David_North

There’s a huge infestation problem in Guild Wars 2, and I’m not talking about the minions of Modremoth. I’m talking about all these level 80 characters running around stealing all the events, and breaking them! Low level characters use dynamic events to not only enjoy a good bit of story, but to also supplement their leveling experience. But we max level players have gotten greedy, and turn all the low level maps we infest into barren wastelands!

I never thought I would be saying this, but last night I totally brought the heals in Guild Wars 2! That’s right, you’re eyes aren’t tricking you... thanks to the power of Ventari, healing is now more of a thing in Guild Wars 2. We got some hands on time with the new Legend for the Revenant profession in Heart of Thorns.

The balance of power between players and world bosses has shifted once again! We’ve become so good at killing these monsters that they needed an HP boost! But is it too much and does it actually make these encounters more of a challenge?

We had the chance to talk with ArenaNet Associate Game Director Steven Waller and Environmental Art Team Lead Dave Beetlestone about the restoration of Lion's Arch. Find out why and how this big Guild Wars 2 event is being pulled off in this exclusive interview.

It seemed like an eternity as we all sat and waited for the announcement of an expansion to Guild Wars 2, and when it came it was like a breath of fresh air. That is until the next day when we began our wait to pre-order the expansion. That has come, and rather than cheers, you will mostly hear an outrage from players all over the forum. Are players feeling too entitled, or has ArenaNet marred what should have been a good day?

Some of the greatest heroes in video games have been silent, letting their actions speak for them. Those days are mostly gone now, as a player's character can now chime in on a conversation. Guild Wars 2's Living World stepped away from the cut scene conversations, and placed them in game, but our characters stopped talking due to technical limitations. That's changing with the expansion, as Heart of Thorns will give us our voices back!

Quests have always been a staple for MMOs, and while they do make an appearance in Guild Wars 2, it’s the events that will steer most of your adventuring. The core of Guild Wars 2 introduced the mechanic of the dynamic event, and the Living World experimented with it. Now it’s time to see how HoT will take the concept to the next level.

It’s been awhile since we last saw an installment to the living story, and the HoT expansion is still a good bit further down the road, we expect. Still, we can see how our past actions continue change, and evolve the world of Tyria. Scarlet left Lion’s Arch in a mess, but now is the time to repair, rebuild, and look towards the future.

Dynamic Events are a large and important concept in Guild Wars 2. They’ve helped bring players together, and showed us that a game world could feel alive. But like any other young concept, there is definitely room for growth. And what better way to see dynamic events taken to the next level than through an expansion?

Some more news has spilled all over the internet yesterday detailing specializations. It seems the real goal for the developers is to completely change not only how players progress their characters, but how they play them as well.

The announcement of the stronghold game type was really exciting, and it was a real treat to give it a try during the beta yesterday. Twitch was also busy with several great casters showing off this brand new SPvP play type, and rightfully so! Stronghold has turned out amazing, and may be my new favorite thing to play in Guild Wars 2.

Every game, no matter how successful, will always be missing something players want. Whether it be a feature from a previous game in the franchise, or a highly demanded map on the forums. That’s what’s so special about expansions and sequels. They can expand the games experience by adding in these missing features. But we don’t always get what we want, and this seems to hold true in HoT, as 4 very popular wishes among players will once again be absent.

The weapon is considered to be one of the most important aspects of a character. Sure your armor makes you look great, while also keeping those arrows from piercing your lungs, but the weapon you wield is what really strikes fear into the heart of your enemies. The legendary weapons in Guild Wars 2 are seen as a sign of great prowess, marking one as a member of the elite. But soon that status may extend to more players.

Back before Guild Wars 2 was released the Sylvari were already captivating the minds of future players. We had the chance to see the Sylvari undergo dramatic changes as more news poured out of the gates of ArenaNet into the internet. When we finally got the chance to be one of these unique people, we found that they weren’t only visually stunning, but had an incredible story that will only get more complex with HoT.

Boss fights are supposed to bring a challenge to players, putting their skill and patience to the ultimate test! Without them, there would never be a truly worthy foe to stand between the players, and their goals. Guild Wars 2 has featured some amazing bosses thanks to their design, but some mechanics prevent these types of encounters from feeling as epic as a boss fight should be.