Requested Review:
I have a lvl 10 Necro/Ranger, and a lvl 8 Warrior/Monk... with a total of about 30 hours invested in the game so far.
There is a relatively steep learning-curve on this one. The controls are solid, the graphics are some of the best I've ever seen, and the quest system is fantastic!
In-Depth review (beware, minor spoilers)
When you create a character you choose a primary class, your height, face, hair colour, skin colour etc. The character-creation is NOWHERE near as intricate as City of Heroes, but you can still create a fairly unique looking character.
Once you have created your character you enter into the realm of Ascalon, with it's rolling hills, lush forests and scattered villages. Town/Village zones are the only areas that are 'Massively Multiplayer'. Each Town/Village zone has anywhere from 1 - 40 people in it at a time. These zones are split into 'districts' to lessen lag. There are tens of thousands of people playing this game, to have all of them standing around in Ascalon City would be insane, so when you walk into Ascalon City (for example) you enter into a 'district' of the City itself. There can be upwards of 60 or 70 districts going at once. If you want to meet a friend, you just have to agree on a district to meet in, and changing districts is painless.
The 'world' areas are all instanced. If you venture out into the world on your own, with a team, or with NPC henchmen it is all yours. You will not encounter other teams/PCs in the world areas. This eliminates griefing, and aids in smooth gameplay.
The area of Ascalon, where you begin your quest, is basically a giant tutorial. You can spend hours and hours exploring every nook and cranny, taking side quests, gaining items which you can salvage, use or sell.
Secondary profession. When you are ready, and wish to take on a secondary profession, you need only seek out a trainer in that profession. For example; you play a Mesmer, and you have a lot of support abilities, but would like to have some range, and a pet, so you take a Ranger secondary. To do this, visit a Ranger, any ranger, and do their quest. They will provide you with basic ranger abilities, and when you have completed the quest, speak to them again to choose that profession permanently. If you aren't certain that Ranger is the right fit for you, tell that trainer that you aren't interested for now, and visit any other trainer (Warrior, Monk, Necro, Elementalist, etc) to do their quest, and get a taste for how their profession works with your primary.
After touring around with the professions, if you decide that Ranger was the best fit after all, you need only visit that same original trainer again, and commit to that secondary profession. You don't have to redo the quests, just let the trainer know that you're ready to go with that set.
Crafting. Crafting is the only way to upgrade your armor, and is the BEST way to upgrade your weapons. When fighting out in the world areas, you will pick up weapons, artifacts, and 'salvage items'. Salvage items include, but aren't limited to;
Half-eaten masses
Named gear dropped from different humanoid foes
Insect/Undead limbs/carapaces
These 'salvage items' are designed specifically to be salvaged. You purchase a 'salvage kit' or an 'expert salvage kit' and use it on any 'salvage item' in order to get the base material of that item. Most weaponry (Axes, swords, hammers, knives) will salvage - for example - into 'Iron Ingot'. Many pieces of gear (Grawl Gear, Shaman Gear, Fire Caller Gear, etc) and some items (worn belts, patches of skin) can be salvaged to produce 'tanned hides'.
Visiting a craftsman, with the proper materials, is the only way to get new armor. Armor (for your use) never drops in the world areas. For example; You play a Necro, and you want to upgrade your armor. You see that the craftsman can make you some Necromancer Gear with boneshards, and a little cash... or you can get even better gear such as the 'Bonelace' set if you have tanned hides, boneshards and cash. The amount of Tanned Hides or Boneshards varies depending on what type of Armor you want crafted. More is required (8 of each I think) for the torso armor, and less for the leggings, etc.
Later on in the game you will encounter Weapons crafters. This system works the same way, allowing you to craft better weaponry for your character.
Types of item-drops:
When an item drops, it will appear as one of the following;
White - Basic item.
Blue - Unidentified/Special item.
Purple - Very rare item.
These classifications apply to all items, even salvage gear. If you have an unidentified item, identifying it can produce some interesting results. For example;
Unidentified short sword
Possible Identifications:
-Attack +10% (self-explanitory)
-Highly Salvageable (Using a salvage kit on this item will give you 5 - 10 Iron Ingot, rather than the basic 1 or 2)
-Precious (significantly higher sell value)
Salvaging a Purple (very rare) item will always produce more of the base salvage material... it's basically the equivalent to salvaging an item that is listed as 'highly salvageable'. Most of the time you will not be salvaging Purple items... you will either be using them, or selling them for excellent cash.
Another frequent drop in the world areas; Dye. There are different colours of Dye, each having a certain level of rarity or commonality. Colours are;
Yellow
Orange
Red
Blue
Green
Silver
Black
Dye is used for exactly what you think... dying the colour of your gear. My Necro is in a guild that has a Blue and White cape. Since my Necro has white hair, I saved up and purchased blue dye... so now his entire outfit is blue to match the cape... and it looks sharp!
Guilds & Social aspects:
The way Guilds work is pretty basic. You spend 2 Platinum (2000 Gold) to register a guild. In order to get a Guild Cape, the guild also has to spend a certain amount of money. You can also acquire a Guild Hall... however I do not know how this is done, as the guild that my Necro is in does not yet have one. I have never seen one, but would like to.
The guild system works the same way as in any other game. It's a large group of people who all wear the same cape, sometimes they employ the use of a custom 'tag' with their names, and they group together for PVP matches, and random quests. It's nothing groundbreaking.
Social Aspects. Most of your time, in-game, will be spent with only a few people. Early in the game your max group size is 4. As you progress through the primary quests you are able to take more and more people. Grouping is very similar to any other MMO... ensure you have damage and support, and ensure communication amongst your team. One vital communication tool for the team is the map, since you can draw anything on the map for the rest of your team to see (directions, waypoints, etc). So far the people I have encountered have been friendly, but most people seem intent on selling and chatting... and it can often be difficult to find people interested in forming a team. This is unfortunate, but I expect it will change as more and more people start to play the game.
Finally; Primary Quest.
As stated above, the 'beginning area' is a lot like a Tutorial, albeit a MASSIVE one. You could spend your first 10 levels in the first area, easily... that says a lot considering the lvl 20 cap. However, when you're ready to advance the story, or simply sick of the starter area, you enter into the primary quest. This involves forming a team of 4, and proving yourself in a PVP match vs. another team of 4. Win or Lose you are thrust into a mission with Prince Rurik (one of the main characters in the game). When you complete this mission, the REAL game begins.
The Searing.
The Charr, a mysterious animal-like race from the North, call upon their ancient gods to wreak havoc on Ascalon, almost completely destroying it. You will get a chance to see the impressive in-game cinematic which explains all of this.
Fast-Forward 2 years. You find yourself in Ascalon, or what's left of it. The formerly lush countryside is now a barren, charred, post-apocalyptic nightmare. And now the area available to explore is at LEAST 10 times the size of the tutorial area. The map is daunting... and I suspect most of the game will be spent merely exploring this fucking huge world. There are dozens of 'city zones' where you can train, join groups, socialize and get quests, scattered all throughout Old Ascalon and beyond. Travel between these city zones is as easy as a click on the map (although it boots you out of your group when you do this, which can be a pain).
That's about all I can think of, and I'm probably going over the post limit as it is. If anyone has specific questions about the game that I haven't covered here, post them, and I'll use my limited (remember, steep learning curve) knowledge to see if I can help.
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Topic: Guild Wars... Who's in? (Official Thread) (Read 13631 times)