So, I may have seen this coming...no big deal....#egoboosted. And yes, read that again, I did just use a hashtag. It just has that much awesomeness attached to it. Okay, I promise I'll stop now. Forgive me. I think I should just put a disclaimer above all posts,
Anyways, wait for it....Sylvari and Asura are playable in BWE 3. Even more amazingly, their cities, the Grove and Rata Sum respectively, will be open to us.
There were two video's released by the media today that highlighted the Asura starting area and their home city. Even if you don't want to see spoilers, you may want to read below with my spoiler-free write up, there are a quite a few new/interesting features added to the game that will affect us all.
There are some interesting revelations that come out of this playthrough. This video was produced by Gamespot and Mike Z from ArenaNet, and thus the dialogue is quite revealing. Furthermore, from what I can tell, this video was taken relatively recently, some time after the launch date announcement. The media reports from several months ago still hold some truth to them, there are some glitches/bugs that need to be worked on. In the video, one event was not working and an entire area had no mobs to kill, which Mike confirmed was a glitch.
The video reveals a "deposit collectible, deposit all collectibles" feature, that sends your crafting material immediately to the bank from anywhere. Great addition to the game, and it's one of those features, that makes you wonder why no MMO has implemented that before....
Vistas. There's a new feature that is shown on the maps that display "areas of visual interest." They often are short jumping puzzles, (not to be confused with the jumping puzzles seen previously, those are still hidden and unmarked), that when completed grant a short cinematic that displays the area surrounding you from some really cool camera angles. Another very nice addition to the game, both for explorers and completionists.
Mike Z plays a shorbow thief. Nothing more needs to be said, my bias (and hopefully his) should be quite apparent. With the latest interview with Team Paradigm, one of the premier sPvP guilds out there saying that thief's are currently the weakest profession in the game, is quite disappointing. Mike, get to work, I want us overpowered by next beta...xD
Also, from the thief side of things. We have new downed moves, which were slightly revealed in a patch notes leak several weeks ago. Our teleport while downed is now a targeted move rather than being random, and does not put us in stealth. I think the third move is stealth, but I cannot confirm this from the video.
And it was interesting that Mike when asked about mesmer clones dealing damage, he said something along the lines of "In PvP, they do." While a very nice quality of life change from the last beta for mesmers relying on clones, it's interesting that he emphasized PvP. This may further validate the claim that ArenaNet seems to be unafraid of making moves have different effects in PvP and PvE, if needed. I may be for this sort of sub-dividing skills based on the game mode you are in, but I can see how it may get confusing for newer players.
Interestingly, there was a quote from Mike where he claimed to have missed a ledge while jumping, and said "I'm in combat, so I'm a bit slower." It's been a long day, but I can't recall if that always happens, and has always been there, or I just missed it while playing. I would love if someone could verify this or not in the comments below.
Another higher level area will be open next beta, called Brisban Wildlands, where the Sylvari, Asura, and Humans and their respective enemies clash in a jungle-like area. This area also holds the city of the Skritt, and Mike revealed some nice lore about the Skritt that I hadn't known before.
In the second video the lovely city, Rata Sum, is shown in much of it's glory by JeuxOnline. Also, interesting to know is what that last five second clip is in the video. I can't read French, (although we do have some French supporters over at Fureur) but I would love to know what that says, and why it was important enough to add to the end.)
I can confirm that you've been "slowed" if in combat since BWE1.
ReplyDeleteHey, the "I'm in combat, so I'm a bit slower." -thing was always there ;)
ReplyDeleteYankee
Hmm..thanks, that is extremely sad that I never noticed. Does that mean my movement speed increases through signets and traits do not apply in combat, as in everyone has a set, maximum speed in combat? Or does it simply mean that we just run faster outside of combat, and that our signets and traits just scale with our movement speed both in and outside combat? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThat's weird (about mesmers.) Why PvP, but not PvE? It's not like AI is going to cry for nerfs, and clones already serve more of a purpose in PvP as a distraction. In PvE, they're useless without damage unless they pull aggro. It seemed like they might have been doing a better job of that in the last beta, but I still don't see the harm in them damaging PvE enemies as well. We're not exactly the DPS machines that eles are, for example.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I hate targeted teleports. I know some people like having greater control, but I prefer instant. No matter how fast you are at targeting, it will always take a fraction of a second longer, lessening the utility for my purposes anyway. I don't necessarily care where I go so long as it's away and (in the case of non-downed teleports) breaks stuns. That, and while I never have a problem targeting other skills, it always feels clunky trying to target my teleports, in part because I need them *now.*
I would imagine that traits and skills relating to movement apply to combat as well. It would be weird for those to be exempt from combat when every other skill or trait is intended for combat. I mean, it's nice to move quickly but if a skill or trait doesn't apply to combat, there would be little to no incentive to bring it over those that did.
I agree with the mesmer bit Aly, I don't exactly understand it either.
ReplyDeleteI actually love the targeted change. A lot of people make it so they teleport instantly to wherever their cursor is, and thus they can "pull of the skill" with the exact same timing and with control now. Sometimes as a thief when downed, when I teleported, it would put me in even worse areas than before. As a skill that can save us or finish us, it's nice to get more control of it now.