official Guild Wars 2

[trag3dy]

Nice Slane :) Yeah seen pretty much all of the information in there but it's a well written piece that pulls all of the information together, a great find. :D I'll certainly be showing this to my friends who are interested in playing, they've never tried or really liked Guild Wars but it already looks like a massive improvement on it.

Actually, one of the funniest things is that one of my friends did not want to play after 5-10 minutes because he couldn't jump in-game. :rofl: And now that GW2 has the feature (and swimming incidentally) he's suddenly very interested and wanting to try it. Too much bunnyhopping in WoW me thinks :rolleyes: - which is usually what happens when you give people the ability to jump around. :laugh:

Really excited for this game, I really do think that GW2 can change the way we look at MMO's and provide a new model for other games to follow. People talk about games that are "revolutionising" their genres of gaming and I never agree but I can see it with this game. Here's hoping!

- Shido :shiftyninja:

I agree. If A-net delivers on what they promise for GW2 it will definitely revolutionize mmos. Especially considering it's free to play. If ever there was a game to take the crown of king of mmos from WoW it will be GW2. Considering GW1 was and still is bigger than pretty much any other mmo that has come out in the last 5 years.

[Wakers]

Technically it's not free to play, it's buy to play. There is a difference there which can be quite important, particularly when it comes down to how the cash shop works.

In a free 2 play model, the cash shops offer access to items which are necessary / greatly improve game experience - buy to play cash shops are more cosmetic and account services based.

[trag3dy]

Technically it's not free to play, it's buy to play. There is a difference there which can be quite important, particularly when it comes down to how the cash shop works.

In a free 2 play model, the cash shops offer access to items which are necessary / greatly improve game experience - buy to play cash shops are more cosmetic and account services based.

Yes? All I meant to say was that it didn't require a monthly subscription fee..

[Slane]

Yes? All I meant to say was that it didn't require a monthly subscription fee..

Pretty sure 99% of the people knew what you were saying. Seems to be the trend now to state the difference, as just about everywhere I visit where GW2 is being discussed this comes up.

To me, it's like telling someone "actually cats don't have 9 lives".

[scaramonga]

Yes? All I meant to say was that it didn't require a monthly subscription fee..

Correct. And that is all that matters these days ;)

I for one will gladly pay for the game, and thus play for free from then on :) Simple.

[Wakers]

I think it's am important difference because when someone says "free to play" then people immediately think of low budget, low quality games with purchasing from the cash store required to make any real progress.

Or they think of a AAA title that has turned free to play where there is still the option of a subscription and you have to buy quest packs and whatnot to get to the later stages of the game.

It's an important difference and people should be getting it right lest a game is unfairly hurt by it. Hell, some people out there still dismiss Guild Wars 2 because they don't think you can jump or it's all going to be instanced again.

[mattmatik]

I never played the first game but a couple co-workers did and they have me amped for GW2. Not really a MMO person but this sounds like it could change me. Really looking forward to the engineer class - the new weapons sound crazy. Not sure how they played in GW1.

I wonder how the PvP will work. From what I read, you hop in and everyone has the same gear to choose from. How would that work? Will success be based now on how your Guild works together as opposed to what kind of gear you're carrying?

[Wakers]

I never played the first game but a couple co-workers did and they have me amped for GW2. Not really a MMO person but this sounds like it could change me. Really looking forward to the engineer class - the new weapons sound crazy. Not sure how they played in GW1.

I wonder how the PvP will work. From what I read, you hop in and everyone has the same gear to choose from. How would that work? Will success be based now on how your Guild works together as opposed to what kind of gear you're carrying?

Success is based on your adaptability and skill in the competitive PvP. In WvWvW which is more casual, you can take your PvE characters in and I guess that will not equalise everyone's gear.

Engineers weren't in GW1, neither were Guardians nor Thieves. All of the returning classes have been completely overhauled and will play nothing like they did in the first game either. For instance, rangers and warriors can use many of the same weapons and be effective now in a way that has actually been designed, rather than gimmick builds that came about because of the dual profession system in GW1 that was too hard to balance.

[Blackhearted]

Engineers weren't in GW1, neither were Guardians nor Thieves. All of the returning classes have been completely overhauled and will play nothing like they did in the first game either. For instance, rangers and warriors can use many of the same weapons and be effective now in a way that has actually been designed, rather than gimmick builds that came about because of the dual profession system in GW1 that was too hard to balance.

Eh, i'm not sure i'd totally say thieves weren't in GW1. As the GW2 thief is basically a modified/reworked version of the assassin in GW1.

[Wakers]

Eh, i'm not sure i'd totally say thieves weren't in GW1. As the GW2 thief is basically a modified/reworked version of the assassin in GW1.

The mechanics are nothing like each other though. If Anet wanted them to be considered assassins, they would be called that. They have a different class name because they're a completely different class.

[mokthraka]

I never played the first game but a couple co-workers did and they have me amped for GW2. Not really a MMO person but this sounds like it could change me. Really looking forward to the engineer class - the new weapons sound crazy. Not sure how they played in GW1.

I wonder how the PvP will work. From what I read, you hop in and everyone has the same gear to choose from. How would that work? Will success be based now on how your Guild works together as opposed to what kind of gear you're carrying?

there wasnt a engineering class in guild wars.

PVP in guild wars relied heavily on tactics. if you didnt work together, you lost. Especially in the hall of heroes

[Blackhearted]

We recently finished our first closed beta test, and we?re now ready to hold progressively larger events. In February we?ll invite select press to participate in beta testing, and in March and April we?ll aggressively ramp up the size of our beta test events so that many of you will have a chance to participate. And of course, this all leads to the release of Guild Wars 2 later this year.

So stay tuned to our official Guild Wars 2 website, our Facebook page, and this blog for more information about how to participate in an upcoming beta event.

http://www.arena.net/blog/dragon

While it's nice to hear something speaking of when the game is going to come out in a way other than "when it's done", i'm still kinda disappointed by how it seems somewhat unlikely for it to be the 1st half of 2012.

[Wakers]

I think with Guild Wars 1 the last beta event was only a couple of months before the game opened for real.

It was a long time ago but I'm pretty sure that was the case.

[Daedroth]

I'm very much looking forward to playing Guild Wars 2 when it's released. Thoroughly enjoyed the first. It looks like it's going to be Q3 or Q4 for release by that schedule.

[trag3dy]

Welcome to the Year of the Dragon!

Today is Lunar New Year?s Day, and according to the Asian zodiac system, the first day of the Year of the Dragon. It?s an auspicious omen for all of us at ArenaNet, as we get ready to make this our own Year of the Dragon.

According to tradition, the dragon embodies passion, independence, and ambition. We think it?s a perfect analogy for what we?re trying to accomplish with Guild Wars 2. We?re a company full of MMO and RPG fans, and we?ve set out to fundamentally rethink how you deliver an RPG experience online. So this year, the Year of the Dragon, let?s usher out old thinking ? the tired old quest model, stiff repetitive combat, and monthly fees ? and usher in the new.

Guild Wars 2 has captured the imagination of gamers and media all over the world with its action-oriented combat, its living world full of dynamic events, its highly personalized role-playing experience, and the handcrafted artistry that suffuses every element of the game. Last year, thousands of you joined us at shows and events all over the world to try Guild Wars 2 for yourself. This year, you?ll finally be able to immerse yourself in the vast, diverse world of Tyria.

We recently finished our first closed beta test, and we?re now ready to hold progressively larger events. In February we?ll invite select press to participate in beta testing, and in March and April we?ll aggressively ramp up the size of our beta test events so that many of you will have a chance to participate. And of course, this all leads to the release of Guild Wars 2 later this year.

So stay tuned to our official Guild Wars 2 website, our Facebook page, and this blog for more information about how to participate in an upcoming beta event.

It?s been an incredible adventure over the past five years, working with our community and our team of dedicated artists, designers, and programmers to realize this vision. This year, the seeds of that work come to fruition. We can?t wait to play the game with you.

So welcome to the Year of the Dragon ? the year of Guild Wars 2.

-Mike O?Brien

ArenaNet Founder and President

http://www.arena.net/blog/

Color me excited. I'm still sticking with my theory that we'll see a late May or early June release.

I wonder what they'll include in the collectors edition since the Hall of Monuments thing makes it kind of pointless to give in game items away with it. Of course there will be the standard art book and I would also love to see a huge dragon statue similar to Skyrims.

Speaking of the Hall of Monuments, have they gone into detail on how that fits into the game yet? I must have totally missed it if they did. Depending on how it works will decide if I ever grind out the last 20 levels in mine. Right now I'm 30/50, which only leaves 3 titles that I don't really care about.

[S00N3R FR3AK]

Ten Ton Hammer posted to their facebook page that they have a huge exclusive announcement for GW2 on the 20th.

[Wakers]

Ten Ton Hammer posted to their facebook page that they have a huge exclusive announcement for GW2 on the 20th.

Yea..that's a lie. Considering the amount of press that is being invited and the fact that they're all in the same event and that they all have NDA lifted on the 20th...it's either not going to be an exclusive or it's not going to be "huge".

[Scraggles]

Give me GW2 now. No questions. Just do it.

[doctorBurg]

Oh nice, I'm glad they added jumping. I hated that about the original.

[Slane]

Guild wars 2 coming to console's and beta testing in March/April.

http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/15/guild-wars-2-console-version-confirmed/

[Blackhearted]

Guild wars 2 coming to console's and beta testing in March/April.

http://massively.joy...sion-confirmed/

It's quite a shame. They plan to ruin a pc game with a lot of potential by making a console version of it. One would think people smart enough to make games, would have enough sense not to do things like this.

[JaredFrost]

It's quite a shame. They plan to ruin a pc game with a lot of potential by making a console version of it. One would think people smart enough to make games, would have enough sense not to do things like this.

As long as the PC and console versions don't play against each other, or there is an option to choose, I don't see the problem.

EDIT: That would be pretty easy, they could just make a PC/Console Districts, like they do with languages in GW1.

[Emn1ty]

As long as the PC and console versions don't play against each other, or there is an option to choose, I don't see the problem.

EDIT: That would be pretty easy, they could just make a PC/Console Districts, like they do with languages in GW1.

What better place to play an MMO than from the comfort of your living room?

[S00N3R FR3AK]

Yea..that's a lie. Considering the amount of press that is being invited and the fact that they're all in the same event and that they all have NDA lifted on the 20th...it's either not going to be an exclusive or it's not going to be "huge".

It could be Ten Ton Hammer gets to tell everyone first. That is not uncommon that one outlet gets to be the one to share everything before everyone else.

[Blackhearted]

As long as the PC and console versions don't play against each other, or there is an option to choose, I don't see the problem.

EDIT: That would be pretty easy, they could just make a PC/Console Districts, like they do with languages in GW1.

Separating the platforms wont really matter if the dumbing down required for the console version seeps into the pc version, and it most likely will.