Klepto went to PAX and spoke to GW2 folk! - Cross posted from the Guild Wars Division

[Egil]

Originally Posted by KleptoManiac

... And I've got some goods to share with you all. I attended the Q&A on GW Live (their name for GW1) and I cornered the lead designer for GW2 for about 40 minutes at the Con and peppered him with many questions. I've still got 1 day of Con left so I intend on sharing more details later as I recall them. Unfortunately I did not record anything so I'll report things as I recall them.

First I asked about how exactly my titles on GW:EN will carry over to bonuses on GW2. I was very specific in asking if I should be pursuing as many titles as possible. Every title received will equate to some specific reward in GW2 and they were clear that it was the ONLY way to achieve that reward. The reward for master cartographer will be different than the reward for master vanquisher. Also, PvP titles will equate to a bonus in PvP, and PvE titles will equate to some bonus in PvE.

Dragons will be the main focus for the PvE storylines. Each GW2 "campaign" (he was hesitant to calling in a campaign in the classic GW1 way. He said it was more like the EYE expansion; adding more to an existing area) will focus on a dragon. The initial release will focus on Zartan and Orr. Future expansions will elaborate on other dragons.

There will be underwater exploration as a part of the PvE storyline.

One of the "other"dragons resides in the deep parts of the ocean and has driven some of the water races to the surface. Some will be friendly to the player.

I asked why would all these different playable races in GW2 all get together and be friends when they have been enemies in the past (like the charr and humans). It was explained that that is part of hte GW2 storyline. The player will realize that the races will not survive together and must unite and brings them together to fight the dragon.

The Charr have progressed very far technologically in the last 200 years. They have large cities with metalworks and churning smokestacks. from the GW2 video the portion where the camera was roving over a city with spinning gears, smoke, fires, that is a charr city. The burning legion are still a major problem for the charr ( the priest caste from EYE that the player defeated). The charr have all but abandoned magic and only the burning legion still practice it. The portion at the very, very end of the GW2 video is a burning legion member turning into some beast...

more soon...

Originally Posted by KleptoManiac

Yes, I got a hardcover art book and got a few autographs too.

I'm home now and got lots to do before the move to Seattle. But first...

Dwarves are still around but are very, very rare. There are no flesh and blood dwarves left. Only stone. And that means they are all a little bit unbalanced in the head.

I asked several questions about sylvari. For example, "What's up with them?" Sylvari are GW's take on elves but with their own personal twist. They are very young as an entire species. In fact, when the game begins the oldest Sylvari is 25 years old. Their origins are intended to be mysterious and uncovering their mystery is part of the GW2 storyline. Their existance is very closely tied to current events in GW2.

The entire game really is not instanced like GW1. You could be walking around some area and bump into a player from another part of the world. The only time you will be in an instance will be in areas like dungeons and story-telling moments.

Areas are more fully explorable. One thing that people may have not picked up on from the GW2 video is just how much freedom a player has. That means the cities have buildings that a player can enter and exit. It was pointed out to me on the human city that a good number of those buildings can be entered. The scene from the damn with all those wooden bulwarks? fully explorable. All those ships that are stacked on top of each other? You can enter them. The snow-capped mountains? You can climb them. Those huge Norn lodges? You can go in them. The city with all those spinning gears and smokestacks? That's a charr city and you can enter a good number of buildings. I think you get the idea.

The new Lion's Arch has become something of a Pirate's haven, only more civilized. Any race is welcome as long as they are strong enough to be there.

Mmmmm.... GW2 goodies...