Archive for January 2013

Temple of the Silent Storm Week

Posted 29/01/13 by

It’s been a busy week already in Tyria! Another blog just went up on the official site with information on some new PvP features. As always, a snippet is below, click through for more, and drop by the forums for discussion!

We’ve been working on PvP features consistently since our last update, and as always, we’ve been watching the forums for feedback and inspiration.

So I’m really excited to announce that, based on player feedback, we’ll be testing a new tournament system for PvP from January 28 to February 4 in the Temple of the Silent Storm map! This new system will pit one team vs. another, instead of the usual eight teams needed for a normal paid tournament. Free tournaments will still be available during this test, but we’ll be replacing paid tournaments with this test system for the duration of the week.

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Upcoming Changes to Dungeon Mechanics

Posted 29/01/13 by

Check out the latest blog update from ArenaNet with changes coming to dungeons. The big change for Phase 1 will be that defeated players cannot use Waypoints while their party is in combat. Definitely going to require changing up playstyle for some people. See a snapshot below or click through for details on Phase 2. Don’t forget to swing by our forums and let us know your thoughts.

Hey folks, I’m Robert Hrouda, a content designer on Guild Wars 2. In the coming months, we’ll make some changes to dungeon mechanics to make them a more fun and challenging experience. I wanted to give you a heads-up on our plans for phase 1 of our dungeons evolution—specifically, the removal of “res-rushing”—as well as a brief overview of our plans for phase 2.

“Res-rushing” is when a player uses a waypoint to resurrect immediately after being defeated in a dungeon and then runs back to the fight, instead of waiting for their party members to resurrect them.

Dungeons were designed to be highly focused on teamwork. The current res-rushing mechanic discourages the type of behavior we intended when a fellow player goes down. We hope that by eliminating res-rushing, we’ll bring dungeons more in-line with our original design goals, which are based around team play and strategy.

With this upcoming change, defeated players will be unable to use waypoints while their party is in combat. Players will only be able to use waypoints if the party wipes or withdraws from combat.

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WvW Rating Reset Coming Soon

Posted 29/01/13 by

A quick update on WvW. Looks like all pairings are going to be reset now that free transfers are done. Little surprising, but makes sense. Full post is below.


In the run up to the end of free world transfers we saw large population changes as people settled in to their home servers. This means that the WvW teams being fielded by many of the worlds are now dramatically different. In recognition of this fact, and in light of the increased population stability that comes with paid transfers, we feel that this would be a good time to reset the ratings of all the servers. A reset at this point will allow the rating & ranking system to more quickly and correctly rate these (effectively) new WvW teams.
Here’s how the reset will work:

1) We’ll let the current matchup play out. Since free transfers were available during the first part of this matchup we don’t want it to count towards the new ratings.
2) When the matchup rolls over on Friday, February 1st we’ll post the final ratings & rankings. The new ordering will determine the groupings for the next matchup as usual.
3) After the new matchup has started on February 1st we’ll reset all the ratings (and deviation & volatility) behind the scenes.

Because every world will have reset ratings the system will treat the February 1st matchup as the first matchup and will calculate the ratings accordingly. The new ratings will then be calculated normally in the way that you’re already familiar with. We expect several weeks of volatility while the ratings settle down but we believe that it will ultimately yield a more correct result more quickly than letting the current ratings persist. That also means that the coming month or two will be a fantastic time to fight for your world’s place in the rankings!

Additionally, we’re taking advantage of the reset to revisit some of the math behind the ratings. I’ll have more to post on that once we’ve crunched some numbers and made some decisions.

-Habib Loew

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Game Update Notes – January 28, 2013

Posted 28/01/13 by

Beware: Wall O Text!

A huuuggee update went out today. A snippet of the notes are below. Click through to see the full thing and don’t forget to swing by our thread to discuss!

LIVING STORY
Flame and Frost: Prelude
A mystery presents itself in this first entry in a multipart Living Story series. What could be causing such discord in the foothills of the Shiverpeaks? All those poor homesteaders and ranchers displaced with nowhere to go calls into question if the storms could be that bad—or if there’s something more sinister stirring up the flame and frost. The ground is shaking, and the sky is falling in northern Wayfarer Foothills and Diessa Plateau. Norn and charr refugees, crawling from the wreckage of their homes, are fighting their way to shelter in Hoelbrak and the Black Citadel. Many are in shock and wounded; most have only what they can carry on their backs. A call has gone out for volunteers to assist them in their time of need, when the environment itself seems to have become their enemy.
Achievements

  • A new Living Story achievement category has been added, which will contain a series of achievements specific to the storylines unfolding in Tyria.
  • The first Living Story achievement, Refugee Volunteer, has been added. Players who complete this achievement by playing the Flame and Frost: Prelude content will be rewarded with the Volunteer title. They will also receive a karma reward via in-game mail.
  • More achievements will be added as the Living Story continues to unfold.

Events

  • New Living Story events have been added to Wayfarer Foothills and Diessa Plateau.

Heralds

  • Starting shortly after the January 28^th^ update, heralds will begin appearing in cities across Tyria. Their task is to keep adventurers apprised of the events currently underway that are driving the Living Story forward. Be sure to check in with them if you need direction.

Other Content

  • Persistent world content related to the story of the refugees has been added to Wayfarer Foothills, Diessa Plateau, the Black Citadel, and Hoelbrak. This content will continue to change and evolve as the story unfolds, so be sure to keep checking back.

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Flame & Frost Beginning in January

Posted 22/01/13 by

Just out this morning, some details on the next big event to hit Guild Wars 2! A snapshot is below, but click through to check out the full details. What are your thoughts on all the upcoming changes? Could this be building up to a new dragon encounter? Let us know in our thread.

The sky falls and the ground shakes in the lands of the north. Charr and norn refugees crawl from the wreckage of their homes in the Wayfarer Foothills and Diessa Plateau, struggling to find shelter in the south. The call goes out for volunteers to assist the victims in this time of need, when earth and sky seem to have become the enemy…

Flame and Frost: Prelude is the prologue to a multi-stage narrative that will bring big changes to Guild Wars 2 in the months to come.

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Forum Achievements Now Live!

Posted 18/01/13 by

After a somewhat grueling week, we now have working achievements in the forums! Have fun playing around with them and showing off :)

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An Explanation on Cross-Region Guesting

Posted 16/01/13 by

There’s been some backlash since the guesting announcement earlier today: A lot of people are disappointed that US & EU guesting is impossible. ANet has posted an official response on the official forums. Check it out below:

 

Let me explain to you why you cannot guest on worlds in another region.

There are two databases: European player data is stored in our European datacenter, American player data is stored in our American datacenter. This is to ensure that people in these regions can still properly play in case there is an issue with the connection between the datacenters.

When you do a world transfer from the US to the EU (and vice versa) your player data is transferred from one datacenter to the other. This is not the case with guesting, as you are still “registered” on your home world.

I understand that some of you are disappointed that you cannot guest on worlds in another region, but considering the complexity of internet routing, our main priority is to ensure that players have as much of an uninterrupted game experience as possible, which is the reason why we have two datacenters.
On another note: I will try to get an answer to the guild influence question that has been posted a couple of times.

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Guesting Coming January 28th!

Posted 16/01/13 by

Fresh news for you: Guesting will be a part of the January 28th GW 2 update! Official post is below, but check out the blog for instructions on how it will work.

CITIZENS, I have an important announcement to make.

Previously, we’ve talked about a feature called guesting, which allows you to play with your friends on other worlds. The wait is over! Guesting is coming to a world near you with our update on January 28th!

Before I go into more detail about how it will work and what kinds of restrictions exist, I want to talk about a very important change that will come with the introduction of guesting: free world transfers will no longer be available. With the current restriction of one transfer every 7 days in place, make sure that you will be on the world you intend to play on before January 28th, because after that date, you’ll have to pay a gem fee to transfer worlds.

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What’s In Store for GW 2 in 2013?

Posted 15/01/13 by

A nice, lengthy blog post went up a short time ago on the official site. Check out a snapshot below or click through for the full read! Plus, join our discussion in the forums and let us know what you think!

Happy 2013 everyone! I wanted to take the time to provide insight on some of the exciting features, events, and stories we intend to bring to Guild Wars 2 in the first half of the New Year.

It’s been a fantastic ride so far – in the few months since Guild Wars 2 launched we’ve sold more than three million games and have become the most critically acclaimed MMO of 2012. We’ve introduced the new Fractals of the Mists dungeon experience, brand-new PvE and PvP maps, events of all sizes, our Lost Shores world event, and two massive holiday events.

And this is just the beginning. Our goals for the New Year are to build on the areas of the game that were successful in 2012, to learn and apply lessons from things that didn’t work as well, and to make sure that 2013 is a year none of us will ever forget.

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WvWvW Rankings – January 11, 2013

Posted 12/01/13 by

Latest WvWvW rankings have been released. You can check them out below.

Thanks, Fae and LostSpoon

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Game Update Notes – January 10, 2013

Posted 10/01/13 by

Small patch just went up to fix some bugs.

  • Fixed a bug when previewing racial armors from other races.
  • Fixed a bug that allowed players to acquire multiple pets summoned by the Ogre Pet Whistle.
  • Fixed a bug that allowed tonics to be used repeatedly in quick succession.

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Looking for People to Interview!

Posted 07/01/13 by

Hey guys,

I am looking for some of you cool Guild Wars 2 players to interview for my next article. The questions will revolve around the state of the game and the future of the game.

If you are interested in being interviewed, please head over to the following link:

Interview Application Instructions

Following the instructions provided there, and if you are selected to be interviewed I will contact you.

Thank you and may Dwayna bless you all!

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