So is Factions worth picking up? I’ve been very tempted… but then I remember just how little I play the original, now.
I always kinda liked the game, but there are two game features that irritate me no end:
No jumping. Gah! No jumping!
That damn Capture Signet. Seriously, that feels like such an artificially clunky system of learning the high-end skills.
On another note, I had to turn down a job at ArenaNet just last month or so. I’d love to work on their engine… but they couldn’t offer me enough money to leave my current job.
Zabali_Clawbane: Thanks for that Guildwiki site. It’s got everything I was looking for and then some. Reading these builds is like putting together a puzzle: “Ok, he’s got Boon of Creation and Animate Bone Minions, I see how that works. Ah, and then Explosive Growth blasts people when you raise the minions! Wait, but then Signet of Creation kills his own team, why would you do that? I wonder what Death Nova does? Ohhhhh.” So much fun. I like the look of Ritualist/Necromancer, I think; according to the GuildWiki contributors, pure minion mastery doesn’t hold up as well at high levels (even with Flesh Golems, and I get the impression that you can’t use those in the Prophecies campaign anyway, even if you’ve bought Factions).
Refer to this armor list, and this armor crafting index. (The index doesn’t cover Factions though.) Armor is crafted at various places. I have Star Pattern Ascetic’s armor (dyed purple) for my Monk/Ranger from Droknar’s Forge for now just as an example. There are some shortcuts to get the materials needed for armor, for example, it is cheaper to just salvage wood from non-magical bows (or Stone Summit badges) and then pay to have parchment crafted than to buy the parchment.
This reminds me, though, of another reason why I like Guild Wars. The visuals are very pleasing, as is the score for the game. I find it to be very atmospheric, and at least for me this aesthetic component has been the focus.
For example, I love the haze/fog/snow effect in the mountains, or some of the jungle scenery around Druid’s Overlook, to name just a few.
Adding, see “Healing Machine Gun” on this page for what my current build is. I am considering changing to M/Me someday, but M/R isn’t too bad for non-PvP, in PvP it is too easy to be interrupted though.
I see I failed to mention the strategy forums on this site, you can see a lot of screenshots of how various armors look dyed, and what skill point allotment/skill sets work with various builds as well. You do have to join the boards to read the threads though.
My understanding is that minion masters were slightly “nerfed” when they limited the total number of minions to 10. However, Flesh Golems make up for that shortcoming, in a big way. Also, the fact that Flesh Golems leave a corpse when they die allow you to keep one around indefinitely. Also, it’s been confirmed that you can use Factions skills in Prophecies as long as you’ve registered both games on the same account. (and vice versa). This was the main reason I gave up the 2 extra character slots. Instead of 4 slots in 2 separate accounts, I have 6 slots in a single, joined account. But my six characters can use skills from both games.
While we’re asking questions… does anyone know how the resurrection orbs work in Unwaking Waters? I tried picking one up and dropping it, but it didn’t do anything. Should I have waited until most of the party is dead?
