Thoughts on Guild Wars 2 Engineer

Posted on 2013 February 9 by Ed Park

I’ve been playing around with Engineer in Guild Wars 2 (GW2) for the past few days, my first hands-on time with the class since launch.

Part of the reason I was curious about Engineer is the broad perception that it’s an underpowered class, and the mechanics with the tool belt and kits create a very different playstyle relative to most of the GW2 classes. It’s worth pointing out that the majority opinion on classes and balance is often off-the-mark; e.g. Elementalist was broadly considered underpowered for the first several months post-launch, even moreso after the blast finisher nerf to the Evasive Arcana trait back in mid November, but I think we all realize know that there are some strong Elementalist specs.

Posted in Elementalist, Engineer, Game Design, Guild Wars 2, PVP

Elder Scrolls Online Trailer and High Level Design

Posted on 2013 January 24 by Ed Park

Tonight I watched the Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) trailer that was shared on Tuesday by game publisher Bethesda Softworks:

Pretty entertaining trailer, but it immediately opened up some questions. Is this a 3-faction game? (Yes.) Are there going to be different classes by race? (Good grief I hope not.)

Posted in Elder Scrolls Online, Game Design, Guild Wars 2, PVE, PVP, Video, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft

Guild Wars 2 PVP Video: D/D Elementalist in WvW [Vol 1]

Posted on 2013 January 20 by Ed Park

This is footage of my D/D Elementalist soloing in Tier 1 WvW (Blackgate vs Jade Quarry vs Sea of Sorrows).

My spec is based off daphoenix’s most excellent guide on “Tanky DPS” Dagger/Dagger Ele:
https://forum-en.guildwars2.com/forum/professions/elementalist/Guide-Mastering-the-D-D-ele-12-20-12

Posted in Elementalist, Guild Wars 2, PVP, Video

My Elementalist Decked out in “Metal” Armor

Posted on 2013 January 12 by Ed Park

I tend to favor the look of heavy armor in most games, and Guild Wars 2 is no exception.

Thanks to the extensive skinning and dye system, I was able to find light armor pieces that look like metal armor for my Elementalist :)

Posted in Elementalist, Guild Wars 2

Mana Bars: Good or Bad Game Design?

Posted on 2013 January 3 by Ed Park

Mana bars are the long-standing resource implementation for casters in MMORPGs. In this article, we’ll look at the implications of mana bars on game balance and mechanics.

But first, let’s consider why mana bars were (probably) created. I’ll use the term “caster” to mean both healers and mages.

Old-School “Spell Memorization”

Before online games existed, the most popular pen & paper RPG was Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) in its various iterations (D&D, AD&D, AD&D 2nd edition, etc). Later, single-player computer RPGs were introduced (e.g. Pool of Radiance by EA, the superb Baldur’s Gate series by BioWare, etc) but they were built around D&D’s systems.