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[Ashodin]

This is the current look of the Hub Town in Guild Wars 2, Lion's Arch

Before:

Much like other MMOs have done in the past, but usually reserved for a expansion, Guild Wars 2 has taken it upon themselves for the story to destroy and tear apart the hub town for the purposes of the story.

Currently, if you have the game, you can enter, see a cinematic, and then participate in around the clock assaults on Lion's Arch to try to take back the town with loot explosions everywhere.

I figured it's a big enough event to let the main gaming side know that if you haven't been playing GW2 in a while, now might just be the best time to jump into the fire, so to speak.

 

[KINGofCRA5H]

orly? very tempting.

 

[Kos Luftar]

This is really truly living world that they wanted to create and it is awesome. They are the only gaming company doing stuff like this right now. Can't wait to see what they have next in store.

 

[Impeccable]

Shout-outs to Arwic.

 

[Shiokazu]

only looking and talking wont make justice, go see the cinematics, see people playing in twitch or youtube...

it will never, i say, NEVER match the full experience.

my current reaction it this gif:

plus this song:

http://youtu.be/uY6xrEFh7WQ

 

[Blinck]

Just played a bit after the patch and it's incredible.

I'm a very very casual GW2 player but this event was so crazy that I decided to play today in order to see Lion's Arch in it's glory one last time.

After installing the patch there was a very cool cutscene of the city being attacked and then.......CHAOS.
A ton of players running around doing events in the now destroyed city.

Just really awesome stuff - BIG props to Arena Net for this great piece of content.

 

[Mr_Antimatter]

Lions arch is wrecked, it's so awesome. XP and loot rain like mana from the sky. Been a while since i've seen XP like this. Time to pop a booster and power level an alt.

 

[Valnen]

Damn, I never did level up enough to fully do the content there. The game's combat was just too shit in PvE IMO =/. Kinda kills my desire to play even more knowing they're wrecking stuff I never got to see fully.

 

[Retro]

Damn, I never did level up enough to fully do the content there.

The game auto-levels you to 80 for the Living Story. Setting foot in LA during this event automatically kicks you to max level, so you have no reason to sit it out.

 

[Ashodin]

I'll try to get more pictures of the massacre when I can - it's really crazy to see players just running EVERYWHERE

 

[LumpOfCole]

 

[Victrix]

Saw 'Scarlet', resumed giving no fucks

Start a new story, ugh

 

[BeekleMatter]

Rip In Peace. So rad that they destroyed it, I hated it anyway. Hopefully it gets a replacement worthy of all of us standing in it all the time.

<3 GW2

 

[komplanen]

Does this destruction reflect the current status of the game's community? Or are people still interested in this game? It's so low on Twitch's streamed games I kinda thought it's done.

 

[Retro]

I'll try to get more pictures of the massacre when I can - it's really crazy to see players just running EVERYWHERE

It's actually interesting; Lion's Arch was more or less the center of Guild Wars 2 for the last year and a half or so. It's a place that regular players visited on a daily basis. Every dungeon run, fractal or moment to clear your inventory, restock supplies and visit the trading post more or less means a visit to Lion's Arch.

And rather than seeing it get attacked in a cutscene and then immediately being in the safe, barely disrupted aftermath (as happened in Stormwind after WoW's Cataclysm expansion launched), ArenaNet's Living Story approach allows us to play in the attack rather than just see it and move on. It's sort of like the gaming equivalent to film's "Show, don't say" rule; play, don't show.

I won't be so crass as to suggest correlations to real world disasters or events (I already see parts of the community calling this "MMO 9/11" and it's a little off-putting), but it is strange to watch someplace you've more or less inhabited for a while suddenly burning around you; familiar NPCs need to be rescued, roadways and bridges you crossed very day are gutted by fire or completely collapsed, and everywhere is just chaos where a week ago everything was business as usual.

It's breathtaking in a weird way that I don't think gamers get to experience very often. If you played Guild Wars 2 at all, you already own the game and can come back without resubscribing or buying a new expansion or any of the usual garbage that accompanies a return to an MMO. Take this opportunity to see a rare sight in gaming; a persistent world in a state of metamorphosis. Not just changed or new, but actively changing before you.

Does this destruction reflect the current status of the game's community? Or are people still interested in this game? It's so low on Twitch's streamed games I kinda thought it's done.

It's still very much active. It doesn't lend itself to streaming in the way short matches of a MOBA or scheduled raids in old style MMOs do; even the most interesting elements to watch like PVP and World vs. World are played on demand, whenever and for as long as the player likes. I also think that's it's a more interesting game to play than to watch.

 

[shysaursoft]

Does this destruction reflect the current status of the game's community? Or are people still interested in this game? It's so low on Twitch's streamed games I kinda thought it's done.

The game has a huge, healthy, every server nearly full, community. Twitch popularity don't mean a thing.

 

[RoKKeR]

Always wish I could have gotten involved in an MMO enough to really enjoy stuff like this. Guild Wars 2 was the closest I got...got to level 30 but just ran out of steam.

 

[Retro]

Always wish I could have gotten involved in an MMO enough to really enjoy stuff like this. Guild Wars 2 was the closest I got...got to level 30 but just ran out of steam.

You still own the game and the Living Story content always up-scales you to the appropriate level. The only thing keeping you from experiencing this content is the tim and/or bandwidth to re-install.

 

[Victrix]

Does this destruction reflect the current status of the game's community? Or are people still interested in this game? It's so low on Twitch's streamed games I kinda thought it's done.

Nope, very healthy actually

The two week release schedule of new content keeps people engaged, as does their constant store microtransaction junkadditions

I am glad they nuked LA though, it was a cruddy city to have as a hub

 

[RoKKeR]

You still own the game and the Living Story content always up-scales you to the appropriate level. The only thing keeping you from experiencing this content is the tim and/or bandwidth to re-install.

And the fact that I sold off my gaming PC and it hardly runs at all on my Macbook Pro... :|

 

[Nokagi]

Good. Lion's Arch totally had it coming. Might log in just to watch it burn.

 

[Kid Ska]

This reminds me of that April Fool's joke with the commando class. Arena Net are some cool devs.

 

[Macattk15]

Too bad they picked such a lame ass villain.

 

[Retro]

And the fact that I sold off my gaming PC and it hardly runs at all on my Macbook Pro... :|

Well, yeah, that'll do it too, but that's not any fault of the game.

This reminds me of that April Fool's joke with the commando class. Arena Net are some cool devs.

Super Adventure Box ending up as a real, playable game-within-a-game was a complete surprise, easily the best April Fool's joke ever.

 

[RoKKeR]

Well, yeah, that'll do it too, but that's not any fault of the game.

True! Again, I'm bummed that I personally am just not the type to get into an MMO like this.

 

[epmode]

Ah man, I haven't played in a while. I'll log on to check this out.

 

[jersoc]

The new armor is neat. too bad it makes you look like those tree hippies from avatar. Ah well. Not sure what anet was thinking there.

 

[Black Door]

Are they still using the mary sue plant girl to "shake up" the plot still?

 

[Dusky]

If only they put half this much effort and care into PvP...

 

[jfoul]

Might be time for me to jump back into this as my go to mmo, since FFXIV is dull atm with it's lack of content.

 

[Levyne]

How many achievements tied to this one

 

[Ashodin]

Might be time for me to jump back into this as my go to mmo, since FFXIV is dull atm with it's lack of content.

And you can stay around for another two weeks for the finale!

 

[Syril]

Saw 'Scarlet', resumed giving no fucks

Start a new story, ugh

The next event is the end of this story.

 

[Retro]

The new armor is neat. too bad it makes you look like those tree hippies from avatar. Ah well. Not sure what anet was thinking there.

It's hard to see in that GIF, but the blue sections are actually using their own skybox-like texture; depending on how you're looking at the armor, you're seeing 'through' it to a starry sky. It's actually really cool looking.

Are they still using the mary sue plant girl to "shake up" the plot still?

Yes, but this and the next update will be her last, according to the developers. Someone data-mined some dialogue from the french language files and found this to be true (no spoilers on what happens to her though).

Pretty much everyone admits she was a terrible character, but nobody has ever done something like this in an MMO so there were some growing pains, figuring out how to have a personal villain who can affect the entire, persistent world without ending up with this kind of character is one of those things.

 

[shysaursoft]

Are they still using the mary sue plant girl to "shake up" the plot still?

Scarlet has worked out, in my opinion. Her writing got better, Tara Strong settled into the role, and the events surrounding her goals got increasingly amazing (Twisted Marionette was great), adding weight to her plot. And now that things are wrapping up for the season, she's worked out as a character, supported by the rest of the cast (the lesbians, crippled asura, Kabraham & Rox, etc).

 

[Kintaro]

Has this game ever improved in the dungeon/raid aspect of the game? I remember it being an absolute clusterfuck of unfun garbage.

 

[Alex]

They should follow through and destroy all the towns, this game had the worst capital cities of any MMO I can think of.

 

[Retro]

How many achievements tied to this one

A mere 14, plus the Meta (which you complete by just doing the other achievements or the daily Living Story one). Most of them look to be easily completed just by playing the content, maybe one or two at the most would require you to go out of your way for them.

Has this game ever improved in the dungeon/raid aspect of the game? I remember it being an absolute clusterfuck of unfun garbage.

Kinda outside the purview of this thread, but yes.

One dungeon has been fully revamped (Ascalon Catacombs), one dungeon has a new path. Two permanent world bosses have been added that require more coordination than anything previously seen; the revamped Tequatl encounter and the new Three-headed Wurm remains fairly undefeated (I think only 3 or 4 servers have beaten it at this point). Both feel more like open world raids.

The Living Story is basically used as an excuse to revamp or add content gradually, two weeks at a time.

 

[Dreavus]

Scarlet has worked out, in my opinion. Her writing got better, Tara Strong settled into the role, and the events surrounding her goals got increasingly amazing (Twisted Marionette was great), adding weight to her plot. And now that things are wrapping up for the season, she's worked out as a character, supported by the rest of the cast (the lesbians, crippled asura, Kabraham & Rox, etc).

I was one of many who had the opinion of "lol Scarlet" for the longest time (I was taking breaks during the first molten alliance stuff and the tower of nightmares), but seeing it all tie together recently has been pretty damn cool. The last living story bit where you are going through all the evidence made it click for me. I want to see how it ends!

That said, it took AGES for this thing to resolve which could be improved upon for next time, I think.

 

[Ashodin]

They should follow through and destroy all the towns, this game had the worst capital cities of any MMO I can think of.

This is hyperbole of the utmost order good sir. Have you seen titanfallForsaken World, perhaps?

See in the center of the (convoluted) map and off in the distance at the top of the screenshot? It's a flat area in the center, and entirely empty.

This, by comparison, is the center area of Divinity's Reach, the Garden.

You cannot claim they are the worst unless you are talking about function. Which is an entirely different matter.

 

[Syril]

Are they still using the mary sue plant girl to "shake up" the plot still?

Scarlet got better when her backstory started coming into the game instead of just on the website and they dropped her habit of incessantly taunting the players while they were winning against her.

 

[Hawkian]

It's completely wrecked, and there are some great effects in the new map. I really like some of the other little touches throughout the world too for those that have been following the lead-up to this point.

 

[Barack Lesnar]

Gonna reinstall this, ty for the update. I haven't played in a long, long time but this sounds really fun. Level 80 Asura engineer!

 

[LiveSpartan235]

I gotta admit my heart nearly broke when those first few shots of the Aetherblades ships went out and attacked the LA

 

[Ashodin]

Gonna reinstall this, ty for the update. I haven't played in a long, long time but this sounds really fun. Level 80 Asura engineer!

If you are on SBI (or not) you can get an invite to the guild! We just need your name.#### (put in email quotes)

 

[Retro]

The only cities in the game I think you can call objectively bad are the Black Citadel (which feels like an industrial camp built in layers over the ruins of a conquered city, so as confusing as it is it makes sense) and Rata Sum, but only until you realize how geometrically it's laid out, at which point it becomes objectively the best city.

Everything else is fine, though Divinity's Reach stands out as the first MMO city I've seen that feels like it could actually be a city with an actual population. And it's wheel-and-spoke design, plus GW2's waypoint system, keeps it from ever feeling too big.

 

[shysaursoft]

They should follow through and destroy all the towns, this game had the worst capital cities of any MMO I can think of.

Just the worst.

 

[rockmanjoe]

Nice. I haven't played this in a while, so I'll check it out. Yay no subs!

 

[mingus]

my gpu decided to die yesterday

 

[Hawkian]

Just the worst.

Your lack of Rata Sum disturbs me

A mere 14, plus the Meta (which you complete by just doing the other achievements or the daily Living Story one). Most of them look to be easily completed just by playing the content, maybe one or two at the most would require you to go out of your way for them.

I'd have gone with "who cares" but ehhhh ok