This week in Guild Wars 2

Written by  //  December 28, 2012  //  Community  //  1 Comment

A shorter round-up of community activity this week, as many fan sites are taking advantage of the holiday too. The Wintersday activities are still in full swing (although I’ve only been able to take part in a few of them myself).

Darkhaven’s WvW forces continue to fight a desperate rearguard action, as we’ve been crushed this past week by Ehmry Bay (and even Borlis Pass has been able to stay ahead of us on points). It got so bad in WvW this week that it became pointless to show up outside our own borderlands: we were swarmed by EB forces so quickly that even our usual hit-and-run raids on supply bases and caravans were not working. At one point, three of us from RTH started out to go take the nearest supply camp and couldn’t get more than a minute outside the gate before we were detected, run down, and annihilated. After three or four attempts, we just gave up: we hadn’t caused a single casualty (and seemed to be barely even causing damage in combat). It became pointless to continue.

Official Guild Wars 2 news

  • GuildWars2.com — Fractals of the Mists Dungeon Improvements. “Hello, everyone! I’m Isaiah Cartwright, lead designer on Guild Wars 2. I wanted to talk to you about two upcoming changes to the fractal dungeons: reconnect and party-tier improvements.”
  • On the official Guild Wars 2 forums, Stephane Lo Presti posted on the topic Share your data about perceived strange drop behavior here: “We’ve seen reports from players questioning the randomness of the drop mechanisms in GW2 and in particular asking if it’s been changed recently. This is not the case and we don’t think that the randomness mechanism is misbehaving, but we’re running some data to be sure there isn’t anything unexpected going on. So far nothing shows anything suspicious but we’ll keep gathering data and analyzing it.”

Recent GuildMag posts

  • Lala’s Escapades – Dynamic Events. “Dynamic events are something we all experience, often regardless of whether we want to or not. Unless you’re really good at avoiding things and you don’t care about karma or achievements, chances are you’ve experienced at least a few. The good news? Some of them are doable if you’re alone. The bad news – very few of them are. Most of the time if there are no kind citizens around to help you, you might as well just move on and try your luck elsewhere. In highly populated zones, this shouldn’t be a problem, but the quiet areas are the ones that suffer.”
  • Postcards from Tyria – Wintersday. “My name is Griphos Sleekhorn. I am a proud member of the Iron Legion currently wandering through Tyria in order to find new or long-forgotten weapons that we can use to fight against the rising threat of the Elder Dragons. But there is beauty in this land besides the blood-stained grass, burning trees and smoking flame-throwers, and I want to show my life is more than death and violence. So these are for you mom…”

Fan articles and blog posts

  • Under the Pale Tree — Wintersday Reflections. “Originally today I was planning on writing something up about the Wintersday event in Guild Wars 2, but there will be a large number of people doing that already, and I don’t see myself being able to add anything new that, especially when I haven’t yet tried everything. I have some lore stuff I want to ponder through, but not right now.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Trading Post — Guild Wars Trade. “I’m loving a site I just discovered called Guild Wars Trade. Despite the fact that they’ve been around longer than GW2Spidy, I never happened to stumble up on it. Very glad I did, because this place is awesome!”
  • The Egg Baron — Encounter Design: Spotlighting. “The more I right this blog the more I am realizing that old school pen and paper RPG’s, Dungeons and Dragons, and World of Darkness mostly, influence my views on Guild Wars 2. When I played with my friends in high school I am usually took on the role of the dungeon master. This continues even now over ten years later. I follow and keep up with a couple RPG blogs, Gnome Stew for example, and I am especially fond of articles they right on encounter design. Those were also always my favourite bits in the dungeon master sections of the Dungeons and Dragons books. Designing good encounters is not easy. Arena Net has an even more difficult task of trying to make interesting encounters and then make them interesting multiple times.”
  • Healing the masses — A Collection of Fun or Frivolity. “I have been experiencing a bit of disconnect during play lately with GW2 and the feeling of why bother is slowly creeping in. Yes I seem to be behind the times as proportion have been proclaiming it for a month or so but i usually tend to enjoy these mmo’s beyond there 3 month shelf life. Now it isn’t just a feeling contained within WvW although that is a part of it, it is a feeling I get across the entire game world no matter what the game type. It just seems odd as quiet often when I connect to the game I am just not feeling the magic anymore and often upon logging on I just find myself standing in the mists for a awhile thinking what now?”
  • Guild Wars Insider — The Case of ROE Vs. TIXX INFINIRARIUM Inc. “Whether its Short Fan created Videos, Comic Strips or Plush Backpacks, people get creative with the adoration of games like Guild Wars 2. However, I can honestly say, I have never seen this kind of devotion extend toward the creation of Fantasy lawsuits. 3 days ago, Vito Schwam ‘Romana’ brought the case of one Jane Roe before the Superior Court of Divinity’s Reach (a.k.a. the Official ArenaNet Wintersday Forum). The chief charge against the Toymake Tixx is one of negligence.”
  • Inventory Full — Getting Out Of First Gear. “It’s still all Guild Wars 2, all the time Chez Bhagpuss. My good intentions of revisiting The Secret World have so far gone as far as getting the thing patched up but not as far as logging in. I don’t think Rift is even patched.”
  • Gamebreaker.tv — Fractal Changes Coming To Guild Wars 2 In Januaury. “The Lost Shores patch in November introduced Guild Wars 2 players to the unique Fractals of the Mists dungeon. While much of the feedback on the mini-dungeon system has been positive, there have been two major points of contention which have marred the experience.”
  • The Egg Baron — Promoting T5 Fine Crafting Mats. “If you read my article on obtaining Mystic Clovers then you know I am working towards crafting the legendary sword, Bolt. Today marks another milestone in my quest towards this sword. I have obtained all my Tier 6 fine crafting mats. I got some from the Trading Post, some from farming, but most I obtained by promoting Tier 5 crafting mats in the mystic forge. For a number of the T6 mats this is the most cost effective way of obtaining the materials. It is also a great way to convert your extra skill points into gold. Today I would like to review the options open to you for promoting materials, as well as, sharing my experiences.”
  • Reddit — Why Can’t I Enjoy My Accomplishments? “Why can’t we see our own titles (without hitting H and going to look at titles) or see the star for 100% World Completion? I worked hard to get some of the titles I have, and even harder to get my star. But I don’t get to enjoy my star or my titles. I often forget I even have 100% world completion until I actually think about it or open my map.”
  • Healing the masses — News In GW2 Wuv Wuv. “First off New Interview with the WvW Anet Devs Habib Loew, and Matt Witter… the WvW new starts around 13mins which is about the servers/ drama and stuff and 22:16 for dev talk”
  • GWOnline.net — Psst! Your noob is showing… “One thing I like about dungeons is that every once in a while, it makes you feel like a noob. And the way to get past this is to figure out how to change your gameplay to adapt to the situation. However, dungeons are made for 5 people, so this means that your noobiness will be shared. Others will see you for the noob you are, when that happens. And not everyone is nice about it.”
  • Chronicles of Tyria — A Wintersday message from Chronicles of Tyria. “With the New Year fast approaching, Christmas is a time to look back on what we are thankful for; and boy, has it been a wonderful year. The arrival of Guild Wars 2 was what many of us considered a miracle. We were dreaming about the day when we would be able to finally get our eager mittens on the entire game, not some weekend beta! The release came and went, and while some are peacefully moving on, many of us are still utterly captivated by Guild Wars 2.”
  • Guild Wars 2 Trading Post — Making Realistic Gold in Guild Wars 2. “I’ve noticed something of late in the emails that come every day to my mailbox. Many of them are following the theme of people grasping at straws hoping for a get rich quick scheme from me. I understand the motivation, but there is no way to cheat at the Guild Wars 2 economy. You have to play smart and frugal until you amass enough income to purchase large quantities of materials, armor, mini’s, gems, etc. Even then, you’ll be lucky to get back 30% profit on the money you invest each day.”
  • Massively — Flameseeker Chronicles: A visit from Toymaker Tixx. “The end of the year is a busy time for everyone, whether it’s because you’re out visiting family, cramming every sugar-laden calorie possible into your body, or wrapping up projects and working valiantly to meet deadlines. That can make it difficult to squeeze in time for Guild Wars 2 — so how do you make the most of what little time you can get in-game? I’m glad you asked! Just as in the Halloween update, there’s a title associated with the Wintersday festivities. It’s a title that tracks achievements, and in order to get it, you need 12 of the 14 or so available Wintersday achievements. You’ve got just over a week from today to rack up achievement points. So what’s the best use of your time if you want to be an Apprentice Toymaker?”
  • Guild Wars 2 Trading Post — 99 Tips for the GW2 Trading Post. “I’ve only included posts that went live after Guild Wars 2 was released and are still valuable for gold makers like yourself. Enjoy these 99 tips to the Guild Wars 2 Trading Post!”
  • Nerdy Bookahs — Snowden Drifts in Shiverpeak Mountains. “Snowden Drifts is a region meant for levels 15 – 25. I like being in snowy areas once in a while, especially during summer when (if!) it’s hot outside. Still, it fit to this time of the year. Our Christmas was really rainy and warm, so being in virtual snow was nice.”
  • Inventory Full — Mind The Gap. “Just before Christmas Rowan at I Have Touched The Sky pointed out that a dynamic world doesn’t necessarily mean one where dragons set your hat on fire every five minutes. A few “Men at Work” signs and two Charrs warming their paws at a brazier can be every bit as dynamic as a zombie uprising.”
  • Divinity’s Reach — Looking Forward. “Guild Wars 2 has certainly been successful. Every other major MMO company that released this year has suffered layoffs, restructuring, and replacements of top employees. ArenaNet has been the exception…(arguably I am not counting the realignment currently going on at Guild Wars 2‘s publisher NCsoft.) However, with success often comes criticism. I think we can all agree, ArenaNet hasn’t done everything right. So with that being said, here’s my list of the top 5 things I hope to see change in 2013, listed in no meaningful order:”
  • Healing the masses — Guild Wars Wish List: Issue 5. “Ok so even after all my complaining and recent post describing my morose state I still love GW2… A lot. The foundation of a great game is hiding just underneath and only needs a few things fixed and added to reveal its sweet nougaty core. Now these things would obviously take some time to implement and Anet is quite obviously working on their own agenda but here is my New years wish list for additions to GW2 regardless.. starting with numero cinco.”
  • Healing the masses — Guild Wars Wish List: Issue 4. “Call me a megalomaniac if you will but killing people and besting them in combat whether it be on even terms or a complete landslide has to be one of the best parts of an mmo. I love the thrill it brings and even that deep down feeling it of being better than someone when you beat them. I even love defeat as it gives you a reason to strive for more, to better your skills, your build, and how you put it all together.”
  • Lopez IRL — Impressions of Wintersday in Guild Wars 2. “Christmas has come and gone. For the most part, so has Wintersday. The events will run through Jan. 3, but no new content is scheduled between now and then. So I think it’s time to give some impressions if how ArenaNet’s second jab at holidays in Guild Wars 2. The short verdict: I had a lot of fun.”
  • GW2Guru — Get IGNs Guild Wars 2 App for iOS devices! “IGN has recently released their Guild Wars 2 map and information app for apple devices. It features a character planner, access to their wiki, and much more. You can download the app here. For those of you with iOS devices and have been able to spend a fair amount of time with it, be sure to sound off and let us know what you think of it.”

Videos and podcasts

Fanfic

Community Events

  • GWOnline Events – January Update. “Just a quick update this time around everyone. Although Christmas and Wintersday is wrapping up the holiday season is still in full swing for many of us and it is with that in mind that we have decided not to hold any events for January. To compensate for this however the events from December will have their deadline extended to Midnight on January 31st 2013 (UTC).”

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).