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First Guild Wars 2's End of Dragons Beta Now Live | MMORPG.com
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First Guild Wars 2's End of Dragons Beta Now Live | MMORPG.com
The first beta for the upcoming Guild Wars 2 expansion, End of Dragons, is now live. the beta itself will run through August 21st and let players get a first in-game glimpse at three new specializations coming with the new expansion itself.
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Well, in my opinion they neglected it from many sides over the years, aside from somewhat enjoyable story and cosmetics/irrelevant features or sub-par gameplay loops, such as "same old, same old" events and bosses every X hours. All of it of course you could fight while binge-watching Netflix, because usually the crowd is pushing it anyway and everyone is just here for rewards or one of dozen useless currencies.
I will admit - it was fun while doing this game from Level 1 up to the end-game and then making some alt's from other races to do other area quests, but once You go through the content once/twice, it's replayability is just a "no-go" for me. How does one enjoy raiding Tarir everyday or defeating the Sunless over and over again? I mean it's themepark, I know, but the magic/immersion is getting broken everywhere I can think of.
Before I wander away too far with my rant... aside from all I said, indeed - visually/mechanically the game dated pretty poorly and it's sadly far behind the "top" of the genre. EoD doesn't look like a leap forward, too.
2-man mount? Fishing? New weapons that barely make any difference for a small % of collectors? - yuck, if these are the flagship features of this expansion (aside from new zones with repeatable quests and some storyline, of course), then I doubt to come back either.
I found this last chapter to most tedious thing I've experienced in the game, probably since the old Zhaitan fight in the early days of the game. It was so insultingly disrespectful of my time.
I really enjoyed catching up on the story, and Drizzlewood Coast in particular is one of the most fun maps the game has ever made.
But that final Icebrood Saga chapter is fucking shite. Dragon Response missions are boring, formulaic, tedious, and time-consuming. And there are so many of them.
I just did the Icebrood Saga LS a few days ago myself and i agree with both of you. I liked some things but some episodes felt like a drag.
I also have to realize I've been heavily biased against the Charr since GW1. I was OK with Rytlock, Crecia, Rox and Almorra, but in general i wasn't a big fan of helping the Charr in what felt like a randomly put together storyline. I do love the Metal Legion though. EDIT: also EFF Bangar and Ryland.
I'm actually biased against the Norn. They're just bigger, dumber humans. The proportions on male Norn are gross and unrealistic. And the thought that goddamn Tengu didn't make playable status while those wastes of space did disgusts me.
I agree about those male Norns so all my norn characters are female.
My bias against the Charr is mostly, almost solely based on GW1. Every time i go to Ascalon I remember Lady Althea in Prophecies(Pre-Searing) and the Flame Temple Corridor where the Flame Legion burned her alive. I jsut want to kill them when i see them.
Same.... it was a surprising and tragic event in GW1 and it's difficult not to think about that when a charr enters the story....that said playing a tengu might have been quite interesting!
Brenics ~ Just to point out I do believe Chris Roberts is going down as the man who cheated backers and took down crowdfunding for gaming.
I'm not an IT Specialist, Game Developer, or Clairvoyant in real life, but like others on here, I play one on the internet.
The Willbender Guardian has awful traits. All 3 of the first tier traits have tradeoffs (sacrifice defense for damage, group healing for personal healing, or group buffing for personal buffing), and all 3 of the grandmaster traits also have tradeoffs on the Virtues they modify. Also, the core trait lines are riddled with traits that have no apparent benefit on the Willbender's passive virtues.
I see no use for the Harbinger Necromancer. At all. It falls into the same Condi dps and support hybrid that the Scourge does. Except where the Scourge is an all around powerhouse with insane bulk, the Harbinger turns the LEAST defensive class in the entire game with the fewest self-preservation options into a glass cannon. Blight is Deep Wound from GW1, except self-inflicted and harder to get rid of. On top of that, Harbinger Shroud doesn't have the damage reduction that Death Shroud and Reaper Shroud do. So now you're really squishy AND have little means of active protection. And I'm not sure what it's really gaining for that overwhelming weakness. Plus, the elixir utilities just don't seem to be that worth taking; they're boring, and mass boon support just isn't all that unique of a role anymore.
The Virtuouso is the best of the three. It is unique among Mesmers... by making the Mesmer less unique. Make of that what you will. A player who wants a more normal dps with the aesthetic of the Mesmer is going to appreciate this one, so there's inherently value there - just like how a lot of Rangers appreciate the Soulbeast for "removing" the pet. It's one of those classes that is probably going to give a "meh" first impression (like the Daredevil or the Tempest) but will likely remain a consistent favorite for its class for years to come.
Personally, I might check out the beta.. see what they did with things. NGL, chances are, the same things that made me leave before won't be addressed this time either.. so it will be a short stint, that will not end with me buying the expansion.
No elite spec has ever or will ever give a class more of a utility line that they already have.
Personal prediction, Ele is getting a firearm. Pistol fills that spellslinger fantasy that WildStar gave us, while rifle (or longbow) give Ele fans what they've been asking for in terms of long range nuking.
The Revenant is aesthetically and thematically my favorite class. But it is also really fucking boring. And the reason it's boring is because it lacks a straightforward damaging Power elite spec. The Herald, its current option, is based around semi-passively maintained group buffs. Passive buffing isn't fun, and it doesn't allow the fun aspects of the class (its quirky staff, hammer, and sword implementations) to shine like a dps spec would.
As for the weapon, either a Greatsword or Dagger(s) would be ideal.
Other new weapons for the remaining specs leaked yesterday btw. If you don't know yet here is the list,
Thief - Scepter
Ranger - Hammer
Elementalist - Hammer
Warrior - Pistol
Engineer - Mace
Revenant - Greatsword
I guessed Revenant, Ranger, Warrior and Engineer right. But Thief and Elementalist were big surprises for me. I was expecting greatsword for Thief and short or longbow for Elementalist. I'm reaaallly curious to see what they did with Thief. Scepter is the last weapon that I can think when it comes to a class like Thief.
Ranger is a real fanservice one. The "Bunny Thumper" hammer ranger is right up there with IWAY among GW1's most iconic meta builds.
Engineer was boring and predictable. I really thought a Green Arrow style trick arrow archer would have been best. Maybe someday.
Pistol Warrior makes sense but it wasn't quite what I was hoping for.
Was hoping for a torch thief, but this works too.
I tested each spec for their dps and sustain in Fractals, solo dungeons, and PVP while also having the mindset that this is beta and many things are still subject to change. (Like when Rev beta was out and the class started off having no weapon swap, but it was later added)
Virtuoso:
It's a fun and quite a flashy class, but the damage numbers are not that high. In PVP a good mesmer can kill you very quickly while being quite squishy. This build comes off like its just squishy with some aoe spam. In PVE, my main problem with it was sustain. There were many moments where I had taken damage, healed, (but the heal wasn't enough) and just kited stuff, with no other way to get any kind of healing. I was always low health.
Willbender:
I was really excited for this spec, but kinda disappointed with it so far. In PVP, it's not that good. The damage feels too low and the sustain is bad. I'd rather play Power Hearld in PVP. In PVE I'd still rather play Dragon Hunter or FireBrand. It needs a lot more tuning. I can see myself not using the offhand sword and instead using focus or something else. I did like the mobility. Depending on how they buff this spec, it could either be really powerful or just weak as time goes on. It has access to lots of gap closers, 2 stuns and 15 second stun break along with access to mix and match with other skills and traits.
Harbinger:
I had the most fun with this spec. The blight mechanic will take some getting used too, but I found the damage of this spec to be way higher than any of the new specs by a long shot. Shroud skills are fun to use and I like the added mobility. Pistol is good and I really like how you can share the elixirs with other players. It has the potential to be a good boon spammer while still doing good condition damage and CC. Despite the blight, I had little problems surviving in PVE while soloing a fractal and a dungeon. In PVP, they are strong. This spec with torment runes will make this spec even stronger.
After all my testing I will admit I need a lot more time with these specs. Mixing it with other traits and trying it out with different weapon combos.
Those are solid options for the Revenant. I think Riannoc could be a good contender too since we also have Caladbolg. I'll certainly be playing my Revenant more often after this.
I'm not sure what a thief would do with a scepter but i'd imagine it would be an even more stealth based gameplay than other builds.
I'm looking forward to the hammer Elementalist. I always carry the conjured hammer to help with cc although i was hoping necro or mesmer get either hammer or mace instead.
Engi with mace sounds kinda dumb IMO, the hammer scrapper makes sense. It reminds me of some JRPG tinkerers, but this one with a mace just feels off for some reason. Will have to wait and see.
Warrior, i'm not sure about the pistol. It could be fun but they do damage with all weapons already so i was hoping something that had more synergy with banners and shouts. Like a staff or a focus since apparently Banner Warriors are always wanted in group content.
As for ranger, i'll take any melee weapons for them. Hammer sounds fun.
Both mace and hammer felt like they should have been on core Engi, IMO. They haven't really had the chance to get truly quirky because they are still getting basic shit.
I imagine the scepter Thief will be some kind of shadow mage, leaning into the condi and support roles that Thief lacks
Edit:
I just think it would be hilarious if Rytlock was channeling Rurik all along.
(And let's assume they still don't give us land spear/tridents, even though that would be awesome and they could probably make so much easy money just by temporarily re-introducing old BL sets with the few new spear/trident skins).
Personally:
Warrior - Staff (BONK!)
Guardian - Rifle
Revenant - Warhorn
Thief - Mace or Axe (assuming Scepter is condi, if not then Torch)
Ranger - Rifle
Engineer - Longbow
Elementalist - Longbow
Necromancer - Mace or Hammer
Mesmer - Shortbow, MH pistol, or Warhorn
I want them to add new type of weapons to the game. Anet generally loves to add things in expansions that people hyped and really wanted in the past. The only thing so far that they didn't add is a new race (mostly tengu). This time when people saw the new mesmer elite spec silhouette, most of them, including me, thought it was spear and hyped as fuck. I think Anet can actually take this into considiration for their next expansion and start adding new weapons like spear, great axe etc. It's not hard to do like a new race and would become such a great addition to create hype for a new expansion.
/Cheers,
Lahnmir
Kyleran on yours sincerely
'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'
Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...
'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless.
It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.
It is just huge resource waste....'
Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer