so this is how it (the DE system) works (spoilerish)

I get my Charr Ranger to the level 10 outpost (bit like Crossroads in Barrens), and the second he arrives an NPC runs up. "The Seperatists are blocking the road and shelling us with catapults". So I ask him "where" and he marks my map. I head up the road a bit and sure enough: roadblock and two catapults each with about 5 baddies. But because my Ranger is O-to-the-friggin-P I have it cleared in a few minutes. Well, I got some timely aid from a couple other players, but still, O-friggin-P.

I stand around looking through loot for a minute or two and the people who helped go rocking off in another direction. While I'm deciding on my Ranger's next direction, a lone NPC from the outpost comes trotting by along the road we just cleared. Apparently he had been waiting for someone to clear the road. He doesn't say anything as he runs past. He doesn't have the 'protect me' raid icon floating over his head that means he needs an escort. I don't have a new event. But something's obviously up - something distinctly chain-ey - so I follow.

He gets to a nice open area with a ring of trees around it and starts swinging a hammer in an engineery way.  Suddenly a building appears and I move out of his way so I don't get /stuck in a beta structure. Pretty soon he has 4 or 5 semi-permanent military structures up, at which point several essential friendly NPCs poof into existence. This is obviously when we get attacked. Small bands of ghosts start hitting each entrance to the outpost, one at a time, and there is a New Event Nearby.

This one took a couple of attempts. Luckily, if the ghosts level the structures and you FAIL, the engineer hops up and runs back to home base. On his way he says something like "I won't let this stop me". So right away, I feel like there's a pretty good chance I can start the series again back at the roadblock. So that's what I do. And FAIL again. And start again. But the third time I win, and I feel like Spiderman.

By now I realize this is a movie, and my character gets to be in it. So I hang out for another couple minutes, looting ectoplasmic residues of their valuables, getting repairs, when my friend the engineer starts up a convo with someone with an important sounding name about how this would be a great opportunity to take the fight to the ghosts. At this point 5 new NPCs spawn. These guys are equipped with the "protect us" floaty and the New Event clearly says: escort safely. So they start walking at that "we just want to ensure the baddies have every possible chance to kill us on the way" crawl, and sure enough after 4 assaults, we're only halfway there and down to 1 NPC. But somehow the last guy lives to see the objective. This is a naked hilltop near some old ruins the ghosts really like, and the goal is to set up siege equipment so we can further ruin the ruins. This fight didn't last all that long, with just me and a guardian and the necro NPC. But we died gloriously.

So that's pretty much how it works. The guardian and I picked up somebody else at the next heart, where we kicked off another pretty intense, but very small scale event high up on an old wall. From there is was torching an ogre encampment, then setting up a forward base on the torched encampment, then defending that.  By the time that fight was in full swing there were probably a dozen or so players battling waves of pretty hearty ogres and their pets.

I have to say, when I sat back after that long ass play session, I thought the designers must be absolutely nuts if there's an entire PVE world out there like this. So I went back the next day and played the Norn starting area on a new hulking warrior, and yep, that area was pretty much the same thing for 15 or so levels. Except all of those events and stories are specific to that area and those NPCs.

So it's not like EVE where you are working to create a small empire and dominate some portion of the virtual space. It's many hundreds of hand crafted vignettes in which your character gets to be really important for a brief, intense time. Complete with epic backdrop and music. Everywhere, all the time. It's pretty ridiculously good.  Just good old fashioned adventure game fun with humor and heart behind it.

I think the most amazing thing is.....

we all have these stories. We all have times where we were swept up in events, far from what we thought we would be doing. And that could be GW2's greatest strength.

Originally posted by Purgatus

I think the most amazing thing is.....

we all have these stories. We all have times where we were swept up in events, far from what we thought we would be doing. And that could be GW2's greatest strength.

Im mainly a PvPer in most games, but I ended up playing more PvE that PvP this beta. Simply because it was so well made and you just run around looking for something cool to see, while doing this there is a huge risk of getting distracted^^ 

But the best thing about how they have designed the PvE is that you no longer need to look at your quest log, search the map and look for the mobs you need for your collect 10 piggy tails quest. 

    I missed it, but apparently a bunch of Sons of Svanir have stolen a bunch of supplies from these folks in a small outpost, and they need help to get it back. It's mesmering time! I start heading over to where the supplies are, fighting off the local fauna on the way, and just as I get in sight of their encampment I see a couple fire imps near the base of the cliff on my left. Fire stands out in the Norn area, just sayin'. As I lay waste to them I notice that they're outside a barely noticable cave. Hmm... peeking inside, a few more fire imps and, at the back, a veteran level fire imp. OK, this shouldn't take long... then back to the supplies. Alright... the veteran took a little longer than planned, but I got him down. Nice piece of loot too. However... something looks odd... above me, it looks like the cave just might keep going. That's strange, I can't get up there... from here at least...

    Back-tracking a bit I notice along the side there are a few rocks I should be able to hop up and across that lead to a ledge running along the wall and up to the back opening. Eureka! Eh... what was that about supplies? I forget... So up I hop, to the ledge and back to the opening. Voices. A couple veteran level NPC mobs are chatting away some nefarious deeds as I peek in unnoticed. Two of them to be precise, both a few levels above me, and one with a few ghostly ravens around her as well. Behind them against the back... that looks like a door of some kind. OK... this may take awhile...

Originally posted by Unlight
...  Having to fight those damned birds with a full scale Sons of Svanir invasion going on was pretty intense.  Much dirtnapping was had by all.

On the other hand, the Moas were just as eager to fry Sons, so I was happy to back off and let them feed.  A pair of them actually re-took the keep for us right before it all ended.

Originally posted by Volkon

...one with a few ghostly ravens around her as well. Behind them against the back... that looks like a door of some kind. OK... this may take awhile...

heh, yeah.  This game is a little scary.  And I didnt even get started on WvW yet.

Originally posted by Purgatus

I think the most amazing thing is.....

we all have these stories. We all have times where we were swept up in events, far from what we thought we would be doing. And that could be GW2's greatest strength.

that right there is a perfect paraphrase of the 'adventure' concept

The game truly is immersive, some awkward situation that happened to me:

So I was kicking some ass in charr area when suddenly a wild outpost appears,so I talk to the guys standing there and discuss with them an opportunity to plant bombs in nearby ghost encampent. I agreed with that and so the squad of NPCs and me went into a hostile ghost area. We sneaked in, shut up ghosts that were staying in our way and plant one bomb after another. Towards the last bomb, only few of us survived and after we set the last one, we run for our lives out of there

But well, the ghost did not like the booming surprise. As we were running away from the explosions I could only hear angry ghost yelling at us(the voiceovers during the adventures add so much to the game!), it was really immense.And at the time I got back to the outpost the angry ghosts were already recklessly assaulting the point.

Yup, they killed everyone and destroyed the outpost.

All I could do was watch it from afar,and saying to myself: "Ummm...sorry guys, that wasnt the smartest idea, I guess.."

Haha I totally felt like socialy awkward penguin at the moment :D

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Originally posted by biggarfoot
Good post OP, I never got to go where I intended because of events like these.

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It was nice to read your experiences, i will share one that happened to me and i think is the coolest thing  i've done in an MMO in ages.

I was wandering around Kessex Hills, killing some bears, when i saw something strange over a hill, there in the open were a lot of Cave Bats wandering between some trees, i thought, Cave Bats?, there is no cave there, this must be wrong, so i came closer to take a look, when i was closer i heard a voice of a child asking for help, but i could not find the origin of the call, until i started fighting the bats, suddenly i saw a big hole under them, a hole that cannot be seen from bellow. Once i finished the bats i looked down and saw a little girl asking for help, she was trapped. I jumped down and scorted her to the exit of the cave, fighting a lot of destroyers and their spawning fiery pits, a destroyer invasion was in there, she wandered into a deeper cave and we saw a Veteran Destroyer Troll at the entrance, she decided that was not the best way to go, i aggreed, she went the other side and i kept close to the little girl to help her get out of there, at the end i had to fight a lot of destroyers until we saw the light of day again, she ran happily in the hill until we reached the nearest outpost, where her mother were awaiting us. It was one of the most immersive events i have done, and i'm eager to experience more of these in the future.

I know you're not forced to do everything that happens all the time, but man it's hard to give it a break!! i mean a toilet or a smoke break... no can do, i gotta do this event now and when i finally thought i had a tiny window of opportunity for a smoke... no no sir, this dolyak needs escorting and soon along i noticed i was smoking at the desk, twitching with the leg on a full bladder... at that point i realized i made the right decision in pre-purchasing (even without a release date)

Originally posted by Fusion

I know you're not forced to do everything that happens all the time, but man it's hard to give it a break!! i mean a toilet or a smoke break... no can do, i gotta do this event now and when i finally thought i had a tiny window of opportunity for a smoke... no no sir, this dolyak needs escorting and soon along i noticed i was smoking at the desk, twitching with the leg on a full bladder... at that point i realized i made the right decision in pre-purchasing (even without a release date)

lmao! Good, I liked your post!

Mom, bathroom!