Guild Wars 2: Earn Beta In-Game!

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Play Guild Wars 2 for a chance at beta key loot. Plus a tease of the first Specialization to be announced?

ArenaNet today announced how players will be able to get access to the next Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns PvE closed beta event and it is pretty nifty. Starting on Tuesday, April 28th, monsters in the two maps added during the Living World Season 2 (Dry Top and the Silverwastes) will have a chance to drop a rare portal item. Upon looting these portals, the player’s account will be flagged to gain access to the next PvE closed beta.

While the blog post does not give any concrete dates for either the beta or when these portals will cease to drop, it does say that these portals will only be available for a limited time. Additionally, the portals are going to be account-bound, so every player will have to go get his/her own if they wish to play in the next beta. The beta flagging will occur once the item is acquired, so if you accidently destroy the portal don’t worry as you are already set to participate in the beta. Read More →

Guild Wars 2: Play for $50,000 USD at the Next World Tournament Series Championship at PAX East

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The next Guild Wars 2 World Tournament Series Championship takes place on March 7, 2015, at PAX East in Boston, Massachusetts. Those who step up to the challenge could play for $50,000 USD in cash prizes!

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What is the World Tournament Series?

The World Tournament Series is a global PvP event that includes players and teams from three different regions: North America, Europe, and China. Each team is ultimately competing for the opportunity to play for cash prizes and glory at the World Tournament Series Championship-a LAN event hosted in one of the three participating regions. The first championship event was held in Beijing, China, in December 2014, with North American team the Abjured taking home the crown. Read More →

Guild Wars 2’s Leah Hoyer discusses the importance of story

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It’s fair to say that Guild Wars 2 sells its story pretty highly, as living world progress and story updates are a major part of its content strategy. Head of narrative Leah Hoyer stated in a recent interview that this is one of the core things that games as a whole need to embrace: Story is important in getting players invested. Hoyer went on to say that while story lacks the central importance in games that it has in media like television, it’s still an important element of player investment.

Story: let's me and you fight.

Still, she argues, it’s harder to tell a good story in a game than it is in a television show, simply because the latter is focused only on story while the former cannot be. This doesn’t mean that it’s less important, nor does Hoyer feel that it justifies using lore and background as an excuse for not telling a story; a good story requires immediacy. While she believes that lore is highly important, it should help support storytelling rather than replace it. There’s a lot of interesting thoughts in the full interview, so whether you like Guild Wars 2’s take on story or not, it’s well worth a look.

It’s release day for Guild Wars 2’s Echoes of the Past update

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gameplay tweaks

Guild Wars 2’s Echoes of the Past goes live today,It’s release day for Guild Wars 2’s Echoes of the Past update. The patch picks up “from a cliff-hanger ending that had the world of Tyria fighting the rise of the Elder Dragon Mordremoth,” says ArenaNet.

If the living world isn’t your cup of tea, take heart because the update also features gameplay tweaks including the new Silverwastes locale. ANet says that “mysterious ruins in the area will provide key battleground locations in the ongoing war against Mordremoth’s expanding armies. Players will fight to hold strategic locations, call in pact allies for aid and take a stand against the growing threat.” The update also boasts new Bandit Crests, which can be vendored in exchange for recipes, materials, and armor pieces.

Massively’s Anatoli Ingram spoke to ArenaNet last month about the lore unfolding in these next chapters. Enjoy the new screenshots in the gallery below.