Author Archive for Ravious

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[GW2 Press Beta] The Richest PvE Experience, Part 1

Posted by Ravious on February 22, 2012 in Guild Wars 2. 19 Comments

“Just play.” That’s been my tagline for Guild Wars 2 PvE, and really all of Guild Wars 2, but PvE especially. MMO PvE is so mired in invisible rules. Don’t kill steal. Don’t help other people. Don’t waste time doing X if there is no quest for it. Pass through these tasks because this task is gated. I don’t know how many times I’ve given up explaining these ridiculous rules to other gamers. I feel even stupider when I try to answer their simple question of “why”.

Right from the start, it’s apparent that strict theme park rides have given way to a big playground. Sure there are still rides, and even a few lines, but at least I can run around! Here’s an account of my run through the Queensdale zone especially in regards to renown hearts and player guidance.

Continue reading ‘[GW2 Press Beta] The Richest PvE Experience, Part 1′

[GW2] Sunrise on the Plains of Ashford

Posted by Ravious on February 22, 2012 in Guild Wars 2. 8 Comments

Fanfic Warning: the following is part of my actual play in the press beta written “in voice.” I just needed to write something quick in a different way because my PvE article is getting monstrous. It’s a small, early part of the charr zone in Plains of Ashford. I had started there when I found the servers had opened early like my bud, Lewis B at Tap Repeatedly (read his amazing account here). Hope you enjoy, but if you don’t… you’ve been warned.

Continue reading ‘[GW2] Sunrise on the Plains of Ashford’

[GW2] For Those Under Rocks

Posted by Ravious on February 22, 2012 in Guild Wars 2. 10 Comments

Sign up for the Guild Wars 2 beta for only 48 hours! At this moment it seems the site has been slashdotted beyond the beyond. Still it seems the whole ArenaNet krewe was very excited to see this as the devs were watching possible beta testers slam the site (thanks, Mr. Fries!). Good luck to all! Now back to writing more press beta PvE in Guild Wars 2.

–Ravious

[GW2 Closed Beta] War Stories

Posted by Ravious on February 21, 2012 in Guild Wars 2. 19 Comments

What is Guild Wars 2 without wars. The Closed Beta had two ways to PvP, random arena PvP up to 10v10 with auto-balanced teams, and World v. World (WvW) where we were assigned to a server to fight for it against two other servers. There were two maps in arena PvP and WvW was fully available with the three identical Borderlands maps and the one central map. This is my story.

Arena-Type PvP

PvP is very accessible in Guild Wars 2. Click on the small icon, while in PvE, and players are instantly whisked away. Leaving the Mists, where PvP takes place, sends players back to the real world (PvE). It was a siren song all beta weekend long. It was so easy to just get in to a ten-minute random arena match, but then there was always activity in PvE too. The dilemma! Continue reading ‘[GW2 Closed Beta] War Stories’

[GW2] Closed Beta Bookends and Quick Impressions

Posted by Ravious on February 20, 2012 in Guild Wars 2. 50 Comments

One whole weekend of Guild Wars 2 was not enough. Last night I had dinner with my mom, and she asked me about my trip to Disney World. How could I explain to her all the fantastic memories from my 5-day trip? I emphatically said it was great. Then we talked about how we could all go down next time. This is how I feel about sharing my Guild Wars 2 weekend. Where do I even start? I didn’t take a terabyte of vids to let it speak for itself.

This is the beginning of a few posts on Guild Wars 2 weekend, and this is the one where I will answer any questions you, valiant reader, have. Ask away below in the comments section. If you want to overdose on information, head to GuildMag’s constantly updated news aggregation page linking to every bit of press impressions and video they can grab. I have many more posts to write, but these are some quick impressions. Continue reading ‘[GW2] Closed Beta Bookends and Quick Impressions’

[GW2] WuvWuv Combat

Posted by Ravious on February 16, 2012 in Guild Wars 2. 28 Comments

I came back from vacation just in time for a rise and shiny blog post from ArenaNet discussing the particulars of their World vs. World vs. World system (a.k.a. WvW pronounced WuvWuv [says my cold-addled brain]) in Guild Wars 2. To recap: three servers are pitted against each other to fight over objectives on 3 Borderlands maps spoked out from a central Eternal Battlegrounds map. Points accumulate for your server to create server-wide bonuses. Every two-weeks servers are re-ranked and pitted against servers of like rank. So yes, all the RP servers will have the chance to /emote battle since they will all be ranked together. The whole article is great, and really in-depth. It is a must read for any RvR, or the like, fan.

There are a few interesting points. The first is that the WvW holds some “absolutely gigantic” maps capable of holding over 300 players each. It appears that over 400 players can fight for their same server at a time, which gives a hint to possible server sizes. Between all the ways to play in Guild Wars 2, such as PvE, PvP, and WvW, it will be interesting to see what a “healthy” server size will be. Continue reading ‘[GW2] WuvWuv Combat’

[GW] In the Eddies of the Wind

Posted by Ravious on February 9, 2012 in Guild Wars. 1 Comment

While I have been thoroughly enjoying Zubon’s adventures through Guild Wars, I had hung up my spurs some time ago. I had vowed to return to the game when the Winds of Change portion of Guild Wars: Beyond was completed. Today marks that day. I wrote yesterday about the long journey to Guild Wars 2, where I suggested we all glance up to the horizon one more time. In that moment there is a peace as the sun and the wind meet at the top of the mountain. The sun warms the soul, but the wind is different. The brings smells and touch. It brings memories.

I have not played any of the Winds of Change except for the small bit I saw at Fan Day, but I am excited to do so. The Live Team seriously makes blood from stones. The love and energy they have for Guild Wars is simply amazing when the rest of the studio is so embedded in the upcoming Guild Wars 2. I hope, too, that they have helped teach ArenaNet how to run a Live Team so that the one for Guild Wars 2 will set off to a furious pace. John Stumme, head of the Live Team, writes a memoir of the main protagonist of Winds of Change, Miku, at the official blog. Continue reading ‘[GW] In the Eddies of the Wind’

[GW2] With Beta’d Breath

Posted by Ravious on February 8, 2012 in Guild Wars 2. 19 Comments

A more open beta weekend is coming. Of course it appears that this is not the first beta event, but it appears to be the first one that can be discussed by the players. Or rather press, only select press are “in general” being let talk about their beta experience. While Martin Kerstein did say that invitations were only getting started late last week, I have not [yet] received a “press beta pass.” I have, graciously, received one in the past from NC Soft, so you never know.

Regardless, the more I think about this, the more excited I get. Yet I feel like I am walking down a path of no return. It is becoming clearer to me that playing the game in my head is no longer an option. I love all the developer interviews, like the latest PvP roundtable because the passion of the developers is still overwhelming. Yet, I feel that there are relatively no more slots to fill in my brain. Continue reading ‘[GW2] With Beta’d Breath’

Rubi Heading To Higher Ground

Posted by Ravious on February 2, 2012 in Guild Wars 2. 3 Comments

Just a short note, but longtime friend of Kill Ten Rats, Rubi Bayerm headmistress of Massively, has headed off to ArenaNet! We here at our humble blog are extremely proud of Rubi, and I can honestly think of no one else in the community better suited for heading to the excellent ArenaNet team. Martin Kerstein, ubermenschgemeindemeister of the ArenaNet community team hinted that she might be leading the charge on some social networking, namely Facebook. Good luck to Rubi, and her family!

–Ravious

Virtual Property Lines in the Sand

Posted by Ravious on February 1, 2012 in General. 14 Comments

Today Rock, Paper, Shotgun as an article on ownership of games, especially on the Steam platform. It’s a good one for anybody holding a virtual library of games on the many available platforms. The simple fact is that we [probably] do not own our games. There’s a lot of uncertainty as discussed by a lawyer that commented within the article, but the issue of a EULA creating a license over property is largely untried.

One reason I like MMOs, is I know that I am a guest from the outset. I don’t own anything in the game. It seems to make things clearer, yet the war over virtual items bound by a license as property is becoming ever more prominent. If virtual items were seen as “owned property” the liability of the MMO developer could be on the bankruptcy level. Niche MMO games could cease to exist overnight at the thought of owing someone thousands of dollars because of a server glitch.

Massively commented that in a criminal case the Dutch Supreme Court decided that Runescape virtual items were in fact “goods” which could be stolen. It is very important to note that Runescape was not a party in the criminal case (although they may have submitted an amicus curiae to the court). I am not happy with this ruling. I would have preferred that the Dutch Supreme Court hung their hat on the thieves affecting the use of the license. A license is property, and just like me stealing the seats in your car, if I can affect the enjoyment of your license there can be criminal and civil consequences.

The coming of Diablo 3 is also one of great interest on this front. Whereas with, for example, EVE Online, where one can use money to buy PLEX to sell for ISK to buy a ship, in Diablo 3 I could theoretically buy someone’s sword for straight up cash. It moves the Dutch thought of “time and energy to acquire” equals property and bring its right back to money to acquire equals property. At the very least the Dutch defendants could not have claimed Diablo 3 items had no tangible value. The cash-driven auction house already been dropped as a feature in the Korean release of Diablo 3, apparently.

It will be interesting to see if any game licensers, MMO or otherwise, change their EULA’s and business practices within the Netherlands based on this ruling. Once Diablo 3 launches it could really redraw the lines in the sand as well.

–Ravious