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

Old is New Again

If you spell Guild Wars backwards you get Sraw Dliug – in other words utter nonsense. Coincidentally, that’s also what you get when you attempt to play most MMOGs in reverse. No, I’m not talking about making your avatar only walk backwards, or even proposing some hare-brained scheme to allow players to level in the opposite direction once they hit the cap. Even if I were, the industry collectively dropped the notion of de-leveling via XP loss long ago. Chilling campfire tales of the ghosts of MMOs’ past may be fun, though they don’t typically translate all too well into an awesome gameplay experience.

Sometimes though, revisiting old content can be just as richly rewarding as continually pushing forward in a purely linear fashion. A perfect example of this would be the daily Zaishen quests introduced with Guild Wars’ fourth anniversary update which offer a little something for everyone. Accessed through the Great Temple of Balthazar and rotating daily, these quests come in one of three distinct flavors; Missions, Bounties and PvP Combat. Not only can players earn a nice chunk of XP and gold upon completion, but a new reward structure was also introduced with the update that allows players to collect Zaishen coins which can be used to purchase a broad range of items. Even if you’re not interested in consumables and skill tomes, the new Equipment Packs offer a much needed boost in personal inventory space. If you’re the type of player that obsesses over obtaining elite armor sets and unique weapon drops, these new packs are certainly worth every gold Zaishen coin.

I consider ArenaNet’s implementation of these daily quests to be a stroke of true genius – another mechanic on the long list that I’m patiently waiting to see the rest of the industry catch on to. The concept of daily quests has been around for a couple of years now, but once again the developers of Guild Wars have shown a unique approach to a mechanic that’s otherwise become synonymous with faction grinding. While new items are always a boon to players, one thing I’ve found to be equally rewarding is how older towns and outposts are once again seeing revitalized interest. Not only does this make finding groups a much easier experience, but it also helps spread out the critical mass of players into zones that have been otherwise largely abandoned as each new stand-alone campaign was introduced.

The only real sticking point here is that to take full advantage of these quests you’ll need to own all 3 campaigns as well as the Eye of the North expansion, since the daily rotation may send you to any of their locations for the Zaishen Missions and Bounties. The PvP side of things tends to be a little more inclusive, at least if your main focus is on the game’s more competitive aspects.

Call of the North

In the coming weeks I’ll be spending more time rediscovering Tyria, in particular delving into the depths of the Far Shiverpeaks in an attempt to unlock more trophies to round out my collection in the Hall of Monuments. The Hall itself is another excellent example of encouraging players to seek out adventure across the available content regardless of when it was initially introduced. To me that’s one of the hallmarks of great game design, and just one of the many reasons why Guild Wars is certainly worth a second look.