This week in Guild Wars 2

Written by  //  August 4, 2012  //  Community, Editorials  //  2 Comments

I’ve been posting this column here at GuildMag since December, but I started gathering and sharing Guild Wars 2 links just over two years ago. I happened to look back at the first few compilations I did and it was amazing to discover that in the entire month of July 2010, I linked to a total of only 15 official and fan posts. That would barely rank as a a busy day now. We have lots of video coverage from BWE3: I guess it took time for everyone to sort through what they’d recorded and decide what was going to be worth sharing.

Do remember that GuildMag will be hosting another blog carnival soon. Bloggers who’d like to be included should contact paeroka@guildmag.com. Also, any guild leaders who would like their guilds to be profiled in our regular Guild Spotlight should contact Leander (guildspotlight@guildmag.com) for more information.

Official Guild Wars 2 news

  • ArenaNet blog — Jeff Grubb and Ree Soesbee on Creating the Emotional Connection in MMOs. “What makes a game compelling and emotionally involving? The answer may vary with each player, but are there some core game-design principles that will make the majority of players “bond” with a title?”
  • ArenaNet also relaunched the main Guild Wars 2 website with a revamped look and feel. It also now features a countdown clock (adjusted to your local system time).
  • On the official Guild Wars 2 Twitter account: “Those of you looking forward to headstart, it will begin on August 25 at 00:00 PACIFIC Time. ~RB2″
  • GW2 Guru — Guru PvP interview with ArenaNet and our PvP section is growing! “With the release of our new section we are also lucky enough to release a PvP interview with ArenaNet’s very own Jonathan Sharp and John Carpening! This interview is a must read for anyone who is going to competitively play Guild Wars 2 sPvP!”
  • YouTube — Official ArenaNet Video: World vs. World in Guild Wars 2. “Guild Wars 2 Game Designers Matt Witter and Mike Ferguson talk about World vs World (WvW), where three teams battle for control over objectives across four massive maps. Each team represents an entire server, so literally hundreds of players take part in wars that last for weeks. It’s PvP combat on an epic scale!”
  • Reddit — BWE3 Difficulty. “First of all, it is important to understand that the game is still in Beta and that we continue to balance on a daily basis. This said, and as usual, your feedback has proven invaluable. Following the weekend we drilled into our Event metrics, and discovered that the difficulty had indeed changed between BWE3 vs. BWE2. We moved ahead with a check on our core systems to find out if any global change/bug had incurred a generic adjustment to the balance of the game. Quickly we found this to be the case, and the issue has now been corrected.”
  • Polygon — ‘Guild Wars 2‘ and the death rattle of the subscription game. “You can’t rely on subscriptions to make a monetarily successful massively multiplayer game, according to ArenaNet global brand manager Chris Lye. Guild Wars 2 is continuing the movement of subscription-less gaming with a “pay to own” model used by its predecessor Guild Wars, requiring that the user only buy a physical copy of the product to access the full game. And while many developers are still wary of this new model, in today’s climate subscriptions will do more harm than good for the success of a new massively multiplayer game, Lye tells Polygon.”
  • Official Guild Wars 2 website — The Envelope Please: Announcing the Winners of the Moment to Moment Screenshot Contest. “Shortly before our third and final Beta Weekend Event, we invited you all to enter the Moment to Moment screenshot contest. The response was overwhelming: we had well over 8,000 entries from players eager to show off their adventures in Guild Wars 2.”

Recent GuildMag posts

  • Age of Deceit – Winds of War. “Raijin was pacing up and down in the palace’s war room. This circular chamber was called the conference room back in Kaineng Tah’s time and at its center sat a large, round table with the map of the explored world painted on its top. But after Yian Zho was inaugurated, a change in both purpose and name was in order: the former conference room started serving as a meeting spot for the Canthan leadership to discuss tactics and strategies in case of war, but most importantly, to plan out the grand expansion of the Dragon Empire – the one Princess Niya and Raiya inadvertently started with their endeavor to the north and the one that had become the obsession of the Lord Emperor since.”
  • Raphia’s July stress test journal. “Four more hours of Guild Wars 2: is there a better way to spend a Thursday afternoon?”
  • Age of Deceit – Winds of War. “Age of Deceit Chapter 11 (Winds of War) has been updated with an epic playlist!”

Fan articles and blog posts

  • Kill Ten Rats — Unshiny Armor. “There is a clever attrition mechanic in Guild Wars 2 with armor repair. Sure the developers get points for replacing death penalty and energy with something that basically gives players a few tries before getting penalized. It’s really clever because it’s so maddening.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Hub — Boons Guide. “There are a total of 8 Boons in Guild Wars 2, each causing a positive effect on the recipient. Boons tend to be considered the polar opposite of Conditions with each Boon causing an effect for a limited duration. Boons stack in Duration but with the exception of Might, their effectiveness does not stack. You could not for example have two stacks of Protection (which would give 66% damage reduction) instead, you are limited to just one Protection Boon (33% damage reduction). Boons are designed to support any number of play styles as well as offer significant improvements to your character even if it is only for a short period.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Hub — From the Editor’s Lab – Volume Two. “With the third and final beta weekend for Guild Wars 2 behind us, we’re finally in the home stretch leading up to the game’s launch next month. While the team at ArenaNet busies itself putting the finishing touches on the game, the team here at GW2Hub is also kicking into overdrive with a mountain of exciting things for you to feast your eyes on over the coming weeks.”
  • Jar of Bees — The Way of the Spirit Hammer. “All two of my readers will know that last weekend was the third and final Beta Weekend for Guild Wars 2. All characters were wiped and access was given to the asura and sylvari races and their respective starting areas. I, of course, ignored all this and went straight into structured pvp.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Hub — Intro Guide to Karma and the Renown System. “The Karma and Renown System used in Guild Wars 2 is unique and provides a refreshing change of pace from traditional MMO questing. No longer forced to waste time looking for quests, you’ll know exactly where to go and what’s needed from you to complete the tasks. In this intro guide, we’ll examine the mechanics of the Renown System and the use of Karma in Guild Wars 2.”
  • Reddit — Useful Links for Guild Wars 2 to help everyone. “This is a list of links about Guild Wars 2 that are both very helpful and interesting for everyone that is planning to play the game. I originally made this for my guild but thought that Reddit would appreciate it too, and help me to further expand it. If you have any links of websites that you find helpful or interesting share in the comments and I’ll update the list.”
  • The Undead Chef — Asuran Burgers Difficulty: Novice to Intermediate. “The Asuran, a race deeply rooted to their own thoughts have many great developments both in invention and in theoretical. Looking from behind their eyes their impressive power despite their size have inspired me to create the following a selection of burgers to mix and match to your liking all inspired by the elements of the Asuran world.”
  • Under the Pale Tree — Some simply shiny sentences showing skritt sentiment. “Dak here, with an in-depth look into one of my surprise favorite elements of the game. So I briefly mentioned the skritt in my last post talking about the asura. Now, I’ll be… not so brief.”
  • GW2 Guru — Putting the Guild Back into Guild Wars 2 – Part 1: Planning. “Running a guild is hard work at the best of times and moving from one game to another just makes the task even harder. Hopefully this article will give guild leaders and prospective guild leaders some advice that will help make forming a guild in Guild Wars 2 a lot less stressful. This will be a three-part series of articles, so if what you are looking for is not in this one it’ll be in the next.”
  • Demajen — Character Creation: The Long Term Aesthetic Attachment. “Since the preview function was added in the final beta weekend client, the main thing I look for when choosing character race and profession for an MMO can now be explored: namely, how cool can I make them look?”
  • Guild Wars 2 Hub — Jaguars, Jellyfish, and Moas Oh My! “Last weekend I spent a lot of time testing Ranger pets and attempted to demystify some of the classes’ vague trait descriptions. Some were cleared up in seconds, but there were a few that were very difficult to pin down. Unless noted below, I stripped down all PvP gear and kept trait lines not currently being tested at 0. I also made sure to leave out any signets or utility abilities that may have affected a trait being tested. Here is what I found.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Hub — Guide to Earning XP. “Getting your character all the way from level one to eighty requires a lot of time, work, and, of course, experience. Unlike most MMOs, Guild Wars 2 does not chain you down to just one or two methods to earn xp for your character. In fact, there are quite a few different ways for you to harvest those xps laying all around Tyria. Whether you use all of them, or just some of them, depends upon how you wish to play the game. Let’s take a look at the multitude of ways to bring your character from zero to hero.”
  • GW2 GM — Using Your Boons and Conditions. “A major part of combat in Guild Wars 2 has to do with using boons and conditions to your advantage when facing the enemy. These are similar to buffs and debuffs in other games that you might have played. Boons are positive effects that have a limited time duration while conditions are negative effects. It is extremely important for all party members to know how to use boons and conditions in both PvE and PvP. This article explains how each one works and how they can help you and your team in battle. We also give some tips on defending against boons and conditions.”
  • Killabytes Online — GW2 Dungeons & Locations. “TheHammerKnife of Reddit brings us the above map detailing the locations of the 8 dungeons available at launch.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Hub — WvW Stats and Bonuses Guide. “In this guide we break down the World vs. World (WvW) Stats and Bonuses window and explain what each section means for new players, or those who may not actively participate in WvW but are still interested in understanding how well their home world is doing. While many aspects of the WvW scoreboard are fairly easy to understand, being able to tell at-a-glance what the details mean can give you a deeper understanding of the overall WvW system.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Junkies — Caledon Forest: A Walk on the Wild, Semi-Guided Side. “During the final Beta Weekend Event, I got a chance to play among the trees and frolic in the leaves as a sylvari. While doing so, I explored the sylvari starting area– Caledon Forest. The area is one of the most beautiful I’ve seen in the game so far. If you choose to explore Caledon Forest, you’ll find plenty of lush foliage, underwater treasures, and forts gleaming in the sun along with dangerous enemies, sharp terrain, and swamp creatures. As a bonus, most of the events and storylines are quite enjoyable. I highly recommend a scenic tour– just, uh, be sure to take a few weapons or spells along on the journey.”
  • Something Awful Forums — Guild Wars 2: Oh my god, this actually is good. “Norn exist in a state of constant, deep-seated insecurity that can only be treated through histrionic acts of brutally killing and stuffing anything that moves, then bragging about it in detail. This is done during the time not spent in schizophrenic episodes where they talk to invisible spirits or have complete breaks with their identity and transform into wild animals. If they had elements of OCD they’d be grown in vats for psychiatrists to practice on.”
  • Massively — Leaderboard: Picking your Guild Wars 2 main. “Once in a while, we’re going to take a break from our head-to-head battles on Leaderboard to spread a wider canvas. As some of you have pointed out, it’s not always “one or the other” when it comes to choices and preferences. Sometimes you like both, sometimes neither, and sometimes there’s a third, fourth, and fifth option.”
  • Chronicles of Tyria — BWE3 part 1 : It’s a celebration! “Since this last BWE, we received a lot of signs from our readers. From books to alcohol and even some asuran.”
  • GW2 WvW — Meta Warriors. “It’s time for The Structure again! I’m a day late this week, because I was dumb and forgot what day it was pretty much all week. I hope you’re all coping well with your withdrawals, because I’m sure not. There’s a term the devs have been throwing around a lot when talking about PvP balance that new PvPers might not know: “meta”. Jon Peters has said multiple times that they’re only trying to get balance to a reasonable point for launch rather than perfectly balanced because it requiers a “meta” to do so. Today I’ll talk about what a meta is, how it develops, and give an example of the meta in place over this past weekend.”
  • GW2 GM — Engineer: Dual Pistols for Massive Condition Damage. “This Guild Wars 2 Engineer build is simple, straight forward, and most importantly fun to use. In Guild Wars 2 this will be a nice PvP and WvW build. Focusing on condition damage is definitely the way to go to compete in PvP for Engineers. Dual Pistols stack conditions very quickly. Unfortunately, the Engineer does not have a weapon swap ability so your main weapons are what you will always have equipped.”
  • GW2Guilds.org – The GW2 Guild Database. “With the release of Guild Wars 2 closing fast, guilds are now in the position of having to pick a server for release. This site is intended to provide a central database of guilds along with important information such as the server they are rolling on, their approximate member count, and their gameplay focus. Currently you can browse guilds, browse servers, and submit guilds to the database (requires registration, and all guilds will be checked and approved by a moderator).”
  • Guild Wars Insider — Forest of Niflhel PvP Guide. “The Forest of Niflhel is the second sPvP map released for GW2. It is also the only available map for the Tournament mode in the Beta Weekend Event 2. A lot of competitive teams are now VERY familiar with this map, but also enjoy it quite a bit too. It is very fast paced, with matches lasting around 7 minutes, but it is also very dynamic. There are multiple routes to wining and even a hundred point difference in score can be overcome before endgame. This guide will teach you the basics but also give some insight into the more complex elements of competitive play.”
  • Raging Monkeys — Recap: 50 reasons to be excited about GW2 – still? “Guild Wars 2 is coming. Only, not nearly soon enough! We’ll be counting down the days of this blasted August and never did we wish more for summer to already be over, so we can lean deep into our chairs all snuggled up in pillows and blankets (with pizza), completely not feeling guilty for letting the sunny evenings pass, somewhere out there while we are immersed, hopefully, in Tyria. And I remember what I said about Vorfreude, but….scratch that, I wanna play GW2 already!!!”
  • Guild Wars 2 Hub — Trading Post Basics. “Technically an auction house (for anyone familiar with other massively multiplayer games) the Trading Post is Guild Wars 2’s player to player trading system. The major selling point of the Trading Post is the fact that it’s global, meaning all items bought and sold on it are across different Worlds. In traditional style, the auction house is where players can buy and sell items at their own leisure without the need to trade directly with a player or find an NPC.”
  • Guild Wars Insider — The Sylvari: What Almost Was. “Now that we have had a chance to plant our roots into the Sylvari race thanks to the final BWE, we now have a solid grasp of what the race is all about. What many of us forget is that the Sylvari almost looked completely different. Not so long ago, they looked like humans with plant accessories. Not willing to settle for anything less than their best, ArenaNet decided that they could do better.”
  • Guild Wars Insider — Playing with the Elements: How To Whirl Like A Dervish. “After a fresh weekend of playing my two favorite professions, the Engineer and the Elementalist (as well as…a Thief… *Cringes*) I’ve come away with an awesome sense of where the two professions are and how awesome they’ll be at launch. The Elementalist didn’t have any groundbreaking changes from BWE2 to BWE3, so I’ve opted instead to focus on a very specific topic: Tornadoes.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Diary — Levan the Sylvari. “Hello and welcome to the first official Guild Wars 2 Diary for my Beta Weekend character. This Beta weekend, now that we had access to both the Sylvari and the Asura, I decided to go with my second choice for a main character and create a Sylvari Ranger. So please sit back, relax and enjoy the read. Please at the end leave comments on how I can improve on these diaries for release.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Hub — Necromancer Guide. “In this introductory guide to the necromancer profession in Guild Wars 2, we provide you with information on the Death Shroud mechanic, trait lines, combat roles, and much more. This is a great place to start if you’re looking to learn more about what makes the necromancer tick, or trying to decide if the necro is the right choice for you.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Hub — Intro Guide to Dodging and Vigor. “The ability to dodge during combat is a deceptively simple mechanic, but one that can be critical to your survival and overall effectiveness in combat. In this guide we walk you through the basics of dodging, and provide details on the supporting boon, Vigor.”
  • Massively — Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars 2 skill points, traits, and you! “There comes a time in every Guild Wars 2 adventurer’s life when her progression begins to go through certain, well, changes. These changes begin when an adventurer reaches level 5, and they get even more pronounced when she hits level 11. It might feel confusing and embarrassing; suddenly, you’ve got red exclamation marks on your hero panel and a nearly uncontrollable urge to allocate your skill points. Your skill bar starts to fill out. It’s OK. It’s totally natural.”
  • manylaughs — Guild Wars 2: 3 reasons you might not like the game. “Will old school gamers take to Guild Wars 2? Guild Wars 2 is arguably the most innovative MMO in years. While games like Star Wars: The Old Republic and The Secret World were innovative, they weren’t so innovative that you felt like NASCAR redneck at a performance of Madam Butterfly. There were a few new things to learn in each of those games, but most of your former MMO experience helped you get comfortable fast enough. Within a couple of days you were cruising around like a seasoned pro, weren’t you?”
  • Reddit — Freelancer explains his method of manipulating the GW2 market. “Essentially he buys in bulk to inflate the market above normal, then places buy orders to bridge the new gap, selling back to those who try to 1-up his buy orders.”
  • BotoruBattalion.com — Guild Emblem Creator. “This Guild Wars 2 Emblem Creator is a work-in-progress. Please be aware that, although it seems to work well enough, it is not in its finished state. We have a few changes to implement, as well as some general aesthetics we want to improve. It is planned to become part of a Guild Wars 2 Guild Guide website at a future date.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Hub — Guide to Conditions versus Boons. “Conditions and boons can be removed in two ways: skills or traits, with this broken down into forced/direct removal, transfer or transform and skill combinations, through Combo Fields and Finishers. It should be noted however that there are no Combo Fields and Finishers that remove boons, as this only works for conditions.”
  • GW2 GM — How To Make Gold in Guild Wars 2. “Making gold in Guild Wars 2 is easier than you may think and this article will teach you how to make plenty of it. With a few simple tips anyone can go from rags to riches without much difficulty. Remember that the in game economy is simple supply and demand just like an economy in real life. The Trading Post will provide you with a lot of market information you need to be a successful entrepreneur. It’s often said that another man’s trash is another man’s treasure and that still holds true in Guild Wars 2“
  • Guild Wars Insider — The Legacy of the Foefire PvP Guide. “This guide is intended to give you detailed information on The Legacy of the Foefire sPvP map. It will cover basic game mechanics as well as general and class specific tips, tricks, and techniques. It will also go into the higher level strategy elements of this map.”
  • Boons & Conditions — One Build, Two Builds, Three Builds, Four Builds. “The last month dawns with anticipation as we approach the release of Guild Wars 2. Fans of structured Player vs Player (sPvP) are no doubt plotting away at all the devious builds that they would like to try out this round. Though I know this may not come with fanfare or a tolling of alarms, let me add an additional layer of complexity to the art of making builds. That is – thinking about how dynamically you can adjust your build while in out of combat.”
  • Guild Wars Insider — Death becomes you: Guess what’s in my other hand? “Recently, we looked at the Necromancer’s four main-hand weapons. Let’s now turn our beady eyes to the other half of our tool set for death and destruction: off-hand weapons.”
  • diyguild.org — Guild Wars 2 random character picker. “Not sure what type of character to create or just want some ideas? Hit the button!”
  • TalkTyria — The World of Tyria; Meet your Heroes. “As an avid explorer (no, my name’s not Dora), I find it captivating to walk around Tyria and discover places I recognize from the Lore – ruins from Guild Wars 1, villages rebuilt, cities still standing. I think it’s worth mentioning how far ArenaNet has gone to really make us fanboys and fangirls squee with happiness when we see one single character we used to know in Guild Wars 1 or even some we’ve read about in Ghosts of Ascalon and Edge of Destiny. During the last beta weekend, I managed to get one of those moments for myself to keep and immortalize into a screenshot that is now my desktop background.”
  • Distilled Willpower — Gemsplosion! “I think I might just about be the only person in the world not to have been hotly anticipating the release of Diablo III. Neither have I played either of the previous 2. I know, now you’re in receipt of this knowledge about my meagre video game experience, all my previous opinions can be disregarded. My friend recently implored me to “join the online sensation before we all murder you”. A tempting offer, for sure, but for all the good things I’ve heard, I’ve heard endless bad”
  • GW2 WvW — Defense is the Best Offense. “Often, most players believe victory is claimed by outnumbering the opponent. This may be true. Although, I believe maintaining a strong defense is a key element in assuring victory for your server especially since wars are two weeks long.”
  • GW2 GM — The Asura Experience. “I really must be candid here, this final beta weekend for Guild Wars 2, although excited due to the opening of the Silvari and Asura areas to explore, part of me was still feeling ‘meh’ about it. Why? Well, in part due to the previous beta weekends and in part to the three previous races: Human, Charr and Norn.”
  • Geek Me Softly — Guild Wars Update [GWU] Part 1. “Hi all this is the first post of hopefully many GW Updates that will be running twice a week featuring the latest updates, news, leaks and topics featuring Guild Wars 1 and 2. Unfortunately the past few days didn’t hold much in the way of news but then all of a sudden we get a patch, which brought some pretty juicy new additions and topics of discussion to help make up for things.”
  • Mistress of Illusions — My Thoughts on the Inhuman Races of Guild Wars 2. “Yesterday I explained my personal preference for humans in fantasy games. There were also a lot of great comments that show that even those who avoid humans understand why others prefer them. After all, there’s a reason why so many players ask for greater diversity in the MMORPG genre at large: more options, more sliders, more age and racial diversity within the human races of games. Clearly I’m not unique in looking to play myself in a fantasy game. That said, I’m not opposed to dabbling in the other races of Guild Wars 2.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Hub — WvW Supply Guide. “Supply is one of the most vital components to World vs. World gameplay in Guild Wars 2. It can and will determine who can hold what keeps and making sure that Supply is flowing is a fundamental aspect to WvW. In this guide we walk you through what Supply is, what it is used for, and how to make sure it flows from Resource Camps to where its needed most.”
  • Tap-Repeatedly — Guild Wars 2 (Noob) Beta Impressions. “It was the final closed Guild Wars 2 beta last weekend before its highly anticipated release on the 28th, and my brother Lewis B, who left Tap a couple of months ago to write for MMOG site Ten Ton Hammer, invited Steerpike and I to join him to see what all the fuss was about. Between us (me and Steerpike that is) our combined MMOG experience before the beta weekend amounted to making a character in Ultima Online, killing a carrion spider in Dark Age of Camelot and spending eight minutes in Rift. We were surely destined for doom.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Hub — Mesmer Guide. “In this introductory guide to the mesmer profession in Guild Wars 2, we provide you with information on the fundamental mechanics, trait lines, combat roles, and much more. This is a great place to start if you’re looking to learn more about what the mesmer offers and whether the profession is right for you.”
  • Guild Wars Insider — The Vanguard: Guardian Beta Changes. “Hello again, my shield brothers and sisters! It is good to be home. Last week, as many of you are no doubt already aware, we swapped professions for the final beta weekend. I had the chance to get some time with with Warrior, and it was like playing the opposite side of the same deadly coin. I would like to thank ArcherAvatar for stepping in for me last week to cover The Vanguard.”
  • Pix of Pixels — Background Spotlight: Guild Wars 2. “It’s no big secret that this month is a big month for MMO Developers ArenaNet as they gear up to launch their biggest game yet, “Guild Wars 2″. 2012 is the “Year of the Dragon” and what a way to clearly show off what dragons can do, than in an epic MMO experience with dragons playing a large part as the villainous counterparts you must stop before they destroy Tyria.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Hub — Minion Master Mysteries Revealed. “Have necromancers lost their taste for controlling the undead in modern day Tyria, or have they simply forsaken their corpsified companions in favor of survivability and support builds? This week we dive deeper into the mysteries of the minion master in Sardu’s Theatre of Doom the latest spine-tingling episode of Grenth’s Grog!”
  • Dragon Season — Banks, Bags & Vaults. “Most of you already know everything about bags and banks but I had some questions, I searched them up, and decided to share the information I found with you!”
  • Divinity’s Reach — All Quiet on the Western Front. “There has been very little news to report to you recently. Sure, there’s a site redesign or some interesting new guides to feign interest about, but overall it’s been quite stagnant lately. Surprisingly, I actually don’t mind it. It gives me a chance to slow down and digest everything, and most importantly, think about it all.”
  • GW2 GM — Structured PvP Maps, Instructions and Strategies. “Before you go into a structured PvP match read this guide to Battle of Kyhlo, Forest of Niflhel and Legacy of the Foefire with maps, instructions and strategies for each one. Some basic things you should focus on are taking control points and killing NPCs which are covered in depth. You should also learn the names of all the locations in each map. This will be helpful when trying to communicate where the action is with your teammates.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Hub — Ranger Guide. “The ranger in Guild Wars 2 excels at both melee and ranged combat, and is the game’s only true pet class. Rangers also make effective use of a suite of Traps that are capable of crippling foes, or spreading various Conditions to further augment the damage caused by their core weapon attacks.”
  • GW2 Guru — Trait Changes from Today’s Stress Test! “Hey everyone! It looks like we have some trait changes since last month’s BWE! We’ll update with tooltips once we have it in working order, but for now, the red text is the old data and the green text is the new data.”
  • Forbes — World Of Warcraft, Guild Wars 2 And Vivendi: Activision’s Achilles’ Heel. “This is a guest post written by Leonid Levit and Derek Cheung of Honne Capital, a New York-based hedge fund focused on long/short equity strategies.”
  • Guild Wars Insider — Lock and Key: Asking Questions… “As we get closer and closer to launch, I want to start changing ‘Lock & Key’. This week, instead of discussing the background of a certain game type, or continuing the Tricks of the Trade series (the last of which will be released next week.), I wanted to take a step back and ask some critical questions about how the Thief Profession works. I hope some of them will lead to debate (either in the comments or on the forums), or at least make you aware of some things to keep in mind as the release date draws nearer. Then, we’ll start digging into some really interesting topics once we finally get our hands on the game…”
  • Hunter’s Insight — I Choose You. “I’m not the type to take video or stream myself, so it’s a little awkward to blog about a new audio feature but I did laugh out loud when I heard this one.”
  • GW2Wire — August 2nd Stress Test. “Today’s stress test started out with a lot of hype from the developers of Guild Wars 2 through the games Facebook page and Twitter updates to the fans. We all awaited, excited and patient, for the game to go live for the short period of the stress test. Players took the opportunity to update their client if they hadn’t done so or jump onto forums and chat about what they were going to do during these precious four hours.”
  • GW2 Guru — How To Mesmer – sPvP – IN WORK! “Greetings fellow Mesmers and newcomers to this lovely profession! The purpose of this thread is to help you as much as possible to get into the profession. I’ll do my best to give you some tips and also explain various aspects about the Mesmer. I will largely be discussing the PvP aspect of the Mesmer and more than likely will not be touching the PvE side. All information (builds, thoughts, comments, etc.) are related to PvP, so please keep this in mind.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Riches — What can I purchase with gems on the Guild Wars 2 gem store? “The Guild Wars 2 Gem Store is no doubt going to be a huge feature of the game. While no one is going to be able to spend money and become an elite player doing only that. There are still a number of other items that are sold on the gem store which are always going to be in high demand. I want to break down the gem store and its different categories for you guys today. Some of the categories have much more valuable items than others, but all of them have their own importance in their own way.”
  • Under the Pale Tree — Prepare your wardrobe – armor previews! “So yesterday I did not get a whole lot of time to play during the stress test. I didn’t really want to start anything because of the limited amount of time I had to play, and originally my plan was to play with character creation and figure out what my sylvari mesmer and human thief will look like upon launch, and then do some exploring in Gendarran Fields.”
  • The Sprocket Formula — Stress test 3 changes: The turret toolbelt! “We here at The Sprocket Formula like to think of ourselves as being better then a toolbelt. Sometimes I feel though that the toolbelt is quickly closing in on us. Today I want to talk to you about the most recent change that just came out for the engineer. Turrets now add toolbelt abilities. It’ll change how you look at turrets and a bit of your play style if you want to fully utilize them.”
  • Mistress of Illusions — Surprise Stress Test. “Yesterday ANet announced a surprise stress test, warning of greater connectivity issues than in the past as they worked on some fine tuning. I did experience some difficulties within the first half hour but it was smooth sailing after that.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Hub — Skill Points Guide. “In Guild Wars 2, unlocking or purchasing new skills to use in combat is handled a bit differently than in more traditional MMOGs. Rather than requiring you to visit a static NPC trainer every couple of levels, instead you will gain new skills on one of two ways. Your weapon skills will unlock automatically through actively using a given weapon and defeating enemies during combat. Additional healing, utility, and elite skills, however, will be purchased by spending a pre-determined number of skill points.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Hub — Solo and Group Activities in WvW. “You may feel like traveling in a pack is the best way to enjoy world vs. world combat in Guild Wars 2, but being a lone wolf is rewarding. Moving about the map in smaller groups will allow you to contribute to your world, receive rewards, and more. We’ve got some great ideas on things you can do by yourself or with a handful of players.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Junkies — This is My Story: Setting the Stage. “Welcome to This is My Story, a brand new column on Guild Wars 2 Junkies where I’ll be diving deep into the corner pockets of Tyria and showcasing interesting tidbits I happen to find along the way. For the most part, this column will focus on the PvE adventures of a casual gamer with a raiding past who’s a bit of an altaholic and very much an exploration nut. Colorful nuggets to hunt for in the wild and dangerous battles to charge haphazardly into are among my delicious recipes for… happiness? Disaster? A bit of both, sure– but think of the potential! Join me as I bring a little randomness to the GW2 scene.”
  • GW2 GM — Guardian: Using Conditions with the Greatsword. “This Guardian build explains a play style that uses utility skills and the greatsword to apply conditions for damage. In essence you will be applying vulnerability to decrease the enemies armor and then burning conditions to do damage. Stacking vulnerability allows us to put out more damage and our traits are tailored to promote this play style. We will also get a large increase to damage from fighting foes on fire and just by using a greatsword. Another important part of this Guardian build is our signets and mediation skills which give us more chances to apply vulnerability and burning.”
  • Boons & Conditions — The Guardian’s Gambit: BWE#3 Guardian Changes. “No builds this time folks. Instead I wanted to discuss some of the changes I found for the Guardian. The changes I saw were for the better, didn’t really see anything bad, so hooray?”
  • ZAM — Guild Wars 2: Ready For Launch? “Guild Wars 2 has come a long way since we first got our hands on it back in February. Since then we’ve admired the world that the team at ArenaNet has built, and dissected the elements that make this an incredibly strong social MMO. From those initial Beta Weekend Events, we’ve gradually seen the world grow, both in the size available to explore and the depth of stories to be found within.”
  • Divinity’s Reach — Class Homogenization. “One of the original intentions behind the development of the holy trinity was to separate the various classes into distinct roles. Several games have expanded this gap by separating classes into talent trees or specs that have created unique playstyles within the same class or role.”
  • Guild Wars Insider — The New Krewe: The Skillful Art of Hunting Skill Points. “Skill points are extremely important in Guild Wars 2. Aside from being the only means of unlocking your utility skills, they’re vital to your leveling experience as they also give you a healthy chunk of experience in the process is a bonus. They provide a good source of entertainment and are often challenging, which keeps them from becoming a boring grind. Finally, they’re required for getting zone completion rewards in each PvE zone, which once again provides a nice amount of experience and coin.”

Videos and podcasts

Fanfic

  • Chronicles of Tyria — Chapter 5: Part 3 The Black Citadel. “I awoke that morning to the smell of grilled poultry. The heat from the crackling flames had kept most of the cot warm and I once again found myself not wanting to leave the confines of the blanket I lay under. I sat up and wrapped the blanket around myself. It had to have been late morning and the shadows off the trees confirmed it. The song of birds sounded through the plant life around us as a cool breeze rustled the needles of the pine trees. Sunlight soaked the land while only a few wispy clouds floated delicately through the cool blue sky. As I stretched and rubbed my eyes, I saw Ragnvaldr finishing up what looked to be sandwiches.”
  • Foundation — Ayroh : Chapter 2 ~ Amidst Strangers. “I felt a gentle breeze blowing, it was cool to my skin. Calming, almost.”
  • Foundation — Ayroh : Chapter 3 ~ Firstborn Son. “‘Are you sure you’ve got him?’ Juno had her arm around that unfathomable Charr, trying to keep him upright as we walked through the snowy paths of Hoelbrak. The hunter’s moon shone brightly above us, bathing us all in her radiant glory. With the light of torches illuminating the way, our world had descended into a gold and silver twilight under the watchful gaze of an eternity of stars.”
  • Foundation — Dance of Lead : Chapter 1 – Ball and Chain. “Seven felt the ground shudder as walls and buildings tumbled down in long lines that the massive artillery cut through Divinity’s Reach raising clouds of dust which glowed in a bluish light. The wall was breached, it was his time.”
  • Chronicles of Tyria — Of trolls and asuras. – End of Chapter 1. “‘VAINARD!!!’ I screamed his name, terrified at what had become of me. ‘That was an incredibly BAD idea!!!’ I had to remind him. Go find a troll he said. It’ll be fun, he said.”
  • Foundation — The Forging – Chapter 2. “Sorin was troubled as he walked home that night, his arms and shoulders aching pleasantly after a hard day’s work and his dolyak’s skin cloak drawn tightly around himself to keep out the cold. Wind gusted into the village from the surrounding low mountains that made up the Oros Spurs, stirring bare-branched trees into whispering conversations. In the distance, a wolf howled to the pale gibbous moon. He passed the village’s only tavern, candlelight and boisterous laughter spilling out through foggy windows, and continued onward to his father’s hut on the outskirts of the village. A dozen dolyaks – visible only as lumps of darkness against the snow – shifted in their sleep in the pen beside the hut.”
  • Foundation — Everyday Tyria ~ #2. “I wept. Not of joy.”
  • Foundation — Ayroh : Chapter 4 ~ Heresy. “The ocean breathes eternity. I remember the first moment that this thought settled on me. I was standing alone, at the edge of the scar. Soldiers patrolled the fortress, weary of the orphan wandering aimlessly through their wilderness.”
  • Chronicles of Tyria — Chapter 3: The undesirable arrangement. “‘Stand down, human,’ the charr leered, his fur bristling with fury. ‘She started it, and we’re finishing it!’ ‘That’s enough,’ the human commanded, his voice ringing with authority. The charr snarled, but reluctantly stepped back. The human turned his back on the charr and faced me.”

Community Events

There were no community events submitted this week.

This section is intended to help you to publicize your guild or alliance event, and as long as your event is open to the whole Guild Wars/Guild Wars 2 community, we’ll list it here. Send us the details at community@guildmag.com and we’ll get it out to the fan community (given that we only do a weekly wrap-up, try to send the information at least a week in advance).