Guild Wars 2 MMO News, Guides, and Features at Ten Ton Hammer

Along with a world first look at the thief profession for Guild Wars 2 at GDC 2011, ArenaNet also showcased the norn guardian as shown in this exclusive video from the event. First, Continuity and Lore Designer Ree Soesbee gives a quick overview of the norn and their place in Tyria, followed by Global Brand Director Chris Lye walking us through the norn character creation process and early levels as a guardian.

Not only does Guild Wars 2 separate itself from the humdrum character creation process found in most MMOGs by adding biography and personality options into the mix, but those choices will have an immediate, direct impact as early as the intro cutscene. Other choices may not impact your character’s personal storyline until later in the game, but it will certainly be interesting to see how these things play out. For example, who knows what kind of wacky misadventures you may have gotten into if you select “Blacked Out” as what transpired at a recent moot in Hoelbrak?

The following video gives us our first look at these choices for norn characters, through the early combat experiences as a guardian, culminating in an awesome dynamic event equal in size and scope to what we were shown in the early Human levels in previous demos.

Be careful when fighting the white moas unless you want to end up wearing an eye patch like Zho!

For those of you who haven’t picked up a copy of the second Guild Wars novel, Edge of Destiny, I consider it a must read for any fans of GW2, especially if you’re as much of a Tyrian lore nerd as I am. As Ree explains in the video, a part of your personal story involves the various members of Destiny’s Edge, including the norn hero Eir Stegalkin who you’ll encounter early on in the norn starting zone.

I don’t know about you, but I’m already having a tough time deciding which of the five races in Guild Wars 2 that I’ll want to play first. I’ve been a big fan of the norn ever since they were first introduced in GW:EN though, so I’m eager to check them out later this week when Ten Ton Hammer heads to Boston for PAX East. Be sure to check back for our full report from the event, and in the meantime don’t forget to stop by our Guild Wars 2 forums and join the discussions on the norn guardian!

Thief Combat Video from GDC 2011 | Legend, Legacy, and the Norn | The Races of Guild Wars 2: Norn | Profession Preview: The Guardian