Guild Wars 2 posts online manual, talks economy and art

One of the unsung heroes of MMOs is the economist -- the guy or gal in charge of making sure that supply and demand doesn't get all wonky. Whether you think about in-game economy or not, its function impacts everyone. For ArenaNet, the man in charge of keeping Guild Wars 2's money ship float is John Smith, and he's created an interesting infographic showing the state of the economy from the beta process.

From the chart, Smith deduces many interesting trends that may or may not play out in the live game. The largest sources of income during the beta were rewards, followed by dynamic events and tasks, while the most frequently traded items were crafting materials. He notes that an abnormal percentage of players gravitated to jewelcrafting as a profession, although he speculates that this was because of the temporary nature of the beta. Smith even compares the rate of gems to gold to Facebook's recent IPO and finds a similar pattern therein.

Keeping up with the information reveals, ArenaNet has released the online manual for Guild Wars 2 that covers everything from "getting started" to "competitive play."

If the economy and manual don't interest you, perhaps art does. MSNBC interviewed Art Director Daniel Dociu about the look of Guild Wars 2, and you can watch it right here after the break.