Beta impressions anyone?

[Dielan9999]

How have you liked the GW2 beta so far? Thoughts? Opinions?


I haven't played it so I'm going to link an article about it
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-reasons-guild-wars-2-revolutionary-mmorpg-muo-gaming/

 

[Kainzo]

Well, not to dissuade anyone, I am a very "old" gamer so a lot of the new features/gimmicks don't work with me.

Things done well:

1. Quest System - they really made it easier to do quests, without the need to wait for hours to collect X and turn in to Y - its really a seamless system
2. Weapon Traits - you can use different weapons and learn different abilities per weapon type - it makes it for a very interesting game play.
3. Scenery - the areas in this game are flat out beautiful and most of it goes together very well,
4. Music - very well done and I couldn't complain about it at all
5. Dynamic Content - is very well done, aside from a few tweaks (like difficulty) I cant see any issues

Major issues / flaws of design:

1. Camera View / Angling - the views are too restrictive, this makes me feel like I am not in the world but just a viewer of it; it also does injustice to the art of the world, by default your camera is angled down - so you never actually look at the sky at most points. Coupled with other things, this really gives the world an artificial feel that I just can't shake.
2. The holy "two" - sure, there is no straight up tanks / healers / damage - its all mindlessly shoved into now the holy two system where either you tank and dps or heal and dps. It is not revolutionary in this aspect whatsoever and actually forces players into roles even still.
3. Overflow system - this was sold as an innovative way to keep playing despite an area being crowded. This would work perfectly if you could choose the overflow zone you are in so you can still be with your guild/party - but it is poorly designed, so it takes several minutes/hour to even get into the right party to start playing the game with your friends - DEAL BREAKER
4. Difficulty - so far there hasn't been a single encounter I haven't been able to just breeze by despite being several several levels under the recommended requirements (Main quest line) - I know its an introduction to the game, but an intro gives great insight on the levels ahead and so far, I'm not seeing any real challenge in that respect.
5. WvWvW PVP - the battleground instanced system, while its neat that you can queue in with an already max level character with equal gear - it is still very much a zerg fest with out much team play, disappointing to me
6. Mudflated Items - the economy is so mudflated with items, every other mob kill it seems to drop a pretty useful item - most events / quests allow you to obtain gear so quickly that my previous gear didnt even need repairs. Why even bother repairing items when I can just change slots for an obvious better upgrade?

 

[xexorian]

There is a workaround to the Overflow problem, if you and your friend sit outside the portal and try to zone in multiple times PHYSICALLY you can skip the queues entirely and both get into, say "wayfarer foothills" for example. It just takes a couple mins of trying, tops.

Also, I got only so far in the Norn questline and got stuck fighting level 15's vs my level 9. So I was literally getting one shot until I was caught up to the main storyline quests. Everything is easy until level 10+. What class did you play? I know for Rangers, Warriors, Gaurdians, Engineer, and Thief we had difficulty issues later on. Past level 10.

Otherwise, I agree with your statements, I still think it's -by far- the best game I've played. ever.

 

[Thedarkgeneral]

I thought the game was great, I love the skill/weapon system and the dynamic events. I also agree with xexorian, I think if you stray from the main quest the difficulty get s quite harder, I was one shotted a lot as I wandered around.
Another point I loved from the beta is the detail. I loved exploring and then seeing a small village or tower I could go over to and help them with.
The main problem, that others may not have had, was the targeting. I would try clicking on an enemy, and then we would move out of the way for whatever reason, and I would be sitting there like an idiot clicking on this enemy. Whenever I used tab the enemies were always out of range.
I dont know, in general I think it was great, and can only get better when they fix and add things.
I would agree with xexorian when he said its the best game Ive ever played. I cant wait until its actually released!

 

[Kainzo]

I'm level 16 - being one shot'd isnt difficult - thats flat out poor leveling design. A mob 4 levels higher shouldnt be able to one shot me based on level alone.

In either case - as I stated preemptively - I'm a veteran gamer and this game is to appeal to the casual crowd in almost every aspect. There's nothing wrong with that - games are just flat out easier these days.

 

[xexorian]

There are casual aspects, I agree with that. I think the customization depth and the detail to this makes it hardcore however.

I'll post an example of how Guardians work, or at least, how I interpret them to work based on my experience in this forum.

 

[Kainzo]

That doesnt make a game hardcore xexorian - that makes a game have more width

Hardcore would be having actual death penalties and not this "oh I just have to repair and instantly res where I want"

Nothing about this game reflects hardcore gameplay even in the slightest. - I knew this going into GW2. It's the game that wants the casual market from WoW

 

[Keache]

Well, not to dissuade anyone, I am a very "old" gamer so a lot of the new features/gimmicks don't work with me.

Things done well:

1. Quest System - they really made it easier to do quests, without the need to wait for hours to collect X and turn in to Y - its really a seamless system
2. Weapon Traits - you can use different weapons and learn different abilities per weapon type - it makes it for a very interesting game play.
3. Scenery - the areas in this game are flat out beautiful and most of it goes together very well,
4. Music - very well done and I couldn't complain about it at all
5. Dynamic Content - is very well done, aside from a few tweaks (like difficulty) I cant see any issues

Major issues / flaws of design:

1. Camera View / Angling - the views are too restrictive, this makes me feel like I am not in the world but just a viewer of it; it also does injustice to the art of the world, by default your camera is angled down - so you never actually look at the sky at most points. Coupled with other things, this really gives the world an artificial feel that I just can't shake.
2. The holy "two" - sure, there is no straight up tanks / healers / damage - its all mindlessly shoved into now the holy two system where either you tank and dps or heal and dps. It is not revolutionary in this aspect whatsoever and actually forces players into roles even still.
3. Overflow system - this was sold as an innovative way to keep playing despite an area being crowded. This would work perfectly if you could choose the overflow zone you are in so you can still be with your guild/party - but it is poorly designed, so it takes several minutes/hour to even get into the right party to start playing the game with your friends - DEAL BREAKER
4. Difficulty - so far there hasn't been a single encounter I haven't been able to just breeze by despite being several several levels under the recommended requirements (Main quest line) - I know its an introduction to the game, but an intro gives great insight on the levels ahead and so far, I'm not seeing any real challenge in that respect.
5. WvWvW PVP - the battleground instanced system, while its neat that you can queue in with an already max level character with equal gear - it is still very much a zerg fest with out much team play, disappointing to me
6. Mudflated Items - the economy is so mudflated with items, every other mob kill it seems to drop a pretty useful item - most events / quests allow you to obtain gear so quickly that my previous gear didnt even need repairs. Why even bother repairing items when I can just change slots for an obvious better upgrade?

under things you don't like you forgot "fall damage" ;D
On a more serious note, do you think they can improve/fix most of these issues? In it's current state, would you play it often? In it's (presumeably) fixed state, would you play it often?

 

[Kainzo]

under things you don't like you forgot "fall damage" ;D
On a more serious note, do you think they can improve/fix most of these issues? In it's current state, would you play it often? In it's (presumeably) fixed state, would you play it often?

I prefer fall damage in fact.
It's a good bit of fun despite my personal concerns. It's far better than WoW/Rift

 

[xexorian]

I prefer fall damage in fact.
It's a good bit of fun despite my personal concerns. It's far better than WoW/Rift

Again, I agree with Kainzo, I did notice some skills, for example Wrathful Strike for guardians just spams a long Dinging sound which is incredibly annoying. I put in like 16 bug reports regarding it, so hopefully someone somewhere will notice and turn it down a bit.

In any case, the game is absolutely amazing - overall.

If I had to rate it, as is, with the limited content and time, I'd rate my EXPERIENCE with it as a 8.7 out of 10.

I'm all about features, and this game has them in the best area imaginable. Game play. I could care less about player housing, guild housing, etc. all those nick knacks. Those are cool, but the gameplay of this is just so fricken sweet it's going to definitely kill some other competition in the MMO market.

 

[Keache]

I prefer fall damage in fact.
It's a good bit of fun despite my personal concerns. It's far better than WoW/Rift

I know, I was just referencing Apherdite's picture of her reviving you after you fell off a wall :3
Anyway, I only had time for the pvp since I started later on in the beta, and I''ve got to admit it's pretty well balanced and fun.

If Darkhaven stays up when GW2 goes live, do you think that we'll keep that server as DH's main server?

 

[Kainzo]

I know, I was just referencing Apherdite's picture of her reviving you after you fell off a wall :3
Anyway, I only had time for the pvp since I started later on in the beta, and I''ve got to admit it's pretty well balanced and fun.

If Darkhaven stays up when GW2 goes live, do you think that we'll keep that server as DH's main server?

yeah

 

[xexorian]

Woot.