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One Shots: Desert temple panorama
When we saw this mail come in, we were blown away. You see, Adrian (or Asarja) creates lovely panoramic screenshots from compiled screens in Guild Wars. We already knew Guild Wars was a beautiful game, but seeing the panoramic shots is really quite impressive, giving you an idea of just how lovely that world can be! (And lucky for all of us, Adrian sent along a couple more that we'll be featuring in upcoming days, too!) If you really want to see this in all its impressive glory, be sure to check out the full-size version.Do you like to combine screenshots into panoramas? If so, we'd dearly love to see them. We've featured them before, and welcome anyone else who'd like to try their hand at it! Just send your screens to us at oneshots AT massively DOT com. We'll be looking forward to seeing more!%Gallery-9798%
New Guild Wars Zaishen rewards announced
Now that the April 2008 Zaishen Tournament is over, commemorating the third anniversary of ArenaNet's Guild Wars, we look forward to a completely revamped tournament system with new rewards, in-game prizes, items and a shiny new Zaishen title track.The way this new system works, whenever you use a Zaishen Key on a Zaishen Chest, you get 5 Zaishen Reputation Points which accumulate towards this new title track. Each rank of this title track, from 1 to 12, has its own unique name. In addition, you'll receive infinite-use Transmogrifier Tonics that will change for each month of the tournament, and special rank emotes which will be progressively more impressive the higher they get from rank 1 to rank 7. Be sure to check out the Guild Wars website for complete information on these rewards and a video of the rank 7 emote in action!
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: A guide to Pre-Searing
The last day dawns on the Kingdom of Ascalon. It arrives with no fanfare, no tolling of alarms. Those who will remember, will speak fondly of the warm morning breeze. People carry on with their daily lives, unaware that in a short while... everything they have ever known will come to an end. This is the opening dialogue for the original Guild Wars, directly after you initially create your character in Prophecies. It lets us know that the beauty we are about to experience in what is known as "Pre-Searing Ascalon" will only be temporary. The name "Pre-Searing" comes from the fact that everything in this tutorial area of GW:Prophecies occurs before the Searing, when the evil Charr burned the lands of Ascalon to the ground. Because of the fact that it precedes the rest of the storyline by two years, the area cannot be accessed again once you leave. For this reason, you will find many players who remain in the Pre-Searing area permanently, as a roleplaying homage to their original homeland and its preservation. In fact, this starter area has had such an impact on players that an entire fan-based community has been created around it.
Guild Wars anniversary sweepstakes announced
In respect to the continuing Guild Wars third anniversary coverage, we're proud to announce an important new promotion from the good folks at ArenaNet. The Guild Wars Third Anniversary Sweepstakes runs from April 28th until May 31st with the actual drawing itself being conducted on June 11th, 2008. Not only is this one easy to enter for anyone, but it includes some pretty sweet real-world prizes.One lucky grand prize winner will receive a powerful Alienware Area-51 laptop, while other prizes include an ATI Radeon HD 3870 video card, a Logitech 5.1 speaker system and many more valuable peripheral hardware devices. Be sure to read the entire rules on the main website and tell 'em Massively sent you! No, seriously, it would be awesome of you.
A PvEer's guide to PvP in Guild Wars
So you think you want to get into Guild Wars PvP. Maybe you've taken a look at Observer Mode and thought, "Hey, I can do that!". For the sake of argument, let's assume that you're a veteran Guild Wars player, but you've focused solely on PvE for the duration of your stay in Tyria. Let's continue the hypotheticals and say you've become quite bored with farming the same vermin, or clearing out the same certain Woe of the Fissure-like nature night after night with PUGs. After almost three years of playing against mobs and spawns with predictable patrol patterns, you're looking for something new to spice up your favorite game.PvP in Guild Wars can be quite intimidating at first. You can enter one of the arenas, jump into a battle and get slaughtered in a matter of seconds unless you know what you're doing. This might be the very thing that has turned you off of PvP in the past, but we're here to make sure you get off on the right foot to eventually enjoy your PvP experience. You'll be flashing a Phoenix before you know it!
One Shots: The mystery of the murdered Necroelemesmer
Look! Up in the Guild Wars sky! It's a bird, it's a plane, it's super-goth! (We can't quite peg the class, so those of you out there who play Guild Wars, help us out with this necroelemesmer class puzzle.) Seriously, though -- this One Shot today from reader Mike shows what happens when a dead character meets a clip plane. It looks like he's flying until you notice the half-rendered steps just to the lower right of this picture. The really creepy thing is that his eyes are still open. We hope someone came along and gave the poor guy a rez! Do you have a screen of an unfortunate and untimely (or funny) death? Did your guild finally get that annoying boss down after a bunch of attempts? How about some off-the wall graphical glitches in your game of choice? Whatever the story, we want to see your screens! All MMOs are welcome from Anarchy Online to Zu Online and everything in between. Drop them in the mail to oneshots AT massively DOT com along with whatever information you'd like to give us. Your screens could be next!%Gallery-9798%
Sarah Brightman meets Guild Wars
If you're a fan of music at all, you probably already know who Sarah Brightman is. Her voice transcends all genres, ranging from pop, rock, musical theatre, core classical and world music. Her career has spanned three decades and her name has become synonymous with the new "pop opera" style. Great, but what does any of this have to do with MMOs? If you check out the cover of her recent album, and you're a Guild Wars player, you may notice some similarities. Symphony, the latest release from Sarah Brightman, features artwork done by ArenaNet Art Director Daniel Dociu. Both the album and her website spotlight Guild Wars concept art, as well as original art created specifically for Symphony.
Welcome ArenaNet's newest Community Manager
In what seems a continuing stream of Guild Wars community news coverage by us in the past week, we have yet another tidbit concerning their newest Community Manager. Regina Buenaobra has taken the reins over at ArenaNet, after Gaile Gray was promoted within the company earlier this week.Regina, also known as Brinstar over at her blog Acid for Blood, has been blogging about Guild Wars and other games for several years now. Before this recent move, she was the Community Manager for Xfire, so she does have experience in this context. She lists her main character as a Necromancer/Mesmer, which certainly gets her some cool points in our book. We wish her all the best in her new position and her new move from California to Washington.
GW weekend event: Gaile's farewell party
As we reported last week, ArenaNet's Community Relations Manager, Gaile Gray will be switching roles at the company. So this weekend was her final farewell. She appeared in-game in Guild Wars to celebrate her last days with the players, as did the infamous Frog on his farewell tour as well. Every 3 hours, The Frog appeared in each district of Kamadan, Lion's Arch and Shing Jea Monastery, granting special party buffs for players who attended and performed certain emotes at his request. It was very reminiscent of the Mad King's appearances during the Halloween events, complete with that unique humor we can only find at these events. I'm sure the Sugar Hill Gang would be proud of The Frog's rendition of Rapper's Delight.While this special buff was active, players would earn double the points for using party items towards their Party Animal title. This led to an overall heightened festive mood for the entire weekend with bottle rockets, sparklers and champagne poppers flooding our screens. We wish Gaile and The Frog all the best in the future.
Second ArenaNet community personnel move in a week
As we originally reported yesterday, it seems ArenaNet's community team is going through even more changes with the recent announcement that Andrew Patrick is changing roles as well. As with his predecessor Gaile Gray, Andrew will be remaining with ArenaNet, but moving onto a QA position in hopes of furthering his knowledge of the gaming industry from within, and getting more directly involved with the development team.Many Guild Wars PvP players know Andrew from his involvement with everything from high-profile tournaments to the casual GvG. Some had speculated that he would be the one taking Gaile's place as Community Relations Manager, but this latest news certainly throws a monkeywrench in that idea. We think our next concern is who will fill their shoes? They're certainly going to be large shoes to fill.
ArenaNet's Community Manager stepping down after 7 years
We were hoping it was just a cruel April Fool's joke, but it turns out Gaile Gray, ArenaNet's Community Relations Manager will be stepping down from her heralded position, and relocating within the company. This will officially take place on April 7th, so in celebration of her time with the company, there will be a special in-game event which begins at Noon Pacific (-7 GMT) on Friday, April 4, 2008 and will run all weekend, ending at Noon Pacific (-7 GMT) on Monday, April 7, 2008. There will be games, treat giveaways and much more.Gaile Gray has been with ArenaNet from the beginning, over 7 years now. She's redefined what it means to be a Community Manager, often times seen within the game to relay news or simply hang out with the players. As a result of this, she's gained a status that approaches celebrity, as she's admired by many. But that said, a high-profile job like hers in a game that has exploded in popularity as much as Guild Wars has, would certainly take its toll after that many years. We certainly wish her the best in her new position at ArenaNet. Be sure to check out her wiki page where she gives her own personal farewell note to the players.GG Gaile, you'll be missed.
One Shots: We thought it was spring
As we haven't heard anything from the Guild Wars crowd in a while, we thought it would be fun to show off a lovely screen from GW. This picture is of a landscape captured from the original Guild Wars, with lovely fall foliage all around. (Sadly, no stick people, because that would have been hilarious.) Do you have some screenshots from your favorite game? It can be picturesque, funny, full of folks, barren of life, odd, full of battle and spell effects -- we take them all! Just send them to us at oneshots AT massively DOT com. Without your screens we're left to our own devices and while we're also playing all over the place, it's only one side of the story. We'd love to see yours too!%Gallery-9798%
April Fool's in GW: Pick up sticks
Ahhh! Where's my gorgeous new 15k armor? What happened to my beautifully-rendered Necro?! Well, don't fret and take a glance at the calendar. ArenaNet has done it once again in Guild Wars with a hilarious new prank for April Fool's Day. If you remember, last year there was the infamous gender-switching incident, where all male characters were female, and vice versa. That sure caused some heads to turn, and probably netted the most screenshots taken in one day, ever. We'll have to check with Guinness on that one, though. This year, they've taken the route of less is more. All player-controlled characters have been turned to stick figures. This doesn't affect heroes at all, which certainly makes for some interesting PvP battles. Although there have been reports that these new matchstick men are buggy, in regards to PvP armor assignment, but it's all in good fun anyway, right?
Oopsies! A small snag with the GW March Tournament
Contrary to popular belief, it turns out ArenaNet is comprised entirely of humans after all. In this weekend's Xunlai Tournament Playoffs, it seems there was a map rotation bug that caused quite a stir among the players involved. Apparently, the correct progression of maps was mismatched, causing some guilds to lose their battles outright when the next (incorrect) map loaded and they weren't prepared for it. Not only did this affect the championship participants, but also those who waged predictions on the tournament's outcome. ArenaNet quickly came to the rescue the best way they could. They basically had three choices: 1) Restart the tournament, 2) Ignore the bugs and let everything continue incorrectly, or 3) Fix the problem mid-tournament. They opted for choice number three, in hopes of proceeding with a working event and not restarting the progress that had already been done. But was this enough for the players involved? Sure, the progress had already been done, but was it fair progress if it's based on a game bug? The most pressing concern on the minds of participants was the fact that none of this was announced anywhere in-game during the tournament.
March Madness: Guild Wars Style
It's that time again! Time to lay down your predictions for this month's Guild Wars Xunlai PvP Tournament Championship Playoffs. The Xunlai Tournament House is a way for players to make their own prognostications on who will win the current month's playoffs, in anticipation of the season's final tournament. You can forecast the top eight winners of the season, and come back every month to make additional predictions. The best part is, you can win valuable prizes in the process! Each correct prediction will earn you Tournament Reward Points, which can be used for exclusive in-game items.This month, ArenaNet has published a few of these predictions from players, including some interesting theories on each guild's chances. We see entries for old favorites like Rebel Rising and the current king of the ladder Whats Going On. Next month, the automated tournament is an extra special event to celebrate Guild Wars' third anniversary, featuring both double tournament reward points and double cash prizes. Be sure to head on over to the Xunlai Tournament House to make your own calls on who will win each month. The deadline for this month is March 29 (GvG) 16:00 GMT & March 30 (1v1) 16:00 GMT.
Eight Guild Wars artists honored for their work
When you think of Guild Wars, what comes to mind first? No, besides the lack of a monthly fee. No no, besides the instanced world. Why, it's the game's sheer beauty, of course! The Spectrum 15 Artist List, an annual showcase of the best fantasy, science fiction, and horror artwork created each year, recently recognized eight ArenaNet artists for their incredible work on Guild Wars. The ArenaNet artists honored on this list are Jaime Jones, Richard Anderson, Matthew Barrett, Daniel Dociu, Jason Juan, Kekai Kotaki, Jason Stokes, and Doug Williams. We can all agree that these wonderful artists are deserving of such accolades, but consider the impact they will have on future generations of artists. In an era of computer graphics getting easier and easier to create, replicate, and manipulate, it's inspiring to know that we have a way to honor such genuine talent in the gaming industry.
Guild Wars Design-a-Weapon contest winners look sharp
Late last year, the Guild Wars development team sent out a call for all aspiring artists and weapon-smiths to come up with some original designs for weapons fitting the visual style of the Guild Wars franchise. The stakes were high, as the grand prize winners would not only get some sweet Guild Wars swag, including a copy of Guild Wars Nightfall signed by the development team, but would also see their concept art serve as inspiration for equipment that is actually going to be put into the game. Well they've finally announced the winners, and we don't balk at conceding that they are absolutely fantastic. Though they may have created by amateurs, there's nothing amateur about the style and complexity of the winners. What I love most about them is the overpowering impracticality of many of the designs. It's part of what makes the suspension of disbelief so fun -- walking around wielding a wooden bow with the bust of a beautiful woman somewhat subtly carved into the front? How can you not love it? Make sure to check out all the winners.
'State of the Game' highlights GW balance changes
In the latest of ArenaNet's "State of the Game" feature, player Harold J. Chow gives a rundown of the changes to the competitive Guild Wars landscape that have come about as a result of the recent skill changes . In particular, he takes an in-depth looking at what competitive teams are doing to compensate for the fact that the casting time for Light of Deliverance, once the go-to efficient party heal, has been raised to a comparatively lengthy two seconds. Some are taking second looks at previously overlooked healing skills, while others are seeing if they can't make LoD work despite the changes.He also looks at a couple of other changes that appear poised to change the way PvP works, especially in the way of a handful of nerds to Assassins that should make them more manageable 1v1 and less of a likely instant death if you are to engage with one in combat. For our part, we love these pieces, because they showcase for casual players and spectators what a given patch actually means for gameplay, rather than leaving curious parties to troll the forums looking for some sort of elusive consensus that never seems to exist.
Guild Wars: got $100,000?
NCsoft would like to remind you that the ArenaNet-sponsored Guild Wars $100,000 Tournament Series is still going strong. The October rankings are in, the November cycle is swiftly wrapping to a close, and the December season rules are now available for review. You'll be able to check out the schedule, the map rotation, and the upcoming prize list which includes in-game prizes such as cape trim for your guild and reward points, and physical prizes like a Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer sound card and a 160Gb iPod. So what are you waiting for? Let's get those slay bells ringing this holiday season.
