Get an update on the original Guild Wars...and a foreshadowing of the story in the long-awaited sequel.
The original Guild Wars launched in 2005 and has continued to run online for dedicated players who still explore the fantasy realm of Kryta using the game's unique combination of strategic, collectible-card-like power selection and action role-playing hack-and-slash gameplay. However, what Guild Wars fans really want is the sequel, Guild Wars 2, which has been in development for quite some time with little in the way of news or updates. GameSpot has one of the first updates on Guild Wars 2 in a long, long time…by way of the original Guild Wars. Specifically, the original Guild Wars will be launching a new in-game event, the War in Kryta, that will relate directly to the story and events of the upcoming sequel. We've got the details on the Guild Wars event and some new insight into how it will affect the world and story of Guild Wars 2. And stay tuned to GameSpot because we'll have more substantial updates on the sequel itself in the very near future. For the time being, ArenaNet lead designer Linsey Murdock fills us in on the in-game event and what it means for the future.
GameSpot: For those who haven't been keeping up with the events in Guild Wars' land of Kryta, can you catch us up?
Linsey Murdock: Guild Wars: Prophecies players will remember the White Mantle, the seemingly upright and pious group that rules the nation of Kryta. Sure, they worship "gods" known as the "unseen ones," which is a little creepy, but the White Mantle seem OK at first. After all, they repelled the charr invasion and saved Kryta, and they seem so noble and pure.
But appearances can be deceiving. With the aid of a group of stealthy Krytan rebels known as the Shining Blade, players learned the White Mantle were really a sinister cult that sacrificed innocent people to the unseen ones--who were actually the "mursaat," a race of evil spellcasters. With the aid of the Shining Blade, players were able to wipe out the Inner Council of the White Mantle and most of the mursaat were destroyed by the subsequent unleashing of the titans.
But the White Mantle and the mursaat they worship were not completely defeated. At the start of the War in Kryta, the White Mantle's former middle management has stepped up to power and are desperately trying to stay in control while the Shining Blade gather their forces in the wilderness. The Shining Blade faction wants Princess Salma, daughter of the absent king, on the Krytan throne to restore justice and royal rule to their homeland. As you can imagine, the White Mantle faction want the exact opposite. They've responded to the rebel threat by cracking down on common Krytans with oppressive laws and by hiring the "peacekeepers," government-sanctioned bandits and thugs who terrorize the populace.
GS: How will the events planned to take place in the current version of Guild Wars set the tone for Guild Wars 2's story--specifically, the war between the White Mantle and Shining Blade factions?
LM: Like all of Guild Wars, the War in Kryta definitely lays the historical groundwork for Guild Wars 2, which takes place 250 years in the future. The key figures and events of the war will resonate through the centuries.
GS: We understand that key characters in the Guild Wars conflict, namely Gwen the mesmer, Keiran Thackeray the ranger, and Princess Salma will all be important figures. What role will they play in the coming conflict?
LM: Players will recognize a lot of the key players in the War in Kryta. Princess Salma is an absolutely important historical figure. We've revealed that Logan Thackeray is a major character in Guild Wars 2, but his exact connection to Keiran Thackeray is something that will be revealed in time. Keiran and other members of the Ebon Vanguard will play important roles in the upcoming events, but beyond that I can't really say.
GS: How will players be able to participate in the conflict? Can they join sides? How will their actions affect the conflict as it occurs in Guild Wars?
LM: The War in Kryta is a multimedia experience that is built around all-new in-game content. Since the White Mantle faction is clearly the bad guys, the players will join the rebel cause of the Shining Blade to free Kryta from tyranny. You'll join the fight through a variety of encounters, scenes, and quests that we'll roll out as the war escalates. We've also got two new costumes--players can support the rebels by wearing a Shining Blade uniform or impersonate the enemy in a White Mantle disguise.
Outside of the game, you can join the Shining Blade and White Mantle on their Facebook pages. To learn more about each side of the conflict, you can visit the War in Kryta Web site, which has wallpapers, info, propaganda, and the War Chronicles--regularly updated reports from the war by the intrepid scribe Murro.
GS: How far after the end of the conflict between the White Mantle and Shining Blade does Guild Wars 2 take place (assuming it does end by the time the sequel begins)? What has happened to Kryta as a result of the conflict when Guild Wars 2 begins?
LM: Guild Wars 2 takes place approximately 250 years in the future, where Kryta is radically different from what it looks like today. The War in Kryta is the first in a series of events that bridges the worlds of Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2. The end of the War in Kryta sets off a long chain of historical events that ultimately puts Queen Jennah on the Krytan throne in Guild Wars 2.
GS: Finally, is there anything else you'd like to add about this Guild Wars in-game event, its effects on the sequel, or about Guild Wars 2 in general?
As I mentioned before, the War in Kryta is the first part of "Guild Wars Beyond," an ongoing campaign that expands upon the Guild Wars storyline by focusing on key characters and historical events that shape the world in the years leading up to Guild Wars 2. In the coming year, Guild Wars Beyond will continue to reveal the lore of Tyria beyond the events of the original games. We've got a lot of cool stuff planned this year that will engage current players and set the stage for Guild Wars 2.
GS: Thanks, Linsey.
lol? pvp in Guild Wars is awesome, think about Fort Aspenwood, The Jade quarry, GVGs and the pvp isles. But you have a point in some way because the PVE is a lot better. My only problem is that I'm bored after 3 years of playing. My only hope is Guild Wars 2 =)
PVP in Guild Wars is horrid. The PVE brings it alive. PVP has almost no substance in it. There is no such thing as custom builds. The only way to find a group for many things such as HA, TA, and more is to have a build that you "must have". No room for personal stuff. Long live PVE storyline!
If you don't pvp in GW then please don't comment on how good GW is. GW is the best PvP MMORPG game by far.
badge07, I hope so too. They already promise a mix of persistence and instances into GW2. I guess Arenanet doesn't have that much thorough thought as Blizzard when they first launch GW, which is why Blizzard is sooo famous with delays and epic launch then won game of the year award :P IIRC, at the time when GW first come out, MMOs are mostly focused on professions, but by less than a year Races+Classes combo has started to take over. Although the next 2 GWs are stand alone campaigns, they're still stuck, or should I say limited to the same game model to maintain their fan base. By 2007 GW starts to have tough competition from other MMOs (especially F2P ones) including those released by the same publisher, NCsoft. I must say at that time new comers are getting less, especially since GW is heavy on the tactics (limited skill bar/skill points/armor/weapons, which actually makes it interesting from tactics PoV) and MMO players wants more freedom. Less new comer, old players moving on with life, it's about time for a refresh with GW2.
Ive got to agree with u drealar, i dont think GW was ment to compete with WOW otherwise it wud have everythin that WOW has and maybe more. All im saying is that i dont think GW is that gd and that it cud be better. Hopefully GW2 will be better. The only reason GW even gets mentioned among gd MMOs is cos its free to play. Apart from that it has nothin gd to offer compare to the others in my opinion.
In its own right/class, GW is a good MMO. What I'm seeing from the comments are mostly something like comparing a cheap car with an expensive one. You buy a Toyota Passo and commented that it doesn't pleases you since you expect a Merc's quality. If there's a give-and-take concept when it comes to cars and its cost, so does MMO. Buying GW that started in 2005 and can last till now without extra payment shouldn't be compared head-to-head with WoW that will blocked you out once you forgot to top up. I played both and both are very good, or should I say worth it with what I pay. But living in a real life world, everyone will come across the time when their budget is limited at some point. I stopped WoW for 8 months or so coz im saving for a new laptop, and while doing that I just continue my MMO routine with GW. Well anyway, even my opinion is just another one small opinion out of billions of gamers' thought. Peace out.
Ive played GW1 a few times but i have to say even tho i dont play WOW (but ive tried it) for me GW isnt even a scratch on WOW. For starters the free roam on GW isnt free roam at all its just endless paths to follow and becomes very borin, also like Punizher said, theres no auction house which for me made the other MMOs gd. Theres also no professions and horses or any of that and the only time u eva c any1 is in the cities or if u invite them to your own world, and dont even get me started on the fact that your on ur own out in the world cos thats not MMO at all. Theres just nothin in this game that makes ya wanna keep playin im my opinion. This game to me feals like a single player game, cos when ya do finally find people most of the time they dont wanna help or the bots are to hard for them. Instead of playin this id much rather play Oblivion, cos lets face it your on ur own most of the time in GW so ya should at least be play a gd single player game and Oblivion has much more to do. I think Oblivion wud make a gd MMO if the map was bigger.
guild wars is the perfect game in my opinion it has great graphics great leveling system (it's not about getting to the max level like in wow), it has a well balanced set of classes, it has a great story, and what i found out was that the game doesn't really begin until you have completed the campaign(s), with all the dungeons, the hard mode, and all the titles to achieve
I played this game for about 2 weeks... it had really amazing graphics, but the limited interactions with other players and the limited itemization was too much for me, so i ditched it and didn't try it another time... wondering why someone still bothering playing it after all this time passed
why keep bashing Guild Wars cos of bots? i rly fail to see how that affect you and your game play. its a instance world u dont see anyone unless in the city or party gear means very little (only skin changes stats pretty much the same), you dont have a Auction House so i rly know why ppl bash on it. i dont like bots i dont like gold sellers and anyone that buys and sells should get ban straight away but cmon bots in guild wars its not like they farming your quest zones plus platinum (gold) is very easy to come by.
Call my crazy but I'm much more looking forward to GW2 over FFXIV... (all my friends are calling crazy anyway)
@Tankerr80: The nec/monk thing I recall but that wasn't hacks that was just a build people used. And the second thing is also just a tactic people used. These aren't hacks or bots. By hacks and bots I thought you were talking about game-changing hacks which I never encountered any of. I wonder how many pets I have on all my characters now.
Aahh, Guild Wars. Has been, always will be my most preferred MMO to date. Oh, how I miss playing my oldest character on my GW acct. - a Tyrian Ranger/Monk. When is the sequel coming out, NCSoft? I've already lost interest in Aion.
@Syrenz Well you must remember the Necro / monk. You are nerco you get a monk / Necro to come in with you and you kill your self while you wait for it to start at which point the monk / necro brings up a { I forget what it was called } ghoul then do it all over again by the time it started you have 40+ of them run in and take them out. Or maybe you remember the spike team runs.. You get Ele's / Mis and then run 5 of them to lighting strike 1 person of the other team then run about till they are off cool down and once again do it again. Or maybe just maybe you may remember the sig { I forget the name of it you used it for guild island } and the MMPR { Mighty morphon power rangers } We owned the HoH for hours by bots / hacks / spikes e.t.c So you may think that it was free of all this stuff but it wasn't. I was rank 6 before anyone else was in that game and I was farming epics from the crocs till they nerfed and skills for other toons and so on before they nerfed once again. You should remember all this and understand from this I have played and YES IT WAS FULL OF BOTS HACKS anything I saw first hand what hacks were going. Please don't think of this as a attack at GW2 I am just hoping that GW2 lifts it's game alot more then they did with GW.
I'm really excited about GuildWars 2. I had taken a very long break from GuildWars 1 and have recently returned to playing. I have to say it's one of the best MMO's i've ever played. Well, besides what they did to my favorite class, "The Ritualist", in PVP. At least they got buffed for PVE.
@Tankerr80: I played Guild Wars from soon after the start until a little while after the last expansion. Not once did I ever encounter any sort of bots or hacks or anything like that. Definitely true that Guild Wars barely had any grind. And it was very tactical, esp with the awesome pvp, making awesome new builds to destroy everyone, great fun. Both pve and pvp were fantastic.
GW2... Mmm to me sounds like Guild Bot Wars 2. I played GW for about 1 year at the start and well. Hacks, Bots you name it! It was happen and they did nothing to stop it. Here is hoping this time arpund they understand.. People don't want to play with Bots they want to play with people.
Has any of you heard of 'Infinite Detail'? check it out on Youtube.com, I think (and deep down, hope) that ANet may be considering using it in GW2 :) ... considering that 'Infinite Detail' would likely be out in around a year.... as with GW2's anticipated release :D! (basically, it's a huge improvement over pushing forward with more and more powerful GPUs)
Guild Wars isnt a MMORPG... It's called a CORPG. But I agree, GW has been a really good game and I will also look forward for GW2.
@ gormo4 : Well said. Who really cares who spent the most time leveling up and getting "EPIC LOOTZ!!!11!" WoW's popularity destroyed mmo's with that mindset.
i think guild wars was one of the best mmorpgs, simply because it didn't have that grind involved in other mmorpgs such as runescape and world of warcraft, this makes skills and tactics very important (instead of how much time you can waste killing goblins)
Guild wars was one of my favorite games ever and Guild Wars 2 is looking awesome. But it's taking forever to come out. I don't need more updates and GW1 events, I want GW2 already. I may play again for a bit for this event but I'm not sure I want to get back into it until a solid release date for GW2 has been announced.
I was always shy of these MMO's and refused to go subscription-based with the *other* popular games that really rack up big bills. But then I was given Guild Wars for my birthday and it really changed the way I perceived these types of games. I will say that Anet really makes one outstanding production and has seamless integration in all aspects. Guild Wars, in my opinion, is the number one hybrid MMO that gives a lot to the players and continues to update the game frequently to this very day. I'm very curious about this event and I will definitely attend to see what will come next.
Seriously, GW is the most well supported MMO I've ever heard of. To see the game five years on, and STILL being supported by the developers with fairly regular updates, I'm incredibly impressed. Although I no longer play, loved the game, the design, the support. Top work ANet - can't wait to play GW2!
did someone really say update the graphics.. they have and they are most excellent for an mmo in even in 2010. gw is a pretty large game, def looks better then most any other mmo game period, not to mention the story kicks mucho nalgitas. also so far the content was fairly weak on the war in kryta but today it was insane, got my costume pack and ran around the world and found way more groups of the peacekeepers then the previous 4 areas which were known, was ransacked by a group on a road just outside of beetletun toward bergen, said I needed a pass to travel or work etc. then left toa and kept staright from there into zombie territory, loaded with peacekeeps. zoned into area past there and more of em, they were everywhere i went almost. so very soon its gonna be on folks..
I'm really liking the update. The Peacekeepers are a welcome addition, very tough enemies for the right reasons.(full, dual-profession skill bars)
Ever since they made the retarded decision of adding an extra "security" question to Guild Wars, i couldn't log in... I took a 6 month break from GW and when i came back i was stupefied to find out that besides my user and pass, i had to input a character name (which i forgot because i don't keep all the crap in the world in my mind)... And the process of resetting that takes ages so screw it, i'll wait for GW 2...
To Hobbitslayer18: don't complain too much. Be glad they are still providing new content for GW while getting GW2 ready for deployment. Be doubly glad that the new content -directly- addresses GW2. Personally I'm glad to have more to do, having recently gotten back into GW. But yes I do sympathize, I eagerly await the advent of GW2 as well.
enough pu$$yfooting around Anet! Instead of releasing garbage get to work on GW2 already!
I may have to break out my copy of GW and see whats happening... its free afterall since i already own it hehe.
Wow, this is turning out to be more than I thought it would be initially. Color me impressed. Of course, it only makes me want the sequel even more than I already do.
I wish my Wife did not bann me from playing this game as I miss it much... put over 2800 hours of my life into it in only 1.5 years... to be in the Hall of Heros once more or in a great GVG... sigh... long live Waffles!!!!!
I never played guild wars, I would give it a try right now but at this stage why bother.. wow could no longer hold my attention and I am really interested in getting back in to another mmo.
Loved GW and kudos for trying to do something ANET but not sure if I can generate enough interest to go back to GW after being away from it for the last year. I'll be waiting to see how GW2 shapes up.
Great! I love Guild Wars and i cannot wait for GW2 it's such an agonising wait, hope this will keep me satisfied.
I'll be honest, I've never given this game a good thorough try, but seeing as how much attention it's recieving, especially since there's talk of a GW2 coming, I think I'll have to give the game a second try. Should be fun.
i bought the original GW last year... and while it was fun and totally worth the money, i wasn't able to get immersed in it as much as WARCRAFT!!!! ALLIANCE FTW!!!!!!!!!!! GW2 LAME CATACLYSM 4 LIFE LOLZZZZZZ!!!!!
I don't think I've ever been as excited about a game than I am for GW2. The waiting only adds to my anticipation, and the artwork is beautiful!
Well what can I say. Played thousands of hours in GW and enjoyed it very much but I think they should focus more on GW 2 now than the first one. Because it seems the game won't be arriving next year either.
I just can't wait for the day when GW2 comes out. Played GW for over 3 yrs then most of us got fed up, met a lot of great ppl through this game.Some of them still play when I pop around just to say hello ;) Lots of hours spent in HM FoW,UW,Doa. Great memories od AB battles and grinding factions :) Still in contact with some of them and hope to rejoin under the same cape in GW2! /salute
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