After receiving multiple emails and tweets about this, it would be hard for me to leave out PCGamers coverage of Gendarran Fields, a zone we're going to be able to play through during next weeks Beta event. There are 7 videos in total, played from the perspective of either a Norn warrior or Charr necromancer, with some instantly noticeable changes to the build many of us have played previously; the dodge bar being the most obvious. If you need your fix of Guild Wars 2 and can't wait any longer to see the new zone, the videos are definitely worth watching.
Next on the list is the sheer abundance of Beta keys ArenaNet and NCSoft have handed out to a huge array of websites. From the smallest of community sites right up to the biggest, there were thousands up for grabs. After much server crashing due to the sheer number of fans descending onto websites, I don't know of any competitions that still have keys outstanding. Even the 500 we received were gone in seconds.
GuildMag and Kill Ten Rats competitions caught my eye out of all those online. Both sites had 20 keys to give away that required users to either post a Guild Wars 2 related joke or to complete a question. I'll let you decide whether you found the jokes funny, but some of the replies at Kill Ten Rats were hilarious.
I've championed the ranger for a long time and raised many concerns about pet AI and the profession's entire reliance on it. I think Guild Wars 2 will actually be the first MMOG for a very long time where I don't actually make a bow based profession because of the lingering issues. Talk Tyria have discussed the ranger in Guild Wars 1 and 2 and raised some of their own concerns. It's interesting that they mention mourning the loss of interrupts, something I always felt pigeonholed the ranger too much...
There's a nice little interview over at GWOnline where they talk to the guild Blade and Rose. It's always good to read about other Guilds and how they came to be.
Feral Engineer has an editorial on theorycrafting in Guild Wars 2. It's something I enjoy doing and I must admit, I've been working on an Engineer build I can't wait to try next week. I'm not sure I agree with him entirely however, that theorycrafting hasn't yet affected the game. I think far from it; some incredible builds have been discovered already from early theorycrafting and I'm hoping mine will be the next.
Paeroka over at Nerdy Bookahs has an interesting article titled: Criticizing Guild Wars 2. I actually agree with all the points and I would imagine number 4 is a hot topic at the moment. Especially with the fallout from Tera and their use of armour designs that are heavily gender biased.
Following on from this, Kadomi at Live Like A Nerd takes it a step further with her article: Barely Covered. I'd have to say that I consider Guild Wars 2 far from sexualized although some of the armour is certainly risque. In comparison to Tera, the armour in Guild Wars 2 is positively conservative.
Over at Divinity's Reach they've a couple of articles that have caught my attention this week. The first is How To Fight A Thief and the second is that they are seeking additional authors! The latter technically falls outside of this week, but I felt it was worth a mention. If you fancy yourself as a writer, why not head on over?
Before I forget, Chapter 6 of GuildMag's Age Of Deceit has been posted. Go read it!
Comments
I wonder how your theorycrafting is going to work out for next weekend. From what Ive seen from the PCgamer stream, there are some major changes coming up, especially to trait. Also, new utilities are added as well (3 new for the necro, dunno about the rest)
I crafted up a Ranger, Mesmer, and a Thief this weekend just for the fun of it. I know that things will change from what the current tool is showing, but it's nice just to know what the different classes are using in videos.
In regards to the Paeroka article:
I 10000000% agree on the issue with clothing and faces. Heck, I think there was maybe 1 option for a scarred face on the norn males last BWE! Really? Same for the voiceovers. I actually laughed at one of the PC Gamer videos where the pirate chick starts talking about a "swab" getting in trouble with the captain. Her voice sounded like she came straight out of a beauty pageant, definitely NOT the voice of some scurrilous pirate.
I hadn't heard about ArenaNet's 'reason' for no 1st person view, but again, I agree with Paeroka - this seems like a flimsy reason.
I must admit its all a bit too clean at times. People, all people, are all gorgeous. I really want a fierce looking, evil Sylvari im just not sure it'll be possible. As for the camera? I'm unsure, perhaps its just a technical limitation of the engine?
I know a lot of people were using GW2tools as their choice for character builds but now since we've seen the PCGamer video the Luna Atra tool seems to become more relevant since their traits appear to be numbered the same way the newer system reflects them...at least for the Necro.
@Lewis B
I was wandering around YouTube looking for Mesmer videos and I noticed your montage of Mesmer footage in structured PvP. I noticed your weapon setup and skill bar was exactly what I had crafted with the GW2 Tool! (the sword/torch and scepter build).
I haven't had a chance to try this class out in PvP and I'd love to hear your feedback on that build as well as how it played compared to using the greatsword. I realize things will likely be changed this Beta, but I'd like to hear the pro's and con's to the builds you played.
- Syl
My Engineer is the better video ;) Likely my best actually. The mesmer footage was the first profession I played and recorded. It shows at times, mainly in the weapon swapping. The build I have for mesmer now is still almost identicle but I use sword/pistol and greatsword rather than torch.
Illusionary dualist and the stun shot are so valuable. The stealth on torch is amazing, but I took other stealthd from other skills. It works really well. I do really love the mesmer and would willingly share my new build with you on the forums :)
Id still take greatsword for WvW but in structured I'd like use sceptor as a secondary. Sword mesmers are really rare but they hit really hard. Some of the latest skill changes them incredibly capable of going toe to toe with anyone.
What the heck happened to the dodge bar? And it also seems that while damage is still high, people are able to stand and fight a lot more than before...
The dodge bar is now located above the health orb, in a small semi-circle. It's also split in half, so you can clearly see how much endurance you have left to dodge.
Conditions are now located above your utility skills, and are outlined in white to show how long they last (both on foes and yourself).
@ Lewis B
Is there a new tool up, or list with the abilities? I am curious about the new changes. I had a terrible first impression with the 1h sword in PvE, but I didn't give it much of a chance. When I was rebuilding using the old skill calculator, I picked it because the abilities looked great. If you would be so kind as to show me your build in the profession section that would be great
Pistols looked good for the stun etc., I'll have to play around a bit with it.
@wedge
Thanks. I finally noticed it in the IGN Guardian video. It didn't help that the gamer press weren't using the dodge. At first I thought A-Net had gotten rid of it!