Massively's Black Friday MMO sales guide
by Kyle Horner 
Nov 26th 2009 at 10:00AM
Filed under: Events, real-world, News items
arenanet posts
ArenaNet co-founder Jeff Strain opens new studio
by Rubi Bayer Nov 23rd 2009 at 1:00PM
Filed under: Horror, MMO industry, New titles, News items
Jeff Strain has a shiny (slimy?) new project just officially announced today. Undead Labs is his new studio, which is already at work planning a zombie MMO -- more specifically, a zombie-console-MMO. To quote the Undead Labs site, "Zombie MMO! Hell yeah!" Of course, we already have a million questions, but he was kind enough to answer many of them well in advance. (Points to him for anticipating them and spelling it out right up front, and for making us laugh.)
It's early days yet so we don't have a laundry list of specific details and screenshots, but the site already shows a departure from the traditional way of doing things when it comes to MMO development. A look around Undead Labs sets the tone right off, beginning with the aforementioned answers to questions, and continuing with a fairly amusing etiquette guide. Strain and Undead Labs look to be off to a running start with things, and we are going to be keeping a close eye on the impending zombie apocalypse.
Guild Wars updates Halloween quest, bringing permanant changes
by Rubi Bayer Nov 22nd 2009 at 8:00PM
Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, Free-to-play
We can all stop making "Waiting for Godot" (Godhuum?) jokes. Thursday evening ArenaNet quietly updated "The Waiting Game", the Guild Wars quest we all picked up back around Halloween. Dhuum is awake, he's not happy, and the Shadow Form debate rages on.The update to The Waiting Game revealed that Dhuum will appear once all of the Underworld quests have been completed, and defeating him is now required to "complete" the Underworld. With a skill set including things like "Judgement of Dhuum", this new addition to the Underworld is most likely the challenge that bored Guild Wars players have been looking for.
Shadow Form continues to be a hot topic, however. Many players expected this to be the thing that put an end to Shadow Form Underworld farming, but one of the earliest reported successes proved that wrong very quickly. Players responded quickly with one commenter summing up many people's thoughts: "It's...disappointing that even a God of Unholy Death can't bypass shadowform...". (Community Manager Regina Buenaobra stepped in to mention that the goal was new content, not a nerf of SF farming.)
In the meantime, Dhuum seems to be the biggest challenge around in Guild Wars -- kudos to ArenaNet for the new content!
One Shots: Bark at the moon
by Krystalle Voecks Nov 19th 2009 at 2:00PM
Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Guild Wars, One Shots
We love holidays in MMOs almost as much as we love pie -- maybe even more, depending on the game! So if you have a chance to grab some holiday celebration screenshots while you're out and about, please send some our way! We love to see what's up in the different worlds out there. All you have to do is email them to us at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a quick description. We'll post them out here and give you the love.
NCsoft hints at Guild Wars 2 beta in 2010, launch in 2011
by Rubi Bayer Nov 10th 2009 at 12:00PM
Filed under: Fantasy, News items, Guild Wars 2
Since the announcement, the Guild Wars player base has become intimately familiar with various versions of the phrases "We haven't released that information" and "TBA", punctuated occasionally with new information.
While the bits of information given here and there add up to something relatively substantial, fans are still asking the big question: When? Obviously the planned 2008 beta didn't happen, and now fans will have to wait a bit longer.
CEO Jaeho Lee referred to GW2 and Blade and Soul in a recent conference call with investors: "I believe there will be certain public events in the year 2010... at least a closed beta test for those titles. Commercialisation will be expected, at this point, probably some time in the year 2011."
At least fans have plenty of time and motivation to finish filling their Hall of Monuments. Silence and delays aside, when Guild Wars 2 finally arrives, most fans trust ArenaNet to give them something well worth the wait.
One Shots: A toast to your doom
by Krystalle Voecks Nov 7th 2009 at 2:00PM
Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Guild Wars, One Shots
Have you seen something really, really cool but unquestionably evil? We'd be thrilled if you'd share with the rest of us. Just email it to oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a quick description. We'll post it out here and give you the credit. (Meanwhile, we'll be turning it into our desktop image for the day!)
Guild Wars announces art contest winners
by Rubi Bayer Nov 2nd 2009 at 9:00AM
Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Contests, Free-to-play
ArenaNet seemed very happy with this year's entries: "We were so impressed by both the Halloween spirit and the quality of artistic talent in our community that it was hard to choose only ten winners and ten honorable mentions."
Twenty winners were chosen from the submissions for some great prizes. The top three winners scored a signed copy of The Art of Guild Wars 2, the top ten received a signed Guild Wars art print, and all twenty winners won an exclusive Mad King's Guard minipet. Congratulations to all of the winners!
ArenaNet grants wish to heart transplant patient
by Rubi Bayer Nov 1st 2009 at 4:00PM
Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Culture, Events, real-world, Guild Wars 2
Just last week Make-A-Wish arranged for Emily to travel to Seattle and visit the ArenaNet offices, making her the envy of a few million fans. She spent her morning touring the offices, meeting the staff, learning about what they do, and even meeting with the section heads to discuss her likes and dislikes about Guild Wars. After lunch, time to spend a few hours playing Guild Wars 2 with the ArenaNet team. That's right, Emily got an up close and personal look at the game, giving feedback and making suggestions from a fan's point of view. The best part came at the end: "They pulled us aside and asked if she could stay a couple of extra hours. They convened a group of their eight senior designers and Emily, and they asked Emily to help them design an "Event" for the game."
So when we finally get our hands on GW2, there will be a little something from Emily in there. Congratulations from Massively, Emily, and we wish you continued health.
One Shots: From the shadows
by Krystalle Voecks Nov 1st 2009 at 2:00PM
Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Guild Wars, One Shots
One Shots relies heavily on great reader screenshot submissions, so if you're playing a game that doesn't get love as much as you might like, please do take a moment and send us some of your favorite screenshots. Just email them in to oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a quick description. We'll post them up here and give you the nod for sending them along!
Guild Wars PvP henchmen have arrived
by Rubi Bayer Oct 30th 2009 at 1:30PM
Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Patches, PvP, Free-to-play
They arrived with last night's update, along with a bug fix for Devona, who really wanted to keep "Charge!" on her bar. While it will take some time to get a feel for them in battle, the Live Team clearly had a great time putting them together. The models look great -- a nice variety of looks and styles, and talking to them gives a brief dialogue that says a bit about their personality. In a fun little touch, many of their idle emotes fit their personalities as well. Talking to them will also reveal their skill bars, allowing you to make your selections without resorting to memory or the wiki.
Heroes have been removed for the time being, but don't worry just yet if you want them back. Community manager Regina Buenaobra says, "After yesterday's update our programmer is looking into enabling Heroes in the Guild Hall. He is optimistic that it's possible."
The new henchmen are available in Heroes' Ascent and in guild halls, and while it's a bit disappointing that we didn't actually get henchmen named Hi Captain Obvious or Noodle Legs, we are optimistic that they'll live up to expectations on the battlefield.
Team Arenas and Hero Battles not the only thing changed in latest Guild Wars update
by Rubi Bayer Oct 23rd 2009 at 8:00PM
Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Game mechanics, Patches
Regina said a few days ago that Hero Battles and Team Arenas would be removed from Guild Wars this week and that the Sealed Deck/Codex Arena would be added. It looks like the Live Team took care of that, made a few more PvP tweaks, then turned their attention to heroes and henchmen. Our sometimes-trusty sidekicks got quite the makeover. Nearly 70 henchmen skill bars throughout every campaign plus Eye of the North were rebalanced, and the AI for nearly every class of hero, henchman, and Hard Mode NPC was updated. (The AI on Necros and Dervishes got a pass - apparently they used their skills well enough to be left alone.) The full list of changes can be viewed here.
The Underworld got some attention too, fixing bugs, streamlining things, adjusting spawns and adding the ominous statement "Something stirs deep in the Underworld, slowly making its presence known." Hopefully we'll find out more about that something when the Halloween events get into full swing.
For now, we're going to find out if removing Healing Touch from Alesia's bar has taught her that she's not a frontliner.
Goodbye RR Day: Guild Wars to remove Hero Battles and Team Arenas this week
by Rubi Bayer Oct 19th 2009 at 12:00PM
Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Events, in-game, Exploits, PvP, News items
So how does this affect the PvP side? Well, after the update this week -- presumably Thursday or Friday -- the Commander title will still exist, but gaining points for it will no longer be possible. It will be replaced by a new title so those who haven't maxed their Commander title won't be left out in the cold. Random Arenas will no longer promote to Team Arenas, and the Hero Battles Ladder will freeze.
Linsey has said that Team Arena will be "renamed and repurposed" for the new Sealed Deck format, and that the Hero Battles maps will be reused, but the only change indicated for this week is the removal of TA/HB. It looks like Sealed Deck and all the other PvP projects are still having finishing touches put on them, so we'll keep watching for them.
Win yourself a Guild Wars 2 art book from Massively
by Shawn Schuster Oct 13th 2009 at 12:30PM
Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Contests, Lore, Guild Wars 2, Massively meta, Giveaways
As part of our commitment to never accept gifts from publishers, we're giving away this art book (valued at $30) in a random drawing. To enter, simply reply to this post between now and Friday, October 16th at 8am EDT. At that time, a winner will be chosen and contacted. Limit one entry per person. Winners must 18+ and live in the US or Canada (excluding Quebec). Check out our complete contest rules page for more information on eligibility.
Before we pry our hands from this coveted hardcover book, we took some photos of a few pages to let you know what you're trying for. Follow along in the gallery below for only a sample of what to expect.
[Update: Comments are now closed, winner to be contacted shortly]
The top five Guild Wars features we take for granted
by Rubi Bayer Oct 12th 2009 at 5:00PM
Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Business models, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Guild Wars 2, Free-to-play
Guild Wars PvP project updates
by Rubi Bayer Oct 9th 2009 at 9:00AM
Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, Patches, PvP, Free-to-play
Back in August, Linsey Murdock, game designer for ArenaNet, gave news of a large Guild Wars PvP project the Live Team was working on. Community Manager Regina Buenaobra gave an update yesterday, working through a laundry list of items in the project and their status.
The PvP henchmen contest seems to be the primary focus of the Live Team at the moment. Winners were announced last week, and after the initial flurry of perusing the new skill bars and congratulating the winners, the Guild Wars community wondered "What now?". Will we see the new henchmen anytime soon, and more importantly, will we really have henchmen named Rolol Lololol and A Papaya In There? As it turns out, the Live Team is working on that very thing -- contacting winners, working out appropriate in-character names, and anticipating the fun of finding models. While the team is working hard on this, Regina didn't neglect mention of the many other items on the list.
The switch from Team Arenas and Hero Battles to the Sealed Deck format is taking longer than planned, as team members had to build the project nearly from the ground up. A few items, like GvG Tiebreaker and a new Hall of Heroes map, have been put on hold until the Test Krewe is in place. Several small items are taken care of and ready to go, while other things are on hold for now; one of them being the next skill balance.
More details can be seen in Regina's journal entry, and we hope for even more soon.
