The Guild Wars 2 Blog Krewe discuss news about professions, races, GW2 videos, maps, game release dates, books and character builds.
Jotun Race | GW2 Giants
An ancient race, the Jotun were at one time the self-proclaimed "Kings of the Shiverpeaks". They were an advanced, intelligent race of giants skilled in feats of both strength and magic. They created magical, enchanted monuments in numerous locations throughout the Shiverpeak Mountains.These golden times are long past though, as at the time of GW2 the Jotun have lost all command and understanding of technology and magic after their powerful sages, lore-keepers and mystics were killed before they could pass on their arcane knowledge to future generations. Ultimately the Jotun were the masters of their own demise.
After conquering all who threatened them they were convinced that they were the superior race and soon became obsessed with the purity of their bloodlines and the number of heroes, warlords, and giant-kings they could claim in each lineage. They firmly believe that their blood is magical and each clan can trace their lineage back to some powerful giant-king of lore.The quality of these bloodlines became a prime reason for choosing one mate over another which led to the seizing of rival's lands and property as the giant-kings turned on each other, wiping out other "lesser" Jotun tribes. Families waged war upon one another, and brother made war on brother, as a vicious internal wars erupted between the tribes as they each sought ultimate control.
As a result, by the times of Guild Wars 2, the Jotun have regressed to being a savage, vicious race who would tear one of their own to pieces at the first sign of weakness, no matter what the long-term cost to the clan would be. They live in large tribes, all related by blood or by union, and are led by the strongest. The more aggressive male Jotun take leadership roles, while the females are tasked with bringing up their offspring and less dangerous tasks. They are loyal only to their family and their tribes and they will do anything to protect these and to defend the territory they control. They have few morals and will lie, cheat, steal or kill if that action will empower him or strengthen his clan (or destroy another). Needless to say, when two clans of Jotun encounter one another, nothing less than the complete eradication of the other will end the encounter.Now you've been warned, will YOU get your ass whooped by a Jotun in GW2?
2012 Year of the Guild Wars 2 Dragon
Mike O'Brien, ArenaNet's Founder and President confirmed what the Guild Wars 2 Blog Krewe have been expecting and hoping, that 2012 is going to be the Year of the Dragon, not just for the Chinese but for all GW2 fans in general.According to the Chinese zodiac system, today is the first day of the Year of the Dragon. How many more days it will be before we get to play GW2 is the question on every fan's lips.
Mike announced it this way...
"Last year, thousands of you joined us at shows and events all over the world to try Guild Wars 2 for yourself. This year, you’ll finally be able to immerse yourself in the vast, diverse world of Tyria.
We recently finished our first closed beta test, and we're now ready to hold progressively larger events. In February we'll invite select press to participate in beta testing, and in March and April we'll aggressively ramp up the size of our beta test events so that many of you will have a chance to participate. And of course, this all leads to the release of Guild Wars 2 later this year."
Martin Kerstein added more on how the GW2 beta process will work from here...
"To some people "Open Beta" means unlimited access to the game and everybody on the interwebs can play it. This is not what we will do. We will do Beta Weekend Events.
Just purge the term "Open Beta" from your brain. We're not using that terminology as it's a wrong one for what we are doing. We are currently in Closed Beta and then there will be Beta Events.
It means that many of you will get a chance to participate in specific Events, but access won’t be unlimited as there'll be some kind of selection criteria and the beta period will usually start on a Friday and end on the following Sunday."
It's time to get excited (again) and count down the weeks until Guild Wars 2 is released for all to enjoy.
Guild Wars 2 Open Beta
It's a good indication that the Guild Wars 2 open beta (and game release date) is getting nearer when ArenaNet people start getting even more excited about the state of affairs in GW2. In an interview with Jonathon Jacobs from Nevermet Press, Angel McCoy, GW2 writer and game designer, was bubbling in her assessment of the game's state.
Angel gave us all hope when she said...
"...we’re currently in Closed Beta and planning has begun for an Open Beta. It’s all extremely exciting, and the game is coming along smashingly. It really is like magic when it all starts coming together and you see what an enormous accomplishment you’ve contributed to. Once the game launches, I plan to play, play, play it! I’ll have earned it."
"SMASHINGLY"... that makes me want to get out my hammer Warrior and go on a killing spree in celebration!
Custom Emotes in GW2
Let's have a group /highfive /clap /cheer /roar! Custom emotes have been confirmed for GW2 (though they were originally not on the menu).
Eric Flannum was the first to confirm their inclusion...
"Custom emotes were not on our intended feature list but Habib, the coder responsible for our emotes added them in (because he's cool like that)."
Now all we need is a /hiphiphooray emote for Habib (oh and the GW2 release date would be nice too :D)!
Xmas Wishes from the Guild Wars 2 Blog Krewe
The Guild Wars 2 Blog Krewe would like to take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! Enjoy this special time of year with family and friends and look forward to the release of GW2 in 2012.
Closed Beta Date Announced
In an announcement sure to please many, the Guild Wars 2 beta date is just 2 days away! Friday December 16 has been revealed as the official start date of the GW2 closed beta testing phase. Note the "closed" part of that though as it's invite only, there is no application form and ArenaNet are not disclosing their selection process.
Martin Kerstein reminds beta participants...
Remember: First rule of Closed Beta is "Don't talk about Closed Beta". If you are actually in and do so - you will be out really fast.
The date of the GW2 open beta will obviously depend on how the closed beta goes and how much polishing the game needs before it's ready to get to that stage.One thing's for sure though. The Guild Wars 2 release date just got a whole lot closer and the GW2 Blog Krewe are getting EXCITED!!
GW2 Mesmer (Officially) Unveiled
While the leaking of the Guild Wars 2 Mesmer video took a little shine off the event, ArenaNet have officially unveiled the Mesmer as the eighth and final GW2 profession.This newest combatant is as a mind-bending, magical duelist who selectively uses deception, illusion, confusion and conditions as their weapons of choice. Through skillful play, Mesmers deploy a deadly combination of illusions, conditions, and phantasmal sources of damage to befuddle their foes, while also assisting their friends and allies. This cerebral approach to combat is a wise strategy when your armor is light and your physical prowess underwhelming, as you really don't want to be getting up close and personal with your foes, except perhaps for when it's time to deliver the coup de grâce.
A GW2 Mesmer can use a variety of magical, melee and ranged weapons, including :
Main Hand: Scepter or Sword.
Off Hand: Focus, Sword, Pistol or Torch.
Two-Handed: Staff or Greatsword.
The introduction of the new and improved Guild Wars 2 Mesmer also brings with it a new, stackable condition called "Confusion" . A foe affected by the confusion condition takes damage each time they activate a skill. This condition stacks in intensity, so the more confusion an enemy has, the greater the damage inflicted upon them will be.
Illusions
Coming in two types, "Clones" and "Phantasms", Mesmers create mind tricks that manifest themselves as physical entities. Most illusions are directed at a particular target, though anyone can see and attack them. They exist only as long as that target is alive and can only be dispelled by attacking the illusion itself, and not the mesmer who created them. A mesmer can maintain up to three illusions at a time, with the oldest illusion being replaced by the newly created one.
Clones - These illusions look just like the caster, have the caster's name, and have basic behaviors. Clones have low health and tend to do little damage. For example, a mesmer equipped with a sword has two clone-summoning skills: Leap, which launches him forward, leaving a clone at his location, and Illusionary Leap, which summons a clone at his location that then jumps forward.
Phantasms - These illusions are more powerful than Clones, having more health and causing more damage. Phantasms look like the caster but have their own names and carry special illusionary weapons, which look different and have specific behavior. For example, a staff mesmer can summon an illusionary mage that attacks its target and deals extra damage for each inflicted condition.
Shattering
Working in conjunction with clones and phantasms, the Mesmer has a number of special abilities that can shatter these illusions. Shattering will destroy all illusions but creates a secondary effect.
There are four different shatter skills and each have a unique secondary effect :
Cry of Frustration - Destroys your illusions and inflicts the confused condition to nearby foes.
Diversion - Destroys your illusions and stuns all nearby enemies.
Mind Wrack - Destroys your illusions and does damage to opponents near them.
Reflection - Destroys your illusions and places a barrier around the mesmer, which reflects enemy projectiles.
The Guild Wars 2 video below shows a male Charr Mesmer using "Veil" to play a deadly game of hide-and-seek with an over-sized enemy.
More videos and detailed, up-to-date information on the Mesmer can be found here... The Guild Wars 2 Mesmer.
Mantras
Rounding out the Mesmer skill set are Mantras, powerful skills with long cast time which can be charged up before battle and then used in the middle of another spell, without interrupting that spell. Mantras are a category of skill that have two phases. In the first phase, the mesmer activates the mantra, which then replaces that skill slot with an instant-casting skill that the mesmer can then use as the second phase of the Mantra. For instance, "Mantra of Pain" can charge up into an instant-damage power spike that can be used during a channeled spell, such as the greatsword skill.
While the Mesmer will surely be more challenging to play well than some of the other professions, it's certainly going to be a useful and intimidating character option for players.
Guild Wars 2 Mesmer Video Leaked
After much anticipation and speculation amongst fans, a video showing the new GW2 Mesmer has been leaked! However shortly after it was released by the Game Reactor website it was removed... Seems someone may have jumped the gun on the official, authorised release time.
Martin Kerstein confirms...
Yes, Mesmer is the final profession. Seems like someone jumped the gun. Official reveal will be on Wednesday, stay tuned."
Once the official release happens, with accurate profession and skills information, we'll update here. In the meantime, here's a recap of what we saw.
The Game Reactor video showed a Mesmer from each race with different combinations of weapons and spells in action.
Of particular interest to the mesmer lovers here at the GW2 Blog was the ability to create doppelgangers which would attack on command and shatter when ordered, inflicting damage on nearby foes. These doppelgangers can wield a variety of weapons including a very cool dual pistol setup!The available combinations of main-hand and off-hand weapons give great flexibility, with Scepter / Sword, Sword / Focus, Sword / Pistol, Greatsword or Staff options on offer.The Charr Mesmer's circle of invisibility is sure to prove useful, as is the teleport ability demonstrated by the sword/pistol-wielding female Sylvari mesmer.To snare fleeing (or chasing) foes, an Asura Mesmer uses an ability that creates a line on the ground that cripples enemies who cross it.Similarly, the staff-wielding Norn Mesmer conjures up an AoE field that immobilizes or greatly slows multiple enemies and inflicts some sort of destructive mental anguish on them. Add to that a burning skill, a laser-like greatsword attack and a skill that chokes attackers to death and the GW2 Mesmer is certain to give players something to think about and foes something to fear!
Previous Guild Wars 2 Blog entries are linked in the right hand column. Links include videos, maps, pictures, movies, how to buy guild wars 2 books and talk about the GW2 launch date.
"We'd like to think that if Prince Rurik was alive, (the Ascalonian warrior prince from the Prophecies campaign), that he'd enjoy reading this blog as much as the GW2 Blog Krewe enjoy writing it. Maybe he could tell us the Guild Wars 2 release date too!"
. A foe affected by the confusion condition takes damage each time they activate a skill. This condition stacks in intensity, so the more confusion an enemy has, the greater the damage inflicted upon them will be.
