GW2 pre-expansion updates

[tanithryudo]

So, the big news is that the next expansion, Path of Fire, will be coming out in late September. It's going to take place in Crystal Desert/Elona, and the big bad looks to be Balthazar, though Palawa Joko and/or Kralkatorik may or may not (probably not) also bite the dust.

Before we get to the expansion though, there's a bunch of other updates that's coming out in preparation for it...

* Gliding is being added to WvW tomorrow. Since gliding only comes with HoT and PoF can be bought separately, I'm guessing it's just enticing new players to buy both.

* Consumables are getting revamped to use Concentration/Expertise instead of condi/boon duration % value. Results in a nerf on those stats, which is a hit to meta HoT-based builds. Doesn't really impact me, since even my vipers engi doesn't use condi duration food often.

* Human Elona-based faces and hairstyles are already available in character creator (and makeover kit).

* There will be an open demo starting this Friday, available to everyone. If it's anything like the HoT beta, it might be a good idea to move all legendary/ascended gear into the bank beforehand so the demo character can use them.


The preorder price for just PoF is about $30. No new character slot since there's no new professions. Comes with a new lvl 80 boost in a new shared inventory slot (gonna mess up my nice clean inventory lines but shared slots are great). Also comes with a choice of one sunspear weapon skin. I find these skins all kinda meh, but the aladdin's lamp torch skin is at least somewhat unique, so I'll probably get that.

Here's the major points we know about the expansion:

* Mounts are the new mechanic. Each major mount type comes with their own mastery line which unlocks skills. Mechanically, it's probably kinda like gliding + leyline skills.

-- Raptors seem to be long distance running with big leaps. I kinda think of it as a runner-bot warrior build spamming GS 3/5 and sword 2, lol. Also, if it does perma swift like I think it does, that will clear up a *lot* of build options due to being able to drop perma-33%/25% speed boost skills/traits. I mean, half of my character builds are locked into particular traits for the perma-swiftness, or have a 25% speed skill stapled to their bar. Being able to drop them would be a huge boon to my personal build flexibility. Might also entice me to play norns more, since one of the reasons I don't play them much is they just feel so sloooow.

-- Giant Jackalope seems to be a mobile bouncing mushroom. Not quite as versatile in the way a bouncing mushroom can be present to take you somewhere, but the mobile part makes up for it. Basically lets you jump really high. It would also be interesting to see how it can interact with gliding...

-- Manta glides over the "ground" surface. Basically it's a way to go over water without having to bother with underwater mechanics or losing access to skills when swimming on the surface. Also glides safely over effects like quicksand, which I'm guessing there's going to be more of in the new zones.

-- (Magical) Jackal can blink... and apparently has skills for jumping puzzles. Seems to be a more gimmicky mount.

* Five maps, each of which are larger in area than most core maps (which are in turn larger in area than HoT maps), and that's not even getting into the vertical size. So in effect, the total playable area is probably going to be twice the size of HoT. Also, lots of flat open area, which may help people with motion sickness while gliding (*pokescashew*)

* No new professions, but all existing professions are getting a new elite spec and everything that comes with it...

-- Ranger/Soulbeast gets dagger mainhand, stances, and new pet mechanic. Dagger skills are condi and stance skills are kinda meh. So if the new mount mechanic offers the mobility options which are the main reason I'm running druid for, and unless the traits/new pet mechanic are really good, I might just end up playing base ranger in the end.

-- Ele/Weaver gets sword mainhand and new mechanic that requires twice the button-pushing for attunement swaps (why, Anet... -_-) as well a crap-ton of new dual skills. We'll see if it's worth dropping Tempest for (mah fingers...)

-- Engi/Holosmith gets mainhand sword and...a suckier adrenaline like mechanic? I dunno, the description really doesn't explain it, which makes me think it's gonna be really complicated (engi in a nutshell). Will have to see it in action to really tell how it works.

-- Guardian/Firebrand gets axe mainhand & mantras, seems to be a support based spec with built in bundle skills. Could be interesting for pure melee, but not sure if worth losing the longbow/locked into scepter for ranged weapon option.

-- Mez/Mirage gets axe mainhand and deception skills. Axe seems to be a condi melee option to contrast with power sword mainhand. New dodge mechanic which removes the animation for dodging so it's easier to trick other players with your clones. Seems to be a PvP focused spec.

-- Warrior/Spellbreaker gets danger for main and offhand (pfft), and meditation skills. Lots of boon stripping, movement counters, interrupts. Seems to be another PvP focused spec.

-- Necro/Scourge gets torch offhand, and new punishment type utility skills. Lots of AoE buffs/debuffs and some self tanking buffs. Will probably be meta for WvW (where necs are already strong) and organized group PvE. Reaper is probably still better for solo PvE though.

-- Thief/Deadeye gets rifle and cantrips. Seems to be a 1200 range single target high damage option...which isn't all that great in general PvE, which makes me think this spec is also mainly targeted for PvP/WvW.

-- Revenant/Renegade gets shortbow and new legend which seems to be summons based (phantasms? spirit weapons?). Shortbow seems to be condi weapon. I'll probably be reconsidering all revenant traits if the mount system can replace the perma-swiftness on Herald.

Comments

[cashew]

On Gliding: Don't forget that all later expansions comes with the previous expansions included. So you get both HoT and PoF for just buying PoF, thus access to gliding becoming universal.

On Pricing: Holy shit! This is how you know HoT was a rip off. It was a smaller game, released earlier, and still costed more. Well, I'd still wait for PoF to go on sale before buying. Extra shared slot is nice, but... I'm playing so little that I need more than shinies to really pull me back into any serious kind of gaming.

I don't like the "not taking into account vertical size" thing of the description. Not a fan of moar jumping. ;_;

Also, since my Herald is Bucky, nooooo, I need the shield! :p

Holosmith, as always, makes me go wut? Weaver is...*sigh* I feel like I'm probably going to stick with Tempest unless there's a really good reason to switch over, because piano-ing is just not something I feel like doing anymore.

Anyway, yeah, I think I've said all that I can really say here.

[tanithryudo]

No, they explicitly have it so you can buy PoF+Core without HoT. You can add HoT to your CoF purchase for extra charge, but it doesn't come for free.

[cashew]

Ah.

Well, sure, I guess. New mechanics with new masteries. So are the mounts going to be usable in core like gliding was?

[tanithryudo]

Yeah, I'm hoping mounts will work in core and HoT areas from the get-go, given how they've prepped much more for this expansion. Though if they add it in later like they did with gliding, that's a little bit more meh but acceptable as long as they don't wait too long for it.