GuildWars.com news

The following lists the recent news from the official GuildWars.com site.

January 31st, 2013

Upcoming Guild versus Guild changes

With the annual battle between Grenth and Dwayna fading into the past, it seems not even Balthazar’s domain is untouched by spring cleaning. Prepare for a batch of updates to Guild Battles through February and March. These changes will offer more people a chance to participate and achieve while giving the best guilds new options for customization.

Most immediately, Balthazar is retiring the engravers and hiring tailors. February is the last chance to get your guild name on a trophy. Winners of future MATs will still show up in Tolkano's reports, but the 2013 trophy will be moved to the display dais in March, and Tolkano will step to the center of the Great Temple of Balthazar. While battling for this chance at inscribed glory, more guilds will be able to work on their Champion title, as we’re easing the rating requirement from 1200 to 1050.

Also starting in February, we’re adding new ways for guilds to acquire cape trims through tournament participation. Instead of earning temporary bronze or silver trims through the MAT, guild leaders with enough Tournament Reward Points can speak with Tolkano to trade those points for the permanent trim of their choice from a variety of new and stylish colors. Permanent gold trim will still be awarded exclusively to the winner of each month’s tournament; it will overwrite any previously purchased trim color.

The Monthly Automated Tournaments are shifting to the third weekend of the month. This will naturally avoid most major holidays and allow players to determine the date of the MAT without waiting for Tolkano to announce it. Though we’re keeping the current Daily AT rotation for now, we’re working toward implementing a 21-hour rotation, ensuring a few things: times will vary more on adjacent days, a tournament will fall on each hour of the day once per week, and times will naturally be static from one week to the next.

Finally, we’ve seen the market has been hard on those seeking Celestial Sigils. If you’re not having luck with the local trader or The Hall of Heroes, you can now get the occasional drop from a Zaishen Strongbox. Alternately, Jessie Llam will trade them for Gold Zaishen Coins. You can always count on the Zaishen to fill a need, particularly if it gets more people in the battle.

January 24th, 2013

Canthan New Year is almost here!

Check out the Canthan New Year Festival and explore all of the fun activities we have planned. This year, the festival will be extended to a full week, beginning on Thursday, January 31 at noon Pacific (GMT -8) and ending on Thursday, February 7 at noon Pacific (GMT -8). The event will culminate on Wednesday, February 6 with the traditional festivities in Shing Jea Monastery.

The adjustments to Canthan New Year mark the beginning of a few time and schedule changes to Guild Wars in-game events. Specifically, all major events will be extended to run for a week or longer, and they will be put on a fixed schedule. In some cases this will shift when event finales happen, but highly anticipated events like Halloween and Wintersday already fall on the same date annually and therefore won’t change. Looking to the future, you will be able to enjoy events for longer and can plan to attend without wondering when the events will occur.

December 7th, 2012

Wintersday is Coming!

We’ve got loads of holiday quests, fun activities, and special rewards planned this year! The festivities run from December 13, 2012 through January 2, 2013. Find out more at our Guild Wars Wintersday event page!

October 18th, 2012

Halloween is Coming!

Halloween is coming to Guild Wars on October 19. This means 13 days of mischief and mayhem in Tyria, courtesy of Mad King Thorn and his Lunatic Court! The Halloween festival starts on Fridaday, October 19, at noon Pacific daylight time (-7 GMT) and runs until November 2nd at 1 a.m. Pacific daylight time (-7 GMT). This year you’ll again be able to dress up in the Halloween-themed costumes and enjoy the festive events! Monsters will drop their usual festive items and you’ll also be able to obtain one of the festival hats of past thanks to the popular Festival Hat NPCs in Lion’s Arch and Kamadan. And there are other treats! Once more, Mad King Thorn will appear on October 31st to entertain you... or be entertained! Head over to the Halloween 2012 page for all the details!

October 1st, 2012

Support Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Pink Day in LA

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, when players are invited to wear pink in-game to show their support and raise awareness about breast cancer and other types of cancers. During the whole month, the pink dye vendor Rosa Salvitas will be in Lion’s Arch selling a special blend of pink dye!

But that’s not all&emdash;the annual Pink Day in LA event will take place once again in Guild Wars! The Gaming World Entertainment Network (GW-EN) and Gamers Giving Back are hosting this year’s Pink Day in LA event on October 20 from 12:00 - 6:00 PM (CDT) in Lion's Arch (International Districts 1, 2 and 3). Pink Day in LA is an in-game charity event created to support breast cancer research. This year’s goal is to raise $13,370 for the Canadian Cancer Society, but they’ll need your help!

On October 20 you can listen to the stream on GW-EN Radio and check out the Pink Day in LA in-game event in Guild Wars! There are TONS of incredible prizes that you can win by participating and donating to this worthy cause!

Find out more about Pink Day in LA on their official website.