Guild Wars 2 gets a new expansion.
Is it worth returning to the MMO?
Find out in our review!
The developers even seemed opposed to the idea for a while in interviews.
The game brought zone exploration to the forefront like no MMORPG before quite managed.
New MMOs are still taking notes fromGuild Wars 2.
The games run around and kill/interact with things renown heart system?
Hi, Apexis Crystals inWarlords of Draenor.
I found myself quickly distancing myself from the game a couple months after its release.
Now, heres the big question: DidHeart of Thornsfix that?
Now, theres a reason I saved the Mastery system for the end.
you could also gain complete Mastery Points by completing story branches and meta achievements.
This, by the way, is required to progress your story.
It also makes traveling through the new maps much easier.
you’re able to earn new ways to travel (mushroom jumping, anyone?
The gliding and traveling points essentially replace leveling since theyre necessary to explore the entirety of the new areas.
This makes more it optional, mirroring vertical progression essentially.
In this respect, its a better system thanRIFTs Planar Attunement system, for instance.
The largest issue with the Mastery Point system is the fact that, yes, it is gated.
More points are also required in a later zone to access all map areas.
Youre essentially forced to sink some time into running dynamic events or exploring more than you oughta progress.
You could go to any map and do anything to gain EXP.
You could get to level cap by crafting.
You could save all your story quests for level 80 and do them in one, huge chain.
It all felt entirely free-floating, as though sandbox-bang out exploration was the intended way to play the game.
This was fantastic for just hopping on for half an hour and doing whatever you felt like to progress.
On the new maps, this free-floating pop in of leveling system feels nonexistent.
Its painful seeing these shiny, clickable mushrooms you know you cant use.
Its cumbersome seeing an event just below you and knowing you cant glide down there with everyone else.
It also seems somewhat unnecessary for the very first map in a new expansion.
An introduction to an expansion should revolve around story and exploration, not stopgaps and gated travel mechanisms.
Is gaining those first couple points particularly difficult?
But the fact that a player might have to stop and ask themselves, Okay, now what?
a mere hour into the expansion seems unnecessary.
On the plus side, Mastery Points are account-wide.
This makes the system entirely alt-friendly, which is a step more MMORPGs need to consider.
The new events are fun and just creative enough to be interesting.
Some of the new story content even forced me to rethink my Guardians default build and weapon choices.
This punch in of rethinking is more than welcome for a new expansion.
ArenaNet may have to do more in the future to entice players to stick around in the jungle longer.
Exploring the new zones can both be fun and annoyingdepending on who you ask.
The world map isnt terribly designed for vertical spaces, but it could be better.
The actual zones themselves are lush and gorgeous to look at.
The fact that our characters now speak within the games UI and not in cutscenes anymore is pretty cool.
Its not bad, but its also not fantastic.
The new Revenant class/profession seems well-designed and is enjoyable, as are many of the new elite specializations.
Previous to a very recent change, the elite specialization required 400 Hero Points.
Now the unlock only costs 250.
And no, these unlocks arent account-wide, unfortunately.
Most of the Hero Points throughout Tyria are simple to unlock.
The new ones inHoTzones may require a buddy or two, but they also unlock more points.
BetweenHoTzones and older areas, there is no lack of ways to grab additional points.
Many of the elite specializations are also powerful enough to do rather well with even without a fully-unlocked arsenal.
Laura Hardgrave is a staff writer.
Rating:
3.5 out of 5
