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Back from Layoff - Updates (Guild Wars 2!)
13 years ago
General
Whew! Six weeks of mandatory layoff and I've managed to do little more than put on a bit of weight :P
That's why I've been so out of the loop lately. Mostly the reason I've been away is either playing Star Trek Online or writing. Haven't touched my sketchbook for a while. I've recently rediscovered my talent for writing, putting my Pandora to good use for writing things for my wife. She's been loving them ^.^ Always been pretty sharp with the English language, in no small part due to the tutelage of my mother and a fantastic elementary teacher who I'll probably remember my entire life.
Anyway, gaming...
Guild Wars 2 officially launched yesterday. There is now a huge 10-inch figure of Rytlock Brimstone, Tribune of the Charr Blood Legion, gracing my mantle - as I bought the collectors' edition. I don't regret it for a second :P I'm on the Crystal Desert server, and of course my character's name is Lynceus Glaciermaw. I'm a guardian. If you happen to see a huge white Charr romp past in blue plate armor and swinging a massive two-handed sword, most likely charging in and doing the guardian's work of keeping people safe, it's probably me! I apparently look so good someone even asked me if I was one of the game developers *laughs*
At any rate, I'm already level 27 on day two (hey, I had early access) and I'm quite happy romping around doing good for everyone I meet. I'm one of those guys who will do what a guardian is really meant to do - watch out for other people. I have a skill, for example, that teleports me to the ally with the lowest health and puts a protective barrier around them. I find such skills very useful. Damage dealing? Sure, I can hit 7+ targets at once with one swing of my massive sword (oh so very satisfying), but I really excel in keeping other people safe!
For those who don't know, Guild Wars 2 is more action-oriented than most other MMOs. Swinging my sword is less about targeting an enemy and more about actually standing in a place where the blade will make contact with them. Conversely, you can actually DODGE in this game - I can fling myself out of the way of an incoming AoE, weapon swing or gunfire, for example. With this more action-oriented combat system, it's more about positioning and what you wield than using six million different skills. In order to keep targets busy to give everyone else a chance to stay safe, I wield that huge sword to hit as many targets as I can simultaneously with one swing. Or since combat skills are entirely dependent on what type of gear you're wielding, I might switch to a sword and shield to use shield skills that have a more defensive nature - like creating reflective barriers with my shield to deflect incoming arrows or spells.
Classes are also encouraged to work together by way of an interesting addition - the ability to effectively combine their powers. If an elementalist creates a field of flame and a ranger fires arrows through that field, those arrows will catch on fire and deal fire damage to whatever enemy they hit. Or a mesmer (a caster specializing in illusion magic) might create a field where his party can become invisible so the entire party can ambush the enemy. These kinds of combo attacks between players further encourage cooperative play.
Yesterday I got involved in a massive fight against a giant that was terrorizing a small city in Diessa Plateau - at least 20 players taking him on. (The fight still lasted at least ten minutes.) What would most armored types do? Run up and start swinging at him, right? That's not what I'm there for. This guy was nasty. Getting close to him was a bad idea, even for someone in full heavy armor. I tasked myself with supporting those who did get close - the warriors - by getting them back on their feet when they got knocked down. (I was very busy.) Other than that I left the damage dealing to those with the ability to hit the giant from a safe distance. Basically, I'm a heavily armored, well armed field medic. The kind of battlefield synergy that I experience in Guild Wars 2 is the kind of cooperative gameplay that I find extremely satisfying. We watch out for each other, help each other back to our feet, and we take down the enemy - together. Booyah!
I'm the kind of person who will deviate from his personal gameplay to run over and help someone in trouble. It's just the kind of person I am. Guild Wars 2 is really good for this kind of attitude - the game really fosters cooperative gameplay and is one of the few MMOs where people are always relieved to see someone else show up. Already completed a skill challenge? Heck, people would be relieved if you stuck around to help them finish it. There's no killstealing, no XP siphoning, no loot stealing. You don't even have to be in a group with someone to help them. These are things that make me happy - being the one that everyone breathes a sigh of relief when they charge in out of nowhere to help. "Take the enemy down, I'll watch your back!"
At any rate, I'm having a blast with Guild Wars 2. I not only have a great game to play but I also have the opportunity to play it exactly as I would intend to - to support those around me and keep them safe without giving up being a badass armored warrior who can kick ass on his own! I don't think I've ever enjoyed any MMO like this one.
That's why I've been so out of the loop lately. Mostly the reason I've been away is either playing Star Trek Online or writing. Haven't touched my sketchbook for a while. I've recently rediscovered my talent for writing, putting my Pandora to good use for writing things for my wife. She's been loving them ^.^ Always been pretty sharp with the English language, in no small part due to the tutelage of my mother and a fantastic elementary teacher who I'll probably remember my entire life.
Anyway, gaming...
Guild Wars 2 officially launched yesterday. There is now a huge 10-inch figure of Rytlock Brimstone, Tribune of the Charr Blood Legion, gracing my mantle - as I bought the collectors' edition. I don't regret it for a second :P I'm on the Crystal Desert server, and of course my character's name is Lynceus Glaciermaw. I'm a guardian. If you happen to see a huge white Charr romp past in blue plate armor and swinging a massive two-handed sword, most likely charging in and doing the guardian's work of keeping people safe, it's probably me! I apparently look so good someone even asked me if I was one of the game developers *laughs*
At any rate, I'm already level 27 on day two (hey, I had early access) and I'm quite happy romping around doing good for everyone I meet. I'm one of those guys who will do what a guardian is really meant to do - watch out for other people. I have a skill, for example, that teleports me to the ally with the lowest health and puts a protective barrier around them. I find such skills very useful. Damage dealing? Sure, I can hit 7+ targets at once with one swing of my massive sword (oh so very satisfying), but I really excel in keeping other people safe!
For those who don't know, Guild Wars 2 is more action-oriented than most other MMOs. Swinging my sword is less about targeting an enemy and more about actually standing in a place where the blade will make contact with them. Conversely, you can actually DODGE in this game - I can fling myself out of the way of an incoming AoE, weapon swing or gunfire, for example. With this more action-oriented combat system, it's more about positioning and what you wield than using six million different skills. In order to keep targets busy to give everyone else a chance to stay safe, I wield that huge sword to hit as many targets as I can simultaneously with one swing. Or since combat skills are entirely dependent on what type of gear you're wielding, I might switch to a sword and shield to use shield skills that have a more defensive nature - like creating reflective barriers with my shield to deflect incoming arrows or spells.
Classes are also encouraged to work together by way of an interesting addition - the ability to effectively combine their powers. If an elementalist creates a field of flame and a ranger fires arrows through that field, those arrows will catch on fire and deal fire damage to whatever enemy they hit. Or a mesmer (a caster specializing in illusion magic) might create a field where his party can become invisible so the entire party can ambush the enemy. These kinds of combo attacks between players further encourage cooperative play.
Yesterday I got involved in a massive fight against a giant that was terrorizing a small city in Diessa Plateau - at least 20 players taking him on. (The fight still lasted at least ten minutes.) What would most armored types do? Run up and start swinging at him, right? That's not what I'm there for. This guy was nasty. Getting close to him was a bad idea, even for someone in full heavy armor. I tasked myself with supporting those who did get close - the warriors - by getting them back on their feet when they got knocked down. (I was very busy.) Other than that I left the damage dealing to those with the ability to hit the giant from a safe distance. Basically, I'm a heavily armored, well armed field medic. The kind of battlefield synergy that I experience in Guild Wars 2 is the kind of cooperative gameplay that I find extremely satisfying. We watch out for each other, help each other back to our feet, and we take down the enemy - together. Booyah!
I'm the kind of person who will deviate from his personal gameplay to run over and help someone in trouble. It's just the kind of person I am. Guild Wars 2 is really good for this kind of attitude - the game really fosters cooperative gameplay and is one of the few MMOs where people are always relieved to see someone else show up. Already completed a skill challenge? Heck, people would be relieved if you stuck around to help them finish it. There's no killstealing, no XP siphoning, no loot stealing. You don't even have to be in a group with someone to help them. These are things that make me happy - being the one that everyone breathes a sigh of relief when they charge in out of nowhere to help. "Take the enemy down, I'll watch your back!"
At any rate, I'm having a blast with Guild Wars 2. I not only have a great game to play but I also have the opportunity to play it exactly as I would intend to - to support those around me and keep them safe without giving up being a badass armored warrior who can kick ass on his own! I don't think I've ever enjoyed any MMO like this one.
Used to play STO ironically myself, got all the way up to brigadier general even, before the mother of all burnouts left me with little interest in playing it sadly.
And what's always annoyed the ever lasting hell out of me is that the Feddies get far more content than the Klingons do.
I thought that there was so little Klingon content to be silly myself. But I always got the impression that KDF was basically intended for PvP players. Not...really the best way of handling things.