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Flameseeker Chronicles: C-C-C-Combo maker
Sing hallelujah, for the Guild Wars 2 news drought is over! (The information gates may now slam shut for another excruciating period of time, but I'm choosing not to think about that.) Jon Peters brought us all sorts of exciting information on pets, Engineer changes, and cross-profession combos last week on the ArenaNet blog. Now that we've had some time to absorb the news and talk it over, I wanted to take some time to look at it more closely, particularly the cross-profession combos. Follow along after the jump and let's get started!
Flameseeker Chronicles: Pumpkinhead edition
Halloween is here! Yes, yes, it's here in real life, but it's here in Tyria as well! Halloween is one of my favorite Guild Wars celebrations for a lot of silly reasons. I love tapping the "R" key and unleashing a string of Ghosts-in-the-Box, I love the costumes, I love the beleaguered citizens of Lion's Arch and Kamadan (they're so funny and mopey in their transformed states!), and most of all I love the Mad King Thorn and his stupid jokes. I know they're lame and I don't care. The pumpkin-on-head joke slays me every year. As of this writing, the new quests haven't dropped yet, but there's still plenty to do. Follow along after the jump and let's take a look at what's going on in Tyria!
Flameseeker Chronicles: A closer look at the Grawl of Guild Wars 2
I was pretty excited to see this week's addition to the ArenaNet blog for a couple of reasons reasons. First, I'm a big fan of Jeff Grubb's style of storytelling. It's clear, informative, and entertaining, with just enough of Jeff's wry sense of humor to surprise a laugh out of me now and again. Second, it's about the Grawl! This is a race that I really underappreciated in the past, just like the blog entry said. The Grawl came to my attention only when I was giggling as my miniature Grawl talked to himself while running behind me, raging at multiple Grawl Udolytes in hard mode, and cracking up while watching one of my favorite fan videos. I want to take a closer look at the Grawl, but there's more -- it was an exciting week in Tyria, so follow along after the jump and let's get started!
Flameseeker Chronicles: Community, contests, and minion apocalypse
This week's Flameseeker Chronicles is a bit of a departure. Rather than compiling a guide or a wrap-up of the latest news or content, we're going to sit back, relax, and have a little bit of fun. The timing couldn't be better: We're in a post-convention lull for Guild Wars 2, Winds of Change part two has arrived and been played through, and Halloween events aren't here quite yet. It's a chance to take a bit of a breather, so this week I'm focusing on some community events and a little extra. Jump past the cut and let's get started!
One Shots: It just keeps going and going and going
Today's One Shots comes courtesy of yours truly as a little homage to Massively's Guild Wars guild, Massively Overpowered. The guild started a little over a year ago as a way for Massively readers to have a ready-made party to play with, and it wound up taking off like a rocket. Since the guild -- and its alliance -- is still going strong and having fun, here's a pic of some of those members who were there from day one! Are you ready to show off your guild? Gather up your best group shots of you and your guildmates. Whether you're hanging out, enjoying guild housing, taking out a huge enemy, or throwing a party, send a screenshot of your guild in action to oneshots@massively.com along with your name and the name of the game, and tell us about your guild! %Gallery-112285%
Flameseeker Chronicles: Sharing the love
It's been a busy week in Guild Wars 2 news! Some might argue that point because of the lack of big reveals, but a large number of little details can be just as good as one or two huge unveilings. I think the real problem is that we're at a point in the cycle right now when everyone's feeling weary of the endless road toward launch. There's no definitive end in sight; maybe this year, maybe next year, who knows. That feeling comes and goes -- it's been a regular part of the hype for a very long time now. Sometimes the fans just go into a lull because they're tired of the whole mess and all they really want is a closed beta window. I'm hearing quite a bit of that in the community lately and even feeling a little of it myself, but since it's usually followed by a big upswing of excitement among the fans, I'm looking forward to what the coming weeks will bring. For the time being, though, follow along after the jump and let's look at we learned this week.
MV Guide: April 11 - 18, 2011
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively's Livestream channel. Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of games to take a look at. During Livestream events, you can participate in the live chat to learn about the game, ask questions, and spend some time with Massively staff and readers. Ready to see what's on the schedule for the week? Follow along to see!
Flameseeker Chronicles: Let's review!
The ArenaNet team has been quiet lately in the news department and deservedly so. Between GDC, PAX East, the Guild Wars 2 Thief, and Embark Beach and heroes in Guild Wars 1, I imagine the developers are ready to catch up on frivolous things like eating, sleeping, sitting, and breathing. We've got Winds of Change and Guild Wars' sixth birthday to look forward to, but in the meantime, I want to take the opportunity to play catch-up. When there's a pause in new information, I always enjoy backing up a bit and spending some quality time with newer players. I know that there's been another influx of new players recently, particularly after so many saw GW2 at PAX. Follow along after the jump for a roundup of Guild Wars basic guides as well as an update and information on Massively's official Guild Wars guild.
Alter-Ego: Let's get this character started
This week, I'm going to start off with a bit of controversy. Are you ready? Here goes: I actually think the DC Universe Online character creator makes sense in terms of its costume limitations. Now, before you come at me armed with pitchforks and hateful comments, hear me out. Looking at DC Universe Online as part of the greater DC Universe, I note that not all heroes are welcomed by the public -- and villains even less so. There are no "Costumes R Us" on every street corner, and there aren't copies of "Superpowers for Dummies" one can snag from the shelves of the local bookstore. As much as we may know as players ahead of time, our characters are assumed to not have the same level of knowledge from a story standpoint. In short, new characters are not going to roll out of the creator as a fully realized Captain Badass or Madame Awesome. Instead, new heroes and villains would probably be highly confused about any powers that showed up out of the blue. Once they've come to grips with the basics, only then would they likely be trying to piece together a new secret identity with all the gusto that someone with a glue gun, duct-tape, and half-remembered sewing lessons from 7th grade home economics classes could muster. To a character starting out with basic knowledge, character costumes would probably look like someone threw a goth and a cosplayer in a blender and then added a dash of drag queen for extra fierceness. Call it an edge of realism. Thankfully, SOE has saved our characters from their first embarrassing steps involving costume malfunctions by offering a number of cool-looking yet basic options in the character creator. As you level, so do your powers -- and your gear. Now that I've gotten your blood boiling (or hopefully a chuckle or two), it's time to dive into the first days of being a hero or villain in DC Universe Online. For those of you who have already jumped in and are well on your way, don't worry -- I haven't forgotten you. I'll also be adding in some tips and tricks I've picked up from playing as well as telling you how you can join up with us in-game as part of a heroic new League: Massively Overpowered!
Flameseeker Chronicles: A look back at 2010
Welcome to the last Flameseeker Chronicles of 2010, in which I wax sentimental over this year and salivate over what the next one promises. It's been a huge year for both Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 -- probably one of the biggest since Guild Wars 1 launched. There was civil war in Tyria, with consequences more far-reaching than any of us as players could imagine at the outset. Profession reveals came fast and furious for a while, and when the dust settled, we had extensive information on half of the Guild Wars 2 professions. Gamescom and PAX brought us actual Guild Wars 2 gameplay, the War in Kryta seemed to go on and on, and there were even some shakeups behind the scenes, with ArenaNet swinging a banhammer of massive proportions and dismantling the Xunlai tournament house. Follow along and let's take a look at what 2010 brought to Tyria.
Flameseeker Chronicles: My name is Gwen
As we approach the height of the holiday season, we continue seeing a shift in the focus of the ArenaNet team. While there's not a complete move from Guild Wars 2 to Guild Wars 1, things are a bit more evenly divided thanks to Guild Wars: Beyond and the approaching Wintersday festivities. I've mentioned before that it's interesting to watch Guild Wars 1 continue to progress and develop as its own game while at the same time begin telling the story of Guild Wars 2. That's a fine line to walk, and ArenaNet is balancing nicely. While the devs are doing their balancing act and we've got a little lull before Wintersday hits, I want to take a look at someone who is arguably the most iconic character in Guild Wars: Gwen. Most of us have known Gwen since day one of our Guild Wars experience. She trailed around chattering and healing us. She skipped and twirled and stumbled. She became the face and voice of the victims of the Searing for us. She (sort of) welcomed us to the Eye of the North. And she became a legend that carried forward 250 years into Guild Wars 2. Love her or hate her, she is one of the cornerstones of the Guild Wars world. Follow along after the jump as I take a closer look at Gwen.
Flameseeker Chronicles: Wintersday approaches
December is here, and for Guild Wars fans, that means Wintersday is near. The festivities have already started out of game with the Wintersday art contest, will continue in game with the Wintersday events, and may even include a few surprises (pure hopeful speculation on my part!). We may not know for sure about surprises, but we know that there will be some significant changes. John Stumme told us in a recent interview that Keiran's Wintersday quests will be much different: "Keiran's introduction and quest content are being split off from Wintersday and tweaked (for both story and requirements) so that they will function as normal quests now. Looking at it from the standpoint of a new or returning player to Guild Wars, they may have missed out on Wintersday Cheer previously, which makes it a bit confusing when this Keiran Thackeray character is suddenly part of the greater story." Speaking of new players, there are a lot of those this year! This is fantastic for the community as a whole, but things could be pretty overwhelming for those newbies. Veteran players go on about looking for reindeer, Grenth vs. Dwayna, and MPB farming while new players sort of stand around wondering what the heck is going on. We can't have that -- the more people participating, the better, so follow along after the jump and let's do an overview of Wintersday for those of you who have been playing Guild Wars for less than a year!
Flameseeker Chronicles: Of dungeons, stats, and transmutation
It's been quite a week for the Guild Wars 2 community. Kristen Perry told us about her amazing dye system; some made plans to head to the east coast to hang out with the ArenaNet staff; we learned more about the Guild Wars 2 Extended Experience; John Hargrove made a post on the ArenaNet blog about loot and armor; and PC Gamer in the UK scored an exclusive look at dungeons in GW2. Looking at all that, I hardly knew where to start for Flameseeker Chronicles this week! Undoubtedly, John Hargrove dropped the biggest bomb on the community with one little sentence in his blog post: "With the transmutation system, you'll be able to acquire new items known as Transmutation Stones through our in-game store that allow you to customize your appearance. With transmutation, you take two items of the same type, pick one that is the most visually appealing to you, one that is the most statistically appealing to you, and then you simply combine the two items into what will hopefully become your perfect piece of armor or weaponry." I was tempted to skip the whole mess, but it's been several days, and the debate is still raging. I want to have some fun too, and since Guild Wars 2 Guru forum member Lyssa got her awesome hands on the new PC Gamer and shared all the details, we'll talk about that too. Follow along after the jump!
Flameseeker Chronicles: Tis the season to party in Guild Wars
Yarrr! Yesterday was Talk-Like-a-Pirate Day, and as always ArenaNet stepped up to the plate with a fun event. The Talk Like a Pirate event arrived last Friday, along with a mysterious poem that may or may not mean anything. At any rate, it's keeping a lot of fans busy trying to figure it out. This event heralds the start of what I call the Guild Wars party season. The pirate event is followed shortly thereafter by the Halloween event, then the Thanksgiving event, then Wintersday. In between are various community events as players and guilds throw parties to celebrate various holidays and milestones, and it's generally a few straight months of reveling. Each type of event -- both community-created and developer-created -- has its own ups, downs, and quirks. Follow along as I take a look at what they are.
Flameseeker Chronicles: Guilds, grind, and Gamescom
Thursday evening was fairly eventful for me. Thursday is our regular Massively night in Guild Wars, so [MVOP] arrived in The Wilds and began setting up for our run through the mission. We found a few players waiting for us, extended guild invites, sorted out our grouping, and off we went. We made it through the mission with only one hitch -- which I'll address in a moment -- then headed over to the Eye of the North to begin tackling the Asura storyline. The plan was to make the full trek through Vloxen Excavations to the Asura Gate, but once we arrived at Umbral Grotto, certain party members (me) were falling asleep in their seats and had to bow out and get some rest. The plans for this week are all set, and everyone is welcome to join us. Now, about that little hitch. We were traipsing around the jungle in The Wilds when I got an IM telling me that the level cap had been set for Guild Wars 2. What? No way. A quick check confirmed it, and my wonderful group sent me off to a safe corner to leech and knock out a quick news story while they continued the mission. They even came back to find me after I returned and demonstrated my truly dismal navigational skills, because they are wonderful like that. The leveling and progression information was pretty big news, so there was no question that I'd look into it a bit more deeply for this week's Flameseeker Chronicles -- follow along after the jump.
Flameseeker Chronicles: The end of the War in Kryta
It looks like we dismantled after all: the War in Kryta is over. Things came to a sudden end late last week with the addition of two new quests, and I have to admit that I was surprised. The NPCs involved in all of this have been hinting that the White Mantle were planning something big, but since Salma also mentioned that we still had more Inquisitors to take out, I assumed that we'd have quests for the rest of them first. Sneaky Inquisitors! Click that handy little "read more" button to see how the War in Kryta ended, join me in some pondering of the future, and find out about the new direction Massively's Guild Wars guild will be taking this week!
Flameseeker Chronicles: War in Kryta continues
While it may have been a bit overshadowed by the gaming feeding-frenzy known as E3, the War in Kryta in Guild Wars did not slow. I'm fairly certain that Salma, the Shining Blade, and the White Mantle do not care what's happening in Los Angeles, so they carried on issuing bounties, leaping out of trees, and waylaying travelers. The war events received another hefty update this last week, complete with some interesting hints about what is to come -- we'll be visiting some familiar locations. Despite another week of trotting around obediently slaying things that need to be slain, I still do not have a miniature Salma. We're also still in the dark about what these medals are for. [MVOP] had an eventful Thursday as well, and moved along in Prophecies quite a bit. Follow along after the jump to hear all the latest news from Tyria.
Flameseeker Chronicles: A little help
This was an exciting week for Massively's Guild Wars guild. We've bid farewell to Old Ascalon and worked our way through the northern Shiverpeaks. Thursday night we saw the death of Rurik, who managed to get himself killed before he ever raised the promised pint of dwarven ale in our honor. We lit beacons, dragged broken gear levers all over the place, laughed at a minion who insisted on being front and center for every cutscene, and eventually arrived in Kryta -- a sight for sore eyes after the scorched landscape of Old Ascalon. We also joined the Kurzick faction and became the tenth guild in the Guild Wars Online [GWO] alliance. The alliance has already given [MVOP] a warm welcome, but if you're a guild member who is so inclined, stop by the forums and say hello. This is a good time to mention that the Massively guild has its very own Picasa gallery -- thanks to reader Tanek -- and you can find some gorgeous screenshots added by our members. If you're a member of [MVOP] and would like to add your own screenshots, all you need is a Gmail address. Send that address to Tanek at bncom1[at]gmail[dot]com and he'll set you up with access. This week we will be doing the Gates of Kryta mission to get to Lion's Arch. After some of us go on a frantic skill-buying spree, we'll pick up the primary quest from Armen the Guide and move on to D'Alessio Seaboard. From there, it's on to Divinity Coast where we will bathe in a fountain and drag a giant floating eye around behind us. If you're interested in joining up with [MVOP], keep an eye out for my IGN Rubi Djinn for a guild invitation. Feel free to send your IGN to me at Rubi at Massively dot com as well, and I'll watch for you in game. So what else is happening in Tyria? We've got a brand-new War in Kryta event, and small-but-valuable public service announcement, so follow along after the jump.
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.
