Tales of Tyria

Tales of Tyria #33: The Least Greedy MMO?

Bridger — Mon, 28 May 2012 16:58:11 +0000

We didn't have any real news this week except for a single interview with Mike O'Brien, President of Arenanet. What started as a show about nothing turned into a long discussion about how finances interfere with game design. We wrapped up by taking questions from the chat room.

Episode 33:

07:21 - News: TL Video Library; Interview with Mike O'Brien; "What's In a Name?" Blog Post
51:00 - Roundtable: Live Viwer Questions

Weekly Question:

Question of the Week - Is GW2 the "Least Greedy Western MMO"?

Let us know what you think and send us feedback. Also, watch us live on Sunday nights @ 8pm EDT.

Tales of Tyria #32: Gaming Hardware

Bridger — Mon, 21 May 2012 13:56:00 +0000

We have a special episode this week where we take a small break from direct GW2 discussion to work on a tangential topic: Hardware. How do you make the most of your GW2 gaming experience? We break down and discuss the various peripherals, as well as the internals of a good gaming PC. Before that though, we have some leaked possible patch notes to talk about!

Episode 32:

03:30 - Feedback: Death of the Holy Trinity
10:20 - News: 2 Blog Posts plus Patch Notes?
35:43 - Roundtable: Gaming Hardware
- 0:35:43 - Team Legacy Resources
- 0:38:49 - Keyboard vs. Game Pad
- 0:59:00 - Mice
- 1:18:10 - Monitors
- 1:22:58 - Headphones/Microphones
- 1:34:05 - How to Find "The Best Value" GPU or CPU
- 1:36:04 - Graphics Cards
- 1:53:28 - CPUs
- 1:56:00 - Ram
- 2:00:07 - Hard Disk Drives vs. Solid State Drives (HDD vs. SSD)
- 2:01:40 - Motherboards
- 2:04:27 - Power Supplies

Weekly Question:

Question of the Week - NVIDIA or ATI? Tell us your advice at the TL PC Advice and Analysis Corner

Let us know what you think and send us feedback. Also, watch us live on Sunday nights @ 8pm EDT.

Tales of Tyria #31: Green Is Better Than Blue?

Bridger — Tue, 15 May 2012 00:06:00 +0000

This week we take the time to start re-introducing the hosts to you guys who have joined us since the first episode. Vega heads into "The Gauntlet." Will he come out unscathed? We also spend quite a bit of time talking about the inventory system and bag management in Guild Wars 2, along with a Bridger Rant on gem prices. Finally, we take the time to go back and discuss if the game has truly delivered on it's promise to destroy the holy trinity.

Episode 31:

06:34 - Feedback: WvW Keep Balance
12:14 - News: Guided Tour of Lion's Arch, Stress Test, and Post Launch Content
29:30 - Bridger Rant: $1 = 80 gems? WTF?!?!
34:02 - Roundtable: PvE Revisited - Is the holy trinity truly gone?

Weekly Question:

Question of the Week - Having played the beta, what are your thoughts on the holy trinity?

Let us know what you think and send us feedback. Also, watch us live on Sunday nights @ 8pm EDT.

How To Guild Wars 2: Lion's Arch Guided Tour

Bridger — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:46:40 +0000

Take a walk with us around Lion's Arch, and explore all of it's hidden secrets. From the High Dive into Old Lion's Arch to the Order of Whispers and back, we cover every area of interest that resides in Lion's Arch.

Also check out the first H2GW2 video: The Economy

Tales of Tyria #30: Red Posts Are Superior

Bridger — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:32:37 +0000

So many Red Posts! With an estimated 900+ responses on the Official Forums, Arenanet has blown us away with how they respond to feedback. We cover a lot of the more interesting responces from the most recent Beta Weekend before heading into more World vs. World discussion. Sorry for the long show guys! We'll try to keep it to an hour in the future :)

Episode 30:

03:00 - Feedback: Best WvW Story?
10:30 - News: Arenanet Responds, Dynamic Events Behind the Scenes
49:40 - Bridger Rant: Default Keybinds: WTF 6-0?
53:09 - Roundtable: WvW Re-Visited

Weekly Question:

Question of the Week - What are your thoughts on the balance of the Eternal Battlegrounds?

Let us know what you think and send us feedback. Also, watch us live on Sunday nights @ 8pm EDT.

Tales of Tyria #29: The Battle for Dreaming Bay

Bridger — Tue, 01 May 2012 23:54:52 +0000

While it's fresh in our mind, the Tales of Tyria team brings you all our thoughts from the first Beta Weekend Event. PvP? Check. WvW? Check. PvE? Check. Everything else? Check! This show taps out at 3 hours, so be sure to pack a lunch cause this is the very longest show yet. Be sure to check out the namesake of this episode: The Battle for Dreaming Bay. If you think we missed something, don't forget to send us feedback@talesoftyria.com

Episode 29:

02:50 - Feedback: How to Tell Someone They Are Bad?
07:20 - News: Open Beta, GW2builds.org, Glory System Revealed?
36:05 - Bridger Rant: Why is it scaling me down? Turn it off!
39:40 - Roundtable: Beta Experiences
- 0:39:40 - General: Interface/Systems
- 1:22:40 - PvE: Dynamic Events/Personal Story/Crafting
- 2:00:00 - World vs. World
- 2:34:45 - Structrued PvP

Weekly Question:

Question of the Week - What's your best WvW story?

Let us know what you think and send us feedback. Also, watch us live on Sunday nights @ 8pm EDT.

Tales of Tyria Preshow: 2pm EDT on Friday

Bridger — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 02:51:42 +0000

Tales of Tyria/Team Legacy Beta Server: Crystal Desert

Stuck looking at the login screen? Waiting desperately for the GW2 beta to begin? Fear not! Starting at 2pm EDT, Tales of Tyria will be streaming with entertaining commentary and discussion for the hour leading up to the game's launch. Then after launch, your favorite hosts will spend an hour or so traveling and experiencing the world of Tyria. Most of you will likely be playing, but for those who can't, tune in at www.talesoftyria.com/live/.

We'll also be holding special Tales of Tyria events on Saturday Night (8pm EDT) and Sunday Night (8pm EDT). Be sure to tune in if you aren't in game :)

Tales of Tyria #28: 5 Days!!

Bridger — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:30:19 +0000

Less than 5 days left until beta! Please be aware that we will be streaming all through the weekend at www.twitch.tv/team/tot and www.twitch.tv/team/teamlegacy. Also be aware that next week's show will be recorded at 8pm EDT on Monday, but we will be looking to do some special event at 8pm EDT on Sunday, so don't skip it! Other discussions on this show include some feedback from last week's show, a new awesome build calculator website, and a few items from the Mailbag.

Episode 28:

05:40 - Feedback: Innate Talent vs. Training
16:50 - News: Open Beta, GW2builds.org, Glory System Revealed?
40:50 - Mailbag: Armor system @ level 80
47:40 - Table Scraps: Fragworld.org GW2 Town Hall Meeting.

Weekly Question:

Question of the Week - What's your plan for beta?

Let us know what you think and send us feedback. Also, watch us live on Sunday nights @ 8pm EDT.

Tales of Tyria #27: I'm So Stressed!

Bridger — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:42:15 +0000

A slow news week, we spend a bit of time responding to some feedback regaurding last week's discussion on Entitlement in the gaming community. Then, after a short news discussion, we dive into the mailbag for some viewer questions. From RP to baddies, and everything in between.

Episode 27:

02:30 - Feedback: Gamer Entitlement
17:03 - News: Prepurchase, Stress Test
26:10 - Mailbag: RP Servers,- do we need gold sinks?, how do you tell someone they are bad?

Weekly Question:

Question of the Week - What makes a better pro gamer, Innate Talent or Supreme Training?

Let us know what you think and send us feedback. Also, watch us live on Sunday nights @ 8pm EDT.

Tales of Tyria #26: PAX East 2012

Bridger — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 18:34:42 +0000

We're back from PAX with some great stories and swag! This week we're discussing a lot of the recent news, including a long dicussion on the recent blog about the Squad's system. Before all that, we've got to talk PAX! It was exciting, we met Martin Kerstein! We got Beta keys! Stay tuned after the show ends for some bonus conversation that just kept going after we ended the show. Also, if you want to help the show: Subscribe to us on youtube.

Episode 26:

04:45 - PAX Recap - We met Martin! And came back with Keys!
18:00 - Feedback: WoW Memories
20:30 - News: Custom Animations Suggestion, Oceanic Servers, Squads
66:00 - Post of the Week: Gold Farmers OP?
80:30- Post Show Commentary - Freelancer Rants!

Weekly Question:

Question of the Week - Thoughts on Gamer Entitlement?

Let us know what you think and send us feedback. Also, watch us live on Sunday nights @ 8pm EST.

Tales of Tyria #25: LegacyCast

Bridger — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 13:41:07 +0000

Some very suprising news this week for the show, and then we cover some questions from the mailbag. We talk a bit about the holy trinity and Dependancy vs. Teamwork, then we move on to a discusion of how end game gear will work. Finally, we end by discussing everyone's favorite topic, World of Warcraft!

Episode 25:

07:00 - News: GW2Guru Shutting down, New Elite Skill
27:48 - Freelancer Rant: Addons; What're they good for?
49:23 - Mailbag: End Game Gear, and why all the WoW hate?

Weekly Question:

Question of the Week - What are your best and worst memories from World of Warcraft?

Let us know what you think and send us feedback. Also, watch us live on Sunday nights @ 8pm EST.

Tales of Tyria #24: Gems, Economy, and Press, Oh My!

Bridger — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:38:35 +0000

Gems are here! This week we talk about new footage from the recent press beta, and boy are we glad TotalBuiscuit finally got to play it for himself. We then move on to the massive topic of the Guild Wars 2 trading post and then the dreaded topic of Microtransactions. We had some differing opinions on the various types of things expected to be in the Gem store.

Episode 24:

04:47 - News: Region Free? GW2 Signature Creator, TotalBiscuit Videos
39:36 - Bridger Rant: Play the game before making a video!
43:15 - Roundtable: Gems, Microtransactions, and That Slimy Feeling.

Weekly Question:

Question of the Week - What are your feelings on the Gem store?

Let us know what you think and send us feedback. Also, watch us live on Sunday nights @ 8pm EST.

Tales of Tyria Presents: How to GW2 - The Economy

Bridger — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 02:04:40 +0000

Hello everybody! By now I hope everyone got the memo that this week's episode will be recorded live this Monday @ 8pm EDT. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this video I created over the weekend discussing the ins and out of the economy. It's the first in a new series of short videos called: How To Guild Wars 2.

Tales of Tyria #23: Where the Rubber Meets the Road

Bridger — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 14:30:55 +0000

This week have some news including the OMG COLLECTORS EDITION! *Drool* We'll talk about whether it's worth the money. Next up we cover various links of the week, as well as the recent Arenanet Blog post which announced Official Forums. Then after a Bridger Rant we roll strait into a discussion about how well the mechanics of the various classes of GW2 match up with their themes.

Episode 23:

02:35 - News: New Tales of Tyria Website, Pre-Purchase Announced, Official Forums
39:00 - Bridger Rant: What are you going to do at level 80?
46:35 - Roundtable: Mechanics vs. Theme

Weekly Question:

Question of the Week - Which profession mechanics best mesh with their theme?

Let us know what you think and send us feedback. Also, watch us live on Sunday nights @ 8pm EST.

Tales of Tyria #22: Traits vs. Talents

Bridger — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:37:42 +0000

This week continues last week's discusion on the recently revealed Traits and Attributes system. We shift our focus from PvP to a more PvE perspective this week, even rolling into a short discussion on the pros and cons of GW2's Traits system vs. WoW's Talents system.

Episode 22:

03:20 - News: TB Underwater Video, Various Links
18:45 - Bridger Rant: Are we still talking about the Trinity?
22:30 - Roundtable: Build Wars 2 Cont.
57:10 - Show Updates: Straight Talk with Tales of Tyria, Thanks Donators, Back to Normal Time

Weekly Question:

Question of the Week - Is the Trainer Kerfufle a legitimate complaint? Or is something to talk about until the game is out?

Let us know what you think and send us feedback. Also, watch us live on Sunday nights @ 8pm EST.

Tales of Tyria #21: Build Wars 2

Bridger — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 19:50:01 +0000

This show mostly focuses on the newly revealed Traits and Attributes systm. How flexible is it? Does it pigeonhole people into specific roles again? We also discuss various links from around the community, incluing a Bridger Rant on players who refuse to learn. Finally, we discuss the pros and cons of being able to change your "build" in the middle of a PvP match. Next week we'll talk about changing your build in WvW and PvE.

Episode 21:

04:25 - News: Next Beta in Late March, Various Links
24:00 - Bridger Rant: When Will they Learn?
35:45 - Roundtable: Traits, Attributes, and Build Wars 2

Weekly Question:

Question of the Week - How much flexibility should players have to change their build in structured PvP?

Let us know what you think and send us feedback. Also, watch us live on Sunday nights @ 8pm EST.

Tales of Tyria #20: Aftershock

Bridger — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:55:07 +0000

Despite the 3 hour show we had last week, there was still tons of info that we needed to follow up with this week. Two major blog updates, another Reddit AMA (ask me anything), and a tangent here or there. We also discuss the possible upcoming beta test, or do we?

Episode 20:

04:30 - News: Beta Development Update, Various Links, WvW Clarifications
42:00 - Roundtable: WvW Clarifications, Reddit AMA

Weekly Question:

Question of the Week - How should they structure the Guild Capture mechanic?

Let us know what you think and send us feedback. Also, watch us live on Sunday nights @ 8pm EST.

Tales of Tyria #19b: The Day the NDA Died

Bridger — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:44:37 +0000

Here we have part 2 of our Press Beta coverage. In this episode you can expect to find everything not related to World v. World. We discuss our initial reactions to the gameplay videos, as well as all the new systems we got some details on. See below for the full list

Episode 19b:

00:40 - Roundtable:
- Reactions
- Traits
- Mesmer
- Guilds
- New PvP map
- Overflow Server System

Weekly Question:

Question of the Week - What stood out to you while you were looking at the Press Beta coverage?

Let us know what you think and send us feedback. Also, watch us live on Sunday nights @ 8pm EST.

Tales of Tyria #19a: When Worlds Collide

Bridger — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:34:43 +0000

We finally got a ton of info reguarding the World v. World mode in Guild Wars 2. Not only that, but the Press Beta just ended and there's tons of new info about EVERYTHING! So much info we had to split this monster of a show in two. This is part 1 of Episode 19, dedicated to everything WvW.

Episode 19a:

03:14 - News: Team Legacy.net makeover, new show in the works
6:30 - Roundtable: World vs. World

Weekly Question:

Question of the Week - World vs. World; Does it live up to the hype?

Let us know what you think and send us feedback. Also, watch us live on Sunday nights @ 8pm EST.

Tales of Tyria #18: Predictions

Bridger — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:57:44 +0000

This week we decided to lay out predictions for various topics and then compare them to actual events a month after release. Which class will be most popular? Which Race? Which class will be considered "most OP"? How many active players on week 1? All this and more Table Scraps as well as a mailbag question about "Storytelling" in games.

PLEASE NOTE: Next week's show recording is MOVED to Monday Feb. 20th @ 8pm EST

Episode 18:

07:40 - News: Wooden Potatoes Vids + Awesome fan made trailer
10:00 - Bridger Rant: World of Warcraft Teaches the Wrong Things
16:05 - Mailbag: Storytelling in MMOs
32:08 - Table Scraps: Predictions, What should be in the Collectors Ed.?

Weekly Question:

Question of the Week - What do you think the most popular race and class will be?

Let us know what you think and send us feedback. Also, watch us live on Sunday nights @ 8pm EST.

Tales of Tyria #17: A Scandal in Seattle

Bridger — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:55:18 +0000

Running on fumes this week, we delve into discussion of the few pieces of new info we have. Specifically that involves some rather salacious armor, which has sparked quite the controversy (for lack of anything better to controvert over). We discuss thes pics, our thoughts on gender in games, and answer a few emails.

Episode 17:

03:57 - News: New Screenshots, Press Beta Invites
17:50 - Roundtable: Scandal in Seattle
41:15 - Mailbag: Women in Games, Viewing Builds in PvP

Weekly Question:

Question of the Week - Is the revealing armor objectifying women in GW2? What about the revealing male armor? Is that objectifyjng men?

Let us know what you think and send us feedback. Also, watch us live on Sunday nights @ 8pm EST.

Tales of Tyria #16: Table Scraps

Bridger — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:55:06 +0000

Beta is Coming! We discuss the Pride of the Jotun, Beta News, and many other small topics including a Bridger Rant! We also debut a new segment entitled: Table Scraps - for topics that just don't merit their own roundtable discussion, but are still worth discussing.

Episode 16:

02:50 - News: Year of the Dragon, PvP Roundtable, The Jotun
20:05 - Bridger Rant: Entitlement
22:33 - Mailbag: Playing to Win Clarifications, Multiboxing
13:20 - Table Scraps: Smaller Health Pools / Controls and Gaming Peripherals

Weekly Question:

Do you use a non-standard control scheme or peripheral?

Let us know what you think and send us feedback. Also, watch us live on Sunday nights @ 8pm EST.

Tales of Tyria #15: Playing to Win

Bridger — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:43:03 +0000

This week we have very little news so we have a short discussion on WvW thanks to some listener feedback. Then we jump into the deep end and try to wrap our heads around competitive play. When is it OK to use an exploit? When is it OK to use something that other people have labeled as "overpowered"? What is greifing? All these questions and more.

Episode 15:

5:55 - Mailbag: WvW - Is 2 weeks too short?
13:20 - Roundtable: Competitive vs. Non-Competitive

Weekly Question:

When is it OK to use an Exploit? When is it OK to use an ability that is commonly seen as game breaking?

Let us know what you think and send us feedback. Also, watch us live on Sunday nights @ 8pm EST.

Tales of Tyria #14: The Big Lore Show

Bridger — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:40:24 +0000

We've been telling you this has been coming for some time. It's finally here! We bring on 3 special guests (Angerina, Edwin, and Malchior) to discuss the backgrounds and histories of the 5 playable races in Guild Wars 2. If you were still trying to fiure out which race you should play, or just never played Guild Wars 1, this is the show you need to hear.

Episode 14:

3:21 - News: Ree Soesbee Interview
5:00 - Lore: A Brief History of Tyria
- 5:00 - Geography 101: Refer to this map while listening.
- 7:00 - In the Begining: Time scale and ancient history
- 9:45 - Human History: Founding of Ascalon through the Searing and the Exodus.
- 24:40 - Charr History: Charr Culture, the machinations of Abaddon, and the Rebellion
- 31:55 - Dwarf History: The fight with the Great Destroyer
- 34:53 - Primordeous: The First Dragon to Awaken, Asura Backstory/Culture
- 40:45 - Zhaitan: The Undead Dragon Awakens
- 43:50 - Jormag: The Ice Dragon, Norn Backstory/Culture
- 52:32 - Sylvari History: 25 Years of Sylvari History/Culture
- 64:04 - Kralkatorrik: The Crystal Dragon
68:38 - (Spoiler Free) Book Review: Ghosts of Ascalon
77:40 - (Spoilers) Book Review: Ghosts of Ascalon

Weekly Question:

What race are you looking forward to the most? Why?

Let us know what you think and send us feedback. Also, watch us live on Sunday nights @ 8pm EST.

Tales of Tyria Recorded Early on Sunday (4pm EST)

Bridger — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 13:41:19 +0000

We are having a special guest from Germany on the show this week, and as they are 6 hours ahead of us, we had to make special arrangements timewise. The show will be recorded 4 hours earlier than normal (at 4pm EST instead of 8pm EST) so if you want to watch live, make sure to show up at the correct time.

Tales of Tyria #13: Hardcore vs. Casual

Bridger — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:57:06 +0000

Not a lot of news this week so we dig into the mailbag to answer some listener questions. We still had time so we figured it was time to try to pin down some definitions: Hardcore and Casual. They mean different things to diferent types of gamers. Why is there always so much contention beween these two groups? Is there even a separation or are they more alike than they know? That's the challenge set before our panel this week.

Episode 13:

03:21 - News: Custom Emotes - /me cheers!
05:20 - Feedback: Guild vs. Guild and Thoughts on The Old Republic
21:38 - Roundtable: Hardcore vs. Casual

Weekly Question:

How do you define "Hardcore" and "Casual." How do you define yourself? Is "mid core" even a thing!?!?

Let us know what you think and send us feedback. Also, watch us live on Sunday nights @ 8pm EST.

Tales of Tyria #12: Achievement Unlocked

Bridger — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 16:46:03 +0000

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are officially now entering the year in which Guild Wars 2 will be released! This week we cover the GW2 End Year Development Update from the Arenanet Blog. Achievements, Thief changes, and animations, oh my! Then in our roundtable segment we discuss the Ideal MMO. What would it look like?

Episode 12:

04:38 - News: End Year Development Update
08:16 - Bridger Rant: Achievement Unlocked
52:08 - Roundtable: The Ideal MMO

Weekly Question:

What would make the Ideal MMO?

Let us know what you think and send us feedback. Also, watch us live on Sunday nights @ 8pm EST.

No Tales of Tyria On Christmas

Bridger — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 01:17:49 +0000

Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. We won't be recording a Tales of Tyria on the 25th. The show will resume again on the 1st with a discussion of the recent arenanet blog post and a discussion of the "dream MMO." If you feel like discussing it in the meantime, there's a great thread on the Team Legacy forums. See you on the first!

Tales of Tyria #11: The Mesmer Revealed

Bridger — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:41:18 +0000

This week revolves around the Mesmer as well as the new info released by the Reddit AMA. How doe the Mesmer play? Does it live up to expectations? What new info was revealed by the AMA? World vs. World vs. World, Beta, Mesmer, and more!

Episode 11:

03:20 - News: The Mesmer Revealed/Reddit Interviews/AMA/Dev Chat

Weekly Question:

Did you jump on the Mesmer Bandwagon? Or are you disapointed?

Let us know what you think and send us feedback. Also, watch us live on Sunday nights @ 8pm EST.

The Psychology of Winning: Fail Better

Bridger — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:23:50 +0000

Here's a simple question for you: Do you play to win? I bet 90% of the people reading this would immediately answer "Yes, of course." The problem is, a great number of them would be wrong. They think they are playing to win, but they are trapped by pride and mental defense mechanisms that prevent them from truly playing to win. I was once one of those players. Most players start out that way. The default state of human psychology is "protect the ego from harm." When you lose, it's not your fault right? The other guy was using an OP weapon, or a cheap move that takes no skill. While these concepts are comforting to our ego, they are a massive barrier preventing us from getting better at games. Hopefully, by the end of this article, you will have the capacity to break through that barrier and truly Play to Win.