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[Column] Guild Wars 2: On Improving Aquatic Adventuring
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
One of the best features in Guild Wars 2 is the underwater combat system. In our latest Guild Wars 2 column, we take a look at aquatic adventuring. See what we think before heading to the comments to chat.
A lot of MMOs feature plenty of land to explore. A few have even offered some rivers, and a pond or two to swim in as well. Swimming is rarely used in games though, and it makes the in game worlds feel flat. Tyria is different, hiding caves, towns, and even cities from the past within its murky depths. The amount of detail underwater is just as intense as what you would see on land. By actually adding in whole areas of exploration in an aquatic environment, it fleshes out the world, giving it more depth.
Read more of David North's Guild Wars 2: On Improving Aquatic Adventuring.
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Evading attacks is so much fun!
Comments
I'd be happy if GW2 would simply swap characters into "swim gear appearance mode" (while retaining the armor starts) -- as it does for diving boards. It seems ridiculous to me to see players swimming about in overcoats and plate mail while questing and fighting underwater.
It's a small and aesthetic thing I know, but I wish the game at least gave players the option of looking like their characters are in (light) swimming gear, even while retaining their regular armor stats.
While David's points are accurate, I think underwater combat and skills are near the bottom of ANET's barrel of priorities. Didn't they make huge improvements with the Krait earlier this year, apparently based on huge community demand <heavy sarcasm>.
Unfortunately, resources are all tied to the Living World updates and their Gem Store items. Improving Tyria and actual gameplay has been on the back burner for many, many months.
Smile
GW2s personal story is one of the most boring MMO experiences I've played through in a long time. I was in GW2 at launch and played for a few months. I hit 80 roughly 3-4 days after launch and had full exotic gear by the end of the week. That storyline though. Man, it just wasn't interesting in the least bit.
Characters were boring and the "final" fight was boring as well. ;(
DAOC Live (inactive): R11 Cleric R11 Druid R11 Minstrel R9 Eldritch R6 Sorc R6 Scout R6 Healer
The fact that they put so much effort into temporary content is beyond ludicrous to me. For one thing, it makes me not even want to go back, having missed a bunch of it. For another, the larger game remains static while the temporary content comes and goes.
This is beside the point that this game is screaming for character customization options, as well as other horizontal gameplay for everyone. Such a waste, in my opinion.
Oh yeah, and a PvP server would be great too...
A sure sign that you are in an old, dying paradigm/mindset, is when you are scared of new ideas and new technology. Don't feel bad. The world is moving on without you, and you are welcome to yell "Get Off My Lawn!" all you want while it happens. You cannot, however, stop an idea whose time has come.
Have no poblem with special weapons needed under water, fact is Gw2 has incredible underwater quests and feeling. Not like Wow, but very good. In majority of games (i.e. "famous" Lotro) one can not even sink head under. That is boring.
It really is one of the worst ideas of all time. ArenaNet had some very good ideas when they put this game together. The Living Story was not one of them.
These GW2 articles are so weird you praise how glorious the game one second and the next sentence it's like but this kind of is terrible
And you have so many of these articles compared to any other game
Arenanet: What cheap and useless to do next ?
Some genial developer: Well accordingly to number least played ambiance is water combat in wvw 99,99 % are fight in ground.
Arenanet: AND?
Genial: Let's improve it because we know what players want players want uncomfortable water fights
Arenanet: WOW this is genial GOGO to work every one we have a week to release this LAME UPDATE !!!
TO be honest I think all Gw2 updates are shit even the one on 10 Dec Fractals still are boring and not worth doing. And every other updates is shitier than privious
LOL. One of the best features.
I think the underwater combat isn't bad, but it sure could use improvement.
More usable weapons could add some skill variety and better ways to augment the type of role you want to play.
That's about my only issue with it though.
I'd rather seem they implement the soft trinity of control support and damage a bit better. That would be a nice change for GW2 to improve their PvE content. For PvP I'd like to see some gear dependent battlegrounds outside of WvW. Yeah I know sPVP kinda covers this but it doesn't work great.
Its funny because despite GW2 at its heart being a PvP game I didn't find WvW that excitiing. Maybe its because my server was awful.
I really don't think theres much they could do to make underwater combat ... "good". Back when GW2 was coming out, I knew it was going to be gimmicky, and pointless, and its even worse than that.
Don't even get me start on the water level fractals, they are by far my least favorite out of all of them. Its compounded on by making most of the weapon skills boring, and classes like the elementalist just get completely screwed with only a single underwater weapon choice?
Personally, I think it needs an overhaul.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I completely agree. GW2 on the whole is a pretty decent mmo. The water combat (like most mmos) is boring and I do my best to try and avoid it when I played.
Underwater combat always fails for three reasons:
1. Vertical Axis. When you have to avoid things and hitboxes matter, it's really really annoying to figure out that you didn't move an extra millimeter up and to the left in time.
2. Unnatural movement. So vertical axis just make it convoluted, but underwater combat is sluggish and just not that fun to play in. Stop treating water as a simulation when the rest of the game has you running and jumping in full plate armor . . .
3. You stop playing your class. When someone creates a character, they're telling you right up front, "THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO PLAY." Once they go in the water, they suddenly turn into genericguy123. I know GW2 tried to give flavor to each class for underwater combat, but seriously keep going. Make it the actual class the person picked. Maybe that fire mage doesn't cast fireballs underwater, but they boil their enemies instead.
3.5 (Not all games have this) Breathing. If you want people underwater, just make their first underwater quest have a wizard who gives them permanent waterbreathing for all eternity. Again, I know GW2 gave people the masks, and it's basically the same thing.