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

Ever since the Prophecies campaign hit the ground running in the spring of 2005, the Guild Wars franchise has continued to evolve in new and interesting ways, consistently defying industry norms and carving an impressively large chunk of the MMOG pie to the tune of 6 million units sold. If not for the debatable status of the title belonging to the MMOG club proper, Guild Wars would only play second fiddle to Blizzard’s rampaging WoW beast in the western market. That said, it should come as no surprise that the number of new titles featuring a lobby-based instancing approach with a strong focus on competitive arena gameplay is clearly on the upswing. Whether or not any of these upcoming games will have the staying power of ArenaNet’s runaway hit remains to be seen.

A few weeks ago, Guild Wars fans were treated to a repeat of the popular Wintersday in July celebration, complete with PvP snowball fights and more Frosty Tonics than you can shake a Candy Cane Shard at. Being a long-time fan of the game’s seasonal events, I brought my Ritualist out of hibernation and have been spamming a long trail of spirits across Tyria and beyond ever since.

One thing that instantly stood out for me is that while each new campaign has added a significant amount of new content and meaningful gameplay mechanics, one of the series’ main strengths lies in the plethora of new ways to approach the available content. For example, Nicholas the Traveler and his trusty dolyak Professor Yakkington have become a weekly Easter egg hunt of sorts, as players scour zones to discover his new location and which collectible items he wants in exchange for one of his random gifts. Last week the good Professor gobbled up a few bowls of Skalefin Soup and Nicholas rewarded me with a hefty stack of ale and other assorted consumables, and this week the process begins anew with another 5 chances at a rare or unique item.

Beyond the Breach

Speaking of rare items, I also spent a good amount of time exploring a couple of older but more challenging (and proportionately rewarding) zones, the Underworld and the Fissure of Woe. While both locations have been farming hot spots for years now thanks to rare crafting drops that fetch a few platinum each at the local NPC traders, I was more interested in seeing what kind of trouble I could get into soloing without the support of heroes or henchmen and otherwise push the limits of what my Ritualist was capable of.

Not one to take the easy road, I opted to stick to the Hard Mode versions of the zones, which is another of the game’s unique ways of keeping older content perfectly viable even for skilled vets. Truthfully I haven’t had as much fun soloing in an MMO since I last played my necromancer in EQ. Sure I died more than a few times which can sting a little considering that it instantly boots you from the zone requiring you to plunk down another hefty entrance fee to dive back in, but in my book it was well worth it. While I wasn’t necessarily even interested in loot (trust me, my storage account is already stuffed full as it is), I did manage to snag a few Skill Tomes which are another feature that was introduced with Hard Mode that allows you to learn a skill that’s already been unlocked on your account. While not as varied as questing for skills was in the original Prophecies campaign, obtaining them solo in zones initially intended as a challenge for a full group of skilled players was easily just as fun.