Re: Initial PVE impression

[DickJones]

Well, I played 3 hours last night and I have to say the artwork is fantastic. The skills are cool with loads of options.
Playing as a Charr - Guardian.

I have to figure out where everybody is, such as crafting people, banker, and trainers etc. I'm still piddling around with 'heart' tasks to level up. Currently level 5. Yeah, I'm slow lol.

The biggest problem I'm having is my directionally impaired view of the map haha. I'm constantly popping open the big map to see if I'm headed in the right direction, since the small one is only good for immediate vicinity.

I'm having fun with it, but one thing I am not too thrilled about is the mass confusion when 20-30+ people are all trying to zap, explode, wack, stomp, whatever, the same 2-3 monsters.
Although a great idea on paper, I cannot see my own character, let alone the skills I'm using, or even what the monster is doing, due to all people swarmed around him. I'll deal with it, but needless to say, it was more annoyance, than excitement.
I've only done a couple personal story 'instances' where I have full view of what's going on, so I'm hoping there's lots of those moments :)

Once I get my geography cap on, I'll be more comfortable with my surroundings :)

[Doyle]

I had the same problem of getting turned around. What worked well for me was pulling up the map, Ctrl-clicking where I want to go (i. e., setting a personal way point), and then following the star in the minimap.

[RD]

I had the same problem of getting turned around. What worked well for me was pulling up the map, Ctrl-clicking where I want to go (i. e., setting a personal way point), and then following the star in the minimap.

TIL this is possible. Great tip, thank you!

Tapatalk'd

[Gorani]

The biggest problem I'm having is my directionally impaired view of the map haha. I'm constantly popping open the big map to see if I'm headed in the right direction, since the small one is only good for immediate vicinity.

I wish we could see the Points of Interest on the small map. I am switching a lot to the big map to see, if I am running in the right direction.

PS: setting a waypoint is good, but seeing it permanently would be better IMO

[Guided Daggers]

DickJones, you'll love the story missions. I personally find them my favourite part of the game.

That's probably because I was such a huge fan of the Guild Wars way of storytelling though.

[RabidCoqui]

Really agree with the cluster that happens during events. Just spam skills and dodge out if taking damage... not very exciting.

[CHIPS]

I feed the movement is, in general, slightly too slow. And that's a combination of the following:

1) General running speed is very slow during combat: I am sure many of you noticed, that in general mobs moves faster than you by default. That makes it very hard to escape alive from them when you are in trouble. In GW1 you move at roughly the same speed as the mobs.

2) Moving left and right was too slow: In GW1 I could dodge attacks by moving left and right. The movement speed was fast enough to avoid most attacks when I am careful. In GW2 it is much harder to dodge this way, since the distance covered wasn't enough to avoid an attack. So it seems I must use dodge to avoid attacks. This brings me to the next point.

3) Not enough dodge stamina: The dodge stamina runs out very fast, with only 2 slots. And it takes a little while to recharge. What usually kills me is when I aggroed 2 or 3 mobs. My dodge runs out too fast to avoid their attacks to allow an escape. I am playing in Char territory and some areas there can get pretty empty, and over-aggroing happens quite often. Remember there is no radar, so I have no idea what's behind me. (for the record, I support no radar. But I want to be able to run away from 2 or 3 mobs and survive.)

All in all, I find the movement control very limiting. I cannot play that high speed hit and run game that I was capable of in GW1. In GW1 I spent a lot of time playing an assassin. I was able to move in, do my combo, and move back out, because my movement speed was fast enough to do that. In GW2 I couldn't. I am "forced" to rely on shadow step to escape.

[harniq]

I feed the movement is, in general, slightly too slow. And that's a combination of the following:

1) General running speed is very slow during combat: I am sure many of you noticed, that in general mobs moves faster than you by default. That makes it very hard to escape alive from them when you are in trouble. In GW1 you move at roughly the same speed as the mobs.

I didn't feel that, proper circle strafing keeps the AI at bay without any trouble at all.

2) Moving left and right was too slow: In GW1 I could dodge attacks by moving left and right. The movement speed was fast enough to avoid most attacks when I am careful. In GW2 it is much harder to dodge this way, since the distance covered wasn't enough to avoid an attack. So it seems I must use dodge to avoid attacks. This brings me to the next point.

Again, just keep circle strafing and you will dodge a whole lot of hits. I hardly ever use the real dodge mechanic since avoiding hits is pretty easy once you get the hang of it.

3) Not enough dodge stamina: The dodge stamina runs out very fast, with only 2 slots. And it takes a little while to recharge. What usually kills me is when I aggroed 2 or 3 mobs. My dodge runs out too fast to avoid their attacks to allow an escape. I am playing in Char territory and some areas there can get pretty empty, and over-aggroing happens quite often. Remember there is no radar, so I have no idea what's behind me. (for the record, I support no radar. But I want to be able to run away from 2 or 3 mobs and survive.)

See above, I hardly if ever use dodge, only when I see a big tell and that's only once per recharge.

All in all, I find the movement control very limiting. I cannot play that high speed hit and run game that I was capable of in GW1. In GW1 I spent a lot of time playing an assassin. I was able to move in, do my combo, and move back out, because my movement speed was fast enough to do that. In GW2 I couldn't. I am "forced" to rely on shadow step to escape.

Circle strafing is your answer as range. As melee you should accept dying in big fights, as range I focus on rezzing melee.

[Wethospu]

Cripple them, then your movement speed should be enough.

[Ora]

I feed the movement is, in general, slightly too slow.

It feels like it, yes. On the other hand: I seem to get away from mobs easier than I did during BWE. Maybe they reduced aggro radius or whatever.
Also: speed is a balance thing due to the vistas. Increasing speed would mean wider jumps, so maybe it's not possible to simply increase movement speed.

DickJones, you'll love the story missions. I personally find them my favourite part of the game.

Same here. I haven't seen a dungeon yet, but so far storyline and crafting (cooking in particular) are my favorites.
I also changed my playstyle a lot. During BWE's i tried to complete an area, than move to next.

Now, the storyline missions are all over the world, so I simply try to get to the next dot, discover a few things on the way, gather some, do hearts and events close to the way and craft every now and than. This alone keps me about 1 or 2 lvls under what is recommended for the storyline.
Usually that's enough to do the storyline than.