Add to that a defensive counterpart to the offensive techniques that is as deep and important to the combat and requires, again, precision, real skill, etc. What I look for is pretty straightforward: precision, real gamer skill (not just stats buffing) and "oomph" - that intangible quality that makes the combat feel real and visceral. I make a habit of studying combat systems in games. This isn't just me "not getting" the game. For this and other criticisms I've been told I should just shut up and go home (in a sort of "Love it or leave it!" way that you may have encountered in the run-up to the Iraq War if you dared to question the wisdom of invading that country.)īut the real reason I'm so critical of the game's combat is because it comes close to getting it right. Yes, I know, I've mostly lamented the game's combat mechanics. My Human Female Necromancer was decked out in orange, purple, and pink and I never once encountered another character like her. The trick is to go with lots of outlandish colors. The feeling of deep character customization was shattered. One frustrating aspect of this: I created a Warrior and spent a lot of time getting him just right, loaded him up and almost instantly was in a fight against some minotaurs when I saw another Warrior that looked identical to mine. I've spent way too much time creating new characters (many of whom I ended up not even playing) and tinkering with the elaborate dye system.
See the picture above? I want to play that game.Ĭharacter creation in Guild Wars 2 is almost too addicting. If Guild Wars 2 looked more like its artwork, it would be a much more unique flavor. However, this is never the case with the art. As nice as the graphics in the game are, the world itself often feels too generic.