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Flameseeker Chronicles: Quest education

Elisabeth Cardy — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, PvE, Guild Wars 2, Flameseeker Chronicles

Looking around the Guild Warsy corners of the internet, I've found some confusion about quests and dynamic events. Having this handy platform to stand on, I thought I'd try to clarify things for those who aren't really sure what standard XP-gain looks like in Guild Wars 2. If this is old news to some of you, I apologize, but please remember that not everybody's been leaping on news scraps like a ravenous puppy for the last two or three years.

With the pretty aggressive abandonment of traditional questing in Guild Wars 2's PvE, there seems to be some misinformation about what directed content will look like. It's relatively accurate to say that there are three main types: personal story quests, renown hearts, and dynamic events. Dungeons, another type of PvE content, are kind of a world unto themselves; they're approached by way of the personal storyline but evidently aren't actually necessary for progress along that line (in an effort to not force people to team up in an MMO unless they jolly well feel like it). They contain events but also static objectives. However, since they're cordoned off by way of instances, it seems pretty safe to leave them out of this conversation. Let's dig in, shall we?

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Flameseeker Chronicles: Quest education originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ArenaNet team discusses elite skills and PvP in Guild Wars 2

Rubi Bayer — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, Guild Wars 2

Yesterday's interview with ArenaNet at Kill Ten Rats ended on a promising note: "to be continued."

That promise was fulfilled today when Ravious posted part two of the interview. While much of yesterday's discussion revolved around energy usage and potions, today's focused more on skill usage -- particularly elite skills.

Elites in Guild Wars 2 will be quite a bit different from what we're used to in Guild Wars. Ravious described them as "ace-up-your-sleeve" skills used to turn the tide of battle when they're most needed. Martin, Regina, Jon, and especially Isaiah had plenty to say about elites and how they work, including a few specific examples.

The team also addressed weapon skills and PvP, two subjects of great interest to the community. Head over to Kill Ten Rats to check out the full interview!

ArenaNet team discusses elite skills and PvP in Guild Wars 2 originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ArenaNet talks energy and group dynamics in Guild Wars 2

Rubi Bayer — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, Guild Wars 2

After the recent Guild Wars 2 news drought, new information is certainly welcome. Ravious over at Kill Ten Rats provides just that today with a new interview with several members of the ArenaNet team.

Ravious chatted with community managers Martin Kerstein and Regina Buenaobra as well as developers Jon Peters and Isaiah Cartwright for some fascinating discussion on part of the development process. The group discussed energy use in Guild Wars 2, and gave us some interesting news on how your gameplay style will affect it.

They also covered some ground on group dynamics and how you can best work with your teammates in Guild Wars 2. The best part of this interview is that it ends with "to be continued." Head on over to Kill Ten Rats to see the interview for yourself, then join us in anxiously awaiting the next installment!

If you are looking forward to GW2 but aren't a current Guild Wars player, you might want to check out the great deal on the Guild Wars Trilogy at Best Buy. What better way to pass the time while you wait for more GW2 news?

ArenaNet talks energy and group dynamics in Guild Wars 2 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 29 Nov 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Where is your uncanny social valley?

Rubi Bayer — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Opinion, Massively Meta, The Daily Grind

Ravious at Kill Ten Rats took an amusing look at the scale of social interaction in MMOs the other day, outlining the type of interaction vs. the level of fun in a game, and it made us wonder.

The type of gameplay preferred varies from person to person, of course. What one person views as the most fun type of play can sound completely boring or annoying to another person, and the same goes for interacting with those in the MMO world around you.

So where do you stand? Are you one of those players who leaps headfirst into any PUG, excited at the prospect of meeting new people? Do you prefer your circle of friends, those known elements that won't surprise you, be it good or bad? Or do you eschew company as a rule, preferring to treat the game as a single player game?

Click the handy comment link below and let us know what you think!

The Daily Grind: Where is your uncanny social valley? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ah yes, more sprinkles of Guild Wars 2 news

Shawn Schuster — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, MMO industry, New titles, Guild Wars 2, Rumors

Our friend Ravious at Kill Ten Rats is at it again with some pretty impressive detective work on the current state of Guild Wars 2. To be fair, Ravious is simply gathering the info he finds on the various Guild Wars forums from others who are doing the actual detective work, but it still makes our jobs a whole lot easier. Some of this was already known, some of it is new, but it's all interesting.

In his most recent GW2 post, we get word of a forum member named 4thVariety who has been following the trademark licensing and domain registration habits of ArenaNet's trademark lawyer, Mr. Peter J. Willsey. When GW2 was first announced, Mr. Willsey trademarked BlightedEmpires.com, and has since renewed the domain on March 12th of this year. Speculation, of course, centers around the fact that this may or may not be the name of the highly successful game's sequel.

Continue reading Ah yes, more sprinkles of Guild Wars 2 news

Ah yes, more sprinkles of Guild Wars 2 news originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 23 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Guild Wars 2 concept art spotted

James Egan — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, Guild Wars 2

Guild Wars has some fantastic concept art. We've mentioned this in the past, particularly in the context of the work of ArenaNet art director Daniel Dociu and concept art lead Kekai Kotaki as seen at Spectrum Fantastic Art. In fact, the last thing we asked was, "Does this give some hints as to what we'll be seeing in Guild Wars 2?" It turns out, it does.

In fact, Guild Wars 2 concept art is now appearing in other places as well. Ravious at Kill Ten Rats hunted down more GW2 art by Dociu and Kotaki, as confirmed by ArenaNet's Regina Buenaobra. Check out the post on GW2 concept art by Ravious over at Kill Ten Rats, which features some examples of what he's found along with some background on what they may show of the next game's setting, "250 years after the original Guild Wars."

Guild Wars 2 concept art spotted originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Economic shifts, new business models bring more options for MMO gamers

James Egan — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, Opinion

Tough economic times generally lead to shifts in perspective, and that's exactly the case with the MMO industry given much of the commentary we're seeing lately. In response to these changes in the economy, more companies -- and gamers -- are starting to rethink the alternative business models that have thrived in Asia, and which are increasingly making their way into the western MMO industry. And is that so surprising? Many gamers would like to be able to play more than one or two titles in a given month, but simply aren't able to due to the monthly subscription price (time concerns aside, of course).

Ravious from Kill Ten Rats observes that while MMOs typically demand more of players than standard PC games (at least in terms of time), the wide variety of gaming options that Steam users have come to appreciate could certainly be applicable to MMOs, if other business models beyond monthly subscriptions become viable in the West. Ravious writes, "Whether it is from a Steam-driven library of games, an aging MMO population, an economic recession, or plenty of different business models coming in to the MMO world, I believe that the subscription model of today is nearly done being 'the way'."

Continue reading Economic shifts, new business models bring more options for MMO gamers

Economic shifts, new business models bring more options for MMO gamers originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 25 Jan 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Grinding: The world's newest hobby?

Seraphina Brennan — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Game mechanics, Opinion

Kill Ten Rats just put up an interesting, if not verging on controversial, take on some of the more repetitive and mundane parts of our MMO experiences. The main point of the article looks at MMOs not from the standpoint of a game, but rather that of a hobby.

Ravious, the article's author, defines a hobby element of an MMO as something we may do in our gameplay that's not fun, but aids you having fun in future gameplay. Things like grinding to get that awesome new sword, all the looting you do to make potions for that next big raid, or perhaps just sitting in battlegrounds and getting all the honor points you can take.

Ravious makes one important part at the end of the article -- too much "hobby element" in your game just makes for a sour game. He uses salt for his metaphor in this context. Salt makes food taste better, but too much salt or salting the wrong thing leads to ghastly consequences.

Grinding: The world's newest hobby? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lame scams still profitable in Guild Wars, over 1000 bans every week

James Egan — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Exploits, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion

Would you fall for this? (Please say 'no'...): A complete stranger approaches you on the sidewalk outside of your bank and shows you a rare coin he says is worth twenty thousand dollars. "I want to just give this coin to you," he says, "but I don't want anyone to know we did this... tax issues, you see." The stranger suggests putting it in your safe deposit box, but because he's so concerned about privacy, he wants access to your safe deposit box to be sure the rare coin gets there, with no one the wiser. The problem is that he can only get in there with your express permission...

We're guessing 99.99% of you would never get suckered by something asinine like this, but why then do people fall for the exact same thing in the virtual realm? Specifically, it seems that Guild Wars players regularly turn over their login info to account thieves in hopes of getting something for nothing, as mentioned by Ravious over at Kill Ten Rats. This ultimately leads to a continuous deluge of stolen accounts, tears, and rage.

Continue reading Lame scams still profitable in Guild Wars, over 1000 bans every week

Lame scams still profitable in Guild Wars, over 1000 bans every week originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The anatomy of a cut scene

Shawn Schuster — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Guild Wars, Lord of the Rings Online, Game mechanics, Machinima, Humor

When you watch a cut scene (assuming you didn't skip it, when possible), do you ever think about what goes into making that cinematic? Why did they choose this angle, and this part of the storyline? In games like Guild Wars, the cut scenes are game-engine-based, so your characters are standing there engaged in deep, dramatic story-driven dialogue with an important NPC, all the while a Jagged Horror decides he wants to stand directly on top of the camera.

Ravious over at Kill Ten Rats discusses the issue we sometimes can have with the different types of cut scenes out there. For example, in Lord of the Rings Online, there are the ones where you can't do anything, and you're forced to sit and listen to the big bad boss talk about how he could have gotten away with it, if it weren't for you meddling kids. Then there's the type where you can, as Ravious puts it, "hop over Samwell(wise) Gamgee's hobbit head to your heart's content while Elrond bids the Fellowship farewell."

So what's your favorite kind of cut scene? Do you feel they need to be giant cinematic productions, or do the brief game-engine scenes do well enough?

The anatomy of a cut scene originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 15 Nov 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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