Arenanet Targeting Free FortNightly Updates For Guild Wars 2

Lead content designer Mike Zadorojny reveals ArenaNet’s exciting plans.

Today marks the launch of the ‘Sky Pirates of Tyria‘ update for Guild Wars 2, a bulky piece of content which adds new story events and features to an already value-packed MMORPG experience, and if new comments from ArenaNet are anything to go by these kinds of updates are about to become a lot more common.

These fortnightly updates will introduce new features and story content.

We spoke with lead content designer Mike Zadorojny yesterday afternoon about ArenaNet’s recent trend of monthly updates for Guild Wars 2 and to our surprise Mike told us that these kinds of multifaceted updates are not just continuing, but they’re actually increasing in frequency.

“We’re doing three weeks [updates] currently, but now we’re pushing to two weeks,” he told us.

“It’s a marathon not a sprint and we’ve been getting better with each of our releases, in terms of how we budget, how we plan it out, how we manage personnel etc. Now we have four full ‘Living World’ teams that are building these content updates, so that we can stagger releases and make sure that people [developers] can decompress and get the quality time necessary to build a good design document before going back in and trying to implement it all over again.”

Expect new loot, achievements and more.

This new commitment is undoubtedly designed to ensure players return to Guild Wars 2 on a regular basis, rather than just popping in once a year to play a new expansion.

“It’s interesting because it feels like were launching [a new game] every two weeks, and so there’s still that level of excitement when we jump in and see what’s new, what’s going live, and play the content again and then realise, ‘Oh god there’s a bug, okay,’ then it all starts over again,” Zadorojny explained.

“’Okay we’ve got this issue, do we need to fix this right now, or can it wait until the next release? Okay we need to fix it now, okay what hotfix? what’s the priority? Do we have somebody working on it, what’s the solution?’ That kind of stuff…”

ArenaNet will continue their 'Living Story' approach as seen with the recent Dragon Bash update, but at the same time they still want to experiment with new systems and gameplay players wouldn't expect, like that seen in Super Adventure Box.

Now we know what you’re thinking. Less development time between updates usually means buggy content making its way onto public servers, but Mike doesn’t believe that has to be the case.

“Our goal is that as we do this, we’re getting better and better at it. We’re starting to catch the bigger mistakes that we would’ve missed earlier on. We’re starting to build the infrastructure, the framework and the tools to help us do this because we really think that this is the longevity of the product,” he told us with an air of confidence.

“If we can push this, if we can add content every two weeks that is engaging to the players, then really it’s almost like a TV show at that point. It’s kind of stay tuned until next week for the thrilling conclusion of…That’s where our goal is, and it’s really fascinating when you have an entire studio dedicated to pulling off.”

How many developers are behind that dedication? Well, at time of writing ArenaNet consists of 300 developers and the studio hasn’t let go of any staff since Guild Wars 2, in fact it’s actually ramped up production even more.

It seems all of this free content is only possible due to the ongoing popularity of the in-game gem store which Mike told us feeds new revenue into the studio at a “constant” rate, something which regular updates would inevitably increase as players return to the game regularly to sample newly added content. Essentially it seems those who use the store are essentially sponsoring those who don’t ensuring these new content updates remain free, and that’s a tough balance which very few online games get right.

Source: http://www.gamerzines.com

Guild Wars 2 - Sky Pirates of Tyria Trailer

Stylish New Items Available in the Gem Store!

Thanks to the innovation and efforts of the Black Lion Trading Company, you can now show off your trendy side with our new armor skins, honor one of the Order of Whispers’ finest agents with a special new plush backpack, and shred your enemies in the comfort of your own custom arena. We’ve also got items that are on the way out – read on for more details!

New—Aetherblade Armors 

The summer season is kicking into gear, which means it’s time to update your wardrobe! The Black Lion Trading Company is pleased to present our new line of Aetherblade armor skins, complete with full heavy, medium, and light sets.

New—Custom Arena Starter Kits 

Start honing your battle skills today with the help of our custom PvP arenas! Custom arenas allow players to host private matches and customize their match settings. These starter kits are now available for all players to purchase.

New in the Black Lion Chests – Tybalt Plush Backpack 

We’ve introduced a new item to Black Lion Chests – now every chest has a rare chance at a Lightbringer Tybalt Leftpaw plush backpack! This fuzzy backpack is especially well-suited for holding apples.

Leaving Soon – Free Accessory 

Biviane Marriner’s little doll, Polla, is only in the Gem Store until July 1. Stop by the Upgrades category today to pick up this free accessory item! 

Available Now in the Gem Store! 

Log into Guild Wars 2 and press “O” to access the Black Lion Trading Company for these great offers and more!

Guild Wars 2 - Sky Pirates Patch Preview/Guides/Achievements

Achievements

• Around 20 achievements, divided into 3 categories 1) Kill x aetherblade pirates in various regions of Tyria, 2) Achievements for getting aetherblade cache in 7 existing jumping puzzles/mini-dungeons 3) Achievements for the new dungeon - some are for completion, others are more skill based
• Kill based achievements require you to interact with the same hologram projectors you encountered in Dragon Bash. They now have a 50/50 chance to spawn Aetherblade pirates when you walk near them (some of them will still spawn holographic minions). You can also get these achievements by killing the pirates guarding the various caches if you don't feel like running around.
• Cache based achievements are basically a bunch of existing jumping puzzles/mini dungeons with a new cache (jumping puzzle chest) placed into them. They don't give any special loot but getting them give you an achievement. It is a way to recycle content basically. You will need to do Goemm's Lab, Obsidian Sanctum, Vexa's Lab, Fawcett's Bounty, Hidden Garden etc to name a few. Some caches are located near entrance but others are located at the very end.
• Dungeon achievements - some are the standard killing bosses achievements while others are more skill based (i.e. avoid a boss mechanic or kill the boss within a time limit).
• Completing 12 of the achievements will reward you with a mini pet modeled after a boss in the new dungeon: http://imgur.com/a/7yOu2

Dungeon - Aetherblade Retreat

• Like molten facility, if not harder. Very interesting boss mechanics not unlike raid boss mechanics seen in other MMOs
• Temporary dungeon, only here for the duration of Sky Pirates but may appear in some form later on
• You get a guaranteed rare from the boss chest and 1 gold every time you complete it. The dungeon is hard enough that Arenanet feels it is justified to give 1 gold for every completed run.
• 5 player dungeon, will upscale players to L80 but low level players may have a hard time.
• Boss chest has a chance to give you an exotic, tradeable monocle headpiece with berserker stats:http://i.imgur.com/MmLXHPW.jpg
• You may also find the recipe for an infinite tonic that will transform you into one of the bosses - you can jump with it and the tonic is tradeable once crafted: http://i.imgur.com/rYDUxRd.jpg

Aetherblade Armor (gemstore)

• I think alot of you have already seen this from datamining. You get 3 sets, one set for each armor type (i.e. light, medium heavy). They are suppose to be purchased from the gemstore I was told.
• Unfortunately both Charr and Asura uses the male model for both sexes.
• Here is a preview of some of the armors you can expect in case you can't access the link above:http://imgur.com/a/QKgRM

Scavenger Hunt

• Ingame scavenger hunt to promote the launch of Sea of Sorrows book, not really part of the Sky Pirates theme.
• Need to find 12 Marriner plaques. You can find all 12 of them using clues given inside the book (or just look for them blindly like I did) . You get an achievement and one time use consumable that give you 5 skill points.

Jumping Puzzle

• Not released until second week on July 2.

Source: http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2

June 25, 2013 - Sky Pirates of Tyria

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/releases/june-25-2013/

June 25, 2013

Chaos has come to Lion’s Arch and the culprits responsible for the mayhem have holed up in their hideout! Inspector Ellen Kiel spearheaded the investigation into the murder, and she’s now gathering teams of deputies to capture the perpetrator. Better sharpen your weapons and skills—this criminal promises to be a slippery eel!

New Story Dungeon: Aetherblade Retreat – June 25-July 9

Find the hidden entrance to the Aetherblade base and take the fight to the pirates! It’ll take skill, courage, and no small measure of agility to battle your way to the Aetherblade Captain and First Mate.

Developer Livestream – June 24 at 12PM PDT

Take an inside look at the Sky Pirates of Tyria release with ArenaNet devs during the preview livestream on our Twitch channel on Monday, June 24 at 12PM PDT.

New Guild Wars Novel: Sea of Sorrows – Available June 25

We’re proud to announce Sea of Sorrows, the third original Guild Wars novel by Ree Soesbee! Sea of Sorrows follows the thrilling adventures of young Cobiah Marriner, founder of the reborn city of Lion’s Arch.

Sea of Sorrows Scavenger Hunt—Begins June 25

In this new permanent content, retrace the steps of Cobiah Marriner. Twelve plaques have been set up to honor the history of the city and its founder. You can find clues to the plaques’ locations in Sea of Sorrows. Complete the scavenger hunt to earn five skill points.

Aetherblade “Not So Secret” Jumping Puzzle – Begins July 1

Introducing a new, permanent jumping puzzle! An Aetherblade airship is hidden inside a holographic mountain – find your way in, fight with the pirates inside, and prove your prowess using a pair of hard-to-find diving goggles.

Rewards

Track Down Aetherblade Caches! – June 25-July 9

The Aetherblade pirates have hidden caches of plunder around the world in hard-to-reach locations. Scout them out to take a share of treasure and earn special achievements.

Mini First Mate Horrik

Commemorate your struggle against the Sky Pirates of Tyria with this fierce, cannon-wielding miniature companion. Finish the Against the Aetherblades achievement to win a little First Mate Horrik for your very own.

Monocle

Players who face down the deadly Aetherblade Captain will have a chance at a new, stylish Monocle. This dandy piece of Headgear is combat-ready, tradeable, and full of sophistication!

Aetherized Rewards

Your journeys through the Aetherblade Retreat will earn you a chance for items like rare salvageable materials or a new infinite tonic recipe in addition to guaranteed rare item rewards. Enduring the trials of the Not So Secret jumping puzzle will win you a set of exotic shoulderpads.

New Items in the Gem Store

Last Chance to Get Dragon Bash Items!

The Dragon Bash items won’t be in the Gem Store forever – you only have until July 8 to pick up a Fireworks Launcher or some Rich Dragon Coffers! Rich Dragon Coffers hold tasty candy and a chance at fireworks or rare drops like Dragon’s Jade Weapon skins or a mini Holographic Risen Knight. The Dragon Bash Mini Pack is also leaving the Gem Store soon; it won’t be available after July 15, so be sure to pick up your holographic companions before then!

New Features

Skill and Trait Balance Update

We’re introducing our largest balance patch ever in this build, which includes significant updates to traits and skills to introduce more viable build diversity. Every single profession trait line is seeing changes and we’ve also made updates to some less popular skills to improve their effectiveness.

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/upcoming-skill-and-trait-changes/

Custom Arenas and Spectator Mode are out of Beta!

Custom PvP arenas allow players to host private matches and customize their map settings. This feature is leaving beta, which means that Custom Arena Starter Kits will be available for anyone to purchase in the Gem Store. Spectator Mode is also officially out of beta – together, these two features allow for practice, competitive play, and tournaments!

Mortar Mastery Joins the Growing List of World vs World Abilities!

Players can increase their mortar effectiveness by training in Mortar Mastery. Improvements in this line include increasing mortar blast radius, beefing up on damage, reducing skill recharge, and even adding a new skill, Mortar Barrage!

Upcoming Skill and Trait Changes

Hey folks, it’s Chap again! There are a lot of changes coming in this release, and I wanted to explain the thought processes behind some of them. Today I’ll be joined by Karl and Roy, two members of our skill and balance team!

Build diversity

One of the things we’ve focused on is making sure that each class has more build diversity. To do this, we revised some traits, combined others, and in some cases, removed certain traits completely and added new ones in their place.

We also looked at small skill revisions and number balances to boost the power of specific skills, weapons, and traits. When possible, we try very hard not to take away too much potency from popular builds because we know that a lot of people enjoy them – but occasionally we do need to bring some abilities down in power. Why don’t we just increase the power of weaker skills to match the most popular ones? Well, the problem is that then we get into something called power creep; the power of all builds and classes keeps rising as we keep making improvements, which causes instability in game balance.

And now I’ll leave it to Karl and Roy to get into more detail about some specific changes you’ll be seeing in the world of Tyria after this release!

Hello fellow Tyrians! I’m Karl McLain, a game designer involved in skill development and balance, and I’m here to tell you about some of the cool stuff that we’ve been working on for this release.

Trait Changes

First off, we’ve got a ton of trait changes coming up. Many traits that were less than desirable have been brought up in effectiveness, while others have been shuffled around and merged together to make room for new traits to be introduced. In doing this, we’ve created several new grandmaster traits for quite a few trait lines. For example: elementalists have a new grandmaster Air trait that allows them to recharge their air attunement, necromancers now have access to the burning condition, and warriors will have an option to remove conditions when using burst abilities.

With these changes in mind, we are going to be making a few builds a little harder to achieve due to their extreme effectiveness. Some traits will go up in tier while increasing in potency to promote build variation.

Necromancer Death Shroud 5

As the professions in Guild Wars 2 continue to grow, we will continue to find ways to augment them and add potency to their arsenal of abilities. With the next balance update, necromancers will be unlocking their fifth ability within Death Shroud: Tainted Shackles. This skill will cause nearby enemies to be inflicted with conditions and controlled if they don’t take very quick action.

New condition

With the introduction of Tainted Shackles, we’ll also be adding a new condition to the game: Torment. This condition is designed to play around with movement, one of our fundamental combat mechanics. Enemies under Torment will take damage periodically; as they move, they’ll take even more damage. In looking to expand the condition diversity of thieves and mesmers, we decided to include Torment skills for those two professions as well.

Hey everyone, I’m Roy Cronacher, and I’m a Game Designer on the balance team. I’ll be discussing the upcoming changes to the Weakness condition as well as some of our larger skill changes.

Weakness condition change

We have a very interesting change coming to Weakness condition. Currently, Weakness decreases endurance regeneration and causes non-critical hits to have a chance to become glancing blows. We wanted this condition to punish spike damage, but it was a bit underwhelming because critical hits, which are essential to spike damage, have previously bypassed Weakness’s effect. Weakness will now cause all hits, both critical and non-critical, to have a chance to become a glancing blow. We went through and rebalanced a lot of the weakness durations for this change. We think this change will make the condition more meaningful and give it much more play.

Stun Breakers

As mentioned above, a lot of our skill changes were made to promote more build diversity in each profession. One key area we looked at was the accessibility of stun breakers. Many professions have been limited to playing one or two certain builds because stun breakers were limited to certain types of utility skills. In some utility skill types, stun breakers were over-abundant; in others, they were non-existent. We removed some and spread them out across more utility types. For example, the elementalist’s stun breakers have always been loaded up on cantrips, so we spread some out to the other categories like glyphs and signets. This way most builds have at least one viable stun breaker.

Closing

So that’s it! Thanks for reading, and be sure to check out the patch notes for the details on all of the incoming changes! We tried to give all the classes in Guild Wars 2 some great changes to less-used skills, traits, and weapons!

See you in game!

Guild Wars 2 - A Guide to Dragon Bash, Part Two

Mini Guide

Available Tuesday, June 18th

• Dragon effigies have been placed in all of the explorable maps for levels one to 35. Perform a ritual dance in front of an effigy to gain a 2% health boost. These health boosts can stack up to 10% as you channel the ritual dance skill.
• You’ll be directed to the effigy lighting ceremony, a single-player instance called Memories on the Pyre, where the Captain’s Council of Lion’s Arch and cultural representatives from the different races of Tyria will light the effigies in the Grand Piazza on fire.
• The effigy ceremony goes awry when one of the effigies emits an arcane pulse that kills the charr cultural representative and wounds three of the council members. Help Inspector Kiel to escort a dolyak carrying the wounded to Fort Marriner. Along the way, you’ll need to fend off Aetherblade pirates and Inquest golems that descend from the sky. Safely reach the Lionguard headquarters and talk to Kiel to finish this story instance.

Available Wednesday, June 19th

• A mysterious message will send you to seek out private investigator Marjory Delaqua in the Dead End, a bar in the Eastern Commons of Divinity’s Reach. After her cinematic introduction, head back to Lion’s Arch to investigate. All of the story instances will be single-player.
• Talk to Investigator Kiel in the Grand Piazza to enter the Scene of the Crime, a single-player instance. After a scene between Marjory and Kiel, talk to Marjory to obtain an Investigation Kit. With the help of the kit, you’ll be able to exonerate five of the murder suspects.
• A message from Marjory indicates that three of the suspects have been located. The ogre Vorrk in Lion’s Arch, the quaggan Morraloo in Bloodtide Coast and the skritt Kasparak in Gendarran Fields.
• Upon finding Vorrk’s body, use the Investigation Kit to collect arcane residue evidence. Morraloo and Kasparak are found alive; you should be able to talk them into returning to Lion’s Arch for investigation.

Available Thursday, June 20th

• Next, another mail from Marjory indicates that the last two suspect have been found: Trembling Song in Snowden Drifts and Astorra in Caledon Forest. Again, these suspects won’t need to be taken by force.
• Return to the Grand Piazza and talk to Kiel to enter the Scene of the Crime again. Marjory will retune her Investigation Kit for the combined arcane residue of all of the collected samples. Upon retesting the suspects, all suspects will be exonerated except for one. When that suspect is scanned, their hands will glow with arcane residue. Revealed, the suspect will confess and call down their crew to cover their escape.
• After defeating the attack, talking with Kiel will complete the story and give you Marjory’s Journal. Marjory will tell you she’s heading back to Divinity’s Reach.
• If you return to the Dead End bar, Marjory and Kasmeer will each have a small, optional follow-up conversation with you.

New Rewards

• Marjory’s Journal, which Kiel will give you after you’ve exonerated all but one of the suspects, will allow you to watch Marjory’s introductory cinematic with Logan Thackeray and Kasmeer Meade.

New Achievements

• Four new achievements will be available. These will need to be completed in order:Ceremony and Acrimony, Hard Boiled, Every Piece Matters and No More Secrets. A fifth achievement, Case Closed, helps track the story, but does not count towards the The Dragon Bash Experience meta-achievement.

Guild Wars 2 - June 18th Addendum Update Notes

June 18th Addendum

Starting Tuesday, June 18th

• The Dragon Effigy Lighting Ceremony single-player instance, Memorials on the Pyre, can be accessed by talking to Inspector Kiel.
• Festival planners have added effigies to the explorable areas leading to Lion’s Arch. Players who dance before the effigies will be granted a health bonus of up to 10%.
• What better way of celebrating Dragon Bash than with an epic fireworks display? This bundle provides 10 charges of red, blue, green, and yellow display fireworks, as well as a one-time dragon fireworks finale which grants 50% magic find boost to all nearby allies watching the show.
  • Note: We understand how exciting fireworks can be, but if you drop the bundle you will lose all remaining charges of the display fireworks. If you had not used the finale fireworks, a bundle will be created at your feet that, if recovered, will allow you to still use the one-time dragon finale.

Starting Wednesday, June 19th

• A new story character, Marjory Delaqua, can be found in the Dead End Bar, a single-player instance in the Eastern Commons of Divinity’s Reach.
• A new cinematic will introduce Marjory Delaqua in talks with Logan Thackeray.
• The Scene of the Crime, a single-player story instance, opens June 19th. Investigator Kiel will allow access when the story is progressed.
  • Players with Fast-Cast Ground Targeting enabled will need to stand nearly on top of the target to use the Investigation Kit.
• Three of the missing suspects can be found in Lion’s Arch, the Gendarran Fields, and the Bloodtide Coast.

Starting Thursday, June 20th

• The last two missing suspects can be found in the Snowden Drifts and the Caledon Forest.
• After finding all the suspects, Inspector Kiel will grant the player access again to The Scene of the Crime to finish the story.
• Returning to the Dead End Bar reveals extra follow-up conversations with Marjory and Kasmeer.

Guild Wars 2 - Dragon's Jade Weapon Set Preview

Guild Wars 2 - WvW Guardian Front Line Build

Guild Wars 2 - Dragon Bash Achievement Guide

Hey everyone, here is a short guide for the Dragon Bash achievements in case you have a use for it.

Note that you cannot get the Holographic Shattered Dragon Wing Cover this week. That wing requires 10 achievements but you can only complete 8 achievements atm.

What you can complete this week:
1) Zhaitasty: Consume 250 Zhaitaffy. Where to get them? a) Dragon Pinatas around the city b) Dragon Holograms in open world zones c) Dragon Coffers from killing normal enemies, holographic minions, Dragon Ball game or from the gemstore
2) Color in the sky: Fire 100 fireworks Where to get them? a) Dragon Coffers b) Buy 1 for 10 Zhaitaffy from the merchant c) Fire Firework Launchers you can find around Lion's Arch especially near Fort Marineer.
3) Paper Dragon: Smash 150 Pinatas - These can be found all over Lion's Arch and various cities. You can use a different character or guesting/overflow to get more.
4) So Lifelike - Kill 300 Holographic Minions - Found by interacting with the Holograms in all open world zones except for Orr.
5) Winner's Circle - Win 3 Moa Races
6) Dragon Ball Devotee - Play 20 Dragon Balls
7) Dragon Ball Boss - Win 20 Dragon Balls
8) Meet the Hosts - Meet 8 Lion's Arch Ship Council members just west of Grand Piazaa in Lion's Arch.

What you can do this weekend
Big Boom in the City

• Watch 5 minutes of fireworks between 9 AM PST on Friday, June 14 to 9 AM PST on June 17.
• Rewards Horns of the Dragon helm

What you can do next week (June 18)

• Burn Down the Dragons
• Case Closed
• Ceremonial and Acrimony
• Hard Boiled
• Every Piece Matters
• No More Secrets

Source: http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2

Video preview of Guild War 2's Dragon Bash Festival

ArenaNet's content train for Guild Wars 2 continues to chug along at full speed, and the next stop is the Dragon Bash festival. Unlike the Dragon Festival of the original Guild Wars, this festival won't find anyone revering dragons. The Elder Dragons put a kibosh on any warm sentiments that the humanoids of Tyria might have had for them in the past. Dragon Bash is all about unifying the races in celebration during these dark and terrifying times by distracting them with fireworks, gambling, and candy-filled dragon piñatas!

Guild Wars 2 - Fastest Guide for All Achievements of Southsun Cove

Guide to Karka Queen and Contractually Obligated

Karka Queen

• Hold all four settlements (Point Pride, Kiel’s Outpost, Steampipe Steading, and Camp Karka) to get her to spawn left of Steampipe Steading. She has a cooldown so won't always spawn when all four settlements are controlled.
• You have 10 minutes to kill her. If you fail to do so she will respawn with full health at one of the four settlements.
• When fighting her, throw karka eggs at her to break down her defenses.
• Defeating her give you a daily bonus chest with two rares and a chest on the ground that give you some karka shells and 2 random items.
• Defeating her should give you the Crazed Karka Queen achievement but this is sometime bugged.
• Her respawn timer appears to be one hour.

Merchant

• This merchant is called Southsun Economist and normally sells white stuff unless all four settlements are held. You can find him in Steampipe Steading, Pearl islet and probably some other settlements as well.
• Weapons have basic starter skin and costs 2 gold and 70 karka shells for exotic, 20 silver and 5 karka shells for rare. They have random major sigils.
• Armor have old skins (Conjurer skins for light, Banded for heavy, and Rogue/Pirate for medium) for exotic/rares and sells for the same price as the weapons
• Weapons and armor cannot be put in mystic forge or salvaged.
• Also sell two potions for 5 karka shells and 1 passion flower. One is Karka slaying and the other give +150 toughness

Contractually Obligated

• Talk to Inspector Ellen Kiel in Pearl Islet and she will have an option to enter a story instance.
• Make sure you don't exit the instance until you get the achievement - you will need a bit after finishing the final cutscene.

Source: www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2

Guild Wars 2 - Thief Condition Build