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Guild Wars: A guide to Pre-Searing
The last day dawns on the Kingdom of Ascalon. It arrives with no fanfare, no tolling of alarms. Those who will remember, will speak fondly of the warm morning breeze. People carry on with their daily lives, unaware that in a short while... everything they have ever known will come to an end. This is the opening dialogue for the original Guild Wars, directly after you initially create your character in Prophecies. It lets us know that the beauty we are about to experience in what is known as "Pre-Searing Ascalon" will only be temporary. The name "Pre-Searing" comes from the fact that everything in this tutorial area of GW:Prophecies occurs before the Searing, when the evil Charr burned the lands of Ascalon to the ground. Because of the fact that it precedes the rest of the storyline by two years, the area cannot be accessed again once you leave. For this reason, you will find many players who remain in the Pre-Searing area permanently, as a roleplaying homage to their original homeland and its preservation. In fact, this starter area has had such an impact on players that an entire fan-based community has been created around it.
Guild Wars third year anniversary retrospective: Prophecies and Factions
You've come a long way, baby. This weekend marks the third anniversary of the retail launch of ArenaNet's Guild Wars, and as we reported earlier, they're celebrating it in style. So we thought we'd take a visual look back at the game, how far it's progressed since April 28th, 2005 and where it stands today.The original Guild Wars, now known as Chapter 1: Prophecies, is where the game's heart and soul lies. The core skills and classes originated here, but over time, we've seen many changes to the primary land of Tyria. Does anyone remember the original campfire log-in screen? Or the non-refundable attribute points? How about life before Sorrow's Furnace? Can you tell us where the first Hall of Heroes was? These were all additions and improvements made to Guild Wars, along with many others throughout the course of the game's life.%Gallery-21505%
Guild Wars tops 5 million sold
A bit behind the times with this, but better late than never: Guild Wars cracked five million boxes sold late last month! NCsoft is (understandably) pleased, and there's a lot of crowing in the official press release. That number includes every box in the whole franchise, of course, so that's spread out across Prophecies, Factions, Nightfall, and Eye of the North. That's a pretty outstanding achievement, with the game having originally launched back in April of 2005. Back in the day, just after World of Warcraft had launched, the idea of a US publisher succeeding with a game that didn't require a subscription was considering crazy talk. With Guild Wars 2 already in the works and now five million units of the original out and about in the world, I'd say that kind of talk is now quite debunked.While it doesn't look like there's any sort of in-game celebration going on, the site has a few details for other community-type things. The February Championship series results are in, if you care about that sort of thing. They're also running a contest right now, if you have an eye for design, looking to get players making brand-new weapons for inclusion in the game. The weapons from the 2007 design-a-weapon contest are fantastic, so good luck to any budding artists out there. %Gallery-9135%
One Shots: Looking out over the Sage Lands
Reader Jeff sends in another gorgeous Guild Wars scene, this one from the original Prophecies campaign. Jeff tells us he snapped this shot while exploring the Sage Lands portion of the lush Maguuma Jungle. We're not sure what may await the intrepid adventurer here, but it's darned pretty!Are you starting to think that One Shots is a Guild Wars-only feature? Well we only post what you send us, so if you want to see other games, send your screenshots and stories to oneshots@massively.com. You may see it posted here tomorrow! %Gallery-9798%
One Shots: Beacon's Perch
Brinstar sends us this shot from Guild Wars: Prophecies along with the story of why this particular location is of interest. For non-GWers, this is Beacon's Perch, an outpost in the Northern Shiverpeak Mountains and the starting point for the Droknar Run. Says Brinstar:The Droknar Run is the only way to get to the Southern Shiverpeaks, an advanced area in Guild Wars Prophecies, without first Ascending. Players will pay runners to get them to Droknar's Forge so they can get max level armour available at Droknar's Forge and so they can skip major portions of the game.Starting to think that One Shots is a Guild Wars-only feature? Well, you have only yourself to blame -- we post your shots and stories, so if you want to see other games, send us your screenshots! Whatever your story is, send it to us at oneshots@massively.com. You may see it posted here tomorrow! %Gallery-9798%
Guild Wars beta testing to begin in China
As if Chinese gamers didn't have enough online gaming to occupy their leisure (and work) time, The9 has announced Guild Wars China will begin closed beta testing on Nov. 29. One of the most anticipated games on the mainland, Guild Wars attracted 200,000 applicants on the first day of beta registration last week. Maybe an aspiring Chinese clan will unseat South Korea's reigning Guild Wars champs The Last Pride at the next world tournament.The9 also hosts World of Warcraft and Webzen's Soul of the Ultimate Nation, but it is unknown if the Shanghai-based developer's Guild Wars deal with NCsoft also includes the Factions and Nightfall expansions.See also: Nightfall world premiere sets Guild Wars record
New Guild Wars Nightfall trailer
With Nightfall's pre-release bonus pack just one month away, NCsoft and ArenaNet have released a trailer for the next Guild Wars campaign. The video includes sweeping panoramas of the African-themed landscape where Nightfall takes place, as well as battle footage featuring the new paragon and dervish professions.For some tips on what makes a successful guild, the game's official web site has posted interviews with top international teams from the Guild Wars Championships.
