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So I'd recommend doing crafting as you level. Went from 24-30 doing crafting for about an hour last night. Got Hunstman up to 30~ and cooking to 235. It is alot of XP.

Well the first level 80 was a crafter so makes sense ;)

I'd recommend reading a guide, discoveries is where its at, also don't be a noob like me and remember to change up your gathering tools...swear I mined about 50 nodes before realising I had a lesser tool equipped (ended up with just rubble) >.<

The more I'm overcoming the awkwardness of playing a new MMO, the more I'm enjoying the game. Only on level 6 so far. Really enjoying the art direction of the game so far.

I have a few questions:

1. How do I access my bank? The only way I've been able to so far is through the crafting station. Is it essentially the same interface anyway?

2. Are there any classical group based dungeons in this game? At what level do these open up? I'm a dungeon crawler, myself.

The world events are nice and all, but I can't find any good reason to interact with the people that are around with me other than whacking the same **** they are. Maybe I just need to find a guild and meet some folks. So far I only have 1 RL friend getting this game. My other friends aren't interested or are just waiting for Pandaria.

The more I'm overcoming the awkwardness of playing a new MMO, the more I'm enjoying the game. Only on level 6 so far. Really enjoying the art direction of the game so far.

I have a few questions:

1. How do I access my bank? The only way I've been able to so far is through the crafting station. Is it essentially the same interface anyway?

2. Are there any classical group based dungeons in this game? At what level do these open up? I'm a dungeon crawler, myself.

The world events are nice and all, but I can't find any good reason to interact with the people that are around with me other than whacking the same **** they are. Maybe I just need to find a guild and meet some folks. So far I only have 1 RL friend getting this game. My other friends aren't interested or are just waiting for Pandaria.

I'm in the same boat. I actually joined a casual play guild (although there are hardcore players on the roster). What I'm still not clear on is if I can add people to my contacts who aren't on my server (Sanctum of Rall)?

The more I'm overcoming the awkwardness of playing a new MMO, the more I'm enjoying the game. Only on level 6 so far. Really enjoying the art direction of the game so far.

I have a few questions:

1. How do I access my bank? The only way I've been able to so far is through the crafting station. Is it essentially the same interface anyway?

2. Are there any classical group based dungeons in this game? At what level do these open up? I'm a dungeon crawler, myself.

The world events are nice and all, but I can't find any good reason to interact with the people that are around with me other than whacking the same **** they are. Maybe I just need to find a guild and meet some folks. So far I only have 1 RL friend getting this game. My other friends aren't interested or are just waiting for Pandaria.

1. There are dedicated bank NPCs, they appear on your map as a yellow circle with a bag icon in the middle.

2. Yes there are, I am not quite sure what level they start, I want to say 30 but I am not positive.

If by interact you mean party, that's the beauty of Guild Wars 2....there is no reason to party with other players unless you want to do a dungeon or have a private chat area (that involves more than you and the other person) or see each other on the map. The game is designed so you are not forced to party with people to get an objective done. Partying is designed more for those who want to stick together with the people around them (easier to see/follow, easier to communicate, etc). If you are playing without friends or people you want to hang out with, ignore the party system altogether.

I'm in the same boat. I actually joined a casual play guild (although there are hardcore players on the roster). What I'm still not clear on is if I can add people to my contacts who aren't on my server (Sanctum of Rall)?

You can add people from other servers as well as PM them no problem.

I think i am Level 8 or so. Wish they had some sort of online character portal so you could check yourself out.

So far loving the game. not much has changed from the beta. The only complaint i have is that your armor does not really influence what you look like until later in the game. So everyone looks rather much the same.

1. There are dedicated bank NPCs, they appear on your map as a yellow circle with a bag icon in the middle.

2. Yes there are, I am not quite sure what level they start, I want to say 30 but I am not positive.

If by interact you mean party, that's the beauty of Guild Wars 2....there is no reason to party with other players unless you want to do a dungeon or have a private chat area (that involves more than you and the other person) or see each other on the map. The game is designed so you are not forced to party with people to get an objective done. Partying is designed more for those who want to stick together with the people around them (easier to see/follow, easier to communicate, etc). If you are playing without friends or people you want to hang out with, ignore the party system altogether.

Thanks for the information. The fact that I'm not forced to party with folks is a bit of a problem for me, because that will mean I probably never will and will lose out on what makes an MMO fun. But the dungeons are things that help me meet people, so I'm looking forward to that.

Questions about chat:

1. When I "say" something (press enter and type in a message) who receives that message?

2. Is there anyway to "say" something to people who are immediately around me (like within "hearing" distance so to speak)?

3. Are there any global chat channels or is the chat channel I'm on when I do a default "say" already a global channel?

You can add people from other servers as well as PM them no problem.

My "homeworld" is already filled and my friend who is joining won't be able to get on my homeworld. And I guess me moving to another homeworld is out of the question because I don't have gems or whatever yet...

I read that there is a "guest" system worked out that will allow us to still group together and accomplish PvE objectives together. Does anyone know if that is up and running yet?

Thanks for the information. The fact that I'm not forced to party with folks is a bit of a problem for me, because that will mean I probably never will and will lose out on what makes an MMO fun. But the dungeons are things that help me meet people, so I'm looking forward to that.

Questions about chat:

1. When I "say" something (press enter and type in a message) who receives that message?

2. Is there anyway to "say" something to people who are immediately around me (like within "hearing" distance so to speak)?

3. Are there any global chat channels or is the chat channel I'm on when I do a default "say" already a global channel?

My "homeworld" is already filled and my friend who is joining won't be able to get on my homeworld. And I guess me moving to another homeworld is out of the question because I don't have gems or whatever yet...

I read that there is a "guest" system worked out that will allow us to still group together and accomplish PvE objectives together. Does anyone know if that is up and running yet?

You should not miss out on much of anything, as you are questing around and adventuring (I just wander around sometimes) You will experience Dynamic Events which generally lots of folks will be doing. even though you are not in a traditional party you are doing the even with a group of people. And you can just wander into these events. sometimes they are rather massive other times its just a horde of enemies and you are trying to protect an NPC.

Thanks for the information. The fact that I'm not forced to party with folks is a bit of a problem for me, because that will mean I probably never will and will lose out on what makes an MMO fun. But the dungeons are things that help me meet people, so I'm looking forward to that.

Questions about chat:

1. When I "say" something (press enter and type in a message) who receives that message?

2. Is there anyway to "say" something to people who are immediately around me (like within "hearing" distance so to speak)?

3. Are there any global chat channels or is the chat channel I'm on when I do a default "say" already a global channel?

My "homeworld" is already filled and my friend who is joining won't be able to get on my homeworld. And I guess me moving to another homeworld is out of the question because I don't have gems or whatever yet...

I read that there is a "guest" system worked out that will allow us to still group together and accomplish PvE objectives together. Does anyone know if that is up and running yet?

Had a nice long reply typed, but of course for whatever reason, the forum didn't load on clicking post so the whole thing was lost..

1/2) Say is a proximity based public chat message.

3) You can use /map to talk to everyone within that map zone, such as your city, or questing zone.

You can buy gems via the Black Lion Trading Center via Paypal or CC. Then you would purchase your homeworld transfer. If you don't care about WvW (the only thing you can't guest), then simply add the person as a friend. Friends are cross server, as they are tied to your account, not your character. Invite the person into your group, and then right click on his name and click Join In ... The functionality should be live.

You can add people from other servers as well as PM them no problem.

Thanks!

Now, if I can just figure out PvP because right now I'm in the starting area and I'm just running in circles! It seems you can buy weapons, armor, sigils, etc for free. Is that how this is supposed to work? :laugh:

I did PvP in the beta but I just hopped in and played and got my ass handed to me. Trying to better prepare myself but it seems complicated for some reason.

Had a nice long reply typed, but of course for whatever reason, the forum didn't load on clicking post so the whole thing was lost..

1/2) Say is a proximity based public chat message.

3) You can use /map to talk to everyone within that map zone, such as your city, or questing zone.

You can buy gems via the Black Lion Trading Center via Paypal or CC. Then you would purchase your homeworld transfer. If you don't care about WvW (the only thing you can't guest), then simply add the person as a friend. Friends are cross server, as they are tied to your account, not your character. Invite the person into your group, and then right click on his name and click Join In ... The functionality should be live.

You can also trade gems for gold. This is what makes the game awesome: people who need gold can buy it with gems, people who want gems can buy it with gold. Those who don't want to pay real life money don't have to, and those that do can still get what they need. It's a very well thought out system if you ask me. My gold in game is worth roughly 220 gems. If I worked hard enough, I could likely get the things I want in the Black Lion Trading Center without spending a dime of real life money. :)

It totally voids the need for arbitrary functions such as balancing your game to funnel people towards the auction house, like Diablo 3 does. It also removes the aspect of "pay to win", since everyone is kept pretty even most the time. Truly loving how this is all working out to be honest!

I think i am Level 8 or so. Wish they had some sort of online character portal so you could check yourself out.

I'm willing to bet we'll see it in the future. Most MMOs don't start off with it immediately on release, since it's not a number one priority but really just an awesome convenience.

So thanks to a certain someone (mattmatik for instance!) I have the game now and I shall become addicted soon.

Props to mattmatik for being a bro! (Y)

You can also trade gems for gold. This is what makes the game awesome: people who need gold can buy it with gems, people who want gems can buy it with gold. Those who don't want to pay real life money don't have to, and those that do can still get what they need. It's a very well thought out system if you ask me. My gold in game is worth roughly 220 gems. If I worked hard enough, I could likely get the things I want in the Black Lion Trading Center without spending a dime of real life money. :)

It totally voids the need for arbitrary functions such as balancing your game crappy to funnel people towards the auction house, like Diablo 3 does. It also removes the aspect of "pay to win", since everyone is kept pretty even most the time. Truly loving how this is all working out to be honest!

I'm willing to bet we'll see it in the future. Most MMOs don't start off with it immediately on release, since it's not a number one priority but really just an awesome convenience.

Just curious, what does this mean? What is the function of a character portal?

Just curious, what does this mean? What is the function of a character portal?

If you've ever played WoW, the Armory is a great example of what he's talking about. A place where you can see your character, the armor they're wearing, their achievements, their progress, statistics, builds, etc. so that you may easily share your accomplishments or builds with others. Link for example: http://us.battle.net...Riverria/simple

MMOs like Aion and such have it too.

I'm kind of liking the game but I got to the point where I have a quest but no indicator on the map where to go. I guess I'll figure it out. What's everyone's favorite caster class? I started a Necro and an Ele and like the Necro so far.

The overflow thing is very annoying but I'm sure they'll fix this later. They have gotten a ton of feedback in the past 2 days that I'm sure we will see addressed in the coming weeks.

I don't mind what the overflow is. Just the dialog boxes that pop up telling you about it is annoying. They could have a more subtle message about it that pops up and fades away. Something you don't have to click through.

Can you not group with your friends to for you into the same area to play together? Pretty basic oversight if not.

I haven't tried it, but from what I read the only problem currently is that the overflow server setup might mean that a person in your group is on a different server or something when you enter into an area. I think thats the current problem anyway. I bet they have small stuff like that fixed soon. Also, as the initial popularity of the game dies down some I bet you will see the overflow servers less and less.

You can also trade gems for gold. This is what makes the game awesome: people who need gold can buy it with gems, people who want gems can buy it with gold. Those who don't want to pay real life money don't have to, and those that do can still get what they need. It's a very well thought out system if you ask me. My gold in game is worth roughly 220 gems. If I worked hard enough, I could likely get the things I want in the Black Lion Trading Center without spending a dime of real life money. :)

It totally voids the need for arbitrary functions such as balancing your game to funnel people towards the auction house, like Diablo 3 does. It also removes the aspect of "pay to win", since everyone is kept pretty even most the time. Truly loving how this is all working out to be honest!

I'm willing to bet we'll see it in the future. Most MMOs don't start off with it immediately on release, since it's not a number one priority but really just an awesome convenience.

Props to mattmatik for being a bro! (Y)

You forgot to mention that you get items from the gem store as you play regularly too. I've gotten xp boosts, crafting boosts, and repair canisters without paying for them.

1/2) Say is a proximity based public chat message.

3) You can use /map to talk to everyone within that map zone, such as your city, or questing zone.

You can also shorten "/map" to "/y" (yell) and it goes throughout the map.....same with "/s" instead of "/say". It helps save a fraction of a second when frantically typing while in combat.

Can you not group with your friends to for you into the same area to play together? Pretty basic oversight if not.

You can, but the overflow servers are a little buggy right now. Currently, you have to either get lucky and load into the same instance of the zone as your party members, or you have to get lucky and have the "Join in ..." button when you right-click them in the party menu. They have stated they are working on fixing it, ideally, if two people are in a group it should always put them in the same overflow servers (and ask when someone joins a group if they want to "Join in" on the party leader)...and of course leave the option to "Join in" in the UI, so those that decline the initial query can do it manually later.

One nice thing though, is it does seem to put parties into a queue to get into the main servers....my friend and I are always in a party and when we are in the same zone we both get the popup to move to the primary server (for our world) at the same time. So they at least thought far enough ahead to set that up right, but there is no synchronization outside of party chat to ask or know if your party is moving to the main server.

I don't mind what the overflow is. Just the dialog boxes that pop up telling you about it is annoying. They could have a more subtle message about it that pops up and fades away. Something you don't have to click through.

Agreed the dialogs that appear are the annoying part of it. I think most people wouldn't even notice they were not on the main server if they didn't see those boxes. That's what is annoying to me too the dialogs that come up constantly.

None of my friends have bought the game because it's too expensive so I'm just questing on my own right now :'(

You forgot to mention that you get items from the gem store as you play regularly too. I've gotten xp boosts, crafting boosts, and repair canisters without paying for them.

Oh yes, this too! I had 3 locked chests when I first started playing. When I got my first key through the story line, I opened the first chest which had goodies in it along with another key! Second chest I opened had more goodies and ANOTHER key! Got to open all 3 chests right on the spot! :D

Agreed the dialogs that appear are the annoying part of it. I think most people wouldn't even notice they were not on the main server if they didn't see those boxes. That's what is annoying to me too the dialogs that come up constantly.

None of my friends have bought the game because it's too expensive so I'm just questing on my own right now :'(

Just hit Esc...? :huh: They only come up once when you zone in...

Agreed the dialogs that appear are the annoying part of it. I think most people wouldn't even notice they were not on the main server if they didn't see those boxes. That's what is annoying to me too the dialogs that come up constantly.

None of my friends have bought the game because it's too expensive so I'm just questing on my own right now :'(

Its been a tough sell to my friends as well. Most of my friends are burnt out on MMOs in general, and my friends that are still playing WoW are burnt out on the whole "next WoW killer" that turns out not being as good as they hoped. As one of my friends put it, "You can't kill WoW, it's like a weed."

The price of GW2 isn't bad from the perspective that there are no monthly costs. But still, $60 going towards a WoW subscription is 4 months of gameplay. To be honest with you, I haven't really gotten my money's worth on any "WoW killer" as I get burnt out in about a month (Star Trek Online, Rift, Warhammer).

I'm staying optimistic about this one though. Wish I could convince some of my buddies. Oh well. I think if the price were $40 they would all jump on the bandwagon no problem.

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If I had a friend coming over and wanted to try a quick 1v1, the streamlined controls option is one I’d consider to make it a light and fun fight. The one part of the fighting that did not click with me was the grappling. Being taken to the ground brings in an entirely new control mechanism involving mounts and submissions that feel more like quick-time events than the heavy, tactical fighting I had seen so far while standing. The game wants me to hold sticks in certain directions to change the position or pull off submissions, trying to do the opposite actions of the opponent. Even though I tried to get used to this gameplay, it just felt like a momentum killer, and I eventually just wanted to get back on my feet to get back into the action. Legacy and Career It was UFC 6’s career mode that I wanted to play the most when I started it up. I grew up with EA Sports games, and taking my team from the ground to the top has always been my favorite task. UFC 6 has that same option but also offers a more cinematic entrance to the career experience than I expected with ‘The Legacy’ mode. This mini-campaign follows an up-and-coming fighter, Chris Carter, who is attempting to reach the heights his father had reached in the sport. Starting with a small-time gym and coach, the story follows both his growth in the space as well as the growing rivalry with a friend and fighter, Danny Lopez. The fights in this mode are very good at introducing a newcomer like me to the sport and its varying techniques. Cinematics land between the major fights, showing the growing tension between the two fighters as the years go by, feeling the pressure to not miss out on the hard-earned chances. The dialogue can be a little corny at times, especially when the bar fights kick off, but I largely enjoyed the storyline. At the end of it, I was pretty much familiar with all the mechanics of the career mode, unlocking new skills and moves, and how I needed to approach fights, both outside and inside the ring. This story mode isn’t a very lengthy one, so don’t expect an hour-long campaign. Once the conclusion is reached, Carter’s journey continues as if it’s a normal career playthrough, though I decided to start over from scratch now that I have some know-how about the basics. The career mode is very streamlined, which is to be expected considering there isn’t a team to manage like in other EA Sports games. It’s the journey of one fighter. When a fight comes up in the calendar, I could choose how many weeks I dedicate to preparing for it at the gym. A longer prep time gives the opportunity to get my fighter’s fitness up (giving a bonus during fights), earn more money and points for unlocking new skills, and gain more fans to fast-track the rise to stardom. While that sounds like a lot of things to manage, it’s more like a few clicks. There is a social media menu that sometimes pops up with canned replies I can send to fans, and the sponsors are once again a single click away from being assigned as finished. It’s the training aspect that adds a gameplay angle. Using the money from winnings and sponsorships, I was hiring different types of trainers and learning fancier moves to use in the ring. One small thing I appreciated was that it was possible to injure each other during these training sessions. If a trainer goes down in a bad way while sparring, they won’t be available for the remainder of training. If my fighter is injured, it takes valuable time and resources to heal and recuperate. Just like in real life, it makes sense not to go so hard during training sessions and save that energy for the main event. Every training or sponsorship activity I took part in used up the days and weeks I had before the next fight, bringing a balancing element to the whole ordeal. There were times I simulated most of these to just get to the next fight, but the grind for gaining even the slightest bit of advantage while trying not to overdo it is an enjoyable one. Outside of quick fights and career modes, UFC 6 also introduces an almost museum-like mode to explore a trio of fighters considered to be legends of the sport: Max Holloway, Alex Pereira, and Zhang Weili. The aptly named Hall of Legends mode is unlike everything else seen in the game. Each of these fighters has entire levels dedicated to them that I could walk around in and explore their journey into the UFC. This includes footage from real-life fights and interviews about their original inspirations and training methods. Each of these spaces is almost like an interactive documentary. Once the highlights are done, the mode offers the opportunity to take over a deciding fight from the superstars. It’s an impressive transition. Going from the real-life televised event with crowds and commentary to immediately taking over in the game has some real hype behind it. Performance and visuals It’s clear to see that UFC 6 is going for a photo-realism look with its visuals compared to any other fighting game. The fighters don’t look great in selection screens. But inside the arenas, under the flood lights, surrounded by crowds, and facing an opponent, the visuals are more than impressive. As ghastly as it is to witness, things like blood spraying into the mat and muscles reddening as they get pummeled keep improving the immersion. The fluid animations help sell the illusion even further. A missed kick carries the momentum to require a corrective step. Hard punches that glance off blocks give off the air of a hit that still took some wind off the opponent’s guard. The special moves with flips and spins look mega awkward when missing, just as they do in real life. Suffice to say, the Frostbite Engine powering this game is one of the biggest strengths of EA development studios. Playing on the Xbox Series X, the 60 FPS gameplay did not miss the mark or cause any slowdowns that I could detect. I still wish this series were on PC to see just how far the developer can push the engine. One area I continue to have issues with, surprisingly enough, is the menus. The game has fast loading screens, but almost every menu I click through has a large amount of noticeable lag before it registers. This is immensely painful in the career mode, since I have to go through multiple menus between fights to train and do sponsorships, and having a 3-second pause when selecting a simple move between pages is the only time that made me quit the game. Thanks to Xbox’s quick resume, though, I was able to instantly jump back in the next day to the same point (and wade through more laggy menus). Conclusion My primary mission going into this EA Sports UFC 6 review as a newcomer to the series was to find out if this is a good jumping-in point for someone like me. Suffice it to say, the game passed that test with flying colors. Despite the high skill ceiling, the legacy mode introduction campaign, multiple types of accessible controls, and streamlined career had me picking up the basics and fighting styles much faster than I expected. I wish I had gotten to try out competitive multiplayer during my time with the game, too, but the lack of players in the pre-release version prevented this. The impressive visuals and animations, coupled with the impact physics that let me feel every punch and kick easily, made this the most immersive fighting game I have played. The only part that gave me pause was the grappling gameplay, which killed the momentum in most fights. The Flow State amplifying system didn’t hamper the experience, but I also felt like it made more sense for an arcade fighter, not this. Easily the most annoying thing about UFC 6 was its laggy menus, which I hope get some sort of fix later. Returning series veterans might have a completely different experience from me. But for a new fan like me looking to climb ranks and see fighters get floored in spectacular ways, UFC 6 doesn’t miss a step. EA Sports UFC 6 is releasing on June 19 across Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 for $69.99. Ultimate Edition owners can already jump in via advanced access. This review was conducted on the Xbox Series X version of the game provided by EA.
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