Dec 27, 2017
Day 15 of #inktober2017: Mysterious
2 months late!! Largos from GW2!
#gw2hot #gw2 #inktober #Inktober2017 #guildwars2 #largos #mysterious #gw2pof #gw2heartofthorns #gw2pathoffire #gw2fansubmission #procrastinator
seen from Sweden
seen from Türkiye
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Russia
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Yemen
seen from Germany
seen from Algeria
seen from Finland
seen from China
seen from Germany
seen from Germany
seen from Germany
seen from China
seen from China
Day 15 of #inktober2017: Mysterious
2 months late!! Largos from GW2!
#gw2hot #gw2 #inktober #Inktober2017 #guildwars2 #largos #mysterious #gw2pof #gw2heartofthorns #gw2pathoffire #gw2fansubmission #procrastinator
What Guild Can Expects when Heart of Thorns Launches; Detailes Transition
ArenaNet posted a guide yesterday detailing what changes are coming to guilds. In brief, a lot of the buffs Guild have earned are going away but some items are being grandfathered in if already earned according to GW2 QA Embed Dara Potocska.
In brief, guilds should:
Activate any unused 24 or 48 hour buffs for your guild before Heart of Thorns launches due to removal.
Activate and complete your guild missions before Heart of Thorns launches due to removal.
Spend your remaining guild merits due to removal.
Consider spending your influence
Use your Art of War fortification buffs due to removal.
Queue what you can as items in the queue will auto complete on launch day.
Source:
GW2 Forums: Reminder from the Guild Halls Team
Heart of Thorns launch trailer released on Youtube
In case you missed any of the streaming during TwitchCon, ArenaNet published the trailer to their YouTube channel Friday.
the trailer gives us our first look at most of the jungle dragon in one giant frame. The trailer also features lavish use of CGI that will most likely not be found in the game itself is anything other than a cinematic. Once again, Rytlock Brimstone is featured as the primary hero character, with the rest of Destiny’s Edge 2.0 also featuring in the hero shot.
In-depth Analysis
Bluntly , this trailer is not aimed primarily at the Guild Wars 2 player base. No, No, this trailer was pointed squarely at those who are unfamiliar with the game as a whole and need to see some cool, awesome, pretty stuffed it’s time to plunk down $50 for Heart of Thorns.
This trailer was extremely lore light and requires zero prior knowledge of Guild Wars 2 is a franchise to understand what was going on. Mordremoth was referred to as “the jungle dragon.” in the trailer gives as a one-line explanation of what’s going on with us being told all will serve the jungle dragon and the heroes telling it to go die.
No, the trailer for the player base was the one that came out immediately after season 2 ended. It was full of Lord details and little things that only dedicated players would get. Players were told little nuggets of was coming so that we would be understanding that there will be not be much new content coming out for 10 months. Regardless, more players coming into the game on the MLB more money and more profits for ArenaNet and NCsoft. More profits mean more reason for the two companies to invest heavily into the game and will help keep the property healthy for a good long time.
Guild Wars 2: TwitchCon and Stronghold Beta this Weekend
ArenaNet will having a big presence at the first ever TwitchCon this weekend. Based of the official GW2 Twitter feed, we know, in general terms, some of what will be announced.
What will happen at TwitchCon?
Big Booth
As cool as PAX2015 was, ArenaNet had a relatively small presence at the studio’s home town convention. Anet was had one Panel, a VIP part and two PCs Demoing the base at the Corsair booth. (Full Disclosure: I, DJ Boss, bought a Corsair Gaming mouse at the both. Yes, I like it). This is the same Convention they announced “Play For Free,” yet players had to know Anet was at that both to find them.
Not the case at TwitchCon.
Even at PAX, the community team was taking about how they were going to have a large booth. From the looks twitter, we have a large booth with a music stage, a lounge and decent size gaming area.
The Launch trailer
Fans of the game will remember the Iconic Launch trailer that was released at the end of Season 2 of the Living World. The time has know come for the other bookend as Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns nears the finish line. So far, we have just just an image, later today we get the whole thing.
The Druid Uncovered
Ranger Elite Specialization, the druid, will be gone over in detail Friday. This specialization has been teased since the announcement of Heart of Thorns and now will be given the full work up.
Voice Acting Behind the Scenes/ “A Taste of Tyria” with Jennifer Hale
A fun thing on the programming is a bit called “Voice Acting in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns: Behind the Scenes” Based on the past, expect something like below.
PVP: Stonghold Beta
Not much can be said except that players that enjoy the strong hold PVP type get another chance to try it out this weekend. The game mode is being shown off in the GW2 TwitchCon but the player base as a hold still gets a chance to play too. (and to give the con goers more people to play against.)
Sources
GuildWars2.com: TwitchCon 2015
GW2 Twitter: https://twitter.com/GuildWars2
PAX 2015: DJ Boss went to that and learned things
DJ Boss is out of the office this Weekend
In Real life, I’m going to be on a trip with my wife this weekend so the TwitchCon coverage will be spotty at best. No show this weekend, but... Dazzmeer WILL have her show today!
Part 1 - Published May 20th, 2015
"Channel legendary powers to slaughter foes and unleash chaos on the battlefield with our brand new profession: the Revenant. Enter the field of battle heavily armored and equipped with the otherworldly powers of the Mists."
Revenant is the missing 3rd heavy armor profession.
Channels the power of the Mist into its weapon as well as utility skills and elite skills.King Jalis Ironhammer with Great Dwarf and Mallyx the Unyielding comfirmed
Channels the powers of great legends of the past.
Revenant is the descendant of GW1 Ritualist.
Further Reading
GW2 Wiki: Revenant
New WvW Borderland Map - Based on the elements, the Desert Borderlands map takes the lessons learned from the old WvW maps. The new map is designed to stop “zerging“ and promote more squad base play such as what happens in the Silverwastes. Will be rotated with the old “Alpine” WvW Map.
Each Keep will have a theme. Per the GW2 Wiki:
Earth Keep: when controlling the shrines around it; the keep raises earthen walls to block enemy armies, turrets spawn to cripple and hinder enemies, and a sandstorm spawns that cloaks allies while entering it.
Fire Keep: when controlling the fire keep; magma pools become available to allow allied players to teleport between the pools, allies gain immunity to burning, and allies gain the ability to turn into a Inferno Hound.
Air Keep: when controlling parts of the air keep; launch pads become available to allow players to traverse to the top of the keep's cliffs quickly, air turrets activate that can blow enemies off certain areas, and allies
Re-balancing of objectives - WvW will be rebalanced so that defending objectives becomes much more important in all environments. Instead of gold and influence to upgrade an objective, how much stronger a place becomes will be based on how long a side has held it. Overall time needed to upgrade an objective should be the same.
New Siege Weapon: Shield Generator - New control and support based siege weapon with a range similar to an arrow cart. Used to soften up foes and deny foes access to an area and to to give allies better defenses from enemy attacks.
Further reading
GuildWars.com: Upgrading World vs. World Upgrades
GW2 Wiki: Shield Generator
Strongholds is a new PVP game mode inspired by MOBA games (i.e. League of Legends, DOTA 2). Players battle over control of "supplies" much like in WvW.
Per the GW2 wiki, “Described as an ‘evolution’ of Guild versus Guild“
Supply is then used to hire mercenaries to help attack the other team's stronghold.
Teams are also able to convince heroes to join their cause.
First team to kill the rival guild lord wins.
Only one Stonghold map to start: Battle of Champion's Dusk.
Note: Each part of this edition of the Fact Sheet will be posted as they are completed.
Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns is the first expansion for Guild Wars 2. Set three years after the launch of the game, and 24 hours after the events of Living World Season 2, heroes are taken deep into the Magmuma Jungle to battle the minions of the elder dragon Mordremoth.
Release Date: Unknown (Estimated Fall 2015)
Will be a paid expansion (In game pre-order soon)
No new gear tiers or rise in the level cap.
New story chapters
Improved Graphics
The Mastery system is an account-wide system that offers bonuses and abilities for max-level characters in Heart of Thorns. There are two sets of Mastery tracks: One set for the new Heart of Thorns maps and another set for the original Guild Wars 2 maps.
After a character reaches level 80, Mastery Points will replace the Experience Bar for accounts that have bought Heart of Thorns.
Master points may will be earned by: Entering a zone for the first time, Interacting with Maguuma Mastery Orb, a place of power, Completing a chapter in a character's story, Completing achievements, Finding secret locations, Defeating difficult enemies, Performing well in the new adventure system and Earning 100% completion in maps.
Known Mastery Tracks
Heart of Thorns
Gliding
Exalted Lore - Gain the trust of the strange and mysterious Exalted, giving you access to their services in the Forgotten City.
Itzel Lore - Learn the ways of the the tree frog Hyleks
Nuhoch Lore - Learn the ways of brutish Toad Hyleks
Mushroom Lore - Learn to use mushrooms help travel the jungles and enhance yourself
Original Maps
Fractal Attunement Mastery
Legendary Precursor Crafting Mastery
Further Reading:
Guild Wars 2 Wiki: Mastery
GuildWars2.com news: Reimagining Progression: The Mastery System
Grants each profession access to a new weapon.
Adds new trait lines to each profession.
Announced Specializations
Rangers specialize into Druids
Grants Rangers access to Staffs.
This Specialization was the first announced back when Heart of Thorns was revealed at PAX South.
Mesmers specialize into Chronomancers
Grants Mesmers access to Shields.
The Chronomancer Concept comes from the canceled Utopia champagne from the original Guild Wars.
From ‘The Chronomancer in Action‘:
One of the chronomancer’s central themes is the idea of taking from your enemies to benefit your friends. In terms of actual gameplay mechanics, this means that the chronomancer’s party support will be based around controlling, slowing, and hindering enemies just as much as aiding and invigorating allies.
Guardians specialize into Dragonhunters
Grants Guardians access to longbows.
From ‘Meet the Dragonhunter‘:
When we set out on the search for the guardian’s elite specialization, we looked for areas in which the guardian lacked a solid role. It turns out that wielding light and virtue as power sources is actually somewhat difficult to do, and a guardian’s abilities are fairly short-range or unconventional in their application. We thought about how the guardian might handle long-range combat and supporting allies while fighting on the back lines. To this end, we’ve decided to incorporate a more physical aspect into the guardian, and its powers in light-wielding have deepened to the point that they can better physically manifest objects into the world and send them flying as swift as an arrow.
Necromancers specialize into Reapers
Grants Necromancers access to greatswords.
Both Trahearne and Marjory Delaqua (both necromancers) shown using greatswords before the announcement of Heart of Thorns.
From ‘The Reaper in Action’:
The reaper was one of the first elite specializations the development team created and the first in which they experimented with changing the core F1 skill. Equipping the reaper specialization transforms Death Shroud into the melee-focused Reaper’s Shroud, which the team felt was so cool that it inspired them to also change other professions’ mechanic bar function-key skills through elite specializations.
Elementalists become Tempests
Confirmed during the Ready Up livestream of April 24th, 2015
Not other information at this time.
Speculated Specializations
Engineer
May grants engineers access to war hammers.
May give engineers access flying drones.
Supporting Evidence: Brief clip of the above image in the “Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns – Expansion Announcement Trailer” at 1:40
Specializations with no information
Warrior, Thief and Revenant
New legendary weapons
New precursors weapons
NO POLEARMS or SPEARS - Game Director Colin Johanson quoted on reddit, "We warned the art team what the community would think when they saw the trailer, but they chose to make things the way they did."
Note: Each part of this edition of the Fact Sheet will be posted as they are completed.