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Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars 2's season finale doesn't quite soar
I've been critical of Guild Wars 2's living world over the past year. It was an experiment that I thought sounded excellent on paper but hadn't proved itself in practice. ArenaNet's goals for the story were very ambitious, but most video game fans -- and MMO players especially -- are used to developers talking up lofty plans and then delivering products that don't quite leave the ground. These days it's easy to let go of some disappointment if we're promised a flying car and instead get a new four-door sedan that actually works as opposed to, say, a Biturbo that rattles apart on the highway. GW2 at launch was at least airborne, and it had a good foundation to build on. The question was whether or not ArenaNet would build on it. Now that we've seen the last part of the first living world story arc, I am ready to tentatively classify GW2 as being in the "hovering" stage of flight. Jump past the cut and let's talk about Battle For Lion's Arch -- but only if you're cool with spoilers. Are we cool with spoilers? Cool.
Flameseeker Chronicles: Meeting fun halfway in Guild Wars 2
Lion's Arch is gone. What's left of our city is rubble and fire and the echoing screams of terrified survivors. The day Scarlet Briar's army attacked dawned clear and mild; by the end the sky was choked with smoke, poison, and the silhouette of Scarlet's massive drill ship. Thousands of people died, are dying, and will continue to die -- all we can do for now is to try to save as many as we can. Escape From Lion's Arch is a truly impressive piece of storytelling and atmospheric set design, and I found it immediately comparable to similar missions in games like BioWare's Mass Effect series. I've never really played anything like it in an MMO, and I think ArenaNet has done a wonderful job of capturing the feeling of a city under attack. It's been a bittersweet time for fans of Guild Wars 2; as I discussed last week, roleplayers have responded to the release with a flurry of creative activity, and the general consensus seems to be that the story, dialogue, atmosphere and artwork are all excellent -- if only we weren't forced to mindlessly farm for loot! Wait, we're what?
The final battle for Lion's Arch begins in Guild Wars 2's next content release
After long months of planning, preparation and manipulation, Scarlet Briar finally made her move on what appears to be her ultimate target: Lion's Arch, the central hub city of Guild Wars 2. Zhaitan's rise flooded it, Risen attacked it, and everything from dead kings to Karka have destroyed its landmarks, but an overwhelming air raid finally reduced L.A. to rubble. In the upcoming GW2 content release, Battle for Lion's Arch, it'll be up to the good people of Tyria to rally, avenge the fallen, and try to reclaim their city. Massively got to chat with ArenaNet's Colin Johanson about the Lion's Arch rescue effort, rewards for good behavior, and what L.A.'s feathery neighbors think about all of the screaming, dying, and carrying on. Click past the break to check it out, along with a brand-new teaser trailer!
Watch Lion's Arch fall in Guild Wars 2
Lion's Arch is a center for both Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2. It has endured through countless trials. And now it's nothing more than ash and wreckage. Whether you've had a chance to experience the latest patch to Guild Wars 2 or have yet to sift through the damage, you can watch it fall in the latest trailer out of the ArenaNet community team. Admittedly, the trailer doesn't go into full detail showing the lengthy siege that took place, but you can fill in some of those details yourself. And it's quite a sizable chunk of destruction, razing familiar features across the city and reducing the game's iconic location to little more than rubble. Click on past the break to see the devastation unfold before your eyes. [Source: ArenaNet press release]
Flameseeker Chronicles: How Guild Wars 2's living world can liven up roleplay
Scarlet Briar is planning an attack on Lion's Arch, the central hub city of Guild Wars 2. L.A. is the city where all of the playable races -- and plenty of individuals from others -- live together in one big, piracy-flavored metropolis; despite the theme of ruthless capitalism, it's also a place that symbolizes peace and camaraderie. Humans in Kryta may view diversity as an astonishing novelty, but the people of L.A. chortle at the hayseeds and go about their business. Among the GW2 roleplayers I know, several have characters who live in Lion's Arch. A few of them were born and raised there. After watching some of us chat about the massive upheaval the city's destruction will create in the lives of those characters, one of my favorite people ventured that this was probably a bad time for her to dip her toes into GW2's RP scene, right? Nope. In fact, there hasn't been a better time to jump in since, well, ever.
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A requiem for Guild Wars 2's iconic city of Lion's Arch in today's content release
The great city of Lion's Arch is under a devastating attack today with the release of Guild Wars 2's latest content update, Escape From Lion's Arch. Sylvari supervillain Scarlet Briar has unleashed her armies and terrible weaponry on the city as her massive, drill-tipped airship begins to churn the waters of Sanctum Harbor. Whatever her purpose might be, she's willing to literally rip Lion's Arch apart to accomplish it. Players will join forces with the living world's iconic characters to evacuate civilians, but you'll have to contend with Scarlet's forces and the threat of a creeping poison rendering parts of the city uninhabitable. As refugee camps form in safer areas, Vigil Keep in Gendarran Fields will act as an impromptu base of operations for the time being. You'll need to stand fast if you want to save Lion's Arch -- but by the time Scarlet is done, there may not be anything left to save.
Prepare to escape from Lion's Arch in Guild Wars 2's next content release
For over 250 years, the city of Lion's Arch has been a place for players of Guild Wars 2 and its predecessor to call home. It's iconic enough that the ruins of the original city can still be explored beneath Sanctum Harbor. Unfortunately, one of Scarlet Briar's mysterious probes has been discovered within those ruins -- and if she gets her way, the people of Tyria may not have to wait very long at all to pick through the ruins of the city's current incarnation. On February 18th, Scarlet will bring her armies and all of their horrible weaponry to the city in the Escape from Lion's Arch release. Players will join forces with the Orders of Tyria, the allies they've gained through the living world story, and each other to help innocent citizens evacuate and try to mount a counterattack. ArenaNet's Colin Johanson, Steve Hwang and Steven Waller sat down with Massively to deliver both a new teaser trailer and a grim warning: Nothing lasts forever.
