GuildWars.com news/Archives/200609

The following lists the September 2006 news from the official GuildWars.com site.

September 29th, 2006

 * Nightfall Launch Party Contest

Are you a Guild Wars fan? Or are you a Guild Wars Super Fan? Hot on the heels of the announcement of our Guild Emblem Contest winners, we have another opportunity for a few very special people. If you find yourself doodling skill icons during business meetings, spend more hours on fansites than on your school work, or see the sunrise as you join yet another PvP match, you may have crossed from fan to Super Fan. If you fit the bill, and can get yourself to Seattle, check out the Nightfall Launch Party Contest Page for details of an opportunity that might make October 17th a night to remember!


 * Winning Nightfall Emblems

After a judging session that involved much discussion, a little lobbying for personal favorites, and quite a bit of chocolate (to sustain the judges' mental acuity), the Guild Wars team settled upon the winners and honorable mentions in the recent Nightfall Guild Emblem Contest. You can find the full list, complete with images, here.


 * Guild Wars Sealed Play

Do you have a hankering to try out Guild Wars Sealed Play for yourself? Well, today's offerings will provide you with the tools to do just that. First of all, we have an information page that provides some background and instructions on how to play. Secondly, we have the full set of Guild Wars Skill cards which you can download and print for your next game playing get-together.

September 28th, 2006

 * The Scribe #16

Fresh from a trip to Elona, our wandering writer shares his thoughts on the recent World Preview Event, records the names of a number of players who achieved extraordinary Sunspear ranks, and calls out many instances of kindness, generosity, and support that he witnessed this past weekend. Find it all in The Scribe.


 * Guild Wars Ladder Updated

The Guild Wars Ladder has been given a facelift, but more importantly, it has been expanded to give you much more information about every guild in the Top 1000, and to do it in nine different languages, too. Check it out! At the same time we were putting the polish on this new feature, we decided to take a look back at Guild Wars history. Our Historical Ladder page shows the high-ranking guilds in each of our championship and fun seasons.

September 27th, 2006

 * Introducing: The PvP Primer

Today, we&#146;re kicking off a major new series for our Competitive Section. The PvP Primer is designed to welcome new players into the wonderful world of player-versus-player gaming, and to furnish hints, tips, and strategies to the existing player, as well. The first article&mdash;the introduction to the series&mdash;is online today. You can look for future articles every Wednesday. What are you waiting for? Read the Primer and start playing!


 * Wednesday Wallpaper Returns

We&#146;re happy to restart a Guild Wars tradition: The weekly release of a game-related wallpaper. In our inaugural image, we present a close-up of the Dervish, whose face graces the Guild Wars Nightfall Standard Edition. Find this week&#146;s desktop image, in a choice of ratios and resolutions, here.

September 26th, 2006

 * Another Double Reward Weekend

This coming weekend, from Noon PDT on Friday, September 29 through 11:59 p.m. PDT on Sunday, October 1, you will receive double experience from capturing elite skills. Instead of gaining 250 times your level in XP, you will receive 500 times your level. Join Guild Wars this weekend and enjoy the bonus XP.


 * Guild of the Week

Formed just after the release of Prophecies as an all-Necromancer guild, Hells Hope has branched out to welcome all professions while maintaining their focus on fun and player education. Read about them in this week&#146;s Guild of the Week profile.


 * Guild Ladder Adjusted

Due to a technical error discovered during the weekend, we are doing a ladder adjustment of just under 14 hours. This will help correct the inappropriate wins or losses that were the result of this error. For further details, please see the information page concerning this decision.

September 25th, 2006

 * State of the (Meta)Game

Our weekly report on the status of PvP gameplay delves into recent major updates and their overall effect on individual and team builds. With last week's skill updates, Guild Wars competitive play has changed in many significant ways. Read about the changes to GvG in the new State of the Game.

September 24th, 2006

 * Nightfall Event Extended

We're happy to announce that we have an event bonus for you: We are extending the Nightfall World Preview Event for 12 hours! The event will now run until 11:59 a.m. PDT (18:59 GMT) on Monday, September 25. This will give you another dozen hours to explore Elona, to take on a few more quests, engage in a little extra PvP in the new arenas, and perhaps unlock a few more skills for your PvP characters. We hope that you are enjoying the event, and we look forward to seeing you during these extra hours!

September 22nd, 2006

 * World Preview Event Begins!

The Nightfall World Preview Event has started. You can create new characters to explore Elona, or jump right into PvP. New skills, professions, items, armor, arenas, features, and a whole new region await you. For more info, visit the event page. And join the event now!


 * In-Game Championship Trophies

Head over to the Great Temple of Balthazar to check out the sparkly new in-game trophies that commemorate the winners of the previous two Guild Wars World Championships. These trophies display a list of the champion guilds' various accomplishments as well as the tournament rosters for each guild. Look for your guild&#146;s chance for in-game immortality when we announce the next World Championship in a few months.

September 21st, 2006

 * Meet the Skills Day #3

The third and final update to our Guild Wars Nightfall Skills Page provides you with more insight on nifty skills and clever combos that you may wish to try out this weekend. Find the full page of skills here.


 * The Scribe #15

This week, our roaming reporter shares some newly-acquired information about pets in Elona. He also has a bit of inside info on guild emblems, and gives some well-earned recognition to a few notable players and a worthy guild. Get the latest in this week's news scroll.


 * New Nightfall Trailer

As we head into the final hours preceding the start of the Nightfall World Preview Event, take a few minutes to view the new Guild Wars Nightfall in-game movie. With a score by Jeremy Soule and key action courtesy of two rising stars in the Guild Wars universe &#150; the Dervish and the Paragon &#150; this movie might just tide you over until 12:01 a.m. PDT tomorrow morning.


 * Heroes System Revealed

With the arrival of Nightfall, you will be able to recruit permanent allies&mdash;Heroes&mdash;to fight at your side! Just in time for tomorrow's Nightfall World Preview Event, we're offering you an article about the Nightfall Heroes System. Learn about Hero commands, combat modes, recruitment, and a whole lot more in today's essay. Then try out the Heroes System tomorrow, during the event!


 * Meet the Skills Day #2

We've expanded the Guild Wars Nightfall Skills Page by offering details on a nearly two dozen skills and a dozen skill combinations. Before the World Preview Event begins, you can acquire some tips on how to capitalize on indecision, make the most of your minions, and move, cast, and use signets to their best effect.

September 20th, 2006

 * GWFC Movies

Pop the popcorn, ready the soda, it's movie time. Head over to our Competitive Videos section to download your choices of movies from the final matches of the Guild Wars Factions Championship.

September 19th, 2006

 * Nightfall: Contents & Features Detailed

You can learn details about the newest game in the Guild Wars saga with today's publication of the Nightfall product information page. Find out more about the new Hero system, characters and skills, and gameplay options for both roleplaying and PvP players. On the same page, check out the contents lists for the Standard Edition, the Collector's Edition, and the Nightfall Prerelease Bonus Pack, which is on shelves now.

September 20th, 2006

 * Nightfall Event Keys

We've posted a page on which you can obtain the access key for this week's Nightfall World Prevent Event. Existing Guild Wars account holders will not need to use an access key&mdash;you will receive automatic entry to the event at 12:01 a.m. PDT (07:01 GMT) on Friday, September 22nd. Those who are new to Guild Wars can get instructions and more information on the Nightfall Access Key page.

September 19th, 2006

 * Meet the Skills Day #1

Over the course of the next three days, we will be publishing an expanding page in our Guild Wars Nightfall section that provides insight into certain new skills, with a few developer comments about their potential uses and combinations. The Guild Wars Nightfall Skills Page today provides information about Mesmer, Paragon, and Dervish skills. Check back tomorrow for more skill info!


 * Guild of the Week

The Guild of the Week spotlight shines this week upon Ultimate Genesis. The 80 members of this guild hold an impressive number of "Protector" titles, which is just one of several testaments to their helpfulness and team spirit. Accept the invitation to meet GEN.

September 18th, 2006

 * State of the Game: Battlefield NPCs

If you've ever wondered about the NPCs who assist your team in guild-versus-guild combat, you can get a detailed overview in this week's competitive article. Find out about Lords, Archers, Footmen, and&#133; turtles? Check out the latest State of the Game.

September 15th, 2006

 * PC Gamer: Preview and Pet

You can read an extensive preview of Guild Wars Nightfall in PC Gamer's November issue, on shelves in North America today. Learn lots of inside info about Nightfall, and get your hands on the exclusive code that will give you a special in-game miniature pet, too!

September 14th, 2006

 * The Scribe #14

Our journeying journalist speaks again, in this week's issue of his news scroll, to share with us his tidbits about the World Preview Event and this weekend's special alliance battle offerings as well as some of his customary player and guild commendations.


 * World Preview Event News

The WPE is coming! The WPE is coming! Are you wondering where to go and what to do during the Guild Wars Nightfall World Preview Event, which starts on Friday, September 22, at 12:01 PDT (07:01 GMT)? Find out all the details of this exciting event on the new World Preview Page, and check our Gallery to view a new set of Nightfall screenshots, too. We look forward to seeing you in Elona!

September 13th, 2006

 * Upcoming Weekend Fun

During the upcoming weekend&#151;September 15th through 17th&#151;Alliance Battles will receive a boost. You'll receive double Balthazar faction for all kills, double Kurzick/Luxon faction for all kills, and double Kurzick/Luxon faction for all wins. In addition, the battle line movement will be accelerated and the line will be seen to shift hourly, rather than every three hours. Join in the fun starting at Noon PDT on Friday, September 15th.

September 12th, 2006

 * Nightfall World Preview Event Announced!

Today's press release announces the upcoming Guild Wars Nightfall World Preview Event, which will take place the weekend of September 22nd. The event will offer you the first opportunity to create Nightfall-specific characters from the core professions as well as the Dervish and Paragon, to try out new Nightfall skills, to explore one of the provinces of the new realm of Elona, and to test your mettle in two new arenas. You'll even get a chance to view some Nightfall in-game cinematics! So, get ready for three days of solid Nightfall, starting September 22nd at 12:01 a.m. PDT!


 * Guild of the Week

We've got another lively guild on the line for our weekly team-based article. The newest featured guild is called Fishmongers, or FISH. You can net some interesting information about gameplay by getting your hooks into this week's GotW.

September 11th, 2006

 * Autumn Season Starts Soon

We will be restarting the Guild Wars Ladder this week, as a new fun season begins. The Autumn Season will give prizes in the form of copies of Nightfall and through in-game rewards, as well. The action starts at 17:00 GMT (10:00 a.m. PDT) this Thursday, September 14, 2006, and runs until 17:00 GMT (10:00 a.m. PDT) on Monday, October 16, 2006. Check out the rules for more information.


 * State of the Game: Warrior Train

Our weekly article intended to provide you with an overview of the Guild Wars metagame as well as details about builds, skills, and trends, this week brings you information about a well-known phenomenon in Guild Wars: The Warrior Train.

September 8th, 2006

 * GWFC Skill Stats

Due to popular request, we've put together a full set of charts that show skill usage data for each game of the finals matches of the Guild Wars Factions Championship. Each chart shows the team rosters with each player's skills, and shows which skills were executed and which failed to execute due to interruption, cancellation, or recharge. Find the charts here.

September 7th, 2006

 * The Scribe #13

This week's news scroll is hot off the quill of our roaming reporter. It covers the recent weekend event&mdash;which offered the first Guild Wars 6v6 combat&mdash;and in addition provides a small tutorial for cartography title seekers and commends several guilds who have displayed exceptional sportsmanship. Find all this in Issue #14.

September 6th, 2006

 * Nightfall Prerelease Bonus Pack Details

Check out the Nightfall Prerelease Bonus Pack contents page for information on all that you'll receive in the pack. The Prerelease Bonus Pack will hit shelves on September 15th, and will include exclusive character items, an additional Nightfall character slot, screenshots, and more! Get the details here.


 * Double-Fun Weekend Coming!

This weekend will provide you with two ways to double your fun: First of all, you will find that the drop rate for all experience scrolls is doubled. In addition, all XP scrolls&mdash;new and previously-acquired&mdash;will have double the duration time during the weekend event. The fun starts at Noon PDT on Friday and runs through 11:59 PDT on Sunday night.

September 4th, 2006

 * State of the Game: Championship Wrap-Up

Individual and team builds, favorite skills, and chosen tactics are all gameplay elements detailed within the latest State of the Game article, which analyzes the Guild Wars Factions championship. Find it here.

September 1st, 2006

 * Ladder Manipulation Investigation Results

During the recent Fun Season, three guilds were found to have knowingly participated in ladder abuse as defined in the GWFC Events Eligibility rules. Specifically, the guilds were involved in proven instances of intentionally resigning matches or requesting others to resign in order to influence ladder rankings. The rules state that guilds engaging in such actions may be disqualified from receiving prizes in events during the GWFC, including the Fun Season. Since the rules violation took place only during the Fun Season, these guilds are no longer eligible to receive any of that season's prizes. The winners list will be adjusted to reward the top 16 eligible guilds. To submit evidence of any ladder abuse/manipulation or other rules violations, please email tournament@arena.net.