29/06/2007 by N.IGMA.

Guild Wars, including a few major interviews and previews about Guild Wars: Eye of the North. Be sure to check out:

• IGN: A Conversation with ArenaNet
• Gamespy: GW:EN Preview
• Games Radar: Seven-page Preview
• Associated Press: Dads and kids bond over video games
• Game Daily: Preview: Guild Wars: Eye of the North

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29/06/2007 by N.IGMA.

Miscellaneous

• Updated the map rotation for GvG and HvH tournaments.
• Added an option for Korean users to turn off the periodic Korea Game Rating Board message displayed in game. To access this option, click on the “General” tab in the Options menu.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an exploit in Jade Quarry that allowed Kurzick players to enter the map before the pre-match countdown completed.

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28/06/2007 by N.IGMA.

The recently concluded June Season of the Guild Wars $100,000 Tournament Series ended in single elimination rounds with a final showdown between the top contenders. Read all about the builds, kills, and tactics of the GvG final between Virtual Dragons [vD] and Peace and Harmony [PnH] and the details of the Hero Battle match between X Ekelon X and いもいも.

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27/06/2007 by N.IGMA.

In advance of significant Guild Wars news coming your way very soon, we’ve expanded the Gallery to include recent images from Guild Wars: Eye of the North, including screenshots, wallpapers, concept art, and a video. Head to our Gallery to see these riches. And after you’ve feasted your eyes on the art, you can read our GW:EN Product FAQ to get the answers to a few of the most commonly asked questions about our expansion.

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26/06/2007 by N.IGMA.

The Knights of Light and Darkness, an international guild founded in December of 2005, enjoys creating its own lore in Guild Wars. Members of the guild have created fictional roleplaying storylines as part of the guild’s history, and they organize group events, such as Pirate Week, to continue this history and keep the guild united. Read more about it here.

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25/06/2007 by N.IGMA.

Guild Wars $100,000 Tournament Series has come to a close. The winner of the Hero Battles series was X Ekelon X, and Virtual Dragons [vD] took the top prize as the winner of the Guild-versus-Guild playoffs. All of these players have won terrific prizes along with Reward Points that they can use for great in-game rewards. ‘Gratz to all who did so well in the June Series. The July Series has just gotten started, so be sure to jump in and show your mettle!]]>

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25/06/2007 by N.IGMA.

This newest game analysis looks at the recent balance changes and the week of play testing that followed in order to evaluate the immediate consequences of those changes—particularly in regards to Paragons, Defensive Anthem, and Mesmer interrupts. The article also speculates about further developments in the metagame as a result of the updates. Find it here.

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23/06/2007 by N.IGMA.

Alliance Battles

To encourage active players in Alliance Battles, we have adjusted the faction rewards, increasing the rewards for winning teams and decreasing the rewards for losing teams. The new rewards are as follows:

• During the battle, players will now earn 1 faction point and 10 Balthazar faction per kill.
• After the battle, players will now earn 1 faction point for each point scored by their team. Players on the winning team will be awarded a further bonus of 1,000 faction points.

Competitive Missions

To encourage active players in Competitive Missions, we have adjusted faction rewards, increasing the rewards for winning teams and decreasing the rewards for losing teams. The new rewards are as follows:

Jade Quarry

• After the mission, players will now earn 20 faction points for each jade slab collected by their team. Players on the winning team will be awarded a further bonus of 750 faction points.

Fort Aspenwood

After the mission, players will now receive the following rewards:

• Kurzick players will receive a faction point reward of two times the final completion percentage of the Vengeance of the Gods.
• Luxon players will receive 40 faction points for each unique gate destroyed during the mission.
• Players on the winning team will be awarded a further bonus of 600 faction points.

Auto Targeting

• Added the ability to toggle Auto Targeting. To enable and disable this feature, players can use the “Auto-target foes when there’s no chosen target” checkbox in the General Options panel (F11).
• Auto Targeting will no longer select an item that is reserved for another player.

Miscellaneous

• Made preparations for the Monthly Automated Tournament Playoff Event.

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22/06/2007 by N.IGMA.

This weekend offers the last chance to earn qualifier points for this month’s championships. The final GvG June Championship qualifier will start at 05:00 GMT on Saturday, June 23. The final 1v1 June Championship qualifier will start at 08:00 GMT on Sunday, June 24. You or your guild must have at least 20 QPs in order to participate in this weekend’s championships.

Watch competitors from around the world compete in the June Championships for over $10,000 in prizes! The GvG championship starts at 20:00 GMT on Saturday, June 23 and the 1v1 Championship starts at 20:00 GMT on Sunday, June 24.

And get ready to start earning qualifier points for the July Championship! The July GvG season will start at 04:00 GMT on Sunday, June 24 and the July 1v1 Season will begin at 07:00 GMT on Monday, June 25. Full rules for the tournament series can be found here.

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22/06/2007 by N.IGMA.

Congratulations to the ArenaNet art team whose work has been selected for Into the Pixel, a prestigious showcase of game industry art.

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21/06/2007 by N.IGMA.

Gamespot has published the newest Guild Wars Developer Diary, and it’s all about quests. Find out about the new direction that quests will take within Guild Wars: Eye of the North, learn about their rewards, and while you’re at it, get a sneak peek at some of the new mini-games you can enjoy in GW:EN, as well. Head here for the article.

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20/06/2007 by N.IGMA.

ArenaNet will be out in force at the Penny Arcade Expo, which will take place August 24 — 26 in Seattle, Washington. At this popular gaming show, there will be lots to do with a Guild Wars theme: tournaments, artist signings, community contests, a special VIP party, and more! Keep your eyes peeled for more information, and join us at PAX in August!

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20/06/2007 by N.IGMA.

Skill Updates

Assassin

• Critical Agility: fixed a bug that shortened this skill’s duration when it reapplied itself.

Elementalist

• Frozen Burst: decreased duration to 3..8 seconds.
• Mark of Rodgort: increased recharge time to 15 seconds.
• Searing Flames: decreased damage to 10..100.

Mesmer

• Conjure Nightmare: decreased duration to 2..16 seconds.
• Conjure Phantasm: decreased duration to 2..16 seconds.
• Hex Eater Signet: decreased casting time to 1 second, decreased recharge time to 25 seconds, decreased Energy gained per Hex to 1..4.

Monk

• Convert Hexes: decreased recharge time to 12 seconds.

Necromancer

• Faintheartedness: decreased duration to 3..28 seconds.
• Reaper’s Mark: increased recharge time to 12 seconds.

Ranger

• Nature’s Renewal: increased Spirit level to 1..13.

Warrior

• Crippling Slash: increased adrenaline cost to 6 strikes.
• Enraging Charge: decreased adrenaline gained to 0..4 strikes.

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19/06/2007 by N.IGMA.

The DVD Forums guild is a cross-game group that started with Guild Wars back in May of 2005 and which now heads an alliance. Guild members put together a daily schedule of events, from training sessions to fun runs to unusual team-versus-team meets. Read about DVDF, and get acquainted with some of their members, here.

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19/06/2007 by N.IGMA.

Skill Updates

As a part of this playbalance test week, we’ve made the following skill changes:

Assassin

• Critical Agility: decreased duration to 4 seconds, the duration now increases by 1 second for each rank of Critical Strikes.

Elementalist

• Elemental Lord: decreased the bonus to Elemental attributes to 1.
• Intensity: decreased duration to 10 seconds, increased recharge time to 45 seconds.

Mesmer

• Cry of Pain: decreased recharge time to 15 seconds.
• Ether Nightmare: decreased recharge time to 15 seconds.

Paragon

• “There is Nothing to Fear”: decreased duration to 4 seconds, the duration now increases by 1 second for every 2 ranks of Leadership.

Ritualist

• Vampirism: increased duration to 30..150 seconds.

Faction Reward NPCs

• Characters must now be level 20 to learn Kurzick or Luxon skills.
• Using the “Raise Alliance reputation” option with the Kurzick/Luxon faction reward NPCs now gives 10,000 points toward the corresponding title track. The cost is still 5,000 faction points, and the reputation gained by the alliance is still 5,000.

Miscellaneous

• Moved the footmen away from the middle teleporters of the Jade Isle to prevent players from targeting them from below.
• Faction gain messages are no longer displayed in the Chat panel when you gain less than 25 faction points.
• Updated the Korean game ratings icons.

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18/06/2007 by N.IGMA.

This week’s State of the Game article takes a topical look at the current metagame for Hero Battles, focusing on a build that is prevalent at the moment. It also looks at other popular builds and analyzes the potential impact of this week’s skill balance update upon those builds. Find the SotG here.

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