GuildMag In HTML
May 26, 2011 at 4:46 pm | Posted in Guild Wars, mmorpg | 2 CommentsTags: Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2, MMO, mmorpg
With their 7th issue GuildMag has changed format from a .pdf you had to download to html pages you can easily navigate. I for one approve of the change, as I always found it a hassle to download the mag, and then didn’t really like flipping through it in the .pdf format.
Apparently there is an exclusive interview with Eric Flannum which I’ll get around to later, and of course some of the other content GuildMag fans have become accustomed to. A contest, some fan fiction, a lore article, an interview with some loser and an interview with Action Jack.
Check out the GuildMag website here, or go straight to the issue which I can now easily link to.
Guild Wars Machinima
May 9, 2011 at 3:38 am | Posted in Guild Wars, mmorpg, video | 2 CommentsTags: Guild Wars, MMO, mmorpg
I was just looking through the Guild Wars 2 Ambassador Contest entries and stumbled across Khranashil’s Guild Wars Machinima. I was pretty surprised at the quality and thought it deserved a post.
Of course it’s Machinima about Guild Wars, so fans of neither need not apply.
This is a preview, and there is an episode in his youtube channel, but I’ll guess we’ll have to wait for more.
No More Minis
May 4, 2011 at 6:42 pm | Posted in Guild Wars, mmorpg | 20 CommentsTags: Guild Wars, MMO, mmorpg
We'll never see that miniature Gaki we wanted so badly
With the last Guild Wars update came the 6th year anniversary gifts. For the past 5 years, players have received Miniature pets, mini-versions of the games monsters and NPCs that wander around you. Just as in any other game with mini-pets.
This year we got Everlasting Tonics as gifts. A tonic in Guild Wars changes your appearance for an hour. An Everlasting Tonic means you get unlimited use of that tonic.
I’ve got pretty mixed feelings on the subject. Mostly I’m disappointed.
It’s funny because just before the update I had been talking with friends about how I thought this year might be the last year for miniatures. They couldn’t possibly keep up the pace of releasing new minis? Right? Wrong I was told. Foolish mortal.
I admit it is a nice change away from the same old tired thing, but I’m not really impressed with the replacement. Tonics have never been anything for me but something that took up storage space, at least until they finally showed us how the Hall of Monuments would grant us perks in Guild Wars 2.
I guess the replacement isn’t really what disappoints me though, it’s more about the struggle to add minis to the Hall of Monuments, and the market for buying miniatures becoming just that much harder.
Yet another HoM reward that becomes available only through sheer purchase power.
I’m lucky, I’ve got lots of aged characters, been to festivals, begged, borrowed and traded for minis. I hate to think about what other people must have to do.
I’ve always thought of Guild Wars as pretty much the supreme casual game. No pressure to play whatsoever. Unfortunately for those of us actually still interested in playing Guild Wars, whether below the 30 point mark (at which point all physical rewards that will be passed to Guild Wars 2 cease) or above it, the game becomes an incessant grind. Grind for cash, grind for z coins, grind for experience, grind for titles.
And now we grind for minis too.
Caramelldansen – Fan Video
April 25, 2011 at 4:51 pm | Posted in Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2, mmorpg | 2 CommentsTags: Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2, MMO, mmorpg
Just about one of the strangest fan videos I’ve ever seen, save ascalon boy. Huginn over at Guild Wars 2 Guru made a video containing the likenesses of various of Arenanet devs. It appears to be in honor of the upcoming 6 year anniversary of Guild Wars.
The music is horrific, so you’re forgiven for only watching the first few moments. I watched the entire thing for you, just to tell you the animation is the same all the way through.
You’re welcome.
Katy Hargrove Posts 3D Models
April 17, 2011 at 7:11 pm | Posted in Guild Wars, mmorpg | 2 CommentsTags: Guild Wars, MMO, mmorpg
Arenanet artist Katy Hargrove keeps a blog she mostly uses for art unrelated to Guild Wars. However she sometimes puts up interesting and beautiful pieces, which is why I keep tabs on it.
Yesterday she posted a treasure trove of 3d models from the original Guild Wars. Everything from a Certaradon to a Hippo.
Now as she says on the blog, obviously various artists had a hand in creating these 3d models, so they’re not all her work.
There are dozens of models in the post, so go check it out.
I believe in game this is the Auroch Beserker
The Big Chicken
April 4, 2011 at 6:37 pm | Posted in Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2, mmorpg | 8 CommentsTags: Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2, MMO, mmorpg
So do we call this guy the shatner or the big chicken now?
I really have to commend Arenanet on this years April Fool’s Day. A lot of time and effort went into it, and it wasn’t just some tossed off joke that has been done before. It was original, funny, and was probably one of the best gaming industry pranks in the past couple years. I mean they really committed with interviews, webpages, and of course the Guild Wars quest that was added.
That’s why the blog post up at Arenanets blog caught my attention today. It was interesting to get a peak inside how it all came together.
It answered a few peoples questions, some were commenting that Arenanet should spend more time working on the game, and less on superfluous nonsense. My first reaction was ‘Killjoys’. Nothing good happens without someone complaining about it. Which sounds funny coming from me, but anyhow, the blog in no uncertain terms stipulates that the prank was worked on in the free time of various employees.
Which seems like common sense, but even before the blog post Community Manager Martin Kerstein had commented.
because we have fun doing something like this in our spare time?
With the blog post today, people started commenting that the complaints must have prompted it. Martin responded with this.
we have been in this industry long enough, we knew those comments would come up. We had this planned from the start.
I don’t know whether to be happy or sad about this. Happy that Arenanets community team is on the ball, or sad that they knew all the quality work they put into something would end up causing some kind of stupid backlash. Humanity fail.
I just want to put my personal thanks out there to the people that worked on the project. It was a genuine surprise and a good laugh.
QFT: April 1st Edition
April 1, 2011 at 8:37 pm | Posted in Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2, mmorpg | 11 CommentsTags: Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2, MMO, mmorpg
Welcome to the Guild Wars 2 universe Commando
On past April Fools, Arenanet has typically done a few specific things. They reskinned your character so that you looked different. A sex change, stick figure, chibi gwen, or the size of a mini (with your mini’s being the size of you). They also usually had a humourous Guild Wars skill update, which fooled more than a few people over the years.
This year they went all out, releasing one of the most impressive game industry jokes I’ve seen this year. Check out the trailer below.
That’s right! The 8th and final profession turns out to be the Commando! Swing by the Guild Wars 2 homepage, to check out the profession page. I think my favourite part here was definitely either the commando being able to wield a scepter in its main hand, or the vehicles.
A commando can opt for an armored personnel carrier (APC) or a tank for land travel, a helicopter for air travel, or a submarine for undersea travel.
They didn’t just stop with a simple video either. They ganged up with PCGamer, Games On Net, OnlineWelten, and Game Reactor to release interviews about the Commando. Well worth the read.
He can do a lot of damage, he can be a healer, and then, quite literally, a tank, when he hops into his tank.
Jeez, even in fantasy land we get stone walled on details.
PC Gamer: Can the Commando go commando?
Jon Peters: That’s something we’re not talking about yet.
At least the items that the thief can steal from a commando seem pretty cool.
The list of things that the thief can steal from a commando in order of most common to least common is as follows: MRE, Grenade, Tank, Aircraft Carrier, and Nuclear Missile.
It’s good to know that the commando will have at least one major weakness.
Their one weakness is fear of commitment. A commando doesn’t like to get too involved. Of course they are overpowered in PvP, just like all other professions.
Just ask to keep a drawer in their apartment and bam, break up city.
But why a commando?
“Most massively multiplayer online RPG’s only appeal to fans of the fantasy genre, so our primary objective in creating this class has been to reach all the gamers out there who are only interested in games such as Call of Duty and Battlefield,”
It all makes sense now.
Sheer brilliance involved in putting this screen shot together
But wait! What happened to the 7th profession? Well it can be found here.
Therefore, by level 13, the shadowmancer is effectively immune to damage. This ability comes with a price however. Because this ability makes most of PvE rather easy, a shadowmancer only receives a small portion of experience from all sources.
Who knew they’d blow out the last two professions on the same day?
But Wait! You thought there would only be 8 professions? Wrong! Here is the 9th profession of Guild Wars 2.
The German to English translation here is not the best, so I’ll wait for Arenanet to release an English version of our 9th profession.
Profession news wasn’t the only thing we got today though because Guild Wars 2 Guru acquired an exclusive interview with Arenanet that reveals some shockingly awesome information.
Given that the GW2 beta is scheduled for late August 2012, ArenaNet wanted to give everyone a head start on purchasing their iPads. Wait, what did you just say? That’s right, folks. Guild Wars 2 will be releasing exclusively to the iPad!
I wasn’t going to go out and get an iPad but now I have to.
Arenanet didn’t concentrate on Guild Wars 2 of course, they still have a little game called Guild Wars to pay attention to and they did not disappoint. Although this year they didn’t have any reskinning, They did have a new quest. In the quest you get to play as, wait for it, a commando!
It all started with this brief entertainment in chat. Thanks to IncGamers and Scutilla.
At which point, an update was added to Guild Wars and a new quest became available from Embark Beach. It’s all much more entertaining to go see it for yourself of course, but to sum up it is a very funny quest in the style of the Keiran quests from Hearts of the North. It also functions as a parody of a very well known movie. So go have fun with that, read the dialogue and quest text when you have a chance, and then go websurfing because we’re not done.
Guild Wars also added a skill update, as is tradition.
Highlights include:
Mind Craft: “For the next 4…15 seconds, your attacks deal Earth damage. Deals +40 bonus damage and knocks down if you have a pickaxe equipped.”
Generous Spirit: “Create a level 1…18 Generous Spirit. Whenever a foe nearby the spirit uses a skill, that foe and all foes in the area donate 250 gold to your party.”
The Black Beast of Arrgh now appears only on Friday when the next day is Saturday and Sunday comes afterwards.
Players can now preview the jumping mechanic from Guild Wars 2 by typing “/jump” in the chat panel.
And, that for the most part, is that. There are plenty of other little things to be found here and there, including my own post, which at least one person was completely fooled by, or masterfully responded to.
5 Reasons Not To Play Guild Wars 2
April 1, 2011 at 3:03 am | Posted in Guild Wars 2, mmorpg | 55 CommentsTags: Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2, MMO, mmorpg
I try to be as fair and open minded as I can on this blog. Lately I’ve soured on Guild Wars 2 quite a bit. There are things that bother me. We’ve seen a lot of demo videos now, interviews, trailers, and there is nothing new any more. There is plenty not to like about what’s coming out of Arenanet and I hope there is time left in the development to fix some of the problems I’m seeing.
With that, here’s a few reasons to avoid Guild Wars 2.
Player Versus Player
- From what I’ve seen, the PvP is absolutely terrible. All that rolling around, and dodging. Where is my auto-targeting Arenanet? There are a lot of things I expect from a PvP game and not being able to hit someone isn’t one of them. And what is with all the crazy skill animations and fancy effects? This isn’t a fireworks display, I’m just trying to kill people with magic. All the flashy effects just let people know what skills I’m using and then they get to counter it! Dumb.
Jumping
- I don’t want to get into any conspiracy theories here, but to me the jumping in Guild Wars 2 looks fake. If you look closely you can see hints that there is no Z-axis and we’re stuck with an animation that makes it look like you’re jumping when really you’re not. It’s more of an emoticon than anything else. I’ll bet you can’t even jump over rocks. The last thing I want is for terrain elevation to be my biggest enemy like it was in Guild Wars.
Crafting
- I don’t know much about the crafting system, in fact I’ve only read 2 paragraphs about it that someone left in my comments, but it looks tacked on. I mean come on Arenanet. Why can’t MMO companies design crafting first, and then the action and combat that everyone plays your games for. Stop being so blind and look at highly successful and profitable games that have crafting as the focus. I can give you tons of blockbuster examples. Star Wars Galaxies, A Tale In The Desert, A Tale In The Desert 2, A Tale In The Desert 3, A Tale In The Desert 4, A Tale In The Desert 5 and Minecraft. Minecraft’s system in particular is so obviously better.
The Cost
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The subscription fee is outrageous. Where do Arenanet get off? I’m just trying to play a game with friends. Is it so much to ask that I don’t get gouged in my wallet, month in and month out? I suspect if other people have some of the same problems I have, they’ll just end up paying $50 for a 1 month trial period. Good luck with that business model Arenanet.
People Are Excited About It
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It’s a surefire sign that if people like what they see in a game, or get hyped up for it, the game sucks. One of the most telling signs of a games quality is the amount of time put into marketing a game. There is a direct correlation between publicity and the amount of fun. The more fun a game is, the less likely you are to hear about it. Games like Darkfall therefore are just about the most fun games you will ever play. Games like World Of Warcraft are absolute polished turds. I personally don’t know anyone who has ever had fun in WoW. Getting back to the excitement for GW2 though, people are way too excited. Not only will they drown in a river of their own tears of disappointment, they will likely never play video games again. How could anyone so consumed by despair return to their hobby of choice, knowing their one true hope for gaming ecstasy was in truth nothing more than a thin gossamer thread that unraveled as they touched it.
For me these are an overwhelming stack of reasons to avoid Guild Wars 2, but there is more I didn’t get into. I could compare Guild Wars 2 to other games like WoW and note that it’s obviously just a clone. Do we really want a WoW clone set in the Guild Wars universe? I’ve played WoW before, I don’t want to play it again. Rift is another game worth noting. I think it’s pretty obvious Guild Wars 2 is trying to rip off Rift. The rifts and the dynamic events have too much in common to be pure coincidence. Finally, I jut have this sneaking suspicion that Arenanet is shady. Their marketing is too slick, and I don’t trust them. They do not give off a trustworthy vibe. It’s like they’re out to make money off of what they’re doing, and I can’t be associated with that. Good luck with Guild Wars 2 Anet but you’re not fooling me.
The Arthritic Dog
March 1, 2011 at 4:12 pm | Posted in Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2, mmorpg | 24 CommentsTags: Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2, MMO, mmorpg
I’ve had a few discussions over the past few months revolving around one simple thought of mine. I’m not going to play Guild Wars ever again once Guild Wars 2 comes out.
I have played Guild Wars a lot, and have enjoyed my time immensely, meeting so many different people. Unfortunately, if I have to play this game one second longer than I really have to, I am going to gouge my eyes out.
A lot of people seem to think I’m crazy. Tigerfeet, for one, has voiced her opinion that she will be playing Guild Wars consistently after Guild Wars 2 is released. I’m not sure whether that is motivated by the Guild Wars 2 Hall of Monuments Calculator or by her true love for the game, but I have no sympathy.
I feel slightly sad for John Stumme and the Live Crew, for it is their livelihood. Yet, I have no sympathy for those who won’t be able to upgrade their systems right away, those who can’t get their hands on the game at launch, or those who have nostalgia for old times. Nor will I be helping out anyone with their titles, their armours, or their minis.
When I am done with Guild Wars, I am done.
‘Why?’ you may ask. Well, the ridiculous number of hours in game is one solid reason. It’s embarrassing. We were comparing /age in our alliance chat, with quite a few people participating, and I was only beaten out by one person. I have to play something different. Thousands of hours is just too much.
Another reason might be a lack of new content. I’ve literally done everything. The War In Kryta was the first new real content in years, and it only kept me busy for a couple months. It really did surprise me that even though Arenanet set out to make Guild Wars 2, they left Guild Wars to rot. Their prerogative, but it definitely left me bored.
Another reason, though I’m loathe to say it, is jumping. It’s 2011 and I want to jump and fall, and twirl like a ballerina! The lack of a z-axis is getting really ancient. It just feels old. I can’t fathom picking up an MMO today that has no jumping. I hate to be that guy, and I’ll defend Guild Wars for having no jumping when it came out in 2005, but the transition between going back and forth to Guild Wars 2 will be too harsh.
If people want to go back to Guild Wars, that’s fine. I’m not saying that you can’t or don’t. I’m saying I’m not going back. I once mentioned a similar sentiment. It got picked up in a thread on Guild Wars 2 Guru, where I was subsequently trash talked by some fanboys. I was accused of hating Guild Wars, but they just didn’t get it. I loved Guild Wars. Past tense.
Isn’t there a time where you just have to say enough? It’s time to walk away from this relationship, it doesn’t work anymore. It’s time to put the arthritic dog down, it’s in too much pain.
When Guild Wars 2 comes out, it’ll be time to walk away from Guild Wars. It’s just not that fun anymore.
The Unsung Summoning Stone
January 20, 2011 at 7:57 pm | Posted in Guild Wars, mmorpg | 17 CommentsTags: Guild Wars, MMO, mmorpg
Since I’ve been playing Guild Wars a lot after the release of the Hall of Monuments Calculator, and therefore a lot of Hard Mode vanquishes, dungeons, missions and the like, I’ve been using a lot more summoning stones.
They’ve been in the game a long time now and I’ve had occasion to build up around 100 Mysterious Summoning Stones, a couple dozen Automaton, Mischievous, Frosty, Mercantile, and numerous other types.
For those who don’t know, they are essentially an NPC that does a little fighting for you.
With all the Hard Mode situations I’ve been getting into, I’ve got damned familiar with using them. Not such a great thing, considering how difficult they are to come by. Crafting them can be expensive, so the best way is often through Nicholas The Traveler. A once a week hand-in for random gifts isn’t exactly reliable though, so I’ve also done Zinn’s Task quite a bit, farmed up some festival quests for the things, and collected a few Royal Gifts to beef up my supply.
Saying all that though, you might think they’re worth it. Sometimes they’re not. Sometimes they’re worthless. Drop a summoning stone in Hard Mode and you may as well count on it dying within 30 seconds. If they catch aggro, they don’t last long.
Attack of the killer bees
Take for instance the summoning stone I hate the most. Swarm of Bees. It attacks in melee with most of its damage being done through Whirling Defense, and personally I can’t even keep track of its location due to it being a swarm of bees. Its attacks are worthless, and every time I’ve gotten it, it has died soon after.
Perhaps the most annoying thing about them dying quickly is that they leave you with summoning sickness. You’ll be unable to summon another stone for 60 minutes with that debuff on you, conveniently just long enough to finish most instances.
Their only other fault that I would bother complaining about is perhaps their aggro and our inability to control them. They attack who they want, and can often lead to bad pulls, and even wipes.
Not all summons are like Swarm of Bees however.
Many like different summons for different reasons. For instance I like the Juggernaut for the energy bonus when standing near him, but others despise him for being a bit of a body block and having so few attack skills. Some people like the Oni for its assassin damage output, but I think due to their long range shadowstepping and constant unwanted aggro collection that they suck. Replace your Oni summoning stones with Ebon Vanguard Assassin Support people.
There are some stones that have few faults. The Dream Rider has an extensive and useful mesmer bar, and its only fault lies in the same easy to kill flaw other stones have. The Gaki is a fairly useful buff for monks in an instance, it’s only fault being that it tends to send dorks in to convulsions of laughter.
I’ve even found myself preferring one type over all others. A stone that is derided and mocked, ignored and unused, brought out only before zoning into another instance to empty ones inventory.
Use Splinter Weapon on a Merchant to awesome effect.
The Mercantile Summoning Stone.
Not only are they in supply, Nicholas seems to give them out as much as Mysterious Summoning Stones, they are useful. I don’t think people realize how useful because often they are only used to sell things, and forgotten.
I myself put them aside until one day I was out solo farming. I had forgotten to sell some of my items upon last entering the outpost, and summoned the Merchant instead. I cleared some inventory space, and continued on with the farm, only to make a silly mistake and die. I ressed and traveled a fair distance back to the fight, only to discover the Merchant was still there. Not just that, but he had killed one of the 4 beasts assaulting him and was about to kill another. I rushed in to only have 2 left to kill. I was actually kind of shocked. The Merchant has Healing Signet, an interrupt, and I Will Survive? What the hell?
I had built up some 30 Mercantile stones, and began using them often. Sure he died sometimes, they all do, but the Merchant ended up being quite impressive to me. It is certainly no worse than most summoning stones, and I would say a damned sight more useful than the majority.
What are your favourite summoning stones?
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