Guild Wars 2: Pre-Release Discussion

[Kuya]

The best part about the game is not paying a monthly fee.

[Dantrag]

The best part about the game is not paying a monthly fee.

FFXIV doesn't have a monthly fee!

I'm interested in this game but the Engineer video looked boring compared to some of the others.

[Katlan]

The best part about the game is not paying a monthly fee.

I guess. People talk about monthly fee's and how much they suck, but 15$ (average) a month is so small I don't see how ppl can really bitch about that sort of fee. I know some will tout about F2P games being the future, but they are only around because they are profitable under a significantly lower budget. I would assume ppl, on average, are paying 10-15$+ a month on a F2P game if they are really into it and wanting to buy a lot of stuff.

So if 15$/month is whats required for a game to have higher production values and regular content, I'd take that anyday

edit: fixed for sentence structure

[volcanicweather]

The only advantage of F2P over subscription-based games is that it forces the company behind the game to constantly keep a fresh flow of content via expansion efforts because if they don't then they aren't getting paid. The F2P model prevents companies dragging along updates and slow-teasing their communities like SE and SOE are notorious for. I'd much rather have the F2P model instead of being led along for months by content that takes forever to get implemented. The $15/month is seriously so trivial to anyone who has any sort of a decent job I still fail to see why people whine and complain about it.

[notorious bum]

So if 15$/month is whats required for a game to have higher production values and regular content, I'd take that anyday

Its not required though, as demonstrated by the high production values of this game. $15/mo may not be alot to you, but in this economy there are a ton of people who would love to use that $180 a year towards something else.

As for the engineer, I think the demo itself wasn't exciting at all, they did it for entertainment purposes, its actual functionality has some promise, but I would rather hold judgement until I see some gameplay.

And that is what excites me the most, seeing the game in action. These guys have done more pre-beta previews and interviews than I've ever seen before in an MMO. Fuck that FFXIV shit with the "you'll take these breadcrumbs and you'll like it" when it comes to previewing/releasing content.

[Qalbert]

^or look at it this way, not everyone plays ONLY an MMO. by making it f2p that is essentially another three brand new console games per year. or more if you get old/used/PC games.

[notorious bum]

For sure, I love having that extra change to dig into the bargin bins, or get DLC that I otherwise would never consider purchasing.

[Elrina]

Or turn around and end up spending the money on the MMO in question anyway, on extras you choose to spend it on, which also helps support the game.

And it means they don't have to contend with people who don't necessarily want to give up their current sub to a rival MMO, and thus get their business when they otherwise may not have.

[Dragir]

The way I look at it is... what would I do with the money if I got a refund in the mail for every month of FFXI I've paid for since 2004?
The total comes to $1,087.80. That doesn't include my one mule, expansion pack purchases, "mini" expansion purchases
(lol, they made us buy those, too) and so on.

And regarding the way one spends money on a free to play MMO "anyway"... at least you have a choice.

[niwaar]

Honestly, I despise the very idea of f2p. If they using microtransactions to enhance player strength and power I will be extremely disappointed by any f2p offering. If it works like other games and there is need for money spent to relieve death penalties and buying armor and weapons with money, then screw them. If instead we are paying for actual content patches and they are coming at a decent rate, then so be it.

The question is if WoW was f2p and they charged us 30$ for each content patch, would we be seeing the same level of quality and would we be seeing it at a better pace? If the answer we can come up with is yes, then gw2 has a chance to blow them all away. If the answer is no, then I pity us all when we are still playing WoW a year from now.

[Qalbert]

I don't mean to be a dick but it sounds like you have no fucking idea how Guild Wars/ArenaNet works.

[Takiwaki]

One thing, I rather pay for a totally finished expansion than pay for an expansion in a subscription game, that I cant complete until a year after. hello wings of the goddess, which in fact i never did finish as it was so damn shitty and got tired waiting. Every expansion in the original Guild Wars was complete and didnt need the monthly patches etc. also as Qualbert said above. none of guildwars transactions were in anyway the cash shop type of free to play mmos, it was in fact stuff like costumes, unlock packs for skills for pvp alts, storage slots. nothing at all that would give anyone an advantage over someone that didnt use the shop, it was an option, Also Guildwars is considered Buy to play not free to play.

For example a new thing that they are adding to the shop is trasmutation stones as they call it, basically allowing you to take the skin from a peice of armor you really like and use it on ur good stat armor. This is awesome i think and will add to the replay value of lower level dungeons where a specific set of armor design is only attainable.

[Tonka]

...and that character will likely be an Asura.

I like my little people races...but I doubt I will pick Asura until making a 4th alt or sumfin.

[Dragir]

Winners of the "Guild Wars 2 Ambassador" Contest

We asked our fans to summon all their creative and persuasive powers and make a one-minute Guild Wars 2 promotional video that explains why you think people should play the game at launch. Grand prize winners will receive a trip to our brand new studio near Seattle, Washington, and spend the day playing Guild Wars 2 with the ArenaNet dev team!

We received close to 500 submissions, which amounts to more than 8 solid hours of video—an incredible response from our community. We were very impressed by the remarkable amount of passion in submissions from all over the world. The studio watched the video submissions and were amazed at our community's creativity.

From talking animals, involving friends, cosplay, songs and music remixes, mixing real-life and in-game footage, craft work, animation, poetry, rap, and so on, we are honored and impressed by our community's creativity. We had to make tough decisions to narrow the videos down to the winners.

ArenaNet would like to thank everyone in the Guild Wars 2 community for their passion, commitment and creativity. Whether you submitted a video, created a video that you didn't submit, or took part in the discussion on fansite forums and video sites, you've hopefully had fun participating in "Become a Guild Wars 2 Ambassador" Video Contest in your own way. Here are the 17 official winners:

Grand Prize Winners
http://www.guildwars2.com/global/inc...11-winners.jpg

Our two Grand Prize Winners will receive a trip to visit ArenaNet's new studio in Bellevue, Washington. Winners will spend time with the ArenaNet development team and play Guild Wars 2. Includes air transportation and a single room hotel accommodation for up to 3 days for the winner and one guest.

"Icelandic Viking by Leo from Iceland"
The studio loved this entry because it was a humorous video that we could show to friends who have little to no knowledge of Guild Wars 2 and get them interested in the game.



News Report by Dan from the USA
The studio loved this video because it presented a lot of information about Guild Wars 2 in a persuasive, fun, and original way.



First Place Winners
http://www.guildwars2.com/global/inc...rize-first.jpg
First Place winners will receive a custom Guild Wars 2 Antec P193 chassis – the ultimate in quiet, cool computing.

(2 videos, click to open:)

Spoiler: show

Linus from Germany


Jim from USA

Second Place Winners
http://www.guildwars2.com/global/inc...ize-second.jpg
Second Place winners will receive one Nvidia GTX 460 video card with 1GB RAM. [ed: better than the first place winners' prize, wtf?]

(3 videos, click to open:)

Spoiler: show

Whitney from USA


Elizabeth from USA


Fausto from USA

Honorable Mentions
http://www.guildwars2.com/global/inc...-honorable.jpg
Honorable Mentions will receive one "Art of Guild Wars 2" book signed by members of the Guild Wars 2 development team.

(9 videos, click to open:)

Spoiler: show

Mads from Denmark


Alexandre from France


Paul from USA


Eddie from USA


Peter from USA


Kyle from USA


Winston from USA


Chris from USA


Andrew from USA


Ryan from USA

[Vimes]

This is the best one lol..

[Dragir]

Frequently Asked Questions about the Engineer
by Regina Buenaobra May 26th, 2011

http://www.guildwars2.com/global/inc...o-engineer.jpg
http://www.guildwars2.com/global/inc...tro-header.gif

[ Jump Shot | Glue Shot | Absorb | Rifle Turret | Grenade Satchel ]

Last week, we rolled out the engineer: the multi-purpose, mechanically-minded Guild Wars 2 profession. The
engineer’s use of hardware like mines and turrets represents a departure from classic fantasy tropes and a whole
new style of gameplay, so many of you had questions. Fortunately, we have answers! Read on for answers to
common engineer questions!

Q: With Healing Turrets, Med Kits, and defensive skills like Absorb, does the engineer fit the dedicated
healer/buff/support role in Guild Wars 2?

A: The engineer is no more a dedicated healer than an elementalist, necromancer, or guardian. The engineer’s
healing turret and healing kit are both equipped in the character’s healing skill slot. You then need to consider
how powerful each of those abilities are; the Healing Turret, for example, is very similar in power to the ranger
skill Healing Spring. Absorbing a projectile is a slightly different version of skills that deflect projectiles, which
we’ve seen from other professions. When built properly the engineer is a great support character, but no more
so than most of the other professions.

Q: Given the engineer’s focus on technology, the profession doesn’t seem to fit within a
traditional fantasy setting. Do you feel that the engineer’s mines and grenades and turrets
seem out of place in a world of dragons magic, and swordplay?

A: Since 250 years have passed since the original Guild Wars, technology has advanced a great deal, and we
wanted the engineer to personify this progress. And frankly, we didn’t want to feel constrained by typical
conventions as to what is or is not acceptable in a fantasy story. Still, the technological revolution represented
by the engineer is relatively new and is not widely embraced by all cultures, so you’ll still see plenty of medieval
weaponry. The new prominence of technology and hardware in Tyria is an important theme in Guild Wars 2,
and the engineer allows us to explore that idea.

Q: It’s difficult for me to visualize a nature-oriented sylvari as a tech-heavy engineer. How does the
engineer fit with concept of each of the playable races?

A: The first engineers came from the ranks of the charr Iron Legion, who were innovative weaponsmiths. Soon
other races began to take notice of how effective this new technology was, engineers from all background began
to appear all over Tyria. Players in general are exceptional and unusual figures, heroes who stand out among
their people. Just as there are asura warriors and norn necromancers, it’s not unheard of for an inquisitive,
mechanically-inclined sylvari to become an engineer.

http://www.arena.net/blog/wp-content...rl-600x337.jpg

Q: Is the engineer a replacement or a stand-in for the ritualist profession from Guild Wars?
Are the play styles of the Ritualist and the engineer similar?

A: We’ve never considered the engineer a replacement or stand-in for the ritualist. While the engineer can adopt
a play style that is superficially similar to the ritualist, the engineer is a much more versatile profession.

Q: What the difference between the charr racial skill that uses mines and the engineer mines?

A: The main difference is that a charr player can throw out one mine with their racial skill, while the engineer
can throw out five mines.

Q: Are all of the kits and turrets utility skills? Since utility skills generally have a longer recharge rate,
I’m concerned that the engineer will have less skill customization and be stuck with their main weapon
set most of the time.

A: Yes, kits and turrets are utility skills. There is no hard and fast rule as to what the recharge time should be
for any of our skills. We give the skill a recharge time that we feel balances use of each skill individually.
Some utility skills will have very low recharges. The kits themselves have no recharge time and you can swap
between them at will. All of the kits also add a skill to the tool belt, so you aren’t really sacrificing a skill.
Turrets are basically the equivalent of guardian weapon summons and necromancer minions.

http://www.arena.net/blog/wp-content...ck-600x600.jpg

Q: Do turrets combo with other players such as the ranged weapon through fire wall?

A: Absolutely! Cross-profession combos are one of the areas where the engineer really shines. Engineers'
turrets are great for combos, since they pump out a steady flow of projectiles from a stationary position.
It’s a lot easier to lay a fire wall down in front of a turret on the battlefield than a moving ally.

Q: Are mines and turrets always visible, including in PvP?

A: Yes, mines and turrets are always visible.

Q: Will enemies attempt to avoid mines and turrets?

A: Mobs will not attempt to avoid mines and turrets specifically, although there are some mobs that prefer
to stay at range and may be harder to coerce into range of turrets and into minefields.

Q: What triggers the mines and the turrets?

A: The player triggers the mines by using a detonate skill. The turrets acquire targets automatically based
on proximity.

Q: Is there a cooldown on activating kits?

A: Currently there aren’t any restrictions on when and how often an engineer can switch between kits,
because many of the engineer’s kits tend to have a very narrow, specific effect.

Q: Can you use the Jump Shot skill to get access to high grounds in the environment?

A: You can only access high ground with Jump Shot that you could jump to normally.

Q: We noticed the skritt chatting in one of the engineer skill videos.
Do mobs really chat while in combat, or was this just added for the video?

A: Yes, a lot of the mobs have scenes and chatter lines. Those skritt lines come straight from the game.

[notorious bum]

Why do I have a feeling the AI will be incredibly easy due to exploits of training them into walls of engineer's mines for the first month's of release lol

[Dragir]

Interesting interview with some of the people behind Guild Wars/Guild Wars 2 (ArenaNet).

[Crizto]

This is the best one lol..

Holy crap that was hilarious

[Takiwaki]

http://tap-repeatedly.com/2011/06/10...onathan-sharp/

Very good and large interview.