Location, Location, Location : GW2

Guild Wars 2 is one of those annoying MMORPGs that resolutely refuses to add housing. Real housing, that is.

There's the oddly-named "Personal Instance", of course, which has been there since launch. It could scarcely be less personal if it was a bunk bed in a 19th century workhouse. I don't know about anyone else, but if my "personal" space consisted of a city block, a research lab or an army training camp, where dozens, nay, scores of people lived, worked, slept and generally went about their business, none of them apparently even knowing my name, let alone acknowledging they were IN MY HOUSE, I'd probably consider getting psychiatric help. Either that or I'd burn the place down for the insurance.

Then there's the recently-added Sun's Refuge, a refugee camp in a cave. That's some attractive real estate, right there. I was going to work on upgrading it only I forgot it existed until I came to write this post.

In the absence of a proper home, my characters have learned to make themselves comfortable in all sorts of nooks and crannies. Mostly, it has to be said, close to places handy for dailies. When you have three accounts to get through before breakfast on a workday it pays to keep the waypointing to a minimum, particularly in mind of GW2's astonishingly slow load times.

In honor of IntPiPoMo and because I've left it a bit late for a proper post, I thought I'd put up a few pictures of some of my regular homes-away-from-home. I didn't need to move anyone to get these shots - I just logged them all in and there they were.

The picture at the very top is my Warrior (on my primary account - all these are primaries). His main job is doing the Heart of Maguuma Vista daily. He lives in this well-appointed hut in Jaka Itzel, convenient to both the vista and waypoint. He sleeps on the big flat palm leaves and listens to the frogs banging on endlessly about how the jungle has gone all weird on them. At least it's warm and he's out of the rain.

This is where several characters spend their days, under an awning to keep the Maguuma sun at bay. The location is Krait Bane Haven, the aptly-named outpost in Caledon Forest where I do the Krait Daily on all three accounts. It's also handy for the lettuce farm when Maguuma Foraging comes up and you can do Maguuma Mining there quite handily as well.

Another vista spot, this time in Queensdale. It's nice and flat, no climbing, and it's right by a waypoint. Also handy for another lettuce patch for the Kryta Foraging daily. After I've looked at the vista and/or picked some greens, I settle down under this tree and listen to the villagers chatting. It wouldn't surprise me if one of them married a pig-farmer's daughter.

This is the odd one out in this list. It's Krennak's Homestead in Wayfarer Foothills and it's not particularly associated with any dailies. I got into a habit of sleeping there back in the days when I did the Frozen Maw World Boss event regularly and I often use it as a default when a character ends a session somewhere they don't want to stay overnight. It's warm and cosy and the Norn are friendly. We're all fed up eating nothing but roast moa meat, though.

This is in The Silverwastes, next to a Skritt tunnel. It's also right by a vista and there are wood and metal nodes very close by, making it perfect for several Maguuma Wastes dailies. It's also safe - all the Skritt tunnel entrances are - which is a rarity on the map. I also often stay in Camp Resolve at the entrance to The Silverwastes but it's noisy there, which makes it hard to get to sleep.

This attractive spot is all the more surprising when you find it's in that decaying pit of stench and decay, Orr. It's a grass-covered butte in Straits of Devestation, admitedly at the more marketable end of the peninsula. It's right next to an asparagus patch (or is it artichokes?) that's perfect for the Orr Foraging daily and since it can only be accessed via glider it's comfortably free of Risen and similar annoyingly homicidal mobs.

For a Charr, this is heaven on a stick. It's in the village of Butcher's Block, where Meatoberfest, the eternal celebration of meat, explosions and pickled eggs carries on all year round. There's a handy vista on the fortified wall for the Ascalon Vista Daily. Of course, if you don't happen to be a Charr or a Norn its more like hell, but at least you won't go hungry. Unless you're a vegetarian.

And finally in today's selection of al fresco pieds à terre we have this bijou residencette in swanky Lion's Arch. Highly convenient for all facilities, it's situated right next to that annoying woman who insists on gatekeeping the activities we used to be able to choose for ourselves. Can't do the Activity Daily without her. Well, you can, but this is a lot faster.

That's just a sample of my regular sleeping spots. I very rarely log anyone out before I've returned them to somewhere I consider comfortable enough to overnight. On occasion I have been a little late for work because I couldn't leave the house until I was satisfied with someone's sleeping arrangements.

It's possible I have issues with reality. Mostly knowing what it is...