Guild Wars 2 Diary #20 : Joining the Vigil

So after 20 weeks of Guild Wars 2, we finally begin our journey with the Vigil. So far we’ve been acting alone, under the guidance of Logan Thackery and the royals at Divinity’s Reach, but from now on things are going to be slightly more military. Will that make a massive change to the way we play the game? Probably not – but you’ll at least see a pretty distinct change in the way the story progresses. Naturally, if you chose to support a different order, things will be different. We’ll be coming back to the Vigil decision and choosing different options in future diaries, but for now, let’s support the Vigil.

Joining the Vigil

This will be your first direct meeting with the Vigil. Although you’ve had run-ins with them in the past and will probably have helped them in some way during the attack of the Risen, you’re now a full, paid up member of the order and after the disaster that was the Destiny’s Edge reunion last week, it’s nice to have a little consistency. When you reach the green objective marker, you’ll be presented with a short-ish video explaining the Vigil, how they formed and what they stand for. Why this video, along with others made for the other orders, wasn’t shown BEFORE you had to make the decision of which order to join, I don’t know, but there you go.

Guild Wars 2 Gameplay Video #20 [HD]

Formed six years ago after the last dragon attack, the Vigil is always ready to jump into action, regardless of risk. If you want to progress, you’ll need a sharp sword and a penchant for adventure. Levelling will become more important than it ever was and progressing through the story will likely become a case of chopping through as many enemies as you possibly can. The mission you’re on – A Fragile Peace – is recommended for level 30 and above, although I had no problem playing through it at level 29, so continue onwards if you’re feeling confident in your equipment, and in your level.

Your mentor in the Vigil will be Warmaster Forgal Kernsson. Any fan of the Metal Gear Solid series will instantly recognise the voice of Paul Eiding, Colonel Roy Campbell. Kernsson is a gruff, battle-hardened sort, but known to be the best the Vigil has to off. Serving under him will take you around the world, into difficult battles with little support. Thankfully, this first battle isn’t going to be overly difficult. You’ll have the support of a small army of soldiers and enemies won’t swarm you very often. If you’ve gotten this far, there’s no reason to think you’ll struggle with this quest at all.

After your introduction to Kernsson and a quick rundown on the situation as it is, you’ll be told to go back to Divinity’s Reach. If you did as I suggested last week and travelled through the mountains to reach Lion’s Arch, you might want to just skip the journey using a waypoint. If there are things you didn’t do or if you just wanted to avoid the journey to Lion’s Arch, now’s your chance to catch up. Follow our 19^th Guild Wars 2 diary for more information.

A Fragile Peace

When you reach the objective marker in Divinity’s Reach, things seem quiet – for a moment. It isn’t before long that there comes the sound of screams. This is your first test as a member of the Vigil, and it won’t be too much of a problem for a warrior who has a high level. Renegade Charr have managed to get into a fortress and are using the opportunity to try to bomb the place into oblivion. Thankfully, you and your mentor have arrived just in time.

The quest will basically take your form green point to green point. Each point is within the fortress and clearing out each area is as easy as killing everything you come across. Most battles will end up one on one due to the huge amount of allies at your disposal, but never forget to heal them after each battle. The more allies you have, the easier the rest of the quest will be and the more experience you’ll gain. Spending time reviving an ally will give you roughly double the amount of experience you get for killing an enemy, so keep that in mind when met with different things to do.

Fighting from place to place will probably take about ten minutes, if that. You’ll know it’s almost over when you come across the instance boss, Gram Skullcracker. Skullcracker isn’t nearly as difficult as the veteran enemies you’ve seen around the place, and should be easy enough for anybody who has bothered to perfect their dodging/interrupting skills. He hits for a lot and you’re going to feel it if he manages to connect, but keep light on your feet and he’ll fall in no time. Be sure to back off and let your health recover before charging back into combat. It’d be easy to rush into battle without a great amount of life, and although the Charr aren’t difficult, you don’t want anything going against you.

Once you’re done routing the Charr, the Commander of the fortress will give you an idea of where these renegade Charr are located. Next week’s mission will have you and your mentor taking on a hoard of ferocious enemies, without the aid of ally soldiers.

Conclusion – 20 Weeks of Guild Wars 2 Gameplay

We’ve now been running our Guild Wars 2 gameplay diary for 20 weeks. Let’s just think about that for a moment. That’s a little under five months, with enough words to fill a novella (we’re talking 22,000 words total) and over an hour’s worth of video. That’s pretty damn impressive. What’s more impressive is that I’m still only at around 10% through this version of the game. Not the full game, mind – which offers different choices, orders and more – but just the version of the game in which a human warrior chooses the many people of Divinity’s Reach over his friend, and in which he joins the Vigil in the hopes of destroying a dragon. Guild Wars 2 offers a ton of content and the personal story seems unparalleled.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be working our way through the Vigil missions and we’ll be watching how things go with the dragon. Here’s hoping that the next twenty entries in our Guild Wars 2 diary are as interesting as our first twenty, and that ArenaNet are working on some great upcoming content to keep us busy. And, of course, don’t forget to check our Guild Wars 2 competition for a chance to win a free copy of Guild Wars 2.

Here’s to twenty more episodes!

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