GuildCast 29: ArenaNet's Guild Wars 2 Is Much Bigger Than Expected

Written by: Scott Hawkes (@jarimor) | June 30, 2012 12:20 pm

158 Comments

Hold the presses!

Yes, that’s not exactly news to most people but apparently to Gamestop it is. As much as we would like to get our grubby hands on ArenaNet‘s shiny new MMO, we are going to have to wait just a bit longer. Well, maybe more than a bit. Who knows? We ponder the possibilities.

Wednesday, June 27 sees another chance to go tearing through Tyria with the latest GW2 stress test. Though with only four hours it’s a good idea to plan ahead, we mull over the options of what will be available.

ArenaNet’s devs spoke in a recent interview about their current plans in response to the last BWE. It seems that the player’s wishlist and balancing is being worked on. What does that say about the state of the game, particularly in regards to how finished it appears to be?

A crafty fan found what appears to be an in-game asset which reveals the whole of Tyria as we’ve never seen before. Areas not present and only hinted at in the first Guild Wars are evident and indicate many possibilities. Does this brave new world point towards many expansions for Guild Wars 2? And how can some of the inconsistencies be explained?

Factoring in your viewer questions, we have a tightly knitted show this week with your team of regulars: your host Gary Gannon, from Massively, Elisabeth Cardy and Richie Procopio, as well as Scott Hawkes bring you another tantalizing edition of GuildCast.

GuildCast 29: ArenaNet's Guild Wars 2 Is Much Bigger Than Expected

1:00:41

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24 comments

http://www.facebook.com/people/Alex-Sanchez/100003130430158 Alex Sanchez

GuildCast until stress test? Oh heck yeah.
Mabasploom

Scott, the look on your face during Elizabeth’s excited explanation of Dragons in PvP was priceless.
http://twitter.com/Lord_Daishi Daishi Mordio

Missed this last night DAMN SOCIAL LIFE ><!
http://www.facebook.com/jason.jenkins.73 Jason Jenkins

really, two guild wars 2 shows?
- Jado Cast
  
  Yeah right? They must be getting phat money from Anet. LOL, *joking* Thought I would say it before someone else does.
http://www.facebook.com/BloodxNova Zackary Nathan Jones

Damn, looking forward to the new GW2 PvP show. Sounds good.
- Jado Cast
  
  ^THIS!
http://twitter.com/justQQing Brian Day

call it (Dubcast) :) …….and you can use mikeb, guildwars2 remix there you go job done >>>>> any time
axel310

911 was payback from USA murdering hundred thousands iraq civilians…
- http://www.facebook.com/amy.dooley.50 Amy Dooley
  
  Are you out of your mind? Seriously? Like for real…I can’t even think of the words to respond to your stupidity. Everything we’ve ever done in history ever was in response to being attacked, after the revolutionary war. Pick up a book please.
  - Sharuko
    
    Vietnam?
    - Jay
      
      Sharuko, what country do you currently reside in? Just curious…
      - Sharuko
        
        Americuah.
  - http://www.facebook.com/daniel.beverly Daniel Beverly
    
    That Jackass doesn’t deserve a response.
  - MMO_Doubter
    
    Pick up a history book not written by an American, please.
- Jado Cast
  
  You win the “Worst Troll of the Decade Award.” Congraz
  - Sharuko
    
    Ok I hate religious and political discussions and I will only say this one thing. The guy is partly right, when Al Qaeda declared war on the U.S. they had 3 grievances for this declaration:
    
    1) U.S. Troops in Saudi Arabia.
    2) The killing of 1 million Iraqi civilians due to sanctions by the West.
    3) The occupation in Israel.
    
    We might not believe what they said as they are a terrorist group and the act was evil to the core but those are the reasons THEY gave.
    
    I had a project on this and researched this subject for weeks.
    - http://www.facebook.com/kaj.udanga Kaj Udanga
      
      Wow, that’s the first Sharuko comment I ever liked.
    - Jado Cast
      
      Good try but I’m not going to bite! Go troll someone else.
    - MMO_Doubter
      
      I agree with 1 and 3, but Saddam killed those Iraqis, not the sanctions.
dekintold

<—————Scott
DoctorOverlord

Is there a link to an image of the in-game asset found by the crafty fan?
http://www.facebook.com/amy.dooley.50 Amy Dooley

Blizz released an expansion on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor didn’t they? I don’t think Sept. 11 would be THAT bad. Though it is a bit soon. ><
- http://twitter.com/elixabethclaire Elisabeth Claire
  
  Tangential anecdote, I posted something about “Cataclysm Day” when that expansion went out and all of my non-gaming friends thought it was a very poor-taste reference.
  - Nick Ratcliffe
    
    That’s pretty comical.
  - Old Ben
    
    Well, at least now Pearl Harbor has some competition for the worst thing to have happened on December 7th.
- http://twitter.com/RichieProcopio Richie Procopio
  
  To be clear, I was trying to throw out the closest Tuesday to my birthday and it happened to be 9/11 and I said it before I realized what date it was. And while it may not be the worst thing to release a game (or movie, book, etc) on that date, if you can avoid it, it’s probably for the best.
  - Old Ben
    
    Depends on what you’re launching. If it’s a game where you kill a lot of foreigners and shout “America!” a lot, the date might actually improve sales. But I guess GW2 is lacking in the jingoistic lore department.
http://profile.yahoo.com/SMGRLFM4UASOO7QO26HTHBLIOI Shawn

GW2 is the MMO of the Year!
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Robbert-de-Wilde/1806039882 Robbert de Wilde
  
  Decade*
  - http://profile.yahoo.com/TEIKKTC24GBE63XZULR7YNYPFE Ron
    
    *Kanye voice* OF ALL TYME!
    - Jay
      
      I’ma let you finish…
http://twitter.com/Winast Winkku

Please help, I can’t watch this or any other video on the site cause I keep getting “Sorry, we’re unable to play this episode.” message after ad before the video.
- http://twitter.com/RichieProcopio Richie Procopio
  
  Have you tried it on various browsers? I’d start there.
loki4687

More hype?
- http://profile.yahoo.com/SMGRLFM4UASOO7QO26HTHBLIOI Shawn
  
  Just fact.
- http://twitter.com/Luke_Malcolm Luke Malcolm
  
  I agree even though I may play GW2 isn’t this just more hyping up the game.
http://www.facebook.com/Bakunawa John-Edward Barana Fajardo

Scott Hawkes’ audio is so much lower than everyone else… Can you please ramp up his output
http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr

The end of Stress Test event was terrible, alot of folks kept breaking the event by cheating.
- http://profiles.google.com/gunslinger1985 Roland Deschain
  
  i wonder if a server managed to finish and it got recorded
  - http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
    
    Only if the players stopped logging out and getting unbranded.
    - http://twitter.com/DaveyDiablo Davey Diablo
      
      Yeah spoilt it a bit. But it’s not for keeps so it doesn’t really bother me in the long run
      - http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
        
        See my tirade above. Same problem as SWTOR, higher level content is not getting tested by the player base.
        
        GW1 started with a max level of 20, GW2 has a max level of 80.
        
        PVP will be great at level 80 everyone is testing it, very concerned about PVE at level 80. MMO of the year? Will rehashing lower level content be the norm. Sounds like SWTOR to me.
      - http://profile.yahoo.com/SMGRLFM4UASOO7QO26HTHBLIOI Shawn
        
        Speculation is speculation, just because they haven’t revealed higher level locations does not mean they already have people testing those zones. So relax kiddo.
      - http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
        
        You can say speculation all you want. This game is starting to trend. I’m sure they have people testing higher level zones, just like BW had people testing Illum. Higher level content is just plain hard to test.
      - http://www.facebook.com/kaj.udanga Kaj Udanga
        
        I think the difference between BW and Anet is that Anet actually listens to their beta testers and changes things accordingly?
      - Old Ben
        
        > higher level content is not getting tested
        > by the player base.
        
        Since different people will level at different speeds and in different areas, a bug in high-level content does not have nearly as much impact as a bug in the starting zones.
        
        Keeping the high-level zones secret until release will “cost” Arena Net a few bugs (that will have to be fixed later), but overall seems like a good marketing move.
        
        They do need to test the asura and sylvari starting areas, though, and possibly a couple more dungeons and big world events, if only to gather statistical data to balance the parts that won’t be in the BWEs.
        
        > Will rehashing lower level content be the norm.
        
        You mean “rehashing” in the sense of the Deadmines / Shadowfang Keep / Zandalaris / etc.? I don’t see how that could apply to GW2. The game is designed to let people of any level play content in any area, so I don’t think it makes much sense to talk about “rehashing”. There would be no points to a “level 80 version” of the Ascalon Catacombs, when level 80 players can simply go into the original version, and still find it challenging.
Rich Shallcross

Really Scott — your disappointed in England? You can’t play back all game and expect to score and win a match. I don’t have anything against them but the better team won.
- ScottHawkes
  
  Ermm yes, that’s why I was disappointed with them, they played horrendously. They deserved to lose. Hence, disappointment.
http://twitter.com/CossiePhil Phil Latham

yup same. alot of people alt f4 so we couldnt corrupt the place
have to watch the first hour of this as my net died just as it started when i was watching live
- http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
  
  This really shows my concern with GW2. Same problem SWTOR had, during it’s beta tests, everyone stayed in the starting areas trying all the different professions. The harder content is not getting tested. Players always find a way to break content, that is what we are good at! If there is a way to bug out content and break an encounter, players will do it everytime. If the higher end content ends up as buggy and borken as this event, this game will degenerate like every other MMO.
  
  Dont tell me this was a special event, this is the second time they have tried to run this event.
  The ending event had name calling, racisim, cheating and other stupid stuff. They even started talking about WoW, you know a game is getting bad, when players start talking about WoW.
  - Old Ben
    
    Yeah, pretty much the only place where people avoid talking about WoW is WoW’s live servers.
Jay

“Couple of cans of beans and a hunter’s knife… They’ll figure it out.” – Gary Gannon on children.
- http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
  
  GG will be a great dad. He will teach his kids how to swim, eat beans and deal with people who break your legs on purpose.
http://profile.yahoo.com/WUO7JRPFS2K52LUXIY2LLJ4TSU Sean

I caught a glimpse of the Shatterer disappearing into the clouds literally one second before the servers went down. Got lucky there.
- http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
  
  Think I recorded Shatterer two or three times.
Rich E.

@Mr. Procopio; i say this not only because youre my namesake but because you’re consistently accurate and objective and insightful about the game called Guild Wars 2. your comments about the combat system lacking “tells” is spot on. The illusion of MMO combat feels visceral when the mind of the gamer can make sense of the combat events; and thus we react accordingly; and thus we feel powerful and have fun; but when players just instantly die for no reason to some instant, unseen, seemingly invisible, seemingly causeless AE attack… well thats just causing a stream of “WTF” moments. currently the game feels like hyper button mashing admist a cacophony of pretty pixel fireworks for a reason… please let us make sense of the combat… and this is coming from a player who competes and succeeds in speed chess tournaments – trust me, its not because i have a slow mind or reflexes that i criticize the combat
- http://twitter.com/RichieProcopio Richie Procopio
  
  I appreciate your feedback, sir. It means a lot to me. It sounds like ArenaNet is aware they need to do more telegraphing with the combat mechanics. I think it is a key missing component to their very fun and engaging combat system. Players don’t mind dying if they can see what caused it and what they need to avoid the next time.
  - http://twitter.com/elixabethclaire Elisabeth Claire
    
    ArenaNet has said previously that when you lose in combat, you should feel that it’s because of something you did wrong and you should be able to learn from it. You should never be staring at the screen feeling cheated or like the game tricked you in a bad way, so I’m glad that they’re taking this into account.
    - Rich E.
      
      exactly.. i love when a game outsmarts me for a good, logical reason. i love games that force me to rethink – those “go back to the drawing board” moments; facing a challenge that demands preparation and teamwork and on-the-fly adjustments. if they can succeed in addressing this i think the intricate skill and combo system will really feel fantastic.
  - Rich E.
    
    i’m just really glad that the gaming community has voices such as your own – enthusiastic but always sober and objective; tempered by the reality that the GW2 game experience is a complex one, and not without weak points. during the beta events i tried to start some discussions about this very topic and was met with instant hostility, as if i disrespected their mommas. for the most part the guildcast crew has been pretty fair and leveled headed.
    
    but tell me this.. what are you honest expectations about the dev team doing something truely concrete about this? all i can think of would be new animations and such. i wont pretend i know much about computer programming or animation software but that sounds like alot of work this late in the game and i doubt they will do it. your thoughts? i sincerely want to be persuaded i am wrong. really, i do.
    - Old Ben
      
      The game already supports “pre-attack” animations, so it’s just a matter of creating those animations for the attacks that don’t have them yet. Making those animations look _good_ might take some tweaking, though (GW2′s animators seem a bit slow; the jumping and strafing animations are pretty bad and weren’t changed at all during the BWEs).
      
      The real issue is which attacks are_meant_ to give a warning and which ones are meant to be instant. I’m not sure if people are dying instantly from some attacks because the “warning” is missing or if those attacks really aren’t meant to give a warning, but their damage is just too high.
    - http://twitter.com/RichieProcopio Richie Procopio
      
      They mentioned they will be addressing this issue with some of the dungeon encounters. I’m not sure how much they will fix this out in the world. And they can also give tells via sound effects and obvious animations rather than just always putting down red circles on the floor.
- Jay
  
  Yup, if they just cleared up the close range combat to feel more skill based and less “lucky dodge” based, I’d really enjoy it more. The mechanics are fun, but like you said, give me a fair chance to respond to the information given. It’s very close to greatness though…
- Chikane Himemiya
  
  Too bad keyboards don’t have force feedback, maybe a kind of camera shake when your character gets hit will give the player a better sense of the combat. Idealy everyone would be wired up to feel discomfort when their character is attacked XD.
  - Old Ben
    
    I think there are still some animations missing in GW2, so some attacks which aren’t actually instant appear to be instant.
    
    Another issue is that some attacks which might be _meant_ to be instant seem to be scaling a bit wildly depending on the number of players. Some enemies were easier to defeat 1-on-1 than 5-on-1, because against larger groups their damage increased so much they could 1-shot everyone. Some were fixed in BWE2, but there were still a few places where it happened.
    
    I have to say I’m not crazy about the “red circles on the floor” approach. It’s a bit too artificial (not as bad as using cast bars – since those would force you to look at the character frames – but it still feels like a “UI solution” to a “game world problem”). If the enemy is shooting an arrow volley, your “warning” should be the animation, the way the archer is facing, the arrow trails, and their sound (not some magical red circle telling you exactly where the arrows are going to fall).
    
    And if the attack is something like an earthquake / volcano / ground spike, then something like smoke, a crack on the floor or some rumbling rocks would feel like a more natural warning.
    
    Of course, the red circles make it easier to distinguish “enemy” AoE from “friendly” AoE, so I guess they are necessary, at least in PvP (where the actual spell might be identical, but have a different effect on you depending on who cast it).
    
    In most cases, though, I would prefer a weaker but harder to avoid attack over a massive attack that you’re supposed to avoid completely. I find combat more interesting and fluid when damage varies more smoothly (not just in MMOS; for example, combat in TFC felt a lot more skill-based than in TF2, because in TFC it usually takes 5-7 shots to kill someone, while in TF2 it only takes 1-3, making it more random and more about luck).
    - Rich E.
      
      well said Ben. very much agreed… the whole “red circle” thing is very meh to me. especially in WvW it just becomes a game of hop out of the circles.. really not very immersive and feels like a generic placeholder mechanic. when compared to the high polish of the rest of the game, its really shocking that the combat system (which should be the most developed) has these awkward mechanics that really sour the experience for many players. its only because i truely sense the near greatness of GW2 that these awkward mechanics become amplified in affect. i play beta with a static group for 7 guildees and you constantly hear “wtf” and “err thats lame” comments over voice chat. followed by “omg it would be so cool IF…” and “damn i wish they could…” ponderings. none of us are haters and none are fanboys. we just want to find a MMO Home to plant our flag and we just arent completely sold on GW2 yet.
      
      and now that the release date is soon near.. i have serious doubts any of this will be concretely addressed by then.
      - Old Ben
        
        > he whole “red circle” thing is very meh to me. especially in WvW
        
        Yeah, but when some AoE spells have a positive effect on teammates and a negative effect on enemies, you some way to distinguish them. I suppose they could change the color of the spell effect itself, but that could make the actual spells look ugly, so I guess it’s a necessary evil (at least in PvP). I don’t think it should apply to every spell, though, at least not as an “advance warning”. You should just see the arrows falling and have time to dodge out (while taking some damage), instead of having to dodge in advance, based on some circles on the floor.
        
        What I really found surprisingly (and unnecessarily) ugly in WvW was the square green “gates” that defenders use to get into forts. Why can’t the defenders simply walk in through the actual gate…? It makes no sense to make them walk into a glowing square in a wall when the game has a model of a real gate right there.
http://twitter.com/borded nathan law

guildwars 2 tower edition?
http://www.facebook.com/V4N1SH Talal Vanish

those guys got bad headsets :S , get Razer Megalathon 5.1 and maybe throw in a gunnary ..

i rewinded that moment too XD
http://twitter.com/RussellGusto Russell Hunt

Nice show! Maybe one day I will get to watch live Two babies n diapers = NO time
- http://www.facebook.com/kaj.udanga Kaj Udanga
  
  I wish there was an after show compilation or something. That would be nice, I think.
Sharuko

Finally got my refund of GW2, first MMO I have ever canceled after preordering, that should tell you something. The balloon popped and you are still trying to plug the holes. Keep on truckin.
- Sukh Bhatti
  
  lol nice one!
- Razor4884
  
  Since you canceled your order and now have nothing to do with the game, does this mean you’ll quite trolling these forums? And I’m really not surprised that you canceled your order; if anyone would do it, it would be you.
  - http://www.facebook.com/people/Tj-Vossos/647768691 Tj Vossos
    
    he probablly never had an order he is a wow fan boy who is scared of change
    - Sharuko
      
      Probably photoshopped that image huh?
      - Spammerbam
        
        Character levels no higher than 3.
        
        Rants about game.
- Spammerbam
  
  That’s great news for you and for all of us.
  
  Finally, now you can stop ranting about GW2 and go back to playing your current MMOs.
- Jay
  
  Coming from you, that tells me nothing… What’s more interesting is that you felt the need to comment on a video of a show of a game you clearly hate. That tells me a lot more than you canceling your pre-purchase.
  
  If anything it tells me how legit ANet really is, letting people get a refund after trying the game. Weren’t you just ranting about that a few months back? Hmm, maybe you’re just running low on material…
  
  Glad you got your money back though, Tera needs their subscription money from you.
  - Sharuko
    
    So are you saying only people that like the game should comment on them? You don’t like to see people with differing points of view? Why the insecurity? Game can’t stand on its own?
    
    Really? Ever MMO in existence lets you “try the game” for free without some BS prepurchase mechanic. The only reason they gave refunds was because they started giving prepurchase benefits to preorders and they went back on a contract and if they didn’t honor it they could be sued.
    - Old Ben
      
      > I took that $80 dollars and spent some of it on TSW.
      
      You mean the game you just said on a different thread that you would never buy…?
      
      > I won’t be buying the game [TSW]
      > they make you pay $10 dollars for extra character slots
      > and they have a massive cash shop. No way I will support
      > games like that when they have a subscription fee.
      
      Don’t try trolling in two different directions, Sha; you can’t even even troll properly in one.
      - Sharuko
        
        I changed my mind and bought it. I liked the game but didn’t like the massive cash shop.
      - Spammerbam
        
        Hmm..
      - RBHgamer
        
        Dude… um …. er …. oh whatever.
      - Lycronis
        
        So how did that change? It still has a massive cash shop. Contradict much? Oh course you do! You are the infamous Sharuko after all, the person that can’t resist the urge to go against the grain, no matter what it is. Honestly, I feel sorry for you Sharuko. It’s just sad at how much effort you put in to get attention, very sad. Actually, it’s pathetic.
      - Sharuko
        
        The game is fun to play. I still don’t agree with TSW’s cash shop at all and hate it. But TSW is a lot of fun to play. A lot of people that played both GW2 and TSW agree that TSW is a better game that is more fun to play.
        
        I plan to play it for a month and let see what happens then. My priority is always PlanetSide 2.
      - Lycronis
        
        You just said you paid $80 for it. Get your lies straight before posting! And it’s very funny because you said the same exact thing about how people felt after playing Tera and GW2. Be honest, you are just an idiot trying to piss people off. That is the ONLY reason you come and post your ilk.
      - Sharuko
        
        How about actually reading what I said. I bought GW2 for $80. I bought TSW for $40.
        
        I am not here to piss people off at all. I am just posting my opinion, I would prefer if people didn’t respond to me.
      - Lycronis
        
        I stand corrected on the price. Nevertheless, you know exactly why you are here and it’s not to post “your opinions” as you are trying to claim. All anyone has to do is look at your post history to understand why you post here. It’s really too bad you can’t just tell the truth about your motives. Oh well, cowardice and lack of integrity seems to run rampant these days. BTW, here is my opinion: Everyone is entitled to their opinions, yours is just wrong! Glad you are not going to disgrace the GW2 servers. Have fun on your empty Tera and TSW servers.
    - Jay
      
      Lol $80? You even bought the deluxe edition… You’re a strange creature, you know that Sharuko? To answer your questions, even though it seems you didn’t pay attention to mine…
      
      No, not only people who like the game should comment, I said it’s interesting that someone who hates the game as much as you, continually comments just to show hate. GW2 seems to be standing much better than your beloved Tera, so it seems you’re the one with the insecurities.
      
      No, not every game let’s you try it before it comes out, and if they let you buy it online, they surely don’t often give refunds. I know you like to speculate, so I’ll just let you keep on doing it. Enjoy Tera and TSW… BTW I personally don’t mind your trolling, I’m just trying to help you see that’s all it is.
      
      TBH I wouldn’t really consider what you’re doing “trolling” because you actually believe what you say, and you don’t say it to be funny. It’s just hate (something personal as well), and I even saw ‘Towel’s’ stream when he called you out on it… You subscribe to his channel too, lol.
    - Spammerbam
      
      You just wanted to try out GW2 because of the hype and paid $80?
      Wow, that’s something.
      
      Hmm..
      - Old Ben
        
        Step 1: Rant about how GW2 is evil personified before it’s even possible to buy the game.
        
        Step 2: As soon as it becomes available, buy GW2 (deluxe edition, no less).
        
        Step 3: Declare that there is “no way I would buy TSW”.
        
        Step 4: Return GW2 and buy TSW.
        
        Yeah, sounds 100% true.
    - St_Draco
      
      Wait, what happened to Tera? I thought you were a Tera-phile 4 Life. Did the jiggly physics tire you out? Did you ask them for a refund too?
      - Sharuko
        
        I try to play all major MMOs. GW2 is the only one I hated really. Actually that is a lie, I hated Star Trek Online, FFXIV and Guild Wars 2.
- St_Draco
  
  Look at that, they were nice and gave you your money back. Good Guy ANet.
- jugyfant
  
  Nothing delights me more than knowing i will not have to share the game with you lol…:))
http://www.facebook.com/craig.gafoor Craig Gafoor

ED PARK AKA TAUGRIM FTW ON BUILDS! just played his run and gun warrior spec in pvp for the stress test and its…epic winning! though i found 2 axes a bit better great news! <<< very happy chappy he is wasted on swtor!
http://twitter.com/borded nathan law

“my class is to weak”
MYSTIC FORGE ACTIVATE
congratulations you are now a guardian!
Old Ben

“It’s very impressive… in scale.” – That’s what she said!

Starts out as a compliment but kinda ends up as a criticism in terms of technique.
- Jado Cast
  
  LOL I was thinking the same thing when she said that
http://www.facebook.com/people/Brandon-Davis/100000286723150 Brandon Davis

new stand alone theory craft pvp show for GW2?
OH HELL YES! *simon squee*
http://profile.yahoo.com/G7YNYVSN52JNJH53FJKHUIFIUU Jana

Anyone know when they might add Asura and Sylvari in the beta? :]
tommythepower

No it will not be bigger, i know you massively GW2 fans would like to belive this but after launch just like any other MMO thwe game will lose subs.And GW is a IP that nobody outside the mmo community know of and will not grow any bigger,MMO market is to big. So you guys should really hype down.I’m in beta and sadly GW2 is a mediocre game,good solo experience with some events but nothing great.And lack of trinity and raiding gonna make those events get old fast.The WvWvW will be fun for some time but after a time raiding those forts will grow old.Not because it’s bad but because it’s as i said lack of trinity and any meaning other then hitting doors and dualing.
BTW class balance will be a nightmare to fix because of the classes can do it all, and i can see after a while most pvp running the same 3 specs.
- Jay
  
  How much you want to bet that GW2 won’t lose any “subs”?
  - tommythepower
    
    You must be new to mmo community mmo hoppers always move on to the next “big thing”…GW2 after first 4 month will not be bigger then Rift was at the same time.No trinity no raiding and boring warzones and a bad skill system were everyone can do everything will get old fast, mmo veterans want to feel like they have a purpose in the game.In GW2 no one have a purpose, your just someone to have on events to rez you the 5 time you die during n even you have alredy done 20 times before,atleast in raiding there is an progression. GW2 is as casual as it gets.And a bette solo game then mmo game.I KNOW I’M IN BETA.
    - Jay
      
      Started playing MMOs with EQ, so I wouldn’t consider that new… WoW is 7 years old, people still play it, and EQ for that matter… I fail to see your logic.
      
      Your reply is so full of misinformation, it would take a wall of text for me to correct it all, so I’ll just say this…
      
      Maybe Guild Wars 2 isn’t for you, but you shouldn’t speak for the whole MMO community.
      - tommythepower
        
        No no misinformation just facts based on all other MMOs ever made.And yes i only speak for myseld of course when it comes to the game.BTW only reason that pile of panda crap still going is because 95% of the player base live in chine, hence the pure catering to the chinese market with pandas.Dont get me wrong GW2 is a good game but it will not be the next big think like the burned out MMO hoppers always think about the next MMO.
      - Zeelic
        
        You do relise it is agisnt the law in china to show any kind of harm/killing of pandas? Most likly this will not hit the stores there. They made “Pandas” Playable was for it’s main fan base that lives in other parts of the world. Side note wow still sucks ^^
      - http://www.facebook.com/fimbulvetrr Dovah Kiin
        
        Because RIFT is dead, and they are totally not releasing a brand new expansion… right ? RIGHT?
        
        You sound like you wandered around the norn starting area, got stuck on a boss and turned the game off after 20 minutes.
    - Spammerbam
      
      First off, you’ve just made a fool out of yourself, thinking “bigger” means bigger population.
      
      Secondly, seems like you can’t function without the Trinity; tank-and-spank is the type of game for you; your play-style has no dynamic in it.
      
      Raiding? Most people are tired of that by now. Please no.
      
      Boring Warzones?
      LOL, go play WoW or Tera. Monsters, animals, and NPCs in the same area stand around as if they’re best friends, all waiting for you to do something to them. Sounds like a fun “warzone” to me..
      
      Bad skill system?
      Last thing I remember, every class in traditional MMOs had all skills available to you. So if you’re going against the same class, best chances are you already know what that person is capable of; there’s no skills/build variety or customization. Sad.
      
      In GW2, having a unique play-style and build gives you that sense of purpose in the game, while you save a village, contribute to cross-profession combos in big events, or even take over an outpost. And yes, GW2 IS a casual game; no one said it wasn’t.
      
      You wouldn’t know because you were a noob; not understanding the game’s concept and already coming to a conclusion.
  - H S
    
    He thinks there are subs and he thinks bigger meant game population. LOL!!!
    
    He doesn’t even know how much of a fool he made himself. I almost spit up my morning coffee. Note to trolls, at least do a little research before you try to interject negativity to something.
- Arkanthos
  
  Maybe thats what it will save it:)
- Cosian
  
  Hoot! You know the comment on GW2 being bigger was related to the size of the map. No you didn’t … you saw ‘GW2 Bigger’ and jumped in to troll without watching the show. What a goof …:)
- Jado Cast
  
  Lose subs? LoL what a maroon.
benzjie

I am with Scott..been playing guardian for 2 bwe’s and 2 ST’s and i am loving it. Is it going to be my main toon when GW2 releases ? I think not, but it’s fun, realy , real fun.
Krzysztof Kotarba

TBH I don’t want another BWE… I don’t want play if there is no point, everything will be wiped. Still thief feels clunky with que/long animation on utility skills. It should be instant like rogue’s sklills in WoW.
AN fixed mobs so they are easer to kite/strife, mobs now don’t auto aim all the time, it feels more action.
Crying about dye system… lol
GW2 PvP show sounds great
- Brosaxon
  
  No worries then because the next BWE is the last one, if you go to ArenaNet’s blog they just announced GW2 release date!!!
  
  Next BWE will be on July 20-22 and the release date will be August 28.
- Old Ben
  
  The queuing needs to be removed (or adjustable), indeed. It’s even worse when it interacts with the auto-target and pulls more stuff (sometimes even neutral creatures) after your main target dies.
  
  There should also be an option to make auto-target select only actual enemies, and not neutral animals that happen to be hanging around. The Moa Protection League should be campaigning for that.
H S

Arenanet just announced August 28th release date????
- dawolv
  
  Yes they did.
http://j.mp/shagral Shagral

Woohoo for new PvP show!!! Can’t wait. Ed Park does super awesome theorycrafting on builds and mechanics, I’m stocked to see more of it.
Nick Wise

Launch date announced 28th August and BWE3 20-22 July

http://www.arena.net/blog/announcing-the-guild-wars-2-launch-date
robotadventures

Come on…. emergency release date announcement video!!!
http://twitter.com/IvyVod Vodix

Hurry GW2 is COMING.
Tommy_NOR

http://www.arena.net/blog/announcing-the-guild-wars-2-launch-date

awwww yeeea!
IPoke

But, but.. where’s the new intro/outro music?
Revanhavoc

GANNONATOR NEW INTRO MUSIC NOW!!!
http://twitter.com/Nathiest Nathiest

I got an email that stated an August 28 2012 release date.

I duno what you guys where smoking?
- Senatic
  
  This show was made Tuesday, two days before the announcement.
http://www.facebook.com/jawaska.napper Jawaska Napper

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is releasing on 9/11
http://twitter.com/ByronLumley Byron Lumley

GW2 is all just hype game is average at best.
- Chris Johnson
  
  Your post is all just opinion which is average and unsupported at best.
  - http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
    
    Love the WvW, it lived up to the hype. A little concerned it will be pay to win, with the arrow carts and other siege engines.
    
    For sPVP, after a few months, I suspect the barrier to entry will be fairly high. Pre-made teams will dominate the matches. the pre-made teams will also die a little inside if they are auto balanced off their pre-made team. The tourney will help some, but pre-mades will still rule the sPVP. It will be very hard to pick up GW2 in a few months and jump into sPVP, without feeling your head is being bashed into a rock.
    
    PVE:
    Dynamic Events: Probably the biggest hype job of them all. They are a crock. They are hard on rails quests with virtually no story. The only way they could be considered persistent events is if they are ignored by players or so buggy they cannot be completed.
    
    Hearts:
    Hearts are just multiple choice quests. While its nice you can poke 10 farmers with a stick instead of killing 10 rats. Its still just questing. You look at your map and fill up your hearts.
    
    Personal Story:
    Terrible, just terrible. What was Arenanet thinking when they wrote the storylines. They are juvenile stories showing a total lack of imagination.
    - dawolv
      
      WvW probably wont be p2w.
      Just think supply. Even when you squeze your gold sh*@google-20689fa60a43c30496162fe3a828d920:disqus #ng mule for days and buy a bunch of blueprints you still need supply to build the stuff. Also, you’d have to do that over for every location since (except the Golem suit) none of them can be moved.
      When you buy more and more gems and trade them for gold, you also oversaturate the market. If that catches on and more people do it, you will have to spend more and more money over the games lifespan to keep that advantage intact.
      I’m not to concerned about that…
      
      Events I disagree. They overhyped it, for sure, but there was never a question on wether it is still questing. Of course it is. Theres only so many things you can do in a game with a fantasy setting. What they improved is the mechanic of running to a guy, clicking some stuff, going kill some stuff, bringing back some stuff, claiming reward – mainly with the hearts, but also some events
      and because of that the game goes at a much faster pace than even the most single player RPG’s. I agree, filling hearts and traditional quests are quite the same, but are they? I feel less forced to do stuff when it’s just casually sitting on my UI instead of having a quest log of stuff to do. Reminds me of a shoping list or household chores…
      
      Story… mhh.. idk it’s fine. I’m not a lore-whore, so I’ll live.
      - http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
        
        You still need smart gameplay in WvW, you have to establish and protect your supply lines. Players have to pick up supply from “safe” points and use them on the front lines. Players need to pick up supply so our supply depots would refill. All players should carry supply, so the supply depots constantly refill.
        
        WvW becomes p2w, when you have players with large amounts of gold that can quickly reinforce gates, upgrade keep fortifications, build Waypoints and drop significant number of siege engines. Part of my gameplay during the second BWE was to find unfinished siege engines and finish building them.
        
        When a level 2 character can purchase gems and convert them to gold. They can have a significant impact on WvW, through the purchase of upgrades and siege engines.
        
        I do find WvW to be a never ending gold sink. If you don’t have the gold to build siege engines, there is no point in attacking Invaders fortifications.
        
        Prior to the BWE the hype around the Dynamic Events was really clear. They were not questing, they were persistent world events. I’m just not following the stories behind the dynamic events.
    - Jay
      
      We’ve only seen the starter zones… Seems a lil early to be calling events a crock when we haven’t even seen the big ones yet. Sure, not all of them can be Tyria changing, but some that I ran into really were large and consequential.
      
      Did you get a chance to fight the Shadow Behemoth btw? We’ve only seen about 1/4 of the content. Compared to other MMOs… I think ANet is doing more than well with what they have so far.
      - http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
        
        The strong feeling about the Dynamic Events comes from the hype prior to the first BWE. I’m not seeing the persistent world that dynamic events were to bring.
        
        Shadow Behemoth, no haven’t see it. What is the story behind the Shadow Behemoth? Is it a boss spawn as part of a dynamic event? World boss that pats across a zone? Rare spawn, that randomly appears?
        
        Where I get into trouble with that type of PVE content is when I pop in and out of WvW. When I return from the Eternal Battlegrounds and see the same event repeating itself.
      - Jay
        
        It’s an elite dynamic event boss… People who are PVE focused will get to see the true benefits of all the PVE elements. However if you’re in and out of WvW or SPvP all the time, you can’t expect the game to cater PVE elements specifically to you.
        
        In later levels there are even meta dynamic events that change the landscape through snow storms and such. Basically it’s a bit early to be calling dynamic events a “crock”. If you haven’t even seen the Shadow Behemoth… “You aint seen nothin’ yet.”
    - Old Ben
      
      > Dynamic Events [...] They are hard on rails quests
      > with virtually no story.
      
      They’re not meant to have any story, and they’re very much not “quests”. They’re “stuff that happens” between NPCs, and which you can interfere with, if you so choose. If you don’t, that region will tend to alternate between two or three different “states”. If you do interfere, you can usually push it to another state, and sometimes trigger a different event (causing some big monster to appear, giving players access to a previously blocked area, etc.). They are the biggest thing to happen to MMORPGs since… well, ever. Not an entirely new concept (some single-player RPGs have similar things), but it’s the first time an MMO attempts to do a “living world” on this scale (and their complexity is only going to increase).
      
      And I wouldn’t call renown hearts “quests”. They’re more like reputation turn-ins, where you’re trying to make an NPC like you so that he or she will do business with you, and sell you some potentially unique items. I don’t think any renown heart NPC actually rewards you with items directly, nor do you need to talk to them to initiate the reputation gain.
      
      There does seem to exist some confusion in Arena Net’s designers’ heads about what constitutes a “renown heart” and what constitutes a different type of quest. Some NPCs in BWE2 had a generic “quest” icon (a spark) but effectively behaved almost like renown heart NPCs (selling you some item after you do something to help them). Others had the spark but behaved like escort NPCs (which normally have a shield).
      
      Hopefully in the next BWE there will be a more consistent logic to the icons.
      
      One nice thing I found (in BWE2, I don’t think it was there before) was that they also have “quiz quests”. You talk to some NPC who asks you a series of questions and, if you answer correctly, you get a reward. It’s an interesting incentive to make people study the lore and explore the world.
- Bo Fernatt
  
  Opinions are opinoins for sure… and mine is if you dont like it and feel that its average then move on and play something else… and leave the rest of us to play our average game… all settled huh!
Jado Cast

. Oh snap. Troll smack!
http://profile.yahoo.com/FPXO267IVAHL3MK4HRRNRQPNDA Bush Swanson, The American Dre

If I was making guild wars 2 I would make it so you could have boats and instead of swimming youd have to get a license. I <3 scott
Eric Hathaway

Also, regarding the Gem Store xp boosts… it’s not pay-to-win, because nothing sold in the Gem Store is exclusive to the Gem Store. Everything can be found within normal gameplay.
- http://twitter.com/elixabethclaire Elisabeth Claire
  
  Well, technically, I don’t think so. I mean, you can always earn gems via gold through gameplay, yes, but you can’t find, say, a cook’s outfit out in the world. I think .
  - dawolv
    
    no you can’t but when you have the way to earn gems through gold thats good’nuff
    I also expected them to litter our inventories with mystic chests and make us buy keys (*cough* Valve *cough*) but I actually got keys from map completion and story quests. Obviously not nearly as many as I found chests, but still. Also, theres a chance for keys to drop out of chests…
    All that really “undermines” the gems store, but I think that, if they actually make money with that, theres nothing for us, the gamers, to complain about
  - Bo Fernatt
    
    Never say never… hey you never know you might find a bandit cook out there! Cooking his little bandit heart out in full apron and chef hat.
- Old Ben
  
  So you can find extra character slots within normal gameplay?
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ian-Smith/100000531128393 Ian Smith

Where do we send our questions for the show to discuss, again? I was waiting for it to be announced in the show but I think he forgot this time. Sorry, but it’s not a video question, I just don’t have the tech or know how. Or do we just post them here?
Joseph Winn

In the recent stress test, I went into the dungeon inside Eternal Battlegrounds. While I was in there, I ran into some hostile players from another server. Naturally, I began fighting them. After killing them a few times, one of them sent me a party invite. I was a bit confused at first, but accepted the invite. When I accepted the invite, I appeared in their party, and I could see their natural levels and names. We were still red to each other, but could talk and see each other’s names. They then asked me to stop killing them.
Do you think this is a bug or is this something ANet intended for the mini-dungeon? Do they plan to have the option for cross-world help inside the dungeon? There’s a lot of hijinx that could occur from this.
- pandora005
  
  If it is a bug it is a good one!
  
  Just remember that there are THREE sides in WvWvW and this could open up opportunities for Diplomacy. Everyone who ever played that boardgame will know that you have to count on being backstabbed eventually!
- http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
  
  Lol, the plan is to allow for guesting on other servers. Did not know that includes the dungeons inside WvW.
  
  You cant guest on another server for WvW.
pandora005

The best color to have: Octarine …
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ian-Smith/100000531128393 Ian Smith

Where do we leave our questions for the show?
- Tedslet
  
  I think you have to do it live during the stream
- http://twitter.com/FishBaitism Fish Bait
  
  Can email them or leave on FB on the day.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Kristian-Mogensen/1217090113 Kristian Mogensen

Garry could you pls fix your mic? I’m getting ticks listening to all that noise ^^
http://www.facebook.com/martin.tomaschek.9 Martin Tomaschek

i still think that they could make a joypad plug in for etc X-Box 460 Controller

GuildCast 29: ArenaNet's Guild Wars 2 Is Much Bigger Than Expected

After Dark Ep33:
“Xbox, Go Home”… You’re Drunk!

Last Stand At Southsun May 28th

Patch 5.3: Blizzard’s First Ever Live Video Interview!

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