Rats Are Rad

Anything blog now! I'm Tripp!

[daeneryssansa]

It's only a passing thing, this shadow.

[rata-whitz]

GW2 news again! Off the back of their Live-stream Not a lot this time but tl;dr

Confirmation they intend to work on GW2 expacs (with the same current annual release schedule they have had for SOTO/Janthir/VoE) after GW3 is released

They'll be addressing each area of the game for modernisation and other changes from Core, then going through expac to expac, with a schedule of 1.5-2 months between each of those releases for the next year (or 18 months not sure, think they are counting from now and not from when VoE concludes)

They later addressed their intention to finally explore some lingering plot threads that have been hanging in the air for a long time for future GW2 expacs

They said that GW2's version of the Hall of Monuments would be a mix of stuff that applied retroactively and required you to replay it, albeit with very loose non-committal language to one or the other

The dev teams are completely separate for each game. This is a relief for me because I remember how rough Living World releases could be back in the day, when development teams were different between each release and there was a distinct disconnection and clear lack of communication between them. Nice to know GW2 & 3 probably won't have that

[rata-whitz]

Trying to think of the lingering plot threads too… All that comes to mind is:

The Charr Imperators that were implied to be up to something (Janthir epilogue)

Torment, at a stretch

Some Dwarves resurfaced but seemed to immediately get forgotten (perhaps by design) and by extension the Underground that Primordus destroyed and caused Asura to flee from is potentially open for exploration again

Malyck

Foefire

Wwwwhere's the Nightmare Court?

Bangar

Norn can return to the Far Shiverpeaks with the absence of Jormag

Where's my Itzel tonic?

Wonder if there's other stuff?

[rata-whitz]

GW2 news again! Off the back of their Live-stream Not a lot this time but tl;dr

Confirmation they intend to work on GW2 expacs (with the same current annual release schedule they have had for SOTO/Janthir/VoE) after GW3 is released

They'll be addressing each area of the game for modernisation and other changes from Core, then going through expac to expac, with a schedule of 1.5-2 months between each of those releases for the next year (or 18 months not sure, think they are counting from now and not from when VoE concludes)

They later addressed their intention to finally explore some lingering plot threads that have been hanging in the air for a long time for future GW2 expacs

They said that GW2's version of the Hall of Monuments would be a mix of stuff that applied retroactively and required you to replay it, albeit with very loose non-committal language to one or the other

The dev teams are completely separate for each game. This is a relief for me because I remember how rough Living World releases could be back in the day, when development teams were different between each release and there was a distinct disconnection and clear lack of communication between them. Nice to know GW2 & 3 probably won't have that

[smellyvampirez]

my toons, DUCK AND ROACH

[cloudcrouton]

dude ur lizard is nonbinary did. did you know

[rata-whitz]

i was today years old having played gw2 since 2012 and only just found out the personal story isn't replayable!? Well then! I suppose I must have never looked over the course of 14 years lmao Yeah with a redone Zhaitan on the horizon i'm sure they'll address that

[dinoserious]

euugh

[rata-whitz]

Interesting so:

After developing new Dungeons for Guild Wars Reforged and seeing their success, they're now trying a new (unknown) form of content soon to come

After VoE they're taking a break from expansion content for Guild Wars 2 until Guild Wars 3 has released. Then they are returning to Annual Major Content updates for GW2.

During the break after VoE finishes they plan to spend an entire year to go through each area of the game to make 'meaningful improvements'

They're updating the Zhaitan fight in the personal story??

We're getting a GW2 New Orr map and it is a 'Core game addition, free for all to play'

Yeah I can vibe with that

[reckless-glitch]

[ramblingandpie]

[Video description: Gritty is turning the crank on a flagpole to raise the Progress Pride Flag. He gesticulates angrily that the flag is not blowing in the wind, then gestures offscreen. The flag begins blowing. As Gritty begins raising the flag more, the camera pans out to show a man in a suit and sunglasses, looking like a stern Secret Service agent, is holding a leafblower that points at the flag. End description.]

[directorvloxx]

Sad wet vloxx

[rata-whitz]

Well! It was GW3!

I don't have super strong opinions about it since I've always struggled mustering the motivation to play prequels and we don't really know any information about it.

I think what I'm wondering about is the fact that Sylvari and Charr are highly unlikely to be included with it being set 1000 years ago. Not just because I like playing them, but because I think that a great thing about Guild Wars 2 in particular, that's helped its longevity for years is the creativity of its community.

Who are the majority of that creative community from my perspective? From what I've seen over the last 14 years, its always primarily been the Charr and Sylvari creators (as much as I love Asura, I know that Sylvari & Charr are much more popular in wider circles).

GW3 would be starting with only a fraction of the races that were responsible for fuelling the fandom for well over a decade, and without addressing that I think it's at risk of developing like, no creative fandom/community at all.

Like if we look at GW2 and the partner program, that was ANET acknowledging the fandom and creators efforts and wanting to create a system that supported this content! GW3 will still get that sort of support but...I don't think it's going to be on the same level as 2. It seems weird to me to want to create an MMO, a social experience, a brand new one in the modern era and not acknowledge the social, creative aspect and contributions that fandoms can have and how they benefit a game and its community- or at least seemingly not understand which aspects sustained your current creative community and game and not address that in 3.

It's also funny to me that they very recently added lore to the game to tell us Kodans were in Orr! Just because they very much wanted to make sure they have their Furry Race available in GW3. ...does make me wonder who fills the 'elf' archetype this time around, could be replaced by Dwarves??

This is all rambling though, we've seen one cinematic trailer that's not at all a proper representation of the game (GW2 cinematic trailers never have been) so aaaanything is still on the table

[decomposedmaw]

Pixel post dividers for everyone! It's not much, but feel free to use them if you'd like. I don't know the ideal size for these, so let me know if they're too tall. I can make them a bit shorter next time.

[rouxipanda]

Heehee i love how my main asura is either a sunny bunny or sexy ice goblin heheeh ( and a bonus gorrik and cursed mukluk )

Jokes aside i adore how much freedom you can have with fashion in this game :]

[rata-whitz]

i think everyone forgot about the Lions Arch: Guild Wars Arena thing that got accidentally discovered in Steam a year ago

[rata-whitz]

it's PRIDE MONTH and it's well overdue that I show off my gay little idiot!!

This is Kurrt! Simple farmer, brimming with energy, thick country southern drawl, shin high and built like a tungsten cube. Ain't no knockin' over this old man.

Loves to smash! On account of the whole big fucking hammer situation. Other end to stab! Might not look like much but he's nigh impossible to knock over, got the smarts to make them spells fizzle and miight have a little bit of an anger problem. Yknow! The uh, berserk kind

Art by @llimus @guildwuff2 and @kiqoseven respectively!

Been having a lot of fun playing him again recently :>

[rosewoodroad]

Dessert themed rainbow rats!!

Sponsored by Arenanet 🌈

[frommylimitedtravels]

Rainforest Loop trail - Olympic National Park, WA.