Guild Wars 2 Preview

The folks at BeefJack have a new preview for ArenaNet’s upcoming Guild Wars sequel, and while it doesn’t look to be based on some hands-on time with the game or contain any new snippet of information, it should still serve reminding you why the title is looking promising so far. Here’s a sampling:

Doing away with traditional questing, Guild Wars 2 offers a unique system of reward for each player who has worked cooperatively toward a PvE objective. Rather than requiringeveryone to pause and form player groups, the game lets anyone simply launch headlong into the fray, and each player will be rewarded based on how much effort they put in to achieving the goals of the encounter. Although this means it will be easier to gain experience and gold by just being in the right place at the right time, you can by no means just stand in the middle, go AFK, and hope to be handsomely rewarded for your idle posing.

Why would you want to, anyway? Aside from the updated graphics and real-time play, we’ll be introduced to a richer skill-based combat system that rewards innovation and teamwork. Mixing and matching skills for your character promises to be an art of its own, but when combining players’ moves and abilities for cross-profession combos, real strategy enters the equation.

If a warrior whirls through a wall of fire laid down by an elementalist, he swiftly becomes a spinning juggernaut of flame and steel. With eight professions and access to uncountable personally tailored skill sets, the number of possible combos is set to be massive.