NCSoft has announced they’re slashing $10 from the price of Guild Wars 2, and this is no special offer. The exceptionally successful MMO will remain at this lower price forever (or at least until the next drop). Effective today, you can pick the game up for £34.99/$49.99.
ArenaNet have formally announced that Guild Wars will be entering automation, ceasing any further content updates and only focusing on maintenance. It’s been eight long years, Guild Wars released back in 2005 and saw explosive growth thanks to it’s Guild vs Guild (GvG) tournaments. Only a small amount of staff will stay with the game as ArenaNet shift their focus over to their equally successful sequel, Guild Wars 2.
ArenaNet have seen “consistent and strong performance" through their in-game gem sales, particularly in comparison to the money they made through sales of boxed copies.
Strong numbers in that department spells a good future for the life of the no-sub MMO Guild Wars 2.
Coming off the back of Retribution, Guild Wars 2’s living story will continue with The Secret of Southsun. The update will see players restore order to Southsun Cove allowing refugees from the Molten Alliance dungeons to live in peace. With The Secret of Southsun comes major improvements across the game: including the complete removal of player culling, multiple World vs World updates, and a Crab Toss mini game.
WAT.
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It’s been nearly six months since Guild Wars 2 introduced a new dungeon: the Fractals of the Mists. With the finale of the Flame & Frost saga, they’re finally adding something new. Tyra’s heroes must journey into the depths of the Shiverpeaks... to the Molten Alliance and their dubious weapons facility.
I’ve been playing this dungeon for a few days. Here’s what to expect.
Spoiler Alert: This hands-on will spoil some dramatic moments. If you care about your initial experience then I would advise running through it yourself.
I’m going to come right out and say it: PvP in Guild Wars 2 always felt like an unfinished product to me. Coming from someone who has sunk thousands of hours into the original Guild Wars, PvP was probably its most prominent feature. Guild versus Guild (GvG) was the PvP that dominated: it was accessible with the eight skill limit, but diverse - with hundreds of team compositions.
That active PvP scene has been missing from Guild Wars 2: but the changes that are coming should see that start to change. Arenanet’s first step; the custom arenas and a spectator mode for Guild Wars 2. I’ve been playing with them in a private beta.
Custom PvP arenas with much of the functionality of FPS dedicated servers are to be added to Guild Wars 2 in limited beta form in the Retribution update due next week, alongside a spectator mode. They’ll be accompanied with new World vs World abilities, guild missions, guild siege weapons and back banners. Meanwhile, Arenanet will conclude their Frost and Flame storyline with a brand new dungeon.
Guild Wars 2’s Flame and Frost ‘living’ storyline will come to a close on April 30th with “Retribution", the finale to the four part living story. The accompanying update is vast, introducing custom arenas and spectator mode to Guild Wars 2’s PvP. But for the moment, we’re going to focus on the new dungeon coming to Tyria: The Molten Weapon Facility. Home to the alliance of dredge and the charr of the Flame Legion, players will race against the clock to stop them unleashing deadly new technology upon the world. With new enemies, weapons and a boss battle that will “go down in Guild Wars 2 history", this dungeon marks a new direction in encounter design for the Guild Wars 2 team.
I don’t know a great deal about kicking cute animals, something but not lots, but I didn’t expect it to be as difficult as Rytlock’s Critter Rampage portrays it. In the space of two minutes I’ve been killed by a hopping bunny, a squat tortoise, and a spitting snake.
And I was playing on the easy mode, too.
This weekend between April 19th-21st Guild Wars 2 will be free all weekend to those who can snag a code from various promotions around the interwebs. You have a good chance to get said codes by following them on Twitter or Facebook, where they will announce giveaways to the masses. If you already have a trial account from the last free weekend back in November, you can sit back and relax, as you can continue right where you left off.
Next week’s throwdown will mark the eighth year of Guild Wars’ existence, made extra special by an upgrade to a new venue: y’know, Guild Wars 2. Games and goods await in the course of a party the likes of which Shing Jea Monastery has never seen.
If you thought the Super Adventure Box was your months fill of Guild Wars 2 content, think again. The finale of Guild Wars 2’s four part living story is coming on April 30th, dubbed “Retribution". Taking place after the events of “The Razing", our heroes will follow Rox the charr and the norn Braham into the underground depths of the Shiverpeaks to put an end to the Flame Legion and their dredge allies.
Guild Wars 2 is well-fed with players, and grows more rotund by the day. But its land is even larger, and players have clamoured for months about the need for a Looking For Group tool - something to point their wizards and warriors in the direction of populated areas, where they can team up with others to smash centaurs or pick apples or whathaveyou.
Developers ArenaNet have been making meaningful noises on the subject for a little while, but only yesterday confirmed that an in-game system will be in place by the end of 2013.
What with their addictive qualities, MMOs have been tearing families, friendships, and relationships apart since the 90s. developer Arenanet are continuing that fine tradition by launching leaderboards with which to brag, boast, and bicker over.
Currently the listings only show the top 100 players in PvP, WvW, and Achivements but the developer promises to “ramp this number up and add some different ways to slice the data to help you get the most relevant information possible." The home-wrecking bastards.
Guild Wars 2 recently introduced an extensive 8-bit zone titled the Super Adventure Box, which transcended the remit of an April Fools gag to become a substantial chunk of honest to goodness free content. Not only did the retro-pixel world look fantastically cheerful, but it was backed by an original chiptune soundtrack by composers Maclaine Diemer and Leif Chappelle. The lovely ArenaNet have just released the twee, old-school tunes in their 25 minute long entirety.
Guild Wars’ ongoing tale of errant charr and burning homesteads might be the fiery face of this latest update, but it’s only one story worth telling about The Razing. Other threads we might pull on include the death of WvW culling, the birth of leaderboards, and the deportation of a shipload of bugs.
We’re due a Razing in about four days’ time, on March 26. That’s just enough time to buy an anti-raze gauze, or whatever, and to assimilate everything there is to know about the third of four story-driven Flame and Frost installments for Guild Wars 2.
While some MMOs, like EVE Online, constantly strive to deepen and expand the complexity of their feature-set, building ever more intricately netting systems, ArenaNet are constantly worrying they’ve made their own game, Guild Wars 2, too complex for the average player.
Speaking to Forbes lead designer Isiah Cartwright said “we’re getting toward the tail end of the number of systems we feel that we can put in the game [...] One of the major goals of GW was to allow anyone to jump in and play. We have a team dedicated to making sure that it’s easy, and we’re going to continue to improve that process as much as we can."
The Flame and Frost: The Razing is the third installment to the four part series, due out on March 26th. Things are heating up as the Flame Legion have formed an alliance with the dredge, creating a powerful force to be reckoned with. They are slowly and systematically taking out each settlement, massacring all in their path.
There is still hope however; find out more after the break.
That’s right, It’s just been announced that every day through March will feature a different sale on boosters, upgrades, consumables and more! Savings can range anywhere from 15%-40% so keep an eye out for those great deals. A new promotion will begin at midnight Pacific Standard Time, which is 08:00 GMT or 09:00 CET for us European folk.
