Testin' but Not Stressin'

I had the opportunity to participate in the stress test on 27 June. I was quite happy to do so since I had missed the majority of the second beta event. I was able to take loads of screen shots, since this might be the last time I see my characters, and retry some classes that have changed since BWE 1. So with out further adieu, a few thoughts -

Mesmer

I did get a chance to play the Mesmer class again. I played a human mesmer way back during BWE 1 and the feel of the clones was off. However, the Mesmer clones worked significantly better this time around. They had a more purposeful feel and the purple dots indicating the number of clones was a welcomed addition. The screen pic shows what the clones look like...amazingly alot like my mesmer.

Real mesmer with a clone on the right.

Question: Do different races start with different weapons/skills or did they change them since BWE 1? I remember the human mesmers started with a sword in BWE 1 but currently the Norn start with a wand.

 

The World

I really hope the beta community is reflective of the future community that will exist when the GW2 goes live. People worked together naturally; kudos to Arena Net for design a game that encourages "togetherness" if you would. For example, as big dynamic events were starting, people were calling out events in chat and folks were quick traveling to them. People were reviving each other and to be honest I was afraid reviving others would get "old" and folks would stop doing it; nevertheless, it continues and I'm very excited to still see it.

Shaemoor Keep from the Queensdale side.

I'm a sucker for windmill scenes.

Tyria is huge, massive, immense. I mean "insert-adjective-for-ultra-big-here!" Every time I enter just the starting areas, it still amazes me. By the way, all my screen shots are at the low settings (old laptop) but look how amazing they are. Oh and I found out half way pressing ctrl+shift+H removes the UI. Oh well, live and learn.

I was turned into a "corrupted one" during the ending event and it opened up all the waypoints in the Charr home area. I decided to zip around and see the area. On my second waypoint, I started wandering around and the following words appeared on the screen, "Ascalon Ruins"

Major nostalgia moment, the Ascalon ruins.

I haven't seen Ascalon City since GW1! Now, I was looking at it. Not just Ascalon City post searing but hundreds of years later, teaming with ghosts. On top of that as a Charr, a member of the race that conquered the city. It is one of those amazing moments in a game that hits you and you just stop playing and take it in. I was blown away. I wanted to explore but the higher level undead residents would have made that rather difficult. I will explore it when the game goes live, I just have to.

Interestingly, I have yet to leave the starter areas of any race I have played. Part of this is purposeful, I do not want to spoil too much but the other part is just the sheer amount there is to do and enjoy. Arena Net has a winner here. I look forward to playing it for some time.

 

 

Posted with Blogsy