System: PC
Dev: Arena Net
Pub: NCSoft
Release: TBA 2007
Players: 1 - ?
Preview by Patrick

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Review Rating Legend
1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid
2.0 - 2.4 = Poor
2.5 - 2.9 = Average
3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
3.5 - 3.9 = Good
4.0 - 4.4 = Great
4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
5.0 = The Best

Nightfall is NCSoft's way of telling you that you're still spending way too much time away from the PC. by Patrick Evans

July 31, 2006 - Fast on the heels of their successful follow-up expansion/sequel Factions, NCSoft and Arena Net have opened their digital doors with Beta-testing to let players get a look at what's coming down the pipe. The extended PvP event gave players their first look at the two new professions, the Paragon and the Dervish, and how they will fit in with the other eight classes already out there.

The Paragon profession is named after something without peer and is a shining example to those around him. Players choosing the Paragon will become vital pieces to any party, capable of using chants and shouts to bolster his team's abilities. Like any great leader, Paragons will also benefit from being in a big group as many of their skills are strengthened by a larger number of allies within earshot. One example of this is the skill named "Leader's Comfort," which allows a Paragon to heal himself in battle. The skill has a base amount of hit points that it recovers, but if surrounded by teammates that number almost triples. Overall, using a throwing spear for a base weapon makes this profession feel like a mix between Ranger and Warrior, with a greater focus on support spells and the effects that they can cause.

Players that choose Dervish may be a bit surprised by the sheer damage capacity they sport. Less bulky or heavily armored than the Paragon, the description for the Dervish is that of a holy warrior of nature. Using Wind and Earth prayers, Dervishes can cast multiple enchantments on themselves to enhance their damage or defense. Their scythe attacks, which have a very big damage range compared to the other melee weapons, use the number of enchantments as bonuses to the damage done. With three enchantments, players can do 100 damage or more in a single blow. When casting these enchantments, they usually do a considerable amount of elemental damage as well, allowing the Dervish to weaken a pack while focusing on a healer with massive strikes. As enchantments expire, the Dervish also gains energy based on their Mysticism attribute, allowing them to continue the cycle. The hands-down coolest trick in the Dervish's arsenal is the ability to transform into one of the spirits whose statues litter the Prophecies campaign. Melandru is available immediately for the Beta, which boosts the player's hit points 200 and grants immunities to conditions, but there is one for each of the gods found in Guild Wars.

Nightfall's Beta gives players a number of training fights with and against computer opponents to remind them of the basics. Paragon players are able to use their commands and chants to grant condition-dealing damage on their team's attacks, which in turn help their individual attacks that work much more efficiently with bleeding or crippled enemies. Successful Paragons will find out fairly early that their team is much more important than themselves, and that successful management of their chants in conjunction with their spear attacks is vital. Dervishes, on the other hand, are quite capable at bringing the pain solo. While not a tank by trade, using Melandru's Avatar to transform into an eight-foot tree spirit with 200 additional hit points can certainly lend itself to absorbing damage. There are also enchantments that automatically heal the Dervish when their hit-points fall beneath 50 percent, leaving the skilled Dervish player to only be concerned with damage dealing. In playing with both professions, I found it much easier to pummel the computer opponents with massive scythe strikes than to count on my AI teammates to inflict conditions through the Paragon chants.

Beta tests are usually as interesting for the developers testing their class balancing and server capacities as it is for players getting their hands on new material. There are very few changes in the core gameplay to report from this weekend's event. A few cosmetic changes to the on-screen display are all that stood out during play, but Arena Net is certain to install gameplay improvements as well as balancing tweaks as Nightfall continues through development. By partitioning their staff into two development teams, the developers report that they should be able to bring players a new campaign roughly every six months. While no official date has been announced, this would put our estimates on a late-2006, early-2007 release.

By Patrick Evans
CCC Staff Writer