Guild Wars 2

[Cyberdelius]

I had to end up picking a different server. Darkhaven filled up rather quickly and it got to the point where none of my other friends could get on. So I went with Tarnished Coast (unofficial RP server). Of course the game is still suffering from some bugs and it still hasn't been optimized, but other than that it's been great thus far. I'm having a blast. Now it's time to dump some screenshots.

I'm playing a Human Female Elementalist. This is the first screenshot that I took after I switched to water attunement. Water is... okay, but I much prefer fire and electricity. In this screenshot, I have to defend the garrison from attacking Centaurs.



After some shit goes down, one of the Centaurs summons this thing.



Me and a couple of dudes are seen here fighting it.



Once we kill it, we're attacked by a flying cow. (Not really, it was just an unfortunate victim of circumstance. Poor cow.)



My first steps out in the world after the Centaur attack. The game looks beautiful, even when running at half graphics.



Just hanging out as I wait for Raye to get on and complete the tutorial.



Vanity shots:




Meeting with Raye for the first time. Sultan was on, but we eventually all got stuck in separate overflow servers. Which was rather annoying. This is after that after I was finally able to get into the same overflow as Raye.




Vanity shot: Graphics maxed (We just finished with a large bar fight here):




The cityscape:




Running off into battle with Raye:



Next time, I'll try and get some more action packed screenshots. But the game is really fast paced and it's easy to forget about that when you're trying your best to live.

[Gemini]

im stuck on Darkhaven with so much lag that i can hardly play however i can say that throwing hatchets as a ranger at foes is pretty fun
i might try out a warrior class next if i can get back into the game lulz

how are you liking the elementalist in gw2 Tech

[Cyberdelius]

I get horrid lag in certain areas, sadly. But most of the time it's manageable. Whenever they optimize it, it'll be gone completely. Try turning off shadows and putting more ram into it. I still get lag in some areas, but far less since I did that.

And so far, Elementalist is wonderful. I love how I can switch elements at any given time. Plus there is so much diversity with skills and weapons set ups that it's unreal. I'm really loving it, and I'm pretty positive it will be my main class.

[Cyberdelius]

As promised, I took more screenshots. Some of are more action packed parts, others are simply scenery. (Combat is so fast paced it’s really hard to remember to take a screenshot.) And others of are my character and Raye’s. I spent the better part of the beta with her just adventuring and killing things. We both had a blast playing, and I cannot wait for the final release of this game. As it stands right now, it’s the best MMO I’ve ever played, and will be my MMO of choice for a very long time to come.

It has also ruined other MMOs for me. I’ll never be able to play a standard MMO again.

This is me at level four fighting a couple of enemies in one of my personal story quests:



This is me, once again, after getting some bitchin’ new armor.



Exploring a new part of Queensdale for the very first time.



Taking down some more Centaurs literally no further than 10 meters away from that last screenshot.



As soon as those Centaurs get close enough, I’m blasting them with an AOE spell.



Now I’m blasting them with RAINING METEORS.



Just switching elements, nothing major here.



A part of Ascalon. The Searing really screwed it up. However, things are finally starting to grow again… finally.



These next three screenshots are of me in my favorite place in the game. It’s a secret, very well hidden strawberry patch. I won’t tell anyone where it is. But I will be going back there often. I took Raye too it as well (in a later screenshot). She seemed to love it.





These next three screenshots are shortly after I met up with Raye again. We laid down for three seconds and the next thing you know others join us… and we all did the glitch where you can jump while laying down.







Another shot of the splendor that is Divinity’s Reach



And a giant door. Who is using this thing?



The following screenshots are underwater. The first set is of old Lion’s Arch and what remains of it. The second set is the sewers under new Lion’s Arch. Eventually you’ll see me find the Order of Shadows; what is essentially the Dark Brotherhood/Thieves Guild of Guild Wars 2





Dat underwater breathing mask





This is one of the many entrances under Lion’s Arch. There’s a bit to explore, and one massive secret to find.








And this is the first thing I saw when I found the Order of Shadows. It was rather neat, and I wonder what it’ll be when the game gets to that point.





Look at how much taller Norns are than Humans.



The gate that hangs over the Black Citadel



Out in Ascalon killing things with some Charr bros.







You can’t see him, but we’re all fighting a boss here. None of us lived. Every single one of us wiped. I still haven’t been able to take him out.



I AM THE EMPOROR



In that lake lies a nightmare I never want to face again.



Another good view.



Training with guns.





Another epic view.





OH GODS. This thing was a blast. What you see here is the Shadow Behemoth. It took about forty of us to take him out. It was a blast and I almost died plenty of times. It was fantastic.







Taking Raye to the secret strawberry patch.



Raye.



Raye and I sitting at the tavern on the top of Lion’s Arch.



Me in my PvP armor. It looks nice.





World vs World – Also known as that part I got destroyed at multiple times. It’s chaotic.





Reaching the end of these screenshots. I’m back at Lion’s Arch just swimming and looking at the scenery.



Roof hopping with Raye when I realized… fire doesn’t work like that.



Another screenshot of Raye.



A wonderful conversation about poo.



Us standing next to a waterfall we found after going through a cave where I giant lived.



The last three screenshots are of Lion’s Arch… at night. It’s amazing.



You can see the tavern we were at up there.

[Pandora]

Guild Wars 2 was my first MMO, and I'm sad that the beta weekend is now over. Before that happened, I managed to get Demitra (seen in Ringo's screenshots) up to level 11, and I had just bought the novice training book for her so that she could finally start using traits. I often went to Kessex Hills to train her although the monsters and bandits were way above her level. Me and Ringo would actually roleplay from time in the tavern at Lion's Arch. Nothing but positive experiences with this game. (Aside from the fear of being put in different overflows.)

I look forward to the official release ~

[Hakumen]

Guild Wars 2 beta: where old and new fuse for rarity

Lauren Wainwright battled mighty foes – technical issues – to brave Guild Wars 2′s public beta, uncovering an MMO with traditional mechanics that manages the rarest of things: making you feel special in a crowd.

Guild Wars 2′s beta opened its doors to pre-order customers last weekend. It was one of the biggest MMORPG events of the year and, as is the nature of beta testing, it was riddled with problems.

There were crashes, server switches, random booting and general bugs, but failed log-ins were perhaps the most frustrating issue of all. From 6:00PM onwards, European users found it increasingly difficult to log into the server and after several hours of restarting the client, frantically checking forums and having a good moan on Twitter, most gave up for the night.

The next morning, when America was slowly tucking itself into bed, Europe managed to jump into the action. For most players, this was their first experience of Guild Wars 2, one of the most anticipated and hyped MMORPGs of the last five years – but what exactly would it offer gamers that TERA, RIFT and even the holy mother of all MMORPGs, World of Warcraft, didn’t already?

In some respects, not that much. In others, particularly story, so much more.

Guild Wars 2 is a huge, impressive and fascinating MMORPG. It not only offers big budget quality without the monthly commitment, but also follows a new story-focused experience most MMORPGs have yet dared to tackle. At the same time, the themes and mechanics common to almost every MMO are evident, and Guild Wars 2 doesn’t exactly attempt to break the rules.

Three of the five races were available to play during this beta. They included the two humanoid races, human and norn, as well as the charr, the brutal looking feline species. The whole character creation system was a real joy to use, giving players a whole host of sliders to abuse.

The most welcome addition was the customisable starter outfit, allowing players to choose mask or hat styles and outfit colours. Each transition was smooth and the new painted visual style is refreshing.

Another appeal, especially for those searching for a more story-focused MMO, is the personal story arcs. Here you can choose your background as you would in Mass Effect. For example, when playing a human, I could choose between nobility, commoner or street rat, and my origin directly affected the characters I would later interact with, the mission types and my character’s effect on the world itself.

This greater emphasis on story carries over into other areas of the game, with players treated to hundreds of short cut-scene-styled dialogue sections in which your avatar converses with an NPC and reacts as you’d expect. There’s a lot more focus on you as a player, and as a participant in the story, than other MMOs have offered.

That focus continues onto the battlefield with combat and questing exhibiting some favourable innovations. Rather than tackle the majority of quests alone, players can automatically combine forces to tackle some of the more impressive missions. RIFT-style battle events routinely appear and players aren’t penalised when others join the fray. It would seem ArenaNet is trying to make kill-stealing a thing of the past. Every quest I took on allowed me to join in with other players in some form or another with anything private or story-focused locked away in instances.

This mix of social and personal means the conflicts at the heart of the plot now actually feel like a story. You still feel special, even when among the many, which is extremely rare in an MMO.

Character development is more customisable than simply choosing from a skill tree, which also contributes to make each character feel unique. Skills and spells are learned through repeated use, and weapons affect the spell set you have available. An Elementalist for example has a huge array of spells to choose from dependent on what weapon they have equipped and that introduces more focus on the items you’re using rather than just what level you’ve reached.

Another fantastic implementation is the checkpoint system, which allows you to explore the world without running back and forth for hours and hours between the actual gameplay. Once you hit a checkpoint on a map you can instantly warp to that location for a small fee from anywhere in the world. It makes meeting up with friends and completing quest objectives a dream, without removing the feeling of exploration or adventure players get from scouting the land.

As always with each new MMORPG that comes out, it’s the slight changes that make the biggest difference. While Guild Wars 2 isn’t revolutionising the MMORPG formula, it’s these small key differences that make it worth experiencing.

Guild Wars 2 releases this year.

http://www.vg247.com/2012/05/04/guil...y/#more-255933

[L]

beta weekend bitches

my friend pre-ordered the game for himself, but im gonna get the chance to have a look at it

also

sounds like its gonna be packed o=

[Cyberdelius]

August 28th 2012! (That's August 25th 2012 for us pre-orderers.) From that day on, it's Guild Wars 2 all day; erry day for me. I hope your body is ready.

[Tetsu]

Great news. Oh damn I can't wait!

[Cyberdelius]

GUYS. GUYS. GUYS. GUYS. JUST A FEW MORE HOURS TO GO. ARE YOUR BODIES READY?!