WvW can be both the most daunting and most rewarding thing in Guild Wars 2 to get into. On the one hand, it can be very fun and rewarding, but on the other hand, the sheer scope of it as well as the costs (mainly via repairing armor) can put players off.
This is only exacerbated when you’re on the losing side, or when most of your server isn’t on or simply lacks organization. In these cases or even outside of them, there are still a few things you can do to make the most of your time in WvW.
While their are large objectives in WvW (namely the keeps), the smaller objectives also add up to play a major role in the overall effort and should definitely not be ignored. So let’s examine some of these smaller group (3-10 people) friendly objectives and some of the ways you can go about them.
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It’s almost here…the moment we’ve all been waiting for! Five years – 43,800 hours – have passed, and in one week we’ll get to play Guild Wars 2 whenever we want. I’ll wait while you get a tissue.
Back? Good, so now that we’ll be able to login and experience the game to your hearts content, what profession are you going to play? What are your crafting disciplines going to be? sPvP or PvE or WvW? While there are a lot of decisions to be made, I’d like to help you understand the ins and outs of the Mesmer so that you have all the information you need.
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Of all the crafting disciplines, Cooking is perhaps the most unique and most difficult to level. There are a great many things that you will be able to make with cooking that will provide you with unique bonuses in the form of additional statistics, such as a percentage chance to block, additional damage against certain types of creatures, an increase in magic find (which determines the amount of rare and above items that you receive as drops) and more.
These additional benefits mean that Cooking is also one of the most difficult and expensive disciplines to level, as some items can only be found on certain karma merchants found throughout the world.
Though we don’t go into it here, the Cooking discipline can also make dyes. More on that can be found here, and it will prove to be a fantastic incentive to picking up this discipline on release.
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On Saturday, August 25, ArenaNet will open its servers to the world of Guild Wars 2 prepurchasers with head-start access. When they set foot in Tyria for the first time, an entire world of content awaits them.
But for some, the contents of that world are still a mystery. Crafting disciplines remain untouched, professions remain unexplored. You make a daunting number of decisions when you first create a character, and we’re here to ensure that your early decisions are well-informed.
So for seven days, ending the Friday before head-start, we will be releasing content daily tailored to you, the undecided Tyrian explorer. Click through the mists to see our schedule and links to already-published content!
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We’re so close, I can almost smell the start of the Engineer apocalypse. So close in fact that my next column would land during head start under normal circumstances! Fortunately my editor is a wise, benevolent creature (no, not the Quaggan) and had the foresight to run everything before launch. I’d like to say that makes him a nice guy, but when I put too many commas in my post he turns all green and rips his clothes off.
So with launch as clear in our minds as it is, I decided I’d give some starter tips for those wanting to try out the Engineer. This is somewhat of a teaser for next week’s article which will effectively be Engineering 101, so be sure to bring a pencil! I won’t go into any heavy detail this week, but there are a few systems in place that might confuse newer players so I wanted to give an overview of how the time spent from level 1-15 should feel. By that point you’ll have experienced enough of the profession to start making some decisions for yourself! (more…)
Welcome back to Companions’ Crossing and the continuation of our beginner’s guide to weapons and skills for the Guild Wars 2 Ranger profession!
In the first part of our guide (The Training Grounds), we discussed the skills related to our ranged weapons – the Axe, Longbow and Shortbow. We learned about some new skills that are completely unique to Guild Wars 2, and discovered that many of the skills used with these weapons of marksmanship were carried over from the first Guild Wars game. Yet, while shooting arrows and throwing axes is often the trait that we come to expect from a Ranger, sometimes you really just want to mix things up with a little bit of melee swordplay. To learn more about the dynamic skills of fighting in close quarters, move through the break.
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Forbes recently interviewed Chris Whiteside, Lead Producer of Guild Wars 2, asking him a number of questions about community feedback and its effect on the Guild Wars 2 creation process.
One of the best parts of the interview is seeing what the feedback that we, the community, have provided is helping create.
What type of feedback have you received?
There are two main types of feedback that have been beneficial from the open betas. One is understanding the readiness of when you’re ready to launch. Specifically, the way we measure that is when you have a closed beta or an open beta and the feedback you’re getting is talking about macro systems in the game, then you know that you’re far away from launch. You’ve still got a lot of work to do. The more micro the feedback becomes, like asking about a particular color or suggesting we have a different tray here, then we know that we’re much closer to launch readiness because we really are polishing the game at that point. The secondary type of feedback that we got from these events is really putting our systems out there and getting feedback on how we can improve them to make them more accessible or better. (more…)
A few months back there was some concerns that people did not have access to the email account they originally registered with their account. Fear not friends ArenaNet has heard your plea and has delivered.
If you would like to change your email address follow these steps:
- Login to your account at: https://account.guildwars2.com/account
- Enter the new information
- Save your changes
The process is nice and straightforward so there shouldn’t be any trouble making the necessary changes. Of course if you are happy with the email address that is already on file then you are all set.
If you are like me, then you quickly become obsessed with the music of a good game. Music is one of the elements of a game that can make or break the experience me.
Guild Wars 2 is no different. Recently, a new song appeared on Amazon and iTunes for purchase. ”Fear Not This Night” is a version of the rather famous Gamescom 2011 Trailer theme. I guess, depending on production time and other factors, that the Gamescom trailer could be a instrumental version of “Fear Not This Night”. Let’s just say they are drawing from the same excellent song.
What is even more amazing is that, according to Matthew Medina’s Twitter post, Ree Soesbee herself wrote the lyrics. Ree continues to impress me as a writer and lore-smith. I cannot wait to read Sea of Sorrows when it comes out.
Julian D. Evenfeather, Washed and I have been collaborating this morning, and we transcribed the lyrics for those interested. Find them after the break!
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Greetings, humans! Tis I, THE ALL-KNOWING QUAGGAN, and I have returned for round three of me responding to your fantastic, articulate questions!
Shall we begin? Quite!
Dear Mr. All-Knowing,
I was curious about your opinion on the best proffession in all of Tyria. And, as we all well know, you are all knowing so your opinion MUST be fact!
Regards to you and the Mrs.,
Richtoad
P.S. D0 Y0U KN0W H0W T0 R34D 1337 SP34K?!?!?!/1/1?!?!
Dear Richtoad,
The best profession, in my mind, is being married to the Mrs. If I say anything else, she shall summon me to Dwayna knows where. And by Dwayna, I mean me, because I am all-knowing, and I hold in my hand the power of Google Maps to provide for me hints as to my present location. Knowing her, I just may be waddling a great distance before returning from that location.
I would also recommend any profession that renders me capable of deciphering your cryptic question of numerals and gibber-jabber. Even the krait don’t speak in such a confusing manner. They just wallow around, drooling like the imbeciles they are and accomplishing little in the way of intellectual thought.
But I trust that you expect a more quantifiable answer to your question, one that actually names one of Tyria’s eight professions. Well, Mr. Richtoad, lest you be disappointed, I have your answer: the best profession is the one in your heart.
It is a metaphor. Refrain from communicating in gibber-jabber, and I do expect that you will find the answer you seek. Which is probably Engineer. Or Thief. The two are exactly the same.
Onward! TO MORE!
