Nightfall

[Zed-F]

Just as some people are item packrats, others are character packrats. Especially if a given character is being used for roleplaying purposes and so is less inclined to switch away from a particular skillset because of roleplaying concerns.

Besides, if you are an item packrat, more characters = more storage. It's a pretty expensive way to get more storage, mind you...

[WarBlade]

Just as some people are item packrats, others are character packrats. Especially if a given character is being used for roleplaying purposes and so is less inclined to switch away from a particular skillset because of roleplaying concerns.

Yup.

Chalk up another way of disposing of one's disposable income. 8)

[Lurker Wyrm]

Eh, new character slots don't really interest me all that much. It would be nice to have an ele for PvE nuking, but I can use my necro for that, the damage just won't be as high (to which I say big whoop). Besides, the Paragon didn't impress me as much as the Dervish did this past weekend (more on that in a sec), so I'll have that extra slot to make another PvE char (assuming ANet continues the 2 slots per expansion link thing). It hasn't been announced, but I'm sure ANet will be doing a PvE weekend for Nightfall sometime in the future so I'll make a Paragon for that and see how it turns out.

Anyways, some thoughts on the new classes so far:

The Dervish was what I spend about 90% of my time with and I like it. The more I think about it, the less overpowered it is, but it's definitely in for some nerfing, I just hope they don't make it useless. The class excels at PBAoE, ever so much better than the ele. Unlike the ele, who uses skills like Flame Burst, Crystal Wave, Frozen Burst, etc., the derv has the armor and health to get right into an enemy's face and blast it. While it's only 70 armor, that's still a fair shade better than an ele, especially when you take into account the many many protection spells/enchants they have. Using the Bal form, you get +40 armor. Using Melandru's you get +200 health and condition immunity. Using Dwayna's, you get health and hex removal every time you use a skill. Also, most of your PBAoE skills are enchants, and thanks to the profession's primary attribute, you're going to have a steady supply of energy and health keeping you going. The fact that they're enchants is also one of their downfalls, however. Enchant-blocking effects will make the class lose effectiveness.

Using a D/Mo, I was a killing machine. However, whenever someone would put up Nature's Renewal, the killing power went down considerably. Also, the base 25 energy pool is a problem when you're trying to spam skills. I gave up a pip of regen so I could use a +15/-1 offhand along with a +5 ene axe, which helped, but there were still times when I would be out of energy and just sitting there doing nothing. It's also worth pointing out that a derv doesn't get any staves or wand/focus items, which is a pain when you want to do a 12/12 build using derv attributes. Overall, the class was fun and it'll be interesting to see how it develops.

The Paragon, which I didn't experiment with much, was decent. When not using spear attacks, it reminds me a lot of a mesmer in that you do little in the way of direct damage but instead are the silent battle-turner. Paragons can mitigate damage and add effects to ally attacks with their various shouts, chants and echoes in a way that's somewhat hard to describe. It's not quite as bold faced as a domination mesmer or orders necro, but they can make it so that allies are constantly setting foes on fire, getting unremovable health regen and unstoppable health gains. The best way I can think to describe them is as a power-behind-the-power kind of class. That is, until you step into Spear Mastery.

A Paragon using spears is a pressure damage monster. The R/P prebuilt character was pretty massive this weekend in causing problems for everyone. The speed boost of Tiger's and the expertise spammability added up to some constant pressure, moreso than a bunny thumper because, for one thing, they're ranged; for another, their attacks have effects similar to several different weapons. They bleed people easily the way a sword does, they have an unblockable attack that adds damage, they've got an interrupt, they have an adrenal based daze (meaning it has the potential to be unending as the duration is pretty long) attack, etc. About the only thing I didn't see (which may just be an oversight on my part) is a way to cause Deep Wounds. Also, I wasn't able to try this due to my lack of available skills, but people have ditched the pet skills for more spear attacks and had even better results. This is something to look out for in the PvE weekend.

I think that's all I need to say about the new classes (unless something else comes up), so I'll stop. The other part of the weekend, the medallions and tradable items were quite a nice addition, and I would really like them to become more permanent. Getting Bal faction has always been a slow chore process and these really speed it up (50 medallions trade for a flame, which turns into 1k faction, pretty easy to do when you got 5 medals for a win, 6 for a flawless, and 10 for 5 consec. wins) which is really nice.

Edit: One last thing I forgot to mention about the weekend. The PvP prebuilt character templates don't stink anymore. They've been replaced by most of the common use characters that get talked about and used a lot (axe war, boon prot, etc.).

[Zed-F]

IThere was some discussion on the forums of how the Dervish and Paragon were probably deliberately overpowered in order to generate interest in Nightfall, and will be toned down for release. In the Dervish's case, probably it'll be a general tuning, but I got the impression that for the Paragon it will specifically on the skills that make the R/P so much of a pressure monster, specifically Spear of Lightning.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of enchant removal and enchant affecting skills in Nightfall.

[Lurker Wyrm]

I don't know about that. Sure, it would generate interest, but overpowering the classes now on purpose would do little more than disappoint people in the long run. I think the more likely answer is that with Factions, ANet wanted to add some new things, but didn't want to change the way the base game was played, more or less keeping with their thing about not putting people without both games out of competition. With Nightfall, it looks like they really want to change the way the game is played: they want to force people out of the comfort zone that most common builds today offer. Personally, I'm thrilled about this because it shows ANet doing something other than acting like a VG industry neonate.

On a different note, the pre-order package for Nightfall has been announced:
There's a Guru posting about the contents here. For those who don't want to check the link, here's the content info:

* Guild Wars "Play Now" key for a 10-hour/14-day trial* of Guild Wars PropheciesTM and Guild Wars FactionsTM.
* Guild Wars Nightfall Bonus Key, providing one additional character slot for a Guild Wars Nightfall account, as well as two exclusive items for the new professions—a Firey Sunspear of Shelter for the Paragon and an Icy Soulbreaker of Enchanting for the Dervish
* Mini strategy guide, concept art, screenshots, in-game renders of characters and items, preview trailer, wallpapers, lore, quick reference card, music, and more!

What that extra character slot add-on means is still up in the air. Whether it means you get 1 extra with the pre-order and 2 with the game (for a total of 3) or just early access to one of the slots available with the release (meaning you still only get 2) is anyone's guess at this point. If it's the former, that's awesome; if it's the latter, then I can live with that as well, since it'll probably let us have an extra slot for the PvE weekend or something like that. Then again, it could also mean that people with Nightfall only accounts get access to 1 additional slot but the rest of us who already have accounts get bumpkiss.

Oh, and there are pictures of the bonus items on the Guru forums (same link as earlier). The spear looks pretty awesome, but the scythe looks a little wimpy.

[Zed-F]

Makes me glad that I only bought one additional slot, instead of two.

[Lurker Wyrm]

For those interested in seeing some of the new settings and monsters, there's an in-game cinematic posted on the Guild Wars site.

[Lurker Wyrm]

Gamestop now has the CE available for preorder here.

For those interested, it's listed as having the following extra content:

Collector's Edition includes:

* Behind the Scene's "Making of" DVD
* 124 Page Color Nightfall Art Book
* Collector's Edition Exclusive Nightfall Poster
* Collector's Edition Exclusive Nightfall Soundtrack CD
* Collector's Edition Exclusive Nightfall Map
* Collector's Edition Exclusive Nightfall 2 Game Skill Pins in Velvet Bag
* Collector's Edition Exclusive Nightfall Mini-Character standee

It has a release date of 10/26. What's odd is that it isn't listed as coming with the pre-order box. Didn't see any hint of an in-game bonus either.

[KingOfPain]

Reasons I want Nightfall
Heroes - May make soloing the whole game feasible (I am thinking C1 style missions), more variant play
Soundtrack CD - That's all I have playing lately on my computer, game music
Nice scenery...

KoP

[Seijin]

I see a CE and something called a Starter Kit as well.

Here's what the Starter Kit has.

Purchase Guild Wars: NightFall with the Nightfall Starter Kit and receive:

• a Guild Wars "Play Now" key for a 10-hour/14-day trial of Guild Wars and Guild Wars Factions
  
• Guild Wars Nightfall Bonus Key, providing one additional character slot for a Guild Wars Nightfall account
  
• your choice of one of two exclusive items for the new professions—a Firey Sunspear of Shelter for the Paragon and an Icy Soulbreaker of Enchanting for the Dervish
  
• Mini strategy guide, concept art, screenshots, in-game renders of characters and items, preview trailer, wallpapers, lore, quick reference card, music, and more!
  

I could care less about the trial keys. I was just wondering if the CE comes with the weapons, if anyone knows.