<![CDATA[GWOnline - Blogs - Jono's Blog by Jono Mozza]]> http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/blog.php?225693-Jono-s-Blog Guild Wars 2 Community Site en Sat, 18 May 2013 18:15:58 GMT vBulletin 60 http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg <![CDATA[GWOnline - Blogs - Jono's Blog by Jono Mozza]]> http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/blog.php?225693-Jono-s-Blog GWOnline Blog Extravaganza - If I Were In Guild Wars 2 Beta http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?4737-GWOnline-Blog-Extravaganza-If-I-Were-In-Guild-Wars-2-Beta Mon, 27 Feb 2012 20:54:32 GMT The first rule of the Guild Wars 2 beta is: you do not talk about the Guild Wars 2 beta. The second rule of the Guild Wars 2 beta is: you DO NOT talk about the Guild Wars 2 beta. That isn’t just me trying to slip in a Fight Club reference, I’m serious. The NDA makes sure of that. So I guess... The first rule of the Guild Wars 2 beta is: you do not talk about the Guild Wars 2 beta.

The second rule of the Guild Wars 2 beta is: you DO NOT talk about the Guild Wars 2 beta.

That isn’t just me trying to slip in a Fight Club reference, I’m serious. The NDA makes sure of that. So I guess I’ll get my coat… Oh, well, okay, I’ll tell you what I’d do. But if I do get in, I won’t actually tell you what I did. Or even that I got in.

After a five year wait since Guild Wars 2 was announced, we’re finally near the point where we can get a (hopefully) lengthy hands on playtest. It’s incredible to think that originally we were told to expect a beta in 2008. Back then, we knew very little about what to expect. Some assumed it would be simply a more advanced version of the original concept of Guild Wars hence a relative short turnaround for a beta. The more pessimistic among us expected a longer wait, or even that GW2 was merely vapourware. As time went on and ANet decided to truly create something grand, we were treated to some great updates to tide us over: Zaishen dailies, 7 heroes, War in Kryta, Hearts of the North and of course the now complete Winds of Change have all been added to the game (and for free, too!). But here we are after 5 lengthy years with a game that has morphed into something far greater, as shown by the one million people who all want a place in the beta.


Calling it now - this game is gonna win all the "best art" awards for 2012. It simply has to.

In the build up to the beta and all the information released, many are keen to get into the beta and test all the new features. Gather up information on skills, maps and events. Begin to master the new dodging feature, or learn the most effective skill combinations. Start to plan out the characters they’ll make and what skills they’ll take come launch day.

But what would I do? Simply, to play. While many are planning out their characters and trying to become educate themselves on all the skills, traits and racial abilities, I’ve tried to hold back and leave things relatively unknown. “Why”, you may ask? Because I want to be able to join into the beta and have that sense of discovery there, that magical sensation that hasn’t been there in great amounts since the Eye of the North release. I want to see how all the dynamic events flow together, to see if it’s truly a “next-gen MMO” experience. I want to have that newbie experience of learning what the skills and abilities do first hand rather than basing ideas off theory-crafts of the most optimal setups. I want to be able to stumble upon new features without having knowing they existed, rather than knowing as much as possible ahead of time.

Essentially, I want to head into the unknown and get a glimpse of the world that ANet have spent the last five years creating, the world that has millions of people interested, and I want to enter it without any preconceptions on what I should do or must find out to be “ready” for when the game launches. They’ve teased us recently with all the videos and artwork, and I’d love just to be free to explore and play the game. In another five years, when we’re all jaded vets complaining about the latest skill balance or update, it’ll be nice to have fond memories of being in the beta and have that newbie feeling of a complete sensory overload from all the things to see and do. I think that in essence, everyone wants that same feeling in varying degrees. It’s something that only ever will happen during those first few weeks with a game like Guild Wars 2, and I want to make the most of it.


The classic method for making important decisions: Heads of Tails?

So, if I were in the beta, I’d be waiting eagerly to login as soon as the servers go live. I think I’d pick a human to start off, to have some level of familiarity. Class? I’d leave it up to a coin toss. Heads for Warrior, tails for Guardian. From there, I would set off into the unknown, similar to the hero. Not knowing what I’d find. I might go off the beaten track and explore that suspicious cave. I’d play around with the myriad of weapons (the mace looks particularly fun). Maybe advance the personal story. Try my hand at World vs World. Who knows, perhaps there’s some hilarious mini-game I’d get addicted to. Oh, and I’d report any bugs I’d find. But you’d expect me to say that, right? Last, but not least, I’d love to get to see more of that art.

In summary, I’d love to have the privilege of getting an early look at Guild Wars 2 through the beta. I’d love to be able to play around and really get a feel for a flow of the game and see how it all works together. I’d love to see some of the world that ANet have been busy crafting. I’d love to be able to help out a little too in terms of bugs or suggestions. Now all that’s left is to cross my fingers and hope I get picked out of that one million person hat. If you’re in the hat too, then good luck, and remember the first and second rules of the Guild Wars 2 beta. ;) ]]> Jono Mozza http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?4737-GWOnline-Blog-Extravaganza-If-I-Were-In-Guild-Wars-2-Beta <![CDATA[The "to finish" list.]]> http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?2127-The-quot-to-finish-quot-list Sun, 03 Oct 2010 14:47:11 GMT Theres pretty much only a few things left that I want to do before gw2, and for some reason, I always feel like playing a little GW around the autumn. _LMotN_ *DONE* 4 of the 5 following vanqs: alcazia, arbor, sparkfly, grothmar, dalada. The final dungeon: Arachni (I left a fun one for last,... Theres pretty much only a few things left that I want to do before gw2, and for some reason, I always feel like playing a little GW around the autumn.

LMotN DONE
4 of the 5 following vanqs: alcazia, arbor, sparkfly, grothmar, dalada.

The final dungeon: Arachni (I left a fun one for last, right? :P)

Since Arachni is the ZBounty on the 26th, that means I have 3 weeks to do four vanquishes which fits my current pace nicely of 1 or 2 hours of play a week. It will also take me up to 24 maxed titles.

R3 Gamer DONE
currently at ~2100/4000 so hopefully I'll be lucky in costume brawl.

Get the last 3 para elite armors Not needed
May as well get the last 3 to have a full set of paragon elite armors.

Level up a phoenix and black moa DONE
Only two things missing off the hero monument.

The next GW:B stuff
Not out yet but I enjoyed WiK, so I'll at least give it a go.

---
Thats pretty much it. I think I should be able to do the first three by Halloween, and the last two should work well together.

However, I do have a few things on the "maybe" list, like finish all the quests on my para, as I started them all and have a log of ~40 left I would guess. Or afk for 70k lucky points to get r2.

And theres the tyria & elona vanqs and sweet tooth that are at 16/54, 4/34 and 1100pts respectively. Although one of them would get me to 25 once I have LMotN, I'm not even considering them until at least seeing how the gw2 points stuff will play out. The last "maybe" thing would be getting all the gh stuff for my 1 man guild, but that seems ike an unecessary extravagence for now at least. ]]> Jono Mozza http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?2127-The-quot-to-finish-quot-list lol http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1993-lol Mon, 22 Mar 2010 17:59:42 GMT So my sister was showing me something on facebook and instead I saw this. Couldn't help but print screen it :P


Big brother is watching I guess :laugh: ]]> Jono Mozza http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1993-lol Go on... http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1697-Go-on Sat, 09 May 2009 20:09:20 GMT http://s10.gladiatus.com/game/c.php?uid=133936 click this link, good suff happens :) http://s10.gladiatus.com/game/c.php?uid=133936

click this link, good suff happens :) ]]> Jono Mozza http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1697-Go-on The Deep: something to help those with few humans :P http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1540-The-Deep-something-to-help-those-with-few-humans-P Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:41:12 GMT So, i saw the thread about how its inactive etc, and decided that i really should get it done (which i have not yet). But anyway, I was trying a few things out, and went on pvx. Anyway, someone had a 3 person/9hero team set up, but the primary professions were limited, something that is common... So, i saw the thread about how its inactive etc, and decided that i really should get it done (which i have not yet). But anyway, I was trying a few things out, and went on pvx. Anyway, someone had a 3 person/9hero team set up, but the primary professions were limited, something that is common throughout all deep build due to the split. They were essentially gonna flag their heroes into rooms, have all the humans in one room, then fight to heroes. But, as i remembered, there's the old "heroes go through walls trick" And it works in the deep :))))

So essentially, this is the solution to not having the right prof for the split, or plain old not having enough people. Basically, you + 2 other humans. All of you have 3 heroes then flag your heroes into the portals at the start, as in 1 persons heroes go in one, the next person's heroes go in the other etc. Then all the humans go into the portal on the far right. Once through the portal everyone unflags their heroes and a few seconds later they all pop up to you!

Hope this can help those who dont have the desired profs, only a few friends/guildies willing etc. I will hopefully get it done sometime too lol.

Here's the team build that was posted by someone, you can adapt it obviously for your peoples professions etc. http://www.pvxwiki.com/wiki/Build:Team_-_Heroic_Deepway

Good luck! ]]> Jono Mozza http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1540-The-Deep-something-to-help-those-with-few-humans-P <![CDATA[Mourning Veil Falls & Raisu palace (Now done w/ Cantha :D)]]> http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1491-Mourning-Veil-Falls-amp-Raisu-palace-(Now-done-w-Cantha-D) Sat, 01 Nov 2008 20:47:41 GMT yeah, i think thats 6 areas in 1 day. Never doing that again lol. I ran imbagon+sabway+2monk hench+ erys+nika/devona(raisu). Mourning Veil Falls Standard stuff really, just little room for movement in the mantid half of the map, pretty easy all round though. Killed - ~200 I think Deaths... yeah, i think thats 6 areas in 1 day. Never doing that again lol.

I ran imbagon+sabway+2monk hench+ erys+nika/devona(raisu).

Mourning Veil Falls
Standard stuff really, just little room for movement in the mantid half of the map, pretty easy all round though.

Killed - ~200 I think
Deaths - none
Time - 40mins or so
Difficulty - 3/5

Raisu Palace
I was expecting this to be really hard, but it was the same as NM really. Sliver Armor still is a killer though lol. Just focus on monks & rits, then necs, then eles, then the rest. that worked for all of it pretty much.
Killed - ~230
Deaths - 2 by devona, a few by the other hench
Time - ~1hr
Difficulty - 2/5 Just watch for sliver etc and you'll be fine.

So, I'm done with Cantha, so heres the obligatory title pic xD


My overall difficulty rating (your may vary :P)
3/5 Some easy bits, some hard bits. Not many retries needed or points where I though "OMG y so hardd??!?1?!" So, tyria or elona next.......:afro: ]]> Jono Mozza http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1491-Mourning-Veil-Falls-amp-Raisu-palace-(Now-done-w-Cantha-D) <![CDATA[Ferndale & Drazach Thicket + Eternal Grove + Morostav Trail :O]]> http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1487-Ferndale-amp-Drazach-Thicket-Eternal-Grove-Morostav-Trail-O Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:42:12 GMT Both were fairly easy, but quite long. In all I ran imbagon with sabway+2monk hench+erys and nika. Ferndale Quite a lot of wardens/dredge here. Most were standard stuff, like disable their healers and kill the rest.Especially important against wardens as their healers spam splinter weapon... Both were fairly easy, but quite long. In all I ran imbagon with sabway+2monk hench+erys and nika.

Ferndale

Quite a lot of wardens/dredge here. Most were standard stuff, like disable their healers and kill the rest.Especially important against wardens as their healers spam splinter weapon too.

I had a massive over aggro of 3 dredge mobs in the central area, so watch aggro there. The Mungri magicbox+dredge healer combo wasnt so bad at all.

Assassin boss was strange. I engaged, he teleported to Livia and she dropped dead (she was at full health beforehand too). Biggest WTF moment I've had so far.

Killed - 272
Deaths - 1 by livia, 1 by erys at overaggro
Time - 55mins
Difficulty - 3/5

Drazach Thicket
Lots of Mantids/wardens, but again, fairly easy stuff if you disrupt healing and go after the rest. Also, a lot less ground to cover than ferndale.

I'd advise against trying to pull bosses away from their popups, as I had a 10 min mob search at the end because I kiled the ranger boss, walked off, then wardens triggered his pop ups.

Killed - 230
Deaths - None
Time - 50 mins (including mob search, 40 if you clear them right)
Difficulty - 3/5

Well, it was a rainy afternoon so......

Eternal Grove
Didn't find this one too bad. Mostly wardens and dragon moss stuff. Watch out for popup groups at the rit boss location as theres quite a few.

Killed - ~230?
Deaths - none
Time - 40mins
Difficulty - 4/5

Morostav Trail
This one was full of wardens and pretty big, yet with close patrol groups. Take it carefully.

Theres 2 trouble spots:
the warrior boss corner which is full of wardens. I built up a minion army then bombed the crap out of the area.

the ele boss in the water has a lot of pop up healers, while doing intimidating damage by itself. Have some minions and focus fire on it, whille dazing/interrupting when possible.

Apart from that, it was just long.

Killed - 290ish
Deaths - 1 wipe at ele boss, 1 death by monk hench at start, 1 death by nika at ranger boss.
Time - 1hr30mins
Difficulty - 4/5 ]]> Jono Mozza http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1487-Ferndale-amp-Drazach-Thicket-Eternal-Grove-Morostav-Trail-O Arborstone http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1484-Arborstone Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:23:31 GMT I ran imbagon, with sabway+prot+heal hench+nika+erys.

I was dreading this map for a few reasons. A: all the maps of Kurzick area's looks dark and confusing. B: my first real go at wardens and I was expecting nasty splinter weapon spam. C: Its big.

How2fix
Theres my finished VQ map. http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/6395/gw440vy0.jpg

Now you know where they all are!:fortuneteller: (Note, I had no quests active in the area at the time, having some may change locations of spawns)

Anyway, make sure your party can survive without any minions, as there are stone judge groups.

Against wardens: let minions and SS take care of melee and rangers while you daze/divert/interrupt their healers and splinter spammers.

Dredge healers are annoying, but fairly easily shut down. I am dreading that healer/healer boss combo in ferndale though lol.

Most of the other enemies are easy to kill though. Yes, theres a lot to kill, probably one, if not the largest factions VQ area.

So.....
Killed - 322
Deaths - 1 prot hench, i aggroed 3 groups at the start lol.
Time - 1hr 10mins
Difficuly - 3/5 Wardens are the only annoying bit tbh. ]]> Jono Mozza http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1484-Arborstone Tahnnakai Temple http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1479-Tahnnakai-Temple Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:11:07 GMT Got a run for 1k :P Killed - 2 Deaths - none Time- 2 mins Difficuly - 0/5 Was mainly busy buying stuff today though lol, so couldnt be bothered doing another. Got a run for 1k :P

Killed - 2
Deaths - none
Time- 2 mins
Difficuly - 0/5

Was mainly busy buying stuff today though lol, so couldnt be bothered doing another. ]]> Jono Mozza http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1479-Tahnnakai-Temple <![CDATA[Melandru's Hope]]> http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1470-Melandru-s-Hope Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:46:00 GMT Me as imbagon with sabway, 2 healer hench, erys and devona. This was an easy and quick one. Most enemies are in small groups and spread out. Some of the bosses can be pulled out and killed without triggering their popups which is always nice. The only real trouble spot is the lake with the... Me as imbagon with sabway, 2 healer hench, erys and devona.

This was an easy and quick one. Most enemies are in small groups and spread out. Some of the bosses can be pulled out and killed without triggering their popups which is always nice.

The only real trouble spot is the lake with the assa boss, as I went aggro happy and took them all on at once lol. I only died once, and was the only one to die. Probably best to keep it a clean aggro at that part really lol.

Killed - 167
Deaths - 1 by me
Time - Around 30-40mins
Difficulty - 2/5

24/33 so far, and I still have to get the tahnnakai VQ run thing too :P ]]> Jono Mozza http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1470-Melandru-s-Hope Shenzun Tunnels http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1467-Shenzun-Tunnels Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:52:34 GMT This was a fairly easy vanq, apart from rather large, roaming, groups of Am Fah. I ran imbagon, switching [[vicious attack] out for [[spear swipe] to deal with the nasty casters, a change I really liked, and used sabway+2monk hench+war+ranger.

The afflicted appear in pretty balanced groups but they still can be quite annoying. I usually went for monk/rit then ele then the rest. The afflicted ele boss is pretty damn nasty, so watch out and prot before you aggro.

Am Fah were the main enemies of this map really. They generally came with 1 healer which was easy to dispatch, a nec, a few rangers and a few 'sins. I went for the ranged ones first, letting minions take care of the 'sins.

The area around the Am Fah monk boss can be a bit nasty, as entering the area put you at risk of aggroing a few patrols at once, and the boss itself is surounded by a few mobs. So the golden rule of watching aggro still applies here.

On the whole though, I didnt find it that challenging, apart from having to put up with numerous lag spikes :P

Killed - 237
Deaths - 1 by master, 1 by monk hench
Time - 1.15-1.20
Difficulty - 2.5/5 ]]> Jono Mozza http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1467-Shenzun-Tunnels Maishang Hills http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1465-Maishang-Hills Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:13:14 GMT This was fairly easy, apart from a few bosses. Yet again, I ran imabagon+sabway+2monks+earth ele+war hench. the fist real problem is the big ele biss, that looks like an island gaurdian. I had to trigger the nearby naga boss to run over and start fighting him, which seperated him from the other rot... This was fairly easy, apart from a few bosses. Yet again, I ran imabagon+sabway+2monks+earth ele+war hench. the fist real problem is the big ele biss, that looks like an island gaurdian. I had to trigger the nearby naga boss to run over and start fighting him, which seperated him from the other rot wallows and island guardian. I could then take him out fairly easily, by tanking him with pspirit.

The large rot wallow groups aren't something that you wanna leeroy into lol, as they can often touch to death 1 or 2 people before dying. luckily you can sperate them into 1 mobile group of 3, then a stationary group of 5+island guardian.

Naga are the usual deal really, nothing else different. Well, that finishes off the luxon area's, yay!

Killed - 169
Deaths - 2 by MoW, 1 by Livia, 1 by prot hench, 1 by war hench, 1 by me
Time - About an hour
Difficulty - 3/5 ]]> Jono Mozza http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1465-Maishang-Hills <![CDATA[Silent Surf & Rhea's Crater]]> http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1464-Silent-Surf-amp-Rhea-s-Crater Mon, 27 Oct 2008 22:31:14 GMT Silent Surf
This one was quite annoying tbh. I ran Imbagon+Sabway+2 monk hench, earth ele and talon. The enemies themselves arent that bad, its more the groups that form together. Running an adren based build against irukundajai and [[soothing]+[[binding chains] was bad, but then overlapping patrols meant at one point I was up against 4 of them with perma [[binding chains] on myself. My advice is to bring decent hex removal for this map. Not a ton, just a few and it should be fine.

Against the telespike dragons I flagged the heroes a little behind myself, had a pspirit put up on me and let them tele to me. then the minions moved in almost immediately making it a lot easier. Apart from that, the rest wasnt too bad.

Killed - ~260
Deaths - 1 wipe plus around 6 on livia
Time - 40 mins
Difficulty - 4/5

Rhea's Crater
I ran same team build as above, only with a few hex removals on livia. This was fairly simple, and although there's no irukun-blah, there are some outcast rits with [[binding chains]. There's alos quite a bit on rockhide dragons that can knock-lock you if they get up close and you're attacking, so a [[ward of stability] could be helpful, although they are only in a few portions of the quarry.

One part I was dreading was the downwards staircase with afflicted. I started aggroing 1 groups but more joined in thanks to Talon. However, standing in the top corner just before the stairs meant the casters bunched up nicely below with melee blocked nicely on the stairs thanks to minions. As usual, go for the rits first, then the rest.

Watch for the oni, as they appear in a few large groups at times, they arent too bad with minions though. Most of the map is fairly simple fortunately.

Killed - ~240
Deaths - None
Time - 40-50 mins
Difficulty - 3/5 ]]> Jono Mozza http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1464-Silent-Surf-amp-Rhea-s-Crater Sunjiang District http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1463-Sunjiang-District Sat, 25 Oct 2008 12:02:15 GMT I wanted to get this one done, as i've heard about how annoying it can be. I went a ran imbagon with sabway+Nika+2healer hench+Lo Sha. Nika actually made a pretty decent tank/person for splinter thanks to flashing blades and death blossom. It looks a highly defensive team set up, but I didnt want to take any chances. :P

Afflicted/Shiroken rits should be taken down asap due to their ressing capabilities. Most of the area is a case of watching patrols/trying to avoid overaggro's.

Some boss groups thing I noticed though:
Ele boss - It seems like most of the people around him are in 2's, so pull them seperately as much as you can.
Necro boss - It seemed to me like entering the pit area triggers two other groups to come to his aid. Either that or killing him, so be wary here, and try and pull him out if possible.
Mes boss - I tried to pull him+2 others seperately, but another mob came to his aid, despite a clean pull. It could be a similar sort of thing to the nec boss so again, be careful.

Apart from that, it wasn't so bad. I'm glad I got it done so I don't have to worry about it though :)

Killed - 206
Deaths - 1 by master, 1 by livia, 1 by lo sha
Time - Around 1hr30, but I did have a hunt for the last group lol
Difficulty - 4/5, although without an imbagon, its probably a 5/5 tbh. ]]> Jono Mozza http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1463-Sunjiang-District <![CDATA[Panjiang Peninsula & Nahpui Quarter]]> http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1462-Panjiang-Peninsula-amp-Nahpui-Quarter Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:47:04 GMT Panjiang Peninsula I ran a cruel Spear Build with Sabway. This one was a little annoying. The Kappa and naga were fine and straightforward, although a little note, kill the kappa on the small beach area near the village, as it would have saved me a 5 min trek back around to find them. The... Panjiang Peninsula
I ran a cruel Spear Build with Sabway.
This one was a little annoying. The Kappa and naga were fine and straightforward, although a little note, kill the kappa on the small beach area near the village, as it would have saved me a 5 min trek back around to find them.

The Crimson skull are anoying because of their overlapping patrols. I had to clear all the patrols around the base first, then head into the base itself, which was easier than I expected. just watch for those that pop out from the the buildings.

Deaths - 1 by me, 1 by master
Killed - 200
Time - 50 mins
Difficulty - 2/5

Nahpui Quarter
I ran imbagon, with a VoR Norgu, MM/warder olias and prot tahlkora. Jade brotherhood werent so bad, just be creful on the slop up to their area, as there are a few overlapping patrols. i also found one corner where I was fighting a group, then a pop up group appeared and another group came in. Basically, just kil the patrols off their path and it should be fine.
Deaths - 1 wipe
Killed - 110ish
Time - 35mins
Difficulty - 3/5 ]]> Jono Mozza http://guildwars.incgamers.com/forums/entry.php?1462-Panjiang-Peninsula-amp-Nahpui-Quarter