Guild Wars
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| Guild Wars {{#if:{{{image|}}}|<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">{{{image|}}} | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | ArenaNet {{#if:{{{publisher|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Publisher(s)<td>{{{publisher|}}} |
| Release date(s) | April 28, 2005 |
| Genre(s) | CORPG and MMORPG |
| Mode(s) | Singleplayer, Multiplayer {{#if:{{{ratings|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Rating(s)<td>{{{ratings|}}} |
| Platform(s) | Windows {{#if:{{{media|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Media<td>{{{media|}}} |
Guild Wars is a Competitive/Cooperative Online Role-Playing Game (CORPG) by ArenaNet, a developer founded by individuals crucial to the development of Blizzard Entertainment's past games and services such as Diablo, Warcraft, Starcraft, and Battle.net. ArenaNet is now wholly owned by NCsoft, a South Korean game publisher.
Contents |
Overview
Though often referred to as an MMORPG, ArenaNet coined the term CORPG (Competitive/Cooperative Online Role-Playing Game) to describe Guild Wars. This title describes the competitive PvP-oriented (Player vs. Player) design of the game or the cooperative PvE-oriented (Player vs. Environment) instances of the game, as well as serving to differentiate it from the standard, subscription-fee-based, MMORPG genre. Guild Wars does not support hundreds of players in combat, instead having large towns where people form groups of eight or fewer players who then fight in their own unique instance of the game world. "Guild Wars is not an MMORPG," said Jeff Strain, producer of the game.
The cooperative PvE campaign can take "more than 100 hours" to complete with one character, though it can be done much quicker if the player wishes. PvP involves multiple 4 to 8 player groups fighting to achieve typically FPS-style gameplay objectives such as deathmatch, king of the hill, or capture the flag. The small player groups, lack of subscription fee, and low number of hours required to play the game are some of the reasons why Guild Wars tends to share more in common with the Diablo series of action RPGs than traditional MMORPGs such as Ultima Online, RuneScape and EverQuest.
Guild Wars was the subject of the "E3 for Everyone" event in May 2004 which, held during the annual E3 expo and conference, attracted over 200,000 gamers from around the world to participate in the 5-day public beta testing. Special features in Guild Wars include silent streaming update technology (new content can be easily sent to the user while he or she is playing) and unprecedented player versus player combat that ArenaNet has designed to rely on skill rather than the amount of time spent playing, shunning the design of MMORPGs such as EverQuest where making a high-level character takes anywhere from several months to several years. ArenaNet plans on releasing expansions every six to nine months that will advance the game's story line as well as introduce new features. Expansions will not be required to continue playing, nor will they give a true advantage over non-expansion players.
Long before the game was officially released, a "World Preview Event" occurred on October 29-31 2004, similar to the E3 event, and attracted approximately 400,000 users. Starting in November 2004, ArenaNet held monthly Beta Weekends in addition to the closed Beta. Designed for large-scale testing, these events were open to those who pre-ordered as well as people who got free one-time passes from various sources such as Friend Passes, magazines, or giveaways from sites like FilePlanet.
Guild Wars was released on April 28, 2005 in North America and Europe. Unlike many MMORPGs, the launch of Guild Wars went very smoothly.
A new Guild Wars title called "Guild Wars: Factions" is being released on April 28, 2006 [1].
Game mechanics
Each player character in and of itself is composed of one primary profession and one secondary profession, with the six professions allowing for a potential of 30 distinct combinations (one of six primaries and a choice of five secondaries).
Each profession has access to approximately 75 skills, ~60 being common and ~15 being elite. Elite skills can be captured from bosses by using the Signet of Capture skill. This allows for a possible total of almost 150 skills per character to acquire, choose from, and bring into battle. However, characters can only bring 8 skills at a time into any area in which combat is possible, allowing for many different battle styles. One can acquire these skills in several different ways. The first way a person can acquire a skill is to complete a quest, though not all quests will give you skills (the reward for a quest is listed when you talk to the person who gives you the quest). The second method is to buy the skill from a skill trainer. These skill trainers are found in many of the major cities and towns, as well as some minor or out of the way ones. To purchase a skill from a trainer, you must have a certain amount of gold (which increases every time you buy a skill) and a skill point. Skill points are earned by gaining levels or by completing missions (doing the mission earns you a skill point). The third method is to use a Signet of Capture, which can be bought from certain skill vendors for a skill point and some gold, and used on a boss enemy's corpse that employs a skill that one would like to learn. The fourth is to purchase the skills from special vendors using faction points, which are earned through PvP combat (skills earned this way can only be used by PvP characters that the player creates). The last two methods of acquisition are the only ways to gain access to the elite skills.
The in-game model reflects only the primary profession's appearance. The character's in-game armor crafting choices are likewise limited to the primary profession's selection. There are, however, eight dyes which can be mixed to differentiate each character from others[2].
Attributes can be increased from 0 to 12, at an increasing cost of 1 to 20 attribute points. Attribute Points may be re-allocated only while in a town or outpost. These attribute points are earned as a character levels up. With each additional point invested in an attribute, a linear gain is produced (usually increased effectiveness to a linked skill). The Mesmer-only attribute Fast Casting has diminishing returns, meaning every additional point has less of an effect than the one before. These attributes can also be raised using items known as runes, which are applied to armor. Through the use of runes and specific character class items, a given attribute can be increased to as high as 16. There are penalties associated with the more powerful ones and only runes for the primary profession may be used. There is a cap on character level, which is currently placed at level 20. Though a player will continue to gain skill points after this no attribute points are gained. A low maximum level ensures that the Player vs. Player combat is balanced and interesting, and enforces rewarding player skill rather than time invested in character.
Guild vs. Guild (GvG) combat, a specific type of PvP, is also available. If a player forms a guild (a team of players), then they can buy unique capes for all members, and also a Guild Hall, a private place where only guild members can enter. Together they can fight other guilds in order to raise their rank on the world-wide ladder system. These contests of strength, strategy, and teamwork involve either defending or attacking one of seven possible Guild Halls. Some guilds use live Internet voice communication technologies, such as Ventrilo or TeamSpeak, to better coordinate their team. This often creates a notable improvement in a team's response time, since players can communicate by voice alone rather than having to stop in the middle of the game to type a message to a teammate.
There is also the World Domination Arena, in which Korea, North America, and Europe fight in a PvP arena called the Hall of Heroes. The regions fight for "The Favor of the Gods" in the arena with their team-mates. Wins and losses are displayed in the chat box to declare who has the "Favor" and who is winning. Holding favor unlocks access to the Fissure of Woe and the Underworld, which are two challenging PvE (Player vs. Environment) game areas. Holding favor also allows players from that region to summon an avatar at the various shrines by kneeling in front of them. These avatars will grant various beneficial effects for a small fee (in combat areas) or provide new quests (in cities and outposts).
A new feature called "Observer mode" now allows players to view recent battles in the Hall of Heroes, Guild Battles that involve guilds of a rank 100 or higher and Tournament Battles. This mode is available for everyone at any time.
Lately, Guild Wars has been having a few issues with their servers due to the streaming of Factions content.
Character equipment
Template:Main Character equipment can be divided into three broad categories, which are weapons, armor, and runes. Each of these categories are further differentiated by the character's professions. Characters gain the maximum capability with a weapon (or an off-hand item, such as a shield) when they have the required attribute points for it. Weapon modifiers (such as staff wrappings and bow strings) are available which, when added to a weapon, provide various benefits to the wielder. Armor selection is limited to the suits available for only a character's primary profession, with each profession having multiple armor styles. Each of these styles has its own enhancements. Unlike weapons, armor yields the maximum benefit allowed by each piece, no matter what the character's attributes are set to. Runes are armor modifiers, which serve to enhance the attributes of the user and are divided into the three tiers of minor, major, and superior. Major and superior runes produce the negative effect of less maximum health for the user, making the use of more than one of these runes generally undesirable.
Professions
Template:Main Image:Gw classes.jpg There are currently six character professions available, each with their own attributes and unique skill sets, though it is not uncommon to see specific 'builds' centered around a particular arrangement of skills and professions. The developer, ArenaNet, has confirmed that there will be additional professions introduced with future expansions to the game. In the upcoming Guild Wars: Factions, which is due to be released on April 28, 2006, there will be two new professions: the Assassin and the Ritualist.
Builds
Template:Main A character build is any combination of skills, from the same profession or different ones, which serves a special purpose in battle or creates synergies. While some builds are more widely known than others, many combinations of skills may be feared on the battlefield.
Locations
In the order that the player experiences them while playing through the game's story in Guild Wars:
Prophecies:
Tyria
- Ascalon
- Northern Shiverpeaks
- Kryta
- Maguuma Jungle
- Southern Kryta
- The Crystal Desert
- Southern Shiverpeaks
- Sorrow's Furnace
- The Ring of Fire Island Chain
- Underworld
- Fissure of Woe
- Battle Isles
Factions:
Cantha
Cantha is the new continent which will be added with the release of the Factions expansion on April 28, 2006. It includes the Petrified Forest and Jade Sea areas, although no specific regions have been identified at this time. Please edit this section when more information is available.
Plot of Prophecies Campaign
The story follows Devona, Aidan, Cynn and Mhenlo quite loosely. Devona is a female Warrior, Aidan is a male Ranger, Cynn is a female Elementalist and Mhenlo a male Monk. There has been some speculation as to why the group does not involve a Mesmer or Necromancer. As you make your own character, you are actually the main hero.
'Pre-searing' Ascalon
Guild Wars starts in a place called Ascalon, a sunny, grassy woodland area. Ascalon at the moment is engaged in a small war, fighting large furry creatures called Charr that have invaded the kingdom of Ascalon. Though the fight is not going well, the Ascalon people are aided by the gigantic Great Wall that is situated on their Northern border. However, the Charr have somehow found a way past the wall, and have become increasingly courageous in their attacks. With this backstory in place, the player is given a basic walkthrough of game mechanics in small quests that also award "experience points" (XP) that increase the player's level. After completing the main profession and story quests, the player is sent to a battle area where he and a group of players or NPCs face off against another group. Victory or loss doesn't affect the story line, and the player is subsequently inducted into the Ascalon Guard. After a short speech by Prince Rurik, the player characters track and eliminate the Charr leader in the area. However, in an event that would come to be known as the Searing, the Charr have been rallying under one banner, and in a cutscene devestate Ascalon by bombarding it with a hail of gigantic, magical crystals, turning the once-fertile green valleys into a wasteland of cracked stone.
'Post-searing' Ascalon
2 years later, in 'post-Searing' Ascalon, the ragtag remainders of the once-grand military and heroes of Ascalon patrol the tattered remnants of their once thriving country, fighting off the invading force of Charr. Prince Rurik and the aging King Adelbern are constantly forced to fall back further and further, as every battle won equals ten battles lost. However, a gigantic regiment of Charr soon arrives to reinforce their brethren. As the heroes fight through the wasteland, they fall upon the legendary horn Stormcaller, which is said to hold immense power against any invaders of Ascalon. Stormcaller weakens the invading force of Charr and the heroes successfully push them out of the capital. Prince Rurik and his father, King Adelbern, dispute over the next move in their campaign against the Charr in the now crumbling city of Rin. The king exiles his son from Ascalon, and thus the heroes and those who chose to follow Rurik are forced to retreat to the kingdom of Kryta by way of the dangerous Shiverpeak Mountains.
North Shiverpeaks
The heroes start at Yaks Bend and head for Borlis Pass, where the Deldrimor dwarves give them a place to rest for the night. The Stone Summit (the main enemy here) are a band of rebellious and extremely racist dwarves who fight to stop the heroes. Ballista block the path for Rurik and the survivors, so it is up to the group to destroy them. After fighting their way to the Frost Gate, Rurik holds off the Stone Summit while the heroes open the gigantic door. Unfortunatley as they go through they watch as Rurik is murdered by the Stone Summit leader. After the Frost Gate, the heroes faced a short but challenging task as they head from Beacons Perch to the Gates of Kryta.
North Kryta Province
Upon reaching Kryta, the heroes meet the White Mantle, the religious group leading the kingdom which had stopped their own Charr invasion. Before the heroes and the refugees they escort can gain safe entrance through the Gates of Kryta, they are tasked with helping Justicar Hablion clear the nearby swamp of undead. After the battle, the heroes are granted access to Lions Arch, the capital of Kryta. As friends of the White Mantle, they are asked to go to D'Alessio Seaboard in order to protect Confessor Dorian from an undead assault. For their bravery in completing this deed, they are inducted as members of the White Mantle. The White Mantle then asks the heroes to administer a Mantle ritual, the Test of the Chosen. They are to use the Eye of Janthir to locate people with great magical potential, referred to as "chosen." The heroes are instructed to escort the chosen to Loamhurst, so that the White Mantle can presumably instruct the chosen and enhance their magical abilities.
Maguuma Jungle
The White Mantle are leading the chosen into the Maguuma Jungle when they are ambushed by a group called the Shining Blade, led by a woman named Saidra. The heroes follow as the Shining Blade take the kidnapped chosen deep into the jungle. In the wilds of the jungle, the heroes find the chosen trapped by spiders and agree to work with the Shining Blade to save them. In a conversation with Evennia, the leader of the Shining Blade, the heroes are told that the White Mantle are actually sacrificing the chosen and the Shining Blade is working to liberate them. To uncover the truth for themselves, the heroes travel to Bloodstone Fen and look on as Justiciar Hablion executes the chosen. The heroes are given no choice but to battle with the White Mantle. After striking Hablion down, Confessor Dorian sends out a legion of White Mantle soldiers to exact revenge on the traitorous heroes. The heroes are asked to travel to Aurora Glade and attune the Henge Portal to reach the Henge of Denravi, the capital city of the jungle.
South Kryta
With a good base of operations, the shining blade get more aggressive, and send the players into South Kryta. First, in Riverside Province, they steal the scepter of Orr from the White Mantle. In Sanctum Cay, they take the scepter to Vizier Khilbron, who is a powerful magical user, and has agreed to help the Shining Blade in return for the Scepter. When the players reach the Vizier, however they are told they have been betrayed by someone called Markis, one of the top leaders in the Shining Blade. The Mantle have captured Evennia, and try to capture the players, but the Vizier summons a ship to take them to the Crystal Desert. There, the players are supposed to ascend, and afterwards they will be powerful enough to beat the White Mantle.
Crystal Desert
In the Crystal Desert, the players meet several ghosts of people who, before the game's time, had tried to ascend and failed. Their ruins are spread throughout the desert. A ghostly hero called Turai Oussa, in particular, helps the players through three tests needed to be allowed to try and ascend. These tests were failed in one way or another by the ghosts who previously tried ascending, but the players succeed in doing them. The players ascend, and are than sent to talk to a dragon called Glint. Glint explains to them that they are in the "Flameseeker Prophecies" that she predicted a long time ago. She also explains that the White Mantle gods are creatures called Mursaat, and that most of the Shining Blade have been captured or killed. She sends players to the Shiverpeaks to rejoin the fight against the White Mantle.
Southern Shiverpeaks
In the Shiverpeaks, players first go to the southern Shiverpeaks to try and rescue Evennia and Saidra. They get Evennia out, but Saidra gets killed while distracting their captors. The players also meet the Mursaat for the first time.
The Mursaat are the 'false gods' worshipped by the White Mantle. They have a skill called Spectral Agony that quickly kills those whom it used on (unless the player's armor has been 'infused'; infused armor gives the player the ability to withstand the Mursaat's Spectral Agony attack.
The players then travel to the Iron Mines of Moladune, where they must find someone called The Seer to 'infuse' their armor. With this protection, the players go on to kill the traitor Markis. At this time, the Stone Summit capture the dwarven capital of Thunderhead Keep. Players go to this city, recapture it from the Stone Summit, and kill the Stone Summit leader in the process. They then defend the city from a Mursaat/White Mantle attack, at the end killing the White Mantle leader, Confessor Dorian. After this battle, Vizier Khilbron creates a portal to the Ring of Fire islands, where he says he can find something powerful enough to beat the Mursaat.
The Ring of Fire Island Chain
The Ring of Fire Island Chain is made up of a string of volcanoes and there are no permanent human settlements there, however the Mursaat have a very large fortress. In the first two missions on the islands, players break into this fortress, taking the Vizier to the door of Komalie, which, if opened, will release the powerful things the Vizier Khilbron said could defeat the Mursaat. It turns out that Vizier Khilbron has used the heroes, as instead of simply defeating the Mursaat, he plans to use the newly released creatures, called titans, to conquer the entire continent. In the last mission, players fight these Titans, destroy portals that had been planned to take the titans to Ascalon, Kryta, and Deldrimor, and kill the Lich. Killing the Lich recloses the door, keeping more Titans from being released. The heroes than leave the islands on a leftover Mursaat boat.
The Vision of Glint (Epilogue)
After completing the game, players arrive once again in Droknar's Forge. There they can now kneel in front of Glint's statue and a vision of her will appear. She will reveal to the player that the Armageddon Lords, the leaders of the Titans, are doing far more damage than she ever anticipated. First, the player must go to Mineral Springs to defeat the first of the Titans so that Droknar's Forge will be safe. After defeating him the player can do the next three missions in any order they want. The player can choose to go aid Ascalon's king, Adelbern, who even in his old age is fighting the Titans. After defeating them, the player can head to North Kryta once more to protect the Ascalon settlers. After they are safe from the Titan threat, the player must go to the Henge of Denravi which has been overrun with Titans. After helping Evennia defeat them, Glint gives the player one last mission, which is to defeat the three Titan Lords. After succeeding in this mission the players find that Tyria is now free from the Titan menace.
Sub-plotline of Prophecies Campaign
The Temple of Ages: The Underworld and Fissure of Woe
The Temple of Ages is a difficult place to reach in North Kryta Province. It is the location of statues of each of the five gods in Guild Wars lore (Balthazar, Dwayna, Grenth, Lyssa, and Melandru). If a player's home region has the 'Favour of the Gods,' he may kneel at the statues in order to make the corresponding god's avatar appear. The player can interact with two of these avatars, the Voice of Grenth and the Champion of Balthazar. The Voice of Grenth can take players to the Underworld, the realm of the dead. Balthazar's Champion will take players to the Fissure of Woe, where a never-ending war rages between Balthazar's Eternals and the Shadow Army. Both of these areas present parties with challenging quests.
Sorrow's Furnace
Sorrow's Furnace is a stronghold for the Stone Summit dwarves. A great monstrosity, the Iron Forgeman, resides in the center. He is incredibly strong and is difficult to defeat. In Sorrow's Furnace the Stone Summit have imprisoned many species to mine for them as slaves, such as the Dredge. You return to the Southern Shiverpeaks to finish your pledge with the Deldrimor Dwarves, and to lay a final siege to the last stronghold of the Stone Summit and also partly to defend Droknar's Forge from the titan army. Many players 'farm' this area for the rare green items.
The Mists and The Rift
The Mists touch all things, they bind the universe together, and in the center of The Mists lies the The Rift, which is in the center of all things.
The Hall of Heroes
The Hall of Heroes is a place where people who were heroes in life go when they die. It is a great honour to go there. This is the same area that is the final stage of PvP battle in Heroes' Ascent. Winning here helps to sway the 'Favour of the Gods' to the party's home region.
The Tomb of the Primeval Kings
A man named Lord Odran wished to enter the Hall of Heroes deep in The Rift. He studied magic and eventually found the secret to enter there whilst still alive. He created a portal in the Crystal Desert and made it so that only he could reach it. The spirits were furious with him but could not harm a living being at the time. One day they became powerful enough to kill Lord Odran. When they did, nobody could disturb the portal, as no one knew of it. Since then other heroes have discovered the portal, but are pitted against one another by the spirits to prove themselves worthy enough to enter. Recently a dark portal has been opened, a rift to the Underworld. Three beings known as The Darknesses and their creatures of chaos have begun wrecking havoc there. They have drawn the attention of the Zaishen, who seek to employ the player's heroic abilities in cleansing the place of these new terrors.
The PvP Battle Isles
The Zaishen Elite, a guild from Cantha based on PvP has opened its doors so all can do battle with them. New players start by training with weaker Zaishen to learn the modes of play. Then the Zaishen Challenge is unlocked, where players seek to defeat teams of Zaishen utilizing varying builds. Upon successful completion of that task, players can then fight the Zaishen Elite to truly prove their strength. The Great Temple of Balthazar, Random Arenas, Team Arenas and Heroes' Ascent are also part of the Battle Isles. The Great Temple of Balthazar features tutorials in PvP and the ability to fight the Zaishen Masters of a certain field. Random Arenas offers fast-paced 4 man PvP action, where the teams are randomly put together from different contestants entering separately. Team Arenas is similar to Random Arenas, except the players choose the teams before entering the battles. Heroes' Ascent is the global tournament, where teams of 8 players form up and face off against teams all over the globe in several battles before reaching the hallowed Hall Of Heroes.
Criticisms
The acquisition of new skills
This issue has gained much attention due to the fact that it affects both the PvE and the PvP-communities of the game, but also because it contradicts one of NCsoft's and ArenaNet's goals with Guild Wars, which states: "Success in Guild Wars is always the result of player skill, not time spent." [3]. Because Guild Wars in both PvP and PvE is largely dependant on which skills the player has unlocked, the player with the most skills often has an advantage over others because of the new possible combinations that open up for that player. As it is now, there are three ways to gain new skills in Guild Wars: the first is by playing through the campaign and completing the many quests that follow; the second is by playing PvP and gaining Faction points (awarded for team victories and individual kills of opponents), with which you may unlock skills. Despite being unlocked on an account, skills are still acquired individually for a PvE-character. There have been many proposed solutions to the problem, the most recurring proposition being that Faction points should be increased once more to improve the rate at which a player can unlock skills. The third way is buying the Skills as you advance through the game, you buy these skills at skill trainers at certain outpost and "Root Towns/Capitals" though with the update on March 9th 2006, "the skill trainers have been modified in all areas to allow PvE players to buy any skills previously unlocked on their accounts for any specific class, including skills unlocked in the PvP arenas." Meaning that if you buy every skill from a skill trainer or unlock the skills in PVP. You may buy the skills with a brand you character in any town. Though since this update some skills seem to only be available at certain skill trainers and in certain areas of the game again. Elite spells can only be obtained by using skill Captures or being bought with PVP Faction points for PVP characters, they cannot be bought from these skill trainers.
Party forming
Guild Wars is a competitive team game where much of the focus revolves around finding a team, yet the game lacks a decent party forming system. The local chat and a small symbol above players heads is the only viable way to create or find a party. An improvement has been requested by PvE and PvP players alike since the game's initial release. ArenaNet has announced that improvements are in the works, yet it is still unclear whether they will be implemented with the release of Guild Wars: Factions, the next chapter in the Guild Wars franchise, or after.
Lack of equipment variety
Some players find the character appearance choices too few - body variations such as hair style, hair colour and face are limited to about eight choices each, and as each character at the end of the game typically has about ten easily attainable sets of armor to choose and dye, given the number of players in the end of the game, identical-looking characters are somewhat common. Some have found that this detracts from the role-playing experience. Though this is to expand with the upcoming Factions expansion pack.
Editions
As well as the standard edition, there are many other editions of Guild Wars avalible on the market. All of them contain the basic Account Creation Code and Manuscript Book, as well as other added features listed below.
Pre-sale Edition
This was the very first edition of Guild Wars avalible. It only contained 1 disc, with a CD-key key which one could use to access the Guild Wars Beta. This was not the full version of the game. After the beta was finished, players had to buy the full retail version to be able to continue playing with their accounts.
Players who took part in the pre-sale and beta testing events also received a special unique item added to each of their characters (as well as any characters they created in the future). The special item they got depended on where they got their pre-sale disc from. According to PlayNC.com, there are 6 different ones:
- Electronics Boutique (EB Games) preorder
- CompUSA preorder
- Best Buy preorder
- GameStop preorder
- "Generic" preorder (this would refer to a preorder key from a retailer other than the four listed above)
- European preorder
It is still possible to find the generic pre-sale disc on certain websites (such as Amazon), however, most of the others have long since sold-out..
Collector's Edition
The Collector's Edition was available (in limited numbers) during the game's official release date (along with the standard edition). It offers the owner the use of Divine Aura. When a character uses any of the emotes in the game (ie: Dance, jump, etc.), depending on their class, a coloured light will surround the character's hands. Collector's Edition Keys can also be added to standard accounts to add the extra Divine Aura feature to it. Once added to an account, all existing characters (as well as any characters created in the future) will have the Divine Aura.
The Collector's Edition also comes with a Guild Wars branded Logitec headset, a free 3-month trial for Teamspeak's "SpeakEasy" service, the soundtrack by Jeremy Soule on an audio CD and The Art of Guild Wars Book 1.
Special Edition
The Special Edition is available today. It contains a Skill Pack code which allows you to unlock 7 regular skills, 1 elite skill, and 2 runes from the Priest of Balthazar. After adding the Skill Pack code to your account, a "PvP Unlock Coupon" will appear in your Manage Access Keys menu, and you will be able to redeem it anytime from Balthazar.
Additionally, the Special Edition also contains a code to download a free Mini-Pak from DirectSong (however the code no longer works because the Mini-Pak has been made avalaible free to download), and The Art of Guild Wars Book 2.
Factions Pre-sale Edition
According to GuildWars.com, the Factions pre-sale disc will ship on the 28th of February, 2006 and will be available in-store around the 7th-10th of March.
Like the previous one, the Factions pre-sale disc will grant users the chance to beta test the upcoming Guild Wars Factions game. However, all current Guild Wars account owners will already be able to beta test Factions, whether or not they buy the pre-sale disc. ArenaNet will include 2 unique items, one for each of the new professions, when buyers pre-order.
Factions Collector's Edition
ArenaNet is once again offering a Collector's Edition for players to buy as an alternative to the standard edition. The two new professions, Assassin and Ritualist, will receive a unique dance emote in-game for those who buy this version of the game.
The Factions Collector's Edition will again come with a soundtrack cd and an art book. In addition, the North American version will include a sticker set, mouse pad, desk calendar, and a double-sided poster with the Factions poster on one side and a map of Cantha on the other.[4] The European version includes the same items, as well as a cloth picture.[5]
External links
- The official Guild Wars website
- The official Guild Wars ladder
- ArenaNet, the makers of Guild Wars
- NCsoft, the publishers of Guild Wars
- Official list of Guild Wars fansites
- GuildWiki, a Guild Wars wikida:Guild Wars
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