Yesterday I pre-ordered Guild Wars 2 to get a day head-start on the action and after four agonizing hours of installation, I was finally back. It had been seven and a half years since I had entered the grand world of Tyria, and it felt damn good to see her again.
I decided to start my new journey as a Norn ranger. I picked a Norn because there’s something about controlling four hundred pounds of bear transforming muscle that really piqued my interest, and my choice to be a ranger I feel is a little more obvious, bows, greatswords and pets just go so well together.
The first thing you’re greeted with after choosing your race and class is the expansive character creation center. I found this to be one of the better character creations I have used in a long time, solely based on the amount of unique characters you can make. You want an Adrian Brody nose? You got it. You want unnecessarily large horns that should block your vision but somehow don’t? Consider it done. ArenaNet has made it so you won’t look like a single other player in the game; unless everyone picks the Norn face that looks like Liam Neeson, but it would be okay because everyone would look like a badass.
Even when you’re done customizing your character (mine was a large, purple-eyed dark man) there are still more options to make your personal story more unique. For the Norn race you get to choose what your animal spirit is (you get to transform into that animal later, so choose wisely) and basically how drunk you got at a party the night before. An extra choice for rangers is what pet they want to start out with; I will save you the stress by telling you that you can pick up the other three in the starting area so your choice isn’t extremely important. Once you’re satisfied with your biography you can save your character and go straight into your story’s cinematic.
When you re-enter the world of Tryia after your long sojourn away, the first thing you will notice is how beautiful the environment is that ArenaNet has created; and they know it, which you will slowly find out through hidden view points. I don’t say this solely based on the design of the world, but also because of the liveliness of it. The world seems to be alive, unlike other MMO’s where it just feels static. This is mostly attributed to the abundance of NPC’s and a new addition to the game, dynamic events. How many times have you picked up a new MMO and been told to kill ten low level monsters as your first mission? Probably every time unless you’ve played Guild Wars 2. ArenaNet didn’t want to stick with this redundant quest grinding theme, they wanted their world to be spontaneous and exciting, where you never knew what came next. That is why they made these dynamic events. Instead of killing ten wolves for a slightly less crappy maul, you’ll be walking through the forest and suddenly be asked to stop a herd of rampaging minotaurs. It seems more real, more like an adventure, the way an MMO should be. Guild Wars also breaks the MMO mold with their new combat system. In other games your very limited. You usually only get a few weapon types that are strictly melee or ranged based on your class; not in Guild Wars. I picked a ranger thinking I was just going to be firing my longbow for hours on end, but much to my surprise I was able to equip a greatsword and jump into the fray like a crazed warrior. The game gives you the ability to use different weapons with unique skills based on your own personal playing style.
What adds more to this concept of a living, breathing environment is the emphasis that ArenaNet has put on teamwork and cooperation. Gone are the days that you only need one more red pumpkin spherical thingy and some as…I mean really nice person comes and takes the last one, leaving you to wait for the ten minute respawn time. Now players all gain experience, loot, and resources together without the pain of screwing people over. Another way they’ve helped cooperative play is that anyone can heal anyone and revive them as well.This saves them the time and money it takes to return to a waypoint upon the death of their character. So next time you’re running by someone currently being crushed by a twenty-foot tall ice golem, lend them a hand, they’ll appreciate it.
Yes, all of these things are fine and dandy, but everyone knows an MMO isn’t successful unless it can engage it’s PvP community. Luckily Guild Wars 2 is up to the challenge. In the world of Tyria, PvP is only one button click away from immediate action. With the addition of World vs. World vs. World, now any player, at any level, can jump into a giant game that pits three different servers against each other. What? I know, my mind was blown to. You even get the bonuses that your server mates win without participating, so now all you PvE junkies get to enjoy PvP without even consciously doing so. They also have several more traditional PvP modes but they aren’t nearly as fun as the W v W v W.
If you couldn’t tell already, I’m very proud to say that I love Guild Wars 2 so far. Between them changing up the redundant MMO formula and not making you pay a monthly subscription, there’s honestly not much to hate. I’m only level ten right now so this may change, but for now, I’m perfectly content losing hours of my life in the land of Tyria.
| My view isn’t for everyone and doesn’t represent BagoGames as a whole, so if you have a different opinion of the new features be sure to leave a comment about it! |
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