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Guild Wars 2's The Secret of Southsun adds mini-game, WvW traps [Updated]
May has just gotten started and already ArenaNet has another content update scheduled for Guild Wars 2. Called The Secret of Southsun, this May 14th update comes right on the heels of the final installment of Flame and Frost and extends the episodic content that began with that first series. This time, the adventures focus on troubles brewing on the tropical island of Southsun Cove where players must quell the rising violence and discover the secret that hides there. The Secret of Southsun also brings an end to culling in the rest of the world (it was previously only disabled in World vs. World) and introduces two an improvement to WvW -- traps and an improved award system. Traps will remove supply from enemies. and players will gain reward for a wider range of activities in the Mists, such as destroying siege weapons, escort missions, and repairing walls. Players can also try their hand at a new crab toss mini-game. On top of the update announcement, ArenaNet has recently posted additional lore expanding the story of Rox, the Charr. Read on to see where her latest adventures lead. [Update: It seems ArenaNet let some of this info out before it intended to, as detailed in this forum post. So the WvW award changes won't be in just yet. ArenaNet has also informed us that it will be holding off on the culling as well and has now altered its official announcement to reflect these changes.] [Source: ArenaNet press release]
Flameseeker Chronicles: NPCs and culling and beedogs, oh my
It's good to have memorable characters. It's important, in a game, to have the sort of characters that players can look back on a month or a year or a lifetime later and think, "Yeah, I remember that NPC." In that sense, I guess ArenaNet has succeeded admirably in the case of Rox the Charr Ranger. I'll remember her until my dying day. ... Mostly because she absolutely petrifies me. Have you seen this lady's eyes? They were clearly made for soul-eating. They're half the size of her face (maybe this is why the baby devourer thinks she's its mommy?), far more cartoony than pretty much anything else in the game, and more saccharine than the fluffy pink quaggan backpacks with bows and hearts. I don't know whether it makes it better or worse that she's got a fairly normal Charr lady voice. Rox was introduced to us, of course, in the Flame and Frost: The Razing patch that came out at the end of March. Let's see what's been going down in the world of Guild Wars 2 since then.
Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars 2's March update
It's patch day! Today marks the arrival of the long-awaited World vs. World patch for Guild Wars 2. There are, of course, many other things being bundled into this month's big update, but WvW might be stealing the show a bit. Of course, WvW updates probably mean hideously long waiting times as folks hop in to check out the new shinies, so how about you go ahead and queue up for whichever Battleground you prefer, and we'll talk about the details of this patch while you wait.
Guild Wars 2 adding Flame and Frost: The Razing update next week
On March 26th, the third installment of the four-part Flame and Frost series in Guild Wars 2 erupts on servers. In this update, the land of Tyria will come under attack by an army composed of the dredge and the charr Flame Legion, whose sole purpose is to completely raze the land and destroy everyone in the way. This threat will burst through the fiery portals in the Shiverpeaks, and denizens of the land need help to defend themselves to avoid annihilation. Plenty of new features accompany this update, giving players multiple ways to help neutralize this threat, from two new NPCs whose stories and missions send players into the fray to dredge-constructed spy outposts that must be found and destroyed. World-vs.-world gets a facelift with a new progression system that includes new abilities and the elimination of culling. About a week after The Razing goes lives, players will be able to peruse the new GW2 leaderboards, where WvW rankings, PvP player rankings, and total achievement points will all be listed.
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!]
