I only got in to yesterday’s stress test for a short while at the end of the access period, which is why I didn’t post a journal entry. For the time I was able to get in, I didn’t notice any particular issues except that the Black Lion Trading Company seemed to be unable to accept new items for sale. The good news is that we have another stress test coming up later today (yes, that’s two stress tests in 48 hours). That will mean up to four hours of trying out the warrior (the only profession I hadn’t tried yet).
I’ve been having problems with my desktop machine: right after the first August stress test, I could no longer update the GW2 client successfully. I’m talking to ArenaNet support about the issue, but it means if I want to play in the stress test this evening, it’ll have to be on my laptop. For whatever reason, I find it much harder to jot down playing notes on my laptop than when I have that second display open. For one thing, unlike in Prophecies or the other Guild Wars campaigns, it’s much harder to find a quiet spot where it’s safe to leave your character while you go AFK. More than once during beta weekends, I’ve just stepped away for a minute and come back to find that a dynamic event had rolled through the quiet little hamlet I’d stopped in and something (or many somethings) had trampled me into the dirt.
- Official Guild Wars 2 news
- Recent GuildMag posts
- Fan articles and blog posts
- Videos and podcasts
- Fanfic
- Community events
Official Guild Wars 2 news
- Twitch.tv — Guild Wars 2 TAD Talk: Fantasy and RPGs. “Jeff Grubb & Ree Soesbee livestream recording: be aware that there are sound issues for the first 2:30.”
- Digital Gaudium — We Talk to ArenaNet About Professor Yakkington, Mobile App Development Progress, Lore and Structured PvP in Guild Wars 2. “For launch we won’t have any GW2 apps available for use for players. However, soon after launch we’ll be launching a robust app development program in conjunction with our community that should allow for the development of some truly spectacular GW2 app and website development. We’ll discuss this more post ship, right now we’re focused on making the release of the game the greatest it can be.”
- GameTrailers.com — Fields of Ruin Interview. “The location of the last conflict of the war between the Char and Humanity is detailed in this Interview with Guild Wars 2‘s Content Designer Mike Zadorojny! “
- On the official Guild Wars 2 Facebook page: “Some of you have asked which tradeshows ArenaNet will attend this summer, so let me give you an update. Right now, the entire studio is focused on one thing: the launch of Guild Wars 2 on August 28. As a result, our tradeshow presence this year will be limited.”
- On the official Guild Wars 2 Facebook page: “For those of you who have been asking about DX11 support for Guild Wars 2, our goal with GW2 has always been to provide a gorgeous fantasy world while at the same time running on a wide range of gaming PCs.”
- YouTube — feliciaday: I open a BOX! It’s Guild Wars II hehehehehe. “I did a voice in Guild Wars 2 and I got a collector’s edition box WAY BEFORE ANYONE ELSE! Game comes out August 28th, woot!”
- On the official Guild Wars 2 Facebook page: “Thank you for all your help in today’s Stress Test! We will be conducting a Stress Test on Friday, August 10 from 4:00 PM PACIFIC Time to 8:00 PM PACIFIC Time. REMEMBER: We will be actively working on the game during the event, so you might experience connectivity problems or discover features that are not working as designed. Any issues you experience are a result of the rigorous conditions of the stress test, and are in no way representative of the state of the game at launch. By participating in this stress test, you’re helping us make Guild Wars 2 a better game. Thanks for your cooperation — we’ll see you in-game!”
- IGN — Guild Wars 2: Blending Social and Solo Story. “It’s not easy to tell a good story in an MMO. While cut-scene-heavy story sequences in games like BioWare’s The Old Republic and Funcom’s The Secret World are more effective at evoking specific emotional responses, they don’t feel like especially social experiences. They tell very rigid stories that make you feel like you’re playing a single-player game, which is great for a change of pace after a round of questing, but can also take away from one of the chief benefits of the genre: the sense of community.”
- Forbes — Guild Wars 2 Lead Producer Chris Whiteside Believes Subscription MMO Model Offers Huge Barrier To Entry. “With NCsoft readying to publish ArenaNet’s Guild Wars 2 on August 28, the game’s lead producer, Chris Whiteside, took a short break to discuss the evolving massively multiplayer online (MMO) games business. The free-to-play model has changed the business, forcing even huge subscription-based games like Electronic Arts’ BioWare-developed Star Wars: The Old Republic to turn to the model.”
Recent GuildMag posts
- Age of Deceit – A Desperate Battle. “Dark red blood splattered into Kanaxai’s face as he ripped his right axe free from the crest of a naga. The crazed serpent dropped its knife and pressed both his hands into the severely bleeding gash as hard as he could, trying to hold back the gush of blood that the fleshy, pulsating wreck that his heart once was thrusted at every beat.”
- We’re Looking for New Team Members! “That’s right folks, once again we’re putting out a call for new team members. Applications are open all year, but we’re particularly after some now to help prepare us for the release of Guild Wars 2 and beyond. “
- Age of Deceit – Freedom and Sacrifice. “The Kraken’s Dream silently glided on the sea, not far off the coast. Its sails were unfurled although there wasn’t much wind to catch at the moment. Most of the crew were resting in the deck below with a few playing cards on the main deck.”
- GuildMag’s Guild Wars 2 Game Contest. “Not often have I seen a company working so closely with their community to do these kinds of things, but ArenaNet is definitely an exception to the norm. This week I received an email granting us the opportunity to give away 2 Collector’s Editions and 4 Standard Editions (non-digital) of Guild Wars 2 to the community.”
Fan articles and blog posts
- GW2 GM — The Basics of Bags and Banks. “Bags and banks are an important part of Guild Wars 2 and they may work a little different from what you are used to. For that reason we are going to dive into bags, banks and inventories over a couple of posts with our friend Jerich from Gaiscioch over the next month or so.”
- manylaughs — Guild Wars 2: What’s a gem worth? “Guild Wars 2 is essentially a free-to-play (F2P) MMO: You buy the game and you never have to pay a subscription fee. You can play GW2 as long as you want without ever having to pay another dime for the game (Though, you’ll probably have to pony-up some cash for expansions when they start arriving).”
- Jar of Bees — Way of the Spirit Hammer (continued). “Here’s the first part of my tips/tricks on using the Guardian builds I tested out during BWE3 and the recent Stress Test”
- Hunter’s Insight — Lessons from a Failed Guild Leader. “Years ago I was helping a friend run a guild when he tired of the game. I had been having a really good time and agreed to be the interim leader until he returned. It quickly became apparent that he wasn’t coming back any time soon. Thus I was left to my own devices and learned a thing or two about running a guild, unsuccessfully. I guess I thought I’d share since learning from successful guild leaders is great, but you can always stand to learn from mistakes too.”
- Dragon Season — Guild Matters: First Steps. “This being a Guild Wars 2 website I’m expecting quite a few people reading this post to be waiting for release day (so close!). Some of you may be considering the first moves you’ll make once you get in game and planning to start a guild for the first time. This week’s post is aimed mostly at you as it’s all about how to get the ball rolling on making your guild without a game to play, and taking a look at ways to develop your out of game presence.”
- Malefic Incantations — Announcing the GW2 Twitter community guild, I Can Outtweet A Centaur! “As some of you may know my primary method of interacting with the Guild Wars 2 community is in fact via Twitter. There’s a huge number and variety of community members on there–everyone from fans and small time bloggers like me to longtime ArenaNet veterans. The hype machine has been going on for long enough that I’ve learned quite a bit about many of the community members–not just what their favorite race or profession is, but about who they are as real people.”
- Guild Wars 2 Hub — Siege Weapons Guide. “Structures in World vs. World gameplay in Guild Wars 2 are designed to take a beating. Players will need to make good use of siege weapons to both attack and defend Towers and Keeps for their world. Our guide goes over everything you’ll need to know about siege weapons and is a great go-to resource for their cost and utility.”
- Flame Throwing — Four quick ways to make you better at Guild Wars 2. “Entering the land of Tyria is only 20 days away (can you believe it?). I can’t wait to jump back in to some sPvP and WvW. Before you go running into the fray though, make sure you have your UI set up for maximum pwnage. There’s just a few things that can give you a little more control and a little faster reaction time.”
- Guild Wars 2 Hub — GW2 Currency Guide. “While there are plenty of things you can purchase in Guild Wars 2 with the MMO staples of gold, silver, or copper, the game also utilizes a number of different currencies that can be earned and spent in different ways. In this guide we’ll go over each of these unique currencies, how they are obtained, and the types of items they can be used to purchase.”
- The Tyrian Order — Lore Wolf: The Charr. “ArenaNet has created an expansive, deep, and dark world, full of mystery and lore; and if you were to ask for a symbol of the Guild Wars universe, you’d probably be shown a Charr. They are as Tyrian as mom’s apple pie, and boy, do Guild Wars fans love them.”
- Guild Wars Insider — Introducing the All-Knowing Quaggan! “Salutations! I am the All-Knowing Quaggan, and I am quite possibly the most noble of my people, not to mention the most intelligent and attractive. Female flipperfish beware! I come before you today to answer your questions of life, your questions of love, and your questions of… well, anything deserving inquiry. I am here for you.”
- Team Legacy — Sword, Board, And Everything In-between: A Detailed Guardian Weapon Guide. “Guardians have a modest array of weapons at their disposal. These weapons can be roughly described based on their slant towards defense, offense, control, or support. I will attempt to describe each weapon and its potential in exhaustive detail below. There’s little point in an introduction or other fluff for a guide dealing in such specific matters, so we’ll just dig in.”
- GW2 Guru — Putting the Guild Back Into Guild Wars Part 2: Guild Management. “In this second part of my “Putting the Guild Back into Guild Wars” series, we’ll be taking an in-depth look at how to organize your guild, the pitfalls involved with guilds, and then some pointers as to how to make your guild succeed. We’ll also be looking at the various Guild Management functions of Guild Wars 2 and the best ways to use the tools available.”
- GW2 Stratics — The races of GW2: Drawing Historical Parallels by Reddit poster makinmywaydowntown. “Hello everyone! Something I’ve enjoyed doing for a long time playing MMO’s is extending cultural histories and similarities from real life societies into the game world. In essence, trying to figure out the possible influences the development team had when creating the peoples of their fantasy universe. These sorts of discussions abound around the works of Tolkien (Who are the elves supposed to represent?), Howard, Salvatore, and I love them all. I feel like it really fleshes out back stories, and makes for interesting chatter!”
- The Tyrian Order — Livestream with Ree Soesbee and Jeff Grubb. “On Monday, August 6 at 11am PST, Jeff Grubb and Ree Soesbee took to Twitch TV to talk story telling in Guild Wars 2. Here are some of the highlights from their livestream conversation”
- Guild Wars 2 Hub — Thief’s Guide to Stealing. “Stealing is a fun and useful ability for the Thief in Guild Wars 2. Having the ability to sneak up and steal a useful item from a foe is a handy way to start a fight. Stealing is both fun and useful, and the sheer number of items that can be stolen is amazing. Guild Wars 2 Hub presents a Thief’s Guide to Stealing.”
- Guild Wars 2 Hub — Guide to Traveling in Tyria. “Guild Wars 2 allows for rapid travel throughout Tyria through the use of waypoints and asura gates. Unlike most MMOs, you are not forced to waste precious time trudging around to get to a quest or an event. Guild Wars 2 Hub offers this Guide to Traveling in Tyria.”
- Guild Wars 2 Hub — Cities, Explorable Zones, and Dungeons by Level. “Knowing what content is available for your current level is an important part of character advancement in any MMO. To help guide you as you travel throughout Tyria in Guild Wars 2, we’ve put together complete lists of explorable zones and dungeons by level. We’ve also added details on the total number of renown hearts, waypoints, points of interest, skill challenges, and vistas for each explorable zone and major city in the game.”
- Guild Wars 2 Hub — Engineer Guide. “In this introductory guide to the engineer profession, 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 engineer offers and whether the profession is right for you.”
- Attached to Keyboard — Experiences from the Final Guild Wars 2 Beta Weekend. “In a few weeks we’ll be stepping foot inside Tyria again for real. One important decision everyone will need to make is what server to call home and I’ve set myself the challenge of researching the communities on each of the Guild Wars 2 servers. So after the final beta weekend I asked members of the Guild Wars 2 community for the experiences of their servers. The response was more immense than I could of hoped for. I can only offer my heartfelt thanks to everyone who took the time to fill in the survey and help their fellow players (and myself) out!”
- Divinity’s Reach — Dance Woes. “Today was a rather strange day in the Guild Wars 2 community. The long-awaited “dance” emotes were leaked and flooded the internet with all of their glory.”
- Dragon Season — Guides for Guild Wars 2. “In this thread we will gather all the scattered Guides!”
- Chronicles of Tyria — BWE3 part 2: Books. “Another stress test has passed, bringing us closer to release. Since everyone is back in withdrawal of playing, here are some more translated Krytan from Kaysee and Jenna.”
- Guild Wars 2 Hub — Bundle System Guide. “Guild Wars 2 introduces a lot of new mechanics to gamers, and one of the most interesting systems is bundles. What are bundles, you ask? Simply put, a bundle is an item that you can pick up (or is given to you) that replaces your normal skills. From boulders to swimming goggles, GuildWars2Hub.com offers this guide to the bundle system in Guild Wars 2.”
- Guild Wars 2 Hub — Warrior Guide. “Warriors are an incredibly versatile profession that benefits from the ability to wield a wide variety of weapons. While some weapon sets may give a polite nod to the more traditional warrior archetype of a sword-n-board melee combatant, the warrior in Guild Wars 2 can be a major damage dealer in both melee and ranged combat. They also have excellent survivability, can grant positive benefits to allies, and really ruin their enemies day through a variety of negative conditions and crowd control abilities.”
- Divinity’s Reach — Dragon Problems. “One of my largest remaining concerns is how ArenaNet plans on tackling the Elder Dragons. Currently, we know that at the level cap we will be fighting Zhaitan on the island of Orr. We also know that this “final battle” will take place in an instanced dungeon that we will have to battle our way across Orr to reach. It was also confirmed today that after we defeat the encounter, if we choose to return, we will fight something different. What that ‘something’ is still remains elusive.”
- Massively — Flameseeker Chronicles: A brief history of Guild Wars 2‘s Tyria. “I see a lot of questions about whether or not people who want to play Guild Wars 2 should jump into the original in the (increasingly diminishing) time left before launch. I don’t think there’s really a one-size-fits-all answer to that question. For those of you who are worried about missing a bunch of lore and history, however, I can do a little to help with an introduction to Tyria, its history, and the events leading up to Guild Wars 2. This won’t be exhaustive (see the word brief in the title?), but it might help you understand what the dragon nonsense is about and what’s going on with the world you’re stepping into. Except where events had exceptional impact, this focuses mostly on what happened in the continent (not the entire world) of Tyria.”
- GW2 GM — Perks of a Commander in WvW. “If you want to lead a large group of people in WvW, it would help to become a Commander. To become a squad commander you need to purchase and activate a Commander’s Compendium. Once enabled, your character can become a squad commander at any time. You can find these vendors in Divinity’s Reach and WvW just visit Commander Rupple or the Master Strategist to pick it up. There are many benefits that come with being a commander, and they are all very useful for running a WvW group.”
- Key and Dagger — Cross-Profession Combos. “If you look around the web you will see that there are a lot of complaints about the Thief. Many people feel like it doesn’t have the spike to fulfill the role of damage dealer, doesn’t have the survivability to hold points, and suffers from the RNG (Random Number Games) built into the Steal mechanic. I have personally brought up some of these issues in the past. One thing, however, that I have noticed a severe lack of discussion on is cross-profession combos (henceforth known as combos, primarily due to my distaste for repeatedly typing long names). The Thief has a unique advantage when it comes to combo fields; one that I will get to after the break!”
- Guild Wars 2 Hub — Immersion… Are We There Yet? “‘Immersion’ In MMO gaming there is probably no other word used so widely and extensively.”
- Hunter’s Insight — Guild Wars 2 Tips. “Guild Wars 2 is different from other MMOs. It’s an evolution of the genre and as such some things you may have learned from other MMOs may not apply to it. I’ve played in 3 beta weekends and 2 stress tests and through all that have learned a few things that have improved my playing experience for the better. I’ve decided to compile what I know, along with a few friends, to help people out.”
- Guild Wars 2 Hub — Norn Keg Brawl Guide. “Forget namby-pamby games like football and focus instead upon the most brutal Guild Wars 2 mini-game played upon a real frozen tundra – Keg Brawl! The hellacious game where bones are broken, throwing a punch is part of the rules, and precious ale is poured onto the ice in order to gain victory. Rugby? For wimps. Football? Put on a tutu. Soccer? Don’t make me laugh. To prepare you for this brawl in the blizzard, we’ve put together this guide to the joint-shattering mini-game of Keg Brawl.”
- Hunter’s Insight — Ebonhawke. “It has been really hard to keep up with all news everywhere for Guild Wars 2 for several months. I’ve been following the games for coming up on 3 years now so sometimes I feel like I’ve forgotten more about Guild Wars 2 than I currently know. As a result new features and news can kind of seem boring. They feel like they’re just expanding and reminding me of things I already know.”
- GW2 Guru — [FAQ] Equipment Attributes and You – UPDATED. “his FAQ explains what you need to know about gear and how its attributes are distributed. I’ll predominantly aim this at level 80 equipment as we can talk about all equipment rarities.”
- Guild Wars Insider — The New Krewe: Leveling by Waypoint. “During the last beta weekend event, I noticed something that may, or may not, have a significant impact on how far you level during the first few hours of the game: exploring. In case you didn’t know, discovering waypoints, points of interest and vistas all grant experience. How much experience? Enough that when I login for the first time, I’ll be hitting up the cities to explore them and earn myself a good amount of experience along the way. Here’s why you should consider doing this too.”
- Arena Junkies — Guild Wars 2 now featured on Arena Junkies. “Today is the day. Arena Junkies is now featuring Guild Wars 2 in addition to World of Warcraft. We took a long time to consider and have seen many games get hyped and fail to deliver, but we strongly believe that this will not be the case with Guild Wars 2. The strong focus on competitive sPvP and tournaments, the growing scene with high caliber players from many different games now starting to play GW2 and the recent beta tests have given us high hopes.”
- Guild Wars Insider — The Vanguard: Guardian Arsenal Part 1 – Two-Handed Weapons. “Time is running out, my shield brothers and sisters, and the launch of Guild Wars 2 is one week closer! My sacred charge is to prepare you for your first days in Tyria. We’ve already covered utility skills in depth, discussing heals & consecrations, meditations, shouts & signets, and spirit weapons & elite skills in three consecutive weeks. Now it’s time to look at our arsenal, starting today with an inspection of our two-handed weapons. I’ll give you a basic rundown on each ability, and tell you my personal insight on how they work in battle.”
- Kill Ten Rats — Gathering Gold. “There’s a huge laundry list of tips over at Hunter’s Insight. I think it’s too much for a new player to digest, but it is a great list for players that have spent a good deal of time in beta already. There might be a few tricks that have been overlooked. I know for me auto-looting is going on as soon as possible at launch.”
- Guild Wars 2 Hub — Guide to Underwater Combat and Drowning. “In this beginners guide to underwater combat, we explore the basics of what happens when you submerge into the blue as well as providing you with an overview of drowning (and how to save yourself when you are).”
- Hunter’s Insight — Notes on the Stress Test. “Yesterday Arenanet announced a stress test, and while that was short notice I was able to show up. The servers? Not so much. But that’s fine, that’s what stress tests are for. Unfortunately that did mean that it took around 45 minutes before I could get to playing the game and that added up to only about 3 hours of playtime. Long story short, I forgot to get screenshots of that Lion’s Arch puzzle.”
- Guild Wars 2 Hub — Necromancer Minion Master Traits. “Last week I dove into the many mysteries surrounding playing the necromancer profession as a Minion Master in Guild Wars 2. While that build offers a very unique play style, it’s one that has typically taken somewhat of a back seat to those that capitalize on the strengths of Death Shroud, or the necro’s ability to manipulate and spread multiple conditions.”
- Massively — Flameseeker Chronicles Extra: A brief history of Guild Wars 2‘s Tyria, part two. “Earlier this week we started looking at the history of everything leading up to Guild Wars 2 in what is probably a grave disservice to the lore writers at ArenaNet. When we left off, the Charr and humans were still bickering over Ascalon, players had just saved the world at the end of Prophecies, and there were still some 253 years left before the start of Guild Wars 2. Now it’s time for the events from Eye of the North through Guild Wars Beyond and into the present day. This lore overview isn’t even pretending to be all-encompassing, but it might help you understand what the dragon nonsense is about and what’s going on with the world you’re stepping into. Except where events had exceptional impact, we’ll largely ignore what’s going on in Cantha and Elona, or else we’d need two whole more posts.”
- Guild Wars Insider — Lock & Key: Tricks of the Trade Finale. “Throughout MMO history one archetype has been feared for its ability beyond all others. In every jungle, battleground, or frontline in Azeroth, Rogues were feared for their ability to appear from nowhere, mete out excessive brutality, and disappear just as quickly as they arrived.”
- GW2 Guru — Guild Wars 2 Database Updates! “Hey everyone! With today’s stress test, we noticed a lot of changes since BWE3 so our development team has made sure to make updating the Guild Wars 2 Database a top priority! Below, and in the next few posts, you’ll see some of the most outstanding changes to traits, achievements and recipes.”
- Guild Wars Insider — Guild Wars 2 PC Minimum System Requirements Check: Can You Run It? “Many of us have a PC that is just capable of running the games that we own. You know, like if you turn all the settings way down and squint a lot, it looks phenomenal. For the most part our “classic” PC does the job, but along comes a shiny new game that we just absolutely have to play. In this case its Guild Wars 2. However, a small voice in your head laughs derisively as it reminds you that your PC often has trouble just loading up the Guild Wars 2 Web page let alone a modern MMO. What to do? Fear not, Guild Wars Insider will guide you to the bleeding edge of computing!”
- Guild Wars Insider — The New Krewe: Need For Speed! “There is no wrong way to level in Guild Wars 2. You’re free to roam wherever your interests take you. Taking your time to complete every zone is encouraged and rewarded. But, having said that, there are going to be players like me who want to blitz through those early levels as quickly as possible. For us, there is one thing above all others that will help us level quickly: Speed!”
- Guild Wars 2 Junkies — Mike Ferguson Q&A – 8/9 Stress Test. “Looks like Mike Ferguson was hanging out in the Heart of the Mists yesterday during the stress test and decided to answer some questions. Tibincrunch took some screenshots and posted them on Reddit yesterday. Thanks to him and the Reddit Community!”
- Guild Wars Insider — Quaggan Tells All! “Salutations! I, the All-Knowing Quaggan, have returned to answer more of your questions. This week, only one question was submitted for me, so I am pleased to report that I will be demanding your attention for only a brief amount of time.”
- GW2 WvW — Kill The King, The King Is Dead. “As a sort of “throwback” to the old guild vs. guild maps from Guild Wars, Legacy of the Foefire has two bases on opposite ends of the map where teams spawn. Each base has two gates that must be destroyed for the enemy to gain entry. Inside each base are five NPCs: two soldiers, two casters, and the lord. Killing an enemy lord is worth 100 points, 20 percent of what it takes to win. While it seems simple and takes little time to explain, this secondary objective adds a large amount of complexity to strategy. Even though everything can be done by one person, it’s often not easy to do.”
- Under the Pale Tree — Stepping into Nightmare. “The Nightmare Court is not a subject I have written much about so far, despite the fact that, really, they fascinate me a lot. Of course, all things sylvari do, but the Court in particular is something I was interested in seeing more about.”
Videos and podcasts
- manylaughs — Guild Wars 2: Dungeon video. “If you’re a bit of a traditional gamer, still yearning for those Everquest days, Guild Wars 2 might have you a little concerned. If you’ve seen the gameplay videos, you might be wary of many things. Maybe you don’t like the hectic look of dynamic events or perhaps you think there’s too much focus on player-versus-player (PvP). Right now, the learning curve for GW2 might be measured in days, not a few hours it takes to come up to speed on other MMOs.”
- YouTube — traxdagamer: Guild Wars 2 BWE3 Part 1 – Large Intellect, Tiny Package. “We kick of the third and final Beta Weekend Event with an Asuran Thief. If you let him into your house, you are insulted, your valuables disappear, but all your machines get a major upgrade.”
- GW2Tube — Cinematic – Nature. “Nature in Guild Wars 2 is beautiful, isn’t it? Enjoy :)”
- YouTube — talesoflumin: Guild Wars 2 Beta – Dreamdark Enclave Jumping Puzzle (Feat. #TeamBringIt) “This is my coverage of the Guild Wars 2 beta, enjoy! Oh, and don’t take it too seriously! :D”
- YouTube — thesparrowsjourney: Guild Wars 2 – All the Preset Armors! “I’ve saw a picture with all the preset armors for each race/sex on Guild Wars 2. That was fun to know but why not make a video about it! It’s some sort of complement if you see it that way. Much like the emotes video I’ve split the clips by profession so that you can compare the different races and how they look on the several armor presets :D Enjoy!”
- Gamebreaker.tv — World Of Warcraft, Guild Wars 2 And Vivendi: Activision’s Achilles’ Heel. “Is World of Warcraft under siege? Whenever we see a stock that has 74% of analysts rating it a buy and 26% of analysts rating it a hold we usually get interested in the company. Why is nobody selling? Is the company really that perfect? Can this be the dream stock that we have all been looking for our entire lives?”
- YouTube — DragonSeason: Great Jungle Wurm Boss.
- YouTube — WoodenPotatoes: Guild Wars 2 Puzzle Achievements – Loreclaw Expanse.
- YouTube — Subterfuge Gaming WvWvW Keep Defense. “Guild Wars 2 WvWvW video featuring a few Subterfuge Gaming members waiting behind a keep gate with ballistae ready to tear the opposition apart. We were few, they thought they had won, they were wrong.”
- Guild Wars Insider — The New Krewe: The Loreclaw Expanse Jumping Puzzle. “For those of you new to Guild Wars 2, one of the great things about this MMO is the developer’s use of the environment itself as a “side quest” so to speak. These puzzles, scattered throughout Tyria, may lead to hidden mini bosses, loot, vistas, or the occasional skill point. In the end, no matter what the reward, players always feel a sense of accomplishment… especially for those extremely difficult ones.”
- YouTube — shogei: Guild Wars 2: How to find Lion’s Arch using The Mists. “This shows how to quickly reach Lion’s Arch by taking a shortcut through The Mists PvP. My apologies for the murkiness. This video was made during the Aug 2 stress test and the graphics were acting strangely. I may redo this when I get the chance.”
- YouTube — kaae2010: Guild Wars 2 – Sylvari Dreams – A song based on Greensleeves. “For a friend on twitter who asked me to try a parody song to Greensleeves. This version was inspired by the Lennon Sister’s version of the song. The song uses the Sylvari from Guild Wars 2 as the subject. I tried to incorporate much of the lore as I could from my experiences in the Beta Weekend Events. Hopefully I didn’t make any errors!! ^^;; Thank you all for listening!”
- Tales of Tyria #43: WvW Revisited. “News of the week: We now have a launch time! Midnight?!? How will that affect you? There was also a stress test this weekend and some new websites have cropped up! Next we move onto a some mailbag questions from our audience and then roundtable discussion on World vs. World mechanics. Will there be problems encouraging people to keep fighting once it’s lost?”
- YouTube — emmandabomb: Guild Wars 2 Gamescom Trailer – Orchestral Arrange. “All rights belong to ArenaNet. Melody originally composed by Jeremy Soule. This is an orchestral arrangement of Jeremy Soule’s Guild Wars 2 “Gamescom Trailer” composition”
- GW2Tube — Matchless Gaming Vs FUN Casted. “Matchless Gaming [MG] Vs FUN [FUN] during the GW2 BWE3! This Match is Casted by Rapsac a veteran GW1 player and Aurial a long time MMO gamer with a large amount of PvP experience.”
- GW2 GM — Official Jumping Puzzle Video Guide. “Here is our official video guide for every jumping puzzle in Guild Wars 2, no matter how hidden or off the path they may be. Now you can find them all in one place for easy navigation to your specific location. Jumping Puzzles are open-world quests that require the player to find the right jumping route to a hidden chest. They are sometimes guarded by veteran enemies and are often part of mini-dungeons. They currently reward an Explorer achievement for completing each individual jumping puzzle, usually combined with a chest. Like I said earlier each jumping puzzle is separated according to its location so just click so on a puzzle in your area and you will be brought to the video.”
- GW2Tube — Laz Combo Guide. “A simple guide explaining combos in Guild Wars 2. If you want more guides or you have some ideas for other guids, please leave your comments.”
- YouTube — thesparrowsjourney: Guild Wars 2 Jumping Puzzles #08 – Goemm’s Lab (part2/3). “Get along with me on this challenge as I come across the most puzzling situations!”
- YouTube — SketchyTas: Guild Wars 2 beta – Asura pt.11 – ULTRAooze takedown. “Me and a few fellow Luminati members take down a massive pile of ooze! A bit of a shorter one, as this the last of my footage from Friday. But fret not! There is still more footage from Saturday.”
- YouTube — FluffyGuild: Guild Wars 2: Cooking – Low Level Cooking. “Is cooking worth it? I have a look at the start of cooking and the nutrition buff and see if it is actually worth your time.”
- YouTube — MattVisual: Guild Wars 2 : With The Wife // Poor Moa Again – Ep 4.
- YouTube — JawDane: GW2 | Mesmer PvP | Illusion Optimization Build Overview.
- YouTube — SageLikeOne: Guild Wars 2 – 2’000 Subscribers Competition! “We hit 2000 Subscribers! Therefore we are holding this competition! Hurry now and win a fantastic prize! Last entry date is 19th of August 2012.”
- YouTube — WoodenPotatoes: The Great Guild Wars 2 Countdown – Day 23. “Join me as we count down to the launch of Guild Wars 2! To be fair, I seem to have ‘forgotten’ a few numbers, but you live, you learn :D. Anyway the wonderful footage for today comes from Arqas Gaming, so many thanks to them”
- YouTube — WoodenPotatoes: Guild Wars 2 Puzzle Achievements – Shamans Rookery. “And another one bites the dust! A pretty simple Norn puzzle right here, but I like the raven mechanic, nice idea.”
- YouTube — Taugrim: Top 5 PVP Design Flaws – TaugVlog Ep. 3. “I discuss my top 5 design flaws for PVP combat of MMORPGs.”
- YouTube — traxdagamer: Guild Wars 2 BWE3 Part 2 – In Snaff’s Footsteps. “We follow Snaff’s legacy and in Asura tradition, try to casually surpass him.”
- YouTube — SageLikeOne: Guild Wars 2 Beta 3 – Episode 14 – The Golem Lab. “I push on through a dynamic event where there are just too many things to shoot at! Glee and FIRE!”
- YouTube — Haasth22: With Haste – GW2 : Combos Explained. “A quick video addressing the so called combos, cross-profession combos or skill combinations in Guild Wars 2.”
- Relics of Orr — Tapestries of Orr Episode 1. “It is my pleasure to announce the start of a new Relics of Orr series; Tapestries of Orr. This series will endeavor to highlight the great work that the Guild Wars 2 community does. So without further ado I present Episode 1.”
- YouTube — WoodenPotatoes: Guild Wars 2 Puzzle Achievements – King Jalis’ Refuge. “ZzzzzzzzZzz. I’ve been up 26 hours as of the time of uploading this and just got in from a day at work, so don’t exactly have it in me for a countdown today. I hope an advance on this is good enough for you guys till tommorow, when I have _hopefully_ some good news for the channel!”
- YouTube — WoodenPotatoes: The Great Guild Wars 2 Countdown – Day 20. “Lots mentioned today! First off, tell me about the black bars. I think they are hideous, but universally last time I zoomed in to remove them people said that they would prefer it this way. I am still open to feedback!”
- GW2Tube — Downed State, Stability, and Fear. “This movie focuses on the importance of stability and fear with respect to the downed state in GW2. For my write-up and further discussion about this movie, head on over to GW2 Guru.”
- YouTube — Futurised: Guild Wars 2: Flowers and Crabs [BWE3 July 2012]. “Random footage, mucking around with flower mechanics and being crabby, enjoy!”
- YouTube — talesoflumin: Guild Wars 2 Beta – Goemm’s Lab – Stormy Station. “A wild video appears, watch it to see what its about!”
- YouTube — KaeyiDream: So.. Me & Rytlock Were Thinking.. “You should do as Rytlock says, he is pretty feisty!! :3″
- YouTube — spwnt: Guild Wars 2 LINUX Ubuntu 12.04 Opening Video + First Few Quests. “Me trying out the Guild Wars 2 beta on Ubuntu 12.04. NOTE: All of the flickering and the majority of the lag in the video are caused by the screencasting software I was using (ffmpeg’s x11 grab doesn’t work properly with opengl, or I just suck at using it. if any of you guys know a way to get it to properly record opengl please let me know.) When I was playing there was NO FLICKERING at all, and the lag really wasn’t nearly as bad as the video makes it seem. And I’m sure that wine will be able to support Guild Wars 2 even better as time goes on. it’s running this well like right off the bat, without any wine devs actually working on trying to make it work better, so once some of them actually get behind this game it’ll probably make its way to a platinum rating just like the original Guild Wars did.”
- The Tyrian Order — PVP Crafting Guide. “Check out our latest video, where AJ Wolf explains everything you need to know about PVP Crafting, in Guild Wars 2.”
- YouTube — thesparrowsjourney: Guild Wars 2 BW3 #08 Asura Thief – Sharks and Oozes!
- GW2Tube — Elementalist Spotlight – With Haste. “torm, Earth and Fire.. They’ll heed your call! With the Elementalist profession you’ll be lobbing fireballs, freezing your enemies or encasing them in walls of stone and lightning. There’s no heart attunement though.”
- YouTube — [RR] – Cow Finisher (GW2 Gem Store Item). “Anti decided to buy a cow finisher from the gem store and we tested it out in the Pvp training area.”
- YouTube — WoodenPotatoes: The Great Guild Wars 2 Countdown – Day 19. “Day 19! Recorded this first thing in the morning so we could get it nice and early before the Stress Test. Hope you all have fun today! I know I will.”
- Gamebreaker.tv — GuildCast 35: ArenaNet’s Guild Wars 2 Brings More Stress. “Stress, stress, stress. That’s probably how you’re feeling as the countdown to the Guild Wars 2 headstart continues inexorably. It’s also apparent that ArenaNet needs to apply the pressure to the servers with the stress tests lately. One last week, another tomorrow, can we take any more of it? Deep breaths.”
- Gamebreaker.tv — Buildcast EP3: Necromancer Conditional Build Dissection. “On this weeks Buildcast Gary, Ed, and Matt dissect Doctor Yiggles Necromancer build and play style.”
- Guild Wars 2 Junkies — GW2 RESULTS Series – Episode 1 ‘Mesmer Portals’. “Guild Wars 2 is an exciting game with a lot to offer. Skill descriptions and theory crafting just isn’t always enough though – sometimes we need to do some tests to determine exactly how things work. In this video series we’ll be exploring the RESULTS of some of these tests. New videos on various topics will be released every Sunday and Wednesday until the start of Guild Wars 2.”
- YouTube — relicsoforr: Coehl is Stress Tested. “This is nothing short of a masterpiece. Actually, it’s just something short, and not a masterpiece at all.”
- YouTube — thesparrowsjourney: Guild Wars 2 – The Bad and Ugliest #8. “The title pretty much explains everything :D This is something I’ve come up with while playing Guild Wars 2 BW and spotted some guys with a really terrible looking characters around! Hehe So there you have it, my awful creations (but masterpiece).”
- Guild Wars 2 Live — Tyria Talk – Serverless Design. “Tyria Talk is a show dedicated to chatting about the upcoming MMO, Guild Wars 2. In episode 35, I discuss ArenaNet’s design decisions regarding their server structure.”
- YouTube — distilledwill: Lion’s Arch Vista Guide – Asura Gameplay.
- YouTube — gw2bnc: Guild Wars 2 sPvP | BnC Beta Tournament Ep #3. “Episode 3 of the tournament footage from Guild Wars 2 beta weekend event 3 (BWE3) which was July 20-22, 2012. It was us (BnC community members and a couple members of Alpha Collective) vs [joO]. Sorry for no introduction, I’m busy working on other content. ;)”
Fanfic
- Chronicles of Tyria — Zhaitan’s Visage. “I have never stayed at the hospice in Bay Haven before! It is really quite exciting. The sylvari menders who work here are all really friendly, and there’s an asura named Numa who was really cute until she told me off for asking “stupid” questions about her research into sylvari anatomy and medicine. For a place full of sick and injured people, it really is very pretty.”
- Divinity’s Reach — A Mother’s Pain. “Caedyrn paced furiously outside the central chamber beneath the Pale Tree. The world had begun to spin, and the recent events had thrown the Grove into a flurry of activity. In response, the Pale Tree began to meet with each of the Sylvari, starting with each of the Firstborn and slowly branching out to the younger saplings.”
- Foundation — Dusk to Dawn: Act 1, Chapter 1. “‘You’ll never have your chance at destiny if you never face it head-on.’ Dhalik blinked hard through the intensity of the afternoon sun’s golden rays and muttered something incomprehensible. ‘Come on, kid. Get up. Stand up straight. Let’s try it again.’”
- Foundation — Lost Souls: Hoofbreakers I. “Of all the districts that made up Divinity’s Reach, the Eastern Commons certainly was the one Fujiko despised the most. She pressed on, however, not wanting to waste any more time. She had finally decided to leave the protective city walls that had grown so familiar behind her.”
- Chronicles of Tyria — Building Blocks of Character Creation. “There is not a ‘correct’ way to start making a character – some people like a picture, or a name, while I personally like to begin with a couple of core personally traits. Regardless of what order you do things or how you go about the process, there are various steps that do need to be taken, and considerations made. I will start with some of the easiest to understand and the most important (although equally the most common mistakes), and then progress on to things that are perhaps not necessary for character creation, but can be good things to keep in mind.”
- Foundation — Ayroh: Chapter 5 ~ Cavalry. “There was Javikarth, standing at the foot of the path. His weapon was raised in his hand as he held steady to strike at the drop of a feather.”
- Foundation — Ayroh: Chapter 6 ~ The Grave. “Before the tremors had left the ground, we were on the move. No battle call needed to be issued, no orders were shouted.”
- Divinity’s Reach — The Gladium. “An elderly charr woman laid across the soft hospital bed, huddled in several roughly crafted hand-woven blankets. The mound of sheets was sprawled unevenly across her, but she never made an attempt to correct them. Instead, she stared out the nearest window that was the only light source for the room. The nearby human nurses had asked her repeatedly to move to a more appropriate room with better quality lighting, but the wrinkled charr simply ignored them.”
- Foundation — Ayroh: Chapter 7 ~ Lion Heart. “The same thing, every time. No matter how many times I do this, I can never get it right.”
Community Events
- Chronicles of Tyria — Lattice Configurator Contest! “Greetings Tyrians! An urgent letter has arrived from Ulta Metamagicals, a small asura laboratory in the Brisban Wildlands built for gate travel research. A simple mistake has jumbled the Lattice Configurators and sent the asura gates haywire! They are quickly being over run by magical beasts escaping from the gates! Grudgingly, they have requested your help!”
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).


[...] usual community round-up at GuildMag has been posted. This week’s posts include more videos from BWE3, quick reactions to [...]