The PvP preview for Guild Wars’ upcoming expansion, Guild Wars: Factions, has ended. I’m not much of a PvP player and I didn’t have a free character slot so I couldn’t play any of the new professions but what little I experienced of the preview did impress me.
I love the Chinese-inspired setting. It provides some striking imagery that makes a nice change from the Western medieval look that’s common in RPGs. The music is similarly Chinese-flavoured. The melancholic theme that plays during the log-in screen is recognisably a Jeremy Soule composition but it features Chinese instruments for that familiar-yet-different feel.
The main reason I’m looking forward to the expansion, though, is the promise of new skills and spells to play around with as this is the main appeal of the game for me. I just love the strategy and tactical planning that goes into creating a skillbar for a particular foe, area, quest or mission. If you’re a fan of tactical combat, this game is an absolute blast.
I’ve been playing my Ranger/Mesmer heavily over the past few weeks and managed to hit level 20 and ascend. I’m finding the Ranger profession to be tremendous fun. It may be second-best at almost everything but it makes up for it with its versatility and tactical options.
How shall I slay my foes today? Shall I use cunningly-placed traps? Shall I amuse myself by stymying my foes through interrupts? Or perhaps it would be more entertaining to see him hobble painfully towards me on crippled feet, bleeding poisoned blood all the while? A high-damage, rapid-fire fusillade perhaps? Or shall I instead rely on my faithful companion to tear my foes to shreds?
Decisions, decisions.
