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[Collider]

Which of you fine gentlemen are playing the pre-purchase beta this weekend?  Thoughts?

[Audere]

PvE is interesting. Not willing to call it "amazing" or "game-changing" yet because I haven't played it enough, but it definitely has a level of originality I haven't seen in a while.

PvP is a travesty. As someone who played GW1 PvP at a really high level, I can't even begin to imagine what they were thinking when they designed the system that's in place now. I haven't given up on it yet because maybe they're holding something back for a 1.1 patch or something that'll do the GW1 legacy proper justice, but if this shitty 5v5 control point buttonmash is all we have to look forward to I won't be sticking around long.

[Collider]

Wow, that bad, eh?  Shame.  Started a Charr warrior, but after a while decided I should go with my old GW1 class, Necro.  Picked that up and am not looking back.

I found the PvE really refreshing.  Leveling was unlike anything I've played to date, sans maybe an Elder Scrolls game.  I think there's definitely some tuning issues that need to be sorted out, as well as some streamlining of the events that needs doing.  Crafting was super awesome and sort of minecraft-y, which was fun.

I did some WvWvW, which seemed active on the server I was on.  Felt a bit like old Wintergrasp did, but more chaotic.  Was fun though, and I'm sure once some tactics get sorted out it will be more precise.

There was definitely some things I feel need to change, like the dye acquisition requirements.  That shit basically forces you to buy dyes unless you want to wait 2+ years to have the full set.

Overall, I give it a thumbs up.  Looking forward to the launch.

[Audere]

After giving it a bit more thought, I've already completely given up on it, and I'm not looking back unless they announce a major shift and implement a completely different form of PvP that doesn't look anything like what every other MMO has gone with: capture points galore with little depth to speak of. Nothing in an MMO has been able to stand up to the Guild vs. Guild model, and developers have had 8 years since then to try and get it right.

My next stop is The Secret World beta, which looks like the real spiritual successor to Guild Wars. I'm hoping and praying that it turns out as good as it has the potential to be. Because man, is everything I'm playing now ever getting stale.  GW2 has some decent ideas, but just about everything about the implementation was a major letdown, and I really wish I could get my money back. I guess that's why companies love offering things like betas for a non-refundable purchase. It'll be a while before I make that mistake again. If Secret World doesn't live up to what I'm hoping, I'm probably resigning myself to a life of single player games and Starcraft until the end of time. Fortunately, I got beta access without having to buy it first.

[Collider]

I really don't like TSW.  Been in the beta for months.  The leveling content is snooze-worthy at best.  You can only have 3 or so quests at a time.  Let me give you a breakdown of leveling:

1. Pick up 3 quests at your current hub.
2. Run out to Bob's Bait Store and kill 10 zombies, loot their brains, and grab the store sign.
3. Run back to the hub, turn in and get new quests.
4. Run back to Bob's Bait Store and kill 10 phantoms, kill the zombie king, and grab pliers from the store window sill.
5. Back to the hub for more quests, then right back to Bob's Bait Store to get food supplies.

Ad nauseum.  The zones are small, and due to the limited number of quests you can carry at once, you end up having to revisit the same areas over and over.  This quest limitations also suck when you're out exploring and find some interesting quest way out in the middle of nowhere.  You won't be able to pick it up unless you drop one of the current 3 you have.

It's close to GW1 in combat style and gearing, as there is very little gear progression.  Combat to me felt sluggish and tedious, but I felt the same way about GW1, so maybe you'll love it.

It's just a terribly thought-out system.  Shame as I love Ragnar Tornquist games.

[Audere]

It's close to GW1 in combat style and gearing, as there is very little gear progression.  Combat to me felt sluggish and tedious, but I felt the same way about GW1, so maybe you'll love it.

Yeah, this is where I'm looking for something different from most people. Combat in PvE in GW1 was borderline unplayable because it was boring, repetitive, and had no depth. But that precise, deliberately chosen system also was instrumental in making the PvP tactical and positional. Think about Counter-Strike, for example, which is the game I most often compare to the PvP in GW1. If you were playing some sort of cooperative storyline mode in the Counter-Strike world (not Half-Life--something that used CS' precise settings), you'd wind up with a mindless shooting game where you collectively pop in and out of box cover slowly whittling down a boss' health until it falls over and you get a reskinned AWP for your effort. But the precision and subtlety of that system becomes apparent in objective-based, arena combat with other players who have the same health and access to the same skills/gear/weapons/abilities as you, and who also have to choose a few very specific, well-synergized things from the list. TSW for me will live or die based on how well they coordinate the skill system in the PvP setting.

[Xallan]

I'm in. Who else, and what are you playing?

[Collider]

I am.  Currently planning to roll a Necromancer on Gate of Madness.

[Xallan]

I was necro the the first 3 expansions of GW1. I haven't beta'd at all, but I'd be likely to pick Ranger, Elementalist, Engineer, or Thief.

[Nothing]

I have no concrete plans for this game but I plan on picking it up on Tuesday. I'll probably try out the warrior, elementalist, and mesmer.  Maybe engineer will be really cool, but the pet/trap/tools classes always tend to be quite 1v1 underpowered compared to warrior dps and mage caster archtypes.  

Does anyone have any idea which classes have the best mobility? Jumps, sprints, teleports, etc.  High mobility dps is where its at for teh pvp.

[Xallan]

Can you pick a PvP character gw1 style?

[Fate]

I will be rolling with some RL friends on Stormbluff Isle. I have no idea what I'll be playing though, mostly on to keep up with them.

[Collider]

No, there's no such thing as PvP only characters.  Your toon does everything, much more like any other MMO.  And I'm retracting my previous server choice, as it seems like some of the more interesting guilds moved off of Gate of Madness today.  New one TBD

[Xallan]

Started playing, 10 mins in my computer made this weird noise an shut off and won't start again.

[Xallan]

Smells like ozone too