Category: Guild Wars 2

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[GW2] Guardian Profession on the Way

PC Gamer created a bit of a hubbub within a multi-page article discussing the biggest PC games coming in 2011. Apparently they leaked the name of the fifth profession: the Guardian. I mean they were allowed to leak it by ArenaNet, but it was a very tricky maneuver by all parties. So the Guardian name was pretty much all but confirmed. Still, the community managers gave us a great gift by telling us that the official reveal will be next Thursday (January 27, 2011).

I love that ArenaNet is putting so much faith in the community by letting people know when an information dump is coming.  Says a lot, in my opinion. Going to be cool to see the second and last, what is assumed to be, soldier profession.

–Ravious

World of Warcraft Player’s Guide to Guild Wars 2

There are still many misconceptions to the unreleased Guild Wars 2. Blogger-in-arms, Hunter, tackled many of these (especially the ones that irritated him) over at Hunter’s Insight. I’ve had this post in draft mode for awhile, and Hunter’s article finally pushed me to complete it.

So, you’ve heard about that Guild Wars game, and you’ve noticed that Guild Wars 2 is one of the most anticipated MMOs to launch. However, your digital home is World of Warcraft. Then this guide is for you!

Continue reading World of Warcraft Player’s Guide to Guild Wars 2

10 Years of ArenaNet

It’s been a full decade of life over at ArenaNet. I can still remember anticipating their first offering, and getting way more excited than World of Warcraft (I did not like Everquest). I still remember seeing some of their first screenshots with the horrible-crafted trolls. I can still remember posting my first suggestion on the only Guild Wars forum at the time (I think it was The Guild Hall, but I can’t remember). I wanted to be able to have grizzled trophies of foes I had slain in my own guild hall. I suggested that if a guild kills 500 goblins, they could get a goblin head mounted by the fireplace. Sadly, it never made it in the game.

More importantly, ArenaNet is sharing their memories in this amazing video. I think with how Guild Wars 2 is shaping up, they will definitely have ten more.

What are your first memories of Guild Wars and ArenaNet?

–Ravious

2011 – Hopes, Dreams, Fears

I am too antsy to work. Most community managers on the West Coast aren’t even awake, but it is the first business day of 2011. The 2011. The Year of the MMO. It feels like something should be coming any second, but I have to tell myself that things were not so different a week ago. All morning I have been trying to write this post. What are my baseless speculations on the MMO genre this year?

Continue reading 2011 – Hopes, Dreams, Fears

Guild Wars Edge of Destiny Review

The second book in the Guild Wars fiction line was officially released yesterday. One can find Edge of Destiny by J. Robert King at most bookstores and e-bookstores. The book was better and worse than Ghosts of Ascalon, and I will get to that. For Guild Wars fans and future Guild Wars 2 players that want a deep background for some of the major NPCs in their Guild Wars 2 personal story, I’d say that this book is worth the read. I think that ultimately the Guild Wars 2 world will be deeper and richer because I read the book.

Okay, now I will try and be spoiler free-ish, but you have to be “spoiled” on one well known fact regarding Guild Wars 2. This book details the formation of the famous guild Destiny’s Edge. The spoiler is… the book also details their separation. Most Guild Wars 2 fans knew this because a large part of Guild Wars 2 will be getting the band back together to rock some dragon face. The “why” is much more interesting, and I will not be spoiling that.

Continue reading Guild Wars Edge of Destiny Review

Thoughts and Speculations on the Support Class

This is a guest article from Captain Scrat.
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For a long time we have known that ArenaNet; the makers of the fine game we all love, Guild Wars, have decided it is time to break the stone engraved rules of the holy trinity: The Tank (a player that will be able to hold the pressure of attacks from the NPC), The DPS (a very strong player that will deal as much as possible of damage per second) and The Monk (a key part of the trinity that will be able to keep the tank and the others alive). ArenaNet wanted to come up with a new concept of battle for their upcoming game: Guild Wars 2. They have always tried to distinguish themselves and make something different that the traditional MMO’s do not have. In this case, it was the idea of breaking the holy trinity.

Continue reading Thoughts and Speculations on the Support Class

[GW2] Four in Shadows

Four unknown professions remain. We have a few official facts for all those speculating on the final Guild Wars 2 classes.

1. From the official site, we know there are three splats of professions: scholar, adventurer, and soldier. There will be three scholars, three adventurers, and two soldiers.

2. From an ArenaNet tweet: “Remaining four professions: at least one is a returning profession, at least one is similar with a different name, and at least one is new.”

3. Finally, ArenaNet gave us a little extra holiday gift when a community mananger announced the next profession reveal would be in January.

Continue reading [GW2] Four in Shadows

The Opposite of Grind

Timeless MMO topics are worming their way, yet again, around the ‘sphere. Oh, I can definitely take part of the blame since I strongly dislike subscription games, and what I feel they entail. Clearly, I am neither alone, nor am I objectively correct. Julian, KTR lurker in the threshold, threw down an excellent comment, which in part reads:

The question is why are we seemingly unable to, after 10+ years of designing these things, to avoid the grind? It is generally accepted as un-fun. It’s been a major player complaint since forever. Why are we still operating under the design assumption that grind is somehow “needed” or “part of the flavor of the genre”? Why are we unable to come up with something better?

Which made me think, okay, grind equates to gameplay, but we hate it (mostly). So, what else is there?

“Content,” is what one of my little resident voices said. If defined in such a way, content is the opposite of grind. (Random Google’d website Wordhippo tells me the opposite of “grind” is “joy.”) Yet, from another standpoint grind is content. Our blog would have a completely different name if that weren’t the case.

Continue reading The Opposite of Grind

GuildFans Skill Design Results

Yesterday, GuildFans posted the results of their first contest. The contest was a “Design A Skill” contest for Guild Wars 2, where Guild Wars 2 designers Isaiah ‘Izzy’ Cartwright and Jon Peters would be the judges. Cartwright and Peters gave some excellent commentary on why they chose the winning skills. Peters also shed some light on the criteria he used in sifting through all the skill entries, such as simplicity, versatility, and whether it feels like a Guild Wars 2 skill.

I always enjoy hearing from game developers from a design standpoint. The “why” of design decisions can really help players understand the game they are playing. Sadly, I could not get my Spiteful Spirit re-make in as an entry in time, but the winning skills choices are great. I think my favorite is Plasma Shackles, but they are all pretty good.

There is no word on whether any of these will absolutely make it in to the game, but ArenaNet seems to enjoy using fan-driven suggestions to help build the game.

–Ravious