Category: Guild Wars 2

Path of Fire – a Delicious Demo Experience

Posted on by Gazimoff

Earlier this week, I promised that I’d be taking a look at Path of Fire, the upcoming expansion for Guild Wars 2, during the open demo weekend. I wanted to discover for myself if the sense of wonder had been rekindled, teasing me to explore mysterious new lands. I wanted to feel like I could survive instead of being a corpse to be tossed around. And I wanted to see if the joy returned from the original game, given form in small details that lend weight to the world.

I’m pleased to say that, on all three counts, Path of Fire exceeded my expectations. Yes, the demo was restricted to half of the first map, with limited exposure to the new storyline. And yes, the demo provides you with a fresh character fully kitted in exotics, which is more powerful than my current Guardian. However, even with those caveats in mind, I had a fantastic time playing the preview. On all three counts – exploration, survivability, and easy-going entertainment – the new experience delivered.

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Path of Fire – the Hopeful Skeptic

Posted on by Gazimoff

Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire

I am not good at Guild Wars 2. My experience began during the original beta, where I died so many times in the Ascalonian Catacombs instance that I polished the floor with my corpse. From such a promising start, I progressed to mediocre, gradually nurturing an Engineer and a Guardian to level cap. I avoided dungeons and feared Fractals, but I explored the world of Tyria and was happy. The dynamic events and personal story were more than enough for me.

Then came Heart of Thorns, and with it, the return of my failure cascade. The new zones, with their new enemies, were relentlessly punishing. In my mixture of looted and crafted armour, I struggled to survive. For a while I persisted while everyone else moved on, but eventually I conceded defeat. The difficulty bar had been raised, and I had been found wanting.

It’s a source of sadness, as I desperately wanted to love the game. The art style is still breathtaking several years on, but it’s the story behind Guild Wars 2 that really grabbed me. Through the Living World seasons, it’s clear that the writers behind the lore are passionate about delivering an evolving experience. Plus, the Asura are awesome – I still have a small golem on my desk.

Which is why, with the announcement of a new expansion, I’m both hopeful and skeptical in equal measure. Path of Fire promises a return to exploration and content, two topics that are high on my wishlist. It also aims to support returning players by keeping new systems to a minimum, reusing the capabilities established in Heart of Thorns. But, beyond those well-publicised bullet-points, there’s little meaningful meat to describe what that returning experience will feel like.

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Mission to Foostival

Posted on by Gazimoff

Foostival UK

Guild Wars 2 is going through a revival. The Heart of Thorns expansion announcement, followed by a deep-discounted sale, resulted in a surge of new and returning players to the fantasy world of Tyria. But despite the renewed focus and hype surrounding ArenaNet’s MMO, it’s the tenaciously loyal fans that have kept it alive over the past two and a half years, either through feedback on game systems, or supporting it with cash at the item store.

The player-run Foostival is a further example of fan involvement, with teams from across Europe organising low-key gatherings to connect, discuss, and celebrate the game. Personally, I find this aspect incredibly interesting, as I get to hear the passions and fears without any kind of forum-warrior bravado, and how it compares with my own experience of the game. For someone who spends their time understanding and writing about online worlds, there are few things better than conversing with those who inhabit them on a daily basis.

SEE ALSO: Foostival Flickr Gallery

Foostival is also fairly unique in being a meat-space event that’s organised by the players themselves, instead of being a PR-led initiative from the publisher or studio. It somehow made the experience more authentic, even though ArenaNet helped out with swag, prizes and community manager representation for the events. In turn, it also meant that the Town Hall and state-of-the-game discussions seemed more practical and less conflict-driven than I’ve seen elsewhere with other games. It’s a model that I can see working well for other MMOs with large communities, and one that I think studios should start to consider. After all, not everyone can make it to a BlizzCon or SOE Fan Faire.

Foostival UK

That said, Foostival wasn’t just about dry discussion. Numerous events, from siege engine building to game knowledge quizzes, gave participants the opportunity to earn valuable Black Lion Key raffle tickets. These keys were worth gathering, with prizes ranging from SteelSeries gaming accessories to rare and exclusive signed merchandise.

As for me, it’s helped to rekindle my interest in Guild Wars 2. After crawling to level cap with an Engineer and having a horrific experience with instanced dungeons, my playtime tailed off substantially. But games change, and so do people – I’ve been working on a slower-paced Guardian and having much more fun with it, experiencing a game with many of the rough edges smoothed off. Now that I’m armed with a bucketload of new contacts fresh from Foostival, I might even start dipping my toes in instances again. That, in itself, is worth more than all the swag I could carry.

Guild Wars 2 Competition: The Winners!

Posted on by Gazimoff

Guild Wars 2 Swag

Remember this competition? After the craziness that has been early October, I’ve finally had a chance to chose some winners and send out some prizes! Apologies for the delay with this, but hopefully the winning entries will more than make up for it!

Foxfire_daye
First prize goes to Foxfire Daye from Gunnar’s Hold, with this fantastic Aetherblade combination!
Grizabella-tarnished_coast
Second prize goes to Grizabella, with this haunting screenshot. Despite being from the EU, Grizabella plays on Tarnished Coast for the roleplay.
Aetriess, also from Gunnar's Hold, looks fantastic as a princess, and wins third prize!
Aetriess, also from Gunnar’s Hold, looks fantastic as a princess, and wins third prize!

That said, I couldn’t wrap this up without a few honourable mentions. Unfortunately I don’t have any more prizes to hand out, but these entries are too good to keep to myself.

Chokapika from Arborstone looks pretty in pink with her Quaggan companion!
Chokapika from Arborstone looks pretty in pink with her Quaggan companion!
Neala Wiverflower from Whiteside Ridge came up with this spooky combination - ideal for the return of the Mad King!
Neala Wiverflower from Whiteside Ridge came up with this spooky combination – ideal for the return of the Mad King!
Tiny Lotus from Ring of Fire is trying to teach her pink Moa how to fly.
Tiny Lotus from Ring of Fire is trying to teach her pink Moa how to fly.

I’d like to thank everyone who entered the competition – there was some amazing creativity on display, and a lot of throughout went into so many of them. Screenshotters, I salute you!

Competition: Win Guild Wars 2 Swag!

Posted on by Gazimoff

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Firstly, an apology. I meant to get this competition up several weeks ago, but things at Chez Gazz have been absolutely manic. Anyhow, thanks to the generous folks at ArenaNet and NCSoft, I have a small collection of Guild Wars 2 swag from Gamescom that I wanted to share around! Here’s what’s on offer:

  • First Prize: Guild Wars 2 blank hardbound notebook, Living World mouse mat, and Mini llama item code.
  • Second and third prize: Mini Llama item code.

How do you win? Simple. I want you to take a screenshot of yourself and a Mini of your choice, looking completely co-ordinated. I’m going to leave it up to you how and where you take it, but I’m looking for imagination here. Be creative!

Here’s how to enter:

  • Email your screenshot (or a link to it) to gareth@gazimoff.com (that’s me!)
  • Use the subject line ‘GW2 Screenshot Competition’
  • Include your character name and server, so I know where it’s from!

The closing date is Friday September 26th at midnight BST. All entries received after this time will be redirected to the Inquest.

And finally, the small print:

  • My decision is final. Don’t like it? Don’t care.
  • Only one entry per person, one screenshot per entry. Please have mercy on my inbox. Multiple entries will be disqualified.
  • Because I have to send these out myself, I regretfully have to limit entries to EU only.
  • By entering the competition, you’re granting me the right to use the screenshot in a future post where I announce the winners.

Mister Sparkles Mini: The Winners (Part 2)

Posted on by Gazimoff

At the end of October, I asked for people to design me a golem in order to win a Mister Sparkles Mini. The response has been overwhelming, with so many incredible responses. I really was amazed by the work everyone put in, and it made choosing some winners incredibly difficult.

As I mentioned before, the incredibly kind folks at ArenaNet gave me some extra codes, so I’ve got five Mister Sparkles Minis to give away. Without further ado, let me share the winners with you!

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Design a Golem, Win Mister Sparkles!

Posted on by Gazimoff

Zojja_01_concept_art

Earlier this month, I ran a competition where you could win a Mini Mister Sparkles for Guild Wars 2. But there was a catch: to enter, you needed to design a competition that someone else could win. It was a little fiendish and so very meta, generating a huge number of ideas. Well done to everyone that took part, and congratulations to the winners!

I still have five more Mister Sparkles Mini codes to give away. After taking the best entries from the previous contest, I think I’ve come up with a fair but flexible way that you could win one of the remaining codes.

Update: The competition is now closed, and I’ll be announcing the winners early next week. Thanks to everyone that took part!

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Mister Sparkles Mini: The Winners (Part 1)

Posted on by Gazimoff

mister sparkles competition copy

Wow, a lot of you really wanted to get your hands on a Mister Sparkles Mini! And thanks to the kind folks at ArenaNet, I’m able to share even more of them. I’ve chosen five winners this time around, and one of those entries will be the basis for another competition.

That second competition starts later on this week and will run till the end of the month, so keep your eyes peeled if you weren’t lucky this time round. But before I announce who won, here’s some ideas that came close…

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Competition: Win a Mini Mister Sparkles!

Posted on by Gazimoff

mister sparkles competition copyMister Sparkles. According to Zojja, he’s the best golem in all Rata Sum. He also has a rather interesting history, even before his adventures in Guild Wars 2.

And now he can be yours. Well, at least a miniature version of him. On my recent travels to gaming expos far and wide, I’ve picked up a couple of code cards for a Mini Mister Sparkles. But I don’t want to keep these for myself – instead, I’d like to share them with those who aren’t so fortunate.

As you can see, I have two codes. But only one will be given away in this competition. You see, I’ve been wracking my brains, trying to think of an ingenious way to provide a challenge worthy of an Asura. After discarding all manner of puzzles, quizzes and tests of wit, I was hit with inspiration.

UPDATE: Did I say two codes? I meant to say ten! The kind folks at ArenaNet spotted my little giveaway and sent over eight more codes to share with everyone. This means that I’ll be giving away five codes in total for this first phase of the competition, and five more in the second phase later this month.

To win a Mister Sparkles Mini, your task is simple: come up with a competition for giving away a Mister Sparkles Mini.

The winning answer will be chosen by me, and used as the basis for a second competition for the second code.

It means everyone gets two chances to win (apart from the first winner – not even Zojja has two Mister Sparkles!), and the entire contest is deliciously meta. I think Snaff himself might approve.

To enter, post a comment below with your idea. Be sure to include a valid email address so I can contact you if you win! And get your thinking caps on, as the first competition closes on 11th October 2013. And if you have any questions, just drop me a mail: gazimoff[at]manaobscura.com.

FURTHER UPDATE: The first part of the competition is now closed! I’ll be picking winners over the weekend and be back on Monday to reveal all! And if you’re not lucky this time around, I’ll be starting the second part of this competition next week.

FURTHER FURTHER UPDATE: The Winners can be found here!

Just Listen You Idiots!

Posted on by Gazimoff

It doesn’t matter what MMO I talk about, I’ve only ever played two thirds of the game. It doesn’t matter if it’s World of Warcraft, RIFT, Star Wars: The Old Republic or any of the countless other worlds I’ve kicked around in. Whatever the game, I’ve avoided PvP completely.

I’ve not always been like this: back in the vanilla days of WoW I’d play my hideously overpowered mage and have huge amounts of fun. Looking back, I think that my interest in PvP plummeted when all these special rules and exceptions came in. Resistance gear. Diminishing returns. Trinket rules. Yadda yadda. It went from being one game to three, all forced together like three unruly brothers.

Which is why the last few months have been incredibly strange. On the one hand there’s Guild Wars 2, where I’ve spent huge chunks of my beta time in World versus World (versus World versus World… etc). And then there’s Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes, a game that I’d describe as MMO PvP without all the MMO crap that goes along with it.

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