eye-of-the-north
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The Road to 50: A guide to filling your Guild Wars Hall of Monuments (II)
Welcome to day two of The Road to 50! After addressing minipets yesterday, I'm excited to spend today on their larger counterparts: pets and heroes. The Monument to Fellowship is so much fun to fill in my view, because it sends you to challenge missions, off-the-beaten-path quests, elite areas, and more in order to obtain everything on the list. Getting every pet required and armor for every hero in the game, in my view, is an opportunity to explore some real teamwork with your friends, guildmates, and allies while you see parts of Guild Wars that you haven't seen before. Follow along as I tell you all about how to get the full eight points in the Monument to Fellowship.
Guild Wars: Eye of the North gets Steamy
If you've been holding back from purchasing Guild Wars' first (and probably only) expansion pack, then you might want to reconsider. Guild Wars: Eye of the North not only is available on Steam for the first time, but is being offered for 33% off one week only, bringing the price down to $13.39 until October 15th. This is a better deal than the discount that NCsoft is offering on its own store, where GW:EotN is on sale for $19.99. While not a full-fledged campaign, Eye of the North does offer a huge assortment of goodies, including new regions, tons of dungeons, dozens of new skills, additional heroes, and rare armor sets. For players eagerly awaiting Guild Wars 2, it's definitely worth a trip back through the lands of Tyria, especially now that we're learning more about how the Hall of Monuments from Eye of the North will "pay forward" rewards and titles into Guild Wars 2.
One Shots: The top of the falls
While Tarnished Haven in Guild Wars is said to be a place for refugees on the run from the ruling faction in Lion's Arch, there's absolutely nothing tarnished about it from where we're sitting. Sure, it's a wild-looking area, but that wildness gives rise to beautiful locales like this waterfall. This image was captured for us to enjoy here on One Shots by Jostein H., who writes: "When I was exploring in Asura lands, I came across this beautiful waterfall in Tarnished Haven. Enjoy!" I think it's safe to say that we all will. We love to check out new and interesting screenshots of familiar lands. If you'd like to show us an interesting place you've found while out exploring, it's easy to do. Just email your screenshot to us here at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a note about what we're seeing in the image. We'll post it out here and give you the credit for showing off the interesting spot! %Gallery-85937%
Flameseeker Chronicles: Charr bags, Elementalist cleavage, Peacekeepers, and a flood of NPCs
It's been an extremely busy week for Guild Wars fans -- for starters, the Massively guild went rampaging through pre-searing again with the goal of unlocking all of the towns in pre, accomplishing this with an extension of the Charr bag giveaway mentioned last week. Instead of a single one, I wound up with a total of five thanks to the generosity of a member of [MVOP]. Once the original bag was given away, I handed out the other four through more random drawings and trivia questions, one in each new town we unlocked. It was a good time and an excellent way to help the group reach all of the towns. The Ventrilo group had a great time as usual with players assisting one another through various quests, answering questions, discussing other games, and having some hilariously disturbing conversations about what exactly a "Charr bag" is, and how ubiquitous Elementalist cleavage is in Guild Wars. Sera was the exception to this rule, as her Elementalist is entirely composed of bloom and she has no visible features whatsoever. Joking aside, the large-capacity Ventrilo server has added an element of fun to the Massively outings that would absolutely be lacking otherwise. If you've not joined us there on Thursday nights, please jump in and chat with us -- you can find the login information in the [MVOP] guild status window. All good things must come to an end, though, and most of [MVOP] is ready to move on to the Searing. Next week we're going to go Charr hunting in the Northlands for a bit, then wrap up the evening by going post as a group, so be ready! What about the other events happening in Guild Wars lately? Follow along after the jump to see what's going on in Tyria.
Latest Guild Wars update furthers Obey/Dismantle campaign and more
The intriguing developments surrounding Guild Wars continue with an update to the game released late last night. As is typical of ArenaNet, we've gotten just enough to make us extremely curious about what's coming next. So what's going on? To start with, the ongoing conflict between the White Mantle and Shining Blade continues to escalate. The Mantle have introduced a new element: White Mantle Peacekeepers, which can be found throughout the explorable areas in Kryta. You may want to take a moment to stop by the Shining Blade camp while you're at it and see what they have to say about this new addition. Things in Eye of the North continue to develop as well, but don't worry, it's not more grocery runs for Keiran. Remember Zinn and his out of control golems? The other Asura, led by Oola are all set to take him to task for the fiasco in a hilarious trial. We won't spoil the ending for you, but once it's over, make sure you talk to the various witnesses and participants -- you'll enjoy the dialogue. With the fifth birthday of Guild Wars coming closer and closer, we are assuming that this is all leading up to something big, but is it all connected? Time will tell, and we'll keep an eye out for any new information!
One Shots: Frozen in time
With so many people indicating they too cannot wait for Guild Wars 2, we'd make a bet a whole bunch of people who haven't been in Guild Wars for a little while jumped back in to enjoy some time there this weekend. Then you have people who regularly play like today's One Shots contributor, Brittle Bullet, who sent in this frosty, luminous Guild Wars image. He writes in: This screenshot is from Guild Wars: Eye of the North. The final level of the Frostmaw's Burrows dungeon, where Frostmaw the Kinslayer, the second largest creature in the game, resides. It's a long and treacherous journey to this place, so it's nice that the lair of a dangerous beast is so beautiful.If you're one of the many returning - or still present - Guild Wars players, we'd love to see some screenshots from you! All you have to do is email them to us at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a quick description. We'll show them off and let others know of your adventures. %Gallery-9798%
One Shots: The frosty lands of Sifhalla
Despite the warm weather in many areas, in game some places remain cold and dark, creating a foreboding sense of gloom. Today's One Shots shows off one such area from Guild Wars' Eye of the North expansion. This screen comes to us from regular Guild Wars contributor Shawn W. who writes: Sif Shadowhunter refused to battle for an encampment held by other Norn; instead building her own hearthstead and defending it so fiercely that some call it "Bear Mother's Cave" in tribute to her strength and glory. Others of similar attitude have put up hides here, describing notorious foes they plan to hunt, or daring others to track them down.Do you have a spot in game important to the lore of the land you love to roam? If so, we'd love to see some screenshots of them! Just drop us an email here to oneshots AT massively.com including screenshot and a quick blurb as to what we're looking at. Yours could be one of the upcoming One Shots! %Gallery-9798%
One Shots: Through the darkened wood
Dark and sinister places, while being the kinds of locales that one would normally tend to avoid in the real world, can be places of great adventure in MMOGs. Today's One Shots landscape comes from Shawn W. who sent in this spooky Guild Wars screenshot from near Doomlore Shrine in the Eye of the North expansion. If you look very closely, you can see a stream of what appears to be people down in the valley... or are they?Do you have a great screenshot of a landscape that you'd like to share with the world? If so, drop us a note at oneshots AT massively.com with your image, and a quick blurb about it. With weekend gaming coming up, we want to see what you're up to. So send those screenshots in!%Gallery-9798%
One Shots: Guild Wars makes a return!
We haven't seen too terribly many Guild Wars pictures for a while now, so when we saw this mail come in, we did a happy dance. Today's One Shots comes to us courtesy of Shawn W. He explained that this image is from near the Doomlore Shrine in the Eye of the North expansion area in Guild Wars. We know very little beyond that in regards to this image, but we are glad to see some more Guild Wars love!Do you have an image from a game we haven't covered in a while -- or ever? If so, drop those screenshots into an email and send them to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com! We love visiting lots of different lands.%Gallery-9798%
Guild Wars third year anniversary retrospective: Nightfall and Eye of the North
Guild Wars began life as an unknown; an experiment into combining some of the best elements of Diablo 2-style online hack and slash with the persistent storytelling of traditional MMOs. Its first two years were wildly successful, despite the reservations of veteran players. With several million boxes sold and expectations high, Guild Wars' second year of live service had already begun with a bang. Guild Wars: Factions released to much fanfare, but didn't deliver on all the notes fans of the original Prophecies campaign were hoping for. In October 2006 Arena.net answered those expectations with a brand-new campaign, still lauded to this day as the greatest addition to the series. Guild Wars: Nightfall introduced yet another entirely original campaign setting. It also added the Hero mechanic into the game, allowing players the opportunity to level up their fully customizable NPC allies. Capitalizing on the momentum of that release, the series' first real expansion was unveiled for players in August of 2007. Last year's Guild Wars: Eye of the North added a bevy of new ways to play the game, and paved the way for the upcoming Guild Wars 2. Today, in honor of Guild Wars' third birthday, we've got a retrospective on the two most recent explorations of the original game concept. We'll offer up some imagery from the past, reflect on how the game is today, and look ahead to the future of the series. Click on through to explore the history of Guild Wars, and don't miss our other retrospective on the first two boxes in the series!%Gallery-21579%
One Shots: Charr confrontation in the Eye of the North
Today's screenshot comes to us from the climax of one of Guild Wars: Eye of the North's most memorable quests - Assault on the Stronghold. Your character leads a charge of fiercesome Charr warriors against another group of their kinsmen, in a desperate bid to stop the unleashing of terrible, terrible things. To do so, you have to bust through the fortifications surrounding the heretic Charr encampment. Luckily you have some help: a giant siegeweapon built on the back of an enormous insect. The screenshot above depicts the confrontation between your Charr allies and Pyre Fierceshot, the noble Charr warrior who you call friend.These mighty opponents arrive just in time to save the soul of their people; they're also just in time for Guild Wars' fourth anniversary! Make sure to check out all of recent feature coverage on the game in honor of the event. Especially make sure you check out our retrospectives on both Prophecies/Factions and Nightfall/Eye of the North.Do you have a screenshot of a dramatic quest? An MMO cutscene that just floored you? Whatever your flavor of screenshot, we'd love to see it. Just toss it into an email to oneshots AT massively DOT com!%Gallery-9798%
Guild Wars tops 5 million sold
A bit behind the times with this, but better late than never: Guild Wars cracked five million boxes sold late last month! NCsoft is (understandably) pleased, and there's a lot of crowing in the official press release. That number includes every box in the whole franchise, of course, so that's spread out across Prophecies, Factions, Nightfall, and Eye of the North. That's a pretty outstanding achievement, with the game having originally launched back in April of 2005. Back in the day, just after World of Warcraft had launched, the idea of a US publisher succeeding with a game that didn't require a subscription was considering crazy talk. With Guild Wars 2 already in the works and now five million units of the original out and about in the world, I'd say that kind of talk is now quite debunked.While it doesn't look like there's any sort of in-game celebration going on, the site has a few details for other community-type things. The February Championship series results are in, if you care about that sort of thing. They're also running a contest right now, if you have an eye for design, looking to get players making brand-new weapons for inclusion in the game. The weapons from the 2007 design-a-weapon contest are fantastic, so good luck to any budding artists out there. %Gallery-9135%
MMORPG.com's Eye of the North review highlights player discontent
A review was recently posted at the MMORPG.com site for Arena.net's latest Guild Wars release, Eye of the North. While I personally have been enjoying some of the new content in the expansion (and the Wintersday event) there are definitely some concerns among the players about the Eye. Beyond reviewing the game, Jeremy Star's piece does a great job of running down some of the biggest issues I've heard in discussions with other players. He specifically calls out Arena on the biggest problem with Eye of the North: that many players don't think this is an adequate stopgap between late 2007 and whenever Guild Wars 2 will be released ... but the whole experience teases the in-development title. Asura, Norn, Dwarves, and Charr are all over the North, but none of them are playable. The Hall of Monuments is a big deal with bonuses you'll get to use at some point in the indeterminate future. The expansion sounds and looks great, but it's just not up to the standards of previous releases (especially Nightfall).With this release and the closing of GuildCast, are these dire signs for Arena's game? Are players going to maintain interest in Guild Wars until the spiritual sequel goes live?
Visit the Eye of the North for a holiday break
Just yesterday we discussed Arena.net's decision to lower the entry barrier to the Eye of the North expansion. They're now capitalizing on that by offering everyone that owns a Guild Wars campaign the chance to check out the new content.For a limited time you can use a public code over at the Guild Wars site to gain access to a five-hour trial of GWEN. The code will only work from within the client, and can be used for up to 14 days before the trial expires. To give you even more bang for your buck, from this weekend out until next Sunday (the 16th), playing through Eye of the North content will net you plenty of extras: Triple experience from all primary storyline quests in Eye of the North. Double the chance to receive rare items from chests, and triple the drop rate of Lockpicks in Eye of the North. Double gold and experience rewards for vanquishing Eye of the North explorable areas while playing in Hard Mode.
Guild Wars patch lowers access level for Eye of the North
This week's update to Guild Wars brings the usual assortment of bug fixes and pvp tweaks, but it also offers up a curious change to the way that Arena.net's latest release (Eye of the North) works. At launch two months ago, players needed a max-level character to gain access to the new content. Level 20 in Guild Wars is fairly easy to attain, and I didn't think much of it. Now, though, the company is offering access to the expansion as early as level 10.Additional notes include: Players who are between levels 10 and 19 and are in Eye of the North maps will automatically receive a buff called Journey to the North. This buff [effectively makes them 20th level for armor, stats, and health. The buff also effectively gives characters 20th level attributes.] Players new to Eye of the North can now receive a basic max damage weapon by completing the Hero Tutorial quest given by Burol Ironfist in Boreal Station. Once completed, players receive a Burol Ironfist's Commendation item that can be turned in to Arkor Leadfoot in Boreal Station for a weapon of their choosing. A new armorer, Jolvor Stoneforge, has been added to Boreal Station to give players a cheaper source of basic max level armor in the Eye of the North expansion. So ... what does this mean? The opinion in the community is that almost everyone has a 20th level character. Veteran players talk about running an alt up to 20 like it's nothing, and even challenge themselves with strange and arcane hoops to gain unique titles. Obviously Arena.net feels that there is a significant population of players out there that want to participate in the GWEN content, but don't have a 20th level character.Is there any other reason to drop the level requirement and offer these boosts? Guild Wars vets, fill us in ... why the change so soon after the expansion launches?
One Shots: A sense of impending doom
Our own Jonathan Northwood took this shot taken in the catacombs outside Ashford Abbey in Guild Wars: Eye of the North. Jon tells us that this shot was taken right before the party was slaughtered by a band of Golems. "In essence, they were the Jets to our Sharks." Can't we all just get along?We're considering renaming One Shots to Guild Shots to celebrate its recent Guild Wars exclusivity. In fact, our mailbox has so many Guild Wars screenshots in it we're seriously starting to wonder if you play any other MMOs. We only post what you send us, so if you want to see other games, send your screenshots and stories to oneshots@massively.com. You may see it posted here tomorrow! %Gallery-9798%
Guild Wars packs pack some punch
Looking for a stocking stuffer for your Guild Wars-addicted significant other? As an end of the year promotion, NCsoft has announced that they're bringing back Skill and Item Unlock Packs, giving players paid access to all the skills and items from every Guild Wars game from the original through Eye of the North, some geared towards PvE and others aimed specifically at facilitating PvP domination. As an added bit of value (perhaps to spread holiday cheer?), all packs will be selling at a 50% discount from now through the end of the year. So they're cheap, and they save your significant other some time they can spend with you... perhaps playing through Issue 11?I've always been unsure of what to make of promotions like this, since it's not the first time these packs have been available. Granted, I never really played much Guild Wars so I don't have the best idea of how important itemization is in that game, but if Blizzard had offered a "Tier 1 pack" back in the day for a few shekels, I imagine I would have felt guilty about buying it.Still, it's nice of them to offer, and you can't really argue with the price.
Massively's Massive Giveaways: Guild Wars part 7
Due to overwhelming response earlier from the casters in the house, we decided to pick a cool Guild Wars caster-style screenshot for the final giveaway. Not that we're giving away the picture (the art giveaway was the last giveaway post) but we thought it was fitting as we wind down into the later hours of the chilly night. For this, our final Guild Wars themed giveaway, we're offering the last of the boxed sets of all of the Guild Wars games. Featuring many interesting classes, areas, and power sets, (as well as those henchmen we love so very dearly) Guild Wars is fun to play and easy on the eyes. Of course, there's always the official rules that we have to abide by that say you must be 18+, a U.S. resident, and leave a comment between now and 10:00 PM Eastern tomorrow evening. (11/10)Good luck!
Massively's Massive Giveaways: Guild Wars part 6
We don't know about you, but the thing that really sets different MMOs apart for us is the graphical feel involved in each game. Sure, all the developer houses have great concepts, and we love the stories involved. But it is the artists who breathe the colorful life into all of these worlds. They give us great characters to play and sweeping vistas to play in. So for this giveaway on today's Guild Wars theme day, we're passing along a fantastic art print from the Guild Wars artists. That's right; one lucky winner will walk away with the above print, suitable for framing. Of course, you must be 18+, a resident of the U.S. and all those other details outlined in our official rules to win. Just leave a comment between now and 8:00 PM Eastern tomorrow (11/10) and you're automagically entered to win this really unique piece of art.
Massively's Massive Giveaways: Guild Wars part 5
Ah, fantasy lands! Where you can meet the strangest creatures, whomp on them, and make off with their belongings for fun and profit. Nothing is quite like stepping into a new world for the first time. This hour we're featuring a Guild Wars key that will give you access to all the games thus far, enabling you to visit all the strange and wonderful parts of the Guild Wars world. While it will mean a download for our lucky winner, those seeking challenge and adventure in strange new places will certainly not be defeated by such a minor thing as that.Yes, the official rules are still in effect, meaning that you have to be 18+, a resident of the U.S. and not a fuzzy wolf guy just waiting to pounce and eat our face like the one pictured above. Of course, there's a small catch -- we want to know what mob you took up revenge killing on because they ate your face one too many times. (any MMO will do) That's it! Easy, no? Tell us your most hated face-munching mob in the comments before 6:00 PM Eastern tomorrow (11/10), and you may be the lucky winner who walks away with the key.
