Mystical Awakening: Mystical Awakening Portal

The eleventh installment of Screenshots of the Week travels to southern Shara, the western continent of TERA. Beyond the fortified des...

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Greetings Daevas,This Tuesday we announced that we needed to reschedule character transfers. Due to the change in the transfer process, we are awarding everyone the first set of rewards for the Fight on the Right Side incentive. Each player will be receiving five Suspicious Yellow Sacks.Along with t..

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Hi, my name is Isaiah Cartwright (Izzy, as some like to call me), and I’m a Game Designer for Guild Wars 2. Today I’d like to talk about a subject near and dear to my heart: character progression in Guild Wars 2.

You know that point in other MMOs when, after playing for a few hours, you look down at your experience bar and wonder, “WTF? Has my experience bar even moved at all?” Nobody enjoys feeling like they haven’t made any progress even though they’ve been playing their character all day. We hate it as much as you do; it drives us insane!

Our goal with Guild Wars 2 is to flatten out the leveling curve, keeping progression simple and straightforward. We expect everyone to make a reasonable amount of progression with each play session. It shouldn’t take days of playing before you feel like you have made any progress, and you definitely shouldn’t have to kill a bunch of creatures or do a bunch of repetitive tasks just to see what’s over that next hill. We want our progression to keep up with your play style. If you’re a causal gamer who plays for a few hours here and there, why should you feel like it’s going to take you a decade to finish your character? If you’re a hardcore player, why shouldn’t you be able to blast through the game with skill and speed, trying to experience every last bit of content?

So how did we accomplish our goals, you ask? Good question! First off, we set the level cap for the game at 80, but we made the time between levels rather short. Instead of taking longer and longer to reach each level, it takes about the same time to go through each level. It’s pretty simple; if we expect you to level up every few hours, then why shouldn’t it be that way all through the game?

To better illustrate this, here’s a chart of a typical game’s leveling curve compared to the Guild Wars 2 leveling curve:

As you can see, our leveling curve is pretty simple. Now, keep in mind that we haven’t finished everything and we’re still working out a lot of the details, but progression in Guild Wars 2 is way more than just leveling. We have achievements, trait collection, crafting, dungeons, skill collection, items, and much more.

Overall, we expect our content to be the driving force behind how long it takes to do things in-game. Anyone can increase the length of an experience bar and call it content, but our world is filled with an almost endless stream of things to do. We expect content—not long, grindy progression—to be the deciding factor that keeps people playing our game. We want everyone to stick with Guild Wars 2 because our content is fun and enjoyable, not out of some dogged determination to slowly, slowly advance. And because our world is ever-changing and dynamic, you can play our content again and again! Two characters journeying through the game will have two different experiences, which means the game will remain fresh for all you out there who enjoy making a million characters.

So, if you’re tired of the size of your experience bar controlling the pace of your progression, and you’re looking for a simple, content-focused progression system with endless potential for enjoyment, Guild Wars 2 is for you.

I hope you’re as excited about progression in Guild Wars 2 as I am; it’s just one of the many awesome ways this game will challenge conventional MMO thinking.

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Focus Group Test 2 may have ended in Spring but the feedback received during that time continues to drive TERA's ongoing development t...

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Taken directly from the official Final Fantasy XIV Twitter, we've learned that the phase 2 of beta will commence today at 19.00 PDT.

The major news of phase 2 is that the beta servers will be online 24/7!

Speaking of twitter, make sure to follow FFXIVCore.com's Twitter for the latest news.

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Phase 2 of beta testing commences 19:00 (PDT) Wednesday, July 28, and servers will be online 24/7! https://dev-na.ffxiv.com/

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Greetings all~

Bad news I'm afraid.


So, no more transfers for the forseeable future. Don't worry, I'm sure they'll be back soon.

Fingers crossed we can see some balancing of the servers now. At least they know there is a problem with balance now. Admitting is the first step.


Enjoy! :kiss:

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Gamasutra Interview with Hiromichi Tanaka (Source)

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What does Final Fantasy XIV represent for Square Enix?

Hiromichi Tanaka: As it's the latest Final Fantasy series title, we're trying to figure out what an MMORPG can bring as a game, so it's really a new challenge to us.

As it's an MMORPG, our previous title was Final Fantasy XI. That has been going on for eight years now. Of course we had as PC and PlayStation 2 as its platform [so] it's becoming quite aged now. So, we are trying to make a new MMORPG, the next generation MMORPG -- so we're really working hard for this new title.

When you started the Final Fantasy XI project, which was many years ago, did you expect to be operating it so many years later? Did you expect to be operating it while you're developing the next MMO for the Final Fantasy series?

HT: Usually the next generation of consoles will come in five years, so [at that time] we thought, "We will continue at least five years, up until towards the end of the PlayStation 2 generation." But to be honest, we're quite surprised that even the PS3 is out now and we're still continuing, and we really appreciate all the support from the users.

There's been a lot of talk in the past about the success Final Fantasy has been from a financial perspective. What does launching XIV represent from a business perspective for Square Enix?

HT: Because Final Fantasy XI has been out for eight years, it has passed its peak. So, XIV, we want it to be the next mainstream MMO for our company, and it's very important to us.

Yasu Kurosawa: Also, we will sort of try to find some kind of method of encouraging people to play both. So, we want a lot of people to continue playing FFXI as well as XIV.

You're saying you're going to continue operating Final Fantasy XI and XIV, and also try to have people interested in both, but that's proven to be a real challenge for some other companies operating MMO sequels. Do you have any thoughts on how you're going to keep that going at the same time?

HT: Since FFXI has been out of eight years, we think it's reached its time now, so obviously we would want FFXI players to shift to FFXIV. However, we do understand if FFXI players have special memories of FFXI, so there must be some people who will continue to play FFXI. So, we would like to keep of them happy, and we will try to introduce some bonus for our customers, probably from a monetary point of view.

However, of course, we will continue working on FFXI. Even after we launch FFXIV, we will still continue the development side. So, as long as the players enjoy the game, we will continue the service.

These days there's a ton of free-to-play browser games and similar products for the PC and online gaming audience. Do you feel like the landscape has changed significantly? I mean, obviously, it has changed significantly since you launched FFXI. So, how do you view that competitive marketplace?

HT: I think a lot of other titles have given up challenging the monthly subscription fee market because World of Warcraft is so big. However, those microtransaction-type games, or the free games, they're good sometimes, but they're going to have a really short life. So, we still think as a huge MMO, monthly subscription fees should be the mainstream -- and this is a mainstream MMO.

Some time ago, speaking about Final Fantasy XI, you said it was close to the image you had when the series first started, the idea of similar to the original Final Fantasy taken online and expanded greatly. Does this follow in the same evolution in your mind from the old days, from when the series began?

HT: Final Fantasy XI was more like related to the first early games in the series, and it's something that we always wanted to achieve online, but we think we've done what we can do for FFXI, so with FFXIV, we're looking for a next generation Final Fantasy game -- so it's going to be quite different.

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Greetings Daevas,Following the recent Aion server merges, we wanted to offer a free character transfer service to give everyone a chance to play with friends located on different servers. One of our responsibilities is to provide balanced servers for you to play on. To work towards a more enjoyable ..

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Comic-Con 2010 has come and gone! We had an amazing time in San Diego this year. Between our heavily-attended panel and our book signings, we got a chance to meet a lot of cool people. I’m here to recap all the exciting stuff that went on last week at Comic-Con – let’s get started!

Our designers and artists love speaking to our fans, so they were thrilled to be at Comic-Con. A lot of enthusiastic fans turned up for the super-limited Ghosts of Ascalon book giveaway and signing and the Art of Guild Wars 2 giveaway and signing. We handed out free copies of Ghosts of Ascalon before the book’s release date on July 27, so a few lucky fans got their hands on a copy on Friday or Saturday.

The Guild Wars 2 Panel

Our panel, “Guild Wars 2: A New Type of Fantasy MMO,” took place on Saturday, the busiest day of the already busy con. The panel, moderated by our Global Brand Director Chris Lye, presented an overview of Guild Wars 2 for the more general interest crowd of Comic-Con.

Game Designer Jeff Grubb set the stage by talking about the background of Guild Wars 2, the unique races of Tyria, the threat of the Elder Dragons, and some of the game’s signature features – like personal storylines and dynamic events.

Design Director James Phinney, the architect behind many of the fundamental changes in Guild Wars 2, discussed the similarities and vast differences between Guild Wars 2 and the original game. He explained how the game was created to encourage social play and true cooperation between players, and how the combat system was designed to be accessible, streamlined, and visually impactful.

After James talked about Guild Wars 2 design, Character Artist, Kristen Perry talked about her work on clothing design, which you all know is one of her favorite topics. The audience was treated to some brand new, exclusive information that was revealed at this panel: most of the NPC outfits you see in Guild Wars 2 are wearable by players! If you take a look back at Kristen’s blog interview about clothing you’ll see examples of clothing that your characters may be able to wear.

Kristen went on to discuss the dye system in Guild Wars 2, which will be the subject of a future blog post.  The dye system has greatly improved from Guild Wars, with up to three dye channels on articles of clothing or armor. There are more meaningful patterns on clothing, and with that in mind, Kristen wanted to make sure the effort to obtain certain dyes was worth it.

Kristen spent weeks and weeks fine-tuning the dye system, which is better at defining different materials by retaining both color and sense of material. The saturation of the dye’s color depends on the material, for example, red dye will look different when it is applied to metal versus leather. Kristen will continue to refine the dye system right up to ship.

Questions from the Audience

Time was running short, so Chris moved on to the Q&A portion of the panel. Many of the questions on our Guild Wars 2 FAQ were asked, but I’ll recap them for you.

The first question was asked by a little girl, and is probably our most-asked question. We hear this every day, so this wasn’t unexpected. The question was: “When is Guild Wars 2 coming out?” The audience and panel had a good laugh at this, because we know just how much you all want this game in your hands. As always, the answer was, “When it’s done!”

One player asked about the decision to go with a single profession system in Guild Wars 2, rather than continue the dual profession system of Guild Wars. James reiterated what we’ve said in previous interviews, which was that going with a single profession system will allow for no shortage of choice. James acknowledge that going with a single profession system cuts down on the sheer number of potential combinations, however it will deliver a better balanced game, and players will still have a ton of variety and customization options.

An audience member asked whether there would be a “Factions 2” or a “Nightfall 2.” Jeff Grubb explained that there are allusions to “current” events in Cantha and Elona in Guild Wars 2, but the heart and focus of Guild Wars 2 is Tyria.

Another person asked whether the control system in Guild Wars 2 would be the same as in Guild Wars, specifically regarding the point-and-click aspect and auto-attacking. James replied by saying that the control are different, but more direct for players. However, the design team has tried to include a similar ease of play in their approach to the controls.

One fan asked another common question, whether players would be able to go above level 20 in Guild Wars 2. The answer is “absolutely, yes.”  James elaborated by saying that we’re going to make the game easy to play with friends no matter what level you are. Starting players will be able to jump into high level PvP, where every player fights on equal terms.

A fan talked about how he enjoyed the humor in Guild Wars, and he asked whether humorous content would return in Guild Wars 2. Jeff replied that while there will be humor in Guild Wars 2, there will also be a wide range of stories, ranging from the heroic, to the dramatic, and yes, to the humorous.

Jeff reminded us that Guild Wars 2 is a completely different game from the original, so not everything you’ve seen in Guild Wars will return in Guild Wars 2. The next fan asked how Heroes and Henchmen would work in Guild Wars 2. As we’ve noted before, we will not have the Heroes and Henchman features in Guild Wars 2. But fear not, there are options for people who like controlling allies, as we’ve seen from the ranger reveal.

The next question was about the instancing system in Guild Wars. This player said that it was difficult to reconnect when disconnected, and he wondered about any changes in this reconnection issue for Guild Wars 2. James replied that our network architecture has been completely reworked for Guild Wars 2, so that wouldn’t be an issue in the future.

A fan asked about whether there would be arena PvP in Guild Wars 2. We haven’t talked much about PvP as yet, but James reassured this fan that everyone from casual players to the most diehard PvPers will find an experience that they like in Guild Wars 2 PvP.

The penultimate question was “Will Guild Wars 2 be fully voiced?” Jeff Grubb fielded this question, explaining that the game will be extensively voiced, and that so far we’ve completed several months of voiceover recording sessions. The voice and sound design are heavily integrated into the fabric of the game experience.

And finally, the last question was whether characters from each of the five races would be able to play any profession. James answered that while this issue was the subject of much debate within the company, the outcome of that discussion was yes, every race will be able to play every profession.

For us, Comic-Con was a fantastic opportunity to connect with the gaming public and share our excitement about Guild Wars 2.  We didn’t just talk and give away books – we took pictures, too!  Check out our Flickr page for our collection of pictures from Comic-Con!

That was great, but now it’s time to get ready for August.  Our next stop is gamescom in Cologne, Germany, and the first ever playable demo of Guild Wars 2.  It’s going to be huge!

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Greetings Daevas,   We are bringing the Aion servers down at 3:30 a.m. PDT, July 28, 2010 (more) for maintenance.  The maintenance is estimated to take no longer than 3 hours.  Thank you for your patience!    -The Aion Community Team

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The Velika Guardian Issue 10 A Cavalcade of Coverage (and Comic-Con) Contain yourself TERA fans, as this week saw a cascade of ...

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Greetings Daevas, Tell your friends, family, and former Legion mates about the upcoming “Double Your Fun” reactivation weekend! All inactive Aion accounts will be reactivated to coincide with this weekend’s incoming double experience goodness. During this weekend of fun, you can ..

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