We all have things we love about Guild Wars 2, places that make us cheer out and say “yes, this is my ultra-mega place!” We all have classes, abilities, and features we’re passionate about, either negatively or positively. This is a place to share all that. A couple times a week I’ll be raising a Guild Wars 2 question to the community– hopefully an interesting one– and we’ll share our opinions. I’ll start off with my opinion just to get the ball rolling, but these questions will not have any right or wrong answers, so feel free to argue with me to your heart’s content!
Guild Wars 2 is filled with some very gorgeous maps and locations, and not just locations situated plain in sight, open to the air. Even hidden caves and light-filled crevices can be quite beautiful, which kind of adds to the whole exploration theme the game has going on. Another place of beauty is underwater. The oceans and inlets around Lion’s Arch are some of the most beautiful underwater spots in the game, full of tropical life, plants, and just about everything you’d expect in a real ocean. Props to the environment team! The ice-covered lakes out in the middle of the snowdrift-covered areas are also particularly enchanting, in my opinion.
Despite the beauty of GW2′s underwater areas, many players aren’t as enthusiastic about the actual combat underwater. Most of the underwater weapons make logical sense (it’d be pretty difficult to spin to win with a greatsword underwater, I’d imagine… though Garen might still be able to pull it off!), but some of the mechanics themselves are a little clunky to work with, especially given the 3D environment.
Some of the underwater weapons also seem fairly underpowered compared to others, which surprised me initially. It’s also interesting that ArenaNet chose to put in an underwater PvP environment (Raid on the Capricorn), which just seems to make any clunky mechanics and/or weapon balance differences stand out even more so.
I originally found underwater combat a little frustrating, but now that I’ve been playing the game a while, I’m actually enjoying it more. I’m a simple person, and I’ll be the first to admit that the immersive nature and exploration-encouraging qualities of underwater combat are my primary reasons for enjoying the plunge. Those are some mighty fine kelp beds and corals. Okay– sold! Now, how do I go about buying some oceanfront property?
And how about you guys? Are you a fan of underwater combat in its present state, or does it need some heavy adjusting before it might be considered fun?
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