guild-wars-101
Latest
Flameseeker Chronicles: The care and feeding of your PUG
As I joined the rest of you in anxiously awaiting the beginning of Asura Week, I thought over what to discuss in this week's Flameseeker Chronicles. Last week was the usual calm before the storm, so I was a little stuck for a topic. As is often the way, some quality time with Guild Wars and my alliance solved that problem! While I was playing last week, I was keeping an eye on a discussion in alliance chat regarding PUG groups and the frustration that some of my allies were experiencing at their virtual hands. It set me to thinking about the unusual situation PUGs find themselves in in Guild Wars, so follow along after the jump and let's talk about it!
Flameseeker Chronicles: Whatever shall I wear?
Every now and again I'm fond of revisiting the basics of Guild Wars here in Flameseeker Chronicles. This usually happens for one of two reasons: newer players have given me some ideas on things that are universally confusing or there's a lack of new Guild Wars 2 news. Well, the Engineer topic has bypassed "beating a dead horse" and is rapidly approaching "beating a small smear of glue," and Justin Olivetti is playing Guild Wars in earnest again. What does that last thing have to do with the price of tea in Cantha, you ask? Follow along after the jump and we'll find out!
Flameseeker Chronicles: Let's review!
The ArenaNet team has been quiet lately in the news department and deservedly so. Between GDC, PAX East, the Guild Wars 2 Thief, and Embark Beach and heroes in Guild Wars 1, I imagine the developers are ready to catch up on frivolous things like eating, sleeping, sitting, and breathing. We've got Winds of Change and Guild Wars' sixth birthday to look forward to, but in the meantime, I want to take the opportunity to play catch-up. When there's a pause in new information, I always enjoy backing up a bit and spending some quality time with newer players. I know that there's been another influx of new players recently, particularly after so many saw GW2 at PAX. Follow along after the jump for a roundup of Guild Wars basic guides as well as an update and information on Massively's official Guild Wars guild.
Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars 101
The lack of Guild Wars 2 news lately is getting increasingly frustrating. Don't look so surprised -- just because I think we shouldn't should curse and throw a fit and take what isn't ours doesn't mean I don't want news as badly as you guys do! I've been stalking Twitter, the ArenaNet blog, forums, and anything else I can think of, hoping for any scrap of GW2 news. Of course, there's nothing. There's a bright side to weeks like this, though. They allow me to visit topics that I don't have time for on weeks when I'm scrambling to keep up with the news avalanche. The brand-new Guild Wars players just keep on coming, and while it's so exciting to see the community growing like this, the vast majority of us have forgotten what it's like to set foot in Tyria for the first time. Oh, sure, we remember how amazingly beautiful Pre-Searing was and other overall impressions like that, but sometimes it's hard to remember the confusion of not even knowing basics like how to enter a mission -- or even what a mission is. So you guys who are standing in Ascalon City, feeling confused about where to even begin, while your alliance talks about doing The Deep in hard mode, this is for you. Press that handy button to continue!
Flameseeker Chronicles: Stop telling me how to get 50 points when I only have three
I've spent a ton of time the past week talking about how to get 50 points in your Hall of Monuments, and while I'm happy with how much people seemed to enjoy it, I got a lot of feedback of another kind. This is the connection between Guild Wars 1 and Guild Wars 2 that we've been waiting for, so a surprising number of players have either come out of retirement or are picking up the game for the first time. Those players read a guide on how to get 50 or even 30 points, check their calculators, see three points, and can't even begin to imagine how they'll catch up. Well, my main account might be sporting 46 points, but the image above is a screenshot of the calculator for my Massively/Guildcast account, so I am right there with you guys. For that reason -- and thanks to a pile of requests -- this Flameseeker Chronicles is for those of you just starting out. I mentioned some of this in last week's Flameseeker Chronicles, but it was geared more toward those who are already underway. This is more basic, so follow along after the jump for a guide on how to get up to speed.
Flameseeker Chronicles: Back to basics
With all the talk of Guild Wars 2 these days, many players are beginning to pay attention to Guild Wars, something they've not done before. And there's good reason to jump into Guild Wars right now. It serves as the backstory to Guild Wars 2; the entire Guild Wars trilogy plus the Eye of the North expansion can be had for a song these days; and there's no subscription fee. Players who are a little burned out on their previous games of choice are thinking that maybe there's something to this game after all, and I've been getting more than a few emails with general questions about starting this five-year-old game. So while we've been focusing pretty heavily on Guild Wars 2 in Flameseeker Chronicles lately, I decided to take this week to discuss why it's never too late to start Guild Wars while you wait for GW2 to arrive.
Flameseeker Chronicles: A guide to the Dragon Festival
I'm excited about the Dragon Festival. Not even for the loot -- my clicky titles are maxed and my guild mates will be benefiting from any sugar, booze, and party items I happen across -- but just for the sake of the event. I love the festivities, the anticipation of the finale, the laughs given by the Canthan actors in their Grasp costumes, and I love that the enjoyment is shared by so many other players. It's great fun, and only being able to access the events a few days a year makes them even better. The only thing that would make it better would be a minipet. I do love me some minipets. Ah well. If you're new to Guild Wars, it can be a little confusing. What's going on here? Why are we partying? Where do I find the event? Why is everyone talking about a mask? Why did that Grawl just drop a Victory Token? (I don't get that last thing either. Do Grawl take pleasure cruises to other continents now? Was it a souvenir that he picked up while visiting?) At any rate, as I did with the Canthan New Year festival earlier this year, I've put together a little guide to help you navigate the event. Follow along after the jump to be all ready for the Dragon Festival!
The Flameseeker Chronicles: putting the guild in Guild Wars
Last week we talked about keeping Guild Wars fresh after four years. While much of it centers around your attitude, the "multiplayer" part of MMO makes a big difference. A heavily instanced world like Guild Wars can get pretty lonely if you don't make the effort to play with people, particularly since it has such easily accessed heroes and henchmen. Fortunately, Guild Wars again has the advantage of age, in that there are many, many established and active guilds out there accepting new members. The downside of this is that there are many, many established and active guilds out there accepting new members. Choosing one can be a bit overwhelming, so let's take a look at how best to put the guild in Guild Wars.
The Flameseeker Chronicles: Community guide to Guild Wars
Welcome to Tyria! The Flameseeker Chronicles will be a regular feature here at Massively, in which we cover all things Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2, beginning with this handy-dandy community guide. Guild Wars has been around for a while now, and has the advantage of a strong, knowledgeable fan-based community. There are literally hundreds of fan sites and forums, Twitter pages and Facebook pages all devoted to Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2. It's very easy to get overwhelmed, so view this as a guide to where you can find the most comprehensive information for whatever you are looking for, be it gameplay information, news on game development, skill and build help, and much more.
