Fansite Friday/JanuaryBWE

Title: January BWE Special Edition

Date: 7 January 2005

Number: 27

url: http://www.guildwars.com/events/press/interviews/fansite-friday-bwe.php

Q&A

Question: What is new for the January Beta Weekend Event?

Answer: The upcoming Beta Weekend Event will provide a preview of the following:

• New user interface: The GUI is very different now from what it was in the earlier testing stages the functionality, ease of use, and player options are greatly expanded. And not only does it work better, it is also getting more and more attractive, as the art team starts on a bit of polish here and there. Oh, we now have the paper-doll mode for outfitting, which the testers are enjoying very much. We think youll love the new UI.

• New Inventories: Inventory systems are very important to a game. When you think about it, you can spend a lot of time sorting through items to trade or sell, finding the right crafting components, deciding which weapons to hot key, and so forth. We knew long ago that we wanted a well-designed and user-friendly inventory system. We didnt want to limit a player to a small block of boxes that could be consumed with a few large items. The Guild Wars inventory is now more than just one big storage carton. It has been compartmentalized into various holding cases, so that you can set one container for weapons, another for dyes, a third for crafting supplies, and so forth.

• New quest system: As you adventure through the world, you will notice that the explorable areas now change to reflect your experiences and progress. This exciting concept is in its early stages at present. But now, you will find yourself in the position to truly affect your world. The Guild Wars world is not just a place where things happen it is a world in which you make things happen on a global scale.

Question: Has there been a character wipe?

Answer: In order to implement the extensive changes mentioned above, we have had to reset existing characters and guilds. However, we have provided the ability to create level 1 and level 20 characters for this weekend, which will allow you to quickly get back into Arena and Tournament combat.

Also, I wanted to point out that resets are different than and preferable to an outright wipe, because you still have the placeholder character and therefore still have the name connected to your account. The reset leaves the character in place as a level 1, with professions and starting skills all ready to go.

Question: Can you discuss character name reservations?

Answer: Character names are reserved for those who participate in this or any upcoming Beta Weekend Events, if the name is available. Names will be preserved until launch. All characters that did not participate in either of the first two Beta Weekend Events (November and December) have been cleared, and their names are now available for you to claim. See the Event FAQ at www.guildwars.com for more information.

If you would like to reserve a character name, simply make a character during this weeks Beta Weekend Event or any BWE after January. The character name will then be reserved to your account. If you want to select a different name for one of your four characters, just delete the character and remake with the new name.

Oh, and if you want to use the same name for a new character, you can do that. The programmers have set up a little timer that keeps a name bound to your account for up to 60 minutes. This allows you to reuse a reserved name, if you choose to do so. But work promptly, for the name that you have bound to your account will be unbound after 60 minutes, meaning that someone else could nab it for themselves.

Were finding that people are happy about the name reservation system, and the wealth of clever, whimsical and interesting names sometimes names that people have been using in games for years makes visiting the cities of Tyria very fun.