There’s a lot of repetition going on in MMORPGs these days. Developers subscribe to this trend of continuing to implement features that mirror other games because they assume those features are why the games are popular. Class trainers who teach 30+ abilities, for instance. Sure, some gamers like huge arsenals at their disposal. But when one game comes out with 30 abilities learned by spamming the “train” button, the next 35, and the next 45, at some point we have to stand back and say, “Well, wait a minute. Why do we need all this? Why can’t we just customize our abilities right on the battlefield?”

Lucky for us, ArenaNet hasn’t given into the trend. The developers are attempting to think outside of the repetitive MMO box. Even down to the little details of Guild Wars 2, the hints of immersion and innovation are there. Yes, the game has trainers, but not for every aspect of combat. Players are able to switch abilities based on their equipped equipped. Combat can vary extensively between one encounter to the next– all without needing to spend 20 minutes clicking at the trainer. Minor details like this make the difference upon embarking on an adventure into Tyria, because we know that the developers didn’t say, “Let’s do this like those other games.” They said, “Let’s do something different.”

I’m in the same boat as a lot of other people, since the bulk of my MMO experiences have been games that require a monthly subscription, I have virtually no experience buying items from a cash shop for use in my gaming. The Guild Wars 2 Gem Shop will be the first time that I’m actually planning on plunking down some cash to make my gaming experience better. I logged into the game and started browsing the available items, and I couldn’t help but feel a little underwhelmed by what was in there. Now I know that we’re still quite some time out from launch, so I figured what better time than the present to put out some ideas about some new items for the Gem Shop. For those of you who aren’t aware of the items for sale, my colleague Laura Hardgrave wrote an outstanding article titled Previewing the Gem Store. In that article she outlines all the items that currently exist in the Gem Store, and she also touches on the fact that there are no “Pay-to-Win” items in the Gem Shop as well. Keeping with the idea that the Gem Store shouldn’t contain these “Pay-to-Win” items, here are 5 things that I’d like to see on the Guild Wars 2 Gem Store.

Today we were made aware of a financial report put out by KDB Daewood Securities in regards to their future outlook of NCSoft. According to their speculation, they have confirmed that Guild Wars 2 will be released in the US and Europe before the Thanksgiving holiday.

We reiterate our Buy call on NCsoft with a target price of W510,000. We were able to confirm the company’s plans to launch Blade & Soul domestically in 1H and GuildWars 2 in the Us and Europe in 2H. … And we anticipate that Guild Wars 2 will be rolled out in the US and Europe before the Thanksgiving holiday.

These dates are not confirmed by Arenanet or NCSoft and all we have are these financial documents of this Korean based financial firm. Take them with a grain of salt. You can find the original document here.

These speculations match up with most prognosticators; even though there are rumors of an internal ongoing Beta Test, Arenanet has only completed one BWE that has only showcased three out of the five playable races, level capped of 30 out of 80, and the storyline quests are stopped early. We do know, from Arenanet, that the game will be launched this year. It is often speculated that this game will launch this fall and these reports match up with that guess.

Last week, we discussed at length about how cooking will be my tradeskill of choice in Guild Wars 2. Based on feedback that I received, I know there are plenty of you who are looking very seriously at also making this your crafting discipline as well. Here are five tips to help you master the cooking discipline.

1. A great place to start if you’re trying to get some recipes discovered is to think about realistic recipes, as was suggested in my previous article. Taking it a step further, remember that discovered recipes have a maximum of 4 ingredients, so breaking real recipes into 4 basic ingredients is important. We can assume that most real life recipes start with a base such as a meat or a starch, they then have some sort of sauce or water added, and then have a vegetable, and either seasonings or another vegetable added.

NOTE: the following article is based off the BWE1 build.

“Mesmers are magical duelists who rely on deception and confusion to keep their opponents in check. Indecision is their greatest ally. Using powerful illusions to distract, they make sure they never go toe to toe with an enemy; they use their powers and tactics to set up an unfair fight.”

Mesmers were the last class revealed in Guild Wars 2 and also one of the most anticipated when it was revealed. This was because Mesmers in Guild Wars 1 had a prestigious position as the most technical and interesting class to play. The Mesmer reveal video showed many interesting new mechanics such as illusions, group invisibility, blinks and showed unconventional weapon choice for a caster such as greatsword, swords and pistols. Now that the beta is upon us, let’s take a look at the Mesmer class and find out how exactly it works and plays. Obviously since this is an early beta phase, all of this is subject to change in the coming weeks/months until and even after release.

I want to start with a bit of a confession.  I’m a cooking junkie.  Cooking is always my tradeskill of choice in any game that it is available.  I’m a fan of cooking because I love the idea of creating consumables as a tradeskill, as there is always a built in demand due to their limited use.  Other tradeskills must compete with world drops, but Cooks have only a very small amount of competition in this regard.  Further exacerbating the competition factor in Guild Wars 2 is the fact that the Trading Post operates across all servers, and while all crafting disciplines will undoubtedly experience increased competition as a result of this, the built in continuous demand for consumables should help to keep the chefs of Tyria profitable.

Following in the tradition of other Junkies Nation sites, such as Rift Junkies and Guildwars2 Junkies, TERA-Junkies is a premiere fansite, run by hardcore fans for all fans. We will be dedicated to bringing you all the guides, news, and up-to-date happenings of all TERA. TERA took the internet by storm earlier this month and the game’s amazing combat and action-packed gameplay is too hard to ignore. From here on out, we hope that TERA-Junkies.com will be your go-to website for everything you could possibly need for TERA.

TERA-Junkies is brought to you by Ryan Raplee and Jason Dodge, owners of Rerollz Media LLC. Rerollz Media is the owner of Junkies Nation and it’s affiliated network of fansites including RiftJunkies.com, GuildWars2Junkies.com, ForceJunkies.com, DefianceJunkies.com.

Link: WWW.TERA-Junkies.com

Check out some Ranger sPVP action with a Greatsword & Sword/Dagger pet builds. Trait build focuses on Toughness and Vitality to increase survivability. Using three passive signets. Warning: video is low res.

Video after the break.

Guildwars2 Junkies brings you part 2 of 3 of the Ranger in Queensdale series. It’s a quick demo of the first five levels of the Human experience. This time we finish off the second major leg of the story quest, complete a bandit heart inside a cave and then finally show off a random world event that was triggered by a Lady in White.

Video after the break.

Many players eagerly walked into Guild Wars 2′s first beta weekend unsure of what to expect. Some of these players found themselves surprised at the game’s difficulty level. For some, this surprise quickly turned into appreciation. Others were disappointed and frustrated. Opinions are always going to be widespread and varying in a beta event for a game of GW2′s size, but with the case of the game’s difficulty, some interesting opinions, critiques, and reviews surfaced. Which held water? I’ll let you be the real judge, but for now, let’s take a look at some of the beef regarding GW’s difficulty.

The Trading Post system in Guild Wars 2 is one of my favorite features within the game and is truly next generation in its implementation and ease of use.  A great auction system encourages player interaction and provides players with another avenue of playing.  We all know the people who see generating wealth through trading as a game within a game, and we all know people who just never seem to care about buying or selling anything they get.  Arenanet has built their Trading Post system to be extremely powerful for advanced users, but extremely simple for those users who don’t really want to bother with the system.

Here are 5 reasons Why I love the Guild Wars 2 Trading Post. Keep reading to find out what they are!

Guild Wars 2′s Gem Store is one of the most debated topics for curious, prospective players. It’s easy to understand why. Many “free-to-play” MMORPGs offer similar shops, usually known as cash shops or microtransaction shops, and some of the items sold end up severely impacting the game for all types of players. The term often used for these games is “pay to win”, and it’s fairly accurate in most cases. The players with the most shop-bought items generally end up at the top of the food chain, which is unfair for everyone else. The notion of GW2 going this same route leaves a bad taste in many gamers’ mouths.

But will ArenaNet go that route? Many other games have made microtransaction shops that don’t contain items that have such a huge impact on gameplay, and merely contain novelty, vanity, cosmetic, and collectable items. And let’s face it, shops like this do well in popular games, because players love items that bring character to their characters. Character is good in MMOs. Unbalanced godly items are not.

Last weekend we finally got a chance to take Guild Wars 2 for a spin and in turn talk about it! We love when near-to-release games drop the NDA because we finally are able to get our hands on the game and then discuss it with the community at large. Guild Wars 2 is not like any MMORPG released on the market. Sure you have fireballs, swords, and dragons, but the way you play the game is entirely different. You are no longer competing against other players for quest objectives. No longer are you strung out going from quest hub to quest hub doing a laundry list of inane things.

In Guild Wars 2, you are no longer playing a meta game of quests, you begin living in the world. Arenanet has created a game that moves. No matter where you are, the game could be doing something entirely different each time you visit the same place. With all that being said, let’s take a dive into what we loved about Guild Wars 2.

Last weekend we finally got a public look at Guild Wars 2 over their first Beta Weekend Event. The game was available to everyone who pre-purchased the game. We took the time to create a series of videos detailing the starting experience of Guild Wars 2 in the first few levels. We’ll be giving you the basics of game as well as a few tips. Our first video shows the tutorial section of the game and we go over combat and the basics of learning weapon skills. Keep your eye out for part two where we details the first portion of Queensdale a long with the first series of Story Quests.

Catch the video after the break!

The Guild Wars 2 Beta Weekend Event is nearly here! Gamers from around the world will finally get their hands on the game for the very first time. If you’re reading this, you are a GW2 Junkie, and you’re looking for an edge. We want to share with you a few tips that will help you navigate your way around Arenanet’s masterpiece of a game. Some of the systems in Guild Wars 2, such as leveling, combat and skill gains, are very different from what most players might expect. So, instead of spending precious time figuring out the new systems, we’re here to help you get through the learning curve as fast as possible, and get you to tearing down walls in the Mists of World vs. World.

Keep reading for a full range of tips from character customization, to learning what your profession can do.