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Guild Wars 2 Launch Date announced: August 28th, 2012

What should I ask GAFers to draw in MS Paint to give away my last 12 ecto? I'm thinking Fluttershy as a Sylvari.

But but I don't even need ecto, I'm not playing GW1 :(

ah whatevs

iboqfK6zMXLV8p.png
 
I just read that Guild Wars II isn't coming to Steam. I need to lie down for a while.

Kinda glad I didn't bother waiting on it, and even then most MMOs don't really need Steam. The exposure might help, but at the end of the day they run their own launchers and have tonnes of servers up 24/7 to grab their files whenever you want.
 
Kinda glad I didn't bother waiting on it, and even then most MMOs don't really need Steam. The exposure might help, but at the end of the day they run their own launchers and have tonnes of servers up 24/7 to grab their files whenever you want.

Steam is rather pointless when it comes to MMOs for the points you made above. The reason why GW2 isn't on Steam is due to a change in Valve's microtransaction policy where some % of all microtransactions for GW2 would have to be paid out to Valve and microtransactions are obviously a very big part of ANet's income. In a way GW2 will be advertised through Steam by users playing and then their friends saying "Hey what's that game?". Granted it's not going to be on the front page of Steam, but if enough people launch GW2 through Steam then it's a form of free advertisement.
 
I still wonder about that Steam policy...cause LOTRO is now sold on Steam (as a "starter pack, which contains various quest packs and stuff yuo'd normally have to buy if you just had the f2p client), and all of thier microtransactions are done outside of Steam. Unless there is a Steam-specific LOTRO client which tracks the Turbine Store sales.

edit: thanks Bufbaf :D
 
I still wonder about that Steam policy...cause LOTRO is now sold on Steam (as a "starter pack, which contains various quest packs and stuff yuo'd normally have to buy if you just had the f2p client), and all of thier microtransactions are done outside of Steam. Unless there is a Steam-specific LOTRO client which tracks the Turbine Store sales.

edit: thanks Bufbaf :D

I've wondered it myself cause there's a lot of F2P MMOs now with microtransactions on Steam, but maybe those companies are okay with sharing their profits and ANet isn't?
 
Does anyone still have a key for my girlfriend? We don't want to pre-purchase for her without knowing that it runs properly on her laptop.
 
Thanks to everyone for the well wishes. :)

This beta event is going to be a 2 day stress test it seems with the numbers of beta keys being thrown out. It's good though because they get to really stress their servers out but it's bad because I can see a whole lot of servers going down.....:(
 
Does anyone still have a key for my girlfriend? We don't want to pre-purchase for her without knowing that it runs properly on her laptop.

Got one snatched during the nvidia thing, but the guy who was supposed to get it won't probably be online anyway - You have a PM ^^
 
Does anyone have any EU codes available? I tried to grab one for one of my close friends during the Curse giveaway (I now live in Canada but come from England) but I was unable to due to region blocking. By the time he got online they were all taken. I managed to get a US code but I don't know if it'd work with him so I don't really want to use it (Yes, I'm willing to give it away)
 
Does anyone have any EU codes available? I tried to grab one for one of my close friends during the Curse giveaway (I now live in Canada but come from England) but I was unable to due to region blocking. By the time he got online they were all taken. I managed to get a US code but I don't know if it'd work with him so I don't really want to use it (Yes, I'm willing to give it away)

You can try with the one in my post here.
Dunno if lurked. Good luck.
 
On a somewhat unrelated note, watching Sword Art Online and the new episode that came out today, REALLY makes me want to play GW2 a heck of a lot more now. :O

Interesting, didn't know about Sword Art Online. I guess MMORPGs are becoming such an integral part of Japanese's lives that it's normal for them to have several franchises based on foctitious MMOs. .hack really was ahead of its time, considering it released in 2002. To this day I wonder about the rationale about not releasing WoW in Japan, it seems like a license to print money to me.

The only thing I dont like about it is switch target and previous target doesnt have a dedicated button to it. I feel like that is a more important function and needs a quicker and more intuitive keybind than the F1-F4 skills. Same with weapon switch
So what i guess i would do is simply have the F1-F4 skills on the RB+d pad while the other skills simply mapped to the dpad

Actually, and I was talking to Hawkian the other day about it, switching targets is something that you rarely, if ever, need to do when using a joypad; the reason is that, with Promote Targets disabled, you can just point the analog towards your target and attack. Also note that the difference between RB + Dpad and just Dpad is negligible, since the actual cost of the combination is lifting your left thumb from the right analog (therefore stopping movement), something my previous configuration (with change targets on LT and RB+LT) didn't need... :/
In any case, of course, the D-pad and RB + D-pad mappings can be changed around if you like them better that way; that's the point. :)

and yea, I can definitely see a problem happening with the map zoom and moving

It has to be tested on both the map and field, to see that map zooming doesn't trigger anything problematic on the field (it shouldn't, since I don't thing PgUp and PgDown does anything on the field), and... I just realized that since the left analog emulates W and S, it would make your character move while zooming the map. Back to the drawing board... :/

The options menu is a cogwheel in the top left corner.

Thanks a lot! It's so suble (white over white) that I didn't even notice it. :)

Hrm...some legendaries? (not sure if posted yet)

The unicorn bow is the RainBow for sure, so I would think yes. As Jira pointed, they will look amazing with lighting/specular reflection/animations.

Curious about a controller set up issue

If i have R1 asswap set 2 and R2 as swap set 3, can i bind dodge to R1+R2 by sticking the dodge keybind to set 2 R2 and set 3 R1? If I can, I think it would help out a ton since i wouldnt have to use dpad up as one of the set swap buttons (kinda awkward), and I think R1+R2 would work well enough for dodge.

That is exactly what I did in my original configuration; I had both RB and LB as switches, then RB+LB as weapon swap, by binding it to the RB button on the LB-shifted configuration, and viceversa. Depending on the exact program you're using you might run into trouble: XPadder, unfortunately, has a kind of bug that, when holding a shift button, pressing another, and releasing the first one then the second (say, hold RB, hold LB, release RB, release LB), locks you onto one of the two shifted configurations, forcing you to either alt-tab to manually change it to the original, or bind a key to reset to unshifted configuration. Pinnacle Game Profiler doesn't have this issue, though.

How about this? Give a question at character creation for a Ranger:

"I have always prided myself on _____________."

a) Being an expert marksman and lone warrior.
b) Following in my father's footsteps as a great hunter, with a loyal pet at my side.

a) leads to you not having a pet. You get increased range by default and perhaps a slightly higher chance of a crit while using a ranged weapon. Select b) and you get a damn pet.

That has multiple problems, the main one that character questions cannot be changed later on in-game, so it would be the one gameplay option you are locked into for good. Also, balancing both flavors of hunters would be a complete hell; one would always be the better option, leading people to be forced to one of the two to play effectively, alienating those who favor the opposite style. If we're going that route, I'd much rather have a trait (or a set of traits) that read "You can't summon a pet. Your [stat]/[stats] is increased by [percentage]". Or if you want to keep the flexibility, "As long as you don't control a pet, your [stat]/[stats] is increased by [percentage]".

love the Whirling Defense skill ( the ones that blocks range attacks and send them back )

The best part is since it's an ongoing whirl skill, sitting in the middle of a field will send bolts everywhere. It's even demonstrated in an old video with the ranger sending fire bolts, it's one of the very first things that I remember catching my attention about the game because it looked so cool.

I'm not sure if it's a bug or not, but across both BWE1 and BWE2 pets could be swapped out at death, and then switched back out to auto revive. If you swap them just before one dies the one put away will be at full health when you swap him back, which is generally what I did when playing my ranger.

If I remember correctly, it was a bug and alson one that was solved recently. However, I think they still regain health when swapped out and not dead, so it seems the best way to play them is a kind of Marvel vs Capcom, refresh troops way.

They still die way too fast of course and need a ton of help. I don't see why they don't have some sort of dodge mechanic like players do, to be honest. They need to fix the AI so that it does things like attack targets from behind and dodge out of AOE in addition to making them able to take hits a little better.

Pets felt much better in the second beta event, even with the aforementioned bug fix/nerf. I felt like I was resurrecting them a lot less.

Love the detail they put into each individual graphical setting:

Leave it to them to go the extra mile to make life easier for everyone. I really love being told exactly what I'm giving up with each option, so nice.

By the way, the new autodetect setting kind of put many of my settings on low. I didn't really notice a change in performance when lowering them (other than V-synch and shadows), but I guess I'll experiment a bit more come this BWE3.


Youtube recently implemented this very neat thing where you can get a link to a video in a specific time mark. Just pause the video where you want it, click "share", and click the checkbox about using this timestamp, then copy the link on the box. It's really useful!

ah whatevs

Awesome stuff. Haven't watched more than a couple episodes of FIM but I can see how it got cult status and became memetic in record time. :)

Steam is rather pointless when it comes to MMOs for the points you made above. The reason why GW2 isn't on Steam is due to a change in Valve's microtransaction policy where some % of all microtransactions for GW2 would have to be paid out to Valve and microtransactions are obviously a very big part of ANet's income. In a way GW2 will be advertised through Steam by users playing and then their friends saying "Hey what's that game?". Granted it's not going to be on the front page of Steam, but if enough people launch GW2 through Steam then it's a form of free advertisement.

That's a good point, and I also want Steam to keep track of the insane amounts of time I'll dedicate to it, so I should do it. I still hate how you can't make large banners for the non-Steam games, though.

Does anyone have any EU codes available? I tried to grab one for one of my close friends during the Curse giveaway (I now live in Canada but come from England) but I was unable to due to region blocking. By the time he got online they were all taken. I managed to get a US code but I don't know if it'd work with him so I don't really want to use it (Yes, I'm willing to give it away)

Check your inbox. :)


Edit: OK, I just had to reply to this as well (which I had tabbed while replying):

Some epic new concept art taken from the client!

http://mithikx.minus.com/mbh8xju3mj/1g

http://mithikx.minus.com/m9hMNNxrb/1g

Eir carrying Snaff avatar woo woo!

As a sucker for GW2's art style, thanks a LOT! The best part is Minus' "download all" option. :)
 
It worked and since the game let's you switch servers wherever you want to,it won't be a hindrance. Again, thanks bro!

Phew, I was worried for a moment :D Glad I could help out.
 
Got an invite, might as well try this out the coming weekend.

Never played an MMO before, anything special I need to think about?

Go to their website. Read up on the lore and look ath the pictures of each of the races and classes. Pick the combination that interests you the most.

Avoid in-depth articles and videos for now. Just pick what you think you will enjoy the most.
 
Go to their website. Read up on the lore and look ath the pictures of each of the races and classes. Pick the combination that interests you the most.

Avoid in-depth articles and videos for now. Just pick what you think you will enjoy the most.

Ok, thanks!

Played Skyrim? You'll be fine.

I've seen enough video of this game and of Skyrim to know that this is nothing like Skyrim. And no, I haven't played Skyrim.

Do whatever you feel like doing.
No really, that's what you can do in this game.

See a hill? Check what's behind it.

Want to hang out in a huge town and play minigames all day?
Go do it.

Want to kill other players? Go PvP.
Want to fight big monsters? Go PvE.

You can craft, trade, explore. Tons of stuff.

You can follow the personal story if you want something more guided and focused.
Or hell,you can join a guild and sit in chat all day talking to your guild mates.

The game doesn't force anything on you and since there is no monthly sub you will never feel like you are "behind" or are "not making the most of your time".

Just enjoy, GW2 is not like most MMORPGs!

Sounds chill enough.
 
Got an invite, might as well try this out the coming weekend.

Never played an MMO before, anything special I need to think about?

Do whatever you feel like doing.
No really, that's what you can do in this game.

See a hill? Check what's behind it.

Want to hang out in a huge town and play minigames all day?
Go do it.

Want to kill other players? Go PvP.
Want to fight big monsters? Go PvE.

You can craft, trade, explore. Tons of stuff.

You can follow the personal story if you want something more guided and focused.
Or hell,you can join a guild and sit in chat all day talking to your guild mates.

The game doesn't force anything on you and since there is no monthly sub you will never feel like you are "behind" or are "not making the most of your time".

Just enjoy, GW2 is not like most MMORPGs!
 
Have they said anything official about authenticators yet? Software authenticators better be in there day one.


Also, has anybody else changed their class preference after actually playing the game? I was initially planning on engineer and ranger before I spent time with them. Engineer's kits felt akward, but I'll probably try them out next weekend to see how the changes turned out. Ranger pets were just broken, so I didn't even bother putting much time into them.

Right now I'm high on warrior and elementalist, but I'll prob avoid making the elementalist based on how many people are rolling one.
 
Well I got shot down.

I've played enough of the game to know the world, crafting, buying and selling, and even the combat is similar to a point with Skyrim. Of course there's MMO conventions such as the skill bar.

Oh and Jeremy Soule.
 
Well I got shot down.

I've played enough of the game to know the world, crafting, buying and selling, and even the combat is similar to a point with Skyrim. Of course there's MMO conventions such as the skill bar.

Oh and Jeremy Soule.

I cannot stand Elder Scroll games because of the combat. So damn boring to me.
 
Sorry I remember asking for this before but I can't find where it was through my post history. Are there any good speed guides available for GW1 HoM achievements for GW2? I kind of want to get as many as possible and experience a bit of the story but unfortunately the lag in GW1 prevents me as an Aussie to enjoy the game. The game rubberbands rather frequently where you'd be running through fields only to end up dead because you've aggroed 10 invisible enemies.
 
Also, has anybody else changed their class preference after actually playing the game?

My chain of thought since all classes were announced:

Engineer -> Guardian -> Ranger -> (first BWE) -> Thief -> (first stress test) -> Necromancer -> Engineer -> (second BWE) -> Mesmer -> Ranger -> Guardian -> Thief -> Warrior -> Thief -> Necromancer -> Mesmer.

Currently undecided between Thief/Necro/Mesmer.

Fuck Elementalists though. I firmly believe that class is going to be overpopulated as hell.
 
Well it seems I'm now officially on the hype train. PC is arriving tomorrow and the last BWE is awaiting me! Just need to decide on a race/class combo, sylvari engineer has interesting flavour to it.
 
Well I got shot down.

I've played enough of the game to know the world, crafting, buying and selling, and even the combat is similar to a point with Skyrim. Of course there's MMO conventions such as the skill bar.

Oh and Jeremy Soule.

Personally I don't think you can really make many analogies between guild wars 2 and skyrim. Saying that would probably give the wrong impression to players who don't know much about the game.
Both games are fantastic and share RPG aspects you'd expect such as the crafting, buying, exploration etc but they are very different games and I wouldn't say the combat is similar at all.

Sorry just being a bit picky.

I hope everyone who's trying to get a beta key manages to. It is a really great game and should be given a shot.
 
Got an invite, might as well try this out the coming weekend.

Never played an MMO before, anything special I need to think about?

Funnily, the things that pop to my head immediately that one needs to know are MMO conventions you need to forget; in most MMOs, an enemy is going to keep hitting you once it is in range, no matter if you strafe or dodge around it. Not the case in GW2, and if you stand there taking the hits, you're going down.

That said, MMOs are a quite complex affair, more so than most single-player games. Most people won't realize because MMO conventions are already ingrained into them, but a few things may be obvious to an ex-WoW player while not immediately apparent to you.

I would say that the best thing you can do is to leave your account name in the GW2 community thread so that you are added to the GAF guild, and to learn how to use the different chats, including guild chat (something that may be a little more difficult than it sounds, especially if you've never played an MMO). Community thread is here:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=467970
Anything else you have any doubts about, you can then ask in guild chat and fellow GAFers will be happy to help you. In fact, I'm the kind of guy that loves to guide newbies through their first few paces in MMOs, so if we're online at the same time, I'll be happy to help. :)

Other stuff I can think off the top of my head:
1) Gray items are for selling. There's actually a button in the "sell" pane to sell them all at once.
2) In this game, everything you see is there for you. If you and another guy kill an enemy, it will drop stuff for both of you; you can't even see the other guy's loot, so pick up everything that you see in the loot box. If you see a tree you can cut down for wood (for that you need to equip a lumbering axe), doing so will not do anything to another player; they'll still see the tree and can cut it down themselves. So relax and pick up everything; it's there just for you.
3) More generally, doing stuff with other players, even if not grouped with them, will not hinder you or them. Experience, money, loot, etc. is not divided, so by helping someone kill something you're really helping them (as opposed to other MMOs where you might actually hinder them).
4) You can teleport to waypoints you've discovered by clicking on them on the map (M key) and paying a fee depending on the distance. Waypoint traveling within a city is however FREE, this is important as cities are huge!
5) The game is too large and has too many systems to contain in a single post; just ask anything that you want to know. When in doubt, assume that the game wants you to have the most fun possible, because that's exactly what the design philosophy was for this game; if something is frustrating you, chances are there's something else you should know about it, so just ask! If you still don't like something, skip it entirely. There are no quest chains where you miss on later stuff by skipping anything.
 
Sorry I remember asking for this before but I can't find where it was through my post history. Are there any good speed guides available for GW1 HoM achievements for GW2? I kind of want to get as many as possible and experience a bit of the story but unfortunately the lag in GW1 prevents me as an Aussie to enjoy the game. The game rubberbands rather frequently where you'd be running through fields only to end up dead because you've aggroed 10 invisible enemies.

Did most of my titles back in 07/08, but I think I remember that these were fairly easy and allow you to experience the story:

Eternal Conqueror of Sorrow's Furnace
Eternal Guardian of Tyria
Eternal Protector of Tyria
Eternal Guardian of Elona
Eternal Protector of Elona
Eternal Hero of Tyria
Eternal Hero of Cantha
Eternal Hero of Elona
Eternal Legendary Guardian
Eternal Survivor (~20 hours doing the Killroy Stonekins boxing mission with experience scrolls)

Filling up the fellowship monument is also easy once you have completed Nightfall and EotN so that you got all the heroes, and you should be able to get some first and second year minipets pretty cheap, maybe for around 2-3k each.

The following elite missions are also worth doing. Shouldn't take more than 3 hours each if you manage to get a good group:
Eternal Conqueror of the Deep
Eternal Conqueror of Urgoz's Warren
Eternal Conqueror of the Fissure of Woe
Eternal Conqueror of the Underworld

Note that my interpretation of getting points "fast" might be a little skewed. Played GW1 on and off since 05, so I dont recall everything perfectly.
 
Anyone got an EU invite over which they don't need? I've checked out multiple sites that offer keys and haven't been able to find a working one so far. I would like to give GW2 a try this upcoming week even if I'm sure I'll buy it when it gets released.
 
Sorry I remember asking for this before but I can't find where it was through my post history. Are there any good speed guides available for GW1 HoM achievements for GW2? I kind of want to get as many as possible and experience a bit of the story but unfortunately the lag in GW1 prevents me as an Aussie to enjoy the game. The game rubberbands rather frequently where you'd be running through fields only to end up dead because you've aggroed 10 invisible enemies.

I used this one: http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Guide_to_earning_Hall_of_Monuments_rewards

edit: But then again it might not be a speed guide.. if such a thing even exists for HoM :p
 
Got an invite, might as well try this out the coming weekend.

Never played an MMO before, anything special I need to think about?

Before anything else, have a glance at this page to familiarize yourself with what the interface looks like.

1) Just run around while occasionally looking at your map to see where you might want to wander off to. One suggestion on this through: There are hearts and chevrons (the top half of upward-pointing arrows) on your map. Head for any that are outlined and empty in the center. As you're going, you'll occasionally see a message about an 'Event' taking place nearby. When this happens, look at your mini-map and run for the area circled in orange and do whatever you're told to in the upper-right corner of your screen. When the event is over, go back to hearts and chevron hunting.

2) Go into the Options and designate a specific key for Dodge. Make sure it's easy to reach and use, you're going to need it. You get two Dodges by default before your Dodge mechanic has to recharge. Be smart.

3) If you're hurt, but the fight is over, do not use your Heal skill. You will regenerate your health fairly quickly out of combat. If you use your Heal skill, it won't be available for a little bit of time and you might need it for the next fight.

4) All fights are potentially somewhat dangerous. Pay attention and move around. If you see a thin, red circle appear on the ground near your character, make sure you're outside of it - it's an attack spell about to hit.

5) When possible, if you see another person on the ground (ie. either dying or dead) go over to him/her and hit the 'F' key to heal / revive them. Don't get killed yourself while doing this, but it's absolutely vital in some encounters to keep the number of people on your side up and active. Other players are friends in this game, so help them as if they are friends. Nothing they do can really hurt you.

6) Read the descriptions of your skills carefully. Know what they can do. Some have secondary or even tertiary effects that could save your life in a pinch. In this regard, try out different weapons: If you don't find enough in your running around, talk to a Weapons Merchant in a town and buy each type that your profession can use once you have the money to. [This should be quick.] Equip each one and try it. Also try fighting underwater and see how you like your underwater weapon.

7) Have fun and don't take anything too seriously.
 
Well I got shot down.

I've played enough of the game to know the world, crafting, buying and selling, and even the combat is similar to a point with Skyrim. Of course there's MMO conventions such as the skill bar.

Oh and Jeremy Soule.

... I don't really see it. Especially the combat. The combat in Skyrim was so bad I forced myself to rush through the main story and stopped playing the game, even though I still had tons of other quests to do. It was so bad I won't be buying the next Elder Scrolls game until I hear they completely overhaul the combat.
 
... I don't really see it. Especially the combat. The combat in Skyrim was so bad I forced myself to rush through the main story and stopped playing the game, even though I still had tons of other quests to do. It was so bad I won't be buying the next Elder Scrolls game until I hear they completely overhaul the combat.

I'm with you. Same as Skyrim? NOOOOOO WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
 
I've still got some stuff for HoM if anyone needs, including these minis and other stuff:
-Juggernaut
-Dredge Brute
-Hydra
-Desert Griffon
-Fungal Wallow
-8x Destroyer Core
-2x Honeycombs
-Some candies, passage scrolls and buff items.

Everything is free, just pm me and I'll give 'em.
 
I've still got some stuff for HoM if anyone needs, including these minis and other stuff:
-Juggernaut
-Dredge Brute
-Hydra
-Desert Griffon
-Fungal Wallow
-8x Destroyer Core
-2x Honeycombs
-Some candies, passage scrolls and buff items.

Everything is free, just pm me and I'll give 'em.

Pming

Edit: Thanks _machine! 26/30!

10 more minis and Luxon armor.
 
Youtube recently implemented this very neat thing where you can get a link to a video in a specific time mark. Just pause the video where you want it, click "share", and click the checkbox about using this timestamp, then copy the link on the box. It's really useful!

Even faster, you can right click on the video itself, and clicking "Copy video URL at current time" will send the link to your clipboard.


nl6pr.png
 
I've still got some stuff for HoM if anyone needs, including these minis and other stuff:
-Juggernaut
-Hydra
-8x Destroyer Core
-2x Honeycombs
-Some candies, passage scrolls and buff items.

Everything is free, just pm me and I'll give 'em.
Updated, also just a got an everlasting Gwen tonic, but that's not going for free though :)
 
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