In a genre largely dominated by Blizzard’s World of Warcraft , the original Guild Wars successfully found its own piece of the MMO pie – since the game operates under a unique business model that eliminates monthly subscription fees.
successfully found its own piece of the MMO pie – since the game operates under a unique business model that eliminates monthly subscription fees. The upcomingwill continue the subscription-less model and among other things, feature a robust PvP system.
Continue reading for a new trailer as well as a look at the PvP options in Guild Wars 2 .
Player versus Player (PvP for short) modes are a strong focus of Guild Wars 2 and ArenaNet’s goal is to offer the best MMO PvP experience available. This time around, the developer is attempting to make the PvP formats more streamlined, without sacrificing any of the fun or competitiveness.
There are two main formats that make up Guild Wars 2’s PvP system — “hot join” and tournament play. Both formats consist of similar game types, but the tournament play format is geared towards more advanced players. The idea is that players will start out in casual “hot join” games and at some point, smoothly transition into the tournament play style. Additionally, it is worth noting that all PvP games are independent of world choice. In other words, “all Guild Wars 2 PvP players are in the same PvP games and are not segregated.”
Now, we’ll look at the two formats individually.
Hot Join PvP
A casual experience and great place to experiment and learn Game sizes ranging from 1v1 to 10v10 Easy to browse menu with list of available games Drop in/drop out gameplay that auto-balances if teams lose playersTournament Play PvP More organized and structured — strictly 5v5 Pickup Tournaments: These single-elimination tournaments wait for 8 teams to join before starting. Once they start, they go through 3 rounds of eliminations, with winners receiving qualifier points. Monthly Tournaments: For monthly tournaments, you’ll need a certain amount of qualifier points to join. Yearly Tournaments: These grand tournaments feature the winners from the monthly tournaments slugging it out for the right to call themselves the best PvP players of the year. Player-Run Tournaments: These tournaments will be customized by players, allowing for great flexibility and unique bragging rights.
Nearly every game type is available in either format and each is a variation of a single game type, Conquest. At its core, the Guild Wars 2 PvP experience is a strategic race to capture hold-points while killing opponents. The developers spice it up quite a bit by adding important secondary objectives. Here’s what ArenaNethas to say about these additional objectives.
“We vary this game type by creating important secondary objectives. These can be trebuchets, repair kits, and destructible environments, like those in the Battle of Kyhlo map. In another map, for instance, a secondary objective takes the form of a giant dragon flying overhead, blasting portions of the map and killing players who are fighting below.
Secondary objectives allow us to create an environment where you always understand the basic objectives, no matter which map you’re playing, but they also let us create radically different high-level strategies through the unique mechanics of each map.”
Another unique aspect of Guild Wars 2’s PvP system is the fact that all players start on an even playing field. No matter how far someone has progressed through the game, their character’s level is maxed out and granted access to all skills, items, etc. The game automatically saves player’s PvP preferences and allows them to store templates for specific builds.
All in all, the PvP aspect of Guild Wars 2 is attempting to offer a unified mode where gamers can enjoy social battles — regardless of skill level. To get a better idea of what Guild Wars 2 brings to the table, check out the new trailer below:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qFJQ10AokI
The trailer starts off artistically, with streaks of paint showing off different locations across the world of Tyria. Everything is very cinematic and they waste no time in introducing a host of enemies.
After watching the trailer, it’s hard to not get wrapped up in the world and become curious about what else the game offers. Stay tuned to Game Rant for more information regarding Guild Wars 2 .
Does the Guild Wars 2 PvP system catch your interest?
Guild Wars 2 does not currently have a release date, but keep your eyes open for a beta opportunity later this year.