Yesterday might have Wednsday for most, but for fans of Guild Wars and ArenaNet, it was Guild Wars 2-day. Not only did we get the final profession reveal (see NOT a minstrel, sadly.) but ArenaNet had a day of Q & A with some of the developers and designers of Guild Wars 2 over on reddit. And to top the day off, there was even some beta details released! As I said, it was ArenaNet’s day and it was glorious.
The Beta
During the reddit Q&A, details about the beta were let loose in the form of the following;
We will officially enter Closed Beta Testing this Friday. It will be marked with an increase in our pool of testers. To clarify, this phase of testing is still under NDA and is not open to the public.
Based on the feedback we get from our current Closed Beta Testing, we will determine the next phases of our beta program in which we will open beta access to more people.
[Source]
And all of this means is that, slowly but surely, Guild Wars 2 is coming. The Closed Beta is their next phase, however, there won’t be any applications and their selection process is known only to those at ArenaNet so I guess you’ll just have to prey to Grenth that you somehow get in. OR. Or…wait for a more open test. I won’t go into it now, but there’s a reason for being selective when it comes to these sort of tests and ArenaNet is being smart about how their doing it.
The Mesmer
And now we come to the part where I get to gush a little. Basically, in a nut shell, the mesmer is a boss. A mesmer will roll your face off all while laughing off his own and you’ll be powerless to do anything except watch and wonder why you didn’t become a mesmer when you had the chance. You see, the thing is, it won’t be his shattering illusions that get you, or his mantras or confusion-conditioning. No, for you see, all of those aspects are not what make the mesmer the best class. Granted, they help, but the defining feature comes in the form of a two-handed weapon that slices, dices, and emits beams of death. OH YES! Mesmers will be wielding greatswords in Guild Wars 2, and it will be GLORIOUS!
How do I know? Why do I say such when it’s painfully obvious that a mesmer’s main mechanic deals with illusions? Well, let me answer with a question of my own. Followed by an explanation, of course. Do you know of Dj Mister Pink? Of course not! I haven’t been on him in months (let alone Guild Wars) but that doesn’t matter. See, Mister Pink aka Pinky, is my Guild Wars mesmer, and what makes him fantastical, is his wonderful sword and shield build I, 99% of the time, run on him. I’ll give you a hint, it uses illusion magic and a little skill called Illusionary Weaponry. but that’s not all!
When Skyrim came out and after plugging at least 200 hours into it, I got bold and decided to creat some very interesting characters. One of which is Melodil. A drunk druid-esque Bosmer(Wood Elf) who roams the land of Skyrim looking to explore its land and people to discover whatever they may have to offer. He has pseudo-naive air about him who never says “no,” to someone in need and always takes time to enjoy a drink with whomever happens to pass him on the roads. Now, I bring Melodil up because his weapons of choices are an enchanted greatsword and a slew of spells that can make friends enemies and enemies friends with a single flick of his wrists (see ILLUSION spells). SO, when the mesmer was revealed and I gazed upon what sort of madness I will be having with the class in the near future, imagine my surprise when I saw that they will be wielding greatswords and using illusion mechanics! Actually, don’t tell anyone, but I squee’d like when I got my first ponies a little girl with excitement.
Now, with this knowledge in-hand, my next course of action is to contemplate making a mesmer my “main” character for GW2, or will my necromancer remain my beloved profession of choice? Probably not, because I’m sure I won’t have a “main” character come Guild Wars 2. And the game is coming. The end of the year draws nearer. Closed Beta testing start Friday, and the gears are moving towards release. My body is ready, ArenaNet.
Needless to say, if one were to see a sylvari running around with a greatsword and ‘Pink’ in their name, be sure to say hello to the best mesmer EVER. Stay lazy, ye minstrels.
