Next expansion: Eye of the North

[Havral]

Press release

The Nitty-Gritty

Set largely in the dungeons and caverns of the lands of Tyria that players first explored in Guild Wars Prophecies, Guild Wars: Eye of the North will have 18 large, multi-level dungeons, 150 new skills across all 10 Guild Wars professions, 10 new Heroes, 40 new armor sets, and even more items, weapons and titles.

And for those looking even further down the road at Guild Wars 2, Guild Wars: Eye of the North will provide a Hall of Monuments where players’ accomplishments are memorialized and eventually inherited by their Guild Wars 2 characters, unlocking exclusive items and bonuses in Guild Wars 2.

So, there you have it. Next GW expansion plus hints of GW2.

[Lurker Wyrm]

Hmm... 10 new heroes... 1 per class?

I like how they spin it though. They say this is a reward for people who have been dedicated to the game since the beginning, even though they're doing this instead of another full campaign like their business model claimed they would.

[WarBlade]

I don't think there was ever much doubt about the lack of long-term sustainability in that campaign structure. Even to the end user it became apparent shortly after Factions released: In PvE the population base thinned across an increasing number of locales and the PvP gets more bloated with each new class and set of skills. A shift to an expansion concept was inevitable IMO, although I had imagined something quite different. I thought I'd be seeing maybe 50% more explorable content added to each campaign on the account (Sorrow's Furnace being the precident) and a big balance up in non-core profession skill sets, armour art etc.

Anyone remember me predicting more end game content (a la Sorrow's Furnace again) for Factions back before Factions was released and KoP offering up a non-believing, almost shoot-it-down comment in reply? Well it looks like I had the right idea, just two installments off the mark.

Anyway, I'll have to confess that I'm a little disappointed with the news. While Guild Wars 2 is exciting I've been predicting for a while that Guid Wars itself could have gone to about 6 installments (including probably 2 expansions) before being replaced by its successor. Oh well. Can't win 'em all I suppose.

NCsoft® Europe and ArenaNet® today revealed their exciting plans for the future of the hugely successful Guild Wars® franchise.

Today? They let the cat out of the back the moment the PC Gamer May issue started hitting the streets! Fan sites have had summaries for about a week now!

[KingOfPain]

Anyone remember me predicting more end game content (a la Sorrow's Furnace again) for Factions back before Factions was released and KoP offering up a non-believing, almost shoot-it-down comment in reply? Well it looks like I had the right idea, just two installments off the mark.

*Scratch Head*

I have always pushed for what they are trying to do with the final expansion, and the new GW2 model. (among other things, less new professions and skills) I had pestered the devs with my displeasure and even suggested new business models, which it seems they are adapting to, if slowly. (I am not claiming sole credit for the changes, of course).

The most encouraging thing I read came from the Wired interview

...rather than have overly complex skills that take an excessive amount of brain matter to understand, players will learn less complicated skills that they will be encouraged to test out in any situation they can think of...

Way to go, but hmm

"So there is not a level 20 cap," Strain said. "Either it will be a high level like 100 or unbounded, we haven't decided."

Careful! This can make or break the game...

I would be very disappointed if there isn't more about Gwen in the expansion.

KoP

[WarBlade]

Yeah, well Guild Wars: Eye of the North got abbreviated to GW:EN pretty quickly, so the Gwen rumours are flying thick and fast. 8)

As far as the cap thing is concerned, there are few mentions of it in articles so far, so it could go in any direction.

[Xyngynkynyn]

Yeah, well Guild Wars: Eye of the North got abbreviated to GW:EN pretty quickly, so the Gwen rumours are flying thick and fast. 8)

As far as the cap thing is concerned, there are few mentions of it in articles so far, so it could go in any direction.

This is a scan from the magazine. Here's a clearer picture of her. I hope she's a hero Mesmer...or a hero flutist.

I can understand the need for GW2. The files do feel bloated and they have some serious problems that additional chapters won't fix like:

• the Fast Cast attribute (diminishing and not really helpful for < 2 sec cast skills)
  
• Inspiration line balanced for monks instead of Mesmers (thereby leaving the mesmers with poor e-management)
  
• too many specialized mesmer skills that are irrelevant versus certain foes (i.e. Backfire useless vs. warriors, Power Drain pointless vs. rangers, Empathy worthless vs. casters, etc.). We only have 8 slots in a skill bar so it pretty much galls some (me) to have to waste a significant number of them on situational enemies. I suppose it's more reasonable in PvP but generally I don't think narrow situational skills should exist in a game where you can only have 8 skills active.
  

I'm not sure if this can be fixed but people still tend to stick to Warrior/Elementalist/Monk(/Necromancer) group builds most of the time in PvE. Hopefully a reboot with all 10 available from the beginning as well as mobs that encourage the use of other professions will encourage diversity.

So far I'm okay with what I've heard except for the higher level cap and racial attributes.

Even if everyone's at equal footing after a certain low-level, I'm still apprehensive of a HA rank situation where players will discriminate based on a number. I see signs of that in DoA with the Lightbringer rank but so far it isn't rampant because pickings are slim there most of the time.

As for racial attributes, I'm afraid that this could mean some races are better for certain professions (i.e. Norns should always be the tank, etc.). It's still too early to tell though so I'll just wait and see what they do with this one.

[Lurker Wyrm]

I hope she's a hero Mesmer...or a hero flutist.

Heh, that would be fun to have her as a hero mes. Oh, and it's floutist, btw (yeah yeah yeah, I know, I'll be quiet).

I'm not sure if this can be fixed but people still tend to stick to Warrior/Elementalist/Monk(/Necromancer) group builds most of the time in PvE. Hopefully a reboot with all 10 available from the beginning as well as mobs that encourage the use of other professions will encourage diversity.

I don't think the WEM mentality is due to availability but more because the general public is dumb and just wants straightforward damage.

So far I'm okay with what I've heard except for the higher level cap

As long as we can still have PvP chars that start at the max level, I'm fine with that.

I think I'm going to wait and see what the PvP in GW2 is like before I commit to it. We're probably going to have another 2 years or so of the current one, so by then we'll probably be looking for something new. Constant skill changes aren't going to be enough to keep people going, though.

[Zed-F]

Heh, that would be fun to have her as a hero mes. Oh, and it's floutist, btw (yeah yeah yeah, I know, I'll be quiet).

Try again, player 1! It's flautist. Although, apparently, flutist is a recognized americanism.

[WarBlade]

"Flutist" is like "gotten" as far as I can see (I could be a little off on the comparison). An archaic term that survived in a microcosm long after it had fallen into disuse elsewhere. "Flutist" predates "flautist", though "flautist is the common term today.

Damn these old words. One day I'll take a gonne and blow them all away!

[Xyngynkynyn]

As long as we can still have PvP chars that start at the max level, I'm fine with that.

...

I think I'm going to wait and see what the PvP in GW2 is like before I commit to it. We're probably going to have another 2 years or so of the current one, so by then we'll probably be looking for something new. Constant skill changes aren't going to be enough to keep people going, though.

From what I've heard about PvP thus far: characters will be bumped to max level in terms of attributes and Life points (like the snowball arena I guess) and UAX when entering a PvP area.

GvG will still be there but they want to add massive PvP scenarios in a persistent setting (like a week long war I guess). You'll be able to log in and out of that long fight while remaining on the same team. After a week or 2, the results will be posted, the setting reset and you'll be redistributed along with everyone else into a new team.

"Flutist" is like "gotten" as far as I can see (I could be a little off on the comparison). An archaic term that survived in a microcosm long after it had fallen into disuse elsewhere. "Flutist" predates "flautist", though "flautist is the common term today.

I'll be using "flautist" from now on then.