Guild Wars 2 news, guides, features, interviews and more at Ten Ton Hammer

Does "Sorrow's Furnace" have a loose fan belt?

Nope! Give Jeremy Soule- Arena.net's Composer for Guild Wars- some credit, that's the new music. If you're a fan of that big angry Wagnerian symphonic sound that makes besting "feeble muskrats" feel like fighting the demon overlord for the souls of mankind, this interview might be of interest to you!

Soule also talks of DirectPlay, a fee-based service that allows game music composers to deliver more music to games and expansions gone gold.

IGN: Since you also worked on the music for the initial Guild Wars game, how did you approach this project? How did you keep true to the original Guild Wars music while still creating your own unique sound for this update?

Jeremy Soule: Guild Wars is a purely symphonic experience. I rely heavily on past composers such as Wagner and Beethoven. For this expansion, I made the "colors" darker, but kept the framework of Guild Wars in place. The main theme makes an appearance, and there are some textural similarities to Guild Wars. Fans of my work know that I favor big sounds; this orchestra is even bigger than what we used for the original Guild Wars. In virtual terms, we would need over 400 players to duplicate our sound in an acoustic reality.

More of the Guild Wars: Sorrow's Furnace music interview here!

While the thought of "Counters" and "Smiting" might bring back early Parochial school memories...

...these are also terms used to descrbe important aspects of Guild Wars strategy. Even after the recent updates, smiting is the most common offensive technique employed on the scene. Important to note though, is that many good teams are not predominantly using smiting! Learn about the prominent cases of smiting, and the counters that can shut it down. Do your part to bring variety back onto the scene of Guild Wars!

The current scene of smiting involves an Elementalist/Monk using fast recharge skills and Zealot's Fire, which takes advantage of using enchantments and Ether Renewal to keep up both energy and health with every cast, while dealing significant damage. Seems unfair? Many people feel that Ether Renewal should be changed, or rather, rebalanced.

The full TTH Guild Wars Strategy Highlight: "On Smiting and Counters" is now available for your esteemed perusal!

A profession? My profession is weak bylines!

Guild Wars' official site is sporting a new page dedicated to explaining each of the game's six professions. But who has time for that when there's deskpaper (and yes, we at TTH want to change your hearts and minds about what's been previously dubbed "wallpaper" - does it go on your wall? Nope.), sweet sweet Guild Wars Deskpape, to be downloaded?

Wallpaper of the Week 31 August 2005

This Wednesday's desktop presents an early concept for a Guild Hall design, dating from summer of 2004. You'll find your choice of wallpaper sizes and aspect ratios in the Gallery, or on this direct link.

Professions Section Updated 31 August 2005

We've taken another pass at the Professions Section and now display the names and descriptions of each skill and the related skill icon, as well. Find this expanded content on this page.

Have a look at the Guild Wars professions, or have a sample from the Guild Wars Deskpaper tray. Go on!

All PvP. All The Time.
IGN has posted a Guild Wars Extreme PvP Weekend interview featuring Isaiah Cartwright. Hoss and Little Joe Cartwright from the Ponderosa ranch rode up and shouted:

" With the multiplayer event coming up so quickly this Friday, ArenaNet
was good to take the time to answer some quick questions about the
update and what people can expect both from it and the future of Guild Wars. ArenaNet's Skill Balance Game Designer Isaiah Cartwright provides the answers to the future of skills in one of the most popular RPGs on the PC. "

You can read the entire Guild Wars Interview at IGN.
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