Guild Wars 2: Pre-Release Discussion

[Null]

I wondered the same thing. But then I used google.

Shocker.

[Purrrfect]

There is even a thread on it a few spots below this one.

[Celeras]

50 minutes of gameplay, minus the German dude at the start.

http://vid.buffed.de/v/mvzjEXAUHA7/G...-2010-Folge-7/

Ok so it doesn't just sound like Public quests from Warhammer... but IS Public Quests from Warhammer. Guess that clears that up.

[Insanecyclone]

PQs done better imo

[Mathematics]

question:
is GW2 gonna be a true mmo this time?
like will you be able to see people outside of town that arent in your party?
this is the deciding factor for me. game looks great

[Insanecyclone]

You will be able to see other players in different areas.

[Qalbert]

although from what I've read there will be some instanced areas

[Hyan]

question:
is GW2 gonna be a true mmo this time?
like will you be able to see people outside of town that arent in your party?
this is the deciding factor for me. game looks great

"True" in the sense that you can see other players, crafting etc.

Probably not "true" in the sense that you'll run out of content in few weeks/months and get annual content updates sold as "expansions" I guess.

They don't really need you to be playing the game as long as you pay for it.

[Gokulo]

There's no subscription though so things like that don't hurt you as much.

[Hyan]

Obviously, it doesn't hurt them nor us (except if you're looking for a "proper" MMO game that you'd play for years).

If you don't go in thinking it'll last long it'll probably be an awesome game that you can come back to from time to time.

[Gokulo]

Plus, I don't think GW2 will have many content problems. Afaik every GW expansion had a lot of stuff to do and if you wanted to get everything you would take ages. They should manage fine this time too.

[Insanecyclone]

http://www.massively.com/2010/08/30/...-other-basics/

I had originally planned this week's Flameseeker Chronicles to be a detailed overview of Gamescom and the necromancer. By Friday afternoon, I decided that the subject had been done to death and that more words on it would just be repetitive clutter. There's enough of that on the net already, thanks.

Instead, I took my thoughts in another direction: the extreme hype of Guild Wars 2. Guild Wars 2-interest is at an all-time high, thanks in large part to Gamescom and PAX, and more people are beginning to take notice every day. The majority of those people are unfamiliar with Guild Wars and ArenaNet, and they've got a lot of questions.

Most of them are the same questions that veteran fans feel like they've answered a hundred times, and since I covered the basics of Guild Wars a few weeks ago, it seemed only fair to give the same kind of attention to Guild Wars 2. I love my fellow crazed-fans, and I promise that next week's column will contain all sorts of treats from PAX, but this week is for the newbies.

If you are new to ArenaNet's world and wondering what the deal is with Guild Wars 2, welcome -- I'm so glad you're checking this game out. If you've been around for a while, pass this on the next time you see someone asking what the deal is. There are several good -- and very detailed -- informational sites for the game in existence, and I'll wrap up with a bit of info on those. This one is intended as a starting point to cover the basics, complete with links for proof where needed, because the really extensive ones can get a bit overwhelming.

Follow along after the jump and let's get you started.

When is this game released?

Ah, the eternal question. Don't feel bad for asking this, and don't listen to those people fussing at you for asking it. While it's a simple question, it tends to get buried under the waves of new information and discussion that come out every day. Guild Wars 2 does not have a release date. "Yes it does, it's coming out November 2nd of this year!"

No, it's not. I promise you that the release date you have seen is not correct. Community Manager Regina Buenaobra has stated that the date you have seen is merely a placeholder created by retailers. When there is a launch date announced, you will know. It will be plastered all over the Guild Wars 2 site. If you happen to miss the news there, the giant frenzy in the Guild Wars 2 community and on MMO news sites will clue you in.

OK, but what about beta? How do I sign up for testing?

Right now, you don't. For now, there is very limited information on any sort of Guild Wars 2 beta testing. What you need to know for the time being is that this is a joke, this is a scam, and as with the release date, you will definitely know if and when beta signups are available. Right now, there is no way whatsoever to apply for beta testing, and if you hear otherwise, don't buy into it.

From time to time you'll hear ArenaNet mention thoughts on beta testing during interviews, but for now, the official word is, "Although we publicly beta-tested the original Guild Wars while it was still in early development, with Guild Wars 2 we will commence beta testing closer to the game's release."

Will Guild Wars 2 have subscriptions, or will it be free-to-play?

The short answer is "neither." Guild Wars had an unusual business model that has worked very well for the past five years, and ArenaNet will be using the same model for Guild Wars 2. You will purchase the game, then that's it. No subscription fees, no game time cards, no paying to unlock premium content, nothing like that -- your purchase of the game gets you full access to everything. Any future expansions will work the same way.

There will almost certainly be microtransactions, but we don't know what they will be. So far in Guild Wars, ArenaNet has restricted store items to "fluff" content: permanent access to extra storage, cosmetic items like costumes and makeovers, and shortcuts like skill unlock packs. Those items could be considered a preview of the direction microtransactions will take in Guild Wars 2, but again, there is no official word from Arenanet.

Okay, this sounds great! I want to know more and talk to more fans, but there are almost 12 million results on Google and it's confusing and everyone is saying something different and and...

Yeah, I know. Like I said, the hype is huge right now and everyone's got something to say. Now that I've answered the most basic questions, let me give you a few links that won't completely bury you in minutiae while you're just trying to get your bearings. The official Guild Wars 2 site is kind of a given, and it's one of the most well-laid-out, user-friendly MMO sites I've ever seen. The FAQ there covers a few more details, and is a good next step.

On the fansite front, GuildWars2Guru is the main fansite for English-speaking fans, but hold on there. If you just run in and start browsing the forum I can promise you that you'll be confused and overwhelmed in about 15 minutes -- it's pretty huge. Introduce yourself, check out the Q&A forum, and look over the main forum list to see what catches your eye. Things move pretty fast there, but it's maintained well and if you take a bit of time to get acclimated you should find it a valuable resource.

Finally, check out my Guild Wars 2 community guide. If you are looking for a podcast, social networking sites, or more forums for GW2, you'll want to bookmark this and hang on to it.

So, there you go. Now that you've got the basics, and access to the next step, let me welcome you again to the future of Tyria! Watch for Flameseeker Chronicles next week -- I'll be at PAX in Seattle and I'll have plenty to tell!

[Insanecyclone]

http://www.arena.net/blog/eric-and-i...ncer-questions

Last week we unearthed the necromancer, the macabre master of life and death in Guild Wars 2. Many of you had questions about this updated take on the classic Guild Wars profession, so we summoned Lead Designer Eric Flannum and Game Designer Isaiah “Izzy” Cartwright to answer the most common queries. Read on for answers to your necro questions!

Fear

Q: Fear sounds like an unbalanced crowd control mechanic. Could you explain this mechanic in more detail? How often can you use it and can you remove it? Are there certain types of enemies that are immune to fear?

Eric: Fear is a condition and is therefore removable by anything that removes conditions. How often fear can be used depends entirely on the skill that inflicts it, so it will vary from skill to skill. Boss monsters are currently immune to fear, but this is something that we are constantly balancing.

Izzy: Currently, fear lasts 2 to 5 seconds in PvE and 2 seconds in PvP, but these are just the current numbers and we’ll continue to refine and balance them as we keep playing.

Q: How will fear work in PvP? I don’t like losing control of my character, and it seems like fear may make my play experience frustrating and unenjoyable.

Eric: As Izzy alluded to, we’ll have different balance for skills in PvE and PvP, so it’s very likely that skills that cause fear will function slightly differently in the two game types. Fear is similar to a knockdown or stun in the way it disables your character for a short period of time. In some ways, fear is less powerful than knockdown, since it’s a condition, and it can be effected by anything that affects conditions. Knockdowns, on the other hand, can only be affected by things that specifically affect knockdowns.


Death Shroud

Q: Will the necromancer be able to slot in different skills for his Death Shroud abilities?

Izzy: No, your Death Shroud skills are a special set of skills, but you can make improvements to your Death Shroud via traits.

Q: Does damage done to the necromancer in Death Shroud decrease the life force meter?

Eric: Yes, when the necromancer is in Death Shroud state, any damage they receive decreases their life force.

Q: Will there be ways to spend life force outside of Death Shroud? If not, would you consider adding some utility skills that would do this?

Izzy: We want to keep these concepts simple, so skills can only add to your life force pool.


Minions

Q: The necromancer article seems to imply that you can only have one minion of each type active, since summoning it swaps the skill out for a minion bomber skill. Is that true?

Izzy: Some skills such a Bone Minions can give you three minions, plus an additional two using traits. You can also have a Blood Fiend and a Bone Fiend. Keep in mind we haven’t revealed all the necro minions yet!

Q: If I’m out of combat and switch out one of my minion skills, do I lose the minion I have already summoned on the field?

Izzy: Yes, anytime you unequip a utility skill you lose all benefit from that skill – including minions.[/a]

Q: Are minion models tied to the spell used to summon them (like in Guild Wars) or to the type of corpse that it was raised from?

Eric: Minions in Guild Wars 2 are not raised from corpses, so the type of minion created is determined by the skill used.

Q: Do minions have natural health regeneration?

Eric: No, minions do not currently regenerate health.

Q: Do minions have levels and do they vary in size or shape depending on the life force?

Eric: The level of the minion is based upon the level of the necromancer that created it. They do not vary based upon life force.


Wells

Q: Since wells originate from the caster herself, and not from a corpse, do they follow you around or stay at the location where the skill was cast?

Eric: Much like wards in the original Guild Wars, wells do not move.

General

Q: Would you consider some PvE only tweaks to further spice it up, like making necros slightly more powerful during in-game nighttime than in bright sunlight?

Eric: We wouldn’t want to do anything to make a player feel like they should only play a particular race or profession in a limited set of circumstances, so I don’t think we’d do this sort of thing. That being said, we do have items that act differently at night versus during the day. The key difference is that item choice is a much more short term choice whereas race and profession are long term choices.

Q: Is there any limit to how many marks I can place?

Eric: When you place a mark, the skill switches to an “activate mark” skill. This means that the number of marks a necromancer can have active is limited by how many individual mark skills he brings.

Q: Can the Life Siphon skill be maintained by holding the skill button down until either the enemy is dead or your energy runs out?

Eric: Life Siphon is a timed skill that drains life for a short period of time, and then recharges. It can be interrupted by moving.




Q: Are the scary and dark sound effect we can hear in the skill video permanent sound ambient effects for the necromancer, or were they used for the video only?

Eric: Some of them were generated for the video and some of them are in the game. We tend to use the videos as sound concept tests though, so it is very likely that you’ll hear many of those sounds while playing the game.

Q: Can necromancers swap weapons?

Eric: Absolutely. Like other professions, necromancers can swap between two weapon sets (which is the current maximum for any profession).

Q: Reading up on Ghosts of Ascalon, I wonder if what some of Killeen did in the book will somehow manifest itself in the game, or if that was simply a loose literary translation of necromancer abilities?

Eric: Some of what Killeen does in the book will be reflected in the game (quite accurately). However, some of what she does is a pretty loose interpretation of in-game necromantic capabilities.

Q: What is that brilliant-looking skill used at the beginning of the Life Siphon video?

Izzy: That is a skill called Life Blast, which is skill number four on the focus item.

Q: You mentioned bleeding in the skill Grasping Dead. How does bleeding stack in Guild Wars 2? Is it just additional duration, or is it an additional health loss per second?

Izzy: You can have up to nine bleeds on a target and each does some damage per second.

Thanks guys! Both Eric and Izzy will be at the Guild Wars 2 booth at PAX Prime in Seattle this weekend, along with a ton of other ArenaNet staffers. Stop by, say hi, and play our demo!

[Takiwaki]

PAX 2010 has just begun and the curse team already had a chance to demo Arena Net's Guild Wars 2! The star of the demo was the revolutionary ipad and smart phone application currently in development.

At launch, the app will have tons of features available, designed to help offline players connect with their friends in-game. Along with the ability to chat with your friends and guildmates from your portable device, players will also be able to view the location of their friends via a fullscreen map, showing their actions and movement in real-time.

Other planned features of the app include a remote auction house and the ability to add new friends straight from your portable device. The app will be available to Guild Wars 2 players for no extra charge.

[Ramor]

PAX 2010 has just begun and the curse team already had a chance to demo Arena Net's Guild Wars 2! The star of the demo was the revolutionary ipad

and that was where i stopped reading.

[Qalbert]

http://www.bluegartr.com/customavata...tar32553_5.gif

[Alderaan]

PAX gameplay. First half is the Charr race but changes to i think human's later. The gameplay looks so fluid and fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMq7RDIphiA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Rl0Cr7ZGo0

[Gokulo]

Bumpadabumpa:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTBb_Sgl7rw

[Alderaan]

It boggles my mind how this game can look so good yet have almost the same min requirements as GW1.

I'm also usually not one to play anything other than as humans, but i love the Charr running animation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mXF0cYkltw

[SamanosukeShiva]

Lies u played elvaan