GW2 Beta

[Morreion]

Same here, I think- this'll be my first time in game, looking forward to it!

[Oatik]

Oatik is on Tarnished Coast this weekend if anyone is around.

[Morreion]

I got in some beta time this past weekend- this was my first time playing GW2. I tried out 5 different classes in the Charr starting zone to get a feel for what those classes were like. Here's some general thoughts...

The Good:

I played with video settings on highest quality (because you know I'm a screenshot addict) and the game ran smoothly for me and looked good. The scenery was quite nice-looking, the few quests and dynamic events I did were good. The focus is on progressing the weapon skills that you use, which was rather refreshingly different. I liked the stylized UI, splash screens, and cutscenes- the look of the game was cool. I had a favorable overall impression of my beta experience.

The Not So Good:

I didn't like the camera settings- to get your character out of a screenshot, you have to use the /sleep command to physically lay your character down. Moving the camera around was cumbersome, and I couldn't get enough variety in the distance and angles when trying to take images of my characters (maybe fiddling around under Options will help out). For some reason, the ranged and caster classes felt a bit 'samey'- I think it was the concentration on the weapon skill progression, and it could have been because I played just the first few levels in any given class- that may feel different as one rises in levels later on. I didn't like how you got trivial amounts of experience for grinding mobs- that limits that playstyle unnecessarily. I think that 'dynamic events' will turn out to be similar to Rift's rifts- a neat feature, but not as amazing or revolutionary (or dynamic!) as the hype would lead you to believe.

To sum it up, I like the game, I think it will be a solid modern MMO, but the hype has been overdone a bit (often by rabid fans). Looking forward to release in August!

[Regolyth]

I feel the same as you Gack. The camera stuff bugged me to no end. I didn't get to play quite as much as I wanted. I ended up with a headache this weekend which killed my playtime. I made a few characters here and there, just to experience all the settings. So far, it seems like all the other MMOs, which is not what I was hoping for. I'm going to need to do more research to see if I still want to keep my preorder. I may just have to play more Minecraft instead. ;P

[cirig]

I really enjoyed the beta weekend, but am left with a dilemma - what to play? I tried a Guardian, a Warrior, a Thief, an Elementalist, and a Ranger, and LOVED THEM ALL. I think my first gem purchase will be more character slots.

I really enjoyed the open nature of the game (yes, there were the renown hearts, which were like quests, and the events, which were like Rifts, but you were left feeling like you had some choice in what you wanted to do), and spent a great deal of time hunting down vistas, waypoints, and points of interest. I did some crafting and discovered a few recipes, and stumbled into a few combos while fighting.

I liked the personal stories, and the vastly different opening areas (I tried all five), and a lot of the renown heart quests were a lot of fun (and not just mindless killing or collecting).

I LOVED that switching weapons totally changed your playstyle, and that every class was a hybrid (good riddance, holy triad!), and could be played and customized so many ways, and everyone had so many awesome ways to contribute to a group (and that everyone can res anyone, right from the start).

The dodge mechanic gives you the feeling that you are more of the master of your own destiny in combat, instead of being prey to someone that can mash out their combo faster than you can. Most of all, I loved that I will only ever have one hotkey bar(\o/). No deciding which of my 30+ combat skills I'm going to try to cram in to my first five spaces (the easiest to access with my keyboard set-up), no hotkey bars all over my screen, no more setting up pages of key mappings and trying to remember them all!

The only thing I could find to complain about was the lack of a camera pan button. DAoC had one, but no game since has. Why force me to use the stupid mouse to look around, when I can do EVERYTHING ELSE with the keyboard??? (on a side note, if that button does in fact exist, and I just missed it in the options, please whack me with a clue bat).

I was so absorbed in playing around with the classes and the crafting and the exploring that I didn't give any PvP a go. I'm hoping that's as fun as any of the other things I tried. I think, given the combat so far, that it will be a lot less frustrating that other PvP I've tried. I'm SUPER EXCITED about the WvWvW - noone since DAoC has gotten it right (WAR was close, but two sides isn't as good as three).

I could gush on forever, but my fingers are getting sore.

See you all in game!

Cirig

[Morreion]

Good review, Cirig! If we all end up on Tarnished Coast, we'll get together I'm sure!