GuildWars.com news/Archives/200708

The following lists the August 2007 news from the official GuildWars.com site.

August 31st, 2007

 * GW:EN Press Release

Guild Wars players and those who follow games are more than aware that Guild Wars: Eye of the North was launched early this morning, Pacific time. But to formalize the event, ArenaNet and NCsoft have fashioned a launch announcement press release, which you can read here.


 * Guild Wars: Eye of the North is Live!

Today, a new adventure begins, in Guild Wars: Eye of the North. Travel with your Level 20 character to Lion's Arch, Kaineng Center, or Kamadan to begin your adventure through 4 regions and 18 multi-level dungeons. Learn 150 new skills, meet 10 new heroes, and become acquainted with the fierce Norn and the magical Asura. Join us now!

August 30th, 2007

 * GW:EN Soundtrack Available

Fans of Guild Wars and those who simply appreciate beautiful music should know that DirectSong is now offering the Guild Wars: Eye of the North Soundtrack. "This just may be Jeremy Soule’s most accomplished score to date" enthuses Music4Games while SoundtrackNet notes "Soule has crafted an eloquent sound-world." The high-res DirectSong version contains the complete GW:EN soundtrack, offering you a superior listening experience within the game plus the opportunity to burn a CD or to hear the glorious score when not playing. Find out more here.
 * Game Show Wrap-Ups

As you're probably aware, our team recently made appearances at two major gamer shows: Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany, and Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle, Washington. We have a wrap-up article from each show now available for you, so check out the PAX and GC articles for information on what happened at both shows.

August 28th, 2007

 * August Season Winners Announced

In the recently-concluded August season of the Guild Wars $100,000 Tournament Series, the winning guild in the Guild-vs.-Guild showdown was Rebel Rising, and the Hero Battle winner was X Ekelon X. Congratulations to all the players who did so well! You can find a list of the top 32 in both categories here and you can check out what they won on this page.

August 25th, 2007

 * PAX Reports

We have several reports from our roving reporter, who is scoping out the action at Penny Arcade Expo this weekend. You can get caught up on the latest doings with the $10K Tournament, the art signings, the community contests and events, and a whole lot more, if you check out our continuing coverage page.

August 23rd, 2007

 * PAX Plans

As you know, the Guild Wars Team will be attending Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle this weekend. We'll have a $10,000 sealed deck tournament, artist signings and portfolio reviews, grawl giveaways, a costume contest, trivia sessions, an after-hours party, demos of all the NCsoft games, and more. The three-day show begins in less than 24 hours, and we hope to see you there!


 * Decorating with GW:EN

That's not the title of a new home improvement show, there, that's notice that you can now embellish your desktop with a splendid new wallpaper featuring Guild Wars: Eye of the North. Find the image in your choice of ratios and resolutions here, and install it as a reminder to catch every minute of the Sneak Peek Weekend.

August 22nd, 2007

 * Sneak Peek Weekend; GW:EN Resources

This weekend, you'll be able to experience Guild Wars: Eye of the North for the very first time. Join us starting at 12:01 Pacific time (-7 GMT) to visit the Far Shiverpeaks, where you'll meet some of the Heroes you've heard so much about, and take part in several of the quests within that region. Remember: All that you acquire will be yours to keep! Enjoy the Sneak Peek through 11:59 PM Pacific time on Sunday, August 26. To whet your appetite, download the manual and the official Guild Wars: Eye of the North map today!
 * $100,000 Tournament Series August Championships

This weekend offers the last chance to earn qualifier points for this month's championships. The final GvG August Championship qualifier will start at 05:00 GMT on Saturday, August 25. The final 1v1 August Championship qualifier will start at 08:00 GMT on Sunday, August 26. You or your guild must have at least 20 QPs in order to participate in this weekend’s championships. Competitors will vie for prizes from ATI (Event Sponsor) and Creative (Contributing Sponsor) as well as other cool goodies that are part of the more than $10,000 in prizes offered each month! The GvG championship starts at 16:00 GMT on Saturday, August 25 and the 1v1 Championship starts at 16:00 GMT on Sunday, August 26.

Remember, players may try out skills from Guild Wars: Eye of the North during the Sneak Peek Weekend, but the skills were not function in the championship tournaments. Details here.

August 21st, 2007

 * NCsoft's Guild Wars Breaks Four Million

ArenaNet and NCsoft proudly announced today that Guild Wars has surpassed the 4 million mark for units sold. You can read the details in today's press release. All of us at ArenaNet thank Guild Wars players everywhere for helping us reach such a remarkable milestone.

August 17th, 2007

 * September Tournament Rules

While players and guilds continue to battle it out in the August season of the $100,000 Guild Wars Tournament series, we're now able to offer you a preview of the rules for the September season. Find the schedule, the map rotation, and the all-important prize list here.

August 13th, 2007

 * Contest Updates

We have updates on two Guild Wars Contests:


 * The Guild Wars Super Fan 2007 Contest deadline has been extended until Noon Pacific time on Tuesday, August 14. If you haven’t entered, this is your last call!
 * Also, those who placed as winners, honorable mentions, or finalists in the Brand the Bosses Contest take note: We will be sending out the formal notification email to each of you within the next few days. Simply provide us the confirmation that we request in the email and we will be able to begin prize distribution very soon indeed.

August 10th, 2007

 * GW:EN Press Event

ArenaNet recently hosted a slew of journalists at the offices in Bellevue. The reporters engaged in in-depth interviews, toured the studio, and got in a bit of hands-on of Guild Wars: Eye of the North. Here are links to some of the reports along with a few meaty comments from the authors:

"ArenaNet has a stellar art department that's able to continually outdo itself with each successive release." "...they seem to have a pretty good handle on where they want the game to go. Based on what I experienced of the expansion pack, that's a pretty good place, indeed." "Though it is an expansion, Eye of the North should pack a full game's worth of content." "Ultimately, Eye of the North will serve as a bridge between Guild Wars 1 and Guild Wars 2..." "Guild Wars has always looked fantastic, and ArenaNet owes that to the absolutely insane art team they've got." "The focus is on the play experience. Give players the freedom to do what they want. Players who want a directed experience can grab quests and do that, folks who want to explore can go out and do that."
 * IGN
 * GameSpy
 * GameSpot
 * Games Radar
 * Destructoid
 * MMOGNation

Find much more on MMOGNation, as well, with Opening Thoughts, GW:EN Guided Tour, and Ben Miller Interview.


 * Return to Tyria Sweepstakes Winners Announced

We have winners in the Return to Tyria Sweepstakes, for two regions! Find out about who placed, and what they won, on the sweepstakes winners pages for North America and for Europe, as well.

August 9th, 2007

 * Favor of the Gods

A significant change is coming to Guild Wars this week. We are modifying the Favor of the Gods system to allow all territories to share Favor together through PvE achievements, and to introduce Favor in certain explorable areas. Find out how you can help open the Fissure of Woe and the Underworld to players around the world, and learn about the new forms of Favor, here.

August 8th, 2007

 * August ATS Rules

The rules for the August season of the Guild Wars $100,000 Tournament Series are now available. We've made a few changes to the rules, updated the prizes, and are rolling out a new schedule that should make it even easier for players to participate in the matches. Find the updated rules here.


 * Platinum Edition Announced

NCsoft and ArenaNet have created a new package that gives players another opportunity to join the Guild Wars world. This new product is called the Guild Wars Platinum Edition. Through this single package, players will obtain full access to both the original Guild Wars campaign and the Guild Wars: Eye of the North expansion pack. Check out the product page and an FAQ about the Platinum Edition to learn more!

August 7th, 2007

 * Sneak Peek Weekend Info

Players have asked about the upcoming Sneak Peek Weekend. You can learn a few details about the who, what, when, and where of the event in today's Sneak Peek Weekend events page.

August 6th, 2007

 * Tournament Skill Charts

If you're curious about what high level players are using these days in the way of skills, if you want to see how the metagame evolves from month to month, if you're just wondering what hit you during the playoffs, you should check out the charts that show skill usages during the June and July Series playoffs.

August 3rd, 2007

 * Dragon Festival Redux

Because latency issues prevented some Guild Wars players from being able to fully enjoy July's Dragon Festival, we are happy to announce that the festival will enjoy a complete rerun the weekend of August 10th. Starting at noon Pacific Time (-7 GMT), you can participate in the Dragon Arena, Rollerbeetle Racing, Shing Jea Boardwalk, and the series of seven Dragon Festival quests. On Sunday, starting at 2:00 AM Pacific Time, you can participate in the special end-of-event finale that takes place every two hours throughout that day. And to make it even more cool, we're resetting the counter for territory changes, so that players can move up to four times between the different global territories. Check out the Dragon Festival Page for updated info about this month's celebration, and we’ll see you there!

August 2nd, 2007

 * Penny Arcade Expo Update

Penny Arcade Expo will take place in Seattle on August 24-26, and as you know, ArenaNet will be there in force! You can get an overview of the show on our previously-published PAX page. Today, catch details of the Guild Wars 10K Arena at PAX, a 1v1 sealed play event where the best players vie for $10,000 in prizes that offers prizes such as the new Logitech G9 Laser Mice, the G15 Keyboard, or an Alienware Area-51® m9750 laptop, plus more than $5000 in cash prizes! You can also enter the Super Fan 2007 Contest, which offers you a chance to get special VIP Early Access tickets to the Guild Wars party at PAX, with snacks, swag, skill challenges with prizes, and more. Mark your calendars, and we'll see you at the show!


 * Heroes' Ascent Test Week

As part of our continuing practice of reviewing and refreshing PvP gameplay mechanics, we're launching another test week featuring changes to the Heroes' Ascent area. We'll be looking for your feedback about the HA changes after they roll out this week and as always will give them full consideration in subsequent potential updates and revisions.

August 1st, 2007

 * Guild Wars Wiki: 10K and Growing!

Early this afternoon, the Guild Wars Wiki reached its 10,000th hosted article when GWW member Alien made a contribution on the subject of the Tengu War. You, too, can be part of this excitement by heading over to the GWW and joining the community!