Hunter's Insight – A Guild Wars 2 Blog

Tragic Jotun

Original Jotun Concept Art

Arenanet has shown that they are interested in making Tyria a world, not just a setting. Race after race that in any other game would have little explanation, but in Guild Wars 2 are fleshed out and complex.

So it is with the Jotun and admittedly they were barely touched upon in the original Guild Wars. But Guild Wars 2 is different in so many respects that it is largely different from Guild Wars as well.

The only games I’ve played over the past few years that spend this much time on backstory and lore have ended up being my favourites. Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Fallout, Elder Scrolls. Who else cares to pretend that the history of a world matters as much as the current events?

Guild Wars 2 In 2012

The dragons cometh.

Bloggers bother me. We repeat nonsense, don’t use the critical part of our brain, speculate endlessly and generally make fools of ourselves.

So when I read other bloggers with no evidence of any sort suggesting Guild Wars 2 will be pushed back to 2013 on the basis of an imdb listing or what Gamestop has to say it’s pretty much facepalm city.

As I said back in December you don’t start beta testing a year out from release. 6 months tops. And I’m sticking to that.

The Arenanet blog states that 2012 is the year of the dragon.

This year, you’ll finally be able to immerse yourself in the vast, diverse world of Tyria.

And that’s not all.

Another closed beta event, likely similar to the event in December, seems likely to be announced soon. And of course they refer to it as “an upcoming beta event” suggesting many. Something tells me this will be similar in hype to the rift beta events.

Either way by the end of the year, or lets say june-ish, we’re all going to be adventuring in Tyria. The dragons won’t know what hit them.

Raidiation

Tequatl, The Sunless serves as a raid sized world boss.

I’m not against raids. Certainly I’ve participated in them during my time. They can be fun, frustrating, rewarding, even thrilling, but are they integral to my experience in playing MMOs?

No. Maybe I’m not the typical MMO blogger in that respect but I don’t require raids.

And I don’t think Guild Wars 2 requires raids either.

And that seems to be the big topic lately on all the forums, on the blogs, in the alleyways where nerds meet secretly. I can hear it now. “Oh my god! No raids?! Guild Wars 2 sucks!” they say. It reminds me of the early days of Guild Wars. People never gave it a chance for whatever reason. No jumping, no open world, and no open minds willing to look past those two qualities.

Raids can be fun. The coordination, the teamwork, getting a bunch of people together to pull off feats others can’t, and getting those sweet sweet drops.

But there are drawbacks. Maybe you like waiting around for people to take their bio-breaks, or the five minute waits for people to just travel there, the selfish infighting over drops, the accusatory attitudes of some personality-types when things go wrong, the drama (my god the drama) and cutthroat nature of competitive raiders all seem like negatives to me.

The organizational aspects of a large raiding guild, the impersonal relationships, it all takes the fun out of it.

The thing is I don’t think Guild Wars 2 is that game, and was never supposed to be that game.

I look at the original Guild Wars as perhaps one of the best casual games ever made. Heaps of content tucked into tiny proportions of bite sized moments. Shouldn’t the sequel retain some of that quality?

And I think it does.

Groups of 5 people are easy to organize. Groups of 5 people in classes that can fill any role are even easier. You can warp to dungeon entrances or any other activity you might want to do. Jump into any dynamic event no matter how far it has progressed and you’ll be rewarded.

Raiders won’t be happy with Guild Wars 2 but then when are raiders ever happy? The large scale events designed for loads of people with massive monsters won’t sate their bloodthirst, the dungeons won’t give them suitable loot or challenge, and nothing will be like World of Warcraft enough.

For the rest of us, knowing we can spontaneously show up to The Shadow Behemoth, The Shatterer, Tequatl The Sunless, or any other large scale battle without the need for much organizational effort is fine.

And we’re not paying a subscription so worrying about the lack of a treadmill seems pointless. Seriously, does every game need raids?

This is a game for Guild Wars fans and will cater to Guild Wars fans. It will have the same philosophical underpinnings, with perhaps some amount of innovative game design, and absolutely no raiding. I can’t say I’m disappointed.

A Profession For Guild Wars 2

8 professions to choose from.

I’ve spent the last month mulling over which of the 8 professions in Guild Wars 2 I might play. There is a lot to consider. Overall I have to pick a profession that is right for me. This is more of a personal rundown of my choices for a profession than a guide for others.

The most difficult part of choosing is that Arenanet seems to have included several options to vary your gameplay on each profession. A melee thief can switch to a ranged shortbow or pistols. Both elementalist and necromancer have close ranged options along with the normal spell casting range. Saying I prefer a ranged caster over armoured melee doesn’t seem to matter much.

Casting Professions

Even so I find myself backing away from casting professions, no matter how impressive they seem. I think due to Guild Wars I may just be sick of the class type in general. That isn’t to say they don’t have their virtues.

The elementalist definitely has the shock and awe campaign of big animations and a wide range of different playstyles to choose from just by switching elements. I’ve been impressed from the beginning that you can cast and run around as much as you like, the stationary Guild Wars casters have worn on me. I think that is one element players familiar with other MMOs will love.

Another thing I’m kind of sick of playing is area of effect. Guild Wars was a group game, whether you played with real people or AI support, against groups of mobs. Area of effect made a lot of sense. Guild Wars 2 is much less about that game style and about being able to fend for yourself in any situation. I’m not saying elementalists can’t do this, just chalking up one less reason to play them.

Obviously I can vary my gameplay, air looks like a lot of fun, but if a majority of skills have some form of area of effect, and I’m not interested in ground targeted skills, why wouldn’t I choose something else?

The necromancer to me has more style than most other professions. It seems like the feel is more important to people who choose this profession than any other aspect. That feel being dark, gothic, occult, and yes maybe a little emo. Not really my thing.

I love how a lot of skills seem inspired solely by the feel of the necro, like the condition Fear. Though of course we’ve all seen fear in other games, it seems right at home with Guild Wars 2.

But, for me, I’ve never really been the type to want to micro-manage and control a bunch of things going on around me. Minions seem like a major reason to play necromancer, so that’s one less reason to play it.

Again, you can play the class any way you want and if that means without minions, I’m sure it’s viable.

Aside from those reasons for avoiding necromancer, I think one of the main reasons I’m not interested is the lack of physical damage. I’m a direct person. I’d like to do direct damage. Necromancer skills are spectral and mystical. I think I just want to damage with something in my hands rather than something summoned from the mists.

In the end I’m ruling out necromancer for the same reason some people will choose it, the feel.

The mesmer I might have had similar thoughts about, but not quite. It’s still too early to tell, not having seen the mesmer in any demo footage, but I feel like the clones are clever enough to escape the mystical trappings of a caster profession. They feel solid, until they shatter. The pistols help as well, and the beam like attacks of energy remind me more of other classes, not the necromancer.

Mesmer definitely has a more modern magical aesthetic, what with the pistols, magic that doesn’t seem ancient or occult, maybe even a psychic element to it. It’s a plus for me rather than a minus.

Casters are the least likely class-type I’ll play but if I had to play one it would be mesmer. It’s different than most other casting classes in MMOs.

Unfortunately that still leaves 5 professions to choose from.

Heavy Melee Professions

I can’t rule out the heavy armoured classes of warrior or guardian.

The guardian abilities seem killer. Shield of Absorption puts up a barricade that visibly blocks projectiles, for you and allies. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything in an MMO quite like that, it’s like he’s erecting barriers right on the battlefield. There seem to be many skills in Guild Wars 2 that don’t feel like other MMO games.

Of course I can’t just choose a profession based on cool looking skills like Sanctuary or Hammer of Wisdom. I have to take into account my own playstyle, versatility of the class, and gut instinct. My gut instinct says I probably would not enjoy protecting people so much as whomping on them. I know each class can take care of itself but if a portion of guardian skills are dedicated to protecting other s or even myself and I’m not interested in that, then why not pick another class?

The warrior has it’s own impressive skills as most professions do, but I find it has a range of different weapons that I like. While I’m sure most professions will end up with a similar number of skills, I think nothing will change gameplay as much as what weapon you’re holding in your hands. The warrior and the guardian both have 11 weapons to choose from including aquatic weapons.

Aside from that I particularly like the idea of the burst skills, building them up and letting them loose. Its also got a few impressive visuals like cyclone axe or stomp. The heavy armour generally looks good from what I’ve seen, and out of the professions I’ve mentioned so far, warrior seems more likely.

Another thing I like is there is some small amount of emphasis on movement, if not yourself, then throwing your opponent around.

From demo footage it definitely seems like a warrior can keep its enemy off balance and under pressure.

Medium Armoured Professions

I’ve definitely been feeling a vibe towards ranger-like and leather clad classes these past few years, generally choosing those types of characters in the games I play. Ranger in Rift, rogue in Dragon Age, sneak thief in Skyrim. That doesn’t seem to be changing for Guild Wars 2.

The engineer definitely has a lot of solid qualities. The limited number of weapons is supplemented by engineer kits. These numerous kits change the first 5 skills and broadly change how the engineer is played. The mine kit reminds me of throwing mines down in Fallout 3, the flamethrower reminds me of The Thing, and the grenade kit reminds me of Medal of Honor.

I think if I was going to be playing engineer it would be dual pistols. The rifle has some cool skills, but I can’t really picture myself running around with it.

The engineer gives me the feeling that there are a lot of things I need to keep in mind. What kit to switch to, what its toolbelt skills are, where my turret is. I think there is a lot of strategy involved, a lot of planning ahead.

I’m not the type to plan ahead.

The thief might be a better choice because of that. Instead of planning ahead, I can react afterward. Much more my style, believe me. With skills that can send me into stealth so I can escape and heal I’d be much better off.

Thieves also have a certain je ne sais quois, a style for which many people will be choosing the thief. I can’t blame them.

Gameplay wise I’m not sure. Leaping Death Blossom looks incredible from a stationary 2005 MMO point of view. Teleports, stealth, stealing, acrobatics, it all looks relatively decent.

However there is a problem. How will initiative play out? I’m not sure why Arenanet goes through the trouble of removing all energy, and still has initiative as a resource. Is energy relevant at all at this point? I think recharge times might just be the sole resource Guild Wars 2 needs, and if that is so, initiative is a hindrance not a unique mechanic.

The ranger has its own problems. Yet somehow it has landed at as one of the most likely classes I’ll play. I’m not a fan of how pet skills have played out. Their response times after attacking are a little slow. I don’t like how you are limited without your pet. In essence the problem with the pet class is the pets. And that’s never good.

However I like some of the skills a lot. Serpent Strike and Hornet Sting, Whirling Defense, Slash – Kick – Pounce. I like the agility and animations of these skills. There is as much movement here as with the thief, or the warrior.

Plus I get a pet, and once again my feline companion would be named Battl er, Cringer. I mean Cringer.

Conclusion

And that is how things are looking for me. From least likely to most likely. There are no hard decisions here, after all I haven’t played these professions right? Not to mention there is still time to change things, and many things will be.

I don’t expect a lot of people will agree with my choices but then to each his own. What profession are you guys going with?

Year End Progress

Asura thief presumably pulling of the flying death blossom skill.

I guess it’s cool to see that Arenanet update us on significant changes in the game from what we’ve seen. It certainly helps fill the voids in between major info dumps.

For me though there is nothing particular chat worthy about this particular blog post.

I’m not really into achievements. I didn’t really start to get titles in Guild Wars until I knew what the rewards would be in Guild Wars 2. In Rift I suppose you might call me a liar, because I had many achievements. But for the most part those achievements were unique. They weren’t kill ten rats, but more jump off this specific cliff. A one time event you didn’t have to repeat.

I understand what Arenanet is going for with their system, off-setting the high-rolling hardcore players time and intensity imbalance with more casual players. However I’ve never felt like there was such a drastic need for such a system. Though I’m sure casual players might disagree. In any case I won’t turn down free experience and gold.

The thief changes appear to be very straight forward. A more intuitive and easy to use ability. A stealth system that seems to reflect most other stealth systems. Having never played the thief I can’t say whether these changes are interesting, painful, or useful. Just one of those situations where you have to rely on their word that this is better. I can’t disagree.

And while I applaud the changes to timing, I have no idea how this plays out in game. Being locked into an animation and unable to diverge from a set course aren’t things anybody wants to experience in a game. However watching demo footage never really gave me the impression that anyone felt locked into animations, so while any improvements are welcomed, I can’t tell how important this is.

Improvements good! Progress made! Keep on keeping on! Closed beta in progress! Congratulations to those who get to see these improvements on a regular basis.

QFT: The Mesmer

Finally complete, the professions page tableau.

Been a while hasn’t it? Well for the most part I started to find the QFTs very difficult. During conventions there were too many interviews to count, and outside of conventions there was generally too little to comment on.

But here we are. A post where I troll through the questions and answers of various interviews and selectively decide what you get to read! Fun!

The Reddit Ask Me Anything

Greibach has a solid question. Edited.

Q: Are you worried that people of a high skill level will be able to detect which illusions are fakes and focus down the mesmer more quickly than they can other professions?

A:I don’t think they are supposed to be so deceptive so much as a temporary distraction. They die in about one hit so even AoE attacks tend to melt them pretty quickly. The more interesting decision is how to build up sets of them to shatter in interesting ways.

This will definitely work well in PvE but in PvP I predict they won’t be used much outside of casual games. I can’t see many hardcore PvPers being distracted or fooled.

Question about thieves.

Blog coming next Tuesday on thief improvements. I can promise you they are not bad in PvE or PvP.

Keeping those hits coming during the winter vacation rush.

Do mesmers do actual melee?

Yes. My favorite melee combo is Sword/Sword or Sword/Torch!

It’s going to be interesting to see a real live melee caster meant to exist in the Guild Wars universe.

The new empathy.

Q: Is the confusion condition going to last long and do small amount of damage, or be applied for short time and do big enough damage to actually shut down the enemy?

A: As of right now, it can actually stack. This means that it does a small amount of damage with one application, but with many applications, it will definitely make someone think twice about attacking!

Empathy but for everyone, not just melee. Seems like used smartly this would be formidable.

My question.

Q: So why the need for a difference between clones and phantasms? Couldn’t one fulfill the needs of both? Or am I misunderstanding their nature?

A: Clones are really just deception. They are there to utilize the shatters and create temporary dps and distraction. Phantasms are more like “in world” hexes. There is a Phantasm called Backfire that does a powerful attack to foes casting skills.

Jon Peters likes to gank.

No OPEN PvP in PvE, it doesnt make sense with how events work. However I think people who like Open Gank PvP (like myself) will REALLY love WvW.

Is the mesmer’s portal skill group based or only the mesmer can use it?

Allies, but players only. For now.

Sounds like they’re still working on this but this is a game changer I think.

Beta?

We will officially enter Closed Beta Testing this Friday. It will be marked with an increase in our pool of testers. To clarify, this phase of testing is still under NDA and is not open to the public.
Based on the feedback we get from our current Closed Beta Testing, we will determine the next phases of our beta program in which we will open beta access to more people.

I have nothing more to say here.

How much control do we have over clones or phantasms?

They will only attack the target upon which they were summoned. You cannot control them as much as Necromancer minions or a Ranger pet.

It’s good that they’re keeping that uniqueness, otherwise we’d just have too many pet classes.

Interesting viewpoint on why they took out interrupts.

Those mechanics just don’t make as much sense in the new system. Basically, the nice thing about a daze is that a bad player using it still gets the blackout portion of it, but a great player can get the interrupt out of it as well.

Whereas with something like d-shot in Guild Wars, a bad player uses it and gets nothing out of it. Good point.

How to play mind games.

Once you learn your illusions and how they work, you start to realize what they look like to your opponents. Then you can start behaving like illusions to really throw your opponents off!

I wonder just how good you could really get at this?

What did you just say about necro?

I think we just changed dagger necro to actually be melee as well.

Ah ha so we’ll be having more than one melee caster.

The torch skills of the mesmer.

Skill #4: The Prestige: Cloak in a cloud of smoke, 3 seconds later appear with a burst of flame setting enemies on fire.
Skill #5: Backfire: Summon a Phantasm that attacks your target whenever they use a skill.

Love the name of the prestige.

So grinding.

Absolutely NOT!!! No grinding in PvP.
Here is how it works. You press a button that says go to PvP. You end up in the PvP lobby where you are max level, all skills and items and traits are unlocked and you make a build and go play in a hot join server. When you are done press the button again to return to PvE. It’s that simple. Why anyone would want to spend time unlocking skills or leveling up in PvP is beyond me.

Oh you mean like in Guild Wars where everything is based on unlocking? LOL.

So what happened to the original death shroud?

So the walk and teleport back thing got pulled out of death shroud and rolled into a new utility skill called Spectral Walk.

I did not know this information.

Elixer gun info.

1) Elixir Dart: Fire a dart that makes your foes weak or vulnerable.
2) Elixir F: Fire concentrated Elixir F that bounces between targets crippling foes and applying swiftness to allies.
3) Elixir Spray: Spray elixir fumes in a cone pattern poisoning enemies and removing conditions from allies.
4) Acid Bomb: Leap back blasting the ground with acid damaging foes that touch it.
5) Super Elixir: Shoot an elixir orb that heals allies on impact and creates a healing area.
Toolbelt skill: Vent a healing mist that applies regeneration to yourself and allies.

That’s all from one skill. Engineer must be the most complex class right?

Elementalist conjured weapons, are they useful?

How about a Lightning Hammer that lets you summon a lightning storm, leap at enemies, encircle them with a static field and send them flying with a blast of wind?

Beta?

There will be no public application form.

And so the begging began in earnest. Muwhahahahahahahaha!

Okay Lets move on.

Guild Wars 2 Guru IRC Chat

Can you be knocked through an allied portal by a foe?

yes you can be knocked into a portal by an enemy!

Can’t remember at this point if I noted that allies can use your portals to teleport, but this particular detail is the icing on the cake.

Cross profession combos?

You can put up Chaos storm which adds random conditions to projectiles moving through.On the other end, you can use your Leap skill on mainhand sword to benefit from allied combo fields.

Fairly typical, slowly coming around to being okay with all the random effects that some skill seem to have.

Human racial skills.

Avatar of Melandru turns you into an awesome creature. Summoning dual Hounds of Balthazar. Is. So. Freaking. Cool.

Sounds like there is one for each of the 6 gods. I can’t wait to turn into whatever this melandru racial skill is.

What about a mesmer elite skill?

One elite allows you to transform a foe into a moa bird for a short time. They have moa bird skills while in this form, just to add insult to injury.

This is a pretty solidly hilarious skill and I can’t wait to see if it’s viable.

NowGamer

So how many illusions do we have exactly?

Currently, every Mesmer weapon is capable of creating a clone and a phantasm. There are also utility skills which create clones and phantasms, giving the mesmer nearly a dozen ways to create each type of illusion.

That is a lot. It will be interesting going up against mesmers and trying to discern which clones and phantasms they’re using.

An example of an illusion.

My favourite phantasm is currently Illusionary Warden, which is skill number five on off-hand focus. I like it because it’s very versatile. It summons an illusion of yourself wielding two axes and executes a skill similar to the ranger skill Whirling Defense.

There seem to be quite a range of uses for each illusion.

What does the future hold?

We have a rough plan for our first two expansions as well as a plan for what our live team will be implementing in mind right now. Part of our initial design was to purposefully leave areas of the world open for expansion.

Okay I’ll admit, I’m very curious about any and all ideas they might have regarding future expansions. What do they have in store? It also sounds like they’re leaving areas wide open in some way that may be noticeable in game.

And that is that. I hear more interviews are in the offing but I doubt I’ll be doing another one of these.