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Community: Party in Shing Jea!

Gaming World Entertainment Network celebrates their website launch in Shing Jea Monastery, and Calaval Elwvyan has some cool videos to share in the latest edition of Guild Wars Community News!

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Summer Fun at the Dragon Festival

It's almost time for the Dragon Festival, the annual celebration of the rebirth of the Empire of the Dragon from the devastation of the Jade Wind. Travel to distant Cantha and join the festivities in the Shing Jea Monastery from July 1st to July 4th, where you'll find games of chance, rollerbeetle races, holiday quests and treats, and a visit from the Emperor himself!

Explore the wonders of the Dragon Festival here!

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Live Update: War in Kryta and GvG Changes

The focus of today's live update is the ongoing conflict in Kryta, but we've also made several changes that address issues in GvG.

To read detailed notes about today's update, head over here. For more information about changes made to GvG and an update on where we're at with upcoming skill balance builds, check out this month's developer's update.

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Community: World Cup Mania and More!
Our German and French communities have some great updates, including a World Cup themed contest from Wartower and a chronicle of the War in Kryta from the French site Univers Virtuels! Find out about these and more in Community News!

 

We'd like to welcome everyone to our Diablo3Guru.com site! If you are looking forward to the upcoming Blizzard sequel for Diablo than you are going to want to head over and check out all the latest news and participate in the community there. This is a website dedicate to Diablo 2 and Diablo 3 so if you're a fan of Diablo 2 than this also suits your needs for Guides, Community, Trade and more! Stop by today and Introduce yourself.

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May GvG Tournament Results

May's GvG tournament has concluded, and we have the results! This month, Get Good [GG] defeated The Marvel Superheroes [MSH] to claim the championship. For the complete list of this month's GvG rankings, head over here.

The start of a new month means that the Zaishen Chest will offer a new tonic. Make Zinn proud by using those Zaishen Keys for a chance to find June's Automatonic! To see the full tonic schedule, check out our Zaishen Rewards Calendar.

GuildCast is Back!

Shawn Schuster's 'GuildCast' podcast has returned after a two year hiatus!





Shawn left GuildCast to concentrate on his gaming journalism career in early 2008. He's now the Editor-in-Chief at Massively.com, and his co-host is the Guild Wars Lead at Massively Rubi Bayer. They're incredibly passionate about Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2, and what better way to show it than bringing back their popular podcast!



Check out GuildCast over on there website, here!

Design Director James Phinney on the Recent Account Bans

The community wanted a response to the issue of botting, and boy did they get it. James Phinney posted an entry on ArenaNet's blog today, talking about the measures they have taken and the improvements they have made. 2,700 accounts banned, and more staff available to deal with the issue in future... I could go on, but this quote really says it all:

"If you have any doubts about whether or not something is allowed by the User Agreement, don’t do it. Don’t take that risk. Account termination means losing not only everything you’ve built up in Guild Wars, but losing the ability to have those accomplishments recognized in Guild Wars 2. Let me give you a real example from today. Here’s an actual account we just terminated: 2,469 hours, 38 titles, 913 plat, 268 ecto, Eternal Legendary Vanquisher monument, Mini Gwen, Chaos Gloves, Mallyx’s Strife, The Holy Avenger, etc., etc. It’s all gone now. Forever. You will not want that to happen to your account."

Read the rest of that blog entry here.

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May Game Balance Update!

In the forefront for this month's balance update: the Mesmer! We've made a variety of changes to improve this profession in high-end PvE, tackling issues like Interruption, Control Hexes, Energy Denial, and more. This update also features key changes to the Underworld and Fissure of Woe as well as a number of PvP balance changes.

For an overview of the update, head here. For more detailed info about the skill changes, head on over to this month's developer's update.

 

GuildMag Release Party!

On May 7, the inaugural issue of GuildMag, an online Guild Wars fanzine, was released to the public. To celebrate the launch of the fanzine, you're invited to join GuildMag staff, readers, and supporters to the GuildMag Release Party! It takes place on May 15 in Abaddon's Mouth, International Districts 1 and 2 from 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM PST! Join GuildMag for games, prizes, and trivia! For more information, check the event page! Make sure to stick around for the GuildMag After Party with more fun, games, and on-air prizes, hosted by the Gaming World Events team!

 

Ascalon Royal Family Masquerade Ball 2010

You're invited to the Ascalon Royal Family Masquerade Ball 2010! Join Countess Reapera, The Order of the Phoenix alliance, the Gaming World Events crew, and members of the Guild Wars community in Serenity Temple, International Districts on May 22 starting at 1:00 PM PST as they celebrate this year's theme: Hope. Come join the oldest and grandest player-run event in Guild Wars for a fourth year of prizes, games, and fun! For more information, take a look at the event page!

 

 

Guild Mag releases their first issue!

The Guild Mag team have just released the first issue, and they've definitely come out swinging. Amongst other things this issue contains a Q&A with ArenaNet's Ree Soesbee, a fantastic article on the various dragons in the Guild Wars universe, some great fan-art, and much more.

Check out their website and download the magazine here, and head over to the forum to comment!

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April GvG Tournament Results

In April GvG tournament news, Chipotle Mexican Bar And Grill [Inc] claimed victory over Seppuku Paradigm [AA] to become our champion guild of the month. For a complete list of this month's GvG rankings, head over here.

Since it's a new month, the Zaishen Chest will offer a new tonic. Use those Zaishen Keys for a chance to find May's sensational Phantasmal Tonic! To see the full tonic schedule, check out our Zaishen Rewards Calendar.

Community: Inspired Creations!

In this edition of Community News, our players once again show off their creativity and wit. Read on for details!

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An Anniversary Message from James Phinney

To wrap up today's fifth year anniversary, ArenaNet's own Design Director, James Phinney, has a few words of appreciation to share with all of you. Head over to the new ArenaNet Blog to read what he has to say!

 

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The Official ArenaNet Blog Launches

We're kicking off the brand-new ArenaNet Blog with the Guild Wars 2 Design Manifesto, a message to MMO players from ArenaNet Studio Head Mike O'Brien which outlines the bold new direction GW2 will take. That's just the beginning – we've got a lot of cool stuff planned! Check out the new blog here!

Massively Interview with James Phinney

Rubi Bayer has put up another great interview today; a retrospective with game design guru James Phinney, Design Director at ArenaNet.

Guild Wars has come a long way in five years, and you've had plenty of time and experience with game development for the game. How has the process changed and refined over the years?

James Phinney: It's gotten progressively less chaotic. Obviously, there were a lot of lessons along the way while we were developing campaigns, but the biggest change to how we approach things now has to do with the maturity of the game. We know our players and our game much better than we used to, and we're able to focus on addressing community needs and balance issues in a much more focused way. I think our recent updates and the War in Kryta content are good examples of that.

Check out the rest of that interview here, and head over to the forum to comment!

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Help Us Celebrate Five Years of Guild Wars

Guild Wars is turning five! We're throwing a big party to thank you all for five fantastic year—we couldn't have made it this far without you. Come join the festivities starting at Noon PST on April 22nd. Head over here to learn more!

 

Massively Interview with Regina Buenaobra

Rubi Bayer from Massively has put up another great piece on the War in Kryta event, this time an interview with one of ArenaNet's community managers, Regina Buenaobra.

How do you feel about the success of the viral campaign that launched War in Kryta?

RB: We've been very pleased at the fan reaction to the viral campaign leading up to the War in Kryta. We've had propaganda flyers with QR codes, secret messages, websites, Facebook pages for each faction... all leading up to the War in Kryta, which is a multi-level event that we're releasing in stages. It's been fantastic so far, primarily because we have such an enthusiastic and clever fan base.

Check out the rest of that interview here!

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GameSpot Interview: Linsey Murdock on War in Kryta

Live Team Lead Designer Linsey Murdock recently chatted about the War in Kryta with GameSpot. Learn more about the war and the effect it will have on Guild Wars 2—read the interview here!

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War in Kryta Costumes Now Available!

To commemorate the historic War in Kryta, we're offering two brand-new costumes! Show your support for the rebellion with a stealthy Shining Blade uniform or impersonate the enemy with an authoritarian White Mantle disguise.

Pick up your War in Kryta costumes in the Guild Wars In-Game Store and the NCsoft Store and join the battle!

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Community: MantleCon, a Toga Party, and More!
Our incredible player community has some great events planned in the coming weeks—find out more in Community News!

 

WAR CHRONICLES - News from the Front-Lines

Reports from war-torn Kryta by the historian Murro - A Troubled Land. Read the latest information of the growing tensions between the White Mantle and the Shining Blade.

WAR!!! It's the White Mantle versus the Shining Blade in the newest teaser from ArenaNet released at GDC. Here's just a taste of the viral marketing we've seen up to now.



Thanks to Bigwig and Borx for their summaries up to now. Contribute to the ongoing discussion here.

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Welcome Stephane and Emily!

We're extremely excited to announce two new members to the Guild Wars Community Team—Stéphane Lo Presti and Emily Diehl! Stéphane will join ArenaNet as our French Community Manager, reforging a valuable link between the studio and our French-speaking fans. Many of you may already know ArenaNet veteran Emily Diehl for her work as producer on our websites and wiki. Now she's joining Community, where she'll help Martin, Regina, and Stéphane cook up lots of interesting plans for the upcoming year. Be sure to stop by Stéphane and Emily's wiki pages to say hello!

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New Update: Creature Skills

Today's live update focuses on creature skill bars impacted by the February 25th update. Check out the update notes for full details!