A new Guild Wars 2 trailer has been release (Coutesty of Massively).  Most have been waiting for some Guild Wars 2 info to get out on the internet, but due to NCsoft focus being on Aion it is still a work in prgoress.  What I find interesting in this article I found is that ArenaNet is looking to go more towards a MMO feel with fewer instances.  They are looking for more open areas where players will be together and not just small groups.

 Read more here >>>

Some other cool things that are out now:

- You will have the ability to explore underwater areas
- Airships
- Floating Cities
- You can now JUMP!
- Can now play as a Charr

Here is the link to the trailer (since I can’t embedd video)

Guild Wars 2 Screenshots & Images (Click on image for more)

A still taken from the epic trailer that's on Eurogamer TV.

I was able to put in some time on Friday to be able to charm my new pet.  Meet Skyler!  Yeah I know….for those of you who know me it is the name of my dog.  Yes my dog is black and my pet is white but my original plan was to charm the Snow Wolf and name it “White Lightning” but the game wouldn’t allow it due to character length.  So I chose Skyler anyways.

So right now I am in the leveling phase.  When I charmed Skyler he was level 5 and right now he sits at level 11, so I have some work to do before I can really test any of my build ideas.

DOTA (Warcraft 3 Frozen Throne):

I figured I would take a break from Guild Wars until my pet is to the point to where I can really talk about it.  So this Monday  I will probably hit up a game of DOTA with my friends from Illinois.

Now when I play I usually pick my character Razor, who eventually over time becomes pretty insane due to his ability to increase his attack speed.  I usually focus on items that give him a lot of agility and speed.  At later points in the game when I use his berserk ability he can almost seem like a Warcraft machine gun due to his attack speed being insanely high.  But unfortunately berserk comes with a draw back being that you take more damage when you use it.  So to counter that I also use the level 5 shield that gives me a greater chance of blocking incoming attacks.

My other character  I like to play as is the Chimaera.  This character can get pretty insane too later in the game if you mix your items correctly.  I focus mainly on speed, attack and intelligence for this character seeing that the bulk of his dmg comes from you timing his combo precisely.  A ability that really helps this character is his ability to shoot twice randomly.  With the burning breath it can cause some major dmg later on in the match.

So the way I play it is wait until I have a hero in my sights and then I hit Freeze, Dual Breath and then the fire breath, depending on how well you timed it you should of hit that hero pretty hard.  This tactic obviously works out better later in the game due to better items and higher level skills, but use the early part of the game to work on your timing.

The last character I usually play as is the Lord of Olympia.  This character, like Razor, can get extremely ridiculous later on in the game.  With a special skill that will randomly strike a hero any where on the map, makes this character very deadly.  If timed well and coordinated with your team mates you can pretty much kill any hero that is low on health and running away.  With the planning of the right items also this character can do lots of damage quick.

Welp for now that will do.  I will update on how the game goes after Monday.  Till then…

I have taken it upon myself to do something in Guild Wars that really doesn’t seem that popular.  I am converting my Ritualist/Mesmer to a Ritualist/Ranger so that I can get a pet and have yet another creature to annoy people.  I have been looking into the Ranger pets skills and figure that I can sacrifice at least 2 of my ritualist skills for pet skills and then I can add in either my Spirit Spamming build or I could do my Channeling energy maintenance build.

The only trouble I am having is thinking if I should really bring a 2nd pet skill or just let the pet do what it does, because if I bring my spirit spamming build I would bring Wanderlust for knockdown and then I could time my animal attacks with Beastial Mauling (Your animal companion attempts a Bestial Mauling that deals +5-20 damage. If the attack strikes a knocked-down foe, that foe is interrupted and Dazed for 4-10 seconds.), so if timed correctly I would get a knock down with added dmg from pet with added dazed on top of that.  So I could then add a 3rd pet spell, Scavenger Strike for extra energy added to help with the energy issue that might arise.

To make all this happen with my other build I would need 2 of my energy replenishing spells with a spirit and then my 3 ranger pet spells…now I could either bring some ashes for added bonuses and a res or add more channeling dmg.  The way I see it, AB battles I would bring more channeling dmg and PVE I would probably bring ashes and res.  Though I won’t get in game until Friday so a lot of this is just me thinking in my head until I can actually test this stuff out.  I figured I would give this a try since I was really only able to find 1 Ranger/Rit build that was meant for Tombs and all it did was really support other rangers so they could bring other spirits .

So if you have any ideas how I might be able to get some good performance out of a Rit/Ranger, leave me a comment.

I will be in game Friday testing…so hit me up in game: Felicity Leonhart

ArenaNet just released a new update that focused more on the Assasin, Ranger, Dervish and the Elementalist.  The previous update was more focused on the Ritualist and the Paragon.

ArenaNet made it a little bit easier for the Assassin to get into battle and get their chain attacks in quicker due to the fact that a sin is a up-close and personal fighter.  The sin does not have the armor of a Warrior but has a hella better attack speed, but it still has its weaknesses.  They also made it a little easier for a sin to take  on multiple enemies since the single-target damage wasn’t really enough.

The Ranger really only get a PVE bump.  The ranger now does not need to have charm animal in the skill bar to have its pet with them.  But as long as you have Comfort Animal you are fine.  So this just eliminates having to waste 2 spell slots.  Also the ranger’s pet gets some inherent offensive and defensive bonuses.

The Dervish was hooked up with some nice new balanced skills.  Dervishes now have some oppurtunities to increase their armor along with some better healing spells.  These updates look to increase the survivability of this class and also simplify some other complex skills.

The Elementalist seems to have gotten the most out of this update in my mind.  By balancing out Air Magic for more use in PVE they gave it a fighting chance rather than just choosing fire.  Also Earth magic has been updated to encourage more of a offensive role instead of a support role.

Here are the skills that have been updated:

Ranger:

PvP Balance Issues

Melandru’s Shot: increased recharge to 12 seconds. After an extended period in which many different Ranger elite skills were all seeing play, our last change to Melandru’s Shot gave it too much of an edge over the other Ranger elites. Any time we nerf a skill for PvP-related reasons, we consider whether or not to create a separate PvP-only version of the skill. In this case, we did not think this change would affect PvE play enough to justify splitting the skill.

Ranger Pets in PvE

Pets in PvE now have an inherent 33% damage reduction and +33% damage. Because PvE often involves fighting higher-level creatures with armor and damage, pets needed some statistical bonuses in PvE.

Comfort Animal (PvE): decreased Energy cost to 5. Functionality changed to: “You heal your animal companion for 20..104 Health. If your companion is dead, it is resurrected with 10..58% Health. If you have Comfort Animal equipped, your animal companion will travel with you.” The other major issue with bringing a pet is the number of skill slots this takes up. To address this, we’ve changed Comfort Animal in PvE so that having it on your skill bar means your pet will come with you in PvE. This means you won’t need to bring Charm Animal once you’ve charmed your pet. This change does not apply to PvP, where having another character on your side is a major benefit and the limitations on free skill slots are an important part of the playbalance.

Call of Haste (PvE): increased movement and attack speed to 33%. Enraged Lunge (PvE): functionality changed to: “Your animal companion attempts an Enraged Lunge that applies a Deep Wound to target foe for 5..20 seconds and deals +10..50 damage.” Melandru’s Assault (PvE): functionality changed to: “Your animal companion attempts a Melandru’s Assault that deals +5..20 damage to all nearby foes.” Predatory Bond (PvE): functionality changed to: “For 5..20 seconds, your animal companion attacks 25% faster and heals you for 1..31 Health with each attack.”

Assassin:

PvP Balance Issues

Black Mantis Thrust: decreased activation time to 1/2 second. Fox Fangs: decreased recharge to 3; increased damage to 10..35. Jagged Strike: decreased activation time to 1/2 second. Black Mantis Thrust and Jagged Strike were given shorter activation times to help players get through an attack chain using these skills a little faster. Fox Fangs already had a short activation time, but its longer recharge made it difficult to chain repeatedly, making it inferior to Wild Strike in nearly every way. Reducing its recharge brings those two skills more into line and allows an Assassin to chain from Black Mantis Thrust or Jagged Strike into Fox Fangs with both attacks activating quickly.

Black Lotus Strike: decreased recharge to 6 seconds; decreased Energy gain to 5..13. Golden Lotus Strike: decreased recharge to 5 seconds; decreased Energy gain to 5..8. Black Lotus Strike and Golden Lotus Strike were reasonably powerful skills, but they had high enough recharge that a PvE Assassin could not bring them without an alternate way to enter his combo. By dropping their recharge, we hope to make them more practical and free up more slots on the Assassin’s skill bar for other skills. The Energy gain they provide has been decreased since you can use them more often now.

Golden Phoenix Strike: functionality changed to: “If you are not under the effects of an Enchantment, this skill misses. If it hits, Golden Phoenix Strike deals +10..30 damage and all adjacent foes take 10..30 damage.” Jungle Strike: functionality changed to: “Must follow a lead attack. If it hits, Jungle Strike strikes target foe for +10..25 damage. If it hits a foe that was Crippled, that foe and all adjacent foes take +1..31 damage.” These two skills now provide options for area-of-effect damage when using an Off-Hand Attack. Along with Death Blossom, these should give Assassins better ways to deal damage when fighting large numbers of creatures.

Sharpen Daggers: functionality changed to: “For 5..30 seconds, your dagger attacks cause Bleeding for 5..15 seconds.” Signet of Deadly Corruption (PvE): no longer follows a dual attack. It’s hard for a creature to survive long enough in PvE for skills that must follow a Dual Attack. Removing this requirement makes Signet of Deadly Corruption much easier to use in a group setting. Since it is a powerful spike skill in PvP, however, we’re only making this change in PvE. The PvP version of this skill will still require a Dual Attack.

Shroud of Distress (PvE): functionality changed to: “For 30..60 seconds, if you are below 50% Health, you have +3..8 Health regeneration and a 75% chance to block attacks. Unseen Fury (PvE): decreased recharge to 20 seconds. Functionality changed to: “All adjacent foes are Blinded for 3..10 seconds. For 10..30 seconds, you cannot be blocked by Blinded foes.” Since we were adding a few more options for Assassins to run into the thick of things in PvE, we looked for a couple of underpowered defensive skills to adjust. Now providing Health regeneration when you are hurt, the long-lasting Shroud of Distress should make an Assassin fairly durable against moderate amounts of damage. With space always at a premium on an Assassin’s skill bar, we’ve adjusted Unseen Fury to combo with itself and provide both offensive and defensive functions. Both of these changes are for PvE only.

Dervish:

Conviction (PvE): functionality changed to: “For 10..35 seconds, you have +24 armor. If you are enchanted, you also have a 50% chance to block. Vow of Piety: increased Energy cost to 15; reduced casting time to 0; increased recharge to 45 seconds. Functionality changed to: “Stance. For 20 seconds, you have +24 armor and +1..4 Health regeneration. Vow of Piety renews whenever an enchantment on you ends.”   Armor of Sanctity: functionality changed to: “All adjacent foes suffer from Weakness for 5..15 seconds. For 10 seconds, you take 5..20 less damage from foes suffering from a condition.” In order to help Dervishes survive when surrounded by enemies, we’ve provided two different stances that give increased armor: Conviction and Vow of Piety. While we were at it, we removed some of the complexity from these skills, both of which used to give different bonuses depending on whether or not you were enchanted. Now they both just provide additional bonuses if you are enchanted. Armor of Sanctity was an interesting but often impractical defensive skill. By applying the Weakness condition to adjacent foes when it is first used, it ensures that the damage reduction will have some effect.

Meditation: increased recharge to 12 seconds. Functionality changed to: “You gain 20..125 Health. If you are not enchanted, you also gain 3..8 Energy.” Natural Healing: functionality changed to: “You are healed for 40..100 Health and an additional 40..80 Health if you are not enchanted.”   Pious Restoration: increased recharge to 8 seconds; increased casting time to 1 second. Functionality changed to: “You gain 80..150 Health and lose 1 enchantment. If an enchantment was removed in this way, you also lose 1..3 hexes.” These healing skills were all too complicated or difficult to use. Meditation now always heals, rather than only healing if you were not enchanted. Natural Healing now provides additional healing if you are not enchanted, rather than causing you to lose Energy if you are enchanted. Pious Restoration now causes you to lose hexes if you had a single enchantment up when you cast it, rather than requiring that you have two or more enchantments in order for it to take effect. Because this made it more practical as a hex removal skill, we raised its recharge to be more in line with other such skills.

Aura Slicer: functionality changed to: “If this attack hits, you deal +10..25 damage. If you are enchanted or this attack hits an enchanted foe, that foe begins Bleeding for 5..15 seconds.” Sand Shards: functionality changed to: “For 30 seconds, Sand Shards ends early if you use an attack skill. When Sand Shards ends, it creates a sand storm at your location that deals 10..20 damage each second for 10 seconds to nearby foes.”   Winds of Disenchantment: moved to the Wind Prayers attribute. Functionality changed to: “Lose 1 enchantment. If an enchantment was removed in this way, all nearby foes lose 1 enchantment and take 20..80 cold damage.” All three of these skills were awkward to use. Additionally, because Enchantment removal does not play as fundamental a role in PvE as it does in PvP, Aura Slicer and Winds of Disenchantment were not generally useful. Aura Slicer has been redesigned to provide Bleeding. It no longer has any conditional bonus based on Cracked Armor. Winds of Disenchantment now deals damage as well as removing enchantments and no longer has any randomness to which enchantments it removes. In order to scale its damage based on an attribute, it is now tied to Wind Prayers rather than being associated with no attribute. With Sand Shards, we decided to introduce something new and different. This skill now lets a Dervish create a static AoE damage area. It is also the first Dervish enchantment that ends if the caster uses an attack skill. This should allow a Dervish to use it strategically even without bringing a skill that drops enchantments.

Elementalist:

Chain Lightning: reduced casting time to 2 seconds; now only causes Exhaustion if not enchanted. Invoke Lightning: reduced recharge to 10 seconds.   These skills were improved to make it more practical to deal area-of-effect damage with Air Magic.

Ebon Hawk: reduced casting time to 1 second; reduced damage to 10..85. Functionality changed to: “Send a projectile that strikes for 10..85 earth damage and causes Weakness for 5..15 seconds if it hits.” Earthen Shackles: reduced casting time to 1 second; decreased slow effect to 66%; now effects target and all adjacent foes.   Elemental Flame: functionality changed to: “For 5..20 seconds, whenever an Elemental hex is applied to target foe, that foe is set on fire for 3..5 seconds.” The key for many Earth Magic skill combinations is the initial application of Weakness. We’ve adjusted Ebon Hawk to be much more practical to use, reducing its damage a bit to fit its quicker casting time. We’ve also improved the Earthen Shackles-Elemental Flame combination by reducing Earthen Shackles’ impractical 2 second casting time and allowing Elemental Flame to trigger when a hex is applied instead of when a hex ends. Since these would have been overpowered with Earthen Shackles’ previous slow effect of 90%, we’ve reduced that to 66%.

Lava Arrows: No longer half-range. Slippery Ground: increased recharge to 20 seconds. Functionality changed to: “If target foe is Blind or moving, that foe is knocked down. (50% failure chance with Water Magic 4 or less.)”   Windborne Speed: reduced casting time to 3/4 seconds. Winter’s Embrace: functionality changed to: “For 2..6 seconds, target foe moves 66% slower and takes 5..15 damage while moving.” These skills were all simply underpowered. Lava Arrows is an inexpensive, fast-recharge, multi-target damage skill that did not have enough utility or battle-changing effect to justify it being half range. Slippery Ground requiring the target to be blind was too niche a condition. It now also works on moving targets but has had its recharge increased accordingly. Windborne Speed has had its casting time reduced slightly to match some of the other speed-buff skills available to an Elementalist.

You can find more skill updates here on the Guild Wars website