This is a reference sheet for pve raiders with a stable of alts that are wondering whether it's worth going for any of the specialization ascended weapons that you unlock via achievements rather than crafting. Feel free to ignore if you: a) have a use for these, b) really like the skin/name, or c) only have 1-2 planned raiding alts [in which case, crafting specialized pve weapons is fine for you].
Since I main a guardian/dragonhunter and plan on getting my ele, mesmer, necro, ranger, and engineer into raiding shape, I have a need for a lot of ascended weapons and armor sets. Thus, going for specialization weapons lessens and diversifies the grind. However, the nine ascended weapons in the specialization collection are not all created equal. For one thing, although you can pick their stats, you do so from a list of three choices, and those choices differ per weapon. That means that some weapons are not worth going for. Also, some weapons just aren't as useful to have as others, so unless you are dedicated to a class, it's just not worth it. The chart below shows the name, class that you'll have to have at 80 and do HoT events, etc on for achievements, and my notes.
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Have you ever wondered whether fantasy worlds obey the same laws of physics and biology as the real world? (Hint: in Final Fantasy, the answer is always no). Guild Wars 2, seems built along sturdier principles, despite giving us the wonders of a gate that takes several hundred powder kegs to blow up and the fact that I can swim underwater in plate armor without drowning. Rather, it's the wonders of biology that fail us. Here is a picture of my character completing one of the many 'hearts' scattered around Tyria. You might recognize this one, as it's the heart that gives you rugged leather/linen for karma after you complete it. My character is completing this heart by carrying an aquatic animal. This is Guild Wars 2's rendering of the scariest crab motherfucker that you will ever see. Why have I turned myself into a human fishing boat? Well, this heart is about teaching quaggans to farm crabs. I'll wait while you click that link and verify that I haven't lost my mind. Quaggans, a sentient aquatic species, cannot feed themselves. Now, the quaggan look like manatees, so maybe the devs were thinking, "Here's an 'endangered species' with a Tyrian twist. And there are other races that you have to rescue from hapless slavers, relocate to new homes, and teach survival skills. However, this heart and a similar one where you have to find the quaggans' scattered eggs--that's right, they have lost track of their means of procreation--paints a dark picture of the intellect of these seemingly-intelligent creatures. If you claim racial sympathy with the quaggan in your level 50 story, you get to confront the quaggans' racial aversion to fighting. (Also, that link dialogue is priceless). Mostly by fighting for them while groaning loudly and making quaggan noises (whooOOOoo) at the screen. Then, you get three chapters of the quaggan showing up to 'help' you fight, the way that marshmellows are essential to any successful marathon. However, I will warn you: imitating the quaggan speech style is contagious and addictive. HellooOOoo! FooOOoo on quaggan! Hoo, foo, and boo!
Guild Wars 2 does not have the best voice acting. It doesn't have the greatest writing. Many gamers have criticized its strange, Mortal Kombat-like cutscenes, which the devs then cut in favor of chat bubbles so small that you might miss key story components while fighting, spacing out, or just not looking at that part of your screen. However, the game does one aspect of writing and development very well, and that's what I'd like to focus on today--the random enemies you fight out in the world enhance the world and its narrative arc.
Tyria's undead have a very specific set of call-outs when they engage with you, and when they die. (And props to the writing team for including male and female undead, something that many games neglect). On engage: "More, come here!" "Everyone, come!" "Death...good!" "Here! Over here!" On death: "The light...fades." "Rest..." "At last." Even without me telling you the details of the story, you get the sense that Tyria's undead speak to the dual instincts of their situation: these were once people who have been raised by unholy powers, and yet, at the same time, they're enemies of living creatures and they want to survive themselves. The first set of lines describes the excitement of finding the enemy, and a human-like desire for other people. The second imparts the tragedy and ambivalence of the end of their existence, which comes long after their existences should have ended. Likewise, the GW2 voice actors do a good job of sounding serious and not cartoon-y with these lines. My heart hurt the first time, and even subsequent times, that I heard "the light...fades," despite the fact that my achievements tell me I've killed over a thousand undead thus far. Another case which illustrates this thoughtfulness is the harpy race. Although their call-outs go deeper into the 'cartoon-y' realm, there's something fun about mimicking the way a harpy calls, "Flock to meeeeeeeee!" when you engage it in a fight. Their characteristic death line, "Matriarch take you!" imparts key information about their race, as does the engage line "Die, groundlings!" It's these details that make a game unique, and keep players immersed in the world. |
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