Guild Wars 2 previewed at GamesCom
by Brooke Pilley 
Aug 20th 2009 at 4:00PM
Filed under: Fantasy, Previews, News items, Guild Wars 2
If there's one buzzword for the MMO genre in 2009, it's probably "story." Lead Designer, Eric Flannum explains that ArenaNet is throwing their entire bag of tricks at the story in GW2, which will combine a mix of instances and persistent world events. Don't expect to find any exclamation marks in this MMO. But do expect crafting, jumping, underwater exploration, and other welcome additions in the sequel. Of course, PvP remains this franchise's bread and butter and players will be able to test their mettle against each other in instances as well as a new open-world area called The Mists. For all the gory details, head on over to Eurogamer's official preview and don't miss the amazing GW2 trailer. We can't stop watching it!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
starzzareblind said on 4:27PM 8-20-2009
here's hoping for an open world and innovative gameplay.
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Mr Angry said on 4:40PM 8-20-2009
Yeah I really hope it's a lot more open, this limited my enjoyment of the original somewhat.
Arkanaloth said on 5:18PM 8-20-2009
Honestly I prefer GW's instancing over other MMO's I've played and the annoyances that go with them.. However, the world can be as open as it wants as long as all quest objectives are in instances (I know missions in GW2 are instanced)
Tom said on 6:18PM 8-20-2009
I'm all for the open world plus instanced missions and dungeons, as long as I still have the option to run the instances solo or using AI, if I want to, as I could in the original game.
If not, unfortunately, GW2 will be a good, but rather standard WoW/EQ/LotRO-like MMO, imo, and do we really need more of those?
Astral Fly said on 6:25AM 8-21-2009
I was a little bit dissapointed the first time I saw the trailer, but now I can't stop watching it either.
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livespartan said on 4:45PM 8-20-2009
GW 2 is open world go read up on it but the missions and dungeons will be instanced also in an interview Anet said that they replaced the traditional MMO questing with an event system for there persistent World.
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Eben said on 8:59PM 8-20-2009
Looks like it has the potential to be amazing. Can't wait.
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Keen said on 4:58PM 8-20-2009
This has me more excited than anything else right now. If they make this a proper MMORPG, with a massively multiplayer open-world zoned instead of instanced then I'll be on-board.
Some new world pvp system, instances to tell narrative, an event system, and a beautiful game world are all pluses on my list.
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MCRaider said on 6:03PM 8-20-2009
Keen I think you missed the biggest plus of all, pay for the game and your set. No monthly subs needed, I would pay 15 a month for this game in a heartbeat but if Anet keeps it free that is also a huge +1.
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Keen said on 10:26PM 8-20-2009
Indeed. I'd happily pay a subscription for it thought if they'd go more open and massively multiplayer with their world - it would be more than deserving.
Tom said on 6:22PM 8-20-2009
"Of course, PvP remains this franchise's bread and butter"...
I lol'd at this line, since I played GW for quite a couple of years and never once PvP'd.
But, hey, whatever. I'm fine if they want to put PvP in as long as it is completely unrelated to the PvE -- again, as it was in the original game.
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Tom said on 6:25PM 8-20-2009
Errr ... make that just "... for a couple of years". Scratch the "quite", which makes no sense. :(
Metroid said on 8:39PM 8-20-2009
I feel sorry for anyone who never GvGed in Guild Wars during the proph + factions eras. It was the best structured PvP experience in any MMO. If you never PvPed in Guild Wars, you missed the point of the game.
Tom said on 10:09PM 8-20-2009
I thought the point of the game was to have fun -- and that I most certainly did. ;)
mszv said on 6:33PM 8-20-2009
The great thing about GW's PvP is that helps sell the game, and I never have to do it! I love how I can have a great experience and never have to PvP.
I love the instancing, but I'm OK with a more persistent world - going to see how that works out. I think it looks beautiful., you can still do solo play and no monthly fee!
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Arnie said on 7:01PM 8-20-2009
One sad thing which I got from this interview was that now weapons are now not standardized. IMO this was a great feature of the game as not raiding & being not hardcore & not item based game helped players concentrate on the game itself rather than bragging rights. The game had elite weapons but they did no extra damage or had stat boosts than a weapon you could get crafted. This leveled the playing field to an awesome extent & also, while grouping did not mean folks kicking other folks out if they did not have such & such weapon or armor.
Basically, even if you did not raid your character was not gimped & the braggers still got their kudos because of the skin. This stat boosting & uber drops irritates the hell out of me. It also irritates me when not everyone in the raid gets some reward from the end boss at the end of the encounter in other games. I am not liking this IMO. A game should not be item based. Its an unhealthy & greed based crutch other MMOs need to keep players subscribing. So it baffles me when GW2 is adopting this strategy when it does need to. Skills were important & should be the case even now. Still, I have faith in Anet & hope it finds ways to balance stats on weapons even in PvE.
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starmonkey said on 11:14PM 8-20-2009
Good points Arnie!
In GW I was as strictly casual PvE player, and by researching builds online I could play with more serious people.
Although they do want people with Ursine skills? (EotN I think?)
I just had a necro/monk with a spiteful spirit build and everyone was happy :p
Lysle said on 1:17AM 8-21-2009
I agree totally with Arnie, that is my big disappointment thus far with Guild Wars 2, because that was one of the things I loved about GW1. I really enjoyed collecting titles and pretty items without having to have a combat advantage over other players... I felt like things were fair from the start, and the way that some players were better than others without having a statistical advantage made me feel excited and motivated to improve my skills at the game (sorta the way I feel when I play a first person shooter, but in GW1 I would never feel as helpless or annoyed, and RPGs are just more fun for me anyways). I really loved that and I think it could have been a huge advantage GW2 would have over other MMOs... If Arenanet wants GW2 to be as buzz worthy and amazing as GW1 then they need standardized weapons, IMO.
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Venekor said on 7:22AM 8-21-2009
When I was 15 I wouldn't mind the asian character models but now I'm much older I just want something thats more mature. I want normal western looking models and not ones that are trying to look over cute like bunnies with spikey hair and large thighs.
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Kyoji said on 9:14AM 8-21-2009
Where is everyone getting that weapons wont be standardized? I read the entire article and saw no mention of that, neither confirming it or denying it. Just because they are putting crafting into the game doesn't necessarily mean gear is going to be the #1 thing. In fact I got quite the opposite vibe from the interview, because the team at ArenaNet seemed determine to keep as much design philosophy from GW1 as they could while removing the things that they thought made the game too "complicated." Plus must have mentioned at least 2 times that PvP characters were going to have access to all the top gear and weapons, which is the same exact system that's in place in GW1. I'm REALLY confused as to where you people are getting this, or why you are even worrying about it, it seems like a total non-issue.
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