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It's the end of culling as we know it in Guild Wars 2 WvW
Have you noticed anything missing when participating in Guild Wars 2's world-vs.-world battles -- a little something like, say, enemies? That would be culling. In order to limit bandwidth and reduce client-side system requirements, ArenaNet instituted this process which limited how many characters would render on players' screens. However, a side-effect for those who entered WvW in large groups was that many enemies couldn't be seen even at close range. To end this invisible enemy phenomenon, culling is being culled from WvW. In place of that system, ArenaNet is offering new options to customize how characters will be rendered on the battlefield. Players can choose exactly how many characters will be rendered in each of the following ways: as high resolution models, as low resolution models, and as just nameplates. These changes will be implemented in the March 26th patch. [Thanks to Drew for the tip!]
ArenaNet devs dish on WvW, new achievements, and more
ArenaNet trotted out a trio of game devs yesterday to answer your Guild Wars 2 questions via livestream. The vidcast has since been archived on the company's TwitchTV channel, and we've also embedded it just past the cut for your convenience. Taking center stage are Anet's Mike Zadorojny, Jonathan Sharp, and Matt Witter. Topics include revitalizing deserted PvE areas, a new achievement system, and various world-vs. world tweaks.
Guild Wars 2 provides a visual overview of World vs. World
If you felt disappointed that ArenaNet left Guild Wars 2's World vs. World out of its video splurge last week, consider this: Maybe the studio was saving the best for last. In any case, today we're finally treated to an overview of the WvW system in the game, narrated by the devs. World vs. World is arguably the centerpiece of PvP combat in the game. Taking place across four massive maps, WvW pits three factions of players against each other in an attempt to conquer keeps, control supply lines, and bring the pain to their fellow man (or Sylvari). You can check out the WvW video after the jump!
ArenaNet presents WvW improvements and server list for final Guild Wars 2 beta [Updated]
With the final Guild Wars 2 beta just days away, ArenaNet has been putting out scads of information regarding what players can expect over their weekend in-game. We've already told you about the Asura and Sylvari being playable, new areas being opened up, and the new PvP map. Today ArenaNet added to the heap of updates with some information about world vs. world. The last BWE helped the team find some issues and bugs in the WvW matchmaking system, leading to some rather unbalanced matches. As a result, the server standings from that weekend won't be published, but systems designer Mike Ferguson says that those bugs have been patched up and more factors have been added to the formula to improve its accuracy. In answer to some concerns about launch, Ferguson announced that the 24-hour match length that players are familiar with from the betas will be used until servers are consistently being matched properly. At that time, matches will move to the two-week format that WvW is meant to take. In the same post, Ferguson listed the servers available for the final beta, which is noticeably shorter than the previous list. The world population limit has been "greatly increased," due both to the additional areas that will be open for player exploration and to some adjustment in how the team is handling its tech. Players should note that this is the initial list and the team is prepared to launch new worlds should the need arise. Refer to the original blog post for the full world list. [Update] ArenaNet has posted a few extra details on the official forums, world transfers will be free from the start of the beta until 9:00 p.m. EDT on July 21st. Gem cost for transfers after that time will be 1800 gems to transfer to a high-population world, 1000 gems to transfer to a medium-population world, and 500 gems for a low-population world.
Eric Flannum talks Guild Wars 2 mechanics
We know you Guild Wars 2 fans are over the moon about the recently announced release date, but the news doesn't stop there! Eric Flannum, the game's lead designer, has just tackled some questions from Guild Wars 2 Junkies. The interview took a good hard look at World vs World. To begin with, Flannum addresses concerns about people not being able to play WvW on busy servers during peak hours, saying that there's a queue for the center WvW map that players can enter while playing PvE or any of the Borderlands home maps. Additionally, for a short while around the game's launch, players will be able to transfer servers at a reduced fee, which will hopefully aid in the even spread of players across servers and help people find the WvW server that suits their style. He states that the current looting system for WvW is under review, with the goal of keeping WvW looting similar to that in PvE. In response to concerns about the travel time around WvW maps, Flannum points out that captured keeps can be upgraded with waypoints for quicker travel. He also highlights WvW-specific armor, achievements, and titles as character advancement options for WvW players. A few other aspects of the game were covered as well. The question of allowing players to choose their starting weapons in character creation was brought up; Flannum says that's actually a part of the game at one point, but it was discarded once it was clear it gave newer players a disadvantage. He explains that some of the animation issues players complained about are due to bugs that will be fixed, while others are due to the fact that while transition animations are in place for switching directions, characters actually start moving immediately in the new direction as opposed to transitioning from one movement to another. For all the little details, be sure to catch the full interview, complete with a teasing non-answer about whether or not we'll see the Sylvari or Asura in the last beta weekend.
Guild Wars 2 gears up for beta weekend with a producer video and WvW article
Guild Wars 2 players, are you ready for this weekend's beta event? That's the question that Marketing Coordinator David Campbell and Lead Producer Chris Whiteside want to help you with, and the duo's put together a three-and-a-half minute video to chat about the creation and hopeful execution of the game's second public beta test. What can we expect from this beta event? "A much more evolved experience which breaks down into roughly two areas," Whiteside said. "One area is the feedback that we've gotten from the community... the second part is the content evolution that includes a new zone and the Mystic Forge." Over on the ArenaNet blog, Systems Designer Mike Ferguson penned a post detailing all of the tweaks, fixes, and changes that the team has made to the world-vs.-world PvP for this weekend. He even posted a chart showing off the wins and losses for each server from the past beta event. The beta weekend event starts tomorrow, June 8th, at 3:00 p.m. EDT. Hit the jump to watch the full producer's video to get ready for it!
Archlord hosts first combined server guild tournament
Plenty of guilds talk the big talk and DPS the raid meters, but when the chips are down and the final call is uttered, which one guild will stand on top of the mountain of geek corpses and be proclaimed "Champion?" In most MMOs, that would be rhetorical nonsense, but not in Archlord, where guilds will compete in the first World Guild Championship to earn a $10,000 prize and the recognition of their peers. The game's first combined server guild tournament kicks off on June 11th and features pitched PvP battles between guilds to climb the bracket and claim the big prize. All participants will be given a preset character with standard gear in order to minimize any in-game advantages. In order to preregister for the tournament, guilds will have to complete a special in-game quest. Registration for the World Guild Championship runs from now through May 30th, with the official brackets announced a few days later on June 4th. Archlord will be hosting special in-game events and handing out fun prizes for everyone during this time.
Guild Wars 2 briefs players on next weekend's beta event
Excited about next weekend's Guild Wars 2 beta event? We're right there with you, which is why we uttered a sigh of relief to hear some concrete details about the hows and whys of the nitty-gritty details from ArenaNet's mouth. The event will take place from Friday, April 27th, at 3:00 p.m. EDT until Monday, April 30, at 3:00 a.m. While there are various ways to obtain a key for the weekend (such as having gone to PAX East), the only 100% surefire way of getting in the event is to have pre-purchased the game. All event attendees will be emailed next week with instructions about the client download. The beta event will allow players to choose from three races (Charr, Human, and Norn) and all eight classes, to experience PvP and PvE content, and to see Lion's Arch for the very first time. ArenaNet assured us that this will not be the final beta weekend prior to launch and delivered the good news that this event will not be hampered by an NDA of any sort.
A look at Guild Wars 2's world vs. world PvP
The second Guild Wars 2 press beta weekend has come and gone, and Massively was there every step of the way. Stay tuned throughout the day today for even more guides, impressions, videos, and Q&As to get you ready for the highly anticipated sequel to Guild Wars. The most recent Guild Wars 2 beta weekend has wound to a close (much to my dismay), but thankfully my time in Tyria has not been wasted. Oh, heavens no. I spent the majority of the weekend running around the war-torn borderlands and getting the everloving daylights stomped out of me in the game's world vs. world combat. When I wasn't busy acquainting my face with the ground, however, I had plenty of time to meander about the battlefield of The Mists, storming keeps, cutting off supply caravans, and defending encampments, and now I finally get to share my impressions with all of you fine readers. So what did I think about GW2's WvW system (my total lack of PvP ability aside)? Rev up your siege engines and gird your proverbial loins, then follow past the cut to find out!
Making the 'jump' from Guild Wars to Guild Wars 2
The second Guild Wars 2 press beta weekend has come and gone, and Massively was there every step of the way. Stay tuned throughout the day today for even more guides, impressions, videos, and Q&As to get you ready for the highly anticipated sequel to Guild Wars. Guild Wars 2 is on the way (when it's ready), and classic Guild Wars players probably understand that soon they'll be competing with a younger sibling -- a smarter, more attractive one who's sure to get more of mom's attention. And while we're sure that some of the more stalwart Guild Wars 2 fans are also Guild Wars players, not all veterans of the first edition are dedicated to licking up every drop of sequel info squeezed out of blogs, conventions, and betas. Those veterans might just be wondering, what exactly can Guild Wars 2 offer them, other than Hall of Monuments tie-ins? What's changed? What's the same? What will they love, what will they hate, and what could possibly make them jump ship to the new hotness? The first and most important thing you must know is that yes, you can jump in Guild Wars 2! Seriously, though, jumping is more than just a thing you do with your spacebar when you're bored; it's a symbol of boundlessness. Guild Wars 2 itself is trying to jump a lot higher than its elder brother, and probably the essential difference between the games is that feeling that the walls have come down and gravity is letting loose. That alone should urge classic players to take a peek, but if that's not enough for you, fire up your Jeremy Soule soundtracks (yes, he's onboard for an encore!) and read on...
ArenaNet's Jon Peters talks Guild Wars 2 competitive PvP
Gaming can be a great way to wind down and relax, but as any real gamer knows, relaxation is for sissies. Competition is where the real action's at! Don't worry, Guild Wars 2 designer Jon Peters knows all about competition, and he even took some time out of his certainly busy day to sit down and talk a bit about Guild Wars 2's competitive PvP. Anyone who played the original Guild Wars knows the heavy focus the game put on balanced, competitive PvP. Well, ArenaNet is taking that to the next level in Guild Wars 2. Peters even goes on to state that the devs "consider it to be one of the primary goals of Guild Wars 2 competitive PvP to make it into an eSport." Peters goes on to discuss how the team is focusing on bringing players a balanced-but-exciting PvP experience. For the full details, just click on through the link below to the full interview at ZAM.
A closer look at Guild Wars 2 world vs. world PvP
Guild Wars 2's competitive 5-player PvP has been getting a lot of love lately. To even the score, ArenaNet has put up a blog post dedicated to the second PvP type in Guild Wars 2: world vs. world, in which three servers compete in a two-week battle for glory. Each WvW arena is made up of four huge maps. Each map is capable of holding more than 100 players from each of three factions (servers), which means that upwards of 1,200 concurrent players will be able to get in on the large-scale action. The beauty of having three teams duking it out is that things tend to balance themselves out naturally. If one team goes beast-mode and starts making life miserable for everybody, the other two teams can naturally gang up to fight against the first. Although lore justification might be a little tricky, in a world with as much magitech the Guild Wars universe already plays host to, it's not too hard to imagine that people from alternate versions of the same world get spat into yet another mutually accessible copy of the world, where their first inclination is (naturally) to start beating the crud out of each other.
