Fort Yak Maneuver

Guild Wars was fun before, but lately it’s been kicking into high gear now that enough friends are playing that we can form a full 6-player team. Without any foolish NPC henchmen to steal loot and wander aimlessly into massive aggro, it’s been fabulous frantic fun taking on some of the really difficult sections of the Guild Wars world. While in normal play, the inability to fully explore the terrain can be maddening, in really difficult areas (as in areas where the enemies are too difficult to simply zerg to death), it can make the difference between glorious victory and a complete wipe out. Because things like range and movement speed are meant to be manipulated, tactics like flanking and (limited) kiting once more have relevance.

One particularly memorable tactic had us luring a large group of enemies into the gate of a random stone pen of giant yaks and pummeling the enemies in the chokepoint. Also great fun is the Vengeance resurrection spell that restores you to full for 30 seconds, after which you simply die again (no additional Death Penalty, though). When we first started using it, it was so odd having the full party and then seeing people simply drop dead all over the place. Eventually we all got used to it, but it’s still rather amusing to see. Sadly, our Lornar Pass expedition ended in failure, although we were able to get to the second zone fairly efficiently on our second try. The first try ended in an unexpected excursion to the Underworld, where the enemies are so ridiculously powerful they can do over 1,000 damage in under 10 seconds *__*.

The strongest part of the game so far has been the fast-paced action that really emphasizes preparation and teamwork. We all had to tweak our skills to combat the enemies in Lornar pass, and for the most part it worked. Although I had wanted to try tanking, I found that because there is no taunt ability, there is no real tanking per se. More often there is simply a front line and a back line. I’ve reverted back to primary healer, and I really enjoy it, even if I am watching hp bars pretty much the whole fight. Healing is different in Guild Wars in that you don’t have to worry about building hate from heals, but conserving mp and keeping up with damage can be extremely difficult. The great thing is that we are using TeamSpeak, and so instead of trying to type a coherent message while keeping up with heavy damage, I can simply call out that I need a backup heal or a protection spell on a party member. Really good stuff.

In fact, because of how great the game has been recently, I’m doing a piece on my monk character for the “Digital” drawing theme. I’m a bit late, since I was a little too ambitious, but I want to try some neat Photoshop effects, so hopefully it will be worth it. In lieu of an art update, I’ve put up some pics below.

For those who are interested, I’ve uploaded a few screenshots of the game. Since Guild Wars has some of the most beautiful and varied scenery I’ve ever seen in a game, I take a lot of shots as if I was a tourist visiting for the first time. My two favorite are the sunflower shot (so Van Gogh!), and the stained glass shot (stupid Stefan kept trying to run in front of the camera).

• Yaks grow larger if you massage them
• Even catacombs can be brightened up with houseplants
• Summer in Virginia
• Bamboo forests! No panda express, though
• One of many pretty ponds
• Just one bottle of this water will run you 3 platinum, so stick with the cheap Dwarven Ale
• Greetings from Cancun
• Still looking for that Sunflower Samurai
• I thought I told you not to press the red button…
• Next ride on Maid of the Mist is at 2:00 PM
• I’d run, but…
• Running is for weaklings!!!
• This cottage cheese may have been in the fridge a little bit too long…
• Well at least the Chaar didn’t destroy that one window

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