Guild Wars 2--Updated Impressions

I think, or at least thought the reason they were getting rid of heroes was because they wouldn't be needed. It sounded like GW2 could be entirely and completely soloed - not in terms of 1 human player in a party of AI, but just one person in the party.

That's why I'm a little worried about that statement.

I wouldn't worry; it's probably not accurate. Then again, this is from PC Gamer, and PC Gamer has run special issues, cover stories, etc., on Guild Wars 2 in the past, so, who knows? Maybe they "know something".

Correction, it's from PC Gamer UK, and there are several discrepencies in the copy.

Keep in mind, the PC Gamer US that had the special issue and preview is now edited by Kristin Salvatore an admitted GW fan... I don't think she would approve of the UK copy!

(and for the record, the review of GWEN in PC gamer that got a 68% I believe, was not written by Kristin, probably b/c she knows she's biased).

But they are sister publications, no? The line I quoted is also in the PC Gamer UK text. (I'm not sure what you mean by "discrepancies.")

Just out of curiosity, why do you think she would not approve of the UK copy? It's very pro-GW2.

Are you saying she betrayed the BFB club?!

BURN THE WITCH!

"Fans of Guild Wars have been sated with expansion packs - three so far (Nightfall, Factions and Eye of the North), compared to WoW's one. "

Correction: Guild Wars only has one Expansion. The rest are distinct games, each playable on their own, unlike both GWEN and the Burning Crusade for WoW.


"If you're just grinding, you'll be able to join up with an AI party, but playing with real-life online humans will net you more experience. "

If this is true, it goes against everything else we've heard, including from PC Gamer US. Personally, until I hear otherwise, I'm gonna trust PC gamer US over UK. (even though they are "sister" publications, they each have their own staff, content, etc.)

"From day one in Guild Wars you could take any character into one of its deathmatch arenas and fight competitively."

You could create PvP only characters, but you could not take any character to an arena at the very beginning of the game. (even if you count the short PvP nonsense exiting pre-searing as an "arena" (I wouldn't), it's not available from the very beginning, and a level 1 certainly would not be "competitive.")

I'm not saying it's not a positive review, it's just a very quick collection of "notes", some of which are inaccurate, thus leading to lack of trust.

I swear I read or heard somewhere that GW2 would have Companions BUT for Missions you would have the ability to have a full AI party... so there wouldn't be this step backwards.

I think that's a bit nit-picky myself. But, yes, technically, you are correct.

What, exactly, does this statement "go against"? I bought and read the PC Gamer special issue pretty carefully, and I still feel ArenaNet has been pretty vague about the balance of needing to team up with other players versus the option of teaming up with AI companions in GW2.

Understand that I am not challenging you over PC Gamer vs. PC Gamer UK, but I'm not sure they are actually "duking it out" here. I have read about the "NPC Companion", but I don't recall reading that Heroes/Henches will be categorically eliminated from the game. I am just wondering where that idea is coming from. Was it in the special issue and I just missed it?

If you can find that link, I'd be eternally grateful.

All I've heard is that Heros / henchies will NOT be in GW2, replaced with a single optional companion.

I guess some could construe a single, optional Companion could constitute a "party", but that's going a bit far IMO.

tmr819 I wish I had the magazine in front of me, I'm pretty sure that the orginal issue talking about GW2 (the infamous "Guild Wars campaigns cancelled!" one), said specifically there would be no heroes / henchies in GW2, but it would be soloable.


Of course, things are subject to change, and if PC Gamer UK has new information, than that's great, but I'd like to see it in another source, and not just take it for granted from one line in a short preview of games in 2008.


I'm also not implying that PCGamer UK is intentionally trying to mislead, I think they may have just gotten their facts wrong. It happens, especially when talking about a game that is so different from the orginal.

I for one am not looking forward to GW2 until I get a hands on play. Of all the MMOs I've tried GW is the one I love and it all sounds like GW2 is going to be less like GW and more like the other more common MMOs. So, I'll be in beta if we can, reserve it and buy it, but if its not like a super charged GW then screw it, back to GW I go.

Remember they said at one point that GW2 is going to be like GW on steroids, well, they said the same thing about polymock.. it would be like pokemon on steroids.. and well, much like pokemon, polymock is boring little suckfest that is about as much fun as DCing on the last thorn wolf.

I want GW2, I want it to be good.. but my faith that it will be is perma set to zero.

I actually think this would be an awesome idea; it would definitely one-up MMOs like WoW, whose weakest link is the finding of good and balanced groups when and where you need them for instances.

Many features of WoW are pretty cool, as I've mentioned in other threads, and I could do with some of that in GW2 even <<gulps hard and ducks>> the introduction of a lot of persistent explorable areas.

But what is absolutely SUCKOLA in WoW is the grouping mechanic for instance content. Waiting and waiting and WAITING for that healer or tank or maybe even ANY fifth player to fill out a group is just ... heinous. If anything like that dynamic gets grafted into GW2, I'll be very .

A large factor is that LOTRO is new; pugs were by-and-large nice and friendly and everyone on a reasonably equal footing also in GW when it was new too.

it sounds like the game will do good or be a complete disaster. i dont know which it sounds like. i think they should keep the current game and add more expansions with new skills and other features instead of making a whole new game.

That is true what Numa says. Before just about everyone because a recluse or an elitist GW was a huge fun PUGGING community. But, those days are gone and all the great players have left for WOW or LOTRO and there's just the aftermath of birth like in child bearing left anymore. You know that plecentha (sp) sort of thing.

I hope they don't get rid of the heroes, I hate doing things with real people unless I absolutely have to.

You've never tried to get a group for Urgoz/Deep, have you?

In WoW, you only need 5 people for a PuG. In the Elite Missions, you need 12.

Of course, a global LFG channel, like in WoW, would help GW a long way. (but would get spammed to hell)

Nope. Actually not. I'm still too much in therapy from my LFG WoW days. If they made henches/Heroes available for those areas, I'd be there in a heartbeat to at least give them a try, though.

Granted. Needing 5 people is better than needing 12, but needing no (other) people? Ahh, sweetness. The problem is not that I don't like playing with other players -- some of my best online times EVER were running instances in WoW, particularly. I just hate being dependent on other players to play certain parts of the game.

Basically, in GW you can pretty much ignore the relatively few player-group-only areas (e.g., Urgoz) if you want to. Those elite areas in GW are just icing on the cake for "groupies", so I don't feel terribly deprived. I don't like PvP either, but I am not unhappy that PvP is a part of Guild Wars. However, if major chunks of GW2 are structured that way, i.e., requiring player groups for instance content, I'm gonna be majorly bummed.

I just don't think ArenaNet would do that, however. Virtually everything I've read from Jeff Strain leads me to believe GW2 will be very solo/casual player friendly. I sure hope that means keeping my uncomplaining, always-ready-to-go AI pals, but we'll see.

Plenty of time before even Beta. If a problem is THAT bad it will most likely be resolved before release day. No stress ^_^

Correction: In the elite missions you need 3 people all of whom can bring their own ai.

When I did the WoW trial no one ever responded on the global lfg channel. In fact when I used the party seeker thing I sat for 20 mins waiting before just giving up and logging off. In the end I just camped near the boss(the infamous Hogger) and waited for someone who needed to kill him too.