And here we go

The adventure begins.

Guild Wars 2 is out. There’s plenty of bugs to kill, some of which we’ve never seen before during the stress tests, probably because they are related to the enormous success the game is. Guild Wars 2 is topping the charts pretty much everywhere.

So is it living up to the expectations?

Yes it is. I’ve started with a Sylvari Ranger, like I said I would, and I’ve been loving every moment of it. The richness of the environment, the characters and the possible complexity of the skill/weapon sets is great.

My main goal with this game is exploration. That’s my objective number one. I want to explore every single cliff, cave, river, lake and tree of the game. Being a Sylvari, Caledon Forest was my starting point.

Gorgeous area. Many beautiful screenshots will come out of it. A giant jungle covers most of the area. with some marsh land up north, next to a beautiful lake and the gigantic wall on the eastern edge. The level progression is smooth, and amazing landscapes will await you behind every turn.

Below is a map of the area that might be helpful if you’re a completionist missing an interest point. I will follow this post with the occasional image of the area, and next week we visit Metrica Province.

No Regrets!

Yes! I’ve been busy! Playing Guild Wars 2!

No! I didn’t forget the blog. I know I should have been paying more attention to it. But I regret nothing! It’s still going to be the most awesome blog around. My first long article will be posted this weekend – tomorrow or the day after – and it will be my first impressions of this first week of pure awesomeness with Guild Wars 2. It will talk about the good stuff but the bad stuff also. So, to all my 6 regulars (big crowd, lol) thank you for sticking around. Stay tuned! Here’s a screenshot of the loading screen for Gendarran Fields, the area I’ve been visiting more recently.

I’ve explored so many places. I’ve been amazed by the Azuran architecture and the blend with the nature, their briliant bridges and jumping puzzles, the Sylvaria bond with nature, the Charr with their mean tall and dark war strongholds and forts, and even the human stuff with the fantasy realm theme going on everything. From the big city design to the smallest chariot detail.

My hat is off to all the designers and artists. They have obviously poured their hearts and souls into this game and everyone should thank them for it. Put the game in an art gallery, please.

So, I’ll see you lot this weekend for my big article. Have fun!

Release!!!

Soft release anyway.

-When they opened The Flamingo, one day it was closed, the next it was open. End of story. I know, I was there.

Yes we know that, Saul. But this is a Soft Opening. It’s like an out of town preview but in town.

- So when does it open?

It’s already open. However, the servers are a bit cranky. Be patient lads! ArenaNet are omnomnoming cupcake after cupcake in order to get it all fixed!

Guild Wars 2 Economy

Valve hired an economist some time ago to study and work on the amazing Team Fortress 2 economy and this is definitely becoming a trend among game developers. As in-game virtual economies become increasingly-complex, Companies feel the need to hire experts to analyze it and come up with fancy charts that might be useful or not. The only think I’m sure of is that they look great!

And yeah, they also have a ton of juicy information on all sorts of things. Check it out in its full splendor below the cut! There’s also an introduction of the ArenaNet resident economist, John Smith.

Stress Test for August 21

Here we go again! We’re roughly 4 days away from the release and ArenaNet is addicted to stress tests. Not that it bothers me, there’s no such thing as too many stress tests. Here’s the quote with the full info, shamelessly copy pasted from facebook:

We will be conducting a stress test tomorrow Tuesday, August 21 from 12:00 Noon PACIFIC Time to 4:00 PM PACIFIC Time.

We will be actively working on the game during the event, so you might experience connectivity problems or discover features that are not working as designed.

Any issues you experience are a result of the rigorous conditions of the stress test, and are in no way representative of the state of the game at launch.

By participating in this stress test, you’re helping us make Guild Wars 2 a better game. Thanks for your cooperation—we’ll see you in-game!

–

Please note:
* The stress test is open to anyone who has pre-purchased Guild Wars 2.
* Characters will not be wiped from the previous Stress Test.
* The Stress Test will include Spanish text localization. ~RB2

That’s it! See you all tomorow at 12 noon Pacific, or 8pm GMT. A Happy stress test to everyone!

Gallery – Rata Sum

This gallery contains 6 photos.

Today’s stress test was great. Very little crashes, some disconnects and 2 client builds later, I had a sizable collection of screenshots from my short travels. I took my human ranger around the world sightseeing. Back to Rata Sum! I hope you like the pretty screenshots! All 5 of them!

Release Day Details

Busy news day today! What is this? My 3rd post in less than 6 hours?

Anyway, ArenaNet just released some more info on the fast approaching release, which I’ve shamelessly copy pasted right here:

August 28^th, 2012—the day Guild Wars 2 launches—is fast approaching. Everyone here at ArenaNet is anxiously counting the days right along with every Guild Wars 2 fan. In just a few weeks, the servers will go live and each of us will be setting out on our adventures in Tyria!

As you may have seen, we host a countdown timer on the front page of our official website. The information below will give you specific details about times and dates based on whether you pre-purchased, pre-ordered, or are picking up a copy of the game on release day.

• Pre-Purchase with 3-Day Headstart: Everyone who pre-purchased Guild Wars 2 will enjoy three full days of Headstart Access. The three-day Headstart Access will officially begin at 0:00 AM Pacific time (GMT -7:00) on August 25^th. However, please note that in order to ensure that we’re fully prepared for that fateful hour we may bring servers online up to 3 hours prior. If you’re a player committed to getting in first to grab that character name of your dreams you’ll want to be keeping an eye on things during that time period.

• Pre-Order with 1-Day Headstart: Those who pre-ordered Guild Wars 2 will be able to participate in one day of Headstart Access. The one-day Headstart Access will begin at 0:00 AM Pacific time (GMT -7:00) on August 27^th. NOTE – Pre-Order code registration is now enabled.

• For those players who have not pre-purchased or pre-ordered the game, Guild Wars 2 will officially launch at 0:00 AM Pacific time (GMT -7:00) on August 28^th.

• Download the Client today: If you’ve registered your pre-purchase or pre-order and created your Guild Wars account you can go to account management today and download the client. Be sure to update the client periodically to minimize your download at launch.

We look forward to seeing you in-game very soon!

I’m looking forward to be part of it as well! I will be joining one of the European servers the minute it goes up! No worries, I will post about it the moment I get in. Where are you going to be when it comes out?