There is a huge dedicated PvE component. Epic storyline, 80 levels of adventure, and an open world filled with all sorts of dynamic events and a number of semi-dynamic dungeons.
As far as end-game, GW2 may not have raids, but the hard-mode ("explorable" mode) dungeons and max level open-world events will be plenty challenging. There are also non-traditional PvE tasks in GW2 which are fun and/or rewarding. Chiefly this is exploration (made actually engaging thanks to down-leveling), but crafting, non-combat activities and achievements could also fall in this category.
The other option regarding end-game is to simply stop once you are satisfied. The game is designed to be very enjoyable even on your journey to level 80 (in fact it doesn't really change once you hit 80, other than getting harder), so if you don't care for PvP or chasing optional loot at 80, you could take a break until the first expansion. For $60 you will get at least 120 hours of play time on a single character, and of course much more if you step off the beaten path or play alternate characters to try out different professions. It is easy to take breaks and return as you wish because there is no monthly subscription.
Here, lemme give you an example. Screenshot I took shortly after I finally got my hands on the glyphic greatsword.
Ow wow... this screenshot is why you can't entirely trust the equipment preview, nice as it is to have it. Lots of gear in GW2 has cool effects which don't show up in the preview because they are actual effects.
Here, lemme give you an example. Screenshot I took shortly after I finally got my hands on the glyphic greatsword.
Ow wow... this screenshot is why you can't entirely trust the equipment preview, nice as it is to have it. Lots of gear in GW2 has cool effects which don't show up in the preview because they are actual effects.
Yeah, someone complained elsewhere(as in another website) that the Sylvari racial greatsword was just a "dumb stick! Not even sharp!", but apparently when actually equipped it's like a friggin' plant energy sword.
What Enig said is really important. There's no subscription here. If you don't like PvP, you'll still get a full game (or more) worth of content for the entry fee. Then you can stop playing, go do something else, and come back if there's been a content update or if you just want to fuck around. There's certainly enough achievement hunting to keep you busy forever.
@Rorus Raz Hey am I allowed to post my PVP Youtube videos in this thread? The rules confuse and frighten me
Yeah, that's not a problem.
We're more concerned about people who've been here for maybe two months and just want to use the community for more views.
Excellent, thanks.
So, here's exactly why playing a hammer warrior is so much damn fun (special guest appearance by my girlfriend's necro Minion Master as well). Also, I should warn everyone that I'm actually really terrible at this game; it's really hard to pay attention sometimes, and it costs me dearly in a few places
Anyway, enough preamble, behold my very first real YouTube video upload ever:
So, was having this discussion on the guild forum...and it just kind of blew my mind a bit.
People are going back and forth about what class they should play, etc, etc, just like any MMO. But it occured to me that it doesn't matter as much what you start with, how quickly you level them or if your friends out-level your character. Everything in GW2 drives people together, not apart.
For example, say I start a warrior and my friend starts a necromancer. He decides after 15 levels that he'd rather play a mesmer. So he rolls a mesmer. Now, if EVERY OTHER MMO, I would have three options.
1) Roll a new toon and start over, even though I'm loving my warrior.
2) Keep on leveling and "hope" he catches up
3) Go back to the newbie zone with him and just hack and cleave shit to help him catch up.
In GW2...I just go play with him. I take my level 15 or 30 or 50 or 80 and go play with him. Even if he's level 1.
Or we join in some WuvWuv. Together. Or sPvP. Together.
Guys, it's blowing my mind...but GW2 is designed from the ground up to let you play with your friends ALL THE TIME.
I just can't get over how amazing this is.
To add to the point, I have another friend who won't be able to play until October. Doesn't matter. If we're all level 80 or have multiple alts across the spectrum, it doesn't matter. When he logs in 2 months late to the party, he's going to the proverbial beer-in-hand and step onto the dance floor with everyone else.
That was a interesting spec you used, there. Most of the hammer warriors I fought were glass cannons. And you had a tank'ish spec. Wich Is nice and really effective, as your video clearly shows.
That aside, you did really well against those guys. :]
Time to be very blunt. I really don't like PvP. I assume this game has little to offer me. Does this game have a good dedicated PVE component?
Hi Rikidou, I'm not a PvPer either and I love this game! Guild Wars 2 has an entire continent of PvE zones chock full of dynamic events and nifty areas for explorers to discover. The classes are fun to play, the world is gorgeous, and every character has a personal storyline that varies depending on choices you made at character creation and later in the game. A lot of the folks in this thread may be avid PvPers, but there's a good contingent of us who are primarily PvE or who love both equally.
As mentioned before, GW2 is missing the gear tiers/raiding endgame, so if that's your favourite thing about MMOs, you won't find it here. There are plenty of small group dungeons and big overworld events, though.
Want to find me on a gaming service? I'm SwashbucklerXX everywhere.
0
Casually HardcoreOnce an Asshole. Trying to be better.Registered Userregular
edited August 2012
I know this been asked a million times. But how does respec work in GW2? Can you switch between an offensive and defensive spec on the fly?
Also, I really wish people stop trying to compare this to WoW. Because I made the mistake of trying to play GW2 like WoW for the first half of BWE3 and missed out on the true heart and soul of this game.
I only did a little WuvWuv in BWE2 and enjoyed it thoroughly, I was purely PvE otherwise (as I typically am in MMOs), and liked what I experienced (though at the time Queensland needed some XP balancing). The personal stories aren't as interesting/deep as the storyline in TSW, but they did keep me interested, and the overall feel of everything was great.
That being said, as someone who basically finds MMO PvP to be a complete waste of time, I can actually see myself playing a fair bit of PvP in GW2 - it just felt 'right', less MMOish than typical. I've only really stuck with PvP in two MMOs prior - UO (on private shards) and WoW (back in the Vanilla AV days). I never stopped liking UOs, and WoW lasted for me till they killed AV's more epic aspects (which WuvWuv has) and I realized I simply wasn't enjoying the other PvP maps as much. Asheron's Call I might have liked due to the sheer insanity of the PvP servers, but that's about it among MMOs. So you may unexpectedly find yourself enjoying the PvP in GW2 if my experience holds out.
The Great DAMNED STEAM SALES AND WII/U Backlog Just Finished: Borderlands (waste of $7)/Mario Brothers U/The Last Story/Tropico 4 Currently Playing: NS2/ZombiU/PlanetSide 2/Ys/Dota2/Xenoblade Chronicles On Hold: Prince of Persia: Warrior Within/GW2/Scribblenauts Coming Next: Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones/X-Com Classic
So, was having this discussion on the guild forum...and it just kind of blew my mind a bit.
People are going back and forth about what class they should play, etc, etc, just like any MMO. But it occured to me that it doesn't matter as much what you start with, how quickly you level them or if your friends out-level your character. Everything in GW2 drives people together, not apart.
For example, say I start a warrior and my friend starts a necromancer. He decides after 15 levels that he'd rather play a mesmer. So he rolls a mesmer. Now, if EVERY OTHER MMO, I would have three options.
1) Roll a new toon and start over, even though I'm loving my warrior.
2) Keep on leveling and "hope" he catches up
3) Go back to the newbie zone with him and just hack and cleave shit to help him catch up.
In GW2...I just go play with him. I take my level 15 or 30 or 50 or 80 and go play with him. Even if he's level 1.
Or we join in some WuvWuv. Together. Or sPvP. Together.
Guys, it's blowing my mind...but GW2 is designed from the ground up to let you play with your friends ALL THE TIME.
I just can't get over how amazing this is.
To add to the point, I have another friend who won't be able to play until October. Doesn't matter. If we're all level 80 or have multiple alts across the spectrum, it doesn't matter. When he logs in 2 months late to the party, he's going to the proverbial beer-in-hand and step onto the dance floor with everyone else.
It's glorious. Simply glorious.
You know what also blows my mind? The item drops wont be 10 levels below you if you go play with someone's lowbie. During the last stress test we went to check out one of the zone bosses in a level ~16 area. Loot the chest at the end.... Wait what? I'm getting level 28 items? Dafuq is going on? Why am I not being punished?
I know this been asked a million times. But how does respec work in GW2? Can you switch between an offensive and defensive spec on the fly?
Also, I really wish people stop trying to compare this to WoW. Because I made the mistake of trying to play GW2 like WoW for the first half of BWE3 and missed out on the true heart and soul of this game.
Not for traits; you need to spend a small sum at a respec vendor person thing to get all your traits refunded.
For skills, you can shuffle them all you like anywhere so long as you have them unlocked and you aren't fighting anything and they aren't on cooldown.
Equips can only be changed outside of battle aside from your two active weapon sets, which you can switch between on a 10s cooldown.
EDIT2: Totally didn't realise the 8s AoE cripple every 10s. Didn't think it could have gotten better. Just did.
You may want to consider Rabid Amulet instead of Carrion and slotting a Sigil of Superior Earth on the dagger (60% chance to bleed). With as much investment in Malice as you have and the chance to bleed on crit, more crits = more bleeds = more dying for your enemies.
@doomybear: This is also a really nice idea. I like the sigil of minor corruption, but I think it has its place more in PvE when it's more likely that other people are going to be laying down the bleeds. The way things are going, Epidemic here may be able to stack to 25 all on its own in an ideal situation, which is kind of cool. So for PvP, I'll take the rabid amulet/jewel and a sigil of superior earth, which also benefits the curses adept minor trait (which is... another bleed on crit...).
EDIT: Also blood magic adept major trait changed to vampiric precision to take advantage of crits once again. Might need to numbercrunch to see if +50% siphon health effectiveness is more or less efficient than siphoning health on a ~50% crit rate.
I like this! and would also like to point out that my epidemic build a few pages back also invested in the rabid jewels for crit chance
so, wooooo consensus!
@Arch: On reflection you had the better idea all along! No point in not taking advantage of 30 in curses when there's all those proc-on-crit features available. You don't lose any survivability since vitality and toughness contribute pretty much equally towards effective health pools for necros.
Actually you can change major traits "on the fly", but to reset the points you have in the trait lines you do need to visit an NPC in town. So there is some flexibility there with a bit of clever planning.
Ok 2 questions I can't find a straight answer for...
1. When exactly does the early access start? I know it's Aug. 25, but what time EST (US East coast)? The countdown on the GW2 site doesn't seem to agree with what I've been hearing people say.
2. How exactly do names work? If there is character already named "Butts" can I name my character "Butts McGee"? If I want to send a tell to "Butts McGee" do I have to type "/tell Butts McGee Your name is horrible!!!" ? If that's how it works then 1-word names will be preferable just for convenience, right?
1. Headstart is at 3 am EDT, the clock on the website is wrong (I think this was mentioned in a tweet that I don't have handy, but it's definitely 3 am)
I wish they'd stop using Pacific time. I know 00:00 on Month the Somethingth is by convention the midnight between Something-1th and the Somethingth, but it leaves a lot of people confused.
Headstart is 3am EST/9am UST/UTC(GMT) on 25th August. So EST-3 for you Pacific types.
(And yes I know ArenaNet run on Pacific time. Bite me.)
Both character resets someone has beaten me to my preferred name. I HAVE to be up the second the servers come online to reserve the name. 3am. Maybe I'll just try to go to bed at 8 or something.
So, was having this discussion on the guild forum...and it just kind of blew my mind a bit.
People are going back and forth about what class they should play, etc, etc, just like any MMO. But it occured to me that it doesn't matter as much what you start with, how quickly you level them or if your friends out-level your character. Everything in GW2 drives people together, not apart.
For example, say I start a warrior and my friend starts a necromancer. He decides after 15 levels that he'd rather play a mesmer. So he rolls a mesmer. Now, if EVERY OTHER MMO, I would have three options.
1) Roll a new toon and start over, even though I'm loving my warrior.
2) Keep on leveling and "hope" he catches up
3) Go back to the newbie zone with him and just hack and cleave shit to help him catch up.
In GW2...I just go play with him. I take my level 15 or 30 or 50 or 80 and go play with him. Even if he's level 1.
Or we join in some WuvWuv. Together. Or sPvP. Together.
Guys, it's blowing my mind...but GW2 is designed from the ground up to let you play with your friends ALL THE TIME.
I just can't get over how amazing this is.
To add to the point, I have another friend who won't be able to play until October. Doesn't matter. If we're all level 80 or have multiple alts across the spectrum, it doesn't matter. When he logs in 2 months late to the party, he's going to the proverbial beer-in-hand and step onto the dance floor with everyone else.
It's glorious. Simply glorious.
Will you gain XP if you go back and play with your friend? (I know you're automatically downleveled to +1 the appropriate level for that area, but maybe you gain XP anyway?)
@Rorus Raz Hey am I allowed to post my PVP Youtube videos in this thread? The rules confuse and frighten me
Yeah, that's not a problem.
We're more concerned about people who've been here for maybe two months and just want to use the community for more views.
Excellent, thanks.
So, here's exactly why playing a hammer warrior is so much damn fun (special guest appearance by my girlfriend's necro Minion Master as well). Also, I should warn everyone that I'm actually really terrible at this game; it's really hard to pay attention sometimes, and it costs me dearly in a few places
Anyway, enough preamble, behold my very first real YouTube video upload ever:
That was fun Caedere - so much knockdown with a hammer warrior.
I was waiting the whole vid to see your elite skill but you didn't use it - what was it?
Hammers are so amazingly hilarious, and the thought of a tiny female asura (with floppy ears!) knocking everyone around like that was too much for me to pass up on.
My elite was Signet of Rage—popping it would give me Fury, Might, and Swiftness. I took it because the passive effect generated adrenaline, which I needed a ton of.
That was a interesting spec you used, there. Most of the hammer warriors I fought were glass cannons. And you had a tank'ish spec. Wich Is nice and really effective, as your video clearly shows.
That aside, you did really well against those guys. :]
Huh, I never even thought about doing a glass cannon hammer warrior. o_O The abilities just screamed out "Control!" to me, and thus the tank-spec asura, Igi, was born.
And thanks! I... have trouble, for sure, but I try my best.
So, was having this discussion on the guild forum...and it just kind of blew my mind a bit.
People are going back and forth about what class they should play, etc, etc, just like any MMO. But it occured to me that it doesn't matter as much what you start with, how quickly you level them or if your friends out-level your character. Everything in GW2 drives people together, not apart.
For example, say I start a warrior and my friend starts a necromancer. He decides after 15 levels that he'd rather play a mesmer. So he rolls a mesmer. Now, if EVERY OTHER MMO, I would have three options.
1) Roll a new toon and start over, even though I'm loving my warrior.
2) Keep on leveling and "hope" he catches up
3) Go back to the newbie zone with him and just hack and cleave shit to help him catch up.
In GW2...I just go play with him. I take my level 15 or 30 or 50 or 80 and go play with him. Even if he's level 1.
Or we join in some WuvWuv. Together. Or sPvP. Together.
Guys, it's blowing my mind...but GW2 is designed from the ground up to let you play with your friends ALL THE TIME.
I just can't get over how amazing this is.
To add to the point, I have another friend who won't be able to play until October. Doesn't matter. If we're all level 80 or have multiple alts across the spectrum, it doesn't matter. When he logs in 2 months late to the party, he's going to the proverbial beer-in-hand and step onto the dance floor with everyone else.
It's glorious. Simply glorious.
Will you gain XP if you go back and play with your friend? (I know you're automatically downleveled to +1 the appropriate level for that area, but maybe you gain XP anyway?)
Yes, but somewhat less. You'll get more XP total from clearing your current level-appropriate zone than clearing another lv1-15, but the amount you will receive from the lower-level area is still nontrivial. Also you'll get gear drops appropriate to your true level. Which is awesome.
Will you gain XP if you go back and play with your friend? (I know you're automatically downleveled to +1 the appropriate level for that area, but maybe you gain XP anyway?)
Yes, and not just a trickle either. Pretty much everything in this game (as far as I can tell) that provides an XP reward does so as a percentage toward your next level. So it'll provide more if you're a higher level. Not confirmed, but that's how it seemed when I was playing.
Hammers are so amazingly hilarious, and the thought of a tiny female asura (with floppy ears!) knocking everyone around like that was too much for me to pass up on.
It was pretty funny to watch. It's like seeing a kitten toss around a bear like he was the world's largest chew-toy.
Hammers are so amazingly hilarious, and the thought of a tiny female asura (with floppy ears!) knocking everyone around like that was too much for me to pass up on.
It was pretty funny to watch. It's like seeing a kitten toss around a bear like he was the world's largest chew-toy.
There is one very fundamental, very important thing that cuts to the core of how and why mesmers play like they do. It's why they're the best at countering other professions, and why they're also considered to be the most difficult profession to master:
Mesmers are reactive. And they're the only profession that is.
The vast majority of mesmer skills are utterly useless if you use them actively; they're designed to respond to the actions your foes take. This means that, to be even a remotely competent mesmer, you need to learn what different professions and roles can do, their ranges, abilities, possible traits, everything. Now, this process is simplified greatly by focusing on countering a specific role: when you're designed to counter, say, ranged light armor, then you really only need to give those professions/roles the bulk of your focus.
...after writing this, I realize why ArenaNet's taking so long on balancing out mesmer traits: They're having to do them in response to what they did to everyone else, since that's the only way to really balance mesmers out.
I think you're getting caught up in what mesmers used to be, actually. You're like me. You loved mesmer in GW1. It's not the same class at all in 2, and I think most people who loved it in 1 are ending up a bit disappointed, while NEW fans are emerging. Mesmers really aren't that "reactive."
I'm not, though.
None of what I'm saying is theorycrafting; it's all experience, analysis, and stuff that ArenaNet's said.
Where?
Like, seriously, what about a Mesmer is "reactive"? What Mesmer skills are useless used actively?
Let's see... three out of the four Shatter abilities
Roughly half of the weapon skills
Most of the slot skills
And most of the traits reward being reactive
Yes, you can be proactive with a mesmer, but the vast majority of what the profession does is designed the way I've said
Uh, that's as vague as your first comment and so the question remains.
I mean, if we are throwing "avoiding/blocking damage" as "reactive", then suddenly every class is reactive because that's how most every ability mitigates damages in this game. You dodge or you throw up a block/deflect.
For weapons:
Greatsword has Illusionary Wave and that's it for things that are reactive at all.
Staff has Chaos Armour.
Sword and Scepter have blocks.
OH Sword has another block.
And I guess you could throw in Magic Bullet from the pistol.
But yeah, that's it. Which is about on par with any other profession.
Heals are ... heals. Hell, Necromancer probably has the more reactive heal spell in Consume Conditions.
And utility skills are the usual mixed bag of utility stuff.
@Rorus Raz Hey am I allowed to post my PVP Youtube videos in this thread? The rules confuse and frighten me
Yeah, that's not a problem.
We're more concerned about people who've been here for maybe two months and just want to use the community for more views.
Excellent, thanks.
So, here's exactly why playing a hammer warrior is so much damn fun (special guest appearance by my girlfriend's necro Minion Master as well). Also, I should warn everyone that I'm actually really terrible at this game; it's really hard to pay attention sometimes, and it costs me dearly in a few places
Anyway, enough preamble, behold my very first real YouTube video upload ever:
That was fun Caedere - so much knockdown with a hammer warrior.
I was waiting the whole vid to see your elite skill but you didn't use it - what was it?
Hammers are so amazingly hilarious, and the thought of a tiny female asura (with floppy ears!) knocking everyone around like that was too much for me to pass up on.
My elite was Signet of Rage—popping it would give me Fury, Might, and Swiftness. I took it because the passive effect generated adrenaline, which I needed a ton of.
That was a interesting spec you used, there. Most of the hammer warriors I fought were glass cannons. And you had a tank'ish spec. Wich Is nice and really effective, as your video clearly shows.
That aside, you did really well against those guys. :]
Huh, I never even thought about doing a glass cannon hammer warrior. o_O The abilities just screamed out "Control!" to me, and thus the tank-spec asura, Igi, was born.
And thanks! I... have trouble, for sure, but I try my best.
What's your hammer build? Wouldn't mind comparing it to the Reg/Kai one
There is one very fundamental, very important thing that cuts to the core of how and why mesmers play like they do. It's why they're the best at countering other professions, and why they're also considered to be the most difficult profession to master:
Mesmers are reactive. And they're the only profession that is.
The vast majority of mesmer skills are utterly useless if you use them actively; they're designed to respond to the actions your foes take. This means that, to be even a remotely competent mesmer, you need to learn what different professions and roles can do, their ranges, abilities, possible traits, everything. Now, this process is simplified greatly by focusing on countering a specific role: when you're designed to counter, say, ranged light armor, then you really only need to give those professions/roles the bulk of your focus.
...after writing this, I realize why ArenaNet's taking so long on balancing out mesmer traits: They're having to do them in response to what they did to everyone else, since that's the only way to really balance mesmers out.
I think you're getting caught up in what mesmers used to be, actually. You're like me. You loved mesmer in GW1. It's not the same class at all in 2, and I think most people who loved it in 1 are ending up a bit disappointed, while NEW fans are emerging. Mesmers really aren't that "reactive."
I'm not, though.
None of what I'm saying is theorycrafting; it's all experience, analysis, and stuff that ArenaNet's said.
Where?
Like, seriously, what about a Mesmer is "reactive"? What Mesmer skills are useless used actively?
Let's see... three out of the four Shatter abilities
Roughly half of the weapon skills
Most of the slot skills
And most of the traits reward being reactive
Yes, you can be proactive with a mesmer, but the vast majority of what the profession does is designed the way I've said
Uh, that's as vague as your first comment and so the question remains.
I mean, if we are throwing "avoiding/blocking damage" as "reactive", then suddenly every class is reactive because that's how most every ability mitigates damages in this game. You dodge or you throw up a block/deflect.
For weapons:
Greatsword has Illusionary Wave and that's it for things that are reactive at all.
Staff has Chaos Armour.
Sword and Scepter have blocks.
OH Sword has another block.
And I guess you could throw in Magic Bullet from the pistol.
But yeah, that's it. Which is about on par with any other profession.
Heals are ... heals. Hell, Necromancer probably has the more reactive heal spell in Consume Conditions.
And utility skills are the usual mixed bag of utility stuff.
You are really exaggerating this idea.
I do not want to "pile on" Caedere or anything, because Caedere provides some really solid discussion. I agree, however, that I think Caedere is wrong about the mesmer class. In fact, I think a huge amount of the community is. There's a lot of bias from what GW1 mesmers were.
Regarding mesmers, I'm curious as someone who hasn't had a chance to give the class a spin: can you make a high-damage build at all? The class strikes me as very much in favour of control via its mechanics, so is there a way of making a viable damage-dealing build for PvP?
If not you are somewhat restricted to control/support, and I can see how that might fall towards being designed to counter a specific playstyle, which would make them more reactive than perhaps other classes.
Posts
As far as end-game, GW2 may not have raids, but the hard-mode ("explorable" mode) dungeons and max level open-world events will be plenty challenging. There are also non-traditional PvE tasks in GW2 which are fun and/or rewarding. Chiefly this is exploration (made actually engaging thanks to down-leveling), but crafting, non-combat activities and achievements could also fall in this category.
The other option regarding end-game is to simply stop once you are satisfied. The game is designed to be very enjoyable even on your journey to level 80 (in fact it doesn't really change once you hit 80, other than getting harder), so if you don't care for PvP or chasing optional loot at 80, you could take a break until the first expansion. For $60 you will get at least 120 hours of play time on a single character, and of course much more if you step off the beaten path or play alternate characters to try out different professions. It is easy to take breaks and return as you wish because there is no monthly subscription.
Ow wow... this screenshot is why you can't entirely trust the equipment preview, nice as it is to have it. Lots of gear in GW2 has cool effects which don't show up in the preview because they are actual effects.
Steam (Ansatz) || GW2 officer (Ansatz.6498)
Yeah, someone complained elsewhere(as in another website) that the Sylvari racial greatsword was just a "dumb stick! Not even sharp!", but apparently when actually equipped it's like a friggin' plant energy sword.
Steam (Ansatz) || GW2 officer (Ansatz.6498)
That was fun Caedere - so much knockdown with a hammer warrior.
I was waiting the whole vid to see your elite skill but you didn't use it - what was it?
Twitter - discolouie PSN - Loupa Steam - Loupa
Also really depends on why you don't like PvP.
If you've had bad experiences with being ganked and camped, you won't find it here.
If you had battlegrounds, because you're always fighting people which much better gear than you, you won't find it here.
If you're looking for an epic battle between three sides, where your side needs to do more than just kill mans, look here!
Yeah, the way the warrior holds the greatsword is absolutely fantastic. The animations are definetly my favorite part about the asura.
People are going back and forth about what class they should play, etc, etc, just like any MMO. But it occured to me that it doesn't matter as much what you start with, how quickly you level them or if your friends out-level your character. Everything in GW2 drives people together, not apart.
For example, say I start a warrior and my friend starts a necromancer. He decides after 15 levels that he'd rather play a mesmer. So he rolls a mesmer. Now, if EVERY OTHER MMO, I would have three options.
1) Roll a new toon and start over, even though I'm loving my warrior.
2) Keep on leveling and "hope" he catches up
3) Go back to the newbie zone with him and just hack and cleave shit to help him catch up.
In GW2...I just go play with him. I take my level 15 or 30 or 50 or 80 and go play with him. Even if he's level 1.
Or we join in some WuvWuv. Together. Or sPvP. Together.
Guys, it's blowing my mind...but GW2 is designed from the ground up to let you play with your friends ALL THE TIME.
I just can't get over how amazing this is.
To add to the point, I have another friend who won't be able to play until October. Doesn't matter. If we're all level 80 or have multiple alts across the spectrum, it doesn't matter. When he logs in 2 months late to the party, he's going to the proverbial beer-in-hand and step onto the dance floor with everyone else.
It's glorious. Simply glorious.
That was a interesting spec you used, there. Most of the hammer warriors I fought were glass cannons. And you had a tank'ish spec. Wich Is nice and really effective, as your video clearly shows.
That aside, you did really well against those guys. :]
It's going to feel so good.
PSN: Beltaine-77 | Steam: beltane77 | Battle.net BadHaggis#1433
The bartender askes him what's the deal with the wheel.
"Argh, I don't know, but it's driving me NUTS!"
http://www.pcgamesn.com/article/deal-post-green-man-gaming-are-offering-20-any-and-all-pc-games
and the GW2 pre-purchase on GMG says it includes headstart access too:
http://www.greenmangaming.com/s/gb/en/pc/games/mmos/guild-wars-2-digital-edition/
think its available until the 16th
Hi Rikidou, I'm not a PvPer either and I love this game! Guild Wars 2 has an entire continent of PvE zones chock full of dynamic events and nifty areas for explorers to discover. The classes are fun to play, the world is gorgeous, and every character has a personal storyline that varies depending on choices you made at character creation and later in the game. A lot of the folks in this thread may be avid PvPers, but there's a good contingent of us who are primarily PvE or who love both equally.
As mentioned before, GW2 is missing the gear tiers/raiding endgame, so if that's your favourite thing about MMOs, you won't find it here. There are plenty of small group dungeons and big overworld events, though.
Also, I really wish people stop trying to compare this to WoW. Because I made the mistake of trying to play GW2 like WoW for the first half of BWE3 and missed out on the true heart and soul of this game.
That being said, as someone who basically finds MMO PvP to be a complete waste of time, I can actually see myself playing a fair bit of PvP in GW2 - it just felt 'right', less MMOish than typical. I've only really stuck with PvP in two MMOs prior - UO (on private shards) and WoW (back in the Vanilla AV days). I never stopped liking UOs, and WoW lasted for me till they killed AV's more epic aspects (which WuvWuv has) and I realized I simply wasn't enjoying the other PvP maps as much. Asheron's Call I might have liked due to the sheer insanity of the PvP servers, but that's about it among MMOs. So you may unexpectedly find yourself enjoying the PvP in GW2 if my experience holds out.
Just Finished: Borderlands (waste of $7)/Mario Brothers U/The Last Story/Tropico 4
Currently Playing: NS2/ZombiU/PlanetSide 2/Ys/Dota2/Xenoblade Chronicles
On Hold: Prince of Persia: Warrior Within/GW2/Scribblenauts
Coming Next: Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones/X-Com Classic
Not for traits; you need to spend a small sum at a respec vendor person thing to get all your traits refunded.
For skills, you can shuffle them all you like anywhere so long as you have them unlocked and you aren't fighting anything and they aren't on cooldown.
Equips can only be changed outside of battle aside from your two active weapon sets, which you can switch between on a 10s cooldown.
@Arch: On reflection you had the better idea all along! No point in not taking advantage of 30 in curses when there's all those proc-on-crit features available. You don't lose any survivability since vitality and toughness contribute pretty much equally towards effective health pools for necros.
Conditionmancers hooooooooo!
Steam (Ansatz) || GW2 officer (Ansatz.6498)
1. When exactly does the early access start? I know it's Aug. 25, but what time EST (US East coast)? The countdown on the GW2 site doesn't seem to agree with what I've been hearing people say.
2. How exactly do names work? If there is character already named "Butts" can I name my character "Butts McGee"? If I want to send a tell to "Butts McGee" do I have to type "/tell Butts McGee Your name is horrible!!!" ? If that's how it works then 1-word names will be preferable just for convenience, right?
Edit:
XBL:Phenyhelm - 3DS:Phenyhelm
Headstart is 3am EST/9am UST/UTC(GMT) on 25th August. So EST-3 for you Pacific types.
(And yes I know ArenaNet run on Pacific time. Bite me.)
Will you gain XP if you go back and play with your friend? (I know you're automatically downleveled to +1 the appropriate level for that area, but maybe you gain XP anyway?)
Hammers are so amazingly hilarious, and the thought of a tiny female asura (with floppy ears!) knocking everyone around like that was too much for me to pass up on.
My elite was Signet of Rage—popping it would give me Fury, Might, and Swiftness. I took it because the passive effect generated adrenaline, which I needed a ton of.
Huh, I never even thought about doing a glass cannon hammer warrior. o_O The abilities just screamed out "Control!" to me, and thus the tank-spec asura, Igi, was born.
And thanks! I... have trouble, for sure, but I try my best.
Yes, but somewhat less. You'll get more XP total from clearing your current level-appropriate zone than clearing another lv1-15, but the amount you will receive from the lower-level area is still nontrivial. Also you'll get gear drops appropriate to your true level. Which is awesome.
Yes, and not just a trickle either. Pretty much everything in this game (as far as I can tell) that provides an XP reward does so as a percentage toward your next level. So it'll provide more if you're a higher level. Not confirmed, but that's how it seemed when I was playing.
The second link comes back as page not found. Might just be UK, which begs the question are they on the same servers?
It was pretty funny to watch. It's like seeing a kitten toss around a bear like he was the world's largest chew-toy.
Uh, that's as vague as your first comment and so the question remains.
I mean, if we are throwing "avoiding/blocking damage" as "reactive", then suddenly every class is reactive because that's how most every ability mitigates damages in this game. You dodge or you throw up a block/deflect.
For weapons:
Greatsword has Illusionary Wave and that's it for things that are reactive at all.
Staff has Chaos Armour.
Sword and Scepter have blocks.
OH Sword has another block.
And I guess you could throw in Magic Bullet from the pistol.
But yeah, that's it. Which is about on par with any other profession.
Heals are ... heals. Hell, Necromancer probably has the more reactive heal spell in Consume Conditions.
And utility skills are the usual mixed bag of utility stuff.
You are really exaggerating this idea.
What's your hammer build? Wouldn't mind comparing it to the Reg/Kai one
I do not want to "pile on" Caedere or anything, because Caedere provides some really solid discussion. I agree, however, that I think Caedere is wrong about the mesmer class. In fact, I think a huge amount of the community is. There's a lot of bias from what GW1 mesmers were.
If not you are somewhat restricted to control/support, and I can see how that might fall towards being designed to counter a specific playstyle, which would make them more reactive than perhaps other classes.