|
Monday 8 January, 2007
I like guild wars in part because it is quick and easy to find action. Granted, I've played it since it came out so it's not difficult for me.
Today I focused on working my assassin towards the goal of 10,000 Luxon faction points necessary to advance through the mission campaign for the Factions expansion. I own Nightfall, the latest expansion, but I've resolved to complete the story campaign for Factions before I move on to that campaign.
Before I left for my 3:30 class this afternoon I had been playing in the Aspenwood Gate PvP area, part of a pointless, ongoing war between two equally pointlessly opposed factions. This arena is far more satisfying than the normal random arenas because unlike there, Aspenwood features a small army of NPC's to reinforce player efforts in capturing several control points along the map. The Luxon side (my side in this case) is tasked with killing the enemy "architect" who is trying to build some new powerful weapon, while the Kurzick side of the battle is trying to bring amber to said architect so that he can complete his work.
- Technical Garbage -
Starting around 6:30, I returned to Aspenwood and tinkered for a moment with my Assassin/Ranger's (A/R) skill build, replacing the ranger "Serpent's Quickness" stance (a stance that lowers the recharge time of other skills) with the assassin skill "Critical Eye" (a skill that increases my chance of scoring a critical hit and since I'm an assassin, gives me more energy when I do), and replacing another ranger running skill with antidote signet, an energyless condition removal skill (removes poison, disease and blindness). By putting critical eye and antidote signet into my build I hoped I would remedy the energy shortage problem I had been having as well as raising my chances of retreating out of battle to heal.
My current build revolves around Aura of Displacement, a skill that lets me "shadow step" (teleport) to an enemy, where I put a hex on them that makes my attackes unblockable and unevadable, opening up for a string of attacks in which I poison my target as well as causing bleeding and a deep wound that reduces healing benefits and maximum health. When the action gets too hot I use Aura of Displacement's second stage, which returns me to where I first used the skill.
-- End technical garbage --
I'm enjoying experimenting with the assassin class' ability to shadow step, as it really gives them an advantage in terms of mobility and to an extent epitomizes certain images of the fantasy assassin. There are also interesting moments where players discover ways that these skills work in conjunction with other classes, as one time during the battle I had hidden behind a wall for cover and to recover when a friendly healer suddenly appeared next to me to heal me before running back towards the main fight.
The new PvP arenas, of which I have only played Aspenwood, definitely add a new enjoyable form of PvP play. It reminds me of playing other games in high school like counter-strike, where it felt possible to jump into a game and just randomly make friends with someone on your team just by talking or joking around in a server. This arena allows some of that because of the wait required between battles and because players generally stick to one side for long periods of time. It gives me a feeling of nostalgia mixed with some new fun and an interesting challenge.
I'm thinking about starting to explore other classes in guild wars more than I have up to this point. I've focused mainly on my warrior, mesmer, and assassin, although I only really play my assassin anymore. I'm thinking about starting a new monk because it seems like an entirely different type of play since you're working on healing instead of killing, and because monks get loads of appreciation when they're doing well because one or two good healers can get a party of 8 through almost anything.
|
