Guild Wars 2 Beta Previews and Q&A

Some more previews based on the press’ hands-on time with Guild Wars 2’s beta are out, and, as always, we have rounded them up for your perusal.

IGN has no less than three pieces, one on competitive combat, one in which the writer wonders whether the failings of the story matter when the gameplay is great, and one focused on the warrior class. Here’s a snip from the second:

Every character has a story based on the choices they made during creation, but the way its told leaves much to be desired. Dialogue between two characters generally triggers in-game cut-scenes, wherein two or more characters appear side by side on the screen and exchange dialogue. It’s a downright boring way to present a scene, especially when ArenaNet has gone through the painstaking process of recording voice for all the dialogue. Let me participate more regularly in conversations, shift up the camera angles do something different from time to time so that I can feel more engaged with what’s happening. I want to become as engrossed with the world and culture of the Charr as I am with Star Wars, but for now I find the cut-scenes about as boring as the text walls quest-giving NPCs spam in the likes of World of Warcraft.

Honestly, I’ve been harping on Guild Wars 2 for its narrative presentation, but regardless of how I feel about the early story sequences the gameplay has already sold me. I adore the way abilities don’t follow the standard “level up, go to trainer, pay for new skills” mantra. Instead you just equip weapon and get kills, unlocking new powers based on your class and the type of weapon you’re holding. Yes, you still go to trainers from time to time, by-and-large you switch out and adapt your skills without ever visiting a town.

AusGamers:

Combat in Guild Wars 2 is one of the most intuitive systems I’ve encountered. Using (1) through to (0) on the keyboard, the first five spots are reserved for weapon skills. Each weapon has its own unique skills which are unlocked through use. Main hand weapons have three skills, with off-hand weapons having two. Two-handed weapons use all five of these slots. Slot 6 is dedicated to healing and slots 7-9 are used for customisable skills. The (0) key is saved for Elite skills unlocked once your character hits level 30. After boosting myself up to level 30, I picked the Rampage Elite skill for my Ranger, which boosted several combat stats for him and his pet. Lasting 20 seconds and accompanied by an impressive flame effect on my character, this skill made a huge impact on combat, letting me rain down a turbo-charged volley of arrows on unsuspecting groups of Centaur.

This system works especially well when porting into World vs World zones where players are all equalised to level 80. In other games, jumping 70-odd levels ahead would be a crippling experience, with a suite of new spells and abilities to try and master. Here, it all makes sense and I jumped straight into the thick of it.

ZAM has another piece after their earlier one:

Tyria is filled with these dynamic Events, each of them relevant to the surroundings and many involving nearby NPCs. From the smithy who wants to make a trophy from a brood mother ice drake, to the hunter heading off to investigate the grawl cave, there’s a strong impression of a living, changing world. Those changes also extend into the time of day. Once darkness falls different creatures can spawn and different events may occur, particularly around graveyards. There are also items that have different effects at night, such as a weapon set with a ghostly glow.

The world of Tyria itself is a massive landscape, containing cities and starting areas for each race as well as ample levelling areas. Each city is packed with incredible detail, from the streets and alleyways of Divinity’s Reach to the grimy factories of the Black Citadel. Even the World versus World battlefield is monstrous, comprising four zone-sized maps with each one aiming to support 500 players.

And finally PC Gamer offers a Q&A where they answer some community’s questions based on their hands-on experience:

8. Does the Holy trinity (helaer, tank, and DPS) exist in the game or not?

Josh: As someone who didn’t play a ton of Guild Wars, it’a still a bit weird to me that there’s not a defined capital-T Tank or capital-H Healer, but you definitely do still need someone filling those roles in groups. The difference is that my character is not a healer, but I can act as one in a group. In a lot of MMOs, you have to choose to be a healer, tank, or DPS and that defines what you’re capable of doing everywhere in the world. In GW2, most classes have the toolset to be DPS and either a healer or tank, and can just swap out the weapons, attunements and utility skills to perform that role when needed. My Engineer could bring out health packs and healing turrets and shields if my group needed someone to heal them, or swap them out for rocket launchers and landmines if we wanted damage. The roles still exist, but you aren’t as rigidly forced to pick one and stay with it forever.

Gavin: I played Guild Wars and things still feel a little weird, but in a good way. In the first game, tanks were essentially the person who initiated a pull or, at the very least, was the first person to encounter the mobs before they reached the group. In Guild Wars 2, I found that my warrior and guardian characters seemed to pick up aggro much easier than the other classes I played, yet it never guaranteed that the enemy would stick to me or that I’d survive long enough to be effective. The only time I felt as though I was truly tanking was when I took the first barrage of hits when pulling a new group. If nothing else, my role as ‘˜tank’ felt more like being a utility class. I set up my skills to provide extra healing benefits or damage control and the heavy armor and traits allowed me to soak up more damage than casters. I felt as though everyone weaved in and out of every role at some point during the dungeon, which was often a welcomed change of pace.