Guild Wars 2 has often been praised for having one the most supportive and friendly communities of any in the MMO genre. Sometimes, like in a Foefire 490-10, with three AFK thieves and a chat log full of ‘Nerf ranger-report team’, you can start to wonder how, in all of Tyria, anyone could believe that! Other times however, you get the chance to see remarkable things come out of the community, and the recent months have had some of the biggest examples of what players can do in Guild Wars 2 when they party up to get things done.
Today, on a gold-studded arena, surrounded by cheering fans and a horde of eager rivals, two more guilds face off in the ongoing European Guild versus Guild tournament. This tournament began with 15 teams, all fielding 15 members (that’s 175 participants!), who faced off in a round robin style competition to compete for the title of top guild on the European servers.
For those of you unaware, GvG (guild versus guild) was once a supported format of Guild Wars 1, and has been resurrected by the players as a variant of the world versus world game mode. Two teams of equal numbers face off in a bloodthirsty battle, until one team concedes or all members are defeated. These groups have practiced together for months, some even years, building up their roster to take on other guilds and prove they have what it takes to be the best group that Guild Wars has to offer.
The tournament put together completely by the players has its own rulebook and schedule, all put together for nothing. Accompanied by numerous budding streamers from both within the guilds and without, the tournament gained unprecedented followings from the get go. The first night’s stream attracted over seven hundred viewers, which is over 12% of the viewers who were watching the last match of the PvP world finals! For an event that was not supported or promoted by ArenaNet, this showing of force from the community not only promotes a stronger incorporation of GvG in to the game, but also potential partnering with ESL to bring this small community on to the world stage.
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If groups of angry sword-wielding warriors isn’t your thing, or you just happen to have a taste for the scary spooky skeleton, then you should have checked out the fantastic King and Queens Harroween event that took place on the 29th of October. Run by the electric Aurora Glade PvE Special Interest Group this event consisted of dozens of fun-filled (and mostly absolutely hilarious) activities, ranging from the Wickerman scavenger hunt to a brain boiling Skullduggery trivia quiz.
Aside from turning out a huge showing in Lion’s Arch, the event also consisted of a terrifying art contest for players to show off their talent, a death defying lottery and, like any good Fashion Wars 2 event, a flamboyant costume contest. Hosted with flair and a delightful story accompaniment, this story of the Mad Queen is the longest running Guild Wars event run by the players, and continued to make its mark in grand (and ghastly) way.
There are dozens of events like this across Tyria: Pink Day in LA raising money for breast cancer awareness, MysticBuilds PvP tournament, jumping puzzle runs, weekly exploration events or even just scheduled training raid events - because someone has to show us how to push those bloodthirsty seekers away - and they’re open to players of any sort, new or veteran.
Community events like these only help to strengthen what is already considered such a strong community game, and if you take the time to participate (besides having a tonne of fun and potentially picking up some sweet, sweet loot) you will also see a community filled with fun loving, excited players. These events only serve to highlight just how fantastic this MMO's community can be. So next time you’re cursing to the four winds about pugs, and that urge to kill rising, just take a step back and remember that if you look around, there are some amazing things happening in Tyria right now, and it’s not too late to jump in to the breach.
