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Speaking with Guild Wars 2 developer ArenaNet for the first time since the lay-offsApr 17, 2019 - EurogamerIt's been a torrid time for Guild Wars 2 maker ArenaNet. At the end of February, the studio cut a third of its workforce and people who had worked there for more than a decade walked away. NCSoft-on-high reportedly said revenues were falling and the business was not sustainable, and for the first time, Guild Wars 2 - and ArenaNet - looked vulnerable. In one fell stroke, two unannounced projects and 143 staff were gone. A cloud of concern lingered. Was Guild Wars 2 in decline? And if two unannounced projects had been cancelled, what would follow it? Read more ArenaNet lays off 'a number' of employees ahead of NCSoft West mergerFeb 25, 2019 - PC GamerGuild Wars developer ArenaNet has laid off "a number" of employees as part of a process that will see the company merge with NCSoft West. A company rep confirmed with GameDaily.biz that the cuts too place "as part of NCSoft’s ongoing restructuring of its development and publishing business in the west," although specific numbers were not revealed. The layoffs were reported, and then confirmed, late last week, when ArenaNet said that "staff reductions" would occur as a result of the cancellation of unannounced projects. A company rep said at the time that the layoffs are "part of a larger organizational restructuring within NCSoft in the west," but added that there would be no impact on the Guild Wars games, or any upcoming content. Lead game designer Jennifer Scheurle, who remains with ArenaNet, said on Twitter that the company handled the cuts well. "Many of the most talented, driven and skilled people, friends and colleagues, didn’t get to keep their job. It’s been one of the most agonizing things I’ve ever experienced," she wrote. "This is true despite feeling that ArenaNet handled the awful situation as well as you can handle a situation where everybody loses. It’s credit to a compassionate and skilled HR department that we are given as much information and time as we were." Slightly contradicting its announcement last week, ArenaNet also said today that the release of the Warclaw, a new Guild Wars 2 world vs world mount, has been delayed until March 5. "In light of current events at the studio, we are taking this time to focus on our friends and colleagues," the studio wrote. "We hope you understand and we apologize for this delay." Guild Wars studio ArenaNet confirms layoffsFeb 21, 2019 - PC GamerUpdate: In response to our inquiry, ArenaNet issued the following statement: "We can confirm that due to the cancellation of unannounced projects, ArenaNet will make staff reductions. This is part of a larger organizational restructuring within NCSOFT in the west, but the Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 game services will not be affected, nor is any upcoming game content canceled." The studio declined to comment on the number of employees affected by the cuts. Original story: A report out of Kotaku indicates that ArenaNet, the developer of the Guild Wars MMOs, will undergo layoffs that will see a "significant" number of employees let go. An internal email reportedly sent by the CEO of ArenaNet parent NCSoft said that the company aims to "cut costs across the organization," a process that will include a merger of ArenaNet and NCSoft's publishing divisions. "Our live game business revenue is declining as our franchises age, delays in development on PC and mobile have created further drains against our revenue projects, while our operating costs in the west have increased," the email said. "Where we are is not sustainable, and is not going to set us up for future success." Guild Wars 2 was released in 2012 and while there have been content updates and four "Living World" seasons since then, only two full expansion have been released, Heart of Thorns in 2015 and Path of Fire in 2017. ArenaNet hasn't developed any new games since Guild Wars 2 either. The report is unconfirmed for now, but comes just a few months after NCSoft pulled the plug on the Wildstar MMO and shuttered its developer, Carbine. It's not known how many people will be impacted by the cuts, but a 2018 "ArenaNet Culture" video said the company employed almost 400 people. I've reached out to ArenaNet for more information and will update if I receive a reply. How a German datacenter blowing up led to a surprise graphics update for 13-year-old MMO Guild WarsMay 12, 2018 - EurogamerGuild Wars - the first Guild Wars, which came out in 2005 - is all of a sudden back in business - and it's down to the after hours work of just a couple of developers. This week an update was pushed out to the 13-year-old massively multiplayer online role-playing game that added an impressive suite of new graphics options - much to the surprise and delight of the game's small but loyal community. Graphics improvements included windowed fullscreen support, a new 8X MSAA anti-aliasing option, 16x Anisotropic filtering support for the existing "use best texture filtering" option, and, most impressive of all, a new "advanced" option checkbox, which was added to the graphics options panel. Read more… You told us your best MMO raiding war storiesOct 3, 2016 - PC GamerMMO players have war stories. That bloody battle that finally dropped the rare loot you needed for your rogue. The 18 hour raid against a Final Fantasy XI boss that left you physically ill. We recently asked PC Gamer readers to tell us their best raiding stories, and we've collected some of our favorite memories on the following pages. There are stories of triumph, stories of griefing, and stories of failure. One player raided with his mom. Another became a server-wide legend... for being sat on. MMOs get pretty weird, sometimes. How many of these raids do you have your own stories about, too? By Anya Moore My most memorable was in City of Heroes saving a Rikti Mother Ship. For the uninitiated, RMS was an open-world Raid against a crashed mothership, but it required a certain coordination and traversing through the entire zone to take out a number of shield generators before the mothership could be attacked directly, a bunch of bombs placed, and then everybody meeting in the center of the mothership to fight hordes and hordes of Rikti, and eventually the Rikti commander. Well, during one of our runs, it was a somewhat slow night, and the raid group wasn't anywhere close to being full. Nevertheless, we were still grinding things down until the last phase where we were fighting a losing battle in the central part of the mothership. I was playing a Dark/Dark/Psi healer, and the raid group was at less than 50% - a couple dozen folks were KO'ed at my feet, with a number of others that were frantically trying to make their ways back to us, having gotten separated for one reason or another. Now Dark Defenders have the most powerful group AOE heals, and the only group AoE Resurrect in the game. The only problem, is that the abilities don't fire off 100% as they require you to drain a fraction of an enemy's life force. Well, the raid was about to fall apart, but my team was still fighting. I managed to get myself located so I could hit as many people as possible and still have an enemy within range to suck the life out of for my rez. The rez went off, and I rez'ed a huge chunk of the raid (15 people I think, the absolute maximum the spell could affect). A few seconds after that, other healers that were rez'ed by me immediately started rez'ing the people I missed and getting our defenses shored back up. After that, we were back in fighting force, and we were able to complete the run successfully. -- Virtue server By Manuel Duran This post makes me feel old - my most memorable raiding story is beating The Rathe Council in Everquest for the first time. For those who don't know this encounter, let me break down the madness: there 12 council members standing in a circle in the middle of a small, wooded clearing which you have to kill in order to spawn the final member who you then kill to beat the encounter. Sounds easy, right? Hmm, except that you have to kill all 12 within a minute of each other or the encounter resets. Each one the members hit like a ...The RPG Scrollbars: The Best Punishments For CheatersSep 7, 2015 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunOver in Everquest II, they’re trying an experiment at the moment – what’s that? Yes, Everquest II. People are still playing it. The original as well. I know, I’m surprised too, but never mind. Specifically, they’ve created a prison server called Drunder. The idea is that instead of banning trolls, griefers and cheaters (presumably up to a certain point), they can simply throw all the troublemakers in server jail and let them play together with no possibility of escape. Nothing can possibly go wrong! If you want to indulge in the anarchy then you can request to be sent there, but again, it’s a one way trip for your account. Has Daybreak finally discovered the ultimate fix for bad online behaviour, though? Let’s ask our special ethics correspondent, a snowball in Hell. … Well, while we wait, I thought it’d be fun to take a look at how a few other RPGs have decided to have a little fun with their dodgier elements, both online and off. … First Look: Guild Wars 2 Heart of ThornsMar 3, 2015 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunGuild Wars 2 launched with a promise to fix MMOs. Strident, attention-grabbing, patently doomed schtick that was nevertheless suffused with just enough gosh-shucks-darn-it-I-want-to-see-them-try zest to make it a journey worth tracking. That was two years ago. The mission met with mixed results, as lead designer Isaiah Cartwright admitted to me when we spoke in Brighton during a hands-on with the game’s first expansion, Heart of Thorns. We were among the first to play the expansion and all of the details are below. … Gigantic Is A Gorgeous Not-MOBA From StarCraft s LeadJul 16, 2014 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunGuild Wars 1 Development To Be Halted, AutomatedMay 21, 2013 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunRare is the MMO that continues to thrive alongside its direct successor – or, for that matter, get a direct successor at all. By all accounts, the original Guild Wars lived a good, long life. It loved, it lost, it learned violin, it saw the ocean one last time. Also, I don’t know why I’m talking about it in the past tense, because it’s not dead yet. True, ArenaNet’s already itsy bitsy GW1 live team is moving on to bigger, less eight-year-old things, but unlike NCsoft stablemate City of Heroes, these guilds will war on. How? Robots. Find out more about your imminent ice-cold oppression after the break. (more…) Concept Art That Goes From Halo 4 To Guild Wars 2 And Back AgainFeb 28, 2013 - Kotaku Dave Bolton is a concept artist who has worked for 343 Studios, ArenaNet and Hourglass Studios. So we're about to get a look at some fantastic art from, among other things, Halo 4 and Guild Wars. If you like what you see, you can check out loads more at Dave's personal site and CGHub page (thanks Concept Root!) To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they're big enough, so you can save them as wallpaper), right-click on them below and select "open in new tab". Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing the best of both their professional and personal portfolios. If you're in the business and have some concept, environment, promotional or character art you'd like to share, drop us a line! What Happens When You Accuse Someone Of Attempting Date Rape In Guild Wars 2Feb 18, 2013 - Kotaku Just because it's a video game doesn't mean scenes won't play out like they do in real life. In a post over at Keep It Up, a curious role-playing scenario from Guild Wars 2 is detailed: one where a character named Sylvia saw a human male giving a single drink to a female character—only to have the female character pass out. Outside the game, the person controlling Sylvia knew what had happened: the 'unconscious woman' was really just a player that had to excuse herself from the RP (role-play) because of something in real-life. In-game, however, the woman chose to use the "sleep" command at a tavern—which makes it look like the player falls in the floor in a heap. Which is to say, in-game, the 'dubious scene' presented a weird but interesting opportunity for role-play. She wrote: I saw it as a great opportunity to pursue some roleplay. My character, who was already standing near the exit, questioned him on his way out about the woman over his shoulder. She wasn't even aggressive about it then, it was casual. Mild. His mutterings were nervous and dubious at best. He spoke about how he had "papers" to allow for such a thing, and he just had to get her back to his place. Needless to say, things took a turn for the uncomfortable: they were playing out a scene involving a guy attempting date rape! Things escalated from there. Sylvia tried to get the man to leave the woman alone or to at least get the woman to some healers; the woman needed help. She tried to call the local guards. No dice, nobody cared. The man became more agitated at all the 'libelous' and insulting implications of what he was doing. Even worse than having most people not care was that Sylvia then came under fire for being a loudmouthed nuisance that was "making a fuss" about "nothing." People were more concerned over the reputation of the guy than they were of the well-being of the woman, basically. I had initiated RP with the other player for the sake of fun, but I had increasingly become more and more unnerved by the turn. It's only a game and it's fantasy and roleplay and silliness, of course. The other players undoubtedly took cues from the out of character nature of things. It's not, after all, as if anyone could force another player to RP out something they don't wish. However through the time spent playing this scene out, the manner in which it mirrored real life behaviour that I've either seen or read about in such detail was unpleasant, to say the least. Not only in the casual disregard for the unconscious woman's well-being from an IC perspective, but OOC the things that were said were so jarringly similar to the sexist and harmful things you hear in real life. You can read the full post here, which has more details in regards to what happened—but still, pretty crazy, right? Nobody forced folks to play along, much less in this specific way that mirrored real-life rape culture—doubting the veracity of the tale, protecting the guy, failing to help th...Please, Help, I'm Relapsing And Posting More Guild Wars 2 ArtFeb 7, 2013 - Kotaku You'd think that the game being out, and out for a while now, would have stopped me lusting after the concept art behind Guild Wars 2, but nope. Not gonna happen. Not when creative director Daniel Dociu is posting fresh pieces. The artist, who you may recognise as the face of Father Grigory in Half-Life 2, has shared four new images on his portfolio, and while four is an unusually small number to run here on Fine Art, I'm sure you'll agree this is a case of quality over quantity. You can check out a feature on Daniel's Guild Wars 2 art we ran last year here, and see more of his work at his personal site and CGHub page (thanks Super Punch!). To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they're big enough, so you can save them as wallpaper), right-click on them below and select "open in new tab". Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing the best of both their professional and personal portfolios. If you're in the business and have some concept, environment, promotional or character art you'd like to share, drop us a line! Portal's "Still Alive" Sounds Quite Nice in Guild Wars 2Jan 16, 2013 - KotakuYouTube user Marflus1 has created this musical gem, which is described as follows: An Arrangement of "Still Alive" from Portal, produced using the Wintersday Bell and Pipe Organ in Guild Wars 2, a little bit of pitch editing in Audacity, and an awful lot of time in Adobe Premiere Pro. Whatever it takes! Marflus1 previously figured out how to wring "Billie Jean" out of Guild Wars 2. Portal's "Still Alive" in Guild Wars 2 Gorgeous Games of 2012: Guild Wars 2Dec 21, 2012 - Kotaku When we started putting together a list of the best-looking games of 2012, Guild Wars 2 was an easy choice. The massive world of Tyria contains all manner of visual wonder, and every hilltop invites a pause for wide-eyed gazing. It's a very good game, too. Chris put together this cinemagraph of my primary elementalist character, looking up at the windmill outside Divinity's Reach. Yeah, man. I'll be exploring this world well into 2013. Get A Peek At The Wintersday Festivities That Await In Guild Wars 2Dec 10, 2012 - KotakuThe folks at ArenaNet keep on adding new content to Guild Wars 2, from seasonal updates to new instances, group events and other tweaks that will live on past any holiday. The latest season is upon us as Wintersday arrives in Tyria. The video above gives a taste of what's in store, and has a distinctly Harry Potter vibe to it. The whole thing will center around the character Tixx the Toymaker, who arrives this Wednesday, December 14. The game will also see some updates to World vs. World. Okay, Fall rush is over. Time for me to get back into Guild Wars 2. The Lead Designer Of Guild Wars 2 Is Answering Your Questions Right Now (Q&A Closed)Nov 15, 2012 - Kotaku ArenaNet's massively multiplayer Guild Wars 2 has been out for a few months now, and many of us here at Kotaku really like the game. Like any MMO, it's already changed quite a bit since launch, and ArenaNet has begun regularly adding new content, quests, and gear to extend the game's life well into the future. There's so much to talk about, so much to play and see, that you just may have some questions. And hey, what do you know, Guild Wars 2 Lead Designer Isaiah Cartwright has volunteered to come by for an hour and answer anything you care to ask. So, have at it: Ask him anything you like down in the comments. Cartwright will begin answering at 6PM Eastern time, and he'll keep going for about an hour. ArenaNet Adds 'Ascended Gear' To Guild Wars 2, Upset Players Grab Their PitchforksNov 14, 2012 - Kotaku Oh, you like that Exotic weapon you've got? Yeah, but is it Ascended? That's the name of the newest sort of gear in Guild Wars 2, another addition to extend the MMO's endgame and give hardcore players more to do in the already gigantic game. In a new post at the ArenaNet website, ArenaNet's Linsey Murdock details how Ascended gear will work. The key difference is infusion: Ascended gear works a little bit differently than other gear types. The stats and functionality normally added to gear through upgrade components are actually built into Ascended items. Instead of upgrade slots, Ascended gear has Infusion slots, and rarer versions of the items also come with additional Agony Resistance built into them. Players will be able to acquire Ascended Rings in the Fractals of the Mists dungeon, and Ascended items worn on the back can be acquired through special Mystic Forge recipes. However, the update has got a good number of Guild Wars 2 players angry, with most of them saying that this is a move towards Guild Wars 2 becoming a more standard, treadmill-ish MMO. In a fleshed-out reddit post, user Shanaeri breaks it down thusly: • It puts GW2 in the ‘me-too' category of gear checking, gear treadmill games. Not only does it undermine Arenanets reputation, but it also undermines a key differentiator of the game. One in which seems to be a key factor in many people's choice to play the game. • For WvW players, it a problem because your best-in-slot gear may now be exclusively found in dungeons. • For casual PvEers, it's a problem because you'll be behind the gear curve, and more hardcore players will start to exclude you because of it. This means you'll have to keep playing just to keep up. • For die-hard PvEers, it's a problem because you'll be pressured to do the latest dungeon (the one with the best stats and neccessary infusions) to the exclusion of all else. Otherwise you too will drop off the gear treadmill just as you do in WoW. It's the kind of thing that gets dicy—developers want to give their most dedicated players something to do for, well, ever, but it can be tough to do that without somehow rigging the system to draw things out. I'm curious what you all think, though. I love Guild Wars 2, but not nearly enough to have progressed to the level that most of this stuff concerns. Is Ascended gear a good thing? The sign of worse things to come? Is this a lot of sound and fury over nothing? Sound off in the comments. Also, we'll actually have a Guild Wars 2 developer right here at Kotaku live tomorrow, and if you'd like, you can ask about this (or anything else about the game). So, stay tuned for that. Linsey Murdock Unveils New High End Ascended Gear Ascended Gear Breakdown Huge New Live Event This Weekend Kicks Off Guild Wars 2's November UpdateNov 12, 2012 - Kotaku Lion's Arch is under attack! Or, well, make that, Lion's Arch is under attack—again. The poor city just can't seem to catch a break. Just as the Mad King himself burst into Lion's Arch rather destructively on October 28, so too is something coming to the coastal city next weekend. And it's not a nice something. The "Shadow of the Mad King" October event that marked Halloween in Tyria was the beginning, not the end, of Guild Wars 2's slate of large-scale live events. The next, "The Lost Shores," is coming on November 16. The event, which takes place over three days next weekend, promises to leave a permanent mark on Tyria. Players will have to work together in the large scale not only to fight the invading karka, but to research means to damage them at all. In addition to a major three-day live event taking place in the game's regular zones, ArenaNet is adding a major new dungeon structure and a new PvP zone to Guild Wars 2 with their November update. The PvP area, Temple of the Silent Storm, promises to be more vertically oriented than existing PvP maps, challenging players to move through the giant iceberg dojo of the kodan, a race of heavily armored polar bears. The dungeon addition, meanwhile, adds a whole level of progression in and of itself. Fractals of the Mists is a set of level 80 mini-dungeons that get more challenging for players the farther they progress. On entering the dungeon, a group must complete a set of three separate small dungeons, each taking about 15-45 minutes and culminating with a major boss fight. When that set is complete and players return to the hub, each successive return gets harder. There are 9 total "fractal" maps that players can be randomly sent into. As players progress through the fractals, and the challenge continues to increase, they can earn "ascended" item rewards. These, a level higher than existing exotic items, are the gear level that players will need as they keep getting further in and the challenge keeps rising. Guild Wars 2 is also getting its first free trial weekend to coincide with the launch of "The Lost Shores." Starting later today, current players will be able to invite up to three friends into the free trial event, which begins on Thursday, November 15 and runs through the full weekend. "The Lost Shores" is a level 80 event, but participating players will be bumped up via GW2's "sidekicking" for the duration, so pretty much anyone can dive in. It's Time to Celebrate The Spooky Season In MMORPGsOct 24, 2012 - Kotaku Halloween is still a week from today, so you'll have to wait until next Wednesday if you want to go trick-or-treating in the real world. (Or at least, if you want to do it without getting the cops called.) But if you'd like to dash around a virtual world in costume, gathering treats and performing tricks, you're in luck. MMOs far and wide have Halloween events going on for a week or two. So if you're ready to dive into the spookier side of things, here are some places you can get your ghost and goblin fix. Guild Wars 2 "Shadow of the Mad King" October 22 - November 1 "Shadow of the Mad King" follows on the heels of the annual Halloween event from the original Guild Wars. The full set of events is unfolding over four acts over the next two weeks but right now, there are Halloween-themed goodies for sale on the Black Lion Trading Company, and decorations in Lion's Arch and elsewhere. Mysterious (totally not spooky at all, nope) portals have also begun to appear around Tyria. Where do they lead? Well, finding the Mad King at the end certainly does seem likely. Our own Kirk Hamilton wrote his impressions of a hands on experience with Guild Wars 2's seasonal fare. The Secret World "The Cat God" October 18 - November 1 The undead are kind of par for the course in The Secret World, really. A day with zombies, ghosts, and ghouls in its world isn't "Halloween," it's, "Tuesday." The Secret World's third content update issue, then, takes players into something more than just a jaunt with run-of-the-mill eldritch horrors. It stars... the cat god. (Anyone who doesn't think a cat god can be scary has clearly never been awakened by the gleaming eyes of a fuzzy hellion at three in the morning.) Events begin in Kingsmouth—where a previous Halloween, evil came over the sea—and end in a PvE version of Stonehenge. Where better to see what Samhain brings? Tera "Masquerade Mayhem" October 23 - November 5 Tera promises an array of tricks and treats to its denizens, starting today. Cake and candy are appearing all over the world—who can say no to sweets? The dungeons, quests, and treat-gathering all, of course look delicious. But the highlight of Tera's Halloween festivities is no doubt going to be the Masquerade Ball and costume contest, on October 30. Players can enter in the categories of funniest, scariest, best single, and best group. (See the rules.) If the Masquerade Ball is anything like the Halloween dances I vaguely remember from high school, a truly perplexing number of people will show up dressed as characters from Grease. World of Warcraft "Hallow's End" October 18 - 31 World of Warcraft has Hallow's End down to a science at this point. The world is transformed: every hamlet, village, town, and city seems to be celebrating. Every jack-o-lantern tempts travellers with treats. And of course, what's Halloween without a chance to play tricks on your rivals? The Horde and Alliance are at each other's throats again, this time with stink...Trick Or Treat! Starting Today, Guild Wars 2 Gets Even BiggerOct 22, 2012 - Kotaku It's Halloween in Tyria, and the Mad King has returned. Starting today, all Guild Wars 2 players will log in to find a ton of new content in the MMO, from holiday-themed decorations to transformative costumes all the way up to whole new areas, mini-dungeons, and bosses. Some of these events will only happen for the duration of the event, and will vanish on October 31st. But many more of them will linger on, evidence of ArenaNet's ongoing commitment to constantly adding new content to their already massive game. Last week I met with Matt Wuerffel and Mike Zadorojny, both of whom are designers working on adding new content to Guild Wars 2. They walked me through a lot of the new stuff in the game. I also spent a little bit of time this weekend running around the new content on the developers' server—less than I would have liked, as I didn't anticipate that it'd take most of the day to download the entire developers' build of the game, but still long enough to see what's what. I gotta say: For a free content drop, the Halloween stuff is above and beyond. The Mad King-themed Halloween stuff is a trip, and from what I saw, a lot of fun. Players will be able to hack apart various trick-or-treat themed items—including giant candy corns—and craft a bunch of unique Halloween-themed items. Some areas, Lion's Arch in particular, have been completely redone for the holiday—the city is now tinged with green and festooned with Halloween decorations, and there's a giant green cauldron in the middle of the square that, if you can climb up and jump in, will turn you into one of a number of Halloween-themed monsters. I've only seen a few of these, but my favorite was the plastic spider, which scoots around as if pushed by an imaginary hand. The Mad King storyline will play out similar to, actually, Oblivion's oblivion gates. (That's putting it into language that non-hardcore MMO players like me will understand.) At various places in the world, doors will crop up, which begin by pouring enemies out into the world but eventually lead through to the Mad King's dimension, where you'll engage in several different creative challenges. The events will change to coincide with the various phases in the planned festivities (there are four in total—they stack on top of each other and open up new content, culminating with a big Halloween fest of events). But there's also a bunch of new content that has nothing to do with Halloween. The mini-dungeons are a cool idea—they're nowhere near as involved and massive as the game's full-on dungeons; they're just hidden areas in the world that open up into collections of challenges and battles that are pretty intense, but still the kind of thing you could tackle in an hour or two. The mini-dungeon I saw involved a devious platforming puzzle over lava, leading into an Asura named Vexa's testing lab. In addition to the lava jumping puzzle, players would have to bypass a complicated Portal-esque puzzle...
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