Guild Wars Wiki:Formatting/Locations

This page is an accepted formatting guideline on the Guild Wars Wiki. It has wide acceptance among editors and is considered a standard that all contributors should follow. Before editing this page, it is suggested to gather consensus on the talk page first.

This article provides information on starting, expanding on, and completing articles about locations in Guild Wars. These are all considered locations: towns and outposts, explorables, landmarks and dungeons. Missions outposts are locations, but the missions themselves follow the mission formatting guide.

Syntax and example

{{location-stub}}{{image needed}}{{image needed|map}} <!-- examples of tags for incomplete articles. Remove when appropriate -->
{{ Location infobox
| name = Location name   <!-- optional, use if name contains a disambiguation identifier -->
| image = [[File:{{subst:PAGENAME}}.jpg|200px]] 
| campaign = Campaign name
| region = Region name
| type = Outpost 
| exits = [[Exit 1]]<br>[[Exit 2]]
| pic1 = [[Image:{{subst:PAGENAME}} map.jpg|200px]]
| pic1-text = Map of {{subst:PAGENAME}} 
| henchman = y
| storage = y
| merchant = y
}}
{{Quotation|game
| Add any in-game description for this location here.
}}

An overview of the location should go here. This might be used to describe the overall style or theme
of the location. There could also be mention of notable landmarks, general creature types, and possibly
some notes on navigation or travel through the area.

==Getting there==
<!-- a short description of routes to take to get to this location, and any quests that might be required -->

==Shrines==  <!-- list resurrection shrines, bounties, and blessings as needed. Use concise directions if map available -->
;[[Resurrection shrine]]s with bounties:
*[[NPC name]] → [[bounty name]]
**Direction and/or point of reference
**Another direction and/or point of reference
*[[NPC name]] → [[<bounty name>]]
**Direction and/or point of reference

;Resurrection shrines with a [[statue]]:
*[[God avatar NPC]]
**Direction and/or point of reference
**Another direction and/or point of reference
*[[God avatar NPC]]
**Direction and/or point of reference

;Resurrection shrines:
*Direction and/or point of reference

;Statue of [[God name]]:
*Direction and/or point of reference

==Quests available==      <!-- quests obtainable from this location -->
*[[Quest giver NPC 1]]
**[[Quest 1]] {{Quest icon|Primary}}
**[[Quest 2]] {{Quest icon|Repeatable}}
*[[Quest giver NPC 2]]
**[[Quest 1]]
*[[Quest giver NPC 3]]
**[[Quest 1]] {{w}}
**[[Quest 2]] {{rt}} {{Quest icon|Primary}}
**[[Quest 3]] {{ppri|mo}}

==NPCs==
===Allies=== <!-- friendly NPCs, omit if none -->
====Services====  <!-- sort by NPC service, break into subgroups, as per henchmen, for locations with a long list -->
*{{x}} ## [[Collector NPC]] ([[collector]] for # [[trophy name]])
*{{x}} ## [[Artisan NPC]] ([[artisan]])
*{{x}} ## [[Armorer NPC]] ([[armorer]])
*{{x}} ## [[Weaponsmith NPC]] ([[weaponsmith]])
*{{x}} ## [[Merchant NPC]] ([[merchant]])
*{{x}} ## [[Merchant NPC 2]] (merchant)
*{{x}} ## [[Dye trader NPC]] ([[dye trader]])
*{{x}} ## [[Material trader NPC]] ([[material trader]])
*{{x}} ## [[Rare material trader NPC]] ([[rare material trader]])
*{{x}} ## [[Rune trader NPC]] ([[rune trader]])
*{{x}} ## [[Rare scroll trader NPC]] ([[rare scroll trader]])
*{{x}} ## [[Skill trainer NPC]] ([[skill trainer]])
*{{x}} ## [[Pet tamer NPC]] ([[pet tamer]])
*{{x}} ## [[Profession changer NPC]] ([[profession changer]])
*{{x}} ## [[Arena guard NPC]] ([[arena guard]])
*{{x}} ## [[Guild emblemer NPC]] ([[guild emblemer]])
*{{x}} ## [[Guild registrar NPC]] ([[guild registrar]])
*{{x}} 15 [[Xunlai Agent]] (storage upgrades)
*{{x}} 24 [[Xunlai Chest]] (storage)

=====Henchmen===== <!-- sort in profession order -->
*{{w}} ## [[Devona]] (Fighter)
*{{r}} ## [[Aidan]] (Archer)
*{{mo}} ## [[Mhenlo]] (Healer)
*{{n}} ## [[Eve]] (Cultist)
*{{e}} ## [[Cynn]] (Mage)

====Ally subgroups==== <!-- create logical or storyline groupings as necessary, sort by profession -->

====Other allies====   <!-- sort named NPCs first, followed by generic NPCs like commoners and guards -->
*{{x}} ## [[NPC 1]]
*{{x}} ## [[NPC 2]]

===Charmable animals===
[[Charmable animal]]s
*{{x}} ## [[Animal]]

===Foes===
[[foe type 1]]s     <!-- creature type (in plural), i.e. [[Dragon]]s, [[Human]]s, [[Plant]]s -->
*{{x}} ## (##) [[Example Foe]]     <!-- normal mode level, hard mode level in paranthesis -->
*{{r}}{{mo}} ## (##) [[Example Foe]]     <!-- two professions, no "/" or space between icons -->

[[foe type 2]]s ([[affiliation]])     <!-- affiliation, i.e. [[White Mantle]], [[Kurzick]]s, [[Torment creature]]s -->
*{{e}} ## (##) [[Example Foe]]

[[foe type 2]]s
*{{w}} ## (##) [[Example Foe]]

====Bosses====   <!-- omit if empty -->
foe type 1s
*{{w}} ## (##) [[Boss Name]] &rarr; [[elite skill]] ([[unique item]])
*{{r}} ## (##) [[Boss Name]] &rarr; [[elite skill]]
*{{mo}} ## (##) [[Boss Name]] &rarr; ([[unique item]])

==Dialogue==   <!-- omit if empty -->
<!-- transcription of any location-specific dialogue; quest- or mission-specific dialogue do not belong here -->
:'''NPC name:''' ''"Text"''
:'''NPC name:''' ''"Text"''

==Notes==   <!-- omit if empty -->
*Any additional notes regarding this location.

==Trivia==   <!-- omit if empty -->
*Any trivia information.

<!-- Add an appropriate navbar and appropriate categories below the nav, see explanation below -->

Article header

The article header contains the {{location infobox}} and the {{location-stub}} tag, if there is need for one. The {{image needed}} tag can also be used to mark the page as needing either a screenshot or a map.

Infobox

When defining the type of a location, keep in mind that some towns are also ports, and should be defined as ports. Also, some outposts are mission outposts, and should then be defined as mission outposts.

Maps of explorable areas should ideally be taken from the mission map, to include collector and resurrection shrine icons.

See {{location infobox}} for more details on how to use the different parameters available.

Description

The description section should not use any section header.

Directly under the infobox, the {{quotation}} template should be used for any in-game description copied verbatim from the game. Omit this if there is no in-game description available.

Directly under the quotation template, there should be a short summary and description of the location. This part should be included for all articles. If it is a landmark, it is important to note in which explorable area this landmark is found, since the location infobox only notes region.

Middle sections

In general, omit any section that would otherwise be empty, unless there is a need for an explicit note.

Getting there

Use these sections to provide information on how to reach that location. The directions should focus on the earliest opportunity and the quickest or most obvious route. Name missions or primary quests so as to provide a storyline point of reference. Remember to also specify mission or quest requirements that must first be met, if any.

Shrines

Use this section to provide directions on the locations of resurrection shrines and statues of the gods, as well as any bounties or bounty-like blessings that may be found there. Group the directions by bounty, and then by god avatars. Keep the directions simple and use exits or NPCs as points of reference.

Quests available

List all the quests that are offered in this location, grouped by the NPC that offers it. Use {{quest icon}} to denote any primary quest. Profession-specific quests should be noted using the {{preq}} template.

NPCs

The overall structure for this section is shown in the syntax example above, which shows it divided into three main subsections: Allies, Charmable animals, and Foes. In all three subsections, all NPCs should be listed in profession order (as per the Guild Wars Wiki:Formatting/Professions) and then by alphabetical order.

NPCs are only listed if they are considered "permanent". A "permanent" NPC is one that will appear barring any special circumstances. As such, quest-specific NPCs are not listed (they are listed in the relevant quest page, based on quest formatting). NPCs that appear before or after completion of a certain quest, mission, or storyline condition, can be listed, since they are "permanent" until or upon completion of said quest.

Each of the subsections mentioned above are further detailed below:

Allies

Group allies into logical groupings. NPC services should be gathered under a further Services subsection, which itself can be further subdivided as necessary (primarily to just divide a long list into shorter, clearer, lists). The same applies to allied NPCs that do not offer services; simply group them under subsections as necessary, using a Other allies subsection to hold the rest.

One additional rule with an allies listing is that specifically named NPCs, such as Mhenlo or Kormir, are always sorted before generically named NPCs regardless of profession, such as Canthan Guard or Vabbian Commoner. In other words, always sort generic NPCs to the bottom of the list.

Charmable animals

List any charmable animals in this location that can be charmed, preferably with some directions in parentheses.

Foes

Foes (hostile NPCs) should be grouped by their type and affiliation (see creature), with the types sorted alphabetically. The example syntax above should more or less illustrate how it should be done.

Bosses are to be grouped under a separate Bosses subsection, since boss listings are required to also include the unique weapon(s) they may drop and the elite skill that can be captured from them.

For location articles that are landmarks, this section can be omitted, since their associated explorable area article already covers it.

Points of interest

Use this section to alphabetically list any landmarks or interesting spots in this location.

Dialogue

Dialogue text is transcribed verbatim. Note that most dialogue is either part of a quest or relates to individual NPCs. As such, they should be listed in their respective articles instead. For such special cases, do note the conditions or situations that will trigger the dialogue.

Where applicable, the {{Offer dialog}} template may optionally be used to supply boilerplate text and to provide consistent formatting.

Article footer

The location infobox will provide the correct categorization, so there should be little need to specify categories manually.

Include an appropriate navigation bar for the location. The syntax looks like this: {{Towns and outposts in Kourna}} or {{Landmarks in Shing Jea Island}}. All navigation boxes are based off region and location type, with ports, towns and outposts being grouped together. See Category:Location templates and Category:Region templates for a full list.