ArenaNet:In-game talk/20070316

Summary

 * Hard Mode details will be released Monday.
 * New titles due to hard mode (hard mode will not remove any old titles).
 * Kihm is a protection monk (the henchman).
 * Gaile says she thinks you will see pet controls in a few weeks, they are currently in testing.
 * No Current decision on 2nd Birthday Presents.
 * Magazine out soon (possibly today/tomorrow for subscribers).
 * A-Net attempting to ensure broad distribution of Asura by talking to many magazines.
 * No Hairdressers, Auction house, or old armor insignia changes known.
 * Word next week possibly on Upcoming Automated Tournaments.
 * Nothing to say yet on Chapter 4.
 * Daily Tournaments starting soon.
 * Recent lag issues have been addressed. Report issues you might have with lag, the more reports the better.
 * A-Net is working on Vista Certification.
 * Sunspear and Lightbringer titles Info in the Dev Update on Monday.

Complete log
Gaile Gray: We will be posting about Hard Mode on Monday. I sent it for localization so all community members...

Gaile Gray: ... will have the word on Monday,:)

Gaile Gray: There will be new titles, that's right.

Gaile Gray: Some of those you will learn about on Monday.

Gaile Gray: I need to ask about that whole guild hall decoration idea. Believe me I think it's a marvelous concept!

Gaile Gray: Thanks, Tara, For St, Paddy's day? :)

Gaile Gray: There we go, seasonally correct now,

Gaile Gray: Kihm is a straing Prot Monk,,, is that a bad thing?

Gaile Gray: straight* sorry

Gaile Gray: Ha! Of course!

Gaile Gray: So "healer" is a bit misleading, yes!

Gaile Gray: Pet controls are in testing, I think you'll see them quite soon, a few weeks perhaps,

Gaile Gray: They are not a simple add-on, like the idles of the miniatures, as you can imagine,:)

Gaile Gray: Hallo of Heroes,,, well, you mean all of HA, right? is still being assessed,

Gaile Gray: But I bet it won't be long at all for that final decision to be made. It may come with some tweaks, I'm not sure,

Gaile Gray: Asure? It's short, big-eared, and doe-eyed.:)

Gaile Gray: *eyees panda with envy*

Gaile Gray: It does get a very very cute little growl-y face, you may have seen me mention that earlier,

Gaile Gray: I don't think (and remember, I cannot say for certain on this) that we would not have both 8v8 and 6v6

Gaile Gray: I don't think that the designers involved with HA would want to split the community like that.

Gaile Gray: But the very nature of the votes means that there is divided opinion on it.

Gaile Gray: It would be split because those wishing to play HA would have two areas in which to choose to play,

Gaile Gray: Meaning you'd have fewer in each area, which might increase wait times,

Gaile Gray: No decision on the 2nd Birthday Gifts yet, as far as I know.

Gaile Gray: The objective is to have a balanced game and that means balancing across both PvE and PvP, you're right,

Gaile Gray: Actions taken on one affect both, and therefore the skill balancers take care on those.

Gaile Gray: James will be explaining Hard Mode on Monday. I'll post in the forums, as will Andrew and the other CCs.

Gaile Gray: Yes, there are a lot of rumours out there just now. We have not announced anything at this time.

Gaile Gray: We do have a magazine that is coming out very soon, perhaps today? Perhaps tomorrow.

Gaile Gray: And at that time, I'm sure that the fansite forums will have the information from that article.

Gaile Gray: I don't see guns in Ascalon or Rifles in Tyria, or cannon in Elona, no,

Gaile Gray: I am fond of trebuchets and catapults, though, :)

Gaile Gray: Hard Mode will not take away titles!

Gaile Gray: It will add titles, other goals, if you choose to pursue them,

Gaile Gray: I believe that the PR Team at NCsoft Europe is working with many publications to assure the broadest...

Gaile Gray:... possible distribution of the miniature Asura.

Gaile Gray: Hhmmmm,,, you make a good point! I was thinking 20th Century Anti-Aircraft cannon, but yes...

Gaile Gray: The siege turtles do sport a cannon, so more power to 'em!:)

Gaile Gray: The game is balanced for 8 skills; double the skill bar and you have imbalance.

Gaile Gray: This girl is 22 months old. That's the oldest that any can be in Guild Wars.

Gaile Gray: I will certainly read the posts about the Challenge Missions, yes,

Gaile Gray: I believe that NCE is working with a publication in Aus to try to get the Asura over there,

Gaile Gray: I know, I hate to leave Pre-searing myself,:{ Best option is create a character there and never leave!:)

Gaile Gray: Flying chimps is sooo Wizard of Oz!

Gaile Gray: Which of course means I love it, ;p

Gaile Gray: I don't know of plans for hairdressers or auction houses or insignias for older armor, and I'm sorry.

Gaile Gray: Sorry, had someone asking me a question. Back now.

Gaile Gray: /rank  There, that good for you? :)

Gaile Gray: I have not heard of an elephant, no.

Gaile Gray: No news on storage, sorry.

Gaile Gray: Kitten, cute ascii bunny!:)

Gaile Gray: I am sorry, I thought hard mode would be posted today, BUT in thinking about our players who use other languages...

Gaile Gray:... it seemed far nicer to send the message out to them and allow them to translate and share it with their players.

Gaile Gray: I think that's a clever idea. If Koss is capping some of my gold, he should buy his OWN items! :)

Gaile Gray: Non core class faves? Probably a Paragon, although I do love my Rit.

Gaile Gray: Oh, thank you, Tempestes!

Gaile Gray: I had not see it yet.:)

Gaile Gray: Thanks, Expendable.:)

Gaile Gray: Tm so loving the idea of a pet menagerie, so that you can have more than one and swap them.

Gaile Gray: I don't know how the designers feel about that one, I can certainly ask. Again.:)

Gaile Gray: TY Kei Miyaichi

Gaile Gray: I believe we will have word on the upcoming automated tournaments next week.

Gaile Gray: There will be some pretty exciting element to that!

Gaile Gray: Nex event? Well, there's a teeny tiny event this weekend, in the special items.

Gaile Gray: Have you found them yet, guys?

Gaile Gray: VERY cute!:)

Gaile Gray: Well, let me explain: I don't sell items that people give me, I keep them all

Gaile Gray: So no, I don't have a "cash exchange" system here.:)

Gaile Gray: Sorry, Storm, I cannot customize items.

Gaile Gray: I haven't heard of changes to guild rosters and privileges, but it's probably ok for me to ask that, it's been a whil

Gaile Gray: while, that is.

Gaile Gray: Oh, thanks, Sir Wrzosek, I didn't have a shamrock, yet.:)

Gaile Gray: Those items are both REALLY cute!

Gaile Gray: Sharocks say that you can remove a random DP, from 5-15%.

Gaile Gray: Shamrocks also give a bonus toward the lucky title if they are at the 15%.

Gaile Gray: Quite right, they are called 4-leaf clover.:)

Gaile Gray: C4? Nothing to say yet. Very sorry, I wish I could speak more about it just now.

Gaile Gray: Daily tournaments will start soon, that is why the Celestial Tournament is moving along so quickly.

Gaile Gray: I believe some elements of the aggro system are addressed in Monday's Dev Update.

Gaile Gray: No word on more guild ranks, sorry

Gaile Gray: Yes, the fallback times ARE challenging. Each territory faces a certain amount of that, with regret,

Gaile Gray: With work and school, there are few times that work across territories,

Gaile Gray: The Asura is decidedly for Guild Wars, not another game.

Gaile Gray: Thanks,

Gaile Gray: No, actually, skill changing while on a mission or in battle is pretty counter to the basic premise of the game.

Gaile Gray: Although often I wish for it. :)

Gaile Gray: I haven't heard of any miniatures aside from the Asura,

Gaile Gray: Town clothes and costumes sound like marvelous ideas to me. I will see if they're moving on the list.

Gaile Gray: TY Tyr

Gaile Gray: I thought you could toggle the Divine Aura. Does anyone know for sure?

Gaile Gray: Thanks, Shan.

Gaile Gray: I cannot make all die like the Mad King. They don't give me such powers.:)

Gaile Gray: Perhaps because they know that I'd slay many who spam and use ALL CAPS. *evil erin*

Gaile Gray: I can do that, though.:)

Gaile Gray: Look for word about Hard Mode -- the Dev Update -- in the late morning, early afternoon Pacific Time.

Gaile Gray: I will ask about toggling DA, I _thought_ you could do that! But I honestly don't recall how.

Gaile Gray: Andrew says he thinks it cannot be turned off. Sorry.

Gaile Gray: Armor storage is asked for a lot. Heck storage of all kinds is much requested. No word on that today.

Gaile Gray: Curse, that's just too much, but thank you for your generosity.

Gaile Gray: The details about the truth, untruth, and scrambled info of that article will be out soon.

Gaile Gray: Some is true. But some isn't. And quite a bit is half-info, which is always confusing.

Gaile Gray: Thanks, Curse.:)

Gaile Gray: I just read a comment about Portuguese districts today. I have not heard of plans for one.

Gaile Gray: But yes, I know, there are many who speak the language, for certain!

Gaile Gray: Jedi, Tve never even _seen_ one of those.:) You should keep.:)

Gaile Gray: Rearranging titles is a good idea, I agree with you.

Gaile Gray: Let me ask if we can, you know, shift them around. It sounds pretty technically challenging to me, but...

Gaile Gray:... maybe it can be done.

Gaile Gray: Prety leet, Dagisbarn.:}

Gaile Gray: Where are you located where you are experiencing lag? And {I hate to ask) Have you contacted Support.

Gaile Gray: See, I know the disconnects were addressed, but I'm trying to ascertain if there's another issue.

Gaile Gray: Sometimes it's just busy, and the Internet itself (rather than our servers) is often the culprit.

Gaile Gray: But if there's an issue, Support can track that and might be able to offer suggestions.

Gaile Gray: Spanish, you really need to keep that, but thank you.:)

Gaile Gray: Thanks, about the grammar. No spell check, but I try to get it right.

Gaile Gray: Someone once said "She really is a dev, 'cause she uses capital letters. :)

Gaile Gray: Ah, sometimes your pets WILL show a level over their heads. This is caused by their being...

Gaile Gray:... selectable, which as you notice most of the time is not possible.

Gaile Gray: When you select something, voila! His/her/its level shows.

Gaile Gray: TY, but you should keep Queen.:)

Gaile Gray: Giving mute buttons to gamers seems sort of risky. Someone could go Mute Mad.:)

Gaile Gray: Within a guild, perhaps. I will ask.

Gaile Gray: TY Leo!

Gaile Gray: Select the Xunlai, you should be able to reach your storage.:}

Gaile Gray: Curse, I should give him back to you, with thanks for the loan. I don't have 15K OR a Bone Dragon.:(

Gaile Gray: I am trying my best to give you useful information, but there are a lot "you's" there, so info varies.:)

Gaile Gray: I understand that players would like to use insignias in older armour, but that is a mechanic of Nightfall.

Gaile Gray: It's like there are no alliance battles in Prophecies.

Gaile Gray: Different games, different mechanics. So it probably would not happen.

Gaile Gray: Yes, he will not be parted from that "chapeau" although frankly I think it's prety unseasonal!

Gaile Gray: As I said, I _will_ ask about the armour and the insignias, but realize I won't make the decision.:)

Gaile Gray: NCE will work with Polish publications to try to get coverage that offers the Asura.

Gaile Gray: O dpm

Gaile Gray: Sorry, wrong keys.:)

Gaile Gray: I don't know which magazines or which countries will or will not have the Asura.

Gaile Gray: There is a huge page of magazines, and our publisher is working to get more in line.

Gaile Gray: Nothing to say today about storage, very sorry

Gaile Gray: Read up for comments about the magazines, please

Gaile Gray: Thanks, Rider.

Gaile Gray: TY Dekar.

Gaile Gray: The use of miniatures is already apparent. I don't see battles or gold pick up services.:)

Gaile Gray: I know we're working on Vista certification, but I'm told it plays perfectly in Vista.

Gaile Gray: Buenas noches, todos latinos.:)

Gaile Gray: I don't know why there are problems with lag, and I truly know we want to figure that out.

Gaile Gray: But if we don't get the reports, we can't. So you know what to do!:)

Gaile Gray: No, it's not overloaded servers, believe me we have the covered with multiple layers to accommodate large numbers.

Gaile Gray: You know how during events, we have lots of people along.

Gaile Gray: No problems then. If there's an issue, it should be reported so we can investigate.

Gaile Gray: This weekend, there is a 4-teaf clover that removes DP and gives a _chance_of lucky points AND...

Gaile Gray: A lovely stein of Shamrock Ale.

Gaile Gray: Don't use bad language, please.

Gaile Gray: You will learn more... hold on, let me ask James real quick. BR8

Gaile Gray: Hi, back.

Gaile Gray: Sorry, really back this time. James talks about the Sunspear and Lightbringer titles in the Dev Update for Monday.

Gaile Gray: You're right,! do need to go, so a Conga would be appropriate at this time.:)

Gaile Gray: So if you want to join the Conga, click me or someone nearby and hit space bar when I start. Image log and Summary courtesy of Cj Two A