So far from everything that I've seen about Guild Wars 2 and its primary focus, Player versus Player (PvP) combat, I can say that it looks to be really fun. However, I'd never consider it as a true e-sport, particularly not something I'd enjoy watching on a stream.

New information about GW2 is pouring in from all sides, which isn't much of a surprise considering it's due for release in a few days. One of the latest news that caught my attention is ArenaNet's systems designer Jonathan Sharp commenting that their PvP team has e-sports in mind for Guild Wars 2. The game will launch with free tournaments, but the developer team has plans to get paid tournaments with gem rewards as well. He also announced the release of a spectator mode, although it's not yet ready at this time.

Over the past couple of years I've watched countless League of Legends streams and tournaments, and being a passionate player of the game myself I can appreciate a good match. I find it interesting and dynamic, and really fun to watch. Perhaps because not only can I have fun watching it, but also learn something new or try some tactics and strategies these players employ in my own games.

In Guild Wars 2 however I just don't see the appeal. First of all I doubt I'll ever be playing the game for as long or as frequently as LoL, but still I can see myself enjoy it nearly every day. But I just don't feel that MMORPGs can ever compete in serious e-sports scene. I simply don't think it's a game where spectating can be nearly as fun as participating.

I may be proven wrong, but Guild Wars 2 aiming to make a big impact on the e-sports scene seems far-fetched right now.

Diablo 3 is one of the most eagerly awaited games of the year as it has managed to create a lot of hype around it since the first announcement came in the March of 2008. Since then Blizzard, the game’s developers have continued to play with the patience and loyalty of diablo fans with their periodic news releases and even a couple of Beta demo playable versions. 

And since it’s been in production for so long, fans expected the introduction of a number of new features in the series and one of those features is the Auction House. Diablo 3 will provide its players with a fully-fledged Auction House where trading of money or items will be made possible.

The Need for an Auction House

This feature was not available in Diablo 2 but the fact that many MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) include it in their titles probably forced Blizzard to do so as well. A very good example of such a title is the World of Warcraft series. The inclusion of an Auction House is seen by many experts and fans as an additional inlet for attracting newer players who have stayed away from this series.

Means of Dealing in the Auction House

The Auction House built into Diablo 3 by Blizzard will have two varieties. The first one will conduct all its transactions with gold as the currency. Players will be able to sell crafting materials, items and in some cases even their characters for gold.

The other type of Auction House will base all its transactions on RMT, aka Real Money Transaction. So the players can trade in the Auction House for the above mentioned stuff but can pay only through currency used in the real world. This means currency in Dollars, Euros, Pesos, Pounds etc. Both these systems have their own share of fans and the inclusion of both has given Diablo 3 an edge over its competitors; not to forget its advantage in attracting more first-time players.
   
Why Is It a Good Idea?

Inclusion of an Auction House is one of the best additions to Diablo 3 over the previous versions. Such a system gives players the freedom to conduct an item sale on a system that is completely automated. They are free from the compulsion of staying online to complete their sale apart from not being forced to spam all the chat channels with ads of their sale.

In case a player is looking for only a trade then this system makes a lot of sense as well. This is because you can browse through such sale or trade offers even when other players are not online. To maintain the benefits of the feature, Auction House will be limited to the Softcore (SC) and Hardcore (HC) characters.



Hardcore Vs. Softcore

The Auction House trade will be limited to within the HC and SC characters. This means that softcore characters cannot use hardcore difficulty auction houses and vice versa. Additionally, hardcore characters can trade only in the auction house that is based on gold.

Functioning & Interface

Diablo 3’s Auction House is quite similar to real-life auction houses. Players are able to bid for a particular item or can even choose to go for a complete buy-out. This mechanism is applicable for transactions based on gold as well as RMT.

Players can call upon the Auction House anytime they want during the game. Besides it can also be accessed in the main menu, Battle.net menu and even the lobby. The various items that have been put up for sale are classified as per their category. The variables within all the items are also accounted for in this listing of items.

In spite of a few controversies, most industry experts see the inclusion of an Auction House as a positive move that will only further cement the popularity of the Diablo franchise.

TERA's headstart begins tomorrow, and personally I can hardly wait to get into this new action MMORPG. However, there's one serious thing that boggles my mind: I'm not sure which class to play.

I've been researching a lot about the game recently, and as more and more information is becoming available I found out that my preferred class, the Lancer, is in fact the slowest one when it comes to leveling up. Of course, leveling isn't everything, but it sure is pretty darn important and I don't want to fall behind too much. Getting to the endgame as fast as possible is always one of the main goals of many players and I must admit I'm one of those.

So here are the main pros and cons of playing a Lancer:

Pros: the best tank in the game, I personally love playing tanks and it fits my style of play, easy to find groups
Cons: low damage, leveling is very slow



If I do choose to play a Lancer I'll have to spend most of my time looking for groups. Fortunately Tera does have a great matchmaking system and Lancers are high in demand, but on the other hand I don't always want to be forced to group with others. Despite Tera being an online game, sometimes you just want to take a break from other players and solo.

While leveling in TERA isn't awfully difficult, I see no reason to make it harder for myself just for picking a class I like. There are of course some leveling guides for TERA and they do help quicken the way, but still I'd be crippling myself just by picking a Lancer. There are 7 other classes to choose from, but none of them look as appealing for me. Warrior is probably the closest one when it comes to gameplay: also a good tank, but has a bit more damage, therefore making leveling speed a bit quicker. It's still fairly easy to find groups for instances too.



Basically, I'm a bit confused right now as to which class would be better for me: play a Warrior and just experience the game as fast as possible, or take a risk and play what I like best? Other classes unfortunately don't interest me as much, but I am planning on making a Mystic or Priest alt later on.

What do you think? Should I play what I like regardless or force myself to play another class?

In the Star Wars: The Old Republic you play you character as the game progresses. Your character will progress on how you play them. Like any other online game, you gain experience and skills in order to increase you character level. The character level will define the capacity on which battle or skills training your character can do. Engaging in battles and killing enemies will gain you character more experience, which will increase your level.

In the Old Republic, you can still increase your character’s level, even without a specific guide. Your character level will not determine which quest you’re allowed to take. So taking any quest will allow you to experience more battles and develop skills, in effect increasing your level. But if you want to get the full potential of you XP and level, you may follow a level guide that will show you a step-by-step process on how to efficiently increase your level. This is by following a guide on which quest to take.

In the game, it might take you more than just 4 days or even weeks in order to reach the level cap, which will allow you to proceed to the next level. It is important to know which quests will give you high-XP rewards, knowing which dungeons or quests to take will give you an advantage to increase your level skills faster. Depending on the skills development, either gathering, crafting or mission skills, all these will help increase your skills level to reach the level cap.



For every level, you need to know which skills you’re going to develop first. In the game guide, you will be advised to develop gathering and crafting skills first. This way, you will know how to increase your skill levels faster. The crafting skills will give you more chances of building weapons and armors for defense, which will eventually give you an advantage for mission skills.

The quest you take will also determine your skills level. Choosing which quest to take first might cause a faster increase in skills level or could even slow down the increase. This is because for each quest and every battle you win corresponds an increase in the skills level.

Upon reaching the level cap, you will proceed to the next level. In reaching the next level, as suggested in the game guide, you will need to gather and craft new weapons. You will also be given the chance how to play your troopers. The higher level you get, the better control and more troopers you can get.

Like in any other online game, the higher level you get the better chances of winning battles and building your skills. So in Star Wars: The Old Republic, you need to familiarize the different levels and which skills you need to develop. Choosing which quests to take first is essential in making your level increase faster. Choosing which skill to develop first will help you win battles and gain more experience. So, in order to win the game, you should know which skill and quest you should start from. I suggest you take a look at SWTOR guides comparison and figure out which one is best depending on your preference. In the game guide, you will be advised which skill to take first, and how to gain levels faster.