Guild Wars 2 Arrives on Mac With Beta Client Release

I've been playing Guild Wars 2 since the pre-purchaser headstart which was about a day or so before the official launch.

This is one of the best games ever made. It is an MMORPG for enjoyers of MMORPG's and also for people who absolutely despise MMORPG's it caters a little more to the despise group though so if you're a super hard core EVE, WoW or Everquest player this may not hit all bases for you but it will hit most of them.

If you ever enjoyed those console platformers like Jak & Daxter or Ratchet & Clank then you will enjoy this game and if you enjoyed WoW for the scenic vistas, interaction with other players etc then you will like it.

There are so many great things to describe about this game that it is just hard to pick one. They spent 5 years on this game and it shows. It is very well polished the artistic style not just in the environment but the user interface, the way stories and cutscenes are told. It's all very well thought out and implemented.

The questing system is a lot different to what you may think of in an MMORPG. In a traditional MMO you will go to an NPC and speak to him then he will give you one or more quests which you can choose to complete or not and afterwards you will usually need to go back to that same NPC to pick up your reward.

This is where Guild Wars 2 changes the equasion. Now instead of having various quest givers with various quests in each zone they use dynamic events and hearts to deal with XP distribution. So instead of going to an NPC and getting a quest you would travel near a heart and instantly an objective appears on your screen, you didn't need to speak to anybody.

Most objectives (Delivered through Hearts) have more than one thing (usually 2-3 things) that you can choose to do to complete that objective. For example if you're helping someone protect their farm you could do that in a number of different ways such as fixing defenses, killing intruders, reviving downed NPC's, putting out fires, disabling mines. And each one of these things can all be done at once to complete that one quest. It's varied to keep you entertained if you get bored killing mobs to complete that quest just go do something else to complete it.

Dynamic Events are separate to Hearts and as the name suggests they happen dynamically and regardless of if you're around or not. So lets say you're out doing a heart quest and then ping on your screen you see a hoard of centaur are attacking a nearby town. It says "New event nearby!" now you can go to that area on your map where undoubtably other players will be fighting already and you can join in just by running up and playing or you can continue to do your quest. Sometimes if an event is in the same area as your heart quest you can even complete both quests just by doing one objective because the two overlap.

Now the reason I've mentioned these parts of the game is because I feel these are the main things that define Guild Wars 2 as different to the current MMORPG's out there. These are the things that appeal to people who hate the MMORPG formula. This game is just so much fun. I really can't recommend it enough.

To quote my friend who absolutely hates MMORPG's and swore he would never play one "Guild Wars 2 is the best game I've ever played."

Been playing on bootcamp since the head start. Absolutely love this game. Now that I can play on my mac, I can finally take back the 30+ GB I needed to give Windows on bootcamp!

If anyone new is joining the game, join me on the server 'Sanctum of Rall.' Names, Xploit.

"The Mac beta client will be available for anyone who has purchased Guild Wars 2 on the PC."

They're assuming that all Mac owners also own PCs?

No they assume that if you're interested in the Mac version you can purchase a license from them and use that same license on either a Mac client or a Windows client. This is the same model that Blizzard and Steam uses and it works fine. Do you feel some obligation to purchase a Mac version specifically?

"The Mac beta client will be available for anyone who has purchased Guild Wars 2 on the PC."

They're assuming that all Mac owners also own PCs?

...yes?

The Macs that can run the game under Mac OS X can also run the game just fine under Windows.

The term "PC" is misleading. I'm tired of seeing games & programs for "Mac & PC". The platforms are Mac OS X (or "OS X") or Windows.

Virtually all PCs can run Windows, and many can run Mac OS X.
All current Macs run Mac OS X and Windows.

Games for "PC" almost always work on a Mac, and many users play "Mac" games on their PC.

Was on the fence in picking up GW2 as I sort of dreaded booting into Windows for it. Now that there's a OS X client, I might pull the trigger. Don't know if it will run on my older Mac Pro, but it would definitely run on my RMBP.

If you have a 2-button mouse, note that the scroll wheel doesn't work. This is caused by the mac beta option, "Use scrolling gestures to change direction", which is checked by default. If you use a 2-button mouse w/scrollwheel to play, and not the trackpad, unchecking this option will make the scroll wheel work.

this is one of the most fun online games I've ever played - And this comes from someone who has gotten burned on so many MMOs over the last decade. This game is golden. It's one of those rare games that come off very rarely. Ultima Online shaked the industry in a similar way back in 97, but back that the rules of engagement as much more difficult. dont miss this game. It's really, that good.

And anybody who tells you otherwise, either had unrealistic expectations. Make no mistake - the game has plenty of problems currently, but its still a god send if you take it for what it is.


the best review I've read so far comes from Eurogamer; http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-09-18-guild-wars-2-review

On the macbook pro retina 2.6 - enjoying it :cool:

I do not see any difference between bootcamp windows 8 and running it natively in osx.

I do not know much about cider, but IMHO it does not affect the quality/fps at all.

Although they did say it is in beta, i have yet to see any crashes or glitches.

I know it's Cider and all but it's the same for other ”demanding” games that exists for both OS X and Windows (i.e. Starcraft 2, Borderlands etc.). Performance is much better in Windows, especially if the graphic details settings are cranked up (shaders) and if it's a complex scene that's being viewed. It's fine if your character is walking around in a tent or something, but for a game to be enjoyable I want it to be smooth in more or less all situations.

I'm quite tired of the game performance situation in OS X. I know Microsoft has put a lot of effort in Direct3D and that driver development on the Windows side are more progressive and game focused, but still. OS X shouldn't have to lag behind that much. Especially now when Apple has the money to focus a bit more on it. But I guess they don't care. Casual gaming all the way, i.e. iOS games ported to the OS X with Game Center support. Wow… -.-

Not that I have anything against iOS gaming (I enjoy it very much from time to time), but they're not always a substitute for some the ”larger” games for computers and consoles.

"Due to potential changes, system requirements may change over time and you may be required to upgrade your current system (or obtain a new system) to continue to play the game."

http://en.support.guildwars2.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1119

that's kind of lame, are the requirements hard-coded in before the game even runs or something?

No, that just means that future versions may or may not require better hardware to get a decent framerate.

You're free to install and run GW2 on lots of different systems, but you may not enjoy the experience if you do not meet the minimum recommended hardware requirements.