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Guild Wars 2 Press Beta [Prepurchase Is Live]

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Yeah, you are right. They are. I totally misremembered that. Skills don't scale in WvW, though, do they?. So level 10 versus level 80 still won't be completely fair.

I'm not sure about skills. I'd imagine they'd scale to their level 80 equivalent, but your gear still comes into play in WvW there so they'd be less effective than a true level 80 player.


What's up with having to pay for a bag slot and then pay for a bag? That seems pretty shitty. Is that how the first game was? I have been pretty interested in this game due to no subscription fees but that bag thing rubs me the wrong way.

Those are extra, beyond what you get in the game by default. According to the wiki screenshots it looks like you have 5 bag slots total counting the starting 20 slot bag you have.
 
"I'm sure the exp boost and increased drop rate will help just fine in pvp."


Gear "tops out" power-wise pretty quickly in GW1 and they seem to want to continue that in GW2. This isn't WoW or Korean MMOs.
 
What's up with having to pay for a bag slot and then pay for a bag? That seems pretty shitty. Is that how the first game was? I have been pretty interested in this game due to no subscription fees but that bag thing rubs me the wrong way.

If you don't want to directly convert $ to Gem, you can participate in the secondary market and exchange gold for gem with other players. Of course the Rate of exchange is set by the market.

People found a way to sell and buy gold in GW1... this way its regulated. It also reduces: chat spam, casuals giving up username/password to gold sellers, gives the $ to ncsoft instead of rogue sites who make $ by phising you out of your account and selling your items.
 
I'm not sure about skills. I'd imagine they'd scale to their level 80 equivalent, but your gear still comes into play in WvW there so they'd be less effective than a true level 80 player.

That's not what I meant. For some reason I am not particularly good at articulating myself today.

I am pretty sure they scale to level 80, but unlike organized PvP, WvW will not automatically grant you the slots and skills you are missing. So you won't have your complete skillset at lower levels.
 
o4lpD.png


Stolen from /vg/ but this is a better explanation of the cash shop.

The people who are getting angry over the micro-transactions just don't know enough about the game mechanics. There is no pay to win plain and simple. You are complaining about people buying ways to get unique looking gear and that is it.

In WvW you get scaled to 80 and everyone fights, every two weeks or so servers compete against similar skilled servers. Skilled is a general term, I mean if one server dominates the other two they will face another dominant server the next time etc.

In PvP everyone is put to level 80 and put in all basic gear so the PvP is based off skill and not gear.

The magic find from the cash shop will basically help people find the rarer dye seeds, dyes and gear(which has the same stats as everything else but looks better).

People see magic find and exp boosts and are applying them to other MMO's like WoW and not applying them to the game mechanics in GW2. The game doesn't work that way, they say there will be no unfair advantage in the cash shop that they are all cosmetic and time saving items. They aren't going to just say that after they have talked so much of wanting to be an ESport and want to retain the difficulty and balance in the game.

/endrant
 
That's not what I meant. For some reason I am not particularly good at articulating myself today.

I am pretty sure they scale to level 80, but unlike organized PvP, WvW will not automatically grant you the slots and skills you are missing. So you won't have your complete skillset at lower levels.

Oh, no. You're right, it won't.
 
"Will it be a lesser issue? Sure, but it's still an issue."

Questionable if it will be an issue at all, really.

I also have no problems with people that pay for bonus EXP rates, because 1) linear leveling, 2) unless you're one of those that attempts server firsts, someone's always going to be higher level than you and I'm never really thinking "god dammit, how dare they be higher level than me." I mean, you're going to get to that level eventually, right?

In short, they're not really selling any significant power and definitely no power that's unattainable on your own.


Edit: "In PvP everyone is put to level 80 and put in all basic gear so the PvP is based off skill and not gear. "

I didn't even know this, so that really nips 2San's argument in the bud entirely.
 
http://i.imgur.com/o4lpD.png[IMG]

Stolen from /vg/ but this is a better explanation of the cash shop.
[/QUOTE]
If that's the deal, I'm a lot more receptive.

How long does it take to get from 1 to 80 though? And does higher level gear have better stats than lower level gear when scaled for pvp? How long does it take it take to max out all skills?

[quote="Teknopathetic, post: 36299431"]"Will it be a lesser issue? Sure, but it's still an issue."

Questionable if it will be an issue at all, really.

I also have no problems with people that pay for bonus EXP rates, because 1) linear leveling, 2) unless you're one of those that attempts server firsts, someone's always going to be higher level than you and I'm never really thinking "god dammit, how dare they be higher level than me." I mean, you're going to get to that level eventually, right?

In short, they're not really selling any significant power and definitely no power that's unattainable on your own.[/QUOTE]
As said above, I'm a lot less skeptical. We'll see how it goes. I guess.
 
Since we're in a new thread, the awesome OP Jira put together in the previous threads isn't as available. If you're just taking notice of this game for the first time, it should answer most of your questions;
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=440171

If that's the deal, I'm a lot more receptive.

How long does it take to get from 1 to 80 though? And does higher level gear have better stats than lower level gear when scaled for pvp? How long does it take it take to max out all skills?

The leveling is streamlined so that after an initial hump, it takes approximately the same amount of time to level up across all levels;


Not sure what the total time will be, but it seems unlikely it will be the ordeal it is in most MMOs. The idea though is that you enjoy the leveling process (which can be done in both PVE and PVP, including WvW) rather than rush to 80 for the 'real game' to start. ANet has said that once you hit level 30 it will take an average player about 90 min per level past that point.

In the Beta, it seemed like most players unlocked their weapon skills in less than 10 minutes. As for utility skills, you purchase them with skill points, earned from a variety of locations through the game world. But you can buy the skills you want in any order, so it's not like you have to wait forever to get the skills you need.

Not sure on your gear question, since that information just isn't available yet.
 
I think Gabe is watching me. I got a Dota 2 beta the day of the GW2 sign up. Now today I get a Counter-strike:GO beta invite today... wtf man!
 
Since we're in a new thread, the awesome OP Jira put together in the previous threads isn't as available. If you're just taking notice of this game for the first time, it should answer most of your questions;
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=440171



The leveling is streamlined so that after an initial hump, it takes approximately the same amount of time to level up across all levels;



Not sure what the total time will be, but it seems unlikely it will be the ordeal it is in most MMOs. The idea though is that you enjoy the leveling process (which can be done in both PVE and PVP, including WvW) rather than rush to 80 for the 'real game' to start. ANet has said that once you hit level 30 it will take an average player about 90 min per level past that point.

In the Beta, it seemed like most players unlocked their weapon skills in less than 10 minutes. As for utility skills, you purchase them with skill points, earned from a variety of locations through the game world. But you can buy the skills you want in any order, so it's not like you have to wait forever to get the skills you need.

Not sure on your gear question, since that information just isn't available yet.
Sounds good, hope it stays a minor issue(or not even an issue) then.
 
If that's the deal, I'm a lot more receptive.

How long does it take to get from 1 to 80 though? And does higher level gear have better stats than lower level gear when scaled for pvp? How long does it take it take to max out all skills?


As said above, I'm a lot less skeptical. We'll see how it goes. I guess.

I'll need help probably from Jira to clearify with the gear but this is from Jira's OP.
Placing multiple upgrades of the same type on pieces of armor worn together will give the wearer additional, accumulating benefits. For example, a single Crest of the Legion will give a +10 bonus to intelligence, a second will add on a +20 bonus to perception, and so forth. This means that the player can accumulate armor set bonuses on any set of armor pieces, rather than having to acquire specific armor pieces in order to finish a set and gain the full set bonus as is common in most MMOs.
Upgrade components can be crafted, bought, found or obtainable as reward. They can be replaced with another upgrade component, but cannot be salvaged from the item.

The levels bottom out around level 30 I believe(maybe earlier) to where the amount of time it takes you to get from 29-30 will be the same amount of time it takes you to go up each level after that. They do not increase the xp needed or the amount of time needed as there is no sub to make it take longer. They were actually going to get rid of the levels completely at one point.

Skills open up pretty quickly as they are based on weapons and from videos you seem to get them pretty fast. The thing's that will take time is traits and utility skills. You get points for doing certain events shown on the maps and you can spend them how you like. So if you want a certain skill you buy that first. No waiting for what one you think is more powerful or what one fits you best.

Edit:Beat by Retro.
 
How long does it take to get from 1 to 80 though? And does higher level gear have better stats than lower level gear when scaled for pvp? How long does it take it take to max out all skills?

Guild-Wars-Leveling-500x345.jpg


The level curve ends at lvl 30, between 30-80 it becomes linear. As for your second question, I don't think there is an answer however, I found this from their blog http://www.arena.net/blog/mike-ferguson-on-guild-wars-2-world-vs-world:

We wanted to make WvW fun and easy to get into, so there’s no level grinding required—you can just hop into the battle using your normal PvE character, regardless of what level you are.
When fighting in the Mists, you’ll be using your regular PvE character and the gear you’ve acquired in your adventures through Tyria. In the Mists, players all fight at the same level. Any character below level 80 will be adjusted so they are roughly equivalent in power to what they would be at level 80. This makes combat among characters of any level not only possible, but actually fun!

Character level adjustments have a limit, however. The level-adjustment system won’t let a level 1 character go head-to-head against a level 80 character with much chance of victory—a level 80 character is still going to have more bonuses on their gear and access to a full complement of utility and elite skills that players just don’t have at lower levels. This is not to say that the high-level character will one-shot the level 1 player, but they will have a clear advantage.

So what’s a low-level character to do? Anybody can man a siege weapon, help repair walls, or go hunt down enemy dolyaks, so even new characters can still be useful in the Mists—as long as they pick their fights wisely. Fights are rarely one-on-one affairs, so if you’re just starting out, you’d be wise to find some teammates to fight alongside you as there definitely is strength in numbers.


Edit: Double beaten :P

So while I agree your concerns maybe valid, with open pvp against 2 other servers, I highly doubt you'll be venturing out on your own. Games like Aion where there had lower levels cluster together in zergs when venturing out into general pvp zones, and I can see that happening much for here as well. Read the rest of the article, it'll help calm some of your fears about the WvW pvp
 
My shoulders could use a massage, do you have soft hands?

I said rub you for luck, not rub you to get lucky. Geeeeeeez

Edit:Beat by Retro.

You ran into a door, remember?

So while I agree your concerns maybe valid, with open pvp against 2 other servers, I highly doubt you'll be venturing out on your own. Games like Aion where there had lower levels cluster together in zergs when venturing out into general pvp zones, and I can see that happening much for here as well. Read the rest of the article, it'll help calm some of your fears about the WvW pvp

Small groups of players can spread out and capture small objectives like resource camps, or attack supply caravans as they travel along the roads. They can also act as scouts. We've also had stories from the press Beta of players stalking large groups and picking off people who wander off and thinning their numbers.
 
Somewhere out there also is an interview with how WvW will work. If one server dominates it won't be for two long as they want good servers to play against good servers. They want it to be fun and competitive at the same time. The main issue with Wintergrasp was one side usually dominated then they fixed it to where the side defending usually never wins. Theyre trying to fix that without buffs and artificial fixes.

You ran into a door!

:lol
 
I said rub you for luck, not rub you to get lucky. Geeeeeeez



You ran into a door, remember?



Small groups of players can spread out and capture small objectives like resource camps, or attack supply caravans as they travel along the roads. They can also act as scouts. We've also had stories from the press Beta of players stalking large groups and picking off people who wander off and thinning their numbers.

That is true, in my time on Aion, there really weren't too many objectives to hold that could change the tide of battle, a few nodes but the map doesnt look nearly as complex as GW2. That game seriously turned into Zerg Wars at very low FPS when we had to take down fotresses. I'm expecting much better things here.

One thing that was awesome from Aion that I hope becomes prominent here is organization. Both factions on my server setup their own 500+ man Ventrilo servers and had guild leaders in one channel, with their guilds in another coordinating assaults. Hope it happens in GW 2 in time (tho I have no idea who'd pay for a server wide ventrilo server...)
 
Anyone have a link that explains how melee combat will work? I read about dodging and all there, but are there any style chains, or is it kinda like WoW where you have Rage/Power/Etc and use combat skills from that?
 
Just looking over Jira's OP while making that reply and found this that I completely forgot.

In a video recently I did see stats on an armor piece that were something like +10 Perception while Daytime and +10 Max Health while Nighttime. So there will be very interesting stat choices and modifiers to customize your character with.

Things like this and the weapons having different effects I somehow forgot. Hopefully they use this mechanic often and in interesting ways. Or they haven't dropped it all together.(haven't seen any of this recently)
 
Anyone have a link that explains how melee combat will work? I read about dodging and all there, but are there any style chains, or is it kinda like WoW where you have Rage/Power/Etc and use combat skills from that?

It's different for each class. The Warrior has a mechanic similar to rage called Adrenaline, but it's not exactly the same as WoW. You can read about each class (and a whole lot more) here; http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=440171

Some weapons have chain attacks where multiple attacks; they don't go any deeper than three attacks though.
 
Anyone have a link that explains how melee combat will work? I read about dodging and all there, but are there any style chains, or is it kinda like WoW where you have Rage/Power/Etc and use combat skills from that?

i think the only class in gw2 that has some sort of energy base built right into them is the thief
 
Thief and Warrior. With Warrior its more of a built up release and less of a resource. All skills are on cooldowns and you build up an adrenaline and when it tops out you have a release that is a different skill. With thief I am not completely sure how it works. Haven't really seen enough of them myself.
 
Thief and Warrior. With Warrior its more of a built up release and less of a resource. All skills are on cooldowns and you build up an adrenaline and when it tops out you have a release that is a different skill. With thief I am not completely sure how it works. Haven't really seen enough of them myself.

The Thief uses initiative which functions similar to traditional MMO energy. However, unlike the other classes, they don't have any cooldowns on their weapon abilities. Meaning if you have the initiative, you can just unleash a ton of attacks without having to wait for them to refresh.

You can read more about all of the profession-specific mechanics here:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Profession#Profession_mechanic
 
The Thief uses initiative which functions similar to traditional MMO energy. However, unlike the other classes, they don't have any cooldowns on their weapon abilities. Meaning if you have the initiative, you can just unleash a ton of attacks without having to wait for them to refresh.

You can read more about all of the profession-specific mechanics here:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Profession#Profession_mechanic

Gotcha, Thief was actually the one I saw least of after the beta. Most of what I saw of them was from that off screen video from last years PAX.

I actually like that thief mechanic, will be interesting how it's used along with switching weapons and certain skills(and traits) giving some initiative back.
 
Gotcha, Thief was actually the one I saw least of after the beta. Most of what I saw of them was from that off screen video from last years PAX.

I actually like that thief mechanic, will be interesting how it's used along with switching weapons and certain skills(and traits) giving some initiative back.

There's a lot of gaps in the info we have on Theif traits, but...

  • - The "Opportunist" minor trait in the Critical Strikes line gives you a chance to gain initiative on a crit. In the same line, there's another minor trait ("First Strikes") that increases your chance to crit based on initiative.

  • - In the same line, there's a major trait ("Signet Use", obviously a placeholder) that grants you initiative when you activate a signet.

  • - There are two major traits in the Shadow Arts line that give you initiative when you enter stealth ("Infusion of Shadow", grants 2 initiative) and increase the rate initiative is regenerated when stealthed ("Patience")

  • - There's a minor trait in Trickery that gives initiative when you Steal ("Kleptomaniac").
Bear in mind that these were pulled from the last Beta and there are a *lot* of gaps in the info. I'd be surprised if all of these carry over and very surprised if these are all there is. The Warrior has traits that grant them adrenaline when swapping weapons, I would expect something similar for Thieves.
 
"Will it be a lesser issue? Sure, but it's still an issue."

Questionable if it will be an issue at all, really.

I also have no problems with people that pay for bonus EXP rates, because 1) linear leveling, 2) unless you're one of those that attempts server firsts, someone's always going to be higher level than you and I'm never really thinking "god dammit, how dare they be higher level than me." I mean, you're going to get to that level eventually, right?

In short, they're not really selling any significant power and definitely no power that's unattainable on your own.


Edit: "In PvP everyone is put to level 80 and put in all basic gear so the PvP is based off skill and not gear. "

I didn't even know this, so that really nips 2San's argument in the bud entirely.

The problem is that it's a traditionally shitty system used by traditionally shitty MMOs. There should be no surprise that people are wary of it.

Will ArenaNet's implementation of it be more acceptable than normal? Most likely, but I'm not going to let my distaste of such systems slide on the self-justifications of GAF folk who already have too much hype and hope invested in the game.
 
The problem is that it's a traditionally shitty system used by traditionally shitty MMOs. There should be no surprise that people are wary of it.

Will ArenaNet's implementation of it be more acceptable than normal? Most likely, but I'm not going to let my distaste of such systems slide on the self-justifications of GAF folk who already have too much hype and hope invested in the game.

So TF2, League of Legends, Heroes of Norath, Tribes, and all the other MMO's going to this mechanic when subscription fees don't work are all shitty?

You are just looking at all the shitty free MMO's that just look to get cash from time to time and not actually sustain a good game. That means those games used the systems in a shitty way not that the system is shitty.

You don't have to use the system. ANET is actually implementing it in a way where you can use in game currency to buy the stuff, and even if you didn't the items aren't usefull enough to anyone who isn't interested in them.

I really don't get how this is an issue, you don't want to buy you don't have to. The people who do buy don't effect you playing the game at all. The only item that effect anything dealing with you as a player directly is the megaphone and it is the only item I have an issue with, and I would be fine if it was just a lot more expensive, or easily blocked.
 
"The problem is that it's a traditionally shitty system used by traditionally shitty MMOs. There should be no surprise that people are wary of it.

Will ArenaNet's implementation of it be more acceptable than normal? Most likely, but I'm not going to let my distaste of such systems slide on the self-justifications of GAF folk who already have too much hype and hope invested in the game."


There are plenty of examples of games using a similar system that aren't "pay to win" in the slightest.

There are many games where the systems are used in a pretty abhorrent fashion, but it's really a case-by-case problem and as such it's time for some people to stop being stubbornly ignorant and do a quick read (when such information is available, as is the case here) before proclaiming pay-to-win, etc. and save everyone some time and themselves some embarrassment.
 
Well, after a day of back and forth between myself and ArenaNet, I was just told I never had a beta key...despite being accepted on March 21st. I wasn't able to log in with my email, and ArenaNet is saying my email never received a key wtf, and my name is not on record. This makes no sense.

Oh well. Unless there's some last minute break through it looks like I'm fucked, and thus there's no reason not to share what happened with you guys.
 
Well, after a day of back and forth between myself and ArenaNet, I was just told I never had a beta key...despite being accepted on March 21st. I wasn't able to log in with my email, and ArenaNet is saying my email never received a key wtf, and my name is not on record. This makes no sense.

Oh well. Unless there's some last minute break through it looks like I'm fucked, and thus there's no reason not to share what happened with you guys.

You're sure it was an official Arenanet email and not a phishing attempt or something? Sometimes fake emails can look very real.
Not doubting you though, and that sucks.
 
You're sure it was an official Arenanet email and not a phishing attempt or something? Sometimes fake emails can look very real.
Not doubting you though, and that sucks.

It's certainly official because I was able to create an account, and was told I'd receive an email linking to where I could download the client. I received the client link last night, but was unable to log in, nor can anyone find my email now. Bah, this is beyond annoying.
 
Players get a 20-slot backpack and 4 bag slots by default (from what we've seen in the Beta)
The bag slot sounds like it will just be an extra slot.
You can buy bags in game or craft them yourself; the cash shop is not the only way to obtain bags.

Can you craft an account bag? From the sounds of it you can only obtain an account bank account through the store. Not sure if that's the case, but so far this is the only thing which bothers me about the store.

I wonder how this influences the pricing of expansion packs though. If they have this cash shop they shouldn't be releasing expansion packs twice a year...
 
Can you craft an account bag? From the sounds of it you can only obtain an account bank account through the store. Not sure if that's the case, but so far this is the only thing which bothers me about the store.

I wonder how this influences the pricing of expansion packs though. If they have this cash shop they shouldn't be releasing expansion packs twice a year...

What makes you think there is no bank account? I'm not sure how it works, but nothing in the cash shop gives me this impression.

Just looked and you actually get an account vault, that goes account wide and can hold gems, coin, items and rewards. It is a set amount to start and more space is purchasable.
 
There's a bank account, we've seen as much in the last press beta. You can buy more bank slots via the cash shop. Remember people, EVERYTHING in the cash shop can be bought via Gold. You literally do not have to spend a DIME of your real money.
 
There's a bank account, we've seen as much in the last press beta. You can buy more bank slots via the cash shop. Remember people, EVERYTHING in the cash shop can be bought via Gold. You literally do not have to spend a DIME of your real money.

Yeah the bank account is spread between characters, soooo awesome.
 
It's certainly official because I was able to create an account, and was told I'd receive an email linking to where I could download the client. I received the client link last night, but was unable to log in, nor can anyone find my email now. Bah, this is beyond annoying.

I checked my e-mails and while the original acceptance e-mail points you to creae the account, there is not confirmation one pointing to the client. If I remember correctly it was at the same location where you are creating the account

edit I'm wrong there was a 2nd e-mail
 
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