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Flameseeker Chronicles: Customization and playing together in Guild Wars 2's feature pack
As of last week, ArenaNet has revealed all of the major features Guild Wars 2 players can expect to see in April 15th's highly anticipated feature pack. When I say "highly anticipated," I mean that a large part of the playerbase is collectively vibrating and may soon gain enough momentum to will April 15th into arriving immediately. If they don't manage it, at least we've only got a week to wait. Until then, we've got plenty of GW2 discussion to tide us over. Most of the feature pack announcements have been well-received, and there's a lot to look forward to, but I still have a few minor nits to pick. Blame it on nits being easier to find when everyone's head is 200% bigger.
Diving into Guild Wars 2's Fractals of the Mists changes with ArenaNet
Last November, the Lost Shores content patch brought the Fractals of the Mists, a set of bite-sized dungeon scenarios that increase in difficulty as more are completed, to Guild Wars 2. As the anniversary of FotM rolls around, ArenaNet is adding brand spanking new Fractals to the rotational lineup as well as making changes to bring the content further in line with the developers' vision for the future of the game. We were invited to attend a conference call with Game Director Colin Johanson and content designer Anthony Ordon, where they gave us some insight into the design behind the new Fractals, the updated reward structure, and where FotM will head from here.
Guild Wars 2 developer preview livestream delves into Fractured update
Guild Wars 2 is focusing on the Fractals in its upcoming Fractured update, which is slated to go live tomorrow, November 26th. But if you just absolutely cannot wait even one more day without absorbing every available bit of information you can find, then you might be interested in the recording of ArenaNet's official Fractured developer preview that was livestreamed earlier today. In the video, developers Anthony Ordon and Jake Miller give players a firsthand look at some of the new content they can expect to experience when Fractured goes live. The video is over half an hour long, so the sheer breadth of features and details covered is nearly impossible to summarize, but rest assured that there will be plenty of Fractal goodness. So make yourself comfy, settle in, and head on past the cut for the full video.
Guild Wars 2 dev blogs explain the bounty hunt system and WvW improvements
Two new dev diaries grace the front page of ArenaNet's Guild Wars 2 news page today as we get pumped for next week's Flame and Frost update. In the first blog post, Anthony Ordon decribes the Bounty Hunt Training Missions and how they work as a Guild Mission. Three new Bounty Hunt targets are in the works for this month with more rewards for each. The second blog post by Matt Witter details the WvW character progression system and how it will be improved with World Ability Points, more detailed World Titles based on your home world, and overhauled scoreboard and more. Check out both dev blogs at the GW2 official site.
ArenaNet preparing for gamescom and PAX
As gamescom and PAX approach, a fair amount of attention is on ArenaNet -- specifically Guild Wars 2. The prospect of being able to play GW2 for the first time is an exciting one for fans. ArenaNet has released a few details of what we'll see during gameplay over the past week, including the information that we'll be playing with some staff back at the ArenaNet offices. In the most recent blog post, we hear directly from four of those staffers. Bob Green, Joe Belousek, Anthony Ordon, and Joe Longworth are members of the Guild Wars 2 QA team, the group working to make sure the demo runs smoothly. Check out the latest ArenaNet blog entry to see what they're most looking forward to in the demo. While the demo is easily the main focus of ArenaNet's presence at these events, there is more to check out while you're there. The event schedule for PAX Prime was finally released yesterday, and it includes a Saturday morning presentation entitled "Guild Wars 2: Designing Dynamic Events." Eric Flannum and Colin Johanson will give insight into how the dynamic event system in GW2 was created -- it's a talk that fans won't want to miss. It's a ticketed event, so be sure to check the schedule for details on how to attend.
