Gamer Girl - Guild Wars 2 - Meet My Engineer

I haven't written in a while because of a number of reason. One of which was that we spent a week in Seattle for PAX Prime (I have a post coming about that soon, I promise!), and school stuff.

I spent the weekend before PAX playing in the Guild Wars 2 head-start, but didn't play at all during our time in Seattle, and for the week after our return because of lots of fun school events. (White water rafting trip? Oh, yeah, baby!)

So, when things finally settled down a little this week, I finally got to get back to my characters and figure out what I want to focus on in my limited weekly gaming time.

I know a lot of people have already "made it" to level 80 (I'm not sure what the attraction is, but I try not to judge them too harshly). I'm happily moving slowly through the lowbie areas for now. I haven't even made it out into WvWvW yet, although I think I'll probably get out there sometime this weekend.

I spent the first couple of days before PAX playing around on my Sylvari Mesmer, and a couple of evenings this last week playing my Norn Guardian, but right now I'm enjoying my Human Engineer. Meet Karenna Sparkles:

She's a real animal-lover. Well, sorta. Farm animals that show some thanks for feeding them!

One of the things I really love about this game is how beautiful it is. Even in the home cities (in this case, Divinity's Reach), there are some truly awesome sights. This promenade with banners gave me chills when I first ran through it.

This is one of my favorite quests. It's a simple quest to help clean up the town by wiping out graffiti, kill rats (see that lazy cat there?) and make kids do their chores.

But what I love most about Karenna is her gun! Don't mess with a redhead with a shotgun.

She's also a huntswoman-crafter, meaning she's learning how to make her own guns.

Are you playing Guild Wars 2? What character is your favorite?

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Gamer Girl - Guild Wars 2 Final BWE

Today kicked off the Guild Wars 2 final beta weekend event. Like just about everyone else it seems, I created a Sylvari. The whole concept of a plant that has become sentient and free to move around in the world is intriguing to me, and the story is interesting to act out in the personal quests.

As I did in each of the other beta weekend events, I started a new class as well. For me the purpose of these  events is to check out thedifferent options open to me so I have a better idea of what I'd like to play in release. In the previous events, I'd played a human, Norn, and a Charr, and really enjoyed each of them. Today was Sylvari day, and sometime tomorrow, I'll probably create a Asura.

This character is a Mesmer, which I'm enjoying. She's like a casting tank. She's tough and can take down bigger foes. My other characters were an Engineer, an Elementalist, and a Guardian. I still don't know what I'll play in release. If I had to pick one, I'd probably go with the Guardian. But, luckily, I don't have to decide. It's likely I'll have a full set of alts, so I can play them all!

I'm not wild about her outfit, but it's better than a lot of the other outfits in this game. Plus, if I accept the premise that the Sylvari are purposely exaggerating their gender presentation, I can let it go a bit more easily.

They've also added a new set of Vista points, where you can get a soaring view of the immediate area. What a great way to show off the beautiful artwork in the game. Frankly, that is one of my most favorite aspects, aside from the actual gameplay. The world is amazing. As you run along, the landscape emerges so that it almost feels like the flowers are bursting out of the ground around you.

And I just couldn't resist including this shot of my character with a shovel. When I picked it up, my first thought was, My spoon is too big!

I had a blast just running around in the new areas, looking at everything, exploring all the nooks and crannies. But it's late now, and I need to sleep. I'll post more shots and thoughts tomorrow, I promise!

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