Guild Wars: EotN CE

Guild Wars: Eye of the North is the fourth purchasable installment in the original Guild Wars game. It is intended to tie the Guild Wars storyline with that of Guild Wars 2. Instead of using a campaign format used by Guild Wars Factions and Guild Wars Nightfall, Eye of the North will be a traditional expansion on any of the existing campaigns, rather than a standalone game. Players will not be able to create new characters, there will be no additional professions and there will be no tutorial missions. Eye of the North will be released on August 31st, 2007. The setting for the campaign is in part subterranean and spread through the continents which have already been introduced by other campaigns. Players will be able to explore the homeland of the Charr, meet the Asura and Norn, and witness the birth of the Sylvari. The Charr, Norn, Asura and Sylvari will be playable races in Guild Wars 2.


Features

Eye of the North will not include any new professions. James Phinney has stated that Eye of the North will involve character development beyond level 20, however Gaile Gray has clarified that this extended character development will not increase the actual level cap.

The expansion will introduce:

* 40 new armor sets
* 100 new profession-specific skills (10 per profession, none of which are elite)
* 50 new PvE only skills
* 10 new heroes
* The Hall of Monuments, a place which will allow you to obtain unique titles, companions, armor and miniatures in Guild Wars 2 based on your achievements in the original Guild Wars. The Hall of Monuments will not support the transfer of items, characters or gold.

The PvE journey in the expansion will take the player through "acts":

* Act 1: Covers 18 dungeons, and involves aiding the Dwarves in their struggle against a "fiery Destroyer". This will later lead you to the aforementioned Asurans and Norns.
* Act 2: Three story arcs, which can be done in any order; exploring the Norns in the Far Shiverpeaks, the Charr homeland north of Ascalon, and defending the Asura on the Tarnished Coast against the Destroyer.
* Act 3: The battle against the Great Destroyer.

End bosses will be more challenging. They will be tougher, faster, and possess unique skills. They will also be smarter, and sometimes require cunning and strategy to defeat them.

Actions will have more consequences. For example, if you lose NPCs that help you, you can choose to continue without them (and their help) instead of being forced to try again (although you will be able to start over with a clean slate by going back to town). Similarly, if you rescue NPCs, they may join you and help you.

The following regions have been named:

* Depths of Tyria
* Far Shiverpeaks
* Tarnished Coast

Other useful info:

* There will not be a Collector's Edition for Eye of the North.
* There are no new character slots or professions.
* Auction house will not be implemented, but is possible for Guild Wars 2.
* There is a 3rd project in the works (aside from GW:EN and GW2), and it likely refers to the Guild Wars Bonus Mission Pack. Gaile has stated that it was not another expansion pack.
* The release of Polish districts will likely coincide with the release of Guild Wars Eye of the North.

Possible features

* On April 25th Gaile Gray stated that she was not aware of any work on new divine realms, but that it was a possibility.

GW:EN Retail Package

The retail version of GW:EN contains the following items:

* Guild Wars Client DVD
* Access Key Booklet
* 16-page Mini Manual
* Map Poster (11 in x 17 in NA; 600 mm x 360 mm Europe)

Notes

* The title refers to the Eye of the North, a tower in the Far Shiverpeaks which shows visions.
* Based on release dates and the PC Gamer interview, it is fair to assume that the team who made Nightfall will also make GW:EN, and the team who made Factions has started work on GW2, however the Factions and Nightfall credits make it clear that there is considerable overlap between the two teams. Moreover, once GW:EN is completed, most of the staff will work on GW2 (aside from the 3rd unknown project).
* G4 has confirmed that Eye of the North includes Norn and Asura heroes.
* Although Eye of the North is the only Guild Wars expansion currently in production and there are no current plans for future expansions, it has been stated in interviews that the possibility of another expansion after Eye of the North has not been completely ruled out.
* GW:EN will not include any additional character slots.
* It is unknown at the present if the expansion will add an additional tab of Xunlai storage space.