An Update and Musings on Roleplaying

So I had intended to cover the Lost Shores in this post but I think that the internet has more than covered it so I will say that I enjoyed it despite it's flaws and look forward to being a guinea pig in the future as Arena Net perfects it's major world events.

For this post I wanted to talk about my most recent server move. Yep, I've moved again, this time to Tarnished Coast. As much as I really loved the community on Yak's Bend, I was really lacking something that I need to completely enjoy all aspects of Guild Wars 2, roleplaying.

I know what you might be thinking. Roleplaying - isn't that those nerdy guys who pretend to be chicks so the can cyber people? As with everything, it's amazing how much damage to a reputation a small handful of people can do to the vast majority who are nothing like that. Most roleplayers create full, well-rounded stories, not unlike books, and immerse themselves deeper in the world, lore and character than most other players do. In the simplest terms, all roleplaying is, is cooperative visual and literal storytelling.

For me, it gives my characters purpose beyond what the game tells me and it adds longevity to the life of those characters as I hit levelcap and run out of things to strive for on them. Involving them in a story with others gives me an infinite amount of play. An example of this in Everquest 2 where I have a character who I rarely play these days as I can't stand the game anymore but I still log in an play when those I roleplay with are available to continue a story that we've been working on for two years straight that has yet to get stale or boring as characters develop, get killed, meet others, etc.

If you've never tried roleplaying, I definitely suggest putting aside any misconceptions you might have and giving it a try. It's no different than immersing yourself in the storyline of say, Mass Effect 1, except with RP the story is in your hands and the hands of others around you, as much or as little as you want.

Anyways, roleplaying aside, I also want to say that this will probably be my last post before the upcoming holidays. I wish you all a Happy Holiday season and a fantastic New Year!

Mounting Pressure

As it's been a few months now I thought I'd write about my thoughts on mounts in Guild Wars 2, or rather, lack thereof.

I'm honestly still on the fence post about it. Both arguments for and against mounts are valid and have some pretty even pros and cons.

I say it often, "if they don't add mounts soon I'm going to slap a saddle on a Quaggan and ride them around." But, what if they do add mounts of some kind with say.. 40% run speed? How would that change the game?

The knee jerk reaction is that it won't affect the game. As an Elementalist I can get close to that speed near permanently if I stay in Air. Other classes can get close but very temporarily. So given that we can go fast temporarily how could a mount change the feel of the game? Very easily.

How fast you move on the ground changes the scope and feel of the environment around you. The world of Tyria feels massive when you're running around all slow (especially on a Norn) but if you're always running fast, suddenly the world begins to shrink and you begin to miss out on a lot of the world around you as well.

An example that may be hit or miss for some, back in World of Warcaft, in the Burning Crusade expansion, we got flying mounts. This was awesome but it had some unintended consequences. Suddenly I could fly high, avoid all mobs on the ground and just jet to where I wanted in not time at all. Literally, no time at all from one side of the map to the other without flight paths because it was cheap, fairly fast and without aggro.

Sounds great, right? But think of what I missed in doing so: gathering nodes, mob exp/loot, named spawns, etc. That all sounds like an inconvenience when all you want to do is get where you're going without trouble but that's what you have a flight path for, to save you that trouble and to be a money sink.

So what does all that mean for Guild Wars 2? If we're given mounts our world will shrink and it will take away from the basic rewards of exploration which is so key to the gameplay.  Ground mounts with 40% or so speed won't pose a Point A to Point B problem as it did with flying mounts; you'll still need to fight mobs if you get dismounted in combat, can still gather, etc but it will reduce, though not substantially, our Waypoint money-sink.

However, if implemented right (and only for PvE), I think mounts can do a lot of good, too. I would like to see mounts be given as a buyable option of fair expense (50g or more perhaps, account bound) to characters who have achieved 100% map completion on at least one character. It could be argued that making it account bound will lead to it being abused by players and botters alike but my logic is this: if the mount requires one level 80 character with 100% Map Completion and a good deal of money to buy one for that character and then alt characters, that's a considerable money-sink that I highly doubt will be very attainable for a majority of players. Mounts will offer experienced players not only a faster way around but something to work for and spend money on (as well as real cash for possible Gem bought mount skins), as well as collection possibilities of different mounts.

In the end, I can see the reasoning both ways. I would love to see them implemented for Map Completion but I would be just fine if they're never put in at all.

Translated Danger Sign on Lion's Arch Beach

Danger

Enter at Your Own Risk

Lion’s Arch authorities cannot be held responsible for missing / stolen / damaged and/or devoured appendages, small children, dinghies, fruit baskets, Skritt, pumpkin flavored marshmallows, spoons, goofy hats, Ascalonian salads, pocket watches, earrings, in-laws, spirits of the wild, eye patches, war machines, Seraph, rhubarb pies, mystical artifacts of unquestionable power, mystical artifacts of questionable power, seeing-eye squirrels and carp.

Pack Your Bags Vacation Flyer Translated!

Avast!

Ahoy all ye landlubbers!

The hardworking members of the consortium are proud to announce the upcoming unveiling of your dream vacation! Coming soon we will open the gate – the asura gate – connecting Lion’s Arch to a veritable tropical paradise of magnificent proportions!

Swim in the radiant waters*!

Relax on the beaches*!

Dance the night away*!

Prepare to hoist your jolly roger and to embark on a most majestic adventure with your favorite band of salty dogs!

Arr you ready?

*Towels not included. The consortium cannot be held responsible for aquatic related and rhythmic related injuries

(or other injuries related to misadventure or otherwise). Our medical staff will be on call to happily ignore your needs should they inevitably arise.

*Photo courtesy of, and belonging to ArenaNet.

Halloween Impressions plus Rants!

As we enter Act 4 of Guild Wars 2's Halloween event, I wanted to take the time and write down my thoughts on it.

This has been AMAZING. Each Act has introduced a little more to see and do without being overwhelming. It really felt like it was ramping up to the Mad King's return which was truly exciting to behold and led to a new and very visually well done dungeon. For me, the whole event has gone off without a hitch. I've found no bugs but I understand that hasn't been the case for everyone. Overall, I think ArenaNet nailed it. They breathed life into the holiday again and brought back with a vengeance a much loved (and feared) character from the first game. And a big shoutout to the wiki and walkthrough community like GuildWars2Insider who were on the ball with the Scavenger Hunt walkthroughs within an hour of each Act.

Now for the rants and I've got a couple this time.

Let me say first that this does not include the vast majority of the playerbase despite my generalizations, that being said: I am sick and tired of the whining, self-centered, entitled asshats who complain about everything.. and I do mean -everything-.

ArenaNet is not at fault or responsible for the fact that a hurricane is tearing apart the east coast despite the insistence of certain posters on the official forums. Now I admit, I don't often have my priorities straight but I think most everyone can agree that worrying more about yourself, your family, and your property before a hurricane hits is quite a bit more important than begging for a holiday extension because you can't bear to miss a cutscene that hundreds will be recording and posting on Youtube within 30 minutes of it.

That made me shake my head but it doesn't get under my skin the way that the loot obsessed masses do. I had a conversation in map chat in Lion's Arch recently that went a bit like this:

Asshat: The loot rewards for the Mad King's dungeon are pathetic.

Me: You could've gotten nothing.

Asshat: Nothing would've been better. A 10 slot bag is just insulting. Who uses 10 slot bags anymore?

Me: Um, everyone who can't afford 5g for 20 slot bags?

I can't even begin to put into words how ridiculously entitled and how much of an ass that person sounded. I felt a little better that many people in map chat joined me in calling that person out. What really gets me is that person's sentiments are shared by a lot of people. I've seen it over and over in various chats, be it map, party, or guild - "this loot is crap!"

I come from a time in gaming where you were -lucky- if you got loot for your time. And I know how dated and old that makes me sound but it's true. I would spend hours raiding Molten Core, several days a week and I would only see one item a month for all my time. ONE ITEM. Whether the guild used DKP (dragon killing points) or seniority (whatever person of a certain class was there longest had first choice of the loot) or whatever other system you can devise, you rarely got loot and when you did it was exciting. But, as the years wore on, things changed and people began demanding that things be given to them for minimal effort or that any effort be rewarded and out of fear of losing customers, gaming companies gave into those demands and set the stage for that expectation of every game. ArenaNet doesn't have to award loot for every encounter and for some world bosses they simply don't and when they do it's a chance to be good loot, not a guarantee.

TL;DR version: Stop whining about loot. Guild Wars 2 isn't even a game that relies on stats. There comes a point where you will not find anything better than what you have and ectoplasms are meant to be rare. Use +magic find and take the luck of the draw.

Attack of the Plague Bearers!

Some of you might undoubtedly noticed a lack of posts for a couple weeks now, I seem to have come down with something that has just utterly sapped my strength and will to do anything but mindlessly zone out. It's my hope that I'll be able to kick whatever this is and get back to writing.

Thank you all for your patience and have a Happy Halloween!

Catching Alt-itis

I've been thinking a lot this past week about alts, specifically that I never really have in other games but that's a completely different story in Guild Wars 2.

In Everquest 1 I had my warrior to start but eventually switched and stayed on an enchanter. In Star Wars Galaxies I had my dancer and no other characters. In World of Warcraft I bounced around a lot in the first year till I found my niche and then stayed with being a Holy Priest for almost 5 years. And finally, in Everquest 2 I've been a Fury (and still am) for 2 ½ years with no other alts that I play.

Not hard to see the trend there, I find what I like best and never switch up in any game I play for a long time. It's always been that way...until now.

Right now I have my main (Elementalist) at level 80 with still plenty more to do on her and I love playing her but I'm also actively leveling a warrior, a thief, and a ranger. I've never felt the need, want or compulsion to make alts after I find my niche and any alts I do make are then left on a shelf to become dusty and neglected... poor little unloved alts.

I think the best part of it for me has been that no matter how many times I've been through the starting zones, and I've been through them a lot (Caledon: 4, Queensdale: 3, Wayfarer Hills: 4, Metrica Province: 1, Ashford: 2), it's different. Every time I go through these zones the only repetitive part for me is the hearts. Even if the dynamic events are the same they don't happen the way they did on other characters and I've seen events on some that I have never seen on others. That alone has made it worth it to go through again and again.

So what about you, readers, do you like making alts in Guild Wars 2 more or less than other games? Do you find the content tedious and exhausting after the first character or do you relish finding new events and undiscovered nooks you didn't see the first time through?