Our WvWvW adventure!
Quote:
Originally Posted by jaelius
What do you like about the combat mechanics? And how is the game engine running (compared to wow)? Just curious  |
The combat works awesomely. It's very involved and active, the fact that everyone has an adrenaline bar that gives them a resource to spend on actively dodging attacks is amazing. If you feel like you are about to be pummelled, you can simply double tap a direction key and leap out of the way any direction you like, as long as you have enough adrenaline available. The weapon swapping mechanics are amazing, with each different class of weapons and or weapon combinations providing your class with different weapon specific abilities; the thing I love about that is that you never have 20+ abilities and buttons to manage, just the ten skills that come with whatever setup you are using, until you hit the tilde key and swap out your pistols for a shortbow and get access to a bunch of ranged/aoe abilities. All of the classes feel really distinctive. The story progressions is nicely done with special cut-scenes and voice acting. One of my favourite things is the fact that you never have to go to a hub and collect a bunch of quests. You simply go out into the world and participate in whatever events you stumble into, and you get rewarded as soon as the events are completed, no handing in etc.
Perhaps my favourite thing about GW2 though is the fact that there is no endgame grind waiting for you at max level. ArenaNet has designed the game in such a way that endgame awesomeness starts the moment you step into their world. Within the first few events you complete you can be involved in a large battle against a giant mob involving however many players happen to be around at the time...maybe ten maybe fifty or more! The levelling process is not just this boring grind you have to go through to get to the real game at max level, the real game starts at level 1. Then, when you are max level and go back to low level zones to help people, it isn't trivial, because you get levelled down to the level of that area, so that you still have fun and don't just obliterate mobs in one go.
The fact that there's no endgame, to me, just makes it seem that much more of a free fun experience. You won't feel like you have to grind materials or join a raid group to progress further. There will be difficult challenges available that reward players with gear, but that gear won't be significantly higher powered. It will just look prettier and simply serve as a vanity thing. So there are goals to reach for, it's just that they won't be making you into some significantly player everyone else.
I don't think of GW2 as an MMO any more. It's just a really fun multiplayer game in an amazing online world, without a subscription fee. A place where you can log in, go where you want, and just have fun! When it stops being fun, you don't need to keep logging in to grind for gold/mats, you can just stop until more content comes along via expansions and patches.