ArenaNet:Developer updates/20070213

This is an archive of Developer Updates, originally posted through the official website. It includes semi-official announcements, clarifications, and news from the developers.

[Dev Update] Game Additions, Feature Improvements, Skill Balances -- 13 February 2007

Until I can figure out a better place for the updates that I post from time to time, I'm going to place the newest one right here. Obviously, the place to post your response -- feedback, questions, and other comments -- is in one of the fansite forums. For your elucidation, here's the content of today's Dev Update! :)

First, I'd like to share some upcoming changes to the game:

• A new Challenge Missions Ladder is opening today (Tuesday). There will be a news post about this in a few hours, but we think you'll enjoy the special recognition and the means to see who's the best of the best on these missions.
• Up to 20 players per town will be able to show off their miniatures in town. I frankly didn't see this one coming, and I know it'll be really fun to be able to take your miniature for a walk through Ascalon City or Droknar's Forge. And can you say "Miniature Racing," anyone? :)
• You can now log out to the character selection screen, instead of the log-in screen. No need to enter a password every time you change characters. (I know a few people are going to cheer for the added convenience of this change. ;) )
• Several changes have been made to the Skills and Attributes panel to offer you more customization options. Even little things like being able to swap the order of the skills in your skill bar will make things a bit easier, and there are several other functionality improvements beyond that.
• Two hero quests have been updated, Gain Olias and Gain Zenmai. Now, if you've done these quests, you'll not be able to redo them, but all character who have not completed these quests will find them new and improved.
• Cantha New Year's Event – Details have already been posted, of course, but there has been a change that doubled the reward in the Roller Beetle Arena. Now, rather than the top 50 players getting a special prize in the rollerbeetle racing events, the top 100 will receive prizes.

Now, secondly, I have a message from the Design Team about skill changes. Here's what they have to say:

After reviewing the play balance changes last week and looking over how players responded both in game and in forums, we've made a few adjustments:

• We've reduced the effectiveness of some Paragon defensive skills. In conjunction with the Paragon’s high armor, these skills were encouraging degenerate team builds.
• We've reduced the effectiveness of Paragon skills that inflict Deep Wound. Outside of these skills, we have not decreased the Paragon's damage output.
• We've reduced the effectiveness of the Dervish form Avatar of Grenth. Even with our previous changes, this skill was overpowered compared to other Dervish elite skills and other Enchantment removal options.

We know that not everyone will agree with every change that we make, and more importantly, we know that every change we make risks hurting character builds that players enjoy using. Even so, it has become clear that the Guild Wars community as a whole has voiced support for us making changes more often than we have in the past and for having a game that supports diversity and encourages creative, active and intelligent play. With that in mind, we are beginning our next round of internal testing. Some of the things we’ll be looking at include:

• Paragon diversity and balance. Once we’ve had more time to see the most recent changes in effect, we’ll see if further changes are needed.
• Good PvE options for Mesmers.
• Bow skills for rangers.
• Ranger pet adjustments. We're pleased to say we have a rudimentary version of pet controls up-and-running on our test servers. We’re looking forward getting those into the live game as soon as we’ve examined all of the play balance issues this might introduce.

Depending on how things go, some or all of these might receive changes in the next play balance update. Let us know if there are other issues you’d like us to focus on in the next few months. We won’t always be able to make all the changes you ask for, but we always look into the suggestions and complaints we see on fan forums.

So, there's some news and... some more news! Hope you find this of interest, and naturally your comments and questions are more than welcome in the fan forum of your choice!

[Dev Update] Game Update Tomorrow -- 13 February 2007

I just got word that I am passing along to all the Community Team members: We're going to postpone the build until tomorrow. It turns out that as dev team members were polishing the content of the update, they discovered a glitch that they had to fix today. That required the postponement of the update, which means a postponement of the opening of the Guild Wars Challenge Mission Ladder, too. The team has resolved the glitch, but is undertaking a small amount of final testing before updating the game.

So, that means we'll be rolling out the update tomorrow morning instead of tonight, and the Challenge Mission Ladder will go live at around the same time. As I know you already fully understand, it is our commitment to offer the best, most tested, and most polished game updates possible. So while it's disappointing that we won't have the update live tonight, the update is only about a half a day away. We ask for your understanding about the matter. You can be sure we'll be here, and in all the fan forums, reading your feedback now and thoughout the coming days, as always.