This week in Guild Wars 2

Written by  //  November 9, 2012  //  Community  //  Comments Off

We’re all looking forward to learning more about the new content to be released next week: The Lost Shores. We’ll also have the chance to share the experience with friends who don’t currently play Guild Wars 2, as next weekend will also feature a limited free trial. Starting on November 12th, you’ll be able to invite up to three friends to set up new characters and play GW2 for the weekend (the 15th-18th). It seems like a great way to introduce the game to friends who may like it enough to want to stick around.

On Wednesday night, my desktop computer’s keyboard started randomly emitting the letters “m” and “n” a few times per minute. I first noticed this while checking my email … I looked away from the screen for a few seconds and looked back and I’d apparently started a new email, addressed to “mmmmnmmnn“. Later, in-game, I kept having to close my map display as it was popping up frequently while I was trying to do other things — especially while I was in combat. I know it’s not me accidentally hitting the “m” or “n” key, as my left hand is always on the movement keys, and my right hand is on the mouse (and I have a mouse with extra buttons mapped to the weapon and utility skills). No random fingers able to easily hit any keys in the lower right part of the keyboard.

Yesterday, I trekked to several stores in my area, looking for a good replacement keyboard. It’s been quite a while since I needed to buy a new one: sticker shock set in for the old-fashioned mechanical keyboard I wanted. But at least I’m able to play again…

Official Guild Wars 2 news

  • Guild Wars 2 wiki — Game status updates. “This is the current status of the most important issues we’re tracking with Guild Wars 2 live service. (This page is updated by ArenaNet staff and protected against non-admin editing.)” [Raphia: This page on the wiki should be one you bookmark for reference (I'll continue to list it every week).]
  • On the official Guild Wars 2 forums, Martin Kerstein posted on the topic Lost Shores Heads Up. “Something is stirring in the Sea of Sorrows – and we want to make sure that you are not missing out, so here is a schedule (without spoilers) for you, so you can plan ahead”
  • On the official Guild Wars 2 forums, Martin Kerstein posted on the topic Game Update Notes – November 5, 2012. “On November 1, we introduced a change that unintentionally increased the drop rate of Unidentified Dye. Today’s game update corrects the drop rate for Unidentified Dye.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Halloween Diorama Contest Winners. “The first Halloween of Guild Wars 2 has come and gone, and we put our community’s creativity to the test with the Guild Wars 2 Halloween Diorama Contest. You didn’t disappoint — we received so many impressive entries that it was a tough task to choose our favorites. Everyone here at ArenaNet pitched in to view the dioramas and choose winners. They had no knowledge of the identities of the contestants.”
  • On the official Guild Wars 2 forums, Martin Kerstein posted on the topic Refer a Friend Free Trial is Coming: “We want you to experience Guild Wars 2 and Lost Shores with your friends, so on Monday November 12, we will turn on Refer a Friend Free Trial. You will be able to invite up to 3 Friends to play Guild Wars 2 with you for free from November 15-18.”

Recent GuildMag posts

  • SteelSeries Guild Wars 2 Gear Review: Headset. “The second part to our SteelSeries Guild Wars 2 gear review is here, courtesy of SteelSeries and ArenaNet. Previously we showcased our review of the Guild Wars 2 mousepad – you can check it out here. Read on to find out our verdict on the Guild Wars 2 headset.”

Fan articles and blog posts

  • Hunter’s Insight — The Lost Shores. “As I mentioned previously on the blog, Guild Wars 2 has some upcoming content releasing this month. They’ve begun detailing The Lost Shores, giving interviews, and teasing it in game. So far it’s being presented as a strange kind of tropical vacation destination. The various translations of posters and warnings seem to imply that we, as adventurers, will be cleaning out hordes of sea monsters and the like from a new map area.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Hub — WvW Gets Castrated. “First let me get this cleared up: I know they are orbs, not balls. The point still stands. If you didn’t see from other sources, ArenaNet has announced the removal of orbs of power from World versus World. I’m assuming this means the altars of power will either be empty or somehow edited out of the map*. And the largest change to the actual matches will be the associated removal of the stacking 5% bonus for controlling each orb.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Riches — End of Halloween – What’s Next? “Wow, what fun! I enjoyed the event and hope for more like it. Let’s take stock, in an economic sense. What can we expect now the event is over?”
  • Nerdy Bookahs — Hall of Monuments: Armor. “As you probably know, playing Guild Wars 1 gives you certain rewards in Guild Wars 2. A few days ago, I remembered that I had them and hopped over to the Hall of Monuments in Guild Wars 2 to claim them.”
  • Divinity’s Reach — Whales and Translations… “You may have noticed that once again Tyria is changing. Today in the most recent patch, Lion’s Arch offers subtle hints of the upcoming November 15th patch, The Lost Shores.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Trading Post — Financial Investments Versus Upgrades. “I do not consider gear upgrades to be financial investments in this game. Because the gold and gear you farm is minimum compared to what you can make from the Trading Post, I would never spend more than a fraction of my gold on upgrades.”
  • Nerdy Bookahs — Ask Nerdy Bookahs. “It’s time for another “Ask Nerdy Bookahs”. We have looked at the questions in the search terms that led people to our blog for which we know we do not have fitting entries and we’re trying to answer those questions now.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Live — Beached Whales Found In Lions Arch. “Three whales have recently beached themselves on the beaches of Lions Arch. Locals first noticed the humpback whales shortly after the recent visit by Mad King Thorn and quickly called local Authorities and Aqua man in to help the gentle giants.”
  • Kill Ten Rats — Healing Spring. “Rangers’ Healing Spring is amazing. I leveled a ranger, and I unlocked Healing Spring for his first dungeon run. It is a medium-sized, 15-second water field with a 30-second cooldown. Water fields combo for healing and regeneration. The base healing is nice, but the ability to proc regeneration and area heals is what makes this great for a group that uses finishers to exploit fields.”
  • Inventory Full — How Many Rangers… “Zubon made an interesting observation about the GW2 Ranger ability Healing Spring: “You play a ranger for ranged DPS with condition stacking and a pet. I did not expect to get a great support ability as an unadvertised bonus”. Having played a ranger since BWE1, this came as no surprise to me but I do find the various conceptions and pre-conceptions of what a ranger is or should be quite intriguing.”
  • Kill Ten Rats — 8 = 33. “Presentation affects perception affects enjoyment. Guild Wars has 8 dungeon options. I have run them all. I am pretty much out of things to do rather than re-do, and do I really want to grind a dungeon 19 times to get an armor set?”
  • Guild Wars Insider — Designing an RP Character. “A lot of people would like to try role-playing but don’t know how to get into or go about it. The first step, naturally, is to build your character. Different people go about this in very different ways, but I thought I might give some insight into how I build a character for a game.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Riches — Running Out Of Room – Where To Keep All The Things. “We’ve talked about investing a lot these past weeks. It’s one of the best ways to make money in game and we’ve been looking at current events and events to come – so it’s only natural. The right investments are cheap, with a great profit margin but they do come with one downside.”
  • Kill Ten Rats — Pressure Relief / Pressure Cooker. “I finally finished all PvE zones in Guild Wars 2 with my main. 100% across the board with only a handful of points left in WvW before I get my Gifts of Exploration. I feel like now I can “just do whatever”. It’s an odd feeling, but I love hitting exploration achievements in any MMO. They call to me. I had to hit every heart, vista, and waypoint in every zone.”
  • GW2Guru — New Items on the Trading Post. “The official forums are abuzz with what seems to be new Black Lion Trading items listed on the Trading Post.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Junkies — Shadow of the Mad King – A Review. “Some of the things I most look forward to in MMOs are holiday and world events. I love how dynamic they often are and how they truly change the immersion factor of a game temporarily. When done right, relaxing holiday events can bring a bit of fun to a world that’s usually dangerous and give players a reason to celebrate while collecting cool vanity items. The best world and holiday events also build upon the lore already present in the game, adding new, unique twists and adventures that players eagerly look forward to.”
  • Massively — Flameseeker Chronicles: There’s something in the water in Guild Wars 2. “October is gone, and with it went the Mad King. He’s returned to his realm, and if the number of his slippers I have piled up in the corners of my bank vault is any indication, he’s ill-prepared to deal with any sudden drops in temperature. On the first day of November, Lion’s Arch citizens marveled at the sudden disappearance of all the festive decorations, applauded the continuity of the lion statue’s still being absent from the Piazza, and set about life as normal.”
  • Kill Ten Rats — Necromancer Thoughts. “I tried writing a post to mirror Zubon’s great post on elementalists, but I seem incapable of writing “guides”. I write more how I feel since I usually ignore things like builds, micromanaging stats, etc. in the actual game anyway. Here’s how I feel about a class I have spent 95% of my Guild Wars 2 time playing.”
  • Dragon Season — What to expect in November. “Ahoy mates! Put on your pirate uniforms, dig out your dusty eye-patches and get ready to fire your cannons. November’s update is almost here and we’ve gathered all the things you definitely need to know about it.”
  • Hunter’s Insight — Walk of Shame. “Lately I’ve been doing a lot of dungeons and I’ve been experiencing a balance issue that is less about the difficulty of the bosses and more about the placement of waypoints. It’s a quality of life problem.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Riches — My Favourite Gambles Part 1: Shuffling Dyes. “I want to preface this first in a series I’m going to call “my favourite gambles” with this warning: gambling in Guild Wars 2 is not the best way to make money. Keep that in mind as you read, it’s super important!”
  • Inventory Full — Lost Shores – Be There or Be Square. “Probably as a result of the furor that followed the Mad King’s controversial one-time literal pop-up event in Lion’s Arch, ArenaNet decided to post a schedule for the upcoming Lost Shores extravaganza. It comes in three Acts, beginning on Friday November 16th and running through Saturday and Sunday with a special event each day at Noon PST.”
  • Kill Ten Rats — Solo in a World War. “There are a few ways to run around in Guild Wars 2 World vs. World (WvW) mode. Everybody’s favorite to love and hate is the zerg, which is just a critical mass of players rolling over objectives and against other zergs. It’s disorganized and powerful at the same time. The skilled players not in zerg siege mode tend to join smaller strike squads which requires significant communication and directives to disrupt and slow the enemy as much as possible. Last night I realized that a solo player could be particularly useful as well.”
  • Massively — NCsoft 3Q report shows GW2 at top of global sales. “NCsoft, the publisher responsible for two Guild Wars games, Blade & Soul, and Aion, has seen significant growth over the past fiscal quarter thanks to the successful launch of Guild Wars 2. The company’s 3Q 2012 earnings report released earlier today shows a hefty increase in sales, profit, and income compared not only to the previous quarter but to the entire year.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Hub — The Art of War – Orbs Forgotton. “In this “The Art of War” update, we take a look at a pressing question everyone in the WvW game has”
  • Guild Wars 2 Hub — Zone Populations – What is the Solution? “Server populations are always a concern in MMOG’s, but one thing that has affected the more social questing that Guild Wars 2 brings is a necessity to have players populate all zones, all of the time. Without people and lots of them, events become impossible for an individual and make levelling an alternative character incredibly difficult. As it currently stands and having recently revisited low level zones on my mesmer to obtain 100% world completion, it’s frightening how quiet they are.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Trading Post — Will Lost Shores Fix GW2 Economy? “There are more than enough ways to make good gold in Guild Wars 2. However, I do not like the way certain commodities have piled up worse than Germany’s inflation immediately following the first world war. Cinnamon, walnuts, and butter are some of the worst candidates. But also items like Bronze Helmet Casings and various Planks are not being used enough by the different disciplines.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Hub — A Guide to Getting Kill Credit. “It’s been bemoaned by many who venture into Orr or the Eternal Battlegrounds, but it can be a real pain to try and get enough damage into enemies before a zerg of friendly Tyrians kills them. Attacking once or twice seems to not do the trick, and forget applying conditions, that is all but useless. If you run in a zerg of players, but aren’t equipped properly, you run the risk of doing lots of work, and getting little credit. This is especially true for those of us who have the audacity to play a class that can’t wield a greatsword.”
  • Kill Ten Rats — The Underflow – Bringing People Together. “Before working on my WvW exploration, I tried to work on my personal goal of working through every story mode in the Guild Wars 2 dungeons before hitting Zhaitan. I joined a party of two that had been sitting in Lion’s Arch for half an hour trying to get people to join them for Sorrow’s Embrace. We exchanged pleasantries and the group leader starting saying that I had been the only bite for the mid-level dungeon’s story mode in quite a while. She was clearly depressed at the thought of working for another hour to pick up another two party members at that rate. I decided I might not have time for the party wait plus the dungeon and excused myself.”
  • Massively — Choose My Adventure: The Guild Wars 2 way. “This week has been severely under-productive in light of my lofty Guild Wars 2 goals, but that’s not a bad thing. Pippy Peat, the sad yet determined I-think-I-can Mesmer has wielded his two-handed greatsword with gusto and has been fighting a valiant fight.”
  • Dragon Season — Music Issues. “It has been brought to my attention only yesterday by our revered admin, Frozen Compass, that GW2 has some issues regarding its background music. Specifically, he claimed that the game is almost ‘mute’ in this aspect with either only one single track being played every now and then or nothing being heard at all. Of course a made fun of him in the guild chat…”
  • Kill Ten Rats — Player Concurrency – Water Level Vs. Waveform. “All joking aside, I think ArenaNet is making Guild Wars 2 work for its business model. Lost Shores is going to introduce permanent content, but ArenaNet wants fanfare. They want a crush of concurrency to surround the unveiling of that content. This is not a mistake either. ArenaNet is one of the few MMOs that can sustain itself on waveform player concurrency”
  • Nerdy Bookahs — What’s left to do in Guild Wars? “Before Guild Wars 2 came out, I still had lots on my “I would love to do/see that” list. A lot of those things got done like the 30 points in my Hall of Monuments (Hurrah!) or playing through the Eye of the North campaign and seeing the Pale Tree.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Hub — Tournament Divides. “I love a sensationalist forum title. I’m not sure how or why people feel the need to write them without facts or figures to back up their claims but this one in particular really caught my interest today. The thread starter declares “GW2 is dying, a change of priorities is mandatory”. That’s quite the statement.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Trading Post — Middle of the Market. “Have we forgotten about the middle? Seriously, is everyone so focused on high level gear and materials that they have forgotten the massive profits to be had from mid level items? While I continue experimenting with crafting (hope to have a whiteboard video soon on that in the forum), the largest profit margins seem to be in the level 30-50 range. Who would have thought right?”
  • Guild Wars 2 Trading Post — Law of Supply and Demand. “It’s hard to accept the law of supply and demand. It is far easier just to look at prices and consider them to be the best way to predict future trends. If something looks profitable today, then we just assume it’s going to look the same tomorrow.”

Videos and podcasts

Fanfic

  • Chronicles of Tyria — Lights, Camera… Action! “OK so that’s more for films, but I couldn’t resist the cheap pun. So you have set the scene, your characters have learned their lines, and now we come to what they actually do; the big, important bit of the story.”
  • Chronicles of Tyria — Chapter 6: Part 1 Journey with a Warrior and a Guardian. “Another detour. Traveling with a guardian and a warrior, one could never be inconspicuous. The heavy armor clanked with each step; metal brushed against metal. Yes, we were on another detour. Snow drifted from the grey sky and piled around our feet. Bushes and firs were covered in a glittering mix of ice and snow.”

Community Events

  • GWOnline Events – November Update. “Consider yourself an Achievement Hunter? Well now it’s time to put your skills to the test in a race to complete your monthly achievements before anyone else. Be the first to 100% your monthly and achievements and submit your proof to claim a prize and the glory of be the months top achievement hunter.”

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).

Comments are closed.