Guild Wars 2

Guild Wars 2 is a 3D fantasy MMORPG currently in development by ArenaNet, as a sequel to their episodic Guild Wars game series. It was announced in 2007, alongside the final Guild Wars expansion Eye of the North.
Contents [hide]
1 Gameplay
2 Plot
3 Graphics and game engine
4 Development
5 References
6 External links
Gameplay

Guild Wars 2 uses a heavily modified version of the proprietary game engine developed for Guild Wars by ArenaNet. The modifications to the engine include real-time 3D environments,[1] enhanced graphics and animations[2] and the use of the Havok physics system.[1] The developers say the engine now does justice to the concept art for the game and concept art will be integrated into the way the story is told to the player.[3]
Guild Wars 2 game play has been modified from Guild Wars to include a variety of different features.
Guild Wars 2 will allow a player to create a character from five races and eight professions. Professions are divided into three categories: scholars, who use light armor; adventurers, who use medium armor; and soldiers, who use heavy armor. As of March 2011, six professions, Elementalist, Warrior, Ranger, Necromancer, Guardian and Thief have been announced.[4][5]
The maximum character level has been increased to 80, however the developers emphasize they wish "to avoid forcing players into the grind-based gameplay that too often accompanies a high level cap."[6] Two mechanics have been described which are intended to prevent this and allow players to play the game how they want; a sidekicking system, similar to that used in City of Heroes,[6] will be introduced allowing high-level characters to transfer their powers to lower-level characters (or lower their level comparable to their sidekick as to enjoy lower-level content) and entry to e-sport type PvP will grant access to all skills, items and provide a fixed level[7]. In a departure from the high number skills present in Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2 will focus on quality of skills over quantity[2] and will also reduce the overall number of game modes to reduce balancing complexity - one of the most common issues present in MMORPG's.[8]
In PvE content Guild Wars 2 will use a persistent game-world but still utilize instanced content as a story telling device.[1] Instead of quests in this game-world, the persistent area will have a set of scenarios, or events, which dynamically occur depending on player actions in the area. These in-game events are designed to allow characters of all levels to continuously interact with the game-world. Underwater areas are being added for players to explore. Some areas are half underwater and about a third of the game's playable area is underwater. Earlier in development, a companion system was considered, but it was decided they did not need it due to diversity of the professions and how they can work together. Items, such as weapons and armor, are intended to have a larger effect on PvE game play.[9] A more elaborate crafting system and other non-combat interactions are also being added to the game.[10]
PvP combat will also change from the original series. The popular guild vs. guild matches from the original series will continue to be available, but Guild Wars 2 will introduce large scale world vs. world matches in the in-game setting called the Mists. Players will be able to join this worldwide PvP battle in a variety of roles, with rewards commensurate with their success.
Players with characters in Guild Wars will be able to reserve their character names from the original series to use in Guild Wars 2; however, the characters themselves will not be transferable. Some in-game achievements will be translated into Guild Wars 2 using the Hall of Monuments in the Eye of the North expansion.
Confirmed playable races are those introduced in the "Eye of the North" expansion for Guild Wars 1, namely Asura, Charr and Norn as well as Humans and a new race, the Sylvari. Professions will not be race limited, however each race will have their own racial skills. These racial skills will be less powerful than the majority of the common skills so as to prevent the large uptake of one race, but will be powerful enough to still be a viable choice.
Plot

The game takes place in the Guild Wars fantasy world of Tyria, 250 years after the players defeat the Great Destroyer in the Eye of the North expansion. Five elder dragons sleeping beneath the continent have awoken, causing widespread destruction to Tyria and corrupting its inhabitants. The once dominant humans of Tyria are in decline, supplanted from most of their land by disasters and war, and the dwarves are all but extinct. Old and new races alike have begun to rise in the resulting power vacuum. Old cities have been destroyed and rebuilt, kingdoms seized and reformed by new rulers. The continents of Cantha and Elona, introduced in separate stand-alone campaigns, have been cut off by politics and the dragons. The advancement of time is reflected in the changes in culture, including armor and clothing, as well as in the advancement of in-game technology and a unified common language.[11]
The player is tasked with uniting the different playable races, whose combined strength is needed to effectively combat the elder dragons.[1] The game's story primarily focuses on the combat against only one of these dragons, Zhaitan.[10]
Graphics and game engine

The original Guild Wars game engine has been improved upon with support for more detailed environments and models, better lighting and shadows, new animation and effects systems, plus new audio and cinematic engines and a more flexible combat and skill-casting system. James Phinney indicated in his "Imagining Guild Wars 2" article that polygon counts and texture allowances have been increased so he expects it to look beautiful and "like a whole new game".
Concept art will be used in the game as a storytelling tool or as wall textures. The trailer, and tutorial cinematic seen during the GDC & PAX demo, are indicators of this.
Gaile Gray has indicated the game will support DirectX 10, but not require it to play. Guild Wars 2 will use the Havok physics engine and occlusion culling technology licensed from Umbra Software.
Development

Work on Guild Wars 2 began in 2007.[12] It was announced March 27, 2007[13], which was very early in its development cycle, to coincide with the announcement of the final Guild Wars expansion. ArenaNet wanted to explain to fans of the original Guild Wars games their plan to stop development of episodic content and begin work on a new game.[14] ArenaNet were constrained by the decisions and complexity they had made with the first game and so, to do what they wanted with the game, they needed to start over.[2][10][14]
The development team abandoned the early open alpha and beta testing which they had used for the Guild Wars game. ArenaNet considered that player expectations for open beta tests of MMORPG had changed, and the beta was no longer used to test the game but to trial a nearly finished game prior to purchase. Beta tests announced for 2008[15] were cancelled to ensure Guild Wars 2 had maximum impact and appeal to these players.[6]
In August 2009, two years after the game was first announced, ArenaNet decided the game had reached a state where they were happy to show it to the public.[16] A trailer which mixed animated concept art and in-game footage was released at Gamescom, followed by interviews expanding on the lore of the game world and information about the player races.
In November 2009, NCsoft CEO Jaeho Lee stated the game would most likely not release until 2011, but a closed beta would be made available in 2010.[17] The 4th Quarter 2009 shareholders notes further supported this when NCSoft CEO stated that "the current development target was the end of 2010 but, Guild Wars 2 likely won't be released until 2011."[18]
A playable demo of the game was made available at Gamescom on 19–22 August 2010[19], Penny Arcade Expo (3–5 September 2010)[19] and Paris Games Week (27 October-1 November 2010).[20]
In February 2011, Arenanet announced that alpha, and closed beta, would take place in 2011.[21]