Guild Wars 2 Will Succeed

For a primer, read my Guild Wars 2 Will Fail post from yesterday.

Guild Wars 2 (GW2) starts with some strikes against it, but it also starts with some potential.  First and foremost is GW2's business model.  The game will be free to play after purchasing a retail copy similar to the first Guild Wars.  This alone separates the game from the throng of games that will be dependent upon monthly subscriptions when GW2 comes to the market.

Secondly, GW2 is changing up some of the foundations of the Diku model.  The biggest change here is the removal of dedicated healing in the game.  Each individual player will be given self-healing skills that will account for the majority of healing in the game, both in solo and group play.

Next, GW2 is easing the limits on how a class defines a player's characters. The various classes will have a core mechanic, but their available skills will be based on equipment, race, and a set of personal healing abilities.  For example, a warrior wielding a 2-handed axe will be played much differently than one wielding a 1-handed sword and a shield.

The third change that comes to mind is the fact that death will not be immediate in GW2.  If a fight is winding down and a player is struck down, they become disabled.  During this disabled period if the player manages to kill a creature, they receive a second wind and can go on fighting.  Anyone that has played Borderlands will be familiar with this mechanic.  This lessens the sting of death and builds the perception that the player is a hero, not just some schmuck that was wiped out by a giant rat that added into a fight (a rat the player could cleave in two with a single blow!).

Guild Wars 2 is also aiming to shake up the game world with live events.  Think of this as Public Quests version 2.0.  Public Quests were easily the best feature of Warhammer Online and GW2 is taking them to another level by building the entire world around them.  If a player is in a village and see's all the villagers dieing due to poison that was dumped into their water supply, they can investigate and find the water pipeline into the city is being attacked and poisoned just outside of town. Beat the bandits causing the problem and save the village.  This is just an example of a couple stages of a "public quest" that will be featured in GW2.  This system has great potential and its only weakness is that the events will recycle themselves, so at some point it may feel like the players accomplished "nothing".

I've outlined some of the changes GW2 is attempting, but the game is still very much a traditional affair.  The core of the game will be familiar to anyone that has enjoyed MMOGs over the past several years.  Arena Net is being very careful to make this clear.  They talk a lot about changes, but also concentrate on making sure everyone knows they are not rewriting the book.  They don't want to rewrite the book and are being honest about that fact.  I wish other developers, creating very similar games, could follow Arena Net's lead in this regard.  Adding one new feature doesn't make a AAA MMOG "ground breaking". 

Looking at the reasons I've presented for failure and success, its interesting to note that they are in two very distinct categories.  The reasons for failure are all conjecture: its a 2, its making changes, and its got heavy competition in the fantasy setting.   The reasons for success are almost all related to the way the game will play: healing, death, and a living world.  I'll let you be the judge, but the reasons for success sound a lot more worthwhile than those of failure.

Guild Wars 2 Will Fail

There are plenty of examples that sequels do not work in the MMO market.  Ultima Online 2 was the original victim of what I like to call the terrible 2s.  Asheron's Call 2 shutdown on December 30, 2005 while the original Asheron's Call still thrives to this day.  AC2 never matched the original and in my opinion was actually a pretty good game.  The list continues with Everquest 2 which never matched the original Everquest and was thoroughly trumped by the monster that is World of Warcraft.

Everquest 2, out of all the 2s, should have been a right to print money.  Everquest was the undisupted champion of the early graphical MMOGs and Everquest 2 was the expected front runner of the "next generation".  How terribly wrong that general consensus was.  World of Warcraft taught everyone that the Everquest "idea" was wrong and that Everquest never was "right".

This all sets a stage where upon the new 2 in the neighberhood, Guild Wars 2 (GW2), is set to fail.

If being a 2 wasn't bad enough for GW2, it is also "a high fantasy world with multiple races" (like my new tagline?).  GW2 will have to compete with the Everquest 2 slaying World of Warcraft and it's record-breaking expansions.  Star Wars: The Old Republic will also be major competition for GW2 as they are the top two upcoming AAA titles in the MMO market (Star Wars being more fantasy than SciFi by miles).  Not to mention the plethora of free 2 play fantasy offerings that are quickly eating into the AAA marketplace. Fantasy is saturated!

There are other concerns as well.  GW2 is doing away with the holy trinity by removing the dedicated healer from group play, softening the blow of death by allowing second chances after a characters health is depleted, and moving towards a more action inspired combat system.  All of these may be equally positive things, but they are all "different" enough to cause concern in a genre that is averse to change.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not here to doom and gloom all of the upcoming MMOGs.  Specific to Guild Wars 2, come back tomorrow for the reasons why Guild Wars 2 will succeed.  Honestly, Guild Wars 2 is looking to be the only AAA competition coming any time soon.

Update: 23 July, 2010 - The Guild Wars 2 success post has been posted.

Polar Bears: Guild Wars 2 Looking Good

Guild Wars 2 has a new website and a new trailer. Normally, MMOG previews are full of computer generated cut scenes and movie-like storytelling. Not so with Guild Wars 2: the video is full of in game footage and the game looks absolutely stunning.

I was most intrigued by the Polar Bear people and would be interested to find out if they are an NPC faction or playable race. Unfortunately, I read through the FAQ and they are not exactly a playable race:

Will Guild Wars 2 have non-human playable races?

Absolutely! In addition to humans, players will be able to create, customize, and play a variety of non-human races.

* Charr - Ascalon's conquerors, the charr are ferocious, warmongering creatures--the intractable foes of humanity. Now, as greater dangers threaten their conquests, charr legions and their war machines prepare for battle.
* Norn - The norn are towering brawlers from the frigid northern lands who can shape-shift into mighty bestial forms. Driven from their homeland by a force beyond reckoning, the norn have regrouped among the dwarven ruins of the Shiverpeaks.
* Asura - The asura, who once ruled the caverns and tunnels below Tyria, are an advanced race of small size and great intellect. Now that they have risen from below, the asura aim to rule the surface world with their powerful golems and ingenious plans.
* Sylvari - Not much is known of the sylvari, save that they are a race of sentient plant-beings, newly blossomed into the world. The sylvari are the youngest of the races, bound together by a common dream and awesome power.

But hopefully, Norn, can shape shift into being a polar bear, because that would be cool.

Aion and Other NCSoft Titles Available via Steam

Being the Steam connoisseur that I am, not sure how I missed this one: NCSoft adds its titles to Steam.

If you're one of those gamers who prefers the digital minimalist approach as opposed to having game boxes everywhere then you're in luck. MMO-giant NCSoft have announced they will be offering their titles -- including City of Heroes, Guild Wars, and Lineage -- via Steam. They're also planning to offer their latest, most anticipated and shiny MMO, Aion as well when the game launches later this autumn.

Aion has me somewhat intrigued, even though I am on a free-gaming kick currently. There is just something a subscription-based MMOG delivers that freemium, free-to-play, and micro-transaction games don't.

Honestly, it will be great to finally have an MMOG available at launch via Steam. I'm still bitter that Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning was months late to the Steam party.

Guild Wars Build Challenge : The Ranger / Elementalist

I would like to kick off a new feature focused on Guild Wars, and on putting together some builds to use in Random Arena combat. I'll start off with a bit of a FAQ.

1. Why random arenas (RA) builds?

I believe there is a large portion of players that compete in RA and often times builds that support this player are tough to find reliably. Also there are far too many "cookie cutter" builds out there that blanket RA and it would be nice to throw some flavor in there.

2. What should a build include?

Equipment, Attributes, and Skills followed by some tips on how to play the build effectively. Bonus points for pointing out weaknesses and counters to the build (since no build is perfect.)

3. Anything we should avoid in our builds?

You should avoid builds that rely on another player to be effective. Also don't come with builds that are common knowledge (Boon Prot monks for example). While not required it is always nice to have builds that are effective without relying on a huge inefficient combo.

4. What are my goals for this?

I like to discuss Guild Wars builds. I am by far no expert in Guild Wars and play it casually. So if you are looking for uber game discussion you can go elsewhere. This is an attempt to build some creative characters to play around with.

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Ranger / Elementalist (R/E) - Burning Poison

Equipment:

• A Fiery Bow is required for this build
• A longbow or flatbow for general attacking and a shortbow for closer targets is recommended.
• Druidic armor for the energy bonus.

Attributes:

• Expertise 11 + 2
• Marksmanship 10 + 1 + 2
• Wilderness Survival 1 + 1
• Fire Magic 10

Skills:

• Conjure Flame
• Mark of Rodgort
• Apply Poison
• Troll Unguent
  
• Whirling Defense
• Distracting Shot
• Escape
• Resurrection Signet

How to Play:

This is a fairly straight forward build that I have used for a good while. It is similar to many barrage ranger builds, but I've never been a fan of AOE in Guild Wars. This build is really just meant to surprise a soft target by dropping a poison and burn on them during the opening volley allowing you to sit back and use distract shot to stop any attempted save skills.

Prior to combat you will need to Conjure Flame and then Apply Poison to yourself. Since Apply Poison has the shorter duration try to cast it as close to combat as possible. This takes a few matches to get the timing right, but you will get it.

Once combat begins you should start out with Mark of Rodgort on the target of choice. It is best to cast it before your first hit so the combo catches the player by surprise. Your first attack will hit for normal damage + fire damage along with applying both poison and burn for a few seconds. Since you will keep attacking it will apply both effects again until Mark of Rodgort is finished. That is the core of this build and just ensure you watch your mana so you can keep Apply Poison and Conjure Flame going.

Troll Unguent is your heal and to help with interrupts against it make sure to use Whirling Defense first. Also; use Whirling Defense when you are in trouble with melee and hit Escape to get out of town. I usually save Distracting Shot to stop enemies res signets, but it can be used in other situations.

Side Notes:

Distracting Shot is favored over Savage Shot because of mana considerations.

Apply Poison works with elemental modifiers on your weapon. Confirmed in game.

Change Log:

• 3 Nov - Swapped out Favorable Winds for Troll Unguent. Troll Unguent is an essential ranger survival skill and since I did state that builds should be self-sufficient it makes sense to have the rangers best heal available. Unfortunately there is little room to pump up Wilderness Survival to get a better increase, but it is still a life saver.
  

Update: 6 Apr 07 - Spelling corrected and labels updated.

Haven't posted in a few...

Still playing EVE Online and getting my ass kicked in PvP (but so far I've learned A LOT!). Still playing Guild Wars. Played a match of Call of Duty 2 CTF with a few friends from [MW]HQ. Also playing Battlefield 2 a bit and plan on doing another BF2 video.

I've also joined the staff at Grimwell Online(now defunct) to write articles. Grimwell has given me a chance I don't plan to disappoint him. So look for some good articles over there with a bit more thought and effort put into them.

Other than that it's all roses and ice cream around here. Will post a larger update about myself soon hopefully. Some big changes in my life :)

Update: 15 Nov, 2009 - Edited spelling, applied labels, and removed broken link.

How to "farm" faction in Guild Wars

Guild Wars a while back introduced the ability to unlock all skills, weapon upgrades, and runes via PvP by earning faction. As you earn faction you can trade it in for the aforementioned items. Usually it costs anywhere from 1000-3000 faction per item. Here is a great breakdown of how much can be earned in the various arenas of PvP.

I like Guild Wars PvP, but I won't say I love it. Not right now anyways. Without a good team playing against equally matched oponents... Guild Wars PvP is a hot/cold experience. One second you and your random team are red hot... the next you are pushing up daisys.

After much death, much winning, and a bit of searching I have found out a way to basically always win in Random Arenas. Random Arenas are 4 vs 4 matches that put you into random teams against each other. That means you have to get used to the fact your team isn't always going to be good or act as a "team".

What I discovered was the teams that were winning; were winning because of healing and healing alone. Looking into it further I found this article over at the Guild Hall about Guild Wars healing monks.

Basically all you are doing is playing the role of "heal bitch". If you are half way decent at the game and have the available skills you can pretty much guarantee wins for your team because you can keep em cranking out damage. Now you don't always win... some teams just are better and can coordinate well enough to take down a full blown monk.

For the most part though with my monk I've just been winning and winning. It takes usually 4-5 matches before a loss is handed to my team. Sometimes earlier if the team winds up heavily stacked as monks... those matches can last forever!

So I will push on with winning in Random Arenas... I have skills to unlock :) I've gone from 500 faction gain in a night of casual random arenas to almost 2,000 in a single hour :) Bling.

Now Playing: Guild Wars

It's called boredom. Not boredom with Guild Wars, but boredom with other games I'm playing. Battlefield 2 is great, but it seems every month I have fewer friends to play with. EVE Online is great and I love it! However, I don't have the time to get anything out of it currently. I am paying for my account, but that’s just to ensure I am training skills.

So I reinstalled Guild Wars a couple of days ago. I spent about two hours starting up my new Monk/Mesmer, named "Column I". I seem to be shifting towards using the name Column as my avatar names more and more in MMORPGs. I already have a level 17 Warrior/Necromancer named "Heartless Foe" in Guild Wars.

With "Column I" I've been focusing on completing every quest available in the tutorial area of pre-searing Ascalon. This is something I never did with my original characters so it is a treat to discover some of the missed items.

So far I haven't noticed any dramatic changes. The same clunky movement is in game and is still my biggest gripe. I am just a stickler for fluid and graceful movement which is something I don't see Guild Wars ever having. It's just very jerky and flat out warpy sometimes. This doesn't ruin the game experience, but when you pick the game up after a few months off it takes a bit to get used to again.

The biggest changes revolve around the graphics, but this is nothing Arena Net did. It is my new computer. I can run the game at MAX settings at a widescreen resolution. The game is much better looking and the extra screen space changes the UI a lot. I can put loads of things off to the side and still have a 17" screen area in the center clear of everything except my hotkeys and group window. This adds a lot to games and I can't ever imagine gaming without a widescreen monitor ever again!

I also got about 45 minutes to fire up the Guild Wars : Factions preview that was occurring this weekend. I started with a pre-made level 20 PvP character nicknamed a "Shadow blade". The shadow blade is a Warrior/Assassin combo with the Assassin being one of the new classes available in the upcoming GW:Factions expansion.

Sadly though, I didn't make it far into the Factions content. I did the first few quests that teach you about the various arena battle types; annihilation, priest annihilation, obelisks, etc. Then I got stuck on the "Defeat 5 enemy teams" part before having to log.

Hopefully I will get more time to experience the Factions event before it closes down. I suspect I will buy factions because of the territorial PvP concept and the fact there is no monthly fee. I like Guild Wars enough to play it for a week straight every few months, but not enough to be in a competitive guild for GW.

Update: 15 Nov, 2009 - Edited spelling, applied label, and removed broken images.

Guild Wars world champs and thoughts on pro-video gaming

Joystiq has a small blurb up about the Guild Wars world champions. Congrats to team EviL for taking home the prize. The whole thought of gaming for cash and the comments to the article got me thinking. Along with thoughts from the Gaming Steve podcast I have some thoughts that I posted as comments to the Joystiq article.

"Videogames as a sport will not get picked up as mainstream until the various leagues learn to stick to a single game... not many games that change every couple of years.

The MLB doesn't announce next seasons is going to be played as Baseball 2.0. The NFL doesn't go and introduce NFL:The Sequel as next years "game". Profesional sports change very little overtime.

Video gaming professionally needs a constant game. In the US the closest contender we have is Counterstrike. Even then the main star of the circuit is Fatal1ty who jumps to whatever Quake-inspired game is hot.

Pro video gaming is actually a sad commercial interest for the games being played and the technology (gfx cards fo sho) the gamers compete on.

Starcraft is HUGE in Korea and is basically their national "past time". Starcraft is an old game and I doubt you will see the Koreans changing games anytime soon. Sure other games in Korea are competitive, but its basically like comparing the MLB to AAA baseball in the US. It's minor league vs major league.

And until the US video gaming tournaments get out of the commercial aspect of selling the newest and greatest hardware and software, they won't succeed."

Thoughts?

Update: 29 Nov, 2009 - Edited post and applied labels.

Guild Wars flop in Korea?

Seems like SirBruce has some reports that Guild Wars has flopped in Korea selling only 27,000 copies. A sharp contrast to North American sales of 650,000 copies.

This falls in line with bad beta reports and previews that littered Korea. It seems Korean gamers just weren't into the massive PvP concept of a free MMO.

SirBruce further explains that this spells trouble for Arena.net because of operating costs and the fact they are not going to have an expansion out this year to bring in revenue.

Guild Wars was great in concept, but is hindered by a laundry list of mistakes in its gameplay mechanics.

Guild Wars Review - Part I is up

Click here to read it.

Feedback appreciated... and I will be gaming for the rest of the night now that my reviews are underway.

Thanks everyone for reading!