lost-shores
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Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars 2's living story and the Orrian menace
The cleansing of Orr has long been a popular source of speculation in the community, which is why I asked Colin Johanson about the possibility of it happening in the course of Guild Wars 2's living story when I interviewed him in July. Although I understood his reasoning, I was still disappointed by the answer: that it'd be very difficult to change Orr due to its intersection with the personal story but that in future chapters ArenaNet will do its best to make sure no areas end up locked in time. In a recent Q&A session, our own Richie Procopio asked ArenaNet president Mike O'Brien a similar question and got a somewhat different response. According to O'Brien, the studio's original intent was to steer away from content that could impact the personal story in the interest of simplicity; however, ArenaNet wants to make sure that nothing is off limits to the living story overall. I'm trying not to read too much into that, since it could just be a different way of phrasing what Johanson said, but given a little hope to cling to I'd like to discuss why it's so important that ArenaNet not establish any existing content as off-limits -- especially not Orr.
Flameseeker Chronicles: Catching crabs in Guild Wars 2
My goodness, that lady's bikini is awfully close to body tone from this far away, isn't it? If the sun and sandy beaches didn't give it away, I've spent most of the last week or so of Guild Wars 2 time in Southsun Cove. Karka Island! Sunny Orr! Whatever you call it, I hope we can all agree that Southsun Cove is a terrible place filled with awful monsters that nobody in their right mind, in-universe or otherwise, would ever want to visit without the lure of titles and shiny -- literally, one of them glows, and the other glistens -- backpieces.
Guild Wars 2's living story takes us back to Southsun Cove
As the Flame and Frost living story in Guild Wars 2 draws to a close, ArenaNet is gearing up for the next step of its story delivery system. Starting on May 14th, the team will be enticing players to return to Southsun Cove, the location of the controversial Lost Shores event. A new dev blog on the official site outlines what the team is looking to do with the living story: "May represents a transition: The Flame and Frost arc is now complete, and our plan calls for content to build on what came before while also kicking things off in a new direction. With that in mind, Team Spring Break first focused on the essentials: characters, story, and gameplay." In this first chapter of the new living story, players will team up with Inspector Ellen Kiel of the Lionguard as she and her allies address a tense situation between the settlers and the Consortium. It's only the start of the story, however; events won't be heating up until the summer proper.
Flameseeker Chronicles: Thoughts about Guild Wars 2's living story
With Guild Wars 2's first multi-month living story arc drawing to a close, I thought this might be a good time to do a little bit of reflection on how the living story is treating Guild Wars 2 so far. Sure, what we've seen so far isn't necessarily indicative of the way things are always going to be, but it's a good starting point. (In fact, it's our only starting point. Unless, of course, you like rampant and foundless speculation as a starting point. This is, after all, the internet.) To expand the conversation a bit, I think we're including holiday updates as part of the living story. It's seasonal, but it also fits into the grander scheme of providing changing content to keep the world moving and to keep players engaged. That means that what we've seen to date includes all of Flame and Frost, Wintersday, Halloween, and the Lost Shores event. Also, I guess the Super Adventure Box? I mean, it's returning and it had a lore tie-in and stuff. Maybe? I'm not sold.
Guild Wars 2 staff tackles the ascended gear controversy head-on
It's been a rough couple of weeks for Guild Wars 2, following the news that ArenaNet would be implementing a new tier of gear to the game. Studio Design Director Chris Whiteside and President Mike O'Brien took to Reddit today for an Ask Me Anything (AMA), accepting the brunt of the blame while denying that the team had gone against its stated design manifesto. Whiteside said that the addition of ascended gear was not meant to add a necessary grind to Guild Wars 2, but to fill in a necessary gap in gear that the team identified early on. "It's an exciting problem," he wrote, "but one that has been poorly communicated and handled. And for this I take responsibility and apologize." O'Brien chimed in to address the many comments levied about the design manifesto: "We're left with a balancing act. Some progression is OK, but pushing players onto a gear treadmill isn't OK and isn't what the game is about. I don't think [the ascended gear] invalidates the fundamental concept that GW2 can have gradual stat progression without being a gear treadmill game." The AMA didn't merely dwell on the ascended gear issue; Whiteside fielded questions about the game's approach to future events, a desire to reduce grind across the board, the potential fracturing of the community, and ArenaNet's definition of grind ("Repetitive game play that is not fun," is the official answer, in case you were wondering).
ArenaNet on future content updates and learning from Guild Wars 2's Lost Shores
Guild Wars 2 recently got its first big non-holiday content update, which added a new zone, a new PvP map, a new dungeon, and a bunch of items. In addition to the permanent content (which seems, with a few glaring exceptions, to be very well-received), ArenaNet threw in a one-time event over the weekend (which was not received very well). In response to player reaction, the team has posted a new blog post that acknowledges the pitfalls of the Lost Shores event and laid out plans for moving forward. We've seen people saying that they really liked the principle of using events to unveil new content, but we need to tighten up the methods by which they are deployed. We take these comments to heart, as it is our goal to always deliver content of the highest quality. In the short- to mid-term future, ArenaNet plans to revamp and rebalance existing dungeons, add new dungeons to the Fractals of the Mists, fix existing content, add new content and progression for guilds, keep adding features to PvP, add new WvW content and rewards, and continue to add to the dynamic content around the world. There's no mention of one-off events in that list, which hopefully means the team is taking time to make sure that the technical problems have been hunted down and sorted out before another attempt is made.
Guild Wars 2 wants your feedback on the Lost Shores event
So Guild Wars 2 had this event last weekend and it seems like things didn't go quite as planned. There were bugs, crashes, and enough glitches to keep Glitch alive with namesake royalties (too soon?), but ArenaNet realizes that players weren't as happy as they'd have liked. So tonight the dev studio has released a survey asking your opinion on the Lost Shores event. Did you experience any event-ruining bugs? Was everything peachy-keen on your end? Let them know what did or didn't work for you so the next events can be even better. [Source: ArenaNet survey email]
Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars 2's Lost Shores recap
I won't be the first one to point this out, but almost as annoying as his eagerness to tell the citizens of Tyria about his new tourist destination (he was so eager that he actually interrupted himself -- constantly) was Subdirector Blingg's use of the phrase "most unique." No idea what I'm talking about? Then you likely didn't get a lot of hands-on time with Guild Wars 2 over the weekend. While Southsun Cove and the Fractals of the Mists are still around for your enjoyment, you missed out on the Lost Shores event itself. Some people will dispute whether or not you actually "missed out." They'd argue, I suppose, that there wasn't a ton of missing out to do. We differ on that point. Anyway, jump below the cut to catch the skinny on this weekend in in Guild Wars 2: the good, the unfortunate, and the maddening.
Guild Wars 2 starts Lost Shores, previews new PvP map
Hot on the heels of Halloween 2012, Guild Wars 2's Lost Shores content update seeks to prove if the masterminds at ArenaNet can keep up the pace and quality of their releases. The multi-stage event began today at 3:00 p.m. EST and will continue through Sunday, November 18th. Massively has you covered on all the info, from a primer on the event to the official schedule to a spoiler-free look at the new content. If you have a couple minutes before rushing into the game to check out the event, you might want to stay tuned for a 15-minute video on the game's new PvP map, Temple of the silent Storm. ArenaNet PvP Coordinator Jonathan Sharp takes us through all of the intricacies of the new map mechanics.
A (spoiler-free) jaunt through Guild Wars 2's Lost Shores
Guild Wars 2's Lost Shores update is just around the corner -- that is, if you can consider nighttime to be a corner. What I'm trying to say is that Lost Shores goes live tomorrow. We brought you a content primer a couple of days ago to give you the basics of what's going on. Now it's time to take a closer look at what's to come. Skip on below the cut for a spoiler-free look at the Lost Shores content. I mean, reasonably spoiler-free. I'm going to tell you that the karka are involved and that there's a dungeon where you fight things. We can't really have much of a conversation elsewise, but what I'm not going to do is give away any big finales or gotcha moments. Now that we understand each other, let's get going. %Gallery-170961%
ArenaNet explains Guild Wars 2's new Ascended item tier
Earlier today, Guild Wars 2 players got their first real idea of what's awaiting them in the Lost Shores content update. They responded with an collective outcry against the introduction of Ascended items, which inhabit a new tier of item rarity. The roar of outrage was a little muddled, however, as there weren't a whole lot of details about what purpose Ascended items serve. A new blog post clarifies the whole issue. Get ready for some knowledge! One of the primary design purposes for the Ascended item tier is to bridge the gap between Exotic gear (which fairly casual players can have a reasonable certainty of acquiring without too much angst) and Legendaries (which are for the hardest of hardcores). Specifically, Ascended items will be used specifically to combat new endgame mechanics. Foes within the new Fractals of the Mists dungeon will inflict Agony on players. Agony can only be mitigated by Infusions, which can be put only into Ascended armor. As players get to higher levels of difficulty within the dungeon, they will eventually find a point at which they have to counter Agony (by Infusions) before they can hope to proceed. Rather than being upgraded with normal components, Ascended gear has upgrades built-in, and upgrade slots have been repurposed into Infusion slots. November's update will include only Ascended rings and back items. More Infusions and Ascended item types will be added with time. When Ascended items are added to the game, Legendary weapons will be updated so they are still the best available option (as opposed to being on-par with Exotic weapons, as they currently are).
Flameseeker Chronicles: There's something in the water in Guild Wars 2
October is gone, and with it went the Mad King. He's returned to his realm, and if the number of his slippers I have piled up in the corners of my bank vault is any indication, he's ill-prepared to deal with any sudden drops in temperature. On the first day of November, Lion's Arch citizens marveled at the sudden disappearance of all the festive decorations, applauded the continuity of the lion statue's still being absent from the Piazza, and set about life as normal. Until they saw the whales.
Guild Wars 2 reveals schedule for the Lost Shores
If you're a Guild Wars 2 fan, you probably don't want to miss a minute of the upcoming Lost Shores event. Of course, that means you need a little time to plan your days -- beg off of visiting relatives, pretend you're sick for work, stock up on canned food, and so forth. In foresight of precisely this eventuality, the Guild Wars 2 community team has revealed the event's schedule so that everyone can prepare accordingly before this one-time event goes live. At 3 p.m. EST on November 16th, the first event chain will kick off. This will be followed by another kickoff event on November 17th and a final culmination on November 18th, both mirroring the 3 p.m. EST start time. While the 16th and 17th will still have content for players who miss the starting bell, the 18th's event will run for several hours and will not come back around, meaning that if you only catch one part of the event, be there for the ending.
