Guild Wars 2 PlansFollow

That's not Blizzard style. That means they've region locked the game, but not the servers. I have no clue how they manage that, but I'm pretty sure I saw European worlds when I was asked to choose mine.

There is a selection to pick your world type, and its split into region categories, and as a US player I initially was able to select EU servers. So I would think it would go the other way around as well.

I'm finding the real big skill hurdle is movement. This isn't a stand-still game, even when you are doing solo PVE. Pretty much every weapon/profession combo has both close and longer range skills, and everything can be used while moving. So learn to move. For some professions, that's just mostly going to be dodging away than moving back in. For others, like Elementalist, it should be a nonstop thing unless you are using a close range weapon like the dagger.

Very often I catch myself lapsing into traditional MMO style and just standing there, taking the beating, when there's no good reason I should.

In other news, I'm not sure Mesmer is the right pick for me. I think I'd enjoy it a lot in PVP, but the PVE is kinda boring. With a scepter, you get clones by auto-attacking, so the mob almost certainly won't attack you. Unless it has an aoe skill, you'll put them up faster than they can tear them down (you get 1 clone every 3rd auto-attack). If they do come at you, you can block any unavoidable attack using your second skill, which creates a clone to intercept it. Does a lot of damage too. Last skill causes confusion. Not the most powerful (confusion causes damage each time your opponent uses a skill), but when combined with the fact that those skills are going to hit an object that isn't there, it's decent.

Using a sword is more fun, you put out a ton of damage, but don't get anything close to the same clone support. Your auto attack debilitates your foe (stacking defense debuff), rather than creating a clone, so the mob is actually going to be targeting you. You do a lot of damage though. Your second skill does damage while causing you to evade all attacks for 2 seconds, which is nice. The last skill creates a clone on your target, which you can switch places with at any time. Nice way to dodge away from an attack then get right back on the mob. All in all, it takes more skill. I've died more, but had more fun since I started using it.

I haven't tried using a staff yet, but it seems like it's heavily skewed towards grouping. Mostly AoE and boon/condition stuff. Same for greatsword. It's AoE and support stuff, but with a much stronger skew towards dealing damage. Sword almost certainly does better single target dps.

Focus gives you two support skills, a crippling field to snare attackers/speed you, and a defensive phantasm to block projectiles. It looks like PVP stuff to me, but it could be useful if you're fighting multiple mobs with a scepter I suppose. Use the phantasm to block ranged attackers while you kite the melee.

Pistol is kinda meh for PVE, imo. The duelist phantasm just doesn't do enough damage, and the survivability skills of other secondaries are better than Magic Bullet, which hits 3 targets and gives one status to each (stun, blind, and daze). Daze is by far the strongest status, imo, but it only hits the 3rd target (so you don't get it if you are only fighting two mobs--3 is unlikely, in my experience, outside of group stuff).

I haven't tried dual swords but I want to. Secondary sword adds a clone skill and a sword-using phantasm. Should help make up for the weakness of the sword with regards to putting up illusions.

Torch is quite strong. You get an invisibility and a mage phantasm. The invisibility blinds foes when you activate it and burns foes when it wears. The Mage grants retaliation (damage reflect) and confuses targets.

If you use Scepter/Torch, you simply should not die. Ever. And your enemies will kill themselves as they attack illusions while you pepper them with attacks. Not super fast, but not slow and ridiculously safe. If anything ever does go for you, you use your invisibility to blind them and get away so your clones can get them back. Sword/Torch is still strong, but not as much so. That's mostly for the oh-sh*t button, since confusion isn't nearly as good without the ability to spam illusions.

Not a bad class by any means, whatsoever. It's boring me because it's too easy, and there's only one other interesting solo weapon.

My biggest complaint? THEY CAN'T USE DAGGERS. I mean come on, the harlequin juggling daggers is an iconic image and I want it!

Not abandoning him, but I don't think I'm going to focus on the mesmer until I start trying PVP stuff.

I'm having so much trouble deciding what to try next.

I decided I don't like the look of my Sylvari Elementalist, so I'm going to remake him at some point. I might try a Human Guardian next.

It's almost certain that I'll fork over $30 for 3 more character slots. Considering that would be 3 months in for any other MMO, I don't feel too bad about that.

[EDIT]

Why is there no moderate beard option for human males? You either need to look like a fratboy tool or a viking lost at see...

Edited, Aug 27th 2012 2:05pm by idiggory

Oh dear god it's Stitch.

Yeah, I played for a couple more hours last night... unlocked the fire skills for dagger off hand, then made myself a staff and started working on those. I'm now almost level 11, after doing a few DE's and then strolling over to the Norn starting area. And of course one of the first drops I get is a staff better than the one I just made myself. >.< Oh well lol. Next time I play (either tonight or tomorrow), I'm going to try my class quest again and see how I fare since I am now 2 levels above it. Hopefully that helps.

One of the events I did last night was the big red blob in the Asura starting area. Holy crap... That guy takes forever to die. And you have to kill all these adds that he spawns, and that's how you damage him. Otherwise he eats them and regains all his health. That sure sounds familiar... Still, was a lot of fun and excitement for a low level area DE.

I know (kind of) what you mean. I always play a necro-ish class, but I have two daggers equipped and the main attack for that is up close and dirty. As a caster I've never been used to that...but the game mechanics have already changed my traditional views of playing a caster (moving and casting for one). I'm more like a rogue with pets now...minus that whole stealth thing.

I'm really liking the whole "re-thinking how I play" the game has brought. I've had more than 1 issue with a mob only to realize the whole reason is because I'm just standing there hitting buttons Got my main (for this week my Asura Thief to level 19 last night before altitis set in and rolled a Char Engineer and leveled that to 5 before calling it a weekend. Can't wait to really dig into the crafting stuffs.

I'm trying to design my Sylvari and it's so hard, there are so many tone options and not a single hair style I'm in love with... There's one setup I've made that I really like but it really would work better for a physical class.

#First world problems

Biggest problem I am having is choosing which class I like best. Every class and racial zone I have played so far has been excellent and enjoyable. And oh yeah Teacake I just got a staff on my new ele after unlocking all the scepter skills. Those firestaff skills are fantastic.

I remade my Mesmer because I couldn't change eyebrow color. :U

I am hoping for more hairstyles via the cash shop. It doesn't annoy me in the least to buy such things given there's no subscription. The lack of ponytail for human females is appalling.

I don't think altitis at this point in a game is a bad thing at all. I say play them all and just see what settles out as your favorite(s). I always wait for that *click* but in this game it's tough because every class has something fun about it. I think a lot of it comes back to the lack of trinity for me - something that always frustrated me in WoW (not bashing WoW at all, I hate that nonsense) was that you couldn't ever really have a hybrid, even if you played a hybrid class. Any time a hybrid build actually worked they made sure to break it because with the trinity model they tended to be OP. Here where everyone MUST have some damage and some survivability, and where it's also helpful to have some support, hybrids are not only encouraged, they're necessary. And I'm always willing to trade doing one thing stupendously well for the versatility of being able to do a little of everything.

Well, that was long.

Aw, don't be like that. There is a ponytail hairstyle, but it's off to the side a little. There's also a decent pigtails style.

Human females have, by far, the best hairstyle options in the game (nearly a full page more than Norn females, who are the runner up). No other sex/race even comes close. Even weirder, they all look good.

The Norn females have a few takes on the ponytail as well--a high, ornate one (very Asian), another one that's kind of like a headdress, and then some simple pigtails set more towards the back, with long hair.