Meet the Krewe, or Warband, or group....

Who am I?
I'm a large anthropomorphic cat with horns and really good hearing!  I'm a naked erudite mole rat with shark like teeth!  I'm an underwear model that always looks perfect no matter what the environment!  Check me out.

When you are in Tyria, look for the following rascals and drop me a wave.



Ralvon Scorcher - Charr Engineer extraordinaire and twice meat festival BBQ champ.



Expiatus - Krytan Guardian who sports a mean beard.  



Zinjin - Asura thief, gun maker and part time architect.



Zonian - Asura warrior, gem broker and raises exotic birds.  Also, the last jotun who cracked a short joke at him is now two legs shorter.


See you in Tyria!

 

Many Pieces Make a Whole Picture

Do you listen to music by hearing the first 10 seconds and then fast forwarding to the last 10 seconds?

When you have time to sit down and watch your favorite movie do you enjoy the first part of the intro and then fast forward x8 to the credits?

Most likely not.

Now these may seem like strange questions with obvious answers but there are a number of players who play GW2 in this manner. Now, this isn’t wrong but what usually follows along with this play style is players expressing concern or complaining even about the lack of story as they speed through Ascalon. As I talked about this in a previous post and as illustrated by Emmanuel on his video site, players need to approach playing GW2’s like you would listening to a great song or watching your favorite movie.

To illustrate this I’ll share a few experiences my friend and I had last night while playing in Ashford Plains.

We started wandering around Duke Baradin’s Estate, just exploring to see what would happen next. We came across a number of events, we especially loved the harpy attack and the following fried chicken jokes as I ran around with my Charr engineer, flamethrower in hand. As we wentaround  Ashford Forum we came across a downed female charr. We revived her and then she explains that a catapult knocked her out. Reviving her kicks off an event where separatists, humans against the charr/human peace treaty, set up a road block with catapults and armed guards defending it. We engage, fight, win. Go our team!  Also, notice it took action on our part to start the event.  We could have just left her there and nothing would have happened.

At first view this looks isolated and singular. "Oh, we found a NPC which gave us a quest: check, done, yawn." But instead, look at it as a piece of a much larger puzzle. What is a separatist and why are they doing this? Why is this happening here? Part of the answers will come from talking with the scouts who explains those areas of the map. Other parts come from NPCs and events that occur as players move farther away from the more protected parts of Charr territory – the area closest to the Black Citadel. As players delve more into the world ANet starts revealing stories one piece at a time as players experience them. For example, after the road block, we talked to the scout. She points out, among other things, a small shipyard area that is having problems with separatists. Hmmmm.

We all live in a drab metallic submarine...

A submarine! These charr are building a full-on steampunked SUBMARINE! Okay, the ship ward is quite awesome already. We show up to a group of separatists attacking the sub trying to sabotage it. I don’t know what happens if you prevent it because we didn’t. Boom! Big hole in the side (which was cool since we could see the gears on the inside whirling around).  Now the sub needs to be fixed so off we go scrounging for parts littered across the lake bed. We turn in the parts and after enough the sub engineer dives down to fix it. Guess who shows up? Separatists and they are not happy we are trying to undue their explosive handy work. We defend the repair worker and drive back the separatists, who flee to an alcove on the other side of the lake and a charr follows them. I go over a talk to her and she tells me the separatist camp is in that area. I see one NPC setting traps or something.

Model # WHL-34

What happens next? I don't know. We both had to get to sleep so we stopped playing but I want to know what happens in that camp. Will there be more information about the separatists?  Why do they hate the treaty? Is Minister Caudecus behind them?  I'm pretty sure I will have to play through the whole area, I only have a few pieces of the story right now but I look forward to discovering the whole picture.





We just chillin

Hopefully I was able to illustrate how GW2 is more about showing players the story than just letting them read it in a log of text.  This was just a local story; imagine the ones using the whole world as its setting.  My friends and I have greatly enjoyed just following dynamic events just to see where they go and how they connect to other aspects of the world.  Take a curious moment and I think you'll enjoy it also.

See you in Tyria!

Burning Charr is Burning

A Sunday funny courtesy of my 13 year old son.

Players and NPCs actually NOT getting in the way!

Uncoordinated Coordination

Not the event I'm describing but I needed a picture :)

I was exploring Shaemoor and had just passed through the Ettin pass. I made my way past a host of harpies and noticed a way-point down the hill, so off I went. After the way-point was discovered a familiar notification appeared - a world event was starting. I ran over on my human thief only to run into an ugly, over sized cave troll running rampant around the fields. a few other folks had engaged the nasty beast so I attacked it from range as others came in closer. Now here is where things become amazing. An asuran necro gets aggro, and goes down. A melee player pops a trinket/seal which ever and hit the troll hard so it turns to him. I and an elementalist kite around to the downed necro and revive him. We only get the necro to half when the troll comes storming back toward us, swinging hard. We both dodge out of the way, I stab the troll and shadow step backward. A ranger pulls troll-face off and we aid the necro and another elementalist that went down. Melee start hoping in and out, dodging, evading and range is pouring it on. If someone went down, two people went in to revive them while others distracted the troll. The troll finally goes down and there is much rejoicing. "TY"s and "GJ"s go out and everyone splits up. There were about 15 people involved in the event and none of us said a word to each other - we just simply worked as a team.  I continue to find this in GW2 event after event after event.
    
NPCs actually HELPING?!?!?

Playing in the Charr starting area I realized something about most of the NPCs, they actually interact with what is going on around them.  In the first screen-shot, I was cleaning up and organizing the scrap yard and I disturbed a Rust Ooze.  Notice in the NPC is shooting it.  The oozes are ornery lil' slimes that spit out a fire AOE and it hit the NPC.  He was none to happy about having his fur singed so he popped a cap into it-an typical charr response to solve problems with aggressive adversaries.

Now in the next screen shot you'll see a three charr iron legion patrol attacking a tar elemental.  One of the patrol members was downed and the two remaining are fighting.  The blue is a guardians shield spell.  They continue fighting until only one is left standing. 

I helped finish-off the tar elemental and once it was defeated the remaining charr immediately starts reviving the others and I ran over to lend a hand as shown in the third screen shot.  Oh the insanity but yes, some NPCs actually do something helpful.



This game is amazing!

:)

 

Dance Dance Tyria

Oh the videos are rollin' out! Interestingly one of the things I remember most about GW1 was the dance videos. Watching 30, 40, 50, people dancing in unison to techno was amazing.  How is this done?  Have everyone type "/dance *" then hit enter about the same time; the world server will sync everyone up.  So lest continue the dance tradition with a few videos.

Starting off is Starfleet Dental's dance video. I have to say I'm very impressed with the editing. To switch scenes yet keep the foot work in sync without any gapping takes time and good eye. I would have picked different music but that is just personal taste.

Here is Gangnam Style by Censtudios.  I really enjoyed watching this dance video.  Good locations, lots of sweeping camera passes, and just enough effects in sync with the music beat to spice things up. 

Now just because it is cool, a trio of Asuran sync dancing created by Gold Bro Studios.  It is a simple, straight-up dance video with some good music.  As I said, it's not fancy but getting to see a triple dose of Asuran poppin' & lockin' is choice.

Next up is NoX Oil Dance! by the guild Norse Oil eXpedition.  Though the camera work is very simple, it's a great example of how organized group dancing in a formation can look great.  Oh, did I mention they organized the dance ad hoc during a stress test?  Good stuff.

I hope you enjoy the videos.  I'm going to keep my eyes open for more amazing ones and will post more as I find them.  If you see any, drop my a line or post the ady in the comments section. 

Now all we need is an intese, Charr rock video and all will be right in the world. 

Enjoy!

 

Unanswered GW2 Questions...

How do Charr take baths?

How do Norn women shave? Why DON'T some Norn men shave...

Do unattractive mesmers have a skill called "Inebriated Vision"? Do they learn it from the local tavern goers, Han Ekin or Bud Miller?

What happens when Sylvari drink Miracle-Gro?

Do the Charr Legions have to do random drug tests on war bands for catnip abuse?

Is a narcissists favorite class the Mesmer?

If you kill a Sylvari is it classified as homicide or herbicide?

How bad is charr morning hair?

Did the great camel spirit blesse Norn women with sufficient fatty deposits so they could endure harsh environments on little food and water?

If a zombie eats a Sylvari, is it eating vegitarian?

How does a moose drop a magical rifle? What is it doing with a rifle anyway? Hunting Norn?

What is the ground speed velocity of an unladen Moa bird?

 

Posted with Blogsy

BWE3-There is so much I want to say, but I can only say so much.

BWE 3 was fantastic!  In spite of traveling with family for vacation,  I was able play a great deal.  I have soo much to say, I going to break it down into a couple of posts.
So without further adieu...

I made a human guardian to show one of my nephews what they looked like.  As I was running around Queensdale I notice the music sounded very familiar.  As a matter of fact, it reminded me alot of the starter area music outside Ascalon city in GW1.  I'm not a 100% sure but I think it's either the same song or the GW2 music is a version of the GW1.  If this is the case, that is so cool.  Anyone know for sure?

Old Friend, New Fun

What an odd team we are.

Here we are checking out Divinity's Reach.

During this beta event I got to play with a ole friend of mine.  We hadn't played an online game together since the end of WoW's WotLK expansion.  We had an absolute blast, he on his Charr warrior and I on my Asura warrior. He had never been anywhere other than the Charr areas.  He was blown away by the magnitude of the city.  We wandered around just taking in all the sites and being a general nuisance, er I mean well behaved pair of warriors.

I think I've heard of this book before.

 As we wandered around Divinity's Reach we found some book carts and clicked on a few.  Guess what I found..."Edge of Destiny" by Sangjo of Lion's Arch.  We also found another book called "Flora to Faun Over".  I love Arena Net's humor. 

We then went all over Queensdale doing quests, finding vistas and just messing around with all the weapons a warrior can use.  We also learned you can't trade with other players but you can mail them stuff and it reaches them immediately.  I'd loot a socketable stone with +3 power and I didn't need it so I'd mail it to him.  We both look forward to playing GW2 as our metaphorical "bowling night" when the game goes live.

Later, we found a cave way on top of the hills right of Queensdale's dam and there were a group of kids pretending to be members of Destiny's Edge.  I followed one of the boys in and it was a mini event.  I had to answer questions about each member of DE.  When I got enough questions correct the event completed and the kids went on playing.  A fun little find.

Graphics

I just wanted to comment on how good this game looks on an old system.  I play GW2 on a HP Pavilion dv7, a laptop no less.  So, to get a good frame rate I need drop my setting to the lowest setting possible.  Nevertheless, the game still looks good.  The top pic is at the lowest settings, the bottom pic is at the highest settings.  There is a difference in quality but I play with my screen zoomed out so it's not too terrible.   Arena Net has done a great job on making sure people with older systems will be able to enjoy this game without having to purchase a new system.

Sorry for the extra space but Blogger hates putting pictures side by side for some reason.

Before I had to finally log off I decided to wander around Queensdale and take screen shots.  Below are some of my favorites.

BWE3 was a great way to end my beta time.  I have never been part of a beta before and probably will never participate in one again.  Nonetheless, this was a unique experience to see the game before it goes live and I'm thankful Arena Net did this for all those who prepurchased.

In the next post I'll talk about the Asura and their zaniness.  See you soon.

Charrming Charr Charracters

I am so hooked on the Charr.

Oh I may enjoy the Asura or Sylvari when they come out but...I'M LOVIN' THE CHARR.

The entire Charr design, from race to history to current impact on their world is quite fascinating. First off, these were the "bad guys" of GW1. They destroyed Ascalon, your GW1 character's home. You wanted to kill them and liberate your home from those horrible invaders. Except in the Charr's eyes, the humans were the horrible invaders and they wanted them out. And kick them out they did, which brings us to GW2. So who's the oppressor? Who's the liberator? What delicious dichotomous irony!

Charr attitude. It's reflected in their tail swagger, their style, organization, determination, transindustrial architecture, machines. Here is a race that was at the bottom and now are considered metal workers that surpass the ancient dwarves. They even make the best timepieces in Tyria. "Take's a lickin' and keeps on tickin'". I bet they take G-Shock to a whole new level! The charr are responsible for the printing press and disseminating the new Kryta language. They, more specifically the Iron Legion, are on the cutting end of technology. (Would Charr be "analog" and Asurans "digital"? Hmmm.)

For visual examples, check out the following video. Look at the details in the metal work. Support beams are ornate, their are furnaces that are more metallic art vice a mundane foundry. Notice the spherical metal and glass structures, both difficult to create but a subtle testament to Charr ingenuity.



Latin is used extensively in Charr nomenclature, which is extensively cool btw. Its like Arena Net put the Roman Empire and the industrial revolution in a blender, added a shot of whiskey and hit puree. One glass of steampunked, praetorian guard please.

Finally, during the last stress test, I took time to watch the Charr's idle animations to catch some of the subtle details that make them so unique. Watch a charr holding a large hammer - its amazing as the charr test the hammers weight and feel. I also enjoyed some of the lines from the personal story. My favorite was from Reeva, "Did you see those ghosts explode?" "Sparkly"

I can go on and on but suffice it to say, the Charr are one of the most unique races I've encountered in an MMO. There may be many races in Tyria...but this one is mine.

SEMPER CHARR!

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Does the Black Citadel Rust?

     Oh what an interesting question. You have this amazing, massive structure made out of ,what... iron, mithril, black steel, orichalcum? Maybe it's an iron-ghost dust alloy, that ghost stuff is everywhere and in pretty endless supply. Either way it's made of metal and lots of it and if it rusts somecharr has got to maintain it. I imagine the number of warbands needed to work on it is at least a centurions worth of them, maybe two. Maybe it's considered a pretty honorable job. Maintaining the citadel where the leaders of the Charr Legions meet and organize Charr victories.

“Centurion, I request duty on the Oxidation Removal & Eradication team.”
“What are your qualifications?”
“I've developed a black steel oxide inversion gun. It fires a measured, semi-coagulated spray of ignitor fuel, Old Claw's ginger marinate and Quaggan spit”
“You got Quaggan spit and ginger marinade to mix into a stable mixture?  That alone is note worthy." "Report in tomorrow and we'll see what you can do.”
“Yes Sir!”

Then again, maybe it's made up of disgraced gladiums or better said janitoriums.

Tribune Uberfierce - “For your cowardice I sentence you, Danus Lameclaw to rust and polish patrol!”

Danus - “No, anything but that!”

Tribune Uberfierce - “Report to Prefecture Miyagi Bottlebreaker immediately.”

You'd have to feel for those Charr thrown to the rank of janitorium, always being in proximity to some of the greatest Charr warriors and leaders but nevermore one of them. 

     I am more inclined toward the first example.  I mean, this is the Black Citadel, the symbolic representation of Charr power since 1112 AE.  Its the Death Star of Tyria for crying out loud!  You want the best Charr in there.  You want every visitor from the different races in awe of both the structure and it's personnel.  (Is it appropriate to say "personnel" when referring to charr?  Charrnel?  No, sounds like a bad cologne.)  Yes, it would have to be the best of the charr who make it to the Black Citadel and of those only a select few are allowed to maintain it.  What would the their name of their unit be?  How about the Iron Legion's Oxidation Removal & Eradication team or, the Iron ORE brigade?  Sounds catchy.