Final Guild Wars Beta Weekend

The folks over at ArenaNet are throwing the Final Pre-Release Beta Weekend Event. It's specifically aimed at folks who have preordered the game. If you're in, you can download the client and get into the game world early. From the article: "This BWE might be called our polishing event. Aside from the brand new maps that are being presented in their newer form, and which we know might need a bit more refinement, we're moving in on release (just 14 days and counting!) and we'd really like things to be just perfect on April 28th."

Comments

Damn, I can't wait to get home

[Surye]

I preorded about 3 weeks ago, but have not had any free time on the weekends. I really wanna get in on this event, as I've never played.

Re:Damn, I can't wait to get home

[Meagermanx]

A friend preordered and I played a bit on his PC. It seems to focuse more on upgrading weapons, rather than getting new ones all the time. Also, it bills its combat as diabloesque, but it's more along the lines of Dungeon Siege. Diablo seemed more about swarms of creatures, while Dungeon Siege kind of focused on fewer, tougher monsters. It's also really only an MMO in the towns, as far as I can tell. You get instanced dungeons and levels to explore with your group, and groups are generally easy and quick to start, and then you hit an instanced dungeon and start going through a campaign-like series of levels. PvP takes place in an arena-type thing, with your random group facing off against another random group of players, but when I played it didn't really seem to balance them very well. Lower level players, could fight almost evenly with higher level players, which was nice too.

first post!

[AzraelKans]

I hope this is the actual REAL final beta, Ive been dying to buy this game But Im not going to preorder.

Mac gamer who will watch & wait

[welkin]

The game looks like fun, and I would enjoy trying it out. I don't have the resources to roll a Windows box to run it at the moment. Of course the initial release is Windows-spec, that's just the name of the game, so to speak. I did check the Guild Wars support pages and got the "we'll let ya know" message in re: "other operatiing systems." If they port it to OS X, or if I somehow stumble across disposabe income (maybe by selling one of my old bass guitars or something) I'll try it out...

<http://support.guildwars.com/cgi-bin/guildwars. cf g/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1132&p_created=1 098969482&p_sid=Wg4tC1Dh&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmc F9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9MSZwX3B yb2RzPTAmcF9jYXRzPTAmcF9wdj0mcF9jdj0mcF9wYWdlPTEmc F9zZWFyY2hfdGV4dD1NYWNpbnRvc2g*&p_li=&p_topview=1>

omg you didn't just say fp.

[JVert]

The release data hasn't been pushed back that I know of so I dont know why the emphasis on REAL final beta. There has been any implied final beta before. With the pre-order you get a box with a soundtrack and your authentication key. You actually get something for the money you put down on the pre-order. I dont think they are going to chase you down if you pre-order and dont buy the game, but it would make sense to puy the pre-order just to try it out this weekend before you dump the whole $50 to buy it. Maybe its not what you think it is in gameplay. But this game will sell out the first week, you can't get a pre-order on the weekend that a beta even is going on. So if your going to do it start looking now.

Re:the REAL thing

[ReverendLoki]

I think the emphasis was in regards to the rumors going around during the January BWE event that the game was going to be released after the February BWE. Note: ArenaNet never changed the release date.. once they set it.

Bravo ArenaNet

[amarc]

This start up development house has managed to see a risky concept through to fruition on their own engine & in the process create an incredibly enjoyable (and addictive!) game. Superbly balanced & fun PvP, beautiful graphics, addictive gameplay and no monthly fee... even though I've been playing in these events since October I still sometimes wonder if it's just a wonderful dream!

Re:GW vs WoW

[Korgan]

----8<----
Im giving up Wow Due to lag and their crapy servers, what do you all think of GW, worth trying as next step after WoW ?

(but i should be programming not playing games)
----8<----

I'm playing both GW and WoW. Both are excellent games and I enjoy both very much. Next step after WoW? Its too different to call it a next step. The graphics are different, the game mechanics are different, the whole way you play is extremely different. ArenaNet don't even call their game an MMORPG. They call it a role playing game that you play online.

Giving up WoW is your choice, but Guild Wars isn't a drop in replacement for it. Crafting and a pretty decent trade system are just two examples of things that I've gotten used to in WoW but are really missing from Guild Wars. Also, the commands are entirely different which can get confusing at first.

Having said all that, I really like Guild Wars. I play the Beta weekend and then when its over, go back to WoW. Not sure how I'm going to split my time between the two after the 28th, but I'll figure it out. ;-)

Would I leave WoW for Guild Wars? Not initially. Maybe when I build up a community of friends there, but I have far too much time invested in WoW to drop it completely and permanantly. Lag and crappy servers in WoW? I'm on a medium pop PvP server and rarely have I had lag so bad I couldnt play the game as it is intended. The server downtime is easily addressed. You get free/credited days out of it. Not many other games do similar.

Preordered, but no package

[sheared]

I preordered the game, but the preorder package with what I suppose should be a code never showed up. I hope the game actually shows up.

Re:GW vs WoW

[C0rinthian]

I've been with GW since the forst E3 event, and was offered an alpha position. This weekend, I started a new character to get a feel for the game as a new player.

Visually the game is stunning. I love the enviroments, and the character design is quite good. Combat is fast-paced and tactical, and feels tight.

I'm concerned about how the game starts out. You see a short cinematic showing the Charr attacking Old Ascalon, and the guards call for all the fighters the city can muster. First gripe: characters conversing don't talk. There is no facial animation at all. They don't even gesture. If you didn't have the sound on, you would think it's just two guys standing there. Given how good the visuals are to this point, I don't know why they skimped on that.

But let us continue inside the city walls, where everything is peaceful. Huh? Theres a war raging outside and there is NO indication of it inside. Everyone is just kind of standing around. Talk to a guard, and he directs you to your class trainer. The trainer gives you some low level quests before giving you your first skills. What was my quest? Find a little girl who wandered off. Oh wait, she lost her flute too. Again, I get NO feeling that any kind of conflict is going on. The attacking Charr seemed pretty important to the guys outside, but we get no sense of that. Basically, nothing has 'hooked' me yet.

From here it loses direction. There are quests to do, but there is no real direction. Kill this, take this here, etc. Normal MMO fare, but it starts in the first 10 minutes of the game. Theres no logical progression at a time when the player is least familiar with the game. There is a story happening here, but it feels like your character has nothing to do with it. This is the time that the game should be filling you in on where you are, whats going on, and giving you a reason to give a crap about it. But it doesn't.

Eventually, after some random questing I got back to where I started and talked to that same guard. I got the option to join the fighting force and leave behind "Old Ascalon". Essentially, leaving the noob area. The problem is, I had no indication if I was the proper level for this, or if I had missed anything important before leaving. I almost left before picking my secondary profession, which would have been bad. Again, a new player needs more guidance than this.

So I'm finally ready to defend the city! (Remember that invading force?) So I go to the guard and agree to leave behind noob-ville, and it throws me into a PvP match! Even though there is an imminent threat, the military decides it needs to test it's volunteers by having them kill each other. Sounds like fun right? Well, the groups are random, and the group balance sucked. It was me and a Necro, versus 3 Warriors and a Monk. 2 vs 4. Needless to me and my necro ally got schooled. So, since we're not worthy the guards send us on the awesome task of killing some stuff in a cave. We proceed to kill stuff, and upon clearing the cave we get our second cut scene. Basically, Old Ascalon gets the crap kicked out of it by the Charr.

Once you get to this point, the game picks up steam again. The mission zones are much more interesting and follow a plot. Basically, now it starts to get fun. The problem is, it's too late at this point. Why didn't it start out this entertaining? The first impression is not nearly as good as it could be. It starts confused and aimless, with our heroes involved in nothing epic at all.

Again, the gameplay, mechanics, and art are all very good. Once you develop your character, PvP is solid, and looks to be the shining aspect of the game. PvE starts out weak, but ramps up to be fairly entertaining. Overall, the game is very good, but it falls just short of being GREAT. I didn't feel drawn into the world, and I wasn't given a reason to care about what happens in it. I could tell it was a good game, but I didn't get hooked by it. It does a lot of things right, but lacks that 'something' that makes it really stick out in my mind.

I'll try and get in game some more tonight...

Re:GW vs WoW

[FinchWorld]

Should really read some of the stuff they have on the Guild Wars site. For one, having friendly warriors hack each other to pieces in training isn't all that bad, as they can be resurected afterwards (As a character is in the story at guildwars.com).

If you didn't pick a secondary in Pre Charr ascalon, you can still choose in Post Charr ascalon.

And lastly the game isn't in direct competion with any other MMORPG's, largely because its a CORPG (Competitive Online Role-Playing Game), think Magic: The Gathering, - cards + more people - other silly stuff.

and on top of that, no monthly fees, woohoo.

Re:GW vs WoW

[Tanaric]

There actually are voiceovers; they were in the last BWE, at least (I haven't checked this one's beginning yet). ArenaNet has stated they intend to flesh out the cutscenes before release and provide voices for all of them. I imagine the prohibiting factor for beta is that all data must be acquired over the internet. Stuff like voice data will be on the CDs, thus reducing the cost for ArenaNet and the wait for the players.

Re:GW vs WoW

[C0rinthian]

There were voice overs, but there was no character animation to match it. It was a harsh visual break. (my original complaint)

Re:GW vs WoW

[C0rinthian]

Should really read some of the stuff they have on the Guild Wars site. For one, having friendly warriors hack each other to pieces in training isn't all that bad, as they can be resurected afterwards (As a character is in the story at guildwars.com).

I'm fully aware of the fact that fighters are resurrectable, and that it is in the lore. It simply breaks with the flow of the story. If the kingdom is in imminent danger, why only take half of the volunteers? The player is led to believe their going to fight some Charr, but instead gets thrown into a PvP match, and depending on the outcome may not even take part in the battle.

Basically, it just feels like a bad attempt to integrate PvP into the tutorial section.

If you didn't pick a secondary in Pre Charr ascalon, you can still choose in Post Charr ascalon.

The tutorial area should make sure that the player accomplishes some key things before going on. I.E. reaching a suitable level, pick secondary profession, and get all skills available to them in the training area.

Upon leaving Old Ascalon I had no indication as to if I was of suitable level. (I left at lvl 5, and there were lvl 8's still running around) And I have no idea if I got all my basic skills from the zone, as the trainers gave no real impression of finality. ("I have taught you all that I can")

And lastly the game isn't in direct competion with any other MMORPG's, largely because its a CORPG (Competitive Online Role-Playing Game), think Magic: The Gathering, - cards + more people - other silly stuff.

Heh, I've been saying this since the first Alpha event. It's not a MMO and I certainly don't expect one. The Magic analogy is spot on.

My concern is that the very beginning of the game, the first impression, is not very good. There is no clear direction from the start (where it is needed most) and the plot given feels very disjointed. The player is not involved in the plot, and has no reason to care about it. Basically, it failed to draw me into the world at all, which is something the later missions do quite well. However, players may not make it to those later missions because of how weak the opening is.

With no monthly fee they will draw a LOT of people to give it a try, but remember those people have no incentive to stick around. Most MMO players stick around at least for the first month because of the monthly fee. GW doesn't have this going for them, and needs to hook the player from the outset to keep them playing.

Again, it's a very good game, and should be successful. But it had the potential to be much better.

Re:GW vs WoW

[wickedj]

I think the problem there was that the developers used the game engine in order to render those cut scenes. Since the gameplay models don't speak, there is no animation for it. I agree, it is a harsh visual break but it's still only beta. They may fix that in the final (unlikely though).

Re:GW vs WoW

[C0rinthian]

It comes out in 10 days. I doubt they are adding that kind of content in that time. It would soften the blow a bit if there were some character animations during the scenes, (gestures and body movement) but the two speaking characters DID NOT MOVE AT ALL.

Re:GW vs WoW

[wickedj]

If I remember correctly, they did move. They bobbed up and down a tiny bit.

Beta Weekend mini-review by an old EQer.

[Meetch]

I've had an EQ account for probably 5 years. I have hardly played it in the last year... something about being in Australia and never being able to find a group mature enough to really achieve something with at the times I could be on, never mind that prime time down-under seems to regularly coincide with patch time. I've been playing it on a 3GHz P4 with 1G RAM, and an nVidia FX5600 card, using a 512/128k ADSL connection, and when there are over a hundred PCs within the field of vision, the flame rate gets very ordinary. I believe my current installation of EQ is chewing a few Gb of hard drive space too, but I allocated 5G to that, so it's ok for now...

The opportunity came up for me to play on the last beta weekend, reported a few bugs and annoyances, and although there are a few things I don't agree with, I was most impressed.

Things I like about it:

• Camping disputes are eliminated. So too is training on other parties/individuals. When you go on a mission, the group of people there is your choice. Your instance of the zone is essentially yours and yours alone!
• If you can't get a group, you can "recruit" a bunch of NPCs, which do the job of their class pretty well. If you die, your NPC monk will rez you once things settle down, and your pet (a permanently charmed animal) will fight on to the death too, instead of clearing off without its master! This is handy when you will be rezzed later.
• Death does not impose an unconditional many-hours-worth-of-experience penalty on you. It doesn't really matter if you die during a mission, but you effectively suffer a morale type skills penalty until you kill enough "big enough" things to get it back. And every key figure killed during the mission can net you a "morale bonus" of sorts. This is reset when you leave the mission/area - so you can abort the mission and start again to recover from a penalty, or complete the final task using skill, strength and just a bit of luck.
• The graphics engine is an extremely cool, efficient and tight piece of work. It renders everything beautifully. I love the way that the capes flutter in such a realistic way with character movement, even when your ranger is breakdancing.
• If you're standing on higher ground, your arrows fly further and hence you shoot targets further away. Also when you click to attack, it will try to take you to the outside range before letting your first shot off, instead of simply telling you you're out of range and letting you do the guesswork.
• Pathing has had a lot of work done on it. If you can see a spot on the other side of the valley, but the way there isn't at all obvious, then you have to find the way yourself. But clicking on a point on the ground beneath the current ledge takes you there in a sensibly efficient manner, taking you on a path around obstacles instead of aiming through them. This also means your pet and/or recruited NPCs will not lose sight of you. If they die, well that's another matter.
• No more loot disputes. By yourself, if you kill it, the loot's yours. In a group, the system spreads the loot around fairly and highlights stuff assigned to you for pickup.
• There is a really nice quest log that stores where you're up to for all outstanding quests. Brilliant! There's also usually a helpful arrow on the local terrain map pointing toward your destination. The struggle is getting through/past the obstacles, not getting lost.
• The local terrain overhead map is clickable. You can indicate where things are by clicking on points, or drawing lines (which fade) to show which direction your party should go. Call it a map equivalent of hand-signals.
• I got to fire a trebuchet! Repeatedly! No, there was no experience given for the multiple kills achieved, but had our party walked into that we would have been decimated...
• Being surrounded by a horde of little guys is inherently dangerous, no matter if you're level 10 and they're all level 3. However, killing them will still net