrictions that it ends up feeling like the goal wasn't to attract newcomers so much as spite any who dared show up. One of many examples: if you don't at least unlock Preferred status by spending a few quid (or returning to an old account), you're not allowed to Sprint until Level 15. Yes, that was the case at launch. It was changed shortly afterwards because the maps are huge, and getting around them at walking pace was and remains a deeply miserable experience.
Of course, BioWare needs to sell things to make this model work. That's not the problem, and most of what subscribers get is fine - early access to mounts, all-access passes to content and so on. The catch, as any game with the sweeties budget to enlist a six-year-old child could tell you, is that the free side of the game is just as important. The more people stick around, the more they're likely to buy - if not quick cosmetic stuff, then maybe extra maps or lockboxes or similar. All players matter, if not as VIPs to spoil right now, then as potential customers next month, or in three months, or next year.
The Old Republic has no time for this, preferring to treat non-subscribers as third-class citizens - even the ones willing to spend money on individual purchases. These unworthies earn no rested XP, with even regular XP being acquired at a lower rate. Quick Travel is now on a two-hour cooldown instead of half an hour. Even opening a shop window (not including the real money one) means getting a snippy "Vendor prices are increased for Free-to-Play Players".
This is not how subscribers are won. This is how 20GB of disk space is recovered.
"It's less like BioWare has set up a stall than actively taken offence that the game failed."
You can buy and trade cash-shop items on the auction house, but not really on your own. Current prices are far above the credit caps for non-subscribers.
Medical Probes suffer from by far the worst change. In the original game, and to subscribers, these are free in-field resurrections - The Old Republic's answer to corpse-running in Warcraft. When questing, especially alone in the single-player-focused stories, the huge maps and regular last-minute interruptions from boss monsters make them essential. The design relies on them.
So obviously, they're now treated as luxuries. Non-subscribers have to buy them from the cash shop in packs of five, each costing an insane 500 space funbucks in a game where £2.99 only gets you 450. Refuse, and even if you're in an instance at the bottom of a dungeon, you get catapulted to a nearby base in the over-world. It's not guaranteed that all the enemies will have respawned by the time you get back; it's just 99.9% likely.
What's especially strange about all this - even ignoring the naked opportunism of things like forcing non-subscribers to pay about £2 to hide headgear items instead of having them welded on like particularly dorky leper bells - is what's not on sale. There's no character rename option, no chance to buy more than your two starting character slots, no race change service or even much in the way of cosmetic gear - not that the setting allows for that much variety. There definitely isn't the one thing I'd personally be happy to pay for - a way to experience the class stories without all the padding. The closest thing is a 25% XP boost lasting three hours, which barely even warrants this sentence.
Set up a tattoo parlour on Tatooine, made hot deals on Hoth, and on Nar Shaddaa... sold crystal meth. Way more profitable.
Over time, yes, all of this may be fixed and improved. As a starting point though, it's impossible not to see most of it as an acknowledgement that The Old Republic isn't a good fit for the free-to-play model and that BioWare isn't really that interested in it anyway. It's less like they've set up a stall than actively taken offence that the gw2 gold game failed.
Is it a complete disaster though? No. Despite all of the problems, the free option is still very playable, and The Old Republic still has its charms when the pieces come together and tell a good story. True, the Star Wars atmosphere is undercooked, but that doesn't mean you have to feel guilty about swinging a lightsaber for a while - and there are moments where you can see why BioWare thought betting the farm on this concept would make sense. Even if it didn't pay off.
As a top-tier MMO though, The Old Republic is done. Many games are said to have their day. The Old Republic's initial blaze of glory took that rather more literally than most, and this year's big releases have left it in the dust. Consider it on life support - and not the cool Darth Vader kind. The NHS kind. Surrounded by nurses who won't shut up about BUPA.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars 2's Lost Shores recap
I won't be the first one to point this out, but almost as annoying as his eagerness to tell the citizens of Tyria about his new tourist destination (he was so eager that he actually interrupted himself -- constantly) was Subdirector Blingg's use of the phrase "most unique."
No idea what I'm talking about? Then you likely didn't get a lot of hands-on time with Guild Wars 2 over the weekend. While Southsun Cove and the Fractals of the Mists are still around for your enjoyment, you missed out on the Lost Shores event itself.
Some people will dispute whether or not you actually "missed out." They'd argue, I suppose, that there wasn't a ton of missing out to do. We differ on that point. Anyway, jump below the cut to catch the skinny on this weekend in buy Guild Wars 2 gold: the good, the unfortunate, and the maddening.
This weekend seems to have been a very mixed bag. When things were going right, they were going fabulously right. When things were going wrong, you couldn't use skills, see your enemies, or talk to people in your party. I don't know if "fabulously wrong" is really the sort of phrase to use there, but it comes to mind.
Tags: gw2 gold,buy guild wars 2 gold
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Guild Wars 2: Special loot rewards in dungeons
The German Community Manager of Guild Wars 2, Ramon Domke issues a statement on the current rewards in dungeons. It's about special loot at lower bosses and make a statement to the magical feeling.
With one of the last patches for Guild Wars 2, a change came on the spoils system for the dungeons. The German Community Manager Ramon Domke are to the official forum a statement, in which he played the obvious changes. "We have every dungeon series selected three specific sub-bosses and developed special loot for them. [...] We also have these three sub-bosses are each allocated a guaranteed object called'' bag of wondrous goods'', the players a karma-consumable and Money transactions are consumable item with a value of up to 4 silver. explorable dungeons you in this bag also rewarded with three specific to that dungeon brands. "
With this adjustment, the developers hope to make the rewards for dungeons a little more interesting for the gw2 gold players of Guild Wars 2. Besides the boss rewards the chests have been adjusted in the dungeons, "We are aware that in some of the explorable series are less bosses, so we have updated so many of the Event Reward Chest as necessary to maintain the balance between all explorable paths to guarantee. "
Recently remarked Ramon Domke on the magical feeling and turned to all players the meaning behind it represent how your get, the more magical feel you have a greater chance of special rewards. The new rewards of sub bosses so you can receive new unique loot. That was, according to Ramon Domke, has always been so and will remain so in the future. The magical feeling, however, has no effect on rewards from chests in the dungeons. You can find the complete article in the Forum of Guild Wars 2 More information about the game can be found on our topic page for Guild Wars 2 and Wartower.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Guild Wars 2: The Lost Shores is Live
The spectacular one-time world event is now live! Unravel a monstrous mystery and defend Tyria from a formidable new threat – the karka! You’ll face brand-new creatures, earn cool new rewards, discover a brand-new island map, explore the new Fractals of the Mists dungeon, and more! This weekend event, which culminates in an epic showdown at 12:00 PM Noon PST on November 18, lasts until 10:00 PM PST on November 18.
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Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Guild Wars 2 - ArenaNet explains the "Ascended equipment"
This weekend starts with "The Lost Coast" already the next event in Guild Wars 2 and also brings the same diverse innovations. In particular, the notice "New equipment, additional weapon skins on item improvements to another category of items between the degrees" "last" Exotic "and" Legendary encouraged to heated discussions in the community (see Wartower.de forum # 1 and # 2).
Now Linsey Murdock, game designer at ArenaNet announces, in an official blog post to explain it word and in particular the new "Ascended equipment". Below is a brief summary, the complete article can be found here.
We have always worked hard to create a progression that is satisfactory and is not equipment-Grind, and our new initiative to equipment progression is no exception, by adding new, more challenging game mechanics to our Endgame and opportunities for high- end gw2 gold players to mitigate these mechanisms through object-progression, we add personal progress without changing the game feels like an endless subject of treadmill, when the goods are out of your reach. Fans of the original Guild Wars will eventually recognize the familiar approach of our new progression. The first new game mechanics that we add is torture that you will encounter in the dungeons of the fog fractals, and can weaken by infusions.
In future releases of other endgame content you will notice that more infusions and Ascended objects find their way into the game. Sooner or later you will be able to furnish you with a complete set of equipment and high Ascended infusions that will give you when playing the endgame content of an advantage.
In addition, you will in the future more items to the degree Legendary and an update of our existing Legendary Weapons see. It was always intended that Legendary items with other "best place" objects are equal. So do not worry - all existing Legendary Weapons, the exotic weapons are currently equivalent will be upgraded so that they have the same value as Ascended weapons as soon as we bring the Ascended weapons into play. Legendary weapons are thus still be the "best place" items. All Legendary items will have Ascended force. We also plan, with a touch of "scavenger hunt" to introduce more entertaining methods for acquiring legendary predecessor objects than present.
These additions in November are just the beginning of our initiative to object-development. We will in the future add a ton of new content for high level characters to buy Guild Wars 2 gold. With the introduction of new content for high level we are also free Ascended and Legendary items put into play (other rewards that you can earn while playing, not to mention).
Monday, November 12, 2012
Guild Wars 2 innovation subversion your game view
Innovation element is the first element to determined a game is success or not, "Guild Wars 2" can be popular around the world, and break through the traditional, comprehensive and innovative game content and the game modes are inseparable. It can be said, "Guild Wars 2" has changed our past traditional cognitive game, and make the game more real, more relaxed, more humane, better allowing the player to experience the joy and charm of the game.
Without article read, human shields, output mode of treatment of the "iron triangle", there is no next task, to do the task, the task assigned to the cycle mode, there is no fixed combination of skills, a copy is not the same years, there is no a full range of weapons and skills constraints, there is no fixed level, there is no strange brush endless. "Guild Wars 2" in the original intention of the design is, to fixed settings to change the traditional games unreasonable, a free and experience to the gw2 gold players, unlimited adventure game world.
The unique underwater combat, dynamic events everywhere, a massive world war unique individuals epic systems, makes "Guild Wars 2" fresh and agile distinctive. Among "Guild Wars 2", you can always feel in every way and the real world, the same things in common, so the game feel more realistic, more shocking!
Subversion you view the game, change the mode of thinking of your game, that is the key of "Guild Wars 2" to success, and also our players are the most important. "Guild Wars 2" are still stale gameplay devastated? Still repeated endlessly brush strange upgrade? The really happy the game should not be our burden."Guild wars 2 " changed your view of the buy guild wars 2 gold game!
Saturday, November 10, 2012
GW2: Extensive planned class changes in the upcoming update
With the next major update in Guild Wars 2 are obviously also extensive class changes. As players report on the official forums, gw2 gold game designer Jon Peters was recently in the mists of the way and told there one or the other for this coming November patch.
According to reports, Peters said that the section of the class was to change in the patch notes of the upcoming updates about 5 pages long. This would include about 16 points for Rangers and 30 points for engineers.
The Mesmer class, however, would strayed in patch the fewest changes. The update will also include a lot of bug fixes and some balance changes.
Expected in December patch it should then be possible to color the PvP Armor individually. A goal of the objective function was not a high priority, it would be such a view, however, probably more accurate in the future. Even to an observer mode, and other features, there were no concrete statements here Peters merely stated that they were in labor.
Posted by forum user Noctred
According to Jon Peters in the mists a few hours ago:
- The profession part of the upcoming patch notes is roughly 5 pages long.
- ~ 16 bullet points for rangers.
- ~ 30 bullet points for Engis.
- Mesmer saw the fewest number of changes.
- "Tons" of bug fixes.
- "Some" balance changes.
- Portal is a cool ability that's important to the game but has some problems (whatever that means from their perspective idk).
- The ability to use custom dyes in pvp is possibly coming in a December patch.
- Broken treb lord and announcements should be fixed soon.
- Target of target and player cast bars are low priority but something they might look at in the future.
- Probably no hope of ever letting us disable the terrible skill queue.
- Custom rankings, obs mode, etc. all "on the way" (as usual).
All in all, I think it's pretty decent Depending on what exactly gets fixed.
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Friday, November 9, 2012
Flameseeker Chronicles: There's something in the water in Guild Wars 2
October is gone, and with it went the Mad King. He's returned to his realm, and if the number of hisslippers I have piled up in the corners of my bank vault is any indication, he's ill-prepared to deal with any sudden drops in temperature. On the first day of November, Lion's Arch citizens marveled at the sudden disappearance of all the festive decorations, applauded the continuity of the lion statue's still being absent from the Piazza, and set about life as normal.
Until they saw the whales.
Strange things are afoot on the shores of Lion's Arch!
If you wander down to the beachfront in the city (so long as you're not on the overflow servers, which evidently aren't special enough to merit beached whales), you'll notice some whales lying around. They don't particularly look as if they're enjoying themselves, and they're accompanied by distraught villagers. If the thought of looking at a beached whale without trying to help is distressing to you, there are water buckets nearby so you can help the poor dears (although their lives don't seem to be in real danger -- yet). Between the weeping of the villagers and the fact that whales aren't precisely known for their fondness of hanging out on beaches, we can assume that something is fishy about this scenario.
Whales aren't all that have washed up on shores. We've seen a passel of new signs posted, a ship come to port, and the beginnings of a new Asura gate.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Guild Wars 2 mouse (SteelSeries) Small, precise mice Rich is looking for you for big adventure
Once there was a snow-white mouse from SteelSeries-land that was looking for a great adventure. They roamed the plains of Tyria, and saw a crowd in the town of Divinity's Reach. "What are you doing this," said the mouse and an old lady replied: "Because it rumbles Is determined the Ice Dragon.". Ice Dragon Oh, that sounds good, the taste of adventure - thinks the snow-white mouse, ask around and find an engineer who accepts her. A man of craftsmanship would just appreciate quality, even if the "SteelSeries Guild Wars 2 Edition Gaming Mouse" in the moment seems very unassuming.
Design: Simple and elegant
The snow-white mouse has eight buttons and a logo on the back: the red ice dragons, those bosses of "Guild Wars 2". The scroll wheel has us very much, because it can not support gw2 gold game. Some scroll wheels tend to break easily nch left or right, or to turn over when scrolling, here, everything can select wonderful. Otherwise, there are few frills: no twelve side buttons like Razer Naga, no big fat case mod lighting at every turn so that the rodent and lightning flashing like a Christmas tree at the beginning of winter. When are the other mice in the world the Paladin, in fine polished to a high gloss armor and with an arrogant smile under the helmet is the "SteelSeries Guild Wars 2 mouse" more of a quiet monk who roams with his plain robe over the place - but since points may, where it really matters: in the battle, in the heat of battle - as the snow-white mouse is a true artist precision.
We tested the SteelSeries Guild Wars 2 Edition Gaming Mouse:
MMO:
Guild Wars 2
Role-play:
Diablo 3
Torchlight 2
Shooter:
Battlefield 3: Aftermath
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Medal of Honor: Warfighter
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Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Guild Wars 2: ArenaNet published Event program from Lost Shores
It is common knowledge that we ArenaNet preparing a world-event "that will forever change Tyria", as a result, during the day it was published and the official program of the event.
On November 16, at 22:00, will kick off the wonderful even in Lion's Arch shop, which will then trigger madness throughout Tyria. The second phase will begin on November 17th (22:00), will highlight the point! Consumed in November 18 ... 22:00.
It should be noted that this is an event which takes place only once in Guild Wars 2, so it would be advisable to seriously consider if you really want to participate.
Tags: gw2 gold; buy guild wars 2 gold
Sunday, November 4, 2012
GW2: The Lost Coast - Teaser Poster + about level requirements for the weekend event
Halloween event in Guild Wars 2 ended a few days ago, the next major events in the game, however, raise already on the horizon! Mid-November is the update go "The Lost Coast" and others online a new island to the battlefield. On Facebook ArenaNet now published a teaser image. There was also information about the level requirements for the planned weekend event.
Participation in the weekend event
On Friday, 15.11.2012, it's time, then go with Guild Wars 2, the next big update online. A teaser site for The Lost Coast ArenaNet released at the end of the week. First details about the new gw2 gold game director Colin Johanson also announced in an interview.
As part of the interview Johanson revealed among other things that on 16.11.2012 starts a weekend event, which will open the way to a new island. In the forum, a player asked now that (stage) requirements one had to participate in the event and whether it was accessible as the Halloween event for all.
Johanson explained to her that the event and the things that would take place this weekend, basically by the level scaling technology are available for players of all levels. "We want that everyone has the opportunity to try it," said Johanson.
Teaser image on Facebook
Already, there are in the game the first indications of the upcoming November update yourself. So on the coast Löwensteins emerged such as new ships and in a hut were discovered mysterious posters.
One of them priced at a fantastic new holiday paradise that is to be accessible shortly. Posters said ArenaNet now published on the official Facebook page for the game, it was an appropriate translation of a Facebook user:
On Friday, 15.11.2012, it's time, then go with Guild Wars 2, the next big update online. A teaser site for The Lost Coast ArenaNet released at the end of the week. First details about the new game director Colin Johanson also announced in an interview.
As part of the interview Johanson revealed among other things that on 16.11.2012 starts a weekend event, which will open the way to a new island. In the forum, a player asked now that (stage) requirements one had to participate in the event and whether it was accessible as the Halloween event for all.
Johanson explained to her that the event and the things that would take place this weekend, basically by the level scaling technology are available for gw2 gold players of all levels. "We want that everyone has the opportunity to try it," said Johanson.
Teaser image on Facebook
Already, there are in the game the first indications of the upcoming November update yourself. So on the coast Löwensteins emerged such as new ships and in a hut were discovered mysterious posters.
One of them priced at a fantastic new holiday paradise that is to be accessible shortly.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
A short guide to everything we know about GW2
The intention of this thread is to give you a quick and easy point by point reference of what we know the game offers, whenever possible it is backed up by links. If you want an in depth look at classes and mechanics read chelmo's Mass info for the uninitiated.
PLEASE NOTE ArenaNet are developing GW2 with a process of iteration, all information is subject to change at any time. Also note that ArenaNet has the policy of not discussing any aspect of the game until it is live in the current iteration of the game, if they talk about it, it's already in the gw2 gold game.
Official links:
guildwars2.com
ArenaNet Blog
The Guild Wars 2 official Wiki
The World
Set some 250 years after the original game. Tyria will be the only playable continent, the continents of Elona (Nightfall GW-Chapter 3) and Cantha (Factions – GW chapter 2) will not be included.
The game world is set to be much larger than the original game, much of the game play is said to be underwater. The lost land of Orr has risen from the depths and along with it the elder dragons have returned to threaten its survival.
The majority of the world, with the exception of dungeons and personal storyline, is set in a persistent world and isn't heavily instanced like its predecessor. Areas will be large and from what we've seen in videos will be zoned, meaning there will be portals and loading screens between areas.
There are 25 large explorable zones, 8 dungeons, and 6 cities currently planned for Guild Wars 2 Source
The world will have day/night and weather cycles. Some events will be linked to the time of day and weather cycle, some events will even effect weather.
As well as language understandable by the player there will be translatable languages discoverable by players, source: The language of Guild Wars
Cost
You will need to buy the game but there will be no subscription charge, revenue will come from micro transactions similar to the current GW shop (make over, name change, fluff items and maybe skill/weapon unlocks) and by additional game content released further on.
Movement
Unlike GW1 you will be able to jump and swim. Movement plays a very important role in combat.
Tutorial
Of the three racial starting zones that have been demoed so far, all three had a boss fight at the end of the tutorial.
Travel
Map travel is possible using waypoints, you unlock waypoints by exploring and finding them. Players can open the map, choose an unlocked waypoint and teleport there. There is also an Asura gate system that allows travel between cities, these don't need to be unlocked. Both forms of travel will have a small currency cost.
Extended Experience
It was revealed at PAX that GW2 will have a phone app, enabling you to keep in contact with your guild and friends and track their progress. The game will also offer various web utilities including use of the auction house and guild chat.
Anet Blog - Rick Ellis talks about the extended experience
Extended Experience Q & A
Hall Of Monuments (only available to Guild Wars players)
The Hall of Monuments (HoM) is only available to the original GW players who own the expansion Eye of the North. The HoM is a place that celebrates your achievements in the original game, it has four monuments to unlock: Devotion, Fellowship, Resilience, and Valor. The monuments are completed by adding companions (heroes/hench with upgraded armour and certain combat pets), Mini Pets (non combat pets usually received as character birthday presents or as special promotional items), by gaining titles (completing content, vanquishing areas, playing PvP etc) and by attaining 'elite' armour sets.
GW Wiki Hall of Monuments
The HoM will bestow special items in GW2 for linked accounts, those items are based on your GW account achievements and will be available for all of your characters on your GW2 account. Current GW players can use the online calculator to see what rewards they have unlocked on their account and how they can progress.
GW2 HoM FAQ
GW2 HoM page and calculator
PvE and PvP
The world of Tyria will be PvE. There are no plans to have PvP servers.
There will be a separation of skills between PvP and PvE, this is to ensure balance for either play style can be pursued more effectively.
PvP is supported and will include structured, instanced, team based games and a large zone known as 'The Mists' which will have massive World vs World vs World combat. You can jump in to team based games on an equal footing with the same character level and item quality as everyone else. WvWvW can be joined at any time, on entering you character will be kicked up to level 80, your skills ad gear however will remain the same. You can progress in WvW as you would in PvE by unlocking more skills and getting better gear. Players will drop items, none of these items will be from the player themselves but from a loot table, you won't lose any of your gear to other players.
Structured PvP
There will be tournament style PvP matches and games that will be 'hot joinable', allowing players to jump in to a match at any time, with matches ranging from 1 v 1 to 10 v 10. You can join in structured PvP immediately from character creation, all players joining a Structured PvP match will be boosted to max level, have top end gear and access to max level skills. Structured PvP is all about skill and not about gear. At Gamescom 2011 we saw the first glimpse of structured PvP with a map called The Battle of Khylo, a conquest map with three capture points and siege weapons as the secondary mechanic.
GW2 Wiki - Battle of Khylo
GW2 offficial site - PvP overview
AreNet VS Boon Control at Gamescom 2011
World V World v World PvP
World V World encounters are on a two week timer and pit three servers against each other, completing objectives, such as holding a fort or taking an enemy fort will provide buffs for the whole server. At the end of each two weeks the servers will change to ensure servers of an equal level are competing with each other. The match is based in an area called the Mists, away from the PvE game play. Games are hot joinable, players are boosted to max level on entry with their current skill set and gear. After the short tutorial players are free to enter WvW and can play to max level (unlock skills and gain better gear) without the need to PvE.
The map consists of four areas, three home areas (called The Borderlands) for each server team all connected to a central area. There are siege weapons to buy and build, NPC races who may help your side if you help them first, resources to get and protect (simply called 'supply'), castles to conquer and hold, supply caravans to protect and of course opposing players to kill. Parts of the map are underwater with their own objectives.
Aneet blog on World PvP
MMORPG.com WvW Preview
GW2 Wiki on World PvP
Diovidius Has made a great thread with links to articles and videos, it covers pretty much everything we know so far on PvP.
Further in this thread MumboJumbo has provided some great links of post-gamescom 2011 PvP info.
Character Creation
The game will have extensive character creation options, the creator is based on Aions system but will be limited so no grotesque or deformed looking characters can be created. There are extensive options including sliders for various parts of the anatomy. Anet have deliberately scaled back options to ensure characters look natural in the world of tyria. You can also select the dye colour of your starter armour here too.
Charr Character Creation
Human Character Creation
Characters also have an extensive emote system.
Femal Human Emotes
Character creation also sets up your background story for your personal storyline.
Races
There are five playable races and each will have its own starting city and have their own racial abilities, they are:
Humans - Once the dominant species Humans are now in decline, the capital city of Divinity's Reach in Kryta, ruled by Queen Jennah, is their last stronghold. They look to their allies and former enemies (The Charr) to secure their place in the world and overcome the dangers posed by the elder dragons.
Abilities: Most of the human abilities in the game call upon the power of their six gods. These abilities can ask for a small favor such as the "prayer to Dwayna," which heals the player. Some of the human abilities ask for major intervention from the gods, such as the one that summons the two fiery hounds of Balthazar to come to the player's aid.
Charr – originally the arch enemy of the humans, the Charr have ceased hostilities in an uneasy alliance to fight the greater foe
Abilities: The charr use technology, explosives, and sheer ferocity in battle. Whether laying down a "shrapnel mine" or using a mighty "battle roar," the charr are a force to be reckoned with. Charr also use advanced tactics, such as calling upon warband support to overwhelm their foes with numbers.
Charr walk on two legs while wielding weapons, without weapons they run on all fours.
Asura – small pointy eared creatures with a strong sense of self, who look down on other races and often each other. They have developed their own technology which includes the creation of magical, mechanical creatures known as golems. They originally rose from their underground dwellings during the story line of 'Eye of the North' the first and only true expansion for Guild Wars (EotN was the replacement for the 4th chapter which was abandoned after Anet decided to focus on the new game GW2)
Abilities:The abilities of the asura have a lot to do with golems and magic. An asura player might use a simple "arcane blast" or create a deadly "radiation field." If they are really in a bind, they can summon a magical "golem battlesuit" that they can climb into and use to devastate their foes.
Norn – a tall strong independent race who have the ability to shapeshift, they are a proud warrior race and also made their first appearance in EotN. The Norn skill bar will change to reflect the form they have shapeshifted to.
Abilities:The norn rely on individual feats of strength and their faith in the spirits of the wild. Their link to nature allows them to "call upon bear" to increase their health or "call upon raven" to attack their foes. When the situation calls for it, they can assume snow leopard form to wreak havoc on the field of battle.
Sylvari – a new 'emergent race' who developed from a magical tree which produced cocoons from which they emerged, these new creatures share a common consciousness, each is born from the same tree and emerges ready equipped with the knowledge of those Sylvari who have come before.
Abilities:The empathic nature of the sylvari allows them to call upon both other sylvari and all green and growing things. They can use the "blessing of the pale tree" to protect themselves or cause an enemy to "take root," immobilizing them. In times of great need, they can call upon the "strength of the dream" to heal themselves from critical damage.
Ability info from this gamespot article.
Video - Races of Tyria
Professions
GW2 relies on a different trinity to the classic one of DPS, Heal and Tank. GW2's trinity is one of damage, control and support. There are no dedicated healers, tanks or ally targeted skills.
Elementalist
Warrior
Ranger
Necromancer
Guardian
Thief
Engineer
Mesmer
April 2011- as an April fools joke the Commando was announced :)
Healing
As mentioned previously there is no dedicated healing class, there will be support classes but it's expected these will be about prevention rather than cure, each profession will have it's own healing skills and is therefore expected to be self sufficient for healing. There are no ally targeted skills in GW2 Source
Names
16 characters including the use of spaces.
Death and the the 'downed' state
When a player gets close to being defeated they enter in to a 'downed state' their skill bar will change and they will have the ability to use special skills, these are your last chance skills, skills that could save you from death, rallying from this state will take you back to your original skill bar and get you back in to the fray. All players, from level 1 will have a revive skill to resurrect fallen players. The more times a player dies the longer it takes to revive them. If you die and aren't revived you will, for a small amount of gold, be resurrected at the nearest shrine. An attrition mechanic has been introduced to remind players to either learn to play or go play in a lower level area; armour will get damaged on death (not from hits and not from being in the downed state}, one piece of armour will get damaged on death, if all pieces of armour are damaged one piece of armour breaks on the next death and ceases to provide any stats, repairs are completed by an NPC in outposts (we don't know yet if repair kits will be available}.
healing + Death
Development update with info on being downed and defeated
Leveling
The game will have a max level of 80, the first few levels will come quite quickly but after a point the difference in levels will plateau so that getting from say lvl 45-46 will take the same amount of time as getting from lvl 76-77.
Progression and Leveling
Skills
Skills can be changed at anytime while out of combat. Weapon skills can be changed during combat by equipping another weapon.
In order to ensure easier balance of skills between playstyles, there will be a difference between PvE and PvP skills.
Skills will have tiers that can be unlocked as you progress.
When underwater your skillbar will change to skills that fit with the environment
There are no ally targeted skills in GW2 Source
The players skill bar will have ten skill slots, the first 5 skill slots are for weapon skills dependent on what the player is wielding (a warrior wielding a mace will have a different weapon skill set to a a warrior wielding a sword), if a player is wielding a sword and an off hand then the skills change accordingly while a two handed weapon will dictate all 5 slots , the player can also use 'environmental weapons' such as rocks which in turn change the weapon skill slots. The next 5 skill slots will be restricted by having one healing skill and one elite skill of the players choice, the player is free to slot the remaining 3 of those 5 with class and racial skills.
Getting Skills
Weapon skills are currently acquired by using that weapon, the first time you equip an axe you will have only one skill, the more you use that weapon the more skills you unlock, this happened pretty quickly in the gamescom 2011 videos.
Players use skill points to unlock healing and utility skills, these points can be attained by completing skill challenges, these aren't profession specific which allows players of differing professions to complete the challenges together. There are 200 skill challenges in the game.
Soucre
Cross Profession Interactivity
Skills will be interactive and offer a synergy between players, examples such as rangers firing arrows through an elementalist's fire wall will add burning damage and in the 'Manifesto' video a gun is seen to be firing through a static field to add electrical damage.
Combos
A lot of skills we have been shown so far have progressions or chains, as an example a necromancers minion skill may change to become a skill to explode those minions once summoned, a warriors strike would chain to vengeful strike then wrathful strike, providing increased damage. There are also cross profession combos that players can discover during combat, firing your arrows through a necromancers poison AoE may add poison damage to your shots.
GW2 Wiki - Skills
Traits
Traits are slottable and are used to modify your skills and attributes, Traits can be used to increase your weapon mastery or decrease time between swapping weapons in combat or increase/add a certain type of damage . Each profession has a couple of 'trait lines' how you slot your traits defines how you choose to play your character.
Skills
Traits Overview
Attributes
The team have settled on 4 attributes:
Power increased attack range
Precision increased critical strike chance
Vitality increased health
Toughness increased defense/armour
Attribute points are earned as you level. You will be able to reset attribute point allocation at a cost.
Izzy on attributes and iteration
Achievements
Completing or mastering something will provide you with an achievement, some achievements will also provide you with a title that you will be able to display. Achievements are account based rather than character based as some, like mastering all weapons, can't be achieved by a single character. Achievements provide no game advantage.
IGN article
(Thanks to Gmr Leon over on gw2guru whose post there contained this info and link)
The demo contained the following list of achievement groups
Slayer
Party Animal
Weapon Master
Explorer
Adventurer
Conqueror
Trader
Hero
The achievement groups expanded to reveal multiple progress bars, for example the Weapon Master group had one progress bar for each weapon type.
The demo had a disabled feature for comparing achievements with other players
Combat
Combat in Guild Wars 2 is built around damage, control and support. Damage is simply decreasing the enemy's health, control is preventing the enemy from doing what it wants, and support consists of boosting the abilities of allies. Each profession is able to perform any of these roles.(Taken from Guild Wars2 wiki).
Combat will be tactical in terms of movement, taking advantage of the environment and by using cross-profession combos (see previous example of elementalist static field being fired through by a warrior using a gun to add electrical damage). There will be many environmental weapons littered about the world from simple rocks to a jar of bees that can be thrown at an enemy, some of these environmental weapons will react differently depending on which profession picks them up.
Body blocking can only be replicated through the use of skills, there is no collision between characters in GW2. Source
Players will be able to dodge attacks and projectiles. Dodge has a 'dodge' bar, once that is depleted you won't be able to dodge until it regens, this is to stop players dodging all the time.
Some skills will have tactical advantages when used from the side or behind an opponent, other skills will be directional, AoE or a mix of both meaning positioning will be important.
Combat for underwater changes to better fit the environment, your skillbar will change and you will use a more suitable weapon, there are three underwater weapons which are class restricted, they are Trident, Spear and harpoon gun. Submerged players receive a mask that lets them breath underwater, there will be no need to watch or worry about a breath bar.
Jonathan Sharp Talks Underwater Combat
Combat on the official site
Further talk on combat
Underwater Combat Demo
Armour
The type of Armour you wear depends on your profession type:
Scholars will wear Light Armour
Adventurers will wear Medium Armour
Soldiers will wear Heavy Armour
Each dungeon will have a minimum of one unique armour set for every armour type as a possible reward.
You will be able to dye your armour and players will be able to have 3 separate hues on each armour piece.
Dye System Demo
At character creation you can dye your armour, when you equip new armour the game will try to intelligently match the new armours dye scheme to your previous one until you change it.
In the demo an armour upgrade item was rewarded from an event, it's looked like this system might be similar to the current GW Insignia system but instead of one upgrade, the item had several stat boosts. These items can be crafted.
Weapons
The list of standard wieldable weapons is as follows:
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.
Underwater Weapons: Spear, trident and harpoon gun.
Not all professions will be able to wield all weapons and some professions will be able to wield more weapons than others.
A weapon wielded as an off-hand will have different skills to that same weapon wielded in the main hand, not all professions will be able to wield a weapon as an off hand.
Environmental objects will also be able to be used as weapons and have their own skill set, which may differ depending on the profession wielding it.
Weapon skills are earned by using the weapon.
Combat Part 2 guildwars2.com
Consumables
There are consumable items that can be bought, crafted or looted. These range from food stuff to item buffs and upgrades.
Interface
Everything we know about the interface is taken from demo videos at gamescom. The devs have stated that it's a work in progress and that there will be some player customisation. Take this info only as rough guide.
Skillbar
1. Switch Weapon Set
2. Weapon Skills (first three are main hand, last two are off hand or all 5 for two handed weapon)
3. Build Up Bar, profession specific, Warriors have Adrenaline, Necromancers have Life Force
4. Life
5. Energy Potions
6. Energy Bar
7. Five slots for profession/Race specific skills, heal and elite skill
Hero Panel
The Hero Panel acts as a character panel, the place to equip your items, it also has options for managing skills, traits, is where your dye collection can be used, track your personality and your personal story.
See GW2 Wiki Hero Panel
Guilds
Players will have the choice of either keeping their characters in the same guild or having different characters in different guilds. There will be guild achievements and guilds will be able to hold keeps in WvWvW PVP, there will be a guild calendar for coordinating events and you will be able to participate in guild chat from any web browser without logging in to the game.
On joining a guild you begin to earn a currency (called Influence) for your guild, this influence can then be spent in four areas:
Politics (PvE buffs, guild emblems, guild armor contracts, weapon contracts and party items)
Art of War {PvP buffs, gains and siege items)
Economy (karma, experience, magic find and gathering buffs.)
Archiotecture (build a bank and make it bigger - likely more to come here when Guild Halls are introduced)
GW2Guru article on guilds
incgamers article
Level Down System
When players enter areas or personal story instances that are beneath their level they will be kicked down to the appropriate level, players keep all skills unlocked but stats are bought down to be in line with the area. Loot while kicked down remains appropriate to your character level. While you do have the advantage of better skills you won't be able to one shot anything, a challenge is still intended.
From the GW2 wiki
Quests and the Dynamic Event system.
There will be no NPC's with exclamation marks above their heads, quests have been replaced with a dynamic events system. Instead of picking up a traditional quest players will need to pay attention to their environment, visual clues such as the appearance of invading hordes or an NPC running out to call for help as well as more subtle clues such as changes to the environment will be the entry points for players to join in these events. Events are set to scale depending on player numbers, player level will not bar successful and meaningful involvement in these events, a higher level player can join lower level events and will find their skill level adjusted so that, while still being a little over powered for the event, they shouldn't be able to steam roll the event.
Events are dynamic and one event will effect other events further down the line, players always have the choice as to their level of involvement and which events to get involved in. NPC's will remember when a player has helped them out in the past and react differently after the event.
Players do not need to party to gain rewards from participating in an event, all players who participate will receive a reward, the majority of these rewards will consist of Karma and Gold, the player is then free to choose what items to spend it on.
It has been stated this events system means a player could visit the same area several times and not find the same events happening.
The events system eliminates kill stealing and encourages group play through the scaling dynamic, the more players the more interesting the fight can become.
For some events completion can be achieved in a number of ways, in the case of a village being attacked and set on fire, players can choose to either help put out the fires or repel the invaders, doing either or both will help complete the events objective.
There is a 'scout' NPC that will be able to tell you of the potential trouble spots in the local area to help you find possible events
Examples:
Centaurs may attack a village, players can help save the village or let it be captured, the centaurs could then set up base and try to expand without further player intervention in to surrounding territory. If the players defended the village there is nothing to say that the centaurs won't keep trying.
A player may return to a previously visited watermelon field to find the crops destroyed, the farmer may be calling for help to fight off an invader, at the same time the player has noticed the watermelons have gone because the field is over run by rabbits, on further investigation traps/cages may be found in that field, the player has the choice of either fending off the invading mob or help capture the rabbits.
Dynamic events
Q&A: Dynamic Events 1
Q&A: Dynamic Events 2
GDC Vault - Designing Guild Wars 2 Dynamic Events
PAX Panel of Events: Designing a New Dynamic Event with the Developers
MumboJumbo spent some time researching info on events- see this post
Instances and Open World
The majority of the game will take place in a massive open world, each player also has their own personal storyline, these will be instanced but you can choose to invite friends to help you or just to come visit. Dungeons are also instanced.
Dungeons
Dungeons are designed for five players. Instead of random loot drops players players will be rewarded with tokens to spend on dungeon items. Each dungeon will have the minimum of one armour set for each armour type and a full range of weapons as possible rewards. Initial encounters in dungeons will come from following the story, subsequent entries in to dungeons will be in an 'explorable' mode, players will have the opportunity to take different routes and have different encounters in a more difficult version. All dungeons give you the opportunity to explore them in several ways, most explorable dungeons have three different ways of playing, players make a choice through vote as they enter the dungeon. Dungeons also have dynamic content that can be triggered so that repeating the same option in explorable mode could still provide fresh content.
gamebreakertv hands on
From PC Gamer, posted on GW2 Guru
Personal Storyline and NPC interaction
At character creation you have the opportunity to make choices and develop a back story prior to entering the game, these choices will dictate how your personal story line plays out and how NPC's interact with you. Those choices will never lock you out of nor restrict your content in the open world and main story line.
Your instanced personal story line and the environment in your personal instance will change according to your choices. You could start off as a mild mannered type but later decide you have had enough and decide that the best way to get through is by force, choosing to punch your way to information rather than using diplomacy, that will earn you a reputation in the wider world, so while merchants may not like you they'll still do business with you. In the demo the three character traits that contributed to your personality development were:
charisma
dignity
ferocity
Your choices in the instanced personal storyline also effects your environment within it. Inviting friends lets them experience a different side to the personal story that they may not have got to have seen.
If you out level your personal story content you will be kicked back down to the appropriate level.
Karma
Karma is a currency, develop it by doing good deeds, taking part in events and helping lower level players and you can use it to buy goods. During the demo successful completion of some events spawned a merchant NPC who sold special items for karma.
You can of course choose to ignore most of these RP elements and just get on with the game.
Personal stories
Personality in Guild wars 2
Player Housing
As part of the personal storyline players will have a home instance, this will be about the size of a city block within your racial city. Within that home instance players will have the racial equivalant of a house (Asura may have an Asuran lab). You will be able to invite other players in to your home. This is unlikely to be in at launch and will follow in an update along with guild housing.
Massively interview with Ree Soesbee
Crafting & Gathering
The crafting professions are:
Weaponsmith – Weaponsmiths craft melee weapons, such as swords, axes and hammers.
Huntsman – Huntsmen craft ranged weapons like bows and pistol, as well as torches and warhorns.
Artificer– Artificers craft magical weapons such as staves and scepters.
Armorsmith – Armorsmiths craft heavy armor pieces.
Leatherworker – Leatherworkers craft medium armor pieces.
Tailor – Tailors craft light armor pieces.
Jewelcrafter – Jewelcrafters craft jewelry, such as rings and necklaces.
Cook – Cooks can prepare food which characters can eat for temporary combat buffs.
Players can have two active crafting professions. Professions can be swapped at a cost, when relearning the previous profession you start at the level you left off, the higher the level the higher the cost of switching professions. Recipes can be discovered by putting between two and four correct items in to the crafting interface allowing you to discover recipes by trial and error, recipes will also be available as drops. Crafting will take place at a workstation. When selecting a profession you will be supplied with a starter pack of materials useful for that profession.
Crafting demo at Gamescom 2011
Gathering - all players can gather, there are no gathering professions to choose from. Nodes spawn so that each player can gather individually, you don't have to worry about someone stealing the node you are clearing mobs to reach, your quota will still be there.
See Andrew Mcleod Talks Crafting
Fashion
It has been stated that if an NPC is wearing it it's very likely you will be able to wear it too. This article on the official blog references transmutation stones which are bought from the item shop, they are used to put the look of one piece of gear on to another piece, that level 1 helm you loved can have its look transferred to that ugly lvl 80 helm of awesomeness, keeping the lvl 80 stats. It has been stated clearly that all armour, from start to end game will have good looks, no one will be forced to buy transmutation stones because of poorly designed armour.
Q&A on loot and items
Mini Games
Each major town will have it's own mini games, these are social activities that aren't dependant on character level, they will vary in their mechanics from complex games of skill, simple target practise, solo games, multiplayer and full on no rules bar brawls. They will carry rewards, for example during the bar brawl you may be rewarded by the local dentist by handing in teeth you've knocked out the mouth of your opponents. It's intended that these are fun past times that can step out side the normal rules of the wider game.
Activities - games within the game
Auction Houses
There will be an auction house and it will be accessible from outside the game, you can monitor and bid from a web browser/phone app interface without entering the game. Players will also be able to post 'bids' for items not currently listed on the AH and other players can choose to meet that bid and supply the item.
Audio
The music is composed by the original GW composer Jeremy Soule.
There is extensive voice acting but not everything will be voiced.
A lot of care has been taken with audio to ensure the world sounds alive. They have a built a dynamic audio system that reacts to environment, clothing etc to change the sounds to allow for a more realistic sound scape. Players will be able to import their own playlist of music to replace that of the composer if they so wish, allowing your music to be fully integrated in to the game letting you carry on hearing environmental and weapon effects.
Video - Giving Tyria a Voice
Talking Heads - VO and dialogue in GW2
James Boer talks gw2 audio design
End Game
There is an anti grind philosophy with GW2, there will be no end game grinding through raids to achieve better and better gear. there will be 'elite' zones and dungeons so that gw2 gold players who enjoy a challenge can play through those. End game is expected to consist of elite content, PvP, crafting and achievements. The sidekick system will also allow high level players to revisit and experience new dynamic events in lower level areas. Any grind will be purely voluntary and will likely be rewarded with titles and cosmetic items. As there are individual starter areas and cities for each race and branching personal story arcs, it's expected that rolling alts will add to retention of players.
Videos
GW2 Debut Trailer
Design Manifesto
Races of Tyria
Voices of Tyria
Ranger Skill Videos: Spread Shot, Barrage, Hunter's Call, Whirling Defense, Serpent's Strike.
Elementalist Skill Videos: Water Trident, Static Field, Phoenix, Meteor Shower, Churning Earth.
Necromancer Skill Videos:Putrid Explosion, Locust Swarm, Grasping Dead, Life Siphon, Doom.
Warrior: Skill Compilation
Guardian: Skill Compilation
Thief Skill Compilation
Engineer Skill Compilation
Concept Art Videos: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.
Dev walkthrough at Gamescom: Part One, Part Two, Part Three.
TubeElephant Has a great channel over on youtube, he's edited all the info together from various videos to provide a one stop shop for everything you need to know.
See cyphers excellent post for more gamescom 2010 videos and more in depth info on classes here
romanator0 started a great Gamescom 2011 Video thread with plenty of eye candy.
More info:
http://journal.smart-environment.org/article/author/update.php?id=3338
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Guild Wars 2 is a free upgrade, but with paying tournaments
ArenaNet and NCsoft announced with great fanfare a few days there the immediate availability of a major update for Guild Wars 2 called "The Shadow of the Mad King." Available from October 22, it brings some new .
In his statement , the editor shows all the new features introduced by this big patch, the first of which is an event dedicated to the celebration of Halloween. This takes place until 31 October and brings new minigames and dynamic events on all of Tyria.
The latter also evolve somewhat with the emergence of new vistas to unlock, new boss minidonjons with some success and more to unlock.
However, the main addition of this update is probably Tournaments gw2 gold players against players ... paid! Available very soon, it will pay a cost gems (the game's currency) so that your team of 5 players can compete to win major prizes. However, it is possible to exchange gold against his gems at a variable rate, so you do not have to get his card. Free tournaments are also available to qualify for the tournament fee.
Finally, note that the game is again available for several weeks, stockouts are now ancient history. You can also take a ride on our forum, dedicated to this topic Guild Wars 2 to share your experience.
Here is finally a video presentation of how Halloween
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