It does actually have some interesting new information.
Translation spoilered below (from a GW2Guru forum post):
A short while ago ArenaNet showed us the dynamic event system of Guild Wars 2. Now had buffed.de and Wartower the chance to talk with Ree Soesbee about the personal story lines. Soesbee is game designer and responsible for the background story of Guild Wars 2.
Question: First we would like to get rid of a common misconception. Many players fear that they will not be able to advance in their personal story if they can not participate in a particular event. Can you tell us something about how the two systems are separate from each other?
Answer: Of course. Both systems are completely independent. The personal story of your character takes place all over the world and motivates you to take a look at everything and interact with important NPCs. But even though the personal story takes place directly within the game world it has got nothing to do with dynamic events. The events have no influence upon whether one can complete one's personal story or not. It might happen that one is unable to pass an event on the way, but the outcome of the event has no influence over the personal story. Neither does it influence the main story of the game. Imagine it like this: You need to fulfill a particular task or need to rescue a certain person and when you arrive you find out that the village to which you have been sent is being attacked right now. Now you can help or you can decide not to, the attack has got nothing to do with your personal story - it's simply an event that is taking place at the same location.
Question: Should I desire to log in and play my personal story a little further I could do that anytime?
Answer: Absolutely. The challenges should come from the story, not from having to wait for a particular event.
Question: Let's assume the big day has come, I got the game installed on my computer, and want to dive into the world of Tyria immediately. First the character creation is going to await me. You already announced that players will be able to create a character biography. I assumed (like with other games) that one would write a little text about one's character, but you had a completely different idea - how exactly does the character creation work?
Answer: During character creation the player decides upon a race and a class and decides the appearance of the character. But there will also be a number of questions, each with multiple possible answer from which the player can choose. The answers decide some aspects of the character and the basics of the personal story. If you create an Asura for example you will get the question "Which was your first successful experiment?" Now you get three or foru possible answers. Later in the game it might happen that an NPC approaches the player and says "Hey, we know that your first invention was a weather control machine. We got that machine there and it's behaving weird. It would be nice if you could help us with the problem." This story line has been chosen for the character based on the answers you picked during character creation.
Question: How many of those questions will be created per character?
Answer: We have not yet made a final decision. But it's going to be somewhere between seven and twelve. Within the team we already decided upon a number, but that might change. And until release we might get one or two awesome ideas for the story, we want to remain flexible for cases like that.
Question: That means the player decides upon a reputation and a past for the character, which already exists even before the character has been played for the first time. How fixed will this biography be? Will players have the chance to change their characters personality through certain actions?
Answer: Some questions actually are about your character's personality. One might be asked how the character would react if he encounters a brawler looking for a fight. Does one defend their friends or takes the initiative? Or tries to talk with the brawler to find a peaceful solution? Some question refer to the character's past. One could answer "I never knew my parents" or "I always wanted to explore a certain place in the world". Some questions are about wishes for the future: "I always wanted to become a Knight", "I always wanted to meet a certain race" like the Dredge or one of the other NPC races. The questions are roughly divided into three to four groups and the possible answers have been chosen in a way that does not force the character into a particular direction. One player might decide that his characte rnever knew his parents, another might have another idea of his character and might want a family or decide that his guild members are blood relatives [Editor's Note: RP families rejoice]. We do not want that players feel forced to pick something they don't consider to be fitting for their character. Whenever there is a question that asks for specific events there will always be an option to give an answer that's not quite accurate and hazy instead.
Question: Okay, there will be questions concerning both the character's past, his wishes for the future, and his traits. How fixed will there character traits be - will there be the option to change those later on? Maybe through a specific way of behavior during the game?
Answer: Some traits will be changeable, others won't. I mean, it's logical: If the player decides who the mother of his character was, he can't simply change that later on. But if the character is a loose cannon and has an aggressive personality he can decide to keep his temper in check and not act aggressively when interacting with NPCs and through that slowly change his character's personality.
Question: One big concern of our community was how to identify tasks. Many of them have played for a long time and are used to exclamation marks above the heads of quest givers and other texts which give explanations. How are the players in Guild Wars 2 introduced to the new system which will work without all this information? How ill be prevented that players just run past content because they can't figure out that it is content?
Answer: There are many things we built in in order to make sure that players will recognize content as what it is. First of all we got a tutorial and an introduction to the game. It will explain in detail what exactly happens in the game world. In addition to that there are pop-ups which one can turn on or off and they will explain the basics. But those are really basic hints to get to know the game. The real event system draws attention on its own and does not need explanations or exclamation marks. While you're exploring you could simply jump into the ocean and and dive to its bottom. Now it might happen that an ocean dweller swims up to the player and screams that he should help to defend his village from monsters which are trying to enslave the village population. One doesn't need to actively search for an explanatory text, the game world shows to the players what is happening. And the players will be able to hear what is said around them. Because of that you will naturally stumble upon and into those events. It's supposed to feel as if you run down a street and see a burning house. The happenings draw you towards them and you quickly find out what is going on and if (and most importantly how) you can help. YOu could also inform other players about the event, but it feels completely different from walking up to a quest giver who says "Hey, two blocks down burns a house, go there and extinguish the fire."
Question: If my personal story matches that of a friend, can we do it together to advance or will one of us just be the spectator?
Answer: The hero of a personals story is always only the leader of the group. It's his story, his decisions, and his story alone is being influenced. Friends can always be invited along and become part of your story, witnesses of how you save a village or interact with people from your past. If NPCs talk about the past they always only talk about the past of the group leader. Through participating in the personal story of others one can see many things, but it won't become part of one's own personal story.
Question: Does one receive rewards for helping?
Answer: Yes. We are working on a system for indirect rewards. The rewards for helpers will be different from the rewards for the "owner" of the story.
Question: Helping someone isn't a waste of time, but instead nets you something?
Answer: Absolutely. Who doesn't want to do anything else apart from helping others with their personal story can do so and will even be able to acquire advanced equipment thorugh that.
Question: How differs the announced "personal instance" from the Hall of Monuments? Is it our own home or is there more to do?
Answer: Concerning the personal instances we can say the following: The Black Citadel, in our example the home of a Charr character is 90% open world identical for all players. Through the character's own home it's possible to access the last 10%, the personal instance. Either alone or with friends who have been invited into the group. The look of the personal instance depends on the personal story, maybe there are buildings which wouldn't exist otherwise. One meets NPC characters who usually aren't there and one can display throphies to show achievements ingame.
Question: Will the personal story influence the PvP part of the game?
Answer: No. The personal story is not intended to give advantages in the game. It's just to develop your character and gain more knowledge about the world of Tyria.
Question: Will I be able to take a look at my decisions throughout my personal story?
Answer: Yes, to some extent. The personal instance will change. The dialogues and the way NPCs react towards the player will change, depending on how one chose to interact with smaller races like the Quargen or Skritt. A saved merchant might be standing around and offer clothing from his home town and funny "town items".
Question: Are those changes only within the personal instance or will other NPCs act differently as well.
Answer: Naturally it will be a lot more prevalent within the personal instance than within the open world. But we tried to make this thing work as much as possible within the open world as well. Depending on which decisions you make certain NPC might talk to you or not. Depending on which order you belong to (note: example: Order of Whispers) their reactions towards you will change.
Question: I've saved the world, played through my personal story, and participated in endless events. How long did that take and what now?
Answer: That depends on the player himself a lot, how fast he'll advance. Some might want to stay on a certain level because they like it. The personal story is divided so that one experiences it on different levels at different locations. The whole big story with the really big end boss one will only complete on the maximum level. How long that takes we can't really say right now.
Man, I dug the city in Factions. I know it looked ugly, but I thought it was a good ugly, and it really showed off just how shitty the place was, with the whole thing basically made out of scraps with everyone living on top of each other.
Have they mentioned a day/night cycle yet? I do hope there is one, but I hope it's not set to change an even amount of times per day, otherwise I'll be perpetually playing at one time, which would get irritating.
I'm apparently in some sort of microscopic minority in liking the whole factions expansion
the only thing I didn't like was assassin, mostly because I bit the big one at playing them (my favored character is a Ritualist however, so there's that)
i liked the Jade Sea, the forest, kaineng, the included guild halls, every thing
I thought it was great
ironically though probably unsurprisingly, nightfall didn't impress me until I had something to look at in vabbi
I'm kind of worried that all the character building questions and what faction you choose will determine the bulk of your character's makeup. From what they're saying, it sounds like the decisions you make at the very beginning determine the bulk of your personal story. Like, you'll be able to slowly change your character's personality, but it won't have a great deal of impact on how your story goes.
Or have they mentioned choices in quests having an impact on personal stories?
I'm kind of worried that all the character building questions and what faction you choose will determine the bulk of your character's makeup. From what they're saying, it sounds like the decisions you make at the very beginning determine the bulk of your personal story. Like, you'll be able to slowly change your character's personality, but it won't have a great deal of impact on how your story goes.
Or have they mentioned choices in quests having an impact on personal stories?
Well, from the blog:
Each of the stories in the game has at least one major moment of choice which can alter the chain of events, making every story a different experience.
That's before they get to the part about factions, and then they say that there will be at least one other major choice after choosing a faction that would alter your personal story.
Have they mentioned a day/night cycle yet? I do hope there is one, but I hope it's not set to change an even amount of times per day, otherwise I'll be perpetually playing at one time, which would get irritating.
They have specifically mentioned a day/night cycle, and stated that it will cycle in such a way that everyone will get a chance to experience day and night. Better yet, some events will only trigger during the night/day! I can't wait to see some spooky graveyards come to life at midnight.
Man, I dug the city in Factions. I know it looked ugly, but I thought it was a good ugly, and it really showed off just how shitty the place was, with the whole thing basically made out of scraps with everyone living on top of each other.
Have they mentioned a day/night cycle yet? I do hope there is one, but I hope it's not set to change an even amount of times per day, otherwise I'll be perpetually playing at one time, which would get irritating.
I'm apparently in some sort of microscopic minority in liking the whole factions expansion
the only thing I didn't like was assassin, mostly because I bit the big one at playing them (my favored character is a Ritualist however, so there's that)
i liked the Jade Sea, the forest, kaineng, the included guild halls, every thing
I thought it was great
ironically though probably unsurprisingly, nightfall didn't impress me until I had something to look at in vabbi
most of it bored the shit out of me
I quite liked factions. The story was poor, though, and the voice acting was painful. I also didn't find the areas quite as atmospheric as they could have been, but they made up for that by being conceptually awesome.
Also female assassins terrify me. They so skinny
Lieberkuhn on
While you eat, let's have a conversation about the nature of consent.
Man, I dug the city in Factions. I know it looked ugly, but I thought it was a good ugly, and it really showed off just how shitty the place was, with the whole thing basically made out of scraps with everyone living on top of each other.
Have they mentioned a day/night cycle yet? I do hope there is one, but I hope it's not set to change an even amount of times per day, otherwise I'll be perpetually playing at one time, which would get irritating.
I'm apparently in some sort of microscopic minority in liking the whole factions expansion
the only thing I didn't like was assassin, mostly because I bit the big one at playing them (my favored character is a Ritualist however, so there's that)
i liked the Jade Sea, the forest, kaineng, the included guild halls, every thing
I thought it was great
ironically though probably unsurprisingly, nightfall didn't impress me until I had something to look at in vabbi
most of it bored the shit out of me
I quite liked factions. The story was poor, though, and the voice acting was painful. I also didn't find the areas quite as atmospheric as they could have been, but they made up for that by being conceptually awesome.
Also female assassins terrify me. They so skinny
Yeah, it's always kind of funny to see anorexic-thin sins absolutely destroy a huge, burly, platemail-wearing warrior.
Man, I dug the city in Factions. I know it looked ugly, but I thought it was a good ugly, and it really showed off just how shitty the place was, with the whole thing basically made out of scraps with everyone living on top of each other.
Have they mentioned a day/night cycle yet? I do hope there is one, but I hope it's not set to change an even amount of times per day, otherwise I'll be perpetually playing at one time, which would get irritating.
I'm apparently in some sort of microscopic minority in liking the whole factions expansion
the only thing I didn't like was assassin, mostly because I bit the big one at playing them (my favored character is a Ritualist however, so there's that)
i liked the Jade Sea, the forest, kaineng, the included guild halls, every thing
I thought it was great
ironically though probably unsurprisingly, nightfall didn't impress me until I had something to look at in vabbi
most of it bored the shit out of me
I quite liked factions. The story was poor, though, and the voice acting was painful. I also didn't find the areas quite as atmospheric as they could have been, but they made up for that by being conceptually awesome.
Also female assassins terrify me. They so skinny
Yeah, it's always kind of funny to see anorexic-thin sins absolutely destroy a huge, burly, platemail-wearing warrior.
It's even funnier to see them shadow-step to a touch ranger
Paladin on
Marty: The future, it's where you're going? Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
Sins always hated me since 90% of the time I was a curse necro with SS, Insidious Parasite, Enfeebling Blood, etc., so if they didn't pay attention and just unloaded on me they'd kill themselves while not doing much to me. Good times.
Darmak on
0
UnluckyThat's not meant to happenRegistered Userregular
A lot of that sounds intriguing, but keeping in mind how shit eatingly awful the voice acting in Guild Wars is, I'm not entirely convinced they can pull off the whole "story" thing.
FYI: I played GW1 for over 2 years, and while Champions Online fills sort of a void, it simply doesn't compare to GW1 and the excitement I have for GW2 now.
I'm glad to finally see some concrete information come out regarding the game, though I admit that I haven't really kept up with any Arena-net or Guild Wars related news since I quit playing Guild Wars 1.
While Guild Wars 2 adds a persistent-world experience, it retains the unique characteristics of the original game, including strong narrative, extensive instanced gameplay, anti-grind design philosophy, and strong support for competitive play.
I don't usually go for marketing hype but maaaannnnn, that quote is really doing it for me.
Also, If I'm reading this right:
We're applying this same philosophy to competitive play. Players will be able to engage in organized, balanced PvP (similar to GvG in the original Guild Wars) without first leveling up characters, finding equipment, and unlocking skills. While inside the organized PvP area, all characters will be the same power level and will have access to the same equipment.
Then they are putting in UAX for PVP characters? Glad to see they are avoiding that debacle this time around; the hassle of faction grinding was the only bad thing about PvP in the original Guild Wars (in my opinion, of course).
If PvP characters don't have to unlock stuff and the PvE dynamic events and personal story implementation ends up being as awesome as it sounds then this might be the best game ever.
ph blake on
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-Loki-Don't pee in my mouth and tell me it's raining.Registered Userregular
Then they are putting in UAX for PVP characters? Glad to see they are avoiding that debacle this time around; the hassle of faction grinding was the only bad thing about PvP in the original Guild Wars (in my opinion, of course).
If PvP characters don't have to unlock stuff and the PvE dynamic events and personal story implementation ends up being as awesome as it sounds then this might be the best game ever.
PvP works 2 ways. There's competitive PvP and World PvP.
World PvP isn't actually World PvP, it's a cross between alliance battles, cooperative missions and random arenas. It's a huge map, with actual objectives (attacking mines, defending supply trains, attacking forts, etc) that takes place in The Mists. It's entirely casual PvP, and PvE characters are used in it with no modifications made by the game.
Competitive PvP they haven't much talked about. What we know, is the team size is 5 people, and PvE characters are still used (no PvP characters anymore). However, your character is made PvP level (they said this might be max level or some midway point) and is given UAX. I assume you can spawn PvP only weapons in there too. When you leave, your character reverts to it's normal PvE state. We don't know it it will be arena fighting, GvG style, or whatever.
I just realized that I will be boarding a plane around the time news gets out on Wednesday. It will probably be a new profession, cos that'd just figure when I am going to be cut off from the internet.
I just realized that I will be boarding a plane around the time news gets out on Wednesday. It will probably be a new profession, cos that'd just figure when I am going to be cut off from the internet.
I'll keep on top of it Enig, don't worry.
Cross your fingers we see a profession we've never seen before in GW.
Corehealer on
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-Loki-Don't pee in my mouth and tell me it's raining.Registered Userregular
Bear in mind that my information is loosely cobbled together in my head from various interviews and previews I've read. Some of it is very old (like casual PvP taking place in the Mists - they talked about this sometime last year I think) and could have been changed by now. Mainly, I'm just keeping up on the PvP stuff, because I don't want much of the PvE spoiled for me. I've read just about nothing on personal stories, I want it to be a surprise for me.
I have seen one thing concerning PvE, not sure if it's been posted here, but this is a PvE screenshot I assume from the climax of a major dynamic event. All I can say, is if dynamic events end with that kind of enemy regularly, this game is going to be epic. And I despise using that word.
Mainly, I'm just keeping up on the PvP stuff, because I don't want much of the PvE spoiled for me. I've read just about nothing on personal stories, I want it to be a surprise for me.
IT TURNS OUT THEY WERE IN PURGATORY AND IT WAS HIS SLED ON EARTH ALL ALONG
Lieberkuhn on
While you eat, let's have a conversation about the nature of consent.
Mainly, I'm just keeping up on the PvP stuff, because I don't want much of the PvE spoiled for me. I've read just about nothing on personal stories, I want it to be a surprise for me.
IT TURNS OUT THEY WERE IN PURGATORY AND IT WAS HIS SLED ON EARTH ALL ALONG
Also the thing with GW2 is that it's staggering how much it's changed over the course of development. Back when they first announced that they were making EotN and GW2 in lieu of the 4th campaign, they talked briefly about what GW2 was going to be like.
They mentioned things like every character was getting one Hero companion, but the game was still playable solo, and taking that companion simply gave you a debuff that made you slightly less powerful (which the companion made up for). Also, secondary professions were still in, the level cap was announced as 100, and gear was going to work the same as GW1.
All of those things have changed entirely in this new glut of information over the past few weeks, with the exception of the level cap, which they haven't yet specified. Basically, GW2 was at one point a long time ago, a lot closer to GW1 than the crazy new version that's been revealed now. I'm glad they decided to push it a bit more though, this new stuff is pretty amazing.
Darth Nathan on
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CorehealerThe ApothecaryThe softer edge of the universe.Registered Userregular
edited May 2010
No new profession reveals or anything today, I'll keep my ear to the ground on it though.
For the elementalist profession they leaked the concept art out through their facebook and twitter account by "unfading" a portion of the artwork, so I'm expecting to see that before they do another profession reveal.
Oh, by the way, has the profession concept art been talked about here yet? During GDC, during a concept art presentation, they had a few interesting concept art scattered throughout the presentation:
Compare it to the elementalist wallpaper they released which is at the bottom.
So, the first on is an assassin, no doubt about it. Could be renamed to something else of course, like rogue or something similar.
Second looks a whole lot like a ranger. There's really no denying that.
Third would be a Mesmer for sure, the gloves and general style definitely give of that vibe. Also matches the color that all mesmer skills shared in GW1
Fourth is a big burly warrior. The color here matches GW1 as well.
5th is anyones guess, maybe some kind of cleric or something.
The mesmer looks like she has a lightsabre.
Coooooool
Illusionary Weaponry all up in.
Really, the only profession that looks new is #5. I wonder what they'll do to differentiate it from the Warrior. Paladin seems unlikely, given how the Gods operate. Still, it's got the bluish shade of the Monk.
Rainfall on
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reVerseAttack and Dethrone GodRegistered Userregular
edited May 2010
It's probably some kind of paladin-ish class, even if not an actual paladin. Protective spells and heavy armor and such.
edit: And shield slams. There better be shield slams or I'm gonna kill a puppy.
For the elementalist profession they leaked the concept art out through their facebook and twitter account by "unfading" a portion of the artwork, so I'm expecting to see that before they do another profession reveal.
The entirety of that image unblurred is at the end of the merchandise survey, but I forgot to grab it when I took the survey :-(
For the elementalist profession they leaked the concept art out through their facebook and twitter account by "unfading" a portion of the artwork, so I'm expecting to see that before they do another profession reveal.
The entirety of that image unblurred is at the end of the merchandise survey, but I forgot to grab it when I took the survey :-(
I know the image you're talking about, and I thought the same thing, but I'm pretty sure it's a different image.
Geod on
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-Loki-Don't pee in my mouth and tell me it's raining.Registered Userregular
So, the first on is an assassin, no doubt about it. Could be renamed to something else of course, like rogue or something similar.
Second looks a whole lot like a ranger. There's really no denying that.
Third would be a Mesmer for sure, the gloves and general style definitely give of that vibe. Also matches the color that all mesmer skills shared in GW1
Fourth is a big burly warrior. The color here matches GW1 as well.
5th is anyones guess, maybe some kind of cleric or something.
That's the general consensus going around. If they do name the 5th one 'Paladin', it would be hilarious considering paladins were useless in the original game. Would make sense though, a class that can cast defensive buffs, but still giving it a weapon to go around whacking things with.
Personally I expect them to name the "Paladin" class Paragon. Paragons are conceptually similar to Paladins (defensive party buffs and healing wrapped up in a heavily armoured package), so it makes sense.
That said, Paragons also fit the Bard archetype (stand at the back of the party with a ranged weapon and sing), so meh.
Lieberkuhn on
While you eat, let's have a conversation about the nature of consent.
0
-Loki-Don't pee in my mouth and tell me it's raining.Registered Userregular
edited June 2010
So glad there's no spears anymore. It looked so ridiculous when spears appeared from nowhere. It was bad with arrows, but they were less noticable.
Wish granted. Massively interviewed Ree Soesbee about her earlier personal storyline post on the main site. The article touches on alot of things involving the home instance and what's in it, as well as some more details about the Hall of Monuments and the questions involved in creating your character's bio at character creation. Here's an interesting tidbit, plus a new screenshot. :P
Ree Soesbee: Your home instance (which consists of an area about the size of a city block, within your character's racial city, where you have the racial equivalent of a house – a lab, for the asura, for example – several streets, some merchant's areas, and other city-like things) will reflect your character's victories, their accomplishments, and the people they meet in the game. It will not reflect your class, except where your class contributes to the storylines you receive in the game. Your character's personality might change your storyline, making a difference in the characters you choose to meet and befriend, and that might affect the home instance by having different people show up to visit you there.
depending upon the answer, prices for certain monument-filling items could go way up or become worthless.
Either way, the most cost-efficient, worthwhile approach is just to fill the hall as best you can with what you've got, since the stuff that may confer the least interesting benefits will also probably end up being too cheap to trade for the stuff you really want.
Paladin on
Marty: The future, it's where you're going? Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
Your home instance (which consists of an area about the size of a city block, within your character's racial city, where you have the racial equivalent of a house – a lab, for the asura, for example – several streets, some merchant's areas, and other city-like things) will reflect your character's victories, their accomplishments, and the people they meet in the game
Aw goddamnit ANet
Now I'm excited to make an Asura too
Stop making my choice of main so difficult
(Don't stop)
Lieberkuhn on
While you eat, let's have a conversation about the nature of consent.
0
CorehealerThe ApothecaryThe softer edge of the universe.Registered Userregular
edited June 2010
Charr are gonna probably have some kind of steampunk blacksmith house or something else cool like that in a section of the Black Citadel.
Posts
It does actually have some interesting new information.
Translation spoilered below (from a GW2Guru forum post):
Question: First we would like to get rid of a common misconception. Many players fear that they will not be able to advance in their personal story if they can not participate in a particular event. Can you tell us something about how the two systems are separate from each other?
Answer: Of course. Both systems are completely independent. The personal story of your character takes place all over the world and motivates you to take a look at everything and interact with important NPCs. But even though the personal story takes place directly within the game world it has got nothing to do with dynamic events. The events have no influence upon whether one can complete one's personal story or not. It might happen that one is unable to pass an event on the way, but the outcome of the event has no influence over the personal story. Neither does it influence the main story of the game. Imagine it like this: You need to fulfill a particular task or need to rescue a certain person and when you arrive you find out that the village to which you have been sent is being attacked right now. Now you can help or you can decide not to, the attack has got nothing to do with your personal story - it's simply an event that is taking place at the same location.
Question: Should I desire to log in and play my personal story a little further I could do that anytime?
Answer: Absolutely. The challenges should come from the story, not from having to wait for a particular event.
Question: Let's assume the big day has come, I got the game installed on my computer, and want to dive into the world of Tyria immediately. First the character creation is going to await me. You already announced that players will be able to create a character biography. I assumed (like with other games) that one would write a little text about one's character, but you had a completely different idea - how exactly does the character creation work?
Answer: During character creation the player decides upon a race and a class and decides the appearance of the character. But there will also be a number of questions, each with multiple possible answer from which the player can choose. The answers decide some aspects of the character and the basics of the personal story. If you create an Asura for example you will get the question "Which was your first successful experiment?" Now you get three or foru possible answers. Later in the game it might happen that an NPC approaches the player and says "Hey, we know that your first invention was a weather control machine. We got that machine there and it's behaving weird. It would be nice if you could help us with the problem." This story line has been chosen for the character based on the answers you picked during character creation.
Question: How many of those questions will be created per character?
Answer: We have not yet made a final decision. But it's going to be somewhere between seven and twelve. Within the team we already decided upon a number, but that might change. And until release we might get one or two awesome ideas for the story, we want to remain flexible for cases like that.
Question: That means the player decides upon a reputation and a past for the character, which already exists even before the character has been played for the first time. How fixed will this biography be? Will players have the chance to change their characters personality through certain actions?
Answer: Some questions actually are about your character's personality. One might be asked how the character would react if he encounters a brawler looking for a fight. Does one defend their friends or takes the initiative? Or tries to talk with the brawler to find a peaceful solution? Some question refer to the character's past. One could answer "I never knew my parents" or "I always wanted to explore a certain place in the world". Some questions are about wishes for the future: "I always wanted to become a Knight", "I always wanted to meet a certain race" like the Dredge or one of the other NPC races. The questions are roughly divided into three to four groups and the possible answers have been chosen in a way that does not force the character into a particular direction. One player might decide that his characte rnever knew his parents, another might have another idea of his character and might want a family or decide that his guild members are blood relatives [Editor's Note: RP families rejoice]. We do not want that players feel forced to pick something they don't consider to be fitting for their character. Whenever there is a question that asks for specific events there will always be an option to give an answer that's not quite accurate and hazy instead.
Question: Okay, there will be questions concerning both the character's past, his wishes for the future, and his traits. How fixed will there character traits be - will there be the option to change those later on? Maybe through a specific way of behavior during the game?
Answer: Some traits will be changeable, others won't. I mean, it's logical: If the player decides who the mother of his character was, he can't simply change that later on. But if the character is a loose cannon and has an aggressive personality he can decide to keep his temper in check and not act aggressively when interacting with NPCs and through that slowly change his character's personality.
Question: One big concern of our community was how to identify tasks. Many of them have played for a long time and are used to exclamation marks above the heads of quest givers and other texts which give explanations. How are the players in Guild Wars 2 introduced to the new system which will work without all this information? How ill be prevented that players just run past content because they can't figure out that it is content?
Answer: There are many things we built in in order to make sure that players will recognize content as what it is. First of all we got a tutorial and an introduction to the game. It will explain in detail what exactly happens in the game world. In addition to that there are pop-ups which one can turn on or off and they will explain the basics. But those are really basic hints to get to know the game. The real event system draws attention on its own and does not need explanations or exclamation marks. While you're exploring you could simply jump into the ocean and and dive to its bottom. Now it might happen that an ocean dweller swims up to the player and screams that he should help to defend his village from monsters which are trying to enslave the village population. One doesn't need to actively search for an explanatory text, the game world shows to the players what is happening. And the players will be able to hear what is said around them. Because of that you will naturally stumble upon and into those events. It's supposed to feel as if you run down a street and see a burning house. The happenings draw you towards them and you quickly find out what is going on and if (and most importantly how) you can help. YOu could also inform other players about the event, but it feels completely different from walking up to a quest giver who says "Hey, two blocks down burns a house, go there and extinguish the fire."
Question: If my personal story matches that of a friend, can we do it together to advance or will one of us just be the spectator?
Answer: The hero of a personals story is always only the leader of the group. It's his story, his decisions, and his story alone is being influenced. Friends can always be invited along and become part of your story, witnesses of how you save a village or interact with people from your past. If NPCs talk about the past they always only talk about the past of the group leader. Through participating in the personal story of others one can see many things, but it won't become part of one's own personal story.
Question: Does one receive rewards for helping?
Answer: Yes. We are working on a system for indirect rewards. The rewards for helpers will be different from the rewards for the "owner" of the story.
Question: Helping someone isn't a waste of time, but instead nets you something?
Answer: Absolutely. Who doesn't want to do anything else apart from helping others with their personal story can do so and will even be able to acquire advanced equipment thorugh that.
Question: How differs the announced "personal instance" from the Hall of Monuments? Is it our own home or is there more to do?
Answer: Concerning the personal instances we can say the following: The Black Citadel, in our example the home of a Charr character is 90% open world identical for all players. Through the character's own home it's possible to access the last 10%, the personal instance. Either alone or with friends who have been invited into the group. The look of the personal instance depends on the personal story, maybe there are buildings which wouldn't exist otherwise. One meets NPC characters who usually aren't there and one can display throphies to show achievements ingame.
Question: Will the personal story influence the PvP part of the game?
Answer: No. The personal story is not intended to give advantages in the game. It's just to develop your character and gain more knowledge about the world of Tyria.
Question: Will I be able to take a look at my decisions throughout my personal story?
Answer: Yes, to some extent. The personal instance will change. The dialogues and the way NPCs react towards the player will change, depending on how one chose to interact with smaller races like the Quargen or Skritt. A saved merchant might be standing around and offer clothing from his home town and funny "town items".
Question: Are those changes only within the personal instance or will other NPCs act differently as well.
Answer: Naturally it will be a lot more prevalent within the personal instance than within the open world. But we tried to make this thing work as much as possible within the open world as well. Depending on which decisions you make certain NPC might talk to you or not. Depending on which order you belong to (note: example: Order of Whispers) their reactions towards you will change.
Question: I've saved the world, played through my personal story, and participated in endless events. How long did that take and what now?
Answer: That depends on the player himself a lot, how fast he'll advance. Some might want to stay on a certain level because they like it. The personal story is divided so that one experiences it on different levels at different locations. The whole big story with the really big end boss one will only complete on the maximum level. How long that takes we can't really say right now.
Steam (Ansatz) || GW2 officer (Ansatz.6498)
I'm apparently in some sort of microscopic minority in liking the whole factions expansion
the only thing I didn't like was assassin, mostly because I bit the big one at playing them (my favored character is a Ritualist however, so there's that)
i liked the Jade Sea, the forest, kaineng, the included guild halls, every thing
I thought it was great
ironically though probably unsurprisingly, nightfall didn't impress me until I had something to look at in vabbi
most of it bored the shit out of me
Or have they mentioned choices in quests having an impact on personal stories?
Well, from the blog:
That's before they get to the part about factions, and then they say that there will be at least one other major choice after choosing a faction that would alter your personal story.
They have specifically mentioned a day/night cycle, and stated that it will cycle in such a way that everyone will get a chance to experience day and night. Better yet, some events will only trigger during the night/day! I can't wait to see some spooky graveyards come to life at midnight.
There's proof of the cycle in this video at 2:12:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em0Sd60iI2w
I quite liked factions. The story was poor, though, and the voice acting was painful. I also didn't find the areas quite as atmospheric as they could have been, but they made up for that by being conceptually awesome.
Also female assassins terrify me. They so skinny
Yeah, it's always kind of funny to see anorexic-thin sins absolutely destroy a huge, burly, platemail-wearing warrior.
It's even funnier to see them shadow-step to a touch ranger
Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
I'm glad to finally see some concrete information come out regarding the game, though I admit that I haven't really kept up with any Arena-net or Guild Wars related news since I quit playing Guild Wars 1.
I don't usually go for marketing hype but maaaannnnn, that quote is really doing it for me.
Also, If I'm reading this right:
Then they are putting in UAX for PVP characters? Glad to see they are avoiding that debacle this time around; the hassle of faction grinding was the only bad thing about PvP in the original Guild Wars (in my opinion, of course).
If PvP characters don't have to unlock stuff and the PvE dynamic events and personal story implementation ends up being as awesome as it sounds then this might be the best game ever.
PvP works 2 ways. There's competitive PvP and World PvP.
World PvP isn't actually World PvP, it's a cross between alliance battles, cooperative missions and random arenas. It's a huge map, with actual objectives (attacking mines, defending supply trains, attacking forts, etc) that takes place in The Mists. It's entirely casual PvP, and PvE characters are used in it with no modifications made by the game.
Competitive PvP they haven't much talked about. What we know, is the team size is 5 people, and PvE characters are still used (no PvP characters anymore). However, your character is made PvP level (they said this might be max level or some midway point) and is given UAX. I assume you can spawn PvP only weapons in there too. When you leave, your character reverts to it's normal PvE state. We don't know it it will be arena fighting, GvG style, or whatever.
Keep it up dude, it's extremely helpful!
I just realized that I will be boarding a plane around the time news gets out on Wednesday. It will probably be a new profession, cos that'd just figure when I am going to be cut off from the internet.
Steam (Ansatz) || GW2 officer (Ansatz.6498)
I'll keep on top of it Enig, don't worry.
Cross your fingers we see a profession we've never seen before in GW.
Bear in mind that my information is loosely cobbled together in my head from various interviews and previews I've read. Some of it is very old (like casual PvP taking place in the Mists - they talked about this sometime last year I think) and could have been changed by now. Mainly, I'm just keeping up on the PvP stuff, because I don't want much of the PvE spoiled for me. I've read just about nothing on personal stories, I want it to be a surprise for me.
I have seen one thing concerning PvE, not sure if it's been posted here, but this is a PvE screenshot I assume from the climax of a major dynamic event. All I can say, is if dynamic events end with that kind of enemy regularly, this game is going to be epic. And I despise using that word.
IT TURNS OUT THEY WERE IN PURGATORY AND IT WAS HIS SLED ON EARTH ALL ALONG
Also the thing with GW2 is that it's staggering how much it's changed over the course of development. Back when they first announced that they were making EotN and GW2 in lieu of the 4th campaign, they talked briefly about what GW2 was going to be like.
They mentioned things like every character was getting one Hero companion, but the game was still playable solo, and taking that companion simply gave you a debuff that made you slightly less powerful (which the companion made up for). Also, secondary professions were still in, the level cap was announced as 100, and gear was going to work the same as GW1.
All of those things have changed entirely in this new glut of information over the past few weeks, with the exception of the level cap, which they haven't yet specified. Basically, GW2 was at one point a long time ago, a lot closer to GW1 than the crazy new version that's been revealed now. I'm glad they decided to push it a bit more though, this new stuff is pretty amazing.
Maybe.
Oh, by the way, has the profession concept art been talked about here yet? During GDC, during a concept art presentation, they had a few interesting concept art scattered throughout the presentation:
Compare it to the elementalist wallpaper they released which is at the bottom.
(Credit goes to Guildwars2guru)
Second looks a whole lot like a ranger. There's really no denying that.
Third would be a Mesmer for sure, the gloves and general style definitely give of that vibe. Also matches the color that all mesmer skills shared in GW1
Fourth is a big burly warrior. The color here matches GW1 as well.
5th is anyones guess, maybe some kind of cleric or something.
Coooooool
Illusionary Weaponry all up in.
Really, the only profession that looks new is #5. I wonder what they'll do to differentiate it from the Warrior. Paladin seems unlikely, given how the Gods operate. Still, it's got the bluish shade of the Monk.
edit: And shield slams. There better be shield slams or I'm gonna kill a puppy.
The entirety of that image unblurred is at the end of the merchandise survey, but I forgot to grab it when I took the survey :-(
My book reviews, twitter, FB.
I know the image you're talking about, and I thought the same thing, but I'm pretty sure it's a different image.
That's the general consensus going around. If they do name the 5th one 'Paladin', it would be hilarious considering paladins were useless in the original game. Would make sense though, a class that can cast defensive buffs, but still giving it a weapon to go around whacking things with.
That said, Paragons also fit the Bard archetype (stand at the back of the party with a ranged weapon and sing), so meh.
Need more info!
Wish granted. Massively interviewed Ree Soesbee about her earlier personal storyline post on the main site. The article touches on alot of things involving the home instance and what's in it, as well as some more details about the Hall of Monuments and the questions involved in creating your character's bio at character creation. Here's an interesting tidbit, plus a new screenshot. :P
And here's the article:
http://www.massively.com/2010/05/29/guild-wars-2-personal-story-massivelys-interview-with-ree-soes/
Sigh. I would love to get some info on this...
Either way, the most cost-efficient, worthwhile approach is just to fill the hall as best you can with what you've got, since the stuff that may confer the least interesting benefits will also probably end up being too cheap to trade for the stuff you really want.
Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
My waves of minions will block out the sun! As I hurl them at you. O_O
Of course, I wouldn't mind a Blackguard instead of a Necromancer.
Most likely from the current list, I would be a Mesmer.
Aw goddamnit ANet
Now I'm excited to make an Asura too
Stop making my choice of main so difficult
(Don't stop)
I can picture it now, and it's glorious.