"Fresh Guild Wars announced" From the Inquirer!

What chain?

There are chains in my screenshot of Wizard's Folly, but I don't see any in the Inquirer screenshot. Don't get confused. ^_^

WTF??? what in the world are you talking about?

Like I said to Gaile I will not get sleep and its 1:00am on the eastern seaboard and I am still reading these posts!! AArggh my kingdom(Ascalon is ruined anyways!!) for some details!!

Get some sleep, its good for you. This thread won't run away when you wake up tomorrow.

E3 For Everyone player on here just wanted to throw in my opinon and ideas after debating over this (and even bothering posting it for various reasons).

(Note: my views are based on the article as being completly fact, I know that Gaile has stated that it is not but these are my opinons based off the possibility that ANY of the things stated are possibly true until debunked for the time being)

On Guild Wars 2:

It is always a possibilty that a game is going to have a sequel, especially a successful one, 2-4 years of development time on such a sequel is reasonable (I say 2-4 because even if 2009-2010 is correct, delays happen). I think any serious gamer understands how sequels works and an EQ or AC vet can tell you how MMO sequels work. The idea of moving a character over from one to the other is just not reasonable, not the full character anyway. Perhaps a title (or set of titles), and names is very reasonable but the full character skills, level, profession, items etc is just not realistic by any means in the case of a full fledged sequel. A new game engine means new models, new code and more than likely new skills, professions and mechanics so moving a great character from GW1 to GW2 could really not benefit you as much as you may think.

Therein can lie problems with a sequel. People who played the original can be disappointed for several reasons. Maybe the game is too different from the original, or too much the same to warrant a move and all that work over again. If all that is updated between GW1 and 2 is the graphics engine and a few plotlines here and there I could see people not wanting to switch, on the other hand if it turns away from the foundations that GW has set too much then veterans are also not going to want to play the new game. Keeping the current customer base can be more difficult than getting a new one and that is something Anet has to consider, how can we get the original GWers to make the switch AND attract a new wave of customers. A delicate balance it is indeed. No matter what happens, SOME people are not going to switch/upgrade, some will and regret it and some will and love it.

Monthly Fees in the sequel would be a terrible mistake on Anets part, plain and simple, Guild Wars has a mass appeal because of it and while some other game may be outselling Guild Wars and charging per month, doesn't mean that GW2 should charge a fee. Having said that I have no qualms about paying a monthly fee and would still be on board depending on how the game looks (not just graphically). A monthly fee would be one of the foundation breaking features that I mention above.

Another foundation is level cap, while a sequel having a higher level than 20 wouldn't necessarily be bad, it shouldn't be anything extreme like 50+. 30/40 max would be kind of acceptable but for me the 20 level cap really makes it fun to have multiple characters and you can spend more time playing the game than preparing to play the game (take note Jeff Strain, this was one of your foundations for Guild Wars).

Extra playable races are something that for me is nothing more than like having a new set of armor, it'd be nice for the option to do it but isn't something I would personally press for, nor is it something I could see ruining the game by being in. I don't see how it would be copying any specfic game to do so as many games have multiple races, many games also have only humans so either route is really no more original than the other. The races themselves on the other hand could be really unique if done right and might make it worth having the choice for. Standard clones/copies of the typical fantasy races while easy and marketable is shallow and cheap. Why make another RPG with Elves when you can do something unique (my wife and I wrote a DnD campaign which we did a mix of the two aspects, we took 4 standard races and made 4 of our own creations, or adaptations).

Setting it a few hundred years in the future could be interesting, but then again so could setting it a few hundred years in the past! Guild Wars has some deep lore with a heavy past thats only been touched upon and I know many people would like more information into this. However with that you are limited with how far forward you can move and setting the game in the future does not have this limitation. One thing to watch is to get into a plot cycle. Don't just recycle the same plots in a new time, even with just a character change here and there. That doesn't really justify anything worth a look into for anyone who cares about plot. Oh look Abaddon is back (or "the new god" has now become corrupt). History may repeat itself but repetition is boring.

Moving on to the 4th incarnation of the current Guild Wars, I will refer to it as GW:EN for the love of Gwen alone and that acronym being the name of an expansion is just too cool/geeky/cheesy/dorky/loveable to pass up on.

GW:EN being a non-standalone would be interesting. The cheaper price, focus on post-prophecies storyline and high-end content could all benefit the game in my opinon. For those who are worried that Anet is breaking its cycle, we've had a mere 2 stand-alone/add-ons since the original release, to me that isn't really a good measure as a long standing tradition, though it has been what was mentioned as the business plan by Anet officials, quite simply plans change and anyone who has been playing an online game for awhile should know that already.

Cheaper price: No real negative here. I mean its cheaper, yay.

Post-Prophecies storyline: Gwen! (I hope), Charr (who I don't want to kill, I think a Charr-Human alliance is more likely after NF) and filling in some plot holes with the Proph plot in general seems like a win-win situation for players.

Focuse on High-end content: Okay this is one thing that I find to be an industry standard for expansions, that I disagree with (right up there with level cap increases, those just seem pointless in expansions woohoo I get to grind again/more?) I think that even as an expansion upon the end of the original game(s) that there should be something for newbies or lower-level players to want to enjoy, HOWEVER with Guild Wars this is far more acceptable than other MMOs for the simple fact that level 20 is not exactly a hard thing to obtain and is one of the things I love about the game.

Going North: Well I think this one has been pretty much beat to death with being pretty much everything but confirmed as whats going to happen and doesn't seem particularly bad though I really wanted to go to Orr.

50 PvE Only Skills, Only a total of 150 New skills. Lets see that's 5 PvE only skills per class (if split that way), not too bad. only 15 new skills for everyone...hmm seems pretty short at first glance, consider that no new professions could make this not as few as it seems, maybe this doesn't include duplicate skills. Still 150 is a bit disappointing honestly and I think a number of 200-250 would seem better, though for balance purposes I can see either side of this arguement.

No new professions: GOOD! 10 is a good even number, it makes things easily divisible and with the trouble of balance issues and such that was introduced with NF I can see why Anet would choose to do this. I like new professions, I love seeing what they can come up with and having fun with a new play style but it seems to be getting to where it starts to break the game doing so or in some cases, Paragons, it is an imbalance in usefulness in PvE/PvP, while it might be overpowered for one side it may not be on another and then when things are fixed for the side it was the usefullness of the other wanes too. ( I deleted my Paragon because of the nerfs we suffered, I really hated those changes and couldn't find a reason or hope to keep him going).

No new expansions UNTIL GW2 is out: note this is how the article was worded "this expansion will be the last throw of the dice before its successor appears on the market." this could mean 2 things.
1.) No expansions for GW1 after this one.
2.) No expansions for GW1, until GW 2 is released

While Option 2 is not very likely it could happen and currently does in EQ/EQ2, so keep in mind that possibility for those who wouldn't make the switch.
No new retail expansions wouldn't bother me at all, if they perhaps continued to add free content like SF and more importantly realms of the gods (dwayna, melandru and lyssa) Space one of those and several quests to go along every 3-4 months or so and you'd have some nice additions to the game in the stead of full-blown expansions, and while they may not be as much it is at least something. Without this though GW will wane too fast and the sequel will have to be rushed or be too late to catch "enough" people.

So there are my thoughts, I may come off as a Fan boy to some of you, I'll admit that A.Net is my favorite game company by far and I've played over a dozen retail MMOs, most to level cap and beyond. They have been what *I* like in a company, especially in customer service and relations. I do have my qualms with some of their additions to the games and balance handling, I think mini-pets are over emphasized as some great reward, I think that the ending to the CNY, sucked, the event was way better than the ending which is backwards of most events and well the paragon balancing killed my character :P.

I realize that most people are going to be stuck in their opinons, myself I am no different, and my positive rant isn't going to detract any of the negative opinons or change minds, that is fine everyone has their right to what they like/dislike, I'm not here to change anyone's mind, just speak mine.

One thing that keeps bugging me "while characters will now progress through the game in a more sensitive way." WTF does that mean? (Joke reply to own question: guess now we don't kill the enemy we just give him a good talking to and tell him that he should think about what he is doing. that is more sensetive right?)

If it was relativley inexpensive I would *love* to see an expansion to GW.

The north? Maybe Dwarves, Charr, and other ends tied up from Prophecies? 10 more heroes? All nice additions and worth some money (assuming it is not all DoA type play - no hench/hero and *really* hard for a casual player). Not sure how much money I would feel good with, would depend on the size.

Plus, if chapter four is going to be "late" as their financial statement *may* have said then a small inexpensive expansion that filled out the last bits of story would be a nice holdover.

Of course, even if the article messed up and chapter four is "north" and includes 10 new heroes then that's great too

Ahh well, hopefully the gamer article will shed some light on it. Too much one can speculate about.

So just looking at this logically I'm thinking about one of the games biggest mysters.. Gwen. I'm pretty sure (whereever the hell she is) she's only mortal and theres no way she can live for 100 more years for the Guild Wars 2 installment (if she's still alive.) So is that a sign of ceranty that we'll see what actually happened to our fire casting friend in Eye of the North?

Guys, you can stop posting already...

so can you :P, but look we both chose not to

So many speculation post +1's in this thread. Anet aren't going to shed light on this, and there isn't going to be anything constructive come from this thread until PC Gamer comes out. Might as well just wait till then to discuss, because at the moment there's no hard facts, and no point discussion assumptions.

Just more stuff the presear bunny was rambling on about.

hes the one that said about teh catacombs and char in the first chapter 4 speculatoin thread,

wow, so many posts, i'm sure somebody has already mentioned everything i'm thinking about but as the devs do read these forums i thought i'd add my opinion into the fray.
1: Northern setting could be really cool(pun not intended) i just hope all the armor isn't furry.
2: I like the idea of having 10 more heroes, cause heroes are awesome.
3: Making it a expansion rather than a stand alone doesn't bother me much, having more game content for less cost sounds great
4: kinda bummed about the idea of only 150 new skills(that's about 15 per profession if they don't add any new ones) though the 50 PVE skills sound cool.
5: I want to add my request to the many others that our players from GW1 are transferable to GW2...I know once the new game comes out the old one will lose some popularity and alot of support(or at least new content options) and i'd hate to have to leave behind my characters that i've worked on for so long. ah well...i guess it is just a game, but keeping a few good ole characters with me is part of what makes it fun
6: i also hope this doesn't lose it's GW flavour

Yep. The Inquirer's job

as a first time player of anything thats even remotely close to an mmo, overall i am very pleased with my experience with GW. this news, rumors, etc. about the possible future of GW has hit me just like most of everyone here. Arenet is waving the Classified News Folder above us just out of reach, and no matter how hard we try, we are sure that we can grab it on the very next jump.

these first two years has been a blast, with all three chapters holding memorable moments. none as much as chapter 1, which has its own place in my heart. i came to GW looking for a different kind of competition that im accustomed too. i placed the weapons of my first person shooter on safety while giving the pvp on GW a good run through. sadly enough i just didn't get the same type of enjoyment out of it and almost gave up on GW. this is until i really sat down and paid attention to the pve. it was there that i had found a new pleasure and enjoyment.

the two, first person shooter and GW, were like war and peace. oddly enough, i haven't found a reason to just hand up my weapons. i have been looking for more peace, but haven't been able to find it yet. and im afraid time is running out for me. 2 years is a long way from here. but the Q3 is just around the corner. i only hope that it can deliever that final push as far as stories or storylines go in pve. as i have said, i came to GW looking for competition, and almost fell in love with the pve. but my only true love is Space, The final frOntier. and its fast approaching me like Marcus's dreams in "Gladiator."



Jayce Of Underworld

------------------------------------------------

Animate Soul Lich
Energy: 25
Cast: 3
Recharge: 0

Elite Skill. Animate a level 1...14 Soul Lich
at your location and you lose all energy. You
suffer -1 energy regeneration for each Soul Lich
you control. Whenever a Soul Lich you control
deals damage, you gain 2 energy.(Soul Reaping)

Maybe multiple dungeons is a new game mechanic for the xpack. Or like DoA in NF. I consider those quests and the elite mission multiple dungeons. The dungeons connect and share the same plot line. So I don't really see it as something new.

coming from a game that had a sequel ruin the first one and the franchise, i hope this doesn't happen to gw

Ok guys, time to put in your little update requests:

New ranks in guilds, auction house please, that's about it.

AS regards GW2, I wouldn't like to transfer my char over. It'd be cool and all, but Isch was of his time, and I think it be nice if we had some new heroes (proper ones, not the npc ones). It'd probably take alot of resources to be able to do that, and I'd rather have them divereted into proper game development.

Well isn't all this exciting ...

One thing I know is that Gwen is the biggest thing in GW. Makes Abaddon and the rest of the gods look like C-list, B-movie actors. You go girl!

I don't get this - What's with all the Factions-hate? I loved it when it came out, and still do.

Atm I am waiting for this official newspost and the magazine issues before I believe/disbelieve anything.

I don't have any characters in pre so it would be nice if you could tell us what the bunny is now saying

They need a skill trainer npc in pre,both noob island and istan has it.

Yes but they both also have storage etc. The point of Pre-Searing is that it is totally seperate to GW: Prophecies, hence the LDoA title. Oh, and the fact that it is set 2 years (IIRC) BEFORE the rest of Prophecies..? :P

That's not a good reason anymore, considering that Nightfall events are happening 3 years after Lich and Shiro got their butts kicked.

Not that I'd be demanding storage and stuff to pre-searing though. It should be kept the way it is.

I am an older guy who has gamed since the early 1960's. Played and designed paper wargames and RPG's (still have my D&D 1st edition). Played computer games since we programmed "Air War" and "Trek" on an IBM 360 at U of I in the early 70's. Broke into "personal computers" with a Sinclair, TRS-80 and Commodore64 before IBM and Mac got a hold of me. So perhaps, I have some experience from which to write.

More germane to this topic, I have 9 triple accounts of GuildWars and have over 60 characters of various types and levels. I play PvE to enjoy the scenery and PvP to enjoy the people. Personally, I hope none of my characters or their various armors, weapons et cetera can move into another game. I shall be happy to support ArenaNet/NCSoft by purchasing new content and building new characters in a "new" world.

I can't imagine why anyone would expect things to "carry over" into a new game. You bought GW in whatever form or forms - you paid your money, you played and you had a good time. When a new game appears - you pay and play anew. Financially I do not see how it could make sense to transfer characters in any but the broadest sense (i.e., you might have your characters names reserved in the next game) beyond that I think it ought to be truely a new world.

I have great admiration for the devs of GW and think they have done, and are doing, an incredible job with a very complex product. I am sure the next product, and any future products, will be well developed, fun to play and well worth the money and time I invest in them. Whether GW:EN or whatever else I say GG (Good Going) GuildWars Development Team!

Raven Nebula isn't talking about Factions, but about some other MMO. Note the "I hope this doesn't happen to gw"

I really hope that ANET won't abandon GW 1.

Please let GW 2 be an expansion to GW 1 and not a separate series on its own.

If people buy GW 2, GW 1 and all its expansion will be useless... We, poor gamers, have to build up our wardrobe of clothes again.


Regards,
Ariel

I would like to see expansions rather than new chapters in future gw, and they will be just for new continent, missions, skills, armors, and no new professions.

However, if Anet do this, I hope they could add non-core professions' skills for previous chapter, for example, adding 25 new skills for ritualist in chapter 1.

I think it will make lots of improvement on balancing the core and non-core professions.

Just saying...Norns are from Norse mythology. I'm doing it in class atm.
I think Asurians are related to Norse Mythology as well.

Sylvarians...well, I don't have a clue about them. Sound elfish

Well heres a snippit


something about girl taken and rescue attempt

Here's what I posted earlier.....

Ok now I'm excited!

Yes, I've wanted this for a long time now.

I played loads of games for a few years and I have seen an huge amount of articles which where not true. For example I played a lot of Call of Duty where they released like 15 screenshots from which they said it was Call of Duty 2, and actually it wasn't Same they did for Warcraft, Diablo and loads of another games. I won't be too suprised if this was all fake.

Gaile said we have to wait another 1 months, and when exactly was that confirmed? 1st of march? 30 or a few days less of februari? Well all I know is that about 1 month it's fools day, and I won't be too suprised if this was just a try to get use fooled until the real information comes out.

For me it sounds really unlogical that charrs are going to travel norths since the lore tells me something different about the charrs. And why we have all kind of human proffesions and now suddenly we can play the charr which was our biggest enemy. Mmmh something isn't right here.

Also the GuildWars north title which points towards the GWEN legend, well it's a really good joke, I think Anet won't do that althouht they are crazy enough to actually try it. It's also strange that Gail did not post here, because if it's true, at least Gaile would say: "Aah we though to keep this as a secret but we were wondering how long it would take before someone figures it out."

About Guildwars 2, well that could be possible, but why already saying it that fast? I mean they want to sell chapter4 isn't it, so why already say GW2 is comming? I mean you wanna sell something and saying another games comes out makes maybe people wait for it and not buy chap4. It isn't a good marketing as well, and then the GWEN joke, Charr being playable O_o I think it's one big joke.

aren't the char from the north? don't the char not worship the titans anymore? hasn't gaile posted? lets just wait till PC Gamer to come out shall we all?

Well, in Prophecies, the Tengu are your enemies too. Yet in Factions, Talon Silverwing joins your party. Moreover, there are some hints at the end of the Nightfall Campaign why the Charr invaded the human lands... Not all Charr are evil.

Hah, I wouldn't put it past ANet to explain absolutely nothing about Gwen in the next chapter, make Guild Wars 2, and the second we step out of wherever the first game begins we get surrounded by a rain of red iris flowers.

With regard to the recent news. I'm not too bothered about any of the news for the new chapter, aside from the small number of skills. Guild Wars 2 however could be quite interesting if they actually take the opportunity to fix some of the flawed mechanics that may well never be resolved in the current Guild Wars such as some of the really lousy primary attributes including Strength and Spawning Power.

The 15th should be quite interesting to say the least.

Some of my best friends are Charr.
Is very true.
Don't hate the Charr or Tengu.

If there is a Guild Wars 2 it will be a long ways off and will be very exciting making a new character in an entirely new Guild Wars game. It will be reliving the magic and mystery all over again. Like a starting a cool new job, or getting a new girlfriend.....(looks over shoulder nervously).

yea...i rmb that quest

**SPOILER**





Me too. It eluded to Charr possibly all realizing they have been used by the titans and that the titans are not in fact their gods that they were lead to believe. Is that the one?

Hmm, this is all very interesting.

Can I finally stop asking what happened to Tyria after the Titans were vanquished? (Speaking of which, I haven't actually vanquished them yet, but I don't expect to see the game turn green on me afterwards.)

Looks like I'll have to check out the English magazine shops at Schiphol airport.