GuildWars.com news/Archives/200801

The following lists the January 2008 news from the official GuildWars.com site.

January 31st, 2008

 * Congratulations January Automated Tournament Winners!

Murder Za, previously October's champion, defeated X Ekelon X to become the January Hero Battle champion. In the GvG scene, Mistral Edge [Me], a Japanese guild that finished second in November, defeated the European guild Close Encounter [cE] to seize the GvG championship.

The final match reports are now available, as are the complete tournament standings, the updated tournament rules, and the ever-popular skill usage charts. Enjoy!

January 30th, 2008

 * Third Bonus Mission Pack Wallpaper

The Guild Wars Bonus Mission Pack is now available! To celebrate, we've uploaded the third of our Bonus Mission Pack wallpapers. This week's desktop features the assassins from Togo's mission, "The Tengu Accords". Watch for next week's feature: the fourth and final wallpaper in the BMP series.

January 28th, 2008

 * Bonus Mission Pack Ready and Waiting

The BMP is on sale now. With the Guild Wars Bonus Mission Pack, you play through four pivotal moments in Guild Wars history and earn rare weapons—some of the best gear in the game! You can play immediately upon purchase. Buy now or browse the BMP FAQ for more information.

January 28th, 2008

 * Bonus Mission Pack Interview: Part Two

We have another designer Q&A for you today, following the first Guild Wars Bonus Mission Pack interview. If you'd like to learn more, read the interview with designers Colin Johanson, Linsey Murdock, and John Stumme.

January 24th, 2008

 * Xunlai PvP Predictors

Recently, we asked for some exceptional PvP Predictors to step forward and demonstrate their predictive powers. And we weren't disappointed. Click here to see the top three picks of other fans, and visit the website in February to see how these Predictors fared.

January 23rd, 2008

 * Second Bonus Mission Pack Wallpaper

The Guild Wars Bonus Mission Pack goes on sale Monday, January 28! Get into the mission pack spirit by decorating your desktop with our second BMP wallpaper. Go here to grab this week's featured artwork, taken from Gwen's mission, "The Flight North", and look for the release of additional BMP-themed wallpapers in the coming weeks.

January 22nd, 2008

 * Guild of the Week: GWen

This week we feature Lore School, a predominantly PvE guild formed at the release of Guild Wars: Factions to explore the story and replay various parts of the game. more about the guild here.

January 17th, 2008

 * Open Travel: Territory and District UI Changes

As part of our goal of supporting global player interaction, we are making changes to the Territory and District user interface. As of later today, players in Korean language districts can travel between American, European, and Korean districts. Players in Japanese and Taiwanese language districts will be able to travel to the other language districts following a subsequent game update in the coming weeks. The end result is that players in any language district will be able to travel to any other language district within Guild Wars. We will continue to offer International Districts as an additional location for players to meet one another.

January 16th, 2008

 * Bonus Mission Pack Wallpaper

In preparation for the upcoming release of the Guild Wars Bonus Mission Pack, we've created the first in a series of BMP wallpapers. This week features artwork from Saul D'Alessio's mission, "The Rise of the White Mantle". Get it here. Enjoy, and stay tuned for additional BMP wallpapers over the next few weeks.

January 15th, 2008

 * Rebel Rising {rawr} Interview

Discover the strategies of this top guild, host of the RAWR cup and three-time winner of monthly automated tournaments, in our exclusive interview.

January 12th, 2008

 * State of the Game: 2007 in Review

This week's State of the Game looks back at the PvP landscape of 2007 and discusses noteworthy moments including Automated Tournaments, the Celestial Tournament, skill balances, and the Zaishen Chest. Read it here.

January 11th, 2008

 * Xunlai PvP Predictors

You've seen the Xunlai predictions our writers have made for past tournaments. Now we want to give you the opportunity to show off your own prowess at prognostication. We are looking for interesting "PvP Predictors" (as we're calling them) to forecast winners for each monthly tournament. Find the details here.

January 10th, 2008

 * Bonus Mission Pack: Available January 28, 2008

The Guild Wars Bonus Mission Pack will go on sale for the first time at the end of this month! Starting on January 28, Guild Wars fans who did not obtain the Bonus Mission Pack during our recent promotion will be able to purchase it from the Guild Wars Online Store, the PlayNC Store, and a variety of retail partners located throughout North America and Europe.

Read more about the Bonus Mission Pack, and check the Bonus Mission Pack FAQ for the answers to your questions.

January 9th, 2008

 * December Mini Mania Winners Announced

We are pleased to announce the winners of the North American Mini Mania Contest. Check out the winner's list to find out who won and see which miniatures those lucky contestants will adopt. Winners will receive their miniature access keys via email within 10 days. We'd like to congratulate all of the winners and thank everyone who participated. Stay tuned for future contest announcements.

January 9th, 2008

 * New Wallpaper Available

Want to add a bit of flair to your desktop? Grab this week's newest wallpaper, featuring the original Guild Wars leading lady, Devona. You can find the image, in a variety of resolutions, here.

January 8th, 2008

 * Guild Wars Wins Reader's Choice Award

Guild Wars has taken home the 2007 MMORPG.com Reader's Choice Award for Best Free/Micropayment Game, garnering 68 percent of the total vote! We would like to thank all of our fans for their continued support as we look forward to another exciting year.

January 4th, 2008

 * Wintersday Hat Offer

Here's a special opportunity to get this year's Wintersday hats! Simply log into Guild Wars, visit the Festival Hat Keeper, and ask him to make you either or both of the 2007 hats: the Wreath Crown and the Ice Crown. Once you've done that, the Festival Hat Keeper will record your new possessions, and you can retrieve your crowns at any time. You can take advantage of this offer through Noon Pacific (-8 GMT) on Tuesday, January 8, 2008.

January 3rd, 2008

 * 2008 ATS Ladder Changes

Automated Tournament ladders for GvG and 1v1 will reactivate at Noon Pacific time (-8 GMT) on Friday, January 4, 2008. After the reactivation, combatants and guilds that have not played in a rated match for more than 90 days will be reverted to the rank "N/A" and removed from their respective ladders. Their rating points, however, will not be lost or changed. Once inactive guilds and players return and participate in a rated match, their ranks will return to the ladder positions warranted by their ratings.

January 3rd, 2008

 * State of the Game: Frontline Synergy

This week we bring you an article by Mark Yu, an experienced PvP player and member of Delta Formation [DF]. In this piece, he discusses some of the finer points of frontline offense and coordination in GvG. Read it here.