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Anniversary Notes - Wednesday, April 22, 2015[edit]
Introduction[edit]
This April marks ten years since the release of Guild Wars in 2005. To celebrate this auspicious occasion, we're making a few permanent additions to the yearly Anniversary Celebration. If you'd like to discover the changes for yourself, speak with Foreman the Crier in any port city during the festival to get directions. Otherwise, read on for an overview of what's new!
Proof of Legend[edit]
During the Anniversary Celebration, you can acquire Proofs of Legend that can be traded to certain collectors for prizes. Proofs are obtained by playing through missions across the game. You can get one proof per region on each of your characters.
For adventurers looking for full completion, you'll want to finish one mission in each of these regions to collect all 20 Proofs of Legend:
You can receive a Proof of Legend once per character in each of these regions, so if you prefer Frost Gate to Thunderhead Keep, you'll only need to play through your favorite. You can repeat regions on different characters, so if you've been yearning to put an end to the villainous Shiro Tagachi's schemes repeatedly, beating Imperial Sanctum or Raisu Palace will earn a proof on each character you complete them on.
One quick rule: some missions straddle regions, so as a tiebreaker, a mission's region is where the mission itself takes place, not where the outpost is. That means that while Consulate Docks starts in Istan, it's a Kourna region mission, and even if you enter Unwaking Waters via the Echovald Forest side outpost, it will count as a Jade Sea mission.
Balthazar's Arsenal and Decade Weapons[edit]
Once you have a Proof of Legend or two in your bags, it's time to visit Embark Beach for some unique rewards! First, speak with Palora, Sworn to Earth on the ship docked at the beach. She'll give you a special reward just for showing her one of your hard-earned Proofs of Legend. You won't lose the proof, so be sure to visit Palora before giving all of your proofs to a collector.
Next, talk to the Ancient Anniversary Weaponsmith near the dock. For 5 Proofs of Legend, he'll trade you either a Blessing of War, redeemable for a weapon of your choice from the all-new Balthazar weapon set, or a battle-ready weapon from the Decade set, containing classic weapons with new upgrades and effects. If you chose the Blessing of War, head over to the Isle of the Nameless to peruse the many weapons of the god of war at the Zaishen Weapon Masters.
Proof of Steel[edit]
Player versus Player combat isn't left out of the festivities. In Heroes' Ascent, a member of the Zaishen's High Council has arrived for the anniversary. Speak with Anzhaer, Hammer of Balthazar, to receive a new daily quest—winning a battle in Heroes' Ascent or giving it your all for a few fights will reward you with a Proof of Steel, tradable to Zaishen collectors for a selection of useful rewards, including Zaishen Keys. If you've got what it takes to reach the Hall of Heroes, you'll also find that the chest awarded to the victorious team in the halls will include a guaranteed Proof of Steel.
The Zaishen Order will further reward players who show their competitive nature—if you use your Zaishen Keys to open the Zaishen Chest in Isle of the Nameless, every 25 keys will give you a guaranteed Blessing of War, tradable for the new Balthazar weapon set. This bonus is a permanent addition even after the festival has ended, so if you missed the festival, you'll still have the chance to earn these weapons throughout the year.
Conclusion[edit]
Finally, the Anniversary Celebration is being extended from one week to two weeks to give players the chance to revisit their adventures and enjoy the Tenth Anniversary. Festivities will run from April 22 to May 6—enjoy the celebrations, and we'll see you in Tyria!
