All Quiet on the Western Front

There has been very little news to report to you recently.  Sure, there’s a site redesign or some interesting new guides to feign interest about, but overall it’s been quite stagnant lately. 

Surprisingly, I actually don’t mind it.  It gives me a chance to slow down and digest everything, and most importantly, think about it all.

I can now say, Guild Wars 2 will be released this month, and that is something that I find shocking, but also pleasantly comforting.  My withdrawl symptoms have seemed to slow, and I’m actually enjoying the lull between the last event and release.  There’s really no question of whether Guild Wars 2 will be an initial success or not, no more quarrels over game mechanics, and just the simple solitude of waiting for a game to come.

I would like to ask everyone a simple question:  Do you know what race/profession combo you will play at release?  Or have you still not made up your mind?

This actually might be one of the first games where I’m not completely certain, because I enjoyed nearly every profession I spent my time with.  I think ultimately I’ll stick to my thief, but as for my race choice…I’m completely baffled. I love the Asura and their snarky demeanor, but then the tone of the Human race and their general aesthetic is very easy to play as well.  It might come down to armor, and the fact that I can see it so much better on a human because they are significantly bigger.  However, every time I watch a video and see the animations of the Asura, my feelings of certainty fail me.

It’s nice to also not have to base the race on the starting area or racials.  Although I do wish ArenaNet would make it easier to switch to another starting area out of the gate (instead of having to jump to Lion’s Arch, then the respective city, and then find your way to the new starting area, maybe just provide a little menu in one of our character menu’s, etc.), I still find it one of the numerous miniscule features that really adds to my experience.  I’m not forced to play through a lackluster starting experience just to choose the race I want.  I love the Asura starting area the most out of all 5 races, and it brings with it so much personality.  Aly brought to my attention that even some of the dialogue by NPC’s changes based on your respective race in the Asura starting zone.  That was a pretty subtle, but terrific touch that really brings some nice realism to the game. 

Sylvari have an air of nobility, bioluminescence that allows them to literally glow in the dark, and a beautiful city to boot, but in the end I just felt like a plant.  I have always loved the wintery landscape and sight of shear, rugged mountains but alas, the Norn are not for me and are far too brawny for my personality.  Though, I do appreciate and love all of the time ArenaNet spent on the tattoo options.  However the only time I plan to spend substantially in Norn areas is to plan Keg Brawl or discover the Kodan Sanctuary up north.  And then we have the Charr, a thoughtful, ferocious feline race that gives me far too much of a ‘Thundercats’ vibe.  Seriously, everytime a greatsword Charr runs at me, I want to yell ‘THUNDERCATS HOOOOOO’.   Combined with the visual problem of the large scale nature of both the Charr and Norn and the ‘sluggishness’ of their run animation, I feel like I can’t enjoy them.   Of course the appearance of slowness is an optical illusion, but if I’m going to be playing my character for hundreds of hours, I better love everything about them.  And that may be why the Asura might win.  When you get a chance, watch the Asura shoot a shortbow.  It’s just simply me.  If it’s possible that a video game animation of a character could describe me, this would be it. 

So, if you know your race/profession combo, what will it be?  And if not, why can’t you decide?  Be sure to let us know in the comments!