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This post will be a follow-up/do-over of the review I wrote in July after BWE3. The initial review discussed things that I saw in the game based solely on my experience with that one weekend, so this time I'm going to correct some of the things that I was wrong about or that I didn't clearly describe, and remove some of the things that bothered me then that don't now after playing it more or understanding better.
I'm going to go a little bit deeper into the Professions (classes) in this post and relate them to WoW and SWTOR classes for those of you who are still on the fence about what you want to roll. I'll talk about their special class mechanics and try to dispel some of the misconceptions you might have going into it if you aren't already familiar with the GW2 Professions (like Thieves and Stealth).
Character Creation: General
I like the GW2 character creation process, and I think they did a solid job of giving us customization options and I like the majority of what's there. You start off by choosing your race, then you pick your profession (class), and then you start in on customizing your look with a pretty decent amount of control in terms of shape, size and color of your characters attributes.
As I mentioned in the initial review, one of the big differences you'll see during character creation in GW2 versus other MMO's is that there is no faction choice. That's because there are no factions in GW2! You can play with any/all of your friends whenever you want to, and you have no need to fear players of the opposite faction ganking you because there is no opposite faction.
It is also important to note that you can only have characters on a single server in GW2. If you're an altoholic like me, you can't get around the limit to the number of character slots by joining other servers like you could in other games. I'll go into more detail about servers in a moment, but for now just be aware that your five character slots are all you get in GW2 unless you purchase additional character slots from the Gem Store. Servers are the closest thing GW2 has to factions, and we'll get into that more in the server section.
Professions (Classes)
If you've been playing MMO's for a while but are new to GW2, then this is probably going to be the most confusing twist on terminology that you'll see. In GW2 the classes are known as Professions. Crafting professions are just known as crafting. So when someone is talking about professions in GW2, then they are supposedly talking about their class rather than what they can craft. But by nature of the confusion, they may very well be talking about their crafting professions instead. So…just be prepared to be confused. I do my best to call them professions, but I constantly catch myself slipping back into classes.
In my initial review of GW2, I took a very high level look at the classes and just gave a general idea of what the
classes professions do and how they work. Part of that was due to the limited amount of playtime that I had, and part of it was due to me not taking the time or perhaps paying enough attention to really notice some of the details that I had missed. So this time around I'm going to give you a little bit more information about the classes, but I'm not going to go too deep since I have a post (or series of) in mind for that later.
Adventurer Professions
The Adventurer Professions in GW2 wear medium armor, and they have a fair mix of ranged and melee mechanics, and support the full range combat styles that allow players of multiple playstyles to enjoy them.
Engineer: Is one of the two classes that I have little-to-no experience playing yet. They are a primarily a ranged class, but they also have a class mechanic that allows them to use a variety of gadgets and items to increase their versatility including grenades, offensive and defensive turrets (stationary pets), and thrown potions that grant offensive or defensive perks. Because their class mechanic gives them access to so many extra spells, the Engineer is one of only two classes that cannot swap their weapon during combat.
In terms of WoW, they are like a marriage of the Hunter and Shaman classes, using the toys that come with the Engineering profession. If you were to relate it to SWTOR, then it would be the Trooper/Bounty Hunter class with a built-in Biochem profession.
Ranger: In order to fully grasp the Ranger class, you need to step out of the MMO world for a second and go back to Lord of the Rings or Dungeons & Dragons. Rangers can be either ranged or melee, depending on weapon selection. Their special class mechanic is their pets, which work similarly to how pets work for Hunter-style classes in most other MMO's, with each having one signature ability for the species in addition to its normal attacks.
Relating them to WoW there's the clear affinity to the Hunter, but Rangers can also be incredibly effective in melee giving them a playstyle somewhat similar to a Thief or DPS Warrior. The SWTOR equivalent would be DPS Smuggler/Agent or Knight/Warrior.
Thief: Thief is one of the most generic kinds of characters for any fantasy game out there, so most of what you would think of will hold true. The key difference between GW2 Thieves and other thief/rogue classes out there though, is Stealth. In GW2 Stealth is not something that you can hang out in whenever you want to. Instead, Stealth lasts for anywhere from 1-4 seconds and that's it. When most people think of the Thief archetype, they think "assassin" when what they really need to think of something more along the lines of Batman or a Mistborn if you're familiar with Brandon Sanderson's work.
Their special class mechanic is Steal which teleports you to the target and changes the Steal ability to a one-use spell that's related (loosely) to your target. The spells can do a lot of different things, including AoE damage, stealth, crowd control, (de)buffs, and healing. The random nature of the spell turns a lot of people off of using it for anything other than it's teleportation effect. Each target has a set group of spells that Steal can become, but which of those it ends up as is random so you never know what you're going to end up with for sure.
The GW2 Thief isn't about sneaking around in stealth and then opening up with a huge spike of damage followed by tons of crowd controlling stuns. So in WoW terms yes you will be playing similar to a Rogue, but mostly a Combat spec Rogue, and also the Hunter and even a touch of Mage. For SWTOR, you have some obvious ties to the Scoundrel/Agent or Shadow/Assassin, but also the Sentinel/Marauder with a touch of Madness Sorcerer/Balance Sage.
Scholar Professions
Scholar Professions wear light armor and are what you would typically associate with "clothies" in that they are casters and tend to be more squishy and suited to damage, healing, and controlling playstyles.
Elementalist: The Elementalist is a basically a wizard, as I'm sure you could guess by the title. They cast spells that are tied to the elements of Fire, Water, Air, and Earth. Their class mechanic allows them to switch between each of those four elements which has a different set of spells tied to each of them. So where every other class has 5 spells associated with each of their weapon sets, an Elementalist has 20 (5 x 4 elements). For that reason, Elementalists also cannot swap weapons during combat as having access to 20 spells vs 5 is already imbalanced enough that 40 vs 5 would just be ridiculous.
While the Elementalist has tons of spells associated with it, each of the spells that are tied to each weapon also takes on some trait of the weapon itself. For example, Dagger spells have a smaller range while Staff spells have larger areas of effect. This also does a good job of making the Elementalist feel different from one weapon to another despite such a large spellbook.
In WoW terms the Elementalist has obvious connections to the Mage, but it also relates to the Destruction Warlock, Priests of all specs and a bit of Resto Shaman as well. From SWTOR it would tie easily to the Sage/Sorcerer, and has some small relation to the Commando/Mercenary.
Necromancer: Another classic name that relates well to its implied roots. Necromancers focus on dark magic which includes lots of debuffs, summoning undead minions, and stealing life force from their victims. Weapon selection can have a pretty big impact on how the class plays and how aggressive you'll be, as well as whether you'll deal damage directly, over time, or in a trap-like fashion.
Their special class mechanic is called Death Shroud which takes the life force stolen from targets and converts it into a special resource bar that allows you to turn into a shadowy form with a different list of spells. Death Shroud converts the Life Force resource bar into a secondary life pool, and while in Death Shroud you use of your Life Force in order to cast your spells. You might have to try it for yourself to fully grasp how it works, but Death Shroud makes it possible for Necromancers to be incredibly durable.
In WoW terms, the Necro is linked closely to Warlocks and has some traits of the Mage, Shadow Priest, Survival Hunter, and distantly the Assassination Rogue. In SWTOR the Necromancer would be most like the Balance Sage/Madness Sorcerer, but the spells are so different in general that there's not really a great SWTOR class that matches the Necro.
Mesmer: Mesmers are a very odd and interesting caster class that focuses on illusions and chance. Their special class mechanic is their illusions and the ability to "Shatter" (sacrifice) them for different effects. Shatter can be used to deal AoE damage, apply Confusion which deals damage when the target uses abilities, Daze which is like an interrupt of a "soft" stun, or Distortion which causes you to evade all incoming attacks.
Chaos is sort of the name of the game when it comes to Mesmers as a lot of the spells apply a random buff to allies and/or debuff to enemies, and some are just sort of interestingly bizarre like the fact that they can wield a Great Sword but the damage that it does is increased the further away you are from the target.
To relate the Mesmer to WoW you can only do so loosely. It has a touch of Warlock, Shadow Priest, Rogue, Hunter, and Mage. I can't really think of anything in SWTOR that really fits the Mesmer enough to even really say that it fits, but it has a small relation to Sentinel/Marauder and Sage/Sorcerer. With both of these games, the amount of difference outweighs the similarities significantly in my opinion.
Soldier Professions
Soldier Professions wear the heavy armor, and as you would expect that means they tend to be much sturdier than the other classes.
Guardian: Guardians do a great job of living up to their name. They use melee weapons exclusively, but the majority of their attacks have either some element of AoE damage to them, or they both deal damage to enemies and heal your allies at the same time or debuff your enemies while buffing your allies. They have excellent survivability because of how many abilities they have that provide survivability in the form of added healing, boons (buffs) and conditions (debuffs) on top of their heavy armor.
Their special class mechanic consists of three Virtues: Courage which provides a guaranteed block every 40 seconds and can be activated for an immediate bock to you and your allies, Justice which makes every fifth attack burn your target and can be activated to make your and your allies' next attack apply burning, and Resolve which gives you regeneration and can be activated to heal yourself and your nearby allies.
In WoW terms, the Guardian had definite ties to the Paladin, as well as the Warrior, Priest, and maybe a touch of Warlock if you look at it right. For SWTOR the Guardian would be your Guardian/Juggernaut, and to some extent your Vanguard/Powertech but with less mid-range capability.
Warrior: The only class that I haven't even rolled yet to get an idea of how they play because the concept of a warrior is so overwhelmingly popular in gaming. Warriors can use almost every weapon in the game, giving them a good deal of versatility, and also allowing you to play a Warrior in a way that does not feel like every other game out there. For example, you can have a Warrior that uses a Rifle as their primary weapon and stays ranged almost exclusively.
The Warrior's class mechanic is called Adrenaline which stacks up to three times. Each weapon has a specific ability that uses adrenaline, and the more adrenaline you have when you use it the more powerful the effect of it is. Most of these adrenaline burst skills have some form of AoE damage or deal a large amount of damage to the target as well as giving the Warrior a boon (buff) or the target a condition (debuff).
In WoW terms, the Warrior is obviously a Warrior, but it also has some Hunter, Paladin, Feral Druid and a bit of Shaman as well. For SWTOR the obvious links would be to the Knight/Warrior classes, with a little Smuggler/Agent thrown in for good measure.
User Interface (UI)
The UI for GW2 is pretty basic, and while it does have some customization it doesn't have very much. Most of what you can customize right now is the scale of the UI overall and how large your minimap and chat windows are. I used to really love modifying my UI when I played WoW, but playing SWTOR with its limited UI customization prior the Jesus patch removed my reliance on that.
That being said, I certainly wouldn't mind having more control over my UI. I'm mostly interested in being more in control of where mine and my opponent's health bars are. By default your health is centered at the bottom of your screen and your target's is centered at the top which makes keeping a close eye on them both a bit difficult. Because of their position, I have to put more effort into looking away from what's going on with the combat itself to see where my health is in relation to my target's and determining whether or not I need to push for a more evasive/healing style or if I should push for more DPS to finish them off before they down me. I would also prefer to see hard numbers on my target's health bar rather than just visually noting the percentage that they have left, but that's just a personal preference that really doesn't matter.
Now, before someone else goes ape $*&@ about me wanting WoW's addons that play the game for me, let me say that I do not in any way want that to be the case. I want more control over what I see, and where it's displayed — I'm not looking for something that tells me when to jump or move, or call out when my opponent is casting Spell X. But I would like to be able to move things where I want them to be, such as moving the health bars to the center of my screen and next to one another so that I can keep full track of our health totals with my peripheral vision while I focus on what my target is actually doing so that I can see when I need to reaction with dodges and evades, or when I need to prep an AoE healing spell for a group when I know a big damage effect is about to be cast.
I've seen some information online recently that indicates that ArenaNet has no intention of ever allowing mods or customization to the UI beyond what they have in the game right now. Over time, I'm sure I'll get used to the current system enough that it won't bother me any more, but at this point I've played so many other games and for such a long time that do allow me to have that amount of control over where things are positioned that it bugs me to no longer have that control.
Overall, I do like the UI for GW2. I like that they allow you to open multiple windows that stack on top of each other by default, and that you can move them all around however you please and the game remembers those positions. I just wish that I had a little more control over where that information was displayed because you can't tell everything just by looking at your character or your target. You can tell a lot, they did a great job of giving visual clues about what boons and conditions are present and so forth, but not all of those have a something visual either. I certainly wouldn't say that the UI is a turn off or a reason to stay away from the game, even if you are used to that level of customization in other games.
Combat & Removing the Holy Trinity
In GW2 they have done away with the traditional MMO roles of Tank, Heals, DPS. Some people do consider GW2 to have it's own version of the trinity which is Heals, DPS, and Control but even if you do consider it to be a trinity it doesn't actually work the same way because of how they changed things to remove the holy trinity.
Combat in GW2 is much more mobile that most of the other mainstream MMO's, and it's a concept that has caused problems for a lot of players who didn't know that going into it. Everyone is able to heal, everyone is able to Dodge incoming attacks, and very few spells require you to stand still while you cast them even if they have a cast time or a channeled element to them. Kiting is a skill that everyone will need to develop if they have any hopes of surviving even just the leveling process, and anyone who was so used to facerolling things in WoW because of great tanks or overpowered gear that they didn't even know how to use their CC abilities is in for a rude awakening in the form of deaths and repair bills.
Another thing that's different in GW2 is that, depending on your class, 33%-80% of your available spells are tied to your weapon(s), and each class only has access to either 1 or two sets of weapons during combat. So even though your Ranger has some fantastic damaging attacks with his Longbow, some sweet movement spells on his Great Sword, and some killer condition damage on his Sword & Torch combo, he can't use all three of those in the same fight.
I mentioned before that my personal preference would be to have access to my whole spellbook. I still stand by that as a matter of personal preference, though I know some of the readers took it as me saying one thing when I meant another. To explain a bit further, I'd really like to use the third spell from my Great Sword even when I'm not actually using that weapon. I'd be perfectly fine with swapping out the third spell on my current weapon in order to have access to it, but my personal preference would be that if I know how to take a running leap at someone then I know how to take a running leap regardless of the weapon in my hands when I do it.
That being said, I made the point at a time when most of my experience with the game had been with spellcasting classes. It wasn't until I started playing more melee focused classes that I saw how unrealistic that would be with the way the game is set up. In some cases it would make sense, like if I can cast a wall of fire with a Dagger then why can't I do it with a Staff? But then you get into melee classes, or non-casters rather, and you see that it wouldn't make sense for you to shoot five arrows when you're wielding a sword. Sure, you could modify the animation and the text or whatever, but you come to a lot of situations with physical attacks where doing that just wouldn't make sense. If they had made buttons 1, 2, and 3 all be weapon-specific and then let 4 be a movement spell of your choice, and 5 be an AoE of your choice or something like that then it would make sense to allow you to pick and choose, but it just doesn't work with this setup.
Having gotten much more play time in now, I don't mind the current set up nearly as much today as I did right after my first time experiencing the game. There are still times where it bugs me that I don't have access to that one spell (usually a movement spell) when I'm using other weapons that are more effective in actual combat, but I do like what that adds to the game as well. At first that whole aspect simply annoyed me, but now it has started to grow on me. Even though there are those times that I wish I had access to that spell, there are other times where I accidentally draw agro from 4-5 mobs at once that I've struggled to kill one of before and I'm able to solo them all because I made good weapon choices and utilized my skills to the fullest. The awesome factor from those situations has surpassed the annoyance factor of not having that one spell that would save me, what, 15 seconds of running? Not a big deal in the long run.
Now let's take a little bit closer look at the trinity:
Tanking: While GW2 does have an agro table that determines who a monster is going to attack, there are no taunts that force a mob to attack a certain person and the formula for determining agro is unknown so there's no way to manipulate agro. Tanks in GW2 will not be focusing on holding agro so much as they'll be focusing on the survival of themselves and their allies via control spells, healing, and boons & conditions (buffs & debuffs).
Healing: Every profession in the game has access to healing spells, so there are no dedicated healers either. You can certainly spent your talent points to improve your healing spells and gear for additional healing, but there are no healing spells that can be spammed so even when you have modified your spec to focus on healing you literally cannot sit there casting healing spells over and over because every healing spell has a cooldown. While every class can heal themselves, and many of them have an AoE healing spell or two, the number of healing classes so to speak is very limited and even they can't cast heal after heal after heal.
DPS: DPS is something that you certainly can do in GW2, and basically every player will be doing it to some extent. The biggest change for DPS is the same as the tanks, which is the lack of taunts. DPS players will have to react what's going on around them to avoid getting themselves killed, and they will have to pull away from dealing damage and heal themselves when they start to get low.
Control: The new addition in GW2's trinity of sorts, Control is about using effects that limit enemy movement and abilities to reduce their effectiveness against your group, or doing the same to promote your allies movement and abilities to improve your own effectiveness. Control is one of those roles where you have to really know which spell to use and when, or else you find yourself under performing or using up so many of your spells all at once that suddenly you can't do your job.
Effective Level System
GW2 uses a semi-horizontal leveling system, where-in your effective character level is reduced when you go to zones that are lower level than you actually are. So if you take a level 20 character into a level 4 zone, then your stats are reduced to make you "effectively" as powerful as a level 4 character. You don't lose access to any of your spells or gear, and all of the benefits of your talent points are still in effect as well, but your overall power is reduced so that even in that level 4 zone you will find some things challenging.
The GW2 system is semi-horizontal because while you will get effectively lowered so that low level zones remain challenging, it does not increase your effective level to allow you to take a level 4 character into a level 20 zone and hope to survive. So a level 20 in a level 4 will have to be careful but shouldn't be too challenged, but a level 4 in a level 20 would be dead.
I mentioned in my initial review that I both loved and hated this system because the thought of being able to go back to a low level area on my main character to play with my friends thrills me, but sometimes I enjoy going to a low level area and destroying the mobs there while I farm nodes or farm for something special from killing a mob. Having had more time to play the game now, I don't really mind that there's not a way to toggle the reduced level on or off. I've had the opportunity now to see the system in action a bit more and even if the mobs aren't a total push over because of my reduced stats, I'm still more powerful because of my gear and talent points.
As one of the readers pointed out in the initial review, if you could turn if off just for trivial things like farming, you could also turn it off for not-so-trivial things like special event bosses that they put in lower level zones that are intended to be difficult for everyone, and a system like this allows that to be an epic encounter for even level 80 characters where being able to toggle it on/off at will would destroy that functionality. If I had the choose between being able to participate in an epic encounter with all of my toons, including the low level ones, and being able to lazily farm mats then I would gladly go for the epic encounter.
You can't add content to a level 20 zone in WoW and expect it to be a challenge for anyone above level 24. Heck, in the modern era of enchanted heirlooms you can't really expect it to be a challenge for anyone above level 16 (or a skillfully geared level 10 twink). Low level zones then become a complete bore to the majority of the player base. With a system that reduces your effective level to be equal to the content though, you can constantly add things to any zone that you want to, regardless of its level range, and still have it be challenging.
With a vertical scaling game like WoW or SWTOR, the gameplay is designed to be grindy so that you face content that's hard when you first get to it, but then the more you do the better your gear becomes and the easier the content gets until it's no longer a challenge, then you move on to the next challenge and the same thing over and over. One of the major drawbacks to vertical scaling system is that it creates level brackets which divides the playerbase. You end up with players who are level 1-10 that can't play with anyone higher than them, but the level 11-20 players don't want to bother going back to the 1-10 area because it would be too easy/boring. But the 11-20 players can't go hang with the 21-30 players because their bracket is too hard, and the 21-30 players don't want to bother with the 1-20 zones because they're too easy/boring or because they've gone through that grind so many times on so many characters that they never want to go back. Since they never add new content to low level zones because of this grindy bracket system, nothing ever makes that zone desirable to higher level players again.
Balancing Issues: It should be pointed out though that there are some cases where the effective leveling system has some balancing problems right now. We had two dynamic events last night when we were in areas with an effective level 3-5 levels below us, but the mobs that spawned were 3-5 levels higher than the effective level. If there had been a lot of players in the area then the level difference might have been overcome easily, but in these particular cases there were less than 10 players present and the mobs were two-shotting everyone. In one of those events the raptors that were spawning were also higher quality monsters (I forget the actual terms used for GW2), so they were stronger than a normal mob of that level would be to begin with.
So if you're playing the game right now and just trying it out to see whether or not you really want to invest in it, be aware that right now there are some balancing issues that they will hopefully take another look at. We submitted tickets to bring the issue to their attention last night after Fyn died for the sixth time or so even with me geared and specced as an Elementalist healer, so hopefully they see that it's an issue and get it resolved soon.
How Servers Work
In Guild Wars 2 servers are the closest thing a faction that you're used to from games like WoW (Alliance vs. Horde) or SWTOR (Republic vs. Empire) in that it's the only form of barrier that exists between players. However, it's unlike both of those games because the barrier only exists in a single form known as World vs. World PvP (WvW, WvWvW, WuvWuv, or however else you want to say it).
You can only have characters on a single server in GW2. If you purchase a server transfer, then your transfer moves all of your characters at the same time, not just a single character like you might be familiar with from other MMO's. But again, the only reason to move from one server to another is for the sake of WvW PvP. World vs. World PvP plays a big part in the overall concept of the game, but it doesn't have to be something that you participate in if PvP isn't your thing.
The reason why WvW matters beyond just being another activity is because the worlds (servers) during the WvW matches grant a buff to their entire server that increases tons of things from stats to experience gains to magic find. Your server can never accomplish anything at all in WvW and everyone would still be able to play the game just fine, but if you happen to be on a server where a large population of PvP players or big guild alliances are found then you can end up with a lot of those bonuses which will make things easier or perhaps more enjoyable in some situations.
WvW aside, you can whisper people on any server, from any server. You can send mail to any player, regardless of server. Once they turn the feature on after server populations settle you'll also be able to join groups with anyone from another server, even multiple people from multiple different servers. My understanding is that you can use that same cross-server grouping for Structured PvP (sPvP) as well once it's live, but I'm not 100% sure on that part.
So while different servers serve a similar purpose to factions from other games in regards to WvW, none of that exists outside of that so it's easier to play with your friends in GW2 than almost any other MMO out there. Add that to their effective leveling system and you can really start to see how much effort ArenaNet has put into allowing people to play what they want, with who they want.
Grouping: My Biggest Gripe
I'm a big fan of Guild Wars 2, but that doesn't mean I'm blind to its faults. Some of the gripes that I have about the game are just gripes and likely more than a little selfish, some are more legit, and some are possibly just bugs in the system.
To keep this post focused on the positive, I'm not going to get into the little things that annoy me personally, but for the sake of giving an honest review that people can look at and say, "that appeals to me" or "that is reason enough for me not to buy this game" this one needs to be included even though I already talked about it in the initial review.
Before I go further with this, let me explain how the questing system works in GW2 for those of you who haven't had a chance to play the game or study up on it much. In GW2 quests are broken down into three types: Personal Story (PS), Heart Quests (HQ's), and Dynamic Events (DE's).
Personal Story: When you do a PS you are taken to your own instanced area so that you can experience your personal story. Sometimes your group members can join you and sometimes they can't, and in the case of them being the same race as you and at the same point in their own personal story progression the quest may or may not count for them based on the quest itself and which choices they made during character creation and/or in previous personal story dialogue options.
Heart Quests: These are static quests that are always available in the world, but not typically repeatable. You can usually participate in the events related to the HQ, but you won't typically be rewarded for your efforts. HQ's are designed to give you an idea of the intended progression around the map. When you talk to a Scout who shows you different parts of the map and highlights the HQ's for you, you can see the quest level of each HQ to get an idea of what level they are and thus what order you should approach them in. They're sort of a map within your map. Dynamic Events typically spawn in areas near the HQ's, so following those around in order of level should give you a good idea of where to look for level appropriate quests.
Dynamic Events: Dynamic Events are the heart blood of GW2's questing system. They can be triggered by a number of things, including: population in the area, talking to a trigger NPC, completing (or failing) a related HQ or DE, or a certain amount of time passing. These are infinitely repeatable, but they are only available when the trigger event takes place. Because the triggers can change and take place or not take place, and the cooldowns related to them, it's possible that you could level a character to level 10 and then go roll that exact same character and level in the same area following the same path and not do 100% of the same DE's with both characters. Some of the DE's would surely be the same, but it's possible one or both toons would experience DE's that the other did not, and it's possible that there are still others in those same areas that neither of your characters got to see. The concept continues through the entire game.
The Issue With Grouping
In GW2 joining a group with other players provides only one real benefit over not being in a group at all – party chat. That's the only thing you get out of joining with someone else versus just being in the same place as someone else. Your efforts don't count towards their progress any more than if you weren't in a group with them, you have no idea how close they are to completing it or what else they need to do to complete it unless they tell you via chat or VOIP, and sometimes your presence is actually a hindrance to them.
Your PS is tied to your character, that's why it's personal, so it makes sense that these are intended to be soloed to at least some degree. However, PS is also the only type of quest where having someone in your group versus not having someone in your group can have a direct impact on the quest's result because by nature of being personal only people who are in your group can participate. But, not all of the PS's allow your group members to join you.
HQ's on the other hand take place in the open world. Unless the context of the quest is specifically per-individual, it makes sense that two people helping each other to accomplish a task should be completed more quickly than a person doing it alone. However, being in a group gives you no benefit at all in a HQ because the actions of one person do not impact the actions of another. The closest you can come is killing mobs because two people killing the same monster will go faster than you killing it solo. But keep in mind, you both have to be in combat with that mob when it dies in order for you to get credit for it. If I kill a mob you need for your HQ and you never took a swing at it, then you get no credit for it regardless of whether or not you're in my group. The same used to be true for gathering items in an HQ as well, but from the quests we did in early access it seems like they have changed that so that items gathered for quests are instanced similarly to crafting nodes now.
Dynamic Events are similar to HQ's in set up, being focused on certain areas in the world, but the completion of the event itself is the goal rather than an individual's progress. Your reward is based on your contribution, but whether or not the DE is completed and how quickly is determined by everyone's contribution in the entire area. So if Bob runs through a DE area and kills one mob before running off to do PvP, then he will get his contribution for the one mob and even his one mob counts towards the progress of all of us. So during DE's, essentially everyone is in one group even if you're not actually in a group at all and never intentionally do anything to help another person.
So, in the case of PS's, being in a group can provide a benefit of speed assuming that the PS allows group members to help you and that the PS involves combat. Some PS's that include a gathering element allow party members to help, and some don't. In the case of being the same race, some PS's allow the quest to count for both of you, while others will make you complete it once for each player even if it does allow your full group to participate at the same time.
In the case of an HQ, being in a party provides no benefit because everyone's progress is personal. Two people killing the same mob at the same time does give credit to both, but that credit would be given regardless of you being in a group together and would still be given whether the other player had a personal, seething hatred for you as a person or they were your spouse of 30 years or a total stranger.
In the case of DE's, it seems like being in a group would be a good thing because everyone's contribution counts, but since their contribution counts regardless of if they are in your group or not it doesn't actually matter.
If group members could contribute to the progression of HQ's and they could join you in all or most of your PS's, then the DE's would be fine just how they are and this wouldn't be a problem at all. With the current system though, minus the exception for the PS's that do allow group performance and do allow multiple players to claim credit for a single completion, GW2 doesn't actually encourage you to help or play with one another so much as it encourages you to follow the pack of players to leech off of the group's performance or to just play solo since there's no point in grouping in the first place. You aren't encouraged to play with other people so much as you're encouraged to play near them.
Now, that's not to say that they discourage grouping, but with the current implementation of grouping you might as well be a solo player following the masses rather than grouping up with a friend. It might not be as social, but since you can join multiple guilds across all servers and chat with anyone on any server, not to mention guild VOIP systems, you really aren't missing out on much in the social realm by being solo.
Leveling: How I Love Thee
With my gripe on grouping out of the way, let me take a minute to talk about what I love the most about this game – the leveling experience itself.
There are a lot of reasons why leveling in general is the thing that I like to focus on the most in MMO's. I don't do it to chew through the content as quickly as possible, I do it to experience the growth and progression of the characters themselves and to see how I can stretch my skills in the different level ranges to accomplish hard tasks with limited tools or resources.
I also level because that's the aspect that I enjoy blogging about the most. I haven't done much in the way of writing leveling guides since I stopped playing WoW frequently last December with the launch of SWTOR, but leveling guides have been my passion since shortly after I started blogging. For those of you who may be new to my blog, I want to let you know that my leveling guides aren't the kind that tell you where to level and which quests to do an all that, I'm not into that crap at all. My guides are written to help you understand your class and its abilities, and how to play the class better or in a more enjoyable way to help your performance.
Alright, I got a bit side tracked there, so let's get back to leveling –
The way the spells and weapons system works in GW2 makes it so that each class can feel incredibly different just by changing your weapons. A Ranger using a Axe/Dagger vs. a Longbow for example, a Warrior with a Great Sword vs. Rifle, a Rogue with Dagger/Dagger vs. Shortbow — it allows the experience of playing the character to be so different that each class can feel like multiple classes. I really love that there is so much versatility built into that system and that the weapons themselves allow you to cross the line of what something is "supposed" to feel like. Just pushing the button to change weapons mid-combat can have the same affect as switching your spec in WoW. Just imagine if you could go from a Feral Druid to a Balance Druid or an Operative healer to a Sniper DPS in the middle of the a fight with no problem.
And that's just the beginning of the what's so cool about the leveling process in GW2. That's not even including the combo fields that you can create either with just your own spells or when you combine them with the spells of other people in your group or in your area. It's just a whole new level of involvement that you could ignore if you weren't interested, or you could fully explore if you were.
I also like that there are so many ways to earn experience in this game, and that doing so gives you the ability to spend your time doing what you want to do. Some things are certainly more efficient than others in terms of earning experience, but you can still level by focusing on whatever aspect of the game you love the most. Generally speaking the three things I enjoy doing the most in MMO's is questing, crafting, and PvP and in GW2 you get experience points for doing all three of those.
I really enjoy the questing system in GW2 as well. I don't think it's perfect, but I do like a lot of the different aspects of their questing system, particularly dynamic events. If they do continue to add content to all of the different zones in the game, then I think there's really a lot of potential to keep this game moving for a long while. With the semi-horizontal scaling system they have established a great foundation to be able to add content anywhere at any time and keep it relevant which just can't be done in a game with vertical scaling.
With the openness of the servers and how many tools they've put in to allow you to communicate and play with people from any other server, they've really broken down some of the walls that have held other games back. Blizzard has picked up on that in their more recent history with things like RID grouping and so forth, but they still don't have the full structure in place yet to really make the servers essentially non-existent.
Too Long; Didn't Read
Too long? We barely topped 7,500 words!?
Is the game perfect? Not in my honest opinion, no.
Is the game fun? Abso-freaking-lutely!


text:
I wasn't going to post this one, I mean it's just a sausage sandwich, BUT when I tasted that sauerkraut relish I was over-the-moon speechless. This sauerkraut relish is amazing people, amazing. It is quite literally the perfect accompaniment for any type of grilled sausage or hot dog. I swear I want to bottle this stuff up and sell it. If you like sweet, tangy, vinegary, and a bit of heat then this is it for you. I even ate this relish on a sandwich with some hummus. So for my vegan friends, you can totally eat this up with a good veggie burger, hummus or you know what would be good? Falafel! Oh yeah, that good. But then again, I crave the uncraveable!
The whole reason I made this sandwich creation? Not for the relish really, but because I was inspired by an episode of that show Diners, Drive In's & Dives on Food TV. Guy Fieri has the best job in the world and an even better personality as a host. Well, on one of his many ventures they visited Primanti Bros. in Pittsburg, PA. If you're not familiar with Primanti Bros., they are famous for their mile high sandwiches filled with whatever meat be it hamburger, corned beef, roast beef, etc.., then a thick layer of coleslaw, and then a huge layer of french fries, and tomatoes. Crazy sandwich, I totally love it. When I set out to create this sandwich I didn't have any coleslaw, but I has sauerkraut and thus came the sauerkraut relish. Did anyone see that episode or better yet ever go to Primanti's?
sauerkraut relish
print recipe
1 1/2 to 2 cups Sauerkraut, (from package or jar, not canned), drained really well (I used whole foods brand)
4-5 TB ketchup
3 TB dark brown sugar
Couple dashes of hot sauce (about 5 to 7)
1 TB Worcheshire sauce
A couple pinches of celery seeds
1 package (16 ounces) kielbasa, grilled or fried
Cooked french fries
Warmed crusty rolls or hearty sandwich rolls.
In a medium saucepan combine the drained sauerkraut, ketchup, hot sauce, dark brown sugar, worcheshire sauce, and celery seeds. Heat through.
The sauce should thicken up, if not just let it reduce for a while on low heat.
Meanwhile, grilled or fry your kielbasa.
To assemble, place cooked kielbasa on roll, then a layer of the sauerkraut relish, then the French fries.
I've also used this relish on: hummus roll ups, veggie burger, hot dogs. I will try this with falafel.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Anonymous said...
This used to be one of my favorite blogs, I sure don't care for the negative hatred coming from it lately, not to mention all the false information in regards to the Harris kids etc. Its sad and awful Phil died, but whats even worse is the boys are Junkies and lost everything Phil worked his whole life for. Merry Christmas.
December 22, 2010 3:24 PM
First of All, The Harris boys will be back up here in a few days with a new captain. It has been my rule NOT to give out any "inside" information, but the shit that is going around and being propagated by people like Anonymous is just that, BULLSHIT!
As you can see from the Photos, the boys looked and acted just fine when they were here to Start the King Crab Season. They exhibited NONE of the signs of "Drug Abuse" that I have become acutely aware of in my over 15 years in the Hospitality Industry, and trust me, I know the signs. Heck, I had been complaining for over a year about a certain individual that everyone else thought was fine before she got arrested in the Major Drug Bust last April. In My opinion the Boys were Clean. This of course is backed up by hard facts; Like the fact that they did not get into any fights or incidents before they went out Crabbing.............Unlike another Boat I could Mention. It is also backed up by the fact that when the so called "Captain" of the CM called in the cops, and they searched EVERY Crew Members belongings they found NOTHING!
Perhaps, instead of spreading "Hatred" (Your Word) You might listen to people who are actually here and saw things first hand. What I saw was two fine young men, obviously still grieving the loss of their father trying to do their jobs. They tried to keep up Traditions, Like the Hair cutting and Making sure to Visit Miss Veda before they headed out fishing. I do not want to cause them any embarrassment, but both of them had years in their eyes when they spotted the picture of their dad on the top shelf at Veda's. Not exactly the drug crazed druggie junkies you called them.
Now, Let us move on to the So called "Captain" that was behind all this Bullshit. From Everything I have heard, and what I saw first hand, The "Captain" succumbed to the "Fame" bug. He was doing anything and everything to get his "15 Minutes". This included riding Jake and Josh constantly, deriding their fishing abilities and at least once making a comment about their father that if at least one other crew member heard it would have resulted in some major Dental reconstruction. I think you all have seen it through the years, but a REAL Captain handles problems ON THE BOAT. They do not wait to get back to land and call in the cops. A REAL Captain is in command of his vessel. And The Cornelia Marie WILL have a Real Captain for the Opie Season. The other one got Fired. Does that Not really say it all?
Next, I want to thank you for Clearing some things up for me. I thought about your comment and how to respond to it for some time. It took a drive down to the other hotel I manage and a slight detour to get some shots of the Northwestern and the Cornelia Marie to really firm up some things in my mind that have been weighing on me for some time. The past 6 or 7 months have been a tough time in my life. Ever since I jabbed my finger with that needle a few months back, and had to go on Anti-virals for that month, and the resultant scare that that brought my health has not been good. Looking back now I really think that was the cause of so many of my health problems this year. I don't think anyone who is not a gay male can understand how devastating having to use and AIDS drug is, not just physically, but psychologically. I am far from a Saint, and it is rare that I don't have some "companionship" at least once a week, but I always "Play it Safe" when it comes to sex, mostly out of abject fear of HIV/AIDS/STD's. I've played it "Safe" my entire life out of a commitment to myself and my partners. To have that sense of "Safety" snatched away was devastating. It has colored my life since then, and not to the better. It took an Eagle flying with me up the road out to the Trident dock while saying my Saint Michael the Archangel Prayer to make everything fall into place. Literally, the Eagle followed along with me, right outside my drivers side window all the way from the Airport to the Trident Dock. Call me silly if you want but I am taking that as a sign. Saint Michael the Archangel throws things like this at me from time to time and I do try to listen. Hey, He's always answered my prayers, sometimes in amazingly complex and intricate ways and I think this was one of them. The Lesson? There is goodness, beauty and magic in the world. Times can be tough and beat you down but the only thing that can really put you down for the count is yourself. To Paraphrase one of my favorite Authors, Robert Jordan in his Epic Wheel of Time Series "Rage against the Darkness and spit in Sightblinder's eye on the Last Day" So, How to accomplish this? I've decided this year to really let my opinions be known, to fight the good fight, and always do it with a smile on my face, because nothing pisses "Them" off more than that. I am going to do the Right thing, Not because it is popular, not because everyone else is doing it, not because it is easy, but because it is RIGHT. If our City Council (which I am rededicating myself to attending) does something idiotic they are going to hear about it on the blog and in person. The Same goes if they do something Right. But I am not stopping there. If something happens statewide, nationally, or internationally and it appeals to me You will hear about it on this blog. I have some 300 followers, and while that might not be all that many it is always "Better to light one candle than curse the darkness". So with God's help expect to see a newly revitalized CB this year; hang on for the ride.
So, getting back to the "Hatred" that is supposed to be on my blog. I would say it was more "bitterness" I hope to change that. I think your response was more directed towards my Anti Joe Miller comments however. I stand by them. Joe Miller is, was and always will be an idiot. Much as I love her, Sarah Palin picked the wrong guy on this one.In response to another comment about My support of Lisa Murkowski and How she is now voting "For everything Obama wants" I really must say you are misjudging her. Lisa is doing the RIGHT things. Right For Alaska, Right for the Nation and Right for the world. The Things that she voted for: The Repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, The 9-11 first responders bill, and the START treaty were all good Bills. Just because Obama was for them does not necessarily mean they are bad. Heck, Even a Broken Clock is right at least twice a day!! Yes, I think Obama is an idiot and should never have become President. I think that the next two years will see the repeal of ObamaCare and the end of his time as President. In fact I pray for that every night. Still, it is not like he is Nancy Pelosi and is actually EVIL, Personally I do not think he is smart enough to be really evil. That Job was Rob Emmanuel's.............
OK, so Now that I am done with my rambling and soul searching (Gosh I feel Better having gotten all that out) On to the Deadliest Catch Updates!
The Cornelia Marie is Down at the Unisea Dock all ready for the guys to come back. Most of Original Productions crew is "Hopefully" coming in this week, although we do have a storm on the way tonight that might screw things up for a day or so. We will see.
And Out at the Trident Dock I think Sig let Jake dock the Boat again!!
Our Old Friend the Farwest Leader is there keeping her company as she waits for Sig, Jake and the Rest to get back here.
Sill in good shape for having set empty for the past month or so. She is a bit lonely though and is really waiting for the guys to get here.
And then there is the best kept boat in the Fleet, CD's Hubby Captain T's Boat the Stimson.
Got to love the new darker blue paint.
Speaking of Paint, the mornings have been painted with pink everywhere and it put me in the perfect mood for a quick drive around after dropping some Housekeepers Down at the Unisea Inn when our regular driver was too busy with guests.
And the Frozen over Margaret Bay at the Hotel was so calm and peaceful that it was just one of those magic days.
I thought you all might like to hear Alexander singing the sunrise in yesterday. It did turn out to be an almost perfect day. Just made for inspiration and self-aware revelations. I mean really, there are not that many people in the world who get to hear eagles every day, especially on the perfect winter morning.
So everyone, I hope this year will be as blessed for you all as it was for me yesterday.
Oh, One last thing before I sign off, Is that Idiot from the NATIONWIDE INSURANCE commercials as grating on the nerves to you as he is too me? I actually called the 1 800 number yesterday and complained that those commercials ensured that I would never buy their insurance. The Operator had no clue what to do with my comment, so I just put through to a Managers Voice Mail. Still no call back..................at least it made me smile!
Catch you all later


text:
So I received my order from Cherry Culture, I got mostly more of the NYX Round Lipsticks, I ended up returning two of them because just by looking at it the color was off from the swatches on their site and was a tad bit too dark for me.
So here are some swatches and comparisons, I wanted to compare Rea, Circe, and Fleshpot and Myth from MAC because they all looked similar or at least in the same color family, but I was surprised how dark Rea is compared to the other ones! Also "Peach" is NOT that dark, it's actually more of a dirty rose, like a pink mauve color, totally wearable, for some reason it looks deep red here, but it's a pink!
I like "Sunflower" even though the swatch does NOT match on the website, it's an orangey/coral color that goes perfect with my orange shirts. It's nice and soft, not bright like MAC's "Vegas Volt" lipstick which was BRIGHT ORANGE.
I know some of you probably don't like "Fleshpot" from the recent Heatherette Collection because it makes some look "washed out", but I love it, especially paired with smokey eyes. Arashi asked whether it would work as a lip base in comparison to MAC's "Lip Erase" and I honestly do think it works well in place of the lip erase; to neutralize the color, although I do find MAC lipsticks to be a bit drying on me, I usually just put a layer of chapstick before I apply their lipsticks and top it off with some gloss. So if you wish to use it as a base (as I know some people don't want to stick their fingers in a pot like you would if you had MAC's "Lip Erase") then this can be a great alternative, or at least any neutral lippie like Myth will do too.
I am also selling a BRAND NEW MAC eyeshadow in "Steamy", most of you MAC Addicts have this color already I am sure, but just in case you don't, I am selling it in case you are interested. I have a similar color so I obviously have no use for it...$15 INCLUDING SHIPPING, email me if you are interested.
I went to good ol Sally's (Sally's Beauty Supply Store), and picked me up a teasing comb. I have so much hair I figure I can put it to some good use and tease the crap out of the sucker to at least look somewhat nice. It has 3 rows of teeth perfect to do the job and get some volume, I will test it out hopefully tomorrow morning...
I went to WetSeal and fell in love with these white wedges!
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Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Some lipstick swatches, teasing comb and new wedges!
So I received my order from Cherry Culture, I got mostly more of the NYX Round Lipsticks, I ended up returning two of them because just by looking at it the color was off from the swatches on their site and was a tad bit too dark for me.
28 comments
- Joey said...
Welcome back from NY. So jealous.
I've missed your entries!
But I'm glad that you liked fleshpot. I'm totally in love with it because my lips have lots of pigment in it, so it bothers me when I wear lipsticks. I've been looking for a good nude lipstick for a long time, and I'm so glad I picked up fleshpot.
- March 26, 2008 at 3:54 PM
- Christiana Divine @ Memoirs of A Shopping Addict said...
okay, i LOVE those wedges. very VERY cute. :) sunflower is very pretty! :) it reminds me of a slightly brighter version of silk naturals lipstick in "Sublime" :)
- March 26, 2008 at 4:13 PM
- Ethereal Prey said...
damn girl those wedges are HIGH! I can never wear those, I forget how to walk. LOL....does this mean you're doing a teasing tut next? :P
- March 26, 2008 at 4:20 PM
- Tracy said...
love the shoes! i have to get those now... tomorrow, since it's pay day. :D
- March 26, 2008 at 4:42 PM
- missjaclynrose said...
omg, those shoes are sooo cute...
- March 26, 2008 at 4:45 PM
- Anonymous said...
i also got the nyx peach lipstick in my latest cherry culture haul... it totally wasn't what i was expecting!!! i was thinking the color would be ... well... peach!
- March 26, 2008 at 4:50 PM
- Mrs. Lynne, MakeupFix.net said...
I can't believe either that Rea is darker. I look sick when I wear it, lol.
And cute shoes. I haven't been to wet seal in ages! I love wedges and have a couple in storage but sadly have no use for them here.
- March 26, 2008 at 5:02 PM
- Askmewhats said...
you always manage to get good looking shoes! I'm soo jealous!!! :D
- March 26, 2008 at 5:42 PM
- Liz said...
lovin' the wedge shoes! :-)
- March 26, 2008 at 6:00 PM
- christy. said...
So cute your wedges! :)
- March 26, 2008 at 6:00 PM
- Bliss said...
Those are nice lipstick colours, i like the peach one (me and red lippies), The white wedges are too cute and it definately looks like something i would buy hehheh.
- March 26, 2008 at 6:04 PM
- mayaari said...
those NYX lipsticks look nice - I had to miss out on the big sale b/c it was in between paydays...I hate when that happens.
those wedges are cute! much easier way to add more height without the pain of wearing heels :)
- March 26, 2008 at 6:07 PM
- ilurvemakeup said...
Those swatches are GORGEOUS!!!! I love NYX lippies :D
- March 26, 2008 at 8:43 PM
- iamsutil said...
wow, i love wedges...most especially those white ones. i am waiting for MAC Heatherette to come out here in the Phils so i can get Fleshpot l/s. i am not really into bright colored lipsticks, i want them nude or with a slight hint of pink. sunflower looks nice on you..i actually envy you because you can get to wear different shades of l/s and they all look good on you. :)
- March 26, 2008 at 9:06 PM
- mandilicious said...
that's like my favorite comb ever..:) i once lost mine and i went crazy..now i have like 3 back ups!..i have those wedges too!..love!
- March 26, 2008 at 9:58 PM
- soFresh & soPink said...
Vanessa - I love the wedges! I'm seriously makin' a trip to the mall tomorrow. hehe ... Thanks for sharing your goodies!
- March 26, 2008 at 10:20 PM
- (g)ezebel said...
i gotta ask: how many lipsticks/glosses do you have?
loooove the sandals!
- March 26, 2008 at 10:35 PM
- karen, makeupandbeautyblog.com said...
That teasing comb is NO JOKE! I so would've worked that in 1989.
Cay-ute shoes btw!
- March 26, 2008 at 11:09 PM
- Anne said...
ooooh i love your wedges! man i havent gone shopped in awhile! *ahem ahem* *hint hint* let's go shopping *ahem ahem *hint hint* hahahaha.
i really like sunflower on you! i should've gotten it. i got like a buttload of lipsticks prolly of the same shade. haha they were all pink.
- March 27, 2008 at 2:35 AM
- Nic Nic said...
nice wedges!!
thanks for swatches, i think fleshpot and myth look kinda similar actually.
- March 27, 2008 at 4:34 AM
- dippedfittedz said...
Circe did not work for me at all. Way too brown, not pink like I expected.. Cherry culture needs to get on that! But Sunflower is fab. I have Candy Shop (which turned out to be coral, not pink like cherry culture swatch) and it looks like a match to that. Very pretty colors. I wanna try Fleshpot but MAC lip stuff usually turns me off :/
- March 27, 2008 at 10:03 AM
- Linda said...
i wish i can wear wedges. i've always loved them but the bf HATES them. and also i'm a giant already. lol
- March 27, 2008 at 10:45 AM
- Anonymous said...
matching your makeup to your clothes is tacky.
- March 27, 2008 at 10:49 AM
- Vanessa said...
Thanks Ladies!
Anonymous- I know a lot of people who agree with you, and honestly to each his/her own, some find it tacky while some do find it cute, for me it just makes sense to, I can't imagine me walking around with blue eyeshadow and I am wearing orange, so personally I just think it compliments the outfit a bit more...
- March 27, 2008 at 10:53 AM
- Joyce said...
Hey Nessa, I am with you, I match my outfit with my make-up, and I get great compliments from it as well!
Anyway, I like how that NYX sunflower l/s looked on you and I may have to try that. I recently bought NYX products for the first time and I particularly like their Narcissus lipstick, its similar to MAC Melrose Mood from the Heatherette collection. Its a good and obviously cheaper dupe. :)
Anddd google/blogger messed up with my domain name so I am using the default blogger url. Anyway, have a great weekend! :)
- March 27, 2008 at 11:16 AM
- MakeupByRenRen said...
cute shoes! i want to see how your hair looks with teasing b/c i've tried teasing mine after all those pursebuzz videos but it never seems to work :( but the 3 rows of teeth on this look like it does the trick!
- March 27, 2008 at 12:05 PM
- yummy411 said...
those wedges are to die for i LUURRVVEE them1
- March 28, 2008 at 9:44 AM
- Anonymous said...
lovely wedges! i also got a pair last week! ;D
- March 31, 2008 at 6:54 AM


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Why is Australia Still a Favourite for the UK Wine Consumer?
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Wield powerful spells in this arcane online tournament.
Arcanists Features
Arcanists is a multiplayer strategy game where you get to design and train your very own Arcanist, and then compete in the Arcane Tournament! Every rated game you win earns you more wands, which you can use to expand your spellbook, increasing your flexibility and power.
Battle with players from all over the world in six different arenas, each with their own dangers and strategies to perfect. Personalise your character by gaining achievements and choose from over 1 million combinations.
1. How do I change my costume?
Enter the 'Character Creation' screen from the main menu and select what you want to wear. More costumes are unlocked as you gain Achievements.
2. How do I change my spellbook?
As you earn wands from playing ranked games against other players you will be able to purchase more spells from the 'Spell Selection' screen. A new book costs 5 wands, and spells cost between 2 and 3 wands apiece.
3. How do I earn more wands?
You earn the most wands by playing ranked games against more players at once. More risk equals more rewards; however, if you resign from a game before it has finished, you will not receive any wands, so make sure you keep playing until the end!
4. Is there anywhere to test my spells before I use them?
At the end of the tutorial there is a sandbox where you have access to your character's current spellbook. Make sure to try out your spells before you head into battle.
5. I keep on losing games; what should I do?
Practise with your spells in the sandbox or play friendly games to gain experience before you enter the arena.
6. What are the minimum specifications for this game?
The minimum specifications we recommend for this game are:
The recommended specifications for getting the most out of this game are:
Below is an explanation of the terms in our technical specifications.
Megahertz (MHz) / Gigahertz (GHz) is a measure of how fast your computer's processor is. This affects how quickly you can run things like games and applications.
Megabytes (MB) are used to measure how much memory your computer has. This affects how quickly your computer runs when using large programs such as games, or when you run a lot of programs at once.
Click here to get the latest version of Sun Java.
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Zoom Tights by Trasparenze. Lovely 40 denier tights which have an amazing design. The background is black but not a dark black when worn, the jacquard design is edged with grey and, within each section, the design is slightly darker black than the background. These look really opulant and will ensure you stand out from the crowd.
All of our orders are delivered by Royal Mail.
Packaging varies according to the items sent, but is always free of any logo or other clue to the contents to ensure confidentiality. Our franking system shows an anonymous return address of 3B Coopies Field, Morpeth NE61 6JT.
Please ensure that your delivery address is correct on our confirmation e-mail. We are happy to send to work addresses, however please include both your name and the company name of the work address. Royal Mail may not deliver unless the company name is included.
We cannot be held responsible for wrong addresses supplied to us.
Orders over £30 to UK mainland addresses will be posted FREE OF CHARGE during the offer period. The postage charge will show on the basket with a discount applied before checkout.
We may require a signature for some orders, if this is likely to prove inconvenient please either contact us or consider another delivery address such as a workplace.
Next working day deliveries will require a signature or a 'something for you' card will be left by Royal Mail. We would strongly suggest that a suitable delivery address where someone is available to sign for the package is available.
Our postal charges are per order - not per item.You will only be charged once per order for delivery however many separate shipments we make to you.
Orders placed before 15:30hrs Monday to Friday will be dispatched the same day.
We deliver to almost anywhere in the world.
Normal delivery times are approximately:-
• EEC - usually within 3 to 5 working days
• USA & Canada - 4 to 12 working days
• Rest of World - 1 to 2 weeks
Customs and VAT
Please note that all shipments to the US and Rest of World destinations may be subject to import duties and taxes, which are levied once a shipment reaches your country. Additional charges for customs clearance must be borne by you; we have no control over these charges and cannot predict what they may be. VAT of 20% is included on all our products
Returns PolicyReturns Information
We're happy to exchange the goods or refund your money if the goods are faulty. However, if the goods are not faulty and you have decided that for whatever reason, they are not for you, all you have to do is return the goods, unopened, in their original condition within 30 Days of receipt of goods. Unfortunately, if the goods have been opened, then we cannot exchange or refund any money as we are unable to resell the product for hygiene reasons.
To return an item to us, please package the products carefully, include the delivery note and a note telling us why you are returning the goods. Pay the postage costs, (we would advise you get proof of posting for this). We will then refund your postage costs if the return is a result of an error on our behalf or if the goods were faulty. Once we have received and processed your return, we will issue a full refund or exchange the items for other products if you prefer.
Returns for refund which bring the net amount below the free delivery threshold will have the initial delivery charge deducted from the refund amount.
International customers must contact Customer Services before returning any items.
We will only be able to reimburse economy post for faulty items. You must write "Returning Unwanted Goods To UK Retailer" on your return box. If this is not done, you may be charged duty. We cannot cover these charges.
Please allow up to 14 days for a refund to processed.
An email will be sent to you confirming your return information when we have processed it. If your chosen substitute product is not in stock we will contact you to offer either an alternative or a refund.
This guarantee does not affect your statutory rights
Should your parcel be returned to us by Royal Mail and they state that you did not collect the package from the sorting office, a £5 administration charge will be levied to cover the handling of this order.
Send your return to:Tights Tights Tights,
Postal DelaysIf an order is shipped by us, using first class mail service with Royal Mail, and is lost in the post, the customer must wait 15 working days for the UK and 25 for the rest of the world from the date of posting before claiming from us for the order.
We offer payment through credit and debit cards, Paypal and Amazon Checkout. Our checkout pages are linked directly to Paypal, Amazon and Sagepay who process our payments, we do not collect any payment information on our website. Your payment details are secure through the payment gateways provided.
The only details we hold are your order details, delivery details and your e-mail address. We do not and will not pass these details to any third parties.
As much as we endeavour to supply your purchases, orders may be refused if, payment cannot be authorised or if goods are no longer available or if pricing or product description is incorrect.
We aim to provide you with a relaxing, stress free shopping experience, you will find guidance throughout and descriptions will be clearly stated. Prices are shown in Great British Sterling Pounds inclusive of VAT. If you prefer to see your pricing in Euro's or US Dollars this can be altered next to the basket logo (at the top right hand corner of the page) by clicking the required currency. This will change all prices to your required currency.
You may find our Hosiery Terms Explained page helpful if there are any terms used which you are not familiar with, they can be found by clicking here.


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100% Cotton
Made in Italy
For live phone support please call +1 416 849 5956
Monday to Friday 11:00 to 18:00 eastern standard time
Please feel free to email your shopping requests to firstname.lastname@example.com.
We will do our best to respond to your request the same day within shop working hours.
We will ship your parcel Monday to Friday (excluding statutory holidays). All goods will be shipped the day after your order has been confirmed.
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Description:1x4 Port KVM Monitor/Keyboard Server Console Switch Hewlett-Packard Part# 400336-001
Overview:Perfect for rack-mounted servers these switches enable network administrators and information system managers to control manage or observe as many as 64 servers running multiple operating systems Nall from a single access point.Available in 2 4 and 8-port models the switch box connector kits can connect multiple 4 and 8-port switch boxes together for a maximum of 64 ports. The switches use an On-Screen Display (OSD) interface with intuitive menus and other features that enable server selection and control from the console command line. The console mouse can interact with the graphical user interface of the selected computer. Two 8-port models offer dual console capabilities providing the flexibility to control console switches from more than one location or by more than one user.