This Week in Guild Wars 2

Every Friday, Raphia at GuildMag goes through all the community articles for the week and rounds them up into one giant article. Every week I like to go through this list and pick out my favourites to share with you guys. The articles I pick out tend to compliment the content that I have here on my blog. I also try to sneak in some Red Posts and news from Arena Net that I may have missed earlier in the week.

Habib Loew on WvW

Earlier this week Habib Loew took to the forums to discuss WvW related rankings changes. It was originally thought that the rankings would be reset for a fresh start on Friday. The idea behind this was to allow the match ups to reach an equilibrium quicker than if there was not a reset. Here is their new take on it,

In light of the strong community response to the idea of a WvW ratings reset, the results of our ratings formula investigations, and our data on the current matchups we have decided not to reset the WvW ratings at this time. All existing WvW ratings will be preserved and the rating calculation methodology will remain unchanged.

This 360 degree turn leaves me kind of baffled. I felt Arena Net had a lot of confidence in the ratings reset and the benefit it would have for the game when they first announced it. The back and forth makes me question that confidence.

GW2 Audio Team Video

Posted to the main GW2 site was a video with Arena Net sound designer Drew Cady. In this video Drew shows the viewer how he used fire to make a number of the sound effects in Guild Wars 2. It was surprising to find out how many different noises could be made just based on the shape of the burning object. Check out the video and article to see for yourself,

Guild Wars 2 Trading Post - Levelling Experiences & Attitude

Markco from GW2 Trading Post is always on the look out for new ways to make gold in Guild Wars 2. This week he had an article re-iterating some advice that I have given on my blog in the past. When looking for opportunities to make gold always look back to your experiences levelling your character. What levels did you buy weapons? What type of armour did you focus on? etc. Using that kind of thinking led Markco to a great market to make money in. What is it? Head over to his blog to find out! But, remember the main take away from this is not this one market, it is the general philosophy of using your levelling experiences to inform your trading in game.

Of Course I'll Play It - Takes the Fight to Zhaitan

Dusty Monk decided to take on the final task in his personal story and completed Arah story mode. He also provided an excellent review of the dungeon on his blog Of Course I'll Play It. The review is relatively spoiler free and still manages to get across the good and the bad sides of this dungeon. If, like me, you have yet to take on this task, Dusty Monk's article might give you the encouragement you need to finally get it done. I have my personal story entirely complete on two characters with the exception of this dungeon. I think I might finally finish it up.

Inventory Full - A Sunday Stroll Through Orr

Bhagpuss wrote what is my favourite article this week in which he visits Orr. From the Straights of Devastation up over Malchor's Leap to the Cursed Shore Bhagpuss visits them all and shares his thoughts about the "new Orr" post patch. He also took some wonderful screenshots which along with his witty writing style make this article an extremely pleasant read. The article was tweeted by @GuildWars2 it was so good. Need I say more? Go check it out and Bhagpuss's other articles on Inventory Full.

Sailor Scouts 

Posted up on Reddit and Imgur were a series of pictures of players that managed to make their characters look like the Sailor Scouts from the anime Sailor Moon. The resemblance is striking! Here are some images from a third party that happened to see them on an overflow server, and here are some pictures from the group themselves. Hopefully as the wardrobe in Guild Wars 2 expands we will see more of this kind of in game cosplay. We can add this to the Power Rangers, Mickey Mouse, Darth Vader, and the Storm Trooper seen previously.

Four-year Old Plays GW2

Definitely winning points in the cute category, this video of the four-year old playing Guild Wars 2 along with the post made by the Dad on Reddit is the kind of thing that makes me wish I had kids! In this video the four-year old takes on two worlds in WvW. Definitely an entertaining video to watch. I can tell you one things, this kid doesn't care that the WvW updates were pushed back a month. He is having fun playing the game and being a part of something.

Ascalonian Catacombs - The Naked Version

An enterprising crew decided to take on AC Path 3 without armour! The video puts things into perspective. Like do you really need "the best" gear to run dungeons in Guild Wars 2, and do you really need all 80's? The opinion one gets from this video is that stats really do not matter THAT much. What is more important is coordination and skill. It also reminds me that to have fun in this game you do not need to finish the dungeon in record time. Just running the dungeon with some good friends and focusing on fun can go a long way.

Matt Visual - Easter Eggs

I am keeping it visual again this week with another video from Matt Visual. This week he takes a look at a couple of the Easter Eggs that are hidden away in Guild Wars 2. I had heard of the cat room before but the secret face room in the CM dungeon is completely new to me. Check out this video to have your mind blown!

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That's it for this week in Guild Wars 2. Remember to check out GuildMag for the full round up of this weeks community articles. What were your favourite articles this week? Let me know in the comments.