Guild Wars 2 developer livestream chat discusses the fine art of world improvement
ArenaNet's Game Director Colin Johanson sat down with Community Manager Martin Kerstein to talk about the future of Guild Wars 2 and answer some questions from the community in the latest developer livestream. Johanson confirmed that while players won't be confronting another Elder Dragon this year, there will be three new Fractals of the Mists joining the lineup: fractalized versions of the popular living story dungeons Molten Weapons Facility and Aetherblade Retreat, as well as one of two brand new scenarios to be chosen for development based on the outcome of the upcoming Cutthroat Politics content. However, he warned that Lion's Arch politics aren't necessarily a straightforwardly democratic process; this is a pirate election, and pirates are known for playing dirty.
Johanson further discussed the evolution of GW2's living story and the reception of temporary content, and explained some of the difficulties the team faced when the living story was in its beginning stages. While he admitted that the beginning of the year was too heavy on temporary events, the formation of four living world teams will help them deliver more permanent changes to the game. He added that some temporary events, such as trade with the Zephyr Sanctum and popular game-within-the-game Super Adventure Box are likely to return periodically.
New races and weapons for existing professions are definitely being considered, but Johanson said that adding a new profession would be trickier, and is probably furthest down the line. ArenaNet feels that the current professions cover many of the important archetypes for player classes, although finding a niche for another isn't entirely out of the question; a possible third heavy armor profession to balance the lineup was given as an example. Fans of the character-specific personal story will be glad to hear that ArenaNet plans to bring it back in the future, but whether new chapters will be released through the living story is undecided.
Johanson encouraged fans to keep an eye out for an official blog post on Thursday that will address ArenaNet's plans for Guild Wars 2 in the second half of the year, including details on long-term projects being developed outside of the living story.
