ArenaNet

ArenaNet is a video game developer and subsidiary of NCSOFT , founded in 2000 by Mike O’Brien , Patrick Wyatt and Jeff Strain and located in Bellevue, Washington . They are notable MOST as developers of the online role-playing game series Guild Wars .

History

The founders of ArenaNet Were train employees of Blizzard Entertainment Who played significant roles in Developing the highly successful video games Warcraft , Warcraft 2 , StarCraft , Diablo , Diablo II , and the Battle.net gaming network. They left in February 2000 to form their own company. Triforge, Inc. [4] before changing its name to ArenaNet. The company was acquired by NCsoft in 2002. On 10 September 2008, NCsoft announced the formation of NCsoft West, headquartered in Seattle , Washington . [5]ArenaNet founders Jeff Strain and Patrick Wyatt left ArenaNet to take roles at NCsoft West in 2008, and soon left NCsoft in 2009. Mike O’Brien .

Titles

Guild Wars 

Guild Wars: Prophecies 

Guild Wars , retroactively called Guild Wars: Prophecies , is the first in the Guild Wars series. It is an action role-playing game , with competition in both the player versus player (in random matches, teams, tournaments, or guild battles), and player versus environment (in missions, quests, or area exploration) forms. The developers call this blend a “competitive online role-playing game”. Important goals of the game are both to reduce the amount of repetitive actions a player has to perform to a respectable force in the gaming world (called grind), and also to minimize a player’s dependence on game items to stay competitive. These are two goals that are the most important games of the game (MMORPGs), where one hardcore player will gain major advantages when competing against another more casual gamer. In Guild Wars , the advantages in the battle of the world (from a library of hundreds), an art that is hard to master. The game is different from most MMORPGs in that it does not have any additional recurring fees, but bases revenue on standalone game expansions, or “campaigns” (in addition to microtransactions). This structure was discontinued with Eye of the North, which was a traditional expansion pack that required one of the three standalone campaigns. ArenaNet Stated That This Was Because They felt That this size Was Restricting Their Ability to add new game mechanics and balance the overwhelming number of skills Introduced With Each title, and Decided to begin work is Guild Wars 2 to address contention issues (with Eye of the North bridging the gap entre Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 ).

Guild Wars: Factions 

Guild Wars Factions is the first sequel to Guild Wars , a new world, two new professions (the Assassin and Ritualist), several new gaming modes, and “titles” which measures the advance of characters several tasks. It is sometimes referred to as the second “chapter”, with the first one being released, but then with the Guild Wars label : Prophecies to make distinction between the chapters. Be aware that this is not an expansion pack, but a stand-alone product.Guild Wars: Prophecies to play, but itdoes not require youto play games.

Guild Wars: Nightfall 

Guild Wars Nightfall , the third chapter in the Guild Wars saga, was released on October 27, 2006. As with the previous chapters, this is a stand-alone product, but it can be compared with the previous campaigns to enhance the gaming experience. This third chapter introduces a new world map, two new professions (the Dervish and Paragon), a new PvP mode, but its most remarkable new feature is the introduction of “Heroes” which is fully customizable by the player.

Guild Wars: Eye of the North 

Eye of the North is the first true expansion pack in the Guild Wars series. Pretender on August 31st, 2007, two new races-the Asura and the Norn-that will be playable in the upcoming Guild Wars 2 . It is intended to bridge the gap to Guild Wars 2 by means of a Hall of Monuments , a mechanism that allows transferring achievements in the original series to the sequel.

Guild Wars: Beyond 

In an effort to resolve plot threads, ArenaNet has released a series of “mini-expansion” updates, collectively known as Guild Wars Beyond . This series of stories and events in Guild Wars helps set the stage for Guild Wars 2 , which takes place 250 years in the future. Guild Wars Beyond begins with War in Kryta , then Hearts of the North , and continues with Winds of Change. citation needed ] After the Guild Wars 2 release, ArenaNet formally announced that they “will no longer release any new content”. [6]Some of these scrapped Beyond-updates included: Ebon Vanguards’ withdrawal and establishment of Ebonhawke; the Lunatic Court and their attempts to free Mad King Thorn; expanding on the story of Palawa Joko and continues that plot thread, which was left dangling in Nightfall; and the disappearance of Evennia, last seen in Old Ascalon during the Krytan civil war. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

Guild Wars 2 

Announced in March 2007, Guild Wars 2 is the sequel to the current Guild Wars series of games. The game is set around 250 Years After the events in the original series and contains Several new features, has more consistant en persist world (as Opposed to mostly instanced ), dynamic questing, has personal branching storyline, and an updated graphics engine. [12] On the morning of 20 August 2009, ArenaNet released the first trailer for Guild Wars 2 on their website. [13] Closed in-house beta testingstarted in December 2011 and press beta weekend events started being rolled out in March 2012. Beta weekend events began in April 2012 and were open to those who won a beta key from a giveaway. On 28 June 2012, ArenaNet announced that Guild Wars 2 would be released on 28 August 2012; Meanwhile, people who have taken over the game, and have been playing it on August 25, 2012. [14] In its first 2 weeks of sales Guild Wars 2 sold over 2 million copies. [15]

After the release of Guild Wars 2 Arenanet such as bugs and connection problems. Guild Wars 2 and evolving the concept of a ‘living world’ by adding both temporary and permanent content in biweekly updates. Along with these updates were seasonal and holiday events.

Guild Wars 2: Living World 

Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns 

Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns is the first expansion pack for Guild Wars 2 released on October 23, 2015. Heart of Thorns introduced the Revenant profession to the game, with four separate biomes, 10-man instanced raids, the Stronghold player versus player game mode, and a new World versus World Borderland.

Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire 

Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire is the second expansion pack for Guild Wars 2, which released on September 22, 2017. Path of Fire introduces mounts and new open world maps into regions known as Crystal Desert and Elona. It will also include the continuation of Living World updates and 10-man instanced raids.

References

  1. Jump up^ “About ArenaNet” . Arena.Net . Archived from the original on 7 March 2007 . Retrieved 2007-03-25 .
  2. Jump up^ “ArenaNet Contact” . Arena.Net . Archived from the original on 5 March 2008 . Retrieved 2008-02-21 .
  3. Jump up^ “English Community Manager Aidan Taylor in the official Guild Wars 2 Forum” . 2013 . Retrieved 2013-01-16 .
  4. Jump up^ “Triforge Games Will Be New Venture For Senior Blizzard Programmers”. ArenaNet press release . Archived from the original on 24 June 2008 . Retrieved 2008-08-09 .
  5. Jump up^ “NCsoft Announces Formation of” NC West “” . NCsoft . 10 September 2008. Archived from the original on 18 November 2008 . Retrieved 2008-09-11 .
  6. Jump up^ Guild Wars ArchivedDevelopment and Automation14 June 2013 at theWayback Machine., GuildWars.com
  7. Jump up^ NCsoft and ArenaNet Celebrate Guild Wars 5th Anniversary with Guild Wars Beyond and the War in Kryta, NCsoft
  8. Jump up^ Design and hints of what’s to come: Massively’s interview with the Guild Wars team, Massively
  9. Jump up^ Passing the Torch: Designer John Stumme joins the ArchivedLive Team8 August 2012 at theWayback Machine., ArenaNet Blog
  10. Jump up^ Relics of Orr Minisode 10.5, Lead Designer of “Guild Wars Awesome”, Relics of Orr
  11. Jump up^ Guild Wars Live Team Interview, Kill Ten Rats
  12. Jump up^ “Guild Wars 2 Official FAQ” . ArenaNet . Archived from the original on 4 May 2012 . Retrieved 2012-04-14 .
  13. Jump up^ “Guild Wars 2 First Official Trailer” . ArenaNet . Retrieved 2009-08-20 .
  14. Jump up^ “Guild Wars 2 arriving August 28” . GameSpot . 28 June 2012. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012 . Retrieved 2012-08-25 .
  15. Jump up^ “Guild Wars 2 sales now over 2 million units worldwide” .

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