News Post

Beta Weekend #2

[ Sat 16th Jun, 2012 @ 3:16pm ] by Toglos

After waiting very patiently for the weekend to arrive, we were rewarded with another outstanding experience roaming the spectacular world of Tyria. While many basked in the glory of Guild Wars 2, with its content raising the bar for the MMO genre and exceeding already high expectations, some felt disappointed, frustrated, or even angry due to a few major issues.

Our main concern was that some of our members were unable to join our server due to it being so heavily populated. Forced to join a new server called "Gunnar's Hold", they also had to create another guild so that they could play together due to a 100-member cap. In turn, this led to us having to make a decision as to whether [DkR] should move to a new server or remain on Desolation. After weighing up the options and consulting our allies for their opinions, we decided that it would cause more issues rather it would solve and we decided to stay put, at least for the time being.

With regards to WvW, many of us were very disappointed with the server matchups as we proceeded to dominate everything yet again, with little resistance from the opposing servers. We had apparently been put against two brand new servers, and to add insult to injury the servers failed to rotate, meaning we were against the same two servers for the entire beta weekend. However, this did give some of us time to enjoy the game outside of WvW. We dabbled in PvE, SPvP, gathering, and crafting content, we learned about the auction house, discovered jumping puzzles, and freely explored the rest of GW2's content.

Personally I really enjoyed the jumping puzzles in WvW. I admire the work ArenaNet have done to create such fantastic looking areas. So with every cloud comes a silver lining; the server matchups being so poor gave me a chance to appreciate the game outside of WvW, which in my opinion truly is an artistic masterpiece.

SPvP this weekend was a huge success. From the moment the tournament system was up, several teams were formed and we proceeded to dominate. Particular mention has to go to the team which beat a group of five Mesmers, despite the ludicrous damage output the Mesmer bugs provided. Winning more than ten tournaments is a testament to the amount of talent we have present within the guild.

The only time we weren't able to PvP was the break enforced by the server outage, but we used that time wisely, comparing the awesome cosmetic rewards we had garnered from our conquests. ArenaNet have really done a fantastic job with their weapon and armour design. These rewards will be a huge part of SPvP and those who are willing to put the effort in will find their dedication has been worth it - the gear is ridiculously badass.

The entire BWE opportunity was extremely valuable as many of us got to know each other in both competitive and relaxed environments, and we really gelled as a unit. We utilised the time we spent to learn from our mistakes and came up with some winning strategies. On the whole, Structured PvP has proved to be immensely enjoyable and it's obvious that it will play a big part in the Dark Reavers' future.

... and so another stunning Guild Wars 2 beta weekend has passed, and all have developed an increased level of knowledge and understanding of what the game has to offer. I'm sure we are all looking forward to experience the changes ArenaNet have made in the upcoming beta.