I don't see any reason why there shouldn't be special race abilities. Since none of this is real the designers can (and in my opinion "should" ) take every opportunity to explore new options, differences, characteristics.
There is nothign "random" about it.
Otherwise why have separate races? Just cosmetic? This adds meaning to playing a different race.
If races have perceived advantages over other ones, people will flock to it.
For instance in RIFT Beta the Kelari had a critical hit ability that was percieved to be op. So you saw a disproportionate number of people playing Kelari. Which resulted in much complaining. Which led Trion to redo racials before launch.
They've gone too far imo. Transformations should have been relegated to a seperate class (BeastMaster, Shapeshifter, PieMaster?). This just seems too rediculous now, and I'll probably pass on GW2 now .
So because one race in the game shapeshifts you won't play it at all? Amazing.
I like how you missed the point entirely. If ONE race in specific, can "shapeshift" into some crazy animal form it's simply too far into the realm of random, over the top, sillyness.
They SHOULD have made shapeshifting a class, so that not one race is more "amazing" than the other. You obviously don't understand, so trying to explain it to you obviously wouldn't make sense.
I bet you don't know GW lore do you?
and if you really wanna play a class that shape shift theres always an alternative games (Wow for example).
And ppl please stop saying that races will be imba cuz its not the case... Racial abilities will be disiabled on pvp!
I don't see any reason why there shouldn't be special race abilities. Since none of this is real the designers can (and in my opinion "should" ) take every opportunity to explore new options, differences, characteristics.
There is nothign "random" about it.
Otherwise why have separate races? Just cosmetic? This adds meaning to playing a different race.
If races have perceived advantages over other ones, people will flock to it.
For instance in RIFT Beta the Kelari had a critical hit ability that was percieved to be op. So you saw a disproportionate number of people playing Kelari. Which resulted in much complaining. Which led Trion to redo racials before launch.
From the wiki, I didn't watch the video that it may or may not be attributed to in order to confirm, but I do remember reading this elsewhere.
Racial skills are special abilities available to each of the playable races. They can be equipped on the five last slots of the skill bar, depending on their type. They may have various effects, such as condition removing or changing to a bear form, but they are all projected to be fairly weaker than their counterparts from professions that are specialized in similar skills. Each race has around 10 to 12 skills.[1] Racial skills will be available from the beginning of the PvE campaign.[2]
"Gamers will no longer buy the argument that every MMO requires a subscription fee to offset server and bandwidth costs. It's not true you know it, and they know it."-Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet, 2007
They've gone too far imo. Transformations should have been relegated to a seperate class (BeastMaster, Shapeshifter, PieMaster?). This just seems too rediculous now, and I'll probably pass on GW2 now .
So because one race in the game shapeshifts you won't play it at all? Amazing.
I like how you missed the point entirely. If ONE race in specific, can "shapeshift" into some crazy animal form it's simply too far into the realm of random, over the top, sillyness.
They SHOULD have made shapeshifting a class, so that not one race is more "amazing" than the other. You obviously don't understand, so trying to explain it to you obviously wouldn't make sense.
LOL this guy wants his puny human to transform into something big.No man is not going to happen,i'm glad you'll pass on this amazing game.
ill have to agree with zad on this one and please list the mmo's you will be playing so i can stay away from the ones that attract your staggering logic as well.
Yeah I caught the quick glimpse of the OP's pic but wasn't absolutely sure what it was. If these are indeed pics of Norns animal forms then thats pretty cool.
Sorry this upset you Fadebomb. I can understand why it could be upsetting but I don't see this as a bad thing. I think it's great that there are going to be some actual meaningful things to differentiate the races other than cosmetic ones. I know we don't like to talk about WoW but take their race design for example. An Orc warrior was almost the exact same thing as say a Tauren warrior. They looked different but there is where it ended. Orcs having an insignifcant bonus (think it was +3 out of the 450 points of weaponskill last I played) with axes VS a Tauren having same bunus with a different weapon. The racial abilities were hardly a factor at all. SO in this regard I think Anet is doing a fine job of race individuality.
So, what do you guys think? Are you satisfied with their appearance? Which, if any, do you like best?
They look quite nice, I was on the edge if I play human or norn when I get to it, but I think it's going to be norn now for sure, and the leopard form above all!
ArenaNet recently posted a trailer that was put on display at Gamescom. It can be viewed on the front page of the Guild Wars 2 website or alternatively here on their "Videos" page. There were a lot of interesting things in that video, but what really caught my attention was the rather brief reveal of all of the norn animal forms. ArenaNet somewhat copped out on the transformation (panning away rather than letting us see it actually happen - presumably because the effect isn't finished), but we nevertheless get to see the previously unrevealed Raven, Leopard, and Wolf forms.
So, what do you guys think? Are you satisfied with their appearance? Which, if any, do you like best?
They've gone too far imo. Transformations should have been relegated to a seperate class (BeastMaster, Shapeshifter, PieMaster?). This just seems too rediculous now, and I'll probably pass on GW2 now .
Fail troll is all I can say....
It is part of the lore that this particular race can shapeshift so they didn't just randomly pull that out of their ass... It's not like they're pulling some Liu Kang shit and everyone can turn into dragons.
What about werewolves? They aren't some shamans or druids they are just people who are able to shapeshift. So shapeshifting into animals is FUCKIN CRAZY AND OVER THE TOP but having some big ass dragons and battle cats(Charr) with rifles isnt...
The transformations might look awesome but you can be sure the accompanying skill effects wont be so uber as to make the class OP, Anet have a great history of balance, in both PvE and PvP, this company really cares about it.
In real D&D lore, druids shapeshift, even EQ had them shapeshift, only lazy game developers put in druids who dont shapeshift, this is to the guy saying druids dont shapeshift. The video is back on the front of the Guildwars 2 website also
The transformations might look awesome but you can be sure the accompanying skill effects wont be so uber as to make the class OP, Anet have a great history of balance, in both PvE and PvP, this company really cares about it.
The Raven looks great
My only fear is having another Ursan fiasco. Absolutely hated that skill when it was so OP. It was all any group ran, and you had to be at a certain level in the title track.
Anyways, I will probably make one of each race, assuming there are enough char slots.
Originally posted by EvilGeek The transformations might look awesome but you can be sure the accompanying skill effects wont be so uber as to make the class OP, Anet have a great history of balance, in both PvE and PvP, this company really cares about it. The Raven looks great
My only fear is having another Ursan fiasco. Absolutely hated that skill when it was so OP. It was all any group ran, and you had to be at a certain level in the title track. Anyways, I will probably make one of each race, assuming there are enough char slots.
The Ursan fiasco (exactly how I would describe it) was my only time falling out with Anet. In retrospect I can see why they let it go so long before nerfing it to the level it deserved, it did provide access to lots of content to players, either not skilled enough or who couldn't get a skilled enough team together, who otherwise wouldn't have completed it. I must admit to having a few nights of guilty pleasure with Ursan teams
The angry mobs of anti easy mode PvErs where vocal, myself included, PvE balance still consists of keeping an eye on the meta game and nerfing skills that are making content too easy, thankfully Ursan seems to have been a solitary blip.
I don't see any reason why there shouldn't be special race abilities. Since none of this is real the designers can (and in my opinion "should" ) take every opportunity to explore new options, differences, characteristics.
There is nothign "random" about it.
Otherwise why have separate races? Just cosmetic? This adds meaning to playing a different race.
If races have perceived advantages over other ones, people will flock to it.
For instance in RIFT Beta the Kelari had a critical hit ability that was percieved to be op. So you saw a disproportionate number of people playing Kelari. Which resulted in much complaining. Which led Trion to redo racials before launch.
um 'yeah" making one race have an increased critical chance wouuld very well make people who are min/maxers flock to it.
so don't make races have things that are bonuses in pvp. problem solved.
Make races different. That's what I'm a proponent for. And if players "perceive" that one race is better then let them lock to it and find out the hard way.
Or, make it so there is a great advantage in that they have a higher critical chance and perhaps are susceptible to critical hits.
That would make people think twice.
If someone is going to have a great advantage then they should have a great weakness and no way to mitigate it.
I don't see this as a problem.
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
The norn aren't the only race with racial skills. They all have racial abillities, some just as cool as the shapeshift.
Humans are the only race that still believe in the gods. With that, they can do things related to that area. I know one skill is to summon large fiery hounds from the god of war.
Asura get to ride in giant golems too...
Also, none of these of overpowered. They are all designs of similar skills, just with a different skin/effect... chill
1) We have known since GW1 that the norn could shape shift. Even when brawling against norn you see them shapeshift. If you did not realize this was a trait of norn, then I don't know what to tell you...
Absolutely! In addition to humans, players will be able to create, customize, and play a variety of non-human races.
Charr - Ascalon's conquerors, the charr are ferocious, warmongering creatures--the intractable foes of humanity. Now, as greater dangers threaten their conquests, charr legions and their war machines prepare for battle.
Norn - The norn are towering brawlers from the frigid northern lands who can shape-shift into mighty bestial forms. Driven from their homeland by a force beyond reckoning, the norn have regrouped among the dwarven ruins of the Shiverpeaks.
Asura - The asura, who once ruled the caverns and tunnels below Tyria, are an advanced race of small size and great intellect. Now that they have risen from below, the asura aim to rule the surface world with their powerful golems and ingenious plans.
Sylvari - Not much is known of the sylvari, save that they are a race of sentient plant-beings, newly blossomed into the world. The sylvari are the youngest of the races, bound together by a common dream and awesome power.
They've gone too far imo. Transformations should have been relegated to a seperate class (BeastMaster, Shapeshifter, PieMaster?). This just seems too rediculous now, and I'll probably pass on GW2 now .
So because one race in the game shapeshifts you won't play it at all? Amazing.
I like how you missed the point entirely. If ONE race in specific, can "shapeshift" into some crazy animal form it's simply too far into the realm of random, over the top, sillyness.
They SHOULD have made shapeshifting a class, so that not one race is more "amazing" than the other. You obviously don't understand, so trying to explain it to you obviously wouldn't make sense.
so you are saying that a fantasy game shouldnt delve even further into fantasy
The informal race polls I've seen haven't shown people flocking to the Norn, so apparently Animal Form doesn't have as large an appeal as some may fear. I believe each race will have access to a race specific skill on the right hand skill bar. They don't force you to take it, (it looks like there are currently three skills for the slot), but it's there.
Sylvari seem to be leading recent race polls, so ANet may need to be careful with what ever their racial is. Ideally, they should all be fairly balanced power wise, but it might be appropriate to give races with little player interest something "cool" to increase the appeal.
When I looked at the Norn, I did think that the Animal Form would be interesting, but I'm not a fan of the overly bulky human forms and didn't really gravitate to the barbarian inspired culture. Even with a cool racial, it doesn't have high appeal for me personally, (I'd rank my preferences Human, Sylvari, Norn, Asura, Charr).
Ideally, it may be best for the races to be pretty balanced population wise. However, the fact that a server isn't split into race based factions makes racial balance less important than in most other MMOs with a PvP element. If 50% did decide to play a single race, it wouldn't effect anything except for overcrowding.
Probably no one cares about the transformation racial because its an "Elite" skill which you can only have one of, and there are so many more ones to choose from like the "Alpha Strike" ranger one that launches all your pets at once.
Originally posted by Latella Originally posted by Fadedbomb
Originally posted by Ranyr
Originally posted by Fadedbomb
They've gone too far imo. Transformations should have been relegated to a seperate class (BeastMaster, Shapeshifter, PieMaster?). This just seems too rediculous now, and I'll probably pass on GW2 now .
So because one race in the game shapeshifts you won't play it at all? Amazing. I like how you missed the point entirely. If ONE race in specific, can "shapeshift" into some crazy animal form it's simply too far into the realm of random, over the top, sillyness. They SHOULD have made shapeshifting a class, so that not one race is more "amazing" than the other. You obviously don't understand, so trying to explain it to you obviously wouldn't make sense. Or perhaps you are just overreacting over a small ¿issue? I don´t consider the norns somehow superior because they can become furries on steroids. It´s just part of their character and deciding not to play the game for such thing is...well... to each their own i guess.
It makes perfect sense that an entire race could shapeshift, in a world where shapeshifting even exists. They have different genetic makeup, and can therefore shapeshift. I fail to see the problem.
"Gamers will no longer buy the argument that every MMO requires a subscription fee to offset server and bandwidth costs. It's not true you know it, and they know it." Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet, 2007
Anyway, now that we've got that settled, let's get back to the original topic. Enough of whether it's an afront to basic human decency for them to shapeshift at all - what does everyone think of the designs themselves?
Comments
If races have perceived advantages over other ones, people will flock to it.
For instance in RIFT Beta the Kelari had a critical hit ability that was percieved to be op. So you saw a disproportionate number of people playing Kelari. Which resulted in much complaining. Which led Trion to redo racials before launch.
I bet you don't know GW lore do you?
and if you really wanna play a class that shape shift theres always an alternative games (Wow for example).
And ppl please stop saying that races will be imba cuz its not the case... Racial abilities will be disiabled on pvp!
Seems the video has been removed from the website... cant find it no more
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
From the wiki, I didn't watch the video that it may or may not be attributed to in order to confirm, but I do remember reading this elsewhere.
Racial skills are special abilities available to each of the playable races. They can be equipped on the five last slots of the skill bar, depending on their type. They may have various effects, such as condition removing or changing to a bear form, but they are all projected to be fairly weaker than their counterparts from professions that are specialized in similar skills. Each race has around 10 to 12 skills.[1] Racial skills will be available from the beginning of the PvE campaign.[2]
"Gamers will no longer buy the argument that every MMO requires a subscription fee to offset server and bandwidth costs. It's not true you know it, and they know it." -Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet, 2007
it's still on the arenanet youtube channel.Also, raven or wolf? Or just roll 2 norn?
edit: actually, it's not -_- but definitely on Youtube, look for gamescom trailer
Roll two norn, one a ranger and one an engineer just for the unusualness.
This is not a game.
LOL this guy wants his puny human to transform into something big.No man is not going to happen,i'm glad you'll pass on this amazing game.
ill have to agree with zad on this one and please list the mmo's you will be playing so i can stay away from the ones that attract your staggering logic as well.
Yeah I caught the quick glimpse of the OP's pic but wasn't absolutely sure what it was. If these are indeed pics of Norns animal forms then thats pretty cool.
Sorry this upset you Fadebomb. I can understand why it could be upsetting but I don't see this as a bad thing. I think it's great that there are going to be some actual meaningful things to differentiate the races other than cosmetic ones. I know we don't like to talk about WoW but take their race design for example. An Orc warrior was almost the exact same thing as say a Tauren warrior. They looked different but there is where it ended. Orcs having an insignifcant bonus (think it was +3 out of the 450 points of weaponskill last I played) with axes VS a Tauren having same bunus with a different weapon. The racial abilities were hardly a factor at all. SO in this regard I think Anet is doing a fine job of race individuality.
RIP Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan and Paul Gray.
They look quite nice, I was on the edge if I play human or norn when I get to it, but I think it's going to be norn now for sure, and the leopard form above all!
The transformations might look awesome but you can be sure the accompanying skill effects wont be so uber as to make the class OP, Anet have a great history of balance, in both PvE and PvP, this company really cares about it.
The Raven looks great
In real D&D lore, druids shapeshift, even EQ had them shapeshift, only lazy game developers put in druids who dont shapeshift, this is to the guy saying druids dont shapeshift. The video is back on the front of the Guildwars 2 website also
Mess with the best, Die like the rest
My only fear is having another Ursan fiasco. Absolutely hated that skill when it was so OP. It was all any group ran, and you had to be at a certain level in the title track.
Anyways, I will probably make one of each race, assuming there are enough char slots.
The Ursan fiasco (exactly how I would describe it) was my only time falling out with Anet. In retrospect I can see why they let it go so long before nerfing it to the level it deserved, it did provide access to lots of content to players, either not skilled enough or who couldn't get a skilled enough team together, who otherwise wouldn't have completed it. I must admit to having a few nights of guilty pleasure with Ursan teams
The angry mobs of anti easy mode PvErs where vocal, myself included, PvE balance still consists of keeping an eye on the meta game and nerfing skills that are making content too easy, thankfully Ursan seems to have been a solitary blip.
um 'yeah" making one race have an increased critical chance wouuld very well make people who are min/maxers flock to it.
so don't make races have things that are bonuses in pvp. problem solved.
Make races different. That's what I'm a proponent for. And if players "perceive" that one race is better then let them lock to it and find out the hard way.
Or, make it so there is a great advantage in that they have a higher critical chance and perhaps are susceptible to critical hits.
That would make people think twice.
If someone is going to have a great advantage then they should have a great weakness and no way to mitigate it.
I don't see this as a problem.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
The norn aren't the only race with racial skills. They all have racial abillities, some just as cool as the shapeshift.
Humans are the only race that still believe in the gods. With that, they can do things related to that area. I know one skill is to summon large fiery hounds from the god of war.
Asura get to ride in giant golems too...
Also, none of these of overpowered. They are all designs of similar skills, just with a different skin/effect... chill
agree - this was announced years ago for GW2
http://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/game-faq/
Will Guild Wars 2 have non-human playable races?
Absolutely! In addition to humans, players will be able to create, customize, and play a variety of non-human races.
Charr - Ascalon's conquerors, the charr are ferocious, warmongering creatures--the intractable foes of humanity. Now, as greater dangers threaten their conquests, charr legions and their war machines prepare for battle.
Norn - The norn are towering brawlers from the frigid northern lands who can shape-shift into mighty bestial forms. Driven from their homeland by a force beyond reckoning, the norn have regrouped among the dwarven ruins of the Shiverpeaks.
Asura - The asura, who once ruled the caverns and tunnels below Tyria, are an advanced race of small size and great intellect. Now that they have risen from below, the asura aim to rule the surface world with their powerful golems and ingenious plans.
Sylvari - Not much is known of the sylvari, save that they are a race of sentient plant-beings, newly blossomed into the world. The sylvari are the youngest of the races, bound together by a common dream and awesome power.
EQ2 fan sites
so you are saying that a fantasy game shouldnt delve even further into fantasy
It's the main attraction on the front page. I checked and it's still there.
The informal race polls I've seen haven't shown people flocking to the Norn, so apparently Animal Form doesn't have as large an appeal as some may fear. I believe each race will have access to a race specific skill on the right hand skill bar. They don't force you to take it, (it looks like there are currently three skills for the slot), but it's there.
Sylvari seem to be leading recent race polls, so ANet may need to be careful with what ever their racial is. Ideally, they should all be fairly balanced power wise, but it might be appropriate to give races with little player interest something "cool" to increase the appeal.
When I looked at the Norn, I did think that the Animal Form would be interesting, but I'm not a fan of the overly bulky human forms and didn't really gravitate to the barbarian inspired culture. Even with a cool racial, it doesn't have high appeal for me personally, (I'd rank my preferences Human, Sylvari, Norn, Asura, Charr).
Ideally, it may be best for the races to be pretty balanced population wise. However, the fact that a server isn't split into race based factions makes racial balance less important than in most other MMOs with a PvP element. If 50% did decide to play a single race, it wouldn't effect anything except for overcrowding.
Want to know more about GW2 and why there is so much buzz? Start here: Guild Wars 2 Mass Info for the Uninitiated
Probably no one cares about the transformation racial because its an "Elite" skill which you can only have one of, and there are so many more ones to choose from like the "Alpha Strike" ranger one that launches all your pets at once.
I like how you missed the point entirely. If ONE race in specific, can "shapeshift" into some crazy animal form it's simply too far into the realm of random, over the top, sillyness.
They SHOULD have made shapeshifting a class, so that not one race is more "amazing" than the other. You obviously don't understand, so trying to explain it to you obviously wouldn't make sense.
Or perhaps you are just overreacting over a small ¿issue? I don´t consider the norns somehow superior because they can become furries on steroids. It´s just part of their character and deciding not to play the game for such thing is...well... to each their own i guess.
It makes perfect sense that an entire race could shapeshift, in a world where shapeshifting even exists. They have different genetic makeup, and can therefore shapeshift. I fail to see the problem.
"Gamers will no longer buy the argument that every MMO requires a subscription fee to offset server and bandwidth costs. It's not true you know it, and they know it." Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet, 2007
WTF? No subscription fee?
Anyway, now that we've got that settled, let's get back to the original topic. Enough of whether it's an afront to basic human decency for them to shapeshift at all - what does everyone think of the designs themselves?
Where did fadedbomb go though...?