(GW2) Treading the Path of Fire
So, I got in some hours of play time with GW2's new expansion over the weekend. I've not finished it, but... I think I cleared Act 2 of 3? So far, I'm a bit conflicted about it - or at least indecisive.
First, there are the technical issues. There are always technical issues. Somehow, it's more annoying when I can't play on a weekend than a weeknight, and I don't know why Arenanet pushed this out on a Friday rather than the industry-standard Tuesday. Whatever the case, issues of being unable to log in or change zones plagued the game on and off. I played for a couple hours Sunday, then there was an update and I couldn't even stay connected to do guild missions that afternoon. Go figure. None of that is surprising, just kind of disappointing.
I've unlocked the thief deadeye specialty, but haven't actually tried it yet. I don't really feel like learning a new gameplay style while trying to make story progress.
The mounts are a mixed blessing. On one hand, they are done in such a way that they have character and weight to them. The animations are quite good. The way the mounts (well, the three I've dealt with so far) move has a realistic sense to it. That's cool, but also kind of a drawback in a gameplay sense because control isn't as stop-on-a-dime responsive as it is on foot. Also, as with the HoT movement masteries, it feels less to me like gaining abilities to explore cool new places than having to earn abilities to get to places you need to go. Maybe part of that is me, but I'm convinced there's some genuine psychology involved in how the game impliments these things that is making their existence feel more limiting than liberating.
The tone of the story feels like kind of a mess to me. The protagonists seem to flip-flop frequently between "How do we fight a god?" and "Hurry, we need to get to Balthazar so we can beat him down!" Are we supposed to be mortals or god-slaying badasses? I'm not clear on this. Early on, we're asked to counsel the neutral city of Amnoon on whether to stay neutral or side with either the noble-but-small Sunspears or the big, bad Palawa Joko. This seems like a big thing, but after that one little story instance, it hasn't even been mentioned again (yet, at least). I'm just not real clear on how this story "wants" me to feel about anything, which lessens the impact of all of it.
I went in explicitly wanting answers to some lingering questions: why Balthazar played Lazarus, why he had Lyssa's mirror, what the heck we're supposed to do about Elder Dragons if not kill them, where the other gods are, why Queen Jennah was suddenly an uber-mesmer... things like that. So far, I've seen some answers and not others. The answers that have been given have struck me as... functional, perhaps, but not more than that.
There's also been a distinct lack of additions to the guild mission system. Thinking about it, I can sort of understand not adding mission content to new zones when not all guild members may have access to it, but guilds have been stuck doing the same set of missions for years. I don't think anything new has been added since the Southsun zone. When you get a guild puzzle, it's still one of the three that exist, and that's it. That stuff is ooooold now, and doing it weekly... mff. I may just stop on principle.
Overall, the expansion has felt like two or three Living Story releases at once. Now, one could say that shows the Living World releases are good, but for a new, paid expansion... it feels disappointing to me. The mounts are an okay addition, but feel like about the only "new" thing to me. Maybe I'll be wowed yet, but so far I'm kind of disappointed that about the best thing I can say about the expansion is, "Well, the campaign has more content now."
First, there are the technical issues. There are always technical issues. Somehow, it's more annoying when I can't play on a weekend than a weeknight, and I don't know why Arenanet pushed this out on a Friday rather than the industry-standard Tuesday. Whatever the case, issues of being unable to log in or change zones plagued the game on and off. I played for a couple hours Sunday, then there was an update and I couldn't even stay connected to do guild missions that afternoon. Go figure. None of that is surprising, just kind of disappointing.
I've unlocked the thief deadeye specialty, but haven't actually tried it yet. I don't really feel like learning a new gameplay style while trying to make story progress.
The mounts are a mixed blessing. On one hand, they are done in such a way that they have character and weight to them. The animations are quite good. The way the mounts (well, the three I've dealt with so far) move has a realistic sense to it. That's cool, but also kind of a drawback in a gameplay sense because control isn't as stop-on-a-dime responsive as it is on foot. Also, as with the HoT movement masteries, it feels less to me like gaining abilities to explore cool new places than having to earn abilities to get to places you need to go. Maybe part of that is me, but I'm convinced there's some genuine psychology involved in how the game impliments these things that is making their existence feel more limiting than liberating.
The tone of the story feels like kind of a mess to me. The protagonists seem to flip-flop frequently between "How do we fight a god?" and "Hurry, we need to get to Balthazar so we can beat him down!" Are we supposed to be mortals or god-slaying badasses? I'm not clear on this. Early on, we're asked to counsel the neutral city of Amnoon on whether to stay neutral or side with either the noble-but-small Sunspears or the big, bad Palawa Joko. This seems like a big thing, but after that one little story instance, it hasn't even been mentioned again (yet, at least). I'm just not real clear on how this story "wants" me to feel about anything, which lessens the impact of all of it.
I went in explicitly wanting answers to some lingering questions: why Balthazar played Lazarus, why he had Lyssa's mirror, what the heck we're supposed to do about Elder Dragons if not kill them, where the other gods are, why Queen Jennah was suddenly an uber-mesmer... things like that. So far, I've seen some answers and not others. The answers that have been given have struck me as... functional, perhaps, but not more than that.
There's also been a distinct lack of additions to the guild mission system. Thinking about it, I can sort of understand not adding mission content to new zones when not all guild members may have access to it, but guilds have been stuck doing the same set of missions for years. I don't think anything new has been added since the Southsun zone. When you get a guild puzzle, it's still one of the three that exist, and that's it. That stuff is ooooold now, and doing it weekly... mff. I may just stop on principle.
Overall, the expansion has felt like two or three Living Story releases at once. Now, one could say that shows the Living World releases are good, but for a new, paid expansion... it feels disappointing to me. The mounts are an okay addition, but feel like about the only "new" thing to me. Maybe I'll be wowed yet, but so far I'm kind of disappointed that about the best thing I can say about the expansion is, "Well, the campaign has more content now."
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