Well I had a great weekend playing yet another Guild Wars 2 Beta. The best part about these beta events is that we get to play with ArenaNet developers, who take the time out of their very busy schedule to show us around Tyria, and just generally chat it up. It’s a good time. While having some fun conversations with developers I was pointed towards some of the more humorous aspects of the game. It was just a friendly little reminder that we need to sit back and just have fun. So I want to go through some of my favorite silly moments that I encountered during my beta adventures, and since I can’t do it in the form of song and dance, I’ll just use words and sketches.
PELTING KIDS WITH SNOW
The good times come in all sorts of forms in Guild Wars 2, and the guys over at ArenaNet are crazy enough to make some of these moments happen in quests. I remember venturing into the frozen north with my Norn character, and I saw some smoke in the distance. I kept to the road; the thought of being closer to a warm fire gave me a burst of energy. As I got closer and closer, the laughter of children could be heard. Before I knew it, a building stood in front of me, with children having a nice friendly snow ball fight. It was indeed a joyous sight, but I was shocked at what I was asked to do, in the form of an event. I was asked to join in on the snowball fight. I understood that they were Norn kids, not just some tiny wimpy Human children. But I was a mighty warrior who killed fearsome monsters in the wild. My throw alone could knock one of these kids into next week, so what did I do?
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Don’t judge me! You would have done the same thing.
THE MIGHTY JACKALOPE
My journey continued up a snowy mountain where I found a brave hunter who needed my help. I was asked to find proof of the mighty yeti. I found some furs and brought them to her. Turns out it was just the proof she needed. But what happened next blow me away. In order to find this yeti we would need help, help from the Great Jackalope! So across the bridge and down the snowy slopes we ran, following the jackalope towards the elusive yeti. Have you seen a jackalope?
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Of all the things to want help from in order to find and kill a yeti. We end up with this, thing.
THE SNOWMAN DEFENSE
My next silly encounter occurred while trying to help a child contribute to the cause against the Grawl. The little soldier wanted me to help him make some snow soldiers to fool the Grawl from coming near the Norn settlements nearby. Well just to bring his spirits up I went ahead and helped him out. He cheered and ran off like the little scamp he was, but what happened next was pretty darn surprising.
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The Grawl are so dumb, it actually worked. Snowmen saved the day.
I don’t know if you’ve seen Charr cubs, but boy are they just cute! In the land of the mighty Charr my adventures brought me to an area infested with the ghost of Ascalon. There I met a group of Charr cubs that wanted to face their fears, and asked me to take them on a tour through the haunted area. You really can’ say no to a Charr cub so I agreed to help them out. Turns out these cubs were just a bunch of brats! They even talked about picking their scabs, it was so freaking gross! The worst part is he was trying to get it to make a scar in the shape of a dragons head! Don’t let those cute cubs fool you, they’re disgusting.
Well I had a great time with the Guild Wars 2 Beta again. I had a lot of adventures slaying wurms, bandits and dark spirits. I saved lives and helped armies push back opposing forces. It sure was a lot of fun, but it was nice to have those silly moments to break it all up. It was really refreshing to know that the folks over at ArenaNet have a sense of humor. Now I’ve only mentioned a few things, but there are several that are hidden and I want you all to find them on your own. When the game comes out, be on the watch for catapults built to fire cow-like ammunition, references to some of the eldest of scrolls, and the locals spreading some juicy gossip.
