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On the fence at the moment looking for feedback.
calranthe
Member UncommonPosts: 359
I would like some help deciding if I should buy this game, if people who have tried the beta think it will suit me, I will be making my own decision but basically looking for thoughts and advice.
Being retired and married to a woman who loves games as much as me we have a lot of spare time to play games.
I doubt that I will join in on the pvp side of GW2 simply because EVE is our pvp game and unless GW2 has proper pvp with loss and character looting, destruction of property and true consequences I doubt it will draw us in.
On the other hand we quite enjoyed the pve side of Guildwars and we do enjoy good storylines and quests (not grind like tera) , we are currently really enjoying TSW but because GW2 is a one off payment it may be the title to play inbetween TSW sessions. (yes we usually have 3 mmo games on the go at the same time and unsub'd to swtor after finding out it was a wow clone).
Please just tell us your pve experiences and what you think.
Also we enjoyed the companion system in GW is that still around is there any pet class ?
Forgot to mention in games like GW we are strictly solo/duo players casual time etc, our big group game is eve.
I look forward to reading any replies.
Comments
At first I was concerned when you said that you have a lot of spare time to play games. However, since you also said that you've got two other MMOs, it should be no problem. As with most games, you would fairly certainly burn through most of game content in GW2 very fast if you played "full time", and end game is mostly what you've been doing up till max level - dynamic events, and dungeons for weapon skins.
Consequences for character death on PvP are minimal, so by what you said it would most likely NOT draw you in. Though, I'd recommend just having a go at WvW, who knows, you might like it.
Firstly, GW2 is very different to GW1. World is persistent, and you no longer need to be in a (near)full party to be able to complete quests and missions. There is a personal story that you can follow, that actually does change based on what options you choose at character creation, and what you decide to do along the road. I also found the world to be very immersive, with lots of cool things hidden away, and fun NPC convos, scenarios, and all that. I had a great time in PvE, and would definitely recommend it. All that content for the box price is a steal. You can do most content solo/duo, and won't need to invest huge amounts of time to stay competitive.
There is a pet class - ranger. Though the AI seems to be less than it could be currently...hopefully they'll be able to improve it though. To me it seems to be based off GW1's hero (especially melee hero) AI, at least the pet seems to behave in a similar manner. Necromancers also get minions, mesmers get clones and illusions, and engineers get turrets - not the traditional kind of pets though.
I would definitely recommend checking out the game. If you have the cash, go for it - you'll most likely enjoy it. You can easily shelve it after you've gone through the content, and come back at no additional cost when they add new stuff - except for paid expansions of course. If you end up liking the game, the amount of content you get for just the box price is amazing.
Ah come on now - you can't move on the internet without falling over deep and varied commentary and video back-up of GW2.
Asking the rest of is who ave tried it out to summarise all of that is doomed to failure - you will get trolled and fanboi'd and be no closer to a useful answer.
Do your own research - it will serve you far better - trust me.
There is 2 types of pvp.
Structured or sPVP: 8v8 or 5v5 capture and hold game type : Gives you max level character with all unlocks.
World vs World: 3 servers fight it out for 2 weeks in siege warfare winner takes buffs for their server : levels you to 80 but you use your normal gear and you level like you would in PvE : Mobs and players drop random loot and coin.
The PvE consists of zones like GW1 only much larger. Instead of normal quests you have renown hearts/ dynamic events that you complete by doing things that range from picking apples, watering crops to holding of an invading faction.
There is also a personal story that is based off of choices you make in the character creater. So far I have enjoyed the 3 I have seen little bits of.
There is lots of hidden areas to explore with mazes and jumping puzzles.
They removed the compainion system but the ranger class has pets.
If you have any other questions just ask.
The GW2 website also has lots of info about the game. You can even watch videos of some of the classes abilities.
http://www.guildwars2.com/en/
Well, Guild Wars 2 isn't for everyone and from the sound of it you might be more interested in PvE game centered around story like TSW (which you mentioned you are enjoying) than GW2 as in my opinion the personal story stuff is fairly mediocre. You might still enjoy GW2 for the dynamic events and it's personal story, but I'm not sure if I can recommend it on rhat alone I would suggest maybe watching videos of how dynamic events work to get a better idea of how much you would like it or not. It's a shame you didn't try to get in the beta and give it a shot to see if you liked it or not.
As for your questions:
There are pet classes. The Ranger can tame and command specific land, water, and amphibian pets found throughout Tyria and name and use whichever is their preference. Necromancers control lots of minions, but they are mostly nameless and much more temporary in usage. Other professions can summon temporary pets that provide damage, control, and support for their team, but only last a certain amount of time such as Guardian's enchanted weapons, Ranger's spirits, Elementalists's elementals, etc. Some racial elites also summon similar temporary pets.
There is no companion system. Though you might encounter some NPCs that help you along during dungeon runs, you can't select and control companions like in GW or SW:TOR.
Keep in mind that Guild Wars 2 is completely different from the original Guild Wars in just about every aspect except lore and the world (even that's different as Guild Wars 2 takes place 300 years after Guild Wars and a lot has happened since then), so it's really difficult to make a judgement about the game based on the original.
First of all, I would say to anyone BUY IT, this is going to be the best value MMO in regards to content and playtime you will have ever played.
Even if its not the game of your dreams its still a great investment. You buy this game once that is it and have access constantly to a fantastic world to get involved with that will be eveolving post release.
To answer some of the questions you raise.
I doubt that I will join in on the pvp side of GW2 simply because EVE is our pvp game and unless GW2 has proper pvp with loss and character looting, destruction of property and true consequences I doubt it will draw us in
In my opinion Guild wars 2 has proper PVP, and by that I mean structured even pvp where skill is the only factor, this is part of the structured pvp bracket where the only rewards are, ranks cosmetic gear and bragging rights. It functions almost as a stand alone lobby game away from the pve side and the world pvp side.
The World PVP is realm/server centric, competing for 2 weeks (after they establish this as competitions will only be 24 hours after launch) to dominate a seperate world called the mist featuring 4 large zones lined with keeps, towers and supply camps. There is no full loot and everyone is boosted to level 80 to enjoy this, you will be more powerful at level 80 than a boosted player through traits and slightly through gear (gear bloat is very small)
It is more tactical than people have realised during the beta weekends so its hard to get a true impression of WvW but the game orientates around siege equipment and managing supply. The great thing that may appeal to you is how easy it is to get involved in this in a drop in drop out basis and that you can level up by playing the WvW mode.
On the other hand we quite enjoyed the pve side of Guildwars and we do enjoy good storylines and quests (not grind like tera) , we are currently really enjoying TSW but because GW2 is a one off payment it may be the title to play inbetween TSW sessions. (yes we usually have 3 mmo games on the go at the same time and unsub'd to swtor after finding out it was a wow clone).
The PVE is a very strong factor in GW2 there is just so much content there to participate in. I find it to be the least grind orientated game I have ever played. You can progress your character in any way shape or form. Many players have just been trying to play the obvious quests to level up and found it inefectual. The simply answer is that you are rewarded in GW2 for exploration (mobs that haven't been killed in a while grant more xp meaning spreading out is a good thing and there are hidden areas that just entering will trigger events that can then start spreading over the entire map). For your campaign love there is the personal stories which are better than I thought they'd be. These have different optional routes that are decided at character creation and through choices you make. The leveling down system also means that if you missed an area you can go back and play events there and it still be a challenge. also it means one person can play an alt and the other can play competitively with that person on there main. This is great for those that have partners that play less and often get left behind in leveling. Just to come back to the level anyway you want you could even level a character with all 8 crafting professions and they'd reach level 80 (cap) through that alone.
Also we enjoyed the companion system in GW is that still around is there any pet class ?
No companions as such but often on quests you wil fight alongside NPC's and others in the world. You may walk into a village and see guards Ko'd on the floor, you can revive them and fight beside them to free the village for example.
For pet classes you are spoilt for choice, Rangers are the token pet class where you can have a large range of pets stabled 3 of which can be swapped dynamically. The necromancer also has a lot of pet options and can even go as far as a minion master build. The Mesmer creates clones and phantasms (clones are a distraction no damage really, phantasms don't look exactly like you but deal a fair bit of damage) the mesmer needs a bit of work but it is great fun. There are also other pet skills in other trees, for instance Thieves can summon thief npc's to fight for them using two skills and one trait. Guardians can summon illusionary weapons and engineers have turrets. Loads of options.
Forgot to mention in games like GW we are strictly solo/duo players casual time etc, our big group game is eve.
Guild Wars 2 doesn't care how many people are with you it dynamically scales for the most part to enable you to enjoy the content. There are dungeons but they are not required to get best in slot. Duoing is great in guild wars 2 and you can even participate as a duo in WvW where smaller targets like supply camps and champions are available. In PVE you will be joined with other people for many events as the world is persistant. You'll never be pressured to interact with those people personally but will ont lose anything for playing alongside them which is true genius!
Actually if you read the other two replies I believe that I will get some middle ground on this topic which I am looking for, I do like the idea of the personal story and because it will be a tertiary game should not burn out on it.
How is killstealing delt with?, I know a lot of people hate instances but one of the nicest things about GW was the ability to go solo or with a friend into an instance and no random idiot could pop in and spoil your imersion or fun.
You can't kill stael you all get credit for helping each other out. you will alway sbe with other people unless you are in a dungeon or a personal story instance but no one can steal a single thing from you not even crafting nodes
Everyone gets thier own loot from mobs and supplys from gathering nodes
The problem is, in betas so far we only got to experience PVE up to around 30 level (35 if you would count the explorer mode of the first dungeon). While it does give some general idea of what to expect, there is nothing certain when it comes to later content without some degree of trust into developers.
Wha I, personally, enjoyed was the fact I could just go thorugh zone, not really paying attention as to where I am going and there would always be something for me to do. Whenever it was running into one of static Heart events or Dynamic Event unfolding soemwhere along the way. Even if I wouldn't cross paths with any of those, the hidden caves or all the gathering nodes and random veteran/champion mobs always offered some distraction.
How it's different from other MMOs? Well on the most basic, core mechanics level not that much. RPG quests since very begining were abouyt killing stuff or delievering stuff. Thing is What GW2 does is make it feel like actual part of the world rather than a task given by a guy who just stands on his spot 24/7 too lazy to do it himself.
There wasn't a single moment were I found myself having nothing to do and felt forced to seek out some quest dispenser NPC.
Then there are alos dungeons. Divided into 2 modes, story and explorer. Story mode pretty much as it says on tin. Every now and then there will be cutscene that unfolds the plot behind the group known as Destiny's Edge (Rytlock, Eir, Logan, Zojia) as you assist them in various tasks. The only dngeon we got to see was Ascalonian Catacombs, and while the mechanics on some fights were pretty standard MMO fare they were sufficently challenging and it felt good to finish one. Explorer mode, being somehwat different beast, instead just featuring more hp/more damage version of story version, offers 3 separate paths, each with different encounters along the way on top of it, completley changing how you progress through the instance.
As for the questions. There is no companion system like in GW1. It simply is not needed. The co-op mechanics are refined to the point where as long as you contribute you gain rewards without the need of grouping. Resource ndoes are instanced per character so no one will steal them from you, hitting a mob few times gives you both loot chance and full exp and taking part in Dynamic Event will give you reward based on your contribution - if you bail out early or come at the very end you can at least hope for bronze if not silver rank. You will rarely be in situation where you have to solo stuff, since people are naturally drawn to events and everyone at least tries to help eachother - don't even have to cry for rez in /map for 30 minutes thanks to the little things like rezzing actually awarding XP.
From pet classes you have Ranger that is the most "pet oriented" option, but there also is Necormancer (more limited than GW1 and the minions are way more squishy). Other than that, thanks to all other mechanisms in play, if you have good reflexes and know how to best utilize your class ing iven situation you can take on alone on pretty much every mob up to veteran status and 2 people can be succesfull against a champion of about equal level.
How is killstealing delt with?, I know a lot of people hate instances but one of the nicest things about GW was the ability to go solo or with a friend into an instance and no random idiot could pop in and spoil your imersion or fun.
Kill stealing and node stealing doesn't exist in GW2, everyone gets a share of xp by being involved in a kill, gathering nodes are phased so that they only disappear for the person that has gathered, they are still waiting for you when you get there. Anet have gone to a lot of effort to ensure that griefing of any kind in PvE is non existent.
Guild Wars 2 has so much to offer on the PVE side of the fence. the stories of 5 races are so distinct from each other that you'd want try them all out. both of you can accompany each other on your personal stories and you'll find out they have different branches and consequences based on your initial decisions during character creation, even if both of you rolled out a human.
Renown hearts quests are there to help you transition from the old type of questing until you learn to follow Dynamic Events.
Last beta weekend, i teamed up with a friend to do quests and complete the new Brisban Wilds map, and we both had a blast duoing. i need not worry if some other player would rez me if i fail to rally. it was still very challenging even though we were playing together cuz the events scale automatically in difficulty.
when i was with another friend touring, completing teh map of Lion's Arch, we had so much fun figuring out how to solve jumping puzzles and going after vistas and unlocking locations. there was 1 vista that involved using a rocket gun. i showed him the diving board and just had fun diving and swimming. we didnt even do the Keg Brawl minigame, and there will be alot of minigames by launch.
there will be no henchmen nor heroes like in GW1. Ranger is the pet class, and also a minion master specced Necromancer.
there is actually so much you can do on the PVE side (i would say too much to do). the game is solo friendly but much more fun if you play it with someone special.
Have fun storming the castle! - Miracle Max
Right, if you are on the fence... well... stay there!
First, I'm really pressed hard to give any advice to someone who unsubs from a game "because it is a WoW clone".
SWTOR had enough creds in its own right, but too little people of the current instant gratification generation did see that.
Anyhow, GW2...
The game has been thru I don't know how many open BWEs now, IF you haven't managed to get into one of them, to me it sounds like - even just running 2 games and 1 even brand new - you are overdoing it already. That or you don't really care about GW2 in the first place.
I will not say how mediocre I found the game when I tested it in BWE1 - ooops, I did - that is something that is completely up to the individual gamer.
What I'd suggest wait a while until there is another free trial sometime down the line - look at your WoW clone, it has done so a couple of times now ;-) - and the check it out yourself.
Just don't listen to all the GW2 fanbhoys!
No such thing as killstealing in Guild Wars 2. If you contribute enough damage (a very small amount) you get full EXP credit. Everyone has their own seperate loot tables and each person who contributed to a kill gets full loot. Nobody should be able to spoil your immersion or fun. Having other players around is a good thing as they can revive you from downed state and death no matter their profession and even get an EXP reward for doing so.
Everyone participating in a kill gets full xp, rather.
Also, as dynamic events scale up to number of people participating in them, it also detects if a player is actually actively contributing to it. And with down-scaling you won't have a) lvl80 players one-shotting through a low level DE, or b) people just sitting and leeching for rewards while others do the work, or c) people sitting around and griefing people so that the event scales to more difficult, while these griefers are doing nothing to help.
Nearly impossible to grief in this game - I've had someone pull a few mobs to me a few times, but not sure if they did that intentionally, or if they just needed help in killing them...
my thoughts exactly
I miss DAoC
One thing that's important to note for PvE - you are downscaled to an appropriate level, that means that if one of you out levels the other you can join them in lower level content and not be over powered, you'll still find a challenge there. Same is true of personal story steps, if you out level your personal story when you enter the instance for it (with or without friends) your stats will be bumped down to fit the content, it's a great mechanic meaning all content in the game stays relevant, especially important as Anet will be adding more events through zones post release.
I think GW2 might be a good game for you two. But since this is a GW2 fan forum i would take most peoples oppinion in that in that light.
GW2 does alot of things different when it comes to PvE, and alot of it is actual alot more easy to enjoy when you are buddy gaming with a few friends.
The little part that you can actual be guest in each others stories will give alot of playtime together. And since personal stories branches and are really different depening on choices there is so much more to enjoy off the story when playing together.
PvE in open world is build around Dynamic events (DE) and i recommend this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CyqGJHTjes to just grasp some of the depth there is in that system. This is a video that surprised the community after first beta weekend, where fans realised that they had played GW2 wrong like it was actual another powergaming experience, and with that missing the immersion that the action in game actual gives.
But beside that DE's are really an explorers delight. The situation that you can go anywhere in a zone and just see what happends is again something that really has it charm when playing with relatives. And because of DE's something will happend. And that will mean that even if you are solo/duo you will encounter others and play together with them as a natural part of DE's unfolding. This is happening without having to waiste time forming grops or having to compete for kills, resource nodes or anything alike. Basicly GW2 had done everything to ensure that another player in PvE is a good opportunity to play together not compete against each other.
finaly Even if you will not dabble with PvP , the form it has in GW2 does make it perfect to just use it for a 1/2 hour distraction, doing something different. But that kind of distraction can be found in jumping puzzles (more than 1/2 hour for each though) , the 30+ minigames, crafting and all the hillarious activities that is ingame, (like getting all your skill change to a music keyboard, and have to play a tune to solve a little puzzzle).
I don't think you actual can find a better game to be your third MMO, simply because everything is designed around NOT having to waiste time preparing to play and have fun , but going direct to playing and the fun. I wouldn't be surprised though if GW2 will grow on you and compete for the second spot over time. But offcause what EvE gives you it can't deliver.
Good luck
So very true.
I replied to OP's post, but at least I tried to be objective.
Some great feed back here and I'm not sure what I could offer that hasn't already be said.
When it comes to sheer content for your money, Guild Wars 2 pretty much beats out any other game on the market. This is mainly due to the lack of a subscription fee and the massive world in of itself.
Guild Wars II can also be very thought provoking at times: There were a few mysteries that I had to solve in game that took me hours to complete. The reward for such summoned a giant boss that no one knew existed prior (and that in itself was a reward!). It can also ask you riddles to solve, answer math problems (mainly asura area for math stuff) as well as have some of the most chaotic theme-park gaming experience available.
The world very much carries on without you; events occur and trigger other events (with victory and fail conditions, which spark new events). Towns could be burnt down to the ground, people could get sick from poisoned water, sprinkers could gush out green liquid if the water supply is poisoned. These are mainly just the minor events at starting areas. There aren't very many intricate events at the beginning of the game, but they start to ramp up more and more.
Jumping puzzles are also incredibly fun and elaborate. It took me about two hours to finish one of the main ones (which takes you to above the sky dome practically). Luckily it had check points that you could warp back to, but you had to solve a few problems in which to gain attunement to the next area as well.
The personal story begins to get more and more in depth the higher level you get. You basically start off as a nobody (or a local town hero, based on your short tutorial where you fight of a giant monster) and discover or unravel conspiracies or fight for your life in various conditions. Then as you work towards minor goals, the dangers that the world is in becomes apparent and you meet more main characters and embark and more elaborate quests. Many people feel that the personal story is weak because it's realistic in that you aren't some legendary hero from the start and commit epic feats in every event. The fact that the story ended at level 20 in beta didn't help the matters. Though with the branching story your choices affect future events (in addition to your character creation choices dictating what areas you visit, the friends you get, your enemies, etc. It's kind've like Dragon Age: Origins in a way). Then you will get more choices down the line, including what faction you wish to join.
Dungeons are another thing that I enjoyed. Although I only played through the first dungeon (the only one available), it was both a challenge and a joy. It was very much what the game is in general: chaotic and just plain fun. With no dedicated tank or healer, there is no just standing in one place and it's all about proper timing, movement and recognizing danger when it is present. Team work is also imperative to just complete the dungeon. In addition, there are harder difficulties of each dungeons, and three branching paths that take you to new areas and new bosses as a whole (three paths in addition to the original storyline path that you have to beat to unlock the three paths).
World vs. World vs. World may not be as elaborate as what you're used to with Eve, though it's good fun. Actions very much affect the battlefield for a 2 week period. You can capture a castle or keep and it will provide you with points and supplies to buy siege weapons and the like. There are also events to get NPC factions to join your server in attacks, protecting supply lines (opposing forces may try to destroy your supply cargos while they actively travel to your castles), and completing various other objectives. Though I believe the 2 week period is reduced to a one or two day period for the first week or so as they try to see which realms are the strongest so that they're set up against each other in 2 week battles.
Ultimately I'd say it's a swell game to get lost in casually. If it's something you'd want to rush through, experiencing the moment be darned, then it may not live up to expectations. It's very much (for me) about just having fun and playing when your "main MMO" is boring you or you want a break from it.
If you have a lot of time to play and are a completionist the backwards level balancing of GW2 may make the 60.00 worth it for you and your wife. At level 80 you'll have missed a lot of content you can go back to with "at level" difficulty anywhere in the game. Each zone also has */* points as a sort of a map achievement system, separate from it's normal system, of how much you've explored each area:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Map#Map_icons
As far as you only going duo with the Mrs. you may or may not like how content is shared with everyone. You can be in a group with your wife but the things you do out in the world can be done with others without the fear of kill/update stealing. This also means you can't stop someone from joining in your fun if you're looking for exclusivity.
I think GW2 can be a good side game or a main one but only if you like the style of play. For an entertaining look at the different professions I would recommend these "spotlight" videos. Either way enjoy and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit jealous.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=gw2+spotlight&oq=gw2+spotlight&gs_l=youtube.3..0.2929.5675.0.5805.13.7.0.6.6.0.76.372.7.7.0...0.0...1ac.RujGynGLi6M
I logged 125 hours of playtesting time, almost entirely PvE, between the three Beta Weekend Events and the Stress Tests. In those 125 hours, I did a lot of exploration and played the game in only a slightly more rushed fashion than I intend to play the game at launch. During that ime, I feel that I only have scratched the surface of the PvE content that the game has to offer.
This game offers a massive, immersive game world that due to Dynamic Events being the primary form of content feels very organic and alive. The game provides one of the largest world spaces of any AAA fantasy MMO since WoW. The PvE content is very plentiful and there is a large level of redundancy of content, which will provide people who play alts many paths to level 80 that will feature variety of content vs. what they have experienced previously. This is as is, with out even considering the commitment to add thousands of more Dynamic Events across all game zones, as part of free, ongoing live updates.
Once you reach level 7, any sense of linearity starts to fall completely away and you have a lot of freedom to explore and encounter fun, engaging and challenging content. I won't get into detailed explainations of the game's design, but just know that the game has been built from the ground up to foster cooperation, with out forcing grouping. Some content requires a number of players, but these events all make sense with in the context of the game world and the events themselves.
The game features a leveling curve that is shallow from level 1-20, then going flat with a design goal for each level from level 20-80 taking about 1 1/2 hours of active play time. They anticipate that most players will reach the cap after about 110 hours of game play, which is a healthy progression by modern MMO standards. However, realize that the game is designed so that there is a lot to do with a character after reaching the leveling cap, with out relying on Raids and Gear Grinds to provide something for players to do at "end game".
Some players will play a character to the level cap, continue to play some of the level 80 content from time to time, (3 of 8 Dungeons, 13 Dungeon "wings" total, are level 80 and there is an entire level 80 game zone that will require large cooperative efforts to conquer a complex web of events, in order to open a path for access to the penultimate Dungeon shipping with the game), while also creating an alt, or alts, in order to experience the world from a different perspective and chart a new path to level 80. Rinse, repeat.
Others will pursue the very viable option of continuing to play a single character well beyond reaching the level cap. GW2 has a Level Scaling mechanic, which can scale characters down in level for lower level content, while still providing them with rewards and XP based on their true level. When you reach level 80 in GW2, the entire game's worth of content is viable for you. (This is especially nice for allowing characters of different levels, among friends and guildmates, to always be able to find content worth playing together).
Based on my extensive testing experience, I can easily see the game providing me with over 1,000 hours of game play enjoyment over the course of the first year, not even considering new, free content additions and sPvP and World vs. World.
While being a game designed to make playing with others around you beneficial and fun, it's also a dream game for solo/duo players.
Add in the lack of a subscription fee and to me, it's a no brainer. There is no better value for the money and this would be one of the best subscription based games if they had decided to launch the same game under the traditional business model.
Want to know more about GW2 and why there is so much buzz? Start here: Guild Wars 2 Mass Info for the Uninitiated
You can't AFK and leave the game to mine rocks for you while you watch TV, so no you probably won't like it. The game also requires you to be pretty active while playing it too, its pretty much the complete opposite of EVE.
A couple of points
1)Yes I am bitter about swtor, I had high hopes for it but after reaching end game in two characters and finding the daily grind and lack of personal content my love of the game died I do not mind so called themeparks mmo but my own fault was expecting much more from bioware.
2)I do not know of your experience in eve Teh_Axi but I have never afk played that game, I spend most of my time in 0.0 hunting idiots and enjoying pushing the games limits, having played for 6+ years and experienced most of the large and small wars including the fall of BoB the fall of IT and NC both good and bad, if I ever did not pay attention then I lost a ship, I actually loose about 1-2 ships a month shit happens.
3)This thread has had some excellent feedback and information, apart from the few "go look for yourself yes me too yes me too too" posts it sounds like the pve side of the game has some real innovation, love the idea of playing a ranger and probably a necro too.
My hubby and I duo almost all the time. He adores Necro and I adore Ranger - we have had a ball figuring out cross profession combos. Be aware that Ranger always has a pet (no way to play them without it) but Necro can spec very well without them. Necro is currently per Jon Peters at A-Net due for some love.
In comparison to SWTOR (actually to any MMO I've ever played at launch) the variety and amount of content is astounding. The feel of each of the starter areas is very different. The cities are amazing. There's hidden static content like jumping puzzles. Dynamic events can happen anywhere in a zone. Most importantly there is just a lot of content.
Crafting isn't at the EVE or SWG level but it also has more to it than WoW/LOTRO. Crafting completionists will go insane over Cooking. Casual crafters looking to make their own gear will have no problem gearing up every 10 levels or so with just casual gathering. The best part is that crafted gear isn't better or worse than good drops/karma rewards - it's just the best way to get the exact stats/boosts you want for your particular build. Finally, if you really wanted to only craft and not leave yoru starter city's crafting area you can level entirely on crafting alone. It would take quite a bit of money though - because without gathering you'd have to buy all your materials.
Hi!
First of all I would like to welcome you in the community.
Secondly and since many people offered a lot of information I would like to point you to this thread that will probably seed even more light to any questions you might have: http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/287180/A-short-guide-to-everything-we-know-about-GW2-.html
There is also the "Mass Info for the uninitiated" linked aswell.
As about the pet system almost every profession has some pets.
What the others didn't mentioned was that the Elementalist class has also a pet for each element they can summon for a minute or two.
The main pet system belongs to the Ranger like the others said aswell.
The Ranger class has 4 slots that are split in two sections:
- 2 slots for terrestrial pets
- 2 slots for amphibic/underwater pets
Additionaly to these active slots you are having a big list in which every pet you are taming goes in.
While outside a battle you can select a new pet from this list at any time and no matter where you are.
There is also a switch option you unlock at a certain level that lets you switch between the active pets in battle.
This gives you more variety since every pet comes with its own skills (they learn more overtime aswell).
You have pets that are good for damage, others for buff/debuffing, others for tanking and so on.
Lots of variety between melee and ranged pets.
Some pets are well hiddend in the world (like the shark that resides under a krait base deep down in the water or the armored fish in the kanalization of the old lions arch), while others are more approachable and spread around in areas.
What I noticed is that many people are letting their pets in the aggresive mode at all times and that's why the pets are constantly defeated quite fast.
The best approach to use them is dependant on the type of pet you are using and its skills.
Also the combination of pets you are using through switching mixed with your own skills.
If you let your pet on follow or passive mode and turn it into aggressive mode only when needed, your pet will mostly survive all encounters and give you the best assistance you can get from it.
Anyway, I would suggest you to buy a copy of the game at first for testing and see if it suits your needs.
Just make sure to take in the freedom of choice the game provides you with instead of "missing" the hand holding we all were used to through other mmos before.
Don't limit yourself on the heart quests either cause they are only repeatable content that provides you with a small part of the old type of quests we all know (even it has also chains for 2-3 quests that need you to do different things).
If you notice a dynamic event go and do it, after its done, check what the npc is doing or says so you won't miss the next chain (some leading to world events that really changing the world of GW2).
Feel free to join the Jade Quarry server and check for Dumeka Shoren if you would like any additional in game help or have questions and I will try to help you as much as I can.