Guild Wars: Factions Preview

From the moment you log in, you know that the pending expansion for Guild Wars is going to be special. Why? Well, the log-in/character select screen has been revamped into the finest bit of programming on the market.

Featuring soft and serene music, the log-in screen features available characters standing on a platform in a bay awash with the colors of a sunset (or a sunrise) in a 360-degree panorama. You can see a whale in the bay by rotating the camera, or watch the birds buoyed on the soft undercurrents of the breezes.

It is really quite wonderful.

As for the actual expansion, NCsoft held a free PvP (Player-versus-player) weekend for the title, which included several of the new elements, but was devoid of the actual campaign to be featured when the expansion ships to retail in the spring.

There will be factional points available, as well as new PvP arenas to run in concert with the new campaign. Heroes Ascent is one of the new areas, along with the Great Temple of Balthazar. There are both team arenas and random ones, and players who do not wish to actually fight can pull up a screen to see who the top teams are and go into observation mode to watch them fight. 

Two new classes will also be added – ritualist and assassin – as well as some new skills. The new classes were available for PvP builds only during the weekend (for those unfamiliar with the game, upon character creation, players can choose from a role-player character and build them up by moving through the campaign and in PvP arenas, or a PvP-only character that is level 20 and has a number of skills available as you progress through the arenas) – which makes sense considering the campaign was not available for play. The ritualist seemed slightly overpowered and likely there will be some balancing that takes place before the game launches. Essentially, the ritualist can summon spirits with a finite area of influence. These spirits can deal damage as well as provide zones of healing for team members. The assassin uses dark arts to deal out melee damage faster than any other class currently in the game.

In head-to-head combat, the assassin proved capable but was in line with the classes in the game. The ritualist, on the other hand, was nasty to combat – in a good way for fellow team members, but a bear for other teams to handle, unless they also had ritualists.

Of course, dual-classing is available (and that log-in screen is still available, though the PvP weekend has ended).

The past weekend was all about PvP and likely a venue to test character balancing for the expansion’s release. While Guild Wars’ campaign has always been quite linear, the game has boasted great balance between the classes, and it is anticipated that there will be tweaks and adjustments made to continue that flow.

The new zones, known collectively as Battle Isles, will feature (upon release) new areas to explore and new quests.

NCsoft and ArenaNet (the developers) have teased in this manner before and from this early look, Guild Wars Factions will certainly add to the play and entertainment value of the franchise.