Flameseeker Chronicles: Happy birthday, Tyria

I've spent a lot of time this month looking over the past five years of Guild Wars, reading and writing about where the game has been, how far it's come, and where it's going. All of this -- very enjoyable -- time was spent preparing for the fifth birthday celebration, of course. Now that the party's underway, the fifth year miniatures have been revealed, and half the population of Tyria -- including me -- is afking the rings, there's time to take a breather and revisit the past five years.

From launch day in April of 2005 to the War in Kryta campaign today, Guild Wars has come a long way in five years.
Last week we talked with some members of the Guild Wars community and looked back at their five years of playtime. It seemed only fitting to take a peek this week at the game side and explore five years of partying, so follow along after the jump as we revisit the ghosts of parties past!

First anniversary

The first anniversary of Guild Wars didn't come with birthday cupcakes from monsters and decorations in Lion's Arch. Instead, ArenaNet celebrated the one-year mark with the ultimate in new content: a brand new campaign. Guild Wars: Factions launched on April 28th, 2006, laying the foundation for Shiro, boardwalk games, leveling heaven for alts, and more PvP -- not to mention one of the coolest minipets around for those players who purchased the Collector's Edition.

Wait, minipets? That's right, another little surprise snuck in, albeit well under the radar thanks to the Factions hype: first year miniatures. Characters that were created one year before found a little gift in their inventory when their first birthday arrived. Those gifts introduced minipets to the games -- those little companions that we love to collect and display.

Second anniversary

Guild Wars turned two and it was time to party! Without the launch of a new campaign to contend with, the ArenaNet team got to let loose and have a bit of fun with this celebration. While the second birthday didn't bring another campaign, but that was okay because by this time we had Nightfall, and ArenaNet was distracting us with shiny things anyway. The shiny things came in the form of a party that has become very familiar to us: boardwalk games, fireworks, rollerbeetle racing, and all the things that make Tyrian parties great. The highly-anticipated second wave of birthday minis rolled out, and included the still incredibly popular miniature Gwen as well as some poetry:

Happy Birthday to you,
Your toon's turning two,
If you've been with us since the beginning,
We have something special for you.

Since any self-respecting party has cake, the denizens of Tyria began handing it out. Not willingly, of course -- you had to kill monsters for it. Every enemy in the game had a chance to drop a birthday cupcake -- a handy little item that gave you a sugar buzz as well as a temporary buff to health, energy, and speed. Evidently most of us aren't squeamish about eating food that falls out of a dead Rot Wallow, because these little treats proved to be hugely popular.

Third anniversary

By April 28th, 2008, Guild Wars had grown way beyond Prophecies. We had Factions and Nightfall, and the summer of 2007 introduced Eye of the North to give us a huge new range of challenges. The third anniversary minis arrived and were heavy on EotN creatures, to nobody's surprise and nearly everyone's happiness. It was nice to have a white rabbit follow us for a change, rather than the other way around.

The celebration also included the same party events as the previous year, and pastimes such as afk-ing the rings were familiar to everyone by now. However, the third anniversary event didn't stop there -- ANet had another trick up its collective sleeve this year. They revisited the country of Tyria, adding the Deldrimor Talisman to the game and giving Prophecies an endgame reward trophy, similar to the ones in the other campaigns. This anniversary addition also brought about a delightful new area: the Droknar's Forge explorable where you receive your Talisman. The area is only accessible by completing Hell's Precipice, and if you simply get your weapon and leave, you are missing out.

Random NPCs cheer your heroics, and the place is full of familiar faces that have some extremely entertaining conversations. Every character there has something to say if you talk to them, right down to Oink the pig. This addition proved to be a nice birthday gift for the game and its community.

Fourth anniversary

This was the update heard round the world. The world of Tyria, at any rate. The standard party events were nearly lost in an avalanche of updates that gave an impressive second wind to a game that many players felt was getting a bit long in the tooth. Zaishen challenge quests, the addition of Nicholas, lots of new items in the game store, and much more breathed new life into the game and still affects it today. The fourth round of birthday miniatures proved to be an especially popular group and covered all three campaigns and EotN, from a mini Abomination to a mini Jora.

Fifth anniversary

We're still enjoying the fifth birthday celebration, and will continue partying until the end of this week. While this year's party didn't kick off with a spectacular update like last year's, we're enjoying something even better. War in Kryta began well before the official party, and it looks like it will continue well after as it bridges the gap between Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2. In typical ArenaNet fashion, we're given just enough information to make us want more, and the time between updates is drawn out as much as is humanly possible. But we hang in there, because we know that something fantastic is coming and it will be worth all the waiting and frustration.

And of course, we'll be watching very closely here at Massively as the party winds down later this week and the White Mantle/Shining Blade conflict continues. For now, enjoy the party!