In ArenaNet’s Buy-to-Play MMO Guild Wars 2, there is a lot to do this week with new zones, new stories, and new enemies. We took ArenaNet’s invitation and traversed the new zone together with the developers.
Falling Cats
Admittedly, my level 80 warrior is not exactly up to date technologically. And as I make my way along with a handful of journalists from European gaming magazines and the game’s Lead Content Designer, Mike ‘Z’ Zadorojny, I feel a bit nervous. I tend to inexplicably fall off things all the time. And in the new zone, Dry Top, there are plenty of opportunities for that!
But I shall only fall twice that afternoon: once, when Mike takes us to a secluded spot to pick up one of the 30 coins that lead to an incredibly important achievement – hopefully nobody notices when I fall, getting up with a blade of grass in my mouth while whistling. And then I fall a second time, this time on the master’s instructions. I walked up a hill instead of down and am now separated from the group. Mike recommends I take the “Gravity” route, and my cat proves that two sayings are nonsense: I neither land on my feet nor do I have nine lives.
The Zone Gives Fans “More” of Everything
The new content in ArenaNet’s flagship MMO “Guild Wars 2” is likely what fans have long wished for: a new zone with clever events and refined gameplay mechanics. Additionally, the continuation of the season, which first continues the story of the last event to then illuminate the background of Scarlett Briar, the villainess from Season 1.
But there is not just something new, but above all “More”. More nodes, adventures, events, reputation vendors, and crafting mats. The new Living Story indeed has many of the things one would have wished from an expansion. The events have new twists and sometimes require a different tactic than “brute force”. When the horde of journalists ignores the target marked by the boss to burst another, the developer wisely states: “If Bruteforce fails, use more Bruteforce.” Translated approximately: Where raw forces reign senselessly, one simply does not hit hard enough.
Dry Top resembles a desert town in a rugged canyon. The crashed airship forms the fitting background. The fights are varied (even if I don’t exactly perform heroically), but mostly focus on mass pulls. Since we are rampaging through the instances of the Living Story with a five-member group (which then functions like a personal story) and we already have a whole troop of NPCs trailing behind us, the game feels full and alive. In the open world, the mega-server ensures that one does not feel lonely. And on the way from A to B, one happily takes part in Event C where a group is battling a nasty champion scorpion – this makes the gameplay dynamic, lively, and busy.
Continuation of Jump Puzzles with a Twist
The entire zone, as the developer later reveals, is built in a “modular” way. For players who long for higher challenges, there are achievements to earn that are fairly tricky and require ingenuity.
In the zone, three different types of crystals are hidden, which give the player a special ability for a short time: with one, a short dash is possible, with another one jumps better and reaches higher terrain, and the third ability allows one to jump around as if having a pogo stick under one’s feet. This allows overcoming certain chasms. During the normal progress of the story quest, these abilities are easy to use and present no problem. However, those after exotic achievements – such as the 30 coins – will need to thoroughly explore and learn the zone to optimally utilize each of the three abilities: a continuation of the popular jump puzzles from the release.
The Good and the Not So Good About the New Zone
Overall, the zone feels as if Guild Wars 2 is recalling the strengths that fascinated and convinced so many players back at release. The world is accessible. There is always something happening. There is always something to do. There is an event by the roadside, here one needs to figure out how to survive for a few seconds in quicksand to gain a few AV points. The combat system with the two weapons looks quite simple at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it proves to be demanding.
As much as the new zones emphasize the old strengths, the problems of the game remain, at least in my eyes. What I still don’t like and where I had problems again this time: gear progression rarely occurs through one-time drops but is rather a result of persistent collecting passion. At the end of the excursion, I have my bags full of items I can break down, and currencies I need to collect and “turn in somewhere,” but I haven’t swapped a single piece of gear for a better one.
Nevertheless, the beginning of the second season seems to me to be an ideal entry point for players who want to take another look at Tyria after a long time to see what has changed: a whole lot.
This is What the Further Schedule for the Gates of Maguuma Looks Like
And it will remain so for the next few weeks. To conclude, we quickly received a schedule. Every two weeks, new episodes of the Living Story will be released. Episodes 2 and 3 await players on July 15 and 29. Then, on August 12, the 4th episode will come – after that, there will be a short summer break. Later, the story will continue with further installments of the epic saga. During the two weeks when the episodes are active, players who are currently taking a break from Guild Wars 2 should also briefly log in: if you log in, the episode remains unlocked for all characters and for all future instances. If you do not do this, you will have the opportunity to experience it later for a few crystals.
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