Okay, this idea sounds a little wild, and I need a second opinion on it. I came up with a new theme that might be of great interest to all our GWO players. The game has been out for months now, and I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that a good percentage of them are lacking the drive to advance further. Many have maximized their Exp and defeated the ultimate boss in the game. Naturally, they may find the game to be less challenging than before. To spice things up, the workaholics in the GWO lab decided to take our players on a journey through time. We want to fast-forward them to the Battle of Thermopylae and give them a chance make their mark on this historic conflict. How cool would it be to take on the Persian army with Leonidas and his 300 Spartans?

The setting should be quite familiar to those of you who are fans of the movie 300. Thermopylae is where 300 Spartans, led by King Leonidas, fought a valiant battle to keep the million-strong Persian army at bay. A narrow passage between a cliff and the sea, known as the “Hot Gates,” served to funnel the Persians as they tried to get past the Spartans’ phalanx formation. With Xerxes, the Persian God-King, determined to conquer Greece, all Leonidas and his men could hope to do was put up a good fight. The battle ended with the deaths of Leonidas and his Spartans in defeat. Xerxes advanced farther into Greece, where the Battle of Plataea took shape. But it doesn’t have to end that way; we can rewrite history. At least, in the game we can.

In our storyline, players will serve as reinforcements to help the Spartans resist the charge from Xerxes’ elite guards, the so-called immortals. Here is a chance to stop the Battle of Plataea before it can even take shape. The goal is to defeat the Persian army at Thermopylae and end the second Persian invasion of Greece. Although the Greeks are still outnumbered in respect to Xerxes’ Persian force, Thermopylae is a strategic point where being outnumbered is less of a disadvantage. The terrain offers our players a chance to defend their ground and plan strategies for a counterattack. With the Persian army on the one side and the Greek alliance on the other, a showdown is inevitable. Neither side has any desire to settle for less.

Keep in mind that the Persian army is well-versed in the art of war, and the only thing that can stop their advancement is the unity of the Greek city-states. In some way, our story will start in the midst of the battle at Thermopylae. All players, whether Athenian or Spartan, must join forces to protect Greece from her invaders.

Due to the division between the Spartans and the Athenians in-game, there is the possibility of friendly fire when the two Greek forces take to the battlefield. Players will be encouraged to put aside their differences and focus on the larger task to ensure the survival of all of Greece.

Be forewarned that the enemies you will face are incredibly powerful, reaching as high as level 130. They are well-equipped and will put up a tough fight. Given the stats, we recommend our player level up to 120 before they enter the battleground. We have set up two territories, each with unique quests, for that very purpose. The Spartans will travel through the Nemean Forest, while the Athenians will take the Parnitha Port route to approach from the opposite direction. With the right strategies in place, all our players need to do is get there, and get there prepared.

There will be a lot of new content. Along with the new maps, we will also be introducing new equipment, pets, and NPCs. Like I said, our goal is to make GWO more interesting and more challenging for our players. We hope to give them a unique gaming experience.

I have summarized above what we have planned in the new expansion for GWO, and through this developer’s journal, we hope to solicit feedback from our players. They are welcomed to participate in discussions on how to build the new content. We want to use this opportunity to help us, the designing team, understand what our players really want. Their satisfaction is what drives our inspiration, because without their support, our work would be meaningless.