You can't please everyone, Artorias. Just won't happen.
You can't please everyone, Artorias. Just won't happen.
I hope you haven't forgotten my role in this little story. I'm the leading man. You know what they say about the leading man? He never dies.
If you give in to your impulses in this world, the price is that it changes your personality in the real world. The player and character are one and the same.
For me the big difference I see in leveling in GW2 is that, at least ever since hitting Gandarren Fields, I more or less just wander around exploring, find a heart or a DE do some activities, then move on as I explore each zone. In the first two zones of the human stater area, there seems to be a couple of gaps in the leveling process where you seem to be out of things to do, but too low level to move on to the next area. Once you get behind it seems tough to catch back up and get on track.
I think part of problem, for me at least, is the amount of mats needed to keep crafting on pace with your leveling, as I never seem to keep up, but this is more of a problem for Tailors and Leather workers because of how hard it is to get cloth and leather since they can't be farmed via nodes like other materials. I have a Jeweler that is level 17 and at 150 skill, while my level 34 Tailor is at 98 skill. It also doesn't help that the Trading Post has been down all weekend. >.<
Exactly. Which is why MMOs should aim for niche markets (like recent MMOs seem to be doing, GW2 included) instead of trying the WotLK "mass appeal" business model. It's not sustainable, and game quality suffers for it.
I like the idea of having one MMO to raid on, and another to PvP/explore/whatever with.
Video Game Genre (from Wikipedia): Video game genres are used to categorize video games based on their gameplay interaction rather than visual or narrative differences. A video game genre is defined by a set of gameplay challenges. They are classified independent of their setting or game-world content, unlike other works of fiction such as films or books. For example, an action game is still an action game, regardless of whether it takes place in a fantasy world or outer space.
This means a few things.
1. The environment, lore, and immersive nature of the game are NOT part of the genre. They are simply additions that make GW2 completely amazing.
2. The gameplay challenges, i.e. questing structure, dungeon gameplay, combat, and leveling system, is what has to truly separate GW2 from other games.
Does Guild Wars 2 'redefine' the genre of MMORPG, as it pertains to gameplay challenges?
1. The Questing Structure.
- Personal Story - This is the main story of the game, which is entirely based on your character creation. Original? No. Works very well? Yes.
- 'Heart' Quests - These are as close as standard 'quests' as your going to get. These revolve around important characters in each zone who offer you rewards for completing certain tasks. Each quest is tied in directly with surrounding events and really pulls together each zone as a fully working environment. Original? No. Works very well? Yes.
- Dynamic Events - These are the bread and butter of Guild Wars 2. They are ever-changing based on the status of the zone, and really make each area into an active warzone. A good way of putting it is this: In other MMO's you get a quest to kill some centaurs who are going to attack the village... but they never attack, they just stand in a field and you go kill them because someone told you to. In Guild Wars 2, they ATTACK. If you beat them, you chase them back to where they came from and stop them from attacking for a while. If they beat you, you have to regroup and re-take the village, and then hunt them down and rescue prisoners. Original? Yes. Works very well? Yes.
2. Dungeon Gameplay.
- Story Mode - This is basically an off-shoot of your personal story, and lays down further groundwork for the lore of Guild Wars 2. By the end of the game the dungeon stories and your personal story tie together and give you an overall picture of what is happening. It's a very nice way to keep dungeons meaningful, and not just a big scary place that you feel like invading. Original? No. Works very well? Yes.
-Explorable Mode - So... you want a challenge. You want some of them raids. These continue to build on the story mode dungeons by adding tons of difficulty and strategy, while still adding some background lore as well. This is where the hardcore will get their fix for the time being. Basically 'hard mode' dungeons with different bosses and different layouts than the original. Original? No. Works very well? Yes.
3. The Combat System.
- Skills - GW2 offers each character 10 skills. 5 are based on weapon selection. Many games do this, but few give a specific set of skills that are directly linked to each weapon. The other 5 are made up of healing, utility, and elite skills. Original? No. Works very well? Yes.
- Traits - To further customize your build, you can choose between 5 trait lines, each with various bonuses as points are invested. Between skills and traits, your character can fit any role, which is important as there is no more holy trinity. Original? No. Works very well? Yes.
- Evasion - The big thing in GW2 is that every class is designed to fully self-sufficient. You need to deal damage, take damage, self heal, and dodge! Dodging is important if you want to survive. You have to actually watch the enemy and make sure you aren't in front of it when it swings that hammer! Original? No. Works very well? Could be better.
- Weapon Swapping - In addition to skills and traits, you can double your effectiveness by having two entirely different weapons. Greatsword and bow? Sure! Staff and daggers? Why not? This makes for some very interesting play styles, all of which are surprisingly viable. Original? No. Works very well? Yes.
4. The Leveling System.
- Level Scaling - Ever play a game all the way to the max level, and then have a friend start playing? AWW MAN gotta start all over. Not here. You can go back to level 10 zones as a level 80 and still enjoy the challenge due to level scaling. It actually works very well in most cases, and effectively turns the entire game into end-game. Original? I honestly don't know. Works very well? Yes.
There's probably more, but I think I got the point across.
So, are Dynamic Events and Level Scaling enough to claim that GW2 is a completely original game that is changing the MMO world forever? My answer is... no. Guild Wars 2 did not 'redefine' MMO's at all. However, it took some of the newest, most innovative ideas and created a game unlike any we have played before. They took previously invented ideas and made them BETTER. It's still an MMO, it's just a new MMO.
It didn't 'reinvent' anything. It brought fun back to video games.
Last edited by Artorias; 2012-09-04 at 04:05 PM.
To all you people saying GW2 isnt as action oriented as Tera cause you don't aim are clearly not looking in the options menu.... I turned off that stupid auto targeting nonsense at lv 30.... My god is it fun sniping players that are zig zagging(which fucks up auto targeting) not to mention without auto target you can arch arrows over enemies if you're far enough... DEFINETLY an advantage if you ask me... Oh ya, and you don't get as bonned by mesmers, cause if I fire off my crip shot as they spawn a clone it still fires to where I want and not towards my new target...
So ya.... If you're gonna complain about all this nonsense please for the love of go look through the options menu first...
Genre-redefining? No. On a broad scale, you gain strength and ability as you level, you defeat bad guys and get rewards for doing so, you craft to further your own gear... all pretty much staples of the genre.
However, the game does have features that, now that I've experienced them, will be mandatory (for me) in any future MMO's... specifically, level down-scaling and how PvP gear and level are treated.
I'm being nitpicky, but Dynamic Events have been around for at least 1.5 years with the introduction of RIFT. Just about every GW2 event I have seen has an equivalent in RIFT (kill x enemies in this area, escort, kill the big boss, FedEx, protect the shrine, prevent bad guys from taking stuff, etc.)
Level scaling is a form of "mentoring" that is also in RIFT and earlier MMO's as well. It provides incentive to do lower level content while still attaining max level benefit.
They're still well-executed in GW2, but I'm not going to give Arenanet any originality points for them.
the graphics in TERA are so good that i cant do a nexus with more than 15fps with a i5 3570k and a GTX570.
Maybe it's because I only did the first zone-and-a-half in RIFT, but the dynamic events in that game seemed to be a rehash of the undead invasion they introduced along with Naxx in vanilla WoW - fun to do but they feel like a bunch of mobs disconnected from the zone they were in. In GW2 the dynamic events feel more like an evolution of the public quests in WAR, integral to the story or feel to the zone.
I got to lv 45 in Rift and i thought the same thing... were they fun? Hell yeah they were!! but i was always irritated that they didn't feel very natural in the slightest, GW2 i don't have that issue because the DE's all seem like they belong there if that makes sense..
the only thing gw2 redefines is the grind.
i mean seriously, it's a ridiculous grind.
You are right in a way. You used to grind by running the same instance/raid in queue 5 times in a row, now you grind by running around the zone fishing for insanely repetitive DEs to advance in level to go the next zone and fish for more repetitive DEs. It seems like there is really no getting away from it in MMOs.
The night is dark and full of terrors...
there REALLY isn't... but at least Anet covers it up (at least for someone with ADHD/ADD) Larynx and Glytch can vouche for this, questing with me is an adventure all on its own because the shiny objects in the distance keep me forever entertained and our goal forever unachieved lol