Guild Wars 2
From Guild Wars 2 Wiki
Guild Wars 2 is the sequel to the Guild Wars series of games by ArenaNet. It has been in development since 2007 and no official beta testing or release dates have been announced; however, the first playable demo was available at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany (August 19-22, 2010), and the second will be at Penny Arcade Expo (September 3-5, 2010). Many new features have been announced which align with traditional MMORPGs, such as a persistent world and a level cap of 80, but the game has been described by ArenaNet as having non-traditional elements as well, because "it doesn’t make you spend hours preparing to have fun rather than just having fun".
This article provides an overview of the features of Guild Wars 2. For more detailed information, consult the fan FAQ.
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[edit] Character
There are two fixed aspects to any character created: race and profession.
The selection of one of five playable races determines the appearance of the character and gives a flavor to the character in combat with versatile racial skills and through a personal storyline with the unique themes and history of the race. The selection of one of eight available professions determines most of what the character is capable of doing. It restricts the armor type wearable, but more importantly determines how the skill bar is built through the unique game mechanics of the profession, the weapons that can be wielded, and the skills and ability modifiers available. The profession abilities have been emphasized over racial abilities to make sure that each race is equally able to play each profession.
[edit] Levels
The level cap is being raised from 20 levels in Guild Wars to 80 in Guild Wars 2. Each level takes the same amount of time to attain so level progression will be more regular than other MMOs; however, reaching maximum level is not considered to be the end of the game.[1] In the areas where leveling is possible, a sidekick system will be used to allow players to play with friends of different levels. Some PvP modes standardize all character levels to ensure an even playing field.
[edit] Combat
Combat in Guild Wars 2 is built around three facets: damage, control and support. Damage is simply decreasing the enemy's health, control is preventing the enemy from doing what it wants, and support consists of boosting the abilities of allies. Each profession is able to perform any of these roles. While some professions may be better at an aspect than others, no character is a specialist in a particular role. For example, there is no profession which focuses on the healing aspect of support - the best healing abilities available in the game are the compulsory self healing skills.
Combat is designed to be tactical; items in the environment can be used as weapons, body position can affect skills, and skills which allies use can interact with with the player to create new effects. Even what is done at the edge of death can change the outcome of the fight dramatically.
[edit] Player versus Environment
Guild Wars 2 has a significantly larger world than that of Guild Wars.[2] Underwater explorable areas are a significant part of some zones, some of which have over half of the area underwater. These underwater areas are accessible to players through an easily obtainable consumable item and have new friendly races and their own events. The areas are designed to be fun places to explore for all races.
A day/night cycle, faster than real-time, is present in the game and some events will occur and monsters appear depending on the in-game time. There are also weather effects. The interior of houses and buildings in the environment are accessible.
[edit] Event system
- See also: Event system
Instead of a traditional quest system, there are dynamic events. As the world is explored, objectives become revealed by occurences around the player. For example, a town under attack is identifiable by the destruction caused by enemies and townspeople fleeing. Defending the town gives rewards. There are over 1500 events that can occur in a dynamic system based on player action or inaction in the world. Participation in these events thus affects the state of the world.
[edit] Personal story
- See also: Personal storyline
In the 250 years since the events of Guild Wars, the Elder Dragons have awoken. As massive forces of nature, these dragons have wreaked destruction across the continent of Tyria, forever changing its face and its inhabitants. The player is thrown into the midst of this destruction. Each character has its own biography which affects the story and how non-player characters react. As the game progresses, organizations can be joined and situations approached in different ways; these influences change the experience of the story as it advances towards the final confrontation with the Elder Dragon, Zhaitan. There are therefore thousands of different story permutations possible.
[edit] Non-combat interaction
Guild Wars 2 will have a "robust" crafting system. Mini-game activities are provided in major towns.
[edit] Player versus Player
- See also: Structured PvP
There are two main forms of PvP: a tournament based game with evenly organized teams, and pick-up play where individuals or groups can hot-join a map depending on a variety of settings. Players entering PvP get a fixed level and any items necessary to ensure an even footing.
[edit] World versus World
- See also: World versus World
World versus World is a casual but competitive player versus player mode featuring large, continuous, objective-based battles between a few matched servers. Players of any level can come and go, using the skills and equipment that they have. Victories here can provide benefits to the server.
[edit] Guilds
- See also: Guild
Each character in an account is capable of joining a separate guild. Some options available to support guilds include guild achievements, a calendar, and the ability to join guild chat from a web browser.
[edit] Business Model
As with Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2 will require the initial purchase of the game but no subscription fee to play. Further purchasable content will be made available over time. Guild Wars 2 will have micro-transactions similar to those offered in Guild Wars.[3]
[edit] Game engine
Guild Wars 2 uses a heavily modified Guild Wars game engine which includes support for true 3D environments, more detailed environments and models, better lighting and shadows, new animation and effects systems, plus new audio and cinematics engines and a more flexible combat and skill-casting system.[4] It uses Havok to provide destructible environment and ragdoll animation of creatures[5] and Umbra's occlusion culling technology.[6]
Required system specifications have not been released. The aim is for Guild Wars to run great on 'mainstream' or 'mid-range gaming' PCs.
There will not be "click-to-move" control system, [7] but target-locking will be available.
[edit] Music
Jeremy Soule, composer for the Guild Wars series, has returned to compose the music for Guild Wars 2.
[edit] External links
- Official Guild Wars 2 website (includes official trailer)
- Frequently Asked Questions on the official site, written by ArenaNet
[edit] References
- ^ Interview étape avec ArenaNet, Luna-Atra
- ^ Pure Artistic Vision - A Guild Wars 2 Concept Art Q&A with Daniel Dociu, Ten Ton Hammer
- ^ GCO9: Guild Wars 2 Interview, Gamereactor
- ^ GC 2009: Guild Wars 2 - First Details and Q&A, IGN
- ^ Important Guild Wars 2 Questions Answered, ZAM
- ^ ArenaNet® Licenses Umbra for Guild Wars 2, Umbra
- ^ Guild Wars 2 (magazine article transcription), PCGamer
