https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/the-guild-wars-2-free-trial-week-begins-september-25/
Great initiative for those who want to try the game out but don't want to pay for it first .
EDIT :
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
The Guild Wars 2 Free Trial Starts September 25.
- Thread starter Thorgal
- Start date
https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/the-guild-wars-2-free-trial-week-begins-september-25/
Great initiative for those who want to try the game out but don't want to pay for it first .
EDIT :
ricardo_sousa11
Member
I've had this game since release, but had to stop playing due to college, now I came back after all these new updates, and I gotta say im loving every single it of it...its clearly one of the best, if not the best MMO's around.
Taco_Human
Member
I'm kinda bummed I would need to buy Eye of the North to transfer stuff from my GW1 account, but whatever. I probably won't buy it, but I'll try it.
fredrancour
Member
Oh thank goodness time to see if my 5 year old laptop can handle it
My 2 year old netbook can handle it for whenever I'm traveling / not home. At lowest settings this thing can run easily. But beefier computers can make it look amazing. Art design is top notch.
Sword Familiar
178% of NeoGAF posters don't understand statistics
Cool. I've been wanting to try it out, but I'm not that into mmorpgs so I didn't want to dump the retail price into it before I knew if I wanted to play it or not. I've got a friend who's been bugging me about getting the game too so this is the perfect opportunity for me to see what it's about.
ricardo_sousa11
Member
The problem in regards to the hardware requirements is that GW2 is pretty CPU demanding (it helps if you lower the number of characters displayed but even then it's still pretty ridiculous).
That said I think its a really good game to sink a large number of hours into especially if you enjoy exploring (and maybe leveling), World vs World (large scale PvP) or even Dungeons (there are normal dungeons for when you're sub-80 and things called Fractals when you've reached the cap). Main problem is currently IMO that the content updates mostly deliver Solo Story content and not much else. But there have been world bosses and such added in the past so there is hope in that regard.
Nice. Give it a try. Loads of interesting mechanics and designs. Damn nice music, great artwork, active combat system, personal story with decisions that actually affect the world marginally. Damn neat.
I bought the CE and a gameguide at launch and ... just kinda forgot about it because I had overdosed on the beta. I came back ages later, having missed major plot points and hating myself for it. At least recent Living World updates are backed up to your account if you log in the week they happen, allowing you to mix and match to your liking.
Still, keep in mind that you will be joining a world that has already seen pretty damn substantial changes due to extensive world story progression, so story and other parts may seem surprisingly out of sync with the actual world setting. Also, some gameplay mechanics have been removed or made inconsequential despite still being referenced.
Me and my utterly combat-unfit Charr Engineer shall see you in your Zerg in Edge of the Mists. Bombs away! >
Also, there's Tybalt Leftpaw, the loveable scoundrel.
I bought the CE and a gameguide at launch and ... just kinda forgot about it because I had overdosed on the beta. I came back ages later, having missed major plot points and hating myself for it. At least recent Living World updates are backed up to your account if you log in the week they happen, allowing you to mix and match to your liking.
Still, keep in mind that you will be joining a world that has already seen pretty damn substantial changes due to extensive world story progression, so story and other parts may seem surprisingly out of sync with the actual world setting. Also, some gameplay mechanics have been removed or made inconsequential despite still being referenced.
Me and my utterly combat-unfit Charr Engineer shall see you in your Zerg in Edge of the Mists. Bombs away! >
Coriolanus
Banned
Yes.
They haven't completely reverted the shitty parts of the changes they lifted from the chinese version.
You have to beat certain mobs, discover everything on certain maps or reach certain missions in your personal story amongst other things to unlock certain skills... OR you can spend a certain amount of currency to unlock them at a merchant NPC.
The unlock is explained and can open a map to show you where you need to go or what you need to do if you click on a lens icon.
Was better previously, but it's still pretty damn OK.
OminoMichelin
Member
Ill try it.
Coriolanus
Banned
No.
Now weapon unlocks are related to level, among lots of other skills.
This, quite literally, means that the tutorial mission, in which you cannot die, involves pressing autoattack and sitting in front of the boss for 2-3 minutes until it dies.
Aint just traits now.
BUT HEY, you get crap items every other level!
flyinpiranha
Member
Not for somebody new to MMOs. For people that play MMOs and know "what to do"? Yeah, but it really isn't that bad. Most of the naysayers are people just pissed at the content being rolled out (IN MY OPINION) and seem to be more of the "THIS is what you give us? THIS Is what you've been working on?!" attitude.
I have an 80 from back in the day during launch when I played and recently came back. Was already at lvl 30 or so when the patch hit on my new character and I LOVE the new leveling. It's more detailed, you see what happens, what you get, etc ... plus the gear you get (at least around the level 50-60 stuff) is pretty decent, I've used almost all of it ... but I've also been saving Karma in general so don't buy from vendors.
My fiance is brand new to MMOs and she likes the way it levels better (she was also at around 20-30 when the patch hit). They did change some quests earlier on which makes little sense to vets but it's to make it easier for "all" to pick up. All the other stuff after you get up in levels seems the same that I remember but better.
Basically they made the first couple hours of the game easier, which is fine by me because I had an 80, was doing WvW all the time, did a few instances and still didn't know about Combos and shit. Also never realized until today I could equip a second water weapon. So A LOT of stuff just gets put to the wayside or "assumed" you know because "everybody knows to sell shit to the vendor" or "everybody knows to salvage gear for stuff" ... which is exactly what "everybody" doesn't know.
Holy crap. Completely missed out on that. Sweet merciful Jeebus, what were they thinking.
Then again, hopping on a Edge of the Mists zerg led by a moderately competent commander will basically catapult your Level upwards at a ridiculous rate while drowning you in equipment and other goodies. Or at least it felt that way near the beginning of this year, when I did that.
Just fo Reference : if you want to play with Gafguild be sure to pick STORMBLUFF ISLE AS your Server .
While that is a NA server ,EU people ( like me) are also playing the Game and haven't experienced little to no Lag whatsoever .
If you have any Game related questions , do not Hesitate to ask in the OT :
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=820204
( I am assuming that players with free accounts can join a guild here but it would be stupid if you couldn't )
While that is a NA server ,EU people ( like me) are also playing the Game and haven't experienced little to no Lag whatsoever .
If you have any Game related questions , do not Hesitate to ask in the OT :
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=820204
( I am assuming that players with free accounts can join a guild here but it would be stupid if you couldn't )
Just wanted to hop in this thread and suggest folks who are trying this for the first time might want to roll on the Stormbluff Isle server. Of course, with the way the game's servers are set up, you can guest (a sort of temporary, free transfer) to SBI as much as you'd like, but you won't be able to partake in World vs. World with the guild (since it is literally server vs. server).
We'd also be happy to answer any questions you might have over in the community thread.
Edit: Damn you, Thorgal.
They increased some of the levels at which you unlock skill slots, but sped up the 0-15 leveling process substantially so that in terms of time spent playing, it's about the same. Reddit lost their shit over it for a couple days, but that's pretty much Reddit being Reddit.
Changes were made to teach new players how to play the game since their data showed folks weren't utilizing entire systems because the game didn't do a good job of explaining them.
Having gone from 0-20 myself after the change, it's actually a lot smoother. You also get much better rewards when you level now which is useful for filling in gaps in your gear and such (since you get experience from almost everything and the level requirements plateau around level 30, you can out-level your gear without even noticing).
We'd also be happy to answer any questions you might have over in the community thread.
Edit: Damn you, Thorgal.
They increased some of the levels at which you unlock skill slots, but sped up the 0-15 leveling process substantially so that in terms of time spent playing, it's about the same. Reddit lost their shit over it for a couple days, but that's pretty much Reddit being Reddit.
Changes were made to teach new players how to play the game since their data showed folks weren't utilizing entire systems because the game didn't do a good job of explaining them.
Having gone from 0-20 myself after the change, it's actually a lot smoother. You also get much better rewards when you level now which is useful for filling in gaps in your gear and such (since you get experience from almost everything and the level requirements plateau around level 30, you can out-level your gear without even noticing).
silvermember
Banned
A lot of the vocal players do not understand how terrible a lot of players are. Some don't know about traits, others could dodge properly which is why the added daily dodger. A lot don't use foods and I just ran my 3rd fractures ever with this player than had 100% world completion but couldn't even pick up a reflecting crystal and throw it at the Jade Maw. Better yet the player (guardian) was using just and staff and spamming one the world instance.
Actually, anybody that know will tell you that leveling in EoTM as lowbie is extremely slower than leveling in the world until level 30.
FloppyDelux
Member
eh ill give this a try, loved the first one when it came out.
There's no native controller support, but two GAFers have written a script that handles it nicely. You can read about it in the OT, under "Controller support"
Netherscourge
Banned
It has the best PVP of any MMO I've played.
1. They've added new paths, new fractals and revamped AC, as well as improving dungeon loot overall. If you didn't care for them before, nothing I can say will change your mind.
2. The end-game has always been cosmetic, that's the point.
3. This was never the case to begin with, for both renown hearts and dynamic events, but if that's how you view them then no, they're still the same.
4. No, two week updates add replayable story instances now, with achievements that are more about actually achieving something. Rewards are still cosmetic, but... see #2.
Thorgal, you should edit your OP with a link to the OT and some short info.
Woot free trials!
edit: People concerned about "end game"
The end game of Guild Wars 2 is to become a bear.
Lump is close to beating the game.
Woot free trials!
edit: People concerned about "end game"
The end game of Guild Wars 2 is to become a bear.
Lump is close to beating the game.
Most dungeons haven't been changed, but they revamped one of them and added a new path to another. I don't know what is your concept of mehfest so I can't comment on that, but there are always fractals which are anything but easy or boring.
Endgame items are still cosmetic, yes, because the gear progression is horizontal. Ascended items, the only tier above the highest one (Exotic tier) you can buy from the player market and that requires a considerable time sink is used solely to do high-level fractals and has negligible stat advantages compared to Exotics.
I don't know about your comment regarding quests, but I've done world completion recently on a character and I can tell the vast majority of the "Hearts" (NPC quests required to complete maps) are different (some involve killing stuff, but you could also retrieve items on the map to give to the NPC, etc) and although I felt it was a chore to do em, repetition is not what comes to mind when I do them.
And, I started playing this year, and the releases are not quite what you described (actually, I have a hard time remembering any release that could be summed down to that). The past months we had Living Story updates which added new events to the world and gave new content to play and explore (like an all new map that expanded with every episode). As it is the season is on a break, but we have already been told that when it comes back on November we are getting a new map to explore, which is interesting.
Done added my previous post to the OT .
Some of the early Living Story chapters from 2013 were a little like what he described. The worst was arguably Dragon Bash which had a lot of achievements tied to monotonous tasks like setting off fireworks or smashing pinatas. There's a reason that holiday didn't return this year, the catchy theme song was arguably the best part.
Hasn't been anything like that in a while.
Coriolanus
Banned
That's... a misconstruction at best. Nearly no one is arguing that Anet should not have expanded the tutorial, which is something quite nice indeed, or that they shouldn't give you some items when you ding, which, hey, free loot, even if a lot of them are super exciting crafting bags. What is being criticized is the needless locking away of abilities. A better tutorial need not be further enforced with grotesque simplification.
A more adequate approach would tackle the issue without forcing the hand of those that want to learn quicker, or teaching new players that hey, venthusing a boss is fine too. To use your guardian example, now it takes even longer for the player to be able to start fooling around with his other 4 staff attacks. How is that supposed to promote better gameplay?
But hey, feel free to argue that diving goggles were just too complex a mechanic, and needed gating. This is, of course, a misconstruction.
The eotm thing was a bug btw. part of the lvl29 weirdness. Should once again be as quick or quicker than pretty much anything save rushing cooking and jewelcrafting.
Anet has already reverted some of the gates. One hopes they'll remove nearly all of them and simply focus on improving the teaching of mechanics. Otherwise we can always talk about how much we love the changes.
ss_lemonade
Member
Downloading the game? From what I remember, it starts off from where it stops
Well, for some reason, if I close out of the program and start it back up, it starts back at 0. Do I need to reach a certain threshold?
Edit: Yeah, got it up to 500 MB, closed the program, and upon opening it was back at 0. This won't work for me.
Double Edit: Nevermind, the "Files Remaining" is consistent after shutdown/restart. Seems the "Downloading" counter only tracks for that session, and not the total amount downloaded.
Sweet merciful Jeebus. I just spent a bit of time reading up on this update.
That's just plain... *ahem* loveable.
Tongue-in-cheek aside, and slightly offtopic: Doesn't sound very well thought out, and changes the early game tremendously, mostly for the worse from what I can see. Seems to be terribly boring and restrictive in comparison to how it was before. Jikes. Boy, am I glad that I ran my charr from 1 to 80 before all of this hit the servers.
New character plan for experienced players: get to the city ASAP and grind-craft until level 10-20 to avoid gimpage?
(btw: followup video to the above vid.)
As far as we know, they have plans to tweak the initial lock ups, so things are going to be better in the future for certain. As it is, I can't truly comment on it as I haven't leveled a new character after the patch, but I'm hopeful those trying the trial will have some fun with the game!
LOL, I gave up on the game long ago, but that video is quite ridiculous. I actually liked the way you unlocked skills rather quickly and the incentive it gave to try different weapon combinations early on.
I guess ANET pretty much figures everyone is a moron nowadays and needs their hand hold for such menial tasks as finding vistas, lest idiots don't understand what is going on.
Well ,according to Anet there are a lot of people who simply don't get it.
LIke dodging or crafting or traits .
While i do wonder how those people manage to tie their shoes in the morning , there apparently was a definite need for this and while testing it out i agree with the change.
The main outrage comes from the experienced players which have a point but tend to overblow it .
crazepharmacist
Member
It's a super casual mmo and there's almost zero end-game content. Instead of releasing content at a regular pace like most mmo's they focus on "feature packs" which provide quality of life improvements. There has been very little permanent, end-game content introduced since the launch of the game, as well as zero announcements for upcoming content. This excludes their "Living Story" updates which consist of about an hour or less of instanced, cut-scene filled content released every few week with frequent breaks between releases(they're currently on a long hiatus before the final string of season 2 episodes). The game's future is very up in the air at this point.
Can we get a mod to change the thread title to reflect that the game is also 50% off during the trial? That seems kind of important.
They actually update at a much faster pace than most MMOs; you mention the feature packs (of which there have been two, five months apart, which is still pretty frequent) but there's also the Living Story updates which release every two weeks for months at a time. Say what you want about the size of those updates (I happen to agree that they're still a little short, though that's only the story portions), but the pace has been amazing.
Last year, they were putting releases out every two weeks for nine months straight, but players complained that they weren't meaty enough, which is why they've started having breaks between "Seasons." They also started holding large QoL improvements back for the Feature Packs because it was overwhelming people.
Permanent is the key word here; they've added tons of content (15 updates in the first year alone, 34 total), but if you weren't present to see it then you didn't get to experience it, like watching a television show before VCR. You had to wait for a re-run (which they've done for a lot of content) or just hear about it second hand. You can still jump into the game and see the damage caused by various events in the game world (Kessex Hills' corruption, the Marionette's jumbled remains, the complete destruction of Lion's Arch, etc.).
This was a problem they have since addressed by including the story journal, so that all future content releases will be re-playable if players want to do them again. But that doesn't mean that content didn't exist for players who were actively playing when they occurred.
They actually update at a much faster pace than most MMOs; you mention the feature packs (of which there have been two, five months apart, which is still pretty frequent) but there's also the Living Story updates which release every two weeks for months at a time. Say what you want about the size of those updates (I happen to agree that they're still a little short, though that's only the story portions), but the pace has been amazing.
Last year, they were putting releases out every two weeks for nine months straight, but players complained that they weren't meaty enough, which is why they've started having breaks between "Seasons." They also started holding large QoL improvements back for the Feature Packs because it was overwhelming people.
Permanent is the key word here; they've added tons of content (15 updates in the first year alone, 34 total), but if you weren't present to see it then you didn't get to experience it, like watching a television show before VCR. You had to wait for a re-run (which they've done for a lot of content) or just hear about it second hand. You can still jump into the game and see the damage caused by various events in the game world (Kessex Hills' corruption, the Marionette's jumbled remains, the complete destruction of Lion's Arch, etc.).
This was a problem they have since addressed by including the story journal, so that all future content releases will be re-playable if players want to do them again. But that doesn't mean that content didn't exist for players who were actively playing when they occurred.
Similar threads
- Locked