Guild Wars Community Manager talks War in Kryta
The War in Kryta campaign has garnered an incredible amount of attention from the Guild Wars community, at first because of the mystery surrounding the OBEY and DISMANTLE flyers. As time passed and it became increasingly clear that this would help bridge the gap between Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2, it became an even hotter topic among the fanbase. New content in game, talk on the forums, and a Facebook campaign all combined to make this the most exciting thing that's happened to Guild Wars in quite a while.
We got the opportunity to chat with Community Manager Regina Buenaobra about War in Kryta, the latest round of costumes in game, and what's coming next for Guild Wars. Follow along after the jump to see what she had to say!
Massively: The conflict between the White Mantle and the Shining Blade has been a familiar one since the first half of Prophecies. Had you always planned to make it this far-reaching, or did it just work out well because that storyline was already in place?
Regina Buenaobra: We've always wanted to revisit the conflict between the Shining Blade and the White Mantle, since they were such a big part of Prophecies. When we were creating the world of Guild Wars 2, which takes place 250 years in the future, we established that at some point in the past, Kryta was embroiled in a massive civil war between the authoritarian White Mantle and the Shining Blade rebels. Using the story we had already told about the struggle between Blade and Mantle as a foundation, we built towards this huge civil war that determines the destiny of Kryta. So, it was sort of a combination of advanced planning and taking advantage of existing lore that created the War in Kryta.
Will we see this conflict continue into Guild Wars 2? With Queen Jennah on the throne, will the White Mantle be the ones skulking in the jungle?
The legacy of the War in Kryta carries on into Guild Wars 2, absolutely. In addition, key NPCs like Queen Salma and Lieutenant Keiran Thackeray will play an important historical role – their significance will be revealed in Guild Wars 2. As for the White Mantle, the group does exist in the future – but in what form I can't say!
We know that the core White Mantle are hiding a secret about what happened to Saul D'Alessio and the other Mantle when they fought the Charr. What could that do to the Mantle if it got out? Is that a possibility?
Rumors about the true fate of Saul D'Alessio and the real nature of the Unseen Ones have been passed among the Krytan populace, but since the White Mantle basically run a police state, it's very dangerous to openly talk about such things. The average Krytan has to deal with oppressive new laws, curfews, checkpoints, and officially sanctioned Peacekeeper thugs – the last thing they want to do is attract the attention of the White Mantle with rebellious talk, even if they believe it.
How do you feel about the success of the viral campaign that launched War in Kryta?
We've been very pleased at the fan reaction to the viral campaign leading up to the War in Kryta. We've had propaganda flyers with QR codes, secret messages, websites, Facebook pages for each faction... all leading up to the War in Kryta, which is a multi-level event that we're releasing in stages. It's been fantastic so far, primarily because we have such an enthusiastic and clever fan base.
Focusing on the costumes for a moment, do you have any sort of regular schedule planned for new ones in the future?
We're planning to release costumes in coordination with special events in the future, but we don't have a schedule per se.
Will the idea of costume slots carry over into Guild Wars 2? Is this a preview?
The costume slots were created so that players could look cool without sacrificing protection in combat. Who wants to get a Shining Blade uniform unless you can wear it when you ambush a White Mantle patrol? I can't really comment on how costumes will work in Guild Wars 2 – but those costume slots were a good idea!
Thank you so much for your time, Regina!
