Mystic Worlds

GW2 is Coming August 28th

FINALLY, WE HAVE A RELEASE DATE!!! I'm so excited for this game I can hardly stand it.  It feels like it's been forever but I'm very pleased with the quality, love and care they've put into GW2.  I hope to be playing it for a very long time. I'm crossing fingers, eyes and toes that guild halls are introduced in the not too distant future.

Next BWE, I'm going to focus on PVP and WvW to get more exposure before release.  OMG GW2 is almost upon us.  It will be great to be playing something again with guildmates.

Green Monster Smoothie - Getting Your Gamer Body Back into a Swimsuit

 

SUMMER'S ALL UP IN YOUR FACE

If you’re like me, you didn’t start thinking about swimsuit season until it was staring you in the face.  If you’re like me, you’re a geek by day whose job entails mostly sitting behind a desk or sitting in a chair for way too many meetings.  If you’re like me, many of your hobbies also involve long periods of sitting – reading, writing and creating handcrafted accessories.  And then there’s the gaming.

I’m not into fad diets or putting myself through excruciating machinations.  Life throws enough of that my way without me fueling the curve balls.  What I wanted was a sustainable holistic approach to losing winter weight that also promoted a healthier lifestyle overall.

 

DETOX ME

My first inclination was that I wanted to detox my body of the negative foods, thoughts and emotions I’d been consuming the past several months.  I wanted to cleanse myself and then start down a healthier path.  That idea led me to a 15-day raw foods diet by Ani Phyo.  Raw foods for 15 days, why not?  I’d use that as my body detox then shift into sustainable low-carb eating that included reducing processed foods and eliminating caffeine and carbonated sweet drinks.  Unfortunately, reading through the recipes gave me pause.  I knew that if I couldn’t stomach the basic premise of her smoothie vegetable drinks, I was sunk.

Ever the problem solver, I backed up and decided to research the “Green Monster Smoothie” in hopes of finding versions that I could stomach and combine with the knowledge from Ani’s book into a personalized 15-day regime.  That decision was a complete game changer.

 

Guild Wars 2 BWE2 - Good Times

I’m still tired from the lack of sleep over the weekend.  I had a good time playing GW2 during the 2^nd Beta Weekend Event.  Constant disconnects aside, it’s definitely the most fun I’ve had playing a MMO in quite some time.

The PVE content is good but the real highlight on that side is the dynamic event system.  Most especially, when there are bosses involved.  When it takes 25+ people fifteen to twenty minutes to take a boss down, it’s exciting and a huge rush.  It’s very interesting to see how players are filling the gap of not having healers and tanks.  People pop in and out, trying to hold the mob’s attention.  Most everyone will try to revive fallen players – more able bodies helps!  Players who are able try to intervene on behalf of others being hammered into the ground.  It’s quite amazing to see everyone work together so cohesively without forming groups or communicating in chat.  It’s like they almost give a damn.  Imagine that.  *Smile*

I still haven’t tried crafting or WvW.  I’ll save both for the next time around.  I’m done seeing content.  I know, I said that before but this time I mean it.  I’ve seen FAR TOO MUCH – more content than I ever allow myself to see in a beta.

While waiting for the closing event to start I purchased two costumes from the Gem Store.  OMG, I loved the chef’s outfit.  Not only was it RP-cute but it has animations/skills.  You can plunk down a roasting pig, summon a sous chef and start a grease fire.  I’m so easily amused.  I never got tired of setting myself ablaze and watching my character roll around on the ground screaming.  This is a MUST HAVE for me when the game goes live.

 

GW2 - Guardian Weapon Skill Matrix

Yes, I'm a bit crazy.  I freely admit that I can overthink things when it comes to gaming.  *Smile*

I've been trying to figure out which weapon combinations best fit my play-style and it has been maddening - in a good way.  I love the options and how each can significantly alter how a class plays. My only problem is that I keep changing my mind.  Most every combination on the Guardian feels good!  Flipping back and forth using a Skill Calculator wasn't helping much with my decision.  I needed something I could review all at once.

This is NOT scientific.  I loosely categorized the skills based on offense only, defense or some combination.  Obviously, the damage/offense output is "potential" output based on the stats provided in the tooltips which won't consider talent specs and gear.  For me, this was good enough and gave me a bird's eye view of the current options.

The matrix is very useful when watching game-play videos on YouTube. Now I can easily identify what options were available to that player versus how they elected to play the class and how well they did.

Wanted to share with other would-be Guardians out there.  *Smile*

Download Guardian v1