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Flameseeker Chronicles Extra: A brief history of Guild Wars 2's Tyria, part two
Earlier this week we started looking at the history of everything leading up to Guild Wars 2 in what is probably a grave disservice to the lore writers at ArenaNet. When we left off, the Charr and humans were still bickering over Ascalon, players had just saved the world at the end of Prophecies, and there were still some 253 years left before the start of Guild Wars 2. Now it's time for the events from Eye of the North through Guild Wars Beyond and into the present day. This lore overview isn't even pretending to be all-encompassing, but it might help you understand what the dragon nonsense is about and what's going on with the world you're stepping into. Except where events had exceptional impact, we'll largely ignore what's going on in Cantha and Elona, or else we'd need two whole more posts. I hope it goes without saying that there are lore spoilers ahead, as well as Eye of the North, Guild Wars Beyond, and companion novel (Ghosts of Ascalon and Edge of Destiny) spoilers. You have been warned.
Third Guild Wars 2 novel named: Sea of Sorrows
During a Gamescom Q&A panel earlier today, ArenaNet writer Ree Soesbee announced that she would be the one penning the highly anticipated third book in the Guild Wars 2 between-game trilogy. The title of the book will be Sea of Sorrows, and that's... kinda all we know about it right now. If you're not following along at home, the first two books in this series are titled Ghosts of Ascalon and Edge of Destiny, both of which are part of the trilogy that tells the story revolving around the 250 years between Guild Wars 1 and Guild Wars 2. The impending release of this final novel in that trilogy simply brings us closer to an actual launch of Guild Wars 2 itself -- and possibly cures the world's hunger and brings world peace. We're not sure. Stay tuned to Massively for more on Sea of Sorrows as it's unveiled!
This game will care that you're there: Our look at the Guild Wars 2 manifesto
Earlier this week, ArenaNet promised a new Guild Wars 2 video. That announcement came with a warning: no, it's not a new class reveal, and many fans were pretty disappointed. What could possibly serve as an adequate substitute for a class reveal? It's safe to say that the disappointment was blown out of the water yesterday with the unveiling of the MMO Manifesto and the Walking the Walk blog post. Merriam-Webster defines the word manifesto as a "a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer," but when the word is used in context, there are usually strong feelings behind those intentions. Revolutionary, groundbreaking, and change are words associated with such a thing, and it was a word well-chosen by ArenaNet with this newest reveal. Follow along after the jump as we take a closer look at what ArenaNet showed us yesterday.
SDCC 2010: Our interview with Guild Wars 2's Jeff Grubb
The hype for Guild Wars 2 seems to get bigger every week, so it was a natural choice for the Massively staff at Comic-Con to seek out some time with Guild Wars 2 designer and Ghosts of Ascalon author Jeff Grubb. If you're relatively new to the Guild Wars world, Jeff provides a nicely detailed overview of what's been happening with Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2, and the first tie-in novel. If you're a firmly established citizen of Tyria, you'll enjoy the look back, and you'll certainly enjoy the hints he drops here and there for upcoming events and reveals. Follow along after the jump to see what Jeff had to say.
New ArenaNet blog post confirms information about second Guild Wars 2 novel
Fans may get impatient with ArenaNet for its secrecy, but when the people behind Guild Wars 2 decide to release information, they pull out all the stops. The past 24 hours or so have been pretty exciting for Guild Wars 2 fans, and now we've got one more tidbit of news to enjoy. The newest ArenaNet blog post comes to us courtesy of Jeff Grubb, co-author of Ghosts of Ascalon. He talks quite a bit about Ghosts of Ascalon, but the final paragraph holds some extremely interesting news for those already looking forward to the second book. While intrepid fans have tracked down a bit of book information via publishing and bookstore sites, Jeff gives us some confirmation: Edge of Destiny, written by J. Robert King, is due out in December. Furthermore, we learn more about the book's content: "Of the "big guns" of Guild Wars 2 – Rytlock, Zojja, Logan and the rest that we saw in the early trailers – a couple of them will show up in Ghosts, but their full story is told in the second novel, Edge of Destiny." Check out the full blog post -- it's a must-read for any fan.
The story behind Ghosts of Ascalon: Massively's interview with Jeff Grubb
As Guild Wars 2 hype grows and we look to the upcoming novels to help hold us over until that elusive launch date, fans of all things Tyrian have become familiar with a long list of names. One of those names is Jeff Grubb. Jeff is a game designer for ArenaNet, focusing on content and lore. He's also the co-author of Ghosts of Ascalon, the first Guild Wars 2 novel to be released in what will become a trilogy before the game launches. The book is due out in less than two weeks, and Massively's Shawn Schuster got a chance to read an advance copy. He had plenty to say about it, but we had even more questions once it was all over. We spent some time with Jeff to chat all about Ghosts of Ascalon, so follow along after the jump to see what he had to say!
Guild Wars Ghosts of Ascalon: Impressions from a lore nerd
On July 27th, Guild Wars lore nerds the world over will be rejoicing. Why? Because that's when the first book in the Guild Wars trilogy of novels will be released. Ghosts of Ascalon is the book that we've been waiting years for, as it was first announced at PAX08. It will just begin to explain a bit more about that 250-year gap between the storyline of the original Guild Wars and that of the upcoming Guild Wars 2. We were fortunate enough to receive an advanced copy of Ghosts of Ascalon last week, which I tore through at record speed -- not because of this embargo deadline today, but because it was just that good. Follow along after the jump to read my impressions of the first book in a series that will introduce us to the lore of Guild Wars 2.
Next Guild Wars novel to come in December?
We're three weeks away from the release of Ghosts of Ascalon, and fans are alternately excited and a tad concerned. We know that there will be three Guild Wars novels before Guild Wars 2 is released, so they're serving as sort of a timeline. Curiosity about when the next one will arrive may have been satisfied a bit by an update to several sites yesterday: publisher Simon and Schuster, and two major bookstore sites. Simon and Schuster shows an unnamed book set for release on December 28th of this year. That in itself is a fairly useless piece of news until it's combined with the Borders placeholder that gives the same date and calls the book "Untitled Guild Wars," as does the Barnes & Noble site. While nothing is confirmed as of this writing, the two site updates together provide a potentially exciting piece of information.
Excerpt for first Guild Wars 2 novel now available, mentions necromancer class
Ghosts of Ascalon is the first of three planned Guild Wars 2 novels, and fans have been waiting anxiously to get a look at it. Today we got a little bit of our wish granted with an excerpt from the novel on Simon & Schuster's website, along with a shipping date of "On or around July 27th, 2010." Our peek at Ghosts of Ascalon serves as an introduction to the characters, but even more importantly, it might just serve as confirmation of the necromancer class in Guild Wars 2. Killeen the sylvari is defined as a necromancer in the excerpt: "The sylvari necromancer was probably the most pleasant individual of their motley krewe." Does this mean we'll definitely see necros in Guild Wars 2? It seems like a safe assumption, but as always, we'll have to wait for confirmation from ArenaNet.
The Daily Grind: Have MMOs prompted you to read books?
There's no denying the fact that MMORPGs come with a lot of reading built-in (Exhibit A: the quest text box). But for some folks, they can't get enough of their favorite MMO and look to read about the world elsewhere. Perhaps it's the desire to stay connected with the online world even when you can't be near a computer, or perhaps you want to learn more about the lore and backstory of the places and people you encounter in your daily gaming sessions. Whatever reason it might be, have MMOs prompted you to pick up and read a book based on the same world? Has an MMO gotten you excited enough about an IP that you've gone back and read novels that the game is based on, such as The Lord of the Rings or Conan the Barbarian? Or did you dive into paperbacks derived from the MMO, like the Warcraft series or the new Star Trek Online novel, The Needs of the Many? Or are you eagerly snatching up books based on upcoming MMOs to tide you over, such as Guild Wars 2's Ghosts of Ascalon and The Old Republic's Fatal Alliance?
Flameseeker Chronicles: Divinity's Reach to Ascalon City
We recently heard that Ghosts of Ascalon, the first Guild Wars 2 novel, is due out this summer. The plot of the book revolves around a group of adventurers traveling from Divinity's Reach to Ascalon City in search of the Claw of the Khan-Ur, a Charr relic that is the key to a truce between the Charr and the humans. Traveling from Divinity's Reach to Ascalon City is quite a hike, even in present-day Tyria (which is presumably much friendlier to travelers than the world of Guild Wars 2.) Since Jeff Grubb -- one of the principal designers of Guild Wars 2 -- is involved in the book, hopefully the tale will give us a look at the land of Tyria 250 years into the future. For now, we'll have to content ourselves with piecing together what we know of the world and taking a look at the path our (hopefully) intrepid heroes will be facing. Examining future lore based on partial knowledge is a tricky thing, because there are so many different opinions and schools of thought. Follow along after the cut for a ride on the speculation train, and feel free to add your thoughts at the end!
First Guild Wars novel announced: Ghosts of Ascalon to release this summer
We know from the lore of Guild Wars 2 that Ascalon will become what is literally a ghost town thanks to King Adelbern, his sword Magdaer, and his last-ditch effort to drive out the Charr in a cataclysm known as Foefire. The effects of the event reach farther than anyone would have thought in the first Guild Wars 2 novel, now officially titled Ghosts of Ascalon. The ghosts of slain Ascalon soldiers are the only inhabitants of the area now, defending their home from invaders and generally making it a pretty unwelcoming place. In Ghosts of Ascalon, Queen Jennah is attempting a treaty with the Charr, who are unwilling to deal until the Charr artifact the Claw of the Khan-Ur is retrieved from -- where else -- Ascalon City. A small band of adventurers sets out for Old Ascalon to retrieve the artifact from a dangerous land and an unwilling ghostly king. (Since Lion's Arch is gone, we assume they couldn't find anyone to run them.) The book is scheduled for release this summer in North America and Europe. For now, check out the FAQ on the Guild Wars 2 site.
