GuildWars.com news/Archives/200612

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

December 27th, 2006

 * State of the Game: Basic Builds

This week's State of the Game article provides a collection of basic tips for creating and running an effective Guild vs. Guild team. Many of these suggestions also apply to other forms of PvP, as well. Get them all here.


 * Guild of the Week: PUFF

The Powerpuff Boys have had some notable success on the Guild Wars Ladder in recent weeks beyond just the novelty of the name. Learn about this European guild, and take in their philosophy and goals, in this week's Guild of the Week feature.

December 23rd, 2006

 * Wintersday Greeting & Gift

To all Guild Wars players, we offer a special holiday greeting and a chance to celebrate the season with a special desktop decoration, too. Happy Wintersday, everyone!


 * Wintersday Art Contest Winners

The cups of seasonal joy have truly overflowed in our offices with the arrival of many hundreds of entries in the first annual Wintersday Art Contest. Today, we are proud to announce the winners of the contest along with those who received honorable mention, as well. As you enjoy the Wintersday Festival, enjoy the art offered by these talented players. Thank you to all who entered, and congratulations to all the winners, from everyone here at ArenaNet!


 * Winterfest Tournament Skill Charts

Are you curious about which of the Core and Nightfall skills were used during the Guild Wars Winterfest Tournament? Would you like to know what the NPCs were up to? Check out the skill use charts here for all the details.


 * GvG Tournament Ladder Resets for Final Time

The Guild Wars GvG ladder will be resetting for the final time on Jan 1, 2007 at 08:01 GMT (12:01 a.m. PST). As stated in the History of GvG article, this is the final reset for the ladder, which will now be maintained primarily for historical measurements. The ELO rating for free-play GvG games has been lowered to 5K (The ELO system is explained in Appendix B of Universal Tournament Rules). The ELO rating for automated tournaments, when they begin, will be higher.

December 22nd, 2006

 * Competitive Play: Past, Present, Future

Our tournament coordinator has written up a thorough analysis of our competitive play system, and in an article today, he provides information on our exciting plans for the future. Find the article here.

December 21st, 2006

 * The Scribe #28

This week, our roving reporter hits The Domain of Anguish once again, gleaning helpful tips for those who venture into this dire zone. In addition, he hits some of the highlights of the current Wintersday Festival, and gives a verbal high five to notable citizens. Find it in this week's issue of The Scribe.


 * Party Search Feature Notes

As you know, with the release of the Wintersday Update, a new feature has been added to Guild Wars. The Party Search Feature will make the formation of playing groups fast and easy. Whether a party is a blend of players, henchmen, and Heroes, or an all-player team, this feature will work to ready the group. You'll even travel seamlessly between districts to form a group in the blink of an eye! Read more about this new feature in today's article.

December 20th, 2006

 * Winterfest Tournament Results Updated

Upon review of the Winterfest 2006 Playoffs, the results of one of the Round 5 matches required alteration due to an inadvertent rules violation. This slightly changed the final standings of the event. Situations like this are not unexpected, and we use the knowledge we gain to refine the system for the future. Watch for an article this Friday explaining future improvements coming to Guild Wars competitive play. And be sure to check and see if you did even better with your Xunlai Tournament House predictions, too!


 * PvP Primer: Hero Battles & Skill Synergy Pt 2

The second of two articles on Hero Battles and the synergy of skill interaction is available now. In addition to those provided in last week's article, you'll find three more build ideas detailed this week, involving Hexes, Conditions, and Defense. Find the new article here.

December 19th, 2006

 * Guild Wars: Gamespy's MMORPG of the Year

More end-of-year accolades for Guild Wars have rolled in, as Gamespy selects Guild Wars Nightfall as the best MMORPG of the Year. Over on GameTrailer.com, they've selected Guild Wars Factions as one of their top five picks in the PC Holiday Buyers Guide.


 * Winterfest 2006: Final Game Report

You can read up on the winning builds and the victorious strategies of the Winterfest 2006 Finals in today's match report. As you know, Peace and Harmony emerged triumphant in the final match-up. Check out the match report to learn more about their skillful use of splits, spikes, and much more.


 * Guild of the Week: SMS

Some guilds are started with an eye to competitive play. Others are born from a desire to come together to do missions and quests. The founder of Scars Meadow, however, had a more unusual inspiration, and from that sprang a vibrant guild of more than 60 members. Head over to the new Guild of the Week article to meet a few of the guild members and to read some of their gameplay tips.


 * Xunlai Tournament House Update

We want to thank the nearly 30,000 players who participated in the Xunlai Tournament House last week. The inaugural run during the Winterfest 2006 Playoffs taught us a lot, including how difficult it is to predict winners! As a special "thank you" to everyone who took part and who helped us test the system, all players who registered during the prediction period will receive one free pick of a Wintergreen item, in addition to any picks they earned through accurate predictions. We'll have more news on prize distribution soon.

December 18th, 2006

 * State of the Game: Positioning and Movement

This week's State of the Game article takes a look at a key component of competitive play: the teamwork and strategy involved in proper positioning and movement for each member of the group. Find general tips, role-specific suggestions, and notes on special situations, as well. Check out the article here.


 * Winterfest Winner: Peace and Harmony

The winner of the 2006 Winterfest Tournament is Peace and Harmony, a European guild that finished 11th on the seasonal ladder, but 1st when it counted most. You can see the full chart of all participants and placements here. We will follow today&#146;s finals with reports on several of the matches and other details about the tournament over the next few days.

December 17th, 2006

 * Winterfest Tournament Day One

The results are in from the first day of competition in the Winterfest 2006 Tournament. Head over to the Tournament Section to read the results of the five rounds of Swiss elimination. Sunday&#146;s quarter-finals will involve the top eight teams from today&#146;s elimination rounds in matches starting at 16:00 GMT (8:00 a.m. PST). After the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and finals will take place. We&#146;ll post a schedule soon and don&#146;t forget to check out the matches tomorrow. Congratulations to the teams who played in today&#146;s rounds!

December 15th, 2006

 * PvP Reporters Predictions

Three of our freelance PvP Reporters have made predictions for the outcome of the Winterfest Tournament. You'll find their top picks with detailed explanations along with many general ranking estimates in the Competitive Section.


 * Wintersday News

In preparation for this year's celebration of the happiest of holiday seasons, we want to share with you the Wintersday Events Page. The Wintersday Festival merriment begins on December 20th, and especially on Wintersday itself, January 1st, both Dwayna and Grenth will be looking for&#151;even vying for&#151;your support. Check out the events page to learn what's in store, from the events to the special activities to the generous rewards. We look forward to seeing you during the Wintersday season!

December 14th, 2006

 * The Scribe #27

Take a look at this week's news scroll to catch up on the latest from Tyria, Cantha, and Elona. First, you can absorb some suggested strategies for Domain of Anguish. Then you can read about how an Elonian wedding means gifts for all. And finally, you can find out about friendly folks in the Random Acts of Kindness. Get the skinny in Issue #27.


 * Vote for Guild Wars!

Guild Wars has received multiple nominations in the 1UP Awards for 2006! Guild Wars Nightfall is up for awards in two categories: Best Roleplaying Game and Best Online/Multiplayer Game. And yes you can vote for Nightfall in both categories! Head here to vote!


 * Winterfest 2006 Ladder Season Schedule

The playoff schedule for the Winterfest 2006 Ladder Season is available and you can check out the first round match-ups now. The action for our biggest tournament yet (32 guilds) begins at 8:00 a.m. PDT (16:00 GMT) on Saturday, December 16, and successive matches begin over the next four hours. The quarters, semis, and finals will take place on Sunday, December 17. We'll update the brackets frequently over the course of the weekend, so check the Winterfest 2006 Ladder Season page for details.

December 13th, 2006

 * PvP Primer: Hero Battles & Skill Synergy Part 1

Now that you've had a chance to review the basics of Skill Synergy, the PvP Primer takes you a step further, into the application of such skill interaction in Hero Battles. The first part of this two-part series is offered here.


 * Wednesday's Wallpaper

This week you can enjoy another new wallpaper image based on Guild Wars Nightfall concept art. Choose what suits your resolution and ratio, right here.


 * 3,000,000 Sold, Upcoming Features Revealed!

In a press release issued today, ArenaNet and NCsoft announced that more than 3,000,000 copies of Guild Wars have been sold to date. The press release also provides an outline of the upcoming Wintersday Festival and reveals some exciting new features that will be implemented coming over the Holiday season. Get all the news here.

December 12th, 2006

 * Double and Triple Goodness

This weekend, all chests located in Elona will have a doubled chance of dropping rare items. And, the drop rate for all Elonian keys will triple, too! Join us starting at Noon PST on Friday, and enjoy the extra goodies through Sunday at 11:59 p.m. PST.


 * Xunlai Tournament House Now Open!

The Xunlai sponsor a system that allows you to make predictions for the outcome of big competitions, such as the upcoming Winterfest 2006 Seasonal Playoffs. All you do is predict the results of the upcoming tournament and then cheer your favorite guilds on to victory. If you are correct, you will win great prizes to show off to all your friends! The Xunlai Tournament House will be open for you to make your predictions from December 13 at Noon PST (16:00 GMT) through December 16 at 4:00 a.m. PST (12:00 or Noon GMT). Make your predictions and then watch the seasonal playoffs this weekend to see if you&#146;ve won!


 * Guild of the Week: DeeR

With an international membership and a PvP focus, Slash Rank [DeeR] is one guild that hasn't settled into a specific form of gameplay. Instead you'll often find them on Observer Mode playing a great GvG game on the same day they hold Hall of Heroes in Heroes' Ascent. Read about the guild here.

December 11th, 2006

 * Wintersday Contest Deadline Nears

All who celebrate the wonderful Wintersday holiday&#151;and honestly, who doesn&#146;t?&#151; be sure you submit your entry for the 1st Annual Wintersday Art Contest by Thursday, December 14th, at Noon Pacific Time. Check the contest page for all the details. We&#146;re enjoying the many entries that have arrived so far, and hope to see even more this week!


 * State of the Game: Tournament Trends

With the Winterfest 2006 Tournament ready to begin in just days, one of our competitive play reporters takes a look at the upcoming tournament, paying particular note to the skill options for this event. Check out the new SotG.


 * Guild Wars Language Support Grows

Players who speak Polish will be happy to note that language support for Polish has been added to Guild Wars. Use the drop-down menu to select Polish from the 10 languages now offered for players! For all those who will be joining us for the first time, and for those for whom Polish is your language of choice: Witam w Guild Wars!

December 8th, 2006

 * Guild Wars Featured on NPR

National Public Radio produced a feature on gamers who fall outside the usual demographic. The feature, introduced on the air with the amusing handle, "Gray Gamers &#150; Is Grandma a Gamer?" is called "Video-Game Makers Discover a New, Older, Market." Front and center is Guild Wars, with interviews and photographs of a player and her in-game character. Read or listen to the feature here.

December 7th, 2006

 * The Scribe #26

In a report from the Domain of Anguish battlefront, The Scribe offers a few inside tips on surviving, perhaps even surmounting, this Elite area. In addition, he calls out this weekend's event and gives a nod to several kind players as well. Find it all in Issue Number 26.

December 6th, 2006

 * PvP Primer: Skill Synergy Part 2

This week's PvP Primer article is the second of two parts. Part One was posted two weeks ago, and new piece provides interesting information and proposed builds that take advantage of skill interactions possible with five professions: Assassin, Monk, Mesmer, Ranger, and Ritualist. Find it here.


 * Razah Wallpaper

In response to player requests, and in honor of the opening of the Domain of Anguish, this week's desktop image offers a look at Razah, the Ritualist Hero whom you will meet in the Elite area of Nightfall. Pick up that image here.

December 5th, 2006

 * Another Double Fun Weekend

This coming weekend, there are two ways for you to double your PvP fun: You&#146;ll receive double GvG Faction for unique kills, matches won, and flawless victories, plus you will get double Champion Points when both competing guilds have a rating of 1200+ on the Guild Wars Ladder. This Double Fun Weekend starts at Noon PST on Friday, December 8, and ends at 11:59 p.m. PST on Sunday, December 10.


 * Guild of the Week: DAD

Droknars Arena Dogs is this week&#146;s featured guild. Begun with a PvP focus, the guild has moved into PvE with fervor, and has several members with notable Guild Wars achievements. Find out more in this week&#146;s GOTW.

December 4th, 2006

 * State of the Game: Split Strategies

Our first State of the Game article for the month of December presents several successful team split strategies. It also calls out skills that are rising in popularity as players become familiar with the Nightfall metagame during the current Winterfest Season. Find the SotG here.

December 1st, 2006

 * Domain of Anguish Opens!

The way to the Domain of Anguish is now revealed, and players who have completed Nightfall are invited to enter its hidden reaches. Through access in the Chantry of Secrets, you&#146;ll find one outpost, four explorable areas, ten quests, an amazing mission, and many opportunities for exceptional riches. Acquire spectacular weapons for your character and Primeval Armor for your Heroes. Collect special gemstones for many purposes, including unlocking mysterious coffers that contain valuable and oftentimes rare items. Meet the long-awaited Razah, the Ritualist Hero. All of this is yours, in the Domain of Anguish!


 * Factions: Game of the Year

In last night's award ceremony at the 3rd Annual DEMMX Conference in Los Angeles, Guild Wars Factions was announced as the winning Multiplayer Game of the Year. You can find details here. For more information, see our press release.