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    Content Designer Matthew Medina Discusses the Alphabets of Guild Wars 

    by
    Laida
    Published on 22-06-2010 09:58
    Categories:
    1. ArenaNet


    Time for something different, no talking about dynamic systems, skills or professions. Let us all enjoy some more details about the writing and lore in Guild Wars 2.

    When you browse through the market stalls in Divinity’s Reach, all manner of signs and posters will be calling for your attention, and vendors such as the cloud candy stand and the potion maker will advertise their specials. As you delve deep into the ruins of Old Ascalon, you may find distressed runes that tell of heroic exploits of ages long past. In a grand laboratory within Rata Sum, you could come across notes about fiendishly difficult mathemagical formulae written by a crazed asura elementalist. You may even be the first to discover an ancient language that until now had been lost to history – will you be the one to translate it?
    To read the full article, head on over to ArenaNet.

    Eric and Ben Answer Your Questions About Warrior and Traits 

    by
    Laida
    Published on 17-06-2010 09:48
    Categories:
    1. ArenaNet


    ArenaNet recently released wonderful information about the Warrior and Skill & Trait system in Guild Wars 2, now they are back to answer the most asked questions on these topics in an interview with Ben Miller (designer) & Eric Flannum (Lead designer).

    Q: Is it still possible to body-block? In combat, will body direction be important; e.g., players being more vulnerable on the sides and the back?

    Eric: Because of many issues with collision in a persistent world, players will not be able to collide with one another in Guild Wars 2. That being said, many skills affect the movement of a target (knockbacks, knockdowns, etc…), which allows players to replicate some of the same body blocking tactics that they used in Guild Wars. Body direction is very important indeed, as there are skills that have a greater effect (more damage, stunning, etc…) when used from the side or behind an enemy.
    To read the full article, head on over to ArenaNet
    2 Comments

    Introducing the Warrior and the GW2 Trait System 

    by
    iko
    Published on 09-06-2010 20:12
    Categories:
    1. ArenaNet

    Big News today folks, ArenaNet have just published an article introducing the next profession in their line up and this time its the Warrior, after a brief intro to the profession the article goes on to outline massive range of weapons at a warrior's disposal (nine in all!), special skill types and various mechanics.

    The warrior is a master of weapons who relies on speed, strength, toughness, and heavy armor to survive in battle. A warrior can shrug off blow after blow to stay in the fight, all the while building up adrenaline to fuel his offense.
    Check out some of these skills in action.

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    Head on over to the ArenaNet Blog to check out the full article.

    And as if that wasn't enough, in a separate article, ArenaNet's, Ben Miller, introduces the Guild Wars 2 Traits system.

    What are traits?
    At a basic level, traits make you better at what you choose to do. You slot traits in order to modify skills and attributes. Once you have mastered a handful of traits they become a key component in creating your overall build.
    Each profession focuses on different activities to develop his or her traits. Warriors train physically, bash stuff, eat stuff, and drink stuff. Elementalists, on the other hand, seek ancient knowledge locked in tomes or particularly powerful elemental locations. The different trait challenges accentuate the unique feel of that profession and really bring the experience of playing that profession to life.
    This ones well worth the read, just click to here get the full story.
    4 Comments

    ArenaNet Hits the Convention Circuit 

    by
    iko
    Published on 02-06-2010 23:12
    Categories:
    1. ArenaNet


    So its official, continuing their recent trend ArenaNet/NCsoft will not be showing at E3 this year, we'd kind of hoped it'd happen but sadly it seems they're just not that into it anymore. I'll leave it to ArenaNet Global Brand Director, Chris Lye, to explain their reasoning behind the descision.

    First, let’s get one of the most-asked questions out of the way. We are NOT going to be on the floor at E3. We really have mixed feelings about E3. On the one hand it can be a great centralized way to meet press and retailers. On the other hand, it’s anti-fan. As the marketing guy, if I’m going to spend a boatload of money on a booth, videos, props, etc., I want to be able to share it with the folks who’ll geek-out on it the most – the fans! IMO, E3 could steal a page from gamescom, which is a combination of a civilized business/industry area and a showy exhibit hall that’s open to consumers. If they did that, E3 would be a no-brainer in my book.
    However, as dissapointed as we all maybe, there was a definite silver lining attached to this latest article, in the form of the sweet sweet news that the first public hands-on of Guild Wars 2 will be taking place at this years gamescom August 19-22 in Cologne, Germany. And I for one am going to try my absolute best to be there!

    This is the big one folks! I’m happy to announce that we will unveil the first public hands-on demo of Guild Wars 2 at gamescom in Cologne, Germany! If you want to be the first in your guild to play GW2 (and you’re in Europe), this is the show to attend. Naturally, we’ll have tons of ArenaNet staff on-hand, including studio head Mike O’Brien and German community manager Martin Kerstein, plus lots of cool activities. But let’s face it; we know it’s all about the game. We’ll have more details about the GW2 demo in the near future.
    Check out the full article here
    2 Comments

    Lead Writer Bobby Stein Talks GW2 House (of) Style 

    by
    iko
    Published on 02-06-2010 02:19
    Categories:
    1. ArenaNet


    ArenaNet get their grammer on! After the holiday weekend what better way could there possibly be to get the PR machine up and running again, then with a brief insight into the sordid underbelly of Anet's writing style.

    In this their most revealing article yet, lead writer Bobby Stein guides us through these murky depths, and leaves you safe in the knowledge that unnecessary capitalization is a thing of the past...

    I’m guessing a large portion of our player base has never cracked open The Chicago Manual of Style. I work in a room full of word nerds. We live and breathe this stuff to the point where we agonize over seemingly mundane things like punctuation, capitalization, and phrasing. For years we’ve gnashed our teeth to the gums while capping common nouns and game terms with every release. Our eyes literally hurt when we edited some copy.
    To check out the whole story just click here!

    Link Roundup: Personal Storylines and More! 

    by
    iko
    Published on 29-05-2010 13:08
    Categories:
    1. ArenaNet

    In their infinite wisdom and after such a busy week ArenaNet have been good enough to provide us with a comprehensive list of this weeks articles from around the Inet, so ehh...here it is!

    • Ree Soesbee touched base with the PC Gamer Blog for a talk about the personal quest chain, home instancing, character biographies, and a lot more. Plus: new screenshots, including a pretty shot of a couple of GW2 deer! We like deer.
    • IGN liked the concept of dynamic events, and adding a personalized storyline into the mix is just fine with them. “Every time we hear something new about Guild Wars 2 we get more and more excited.”
    • The ZAM staff continues its Guild Wars 2 coverage with a discussion of the mechanics behind the combat system they saw in action during a recent trip to ArenaNet!
    • Rubi over at Massively took a look at the new War in Kryta bounties, the inimitable Courier Falken (“Falken… PUNCH!”), and new loot! It pays to be a rebel.
    • Ten Ton Hammer’s “Anatomy of a Skill Bar” is just what it sounds like: a detailed analysis of how the skill bar has been redesigned for Guild Wars 2.
    • Kotaku digs the idea of character creation that goes way beyond just selecting race and class, judging by this post.
    • Authors Jeff Grubb and Matt Forbeck talked with Booklife about collaborating on Ghosts of Ascalon, the upcoming Guild Wars novel.
    • The French sites Jeux Video and Jeux Video PC like what they’ve heard about the customizable personal storyline so far!

    Ree Soesbee Answers Your Questions About GW2 Personal Storyline 

    by
    iko
    Published on 28-05-2010 12:08
    Categories:
    1. ArenaNet



    With the help of Community Manager Regina Buenaobra, Guild Wars 2 fans were given the chance to ask some of their more pressing questions concerning personal storylines, and who better to answer those questions then lore & continuity designer Ree Soesbee. Here's just a little of what she had to say...

    Will actions I take in the dynamic events system affect or interact with my personal story?

    Affect, no. Interact with, yes. Sometimes, your personal story is taken from the same point of plot. The centaurs are attacking human lands, for example. There may be events to drive off the centaurs from Nebo Terrace, or to attack the centaur camp and kill a leader in their army. Separately, there may be a storyline that follows the path of a lost soldier, tracking him through said centaur camp to find clues as to his whereabouts. Those are interlinked, but they do not directly affect each other. Our intention with this is to make the world real and to show that the things happening all over the world are not isolated or self-contained incidents; they affect everyone in the area, both in large and small-scale ways.
    Just click here to check out the full article.
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