From the Mind of Magi: FPE Wrap-Up
Edited and Published by: Magi
The Factions Preview Event weekend has come and gone, but that has not stopped the discussion on nearly every forum imaginable. Some are discussing the major features that were revealed - Alliance Battles and Competitive Missions namely - while others delve far more specifically into the classes of the Assassin and Ritualist, and even specific skills. It goes without saying that the Preview Event has given Guild Wars fans everywhere something to talk about.
The intention of this article is not to go in-depth into any one piece of information but to provide a comprehensive wrap of the entire event. Though it is not just limited to that: what wasn't revealed is important as well, such as alliances. What will be provided as well is links to our forums that contain "must-read" topics for anyone who have either missed the preview event, or are fairly new to Guild Wars.
Features Experienced
As I have already stated here, and in other sources, the two major features of the recent event is most certainly Alliance Battles and Competitive Missions. It goes without saying that most, if not all players, who purchase Guild Wars: Factions - outside of those die-hard Guild Wars fans who will buy anything ArenaNet produces - will do so because of these two features. After all, they bring new meaning to their respective components: a thrilling, exciting PvP method (Alliance Battles) and a much needed mesh of both PvE and PvP (Competitive Missions).
I've already gone in-depth to both of these features in previous articles (found here and here), so I won't spend too much time on them here but they are certainly worthy of mention. The strategic elements of Alliance Battles most certainly left a very positive taste in everyone's mouths. There were many concerned parties when they first heard of Alliance Battles - being 12 vs 12 and all - but due to the "randomness" of it, in regards to who gets in, and the sheer amount of strategy involved - that is, acquiring and holding control points - those fears are largely put at rest. Unfortunately, however, fears arise from the use of particular builds (none of which I will go into here, but I will link to some of those discussions). But what we have to realize is, this was essentially a beta test for ArenaNet and as such, build concerns will be addressed in due course.
In terms of Competitive Missions, we are looking at a feature that could have enormous dividends for both enthusiasts of PvE and PvP systems. Though that statement in and of itself is quite misleading: Competitive Missions do have a very strong PvP slant to them. In the example of the mission at Fort Aspenwood, if you are Luxxon, well there is very little PvE to experience. Even if you're a member of the Kurzick faction, and you're helping transfer the rare amber to complete your weapon of vengeance, you will find yourself under attack from the Luxxon's considerably. It is not until we reach the mission at Jade Quarry that the most PvE is involved, but in order for that to take place, significant PvP feats much be accomplished. That is to say, your faction must take control of resource points before the Jade carriers can be activated.
The other major feature of the weekend worthy of mention is of course the storyline missions, but that wasn't too much of a surprise to anyone. Much like the story missions in the Prophecies campaign (the original Guild Wars missions) they were fairly straight forward, challenging and told a story very well. Not much to say here, really.
In sum, everyone who participated in the Factions Preview Event went home happy, no matter if they liked it or not. ArenaNet provided a means for us to experience the major features they had planned for the expansion of Guild Wars and for that we all must be appreciative.
What Wasn't Included
I think I can speak for everyone when I voiced disappointment over the lack of Alliances being included, but the [disappointment] I voiced surely wasn't strong enough. That is not to say, however, that I was never excited about the advent of guild Alliances - far from it - but simply because I am not that high up in guild politics, so the feature didn't affect me too much. Though perhaps it was better that we did not see Alliances yet. Due to the nature of this upcoming feature - ideally designed to help smaller guilds - we would not have seen its full impact over the course of a mere weekend. When Factions launches and we see it unfold, that will be when we see the true test of it.
Another component that wasn't included in the Factions Preview Weekend was the entire world of Factions itself. While it is understandable that the entire world is not unlocked, it is still quite worthy of note. We were given a very small look at the world and by and large, the areas we experienced were very similar (most of my time was spent in green seabeds). While I did not get to explore all that was available - there was some differentiation later on - it still remains that we did not see a large survey of the lands available for us. Ah well, we'll get the larger survey at release.
Unless I am terribly mistaken, another feature that was not included is the new additions to Guild Halls and the storage agents therein. The reasoning behind the latter could be obvious: ArenaNet did not want any Factions items making their way to the live game, so it makes sense to cut them out. Though the former, that meets some disappointment: some really wanted to see the new Guild Halls but we were never given the opportunity.
At the end of the day, that which wasn't included isn't all that big of a deal - besides guild Alliances that is - and perhaps more should have been excluded. I know that everyone was anxious about giving the upcoming expansion a test drive, but they do have to hold back on some features. We must be surprised at something, mustn't we? We certainly will be, I think.
Problems Arising
One of the major stepping stones that ArenaNet will have to wrangle with as we move closer to release, is the problem of Faction Imbalance. As seen earlier this week at Guild Wars LQGaming, one of our staff writers, Skyy High, feels that this won't be a problem. Others, such as myself, think it may be. Even if it won't be a problem in practice, I certainly hope that ArenaNet has a back up plan in mind that will ensure that a proper faction balance is evident. I don't think I need to remind anyone - particularly those of the Luxxon faction - of the unusually long wait times for Competitive Missions.
The other problem that arose during the Preview Event - which I will not go into terrible detail with - are particular builds and how they effect Alliance Battles specifically. As you will see in some of the discussions listed below, some builds did some out-right domination while others, not so much. There are two things to keep in mind with this though: the first is that the player determination for Alliance Battles are fairly random and secondly, ArenaNet will be able to see fairly clearly if particular builds dominate and will fix them in time for release.
I do have to say that this section is very short because there wasn't too many problems at all. For me, it was a very enjoyable weekend, being able to experience the new content being prepared for us by ArenaNet and I wasn't disappointed in the least (except perhaps, being barred from the entire world). Some people see things a little different, which you will see evident in the links below.
Factions Discussion Links
Shortly before the Factions Preview Event began, I opened up a discussion board on our forums devoted entirely to the event. You, the community, responded in a very positive way and discussed the event at length, its positives and negatives and overall impressions. Couple that with two of our "Topic of the Weeks" we have accumulated significant discussion and debate about the upcoming expansion. For those who have been out of the loop, or simply want to catch up a little bit, can visit the links below and you'll learn all that you missed. You may even feel the need to continue more of those discussions, and I encourage you to, as I won't close down the Preview Event Discussion board until this Sunday (April 2 / 2006) or maybe a couple days later. Without further ado, the links:
Alliance PvP
Factions Preview, your thoughts?
Coolest Items You Can't Keep?
Well, I Wasn't Impressed
FPE Kurzick Bias
Skill Additions in Factions and Skill "Balance"
Strategy in Alliance Battles
TotW: Faction Missions and Alliance Battles
TotW: Will You Buy Factions?
In Closing
For many people, the recent Factions Preview Event sold them on the upcoming expansion, while turned others off it. Whether you are in one mindset or the other, you cannot deny the openness of ArenaNet. Though it does seem to be a norm in the industry these days, it was very appealing to know that ArenaNet is willing to let players experience their new content, and we certainly did in the way of Alliance Battles and Competitive Missions. At the same time, while they do this, some content is restricted to leave us wanting for more and that will only be beneficial for Guild Wars in the long run.
With that this Factions Preview Event Wrap Up article comes to an end. If you missed the event for whatever reason I certainly hope this article helped you catch up. Even if you were around for the event - maybe only part of it - this wrap up should of acted as a refresher and I hope you get some use out of it. Lastly, if any of you, our readers, have anything to add, please post your comments on the appropriate news thread (linked at the end of this article) and we'll certainly amend this piece to reflect the new information. It will only benefit more readers in the end.
For the time being, head on out there and enjoy your adventures in Tyria while it lasts. I daresay that once Factions is released, and Cantha is unleashed, most, if not all of you, will be busy there and forget that Tyria even exists.
So what did you think of this article? Did you like it? Did you find it useful? Or maybe you didn't like it at all? Be sure to tell us about it on this thread!
