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Guild Wars Wintersday 2007 Gallery
It's Christmas Eve, and if you've got nothing better to do there are two warring factions in the world of Guild Wars that would probably like your help with the Festival of Wintersday! Of course, there's all those family obligations to see to on days like this, and you can hardly be blamed for being busy. As such, why not sit back and check out our own gallery of Wintersday imagery? Or go browsing on Flickr for the innumerable beautiful pictures of Arena.net's holiday finery in Kamadan, Lion's Arch, Ascalon City and beyond?We've previous featured Arena.net's Wintersday finery in our One Shots series; why not submit a Wintersday shot from this year? There's still plenty of time before the end of the event to get a shot in the door! Whether you're a follower of the crotchety Grentch or beautiful Dwayna, make sure to have a Happy Wintersday ... at least until January 1st. Then the gloves come off and it's time for a battle royale!%Gallery-12215%
The winners of the Guild Wars RAWR Cup
Last month we discussed the first GuildCafe / Guild Wars joint event: the RAWR Cup PvP Tournament. Things apparently went quite well, and the official Guild Wars site has a rundown on the big winners for each division. In all, 72 guilds registered online for the RAWR Cup. This included 18 teams in the Dragon Division, 21 teams in Phoenix, and 33 teams in Titan. Competing teams ranged from the number one team on the guild ladder, Delta Formation [DF], to several teams outside the 10,000 rank level ... The Dragon Division featured two European guilds, Esoteric Warriors [EW] and Whats Going On [sup] fighting on Imperial Isle ... Nearly the entire match was fought at the flag stand, with occasional pushes on flag runners as they came down their respective ramps to capture the stand ... [sup] took several deaths after VoD but eventually recovered, only to give up the first morale boost of the game just after 23 minutes. At this point [sup] could no longer withstand the pressure and eventually succumbed, making [EW] the Dragon Division winner.Most exciting to me personally is the fact that the event had fascinating play-by-play commentary on the Uberguilds network.Scotty of [rawr] and Roxianna from GuildCafe hosted a live show on the day of the tournament, with several others helping out. During the Swiss Qualifying Rounds, Scotty and Roxianna watched matches as they came up on Observer Mode, addressing comments posted by players in IRC and observer chat, while also providing commentary on the match being observed.This kind of collaborative experience is fascinating, and if the inclusion of third parties into official tournaments will result in more events like this it's hard to see the downside.
Guild Wars Wintersday prep, FAQ and patch updates
The developers at Arena.net are hard at work in the code mines, keeping Guild Wars up to date. Patches since the lowering of level-based access to Eye of the North have mostly focused on getting the annual Wintersday event up and running. The official Guild Wars site has a complete run-down on this year's event, from start to finale. The decorations and such will go up next Friday, the 21st. You'll be able to once again choose sides in the war between the grentches and snowmen, as well as partake in the daily city quests. Folks who take part in the event finales on the 1st and 2nd of January will (of course) be getting stylish hats.In the tradition of the season, you will also receive special holiday-themed headgear if you attend the Wintersday finale. And this year, the hat you receive will depend on which deity wins the day, so choose wisely. We look forward to seeing you this Wintersday. Come join the fun, and don't get left out in the cold!The site is also offering up patch notes for the Dec. 7 and Dec. 11 updates, and a FAQ on the newly offered skill pack unlocks.
Visit the Eye of the North for a holiday break
Just yesterday we discussed Arena.net's decision to lower the entry barrier to the Eye of the North expansion. They're now capitalizing on that by offering everyone that owns a Guild Wars campaign the chance to check out the new content.For a limited time you can use a public code over at the Guild Wars site to gain access to a five-hour trial of GWEN. The code will only work from within the client, and can be used for up to 14 days before the trial expires. To give you even more bang for your buck, from this weekend out until next Sunday (the 16th), playing through Eye of the North content will net you plenty of extras: Triple experience from all primary storyline quests in Eye of the North. Double the chance to receive rare items from chests, and triple the drop rate of Lockpicks in Eye of the North. Double gold and experience rewards for vanquishing Eye of the North explorable areas while playing in Hard Mode.
Guild Wars patch lowers access level for Eye of the North
This week's update to Guild Wars brings the usual assortment of bug fixes and pvp tweaks, but it also offers up a curious change to the way that Arena.net's latest release (Eye of the North) works. At launch two months ago, players needed a max-level character to gain access to the new content. Level 20 in Guild Wars is fairly easy to attain, and I didn't think much of it. Now, though, the company is offering access to the expansion as early as level 10.Additional notes include: Players who are between levels 10 and 19 and are in Eye of the North maps will automatically receive a buff called Journey to the North. This buff [effectively makes them 20th level for armor, stats, and health. The buff also effectively gives characters 20th level attributes.] Players new to Eye of the North can now receive a basic max damage weapon by completing the Hero Tutorial quest given by Burol Ironfist in Boreal Station. Once completed, players receive a Burol Ironfist's Commendation item that can be turned in to Arkor Leadfoot in Boreal Station for a weapon of their choosing. A new armorer, Jolvor Stoneforge, has been added to Boreal Station to give players a cheaper source of basic max level armor in the Eye of the North expansion. So ... what does this mean? The opinion in the community is that almost everyone has a 20th level character. Veteran players talk about running an alt up to 20 like it's nothing, and even challenge themselves with strange and arcane hoops to gain unique titles. Obviously Arena.net feels that there is a significant population of players out there that want to participate in the GWEN content, but don't have a 20th level character.Is there any other reason to drop the level requirement and offer these boosts? Guild Wars vets, fill us in ... why the change so soon after the expansion launches?
Guild Wars bonus mission pack released
The Scribe, just recently returned to Tyria, promised that we'd be seeing the much-anticipated Bonus Mission Pack soon. And so we have, as a blurb on the official Guild Wars site notes that the pack is now live!For those who have qualified, the Guild Wars Bonus Mission Pack is now available to play! To access the four new bonus missions, speak with Durmand[Historian] in Lion's Arch, Kaineng Center, or Kamadan. Once you have done so, you'll receive special story tomes that are filled with detailed histories and provide entry into the missions.If you're unclear on just what this is, Arena.net has a handy FAQ that will set you straight. For more on the Pack, they also have up an interview from mid-October with lead designer Colin Johansen. He describes the high concept behind these bonus missions, as well as some of the challenges that went into creating them.
The Guild Wars scribe offers events preview
The Scribe has returned to the lands of Tyria, Cantha, and Elona - the lands of Guild Wars. It's been a long time since his last post, but he comes bearing great news.Players should keep their eyes out in the next few days for free treats and sweets as Arena.net ramps up to the Winter's Day celebration: The Fraternal Order of Bakers and Brewers (FOBB) plans to gather at secret locations across the lands to exchange recipes, share samples of their goods, and spread their special brand of cheer (to the dismay of bar maids and innkeepers alike). What may interest you, gentle readers, is that in the past, the participants of these surreptitious banquets have often left for home not fully in control of all of their faculties ... and have been known to unwittingly leave some of their wares along the roadside.If you purchased the Bonus Missions Pack sometime in the last few months, your wait for that content will soon be over. The Scribe states that adventurers seeking ' the noble history of the past', in order to 'partake of rewards for the effort' should look to Historian Durmand in the next few weeks.And, as he always does, the Scribe gives 'shout outs' to a handful of players that went above and beyond the call of duty to their fellow GW citizens. Remember that the next time you've got loot to spare and spot a new player looking a bit lost - you could end up on the Scribe's lists.
Guild Wars balance discussed, changes hinted
The latest Guild Wars State of the Game is Talking Skill Balance with Izzy and Ensign, and it's a good look at the the current metagame in PvP.For the uninitiated, it provides a snapshot for just how seriously PvP balance is considered in Guild Wars; and for existing players, it seems like ArenaNet are at least aware of the current stagnation.I don't envy the job of balancing GW PvP in the state it's currently in. When it's not so much a case of skill balance but how the game is played, it's a different issue altogether. Merely changing skills like Light of Deliverance probably won't be enough, because GvG teams run with such defensively stronger lineups at present -- and regardless of skill changes, that will continue until more guilds start experimenting with split builds and greater offense again, and find one that works enough to break things up.Any hardcore PvPers got thoughts on this?
GuildCafe opens 2008 Rawr Cup to Guild Wars players
GuildCafe, a social network site for online gamers, has announced a competition for members. Called the 2008 Rawr Cup, this first contest of player skill pits gamers against each other in the world of Guild Wars. There are three different divisions, so players of all skill levels can participate. And, of course, there are prizes! The eight members of the winning team in the Dragon division will be awarded "Eight Acer AL2216Wbd Black 22" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitors with HDCP support". The winning team in the Phoenix division will snag "Eight Logitech G9 Black 5 Buttons Tilt Wheel USB Wired Laser Gaming Mice", and the Titan division winners will net themselves "Eight special edition Rawr Cup Titan Division winner t-shirts". If you're interested, the tournament rules will probably be of interest, and if you don't currently have a guild to work with the team recruitment page will help you out with that.And, of course, if you've never played Guild Wars before that's something we can set you straight on too. This week FilePlanet is offering a 14-day trial for the game that unlocks all three expansions. These things cost money in stores, you know, so get it for free while the getting's good.
Under The Hood: Pseudo-MMOs, Part One
The world of MMO-making is more and more competitive by the hour, with many big-name developers throwing their hats into the MMO development ring as time goes on. But where does this leave us? Are all of these games requiring subscription fees? Will I be left out in the street playing Star Trek Online because I'm paying hundreds a month in fees? Not if the "pseudo-MMO" has anything to do with it.The pseudo-MMO is a game which is similar to an MMO, but lacks things that an MMO often has, such as subscription fees, a truly massive environment (as opposed to a very large environment), a centralized server, or non-instanced zones. They aren't "real" MMOs, but they come very, very close. By offering persistent worlds, large amounts of players on a server at any one time, and sometimes even single-player, these doppelgangers can capture the "feel" of an MMO without (or with, in some cases!) a subscription fee. So let's walk down the list.
Meet the October Guild Wars PvP champs
Another 'State of the Game' piece from the official Guild Wars site takes us once again behind the scenes, this time to have a chat with the winners of the October automated PvP Tournament. The guild, called Delta Formation, passed on some information about their history, their adversaries, and most usefully a ton of insight on tournaments, builds, and GW PvP in general.In terms of builds, [DF] likes to focus on flexibility rather than engaging in "build wars," where a team attempts to beat others by outbuilding them rather than outplaying them. [DF] plays balanced builds because members believe the effectiveness of the build is directly tied to the skill of the players using the build. If played correctly, they feel their balanced build can beat anyone else. That said, [DF] still runs a variety of other builds in its main guild or its smurfs. Sometimes they might be trying to throw off opponents by running other, less conventional builds. More often, they are trying out various gimmick builds to identify the weaknesses and strengths of those builds. For many gimmick builds the counter is obvious, but for others merely theory-crafting the counters might not be enough.
Under The Hood: Of Titles, Badges, and Achievements
Say what you will about achievement points on the Xbox 360. They may cheapen the experience, or reduce elements of skill down to raw numbers, but anyone who has ever played a 360 knows how addictive the little "Achievement unlocked!" message is. So what happens when you toss that into an MMO? Titles. It seems that a recent trend in MMOs is "titles". When they first debuted in the mainstream with City of Heroes, they didn't do much. All they did was add bragging rights for the person who has them, and a displayable title above the person's head. They were worthless (Well, mostly worthless). And most of the titles in CoX are still worthless. "Oh, I killed 200 Circle of Thorn members. I've got that sweet new title." Some MMOs are actually starting to change things up now, though, including the pioneers of the "Titles" system. Getting the exploration titles in City of Heroes/Villains will enable your Supergroup to teleport to that map from your Supergroup base. Getting certain titles in Guild Wars will allow you to increase your holding cap on faction. Getting all titles in an area in Tabula Rasa gets you a huge experience bonus (noticing a trend here? NCsoft developers seem to love the use of titles).
Halloween festivities for NCsoft titles
We already filled you in on CoX getting some Halloween fun underway, but NCsoft has now let 1Up know what their plans are for their other titles.Guild Wars players can expect the return of the infamous Mad King Thorn. This joker typically visits different areas of towns telling people what to do, rewarding those that listen and destroying those that don't. The two cities he will make appearances at are Lion's Arch and Kamadan, and you'll need to be around between October 26th and midnight October 31st to catch him.Lineage II fans will see the "Trick or Transmutation" event for their Halloween celebration. This will involve a treasure hunt for some Alchemist's Chests, to create Philosopher's Stones and unlock rewards. Some of these rewards will reportedly be unique to this event, and if you're interested in trying your hand at the hunt, the event begins October 26th.Finally, NCsoft is even infusing their unreleased MMO Tabula Rasa with Halloween madness. Those who have preordered the game will get to play a few days early, in the headstart promotion, and will be able to go on missions to earn special Halloween masks.If you want to find out about the celebrations already going on in CoX check out our previous coverage, and a link to 1Up's article is provided below.
Game & Watch gets a makeover
Available from ThinkGeek for the small price of $8.99 USD, these exact recreations of their 80's counterparts look to be worth every penny. Obviously the Donkey Kong game has Mario leaping over barrels to rescue his damsel in distress, whilst Link must navigate complex dungeons in Legend of Zelda. These also keep excellent time!So who else plans on picking this up with us?
