Ever tried to buy something, but been unsure of how much you ought to be paying? Some people get around this problem by simply asking for a price check over All Chat. While there’s nothing wrong with this method, normally you’ll only get one response that can range from outdated to wildly inaccurate. Trying to sell something is even more challenging, since not knowing the current market value of an item puts you at risk for severely undercharging/overcharging. What a mess… It’s enough to make you want to vacation in remote Kaineng Center and relax your trading troubles away with a nice massage.
Hot Trot Angel, Ji Whitehawk, and Ana Hunt in Kaineng Center
Luckily, Argos Soft created this neat tool to do your own price checking, called the GwEstimator. Here’s a screen shot of what a common search looks like:
As you can see, you get a range of recent trade posts from Kamadan. With this many “price checks” it’s easy to get an estimated value, as well as find out what kinds of things people are willing to trade for.
Thanks to Ana Hunt for sharing this valuable piece of info, and thanks to the people at Argos Soft for making this available to the Guild Wars community!
There’s much about the structure of a traditional MMO that’s inherently broken. It’s almost as though some developers are creating games without the player in mind, content to churn out tired games that are just more of the same.
As such, I can’t wait for the release of Guild Wars 2 — it’s going to be epic! Granted, I’m a big fan of the original Guild Wars so I might be slightly biased. But I know talent when I see it…! ArenaNet is a developer with their collective thumb firmly on the pulse of today’s gamer. I could talk of their innovation and vision, but I think you’ll get a better idea of what I mean by watching the demo Boss Fight video below.
So maybe you’ve heard that there’s not going to be a Healer profession. Characters will each have a self-heal, along with the ability to revive fallen party members. And you probably already know that the world will be persistent, with dynamic events. But did you know that skills, like weapons, are swapable at will? If you’re out exploring, you won’t need to go back to an outpost to make adjustments. Another little tidbit — your armor will have multiple dye-able areas, and several new color choices that are available at character creation. No more shelling out gold for a desired shade.
There’s more. Here’s a video (by Alexrediculous) highlighting some of the lesser known details of Guild Wars 2.
And in case you haven’t seen it yet, here’s a video of the basics.
The team at Guild Wars has finally done it…! Previously limited to 3 in a party, Heroes can now join you on your adventures in numbers up to 7. While that might not sound like a substantial change to those who are new, seasoned players fully understand what having 7 heroes entails.
Offhand, it means that players can now customize their entire team. It’s especially helpful for those who like to play solo — it’s now possible to run “____-way” without another human player. Another boon for solo players is that one can now enter places previously inaccessible to soloists. Fissure of Woe is the first one that comes to mind.
This change, along with a few other cool changes, was introduced in the March 3rd game update. But why am I writing about an update from almost 3 months ago? I have a good reason. Back in December of 2009, I wrote a post called “Hero List“. Since that list is now obsolete, amending it seems like the correct thing to do.
Here’s the updated list of heroes, listed in the order in which they appear in your “Add a Hero” drop-down menu.
Hero List
Goren – warrior (NF)
Koss – warrior (NF)
Jora – warrior (EN)
Acolyte Jin – ranger (NF)
Margrid the Sly – ranger (NF)
Pyre Fierceshot – ranger (EN)
Tahlkora – monk (NF)
Dunkoro – monk (NF)
Ogden Stonehealer – monk (EN)
Master of Whispers – necromancer (NF)
Olias¹ – necromancer (NF)
Livia – necromancer (EN)
Norgu – mesmer (NF)
Gwen – mesmer (EN)
Acolyte Sousuke – elementalist (NF)
Zhed Shadowhoof – elementalist (NF)
Vekk – elementalist (EN)
Zenmai² – assassin (NF)
Anton – assassin (EN)
Razah – ritualist (NF)
Xandra – ritualist (EN)
General Morgahn – paragon (NF)
Hayda – paragon (EN)
Melonni – dervish (NF)
M.O.X. – dervish (S)
Kahmu – dervish (EN)
Campaign Legend:
NF = Hero acquired in Nightfall EN = Hero acquired in Eye of the North S = Special Hero requires all 3 campaigns
1 = Also requires Prophecies 2 = Also requires Factions
I love this time of the year. Sure, the weather gets downright icy, and shopping is hectic… But there are lights, bells, cheerful music, and a festive spirit all around.
Ji Whitehawk gets in the Wintersday spirit.
Even Guild Wars characters get to join in on the fun! A tradition since 2005, the Wintersday Festival features redecorated towns, special holiday quests, and holiday-themed drops.
Just some of the goodies to be had during the Wintersday Festival
Is PvP your thing? Try out the Snowball Arena! Stuffing snow down someone’s shirt has never been more fun. Get Gifts and Gamer Points for participating.
And last but not least: Relax and enjoy some time with your friends and family. The holiday season is about appreciating the people we have in our lives. May the Spirit of Christmas be with you…!
Below are some Wintersday snapshots. The characters that appear are: Ling Si, Everett Thrice, Silvara Thrice, Ji Whitehawk, and Gavin Whitehawk.
(Try fullscreen mode! It’s the square button furthest to the right on the navigation bar.)
For those of you who’ve been dutifully completing titles in anticipation of Guild Wars 2, great news…! ArenaNet has just released further detail on how the achievements from your Guild Wars Hall of Monuments will benefit your Guild Wars 2 account. Check out the Reward Calculator to see what rewards you’ve earned so far.
And if you haven’t been keeping up with your old account, now’s a good time to take care of unfinished business before beta rolls around.
Read more about the Reward Calculator on the official Guild Wars 2 site.
It looks like we’re getting closer to the release date of Guild Wars 2!
Guild Wars 2 Elementalist
Why do I say that? Well, a few days ago, ArenaNet released their own blog. One of the articles talks in detail about what we can expect in terms of storyline, social aspects of the game, and combat mechanics. Read the original article here.
ArenaNet has also revealed details about the elementalist profession. They’ve even posted some cool short videos of different elementalist skills in action.
Here’s the clip for Meteor Shower.
Read more about the Guild Wars 2 elementalist on the official Guild Wars 2 site.
Inevitably, during your adventures, you’ll run into someone with the same hairstyle or face. Other times the similarity is in armor design or coloration. And once in a great while, you may see someone who has several things in common with you. Ever run through an outpost, and notice someone that could pass as your sibling or twin?
Looks like Suzaku Bosatsu and mystery girl had the same idea when they put together their mixed armor.
Amongst the hundreds of screenshots I’ve taken, I have only a few Double Sightings. The characters that appear are: Suzaku Bosatsu, Underpaid Assasin, Gavin Whitehawk, Ling Si, Bwa Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha, Silvara Thrice, and other unknown players.
(Try fullscreen mode! It’s the square button furthest to the right on the navigation bar.)
By now, I’m sure most Guild Wars players know about Nicholas the Traveler and the wonderful Gifts of the Traveler that he likes to give out. I usually feel that hunting whatever random drop he wants is worth the chance of enjoying some rock candies and tonics.
However, until now, I was unaware of what the deal was with his Pre-Searing counterpart — Nicholas Sandford. Pre Nicholas gives out Gifts of the Huntsman instead. What’s the difference, you say? Instead of being limited to 5 Gifts of the Traveler a week in Post-Searing, Nicholas Sandford offers 5 Gifts of the Huntsman everyday. Here’s a list of the items you can get from Gifts of the Hunstman:
Nicholas Sandford
5 Bottle Rockets
5 Sparklers
5 Hunter’s Ale
5 Aged Hunter’s Ale
5 Champagne Poppers
5 Honeycombs
5 Jars of Honey
Now, if you’ve been farming Gifts in Post-Searing, you may have noticed that some goodies are missing from the above list. You may have also noticed that the listed goodies are in smaller quantities. While both statements are true, there’s another factor involved. In Pre-Searing, Nicholas collects 13 different monster drops on a schedule. You’ll always know which drop he’s collecting next, and when he’ll be collecting it. Hey, there’s no shame in stockpiling. (see the complete 52 day list below)
Here’s a short list of the current drops he’s collecting:
Regent Valley
March 6 – Unnatural Seed
March 7 – Skale Fin
March 8 – Red Iris Flower
March 9 – Enchanted Lodestone
March 10 – Skeletal Limb
March 11 – Charr Carving
March 12 – Spider Leg
March 13 – Baked Husk
Nicholas Sandford is located in Regent Valley, in an area known as the Secret Garden. Make a U-turn after leaving Fort Ranik, and travel north. The entrance is hidden by some rocks and bushes.
I don’t know about you, but I’m headed to Pre-Searing to make a new character (and to take another shot at getting a Charr bag). Maybe by the time my character graduates to Post-Searing, he’ll have collected enough Gifts to put a little dent on a couple of titles.
Schedule of the 13 different items; repeats itself every 52 days:
We love heroes. These super-henchmen allow you to solo non-AI-able missions, easily vanquish Hard Mode with a friend, and run a team farm build by yourself.
But the sheer number of available heroes can be daunting, and makes keeping track of equips difficult. Is Margrid wielding an icy or poisonous bow? Does Zenmai need the minor shadow rune or should I give it to Anton? This fire staff I just found has a cool skin and good mods, but aren’t my fire eles already using good staves? It may be manageable if you’re the type to play one character exclusively; keeping track of your heroes across multiple characters is a different story entirely.
Data packrats and listmakers — I feel your pain. That’s why I’m sharing my awful secret with you. I use text files to keep track of all kinds of things, from what mission my paragon last finished in each campaign, to which mini-pets my necro has in the Hall of Monuments. Crazy, yes. Helpful, indeed! With eleven playable characters and frequent hiatuses, I find it necessary.
So here’s one of the lists I finally decided to make after months of inventory agony. Every available hero is listed in the order in which they appear in your “Add a Hero” drop-down menu. Copy + paste it to start your own list fun!
edit: Since a recent Guild Wars update, the list below is obsolete. See the post “Heroes X 7″ for an updated list (added 5/31/11).
Hero List
Gwen
Norgu - mesmer (NF)
Goren - warrior (NF)
Tahlkora - monk (NF)
Master of Whispers - necromancer (NF)
Acolyte Jin - ranger (NF)
Koss - warrior (NF)
Dunkoro - monk (NF)
Acolyte Sousuke - elementalist (NF)
Melonni - dervish (NF))
Zhed Shadowhoof - elementalist (NF)
General Morgahn – paragon (NF)
Margrid the Sly - ranger (NF)
Zenmai - assassin (F)
Olias - necromancer (P)
Razah - ritualist (NF)
M.O.X - dervish (F)
Jora - warrior (EN)
Pyre Fierceshot - ranger (EN)
Anton – assassin (EN)
Livia – necromancer (EN)
Hayda - paragon (EN)
Kahmu – dervish (EN)
Gwen - mesmer (EN)
Xandra - ritualist (EN)
Vekk - elementalist (EN)
Ogden Stonehealer - monk (EN)
Campaign Legend:
P = Hero acquired in Prophecies F = Hero acquired in Factions NF = Hero acquired in Nightfall EN = Hero acquired in Eye of the North
I’ll admit it, there are a few people out there that I like to harass. One of them is known as Ricorita Anchors (in the Guild Wars world). Ricorita is a spunky assassin who runs around rocking 15k Kurzick armor and Zodiac Daggers. Although by game standards, it’s not the most elite choice of attire out there, she gets mad style points in my book. In fact, it is leet, in that I-don’t-care-what’s-leet kind of way.
Ricorita and Gavin in the Lair of the Forgotten. (Nightfall)
Here are a few more screenshots from that outing. Characters that appear are: Ricorita Anchors, Mrs Rahl, and Gavin Whitehawk.
(Try fullscreen mode! It’s the square button furthest to the right on the navigation bar.)
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