Staying Flexible: What Guild Wars 2 Does Right

[News Portal]

After two beta weekends, Tim has had a long hard think about what exactly defines ArenaNet's design ethos with [app=6096]Guild Wars 2[/app]. The answer, it seems, lies purely in its flexibility, and how it allows you to approach it from any direction you like. Read on for more.

Read full article by Tim Colwill

[Marius]

Excellent article Tim, I agree completely.

I don't really have much more to say on the topic than that, though...

[Klas]

This was a big deal with the original Guild Wars as well but it's amazing how much of a difference no monthly fee makes. It let's you play the game on your terms. Want to shelve it for a couple of months for a break? No probs, just pick it up again and login whenever you want. So it is not just in game flexibility, there's freedom on every level!

[Bluefire]

Still havent got me a beta invite, maybe I should have posted using laptop spec's not my web browser Oh well!
Im hoping the wife will like gw2.. couldnt get her to play swtor for more than 2hrs after the headache of installing the damn thing on her system. It wasnt "pretty" enough and she doesnt like the talking quest givers... Considering she was playing WoW on her old system at med/low settings vs swtor maxed out... Oh well. That leaves me still tanking a heroic or 3 every night to gear up her alts.. Topping dps meters as the tank cause the wife is undergeared and the other 2 dps are completly useless while self healing cause the healer is **** doesnt make me like wow...
Heres hoping that flexability doesnt lead to players being even MORE useless in their supposed roles than the current batch of players you find in WoW and SWTOR.

[Klas]

Don't worry Bluefire, GW2 players will almost always be useless just because they're bad and not because they're poorly equipped. We will of course help the less skilled improve with friendly feedback of their play styles

[Marius]

Everyone can play support regardless of what your chosen role is.

For example, just say I choose to play a thief as a ranged DPS. If a water elementalist casts their rain thingy on the ground, I can shoot through it to heal melee players attacking my target.

This means that the onus is more on everyone to know how to support, but it also opens up options for spreading the load so there's less anti-healer person rage.

[Bluefire]

LOL klas I like it
What will we do with the highly geared poorly skilled players ? Ive tried to get them to go back to playing the SIMS in wow and swtor.. It just never works!

Mari
Can the ranged be standing in the healing rain and shooting out of it to heal the melee or do they need to literally shoot through it ? Is it automatic or would the ranged need to select an ability to "shoot through" and pick up the healing effect?

[Marius]

The ranged can be standing in the field and/or shoot through it with any skill.

The healing thing is a combo starter field and the bullets are counted as a projectile finisher.

There are a heap of support combinations in the game like that. To trigger them you need a starter, which are persistent area effect skills, and finishers, which are the instant attacks. Different combinations cause different effects, which opens up a range of support skills from different characters.

I just mentioned it to show that even a DPS thief can heal with the right group.

[Bluefire]

Im thinking from the point of usually being the tank or healer, hence wondering if I had to rely on the dps's brains to gain the healing effect of if I could just drop it on top of them when they stand in fire and have the melee who decide to stand in cleave healed with the same spell

[Marius]

Well, that's the thing...

There isn't dedicated roles. For better or worse everyone will need to learn all roles.

[Bluefire]

Oh... not sure I like that idea
Standard group used to be 3tanks, 8healers 29dps ...
Now its 3tanks 7healers 15dps
Means you only need 10 skilled players...
Guess Im going to have to try gw2 to see if the system actually works but it sounds like your saying there are NO tanks and healers at all so you have to pray everyone in your group can use ALL their abilities

[Marius]

I think the 'only tanks and healers are skilled everyone else is just cannon fodder' mindset is something they're trying to get away from.

Different classes can also spec in different ways. So if you want to play a 'dedicated' healer you can always be a water elementalist and refuse to switch.

However...

If an encounter requires a DPS race, and your group constantly wipes because you refuse to switch to fire element DPS, who would be the unskilled one?

The real skill in this game, from all accounts, will be your adaptability.

[Klas]

You're thinking inside the box. Breaking that preconditioning is going to be a challenge for GW2. I'll try to summarise:

• Everyone is a healer (via strong self-heal)
• Nobody is a tank (The AI will usually attack whatever it feels like). No profession can sit there taking hits indefinitely and survive.
• There's no skill rotations (effective use of skills will normally be reactive based on what's happening on the field and not on CDs)

Different classes can also spec in different ways. So if you want to play a 'dedicated' healer you can always be a water elementalist and refuse to switch.

I just know people are actually going to try this. Attunement switching is the elementalist's unique mechanic and not to use it would be a huge waste of potential. Makes me sad already thinking about it

[Marius]

[*]Nobody is a tank (The AI will usually attack whatever it feels like)

This is a really good thing, I think, and PvE might rely on actual tactics rather than exploits for once (I consider the whole system of aggro management a mechanic exploit as it makes AI have an IQ of about 20... no one ignores the high damage output, 'easy' kills in a fight not hobbled by game mechanics).

What it basically means is that DPS will need to learn how to save themselves through the use of switching to 'tanking' weapon sets. So if a thief is blasting away with pistols and someone suddenly comes for them, they'll need to break out the sword and start parrying, just like in a real fight - archers have swords for a reason.

[PieSeXual]

[*]Nobody is a tank (The AI will usually attack whatever it feels like)

This is a really good thing, I think, and PvE might rely on actual tactics rather than exploits for once (I consider the whole system of aggro management a mechanic exploit as it makes AI have an IQ of about 20... no one ignores the high damage output, 'easy' kills in a fight not hobbled by game mechanics).

What it basically means is that DPS will need to learn how to save themselves through the use of switching to 'tanking' weapon sets. So if a thief is blasting away with pistols and someone suddenly comes for them, they'll need to break out the sword and start parrying, just like in a real fight - archers have swords for a reason.

Totally agree with you and this is probably the main reason I'm really looking forward to GW2. I've always hated the "tank, healer, DPS" system, especially because it made its way into tabletop RPGs and I found my group talking about needing someone to "tank" in fights or other players being "squishies". The way I see it GW2 is saying "everyone can do damage, everyone can avoid taking damage, you just have to do the moves to make it happen". What you're left with is the abilities you chose to use when confronted with a situation and how well you pull off your moves, on your own or working together as a team. Everything the article and people have said so far confirms this for me.

I'm not to cluey on the GW world though. I played the first one for a bit but never really got into it. So if I play a water elementalist I can heal people? This appeals to me greatly. Will they/do they limit which races can play which classes?